Chapter 1 – The Land of the Dead

Book 1 – The Ji Clan of Swallow Mountain

Chapter 1 – The Land of the Dead

“Walk faster!”

“You’ve already died and become a ghost. Faster!”

“You are a prince? You ruled over tens of millions of citizens and thirty thousand armored horsemen? In the Netherworld Kingdom, you human princes are nothing!”

Smack!

Smack!

A tall, powerful-looking demonic soldier, his face mean and vicious, snarled angrily as he lashed out with his whip repeatedly. The whip flashed like lightning, striking on the bodies of the souls of the dead. He struck the ghost who had been arrogantly proclaiming that he was a prince several dozen times, only stopping when the ghost’s soul had almost dissipated.

“I should’ve died. So that means…this is the Netherworld Kingdom?” Ji Ning appeared out of nowhere. He couldn’t help but stare with curiosity at the unfamiliar surroundings. When he heard the arrogant boastings of the prince, Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel suspicious; “Ten million citizens? Thirty thousand armored horsemen? In the modern Earth, where would one find thirty thousand armored horsemen?”

“Faster!” The massive, glowing minotaur demon soldier stared at Ji Ning and brayed.

Ji Ning followed the rest of the regiment.

Countless men in white clothes formed into a line, like a long, sinuous dragon, as they slowly moved forwards. At the end of each line, more people in white would suddenly appear. Some of these white-dressed people would shake their heads and sigh. Some would weep. Some would brag and curse. Some would stare in astonishment.

“My father is the Devil King of the Great Snowy Mountain. How dare you strike me! I’ll eat you! Grrr!”

“Stop hitting me!”

“Ah!”

The ghosts who had just reached the Netherworld Kingdom didn’t know they were dead. Many of them were roaring in anger as they were beaten, but quickly, they were beaten to the point of understanding…that they were dead. No matter how glorious they had been in the past, in death, they now had nothing.

….

Time passed quickly. Ji Ning walked for a very long time in that endless line of ghosts. He didn’t dare to say anything. If he spoke, he might be whipped by that minotaur. He had walked in a daze for a long time already. Fortunately, ghosts didn’t get hungry or thirsty.

One day, after a long, long period of dazed walking.

“Ji Ning!” A thunderous sound seemed to echo in the world. The countless ghosts all raised their heads to stare at the sky. Ji Ning stared at the sky as well. From the horizon, an enormous black cloud began to roll over, and atop that cloud was an enormous minotaur god who was glowing with black light.

This enormous minotaur god was over a hundred thousand meters tall. He was like a massive mountain. The black cloud he was on quickly flew over from the horizon.

“Ji Ning.” Atop the massive black cloud, the minotaur god stared downwards, his eyes shooting out twin lofty golden rays of light, covering the entire area below and illuminating the body of Ji Ning, who stood there like an idiot.

The glowing light from the eyes of the minotaur god wrapped around Ji Ning’s body, and Ji Ning disappeared from within the ranks of the ghosts. Those ordinary minotaur soldiers were all silent, none daring to make a sound. All of the ghosts were in a state of shock. Only a long time later did they recover.

…..

Within the boundless black clouds, the titanic minotaur god stood.

He stretched out his hand, and on top of his palm was a tiny little dot. Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was totally shocked.

God.

An enormous minotaur god was standing in front of him, and he was standing on its palm?

“Ji Ning.” The minotaur god peered down at the tiny little speck in his hands.

“I have come at the orders of the Lord of Cui Palace to come receive you.” The minotaur god spoke to the tiny speck in his hands, and then with a wave of his hands, Ji Ning was placed into an empty void area. The minotaur god then rose his black cloud and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

…..

In the Fengdu City of the Ghost World.

Within a quiet study, there was a bookshelf and a table next to it. A blue robed man in his middle years was flipping through a book.

Ji Ning stood there in front of him.

“Why does the Lord of Cui Palace wish to see me?” Ji Ning was wondering. He had no idea who this Lord of Cui Palace was and had never met him. He was just an ordinary person. How could he possibly know any Immortals? If he had a powerful background, then he wouldn’t have been tormented by his illness his entire life. So why had that Lord of Cui Palace sent the minotaur god to bring him here?

“He summoned me, but then he doesn’t speak to me.” Ji Ning sneaked a glance around the room.

The study was very simple. The only decoration was a single painting.

“That’s…” Ji Ning looked at it carefully. This was the painting of a girl. Her feathered clothes were filled with natural grace, and the smile on her lips was even more enigmatic than those on the Buddhas in the temples on Earth. In the blink of an eye, Ji Ning became enamored with studying that painting. The woman in this painting, in terms of appearance or hair or clothing, was extremely alluring.

“Oh?” The blue robed man raised his head and glanced at him, glancing at the painting in surprise. “I didn’t expect that he would have such powers of perception.”

“Wake up!” The blue robed man shouted quietly.

The world of vacant pondering which Ji Ning had been in just now was totally shattered, and he was totally woken up. Only now did he remember that he was in the Lord of Cui Palace’s place.

The Lord of Cui Palace had closed his book and was looking at him. Ji Ning’s expression instantly changed. This was because from his current position, he could see the words within the hands of the Lord of Cui Palace: “Book of Life and Death.”

The Lord of Cui Palace was reading the Book of Life and Death?

“I’ve just been reading about your life.” The Lord of Cui Palace smiled towards Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was startled.

His life?

His previous life appeared in his mind like a dream. His father was a leading researcher in a bioscience program. His salary was extremely high. His mother was an ordinary teacher. His life should’ve been great since he had been born into such a family, but unfortunately, he suffered from constant diseases. The doctors all said that it would be a miracle if he would live to fifteen or sixteen.

Therefore, he couldn’t go to school, nor could he play around with his peers. Every day, just by walking for half an hour, he would feel exhausted. His weak body, constantly tormented by illness, caused his childhood to be very lonely. He had heard long ago in the hospital that others were discussing how he should die in his teens. This sort of terrifying feeling of knowing your death was coming soon had tormented his childhood, causing him to be even more of a loner.

Fortunately!

Fortunately, he had his books and the internet.

The books and the internet gave him a ‘mental world’ which allowed him to avoid the fate of having a twisted personality. Through books and the internet, he ravenously acquired knowledge about the world, and his heart slowly grew calm, making him more rational in the way he viewed the world.

He knew that in the world, there were children who were even worse off than him. After all, he still had his parents and he had enough to eat.

He was searching for his value in life. He couldn’t just stay here and wait to die, right? While he was alive, he had to do something. And thus, he had asked for a hundred thousand Chinese dollars from his parents and began to do business online. He originally had wanted to make his life more interesting, but unexpectedly, he really had incredible achievements.

After many years, he had earned an enormous fortune.

But despite that, his illness constantly reminded him that he wouldn’t be able to live for much longer. As his parents didn’t need him to support them, he felt that leaving the money there would be a waste. Thus, before dying, he handed out all of his money, giving it to the poor and sick children throughout the country.

“I can’t change my own destiny, but I can change the destiny of those countless poor, sick children!”

This was the deepest desire in Ji Ning’s heart!

After handing out all of his money, he hadn’t expected that one day, while he was taking a walk in the streets outside the hospital with his parents, he had simply died.

“Your life was bitter since you were born.” The Lord of Cui Palace said softly. “But bitterness didn’t twist you. Instead, it spurred you on to astonishing accomplishments. You not only made a huge sum of money, but more importantly…you gave it all away!”

“Eighteen years of age. Dead.” The Lord of Cui Palace sighed. “For one to be willing to sacrifice one’s self to rescue a stranger is quite rare.”

Ji Ning said, “Palace Lord, you praise me too much. If I had lived a long life, I might not have been willing to do this. According to the doctors, at most I would’ve lived another three months. For me to trade those three months of life to allow a little girl to gain dozens of years in her life was worth it!”

The Lord of Cui Palace laughed, and then casually flipped open the Book of Life and Death. His gentle voice carried an infinite majesty. “Ji Ning, in your life, you saved over ten thousand people. Your merits are great. For your reincarnation, you shall be reborn into…the Heaven Realm!”

“The Heaven Realm.” Ji Ning murmured quietly.

The Lord of Cui Palace sighed, “Only those who accumulate great karmic merit can enter the Heaven Realm. On Earth, it is very hard for one to reach this level. Knowingly or unknowingly, by giving up your vast fortune and helping all of those children, you accumulated enormous karmic merit. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t be able to enter the Heaven Realm.”

“Palace Lord, what do you mean?” Ji Ning was confused.

“People are born pure and without malice.” The Lord of Cui Palace said. “Children are totally pure, but later on, the vagaries of life cause them to change…if you were to have helped adults, you might’ve helped some kind people, but it is hard to say who is kind and who is evil. If you had helped evil people, it would’ve reduced your karmic merit.”

Ji Ning now realized what he meant.

“The Book of Life and Death had preordained that you would only live to be sixteen. However, because of your accumulated merits, you were allowed to live until age eighteen.” The Lord of Cui Palace sighed.

“What?” Ji Ning was shocked. “Are you saying that the fates contained within the Book of Life and Death can be changed?”

“Of course they can be changed. Why can’t they be changed?” The Lord of Cui Palace laughed. “For me, adding a hundred years to a person’s life is nothing. Even if Heaven wanted you to die, it would still give you a chance, much less the Book of Life and Death. A person’s destiny is preordained, true, but it can be changed later on.”

Ji Ning now understood.

It was true.

The ancients said, “If Heaven commits a sinful act, one can go against it; but if you do a sinful act, then you will not be allowed to live.” If Heaven wanted you to die, it would still give you a chance at life. The Book of Life and Death was nothing more than pre-ordained destiny, which one could try and change afterwards.

“I believe there are many people who accumulated great merit. Palace Lord, why did you summon me alone?” Ji Ning asked, puzzled.

The Lord of Cui Palace laughed. “Because…you and I are from the same hometown.”

“From the same hometown?” Ji Ning was stunned. “Are you also from…”

“Right. According to the words you ‘modern’ people use, I’m also from Earth!” The Lord of Cui Palace laughed. “But that was back in the era of the Sui and Tang dynasties.”

The Sui and Tang dynasties?

Ji Ning was extremely excited. “I heard those ghosts say that they were ‘princes’ or ‘devil kings’. None of them are from Earth.”

“It is normal from them to not be from Earth. In the infinite universe of space-time, there are three realms; the Heaven, the Netherworld, and the Mortal Realms.” The Lord of Cui Palace explained. “Heaven refers to the Heaven Realm! The Netherworld refers to the underworld, the Netherworld Kingdom! Mortal, refers to the Mortal Realm. In the Mortal Realm, there are over three thousand major worlds and trillions of minor worlds…the three thousand major worlds are all extremely vast, and have Immortals and Devils hidden within them. As for the trillions of minor worlds, all of them are much smaller and have much lower populations. Our hometown, the Earth, is one of those minor worlds. Up until now, there are still only a couple billion people.”

“Every moment, in those three thousand major worlds and trillions of minor worlds, there are countless deaths, and the spirits all come here to the Netherworld Kingdom! Tell me, how many ghosts does the Netherworld Kingdom have?” The Lord of Cui Palace looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was shocked.

My God!

Three Realms?

The Mortal Realm was enormous. The Earth was just one of a trillion minor worlds. As a human of Earth, in the past, he always thought the Earth was the center of the universe! But now, he realized…that the Earth was just one of a trillion minor worlds, and couldn’t even be considered one of the three thousand major worlds. In an instant, he had a sense of loss and disorientation.

“Three thousand major worlds, a trillion minor worlds. Of course there’s many people who have high merit. But it is rare that there is someone from my hometown who has accumulated such high merit, and what’s more, your pre-ordained fate was a short life. For you to be able to reach such a level despite that is very rare! I just happened to have some free time, so I wanted to meet you, my fellow Earth man.” The Lord of Cui Palace. “You are going to reincarnate soon. Let me tell you about the Six States of Reincarnation.”

“The Six States of Reincarnation refers to Devas, Asuras, Humans, Animals, Preta Ghosts, and Hell Beings.”

The Lord of Cui Palace explained, “Those who are born as Devas and Asuras are all considered to be in the ‘Heaven Realm’.”

“Humans and Animals are part of the Mortal Realm.”

“Preta Ghosts and Hell-beings are in the Netherworld Kingdom Realm.”

“The Heaven Realm is the place where you are about to be reborn in.” These words immediately caused Ji Ning to grow alert. The Lord of Cui Palace sighed, “This is the best place to be. When you are reborn into the Heaven Realm, nature itself will give birth to you as a Deva! Only someone who is born naturally by the heavens can be described as a ‘immaculate lifeform’.”

“Born by nature? Not by a mother?” Ji Ning was absolutely shocked.

“Of course.” The Lord of Cui Palace laughed. “Otherwise, how could you be considered an ‘immaculate lifeform’? Strictly speaking, the heavens and the earth will be your parents!”

“After being born into the Heaven Realm, you will train at an astonishing pace. You will easily be able to enter the Celestial Court and become a soldier or a general of Heaven.” The Lord of Cui Palace sighed emotionally.

Ji Ning rubbed his eyes.

A soldier or general of Heaven?

He was going to become a soldier or general of Heaven?

“Devas have another advantage; once you turn sixteen, you will regain all your memories of your previous lives.” The Lord of Cui Palace sighed. “The only reason I met you this time was because you had high merit and are a fellow countryman. I didn’t expect that when you came here…you would’ve been spellbound by the painting of Nuwa, the creator of humans. Your insight and perception is indeed very high. For the sake of helping you to become a standout soldier of Heaven, I’ll give you some help.”

Ji Ning was absolutely delighted. Help him? Help him out?

“Stare at the painting of Nuwa.” The Lord of Cui Palace pointed at the painting on the wall.

Ji Ning looked at it.

So that woman in the painting was the goddess Nuwa?

“The person on this painting is the most holy and most compassionate primordial goddess, Miss Nuwa.” The face of the Lord of Cui Palace turned solemn. “Ever since Pangu died after creating the universe, only she, Miss Nuwa, has reached Pangu’s level. Miss Nuwa is capable of destroying the universe, but also capable of healing it. She can even create new life. Of the countless races, the human race is the most spiritual one, and it was created by Miss Nuwa. She has understood 84,000 truths, and without question, she is the most invincible, powerful presence in the Three Realms.”

“The highest in the Three Realms?” Ji Ning was stunned.

Nuwa created humans, and Nuwa repaired the world. He had long ago heard of these myths.

“This painting is used for the visualization technique, but there’s no way you can see the secrets hidden within it.” The Lord of Cui Palace laughed. “Although you are about to become a Deva and a heavenly warrior and will also be trained in this, let me first teach you a bit of the visualization technique and fulfill the karmic bonds that brought us together.”

“Thank you, Lord of Cui Palace.” Ji Ning bowed so low, he almost reached the ground.

“No need to thank me. It is nothing more than a visualization technique. It isn’t some sort of secret training method, or a magical technique of the Immortals or the Devils.” The Lord of Cui Palace pointed a single finger at Ji Ning’s forehead.

Boom!

Ji Ning felt his brain suddenly explode, and an enormous figure of Nuwa appeared in his mind.

“Wake up.” The Lord of Cui Palace looked at Ji Ning. “Remember. Often visualizing her will definitely allow you to train your soul. But of course, you are about to be reborn and you’ll need to drink Grandma Meng’s Elixir. You will temporarily lose your memory. When you turn sixteen, you will remember this visualization technique. But that’s enough. It will definitely be enough to let you become an outstanding figure in the army of Heaven! With this visualization technique, you will have a chance to train to become an Immortal. If you wish to become a Celestial Immortal, you will suffer many trials…I hope that you will succeed, and in the future, we will meet again in the Celestial Court.”

Ji Ning’s heart was filled with excitement.

The army of Heaven?

Becoming an Immortal?

He really looked forward to it all.

“Go.” The Lord of Cui Palace waved his hand.

Hua.

Ji Ning disappeared.

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Chapter 2 – Reincarnation

Book 1 – The Ji Clan of Swallow Mountain

Chapter 2 – Reincarnation

“By order of the Lord of Cui Palace, I have come to escort you to the Road to the Yellow Springs, brother.”

In mid-air, a woman dressed in purple was flying while holding Ji Ning by his hand.

Ji Ning stared around him.

Just a moment ago, he had been in the palace of the Lord of Cui Palace. How did he suddenly appear in mid-air?

“Dare I ask, who exactly is the Lord of Cui Palace?” Ji Ning was puzzled. “I heard that before reincarnating, I should meet with the Judges of the Dead, who would investigate my past and present lives, then send me to be reincarnated?”

“Didn’t you already see a Judge?” The violet clothed woman laughed. “As the Custodian of the Book of Life and Death, naturally the Lord of Cui Palace is the First Judge of the Dead! Since he personally came to judge you, of course the other common judges don’t need to come judge you.”

In the Netherworld Kingdom, the highest authority was that of the Yamas of the Ten Halls, the ten Kings of Hell. Immediately beneath them was the First Judge of the Dead, the Lord of Cui Palace, ‘Cui Jue’.

His great fame had long since spread throughout the three Realms.

The Mortal Realm was vast beyond compare. It had three thousand major worlds and trillions of minor worlds. Every single living creature, before they were born, would have their good deeds and evil deeds assessed by the Judges. What an enormous task this was! Thus, the entire Netherworld Kingdom had trillions of Judges who were responsible for judging the dead souls of the trillions of worlds. But Cui Jue was the leader of all of the Judges, and was titled the First Judge. He was the true Custodian of the Book of Life and Death. His power was so great that he was virtually on the same level as the Ten Kings of Hell.

“Look. The Road to the Yellow Springs.” The woman pointed to a vast road ahead of them, which had countless ghosts slowly trudging along in a line. “If you follow the road, you will quickly arrive at the Bridge of Despair. After you pass the Bridge of Despair and drink Grandma Meng’s Elixer of Forgetfulness, you can go be reborn.”

“Go.”

The woman waved her hand.

Ji Ning’s body was suddenly surrounded by golden light, which sent him flying straight down into the front of the line, allowing him to ‘cut in line’.

The minotaur soldiers next to the line, upon seeing the violet clothed woman high up in the air, didn’t dare to say a word. They even arranged for one of the minotaur soldiers to escort Ji Ning and were extremely courteous to him.

……..

The Yellow Springs Road was full of mist. Countless souls were making their way through it, and Ji Ning was one of them.

“What’s that?” Ji Ning stared in front.

In front of him, the mist was very thick. Any souls that entered there disappeared and never came back.

“Go on. In front is the Bridge of Despair.” The nearby minotaur soldier said amiably.

Ji Ning nodded. Not hesitating, he stepped forward, entering that dense fog.

He suddenly felt as though spacetime had changed.

“Where is this?” Ji Ning stared at his surroundings in confusion. In front of him was a small, winding road. Ghostly forms could be hazily made out. In front of him, only a few dozen ghosts could be seen. In front of this little road was a river with rapid, turbid water.

“That should be the legendary Bridge of Despair.” Ji Ning headed forward.

“How strange.”

“Clearly, countless people entered here. But how come after I stepped in, so few people can be seen?” Ji Ning was quite baffled.

How could he know that here at the Bridge of Despair, time flowed differently than in the outside world.

As the saying goes, ‘For each day that passes in Heaven, a year passes in the mortal world.’

Time passed here at the Bridge of Despair at an even more extravagantly fast pace. A single day in the Netherworld Kingdom would equal countless years here in the Bridge of Despair.

“Ah! Ah!”

“I’m sorry!”

As Ji Ning walked onto the Bridge of Despair, he saw that the other side of the bridge had a pool of blood. The pool of blood had all sorts of poisonous bugs, poisonous snakes, and vicious dogs that wildly bit at people. Most of the ghosts simply walked past the pool of blood, but some fell straight into it. Clearly, these people were burdened by great sins, and found it impossible to avoid the terrifying pool of blood.

“If you knew what would happen today, would you have acted so previously?” Ji Ning shook his head, then stared at the other side. “So beautiful.”

Next to the River of Forgetfulness was countless beautiful flowers.

Not too far from the bridge was a precious gem which flashed the light, creating many different images. This was the legendary ‘Gem of Three Lives’, referring to the ‘previous life’, the ‘current life’, and the ‘next life’.

Not too far away from the Gem of Three Lives was a stone dais. This was the ‘Dais of Viewing Home’. After the souls passed the dais, they arrived at Grandma Meng.

Grandma Meng was a seemingly very ordinary old grandmother. She held a bowl of water in her hands, handing it over to each soul to allow them to drink from it. After drinking it, the souls would become sluggish and seem to be in a trance, as they automatically began to walk towards one of the six tunnels of rebirth behind Grandma Meng.

“Deva. Asura. Mortal. Animal. Preta Ghost. Hell.” Ji Ning stared at the infathomably deep tunnels behind Grandma Meng.

“I won’t drink, I won’t drink, I don’t want to forget, I don’t want to forget…”

Many ghosts struggled.

But no matter how much they struggled, they were forced by an invisible, inexorable force to move forwards. When they arrived next to Grandma Meng, they were forced by the invisible force to drink Grandma Meng’s Elixir. No matter how they screamed or howled, they still drank it…and after drinking it, no matter how strong their emotions were or how deep their memories were, they forgot it all. By then, they were no longer themselves.

“I’m entering the Heaven Realm. Although I’ll recover my memories at age sixteen, but by then, will my memories of the sixteen years of life in the Heaven Realm will take precedence, or would the memories of my previous life take precedence? By then, would I still be me?” Ji Ning felt a hint of grief.

He understood.

In this life, he only lived eighteen years. In the Heaven Realm, during those sixteen years, he would be far more powerful than in this life. Most likely, his current memories would be secondary.

“But what can I do?” Ji Ning was already bound, and he moved forward under that force’s control.

The ghosts ahead of him all drank from Grandma Meng’s Elixir. In six more ghosts, it would be his turn.

“Grandma Meng’s Elixir.” Ji Ning stared at Grandma Meng.

Grandma Meng suddenly raised her head.

This was the first time Ji Ning had seen Grandma Meng raise her head. Grandma Meng stared far away into the skies, and then her ancient voice said in fury, “Impudent!”

Boom!

The skies seemed to shatter and the earth seemed to break. The surrounding skies suddenly began to fracture, and the surrounding mist began to break down and dissipate, exposing the countless ghosts in line in the outside world. The fractures in space transformed a large number of ghosts into dust. Like bubbles that were popping, countless souls began to disappear, all of them screaming in misery.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” In mid-air, countless black dragons could be seen flying about, each one of them seeing as enormous as a massive, sinuous mountain chain. Ji Ning seemed to be able to see even those heart-freezing dragon scales. The countless dragons were wandering about, having fun in the skies, and then each of the black dragons vomited forth multiple streams of black lightning. Instantly, trillions of bolts of black lightning slashed down, every single one of them causing the heavens and the earth to break apart.

“The Life and Death Formation of the Calamity Dragons? How is it that you dare to attack the Six Paths of Reincarnation? This is a grave sin!” Grandma Meng shouted with unbridled fury. Transforming into a beam of light, she flew towards the tens of millions of black dragons in the sky. Instantly, those countless black dragons surrounded Grandma Meng.

Rumble…

The world was fracturing, and the muddied waters of the River of Forgetfulness began to form waves. Any ghosts that touched those waters were instantly dissipated. The Bridge of Despair shattered, and the ghosts atop the Bridge of Despair fell directly into the River of Forgetfulness. As for the Six Paths of Reincarnation, those immeasurably deep tunnels were beginning to shake as well, and light was gleaming from within their depths.

“Uh oh.” Ji Ning stared in terror at the calamity he was witnessing. At the same time, he could sense that invisible binding force dissipate.

“I’ll risk it!” When the binding force dissipated, Ji Ning was both surprised and pleased. Half hopping, half-flying, he jumped directly towards the ‘Mortal Realm’ tunnel. The Six Paths of Reincarnation each were located in different places. Because most people entered the Mortal Realm, the Mortal Realm’s tunnel was directly behind Grandma Meng and was the closest one to Ji Ning. Naturally, Ji Ning chose to jump down into that tunnel.

The surrounding ghosts were all jumping down into the various reincarnation tunnels.

One ghost dared to try and rush towards the most distant, Heaven Realm tunnel.

Boom…

A bolt of black lightning struck down. That ghost, who hadn’t managed to dodge in time, instantly dissipated, along with several other nearby ghosts.

……..

What exactly had happened in the Netherworld Kingdom? Those countless black dragons that had been circling about in the air, those trillions of black lightning bolts that had wildly struck downwards…that terrifying scene had shocked Ji Ning. But he understood that as an ordinary ghost, there was no point in worrying too much about it. In addition, right now, he didn’t have any time to worry about it, because his head hurt!

Ji Ning sensed that his head was in tremendous pain, as though something was frantically grabbing onto and tearing at it.

His neck hurt, and his body was suffering tremendous pressure.

Hua!

Suddenly, he felt at ease, and then, he felt a bone-piercing cold. At the same time, a breath of fresh air entered his mouth. This was the first ‘breath’ which Ji Ning had taken since dying.

“Wow!” After taking a deep breath, Ji Ning immediately let out a cry.

The cry of an infant.

“A son! It’s a son!” Although his hearing was a bit distorted, he could still understand what was just said.

“Oh. I’ve been reborn.” Ji Ning instantly understood.

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Chapter 3 – Birth

Chapter 3 – Birth

Ji Ning opened his eyes and saw that he was being held by a giant who wore a set of white fur clothes. Ji Ning instantly understood that this person was a ‘giant’, only because right now, he was an infant being held by this man.

“You can leave now.” The man said.

“Yes.” The three maids said respectfully.

The man holding Ji Ning in his arms should be his father. Although he had just gotten a son, he still seemed like a piece of glacial ice, very hard to get close to. He wore a set of beautiful fur clothes, while those three maids also were dressed in animal fur. Clearly, they were of much poorer quality.

The room was quite empty. The wall, the dresser, the seats, the bed, all of them were carved from marble. The carvings were quite exquisite and gave off an ancient, beautiful nobility. Atop the bed was a six or seven meter long enormous beast fur, with the fur hanging down to the floor. At a glance, one could tell that this fur was no doubt extremely expensive. Atop that bed, there was a red-faced young woman.<!–more–>

“Even the chairs and the dressers were carved from marble. The room itself should be made from marble as well. Father and those three women are all dressed in animal fur. It seems this world doesn’t have a high level of civilization.” Ji Ning secretly said to himself.

“Son.” Despite holding his infant son in his arms, that man still seemed very cold, without a hint of a smile on his face. Only, his eyes betrayed his excitement.

Ji Ning suddenly had the feeling that a mysterious cold energy entered his body. It was very comfortable, and then, quickly, it passed away.

“Yichuan, how is my son doing?” The woman on the bed hurriedly asked.

“As expected, his body’s quality is ordinary.” Ji Yichuan said softly.

The woman on the bed had faint tears in her eyes. “Let me hold him.”

The man carried the child over in his arms.

“Be good.” The young woman looked at the infant, her eyes filled with love. “Yichuan, our child was injured in the womb. Although he ate those natural treasures, it only repaired some of the damage. We haven’t done right by our child.”

He had been injured in the womb?

Natural treasures?

It seemed as though his parents in this world weren’t ordinary people.

…..

Despite having just given birth to a child, his mother had easily been able to get off the bed. She was also dressed in a white fur, and was in her husband’s arms as they walked out of the room.

“You can clean up in here.” His father, Ji Yichuan, said to those three maids.

“Yes.” The three maids said respectfully.

Outside the door, on the hallway, there was a big, snow white dog. Its fur was as long as cotton, and it appeared very docile. When its gaze fell upon Ji Ning, it was filled with excitement and love.

In the wide courtyard outside the room was a giant, pitch-black coiling python which was lining the outside of the courtyard. It had circled around in multiple loops, and its head was raise to a height of dozens of meters. Its body was covered with dark, heart-stoppingly cold scales. The giant python slowly lowered its head and drew near.

“Good God!” Ji Ning was frightened. That snow white dog was fine. He had seen plenty of dogs in the past. That snow white one was just a bit bigger.

But this coiled, enormous monstrosity? Was it even a snake?

Coiled around in endless circles, and its raised head alone was dozens of meters high. The entire thing had to be two or three hundred meters long. Such an awe-inspiring beast was actually in front of his own family’s house? This…this was simply…

“Son.” Ji Yichuan didn’t pay any attention to his son’s feelings, or perhaps in this world, people were used to these things already and didn’t feel they were strange. Ji Yichuan pointed at the snow white massive dog in front of them. “This is your Uncle White. He is your father’s lifelong friend, and he’s saved your life. You must treat him as you would treat me.”

The snow white hound looked lovingly at Ji Ning. Ji Ning could almost physically feel the deep love which the snow white hound bore him.

However…

He had to call a dog, ‘Uncle White’?

“Yichuan, the child was just born and doesn’t understand anything yet. Is there a point to telling him these things?” The young woman said while holding the child.

“Even if he doesn’t understand, this is his first time meeting with Little White.” Ji Yichuan raised his head to stare at the massive python. “Brother Black!”

Hiss…

This enormous black python which definitely would’ve made countless nations go insane suddenly transformed into a black mist, and then reformed into a black-haired middle-aged man. The black haired man smiled towards the infant. “Yichuan, I still remember how when you first showed your budding talent, I agreed to follow you. I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, you would have a son. Child, don’t be afraid. I am your Uncle Black.”

“Let’s go outside.” Ji Yichuan said. “Grandpa and the others are outside waiting as well. Brother Black, it’s best if you return to your regular form. I know it is very uncomfortable for you to be in human form.”

Hiss…

The black haired man nodded, and then he once more transformed into a black fog which quickly returned to that massive, coiled black python. The massive black python immediately slithered towards the outside. Its enormous body moved very quickly. Slither, slither, slither. It easily passed the walls and disappeared.

Ji Ning felt that he was still in a state of shock.

Although this might be normal to people of this world, to Ji Ning, a man from the Earth, this was simply too stunning. A 200-300 meter long black python had suddenly transformed into a black haired man, and had said that he was his ‘Uncle Black’?

Monster!

“Can it be that the snow white hound is also a monster?” Ji Ning had the feeling that this world was more amazing than he could imagine.

Husband and wife held the child together as they walked out into the corridor, while by their side was the snow white dog. Once they reached the end of the corridor, they walked onto a stone paved road which led to a garden. Within the garden, there was a thick layer of snow. Many black armored guards were standing there unmoving, while in the center, there were several dozen people standing. These several dozen people all possessed all sorts of miraculous bizarre beasts, venomous pests, and flying beasts.

Ji Ning instantly understood. It wasn’t that his father was special. It was that the people of this world all raised strange beasts. Taming them was a common habit.

“It seems in the future, I’ll have to get used to making friends with monsters.” Ji Ning quickly adjusted to this new reality and began to observe those several dozen people. These several dozen people all seemed ferocious as tigers or panthers. Virtually all of them were dressed in beautifully cut animal furs. Only the three women were dressed in silk or cloth garments.

This secretly startled Ji Ning.

It seemed that not everyone in this world wore animal furs. Silk and cloth already existed here. Judging from the location where the three women were standing, they were of fairly common rank within those dozens of people. Clearly, the quality of those silk or cloth clothes weren’t any higher than the lavish, exquisitely cut animal furs.

The silver-haired old man standing in front walked over. “Come, Yichuan. Let me hold the child.”

“Grandfather.” Ji Yichuan nodded, then took the child over from his wife’s arms and delivered him to the old man.

“This child truly is beautiful.” The silver-haired old man’s face was filled with joy. He said in praise, “Yichuan, now that you have a son, I will no longer worry as much. I’ve been the lord of our prefecture for already eighty years. According to the rules of our clan, a person can only be a Prefecture Lord for no more than a century. I only have twenty years left as Prefecture Lord. Previously, I wanted you to succeed me in the position of the Prefecture Lord of the West Prefecture of our Ji clan, but you insisted on focusing on walking the path of the Immortals. Now that you have a son, as I see it, in the future, he can be the next Prefecture Lord.”

The next Prefecture Lord?

Ji Ning was surprised. It seemed as though his status was quite high, and this clan should be a special one as well. Those extremely obedient female servants and those unmoving, black armored guards all were a testament to his clan’s power.

“Big brother!” A sudden angry shout.

Who would dare to be so disrespectful to the Prefecture Lord?

Ji Ning looked in the direction of the noise. He saw a red-haired old man who emanated heat walk over. The man had a eye-catching red earring in his right ear. Wait. It wasn’t a red earring. It was a little red snake the size of a finger. He was actually wearing a snake in his ear?

The old man with the snake in his ear walked forward, growling, “The matter of the succession to the position of Prefecture Lord can’t be so casual as this. In addition, who knows what sort of ability that little fellow would have?”

“Yichuan’s son’s ability would naturally…” The silver-haired old man was extremely confident. At the same time, a sudden surge of heat entered Ji Ning’s body, then quickly dissipated.

“Yichuan!” The silver-haired old man stared in astonishment towards the grandson he was so proud of.

How could he not be shocked.

This was the son of Ji Yichuan, famed as the ‘Raindrop Sword’. The majestic Raindrop Sword, all by himself, had exterminated countless monsters hidden in deep lakes and high mountains. The countless tribes under the control of their West Prefecture of the Ji clan all knew of the Raindrop Sword. In fact, more people knew of him than knew who the Prefecture Lord was.

As long as his child ate some precious treasures while in the womb, the infant would naturally have the finest possible growth conditions.

“Big brother.” The snake elder laughed. “It seems Yichuan’s son is quite average. How can the West Prefecture of our Ji clan, which commands so many tribes, have a weak little fellow take over the important position of Prefecture Lord? How can the people of the Ji clan possibly submit to him? How can the countless tribes be willing to submit to him?”

“Prefecture Lord. This little fellow, it seems, isn’t suited to the position of being the next Prefecture Lord.”

“The important position of Prefecture Lord cannot be so casually given away.”

Those few dozen people present were all high level members of the West Prefecture of the Ji clan. Many began to speak.

“Shut your mouth.” Ji Yichuan frowned. As he swept the area with his icy gaze, instantly, many of the clan members fell silent.

But the snake elder said angrily, “What a huge temper. This is the West Prefecture of the Ji clan! What, we can’t even talk here? Your son as the Prefecture Lord…if your son was qualified, then given the great merits you yourself have rendered to the West Prefecture of the Ji clan, we definitely wouldn’t say anything. But your son is so very average. You still wish him to be Prefecture Lord? The countless tribes under the banner of the West Prefecture of the Ji clan must fight together in territorial battles, and also must struggle against the Diremonsters in the deep mountains and the lakes. How can a weak Prefecture Lord make the clan members willingly submit? How can he make those tribes submit? If the West Prefecture isn’t awe-inspiring, then how will we struggle for power against the surrounding organizations, and how will we go to the mountains and the lakes to slay the Diremonsters?”

“I will naturally be the one to kill the Diremonsters of the lakes and the mountains!” Ji Yichuan’s voice was cold as ice.

“You sure are tough. You live up to your reputation, Ji Yichuan. So you’ll go kill all of the Diremonsters hiding in all of the mountains and lakes by yourself? Then I, Ji Lee, will say this to you. If you can kill a hundred Diremonsters, then I will no longer dispute with you over who will become the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan’s West Prefecture. I’ll let your son take it over.” The snake elder sneered.

Ji Yichuan stared at him.

Every single Diremonster was extremely sly and powerful. How could they be so easily killed? Even killing ten of them would be a miracle, much less a hundred.

“Enough. The child was just born and can’t take all this stress.” The silver-haired elder stared at them, then ordered, “Tonight, we’ll hold a celebratory banquet at the Snowfall Hall. For now, everyone can leave.”

“Alright.”

The serpent elder was the first to respond, and he did so loudly. He immediately led more than half the people away with him, with the rest quickly returning to their own places as well, leaving this garden.

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Chapter 4 – Prefecture Lord

Chapter 4 – Prefecture Lord

The banquet at Snowfall Palace continued into the late night. Late at night, the sky was covered with stars. Ji Yichuan and his wife took their infant back home.

“Whoah.” Ji Ning blearily opened his little eyes and saw the night sky filled with stars.

Ah.

He had fallen asleep. He had actually fallen asleep mid-way.

There had been fascinating performances, with musicians, drummers, and barefoot, fur-clad female dancers filling the hall. This was very different from Earth’s performances, but it was still very pleasing to the eye. However, he was still just an infant. Halfway through, he was simply too sleepy and thus he immediately fell asleep.

“Yichuan.” Yuchi Snow said with a hint of anger while walking in the snow. “At the banquet, why did you say that you would let our son go seize the golden sword? Don’t you know how hard that is?”

“I was able to accomplish it.” Yichuan frowned.

“You are the most powerful member of the West Prefecture of the Ji clan. You were able to do it as a youth, but in the thousand year history of the Ji clan’s West Prefecture, how many have been like you?” Snow was angry. Normally, she was very gentle, but anything which involved her son made her anxious. “And today, when the Prefecture Lord raised the question of having our son becoming the next Prefecture Lord, five overseers had agreed. Only a single additional overseer was needed. All you had to do was convince a single overseer…with six overseers in agreement, then our son would have easily been able to become the next Prefecture Lord. Why go seize the golden sword?”

Seizing the golden sword was simply too hard.

Yichuan shook his head and sighed. “You don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?” Snow said angrily.

“You haven’t been at the West Prefecture for a long time yet. You don’t understand the intricacies hidden within.” Yichuan explained. “The ten overseers of the West Prefecture are divided into the Prefecture Lord’s side and Ji Lee’s side. There are three centrists. If we were to draw another overseer into our orbit, the price would have been too high.”

“So what if the price is high?” Snow said unhappily.

“Yes, if we paid an enormous price, we could let our son become the Prefecture Lord.” Yichuan frowned. “But if our son is incapable, even if he is allowed to take the position of Prefecture Lord, he’ll just suffer countless miseries, unspeakable miseries. That will be a form of torment!”

Yuchi Snow was stunned.

“I don’t want my son to be miserable.” Yichuan continued slowly. “Thus, I brought up seizing the golden sword.”

“If my son possesses astonishing insight and talent and is able to strengthen rapidly, then naturally, he’ll be able to seize the golden sword. No one would say a single word of dissent if he were to take over the Prefecture Lord position after doing so.” Yichuan said. “But if my son is unable to seize the golden sword, then he can just live a life of leisure. I, Yichuan, will protect him his entire life and let him live without any cares.”

Snow seemed to have understood.

Becoming Prefecture Lord didn’t necessarily mean a life of ease. If an expert became the Prefecture Lord, then naturally, his rule would be stable. But if someone incapable took the position…even if he was forcibly installed, he would just be miserable.

“Yichuan, I was wrong to blame you.” Snow said softly.

Yichuan just lowered his head and rubbed his son’s face. “His eyes are wide open. This kid woke up long ago.”

“Right, Yichuan. What name should we give him?” Snow suddenly asked. “I asked you when I was pregnant, but you weren’t happy with any of the names. Now that he’s been born, we have to come up with a suitable name.”

“Let his name come into the world alongside him.” Yichuan said. “How could I not be careful about it? I hadn’t made up my mind in the past, but just now, I suddenly thought of a name…let’s call our son ‘Ning’, meaning ‘calm’. No matter whether his life is normal or exciting, no matter if he is weak or becomes an expert, let him maintain a calm, peaceful heart.”

“Ning?” Snow murmured. “Ji Ning. Ji Ning…”

Ji Ning?

The infant in his mother’s arms stared with wide eyes. Was this the name which the First Judge, the Lord of Cui Palace, had preordained that he would have in the Book of Life and Death? Or was it a true coincidence?

In this life, he would be named Ji Ning once again?

…..

The most powerful member of the West Prefecture of the Ji clan was the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan.

The second was the ‘Tiger Demon’, Ji Lee.

Within Lee’s Prefecture.

“Congratulations and felicitations, father.” A middle-aged man with several dozen braids in his hair said. “That Yichuan was so arrogant and blind that he actually said he would have his son go seize the golden sword…the West Prefecture has been in the hands of our Ji clan for generations. Not a single person has taken the Prefecture Lord position through seizing the golden sword.”

The old man with flaming red hair and that scarlet snake in his ears slapped his hands together. “When I was young, I should’ve become the Prefecture Lord! But at that time, I was simply too much of a show-off and ended up losing to my big brother, Ji Young. That old bastard Young ended up taking the Prefecture Lord position and has been in that position for eighty years!”

“Eighty full years!”

“I’ve been waiting all this time. Every day has been a crucible.” Lee ground his teeth. “I didn’t expect that his line of descent would produce someone like Yichuan! He truly is a glorious, outstanding talent. Fortunately, fortunately, Yichuan is only interested in training to become an Immortal and doesn’t care about becoming the Prefecture Lord. Yichuan was simply too arrogant today. He actually chose such a path for his son.”

“It seems it is the will of Heaven that we take the Prefecture Lord’s position.” The middle-aged man said excitedly.

“Don’t be hasty.”

Lee shouted. “When I was young, that loss I suffered taught me…that a person can’t be too happy before one has actually succeeded! What we need to do is prepare!”

“Father, do you mean to say…” The man asked.

Lee was frowning in concentration.

Time slowly passed. The middle aged man sat off to one side, not daring to disturb him. He knew his father was thinking.

“Right!” Ji Lee suddenly said in a soft voice. “That’s what we’ll do!”

The middle-aged man looked at his father. “Father, what is your plan?”

“In order to seize the golden sword, one must defeat all of the youths of the tribes and the descendants of the Ji clan.” Lee said in a low voice. “Although there are few clan members, they are able to acquire a large amount of treasures and secret manuals, while although there are many youths in the tribes, very few will get any treasures. But despite that, in the quadrennial Golden Sword Ceremony, out of every five or six ceremonies, only once will a Ji clan member win.”

The middle-aged man nodded. “There are simply too many tribe members. There will always be an extremely talented person who emerges. However, no matter how great their talent, we won’t teach them the truly powerful arts of the Ji clan. We’ll only teach them some of the lesser arts. Although those youths of the tribes might be powerful during the Golden Sword Ceremony, after seventy or eighty years, the most powerful exponents are those of the Ji clan.”

“What I mean to do is…” Ji Lee said in a whisper. “Select a few outstanding youths from the tribes and give them a large amount of treasures and resources and train them. Without my training, those tribal youth talents are already so powerful. Once they receive my training, they will definitely skyrocket in power and become even mightier! I refuse to believe that the son of Yichuan will be able to defeat all of them and seize the golden sword.”

“Right. Right.” The middle-aged man hurriedly nodded.

Usually, the treatment of the tribal youths and of the Ji clan members were totally different.

The Ji clan youths were of one family. Naturally, the Ji clan would treat them much better. But in dealing with the youths of the tribes, they would have to both draw them close and also control them well! But this time…he would use all of his talent to cultivate the most promising youths!

“Father, if you do this, then Ji Yichuan’s son will definitely lose.” The middle-aged man said confidently.

“Hahaha…” Lee laughed. “Remember. Plant some of our people by Yichuan’s side. I want to know how rapidly Yichuan’s son grows in power. Only knowing one’s own power and one’s opponent’s power will one gain victory!”

“Yes!” The middle-aged man’s eyes were shining.

……

Yuchi Snow gently placed her son down atop the warm bed.

“Ning, be a good boy and sleep tight.” Snow gently kissed her son’s face, then lay down on the bed as well.

A pained look was on Ning’s face.

He wiped the corner of his lips. He had just drank breast milk. What a weird sensation.

The events of the past twenty four hours were simply too shocking, too unbelievable. First, he had passed the Bridge of Despair, but then, just before he was to drink Grandma Meng’s Elixir, a great upheaval had occurred in the Netherworld Kingdom. It was as though the world was about to shatter. He had been lucky enough to react in time and jump into the Mortal Realm’s tunnel, and had been reincarnated into this world.

A snow white hound who was his ‘Uncle White’?

A several hundred-meter giant black python that could raise its head up to the level of a house, and also transform into a black-haired middle aged man, who was his ‘Uncle Black’?

And now, he was supposed to seize some golden sword and become some Prefecture Lord?

Hey guys, did you think about asking me how I feel about all this?

“Bah. Infants have no human rights.” Ji Ning licked the milk from the corner of his lips while pondering. Still, a hint of excitement was in his eyes. “Time to train!”

The very first day he had arrived here, he had sensed that his clan was a powerful one. How could a clan capable of commanding countless tribes be ordinary? But clearly, the position of Prefecture Lord had aroused interest from all sides. That old fellow with the red snake in his ear wasn’t weak either. He dared to argue against the Prefecture Lord and squabble with Ning’s father.

Screw it!

Ning was still just an infant. There was no reason for him to worry about all these things. Right now, the most important thing was to train. Train in the visualization technique – Nuwa Painting.

The Nuwa Painting, according to the Lord of Cui Palace, was something which would allow him to be an outstanding figure, even if he had been born into the Heaven Realm and had joined the Celestial Host, much less here in the Mortal Realm. In the Mortal Realm, it definitely would be the most top tier of visualization techniques. Such a precious technique that had been deeply engrained into his mind was the most powerful source of support he would have in this world.

In his past life, he had been tormented by illness for eighteen years. He had been exhausted just by strolling for half an hour. He had simply had enough of that powerless sensation! The sensation of being powerless in the face of death! He had enough! Enough! Enough!!! He would take his destiny into his own hands, and that destiny was to follow the path that the Lord of Cui Palace had spoken to him of: Training to become an Immortal!

Training to become an Immortal was the only choice he would make!

Ning closed his eyes and began.

A hint of natural energy slowly began to enter Ji Ning’s body. It was being attracted into his consciousness and began to strengthen his soul. But because only a tiny amount of natural energy was being absorbed, neither Yichuan nor Snow noticed at all.

The visualization technique was capable of absorbing natural energy?

This was simply incredible.

The reason was, this wasn’t an Immortal training technique, nor was it a Immortal magic technique. If it was an Immortal training technique, it would wildly devour the surrounding natural energy. But the visualization technique, despite absorbing just a bit of natural energy…was already quite incredible.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Tiny threads of elemental energy constantly entered Ning’s infant body.

Natural energy repeatedly entered his body and cleansed his body. Infants were born pure. Only after experiencing life would they be sullied by the dirt and grime of the world. But right now, Ning’s body had very few impurities within it. With the natural energy repeatedly cleansing him, he quickly became incomparably pure, as pure as a newborn!

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Chapter 5 – Ji Clan

Chapter 5: Ji Clan

The rays of the spring sun shone down with lazy warmth.

A red-lipped, pale-faced child was standing with arms stretched out, while a fur-clad young lady was quickly and carefully helping him get dressed in his fur clothes. Another young lady was waiting next to him with a basin of water and a bowl with rough salt.

“In my past life, I was always sick and dressed myself. I didn’t expect that in this life, I would not only be perfectly healthy, I would also have servants to take care of me.” Ji Ning had been served by people since he was born. When he sometimes automatically began to dress himself out of habit, the two terrified maids, ‘Spring Grass’ and ‘Autumn Leaf’, immediately fell to their knees, trembling in absolute terror.

“Give it to me.”

Now dressed, Ning took over the black bowl of rock salt and headed outside the room. He walked to a nearby fountain, then began to use those white, tough pieces of rock salt to ‘brush his teeth’.<!–more–>

“What a disaster this era is. There are no toothbrushes. I have to use my hands to brush my teeth! And there’s no tooth paste, only rock salt!” Ning quickly finished brushing his teeth. Actually, he wasn’t sure why, but he was extremely clean ever since he was born, and he didn’t have any mouth odor. There was no need for him to brush his teeth, but his mother forced him to do it anyways.

“Gargle.” Ji Ning raised his head, then spat out a mouthful of water, then handed the basin to the nearby maid, Spring Grass.

The maid, Autumn Leaf, then offered him a blue stone bowl for washing his face. Ji Ning quickly washed his face, then wiped the water off with a cloth.

“Autumn Leaf.” Ning stared at her. “In your tribe, do you also use salt to brush your teeth?”

Although he was already four years old and had read many books of the clan and had learned many things, he actually didn’t know much about the situation inside the tribes.

“How could that be possible?” Autumn Leaf had a slightly freckled face. “Even the table salt which we use in the tribes aren’t as white and as clean as this salt. How can we use it to brush our teeth? The men and women of the tribe just use water to rinse their teeth. Many will go their entire lives without brushing their teeth. And also, this sort of basin is extremely valuable and is usually used to boil soup. How can we use it to brush our teeth?”

Boil soup?

Ning rubbed his eyes. This basin could be used to boil soup?

“Let’s go eat.” Ning turned his head and walked away, with the two maids behind him.

…

“Father. Mother.” Ning arrived in the main hall and immediately stood there and bowed.

“Mm.”

His father, Ji Yichuan, was seated in front, while his mother was seated to the left. His own position was towards the right. In front of him was a black, marble table, with three big bowls on it. One contained steaming, aromatic meat, another had thick yet soft pastries, and the third was a bowl of hot water. This was his breakfast.

If this breakfast for a four year old was placed on Earth, it would probably be enough for three adults to eat. But in this world…every child could eat a tremendous amount of food. Ning was no different.

“Mmm, it tastes so good.” Ning grabbed a chunk of meat from the first bowl and ate it. Despite having the taste buds of an Earth human, he still felt the food was delicious. Ning knew…because his body was physically average, ever since he was young, he had been fed special food. The meat he ate wasn’t meat from ordinary beasts; it was meat from magical, monstrous beasts. In the tribes, monster meat was extremely rare and precious, but Ning was able to eat it every single day.

It had special effects. It would make Ning stronger!

“I’m done eating!” Ning ate very fast; it could be described as simply ‘scarfing the food down’. And then, with a gurgle, he drank all the hot water as well.

“Let’s go.” Ning ran out, with Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf chasing after him.

Snow watched her son run away and laughed, “Although Ning was rather weak when he was born, that’s only because he was injured while in the womb. His potential is still very high. Look, every day, he’s able to eat so much monster meat. His body will definitely grow stronger.”

Yichuan nodded as well. Monstrous beasts weren’t like ordinary animals. Monstrous beasts absorbed the natural elemental energy of the world, and their flesh contained that energy as well. Normally, children wouldn’t be hungry for two days if they ate it for breakfast, but Ning ate it for three meals a day. Clearly, he was able to absorb it all.

………………..

The two maids were carrying thick books behind Ning. Behind them were eighteen massive guards who wore scarlet red armor. The red armored guards had mysterious runes scrawled onto their armor, which faintly seemed to hum with a strange energy, causing all of them to emanate a powerful aura.

The Crimson Guards were the most powerful soldiers of the Ji clan. The West Prefecture only had a hundred Crimson Guards who listened only to the command of Ji Yichuan.

Yichuan arranged eighteen Crimson Guards to protect Ning at all times. If Ning was to ever be outside the house, the eighteen Crimson Guards would stay right by his side.

“To the training yard.” Ning’s journey was very smooth.

Nobody dared to block his path!

The city of the West Prefecture was a great and massive city. Within the city was hundreds of thousands of citizens, and there were three major areas. They were the inner city, the military camp, and the training grounds.

The inner city was where the Ji clan members of West Prefecture lived. It was the central administrative area!

The military camp was the place where the soldiers controlled by the Ji clan of West Prefecture were stationed.

The training grounds was where the youths of the Ji clan and of the many tribes controlled by the Ji clan would come to train.

The inner city and the training grounds were connected by a straight line. Ning led his servants and guards directly towards the central training grounds. The vast training plaza currently had thousands on thousands of youths there training.

“Look, it is Ji Ning!”

“The only child of the Raindrop Sword? Ji Ning?”

“Are his female slaves holding books? When those roving merchants came to my clan in the past to sell books, I heard that that the cost of each book was a thousand lambskins.”

Many of the youths in the training grounds were talking amongst themselves. There were many who had matured quickly, and thus knew that this child was the son of the number one expert of the Ji clan, Ji Yichuan, the ‘Raindrop Sword’. Many of the youths actually were quite fond of this child, because although Ji Ning came from a powerful and noble clan, he didn’t bully them at all. But no matter how fond of him they were, they wouldn’t dare tease him.

“Oof.” Ji Ning sat down on the chair, his eyes filled with excitement.

In the previous life, he was often by himself, and so now, in his heart, he really enjoyed crowded, rowdy areas.

“Give me the books.” Ning took a thick and heavy book from the hands of Spring Grass. This tome really was thick, roughly twenty centimeters thick, and it was bound by the soft skin of some monstrous beast. In this era where slavery still existed, books were quite precious. Ning, however, could casually flip through the books in their private library and even take a few out.

After being born, Ning had primarily done two things…

The first thing was to train in according to the visualization technique – Nuwa’s Painting. His soul had become strong and sturdy, to the point where he now had photographic memory. Just half a month ago, he had even been able to reach the level of dividing his mind into two.

What did dividing his mind in two meant? For example, he could simultaneously use his left hand to write an essay while using his right hand to paint a painting. It was as though his consciousness had been divided into two parts which didn’t interfere with each other.

Actually, this wasn’t particularly miraculous. According to the books, those who trained in the path to become an Immortal could all use their minds to accomplish multiple things at once. They would be able to use several treasures to attack at the same time. The true brilliance of the Nuwa Painting was that Ji Ning was able to divide his mind in two after visualizing it for just two years.

The second thing he had done was to read!

Half a year after his birth, when Ning was able to form some words, he had hugged a book and pointed at what looked lke some words in it and said, “This, this, this…” Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf, being personal maids, all knew how to read. Naturally, they didn’t dare to not reply. With their help and with guesswork, he soon learned how to recognize the words.

And then, his reading began!

As the saying goes, ‘spending time sharpening the knife makes the cutting go faster’. Although he was fully devoted to the idea of training to become an Immortal, Ning understood that sometimes, haste made for ineffectiveness. Reading was a way of ‘sharpening the knife’ to become an Immortal. First of all, he needed to understand what this world was like. He would also learn more about what it meant to become an Immortal, and what types of Immortals there were, and so on and so forth.

Only after learning about this would he know what the best choice for himself would be!

After reading many books, Ning came to know that the Ji clan of West Prefecture was a small power located within the vast expanse of land ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty!

The territory ruled over by the Ji clan of West Prefecture stretched for three thousand kilometers from north to south and five thousand kilometers from east to west. There were countless tribes who lived on this land, and all of them were ruled by the Ji clan!

What’s more, this was nothing more than the Ji clan of West Prefecture.

The Ji clan was an ancient clan. It was divided into the Central Prefecture, the East Prefecture, the West Prefecture, the North Prefecture, and the South Prefecture. All five Prefectures combined made up the entirety of the Ji clan!

However…the Grand Xia Dynasty was simply too large. Its territory was nearly limitless, and it was an ancient dynasty which was born during the ‘Fiendgod Era’. Over a trillion years had passed since the terrifying Fiendgod Era. For a dynasty to be able to last a trillion years was something which Ning found to be inconceivable.

The Ji clan was nothing more than a small power within the borders of the Grand Xia Dynasty, but to the countless local surrounding tribes, the Ji clan was definitely their absolute rulers!

“This truly is a world where Immortals and Devils abound.” Ji Ning sighed mentally. “Ordinary mortal realms find it hard for an Empire to sustain for even a thousand years, but in this ancient world, an ancient, large empire is something which is beyond my imagination.

“Right. It has been over two year since I was born, and I know very little about training to become an Immortal. It is time I begin.”

He had spent a year in the womb, and when he was born, it was winter, while a new year had come soon after that. Thus, he had lived in this world for over two years now.

….

That very night.

Both sides of the main hall were filled with lit lamps, and the entire hall was extremely bright. His father continued to sit where he usually sat, with his mother on the left and Ning on the right. The table was still covered with meat as well as plates of vegetables and grains.

“Nom nom nom.” Ning blew through the meat on the table like a twister, and then raised his head up. “Father, mother!”

“Hrm, what is it?” Yichuan looked at his son, and Snow did as well.

Although their son’s intelligence caused them boundless joy, it didn’t startle them too much, because in this vast world, there were plenty of people who were devilishly clever.

“I want to train!” Ning said seriously. “I wish to train to become an Immortal!”

Seeing the serious look on her son’s face, Snow began to laugh. “Train to become an Immortal? Yichuan, our son wishes to train to become an Immortal!”

“Immortal?” Yichuan looked at his son coolly. “Do you know what training to become an Immortal means?”

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Chapter 6 – The Path to Immortal Training

Chapter 6 – The Path to Immortal Training

“I don’t know. Please instruct me, father.” Ning said respectfully.

Actually, after having read so many books, Ning had learned about it long ago. But as a four year old child, there was no need for him to appear so devilishly intelligent.

“Then I will tell you and let you understand.” Yichuan’s voice was like ice. “First, let’s talk about the seven major stages.”

“The first stage, Houtian. Lifespan of a hundred years.”

“The second stage, Xiantian. Lifespan of two hundred years”

“The third stage, Zifu, the ‘Violet Palace’. At this level, one will be addressed as Zifu Disciple. Lifespan of five hundred years.”

“The fourth stage, Wanxiang, ‘Manifestations’. At this level, one will be addressed as Wanxiang Adept. Lifespan of eight hundred years.”

“The fifth stage, Primal. Can be referred to as Primal Daoist.”

“The sixth stage, Void. Can be referred to as ‘Land Immortal’, or ‘Earth Immortal’. In the later levels of the Void stage, a heavenly tribulation will test them. If they fail, then they will die and their spirits will be extinguished. If a Primal’s body is destroyed but manages to escape with his soul, then he will become a ‘Loose Immortal’, whose power is roughly on par with the ‘Earth Immortals’.”

“The seventh stage, Celestial Immortal. Only at this stage can one be considered to have ascended beyond the Three Realms and no longer be formed by the Five Elements!”

Yichuan stared at Ning after speaking. He wanted to see the look of awe and surprise on his son’s face…but Ning was just listening intently.

“You say you wish to train to become an Immortal. Thus, I wish you to know how hard it is to become an Immortal.” Ji Yichuan’s voice sank down. “The first obstacle to becoming an Immortal…is to pass from the Houtian stage to the Xiantian stage!”

“What does Xiantian mean? Only a lifeform which was naturally born by the heavens and the earth can be described as a Xiantian lifeform. In the distant Fiendgod Era, there were Fiendgods that were born naturally by the heavens and by the earth and which possessed tremendous power from their birth. In addition, there are those who are reborn into the Heavenly Realms as ‘Devas’ or as ‘Asuras’. These Devas and Asuras are all birthed by nature itself, and thus by their very nature, they are a Xiantian lifeform. This makes it very fast for them to train, because only Xiantian life forms can train to become an Immortal!”

“It is impossible for mortals to train to become an Immortal…but the Heavens always leave a thread of hope. Thus, in the past, benevolent elders created a set of training techniques which can allow the bodies of ordinary people become akin to the bodies of Xiantian lifeforms. Only then did it become possible for ordinary people to train to become an Immortal.”

“But for an ordinary person to become a Xiantian lifeform is against the natural laws of the universe, making it very hard! The success rate is lower than one in ten thousand! Tell me, is it hard or not?”

Ning continued to listen.

Xiantian lifeform? If it wasn’t for that huge disturbance in the Netherworld Kingdom, he probably would have already reincarnated and become a Deva in the Heavenly Realms. Naturally, that would mean he would already be a Xiantian lifeform. However, currently he was a mortal…and indeed, for a mortal to reach the Xiantian stage was an extremely difficult path.”

“The second great obstacle to becoming an Immortal…from the Xiantian stage to the Zifu stage!”

“Only by establishing a Zifu, also known as a ‘Violet Palace’, can one continue to train as an Immortal. Establishing a ‘Violet Palace’ is like laying the ‘foundation’ when building a house, or seeding the fields in order to harvest the crops. The Violet Palace is the crop field and is the core for an Immortal. It is the basic underpinning of the path of Immortals! Only after one has truly established a ‘Violet Palace’ in one’s body can one embark on the route to becoming an Immortal. And only then can one be titled a Zifu Disciple! For a Xiantian expert to establish a ‘Violet Palace’…perhaps one in a thousand will succeed. Tell me, is it hard or not?”

Ning nodded.

Right. It was hard.

At the same time, he continued to listen carefully. The books of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture only described these two obstacles. They didn’t describe the obstacles after that.

“In order to establish a Zifu and become an Immortal, one must possess a world-shaking power.”

“But becoming an Immortal, by its very nature, is against the laws of the universe. Thus, starting from the day you step onto the path of the Immortals, in other words from the day on which you establish your Zifu, you will be tested every three hundred years. Every nine hundred years, you will undergo a major tribulation. Thus, as the saying goes, ‘Three centuries a calamity, nine centuries a tribulation. Calamities are easy to avoid, but tribulations are hard to escape!’ A test every three centuries, and a tribulation every nine…after embarking on the path to becoming an Immortal, this will continue forever, unless you become a Celestial Immortal. Otherwise, the ‘Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations’ will become your eternal fate.”

Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations?

Three centuries a calamity, nine centuries a tribulation. Calamities are easy to avoid, but tribulations are hard to escape?

Ning truly was shocked by this. Unless one became a Celestial Immortal, everyone who trained in the path of Immortals would have to deal with a test every three centuries.

….

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow looked at their son. Right now, there was a look of shock and disbelief on their son’s face. Seeing the stunned look, Yichuan nodded slightly. He had finally managed to shock the little rascal.

“Our son is still very young. Why did you tell him all those things?” Snow said unhappily.

“Mother.” Ji Ning lifted his head up, a smile on his lips. “It is fine.”

Ji Yichuan looked at him in surprise.

“Father.” Ji Ning laughed. “From mortal to Xiantian, from Xiantian to Zifu. These two obstacles alone…are extremely difficult. The ‘Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations’ are very distant and very far off. I don’t need to worry about them at all for now.”

“Mm.” Yichuan nodded. “Your attitude isn’t bad. You are correct. Right now, there truly is no need for you to think about becoming a Zifu Disciple. That’s too far away for you. At the vast area around Mount Swallow, the strongest people in the countless tribes and in the Ji clan are only at the Zifu Disciple level. The path of the Immortals is a hard one. Even our massive Grand Xia Dynasty would perhaps produce only a single Celestial Immortal in the space of a million years.”

Ning nodded gently.

In the Netherworld Kingdom, the Ruler of Cui Palace had told him that the ‘Nuwa Painting’ would only give him a chance at becoming a Celestial Immortal, and that there were still many obstacles to overcome. And that was assuming that he was going to be a Deva and also a soldier in the armies of Heaven. From this, one could imagine how hard it was for one to become a Celestial Immortal. To escape the confines of the Three Realms and no longer be subject to the Five Elements wasn’t so easily done.

“Do you still desire to train to become an Immortal?” Yichuan looked at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Yichuan nodded slightly. If the boy had been terrified just by hearing about this, Yichuan would have been disappointed. What he didn’t know was…how could Ning possibly be scared as easily as this? There was nothing without risk. Even walking on the street, one might be killed by a rock falling down from the skies. Even when eating, one might choke to death. Training to become an Immortal naturally would be extremely risky. It would be bizarre if it wasn’t.

“However…” Yichuan frowned. “You are too young, and training techniques are very complicated. If I was to transmit a high-class Immortal training technique to you and you trained in a wrong direction, it would harm your body. But ordinary Immortal techniques aren’t worth learning…”

“Father.” Ning said. “I wish to learn the Fiendgod Body Refining Technique.”

“Oh? You know about Body Refining?” Yichuan was extremely surprised, and Snow began to laugh. “It seems our son has read quite a few books. He even knows that there are two main paths of Immortal training.”

There were two primary paths of training to become an Immortal.

The first was in Ki Refining, refining ki energy! 99% of those who trained to become an Immortal chose this path. This path allowed one to use many mysterious Immortal treasures, create complicated golems, control large amounts of deadly magical beasts, develop powerful magical formations, and also use some extremely vile techniques…in a word, this was an extremely glorious and profound path.

The other path was in Body Refining.

Supposedly, the three Realms had each given birth to many Fiendgods. All of them were born from nature itself and were powerful from their birth! As for the creator of the universe, Pangu, he himself was the mightiest of them, the Fiendgod of Primordial Chaos. He also possessed the most powerful body…and thus, a number of elders managed to develop this ‘Fiendgod Body Refining’ technique, which would allow the practitioners to possess bodies on par with Fiendgods. Indestructible bodies, possession of boundless strength, having three heads and six arms, regenerating from a single drop of blood, immortal and undying…these all belonged to the Fiendgod Body Refining method.

Reputedly, at the same level of development, a Fiendgod Body Refiner would be able to totally suppress his opponents!

“Body Refining is a hundred times more difficult than Ki Refining.” Yichuan said seriously. “The Fiendgod Body Refining method allows one to possess the power of a Fiendgod. How powerful is that? Hard, very hard…”

“Father, first I’ll train the body. Afterwards, I will develop Ki.” Ning said. “These two training methods can be simultaneously progressed in. By then, I’ll take whatever path I am most skilled in, which will be my primary path. In addition, weren’t you afraid that I am too young and that training in ki will damage my veins? The Fiendgod Body Refining technique doesn’t have this risk.”

Yichuan and Snow glanced at each other.

It seemed their son had thought things through. Indeed, the Fiendgod Body Refining technique primarily exercised the entire body’s muscles and internal organs. As for the blood vessels? It didn’t have much to do with that at all. It must be known that Innate Fiendgods came in all types, and their veins were totally different from the veins of human beings. The benevolence of those ancestors had developed the Fiendgod Body Refining technique from the bodies of the Fiendgods. Naturally, they ignored the veins.

“Alright!” Yichuan nodded. “The Fiendgod Body Refining method is incomparably precious. Our Ji clan in total has nineteen books on Fiendgod Body Refining scattered through our five prefectures. I will let you choose the one you wish to train in!”

“Yes.” Ning was extremely excited.

“Brother Black.” Yichuan shouted towards the outside.

A black-haired middle-aged man appeared from outside. His eyes faintly glowed with red light, and his eyes were rather long. It was the human form of that massive black python.

“Uncle Black.” Ning hurriedly called out. Two years ago, when he was born, he had learned that this black haired man was a Diremonster who had already trained to reach the ‘Xiantian lifeform’ stage. Generally speaking, animals who had reached a certain level of intelligence would be called ‘monsters’. After beginning to absorb the energy of nature, since they didn’t possess special training techniques, it was even harder for them to train than it was for humans. Only when they broke through to become Xiantian lifeforms would they possess the ability to transform themselves!

The black-haired man smiled and nodded. “Yichuan, what do you need?”

“I’d like to trouble you to make a journey to the library.” Yichuan said. “Bring the abridged versions of those nineteen training methods of the Fiendgod Body Refining techniques here. Ning wants to use them.”

“Ning wants to use them?” The black-haired man looked at Ning with a laugh. “Someone who trains with the Fiendgod Body Refining would have the power of a Fiendgod. It seems Ning is quite ambitious.”

Hua!

The black-haired man disappeared into thin air.

Ning took a deep breath as he waited. Uncle Black spoke the truth. He was indeed ambitious. The first reason was because he knew that due to his youth, his father probably wouldn’t allow him to train in Ki Refining. Self-study? Ning didn’t have the confidence. The second was that the Fiendgod Body Refining method had some very powerful benefits. To kill a Fiendgod practitioner was more than a thousand times more difficult than to kill a ki practitioner! Fiendgod Body Refining experts, at the same level, could totally dominate a Ki Refining expert!

They had both strong self-preservation abilities and strong power. Just based on these two alone, Ning took a liking to the Fiendgod Body Refining method.

Hu!

A gentle wind appeared out of nowhere, and the black-haired man appeared in the middle of a hall, a smile on his face. “Nineteen copies of abridged versions of Fiendgod Body Refining techniques.”

“Ning.” Yichuan looked at his son. “The abridged versions only have the first parts of each Immortal training technique, combined with a summary and description of the technique. Take a close look and see which one you want.”

The black-haired man placed the nineteen tomes in front of Ning.

Every single tome was very thin. After all, these were abridged versions. Even if they were stolen, they wouldn’t pose a loss for the Ji clan. They couldn’t possibly place precious Immortal training copies in their entirety in the library, after all. However, even these abridged versions of the Fiendgod Body Refining weren’t freely available for others to see. This was why Yichuan had sent the black-haired man to make the trip.

“Nineteen tomes.”

Ning began to read in earnest.

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Chapter 7 – Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens

Chapter 7 – Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens

One thin abridged book after another was placed on the table, and Ning instantly began to scan the names of each of these books.

[Calamity Fiend] [Indestructible Blood Fiend] [Song of the Inferno] [Vajra Buddhist Sutras] [Freeform Soul] [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] [Eternal Mysteries of the Yellow Earth] [Spirit Fox Sutra] [Sutra of the Future Buddha] …

Every single book was covered with ancient, strange-looking characters. Fortunately, Ning had learned these words after Ning had been born into this world.

Ning took a deep breath. This was a critical choice! One which would determine his destiny!

He picked up a book and began to read.

[Calamity Fiend]. To train it, one needed to cover one’s body with magic tattoos and use hellfire to temper one’s body. It was extremely painful. After covering the body with nine different types of magic tattoos and after having been tempered by hellfire 81 times, the body would totally transform and become that of a Xiantian lifeform, instantly acquiring boundless strength, the ability to belch hellfire, and immediately regrow a severed arm. This was an extremely hard yet extremely fast way of training. Theoretically, one only needed 81 days in order to reach the Xiantian level.

[Indestructible Blood Fiend]. The pain this caused was even greater than that of the [Calamity Fiend] training method. It required three years of magic tattoos, three years of a hellish, tormented existence.

[Song of the Inferno]. This required one to train next to a blazing inferno, then to be engulfed by a blazing inferno, and then finally to enter the lava of a volcano without being harmed at all. It required a person to become one with fire. Once a person could control the limitless power of fire, the one would be considered to have reached the Xiantian level…

Reading these three, Ning began to frown.

Why was it that these Fiendgod training methods were all so painful? It was worse than torture!

“You foolish child.” Snow couldn’t help but speak out. “Only a few Fiendgod Body Refining methods are truly painful. Only five of these nineteen books are excruciating painful. The others aren’t nearly as bad. I didn’t expect that the first three you picked up…”

“Oh!” Ning let out a sigh of relief.

Yichuan, seated nearby, said coldly, “Fiendgod Body Refining is far more difficult than Ki Refining. For a mortal to become a Xiantian lifeform is against the natural law of the world. To reach that level through the most difficult method, the Fiendgod Body Refining method…of course it is hard! In addition, these methods which require miserable agony and difficulties, although they are quick, can be considered heterodox methods which cannot be considered to have a good foundation.”

Ning nodded as he continued to read.

[Vajra Buddhist Sutras]. This was a type of Buddhist Vajra training method.

[Freeform Soul]. It required an extremely long period of time to train, but after reaching the Xiantian level, it allowed one to freely transform one’s body and filled one with life. Even if one was chopped into many tiny pieces, one would quickly reform. This was one of the topmost life-preserving types of Fiendgod Body Training.

[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Without question, the number one type of Fiendgod Body Training method!

“What?!”

Ning’s eyes turned hungry, and he immediately stared at the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and began to read carefully.

The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had nine parts.

The first three levels were for the Houtian stage.

The middle three levels were for Xiantian lifeforms.

The later three levels were for the Zifu stage.

“It really is different. Those other training methods, at their peak, only allowed the trainees to become peak Xiantian lifeforms. But this [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] allows a person to reach the peak Zifu level.” Ning continued to read carefully despite his excitement.

Upon reaching the Xiantian level, one would be able to control water and fire, and also possess astonishing physical strength. One’s body would be light and agile, and all six of the senses would be sharpened. Severed limbs would regrow.

Upon reaching the Zifu level, one would be able to regenerate from a single drop of blood. Upon reaching the Wanxiang stage, one would have amazing powers, such as growing three heads and six arms, the Kuafu Sunchaser ability, or Shining Dragon Eyes ability. But of course, the prerequisite was that one would need to be trained in these magical powers.

Fiendgod Body Refining adepts were able to easily suppress Ki Refining adepts of the same level.

But the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was able to suppress all other types of Fiendgod Body Refining techniques!

This was publicly knowledged!

There was no dispute!

But training in it was extremely hard, the hardest of all. This, too, was undisputed!

“That will be my choice!” After flipping through the remaining Fiendgod Body Refining books, without hesitating at all, Ning made his choice. “[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!”

“You’ve chosen?” Yichuan looked at his son.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Yichuan said slowly, “Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens’. This is publicly acknowledged by everyone in the world as the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining method. It is far more profound than the likes of the ‘Song of the Inferno’, the ‘Vajra Buddhist Sutra’, or the ‘Calamity Fiend’ techniques. And that’s just at the Zifu level. The later stages of it are even more profound. If you are able to become a Zifu Disciple, it would be very easy for you to advance to higher levels as well.”

“This is the most widely spread and most easily obtainable type of Fiendgod Body Refining technique.” Yichuan looked at his son. “But it is also the hardest!”

Ning laughed.

He had spent two years here in this world reading many books. He knew that refining techniques were extremely important! The more profound the training technique, the harder it was to train in. For the higher level books regarding the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] to be easily obtainable meant that it was all the more important for him to choose this one.

“It has the greatest power! The undisputed best!”

“It is the most widespread one!”

“It is the most easily obtainable method!”

Yichuan looked at his son. “It has countless merits, and just one flaw; it is extremely difficult! There hasn’t been a single member of the Ji clan of any of our five Prefectures who managed to reach the fourth part and become a Xiantian lifeform.”

“What? Not a single member of the Ji clan in all five Prefectures has been able to use it to become a Xiantian lifeform?” Ning was shocked.

It was fine if they didn’t reach the Zifu stage.

But not even one had reached the Xiantian lifeform stage?

“Right.” Yichuan said. “Not a single one. Because it is simply too hard, far harder than you can imagine. But I must admit that it is the most mysterious and most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining method. Even in the legends of the Fiendgods, this technique is the most powerful one!”

“Then this will be my choice!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all.

He was born into the world with the likes of the [Nuwa Painting], one of the highest class visualization techniques which would allow him to stand out even amongst the armies of Heaven. With such a firm foundation, how could he not at least give it a shot? Even if he failed, that wouldn’t be a big deal. He could then choose to train in another technique.

“Fine!” Yichuan revealed a rare smile on his face. He was very happy with his son’s resoluteness. “Then I will go get the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] for you.”

“Thank you, father.” Ning was filled with anticipation.

…..

Dark night.

The door to the room was closed, and inside the room, the arm-thick candles were flickering. There were only three people in the room. Yichuan, Snow, and their son, Ning.

Ning was holding an extremely thick book with scarlet red letters and reading through it. This was the legendary, most powerful of techniques: [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

“It really is hard.” Ning was frowning as he read it.

The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had several major obstacles.

The first was the introduction. In order to begin training in it, one had to be able to sense the ‘Great Yang’ (the Sun) and the ‘Great Yin’ (the Moon) in the skies. Many other Fiendgod training methods required the absorption of elemental energy, such as fire, water, or electricity in order to build up power. But the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] required its practitioners to immediately begin sensing those two greatest of celestial bodies, and to absorb the energy of the Sun and the Moon.

Many trainees simply couldn’t sense the Sun and the Moon at all. And this was just the first step!

Afterwards, by absorbing the energy of the Sun and the Moon, one’s entire body would become covered with divine tattoos. This was the second part! After the Divine Sun Tattoo and the Divine Moon Tattoo were completely formed, one could be considered as having completed the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! Actually, from this very first level, one could tell how unimaginably profound this technique was, because many of the other techniques, such as the [Calamity Fiend] technique, all relied on physically carving the magic tattoos onto one’s body.

But for the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], those tattoos would be formed naturally, and the divine tattoos were of the Moon and the Sun!

Once the first level was mastered, one was usually able to easily reach the third level without any problems.

But breaking through to the fourth level and becoming a Xiantian lifeform was even more difficult.

It required ‘Yin and Yang to Fuse, Water and Fire Become One’. Only then could one break past and become a Xiantian lifeform.

The later obstacles…those were too far off. There was no need to worry about them.

“Whew.” Finishing reading, Ning let out a long breath.

Yichuan and Snow looked at their son.

“Father, please instruct me with regards to the mysteries hidden within the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].” Ning looked at his father.

“Understanding the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is very easy.” Yichuan said. “All you need to do is follow the instructions on the pictures. There are nine pictures to the first level. It is very simple.”

Ning nodded. He had read many books in this world, and when he flipped through it, he had quickly learned what the training method was. But he was worried that he might have missed some sort of profound meaning. After all, training was something he couldn’t be too rash about. Since his father had said that the instructions in this book were very clear, then it was time to start.

Ning closed his eyes and raised his fists, then bowed down…this was the first diagram: Bowing to the Sun and the Moon!

He carried out all of the movements in accordance with the pictures, seeming almost to move in accordance with a strange ritual dance, and his body carried within it a strange, ancient aura.

“Hrm?” Yichuan was surprised.

“His very first attempts at the movement are so accurate and so precise.” Snow was surprised as well. Although most people wanted to make the movements properly, they wouldn’t actually be able to do so as precisely as they wished. However, Ning had been training in accordance to the [Nuwa Painting] since his birth. His soul was very powerful, and he had extremely strong control over his body as a result. Given that he had also constantly been cleansed by the energy of nature and his soul was as pure as an infants, it was quite natural that he could easily make accurate movements.

Hua!

Ning’s final movement was to sit down in a kneeling position, his two arms hanging down in front of him, as though one was resting on the sun while the other was resting on the moon.

Utter silence.

Yichuan and Snow were holding their breaths as well. They knew that it was the critical movement. The earlier dancing movements were only for the purpose of allowing one to sense the ‘Great Yang’ (the Sun) and the ‘Great Yin’ (the Moon). Whether or not Ning would be able to sense those two most exalted of stellar bodies…

Despite this just being the introductory part to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], it had prevented countless people from training in it.

The two of them knew that the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was the hardest Fiendgod Body Refining method to train, and they knew that the chance of their four year old son being able to master the introductory part was very low. However, parents always hoped that their children would succeed. They waited, hoping for a joyous surprise to happen…

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Chapter 8 – The Moon in One Hand, the Sun in the Other

Chapter 8 – The Moon in One Hand, the Sun in the Other

Ning could feel his consciousness passing through multiple layers of the world’s obstructions, constantly going forward…after passing through countless layers, he entered an infinite, endless void. Deep within that infinite void was two incomparably enormous stellar bodies.

One was an enormous stellar body which had huge plumes of raging flames dancing on its surface. It seemed like an enormous ball of flame, and it illuminated the endless void.

The other was covered with a layer of unending ice, with an enormous osmanthus tree in the middle of the ice. The stellar body’s cold light also illuminated part of the world.

These two ancient stellar bodies, one was the Solar Star (the Sun), the other was the Lunar Star (the Moon).

“Too beautiful. Too incredible.” Ning was absolutely stunned. He felt that he could even ‘see’ those enormous plumes of flame and ‘see’ the enormous leaves of the osmanthus tree.

Others, when training in accordance with the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], found it very hard to even hazily sense the Solar Star and the Star, but Ning could even ‘see’ the plumes of flame and the leaves on the osmanthus tree.

….

Within the hall.

Yichuan and Snow were watching in astonishment. They saw countless spots of starlight appear in the area around Ning. The countless spots of starlight were primarily gold and silver in color; scorching hot gold starlight and ice cold silver starlight. They swirled around Ning, not stopping in any location. Slowly, beneath Ning’s left hand, a miniature star formed beneath his left hand, and on it an Osmanthus Tree could vaguely be seen. This was the Lunar Star.

And on his right hand, there formed a fiery hot miniature star that was surrounded by a flying Golden Crow. This was the Solar Star.

The Solar Star in one hand, and the Lunar Star in the other.

Surrounded by starlight, Ning’s face seemed so peaceful, so pious.

“This…this…”

Yichuan and Snow looked at each other, stunned.

“The Moon in one hand and the Sun in the other?” Yichuan couldn’t help but show his shock on his face, no matter how calm and collected he normally was. “The Osmanthus Tree was born on one, and the Golden Crow flies around the other?”

“The legendary, ‘Moon in one hand, Sun in the other’?” Snow stared fixedly at the two miniature stellar bodies which had formed in her son’s hands. “And even the Osmanthus Tree and the Golden Crow have appeared…”

The two were in a state of absolute shock. They were not ordinary people. Naturally, they knew much more than the common person, and they had personally read the contents of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] before. They naturally knew what this scene portended. The [Scarlet Diagram of the Nine Shining Heavens] was extremely difficult to train in, and the training speed would normally be very slow.

There were several types of ‘initiations’ one might see.

The first type was called, ‘threads of starlight’. Only two threads of starlight would slowly enter the body. This was the poorest type of initiation and guaranteed that one would be extremely slow in training.

The second type was called ‘clouds of starlight’. A large amount of starlight would surround the body and form a cloud. This was quite good, actually.

The third type, was known as ‘a vortex of starlight, the Moon in one hand, the Sun in the other’. Countless flecks of starlight would swirl around the body like a vortex, while the left hand would form a ‘Lunar Star’, while the right hand would form a ‘Solar Star’. This was the peak result. But if the two miniature stars formed to be so realistic as to even show the ‘Osmanthus Tree on the Lunar Star, Golden Crow on the Solar Star’, then this would be the legendary perfect result.

Actually, it wasn’t strange for this result to occur.

Ning had trained using the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique since he was born, a technique which even in the Deva realm would be a top class technique. He was even capable of dividing his mind. One could imagine how powerful his soul had become. And in addition, after being born, every day he had been nurtured and cleansed by natural elemental energy, rendering his body as pure as a newborn infant’s body, without any impurities. The purity of his body was on par with a Xiantian lifeform!

His body was as pure as a Xiantian lifeform’s.

His soul was so powerful that he could divide his mind.

With these two strengths combined, it was natural that he would have the utmost aptitude for Fiendgod Body Refining.

“For my son to have this sort of natural gift…” Snow’s face had turned red, and she was so excited that her body was shaking. “Yichuan, the Moon in one hand, and the Sun in the other. Osmanthus Tree was born, and the Golden Crow flies! This is something out of the legends! Our son will definitely have great accomplishments when training in accordance to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

“Right.” Yichuan was very excited as well.

When his son was born, he had sensed that his son’s arteries were very weak, and his bones were very ordinary as well. Although he knew that his son had been injured in the womb, he was still somewhat disappointed, because he knew…in this brutal, man-eat-man world, anyone who had no power would find it hard to live a good life. While he was alive, he could protect his son, but what if he died?

“This is my son! The son of Ji Yichuan!” Yichuan held his wife’s hand tightly, and the two stared with excitement and hope towards their son.

Which parents didn’t hope that their ‘children would fly like dragons’?

…..

Ning’s eyes were closed, and he continued to sit on his knees, holding his two hands in front of him limply, with the Lunar Star in one, and the Solar Star in the other.

Those two miniature floating Solar Star and Lunar Stars were separately transmitting energy nonstop into Ning’s body. The power of the Sun and the power of the Moon were quickly absorbed by the ravenous cells in his body, and Ning’s entire musculature and bone structure were undergoing constant transformations.

“Swish…” A layer of ice suddenly appeared on the beast fur clothes which Ning was wearing.

But then, “Crackle crackle crackle.” The back of Ning’s clothes suddenly began to burn with fire.

Both frozen and blazing.

This constant interchange was resulting in his furs starting to split apart.

“Hrm?” Yichuan frowned. He pointed with a finger, and a ray of blue flowing light leaped out of his finger towards Ning’s back, and the already half-ragged fur clothes totally split apart and collapsed, leaving Ning’s back totally bare. On Ning’s tender, young back, there was silver light flashing on the left, while golden light flashing on the right.

On the left, frozen side, the silver light was constantly flowing and slowly forming into a pattern.

On the right, blazing side, the golden light was also constantly flowing and also formed a separate pattern.

“Divine Tattoos!” Snow said softly. “The very first time he trains, he is already beginning to form the Divine Tattoos. Given this tattoo forming speed, in ten days or so the tattoo will have been fully formed. By then, the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] will be done.

“Right.” Yichuan watched quietly.

Time passed…

The Divine Tattoos on Ning’s youthful back continued to grow. One could faintly tell that the left tattoo was that of a rabbit, while the right side was that of a crow.

The two great Divine Tattoos. The Divine Moon Tattoo was that of the Moon Rabbit, while the Divine Sun Tattoo was that of the Golden Crow.

“Hu.” Ning suddenly let out a long breath and opened his eyes. The Divine Tattoos on his back disappeared as well, and the two stellar bodies in his hands quickly dissipated. This caused Ning to be greatly startled. He had carefully read the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and he knew exactly what it meant for him to have the Moon in one hand, the Sun in the other, especially with the Osmanthus Tree being born and the Golden Crow flying.

“What a powerful force.” Ning clenched his fists, feeling his body surge with power. “I’m just a four year old child and I’ve just been initiated into the Fiendgod Body Refining method, but I already am this strong.”

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.

“Put on a change of clothes.” With a wave of his hands, his father Yichuan made a set of children’s fur clothes appear out of midair, then tossed it to his son.

“Yes.” Ning immediately grabbed it.

Snow was still looking at her son, her face filled with joy. The more she looked at him, the happier she felt. Her son was her pride and her joy. On the day he was born, she had been worried about her son’s future…but now, her son had demonstrated such inconceivable potential. As a mother, in her heart, naturally she felt filled with joy.

“Ning.” Yichuan said calmly.

“Father.” Ning listened carefully.

“Your potential is extraordinary. However, if you wish to break through the bottleneck of ordinary lifeforms and become a Xiantian lifeform, and then embark on the road to becoming an Immortal, potential alone isn’t enough.” Yichuan looked at his son. “You need to receive the best instruction possible.”

Ning said respectfully, “Father, please instruct me.”

“Snow.” Yichuan looked at his wife, Yuchi Snow. She nodded, and with a flip of her hand, two items appeared. One was a deep green gemstone, roughly the size of a fingernail. It was cut and very beautiful. The other was a flashing, rainbow-colored, fist-sized rock.

“This deep green stone is known as a kalestone.” Snow smiled. “This is a naturally forming gemstone which contains a miniature dimension inside of it. You can use it as part of a ring and store small items in it, or you can hide and store it within your belt. All you need to do to make it yours is to bind it with blood.”

“Kalestone!” Ning was overjoyed.

Training to become an Immortal was divided into two paths; the Body Refining path and the Ki Refining path.

Body Refiners belonged to the Fiendgod path and didn’t teach someone how to use magical treasures.

Ki Refiners, after becoming Xiantian lifeforms, would be able to control a few low level treasures…but even the lowest of manufactured treasures had a minimum requirement of the user being a Ki Refiner of the Xiantian level. Thus, most Fiendgod Body Refiners would also concurrently train in Ki.

However, Heaven always gave people a chance.

There were some naturally occurring objects which only needed to be bound by blood and didn’t have any strength requirements. kalestone was one of them!

“Bind it first.” Snow handed the kalestone and a shortsword over.

“Yes, Mother.” Ning accepted them. He didn’t hesitate at all, as he gently pricked his finger with the edge of the shortsword. A single drop of blood fell onto the kalestone and was quickly absorbed, giving the kalestone a hint of a blood color.

“Get in.” Ning willed the shortsword in his hand to disappear, and it did, reforming and floating within the miniature dimension inside the kalestone.

“Come out.” The shortsword appeared in his hands.

“How magical.” Ning was absolutely delighted.

He knew long ago that these naturally occurring dimensional gemstones existed. They weren’t like those manufactured treasures, which all had relatively large internal dimensions. The kalestone, as a naturally occurring object, had a much smaller internal dimension. Some were only the size of a fist or a head! These half-meter long ones were definitely an extremely precious treasure.

“Mother.” Ning hurriedly said. “Please help me make a belt and put the kalestone inside of it.”

“Alright.” Snow nodded. “The kalestone can be considered a treasure, but to our Ji clan, it isn’t something particularly valuable. Given your father’s status…a kalestone isn’t even worth discussing! However, the other treasure is something which your father only obtained after a life-and-death crisis!”

Snow solemnly handed over the fist-sized rock which shone with the colors of the rainbow.

“Bind it.” Snow looked at her son.

Ning stuck out his finger and once more pricked it gently with the shortsword. A single drop of blood fell onto that flashing rainbow stone. The blood was quickly absorbed, and inside the rock, countless red ‘arteries’ could suddenly be seen. And then, the fist-sized rock turned into a liquid and flowed towards Ning.

“What’s this?” Ning felt his entire body turn cold.

“It is like the kalestone. It is a naturally occurring treasure. The name of this treasure is the Goldstar Shirt.” Snow explained. “You can use it immediately after binding it. It will quickly enter and become part of your skin. With the protection of the Goldstar Shirt…nothing below the Xiantian lifeform level will be able to harm you with its attacks.”

Ning was shocked. “So powerful?”

He had never read of this in any of the books.

“The Grand Xia Dynasty, from the Fiendgod Era until now, has existed for countless of years, and the territory it rules over is vast. In the area around Swallow Mountain, our Ji clan reigns supreme. But in some of the more distant areas…there are clans that are even more powerful than our Ji clan.” Yichuan said. “In some of those ancient, mighty clans, some of the promising young youths, while they are still young, they will be given this Goldstar Shirt to help protect them.”

Ning was startled. Turning to look at his father, he felt a warm feeling in his heart.

His parents truly were very good to him.

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Chapter 9 – Archery

Chapter 9 – Archery

“Although the Goldstar Shirt is a treasure, I can break through it with a casual finger poke.” Yichuan looked at his son. “These things are all external. In the future, you must have accomplishments in the Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, and in term, Fiendgods specialize in body power. What you need to do is to utilize all of your potential and all of your strength.

“Right.” Ning nodded seriously.

“With the Fiendgod Body Refining, your strength will be great, your movements will be fast, your vision will be clear at great distances, your hearing will be more sensitive, and even your body’s recovery ability will be astonishing!” Yichuan looked at his son. “In order to transform these into true, mighty power…”

“First of all, what you need is a weapon!” Yichuan said. “Your strength might be ten times greater than your opponent’s, but your opponent might be able to shoot you to death from afar with an arrow. That’s what makes a good weapon so powerful.”

“In addition, you must be good at actually wielding a weapon. For example, a swordsman who has no internal strength but who has reached the second level of sword mastery, ‘man and sword become one’, is capable of easily piercing the throat of a powerful yet inexperienced warrior. After all, no matter how much internal strength the warrior has, he can’t block the sharpness of a sword!” Yichuan said slowly.

Ning understood this logic of course.

A powerful but stupid brute who encountered an assassin who was good at wielding shortswords would die in a single exchange of blows!

A strong body was just one aspect. Skill and technique was what determined how much of your power would be actually utilized! For example, in his past life, those competitors in the kickboxing or jujitsu competitions all were roughly on the same level in terms of physical fitness; it was technique and battle strategy which determined their competiveness.

“Tell me, what do you want to learn?” Yichuan looked at his son.

“Ning, son, think carefully.” Snow looked at her son as well.

Actually, in their hearts, they had already mapped out a plan for their son. After all, as they saw it, their son was still too young, even though he was smart and capable. But they still wanted to ask their son what he wanted, so as to help him learn to think everything through. And then, they would tell him what they thought and let him reflect on the differences.

“I want to learn three things.” Ning suddenly said.

“First of all, I wish to learn archery.” Ning said.

He was to walk on the Fiendgod Body Refining path. He would possess astonishing eyesight, and also enormous, heaven-granted strength. Naturally, he had to learn archery. The arrows released by a mighty Fiendgod were definitely capable of breaking past the sound barrier, and the power of its arrows was definitely far greater than the bullets of sniper rifles in his past life. He could kill his opponent from far away. And archery, according to the books he had read, wasn’t too hard to learn.

“Second, I want to learn how to use twin swords!”

The Ji clan specialized in sword techniques!

His father Yichuan was nicknamed the ‘Raindrop Sword’. With a resource such as this at his disposal, he absolutely had to learn how to use swords!

“Twin swords?” Yichuan frowned. “Continue.”

“Third, I need to learn agility-enhancing techniques and escaping techniques.” Ning said. “These are what I need.”

If he encountered a powerful opponent, he would flee!

Only escaping techniques would allow a person to live longer. And the longer one lived, the more possibilities one would have.

Snow laughed. “Ning is headed in the right direction. However, I think it’s best if you first start with single swords…there isn’t a single twin sword expert in the entire Ji clan, and when training in swords, the greatest danger is in losing concentration. You must focus all of your concentration on a single sword. Only this will allow you to achieve greater accomplishments.”

“Your mother’s words are correct.” Yichuan looked at his son.

“Father, mother, I’ve been able to divide my mind since I was born.” Ning raised his head to look at his parents. He wasn’t able to explain about the [Nuwa Painting], and so he just had to claim that he was able to divide his mind since he was born.

“What?!”

“Divide your mind?”

Yichuan and Snow were both shocked.

“Do you know what dividing your mind means?” Yichuan growled. “It isn’t as simple as multitasking. It means that your mind can simultaneously contemplate two separate matters without losing any effectiveness or causing any disruption.”

“I truly can divide my mind.” Ning said hurriedly.

“Then let’s give it a test.” Yichuan’s eyes began to glow with an astonishing light. With one hand, he pulled over two pieces of chalk. “Use these two rocks to write on the ground. With your left hand, write your mother’s name, while with your right hand, write my name. Write simultaneously!”

“Yes, father.” Ning nodded.

Ning took the two pieces of chalk. It felt rather similar to the chalk he had used in his previous life. Immediately, he began to use his hands to write as instructed. Writing with the chalk actually felt quite natural.

Hua! Hua!

His left hand and right hand easily wrote at the same time, and what he wrote was the ancient, complicated script of this world. On one side, he wrote the name, “Ji Yichuan”. On the other, “Yuchi Snow.” His strokes were firm and very graceful.

“Ning, you…” Snow was stunned.

“But…” Yichuan was stunned as well.

“No wonder. No wonder you were able to train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Shining Heavens] so quickly.” Yichuan said slowly. “So our son’s soul is so powerful that he can divide his mind!”

Yichuan looked at his son as though he were looking at a piece of priceless, unpolished jade. Extremely excited, he said, “I’ve only been able to reach the level of dividing my mind because I’ve trained for so long. However, I’ve focused on using a single sword since I was young…my path is set, and hard to change! But my son is able to divide his mind since birth…he is a born twin sword user. He will be able to use twin swords as though two people were wielding them and make his opponents feel like they are being attacked by two people at once. What’s more, those two people will have their hearts and intentions totally linked, increasing the effectiveness ten times over!”

“From today onwards, I will personally train you in using swords!” Yichuan looked at his son.

….

Early next morning.

The thick natural energy of the world filled the hazy morning. Ning had already been brought by his father to the training grounds.

“Ning.” Yichuan looked at his son, then pointed at a nearby fur-clad, bearded man. “This is the number one expert archer of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. His name is ‘Blindfish’. His archery skills are extremely high. Blindfish, come, let the little fellow see what you are all about.”

“Yes.” Blindfish said respectfully.

Yichuan walked in front of them towards four marble tablets, each one of them weighing several hundred pounds. Yichuan grabbed one of them, then threw it far away into the distance, and then grabbed another one and tossed that one as well. In the blink of an eye, all four of them were howling through the air.

These massive, heavy tablets were thrown with such force that they made the air howl. They were like four missiles, and had transformed into black dots in the sky.

“Hrm.” A pitch-black greatbow appeared in the hands of the bearded man, Blindfish, along with four arrows. He raised his bow high.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Four arrows flashed through the skies, disappearing almost instantly as they chased after those four black dots. Pengpengpengpeng!!!!! Those four black dots totally disappeared.

Ning gaped at the sight.

He gaped for a long time.

“When father tossed those heavy stones, he threw them at least one or two kilometers and turned them into missiles?” Ning felt stunned. “And this Blindfish’s arrows…I felt like, in the blink of an eye, in less than a second, they arrived at that distance of a kilometer or two away. If we calculate it carefully…these arrows must have at least travelled at the speed of nearly two thousand meters a second.”

“The legendary god, Houyi, once sent out nine arrows in a row and shot and killed nine Golden Crows.” Blindfish laughed loudly. “Young master, I only possess some superficial skills.”

“Master Blindfish, the rubble won’t hit or hurt anyone when it falls, will it?” Ning suddenly remembered to ask this question.

Yichuan shook his head. “Ning, your Master Blindfish is a Xiantian lifeform, and has infused his arrows with his own innate energy. When the arrows reached the tablets, they immediately blew the tablets into dust which will drift down slowly. How can there be rubble which would smash anyone?”

Ning was secretly shocked.

Formidable indeed.

“From today onwards, every morning, you will come train with your Master Blindfish for an hour in archery.” Yichuan said. “This can be considered your morning exercises. Blindfish, sorry to trouble you.”

“To be able to teach the young master is Blindfish’s glory.” Blindfish laughed loudly.

Yichuan nodded, then turned and left.

The entire training yard was very quiet. Only Blindfish and Ning were there. Not even a servant was present.

“Young master.” Blindfish looked at Ning. “To an archer, the most important thing is his bows and arrows. The arrow is divided into three parts; the arrowhead, the arrow shaft, and the feathers. As for the bow, it is comprised of the bowstring and the body. Arrows can be made in large quantities, but bows are far more precious!”

“There are two types of bows.”

“The first type of bow is made from an elastic bow body and a tough bowstring. When drawing the bow, the body of the bow will curve…and that is where the power comes from, the curving of the bow’s body. This is the most commonly seen type of bow, and is a fairly simple type of archery. It is easy to produce, and ordinary archers use it.”

“The second type of bow has a tough, inflexible bow body and an elastic bowstring. When pulling the bow, the bow’s body will essentially remain firm, while the bowstring will be pulled to an astonishing elastic length. This bow in my hand is that sort of bow!”

Blindfish handed the pitch-black greatbow in his hands to Ning.

Ning accepted this simple greatbow, and he instantly felt its weight. This greatbow was at least a hundred pounds heavy. He couldn’t help but stare at it carefully. The body of the greatbow was made from some sort of pitch-black metal which gleamed. The bowstring, however, was as thick as a finger, and carried a blue color. A terrifying fiendish aura could dimly be sensed as coming from the bowstring.

“This bow body was forged from ‘thunderwind metal’ and is incomparably tough. But the bowstring is even more precious…it was made from one of the draconic tendons of a Diremonster that was slain, a Dragonsnake. It possesses astonishing elasticity. Even if my strength was ten times greater, I wouldn’t be able to break it.” Blindfish laughed. “The name I gave my bow is ‘Thunderdragon Bow’.”

Ning’s eyes shone as he listened. A bowstring made from the tendons of a Dragonsnake, a Diremonster?

“Come, let’s begin to learn the proper stance.” With a flip of his hand, Blindfish produced an ordinary bow.

“Standing shot stance, crouching shot stance, backwards shot stance, falling shot stance, running shot stance!” Blindfish looked at Ning. “Young master, your training will be divided into two segments. The first is the basic segment. The second is the mental segment.”

“In the basic segment, you need to practice those five stances to the point where ‘hand, eye, and arrow become one.’ You must always hit your target. Only then can you move to the next segment.”

“In the mental segment, the stances are no longer important. The only thing you need is for your ‘mind and arrow to become one’. You no longer need to use your eyes to see. That’s simply too slow. You must rely on your mind! In the blink of an eye, you will draw your bow and fire your arrows upon your target as fast as lightning. In a truly critical situation, you only have a heartbeat to do what you need. Nobody will give you a chance to slowly aim. When you have mastered the mental segment, then you will have completed your apprenticeship.”

Ning listened and nodded.

And then, according to Blindfish’s instructions, he began to train in the proper stance.

“Waist straight! Left arm extended!”

“That’s the correct posture for drawing the bow. Stay in that posture!”

“Eyes! Eyes! Are your eyes blind?”

As soon as he began teaching in earnest, Blindfish began to roar at him. The ignorant Ning was like a piece of white parchment. Howled at again and again, Ning could do nothing but endure it and slowly learn.

A ten thousand meter high building is still built up from the ground floor. An expert archer had to start with the basics as well.

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Chapter 10 – Footwork

Chapter 10 – Footwork

After practicing archery for an hour, the Sun had already begun to rise.

“Ning, child, I shall be the one to teach you footwork.” Yuchi Snow, clad in white furs, smiled as she looked at her son.

“Yes.” Ning said.

Although he had exercised to the point where his waist and his back were bitterly sore, because he had trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], his body’s regenerative speed was astonishingly high. Right now, his mind was clear, fresh, and full of energy.

“In close combat, footwork is every bit as importance as sword techniques!” Yuchi Snow said solemnly. “When two people engage in a battle, the one with better footwork and agility can make it hard for the opponent to injure them, while they are able to easily injure the opponent.”

Ning nodded.

He understood this logic.

Close combat didn’t just mean standing there like an idiot, waving swords and sabers at each other. It was constantly changing positions like an unpredictable shadow. In his past life, he had seen taekwondo and karate experts. Those most elite competitors all valued footwork highly, and their footwork was exquisite, capable of causing ten enemy punches in a row to miss, or at least have their power reduced greatly.

The importance of footwork was arguably even higher than that of attacking techniques! Because he had been tormented by illness in his past life, Ning truly and ardently enjoyed watching those competitions, which made him understand the importance of footwork in those taekwondo and karate competitions.

In this world where spirits and monsters abounded, the basics were still the same.

Footwork was one of the most important things.

“I will teach you a footwork technique known as the [Shadewind Steps].” Snow said. “Don’t be fooled by its ordinary name. This is a very amazing set of footwork techniques. I am the only one who knows it in our Ji clan, and even amongst all five Prefectures, it is considered the highest type of footwork technique. Once you begin learning this footwork technique, you will understand how to dodge and move about in tight areas, while also learning how to easily flee.”

“First, carefully read the six basic movements.” With a flip of her hand, Snow made a thick yellow book appear out of nowhere.

Ning accepted it and began to read it carefully.

This book described the [Shadewind Steps] and its six basic movements. All six of the movements were exquisite and profound in their movements and usage of force and energy.

“Don’t just stare at it.” Snow pointed at a distant area. “Look over there.”

Ning turned his head and saw wooden pillars. There must have been thousands of wooden pillars there, and they were all of different height and at different distances from each other. Above these wooden stakes was a number of beast capes, thousands of them which dotted the area like ropes.

“That is known as the Thousand Star Array.” Snow said. “Through the usage of the Thousand Star Array, within ten years, you should be able to be able to reach the ‘Ruwei’ stage of the Shadewind Steps. If it wasn’t for the Thousand Star Array…you probably would have to spend a hundred times the amount of time.”

“The [Shadewind Steps] technique has three stages.”

“First, the basic stage.”

“Second, the advanced stage.”

“Third, one with the world.”

Snow looked at Ning. “Actually, all techniques, be it footwork, sword, saber, spear, or anything else, can be divided into these three stages. For example, the ‘advanced stage’ of sword technique is often described as ‘one with the sword’.”

“Have you memorized the mysteries of the six basic movements?” Snow asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Snow then walked towards the Thousand Star Array, then pointed at one of the very short pillars. “Go stand on top of this pillar.”

“Yes.” Ning easily jumped onto the wooden pillar.

He instantly felt wobbly. The pillar wasn’t very thick, and there was only enough space for a single foot. Fortunately, after having trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he had an extremely good sense of balance. This was the only reason why he was able to stand stably.

“Listen to my orders. Whichever one of the six basic movements I ask you to use, that’s what you use.” Snow said. “The ‘advancing’ move!”

Ning immediately tried to charge forward and step atop another pillar in front of him, but when he brushed against a beast skin rope and, with a swish, he fell down to the ground.

“Remember, whenever you are moving in the Thousand Star Array, you must not step onto any of the beast skins. Once you do so, you’ll have to start over again.” Snow said.

Ning ground his teeth.

He refused to believe it would happen again.

He once again hopped onto the short pillar, and then, using the ‘advancing’ move, he dodged past the beast skin and moved onto the next wooden pillar. However, he had used too much force. His body swayed for a long while before he was able to steady himself on that one foot again.

“Remember, your movements must be like nails, driving a nail down with each step. When you land on the pillar, you must be nailed to it!” Snow said. “Each step cannot be too small or too large. It cannot be too light or too heavy. Just now, you swayed wildly. If this was a life or death fight, you would’ve been stabbed to death by an enemy who would’ve discovered a flaw in your attacks. Continue. The ‘advancing’ move!”

“The ‘advancing’ step!”

“The ‘sidestep’ step!”

“The ‘leaping’ step!”

“The ‘backwards’ step!”

“The ‘withdrawing’ step!”

“The ‘turning’ step!”

Snow snapped one order after another.

Actually, all footwork techniques relied on these basic movements. But the differences between different techniques were like night and day in terms of skill. Some would make you move as fast as a bolt of lightning, while others would make you as agile and graceful as the wind, or perhaps as unpredictable as a spirit.

Each footwork technique had its own mysteries, and naturally would have different effects in battle.

“Oof!” He hadn’t leapt high enough, and his back had brushed against the beast skin ropes, causing him to be unable to land onto the wooden pillar. He fell down.

Not saying a word, Ning climbed back onto the pillar.

“Oof!” His knee hadn’t been bent enough.

“Oof!” He had used too much force.

…

On those thousands of wooden pillars, Ning was moving like a flash, wildly training in these six basic steps. Because of the obstruction of the beast skins, Ning’s body also had to undergo various contortions to dodge them. But no matter what postures he used, the most important thing was that his center of gravity had to be stable, and his feet had to be stable!

“Mother, how long will I train like this for?” Ning had fallen so many times.

“Ning, son, start from the shortest pillar and move through all 1008 wooden pillars, then jump down from the tallest one! You are not to touch any of the beast skins on the way!”

“If you are able to complete this within the time it takes for one to take ten breaths, then you will have mastered the ‘basic’ level of this footwork.” Yuchi Snow laughed.

Ning was stunned when he heard this. “What? In ten breaths? Such a short period of time…even on running on the flat ground, I wouldn’t be able to do that in ten breaths.” 1008 wooden pillars, all of which had to be traversed. That was a distance of a thousand or so meters. It would take him a while to travel that distance at a full run.”

“Later, Ning, when you have finished mastering the first level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], you would be able to travel a thousand meters on the ground in ten breaths.” Snow laughed.

“But…” Ning was speechless.

“Moving in the Thousand Star Array as though you were on the ground…only then would you have mastered the ‘basic’ stage.”

“Then what about the second, ‘advanced’ stage?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

Snow pushed one of the nearby beast skin ropes, which began to collide with the other beast skins. Soon, the thousand plus beast skins were all swaying against and hitting each other in a totally wild, chaotic manner.

“The second stage, the ‘advanced’ stage, requires you to once again start from the lowest pillar and move through all 1008 pillars, then jump down from the tallest one, in the span of ten breaths, without touching any of the beast skin ropes. However…for the ‘advanced’ stage, all of the beast skins will be striking each other.” Snow looked at Ning. “Once you can do that, you will have mastered the ‘advanced’ stage.”

“But but but…how is that possible? If all the beast skins are swaying about, how will I dodge them? There would probably only be a split second for me to dodge the beast skins and also jump onto the wooden pillars. And in such a short time frame…” Ning felt that this was simply too hard, impossibly hard.

“That is why I said that with the help of the Thousand Star Array, you should need ten years to reach the ‘advanced’ stage of the [Shadewind Steps].” Snow said. “From now until lunch time, you will continuously practice here at the Thousand Star Array.”

“Then what about the third stage, ‘one with the world’?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

Snow looked at Ning and laughed. “That’s on an entirely different level. Once you reach it, you’ll understand.”

“How powerful is it? You can at least explain it.” Ning asked.

“Alright. If I have to describe it…even ten thousand arrows raining down on me at the same time wouldn’t be able to injure me at all.” Snow looked at her son.

“Ten thousand arrows at the same time?” Ning instantly imagined a thick cluster of countless arrows raining down, but none of them able to touch him. This was inconceivable. A human’s body occupied a certain amount of space, after all. If those countless arrows filled the skies, logically speaking, there should be no way to dodge them.”

Snow smiled. “Don’t be discouraged. Most of the peak Houtian experts of the various tribes are only able to reach the first, ‘basic’ stage.”

“Xiantian lifeforms are usually able to reach the second, ‘advanced’ stage.”

“Most Zifu Disciples are able to reach the third stage of ‘one with the world’. But of course, some extremely talented Xiantian lifeforms are able to reach the level of ‘unity with the world’…such as your father!” Snow said.

“Father?” Ning was surprised and delighted.

“Your father’s footwork has reached the level of ‘one with the world’. And even in swordplay, which is harder to train in than footwork, your father has reached the ‘one with the world’ level.” Snow laughed. “That is why your father is the undisputed number one expert of the Ji clan’s West Prefecture. That’s why his prestige awes all of the countless tribes.”

Ning’s heart immediately swelled with a heroic feeling. Whatever his father could do, he himself could definitely do, especially since he had the [Nuwa Painting] and the wisdom from his past life!

“Continue!”

“The ‘advancing’ step!”

“The ‘turning’ step!”

“The ‘leaping’ step!”

Ning’s small, young frame carefully flashed about the Thousand Star Array, occasionally falling down.

….

After lunch.

After having eaten to his fill and rested for a while, Ning was pulled to the training yards once more by his father. The afternoon spring Sun was dazzlingly beautiful, and its rays were very comfortable.

“Father.” Ning looked at his glacier-like father, clad in a blood-red beast fur. His heart was filled with awe. His father had killed even Diremonsters such as Dragonsnakes. In terms of strength and skill, his father had already reached an extremely high level. Even some Xiantian lifeforms had come to ask to be taken as his father’s disciple and learn his sword techniques.

His father had nine primary disciples, three of which were Xiantian lifeforms. But his father only taught the nine disciples once every month.

But Ning? He would be taught every day!

“From today onwards, I will teach you how to use the sword.” Yichuan looked at his son and said in a cold voice, “The sword is not the bow, nor is it like footwork.”

“Archery training only requires one to become familiar with it. Once one’s strength increases and one’s vision improves, naturally, one will be able to fire more powerful arrows!”

“Although footwork is important, it is still supplemental…to kill an opponent, you still have to use your sword in the end!”

“Swords are considered short weapons! They are light and agile, with two edges. Their usage is more precise and profound than that of sabers; whether by slashing, by stabbing, by chopping, by scraping, or by tapping, one can easily kill the opponent. Sometimes, a person who is training incorrectly can even hurt himself. It is the truest weapon of war.” Yichuan looked at his son.

Ning could feel his blood boiling, and he was extremely eager. His eyes were shining. “Father, what sort of sword technique will I learn?”

“Sword technique? Wait a few more years!” Yichuan said coldly.

“Wait a few more years?” Ning was confused.

Yichuan said coldly, “The movements of the sword are birthed by your body! If you wish to use the sword well, then first, you must control your body well. First, you must train in boxing. After your body and your arms are extremely agile and you can fully control your strength, then your body will be ready to learn sword techniques!”

“But preparing your body isn’t enough.”

“You must also prepare your ‘mind’ for learning the sword!”

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Chapter 11 – Sword Training

Chapter 11 – Sword Training

Ning, listening to this, felt totally confused, as though his head was covered by mist and clouds. “Father, you say that I must prepare my body before I can train with a sword. I can just barely understand that. But I must also prepare my ‘mind’? What does that mean?”

“Don’t be impatient.”

Yichuan looked at his son. A thick book appeared in his hands out of nowhere. He tossed it towards Ning. “First, closely read through this boxing manual. There are sixteen stances in this boxing technique. It contains the simplest yet most fundamental of methods to allow one’s body to exert strength. Once you have mastered this boxing technique, your entire body will act as you will and you will be able to exert strength with ease.”

“The sword is born from your body. If not even your body acts as you wish it to, how can your sword act as you wish it to?” Yichuan looked at his son, worried that his son would bite off more than he could chew. “First, you must calm your mind.”

Ning understood the logic that ‘sharpening the knife didn’t slow down the cutting process’.

“Yes, father.” Ning said as he lowered his head to begin reading the book. He began to closely review the mysteries of boxing described in the book. The book was quite thick, but actually, it was because it was made from animal leathers, which made every page very thick.

After memorizing the profound secrets, he began to train. His father constantly gave him advice and pointed out his mistakes, or even demonstrated himself so as to help Ning understand.

Actually, the [Shadewind Steps] also contained some principles on exerting force, but the [Shadewind Steps] were primarily about using force in the legs. Because he had some prior experience now…Ning learned relatively quickly.

Two hours later.

“Rest a while.” Yichuan looked at his sweaty son. “In the future, you will spend two hours every day training your boxing, unless and until I judge that your body is prepared to train with the sword.”

“Preparing your body to train with the sword is just one aspect.”

“You must also prepare your ‘mind’ to wield the sword.” Two black metal swords appeared in Yichuan’s hands, and he tossed them to his son. “Take them!”

Ning took the two swords.

Yichuan pointed to an empty area. Hu. A metallic puppet appeared out of nowhere, wielding a single saber.

“This is a puppet.” Yichuan said. “Ki Refining practitioners of the Immortal way are often good at producing these puppets. This one is just a very ordinary puppet, with the power of a master-level Houtian combatant. However, its body is extremely tough.”

“Father, what are those red spots on its body?” Ning wondered.

The black metal puppet had over ten red dots on its body. The red dots were located between its forehead, on its throat, on its chest, on its arms, hands, back, and some other areas.

“Try stabbing at the red dot on its forehead.” Yichuan said. “You have to be fast.”

“Yes.” Ning stabbed out fiercely with his right hand.

Hua!

The tip of the sword pierced forward, but it struck the head, roughly an inch away from the red dot.

“But…” Ning was slightly startled. He clearly had aimed at the red dot. He couldn’t help but try stabbing three more times, but the results were always the same, slightly off.

“Have you discovered it?” Yichuan said calmly. “Although you want to stab it in the middle of the forehead, when you actually try to do so, you aren’t able to do so accurately. How can you stab accurately? First, you have to have to control your body perfectly. Second, you have to train countless times.”

“Every single sword technique can be described as being composed of thirteen specific movements; chop, pierce, scrape, sweep, break, tap, cleave, support, intercept, twist, lift, draw, and sheath.”

“Chop, pierce, scrape, sweep, tap, cleave; these are used to attack.”

“Support, break, intercept, twist, lift, draw, and sheath; these are used to defend.”

Yichuan pointed at the metal puppet. “This puppet isn’t moving at all, and it has nine red dots on its body. Execute the ‘chop, pierce, scrape, sweep, cleave, and tap’ movements against it. I will teach you the secrets to every single movement and how to move in harmony with your attacks. Every single basic movement must be practiced at least ten million times!”

“In the future, the puppet will begin to move and chop at you with its own saber techniques. You will then use the ‘support, intercept, twist, lift, draw, break, and sheath’ movements, the seven basic defense movements, to defend yourself. You will train all of these movements ten million times as well.”

“Attack!”

“Defend!”

“After you have become familiar with these two, the puppet will engage in battle against you, and you will use the combined thirteen stances to fight against it.” Yichuan looked at his son. “When the day comes when your thirteen basic stances have become engrained into your mind and your bones, and when you are perfectly accurate, that is when you will have absorbed the essence of the sword into your mind. Only then will your mind be ready to train in the sword.”

Ning listened with his breath held.

“Prepare your body.”

“Prepare your mind.”

“Afterwards, you will be able to truly start training in sword techniques.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Sword techniques are very complicated, but they are still formed from these thirteen basic movements. If you aren’t even able to memorize and absorb these thirteen basic movements…how can you possibly have any achievements in training with the sword?”

“After you have truly become familiar with the sword techniques I will pass down to you, then you can be considered to have reached the first, ‘basic’ level of wielding a sword.”

“The sword has three levels as well.”

“The basic level, the advanced level, and the ‘one with the world’ level!”

“The ‘advanced level’ for footwork requires precise control over the body. But the ‘advanced level’ for the sword requires one to have precise control over both the body and the sword, and then merge them into one! It is ten times harder!”

“Becoming ‘one with the world’? That’s even farther off.”

Yichuan looked at his son. “Ji Ning, do you now understand the path you must walk?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded heavily.

The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] training technique would give him a Fiendgod’s body and inconceivable strength.

But the training in footwork and swordplay would decide…how much of that strength he would be able to use!

“Father, how long would I need to train before I can reach the level of ‘one with the sword’?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“Hard to say.” Yichuan shook his head. “In the past, I had spent six years mastering the basics, then six more before becoming ‘one with the sword’. You can say that it took me twelve years!”

“Twelve years?” Ning held his breath.

His father, despite being young, had become the number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. Someone as peerless of a talent had him had needed twelve years. Many ordinary people…would spend their lives training without being able to reach the ‘one with the sword’ level.

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Take things one stable step at a time.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Let’s begin. Let me first teach you the ‘pierce’ movement of the thirteen basic movements!”

…….

Under his father’s guidance, Ning’s posture was very correct as he pierced repeatedly! Chopped repeatedly! Scraped repeatedly! Tapped repeatedly!

This was very boring.

And very tiring.

Fortunately, Ning had astonishing regenerating capabilities. And given his experience in being tormented by illness in his past life…he was a person who would not easily give up.

After training attacking movements for two hours, he began to train defending movements for another two hours.

The metal puppet wouldn’t get tired, delivering endless hacking blows with the saber for Ning to defend against.

“Yichuan.” Snow stood from afar, watching her son train hard.

Yichuan walked to his wife’s side as well, and both of them watched that distant metal puppet battle against their son. “Snow. I didn’t expect this. I really didn’t expect…that our son would have such strong willpower. I had even prepared for him to complain about being tired, and prepared to force him to continue training. I didn’t expect that I don’t need to force him at all!”

“When he was training his footwork in the morning…” Snow felt sorry for her child. “Even though he said he was tired, all he did was talk. He didn’t stop a single time. Six hours in the morning, six hours in the afternoon…twelve hours of the day spent training. Ning is still very young…”

“I still remember when I was young.” Yichuan said softly. “At that time, I was forced by my father to train. I felt too tired and that I was at the point of collapse, but whenever I gave up, my father would use his whip to beat me. I cried each time I drew my sword or used it to pierce…that continued until I turned ten, and my father was killed by a Diremonster from Eastlake Mountain. The status of my mother and I dropped by a thousand fathoms. Seeing how cold everyone had become towards us and then my mother die of illness…I finally woke up. I no longer said I was tired, or that I was hurting. Every day, I focused on my training.”

Someone who had never trained before would never know how exhausting training was.

Tiring to the body. Tiring to the mind.

Someone who wasn’t sufficiently mentally resolved or who had insufficient desire wouldn’t be able to persevere.

“I had my doubts about our son’s future accomplishments.” Yichuan said softly. “Although his aptitude for the Fiendgod Body Refining is very high, if he doesn’t work hard, he still wouldn’t accomplish much…but now, I believe that my son will definitely become one of the true experts of this world. He definitely will!”

Hearing her husband’s words, Snow stared at her son who was still training in the distance. She gently nodded. “I believe it too!”

……..

Watching himself grow stronger, even stronger than those ‘supermen’ in the movies, was an absolutely wonderful feeling!

A year later.

Hua!

Blindfish, standing far away, threw four stones up into the air. The slightly taller Ning nocked his bow while grabbing four arrows, holding them tightly between his five fingers.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Four arrows flashed out simultaneously, leaving behind four trails of air in the sky, hitting all four of the rocks that had been thrown up. The four rocks all shattered into tiny pieces which fell to the ground.

“Good.” Blindfish walked over, laughing loudly like the thunder.

“Master Blindfish.” Ning put away the bow.

“You’ve already mastered the mental segment. You’ve even quickly mastered my pride and my joy, the ‘Quadshot’ skill.” Blindfish praised as he nodded. “I have nothing left to teach you when it comes to archery. Next, you will have to just continuously train and build up experience. As your strength grows, you will be able to fire more powerful arrows. This training courtyard is now too small for you. You need to go to a larger, more expansive place and shoot arrows from a distance of one, two, or even three or four kilometers! The farther away you are shooting from, the more you will have to factor in the wind and the environment.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

Archery required one to be extremely precise.

One needed to consider the strength of the pull, the trajectory of the arrow, and also the downward pull of gravity. At the same time, one had to factor in the wind speed!

Although it was complicated, as long as one could sense the direction and strength of the wind, one would be able to shoot without even needing to aim. This was because the question of from what angle to fire from and how to fire would have already been built into one’s bones from countless repetitive training exercises. At least, to the current Ning…within a range of five hundred meters, not even a fly could escape his arrows!

But this was far from being enough!

As his strength grew, his arrows would be more powerful as well. Some Xiantian lifeform’s arrows would fly several kilometers and still have tremendous force! The greater the distance, the more difficult it would be to shoot accurately as well…it required even more training and experience.

“Starting tomorrow, I won’t come here anymore. Young master, you are the most talented student I have ever taught.” Blindfish looked at Ning. “Don’t waste your talent. In the future, you will definitely become the most terrifying godly archer in the Swallow Mountain area.”

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Chapter 12 – Six Years

Chapter 12 – Six Years

Within the training courtyard, a youth clad in beast fur was wielding a black blunt sword. He stood there, and around him there were nine tall and powerful warriors. These valiant warriors all wore armor and wielding long spears, swords, and sabers, and other weapons in their hands. But none of the weapons had been edged or sharpened.

Six years. Ning, who had trained for six years, was now ten years old. But because in this life, he had been training in accordance with the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he had already reached a height of 1.6 meters tall, just ten centimeters shorter than he had been in his previous life. His appearance was almost identical to how he had looked in his previous life. Perhaps this was what the saying, ‘a person’s appearance is birthed by their mind’. If one had to find a difference…then the difference was, in his previous life, his face was always sickly pale, while in this life, it was filled with boundless life and energy.

“Same rule as always.” Ning stared at the people around him, his gaze even more terrifying than that of monsters. “As long as any of you can strike me, each person will be awarded a beasthead of gold!”

“Grr!”

“Careful, young master!”

“Haha, a beasthead of gold. Brothers, let’s let the young master see how powerful we are.” These brave warriors began to roar. They were the mightiest warriors within the armies of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture; the Ninefang Warriors! For someone to be awarded the title of Ninefang Warrior required their internal energy to have reached the limits of the Houtian level, and also be warriors with significant battle experience.

A beasthead of gold meant ten pounds of gold. Gold coins were used as a form of currency in the countless tribes, and ten pounds of gold, to these powerful warriors, was an extremely attractive offer.

But they didn’t dare to be incautious, because Ning’s power had spread across the army long ago. He had often sparred in the army with some of the elite soldiers…and thus, Ning’s ability had risen rapidly, as these warriors all knew. Even if nine of the most powerful warriors joined forces against him…defeating Ning would still be a hard task. However, it was still possible.

The blunt black sword in hand, Ning stared quietly at the surrounding people.

Actually, ever since he had learned the reputedly most complicated of sword techniques [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons] and mastered it to the point where his father nodded in satisfaction, sparring with the metal puppet had become meaningless. Thus, he was permitted to begin sparring with the large number of soldiers and warriors in their army. While sparring, they always used blunt weapons.

At the same time, his father had given him a strict order: “When sparring with others, you are only allowed to use a single sword! In addition, you are only permitted to use a tenth of your real strength! Only when sparring with your mother and I are you allowed to use the twin swords. Remember, the twin swords are your secret weapon. You are only permitted to use it when you really intend to kill your opponent.”

Thus…

Although Ning’s fame had become widespread across the army and he had been acknowledged as a rare talent, that was just the tip of the iceberg. But of course, when engaging in battle, Ning used all of his available skill in the ‘single sword techniques’ and in the ‘footwork’ techniques.

….

The nine warriors surrounded Ning, walking in a circle around him while staring at him as though staring at their prey.

Ning just stood there, as unmoving as a mountain.

“Shua!” One of the nine soldiers surrounding him suddenly charged forward. The bald soldier was wielding a longspear in his hands, and struck out with it like a viper, instantly arriving next to Ning.

Faced with this fierce spear, Ning’s body flickered and he drew near the bald warrior’s body, causing the spear to miss its mark.

Spears were weakest against close quarters combat!

“Chi!” The blunt sword in Ning’s hand sliced out. As the sword flashed towards him, the bald warrior hurriedly used his feet to kick against his longspear, sending it sweeping towards Ning as he himself rolled back into the array of soldiers surrounding Ning.

“Wow, that was dangerous. I almost got ended in one exchange. Brothers, be careful.” The bald warrior quickly called out as he returned to the others.

Ning had already stepped on top of that longspear, staring at the people around him. “It is better if you come all at once. Otherwise, you’ll have no chance.”

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s do it.”

The nine warriors, sensing the disparity in power, didn’t launch any more probing attacks. They immediately charged forward at full strength.

The wind howled. Sabers flashed. The shadow of sword agilely danced about. Spears hissed through the air like dragons. Sticks smashed down like ferocious tigers. Attacks came from every direction towards Ning, while Ning just stood there, just occasionally taking a step back or turning. These seemingly minute movements resulted in many of the warriors’ attacks missing.

The clanging sounds of weapons bashing against each other could be heard like thunderclaps. Clearly, these blows carried great force.

Occasionally, the sound was just a whisper-soft snick.

“Ninefang Warriors really live up to their name. These nine have really good teamwork. If it was just five or six of them…I would be able to beat them in an instant. But the nine working together have put me at a complete disadvantage.” Ning found it very difficult to deal with the storm of attacks from these nine warriors. After all, he only had one sword. Under this sort of pressure, he was forced to use his sword techniques and his footwork techniques to their utmost.

“Hu!”

“Hu!”

The sword howled.

Ning suddenly felt intoxicated. Right at this moment, his body and his sword seemed to be in perfect harmony, and he seemed to even somehow feel the ‘body’ of the sword itself, and even the wind which blew past the sword at high speed.

“Chi!” The blunt black sword gently chopped against a cavalry saber. It trembled, but then with a twist, it pushed the enemy’s blade to the side and out of the enemy’s control. And then, the tip of the sword went forward, stabbing into the warrior’s chest. The warrior felt the pressure against his chest, and he immediately retreated two steps, then sat down.

“Hu.” The blunt black sword slashed through a curved pattern in the air, easily avoiding the opponent’s blocking longspear, then slapping with the flat against the bald warrior’s face. With a bang, one of the man’s tooth went flying and was knocked away.

Time seemed to past as slowly as a leaf falling down in the autumn wind.

Ning’s sword had suddenly become extremely nimble, and the movements of his sword were careful and minute, able to change in a flash. In a life and death battle…a momentary advantage was enough to change the outcome of a battle into a victory. Thus, although Ning had previously found it very hard to resist those nine warriors, he now, in the blink of an eye, was able to knock them all down.

“Congratulations, young master.”

“Congratulations, young master, on your swordplay reaching the ‘advanced’ stage, ‘one with the sword’.”

The warriors were both shocked and excited. All of them congratulated him.

A youth who was merely ten years old was able to reach the ‘advanced’ stage of swordplay, and become ‘one with the sword’. This was more incredible than even the accomplishments of his father, the ‘Raindrop Sword’, Ji Yichuan.

“Hahaha…” Ning was extremely excited as well. Six years. Six years of constantly training with the sword. Every day, aside from the time he spent training his archery skills outside the city at dawn, he spent virtually all of his time training with the sword. Sometimes he would train with his father, while sometimes he would train with his father’s disciples. Sometimes, he would spar against the army soldiers.

The sword had long ago imprinted itself into his bones.

After training with the sword for ten million times, his accuracy with the sword had reached a terrifying level a long time ago.

And, with his ability to split his mind, his sword techniques became all the more elusive and unpredictable.

He had the body of a Fiendgod, and in terms of Ki Refining, he had already reached the peak of the Houtian stage in internal energy. This caused his sword attacks to be unstoppable.

And finally, today!

All of these accumulated experiences had formed a cohesive whole, and he entered the ‘advanced’ stage of swordplay, ‘one with the sword’!

“Everyone, today you have helped me to make a breakthrough. Although I don’t have much, I am giving each of you a beasthead of gold. Don’t try to refuse.” Ning laughed loudly.

The nine warriors exchanged glances, then said in unison, “Thank you, young master!”

If they had simply lost, they wouldn’t have accepted it. After all, these Ninefang Warriors had their own pride and dignity. But for young master Ning to reach the ‘one with the sword’ level was a major, joyous occasion. Such a joyous occasion…it was only fair and proper that they, too, receive some gifts.

“Nine of them.”

The distant Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf, his two maids, hurriedly ran over with stone platters. Atop the stone platters were nine beastheads of gold. They were all the highest quality gold! The nine warriors laughed as they accepted it, while at the same time, feeling moved…young master Ning truly was powerful. But they had all seen with their own eyes how hard Ning had worked over these years.

“Congratulations, young master. Felicitations, young master.” After the nine warriors left, Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf allowed their faces to be covered with joy and celebration.

Six years had passed, and the two maids were now twenty years old. This was the most bewitching age for a woman. Maids such as these would usually be their master’s women, which is why they had long ago in their hearts decided to consider Ning as their world, as their god. To see their young master become so powerful, they naturally were extremely happy.

“Hahaha…” Ning laughed as well.

Anyone would be excited. After all, he had trained bitterly since he was young. How could he not be excited upon succeeding?

Only after training with the sword for two years had his father decided that his ‘body’ and his ‘mind’ were prepared to learn sword techniques. Only then had he been taught the [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons] technique.

After another year, when he mastered the first level, his father permitted him to spar with others.

After three more years, culminating in this day today, he had finally reached the second level, the ‘advanced’ level, becoming ‘one with the sword’.

“Spring Grass, Autumn Leaf, come with me.” Ning called out. What he wanted to do the most right now was to go see his parents.

….

Deep in the mountain ranges, there was a series of furious howls.

There was a large number of black armored riders, and these armored riders all had extremely thick armor, all covered with spikes as well. Their mounts were tall and powerful furry beasts with a single horn. These furry beasts had two curved, fierce looking fangs which flashed with cold light. Their four hooves were thick and sturdy. When they ran, the earth itself shook.

The hundred black armored riders all gave off the aura of powerful experts.

“Huh?” The black armored riders all turned to stare at a place nearby. They saw a distant mountain quickly begin to turn red, and then begin to transform into scorching hot lava. A large amount of lava began to pour out from somewhere in the mountain, and faintly, a human figure could be seen walking on top of the lava, his entire body covered with flames. He walked straight towards them.

Hu.

With a single step, he leaped to the ground. He was bringing with him a ferocious scaled beast that was blackish-brown in color. Behind him, there was also a four-hooved beast that was walking as well. Quickly, the human figure flew out from the middle of the lava, revealing his face…it was a face belonging to an old man, with fiery red hair and a small scarlet snake hanging from his ear. The four-hooved beast also walked to the viper elder’s side, seeming extremely obedient.

“Master.” The hundred black armored riders called out respectfully.

The viper elder laughed loudly. “We came hunting, but I didn’t expect that we would run into an Armored Wyrm. My luck isn’t bad. This Armored Wyrm is very close to becoming a Xiantian lifeform. When I get home, I need to spend some time raising it.”

“Master, master!” A voice suddenly rang out from the skies.

Ji Lee raised his head.

In mid-air, an enormous flying beast with blue feathered wings could be seen, with a man wearing an exquisite beast pelt seated atop it. After the flying beast landed at high speed, the rider immediately jumped off and landed on the ground, then came to one knee. “Master, there’s news from the Prefecture.”

“Speak.” Lee frowned.

“Yichuan’s son, Ning, has entered the ‘one with the sword’ stage today.” The man said respectfully.

Lee stared at him, the fire surrounding his body blazing hotter. He was so angry that his entire body began to shake. Suddenly, he smashed that Armored Wyrm he had captured into the distant mountain cliff. The heavy monstrous beast, at least ten thousand pounds in weight, turned into a blur. With a bang, it smashed against the distant mountain cliff, and on it appeared an enormous crevice which was now surrounded by hundred-meter long cracks. The Armored Wyrm lay there in the crevice, blood pouring from its head, and its scales shattered. It had been smashed to death.

“Return to the West Prefecture City!” Lee ground his teeth for a long time before finally shouting out this order.

“Yes.” The hundred black armored riders said in unison. Although they felt that throwing away the corpse of the Armored Wyrm was a huge waste, their master, Ji Lee, was currently in a royal rage. Naturally, no one dared to contradict him.

Rumble rumble.

Lee, riding his four-hooved monstrous beast, was followed by his hundred black armored riders. They left the deep, mysterious mountain forest and quickly disappeared, only leaving behind that Armored Wyrm in that crevice in the mountainside, its blood still dripping down the cliff.

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Chapter 13 – Five Major Sword Techniques

Chapter 13 – Five Major Sword Techniques

With a sinister look on his face, Lee returned to his estate. Behind him was the four-hooved beast. The two entered his estate, and those servants and house guards all knelt down or lowered their heads when seeing him. None of them dared to even breathe too loudly. They could all tell that their master, Lee, was in an extremely foul mood. Someone who upset him might be slapped to death.

“Father.” A sound from afar, and a middle-aged man clad in beast fur with dozens of braids in his hair came out.

Lee glanced at him. The person was his most competent son, and also one who had become a Xiantian lifeform; Ji Jadewich. Frowning, he said, “Jadewich, is this true? I just went out hunting, and shortly afterwards, I received news that Yichuan’s little animal has reached the ‘advanced’ stage of swordplay, ‘one with the sword’?”

“It is, father.” Jadewich shook his head and sighed. “Today, Ji Ning and nine Ninefang Warriors were sparring. He made a breakthrough in swordplay while sparring. There’s no doubt about this at all.”

“Argh!” Lee let out an angry sound. “The Heavens have set themselves against me, Ji Lee. My elder brother, Ji Young, was inferior to me, but due to my arrogance, I allowed him to seize the position of Prefecture Lord. He produced an outstanding descendant, Ji Yichuan, making his lineage even more stable. But now, an even more outstanding Ji Ning has been produced, who in six years managed to reach the ‘one with the sword’ level!”

“Reaching the ‘one with the sword’ level in just six years. Those three geniuses we selected from those countless tribes are far inferior to him by comparison.” Jadewich shook his head as well.

For the sake of blocking Ning’s progression, they had specially selected three outstandingly talented children near Ning’s age, and began to teach them from a young age. But they were still inferior to Ning.

“Just a bit off. If Grizzly was just three years younger…” Jadewich sighed.

“Grizzly?” Lee was startled.

Grizzly was his foster son.

In the past, when he had led the army to punish one of the larger tribes for a transgression, he had encountered a Diremonster, a ‘Golden Grizzly Bear’. After a vicious, terrifying battle, the Golden Grizzly Bear had finally fled in defeat. Lee then raided the Golden Grizzly Bear’s lair, and found inside the lair an infant child. The infant wasn’t a year old, but was born with tremendous strength…and was very much to Lee’s liking. He had said, “Kid, you were snatched by a Golden Grizzly Bear but weren’t killed. Instead, it raised you? Hahaha…from today onwards, you will be the adopted son of myself, Ji Lee. I’ll name you…Grizzly!”

It was common for someone to raise an adopted son who possessed extraordinary abilities.

When Grizzly was brought back home, it was determined that he was one year old. He was now thirteen years old. Lee treated and raised Grizzly as a terrifying monstrous beast, having him engage beasts in battle since he was an infant, and sometimes even with monstrous beasts. Naturally, he also taught Grizzly the most suitable training methods…

In the middle of all that combat, last year, Grizzly had reached the stage of ‘one with the saber’.

“The Ceremony of the Golden Sword is held every four years. There will be one this year.” Jadewich narrowed his eyes. “Four years from now, there will be another one. In another four years…Grizzly will be seventeen. Only those sixteen and younger can participate in the Ceremony of the Golden Sword. Four years from now, Grizzly won’t even be able to participate, much less stop Ning!”

“The only hope we have right now is that the three little brats I took in will be able to become a Xiantian lifeform within these next four years.” Lee muttered.

“Right.” Jadewich nodded. “I personally selected the three of them out of all of the tribes as the most suited for Ki Refining. They’ve reached the peak of the Houtian level long ago. If a single one of them can advance to the Xiantian level, then our victory is assured.”

Lee nodded as well. “A Xiantian Ki Refiner is capable of using magical treasures and would definitely win. Only, it is simply too hard to become a Xiantian lifeform…”

“All we can do is wait and see what Fate has to offer.” Jadewich said softly.

Lee nodded lightly.

Although they were struggling over the Prefecture Lord position, Ji Lee and Ji Jadewich never even thought about killing Ji Ning. In this vast world, for a clan to be able to survive…they had to be unified, and fratricide was definitely forbidden! In addition, Ning had already been selected as a potential heir. If someone dared to try and use a wicked method to kill Ji Ning, most likely everyone in the Five Prefectures of the Ji Clan would join forces to punish the murderer!

……

The thick, large candle lit up the hall. Yichuan was seated in the primary seat, while Snow and Ning sat close to him.

The three of them were eating the meal in front of them on the table.

“Yichuan.” Snow looked at her son, his hands and mouth greasy from the meat he was eating. Her eyes were filled with pride. “Our son Ning mastered the basics in three years, and in three more years became ‘one with the sword’! It seems it will be easy for him to gain the position of Prefecture Lord.”

Holding a ramshorn goblet, Yichuan nodded lightly. “When Ning sparred with the others, he only used his internal force. He didn’t use any of the power of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining method. And in addition, when sparring with outsiders, Ning has only used a single sword.”

Others didn’t know how powerful Ning was, but Yichuan and his wife knew exactly how capable their son was.

Seizing the golden sword?

As easy as picking something out of his pocket!

“Ning, at his current level of power, is already easily capable of seizing the golden sword. In four more years, even Xiantian lifeforms won’t be able to stop him.” Yichuan poured himself another cup of wine.

Ning continued to simply sit there, eating and drinking prodigious amounts of food.

Because he trained in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he possessed the appetite of a Fiendgod as well. He could easily eat dozens of pounds of the meat of monstrous beasts in every meal. He had reached the third level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] two years ago. He was at a bottleneck now, but with one more step, he would reach the fourth level!

The fourth level would let him become a Xiantian lifeform, and one which belonged to the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. His battle ability would far outstrip that of normal Xiantian lifeforms by a hundred times or a thousand times.

“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.” Ning drank large mouthfuls of hot water, pouring it all down his mouth, then rubbed his stomach as he put it down. “That feels good.”

“Ning.” Snow looked at her son with a laugh.

“Mother.” Ning was very obedient. He could sense that his father cherished him but also valued the clan, while his mother had placed virtually all of her hopes and concerns in him. In her mother’s eyes, perhaps even the rise and fall of the entire Ji clan wasn’t nearly as important as her son.

Snow looked at her son. “When your father taught you the [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons], it was the most complicated level of sword techniques you could learn, and it was the most suitable set of sword techniques for you to reach the ‘one with the sword’ level. However, now that you have already reached that level, the [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons] technique is no longer of much use to you.”

“Right.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Now, Ning! When I had you prepare your ‘body’ and your ‘mind’, I needed you to make all of your attacks as fast as lightning and incomparably accurate. I needed you to imprint those things in your bones. Only then did I teach you the [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons], and the purpose of that was…to let you go from something simple to complicated!”

“The path of sword training first goes from simple to complicated, and then from complicated back to simple. Only then can one be considered to have mastered the sword.” Yichuan looked at his son. “You have become ‘one with the sword’, and you can wield it as easily as your own hands. You can be considered to have gone from complicated back to simple.”

Ning nodded.

He understood this logic. If he was so stupid as to just constantly use those thirteen basic stances, he could still be considered an expert swordsman, but without having truly experienced ‘going from simple to complicated, then from complicated to simple’, it would be very hard for one to reach the ‘one with the sword’ level.

“Next, you will need to reach the level of being ‘one with the world’.” Yichuan sighed. “This step is an extremely hard step.”

“One with the world…” Ning was filled with anticipation.

“The previous sword techniques you’ve learned are now useless to you.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Your current level is enough to qualify you to learn the highest level swordplay of the Ji clan.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. The highest level swordplay of the Ji clan?

“Our Ji clan is famous because of our swordplay.” Yichuan sighed with emotion. “In turn, the city of the Ji clan of the Main Prefecture, the ‘City of Ten Thousand Swords’, was named because the ancestors of the Ji clan rose to fame due to the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords], which they used to establish themselves here.”

“After thousands of years, the Ji clan now has five highest level sword arts. They are the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords], [Thunderflame Sword], [Illusion Sutra], [Raindrop Sutra], and the [Polaris Secret Manual]. Every single technique is extremely profound and is beyond what the ‘one with the sword’ level is capable of. If you can make accomplishments in any of them, you will find that their power is boundless.” Yichuan looked at his son. “I trained in the [Raindrop Sutra]. Most people, even after reaching the ‘one with the sword’ level, is at most able to select a single one of the arts to train in. This is because dividing the mind is simply too difficult. But Ning, since you are able to divide your mind in two, you would be able to choose two arts to train in.”

Hu!

In Yichuan’s hand, five books suddenly appeared. He casually tossed them out, and they flew straight over, landing in a neat stack on a nearby table, not touching any of the cups or plates.

“The highest level swordplay?” Ning looked at the five books. He understood that these were just abridged versions. Only after he made his choice would he receive the ‘full versions’.

“Make your choice.”

Yichuan looked at his son and said solemnly, “Once you have chosen, your choice will be recorded for the Ji clan of the Five Prefectures to review! If it isn’t recorded down, you will be considered to have learned in secret. Anyone who does that will be exterminated by the combined forces of the Five Prefectures.”

“Ah!” Ji Ning understood this, but he still couldn’t help but feel surprised. “Then why is it that there was no such restriction on the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] technique that I learned?”

“Although the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] technique is the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, it is extremely widespread. Virtually all of the tribes on the level of the Ji clan possesses a copy. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if our copy is leaked.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Most Ki Refining methods and Fiendgod Body Refining methods aren’t very valuable. Only the ultimate techniques of each clan are tightly restricted, like these five sword techniques here. In the area around Swallow Mountain, four of these techniques are possessed only by our Ji clan. Only the [Polaris Secret Manual] is also in the possession of another entity, the Blackflame Sect.”

Ning nodded.

He knew that in the area around Swallow Mountain, aside from the armies of the Grand Xia Dynasty that were stationed here, there were in total, five other hegemonic powers. The Ji clan was also one of them.

These six hegemons engaged in constant battle, but none of them dared to offend the armies of the Grand Xia Dynasty!

“Right.” Ning immediately lowered his head and began to read, flipping through these five top-class sword techniques. If a person was at the ‘one with the sword’ level and then also possessed this sort of top-class sword technique, his power would definitely multiply.

“Raindrop Sutra…” This was the first one Ning looked at. This was the top-class technique which had made his father famous.

His father’s nickname, after all, was the ‘Raindrop Sword’!

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Chapter 14 – The Cage

Chapter 14 – The Cage

[Raindrop Sutra]. The principle behind it was that of the saying, ‘dripping water can eventually tunnel through a rock’.

Its attacks were soft yet inexhaustible, seemingly as endless as the raindrops falling from the skies during a rainstorm, making the enemy find it difficult to even dodge. In turn, its defenses were utterly airtight…and at the same time, when tens of millions of raindrops converged on one point, it could form a terrifyingly explosive force. Even ordinary drops of water could eventually tunnel through a rock; the sword that had been transformed into ‘raindrops’ would naturally contain an unshakable, unyielding power.

“The [Raindrop Sutra] truly is profound and wondrous.” Ning nodded as he read it, then picked up the second book, [Polaris Secret Manual].

The [Polaris Secret Manual] was part of the legendary [Polaris Sword Manual]. It was divided into seven different sword stances, known as Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid. These seven major sword stances all contained the power of the stars. They could be as ferocious and savage as the Voracious Alkaid Wolf Sword, or the extremely soft and extremely sinister Melodious Megrez Sword…

The sword technique was unfathomably mysterious, and was very hard to defend against.

“What a good sword technique.” Ning sighed in amazement as he read, before picking up the other three books.

[Thunderflame Sword]. This was something which the ancestors of the Ji clan, when roving and training themselves elsewhere in the world, had been lucky enough to find. They had found a half-burned remnant of a book, and the words in it were not very clear. Only two words on the title could be seen: Thunderflame! In addition, they were only able to reclaim three complete sword stances from the book.

All of the stances were used to attack. When the stances were used, it was as though it contained the power of heavenly thunder and hellish flames. There was no question that in terms of attack power, it was the undisputed champion amongst the sword techniques of the Ji clan! For just three stances to allow it to be ranked amongst the Five Major Sword Techniques of the Ji clan, one could imagine how that unnamed complete sword technique…definitely outstripped the other four sword techniques vastly.

However, although its strengths were apparent, its weaknesses were also apparent. This was because these vicious stances…were only three in number. Thus, they didn’t perfectly link to each other. In addition, all three stances were purely offensive, without any defensive stances. How could experts, when engaged in battle, have no defensive stances? Thus, very few people would choose to train in this sword technique.

“I really want to see what the complete Thunderflame Sword looks like.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

“If we had a complete copy,” the nearby Yichuan said, “Then it would be, without question, the number one Immortal technique in Swallow Mountain.”

Ning nodded, then picked up the fourth book.

[Illusion Sutra]. Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a sword technique, because once one truly understood the meaning of the word ‘Illusion’, one could execute an ‘Illusion Saber’ technique, or an ‘Illusion Spear’ technique, or an ‘Illusion Staff’ technique…this was an insidious and powerful attacking technique that allowed one to hide one’s true abilities and actions. Opponents often would die before even knowing what happened.

This technique was sinister to the extreme.

“This isn’t suited to my temperament.” The first technique Ning discarded was the [Illusion Sutra]. Picking something suited to a person was very important. A technique that was opposite of one’s natural instincts, no matter how profound…would be incredibly difficult to train. Naturally, Ning immediately discarded it.

“Hrm, the last one was originally the greatest strength of the Ji clan.” Ning began to flip through the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords].

The [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] was praised as the most complicated of the five sword techniques, far more complicated than the [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons] which Ning had previously learned. But although it was complicated, once one truly mastered it, the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] could be simplified into three major stances. The ‘One Sword, Ten Thousand Shadows’ stance, the ‘Ten Thousand Swords Become One’, and the ‘Melody of Ten Thousand Swords’.

……

Ning closed his eyes, pondering.

In terms of being the most awe-inspiring and most complicated, or perhaps even the simplest, it would be the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords].

In terms of being the most insidious and difficult to guard against, it would be the [Illusion Sutra].

In terms of being the most orthodox, it would be the [Polaris Secret Manual].

In terms of having the greatest defense, it would be the [Raindrop Sutra].

In terms of the most powerful attack and the deepest, most profound principles, it would be the [Thunderflame Sword].

“First of all, the [Illusion Sutra] can be excluded. It doesn’t suit my temperament!” Ning pondered. “The [Polaris Secret Manual] is part of the [Polaris Sword Manual]. In terms of attack, it isn’t very strong. In defense, it isn’t either. It isn’t very exquisite either…it’s comparatively average, but it isn’t weak in any aspect either. When fighting against experts, one must have some sort of advantage! The [Polaris Secret Manual] can be excluded as well.”

“Only three left. The [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords], [Raindrop Sutra], and [Thunderflame Sword].”

“The [Raindrop Sutra] is a must!” Ning thought to himself.

The Raindrop Sutra was like a curtain of endless raindrops. It was the most defensive technique amongst the five major sword techniques.

In a battle, defensive abilities were even more important than attacking abilities!

In his past life, Ning had seen many martial arts competitions. All of the champions were experts at dodging and defense. Even in soccer and basketball, there was the saying that ‘defense is king’. Although attacks were pretty to look at…it was defense which truly gave the best chances at victory.

The venue was different, but the logic was the same!

In life and death battles, defense was also important. When encountering an expert more powerful than one’s self, one might reach the point of only being able to defend and not attack. If one’s defense was strong, then perhaps one might still live. But once those attack-focused people encountered those who were even stronger than them, once their attacks were not able to harm the opponent, they were finished.

“Defense is the same thing as preserving my life. First, I have to preserve my life; only then can I take the lives of others. In addition, this is the technique which my father used to become famous. With him personally instructing me, I will improve quickly. The [Raindrop Sutra] is a must.” Ning carefully continued to consider. “As for the [Thunderflame Sword] and the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords]…”

“Alright, [Thunderflame Sword] it is!” Ning quickly made his decision.

If he was like an ordinary person who could only use a single sword technique, Ning probably would’ve made a choice between the [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords].

However, since he used twin swords, he already had the [Raindrop Sutra] for defense. Thus, for the second one, he chose the most offensively powerful [Thunderflame Sword]. The [Thunderflame Sword] had, as its flaw, no defensive techniques, but as a twin-sword wielder, that wasn’t a flaw at all. He had already chosen the [Raindrop Sutra] for his defense, and thus what he now truly needed was a powerful killing technique.

“The [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Thunderflame Sword].” Ning made up his mind. “The [Raindrop Sutra] is excellent at defense, while the [Thunderflame Sword], despite only having three strokes, has three incomparably powerful killer moves.”

“In addition, once my [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] reaches the Xiantian level, my Divine Sun Tattoo and Divine Moon Tattoo will allow me to control fire and water. Water is very suited to the [Raindrop Sutra] while fire is very suited to the [Thunderflame Sword]. I trust they will be of great help to my swordplay.”

“In defending, my defense must be so tight that not even a drop of water can get through!”

“In attacking, my attacks must be as explosively powerful as a fiery volcano!”

“I have twin swords. One for defense, one for offense. Or perhaps I can use both for defense. Or both for attack. I’ll do as I please!” Ning rapidly began to evaluate his future possibilities in battle, and he saw the path with crystal clarity. He knew…only once one had a full understanding as to how one would develop and progress would one be able to avoid taking a wrong path. This would help one develop faster!

In warfare, strategies were of greater importance than tactics.

In a person’s growth, there was a saying that planning counted for more than effort.

If one knew the right way one needed to advance towards, even if one didn’t make huge advances every day, after ten or twenty years, one would still reach a high level. But if one didn’t have a clear objective, and just blindly worked hard, a person might just be running in-place without improving, or perhaps even going backwards!

….

His careful examination of the books had taken two hours. That huge candle was already half used up. Yichuan and Snow just waited there quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words.

“Father, Mother.” Ning suddenly spoke.

“Hrm?” Yichuan and Snow both turned to look at him. Yichuan spoke. “You’ve chosen?”

Ning nodded.

“Ning, son, what have you chosen? One or two?” Snow asked.

“I’ve chosen two.” Ning held out the two books. “One is the [Raindrop Sutra]. The other is the [Thunderflame Sword].”

“[Raindrop Sutra]? [Thunderflame Sword]?” Yichuan nodded slightly. As the number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, despite not having gained any merits in battle after his son was being born, his reputation had only grown. This was because no one knew how powerful Yichuan had become…but no one could dispute that in even ten years, Yichuan had already become the number one expert of the West Prefecture.

His judgment was therefore exceptional.

“Fine.” Yichuan nodded.

“I’d like to hear your advice, Father.” Ning hurriedly said.

“No rush.” Yichuan shook his head. “I have some thoughts on the [Raindrop Sutra], but you’ve never trained it in before. Thus, even if I explained my thoughts to you, you wouldn’t be able to comprehend them. You have to first train hard, and even engage in life-and-death battles, before I can successfully guide you.”

“Tomorrow at dawn, I will give you the full copies of the [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Thunderflame Sword]. At that time, you will perform them in front of me once. As long as you can get the postures and movements right, that will be enough.” Yichuan nodded. “Three days later, you will begin to engage in real battles. Those sparring matches you usually do are too simple and soft. You need to fight in real life-and-death battles.”

Ning was puzzled.

“Father, haven’t I already engaged in life-and-death battles?” Ning couldn’t help but ask. “In the past, when you acknowledged that my skill had reached the first level in sword training, the basic level, didn’t you have me fight against and kill some prisoners who had been sentenced to death?”

He still remembered the first time he had killed someone. At that time, his entire body had been trembling, uncontrollably so. Although he rationally knew that he shouldn’t be afraid, he still couldn’t help but shake. According to what his father had said…aside from a very few people who lived for slaughter, this was the normal reaction of most people the first time they killed someone.

After having killed dozens of people sentenced to death row, he had grown calmer.

“That wasn’t a battle. That was just training your courage.” Yichuan shook his head. “Fighting against convicts? All of them were weaker than you. How can that be called a life-and-death battle? Three days from now…I will arrange for you to engage in a true battle with monstrous beasts, powerful ones that have already reached mastery in the Houtian level.”

“Monsters?” Ning’s face changed.

“Those captured monsters will turn insane and ferocious for food and for the chance to live. In addition, they won’t show you any mercy at all.” Yichuan looked at his son. “In front of a massive cage, you will fight against the monstrous beasts, one on one. This is the battle which all important descendants of the Ji clan must go through; the ‘Cage Battle’. Over half of these important descendants will die in that cage.

Half?

Ning was briefly shocked, but then grew calm again. This was because he knew that the women and the slaves in the various tribes were highly fertile, but the total population here had never changed. Why? Because the savage environment had caused the tribes to need to struggle against the heavens, against the earth, against the Diremonsters hidden within the mountains and valleys, and even against other tribes. Only a few would be able to survive! Even though he was born into the Ji clan, he still needed to face tough, relentless training. Only the elite would survive.

It was precisely because all the clan members of the Ji clan were so strong that the Ji clan was famous and had become a local hegemon!

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Chapter 15 –Cage Battle

Chapter 15 –Cage Battle

Three days later, at dawn, Ning and his father came to Dragon Castle.

Dragon Castle was three hundred meters wide, a thousand meters long, and was divided into two parts; the Cage, and the tunnels for the monstrous beasts. The Cage was where the life-and-death battles would be carried out, while the beast tunnels were where the monstrous beasts were imprisoned. Because Dragon Castle held many monstrous beasts inside, it was extremely dangerous, which is why it had been built outside of the city.

…..

Dragon Castle. Within the Cage.

Ning entered the Cage and looked around. This was an empty area that was two or three hundred meters in diameter. The four walls were all made from some sort of black metal, and up above him was black metallic chains that formed a metal web, preventing anyone from fleeing.

“This place is completely sealed.” Yichuan, who faintly emanated a cold aura, said, “The walls are formed with blackwater iron. Although blackwater iron isn’t a particularly precious material, most early stage Xiantian will find it very difficult to damage such a thick blackwater iron wall. As for the thick chains above, those are also made from blackwater iron. Given your strength…if you are to use the power within the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and use your full strength, you should be able to break apart the chains. But a web like this formed from many chains…you will probably need the span of ten breaths before you are able to break enough chains to escape.”

Ning nodded.

“Look.” Yichuan pointed towards the air above the net of chains. There was a viewing platform beyond it.

“Your mother and I, as well as your Uncle White, will be there watching you.” Yichuan said coldly.

“Be careful.” Snow encouraged her son.

“Roar!” The snow white dog also looked at Ning, his eyes filled with encouragement and anticipation. This snow white dog was his father Yichuan’s lifelong friend, and was also his own Uncle White. In total, his father had tamed two Diremonsters; one was that massive black python, the so-called Uncle Black! The other was a snow white dog, his Uncle White.

Beasts, upon gaining a level of intelligence, could begin to absorb natural energy and transform into monstrous beasts!

Monstrous beasts, after managing the difficult art of transformation, would enter the Xiantian level and become Xiantian lifeforms. Only then would they be considered Diremonsters. Generally speaking, Diremonsters were capable of transforming into humans, such as Uncle Black. But amongst monstrous beasts, there was a very unique type of creature: the Godbeasts.

Godbeasts were magical beasts that contained some of the bloodline of those ancient Fiendgods of the past. They were born intelligence, and possessed powerful natural gifts. Their strength was far greater than that of ordinary monstrous beasts. They also found it extremely hard to transform into human forms, and for different Godbeasts, the level of difficulty was different as well.

Some needed to reach the ‘Zifu’ level before they could take human form. Some needed to reach the ‘Wanxiang’ level. Some, even higher…

Uncle White was a Godbeast of the ‘Whitewater Hound’ type, and he had to reach the Zifu level before he could take human form and speak in the human tongue.

However, Ning and the Whitewater Hound were extremely close to each other, because after having been taught archery by his teacher, Blindfish, Ning would spend every morning with the Whitewater Hound at the forests outside the West Prefecture training in archery. Yichuan hadn’t been able to rest easy with his son going out by himself, which is why he asked the Xiantian lifeform, the ‘Whitewater Hound’, to help protect him.

The power of a Xiantian level Godbeast was terrifying indeed! The Whitewater Hound was one of the reasons why Yichuan had such a high position and reputation in the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture.

“Just watch.” Ning’s lips twisted into a smile.

“Growl.” The Whitewater Hound let out a growl as well, then followed Yichuan and Snow to the narrow walkway. Soon, they arrived at the viewing platform.

Ning let out a soft breath, calming himself down as he looked around him.

“Why do I feel like I’m in the Coliseum?” Ning secretly murmured. “There’s a place for battle, and there’s a viewing platform.” He knew that generally speaking, only the important disciples of the clan would be permitted to engage in battle against monstrous beasts here, which is why the elders and family members of the clan would often come watch.

“Hua….” “Hua…”

“Hua…”

The sound of chains clanking against each other could be heard from a distant tunnel. Ning couldn’t help but turn to look, and within that pitch black tunnel…he could faintly make out a low, angry growling sound, a sound which actually shook the entire cage. Even the massive chain net above the cage was quivering with the noise.

A massive, silver furred head slowly appeared from within the distant tunnel.

“What is that?” Ning looked carefully.

“Ning.” Yichuan said coldly from the viewing platform above the cage, “You train in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, so I specially selected an extremely powerful monstrous beast for you, one with the lineage of the Fiendgods: A Howling Moonwolf.”

Ning’s eyes widened as he stared above at his father, a look of shock on his face.

A beast that possessed the lineage of the Fiendgods?

Then that would be a Godbeast, right? But it made sense; Godbeasts were a type of monstrous beast. In the vast world, there were still a good number of Houtian level Godbeasts that roamed about, such as the Armored Wurm, the Earthquake Rhino, the Howling Moonwolf, the Redclawed Goldenraven, the Thundersea Owl, or the Whitewater Hound. Generally speaking, out of every thousand Houtian level Godbeast, only one would be able to break through to the Xiantian lifeform level.

“Hua…” The metal clanking sound continued.

Ning didn’t lose his focus. He stared at the giant tunnel in the wall. He knew that they were probably removing the chains on the other side. Once the chains were removed, the Howling Moonwolf would be released.

“Pengcheng!” The sound of metal chains hitting the floor.

“Hoooooowl!” Instantly, a carefree wolf’s howl rang out. In the air above, Yichuan, his wife, and the Whitewater Hound stared carefully down below.

Ning held his breath.

From the distant tunnel, a massive creature slowly made its way out. Its entire body was covered with beautiful silver fur. It was over two meters tall, and its steps were graceful. It stared at the tiny little pipsqueak standing in the distance; a human male. As one of the special types of monstrous beasts, a Godbeast, the creature’s intelligence wasn’t lower than that of humans.

It knew that there were only two possible outcomes after entering this cage. The first was to kill this human and continue to live. The other was to be killed by this human youth.

“He picked a Godbeast for me the first time here.” Ning stretched out his right hand, and a sword appeared in it out of nowhere, gleaming with cold light. “Then let’s kill it.”

The Howling Moonwolf’s massive body weighed nearly ten thousand pounds, but its four legs moved with great agility as it closed the distance. Its long, narrow eyes inspected this human youth.

Ning walked forward, one step at a time, with longsword in hand.

The distance between the two quickly drew near.

“Shua!” The Howling Moonwolf’s movements suddenly changed from being graceful to being savage, and it suddenly transformed into a blur as it pounced at Ning, and its previously soft paws suddenly had sharp claws emerge from it as well.

Swoosh!

At the critical moment, Ning suddenly moved, as graceful as the wind as he dodged the Howling Moonwolf’s pounce, and then stabbed out with the sharp sword in his hand! The stab was extremely forceful and straight, and it was also fast as lightning. If it managed to land on the Howling Moonwolf’s body, it would be able to borrow the charging force of the Moonwolf and tear its body open!

“Huh?” As he stabbed, Ning’s face suddenly changed. The sword tip had met with a powerful blocking force. The Howling Moonwolf’s fur had blocked the tip of the sword, preventing it from penetrating through.

At the same time, the Howling Moonwolf suddenly sent its tail whisking towards Ning. Unable to dodge in time, Ning quickly used his sword to block.

Bang!

The Moonwolf’s tail landed against the blade like a heavy iron whip, and the powerful force knocked Ning flying away, his body slamming against the distant blackwater iron wall with a boom. Bang! The thick wall trembled violently.

“Roar!” The Howling Moonwolf immediately followed up with another pounce as it slashed at Ning with its claws.

Ning quickly dodged with a flying leap.

Chi! Chi! Chi! Several deep claw marks appeared on the blackwater iron wall. The Moonwolf landed on the ground, then stared at the distant human youth. Its tail attack was its killing weapon. Its tail had sent the human youth slamming into the wall, but the human youth had actually been able to quickly dodge far away. It understood that this human youth truly was very powerful, powerful enough to give him a good fight.

“An ordinary Ninefang Warrior, upon meeting with that tail, would probably have their organs split open.” Ning frowned as he stared at the Howling Moonwolf. “It seems I’ll have to rely on the power of the Fiendgod Body Refining.”

These years, he had also engaged in Ki Refining and had reached mastery of the Houtian level.

But his attacks with Houtian level Ki Refining techniques couldn’t even break through the fur. How could he use it to fight?

“Hrmph!”

Ning let out a deep growl, and from his nostrils came forth two streams of energy that were visible to the naked eye. The streams of energy were causing the air itself to shake. At that moment, the hidden, terrifying potential strength that was lying dormant in his body suddenly exploded forth, and the hidden Solar Strength and Lunar Strength exploded as well, and his entire body began to turn faintly red.

With a slight movement of the sword in his hands, Ning shattered the air before him and carved a huge ditch into the thick earth.

The distant Howling Moonwolf let out a low growl, staring fixedly at this youth.

….

“The child has finally begun to use the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].” Snow laughed. “Before this, he was still trying to avoid doing so.”

Yichuan nodded. “The Howling Moonwolves have the lineage of the Fiendgods. Their fur is incomparably tough, and ordinary Houtian experts aren’t able to break through it. I chose this creature on purpose…to force Ning to use all of his strength, and see how much of it he can use in a real, life-and-death battle.”

“What do you think about the look on Ning’s face?” Yuchi Snow asked.

“Average.” Ji Yichuan stared down. “He’s fairly calm.”

….

Spinning the sword in his hand, Ning slowly walked towards the Howling Moonwolf, circling around it.

The Moonwolf stared at Ning as well, choosing not to rashly attack. This was because once it attacked…it would expose its own flaws as well. That would the moment which determined life or death.

“Hrmph.” Not hesitating at all, Ning suddenly charged forward after the Moonwolf, his body becoming a blur.

With a howl, the Howling Moonwolf immediately pounced over as well, opening its massive maw and revealing its sharp fangs. Its sharp claws tore at Ning as well.

Shua!

A flash of the sword!

The shadow of a sword slashed through the air, striking in a short range while changing trajectories nine times. Its speed was terrifyingly fast, so fast that it was as though even the void was being chopped apart with it. Chi chi chi chi chi. The flashing sword chopped at the Moonwolf’s chest, carving out a massive wound, and fresh blood instantly spurted out.

“Block.” Just after Ning chopped out with one sword, he immediately turned his sword back and blocked the Howling Moonwolf’s claw, while simultaneously borrowing the clashing force to fly backwards and retreat.

The Howling Moonwolf stared furiously at Ning. The massive wound on its chest was shrinking, and the flow of blood began to slow, but it still continued to drip blood. Clearly, that wound had simply been too massive.

The Howling Moonwolf was now truly sensing the impending arrival of death!

“The [Thunderflame Sword]’s technique, ‘Thunderflash Flint’, really is extraordinary. Ning sighed softly.

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Chapter 16 – Causing Devastation

Chapter 16 – Causing Devastation

After having received two consummate sword techniques, Ning had been training hard, of course. He was now capable of utilizing the techniques of the [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Thunderflame Sword], and his power had increased. However, he had only learned a tiny bit, and he wasn’t even at the level of expertise, much less mastery. After all, even his father, Yichuan, was still pondering on the secrets of the [Raindrop Sutra].

Thunderflash Flint was one of the three killer moves of the [Thunderflame Sword]. It relied on a single word; fast!

As fast as lightning! As swift as flame!

“Ning’s swordplay and his footwork are both exquisite.” Snow said in praise from the viewing platform. “Although the Howling Moonwolf is as fast as a shadow, even faster than Ning, Ning has relied on the [Shadewind Steps] to constantly change directions. He’s in complete control of this battle. His swordplay has reached the ‘advanced’ level, and he can quickly make multiple changes in his movements. In dealing with that monstrous wolf…it can be said that his defense is airtight.”

Yichuan nodded. “With the Fiendgod Body Refining, Ning’s great strength is his forte, while his speed is a bit weaker…but this is a Godbeast, after all. It has an extremely strong life force. A wound like this is just a skin wound to it. When it starts fighting all out, and with Ning never having experienced such a vicious life and death battle before, the results will be hard to predict.”

….

Below, Ning had the feeling that everything was under control, and he continued to wield the sword in his hand as he drew near the Moonwolf.

“Awoooooo!”

Sensing the threat of death from this human youth, the Moonwolf gave a savage howl. All the fur on its body stood up straight as needles, and its eyes turned hard, its pupils flashing. Those who were familiar with Moonwolves could tell…that this one had already entered a wild, bestial state.

A terrifying aura spread forth from it, causing Ning to pause.

A killing aura?

“Growl!” The Howling Moonwolf charged towards him, the earth shaking beneath it.

Ning dodged as agilely as the wind, changing directions with a simple step. At the same time, his sword flashed. Chi! Fresh blood sprayed out once more, and yet another enormous wound appeared on the Moonwolf’s chest, but this time, the Moonwolf didn’t care at all as it sent its two pairs of ferocious paws towards Ning, its knife-like claws slashing through the air.

Ning calmly retreated while at the same time, using his sword to block.

“Ka!”

The Moonwolf’s left paw slammed against the sharp sword, its paw seeming to have transformed into a hook which suddenly latched onto the sword. But how could Ning’s sword, infused with his Fiendgod Body Refining power, be so easily caught? If the two clashed and then immediately flew apart, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but the Moonwolf wanted to fight that power head on with his claws, and so it smashed it hard against the sword.

Ka!

The Moonwolf’s left paw clearly turned red with blood, and the faint sound of bones breaking could be heard.

Hua!

The other paw came at Ning’s chest. The distance was simply too close, and there was no chance to block. Ning’s only option was to take a deep breath, and his chest suddenly retracted in by three centimeters. Chi! Chi! Chi! The tough animal fur over Ning’s chest was ripped to tatters. Blood spouted everywhere, and Ning was knocked flying as well, striking against the ground and making the earth itself crack from the impact.

Swoosh! Ning hurriedly pulled away.

“Injured.” Ning looked at the Moonwolf, his eyes narrowing.

Just then, the Moonwolf had actually chosen to use its paw to take his sword head on. The Howling Moonwolf didn’t care about what injuries upon itself were being inflected, as it was going all out. Its left paw was now half useless, and its speed had dropped dramatically as well. But the paw blow it had landed on Ning had torn through Ning’s beast skin clothes. The beast skin clothes were part of the fur from a Xiantian lifeform. Without any monstrous power infused into it, the defense would be a bit weaker, but generally speaking the fur from a Xiantian lifeform would be able to block the attacks of a Houtian monster.

However, the Howling Moonwolf was a Godbeast. Its full strength attack was able to rip the fur apart.

In order to further train himself…although Ning had the protection of the Goldstar Shirt and could use it to guard his entire body, Ning had shrank its defensive radius to only protect his most vulnerable areas.

“A life-and-death battle is different from a spar. I can’t just use the experience I gained while sparring.” Ning quickly changed his calculations. “When sparring, nobody will engage in self-destructive behavior, but in a life-and-death battle…the goal is to kill the opponent. For the sake of this goal, any price is worth paying.”

“I need to be more careful and more cautious.”

Ning was like a sponge, quickly absorbing the learned experience. The fierce scar over his chest was visibly shrinking. The blood from it began to stop, and soon, it totally closed over, leaving behind a red line which then turned into white, clear skin. No lasting damage at all!

This was the powerful regenerative power provided by Fiendgod Body Refining.

Ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining techniques only required a person to reach the Xiantian level before being able to regrow severed limbs. But Ning trained in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, and his healing abilities were nearly on par with that sort of regeneration already.

“Excellent!” Ning cracked his lips into a smile. “It actually took my sword away.”

“Roaaaar.” The sword was stuck right beneath the Howling Moonwolf’s paw. It stared at Ning, its eyes filled with boundless bloodlust. The terrifying recuperative abilities of the human youth in front of it…it understood that this was a Fiendgod in human skin, with even greater healing abilities than Godbeasts.

Ning waved his right hand, and yet another sharp sword appeared within it.

“Come again.”

Ning transformed into a shadow as he pounced towards the Moonwolf.

“Roaaar!” The Howling Moonwolf charged forward as well.

……

The two engaged each other time and time again, each time exchanging blows that nearly took the other’s life. Ning possessed powerful healing abilities and terrifying power, and a fierce sword attack style! But the Howling Moonwolf had its fangs, sharp claws, and tail, all of which it could use as weapons. In addition, its massive body was so large that most weapon wounds were of minimal threat to it.

“So he’s only using the Goldstar Shirt to protect his vital points.” A rare smile appeared on Yichuan’s face.

“Ning really is trying very hard.” Snow was growing nervous as she watched.

Her son’s body was covered in bloodstains. As his mother, how could she not worry?

“Don’t worry. Ning has still covered his body’s vital points with the Goldstar Shirt. Even if he is wounded, it won’t be life-threatening.” Yichuan said. “At most, he might lose an arm or a leg…but given his regenerative abilities, with a little bit of time, he’ll grow another one.”

“Lose an arm or a leg?” Snow couldn’t help but grow frantic, but she knew how difficult the road to becoming an expert had to be.

….

“Hu!” “Hu!” “Hu!” Although Ning had the body of a Fiendgod, right now, he couldn’t help but pant for breath. The fur clothes on his body was already ripped apart in many areas, and the wound on his body was rapidly closing.

“Roaaaar.”

The Moonwolf let out a despairing growl. It was forcing itself to stand erect, but its two paws were both quivering, as though it could collapse at any time. Its body was covered with dozens of giant wounds, and a particularly vicious pierce-wound was in its head.

Both of its legs had been shattered. It was already quite an impressive feat for it to be able to remain standing.

“You lose.” Ning wiped the blood from the corner of his eyes, then said in a quiet voice, “My power is actually greater than yours, but my victory was quite a difficult one…the reason is because when faced with your bloodlust and your wildness, I was unable to be calm and bring out my full power. You are the first monster that I have ever killed, and thus, I will let you die under my greatest attack!”

Hua! A second sword appeared out of nowhere in Ning’s left hand. Holding the twin swords, he stared at the Moonwolf.

Swoosh!

Ning suddenly transformed into a blur as he threw himself at the Moonwolf. The Howling Moonwolf let out a final howl as it threw itself at Ning as well.

Two massive flashes of light suddenly appeared, destroying one of the Moonwolf’s remaining good legs, and then, with another flash, a massive criss-cross wound appeared on the Howling Moonwolf’s head, sending blood and brain matter flying everywhere.

Ning landed on the ground.

The Howling Moonwolf collapsed on the ground, brain matter tumbling out of the massive wound on its head. Its fur was stained with the color of the earth, and its formerly beautiful silver fur had became a stained combination of mud and blood, unsightly to the extreme. A descendant of the Fiendgods of the wolf lineage had died!

“How do you feel?” Yichuan looked down at his son.

“I feel great.” Ning looked up at his father, his eyes filled with ardor. “Let’s do this once a day.”

Yichuan’s eyelids twitched. He muttered, “Do you think capturing a peak Houtian level Godbeast is easy? Once every three days. And, most will be ordinary monstrous beasts. If you want to Godbeast, it’ll be a matter of luck. I’ll arrange for the most powerful monstrous beasts here in Dragon Castle to be reserved for your training.”

Ning nodded. “If I meet some weaker monstrous beasts, I’ll just rely on my internal force only.”

Given the power of a Fiendgod’s body, your ordinary peak Houtian monstrous beasts would be brutalized by brute force alone. This was why only Godbeasts with Fiendgod heritage in their blood could fight against Ning.

….

Time passed by.

Ning fought with one monstrous beast after another, and his sword technique and footwork grew more exquisite. At the same time, he learned how to better maintain his calm in life-and-death battles. If his heart was not calm…then his power wouldn’t be able to be displayed to perfection.

….

Autumn had come. Swallow Mountain had become incomparably cold, and some weak tribes had their lives become even more difficult. Especially when they were met with the savage attacks of some monsters from deep in the mountains…some smaller tribes might be exterminated!

Honghonghong….

The earth was shaking.

Atop this barren, desolate wasteland, a large group of black armored riders were riding their long-furred beasts. They seemed like a black flood which was charging across these plains.

“Halt.” A cold command. Three hundred powerful black armored riders instantly came to a halt.

“Commander, this place is the location where that serpent monster appeared last. This is the territory of the Sharphorn Tribe. Three days ago, the monster suddenly charged at the Sharphorn Tribe and devoured eighteen people, then killed over a hundred. The Sharphorn Tribe was totally destroyed.” A black armored rider said respectfully. “This creature has been an impending disaster for months. It has killed over a thousand people and devastated over ten tribes. However, all of those tribes were small ones. Logically speaking, it should be a peak-stage Houtian level monster with the lineage of the Fiendgods, or perhaps a Diremonster who has newly reached the Xiantian level.”

“Hrm.”

The bearded man who was riding a white tiger and wore red, fiery scale mail armor nodded. “This serpent monster has been causing wanton devastation within the area controlled by our Ji clan of the Western Prefecture. It deserves death. It has only appeared in this area…all of you, divide into thirty small units and begin searching. Once you find it, immediately fire the signal arrow.”

“Yes.” The three hundred black armored riders acknowledged in unison.

Hua…

Soon, the three hundred mighty black armored riders divided into thirty small units which went searching in various directions.

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Chapter 17 – Buying a Weapon

Chapter 17 – Buying a Weapon

Two days later.

Within a forest with thick foliage, a large number of black armored riders were surrounding a serpent monster.

“Roar…” This was a massive, blood-red serpent which glowed with silver light around its torso. Around its torso, it had two pairs of sinuous claws with four toes, and a pair of terrifying red serpentine eyes. However, right now, the giant snake had been totally covered by a giant net. No matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t break loose.

“Hahaha.” The bearded man in red armor laughed loudly. “Stupid snake. You were caught alive by us so easily. You, go tie it up.”

“Yes.”

Instantly, several dozen black armored knights cast one black chain after another, sending them flying towards the giant snake, quickly binding it up. The red serpent was tied up to securely that no matter how it contorted itself, it wasn’t able to do anything. Soon, it had been completely wrapped up by metal chains and bound so securely it couldn’t even open its mouth.

“Commander, where does this giant snake come from? Why does it have two claws?” A nearby black armored rider was curious. No matter how long he had been pondering, he couldn’t discern what type of Godbeast this was.

The bearded man laughed. “Serpent-type creatures are often intermingled in blood. I myself have seen over a hundred serpents with Fiendgod blood. Only, some bloodlines are very pure and therefore become famous and are named. A sort of mongrel mutant Godbeast like this has no name at all.”

“The young master needs some powerful Houtian level monstrous beasts to practice his sword on. This serpent monster would be a good choice.” The bearded man weighed the snake with his gaze, then nodded in satisfaction. “Take it back.”

“Yes.”

The black armored riders acknowledged respectfully.

The commander of this regiment was a Xiantian-level lifeform belonging to the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture – the number one expert archer, Blindfish! Blindfish was still one of young master Ning’s instructors, and without question in the Ji clan, he stood on the side of Ji Young and Ji Yichuan. In addition, Blindfish was quite proud of having taught Ning.

The story of how young master Ning would use monstrous beasts to train his swordplay had spread quite some time ago.

After all, for him to kill one every three days resulted in a large number of monstrous beasts being killed. These beasts were almost all brought back by the black armored riders, and so the news had quickly spread amongst the army.

“Young master Ning reached the peak of the Houtian stage long ago, and his swordplay is at the advanced level of ‘one with the sword’. In addition, he is training in the most powerful sword technique of our Ji clan. Killing a peak Houtian monster should be a simple thing.”

“Supposedly, he’s even killed a Houtian level Godbeast.”

“Think about who young master Ning is. He definitely has an extremely sharp, unblockable precious weapon. With a weapon like this, relying on his ‘advanced’ level sword techniques…killing a peak Houtian level Godbeast isn’t too hard.”

The legends that were circulating amongst the soldiers of the West Prefecture were quite vivid and fanciful.

Even the other powerful member of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, Ji Lee, believed that the little fellow Ning was only able to kill a Godbeast because he had some sort of precious weapon.

Dragon Castle. The cage.

A powerfully built monstrous beast with black spots was lying on the ground. The thick fur on his body had been split open in many places, and blood from those massive wounds stained the ground.

Ning was still standing there, frowning as he was thinking. The sharp sword in his hand disappeared into thin air. When fighting with most peak Houtian monsters, he only used his internal energy, and the weapons he used were only fairly decent weapons which couldn’t be described as ‘precious’. After all, he was already so physically strong that using a precious weapon on top of that would make the training pointless.

“Ji Ning!” A voice from above.

Ning couldn’t help but look up at his father, Yichuan, who was on the viewing platform. This made Ning quite surprised. “Father, why have you come?”

Because he fought every three days here in the Dragon Castle, aside from that first fight with the Howling Moonwolf, the subsequent dozens of battles, his father had not attended…

“I wanted to see how your swordplay was progressing.” Yichuan said. “Have you reached ‘initiation’ yet?”

“Not yet.” Ning shook his head. “I haven’t gained expertise in any of the many attacks contained within the [Raindrop Sutra] or the [Thunderflame Sword].”

The [Raindrop Sutra] had a total of nine attack techniques.

The [Thunderflame Sword] had a total of three attack techniques.

These attack techniques were all very special…if one could train in them to a high level, one would feel as though one had become ‘one with the world’ and be able to use the power of the world itself. This was what was known as ‘initiation’. But this didn’t actually symbolize that a person had reached the third level of swordplay, ‘one with the world’, because the true ‘one with the world’ level of swordplay was when one could use any sword attack, be it as something as simple as a stab, a chop, or a scrape, and utilize the power of the world itself with the attack. Only then would one be at the ‘one with the world’ level!

Initiation only meant that one could temporarily reach the ‘one with the world’ effect when using certain techniques.

According to what his father had said…

Upon reaching ‘initiation’, one would have reached a certain level of expertise in a technique.

When one reached the ‘one with the world’ level, that means one had mastered a technique.

According to legends…

There was an even higher, more profound level above the ‘one with the world’ level. The [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Thunderflame Sword] techniques were developed by people who were beyond the ‘one with the world’ level.

“There is no need for you to be so continuously hard working while training in the sword.” Yichuan said. “Today, take Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf and go for a stroll.”

Ning nodded. “Yes, father.”

Ning turned his head and left through that narrow tunnel. As for the corpse of the dead monstrous beast, someone would come collect it later.

…..

West Prefecture City had hundreds of thousands of citizens. It was a large city.

“Young master, it’s been so long since we’ve gone for a stroll.” Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf, his two female servants, were clearly very happy as they followed by his side.

Ning smiled as he walked on the streets. This was one of the most bustling streets in the entire West Prefecture City. Generally speaking, all the merchants would pass by this street. The street was normally ten meters wide, but there were so many merchant stalls on each side that nearly half the space was taken up, causing there to only be seven meters of walking space left.

“Look at this woman. Look at her ample chest, her large buttocks. She can definitely birth many babies. Ten lambskins for her!”

“These men are all fine warriors. They can all lift over a thousand pounds. Just five ingots of gold. If you buy one, we’ll throw in a kid as well.”

A bald man dressed in beast furs was shouting at the top of his lungs. He had several dozen fur-clad warriors standing guard around him, while he also had many slaves dressed in dirty, tattered fur pelts. All of them stared pitifully around them, hoping that they would meet a kind master who would buy them. There were signs on their heads.

These signs signified that they were for sale.

….

They strolled and looked around.

There were slave traders, beast fur traders, weapon traders, beast traders, monstrous beast traders…all sorts of people were here. There were even some precious books, precious weapons, poisons and herbs, secret technique manuals, and other things for sale.

“Over a hundred warriors in our tribe died for us to acquire this precious weapon, and then we had to make our way back through the wilderness and encounter countless difficulties before we arrived at the West Prefecture City. We weren’t even willing to sell it for thirty beastheads of gold, but you want to try and buy it for ten? That’s too little. At least a hundred beastheads of gold!” A rough-voiced man was shouting from nearby.

Ning glanced over in curiosity.

He saw around dozens of people in a circle surrounding three strong men wearing pitch-black furs, one of whom had a black snake coiled around his arm. The man continued: “A hundred beastheads of gold, whoever pays a hundred beastheads can take it away!”

“How greedy.”

“He actually dares to demand a hundred beastheads of gold.” Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf both murmured.

Ning was surprised as well. A beasthead of gold was around ten pounds. A hundred beastheads meant a thousand pounds of gold. Although to the young master of the Ji clan, it was nothing, to an ordinary tribesman, it was a vast fortune.”

“No matter how sharp it is, it’s just a weapon.”

“It isn’t as though it is some perfect magic treasure. It’s just a damaged magic treasure that can be used as a weapon.”

“Twenty beastheads. I’ll pay twenty beastheads at most. You want to sell, and I want to buy!”

Someone made an offer.

“A hundred beastheads.” The man didn’t budge at all. The two men by his side watched the crowd carefully, afraid that someone might try to seize their treasure. For the sake of this treasure, many people in their tribe had died, and as they made their way from the tribe to the city through the desolate wilderness, dozens more warriors had died. They had to sell this treasure for a high price.

After selling it, they would be able to buy some slaves and some good weapons, so as to allow the tribe to increase its power.

“Let me take a look.” Ning saw the precious weapon which the man was clutching and immediately stepped forward.

The people nearby all turned to look at him.

“Young master.”

“Young master.”

“This is the young master of the Ji clan? The son of the Raindrop Sword?”

Many people stepped back modestly. Anyone capable of paying such a high price was an extraordinary person. In addition, in the past few years, Ning had gone every day with the Whitewater Hound outside the city to train in archery. Each time they left the city, many people saw and recognized him as the exalted young master of the Ji clan. The other people who didn’t recognize him, upon hearing others discuss him, were made aware as well.

When the man with the black snake saw everyone else step back, then heard the words ‘young master of the Ji clan’ and ‘son of the Raindrop Sword’, he was instantly so frightened that his heart began to shake. As people who lived on the territory of the Ji clan, they all knew the legendary Raindrop Sword. This was the number one expert in the entire area around the Ji clan’s West Prefecture, a godlike presence.

And the person in front of him was the only child of the Raindrop Sword?

“Let me take a look.” Ning said.

“Honored young master, please look.” The man respectfully offered the sword in both hands. The two men behind him both felt extremely nervous. They were afraid that this young master who had an extremely high and exalted status would simply take their treasure by force. In the tribes, for a powerful person or person with high status to seize treasures by force was quite common. Although it was forbidden in the West Prefecture City and nobody dared to challenge the laws of the Ji clan, the young man in front of them was a young master of the Ji clan, the only son of the Raindrop Sword!

Ning accepted the sword, and his hands sank down slightly from the weight. This was a pitch-black sword. The thick black sheath seemed very plain and unadorned, but if one looked at it closely, one would find that this scabbard actually had three swords sheathed within it.

“One scabbard, three swords?” Surprised, Ning pulled out the swords.

Clang!

While pulling out the three swords, a cold light flashed on the surface of the swords, and ancient, shattered runes glowed dimly.

“What a pity.” Ning shook his head and sighed. He had seen many treasures in the prefecture. Seeing those mysterious runes and the power they emanated, he knew that this was previously a magic treasure. It should have been three flying swords which were controlled by a Immortal practitioner. But these runes were all but destroyed. Clearly, this magic treasure was badly damaged. It could only be used as a weapon now.”

“Chi.” Ning tested his finger against the blade of the sword.

“Careful. It is very sharp.” The man with the serpent called out in alarm. This precious weapon could cut through stones like tofu.”

Ning felt the skin of his fingertips shake slightly. He couldn’t help but feel surprise. “I have the Goldstar Shirt protecting my body, which is currently spread to every inch of my skin. Just then, when I casually sliced my finger…it actually impacted the Goldstar Shirt. If I were to swing the sword down hard, it probably would have broken through the Goldstar Shirt’s defense. I walk through the city streets every day on my way to archery training and have seen countless weapons, but I’ve never seen such a sharp, precious weapon.”

Others only sensed that this weapon was very sharp, but they didn’t know exactly how sharp it was. But Ning had the feeling…that even his Goldstar Shirt would find it hard to block this precious weapon.

“I want this weapon.” Ning looked at the man with the snake.

The man was both excited and nervous. He hurriedly said, “Young master, for the sake of this weapon, our tribe…” In front of this young man of exalted status, he was nervous and didn’t dare to demand a certain price.

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Chapter 18 – Wings

Chapter 18 – Wings

“Mm.” With a flip of his hand, a piece of blue-tinged gold appeared in Ning’s palm. He tossed it directly towards the man with the black serpent. “Take it.”

“Just this little tiny piece of gold?” The man with the black serpent and the two behind him were frantic. They stared at that tiny bit of blue-tinged gold, just the size of a finger. “And it isn’t even pure?”

“Young master.”

“Respected young master.”

The three men began to call out and beg. How could they possibly return to the tribes with this? The other tribal warriors were outside the city waiting. None of them were willing to enter the city…because the cost of entering the city was a lambskin or some other equivalent value item.

“You pack of idiots. That is thundergold!”

“I’m willing to pay a hundred beastheads of gold for that piece of thundergold.”

“Just a hundred beastheads? A piece of thundergold of that size, I’d pay 160 beastheads! I can send someone to bring the beastheads of gold right now!” Instantly, the nearby people began to make offers. All of them were people of some status in the West Prefecture City, or came from the clans with Xiantian lifeforms in them, or perhaps belonged to the powerful tribes that were located close to the West Prefecture. How excellent their judgment must therefore be!

The man with the black snake hurriedly clutched the piece of thundergold. He clearly felt that the weight of this item was far beyond that of normal yellow gold. He exchanged glances with his two friends, both shocked and overjoyed.

“Thank you, young master.”

“Thank you, mighty young master.”

The three men instantly thanked him, filled with gratitude.

“Now you thank him? The Raindrop Sword is a major figure whose fame is known everywhere. Think about what sort of status his son has. How could he possibly take your weapon by force? Just the tiniest portion of his fortune that he could casually toss out would astonish you.” A fat, fur-clad old man next to them said in a loud voice. Clearly, these words were intentionally said for the not too distant Ning to hear.

Ning chuckled, and then casually made the sheath with the three swords disappear into his kalestone. Because the space inside the kalestone was limited, thus Ning only carried a few beastheads of gold with him. Everything else he had was all precious treasures.

…..

Within the hall.

Ji Yichuan was seated at the master’s seat, while Yuchi Snow sat on his left. The two were slowly eating the food on the table in front of them.

Swoosh!

A human figure rushed in. It was Ning, who had finished his stroll.

“Father, mother.” Ning said hurriedly.

Yichuan frowned. “Why didn’t you pay attention to the time when you were taking a stroll outside?”

Ning obediently didn’t dare to make a sound, hurriedly running to his usual spot, sitting on his knees and beginning to eat. Their lunch was rather sumptuous, with all sorts of meats, bread, and wine on the table. Ning’s current appetite was simply voracious, and virtually all of the food and beverages on the table were devoured by Ning in a short period of time.

Snow laughed as she watched her son tear through the food like a tornado.

“Father, mother.” Ning suddenly thought of the sheath and three swords he had purchased today. He hurriedly said, “Today, while taking the walk, I ran into three tribal warriors. They should have come from a distant, impoverished place to the Western Prefecture City. They came for the purpose of selling a precious weapon. And I…decided to buy it.”

“Precious weapon?” The seated Yichuan frowned. “In the treasure warehouse of our Ji clan here in the West Prefecture, we have plenty of precious weapons. In the past, didn’t you already select two precious weapons? How can those lowly peddlers in the city possibly have anything good.”

Because Ning had yet to read the Xiantian level in Ki Refining, he naturally couldn’t control any magic treasures yet, which is why he went to the treasure warehouse to pick out two precious swords. But of course, when training in the cage, he only used ordinary weapons.

“Father, the two precious weapons I selected in the warehouse are far inferior to this one I just bought.” Ning said seriously.

“Oh?” Yichuan looked at his son.

“Actually, the precious weapon I bought is a damaged sword-type magic treasure.” Ning explained. “There are occult runes carved onto it, but they are totally damaged. Therefore, it can only be used as a fairly sharp precious weapon. However, it really is sharp, far more so than the previous precious weapons in my residence. If I use some force, I can pierce through the Goldstar Shirt.”

“Pierce through the Goldstar Shirt?” Yichuan revealed a hint of surprise. “Let me take a look.”

Ning stretched his hand out, and that simple, unadorned sheath and three swords appeared within it. Standing up, he walked it over to his father.

Yichuan accepted it and took a close look at the sheath, then pulled out the three swords. “The magic runes on the swords are totally destroyed, but it feels as though…this is indeed a flying sword magic treasure! Unfortunately, it’s a damaged magic treasure. Most damaged magic treasures aren’t worth much. At most, they might be sold to be broken down into some other materials.”

Ning nodded.

He had read many books, and knew that damaged magic treasures were not worth much, because the material components of magic treasures had already undergone various fusing techniques, making it so that even if one broke down the magic treasure, one wouldn’t be able to get many of the original components back.

“Chi!” Yichuan stroked the tip of the sword with his finger, and a hint of blood appeared on his fingertip. A look of shock appeared on his face. “What a sharp sword. Without any energy infused into it, the sword is still so incredibly sharp. I’ve never seen such a thing. Snow, come take a look. Can you tell where it comes from?”

Yuchi Snow accepted it and carefully looked it over, then slowly shook her head after a long time. “I can’t tell.”

“Mother, if this magic flying sword treasure wasn’t damaged, would it be a ‘ranked’ treasure?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“Of course it would be a ‘ranked’ treasure.” Snow nodded. “Even though it is damaged, the sharpness of this sword is still on par with some ‘unranked’ magic treasures. When it was undamaged…of course it was a ‘ranked’ treasure. Only, exactly what rank it was at, I can’t tell at all. Perhaps no one in the entire area around Swallow Mountain can tell.”

Ning nodded. He understood this.

Generally speaking, the magic treasures owned by a Xiantian level Ki Refiner was ‘unranked’. Only Zifu Disciples and above would have ‘ranked’ magic treasures. Forging magic treasures…that was even harder. There was nobody in the entire Swallow Mountain area who was known to be able to forge magic treasures. Perhaps only in those distant, incomparably powerful tribes would there be an expert capable of forging magic treasures.

“The Grand Xia Dynasty has persisted from the Fiendgod Era until now.” Yichuan returned the sheath and the three swords to his son. “It rules over countless territories, with a history of trillions of years. Who knows how many tribes have risen, fallen, or been exterminated, and how many treasures they have left behind. It isn’t rare to see some magic treasures left over from wars, and our Ji clan has hundreds of damaged magic treasures as well, most of which are of unknown origin. But for this damaged magic treasure to still be so incredibly sharp is quite rare. It is very suited for your use.”

Snow then added, “Ning, in the future, when you reach the Xiantian level as a Ki Refiner and infuse your life energy into an ‘unranked’ magic treasure…its power still might be inferior to these swords!”

Ning nodded.

Magic treasures could be unfathomably profound.

Generally speaking, when Ki Refiners used magic treasures, they were capable of thousands of bizarre powers. But for Fiendgod Body Refiners…they still specialized in close combat. They had a virtually indestructible body, great strength, speed, and regenerative abilities, which is why even when using magic treasures, Fiendgod Body Refiners would generally use weapons such as swords, daggers, spears, and what not.

“This sheath and its three sword will still be useful to me, even after I become a Xiantian lifeform.” Ning felt delighted. He pondered, “Since it will most likely be with me for a long time, I need to give it a name…Hrm. I’ll call it the ‘Darknorth sword!’”

There was a reason why Ning had suddenly thought of ‘Darknorth’.

In the past, when his father, Ji Yichuan, had left Swallow Mountain and roamed in the boundless wide world, he had even gone to the north, to the unending ocean. That massive sea was named as the ‘Dark North Sea’. Within the Dark North Sea, there were many islands. Ji Yichuan had floated from one island to another, and that’s where he had met Yuchi Snow.

They became travel companions, and then after experiencing life and death battles, fell in love with each other, then Snow became pregnant.

Because of the pregnancy…they finally left the dangerous Dark North Sea and returned to Swallow Mountain. Mid-journey, however, they had run into a dangerous situation and Yuchi Snow had suffered a serious wound. This is why they had said that ‘Ning suffered an injury in the womb’. At that critical time, the Godbeast, ‘Whitewater Hound’, had carried Snow on his back and fled.

This was why Yichuan often said that Uncle White had once saved Ning.

His parents had met, fell in love, then conceived him in the Dark North Sea.

The phrase, ‘Darknorth’, thus had a special meaning to Ning.

“Father. Mother.” Ning said seriously. “I have given a name to this sheath and its three swords. Its name will be the Darknorth swords!”

……

At the same time Ning acquired the Darknorth swords. In an area within Swallow Mountain known as Serpentwing Lake….

Serpentwing Lake was a massive lake, nearly a hundred kilometers long, so large that one wouldn’t be able to see the end of it.

As the saying goes, deep mountains and massive lakes always have monsters within.

These words were not false! This massive, mysterious lake, without question, has Diremonsters within it, and countless numbers of lesser monsters. The name of the Diremonster within this lake was Serpentwing. It was an ancient monster, over a thousand years old, and possessed outlandishly strong power. It was born capable of flight, and it could control both water and poison. It was a very ferocious, awe-inspiring Diremonster.

Deep in the center of the lake, there was a small island. This was the lair of Serpentwing.

“Boom…” A giant black coiled serpent, hundreds of meters long. Its two massive scaled wings were spread so wide, it seemed to encompass the skies. Its scarlet eyes were focused on a group of quivering monstrous beasts. A cold aura surrounded the place, and a layer of frost was on the ground.

The densely clustered lesser monsters were all on their knees or on their faces, all of them quivering.

Over a hundred monstrous beasts lay fallen on the ground, their bodies covered with frost. They had been frozen solid.

“Boom…” The furious Serpentwing let out an enraged roar.

Those lesser monsters consisted of all sorts of serpent, crab, and fish-type monsters. They all growled softly in reply. Clearly, they were all incomparably terrified.

“ROAR!” Serpentwing snarled coldly.

Huahuahua….

All the monsters retreated at high speed, as though relieved of a heavy burden. Many of the monsters left the island and entered the depths of the lake, while a portion of them took up defensive positions in various places around the island.

“Shua.” The giant black snake suddenly transformed into mist, and then it reformed into a black-clothed man.

“I, Serpentwing, had ninety two sons!” The black-clothed man ground his teeth. “While they grew up, the majority died, and only sixteen survived! And only one of them has the lineage of the Fiendgods…my most beloved son, Redtip!”

Snakes were lascivious by nature.

Although he himself did not have the lineage of the Fiendgods, he had copulated with many Houtian monsters, some of whom included Houtian stage Godbeasts. To an ancient monster who had trained for over a thousand years…it was fairly easy for him to meet and engage with some Houtian level Godbeasts. But Godbeasts rarely got pregnant, and thus only a single one of his children had the lineage of the Fiendgods. That one was Redtip.

His most beloved child. He was certain that so long as Redtip could become a Xiantian lifeform, he would definitely possess enormous power and limitless prospects.

“Redtip, I told you long ago not to go out before reaching the Xiantian level. Although humans are delicious, if you eat too many of them, the Ji clan would come and deal with you.” The black-robed man growled, filled with misery.

His pride and his joy, his son Redtip, had snuck out and discovered that the taste of human flesh was far better than that of other monstrous beasts. Human flesh truly was delicious.

And thus, Redtip had gone behind his father’s back and snuck out time and time again to engage in slaughter.

“My child. I have to bring you back.” The black-clothed man instantly transformed back into the enormous winged serpent form. His massive body floated into the air, and then he transformed into a black shadow, streaking across the sky and disappearing into the clouds.

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Chapter 1 – Entering the City

Chapter 1 – Entering the City

In a connected area surrounded by large, tall fences. These fences were six meters tall and linked together tightly. Beast swarms definitely wouldn’t be able to charge inside past them. Within the massive wooden fences, there were stone houses, wooden houses, and large numbers of fur-clad men, women, children, and elderly people living their lives here.

This was a very ordinary tribe with several thousand tribesmen.

“My child was captured within these few dozen kilometers!” The black-robed man walked within a mountain forest, heading towards the massive tribal gate. “And this is the tribe nearest the place he was taken from.”

“Halt.”

“Halt.”

The main gate to the tribe was shut, and on each side there were two archer towers. Each archer tower had five powerful, beast-clad warriors within. All of them had their bows drawn and nocked, and they aimed at the distant, black-clothed man who was drawing near.

“Outsider, state your intentions.” A warrior atop the archer tower said angrily.

The black-robed man glanced at him sideways, as though looking at an ant. His footsteps didn’t stop, and he continued towards the gate.

The ten warriors on the archer tower all grew angry…

“Kill him!” Instantly, ten greatbows shot out at the same time! Beng! Beng! Beng! One arrow after another screamed through the air at the black-clothed man, each of them containing enough force to shatter boulders or make large trees collapse. But when these ten arrows drew near the black-clothed men, they all went, zizizi….

The shafts of the arrows cracked, then disintegrated.

The man continued to walk forward.

“Not good.” The ten warriors on the archer tower were alarmed, and one of them grabbed his oxhorn and gave it a mighty blow!

“Wu, wu, wu!” The deep sound from the horn was powerful and penetrative. It quickly spread to the entire tribe, and the men, women, children, and elders of the tribe all grabbed their weapons while assembling. In order to survive in this world…men, women, children, and elders all had to act as battle-hardened warriors.

When the tribesmen assembled and began to roar and charge towards the door….

Shua!

That incomparably thick black ironwood gate suddenly exploded, transforming into countless pieces of splinters that flew away. Every single splinter was more terrifying than the arrows of the tribe’s archers, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of warriors located close to the door all died or were maimed. Blood stained the ground, but the warriors weren’t afraid at all. Instead, they charged forward with even more furious howls.

“Hold!” A shout rang out.

A white haired old man dressed in beast fur transformed into a blur as he charged towards the empty ground in front of the door.

The enraged tribal warriors came to a halt as they looked at the white-haired old man who wore a grey beast pelt. This old man was the leader of the tribe.

“Mighty hero, might I ask, what can our Goldblade Tribe do to assist you?” The white-haired old man bowed respectfully. Someone capable of shattering their gate just through releasing his internal energy was, without a question, a Xiantian lifeform, and Xiantian lifeforms, even amongst the local hegemon, the Ji clan, were people with extremely exalted statuses.

At this moment, the black-clothed man leisurely strolled in.

“I ask you.” The black-clothed man looked at the white-haired elder. “Have there been any serpent monsters in the area recently?”

“Serpent monsters?” The white-haired old man paused, then hurriedly nodded. “There are. Recently, a serpent monster appeared, and many small tribes were devastated by it. The week following that, the tribes sent the news to the Ji clan…and the Ji clan sent their black armored riders to resolve with that calamitous snake monster.”

The black-clothed man’s narrow eyes flashed with cold light.

So it was indeed the Ji clan!

The Ji clan was a powerful organization in this area. Even an ancient monster like him didn’t want to go bother it. He had previously guessed that it must have been the Ji clan which had captured his son Redtip, and now it seemed this was indeed the case.

“Killed or captured?” The black-clothed man continued to ask.

“Taken alive.” The white-haired old man said. “The Ji clan sent their black armored riders, who captured the snake monster alive, then went back. Most likely, it is currently in West Prefecture City!”

“West Prefecture City?” The black-clothed man’s eyes had a hint of fire hidden within them. The fire of rage.

West Prefecture City, to Diremonsters, was the most dangerous place possible.

That was where the experts of the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture gathered! Diremonsters didn’t dare go there. If his child was there…the chance of him being able to rescue his child and bring him back was very, very low.

“Human.” The black-clothed man looked at the white-haired elder. His voice was cold. “Do you know who I am?”

When the white-haired elder heard himself be addressed as ‘human’, his face instantly changed.

Monster!

And it was a terrifying Diremonster who could take human form!

“Huhuhu…” The temperature suddenly dropped, and a vast layer of frost began to appear. Even plumes of snow began to drift down. The terrifying low temperature began to spread, and the surrounding tribal warriors quickly were frozen into ice, then shattered into small pieces.

“Quick, leave!” The white-haired old man’s hair and eyebrows had a layer of ice form over them, and the tribesmen behind him roared, “A Diremonster! Flee, flee!”

“Quick.”

“Flee.”

All of the tribesmen gritted their teeth, enduring their pain and rage as they began to flee. Many other tribal warriors shouted heroically as they charged towards the black-clothed man like maddened demons, but when they got near him…the layer of frost on their bodies grew thicker, and then they quickly turned into ice statues.

The old man’s internal energy was valiantly fighting. He howled out stutteringly, “You dare provoke the mighty Ji clan?”

“Provoke?” The black-clothed man’s pitch-black long hair fluttered in the air. His eyes flashed with a scarlet red light. “The snake monster was my child, my most beloved child. I’m not only going to provoke them, I’m also going to break into the West Prefecture City!”

“Roaaaar!”

A world-shaking furious howl.

The black-clothed man transformed into a coiled serpent, an enormous black serpent which howevered in mid-air. The enormous scaled wings of the coiled serpent fully extended, like a massive net which blocked the sun off from the tribesmen. The tribesmen who had scattered in each direction raised their head and saw this terrifying sight, and all of them were filled with utter terror.

“It’s Serpentwing!”

“It’s the Diremonster of Serpentwing Lake!”

Not a single tribal warrior now had the thought of fighting back. Ever since they were born, they had heard the ancient legends of the ‘Diremonster of Serpentwing Lake’. They knew how terrifying Serpentwing was. There was no way their Goldblade Clan could fight against this sort of terrifying Diremonster!

“All die!”

“All of you must die!”

The enormous Serpentwing enveloped the area below with its massive wings, bloodlust in its scarlet red eyes. It suddenly opened its massive maw and breathed. Huuuuuu. An endless, freezing black wind arose, so strong that even a layer of the ground was stripped off, and some stone houses collapsed. The large amount of black wind quickly surrounded the entire area for nearly ten kilometers around.

“Cough, cough.” The tribesmen all held their throats, their bodies quickly turning pitch black.

“No.” A woman held her child, tears running down her face like a river.

“Diremonster, the Ji clan will definitely avenge us!” A powerful warrior who had reached the peak of power in internal energy stopped his own breathing, but the poisonous gas stilled penetrated through his skin. In the last moment of his life, all he could do was let out this bitter shout.

Soon….

The territory of the Goldblade Tribe turned into a desolate, silent wasteland. Not a hint of life or sound. All of the tribesmen of the Goldblade Tribe had been turned to ice statues, shattered into pieces, or poisoned to death. The entire area for ten kilometers around…had turned into a charnel house. Even poisonous bug-type creatures had been poisoned to death.

The enormous Serpentwing gently flapped its wings as it stared below. After sensing that all life was gone, it casually flew away at high speed, disappearing into the sky.

…..

Night descended. A cold wind blew drearily. The distant, massive West Prefecture City stretched off into the distance.

“Swoosh!” A black shadow easily flashed past the walls, avoiding the patrolling black armored riders and stealthily entering the city.

“My child, where are you?”

The black-clothed man began to search within West Prefecture City.

This was the first time the Diremonster, Serpentwing, had entered West Prefecture City. After investigating for a long time, he discovered, to his pain, “Monsters that are taken alive are all delivered to the inner city. And the inner city is the place where the Ji clan lives. It is guarded very tightly. There are many Xiantian lifeforms living there…there is no way I can sneak in.”

Sneaking into West Prefecture City was fairly easy.

Sneaking into the inner city?

That was the place where the clan members of the Ji clan lived. How exceedingly tight did the security of such a place have to be?

“Hu!”

A moment later.

In the air above the West Prefecture City, Serpentwing flew high into the sky while at the same time, using its natural-born ability to control water, it quickly created a large amount of fog and clouds with the moisture in the air. The fog surrounded the nearby area, and he secretly stared down below from the skies, carefully watching every single place.

Past midnight.

Ning was by himself in Dragon Castle. Today was the day for his once every three days cage battle.

“Young master.”

“Young master.”

The black armored riders and some servants of Dragon castle were all extremely respectful to him.

Ning’s father was the number one expert of the Ji clan! And Ning himself was extremely talented, so many people had already begun to believe…Ning would be the next Prefecture Lord. One could imagine how exalted his status was.

“Prepare the most formidable monster.” Ning laughed and called out.

“Recently, we had a powerful monster delivered here. It was brought to us by Commander Blindfish. It has the lineage of the Fiendgods.” A one-armed old man called out loudly.

“A monster with Fiendgod lineage?” Ning revealed a hint of delight on his face. “Excellent. Today I’ll be able to have a fun fight then. Quick, arrange for it to be sent to the cage.”

“Alright.”

The one-armed old man went to make the arrangements.

Dragon Castle was divided into the cage and the beast tunnels. Naturally, the beast tunnels was where the monsters lived, all of which were kept in captivity here.

“Roaaar!” The massive red serpent wrapped up in chains, upon seeing the human in the massive cage outside, let out a deep, angry growl.

“Keep shouting.” The one-armed old man sneered coldly. “You ate so many humans. Today is the day of your death. Go. Open the door, and then release the chains…let it enter the cage.”

“Yes.”

The servants who had been installed here for the purposes of taking care of the monsters went to make the arrangements.

“Rumble.” After opening the gate between the cage and the beast tunnels, a faint, glimmering light could be seen from afar. The giant red snake instantly looked over and began to let out a growling sound.

“Release the chains.” The one-armed elder ordered.

“Clank.”

“Clank.”

One chain after another was released. Feeling the layers of chains on its body quickly loosen, the giant red snake couldn’t help but begin to wriggle, making the chains rattle against each other. After the last one was released…with a clanking sound, the entire chain apparatus fell to the floor with a loud sound.

The giant red snake stared coldly at the one-armed elder, and then slithered its way at high speed out of the tunnel towards the place which had just been opened to it. It quickly arrived in the cage outside.

Within the enormous cage…

A red-lipped, white-toothed, fur-clad young man was staring at it from afar. The giant red snake’s saliva instantly began to drool out. Given the extensive man-eating experience it had, it had the sudden knowledge…that this sort of human youngster’s flesh was definitely the most tender and most delicious of them all.

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Chapter 2 – Mercy

Chapter 2 – Mercy

Ning stared at the distant giant red snake and he softly murmured, “The entire body is blood red, but the scales around the chest are bright silver, and a pair of red eyes…oh, and it has two claws as well?”

“Slitherslitherslither…” The giant red snake slowly began to move. Its enormous serpentine head raised high as it stared at Ning. Its natural-born arrogance caused it to hold the human youth in front of it in no regard at all. According to its experience, those people in the tribes like this youth were all very weak. Even though this was the lair of the Ji clan, this sort of youth shouldn’t be that strong.

Ning let out a light harrumph.

The air in his chest came out as he breathed, shaping into two streams of energy that were visible to the naked eye. His entire body turned slightly red, and a powerful aura began to emanate from him. The distant giant red snake was startled. He could suddenly sense this young man in front of him had a terrifying aura that was no weaker than its own.

“Recently, I haven’t had a lot of practice with the [Raindrop Sutra]. I’ll use you to train it.” Ning suddenly moved forward by several dozen meters, the sharp sword in his hand stabbing out at the giant scarlet snake at lightning speed.

The giant scarlet snake sent its two massive sharp claws at its thorax directly towards Ning in an arcing slash.

“Shua! Shua! Shua!” Sword flashing hundreds of times like a fog of light, one stab after another was delivered towards the giant red snake. The giant red snake only dodged three sword attacks aimed at its vitals, taking the rest of the attacks head on. Only a few white spots appeared on its scales. This caused the giant red snake to unconsciously underestimate the strength of this young human by a bit.

“Wu…..”

A strange rumble sound. It was the sound of Ning’s sharp sword slashing through the air, instantly slashing towards the giant red snake’s chest, suddenly creating a two meter long massive wound. The scales split open, and the muscles beneath were torn apart, and fresh red blood instantly spewed out.

“Roaaar!” The giant red snake was instantly shocked. How was it that the youth in front of him had suddenly become so powerful?

…..

Ning was no longer the callow youth who had battled against the Howling Moonwolf. His constant battles against monstrous beasts had given him much experience. Right now, he was actually only using half of his strength, but because the [Shadewind Steps] and the [Raindrop Sutra] all were quite exquisite in the application of force, he still wasn’t at any disadvantage.

First, Ning utilized a chain of attacks, ‘Drizzling Rain’, but against this giant red snake, it proved useless.

Then, Ning used the vicious, powerful killing attack, ‘Rain Line’, which was the technique Ning used to leave that massive, large wound on the giant red snake.

Next, Ning used the penetrating ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’ attack.

Following that, Ning blocked the wild attacks of the giant red snake by using the technique, ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’.

The [Raindrop Sutra] had a total of nine stances.

These stances were, ‘Drizzling Rain’, ‘Tempest Curtain’, ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’, ‘Watertight’, ‘Rain Line’, ‘Eternally Fresh Waterflow’, ‘Merciless Waterflow’, and ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’!

Some were attack stances, some were defensive stances.

Even the attack stances, however, included defensive components. The profoundness of this technique constantly caused Ning to sigh in amazement and be mesmerized. After all, he hadn’t even reached the level of ‘expertise’ in this technique, and although his own father, Yichuan, had reached the level of ‘mastery’ long ago, his father was still studying the [Raindrop Sutra], because the more one reflected on the [Raindrop Sutra], the more one realized how boundless its scope was.

“This technique, ‘Thin Unending Waterflow’, should be an unrestrained, free-willed attack.” Under the attacks of this monstrous beast with Fiendgod lineage, Ning occasionally had some insights with regards to his sword techniques.

But the giant red snake, by contrast, was growing furious!

It could tell that this human youth was using it to train in swordplay. Although there were many wounds on its body already, none of them were lethal. But the youth in front of him had only suffered a few light wounds…which instantly healed in the blink of an eye. The youth in front of it was so terrifying that its heart quailed, while at the same time, it felt fear that it was going to die at the hands of this human youth.

But even if it was going to die, its inborn arrogance and pride wouldn’t allow it to be toyed with to death.

“Roaaaaar.” The giant red snake suddenly let out a wild, earthshaking howl, filled with rage, unwillingness, and carried with it the knowledge of its death.

…..

The howl split the air.

In the air above the inner reaches of the Ji clan, there were many clouds. Within one of the clouds was the black Winged Snake.

“Roaaaar.”

By the time this howl made it to the heavens, it was very weak, but Serpentwing was an extremely sensitive Diremonster. In addition, the roar was the familiar voice of its child.

“It is Redtip! My son!” Serpentwing was instantly certain of this. It had been searching around the inner city the entire time, and from kilometers away, its gaze had clearly made out the building known as the Cage. But because of the fog and because of all the steel chains above the cage, it simply couldn’t tell what the Cage actually was.

But just at that moment…

Upon hearing the sound, it immediately knew that the sound was coming from that cage area!

“There it is!” Serpentwing immediately charged down, its body still wrapped by clouds and fogs, shrouding it from view.

….

Within the cage.

Ning, hearing the grief-stricken, enraged howl of the giant red snake, knew how the giant red snake was feeling. Immediately, a sharp sword appeared in his left hand as well. “Since you beg for death, then die!”

Shua!

Ning suddenly transformed into a tempest and charged at the giant red snake.

Sword light flashed!

[Thunderflame Sword] – Thunderflash Flint! Blazing Thunderclap!

[Raindrop Sutra] – Merciless Waterflow! Raindrop Pierces Rocks!

Shua!

The red eyes in the upraised head of the giant red snake slowly dimmed. There was a deep hole in its head now, which had pierced straight through its skull. And then, its massive body collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud, causing the earth to shake. Fresh blood flowed outwards, staining the ground in a river of red blood.

“Mm.” Ning looked at the corpse of the massive red snake, then inspected its wound.

He was studying how effective his killing blow had been.

“Blazing Thunderclap truly is a powerful attack. It actually drilled such a massive hole into the snake’s chest. It almost split the snake in half.” Ning nodded as he continued to inspect the damage. “Merciless Waterflow and Thunderflash Flint can both be described in one word; fast! Merciless Waterflow is both fast and agilely unpredictable, while Thunderflash Flint is fast and explosive.”

“Raindrop Pierces Rocks has good penetrative ability. It was easily able to pierce through this snake’s skull.” Ning nodded.

In the air above the cage, a massive creature was descending through the clouds. Compare to Serpentwing, his child, Redtrip, was nothing more than a tadpole! Serpentwing’s scarlet eyes could already see through the chains of the cage to the scene below. It saw the desolate, miserable sight of the blood-splattered serpent corpse lying on the soft earth, and as it saw this, it felt a terrible fire suddenly fill its consciousness.

“My child!”

Serpentwing had gone totally mad. “Human, pay for my child’s death!”

Bang!

The powerful energy vibrations coming from above the cage made Ning raise his head to take a look.

“What?!” Ning immediately saw that hundreds of meters away, within the clouds, an enormous serpent with barely visible pair of giant wings was staring at him. The creature was currently charging downwards at him…its wingspan alone was larger than the entire cage.

The red-eyed snake’s eyes were filled with boundless killing intent. Ning was shocked, and he understood…that the creature charging down from above was here to kill him!

“Not good. Flee!”

Ning turned his head and immediately wanted to flee!

But just as he wanted to flee, he realized that the corridor he had come through had been shut. Generally speaking, during cage battles, they would always be shut, to prevent someone from fleeing before the battle was over! Only after obtaining victory would Ning order people to open the tunnel…but he just killed the giant red snake moments ago, and hadn’t had the chance to give the order yet.

In addition, as he had started the cage battle, he had forbidden others from watching him. Generally speaking, only his father watched.

After all, his true power was something that had remained a secret all along. For example, the fact that he used twin swords or that he could use ordinary swords to kill a peak Houtian level Godbeast…these were all secrets. The outside world still believed that Ning relied on sharp precious weapons to slay Godbeasts.

“Shua!” “Shua!” Ning immediately threw away the two swords in his hands, and instantly, two more swords appeared; the Darknorth swords!

“Break!”

Ning exploded forth with all his power, hacking away at the thick chains above him, while also calling out frantically at the top of his lungs, “FATHER!”

The sound rang out, but the speed of sound was actually slower than the downward charging speed of Serpentwing.

“Dangdangdang!” Ning’s Darknorth swords wildly chopped against the steel chain net up above. In the past, his father, Yichuan had said this: “Given your strength…if you are to use the power within the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and use your full strength, you should be able to break apart the chains. But a web like this formed from many chains…you will probably need the span of ten breaths before you are able to break enough chains to escape.”

But now that Ning had the Darknorth swords. They were indeed sharp. Dangdangdang…one chain after another was shattered, but there were simply too many of them. To break enough to allow him to escape would probably require the span of one breath.

One breath?

The terrifying creature charging from above wouldn’t even need a second before arriving!

“No time.” Even as Ning was chopping the steel chains, he immediately understood this.

The massive scaled wings sliced through the air, striking against the chain of webs. These steel chains, which were incomparably tough for Ning, were extremely feeble in the face of this attack of a thousand year old monster. With a series of shattering sounds, countless chains broke apart and flew everywhere. And then, the scaled wings swept directly against Ning.

“Pay with your own life for my son’s!” Serpentwing’s red eyes stared wildly at Ning.

“Dodge.”

Twin swords in his hands, Ning quickly dodged while at the same time, using the same technique with both swords; ‘Thin Unending Waterflow’. His sword flashed, receiving the scaled wing that came from above.

One layer of sword flash after another intersected, and both swords combined, forming an endless web of sword light. It was as though multiple layers of silk were being wrapped around the opponent’s attack, restricting it.

He launched ten of these attacks in a row!

“Bang!” The massive scaled wing smashed down upon the twin Darknorth swords, and the power of this strike caused Ning to instantly feel the bones in his wrists splitting apart. And then, the blade-like edges of the wing cleaved down upon the dodging Ning, slashing straight through the Goldstar Shirt.

Pu!

Fresh blood sprayed out, and his left arm, still clutching a Darknorth sword, went flying. Ning’s entire body was sent smashing into the blackwater iron wall, creating a human-shaped impression into the wall. Ning vomited out a large mouthful of blood from his lips.

“Hu!” Serpentwing raised its scaled wings again, preparing to deal yet another cleaving blow.

“This is the moment!”

The now one-armed Ning gritted his teeth, then suddenly scurried out like a massive grasshopper through the broken cage. [Shadewind Steps]. He used this footwork technique to its absolute limits, flashing out like a streak of azure light, fleeing outside.

“Die!” A violent wind attacked.

Looking behind him, Ning saw an enormous black blur sweep towards him. That was the massive serpent tail of Serpentwing. This whipping attack by Serpentwing’s tail was even faster and even fiercer than the attack of his scaled wings! The air it passed through exploded with terrifying sonic booms, and the tough marble stones of Dragon Castle began to split apart…

The enormous black tail was everywhere, surrounding Ning. Given Ning’s speed, there was simply no way he would be able to dodge this attack at all.

“I’m finished!”

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Chapter 3 –Life and Death

Chapter 3 –Life and Death

Within his courtyard, Yichuan was currently wielding a blue longsword, chopping and piercing against a tree trunk. Chop, pierce, scrape, slice…he only used these most basic of movements and didn’t even use much force, and so the tree trunk only had some scratches appear on its surface.

His wife, Snow, held a bottle of water nearby, watching her man train with a smile on her face, occasionally sprinkling some water on the nearby flowers and grass.

“Hrm?” Yichuan and Snow simultaneously turned to look in the same direction. Both of them sensed a vibration of energy.

“Dragon Castle.”

Yichuan and Snow simultaneously leaped onto the rooftop of the building, staring at the distant Dragon Castle.

Dragon Castle was built in a fairly out-of-the-way location in the inner city, at least two kilometers or so away from where Yichuan and his wife lived.

They saw…

In the air above Dragon Castle was the enormous Serpentwing. Serpentwing’s scaled wings were currently covering the entirety of Dragon Castle, and a bloodstained youth with only one arm was scurrying out of Dragon Castle at high speed, while an enormous draconic tail flashed towards him like lightning.

Snow’s eyes instantly turned red. She let out an agonized howl. “Ning!”

But the distance was too far.

There was no time at all!

“Vermin!” Yichuan exploded with anger, letting out a sudden, ferocious chop with the blue sword in his hands. Hua! A brilliant wave of blue light flew out from his sword. The three hundred meter long wave of blue light was even slightly larger than Serpentwing itself! It slashed through the air, chopping directly towards Serpentwing.

Pengpengpeng!

The distant tail of Serpentwing, in the blink of an eye, was struck dozens of times. The entire Dragon Castle exploded and collapsed, sending large amounts of rocks flying everywhere. Many of the servants, guards, and members of the Ji clan who lived around Dragon Castle were injured or wounded, and their blood splashed everywhere. Even some of the monstrous beasts inside the beast tunnels were killed by the impact.

…..

Just as Ning scurried out of the cage, he was attacked by the massive tail of the serpent.

Ning knew that in front of this Winged Snake monstrosity, the Goldstar Shirt of his might as well have been paper. All he had was a peak Houtian level Fiendgod body….he probably would be smashed into a pile of pulverized flesh in an instant.

“No.”

Ning simply couldn’t accept this. In this life, he had such a healthy, strong body, had a pair of doting parents, and had the chance to train to become an Immortal, to control his own destiny. He had trained for so long…and everything was just starting. He truly couldn’t accept this!

“Dodge!” Ning used the [Shadewind Steps] with all his might.

Quick, quicker, quicker!

“Hu!”

“Hu!”

The wind was howling!

Hu! Ning’s body was howling as well!

“Bang!” The serpent’s tail came smashing down. It scraped past Ning, then smashed against the thick marble rocks of Dragon Castle. Instantly, the entire Dragon Castle had shuddered and large amounts of marble rock had shattered and been sent flying everywhere.

“You managed to dodge?” The red-eyed Serpentwing howled, “You were lucky enough to dodge once, but do you think you’ll dodge twice?”

Bang!

The serpent tail swung down at him again!

But Ning was like a piece of paper, fluttering about in the breeze, as agile as the wind, as unpredictable as a shadow. The serpent tail once again missed Ning, smashing against Dragon Castle once more.

“Impossible!” Serpentwing was now truly enraged.

It was a Diremonster who had trained for thousands of years and had reached the late-stage Xiantian level. It was many times more powerful than those ordinary early-stage Xiantian Diremonsters. For someone of its power, killing a youth should be simplicity itself, much like how it has easily slaughtered those thousands of tribesmen in the Goldblade Tribe.

Pengpengpeng! Serpentwing wildly struck everywhere with its tail, and its wings struck out as well. The entire Dragon Castle was shuddering and on the verge of collapse, and large amounts of stones were flying everywhere. Many servants and black armored riders lost their lives…

“Diediedie!” Serpentwing was frantic.

A wild cold aura emanated from him, and the temperature dropped, causing some servants to immediately freeze to death.

The black poisonous mist came out, and the surrounding Houtian level lifeforms all were poisoned to death.

But Ning continued to dodge time and time again in that massive cloud of dust.

The cold aura could freeze to death those peak Houtian Ki Refining warriors, but Ning, who trained in the Fiendgod Body Refining technique, his body was more than a hundred times stronger than those Houtian Ki Refiners. These large-scale cold air and poison gas attacks couldn’t harm him at all.

“Like the wind. Like the shadows.”

“Shadewind Steps.”

“This is the Shadewind Steps. The true Shadewind Steps.” Ning totally immersed himself in it, allowing those strikes from the enormous Serpentwing to come as they will, allowing the scaled wings to slash at him as they pleased. He simply followed the natural force of the wind and borrowed it, and also the force of the wind created by his opponent, Serpentwing, to dodge agilely time and time again.

He moved like a shadow. Serpentwing couldn’t hit him, no matter how he tried.

He moved like the wind. Ning’s body flickered everywhere with such gentle ease, as though he were a leaf that was being blown by the gentle wind.

“One with the world!”

“This youngster has actually reached the level of ‘one with the world’? His footwork is at the ‘one with the world’ level?” The vicious, otherworldly ancient monster, Serpentwing, was finally certain that this human youth who had killed his son had actually reached the level of ‘one with the world’. This was a level which this old monster hadn’t reached yet, despite having trained for thousands of years.”

One with the world!

Generally speaking, only Zifu Disciples were at the ‘one with the world’ level, while some powerful Xiantian lifeforms would also reach the ‘one with the world’ level.

Humans naturally had a greater potential for insight than monsters!

Only the likes of Godbeasts were on par with humans in terms of understanding.

“Damnable.” The ancient monster, Serpentwing, knew that in a short period of time, he wouldn’t be able to kill this human youth.

“Vermin!”

An enormous blue sword light attacked.

The ancient monster, Serpentwing, swung his tail towards that blue sword light, not caring about it at all. “Yichuan, do you think that your sword light can harm me from a distance of two kilometers?”

Bang!

Dark green blood splattered everywhere, and wherever the blood splattered, the ground hissed and bubbled. The marble and the blackwater iron all quickly dissolved. That enormous, thick tail had been cut so deeply, it was nearly severed in half.

“How could it be this powerful?” Serpentwing was truly frightened.

The number one expert of the Ji clan’s West Prefecture truly was too terrifying.

“Hu!”

“I’ll let you live for now!” Serpentwing tossed Ning a furious glare, and then with a beat of its two wings, flew into the sky at high speed.

“Vermin!”

“Serpentwing, you dare to barge into the Ji clan’s West Prefecture, and you think you can flee?”

“Die!”

From multiple areas in the inner city, there erupted furious roars, including those of Ji Lee and Ji Young, as well as dozens of Xiantian lifeforms, all of whom shouted at him.

“Loan me your Azure Firebird.” Yichuan transformed into a ray of light, flying onto a giant blue bird that was in mid-flight, which had a blue fire blazing on its tail. On the back of this blue bird, there was a woman dressed in black.

“Yichuan, I’ll come with you.” The black-clothed woman said in her hoarse voice.

“Let’s go.”

Yichuan swept the area below with his gaze. Seeing his son standing within the rubble of Dragon Castle, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief…but seeing the bloodstained severed arm of his son, he felt his fury blaze up once more.

“Hu!”

Yichuan and the black-clothed woman, riding the Azure Firebird, tore through the air, pursuing in the direction of the fleeing Serpentwing. As for the other Xiantian level people in the West Prefecture, all of them were roaring with fury. A Diremonster had dared to barge into the inner city of the Ji clan’s West Prefecture City? This was totally against all reason!

But humans at the Xiantian level were not capable of flight yet, and so they could only watch as Yichuan and his companion flew on the back of the Azure Firebird in pursuit of Serpentwing.

…..

Ning remained within that state of being ‘one with the world’. He could sense the strength of the wind, and he could borrow that strength to become as carefree as the wind itself. He could even borrow the attacking strength of the enemy to dodge the enemy’s attacks, as though he were the enemy’s shadow.

“Ah.”

“Ah!”

A feeble moan caused Ning to look around him. The entire Dragon Castle had been reduced to rubble. A large number of servants and black armored riders had died gruesome deaths, either smashed, frozen, or poisoned to death. The sight was unbearable to see.

The joy he felt at having the ‘one with the world’ level of the [Shadewind Steps] faded away.

Ning ground his teeth. With a leap, he entered the field of rubble. He began kicking aside pieces of rock, and quickly found his severed left arm, then re-absorbed the Darknorth sword his left arm was clutching back into his kalestone. And then, Ning grabbed his severed left arm with his right arm, pressing it against the stump. By now, the severed stump was no longer bleeding any more.

“Connect.” Ning connected the severed arm to the stump, and then extended the Goldstar Shirt to quickly encapsulate his left arm as well, putting it back into position.

Even in his previous life, a severed hand or arm that had only been severed recently could be reattached.

Ning currently had the body of a Fiendgod. A severed arm only needed a few hours to be regrown, much less a severed arm that was being reattached…Ning could clearly sense his muscles and flesh rapidly grow back, and his bones were quickly reaching out and connecting as well. His arm had already been reattached, but he would still need a little bit longer before reaching his perfect state.

“Ning!” A somewhat frantic sound rang out.

Ning raised his head up. He saw an old man who wore a dark red beast fur pelt standing in the rubble looking down at him. This man was the Prefecture Lord, Ji Young. Prefecture Lord Young saw that Ning was unharmed, and only then let out a sigh of relief. “As long as you aren’t hurt. As long as you aren’t hurt.”

“Ning.” An agonized shout.

Ning didn’t have the chance to speak with the Prefecture Lord. He hurriedly made his way out from the debris field, and saw from far away his mother running towards him, her face covered with bitter tears.

“Mother.” Ning called out repeatedly.

Seeing her son standing there, Snow instantly began to shed tears of joy. Ning quickly ran towards his mother at high speed, then hugged her. Snow hugged her son back. “Wonderful, wonderful. I was so frightened just now. If anything had happened to you, I really don’t know what I would’ve done.”

“Mother, I’m fine.” Ning said repeatedly.

“Your arm?” Snow looked carefully at her son’s left arm.

“It’s fine. Look.” Ning waved his left arm around. The bones and flesh of his left arm had been totally connected by now, and even the cells had been 80% regenerated. Most likely, in just a little bit longer, he would be in perfect condition.

Only now did Snow completely relax. She knew how powerful her son’s recuperative ability was, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner.

“What happened? How could this Diremonster, Serpentwing, dare to have the temerity to attack our Ji clan’s Western Manor?” A heroic voice rang out, and the red-haired viper elder, Ji Lee, came running over, his face filled with fury. “This vermin is asking to be killed. Also, we need to immediately investigate why it charged and attacked our Ji clan’s Western Prefecture City.”

“It is indeed strange. Doesn’t Serpentwing know that by acting in such a way, it has fully infuriated the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture?” A skinny old man with a scar over his forehead said coldly.

One Xiantian individual after another walked over.

Seeing the destroyed Dragon Castle and the large number of corpses and bloodstains, the dozens of Xiantian individuals had very ugly looks on their faces. As the administrators of this large expanse of land, it had been a long time since a Diremonster had dared to attack the West Prefecture. Every single expert of the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture felt both fury and shame.

“It must die!”

“We absolutely must kill that Diremonster, Serpentwing.”

“Kill it!”

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Chapter 4 –Yichuan’s Rage

Chapter 4 –Yichuan’s Rage

The flames on the plumage of the Azure Firebird swirled around it as it flew in the skies, the desolate winds howling past it as it chased after that giant scaled and winged serpent.

On the back of the Azure Firebird were two figures who were each half-kneeling; Ji Yichuan, and that black-clothed woman. The black-clothed woman stared at the rapidly fleeing Serpentwing. “Yichuan, this Serpentwing is a late-stage Xiantian level Diremonster. It is quite a bit stronger than my Azure Firebird. Although the Azure Firebird is good at long-distance flight, it’ll still be hard to catch up.

“Lady Flower, I’ll handle this.” Yichuan’s face was as cold as ice. From within his hands, a silver greatbow suddenly appeared out of nowhere, while in his left hand was an arrow.

Hua….

The bow was fully drawn. Yichuan stared coldly at the fleeing Serpentwing.

“Swish!” The arrow suddenly transformed into a ray of light, streaking towards the fleeing Serpentwing. At such a short range, the terrifying speed at which Yichuan had launched this arrow, combined with Serpentwing’s massive body, meant that there was no way it could dodge.

In terms of pure archery skill, Yichuan was perhaps inferior to Blindfish.

But most of the men of the Ji clan were skilled in archery, and this arrow of Yichuan’s…in terms of speed, was even faster than Blindfish’s!

“Bang!”

The arrow struck Serpentwing’s body, then instantly exploded, creating an enormous, bloody hole. A massive, bone-exposing wound was revealed on the serpent’s body, and it seemed as though with just one more arrow, this serpent would completely explode from the inside. Actually, Yichuan’s arrow had been aimed at those bony wings. But Serpentwing knew…once his scaled, bony wings were injured, he wouldn’t be able to flee. Thus, he had used his own serpentine body to block the arrow instead.

“Crackle…” The flesh on the serpent’s body quickly closed, and blood stopped flowing.

Serpentwing continued to flee wildly.

“Yichuan, your Ji clan killed my son. Can it be that you won’t let me seek revenge?” Serpentwing shouted backwards.

“Vermin, if you let yourself die peacefully, I’ll let you die fast. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you regret it.” Half-kneeling on the back of the Azure Firebird, Yichuan once more nocked that silver greatbow.

Serpentwing hurriedly moved to dodge.

Bang!

Yet another arrow blasted against Serpentwing’s body. Serpentwing howled in agony, and his heart was frantic. “Yichuan is the number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, true, but how can he be this powerful? Earlier, from the great distance of two kilometers, the sword flash of Yichuan’s had still been powerful enough to injure me severely. And now, a single arrow of his can injure me. Even a peak Xiantian-level Diremonster is only at most able to hold me down; there’s no way one would be able to demolish me so easily!”

Serpentwing’s courage had been entirely shattered by that sword flash from earlier.

A sword flash that could heavily injure him despite having come from over two kilometers away.

If it was executed at a closer distance, wouldn’t it have killed him in one blow?

“Swish!” “Swish!” “Swish!” Yichuan fired one arrow after another, and Serpentwing could only grit his teeth and use his body to block it. Fortunately, his massive body was hundreds of meters long. Although his enormous body now had over ten massive craters in it, given his powerful life force, he could still maintain his high speed flight.

Soon, the wide expanse of earth below gave way to a wide lake.

“Hu!” Serpentwing immediately charged downwards.

“Serpentwing Lake.” Yichuan and the black-clothed woman’s faces both changed.

Serpentwing Lake was over a hundred kilometers long. One couldn’t even see the ends of the lake…and what’s more, it was Serpentwing’s lair.

Hua…

The enormous Serpentwing plummeted down from the skies, diving into the lake. A few large waves arose, but the creature itself had disappeared.

As for the Azure Firebird, it continued to hover in the air above Serpentwing Lake.

“Yichuan, what should we do?” The black-clothed woman asked.

“Fled?” Yichuan stood on the back of the Azure Firebird, staring down at the massive lake. He said coldly, “He thinks that just because he is hiding in the water that I won’t be able to do anything to him? Lady Flower, loan me the Azure Firebird for now. I’d like to trouble you, Lady Flower, to immediately return to the West Prefecture…and have my spirit-beast, the serpent, come over.

“Alright.” The black-clothed woman nodded.

Swish!

The black-clothed woman transformed into a streak of light, flashing across the surface of the lake, then disappearing into the distance.

….

In the depths of Serpentwing Lake.

The enormous Serpentwing lay coiled at the bottom, occasionally licking some of its enormous wounds with its tongue. His enormous life force and regenerative force was causing his wounds to quickly grow stronger, and his flesh was visibly regrowing and extending.

“Ji Yichuan.” Serpentwing’s eyes were filled with disbelief. “How can he be this powerful? That Ji Lee is the number two expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. In the past, when we fought against each other, he only had somewhat of an advantage over me…but most likely, if this Yichuan is allowed to draw close to me, he would be able to kill me with one blow of his sword. How can the difference be this great?”

Before this, Serpentwing had been confident in his fleeing abilities. As he viewed it, he was a late-stage Xiantian-level Diremonster. Even if he ran into a terrifying peak Xiantian-level creature…he would at most be at an disadvantage. He would still be able to flee. As long as he wasn’t attacked by an entire group of Xiantian life forms, he should be fine.

But that sword of Yichuan’s had scared him silly.

“Groooowl.”

“Gaaaaaa!”

The monsters within Serpentwing Lake all began to howl fiercely. This sound instantly caused great shock to Serpentwing, deep within the waters of the lake. He could understand those monstrous cries.

“A Diremonster has come?” Serpentwing was greatly shocked. “Right, one of the Diremonsters that the Ji clan of the West Prefecture has tamed is a water-type Diremonster.”

Some monsters were avian-types, skilled at flight.

Others were water-types, extremely powerful in the water.

Some non-water races, upon entering the water, would see their power drop! For example, Yichuan…in the water, his speed probably would be less than a tenth of his usual speed. But in the water, Serpentwing would be even faster than on land! Even if Yichuan were to use his sword techniques, with the water blocking him, the power of his techniques would be much lower as well.

Of course, although the power of Yichuan’s sword techniques would be greatly reduced, he could still kill Serpentwing! The problem was that in the water, he would be completely unable to catch Serpentwing. No matter how powerful his sword techniques were, it would be of no use.

….

“Brother Black, go search and find that Serpentwing.” Yichuan stood on the surface of the lake, but didn’t sink down at all. “Although he is more powerful than you, he is badly wounded. In addition, after finding him, you just need to tie him down for a while and prevent him from escaping. I will immediately charge over and slay him.”

“Leave it to me.” The coiled black serpent nodded on the surface of the lake, then immediately sank its entire body into the depths, beginning to search within Serpentwing Lake.

Those lesser monsters in the lake all fled in every direction, screaming in terror.

“Azure Firebird.” Yichuan looked at the Azure Firebird above him. “Stay up there and keep a lookout. Once Serpentwing flees from the lake, immediately chase after and kill him.”

“Alright.” The Azure Firebird spoke in a soft voice, then rose at a high speed.

Yichuan’s face was grim. Wielding his blue longsword, he paced about on the surface of the lake as though it were flat land. One step at a time, he walked, leaving faint ripples on the surface. His cold gaze stared at his surroundings, as though he could see straight through the lake water to the depths of the lake.

…..

Ji clan’s West Prefecture.

It was dark now, and the commotion caused by Serpentwing’s attack in the Ji clan’s West Prefecture had died down as well.

“Father.” Ji Jadewich, his hair parted into dozens of braids, was seated on his knees. After draining all of the wine in his beast-skull goblet, he said, “Serpentwing, that Diremonster, has already fled back to his lair. Serpentwing Lake is extremely large, and so deep that the bottom cannot be seen. If it makes up its mind to hide, a single black serpent searching by itself will find it hard to locate him. Although Yichuan is extremely powerful, it will still be very hard for him to kill that Serpentwing.”

Lee nodded, but he was frowning. He hadn’t touched any of the wine or meat in front of him. Clearly, he was frustrated by something.

“Father?” Jadewich looked questioningly at his father.

Frowning, Lee let out a low sigh. “His sword flash travelled a distance of over two kilometers, but was still able to heavily wound Serpentwing, a Diremonster. The power of that sword has essentially surpassed the limits which a Xiantian lifeform can attain.”

“Father, do you mean to say…” Jadewich was shocked. “Zifu Disciple?”

Lee shook his head. “Hard to say! If Yichuan had opened his Zifu, the ‘Violet Palace’, then he should be able to fly about on magic treasures. He wouldn’t just stand there and watch as that Serpentwing, which almost slew his son, turn tail and run away. But if he hasn’t opened his Zifu…the power of his sword attack remains ridiculously large. Thus, I feel puzzled and unable to understand it.”

“Also!”

“I saw that Ji Ning had his arm severed, but in the blink of an eye, by the time the dust had settled and I rushed over there, Ning was totally fine.” Lee was frowning.

Many Xiantian-level people had seen Ning’s severed arm lying there in the rubble.

“The son of Ji Yichuan, Ji Ning, should be training in some sort of Fiendgod Body Refining.” Jadewich nodded. “In addition, he has already reached an exceedingly high level, for him to be able to re-connect a severed arm. Only, I am puzzled…how did Ning manage to survive the attack of Serpentwing on Dragon Castle?”

“I don’t understand either.” Lee sighed. “I suppose he is lucky.”

Why was Ning able to survive?

Perhaps it was because Serpentwing knew who Ning was and thus was afraid to kill him.

Perhaps it was because Ning had powerful lifeforce as a Fiendgod Body Refiner and thus was luckily able to survive.

Perhaps it was because Ning had some sort of protective treasure given to him by his parents.

The experts of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture were all abuzz, guessing wildly over the reason, but none of them guessed that the merely ten year old Ning had already reached the level of ‘one with the world’ in terms of footwork.

……

Ning was currently in the middle of his training area, displaying his Shadewind Steps. In the hundreds of meter wide training field, a blurred form was moving about at high speed. As it did…Shua! Shua! Shua! Dozens of Ning’s appeared out of nowhere.

“Ning.” A voice rang out.

Ning immediately came to a halt.

“Mother.” Ning immediately went over to welcome her.

Yuchi Snow slowly walked over, filled with joy as she stared at her son. After suffering from Serpentwing’s attack, during the day, the Ji clan had prepared a series of cremations and memorial ceremonies for the deceased black armored riders and clansmen killed during the attack. At that time, Ning had secretly informed his mother that his footwork had already reached the ‘one with the world’ level. But of course, his mother was the only one he told!

At just ten years of age, he had reached the ‘one with the world’ level of footwork. Snow had been to many areas of the Grand Xia Dynasty, but she had almost never seen someone as monstrous as this. Actually, because Ning had utilized the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique since birth, his soul was extremely powerful. In addition, he had painstakingly trained in the [Shadewind Steps] since he was young, and thus reached the ‘advanced’ level two years ago. In that moment where life and death hung in the balance, he had suddenly been able to sense the world and reached the ‘one with the world’ level. This was nothing more than success naturally arriving when the conditions were right.

“Ning.” Snow looked at her son. “Your footwork has reached the ‘one with the world’ level. The next step will be to have your sword techniques also become ‘one with the world’. Do not slacken off.”

“Yes, mother.” Ning nodded.

For footwork to be at the ‘one with the world’ level meant for the man to become one with the world.

But for the sword to be at the ‘one with the world’ level meant for the man, the sword, and the world to all become one. Naturally, it was considerably more difficult.

“Mother.” Ning asked. “When will Father come back?”

“Your father went to kill that Diremonster. After killing Serpentwing, he will come home, of course.” Snow said.

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Chapter 5 – The Father of Spring Grass

Chapter 5 – The Father of Spring Grass

The time passed, day after day.

The days slowly grew colder, but his father still had not returned. The Ji clan of West Prefecture had long since sent a squad of black armored riders to surround Serpentwing Lake.

Within the training yard.

One sword attack after another howled and flashed through the air. Ning stood there by himself, training in the [Raindrop Sutra]. At this point, neither black armored riders nor powerful monstrous beasts…were of any use to Ning in terms of improving his swordplay. But his father, Yichuan, had yet to return. Thus, Ning could only train by himself.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf called out softly.

“Hrm?” Ning looked at Autumn Leaf, who had a nervous, uncertain look on her face.

Frowning, Ning sheathed his Darknorth swords. “Autumn Leaf, what is it?”

“Young master…” Autumn Leaf said in a low voice. “Spring Grass’s father requests to see you, young master.”

“Who?” Ning was stunned.

“Spring Grass’s father.” Autumn Leaf’s voice grew slightly louder. “Her biological father!”

Ning was shocked. “Spring Grass has a father?”

His two personal maids had been slaves their entire lives. When they were very young, they were sold to the Ji clan’s West Prefecture.

“Where is Spring Grass?” Ning asked.

“Spring Grass didn’t dare to come see you, young master.” Autumn Leaf said in a low voice. “I could tell that actually, Spring Grass would rather like to see her father, but her status…makes her afraid to say it.”

Ning suddenly remembered something.

Right. Strictly speaking, Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf were his maidservants, and their lives were under his control. From the day they were sold as slaves, they no longer had any contact with their parents. However, people were not like trees or grass; they had feelings.

“Go and bring Spring Grass’ father here.” Ning chuckled. “Since he wants to meet me, then let him meet me.”

“Yes.” Autumn Leaf’s face was covered with joy and she immediately ran out.

Ning called towards the outside of the yard, “Spring Grass, come in.” Outside the courtyard, a fur-clad female servant was standing there uncertainly. Hearing the young master’s shout, she had to walk inside. But her face was filled with nervousness and uncertainty…right now, Spring Grass felt many complicated emotions. She was excited, happy, nervous, embarrassed, guilty, and restless.

“Young master.” Spring Grass looked at Ning.

“Your father is here. If you want to meet him, you can.” Ning laughed.

“But…but I was bought by the Ji clan.” Spring Grass bit her lips.

“Hrm?” Ning frowned slightly. “Do my words no longer carry weight around here?”

“Understood, young master.” Spring Grass glanced at Ning, her heart filled with gratitude. Actually, she had long ago sensed that this most brilliant talent of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, the youngster who would one day become Prefecture Lord, didn’t treat her and Autumn Leaf like most masters treated their servants.

“He’s here.” Ning looked outside, and immediately saw two figures walking into the courtyard. The one in front was Autumn Leaf, while the one behind was a tall, middle-aged man wearing black beast fur. This middle-aged man had some scars on his face, and his head was lowered, seeming rather nervous.

“Young master, he’s here.” Autumn Leaf said respectfully.

The scarred man hurriedly knelt down, pressing his head against the ground and also his two hands down on the ground in prostration. Extremely respectful, he said, “Blacktooth pays his respects to the mighty young master.”

Seeing this, Spring Grass’ eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

Ning glanced at Spring Grass, then said, “Please rise.”

“Yes.” Only now did the scarred man rise, and as he did, he saw Spring Grass standing by Ning’s side. Father and daughter’s gazes met, and instantly, tears began to flow down both their faces.

The scarred man quickly recovered, hurriedly wiping his tears away.

“Why have you come here to my place?” Ning asked.

The scarred man took a deep breath. “Blacktooth has come to your place, young master, because I wish to request that young master redeem my child, ‘Miwa’, back to me.”

“Redeem?” Ning was surprised.

Redeem?

In the years since he had arrived in this world, he didn’t have many people whom he had close relationships with, but Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf, in Ning’s heart, were like big sisters to him.

“Father.” Spring Grass couldn’t help but shout out. It was generally possible to redeem an ordinary slave by paying a certain price, but what sort of status did young master Ji have? How could her father possibly redeem her? If the young master was angered, her father might immediately lose his life.

At the same time, she fell to her knees with a thudding sound. “Young master, my father doesn’t understand anything. I beg you, young master, to pardon my father for his disrespect.”

“Let him speak.” Ning looked at the scarred man. “If you have anything to say, say it. If you can convince me, I’ll agree. If you can’t…hmph.”

The scarred man’s heart shook.

He understood exactly how much power and authority this young man in front of him had. If this young man wanted his life, it would be simplicity itself to take it. But since he had chosen to come…he had made mental preparations!

“Mighty young master.” The scarred man said respectfully, “Blacktooth will tell you everything in my heart.”

Ning only looked at him.

“I, Blacktooth, was once the son of a tribal chief.” The scarred man said slowly. “Within a mountain forest, the Blacktooth Tribe lived a peaceful life. We raised animals inside, and I led the mighty warriors of the tribe to pursue and kill monstrous beasts across the nearby land…and one day, we discovered in a secluded valley a large amount of naturally grown millet rice.”

“The entire tribe was extremely excited and overjoyed with this discovery. With this supply of millet, the lives of our tribe would be much improved, and we would be able to have more tribesmen. However, this news was quickly discovered by another powerful tribe, the Blood Mosquito Tribe. One morning at dawn, when the sky was just beginning to brighten and many tribesmen were still asleep…” The scarred man’s eyes revealed a hint of bitterness and pain. “They ambushed our clan, slaughtering many of my tribesmen. Our power was far inferior to the Blood Mosquito Tribe to begin with, and we were ambushed. The few of us who were lucky enough to survive had to flee.”

“I fled with Miwa, encountering countless perils and dangers on the way before finally fleeing to the West Prefecture City.” The scarred man’s body was trembling slightly. “But my dearly beloved daughter and my tribal brothers had all died. I had to seek revenge, even if I died doing so. But Miwa was innocent and blameless. I hoped she would continue to live…so I sold her to the Ji clan. In the Ji clan, she would at least have a stable life.”

Spring Grass was shaking as well, her tears pouring down. “Father, Father…”

She could never forget…

Forget those days of flight. Although she was still young, she would never forget the sight of her loved ones all dying, one after the other, and all her friends of the same age dying as well. Never forget her father desperately fighting to survive one terrible danger after another as they battled their way to the West Prefecture City. At that time, her father had only told her, “Miwa, Father needs to go do what must be done. Miwa, you need to continue to live a good life.”

“Father, don’t leave Miwa, Father, Father!” The young Spring Grass had cried bitterly.

The still-young Blacktooth had ground his teeth and then left.

He had embarked on the road to revenge!

“I hated…” The scarred man’s body was shaking. “I wanted to get revenge. Although I was a Ninefang Warrior, to the Blood Mosquito Tribe, I was nothing at all. After I killed four of my enemies, a red-furred Diremonster suddenly ambushed the Blood Mosquito Tribe. That bastard who had led the squad to destroy my homeland was devoured by that Diremonster in one gulp, and the Blood Mosquito Tribe was destroyed. The few lucky survivors of the Blood Mosquito Tribe all joined other tribes.”

“I had no enemies left.”

“I, who had nothing at all, did not have any way to redeem Miwa, so I became a travelling merchant.” The scarred man said. “After one life-and-death experience after another, I managed to find some of the scattered survivors of my tribe, and my merchant caravan became more and more powerful. I gained wealth, and thus alongside the scattered survivors, I founded a tribe…my own Blacktooth Tribe! And I, I became the new ‘Blacktooth’.”

“While becoming a travelling merchant,” the scarred man looked at Ning, “I had the chance to chat with a servant of the Ji clan, and learned that Miwa had become the maidservant of you, young master Ji.”

“After re-establishing the Blacktooth Tribe, I had done all that I had to do. I had done right by my father, and by the past generations of Blacktooths.” The scarred man looked at Ning. “Therefore, I have come. I have come to see my child, Miwa, whom I have seen in my dreams for these ten years. Even if I had to die, I would see Miwa.”

“My Miwa, my child…I want to be with her. She is the last kin who Blacktooth has.” The scarred man’s face was covered in tears.

Spring Grass’s face had been covered in tears long ago, and she was bawling loudly.

“Father.” Spring Grass ran over, embracing her agonized father.

“Miwa.” The scarred man held his daughter as well. He had been waiting for this day for so long.

Autumn Leaf, standing to one side, couldn’t help but cry as well.

As for Ning, he sighed as he listened.

The tribesmen had to fight against the heavens, the earth, and the monsters. Spring Grass’ father, ‘Blacktooth’, was the epitome of this.

“Spring Grass.” Ning spoke out. “Do you wish to be together with your father?”

Spring Grass bit her lips, unable to control the tears in her eyes. She fell to her knees. “Young master, please forgive Spring Grass! I truly do wish to be with my father, I truly do!”

“Mighty young master.” The scarred man immediately fell to his knees as well.

Ning looked at the two of them, father and daughter. The long time they had spent together had resulted in him loving Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf like a younger brother loving a pair of older sisters. He didn’t want Spring Grass to leave him, but he wanted Spring Grass to be mentally anguished even less. “Spring Grass, from today onwards, your liberty is restored to you. You can go with your father.”

“Ah!” Spring Grass and Blacktooth were both stunned.

Just like that, he had agreed?

The two of them, father and daughter, could be together again?

“Thank you, mighty young master. Blacktooth will forever remember your great benevolence, young master.” Blacktooth, on his knees, thanked him again and again.

….

Under Ning’s instructions, Spring Grass had her liberty restored to her. As she left alongside her father, Spring Grass had called out to him, “Young master, Spring Grass will forever remember your kindness. Spring Grass will constantly pray for you to be blessed, young master, within the Blacktooth tribe. If in the future, young master, you ever pass by the Blacktooth Tribe, I hope you will be able to come pay a visit to Spring Grass.”

“Definitely.” Ning agreed.

“We definitely will go.” Autumn Leaf was crying as well. She and Spring Grass truly were like sisters.

————-

The days continued to grow colder.

Ning’s mentality was changing as well.

Spring Grass’ departure, her father’s experiences, Serpentwing’s attack, his father’s departure to kill the Diremonster, his inability to find an opponent to train his swordplay with within the Ji clan…all of these events caused Ning’s mentality to change.

He had the feeling that perhaps the West Prefecture City was too small of a place.

He wanted to go outside, wanted to see the wider world! He wanted to see how the tribes like the Blacktooth Tribe lived, and what their lives were like! He wanted to be like his father and go fight one Diremonster after another…he wanted to go adventure in this area of the world…

“Ning, your father is back.” On this snowy day, Snow called out to her son.

Only now did Ning see that in the skies above, his father was returning, half-kneeling on the back of that Azure Firebird.

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Chapter 6 – Ji Ning and Serpentwing

Chapter 6 – Ji Ning and Serpentwing

The hall was very silent, with the thick candles flickering and casting their light everywhere.

Ji Ning’s head was lowered as he devoured the food in front of him, quickly gulping down all of the meat and wine on the table. Today, they were celebrating his father’s return, so he actually had the rare chance to drink some wine.

“Father.” Ning spoke out.

“Mm.” Ji Yichuan frowned as he looked at his son.

Ning could sense that his father wasn’t in a very good mood, because this attempt to kill Serpentwing had resulted in failure. To kill a late-stage water-type Xiantian level Diremonster which was hiding in the depths of a lake was simply too difficult. If the Ji clan of the West Prefecture truly wanted to directly slaughter Serpentwing, they could if they paid a large price for it, but clearly, the Ji clan of the West Prefecture wasn’t willing to pay that price. For the sake of their pride and honor, the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had already wiped out the other creatures in Serpentwing Lake, then stationed soldiers all around Serpentwing Lake, as well as numerous Xiantian lifeforms, forcing Serpentwing to be afraid to leave Serpentwing Lake. This would be a long battle. Once Serpentwing became the slightest bit incautious, the Ji clan of the West Prefecture’s Xiantian lifeforms would immediately slaughter him.

“I want to go out and adventure.” Ning spoke.

“Adventure?” Yichuan frowned.

Yuchi Snow said hurriedly, “Ning, you were just ambushed by Serpentwing. You should know how terrifying Diremonsters are. Outside the Western Prefecture…there are many Diremonsters lying in wait in the high mountains and the deep lakes. To go adventuring outside…you are still too young. Wait a few more years.”

“In the West Prefecture, I no longer have anyone whom I can train myself against.” Ning shook his head.

Yichuan snapped coldly, “How old are you? Wait until you are at least sixteen before going out and adventuring.”

“But Father!” Ning said urgently, “I’ve been in the Western Prefecture since I was a child. I’ve always stayed in this small little area of the Western Prefecture. I want to see the countless tribes in the greater world. I want to be like Father, to go out and adventure, to experience danger, to go fight with those Diremonsters and kill them.”

“Diremonsters? Just based on your little bit of power…” Yichuan shook his head.

“What’s the problem with my strength?” Ning said hurriedly. “Even under Serpentwing’s full strength attacks, I was still able to survive. What’s the problem with my strength?”

Yichuan was startled, and seemed to have suddenly thought of something. “Right. I haven’t had the chance to ask you. How did you survive Serpentwing’s attack?”

The nearby Snow laughed. “Yichuan, you’ve been dealing with Serpentwing this entire time and hadn’t had the chance to come back, so we haven’t had the chance to tell you. Our son, in that moment of life-and-death when being attacked by Serpentwing, has reached the ‘one with the world’ level of footwork. Relying on his ‘one with the world’ level of footwork, he was able to escape Serpentwing’s attacks.

“One with the world?” Yichuan stared at Ning in astonishment.

At merely ten years old, he had reached the level of ‘one with the world’ in footwork?

“Receive three sword blows from me.” With a sudden flip of his hands, Yichuan made three hazy sword-shadows suddenly appear and surround Ning, attacking as fast as lightning.

Ning had been kneeling down at the dinner table. Now, he suddenly dodged aside gracefully, moving past those three hazy sword-shadows as gracefully as the wind.

“What do you think?” Ning said proudly.

“You really have reached it.” Yichuan stared at his son in amazement. “One with the world. Your footwork has reached the ‘one with the world’ level. Then your swordplay…isn’t too off from reaching the ‘one with the world’ level as well.”

Yichuan looked as his son, his heart swelling with excitement as he quickly pondered. His son, Ning, had such a high level of talent. In the area around Swallow Mountain, he was definitely an extremely rare, monster of a talent. Such incredible talent couldn’t be treated as a normal person was! Given Ning’s rapid rate of improvement, there truly was nothing left in West Prefecture City which would prove useful for him in training.

“If you want to go out and adventure, that isn’t completely out of the question.” Yichuan looked at his son. “But you need to accomplish a requirement of mine.”

“Yichuan!” Snow was a bit frantic, but Yichuan stretched his hand out, stopping her.

“Father, speak.” Ning was full of excitement.

Yichuan nodded. “The Ceremony of the Golden Sword is hosted once every four years. It is a ceremony which all youths under the age of sixteen will participate in. I want you to seize the golden sword during this year’s Ceremony of the Golden Sword! As long as you are able to seize the golden sword, I will permit you to go out adventuring.”

“Golden sword?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

He had known long ago about the agreement that if he could seize the golden sword, he would become the next Prefecture Lord. And during these recent years of training…his father had also spoken to him about this matter of ‘seizing the golden sword to become the Prefecture Lord’.

“Seizing the golden sword is very easy.” Ning looked at Yichuan suspiciously. “Father, I only need to use perhaps a tenth of my full strength to seize the golden sword. This isn’t much of a test for me. Can it be that Father, you truly care so much about the Prefecture Lord position?”

His father’s heart was totally set on the Immortal Path.

Ning naturally also had the same desire to step on the Immortal Path.

“Prefecture Lord position?” Yichuan shook his head. “You are the son of Ji Yichuan, my greatest pride. I trust that you will be able to go even farther than me…the position of Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture will only be a constraint on you. You will definitely spread your wings and fly higher.”

Ning was confused. “Then Father, why do you wish me to go seize the golden sword?”

“First, to let Ji Lee know that he can stop dreaming.” Yichuan said. “The second reason, you will discover after you seize the golden sword. So long as you can seize the golden sword, I will permit you to go out and adventure. But if you are unable to seize it, then be a good child and stay in the Western Prefecture City.”

“Alright.” Ning grinned widely.

The nearby Snow, on the other hand, was frantic.

“Enough, you can go back and get some rest now.” Yichuan said.

Ning immediately jumped up and returned to his room, overjoyed. In the main hall, Yichuan began to explain the reason for his actions to his wife, Snow.

…..

The next morning. Dawn.

While Ning was eating with his parents, Snow instructed him, “After seizing the golden sword, I won’t block you from going adventuring either, but you have to bring followers.”

“Followers?” Ning said hurriedly. “But I’m going out to adventure. What’s the point of bringing a big group of followers?”

“You only need to bring two people.” Snow laughed. “The first is Autumn Leaf. She is familiar with your habits and can cater to your needs. The other servant would be Mowu. Mowu used to be a Ninefang Warrior of the black armored riders, and then he followed your father for a long time. He is extremely loyal. Although he isn’t as strong as you, he has abundant experience in adventuring in the wilds.

Ning pondered for a while, then nodded. “Fine, I’ll bring them. I can’t bring any others though.”

…..

“Young master, you are going to leave the Western Prefecture to go adventuring? And you are going to bring me along with you?” Autumn Leaf was extremely excited. Ever since she was brought into the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, she had not had a chance to leave the city for a long, long time.

“Don’t just stand there, silly. Hurry up and get all the records on the Diremonsters in the area around Swallow Mountain from the library. Also get the records on the various tribes, and the maps as well. Move them all here.” Ning was feeling very intrepid as he instructed Autumn Leaf, “I need to get a good understanding and prepare a rough path of adventuring for myself.”

“Yes, young master.” Autumn Leaf all but flew out.

Autumn Leaf was Ning’s personal maidservant, and thus ever since she was young, she had been taught extremely good Ki Refining techniques, and thus was close to the peak of the Houtian level. For someone of her status, the personal maidservant of Ji Ning, she naturally would also be taught special techniques as well, permitting her, at a critical juncture, to sacrifice her life for the sake of her master.

“Coming.” Autumn Leaf came back, carrying a high stack of books. With a thudding sound, she set them down on the ground. This huge stack of books had to be several hundred pounds.

Ning hurriedly began to flip through them.

One legendary Diremonster after another…

Only now did Ning truly realize exactly how many Diremonsters lay hidden within the high mountains and the deep lakes. It was because Diremonsters were both abundant and very hard to deal with. Thus, the Diremonsters and the local hegemons such as the Ji clan actually had an unspoken understanding. Diremonsters usually wouldn’t wildly slaughter humans on a wide scale, while the Ji clan and the other hegemons wouldn’t go all out to slaughter the Diremonsters.

Both sides would stay their hands, maintaining their superficial calm.

Although some tribes would often be slaughtered and some Diremonsters would be killed…it was all within a manageable degree! There was an invisible line which neither the Ji clan and the other local hegemons, nor the Diremonsters, wished to cross. Once that line was crossed, then a true storm of blood would occur.

“Blacktooth Tribe.” Ning pointed at the map. “This is the newest map of the territory of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture, and the Blacktooth Tribe is a newly erected, small tribe. It should be Spring Grass’ father’s tribe. It is right here, just a thousand kilometers away from us.”

“Young master, young master, we have to go pay a visit to the Blacktooth Tribe and see Spring Grass.” Autumn Leaf said hurriedly.

“Of course we’d have to go.”

Ning nodded. “But we have to make an adventure of it. First we go here, then here, then here, and…here!” Ning pointed at one dangerous area after another, marked with black colors on the map.

“Those are all places where Diremonsters are hiding.” Autumn Leaf cried out in shock.

“Right.” Ning’s eyes were shining. “I’m going to go kill some Diremonsters! Don’t worry, the Diremonsters I’ve picked out are all early Xiantian level ones. They are much weaker than Serpentwing. I’ll fight them all, one after the other…until the time comes when I break through and become a Xiantian lifeform myself. After I become a Xiantian lifeform, it will be time to go to Serpentwing Lake.”

Autumn Leaf said frantically, “Young master, Serpentwing is a late Xiantian level Diremonster.”

“I have confidence.” Ning said.

The number one Fiendgod Body Refining method, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], had boundless strength. Right now, despite only being at the third stage, he could already equal an ordinary early Xiantian level Ki Refiner!

Once he broke through to the fourth stage, he would be on par with a late Xiantian level Ki Refiner.

Even if he fought Serpentwing head on, he would be on par. But in terms of enlightenment, he was far superior to Serpentwing.

“Diremonster. Serpentwing.” Ning’s eyes flashed with a hint of wildness. He couldn’t forget the scene of how Serpentwing had suddenly attacked him. “This time, when I go out and adventure, my final goal is you. I hope you won’t die before I reach you!”

————————-

The Ji clan of the West Prefecture made preparations to welcome the arrival of the quadrennial Ceremony of the Golden Sword. The promising youths which the countless tribes had been preparing were all filled with eagerness, and they registered for it, one after the other. They wanted to defeat one opponent after another at the ceremony and become dazzling, glorious personages. They wanted to let their names spread throughout the countless tribes!

“This time, after the Ceremony of the Golden Sword, I am going to go back to the tribe. I am definitely going to make it into the top eight, so that I will be able to learn the techniques for training to reach the Xiantian level. That way, in my lifetime, I’ll have the chance of becoming a Xiantian lifeform!” A youngster with pitch black skin, carrying a single blade on his back and dressed in ragged beast furs, with two leather shoes on his feet that had been almost worn through.

“The name of Tigerhowl shall definitely spread throughout all of the tribes of this land!”

“I am the strongest!”

“This is my final chance to obtain a training manual for Immortal magic.”

All the youths of the tribes were filled with their own desires, and they went to register for the Ceremony of the Golden Sword.

This was a holy ceremony.

A holy ceremony for countless tribal youths.

The entire area under the dominion of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture and all of the young talents living in that area were going to participate in it. They desired to become famous, to obtain a profound Ki Refining technique from this Ceremony of the Golden Sword, or some other powerful techniques. These would become the powerful, awe-inspiring abilities they would rely on in the future.

…..

“What? Ji Ning is participating in the Ceremony of the Golden Sword?” Ji Lee, who had just received this news, stared, and the scarlet viper looped in his ear also spoke. “He’s only ten years old. He absolutely could wait another four years to participate in the Ceremony of the Golden Sword. Why is he participating now?”

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Chapter 7 – One Against Seven?

Chapter 7 – One Against Seven?

Ji Jadewich sat in his usual spot, nursing a beastskull goblet. “Perhaps Ji Yichuan wants to let his son have an early try. After all, even if he fails, four years later, Ji Ning can try again.”

“They have two chances, but I can’t fail even once.” Ji Lee revealed a hint of a smile on his face. “Fortunately, back then, I took in my adoptive son, Grizzly.”

Immediately, Lee said to a nearby servant, “Have Grizzly come and see me!”

“Yes, master.” The barefoot female servant bowed, then quickly left.

Soon afterwards, a tall young man wearing golden furs came striding in. This youngster had a very fierce aura. His face was covered with golden fur, and his eyes also had a faint gold look to them, unlike ordinary people. At all times, he carried a pitch black straight saber on his back.

He strode in, and as he did…he seemed like a skinny, golden grizzly bear. Although he was only thirteen, he was even slightly taller than Lee.

“Father.” Grizzly called out respectfully.

“Grizzly.” Lee looked at his adopted son, nodding in satisfaction. “The Ceremony of the Golden Sword is held once every four years. I will arrange for you to be registered in this year’s Ceremony of the Golden Sword. I only have one request: Seize the golden sword!”

“Yes.” Grizzly’s voice was deep and thick.

“Right.” Lee nodded with satisfaction. Of the many adoptive sons he had taken in, only a very few had made him satisfied, and amongst them, Grizzly was the one he was the most satisfied with. Lee had total confidence in Grizzly’s abilities to prevent Ning from seizing the golden sword in this year’s ceremony.

Lee spoke again. “This time, the one you need to be careful of is the only son of Ji Yichuan – Ji Ning! Although he hasn’t experienced any real life-and-death battles yet, he has still trained in the highest class techniques of our Ji clan. Although the techniques I taught you are also top-class, compared to his, they are still slightly inferior.”

Grizzly nodded.

He understood. He was, after all, just an adopted son. But Ji Ning? He was the only son of the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan, and also the heir presumptive of the position of Prefecture Lord. The difference in status between the two was simply too great. Ning could easily obtain the ultimate techniques of the Ji clan, but he, an adopted child, couldn’t possibly be permitted to learn the most powerful techniques of a clan.

“In addition, Ning just reached the level of ‘one with the sword’ this year.” Lee looked at his adoptive son. “Don’t be over-confident.”

“I, your son, will definitely be victorious.” Grizzly growled.

—————————

The Ceremony of the Golden Sword began!

Large numbers of tribal youths were at the bottom, fighting against each other wildly. One youth after another was cast out, with the stronger ones left behind. After a full month of battles, finally, the most powerful eight youths were selected. Or, to be more precise…seven youths were selected. There was another person who was automatically registered as one of the final eight, without having to undergo any competitions. Ji Ning!

Ji Ning, the only son of the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan! The most talented youngster of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture.

According to what the Ji clan of the West Prefecture said to the outsiders, Ji Ning was so powerful that he didn’t need to enter the competition at all. He could directly be included in the top eight.

Anger?

Injust?

“Hrmph. On the last day, when he encounters the other seven experts, this Ji Ning will definitely be utterly thrashed.”

“He really will stoop to nothing!”

“He brings shame to the Ji clan!”

Some of the tribal youths muttered secretly amongst themselves. Only a very, very few of the tribal youths had heard the news that Ji Ning had already reached the level of ‘one with the sword’.

————————-

“Huahuahua….” The battle flag flapped loudly.

The desolate, cold wind extinguished the furious flames in the hearts of many, because today would be the final day of the Ceremony of the Golden Sword!

At the center of the wide training fields, there was an enormous dueling platform, with eight tribal youths standing below it. One of them was the beast fur clad Ning. Outside was a large number of black armored riders who surrounded the dueling platform protectively, preventing any of the tens of thousands of tribal youths and citizens of the West Prefecture City who had come to watch the battles from drawing any closer to the dueling area.

“They are here.”

“The Xiantian lifeforms have come.”

The tens of thousands of spectators gathered here all became very excited. The Ceremony of the Golden Sword had proceeded for so long now, and usually, there weren’t so many spectators. But today was special! Because today was the final day of the Ceremony of the Golden Sword, and the final eight competitors would, in the final contest, determine who was the most powerful and who would seize the golden sword.

On the last day of the Ceremony of the Golden Sword, many legendary Xiantian lifeforms would also come and watch!

“That person riding the long-necked monstrous beast, that’s the Heavenly Firehammer.”

“The one riding that white tiger is the number one archer of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture!”

“That…that’s the Fire God, Ji Lee!”

“Look, Raindrop sword! Over there, the one with a big, snow-white dog next to him is the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan! The big snow-white dog next to him is a Xiantian lifeform, the ‘Whitewater Hound’!”

“Prefecture Lord!”

“The Prefecture Lord, Ji Young, has appeared as well!”

“Why are there so many Xiantian lifeforms present? There’s too many of them!”

“So many Xiantian lifeforms!”

…..

Utter insanity. Utter pandemonium.

The Ceremony of the Golden Sword was only held once every four years, after all. Generally speaking, only a few Xiantian lifeforms would come watch, but today, many legendary figures had come, such as the mysterious, rarely seen number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan. Or the man as wild and as arrogant as a Fire God, Ji Lee!

The ten overseers had all come, not a single one of them missing.

This was because this wasn’t just a Ceremony of the Golden Sword. More importantly…this was a test and skirmish which would determine who the next Prefecture Lord would be! As long as Ning was able to seize the golden sword, then he would be the next Prefecture Lord. Since this event involved something as important as who the next Prefecture Lord would be, almost all of the Xiantian lifeforms in the Ji clan of the West Prefecture naturally came to witness it.

“Today is the final day of the Ceremony of the Golden Sword.” A cold voice rang out from a woman with long hair that gleamed with blue light who stood on the dueling platform. “Now, let the eight youths ascend the platform.”

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Eight shadows leapt onto the dueling platform in succession.

Ning glanced at them and found that virtually all the seven other opponents were staring at him. Clearly, all seven of them felt disdain for him being allowed to directly be placed amongst the final eight without having to advance through the many tiers of battle like they had.

“Do you think I wanted it to be like this?” Ning pursed his lips. It had totally been the decision of Prefecture Lord Young for him to be designated as one of the eight. “However, these seven fellows really are tall. Even the shortest of them, a woman, is at least 1.7 meters, slightly taller than me…ugh, and this big, stupid fellow is probably 2.3 meters tall.”

Although they were ‘youths’, all of them were very accomplished in their training, and most were almost sixteen. Only Ning was just ten years old. Naturally, he was the shortest of them.

“The eight of you will fight each other, one at a time. The loser will leave, and the winner will remain, until four remain. And then, you will duel until only two remain, then finally, the strongest will be chosen.” The long haired woman said.

Ning and the other seven youths were listening.

Suddenly…

“Halt!” A cold voice rang out.

The spectating tribal youths and citizens of Ji clan of the West Prefecture all turned towards the sound of the voice. Even the long haired woman turned and frowned. She was a Xiantian level expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, and she had only come to officiate today because it was the final day. Who was causing such a ruckus at a time like this? She turned her head and saw…that the speaker was a callous-looking man dressed in white fur.

The long haired woman trembled.

“The Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan.”

“Raindrop Sword.”

“The Raindrop Sword looks like a giant iceberg, just standing there. I feel my heart growing cold just looking at him.” The tens of thousands of spectators had excited looks in their eyes. All of the Xiantian experts present were like Fiendgods to them, but Ji Yichuan was the most dazzling expert in these lands, a legendary figure.

Yichuan sat there and said coldly, “The final day of the Ceremony of the Golden Sword is for selecting the most powerful of the eight finalists to be the one to seize the golden sword. As I see it…let Ji Ning fight the other seven!”

“One against seven?” The long haired woman was stunned. “But…but…”

“What?!”

“One against seven? The other seven are all highly talented youngsters.”

“But!”

A scene of utter shock.

Even the Prefecture Lord, Ji Young, seated next to Yichuan, was amazed. As for the old man with the viper, Ji Lee, who sat on the other side of Ji Young, he immediately laughed loudly. “Wonderful. One against seven. Ji Ning is the most talented youngster in our Ji clan of the West Prefecture. Even if he loses, this would be a form of training for him. But Yichuan…if your son loses his battle against the seven of them, then what?”

“If he loses, then he admits defeat, and has nothing to do with the golden sword!” Yichuan said calmly.

“Good.” Lee nodded.

Ji Young looked at Yichuan curiously, then spoke out. “Let it be as Yichuan has said.”

“Yes, Prefecture Lord.” The long haired woman, seeing the situation, nodded. The two most powerful factions in the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had both agreed. Naturally, she had nothing to say about it. All she could do was inwardly sigh that the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan, was perhaps too arrogant.

“The eight of you.”

The long haired woman looked at the eight youths. “Come here and select your weapons. After choosing your weapons…wait for my order. Once I give the order, it will be Ji Ning fighting against the seventh of you. If Ji Ning loses, or if the seven of you lose…then this combat will come to an end.”

“Hua.” With a wave of her hand, the long haired woman made a large number of weapons appear out of nowhere onto the dueling platform. There were all types of weapons. Only, none of them were sharpened!

“Choose.” The long haired woman said.

Ning and the other seven youths all strode forward, quickly choosing their weapons. Ning chose a sturdy black longsword that weighed roughly fifty pounds.

The tens of thousands of spectators below were all engaged in conversation. Many of them were only now seeing the ‘Raindrop Sword’, Ji Yichuan, for the first time. They felt as though Yichuan was like a piece of ancient, glacial ice, so cold that their hearts trembled. “Ji Yichuan is perhaps too arrogant and exacting, and he even treats his son the same way. One against seven? Even if Ji Ning’s true power is beyond that of the other seven, how can he possibly beat all seven of them at once?”

“He’s truly insane.”

“I hear that Ji Ning is only ten years old, but his father has already ordered him to come here and attend the Ceremony of the Golden Sword, and even wants him to fight one on seven. Poor fellow.”

Many of the spectators now began to feel sympathy for Ning. After all, Ning was the smallest and shortest of the eight youths on the dueling platform, and the youngest one as well. In addition, Ning was so handsome…this slender, handsome youngster had a father who was so legendarily cold and severe. One could imagine how strictly this youngster’s father usually governed him.

“Are you done choosing?” The long haired woman looked at the eight youths.

Seven of the youths were standing on one side of the dueling platform. They had their weapons ready, be it a sickle, a spear, a straight saber, or a sword. All of them stared at Ning.

On the opposite side of the platform stood Ning, all by himself.

Ning wielded a sword in his hands, staring calmly at them.

“Since you’ve made your choices…” The long haired woman waved her hand, reclaiming the heap of blunt weapons that were on the side while saying, “Then you can begin.”

Just as her words came out…

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The seven figures on the other side of the platform moved over at high speed, simultaneously charging at Ning, who stood on the other side.

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Chapter 8 – Ji Ning’s Sword

Chapter 8 – Ji Ning’s Sword

Seven figures attacked from seven different directions, pouncing towards Ji Ning en masse.

Although they had not previously been prepared for a ‘seven against one’ battle, all of them were the most talented youths in the vast area under the control of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. Even if they were somewhat unhappy towards this young master of the Ji clan, they didn’t dare to be the slightest bit contemptuous. As though by prior agreement, they all chosen to attack at full force!

Ning stood there, not moving at all, waiting for the seven blurs to reach him. And when they did, he moved!

Hu….

As those weapons all flashed towards him, Ning moved like a gust of wind, demonstrating extreme accuracy and precision in terms of control, positioning, speed, and power…easily dodging and moving through the combined attacks of the seven talented youths.

“What!”

“He dodged?”

“How is that possible?”

The seven youths all halted, their eyes filled with disbelief. Just then, Ning actually hadn’t even used his weapons. Just relying on footwork alone, he was able to easily dodge past their combined attacks. This sort of terrifying footwork…demonstrated that so long as Ning was focused, the seven of them combined wouldn’t be able to even touch Ning’s clothes.

“So fast.”

“Just like a gust of wind.”

“He lives up to being the son of the Raindrop Sword. Too formidable. So fast that I couldn’t even clearly see him; all I saw was a blur.” The tens of thousands of spectators all grew excited. In this area, all the people began to train in childhood, so they all were experienced, and yet even most of them were only able to see a blur. One could imagine how fast Ning had moved.

….

Ning halted, standing on the other side of the dueling platform.

“Seven opponents were unable to force me to use my sword. Their footwork is inferior to mine.” Ning swept the seven opponents with his gaze. Just now, during that brief moment of time, he had already assessed the footwork level these seven opponents were at. “Two of them are at the ‘advanced’ level. One is that scimitar wielding youth, while the other is the golden-furred beast. It seems the earlier reports were in error.”

Although his father was arrogant, Ning himself had sent people to collect details regarding these seven opponents. He only knew that the scimitar wielding youth had reached the advanced level of footwork. He didn’t imagine that this golden-furred beast had also reached such a high level.

“But their footwork is still a bit weaker than mine.” Ning revealed a small smile.

He had, after all, already reached the ‘one with the world’ level of footwork. Even though on this dueling platform, he would only utilize ‘advanced’ level footwork, his footwork was clearly more perfected. In addition, he trained in an extremely advanced [Shadewind Steps] type of footwork, allowing him to naturally seize an advantage.

“Tie him down.”

“Don’t give him the chance to utilize his footwork.”

“All together.”

The seven youths once more charged forth.

But Ning slowly walked towards them.

In an instant, the seven youths and Ning once again collided. Swords and sabers flashed in the air, but Ning still moved as though he was taking a casual stroll. The longsword in his hands became like a whip, with all of his force being transmitted to the tip of the sword as he then viciously struck out. In order to reduce the amount of casualties as much as possible during the Ceremony of the Golden Sword, all of the weapons were blunt, and thus were more suited to chopping, sweeping, and whipping type attacks.

Fast!

Ning’s sword was so fast as to make one’s heart shudder.

Ning gracefully walked out from the combined attacks of the seven, while at the same time, making seven lightning-fast whip-like attacks.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five figures were sent flying backwards by the whip-strikes, flying over thirty meters before falling down onto the ground. All of them struggled to their feet, covered with dust. A few couldn’t help but hold their chests, coughing out a hint of blood. Some had cuts on their faces, and their faces were filled with disbelief. This was because just then, they clearly had seen Ning attack with his sword, and they had tried to block it, but none of them had been able to touch Ning’s sword.

They hadn’t even been able to touch it! Ning had sent them flying!

“One with the sword!” The five talented youths instantly knew what sort of level this young master Ji had reached in swordplay, and understood how great the gap was between them.

Only three youths were left on the dueling platform.

Black sword in hand, Ning looked at the nearby scimitar wielding youth and the golden-furred beast. He nodded to himself. “I struck once against each of them, but these two were able to touch my sword. That scimitar wielding youth is very fast with his blade strikes, but he hasn’t reached the ‘advanced’ level yet. That golden-furred beast…has actually reached the advanced level of ‘one with the saber’.”

“Young master Ji, remember…my name is Grizzly! Ji Grizzly!” The golden-furred bestial man stared at Ji Ning. “The one who is going to defeat you is me, Grizzly!”

The scimitar wielding youth’s face changed slightly. “So I am not the strongest one after all in these many tribes. There are actually two who are stronger than me. Even this Grizzly has already reached the ‘one with the saber’ level.”

He had been training painstakingly for many years in the martial pavilion.

He knew that he was born into a low status and wouldn’t be able to obtain the ultimate saber techniques, and thus he gave up focusing on any complicated saber techniques, and instead focused on making his saber ‘fast’! His saber…had to be fast enough. The faster the better. He pursued the fastest possible attacks, combining them with his ‘advanced’ footwork…if he used his saber, he definitely would be able to defeat the other youths.

But now he discovered to his amazement that it wasn’t just this son of the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan, who was stronger than him. The virtually unknown golden-furred fellow next to him was stronger than him as well.

“Ji Ning.” The scimitar wielding youth suddenly growled. “I know you are stronger than me, but I want you to take three saber blows from me! Just take these three saber blows of mine alone…as for you, Grizzly, don’t interfere.”

Grizzly stood there disdainfully, a cold smile on his face. This scimitar wielding youth was far weaker than him, and what’s more, Ning’s footwork was simply too formidable, and there was no way to successfully do a combined attack on him anyhow. So he might as well let this scimitar wielding youth seek his own humiliation.

Ning, as though thinking about something, glanced at the scimitar wielding youth. He had the feeling that this scimitar wielding youth’s words had some special belief hidden within.

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“Hua!”

The scimitar wielding youth charged forward like a blur, howling. His eyes were as vicious as that of a wolf’s, and as he drew near Ning, his scimitar came out! The scimitar gleamed brilliantly, and the very first saber-blow was directed towards Ning’s neck. Logically speaking, since the scimitar was blunt, this sort of slashing technique wasn’t very suitable.

But clearly, this scimitar wielding youth wanted to demonstrate his strongest, ultimate attacks.

“Retreat.” Ning moved like the wind, taking a step back, allowing the scimitar to howl past his body.

“Chi!”

Suddenly, with the flip of his hand, the scimitar wielding youth launched another attack, and this saber-blow was even faster, slashing towards Ning’s neck from the opposite direction. With leap, Ning still managed to dodge, but he even he felt it was a bit difficult. If he continued to use ‘advanced’ level footwork and the opponent’s scimitar moved any faster, Ning would have to use his sword.

“Swish!” The flashing blade suddenly left his hand, moving even faster, arriving close to Ning’s eyes in an instant.

The third saber-blow – The flying saber!

The flying saber was spinning in the air, and borrowed the speed from those two earlier attacks, allowing this final flying saber attack to reach an even more incredible speed. Not hesitating at all, Ning attacked with his sword.

“Clang.” The scimitar and the sword intersected, and the scimitar immediately was sent flying away, landing back into the hands of the scimitar wielding youth.

The scimitar wielding youth nodded. “I lose.”

And then with a leap, he jumped down from the dueling platform. The scimitar wielding youth knew…that this Ji Ning and himself simply weren’t on the same level at all. Even aside from the fact that Ji Ning trained in the ultimate sword techniques of the Ji clan, the simple fact that he had reached the ‘one with the sword’ level made it impossible for the youth to do anything to Ji Ning. He was already very satisfied with being given the chance to show off his most powerful attacks on this dueling platform.

“Recruit that scimitar wielding youth into the Ji clan!” The distant, spectating Ji Young said to one of his personal servants standing behind him. “He has the potential to reach the Xiantian level.”

Yes, master.”

….

The dueling platform only had Ning and Grizzly left.

Grizzly’s eyes flashed with golden light, staring from afar at Ning, while at the same time, his entire body began to glow with a faint gold light as well, and a powerful aura began to emit from him. This caused the distant Ning’s eyes to narrow. “This Grizzly is also a Fiendgod Body Refiner? It seems he’s reached quite a high level as well.”

“Ji Ning.” Grizzly growled. “I admit that your footwork is superior to mine! But today, we must determine who the strongest person is, and you won’t be able to acquire the golden sword just by fleeing! You must fight me head on, but unfortunately, if you fight me head out, you aren’t a match for me at all. You will definitely lose!”

Black sword in hand, Ning looked calmly at his opponent.

From Grizzly’s ferocious aura, Ning could predict that this Grizzly had definitely gone through life-and-death battles. With his sabercraft having reached the ‘one with the saber’ level, and that layer of golden life demonstrating that he had trained in a powerful type of Fiendgod Body Refining technique, if Ning’s guess was correct, this Grizzly should have trained in the [Eternal Mysteries of the Yellow Earth]. After all, he had reviewed all of the nineteen books on Fiendgod Body Refining which the Ji clan’s five prefectures had.”

“This person called Grizzly has encountered many life-and-death battles, and is a Fiendgod Body Refiner who has reached the ‘one with the saber’ level. But he doesn’t have any reputation at all.” Ning secretly mused. “He definitely wasn’t born in the tribes. He should belong to the Ji clan…nine out of ten says that he is someone whom the viperous Ji Lee cultivated and intentionally kept hidden.”

“Afraid?” Grizzly, saber in hand, stared like a hungry tiger at Ning. He didn’t make any movement to go attack Ning of his own volition.

Ning, wielding his black sword, began to walk forward in a very calm, natural way, as though taking a stroll in his own home. If he had encountered Grizzly before suffering from Serpentwing’s attack, Ning would perhaps be a bit more trouble, but in the months which had passed since suffering from Serpentwing’s attack, the swordplay of Ning, who had reached the ‘one with the world’ level in footwork, had increased dramatically as well.

To reach the ‘one with the world’ level in footwork, one needed to spend time training. The same was true for reaching the ‘one with the world’ level in swordplay. Although Ning had yet to reach the ‘one with the world’ level in swordplay, Ning’s swordplay was no longer what it had been mere months ago. He didn’t even need to utilize the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] in order to easily defeat this Grizzly.

Ning’s sword suddenly moved!

“Hu!” The sword was as graceful as the rain, descending in an instant.

Beautiful to behold.

When a killing sword technique could transform into a beautiful sight, it showed that the wielder had already reached an extremely deep level of skill.

“Break apart!” Grizzly roared as he wielded his saber, which flashed with the thickness of blood as one enormous saber-flash after another flew towards Ning. In the blink of an eye, it was though Hell had descended…those enormous flashes of saber-light were the punishing blades of hell, causing one to feel hopeless and as though they deserved to stand there and die beneath those saber flashes.

“Bloodhell Saber?” Ning’s sword swept out like a gentle sprinkling of rain.

His flashing sword flowed together into one stream like rainwater which drizzled down, ensnaring Grizzly. No matter how wild and explosive Grizzly’s Bloodhell Saber techniques were, that drizzling flow of water continued to ensnare it, making it lose its wild, explosive aura.

Grizzly felt as though he had suddenly become trapped in a prison of water. There was water everywhere, wildly ensnaring him. He clearly possessed boundless strength, but he wasn’t able to utilize it against the water.

“Break!” Grizzly’s saberplay was incomparably wild. Even though he was constantly being ensnared, he still didn’t hesitate one bit, only growing even more ferocious.

“Your saberplay is indeed strong.” Ning said gently.

An opponent of this level wasn’t a threat to him at all. Only, the fact that this Grizzly’s saberplay was developed in life-and-death battles was a source of interest to Ning, which was why Ning was willing to exchange ten blows with him to accumulate some experience. Ning knew very well…that compared to some of the elder experts of the clan, what he lacked the most was sufficient experience.

“Hua.”

The black longsword in Ning’s hands suddenly thrust forward in a straight attack, and instantly, it seemed as though the entire world grew silent. The hazily glowing sword seemed to have transformed into a single drop of rain. This raindrop pierced past the saber, and as it did, the saber shattered. The raindrop then smashed against Grizzly’s chest, like a raindrop falling against a stone. Pa! The faint sound of bones splintering could be heard as Grizzly was sent flying several dozen meters, smashing viciously against the floor beneath the dueling platform, causing a small crater in the earth.

Raindrop Sword – Raindrop Pierces Rocks!

“Ugh.” Grizzly clutched his chest, spewing out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He lowered his head to look at his chest. The fur of the Xiantian-level beast which he wore had split open, and his chest had caved in, his bones broken. And this was with Ning using a very ordinary, blunt black longsword.

…..

The tens of thousands of spectators watching the training area all fell silent…and then, there was an earth-shaking commotion. They were all in awe. This truly was the son of the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan. No wonder the Raindrop Sword had dared to be so wildly arrogant as to have his son fight seven others…this seemingly handsome, inexperienced young master Ji was simply too terrifying, to easily be able to dominate these seven opponents.

“Hahaha…” The Prefecture Lord, Ji Young, let out a loud, carefree laugh, incomparably happy.

He won.

His lineage had won. Ji Ning had seized the golden sword, and would become the next Prefecture Lord.

“Raindrop Pierces Rocks! The advanced level in swordplay!” Sitting next to him, Ji Lee suddenly clenched his right hand, and the stone armrest his hand was resting on was shattered and cracked.

“Second brother.” Prefecture Lord Young turned to look at his second brother.

Lee looked at the Prefecture Lord, his senior brother. His face changing, he said in a low voice, “Advanced swordplay…he’s only ten, but his swordplay is already ‘advanced’, and he has reached the level of ‘expertise’ in the [Raindrop Sutra], one of the five major sword techniques of the Ji clan! He is even more of a monster than his father. Senior brother, first your lineage produced Ji Yichuan, and now, your lineage produced a Ji Ning. Heaven has shown it does not favor me. I have lost, and I have nothing more to say!

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Chapter 9 – The Traceless Talisman

Chapter 9 – The Traceless Talisman

Prefecture Lord Ji Young spoke out, “Second brother, listen to me!”

“Big brother.” Ji Lee closed his eyes, and then opened them and growled fiercely, “No need to say anything else. From today onwards, Ji Ning is the heir to the Prefecture Lord position of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. I, Ji Lee, will definitely be prepared to come when he calls, and will be faithful and loyal as I go out and do battle on behalf of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. I will not be the slightest bit rebellious. I thoroughly admire and submit to Ji Ning. But you…I simply do not admire and submit to you at all!”

Lee hurriedly turned and left.

“Father.” Ji Jadewich, seated next to him, called out, hurriedly following after him.

Young watched quietly as Lee left, but he had a hint of a smile on his face. He knew very well that his second brother, Ji Lee, had a fierce temper. Lee was an extremely combative man. He would submit to those who were powerful, but he would never do so to one who was weak! Ever since they were young, in terms of power, he, Young, had been inferior to his second brother. Naturally, Lee had never submitted to him. But Lee had once said…if Ji Yichuan were to become Prefecture Lord, he wouldn’t voice a single word of complaint.

Now that Ning had showed that he was even more of a monster than his father Yichuan, and had in such an awe-inspiring manner defeated seven opponents to seize the golden sword, Lee naturally admired and submitted to him in the same manner.

If he submitted, he submitted!

If he didn’t submit, he didn’t submit!

He, Ji Lee, had never admired or submitted to his big brother, Ji Young.

…..

Sunset.

The Snowfall Palace of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had put on a feast. The settling of the identity of the next Prefecture Lord was an event of enormous importance to the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. After Young stepped down, Ning would assume his position and also become one of the overseers. As for Young, being both a Xiantian lifeform and the previous Prefecture Lord, he would also become an overseer.

The Ji clan of the West Prefecture had in total ten major overseers. Any affairs which had a major impact on the destiny of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture were all decided together by the ten overseers. Once Ning assumed his position, the weakest of the current ten overseers would have to step down! The structure of power would completely change. One could foresee how much power would be gained by the current, principal lineage.

“Wu Sa, Wu Sa Ya!”

In the center of the palace, more than thirty barefoot and half-naked fur-clad young women were dancing.

In the area behind the two rows on each side of the palace, there were musicians playing instruments such as drums, pipes, ocarinas, and other such instruments. The sound of the musical instruments were occasionally somber while occasionally lively, reverberating throughout the palace. Within this palace, the most powerful people within the Ji clan of the West Prefecture were currently clustered together, toasting each other and laughing loudly.

Ning, as the heir apparent to the Prefecture Lord position, had his own seat as well. In front of him, there was a table that was filled with all sorts of delicious food.

“Huahuahua…” A fur-clad young lady was standing to the side, holding a large urn of wine. Seeing that Ning’s beastskull cup was empty, she hurriedly filled it. The urn of wine weighed dozens of pounds, but the young fur-clad lady didn’t spill a single drop of wine as she poured.

“It truly has its own unique charm.” Watching, Ji Ning shook his head dizzily.

There was more than one person seated next to Ning.

Ji Yichuan was naturally seated on his knees in the middle of the table, with Yuchi Snow by his side, while a large, snow-white dog was on his other side. It was the Godbeast, ‘Whitewater Hound’.

The people qualified to have their own individual seats here in the Snowfall Palace were all people of extremely high status in the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. Even Ning’s mother, Snow, had to be brought in her capacity as the wife of Yichuan, as she herself wouldn’t have otherwise been qualified to have her own seat.

…..

All of the Xiantian lifeforms had brought either their family or the spirit-beasts they had tamed.

Soon, it was nightfall, and the musicians and dancers all depart, and even the female servants and attendants were dismissed as well. It was the time to talk about some major affairs. If they were talking about extremely important, secret matters, even spirit-beasts and family members would have to leave.

“Everyone.” Prefecture Lord Young laughed. “Today, the Ceremony of the Golden Sword was concluded. Ning, at the age of ten, defeated seven combatants by himself and seized the golden sword. Naturally, he has become the next heir to the position of Prefecture Lord. However, Ning is still young…it’s best to have him wait a while longer and gain more experience before taking the Prefecture Lord position. As I see it, let’s wait until he is twenty. What do you think, everyone?”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

“Ning’s talent is no lower than Yichuan’s. He is very suitable for being selected as the next Prefecture Lord.” Another overseer nodded. Not even a single objection was raised, including from those on Ji Lee’s side.

Yichuan, seated off to the side, revealed a rare smile. “Prefecture Lord.”

“Yichuan, what is it?” Young looked towards him.

“I wish to ask for an item for my son.” Yichuan said.

Young was puzzled. “What item?”

“The Traceless Talisman!” Yichuan said solemnly. As soon as his words came out, the entire hall fell silent. Many of the Xiantian-level people stared at each other in surprise.

“The Traceless Talisman?” Young frowned as he looked at Ning, then asked, “Ning, you want the Traceless Talisman?”

Sitting there holding his wine-filled beastskull goblet, Ning was startled. Glancing at his father, he nodded. “Right.”

Yichuan said, “Ning is the next Prefecture Lord. He should be able to request this Traceless Talisman, right?”

“Right.” Young nodded, and then took a deep breath. With a flip of his hand, a strange jade talisman, glittering with jade light, appeared in his palm. This jade talisman was covered with complicated diagrams and illegible words, and it emanated strange, faint waves of energy which caused the area around it to seemingly distort. With a toss, Young tossed the item directly to Yichuan. “Yichuan, this Traceless Talisman is one of the guardian treasures of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture. It must not be used carelessly.”

Yichuan nodded. “I understand.”

——————

Late night. On the road back from Snowfall Palace, Ning and his parents, as well as the Whitewater Hound, were walking together.

“Father. Mother.” Ning said, puzzled. “What is the Traceless Talisman. What do you want it for, Father?”

Snow laughed as she looked at her son. “This is the reason why your father said he would only permit you to leave if you participated in the Ceremony of the Golden Sword and seized the golden sword. Because only after seizing the golden sword and settling the question of your position as heir to the Prefecture Lord position would you be able to acquire one of the guardian treasures, the ‘Traceless Talisman’.”

Yichuan said with a cold face, “The Traceless Talisman is an extremely valuable talisman. Three hundred years ago, one of the ancestors of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture, thanks to good luck, managed to acquire it. Back then, he acquired three of them, but he used up two of them…and now only this last one is remaining, and it has become the guardian treasure of our prefecture.”

“What use does it have?” Ning asked.

Yichuan laughed. “As long as you utilize the ‘Traceless Talisman’, you can instantly travel to any place within ten thousand kilometers.”

“What?!” Ning was shocked. Instantly travel to any location within ten thousand kilometers?

“A talisman like this is something you can’t even purchase if you wanted to, and our ancestor was only able to acquire it through luck.” Yichuan sighed. “To our Ji clan, obtaining a treasure of this level…is our absolute good fortune. You are the next Prefecture Lord, and thus I used that to acquire this ‘Traceless Talisman’ without anyone being able to object.”

After speaking, with a flip of his hand, Yichuan withdrew a jade shortsword that was gleaming with a bloody light, handing it to Ning. “This jade sword was only completed after being immersed in my blood for a long time. No matter how distant you are, I will be able to sense the location of this jade sword. This time, when you go out adventuring, keep it within you at all times. Remember, as soon as you meet any danger, immediately break this jade sword. When you break the jade sword, I will immediately know, and I will immediately use the ‘Traceless Talisman’ to instantly teleport to you and save your life.”

“Ah!” Ning instantly understood the reason why his father needed this Traceless Talisman.

Yichuan barked at him, “On this adventuring trip, you are not permitted to go too far from the West Prefecture City. This Traceless Talisman has a maximum range of only ten thousand kilometers. Through sensing the location of the jade sword, I’ll know how far away you are. If I sense that you have moved more than ten thousand kilometers away from the West Prefecture City, I will immediately head towards you, capture you, bring you back, and imprison you in the underground prison for three years!”

Ning rubbed his eyes. Imprisoned for three years in the underground prison? The forever dark underground prison, where the sunlight never shone, was the place where felons and those who were to be executed were held by the Ji clan of the West Prefecture.

“Your son will definitely remember.” Ning hurriedly said.

Ten thousand kilometers?

More than enough. After all, the area which the Ji clan of the West Prefecture controlled was only a few thousand kilometers. If he kept heading west, he would enter the territory of one of the other local hegemons.

“Ning, son.” Snow asked with concern. “When do you plan to head out and go adventuring?”

“I’ll make some quick preparations first.” Ning nodded. “Three days from now.”

————————

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Dawn. The sky was barely lit. Within Ning’s room.

“Ning, son, take these with you.” With a wave of Snow’s hand, atop Ning’s bed, two large sets of beast fur clothing as well as some other miscellaneous items appeared out of nowhere.

“Mother.” Ning couldn’t help but say. “I’ve already prepared everything. Clothing, food, tools.”

Yichuan snapped coldly, “If we tell you to take it, then take it. Your mother personally stitched every single one of these items with her own hands.”

Ning’s heart shook. He couldn’t help but glance at his mother. Yuchi Snow’s gaze remained on her son, and Ning could clearly sense the boundless, infinite love within his mother’s gaze…ever since he was young, his mother had taken care of him in every way possible. It was like he was everything to her. For him to go adventuring, his mother most likely was truly frightened for him.

As the saying goes, ‘When the son travels far, his mother worries at home.’ What’s more, this time he was going out to adventure.

“Father.” Ning had a serious thought. He hurriedly asked, “This time, when I go out, will Ji Lee secretly…”

“He will not.” Yichuan said coldly. “The reason why our Ji clan has been able to remain in existence in this part of the world for so long is because of our internal unity. We absolute forbid infighting. Anyone who violates this would suffer the pursuit and slaughter of all five prefectures of the Ji clan! In addition, I understand Lee’s personality very well. He just doesn’t want to submit to Prefecture Lord Young, but in his heart, he still holds the matters of the Ji clan in the highest regard. In addition, his arrogance is bred into his bones. He disdains doing such things.”

Ning nodded as though he had understood something.

“Don’t worry about Ji Lee.” Yichuan barked. “What you need to worry more about are those Diremonsters. Diremonsters all possess different innate powers and also have different tactics. Even the Xiantian level experts of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture will often die, much less you, who have not even reached the Xiantian level!”

“Don’t say such things.” Snow said hurriedly. “Our son is about to go out adventuring. Say something more pleasant. Ning, son, Mother has one more thing to give you.” As she spoke, a golden book appeared in her hands. The pages seemed made from gold leaf, and on top of the book there were four ancient-looking words: [Wind Wing Evasion Technique].

“This is a set of footwork techniques, and this is also the most precious Immortal training manual which Mother has. Wait until you become a Xiantian lifeform before reading it.” Snow instructed. “Also, you are not permitted to teach it to any other member of the Ji clan.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

The [Shadewind Steps] which his mother had taught him was something which only his mother knew! This was because even the Ji clan didn’t possess that footwork technique, so his mother had instructed him…that he was forbidden from teaching the [Shadewind Steps] to the other members of the Ji clan. This [Windwing Evasion] technique was also possessed by his mother alone, and thus she was forbidding him from teaching it to other members of the Ji clan.

“Alright. You can head out now.” Yichuan spoke. “If you are going to leave, then leave. Be straightforward about it.”

“Father. Mother. I’m leaving now.” Ning looked at his parents.

And then, with a turn of his head, he left. Outside, Mowu and his female maidservant, Autumn Leaf, were waiting for him.

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Chapter 10 – Eastmount Marsh

Chapter 10 – Eastmount Marsh

In the mountain forest outside the West Prefecture City.

Ji Ning, Mowu, and his maidservant Autumn Leaf were each seated on a black ferobeast. This beast was shaped like a leopard, and its body was covered with faint leopard-type patterns. It had a single horn on its head. This was an extremely ferocious type of beast. It could clamber up mountains like flat land, and was extremely fast. It was an excellent mount, but of course, it was a bit inferior to a tamed monstrous beast.

Given Ning’s status, he was being quite low-key in riding this sort of mount.

“West Prefecture City.” Ning turned and looked back, staring at the distant, enormous city. He had lived there ever since he was young.

“Let’s go!” Ning shouted.

With a kick to the waist of the mounted beast, the mounted beast immediately leapt forward at a gallop, while Autumn Leaf and Mowu hurriedly rode their own black ferobeasts behind.

————–

Winter left. Spring came.

On a grassy area within a mountain village, there were dozens of fur-clad men moving forward happily, half of them carrying burdens on shoulder poles.

“Uncle Dala!” A clearly inexperienced, spear-wielding youngster called out excitedly, “Before this, you never let us visit Eastmount Marsh, and you said that Eastmount Marsh was extremely dangerous. But this time…we encountered no danger at all, and we managed to catch so many fish. It will be enough for our tribe to eat for a long time.”

A heroic, bear-like figure next to him laughed, “Ah Yi, you brought us good luck. This time to Eastmount Marsh, not a single tribesman died. This is very rare. However, don’t underestimate Eastmount Marsh. Eastmount Marsh is one of the places in this area with the most Diremonsters within an area of ten thousand square kilometers. But of course, the fish in Eastmount Marsh are boundless in number as well.

“Ah Yi, this is the first time you’ve gone fishing with us. After a few more trips, you’ll know how dangerous it is. When we go back, you need to exercise more and refine your ki. Only when you are strong will you be able to live a longer life.” A one-armed man next to them laughed.

“Ah Yi isn’t a child anymore. This time, when we go back, we need to find a woman for Ah Yi. Let’s get some good furs and go to one of the neighboring tribes to exchange them for a fertile woman with big buttocks.”

“Get a few more women, so they can birth a few more childrens.”

The older men were all teasing this youth.

Just at this time, from the brambles and bushes nearby, a monstrous beast with black fur was lying in wait. Its fur was extremely smooth, and the contours of its body were sleek and soft. It seemed like a panther of some sort. A faint hint of green could be seen in its eyes, and its body was nearly seven meters long. Its furry mane was extremely tough, and it was shaped like a ring of circular spikes.

It was waiting. Waiting for an opportunity.

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll find one for myself.” Ah Yi was a bit embarrassed, and his face was turning red. He hastily called out.

“Haha, he’s shy.”

The older men laughed.

Suddenly…

“Roaaaar!” A black blur suddenly pounced over, pouncing directly towards the closest tribesman, a man who was holding a carrying pole.

“Monster!” The other tribesmen hurriedly roared in anger, and the spears in their hands thrust out. They had painstakingly trained since their youth, and had been refining their internal energy for dozens of years, and now possessed great strength. “Bang!” The enormous black blur’s claws easily swept aside the spears, knocking them to one side.

“Quick.”

“Kill.”

The surrounding tribesmen all roared with anger, thrusting out with their spears as well. As a small tribe, they didn’t possess any profound Immortal techniques, making spear and polearm type weapons extremely popular amongst them. So long as they trained a few simple movements every day, after a few dozen years, their power would still be extraordinary.

“Hua!” Stepping on the polearms, the enormous black blur easily leapt up and pounced towards the center of the group of tribesmen.

These tribesmen often went to Eastmount Marsh to fish, and thus they selected a fairly safe return path, one which rarely encountered monstrous beasts. But caution was bred into their bones, and so the tribesmen with the carrying poles were all in the center, while the powerful tribal warriors with weapons at the ready were on the outer perimeter.

“A monster!” The one-armed man called out hurriedly. “Careful.” As he spoke, he brandished his single blade, pouncing towards the massive black blur.

“Monster, die!” The most powerful of the tribal warriors, the bear-like, ‘Uncle Dala’, also brandished his long greataxe as he threw himself towards the black blur.

“Kill!”

The nearby tribesmen were all going crazy.

All of them knew how powerful Bi’an Tigers were. Just then, six powerful warriors had surrounded and attacked this Bi’an Tiger, but it had easily stepped on their weapons and jumped into their center, causing them all to understand…that this was most likely an extremely terrifying monstrous beast that had already reached the peak of the Houtian level. Today, it was possible that several of them would die.

“Grrrrrrrrrr.” The Bi’an Tiger roared angrily. Unlike before, where it moved quickly, this time it stayed where it was, attacking wildly.

Clang!

The one-armed man was sent flying backwards by the collision, while Uncle Dala continued to chop downwards with his greataxe while roaring wildly. The Bi’an Tiger had also noticed that this greataxe wielding human was the most dangerous of the group, and so he didn’t pay any attention to the other tribal warriors, using his sharp claws to smash directly against the greataxe, causing its trajectory to be altered. However, the greataxe still landed on the flank of the Bi’an Tiger, chopping out a massive wound. Only, the Bi’an Tiger’s muscles around its flank tightened, and very little blood flowed out. The main problem was that the greataxe hadn’t landed a deep enough blow. At the same time the Bi’an Tiger batted the greataxe aside, roaring, the Bi’an Tiger opened its massive maw and bit down towards Uncle Dala.

“Uncle Dala.” The somewhat stupefied youngster, Ah Yi, was stunned and called out.

“Dala!”

“Dala!”

The surrounding tribesmen were all worried as well.

Suddenly…

“Shua!” Something flashed past like a glittering meteor from afar, instantly penetrating the Bi’an Tiger’s skull, then flying out from the other side before penetrating into a giant tree…and then shot out from the other side of the tree as well.

“Grrr…”

Uncle Dala fell to the ground, with the massive body of the Bi’an Tiger on top of him, blood covering Uncle Dala’s face.

“Uncle Dala.” The youngster, Ah Yi, immediately ran over. He was at the verge of tears.

“I’m fine.” That powerful tribesman pushed the Bi’an Tiger off, then stood up while rubbing his face, finding that it was covered with blood. “This isn’t my blood. It is the Bi’an Tiger’s blood.”

The one armed man walked over and took a glance as well, first looking at the corpse of the Bi’an Tiger, and then at the nearby tree. His pupils contracted, and he whispered, “For an arrow to pierce through the rock-hard skull of the Bi’an Tiger, and then through the black arrowwood tree…that’s simply terrifying. In addition, the Bi’an Tiger suffered the arrow in mid-leap. This archery skill…”

“Definitely a godly archer.”

“A godly archer shot this arrow.” All of the tribesmen stared at the corpse of the Bi’an Tiger, then looked afar into the general direction from which the arrow had come from and where the godly archer must be.

Hua! Hua! Hua!

Three figures drew from deep within the mountain forests. The tribesmen watched carefully…and soon, they were able to see them clearly. Three people, riding extremely handsome black ferobeasts. The black ferobeasts moved through the mountain slopes as though they were travelling on flat land, and quickly arrived before the tribesmen.

“Uh….” Seeing the three people in front of them, all the tribesmen were awestruck.

They were riding handsome black ferobeasts, and wore extremely meticulous, beautifully made beast fur clothes. The person in front was a seemingly very young and handsome young man, while by his side was an extremely beautiful girl. The men could swear to themselves…that they couldn’t find such a girl as beautiful as this one in their entire tribe. Although she was dressed in warrior’s clothes, it couldn’t hide her beauty. As for the man on the other side of the youngster, he emitted a fierce, ferocious aura, causing the hearts of these tribesmen to quail.

“Hu.” The older man leapt down from his black ferobeast, walking over to the tall, thick black arrowwood tree, snatching out the arrow.

“Young master.” The man walked next to the youngster, respectfully offering him the arrow.

Ji Ning accepted it.

Although they had prepared many arrows for this adventuring expedition, if they abandoned every arrow they shot out, they probably would run out of arrows soon. These were all extremely good arrows…they could be used multiple times.

“Honored young master.” The one-armed tribesman went forward, respectfully bowing. “Thank you for acting to save us. Might I ask if there is some way in which our Metalstone Tribe can serve you, young master?”

The other tribesmen didn’t dare to make a sound.

Someone who brought a maidservant and a manservant while adventuring…this clearly was no ordinary person. And in addition, he had been referred to as ‘young master’ earlier. Someone who was respectfully addressed as ‘young master’ was generally the son of a tribal chief of a major tribe with tens of thousands of tribesmen. Clearly, this youngster should belong to an extremely large tribe.

“Are you familiar with Eastmount Marsh?” Ning, riding on the black ferobeast, asked them.

The tribesmen looked at each other.

Why was this young master going to Eastmount Marsh? He definitely couldn’t be going there for fishing like they had, right? It would definitely be very dangerous.

“I am.” The powerful, dark-skinned Uncle Dala strode forward. “I have been fishing in Eastmount Marsh for dozens of years now, and am very familiar with this place. Young master, if you wish to go to Eastmount Marsh, I can lead the way for you.”

“Excellent.” Ning, mounted on the black ferobeast, laughed ,and then with a flip of his hand, tossed over a ‘beasthead’ of gold. “Come with me, then.”

Accepting the beasthead of gold, Uncle Dala’s eyes instantly lit up. This beasthead of gold, weighing exactly ten pounds, would be more than enough for his child to live off of for the rest of his life. He immediately gave it to the nearby one armed man. “Help me take it back and give it to my eldest son. If I die, then help me take care of my three little kids.”

“Alright.” The one armed man nodded.

“Report your name.” Ning said.

“Honored young master, you can address me as Dala!” Uncle Dala said respectfully.

“Dala, mount on her black ferobeast.” Ning pointed to Autumn Leaf’s mount. “Autumn Leaf, you come sit with me.”

“Yes, young master.”

Autumn Leaf leapt down, then immediately mounted Ning’s black ferobeast, then held her arms around Ning’s waist. She had served Ning since he was born, and they were as close to each other as real siblings. In addition, as Ning’s personal maidservant, it was essentially determined long ago that she was Ning’s woman, and thus there were no taboos between them.

Uncle Dala, holding his breath, carefully mounted the black ferobeast. He had never ridden on such a fine mount before.

“Let’s go.”

Ning ordered.

Hua!

Ning and the others rode the black ferobeasts, quickly disappearing into the mountain forests.

“Uncle Saber.” The youngster, Ah Yi, asked frantically. “Uncle Dala is going to take them to the Eastmount Marsh. Will it be dangerous?”

The one-armed man nodded. “They aren’t like us. That youngsters is definitely the son of a leader of a large tribe, and has received the finest instruction since he was young. That arrow was probably loosed by him. He has most likely come to Eastmount Marsh for a rite-of-passage adventure! He has to kill a certain number of monstrous beasts, but Eastmount Marsh is too large and too complicated an area. Just relying on a simple map isn’t sufficient, so they asked for Uncle Dalat to help lead the way.”

“Rites-of-passage? But that youngster isn’t an adult yet.” Ah Yi said.

“Some people look older than their age, others look younger.” The one armed man said.

Actually, right now, Ning was just eleven years old, although he was already 1.7 meters tall, the same height he was in his past life.

“But that young master was very benevolent.” The one armed man sighed. “Just then, when the Bi’an Tiger ambushed us, if that young master hadn’t intervened…several of us probably would have died, and the first to die would have been your Uncle Dala! Having had his life saved, your Uncle Dala would go guide them, even if it cost him his life. In addition, the young master gave him a beasthead of gold. Ten pounds!”

“Hurry, hurry, hurry.” The one armed man suddenly shouted. “Butcher that Bi’an Tiger’s corpse and take it back.”

“Quick.”

“Come.”

One after another pulled out their knives and hatchets, quickly butchering the Bi’an Tiger’s corpse, and then they continued on their return trip.

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Chapter 11 – Entering the Marsh

Chapter 11 – Entering the Marsh

Ning’s squad, mounted on the three black ferobeasts, charged through the borders of the mountain forest.

“Look.” Uncle Dala pointed in front. “Eastmount Marsh is up ahead.”

“Eastmount Marsh.”

Ning stared off into the distance.

An enormous, endless lake stretched far into the distance, flashing with the beautiful light of the spring sun. At one glance, one could see flying beasts diving down and snatching up fish, or some tails of enormous aquatic creatures wriggling amongst the reeds. Occasionally, a massive head would be seen. This was the world of monsters!

“Eastmount Marsh.” Ning murmured. “We’re finally here.”

Eastmount Marsh was located between the territory of the Ji clan and the Ironwood clan. The Ironwood clan was a hegemonic power on par with the Ji clan, but it was the Ji clan’s enemy!

Eastmount Marsh was over a thousand kilometers wide, and was on par in size with a ‘province’ in his previous life. Such an enormous lake…naturally had countless monstrous beasts here. The monstrous beasts which the Ji clan knew about numbered up to twelve!

Ever since leaving the Ji clan of the West Prefecture and adventuring ,Ning had wanted to go fight with a few Xiantian level Diremonsters, but Diremonsters were all hidden within the deep lakes and tall mountains. How could they be so easily found? In the past, he had spent nearly an entire month searching an area without any success. Furious, Ning immediately changed their path and headed straight to Eastmount Marsh!

“There are many monsters in Eastmount Marsh, and many of them are early Xiantian level. I refuse to believe I won’t encounter a single one.” Ning was like a newborn calf who didn’t know the meaning of fear. However, he didn’t dare to be too incautious either, because many clansmen of the Ji clan had died here in Eastmount Marsh, such as his grandfather, who had died here at Eastmount Marsh!

————————-

“Mowu. Autumn Leaf.” Ning leapt off the back of his black ferobeast and instructed, “Eastmount Marsh is too risky a place, and there is danger everywhere. In addition, the black ferobeasts are of no use in the water. The two of you, take these three black ferobeasts and head to the Metalstone Tribe. Wait for me at the Metalstone Tribe!”

Mowu and Autumn Leaf glanced at each other. They could only reply respectfully, “Yes, young master.”

“Dala.” Ning looked at the swarthy, big man. “You and I will make a trip to this lake. Help me get used to the general areas around here, and then you can go back and rest at the Metalstone Tribe as well.”

“Yes, young master.” Uncle Dala said respectfully.

“Let’s go.”

Ning immediately headed forward, and Uncle Dala, hefting his greataxe, followed behind. Autumn Leaf and Mowu watched as their young master entered the distant Eastmount Marsh. Although they were nervous, there was nothing they could do. One of them was a maidservant, while the other was nothing more than a person assigned to teach the young master his abundant mountaineering experience. Their power was far inferior to Ning’s.

The vast lake was filled with myriad beautiful scenes.

“Within this great lake, there are places with islands of firmer terrain and grasses as well.” Uncle Dala laughed. “In fact, there are even some small villages. But of course, most of the muddy areas, if you step into them, you’ll sink into the marsh…and in addition, there is of course the immeasurably deep lake itself. Within the marsh, it is difficult to move about, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll sink into it.”

Ning was right next to him.

“Our Metalstone Tribe has lived in a village near the marsh for centuries now, and often come here to fish. We know exactly where which roads are passable and which aren’t.” Uncle Dala was very confident.

Pa! Pa!

Striding through the mud, Ning followed this tribal warrior through Eastmount Marsh.

“Look.” A beastskin parchment appeared out of nowhere in Ning’s hands. “This is the map of Eastmount Lake. Lead me to these circled areas.”

“Ah!” Uncle Dala was terrified. “These…these are all places where Diremonsters are hiding. These are the most dangerous places. We don’t dare go near them.”

“You don’t need to go near them.” Ning shook his head. “Just lead me there, and tell me from afar how to go.”

Uncle Dala’s forehead was covered in sweat. He nodded. “Alright. I’ll lead you, young master.”

———————-

Eastmount Marsh was simply too vast. It was indeed quite slow for them to move through it relying on their legs alone. In addition, this was Ning’s first time coming here, and the various meandering pathways stretched for thousands of kilometers. Fortunately, the experienced Uncle Dala guided him to one hidden pathway after another, allowing them to easily navigate this marsh.

In the blink of an eye, over a month passed.

Ning had carried food and beverages within his kalestone, and in addition, they could roast the meat of some monstrous beasts. Whenever they went to sleep, they would just find a random patch of dry land or grass. Ning wasn’t in a hurry to go challenge those hidden Diremonsters. First, he wanted to locate them. Afterwards, he would travel by himself and relying on his ‘one with the world’ level of footwork to easily walk atop the surface of the lake water. He would be able to traverse a thousand kilometers in but a single day.

“This is the last place.” Uncle Dala pointed from afar at a distant place, where the luxurious growth of aquatic plants, at least three meters high, waved in the wind. “Right there, where the aquatic plants are growing, is the lair of a Greater Beast. Supposedly, this is an extremely, extremely large rhinoceros, an aquatic rhinoceros the size of a small mountain.”

“Alright. Let’s go back. After returning to the Metalstone Tribe, I will definitely reward you heavily.” Ning said.

“Young master, you’ve given me enough.” Uncle Dala said hastily.

This seemingly delicate youngster was actually terrifyingly powerful. During their month in Eastmount Marsh, they had been attacked by quite a few monstrous beasts, but all of them died to but a single blow of the youngster’s sword! Ning didn’t care about the corpses of the monstrous beasts either, but Uncle Dala’s heart ached every time. This was monstrous beast flesh. If they sold it, the tribe would be in a much better situation, but he couldn’t carry it all back, so all he could do was to carve out a few choice parts and take them with him.

“Hrm?” Ning and Uncle Dala both suddenly stared into the distance.

From afar, there was a squad of troops, with quite a few figures within.

Deep in the marsh, there were solid areas, muddy areas, and even hilly areas, along with a large mountain. That mountain was known as the East Mountain, which was why this marsh was known as Eastmount Marsh.

Off in the distance, a squad of apparently several hundred soldiers could be seen clustered in on a hill. Suddenly, ten figures ran over at rapid speed towards Ning and Uncle Dala.

“What’s going on?” Ning frowned.

“Quick, let’s leave.” Uncle Dala was so frightened that he immediately turned tail and ran.

Shua!

One of those ten men was wearing blue metal armor, and with a howl, he leapt forward at an astonishing speed, blocking off Uncle Dala’s escape path.

“The two of you.” The blue armored man stared at them coldly, pausing only briefly to glance at the exquisite beast fur clothes on Ning’s body, before continuing disdainfully, “Come with us!”

“What do you want with us?” Uncle Dala, seeing the man’s armor, immediately bowed and said respectfully.

The other nine walked over as well, all of them dressed in armor.

“Hurry up. If we tell you to follow us, then follow us. Otherwise, you die here!” These armor-clad guards all stared coldly while hefting their weapons, clearly very skilled.

Uncle Dala looked at Ning.

“Let’s take a look for now.” Ning was actually quite calm. These armored guards were clearly no ordinary people, but to him, they were like nothing more than wild chickens facing a ravenous dog. But why did the armored guards want them to follow? If it wasn’t necessary, Ning didn’t want to so casually slaughter others.

“Move.”

“Hurry.”

Under the watchful gazes of the ten armored guards, Ning and Uncle Dala headed towards the hill.

There was some grass on the hill, and there were currently hundreds of people there. Most of them were lying there with their hands and feet bound, while roughly a hundred armored guards were in a perimeter around them, while there was a stone seat in the center. On the stone seat, there was a bulky, muscled man, at least six and a half feet tall, wearing thick armor and with a dominating gaze.

Ning stared in surprise at the tall armored man who sat in the middle. The ‘demonstone’ in Ning’s pocket was currently radiating heat. Clearly, it had sensed the presence of a nearby monster. At the same time, Ning could vaguely feel that the massive armored man escorted by the many guards had an extraordinary aura.

“There’s a Diremonster.” Ning hurriedly inspecting everyone carefully.

Only humans were nearby. A monster which could take human form was, without question, a Diremonster!

Ning had brought many objects with him on this journey, and a demonstone was one of them. Demonstones…were a type of special natural rock. Once they sensed the aura of a monster, they would emanate light and heat. Some cities that were even larger than West Prefecture City would have ‘Monster Revealing Mirrors’ installed on the city gates, which were formed from multiple demonstones. So long as a monster drew near, the Monster Revealing Mirror would immediately radiate light.

Humans had a human aura, while monsters naturally had their own monstrous auras. This was a type of life aura.

“Dala!”

“Uncle Dala!”

Suddenly, several voices rang out.

Ning and Uncle Dala both turned their heads and saw that amongst the bound people, there were ten of them calling towards the two of them. This caused Uncle Dala to immediately have a distressed look on his face. “Black Tiger, why have you been bound here?” Those ten or so people belonged to his tribe.

“Dala, why are you here? That giant person is a Diremonster. He’s going to eat us all.” One of the bound tribesmen called out frantically.

“Diremonster?” Uncle Dala was shocked.

Ning stared back at that massive man in heavy armor, seated in the center of that ring of armored guards. Taking a careful glance, he saw that the giant man had a hint of blood at the corner of his lips, and he was currently smacking them in a satisfied manner. This caused Ning’s heart to immediately become filled with an urge to kill. “So the Diremonster which my demonstone sensed is him! Eastmount Marsh has a total of twelve Diremonsters. I wonder which one he is.”

“Shut your mouth.” An armored guard walked over and kicked that bound man, kicking him wildly and repeatedly. “All of you, shut your mouths.”

“You are harming your fellow humans for the sake of a Diremonster, and you want us to shut our mouths?”

“And you are the venerable Blue Guards of the Ironwood clan. You really are a disgrace to the Ironwood clan!”

“Kick away, kick as much as you like, kick us all to death.”

The people being kicked shouted wildly.

“Stop it!” The massive, heavily armored man seated on the stone bench rumbled. His voice was very deep, as though coming from a bullhorn. “If you kick them to death, then I’ll eat you.”

The armored guard glanced at the heavily armored giant, and then unhappily stepped back.

“Aquatic Rhino King!” A bald armored guard growled, “We have already helped you capture over five hundred people. Our comrades have spread out everywhere to capture people, and have already done our part. Give our young master back to us, and our Ironwood clan will act as though this never happened. Otherwise, if the situation escalates, Aquatic Rhino King…you should know that you are unable to bear the fury of our Ironwood clan.”

Watching from a distance under escort from two armored guards, Ning’s eyes lit up.

Aquatic Rhino King?

There was only a single Aquatic Rhinoceros amongst the twelve Diremonsters of Eastmount Marsh. It was an early Xiantian level Diremonster!

“Early Xiantian level?” Ning’s eyes were filled with a killing intent. “I’ve searched a long, long time for a Diremonster of this level of power. This really is a case of ‘searching far and wide to no avail, but then discovering it all of a sudden’.”

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Chapter 12 – A Slaughter Begins

Chapter 12 – A Slaughter Begins

The Aquatic Rhino King, seated on his stone chair, glanced at the bald armored guard. Reaching out with his enormous hand, he grabbed a nearby bound youth, placing the youth down on his thigh. The youth, on the thigh of the Aquatic Rhino King, was like a tiny doll, without any ability to resist at all. The youth screamed in pain, “He told you to go capture people, so do so. All you need to do is capture a thousand people. Oh mighty Aquatic Rhino King, the two we just captured, plus the nineteen you ate earlier, means that I have already ordered my subordinates to capture five hundred and eighty three humans for you already.”

“Don’t worry.” The voice of the Aquatic Rhino King was still very low and very thick. “I, the Aquatic Rhino King, will do what I promise. After you catch a thousand people, I will definitely spare you.”

“Baldy!” The Aquatic Rhino King stared with his massive eyes at the bald armored guard. “Don’t try to use the Ironwood clan’s name to try and scare me. Here in the Eastmount Marsh, every year, how many disciples of the Ironwood clan and the Ji clan die? You came to adventure in Eastmount Marsh. If you die, you die! Even if this soft-skinned, tender-fleshed ‘young master’ of your Ironwood clan really has an extremely high status, if I were to kill you all, most likely it would be a long time before the Ironwood clan found out that you were all dead, and wouldn’t be able to find out who the killer was!”

The Blue Guards could only grit their teeth.

The Aquatic Rhino King laughed, and with a wave of his hand, tossed the bound ‘young master’ of the Ironwood clan to the ground again.

“All of you, go out and capture more people. Go capture more, quickly. Go capture more of these lowly peasants.” Lying on the ground, the Ironwood clan’s ‘young master’ was roaring angrily.

“But young master.” The bald armored guard said frantically, “We’ve already captured virtually all of the hunters and fishers here in Eastmount Marsh. Even if there were any more here…there would only be a very few. It’s going to be very hard to reach four hundred.”

The young master of the Ironwood clan, lying on the ground, howled fiercely, “Then find a tribe. Any who resist, slaughter them all. Bring the rest back here. You should be able to find a few hundred people in a tribe, right?”

“Massacre a tribe?” The bald armored guard was stunned.

“What are you afraid of?” The Ironwood clan’s ‘young master’ roared, “If you are afraid, then go to the territory of the Ji clan! Go massacre a clan in the Ji clan’s territory. Kill any who resist and bring the others back.”

The bald armored guard clenched his teeth. “Yes!”

If it was a case of the two major sides engaging in battle, or an order from their master in ordinary circumstances, they wouldn’t hesitate at all to kill. But they were now serving a Diremonster to kill and torture other humans…this caused the valiant armored guards to feel incomparable shame.

“Haha…” The Aquatic Rhino King laughed loudly, his voice like thunder. “Good, good, good. After you round up a thousand humans, I’ll definitely spare you.”

“Boom!”

The Aquatic Rhino King rubbed his rumbling stomach, licking his lips. “Just ate a man. Now I’m hungry again! Who should I eat?” The Aquatic Rhino King cast his gaze towards the others, and instantly, the people who were tied up all had changed looks on their face. Many people’s eyes were filled with fear.

They had personally witnessed this Diremonster eat someone alive earlier. They weren’t afraid of death, but to be eaten one bite at a time was a sort of hell!

“Um?” The Aquatic Rhino King’s gaze landed on the distant Ning, and his eyes lit up. “Um, that human youth’s skin is so delicate and so clean. He seems very young. His flesh definitely will be delicious. Quick, someone, go bring him to me.” As he spoke, he began to drool.

“Young master.” Uncle Dala looked frantically towards Ning. There were ten Blue Guards next to them.

“Move it.” A Blue Guard grabbed at Ning’s beast fur clothes.

Ning turned his head and glanced at the Blue Guard. With a movement of his right hand, he sent his right palm chopping towards the chest of the Blue Guard. Bang…a low sound rang out, and the Blue Guard was sent flying far away into the air. His eyes were bulging and round, and his mouth was hanging wide open. His face was red. Bang! Fresh blood spewed out from his shattered organs. He fell into the watery marsh over a hundred meters away, and as he did, he kicked up a splash of water, then sank down, not moving at all. Clearly, he was dead.

“To willingly serve as the fangs and claws for a Diremonster and harm those of your own race…you deserve death!” A cold voice rang out.

Utter silence.

The five hundred plus people who were tied up on the hill, as well as the hundred plus Blue Guards, and even that seated Diremonster, the Aquatic Rhino King, all turned to look at the seemingly fragile youngster.

A single palm sent someone flying over a hundred meters?

“Wonderful!” The Aquatic Rhino King was the first to react, and he actually became excited. He naturally was very happy to witness humans killing each other, and he immediately shouted, “Aren’t you going to fight him? He just killed one of your people! Quick, fight!”

“Kill!” The other Blue Guards instantly saw red, and all of them transformed into cruel blurs as they pounced towards him. The youngster in front of them had just killed one of their comrades. When their comrade had died to that palm just now, the only thing that could be said was that they were unable to react in time. In addition, this youngster probably trained in some sort of Fiendgod Body Refining technique. He just had a bit of strength, that was all.

In a life and death battle, what mattered was the sword and saber techniques which one had refined and trained in. Even if one was much physically weaker, one’s sword would still be able to pierce through an opponent’s skull!

Hu! Hu! Hu! Twenty Blue Guards attacked in unison.

With a wave of his hand, Ning pushed the nearby Uncle Dala, who went flying. Dala somersaulted in a midair, then landed on the ground, completely uninjured. Uncle Dala looked frantically at the twenty Blue Guards charging towards Ning. “Young master, be careful.”

“Be careful.”

“Quick, run.”

“Young man, quick, run!”

The bound prisoners all grew frantic as well, and they began to call out, staring at the youngster with worry. They knew how powerful these Blue Guards were…these Blue Guards were highly experienced Ninefang Warriors who were extremely skilled at group attacks. These were elite soldiers of the Ironwood clan. Only a Xiantian level lifeform would be able to survive the attack of twenty of these Blue Guards.

Faced with the attacking Blue Guards, Ning suddenly transformed into a gust of wind, the carefree wind which went where it pleased. When the Blue Guards chopped and stabbed at them with their sabers, spears, and sharp swords, Ning leisurely stepped past, easily making his way past their combined attacks.

Hu!

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

A series of palm slapping sounds in a row. Even as Ning made his way past the attacks of the twenty Blue Guards, he slapped out with his palms, each strike coming from his wrist and striking onto the faces of the Blue Guards. Each palm strike of Ning’s carried ten thousand pounds of force, and sent these Blue Guards flying. No one was able to block Ning’s palm.

Hu!

Ning’s body came to a halt. All twenty of the Blue Guards had been knocked flying to the side, all of their heads and necks crooked and twisted, blood flowing from their mouths, noses, and ears.

All of them dead!

“What?!”

“Good heavens!”

“But…but…”

The hundreds of bound people and the Blue Guards of the Ironwood clan…even the Diremonster was shocked.

“You…you…” The young master of the Ironwood clan who was lying there bound on the floor was both furious and frantic.

“We are the Blue Guards of the Ironwood clan.” The other Blue Guards had very ugly looks on their faces. They were furious, but didn’t dare to make a move.

Ning said with cold calm, “To willingly serve as the claws and fangs of a Diremonster is a crime that deserves death.” The Ironwood clan and the Ji clan were enemies to begin with, and these dead enemies had even been willing to serve as the claws of a Diremonster!

Hua!

A sharp sword appeared out of nowhere into Ning’s hands. His feet moved, and then sword light began to flash…in the blink of an eye, nine of the Blue Guards held their throats, gurgling a few times, before collapsing, blood flowing from the wound in their necks. In terms of footwork or swordplay, this youngster was extremely fast, causing the other Blue Guards to be terrified.

Earlier, Ning had already been terrifying without even using his sword. But now, he began to wield his sword.

“Quick, run.”

“Aquatic Rhino King, save us!” The Blue Guards were completely frantic. This youngster who had appeared out of nowhere was clearly about to massacre them.

The Aquatic Rhino King just sat there, laughing loudly. “All I said was that if you seized a thousand humans, I’d spare you. I never said I’d save you from others. Kill, kill, kill.” The Aquatic Rhino King wasn’t worried at all. To him, a Diremonster, these humans in front of him were nothing more than humans. This was nothing more than internal warfare amongst humans.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Blood was flying everywhere, and one Blue Guard after another fell down lifelessly. The Blue Guards all fled in every which way in terror. They were truly frightened now. Their swordplay and saberplay, against this youngster, clearly weren’t enough to even withstand a single blow.

“Quick, run.”

“Quick.”

Hu….moving at extreme speed with the sound of the wind, multiple blurry forms of Ning appeared out of nowhere. Every single Blue Guard fell where they stood. Some had been stabbed through the heart, others had their throats cut. Blood stained the ground. The Blue Guards lay collapsed on the ground, scattered throughout the area.

Every single Blue Guard had died!

“Hrm?” The Aquatic Rhino King, previously just enjoying the show, suddenly stood up, his face changed. The last, full-strength attack which Ning had employed had pushed his speed to the utmost limit, generating dozens of blurry images. This had truly stunned the Aquatic Rhino King. Before this, he hadn’t considered this youngster as a potential opponent. But now, he began to feel a bit wary.

“Too powerful.”

“So strong.”

“They deserved to die.” The bound people all felt extremely excited. They hadn’t expected this youth to be as powerful as this. Could it be that this powerful youth was so powerful…that he was going to kill this terrifying Diremonster?

Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword light flashing, the ten or so people around Ning instantly found their binds had been cut through.

“Human youth.” The Aquatic Rhino King transformed into a black blur, charging towards Ning and smashing down at him with a massive fist that was covered with a thick layer of ice. “They are my food.”

“Clang.”

Ning struck out with his Darknorth sword, stabbing straight towards that massive fist.

BANG!!!!

It was as though a mountain had collapsed. Ning flew back a hundred meters, and the layer of ice on the fist of the Aquatic Rhino King also exploded, and even half the arm of the monster had exploded. The watching tribesmen all revealed looks of joy and expectation on their faces. Had the Diremonster’s arm been destroyed?

“Excellent.” The Aquatic Rhino King growled. “You are worthy of me using my real form.”

The Aquatic Rhino King suddenly transformed into a huge, watery fog, and then the enormous fog of water suddenly coalesced at high speed, transforming into a hill-sized, thirty meters tall massive monster. This was an enormous Aquatic Rhinoceros. It was covered with an extremely thick blue hide, and was seventy meters long. It truly was like a small mountain. The energy emitting from its nostrils caused the ground to be covered with a layer of thick ice, and the nearby tribesmen were instantly frozen into ice statues. At this time, Uncle Dala was still rapidly rescuing the other members of his clan.

“Quick, leave.” The distant Ning transformed into a stream of light, travelling atop the water. In but an instant, he scurried over, and as his sword flashed, the ropes binding the dozens of men were instantly cut apart.

“Why aren’t you leaving?” Ning roared angrily, and then turned to stare at the giant monster.

These people quickly grabbed the weapons lying on the ground, cut open the ropes on the people next to them, and then in the blink of an eye, the four hundred lucky survivors quickly fled.

“Fleeing? I’m going to freeze you and slowly enjoy eating you.” The Aquatic Rhino King stared around him. Instantly, a cold aura began to radiate forth, and the temperature rapidly began to lower. A layer of ice and frost began to spread out, and instantly, some people were turned into ice statues. Only the fastest runners and the likes of Uncle Dala, who had fled long ago, managed to survive.

“I am the Ironwood clan’s…” The young master of the Ironwood clan was still shouting fiercely, but halfway through his words, he turned into an ice statue.

In the blink of an eye, the area within thirty meters of the Aquatic Rhino King had turned into a graveyard.

Only Ning and the Aquatic Rhino King remained, staring at each other.

From off in the distance, Uncle Dala and the dozens of lucky survivors still felt the aftertaste of terror. A young man near Uncle Dala said with concern, “Uncle Dala, will that young fellow survive?”

“He will, he will.” Uncle Dala said with his mouth, but in his heart, he didn’t feel too confident either. Would that youngster with astonishing strength and swordplay be able to defeat the vicious, ferocious Diremonster?

“Why haven’t you left yet!”

The distant Ning roared in anger.

Once the battle began, this distance of a three hundred meters, to the likes of Ning or the Aquatic Rhino King, would be nothing at all. He wouldn’t be able to help save them.

“Let’s go.” Uncle Dala gritted his teeth, then led his tribesmen to flee. As for those of other tribes, they had fled long ago. They had been utterly frightened.

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Chapter 13 – Ji Ning Battles the Diremonster

Chapter 13 – Ji Ning Battles the Diremonster

Freezing ice covered the area. Frozen corpses stood there like ice statues, whether on the ground, lying down, or standing up. There was no longer any hint of life in them. These six hundred corpses, especially those of the five hundred innocents, filled Ning’s heart with an even stronger desire to kill.

“Human youth.” The Aquatic Rhino’s four legs seemed like massive pillars, pawing at the ground as it stared at Ning. “You have angered me. Those were meant to be my food.”

The ice covered Ning, and there was even a layer of frost on his fur clothes. But Ning’s clothes rippled slightly, instantly breaking apart that layer of frost. Still, a large amount of ice continued to accumulate…all Ning could do was constantly break it apart and sent it flying.

“Your swordplay and footwork are both quite impressive, but you are still only at the Houtian level. Whereas I, I am a mighty Xiantian lifeform.” The Aquatic Rhino rumbled in deep throated laughter. “Since a few dozen ordinary humans fled, you’ll have to be the compensatory prize. The flesh of a powerful human youth is even more attractive to me than that of a thousand ordinary humans.”

“I haven’t killed a Xiantian lifeform yet.” Covered with frost, Ning stared at the Aquatic Rhino, his voice ice cold. “Thus, I have an unquenchable urge to kill a Xiantian lifeform! Aquatic Rhino King, as the first Xiantian lifeform to die to me, you should feel proud! I will chop off your flesh and personally sample it, and I’ll also let my parents and clansmen taste your flesh!”

Hua!

Ning’s left hand suddenly was also grasping a precious sword, and he was now wielding a Darknorth sword in each hand.

“Twin swords? So it seems your swordplay is just average. In this area around Swallow Mountain, there isn’t a single person who uses twin swords who had good sword techniques!” The Aquatic Rhino stared at Ning with its enormous eyes, and then casually stamped on the ground, causing the entire area to shake. And then, like a mountain, it came crashing towards him. “Die!”

Bang!

A massive hoof, so large that several men would be needed to wrap their arms around it in a circle, came crashing down from up high, stamping down towards Ning. The air itself exploded with a desolate, ear-piercing boom, and a blast of energy gouged multiple holes in the ground. Long before this hoof actually touched Ning, Ning knew how powerful it was.

“Swoosh!” Ning first drew out a sword, which dimly flashed like a faint light of water which cut at the enormous hoof in a thin line. After just barely penetrating into the hoof’s skin, it was no longer able to penetrate any further. Ning immediately moved like a gust of wind and retreated.

Bang!!!

The earth shuddered, and an enormous crater many meters in size appeared, while Ning himself had already dodged more than thirty meters away.

“You won’t be able to escape.” The Aquatic Rhino bellowed as it charged towards Ning. Although it seemed to be clumsy, due to its massive size, it travelled a huge distance with every step. Its enormous hooves created massive crater-like hoof-prints in the ground with each pounding step, and soon, it chased Ning all the way into a mountain forest not too far from the hill.

This forest was only a few square kilometers in size.

“These trees won’t be able to impede me at all.” The Aquatic Rhino bellowed, charging through them. In front of the mountain-like Aquatic Rhino, these large trees were like blades of grass being stepped on and moved through by ordinary people.

“He lives up to the reputation of being an Aquatic Rhino. His physical strength is much greater than that of an ordinary Diremonster’s.” Ning said to himself. “And its skin is very thick. Just relying on my internal ki energy and ‘one with the world’ swordplay, I’m unable to even break through its skin. It seems I’ll have to rely on Fiendgod Body Refining.”

Swoosh!

Ning, with a leap, suddenly was standing atop the crown of a tall, large tree. Standing on the tree’s leaves, he didn’t sink down at all, staring down into the matching gaze of the Aquatic Rhino.

“Huh?” The Aquatic Rhino suddenly came to a halt. He sensed that there was a change to this human youngster’s aura, and in terms of the strength of that aura, it was only very slightly weaker than the Aquatic Rhino’s own. “Fiendgod Body Refining?”

“Right.” Ning’s skin was beginning to turn red. The power of the Sun and the Moon had begun to totally fill his body, and his strength instantly rose to the maximum limits.

If he could break through and reach the Xiantian lifeform level, the divine power in his body would even be able to appear outside his body.

“Haha, you are but a Houtian lifeform. Even if you train in an Fiendgod Body Refining, you are far inferior to me.” The Aquatic Rhino charged forward ferociously, smashing through trees in its wake, and the trees it smashed through all went ‘pengpengpeng’ as they collapsed, not able to slow it down at all.

“Hrmph.”

Standing on the crown of the tree, Ning stared down coldly at the charging Aquatic Rhino, two swords in his hands.

The Aquatic Rhino was physically enormous. Only a freakishly powerful Diremonster such as Serpentwing would be able to fight against it head on. But, as an expert swordsman, Ning would not do such a thing.

Shua!

At that moment of impact, Ning used his ‘one with the world’ level ‘Shadewind Steps’ to their utmost limits, and in but a single sudden movement, he dodged the Aquatic Rhino’s charge. Compared to Ning…the Aquatic Rhino was simply far less agile. While dodging from the Aquatic Rhino, the Darknorth sword in Ning’s hand sliced down towards the Aquatic Rhino’s flank.

The sword flashed like a thin line, translucent, gem-like line of light…as though it were a line created by a large number of waterdrops. The line came slashing through the Aquatic Rhino’s flank!

[Raindrop Sutra] – Rain Line!

‘Advanced’ level swordplay!

Like the earlier attack he had used to block the Aquatic Rhino’s stomp, this attack also was one which activated on the power of nature. However, last time, Ning had only used his internal ki energy as the foundation for the attack, while this time…the Solar and Lunar energy in Ning’s body exploded. Using the Fiendgod Body Refining strength as his foundation meant that the power of this attack instantly increased by more than a hundred times!

“Huala!” The tough hide of the Aquatic Rhino, under the sharp slash of the precious weapon, ‘Darknorth sword’, had an enormous wound chopped straight through it. Fresh blood burst forth as though from a dam. Bang! An enormous amount of blood exploded everywhere, and shattered intestines could faintly be seen as well.

Swoosh.

Ning landed on the ground and turned.

The Aquatic Rhino, which had been charging at high speed, had come to a sudden halt while simultaneously letting out a roar of both pain and rage. His muscles and flesh were quivering, and the enormous, ripped wound in his body was rapidly beginning to shrink, but Ning’s sword attack had been simply too vicious and the wound created had been too large. Even despite trying hard to suppress the blood from flowing out and to close the wound, blood still dripped out. It no longer seemed as boastful as it had been earlier.

“Aquatic Rhino King, the day of your death has come.” Ning transformed into a shadow, flying at high speed towards the Aquatic Rhino.

“Howl!”

The Aquatic Rhino let out a fierce howl, and then began to charge madly…to the opposite direction. It was fleeing!

Fleeing!

“It is going to run away, just like that?” Ning was astonished.

But he quickly understood. His father had previously told him that Diremonsters were extremely crafty. Once they sensed any danger to their well-being, they would immediately flee. Clearly, this Aquatic Rhino had already discovered that its hide, which it was so proud of…could be broken through by a slice from this youngster. This meant that one of its greatest defenses was now useless!

Ning’s footwork and agility far surpassed the Aquatic Rhino. After all, even the Diremonster, Serpentwing, hadn’t been able to do anything to him for a period of time.

The Aquatic Rhino had always relied on its thick hide. It had thought that the youngster in front of it couldn’t hurt it, while all it had to do was keep charging. If it were to even graze the youngster, the youngster would instantly be injured heavily or even die. But now, it discovered that in but an single sword blow, the youngster had split his chest open…how could this be allowed to continue?

“Flee.” The Aquatic Rhino fled wildly.

“My thick hide is hard to split open even for those other Diremonsters. How could that human youth’s sword be so powerful?” The Aquatic Rhino was utterly frightened, not knowing what to do.

But…

How could he flee?

Ning, when utilizing his ‘one with the world’ footwork, was only slightly slower than Serpentwing. He was far superior to the Aquatic Rhino.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Ning had already caught up to the Aquatic Rhino.

“I serve the Azure Skysnake King. You can’t kill me!” The Aquatic Rhino galloped wildly while bellowing loudly, and then it also let out a desolate scream, “King! Save me!”

“King! Save me!”

The low, fierce scream travelled a very long distance.

Swoosh!

Ning’s incomparably agile body suddenly charged forward, while the twin swords in his hands suddenly, simultaneously stabbed upwards. For a moment, Ning’s entire body transformed into a dazzling-to-behold line of fire light, and with utter ruthlessness, he stabbed upwards at the Aquatic Rhino’s neck position. With a ‘Chi’ sound, the Aquatic Rhino’s skull was broken through. A burst of fire rose over thirty meters into the air before solidifying into a human form. It was the fur-clad Ning.

“Ugh…” The Aquatic Rhino’s eyes were bulging and round. It hadn’t thought that its glorious, brash life would have suddenly come to an end at the hands of this human youth. As a Xiantian lifeform Diremonster, although it possessed strong life force and wouldn’t die even if stabbed in the heart, Ning had selected its true weak point! Forget about the Aquatic Rhino; even if a Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner had been stabbed in the head, he would also die.

Bang…

The massive corpse of the Aquatic Rhino collapsed to the ground, crushing many trees beneath it.

“The ‘Moth Flies Into the Flame’ – It really does live up to its reputation as the most powerful attack of the [Thunderflame Sword].” Ning landed gracefully from mid-air, not a single hint of blood staining his body. “By now, even the three major killing blows of the [Thunderflame Sword] have been trained to the point of the ‘advanced’ level.”

The [Raindrop Sutra] had nine techniques in total, and Ning was already at the ‘advanced’ level for all of them, able to summon the power of nature.

The [Thunderflame Sword] was a bit harder, especially that last blow, ‘Moth Flies Into the Flame’. Ning had never been able to truly grasp it to the point of reaching the ‘advanced’ level, but just then, that Diremonster, the Aquatic Rhino, had tried to charge into the nearby marsh waters. If it had made it into the marsh waters, Ning wouldn’t have been able to do anything to it. In order to instantly kill such a powerful Diremonster with such strong life force…ordinary techniques wouldn’t have been enough.

Ning had been frantic, and naturally thought of the the ‘Moth Flies Into the Flame’ attack. Utilizing nature’s energy, he had pierced straight through the extremely thick skull of the Aquatic Rhino, like a moth throwing itself into a fire!

“Diremonster.” Ning looked at the mountain-like corpse of the Aquatic Rhino. He couldn’t help but reveal a hint of excitement in his eyes. “This is the very first Xiantian level Diremonster I have ever killed. But before dying, didn’t he say something about being the subordinate of some ‘Azure Skysnake King’? Hrm, best that I leave quickly and not allow anything out of the ordinary to occur.”

Shua!

Ning instantly appeared next to the Aquatic Rhino’s corpse. His sword flashing, he quickly chopped open the thick skin of the Aquatic Rhino. The skin of the dead Aquatic Rhino was now clearly much weaker than before…in but a few seconds, Ning retrieved from the Aquatic Rhino’s corpse a black, palm-sized object that faintly emanated a fragrant scent. This was the most precious item contained within the Aquatic Rhino’s body; the bezoar. It was often described as a miraculous antidote to poisons. The value of this Aquatic Rhino’s bezoar alone would be enough to acquire an ordinary magic treasure.

“Time to leave.” Holding the monstrous rhino’s bezoar, Ning instantly moved like a gust of wind, flying away at high speed while occasionally landing and taking a few steps on the surface of the water.

Half-flying, half-walking on the waves, he fled for more than three kilometers.

Huahuahua…

Suddenly, the water in front of him suddenly began to vibrate, and an enormous whirlpool appeared.

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Chapter 14 – The Godbeast, ‘Azure Skysnake’

Chapter 14 – The Godbeast, ‘Azure Skysnake’

“What?” Ji Ning, staring in front of him, couldn’t help but come to a halt. “Could it be that this Azure Skysnake King is really about to appear?” Not taking the time to consider anything else, Ning immediately turned and dashed across the surface of water towards a different direction, desiring to flee.

“Hua….”

An incomparably beautiful, enormous serpent head emerged from the surface of the lake, covered with jade green scales.

Staring at the enormous serpent head of the Azure Skysnake King which had emerged, Ning’s face grew solemn. “I’m in trouble now. I didn’t expect the Azure Skysnake King to be this fast! With my ‘one with the world’ footwork, I can escape the attacks of many Diremonsters. In Eastmount Marsh, there’s only a few Diremonsters that pose a threat to me, but the Azure Skysnake King is one of them.”

“On my very first trip to Eastmount Marsh, I encountered it!” Ning’s brain quickly flashed through the information regarding the Azure Skysnake King which he had read, back in the West Prefecture.

The Azure Skysnake King was a Godbeast known as the Azure Skysnake! According to the records of the Ji clan, the last time they investigated it, it possessed the power of an early Xiantian lifeform! But although it was only an early Xiantian lifeform, due to it possessing the lineage of the Fiendgods, its power was actually comparable to that of the Diremonster, Serpentwing.

The Azure Skysnake King was famous for its agility! In other aspects, it was perhaps a bit inferior to Serpentwing, but in terms of agility, it was superior to Serpentwing! In addition, the Azure Skysnake’s venom possessed extremely potent, hallucinatory qualities. If it landed a bite on its target, generally speaking, even Diremonsters would be affected by hallucinations!

“My strongest attribute, my agility, is countered by it.” Ning was worried.

In this sort of life and death battle, agility was even more important than strength and speed!

For example, the strength of the Aquatic Rhino King was far superior to that of Ning! Its defense was far superior to Ning!

But in Ning’s eyes, the Aquatic Rhino King was nothing more than a stupid, clumsy idiot. He was able to effortlessly circle around the Aquatic Rhino King and then kill it. It wanted to ram into Ning, but it couldn’t. But what this Azure Skysnake King was most skilled at was agility!

———————

“Huahuahua…” From afar, the surface of the lake was beginning to slowly reveal an enormous serpentine scaled body.

The Azure Skysnake King raised its serpentine head high, staring towards Ning, its eyes filled with confusion. It let out a few low growling sounds.

“Huh?” Ning frowned, looking back at the Azure Skysnake King. What was this Snake King saying? He couldn’t understand. The Azure Skysnake King was a Godbeast…and at the early Xiantian level, wasn’t able to transform, nor was it able to speak in the human tongue.

Hua!

A human form suddenly rose from the water to stand next to the Azure Skysnake King. A thin, white-robed man appeared, staring towards Ning. He shouted, “My King asks you, were you the one who killed the Aquatic Rhino?”

“If I say I didn’t, would you believe me?” Ning asked.

“In this area, aside from you, there are no other humans at all. Who could have done it besides you?” The tall and thin white-robed man laughed coldly. “In addition, you are able to run atop the water, showing that you have reached the ‘one with the world’ level!”

Suddenly, the Azure Skysnake King let out a few more growls, and the white-robed man changed the subject. “However, in the area around the Aquatic Rhino’s body, there are no Xiantian energy ripple remnants. Could it be that you are not yet a Xiantian lifeform?”

“If I answer you, will you let me go?” Ning asked.

“How could that be possible?” The white robed man laughed coldly. “You killed one of the King’s subordinates, the Aquatic Rhino. If we so casually let you leave, what would become of the King’s prestige?”

Ning frowned and shouted back, “If that’s the case, then enough chitchat. If you want to fight, then fight. If you don’t want to fight, then I’m leaving.”

The Azure Skysnake King stared at Ning with its enormous serpentine head, filled with questions. The little human child in front of it…it wasn’t afraid of him, naturally. But the area around the Aquatic Rhino was simply too bizarre. There clearly wasn’t any Xiantian energy ripples in the area, but why did the Aquatic Rhino die? Could someone who wasn’t at the Xiantian level kill a Diremonster?

“Hrmph.” Ning immediately began to run atop the water, transforming into a gust of wind, fleeing at high speed.

Although he had come out to adventure, he knew his own limits. If he went to engage in battle against Diremonsters that were too powerful, he was asking for death! Ning had never intended to do battle against the Azure Skysnake King…

“Hua…” The Azure Skysnake King swam across the surface of the lake, transforming into a silver tidal wave.

In an instant, an enormous serpentine head appeared in front of Ning yet again.

“He really is faster than me.” Ning came to a sudden halt, his eyes blazing with wildness. “It seems this fight cannot be avoided. If that’s the case, then let’s fight!”

“In Eastmount Marsh, the only one faster than my King is that ancient monster, the Snow Toad! Do you know of the Ancient Snow Toad? That is the most powerful Diremonster of the entire Eastmount Marsh. It can freeze and kill you with but a single cold breath!” The white-robed man was walking atop the water, each step causing the water to ripple slightly, his movements not nearly as agile and graceful as Ning’s. “It is best that you simply accept your death before my King…”

Ning frowned, then transformed into a streak of light, charging towards that tall, thin, white-robed man. “Monster, you sure are noisy. Eat a sword from me!”

Swish!

A cold light flashed towards the man. The white-robed man was so frightened that he immediately dove into the water with a splash. He served under the Azure Skysnake King, and in terms of power, he was actually a bit weaker than even the Aquatic Rhino King. How could he dare to fight with this human youth?

“Groooowl.” The Azure Skysnake King suddenly let out an angry roar.

Ning turned his head to look at him, not afraid at all. Since he wasn’t going to be able to flee, Ning naturally wiped the hesitation and fear away from his heart, leaving only a blazing heat. The heat of battle! Only by fighting an opponent’s whose strength totally surpassed his own would the blood in his entire body truly begin to boil!

Hua…suddenly, an enormous green scaled tail emerged from the lake at high speed, sweeping towards Ning at incomparably high speed.

“So fast!” Ning’s entire body was turning faintly red. Clearly, the Solar and Lunar energies in his body had been raised to their limits. At the same time, his feet began to move in accordance with the Shadewind Steps, and he wielded his twin Darknorth swords in his hands, one of which was flashing with blue light on its edge; poison! The Darknorth swords composed of three swords and a sheath. Two of the swords were normal, but one of them had been coated by Ning with poison.

In fact, even a small part of the arrows he had brought were treated with poison! After all, while adventuring and engaging in life-and-death battles, the ultimate goal was to kill the opponent! Naturally, any means of accomplishing this would be acceptable. When battling with the likes of the Aquatic Rhino King, Ning didn’t bother with poison, but this Azure Skysnake King was simply too dangerous.

With one hand, he executed ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’.

With the other hand, he executed ‘Rain Line’.

Both Darknorth swords moved, instantly drawing forth the power of the natural world. Huahuahua…a visible, thin, and long stream of water was currently arcing towards the serpentine tail in an attack. This stream of water was incomparably tough, and it wildly wrapped around the tail, causing the power and speed of that tail to slow.

At the same time, drops of water had solidified into a thin line, and that thin line chopped directly towards that enormous serpentine body!

“Bang!” Ning was blasted backwards at high speed by the force of the collision, and water splashed everywhere.

“Huala!” Green, emerald-like blood came flying out of a large wound on the serpentine body, but quickly, the flow of blood slowed and the wound shrank. The blood, however, had a faint black color as well, but moments later, it returned to an emerald color. Clearly, the poison on the Darknorth swords didn’t pose much of a threat to the Azure Skysnake King, which was venomous by nature.

Swoosh!

Ning rose high into the sky, leaping off the surface of the water.

The Azure Skysnake King coiled up its enormous body, staring at the distant human youth. This human youth had actually wounded it in a single exchange.

Suddenly…

The enormous body of the Azure Skysnake King began to shrink at high speed. Previously, it had been even larger than Serpentwing, but in a few seconds, it transformed to a size of only ten meters long, and its serpentine body was now only as thick as a person’s thighs. At the same time, this jade-green Azure Skysnake continued to stare at Ning, emitted a ‘Hisssssss’ sound.

“Not good.” Ning’s face grew even more solemn.

The Azure Skysnake King was a Godbeast. It could increase or decrease its size, and was famous for its agility. When it shrank its size, that was when it was the most fearsome!

A violet pill suddenly appeared in Ning’s hand out of nowhere, and he immediately tossed it in his mouth. This was an antivenom spiritual pill. It was one of multiple different types of antivenoms which Ning had prepared for this adventuring expedition for when he encountered Diremonsters. This one was particularly effective against hallucinatory toxins and venoms.

Ning wielded his twin blades, staring death at the Azure Skysnake King.

The Azure Skysnake King’s serpentine head swayed slightly in a confident manner. It seemed like an experienced hunter, searching for Ning’s weaknesses. While swaying, it also slowly began to move closer to Ning, but Ning, striding on water, took one step back after another, maintaining the distance between them.

“Swish!”

Suddenly, the Azure Skysnake King transformed into a flash of emerald lightning!

It charged at Ning!

Ji Ning’s eyes flashed with a fierce light. The Darknorth sword in his right hand suddenly transformed into a flash, chopping ray of light as his speed increased to its maximum. This was one of the three killing strokes of the [Thunderflame Sword], ‘Thunderflint Flash’. This technique relied on a single word; ‘Quick’! It could be described as the fastest sword attack Ning was capable of, and he used it now to deal with this sudden pounce of the Azure Skysnake King!

Shua! Shua!

In but an instant, the Azure Skysnake King changed direction twelve times, transforming into a magical, illusory shadow which passed through the Darknorth sword in Ning’s right hand, and even used its serpentine body, now greatly reduced in size but clearly much more powerful, to strike at the Darknorth sword.

But Ning’s left hand, also wielding a Darknorth sword, transformed into circles of spinning water as he put on display the most defensively powerful stance of the [Raindrop Sutra], ‘Watertight’!

“Clang!”

The serpentine head and the edge of the Darknorth sword collided, and the Azure Skysnake King couldn’t help but have its trajectory slightly altered to one side.

The two of them passed each other!

“Pa!” In that instant when they moved past each other, a terrifying shadow suddenly emerged from the water, striking towards Ning. Ning, unable to block in time, was struck heavily on the chest with a ‘Bang!’ sound…Ning couldn’t help but immediately vomit out a mouthful of blood, his face turning red as he was sent flying across the surface of the lake.

Huahua…

The Azure Skysnake King swam at high speed through the waters of the lake, pouncing towards Ning’s position.

“Those whip-strikes of that tail are too fast. Much faster than the tail strikes of that old monster Serpentwing.” Ning, in mid-air, flipped around and gracefully landed on the surface of the lake. He couldn’t help but clutch his chest. He could faintly sense that his bones were broken, but the powerful regenerative energies of the Fiendgod Body Refining method was quickly restoring them.

Kakaka…the two shattered ribs in his chest quickly were repaired.

“But his strength is quite a bit lower than Serpentwing’s.” Ning stared at his chest. Only his fur clothes had been ripped apart. With the added protection of the Goldstar Shirt, his body hadn’t been injured too badly.

“Swish!”

The Azure Skysnake King once more shot towards him as fast as lightning.

So very fast!

“Come.” Ning wildly wielded his twin swords in an effort to defend. The Azure Skysnake King moved its head as if to bite, moved its body as if to coil around him, and also used its serpentine tail to strike at him. Its entire body was a weapon, and it coiled around Ning, wildly attacking. In this sort of extremely close quarters combat, often, a single second would allow numerous blows to be exchanged.

Ning’s [Raindrop Sutra] and [Thunderflame Sword] had both reached the ‘advanced’ stage, but he had yet to reach the ‘one with the world’ level of swordplay!

If his swordplay was at the ‘one with the world’ level, every ordinary pierce, thrust, scrape…any attack would be able to call on the natural power of the world. Only then was one’s level of swordplay truly at the ‘one with the world’ level. Because Ning had yet to reach this level, thus in this sort of high-speed combat, some of the postures and movements of his attacks were no longer carrying the power of the world.

Upon losing the natural power of the world, the power of his swordplay decreased noticeably. This was an enormous flaw, one which Ning was relying on his twin swords to make up for, but still, in the end…if one only defended, one would be defeated!

“Chi!”

The Azure Skysnake King’s serpentine head bit viciously at Ning’s calf, and its sharp, venomous fangs pierced straight through the fur clothes and the Goldstar Shirt, the venom in its fangs instantly transmitting into Ning’s body. A powerful, numbing, intoxicating sensation quickly spread from Ning’s calf to the rest of his body, and Ning hurriedly swallowed the antivenom spiritual pill which he had been holding under his tongue.

“Die.” Ning struck out with the Darknorth swords in both hands, both of them simultaneously executing the ‘Moth Flies into the Flame’ of the [Thunderflame Sword]. The two swords instantly seemed to have transformed into two scorching lines of fire, piercing down directly towards the head of the Azure Skysnake King which was latched onto his calf!

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Chapter 15 – One With the World

Chapter 15 – One With the World

The white-robed skinny man stealthily popped out of the water, staring at the distant battle between the Azure Skysnake and the human youth.

“That human youth is truly formidable.” The white-robed man couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh of amazement. “He’s actually able to force the King to shrink in size to fight him. In terms of power, even I am inferior to that human youth…it seems in the future, when I encounter human youths, I need to be more careful. Still, it looks like that human youth is about to die!”

“After he dies, I need to go have a taste of that youth’s flesh. Such a powerful human youth…I haven’t seen another like him in the three hundred years I have spent training.”

“Huh.”

“How unfortunate for him.” The white robed man shook his head as he watched.

Most of Ji Ning’s beast fur clothes had been ripped to tatters, and blood was dribbling down his chest. His hair-bindings had been shattered, and his hair was now loose and unbound. But he still wielded those two Darknorth swords with hands that were as stable as ever, and his eyes were still very bright, as though fires were burning in them!

Desire!

A desire to achieve victory. Even though he was currently at a disadvantage and was being wounded repeatedly, Ning had never even thought of giving up.

———————–

“So what if you trained in a Fiendgod Body Refining method?” The white robed man snickered. “He’s still only at the Houtian level. Injured repeatedly, then healing repeatedly. Each recovery will take up a large amount of his energy! After the energy in his body is depleted…then, utterly exhausted, he will no longer be able to fight back.”

He could all but see the astonishingly talented youth collapse, and then be dismembered and eaten by the Diremonsters.

“How sad. A heroic figure who would have doubtlessly become legendary throughout this area is going to die, right here.” The white robed man watched, not wanting to miss a thing.

“Huh?”

The white robed man’s face changed slightly. “Why is his swordplay…”

———————-

The Azure Skysnake King was simply too strong. After having shrunk in size, the body of the Azure Skysnake King became even tougher, like an iron whip. It had also become even more agile and even fiercer! In terms of strength, defense, speed, it was superior to Ning…Ning’s only advantage was that the pair of Darknorth swords he wielded in his hands.

The Azure Skysnake King’s pressuring attacks had caused Ning to enter an empty mental realm where nothing existed except the next attack! He didn’t have any other thoughts, other than thoughts of battle!

Kill!

Kill!

The Azure Skysnake King in front of him was like a nightmare. Its striking attacks was even faster than Ning’s ‘Thunderflint Flash’! Its coiling body was even more elastic than Ning’s ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’ attack! Its whip-like tail struck against Ning, causing him to lose his breath, but fortunately, his two Darknorth swords were able to complement each other.

If one sword couldn’t take it, then the second sword would join in!

“Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!”

At first, he was constantly being wounded.

However, because he had a Fiendgod Body and had eaten an antivenom spiritual pill, the venom of the Azure Skysnake King, despite causing a bit of numbness, didn’t have any effect on his ability to perform in battle. As for bloodloss…Ning cared about that even less!

Slowly…

The Azure Skysnake King seemed to find it harder and harder to break through the defenses of the Darknorth swords. It was growing harder for him to wound Ning.

“Huahuahua…” The swords flashed everywhere, summoning the power of the world.

The Azure Skysnake King transformed into an emerald ray of light, swirling around Ning, attacking him wildly time and time again, but that perfect, mastered swordplay which carried with it the power of the world had created an utterly unbroken defense…one sword attack flashed after another, flowing like quicksilver, revealing no cracks at all, causing each of the Azure Skysnake King’s attacks to be fruitless.

“Hrm?” Ning suddenly found that he was able to think again.

Earlier, the Azure Skysnake King had simply put him under too much pressure, forcing him to totally concentrate on defense and on this battle. But now, that pressure had decreased, and he could spare a little bit of time to think. And when he did, Ning discovered that under the pressure of the Azure Skysnake King’s attacks, his swordplay had become perfected, with each sword blow that he delivered having not a single flaw at all.

“My swordplay…” Ning’s face slowly was covered with a smile.

“Hahahaha!!!!”

Ning suddenly laughed loudly, laughed joyfully. “I broke through, hahaha! Azure Skysnake King, thank you for helping me make this breakthrough. I’ve finally reached the level of becoming ‘one with the world’ in swordplay.”

One with the world!

After having experienced these two major, bloody battles, especially with the amount of pressure which the Azure Skysnake King had placed him under, Ning had finally taken the final step and reached the level of being ‘one with the world’ in swordplay! Actually, Ning had already reached the end of the ‘advanced’ level in both sets of sword techniques he knew, and had already been very close to breaking through. All he needed was a bit of good luck.

If he had stayed in the West Prefecture City and slowly trained on his own through constant repetition, he probably would’ve needed a few more years to break through.

————————–

“Hisssss!” A low, growling hiss. The Azure Skysnake King had been enraged. The arrogant beast hadn’t expected that the youth he was hunting would suddenly have improved.

“What’s the point of being angry?” Ning ran atop the surface of the water. “I no longer fear you now!”

“Hisssssssssssss.”

Hissing with fury, the Azure Skysnake King pounced wildly towards Ning, moving with even greater ferocity, no longer paying attention to its own defense. Previously, as the Azure Skysnake King had the advantage, it didn’t pay too much attention to receiving wounds, but now, the Azure Skysnake King had decided that even at the cost of being wounded, it would still kill this arrogant, belittling human.

“Come, you liddle widdle snakey!” Ning wielded Darknorth swords in his two hands. At this moment, he felt as though being able to display his swordplay was a sort of enjoyment, something which was graceful and elegant.

He delivered one sword stroke after another, each one perfect and flawless.

Even the simplest of chops and stabs were utterly unbreakable and immaculate!

“Our fight comes to an end here for today, Azure Skysnake King. This time, thank you so very much for helping me break through.” Ning laughed loudly as he began to run away.

Both of the Darknorth swords in his hands were currently executing the ‘Watertight’ stance of the [Raindrop Sutra]. He wasn’t striving to land any blows, only to be able to defend himself, causing the Azure Skysnake King to be utterly unable to do anything to Ji Ning…and in the blink of an eye, Ning fled far away.”

A long time later…

“Grrrrrrr.”

The Azure Skysnake King swam back. All it could do was raise its head towards the sky and roar in dissatisfaction. Over the course of its life, it had met multiple Xiantian level humans who had reached the ‘one with the world’ level, but it had still beaten the snot out of those humans…but that youngster with the twin swords he had just faced used those two swords as though they were wielded by two separate people who were perfectly linked in their thoughts. Indeed, the threat posed by those twin swords was ten times greater than normal.

No matter what sort of disadvantage Ning had been put into, and even if one of his swords had been forced out of position and no longer at the pseudo ‘one with the world’ level granted by his sword techniques, the other sword would still maintain the ‘one with the world’ level, causing his actual battle ability to be no lower than that of a single-weapon expert at the ‘one with the world’ level.

But now…

Ning had truly reached the ‘one with the world’ level, and his power had exploded. Even facing against a Xiantian Godbeast, he was still able to flee easily.

————————-

Swoosh!

He ran as fast as the wind.

“Hahahaha…” Ning was extremely delighted. He ran as he pleased atop the surface of the water, moving through Eastmount Marsh before entering the mountain forests. After running a long time, Ning leapt atop a large tree. Passing by the crown of the tree, with another leap, he sent himself floating gracefully several dozen more meters before landing by atop a cliff. With only a few more bounds, he ended up at the peak of this little mountain.

Sitting down on the mountain peak, he leisurely withdrew a bottle of fruit wine from his kalestone, then raised his head and poured it into his mouth. And then, Ning happily shouted, “Enjoyable! Today was so enjoyable.”

He had battle against two Diremonsters, and had executed the Aquatic Rhino King! The other, more powerful Diremonster, the ‘Azure Skysnake King’, was indeed extremely powerful. Under the pressure of its attacks, Ning’s swordplay had suddenly broken through and reached the ‘one with the world’ level.

“One with the world!”

Ning couldn’t help but feel self-satisfied. “Although the Xiantian level experts of West Prefecture City can use magic treasures, in terms of skill level, I imagine most of them are inferior to me.”

“Only, I don’t know what level Father is at, exactly. Even before going out and adventuring, Father had become acknowledged as the number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, and had reached the ‘one with the world’ level long ago. Afterwards, he had gone adventuring for nearly ten years and met my mother…and then ever since then, he had been living peacefully at the West Prefecture City. Nobody knows how strong he has become!” Ning pondered this question. “But previously, when that Diremonster, Serpentwing, had attacked, that sword blow Father sent out from far away…”

That sword blow had truly been terrifying.

“My father’s skill level should still be stronger than mine.” Ning shook his head. “Enough of that. I’m not even at the Xiantian level yet.”

Xiantian lifeforms possessed extraordinary power.

Even Ki Refiners at that level would be able to use all sorts of magic treasures, seals, and formations. As for Fiendgod Body Refiners…they had all sorts of incredible transformations available to them, and they would truly be able to be described as Fiendgods. After all, during the ancient Fiendgod Era, those Fiendgods were all born at the Xiantian level.

“The technique I am training in is acclaimed as the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Not a single member of the Ji clan, in its entire history, has ever successfully reached the Xiantian level in it.” Ning was worried about this. “So how should I break through, exactly?”

The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was simply too difficult!

Actually, Ning’s natural gifts, such as his utterly pure body, as clean as a newborn’s, and the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique, caused the power of his already mighty soul to increase every day! It was extremely beneficial to him in body training, causing his rate of improvement to be extremely rapid. If he had been training in an ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining method, he would have broken through to the Xiantian level long ago.

By contrast, in terms of Ki Refining, Ning’s talent was a bit weaker.

Because he had been injured while he was in the womb, his meridian system had been damaged. At that time, when his father, Ji Yichuan, and Prefecture Lord Ji Young had investigated the quality of the meridians in his body, they had found that it was very average. The vast majority of Xiantian lifeforms relied on Ki Refining to traverse the Path of Immortals. Fiendgod Body Refining was even more difficult. None of them had expected that although Ning’s Ki Refining talent was rather poor, he would have such a monstrous aptitude for Body Refining.

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] has notes.”

“I have to ‘merge Yin and Yang, fuse fire and water’. The power of the Moon and the power of the Sun must combine into a whole, transforming into the ‘Crimsonbright’ divine power.” Ning pondered this. “But how would one cause fire and water to fuse? How would one cause the power of the Moon and the Sun to combine into a whole?”

All Ning knew was that fire and water didn’t mix! How, then, could fire and water be fused?

This was an extremely difficult step.

“I have to reach the Xiantian level!” Ning suddenly rose to his feet. Standing at the mountain peak, his eyes were filled with desire. “The Xiantian level, in the distant Heaven Realm, is nothing more than a starting point! To the ancient Fiendgods, the Xiantian level is nothing more than the level they were at when they were first born! If I can’t even break through to the Xiantian level, how can I possibly talk about being able to control my own destiny?”

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Chapter 16 – The Fur Collectors

Chapter 16 – The Fur Collectors

The exquisitely cut and stitched beast furs were very form fitting, causing Autumn Leaf to seem rather heroic and valiant. She stood there in the area outside the Metalstone Tribe, staring off into the distance.

Her figure had attracted the attention and the gazes of this rustic tribe’s youths. Ever since Autumn Leaf had arrived at the Metalstone Tribe, there had been no question that she had become the most beautiful girl here…one youngster after another did their best to find opportunities to show off their strength and valor in front of her, but not a single one had been able to attract her interest.

“Miss Autumn Leaf is waiting for her young master, right?”

“Right. I hear that Uncle Dala, upon returning, said that her young master is extremely powerful. Over a hundred Blue Guards of the Ironwood clan were all killed by that young master in the blink of an eye!”

“Only a powerful young master like that would be worthy of someone as beautiful as Miss Autumn Leaf.”

“It’s a pity that he encountered a Diremonster! Most likely, that powerful young master won’t be able to survive his encounter with the Diremonster. When angered, Diremonsters can cause the entire area to change. That one had immediately killed a large group of people by freezing them to death. Uncle Dala and the others were only lucky enough to survive because they fled quickly. If that young master were to die, Miss Autumn Leaf would have to find another person to marry!”

The youths of the tribe all watched from their position by the gate while speaking quietly amongst themselves.

As far as they considered, a girl like Autumn Leaf was like one of the legendary goddesses…compare to Autumn Leaf, the other girls of their tribe were as far beneath her as the earth was beneath the heavens.

—————————-

Autumn Leaf stood there, staring into the distant mountain forest.

She was waiting. Waiting for the most important man in her life.

“Autumn Leaf.” A powerfully built figure strode out from the tribe. It was the other servant, Mowu. Mowu urged her, “Go back and get some rest. Once the young master arrives, the guards at the gate of the tribe will definitely see him.”

“No.” Autumn Leaf shook her head gently.

Mowu looked at Autumn Leaf, and then he sat down as well on a nearby, chopped-through tree trunk. His forehead was furrowed in worry as well. After Uncle Dala had returned, he had found out that Ji Ning had begun battling with the ‘Aquatic Rhino King’, a Diremonster. As to what the results of that battle were, no one knew. Although in his heart, of course he still hoped that his young master would return, his rational mind was telling him…the young master probably had met with misfortune!

This was because Uncle Dala and the others had spent roughly two days on the journey back from Eastmount Marsh.

Given young master Ning’s speed, if he was still alive, he probably would have made his way to the Metalstone Tribe under half a day. Logically speaking, he should have reached the Metalstone Tribe before Uncle Dala and the others had arrived! But Uncle Dala and the others had been back for more than two days, but Ning had yet to return.

“If the young master is dead…Autumn Leaf and I will most likely have to die as well.” Mowu said quietly.

If their master died, how could the servants continue to live?

Local hegemons such as the Ji clan had very strict internal regulations.

“Huh?” Mowu suddenly blinked. From afar, he faintly saw an indistinct, yet familiar figure…the young master’s figure!

“Young master!” Autumn Leaf had already begun to rush over there.

“Young master?”

“Miss Autumn Leaf is running over.”

“Look, there seems to be someone coming from that side. Could that be the young master which Miss Autumn Leaf has been waiting for?” The youths standing guard at the gate whispered to each other, while some of them also immediately began to run inside the tribe to inform the other tribesmen.

—————————–

Autumn Leaf watched as the fur-clad, smiling young man walked over. The past two days, she had been constantly repressing her own fear, her nervousness, her wild thoughts…and now, all these various emotions caused her to suddenly begin to shed tears.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf looked at Ning. “I, I…”

“Hey, I’m back.” With his astonishing eyesight Ning noticed that from afar, in the middle of the tribe, Uncle Dala and the one-armed man were currently walking in their direction. He couldn’t help but laugh, “So Dala made it back already. Was he the one who told you that I was battling with the Aquatic Rhino King? Just because I didn’t come back for a few days, you were frightened this badly?”

Autumn Leaf did her best to hold back further tears.

“It was just an Aquatic Rhino King. To your young master, it’s barely worth mentioning.” Ning winked at her, seemingly in extremely high spirits.

Autumn Leaf breathed out in astonishment, “Young master, you killed the Diremonster?”

“Yep.” Ning nodded delightedly.

“Wow, a Diremonster. Young master, you killed a Diremonster.” Autumn Leaf was extremely excited. “Young master, you are only eleven years old, but you killed a Diremonster. This…this…” As a personal maidservant, Autumn Leaf’s life centered around Ning. As she always revolved around him, to her, Ning was like her most important family member. Naturally, Autumn Leaf was truly excited to learn that Ji Ning was now capable of killing Diremonsters.”

Ji Ning hurriedly lowered his voice. “Don’t spread the news.”

“Right, right.” Autumn Leaf nodded hurriedly.

“Come, let’s go take a look at the Metalstone Tribe.” Ning said. The past few days, Ning had been in the mountain forests, pondering the results of the past two day’s battles. He had also come to realize some mistakes he had made in the previous battles. After careful pondering and consideration of the two sword techniques he had used, he had actually improved quite a bit further.

Ning led Autumn Leaf towards the gate of the Metalstone Tribe.

Uncle Dala and a group of tribesmen were there, and they went up to welcome him. Leading the tribesmen was a balding old man with white hair. The balding old man walked over and bowed repeatedly with respect. “I, Tyson of the Metalstone Tribe, would like to thank you, mighty young master, for having repeatedly saved the lives of the tribesmen of my Metalstone Tribe. All the clansmen of the Metalstone Tribe feel boundless gratitude for you…and we’ve been waiting for your return.”

Ning smiled and nodded. “I’ll stay with your Metalstone Tribe for a period of time. As for ‘rescued’, all I did was help out in passing. Also…for now, I don’t want to be disturbed.”

“Understood, understood.” The balding old man nodded repeatedly.

“Dala.” Ning looked over.

The tall, powerful, bear-like Uncle Dala hurriedly stepped forward, seemingly very excited. “Young master, when I saw that you returned, I…”

“It’s alright.” Ning laughed. “You helped me for a month in Eastmount Marsh. I told you that when I returned to the Metalstone Tribe, I would definitely reward you heavily. Take this.” As he spoke, within his hands, three ‘beastheads’ of gold appeared. He tossed it over, each beasthead weighing ten pounds. This bear-like Uncle Dala instantly was stupefied.

And then, he hurriedly caught them all, while the surrounding tribesmen all stared at him with envy.

“Let’s go.” Ning looked at Mowu and Autumn Leaf, then headed straight into the Metalstone Tribe.

Ning could easily have given an even more valuable gift, but to a small tribe like the Metalstone Tribe, which had barely a thousand people, truly valuable treasures might cause a disaster instead!

——————————-

Within the Metalstone Tribe.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf poured some fruit wine for Ning, then offered him some fruit and some delicacies. “Mowu and I have been in this tribe for a month now. Not soon after arriving, we got in touch with our Ji clan.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

While adventuring, every month he had to reach out to and contact the scattered troops of the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture who were stationed in various places throughout the area.

“There is a letter from the West Prefecture City.” Autumn Leaf withdrew a scroll from her sleeves.

Ning accepted it. He rolled the yellow parchment open, and as he did, he couldn’t help but reveal a smile. This was a letter his mother had personally written to him! The letter didn’t contain too much; it mainly just consisted of some words of concern. But having just experienced a life-and-death battle, the nagging of his mother actually filled Ning’s heart with a sense of warmth.

“Enough, Autumn Leaf. It looks as though it’s been many days since you had a good rest. Go get some rest.” Ning said.

“I’m not tired.” Autumn Leaf hurriedly said.

“Go.” Ning ordered.

Autumn Leaf hurriedly lowered her head, obediently going back to her own room to get some rest.

———————–

Time moved on. Every ten days or so, he would make a trip to Eastmount Marsh. Most of the time, though, Ning remained within the Metalstone Tribe, practicing his sword techniques. In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed.

Ning was currently seated on the eaves of his house, holding a bamboo reed that was filled with fine fruit wine. “Although West Prefecture City is large, it isn’t as comfortable as these small tribes.”

Resting at sundown, heading out at sunrise.

The Metalstone Tribe showed great solidarity. Everyone helped each other, and they all treated each other like brothers.

“Quick, quick, quick.”

“Everyone, go back.”

“Quick, bundle everything up.”

Suddenly, the formerly peaceful tribe instantly became a chaotic bedlam of activity. This caused Ning, who was drinking wine leisurely on the top of his building, to grow confused. He immediately leapt down from the building, then grabbed one of the running youths. “You.”

“Young master.” The youth, seeing that it was Ning who grabbed him, immediately greeted him respectfully.

“What’s going on?” Ning asked. “Why did the tribe suddenly turn so chaotic? Weren’t you training in spear-fighting just now? Why did you stop?”

“The people of the Blackmount Tribe are coming!” The youth hurriedly said. “The people of Blackmount Tribe have come to collect furs from us. We need to hide some of the finer furs which the tribe has, as otherwise, if the Blackmount Tribe discovers them, they’ll take them for their own. That would be terrible. Young master, I need to get back immediately…”

Ning, understanding, nodded. “Go ahead.”

Autumn Leaf was watching this from in front of the building as well. She spoke out, “The Blackmount Tribe is an extremely large tribe with tens of thousands of tribesmen. Each year, these smaller tribes will have to offer them some tribute.”

“Hmph.” Ning frowned. “This land belongs to the Ji clan! Only my Ji clan has the right to levy taxes. If the Blackmount Tribe is forcing the nearby, smaller tribes to pay them tribute, isn’t that the same as levying a tax?”

The Ji clan levied and collected taxes from every singlet tribe within its borders.

At the same time, the Ji clan itself was a subject of the Grand Xia Dynasty, and so most of the tax they collected had to be delivered to the Grand Xia Dynasty!

“In principle, yes.” Autumn Leaf shook her head. “But how would these smaller tribes dare to refuse? If they were to refuse, the Blackmount Tribe is completely capable of utterly destroying them, then selling off the captives as slaves.”

Ning let out a long sigh.

Right.

Because there were too many tribes, there was no way for the Ji clan to manage all of the internecine squabbles between the tribes, so they usually left them to their own devices. Not just the Ji clan…even the Grand Xia Dynasty, who ruled over an enormous, boundless expanse of territory, had to govern in a loose fashion. Wasn’t the Ji clan and the Ironwood clan also in a state of war, viewing each other as deadly enemies? If one’s territory was too large, it became hard to govern!

“They are coming.” Autumn Leaf said. “The Blackmount Tribe’s tribesmen are coming.”

Ning looked over as well. He saw that from afar, a group of half-armored, pelt-clad tribesmen were currently strutting around in the area, looking around as if they were in territory which belonged to them. The leader of the Metalstone Tribe, Uncle Dala, and the others were all by their sides, obediently following them, not daring to disobey them at all.

The leader of this Blackmount squad, Braveshell, was currently viewing this little tribe with satisfaction.

“Hmph.” Braveshell glanced at the nearby Metalstone tribesmen. Seeing the frightened, supplicatory looks on their faces, he couldn’t help but feel even more delighted.

Even within the Blackmount Tribe, he was a high level, central figure. In a small tribe like this Metalstone Tribe…he could act as he wished! If he was angered, this entire tribe would probably be finished. The hundred guards he had brought with him could probably destroy this sort of small tribe all by themselves. In this sort of small tribe, he had absolute authority.

“Huh?” Braveshell suddenly saw that not too far away, there was a young man and a girl standing together. Braveshell’s eyes instantly lit up. The guards by his side, looking along with him, couldn’t help but hold their breaths as well.

“Beautiful. Mesmerizing.” Braveshell was instantly stunned, and then his heart was instantly overwhelmed with powerful lust and desire. He definitely had to seize this beautiful girl and make her his personal maidservant. Every day, he would definitely ‘bestow his affections’ on her! Just thinking about it made Braveshell feel the blood pumping through his entire body.

“Hahaha…” Laughing loudly, Braveshell walked directly towards the young man and the girl.

Ning frowned slightly as he looked at this tall man walking towards him, who was wearing some exquisitely crafted ornaments. The tall men swept Ning and Autumn Leaf with a gaze, as though he were a high ranking tribesman inspecting some goods. In particular, he didn’t disguise the greedy look in his eyes when he was staring at Autumn Leaf. “Your fur clothes were cut and stitched so exquisitely. Did you make it yourself, miss? Your handiwork is quite fine. The fur clothes of the youngster next to you is stitched and cut very nicely as well. Is he your little brother?”

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Chapter 17 – Sword Energy Flying Everywhere

Chapter 17 – Sword Energy Flying Everywhere

“Impudent!” Autumn Leaf’s voice rang out.

Braveshell raised his jaw slightly. “Impudent? This tiny little Metalstone Tribe…I can do what I wish to it, much less ‘impudent’. I’ll tell you the truth. I’ve taken a fancy to you. Follow me obediently. The last time I took a fancy to a girl, that girl was quite stubborn. She preferred to commit suicide than follow me, so I wiped out her entire family, and sold off her entire clan as slaves! For your little brother here, and your clansmen, you need to make a good decision!”

Tribesfolk were straightforward individuals. They weren’t very calculating, but at the same time, they were very bloodthirsty. Most of them didn’t fear death, especially beautiful girls like the one in front of him right now. They were definitely the shining jewels of their tribes, and generally they were all very prideful. It was quite common for such beautiful girls to rather commit suicide than to submit to others, once their pride took hold of them. Braveshell didn’t want to see this happen.

“Venerable Lord Braveshell.” The balding elder, Tyson, hurriedly urged him, “These three do not belong to my Metalstone Tribe. There come from a very large tribe!”

“A large tribe?” Braveshell’s eyebrows twitched. “No wonder. I was just wondering how a place like your Metalstone Tribe could produce such a graceful young lady. Miss, tell me what tribe you belong to.” As he spoke, he moved two steps forward, wanting to stroke Autumn Leaf’s face. Autumn Leaf directly delivered a lightning-fast kick to him.

Bang!

This heavy kick was powered by rage, and it struck heavily upon Braveshell’s chest. Not only did it shatter the ornaments covering his chest, it also sent Braveshell falling back over his head.

“Impudent!”

“Clang!”

The Blackmount guards instantly shouted in anger, and some of them even drew their blades.

Braveshell quickly climbed up. He wiped away a hint of blood from the corner of his mouth, then reached out to stop his guards. All his guards knew exactly how vicious and diabolical Braveshell could be, for him to have become a high level, core member of a tribe as large as the Blackmount tribe.

“It’s all over.”

“This young miss is going to suffer a terrible fate.”

The guards all understood that when Braveshell was clearly furious but temporarily suppressed his anger, it only represented…that Braveshell was truly livid! He was currently considering how to vent his fury!

Braveshell was on his feet now. His eyes were narrowed, staring at the three like a poisonous viper. He slowly said, “That kick was rather heavy. Can you let me know where the three of you have come from, exactly? Is it a large tribe, or is it the mighty Ji clan?”

“Take a good look.” Mowu stepped forward coldly, revealing with a flip of his hand an emblem.

The emblem had a single word on it: Ji!

“Ji!”

Many of the faces of the surrounding guards changed. They all looked at their leader, Braveshell, whose face had turned ashen. He hurriedly bowed in terror, “I didn’t expect that I would accidentally offend you. Please pardon me.”

Mowu’s eyes contained a hint of pity in them, because he knew how much his young master hated evildoers.

Autumn Leaf also glanced coldly at Braveshell. Ever since Braveshell said that he had once destroyed a small tribe for the sake of seizing a girl, and sold off all the tribesmen as slaves, Autumn Leaf had felt utter revulsion for him. Because she herself had been sold off after her tribe had been destroyed.

Ji Ning simply looked at Braveshell. In an instant, he had already determined that he would punish Braveshell with death!

Braveshell had destroyed an entire tribe for no cause? When Ning thought of how the women and children in that tribe had died miserable deaths or had been sold, Ning’s heart was filled with boundless rage! Although this area contained many hidden evildoers, and Ning couldn’t possibly stop them all, when he encountered them, he could never suppress the fury he felt!

“Hahaha…” Braveshell, whose face had been ashen, suddenly cracked his lips and laughed, laughed brightly. “It seems the three of you already have a killing intention. I really don’t know if I should call you stupid or arrogant!”

“Oh?” Ning frowned slightly.

Braveshell continued to laugh. “So what if you are of the Ji clan? How many youngsters of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan go out adventuring as part of their coming-of-age, and how many of them have died! How could the Ji clan possibly discover…if their clansmen were killed by monstrous beasts, or by other tribesmen?”

“Even if you have a high status, in this place, you are nothing more than three people. Thus, even if you want to kill me, you should hide it in your hearts…as the books say, ‘distant water cannot quench a nearby drought’. No matter what your status is, no one will be able to save you.” Braveshell sighed. “I still remember how three years ago, I once enjoyed a young girl of the Ji clan. Her skin was truly fine. My servants all enjoyed her as well, and afterwards, we fed her to the beasts who ate her clean!”

“Do you understand now?” Braveshell’s eyes were shining. “Status doesn’t represent power. At least in this place, I am the one who determines your life and death!”

“Everyone.”

Braveshell raised his head and said in a loud voice. “Make your move. Kill the two men, spare the woman! After I enjoy her first, each of you will have your chance!”

“Wooo!”

“Kill!”

“Haha, let’s do it!”

Braveshell’s guards all drew out their blades and swords, valiantly charging forward. The high level military leaders of large tribes trusted their own servants and slaves the most. Whether it was Ji Lee or Ji Yichuan, they all had their own trusted servants and slaves, who would definitely obey them without question.

Under Braveshell’s orders, these guards, who were born into his servitude, all dared to charge forward and kill!

“How dare you!” Suddenly, a voice rang out like spring thunder, exploding in the skies.

In the skies above, there was someone standing atop an enormous flying bird. That person drew out his longsword and brandished it downwards. In but a second, sword energy criss-crossed everywhere…one ray of sword energy after another rained down, and each blow of sword energy pierced through a guard, easily chopping their bodies apart, sending fresh blood spewing everywhere.

“Aaaaah!” “Nooooooo!” “Aaaaah!”

All sorts of miserable cries rang out, but soon, everything became silent again.

The hundred-plus servant guards, who had been shouting savagely, all collapsed on the ground. Some had large holes in their chest, while others had been chopped apart. Blood stained the ground. All of them had died miserable deaths! But not a single one of the utterly terrified tribesmen of the Metalstone Tribe had been struck.

“But…but…but…” Braveshell had thought that everything was under his control, but now, his face turned ashen. He stood there numbly, staring at his dead servants, and then at the man standing on the giant bird in mid-air. He stuttered, “Xian…Xiantian…”

The people of the Metalstone Tribe all raised their heads. Some were dumbfounded, others were awestruck, while some of the girls in particular just stared unblinkingly.

Ning, Autumn Leaf, and Mowu all raised their head to take a look as well.

Swoosh!

The man jumped down from his mid-air position on the back of the giant bird, landing on the ground.

“Young master.” The man bowed slightly as he said to Ning, demonstrating his respect for Ning.

This scene caused all the members of the Metalstone Tribe, as well as Braveshell, feel stunned. Because just then, those lines of energy attacks represented that this person was a Xiantian lifeform! A Xiantian lifeform, in any tribe, no matter how large, was definitely a person of the highest status. Even in the Ji clan, they were high level, core members!

Generally speaking, the adventuring youths of the Ji clan who encountered Xiantian lifeforms all had to pay their respects first. But this Xiantian lifeform was actually paying his respects to this youngster?

“Spare me.” Braveshell threw himself forward, kneeling in front of Ning, begging, “Mighty young master, those words that I said earlier were all wild ravings. I’ve never done such a thing! In addition, once, when I was collecting furs from some small tribes, I acquired a special treasure. It definitely is a magic treasure! As to what type of magic treasure it is, I don’t understand either…as long as you are willing to spare me, young master, I am willing to give this magic treasure…”

Before he even finished speaking.

Hu.

Braveshell suddenly threw himself towards Ning, his right hand forming a claw, wanting to rip out Ning’s throat. At such a close range…generally speaking, even late stage Houtian experts would find it hard to dodge.

“Hrmph.” With a casual wave of his hand, despite striking out later, Ning’s hand slapped down onto Braveshell’s skull before Braveshell finished his attack. Braveshell’s body trembled, and then blood began pouring out of his nose and his ears, and his body weakly tumbled to the ground.

“He’s a sly one.” Ning said softly.

This Braveshell really was both crafty and vicious, venomous and diabolical, daring to do anything. Even though he knew that his chance of of dealing with the Xiantian level person was low, he immediately made the decision to first use the magic treasure to try and attract Ning’s interest…and then try to capture Ning. As long as he could take Ning hostage, he would have a chance at life.

Unfortunately…

Ning was someone who could kill even Diremonsters with ease.

“So him and those guards were all on the same side.” The Xiantian level man said with a laugh. “Those guards were all half-armored, while this person was dressed in furs…I hadn’t noticed him.”

“Thank you for your assistance, elder apprentice-brother.” Ning said with a laugh.

The man in front of him was one of the nine major disciples which his father, Ji Yichuan, had trained. His name was Wanfang, and he was an early Xiantian lifeform. Within the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, his status was fairly high, but at his current level of power, he wasn’t quite eligible yet to take command over the black armored riders, while Ning, being the next Prefecture Lord, had an extremely high status.

“If you had been the one to act, young master, things would have gone just as easily.” Wanfang sheathed his longsword while laughing. “But I came here for an important reason.”

“Important reason?” Ning’s face changed. He kept in touch with the West Prefecture once a month. The person who had come this time was his own elder apprentice-brother. One could imagine how important the reason was, for a Xiantian expert to personally make the journey.

“Let’s chat inside.” Ning said hurriedly.

Ning glanced at the still-shocked Metalstone Tribesmen. “Dispose of the corpses. As for the Blackmount Tribe…in a little while, I’ll ask my elder apprentice-brother to make a trip to the Blackmount Tribe. You naturally won’t have anything to worry about.”

“Thank you, young master!”

The balding elder and the others all hurriedly fell to their knees. Only now did they understand how exalted Ning’s status truly was. For even a Xiantian lifeform to greet him with respect…a person like this, even the chieftain of the Blackmount Tribe would have to kneel before!

Ning and Wanfang quickly entered the stone room, then closed the door.

“Quick.”

“Quick, clean it up.”

The people of the Metalstone Tribe were filled with pumping blood as they looked at the corpses on the ground. They felt both nervous and excited. Normally, they had to all but worship the ground on which these terrifying Blackmount tribesmen walked on, but now, all of them lay here dead.

“So even you will have an ending like this.” That cold, one-armed man gave a savage kick to the corpse of Braveshell, his eyes filled with rage and hate.

———————

Within the room.

Only Ning and Wanfang were present.

“Elder apprentice-brother, what is the matter?” Ning asked. “Why did you come here?”

“Because of the Diremonster, Serpentwing!” Wanfang’s face was solemn.

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Chapter 18 – Yin and Yang Twin Energy Formation

Chapter 18 – Yin and Yang Twin Energy Formation

“The Diremonster, Serpentwing?” Ji Ning frowned. “What happened? Our Ji clan of the West Prefecture should have people stationed at Serpentwing Lake, with multiple Xiantian experts present. Could it be that Serpentwing has escaped Serpentwing Lake?”

Wanfang shook his head. “If he had simply escaped from Serpentwing Lake, that would be a minor affair! Alas, our Ji clan of the West Prefecture actually ended up helping out Serpentwing. Our Xiantian experts stationed at Serpentwing Lake constantly tried to kill him whenever possible, causing Serpentwing’s every day to be filled with danger. There were several major battles as well! Under that pressure…Serpentwing actually reached the peak of the Xiantian level!”

“What?! Peak Xiantian level?!” Ning was shocked.

A peak Xiantian level Diremonster was truly dangerous. Even Eastmount Marsh had only a single peak Xiantian level Diremonster, that Ancient Snow Toad!

“The Xiantian level experts of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture were only able to just barely survive through relying on their magic treasures. They had to just watch as Serpentwing disappeared!” Wanfang sighed. “As soon as he heard this news, Master immediately went in pursuit!”

“Father went in pursuit?” Ning nodded.

Wanfang nodded as well. “But that Serpentwing can both soar in the skies as well as dive into the seas. His speed is now much faster than before, and as soon as he enters the deep water, even a Zifu Disciple would find it hard to kill him. Master understood this as well, and this pursuit of his ended in failure. Thus, he ordered me to tell you of this affair and to make sure that you are careful. After all, previously, you killed his child.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded solemnly. “It seems I need to leave this Metalstone Tribe now. Serpentwing, hrmph, I didn’t expect he’d survive this long, much less make a breakthrough!”

“This sort of old monster who has been training for thousands of years has accumulated significant experience. It isn’t strange for him to make a breakthrough at last.” Wanfang then said, “That’s all there is to report. My mission is now complete.”

Ning hurriedly advised him, “Apprentice brother Wanfang, those people you executed earlier belong to the Blackmount Tribe, located not far from here. Go help me rap their knuckles a bit!”

“Just leave this sort of minor task to me.” Wanfang nodded.

……….

That very day, Ning led Autumn Leaf and Mowu out of the Metalstone Tribe. As to where he was headed…Ning didn’t inform anyone. Only by acting in such a way would he make it harder for Serpentwing to find him.

—————————-

A month after the Serpentwing Disaster, everything was calm again.

Originally, after Serpentwing broke through to the peak Xiantian level, he charged out of Serpentwing Lake, beginning to vent his fury upon the area, causing great harm to the nearby tribes and devouring many humans, filling countless tribesmen with fear. He boldly went out in search of Ning, but the news that Ning was adventuring was a secret which few knew. Given that Ning himself was extremely vigilant as well, Serpentwing naturally couldn’t find him!

After half a month, Serpentwing encountered Ji Yichuan. Relying on his vastly increased strength, Serpentwing confidently did battle with him, but he didn’t expect that once again, he would be badly injured. Still, his flying speed was much faster than before, and when he fled for his life, even Yichuan wasn’t able to do anything to him. This battle resulted in Serpentwing coming to a decision; he never wanted to fight against Yichuan ever again. If he saw Yichuan, he would immediately run far away.

Another month later, Poisondove Ridge stepped in!

The Five Prefectures of the Ji clan negotiated with Poisondove Ridge, and the end result was…‘The Diremonster, Serpentwing, is forbidden to leave Serpentwing Lake for a hundred years!’

……..

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, summer arrived.

Within Eastmount Marsh.

Two figures lay hidden within the aquatic grass. One was a half-red, half-white man with a vile aura and braided hair, while the other was a muscular man dressed in black.

“The information you have is correct?” The vile-looking man said softly. “We’ve waited here for three days now.”

The black-clothed man nodded. “Recently, there is a youngster who often comes to fight against the Azure Skysnake King. Every ten or fifteen days, they’ll do battle. In addition, their battles are generally in the area around here. Don’t worry, Master. When the time comes, the Azure Skysnake King will definitely emerge from the depths, and once he enters our formation, he won’t be able to escape!”

“Alright.” The vile man nodded. “For the sake of this day, I have prepared for so long, and also spent an incredible price in order to acquire this Yin and Yang Twin Energy Formation. This time, we must capture the Azure Skysnake King alive and let it become my spirit beast!”

“Once the Azure Skysnake King enters the formation, its life and death will be entirely determined by you, Master.” The black clothed man said.

“Hahaha…” The vile man laughed gently. “Right. That youth who often fights against the Azure Skysnake King, do you know who he is?”

“I’ve never seen him.” The black clothed man shook his head. “I know all of the young geniuses of our Ironwood clan, and he isn’t one of them. It seems as though this youngster’s sword techniques are based on the Ji clan’s [Raindrop Sutra].”

“Ji clan?” A fierce look flashed through the vile man’s eyes. “For him to be able to fight equally at such a young age with the Azure Skysnake King means that when he grows up, he’ll most likely become yet another Yichuan…since that’s the case, then I, Ironwood Zhan, will give the Ji clan a hand and help them send their genius straight to the Yellow Springs of Hell.”

Time passed.

Another half day went by. It was now sunset, and in the distance, a fur-clad youngster appeared, walking atop of the waves.

“Master, he’s here!” The black clothed man hurriedly shouted.

Zhan turned and looked. Seeing that Ning was walking on water as though it were flat ground, his pupils shrank. “One with the world!”

“He must die.” Zhan’s heart was now filled with a killing urge. At such a young age, this person was able to reach the ‘one with the world’ level. Once this terrifying youngster grew up…he would be far more powerful than even the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan. He might even become the most powerful figure in the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan!”

“Brother An!” Ironwood Zhan hurriedly instructed. “Afterwards, you go deal with that youth. Even if you can’t kill him, don’t let him get away. After I subdue the Azure Skysnake King, I’ll immediately hurry over.”

“Yes.” The black clothed man said respectfully.

Ironwood Zhan stared grimly into the distance.

To be able to reach the ‘one with the world’ level as a youth…this sort of monstrous talent was countless times more talented than him, Ironwood Zhan. Fortunately, he, Zhan, had been training for over a hundred years. Relying on his years of accumulated strength, it would still be simplicity itself for him to slay this little child.

………

Zhan was hiding within the aquatic grasses, and had secretly set up a formation in the area around this location. Neither their auras nor their voices would penetrate through it. If even their auras couldn’t pass through…then of course, there was no way to sense them. Ning, thus, also didn’t sense their presence either.

“Little snakey-snake.” Ning stood on the surface of the water as he called out. “Still not coming out?”

His voice transmitted directly into the depths of the water.

A moment later.

BOOM!

An enormous emerald serpent erupted forth from the waves, and then its body rapidly shrank to a length of around ten meters, while its head stared, swaying, at Ning while emitting a disdainful snort. Actually, over the course of his multiple battles against Ning, the Azure Skysnake King had gained some insights as well. The Azure Skysnake King had the feeling that he too was about to reach the ‘one with the world’ level. Although his battle ability was astonishing, he primarily relied on his natural gifts. In terms of skill level, he was inferior to Ji Ning.

This sort of utterly ruthless battles against an opponent, with both using deadly, lethal blows, was the best way for an individual to improve!

“Once I also reach the ‘one with the world’ level, you will definitely die.” The Azure Skysnake King secretly said to himself.

‘Haha, c’mere, little snakey-snake.” Two swords appeared out of nowhere in Ning’s hands.

Hua!

The Azure Skysnake King flashed towards him like a bolt of green lightning, while Ning went forward to welcome him.

………

Zhan, hiding in the distant aquatic grass, felt even more astonished. “His swordplay is also at the ‘one with the world’ level! And he uses twin swords to such a perfect degree! It seems he isn’t even a Xiantian lifeform yet, but he is able to fight head on with a Xiantian level Godbeast…this sort of talent is absolutely terrifying! He must be destroyed as soon as possible!”

“Why haven’t they entered yet?”

“Almost.” Ironwood Zhan grew frantic with impatience.

He had laid down his formation in advance. Although the formation took up a large amount of space, there was some distance between the formation and Ning’s battle with the Azure Skysnake King.

“Almost…”

Ironwood Zhan’s heart was frantic, but he had to suppress his impatience. Because he knew that once he revealed himself…the frightened Azure Skysnake King would instantly dive into the water, at which point he wouldn’t have any chance at all to deal with him.

All he could do was watch as the distant battle continued.

Sometimes, Ning would be sent flying, while at other times, a wound would appear on the body of the Azure Skysnake King. The two battled amidst the waves, with Ning constantly gliding atop the waves, sometimes charging forward, other times dodging. On multiple occasions, they almost entered the formation, but the end, they didn’t…this truly was nerve wracking.

“Swish.”

On one exchange of blows…

“They’re in!” Zhan’s eyes were red. At this moment, Ning and the Azure Skysnake King had just barely entered the formation. They were at the very edges of it. But Zhan no longer dared to wait any longer. Perhaps in the next moment, Ning and the Azure Skysnake King would once more leave the area of the formation.

“Up!”

Zhan’s face was fierce.

“Huh?” Ning, at the borders of the formation, suddenly felt a thrill race through his mind. This was because Ning’s soul was already extremely powerful, so much so that he could unconsciously sense any deadly dangers nearby. An invisible terror suddenly filled Ning’s head, and he had the feeling that if he didn’t move, he might really die!

“Retreat!” Ning glided backwards at maximum speed, and as he did so, he just so happened to leave the edges of the formation.

………..

As Ning retreated past the edges of the formation, he saw that the surface of the water in front of him suddenly transformed into a scene of chaos. One enormous white energy wave after another appeared, intersecting with enormous black energy waves, creating countless ‘nets’ covering the area in front of him. The power of this enormous formation made Ning’s heart shake.

This was something set up by a late stage Xiantian Ki Refiner, who then suddenly released all the terrifying power he had previously placed in the surrounding area.

“The Azure Skysnake King is within the formation!” Ning’s heart clenched. After having battled with this old opponent so many times, seeing that the opponent had fallen into the formation, Ning felt worry for him as well.

“Grooooowl.”

A black human figure suddenly flew into the air, transforming into a black Bi’an Tiger that was over thirty meters long. The furry mane around its neck was spread out like an enormous fan, rising up to the heads. Its jade eyes were filled with savage fury, and it pounced directly towards Ning.

“A Bi’an Tiger?!” Ning instantly understood who it was that had set up the massive formation. “The only Xiantian lifeform who has a Bi’an Tiger as his spirit-beast is Ironwood Zhan, of the Ironwood clan! A late-stage Xiantian expert!”

“Gotta go!”

Ning knew very well the difference in power between the two of them. Ironwood Zhan was extremely famous, and was legendary for how sinister he was. When he used his magic treasures, even the Azure Skysnake King was far from being his match!

“Swish!”

Suddenly, a black light shot towards Ning.

With a quick sword stroke and a ‘clang’ sound, Ning sent the black light flying back towards that Xiantian level Bi’an Tiger. The Bi’an Tiger roared, “Child of the Ji clan, today, shall be the day of your death!”

“Argh!”

A sharp, ear-piercing scream of pain shook the heavens, emanating from within that formation. Ning couldn’t help but feel his heart shudder as well. He knew that this was the desolate cry of the Azure Skysnake King. Despite having fought with Ning for so long, the Azure Skysnake King had never before let out such a miserable sound. Clearly, it truly was in dire straits this time.

“Little green snake, I hope you’ll be able to survive this affair.” Ning could only silently pray. Not daring to hesitate at all, he immediately began to flee across the surface of the lake while blocking the furious attacks of that Xiantian level Bi’an Tiger.

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Chapter 1 – Heart Filled With Murderous Intent

Chapter 1 – Heart Filled With Murderous Intent

“Don’t think of escaping!” The Bi’An Tiger roared furiously, while at the same time chasing after Ji Ning on water at high speed. But with each step, waves exploded beneath his feet. After all, it had yet to reach the ‘one with the world’ level. It had to rely on its released monstrous energy to forcibly walk atop the water. In addition, it was only a land-based beast to begin with. Naturally, its running speed was even slower!

Actually, even in the mountains, the forests, or the plains, its speed would probably still be slightly lower than Ning’s, much less now, on water! It could only watch as Ning quickly escaped.

“Grrrr.” The Bi’An Tiger could only return. Staring at that ferocious battle going on within that massive formation, the Azure Skysnake King, occasionally expanding while occasionally contracting, the tiger mused, “How can this Azure Skysnake possibly resist the magical formation? No matter how long it struggles, in the end, it will have to submit!”

——————————-

The formation called upon the natural power of the world and had unimaginable strength!

This Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation’s power was far beyond the ability of the Azure Skysnake to resist.

“Hahaha….” Ironwood Zhan stood atop the water, pointing at the distant enormous emerald snake, which was currently entangled by those countless streams of black and white energy. “Azure Skysnake, now that you have fallen into my formation, no matter how much you struggle, it is useless. Best obediently surrender and acknowledge me as master. That way, you’ll suffer a bit less!”

“Groooowl.” The Azure Skysnake raised its head, roaring with fury.

“You don’t submit?” Although Zhan didn’t understand, he could sense the Azure Skysnake’s fury and enmity. He immediately laughed coldly, “Azure Skysnake, in this boundless world, it is the human race which is truly in charge! It is the Grand Xia Dynasty who has unified this land! No matter how powerful you are, Godbeast, what can you really do? Even if I release you, others will come to capture you. I think you had best obediently submit to me!”

Ironwood Zhan was speaking nonstop.

But no matter what he said, the Azure Skysnake didn’t pay attention to him, causing Zhan to truly grow angry. “Fine, then. I want to watch and see…if your bones are tougher, or if my Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation is tougher!”

“Crackle…” Black and white energy streams were wildly wrapping about it like a millstone, grinding the Azure Skysnake’s scales to the point of shattering, with its jade blood staining the water below. But this scale-ripping, flesh-tearing pain couldn’t make the Azure Skysnake lower its proud head in the slightest.

Shua!

The Azure Skysnake suddenly shrank to the thickness of a finger, temporarily escaping the entanglement of the black and white energy streams, but immediately afterwards, the energy streams once more wildly wrapped around it.

The energy continued to dissipate and reform without end! How arduous would it be to avoid these energy streams?

“Aaaaargh!” The finger-thick, miniature Azure Skysnake let out a fierce cry, suddenly transforming to an enormous size once again, even larger than Serpentwing! Sometimes large, sometimes small, it continuously struggled. Only in this way would it be able to reduce the amount of time the Yin Yang energy streams ground down upon it. After all, that grinding sensation truly, truly was painful.

At the same time the little Azure Skysnake was struggling, it was repeatedly trying to pounce towards Zhan as well. But the power of the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation was simply too great, not giving it the slightest chance to draw near Zhan.

Struggling repeatedly, the wounds on its body grew greater and greater. Its scales were shattered, and its jade blood leaked out.

“Yaaaaaaa!”

“Yaaaaaaa!”

One fierce cry after another.

The Azure Skysnake King was still struggling. As a monstrous beast, it was incomparably arrogant. How could it submit to this human in front of it? If it was a human Zifu Disciple, perhaps the Azure Skysnake would have been willing to lower its head, but this Ironwood Zhan wasn’t qualified.

“Huh?” After a long time, Zhan began to frown.

“How is it still struggling?” Zhan stared at the Azure Skysnake, still incomparably wild despite being badly injured and being covered in wounds. “Although only part of the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation’s power has been released, if it keeps on acting like this, it will be ground to death by the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation! Can it be that it would rather die than submit to me?”

Zhan gritted his teeth. With a thought, he caused the black and white energy streams binding the Azure Skysnake to begin to dissipate.

“Azure Skysnake!” Zhan pointed at the wounded, exhausted Diremonster. “I relied on the formation to suppress you, so most likely, you aren’t convinced! Then you and I shall do battle. I won’t rely on the assistance of the formation…as long as you can defeat me, I will release you. But if you lose, then you’ll submit to me. Agreed?”

“Yaaaaaa!”

The Azure Skysnake let out a few vicious sounds, then transformed to a length of ten or so meters. This was the most powerful form it could transform into. And then, it pounced towards Zhan!

“Hmph.” A long black whip appeared out of nowhere in Ironwood Zhan’s right hand. The whip had multiple natural-growing sharp nails embedded into it. This long black whip was the magic treasure, “Blackwood Vinewhip”. It was one of the famous magic treasures of the Ironwood clan. With a powerful whipping motion, he sent the whip towards the Azure Skysnake, and it transformed into an enormous black blur.

Shua! Shua!

The Azure Skysnake rapidly dodged, managing to move past this whip.

“Huahuahua…” Ironwood Zhan continued to brandish the long whip in his hand. The whip spun in circle upon circle, covering the skies in countless enveloping circles towards the Azure Skysnake. And then, with a ripping sound, the Azure Skysnake lost yet another piece of scale and flesh from its body.

“Sssssssssssss.” The Azure Skysnake let out a furious hiss. Despite being wounded, it still pounced forward.

Zhan only smiled coldly, continuing to brandish his Blackwood Vinewhip. This wasn’t the first time for him to fight against the Azure Skysnake. He was an expert at using the whip, and was completely able to counter the Azure Skysnake’s agility! However, the Azure Skysnake was capable of fleeing very quickly. In the past, Zhan wasn’t able to do anything about it, but now that the Azure Skysnake was trapped within the formation, there was nowhere for it to run.

“What do you think?” Zhan stood there, long whip dancing, with each whipping blow containing a power capable of cracking a small mountain, causing the Azure Skysnake’s body to crack open on multiple locations. “My strength is greater than yours. You had best obediently submit.”

“Pa!”

The magic treasure’s slammed against its body. Given that Zhan himself was a late-stage Xiantian expert, he was completely capable of suppressing it.

“Swoosh!”

This time, as it dodged past through dancing long whip, the Azure Skysnake suddenly disappeared, and then reappeared a few dozen meters away.

Ironwood Zhan was astonished, but immediately afterwards, his face changed greatly.

“Sssssss…” The Azure Skysnake called out in excitement, while at the same time, with every single slithering motion of its body, it seemed to teleport dozens of meters, if not even farther.

“Die!” Ironwood Zhan’s face was ferocious, and he seemed to have gone insane.

Rumble….

The formation shuddered, and large amounts of black and white energy vicious slammed down towards the Azure Skysnake, but the Azure Skysnake only glanced icily at Ironwood Zhan, then disappeared with another slither.

“Bang!” The black and white energy collided, transforming into large amounts of chaotic energy.

“Damnable!” Ironwood Zhan howled madly, fists waving furiously. “Damnable!!!”

“Void Blink! Void Blink!” Ironwood Zhan’s face was ferocious, and his eyes were red and insane. “This Azure Skysnake is actually capable of using Void Blink. Right. It is due to that child of the Ji clan. That child of the Ji clan has battled against the Azure Skysnake repeatedly…it must be that this has caused the Azure Skysnake to improve, allowing it to reach the ‘one with the world’ level and be able to utilize the Void Blink!”

Ironwood Zhan was utterly enraged.

Although there was only a single Azure Skysnake in the Swallow Mountain area, there were quite a few in the boundless territory ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty. Thus, Ironwood Zhan knew very well how powerful Azure Skysnakes were, which was why he so desperately wanted to tame this one.

Generally speaking, Diremonsters were capable of controlling water, or poison, or fire, or son on and so forth.

Even the likes of the Aquatic Rhino King and Serpentwing, non-Godbeast creatures, had this ability. But as a Godbeast, the Azure Skysnake King didn’t have a special ability…

But actually, it still had something!

Only, the Azure Skysnake King’s natural ability was simply too powerful. While it was at a low level of power, it wasn’t capable of utilizing it. Much like how a normal monstrous beast wasn’t capable of controlling water at the Houtian stage but was able to at the Xiantian stage, this Azure Skysnake King’s natural ability had to do with the ‘Void’. Even after it reached the Xiantian lifeform level, it still had to reach the ‘one with the world’ level before it was capable of instantly becoming one with the void, allowing it to utilize the Void Blink technique!

“Void Blink!” Ironwood Zhan ground his teeth. “A Azure Skysnake King capable of developing the Void Blink technique will quickly become incomparably powerful!”

The Void Blink…

This allowed the Azure Skysnake to be capable of going to some very secretive places, and even go steal some of the world’s spirit fruits. This represented that its growing speed was about to enter a phase of explosive growth! Without question, this Azure Skysnake King was about to leave Eastmount Marsh and begin an adventuring journey. After all, only by going to other places would it be capable of acquiring more natural treasures and grow more rapidly in power. If it always stayed here comfortably, it would be a waste of its talent!

“Given the amount of hatred it bears me, in the future, when it returns to Swallow Mountain, it might come looking for me seeking revenge.” Zhan was both furious and frightened.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!”

Ironwood Zhan bellowed in fury, the sound of his roars causing even the water to explode!

He was furious.

“All because of that Ji clan child!” Ironwood Zhan ground his teeth, filled with utter hatred.

If Ji Ning hadn’t caused the Azure Skysnake King to advance so rapidly, how could it have suddenly made a breakthrough during this battle? Most likely, Zhan would have already tamed the Azure Skysnake. Now, he not only had been unable to tame it, he had also offended a powerful future enemy. The Azure Skysnake would definitely remember this grudge!

————————

The massive formation vanished. Ironwood Zhan collected all eight of the formation flags, then walked out atop the water, a sinister, shadowy look on his face.

“Master.” The Bi’An Tiger transformed into a black-clothed man, flying over. Seeing the look on his master’s face, he knew that the taming attempt had failed. He hurriedly said, “Master, don’t be angry. This Azure Skysnake was simply too foolish. It was its own fault that Master killed it!”

“It didn’t die!” Ironwood Zhan said coldly.

“It didn’t die?!” The black-clothed was astonished. “Then it?”

Ironwood Zhan shook his head. “It actually managed to comprehend the Void Blink technique. It fled.”

“Butbutbut…” The black-clothed man found it hard to believe as well. The Azure Skysnake had actually managed to comprehend the Void Blink technique at the critical juncture.

“All of it is the fault of that Ji clan child.” Zhan said coldly. “His power was on par with the Azure Skysnake. After repeated battles, the Azure Skysnake has improved greatly. Thus, during this battle, it suddenly sensed the world, allowing it to become ‘one with the void’ and use the Void Blink technique! This Ji clan’s child ruined everything. I will definitely strip his skin and rip his tendons. Otherwise, I won’t be able to get rid of this fury in my heart!”

The black-clothed man nodded repeatedly. “Master, don’t worry. Before this, I shot several of my back-spikes at him, which are stained with the ‘Iceflower Liquid’. Some of the Iceflower Liquid has already gotten onto his body. As long as we release the Ice Wasp, we’ll definitely be able to find him.

“Fine.” Zhan withdrew a gray sack from his waist. Loosening the sack, a semi-translucent, gem-like wasp flew out at high speed.

“Pursue.”

Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger followed behind the Ice Wasp at high speed.

After they left, a green snake suddenly emerged atop the peaceful water. The green snake stared from afar, a look of hope in its eyes. After it had battled against Ji Ning so many times, the two of them were evenly matched for so long. In addition, Ning had helped contribute to it being able to break through to the ‘one with the world’ level of movement technique and comprehend the Void Blink technique. It felt some gratitude towards Ning.

“Ssssss….” The Azure Skysnake let out a soft sound. It hoped Ning would be able to escape. It had already done what it was capable of. After all, although right now, he had very formidable fleeing abilities, in terms of actual power, he was far from being Ironwood Zhan’s match.

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Chapter 2 – Comprehending ‘The Way’ by the Pond

Chapter 2 – Comprehending ‘The Way’ by the Pond

Ji Ning, relying on his ‘one with the world’ footwork technique, ran at high speed, as fast as the wind. After leaving Eastmount Marsh, he continued to flee at high speed, moving most likely over a thousand kilometers through the mountain forests before coming to a halt. Actually, by now, the Golden Crow [the Sun] had already completely sunk beneath the horizon. However, the eastern horizon was still very red, and there was still some light cast on the ground.

“Whew!” Ning wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I first ran three hundred kilometers on water, then another thousand kilometers on land. In addition, I was moving at my maximum speed. I’ve never run like this before. I didn’t expect that even with a body like mine, I still ended up so sweaty.” Ning usually could run for a thousand kilometers on Eastmount Marsh without sweating at all, but this time, he really had moved at his utmost speed.

Feeling exhausted, Ning slowly walked forward. There was a pool in front of him, and within the pool, there were a few floating lotus flowers. The flowers were not stained at all by the mud, and their stems were straight. The fragrance of the lotuses entered his nose, causing the exhausted Ning to let out a hint of a smile as he sat down next to the pool.

“I guess I managed to make it through that setback.” Ning withdrew a bamboo reed with a flip of his hand. The reed was filled with clean water. Raising his head, he took two gulps.

“I wonder how the little green snake is doing.” Ning sighed lightly. “Little green snake, don’t blame me. I’m not able to help you either. Alas, I haven’t reached the Xiantian level.”

“Xiantian!”

Just thinking about this made Ning feel a hint of worry.

The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], as the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining method, was extremely powerful, but training it was simply too difficult. Even someone with his background found it so hard to breakthrough. ‘Merge Yin and Yang, Fuse Fire and Water’. How was this accomplished?

“What do I need to do in order to break through?” Ning pondered bitterly.

Hu!

A gentle breeze blew by. The cool, summer night breeze was so comfortable. The breeze wafted through the lotus flowers in the pool. Some spun in place, first towards one direction, then towards the other.

Having reached the ‘one with the world’ level in the [Shadewind Steps], Ning naturally was able to mentally become one with the wind. When the wind blew past the lotus blossom, he could clearly sense…

“Huh?” Ning suddenly revealed a look of curiosity. “When the wind blows the lotus, it turns both left, then right!”

Ning suddenly felt as though he understood something.

“If a leaf is blown by the wind, it will be blown wildly without any rhythm at all!”

“If it was a small tree that was being blown down by the wind, it would only shake from left to right! That’s because it doesn’t have any enormous round leaves.”

But when the lotus flower is blown upon, the petals of the lotus can turn left or turn right, cancelling out this force.”

Raising his head, Ning stared at the sky. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but in the skies, he could already faintly see the light of the moon. “The Golden Crow [Sun] falls, and the Moon Rabbit [Moon] rises!”

“Turn left, turn right!”

“Day and night. Because there is day, thus there is the concept of night!” Ning murmured to himself. “In a place of utter darkness, a tiny hint of light is incomparably brilliant! The left and right turns of the lotus petal allow it to cancel out the two contrasting spins, allowing it to cancel out the force of the wind and stay in place, unmoved.”

Ning closed his eyes.

His spirit was already ‘one with the world’, and he became one with the wind and the lotus flowers in the pool.

He could faintly sense some sort of enormous Principle, which hid ancient secrets that had existed since the creation of the endless universe…this secret, was the Dao [The Way]! The wind held the Dao within it, and the Dao itself was vast and unknowable. But when the wind blew past the lotus flower…Ning was capable of seeing the shadow of the Dao flash through the lotus flowers. Capable of finding a hint of the movements and the true appearance of the Dao!

Ning quietly sat there in the lotus position by the side of the pool, completely lost in thought as he attentively meditated on the hint of the ‘Dao’ which he had sensed from the lotus flowers circular movements.

—————————

Comprehending the Dao was something that one could hope for but not ask for.

In that moment when his soul, his thoughts, the environment, and everything else all fused together, he was able to just barely touch a hint of the Dao. But in order to touch the Dao…the prerequisite was that one would first have to become ‘one with the world’. Only after one’s mind could completely become one with the world was one capable of touching the Eternal Dao.

“Huahuahua…” A stream of water slowly flowed through a small creek covered up by the wild grass.

“Gugugu!”

Night descended, and the forest was now filled with the croaking of frogs.

Slowly….

Rays of light began to surround Ning, still seated in the lotus position. First, some rays of watery light appeared, slowly forming one enormous lotus petal after another around him. One watery lotus petal after another surrounded Ning, currently blossoming while swaying gently in the breeze.

Immediately afterwards, dots of fiery light began to gather as well, forming into fiery lotus petals. These enormous lotus petals of flame also wrapped around Ning.

Two layers of lotus petals.

The first layer was of watery lotus petals. The second was of fiery lotus petals. Each layer had exactly three petals.

“Hu!” Fire and water intersected. A wind arose out of nowhere.

Huahuahua….

Between the two layers of lotus petals, a wind arose out of nowhere. The two layers of lotus petals began to swivel. The lower layer of watery lotus petals swiveled to the left, while the upper layer of fiery lotus petals were turning to the right! The two layers of lotus petals were completely turning in opposite directions…slowly, sluggishly, they rotated, but Ning himself didn’t utilize any of his own strength at all.

Everything happened by nature.

“Swoosh!” A gray-furred wolf loped out from within the forests, its jade eyes focused on that distant, fur-clad youth. Only, those enormous lotus petals, multiple meters in size, which were surrounding that fur-clad youth made the wolf slightly confused. As a beast with low intelligence, however, its innate sense was telling it that those rotating petals of fire and water were nothing more than part of the world, just like the clouds…there was no need to pay attention to them.

The gray wolf bared its fangs, staring at the fur-clad youth.

It was very hungry!

The fur-clad youth was just sitting there without moving, as though he was asleep. He definitely wouldn’t have the ability to fight back. In addition, the flesh of this youth seemed so tender and delectable. The gray wolf could already feel its saliva coming into its mouth.

It hesitated no more!

“Swoosh!” The gray wolf charged forward rapidly, pouncing forward with fangs bared, preparing to bite down on that fur-clad youth.

But as soon as it leapt within two meters of those layers of lotus petals…

“Boom!”

The wind created by those two layers of lotus petals contained within them a hint of the destructive force of the world. In an instant, it chopped that wolf into tiny pieces, with blood splattering everywhere, some seeping deep into the earth, while the rest flowed into the pool.

——————————–

Nightfall.

Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger he commanded, in the former of a black-clothed man, were currently following behind that Ice Wasp as they traversed the mountain forests.

The Ice Wasp was just a wasp, after all. It wasn’t an enormous flying beast, nor was it a Diremonster. One could imagine how much slower it was! It was far from being even a tenth as fast as Ning

“This child of the Ji clan really can run.” Ironwood Zhan’s face was gloomy and sinister. “After leaving Eastmount Marsh, he kept on fleeing…”

The black-clothed man said hurriedly, “Master, the Ice Hornet’s flying speed is much slower. If this child of the Ji clan keeps running without stopping, all the way to one of the Prefectures of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan, we probably won’t have any way to catch him.”

“Run all the way to one of the Five Prefectures?” Ironwood Zhan shook his head. “Too far. Eastmount Marsh is already at the borders of the Ji clan’s territory. To run from the border to one of the Five Prefectures at once? That child of the Ji clan shouldn’t run that far.” Although he said this, in his heart, Zhan was worried as well. If Ning truly had run to any one of the Five Prefectures, no matter how confident Zhan was in his abilities, he wouldn’t dare to charge into the lair of his enemies.

“We’ll slowly pursue him.”

Ironwood Zhan said. “Wherever the Iceflower Liquid passes by, it will leave that unique aroma. It won’t dissipate for at least three days. We can’t smell it, but the Ice Wasp can. As long as that child of the Ji clan doesn’t flee to the Five Prefecture, he will die!”

“Right, he will die.” The black-clothed man said hurriedly.

“He ruined everything for me, and caused me to have a powerful future foe.” Ironwood Zhan could visualize that Azure Skysnake adventuring in the outside world through the usage of its Void Blink, becoming more powerful, reaching the Zifu level, then coming back to kill him…he couldn’t help but feel fear, while at the same time, he hated Ji Ning even more. “I definitely have to personally tear his skin off and rend his tendons!”

“Right! Tear his skin, rip his tendons!” The black-clothed man ground his teeth as well.

———————–

The Golden Crow [Sun] was beginning to raise its head over the eastern skies. It was daybreak. Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger under his command were still slowly pursuing. They had pursued for so long, both of them had bellies full of anger. This child of the Ji clan really was too cautious. After leaving Eastmount Marsh, he had actually fled for at least another thousand kilometers.

A Ice Wasp that flew for a thousand kilometers would be very tired as well. Fortunately, this Ice Wasp was a mutant.

“Master.” The black-clothed man’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly pointed to the distant.

“Huh?” The also-tired Zhan turned to look in that direction. Instantly, he could make out an indistinct human figure at the distant side of a pool. This caused his mind to instantly wake up.

Ironwood Zhan’s eyes lit up. He licked the corner of his lips, then said mentally, “Let’s go take a look.”

Between master and spirit beast, at a close distance, there was the ability to maintain psychic communications. As for the exact distance…it depended on how powerful their souls were. Generally speaking, a Xiantian lifeform and his spirit beast had to maintain a distance of ten meters if they wanted to be able to converse mentally.

The two carefully crept forward, trying not to make any noise.

But in truth, even if they made some noise, Zhan wasn’t afraid. He was, after all, a late stage Xiantian expert. When running at full speed, he was a bit faster than even Ji Ning, and in addition, he carried on him a ‘Divine Movement Seal’ as well as a number of other ordinary Dao seals. How could he possibly allow Ning to escape?

“What an idiot. No matter how careful I am, I still am making some noise, but he didn’t notice at all. He should be a Fiendgod Body Refiner. Logically speaking, he should have excellent senses. Hmph, hmph, he really has no experience at all. He’s probably fallen asleep.” Zhan laughed coldly. “All the better. It will make my life easier. Otherwise, I’d have to waste a Divine Movement Seal.

Ironwood Zhan and the black-clothed man continued moving forward.

Slowly…

They could make the person out clearly.

“What?” They were both stunned.

This was because the Sun had already risen by now. Under the light of the Sun, those enormous fiery lotus petals and the watery lotus petals appeared semi-translucent. After all, these lotus petals were not real lotus petals. They were formed by the energy of the world. Under the light of the sun, they instantly appeared semi-translucent.

The two layers of enormous lotus petals were still slowly swiveling in opposite directions, but contained within them a very strange rhythm. In the center of these two enormous layers of rotating lotus petals, Ning was seated there in the lotus position.

“What…what is this?” Zhan, although highly experienced, had never seen a sight like this. “Can it be that this is created from internal ki?”

“Still, even if he has broken through to the Xiantian lifeform stage, he is still only an early stage Xiantian. I imagine he doesn’t have any magic treasures on him.” A fierce look appeared on Zhan’s face.

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Chapter 3 – Fire And Water Descend, Giving Birth to Xiantian

Chapter 3 – Fire And Water Descend, Giving Birth to Xiantian

Ironwood Zhan and his Bi’an Tiger drew near at high speed, quickly arriving by the side of the pool.

“It really is beautiful.” Ironwood Zhan couldn’t help but sigh in amazement as he stared at the reflecting light of the setting sun, which shone down upon those two blooming, enormous lotus petals. But the more he looked at them, the more nervous he became. He was, after all, a late stage Xiantian expert. Although he hadn’t reached the ‘one with the world’ level, he could already dimly sense how extraordinary those two layers of petals were.

“Master.” The Bi’an Tiger looked at Zhan as well. “What should we do now?”

“Don’t be impatient. He is in front of us and won’t be able to escape. Let’s give him a test, first!” Zhan instructed mentally. With a wave of his hand, he released his Xiantian force, which directly dragged a rock into his hand. And then, with a powerful throw, he infused this rock with his Xiantian energy, transforming it into a ray of light which shot straight towards Ji Ning, still seated in the lotus-position.

Although he just threw a rock, a Ninefang Warrior would definitely be killed.

“Hua!”

When the stone reached the area of ten meters of Ning and intersected with those two layers of lotus petals, it instantly became frozen! That invisible killing energy, with a hiss, transformed the rock into dust.

The Bi’An Tiger and Ironwood Zhan both felt their hearts tighten. They exchanged glances. Clearly, they were somewhat puzzled by those two mysterious lotus layers.

“I refuse to believe it.” Zhan sneered coldly, and the Blackwood Vinewhip appeared in his hands out of nowhere.

“Hu!”

Ironwood Zhan lashed out with his long whip. The Blackwood Vinewhip elongated, coiling around a thick nearby tree. With a massive pull! Honglong…the entire tree was ripped out by the roots, carrying with it a large amount of dirt, swinging about along with Zhan’s whip.

Boom…this tens of thousands of pounds heavy tree smashed directly towards Ning, seated in the lotus position. When the massive tree trunk slammed against those two layers of translucent, enormous lotus leaves, it instantly shattered apart. However, the terrifying power of the collision contained within the massive tree caused the two layers of lotus leaves to tremble.

Ning, who had been meditating in the lotus position, shook slightly. His eyes opened up.

As his eyes opened, he saw that the two enormous lotus leaves surrounding his body were dissipating as an enormous tree trunk smashed down upon him. In the distance, Ironwood Zhan and that black-clothed man were sneering coldly at him.

“You ruined my good fortune!” Watching the two layers of enormous lotus petals dissipate, Ning instantly realized what he had gained this night, and also realized how priceless these insights had been. If nobody had disturbed him, he probably would have been able to gain insights for even longer. But unexpectedly, Zhan had ruined it for him. It must be understood that these moments of enlightenment were something which could only be hoped for and not asked for. It might be decades, if not centuries, until the next time something like this would occur.

“Damn you!”

Ning swept out with a palm, and with a booming sound, smashed that massive tree trunk into two halves. One half landed into the middle of the pond, crushing many of the lotus flowers. The other half fell down against several other nearby trees, sending dust everywhere.

“Little child of the Ji clan!” Ironwood Zhan laughed ferociously. “You fled a thousand kilometers into the forest, but I still caught you in the end! Today is the day you die!”

Ning glanced at him coldly, and then immediately summoned forth the Lunar energy and the Solar energy in his body. Over the course of the previous night’s meditation, he had gained just a hint of insight into the true nature of the Dao, but that hint of insight was enough to allow him to understand, without question, what the method was for breaking through to the next level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Nothing in the world was truly opposite of anything else! It was much like how night and day were seemingly opposites, but in reality, were just two different aspects of the sky.

It was much like the two layers of fire and water lotus petals that had surrounded him. Not only did they not cancel each other out, they had even increased each other’s power. Why?

A lotus flower had a stalk, which was what allowed the lotus petals to swivel!

The ‘stalk’ of the two layers of fire and water lotus petals was Ning himself!

Solar energy, Lunar energy…how to fuse them?

By finding that ‘stalk’ which connected the Solar energy and the Lunar energy!

“Come!”

Ning’s eyes were filled with absolutely certainty.

His body had already completely brought forth all of his Solar and Lunar energy, which instantly filled every part of his body. Be it his hair or his skin or his organs or his very cells…it filled every part of him! Every single thread of Lunar energy and Solar energy began to swirl around each other, but their natures caused them to be unwilling to fuse.

“Huahuahua…” All of the Lunar energy and Solar energy were swiveling, like the lotus flowers that had been blown upon by the wind.

They were also like the two ‘fish’ of the yin-yang Taiji diagram, forever chasing each other.

The Sun. The Moon.

They constantly chased after each other…and as they did, they contained that hint of the Dao which Ning had understood.

Slowly, in the center of the circling Solar energy and Lunar energy, a new force arose!

Instantly…

In that deep, boundless void, separated from this place by incomprehensibly many worlds, there lay the two Supreme Stars; the Solar Star [Sun] and the Lunar Star [Moon]. Each of them emitted a hint of their power; the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater appeared on each side around Ning, and also activated the power of fire and water of the surrounding world.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

The surrounding world instantly became filled with a sea of flame as well as an abyss of water.

Though this took time to describe, in truth, as soon as Ning had shattered that tree, he had immediately activated the energy in his body and began to break through. Ironwood Zhan and his Bi’an Tiger saw with their own eyes the boundless flames and water appear out of nowhere, causing even them to feel fear. Wherever the water passed through, everything was frozen into ice sculptures, while wherever the fire passed through, everything was consumed by the flames.

At the same time, within the surging water, the faint outline of the Jade Rabbit could be seen.

Deep within the boundless flames, there was also the shadow of a three-legged Golden Crow.

Between the Jade Rabbit and the Golden Crow, there was Ning!

“This…this…” Zhan was so shocked, his face changed dramatically. “Can this be the legendary…the legendary [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?”

The Golden Crow and the Jade Rabbit had both appeared!

Without question, this was the legendary [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. In the entire Swallow Mountain area, in at least the past thousand years, there hadn’t been a single person who was known to have relied on this technique to become a Xiantian lifeform. Although Zhan had read this technique and knew what the breakthrough looked like, this was his first time personally witnessing the amazing spectacle of a breakthrough.

“Hrmph.” Ironwood Zhan’s hands summoned a formation flag out of nowhere. He immediately flew backwards, then began running around Ning, surrounded by boundless water and fire, in a circular pattern, while constantly throwing out one flag after another, all of which stabbed deep into the mud.

In but a few seconds, eight formation flags had all been planted, covering an area of a square kilometer.

Ironwood Zhan now simply stood from afar and watched.

“Master, kill him.” The Bi’an Tiger said hurriedly. “Right now, he is breaking through. This is his weakest moment.”

“No!” Zhan hurriedly shouted. “He trains in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, and is currently surrounded by the power of the Supreme Stars, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star! When breaking through to the Xiantian lifeform level, these two Supreme Stars will send down a hint of their Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater, breaking through countless barriers to allow him to evolve and be reborn into the body of a true Xiantian-level Fiendgod.”

“Then it becomes all the more important for us to stop him.” The Bi’an Tiger said frantically.

“Don’t you understand?” Ironwood Zhan’s face was ashen as he stared at the distant Ning, wrapped by the endless flames and water. “Right now, he is surrounded by boundless icy water and cocooned in flames. At the heart of the boundless icy water is a hint of the Lunar Truewater! At the heart of the endless flames is a hint of the Solar Truefire! Even if a Zifu Disciple were to touch it, he would instantly be frozen and shatter or be burnt to ashes, much less you and me! Not even his soul would be left. He wouldn’t even have the chance to go to the Netherworld Kingdom to be reborn!”

“As fearsome as that?” The Bi’an Tiger was shocked.

“Of course it is!” Ironwood Zhan’s face was solemn. “This is power which comes from the two Supreme Stars! Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater. Who dares to touch them?”

“Then, then are we just going to watch?” The Bi’an Tiger said frantically. “Just watch as this child of the Ji clan becomes even more powerful?”

“Don’t worry!” Zhan growled. “Right now, the two Supreme Stars have bequeathed their power to him, and he is beginning to transcend his mortal coil and be reborn into a true Xiantian Fiendgod. After he breaks through, that hint of Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater will disappear. After all, the power of the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater doesn’t belong to this little child of the Ji clan himself.

Ironwood Zhan sneered coldly, “I’ve already set down the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation. After this little child of the Ji clan breaks through, he’ll no longer have the protective power of the Supreme Stars. I will immediately activate the formation! No matter what, he’ll only be an early Xiantian lifeform without a single magic treasure. I, on the other hand, am a late Xiantian lifeform with the assistance of the formation!”

“Right.” The Bi’an Tiger nodded as well.

“But this child of the Ji clan really is amazing!” Ironwood Zhan couldn’t help but sigh in praise. “[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. This is the legendary, most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Virtually all tribes of a certain size are in possession of it! But in a thousand years, in the entire Swallow Mountain area, there hasn’t been a single person who has reached Xiantian through it. If he is permitted to grow, he will definitely become the number one person of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan, and perhaps even the entire Swallow Mountain! But no matter how powerful he will be, right now, he will only have reached the Xiantian level. Haha…I feel wonderful when I think about how I’m about to kill such a monstrous genius.”

———————-

What did Xiantian mean?

It meant to be born from the heavens and from nature. Only that was a true Xiantian lifeform.

Generally speaking, most Ki Refiners only had the inner ki energy in their bodies transform into Xiantian Afterwards, the energy would wash through their entire body, allowing them to reach a quick and agile state! But actually, this was the weakest type of Xiantian body. A casual sword thrust through the heart would cause them to die.

But for Fiendgod Body Refiners…their entire body would be reborn into the body like a Fiendgod’s. Fiendgods could have their bodies chopped into eighteen parts, but as long as their head wasn’t destroyed, they would not die! Generally speaking, most Fiendgod Body Refining techniques were low-grade, to the point of even relying on tattooing the divine patterns onto their bodies.

But the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] relied on the power of the two Supreme Stars to naturally generate those two major divine tattoos.

When breaking through to the Xiantian level, the Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater of the two Supreme Stars would descend…fire and water would coincide, giving birth to a Fiendgod’s body! This sort of Fiendgod body wasn’t one bit inferior to those trueborn Fiendgods of the ancient Fiendgod Era. Thus, this was reputed to be the number one technique in the world!

“Pipa!” Ning could sense every single cell in his body explode. And then, the divine power of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] caused the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater to begin to reforge every single cell anew. The hint of Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater which the two Supreme Stars had sent down, in turn, were being utterly consumed in the process of forging this new Xiantian Fiendgod.

The mortal vessel fell away!

The Fiendgod body formed!

Hua…The Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater were consumed, and the countless amounts of fire and water which surrounded them dispersed as well, revealing the fur-clad Ji Ning. Although he had leapt into the Xiantian level, the furs hadn’t been damaged by the fire and water at all. Only, Ning’s skin was now emitting an enchanting radiance, as though he were a gem formed by the heavens.

Ning opened his eyes and stared at the distant Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger. He said only two words. “Now, die!”

The Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo on his back instantly activated.

Boom! Boom!

An enormous flaming dragon and an enormous water dragon appeared out of nowhere, formed from the fire and water summoned by the Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo. Containing terrifying destructive power, it charged straight towards the distant Ironwood Zhan and Bi’an Tiger! This was the proof of the Xiantian level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; the ability to control fire and water!

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Chapter 4 – Lotus Petals of Fire and Water

Chapter 4 – Lotus Petals of Fire and Water

Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger were both astonished. Zhan hurriedly activated his Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation, while shouting loudly, “Be careful, he can control fire and water. The ability of Xiantian Fiendgods of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] to control water and fire is extraordinary. Once water and fire come out simultaneously, even most ordinary Xiantian lifeforms can be killed!”

The reason he shouted so loudly was because as soon as the Bi’an Tiger had seen the fire and water, it had already transformed into its real body and begun to retreat. Once the distance between the two increased, they were no longer capable of spiritual communication. But how could the speed of the Bi’an Tiger compare to that of the water and fire?

“Boom…” An enormous water dragon instantly coiled around the Bi’an Tiger, causing a layer of frost to appear on it. At the same time, the other fire dragon also wrapped itself around the Bi’an Tiger. The water dragon and fire dragon simultaneously coiled around it, the water dragon filled with boundless cold, while the fire dragon was filled with endless heat…

Hot and cold.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

The Bi’an Tiger’s fur began to crack, and his red flesh and muscles began to be revealed, then quickly char.

“Grooooooooowl.” The Bi’an Tiger roared.

“Still not dead!” Ji Ning’s gaze grew colder.

The water dragon that had been coiling around the Bi’an Tiger suddenly loosened, then quickly began to transform, changing into an enormous flowing lotus petal. At the same time, the fire dragon also quickly transformed into a blazing lotus petal.

The water lotus petal was below.

The fire lotus petal was above.

The Bi’an Tiger was in the middle. Despite how it tried to struggle and flee, it was useless. The two lotus petals followed it wherever it went.

“Waterflame Lotus, smelt!” With a thought from Ning, instantly the two lotus petals began to slowly revolve. It was like two terrifying millstones slowly crushing down while revolving. Earlier, Ning had just been unconsciously activated the energy of the world to form those two protective lotus petals through his slight understanding of the Dao, and yet the power had already been so tremendous. But now, Ning was himself a Xiantian lifeform, capable of controlling both fire and water. Adding onto that basic power the hint of the Dao he had understood…the power became hundreds of times greater than before.

The petals of the Waterflame Lotus revolved. The Bi’an Tiger caught between them only felt a surge of heat and cold, and it felt far more miserable than before! Its entire body seemed to have lost all feeling! At the same time, as the water and fire intersected, a wind arose out of nowhere, and that wind filled with a powerful killing force descended directly upon the Bi’an Tiger.

“Ka…” The Bi’an Tiger’s charred body was like a porcelain doll. It shattered into many little pieces, its eyes filled with incomprehension as they grew dim.

The Bi’an Tiger had died!

“It is actually this powerful.” Ning’s heart was filled with surprise and delight as well. “With the water and fire I control as the base, and then formed into the protective Waterflame Lotus which I developed, I was able to execute a middle Xiantian level Diremonster, without even giving it a chance to fight back.”

Although the above took time to describe, a battle between experts was incredibly fast.

From the moment when Ning created the Waterflame Lotus to the moment when the Bi’an Tiger died, only a heartbeat’s worth of time had occurred.

“Boom…” The Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation which had surrounded this square kilometer fully released its power as well, and lines of black energy and white energy criss-crossed towards Ning.

Ironwood Zhan was shocked by how easily his Bi’an Tiger had been executed as well. And then, with a savage expression, he howled, “Within my Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation, even if you are a monstrous talent which Swallow Mountain sees once in a millennium, you will still surely die! Die!”

Lines of viper-like black and white energy instantly pounced towards Ning.

“Hrmph.”

With but a thought, instantly fire and water appeared out of nowhere next to his body. The fire and water transformed into lotus petals, with two layers of enormous petals of the Waterflame Lotus hovering about him, waiting for those black and white energy streams to attack. When they did…with a thought from Ning, the Waterflame Lotus suddenly fused!

Like a budding flower, those upward-pointing lotus petals formed into a massive lotus flower bud that was over ten meters high, instantly ensconcing Ning within them.

“Pengpengpeng…” The black and white energy waves came crashing down.

The Waterflame Lotus, although having fused into a flower bud, was still slowly swiveling. The inner layer was made of fire lotus petals, while the outer layer was made from water lotus petals. They continued to slowly swivel in opposite directions. No matter how the black and white energy struck against it time and time again, sometimes just barely breaking through the outer layer of the water lotus petals, the water lotus petals would once more reform into their normal appearance.

After all, fire and water could always part and reform; they weren’t solid substances to begin with. Even if they were occasionally broken through, with but a thought, Ning could reform them!

“What?” Ironwood Zhan was shocked. “How is this possible? My Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation…this is an extremely powerful formation. Given my power when using it, even if I were to meet with an opponent who was a peak Xiantian lifeform, I wouldn’t be afraid. How could it be that it can’t even break through the protective lotus of this child of the Ji clan? What is that protective lotus? How is it that I’ve never even heard of it?”

But how could Ironwood Zhan know that Ning had previously already reached the ‘one with the world’ level. The greatest benefit of his previous night’s worth of enlightenment was…this protective lotus, which already had a hint of the true meaning of the Dao within it.

A Xiantian lifeform created by the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was incomparably powerful to begin with, and the fire and water it controlled was far stronger than that of the fire and water which most Diremonsters could create. When infusing that with the hint of the true Dao through the Waterflame Lotus, blocking a mere formation naturally was nothing at all.

“Ironwood Zhan, you’ve chased for such a long time. Let me repay you now, and send you on the next leg of your journey!”

Within the lotus bud, Ning stared through the flowing water lotus petals and the blazing fire lotus petals, seeing the distant, unclear figure. In addition, his mind had reached the ‘one with the world’ level…naturally, he could sense the auras of all nearby creatures, and could clearly sense the location of Zhan.

“Die.”

With but a thought from Ning.

In the area where Ironwood Zhan was standing, yet another fiery lotus petal and watery lotus petal appeared. One above him, one below him, crushing down upon Zhan like millstones.

“Formation, aid me!” Ironwood Zhan, seeing the situation, was terrified. This was how his servant, the Bi’an Tiger, had died just now. He hurriedly controlled the black and white energy streams, wildly wrapping them around himself to block the grinding, crushing force of this Waterflame Lotus. By doing so, he was just barely able to block it. Although occasionally, some fire and water would break through, his Xiantian ki was able to block it.

“How can he simultaneously create two lotus flowers?” Zhan was filled with shock and dread. “Such a powerful attack should take up almost all of his concentration.”

But how could he know…

When he was four years old, Ning’s soul was already almost on par with a Zifu Disciple. Right now, his soul was already far above that of a Zifu Disciple. Dividing his mind to execute two separate Waterflame Lotus techniques was simplicity itself.

“You actually haven’t died!” Protected within the lotus bud, Ning quickly charged towards Ironwood Zhan.

“Retreat.” Ironwood was so frightened that his face changed. He ground his teeth.

Flee!

This decision was made quite decisively. He was, after all, born into the Ironwood clan. He knew very well that once someone trained to the Xiantian lifeform level in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the power of the practitioner would be hundreds of times that of ordinary Fiendgod Body Refiners. Although right now, Ning was only an early Xiantian lifeform, he was capable of matching other late-stage Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiners!

He, Ironwood Zhan, was nothing more than a late-stage Xiantian Ki Refiner. Engage in close combat with a Fiendgod Body Refiner of this level? That was just suicide!

Before this, he had been relying on the fact that Ning didn’t have any magic treasures, but if even the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation couldn’t do anything to Ning, if he were to continue to fight with Ning, would that be suicide?

“An early Xiantian whose battle power is equivalent to a peak Xiantian. What a monster. The Ji clan actually produced such a monster. I definitely have to inform the Ancestor and have him be exterminated as soon as possible. Otherwise, in the future, he will be a calamity to the Ironwood clan!” Ironwood Zhan was utterly terrified, especially by those Waterflame Lotuses. They were simply too powerful.

Formations had to be prepared in advance, but Ning’s Fire Water Lotus could be created with but a thought, and it was even more powerful than his formation. This was too…

“He must be eliminated.” Ironwood Zhan’s only thought was to go back and report this to his clan’s Ancestor.”

Both the Ironwood clan and the Ji clan…as two of the six hegemons of the Swallow Mountain area, had Zifu Disciples standing guard over them. That was why they had the ability to be acknowledged by the Grand Xia Dynasty to become ministers of the Grand Xia Dynasty.

“Divine Movement Seal!” With a flip of Zhan’s hand, a black, leaf-like paper seal suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The paper seal was covered with what looked like veins of blood, and was covered with an ancient, strange character which faintly emanated a mysterious, rippling aura. Ironwood Zhan sent a surge of his Xiantian ki into this seal.

Hua!

The seal instantly transformed into a shadowy word which fused into Ironwood Zhan’s body.

“Flee!” Ironwood Zhan immediately transformed into a ray of light, quickly fleeing afar, not even bothering to collect his Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation flags.

This was because Ironwood Zhan knew very well that right now, he was still relying on the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation to protect him against that Waterflame Lotus. In addition, collecting those eight formation flags would also take up time. It would give that terrifying youth of the Ji clan a chance to catch up to him, at which point, he wouldn’t just lose the eight formation flags. He would lose his life.

“He ran?” Ji Ning hurriedly chased afterwards. His Xiantian Fiendgod body, matched with his ‘one with the world’ footwork, caused his speed to become even more rapid. He transformed into a ray of light as well, chasing after Zhan.

“Just slightly slower than me?” Ironwood Zhan was greatly shocked. “Before, when he hadn’t yet broken through to the Xiantian level yet, I was faster than him. But now, even after using a precious Divine Movement Seal, we’re roughly on par.” Ironwood Zhan couldn’t help but feel his heart ache with the cost, but grinding his teeth, he took out yet another Dao seal, covered with that same ancient network of veins atop it. He filled his Xiantian ki into that Dao seal.

Yet another illusory word appeared, then entered his body.

Light Body Seal!

“Swoosh!” Ironwood Zhan transformed into a blue blaze as he retreated even faster.

“Won’t be able to catch him.” Ning’s eyes had a hint of unwillingness to accept this outcome in them. As an Fiendgod Body Refiner expert, his speed was already incredible. But Ironwood Zhan had utilized two Dao seals in succession; a Light Body Seal, and a Divine Movement Seal…although these seals weren’t nearly as valuable as the ‘Traceless Talisman’, they were still able to allow Ironwood Zhan’s speed to explosively increase.

Ning didn’t have any Dao seals right now. In addition, even if he had them, he wouldn’t be able to use them, because Dao seals and magic treasures all required one to have Xiantian ki in order to use them.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ironwood Zhan fled out of the area of the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation, pulling ahead of Ning, causing Ning to be unable to utilize his Waterflame Lotus against him. This was because the Waterflame Lotus was formed through his ability to control fire and water, but there was a limit to how far a Xiantian Fiendgod could maintain the control. At too great a distance, control would no longer be possible.

“Hahaha…” Ironwood Zhan let out a sigh of relief. Without the threat from the Waterflame Lotus, and having pulled away from Ning, he finally relaxed. But then, he was filled with hate. Hatred for this Ji Ning. After all, he had lost his Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation.

“Boy of the Ji clan, feel happy for now. I will definitely report this to the Ancestor, and also to Snowdragon Mountain! The Ji clan is the mortal foe of both my Ironwood clan as well Snowdragon Mountain. A monster like you is someone which both Snowdragon Mountain and my Ironwood clan will eradicate as soon as possible.” Ironwood Zhan’s heart was filled with hatred.

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Chapter 5, Plum Blossom Fragrance, Assailing the Nose

Chapter 5, Plum Blossom Fragrance, Assailing the Nose

Ironwood Zhan moved as quickly as a ray of blue smoke, fleeing at high speed. Right at that moment, the many large, tall trees in front of him suddenly began to crash down in front of him, completely blocking the road ahead of Zhan. Some of those trees even flew through the air towards him at high speed.

“What is going on?” Ironwood Zhan’s face lost all color.

With a mighty wave of his black vine whip, he transformed it into a series of rays of light, slicing towards several trees that were flying towards him. As though they had been chopped apart, the large tree trunks were split in half, but Zhan’s speed had been lessened as well.

“Huahua…”

From every direction, many branches, tree trunks, and even boulders and chunks of earth all began to fly over, wildly throwing themselves at Ironwood Zhan.

“What, what is going on?” Zhan was completely stunned.

“These boulders, branches, trees, why are they all flying towards me?” Zhan had never heard of something like this. Even a Zifu Disciple would only be able to fly on his own magic treasures by standing on them, then ordering the magic treasures to fly! Not even Zifu Disciples were capable of making ordinary items fly like this.

Countless boulders and tree trunks filled the sky, smashing towards Zhan and forcing his speed to lessen.

“Ironwood Zhan, you won’t be able to flee!” From behind, another ray of light shot towards him. It was Ji Ning, and Ji Ning was shouting at him.

“How did you accomplish this?” Zhan shouted while slicing through the trees, hoping to continue to be able to flee, but under the attack of the surrounding earth, boulders, and tree trunks, he wasn’t able to run at high speed at all.

Ji Ning only smirked.

Right.

He had accomplished this. Just then, after Zhan had used the ‘Divine Movement Seal’ and the ‘Light Body Seal’, he had nearly fled. Naturally, Ji Ning had grown desperate! In that frantic moment, Ning had discovered that his powerful thought waves were causing even the water of the pool and the earth to shake.

He could clearly sense how his consciousness seemed to have become an invisible hand, capable of grasping the nearby trees and mud, as well as all other things.

“Divine will!” Ning instantly was filled with a surge of wild joy.

When a soul grew excessively powerful, some strange things would occur.

Generally speaking, Zifu Disciples were capable of splitting their minds!

Generally speaking, Wanxiang Adepts were capable of ‘divine will’!

Primal Daoists were capable of opening the ‘eye of heaven’ and utilize their ‘divine sense’!

visualization techniques were extremely rare and mysterious. In the Ji clan, nobody had even heard of such a thing as a visualization technique! If one wanted to strengthen one’s soul? Generally, the only method was to train their will, meditate on the Dao, and strengthen first the body, then the soul. Ji Ning’s training in accordance with the [Nuwa Painting] had already nearly reached a limit. That night of enlightenment towards the Dao had been extremely beneficial to his soul.

After gaining a greater understanding of the Dao, fire and water had then descended from the heavens, giving him a Fiendgod’s body. As the body grew stronger, the soul would strengthen once again.

Unconsciously, Ning’s soul had already reached the level of being capable of ‘divine will’! Only, he didn’t know that until when Ironwood Zhan had fled. Desperate, Ning unconsciously had caused his willpower to affect the water and the earth, which made him realize what he had achieved.

“You won’t be able to flee.” Ning used his divine will to control the nearby things, causing the nearby trees, mud, and stones to all surround Zhan.

———————————-

“Can it be that this wasn’t done by this child of the Ji clan? Is there a terrifyingly powerful practitioner of the way of Immortal who, seeing the talent of this child, has decided to help him?” Ironwood Zhan was unable to flee, try as he might. He felt both frantic and terrified

“Waterflame Lotus!” Ning’s gaze focused on him.

The enormous fire lotus petal appeared above Ironwood Zhan, while an enormous water lotus petal appeared beneath Ironwood Zhan. At the same time, the two slowly began to swivel.

“I don’t know which elder is present?” Ironwood Zhan called out loudly, while revealing a Dao-seal in his hand. This Dao-seal transformed into an illusory diamond, then disappeared into his body, and his body began to glow with a faint golden light. “I am a disciple of the Ironwood clan, and I am on very good terms with Snowdragon Mountain as well.”

“Stop struggling.” The formerly distant Ning had already arrived.

“Child of the Ji clan.” The golden light on Ironwood Zhan’s body was trembling and swaying. He repeatedly, viciously twirled out the Blackwood Vinewhip in his hand, which quickly elongated as it flew towards Ning.

Ning wielded a sword in each hand. He was as fast as lightning.

“Chi!” The Darknorth sword in his left hand utilized the ‘Watertight’ technique. As soon as the Blackwood Vinewhip touched the Darknorth sword, it naturally wrapped around it, but Ning voluntarily began spinning his left sword…the Blackwood Vinewhip wrapped around it many times, and in the end, Ning’s left hand actually was able to snatch the Ironwood Vinewhip.

Swish!

Ning’s right hand reached an even faster level.

“Break!” Zhan roared fiercely while pulling at the Blackwood Vinewhip, but he wasn’t able to budget it at all. “No, I can’t die here. I can’t die to this little child of the Ji clan!” Sensing death draw nearer, Ironwood Zhan became even crazier. He even released the Ironwood Vinewhip in his hand.

Turning his head, he continued to flee!

“Bang!” Slowly being ground down by the Waterflame Lotus, the golden light on his body finally cracked and dispersed.

“Aaaah.” Ironwood Zhan’s clothes were instantly ground into dust by the Waterflame Lotus, revealing his body, which was beginning to turn black. He emitted an agonized scream.

“Swish!”

A raindrop pierced straight through Zhan’s forehead.

And then, the Waterflame Lotus dissipated. Ning withdrew his sword, looking quietly at the charred Ironwood Zhan.

Ironwood Zhan’s eyes were bulging. Even his eyebrows were gone, while in his forehead, there was a bloody hole. His eyes were filled with disbelief and rage. He hadn’t imagined that he would die at the hands of this youth. In his heart, he even more hated that ‘elder’ who had blocked his flight. If it hadn’t been for that elder practitioner, he would have been able to flee.

“Immortal practitioner?” Ning said to himself softly, his heart filled with a silent excitement.

Finally!

He had finally become a Xiantian lifeform!

Even the world-famous, powerful expert, Ironwood Zhan, had died in the face of his might.

“Even though I was reincarnated into the mortal world!” Ning growled in his heart. “Relying on my own efforts, I was still able to become a Xiantian lifeform! And that was just the beginning! The beginning of myself, Ji Ning!”

The experiences of his past life. Everything he had seen in this one.

They had all allowed Ning to have a heart that was filled with an incomparable urge to grow stronger. An urge to control his own destiny. To not be controlled by others, to not be controlled by fate!

“This is just the start!” Ning took a few steps forward, walking to Zhan’s corpse. With but a thought, a gust of flame instantly turned Zhan’s corpse into nothing but ash, leaving behind only an armguard and that Blackwood Vinewhip.

“Oh?” The armguard and the whip both flew into Ning’s hands. Ning inspected them carefully. “So this armguard is actually a storage-type magic treasure! The Blackwood Vinewhip is also a magic treasure.”

“Hm.” Ning returned.

He returned to the pool, collecting those eight Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation flags. The flags were all very dark and grey, and yet they emitted pulses.

“Magic treasures, Dao-seals. All of them are only usable when one is at least at the Xiantian level as a Ki Refiner.” Ning collected all these things into his kalestone. “I first have to reach the Xiantian level as a Ki Refiner as well.”

——————————–

Ning cleaned up the surrounding area. As for the corpses of the Bi’an Tiger and Ironwood Zhan, he transformed them all into ash. Ning then once again continued his meditations by the pool side, because he had the sense…that training his ki to the Xiantian level would be very easy!

The night after that battle!

Ning still sat in the lotus position by the side of the pool, and for the moment, the dantian in his body began to change and rumble! The original powerful threads of ki began to rotate and then condense into liquid drops. One drop of ki began to solidify, and Ning’s body also began to attract some mist which wrapped around him.

“So I’m about to break through.” Ning smiled.

When he had been in the womb, his meridians had been damaged. If he had been relying on Ki Refining to reach the Xiantian level, it would have been very hard. But upon reaching the Xiantian level through the [Scarlet Diagram of the Ning Shining Heavens], Ning’s entire body had been transformed into a true Fiendgod’s body by the Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire of the Solar Star [Sun] and the Lunar Star [Moon]. Because his entire body had been transformed, his mortal body had been transformed into a Fiendgod’s body, and his meridians had been remade anew as well!

Currently, Ning’s meridian network had become perfected and unblemished. The meridian channels were far wider than that of most Xiantian Ki Refiners! In addition, Ning had a very high level of enlightenment, so naturally, he was now about to break through.

“The storage-type magic treasure.” Ning held the armguard while activating the ki in his body. He quickly managed to bind it to him.

“Storage-type magic treasures and natural kalestones really are different.” Ning instantly felt overjoyed. This armguard held an enormous storage space. Within an area of chaos, there was a storage area of tens of meters across. There were many items inside as well, such as clothes, food, gold, and other things.

The most valuable items were those eight Dao-seals! They had been slowly accumulated by Ironwood Zhan over many years. Today, he had used three of them in one breath, but he had still died in the end.

“A pity there are no other magic treasures.” Ning shook his head. Still, this was as he had expected. A Xiantian lifeform was already quite lucky to have just two or three magic treasures.

“This bow is pretty good.”

With a flip of his hand, Ning retrieved a simple, unadorned greatbow from within the storage-type magic treasure. “This should be the bow which Ironwood Zhan normally uses. After reaching the Xiantian level, I am in need of a good bow.”

Hua!

As he applied force to it, the monstrous, Fiendgod-like power he possessed easily drew the bow.

“Good boy.” Ning praised, then he took a good look at it. The bow had two things drawn on it that looked like characters; ‘Jia Yong’. This name made Ning puzzled. “It should be the name of the bowyer who made this bow, I suppose.”

“When I return to the West Prefecture City, I’ll exchange this Blackwood Vinewhip for another magic treasure.” Ji Ning collected everything, extremely happy. “Without experiencing the bone-freezing cold, how could one experience the fragrant scent of the flowers assailing the nose? Four years of training the sword. After training to now, I’ve broken through and am about to enter a brand new world. I suppose this counts as finally smelling the fragrant scent of the plum blossoms assailing the nose.”

This breakthrough resulted in him reaching the Xiantian level in both ki and as a Fiendgod.

Even his soul had reached the ‘divine will’ level.

And the hint of understanding regarding the true Dao which he had gained by the side of the pool had allowed him to develop an ultimate attack, the ‘Waterflame Lotus’.

“Oh, right, and there’s that!” Ning took a breath, letting himself calm down. As he did, with great solemnity, he took out the book his mother had given him, the most precious secret manual his mother possessed, which she had forbidden him to teach to any other members of the Ji clan. She had told him that he was only to use it upon reaching the Xiantian level.

Ning carefully looked at the golden cover of the book, and those four characters on the cover: [Wind Wing Evasion Technique]!

And then, Ning opened the book and began to read.

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Chapter 6 – The Return

Chapter 6 – The Return

“Windwing Evasion is the root and foundation for our Yuchi clan. It is not to be transmitted to outsiders!”

Upon opening the gold-leaf pages, this was the very first line of characters, which caused Ji Ning to be stunned. The Yuchi clan? His mother was Yuchi Snow. Could this mean that his mother belonged to the Yuchi clan? In this wide land, those who were born into poor circumstances and didn’t have a good clan name would just randomly pick names for themselves, such as ‘Blacktooth’, ‘Blackstone’, ‘Ironhead’, etc. Generally speaking, only large-scale clans had proper surnames!

“Mother has never mentioned the Yuchi clan to me.” Ning said to himself. “I am Mother’s child, and I can thus be considered to have the blood of the Yuchi clan in my veins. But strictly speaking, I am only half a Yuchi clan member. And yet, Mother still taught this to me. However, from my birth until today, I have never heard of a Yuchi clan.”

The number of books Ning had read could only be described as ‘many’! But the books had no records of a Yuchi clan, which meant that the Yuchi clan was not a clan from the surrounding area.

That made sense…

Mother and Father had met in the distant Dark North Seas, and then they had gone adventuring together.

“I’ve never heard Mother discuss the Yuchi clan. Perhaps Mother left the clan, or perhaps the Yuchi clan collapsed? Forget it, it doesn’t matter right now.” Ning lowered his head, continuing to read. This book explained in detail the history of the [Windwing Evasion] technique.

The ancestor of the Yuchi clan, Yuchi Anton, was born a slave.

Once, when hunting on a mountain, he had rescued a heavily injured child. He had worked hard to take care of this child, and the child slowly recovered. Only after half a year did the child reveal his true identity…as it turned out, this person who had appeared to be a child was, in reality, a Celestial Immortal who had trained for countless years and had long since escaped the Three Realms. This time, he had encountered a great disaster, and thus he had used all his abilities in order to flee to this mountain, but by then, he had become powerless. If he had ran into an ordinary little monstrous beast, he probably would have been eaten.

This child had named himself Suhuan, and claimed that he had already become an Immortal in the Fiendgod Era.

And then, this Immortal named Suhuan had taught Anton training methods. Who would have thought that Anton was actually more talented in Fiendgod Body Refining methods…Suhuan had stayed by Anton’s side for fully a hundred years, carefully teaching him, while at the same time transmitting to him a divine ability, the [Windwing Evasion]. And then, Suhuan had said, “Our karmic destiny has come to its end. I hope you will shape up!”

And then, he had flown away.

—————————-

“Celestial Immortal?” Ning was shocked. “Divine ability?”

This…this….

Even in the Netherworld Kingdom, according to what the Lord of Cui Manor had said the celestial soldiers and generals of the Heaven Realm, after acquiring the likes of the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique, would have to experience countless tribulations before becoming a Celestial Immortal! In the Grand Xia Dynasty, perhaps a million years would pass without a single Celestial Immortal being born. They truly were creatures who had transcended the Three Realms, who were no longer bound by the restrictions of the Netherworld Kingdom or of the Heavenly Court. They were Immortals who did as they pleased.

“Who would have thought that the ancestor of Mother’s Yuchi clan would have had a history like this.” Ning felt shaken. “This history is far more incredible than our Ji clan’s.”

“In addition, the [Windwing Evasion] is a divine ability!”

Ning couldn’t breathe.

What was a ‘divine ability’?

Some of the more famous divine abilities, included the ‘Kuafu Sunchaser’, ’72 Transformations’, ‘Three Heads, Six Arms’, ‘Houyi Shooting the Sun’. These were the natural abilities which the ancient, mighty Fiendgods had developed. Only these abilities could be described as ‘divine abilities’! Only Fiendgod Body Refiners could train in them, and only upon reaching the Zifu level could they begin their training!

Every single ‘divine ability’ was incomparably precious. Many Fiendgod Body Refiners, upon reaching the Zifu Disciple level, were clearly capable of learning divine abilities, but they didn’t have any chance to do so.

“Divine abilities should only be usable at the Zifu stage. But Mother instructed me to begin learning at the Xiantian stage. Why is that?” Ning continued to read the detailed information regarding the training methods for the [Windwing Evasion].

Hua!

Flipping through the golden pages, another golden page appeared before him, but clearly, this golden page was somewhat different from the previous pages. This golden page still had a hint of stellar light glowing from it, and there was a diagram engraved at the top of it. It was that of a giant Roc in flight.

At times, it stretched its wings. At times, it sank down. At times, it flew throughout the Nine Heavens. At times, it sank into the seas. At times, it landed on the ground. At times, it burrowed deep into the earth…

Ning couldn’t help but feel affected by this diagram. It was as though he had seen an enormous Roc in flight. In addition, the great Roc in this diagram was covered by countless specks of stellar light, and these specks of stellar light…seemed like the divine power flowing through the critical parts of the great Roc’s body.

The spots of light seemed to be focused on a pair of wings.

“The great Roc spreads his wings, and travels a hundred thousand kilometers as it flies!”

“This is what Master Suhuan told to me. Unfortunately, I am far too distant from that level. The descendants of my Yuchi clan must focus on training in this [Windwing Evasion] technique. I hope that one day, one of them will be able to reach the highest ‘divine ability’ level. The eighty one Roc diagrams of the [Windwing Evasion] has profound secrets hidden within it. It must be meditated upon! The benefits to it are boundless!”

“The [Windwing Evasion] is divided into multiple layers and levels. Once the divine power in one’s body reaches the level of being able to condense into a pair of wings, only then can one be considered to have developed a ‘divine ability’. However, the [Windwing Evasion] remains a divine technique, and it would be jealously desired by some extremely powerful tribes of the Grand Xia Dynasty. The descendants of my clan absolutely must use wing-type magic treasures alongside this divine ability. Thus, not only can they rely on the power of the magic treasures to fly even faster, they can also prevent others from knowing of the existence of this divine ability…”

Ning closed the book.

Only after a long time was he able to calm down.

“My mother truly does have an extraordinary background.” Ning frowned. “But clearly, although each page of this book is golden, the paper of those eighty one Roc diagrams are different from that of the other pages. In addition, such miraculous diagrams were most likely left behind by that Immortal, Suhuan, himself.”

“Immortal Suhuan, despite teaching the [Windwing Evasion], most likely only left a single copy. In other words, the Yuchi clan should only have a single secret manual!” Ning hypothesized.

Although this was his first time viewing the eighty one Roc diagrams, Ning felt extremely certain that these eighty one Roc diagrams did indeed contain boundless secrets. It was the same feeling he had when he was gaining insights into the Dao…the feeling of immeasurably deep secrets. Most likely, only a person who had reached the highest levels of training in this divine ability was able to carve and draw them down.

“Ancestor Yuchi only had a single copy of this secret manual, but my mother is in possession of it.” Ning pondered. “Can it be that the Yuchi clan was destroyed? Or was there another reason?”

Although he felt somewhat worried for his mother’s relatives, he had never had any attachments to the Yuchi clan, and so Ning quickly stopped thinking about it.

“I need to carefully meditate on this.”

The moon hanging high above him, Ning quietly sat down by the side of the pond, flipping through and looking at the Roc diagrams.

The [Windwing Evasion] was divided into many different levels.

Only after one’s divine power was able to form wings could one be considered to have developed a divine ability. However, the requirements for divine power were very high; only a Zifu Disciple was capable of it.

“My mother had me begin to read it at the Xiantian level.” Ning laughed. “Although I’m not able to use divine power to form wings, the eighty one Roc diagrams contain boundless, endless secrets and mysteries. After I gain insight into them, it will still be very beneficial to my body.”

Ning had already gained a hint of the true meaning of the Dao.

The higher one’s level of enlightenment was, the more easily one would be able to tell that the eighty one Roc diagrams contained boundless truths, and even more infinite mysteries. Naturally, he would meditate on them intensively.

————————–

Time passed.

The Golden Crow fell. The Moon Rabbit rose.

One day passed after another. Ning remained within that mountain forest, completely focused on the [Windwing Evasion]. His body flashed through the mountain forests time and time again, and his movements took him farther and farther each time, at faster and faster speeds, with greater ease each time.

“I’ve already trained here for over a month.” Ning suddenly came to his senses as he stared at the sun in the sky. “If I don’t go back, most likely Autumn Leaf and the others will frantically report back to West Prefecture City.”

“Time to go back.”

Ning revealed a smile on his face. Turning to glance at the surrounding area, he saw that the pool was as calm as ever, and the aquatic grass in the pool still continued to slowly drift about.

“In the past month or so, I’ve improved dramatically.” Ning felt incomparably delighted. Whether in Ki, as a Fiendgod, his soul, or even his newly learned divine ability, the [Windwing Evasion], he had improved greatly.

“Time to go.”

Ning instantly leapt up.

Swoosh!

Like a blurry image, or like a bird in flight, he instantly flew over a kilometer away. His speed was now faster than when Ironwood Zhan had simultaneously used the ‘Light Body Seal’ and the ‘Divine Movement Seal’.

……………

In a desolate tribe within the wilderness, there were many overturned stone rooms. The tribe was in a state of desolation. Clearly, the tribesmen had all departed long ago. This was an abandoned place.

But at the edges of the tribe, there were a few dozen stone houses that were absolutely spotless, where a group of black armored guards were gathered together.

Autumn Leaf was seated on a stone bench, quietly staring into the distance while waiting.

Previously, due to the appearance of the Diremonster, Serpentwing, at Serpentwing Lake, Ji Ning had immediately led Autumn Leaf and Mowu out of the Metalstone Tribue…but after the Serpentwing event had died down, Ning had permitted Autumn Leaf and Mowu to temporarily stay here with these black armored guards.

The territory which the Ji clan ruled over was simply too vast.

Thus, they had squads of black armored guards scattered throughout their domain. Whenever they were needed, they could immediately congregate while shocking and overawing countless tribes.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf stood up in surprised delight.

Those black armored guards and Mowu also turned to look. They saw from the distance a blurry figure appeared in a flash within those ruined tribal houses, then smile and walk towards them.

“Huh?” Autumn Leaf was slightly startled. She could tell that her young master, who was walking towards her from afar, was somewhat different. His entire body seemed to radiate a familiar aura, as though the essence of the heavens and the earth were within him! But of course, only she, who had been by Ning’s side since he was young, was able to notice many of these little qualitative changes in Ning.

“Young master.” Mowu stepped forward to pay his respects.

“Young master.” The nearby group of black armored guards all fell to one knee.

“Make your preparations. It is time for me to head back.” Ji Ning laughed as he spoke.

Autumn Leaf was startled. “Go? Go back?”

“First to Serpentwing Lake.” Ning’s eyes had a hint of anticipation flash through them. On this adventuring trip, he had decided long ago that upon breaking through and becoming a Xiantian lifeform, he would go deal with Serpentwing. Although Serpentwing had currently broken through to the peak Xiantian level, Ning was still completely confident.

“Young master, you…” Autumn Leaf revealed a look of surprise and delight. Naturally, she knew that Ning planned to go deal with Serpentwing as soon as he broke through to the Xiantian lifeform level.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Autumn Leaf was extremely cautious. She didn’t say anything, only nodded repeatedly. “Mowu, hurry, gather our things. We’re heading out.”

Moments later.

Ning, Autumn Leaf, and Mowu, riding three black beasts, departed this ruined tribe.

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Chapter 7 – Blacktooth Tribe

Chapter 7 – Blacktooth Tribe

On the desolate grasslands, three black beasts were galloping at high speed. Ning and the others had looks of irrepressible joy on their faces. No matter what, they were finally coming home from the border region of Eastmount Marsh. They drew closer and closer to West Prefecture city.

“Young Master.” Autumn Leaf called out.

“Hm?” Ji Ning looked towards her.

Autumn Leaf hurriedly said, “On this trip to Serpentwing Lake, we’ll pass by Spring Grass’ Blacktooth Tribe. How about let’s go visit her at the Blacktooth Tribe? It has been a long time since I’ve seen her. I miss her very much.”

“Spring Grass?” Ning was startled, and in his heart, a surge of longing arose as well. Autumn Leaf and Spring Grass had accompanied him ever since he was young. They were like sisters to him. Originally, despite being unwilling to part from her, he didn’t want to cause Spring Grass to feel sorrow, which was why he permitted her to be with her father again. Now that Spring Grass was suddenly mentioned, Ning couldn’t help but feel a hint of excitement as well as anticipation. “Alright. Let’s go pay a visit on the way.”

“Thank you, young master.” Autumn Leaf hurriedly said with gratitude.

“I want to go as well.” Ning smiled, and as he did, he slapped the black beast on its head, ordering it to change directions slightly.

Although in theory they were paying a visit to the Blacktooth Tribe ‘enroute’ to Serpentwing Lake, in truth, it was still something of a long detour.

—————–

In a rather open mountain cave below a mountain wall, with many large wooden fences nearby. There were some armors hung up in the mouth of the cave, while there were also some long-furred beasts strung up on the trees. Some powerfully built men, their upper bodies bare, were casually chatting while seated, roasting the flesh of a beast.

At the cave entrance, ten black armored guards were on watch.

“Someone is coming.” One of the black armored guards called out loudly, and those men who were eating turned to look. One of them, a bare-chested man, stood up and walked over, frowning slightly as he looked over.

Three figures made their way over at high speed from within the mountain forests. Seeing that it was three people riding black beasts, they immediately relaxed.

The bare-chested man’s face immediately changed, and he hurriedly calld out, “The young master has arrived, so why haven’t you paid your respects yet? Quick quick quick, all of you, rise!” After speaking, he immediately rushed forward, coming down to one knee at the entrance. Very respectfully, he called out, “Young master!”

Both the armored men as well as the men with bared chests all came over and knelt down while calling out, “Young master.”

“Rise.” With a flip, Ning descended from the black beast, laughing at the leader of these black armored guards. “You’ve met me before?” He had been preparing to take out his insignia just now.

“I, Wuzhan, was lucky in the past.” The heroic figure had a scarred face, and his body was powerfully built. “Young master, in the past, when you sparred with Ninefang Warriors, I once sparred with you, young master. Thus, I was instantly able to recognize you, young master. Behind you should be that Miss Autumn Leaf, your maidservant, young master. I recognize her as well.”

Ning laughed.

So that was the reason why. In the past, he often sparred with Ninefang Warriors, and many of the Ninefang Warriors of the black armored guards had sparred with him. It wasn’t strange for him to meet one of them stationed outside.

“I need to ask you about something.” Ning said. “It has to do with Serpentwing Lake. Come. Let’s talk inside.”

“Yes.” This Captain Wuzhan immediately said. “Young master, please come with me.”

Wuzhan guided Ning inside, towards a spacious stone room.

“A while ago, Serpentwing ran amok not too far from us. Even we suffered some repercussions.” Wuzhan let out a laughing breath. At this time, another black armored guard came over with a plate of fruits. Ning casually picked up a fruit and took two bites. “He even came to your place?”

“No. If he had, we’d have been dead for sure.” Wuzhan shook his head. “However, at the time, we were all terrified. In the face of Serpentwing, we black armored guards wouldn’t be able to fight back at all. Although we managed to avoid that calamity, many tribes suffered disasters. I can only use the word ‘miserable’ to describe what happened to them! At that time, we were hoping that Serpentwing would be executed by our Ji clan, but unfortunately…”

Ning nodded.

In the end, Poisondove Ridge had interceded and engaged in negotiations with the Ji clan, with the result being that Serpentwing only had to be confined within Serpentwing Lake for a century.

“Has Serpentwing been in Serpentwing Lake the entire time?” Ning asked. “Also, is he at the bottom of Serpentwing Lake, or in the central island?”

“The bottom of the lake, of course.” Wuzhan said hurriedly. “How could he dare to stay on the island? He is afraid that our Ji clan will act against him.”

“Bottom of the lake?” Ning seemed to have thought of something.

It seemed that it wouldn’t be so easy for him to kill Serpentwing.

“Wuzhan.” Ning asked. “Do you know of a tribe known as the Blacktooth Tribe?”

“Blacktooth Tribe?” Wuzhan nodded. “I know them, of course I know them. The leader of the Blacktooth Tribe is a very skillful man. He was able to found a new tribe. No ordinary person is capable of founding a new tribe. Unfortunately, the many tribes which Serpentwing harmed had the Blacktooth Tribe amongst their number.”

“What!” Ning’s face changed dramatically. His heart shuddered.

Could it be…

Based on what he knew, originally, even before Serpentwing attacked him, Serpentwing had destroyed a small tribe. Everyone in the tribe had died. In the end, it was only through the examination of the corpses of those poor victims that it was determined that Serpentwing was the killer.

“Does the Blacktooth Tribe still exist?” Ning asked hurriedly.

“It does.” Wuzhan nodded. “This time, Serpentwing caused disaster everywhere. He’d go to a tribe, engage in some slaughter, then leave! It didn’t try to wipe out everyone! After all, to exterminate an entire tribe would take more time and make it easier for our Ji clan’s Xiantian lifeforms to catch up. But although the Blacktooth Tribe wasn’t wiped out, more than half of its tribesmen died. It really is terrible.”

“Over half?” Ning’s heart began to clench.

“Do you know Spring Grass?” Ning hurriedly asked. “My maidservant, Spring Grass. Is she still alive?”

“Spring Grass?” Wuzhan said questioningly. “I know Spring Grass. You have two maidservants, young master. Can it be that Spring Grass is no longer following you, young master?”

Ning had released Spring Grass to her freedom, but very few people knew this.

“No. I granted her freedom. She is the daughter of the chief of the Blacktooth Tribe.” Ning said hurriedly.

“I don’t know about this.” Wuzhan shook his head. “Although I’ve seen Blacktooth, I don’t know anything about his daughter.”

Ning took a deep breath.

Worry!

Concern!

More than half the people of the Blacktooth Tribe had died. Too many had died. Perhaps Spring Grass was amongst them.

“Definitely, she definitely has to be alright.” Ning ground his teeth, then immediately left the stone room.

Outside, Autumn Leaf and Mowu were currently seated in a circle with the black armored guards, enjoying some roast meat.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf and Mowu both turned to look.

“Let’s go.” Ning hurriedly shouted.

Autumn Leaf and Mowu’s gazes were filled with puzzlement. Why were they leaving in such a hurry? However, they didn’t dare ask too much. They hurriedly rose, no longer eating as they headed towards their black beasts.

“To the Blacktooth Tribe.” Ning’s face was gloomy. Kicking the waist of the black beast, he immediately sent it bounding forward.

The three black beasts quickly charged into the distant mountain forests.

“Captain, what happened?” The other black armored guards were extremely puzzled. As for Wuzhan, as he walked out of the stone room, he too frowned as he stared into the distance. “Spring Grass? The daughter of the chief of the Blacktooth Tribe?”

————————–

Ning’s heart was blazing with worry. Autumn Leaf and Spring Grass, although nominally his servants, were in truth like big sisters to him. He still remembered how when he was young, he would point at the words on the books and stammer out questions. At that time, Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf, despite being ‘tormented’ by their young master, could only obediently reply.

“No way.”

“No way she’s dead.” Ning was extremely worried.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf asked with concern. “What’s wrong?” She could tell that her young master’s face was exceedingly ugly right now. She rarely saw her young master look so furious.

Ning shouted, “The Blacktooth Tribe suffered an attack by Serpentwing. More than half its tribesmen died.”

“Ah?!” Autumn Leaf was instantly shocked. “Then Spring Grass…”

“We’ll know once we get there.” Ning shouted back coldly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three black beasts moved at high speed. By the time the sun was beginning to set, the three black beasts arrived at a sparsely covered mountain forest. From the distance, they could faintly see a tribe.

“Halt.” Ning shouted.

The three beasts quickly came to a halt.

“Young master?” Autumn Leaf’s face was red with worry as well.

“Go over there.” Ning pointed into the distance. From the distance, dozens of fur-clad men were currently chopping down trees using hatchets. They were most likely collecting firewood.

“They should be the clansmen of the Blacktooth Tribe. If we ask them, we’ll know.” Ning immediately rode his black beast over, with Autumn Leaf and Mowu following from behind.

Soon.

Ning arrived in front of those dozens of fur-clad woodcutters. These men all raised their spears and sabers, carefully watching them approach.

“I have a question for you.” With a flip of his hand, Ning immediately brought out his insignia, which had a single character on it; ‘Ji’.

“Ji clan?”

These tribesmen were all shocked.

“Does your tribe had a person named Spring Grass? She is the daughter of your chief.” Ning barked.

“The chief’s daughter?” A one-eyed man hurriedly said. “Our Blacktooth Tribe doesn’t have anyone known as Spring Grass. Our chief’s daughter is named Miwa!”

Ning was startled, then he hurriedly said, “Right, her name is Miwa. Is she still alive?”

“Dead.”

“Miwa’s dead.” The tribesmen all said.

Ning’s face changed dramatically, and the face of the nearby Autumn Leaf turned utterly white. Her body swayed, and then she collapsed from her black beast. Mowu hurriedly leapt off of his own black beast and caught Autumn Leaf. Autumn Leaf’s face was pale and utterly without color. Her tears had already begun to flow down uncontrollably.

“How did she die?” Ning shouted. “Was it Serpentwing who killed her?”

“Serpentwing killed many of the tribesmen of our tribe. Even one of the chief’s son died.” The one-eyed man said. “Many of our tribesmen died right away, while a few others suffered from shrapnel from exploding rocks which smashed into their body, or were frozen…they didn’t die right away, but they were injured. Afterwards, their wounds festered, while others became extremely ill. All of them held on, but eventually died. Many badly injured tribesmen died like that. Miwa, as well, died of illness afterwards.”

“Spring Grass!” Autumn Leaf wailed.

Ning’s face became all the more terrible, and the mental waves generated by his violent thoughts caused the nearby trees to begin to shake and vibrate.

“Serpentwing!” Ning ground his teeth and howled, “I, Ji Ning, so swear that I will definitely kill you! I will definitely kill you!!!”

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Chapter 8 – Spring Grass

Chapter 8 – Spring Grass

The dozens of tribesmen looked at this youth, feeling a sudden terror. They felt as though the entire world around them was shaking.

Kill Serpentwing?

The youth in front of them was going to kill Serpentwing?

“You didn’t lie to me.” Ji Ning swept this group of tribesmen with his gaze. “Miwa truly died?”

“Why would we lie? The entire Blacktooth Tribe knows this.” The group of experts were filled with terror and panic. Whether it was due to this youth’s aura or the ‘Ji’ insignia he held, they were in terror of him.

“Let’s go.”

Ning mounted his black beast and began to head straight into the distant Blacktooth Tribe.

Autumn Leaf and Mowu mounted their own black beasts and followed.

———————-

There were more than ten tribal warriors standing guard on the two archer towers on each side of the fence gate.

“Outsiders, halt.” A warrior immediately shouted angrily.

His face sunken, Ning took out his insignia and shouted back, “Tell Blacktooth to come see me!”

Upon seeing the insignia, the warrior above were terrified and quickly called out, “Please wait, I’ll go inform the chief right away.” As he spoke, the warrior jumped down directly to the ground, then began to fly towards the tribe. In but a few moments, a black fur clad, scarred man ran in their direction, under escort of a number of warriors. It was the chief of the Blacktooth Tribe, Chief Blacktooth.

When he saw the three figures mounted on black beasts, especially the leader, his body suddenly trembled. He immediately howled, “Quick, open the gate and welcome the young master of the Ji clan!”

“Young master of the Ji clan?” The people of a small clan like the Blacktooth Tribe naturally were shocked. They hurriedly began to open the heavy gate.

Blacktooth was the first to fall to his knees. “Blacktooth pays his respect to you, young master.”

The other tribal warriors all knelt down as well.

“To your residence.” Ning remained on his black beast as he gave the instruction.

“Yes.” Blacktooth quickly led the way up ahead.

Ning looked at Blacktooth. He couldn’t help but feel a hint of hatred in his heart! He knew that Spring Grass’ death couldn’t be blamed on Blacktooth, and he believed that Blacktooth was heartbroken as well. But Ning couldn’t help but feel hatred and pain…originally, when he had given Spring Grass into her father’s care, he had never imagined that she would die, just like this. If Spring Grass had remained by his side…

Ning’s left hand couldn’t help but clench into a fist. Even his knuckles were turning white.

“Young master, this is my residence.” Blacktooth arrived at one of larger stone houses of the tribe. There were two women and a young child at the doorway. These two women and the child were clearly cautious and uneasy.

“He is?” Ning looked at the young child. This child looked very similar to Spring Grass…causing a pang in Ning’s heart.

“My son.” Blacktooth said respectfully, while at the same time, barking to his women and his son, “Why haven’t you left yet?”

The two women and the child immediately left.

“Speak inside. Mowu, you stand guard at the doorway. Don’t let anyone in.” Ning immediately dismounted his black beast and led Autumn Leaf into the house. Blacktooth, terrified, followed him in.

——————-

Within the room.

Ning looked at Blacktooth, sitting down on a stone chair and saying coldly, “Blacktooth, when I gave Spring Grass into your care, my hope was that the two of you, father and daughter, would be reunited and live a good life! But why is it that I didn’t see Spring Grass upon entering the tribe?”

Blacktooth hurriedly said, “Young master, right now, Spring Grass isn’t within the tribe!”

“Not within the tribe?” Ning frowned as he stared accusingly at Blacktooth. Blacktooth still wanted to lie about it?

“Soon after Spring Grass returned to the tribe, she encountered a young travelling merchant whom she took a liking to. I knew that travelling merchant, so I had faith in him.” Blacktooth said in a very practiced manner. “When one’s daughter grows up, she will have to get married. Thus, I had my daughter marry this travelling merchant. Before Spring Grass left with this travelling merchant…she left a letter for you, young master.”

Before this last sentence, Ning was beginning to grow truly angry as he listened. Blacktooth, you dare deceive me! But upon hearing this last sentence, Ning said softly, “Letter?”

“I’ll get it now.” Blacktooth hurriedly ran into a nearby room.

“Young master?” Autumn Leaf looked at Ning.

Ning said softly, “Don’t be impatient.”

Ning’s intelligence wasn’t low. He wasn’t an idiot who only knew how to train. From the intelligence he had gathered….there was no question that Spring Grass had died! First of all, all of the people outside the tribe were in total agreement, and they even said that Ning could ask anyone in the tribe and would still get this answer.

There was no reason for that group of people to deceive him.

Also…after having been separated from her father for so long, Spring Grass had wanted to be with him so much that she had even left Ning! How could she immediately get married and leave not long after reuniting with her father?

“Young master, this is the letter Spring Grass left for you.” Blacktooth held a white beast skin parchment and handed it over.

Ning took a deep breath. Letter? This was most likely her will. The will which Spring Grass had intentionally left behind amidst her grave illness…Ning stretched out his trembling hand and accepted the white beast skin, opening it and reading carefully.

Those graceful characters appeared. These characters were very familiar to him. Upon seeing them, Ning’s heart instantly shook. It was Spring Grass’ handwriting!

“Young master, after returning to the tribe, I was truly very happy, very happy. I saw my father, and I even have two little brothers…I feel as though I did when I was a child, when I was with my parents….”

This is what the letter said.

The letter included all of the joy which Spring Grass had felt. Ning could sense the joy emanating from these words. Spring Grass truly had been happy when she returned to the tribe.

“Two little brothers?” Ning had a thought. Previously, he had only seen a single son of Blacktooth’s, while previously the clansman had said…when Serpentwing had run amok, more than half of the Blacktooth Tribe had died, including the son of the chief.

Ning continued to read.

“I met him.”

“Every single woman has a man who is destined for her. As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one. When I see him smile, I feel happy. When I see him frown, I worry. When I see him training hard with the sword, I stand there and watch. Just looking at him is a gift given by heaven. Thus, I decided…to marry him!”

Ning clearly saw that there was a splotch here, as though left behind by a tear.

Ning’s heart shook.

Marry?

Was the man which Spring Grass spoke of actually himself? As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one. When I see him smile, I feel happy. When I see him frown, I worry. When I see him training hard with the sword, I stand there and watch….

If you wanted to marry me, why didn’t you say it to me yourself!

Ning shut his eyes, unable to prevent the tears from flowing down.

Although Spring Grass was only a maidservant, most of the men in this area would marry quite a few women. In his previous life, Ning hadn’t loved any woman. In this life, he had quickly become accustomed to this culture. Even if he truly married several women, that wouldn’t be a big deal. But they had to be women which he dearly loved.

Ning would have been willing to nod and agree to letting Spring Grass become his woman.

“Young master!” The nearby Autumn Leaf saw that Ning was shedding tears. Her heart couldn’t help but clench. She had been a maidservant since she was young. Naturally, she wouldn’t read a letter while Ning was reading it. But when she saw Ning cry…Autumn Leaf’s heart became panicked.

Ning opened his eyes.

He continued to read.

“Young master, if you can see this letter, that means you came to the Blacktooth Tribe to see me.”

“I really am very happy, very happy. Spring Grass is just a maidservant. For you, young master, to come to the Blacktooth Tribe to visit Spring Grass means at least…Spring Grass has a small place of her own in your heart, young master…Spring Grass is very happy, very happy, truly, very happy.”

The letter concluded here.

Ning’s eyes were wet.

Very happy?

Are you truly very happy?

“Hahaha.” Ning laughed loudly. His laugh was so sorrowful. This was someone who had been with him his entire life, like family.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf was worried.

“Young master.” Blacktooth was terrified and uneasy as well.

Ning turned to stare at Blacktooth, his eyes as sharp as swords. He growled, “Blacktooth, you still want to try and deceive me? Speak, tell me, tell me everything!!!”

Upon hearing this, Blacktooth’s face changed dramatically. And then his body began to tremble.

Thud!

Blacktooth’s knees hit the ground. His entire body shook in agony, and for a long time, he let out a desolate, heartbroken cry. “Miwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

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Chapter 9 – Riverside Tribe

Chapter 9 – Riverside Tribe

A grief that had been suppressed for so long but which was given sudden release….how powerful it was! Ji Ning stood there quietly, looking at the agonized Blacktooth, not saying a single word.

“Since you already know, young master, then I won’t lie any more. Young master, come with me.” Blacktooth rose and walked out of the room.

Ning and Autumn Leaf followed behind him.

Blacktooth led the way in front, all the way towards the very back of the tribe. In the very back of the tribe, there was a small door in the wooden fence. Through the wooden door…there was a cemetery far past it. Many of the erected tombs were newly made. Clearly, this was a freshly built cemetery.

“Young master?” Autumn Leaf looked towards Ning, her eyes filled with a hint of unease.

Ning held his breath as well. He understood where Blacktooth was taking him.

“Right here.” Blacktooth pointed at a seemingly ordinary grave. In front of this grave, there was a large stone, which had just a few words carved into it: ‘Daughter, Miwa. Erected by Father, Blacktooth.’

“Spring Grass.” Ning quietly stood there, looking at the grave.

In his life, he had rarely experienced the sensation of heartbreak. Compared to those strong, powerful emotions, Ning preferred calm, quiet, warm emotions. The feeling of seeing someone every morning, and affection for each other slowly growing deeper.

Calm and peaceful was real!

To treat someone as part of your own life. At least in this life, from when he was an infant until now, the amount of time Spring Grass had spent with him was most likely even greater than his parents had. Ning hadn’t realized it when she was alive, but now that he knew she was dead, he felt as though a piece of his heart had been chopped off.

It hurt very much!

“Blacktooth.” Ning stood there, looking at the tombstone. Slowly, he said, “Tell me everything. Tell me everything which happened after Spring Grass returned.”

Blacktooth nodded.

“At first, on the way back, she was actually quite sad. Sad that she had to part with you, young master.” Blacktooth sighed. “But after she arrived at the tribe and saw her two brothers, Miwa clearly became much happier. She’d often spend time with her two little brothers…the days passed in happiness, and at that time, Miwa had looked forward to young master one day coming to visit her.”

“Only!”

Blacktooth’s voice sunk. “One day, Serpentwing arrived. It was like a nightmare, causing countless members of our tribe to die, one of which was my son, Waterfront.”

“The death of Waterfront, her little brother, hurt Miwa very much.”

Ning remembered that beast skin letter which discussed some of the events Miwa had experienced upon returning to the Blacktooth Tribe. Many were stories regarding her and her two little brothers. Clearly, Miwa truly doted on her two little brothers. This caused Ning to quietly come to the decision that he would have to help out Spring Grass’ sole surviving brother, as a way to help console Miwa’s soul in heaven.

“Serpentwing’s attack caused the entire Blacktooth Tribe to fall into an abyss of fear and pain! The tribesmen were afraid, afraid that Serpentwing could attack again. Some of the tribesmen even fled the tribe and joined other, larger tribes.”

“Everyone in the tribe was in a state of panic.” Blacktooth continued, “Many tribesmen would leave. Actually, after Serpentwing’s attack, our tribe’s population became less than a thousand. With so many tribesmen fleeing…if this continued, the Blacktooth Tribe would have fallen apart soon.”

Ning nodded.

“I had undergone countless difficulties in order to build the tribe. Naturally, I didn’t want it to fall apart just like that.” Blacktooth said. “Spring Grass felt sympathy for me, so she put down her embarrassment and wrote a letter and asked the tribesmen to deliver it to West Prefecture City to give it to you, young master. She wanted to ask you, young master, to help my Blacktooth Tribe.”

“Only, we quickly received the news that you, young master, were out adventuring.” Blacktooth shook his head.

Ning ground his teeth.

Right.

He had gone adventuring long before Serpentwing had reached the peak of the Xiantian stage. Naturally, they wouldn’t have been able to find him.

“The tribesmen suggested that our Blacktooth Tribe should consider go asking for the protection of that extremely large tribe, the ‘Riverside Tribe’.” Blacktooth said in a dark voice. “As long as we could receive the protection of the Riverside Tribe and be permitted to temporarily reside within Riverside City, everything would be fine.”

“Riverside City?” Ning murmured to himself.

As one of the hegemons of the Swallow Mountain area, the Ji clan naturally had to control the many tribes within this territory. No tribe’s population was permitted to expand beyond fifty thousand! Once they expanded beyond fifty thousand, they might become a threat to the Ji clan’s rule. Thus, if that happened, the Ji clan would definitely use some brutal, ruthless methods to overawe the surrounding tribes.

Thus, a fifty thousand man tribe was considered an extremely large tribe. The Riverside Tribe was one such tribe! Because the tribe was large, the walls of the tribe were made from enormous rocks, like a small city. Although it couldn’t compare to a large city like the West Prefecture City which held hundreds of thousands of citizens, it was still an extremely powerful tribe amongst the countless tribes.

Generally speaking, tribes that were able to erect such a city had a Xiantian lifeform guarding them.

“Riverside City had two powerful Xiantian lifeforms. Diremonsters wouldn’t dare go there.” Blacktooth said. “Our Blacktooth Tribe only had a few hundred people. As long as we could enter Riverside City! Once Serpentwing was dealt with, everything would then return to normal.”

“We went to pay our respects to a powerful figure within Riverside City, River He, and offered treasures, wanting him to accept our Blacktooth Tribe hide within for a time.” Blacktooth ground his teeth. “But that River He was very picky. He didn’t have any interest in those treasures we offered. But he took an interest in Miwa.”

“He wanted Miwa to become his woman, and in exchange, he would help the Blacktooth Tribe this time. You know how haughty Miwa is. Of course she didn’t accept. She immediately left!” A ferocious look flashed through Blacktooth’s eyes. “That River He actually sent his subordinates to go capture Miwa, wanting to forcibly take her back.”

“However, Miwa was very powerful, and she used very high class sword techniques as well. She beat Jiang He’s servants half to death…Miwa had also said at the time, ‘My master is the young master of the Ji clan. Jiang He, don’t go too far!’”

“That Jiang He just laughed loudly and said, ‘Even if you are the maidservant of young master Ji, you are just a female servant. If you were able to successfully ask your young master for help, then you wouldn’t come here asking me for help. What’s more, how could the maidservant of a young master of the Ji clan end up in such a small tribe?’” Blacktooth ground his teeth. “This Jiang He added another sentence…‘If you become my woman, I will protect the Blacktooth Tribe! Otherwise, just wait for death.’ After this, we left Riverside City.”

Autumn Leaf, hearing this, was enraged. “How could Sister Spring Grass possibly agree to him!”

“Spring Grass wouldn’t agree.” Ning shook his head while looking at Blacktooth.

“Right. Spring Grass was completely unwilling.” Blacktooth shook his head in pain. “But seeing how panicked the tribesmen were and how members of the tribe often fled, and seeing how agonized I was….for the sake of me, her father, after agonizing for three days, she still agreed.”

“How could Sister Spring Grass be so stupid!!!” Autumn Leaf was frantic.

Ning shut his eyes.

He could imagine the mental struggle which Spring Grass had gone through during those three days. For the sake of her father, was it worth it?

“Miwa became River He’s woman.” Blacktooth’s voice was trembling slightly. “But when Miwa was completely unprepared, River He suddenly launched a sneak attack, smashing Miwa’s dantian with a palm strike and dispersing all of the ki in her body while mocking her….‘You stupid woman, there are countless tribes which want to be protected by my Riverside Tribe. Just because you became my woman, I have to help you? Hahaha, what a dreamer!’”

“Detestable!!!” Autumn Leaf was so angry that she was shaking.

Ning ground his teeth.

Spring Grass. Oh, Spring Grass!

Why did you trust that bastard? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself for your father? Why?

“The Serpentwing affair quickly calmed down. The Ji clan imprisoned Serpentwing within Serpentwing Lake, causing Serpentwing to not dare to come out at all.” Blacktooth said. “Once this news came out from the Ji clan, all the tribes quickly settled down. The hearts of our Blacktooth Tribe’s tribesmen calmed down as well, and some of the tribesmen who had fled actually returned.”

“I was worried about Miwa, so I went to look for her.” Blacktooth said in a low voice. “Only when I went looking for her did I find out the situation had changed. After using all sorts of methods, I finally managed to have a private meeting with Miwa. As soon as Miwa saw me, Miwa began to cry, cry so hard!”

Ning shut his eyes.

He could imagine Spring Grass’s agony, regret, and heartbreak.

“She said that this was her own mistake. It was her own stupidity, and that it wasn’t the fault of myself, her father. She had willingly done this.” Blacktooth said in agony. “She also said…she didn’t want you, young master, to learn of this. She didn’t want to make you feel heartbroken, which is why she concocted this story of her marrying a travelling merchant, which she left for you in that letter she gave you.”

“After giving me the letter, Miwa died. She took poison.” Blacktooth said softly. “I knew how much agony my daughter was in. Death was perhaps a type of release. Actually, when she died, she was murmuring your name. She didn’t want you to know why she died.”

Ning gently nodded.

Understood.

He understood.

After having been with each other for so long, how could he not understand what Spring Grass was thinking?

She wanted that happy, cheerful Spring Grass to live on in Ning’s heart….she didn’t want Ning to learn of the humiliations she had suffered!

“Every single woman has a man who is destined for her. As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was the one. When I see him smile, I feel happy. When I see him frown, I worry. When I see him training hard with the sword, I stand there and watch. Just looking at him is a gift given by heaven…”

“I really am very happy, very happy. Spring Grass is just a maidservant. For you, young master, to come to the Blacktooth Tribe to visit Spring Grass means at least…Spring Grass has a small place of her own in your heart, young master…Spring Grass is very happy, very happy, truly, very happy.”

Ning opened his eyes, tears faintly visible within them.

He quietly walked towards the tombstone, sitting down in front of him. Holding a bamboo tube in his hands, he said softly, “Spring Grass, in the past, you always poured wine for me. It is my turn to pour wine for you.” The wine within the bamboo tube dripped onto the ground in front of the tombstone.

“I know. I understand. I know that you are forever the happy Spring Grass, forever happy!”

“Your stupidity truly is adorable.”

Ning laughed, but his eyes were filled with tears. “I know what happened to you, but I don’t look upon you. How could a little brother look down on his big sister? Although sometimes his big sister might be a bit stupid…you will always be the big sister of Ji Ning.”

Hearing the words, ‘big sister’, the nearby Autumn Leaf’s lips trembled, and she let out a whimper.

“Sis, you were too tired. Sleep, sleep, have a good sleep.” Ning said softly. “Those people who took advantage of you, sis, those people who caused you to be heartbroken…I won’t spare any of them. Not one.”

“Let’s go.”

Ning put down the bamboo tube and rose. “Let’s go to the Riverside Tribe. I am going to meet this River He!”

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Chapter 10 – Collapsing the City Walls

Chapter 10 – Collapsing the City Walls

“Let’s go!”

Riding on his black beast, Ji Ning and the other two left the Blacktooth Tribe at high speed, disappearing into the distant mountain forests.

“Chief?”

“Where are they going?” The tribesmen at the gate asked, but Blacktooth simply stood there, watching as Ning and the other two left. Shaking his head, Blacktooth said, “Don’t know.” But a look of anticipation through his eyes. He knew…that this young master of the Ji clan was going to the Riverside Tribe to get revenge for his daughter.

But given the status of the Riverside Tribe, would this young master of the Ji clan be able to do so?

“Even if young master Ji isn’t able to get revenge, his father, the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan, definitely is.” Blacktooth’s heart was filled with hatred. He truly hated River He, but unfortunately, his own strength was insufficient.

————————

The Riverside Tribe was hundreds of kilometers away from the Blacktooth Tribe, and mountains lay in the way. Only when the sun rose on the next day did they arrive at the Riverside Tribe.

Every single nearby tribe was living within the city.

A place where over fifty thousand tribesmen were living…this was essentially a city.

“All of you, come over.”

“Right, go on in.”

“Go on through.”

The armored guards at the gate inspected the items of the people entering the city. The Riverside Tribe had enemies, and they were concerned about people possibly smuggling in large amounts of siege bows and other such weapons.

“Huh? You three!” Suddenly, an armored guard saw three black armored beasts galloping over at high speed. Seeing that they didn’t seem to have any intentions on slowing down, he immediately shouted, “Quickly come to a halt. If you charge through the gate of our Riverside City, we will release arrows.” Instantly, the archers above on the guard tower nocked their bows. They wouldn’t show any mercy at all.

Swoosh!

Ning, who had been seated on the back of that black east, suddenly flew into the air, charging onto the top of that enormous city wall. And then, a surging wave of invisible energy instantly swept outwards. The dozens of armored guards that were originally on top of the city guard tower felt their bodies suddenly sway, and then they smashed downwards out of the guard tower.

Suddenly, Ning was the only person standing atop the guard tower.

Those armored guards fell down, all of their faces grimy with dirt, and some of the unluckier ones even had bones broken. However, these were all powerful, valiant warriors. They normally wouldn’t be injured much just from falling down from the top of the city walls. They only were now because they had been caught off guard by that energy wave which had knocked them down.

“What’s going on.”

“He, he…”

A group of armored guards stared at Ji Ning, standing atop the city walls, and then looked at their empty hands. Hurriedly, they moved to pick up the bows that had fallen onto the ground as well.

Standing atop the city walls, Ning stared into the city and let out an enraged bellow, “River He, I order you to come out!”

“River He, I order you to come out!” “River He, I order you to come out!” “River He, I order you to come out!” ….

This furious bellow that seemed to have come from a Fiendgod exploded forth like thunder. The guards that had been nearby the city walls as well as some passer-byers all clapped their hands to their ears in pain, and some of them even began to flee.

The furious roar echoed throughout every location of the entire Riverside City.

Ning’s face was dark. With a massive kick, an enormous exploding sound was heard!

“DONG!” An enormous wall like this one which was six or seven meters thick was extremely durable, but thanks to Ning’s kick, it began to vibrate powerfully. One giant crack after another began to appear on the tall, powerful city wall, and some distortions and cracks even began to appear in the ground below it. This kick had caused even the ground nearby to ripple and shake as though the ground was a pool of water, and those armored guards were so terrified that they hurriedly retreated.

“DONG!” Ning delivered yet another kick!

The nearby earth began to shudder yet again, and a large number of cracks had now appeared within the wall. Many stones began to tumble down, and the stone guard tower itself began to shudder, as though preparing to crack at any moment.

“DONG!” Ning delivered one final kick!

Rumble….

The city wall which was already covered with countless cracks finally collapsed. Many boulders came falling down. Instantly, the massive city gate became a pile of rubble. The tall, massive city walls fell downwards towards the street. This scene of rubble lying everywhere caused those armored guards and civilians who had run away long ago to stare in shock.

“My God…”

“The city towers…”

None of them could believe it. The walls of the main gate to a city were the thickest, most stable parts of the city. Even siege machines would at most attack the gates. Attacking the city walls would be entirely useless. That seamless, tough stone that was six or seven meters thick….even if a person slashed down onto it with a knife, at most a scar would be left behind.

Kicking down the city walls with just three kicks?

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Autumn Leaf and Mowu, riding their black beasts, quickly arrived at the area of rubble. By now, Ning had already landed on the rubble as well.

———————-

River Sansi was current seated in the lotus position within a quiet room, fragrant room.

He was the chief of the Riverside Tribe, a very famous and reputable person in the territory controlled by the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan.

“River He, I order you to come out!” An enraged bellow suddenly rang out.

“Huh?” River Sansi suddenly opened his eyes.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

The subsequent three massive sounds caused River Sansi’s face to change. He immediately transformed into a ray of light, hurrying out.

Moments later.

River Sansi, as a Xiantian lifeform, had already reached the city gates, where those enormous sounds had come from. Upon seeing the destroyed city gates and the rubble, River Sansi’s eyes instantly turned red! The city gates had been destroyed. This was like spitting directly into the Riverside Tribe’s face, giving them no leeway at all.

“You are River Sansi?” Ning stood atop the rubble. Seeing this black haired old man suddenly appear, he immediately barked towards him. The entire Riverside Tribe only had two Xiantian lifeforms, one male, one female. The male, of course, was River Sansi.

The black haired old man stared at Ning, his face an ugly sight. “No matter who you are, you can’t trample the honor and dignity of our Ji clan like this.” As soon as he spoke, within his hands, a purple set of chains appeared. With a massive whirl, he sent those chain links flying towards Ning in an attack. Just from the way Ning was acting, there was no question at all that he was the person who had done this.

Swoosh!

Ning suddenly charged forward, moving forward at an intense speed, generating a faint howl like that of a great Roc.

Swish! Ning landed a kick directly on the chest of that black-haired old man, causing the black haired old man to fly backwards. A deep crevice appeared in the stone ground, with the old man sunken into it. The black haired old man immediately jumped up, clutching his chest, a hint of blood on his lips. His face covered in astonishment, he looked at Ning. “You…who are you?”

How could this happen? His magic treasure had yet to strike Ning, but Ning had sent him flying with a kick. Fortunately, he was protected by his Xiantian Ki.

“Hmph.” Ning sneered coldly. “Have River He come out.”

Shua!

Yet another figure appeared, this one red-colored. It was an old lady with white hair dressed in red clothes. The old lady hurriedly helped prop up River Sansi. “Sansi, are you alright?”

“Be careful. He is very powerful.” River Sansi said quietly.

The red-clothed old granny look at Ning, shouting, “I don’t know how our Riverside Tribe has offended you. In addition, who are you? You destroyed our gates. I trust you wouldn’t be so cowardly as to not even dare to give us your name!”

Ning said coldly, “Ji clan! Ji Ning!”

“Ji Ning?” The red-clothed granny was puzzled.

“Ji Ning?” The black haired elder, River Sansi, was greatly astonished. He hurriedly said in a soft voice to the nearby granny, “Aunty Snow, the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture has been decided upon already. It is someone named Ji Ning. But he is only eleven years old. How could he…”

“The Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture?” Aunty Snow was shocked.

Although they were shocked at Ning becoming a Xiantian lifeform at the age of eleven, they were even more shocked by Ning’s status; the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture! It was common for a person to become a Xiantian before reaching the age of twenty. The Ji clan alone had quite a few, such as Ji Lie who had also been hoping that one of the three tribal youths he had brought up would reach the Xiantian level before the age of sixteen. If Ji Ning had trained in other Fiendgod Body Refining methods, he most likely would have reached the Xiantian level as a toddler.

In the numerous tribes, there were even more talented individuals.

There were quite a few who reached the Xiantian level before the age of twenty. River Sansi was one such person! But these tribes didn’t have any powerful, ultimate techniques. The more they trained, the lower their potential became compared to the Ji clan!

“Ji clan of the West Prefecture?” Aunty Snow stared at the youth in front of her. Their Riverside Tribe was within the territory of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture and was under their direct authority!

If the Ji clan of the West Prefecture wanted to destroy the Riverside Tribe, it could be accomplished as easily as lifting their hand up.

“Young master!” A voice suddenly rang out.

Over a hundred black armored guards appeared from afar. Upon seeing Ning standing atop the rubble, the leader of the black armored guards, greatly shocked, immediately fell down to one knee. The other black armored guards all hurriedly called out respectfully, “Young master!”

“Rise.” Ning glanced at them sideways. In these extremely large tribes, the Ji clan would usually send a squadron of a hundred black armored guards to stay there and watch over them.

“Yes.”

The black armored guards hurriedly ran over, standing around Ji Ning.

“Young master Ji Ning.” The old granny, Aunty Snow, bowed slightly. “Since it is River He who angered you, young master, my Riverside Tribe naturally will not protect him. Sansi, go bring River He out as soon as possible.”

“Right.” The black haired elder, River Sansi, immediately went.

A single Xiantian individual wouldn’t be enough to cause the Riverside Tribe to lower their heads! Even if the Xiantian belonged to the Ji clan, that didn’t mean anything. After all, everything had to have a reason. The Ji clan couldn’t act wildly either, otherwise how could the many tribes submit peacefully? A single ordinary Xiantian lifeform was not able to destroy a large-scale tribe.

But if it was the Prefecture Lord himself! Then the situation would be different.

—————–

“Keep training!”

River He was an extremely handsome young man with white skin. Only, his eyes contained an extreme arrogance. Currently, he was holding a whip while looking at a toddler, who was wielding a shortsword and training in swordplay. “No matter how sore or painful your arm feels, endure it. You will be the future clan leader of our Riverside clan!”

“Yes, Father.” The toddler gritted his teeth, continuing to train. He didn’t dare stop. Stopping meant a whip would come his way.

Suddenly….

“River He, come out.” A furious roar rang out.

River He’s face changed. “Who dares to be this impudent and act like this in Riverside City? This person cannot be ordinary.”

DONG! DONG! DONG!

The three kicks which had smashed open the city walls were like kicks against his heart, causing River He to unconsciously feel panic. “Who is it? Who has come looking for me?” No longer paying any attention to anything else, Riverside He hurriedly rushed towards the outside.

“He, what is it?” The inside of the manor was in a state of chaos. His wife came out as well, seemingly very panicked. Some of his other women were worried as well, but some of them were secretly rejoicing at his impending misfortune.

“Let’s go take a look.” River He headed outside.

Just as he walked out of his manor, from afar, a black figure suddenly pounced downwards, arriving directly in front of River He. River He was shocked when he saw the person. “Clan leader.” The black haired elder, River Sansi, stared at him coldly. Sansi had an extremely ugly look on his face, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth. His clothes were extremely dirty. “This is all your doing.” As he said this, he grabbed River He by the neck, as though he were picking up a chicken.

Swoosh! He transformed into a ray of light, moving at high speed towards the city gate.

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Chapter 11 – For the Tribe

Chapter 11 – For the Tribe

Standing on the cracked streets, the white-haired old granny, Aunty Snow, spoke out. “Young master Ji Ning, if River He has offended you, he deserves death. However, given that he is still young, I wonder if he might perhaps be spared?” In the struggles and battles between tribes, it was generally possible for an important person who had been captured to be released in exchange for a ransom.

Ning glanced at her coldly, not saying a word.

Aunty Snow instantly frowned. She understood that young master Ji Ning’s decision to kill River He was unshakable.

“What’s going on?”

“Why have the city gates been destroyed?”

“What is going on in the Riverside Tribe?”

“Look, look, that youngster is surrounded by a group of black armored guards. He must be an important figure within the Ji clan.” Some of the outsiders who had come to engage in trade in Riverside City quickly began to congregate towards this direction.

Seeing the situation, Aunty Snow immediately shouted, “Have all those onlookers f*ck off.”

“Yes.”

The armored guards of the Riverside Tribe immediately acknowledged, and quickly began to shoo aside those outsiders as well as even some people of the clan, not letting them draw close.

“Out of the way!”

“Out of the way!”

One unit after another of guards quickly ran at high speed towards the distant streets, all of them wielding bows and other sorts of weapons. The leader of the units were all core, high-level people of the Riverside Tribe. Clearly, they had heard those explosive sounds from earlier and were worried that an enemy had come in force, and so they had quickly brought their own people to come over.

“Granny Snow.” A white-haired elder led a group to rush over. Upon seeing Aunty Snow, he immediately called out respectfully.

Aunty Snow only glanced at him.

One squadron after another drew near. All of the core members of the Riverside Tribe had arrived.

“Swoosh!” A black shadow drew near at high speed as well, only slowing down once it reached the armored guards. Those armored guards wanted to block the black shadow, but when they saw it come to a halt, they were shocked. “Clan leader!”

River Sansi’s face was like ice. Still holding onto that handsome young man, he passed straight through the crowd. All of the core members of the tribe stared at River He in confusion. River He was one of River Sansi’s grandchildren, and was greatly valued by River Sansi. In the Riverside Tribe, his position was in the top ten of the entire tribe. Why had the clan leader dragged him here?

“Swish!” River Sansi directly tossed him out.

River He fell face-first into the rubble and rocks, wounds appearing on his face and his body becoming covered with dust. He hurriedly raised his head and stood up, looking around him. Soon, his gaze settled down upon the fur-clad youth who was surrounded by black armored guards.

“Young master Ji Ning, I brought him for you.” River Sansi stood together with Aunty Snow.

“You are River He?” Ning stared judgingly at River He. He couldn’t help but think of poor Spring Grass, and his heart began to flood with a desire to slaughter!

River He could feel that this young master Ji Ning emanated an aura of power and influence. In front of this young master Ji Ning…even the clan leader and Granny Snow had to lower their heads.

“River He pays his respects to you, young master.” River He said respectfully.

“River He…River He…” Ning gently murmured, his eyes as sharp as daggers as he stared at this youth in front of him. “Do you know why I have come to find you?”

Ning’s voice was very soft.

But when River He heard his voice, his heart shook. He could sense the murderous intent contained within Ji Ning’s voice!

“I don’t know.” River He stared at Ning. “Young master Ji Ning, have you come to kill me?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

The entire area was utterly silent.

River Sansi and Aunty Snow just watched. The core members of the Riverside Tribe just watched as well. They could tell…that this young master Ji Ning clearly had the power to change their entire world. Even the clan leader had to submit to him. In addition, Ji Ning’s desire to kill River He was clearly very strong. They just quietly sighed to themselves…the glorious River He, whose prospects had been limitless, was going to die today!

“Young master Ji Ning, if you wish to kill me, then I have no choice but to die.” River He’s handsome face didn’t have a hint of fear on it. He looked at Ning. “But I don’t know why you are going to kill me, young master?”

“Why I am going to kill you?” Ning looked at him.

Hua.

A Darknorth sword appeared out of nowhere into Ji Ning’s hands. Sword light flashed across River He’s body. Instantly, a terrifying, suppressive aura swept out, but River He didn’t dodge. The nearby River Sansi and Aunty Snow just watched quietly as well. Even if Ji Ning had killed River He with this sword attack, they wouldn’t say a word.

Chi! Chi! Chi! River He’s body now had six bloody holes appear on it. His blood flowed outwards from those holes, which were situation in his legs, shoulders, and other non-lethal points.

“This!” River He stared, his eyes wide. “She…she was your…”

“Now do you understand?” Ning looked at him.

The sword technique he had displayed just now when stabbing six bloody holes into River He was the sword technique of Spring Grass. When River He had originally ordered his servants to capture Spring Grass, this was the technique Spring Grass had relied upon when she had beaten those servants half to death before leaving.

“A mere woman. Young master Ji Ning, you are going to kill me for a mere woman? Women are nothing more than merchandise, just property.” River He howled in disbelief, unwilling to accept this. “I’m willing to offer ten or a hundred women to you, young master. In addition, she was just a slave. I’m willing to do anything so long as you are willing to spare me, young master.”

“In my eyes…you can’t even compare to a single hair on her head.” Ning said coldly.

His face ashen, River He immediately retrieved a dagger from within his breastpocket. In a gloomy voice, he said, “Young master Ji Ning, I, River He, have offended you, young master, and I deserve to be killed. There’s no need for you to dirty your hands, young master. River He will end it personally.” As he spoke, he stabbed with his dagger towards his heart.

Dang!

A sword flash collided against the dagger, sending it flying.

“You actually think you’ll be able to die so easily?” Ning stared at River He. “When she died, she did so in agony and humiliation! How can I possibly let you die so easily?”

River He gritted his teeth as he looked at Ning.

Ning shouted, “Mowu!”

“Young master.” Mowu immediately stepped forward.

“The suspension punishment.” Ning said coldly. “Hang up him at the top of Riverside City.”

River He’s face turned white.

The suspension punishment generally meant one would have his hands and feet bound up, then hung up in the air and given nothing to eat or drink while allowing the sun to bake the criminal. In addition, prior to this, Ning had left six bloody holes on River He’s body. Given River He’s life force, he naturally wouldn’t die due to bloodloss, but the blood he had lost would attract some birds. The birds which would dare to draw near to the top of Riverside City were all ordinary birds. They would occasionally take a peck out of River He’s flesh.

He would slowly be tortured to death in the midst of starvation, agony, and terror…

In addition, countless tribesmen would all be watching. The humiliation he would feel in his heart would cause a proud figure like River He even more agony.

“Yes.” Mowu quickly retrieved a set of chains and began to bind and fetter River He. River He knelt there, his head lowered, not daring to make a sound.

“Father!” A fierce cry rang out, and a toddler came running out from the crowd.

“F*ck off.” Seeing that toddler running over, he hurriedly shouted in anger, “F*ck off, f*ck off!”

“Father.” The toddler sobbed. Although his father was strict in forcing him to train with the sword, his father deeply loved him.

The distant River Sansi frowned. “Take the child away!”

“Yes.”

Immediately, two guards charged forward, grabbing the child and leaving with him. But that child continued to wildly struggle while staring at Ji Ning, his eyes filled with hate.

Ning only stared back calmly at the child. When he was very young, his father, Ji Yichuan, had him train in courage by having him go kill some prisoners. He had seen far more terrifying glares before. The slave markets of West Prefecture City…he had seen numbness, despair, insanity, hatred, supplication. He had seen every sort of gaze there was.

“Hang him up at the highest point of the city.” Mowu had two black armored guards help.

River He was completely tied up in metal chains, and his hair was a mess. The nearby tribesmen watched, some of their eyes filled with pity. Others delighted in his misfortune. This humiliation caused River He’s entire body to shake constantly.

“Young master.” Mowu said softly towards Ji Ning. “That son of River He’s…when cutting grass, you must tear out the roots!”

Ning glanced coldly at Mowu.

Mowu hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to say anything else.

“I will spend the next few days at Riverside City.” Ning looked at the nearby River Sansi and Aunty Snow. “No need to trouble you. I will stay at the place where the black armored guards are stationed. I will watch as River He slowly dies. After he is dead, I will leave.”

The bodies of the surrounding core members of the tribe all shook. All of them could sense the hatred within Ning’s voice.

——————-

At first, River He didn’t have too many problems, baking there in the sun. Afterwards, when some crows began to feast on his flesh, and when the sun began to cause his skin to dry and crack, revealing his red flesh, the pain he went through was absolute hell.

Because of the ki in his body, River He’s life force was very strong, but this now became a source of agony to him.

He was baked in the sun until his skin cracked and his flesh congealed. In the midst of this agony, he moaned for three days and two nights before finally dying.

This entire time, Ning remained at Riverside City.

After the black armored guards reported that River He had died in agony, Ning finally took a cold look at River He’s tattered corpse, then turned and led Mowu and Autumn Leaf away, mounted on their black beasts.

—————–

Ning left Riverside City at night.

Riverside Sansi was currently seated in front of a table, quietly drinking wine from a beastskull cup.

There was a toddler kneeling within the courtyard.

“Cai, child.” Sansi lifted his beastskull cup. “I’m going to ask you one more time. Do you want to kill young master Ji Ning?”

“I don’t dare. Cai doesn’t dare.” The kneeling toddler said hurriedly.

“Alas.”

River Sansi shook his head. In a soft voice, he murmured, “The hatred you feel will be a disaster to my Riverside Tribe.”

“Servants!” River Sansi called out.

“Master.” A servant entered and knelt down.

“Alright.”

River Sansi said coldly, “Execute all of those servants of River He. None of them are to be spared! River He’s women are to be sold off at the slave markets!”

“Clan leader.” The toddler grew frantic. One of them was his mother.

“And him.” River Sansi looked coldly at the toddler. “River He’s only son…he is to be sold off at the slave market as well!”

“No.”

“No!” The toddler hurriedly kowtowed. “Clan leader, spare me, spare me!”

“Yes!” The servant replied respectfully, and then stepped forward, grabbing the toddler, then departing.

The toddler continued to struggle, sob, and cry.

Slave?

Why!

Why had this happened!

Watching as the toddler cried and called out in agony, River Sansi was silent.

“Master, you are going to sell River He’s women and children as slaves?” A human figure appeared within the dark corners of the room.

River Sansi nodded. When River He had been undergoing the suspension punishment, Sansi had sent people to secretly ask River He…and only then did he understand that the source of this problem came from the Miwa of the Blacktooth Tribe! River Sansi had even sent people to the Blacktooth Tribe to speak with Blacktooth to clearly understand what this was about. And then, he had put to death all of the servants who knew anything about this affair at all.

“Ji Ning doesn’t wish for Spring Grass’ affair to spread out.” River Sansi said calmly. “Spring Grass had once said that she was the servant of young master Ji. Everyone who heard these words needs to be put to death.”

“There’s no point in keeping River He’s women either.”

“River He’s sole child, Cai…he has too much hatred towards Ji Ning. I asked him several times. Although he verbally stated that he wouldn’t seek revenge, how could a toddler like him deceive me? I could see straight to his heart in a single glance. His hatred of Ji Ning is bone deep.” Sansi shook his head. “At such a young age, he has already learned to cover up his thoughts. In the future, once he rises to a position of great power within the tribe, given the hatred he feels for Ji Ning, I fear that he might act in a way that would cause our entire Riverside Tribe to be destroyed!”

“Everything that I am doing is to ensure that the Ji clan knows that our Riverside Tribe is loyal!”

The man in the darkness was silent.

“Breaker Three.” River Sansi spoke out.

“Master.” The man in the darkness replied.

“Send out Breaker Nine.” River Sansi said. “Take Cai away in the darkness and send him to the territory under the control of the Ironwood clan and have him just join a small tribe at random. Make him give Cai good training! If Cai has talent and always works hard, give him good tutelage. If Cai quickly forgets his hatred and doesn’t train hard, then kill him and have Breaker Nine return.”

“Yes.” The figure in the darkness nodded.

“Hatred…is a source of strength as well.” River Sansi murmured softly. “Our Riverside Tribe, compared to the Ji clan…we’re too weak, too weak…”

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Chapter 12 – Serpentwing Lake

Chapter 12 – Serpentwing Lake

The three black beasts were travelling through the desolate terrain.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf couldn’t help but speak out. “That son of River He has tremendous hatred towards you. If we let him grow up, in the future, it will most likely be detrimental to you, young master.”

Ji Ning cast a sideways glance at Mowu.

Autumn Leaf hurriedly said, “It wasn’t Mowu who said this to me. I knew that you wouldn’t be happy, but after thinking about it for a long time, I felt I had to say this.”

Ning let out a sigh. “My enmity was with River He. I have no enmity with his son. I went to get revenge. Why do I have to harm his child as well?”

“But when tribes engage in battles against each other, we generally utterly destroy any remaining threats…” Autumn Leaf wanted to speak.

“I understand.” Ning nodded. “For the sake of the tribe’s survival…any sort of measures and means can be used! But how can a small child like him possibly affect my Ji clan? My Ji clan controls this area, and has put countless people to death. Who knows how many people secretly hate our Ji clan? The reason that my Ji clan is able to remain in command isn’t because we didn’t offend people, but rather because we ourselves are powerful!”

Autumn Leaf begun to understand a bit.

“Even if we don’t offend others, if we aren’t powerful, others will still come and destroy you.” Ji Ning said calmly. “But if we are powerful, then those secret enemies might secretly feel resentment, but publicly they will still be very respectful. Most likely, a century later, their sons and grandsons will have truly become loyal subjects of our Ji clan.”

“In addition, when experts train, the heart and mind is very important.” Ning said.

The mind and the heavens become one! One with the world!

The mind gains insights into the Dao, and learns the true meaning of the Dao!

Ning understood that a person who was training in the Dao had to be true to himself. Only with a clear mind and clear conscience could one improve at a faster rate when training.

“If a person is not true to himself, not only will he be frustrated, he will also come to a halt in his training, or perhaps even lose ground.” Ning shook his head. “If I, Ji Ning, want to kill someone, I will only kill him and him alone. I will not harm his wife and children! This is my true self!”

In his past life, his illness had tormented him and caused him to always be alone. Lonely people often would become accustomed to think about many things. Some thought about too many things and would go insane, while others would see through their own heart and mind and become wise. Ning was one of those who had seen through his own heart, which made him all the more broad-minded and calm. If he hadn’t seen through his own heart, how could he have had such resolve to keep training so bitterly in this life?

Autumn Leaf and Mowu glanced at each other.

Be true to themselves?

They didn’t understand!

“Enough.” Ning saw the looks on their faces and shook his head. “Don’t overthink it. Let’s go to Serpentwing Lake.”

“Young master, aren’t you going to the Blacktooth Tribe? Didn’t you say…that you wanted to help take care of the little brother of Spring Grass?”

Autumn Leaf asked.

“No rush.” Ning shook his head. “I’ll make a trip to Serpentwing Lake first and kill Serpentwing, then head to the Blacktooth Tribe…the original cause of this disastrous affair was still Serpentwing. One of Spring Grass’ two little brothers died to Serpentwing as well. I will use Serpentwing’s death to commemorate Spring Grass, and then I’ll take her only brother to the West Prefecture City with me.”

“Let’s go.”

Ning rapped his black beast on its chest slightly, and it instantly began to gallop forward.

Autumn Leaf and Mowu followed him towards Serpentwing Lake as well.

———————

They travelled by day and rested at night. Given the rapid pace at which the black beasts travelled through even mountainous terrain, they still spent three full days before arriving at a place near Serpentwing Lake.

“Greetings, young master.”

Ten black armored guards fell down to one knee.

Ning, seated on the black beast, nodded while instructing, “Mowu, Autumn Leaf, the two of you can stay here and rest for a bit. Serpentwing Lake is a few kilometers up ahead. I can’t take you there. I will go to Serpentwing Lake by myself.”

“Yes.” Mowu and Autumn Leaf were both very respectful.

Ning descended from the black beast, and then, moving as agilely as a great bird, charged into the distance. With but two flashing movements, he disappeared from the field of vision of those ten black armored guards, Mowu, and Autumn Leaf. This was the first time the black armored guards had seen Ning displaying his footwork techniques, and they stared in amazement and disbelief.

Serpentwing Lake was currently forbidden territory.

The Ji clan had arranged for dozens of scattered little squads to be spread around the area, each of which had ten black armored guards. They were located in different areas around Serpentwing Lake, so as to keep a close watch on Serpentwing.

——————–

“Huahuahua….” The hundred-kilometer long Serpentwing Lake was vast. One couldn’t see the other side of the lake. Such an enormous lake would of course have three-foot high waves, even when it wasn’t windy.

Ning stood by the shore, staring at Serpentwing Lake. In a soft voice, he said, “This lake truly is immeasurably deep. Even though I can control water, if I were to enter its depths…my speed would probably still be far inferior to Serpentwing.”

The deeper one went, the greater the water pressure would be, and the harder it would be to control water.

A human who was in water wouldn’t even be able to bring out 10% of his power, but a water monster would be more powerful than usual.

“Right now, although I am powerful, compared to a peak Xiantian Diremonster…most likely, I’m just slightly more powerful.” Ning said to himself. And this was because he trained in the [Windwing Evasion], and had gained a hint of understanding into the true nature of the Dao. After all, just by relying on the four stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] alone, he would only roughly have power comparable to other late-stage Fiendgod practitioners.

Compared to Serpentwing, his power would actually be slightly lower.

Swoosh!

With a series of movements, Ning travelled a kilometer, walking atop the water as though it were land.

“Serpentwing!” Ning let out a loud bellow.

“Serpentwing!” “Serpentwing!” “Serpentwing!” ….

The sound echoed like thunder, spreading everywhere and piercing deep into the depths of the water of the lake.

Moments later….

In the depths of the sea, within a twisting, dark lair, the Diremonster, Serpentwing, was currently slumbering. His enormous scaled wings surrounded him, protecting his body.

“Serpentwing!” A sound pierced through the water, directly arriving to him.

The slumbering Serpentwing suddenly opened his scarlet eyes.

“What’s going on?” Serpentwing let out a low growl. “Investigate immediately.”

“Yes.”

The sound of screams from terrified lesser water monsters could be heard from outside. Although humans usually weren’t able to understand the languages of these lesser monsters, these lesser monsters could all understand each other.

——————————

There were two black armored guards hiding within the wild grass fairly close to Serpentwing Lake.

“Serpentwing?”

“Someone is challenging Serpentwing.” The two black armored guards exchanged glances of amazement, then hurriedly turned to look. However, they were dozens of kilometers away from Ning, and thus they couldn’t see him at all.

“I’ll keep watch. You go make the report.”

There were over ten black armored guards on watch at all times around Serpentwing Lake, and right now, the three black armored guards closest to Ji Ning were all able to see him. This group of black armored guards had been dispatched from West Prefecture City. Naturally, they were able to recognize Ning.

“It is young master Ji Ning.”

“Young master Ji Ning has come to challenge Serpentwing? But young master Ji Ning truly is powerful. He is able to stand atop the water as though it was flat ground. Just like Commander Ji Yichuan had been!”

“Stop talking. Hurry and go back to make the report.”

————————————

The amazed black armored guards quickly spread the news to all of the little squads, but given their speed…as one might imagine, it would take them at least a day before they were able to reach West Prefecture City.

Ning continued to walk calmly on the surface of the vast waters of Lake Serpentwing.

Huahua….

The head of a large green snake appeared, along with the head of a large black fish. Breaking through the surface of the water, they stared into the distance.

“A human youth?” The two monsters exchanged glances.

Hua!

They both dove into the deeper water, making haste to the watery lair of the Diremonster, Serpentwing.

“Mighty King, mighty King, there is a human youth in the water above.” The green serpent monster and the black fish monster both growled out frantically.

“A human youth?” Serpentwing’s scaly wings spread out, and his scarlet eyes stared at those two lesser monsters, who were so terrified that they trembled as they nodded.

“But that human youth is standing on the water, just like that Ji Yichuan had done so in the past. The water doesn’t sink down at all.” The green serpent monster said hurriedly, while the black fish monster also nodded. “Right right right.”

“Standing on the water without it sinking at all?”

Serpentwing disappeared into a black mist, then reformed into a black clothed man.

The black clothed man stood there, his slender, narrow eyes filled with suspicion. Serpents were by their very nature cautious. Given that he had also been pursued and often tricked into traps on multiple occasions by the Xiantian experts of the Ji clan, he had long ago become an easily startled creature. Now, a human youth who could walk on water had suddenly come to challenge him. How could he not be suspicious?

“Have you seen him before?” The black clothed man looked at the two lesser monsters.

“Never, never. Before this, we have clearly memorized the appearances of those Xiantian lifeforms surrounding our Serpentwing Lake. This human youth definitely isn’t one of those Xiantian lifeforms.” The green snake monster hurriedly said, and the black fish monster nodded.

The black clothed man nodded. “Then I will go take a look.”

Swoosh!

He stealthily slipped out of his watery lair. Although in his human form Serpentwing wasn’t nearly as fast as when he was in his true form, his true form was simply too enormous. If he appeared at the surface of the water, he would cause an enormous commotion and would definitely be noticed.

“Who is it?” The black clothed man quickly and stealthily lifted his head out of the surface of the water to take a look around him.

He immediately saw that roughly eight or nine kilometers away, there was a fur-clad youth. The youth looked very fine and delicate, but he casually walked atop the surface of the water. The area around the youth was completely barren and empty. There were no other human experts there at all.

“It is him!”

The black clothed man’s narrow eyes instantly became filled with a terrifying, ferocious light.

A murderous look!

A hateful look!

These feelings instantly filled his mind, causing the water around him to begin to tremble with the force of his emotions.

The distant Ji Ning seemed to have sensed him, as he turned to look. Ning instantly saw him. Although Serpentwing was currently in human form, Ning immediately recognized that this was the Diremonster, Serpentwing.

“Serpentwing!” Ning let out an angry shout.

The black clothed man gave Ning a cold, sinister glance, and then sunk down slowly into the depths of the lake.

“Serpentwing.” Ning ran over at high speed over the surface of the water, quickly arriving at that part of the lake. Staring downwards into the depths, he shouted, “Didn’t you want to kill me? Don’t you have a hatred for me which is so deep, it is engraved into your bones? Come out, come out…I am waiting here for you to come kill me.”

Deep within the water.

The narrow eyes of the black clothed man were burning with the flames of rage. He truly was filled with an incomparable desire to fly upwards, attack, and devour the flesh of this Ji Ning.

“I personally killed that big crimson snake.”

“Hahaha, I killed him with a single blow. He really was pathetic!” The voice from above continuously transmitted downwards, further stoking the flames of Serpentwing’s rage.

The black clothed man was trembling slightly, but he managed to suppress the killing urge in his mind. “I can’t be hasty. Can’t be hasty. If I am hasty, I will fall into the Ji clan’s crafty trap. Before this, Poison Dove Ridge and the Ji clan only agreed that I would be restricted from leaving Serpentwing Lake for a century, and that only the highest level members of the clan, the Zifu Disciples, would be restricted from acting. There was no agreement forbidding those Xiantian lifeforms from acting against me.”

Humans and the monsters fought viciously against each other.

However, there were some limits and some restrictions. For example, the true leaders of each side wouldn’t act against and bully the weaker members of each side. That old monster at the Zifu level wouldn’t kill…and the Zifu Disciple of the Ji clan wouldn’t kill either.

After all, the Zifu level experts were the foundation.

Once Zifu experts began to fight each other, once one fell, that would shake the very foundations of a clan. Neither humans nor monsters wanted their foundations to be shaken.

“The area around that Ji Ning is empty. There are no humans there.” The black clothed man’s eyes flashed with a ferocious light. “But why would he come to throw his life away? Most likely, his father, Ji Yichuan, and some other Xiantian lifeforms are nearby, utilizing some sort of concealing formation technique to hide there. Once I come out, I will most likely instantly be attacked en masse.”

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Chapter 13 – Serpentwing’s Lair

Chapter 13 – Serpentwing’s Lair

Ji Ning stood on the surface of the water, staring at his surroundings.

Everything was silent. The only sound that could be heard was that of the wind blowing atop the surface of the lake, and the waves it created.

“Serpentwing is even more careful and cautious than I had expected. Not only does he remain within the depths, even when I, his most hated foe, appeared, he still doesn’t dare come attack me.” Ning frowned.

To draw Serpentwing out would be very hard!

Otherwise, the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan wouldn’t have been unable to do anything about Serpentwing. Ji Ning’s breakthrough to the Xiantian lifeform level was still a secret, with very few people aware of it. Serpentwing naturally didn’t know either. In the eyes of Serpentwing, Ning was perhaps just an eleven year old youth who had very powerful footwork techniques. He wasn’t a threat, but despite that, Serpentwing still managed to curb his impulse to attack.

“Huh?” Ning suddenly frowned.

Some heads were jutting up secretly from far away in the pond.

“Lesser monsters.” Out of nowhere, that greatbow Ning had retrieved from Ironwood Zhan suddenly appeared, along with four arrows. He quickly nocked his bow and fired.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

The four arrows instantly pierced outwards, terrifying those lesser water monsters to hurriedly dive down. But how fast were Ning’s arrows? Immediately, a series of agonized howls could be heard, and even a large fish tail flapped on the surface of the water. Leaving behind only a pool of blood, the lesser monsters all hid themselves away.

“Serpentwing.” Holding his greatbow, Ning shouted, “I didn’t expect that you, a mighty Diremonster, would be forced to the state of only daring to have those lesser monsters appear. You really make me look down upon you!”

“Ji Ning.”

A deep, growling voice suddenly emerged from the depths of the lake.

Ning instantly felt a surge of joy in his heart. Serpentwing finally had spoken.

“Don’t even think that you can succeed in using these despicable measures. Do you think I don’t know that your father and the others are hiding nearby?” The growling voice emanated from the depths. “How could you, a little child of the Houtian level, possibly have come to throw your life away?”

“Hahaha, Houtian?” Ning laughed loudly. His body immediately began to be covered by a layer of hazy light, while he pointed at the surface of the lake. A sword light shot out from his fingernail, piercing straight into the depths of the lake. “Open up your serpentine eyes and take a good look!”

Swish!

The sword light tunneled through the depths of the lake, creating tremors.

“Huala…” Several kilometers away, a black figure raised his head up, staring in his direction with eyes filled with shock. “Xiantian? You are already Xiantian?”

“Dare you battle me?!” Ning shouted. “If you are worried that I have arranged an ambush, then you can pick any location in the lake or any island within this hundred-kilometer wide Serpentwing Lake! You and me, one on one. Dare you battle me?”

Serpentwing stared at the distant youth atop the water. He hesitated.

Even if Ji Yichuan and his men were lying in ambush, how many places could they possibly have prepared an ambush?

“You humans are incomparably crafty. Even if you, a youth, have reached the Xiantian level, how could the Ji clan possibly let you just die? There must be some scheme I don’t know about.” Serpentwing immediately sunk deep into the water while roaring angrily, “If you have any courage, come to the depths of the lake. I will definitely have a battle with you here. Above the water? I definitely won’t fall for your tricks!”

Ning, atop the water, cursed angrily, “As cowardly as a mouse!”

Swoosh!

Ning was so furious that he immediately turned and left, walking atop the waves and quickly arriving on the island in the center of Serpentwing Lake. He leapt directly atop the island.

“How can he be so cowardly.” Ning didn’t have any ideas either. He wasn’t so arrogant as to head directly into the bottom of the lake to do battle with a peak Xiantian aquatic Diremonster.

—————-

At the bottom of the lake.

“Mighty King, mighty King, that human youth is on the island.” Several lesser monsters reported.

“He went to the island?” The black clothed man sat there, suppressing the fury in his heart.

“Father, Silvertip and the others are on the island.” Suddenly, a serpent called out in worry.

“Silvertip?”

The black clothed man was instantly shocked.

He remembered now. Ever since Poisondove Ridge and the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan had engaged in their negotiations, he had carefully remained beneath the water, not even daring to go to his lair on the island! But those children of his and those lesser monsters weren’t as cautious. They would occasionally head to the island. After all, in the past, that island was their true home.

“How many? How many of my children are on the island?” The black clothed man shouted angrily.

“It should just be Silvertip. But there are hundreds of lesser monsters there.” The serpent immediately reported.

The black clothed man’s face changed greatly when he heard this. “Immediately send some lesser monsters to inform Silvertip and have him immediately come back.”

“Yes.”

——————

Ning was a human, after all. When walking atop the water, he had to maintain his mind at the ‘one with the world’ level at all times. Since for now he had no way of forcing Serpentwing out, Ning headed directly to the island to take a rest.

“This island used to be Serpentwing’s lair in the past.” Ning glanced at the surroundings. “In the past thousand years, this place has always been the territory of monsters. Since I’m unable to have Serpentwing come out, then I might have a good look at this island!”

Ning slowly walked about.

Each step, however, was like the wind, as graceful and as fast as gentle smoke. He wandered about the muddy beaches of the island. The island had an area of roughly twenty kilometers. It wasn’t a small one. There were some hills and creeks in the island.

“Growl….” From afar, a millstone-sized crimson crab was currently waving its big metal pincers, staring at Ning.

“Lesser water monsters.” Ning kicked a rock, which with a ‘Swoosh!’ shot out. Then, with a clang, it struck on the crab monster’s shell, causing it to flip around multiple times before it came to a halt and stopped moving. When Ning left, the giant crab flipped over yet again, hurriedly charging back down into the depths of the lake.

This used to be Serpentwing’s lair was in the past, after all. Even though Serpentwing currently wasn’t here, there were still quite a few lesser aquatic monsters who lived on this island. When they saw Ning, these lesser monsters wanted to attack him. The weaker monsters were taught a lesson by Ning, while when dealing with the peak Houtian monsters, Ning showed no mercy at all.

“Huh?” Ning suddenly turned and looked into the distance. From afar, there was a great cavern entrance, from which a large silver serpent suddenly emerged. By the side of this silver serpent were a number of lesser water monsters that were many meters wide.

None of those lesser monsters were physically small.

Most likely, all of them were peak Houtian.

“Swoosh!” Ning moved, instantly charged forwards.

“Hurry and leave.”

“Leave.”

“That human youth should be a Xiantian lifeform.” These peak Houtian lesser monsters all growled to each other. None of them attacked Ning. Rather, they all scattered in every direction, towards the distant waters of the lake.

That greatbow and four arrows appeared in Ning’s hands, and he once more pulled his arrow.

After firing those four arrows, he fired four more!

Hua! Hua! Hua! One arrow after another shot out.

Instantly, the ten physically largest Houtian lesser water monsters were all killed. Some of the smaller, weaker monsters were able to escape into the water.

“Ji Ning, you killed yet another one of my sons. I will definitely kill you, definitely kill you!” An enraged growl echoed from the depths of the lake, causing Ning, who had been preparing to enter the lair entrance, to be astonished.

“Killed another son? How many children does this old monster have?”

Ning curiously swept the surrounding area with a glance. There were three Houtian-level snake-type aquatic monsters that he had killed with his arrows. Which one was Serpentwing’s child? Ning didn’t know that the old monster, Serpentwing, originally had 92 children, only many had been eaten by other monsters or killed by humans, with only sixteen surviving.

Two more of those were then killed by Ning.

However, to Serpentwing…the one he was the most devoted to was still Redtip, the one which had Fiendgod heritage.

“Old monster Serpentwing, all you can do is shout out verbally. Does this lair of yours have any more children within it? I’m going to go in and kill them.” Ning called out as he entered the lair.

——————-

This lair was a place where Serpentwing had lived for a thousand years. It was dark inside, with twisting paths.

Ning moved forward, his Darknorth swords at the ready.

Within the lair, he repeatedly encountered some aquatic monsters who charged at him. Some were ferocious, others were bizarre. As soon as they saw this human youth, it was as though they had seen a delicacy which they all wanted to devour. For some of the extremely weak lesser monsters, Ning would just knock them flying…whether they died as a result or just fainted, he didn’t bother with them further.

But Ning still exterminated all of the peak Houtian aquatic monsters.

“This lair truly is infathomably deep.” Ning continued going deeper into the twisting tunnels of the lair. Suddenly, within the dark tunnels, a blurry, enormous beast shadow appeared in the shape of the head of a giant grizzly. This enormous shadow of a grizzly head seemed to open its mouth wide, trapping Ning within.

Ning’s face changed dramatically.

At the same time, he discovered that he was now completely incapable of movement. He could neither advance, nor retreat.

“This, this…is a relic site!” Ning instantly thought of this term.

In the boundless world, from the Fiendgod era to the modern era, countless numbers of experts had existed throughout the countless years. There were thus an uncountable number of Fiendgod relic sites and Immortal mansion relic sites throughout the land. Since humankind was spread across the entire world, people would often accidentally enter some ancient Fiendgod relic sites, some of whom would be able to gain some benefits from these places.

Most, however, died within these Immortal relic sites and Fiendgod relic sites. In just the books which Ning had read, there were many famous ancient relic sites that had devoured countless creatures.

“I actually encountered a relic site. Live. I will definitely make it out alive. Definitely!” Ning’s eyes were filled with incomparable desire. He understood that in the face of these ancient relic sites of great powers and Fiendgods, he, a mere Xiantian, had no chance to fight back at all. His only choice was to submit to it, and then later try to come up with a way to escape.

The enormous shadow of a grizzly bear head swallowed Ning with one gulp.

The shadow vanished.

Ning vanished as well.

The tunnels within Serpentwing’s lair remained as calm and peaceful as ever, as though nothing had happened.

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Chapter 14 – Aquatic Manor

Chapter 14 – Aquatic Manor

Ji Ning could sense spacetime changing. It was similar to the feeling he had when he had jumped into the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

A heartbeat later, everything calmed down again.

“This place…” Ning hurriedly inspected his surroundings. He himself was in a large, wide corridor that was three hundred meters tall and three hundred meters wide. When Ning turned to look behind him, he was greatly shocked. Behind him was the exit to this corridor, but the outside was covered with a vast, endless amount of water. The water, however, was completely unable to enter this corridor, as though some sort of invisible screen was blocking out the water.

“What is going on?” Ning carefully stepped over, an arrow appearing in his hand. He sent it piercing directly towards the water.

Chi!

The arrow collided with an invisible barrier. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t pierce through.

“I don’t believe it.” Ning hurriedly took ten steps back, then took out that ‘Jia Yong’ greatbow. Letting out a soft snort, his entire body began to be covered with a crimson red light. Clearly, the Fiendgod energy was being completely released. Pulling the bow into a near circle, he immediately shot out an arrow, which flew like a ray of light towards that invisible barrier.

The arrow was shattered to pieces, falling to the ground.

“This…” Ning frowned, carefully inspecting this corridor yet again.

“The corridor alone is three hundred meters tall.” Ning looked through the invisible barrier into the boundless water outside. “This building is definitely astonishingly large, at least multiple kilometers across. And it was built underwater…”

“Is it at the bottom of Serpentwing Lake?” Ning shook his head.

Serpentwing Lake was only a lake with an area of a hundred square kilometers. It would be quite hard for such an enormous structure to fit within it. Most likely, if it was in Serpentwing Lake, the Ji clan would have discovered it long ago.

“Just then, I had the sense of spacetime twisting, as though creating a tunnel in space.” Ning said to himself. “I’m afraid I’ve entered a separate dimension.”

After having read many books, he knew many things.

The books had recorded that in the countless years of time’s passage, some powerful Immortals or powerful Fiendgods were able to create their own little dimensions. A single grain of sand might store an entire world of its own! Some Immortal estate relic sites or Fiendgod relic sites were located in these small dimensions and small worlds. Normally, it was impossible to find them. Only by luck or misfortune would one accidentally enter.

However, these estates left behind by these great powers were all extremely dangerous. After all, how could the Immortals and Fiendgods not leave behind some defensive mechanisms? The vast majority of those who entered relic sites would die. If one was able to stay alive and flee, that would already be a stroke of luck. As for those legends of people who were able to actually obtain treasures from within, Ning didn’t even dare think of that?

“Can’t be greedy! I just need to work hard to stay alive and escape.” Ning carefully inspected his surroundings.

The unknown represented opportunity.

But it also represented enormous risks!

“This underwater estate…for now, I’ll call it the Serpentwing Aquatic Manor.” Ning casually picked a name for it. Since for now he wouldn’t be able to leave this corridor, he might as well head in.

———————–

The corridor was wide and tall, and the floor seemed to be made from a single massive slab. Ning tried everything he could think of, yet still was unable to leave a single mark on the walls.

After walking a short while.

The corridor turned, and Ning’s eyes narrowed. From afar, he saw one white skeleton after another, littering the floor. The flesh on these skeletons had rotted away long ago, but the strange thing was, there were very few magic treasures on the ground. Only some of the most distant, most complete skeletons on the far left still had some armor, weapons, and magic treasures near them.

“The other corpses don’t have magic treasures?” Ning was suspicious. “Even if they don’t have magic treasures, they should at least have some sharp weapons. How could they not have a single one?”

“Swoosh!”

With a thought, Ning sent his divine will outwards, picking up all of those skeletons with armors and weapons and depositing them in front of him.

Swish.

As soon as they landed on the ground, the skeletons instantly shattered.

“It seems they died long ago.” Ning glanced at the armor and weapons. He immediately picked them up and began to use his Xiantian ki to attempt to bind them, but as he did so, he discovered…because the previous owners had died too long ago, two of the magic treasures didn’t have any magic power within them. Thus, Ning was easily able to bind them.

“Even I can bind them. It seems these are only unranked magic treasures.” Ning said to himself. “It seems the dead only had Xiantian level power.”

And then, Ning began to inspect the various corpses. He quickly noticed a ring on one of the corpse’s fingers. He immediately picked up the ring and began to bind it. Indeed…this ring was the dead person’s storage-type magic treasure. Taking a casual glance inside this storage magic treasure, Ning was greatly shocked. The space inside it wasn’t that great, somewhat smaller than Ironwood Zhan’s.

But…

“So many magic treasures.” Ning was astonished. Within this storage magic treasure, one magic treasure was floating after another, all possessing extraordinary auras. There were weapons, formation treasures, armor, and even more storage treasures.

“Why would a single person need to carry this many magic treasures?” Ning glanced at the many corpses in the distance, none of which had magic treasures on them. “Most likely, this person had collected the magic treasures of all the others.”

Ning quickly began to bind them.

As he started binding them, he discovered…this storage ring had a total of 112 storage-type magic treasures, 136 weapon-type magic treasures, 31 armor-type magic treasures, and 16 bizarre magic treasures, including formation-types. There were quite a few Dao-seals as well, but unfortunately, too much time had passed, and the magic power within the Dao-seals had all leaked out. Only ten or so Dao-seals were still somewhat serviceably usable.

“If I’m able to bind them, then these are all unranked magic treasures.” Ning murmured. “The previous owners of these magic treasures were all Xiantian lifeforms. In other words, everyone who came to this tunnel in the past were all Xiantian lifeforms.”

Ning selected one of the storage-type magic treasures that had a storage space of nearly three hundred meters, a storage belt, and wrapped it around his waist. This storage belt, on the surface, looked like it was nothing more than a sturdy, plain belt. Ning then selected an excellent armor, binding it and then wearing it over his skin.

This armor was far more powerful than the Goldstar Shirt. The Goldstar Shirt was thus decommissioned, and Ning stored it away.

Actually, these magic treasures didn’t make Ning particularly overjoyed. After all, he was the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. He would easily be able to obtain protective treasures.

“However, the number is quite great. All together, the value is probably comparable to a low-ranked magic treasure.” Ning didn’t think about it any longer. The fellow in front of him had also acquired many magic treasures, but in the end, he had also died. What mattered was escaping with his life.

Wielding his two Darknorth swords, Ning carefully made his way forward. After all, there was no other path he could take. His only choice was to advance!

In terms of power, the Darknorth swords weren’t inferior to these unranked magic treasures. In addition, he didn’t have to use any Xiantian ki in order to use them. Naturally, Ning would prefer to keep using his Darknorth swords.

————————

Ning stepped forward carefully.

As he walked past those skeletons, he became even more cautious. Suddenly…

PA! PA! PA! PA! PA! PA! PA!

One golden pea after another suddenly appeared out of thin air. Many golden peas appeared in the surrounding area, all of which let out a clear ringing sound as they hit the floor. And then, these golden peas quickly began to melt, transforming into a golden liquid, each drop of which then quickly transformed into weapon-wielding, golden-armored celestial warriors.

Flashing with golden light, the incomparably dazzling, powerful celestial warriors and celestial generals stood around him.

“Growing soldiers from peas?” Ning was stunned. At the same time, he could sense that these golden-armored celestial warriors all had powerful auras. He could sense they were all at the Xiantian level of power. “And there’s eighty one of them?”

“You who dare trespass in the manor, prepare to die!” The eighty one golden-armored celestial warriors shouted in unison, and then they charged over and attacked.

The two Darknorth swords in his hands, Ning instantly understood everything. Those skeletons had most likely been killed by those eighty one golden armored soldiers. Not hesitating at all, Ning instantly began to utilize the Windwing Evasion technique. With a ‘Swoosh’ sound, he ran across the side of the walls of the corridor like a giant Roc in flight, instantly passing through those eighty one golden armored soldiers and wanting to continue forward.

“Formation, activate!” The eighty one golden armored warriors shouted in unison.

Instantly, at two sides of the corridor, a hazy mist arose. As Ning charged into the mist, he shot out with his sword, but was unable to pierce into it even slightly.

“Don’t even think of escaping.” The eighty one golden armored warriors charged over once again.

“A Trap Formation?”

Ning looked at the two hazy mists. “It seems if I don’t kill these eighty one golden armored soldiers, I won’t be able to continue. Those fellows all died, but I’m not as weak as them.”

Swoosh!

Ning utilized the Windwing Evasion technique, once again running across the surface of the corridor at high speed until he arrived behind the golden armored soldiers, and then he stabbed directly at one of those soldiers.

“Dang, dang, dang!” Three sword blows at once.

Bang!

Ning pierced through the head of that golden armored soldier, but the soldier still stabbed backwards with his spear.

“What.” Ning was so frightened, he hurriedly jumped back in retreat.

“Even a Xiantian level Fiendgod Body Refiner stabbed through the head would definitely die. How could this golden armored soldier not die?” Ning instantly grew frantic. Just then, in that short exchange, he had discovered that the spearcraft of that golden armored soldier could only be considered at the ‘advanced’ level, but in terms of strength, it was no lower than Ning’s.

The worst part of it was…not even stabbing through the soldier’s head had done anything.

“Kill!” Ning’s stabbing blow through that soldier’s head seemed to have truly infuriated these golden armored soldiers, who all began to bellow angrily and wildly attack him en masse.

Ning utilized his footwork, moving through the attacking golden armored soldiers. At every moment, he was dealing with three separate opponents. By relying on his twin Darknorth swords, he stabbed through the throat, skull, and various other fatal points of the golden armored guards, but the golden armored guards remained undamaged.

“Waterflame Lotus!” Ning was frantic.

Huahuahua….

In the area around Ning, three enormous lotus petals of fire and three enormous lotus petals of water appeared, surrounding him in every direction. The two layers of lotus petals were slowly swiveling in opposite directions. Instantly, six of the golden armored soldiers who were within the range of the Waterflame Lotus became crushed by the pressure of the Waterflame Lotus back into liquid form.

But the golden liquid quickly flowed outside the range of the Waterflame Lotus, then once more reformed into six Golden Armored Soldiers.

“How is that possible?” Ning, seeing the situation, couldn’t believe it. They had already been dissolved; how could they reform?

“It wasn’t that the previous Xiantian lifeforms were too weak; it was that these eighty one golden armored soldiers are completely unkillable.” Ning clearly found himself at a loss for how he should deal with these eighty one golden armored soldiers. After all, even after they were crushed, they simply liquefied then returned into human form.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The six golden armored guards which had been crushed seemed to have caused these golden armored guards to be even angrier.

“Prepare the formation!” The eighty one golden armored soldiers shouted angrily in unison. All of these golden armored guards flew out at high speed, quickly completely surrounding Ji Ning.

These golden armored guards formed into two circles, an inner circle and an outer one. The inner circle had twenty seven golden armored guards, while the other one had fifty four, all of them pointing their spears at Ning and staring at him angrily.

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Chapter 15 – The Full Story

Chapter 15 – The Full Story

The twenty seven golden armored soldiers simultaneously stabbed out with their glittering golden spears, carrying boundless force as they attacked Ji Ning! The fifty four golden armored soldiers behind also simultaneously aimed their spears, preparing to swap in at any moment.

“There’s definitely a flaw. There definitely is a chance for success. If they truly are immortal, then they would exhaust me to death through by using up my energy.” Wielding the Darknorth swords in his hands, Ning charged forward, as fast as the wind. Dangdangdang! The Darknorth sword and the spears clashed. Ning blocked the spears while at the same time, charging into the midst of those golden armored soldiers.

“Retreat!”

“Attack!”

The twenty seven golden armored soldiers in the center retreated in unison at high speed, while the fifty four golden armored soldiers then formed an even wider encirclement, allowing Ning to be the ‘turtle in their jar’.

“Can it be?” Ning suddenly frowned.

“Waterflame Lotus!” Ning made his decision.

Huahuahua….

Around him eight pairs of Waterflame Lotuses suddenly appeared, each one created from a single water lotus petal and a single fire lotus petal. Because this attack contained a hint of the true meaning of the Dao, even Ning had to use his full force when utilizing this attack, and dividing his mind to the point of creating these eight Waterflame Lotuses was extremely arduous for him.

“Kakaka…” The eight Waterflame Lotuses swiveled, grinding like millstones while surrounding sixteen golden armored soldiers. These golden armored soldiers all frantically dodged, but all of their bodies began to crack from the tremendous pressure.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The golden armored warriors howled angrily, bellowing as they dodged past the Waterflame Lotuses and attacked Ning.

Ning, wielding his Darknorth swords, was like a vicious tiger. His sword shadow danced like fire, instantly chopping one of the golden armored warriors into three pieces. But the body of the warrior who was chopped into three pieces quickly then reconnected and reformed, then once more bellowed and attacked Ning.

“So this really is the case. This really is the case.” Ning was jubilant, and he laughed loudly. “What nonsense about these golden armored warriors having ‘immortal bodies’. That’s just for frightening people. Every time I injure you, your power goes down. Haha. I want to see how long you can hold on for.”

Previously, when the eighty one golden armored guards had set up their formation attacks, Ning, when blocking, had discovered that the power of these golden armored guards had dropped slightly. Although it wasn’t by much, Ning’s senses were extremely sensitive, so he was still able to discover it.

Thus, Ning simultaneously created eight Waterflame Lotuses, badly injuring those sixteen golden armored warriors.

After exchanging blows with them again, Ning discovered…that the power of these golden armored warriors had weakened considerably.

“The eighty one golden armored warriors are like a single unit. If one is badly wounded, the others will be affected as well.” Ning said to himself. “In addition, these golden armored warriors are made from golden liquid. They don’t have any ‘vital points’ to speak of. As long as I constantly injure them, their magical power will constantly deplete…and in the end, they will definitely collapse.”

“Kill!”

The golden armored warriors were utterly fearless.

Ning continued to control the eight Waterflame Lotuses, causing them to surround and grind down against the golden armored warriors repeatedly, while at the same time he himself constantly dodged with his Darknorth swords…Ning discovered that each time, when he stabbed the golden armored warriors with his swords, their power dropped very slowly. However, when the Waterflame Lotuses ground them to pieces, the power would drop somewhat faster.

—————————-

This was a war of attrition.

“Swish!” One golden armor warrior shattered and fell apart, transforming into nothingness. Then all eighty one golden armored warriors completely disappeared.

Ning let out a long breath, releasing his nearby Waterflame Lotuses.

“Too…too troublesome.”

“If I didn’t have the Waterflame Lotus technique, I probably would’ve been exhausted to death.” Sensing the remaining ‘Crimsonbright’ divine power in his body, Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The Crimsonbright divine power in his body only had roughly half left. And this was only because the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] technique he trained in resulted in an extraordinarily dense base of power.

This battle had primarily relied upon Ning using the Waterflame Lotus to grind them into small pieces repeatedly, while he had only utilized the Crimsonbright divine power in his Darknorth swords to defend! Despite that, half of his divine power had been used up.

Ning glanced behind him, seeing those corpses lying on the ground. Some of them had been transformed into dust from the battle, but a few still remained.

“Those that died here were most likely exhausted to death.” Ning said to himself. “Fiendgod Body Refiners are proficient at long-lasting, endurance battles, but I still found it so hard. How could those who relied solely upon Ki Refining to reach the Xiantian level possibly survive?”

Hua…

The two walls of mist at each side of the tunnel slowly dissipated.

Ning carefully made his way towards the corner of the corridor, not going forward yet. He instead took a glance towards the other side, and saw that far away, on the other side of the corridor, there were corpses present as well.

“There’s even more corpses. It seems the next corridor is just as dangerous. I really wonder how many dangers this ancient relic site contains within it.” Ning’s heart shivered. “And most likely, those who died there had successfully passed through those eighty one golden armored soldiers.”

“Come.”

Ning stared at those corpses on the other side of the hall. He realized that here as well, only a few of the corpses had armor and weapons on them. He used his divine will to pull one of the corpses and its magic treasures over to himself.

“Those who were able to break through the previous corridor most likely had quite some magic treasures.” Ning carefully inspected the skeleton. The large skeleton was more than three meters tall. The most likely location of its storage treasure was on the armguard covering its skeletal arm. Ning quickly removed the armguard and bound it. “It really is a storage-type magic treasure.”

“So many things.”

This storage-type magic treasure had more than a thousand magic treasures within it. Ning easily bound all of them, but he discovered to his resignation…that all of them were unranked magic treasures.

“All of them are unranked.” Ning shook his head. “Although there’s more than a thousand, all of them combined are worth perhaps less than 1% of the Traceless Talisman.”

The Traceless Talisman was a guardian treasure of the Prefecture!

Even ranked magic treasures would find it difficult to compare to it.

“Take a rest first.” Ning sat in the lotus position. Taking out a bamboo tube, he opened the cork, raised his head, and drank it. Then he took out some roast meat and began to eat. “Although these old fellows who died left behind their storage treasures, they didn’t leave behind any food at all. It has been too long. Their food became dust long ago.”

“These unranked magic treasures aren’t very useful to me either.”

“After all, I only need a few magic treasures.” Ning shook his head. For example, storage-type magic treasures; what was the point of having several hundred? Would he gain any extra power at all? If he wasn’t able to survive, most likely the thousand-plus unranked magic treasures he had found would in turn be discovered in the future by someone else.

———————–

Ning sat there, eating and drinking, not in a rush to go forward.

At the same time, the Crimsonbright divine power slowly began to recover.

After eating and drinking, Ning then flipped through each storage-type magic treasure to see what was inside. Occasionally, he saw some training manuals or sword technique manuals. However, the most important ultimate technique books were generally destroyed after being learned, to prevent them from being leaked to others! Thus, these books which had been brought were all quite ordinary, not very valuable.

Only a single copy was comparable to the [Raindrop Sutra].

“I suppose this is an unexpected benefit.” Ning laughed. And then he once more began to flip through the large number of storage-type magic treasures, searching through them.

Clothes!

Utensils!

Toys!

All sorts of curiosities were removed. During the treasure searching process, Ning’s mood improved greatly as well.

“Huh?” Ning suddenly picked up a strange piece of bark. He was about to toss it, but then he saw the words atop it. His face immediately changed.”

“Wudan, our clan just received word that Immortal Juhua, someone who has lived for millions of years, ever since the Fiendgod era, has publicly announced that he is accepting disciples. Although Immortal Juhua is a Loose Immortal, for him to be able to survive millions of years and undergo countless tribulations without dying means, according to our clan leader, his power is not inferior to that of a Celestial Immortal.

Immortal Juhua has never before accepted a disciple. Not even the Second Prince of our Grand Xia Dynasty was able to successfully become his disciple.

The news that Immortal Juhua is accepting a disciple has been spread long ago.

In addition, Immortal Juhua has also said publicly that the student he is accepting must be a Fiendgod Body Refiner, who at least must be at the Xiantian level, and at most can be of the Zifu level! He would set down two paths…one for Xiantian lifeforms to traverse, while the other is for Zifu Disciples to traverse.

There are three trials in each path!

After breaking through the three trials without dying, one would become the heir to Immortal Juhua!

Immortal Juhua will only accept a single disciple!

As for the place he is accepting a disciple, Immortal Juhua has set his immortal estate down in the Thousand Autumns Island of the Darknorth Sea. Most likely, he will only leave after recruiting his disciple. Traveling from our place to the distant Darknorth Ocean’s Thousand Autumns Island will take at least half a year. Make haste. If you are late, someone else will seize the opportunity. Wudan, I’ve given you the news. Whether you go or not is your decision.

Signed, Godbanian Water!”

——————

Looking at this incomparably ancient tree bark in his hands, Ning couldn’t breath. “Godbanian clan? This tree bark should be the bark of a Godbanian tree. No wonder this ancient letter was able to persist for so long.”

The Godbanian tree was immortal and would never decay.

Some precious items would generally be put in wooden cases made out of Godbanian wood. Godbanian trees were the unique products of the ‘Godbanian clan’, and it was their proof of identity. That was a truly incomparably powerful clan, unspeakably more powerful than the Ji clan. That was a clan that could be described as supreme, even thoughout the entirety of the vast domain of the Grand Xia Dynasty!

“Immortal Juhua?” Ning frowned, pondering. “Immortal Juhua was accepting a disciple. He existed in the Fiendgod Era, and had been alive for millions of years when he started looking for a disciple. But from the Fiendgod Era until now, it has probably been billions or trillions of years.”

“Far too much time has passed since this ‘seeking a disciple’ affair. That Immortal Juhua most likely died long ago.” Ning understood.

Loose Immortals would constantly undergo the Three Calamities and the Nine Tribulations. It was a miracle for a person to survive millions of years without dying. How could one possibly have survived to this era?

“Then this underground estate…”

“It should be the underground estate where Immortal Juhua tested potential disciples. This corridor that I am currently in should be one of the two corridors for his potential disciples.” Ning said to himself.

Ning looked at the distant corpses.

Although those corpses were clearly of Fiendgod Body Refiners, the fact that they still remained meant that they didn’t die too long ago.

Clearly, Xiantian-level or Zifu Disciples who were Fiendgod Body Refiners often were transported into this Immortal estate. He himself was one of those unlucky souls.

“Since Immortal Juhua decided to take an apprentice, the requirements for his apprentice must have been extremely strict. Otherwise, he would have easily accepted a disciple long ago.” Ning said to himself. “There are three trials on each path. It seems that was the first trial just now, which forced me to rely on the Waterflame Lotuses in order to pass through it. The next two trials will most likely be even more terrifying and dangerous…how will I past them?”

“Can it be that I will be like them? That I will die and rot here?” Ning looked at the distant corpses, not breathing as he pondered.

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Chapter 16 – The Waiting Parents

Chapter 16 – The Waiting Parents

Within West Prefecture City.

“Yichuan, I heard Ji Ning has already broken through to the Xiantian level. Congratulations!”

“Yichuan, your son really is formidable.”

“He’s only eleven this year, right? A Xiantian at eleven. He ranks amongst the top three talents of the past thousand years for our Ji clan’s Five Prefectures.”

Ji Yichuan, who had always been like an implacable glacier, had a rare hint of delight on his face. Although he was still stiff-faced, those who were familiar with him could sense how happy Yichuan currently was. Ever since Ning had kicked down the walls of the Riverside Tribe with three kicks, then knocked River Sansi flying with another kick, the news had quickly spread back to the Ji clan.

This news had already spread across all five of the prefectures of the Ji clan. As his father, Ji Yichuan naturally felt very happy in his heart. The past two days, he often heard words of praise and congratulations. By nature, people liked to praise the praiseworthy even further. Now that Ning had already been selected to be the next Prefecture Lord, and also was so monstrous as to become a Xiantian lifeform at age eleven, everyone understood that in the future, the lineage of Ji Yichuan and Ji Ning would be incomparably glorious.

This father-son duo’s status in the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan would undoubtedly be extremely high.

“Look at how happy you are.” Yuchi Snow held a flask of water as she watered the flowers.

“How can I not be jubilant?” Yichuan sat on a nearby stone bench. Flipping his hand, he retrieved a bamboo flask, contentedly drinking fruit wine. “Ning was able to kill the Aquatic Rhino King before reaching the Xiantian level. Now that he has broken through to the Xiantian level…he was able to send that Riverside Sansi flying with one kick. River Sansi reached the Xiantian level long ago, and is an expert Ki Refiner of the middle Xiantian level, yet he couldn’t take a single blow from my son. This means that Ning should have reached the Xiantian level in the Fiendgod Body Refining methods as well!”

According to the news from the black armored guards stationed at the Riverside Tribe, Ning had executed sword flashes to send River He’s shortsword flying.

Clearly, Ning had already reached the Xiantian level as a Ki Refiner.

But Yichuan knew his son very well, and knew the weaknesses in his son’s arteries. Most likely only after the Fiendgod Body Refining technique raised him to be a Xiantian level and remade his body would Ning be able to make a breakthrough as a Ki Refiner.

“[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].” Yichuan looked at Snow. “This is the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. The legendary number one Fiendgod Body Refining method! Our Ji clan has never had someone break through to the Xiantian level through it, but Ning accomplished it. In the future, he will definitely be even more powerful than me. His name will be spread throughout the countless tribes, and our Ji clan will become greater and greater!”

Yichuan was filled with a heroic vigor right now.

“The Ji clan will become greater?” Snow nodded gently. “Perhaps because of my son, the Ji clan will reach the same heights of glory as my Yuchi clan once had, but sadly, my Yuchi clan…”

“There is no clan that will exist forever without perishing.” Yichuan said. “Even the almighty Grand Xia Dynasty which has existed for countless years, ever since being founded during the Fiendgod Era, exterminated other ancient dynasties before unifying this land. Those ancient dynasties had their own extremely long history as well. Weren’t they destroyed in the end also?”

Yuchi Snow nodded. “I understand. I’ve already made my peace with this. In Ning’s veins also flows the blood of my Yuchi lineage. In the future, when Ning’s name is known throughout the boundless earth, my ancestors of the Yuchi clan will feel very happy as well, no doubt.”

“Right.” Yichuan nodded.

———————-

Just as the husband and wife couple were chatting happily, the face of Ji Yichuan, who had been drinking wine from the bamboo tube, suddenly changed. This was the moment where Ning, at Serpentwing’s lair, had suddenly been transported into that mysterious, ancient underwater estate relic site.

“What is it?” Seated next to him, Yuchi Snow noticed that her man’s mood had dramatically changed. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Yichuan shook his head. “Only, I just remembered something I have to do.”

Snow frowned. “You want to deceive me? Your face is completely incapable of fakery. Given your mental willpower, normal matters aren’t able to cause you to panic…and for you to panic to this degree, this must be a major event. Speak.”

Looking at his wife, Yichuan sighed, “I originally gave Ning a jade sword. No matter how far away he is, I’ll be able to sense Ning’s location. I had warned him quite strictly that he is not permitted to wander more than ten thousand kilometers away from the West Prefecture City. If he goes beyond it, I will capture him, bring him back, and put him in the prison for three years.”

“What, he went more than ten thousand kilometers away from West Prefecture City?” Snow hurriedly asked.

“That’s not it.” Yichuan’s face was unpleasant. “I can’t sense the jade sword at all.”

“What!” Snow, shocked, suddenly rose to her feet, then began to cough, cough very hard.

“I didn’t want to say it, but you forced me to.” Yichuan hurriedly helped support his wife, rubbing her back. “Feel better?”

Snow said frantically, “How can you not be able to sense the jade sword? Didn’t you say that you can sense it no matter how far away it is? If you can’t sense it…does that mean Ning has encountered danger?!”

“Don’t panic.” Yichuan said hurriedly. “There’s two possible answers for why I can’t sense the jade sword.”

“The first possibility is that Ning has encountered some danger, and then took out the jade sword, but before he was able to break it, the enemy instantly disintegrated the jade sword.”

“The second possibility is that Ning was instantly transported to a very distant location, so distant that even I can’t sense it.”

Snow calmed down.

Snow was very experienced as well, and she nodded. “Even if your jade sword was destroyed and broken into small pieces, you should still be able to sense it. Unless it was completely disintegrated; only then would you be unable to sense it. But right now, Ning is very strong. He was able to send River Sansi flying with one kick. If he encountered such great danger that he had to take out the jade sword…he would be able to break it instantly. How could it be that he wouldn’t even have the opportunity to break it?”

“In addition, if an enemy wanted to kill Ning, but was capable of instantly destroying the jade sword in Ning’s hands before Ning had a chance to break it, then he would have the power to easily kill Ning. Why bother with breaking the jade sword?”

Snow’s train of thought helped her calm down slightly.

Logically speaking, her son shouldn’t have died yet!

“So it’s the other possibility.” Yichuan said. “Ning was instantly transported to an incomparably distant location. I can sense my jade sword no matter where it is…although this is a slight exaggeration, within an area of a million kilometers, at least, I should still be able to sense it. To instantly be transported more than a million kilometers is rather inconceivable as well. I think the more likely answer is that Ning should have been transported to another dimension. He stumbled into a relic site.”

“Stumbled into a relic site?” Snow nodded as well.

The two of them had adventured in the outside world, and had significant experience. They knew that this vast, boundless world was incomparably marvelous. The relic sites that were left behind from the Fiendgod era alone were uncountable in number. Some of those greater powers were capable of opening their own small dimension or small world.

“Where was the last place you sensed Ning’s at?” Snow asked hurriedly.

“Serpentwing Lake!” Yichuan said.

“Let’s go to Serpentwing…cough!” Snow started to cough again.

Yichuan said hurriedly, “I’ll go. You can’t go out yet.”

“Ning is in danger. How can I not go?” Yuchi shook her head. “You know this stems from the illness that I had when I was pregnant with Ning. It’s fine.”

Seeing the look in his wife’s eyes, Yichuan could only nod. “Fine. We’ll go find Aunty Flower and borrow her Azure Firebird. We’ll head to Serpentwing Lake at full speed.”

—————————

The vast Serpentwing Lake was very calm.

A godlike husband and wife couple were currently standing atop the back of an enormous Azure Firebird, flying at high speed in the air towards Serpentwing Lake.

“Hurry up and report to the great King that Ji Yichuan has come again. He brought a woman as well.”

“Ji Yichuan.”

“And sitting on that Azure Firebird.”

Some of the lesser aquatic monsters glanced into the sky, then, terrified, hurriedly went to make their report.

On the back of that Azure Firebird, Yichuan and his wife exchanged glances. Soon, Yichuan pointed at a nearby shoreline. “There are black armored guards there. Azure Firebird, go there!” The Azure Firebird hurriedly flew towards that direction, and the two black armored guards that had been keeping watch on the shores of Serpentwing Lake stared in astonishment at the male and female atop the back of the distant Azure Firebird.

“Our respects to you, Commander!” The two black armored guards hurriedly fell to one knee in terror. They all recognized Yichuan.

“I ask you, have you seen my son, Ning?” Yichuan asked directly.

“We saw him.” One of them, the taller black armored guard, immediately replied. “Just now, young master Ji Ning was walking atop the surface of the lake, calling out for Serpentwing to come and do battle with him.”

“Serpentwing?”

Yichuan and Snow both had the same thought. However, they didn’t believe that their son, at his current level of power, wouldn’t even have the chance to break the jade sword when fighting against the Diremonster, Serpentwing. In fact, they even believed that Ning was fully capable of staying alive in the face of Serpentwing’s attacks.

“But this time, the Diremonster, Serpentwing, wasn’t willing to come out.” The black armored guard said. “Young master Ji Ning called him out to do battle multiple times. His voice echoed across the entire lake, and most likely the black armored guards in the other areas all heard it as well. But because Serpentwing still refused to come out, nothing happened. We were too far away, so as to where young master Ji Ning went afterwards while walking on water, we don’t know.”

The island was located in the center of Serpentwing Lake.

The distance from the shore to the island was tens of kilometers. At the distance of tens of kilometers, the black armored guards were not able to see Ning at all.

“Oh? You are certain they didn’t do battle?” Yichuan quickly asked.

“They didn’t. We didn’t hear anything at all.” The two black armored guards were absolutely certain.

—————–

Yichuan went to the other black armored guards to ask them these questions, and even sought out Autumn Leaf and Mowu, who were waiting at the designated meeting point. From these two, Yichuan understood that Ning had come in anger, intending to execute Serpentwing, but Serpentwing had remained in hiding and hadn’t come out…Ning had remained standing atop the water, and then walked off and disappeared!

“Where did he go?” Standing by the lakeside, Yichuan and Snow stared towards the vast lake, frowning in concern.

“Wife, what do you think?” Yichuan looked at his wife.

Snow said pensively, “There wasn’t any disturbance at all. It shouldn’t have been a battle. It’s very possible that it really was an ancient relic site! These relic sites might be in the middle of an empty area, only sealed off from us by a thin barrier, but we can’t see them or sense them at all.”

“Perhaps our son is within a world that is hidden within a single speck of sand at the bottom of Serpentwing Lake.”

“Or perhaps he is within an ancient, hidden formation.”

“Only, the two of us aren’t capable of dealing with any of these possibilities.” Snow shook her head. “All we can do is wait. Wait for our son to come back to us, alive.”

“Right. Wait.” Yichuan looked at the immeasurably vast lake as well. “I believe our son will come from afar, walking across the water back to us.”

Snow nodded gently, leaning against her man.

They were still waiting. Waiting for their son’s return.

——————–

Within the corridor of the aquatic estate, it was very dark. It felt that even the passage of time was slow here.

Ning, his divine power fully recovered, finally stood up. Staring at the other corner of the corridor and its corpses, he understood that he had nowhere to retreat to. If he wanted to leave, he had to go forward!

“I have to live.” Ning stared at those distant corpses, then walked over.

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Chapter 17 – Dao Battle-Armor

Chapter 17 – Dao Battle-Armor

Wielding a Darknorth sword in each hand, Ji Ning headed straight towards the center of this ancient corridor.

Suddenly, a thousand or so meters in front of him, several blackish-blue seeds appeared at the same time, four ahead of him, five behind him. These seeds appeared at the same time as nine sets of battle armor. The battle armors were all completely black, and the weapons were identical as well; long staffs that were seemingly made of stone.

Nine seeds. Nine sets of battle gear.

“Hua…” The blackish-blue seeds suddenly transformed into a liquid, flowing into the armors, then transforming into massive men with blackish-blue skin. These massive men were several meters tall and had two horns in their foreheads. Their faces were ugly, and they had sharp fangs in their mouths. They donned the armor, while simultaneously picking up those three-meter long stone staffs next to them.

The nine ugly giants all glanced at each other, their eyes filled with savagery and excitement.

“It’s been so long. We’re finally out again!”

“This time, the person we have to deal with is this human youth. Such a tender-fleshed human. I can squeeze him to death by myself. The nine of us combined, and with these godly weapons and armor, haha…this is going to be too easy.”

“Set up the formation first.”

The nine ugly giants all began to chant the words to some foreign tongue which Ning couldn’t understand, but his face quickly changed, because he understood that these ugly giants which had sprouted from those seeds were intelligent, and even capable of conversation!

The two ends of the halls once again became filled with dense fog.

“Human, prepare for death.” The nine ugly giants all released furious roars. The ancient armor on their bodies immediately began to emit dazzling black light. The black light, emitting the stench of blood, quickly connected with each other, forming an enormous spiderweb in mid-air.

Ning was shocked. “Dao Battle-Armor?”

Dao Soldiers were a type of seed-soldier often used by the Grand Xia Dynasty. The Ji clan’s most powerful seed-soldier, the ‘Scarlet Guardians’, were the lowest-level type of Dao Soldiers. Every single Dao Soldier’s armor contained a large number of rune inscriptions, and the Dao Soldiers were capable of combining their energy together to attack the opponent together. They were also capable of combining their defense.

Dao Battle-Armor like that of the Scarlet Guardians of the Ji clan were at most capable of allowing nine of the Scarlet Guardians to combine forces. Once they joined together, nine Scarlet Guardians were even capable of giving an early Xiantian expert a good fight.

What’s more, the Ji clan had five hundred thousand of these powerful seed-soldiers, the Scarlet Guards!

This was the true backbone of the Ji clan.

Normally, missions were carried out by black armored guards. Each time the Scarlet Guardians were sent out, it was only after the Ji clan’s Five Prefectures all agreed to send them out, and it would have to involve a major event of the Ji clan.

“Dao Battle-Armor. Aren’t they all used for Houtian experts? And they should be covered with a large number of runes that can be seen at a glance.” Ning stared at them. “But these nine strange giants have armor that don’t have any runes on top of them, and each of them have power that is not weaker than that of a Xiantian.”

“This is going to be trouble.” Ning held his breath.

Dao Battle-Armor which Xiantian experts could use was something which the six hegemons of Swallow Mountain simply did not have. Ning hadn’t even heard of such a thing. Most likely, only the armies of the Grand Xia Dynasty had them!

“Kill!” The nine ugly giants raised their large, thick staffs, charging towards Ning from both directions with angry roars, that enormous illusory spider web still connecting them from up above.

Ning immediately transformed into a ray of smoke, quickly pouncing towards the direction which only had four of those strange ugly giants, who were maintaining a distance of several meters from each other as they wielded their massive stone staffs and charged forward wildly with long steps.

“Kill!” One of the ugly giants raised his enormous stone staff up high, then smashed downwards.

“Come on.” Ning let his strength explode as well. His Fiendgod-like power completely filled his Darknorth swords, and he took this blow head on. He wanted to get a clear understanding of the strength of these ugly fellows.

Swish!

The stone staff was as thick as a man’s thigh and over three meters long. It slashed through the air, smashing down on Ning’s Darknorth swords. Immediately afterwards, with a ‘Swoosh!’ Ning’s entire body was sent flying backwards, while the strange giant only took a single step back, garbling in his racial tongue, “This human has great strength. However, he still cannot compare to me, much less the nine of us combined.”

Although Ning had only fought one of them head on, because of the Dao Battle-Armor…in reality, that staff blow had contained the combined strength of those nine strange giants.

Flying backwards through the air, Ning felt his entire body was numb. His hand was damaged, and even the Darknorth sword in that hand flew out.

“Can’t take it head on!” In mid-air, Ning flipped over, his Fiendgod body quickly healing. Still in mid-air, he stepped onto the sides of the corridor walls, then like a giant Roc, scurried out, quickly leaping past the oncoming charge of those nine strange ugly giants.

“Don’t run!”

“What sort of talent is fleeing?”

“Humans only know how to run.”

The nine strange giants opened their fanged mouths, howling angrily. They discovered that this human was even faster than them.

Ning pointed from a distance. “Waterflame Lotuses!”

Huahuahua…

Every single Waterflame Lotus was formed from a fire lotus petal and a water lotus petal. Six sets of Waterflame Lotuses appeared out of nowhere, completely surrounding those nine ugly giants within. Every single lotus petal was slowly swiveling in opposite directions, forming a terrifying grinding, killing force.

“What a powerful human.” The nine ugly giants came to a halt and looked at each other. “Without this godly armor, we probably would’ve been injured long ago.”

Ning saw that the nine giants had come to a halt, and were even conversing in their strange tongue.

But his ever-successful Waterflame Lotuses were completely unable to harm them.

“No use.” Ning was surprised. Last time, when fighting against Ironwood Zhan, Zhan had relied on his formation and his Diamond Seal to hold on for a long time, which let Ning understand that his Waterflame Lotuses couldn’t actually break through everything. “My Waterflame Lotuses were developed just recently, and were originally meant to protect me. Thus there are some deficiencies when using them to attack.

Wielding their stone staffs, the nine strange giants once more charged forward en masse.

“Lotus Protection.” In the area around Ning, three fire lotus petals and three water lotus petals appeared, surrounding him. When the nine strange giants charged over and collided with the swiveling Waterflame Lotus, they were all impacted and were no longer able to attack Ning together.

Ning, wielding his Darknorth swords, chose one of them to attack!

“Die.”

His sword flashed like fire, moving at astonishing speed as he displayed the killing technique of the [Thunderflame Sword], the ‘Thunderflash Flint’.

Hua! Hua! Hua!

Rays of sword light shot towards the giant, who howled with valiant fury as he brandished his stone staff. The stone staff was incomparably heavy. Last time, when Ning had struck it, his entire body had gone numb. No longer daring to take it head on at all, Ning completely relied upon his marvelous sword techniques to deal with the giant in front of him.

The battle armor was only capable of protecting part of the body. The head and some other areas were still exposed.

Ning’s sword blows were all aimed at this giant’s head!

Only, each blow was hampered by that dense black light. After just barely breaking through the obstruction, it was only capable of leaving some wounds on the giant’s face, which immediately would heal, leaving the giant unwounded.

“Kill, kill, kill.” Ning was going all out.

“I want to live! So I have to kill you all!” Ning used all his strength, even filling the Darknorth swords with his Xiantian ki as well. All he could do, however, was to leave some flesh wounds on these strange giants. The giants were capable of completely ignoring the negligible drop to their strength from these wounds.

They fought for the amount of time it would take to brew a pot of tea.

Because he had been controlling the Waterflame Lotus this entire time, and also fighting all out, his divine power was being used up at a fast rate.

“Their power isn’t dropping at all. I’m not even able to badly injure them.” Ning could sense that he had less than half his divine power remaining. He didn’t dare to keep fighting them head on like this. He hurriedly flashed through their encirclement.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ning utilized the Windwing Evasion, scurrying first in this direction, then in that direction, dodging the pursuit and attacks of these strange giants.

“Human, don’t run.”

“You won’t be able to run.”

“Humans are only able to run.” These nine ugly giants roared angrily as they ran forward majestically, continuing their attacks. Ning didn’t take them head on at all, relying on his Windwing Evasion to throw them off time and time again.

In his heart, Ning was sighing.

He had trained in swordplay for so long, but in the end, it was still the Windwing Evasion technique which allowed him to stay alive!

——————

Another long period of time passed.

“What should I do?” While fleeing, Ning was thinking frantically. Staring at the nine furiously roaring giants, who didn’t seem to grow tired at all, he thought, “They have been chasing me for half a day now, but they still aren’t getting tired. My divine power, however, is down to 20%.”

The Windwing Evasion technique required him to use his Crimsonbright divine power as well! Although it used it up at a rate that was far slower than the rate it was used up in battle, running around for half a day would consume a great amount as well.

“My full-strength sword attacks are only capable of giving them some light flesh wounds.” Ning said to himself. “But the nine of them are actually those nine transformed seeds, just like those eighty one golden armored soldiers I fought earlier. When I shattered their army, they immediately reformed.”

Ning understood very well…

Even if he were to pierce through their heads, they still probably wouldn’t die.

More importantly, his full strength attacks were only capable of leaving behind some flesh wounds.

“What should I do?”

“What exactly should I do?” Ning constantly pondered.

He had no options.

Despair!

“In the long-ago distant past, those Fiendgod Body Refiners of the Xiantian level who were transported probably watched, just like me, in despair as their divine power was used up, and then were killed.” Ning now understood his weakness. His weakness was that his [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was only at the fourth stage.

This corridor was meant for Fiendgod Body Refiners of the Xiantian level to go through.

When Immortal Juhua had accepted disciples, most likely the majority of those who had attempted these trials were at the peak Xiantian level as Fiendgod Body Refiners! But Ji Ning? Only when reaching the sixth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] would he be a peak Xiantian. He was currently only at the fourth stage! In terms of the purity or the depth of his divine power, he was still at an incomparable distance from the limits of the Xiantian level.

It was only natural that he wouldn’t be able to complete these three trials.

“Compared to those Xiantian experts who wanted to become the disciple of Immortal Juhua and came here to attempt these trials, my divine power is very shallow.” Ning understood. “Fortunately, I gained a hint of understanding in the true meaning of the Dao, and then developed the ‘Waterflame Lotus’ technique, which is why I was lucky enough to complete the first trial! Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even have been able to complete the first one.”

“But…there are three trials.”

“Forget about the third trial. This second trial…” Ning could sense that he already had dropped to less than 10% of his Crimsonbright divine power left. Deep in his heart, he felt both panic and despair.

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Chapter 18 – Determining Life and Death

Chapter 18 – Determining Life and Death

“I can’t keep running. If I keep running, the Crimsonbright divine power in my body will be completely used up. Once my divine power is used up, I will definitely die. I won’t even be able to struggle.” Ji Ning suddenly came to a halt, then turned to look towards the four ugly giants, already extremely angry due to the long chase. The ugly giants wielded those stone staffs, charging forward with large steps.

“He finally stopped running.”

“The human should be out of divine power by now.”

“Competing with us in running. We could run for several more days without fear.” The nine ugly giants wanted to devour this human in front of them.

Ning wielded a sword in each hand, standing there calmly.

Faced with life and death, Ning’s spirit was incomparably calm and empty. In this moment, he had thrown all other thoughts to the back of his mind, and in his heart, the only thing remaining was this battle.

“Hmph.” The nine ugly giants charged forward, and Ning immediately charged forward as well. Three fire lotus petals and three water lotus petals slowly swiveled around him, causing the giants to be unable to attack Ning simultaneously when they drew near him.

Ning’s sword struck out.

A sword like fire!

Wanton slaughter!

“Haha, his sword is too weak.”

“Too weak.” The ugly giants didn’t care at all. Ning’s sword pierced through the protection of that thick black light, but was only able to leave behind a hint of a wound.

Although Ning was very calm, he was using his full force.

“Not much divine force left.” Ning could feel that his divine power was ebbing. Grinding his teeth, he suddenly charged forward like a giant Roc soaring into the skies.

Swoosh!

The corridor was a hundred meters high, so Ning leapt a hundred meters into the air. While flying, two ancient Dao-seals appeared in Ning’s hands. One was a Light Body Seal, while the other was a Divine Movement Seal. The Xiantian ki in his body immediately rushed into the two Dao-seals, and two queer surges of power immediately flowed into Ning’s body.

“The last sword!” Ning hit the very top of the corridor, and then with two kicks, released all of his power!

He charged downwards!

Fast!

Fast!

Fast!

Relying on the force from springboarding off the ceiling, the always-terrifying speed of the [Windwing Evasion], and the force of gravity pulling him downwards, as well as the Light Body Seal and the Divine Movement Seal, his speed became all the more terrifying! In this moment, Ning’s downward charging speed had reached a heretofore unreached level, as fast as light!

Speed is power. When speed reaches a certain extreme, the power of the sword would naturally be great as well.

“The raindrop holds the meaning of Raindrop Pierces Rocks. The raindrop can become a Rain Line, a Thin Stream, a river or an ocean.” As Ning charged downwards, he was using the killing stroke of the Raindrop Sutra, the ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’. As he did so, in his mind, he couldn’t help but think back to the scene of his father, Ji Yichuan, teaching him swordplay. His father had once demonstrated all nine stances of the Raindrop Sword for him, three times.

At this moment, when faced with death, Ning immediately understood.

When his father demonstrated the swordplay, he moved very slowly. He started from ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’, then moved to ‘Rain Line’, ‘Eternally Fresh Waterflow’, ‘Merciless Waterflow’, and then finally returned to the ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’.

Right after that, it transformed into ‘Drizzling Rain’, ‘Tempest Curtain’, ‘Water Curtain Links to Heaven’, and finally returned once more to the ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’!

After that, it transformed once more into ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’, ‘Watertight’, before finally returning to ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’ once more!

“Raindrop Pierces Rocks is the most powerful attack, but also the weakest attack. The amazing mysteries in the [Raindrop Sutra] are inexhaustible and boundless. One can spend a lifetime training in it. Remember…Raindrop Pierces Rocks!” Yichuan had said these words. At the time, Ning had felt he understood them.

But after that night of meditating on the Dao, and these repeated life-and-death battles, Ning at this moment finally, truly understood what his father had labored to teach him.

“This is the attack.”

“Raindrop…!”

Ning, charging downwards at high speed with twin swords, immediately drew away one of the stone staffs of an ugly giant, sending it smashing to one side. With his right hand, Ning pierced directly towards the ugly giant’s skull! The ugly giant’s stone staff had missed its downwards smashing mark; naturally, he didn’t have the chance to raise it back to block, but he wasn’t afraid at all. “He can’t hurt me.”

“…Pierces Rocks!” Ning only stared calmly at the head of that giant.

Chi!

His sword was like water, like a heavy raindrop landing upon a stone. Pa! The sword instantly pierced through that thick black barrier, driving itself deep into the head of that giant, even into the brain. The terrifyingly natural power of the blow suddenly exploded. There was nothing in the body that could block it, and so, instantly, with a ‘Swish!’ sound, the head exploded. It transformed into a puddle of black water, and the armor and the stone staff all fell to the ground.

“Collect.” Ning immediately collected both the armor as well as the stone staff into his own storage magic treasure.

The pool of black water quickly reformed into the strange giant again, who called out in shock, “How is that possible? How is that possible?”

“Nothing is impossible.” Ning was now completely confident. He understood that these nine strange giants were no longer able to stop him.

“Die.”

Ning only had to control his Waterflame Lotus to quickly once more smash the strange giant into a puddle of black water. Without the protection of the Dao Battle-Armor, the giant wasn’t able to resist the crushing force of the Waterflame Lotus at all.

“The eight of you can die as well now.” Ning transformed into a blur, once more flashing forth like lightning.

All nine Dao Battle-Armors had to be linked together for them to be able to assist each other. Right now, the strange giants weren’t able to combine their strength at all. Now, when facing Ning’s vastly improved swordplay…they became unable to flee. All of them were killed, one after the other, and even their Dao Battle-Armor and stone staves were stored by Ning into his storage treasure.

“Die.”

Ning stood there unmoving, only relying on the Solar and Lunar Divine Tattoos to control six Waterflame Lotuses, repeatedly grinding down on those nine giants, smashing them time and time again into black water. Even though they reformed, Ning would simply grind them apart again.

After being crushed just a few times, the nine strange giants completely collapsed and weren’t able to reform.

The fog at the two ends of the corridor slowly faded away.

“Father.” Ning gently murmured.

Although that night he had spent meditating on the Dao resulted in Ning gaining a hint of true understanding regarding fire, water, and wind, understanding was nothing more than understanding; whether or not it could be used was another matter. In the past, Ning only understood the Waterflame Lotus, this single technique, which was meant for self-protection, not for attacking.

But just now, relying on the guidance his father had given him to be his foundation, in that moment between life and death, he had finally understood the true meaning of the [Raindrop Sutra] – the True Meaning of the Raindrop!

In terms of levels of understanding…

The level above ‘one with the world’ was that of the ‘True Meaning’!

“The True Meaning of the Raindrop originates from the ‘raindrop’.” Ning sighed in amazement. “A single raindrop is the source. When there are many raindrops, it can transform into a line and become the ‘Rain Line’. When there are even more raindrops, naturally it can begin to flow and have life force, which is the ‘Eternally Fresh Waterflow’. And once the waves swell to an unblockable tide, that becomes ‘Merciless Waterflow’. But when the countless raindrops all come together, you can still describe it as just a single raindrop.”

“Raindrop Pierces Rocks is the most powerful attack of the Raindrop Sutra, but also its weakest.” Ning laughed. “That is true for defense as well. Drizzling Rain, Tempest Curtain, Water Curtain Links to Heaven…they all become Raindrop Pierces Rocks in the end. Thin Streams Flow Forever and Watertight also become Raindrop Pierces Rocks.”

“The True Meaning of the Raindrop.”

“An unending circle.” Ning sighed in amazement. “No wonder Father said that one can spend a lifetime on the Raindrop Sutra.”

Without question, his father had clearly understood the True Meaning of the Raindrop long ago.

One truly could spend a lifetime to understand that the [Raindrop Sutra] could infinitely circle in on itself to grow even more powerful.

Strictly speaking…

Upon gaining insight into the True Meaning of the Raindrop, the [Raindrop Sutra] itself actually became without value. Perhaps the ancestor who had originally developed the [Raindrop Sutra] himself only reached this level, the True Meaning of the Raindrop, after having in some lucky circumstance developed these nine techniques that could forever cycle without ending. But of course, it was also possible that it was some sort of powerful Fiendgod or powerful Immortal who intentionally developed this sort of inexhaustible, circular, increasingly powerful swordplay.

“Raindrop Pierces Rocks. Raindrop Pierces Rocks.” Ning chanted softly, and then he shut his eyes to rest. That battle had been too exhausting.

——————————

After resting and eating to his fill, Ning’s divine power recovered and then he began to perfect his True Meaning of the Raindrop. Upon having learned the True Meaning of the Raindrop…he was completely capable of using one small raindrop after another to create a thin line, then execute the ‘Rain Line’. The power of this attack was far greater than that of Raindrop Pierces Rocks.

Time flowed on.

Ning ate and drank. Fortunately, prior to this, his kalestone and Ironwood Zhan’s storage treasure all had some food within it. What he lacked right now was time. As time went out, if he was able to increase his [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] by another stage, if he could make his swordplay become even more powerful, then his chances of survival would naturally become greater.

Ning understood…

He had relied on the Waterflame Lotus to make it through the first trial, while in the second trial, he had been pushed to his limits, at which point he had gained insights into the True Meaning of the Raindrop, finally making that breakthrough in peril. Based on the increase in difficulty, the third trial would definitely be very terrifying. Since Immortal Juhua had publicly called for a disciple, one could imagine how difficult this third trial must have been.

—————————

By Serpentwing Lake.

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow, husband and wife, were temporarily staying here by the side of Serpentwing Lake. They were quietly waiting. Waiting for their son to return. But as one day after another passed, their hearts grew increasingly frantic, because the more time passed, the lower the chances were that their son was still alive.

“Cough, cough.” Snow was coughing.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic.” Yichuan saw that in one short month, his wife’s illness had rapidly worsened, making him feel all the more pity for her.

“I don’t want to panic either.” Snow stared at the endless waters of Serpentwing Lake, then sighed. “But Ning, Ning, he…it’s been more than a month. Why hasn’t he come back yet. Why hasn’t he come back yet!”

To Yuchi Snow, her son was her whole world.

“Our son will definitely come back. Definitely. When you were pregnant with Ning, the roots of your illness took hold. You can’t be angry, and you can’t panic. You know that. Take care of your body.” Yichuan’s heart was as frantic as a scorching fire. In his heart, he cared deeply about his son, but he was also worried about his wife by his side. Ever since that great battle they had fought on the way back from the Darknorth Seas…

Although the Whitewater Hound had braved a serious injury to take his wife away and flee, and their son had been lucky enough to survive, his wife and his son had both been injured.

“Ning.” Yichuan stared at the boundless lake waters as well. “You have to come back alive.”

—————————–

Within the endless hallway.

There was no day or night within this hallway, and there was no way to clearly judge the passing of time. His appetite was enormous, but the amount of food in the kalestone wasn’t that much, nor the amount in Ironwood Zhan’s storage treasure. After all, they could hunt for food at any time in Swallow Mountain, while the kalestone had size limitations, so why put in too much?

After a month, all of the stored food was completely devoured.

“Thin Streams Flow Forever and Rain Line have all reached the ‘True Meaning of the Raindrop’ level.” Ning said to himself. One was a defensive technique, while the other was offensive. His power could be considered to have greatly advanced. “After a month of training, my divine power has grown stronger as well. This third trial is the final battle…”

Ning understood how terrifying this final trial would be.

He also understood that if he passed through it, then he would survive.

But if he failed, he would die!

“Whether it is life or it is death, it all comes down to this.”

“If I die, I will most likely go to the Netherworld Kingdom again. This time, I probably won’t be so lucky as to avoid drinking Granny Meng’s Elixir. After drinking it, I will no longer be myself.” Ning had a dim sense right now, the deep, unconscious sense which one would have when one’s soul grew powerful. His unconscious sense felt a type of incomparable terror right now, as though he was about to face an incomparably terrifying trial.

“Time to determine life or death.”

Wielding the Darknorth swords in his hands, Ning headed directly for a twisting corridor, which still had three corpses on it that hadn’t completely rotted away, as well as some magic treasures scattered on the floor.

Ning used his divine sense to pick them up, calmly binding them. Upon investigating, he found that there were thousands of magic treasures stored within a storage treasure, all of which he could easily fuse. Indeed, these were all unranked magic treasures. However…such a terrifying number still represented an incomparably astonishing wealth. Ning was very calm though. Because…if he died, what use would these be?

“You finally came.” A hoarse voice rang out, in the tongue of the humans which was spoken everywhere throughout the Grand Xia Dynasty.

Ning immediately looked over. From afar, in a place filled with black mist, a figure walked out. He had a crooked body, an oily green gaze, and his entire body was covered with black fur. He seemed to walk very slowly, but with each step, he travelled dozens of meters. “A pity. You are too weak.”

Hua!

In an instant, he appeared in front of Ning. His fan-sized, big grey palm carried a dense, deathly aura which slammed down towards Ning. This simple slap was so fast that Ning was completely unable to dodge. All he could do was relying on using his two swords to execute his ultimate defensive technique, ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’, to block it. This ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’ technique was currently also holding the True Meaning of the Raindrop within it.

“Swish!” Ning was knocked flying, and his hands instantly turned numb.

“No…” Ning wanted to tighten his grip over the Darknorth swords in his hands. If his swords were sent flying, how would he use his sword techniques? But his fingers were already completely numbed and had no feeling. Hua! Hua! His shattered fingers and his two Darknorth swords flew far away, smashing into the distant walls and emitting a clear ringing sound.

Every part of Ning’s skin had split open, and he was surrounded by a bloody mist. The fingers on both hands had been shattered. And so, his entire body covered by that bloody mist, he flew backwards and smashed against the distant ground.

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Chapter 1 – His Waiting

Chapter 1 – His Waiting

Ji Ning slammed onto the ground, but he felt the area around him was so quiet. So terrifyingly quiet.

He couldn’t hear anything at all.

At the same time, his entire body had lost all feeling. The powerful life force within his Fiendgod-like body immediately got to work, and his divine power quickly began to heal everything. The torn muscles and skin on his body, and even his torn intestines and organs began to rapidly heal. Ning’s ears could now hear again, and he gained feeling in his body again.

“Pain. Such pain.” Ning hurriedly looked into the distance. In that moment when he had completely lost all feeling and lost all hearing, he had been terrified.

“Truly too…too terrifying.’ Ning stared at that distant, stooped, black-furred monster which emanated that thick, deathly aura. “That slap’s speed was so fast I couldn’t dodge at all. His strength in turn is far greater than the combined strength of those nine strange giants!”

The black-furred monster stood there quietly, his oily green eyes staring at Ning. He let out a hoarse sigh, which carried an endless resignation and disappointment. “I’ve waited for far too long, so long that I’ve forgotten time. All you need to do is pass the three trials without dying. You don’t need to kill me. You just need to knock me down, to injure me. That’s all.”

With difficulty, Ning climbed to his feet, the ground stained with blood.

“Knock you down?” Ning stared at the stooped, black-furred creature.

“No. More precisely speaking, as long as you can injure me, can break my skin, can make me bleed.” The black-furred creature said slowly, “I will immediately fall down. I’ve already calculated…the last time, when Immortal Juhua was recruiting a disciple, there were ten people who had completed the trials and appeared before me. It was so rowdy. There was one of them, a youth, who relied on an extremely powerful Dao-seal to injure me. But I just took a step back instead of falling down…if I had fallen down, there would have been no need for me to endure these countless, lonely years. Loneliness truly is terrifying, very terrifying…”

Listening to this, Ning held his breath.

The black-furred creature in front of him had actually existed in the era of Immortal Juhua. He definitely wasn’t training the Immortal ways, because there was no way for an ordinary Immortal to live this long. Only by becoming a Celestial Immortal would one truly have an unlimited lifespan, but there was no way a Celestial Immortal would be like the person in front of him. Most likely, a single breath from a Celestial Immortal would disintegrate Ning.

“Master only said that anyone able to injure and knock me down would be considered to have passed this trial.” The black furred creature said slowly in that hoarse voice. “Come. Injure me. As long as you can injure me, I will immediately fall down.”

“Injure you?” Ning’s divine will once more picked up those two Darknorth swords. His severed fingers were reattached. This black-furred monster only watched silently, not interfering.

The black-furred monster looked at Ning, then said slowly, “Come at me full force. Everyone in the countless years who has come before me, I have given them this same chance. As long as a person can injure me, I will immediately fall down. Only…none of them were able to injure me. Not one!”

Ning’s heart shook.

“Only that one time, when Immortal Juhua was recruiting a disciple, did that Dao-seal injure me. Why didn’t I fall down? Just that one time. I missed that opportunity and never had another one.” The black-furred creature spoke very slowly. Tormented by countless years of loneliness, he no longer wished to live.

“Injure him?” Ning was frightened and shocked.

Based on what this creature which had most likely lived since the Fiendgod era was saying, only a single person had ever been able to injure him, and that was through using a Dao-seal!

“These people who made it here over the years most likely also included geniuses who had reached the level of comprehending the True Meaning of the Dao.” Ning felt an unbearable pressure. “What should I do?”

“Come.” The black-furred creature began to walk forward, his body hunchbacked. “Come. Wound me.”

Ning clenched his Darknorth swords.

Swoosh!

Ning suddenly charge into the air, two Dao-seals appearing in his hands. They were a Light Body Seal and a Divine Movement Seal…although he had found many Dao-seals in the storage magic treasures on the corpses, virtually all of them had lost their magic power over the passage of countless years and become useless. Only a hundred or so seals were left, amongst which the Divine Movement Seal and the Light Body Seal were the most common. The two Dao-seals immediately entered his body upon activation.

“Die.” Ning charged upwards, reaching the ceiling of the corridor, then kicked off with his two legs, utilizing the Windwing Evasion as he charged down from the top of the prefecture.

At this moment, Ning had reached the limits of his speed.

“Die!”

Ning’s entire strength was focused on the Darknorth sword in his right hand, stabbing directly downwards.

The stooped frame of the black-furred creature came to a halt, raising its head and staring upwards with its oily green eyes at the downwards charging Ning. He just watched, watched quietly…his eyes didn’t have a hint of life, seeming very slow and numb.

“Raindrop!”

“Pierces Rocks!”

Ning charged downward, the tip of his sword transforming into a drop of water. ‘Drip’. It dripped onto the fur-covered face of that black-furred creature. At this moment, both his divine power as well as his Xiantian ki were being released at full power, and penetrative force from his high speed combined with the ‘True Meaning of the Raindrop’ had formed an extremely terrifying sword…

“Chi!”

The tip of the sword pierced onto the black-furred creature’s face, who simply continued to look at Ning with an upraised face.

“You are still very far off.” The black-furred creature sighed, his oily green eyes filled with boundless disappointment. “I need to keep waiting, keep waiting…as for you, I have no choice but to kill you.”

Ning’s sword had stabbed onto the black-furred creature’s face, but hadn’t left behind any injury. Unwilling to accept this, the Darknorth sword in his twin hands executed the ‘Rain Line’ and ‘Moth Flies Into the Flame’, two great killing strokes, stabbing at the creature’s chest and face, but once again, he was unable to harm the creature at all.

“Retreat.” Ning hurriedly retreated dozens of meters.

The black-furred creature’s stooped form continued to make its way forward, slowly shuffling, but moving dozens of meters with each step. In terms of speed, he was actually even faster than Ning! Whether it was walking speed or attack speed, he was faster than Ning. This was the first time Ning encountered someone faster than him in this corridor of trials.

Previously, he was able to rely on his Windwing Evasion to flee and buy time for himself, but this time, he was not able to do so.

“How can his skin be as tough as this?” Ning was incomparably frantic. Although the other Fiendgod Body Refiners of the Xiantian level who had previously fallen here served as proof that harming this black-furred creature was an incomparably difficult task, Ning still felt a sense of hopelessness after he himself truly used a full force attack and yet was unable to scratch the other’s face.

“Die. Stop struggling.” The hoarse voice rang out, and the stooped black-furred figure appeared out of nowhere by Ning’s side.

Ning’s body immediately became surrounded by three fire lotus petals and three water lotus petals, swiveling slowly in opposite directions and generating a stirring force. But to this black-furred creature, the force generated by the Waterflame Lotus was like nothing more than walking within small rippling waves, unable to budge his body at all.

Ning’s two hands once more executed the ‘Raindrop Pierces Rocks’ attack, stabbing at the black-furred creatures legs and genitalia.

“I’m unable to flee, and defense is useless. I have to find a chance of survival. Killkillkill! Perhaps the other parts of his body have a weak point that I can stab.” Ning definitely wouldn’t just give up.

“Stop struggling.”

The black-furred creature sighed, and his fan-shaped giant palm once more slapped down towards Ning. He couldn’t be bothered to take about Ning’s swords, allowing them to stab on his body as he still slammed his palm down on Ning’s body.

“Bang!!!”

The armor-type magic treasure Ning was wearing instantly split apart, and the giant palm, filled with that dense deathly aura, went straight through Ning’s chest, and then Ning himself was sent flying far, far away.

Bang.

Ning lay there on the floor, a huge hole in his chest. His body had nearly been torn in half. Ning lay there, completely unable to move. Such a huge hole suddenly appearing in his chest had caused his entire body to be paralyzed. He had to wait for the life force in his body to begin to regenerate it, but that needed time. He would most likely need half a minute before he would be able to recover his ability to move again.

But that distant, black-furred creature was already walking over again. Most likely, in just another second, he would be in front of Ning.

“Die.” The stooped figure of that black-furred creature ambled forward.

“No!” Ning’s heart was filled with incomparable ardor, ardor for life. He had died before, and had even gone to the Netherworld Kingdom and had seen Grandma Meng’s Elixir. So he all the more desired life…he didn’t want to go drink Grandma Meng’s Elixir. “What should I do? How can I survive? I can’t even move…right now, all I have left is my divine will. Can it be that I can rely on my divine will to wrap up the Darknorth swords to pierce into the black-furred creature.”

Ning felt hopeless.

Ning knew very well the level of strength the divine will was capable of. When he had killed Ironwood Zhan, he had investigated. Divine will was capable of wrapping up trees, boulders, with a force that was roughly equivalent to a late-stage Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner! The power of will made physical was very powerful and very strong. But what good would it be right now?

————————

“I also have them.” Ning, seeing the black-furred creature draw closer, suddenly thought of something, letting out a heroic cry. “All out, now!”

Huahuahua….

In the area around Ning, one magic treasure after another appeared out of nowhere in a dense cluster. Sabers, swords, spears…thousands of magic treasures hovered there. These magic treasures were all controlled by his divine will, and the blade tips, sword tips, and spear tips were all pointed towards that black-furred creature.

“All of my Xiantian Ki! Let’s go!” Ning had gone completely mad. The Xiantian ki in his dantian fully entered every single magic treasure.

These were all unranked magic treasures that had been left behind by deceased Xiantian lifeforms over the course of countless years. Ning had been able to easily bind them. All of these were usable by Xiantian experts, but generally speaking, Xiantian experts would wield them with their hands. Ning, because he had divine will, was able to use his divine will to wield the magic treasures.

It was as though thousands of hands had suddenly snatched up every single magic treasure, aiming them at the black-furred creature.

All of his Xiantian ki had entered every single magic treasure, causing Ning’s meridians to be torn. Generally speaking, a Xiantian lifeform could battle for a very long time, but Ning had used all of his Xiantian ki to be dispersed amongst thousands of magic treasures, causing the amount to drop.

“Kill!”

Ning’s badly damaged, completely immobile body lay there as he howled heroically with a savage look on his face.

His heroic howl was filled with incomparable ardor for life!

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Countless sword flashes, saber flashes, spear flashes, and more all shot out, instantly turning the entire corridor into a wall of dazzling white color. All of them were aimed with incomparable accuracy, stabbing out at the same time at the body of the black-furred creature, who had already closed his eyes and spread his arms out.

“Bang….”

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Chapter 2 – The Fifth Master

Chapter 2 – The Fifth Master

Thousands of magic treasures shot out like rays of sword light, blade light, spear light, and more. They were like thousands of Xiantian Ki Refiners attacking in unison! But Ji Ning did this all by himself. If Ning hadn’t reached the ‘divine will’ level of the soul, there would have been no way for him to control so many magic treasures so accurately.

If Ning hadn’t gained such astonishing regenerative abilities at the Xiantian level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he wouldn’t have been able to so wildly have all of his ki explode outwards; the only thing that would have happened was that his arteries and meridians would completely shatter, resulting in him becoming a cripple.

“Swish….”

The black-furred creature didn’t block at all, nor did he dodge at all. He held his arms wide and closed his eyes. He was waiting…hoping…

The corridor was a cacophony of sound.

The black-furred creature was like a mountain collapsing. With a rumbling sound, he fell over!

“Did I wound him?” Ning stared with incomparable hope.

Right now, his body was ravaged, his meridians and arteries were ripped, and not a single drop of his Xiantian ki was remaining.

“I must have…I must have…” Ning stared hopefully. From afar, the fallen black-furred creature suddenly sat up, lowering his head to look at his chest. At his chest, his black fur had been torn apart, revealing faintly red flesh and deep green-colored blood. A thin line of blood oozed out from the wound, and then the wound rapidly healed, leaving behind only that line of deep green blood.

Ning’s eyes instantly turned round, and he stared at the traces of deep green blood on the chest of that black-furred creature.

Success!

He had succeeded!

He would live!

“Father. Mother. I’ve survived.” Ning’s Fiendgod-like body was quickly recovering. Although he was unable to move, Ning forgot his pain; rather, he felt wild joy at having overcome that tribulation.

“Wounded me. You wounded me.” From afar, the black-furred creature was first stunned, and then he raised his head, letting out a wild, heroic howl. “Aoooooooooooooooooo!”

This heroic howl contained incomparable madness, sadness, and a sense of release.

Ning managed to sit up as well now, and he stared at the distant, howling black-furred creature….the loneliness and torment which could be heard in this great howl, which had been suppressed for trillions of years, caused even Ning’s heart to feel a sour bitterness.

After a long time, the sound ceased.

The black-furred creature stood up and look at Ning. In his hoarse voice, he said, “Thank you, my new master! Hurry up and bind this Immortal mansion. We will meet again.”

Hua!

Immediately afterwards, the black-furred creature disappeared into thin air.

—————————–

Ning quickly was able to stand up as well. The previous wounds to his meridians had been completely healed now, and he collected the thousands of magic treasures that lay scattered on the floor, storing them into his storage treasure.

“I didn’t expect that in the end, I would rely on these unranked magic treasures to pass the third trial.” Ning let out a long sigh. A Fiendgod Body Refiner at the Xiantian level was able to use thousands of magic treasures in a single combined strike…he had never even heard of such a thing, so prior to this, he hadn’t even considered the possibility.

This was because this sort of action would only be possible for a freakishly talented person like Ning, who clearly was only a Xiantian level, and yet whose soul was already on the level of having ‘divine will’.

Ning had been visualizing the [Nuwa Painting] since he was an infant. The [Nuwa Painting] was one of the best visualization techniques even in the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld Kingdom, much less in the mortal realms… the likes of the Ji clan had never even heard of ‘visualization techniques’. In fact, Ning believed that even in the entire vast area controlled by the Grand Xia Dynasty, the best visualization techniques couldn’t necessarily compare to the [Nuwa Painting].

“Success.”

“I successfully passed this tribulation.” Ning stared at his surroundings. He saw the corpses and skeletons in the distance on the ground, and felt all the more emotional. “The dead became these skeletons. The survivor, according to what the black-furred creature said…I should be the new master.”

Ning was in no hurry to advance. Instead, he sat down in the lotus position and rested.

It took a full day for the Xiantian ki in his body to return to normal. Only then did Ning rise and continue to advance. When walking through the twisting corridors, Ning didn’t move very quickly. Instead, he carefully inspected this ancient Immortal estate.

After a long time…

“Um?” Ning saw that not far away, there was an exit, outside of which a pillar could faintly be seen.

“I’ve arrived?” Ning quickly walked out of the exit, and as he did, he had to suck in a cold breath. This was an incomparably vast palace, at least thousands of meters high. Compared to this vast palace, the nearby hundreds of meters tall corridors appeared to be extremely small.

In the front of the palace, there was an enormous praying mat, which was also three hundred meters in diameter.

And in the back of the palace…

There were also hundreds of enormous prayer mats scattered about as well.

“Such an enormous prayer mat?” Ning’s heart was filled with many questions. “Prayer mats are meant to be sat on, but this three hundred meter long prayer mat…what sort of a giant would sit atop this? And it seems that in addition to the giant who would sit at the top of the hall, there would also be hundreds of other giants sitting in front of him.

“The Immortal estate of Immortal Juhua?” Ning shook his head.

If the Immortal was a human, his body should be sized like a normal humans.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Ning hurriedly walked about, carefully inspecting this palace. The entire palace was very old and plain. Aside from those hundreds of prayer mats, there were no other decorations at all. One plain stone pillar after another supported the palace hall, and on each of the two sides of the palace hall were corridors, some three hundred meters tall, others three thousand meters tall.

There were three of the corridors that were three thousand meters tall, while only two of the corridors that were three hundred meters tall.

“I can’t go in?” Ning discovered that he wasn’t able to enter any of the corridors, including the one he had just come from. It was as though there was an invisible wall blocking them.

“The palace door!” Ning turned to look at the imposing palace door. Outside the palace door…there was an area completely enveloped in mist that one couldn’t see through at all.

Ning stood there, in this incomparably vast palace. He was as small as an ant. He then walked over to one of the prayer mats and sat down. He himself was only 1.7 meters in height, but he was seated on a three hundred meter long prayer mat. Ning felt that this was quite amusing.

“It really is comfortable.”

While sitting on the prayer mat, Ning could feel his mind growing more alert, and even his thoughts became much more rapid and nimble.

“How strange. I clearly have made it past the three trials and arrived at this palace hall. But right now, I’m not able to enter any of the corridors of the palace halls. I’m trapped here.” Ning said to himself. “The original master of this Aquatic Manor, having left behind those three trials, should have made some preparations for the successor who passed those trials, right?”

For example, the black-furred creature was teleported to him, then teleported away.

He himself had been teleported here as well…clearly, someone should be controlling this Aquatic Manor.

—————————-

Right at this moment, as Ning was sitting on the prayer mat and pondering, suddenly, from one of the three thousand meter tall corridors off to the side of the palace hall, an old black bull walked over.

As though sensing it, Ning turned his head to look. As he did, he saw an old black bull that was many meters in length slowly walk in. The old bull’s eyes were filled with curiosity and liveliness as it carefully inspected Ning.

“Senior, might I ask who you are?” Ning immediately spoke out.

Most likely every single creature which appeared within this Aquatic Manor was extraordinary.

“Me?” The old black bull shook its head. “Don’t call me ‘Senior’. I’m nothing more than the spirit of a magic treasure.”

“Spirit of a magic treasure?” Ning was astonished. “Magic treasures have spirits?”

He’d never heard of such a thing.

“I’m the magic treasure which Immortal Juhua always kept by his side.” The old black bull sighed. “Child, don’t think too much about it. Even if I brought my ‘body’ in front of you, given your power, there is no way you would be able to bind me.”

Ning nodded. He understood this. As a Xiantian, he was only capable of binding some unranked magic treasures. Even ranked treasures had high and low level ones. The more powerful the magic treasure, the more difficult binding it was!

“Might I ask about the status of the master of this Immortal estate?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“Dead. All dead.” The old black bull shook its head. “Dead for I don’t even know how many years.”

Ning nodded to himself. It was as he had thought.

“It has been too long, far too long. Over these slow, countless ages, I’ve teleported in quite a few Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiners, as well as Zifu Disciples.” The old black bull sighed. “Unfortunately, not a single one was able to succeed. At most, they would make it to the third trial, where they would all die. I didn’t expect that you, child, who clearly don’t have sufficiently dense divine power, would be able to succeed. This can be considered a miracle.”

“That third trial in particular.”

“Your soul has actually reached such a stage of power. However, the technique which you used is completely impractical.” The old black bull said disdainfully. “Thousands of magic treasures, aimed in a single direction. All the enemy has to do is dodge, and then you would have to immediately control thousands of magic treasures to change direction and aim at him again…it will be very hard for you to actually strike your enemy.”

Ning nodded. “True.”

“However, that golem was driven to nearly the point of insanity by the torment of countless years of loneliness, and so he actively welcomed the attack.” The old black bull said. “And so, you succeeded.”

“Golem?” Ning said in surprise. “It was a golem?”

He had seen golems before. When he had been training with a sword, his father had procured a training golem for him. But that black-furred creature just now…it had blood, had flesh, and was even capable of speech. How could it be a golem?

“Child, how much do you know? There are many different types of golems. That one just now was just a golem which had a soul inserted into it.” The old black bull said. “After implanting a soul into it, it gains intelligence and is even capable of displaying the ‘one with the world’ sage, or even more profound sword techniques, saber techniques, boxing techniques, etc. Naturally, its power would multiply manifold.”

Ning now understood.

“As the soul trapped within the golem who is forever incapable of being reincarnated, it will be endlessly tormented.” The old black bull said. “However, your own level of enlightenment is not low. That lotus flower you created earlier was based on the fact that your body has the Divine Solar Tattoo and the Divine Lunar Tattoo. For you to have these two great divine tattoos means that you most likely are training in the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining technique of the Fiendgod era, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Given your density of divine power, I expect you have only reached the fourth stage!”

Ning hurriedly said, “Senior, your judgment is wise.”

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is a very powerful technique.” The old black bull sighed. “You were able to break through to the Xiantian level, but you are only at the fourth stage. Most likely, you broke through just recently. You should be only ten or so years old as well.”

“Eleven.” Ning didn’t try to hide it.

“An eleven year old Xiantian who trains in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. And at such a young age, you were able to reach the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’ in swordplay.” The old black bull shook its head. “A genius like this is someone whom even the Grand Xia Dynasty would expend countless efforts in cultivating and training. There’s no way they would be willing to let someone like you take tutelage under the auspices of Immortal Juhua.”

Ning lifted an eyebrows.

“Actually, just by reaching the sixth stage, given the amount of divine power you would have, and your understanding of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’, you would have been able to succeed in the third trial. However, for you to succeed in the way you have is still quite impressive. Your soul is powerful, and your level of enlightenment is high. Your future accomplishments will be limitless.” The old black bull sighed. “I still have to congratulate you. You have become the fifth master of this place.”

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Chapter 3 – To Make a Copy

Chapter 3 – To Make a Copy

“The fifth master?” Ji Ning was astonished. “Me?”

The old black bull had a hint of laughter in his eyes. He slowly ambled over, his body seeming vaguely illusory. He wasn’t a material creature, after all; just the spirit of a magic treasure.

“Of course it is you.” The old black bull said.

“That’s not what I meant. What I meant was…I’m only the fifth master?” Ning hurriedly asked. “Can it be that Immortal Juhua wasn’t the first one?”

He had previously discovered the letter on that Godbanian tree bark, and had hypothesized that after Immortal Juhua died, he shouldn’t have given this Immortal estate to anyone else.

“Immortal Juhua was the third master of this Immortal estate.” The old black bull said.

“Who was the fourth?” Ning asked.

The old black bull’s eyes held a hint of wistful memory in them. He slowly said, “In those days, Immortal Juhua’s fame was widespread. He was someone who stood at the very forefront of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. A Loose Immortal capable of living for millions of years is an absolute miracle. The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations which everyone who embarks on the Immortal path must endure…each tribulation is fiercer than the last. He had lived for simply too long, and the difficulty of the tribulations had reached an inconceivable level. Even Celestial Immortals probably wouldn’t be able to survive them. The longer he lived, the more the people in the Grand Xia Dynasty became aware of how formidable he was.”

“Immortal Juhua knew that his time was limited, and so he wanted to accept a disciple, and thus he spread the word…that he would only accept a Fiendgod Body Refiner who was at least a Xiantian lifeform but no more than a Zifu Disciple. Of the major clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the ones who were in the know all sent their disciples to attempt the trials of that corridor.

“Two corridors. One for Xiantian lifeforms, one for Zifu Disciples.”

“One young person after another died. In the end, finally, a Zifu Disciple named ‘Rampart’ successfully passed the three trials of his corridor, and thus Rampart became the fourth master of this Immortal estate.

Ning nodded.

Immortal Juhua was the third.

Rampart was the fourth.

“Unfortunately.” The old black bull shook his head. “In the face of the endless tribulations, Immortal Juhua died. Not long after Immortal Juhua died…Rampart, who was merely at the ‘Wanxiang Adept’ level died as well. As for how he died and where he died, that’s unclear. Ever since Rampart died, this Immortal estate has not had an owner.”

Ning nodded, then said questioningly, “Rampart didn’t carry the Immortal estate with him?”

“Carry it with him?” The old black bull said in a low voice. “He was unable to even completely bind this Immortal estate. How could he have carried it with him?”

“He, a venerable Wanxiang Adept, was unable to bind it?” Ning asked.

The old black bull said, “Child, don’t underestimate this Immortal estate. This Immortal estate has an extraordinary background and history, and binding it is extremely hard. You should know that the more powerful a magic treasure is, the harder it is to bind it. This Immortal estate is actually a ‘dwelling’ type magic treasure…only by becoming a Primal will one become just barely capable of binding it and carrying it.”

“A Primal can only just barely bind it; he wouldn’t be able to completely control this Immortal estate, which has some secret areas within that he still wouldn’t be able to enter. Only by becoming an Earthly Immortal or a Loose Immortal will one truly be in control of this Immortal estate.”

Ning understood. It made sense. If one was able to easily bind a magic treasure which was capable of teleporting people, that would be bizarre.

“Child, do you now understand how extraordinary this Immortal estate is?” The old black bull said complacently.

“Elder, you can address me as Ji Ning.” Ning said.

“Child Ji Ning.” The old black bull stepped onto one of the giant prayer mats on the ground. “Take a look at this prayer mat. The prayer mats are all hundreds of meters wide. Have you considered why?”

Ning pondered, then said, “Elder, when I first arrived within this palace hall, I was very puzzled as well. There is no need for an Immortal estate to have such enormous prayer mats. I actually wondered…if this Immortal estate was previously lived in by a race of giants or some other races.”

“Although Immortal Juhua was only a Loose Immortal, he survived for millions of years before dying.” The old black bull sighed. “He is the only Loose Immortal I know of who lived for so long! Why was Immortal Juhua so powerful, and why could he last for so long before dying? It was because of this…this Immortal estate!”

“This Immortal estate’s age is beyond reckoning. According to the guesses of Immortal Juhua, this should have been the dwelling of an extremely powerful Fiendgod, which is why such enormous prayer mats, beds, and corridors were built.” The old black bull said. “Immortal Juhua had, when he was young, made it past three trials before becoming the third master of this place.”

“Immortal Juhua had to pass three trials as well?” Ning was stunned.

The old black bull said, “The three trials….was the rule set down by the first master of this Immortal estate! That first master should have been an extremely powerful Fiendgod. Judging from the way the giant prayer mats in this hall are laid out, that Fiendgod should have been sat on the one up front, expounding on the Dao, while below many other Fiendgods would listen. Haha, these are all the affairs of the past. The Fiendgod Era ended long ago.”

—————————-

The old black bull and Ning chatted for quite a long while.

Ning finally couldn’t help but ask, “As the fifth master of this Immortal estate, what sort of benefits do I get?”

The old black bull blinked.

“Immortal Juhua was a Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years. He should have left some things behind.” Ning asked.

The old black bull remained silent.

“You…”

“Alas!” The old black bull finally let out a sigh. “The third master and the fourth master both died, and they died too long ago. Immortal Juhua had originally given Rampart some treasures, but Rampart died outside. Countless years have passed, and you can’t possibly get anything from Rampart. Immortal Juhua did indeed leave some magic treasures within this Immortal estate, but you won’t be able to get them.”

“Why not?” Ning asked. “Aren’t I the master of this Immortal estate now?”

The old black bull shook his head. “Imagine that you are the owner of a storage-type magic treasure, but you aren’t able to bind it. Will you be able to take out the treasures within it? This Immortal estate is a dwelling-type magic treasure. If you don’t bind it, there are many areas you cannot enter. Right now, you are only able to be here in the main palace hall. The other areas are off limits to you.”

“I can only enter this main hall?” Ning was astonished.

“You should have discovered that you are only able to be in this main hall and that you are unable to enter the other areas of this Immortal estate.” The old black bull said. “First become a Zifu Disciple; that will allow you to bind the control talisman. When you bind the control talisman, there will be many benefits to you. You will be able to enter many of the areas within the Immortal estate, and you’ll also be able to voluntarily enter the Immortal estate from outside; for example, at Serpentwing Lake, you’ll be able to enter the Immortal estate as you please.”

Pa!

Out of nowhere, a dark gray talisman appeared, landing on the floor with a clattering sound atop a prayer mat.

“This is the control talisman.” The old black bull said. “Only the master is permitted to have the control talisman. Hurry up and take it. Once you reach the Zifu Disciple level, you’ll be able to bind it. After binding it, come back to the Immortal estate. Right now, you aren’t able to enter any place at all, and you won’t be able to get anything.”

Ning collected this talisman.

The talisman was very rough. Atop it, there was a complicated, ancient-looking character; ‘Left’! Just a single character. Although Ning had never learned the meaning of this character, upon seeing it, he naturally understood what it meant.

“Control talisman?” Ning stored it into his storage-type magic treasure.

“Alright. You’ve taken the control talisman, and I’ve told you everything. You can leave now.” The old black bull said. “I’ll send you off now and teleport you back to that island in Serpentwing Lake.”

Ning hurriedly called out, “Stop!”

The old black bull looked towards Ning. “Is there something else?”

“Just like that…I’m supposed to leave?” Ning couldn’t help but say. “I just barely survived, and I’m supposed to leave with just a control talisman?”

The old black bull blinked twice. “Whose fault is it that the previous owner has already died? If he was alive, he could probably guide you or help you. But I’m just the spirit of a magic treasure…I don’t have any magic treasures or curios of my own. As for you yourself, you train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique which was even better than the technique which Immortal Juhua trained it. What can I give you? Oh! You probably don’t have any visualization techniques, right?”

“visualization techniques?” Ning was startled.

The Lord of Cui Palace had given him the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique!

“visualization techniques are capable of refining the soul and strengthening it.” The old black bull said hurriedly. “This is something only the most powerful of clans have access to. I have a visualization technique in my memory. I’ll transmit it to you.”

“Transmit?” Ning was curious.

“Take out a quill and some ink.” The old black bull urged.

Flipping his hand, Ning took out a quill and some ink, as well as a large piece of beast skin, placing them to one side.

The old black bull looked at the quill, which began to hover in the air. “I am the spirit of a magic treasure who has trained for countless years, but my ‘divine will’ is most likely still weaker than yours. Still, grabbing a quill isn’t too difficult.” Controlling the quill, he began to draw a painting onto that glossy beast skin parchment. Soon, a picture of a Buddha that had a compassionate look on his face began to appear on the parchment.

This Buddha had the sun and the moon behind his back, and radiated boundless light.

Just by looking at it, Ning felt slightly affected.

“What do you think?” The old black bull casually controlled the quill and tossed it to one side, then said delightedly, “This is a painting of the true form of Buddha, and the Shining Sun Moon Buddha at that! This [Inner Visualization of the Shining Sun-Moon Buddha] is the visualization technique which Immortal Juhua had previously used. I always was by his side, looking at this painting of Buddha, and thus I naturally memorized it. Although my painting isn’t as good as the original, as long as you often look at this painting of Buddha…you will definitely strengthen your soul.

Ning was puzzled. “Inner visualization of Buddha?”

“To become a master of the Great Dao, aside from your body, you must understand the myriad mysteries of the Great Dao.” The old black bull said.

Ning only felt resigned. Compared with the [Nuwa Painting]…it wasn’t even comparable. His [Nuwa Painting] had been imprinted by the Lord of Cui Palace into his very soul and his memory. Naturally, he could sense it much more clearly. This old bull had simply drawn out an image of Buddha based on his own memory.

“Can it be that you already have a visualization technique?” The old black bull noticed that Ning wasn’t very excited, and he couldn’t help but nod. “Makes sense. Your soul is so powerful. You should already have a visualization technique. Right…”

The old black bull pondered for a while.

Ning just waited.

This old bull was the spirit of an extremely powerful magic treasure who had followed Immortal Juhua for countless years. He should know many things.

“I remember now. Before this, you controlled thousands of magic treasures, right? I have a secret sword formation technique that is suitable for you to learn.” The old black bull suddenly said hurriedly. “In the past, I watched Immortal Juhua kill a powerful enemy who controlled a large number of flying swords in a formation to attack his enemies. His sword formation was thus recorded down by Immortal Juhua, who carefully looked through it. Although I only saw it once, I completely memorized it. I’ll make a copy for you.”

Ning hurriedly took out a large number of beastskin parchments.

The old black bull once again controlled the quill and began to write with it.

At the very top of the beastskin parchment were four words: [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

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Chapter 4 – Lesser Thousand Swords Formation

Chapter 4 – Lesser Thousand Swords Formation

Ji Ning watched off to the side, not daring to disturb the old black bull as he wrote. On the skin parchment, one line of words after another swiftly appeared, along with the occasional formation diagram.

Soon, the pages of skin parchment were completely filled.

“All done.”

The old black bull tossed the quill aside, saying delightedly, “Child Ji Ning, you can be considered to be exceptionally talented. A Xiantian who actually has such an astonishing soul! Only with a sufficiently powerful soul is one suited for utilizing this ‘Lesser Thousand Swords Formation’. However, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] also requires flying sword type magic treasures, and it has exceptionally high requirements with regards to the amount of magic treasures.

“I have plenty of these unranked magic treasures.” Ning laughed.

The old black bull shook his head. “Once you reach the Zifu Disciple level, those unranked magic treasures will no longer be usable. At that time, what you will need is ranked magic treasures, and generally speaking, you will need a large number of flying sword type magic treasures in order to utilize this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] technique’s power.”

“A large number of ranked magic treasures?” Ning was stunned. “How many?”

“The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] at this highest level requires 729 flying swords.” The old black bull said. “Even if you are just using the weakest types of ranked magic treasures, you still need 729 of them…the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] requirements regarding magic treasures are very high. The more flying swords, the better. The more you have, the greater the power of this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] technique.”

Ning was stupefied.

Over seven hundred ranked magic treasures, and all sword type? He wasn’t sure if the entire Five Prefectures of the Ji clan combined would be able to buy so many, even if they sold off all their assets.

“As your power increases, the number of flying swords you can use will naturally increase.” The old black bull said. “Starting from Mortal-level magic treasures to Earth-level magic treasures, to Heaven-level magic treasures, to Immortal-level magic treasures…”

“I, I…” Ning felt an unbearable pressure. He hurriedly said, “It wouldn’t have been hard for Immortal Juhua to procure and leave behind a few hundred flying swords here in this Immortal estate prior to his death, right? And Immortal Juhua killed that powerful enemy, who used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] right?”

The old black bull shook his head. “That great enemy was known as the Thousand Swords Immortal! Immortal Juhua had to expend enormous amounts of effort in order to kill him. Although he had acquired those flying sword magic treasures after killing him, it was a waste to just keep them without using them. Thus, Immortal Juhua immediately traded them away for a large number of precious materials, which he then forged me out of! Thus, if you want to acquire thousands of flying swords from Immortal Juhua, it is impossible. Truly powerful Immortals will usually only carry a few magic treasures which they are particularly skilled in. After killing an enemy, they will immediately use the enemy’s tools to upgrade their own magic treasures! They won’t just leave them there to be wasted.”

“Understood.” Ning was somewhat despondent.

“Don’t think too much of it. Don’t think that just because you received this Immortal estate that you’ll instantly fly to the heavens.” The old black bull said. “There are countless relic sites left from the Fiendgod Era, but how many people are able to truly stand at the very top of the Grand Xia Dynasty? The fourth master, Rampart, only reached the Wanxiang Adept level before dying. Don’t end up like him.”

The old black bull continued, “My creation was thanks to this Thousand Swords Immortal. Thus, I paid especial attention to this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. I didn’t just read it once; I also carefully pondered it. I’ll explain to you.”

Ning immediately began to listen attentively.

“The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] uses nine flying sword type magic treasures to form the base of a formation! You need nine formation bases…in order to form a sword formation. This is the most basic sword formation, which requires eighty one flying sword type magic treasures . This is the first level [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] attack.”

“If you are able to control a second set of eighty one flying swords and have these two sword formations cooperate…your power will instantly multiple! This is the second level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! You will need 162 flying swords!”

“If you are able to control 243 flying swords to have three sword formations join forces, your power will multiple once more. This is the third level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!”

“Four sword formations will again multiply the power, and is known as the fourth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].”

“And so on and so forth.”

“In the end, with nine sword formations combined, you will need exactly 729 flying swords, which will be the ninth level of this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. The power is so great…as to be inconceivable! But of course, given your current soul strength, even if you are able to control many unranked flying swords, you are far from being able to reach this level for now.”

Ning nodded as though understanding.

“For example, if you were to become a Wanxiang Adept, you would be able to use unranked magic treasures to set up nine sword formations! But if you were to use ranked magic treasures, most likely you wouldn’t even be able to set up two or three sword formations.” The old black bull said, “The more powerful a magic treasure is, the more mental energy you use up in controlling them. Naturally, it won’t be easy to control them. But this also means that even after becoming a Celestial Immortal, you can still use this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. However, by then, perhaps you would have acquired an even better sword formation. But of course, this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…should be good enough for you to use for a thousand years.”

“The most important secret of this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] lies in the ‘Lesser Thousand Seal Lines’…”

The old black bull continued to explain some of the mysteries.

—————————

A while later, Ning had finished reading the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] for the first time. He couldn’t help but sigh in astonishment. Compared to the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], that ‘Yin-Yang Twin Energy Formation’ which Ironwood Zhan had used was absolute trash.

Ning immediately and quickly withdrew nine sword-shaped magic treasures from his storage treasure. Because these were all unranked magic treasures, generally speaking they were meant to be held in the hand when engaging in battle; there were thus some differences between them and flying swords.

“Lesser Thousand Seal Lines.” Ning tested drawing the lines out on the floor with his finger.

Given Ning’s control of his body, he was naturally able to completely duplicate the seal lines.

The old black bull, by his side, shook his head. “No. It isn’t the appearance that needs to be the same; the inner meaning needs to be the same. When you draw the ‘Lesser Thousand Seal Lines’, you need to faintly activate the power of the heavens and the earth. Only then will the seal lines be complete.”

“Alright.” Ning continued to draw.

Because his copying ability was quite accurate, and given that Ning had already reached the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’ level, and also had a faint hint of understanding regarding the ‘Dao’…after drawing it 312 times, he drew a seal line which was capable of utilizing a hint of the power of the world.

“Right.” The old black bull nodded. “Your level of comprehension is very high, your soul is powerful, and you are very sensitive towards the heavens and the earth. It is only normal that you learn quickly…remember, the Lesser Thousand Seal Lines is the base for the entire [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. You must not reveal it. Once the Lesser Thousand Seal Lines are revealed, some of the larger tribes will definitely be able to develop this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] just based on the seal lines.”

Ning nodded. “I understand.”

“Then you can begin.” The old black bull watched from one side.

Ning let himself calm down, and then he withdrew a small basin from within his storage treasure. He placed his finger within the small basin, and from within his fingernail, one drop of blood after another began to well up and flow out. Soon, he had a small basin that was half-full of blood. Watching to the side, the old black bull shook his head and sighed emotionally, “Fiendgod Body Refiners have extremely powerful life force. They can be chopped into many pieces without dying, while Ki Refiners will die to a blow to the heart. If a Ki Refiner was to lose this much blood, their face would turn pale. For you, though, most likely your body replenished the blood as soon as you let it out.”

Ning didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked up a sword-type magic treasure, which suddenly shrank in size greatly. Ning’s finger, stained with blood, began to draw atop the sword.

In the blink of an eye, a single Lesser Thousand Seal Line appeared on the sword. A bloody light flashed, and quickly, the seal line completely merged into the sword.

“Success.” The old black bull nodded.

Ning then picked up yet another sword-type treasure. Once he had mastered the Lesser Thousand Seal Lines, he virtually never made a mistake. During this attempt at the trials, he had acquired thousands of magic treasures, with swords being extremely common. He had a full thousand sword-type magic treasures. Ning straightforwardly drew onto 729 of the sword-type magic treasures.

“Formation base!” Ning sat there in the lotus position, and imposed his will.

Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua! Shua!

Immediately, nine swords swung into the air around Ning, slowly revolving. But there was something missing. Ning frowned.

“Remember. The power of the sword formation comes from attuning to the heavens and the earth.” The old black bull said to one side.

After the amount of time it took to brew tea.

The nine swords hovering around Ning were faintly carrying within them a type of invisible intent. It was as though the nine swords actually formed a single entity. In that moment, the nine swords were positioned in a very perfect manner with respect to each other.

“The formation base is complete. Formation, arise!” Ning willed it, and then 72 more swords suddenly lifted up, all of them in groups of nine.

The first level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] required 81 swords to be formed into a formation.

“Huahuahua…”

81 sword-type magic treasures circled and hovered around Ning, while Ning himself closed his eyes as he controlled them. Soon, with the Lesser Thousand Seal Lines in each sword as the base, the 81 sword-type magic treasures began to emit a hazy glow while countless sword glows quickly converged around Ning.

A constantly fluctuating sword light hovered there in the air next to Ning.

Ning finally opened his eyes and stared at the hovering sword light next to him. This sword light was the Xiantian ki of his which had been transformed and compressed by the magic formation of the 81 sword-type magic treasures. The amount of power had already caused a qualitative change, and the strength was astonishing.

“Not too bad.” Ning willed it. Another 81 swords rose into the air.

———————-

The old black bull stood there, watching. He couldn’t help but sigh in amazement at the strength of Ning’s soul. This wasn’t as simple as what he had done earlier, just stupidly and wildly controlling thousands of magic treasures to go forward in one direction. He had to carefully control every single flying sword…causing them to form a perfect, complete sword formation which was continuously able to summon the power of the heavens and the earth.

“He mastered the third level as well. In terms of strength alone, the power of his sword light right now isn’t any longer than his earlier attack of thousands of magic treasures.” The old black bull sighed in astonishment. The power of this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] multiplied several times over with each increase in level.

Hundreds of sword-type magic treasures swiveled around Ning, with the surface of each sword having a hint of light on it. In front of Ning, the solidified, devouring sword light grew even more powerful.

Yet another 81 swords entered the mix, with the level of difficulty in controlling them quickly increased as well.

Ning’s forehead began to be covered in sweat.

Rumble…

All of the swords were hovering with a faint light.

“Success.” The old black bull was stunned, incomparably stunned. “He is actually able to utilize the fifth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!”

Papapapapapa…405 swords clattered and fell to the floor. His forehead covered in sweat, Ning opened his eyes and murmured to himself, “The fifth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] is too arduous. My head hurts terribly. Normally, in battle, I should limit myself to the fourth level. Using the fourth level is much easier.”

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Chapter 5 – Ancient Rites

Chapter 5 – Ancient Rites

The old black bull looked at Ji Ning, head covered in sweat, and said in praise, “Formidable, formidable. Child Ji Ning, at such a young age, you are already able to utilize the fifth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Compared to you, that Rampart is nothing worth mentioning at all! I didn’t expect that after the Immortal estate has waited for so many years, an unpolished jade like you would appear!”

Ning murmured to himself, ‘unpolished jade’? He himself had the experiences of his previous life, the [Nuwa Painting], and had been training hard since he was young. All these factors combined were what led to the old black bull praising him as being a piece of ‘unpolished jade’.

“Senior, right now, I find it difficult to utilize the fifth level.” Ning repeatedly shook his head. “I’m only able to use the fourth level freely.”

“Using it freely is more important.” The old black bull sighed. “Have you discovered that although the fourth level of this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] only allows you to control three hundred or so flying swords, in terms of power, it is already greater than when you wildly controlled thousands of magic treasures!”

Ning revealed a hint of amazement. “Even more powerful than the combined attack of thousands of swords from earlier? Although I was able to feel that the sword light I created was done so in a free manner and that it held great power, I didn’t know exactly how much power it had.”

The old black bull said, “The fourth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] will allow you to kill most peak Xiantian lifeforms as easily as you wish.”

Ning was delighted upon hearing this.

“Senior.” Ning hurriedly asked, “Dare I ask, how is my current power? How does it compare to a Zifu Disciple?”

“Right now, you have two primary types of battle tactics. The first relies on your Fiendgod body and your close-combat sword techniques.” The old black bull said. “Your swordplay already carries within it a hint of the True Meaning of the Dao. Most Xiantian lifeforms aren’t at such a high level of comprehension; most peak Xiantian lifeforms are at the ‘one with the world’ stage. Just based on this alone, you are at an advantage compared to most peak Xiantian lifeforms! But of course, I’m just talking about ‘ordinary’ Xiantian lifeforms. If your enemy is as much of a freak as you are, whose swordplay is not inferior to you, then it would be hard to say who would win.”

Ning nodded.

He understood. For example, his father, Ji Yichuan. His swordplay was most likely still inferior to that of his father; after all, Father had long ago reached the peak Xiantian level. Ning naturally wouldn’t be a match for his father.

“If you relied on your [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…” The old black bull continued, “Given your powerful Fiendgod body, if you use hundreds of flying swords to form into a [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the power will indeed be very formidable. In terms of strength, it will be far beyond that of peak Xiantian lifeforms. It should have reached the power level of most early Zifu Disciples.”

“Just early Zifu?” Ning felt that his improvement should be larger than this.

The old black bull shook his head. “Don’t underestimate Zifu Disciples. Once Zifu Disciples internally establish their Zifu, the ‘Violet Palace’, their bodies will begin to generate elemental power! Even simple attacks such as punches and kicks will be far greater than that of the Xiantian level. These are two fundamentally different levels! In addition, more importantly, Zifu Disciples are capable of using ranked magic treasures.”

“Ranked magic treasures are extremely powerful. Zifu Disciples, when using them, are far more powerful than you Xiantians can imagine. The difference between a peak Xiantian and a Zifu Disciple is like that of an infant and an adult.” The old black bull sighed in praise.

Ning understood.

Right. From the Xiantian level to the Zifu level was a fundamental change. It allowed one to be able to use ranked magic treasures. It was much like how a Xiantian lifeform could kill a peak Houtian expert as easily as chopping vegetables. Zifu Disciples could kill Xiantian lifeforms just as easily.

“Remember.” The old black bull shook his head. “No matter what, do not underestimate Zifu Disciples. Every single Zifu Disciple has bizarre, strange abilities. Some are skilled at formations, others are skilled at venomous pests, still others at controlling souls or creating golems, or even sorcery…there’s no way to describe them in ‘general’. If you run into someone who is a bad matchup for you, you will definitely die.”

“The weak can overcome the strong.”

“If a bad matchup happens, an early Zifu expert can slay a late Zifu expert.” The old black bull sighed. “The path of Immortality includes everything in existence. There are too many techniques…a Zifu Disciple might be weak, but if he had raised millions of terrifying venomous insects, even a Wanxiang Adept might be devoured alive!”

Ning swallowed a cold breath of air.

“But it’s rare.” The old black bull said hurriedly. “It’s quite rare for someone of a lower rank to kill someone of a higher rank. For example, someone like you who has such an incredibly powerful soul as well as hundreds of flying swords, and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…many factors combined to give you this sort of combat potential. I’m just warning you not to underestimate any opponent. Even Xiantian lifeforms.”

Ning nodded gently. “Understood.”

Upon reaching the Zifu Disciple level in particular, no one was easy to deal with.

——————————–

In his heart, Ning was still quite joyful. On this trip to the underground estate, he had acquired a killing attack; the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

“Child Ji Ning.” The old black bull continued, “Before this, when I watched you attempt the trials, I discovered that the power of your swords is fairly average. Can it be that you aren’t aware of the ‘Fiendgod Bloodforging’ technique?

“Fiendgod Bloodforging technique?” Ning blinked. “What’s that?”

The old black bull couldn’t help but say, “In the Fiendgod Era, virtually all people with a bit of power or clans of a decent size would know about this. This is because every single Fiendgod knew it, and this was something which every single Fiendgod had to learn. I saw that you are clearly a Fiendgod Body Refiner, but you it seemed as though you didn’t know the Bloodforging technique. Naturally, that made me curious.”

“Senior, please instruct me.” Ning asked hurriedly.

Having an old person at home was like having a treasure.

This sort of old man who had lived since the Fiendgod era knew so many things.

“Fiendgods are not the same as we humans.” The old black bull said. “They don’t train in Ki, and are unable to use magic treasures. However, they need weapons as well. As their strength increased in power, however, how could they find a suitable weapon for them? Thus…the great powers amongst the Fiendgods developed the Fiendgod Bloodforging technique!”

“First, find a weapon, and then utilize the complicated Rites of Bloodforging! After the bloodforging is completed the weapon will be able to absorb various auras, such as a baleful aura, an evil aura, a killing aura, and other auras. The more enemies you kill, the more powerful the enemies you kill, the more the weapon will naturally strengthen. It can change in size and weight as you please.”

“This sort of weapon is often referred to as a ‘divine weapon’, a ‘demonic weapon’, or a ‘slaying weapon’.” The old black bull said. “As the strength of the master increases, and as the master kills more and more powerful opponents, the strength of the weapon will increase as well, to the point where in the Fiendgod era, some divine weapons and demonic weapons were even more powerful than Immortal-level magic treasures.”

Ning’s eyes were shining.

Right. The heavens were always fair. The Fiendgods were completely unable to use magic weapons, but thus they had some techniques to make weapons for themselves. So it was through absorbing baleful auras and other auras; causing their divine weapons to increase in power through slaughter.

“Senior, please teach me.” Ning said hurriedly.

“Since I’ve mentioned this to you, of course I will teach you.” The old black bull said. “The Rites of Bloodforging are very complicated. Listen carefully.”

The old black bull stood there, expounding on the process of the Rites of Bloodforging, while at the same time drawing down some diagrams on occasion. Ning just listened and memorized.

Why was it known as the Rites of Bloodforging?

The primary required ingredient was the blood of Fiendgods. For a human Fiendgod Body Refiner, only the blood of one who had naturally developed divine tattoos while reaching the Xiantian level would suffice, as only then would they have been reborn into the body of a Fiendgod. Only such a person would be able to use the Fiendgod Bloodforging technique. Some of the lower-class Fiendgod Body Refiners were unable to use this bloodforging technique.

“Huahuahua…” Ning took out a gourd. This gourd was originally used to store wine. It didn’t look large, but it was able to contain ten thousand kilograms of wine. Ning poured out all of the remaining wine in the gourd, not leaving a single drop behind, and then placed his finger into the gourd.

Blood dripped out from his finger, flowing into the gourd.

A long time later.

“A thousand kilograms of blood is enough.” The old black bull said to the side. “This bloodforging technique is only usable by Fiendgods. Normal Ki Refiners who lose this much blood will definitely die.”

Ning sat there in the lotus position. Immediately after having released the blood, the powerful life force in his body naturally began to regenerate his blood. The only thing which was used up was divine power. When the divine power in Ning’s body was reduced to just half, roughly a thousand kilograms of blood had entered the gourd.

“There are seven steps to the rites. You must be sincere.” The old black bull warned.

Ning respectfully knelt down and kowtowed three times, and then stood up before kneeling down and kowtowing three more times. He did this eight times, in all eight directions!

“Hua…” Ning suddenly overturned the gourd in his hand. From within the gourd flowed out a large amount of fresh blood. As soon as it flowed out, it was wrapped up by Ning’s divine will and quickly scattered in an area of roughly two hundred and fifty meters around him. The countless droplets of blood formed into a massive diagram, a diagram of a head with disheveled hair.

The diagram completed.

Boom! Instantly, a bloody aura that was visible to the naked eye began to shine.

“The descendant kneels in supplication to the Ancestor God.” Ning called out in a loud voice.

The first step of the bloodforging rites – Begging the Ancestor God!

————————

The complicated Rites of Bloodforging continued for nearly half a day. The bloody light in the area had already formed into a bizarre character. According to what the old black bull had said…this sort of character was known as Fiendgod characters! It was a type of writing which the heavens had naturally given birth to. Although he had never learned it before, the first time he had seen the characters, he understood it.

The meaning of this Fiendgod character was…‘KILL’!

“Huahuahua…” Three Darknorth swords appeared in mid-air. As soon as they appeared, they began to hover there. The weapons which Ning was planning to use the Rites of Bloodforging on were these Darknorth swords! Because, according to what the old black bull had said, although the Fiendgod Bloodforging technique didn’t have very high standards necessary towards weapons, the better the base material was, the better the results would be. Those unranked magic treasures were simply too inferior.

Based on the judgment of that old black bull, the Darknorth swords should have previously been Heaven-level magic treasures. Although the runes atop them had been destroyed, the only thing that matter for bloodforging was the physical material components. As for the runes, those were meaningless.

“Hua!” “Hua!” “Hua!”

The ‘Kill’ character formed by the nearby blood began to shoot shadows out from itself, entering the three swords. That enormous ‘Kill’ character hovering in mid-air began to dim, and then disappeared. The entire hall once more returned to its usual calm.

Ning let out a long breath.

“Senior.” Ning couldn’t help but say. “Just then, I sensed an awesome presence that seemed even higher than that of the ‘Dao’…” He had meditated on the Dao before, and had gained a hint of an insight into the aura of the Dao. However, just now, when undergoing the Rites of Bloodforging, that ancient, natural aura that had emanated forth made him feel as though he had touched a powerful, mighty existence which was even more ancient than the Dao.

The old black bull sighed. “I didn’t dare to say a word during the Rites of Bloodforging. I was completely stunned. Take a look and see how your weapon seems.”

With a wave of his hand, the three Darknorth swords landed in Ning’s grasp. Picking one up with his divine will, he sliced it against his arm. Chi! The skin on his arm, seemingly as tough as leather, began to emit sparks, then finally cracked apart into a wound.

“Much sharper.” Ning was shocked.

“Your Darknorth swords were made from good materials.” The old black bull said. “Right now, your close combat abilities have increased dramatically. Most peak Xiantian experts won’t be a match for you. In close combat, you are only one or two levels lower in power than when using the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. However, you must understand that you are training in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Your close combat strength will increase at a monstrous rate. For example, when you train to the sixth stage, your close combat power should completely eclipise the power of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! Once you then learn a close-combat type ‘divine ability’, it will become effortless for you to do battle against those at a higher level.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. “Elder, do you know any divine abilities?”

“Divine abilities? Those are the secrets of the great powers amongst Fiendgods, which are not taught to outsiders.” The old black bull shook his head. “Immortal Juhua only knew a single divine ability; the ‘Heavenly Transformation’ technique. Unfortunately, I never asked him about it. Alright…given your potential, in the future, you will definitely have the chance to learn a ‘divine ability’. Once you do, it will be normal for you to fight those at a higher level. That is the power of a true Fiendgod!”

Ning nodded.

He understood. As an Fiendgod Body Refiner, he had a good foundation. In a few years, he would reach the sixth stage. His [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would also strengthen alongside his soul, and he was very talented. The only problem was that the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had very high requirements with regards to magic treasures. When he became a Zifu Disciple, he would have to get hundreds of ranked magic treasures…his head hurt just thinking about it.

“Enough. You can go back now.” The old black bull said.

“Thank you so much, Senior.” Ning naturally had packed away the scrolls of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and the [Inner Visualization of the Shining Sun-Moon Buddha]. Although he himself didn’t need the visualization technique for himself, he could still leave it for his parents or the Ji clan.

“You can go.” The old black bull said.

Hua!

Ning only felt an enormous illusory grizzly head appear, swallowing him within its maw. Spacetime around him once more distorted. He understood that he was about to return to Serpentwing Lake.

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Chapter 6 – Ji Ning – Entering Lake, Battling Serpentwing

Chapter 6 – Ji Ning – Entering Lake, Battling Serpentwing

Ji Ning only felt spacetime changing, and then everything calmed down.

“Huh?” Ning looked at the dark tunnel in the lair. This was the place he had been teleported from. He couldn’t help but laugh.

This event truly had been something he had barely survived.

However, in the end, he had lived, and his power was much greater than before as well.

“Next time I go in, I’ll need to have first bound this control talisman.” Ning stretched out his hand, and a roughly made talisman appeared within it, with the Fiendgod character for ‘Right’ embedded on it. Ning had tested binding it, but unfortunately, his Xiantian ki was completely unable to enter it. It seemed as though he absolutely had to wait to become a Zifu Disciple.

“Right?” Ning murmured. “Why is there a ‘Right’ character on this talisman? I wonder what sort of history it has.”

And then, Ning pushed it to the back of his mind as he stored the talisman again. With a leap, he moved out from the corridor as agilely and as quickly as a gust of wind.

———————-

Serpentwing Lake, within a crude room. Ji Yichuan and his wife were living here.

Yuchi Snow was currently quietly seated at the side of the lake. In her hand, she held a cup of boiling hot water, which she was slowly drinking.

“Snow, Snow.” Suddenly, a cry of excitement rang out from within the room. Yuchi Snow immediately turned her head to look. The normally glacier-like Yichuan now had his face covered with excitement and joy as he rushed out. On his chest, some drops of water could be seen, with the faint scent of wine.

Yuchi Snow, seeing the way her man was acting, had a sense that she knew what had happened. “What is it?”

“I can sense it.” Yichuan said hurriedly. “I can sense the jade sword. It is completely unharmed! Previously, Ning definitely must have suddenly entered a secret, hidden area, a small dimension or a small world, or perhaps an ancient formation. He has already come out of that hidden area alive.”

Encountering a relic site was a matter of luck, but it also represented an enormous risk! Ning hadn’t left for over a month, and so the two of them had been growing increasingly concerned and increasingly panicked.

Yuchi Snow closed her eyes. Two flows of tears came out, and she murmured to herself, “Thank the heavens and thank the earth. Thank the heavens and thank the earth.”

“He is currently in the center of Serpentwing Lake, most likely on that island.” Yichuan said hurriedly.

“Let’s go see him.” Snow stood up.

“Right.” It had been a long time since Yichuan had lost his composure like this. Even when he had learned that his son had broken through to the Xiantian level, he hadn’t been this excited. Immediately, he took his wife by the hand and began running across the surface of the lake as though it were solid land, transforming into a streak of blue mist as he hurried afar.

The Azure Firebird couldn’t always be here waiting. After all, that was the spirit-beast of Ji Redflower! In recent days, Yichuan and Snow had been living here, while the Azure Firebird had gone home.

Suddenly…

“Diremonster Serpentwing, I, Ji Ning, have come again! You still won’t come out?!” A loud roar spread in every direction, including into the ears of Yichuan and his wife, still walking across the surface of the lake.

“Ning, he…” Yuchi Snow couldn’t help but reveal a hint of a laugh on her face. “As soon as he leaves that hidden relic site, he immediately once again challenges that Serpentwing.”

Yichuan nodded. “Ji Ning relied on the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] to become a Xiantian, and so he wasn’t that far off from Serpentwing to begin with in power. This time, within that hidden relic site, perhaps he had some certain gains…and now that I can sense his location, there’s no need for any concern.”

“Right.” Snow nodded as well.

The two continued to move forward.

Soon…

“Look!” Yichuan saw from afar, in the distance, the waves of the lake were parted as a youngster was walking directly towards the bottom of the lake. “That kid has actually parted the waters and is heading directly towards the bottom of the lake.”

“He’s going to the bottom of the lake?” Snow was shocked.

Yichuan shook his head. “Don’t be worried. You watched Ning as he grew up. Can it be that you don’t know his temperament? If he wasn’t confident, would he go down?”

“Right.” Snow nodded.

“Let’s go over, but we’ll stay on the surface of the lake.” Yichuan said. “We’ll monitor the situation down below at all times. As soon as anything goes wrong, I will immediately go down.”

———————–

“Diremonster Serpentwing, I, Ji Ning, have come again! You still won’t come out?!” After calling out while at the surface of the lake, Ning waited for a long time but Serpentwing still did not come out. Ning immediately made the decision to use his power to control fire and water to take command over the water around him in Serpentwing Lake.

Huahuahua….

The waters of the lake were parted by an invisible hand, and were parted, revealing a corridor into the water.

Ning walked directly towards the bottom of the lake. The deeper he went, the more powerful the water pressure became. Ning directly controlled a cylindrical underwater ‘corridor’ roughly ten meters across as he walked down through the corridor.

“That’s the one named Ji Ning.”

“It’s him.”

The aquatic lesser monsters within the lake stared from afar as a human walked down through a corridor. All of them once more went to make the report.

Serpentwing’s nest.

The Diremonster, Serpentwing, had already transformed into human form, and was seated on a chair. He was forcibly suppressing his rage. “This Ji Ning came over a month ago to challenge me, and now he is challenging me again! The lake is so enormous. If some Xiantian lifeforms are hidden nearby, who would know? I know you have a trap. How could I let myself fall for it?”

“Great king, great king.”

“Great king.”

Three lesser aquatic monsters came charging over.

“What is it?” Serpentwing growled.

Of the three lesser aquatic monsters, the leader, a prawn monster, hurriedly reported, “Great king, that Ji Ning suddenly parted the waters and has begun entering the depths of the lake.”

“Entering the lake?” Serpentwing suddenly stood up, then immediately said, “When he parted the waters, what method did he use?”

“We didn’t see him use any Xiantian Ki, nor did we see anything special. The waters simply naturally parted.” That prawn monster said hurriedly.

Serpentwing said in astonishment, “No wonder this Ji Ning dared to challenge me in such a way. So he was capable of controlling water as soon as his Fiendgod Body Refining technique reached the Xiantian level. I wonder which type of technique he trains it. Who cares. When I went to the Western Prefecture City, he was only at Houtian level. Now that he has reached the Xiantian level, he is still only at most an early Xiantian!”

“He actually dares to enter the lake!” The long, narrow eyes of Serpentwing were flashing with a ferocious light. “Hell has no doors, but you insist on barging in. I, Serpentwing, will naturally grant you your wish and send you to the depths of the eighteenth level of Hell.”

Serpentwing immediately charged out of his nest.

If they were on the surface of the lake, Serpentwing would be afraid of an ambush. But the bottom of the lake was his territory. Humans who entered it wouldn’t be able to use a tenth of their power; even if Yichuan had entered, he would only at most be able to wound Serpentwing.

“Ji Ning is actually as stupid as this? It makes sense. He’s just an eleven year old child. His power is great, and so he thinks he is a peerless talent, and he has no regard for anyone. You killed my boy Redtip. I will definitely kill you.” Serpentwing, upon leaving his nest, immediately transformed into his enormous winged serpent form, swimming at high speed.

“So it really is him!”

Serpentwing suddenly came to a halt. Staring into the distance, he saw that from afar, Ning was already very close to the bottom of the lake, and a cylindrical downwards corridor was constantly being created, with a human youth slowly walking downwards.

“He really did come to the bottom of the lake.” Serpentwing’s red eyes were filled with a murderous light. “He really is asking for death.”

Hua…

He quickly swam over.

——————————-

Ning was wielding the Darknorth sword in his hand, striding on the water as he walked towards the bottom of Serpentwing Lake. Wherever he walked past, the waters of the lake naturally parted to form a corridor.

“Hrm?” Ning immediately saw that enormous black shadow draw close to him.

“Serpentwing!” Ning immediately recognized him. As the enormous black shadow drew near, that ferocious head of Serpentwing’s grew clearer as well. Those scarlet red eyes were staring angrily at Ning.

“Ji Ning!” Serpentwing let out a furious howl, his voice ringing out. “You killed my son. Today, I will make you pay for it with your life!”

Ji Ning roared back, “Old monster, you have slaughtered humans in the thousands. You caused the death of Spring Grass, and today, I will personally execute you!”

The original cause of so many things!

So many people had died. Spring Grass had died. All of this came from the enmity between himself and Serpentwing.

“Hahaha, you will execute me? Little child, you truly don’t know your own limits. You actually dare to come into the depths of the water…once you are within the water, you won’t be able to return to the surface of the lake until your next life!” Serpentwing was supremely confident. “Your father wounded me multiple times, but I will let him share the pain of losing a child with me!”

As soon as his words came to an end, Serpentwing suddenly scurried forward, charging straight towards the corridor which Ning had created.

“Hua…” First, a serpentine tail pierced into the watery corridor, smashing straight towards Ning. Serpentwing’s current speed and power…was immeasurably greater than the Azure Skysnake’s.

“He lives up to being a peak Xiantian-level Diremonster.” Ning was startled. In terms of speed alone, the late Xiantian-level Serpentwing was actually somewhat weaker than the Azure Skysnake, but in strength he was definitely above the Azure Skysnake. But now, even in terms of his weakness, speed, Serpentwing was superior to the Azure Skysnake.

As for his strong point, power, Serpentwing had reached an awe-inducing level.

“Old monster, prepare for death!” Ning immediately utilized his Windwing Evasion, transforming into blurred smoke that was even faster than the whipping attack of the serpentine tail of Serpentwing, immediately leaping onto the body of the snake.

“Roaaaaaaaaaaar.” Serpentwing turned his head, opening his foul maw and biting down towards Ning.

Ning, wielding his Darknorth swords in his hands, leapt up and directly stabbed towards Serpentwing’s serpentine head.

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Chapter 7 – Painting Serpentwing Lake with Blood

Chapter 7 – Painting Serpentwing Lake with Blood

Serpentwing’s giant bloody maw spat out a watery arrow of liquid. Swish! Swish! Swish! Gleaming with black light, the venomous liquid spread out towards Ji Ning, who didn’t dodge at all. The Darknorth sword in his left hand immediately executed the ‘Watertight’ technique, deflecting the venomous liquid to one side, and it landed on Serpentwing’s own body.

“Crackle…” Serpentwing’s scales were immediately set alight, but then afterwards the venomous liquid sank into Serpentwing’s body, absorbed by him.

Ning’s left hand had pushed aside the venomous liquid. His right hand was stabbing straight for Serpentwing’s head!

His sword flashed like a ray of light!

Hua!

This sword contained the power of the True Meaning of the Waterdrop, and was so fast that it caused even Serpentwing to be shocked. He hurriedly tried to twist his head away.

“Raindrop!” Ning’s eyes were filled with a cold, flashing light. “PIERCES ROCKS!!!”

The sword light flashed straight through the side of Serpentwing’s head, piercing straight through those scales and then burrowing straight through the side of his head. Beneath the injury, one could faintly even see the white skull bone, and an enormous amount of green blood sprayed out from the wound.

“He actually injured me?” The old monster, Serpentwing, went completely berserk. He wildly swung his head, his enormous scaled wings quickly sweeping towards Ning as well, and even his serpentine tail struck out, seeking to constrict Ning. For a moment it seemed as though he had been possessed, and the waters of the lake around them began to bubble and froth.

Ning, wielding his two swords, moved like a shadow. “Not only will I injure you, I will kill you!”

Although Serpentwing was stunned at the power of the swordplay Ning had displayed, he refused to believe that he, an old monster who had been training for a thousand years, would be defeated by this little human child. What’s more, Ning was the one who killed his most beloved child, Redtip…in this moment, Serpentwing had only one thought – kill Ji Ning!

Huahuahua…

The waters of the lake swirled about, and the enormous scaled wings as well as that unpredictable serpentine tail attacked wildly. The waters of the lake was the domain of the aquatic monsters, and here, Serpentwing was like a tiger who had been given wings.

Using the principles of ‘using generals against soldiers, using earth to block floods’, Ning continued to use appropriate, matching techniques to deal with the attacks. His sword techniques flashed out, leaving behind one wound after another on the serpentine tail and scaled wings of Serpentwing.

“How is this possible!”

“How can he possibly defeat me!”

“Die! Die! Die! I will make you die!” The old monster Serpentwing was now completely berserk.

Ning continued to battle against him, and occasionally, with but a glance, he would create a fire lotus petal or a water lotus petal. The fire lotus petal and water lotus petal would appear directly above and below Serpentwing, boxing him within. As the fire lotus petal and water lotus petal slowly swiveled in opposite directions, Serpentwing began to howl as his scales began to crack. “FORM!”

Above his head, a layer of frost rapidly appeared, while at the same time, his serpentine head shook violently, dispersing the Waterflame Lotus.

——————-

They battled wildly within the lake, causing utter chaos. None of the lesser aquatic monsters dared to draw near.

Serpentwing’s body was covered with multiple gaping wounds, and green blood oozed everywhere, staining the surrounding lake water green.

Above the lake.

Ji Yichuan, dressed in white fur, stood there with Yuchi Snow. The entire surface of the lake was shaking wildly, as though deep within the lake, an enormous aquatic monster was shaking.

“Such a large commotion.” Yichuan’s eyes lit up.

Snow nodded as well. “It seems Ning is giving that old monster Serpentwing a great deal of pressure. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a large commotion. Look, the water of the lake is turning green, and there are corpses of fishes and prawns.” The nearby undulating waters of the lake were beginning to have corpses of fish and prawns float on the surface. Clearly, they had been poisoned.

Yichuan took a sniff with his nose. “This is the blood of Serpentwing. His blood is highly venomous. Even after having been diluted by the lake water, most fish and prawns will be poisoned to death by it.”

“He has lost so much blood.” Snow’s amusement became even more pronounced. “Ning’s power has improved greatly.”

“Right. To let a peak Xiantian-level old monster like Serpentwing lose so much blood is indeed very impressive.” Yichuan was very eager as well.

—————————

Serpentwing had already used all the power available to him, but he still had yet to even injure Ning. Instead, his body was now covered with wounds, all inflicted by the sharp Darknorth swords in Ning’s hands.

“After I reached the peak Xiantian stage, in this area controlled by the Ji clan, there’s only a few people more powerful than me! All of them are extremely famous…how could this punk Ji Ning be so powerful? Most likely, not even that Ji Lee is a match for him.” Serpentwing, after going berserk for a time, had calmed down, and had begun to plan for a retreat.

The power Ning had displayed truly was astonishing.

As an old monster, Serpentwing’s body was naturally powerful…the sword attacks of most Xiantian-level Ki Refiners probably wouldn’t even break through his scales. But Ning’s swords were incomparably sharp! They sliced right through, leaving massive wounds, or pierced right through, gouging great holes.

“In a few more years, won’t this Ji Ning be even more powerful than his father?” The rage in Serpentwing’s heart was quickly dissipating, leaving behind only terror and alarm. “There’s no way I’ll be able to outfight a freak like him. I’d best flee!”

Swoosh!

With a shake of his serpentine tail and a turn of his serpentine head, the two scaled wings began to tremble…and Serpentwing began to attempt to flee at high speed.

“Old monster Serpentwing, don’t even think about fleeing!” Ning, currently standing on Serpentwing’s body, simultaneously controlled the corridor of water while utilizing the Windwing Evasion technique rapidly.

“If I want to leave, I’ll leave.” Serpentwing bellowed. With a shake of his tail, the waters of the lake immediately grew turbulent, and a surge of water immediately drenched Ning.

Immediately afterwards, Serpentwing felt extremely delighted.

A corridor formed by controlling water? Serpentwing was an aquatic monster who could also control water. To destroy it would naturally be extremely easy. If he wasn’t able to beat Ning, could it be that he also wouldn’t be able to flee?

“Huh?” Serpentwing suddenly, vaguely felt a terrifying threat appear. He couldn’t help but to turn his head and look.

In the lake waters behind him, Ning was currently standing upright and floating, surrounded by countless sword-type magic treasures. Every single one of them was covered with a faintly glowing light. A glowing sword of light formed from Xiantian ki that had been passed through and transformed by over three hundred flying sword magic treasures was currently hovering next to Ning, flickering.

“Magic treasures? So many magic treasures?” Serpentwing was stunned.

Swish!

The glowing sword of light flashed, instantly traversing hundreds of meters. Serpentwing could sense that this glowing sword of light contained boundless power. He wanted to turn his head to dodge it, but the glowing sword of light only curved slightly when arcing, and thus still pierced with great precision straight through the center of Serpentwing’s serpentine head.

Bang!

The sword of light pierced straight through Serpentwing’s skull, carrying with it green blood as well as some brain tissue.

“Aaaaah!” Serpentwing stared at Ning in astonishment. “This formation, formation…”

“You should feel honored that you died beneath this sword formation.” Ning slowly walked over, and the waters of the lake parted before him. Serpentwing’s eyes grew dim, and then his enormous body began to slowly drift downwards…

This old monster of Serpentwing Lake, who had been treated as a local tyrant for thousands of years, had died!

Watching the corpse of Serpentwing slowly drift down, Ning had very complicated feelings in his heart. It was this old monster who had gone to Western Prefecture City to attack him…resulting in this chain of events. When he had gone out adventuring and exploring, he had treated Serpentwing as his ultimate goal. Although Serpentwing had broken through to the peak Xiantian level in power, Ning had still executed him!

“Collect.” Ning grabbed Serpentwing’s enormous corpse. With but a thought, he stored it into an empty storage-type magic treasure. Although Serpentwing’s corpse was massive, when rolled up, it could still fit into one of the storage-type magic treasures. Although Ning didn’t have many other things, he had nearly a thousand storage-type magic treasures.

“Time to go back up.” With but a thought, the waters parted above him, and Ning began to walk upwards.

————————-

Yichuan and Snow were standing atop the lake, waiting.

“No more movement?” Snow looked at the slowly calming waters. “There’s nothing going on down there any longer.”

“Serpentwing was most likely unable to do anything to Ning.” Yichuan said. “Thus, he probably retreated. This battle has come to an end.”

Snow looked at her man. “Can’t it be that Ning executed that old monster?”

“Executed? In the water, that old monster can battle when he wants and flee when he wants. Beating him is easy, but executing him? Hard, hard, hard.” Yichuan had personally fought with Serpentwing a few times. He couldn’t help but shake his head. But then his eyes lit up, and he stared into the distance. “Look. Ji Ning is coming out.”

Snow turned to look as well.

From afar was the island in the center of Serpentwing Lake. A white wave was rising up next to the island, and the wave then parted, creating a corridor. A youth dressed in beast furs was walking through the waves, heading straight for the island.

“Ning!” Snow immediately called out.

———————–

Ning had been walking on the waves and heading for the island, but in his ears, he suddenly heard that familiar call. “Ning!”

“Mother?” Ning was stunned, and he hurriedly turned to look.

From afar, he saw Ji Yichuan, dressed in white furs, and Yuchi Snow. They were rapidly running towards him on water. This sight caused Ning to be both astonished and delighted.

Yichuan and Snow landed on the island.

“Ning.” As soon as she had arrived, Snow immediately grabbed her son by the hand, carefully inspecting him.

“Don’t worry. Even if Ji Ning was wounded, given the strength of his Fiendgod body, he will quickly recover.” Yichuan looked towards Ning, his eyes filled with satisfaction. “To be able to battle with a peak Xiantian-level Diremonster and cause him, Serpentwing, to flee helplessly…Ning, you have improved even more than I predicted.”

Ning was startled, and then he quickly said, “Father, I executed the Diremonster, Serpentwing.”

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Chapter 8 – Ji Ning’s Gains

Chapter 8 – Ji Ning’s Gains

“You executed Serpentwing?” Ji Yichuan looked at his son, and by his side, Yuchi Snow stared in disbelief as well. The two of them knew that their son wasn’t the type of person to tell lies, but this was simply too…when the experts of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan had battled Serpentwing numerous times, they hadn’t been able to execute Serpentwing.

Ji Ning said hurriedly, “Father, please look.” With a wave of his hand, out of nowhere, an enormous thing covered in wounds appeared in the pool next to them. Those enormous scaled wings, that viscous green blood…they all testified to this creature’s identity.

“Serpentwing?”

“Serpentwing?”

Yichuan and Snow looked at the enormous corpse. They couldn’t help but exchange a glance.

“It seems my son’s strength…his strength is quite extraordinary.” Yichuan said. “Not only did he kill Serpentwing, he also was able to store Serpentwing’s corpse within storage-type magic treasures.”

“Father. Mother.” Ning didn’t hide anything. “When I was adventuring at Eastmount Marsh, I encountered the Ironwood clan’s Ironwood Zhan.”

Yichuan and Snow were both startled.

Ironwood Zhan?

That was a dangerous foe.

“He probably was there to deal with the Azure Skysnake to try and force it to become his slave.” Ning said. At this point, he began to sigh a bit as he thought back to how he and the Azure Skysnake had battled repeatedly with each other, with the two being unable to harm each other, and how slowly, they began to build respect for each other as opponents. In the end, as he did not find the Azure Skysnake’s corpse within Ironwood Zhan’s storage treasures, nor did he see the Azure Skysnake become a tamed slave, Ning understood that the Azure Skysnake, at that critical juncture, had probably developed its natural ability, ‘Void Blink’.

An Azure Skysnake who had developed the Void Blink technique was like a carp who had transformed into a dragon! It had definitely left the Swallow Mountain area to roam the world in search of natural treasures…

It was hard to say if they would ever meet again.

Ning quickly returned to his senses. “When Ironwood Zhan battled the Azure Skysnake, I took the chance to flee, and I fled over a thousand kilometers out of the mountain forests…and by the side of a pool, as I rested, I was lucky enough to suddenly gain an understanding of the Dao.”

“An understanding of the Dao?” Yichuan and his wife exchanged glances. They held their breaths.

“I spent an entire night comprehending the Dao, but I didn’t expect that in the end, I was disrupted by the pursuing Ironwood Zhan.” Ning shook his head. “However, in my fury, I immediately utilized the Yin and Yang power, fusing it into the Crimsonbright divine power. Heavenly water and fire descended upon me, transforming me into a Xiantian Fiendgod’s body as I became a Xiantian lifeform. At that time, my power dramatically increased, and I then first killed Ironwood Zhan’s spirit-beast, that Bi’An Tiger, and then Ironwood Zhan himself!”

Yichuan said in surprise, “You killed Ironwood Zhan?”

“Right.” Ning waved his hand, and within it appeared a black rattan whip. “This is Ironwood Zhan’s personal weapon.”

Upon seeing the Blackwood Vinewhip, Yichuan nodded and sighed in approval. “This is indeed his Blackwood Vinewhip. As soon as you reached the Xiantian level, you defeated and slayed Ironwood Zhan. It seems as though that night you spent comprehending the Dao helped you improve quite substantially.”

Ning nodded. “That night, as I comprehended the Dao, I gained insight into a hint of the True Meaning of the Dao.”

“The True Meaning of the Dao?” Even Snow called out in shock.

“Was it truly the True Meaning of the Dao?” Yichuan didn’t dare to believe it either.

In raising one’s level of enlightenment, the higher one went, the harder it became.

Above the level of ‘one with the world’ was the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’! Even most Zifu Disciples hadn’t reached the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’ level! Yichuan, in the past, had only managed to reach this level thanks to special circumstances, and in addition, this was something which the Ji clan had held as a secret and never made public. Others only believed Yichuan to be at the ‘one with the world’ level.

“My son is only eleven.” Snow’s eyes were shining. “But he’s actually reached the level of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’, and is training in what is acknowledged as the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. With this sort of talent, it would be exceptionally easy for him to be accepted for tutelage by some of the major powers.”

“No rush, no rush.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Are you able to actually utilize the True Meaning of the Dao that you comprehended?”

Comprehension was one thing, but being able to utilize it was another thing altogether.

At the ancient aquatic estate, Ning had been in a near-lethal situation when he finally managed to execute the ‘True Meaning of the Raindrop’.

“Father, please watch.” The Darknorth swords appeared in Ning’s hands, and he shot a sword into the air. Hua! The tip of the sword seemed like a drop of rain, causing the air around it to ripple violently.

“True Meaning of the Raindrop!” Yichuan nodded repeatedly. “This is the True Meaning of the Raindrop. That night you spent comprehending the Dao allowed you to be able to put the True Meaning of the Dao on display through your swordplay? This is…this is…” Yichuan didn’t even know what to say. Swallow Mountain, at least, had never seen such a monstrous talent.

Most likely, only in those distant, super-massive tribes would an equivalent talent exist.

“I was only able to comprehend the True Meaning of the Raindrop in a hidden area.” Ning said. “I imagine, Father and Mother, that you both knew that I was trapped within a hidden area.”

The couple hurriedly nodded.

“Your son suddenly disappeared, and caused you such worry, Father, Mother…” Ning, after seeing his parents, quickly understood this. His father had no doubt been unable to sense the jade sword, and thus had frantically rushed over. After all, the aquatic palace was in a completely different dimension. How could his father sense the jade sword there? At that time, most likely his father was worried that he was dead. Ning could completely guess at how his father and mother had felt, having been worried for so long. He couldn’t help but feel rather ashamed.

“This isn’t your fault.” Yichuan sighed. “When I was adventuring back in the day, I saw multiple relic sites, but never entered them. Although relic sites offer great opportunities, perhaps not even one out of a hundred will come out of a site alive. Your mother and I are very happy that you came out of it alive.”

Snow gently rubbed her son’s hair as well.

Over this past month, she truly had been very worried.

“But I imagine in that hidden area, your gains were quite substantial. You were actually able to execute Serpentwing in one encounter.” Yichuan said. He didn’t believe that his son would be able to kill Serpentwing solely after having comprehended the True Meaning of the Raindrop. After all, Yichuan himself had long ago gained insight into the True Meaning of the Raindrop. In addition, Yichuan had merged every single one of the nine sword techniques of the [Raindrop Sutra] with the True Meaning of the Raindrop, and yet was still unable to kill Serpentwing.

“Right. I received the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” With a wave of his hand, Ning retrieved those multiple pieces of fur parchment, offering them to his parents.

Although the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was a secret, there was no need for Ning to hide anything from his parents.

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]?” Yichuan and his wife both took a look, but as soon as they did, their faces changed.

“This, this…” Yichuan and his wife were completely stunned. They were quite experienced, especially Snow, whose lineage was extraordinary. They were quickly able to tell how special this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was.

Yichuan couldn’t refrain from saying, “This [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] is even more powerful than any of the ‘ultimate techniques’ of our Ji clan. Snow, this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] is most likely comparable to your tribe’s [Windwing Evasion] technique.”

Off to one side, Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

That which Fiendgod Body Refiners needed most was divine abilities! But every single divine ability, even in the Fiendgod era, was not permitted to be taught to outsiders. Not even the old black bull in that ancient aquatic estate had known any. It was only because the Yuchi clan had helped that Celestial Immortal and saved his life that they had gained a ‘divine ability’. The value of a divine ability was perhaps even greater than that of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! Fortunately, his mother had given this ‘divine ability’ to him, as otherwise, who knows how long it would have taken before he would have had a chance to learn his first divine ability?

“This [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] possesses extraordinary power. It is a peerless formation technique that can allow a person to battle at a higher level of power.” Yuchi Snow said. “Only, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] has very high requirements for magic treasures as well as the soul. This is its weakness.”

“Right. Several hundred magic treasures. Who can acquire so many?” Yichuan nodded as well.

But Ning said, “Father, Mother, in the hidden area, I acquired many unranked magic treasures. Simply too many.” As he spoke, he brought out the storage armguard and gave it to his parents, while at the same time, Ning withdrew all of his personal ki from within the magic treasures, so as to allow others to more easily bind them.”

“Too many?” Yichuan accepted the armguard, puzzled. He quickly bound the armguard, and as soon as he investigated it, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of shock.

“What is it?” Snow immediately asked.

“The number of magic treasures…is most likely in the thousands.” Yichuan sighed.

“So many!” Snow was shocked as well. Although they didn’t care about unranked magic treasures, there were ‘thousands’ of them within. Even the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan would be envious of such a fortune.

Ning added, “Those magic treasures are useless to me. I’ll hand them to Father and Mother for you to dispose.” He had dozens of storage treasures and over a thousand sword-type magic treasures, as well as various other scattered magic treasures, such as wing-type magic treasures…which was very suited for him to train in the [Windwing Evasion] technique. The scattered treasures also included some Dao-seals, formations, and others items.

As for the thousands of storage treasures, blades, whips, staffs, spears, and axes, he might as well give all of those to his father.

——————————

Ning had first acquired the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], then shown off so many magic treasures. His parents had yet to fully recover, before Ning spoke once more. “This time, in the hidden area, I acquired a treasure. This will be of true benefit to our Ji clan.”

“What is it?” Yichuan and Snow immediately looked over.

With a wave of Ning’s hand, a beast fur scroll appeared. Atop the beast fur scroll, a sun and a moon hung high in the sky, sparkling with boundless light down upon a Buddha.

“A visualization technique!” Yichuan and Snow simultaneously spoke out.

Ning said with surprise, “Father, Mother, you know already?”

“How could we not know?” Snow stared at the painting of the Buddha. “In the past, my Yuchi clan also had a Visualization painting, but afterwards, the Visualization painting was lost in a struggle with another tribe. But Ning, this visualization technique is a technique which can allow one to strengthen the soul. The soul is a person’s foundation. While normally it is hard to see the benefits of a strong soul, the benefits are invisible and tremendous. You should leave this with you and use it at all times.”

Ning hurriedly said, “In the hidden area, I was fortunate enough to have a Visualization painting imprinted directly into my memory! It is even clearer than this!”

Snow, understanding the situation, said joyfully, “My son’s karmic luck is extraordinary. According to legends, the ancestor of my Yuchi clan met a Celestial Immortal, who with but a single finger point imprinted the Visualization painting directly into his soul. It was even clearer than the painting, and it could be visualized at all times. I didn’t expect that in this hidden area, my son would also have such a stroke of fortune.”

Ning thought back to how, while he was being reincarnated, he had run into the Lord of Cui Palace in the Netherworld Kingdom, and how the Lord of Cui Palace had also used a single finger to imprint the [Nuwa Painting] into his soul’s memory.

“Father, Mother, the name of this visualization technique is the [Inner Visualization of the Sun-Moon Buddha].” Ning added.

“Ji Ning.”

Yichuan’s heart was pounding as he looked at his son. “This [Inner Visualization of the Sun-Moon Buddha] will have a long-lasting impact on the Ji clan. I will immediately take it back. However, this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] should not be publicized for now. It is too hard to train in, and aside from you, no one in the Ji clan is capable of bringing forth the power of this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. After your own strength improves in the future, you yourself can decide whether or not you want to publicize it. As for those unranked magic treasures, I will help you dispose of them.”

“Let it all be as you decide, Father.” Ning replied.

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Chapter 9 – The Marquis of Stillwater

Chapter 9 – The Marquis of Stillwater

Ji Yichuan looked at his wife. “Snow, Ji Ning’s strength can be considered at the absolute top for all below the Zifu Disciple level. The Swallow Mountain region is unable to contain him any further.”

Snow nodded as well. She understood what her man was saying.

“Huh?” Ji Ning looked at his parents, somewhat puzzled.

Yichuan said, “Ji Ning, you should know about the six great powers here at Swallow Mountain.”

“I know.” Ning nodded. “Swallow Mountain has six local hegemons. They are our Ji clan, the Riverbank clan, the Kou clan, the Blackfire Cult, the Ironwood clan, and Snowdragon Mountain. Of the six hegemons, our Ji clan, the Riverbank clan, the Kou clan, and the Blackfire Cult are allies, while the Ironwood clan and the Snowdragon Mountain are allied!”

The six major hegemons of Swallow Mountain were arrayed into two alliances, and the battles between them were very fierce, with Xiantian lifeforms often dying.

Yichuan continued, “But are you aware of the reason as to why the alliance between the Ironwood clan and Snowdragon Mountain is capable of forcing us other four hegemons to ally together?”

“I am not.” Ning shook his head.

These secrets were not recorded in any books.

“The six great powers are all guarded by Zifu Disciples.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Your power is most likely already invincible against anyone below the Zifu Disciple level. In a few more years, you will most likely become a Zifu Disciple, so I must tell you these things now!”

“That Ironwood clan is not worth mentioning!” Yichuan said seriously, his eyes filled with a murderous light. “But the Snowdragon Mountain is a truly formidable enemy. They are truly frightening. In our Swallow Mountain region, Snowdragon Mountain is merely a single branch of the true Snowdragon Mountain Sect.”

“A branch?” Ning was stunned.

Of the six hegemons, Snowdragon Mountain was the most powerful force. But this Snowdragon Mountain was merely a branch?

Yichuan looked at his son and said solemnly, “The power of the Snowdragon Mountain Sect is thousands of times greater than that of Swallow Mountain’s Snowdragon Mountain Branch, and thousands of times greater than our Ji clan! This is a colossal, top-tier clan which is not inferior than your mother’s Yuchi clan!”

Yuchi Snow looked at her son as well. “The [Windwing Evasion] includes the history of my Yuchi clan. My Yuchi clan is an extremely ancient, top-tier large clan. Clans like the Ji clan…are completely incomparable to the likes of my Yuchi clan. But of course, that was all in the past.

————————

Ning, hearing his parents speak of these things, instantly had a desire to learn more about this boundless world. The Yuchi clan, Snowdragon Mountain, and those legendary, distant top-tier clans. They were all so far away from Swallow Mountain.

“Ning, do you know how large the Grand Xia Dynasty is, exactly?” Snow looked at her son.

“I do not.” Ning shook his head.

The Grand Xia Dynasty had been founded in the Fiendgod Era, and had destroyed other ancient dynasties to unify this vast world. It had existed for trillions of years! The books which described the territory of the Grand Xia Dynasty all used the same word: Boundless!

How enormous would such a dynasty be? How deep would its roots be?

“When the Grand Xia Dynasty unified the world, it divided the world into 3600 commanderies, and also assigned 800 Marquises!” Snow said slowly. “Because the world is simply too vast, even Immortals and Fiends found it difficult to govern it. Thus, they divided it into 3600 commanderies. Amongst these 3600 commanderies, there are large ones and small ones, but even the smallest are extremely vast.”

“Swallow Mountain is under the governance of the Stillwater Commandery, which is the territory ruled over by the Marquis of Stillwater.” Snow said. “The commandery city of Stillwater is nearly a million kilometers away from us.”

“The commandery city of Stillwater? A million kilometers away from us?” Ning could completely imagine how in that distant, distant region, there was an incomparably ancient, vast, and bustling city. In that place, Immortals and Fiends congregated, their decisions impacting this entire enormous region.

Snow continued, “The commandery city of Stillwater is the seat of power for the entire Stillwater Commandery, a place where Immortals and Fiends reside. However, Stillwater Commandery is simply too vast, and there are tens of thousands of regions within it like our Swallow Mountain…thus, some of the most top tier clans, schools, and sects are all scattered throughout the area!”

“As large as that?” Ning held his breath.

“As the saying goes, the heavens are high and the ruler is far away. With the world divided into 3600 commanderies, the power of those Marquises in the territory they rule is absolutely monstrous.” Snow sighed. “The imperial city of the Grand Xia Dynasty is simply too far away. In history, there have even been some Marquises who rebelled. Those wars truly are wars where Immortals and Fiends slaughter each other and countless experts fall. Truly terrifying.”

Ning nodded.

The flaw of having an enormous territory was the difficulty one would have in governing it. Even the high and mighty Marquis of Stillwater was unable to completely govern his vast territory, and so he allowed the various tribes to slaughter and battle each other.

“After some of the Marquises revolted, the Grand Xia Dynasty, so as to better govern the various regions, began to frantically build one commandery city after another in the various commanderies, and even Swallow Mountain has over ten of these commandery cities.” Snow looked at her son. “Every single city has a matching ‘official writ’!”

“Official writ?” Ning listened carefully.

“Right. Official writ!” Snow continued. “By binding an official writ, that means you are in control of one of those commandery cities, and are in name one of the officials of the Grand Xia Dynasty. However, these official writs are ranked magic treasures, and thus only Zifu Disciples and above can bind them.”

“Swallow Mountain has ten of these commanderies within it.” Yichuan spoke out as well.

“Of the ten commandery cities, one is Swallow Mountain City, where the armies of the Grand Xia Dynasty are stationed! Of the other nine cities, our Five Prefectures of the Ji clan is in control of one, the ‘Thousand Swords City’ of our Central Prefecture.” Yichuan explained. “The Riverbank clan, Kou clan, and Ironwood clan all have one as well.”

“The Blackfire Cult has two commandery cities. Snowdragon Mountain has three commandery cities.”

“Actually, long ago, the Ji clan, the Riverbank clan, the Kou clan, the Blackfire Cult, and the Ironwood clan all were considered part of the local tribes of Swallow Mountain.” Yichuan sighed. “Afterwards, when Snowdragon Mountain acquired one of the official writs for one of the cities and got involved in this region, the Ironwood clan, the weakest of the clans, quickly threw themselves in with Snowdragon Mountain. However, we other four powers continue to resist.”

“We are all officials of the Grand Xia Dynasty, and within our own commandery cities, it is forbidden for Immortal practitioners to battle each other. To disobey this rule is to challenge the Grand Xia Dynasty, punishable by death!”

Ning, hearing his father’s explanation, couldn’t help but frown. “Father, Mother, based on what you are saying, if Immortal practitioners are forbidden from battling within the commandery cities on pain of death, would it be very hard for one tribe to try and destroy another one?”

“Hard?”

Snow laughed coldly. “Easy! For example, Zifu Disciples have a limited lifespan. Upon death, the official writ becomes an ownerless object, at which point, the tribe will quickly collapse.”

“Also, Zifu Disciples can’t always stay within their commanderies. As long as they come out and are killed, then their official writs can be seized and their tribe will be finished.”

“And then of course, there are some utterly lawless, large, powerful clans!” Snow said. “They will send people over to your commanderyity to assassinate the Zifu Disciples of your clan and take away your official writ. What can you do about it?”

Ning was stunned. “This…”

“Without any proof, what will you do?” Snow laughed. “But of course, the mightier a power, the more cautious they will be. Challenging the laws of the Grand Xia Dynasty is a capital offense. They wouldn’t casually do such a thing, and even if they decide to, they would use some very secretive methods. All I am trying to tell you is that there are many possible ways to destroy a tribe. You might not make trouble for others, but they might for you. In the end, the most important thing is strengthening one’s self!”

—————————

“The Marquis of Stillwater controls this vast region, but aside from the armies of the Grand Xia Dynasty stationed here, there is another squad of Immortal practitioners, known as the ‘Raindragon Guards’. According to legend, only Wanxiang Adepts are allowed to join the Raindragon Guards! By relying on the Raindragon Guards, the Grand Xia Dynasty is able to better control its vast territory. Remember. The Raindragon Guards cannot be trifled with.”

—————————

“Ning, given your talent and comprehension, you would find it very easy to request tutelage under a major power. After you go out adventuring, it would be best for you to find a major school or power to take shelter under.”

—————————-

Yichuan and Snow told their son many things. They knew that Ning would definitely advance onto a far greater stage, and perhaps even become a major figure in the entire Stillwater Commandery…naturally, they carefully instructed and warned him, telling him everything which they knew.

Only now did Ning truly understand how vast the world was. Only now did he know about the Raindragon Guards of the Grand Xia Dynasty, all formed from Immortal practitioners. Of the great army controlled by the Marquis of Stillwater. Of some of the top tier clans, schools, sects…and of course, many other clans that were powerful in their own localities, that had been able to control official writs for a long period of time. Below them, of course, were countless, innumerable minor tribes.

“Whew.” Ning’s heart was beginning to fill with ardor.

“Ji Ning, I will take away the corpse of Serpentwing. To outsiders, we shall simply say that I was the one to kill him.” Yichuan said. “After all, you are very young. If we were to publicize that you were the one who killed him, it will only cause endless difficulties.”

“I’ll let Father handle all of these things.” Ning said hurriedly. “Right, Father, I want to build a residence here at Serpentwing Lake. In the future, I will often live here.”

“Live here?”

Yichuan and Snow looked around them. This area was very peaceful.

“Right. This is a good place.” Yichuan nodded. “I will arrange for some people to help you build a residence here. Your mother and I will go back now. While adventuring, come back and visit us often.”

“I will. I will go back to West Prefecture City in a few days.” Ning nodded. He was going to take a trip to the Blacktooth Tribe to bring Spring Grass’ younger brother to West Prefecture City. This was the promise he had made to Spring Grass.

“Hurry back.” Snow gently stroked her son’s head.

“Right.” Ning nodded. He understood that this trip he had made into the Aquatic Manor had caused his parents great worry.

——————

That day, Ning led Autumn Leaf and Mowu back to the Blacktooth Tribe, mounted on their black beasts.

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Chapter 10 – [Nine Scrolls On Formations]

Chapter 10 – [Nine Scrolls On Formations]

The journey from Serpentwing Lake to the Blacktooth Tribe was a long one. Even with the black beasts travelling all day and only resting at night, three days time was needed.

Night time.

The campfire was blazing. Ji Ning and Autumn Leaf were by the side of the campfire, while Mowu was on watch, so as to not allow any impudent wild beasts to interrupt his young master.

“I haven’t had the chance to take a good look at the miscellaneous items I acquired in the Aquatic Manor.” Ning suddenly remembered that although he had gone through all those magic treasures he had acquired during the first and second trials, of the thousands of magic treasures and miscellaneous items he had acquired at the third trial, he had bound them then immediately battled that black-furred golem, then met with that old black bull. He hadn’t had any time to flip through them at all.

“One of the miscellaneous items I found in the first or second trial was a secret manual that is nearly as good as the [Raindrop Sutra]. The number of miscellaneous items in the third trial was several times greater than in the first two.” With a wave of his hand, Ning brought out one item after another, which he then made disappear afterwards.

Autumn Leaf just watched to the side, curious.

A long time later…

“Yet another secret manual, the [Clearwind Manual]?” Ning flipped through it, and was instantly delighted. “It’s actually a swordplay manual, and it directly instructs one in how to utilize the True Meaning of the Dao. It is comparable to the [Raindrop Sutra].”

Ning’s judgment and vision was much keener than before. After all, he had gained insights into the True Meaning of the Dao, and as he carefully read the contents, he quickly could vaguely sense that the ultimate goal of this type of swordplay was to develop the ‘True Meaning of the Clearwind’.

Actually, the deceased people in the corridor were all only at the Xiantian level, so how powerful or profound could the manuals they were carrying on them possibly be? Actually, a consummate skill such as the [Clearwind Manual], logically speaking, shouldn’t even be in there. For example, Ning hadn’t brought the [Raindrop Sutra] or the [Thunderflame Sword] with him. From this, one could tell that the previous master of this manual most likely came from an even more powerful, top-tier clan who didn’t restrict manuals on this level too tightly.

————–

There really were many miscellaneous items in the third trials, and plenty of treasures as well. Ning found as many as three powerful techniques! After flipping through these manuals, Ning began to carefully inspect the other miscellaneous items, the ones that didn’t look like manuals.

“Huh?” Ning suddenly flipped out a jade carving!

This was two foot long square piece of jade, and on the jade there was carved an image of an old man with a long beard.

“Wait!” Ning’s eyes lit up, and he carefully inspected it. At first glance, he had thought that this was just a carving, but as he took a closer look…he felt as though the square jade piece was actually covered with countless small characters that formed some small images. These characters were the characters used in the Grand Xia Dynasty.

The characters were tiny! If an ordinary person saw it, they probably wouldn’t even notice it, but Ning was no ordinary person. His visual acuity was astonishing, and he could see a housefly from a distance of ten kilometers! With such visual acuity, naturally he could read the dense, tiny characters on the jade carving.

“How marvelous.”

“This piece of jade has hundreds of thousands of words carved onto it, and the countless works actually formed the image of a long-bearded elder.” Ning first exhaled in amazement, and then he began to search for the place where these characters originated. Soon, he found that in the leftmost upper corner, there were four prominent characters…

[Nine Scrolls on Formations]!

Ning’s eyes lit up as he carefully continued to read.

“I, Wu Daoyan, have focused exclusively on formation techniques for over eighty thousand years. I was lucky enough to survive the last tribulation, but I think that the next great tribulation in nine hundred years time, I will not be able to survive. I am unwilling for the essence of my formation techniques to be lost, and so I have recorded down the knowledge of my formation techniques within these nine scrolls! I hope that someone with the right karmic fortune will carefully learn and comprehend it!” The opening words caused Ning to feel delighted. Anyone who was capable of living eighty thousand years and yet still be subject to the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations was almost certainly a Loose Immortal.

Immortal Juhua was able to live for millions of years, but most Loose Immortals weren’t able to live that long. Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations; the calamities were easy to avoid, but the tribulations were hard to escape. A great tribulation every nine hundred years! Each tribulation more powerful than the last, continuously accumulating until even a Loose Immortal like of Immortal Juhua, on par with a Celestial Immortal, would not be able to withstand it.

“The knowledge of a Loose Immortal regarding formation techniques. This is something that is no less valuable than the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] or the [Windwing Evasion].” Ning immediately understood how valuable this was. “With this knowledge regarding formations, someone actually went to enter the trials of the underground estate’s corridors. Jeeze…”

The person who acquired this knowledge on formations was most likely someone who was unskilled in formations. After all, the abstruse mysteries of formations were very hard to comprehend. Generally speaking, Immortal practitioners only knew how to set up formations; they didn’t understand the principles behind the formations. For example, Ning only knew how to set up and control the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Immortal practitioners would generally prefer to spend their time in binding more powerful magic treasures, or more powerful magic techniques. Those who would lower their heads and study formations were indeed very rare!

And what’s more, formations were extremely abstruse and hard to understand, making researchers in formations even rarer!

Most likely, the person who received this didn’t understand it. Even up until the point of his death, he still hadn’t had any accomplishments, and thus he had gone to attempt the underground estate.

There was another possibility as well, that it was someone like Ning…someone who accidentally entered Serpentwing Lake and thus was forcibly teleported into the Aquatic Manor, then died within.

“No matter what happened, this [Nine Scrolls on Formations] is now mine. And here I was, wondering how it could be possible that, given there were thousands of storage treasures, signifying thousands of people, how could not a single one of them been carrying something truly valuable?” Ning said to himself joyfully. “I finally acquired a valuable treasure. Time to take a good look.”

He immediately lowered his head and began to read this [Nine Scrolls on Formations].

Formations could be set up using all sorts of things, and some truly miraculous, large-scale formations could even make the world itself part of the formation!

“Interesting.” Many people felt that the [Nine Scrolls on Formations] were dry and boring, but Ning began to smile as he read them. Formations required a high ability to compute and understand. One had to be able to calculate! Ning, in his previous life, was exceedingly smart. Because of his illness, he was unable to go to school, so he had to teach himself everything! He had taught himself through reading books online, and his knowledge had far outstripped those of the same age as him, especially in the sciences. Despite his young age, he had earned a vast fortune!

In this life, he had acquired the [Nuwa Painting] and was able to divide his mind, thus making his mental computational abilities even nimbler!

In the previous life, on Earth, the education system had taught Ning how to think. Although Earth was just one of trillions of little worlds, its educational system was far superior to this world’s, where, for example, Swallow Mountain was still at a tribal era of development…even the descendants of the Ji clan would generally only be able to read, while the members of lesser tribes wouldn’t even be able to recognize any characters.

Given this sort of level of education, it was only natural for everyone here to find it incredibly hard to analyze formations.

It can be said that although perhaps the skilled scientists of Earth wouldn’t necessarily all become formation experts, they would at least be very promising prospects in this regard.

————————–

The education Ning had received in his past life was like ‘software’. In this life, Ning had an extremely powerful soul, which was like ‘hardware’!

Naturally, he was very well suited for training in formations!

“So that’s how it is.” Ning revealed a smile while reading. “That Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation and other formations like it truly are crude. They completely rely on activating the power of the world. There’s no skill at all in them.”

The more he read, the more Ning appreciated it.

But slowly, the smile on Ning’s face disappeared, and it was replaced by a frowning concentration, mixed with occasional stupefaction.

“Formation techniques really can’t be underestimated.” Ning nodded. “The way of formations is as vast and boundless as the seas. I’m only able to understand the most basic principles, but as soon as I see some slightly more abstruse, complex parts, I am completely lost. It makes sense. Although in this boundless world, most people are a bit stupid, there are still many geniuses as well. Upon focusing on something for hundreds or thousands of years, they will of course vastly exceed those of us on Earth.”

“Young master, the sun is up. We should head out.” Autumn Leaf suddenly called.

“Ah?” Ning suddenly discovered that it was already day.

——————————

Formation techniques were as boundless as the seas. Upon understanding the first scroll of the [Nine Scrolls on Formations], one could be considered a formations expert. Unfortunately, Ning wasn’t able to completely understand even that first scroll. This caused him to become more humble and not feel so self-delighted.

“Through analyzing formations, I will have more options and more tactics available to me.”

“Also, when I use the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], I can make it more nimble and won’t have to use it in such a static manner.” Although Ning was just a basic student of this field, he now had a basic understanding of the way of formations, with the essence of it being ‘guidance’! For example, at first, when he stupidly just simultaneously controlled hundreds of flying swords, he had to spend effort controlling every one minutely, which was simply too mentally exhausting.

Fortunately, his soul was very powerful, and so he was easily able to execute the fourth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

But if he were an expert on formations, he would be able to have some of the critical swords ‘guide’ the other swords, which would greatly reduce the amount of load on his soul, and allow him to easily execute more powerful levels of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

—————————

“Young master, the Blacktooth Tribe is up ahead.” Autumn Leaf called out.

Only now did Ning halt his pondering on formations. Raising his head, he saw that in the distance, the sentries of the Blacktooth Tribe had noticed them.

“It is young master Ji.”

“Quick, hurry and report this to the leader.”

The tribesmen of the Blacktooth Tribe had seen Ji Ning last time. This time, the three of them were once again travelling together, mounted on the three black beasts. They were quickly recognized.

As Ning and the other two arrived at the gates to the tribe, Blacktooth was there to personally welcome them.

“My respects to you, young master.” Blacktooth had a large group of tribesmen behind him, all of them kneeling in unison.

“Mm.” Ning nodded. “Take me to Spring Grass’ place.”

“Alright.” Blacktooth said hurriedly. The only person in the Blacktooth Tribe who had any sort of a connection to Ji Ning was Spring Grass.

Ning suddenly looked sideways, glancing a skinny toddler standing behind Blacktooth whose face was rather sickly, yet seemed similar to Spring Grass. Ning remembered seeing this toddler last time, and thus he spoke out. “What is your name?”

The toddler was stunned.

Blacktooth, following Ning’s gaze, turned to look at his son. He hurriedly said, “Quick, response to the young master’s words.”

Only now did the toddler stutter out, “My name is Bluestone!”

“Bluestone, Bluestone…” Ning gently murmured to himself.

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Chapter 11 – Ji Ning is Here!

Chapter 11 – Ji Ning is Here!

The toddler nervously looked at the youth riding on the black beast. He only felt that this youth was a very powerful figure. The entire tribe seemed to be afraid of him.

“Bluestone.” The youth dismounted from the black beast, then walked over and held his hand.

“Come with me. Let’s go to your big sister’s tomb and kowtow to your sister.” Ji Ning took Bluestone’s tiny hand, and Bluestone, stupefied, just let himself be led away, not daring to resist. By his side, Blacktooth and the other tribesmen naturally didn’t dare to argue.

And so, just like that, they made their way through the tribe before arriving at a large graveyard behind the tribe.

Once again, they came before that tomb.

“Spring Grass. I came.” Ji Ning had prepared some sacrificial items which he had prepared when passing through some of the nearby tribes along the way. He placed all of them in front of the tomb carefully, while at the same time saying gently, “That Riverside He of the Riverside tribe is dead now. Serpentwing of Serpentwing Lake is dead as well. Your enemies are all dead.”

As soon as these words were uttered, Blacktooth and the others next to him were startled. What? The Diremonster, Serpentwing, was dead as well?

“Bluestone should be your only remaining little brother.” Ning reached his hand out, pulling the dumbstruck Bluestone forward. “I swear before your tomb that I will definitely provide good tutelage to Bluestone”

Bluestone was somewhat stunned, but his father, Blacktooth, was incomparably delighted. He hurriedly said, “Thank you, young master.” He himself was just the leader of a small tribe. What sort of a future would he be able to offer his son? But if someone as exalted as the young master of the Ji clan were to help out, then his son’s future would be very different.”

“As long as you don’t oppose it.” Ning glanced at Blacktooth. “In the future, I will be spending quite a long period of time by Serpentwing Lake. If you want to see your son, come to Serpentwing Lake and find me there.”

“Yes.” Blacktooth said respectfully.

“Bluestone, kowtow to your big sister.” Ning looked towards Bluestone by his side.

“Okay.” The toddler hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed three times.

Ning waved towards the side. “All of you can leave now.”

“Yes, young master.” Autumn Leaf included, everyone withdrew. Even Bluestone was led away by Blacktooth. In this wild, desolate graveyard, the only one remaining was Ji Ning.

“Just the two of us now.” Ning withdrew a bamboo reed, beginning to drink wine. “Today, your young master will spend some time chatting with you. In the future, I’m afraid I won’t be able to come visit you too often.”

————————

Ning drank fruit wine in front of the tomb while chatting with ‘Spring Grass’. In the blink of an eye, an hour passed.

“Huh?” Ning suddenly frowned. As a Fiendgod-like entity, his senses were extremely acute. He easily detected minute trembles in the ground. “Thousands of warriors! And the distance should only be twenty kilometers. Thousands of warriors, gathering twenty kilometers away? Can it be that a tribe is about to attack the Blacktooth Tribe?”

With regards to the struggles between the various tribes, the Ji clan usually pretended not to notice them.

“Blacktooth was originally a travelling merchant, and thus should be smooth and slick in establishing relationships.” Ning was puzzled. “Ever since founding this Blacktooth Tribe, no other tribes have ever attacked. Why has a tribe come to attack this time? And with thousands of warriors at that?”

“Let’s take a look.” Ning immediately rose.

Regardless of whether it was for Spring Grass or for Bluestone, he couldn’t just stand and watch with arms folded.

Although the Ji clan usually pretended to not notice these intertribal struggles, once they did interfere, the tribes they controlled naturally didn’t dare to disobey.

———————-

Ning walked within the tribe, heading straight for the gates.

“Young master.” Mowu and Autumn Leaf hurriedly followed him.

“Young master.” Blacktooth led his tribesmen to follow him as well. Ning just barked, “Twenty kilometers outside of here, thousands of warriors are gathering and advancing towards us. Right. There should be two to three thousand of them. Your Blacktooth Tribe needs to immediately prepare.”

Blacktooth was shocked. “Two or three thousand warriors? Impossible. Only an enormous tribe would be able to mobilize two to three thousand warriors. A tribe of that size wouldn’t bother with our Blacktooth Tribe. Our entire population, including women, children, and the elderly only number one thousand or so. We aren’t worth such a large military mobilization!”

“If I say it is so, then it is so!” Ning glanced at him sideways, saying nothing more.

“Right.” Blacktooth naturally didn’t dare to say anything else, and he hurriedly began to shout. “Quick quick quick, enemies are coming to attack! Quickly, gather around!”

“Rumble…” A low beast horn sound quickly rang out, filling the entire tribe. The muscular warriors of the tribe, the elderly and the womenfolk, all grabbed their sabres, swords, spears, and bucklers, while all of the children hid themselves.

———————–

Ning was staring into the distance at the gates, while all of the tribesmen of the Blacktooth Tribe were holding their weapons with bated breath in preparation. All of them were staring towards the distant mountain forests.

Slowly…

They began to clearly sense footsteps coming. After all, how could two or three thousand warriors on the march make no sound at all? This caused Blacktooth and the others to be all the more amazed. It must be understood that Ning had already informed them long ago of the rough number of people coming.

“So many.”

“So many warriors.”

The tribesmen of the Blacktooth tribe were all stunned. From afar, a densely packed swarm of human figures were emerging from the forests, with the ones in front armored. It was like a flood of metal coming their way at high speed, causing the Blacktooth Tribe’s members to feel their hearts turn cold.

“Halt!” The order came, and the three thousand warriors immediately formed ranks roughly half a kilometer in front of the Blacktooth Tribe’s gates.

“Blacktooth Tribe, listen up!” In front of the enemy troops, a powerfully built bald man was bellowing. “We are from the Firewing Tribe. Quickly open your gates and surrender to us, and you have a chance at life. If you resist, those who resist shall all be killed, while the rest of the tribesmen shall be sold as slaves.”

The voice echoed in the air.

The Blacktooth Tribe was in a state of panic.

“What to do?”

“So many warriors. There’s thousands of them.”

“We’re finished.”

“Isn’t young master Ji here?” The Blacktooth Tribe had no fighting spirit at all now. First of all, their tribe was newly founded to begin with, as many of the tribesmen were gathered from those who had fled from other tribes. They didn’t have too strong a sense of loyalty to the Blacktooth Tribe yet. And secondly, the Blacktooth Tribe had less than five hundred tribal warriors, but in front of them there were three thousand!

Once battle began, they would quickly be defeated!

“Everyone in the Firewing Tribe!” Blacktooth hurriedly went forward and said loudly, “I don’t know why you have come to my Blacktooth Tribe. If you have any demands, our Blacktooth Tribe will naturally work hard to meet them.”

“Enough chitchat!” The bald man in front of the enemy lines bellowed back. “Surrender or battle!”

Ning frowned, glancing at Mowu by his side. Mowu nodded, then immediately walked forward while shouting, “Our young master Ji Ning is here. Leaders of the Firewing Tribe, why haven’t you come to pay your respects yet!”

———————————

“Why haven’t you come to pay your respects yet!” “Why haven’t you come to pay your respects yet!” “Why haven’t you come to pay your respects yet!” The voice echoed within the forests, causing a commotion amidst the Firewing Tribe as well.

In the center of the enemy formation, there was a group of men who were riding mounts.

“Young master Ji Ning?”

“The Ji Ning who was at the Riverside Tribe?”

“Aside from that Ji Ning, who would dare order the leaders to go pay their respects to him?” The high-level figures of the Firewing Tribe were all immediately stunned. The Firewing Tribe was also a large tribe with more than twenty thousand tribesmen, but because their tribe didn’t have any Xiantian lifeforms, thus they had already reached their limits and didn’t dare to expand any further. Compared to the Riverside Tribe, the Firewing Tribe was on a lower level.

The Riverside Tribe wasn’t too far away from them. With over a month having passed, these higher level members of the Firewing Tribe naturally all knew of what had happened, and had learned of Ji Ning’s name.

“Chief.”

“Chief.” All of them looked at black-bearded man whom was escorted in front of them.

By the side of the black-bearded man, a youth whose hair fell down his shoulders said in a low voice, “Nothing more than a descendant of the Ji clan. There’s no need to pay any attention to a descendant of the Ji clan in this sort of tribal war. Let’s do it.”

“Attack!” The black-bearded man immediately shouted loudly.

“What?”

“What? Attack?”

“Chief!”

The high level figures of the tribe who were around the black-bearded man were all stupefied. They didn’t expect that their chief, who was both valorous and wise, would act so stupidly. Given the chief’s status, he should clearly be aware of what the name ‘Ji Ning’ represented. If it was an ordinary member of the Ji clan, that was one thing, but this was Ji Ning, who had forced even the Riverside Tribe to lower their heads before him!

“Kill!” Those three thousand warriors were all ordinary tribesmen. How could they know what this name ‘Ji Ning’ represented? Hearing their chief’s orders, they immediately bellowed and charged forward.

“Kill!”

“Charge!”

Like an steel flood, the armored warriors in front charged forward, while the beast-fur clad men were behind them. The earth shook, and it seemed as though even the skies grew dark. The tribesmen of the Blacktooth Tribe were all stupefied, and some even began to cry out, “Surrender, we surrender!” “We’re finished.” “Quick, run.”

——————————–

Ji Ning, standing at the gates, watched as the dark, dense mass of people charged forward. Immediately, he was suspicious. “My name should be known to all of the slightly larger tribes, especially after I acted against the Riverside Tribe. It should have spread throughout the area under the control of the Ji clan. Why is the black-bearded leader still ordering an attack?”

Ning was puzzled.

The Blacktooth Tribe was a small tribe. It didn’t have much wealth. Mobilizing three thousand warriors to attack it was quite bizarre, in and of itself. After hearing his, the enemy still decided to attack? That was all the odder.

However, just based on the fact that this Firewing Tribe dared to ignore his name, and just for the sake of the prestige of the Ji clan alone, he naturally had to act now.

“Hmph.”

In front of the gates of the Blacktooth Tribe, Ning suddenly leapt forward like a giant Roc in flight, instantly flashing through the air. At the same time he leapt up, enormous waves suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the area around him, and the incomparably turgid waves instantly formed like the waters of a flood. Huahuahua…the boundless waves rolled forth, smashing directly towards those three thousand tribal warriors.

“Waves.”

“Where did all this water suddenly come from?”

“Xiantian lifeform, a Xiantian lifeform.” The three thousand warriors were instantly terrified. They previously had high morale, but upon those rolling waves crashing upon them, all of them began to collapse and everything fell to chaos. These warriors all understood that only Xiantian lifeforms and Diremonsters were able to accomplish the ability to control fire, water, poisonous gases, and the like. If a Xiantian lifeform wished to do so, slaughtering three thousand men was simplicity itself.

Indeed, Ning didn’t actually wanted to slaughter them. He only controlled the waves to smash down upon them. If he used fire or ice to freeze or burn them to death, the scene would have been completely different.

“Hua!” With a single bound, Ning travelled over a kilometer, landing directly in front of that black-bearded figure, grabbing him by the neck.

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Chapter 12 – Pursuit

Chapter 12 – Pursuit

Ji Ning instantly landed a kilometer away and grabbed the black-bearded leader, instantly terrifying the high level members of the Firewing Tribe. All of them hurriedly knelt down on wobbling knees and called out repeatedly, “Young master Ji Ning, spare us!” “Young master Ji Ning, don’t be angry!” “Young master Ji Ning, don’t be angry!”

The tribal warriors behind them who had not been hit by the waves, seeing the high level members of the tribe all kneel down, naturally all knelt down as well. At this time, the waves disappeared, and those knocked down tribesmen all knelt in terror as well.

Instantly, the black mass of men were all on their knees, aside from the black-bearded man Ning had seized.

“Pa!” With a toss of the hand, the black-bearded man was sent rolling twice on the ground.

“Young master Ji Ning.” The black-bearded man was shuddering.

“You don’t recognize me?” Ning looked at him.

The black-bearded man shook his man hurriedly. “No, no, I heard of young master Ji Ning’s fame long ago.”

“Then you still ordered an attack?” Ning frowned.

“I…I…” The black-bearded man didn’t know what to say for the moment. This caused Ning to be even more puzzled. The leader in front of him clearly knew his name, and was frightened of him. So why, then, had he dared to issue that order?

Ning shouted, “I ask you, why do you attack the Blacktooth Tribe?”

The black-bearded man immediately hesitated.

The high level members next to him said hurriedly, “Young master Ji Ning, the Blacktooth Tribe is only a small tribe. Our Firewing Tribe didn’t want to attack them at all! Only, the chief insisted on coming. We didn’t oppose him, as it was just a small tribe and thus not worth it.”

“This was the decision of the chief and the chief alone.”

“We all opposed it.”

“Half a year ago, the chief ignored our opposition and forcibly led the warriors out and destroyed a small tribe with only a few hundred people, and sold off everyone, man, woman, child, and elder alike as slaves to his good friend, Zig! Look, that one right next to the chief is Zig! The chief trusts him very much!” A silver-haired fur-clad elder pointed to the long haired youth next to Ji Ning.

Swoosh!

The kneeling long haired youth suddenly shot out a black light from his sleeves towards the nearby Ning.

“Clang!” Ji Ning’s body was covered by beast furs, and underneath them he had magic treasures protecting him. Naturally, this attack was blocked.

“Hmph.” Ning looked at the long haired youth, but discovered that the youth’s face had already begin to turn black. At this moment, the other high level members of the Firewing Tribe were angrily howling and reaching out with their hands to seize the youth, planning to subdue him. “He dares to ambush the young master. He deserves death.”

“Don’t touch him!” Ning immediately barked.

But a muscular man of the Firewing Tribe who had charged in front had already touched the arm of the long haired youth. The pitch-black color on the arm of the youth instantly transmitted to the right arm of the muscular man.

“Swish!” Ning pointed out with a fingernail, and a ray of sword energy swung out, chopping the left arm of the muscular man off.

The long haired youth slumped to the ground, his entire body pitch black, and his seven orifices bleeding with black blood. That man whose arm had been chopped off by Ning had black blood flowing out of his severed arm as well.

“Poison!”

The surrounding Firewing tribesmen all retreated in surprise.

Ning’s expression was grave. “Such fierce poison.”

“Aaaaah!” The chief of the Firewing Tribe, that black-bearded man, suddenly called out, then hurriedly pointed at the corpse on the ground. “It was him! It was him! Young master Ji Ning, it was all him. He originally spat a mouthful of smoke at me, and I lost my faculties. Although I knew what was going on, I treated this Zig as my master and obeyed him from my heart. Whatever he wanted me to do, I would do. Even if he wanted me to die, I wouldn’t resist at all. When I heard your name, young master, it was he who ordered me to attack. I clearly didn’t want to offend you, young master, but as soon as he instructed me, I immediately gave the order.”

The black-bearded man stared in shock and fury at the corpse on the ground. “It was that mouthful of smoke.”

The high level members of the tribe, upon hearing this, were all awestruck.

“What?” Ning was surprised as well.

In the entire Swallow Mountain area, only the ‘Blackfire Cult’ was in possession of drugs that could control a person, but the most famous medicine which the Blackfire Cult had was the ‘Holy Fire Pill’. Upon eating the Holy Fire Pill, a person would become unswervingly loyal to the Blackfire Cult and not even fear death! Only, the ‘Holy Fire Pill’ of the Blackfire Cult wasn’t a breath of smoke.

“Anyone capable of creating this thing is definitely a very powerful warlock or alchemist.” Ning was secretly startled, and he turned to look at the leader. “Speak. What did this Zig want from you?”

“To buy slaves!” The black-bearded man said hurriedly. “He first bought slaves from us twice, over two thousand slaves! Afterwards, he controlled me and ordered me to swallow up some smaller tribes and have all the members of those tribes be sold as slaves to him. He would arrange for those people to be taken away.”

Ning was puzzled. What was the point of buying so many slaves? Generally speaking, tribes would buy slaves to use them for manual labor or as servants. Slaves had to eat as well, and providing enough food for so many wouldn’t be easy.

“His subordinates?” Ning asked. “Didn’t you say that he sent subordinates to take the slaves away? So many slaves, including women, children, and elderly, would have travelled very slowly. You should be able to find traces of them.”

“I can. I can.” The black-bearded man nodded hurriedly. “Ten days ago, his subordinates took a group of slaves away. They were headed towards the east. Two days ago, a hunting squad of our tribe saw that slaver squad. Most likely, in two days they couldn’t have gone too far. We should be able to find them quickly.”

Ning nodded.

“Mowu. Autumn Leaf.” Ning turned to look into the distance.

Mowu and Autumn Leaf immediately ran over.

“Young master.” The two looked at Ning.

“I have something to take care of.” Ning said. “The two of you, immediately send word to the nearest station of black armored guards, and have the hundred closest black armored guards to escort you and Bluestone to Serpentwing Lake. My father will arrange for a dwelling to be built at Serpentwing Lake, and you will temporarily live on the island in the center of it.”

“Yes.” Mowu and Autumn Leaf assented.

“As for you.” Ning looked at the black-bearded man. “You will immediately arrange for your hunter squads to provide me with two guides. I want to find that slaving squad.”

“Yes, young master.” The black-bearded man hurriedly said, and then roared backwards behind himself, “Threeknife, Cardcloth, come over here.”

—————————–

Ning led the two guides on the backs of the black beasts, traveling by day while resting at night in hot pursuit. That squad, guiding hundreds of elderly and infants, naturally travelled much more slowly. They would at most be able to advance a hundred kilometers a day.

“Young master, there clearly are footsteps here.” A swarthy man with braided hair said hurriedly. “The tracks are very clear. They should have been made less than a day ago. We will soon catch up to them.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

They continued the chase.

Soon, they saw a large cluster of figures. All of them, male and female, were fettered by the hands, with the rope being attached to a tree trunk. A group of men and women were bound all together, carrying a tree trunk. By doing so, anyone who attempted to flee would pull others with him, and once the movement became apparent enough, the slaver escorts would easily notice.

“Hurry, hurry up.” The slaver escorts were soldiers wielding whips, and they would occasionally lash out with the whips. As for some of the toddlers, they were tied up and seated on horses, with eight or ten toddlers tied up on each horse, allowing them to move more quickly.

The looks on the faces of the men and women were full of grief, and their eyes were filled with despair.

Half a month ago, they were in their own tribes, living peaceful, happy lives with their families. But now, they had become slaves and were being escorted to an unknown area.

“You two, take these three black beasts and return. Have your tribesmen arrange for them to be sent to Serpentwing Lake.” With a flip of his hand, Ning withdrew two beastheads of gold. “You made a trip with me. I won’t mistreat you.”

“Thank you, young master.” The two tribesmen hurriedly thanked him.

Ning nodded, then patted his black beast. He had ridden this black beast while adventuring. After having spent so much time with it, he was rather reluctant to part with it.

“You can go now.” Ning immediately dismounted, then began to travel by himself. After all, this squad was moving very slowly. There was no need for him to ride the black beast.

————————-

The slaver squad continued to advance through the mountain forests. On the road, although they encountered some monstrous beasts, the slaver escorts were powerful experts, almost all of them peak Houtian level, with three of them being Fiendgod Houtian experts. They easily killed the monstrous beast.

“It is indeed odd.” Ning said to himself. “Large-scale purchasing of slaves, and using medicines to control the leader of a tribe to engage in the large-scale capture of slaves. Even the slaver escorts have peak Houtian Fiendgod practitioners.”

“Hurry up!”

“Hurry up.”

“We’re almost there.” The slaver escorts seemed to be rather happy.

Ning secretly followed from behind. This place was already at what was considered the border between the Ji clan and the Ironwood clan, while up ahead was a chain of mountains.

This group of slavers were heading towards the mountain range.

“Enter the mountains.” The squad continued forward.

Ning moved from behind, but just as they arrived at the base of the mountain, the sun which been bright in the sky suddenly changed as soon as Ning followed them into the mountains. It was as though day had suddenly transformed into night. The area around them had turned pitch black, and only some faint details of the surrounding area could be made out. The entire area seemed to be covered with black fog.

The black fog was everywhere, and it was filled with a cold aura.

“A formation.” Ning immediately understood that he had entered a formation.

“Someone actually came to die. Hahaha!” An evil, ear-piercing laugh suddenly rang out. “Little human child, your flesh will definitely be very delicious. I will slowly devour you bite by bite.”

Ning stood there, staring into the endless black fog surrounding him. He could just barely see to a distance of ten meters. Beyond that, he couldn’t see anything. In his hands, the two Darknorth swords had already appeared.

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Chapter 13 – Zifu Disciple

Chapter 13 – Zifu Disciple

“Go ahead and kill me.”

“Even as a ghost, I won’t forgive you.”

“Aaargh!”

“No, no, no!”

Standing in the middle of the boundless darkness of the great formation, sounds could vaguely be heard from everywhere, as though many people were suffering terrifying torments. Ji Ning was secretly startled. “They wildly purchased so many slaves, and even controlled the leaders of some tribes to snatch up some slaves through battling other tribes. What are they doing!”

“No matter what, first I have to leave.” Ning stared seriously at his surroundings. With a ‘swoosh’, he charged forward, moving more than a kilometer. And then, he once more turned and began to sprint, retreat, leap forward…within the pitch black, foggy formation, Ning moved around at high speed for a long time, but no matter where he moved, he remained within the formation filled with the dark fog and cold air.

“Not good.” Ning’s face changed slightly. “This is no ordinary maze formation. I moved at such high speed and constantly changed directions, but the formation remained utterly stable. The person controlling this formation is most likely not a Xiantian lifeform.”

During this past month of pursuit, Ning had focused on training in the [Nine Scrolls on Formations] and had made some accomplishments. Although he was unable to easily defeat the formation in front of him, he was able to tell…this was far above the likes of simple formations such as the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation. It was an extremely intricate formation, and a magic treasure capable of setting up this sort of formation would have to be considered a ranked magic treasure.

There was no way for a Xiantian lifeform to bind a ranked magic treasure.

“A person on the level of a Wanxiang Adept wouldn’t deign to act in such a manner in a place like Swallow Mountain. Nine out of ten…the person who set up this formation should be a Zifu Disciple, and one specialized in using poisons.” Ning quickly came to this conclusion based on what he had encountered previously.

————————

“Human child, I’m coming for you.” The ear-piercing laugh reverberated within the endless black mist.

Ning just stood there, completely unmoving, while at the same time, around him appeared three fire lotus petals and three water lotus petals. The two layers of lotus petals slowly swiveled around Ning in opposite directions…

“Hahaha!” A sinister laughter echoed.

Shua!

A shadow suddenly leapt forth from the dark mist, pouncing towards Ning. But when that shadow saw Ning being protected by the Waterflame Lotus, it paused slightly.

“Hmph.” Ning’s eyes had a fierce look flash past them, and he immediately charged forward, his Darknorth sword in his hand transforming into a ray of firelight as he executed the ‘Thunderflash Flint’, chopping the shadow in half.

Hua….

The shadow instantly split into mist, then glided backwards before reforming into a mutant beast. Hidden in the darkness, there was no way to clearly see the mutant beast at all.

“This isn’t a human child, this is a human Xiantian lifeform who has been training for who-knows how many years!” The ear-piercing sound emanated out from the mist, travelling a long distance. “This human most likely broke through to become a Xiantian when very young, and so his features remain so very young. In addition, he has a protective lotus surrounding his body. The lotus flower around his body should be a magic treasure.”

From far off in the distance, another clear, cold voice echoed forth. “If he isn’t a Zifu Disciple, he doesn’t matter. Just kill him.”

“I’ll handle it.” The mutant beast in front of Ning, hidden in the mist, said directly.

Hearing this, Ning’s face changed slightly.

If he isn’t a Zifu Disciple, he doesn’t matter. For someone to dare say something like this most likely meant that the person who set up this formation really was a Zifu Disciple! In addition, the one who had attacked just now was nothing more than a monstrous beast, most likely a spirit beast under the command of that Zifu Disciple.

“My Master said.” The mutant beast in the mist slowly began to change positions, occasionally appearing here, and then over there. “When adventuring in the outside world, the younger a human you encounter, the harder they are to deal with. It looks like his words weren’t wrong…but unfortunately, you ran into me!”

Ning just stood there calmly.

After a person reached the Xiantian lifeform stage, that person would no longer be a mortal, and his appearance would remain virtually unchanged. Only when he began to reach the limits of his life would he slowly age. Thus, elderly looking Xiantian lifeforms were virtually all over a century old. Ji Yichuan, who had first made his name echo in Swallow Mountain, and then had gone out adventuring for many years before bringing his wife back, was now nearly fifty, but he still looked exactly as he had when he was a youngster. If a Xiantian lifeform looked like a child, then that meant that he became a Xiantian lifeform when he was a child.

Thus, the younger one appeared, the harder they were to deal with.

Even some Immortals might have the appearance of a child.

“Swish!” “Swish!” “Swish!”

Suddenly, three black rays shot towards Ning, but when they hit those swiveling lotus petals of fire and water which were protecting Ning, they just barely broke through the first layer of lotus petals, but the second layer successfully blocked them.

The enormous black shadow emerged from the mist, and an enormous claw grabbed towards Ning!

“Dang!” Ning’s sword light flashed, and the grab attempt was blocked while Ning himself dodged to the side.

“Eh?” Ning frowned as he looked. This was a mutant beast which looked like a panther. Ning was actually momentarily unable to recognize what sort of mutant beast this was, primarily because many mutant beasts had mixed lineages, which would often resulted in mutant beasts. The mutant beast in front of him could only be said to look similar to a Bi’an Tiger. Its body was extremely long. The mutant beast stared at Ning, its tail swaying. Its tail had circles of black bony spikes which, if struck onto a person’s body, would definitely be no weaker than a whip-type magic treasure striking a person.

Ning’s pupils contracted, and he transformed into a blur.

Windwing Evasion!

Swoosh!

Moving as fast as lightning, he pounced towards the mutant beast, and the mutant Diremonster’s twin claws snatched towards Ning as well.

“Raindrop Pierces Rocks!” A water-like sword light flashed past, seeming like a drop of water falling down, and with a thundering sound, that mutant Diremonster collapsed to the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a halt, no longer moving. Its head had a large hole in it, with blood and brain matter flowing outside.

Ning quietly landed on the ground, still holding his twin swords as he cautiously stared around himself. He only glanced sideways at the mutant beast. “Nothing more than a late-stage Xiantian level Diremonster!”

“Black Needle!”

“Black Needle!” From afar came the call of that cold voice. “Is that human dead yet? Black Needle! Black-”

Quickly, that clear, cold voice went silent.

“I killed the mutant, but he didn’t know about it. It seems that mutant beast wasn’t his spirit-beast.” Ning understood that there wasn’t necessarily only a single Zifu Disciple here in this mountain. It was very possible that a hidden power was here! But the person capable of setting up this sort of formation had to at least be a Zifu Disciple.

“This is big trouble.” Ning hadn’t imagined that in the Swallow Mountain area, at the borders of the Ji clan and the Ironwood clan, such a powerful force was hidden.

——————

Ning was trapped within the great formation. The protective Waterflame Lotus swirled around him, and in his mind, he was constantly pondering formations. The [Nine Scrolls on Formations] were abstruse, especially those extremely hard to memorize diagrams, but Ning had still been able to forcibly commit the contents of the first scroll to memory. He was currently using the greater part of his mental power to analyze them.

“I have to break this formation. While trapped here, all I can do is allow them to use whatever techniques they have against me.” Ning focused on analyzing the formation, while constantly hearing miserably cries, fierce curses. It seemed as though a true hell was hidden within this mountain.

——————–

Ji clan of the West Prefecture. Snowfall Palace.

Ji Young was seated at the throne of the palace, while Ji Yichuan, Ji Lee, and others were all seated below him, their faces all solemn.

“In the past ten days.” Ji Lee’s voice was rather hoarse, and his eyes were rather red. “The Five Prefectures of our Ji clan has already had multiple Xiantian lifeforms disappear! We have neither found them alive nor found their corpses!”

“Prefecture Lord, who has come to the territory of our Ji clan to cause trouble?”

“Find them and destroy them.”

“I’ve almost gone crazy in the past few days. My close friend! I must find him and rescue him.”

The members of the Ji clan seated below couldn’t help but howl.

Ji Lee, glaring, let out a hiss, “My son has gone missing as well. I must find him, I must!” And then, he looked at the Prefecture Lord, seated in the throne. “Elder brother, up till now, how many Xiantian lifeforms have gone missing? Also, who exactly is acting against our Ji clan? Have we found the culprit?”

“Based on the news which the Central Prefecture just sent over, up till now, already twenty three Xiantian lifeforms have gone missing.” Ji Young shook his head. “And most of them are fairly powerful and quite famous Xiantian lifeforms! The Five Prefectures of the Ji clan have lost five of our Commanders who were outside. As for where they have gone, there’s no trace of them at all.”

“This is provoking our Ji clan. They show no regard for the Ji clan at all.” Lee bellowed.

Young’s eyes were red. “All the ones who went missing were quite powerful and were at least mid-stage Xiantian lifeforms. There were even late-stage Xiantian lifeforms, and even peak Xiantian lifeforms! They are running roughshod over our Ji clan, then pissing on our faces! We have to find the culprits! No matter how great the price, we must destroy them!”

Yichuan, seated to one side, spoke out. “They must be destroyed indeed. However, based on my experience, this power should have a Zifu Disciple guarding it.”

“Oh?” Everyone looked towards Yichuan.

Yichuan, after all, had gone adventuring outside. He had even gone to the Darknorth Seas. His experience was greater than theirs.

Yichuan continued, “There are two possibilities which have the greatest likelihood. The first is that it should be some sort of fleeing tribe, who lost their city and no longer have a base and were sent wandering…but the remnants of this tribe are still very powerful. Thus, they want to cause a battle here in Swallow Mountain and conquer a commandery city through it.”

With a commandery city, they would have their own territory. Only then would a tribe have a base!

“The second possibility is that it is a fleeing Immortal practitioner. The Immortal practitioners of some evil sects will use souls and corpses to train in some evil magic spells. Snatching Xiantian lifeforms is done because Xiantian lifeforms have more powerful souls, and can be better used to train in some magic spells.” Yichuan said.

“And the disappearance of Xiantian lifeforms,” Yichuan continued, “Based on the intelligence of our Ji clan, is not just limited to the Ji clan, but also the nearby Ironwood clan! The Riverbank clan has Xiantian lifeforms missing as well. Only, we don’t know how many Xiantian lifeforms they have lost. For them to act so wildly means that the power which has come to our Swallow Mountain is not weak. We absolutely must get revenge, and we must rescue the missing Xiantian lifeforms, but we cannot be rash. We need to first discover the true situation regarding the opponents, and then set a strategy to destroy them at one blow!”

Everyone in the palace went silent.

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Chapter 14 – Revered Master

Chapter 14 – Revered Master

Ji Yichuan walked by himself on the stone brick road, his forehead furrowed in thought. He knew that this affair would be a tough trial for the Ji clan, but any organization which wanted to survive in this world would have to be able to endure repeatedly trials! After passing them, the roots of the clan would naturally grow deeper and grow more powerful. But if they weren’t able to pass them, then the clan would be exterminated! It would be lucky if even a few survivors managed to flee and pass down the bloodline.

“Master.

“Master.” Some of the servants knelt down on the side to welcome him.

Yichuan walked into his residence, then headed back to the place where he normally stayed. Suddenly, a female servant hurriedly rushed over. Upon seeing Yichuan, she was so frightened, she immediately knelt down.

“Why are you in such a rush? Consider your image!” Yichuan frowned and barked.

“Master.” The female servant’s face was white with tension. “Madame, Madame, she…”

Yichuan’s face instantly changed. “What’s wrong with Snow?”

“Madame fainted!” The female servant said frantically.

“Fainted?” Yichuan’s face instantly turned white. As an expert Ki Refiner, how could she faint? If his wife fainted, there could only be one reason.

“Snow!” Yichuan instantly turned into a gust of wind, disappearing from that area.

—————————-

Within the room.

Yuchi Snow was quietly lying on the bed. Her face was rather pale, but her features were still so beautiful, so calm.

“Snow.” Yichuan instantly appeared within the room. Seeing his wife lying there, he hurriedly walked forward and carefully inspected her. He couldn’t help but glance at the female servant. “What exactly happened?”

The female servant was shaking in terror, and had knelt down long ago. “Master, the Madame had been drinking tea and was perfectly fine. Nobody touched the Madame, and nobody spoke with the Madame. But suddenly, the Madame’s body turned weak and she just collapsed. All of us panicked. I carefully lifted the Madame back into the room, while Keepleaf went to call you, Master.”

“How could this happen.” A look of agony was on Yichuan’s face. “How could this happen! Quick, quick, go have Shaman Cao immediately come over!”

“Yes.” The female servant immediately retreated, leaving behind only Yichuan and his wife in the room.

Yichuan sat at the side of the bed, looking at his wife. He stretched his hand out to stroke her face, murmuring, “Is this day truly here? When you gave birth to Ning, I feared that this day would come. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. You will definitely survive. I will accompany you and we will both watch our son become into an incredible hero.”

Moments later.

A big-bearded old man dressed in filthy animal skins walked in. His body naturally carried an herbal fragrance. Shamans and apothecaries were a group of people who had a great deal of experience in natural herbs and remedies. The boundless world was a very miraculous place, and it had all sorts of curious types of things living within it. Even the most seemingly ordinary herbs, once combined in a certain manner, could have some unique effects.

This Shaman Cao was one of the most skilled in herbs in the Ji clan of the West Prefecture.

“Shaman Cao.” Yichuan looked towards the big-bearded elder. “My wife just fainted for no reason. You take a look.”

“Commander, please step back.” Shaman Cao said in his hoarse voice, and Yichuan hurriedly moved to the side, stepping back to make way for him. Shaman Cao stretched out his dry hand, as skinny as a chicken claw, placing it against Snow’s forehead. Instantly, a spot of green light was birthed from Shaman Cao’s palm, and it began to slowly seep into Snow’s body.

A very strong herbal odor began to fill the area.

Shaman Cao closed his eyes. After a long time, Shaman Cao took his hand back. As for Snow, who had previously been in a state of unconsciousness, her eyebrows trembled, and then she opened her eyes.

“Snow.” Yichuan, shocked and overjoyed, hurriedly went forward while at the same time looking at Shaman Cao. “How is my wife?”

“Please forgive me for my inability.” Shaman Cao shook his head. “Commander, you’d best go invite the clan leader.”

“The clan leader?” Yichuan’s heart clenched.

The clan leader was the clan leader for the entire Five Prefectures of the Ji clan. His name was Ji Ninefire. An old fellow who had lived for nearly four hundred years, a true ancestor of the Ji clan. Of course, he was also a Zifu Disciple! Ji Ninefire loved to research, and had significant accomplishments in both formations, medicines, and poisons. In terms of medical treatment, he was naturally incomparably superior to Shaman Cao.

“I’ll immediately take Snow over to him.” Yichuan said hurriedly.

“No.” Shaman Cao said hurriedly. “Commander, you cannot be rash. The Madame currently can’t withstand any shaking or bumping. She needs to quietly recuperate. If you can invite the clan leader to come, that would be for the best.” Shaman Cao came to a halt. He knew that inviting the clan leader to come would be very difficult.

Yichuan nodded, then immediately instructed a nearby maidservant, “Immediately go invite Commander Ji Redflower over.”

Moments later.

Redflower, dressed in red clothing, walked in. “Yichuan, what do you need me for?”

“Aunty Flower.” Yichuan, upon seeing this person, hurriedly said, “I want to ask you to ride on your Azure Firebird and immediately head to the Central Prefecture. Invite the clan leader to pay a visit to our Western Prefecture.”

“Invite the clan leader?” Redflower was startled. The clan leader had stopped managing the clan’s affairs long ago, and spent all of his time in research and training…even if Ji Young, the Prefecture Lord of the Western Prefecture went to invite him, the clan leader still probably wouldn’t come. “If I go invite him, would he come?”

Yichuan said hurriedly, “Just tell him that I, Ji Yichuan, have a life-and-death matter and that I am asking the clan leader to come to the Western Prefecture City. The clan leader will definitely come.”

Although Redflower was still puzzled at why Yichuan was so confident that the clan leader would definitely come, she still nodded. “Fine. I’ll go make a visit to the ‘City of Ten Thousand Swords’.”

The Grand Xia Dynasty had erected countless commandery cities throughout the world. The Ji clan was only in control of a single one, the ‘City of Ten Thousand Swords’. This was the ‘Central Prefecture’ of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan! As for the Eastern Prefecture, Western Prefecture, Southern Prefecture, and Northern Prefecture, they had all been built by the Ji clan, and had nothing special about them.

“Sorry to trouble you.” Yichuan said in thanks.

Redflower immediately left, then quickly mounted her Azure Firebird and left the Western Prefecture City, heading towards the City of Ten Thousand Swords!

———————————-

The maidservants in the room had left as well, leaving behind only Yichuan and his wife, Snow.

“Yichuan.” Snow smiled, lifting her head up to look at her man.

“Snow.” Yichuan sat by the side of the bed, holding his wife’s hand.

Snow shook her head gently. “I know it. You know it too. When we returned from the Darknorth Sea and suffered that attack on the way back, we were very lucky to be able to survive and return. The past ten years have been very calm and very happy. I am already content.”

“If, if that year, you hadn’t given birth to Ning…” Yichuan’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

Snow gently shook her head. “This is our child. I had to give birth to him. Even though using the secret technique resulted in me losing some years of my life, it was worth it! I had been heavily injured. If I hadn’t given birth to Ning then, who knows if I would have been able to give birth later on. Ning has the blood of both of us in his veins. And what’s more, his life was bought using the life of my elder brother.”

“Elder brother.” Yichuan still remembered that great battle they had fought on the way back.

That great battle had changed the fate of three people.

The Yuchi siblings, and himself, Ji Yichuan.

“Quick, take my little sister and go! Quick, go!”

The image of that tall, powerful back. That furious roar. Yichuan had never forgotten it.

“If we gave up Ning, perhaps I would have been able to live for a few more years, but I wouldn’t have been able to have a child with you. I would have regretted it my entire life. He has the bloodline of the Ji clan, and he also has the bloodline of my Yuchi clan.” Yuchi Snow said gently, “I’ve had ten years by your side, and I also have an incomparably clever son…I am incomparably happy and incomparably satisfied. These past ten years, I have felt very blessed and very happy.”

Yichuan gently held his wife’s hand.

“Ning is my pride and joy.” Snow said slowly. “I don’t regret giving birth to Ning.”

“Right.” Yichuan nodded gently. “I understand. Understand. In less than two hours, the clan leader will be here. Let the clan leader take a look. Perhaps it isn’t too terrible.”

Snow nodded. “If I can live for another year or two, let’s not tell Ning about this for now. If I won’t be able to live for much longer, then let Ning return.” And then, Snow looked towards her man, her eyes shining. “Yichuan, I am so blessed to have had you and Ning.”

“Alright.” Yichuan looked at his wife and said gently, “I feel the same way.”

—————————-

But neither Yichuan nor Snow knew that right now, their son Ning was in dire straits. He was in the great mountain between the borders of the Ji clan and the Ironwood clan, which from afar seemed ordinary and unremarkable. Upon entering this mountain, however, one would fall into a pit of endless dark fog and never come out again.

The protective lotus petals swiveled around him. Ning sat there in the lotus position, currently focusing on the [Nine Scrolls on Formations], constantly hypothesizing and thinking about how to break this formation as soon as possible.

————————–

At the midpoint of the mountain.

One miserable scream after another emanated from places throughout the midway point of the mountain. All sorts of furious, hateful curses, wild pleas, and sobs all constantly assaulted the ears, while in the center of the mountain, there were multiple pillars with men and women bound to them. At a glance, one could see over a hundred men and women, their bodies covered in scars.

Beaten, humiliated, tormented…all sorts of cruel methods had been used on them.

“Xiantian lifeforms? You still think you are Xiantian lifeforms? Hahaha, drink it all, drink some of this wonderful urine to quench your thirst!” The muscular servants were wildly tormenting them.

Standing in the center of the mountain, there were six beautiful dressed men and women. They calmly watched all of this.

“We’ve purchased more than a million ordinary slaves in this Swallow Mountain region, and seized nearly a hundred Xiantian lifeforms. However, we are still quite a ways off from the requirements of Master.” A black-clothed woman who had a scorpion on her shoulders said slowly.

“Senior apprentice-brother is currently outside capturing Xiantian lifeforms. We’ll quickly be at the necessary numbers.” A handsome youth smiled. “However, one of Master’s spirit-beasts, Blackneedle, went to kill an enemy within the formation, but was instead killed. My fellow apprentice-brothers and apprentice-sisters, how do you think we should deal with this?”

“Younger apprentice-brother, you are naturally talented. It’s best if you go.”

“Younger apprentice-brother…”

The nearby men and women all looked at the handsome youth. Seeing the situation, his face darkened. None of these fellow martial apprentices were fools. Although all of them has extraordinary abilities, since they knew that the person within the formation could easily kill the spirit-beast ‘Blackneedle’, none of them were willing to go. After all, going meant encountering some risk.

Suddenly…

Kakaka…

From within the mountain, a location began to turn and swivel. One metal plate after another began to move open, revealing a corridor. Within the dark corridor, there was a hint of green light, and an icy cold aura swept out from within.

“Master.” The six men and women all called out respectfully in unison.

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Chapter 15 – Wraith

Chapter 15 – Wraith

From the dark abyss below came a sharp yet calm voice. “Little Seven, you are the most clever. You can go handle this matter. Get rid of this intruder.”

“Yes, revered Master.” The handsome youth didn’t hesitate at all as he replied with respect.

“Go, then.”

Just as the words ended…

Kakaka…..

The metal board immediately rose up from the floor, once more tightly sealing away that corridor. Only now did those six men and women let out sighs of relief. Although they were their master’s closest disciples, whenever they faced their master, they still felt terrified. This was because those disciples who had dared to offend their master had all been tortured to death, and would never even have the chance to be reborn.

“Who knows what sort of magic treasure Master is currently refining.” A violet-clothed young man said softly. “All together, from start to finish, including the people we tortured to death in other places, we’ve killed hundreds of Xiantian lifeforms, and an uncountable number of ordinary people. Master even said that once he finishes with this magic treasure, even if he encounters a Wanxiang Adept, he won’t be afraid. Who knows what sort of magic treasure this is?”

“It definitely is a terrifyingly powerful one.”

“Right now, Master’s magic treasure is only half completed, but he already pays no attention to those Zifu Disciples located in the tribes of Swallow Mountain. When he truly completes is…” The six men and women chatted softly. They were very curious about this mysterious magic treasure which their master was busy creating, but unfortunately, their master had remained deep within his study this entire time and had forbidden anyone from entering.

As for that tunnel, as soon as it shut, not a single sound would come from outside.

“Whoosh!”

A blurry, savage ghost suddenly came out from the body of one of the Xiantian lifeforms bound to the pillar. It let out a soundless scream, and then that blurry ghost sank down into the stones, being gathered to the depths of the mountain, towards that hidden room. This scene caused those six men and women to feel nervous. Only a true dread wraith would be visible to the naked eye.

“Yet another wraith!”

The six men and women thought back to their second apprentice-brother, who had offended their master. He had been tortured to death, and then he had been transformed into a dread wraith, then been absorbed in. Even wraiths were being drawn down…clearly, whoever died there would never have the chance for rebirth.

“Little Seven, go deal with the enemy in the formation.” His fellow apprentices exhorted.

“Stop rushing me.” The handsome youth immediately walked outside.

————————

The dark fog was everywhere. The handsome youth quietly moved forwards, and everywhere he went, that black fog automatically opened a pathway for him.

A Dao-seal appeared out of nowhere in the handsome youth’s left hand. On the surface of the Dao-seal, there was a blood vessel like pattern of strange characters. On his right hand, a horsetail whisk appeared.

“Let’s go.” With a flip of the horsetail whisk, hundreds of white strands of light immediately transformed to a size of dozens of meters, swirling around towards the lotus-position seated Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position. Suddenly, he sensed something, and he raised his head to look.

The entire area around him was filled with those white strands.

“Break.” Ning barked softly, and the Waterflame Lotus that had been swiveling around him instantly increased greatly in size. The two enormous layers of lotus petals swiveled, and those invading white strands that had sought to entangle him were all snapped, completely unable to draw near Ning.

“Controlling fire and water?” The pupils of the distant, handsome youth immediately contracted. “It seems he is a Fiendgod Body Refiner at the Xiantian level. This will be troublesome. I had wanted to rely on my horsetail whisk to directly seize him, but it seems that won’t be possible.” The hundreds of white strands quickly returned, then disappeared. In his right hand, a long whip appeared.

“You’ve invaded our formation. Immediately report your name!” The handsome youth shouted.

Ning was already on his feet, and he glanced at the handsome youth. “This is the border between the Ironwood clan and the Ji clan, but you seem to neither be of the Ji clan nor of the Ironwood clan. Who are you, exactly?”

“If I told you, you’d be frightened to death.” The handsome youth sneered.

“Why don’t you give it a try and see if I’ll be frightened to death.” Ning wielded a sword in each hand.

“The only thing you need to see is my whip.” The handsome youth didn’t continue the conversation. Clearly, he didn’t want to explain where he was from. He immediately struck out with his whip, and the black whip slashed through the air, elongating at high speed. By the time it reached Ning, the whip had already transformed into a black serpent head which bit straight at Ning.

Ning just looked at it. As soon as the long black whip broke through the first layer of the fire lotus, it was blocked by the second later of the water lotus.

“What sort of technique is that lotus of fire and water?” The handsome youth wasn’t like that spirit-beast from earlier; he could immediately tell that Ning was a Fiendgod Body Refiner who could control fire and water, but he didn’t understand how Ning’s technique worked.

Swoosh!

Ning, who had previously been just calmly looking at the whip, suddenly without any warning began to use the Windwing Evasion technique. He instantly leapt over towards that handsome youth at an astonishing speed. At the same instant he leapt forward like a gust of smoke, the Darknorth swords in his hands executed Raindrop Pierces Rocks, stabbing straight towards the head of the handsome youth.

“Hard to deal with. Flee!” This entire time, the handsome youth had been clutching that Dao-seal in his left hand. He suddenly activated it and it transformed into a blurry shadow and entered his body…and then the handsome youth suddenly disappeared into thin air.

Swoosh. Ning appeared in front of where that handsome youth had been. He began to frown. “An escape technique? He should have relied on that Dao-seal to use this technique. A Xiantian Ki Refiner actually has an escape-type Dao-seal. The Zifu Disciple behind him definitely dotes on him.”

Dao-seals were divided by class as well.

The Divine Speed Seal, Light Body Seal, Diamond Seal, Giant Strength Seal, and other Dao-seals were all the lowest class seals, which escape seals were clearly on a higher level. For example, the ‘Traceless Talisman’ was a type of Dao-seal that was so precious you couldn’t even buy it with money. Only, unfortunately, he wasn’t carrying the ‘Traceless Talisman’ on him. Even if he was, because Ning was trapped within this formation, he was unable to tell which direction he was in, there was no way that Ning could use it to go directly into the insides of the mountain. Of course, he could still rely on the Traceless Talisman to immediately flee, but unfortunately, he didn’t have it on him.

“Although I have Escape Seals on me, this trapping formation has activated the five elements. I’m completely unable to ‘escape’.” Ning was certain about this. He had pondered for a long time, and he could be considered to have a good level of attainment in formations.

He had some understanding regarding the formation he was trapped in as well.

When the five elements were activated, there was no way to ‘escape’, unless the master of the formation voluntarily helped out. Unfortunately, the master of this formation only wanted his death. How could he help out?

———————-

The handsome youth quickly charged back to the midway point of the mountain.

“Little Seven’s back.”

“Younger apprentice brother, have you executed the enemy?”

“With our younger apprentice brother having personally intervened, he definitely captured the trespasser with ease.” Those fellow apprentices, seeing the look on the handsome youth’s face, immediately knew that he had definitely failed, so they immediately began to ridicule him.

The handsome youth barked back, “Fellow apprentices, you have no idea as to how powerful this enemy is. If I had just been a bit slower in fleeing, I probably would have lost my life to him.”

“He’s that formidable?”

“Does he have some sort of powerful magic treasure?” The other five men and women were all astonished. They knew how powerful this younger apprentice-brother of theirs was.

The handsome youth said hurriedly, “He is just like our senior apprentice-brother. He trains in both ki and Body! He is a Xiantian level practitioner as a Fiendgod Refiner as well, and he was able to reach me in an instant. Fortunately, I had been holding the Escape Seal from the very beginning, and so I was lucky enough to escape. His speed alone indicates that he is probably a peak Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner.”

“Ah?”

“A peak Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner?”

“Where did such a powerful figure suddenly come from?” The other five fellow apprentices were all shocked.

The handsome youth sighed, “It seems we’ll have to wait for our senior apprentice-brother. Senior apprentice-brother has already reached the peak Xiantian level in both ki and Body, and he also has all sorts of magic treasures and poisons…the large majority of the hundred Xiantian lifeforms we have caught in the Swallow Mountain area were all captured by senior apprentice-brother.”

“Who is speaking about me?” A low voice rang out.

The six men and women hurriedly turned to look. At the halfway point of the mountain, near that enormous cave entrance, a man dressed in a black cloak with unbound hair walked in. That icy, sinister aura was just the same as their revered master’s. The man was currently carrying a large sack. As he walked into the mountain estate, he tossed the bag to the floor. At the opening of the bag, some feet could be seen.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” The six men and women immediately called out respectfully. They all knew exactly how formidable their senior apprentice-brother was. They had all fled secretly with their master, and on the way, their senior apprentice-brother had even battled once against a Zifu Disciple and lived to tell the tale.

“I went to the Kou clan’s territory and seized these three Xiantian lifeforms. I’ve already destroyed their dantian’s. Go tie them up.” The black cloaked man instructed.

Immediately, servants charged forward and dragged out the three people in the sack. One woman, two men. The woman was incomparably charming, but in a dazed state.

“So even the bewitching beauty, ‘Kou Hua’, was captured.”

“Three more.”

“All of the Kou clan.”

The captured Ji clan, Ironwood clan, and Riverbank clan Xiantian level members of the Swallow Mountain region all glanced over. Immediately, the black-cloaked man’s face turned savage, and his eyes emanated a green light. “I ordered you to torment them, torment them until they go insane, torment them until they died. But look at them; they actually have the presence of mind to look at these three. If you aren’t able to torment to death, if a single one of them doesn’t become a dread wraith, then I will make sure all of you become dread wraiths!”

“Yesyesyes.” Those servants were absolutely terrified, and then all of them threw themselves forward, using all methods at their disposal to torment these Xiantian lifeforms with destroyed dantians.

Seeing their senior apprentice-brother angry, the other six men and women were all frightened as well.

The black-robed man turned his head to look at his fellow apprentices. “Just now, you were speaking of me?”

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Chapter 16 – Clansmen

Chapter 16 – Clansmen

“Senior apprentice-brother, within the formation with our revered master set up, an enemy who secretly entered has been trapped. He looks just like a youth.” That handsome youth addressed as ‘Little Seven’ immediately said. “But his power is astonishingly great. Even one of Master’s spirit-beasts, ‘Blackneedle’, was killed, and I almost lost my life as well.”

The black-clothed man frowned. “Oh? He’s that powerful?”

“Very powerful. That enemy is also both a Ki Refiner and a Body Refiner. He should be a peak Xiantian expert. Only you, senior apprentice-brother, will be able to kill him.”

“Once senior apprentice-brother uses his ‘Intoxicating Dragonspit’ technique, no matter how powerful he is, he will definitely faint and be easily captured.”

All of them were boasting and praising him.

The black-clothed man looked at the fellow disciples. “Just a single intruder causes all of you to feel helpless! Hmph, Master is currently busy forging his magic treasure and cannot spare any attention. Since the six of you aren’t able to do anything else competently, then you can go personally torment those Xiantian lifeforms. At least you’ll be helping Master with his magic treasure.”

“Yes, senior apprentice-brother.” The six men and women all responded in unison, and then all of them picked up the various tools on the floor and began to walk towards those Xiantian lifeforms.

Those bound Xiantian lifeforms who had their dantians destroyed were virtually all from the Swallow Mountain region. As for the other Xiantian lifeforms, they were extremely rare, because most had been tortured to death long ago. Even the few dozen who didn’t die yet were at the verge of death.

“Both a ki and a Body Refiner? Peak Xiantian? Let’s take a look.” The black-clothed man snorted, then walked out.

—————————–

“The Three Powers [Heaven, Earth, Man] as the foundation.” Ji Ning, surrounded and protected by his Waterflame Lotus, was seated in the lotus position, quietly chanting while looking at the formation around himself. “The Five Elements, with water and earth making up the majority…the variables lie in these areas.”

In his mind, a model of this enormous formation naturally came into being. He was currently thoroughly investigating the secrets of this formation.

Ning suddenly rose to his feet.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Instantly, he transformed into blur and repeatedly changed directions several times. The faster he moved, the greater the amount of pressure he would place on the formation, giving him a chance to test where the strengths and weaknesses of the formation lay.

“It is even more profound and intricate than the formation I just envisioned.” Ning shook his head. “If I had a chance to see the formation flags or formation marks, I would quickly understand the secrets of this formation.” He knew that this was a formation controlled by a Zifu Disciple. Perhaps because the Zifu Disciple, for some special reasons, was busy, he had been unable to come and deal with Ning personally.

But Ning knew that this was just a temporary situation. Once the Zifu Disciple attacked, given how powerful a Zifu Disciple naturally was, given that Ning was trapped within this confusing formation, he would definitely die.

“I must break this formation.”

Time was of the essence. Under this invisible pressure, Ning whole-heartedly was analyzing this formation, and his understanding of formations was constantly increasing. Fortunately, his previous life had given him a good foundation, while in this life, his soul was incredibly powerful, and he also had the guide to formations left behind by that Loose Immortal. Only because he had these three aspects combined did he have such an astonishing rate of improvement. However, to break this formation by this Zifu Disciple…he was still quite a ways off.

The great formation of this Zifu Disciple, if one wanted to destroy it through strength, would have to use tremendous force! Power at the same level naturally wouldn’t be enough. Perhaps even a Wanxiang Adept would find it difficult to destroy it forcibly. As for Ning, without question, he had to defeat the formation through understanding its secrets. Only then would he be able to easily defeat it. Break through it by raw force? He was far from being able to.

“Wu!” The black fog in front of him seemed to grow slightly dimmer. A dark figure could faintly be seen in the distance, which was currently looking at Ning, seated in the lotus position, with curiosity. “Control over water and fire? That protective lotus seems to be rather extraordinary.”

Pu!

The black-clothed man was currently holding a bottle in his hand. He pulled the stopper out, and the bottle began to release gusts of a mind-intoxicating scent. This bottle contained within it ‘Intoxicating Dragonspit’. If one directly drank this thing, perhaps even a Wanxiang Adept would immediately faint. But of course, it would be quite hard to get a Wanxiang Adept to drink it. After all, as soon as he smelled it, he would know not to drink it.

The scent of Intoxicating Dragonspit alone, when smelled, was enough to cause virtually all Xiantian lifeforms to faint and collapse. As the senior apprentice, he had been bestowed this Intoxicating Dragonspit by his revered master, which was why he was able to stealthily capture so many Xiantian lifeforms.

“Fall, fall, fall!” The black-clothed figure looked expectantly at Ning.

“Hm?”

The lotus-position seated Ning felt a fragrance assault his nostrils. Immediately, his body went soft and his head grew dizzy. However, by relying on the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and the Fiendgod body it had given him, which was incomparably stronger than that of normal Fiendgods, although Ning felt slightly dizzy, the divine power in his body, when activated, quickly blocked this feeling.

“Which scoundrel is using tricks from hiding!” Ning hurriedly stood up and shouted loudly!

“Hahaha. You are indeed a Xiantian-level Fiendgod, and thus very hard to make faint.” The distant black-clothed man walked over. “A Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner whose body is akin to a Fiendgod’s. To make you faint is as hard as making a Zifu-level Ki Refiner faint. This is why all of the people I have been capturing in Swallow Mountain have been Xiantian Ki Refiners.”

“Xiantian Ki Refiners, upon smelling this, will immediately collapse. After destroying their dantian, they won’t be able to resist at all. Fiendgod practitioners, however, will be able to regrow their dantian after it is destroyed. They are quite hard to control. In addition, torturing a Xiantian Body Refiner to death is too hard.” The black-clothed man mumbled to himself.

Ning stared at the distant, black-clothed figure. His swords were in his hands, and he was incomparably cautious, because the distant man, when walking over, gave off an invisible pressure…the tyrannical aura which only a Xiantian Fiendgod gave off. Clearly, the man had already activated the divine power in his body. Once his power was fully activated, he would attack.

“You said you captured Xiantian lifeforms?” Ning stared at him.

The black-clothed man didn’t answer the question. A look on his face that seemed like a smile and yet wasn’t, he said to Ning, “If my guess is correct, you should be young master ‘Ji Ning’ of the Ji clan.”

“Eh?” Ji Ning was startled.

In this era, communication was only possible through shouting to others, while distant communication was through running between tribes. Thus, only the high level members of some tribes knew of Ji Ning’s name. Even if they knew his name, however, they wouldn’t be able to recognize him…

“It seems I didn’t guess wrongly.” The black-clothed man sighed. “In the entire Swallow Mountain area, there can only be one person who is so young in appearance, and yet is a Xiantian lifeform who is even capable of making my fellow apprentices think he is a peak Xiantian expert. The only person capable of this must be the one who kicked down the city walls with three kicks and sent River Sansi flying with one kick. Young master Ji Ning.”

“You know quite a lot.” Ning looked at him.

The black-clothed man sighed. “Of course. I have to. In accordance with the orders from my master, I had to go capture a large number of Xiantian lifeforms throughout the Swallow Mountain region. Naturally, I need a good understanding of the intelligence reports regarding the various Xiantian experts of the Swallow Mountain area. If I didn’t prepare in advance and ended up accidentally ‘kicking an iron board’, I would be in trouble! For example, your father, Ji Yichuan…he had become a peak Xiantian long ago, and I even suspect that he is already a Zifu Disciple. I definitely wouldn’t go capture a person like him.”

“Only after getting a good understanding of a person would I go capture him. That is why so many Xiantian lifeforms went missing in the Swallow Mountain area, and yet no one knows who did it.” The black-clothed man looked at Ning. “So young, and yet so astonishingly strong. In the entire Swallow Mountain area, only you fit the criteria. In addition, this is the territory of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, and you yourself are of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture.”

Ning was stunned.

Many Xiantian lifeforms had gone missing in the Swallow Mountain area? Why was it that he hadn’t heard of this?

Actually, this was something which had only recently occurred. The capture of Xiantian lifeforms had to be done quickly. By the time the disappearance was noticed, perhaps days would have passed, and it also took time for the entire tribe to make a decision on what to do. Thus, he had to frantically seize the opportunity to capture as many as he could. He couldn’t capture them slowly. Once the major powers of the various forces of Swallow Mountain reacted and began to set traps, it would be dangerous.

“Nearly a hundred Xiantian experts have ‘gone missing’ in Swallow Mountain.” The black-robed man looked at Ning. “Because this place is near the Ji clan, many of the Ji clan have gone missing, twenty four in total. There are some who directly belong to your Ji clan, while others belong to the tribes of your Ji clan. The Ji clan controls so much territory that I imagine up till now, your Ji clan still hasn’t gotten a full picture of how many Xiantian lifeforms have gone missing.”

Ning was astonished.

The Ji clan…had actually…had actually lost many Xiantian lifeforms?

“Some have gone ‘missing’ from your Ji clan of the West Prefecture as well. Let me report a few names. I imagine you recognize them.” The black-clothed man said. “Ji Jadewich. Ji Shan. Poortile. Earthshaker. Blindfish. These five all directly belong to your Ji clan of the West Prefecture. You should know them, right?”

“Ah!”

Ning’s face instantly turned white.

Ji Jadewich…that was the son of Ji Lee, his most talented son. In the past, during the fierce struggle between Ji Lee’s lienage and the current line in control of the Prefecture Lord position, Jadewich had been one of the most fiercest in the struggle. Ning had once deeply disliked this man.

Ji Shan was a Xiantian lifeform of a younger generation of the Ji clan. Although he wasn’t a Commander, the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had very great expectations for him. After all, his surname was ‘Ji’, and he also belonged to the primary line of descent.

Poortile was a newly promoted Xiantian lifeform which had been trained and recruited by the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. In Western Prefecture City, Ning had seen him quite a few times. Each time when Poortile saw him, he would bow slightly and call out, “Young master Ji Ning!”

Earthshaker was one of the twelve Commanders of the Ji clan!

Blindfish…Blindfish….Blindfish!!!

“Master Blindfish!” Ning’s heart was trembling.

Master Blindfish had taught him archery. To Ning, he was the closest, most familiar figure of the five.

All of them were familiar figures. After all, ever since he was young, he had grown up in Western Prefecture City. He had met with all of the Xiantian lifeforms of Western Prefecture City. Each year, at the gathering at Snowfall Palace, he would see this group of people. He was very familiar with them all. These people were his clansmen! Some of them had grudges against him, some of them were of the same lineage as him, while some were friends of him. One of them as the master archer who had taught him archery!

“You…” Ning’s face turned pale.

“You know them all, right? Haha.” The black-clothed man suddenly shouted loudly, “Ji Jadewich, Ji Shan, Poortile, Earthshaker, Blindfish, your young master Ji Ning of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture is within the formation. Your young master Ji Ning will soon accompany you! Hahaha…”

The voice was very loud, and it transmitted directly into the distant tunnel midway up the mountain.

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Chapter 17 – A Frenzied Battle

Chapter 17 – A Frenzied Battle

Within the mountain.

Blindfish’s body was covered with blood, and he was currently tied to that pillar. Ever since the day he had arrived in this hellish place, he had lost all hope. Currently, he was currently grinding his teeth, enduring the pain while taunting them, “Is that all you got? Harder, hit me harder. Come at me, boy. Didn’t you drink enough milk when you were a lad?”

Suddenly…

“Your young master Ji Ning will soon be coming to keep you company! Hahaha…” That laughter rang towards them.

“Ji Ning!” The bearded Blindfish’s body trembled, and then he roared hoarsely with all his might, “Young master Ji Ning, hurry and flee! There is an Immortal practitioner here developing an evil magic treasure!”

Ji Jadewich, also bound by Blindfish’s side, had been holding his head down, exhausted, but now his spirit was roused, and he raised his head as well. He murmured: “Ji Ning? Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning! Quick, flee! Quick, leave!” Jadewich howled desolately as well, striving to make himself heard.

In the past, although he had wanted for his father’s lineage to take over the Prefecture Lord position, since they had lost, he had submitted whole-heartedly. Ji Ning was their Ji clan of the West Prefecture’s next Prefecture Lord! He had personally seen Ning’s talent, and knew that the Ji clan of the West Prefecture would definitely become even more powerful because of Ji Ning. His dantian had already been destroyed and he had been captured. He didn’t want the most promising genius of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, to die here as well. This was a humiliation to the Ji clan!

“Quick, flee!” Jadewiched howled heroically.

“Young master Ji Ning, quick, leave!” Ji Shan howled as well.

They had all been caught here, and had often seen those dread wraiths enter that underground tunnel. From that, as well as the discourse of those six handsome men and women, they had learned…that this was utterly a devil’s lair!

———————–

The black fog around him billowed, but from afar came furious, frantic howls.

“Young master Ji Ning, hurry up and flee! There is an Immortal practitioner here developing an evil magic treasure!”

“Young master Ji Ning, hurry and leave.”

“Flee.”

Although they had been tortured to the point of their voices turning hoarse, because he was so familiar with these people, Ning could tell who they were.

“Devleoping an evil magic treasure?” Ning forcibly swallowed down the fiery anger in his heart as he stared at the black-clothed man.

The black-clothed man chortled strangely. “The genius of the Ji clan, the mighty young master Ji Ning…don’t be so impatient, don’t be so angry. They will all die. As for you, you’ll die too.” He wanted to arouse Ning’s fury. When a person was enraged, they would lose their calm, and after doing so, their chances of victory would decrease.

“Go die!” Ning was like a tiger leaving the mounting, releasing a surge of seemingly unblockable power as he charged straight forward.

“Hmph, so rash. And they say you are a genius? In the end, you are still too young.” The black-clothed man said to himself. In his hands, he wielded black weaver’s shuttles in each hand, whirling them like devils as he welcomed the charging Ning. The two black shuttles stabbed towards Ning, and as the two drew near…

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The two black shuttles actually shot out multiple black needles in a cluster towards Ning. Because they were too close, and the attack of the black needles was simply too fast, although Ning’s swordplay was powerful, he found it hard to block them all. Luckily, Ning’s body had those two layers of the Waterflame Lotus to block those black needles. The black needles just barely managed to break through the first layer before collapsing, and as they did, the earth immediately began to emit a hissing sound.

“All stained with poison.” The two Darknorth swords in Ning’s hands stabbed angrily outwards towards the black-clothed man.

The black-clothed man moved like a ghost, the two black shuttles in his hands just barely able to dodge while also shooting out those black needles.

“What a formidable Ji Ning.” The black-clothed man was secretly shocked. “His protective lotus flower is too powerful. It’s actually able to affect even my own movements. Luckily, my robes are actually formed from an armor-type magic treasure, as otherwise, the power of the protective lotus alone would have torn my clothes apart.”

“Bang!”

A sword shadow suddenly pierced through the black-clothed man’s arm, and the black-clothed man immediately leapt backwards at high speed, his face gradually turning savage. “What a marvelous, profound protective lotus you have. My Blackblood Needles are unable to break through it. It seems I’ll have to use power to break it.” The two black shuttles in his hands disappeared, and then in his hands appeared a long staff formed from six shuttles, while at the same time, the area around the body of the man began to faintly swirl with fire as a powerful aura began to emanate outwards.

“Staff?” Ning was secretly startled.

Earlier, when they had battled, he had noticed that this black-clothed man’s ability in wielding those black shuttles was truly quite weak. Only, the sudden shooting out of those Blackblood Needles was rather sinister. Now that the opponent was using a staff, Ning finally understood…that this was the weapon which the opponent was actually an expert in.

“A staff is a long weapon and a heavy weapon.” Ning mused. “Fiendgod Body Refiners generally like to use heavy weapon type magic treasures, using power to break through magic.”

“Receive my attacks.” The black-clothed man transformed into a black blur, and the longstaff was lifted up high and instantly began to increase in size rapidly, while its weight rapidly increased as well. The staff itself most likely now weighed tens of thousands of kilograms, and it smashed down directly towards Ning’s head!

Ning’s Darknorth swords swept upwards.

Clang!

An enormous clashing sound. Ning himself was sent flying backwards, creating a deep gouge in the earth. His two hands had cracked apart at the thumb, and blood had already dyed the sword handles red.

“What tremendous power, even greater than mine by far. Although I am merely at the fourth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], I’m still comparable to most late-stage Fiendgod Body Refiners. This black-clothed man is actually even stronger than me. He must be a peak Fiendgod Body Refiner.” Ning understood that he had encountered a true opponent this time.

To kill an Fiendgod Body Refiner at the Xiantian level was a much harder proposition.

“I want to see how many staff blows of mine you can take.” The eyes of the black-clothed man flashed with a faint green light. He charged forwards with large steps, emanating an aura as mighty as a dragon’s, and as he drew near Ning, he delivered the longstaff in his hands in a forward blow. A direct attack!

“Staves focus on power! Swords focus on skill!” Ning shouted, while at the same time, a pair of green wings appeared behind him, seemingly made out of steel. This was the wing-type magic treasure which Ning had acquired out of the thousands of magic treasures found in the Aquatic Manor.

The [Shadewind Steps] was nothing more than one of the most basic foundations to the divine ability, [Windwing Evasion]. When using this set of wings to utilize this divine ability, the power was much greater, comparable to a tiger being given a set of wings.

Hua!

Ning’s wings trembled, and instantly, like a giant Roc, his speed tremendously, bizarrely increased. He flashed past like a gust of wind, constantly changing direction as the Darknorth swords in his hands struck out once and again against the black-clothed man.

“Yayayaya!” The black-clothed man was completely in a state of frenzy. His ki had activated the runes scribed onto his longstaff, causing the power of the Weight Seal to continue to grow. The staff seemed to have transformed into a small mount. Luckily, he was a peak Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner, as otherwise he wouldn’t even be able to budge such a heavy weapon.

“If you can’t hit someone with the staff, so what if it is heavy? Die!” Ning seemed to have been possessed as well. The existence of that Zifu Disciple was a source of invisible pressure for him. Those tormented clansmen of the Ji clan caused Ning’s heart to feel as though it was being scorched.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Ji Ning, relying on his wing-type magic treasures, moved like a ghost, his speed even greater than the black-clothed figure’s. The Darknorth swords in his hands, having already undergone a Bloodforging, were incomparably sharp. His swordplay which contained the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’, in terms of technique, was at a level higher than the black-clothed man’s as well.

“Bang!” A large hole was blasted through the waist by a piercing blow, but then immediately afterwards, the hole immediately grew small, then disappeared, having completely healed.

“Hua!” A large wound was carved out on his back.

“Chi.” His face was cut and scarred.

“Yayaya!!!” The black-clothed man was being driven insane by this battle. His all but unkillable body, when paired with his ‘one with the world’ level of staff-play, allowed him to easily dominate most peak Xiantian Ki Refiners. He hadn’t expected that this time, he had run into a wall. The opponent’s strength was a good deal weaker than his, but the opponent was nonetheless an expert Fiendgod Body Refiner whose swordplay was clearly on a higher level!

Swish!

Ning was sent flying away by a grazing blow of the staff. Although the skin on his hands were ripped open from the shock of the collision, they instantly healed. After all, as his swordplay was extremely skilled, Ning would only occasionally suffer a bit, while the opponent was truly dancing on the fine line between life and death. If he was to be stabbed by Ning in the head, a fatal blow, then he would die for sure.

“Bang!” Using both swords at the same time and moving like a ghost, the dance at the precipice of life and death finally came to a stumbling halt.

Bang!

The black-clothed man’s waist had a sword light flash past it, and an enormous wound appeared. He fell to the ground, his body chopped in half.

“Formidable, formidable.” The black-clothed man ground his teeth. “However, you can go die now.”

Hua.

Just as Ning’s wings fluttered and he pounced towards the black-clothed man with his two swords, a bottle appeared in one of the hands of the black-robed man. He suddenly smashed it into the ground, which immediately exploded open against the rocky floor of the mountain. A thick white fog instantly poured out. Ning, seeing the situation looked bad, hurriedly retreated at high speed, but the faint fragrance still assaulted his nostrils. Although he had already stopped his breathing early on, that odor still invaded and burrowed through his body.

“Transform into a pool of liquid!” The black-clothed man gritted his teeth as he stared at Ning, the two halves of his body quickly drawing close together and beginning to fuse together.

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Chapter 18 – A Heroic, Frenzied Shout

Chapter 18 – A Heroic, Frenzied Shout

The white mist within the bottle was an essence removed from corpses and transformed into gaseous form. Once it touched the body, it would quickly invade and corrode the body, melting it into a puddle of liquid! Even this peak Xiantian ‘senior apprentice’ himself had to use an antidote against it. The youth in front of him was clearly weaker than him in strength, and based on his understanding, young master Ji Ning had only recently broken through to the Xiantian level.

“No matter how monstrous of a genius you are, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, you are far inferior to me. Even I am not able to withstand it. You will definitely die.” The black-clothed man looked expectantly.

Ning’s face changed. It really was a case of a certain type of master producing a certain type of disciple! In the past, Ning had calculated that this Zifu Disciple must be an expert poison user, and this black-clothed fellow in front of him was also skilled in poisons.

The white corrosive fog…Ning felt numbness begin to spread and erode his entire body.

“Gotta hold!” Ning circulated the Shining Scarlet divine power in his body, and the powerful Fiendgod life energy also began to wipe away the poison.

“Die!” While forcibly suppressing this corpse essence in his body, the wing-type magic treasure on his back suddenly howled as Ning pounced towards the black-clothed man on the floor. Regardless of whether or not he was able to disperse this corpse essence in his body, he had to first kill the man in front of him. Otherwise, if he were to be dead from poison while the other was still alive, how hateful a thought would that be!

“Hahaha, the more you move, the faster you die.” The black-clothed man wielded the six shuttle longstaff, his footsteps thundering on the ground and causing the earth to shake. Clearly, he was using all of his strength! “Go die!” He raised the six shuttle longstaff high, smashing it down towards Ning like a giant mountain.

Shua! Shua! Relying on the Windwing Evasion, Ning moved like a ghost, moving in an arc to attack the black-clothed man from the side.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Ning wildly pounced forward, while the longstaff in the black-clothed man changed directly slightly to welcome Ning. The two had already exchanged blows multiple times and knew very well how powerful the enemy was. The black-clothed man was physically strong, while Ning’s swordplay was marvelous, and he was an expert in twin swords.

Dong!

A nearby piece of head-sized rock suddenly flew up, moving at supersonic speed as it smashed towards the black-clothed man’s head. The distance was too close, and the stone came flying from behind…the black-clothed man didn’t have eyes in his back. By the time he vaguely sensed the ripples in the air caused by the stone, it was too late!

“Bang!” The stone, wrapped up by Ning’s divine will, was moving at an incredible speed. It was as though a late-stage Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner expert had viciously thrown it at full force against his head.

The stone shattered into tiny pieces.

Blood flowed from the black-clothed man’s head, while at the same time, he stumbled.

“Clang!” “Chi!”

Two rays of sword light, one which blocked the six-shuttle longstaff, while the other sword light slashed straight through the black-clothed man’s face, stabbing out from the back of his skull, carrying some brain matter and blood!

Bang!

The power of the six-shuttle longstaff stick forced Ning to retreat backwards by multiple steps, and naturally the sword was drawn out as well. There was a hole directly in the forehead of the black-clothed man, but there was no way it could possibly be healed. Forget about him; if Ning’s skull had been pierced through, even he would have died without question.

“You…you….” Fiendgod Body Refiners possessed astonishing life force, allowing the black-clothed man to have a final few moments of life. He stared at Ning, struggling to open his mouth. “You…”

And then he fell down, causing the ground to tremble.

“Huff…huff…huff…” Ning stood there, his breathing rather ragged. He stared at the corpse in front of him, knowing how unwilling this person had been to accept death like this, how mystified this person had been in death. Most likely, this black-clothed ‘senior apprentice’, in the moment of his death, was still trying to puzzle out why his head had suddenly suffered an attack. Who had attacked him from behind?

Divine will. This was Ning’s killing technique.

Once it was used, if he was unable to kill his enemies with it, his enemies would immediately use Escape Seals and instantly run away. Most likely, by then, even the Zifu Disciple would know that Ning possessed a ‘divine will’ ability. Thus, it was not to be used lightly, and when used, it had to kill the enemy.

Previously, Ning had been fighting with him head on, but because of the poison, Ning could no longer afford to waste time. Thus, he used his divine will to control the stone.

The two had been on par in terms of general power. In a life and death battle, one couldn’t be the slightest bit careless. When that stone had carried boundless force in smashing down on the black-clothed man’s head, his staff techniques had become completely chaotic. Naturally, he was even less able to fend off Ning’s divine, ghost-like swordplay, with the result being a sword stabbing straight through his fatal point between his forehead.

“Hahaha…” Ning began to laugh, raising his head and shouting heroically, “Come! Each one of you who comes shall die! However many comes, however many I shall kill! Hahaha…”

At this moment, Ning was incomparably crazed.

He was in utterly dire straits, and his clansmen had been trapped here. His chance of survival was very slim. Ning naturally became all the more frenzied. Killing an expert of the enemy naturally made him feel incomparably satisfied.

There were deep gouges everywhere on the ground, with shattered rocks littering everywhere. After all, prior to this, Ning’s swordplay had activated the power of the world itself, while the enemy was also incomparably strong. Naturally, the area around them had been reduced to rubble.

“Poison?” Ning could already sense that the corpse essence in his body was being slowly ground away by the natural life force in his body that was being created by the Crimsonbright divine power. “It seems it still can’t do anything against my Fiendgod body.”

Ning was different from that black-clothed ‘senior apprentice’.

The black-clothed man couldn’t withstand the poison…but Ning trained in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique, while the Crimsonbright divine power was born from a fusion of the power of the sun and the power of the moon, while his divine body had been formed and birthed by Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater. In terms of quality, his body was untold times more powerful than other Fiendgod Body Refiner bodies.

“That black-clothed man’s power was clearly much greater than the previous man’s. Most likely, he has a fairly high status in this place. Perhaps he has some secrets on this formation on him.” Ning hurriedly began to search the black-clothed man’s corpse, but unfortunately…

The Zifu Disciple himself actually wasn’t an expert in formations. All he had done was set up formation flags in a very formulaic way. Ning thus naturally wasn’t able to find any information regarding this formation on the corpse.

“However, he has quite a few Dao-seals and bottles and elixirs on him.” Ning collected them all, but didn’t have any time to investigate these battles. First of all, he didn’t dare to pull out the stoppers for fear of them being poisoned, and second of all, he himself didn’t know anything about poisons. It was best for him to spend his time focusing on the formation and increasing his abilities in formations. Breaking this formation as soon as possible was what mattered.

——————————

Within the mountain.

The six beautifully dressed men and women were currently, as per the senior apprentice’s orders, torturing these Xiantian lifeforms.

“Haha, with our senior apprentice personally handling this, your young master Ji Ning’s death is assured.”

“In the formation, I heard senior apprentice say that young master Ji Ning is still a youth? Little Seven, you are nearly thirty years old this year. Can it be that this young master Ji Ning is even younger than you?” The six men and women chatted amongst themselves.

One of the nearby men bound to the pillar, a bald man whose body was covered with scars, howled at them, “Young master Ji Ning of the Ji clan is perhaps just eleven or twelve years old this year. Compared to him, you are like worms on the ground while he is like a divine dragon in the skies!”

“Shut your mouth.” The nearby servants immediately used heated irons to torture and burn him.

“Six fools! You want to compare yourselves to young master Ji Ning!”

“I can’t even begin to express how inferior you are.”

“Hahaha, almost thirty years old, but he wants to compare himself to young master Ji Ning? I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts!”

Those nearly hundred Xiantian lifeforms of the Swallow Mountain area all began to shout out and mock them.

“Beat them, beat them!” The six men and women shouted angrily.

Suddenly…

“Come! Each one of you who comes shall die! However many comes, however many I shall kill! Hahaha…” That wild, frenzied voice was filled with both hysteria and utter, incomparable madness.

“What?!” The faces of those six changed.

They were certain that this wasn’t the voice of the senior apprentice. Then…it could be only the voice of that trapped young master Ji Ning.

“Can it be that our senior apprentice-brother died?” They were all in a state of panic. Without question, the senior apprentice was by far the most powerful of their group. Even if he didn’t use the many insidious options available to him, he was still incomparably strong.

“Senior apprentice-brother!”

“Senior apprentice-brother!”

The six men and women shouted outwards, but their senior apprentice-brother didn’t respond.

“If you want to find your senior apprentice-brother, then go to the Netherworld Kingdom!” That wild, impudent voice rang out from afar.

“Senior apprentice-brother died.” The six men and women looked at each other, their eyes filled with awe.

“Killed by a youth of just eleven or twelve years of age.”

“Only eleven or twelve, yet he was able to kill our senior apprentice-brother? Is…is there such a monstrous talent in the world? Even in our school, there has never been such a monster. Most likely, only those legendary top-tier tribes under the protection of Immortals will there be monsters like this.” The six were completely overawed. After all, they quite broad experience.

Their own school was a major school.

But they had never seen anyone eleven or twelve years old who was so possible.

“Kakaka…” The iron board in the center of the mountain began to slowly swing open, revealing that dark, gloomy tunnel. The tunnel had a hint of green light emanating from within it, and its cold, sinister aura caused the six men and women to shiver.

“My boy Gan!” That shrill voice was quavering. “That ‘Ji Ning’ killed my boy Gan. He will die, definitely die!!!”

The six men and women felt their hearts shake. As for those servants, all of them were shuddering. None of them could predict what this person would do when enraged.

“That ‘Ji Ning’ is only eleven or twelve years old? What a monster. If it weren’t for the fact that he is an enemy, I would recommend him for entry into our school. But he killed my boy Gan! He must die!” The shrill voice was filled with hate. “Little Seven, come in.”

“Come in?” The handsome youth was startled.

He had never before entered the cavern in the mountain. That was a forbidden area.

“Quick, enter.” The shrill voice carried anger within it.

“Yes.” The handsome youth didn’t dare to hesitate any longer. Clearing his throat, he hurriedly walked towards the black tunnel, then leapt into the cavern.

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Chapter 19 – Hearteater

Chapter 19 – Hearteater

The dark tunnel was deep and also almost as straight as a pen. It was nearly three hundred meters deep, and the handsome youth, when jumping down, released his Xiantian Ki, allowing himself to descend as lightly as a goose feather, while at the same time, every so often, he would grab onto the sides of the dark tunnel to slow his descent. After a while, he finally stepped on the ground.

“This is so deep. Uh, where is Master’s secret room?” The handsome youth hurriedly looked everywhere while carefully advancing through the winding tunnels. Up ahead, there was a dazzling green light. Soon, he reached an open stone door, behind which was an area filled with green life, as well as ripples which made the heart tremble.

“Master.” The handsome youth called out from outside the stone door.

“Enter.” The shrill voice screeched.

“Yes.” The handsome youth suppressed his terror and walked in. This was a sealed stone room that was ten meters in diameter. In the center of the stone room, there was an enormous boulder, upon which was a man who wore loose black robes, had a skinny, pale face, and long, flowing black hair. The man’s eyes emitted an otherworldly green light, and his entire body seemed to be made out of solidified evil.

In front of this person was an enormous cauldron, and above the cauldron, there was a burning green flame that emitted a freezing aura. Beneath the green flame, there lay hovering an unadorned, blood-red cloth banner, which had a number of either hidden or visible ferocious faces on it. The faces were either screaming soundlessly or bellowing as they tried to swallow each other and battled each other.

The entire cloth banner was surrounded by a layer of black light that was visible to the naked eye.

“Sin!” The handsome youth’s heart was trembling. “A grave sin.”

Those who did good accumulated karmic merit. Those who did evil accumulated sins.

Those who had committed grave sins would naturally emanate a heart-shaking evil aura. But the aura of sin around the cloth banner was actually so strong, it was visible to the naked eye. This was simply astonishing.

“This is a magic treasure which was born from endless amounts of sin.” The handsome youth was both terrified as well as desirous. He knew very well that when one created this sort of magic treasure that was refined from sins, when one underwent the Three Calamities or Nine Tribulations, the power of the trials would be incomparably powerful. But this sort of magic treasure itself was incomparably, astonishingly powerful as well. This was why some evil schools were clearly committing countless grave sins, and yet were still able to continue forward in training to become an Immortal.

It was because these evil paths allowed one to advance more quickly, and to even battle against foes of higher levels.

“No wonder Master said that once his magic treasure is completed, he wouldn’t even fear a Wanxiang Adept.” The handsome youth couldn’t breathe.

“Little Seven.” The long-haired man, seated in the lotus position, spoke in a shrill voice. “My boy Gan was my first disciple. He was like a son to me! This Ji Ning killed my son. How could I, Bei Goodson, possibly forgive him?”

The handsome youth lowered his head.

“I need to refine this magic treasure. I can’t spare any attention.” Bei Goodson’s green eyes stared at the handsome youth. Creating this sort of deeply sinful magic treasure was incomparably dangerous to begin with, and there were constant repercussions from the creation process. There were some people who were themselves bitten to death and had their souls dispersed by the dread wraiths they had created. Of course, if one truly wanted to force a pause, one could, but the price would also be great.

“Little Seven, I bequeath unto you one Hearteater Powder.” A bottle appeared out of nowhere in the palm of Goodson’s right hand, and he casually tossed it towards the handsome youth.

The handsome youth accepted it, then stared at the bottle in terror. “Hearteater Powder?”

He had heard of the famous Hearteater Powder before.

The price of this one bottle of Hearteater Powder was more valuable than even a ranked magic treasure. Countless Zifu Disciples had died to Hearteater Powder, and it was incredibly hard to procure. Even his own master had only been able to acquire this terrifying poison because he had been born into their school and had connections.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that I can’t be distracted, how would I possibly be willing to waste this Hearteater Powder?” Goodson said shrilly. “Remember. Smash the bottle within thirty meters of that Ji Ning, and he will definitely be poisoned. Once the Hearteater Powder enters his body, although it takes effect slowly and will need three days, it is virtually impossible to get rid of it once one has been poisoned. He, a mere Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner, will die without question, even if what he is training in is the legendary number one Fiendgod Body Refining, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!”

The handsome youth nodded

“Remember. You yourself need to be careful. Stay far away. If you are poisoned, come to me. I will give you the antidote.” Goodson said.

“Your disciple is still competent to perform a minor task like releasing poison.” The handsome youth said.

“Go.” Goodson’s gaze fell upon that blood-red cloth banner beneath the swirling green flames. The countless dread wraiths within the cloth banner occasionally appeared, extending their necks out towards Goodson and wildly trying to bite at him, but Goodson’s oily green eyes remained cold and deadly.

The handsome youth bowed respectfully, then left. When leaving this deep, dark tunnel, he jumped at high speed, occasionally clamping onto protruding pieces of rock on the stone walls. Soon afterwards, he left the tunnel.

Kakaka…

The iron boards turned, and the tunnel was shut once more.

—————————–

Within the black mist.

The Waterflame Lotus surrounded him, and Ning’s soul was currently pondering at high speed, with one hypothetical formation after another appearing within his mind, and the construction of the formation changing nonstop. As Ning frantically analyzed these formations, his level of understanding with regards to formations continued to rise.

“Huh?” Ning suddenly felt a spike of fear.

When a person’s soul was as powerful as his, one would be able to unconsciously sense terrifying dangers approaching. The last time his soul had this feeling was when he was attempting the third trial in the ancient Aquatic Manor. This time, however, the feeling was even stronger than last time, as though no matter how he struggled, he still wouldn’t be able to escape this danger.

“Danger?” Ning opened his eyes to stare around himself.

Suddenly…

The black fog in front of him to the right naturally parted, and in that instant, a large amount of white threads instantly wrapped towards him. In the distance, that handsome youth could be seen wielding a horsetail whisk in one hand and a Dao-seal in the other. The white threads of the horsetail whisk instantly attacked Ning.

“Hmph.” Twin swords appeared in Ning’s hands, and the Waterflame Lotus blocked those white threads.

“Boom!”

In that instant when those thousands of white strands and the Waterflame Lotus collided, it was as though something exploded. Only now did Ning realize that the thousands of white strands of had contained a bottle within it. In the instant their attacks had collided, the bottle had been smashed apart. Seeing the battle smash open, his soul could feeling that incomparably terrifying danger sense intensify, causing Ning’s face to change.

“There had to have been something in the bottle.” Ning was no fool, but he couldn’t see anything. It was odorless and invisible!

The distant, handsome youth had immediately retracted his horsetail whisk in that instant the bottle had smashed open, and had also used his Escape Seal, immediately fleeing and disappearing.

“This…this bottle.” Ning had an uneasy feeling.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a stabbing pain appeared in his heart. Ning’s face turned ashen, and he held his chest. The Crimsonbright divine power in his body immediately began to search throughout his entire body, but no matter what, it still couldn’t find any hint of poison. However, his heart continued to feel that slow, stabbing pain, and his entire body began to slowly ache. There was no way to stop it at all. Even his head was starting to hurt.

“What should I do? The poison has invaded my entire body, but my Crimsonbright divine power isn’t able to sense it, nor can my divine will.” Ning, at this moment, suddenly remembered the words of that old black bull in the underwater estate. He had been warned not to underestimate any opponent, especially those who trained to become Immortals.

Immortal practitioners had varied techniques. One could simply use poison to kill you. No matter how powerful your ability to fight was, they could simply refuse to fight you.

This was how Immortal practitioners were!

Nobody knew what anyone else was truly capable of….

“Hahaha.” From afar, a delighted sound could be heard. “Ji Ning, no matter how monstrous of a genius you are, you will definitely die.”

Within that great formation, Ning’s face was unsightly. Although neither his divine will nor his Crimsonbright divine power could sense the poisonous elements, he could feel the pain wracking his entire body. This invisible poison was slowly, constantly devouring his entire body. Although the devouring process was slow, it was inexorable in its progress. Even his incomparably powerful Fiendgod lifeforce in his body was unable to remove it.

“What a fierce poison. Odorless, colorless, and undetectable.” Ning was surprised. “Although it isn’t like some other poisons which instantly take effect, it seems to have embedded itself deep in every single cell. There’s no way to remove it at all. If this continues, in most likely just two or three days, my body will be finished.”

“Two or three days?”

Ning’s eyes began wild.

“In the last two or three days, even if I die, I will destroy this formation.” Ning’s heart was beginning to blaze with a heaven-reaching fury. “I will wipe them all out, or if I’m lucky, maybe even find the antidote on their bodies.”

“There’s nowhere to run.”

“I must destroy this formation!”

Ning sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes. The protective lotus flower swivelled around him as he once more frantically endeavoured to analyze formations.

———————–

Within the mountain.

That handsome youth walked back, then glanced at Blindfish, Ji Jadewich, and the other members of the Ji clan, who had looks of shock and fury on their faces. The other members of the Ji clan of the East Prefecture, North Prefecture, South Prefecture, and Central Prefecture all looked at him angrily as well.

“What are you looking at? Your young master Ji Ning was poisoned. In three days, he will definitely die.” The handsome youth was completely confident. “Forget about him. Even a Zifu Disciple who is poisoned by this poison will definitely die.”

“Our Ji clan’s Patriarch will definitely come.”

“He will definitely exterminate all of you, and he will also rescue young master Ji Ning.”

Blindfish and the others weren’t willing to believe that Ji Ning would die.

“Hahaha, your clan’s Patriarch?” The handsome youth laughed wildly. “How could a small tribe here in your Swallow Mountain possibly have poison of this level? Even in our school, this sort of poison is hard to obtain. Stop looking at me. I won’t tell you what poison it is.”

“Go die.”

“You will all definitely die.”

The members of the Ji clan all cursed at him, and even the other bound Xiantian lifeforms began to curse in their despair.

————————-

Within West Prefecture City of the Ji clan.

Ji Yichuan was currently accompanying his wife, Yuchi Snow. Occasionally, he would look outside towards the door.

Suddenly, through the door, he could see that from afar, an Azure Firebird appeared in the skies, with two people on its back. One was the red-clothed Ji Redflower, while the other was a red-haired, gray-robed elder. At a single glance, Ji Yichuan recognized him…that was the true pillar for the entire Ji clan.

The Ji clan’s clan leader, Ji Ninefire!

“Snow, Snow, the clan leader is here.” Yichuan hurriedly shouted.

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Chapter 20 – Wait For Your Child

Chapter 20 – Wait For Your Child

The Azure Firebird landed in the courtyard, and the red-haired, gray-robed Ji Ninefire stepped own, arriving outside the room’s door in just two steps.

“Yichuan.” Ninefire had a smile that would make a person feel peaceful. According to legend, when Ninefire was young, he had an incomparably explosive temperament, but because Ninefire had lived nearly four centuries by now, while the oldest member of the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture was only a century or so in age, the stories of what Ninefire had been like when young were lost to legends.

“Clan leader.” Ji Yichuan, upon seeing the clan leader, immediately revealed a look of urgency in his eyes. “Snow, she…”

“I heard from Redflower.” Ninefire nodded. “Let me take a look.”

“Right.” Yichuan immediately led the way forward. At this moment, Snow had already left her bed, curtseying respectfully. “Snow greets the clan leader.”

Ninefire said, “Your body is very weak right now. First lie down. There’s no need to stand on empty ceremonies.”

Only then did Snow half lie down on the bed, while Ninefire sat on the chair by the side of the bed. He stretched his hand out, placing it against Snow’s wrist, gently tapping with his finger…immediately, a spot of red, fiery light immediately enveloped Snow’s entire body. In this instant, it seemed as though Snow’s entire body was covered by a layer of flames.

Yichuan watched nervously by the side, while Ninefire’s eyes were closed.

As much time as was needed for a pot of tea to be brewed passed before the fiery light surrounding Snow’s body vanished. Only now did Ninefire open his eyes as well. Facing Yichuan, whose face was filled with anticipation, Ninefire couldn’t help but let a soft sigh, then gently shake his head. “The seeds of the illness have taken deep root. There’s no way for it to be reversed.”

“Ah!” Yichuan’s face instantly turned white.

Ninefire sighed. “That year, your wife was a peak Xiantian expert. During that disaster, it was one thing for her foundation to have been damaged; if she had been immediately treated, it would have been fine. But your wife then executed that secret art which took her own life energy…it was like another blow to her already heavily injured body, causing the illness to be even more deeply rooted! Unless you can find some sort of pill suitable for mortals to use to extend their lives…there is no other method.”

“Longevity-enhancing pill for mortals?” Yichuan looked his wife, and Snow looked back at him. Their gazes intersected, and Snow sighed gently. “Yichuan, I understand my illness.”

If it was just a matter of consuming a longevity-enhancing pill, although such a pill would be incomparably expensive, if Yichuan bankrupted himself, sold off all his possessions as well as the thousands of unranked magic treasures Ji Ning had given him, and also borrowed some money from the Ji clan, he might be able to acquire one such pill. But the additional requirement of ‘suitable for mortals to use’…the price would instantly rise by several additional levels.

The more powerful a medicinal pill, the more powerful the medicinal effect. A pill that was capable of extending a person’s lifespan was a pill that defied the natural course of heaven. A pill that not only did this but also did it in such a way which allowed the weak, fragile bodies of a mortal to be able to endure the process…the preciousness of such a pill was far beyond what the likes of the Ji clan could possibly imagine.

“Yichuan.” Ninefire said slowly, “I’ve refined some pills. I will immediately arrange for them to be sent over. Your wife should have another three months of life.”

“Three months!” Yichuan’s face completely changed.

Snow just revealed a smile. She said, “Yichuan.” Yichuan hurriedly turned to look at his wife, who laughed and said, “Three months is better than I had anticipated. I regret nothing. I did what I did that year in order to give birth to Ning. If I hadn’t given birth to Ning, I might have been able to live an extra twenty years, but every single day of those twenty years, I would have been in a hell of regret. But now, every day of these ten years that I have lived, I have lived happily. It’s enough, it’s enough. Have Ning come back. I want to see him. As long as he is by my side, all is well!”

“Alright.” Yichuan hurriedly nodded, then after pondering for a moment, shouted, “Brother Black, Azure Firebird.”

Immediately, from outside, a black-clothed man and an azure-clothed woman stepped in. It was the human forms of the black serpent and the Azure Firebird.

“Brother Black.” Yichuan said hurriedly. “Ji Ning will easily be able to recognize your voice. Thus, ride atop the Azure Firebird and quickly head to the border region between our Ji clan and the Ironwood clan.” As he spoke, a map appeared in Yichuan’s hands. He just casually glanced towards the door, making sure of their directions, then carefully sensed the location of the jade sword which Ning was holding.

Staring at the map, Yichuan quickly ascertained a location. With a gentle tap of the finger, he pointed to a mountain on the map, and a spot of blood stained the map there. “Ji Ning is currently at this location. He hasn’t moved this entire time. Based on my sense, although there are slight uncertainties regarding the distance between us, he’s definitely within a hundred kilometers of this mountain. As long as you ride the Azure Firebird to the air above the mountain, then call for him and say that his mother is critically ill and that he is to quickly return, he will definitely hear it.”

“Understood.” The black-clothed man said hurriedly. “Yichuan, don’t worry. Ning’s hearing ability is far beyond that of ordinary people’s. He should be able to hear my voice from as far as two or three hundred kilometers away.”

It wasn’t possible for mortals to project their voices a hundred kilometers, but it was simple for a Xiantian lifeform. For example, when Ning had been at Serpentwing Lake and shouted at Serpentwing, his voice had also projected throughout the lake.

“Azure Firebird, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip.” Yichuan looked at the azure-garbed woman.

“A small matter.” The Azure Firebird’s voice was very gentle. “We can’t delay for even a moment. I’ll immediately head out along with Elder Brother Black.”

“Let’s go.” The black-clothed man also nodded right away.

Taking the map with them, the black-garbed man quickly mounted onto the back of the Azure Firebird, then quickly flew towards the direction of the borders between the Ji clan and the Ironwood clan.

“Ning, son.” Snow watched as the Azure Firebird flew high into the sky, and in her heart she began to miss her son. The closer she drew to death, the more she wanted to see her son, her dearly beloved son.

————————–

The Azure Firebird’s speed was astonishingly fast. In less than two hours, she had already arrived in the air above that mountain.

“This is the mountain.” The black serpent nodded. From high up in the air, it was very easy to recognize the landscape below.

“Elder Brother Black, call for him right away.” The Azure Firebird urged.

“Right.” The black serpent stared below, then immediately infused his voice with monstrous energy, shouting loudly, “Young master Ji Ning, your mother is critically ill. Quickly return!”

“Young master Ji Ning, your mother is critically ill. Quickly return!” This voice echoed down from the heavens, quickly covering an area of two hundred kilometers of the forests and mountain below. And directly beneath them, deep within that mountain…there were a million commoners, whom the two spirit-beasts didn’t notice at all.

——————————-

Within the mountain.

Those Xiantian lifeforms that were bound to the pillars were still undergoing countless amounts of torment. They had to endure torture, and yet they were still kept alive. This was because the longer they were tortured, the greater the rage and hatred these Xiantian lifeforms would feel! The more powerful, the deeper their hatred, the fiercer the dread wraiths their souls would transform into.

“Young master Ji Ning, your mother is critically ill. Quickly return!” The voice drifted down from far above.

Although a great formation was hidden here, causing the curses and cries of the million commoners within to be trapped and unable to leave, the sounds from the outside world could still come in…it was much as how the Zifu Disciple, ‘Bei Zishan’, was deep within the secret in the mountain and could hear the sounds from the outside world, even though the sounds from within the secret room wouldn’t go out.

That way, they could more easily detect what was going on in the outside world.

“Young master Ji Ning, your mother is critically ill. Quickly return!” The voice echoed throughout the mountains, the voice shockingly loud.

“What a loud voice.”

“Who is shouting up there?”

The six beautifully dressed men and women all looked upwards towards the sky, with one of them, a scraggly, bearded man, hurriedly saying, “Fellow apprentices, do you hear that? They are calling for that Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning’s mother is critically ill?” The women with the scorpion said in surprise. “His mother’s ill?”

“Hahaha…” The most muscular man of the group, a man with cyan hair, began to laugh loudly. “That Ji Ning is a monstrously talented figure. If he is allowed to develop, who knows how terrifying he will be in the future? But he won’t be able to live for more than three days, and is trapped within the formation. His mother is clearly critically ill, but even if he shouts until he is hoarse, his voice won’t escape!”

“Right.” The handsome youth sighed. “Most likely, he is in a state of extreme rage right now.”

“I must say, this Ji Ning really is a formidable figure. At eleven or twelve years of age, he was able to kill our senior martial-apprentice. But his final doom is so pitiful. He will pass away in the midst of despair, rage, pain, and regret. Hahaha…this is the end of this genius!”

These fellow apprentices chatted amongst themselves. They could imagine how Ji Ning currently felt, which made them feel all the more delighted.

“Madame is critically ill?”

“Yuchi Snow is critically ill?”

The Ji clan of the West Prefecture’s Blindfish, Ji Jadewich, Poortile, and other members were all incomparably astonished, enraged, and filled with hate. At the same time, they felt a hint of pity for Ji Ning. After all, he had less than three days to live, and his mother was critically ill, yet he had no way to return…this sort of pain must be heart-breaking.

———————-

Right. Everything was exactly as how those fellow apprentices deep in the mountain imagined. It was also exactly as Blindfish and the others feared. Ning was currently feeling utterly agony and grief in his heart.

“Mother!”

“Mother!” Ning’s tears began to fall down uncontrollably. He was in such pain, his entire body trembled. His heart felt as though it was being cut by a knife. That woman who had loved him since he was a child, that woman who had treated him as her world…that woman who always, uncontrollably doted on him. She was actually critically ill? Critically ill?

“Aaaaaah!” Ning suddenly threw his head upwards, letting out a howl of incomparable pain. This howl spread throughout the mountain, but no matter what, it couldn’t spread out from it.

As for those six men and women within the mountain residence, when they heard the howl, their hearts couldn’t help but tremble. That could sense the boundless grief and pain contained within that howl.

“Young master.”

“Young master Ji Ning.” Blindfish wept. That precocious, brilliant four year old toddler who he had personally taught archery…how had he ended up like this? This was even more agonizing and terrifying that the torture his body had endured.

——————–

“I’m going to leave, I’m going to leave, I’m going to leave.” Ning’s voice was quavering. “Break the formation! I’m going to break the formation!”

Ning forced his eyes shut.

An incomparably powerful surge of emotion swept his entire body, filling his entire spirit. He was going to break the formation!!! He had to leave it, he had to go see that woman who treated him as more important than her life. He had to see her!!! Otherwise, even if he died and went to the Netherworld Kingdom, he would feel incomparable guilt and regret!

“Break the formation. I’m going to break the formation.” Ning’s closed eyes were trembling, and his soul, filled with this incomparably powerful emotion that was even greater than what was felt at the moment between life and death, reached a new limit as he frantically visualized methods for the breaking of this formation.

Blood began to leak out from Ning’s nose, and blood was coming from his ears as well.

Clearly, this surge of powerful emotion had injured his body.

“That’s it!” Ning’s soul, which had been constantly testing out new formations, suddenly halted. An incomparably complicated formation model suddenly appeared in his mind, which contained every possible variable within it.

Ning opened his eyes.

“Mother!” Ning raised his head, letting out a frenzied howl. “I will go back to see you, I will definitely go back to see you! Wait for your child!”

Immediately, he transformed into a blur, moving through the formation. Ning moved like a ghost, quickly reaching a place which was still covered with thick black mist, but which had a black formation flag inserted into the earth. The runes atop the formation flag were currently fashing. Ning reached out, directly grabbing the flag and giving it a powerful pull.

Instantly, the black mist that had been covering the entire world vanished, revealing a clearly visible mountain scene. From afar, many servants were staring in astonishment towards him.

“What.” The six men and women rushed out of the mountain, staring in his direction with astonishment. “The formation was destroyed!”

Ning was holding the formation flag in his hand, the light of utter madness in his eyes.

“Kill! Kill him! Kill him at all costs! He cannot be permitted to leave this place alive!” Suddenly, a shrill voice filled with incomparable rage emanated from underground.

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Chapter 1 – Kill! Kill! Kill!

Chapter 1 – Kill! Kill! Kill!

“He cannot be permitted to leave this place alive!” Those six lavishly dressed men and women began to shout as well. They knew very that with their formation broken and with the protective, hiding shroud which it had given them gone, they would quickly be discovered…and once Ji Ning escaped, the news would quickly spread and they would immediately be found.

They had to capture back the formation flag to this bewildering formation! Ji Ning had to be executed as well!

“Kill!”

“Kill him!” A large number of servants charged wildly towards Ji Ning as well.

Ning immediately stored the formation flag into his storage-type magic treasure, while at the same time, the wing-type magic treasures on his back immediately activated as he rushed outwards. At the same time, a boundless amount of scorching fire immediately descended, which surrounded those servants and began to burn them, causing the servants to all scream in agony.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Three figures from within the group of servants came pouncing out towards Ning.

“Xiantian lifeforms?” Ning immediately recognized that all three of them were Xiantian lifeforms. “It seems this despicable Immortal practitioner has quite a few Xiantian lifeforms under his control.”

“Kill him.”

“The Master has given the order to kill him.”

These three Xiantian lifeforms were filled with murderous intent. They were all servants of Bei Zishan who were controlled through poisons. They didn’t dare to disobey the orders of Bei Zishan’s orders. Immediately, they transformed into rays of light, streaking from different directions to attack Ning, but Ning simply used his Windwing Evasion technique to move forward and directly clash with one of them, a fat-headed, big-eared, bearded man.

“Raaaawr!” The big fellow was wielding a large hammer.

Swish!

A sword light flashed, and the big fellow rolled to the ground, falling down while clutching his chest, blood staining the ground. In but a single exchange, Ning’s sword had pierced through his heart!

“Little baby.” A hawk-nosed man roared angrily as he charged forward, and as he did, a flash of sword light chopped half his head off, and he died on the spot. The third Xiantian lifeform, an older man, was so terrified, his face changed and he immediately retreated.

——————————-

Boundless amounts of flame descended, and two Xiantian lifeforms had been killed in an instant as well. The third had been so terrified, he had immediately retreated. This caused those six men and women to stare at each other, the looks on their faces unpleasant.

“What terrifying speed!”

“His swordplay is far superior to any of us. No wonder he was able to kill our senior fellow apprentice.”

All of them understand that even if they all charged together, the result would most likely be that single same word; ‘death’.

Right now, Ning was like a life-taking god of death. On one side, boundless amounts of fire scorched those servants, while on his side, he had slaughtered those Xiantian lifeforms. All together, the servants, spirit-beasts, and disciples of Bei Zishan totaled more than ten Xiantian lifeforms.

“Flood Dragon Dao-Soldiers!” The youngest of the six, that handsome youth, suddenly let out a fierce howl.

“Flood Dragon Dao-Soldiers.”

The other five fellow apprentices immediately understood. All of them shouted furiously, while at the same time, their bodies quickly became covered with a layer of black armor. The six of them were now all garbed in the same black armor.

“Rumble…” For a moment, the entire mountain seemed to tremble. This great mountain had actually been hollowed out long ago. Aside from the primary place midway up the mountain, there had been a large number of smaller caverns dug out as well. After all, more than a million commoners were being tortured here. From this number, one could imagine how many caves had been created to hold them.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Like raindrops falling from the skies in a dense cluster, from each mountain cave flew out one deep green armored Dao-Soldier after another. Each Dao-Soldier was covered with complicated, ancient runes which drew upon the energy of the world.

“Dao-Soldiers!” Ning’s face changed. He watched as from afar, a large number of soldiers emerged from the hundreds of caves in the mountain. He immediately recognized them for Dao-Soldiers!

“In addition, these are even more powerful Dao-Soldiers than the ‘Crimson Guard’ of my Ji clan.” Given his experience, Ning naturally could sense the power of those runes on these Dao-Soldier’s armor, causing him to be all the more surprised.

More than ten thousand Dao-Soldiers descended from the skies.

And there were more than ten black armored Xiantian lifeform Dao-Soldiers as well, all charging forward.

“Kill. Kill as many as I can.” Ning understood that he definitely couldn’t let them join forces. He immediately swept out with his wings, moving like a giant Roc towards a location a kilometer away. These Dao-Soldiers were virtually all at the Houtian level, and thus were much faster.

“All of you, die!”

Ji Ning, his face spotted red thanks to the poison, had gone completely insane. In an instant, an enormous amount of celestial fire and boundless amounts of freezing frost descended from the skies, wildly sweeping out in each direction. Ning was currently exhausting all of his power to control water and fire.

“Careful.”

“Assemble the formation!”

Of the more than ten thousand Dao-Soldiers, every nine of them linked up, summoning forth the power of the natural world. Faintly, behind their bodies, the illusion of a dragon appeared. Faced with the attack of that scorching flame and freezing frost, most of those who had linked up just barely managed to withstand the attack, while those who had not instantly lost their lives, especially those who were at the center of the flames and of the frost. The surges of heat and cold intersected, causing even those who had linked up to lose their lives.

“Grand Flood Dragon Formation!”

The ten-plus black-armored Xiantian lifeforms wanted to charge together in formation as well.

“Not good.” In the Aquatic Manor, Ning had seen nine Xiantian lifeforms using Dao-Soldier armors. How could he just stand by idly and permit these ten or so people to do as they pleased?

“Waterflame Lotus, grind them all to death!” In an instant, Ning formed nine Waterflame Lotuses, surrounding nine of those people.

The nine Waterflame Lotuses appeared out of nowhere, each with one petal of fire and one petal of water, one above and one below, and they ground down at their targets.

“Aaaah!” The woman with the viper on her shoulder let out a shrill scry, and was killed, ground into fine pieces.

“Quick.”

“Assemble the formation.”

Although all of them wanted to assemble the formation, of the nine people covered by Waterflame Lotuses, six of them had already died while three were heavily injured. This caused the remaining Xiantian lifeforms to all be shocked…this sort of ability was simply too terrifying. At such a great distance, this man was capable of simultaneously killing six Xiantian lifeforms? Generally speaking, Xiantian lifeforms weren’t capable of long-distance attacks, because they were unable to ride on magic treasures to engage in distant attacks.

The six dead people were quite unfortunate; they weren’t afraid of the fire and water which Ning was capable of controlling, but they hadn’t expected that Ning would execute this ‘Waterflame Lotus’, which contained a hint of the True Meaning of the Dao. If they had known in advance, they would have all immediately prepared protective Dao-seals, and thus wouldn’t have instantly lost their lives.

“Assemble the formation!” The handsome youth’s black armor immediately began to glow with runes, while at the same time those runes which appeared connected with the illusory dragons behind the many ordinary Dao-Soldiers, connecting together into a large whole.

In the blink of an eye, the handsome youth connected with a thousand of the ordinary Dao-Soldiers, and behind him appeared the illusion of a Flood Dragon.

“Assemble the formation.”

“Assemble the formation.”

One Xiantian lifeform after another immediately began to link together with the Dao-soldiers. Some activated a thousand, while others activated five hundred. Although the maximum was a thousand Dao-Soldiers, Ning had killed simply too many of them.

“Unfortunately, too many Dao-Soldiers have died, and we don’t even have nine thousand. Otherwise, once we combined to form the entire Flood Dragon, we could effortlessly kill him.” One illusory Flood Dragon after another appeared in mid-air, resulting in a total of eight illusory Flood Dragons, which were controlled and formed by those eight Xiantian lifeforms and thousands of Dao-Soldiers joining formings.

“But even though we aren’t able to transform into a greater Flood Dragon, he will still die.”

——————————

Deep within the mountain, in that private room.

The green flame continued to flicker in the middle of that ancient, unadorned cauldron. The blood red banner was currently hovering there, as a large number of dread wraiths were howling silently, wildly attacking.

Bei Zishan was seated in the lotus position, his face incomparably sinister.

“This person named Ji Ning was actually able to break my grand formation.” Zishan was both frantic and angry. He himself had been, this entire time, hiding, fleeing, and trying to refine this powerful magic treasure and thus suddenly rise in power. But without this great formation hiding him, there was no way for him to hide at all. In addition, there were still many dread wraiths that had yet to be absorbed. Right now, what he was trying to do was forcibly bring the process to a halt, as he would rather give up the many dread wraiths.

However, this sort of incomparably sinful magic treasure was also incomparably dangerous to make. If he wasn’t careful, he would be devoured by it instead. He had to be extremely careful and cautious, even in an attempt to stop…he still had to kill each and every single one of those dread wraiths who had yet to be refined before he could be killed. If he tried to do it forcibly, he himself would be devoured.

To come to a halt needed time.

“Master, there are less than nine thousand Dao-Soldiers.” From within the mountain, a spirit-beast who had transformed into a human male’s form called out frantically.

“What!” Bei Zishan, currently forcibly repressing his agitation, upon hearing the words from his spirit-beast, immediately grew frantic. “Less than nine thousand Dao-Soldiers? With less than nine thousand, there’s no way to transform into a giant Flood Dragon. Given the power of this Ning, he can absolutely flee.”

Right at this moment, the blood-red banner suddenly began to shake, as countless dread wraiths wildly attempted to break free.

“Not good.”

Bei Zishan forced himself to calm down. He knew that as soon as he lost his grip, those dread wraiths would throw themselves upon him, and he would probably die here today. Bei Zishan immediately made a small bag appear in his hand, which appeared similar to a brocade purse. From within the little purse, a black coffin appeared out of nowhere, which with a thud landed against the ground.

The coffin immediately opened, and a heart-trembling aura emanated forth. A large paw, covered with black fur, grabbed the sides of the coffin, and then sat up. This was a black-furred zombie which had glowing green eyes.

Whoosh.

The black-furred zombie landed on the ground, its body surrounded by a black energy that was visible to the naked eye. The black energy was a necromantic aura, and if a Xiantian lifeform were to absorb it, that person would definitely be poisoned to death. This zombie…was one of the final trump cards which Bei Zishan had. He had worked hard to create it from the corpse of a Zifu Disciple.

“Go. Kill him.” Zishan gave the order. Zombies were neither living nor dead. The black-furred zombie was at the level where it had a certain degree of intelligence. It could recognize the disciples of Zishan, and it could also quickly recognize situations as well as whom its enemies were. This black-furred zombie was already comparable to a Zifu Disciple, and it was extremely dangerous.

“Umm.” The black-furred zombie let out a low grunt, then walked out, then with a single leap, jumped out from the nearly 150 meter deep tunnel.”

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Chapter 2 – Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, Kill!

Chapter 2 – Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, Kill!

The Azure Firebird and the black serpent were currently high in the air, waiting impatiently. They were under orders to locate Ji Ning, but previously, the black serpent had already shouted three times, without any response at all.

“Can it be that the young master isn’t here?” The black serpent said frantically.

“Brother Black, look below.” The Azure Firebird spoke in the human tongue.

The black serpent looked downwards, only to see that on the formerly calm mountain, a large number of armored Dao-Soldiers had appeared, surrounded by frost and with fires blazing…those Dao-Soldiers and Xiantian lifeforms had forcibly formed into eight illusory Flood Dragons, and the power emanating from those illusory Flood Dragons caused even the Azure Firebird and the black serpent in the air to feel shock.

“Dao-Soldiers…thousands of them that can join together?” The Azure Firebird and the black serpent were shocked. The various local hegemons of Swallow Mountain weren’t capable of such things. Only the Grand Xia Dynasty’s soldiers that were stationed at Southmont City were capable of this. “Such power…even if the two of us were to go attack, we’d probably be easily annihilated.”

“Look, young master Ji Ning.”

In front of these thousands of Dao-Soldiers, appeared a beast-clad youth who was emanating an aura of incomparable wildness and savagery. It was Ning!

“Young master Ji Ning! How can he possibly oppose thousands of joined Dao-Soldiers?!”

“Ji Ning, quick, flee!” The black serpent shouted frantically in the air.

———————-

Those Xiantian lifeforms bound against the pillars within the mountain stared towards the outside nervously as well. Outside, the boundless amounts of flame and frost that had appeared caused them to be shocked as well.

“Young master Ji Ning, that Zifu Disciple is currently refining that evil magic treasure. For now, he can’t be distracted. Quick, flee!” Blindfish howled frantically.

“Ji Ning, quick, leave! If you dawdle, it’ll be too late!” Ji Jadewich roared as well, his throat going hoarse.

“Quick, leave!”

All of the Xiantian lifeforms of the Ji clan were shouting frantically. They had been bound here for so long, and often heard the conversation of those people, and saw some dread wraiths enter the depths of the mountain…they knew that there was a Zifu Disciple here refining an incomparably vile magic treasure. Once this person completed it and personally attacked, what would the repercussions be?

“What? Thousands of linked Dao-Soldiers?” The group of bound Xiantian lifeforms suddenly saw that those many Dao-Soldiers who were being burnt by fire or frozen by frost suddenly formed into multiple illusory Flood Dragons. They were only able to see a small portion, but this was already enough to shock them.

“Quick, flee”

“Ji Ning, leave now!” All of them were incomparably frantic.

————————-

Hearing the frantic shouts from his Uncle Black from the skies, as well as the voices of his Master Blindfish, Ji Jadewich, Poortile, Ji Shan, and the others who were bound deeper in the mountain, how could Ji Ning, already poisoned, not go even wilder? Flee? Why would he flee? Even if he fled, he would unquestionably die. If he could risk his life to kill that Zifu Disciple, he might instead have a chance at life.

“Kill!” Ning saw the thousands of Dao-Soldiers in front of him. Not hesitating at all, he released his most powerful killing blow.

Rumble….

More than three hundred sword-type magic treasures appeared out of nowhere around Ning, every single sword glowing dimly with white light, while at same time activating the power of the natural world. Ning had already reached a very high level of attainment in formations, and so his ability to execute the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had clearly improved greatly as well. It wasn’t like in the past, where he controlled it by rote and by memory; he now understood some of the mysteries inherent within, and knew how to guide them more effectively.

“What are those?!”

“How can swords fly like that?”

“Flying magic treasures?”

The eight Xiantian lifeforms amongst those thousands of Dao-Soldiers were completely stunned. Seeing the hundreds of flying swords all hovering there, they instantly thought of something…Zifu Disciple! One had to at least be a Zifu Disciple in order to control magic treasures and fly on them. This was all but common knowledge. But now, this youth was actually flying on magic treasures.

But how could they have imagined that Ning’s soul had already reached the level of ‘divine will’, which was why he was able to accomplish this?

“He’s a Zifu Disicple, Master, he’s a Zifu Disciple. That youth is a Zifu Disicple!” Some of the Xiantian lifeforms in the Dao Battle-Armor were already beginning to cry out desolately.

“Die, then.” Ning instantly controlled that pulsating, glowing sword in front of him.

Swish!

That pulsating sword light immediately slashed out in an incomparably beautiful arc, leaving behind a desolate, beautiful line in the air. It easily chopped through that handsome youth’s chest, and the handsome youth stared, wide-eyed, in disbelief. “Zifu…Zifu…” Even in death, he couldn’t believe it.

“No!” The tall, muscular fellow just began to cry out, but before he finished it, he was pierced through by the sword glow as well.

Their Dao-Soldier formation hadn’t truly formed into a Flood Dragon, after all; they had only formed eight illusory Floor Dragons. Every single illusory Flood Dragon was formed from a single Xiantian lifeform Dao-Soldier and hundreds or a thousand Houtian Dao-Soldiers. In terms of defense alone, they were actually inferior to the combined forces of the nine Xiantian Dao-Soldiers of the second trial of the Aquatic Manor.

Ning was naturally capable of winning through close combat and using the True Meaning of the Raindrop, but doing so would be very tiring, and he would have to face a group attack.

But now…

By relying on this level four [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he was able to bring forth the power of an early Zifu Disciple using a ranked magic treasure. Even if the enemy truly had nine thousand Dao-Soldiers and nine Xiantian lifeforms and was capable of forming into a true Flood Dragon, Ning would still be able to fight. And now, when the enemy was like a platter of loose sand, unshaped and unformed, he naturally chopped through them as easily as chopping through vegetables.

“Zifu Disciple!”

“He’s a Zifu Disicple.”

The sword light slashed out in another graceful arc, piercing through those eight Xiantian Dao-Soldiers in sucession. No matter how those Xiantian Dao-Soldiers attempted to flee, their speed was incomparably slower than the speed of that sword light. Even though the nearby Houtian Dao-Soldiers all tried to help block, those Houtian Dao-Soldiers were simply executed as well.

“A Zifu Disicple!”

“Zifu Disciple!”

One desolate scream after another shook the entire mountain. These Xiantian Dao-Soldiers were filled to the brim with unwillingness to accept this. They hadn’t imagined that this youth named Ji Ning was actually a Zifu Disciple! Ordering them to battle against a Zifu Disciple? They weren’t able to accept that this was how they would die. If they had known, they wouldn’t have come out at all.

—————-

“What.”

“This….”

In mid-air, the Azure Firebird and the black serpent watched with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open. From below, Ning was controlling hundreds of swords which were hovering in the air, and then formed into a single sword light which was dominating everyone and everything. This was power on a completely different level. Much like how Xiantian lifeforms could massacre Houtian experts, that sword light effortlessly executed those eight Xiantian Dao-Soldiers, and with their deaths, those Houtian Dao-Soldiers naturally were unable to maintain their grand formation.

“Ning, he…he’s a Zifu Disciple?” The black serpent, who had watched Ning grow up since he was a child, was somewhat stunned as well.

——————

Even Blindfish, Jadewich, Shan, and the others trapped within the mountain who had been frantically calling for Ning to flee were stunned. From this angle, they couldn’t see Ning, but through the cave entrance, they were able to see many Dao-Soldiers. They personally saw those Dao-Soldiers dressed in black armor, which was to say the Xiantian Dao-Soldiers, be easily pierced through one by one by an incomparably brilliant sword light. All of those Xiantian Dao-Soldiers collapsed, dead.

In addition, as they died, all of them were howling with grief and rage, “Zifu Disciple!” “A Zifu Disciple!”

“A Zifu Disciple?” Blindfish and the others, including the other pitiable Xiantian lifeforms from the other powers here at the Swallow Mountain region, were all somewhat numb. Could it be that aside from Ning, there was another Zifu Disciple who was attacking?

But right at this moment…

Bang!

A black shadow suddenly leapt out from the already opened entrance to that dark underground cave. His green pupils swept those Xiantian lifeforms who were bound within this cave. There were still some ordinary servants here who hadn’t joined the battle. Two unlucky bastards, because they had been fairly close to the cave entrance, had their bodies immediately invaded by the black necromantic energy swirling around the black-furred zombie when it appeared.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh!” The two unlucky bastards hadn’t been able to become Dao-Soldiers. Naturally, they were quite ordinary in ability. As soon as the necromantic aura invaded their bodies, they let out desolate howls, then quickly dissolved into puddles of liquid.

The black-furred zombie had already, with a single step, moved past the cave entrance.

“Young master, be careful!” Blindfish howled frantically.

———————

Ning, after seeing that the Xiantian Dao-Soldiers had been executed, retrieved his three hundred plus swords. After all, he was still just an early stage Xiantian lifeform. The Xiantian ki in his body wasn’t dense enough! If he were to control thousands of swords, his ki would probably be used up in a single attack. If he just used these three hundred or so, he was still only able to execute it ten times.

His true opponent was that truly terrifying Zifu Disciple.

“Roaaaaar.” An angry roar rang out, and from the distance, a black shadow flew over.

“Is that the Zifu Disciple?” Ning’s wing-type magic treasure trembled, and he immediately flew out in an arc, putting some distance between them. With a smashing sound, that black shadow smashed into the ground, causing a massive, thirty meter wide crater to appear on the ground. When Ning saw this, the look on his face changed.

The black-furred zombie stared at Ning, that black, fog-like necromantic aura swirling around his body.

“This fellow is so strong, and his speed is very fast.” Ning was still stunned, and he even was reminded of that black-furred aberration who had served as the third trial in the Aquatic Manor. However, this black-furred zombie gave Ning an evil, baleful feeling, and had that black fog swirling around his body. That aberration who served as the third trial in the Aquatic Manor didn’t.

“Kill.” The black-furred zombie stared at Ning, then charged towards him.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Activating the wing-type magic treasures, Ning moved like a ghost, constantly dodging. Although each time he dodged, it was rather difficult, he was still able to evade. Occasionally, the Darknorth swords in his hands would land blows on the black-furred zombie, but only white smudges were left on it.

“This fellow seems quite similar to the black-furred aberration in the Aquatic Manor. His strength is great, his speed is fast, and his body is incomparably tough. However, his strength is much lower.” In their exchange of blows, Ning immediately discovered that the black-furred zombie’s method of using force was very clumsy, while the black-furred creature in the underwater estate has intelligence. In terms of both footwork and palm techniques, although each movement seemed simple, even with Ning’s miraculous evasion techniques, he still couldn’t dodge.

“Not even at the advanced level of technique. Definitely not a Zifu Disciple. The antidote to my poison is probably being carried by that Zifu Disciple. He hasn’t come out, which means he definitely isn’t able to be distracted right now. I have to seize the opportunity to get rid of him.” Ning understood that for the Zifu Disciple to still not come out meant the man was definitely in a tough situation.

While he was ill, go for the kill!

Swoosh!

The wing-type magic treasures on Ning’s back trembled, then took him in an arcing line, moving past the black-furred zombie. The zombie howled ferociously, wanting to attack Ning, but how could Ning, when using the [Windwing Evasion], be caught by the likes of him?

“Ji Ning?” A sinister, cold, sharp voice suddenly emanated out from the mountain. Ning immediately saw that midway in the mountain, at the ground in front of the cavern entrance, there was a man dressed in a loose black robe. This man’s hair was loosely bound, and his face was utterly ashen, without a hint of color. The oily green eyes the man had caused even greater shock to Ning than the black-furred zombie had.

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Chapter 3 – A Battle To the Death!

Chapter 3 – A Battle To the Death!

Bei Zishan swept the surrounding area with his gaze. He saw the areas frozen by frost or scorched by flames and those many corpses. In particular, when he saw, amongst the corpses, the bodies of those Xiantian lifeform Dao-Soldiers, Zishan’s heart clenched. He ached! These were his subordinates. For forging and refining this sort of sinful magic treasure, he needed many subordinates to torment and torture people, and also some powerful subordinates to capture Xiantian lifeforms for him.

“All ruined.” Zishan looked towards Ji Ning, his gaze filled with a sinister maliciousness. “My students and servants were all wiped out by you. Those potential dread wraiths that I had been cultivating and refining for so long, and was about to finish with…you forced me to stop. I, Bei Zishan, was actually by a little child like you to suffer such a loss! I won’t mistreat you. In fact, I will have to ‘thank’ you and let you have a taste of what it is like to have your soul be tormented!

“Zifu Disciple.”

“He’s a Zifu Disciple.”

Amidst the thousands of Dao-Soldiers, there were still quite a few screaming in terror.

“You are a Zifu Disciple?” Bei Zishan stared at Ning. After all, his evil magic treasure was only half completed because of Ning’s interruption. However, even with this half-completed magic treasure, Zishan could be considered a peak Zifu figure. Based on the discussion between his disciples, however, this Ning was just a twelve year old youth of the Ji clan.

A twelve year old who had become a Zifu Disciple?

If this was true! Then Zishan was actually worried. For someone so young to have become a Zifu Disciple most likely meant that this person had some miraculous events occur. Perhaps he might have some sort of hidden, secret technique.

“Zifu Disciple? If I said I wasn’t a Zifu Disciple, would you believe me?” Ning said coldly.

Swoosh!

Zishan had been just standing there, but suddenly, a boat appeared beneath his legs. Stepping onto the boat, Zishan instantly began to pull away from Ning. Zishan, dressed in his long black robed, stared coldly at Ning. He had already decided to consider that Ning was an expert on the same level as him, and so he immediately pulled away.

Immortal practitioners came in all types. Fiendgod Body Refiners preferred close combat, while others who liked to use magic treasures, poisons, golems, and more would naturally prefer to pull to a distance before using their techniques. After all, close quarters combat was very dangerous. Bei Zishan, for example, liked to use poisons and magic treasures.

“Boom!” A black claw suddenly appeared, sweeping forwards and attacking Ning from behind.

Ning’s wing-type magic treasure trembled, and he flew out in an arc, immediately dodging past. As for that black claw, the wind from the attack alone had caused the ground to tear apart. The black-furred zombie, bellowing, charged towards Ning.

“Bei Zishan, prepare to die!” Ning, while dodging the black-furred zombie, simultaneously manifested more than four hundred sword-type magic treasures, all of which were under Ning’s control and immediately emanated a blurry white light.

“Indeed. There’s no need to forcibly control them all. All I need to do is just guide them into the correct flow. When I simply control the critical points of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation…it becomes much easier to control this Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.” Ning previously, while meditating on formations, had tested out the fifth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. At the underwater mansion, although he had been able to use it, it had been too exhausting.

But this time, it was clearly much easier for him. In addition, thanks to Ning’s nonstop testing, his control over the 405 sword-type magic treasures had become much more dexterous, and it became easier and easier for Ning’s ‘divine will’ to control them.

“Magic treasures!” Zishan, astride his flying boat, saw this from afar. His face changed. “He’s able to control magic treasures and fly on them. So he is indeed a Zifu Disciple! So many sword-type magic treasures….most likely they are almost all unranked, but so many unranked magic treasures joined together still pose a formidable threat.”

“Roaaaaaaar.” Growling, the black-furred zombie was still in pursuit of Ning, attacking again and again.

Ning, relying on his incomparably dexterous Windwing Evasion, was able to dodge aside time and time again. In a battle of life and death, one had to rely on one’s advantages. This black-furred zombie clearly was incomparably strong and indestructibly tough. Battling with it head on was simply idiocy. Ning naturally understood that this black-furred zombie was probably reared by Bei Zishan. As long as he could kill Zishan, there would be no need to fear this black-furred zombie.

“Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, level five!” Ning constantly controlled the many swords hovering around him, and given that his understanding of the intricacies of the formation was rapidly increasing, his ability to utilize it was become greater as well.

“Go!” Ning’s eyes suddenly flashed as he stared at the distant Zishan.

In front of him, there formed a flickering, unstable sword light, which suddenly shot out into the distance, as fast as lightning, leaving behind only seemingly solid yet seemingly illusory arc in the skies. It stabbed directly towards the distant Bei Zishan. Zishan had long since produced a horsetail whisk-type magic treasure in his hands, and seeing the attack, he immediately brandished the horsetail whisk, which transformed into three thousand white threads that sought to entangle that piercing sword light.

Both this flying boat as well this horsetail whisk were ranked magic treasures! Their power was formidable.

“Crackle…..”

“Not good.” Zishan’s face changed, and he hurriedly controlled his horsetail whisk, making it so that even as those three thousand white threads were blocking and entangling the sword light, a large number of the white threads were also emanating rays of light, with each layer of them ablating and frantically neutralizing the oncoming force, causing the sword light to have lost almost all of its power before it even reached Zishan’s body.

This caused the distant Ning’s face to change as well. The power of the fifth level of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation definitely wasn’t weak. The fourth level could be comparable to an early Zifu Disciple using a ranked magic treasure, so the fifth level had to be comparable to a more formidable Zifu Disciple, right?

“You really are a Zifu Disciple.” Zishan stared at Ning, his face filled with savagery. He shouted, “At such a young age, you are such a monster. How can I possibly spare you!”

In Zishan’s hands, a black item suddenly appeared which looked like a wasp’s nest. At the same time, it quickly grew greater, to the size of three meters tall. It was filled with countless holes, and there with countless buzzing sounds, one golden wasp after another swarmed out from those countless holes, instantly charging out. In the blink of an eye, those many wasps filled the skies, pouring towards Ning in a flood.

“Venomous bugs.” Ning was startled, and in front of his body, an utterly unstoppable sword light formed once more. “Kill!”

Swish!

A sword light pierced through the skies, directly flying towards those countless, tightly clustered swarm of golden wasps. With crackling sounds that were quite unpleasant to hear, the sword light slaughtered hundreds of the venomous bugs before having passed through to the other time. By now, more than half of the energy of the sword light had been used up, and it turned in an arc, once more stabbing into the swarm. This time, however, it used up all of its power in the swarm, with another few hundred of them having died.

“I can’t let this continue.” Ning, while using his wing-type magic treasures to dodge, immediately discarded the notion of using the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation to attack.

The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation used up a truly astonishing amount of energy. Ning had only used the fifth level version of the attack twice, with a single fourth level version of this attack. However, as a result, only sixty or seventy percent of his Xiantian ki remained. There were, however, hundreds of thousands of these venomous bugs, while a single sword light of his had only killed seven or eight hundred.

Even if he had an unlimited amount of Ki, most likely he would only be able to unleash three more sword lights before the venomous bugs would have arrived before him.

“He’s dead for sure.” Bei Zishan stared at Ning.

“Waterflame Lotus!”

Ning let out a low growl, and surrounding him, one fiery lotus petal after another, along with one water lotus petal after another, formed and merged, creating a lotus bud that was protecting Ning around him.

“Three buds of Waterflame Lotuses.” Ning had used his full strength. Every single Waterflame Lotus bud was created from three lotus petals of fire and three lotus petals of water. A larger lotus bud protected the smaller lotus petals, and thus…these three layers of Waterflame Lotuses surrounded Ning, who in the middle of them was constantly using his Windwing Evasion.

The reason for this was that the black-furred zombie was constantly chasing, causing Ning to not dare to slack off in the slightest.

“Bzzzzzz….” The countless, tightly clustered venomous bugs spread out towards Ning, wildly boring down towards the surface of the Waterflame Lotuses, easily piercing through the first layer.

The three Waterflame Lotuses that were formed into six layers were constantly swiveling, and as the many venomous bugs sought to burrow through them, one after another were killed by grinding, swiveling power of the layers of the Waterflame Lotuses. However, they quickly reformed and burrowed through the gaps between each of the layers of the Waterflame Lotuses, continuing to burrow downwards. They quickly passed through the second layer, the third layer, the fourth layer…but many of the venomous bugs were dying as they did.

“A protective technique that contains the True Meaning of the Dao! Where did this Ji Ning learn this from?!” Watching so many of his venomous bugs die from afar, Bei Zishan not only ached for his lost, he also was astonished. This was because although a supreme sword technique was precious, this sort of protective technique was even more precious. Even in his own sect, such a technique would rarely be learned.

How could he have imagined…that this was a technique which Ning had developed on his own.

“They broke through the sixth level!” Ning, wielding his Darknorth swords, was wildly blocking the venomous bugs who had broken through the sixth level. However, the carapaces of these golden wasps were tough and very hard to destroy. After blocking just a few, another wasp appeared, biting Ning’s body, breaking through the protective armor, and chomping down onto the flesh.

“Die.” Ning’s Darknorth swords stabbed out wildly against the venomous bugs, while the injuries to his body were automatically healing.

“I can’t continue like this. Although I have the body of a Fiendgod and will automatically heal, as the numbers of these venomous bugs increase…I’ll still be devoured alive by them in the end.” Ning was frantic. “These venomous bugs are all under Bei Zishan’s control. All I need to do is kill Bei Zishan.”

Ning ignored the venomous bugs, preparing for a final, all-out assault.

“He has the body of a Fiendgod.” Watching from afar atop his flying boat, Zishan couldn’t wait any longer as well. His face was filled with rage. “His regenerative abilities are so astonishing, and he also has that protective technique! If this continues, even if my wasps are able to devour him, the vast majority of my precious wasps will all die. Although this magic treasure of mine hasn’t been completed yet, and using it will cause great harm to the dread wraiths within…I can’t wait any longer!”

Bei Zishan extended his hand, and instantly, a bloody banner appeared. The banner circulated with a layer of black light – solidified sin!

When the banner appeared, the surrounding world seemed to grow dark.

“Ji Ning, prepare to die!” Bei Zishan brandished the banner in his hand.

“Bei Zishan, prepare to die!” Ning, surrounded by the many venomous bugs who had broken through his three Waterflame Lotuses and were wildly attacking him, let out a bellow as well. Around him, 486 sword-type magic treasures appeared. In this critical moment, Ning was wildly testing his own limits as well, because if the fifth level couldn’t kill the enemy, then if he was going to use this technique, he had to use the sixth level!

The bloody banner flapped in the air!

486 sword-type magic treasures also hovered there, as a blurry sword light appeared in front of them!

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Chapter 4 – Bei Zishan!

Chapter 4 – Bei Zishan!

Ji Ning had never before used the sixth level of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation before. Originally, back at the Aquatic Manor, using the fifth level alone had taken him to his limit. However, after he had spent time training in accordance with the [Nine Scrolls on Formations], Ning had learned how to better guide the swords in the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation through certain patterns. When he had used the fifth level, it had been fairly effortless for him, and so he now felt that although it might be difficult for him to use the sixth level, he should still be able to succeed.

“I have to succeed. If I fail, I die!” Ning put his full power on display, and 486 sword-type magic treasures hovered around him. Ning used his divine will to carefully control the critical ‘juncture’ swords of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, then slowly allowed the other swords to follow those junctures, causing those 486 swords to constantly fluctuate, like the waves in a sea.

Although it was difficult for Ning to control them, the 486 swords still began to glow with that blurry white light.

“Success!” Although Ning still had to defend against those wasps and even be bit by them, while at the same time dodge against the attacking black-furred zombie, Ning was incomparably excited! By relying on his successes in developing formations, he had been able to manifest this sixth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.

“Kill!” Ning stared savagely at the distant Bei Zishan, standing on his flying boat.

In front of his body, that incomparably sharp sword light coalesced, compressing to the utmost limit possible, and then, following Ning’s will, shot out like a meteor, slicing through the air and attacking towards Bei Zishan with an utterly indomitable, unstoppable aura.

“Die!” Standing atop the boat, Zishan also brandished the bloody banner in his hand.

The banner stirred.

The world around them turned dark, and one dread wraith after another, all visible to the naked eye, moaned as they flew out from the banner. These dread wraiths were the most powerful survivors of the battles between the dread wraiths. Nourished by the banner, they had become even more powerful! And this was with the treasure only being half completed; if it had been completely forged, it would be truly formidable.

Despite that, however, this half-finished magic treasure was enough to allow Bei Zishan to stare down arrogantly at the vast majority of Zifu Disciples.

“Roaaaaar!”

“Kill!”

“Devour you!”

The countless wraiths were incomparably savage, emitting ear-piercing shrieks. After having been nourished by the banner, these dread wraiths were capable of making sounds now! They all charged forward in a flood towards Ning at an impossibly fast speed. But of course, compared to Ning’s Lesser Thousand Sword Formation’s sword light, the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation’s sword light was still a bit faster.

“Hiss…” Zishan brandished the horsetail whisk in his hand, and it transformed into three thousand white strands, frantically attempting to block. However, this sword light was far more powerful than the previous one, and it chopped straight through the multiple layers. Bei Zishan frantically lifted up the handle of the bloody banner which he was holding, using it to block that sword light.

But the sword light was just too fast. Zishan just barely managed to touch it in time.

“Crackle…” The sword light struck the handle of the banner, and the entire bloody banner trembled slightly. The sword light instantly grew even weaker, and then it finally slammed into the armor-type magic treasure which Bei Zishan was wearing, that black robe. It just barely managed to leave behind a black smudge on the black robe, and then it disappeared.

“Fortunately, I blocked it. It nearly broke through my body and claimed my life.” Zishan was shocked as well. A battle against a Zifu Disciple was a battle where death was always just a breath away. If one wasn’t careful and was hit by an enemy’s attack, one would lose one’s life. “Hmph. With those dread wraiths gnawing at him, he won’t be able to concentrate enough to launch another one of these sword lights. Those dread wraiths will gnaw him to death, no question about it.”

Zishan was extremely confident. Even if he himself was bitten by those dread wraiths, he would die.

————————

Ning watched as those countless, tightly clustered dread wraiths howl as they flew towards him. His face couldn’t help but change. These howling dread wraiths easily bypassed his six layers of Waterflame Lotuses. Dread wraiths were ghosts, and so weapons and Waterflame Lotuses were completely unable to block them.

“Devour you!”

“Devour.”

Countless dread wraiths surged forward, instantly completely engulfing Ning within them, wildly rushing into Ning’s body.

“He’s dead for sure.” Watching from afar, Zishan was confidently awaiting the moment when Ning would invariably collapse. However, immediately afterwards, Zishan’s face began to change, because the bloody banner within his hand was beginning to tremble, and its aura was beginning to weaken as well as its power decreased. “What’s going on? What…what is this?”

Zishan was shocked and angered.

This banner was his trump card, his killing technique! But now, the aura of the banner was weakening nonstop, which meant that the power of the banner was dropping. The foundation of this magic treasure was those dread wraiths…which meant there was only one possibility. Many dread wraiths were dying!

“How is this possible? Those dread wraiths are ghosts which are filled with hatred and murder. There’s no weapon at all capable of blocking them, and they are ripping and biting at the enemy’s soul. These countless dread wraiths aren’t able to devour his soul?” Zishan didn’t dare believe it. Even a Zifu Disciple’s soul probably wouldn’t be able to withstand these ghosts for long before being utterly devoured.

————————-

Within Ning’s consciousness.

Ning’s soul was there, and countless dread wraiths were flooding it, letting out howls as they attempted to devour it.

“What to do?” In his consciousness, Ning could sense those countless dread wraiths flooding in. He was shocked. The soul was a person’s foundation; if the soul was gone, then one wouldn’t even be able to reincarnate. At the same time, Ning had never had the experience of battling against ghosts.

“The [Nuwa Painting].” This was the first thing which Ning thought of.

In his consciousness, a Ji Ning dressed in white clothes appeared, sitting in the lotus position. At the same time, behind his body, hovering in mid-air, there appeared the form of Nuwa. Maiden Nuwa seemed to have become truly timeless, with the passage of time not diminishing her in the slightest. Her eyes were filled with grief and sympathy, like the eyes of a mother. She also emanated boundless amounts of light, covering the surrounding area.

When the many dread wraiths came charging over and touched the boundless light emanating from Maiden Nuwa, the evil aura emanating from their forms truly vanished. On their faces appeared smiles of peace and bliss.

All of them looked towards Ji Ning with grateful gazes. Some bowed in thanks, while others knelt in thanks.

And then, one after another vanished, returning to the Netherworld Kingdom to be reborn.

The many dread wraiths continued to charge forwards, but the image of Maiden Nuwa dissolved their evil auras, and once they were no longer possessed by that evil, there was no way those ghosts could continue to remain here in the mortal world. All of them thus went to the Netherworld Kingdom.

Actually, Ning’s own soul was comparable to that of a Wanxiang Adept to begin with. Even if he didn’t manifest a visualization of Maiden Nuwa, given the power of his soul, there was no way these dread wraiths would have been able to kill him…after all, the magic treasure was only half complete. It was only useful against Zifu Disciples, and it wasn’t strong enough to deal with Wanxiang Adepts.

However, if he had done that, Ning would have been relying on the power of his soul to forcibly kill each of those dread wraiths.

As Ning instead visualized Maiden Nuwa, those dread wraiths were instead all purified and sent to be reincarnated, which was a great karmic merit.

———————–

Although this took a long time to discuss, in truth, it happened in an instant.

Ning had no fear at all of those countless dread wraiths charging into his body, attempting to devour his soul. Instead, he just stared at the distant Bei Zishan, and let out a bellow. “KILL!”

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

A ray of sword light flashed out, followed immediately by another one…four bursts of sword light shot out towards the distant Zishan. These four bursts of sword light virtually exhausted all of the Xiantian ki in Ning’s body, as the amount remaining was not enough to permit him to unleash a fifth. This was Ning’s full strength attack!

“How is that possible? How could a youth not be afraid of his soul being devoured by dread wraiths?!” Zishan, still gripping that bloody banner, was in disbelief. When he saw those rays of sword light shoot out, he was so terrified that he immediately controlled his flying boat to flee.

But how could the speed of the boat match the speed of the sword light flashes?

Zishan, terrified, brandished his horsetail whisk to defend while also thrusting out with his banner, but although he was just barely able to block the first attack, the second attack slashed outwards in an arc, directly piercing through the black robes that served as an armor-type magic treasure, stabbing into his body.

Swish! Swish!

The two other rays of sword light also instantly pierced through his head and his neck. In the corner of his forehead, a hole appeared. His neck, meanwhile, was completely cut through, and his head went flying.

“Impossible…” A look of disbelief remained on Zishan’s face.

The distant black-furred zombie came to a halt as well, confusion appearing in its eyes. As for those venomous wasps, many of whom had died as they had thrown themselves in their attack on Ning, they quickly retreated as well. Those three Waterflame Lotuses had crushed to death countless wasps, and without an order from their master, they naturally would prefer to flee.

Only now did Ning retrieve his sword-type magic treasures, a look of disbelief appearing in his eyes. “I…I killed a Zifu Disciple? I succeeded?”

But right at this moment…

From Bei Zishan’s corpse, just as it was falling down from the flying boat, a golden light suddenly appeared. Given Ning’s visual prowess, he could instantly tell…that it was a golden bug!

“What’s that?” A golden bug actually flew out from the body? Ning felt puzzled, while at the same time, he felt that something was off. He had the sense that he couldn’t allow that golden bug to fly away…but his Xiantian ki had been almost completely exhausted, while the Waterflame Lotus wasn’t capable of being manifested at such a great distance.

“Rumble…”

Suddenly, the entire world seemed to transform from day into night. In the night sky, many stars twinkled and flashed, and as they did, the countless stars seemed to have transformed into a stellar sea. Within that stellar sea, there was an enormous full moon, and as the light of the moon shone down, the soft moonlight landed upon the body of that frantically fleeing golden bug.

The golden bug seemed to be utterly terrified, flying at high speed and trying to flee.

But suddenly, that soft moonlight solidified into a giant hand, with gently grasped that golden bug, which in its incomparable terror, let out a terrified cry. “Spare me, spare me!”

“Crunch!” With a light squeeze of the giant moonlight hand, the golden bug was crushed into dust.

And then, that night sky, those millions of stars, and that moon all disappeared, with the skies once more returning to daylight.

“This…this is…” Ning stood there, his face filled with shock. “A Manifestation of stars…a Wanxiang Adept! A Wanxiang Adept!”

“You were too careless.” From high up in the air, a man flew over on the wind, dressed in a blue robe and with long, unbound hair. He had a smile on his face. “You worked so hard to kill the body of that Bei Zishan, but you almost let him borrow the body of the Life Gu-Bug to flee. Bei Zishan was an expert in using bugs, so naturally he raised a Life Gu-Bug. In killing him, you should’ve killed his Life Gu-Bug as well. By not doing so, you almost wasted all of your previous effort. That wouldn’t have been good.”

Ning understood that he had met a major figure today. Swallow Mountain didn’t have any Wanxiang Adepts. Ning immediately bowed respectfully. “Ji Ning greets you, senior.”

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Chapter 5 – Wanxiang Adept

Chapter 5 – Wanxiang Adept

The blue-robed man, his long hair fluttering in the wind, descended in front of Ji Ning. Laughing, he said, “My surname is Mu, while my name is Xiao. Others address me as Adept Mu.”

“Greetings to you, Adept Mu.” Ning felt his heart calm down. This Wanxiang Adept whom he had never met had just told Ning his name and surname. Clearly, he held an excellent opinion of Ning.

“Thank you, Adept Mu, for intervening. Otherwise, if this Bei Zishan were to have fled, he most likely would have caused more calamities in the future.” Ning immediately expressed his gratitude.

Adept Mu had a smile on his face as he shook his head. “Actually, I should be the one thanking you. I came here for the purpose of killing this Bei Zishan, and I spent months investigating before I found him hiding here. Unfortunately, this Bei Zishan set up that large formation. Although I am a Wanxiang Adept, if I were to attempt to break the formation…I didn’t have confidence in my ability to do so. Thus, I have been waiting here. I was planning to wait until he left the formation before exterminating him, but I didn’t expect that I would end up personally witnessing a fine performance.”

Ning was stunned.

What?

So this Adept Mu had been hiding here early on, and had been watching everything occur?

“Afterwards, you broke open the formation.” Adept Mu sighed. “Only then did I know that it was you who did it. A youth who was able to break this formation. Formidable. In addition, I didn’t expect that all of those Dao-Soldiers, Xiantian lifeforms, and even Bei Zishan himself would be disposed of, all by you alone. Hahaha…that made things simple for me.”

“If I had known that Adept Mu was present, then I wouldn’t have had to exhaust myself.” Ning said hurriedly.

Adept Mu looked curiously at Ning. “Ji Ning, I wish to ask you. Are you a Zifu Disciple? Or a Xiantian lifeform?”

A person’s strength couldn’t be judged from the surface.

However, Adept Mu was someone who had been watching for a very long time from outside. In particular, after Ning broke open the formation, he had watched carefully as Ning engaged in those battles. As the saying goes, the eyes of the viewers are the clearest…Adept Mu discovered a number of issues which made him believe that Ning shouldn’t be a Zifu Disciple.

“I have not yet established my ‘Violet Palace’.” Ning didn’t hide it.

Adept Mu immediately revealed a look of surprise. “Indeed! I saw that your swordplay is exquisite, and that you should have reached the level of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’. If you were a Zifu Disciple, when you used your elemental energy to execute such exquisite swordplay…you should have been able to easily defeat that black-furred zombie, and that battle should have been very simple for you. But you were actually in dire straits, which is why I guessed that you shouldn’t be a Zifu Disciple. Only, if you aren’t a Zifu Disciple, then you must be using ‘divine will’ to control all those sword-type magic treasures and fly with them. You, a mere Xiantian lifeform, have such a powerful soul. This truly is rare, quite rare!”

Ning nodded.

He didn’t deny it, because even in the records and books he had read, he had read of some incomparably monstrous Xiantian lifeforms who were able to do what he did.

“My soul was powerful at birth.” Ning said. “Ever since I was a child, I could divide my mind. Afterwards, when I gained insights into the True Meaning of the Dao, my divine will was formed.”

———————

Facing a Wanxiang Adept, a person with the power to easily destroy him, Ning naturally didn’t have to play any games. Since he was an incomparably monstrous talent, he had to show it off. That might even be of benefit to him.

“I want to ask you another thing.” Adept Mu looked at Ning, as though he were looking at a piece of unpolished jade. “Are you training in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Hahaha….” Adept Mu laughed delightedly. “Do you know who I am? Why I was in pursuit of Bei Zishan?”

Ning looked at Adept Mu, then shook his head. He had never met the man; how could he know who he was?

Adept Mu said directly, “I am a Raindragon Guard of the Grand Xia Dynasty. I am under orders to pursue and kill Bei Zishan.”

“Raindragon Guard?” Ning was stunned.

After he had killed that Diremonster, Serpentwing, his parents had given him a general explanation of the Stillwater Commandery, and how there was a powerful force within it that absolutely could not be offended; the Raindragon Guards! The Raindragon Guards was the most powerful military organization within the Grand Xia Dynasty, completely composed of Immortal practitioners, and according to legend, only those at least at the Wanxiang Adept level were able to join.

The Raindragon Guards had an extremely special status. They directly served the Grand Xia Dynasty!

Amongst the incomparably numerous forces and powers spread across the entire Stillwater Commandery, the two most highly ranked were the Marquis of Stillwater and the Raindragon Guards! The Marquis of Stillwater was the master of this area, and his roots here were very deep. But the Raindragon Guards were directly subordinate to the Grand Xia Dynasty. They themselves had numerous experts, and behind them they had the entire Grand Xia Dynasty as their backer.

“Ji Ning.” Adept Mu looked at Ning. “The Grand Xia Dynasty’s Raindragon Guards are the most powerful force in existence in this vast land. No single tribe, no single school, no single sect…can come even close to comparing with my Raindragon Guards!”

Ning nodded, acknowledging this.

“The Raindragon Guards are quite independent and under no restrictions. Once you become a Raindragon Guard, you can be blessed with a tribe, and that you can carve out a territory of ten thousand kilometers for the land of your tribe. This land will be protected by the Raindragon Guards! Even if you die, the Raindragon Guards will protect that land for a thousand years. No power will dare invade it, as if they do, that would signify a challenge to the Raindragon Guards, and we Raindragon Guards will tear out any such invading force by their very roots!” Adept Mu said.

Ning had heard his father say as well that the Raindragon Guards did indeed have an exalted status, and even their tribes would benefit.

“Adept, you’ve said so many things, but I cannot become a Raindragon Guard.” Ning laughed.

Adept Mu just looked at Ning. “I ask you this. Are you willing to become a Raindragon Guard?”

“ME!?” Ning’s eyes widened. “I…I’m just a Xiantian lifeform. Even if I want to, my power is far from being sufficient.”

But Adept Mu just shook his head. “It isn’t a major issue if your power is weak. Right now, you aren’t able to directly join the Raindragon Guards, but our Raindragon Guards has an auxiliary corps as well! Much like how some schools, sects, and tribes will intentionally attract some geniuses to join them, we Raindragon Guards also have an auxiliary corps which will draw in some geniuses to join for instruction and guidance.”

“Upon joining the auxiliary corps, you’ll have access to all sorts of training techniques and even divine abilities.” Adept Mu sighed. “If you consider the Raindragon Guards to be a school or a sect, then we are the most powerful one of all. We have countless Immortals practitioners, and even Celestial Immortals have appeared from within our ranks.”

“But of course, the threshold for joining the auxiliary corps is quite high. It isn’t just anyone who can join. Fortunately, you train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique in the world.” Adept Mu looked at Ning. “Anyone who relies on the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] to become a Xiantian lifeform can immediately enter the auxiliary corps. There’s no need to undergo the various trials.”

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is simply too hard. Every single person who can use it to become a Xiantian lifeform is a monstrous talent.” Adept Mu sighed emotionally. Ning, standing there, made a sound of agreement. It was true. He himself had spent that night meditating on the Dao before understanding how to fuse fire and water and to break through to become a Xiantian lifeform. Others most likely would also have to find their own secret ways to fuse fire and water as well.

“Every single Immortal practitioner who trains in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is extraordinary.” Adept Mu said. “For ordinary Immortal practitioners, only those at the Wanxiang Adept level are permitted to join the Raindragon Guards.”

“But for [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] practitioners, as long as they reach the Zifu level and learn a divine ability, their battle power will be equivalent to a Wanxiang Adept’s, and thus they would be allowed the chance to enter the Raindragon Guards. But of course, that just means you’ll have the chance to; whether or not you’ll actually be able to enter depends on your ability.” Adept Mu said. “I myself only was able to join the Raindragon Guards after becoming a late-stage Wanxiang Adept.”

Ning, hearing this, blinked twice.

Late-stage Wanxiang?

The Raindragon Guards truly were difficult to join!

—————–

Right at this moment, those thousands of surviving Dao-Soldiers were all staring towards this direction in terror. From the skies, two figures descended as well; they were the human forms of the Azure Firebird and the black serpent. They, too, stared towards Ning.

“You go rescue Master Blindfish and the others. I have some things to discuss with this senior.” Ning immediately instructed.

“Yes.” The Azure Firebird and the black serpent responded. After having watched the grand battle between Ning and Bei Zishan, their hearts were filled with dread.

Although Ning was frantically worried about his mother, he naturally couldn’t slight or be discourteous to this Wanxiang Adept in front of him. Ning even had the intention of inviting him to go to West Prefecture City.”

“As long as you join the prepatory army, your future prospects will be limitless.” Adept Mu said. “In the future, you becoming a Raindragon Guard will be a matter of course. The chances you will have there will be far greater than what you have here in the tribes, at least. Think about it carefully. If you are willing to join the auxiliary corps, then go back and bid your parents farewell. I will take you directly to Stillwater City!”

To Stillwater City?

Ning was stunned.

“Adept Mu.” Ning said hurriedly. “There are so many benefits to joining the auxiliary corps. I fear there must be some sacrifices as well, right?”

“Naturally.” Adept Mu nodded. “Upon joining the auxiliary corps, until you become a Zifu Disciple, you are forever forbidden from leaving the mountain.”

“Forever forbidden from leaving the mountain?” Ning was puzzled.

Adept Mu said, “The headquarters of we Raindragon Guards is located on the peaks of a tall mountain. The auxiliary corps is there as well! If you can’t even become a Zifu Disciple, then you will simply die of age on the mountain. After becoming a Zifu Disciple, you can often leave, but you’ll still need to spend most of your time on the mountain, as you’ll only leave on orders. Only when you become a Raindragon Guard will you have freedom.”

Ning nodded.

He could tell that the auxiliary corps was actually comparable to a school. If one didn’t become a Zifu Disciple, one wasn’t permitted to leave, while even after becoming a Zifu Disciple, one would be stationed on the mountain and only be allowed to leave on orders.

“I have my Aquatic Manor.” Ning said to himself. “Immortal Juhua, by relying on that ancient Aquatic Manor, was able to live for millions of years, even as a Loose Immortal, and his power was comparable to a Celestial Immortal…there are many secrets contained within the Aquatic Manor which I must investigate. Once I become a Zifu Disciple, I’ll be able to bind the control talisman. Why should I be in a hurry to join the auxiliary corps?”

Adept Mu, standing there, spoke again. “Ning, who in the Swallow Mountains can possibly provide you tutelage? For someone as naturally gifted as you, you must expand your horizons.”

“Thank you, Adept.” Ning pondered for a time, then shook his head. “Adept, I imagine that you heard as well that my mother is gravely ill. For now, I don’t wish to go.”

Adept Mu, hearing this, nodded. “Since that’s the case, I won’t press you. This is the talisman of the Raindragon Guards. In the future, if you encounter any danger on the road to Stillwater City, if you show off this talisman, perhaps it might be of use.” As he spoke, he turned over his hand, and a square black talisman appeared in his palm, with the image of a Rain Dragon on it.

“Thank you, Adept.” Ning immediately accepted it. “Ji Ning has one thing to request of you, Adept.”

Adept Mu immediately laughed. “You assisted me in exterminating Bei Zishan of Snowdragon Mountain. I had wanted to help send you to Stillwater City to enter the auxiliary corps of the Raindragon Guard, but I didn’t expect you wouldn’t want to go…I was worrying about how to repay your assistance. Go ahead and tell me. If I can help you, I will.

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Chapter 6 – Returning

Chapter 6 – Returning

Snowdragon Mountain? Bei Zishan? This Bei Zishan had been a Zifu Disciple of Snowdragon Mountain?

Ji Ning temporarily suppressed this line of thought, then immediately said with sincerity, “My mother is gravely ill. I expect that my Ji clan is unable to save her. I would like to ask you, Adept Mu, to go on a trip to visit my Ji clan of the West Prefecture and save my mother’s life.”

Adept Mu saw the look on Ning’s face, and he couldn’t help but sigh. “I’m not talented in medical treatments, but I can go take a look. If I can save her, naturally I will. But if I cannot…”

“Adept, if you are willing to go, Ji Ning will be forever grateful.” Ning said hurriedly.

“Scum, get over here!” Adept Mu suddenly turned and stared into the distance, barking loudly. From afar, that black-furred zombie whose entire body was swirling with that necromantic aura walked over obediently, staring at Adept Mu with a hint of dread in its oily green eyes.

Adept Mu waved his hand, and a violet coffin appeared in front of him.

“Get in.”

Adept Mu gave the order.

The black-furred zombie obediently opened the coffin, then leapt in and lay down, then closed the lid behind it.

“This is a corpse-preserving coffin.” Adept Mu, with a wave of his hand, took back the corpse-preserving coffin while explaining to Ning, “This black-furred zombie had just lost its master. If it were to be permitted to roam about, it would definitely harm many people. Thus, when I was speaking with you, I used a thread of my ki bind it to myself.”

Ning nodded.

“Don’t worry. You were the one to kill Bei Zishan, and so I won’t touch any of the things he left behind.” Adept Mu said. “Only, at your current level of power, you are not able to tame this black-furred zombie, and so I am taking it with me.”

As he spoke, Adept Mu looked at the distant corpse of Bei Zishan. Zishan’s corpse immediately flew over, along with his various magic treasures, including the flying boat, his horsetail whisk, the bloody banner, and the nest which held the hornets. Adept Mu reached out with his hand, and a ring which had been on Zishan’s fingers flew off, entering Adept Mu’s hand.

“This is a ranked storage-type magic treasure.” Adept Mu said. “You are unable to bind it, so I will help you in retrieving the items within.”

Whoosh….

Soon, Adept Mu completed his binding of the ring, and as he did, a large number of miscellaneous items appeared out of nowhere onto the ground, amongst which were Dao Battle-Armor suits, foodstuffs, some golden items, as well as some alchemical ingredients as well as various bottles.

“Judging from the look of your skin, you should have suffered a poisoning by the Hearteater Powder.” Adept Mu flipped his hand, and one of the little bottles on the ground flew up, with the words ‘Hearteater Antidote’ written atop it. Clearly, with so many bottles present, Zishan himself was worried that he would use a wrong bottle, and so had labeled all of them.

Adept Mu opened the bottle’s plug, glanced at it, then nodded. “This is the antitode. Eat a pill. You can collect these various items and ranked magic treasures as well…although you are currently unable to bind them, when you become a Zifu Disciple, you will be. Don’t have any worries; although these things are treasures to you; they aren’t worth anything to me at all.”

“Thank you, Adept.” Ning was very grateful.

Although he knew that these things weren’t worth much to the Adept, the actions of this Adept Mu were clean and decisive. How could Ning not feel grateful for how well the man was treating him, a mere Xiantian lifeform?

“One day, I absolutely must repay this kindness.” Ning said to himself.

Ning swallowed the pill, which gave off a clear, fragrant taste, almost like a pellet of sugar. As soon as the pellet entered his stomach, it immediately dissolved. Soon, he felt a warm sensation throughout his entire body, and every single bit of Hearteater poison that was spread throughout his body suddenly dissolved like the snow, quickly and completely disappearing. The pain which had been spreading throughout his body vanished as well, and those red spots on his face faded.

“This hornet’s nest…” Adept Mu pointed at the hornet’s nest, which had many venomous hornets within. “The hornet’s nest is an unranked magic treasure. You can bind it. However, as for the many hornets within the nest…to control them mentally, you’ll have to become a Zifu Disciple, and then slowly bind them with your Ki. Prior to becoming a Zifu Disciple, remember to often bring them food to eat. Don’t starve them to death. If they are starved, they will start to kill each other and devour each other.”

Ning nodded immediately. “Understood.”

“Hurry up and bind the hornet’s nest. Oh. Here’s a manual on binding hornets. This is a secret manual of Snowdragon Mountain. It isn’t that precious, but it does contain the basics for binding hornets and pests.” Adept Mu immediately saw a fur-clad book amongst Bei Zishan’s possessions. “Binding hornets is fairly simple. Only, finding them is very hard, and so too is raising them. There’s no need for you to be in a rush to learn. These things can wait for you to become a Zifu Disciple before learning.”

Ning accepted the manual, which had three characters atop it: [Insect Binding Manual].

“Because this hornet’s nest has venomous insects, there’s no way you can store it within a storage-type magic treasure.” Adept Mu handed the nest to Ning. “However, the hornet’s nest can change in size. You can shrink it, then carry it on you.”

“Yes.” Ning acknowledged. He immediately accepted the enormous black hornet’s nest. Prior to handing it over, Adept Mu had already erased the remaining magic power that the hornet’s nest had contained, and so Ning was able to easily bind it. Otherwise, Ning would have had to spend an enormous amount of time just wiping out the remnant magic power left behind by Bei Zishan.

“Smaller, smaller, smaller.” Ning looked at the black hornet’s nest rapidly shrink, until it was the size of a finger. With a flip of his hand, he picked up a cloth sack, then placed the hornet’s nest within it. He placed the sack within his clothes, and the armor-type magic treasure he was wearing shifted in configuration slightly, accommodating the sack within.

“Collect them all.”

Ning waved his hand, and collected the many miscellaneous items on the ground, as well as manuals and poisons which Bei Zishan had left behind.As for Bei Zishan’s ranked magic treasures, Ning didn’t touch them.

“These ranked magic treasures.” Adept Mu pointed at the bloody banner as he spoke. “I am going to take away this Myriad Wraiths Banner. This is a magic treasure which was birthed from sins. I need to take it back…and it is also proof that I’ve accomplished my mission. You can keep the rest.”

“Alright.” Only now did Ning collect the other ranked magic treasures.

He was unable to use any of them, and so all he could do was to collect them for now.

“The Myriad Wraiths Banner…” Adept Mu picked up the bloody banner, which glowed with a faintly visible black aura. “Who knows how many people were tortured to death to create it? What a terrible, weighty sin! This Bei Zishan really was fated to die; he actually used this Myriad Wraiths Banner against you, but your soul is already at the ‘divine will’ level. How could this incomplete Myriad Wraiths Banner possibly do anything to you?”

Adept Mu was under the impression that Ning had relied on his powerful so to destroy all of those dread wraiths. He didn’t know that Ning had, in reality, had relied upon a visualization of Maiden Nuwa in order to pacify all of those dread wraiths.

“Look. This is sin. Sin so heavy, one can see it with the naked eye. And yet, boundless karmic merits are very hard to see.” Adept Mu pointed at the black aura surrounding the bloody banner. “Sin which one can already see with the naked eye…you can imagine how grave and serious the sin is. We Raindragon Guards naturally must exterminate a person who has committed such grave sins.”

Ning looked and nodded.

——————–

Within the mountain cave, Blindfish and the others had their bodies and clothes covered with blood.

“Quick, lift them up.”

“Hurry.”

The black serpent and the Azure Firebird were shouting at those servants. How could the servants dare to resist? They obediently lifted, carried, and piggybacked those who were unable to walk on their own.

“The young master?”

“Where is young master Ji Ning?” Blindfish and Ji Jadewich asked, along with others.

The black serpent just said, “The young master is outside.”

Blindfish was still able to walk on his own, but Jadewich had to be lifted. All of them walked out of the cave, and as they did, they saw those thousands of terrified Dao-Soldiers, as well as the corpses which litered the ground, as well as Ji Ning, off in the distance, who was currently chatting with Adept Mu.

Ning turned to look. When he saw his master Blindfish, his entire body covered with blood, as well as Jadewich and the others be carried over, he couldn’t help but feel his heart ache. He couldn’t help but call out, “Master Blindfish.”

“Young master.” Blindfish spoke as well.

“You…you all…” Ning didn’t know what to say.

“Thank you, young master.”

“Thank you, young master Ji Ning.” Not just the people of the Ji clan; even those Xiantian lifeforms of the Riverbank clan, the Ironwood clan, the Kou clan, and the various other clans, all of whom had their dantians shattered, spoke out in gratitude. The destruction of their dantians made them cripples, but they already felt boundless gratitude for being able to see the sun again and for being able to return to live amongst their clans.

In his heart, Ning felt boundless sourness. These people included the enemies of the Ji clan, true, but in the past, they were glorious, respected Xiantian lifeforms. But now, all of their dantians had been destroyed.

The hint of excitement he had felt prior to this when he had acquired all of those treasures of Bei Zishan completely vanished. Ning turned to look towards those servants and barked, “How many more people are imprisoned within this mountain?”

“There’s most likely more than a million people imprisoned here, but it’s hard to say if even half remain alive.” Immediately, some servants spoke out nervously.

Ning, hearing this, was stunned.

A million?

“What a sin!” Adept Mu shook his head and sighed. “Ji Ning…these thousands of Dao-Soldiers as well as hundreds of thousands of surviving commoners…let those two spirit-beasts deal with them. The two of you, remember that those thousands of Dao-Soldiers were innocent. They were forced to do what they did by Bei Zishan. Do not further violate the proscriptions against murder.”

“Yes.” The black serpent and the Azure Firebird hurriedly nodded. They had previously seen the power of those Flood Dragon Dao-Soldiers. Although they could spare the lives of those Dao-Soldiers, they absolutely would take away those Dao Battle-Armors.

“I’ll handle everything here to you two.” Ning instructed.

“Don’t worry.” The black serpent and the Azure Firebird responded.

“Ji Ning, let’s go. Let’s go to your Ji clan’s West Prefecture City.” Adept Mu said. “I can bring these people along as well.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a leaf appeared out of nowhere. The leaf rapidly expanded in size, and soon became an enormous leaf that was dozens of meters long. Ning, seeing this, immediately had Master Blindfish, Jadewich, and the other members of the Ji clan all stand atop the leaf. As for the Kou clan, the Riverbank clan, and the other clans, they temporarily rested here, awaiting their clan’s forces to come pick them up.

“Let’s go.”

Adept Mu, Ning, Blindfish, and the other Xiantian lifeforms of the Ji clan who had their dantians destroyed had all mounted the leaf. The enormous green leaf, dozens of meters long, flew rapidly into the air, quickly flying beyond the peaks of the mountains and disappearing into the skies.

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Chapter 7 – Seeing Mother

Chapter 7 – Seeing Mother

The single green leaf had Ji Ning as well as more than twenty others on it. It flew through the clouds, hurrying towards the direction of West Prefecture City.

Everyone was either seated or lying down, while Ning and Adept Mu Xiao were standing.

“Adept, prior to this, you said that Bei Zishan was from Snowdragon Mountain?” Ning asked the question he had been contemplating.

“Right. Snowdragon Mountain.” Adept Mu glanced at Ning and nodded. “Snowdragon Mountain can be considered one of the most powerful forces of the entire Stillwater Commandery, and within the school, there are multiple Primal Daoists who stand guard. Their roots are quite deep.”

Ning was secretly shocked.

Multiple Primal Daoists?

“Precisely because the school is so large and it has so many methods of training, it also possessed some evil techniques, and so naturally, it will also have some Immortal practitioners who have embarked upon an evil path.” Adept Mu said. “Snowdragon Mountain cares more about power, and thus within it, it possesses Demon practitioners, Evil practitioners, Immortal practitioners, Buddhist practitioners, and all sorts of other practitioners. It values power the most.”

Adept Mu sighed, “Precisely because within it, the ‘fish and dragons are mixed together’, many people are attracted to Snowdragon Mountain, causing its power to grow even more enormous. Some Zifu Disciples who have departed from it will establish their own territory elsewhere, under the banner of Snowdragon Mountain. They can be considered branches, I suppose. These branches will often collect some talented youths and send them to the main school. Thus, Snowdragon Mountain continues to grow more and more powerful.”

“But of course, compared to our Raindragon Guards…Snowdragon Mountain is incomparably inferior.” Adept Mu laughed. “Any one of the Loose Immortals which we Raindragon Guards have stationed here in the Stillwater Commadery is capable of eradicating the entire Snowdragon Mountain school.”

Ning nodded.

This was no joke.

Snowdragon Mountain was nothing more than a school, while the Raindragon Guards was the most powerful military force the Grand Xia Dynasty possessed, overawing the entire world. Of course they weren’t on the same level.

“Look. We’re here.” Adept Mu pointed into the distance. “West Prefecture City is up ahead.”

“We’re here?” Ning was stunned. He saw that in the distance, there was a forest which surrounded a magnificent city. This was indeed West Prefecture City, where he had lived since he was young. Ning couldn’t help but feel stunned. “The speed at which Wanxiang Adepts travel on their magic treasures truly is astonishing! A distance of thousands of kilometers was travelled in the blink of an eye.”

And then, Ning began to worry. “I wonder how Mother is doing. Mother has always been well. Why is she suddenly gravely ill?”

————–

Within West Prefecture City.

Yuchi Snow was resting in her room, while outside of the room, her husband, Ji Yichuan, was currently speaking with Ji Ninefire.

“This is all caused by that calamity from the past.” Yichuan shook his head.

Ninefire sat there, nodding slightly. “That disaster changed the destiny of the two of you, husband and wife. Yichuan, you were the most talented genius our Ji clan had produced in a thousand years. When you were a child and your father died, you suddenly began to soar…you had already established your ‘Violet Palace’ and embarked onto the path of Immortals as a Zifu Disciple. Unfortunately, it was all ruined.”

“It doesn’t matter if my future potential on the path of Immortals is gone.” Yichuan shook his head and sighed. “During that disaster, the elder brother of my wife, the most powerful of us three, lost his life for the sake of protecting myself and Snow. Snow had already been badly injured, but for the sake of birthing Ning, she utilized a secret technique that used up her own lifeforce…although my future potential on the Immortal path has been destroyed, I got off the easiest, out of the three of us.”

Ninefire shook his head gently, sighing.

Fate makes fools of men!

Adventuring in the vast, boundless world outside was indeed far more dangerous than living here in Swallow Mountain. Experts were as common as the clouds. There would be lucky encounters, but there would also be disastrous ones. For example, when the Yuchi siblings and Yichuan had met with that crisis, the result had been this.

“Hm?” Ninefire suddenly lifted his head.

From high up in the air, a green leaf was slashing through the skies until it landed within a courtyard. Atop this leaf were Adept Mu, Ning, Blindfish, Jadewich, and many others.

“This…” Yichuan stared in astonishment at the people in front of him, then immediately dashed over. “Jadewich, Shan, Blindfish…you all came back? What happened to all of you? How is it that all of you are injured? What have you all been doing these past days? Why did you all suddenly go missing?”

“Greetings, Patriarch.” The twenty-plus Xiantian lifeforms of the Ji clan quickly recognized their Patriarch, and in unison, they immediately called out.

Ninefire naturally knew that more than twenty Xiantian lifeforms of his clan had gone missing, and he had been utterly frustrated by this affair. Now, seeing these Xiantian lifeforms all reappear, he was both surprised and delighted. He hurriedly said, “When we realized you had gone missing, our entire Ji clan started to serach for you. Are you all well?”

“Our dantians have been destroyed, but we are very lucky to still be alive.” Jadewich said hoarsely.

“Dantians destroyed?” Ninefire stared, wide-eyed.

A nearby youth with long hair called out as well, “Patriarch, it was only thanks to Ji Ning as well as this Adept that we were able to survive this time.”

“Adept?” Ninefire and Yichuan felt a surge of electricity in their hearts.

Adept…

Then that meant this was a Wanxiang Adept! The entire Swallow Mountain area didn’t have a single Wanxiang Adept.

The two both looked at Adept Mu. Actually, when they first saw him, they had the feeling that this was an extraordinary figure. To be able to ride on a magic treasure to come here…they guessed that he was at least a Zifu Disciple, but they didn’t expect that he was actually a Wanxiang Adept. They saw how Ning was standing to the side of this Wanxiang Adept, as though they seemed to be on good terms. In their hearts, they couldn’t help but feel puzzled as to how Ning had managed to end up getting to know this Wanxiang Adept.

“Ji Ninefire (Ji Yichuan) greets you, Adept.” Ninefire and Yichuan both said respectfully.

“Actually, I’m the one who should be thanking Ji Ning.” Adept Mu laughed calmly.

“Ji Ning?” Ninefire and Yichuan looked towards Ning.

A look of worry appeared on Ning’s face, and he immediately said, “I learned that Mother is gravely ill, so I invited Adept Mu to come to our West Prefecture City…”

“Snow is right inside the room.” Yichuan suddenly realized, and he immediately spoke out.

Adept Mu Xiao nodded, then walked towards the nearby room. Ning and Yichuan followed behind, while Ning asked softly while walking, “Father, what happened? How could Mother suddenly have fallen ill?”

“It was that illness left behind in the past.” Yichuan said. “I’ll explain to you in detail later.”

——————–

After entering the room, they had the maidservants leave. Aside from Snow, who was lying on the bed, only Adept Mu, Ning, Yichuan, and Ninefire were present.

Yuchi Snow opened her eyes, looking at the newcomers. She couldn’t help but reveal a trace of puzzlement in her eyes.

“Snow, this is Adept Mu, whom Ning asked to come.” Yichuan said hurriedly.

Hearing this, Snow immediately used her arms to prop herself up. “Yuchi Snow greets you, Adept.”

“Give me your right hand.” Adept Mu sat down on the stone bench next to the bed.

Snow extended her rather ashen right hand. She saw, now, that standing by the side of Adept Mu was Ning. She looked at her son…and as she did, a look of delight appeared on Snow’s face.

Adept Mu stretched out with a single finger, gently tapping it on Snow’s wrist. Immediately, a spot of green light, filled with life energy, spread out, quickly enveloping Snow’s entire body. Ning and Yichuan, seated nearby and watching, felt restlessness in their hearts. After waiting for a good long while, Adept Mu began to frown. “Strange. Strange.”

Ning, hearing this, felt nervousness in his heart. He hurriedly asked, “Adept, my Mother, she…?”

Still frowning, Adept Mu said, “Although I’m not specialized in medicine, I can tell that your Mother doesn’t have any sickness. Rather, her lifeforce has been almost entirely used up…given how little lifeforce your mother has left in her body, she’ll most likely be able to live just three more months.”

“Her lifeforce has nearly been used up?” Ning’s face changed.

“When my wife was pregnant, she was injured.” The nearby Yichuan said hurriedly. “Afterwards, she then used a secret technique which spent her own vitality to protect the fetus.”

Adept Mu nodded. “Your wife was originally a Xiantian lifeform, and judging from the purity of the remnants of ki in her body, she should have been a peak Xiantian lifeform. Unfortunately…that injury she suffered should have been a severe one. Her dantian was destroyed, and logically speaking, she shouldn’t have been able to preserve the fetus. Your wife used a secret technique to ignite her own lifeforce in order to protect the fetus, but the cost of this secret technique was extremely great. To replenish what the usage of it cost is almost impossible.”

Hearing this, Ning was flabbergasted.

His mother had been a peak Xiantian expert? Her dantian had been destroyed, and she had used a secret technique to ignite her own lifeforce to protect the fetus?

However, from what he had seen from when his mother had taught him footwork, she was indeed an expert. However, that year when he had been in his mother’s womb, what exactly had happened? His parents had always intentionally hidden the truth of what had happened when his mother was pregnant from Ning, refusing to tell him.

“Adept, please save my mother.” Ning said frantically.

“To save her, the only method is to extend her lifespan.” Adept Mu sighed. “There are plenty of spirit pills for curing diseases, and I myself have spirit pills that can be used for Immortal practitioners to extend their lifespan. But unfortunately…to let a mortal have an extended lifespan is thousands of times more difficult than to have an Immortal practitioner extend their lifespans. This sort of medicine is something which I, in the Raindragon Guards, have only heard of. I don’t even know where to find them. Most likely, only Immortals would be able to produce them.”

The nearby Ninefire, hearing this, was shocked. Raindragon Guards?

“Immortals!” Hearing this, Ning felt as though his heart had suddenly turned to ice.

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Chapter 8 – Learning Acceptance

Chapter 8 – Learning Acceptance

Adept Mu Xiao left that very day for Stillwater City. Before leaving, he pulled Ji Ning aside to give him advice in private. “Ji Ning, your talent is extremely high. It is guaranteed that you will walk far on the path of Immortals! Immortal practitioners have very long lifespans. Unless his friends and family are also Immortal practitioners, you will have to watch as all of them die of old age. Actually, this is a form of self-improvement with regards to your mind towards the Dao. Since you have become an Immortal practitioner…you need to be prepared. No matter how much pain you suffer, you must escape from the midst of your grief. Otherwise, it will be very hard for you to overcome the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.”

…………….

After Adept Mu left, Ji Ninefire also immediatedly headed towards the mountain where Bei Zishan had hidden himself. That place, after all, had Flood Dragon Dao Battle-Armor.

Ning travelled by himself to Serpentwing Lake.

“There’s still hope. My mother still has hope for surviving.” Ning ran through the mountainous, forested wilderness, occasionally using his Windwing Evasion to advance. His running speed was far faster than the travelling speed of those black beasts, and after expending a large majority of his divine power, he managed to arrive at Serpentwing Lake in just two hours.

“That ancient Aquatic Manor has had multiple masters. Immortal Juhua was the third master. Ignoring the other masters, Immortal Juhua himself had lived for millions of years as a Loose Immortal. He definitely had quite a few medicines, and perhaps some of them are able to allow mortals to have extended lifespans.” Ning ran across the surface of the water to the island.

“Young master.”

“Greetings, young master.”

There were quite a few people on the island, who had arrived long ago to build a residence there. Autumn Leaf and that young child, Bluestone, were there as well. Seeing Ning run in their direction across the surface of the water, they immediately went to welcome him.

“I have something to do. You can retire for now.” Ning instructed, then immediately transformed into a blur, disappearing from their field of vision. This caused Autumn Leaf and the other servants to feel rather puzzled.

Ning soon arrived at the entrance to the cave. He continuously went deeper in, and after a few moments, he arrived at the place where he had been teleported away from last time.

“Senior.”

Ning called out frantically. “Quick, let me enter the estate. I have something important to do.”

The dark tunnel caverns were completely silent. There was no response at all. This caused Ning to be all the more frantic. The old black bull had originally said…that Ning should only return after he had bound the control talisman. But currently, he was just an early Xiantian lifeform. How long would it be before he would become a Zifu Disciple? His mother only had three months left. He had no other options, besides coming here and begging!

“Senior, I truly have an urgent matter involving life-and-death. I sincerely implore you, Senior, to let me in.” Ning begged frantically.

Silence.

Rumble…

Suddenly, the surrounding space twisted, and in the cavernous area in front of him, an enormous bear’s head once more appeared. The bear’s head opened its giant mouth, swallowing Ning within it, and Ning disappeared from within the estate.

………………

Spacetime twisted…and then all was calm.

Ning stared in front of him. In front of him was that majestic, ancient palace hall, in the center of which were those incomparably enormous prayer mats. An old black bull ambled over and let out a sigh. “Ji Ning, didn’t I tell you to wait until you bound the control talisman, at which point you would be able to naturally sense the Aquatic Manor and come as you pleased? You are just a Xiantian lifeform. Why have you entered again?”

“Senior.” Ning said hurriedly. “My mother is gravely ill. I truly have no other methods, so I came here to beg.”

“Your mother is gravely ill?” The old black bull shook his head. “Since you have chosen the path of Immortals, you need to be prepared for these things.”

Ning hurriedly shook his head. “Senior, my mother is still young. She shouldn’t die so soon! Previously, I asked a Wanxiang Adept to help take a look at my mother…and that Wanxiang Adept said that my mother, in the past, had used a secret technique to expend her own lifeforce to rescue me. By now, her lifeforce is almost completely used up, and she only has three months of life left. To save my mother, a medicinal pill that can allow mortals to extend their lifespans is necessary. However, that Wanxiang Adept himself had only heard of such pills, and said that most likely only Immortals were in possession of them. I have no other choices, and so I came to the Aquatic Manor.”

“A medicinal pill that can allow mortals to extend their lifespans?” The old black bull sighed. “That is something that can described as an Immortal pill. Generally speaking, only Loose Immortals or Earthly Immortals can produce such a thing.”

“Immortal Juhua was no ordinary Loose Imortal. He definitely has this sort of medicinal pill, right?” Ning asked frantically.

The old black bull looked at Ning, then shook its head. “Immortal Juhua had been alive for millions of years. His family and friends had died long ago. He had no need of such pills, and so he didn’t have any of them.”

Ning’s heart trembled.

“Then…” Ning said hurriedly. “I imagine Immortal Juhua must have left behind quite a few magic treasures. Give me a magic treasure which has a valuable comparable to that of an Immortal pill, and I’ll take it and trade…”

As soon as he said the words, Ning knew that he was making a mistake.

He cared too much about his mother’s life, and so he had lost his bearings and equanimity. Even his words lacked proprietry.

“Foolishness!” The old black bull shouted. “You yourself said just now that even a Wanxiang Adept has only heard of this sort of Immortal pill. You want to trade for it? With who? You, a Xiantian lifeform, hold a magic treasure on that level? If you show it off, most likely those powerful Immortal practitioners will just kill you for it. Trade for it? If you don’t have enough power, how will you trade?”

“In addition! You haven’t even bound the control talisman, and the only place in the Aquatic Manor you can enter is just the main palace. You aren’t even able to enter the other places. On what basis am I supposed to hand over one of the magic treasures Immortal Juhua left behind?” The old black bull shook his head. “And what’s more, this isn’t even my decision to make.”

“Not your decision to make?” Ning was stunned. “Then…”

The old black bull sighed. “I’m just the spirit of a magic treasure Immortal Juhua always kept on him! The true controller of this Aquatic Manor is the Spirit of the Aquatic Manor!”

“Spirit of the Aquatic Manor?” Ning was puzzled.

The old black bull explained, “The entire Aquatic Manor was forged by the first master, who was incredibly mysterious. Even Immortal Juhua himself felt that this Aquatic Manor has secrets which even he had been unable to discover. The Spirit of the Aquatic Manor…has been carrying out the laws and rules set forth by the first master. It won’t violate the rules in the slightest.”

“Teleport someone outside into this place? The Spirit of the Aquatic Manor can do that. But allow you to go to other places within the manor? Without binding the Aquatic Manor, that definitely will not be permitted.” The old black bull said. “It also cannot possibly give you one of Immortal Juhua’s magic treasures. After all, it is the Spirit of the Aquatic Manor. It will definitely obey the orders of the first master of the manor.”

Ning was stunned.

“When, for example, the fourth master died in the outside world, the Spirit of the Aquatic Manor would at most act to find the next master.” The old black bull shook his head. “We spirits of magic treasures are different from you humans. You can change. But we will definitely respect the will of our master.”

Ning understood. Magic treasures were covered with all sorts of runes and bindings. For example, some golems which were forged…even long after the death of their master, the golems would still obey their original orders. The same was true for dwelling-type magic treasures. After the owner of a dwelling died, the rules the owner had set down would still be obeyed by the spirit of the dwelling.

When he understood this, Ning felt despair, deep within his heart.

The old black bull looked towards Ning. “On the path of Immortals, you will see your family and friends die of age, one after the other. You will also see some friends die in battle…you will have to learn how to accept these things! Go, now!”

Whoosh!

An enormous illusory bear’s head appeared, engulfing Ning within its mouth.

……………

Ning returned to West Prefecture city. Returned to the side of his mother. By now, it was already late at night.

“Ning.” Yuchi Snow, lying on the bed, saw her son. Her eyes immediately lit up. “Where did you go? I couldn’t find you.”

“Mother.” Ning hurriedly walked forward, half-kneeling by her side. He held his mother’s hand. “I went out for a trip. However, I won’t make any more trips. I’ll accompany you and stay by your side.”

Snow gently stroked her son’s hair. She laughed, “It’s fine. If you are busy, do what you need to do. Just remember to come visit your mother.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded gently, and as he did, he couldn’t help but shed tears.

The only thing he could do now was accompany her mother for the final three months. This was the only filial act he could now do.

……………..

Night.

His mother had already fallen asleep. Ji Yichuan and Ji Ning, father and son, were within a hall.

“Father.” Ning looked towards his father. “It is time to tell me, I think, what exactly happened in the past.”

Yichuan looked at his son, and as he did, he thought of what Blindfish and the others had said regarding what Ning had done in the mountain. He understood that his son had grown up. Sighing, he said, That year, your mother was pregnant. Your mother and I thus decided to return to the Ji clan. At that time, your maternal uncle was worried, so he escorted and protected us on the way back.”

“Maternal uncle?” Ning had never before heard that he had an uncle.

“Your uncle’s name was Yuchi Mount.” Yichuan’s eyes had a hint of memory within them. “Your uncle was exceedingly intelligent, and he also knew how to treat others. He had many friends. He had also become a Zifu Disciple early on. If it weren’t because he wanted to escort myself and your mother back, your uncle probably would’ve had a chance at restoring and reestablishing the Yuchi clan. Unfortunately, your uncle died. He died for the sake of protecting the three of us. All three of our lives, we have because your uncle gave up his own! This great debt…is hard to repay!”

Ning, hearing this, felt a heavy feeling.

An uncle! Yuchi Mount!

He had never heard of this name. This moment was deeply engraved into Ning’s heart.

“I’ve only heard that your uncle had a daughter, your maternal cousin. Unfortunately, I have no idea where your cousin is.” Yichuan shook his head and sighed. “I’m unable to repay him. Unable to repay him…”

“What exactly happened? Who harmed and killed my uncle, and also caused the roots of her illness?” Ning immediately asked. “Who was it?”

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Chapter 9 – Warmth

Chapter 9 – Warmth

Ji Yichuan looked at his son. After hesitating, he said, “All I can tell you is that he is a disciple of Snowdragon Mountain, and that his grandfather is a Summit Master of one of their mountain summits, an individual on the Primal Daoist level.”

Ning’s face changed.

Primal Daoist?

“He himself is just a Zifu Disciple and not worthy of being afraid of.” Yichuan shook his head. “But behind him stands a Primal Daoist…we truly cannot irriate him! If we struggle against him, the only result will be the extermination of the entire Ji clan. This is why your mother and I have never mentioned this, nor said a single word regarding this in front of you. Ever since that, after your mother and I stealthily returned to the Ji clan, we have always remained very low-key. However, most likely that person didn’t hold your mother and I in any regard at all.

Yichuan looked at his son. “You are now an adult, and you are very talented. According to what that Adept Mu said, it is possible that you might one day join the Raindragon Guards. This is why I have told you these things. Otherwise…I had planned to never tell you.”

“What is he called?” Ning pursued this line of questioning.

“Once you become a Wanxiang Adept, I will tell you.” Yichuan said. “If I were to die, your Uncle White will tell you. That year, your Uncle White risked his life to carry your mother and flee. He saved your life, and he knew exactly what happened that year.”

Ning said frantically, “You can’t tell me now?”

“What good would it be if I did tell you?” Yichuan barked. “Will you go seek revenge? That’s just looking for death! First be patient and endure. After enduring for a few years, you’ll have calmed down as well.”

“Remember”!

Yichuan stared at Ning. “Don’t let hatred cloud your eyes. In this vast, endless world, slaughter and hatred is omnipresent. It is guaranteed that you will one day leave Swallow Mountain. In the vast world outside, those major schools, clans, and powerful sects are all hard to deal with. Snowdragon Mountain is nothing more than a millstone for you to sharpen your blade on, during your path to becoming an Immortal!”

Ning nodded slightly.

“On your hopes rest the future of both the Ji clan and the Yuchi clan, understood?” Yichuan said. “To become famous throughout this boundless world, and to make Snowdragon Mountain as well as the various other powers all lower their heads and submit to you; this is what your mother and I hope to see the most!”

“Yes.” Ning nodded solemnly.

“Make your mother and me proud of you!” Yichuan stared at his son. “My son!”

…………

The autumn wind blew. Dry leaves fell.

Yuchi Snow was seated on a long bench in front of her room. The beast fur pelt laid on the bench was warm and soft. There was a layer of beast fur on Snow’s body as well. Her face was even more ashen now. She held her son’s hand, then turned to say towards Yichuan, who was standing next to her, “Yichuan, bring those beast furs over.”

“Alright.” Yichuan immediately entered the room, quickly returning while carrying a pile of beast fur clothes.

“This is…?” Ning looked at the beast fur clothes.

Yichuan said, “Your mother hasn’t had anything to do in recent days, and so she’s been sewing these beast fur clothes. Every single thread and stitch is the labor of your mother’s hands.” Seated there, Snow said softly, “There’s quite a few by now. I only made twelve sets of clothes in the past three months. They are all suitable for your current size and stature. In the future, Mother won’t be able to be by your side, but these clothes will accompany you.”

Ning’s eyes stung, and he couldn’t refrain from tearing up.

“Don’t cry.” Snow gently stroked her son’s face. “I know that soon now, I won’t be able to last any longer.”

“Mother!” Ning’s voice was trembling.

“Mother has experienced many things in this life.” Snow said slowly. “When I was an infant, I lived in a large clan with unlimited, glorious prospects. When I was young, I fled alongside my Father, eventually meeting your father and adventuring alongside him, braving danger. Afterwards, I lived ten peaceful years at the Ji clan…in my life, I’ve had a father who loved me, older brothers and sisters who loved me, a man who loved me, and you…my most beloved son. I truly feel content.”

Ning’s tears were coming down nonstop. He couldn’t control them, no matter what he tried. The only thing he could do was continuously hold his mother’s hand. His mother’s hand was no longer smooth; it had become rough and leathery, like a dry leaf without any vitality.

Snow said slowly, “In your body is the bloodline of the Ji clan, as well as the bloodline of my Yuchi clan. For your mother to have had you…is your mother’s greatest pride in life.”

“Mother…” Ning stared at his mother.

“Ning, son…in the future, will you stay for a long time at Serpentwing Lake?” Snow looked at her son.

Ning nodded.

As an Immortal practitioner, one had to have a base, after all. West Prefecture City was too crowded and had too many people. Serpentwing Lake was much calmer. In addition, Serpentwing Lake had the Aquatic Manor…in the future, he would indeed often stay at Serpentwing Lake.

“After I die.” Snow looked at Yichuan, by her side. “After I am cremated, spread my ashes over Serpentwing Lake. Yichuan, you won’t be jealous, will you?”

Yichuan’s eyes were moist. He forced out a laugh. “Slightly jealous, actually. However, after I die, my ashes will also be spread over Serpentwing Lake. By then, we’ll be together again, right?”

Snow laughed.

Yichuan gently embraced his wife.

“Ning, son.” Snow’s voice was growing weaker. She smiled. “I want to look at our Yuchi clan’s Windwing Evasion. Demonstrate it for me.”

“Yes, Mother.” Ning rose to his feet.

Behind him, out of nowhere, a pair of wings appeared. And then, forcibly resisting the pain in his heart, Ning began to execute the Windwing Evasion. Ning moved about like a giant Roc, gliding through the air, landing atop of a distant roof, and then with another flash, gliding to another place. His two wings trembled, and his movements were like that of an illusion.

Ning, in this moment, was whole-heartedly focusing on displaying the Windwing Evasion, because this was the last request of his mother.

“Wind!”

“Wind!”

As Ning displayed it, the wind blew against him, like his mother’s hand gently stroking his face. The touch of the wind was a caress of someone who didn’t want to let go.

Slowly…

Ning’s movements became all the more marvelous, and he seemed to have truly become a giant Roc, moving all the more faster and all the more freely, incomparably agile.

He was a giant Roc, a giant Roc who flew in the skies beyond the Nine Heavens. Ning, unconsciously, was unconsciously incorporating that insights he had gained that night into the True Meaning of the Wind, and merging it with the Windwing Evasion. He even incorporated some deep emotions into them, like a bird who was longing for the wind.

“The great Roc.” Snow’s eyes lit up as she watched, and she murmured softly, “The great Roc…”

She seemed to have seen her older brother.

That tall, stalwart man who had protected and cherished her since she was young. Her brother’s usage of the Windwing Evasion was so similar to the way in which Ning’s Windwing Evasion looked…

“Big Brother…” Snow seemed to have returned to the past.

A large courtyard. Her older brother was there, training in the Windwing Evasion, while her, as a toddler, was running around calling out, “Big Brother, Big Brother.”

“Little Sis.” That man, as tall and mighty as a mountain, turned to look at her.

“Big Sis, Father.” She saw two more figures, one an elegant middle-aged man with a long beard, while the other was a seemingly cold and arrogant young woman. This was her father and her older sister.

“Big Brother. Big Sis. Father…I’m coming.”

The child-Snow ran forward, ran to the side of her older brother, her older sister, and her father. Together again. They were finally together again…

………

Lying in Yichuan’s arms, Snow closed her eyes.

A peaceful smile was on her face.

“Ahh…ahhhh….aaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Yichuan opened his mouth, making some noise, but wasn’t able to speak. He tightly clutched his wife, raising his head high, but the tears still came spilling out.

The distant Ning came to a halt. His entire body trembling, he took one step forward after another, walking towards his mother’s side, then kneeling down.

“Mother!” Ning began to sob, a rumbling, heart-broken sound.

………..

The sound spread outside of the courtyard. The servants outside, hearing the sobs of their young master Ji Ning, filled with such agony, misery, and sadness, immediately understood that their mistress had already died. All of them couldn’t help but to lower their heads, their tears spilling out. They would never forget this benevolent mistress of theirs.

………..

Ning left West Prefecture City, going to live on the island in Serpentwing Lake.

According to the dying wishes of his mother, he personally scattered her ashes within the waters of Serpentwing Lake. From that day onwards, Ning gained a new hobby. He liked to lie down atop a small boat, allowing the boat to drift freely in the waters of Serpentwing Lake.

It was like…

Lying in the embrace of his mother. So very warm.

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Chapter 10 – Unfathomably Deep

Chapter 10 – Unfathomably Deep

Time flowed on like water, silent and soundless. In the blink of an eye, nearly five years passed.

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

Brightheart was the name which Ji Ning had given this island in the center of the lake. The island had multiple buildings constructed atop it, and the formerly desolate island had been made into a beautiful place, like an unearthly utopia. It was currently at the changing of seasons from spring to summer, and all sorts of flowers were blooming and eye-catching. After careful arrangements by some servants, they appeared all the more beautiful and captivating.

“Big Sis Autumn Leaf, Big Sis Autumn Leaf.” A youth dressed in blue clothes ran over while shouting.

Autumn Leaf, who had been boiling a kettle of tea, turned to look. Laughing, she said, “Bluestone, your archery lessons have concluded? Did your Master Blindfish rebuke you?”

“This…” Bluestone rubbed his head and said resignedly, “How can I not be rebuked? Each time I practice archery, Master Blindfish will always lecture me. He’ll also often compare me to Big Bro. But how can I compare to Big Bro? You know what a genius he is!”

“You need to treasure this chance.” Autumn Leaf viewed Bluestone as she might her own little brother. She said seriously, “Young master himself said that although Master Blindfish had his dantian destroyed, that just made him become even more focused on archery…and his archery abilities have risen to a whole new level. It’s only because Master Blindfish is living here on Brightheart Island and because the young master asked him to do so that he is willing to teach you. You need to work hard. If you master it, it will be a consummate technique for you.”

Bluestone immediately nodded. “I understand.”

Bluestone’s life on Brightheart Island was quite carefree. Ning whole-heartedly treated him as he would a little brother, and acted towards him as an older brother would. One could tell how close their relationship was, just by the way Bluestone addressed him; generally speaking, a younger individual would address a more senior one as ‘Elder Brother’. Only someone who grew up together and thus were very close to each other would use the term ‘Big Bro’.

“Right.” Autumn Leaf laughed and nodded.

“Where is Big Bro Ji Ning?” Bluestone asked. “Training with the sword?”

Autumn Leaf laughed, “He’s not training the sword.”

“Oh. Then he’s sleeping on Serpentwing Lake.” Bluestone laughed. After having lived on Serpentwing Lake for five years, he had become well acquainted with Ning’s habits. Ning, aside from training with the sword, spent most of his time casually drifting on Serpentwing Lake aboard a small boat while napping.

“Right. He’s sleeping.” Autumn Leaf turned to look towards that boundless lake as well.

Bluestone couldn’t help but say, “Originally, I asked Big Bro Ji Ning why he is always sleeping on Serpentwing Lake. Big Bro just said…he is training. I don’t get it. How can sleeping atop Serpentwing Lake be training? But Big Bro Ji Ning’s swordplay really is becoming increasingly more powerful. Two years ago, Commander Yichuan acknowledged that he didn’t believe he could beat him!”

“Right. The young master’s swordplay has reached an unfathomably high level.” Autumn Leaf sighed. “I once watched the young master train with the sword, and when I did, I saw some aquatic birds flew over en masse, then fly around him in a circle for some time, unwilling to leave.”

“So bizarre!” Bluestone was surprised.

“In the past, Commander Yichuan would spar once with the young master every year. Two years ago, when he felt he wouldn’t be able to win, he stopped coming. Unfortunately, the young master forbade me from watching, so I don’t know how what the battle scene between the Commander and the young master was like.” Autumn Leaf felt a hint of longing. In her eyes, the swordplay of Ji Yichuan had reached a mythical level long ago, but her young master’s swordplay had apparently reached an even higher, deeper level.

Yichuan lived on Brightheart Island as well. However, it was on the other end of Brightheart Island. He normally was a solitary, arrogant figure, forbidding anyone from approaching him, and without any servants serving him. Only Ning was permitted to go to his residence to accompany Yichuan, his father.

“I’m truly curious. What level has Big Bro reached in swordplay, exactly?” Bluestone’s eyes were filled with veneration.

“Look.” Autumn Leaf suddenly looked towards the lake.

“Huh?” Bluestone turned to look as well.

In the distance, a single boat could be faintly seen. At first, a look of delight appeared on Bluestone’s face as he took it for the boat on which Ning slept, but when he looked more closely…he saw that this was a large ship, the one which often delivered people to and from the shores of the lake. After all, quite a few people were now living on Brightheart Island, with nearly a hundred servants being present. Large amounts of food would often be delivered to the island, and some outsiders would come visit. Naturally, they had to have this ferry.

Atop the ferry.

There was a group of youths atop the ferry, and they were chatting and joking amongst themselves.

“The Central Prefecture Lord told us to come pay our respects to Ji Ning.” A big, burly-chested youth had a hint of disgruntlement in his eyes. “We are the Central Prefecture of the Ji clan. We are far more powerful than the other four Prefectures! The six of us are the most powerful members of the younger generation of the Ji clan of the Central Prefecture. To have us come spar with this Ji Ning is one thing, but he actually said that we were to come ‘pay our respect’ and have this Ji Ning ‘provide guidance to us’? And that we had to be reverential towards him?”

“Shut your mouth.” A handsome looking youth said. “The Central Prefecture Lord stated that we must be respectful and that we must address him as young master Ji Ning.”

“Fine, fine. Young master Ji Ning.” The big youth couldn’t refrain from adding, “That’s fine for the rest of us, but Ji Mo, you are the number one, ultimate genius amongst the younger generation of our Ji clan of the Central Prefecture. You became a Xiantian expert at age fifteen, and reached the level of mastery long ago in the ultimate technique of our Ji clan, the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords]. That Ji Ning…although that young master Ji Ning became a Xiantian expert a few years earlier than you, the two of you will simply spar at most. How can you be asked to ‘pay your respects’ to him and have him ‘provide guidance’ to you?”

“Ji Mo.” A black haired woman said. “Tongzhan speaks the truth. The instructions the Central Prefecture Lord gave us, none of us will openly oppose, but in our hearts, none of us truly submit either. We are the most talented youths of the Central Prefecture, while that Ji Ning…that young master Ji Ning is only the most talented youth of the West Prefecture. No matter how much of a genius he is, at most he’ll be a bit more powerful than us. How can he be qualified to have us ‘go pay our respects’ to him?”

“Enough, all of you.”

The handsome youth’s gaze was like water. He swept everyone with his gaze, and the other five youths all fell silent.

Ji Mo was, without question, the number one figure in the younger generation of the Ji clan of the Central Prefecture. In addition, ever since he had been young, he had followed by the side of Granny Shadow, and thus Mo’s status was all the more unique…many people were certain that Mo would be the next Prefecture Lord of the Ji clan of the Central Prefecture.

“You all know that I follow Granny Shadow.” Mo said slowly.

“Right.” Looks of awe appeared in the eyes of the other five.

Granny Shadow…

In the entire Ji clan, there were two people who stood at the very pinnacle of the clan. One was the Patriarch, Ji Ninefire! The other was Granny Shadow! Granny Shadow was the sibling and younger sister of Ninefire, an old granny who had also lived for nearly four centuries. But, without question, she had been at the Zifu Disciple level for three hundred years.

The two of them were the two publicly acknowledged Zifu Disciples of the Ji clan.

As for whether or not there were other Zifu Disciples hidden in the shadows, that was hard to say. A clan would naturally want to hide some cards up their sleeves, interchanging truth and lies. This led to longevity.

“Granny Shadow personally taught me swordplay.” Mo said softly. “My swordplay, compared to Granny Shadow’s, is unimaginably weaker. Do you know why the six of us have been sent by the Central Prefecture Lord to Serpentwing Lake to pay our respects to Ji Ning?”

“I hear the North Prefecture, the East Prefecture, and the South Prefecture had already sent their younger generation members over to pay their respects to young master Ji Ning, and so our Central Prefecture sent the six of us as well.”

“Wrong.”

Ji Mo shook his head lightly.

“Our Central Prefecture is the root of the Ji clan. The Patriarch and Granny Shadow are both within our Central Prefecture.” Mo said. “The territory that our Central Prefecture takes up is the greatest, and the number of Xiantian experts we have far surpasses the number the other four prefectures have. Even the Crimson Guards are stationed in our Central Prefecture. Why, then, must our Central Prefecture act in the same manner as the other prefectures?”

“Then what’s the reason?” They all looked towards Mo.

Mo said softly, “The reason is, one year ago, Granny Shadow made a trip here to Serpentwing Lake.”

“Granny Shadow came to Serpentwing Lake?” The other five youths instantly began to think of many possibilities.

Mo said, “The Patriarch had once praised young master Ji Ning highly, saying that in the future, he would definitely be the number one expert of our Ji clan! Granny Shadow thus decided to come here to Serpentwing Lake to personally see what sort of ability this Ji Ning had…”

“And?”

“What did Granny Shadow say?” The five youths looked expectantly at Mo.

Mo’s eyes had a very strange light to them. He said slowly, “After Granny Shadow returned, I repeatedly asked her how I was in comparison to young master Ji Ning. The only thing Granny Shadow would say was that it was hard to compare. That it was hard to compare. I kept on asking her what level of swordplay this young master Ji Ning had reached, and Granny Shadow just replied with a single phrase; ‘unfathomably deep’!”

“Unfathomably deep!” The five youths were stunned. For even Granny Shadow to say such a thing…how terrifying was Ji Ning’s swordplay?

“Everyone, time to disembark.” A sailor said loudly.

Only now did the six of them look over. The ferry had already neared the shore, and from afar, various buildings arose within their vision, an amazingly beautiful sight. The six of them couldn’t help but sigh in amazement in their hearts, while Ji Mo’s eyes lit up. “This is where Ji Ning lives?”

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Chapter 11 – Ji Ning’s Sword

Chapter 11 – Ji Ning’s Sword

The six youths from the Ji clan’s Central Prefecture disembarked. From the island, four figures walked over, the leader being a beautiful woman dressed in simple, plain clothes. By her side was a youth dressed in blue, while two Crimson Guards followed them from the side. There were a total of a hundred Crimson Guards on the island, which Ji Ninefire had especially stationed here.

“I imagine you are Manager Autumn Leaf.” Ji Mo, the leader of the six youths, extended his hand, and within it, a beast skin appeared which had some words written atop it. “We are here at the commands of our Central Prefecutre Lord, and we have come to pay our respects to young master Ji Ning.”

“Oh?” Autumn Leaf accepted the beast skin parchment and glanced at it.

All of the various matters pertaining to Brightheart Island were under Autumn Leaf’s control, and she had been appointed as the General Manager by Ji Ning.

Autumn Leaf carefully read through the beast skin parchment, then lifted her head and smiled. “We had already received the news previously and had been informed that six outstanding talents of the Central Prefecture were coming. Everyone, please follow me.”

“We have come to pay our respects to young master Ji Ning. Might I ask when young master Ji Ning will be able to see us?”

While following Autumn Leaf, the six youths asked this question.

Autumn Leaf just said, “Everyone, don’t be hasty. You will definitely see the young master today.”

Soon, the six youths were led to a quiet, reclusive residence which was specially used for receiving guests. Autumn Leaf instructed a pair of maidservants, “These six are our esteemed guests from the Central Prefecture. Take good care of them.”

“Yes.” The two maidservants acknowledged.

“Everyone.” Autumn Leaf looked at the six of them and laughed. “Once our young master has time, I will definitely come inform the six of you. Everyone, you must be tired from your journey. You can rest here for now.”

After speaking, Autumn Leaf led Bluestone and the others away.

“Hmph, people of high status really are troublesome!” The tall, muscular youth, Ji Tongzhan, was so angry his eyes bulged. “What could this young master Ji Ning possibly be worrying about, living here in such a secluded, quiet little lake island? This female manager even said ‘when our young master has free time’. Jeeze…they really hold us in no regard at all.”

“The Central Prefecture ordered someone to convey the letter long ago to inform them of our arrival. It’s one thing for young master Ji Ning to not come welcome us, but he won’t even let us know when he will meet with us, and instead just has us wait here like fools?”

These youths were all the talented, favored sons of heaven.

Although they believed that Ji Ning was one level stronger than them, they were still people of the same age. For them to be slighted like this…they were rather unhappy.

“Endure it!” Ji Mo just sat there and called out to them quietly. “We are here to pay our respects. Thus, wait here obediently for young master Ji Ning to summon us.”

“We’re just discontent, that’s all.”

“Right. Everyone talks about how powerful young master Ji Ning is, but none of us have ever met him. He’s only sixteen years old. How powerful can he be?” These youths all chatted amongst themselves. Even Ji Mo, seated there, in his bones had the untamed arrogance inherent to all geniuses. What one heard didn’t matter. What one saw was what really mattered!

Until he personally witnessed Ji Ning’s abilities, in Mo’s heart, he too had a small ball of fiery anger that was currently smoldering.

……..

The sun had already set, and the night fog had covered the entire western horizons. The setting sun’s red glow covered the earth, causing the surface of Serpentwing Lake to appear as beautiful as a painting. Far away on the surface of the lake in this ‘painting’, a small boat was swaying as the water pushed it forward.

“It’s the young master’s boat.”

“It’s the young master.”

The maidservants had noticed long ago, and they had immediately informed Manager Autumn Leaf. Autumn Leaf and Bluestone quickly arrived on the beach, staring at that distant little boat.

Within the boat.

Ning was comfortably lying there, his eyes shut. The lake around him was completely silent, as silent as a painting. Suddenly, he could vaguely sense the auras of many people in the distance, and as he did, his eyelids twitched, then opened.

“I’m here.” Ning immediately stood up, stretching lazily.

He was still dressed in those beast fur clothes. However, these were formed from the transformation of a protective magic-treasure…after all, he only had a few sets of beast fur clothes which his mother had sown for him. If he always wore them, they would eventually be ruined. Ning couldn’t bear for that to happen, and so he stored them away. However, he still changed the appearance of his armor-type magic treasure into beast furs. He felt the most comfortable dressed in them anyhow.

“Splash.” The speed of the boat suddenly increased rapidly, and it broke through the waves, advancing at high speed, charging towards the distant island.

Ning stood there atop the little boat, smiling as he greeted his Autumn Leaf and Bluestone.

When the boat drew near the island, it actually disappeared. Ning walked atop the waves, arriving at the beach.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf laughed as she went to welcome him.

“Big Bro Ji Ning.” Bluestone immediately ran over as well, saying excitedly, “Today, six youths of the Central Prefecture came. They act so high and mighty and look down on people so much, they might as well have their eyes growing from the tops of their heads.”

Ning seemed to have thought of something. “Oh? This is that group of the most talented youths of the Central Prefecture?”

“Right.” Autumn Leaf nodded. “They arrived at noon.”

“Have them come to the sword training field.” Ning laughed. “Since the Central Prefecture had them come, their intention is for me to give these youths a sound beating.”

“Alright. I’ll go invite them right now.” Autumn Leaf immediately said.

………

The sword training field.

This was a wide area of more than three hundred meters, locate in front of Ning’s residence. This was the place where Ning usually trained with the sword.

“I’ve already drank five bottles of water. It’s almost night. He’s finally willing to meet us.”

“This Ji Ning has been made out to be a near legendary figure. I wonder what he’s actually like.”

The six men and women spoke to each other softly, all clearly quite excited. They were filled with boundless curiosity towards this legendary young master Ji Ning. Autumn Leaf led the way from up front, and they soon arrived at the sword training field. “The young master is there. You can go there.”

Ji Mo and the other six looked over carefully.

In the distance, a youth dressed in beast furs could be seen standing there. From his appearance, he wasn’t too tall; he was still at the same height he had been when he had broken through to become a Xiantian expert. Only, for some reason…just by standing there, Ning seemed to have become one with the surrounding area, as though the entire scene was one in a painting.

The beast fur clad youth suddenly turned, leaving that earlier state of seeming to be a person in a painting. He seemed to have transformed into an Adept. Actually, before this, Ning had fused his soul with the world and was meditating on the ‘Dao’! Ever since he had moved to live on Serpentwing Lake, especially after he began to rest there on that little boat and casually drift on the surface of the lake each day, his entire soul had become incomparably peaceful and calm, and incomparably close to nature.

At the same time, Ning’s swordplay had advanced by leaps and bounds. His level had risen nonstop, to the point which by now, Ning was able to infuse the ‘Dao’ he had learned casually and freely into his techniques. Although there was no way he could completely absorb himself into the Dao, like he had that night by the pool, to train in such a manner…was already inconceivable. This caused his swordplay to reach a truly astonishing level.

“All of you, come over.” Ning spoke out.

Mo and the others all looked at this young master Ji Ning. His features were handsome and delicate, like a youth’s. Only, he had a natural, reserved aura about him, an aura which one could only achieve after constantly improving upon one’s mind and spirit.

“Greetings, young master Ji Ning.” Mo and the rest of the six all walked forward and said respectfully.

“I heard that the most talented youth of the Central Prefecture is Ji Mo. Which of you is Ji Mo?” Ning said directly. Since he was to give them a beating, he might as well just pick the strongest one. This would be more effective.

“Me.” Mo said, his eyes fierce.

Ning nodded. “What do you train in?”

“The [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords]!” Mo’s eyes held great confidence within them. “I just mastered it. I hope young master Ji Ning will provide me with some guidance.”

“Mastered?” Ning nodded. “The [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] is an ultimate technique which guards our entire clan, and is extremely marvelous. Take out your sword and use your most powerful sword attack against me. Let me see exactly how well you use the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords].”

“Alright.” Mo drew out his icy longsword. The longsword had some faint runes atop it. Clearly, this was a weapon-type magic treasure. Mo shouted out, “Young master Ji Ning, be careful.”

Swish!

Instantly, the sword transformed into countless illusions, all of which appeared and swept forward towards Ning.

Ning just stood there, watching. Just as those countless sword illusions enveloped him, he stretched out a finger and lightly tapped. “Break!” Immediately, all of the sword illusions vanished, with the true form of the longsword appearing. Tapped by Ning’s finger, the longsword which had flying towards Ning at high speed suddenly flew away on its own power.

“This…this…” Mo stared in shock, his eyes wide. The other five youths were completely stunned as well. Just by relying on his finger, he was able to flick away a sword which contained the power of the world? And they didn’t feel that Ning’s finger moved very quickly.

“How is that possible…my sword…?” Mo didn’t dare believe it. “Your force clearly wasn’t that great. How could you instantly guide my force away and make my sword fly out?”

“Let me ask you this.” Ning barked. “What techniques does the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] have?”

Mo hurriedly said, “The [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] has three techniques in total. The ‘One Sword, Ten Thousand Shadows’ stance, the ‘Ten Thousand Swords Become One’, and the ‘Melody of Ten Thousand Swords’. Amongst them, the ‘Melody of Ten Thousand Swords’ is the most powerful lkilling technique. What I used just now was that most powerful technique, the ‘Melody of Ten Thousand Swords’!”

Ning said, “Melody of Ten Thousand Swords…Melody of Ten Thousand Swords…the most important part of it isn’t the ‘ten thousand swords’, it is in the word ‘melody’!” In recent years, Ji Ninefire had especially arranged for people to send over the various sword and saber techniques the Ji clan possessed, and Ning had flipped through all of them. At Ning’s current level, he himself could develop techniques on par with these skills. All he had to do was to get an understanding of their essence.

“Melody?” Mo was awestruck.

“Watch carefully.” Ning pointed with his finger, and a ray of sword light solidified, slicing through the air.

Immediately, the sky was filled with sword images, and the countless sword images appeared everywhere, seemingly quite similar to the ‘Melody of Ten Thousand Swords’ which Mo had just used. But at the same time, these countless, densely clustered sword shadows seemed to form into multiple musical notes, each of which had their own differences. These countless sword shadows actually formed into a single, high-pitched song.

Passion!

Celebration!

Ji Mo and the other six were completely stunned. They could actually sense a sort of joy emanating from those countless sword shadows, which seemed to have a life of their own.

“Watch now.” Ning shot out another ray of sword light, once more forming into countless blurry sword shadows. Those countless sword shadows affected each other, each of which seemed to be independent and yet which linked up with the others…the countless musical notes transformed into a song, but this song was filled with boundless killing intent, a killing intent which caused their courage to turn cold.

Every single sword shadow seemed like a soldier, and the countless soldiers were bellowing while charging forward, covering the skies and filling the skies with their killing intent.

The faces of Mo and the other five were completely ashen. They couldn’t help but unconsciously retreat.

“Do you see?” The sword light from Ning’s finger vanished. “This is the ‘melody’. The soul of the entire sword technique! It doesn’t matter what type of soul it is; only with a soul will your ten thousand swords truly become one, and truly become the astonishing sword melody!”

The other five felt utterly astonished.

As for Ji Mo, who had an extremely deep level of accomplishment with regards to the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords], he was thoroughly convinced and subdued. With a ‘bang’ sound, he immediately knelt down in front of Ning. “Please accept me as your disciple!”

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Chapter 12 – The World Suddenly Changes

Chapter 12 – The World Suddenly Changes

Although Ji Mo had sincerely asked to be allowed to take Ji Ning as his master, how could Ning accept? After all, for a sword technique to have a ‘soul’, what was required was an understanding of the Dao. This wasn’t something that could simply be taught! Ning next provided guidance to the others, one by one. The attitudes of these youths had immediately become incomparably humble. All of them raised issues which had normally puzzled them, and Ning naturally was able to very easily resolve them. Just in terms of sword technique alone, there was no one within the Ji clan who could compare to him.

He spent four full hours providing guidance to them, and afterwards, Ning sent them off.

“Go back and spend some time pondering these things. I won’t keep you here any further.” After providing guidance, Ning himself left.

The six youths just watched longingly as Ning left. How they wished that Ning could spend some more time giving them guidance!

………..

Night.

Ning was seated in the lotus position on his bed mattress, training. Elemental energy was constantly surging towards him, entering his body and liquefying into Ki. After a long time, when he sensed that his dantian had become somewhat swollen, Ning came to a halt.

“Most likely, within a few more months, I will be able to establish my ‘Violet Palace’ as a Ki Refiner.” Ning said to himself. “However, to reach the Zifu Disciple level as a practitioner of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] will require me to reach the seventh level of that art. I wonder how long it will be before I reach it.”

By now, he had already reached the peak of power as a Xiantian lifeform as both a Ki Refiner and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner.

The technique he was using to train as a Ki Refiner was an ordinary technique of the Ji clan, known as the [Water Element Art]. The quality of the ki provided by those who trained in this technique was fairly poor, but it was easy to breakthrough to become a Zifu Disciple! Given Ning’s current level of understanding regarding the Dao, once the accumulated ki in his body reached a certain level, he could rely on it to immediately establish his Zifu ‘Violet Palace’!

“This [Water Element Art] is a very ordinary technique.” Ning said to himself. “It can only allow a person to train to the Zifu Disciple level. After establishing the ‘Violet Palace’, I’ll have to acquire a new Ki Refining technique.”

The further a Ki Refining technique allowed one to progress, the more valuable it was.

“When the time comes, I must find a more formidable Ki Refining technique.” Ning pondered to himself. “The [Water Element Art] is, in the end, a very superficial technique. If I continue to use this sort of superficial technique in the future…most likely, my development in Ki Refining will come to a halt at the Wanxiang level.”

This was the difference between a high class technique and a low class technique!

A high class, hard-to-learn technique was hard to start training in, but it allowed one to begin slowly walking in the right direction, constantly advancing on firm footing.

As for low class techniques, they made it easy for one to establish the ‘Violet Palace’, and if one went all out, one had the chance to reach the Wanxiang Adept level. But…to become a Primal Daoist? There was no hope of it whatsoever.

The Ji clan, after all, was a fairly low level clan. It didn’t have any high class Fiendgod Body Refining techniques or Ki Refining techniques. It did have the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] technique, which was unique in that it was widely spread throughout the lands. The other Ki Refining techniques the clan possessed were all very poor; this was why the likes of Ji Ninefire and Granny Shadow had been training for nearly four centuries, but were still at the Zifu Disciple stage.

“I have to go out adventuring.” Ning was rather eager. “I’ll wait to establish my Violet Palace first. By then, I will be better equipped to protect myself. The little power I have right now is still rather insufficient.”

Ning knew his own power quite well.

As a Ki Refiner, he was at the peak Xiantian level; however, half a year ago, he had already become capable of executing the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and his attack power should have reached the peak Zifu Disciple level! His weakness was that his ki was used up too quickly, and that he wasn’t able to fight for as long as most Zifu Disciples.

As a Body Refiner, he had reached the peak Xiantian level in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. He was already comparable to early, ordinary Zifu Disciple level Fiendgod Body Refiners! Given his current lifeforce, even if his skull was pierced through, he still wouldn’t die! Although his attack power was somewhat weaker than that of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], once battle truly began, his body was still the more powerful aspect of the two.

“Although the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] is incomparably sharp…” Ning said to himself. “If I were to encounter a Zifu Disciple who is an Fiendgod Body Refiner and whose body is incomparably durable, even if I can chop through his body with a ray of sword light, his body would quickly heal.”

“Against Zifu level Ki Refiners, I can give them a good fight, even if they are peak Zifu Disciples.”

“But against Fiendgod Body Refiners…I can deal with early stage ones, but anything stronger than that will be hard.” Ning knew this very well. “I wonder what I need to do to breakthrough in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Transform Yin and Yang…Blood-Drop Rebirth…what must I do to achieve this?”

Not dying when one’s head was cut through wasn’t much.

But if he could reach the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he would possess the ability to regenerate himself from a single drop of blood! Life energy as powerful as this made it extremely hard for other Zifu Ki Refiners to deal with him. To kill an Fiendgod Body Refiner expert…how hard it was! The only way was to slowly exhaust the expert of all his divine power.

“Blood-Drop Rebirth.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

Actually, the current Ning was already an absolute monster. For attack, he had the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! He had also become a peak Xiantian in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique, and even Zifu Disciples would find it hard to kill him! It was hard for others to kill him, but by relying on the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he could kill others from far away.

“Not enough, not enough. If Bei Zishan’s insect swarms were ten times greater in number, they would still be able to kill me through exhausting my power..” Ning didn’t dare to be the slightest bit incautious.

He still remembered what the old black bull had told him…

That he was not to underestimate any Immortal practitioner! You are formidable, but aren’t others also in possession of formidable techniques?

“Whew.”

Ning shut his eyes, beginning to visualize the [Nuwa Painting]. The visualization of the Nuwa Painting was something he continuously did. The reason he was now able to execute the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was primarily thanks to the power of his divine will.

………….

The sky slowly brightened.

Ning, seated quietly in the lotus position on his bed, suddenly opened his eyes, frowning as he carefully reached out with his senses.

“Was it just me?” Ning murmured to himself.

“Rumble…” A surge of incomparably powerful elemental energy rippled outwards, washing through Serpentwing Lake in an instant like a huge, roaring wave. This enormously powerful elemental ripple caused Ning’s face to change. Swish! He flew straight out from the window, flying to the crown of a large tree and staring outwards.

“Northward.”

Ning stood there atop the tree’s crown, staring into the distant north. The incomparably savage elemental ripple had come from the north.

It was like the ripple caused by a stone being thrown into a pool of water. In a distant point to the north, incomparably powerful natural, elemental ripples were being cast out in every direction….one ripple after another surged outwards, sweeping out for thousands of kilometers, constantly broadcasting outwards.

“What a terrifying elemental energy ripple.” Ning was amazed and stunned. “To be able to arouse such a powerful elemental aura…the rate at which I absorb elemental energy when training, compared to this ripple, is like the light of a firefly compared to the glorious splendor of the sun and the moon. What is going on? What has caused such a powerful ripple?”

Swoosh!

From another place within the island, a figure flew out, leaping across the tops of some trees and buildings, advancing at high speed. Soon, the figure reached Ning’s side. It was Ji Yichuan, clad in a white beast fur jacket.

“Father.” Ning looked at his father.

“You felt it as well.” Yichuan looked solemnly towards the north.

“Right. The north.” Ning nodded, then said with incomparable solemnity, “A terrifying elemental energy ripple. It was inconceivably strong. Given what I sensed, if I’m not mistaken, this elemental energy ripple should have originated from thousands of kilometers to the north.”

Yichuan nodded as well. “I didn’t sense it as clearly as you did, but the impression I received was essentially the same.”

“Father, what on earth happened to cause such a powerful elemental energy ripple?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“There are many possibilities.” Yichuan said. “It is possible that a duel between Immortals has caused these elemental ripples. It is also possible that an ancient relic site has suddenly emerged! It’s also possible that an Immortal magic treasure has revealed itself!”

Ning’s face changed. “Then our Ji clan…”

The land thousands of kilometers to the north remained the territory of the Ji clan. The West Prefecture City of the Ji clan was to the southwest of the Central Prefecture City. The region thousands of kilometers to the north was one of the centermost areas of the entire Ji clan!

“No matter which of the possibilities it is, it isn’t good for our Ji clan.” Yichuan said in a low voice.

Ning’s face became ugly.

A battle between Immortals? An emergence of a relic site? An Immortal magic treasure revealing itself? Other unknown possibilities? How could the Ji clan, whose most powerful experts were only on the Zifu level, possibly withstand these things?

“Come, let’s take a look.” Yichuan said.

“Fine.” Ning was incomparably worried as well. At the same time, he immediately used his ki to send his voice to Autumn Leaf, who was staying in a room not too far from his own. “Autumn Leaf, I’m heading out. You are in charge of Brightheart Island.”

Swoosh!

The two flew into the air at high speed, then running across the waves, quickly transformed into blurred rays of light which advanced to the north at high speed. At their level, when they put all their energy into their footwork techniques, they were actually rather faster than even the Azure Firebird, and many times faster than ordinary mounts.

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Chapter 13 – Immortal

Chapter 13 – Immortal

A thousand kilometers south of the City of Ten Thousand Swords, the only commandery city of the Grand Xia Dynasty which was under control of the Ji clan. This place was a desolate mountain forest, completely ordinary and unremarkable! However, in the air above this desolate mountain forest, an enormous vortex had appeared! This was a rainbow vortex, thirty thousand meters high, its influence omnidirectional.

This enormous rainbow vortex was wildly pulling in the surrounding elemental energy. Because the collection of elemental energy was too vigorous, and the density of the collected energy was too high, the swirling pressure compacted it to the point where a rainbow of colors had appeared. This enormous elemental vortex…agitated the elemental aura in the surrounding area to surge outward in waves, causing those powerful ripples to broadcast in every direction!

This elemental vortex was shaped like a sharp awl, pointed directly downwards towards the ground. Clearly, the origin of this natural vortex was directly located within the ground region of that desolate mountain forest.

“Whooosh!”

A male figure appeared in the air, amidst the vibrating elemental energy. This man had long, loose hair, and wore black, traditional robes which had a strange beast embroidered onto them. He wore a crested crown on his head, and his face was as pale as jade. He naturally emanated a lofty aura, and his gaze was directed downwards, staring towards that origin point which the swirling, enormous elemental vortex was ‘pointing’ towards.

“Oh?” The black robed man nodded slightly. “This Anomaly…it should be that someone has reached the Void stage and become an Earth Immortal! I wonder if which side this new Earth Immortal belongs to…this is Swallow Mountain. The number of large tribes, schools, and sects located near Swallow Mountain can be counted on one hand. The closest one is the Heavenly Saint Sect! Can it be that one of the Primal Daoists of the Heavenly Saint Sect has made a breakthrough? But if it were one of the Primal Daoists of the Heavenly Saint Sect, there should be protectors and guardians nearby.”

While pondering, he continued to stand there, watching quietly in mid-air.

The appearance of an Anomaly such as this meant that this person had already succeeded. It would be too late to stop it.

Rumble…

The enormous elemental vortex suddenly collapsed, causing the nearby elemental energy to violently tremble, but soon everything returned to normal. Right at the moment that the elemental vortex collapsed…a man appeared out of nowhere, garbed in fiery red robes and carrying three greatswords on his back. His two temples had hints of white hair, and he swept the area with a lightning-like gaze, soon noticing the black robed man who stood in the distance in mid-air.

“Congratulations, my fellow Daoist, for having returned to the Void and become an Earth Immortal!” The black robed man laughed.

“Might I ask who you are, fellow Daoist?” The man carrying the three greatswords on his back asked immediately. He didn’t dare to be discourteous either; he knew that the Anomaly generated by his breakthrough had lasted for only a short period of time. For someone to be able to sense it and also hurry over in such a short period of time…that was no ordinary feat.

The black robed man laughed. “I am Northmont Skyfall! And you, fellow Daoist?”

The red robed man, hearing this, was shocked.

Northmont?

Throughout the Stillwater Commandery, this surname was known to represent the most exalted force present; the Marquis of Stillwater! The Marquis of Stillwater was of the Northmont clan! Ever since the time when the Grand Xia Dynasty unified the world and bequeathed marquisdoms, the Northmont clan and the Marquis of Stillwater had been in control of this region. Their roots were extremely deep, far more so than any of the other forces present in Stillwater Commandery. The only organization capable of competing for supremacy in this region was the Raindragon Guard, which represented the Grand Xia Dynasty itself!

A look of delight was on the red robed man’s face as he said hurriedly, “So it is Immortal Laxiao! I was wondering who within the Stillwater Commandery could instantly notice this elemental Anomaly, and had guessed that only the Northmont clan of Stillwater was capable of this! I didn’t expect that the famous, world-renowned Immortal Skyfall had come in person. Compared to you, Immortal Skyfall, I’m just a junior. I imagine that you, Immortal Skyfall, have never even heard of my name. However, I did have a nickname in the past; Daoist Firedragon. Immortal Skyfall, have you heard of me?”

This Immortal Skyfall who stood before him was a Loose Immortal who had lived for tens of thousands of years. The longer Loose Immortals lived, the more terrifying they became. Although he was confident in being able to stay alive if Immortal Skyfall attacked, he knew that in terms of power, as a new Earth Immortal, he was probably a level weaker in strength.

“Daoist Firedragon?” Immortal Skyfall was briefly startled. He truly hadn’t heard of this figure before. He immediately said, “I truly haven’t heard of you. I imagine that prior to this, fellow Daoist, you weren’t present in the Stillwater Commandery region.”

“When I was a Wanxiang Adept, I went to the East Sea.” The red robed man immediately said. “While adventuring in the East Sea, I suddenly broke through to the Primal stage, and acquired the nickname of Daoist Firedragon. Because I was in the distant, remote East Sea…it isn’t strange that you have never heard of me, Immortal Skyfall. A hundred years ago, I returned once more to this region. Perhaps because I felt very moved upon returning to my ancient homeland, I had a sudden feeling and thus immediately found a place to start training. I sealed myself into a training cave for a hundred years, and today, I just made my breakthrough.

Immortal Skyfall nodded. “So that’s how it is. Daoist Firedragon, might I ask where your homeland was?”

“I myself am from Stillwater Commandery.” Daoist Firedragon said. “Unfortunately, my clan was eliminated long ago. I won’t lie to you, Immortal Skyfall; the purpose of this return of mine was to seek out my clansmen and rebuild my clan, and also to avenge my clan and execute this blood feud.”

“Hahaha…” Immortal Skyfall laughed clearly. “So Daoist Firedragon, you are of my Stillwater Commandery? My Stillwater Commandery now has yet another Immortal. I truly am overjoyed! It is karmic which brings the two of us together, Daoist Firedragon. As for your matters, you can consider them to be the matters of the Marquis Palace of Stillwater. There’s no need for us to continue speaking here. Come, let’s go to Stillwater City. My clan’s Lord Marquis will definitely receive you, fellow Daoist, with the greatest of ceremony.”

“Then I’ll obey your request rather than standing on ceremony.” Daoist Firedragon laughed as well.

An Immortal was someone worthy of befriending.

Immortal Firedragon was in no rush to join a side right now. He had to see what sort of offers would be made to him, after all. He knew very well that in the end, this boundless world belonged to the Grand Xia Dynasty. If he wanted to rise and to make his clan grow and prosper, it was best if he either joined with the forces of the Grand Xia Dynasty, or if he joined with the forces of the various Marquises, who had deep roots in their respective areas.

“Let’s go.” Immortal Skyfall stretched his hand out, taking Immortal Firedragon’s.

Whoosh!

They disappeared from mid-air.

………….

The City of Ten Thousand Swords was the base and foundation of the Ji clan. Ji Ninefire and Granny Shadow both lived within this city. What’s more, that elemental Anomaly originated from just a thousand or so kilometers from the city; given their speed, the two of them naturally soon arrived at the desolate mountain forest.

“It should be right here.” Ninefire and Granny Shadow, along with an old servant, were currently standing atop a large magic calabash gourd. Ninefire was staring down at the desolate mountain forest. He said, “But why is it that it seems as though this mountain wilderness is very calm. There’s nothing special here.”

“I can’t see anything either.” Granny Shadow and the old servant were watching as well.

“Elder Brother.” Granny Shadow said in her hoarse voice. “I’ll go down and take a look. Ah Xing, you stay here as well.”

“Mistress, let me go.” The old servant let out a hoarse whisper, and then transformed into a ray of light, descending towards the desolate mountain forest below.

Granny Shadow was frantic. “Ah Xing!”

“Wait.” Ninefire looked at Granny Shadow. “This old servant of yours truly is devoted to you.”

The earlier, violent ripples of elemental energy clearly involved a major affair. The first person to investigate thus would be taking on great risk. Ninefire, as the Patriarch of the Ji clan, was the true pillar of the clan and thus couldn’t be risked. This was why Granny Shadow was about to go down, but the old servant went down first.

“In the entire world, Ah Xing is the most loyal person to me.” Granny Shadow said gently.

Moments later…

A blur from below rose into the skies, landing atop the flying gourd. It was that old servant with unbound hair and dressed in beast furs. Ninefire immediately asked, “How is it?”

“There is a large amount of elemental ore below.” The old servant said in a low voice.

“A large amount of elemental ore?” Ninefire frowned. “How much?” Elemental ore contained gems which possessed elemental energy. However, the amount of elemental energy which people were able to absorb each day was limited, generally speaking. At a certain point in time, it would be impossible to absorb any more. Ordinary elemental gems were thus used to set up formations, or they might be useful in creating golems.

But training? They weren’t very useful.

But of course, some rare natural treasures existed that didn’t place much of a strain on the body, but which when ingested could provide power comparable to ten or even a hundred years of training. In addition, amongst elemental stones, there were high quality ones which had special effects. The elemental energy within high class elemental stones was very pure; when absorbing the energy within them, the body wasn’t placed under much strain, and thus by using them, in a single day, one would be able to make gains comparable to ten days of normal training. However, the rate of consumption of stones for training in such a way was significant as well! It wasn’t so bad if one only occasionally used a piece or two of high class elemental stones, but if an Immortal practitioner wanted to use them for long term training, one would have to buy thousands or more.

This wasn’t something which the Ji clan was capable of affording.

“Very many. Very many.” The old servant said solemnly. “It should be an elemental ore mine. In addition, my superficial scan turned up high quality elemental stones already.”

“What? An elemental ore mine? With high class elemental stones?” Ninefire was instantly stunned.

An elemental ore mine?

Generally speaking, certain special environments would produce elemental ore mines. But of course, one was also capable of intentionally forming an elemental ore mine. For the sake of making his breakthrough, Immortal Firedragon had to have enough elemental energy present for him to use. Thus, he was willing to pay a high price to set up a grand formation which drew in the surrounding elemental energy. Day after day, month after month, an elemental ore mine was formed.

“Elemental ore mine?” Granny Shadow revealed a look of excitement as well. “Our Ji clan is about to suddenly rise to prominence?!”

“Let’s go take a look first.” Ninefire suppressed his excitement. He immediately collected his magic gourd, and the three of them descended at high speed into the desolate mountain forest, diving into the ground to investigate.

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Chapter 14 – A Large Scale Mine

Chapter 14 – A Large Scale Mine

The sky slowly grew brighter. Ji Ning and his father, Ji Yichuan, were currently moving at top speed, moving towards the origin of those elemental ripples.

“Eh? I have never competed against Father in speed before. Father is actually this fast?” Ning was extremely surprised. His divine body was comparable to that of early-stage Zifu-level Fiendgod practitioners. Given that he also had the Windwing Evasion technique, one could imagine how fast he was. Even when he didn’t use his wing-type magic treasure, he was still very fast…but his father, Ji Yichuan, was able to move at the same pace as him.

“Father, your footwork technique…? Can it be that you have established your Violet Palace?” Ning use his ki to ask mentally while hurrying forward. He didn’t realize that when the disaster had occurred, aside from the injuries suffered by the Yuchi siblings, his own father, Yichuan, had been heavily wounded as well.

“No need to ask.” Yichuan clearly didn’t want to discuss it. “This speed is already my maximum.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

If he were to use his wing-type magic treasures, he would still be able to increase his speed by quite a bit, but there was no need.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two moved forward like blurs of smoke. Moving at such an astonishing speed, this distance of thousands of kilometers was traversed in just a single hour! Their speed was completely at that of the Zifu Disciple level.

“It should be in this region.” Ning came to a halt, standing atop the crown of a large, ancient tree. He stared towards a mountain forest. “The ripple originated from no more than three hundred kilometers away.”

“Should be.” Yichuan nodded as well.

“Let’s take a close look.” The two looked about carefully as they ran forward atop the trees. Soon, Yichuan jumped directly down into the ground, emerging shortly afterwards. “Ning, come over here.” Ning immediately leapt down, moving like a ray of light to the grassy area where Yichuan was currently standing.

Ning hurriedly asked, “What is it?”

“There are elemental stones underground.” Yichuan said solemnly. “And this should be an extremely rich elemental ore mine. I’ve even noticed high quality elemental stones.”

“High quality elemental stones?” Ning was shocked as well. “The area under the control of my Ji clan actually has high quality elemental stones?”

“This vein of elemental stones is extremely rich, and there are very few other ores mixed in. Still, because these are elemental stones…there’s no way to traverse through them using ground-tunneling arts.” Yichuan said. “Just by using ground-tunneling arts, I was only able to burrow to a depth of a hundred and fifty meters, which is where the elemental ore mine begins. Further down…is an extremely rich vein of elemental ore.”

Ning nodded. Ground-tunneling techniques allowed one to pass through ordinary dirt and rocks, but some special materials were completely impassable. Elemental stones, for example, were impassable.

“Swish!”

From afar, a hundred kilometers away, a golden light suddenly rose into the skies, emitting an ear-piercing sound.

Ning and Yichuan both turned to look.

“The golden arrow of the Ji clan!” Ning and Yichuan, upon seeing it, immediately used their movement techniques to hurry forward. They traversed a kilometer with every single movement. This golden arrow of the Ji clan was used as a summons, calling all of the men of the Ji clan in the surrounding area who saw it to hurry forward to its location.

……..

Ning and Yichuan saw from far away that more than ten people were present, amongst them the gray-robed Ji Ninefire and Granny Shadow. The others belonged to the Central Prefecture of the Ji clan; after all, this place was closest to the Central Prefecture City, the City of Ten Thousand Swords. These people turned to look and recognized this father-son duo.

“Yichuan, the two of you, father and son, really are fast.” Ninefire said.

“We hurried over from the City of Ten Thousand Swords, but we just arrived. You two, father and son, are located at the border regions of West Prefecture City, but you arrived as well.”

“Formidable.”

These Xiantian experts all said in praise.

“You came quite quickly.” A laugh rang out. A ray of light descended at high speed, then walked over. It was a middle-aged man dressed in beast furs.

“Truekeep, you came as well.” Ninefire smiled and nodded.

Ning saw this middle-aged figure come over. This man was named ‘Ji Truekeep’, and he was the number one figure of the Ji clan of the Northern Prefecture, on par with Ning’s father. For him to be able to hurry over from North Prefecture City so quickly…it seemed that Ji Truekeep should be a Zifu Disciple as well.

“On the surface, my Ji clan only has Ji Ninefire and Granny Shadow, two Zifu Disciples.” Ning said to himself. “However, a clan must have heirs and members amongst the younger generation who have reached the Zifu Disciple level. Now, it seems as though this Ji Truekeep truly is a Zifu Disciple. My father, given the earlier movement abilities he displayed, should also be a Zifu Disciple!”

Yichuan and Truekeep glanced at each other, nodding.

Yichuan spoke out, “Patriarch, why have you summoned us?”

“I imagine that you have discovered as well,” Ninefire said solemnly, “That underground, there is an elemental ore mine. A very rich vein of elemental ore.”

“Right.” All of the clansmen nodded, their eyes filled with excitement.

Based on the rules of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the land within ten thousand kilometers of a commandery city belonged to the master of that commandery city! As for any territories under dispute outside of that area, the ownership of those regions depended on who had the strongest fist. This elemental ore mine was extremely close to the City of Ten Thousand Swords. According to the rules set by the Grand Xia Dynasty…without question, it belonged to the Ji clan!

“Not only is this vein very rich, it is also very large.” Ninefire looked towards the surrounding area. “We will now carry out a detailed analysis and mapping of this elemental ore mine. I will fly towards the southeast. Truekeep, you fly towards the north. Shadow, you fly towards the southwest. As for everyone else, carefully investigate how deep this mine is and the quality of the ore within it. No matter what the results are, within four hours, we’ll regroup here.”

“Yes.” All of them assented.

Soon, three rays of light flew towards three different directions, while Ning, Yichuan, and the others burrowed into the ground. Because there was no way to use ground-tunneling arts through elemental ore, the only option they had to was to slowly dig through.

“Let’s go.” Ning’s body became surrounded by the petals of his Waterflame Lotus, which slowly swiveled about him, easily digging into the ground below.

This allowed Ning to easily move deeper into the ground, step by step.

As soon as he went downwards, the earth and mud above him collapsed.

But Ning just ignored it, continuing to move downwards…and he soon ran into the surface layer of the elemental ore mine. Large amounts of elemental ore were connected to each other like ugly rocks. These were all low-quality elemental stones, and just by looking at them, one wouldn’t be able to see much of a difference between them and ordinary rocks. The only difference was that they emanated quite a bit of an elemental aura.

Crackle…

The Waterflame Lotus easily dug downwards, and Ning continued to move down at an astonishing rate.

“So deep.” Ning could sense that he had already tunneled downwards for a hundred kilometers, but he was still surrounded by a large amount of elemental stones. “The hundred kilometers above me is filled with elemental stones. How deep is this elemental ore mine? And the top of the elemental ore mine was only a few dozen meters from the surface of the ground. How is it that nobody has discovered this mine, in all this time?”

What Ning didn’t understand was that before Immortal Firedragon had set up a grand formation, who could have possibly found it?

“Swoosh.” He finally encountered ordinary mud yet again.

“Three hundred kilometers deep.” Ning was stunned. “Ore mines are generally spread out horizontally. If even the vertical depth is so great, how wide must the mine be?”

Swoosh!

Following this, Ning immediately began moving upwards at high speed.

A long time later…

He finally emerged once more, appearing on the surface of the ground. He quickly returned to the gathering spot, where Ninefire, Granny Shadow, the old servant, and Truekeep were already present.

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire looked towards Ning, his eyes lighting up. “You’ve already completed your investigations?”

“Right.” Ning nodded. He glanced around. Traveling three hundred kilometers into the ground was far more difficult than flying thousands of kilometers in the air. Fortunately, he had been able to rely on his Waterflame Lotus, which borrowed the elemental power of the world, to move so easily. The others had to exhaust their ki in order to slowly dig.

“How deep is it?” Ninefire and the others all looked towards Ning.

“Three hundred kilometers.” Ning said.

The faces of Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Truekeep changed. They couldn’t be bothered to feel amazed at how Ning had, in a single short hour, made a round trip underground of more than three hundred kilometers. This was because they were already beginning to grow panicked.

“What’s wrong?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“This elemental ore mine…” Ninefire said solemnly. “We’ve finished our investigations as well. It has a circumference of at least four thousand kilometers! If it has a depth of three hundred kilometers…then this truly is an enormous large-scale elemental ore mine. To our Ji clan, such an enormous elemental ore mine isn’t a blessing; it is a calamity!”

A grand calamity!

Ning instantly understood. A stomach of a certain size could only hold a certain amount of food; if you filled it with too much, you could die from overstuffing.

“This is a rich vein, and an enormous one.” Ninefire said solemnly. “Once we begin to excavate it, the value of the ore within will definitely be countless times greater than the total assets of the Ji clan. Tell me, how can our Ji clan handle it?”

This mine…

This mine had been formed after the peak Primal Daoist, ‘Daoist Firedragon’, had paid an enormous price in order to set up a large formation to collect elemental energy, so as to help himself break through. This mine had been forming for one hundred years. If it was completely mined out, the value of it would be comparable to half the assets of an ordinary Primal Daoist. Because Daoist Firedragon had broken through to the Earth Immortal level, his horizons had been expanded and he no longer cared as much. In addition, mining the elemental ore would simply be too difficult; even a Primal Daoist probably would be too lazy to go through the mining. Only, the likes of Wanxiang Adepts would go wild with excitement for something like this.

“Then what should we do?” Granny Shadow immediately asked.

“I’m not afraid of others. I’m only afraid of Snowdragon Mountain!” Ninefire’s face was filled with worry. “The Snowdragon Mountain of the Swallow Mountain area is just a branch clan. Behind it…is the true Snowdragon Mountain Sect! A major sect which has Primal Daoists standing guard over it. And, based on my calculations and the passage of time, the Zifu Disciples of the branch sect of Snowdragon Mountain should have already arrived in the nearby area!”

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Chapter 15 – Snowdragon Mountain

Chapter 15 – Snowdragon Mountain

Everything happened just as Ji Ninefire predicted. A thousand kilometers away from them…

There was a screen hovering in mid-air, and atop that screen, there were four figures, staring down below. Suddenly, a ray of light rose into the skies. It was a large, armored, muscular man who was standing atop a greatsword. This muscular man had a hint of a blue light glowing from his skin, and standing there in midair atop that greatsword, he looked like a Fiendgod.

“My fellow disciples.” The muscular man had a look of delight on his face. “I’ve finished my investigations. There is a large amount of elemental ore underground, with high quality elemental stones within the deposit. This is a very rich vein of elemental ore.”

“Oh?” A long-haired man who wore a black robe and had eight bloody trigrams in front and behind him nodded, then laughed. “Junior apprentice-brother Ju San, thank you for your hard work. Who would have expected that an elemental ore mine such as this would have been hidden within the territory of the Ji clan? Right. Junior apprentice-brother Ju San, have you found any traces of mining?”

The muscular man shook his head.

The black robed man nodded in satisfaction. “The Ji clan has never sold elemental stones to outsiders. It seems that prior to this, they hadn’t discovered this vein either. My fellow disciples, I’d like to trouble you to go in each direction and investigate carefully exactly how large this vein is, while I will investigate how deep it is. After finishing our investigations, we’ll gather here again.”

“Yes, elder apprentice-brother Ziqi.” Three men and women, including the muscular man, acknowledged, then each flew away on their own flying-type magic treasures, transforming into rays of light that flew towards four different directions to investigate.

The black robed man collected his flying screen while rushing towards the ground, smashing through it and burrowing deep.

…….

A long time later.

The three men and one woman who had left earlier had already returned, flying on their magic treasures.

“Elder apprentice-brother Ziqi still hasn’t finished exploring?” A green-haired man said in surprise. “It seems this mine really is quite deep.”

“Based on just what we’ve learned, this elemental ore mine has to have a circumference of four thousand kilometers.” A nearby woman whose hair was also emanating a green light said solemnly. “If it’s deep as well…then this mine is going to be an astonishing one.”

Right after she finished speaking.

Swoosh!

From below, a ray of light surged towards the heavens, then came to a halt. It was their black-robed elder apprentice-brother, Ziqi.

“Elder apprentice-brother Ziqi.” The three men and woman bowed respectfully. Actually, all five of them were Zifu Disciples and of the same generation. Logically speaking, there was no need for them to act like this. But this Ziqi’s power was definitely far above theirs.

“What an elemental ore mine. It is at least three hundred kilometers deep.” The black-robed man sighed in surprise.

“Three hundred kilometers?”

“That deep?”

“The four of us have found that this mine has a circumference of four thousand kilometers. For it to also have such an astonishing depth…this elemental ore mine is simply too…” The three men and one woman were all in a state of shock. Some mines were fairly shallow, and it made sense for a mine of a circumference of thousands of kilometers to just a few kilometers deep. But this one was three hundred kilometers deep!

The black-robed man shouted, “This elemental ore mine belongs to Snowdragon Mountain!”

“Right, it belongs to our Snowdragon Mountain!”

“We’ve rendered a major merit. The main sect will definitely reward us heavily.”

“Our chance has come!”

The five of them were all incomparably excited. They were easily able to tell the general size and scale of this elemental ore mine and knew the value of it. The value was inconceivably high! Most likely, even those Primal Daoists that stood at the very pinnacle of power in Snowdragon Mountain would care deeply about this place.

“Elder apprentice-brother Ziqi.” The green-haired woman frowned. “This place is very close to the City of Ten Thousand Swords. According to the laws of the Grand Xia Dynasty, this place should be considered as belonging to the Ji clan.”

“What the hell is the Ji clan?” Ziqi snorted coldly. “Dare they intervene in Snowdragon Mountain’s mine?”

The nearby green-haired man nodded. “No need to worry about the Ji clan. Snowdragon Mountain is definitely taking over this elemental ore mine! But no matter what, we can’t be too incautious. According to the laws of the Grand Xia Dynasty, this place is the territory of the City of Ten Thousand Swords, which means this mine belongs to the Ji clan. Our Snowdragon Mountain cannot openly violate the laws of the Grand Xia Dynasty!”

“Right.” Dong Ziqi nodded lightly.

True.

Even if they had to skirt the laws, they definitely couldn’t openly challenge the Grand Xia Dynasty! Even the Marquis Palace of Stillwater Commandery, which was almost as ancient as the Grand Xia Dynasty itself, wouldn’t dare to challenge the Grand Xia Dynasty!

“Right now, I’m only afraid of one thing.” The green-haired man frowned. “If the Ji clan were to send someone to ally with the army of the Grand Xia Dynasty and sign a contract giving this site up to the Grand Xia Dynasty…! If they were to directly sign over this mine to the Grand Xia Dynasty, then there would be nothing that we can do!”

“Apprentice-brother Hefang speaks reason.” A cold-faced, gray-robed man nodded. “We have to be careful.”

“We do have to be careful.” The muscular man said frantically, “The Ji clan definitely will realize that they aren’t strong enough to hold this mine. If they give up the mine to the Grand Xia Dynasty, then the Ji clan will at least gain thirty percent of it! This would also result in them having the Grand Xia Dynasty supporting them. We wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“Sign an agreement?”

Dong Ziqi’s eyes were dark and gloomy. “It’s not that easy to do!”

The other four looked towards Dong Ziqi.

“The garrison of the Grand Xia Dynasty in the Swallow Mountain region are in Swallow Mountain City.” Dong Ziqi said. “The general of that garrison is a good friend of mine.”

“But elder apprentice-brother Ziqi, as soon as the Ji clan makes a report and offers to transfer the mine…a mere general wouldn’t dare to suppress the news. If he forcibly suppresses the report of something as major as this, and is later discovered to have done so, then the general will definitely have his soul shattered and dispersed in punishment.” The green-haired man said, concerned.

Ziqi said, “I know that. He won’t dare to forcibly suppress the news, but at least he’ll be able to delay it!”

“Oh?” The other four looked at Ziqi as well.

“You should know.” Dong Ziqi said. “The first part to signing an agreement of relinquishing a mine is the report to the higher ups! Afterwards, the higher ups will immediately send people to investigate the Ji clan’s territory. Only after they have verified that there is indeed such a mine within the Ji clan’s territory will they sign the contract.”

The other four nodded.

This was indeed the case.

Once the report was made, someone would immediately be sent over. The efficiency would be very high.

“As soon as the report is made, we won’t be able to act as we please.” Ziqi said, “What we can do is to have the garrison general at Swallow Mountain City delay as much as he can…and in addition, it will take time for the person sent by the Grand Xia Dynasty to make his way over. This will be enough time for us to seize the City of Ten Thousand Swords!”

“Seize the City of Ten Thousand Swords?” The other four nodded gently.

“As long as we take over the City of Ten Thousand Swords and acquire the official writ, then we will be the masters of the City of Ten Thousand Swords. In accordance with the laws of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the mine will belong to us. Even if the Grand Xia Dynasty sends someone over…because the official writ has a new owner, there will be no way for the Ji clan to sign a contract.” Ziqi said.

“Fine. We’ll take over the official writ!”

“Once the official writ is in our hands, we will be the masters of the mine.” Cold light flashed in each of their eyes.

Ziqi said in a low voice, “If the Ji clan dares to resist, then annihilate them!”

“Right.” The other four nodded, not worried about the Ji clan at all.

“Elder apprentice-brother Ziqi, before this, when we were investigating the size of the mine, we discovered that the Ji clan’s forces were within a thousand kilometers.” The green-haired woman said.

“Let’s go.” Ziqi said as he let out a cold snort. “Let’s go visit the Ji clan.”

………

Right at this moment, in the air above the elemental ore mine, quite a few Zifu Disciples were conducting investigations, including the Ironwood clan, the Riverbank clan, the Kou clan, the Blackfire Cult…they were all local forces of Swallow Mountain. Only the forces of the Grand Xia Dynasty, stationed in Swallow Mountain City, were not present.

“What a rich vein.”

“Such an elemental ore mine…just looking at it is frightening.”

…………..

The desolate mountain forests. The Ji clan’s forces were gathered there, deciding what to do.

“Ji Ninefire!”

Suddenly, a gloomy voice rang out. This voice caused the faces of quite a few clansmen of the Ji clan to change. Ning’s soul, being so powerful, wasn’t impacted much. He raised his head to look. He saw that high above them in mid-air, an enormous screen was descending towards them at high speed. Standing atop the screen were five men and women, all of them with extraordinary auras.

The leader of the group was emanating a deathly cold aura. He was dressed in black, and the front and back of his robe were covered with eight bloody trigrams.

“Dong Ziqi!” Ninefire’s face changed slightly.

Ning looked carefully at the five on the screen, paying special attention to their leader, Dong Ziqi. “He is Dong Ziqi, of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain?”

Dong Ziqi’s fame was widespread, and he was quietly acknowledged to be the number one expert of the six hegemons of the Swallow Mountain region!

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Chapter 16 – Crossing Swords

Chapter 16 – Crossing Swords

Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others had long ago come to view Ji Ning as the future pillar of the Ji clan! They naturally had long ago allowed Ning to view the intelligence reports the clan had regarding the various ancient monsters and Zifu Disciples of the various forces spread throughout Swallow Mountain. Ning knew very well…that this Dong Ziqi was a peak Zifu Disciple, one who had come from the main sect, whose abilities were far more powerful than those available to the local tribes of the Swallow Mountain Region. Dong Ziqi’s most powerful ability was the ‘Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation’!

This was different from other great formations, which generally needed to be set up in advance. This ‘Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation’ was rather similar to the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]; one could activate it with a thought. Perhaps it wasn’t as high level and as formidable as the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], but this was a peak Zifu Disciple. When such a man used this formation, he probably would be able to fight a new Wanxiang Adept to a standstill. This wasn’t something which could be compared the likes of Bei Zishan, who had to rely on the Myriad Wraiths Banner.

“It’s quite rare for us to be able to see you, fellow Daoist Dong.” Ninefire’s attitude was very humble. “Fellow Daoist Dong, might I ask why you have come?”

“Ji Ninefire.”

The five Zifu Disciples atop the banner landed on the ground. They swept the Ji clansmen with their gaze. Their eyes were filled with lofty arrogance; clearly, they held the Ji clan in no regard. This caused Ning and the others to feel a hint of rage in their hearts, but they understood…they had to suppress it.

“The land which your Ji clan controls really is a blessed area. It actually has an elemental ore mine.” Ziqi’s cold, sinister eyes stared at Ninefire. “If it wasn’t for the elemental energy vibrations which emanated from here two days ago, we wouldn’t have had any idea. Hmph. I imagine that your Ji clan has secretly mined out quite a few elemental stones. You really are quite bold.”

Looks of anger couldn’t help but appear in the eyes of the Ji clansmen, but Ninefire used his ki to bark at them mentally, “All of you, endure it!”

“My Ji clan just discovered it as well.” Ninefire maintained a smiling face towards Ziqi.

“Just discovered it?” Ziqi swept the Ji clansmen with his gaze. “Have you investigated the size and scale of this elemental mine?”

“Not yet.” Ninefire shook his head. “All we know is that this is a rich vein of elemental ore.”

Ziqi said in a cold voice, “Since you don’t know, then I’ll tell you. Not only is this a rich vein, it stretches to a circumference of four thousand kilometers, and is three hundred kilometers deep as well! Your tiny little Ji clan is completely unable to try and swallow such an enormous elemental ore mine; if you tried, it would choke you to death!”

“That’s fine.” Ninefire laughed. “In the end, my Ji clan can just offer this elemental ore mine to the Grand Xia Dynasty. By then, our Ji clan will obtain 30% of it, while the Grand Xia Dynasty will obtain 70%. In addition, our Ji clan will also receive the protection of the Grand Xia Dynasty, at which point we won’t fear anyone.”

Ziqi’s pupils contracted.

These locals!

Although they didn’t come from any sects, and thus remained Zifu Disciples despite having trained for nearly four centuries, after having lived so long, these people had become incomparably crafty. Just now, he had been so arrogant, but Ninefire had remained all smiles. However, at the critical point in their negotiations, Ninefire had directly given voice to what Snowdragon Mountain feared the most.

“Listen up!” Dong Ziqi’s voice was incomparably cold. “This elemental ore mine is being taken over by Snowdragon Mountain! Don’t threaten me. If you threaten me…the only result will be the destruction of the Ji clan!”

Ninefire’s face changed.

The others, such as Granny Shadow, were all both angry and agitated when they heard this. Ning felt a smoldering rage burn in his heart as well. Clearly, according to the laws of the Grand Xia Dynasty, this elemental ore mine belonged to the Ji clan! But Snowdragon Mountain’s people wanted to just take it from them, and in such a domineering manner?

“Fellow Daoist Dong.” Ninefire suppressed his rage.

Just now, he had just decided to bring out the strongest ‘threat’ he could must…so as to cause the opponents to feel nervous, and then engage in negotiations. He didn’t expect that these people didn’t want to negotiate at all; they acted with completely tyranny, wanting to take advantage of the Ji clan in their weakness!

“This is Swallow Mountain.” Ninefire said solemnly. “The main Snowdragon Mountain Sect is millions of kilometers away, but once my Ji clan makes the report, in just a few days, the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty will arrive. By then, we will just directly sign a transfer agreement. Actually, our Ji clan doesn’t have that much ambition; the only thing we desire is to survive!”

“Survive?” Ziqi laughed coldly. “At least you know your own limits!”

Ninefire said, “Snowdragon Mountain can arrange for people to mine this quarry. Our Ji clan definitely will not disturb you during the mining process. After you have completed your mining…all we ask is that you remove all of your forces from the Ji clan’s territory. As for the ore in this elemental ore mine, my Ji clan will not ask for a single stone of it! My Ji clan is willing to set up an Oath of Heavenly Law with your Snowdragon Mountain!”

Oath of Heavenly Law…

This was useless for ordinary mortals, but no one who had stepped onto the path of Immortal cultivation would dare to violate an Oath of Heavenly Law.

“Oh?” Ziqi hesitated.

“Elder apprentice-brother Ziqi.” The nearby muscular man sent mentally through his Ki. “These conditions aren’t bad. We don’t care about the territory the Ji clan controls anyhow. What really matters is that elemental ore mine. Since the Ji clan is willing to allow us to harvest all of the ore within the elemental ore mine…if they are willing to set up an Oath of Heavenly Law, then they won’t dare violate it.”

“Idiot.” The green-haired woman to the side sent mentally as well. “This is just a delaying tactic of the Ji clan! The Ji clan is going to set up an Oath of Heavenly Law with ‘us’, but not with those of us here. Even if we fellow disciples swear to an Oath of Heavenly Law, the high level members of the main sect can still decide to just cast us aside and exterminate the Ji clan. They definitely want us to have a high-level member of the main sect to come here and swear the oath. But we would first need to send work back, and by the time the high-level member of the main sect comes…more than enough time will have passed for the Ji clan and the Grand Xia Dynasty to have signed an agreement.”

“Younger apprentice-sister, your words have merit.” The gray-robed man sent mentally as well.

Dong Ziqi nodded slightly.

The Ji clansmen were still awaiting their response.

“Your Ji clan wishes to swear an Oath of Heavenly Law with Snowdragon Mountain…might I ask, which member of Snowdragon Mountain do you wish to come swear the oath with you?” Ziqi looked at Ninefire.

Ninefire laughed. “Any Wanxiang Adept is acceptable. The fate of our Ji clan rests on this agreement; naturally, we must be cautious. The weight of an oath of a Zifu Disciple of Snowdragon Mountain isn’t quite enough…and we don’t dare trust fully in it either. I imagine that you, fellow Daoist Dong, also understand that the oath of a Zifu Disciple doesn’t have much binding power over the main Snowdragon Mountain Sect.”

Dong Ziqi narrowed his eyes.

A single Zifu Disciple? The main sect could sacrifice one with but a word.

But a Wanxiang Adept was different. The main sect only had a limited number of them, and when they swore an oath, it represented the main sect swearing an oath! If the main sect dared to sacrifice even a Wanxiang Adept, wouldn’t it cause the other Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples to have an icy feeling in their hearts? To cause the Wanxiang Adepts of the clan to all have lessened loyalty, for the sake of an elemental ore mine, wasn’t worth it. Thus, it was most appropriate for a Wanxiang Adept to come and swear the oath.

“Ji Ninefire!” Ziqi said in a freezing voice. “You want a Wanxiang Adept to come and swear an Oath of Heavenly Law with you? They are high level members of my main sect, which is over a million kilometers away! After we send the message, it will take at least ten days or half a month for a Wanxiang Adept to come! Within ten day’s time, your Ji clan would most likely have secretly signed an agreement with the Grand Xia Dynasty long ago!”

“Then…” Ninefire hesitated.

“As I see it, you had best hand over the official writ!” Ziqi shouted. “Hand over the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords to us! Snowdragon Mountain will continue to permit you to live within the City of Ten Thousand Swords, and everything will remain unchanged for the Ji clan…after we have completely excavated the elemental ore mine, we will return the official writ to you!”

Ninefire was frantic. “How can that be acceptable?”

“No way.” Granny Shadow said angrily as well. “The official writ is the very foundation of the Ji clan.”

Ning just watched.

These people of Snowdragon Mountain…you gave them an inch, and they attempted to take a mile! They made it sound so nice and simple; they would return the official writ after finishing the excavation? What if they didn’t? In addition, the Ji clan had already made a huge concession in being willing to offer the entire mine to Snowdragon Mountain. How could it be that Snowdragon Mountain now desired to take away the official writ as well, and ‘give it back’ in the future?

“Hmph.” Ning’s face was ugly to behold, and the same was true for the other members of the Ji clan.

“Do you think that our Snowdragon Mountain clan will lie to a petty little clan like the Ji clan?” Ziqi shouted.

“It seems as though Snowdragon Mountain has taken advantage of quite a few clans.” Ninefire was enraged as well. “Otherwise, why would a branch of Snowdragon Mountain have come to Swallow Mountain!”

Ziqi’s face changed.

Outrageous!

Ninefire actually had become harder and more forceful! Zifi swept the Ji clansmen with his gaze, noticing that youngest, solitary figure, the fur-clad youth. He immediately sent through his Ki, “Junior apprentice-brother Muse, the Ji clan only has a few Zifu Disciples. The one with the most potential is this Ji Ning; he is the one who, according to the stories, killed Zishan.”

“Ji Ning.” The gray-robed man noticed the fur-clad youth in front of them as well.

That battle he had with Bei Zishan that year…

Ning’s reputation had been spread throughout the various forces of Swallow Mountain long ago. After all, at that time, quite a few Xiantian lifeforms of the various clans had all been sent back to their own clans, causing them to become aware of how terrifying Ji Ning was, and that Ji Ning should be a Zifu Disciple! A Zifu Disciple at age eleven or twelve…how terrifying would he be in the future? The various powers had taken notice of Ning long ago, and the intelligence reports regarding Ning were thus incomparably detailed.

Everything which had happened to him since he was young, as well as his appearance and his habits…they had all been collected and compiled.

Dong Ziqi didn’t care about anyone else in the entire Ji clan; the only one he cared about was this Ji Ning! He didn’t fear the current Ji Ning; what he feared was the future Ji Ning! Given Ji Ning’s talent…in the future, it probably wouldn’t be too hard for him to become a Wanxiang Adept.

“Junior apprentice-brother Muse, the member of the Ji clan with the most potential and who poses the greatest threat is this Ji Ning. The entire Ji clan treats him as their treasure.” Ziqi sent mentally. “He is still fairly young, however, and at present, he shouldn’t be too powerful. Zishan, that fool…aside from being able to forge that Myriad Wraiths Banner, which was fairly powerful, his own level of ability wasn’t that great. In addition, the results of that battle probably had something to do with that Wanxiang Adept. Ji Ning’s own level of power is most likely not that great.”

“Junior apprentice-brother, make a sudden attack and capture Ji Ning! By then, with Ji Ning in our hands, do you think the Ji clan will dare to disobey the orders of our Snowdragon Mountain?” Ziqi sent mentally. “Even in the extremely unlikely circumstance that they don’t care about Ji Ning’s life, we will then simply kill Ji Ning. Without him, the Ji clan won’t pose a threat to us at all in the future.”

“Right.” The gray-robed man nodded.

Ning was indeed a threat to them. Nobody feared Ning right now, but they feared the future Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother, if you suddenly use your magic technique to attack, even I will have some trouble fending it off. You shouldn’t have any problems in subduing Ji Ning.” Ziqi sent mentally. Although his power was greater than that of Muse’s, he had to first activate his Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. By the time he did so, the Ji clan would probably be at maximum vigilance.

Thus, they had to make a sudden attack, and succeed in an instant! For this, Muse was the best choice.

“Leave it to me. I made a breakthrough in this technique of mine not long ago.” Muse sent back mentally with great confidence.

“Then we’ll just wait for you. Once you take down Ji Ning…we will have the upper hand.” Ziqi said.

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Chapter 17 – Longing! Rain Line!

Chapter 17 – Longing! Rain Line!

At a single glance, Dong Ziqi saw clearly the Ji clan’s weakness. His thoughts were completely correct; Ji Ning was indeed the future pillar of the Ji clan! In this group of Ji clan experts…even if Ji Ninefire and Granny Shadow had to die, they wouldn’t let Ning die!

“Ninefire, I urge you to obediently hand over the official writ.” Ziqi frowned as he shouted.

“My Ji clan is indeed weak and small, which is why we are willing to offer this elemental ore mine to you without requesting any part of it. But for you to try and forcibly take over our official writ…you are perhaps going too far! The official writ is the foundation of the Ji clan. How can my Ji clan…” Ninefire’s face changed halfway through his words, and he couldn’t help but lower his head to look at the ground.

The ground was trembling slightly.

Dong Ziqi’s group of five stood in the distance, and in their midst, the gray-robed man’s eyes flashed. The ki in his body had long ago entered the ground. By the time the Ji clan’s Zifu Disciples sensed it, the technique had already been executed!

“BOOM!”

Strands of green, wooden vines emerged suddenly from the ground, all of them flailing about wildly, covered with a layer of deep green light. The thin, slender strands of vines twined about each other like a tough cord rope. They suddenly emerged from the ground beneath Ning’s feet, instantly wrapping themselves around Ning!

Fast!

Completely caught off-guard!

“What!” The faces of Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others changed. In the blink of an eye, Ji Ning, who had been standing next to them just moments ago, had been wildly entangled by those countless rattan vines.

“Quick, save Ji Ning!” Granny Shadow shouted.

“Too late!” Dong Ziqi, standing in the distance, just laughed loudly as he spoke.

Bang!

The countless vines wrapped around Ning whipped out violently, throwing him towards the ground. With a rumble, an enormous crevice appeared within the ground, with Ning and those vines already burrowed deep within the ground.

“Snowdragon Mountain, you actually…” Ninefire’s face was savage.

“Release my son.” Ji Yichuan was frantic as well.

Every member of the Ji clan wanted to save Ning, but the sudden emergence of those vines, which had wrapped around Ning and then thrown him underground, caused them to not know what they should do to save him.

“Hahaha…” Dong Ziqi just laughed wildly as he turned to look at the gray-robed man. “Junior apprentice-brother Muse, bring Ji Ning over here…” Dong Ziqi’s face suddenly changed, because he saw that his fellow disciple’s forehead was matted with sweat. Clearly, he was already going all out in this struggle.

“That Ji Ning is currently breaking through my technique…” The gray-robed man’s eyes had turned red, and he was pouring all of his ki into the technique.

…….

Underground.

A seed had grown into thousands of wooden green tendrils, which were now heavily entangling themselves around Ning. Within the entangling clutches of the vines, a Waterflame Lotus was surrounding Ning, constantly swiveling around him and frantically resisting these tendrils, unceasingly killing them one by one while the dead vines were unceasingly being reborn.

“Immortal practitioners truly have many techniques at their disposal. This technique wasn’t included in our intelligence reports. I wonder which branch member of Snowdragon Mountain used it.” Ning had suddenly suffered an attack, and this attack was too fast, giving him no time to break through before he had been thrown underground.

Due to the constriction of the tendrils, the amount of space Ning had to move in was too limited, giving him no chance to use the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] at all.

Thus, the first thing Ning had done was to execute the Waterflame Lotus.

“Swivel, swivel…” The Waterflame Lotus slowly swiveled, grinding those thin vines that wanted to entangle Ning into dust. Nearly five years had passed since that battle with Bei Zishan, and during these five years, Ning’s improvements with regards to his understanding of the Dao had only grown greater and greater.

If early on, the insight he had gained with regards to the Dao was just a thread, over the course of time, he had gained more threads of the True Meaning of the Dao.

These many thin threads…had drawn close to each other, naturally resulting in a thicker thread.

Ning’s time spent at Serpentwing Lake in particular, where he was virtually always in tune with the world…had resulted in him reaching a very high level of understanding. Actually, this was something which could only be accomplished by an Immortal practitioner who had reached a very high level of understanding. When one could always be in tune with nature and always be able to go attune with the Dao, it was only natural that one would gain many insights into the True Meaning of the Dao.

His level of understanding had risen.

Thus, the power his Waterflame Lotus now had was naturally much greater than before. That murderous grinding power alone would most likely instantly grind even peak Xiantian experts into tiny pieces in but an instant.

“Darknorth sword.” Within the Waterflame Lotus, Ning drew forth a Darknorth sword.

“Longing! Rain Line!”

Ning murmured softly to himself.

Each time he used this technique, he couldn’t help but think of his mother. This technique was one which he had developed thanks to the boundless longing he felt for his mother! It was the longing each drop of rain held for each other drop which allowed them to form a line of rain…the insights Ning had gained over the past five years into the Dao had resulted in him developing many techniques, but this was the most powerful of them all.

This technique contained within it a boundless, powerful longing. It was born from the [Raindrop Sutra], but it had left the Raindrop Sutra far behind.

“Swish….”

Ning simultaneously struck out with two Darknorth swords at the same time, piercing past the Waterflame Lotus, which seemed to be like a shadow, not obstructing Ning’s swords in the slightest. Ning’s swords seemed to be like the caress of a mother, carrying boundless longing within them…as they summoned a large amount of natural power which directly coalesced atop the two swords.

Anyone seeing this technique would unconsciously feel a sour feeling in their hearts, sense a powerful, endless yearning.

“Crackle…” Many vines were instantly shattered. Although they were very tough, they were still chopped apart. In the face of Ning’s most powerful close-combat sword technique, the technique of Zifu Disciple Muse was unable to contain Ning.

Actually, the first reason for this was that Ning’s swordplay had already far outstripped that of most Zifu Disciples. Most likely, even many Wanxiang Adepts wouldn’t be on par with him in this regard.

The second reason was that Ning’s Fiendgod body was simply too powerful, comparable to an early-stage Fiendgod Zifu Disciple. His strength was so mighty, and his swordplay was so formidable; how hard must it be for a technique to contain him!

Sword light flashed and danced, shattering a large number of frantically twisting vines. Ning followed his sword light and rose into the sky, breaking through the earth and arriving on the surface of the ground.

………

“Bang!”

Just as the Ji clansmen were worriedly looking at the ground, into the hole from whence the rattan vines had disappeared, suddenly, hundreds of meters away, the ground suddenly exploded as a ray of sword light soared into the sky. A fur-clad youth, wielding a pair of swords, his body surrounded by a Fire-water Lotus, suddenly drifted up, then landed on the ground.

“How is that possible!” Dong Ziqi’s face changed dramatically. Others might not understand this technique of his junior apprentice-brother’s, but he understood it very well. A sudden attack from this technique…it would be very difficult for someone to break through it. Even if one succeeded, it would only come at great effort.

“That Ji Ning broke through?” The muscular man behind Ziqi stared as he growled, “How is that possible. I’m a Fiendgod practitioner, but even I wouldn’t be able to break through if senior apprentice-brother Muse captured me.”

Junior apprentice Ju San was the newest Zifu Disciple of the five, who had only recently established his Violet Palace.

He was just an early Zifu Disciple, but he was a Fiendgod practitioner! As an early Fiendgod practitioner…his battle strength was also amazing. It didn’t matter if others injured him, but if he landed a hit on someone else, that person would die! This was the advantage which Fiendgod practitioners had; if he trained to become a late stage Fiendgod Zifu Disciple, even Dong Ziqi would address him as ‘senior apprentice-brother’.

“He broke through?”

“How old is he?”

“Senior apprentice-brother Muse’s ‘Myriad Ancient Green Vines’ technique…was broken, just like that?” That green-haired male-female pair stared as well, their faces filled with disbelief.

In their group, Muse’s status was second only to Ziqi, precisely because of how powerful he was! In particular, his ambushing abilities with the ‘Myriad Ancient Green Vines’ had caused the other fellow disciples to feel endless admiration for him. The restricting power of those green vines was indeed tremendous. How physically strong was a Fiendgod Zifu Disciple? And yet, even such a person was unable to break through.

But the person who had broken through it…was only sixteen years old! No matter how monstrous of a genius he was, it was too…

But how could they know that Ning’s physical strength was comparable to their junior apprentice-brother Ju San to begin with. In terms of his level of attainment in the sword, he vastly outstripped Ju San by many levels!

…….

“Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning.” Ji Ninefire, Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the other members of the Ji clan all stared at Ning with surprise and delight. At the same time, they felt unbearably pleased at the looks of shock and amazement on the faces of the five Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain! Simultaneously, the Ji clansmen couldn’t help but feel stunned at Ning’s power. Ninefire’s eyes actually narrowed as he sighed in his heart that he felt he was growing more and more mystified by this kid.

The Waterflame Lotus surrounding Ning vanished, and he walked over.

“Ji Ning!” A hoarse voice rang out.

Ning turned to look.

From afar, there was a gray-robed man with an ashen, pallid face who stood by Dong Ziqi’s side. The man was staring fixedly at Ning. “You…what’s the name of that sword technique of yours?”

“Longing.” Ning said softly. “Rain Line!”

“Rain Line?” The gray-robed man stared wide-eyed in disbelief. “The power of the Rain Line technique of your Ji clan’s [Raindrop Sutra] is this great?” He was quite familiar with the nine sword stances of the [Raindrop Sutra].”

“There are quite a few things that you don’t know.” Ning snorted coldly, no longer explaining.

This sword technique was birthed from the Raindrop Sutra, but it was no longer the same as the Rain Line technique of the past.

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Chapter 18 – The Ji Clan’s Concession

Chapter 18 – The Ji Clan’s Concession

“Rain Line?” Dong Ziqi murmured softly as well. The four Zifu Disciples behind him were still in a state of shock.

“This Ji Ning is even more powerful than anticipated.” Ziqi pondered. “He’s only sixteen years old, but even junior apprentice-brother Muse is unable to take him down! Most likely, only I will be capable of killing him.” If he were to personally attack, he would have to use his Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. Once the formation appeared, then the two sides would fight to the death, and there would be no chance to salvage the situation.

Dong Ziqi was very self-confident, but he also understood that the Ji clan’s power wasn’t weak either. If they were really to fight against each other, his side would lose one or two of their five Zifu Disciples.

If he could let the other side retreat in the face of encroaching difficulties, that would be for the best.

“Ji Ning, formidable.”

“Well done.”

The Ji clansmen all looked towards Ning. “Are you alright?” Ji Yichuan looked at his son. Seeing that his son was unwounded, he relaxed.

“Dong Ziqi!” Granny Shadow said in a fierce voice. “What was the meaning of this? You suddenly attacked a member of our Ji clan! All of us are present, and yet you still dare to behave so rashly.”

“Your Snowdragon Mountain clansmen are too wild and unbridled.”

The Ji clansmen were all very angry, but they still forced themselves not to attack. The opponents, after all, belonged to Snowdragon Mountain.

“Hahaha…” Dong Ziqi just laughed. “Sudden attack? That’s a nasty way to put it. My junior apprentice-brother simply heard long ago that your Ji clan produced a genius with exceptional talents, and that even junior apprentice-brother Bei Zishan of our Snowdragon Mountain died in his hands. Today, when we saw this genius, he couldn’t help but feel his hands itch and want to have a little spar. What, can it be that a Zifu Disciple of our Snowdragon Mountain is forbidden from sparring with a member of your Ji clan?”

“You call that a spar?” Granny Shadow said in a fierce, hoarse voice.

“Naturally.” Ziqi said. “And now, it seems that this genius of your Ji clan is indeed formidable. He was able to break through the technique of my junior apprentice-brother. Admirable, admirable.”

“You…” Granny Shadow felt a fiery rage build in her belly. She had lived for nearly four centuries, but had never been angered like this before. If she didn’t have other things holding her back, she would’ve attacked long ago, but for the sake of the rest of the Ji clan, she had to endure it.

A savage look flashed past Ziqi’s eyes, and he snorted coldly. “Forget about sparring; even if we really killed that Ji Ning, what would your Ji clan do about it?” Dong Ziqi’s cold, sinister eyes swept past this group of Ji clansmen, and a disdainful smile was playing at the corner of his lips, causing the Ji clansmen to feel all the more enraged.

Swollen with arrogance!

What Ziqi was doing was being swollen with arrogance, with the intention of completely suppressing the Ji clansmen!

“Patriarch.” Truekeep was truly enraged now, and he shouted, “Our Ji clan cannot let ourselves be so easily abused as this. I’d rather live and stand fighting rather than die kneeling. Our Ji clan has made one concession after another, but Snowdragon Mountain just continues to advance and pressure us further. Do they really take our Ji clan to be made out of mud, for them to mold as they please? Let’s go all out against them! Five of them came today. We are definitely going to make sure at least half of them die!”

“Let’s go all out.”

“Patriarch, let’s go all out.”

“They refuse to give our Ji clan a way out. We won’t let them live either.” Immediately, quite a few Ji clansmen egan to bellow with rage.

This caused Dong Ziqi and his group of five to be slightly startled. Snowdragon Mountain was indeed mighty, but that was thanks to the main sect! The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain, by itself, was more powerful than the Ji clan, true, but only to a certain point…after all, everyone only had access to Zifu Disciple level fighters at most. If they really went all out, even if Snowdragon Mountain eradicated the Ji clan, the losses to the Swallow Mountain branch would still be heavy.

“Shut your mouths.” Ninefire turned and shouted mentally through his Ki, his voice reverberating within the ears of each member of the clan.

The clansmen all looked towards Ji Ninefire.

………

“What are they discussing?” That muscular young man, Ju San, asked the other members of Snowdragon Mountain mentally.

“These local bumpkins.” The gray-robed Muse sent back. “They are used to life in the tribes, where they would rather break than bend. If you force them too far, they’ll go all out…we gave them a bit too much pressure, and so they are beginning to fight back.”

Dong Ziqi sent back confidently, “No need to worry. Ninefire is an old fellow who has lived for nearly four centuries. He is quite sly. He will remonstrate with and hold back those other clansmen.”

………….

The Ji clansmen were secretly speaking mentally to each other.

“Snowdragon Mountain has gone too far, true.” Ninefire sent mentally. “But no matter how arrogant they behave, we have to endure it. Or are we really going to fight against them?”

“But Patriarch, we can sign a transfer agreement with the Grand Xia Dynasty. By then, we would have the protection of the Grand Xia Dynasty, and we would even receive thirty percent of this elemental ore mine.” A muscular member of the Ji clan sent mentally.

“Fool!” Ninefire sent back. “To sign a transfer agreement with the Grand Xia Dynasty, we must first make a report, at which point an Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty would come to inspect this elemental ore mine. Only at the very end would a transfer agreement be signed! This process takes time. During the course of such a long period of time, our Ji clan would most likely suffer the risk of annihilation!”

“For the sake of thirty percent of an elemental ore mine, cause the entire clan to fall into the risk of annihilation?” Ninefire shouted. “Foolishness, utter foolishness! And even if we truly do succeed in signing a transfer agreement, resulting in the Grand Xia Dynasty protecting our Ji clan for a thousand years…what about after that thousand years? By then, Snowdragon Mountain would come to take revenge on our Ji clan, and our clan would still end up doomed. That’s why I would rather give this entire elemental ore mine to Snowdragon Mountain.”

“But…”

“This is too infuriating.”

“Too…”

The hearts of every Ji clansman burned with rage.

“No matter how angry and unwilling to accept it we might feel, for the sake of the Ji clan, we have to endure it all.” Ninefire sighed mentally to them. “As long as the Ji clan can continue to exist and prosper, so what if we have to suffer some mistreatment?”

“If you have to blame someone, then blame us for not being strong enough. This clearly is a stroke of luck bestowed upon us by the heavens, but we are unable to accept and make use of this elemental ore mine.” Ninefire looked towards Ning. “Ji Ning, you are the most incredible talent which our Ji clan has ever produced, since the founding of the clan. If you continue developing, even becoming a Wanxiang Adept is virtually guaranteed.”

All of the clansmen looked towards Ning, their eyes filled with hope and longing.

Right.

The hopes of the Ji clan’s future rise to prominence rested on him! These Xiantian lifeforms of the Central Prefecture previously had held some doubts regarding Ning’s power, as prior to this, they had only heard rumors about him…but now, they had personally witnessed Ning reveal some of his power. He had even broken through the technique of a powerful Zifu Disciple expert of Snowdragon Mountain. Ning was only sixteen years old! When they thought of Ning’s potential, all of them were excited.

“However, no matter how great a genius someone is, once he’s dead, he’s no longer a genius.” Ninefire looked at Ning. “For the sake of our Ji clan, you must survive and live a long life.”

Ning nodded gently.

He thought of a person…the fourth master of the Aquatic Manor. Rampart. The man who, despite the presence of so many competitors, had successfully become the personal disciple of Immortal Juhua. There was no need to say anything about his talent…but he had died as a Wanxiang Adept.

“We members of the Ji clan will firmly remember the insults we have borne today.” Ninefire looked at every member of the clan. “We have to grow strong. After we grow strong, others will not dare to insult us, look down on us.”

“Right.” The clansmen all nodded, and Ning nodded as well.

…..

Dong Ziqi and his group of five Zifu Disciples just watched to the side. Watched as the group of Ji clansmen all forcibly restrained and swallowed the anger. Seeing the looks on their faces, they couldn’t help but snicker. This was something they had seen too many times. In the past, when they had acted on orders from the main sect, those minor tribes and clans had all been forced to bend their waists and lower their heads in the face of Snowdragon Mountain.

“Dong Ziqi.” Ninefire turned his head to look towards Ziqi and the others.

“Finished chatting?” Ziqi looked at Ninefire. “But Ninefire, let me tell you clearly that no matter what, you must hand over the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords! If you don’t hand it over, then the destruction of your Ji clan will be impending!”

The members of the Ji clan were barely able to restrain their rage, which was now painted upon their faces.

They ‘had’ to hand over the official writ?

Wasn’t this the same as forcing their Ji clan to give up their territory?

Ninefire clenched his teeth, his face ugly to behold. One word at a time, he ground out, “My Ji clan can give up the official writ and leave this land! This land will all belong to Snowdragon Mountain.”

“What.”

Everyone was stunned. Ning stared at the Patriarch in shock as well.

Ninefire continued to speak, grinding each word out. “But your Snowdragon Mountain must give our Ji clan an official writ as well, to give our Ji clan a place to resist! We’ll use the official writ for our City of Ten Thousand Swords in exchange for another official writ of a large commandery city of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Our Ji clan is willing to leave our homeland and depart.”

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Chapter 19 – Separation

Chapter 19 – Separation

Turn their backs on their homeland and leave?

Ji Ning forcibly suppressed the unwillingness in his heart. He wasn’t willing. He truly wasn’t willing. But he saw that all the members of the clan around him, including his father, Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the others were all silent. As long as the Ji clan could continue to survive and prosper, then they would be willing to endure even departing from their homeland!

“As long as Snowdragon Mountain will hand over an official writ.” Ninefire said in a low voice. “Then our Ji clan will immediately hand over the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords!”

“Official writ?”

In the distance, Dong Ziqi and the other five looked at each other, quietly discussing this amongst each other.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi, what should we do?” The green-haired woman sent mentally. “Hand over an official writ?”

“Hand over?” Ziqi looked at the green-haired woman. “Junior apprentice-sister He Xing, will you hand over one?”

The green-haired woman immediately shut her mouth.

These Zifu Disciples who had left the main sect and independently set up branches were all those who didn’t have much potential, and could be considered outer members of the sect. The commandery cities of the Grand Xia Dynasty they had taken over in the Swallow Mountain region was their foundation as well! It was also the foundation of many of their tribes, and their forces had coalesced there long ago. How could they give them up?

Hand over an official writ?

Who would hand it over?

The elemental ore mine would be given to the main Snowdragon Mountain Sect. Why should we sacrifice? Why should our tribes sacrifice? Every single commandery city had three Zifu Disciples. They had to all agree before the official writ would be relinquished! But who would be willing to relinquish a base they had built up over so many years?

“We aren’t willing to give ours up, but can it be that our fellow disciples in other areas would be willing to hand over a commandery city of theirs?” Ziqi shook his head. “Our Snowdragon Mountain has many branches, and those fellow disciples of those branches won’t care about us at all. How could they be so kind-hearted as to relinquish a commandery city for us?”

“At least, it’s impossible for our Ju clan. I don’t agree, and my uncle in the clan won’t agree either.” The muscular man said hurriedly. “Forget it. I refuse to believe the Ji clan will really dare to resist.”

“Right.”

The green-haired man nodded. “Force the Ji clan! If they resist, we will exterminate their clan! If they obey us, they will still be able to stay alive! I trust the Ji clan knows what they should do.”

“Right. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this.” The muscular man, Ju San, nodded as well.

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” The gray-robed Muse nodded as well.

Dong Ziqi looked at his four fellow disciples. Although not every member of the Swallow Mountain branch had come, since after all they couldn’t possibly summon everyone just for the sake of an elemental ore mine, these five represented all of the various internal factions of the Swallow Mountain branch.

“Fine.” Ziqi nodded. “Then that’s what we will do. Just as junior apprentice-brother Ju San said, this isn’t the first time we’ve done this.”

Snowdragon Mountain had many branches.

With so many branches, how could they take over enough commandery cities? Fighting for each one?

That was lunacy.

They could simply use the butcher’s blade and their fame to frighten others simultaneously. In truth, the vast majority of tribes would, in the end, grit their teeth and swallow their rage, voluntarily relinquishing their official writs and obediently leaving. But of course, some battles would occasionally occur, as there were no absolutes. Dong Ziqi, however, was confident that his side’s power was definitely superior to that of the Ji clan’s.

……..

The Ji clan was waiting.

Although they felt heartache and unwillingness, Ning and everyone else had begun to mentally prepare for leaving their homeland. As long as the Ji clan was able to continue to survive, it would all be worth it. The Ji clan was waiting for Snowdragon mountain’s response.

“Right.” Ziqi let out a light snort. “Ji Ninefire.”

Every Ji clansmen looked towards Ziqi, while Ninefire said hurriedly, “This is the final, bottom line of the Ji clan.”

“Bottom line?” Ziqi laughed coldly. “Bottom lines are meant to be broken! Ji Ninefire, you want to trade the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords for another official writ? You really are dreaming. Right now, I’ll give you two options. The first option is that you defy my Snowdragon Mountain, and your Ji clan wait for annihilation. The second option is that you hand over the official writ to the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Our Snowdragon Mountain sect will permit your Ji clan to continue to live in this area. After the elemental ore mine has been fully excavated, we will return the official writ to the City of Ten Thousand Swords to you. This is the promise of myself, Dong Ziqi!”

The faces of every member of the Ji clan changed.

What?

Promise?

What a dogshit promise! What was a promise worth? Just by a saying a few empty words, he was demanding that the Ji clan hand over their official writ?

“Ziqi.” Ninefire was both furious and frantic.

“Shut your mouth.” Ziqi snapped in a fierce voice, his cold, sinister eyes staring at Ninefire. “You only need to choose…to continue surviving, or to be annihilated! This is the decision for you to make, Ji Ninefire! If you choose the annihilation of your clan…well, it has been a long time since my Eight Trigrams Dragon Blood Formation has truly drawn blood.”

The other four Zifu Disciples by his side all had savage looks flashing in their eyes. They were born in the main sect, and had each learned some powerful techniques. Their abilities were quite a bit superior to the abilities of ordinary, local experts. If they truly were to fight all out…there were three more Zifu Disciples in their headquarters. In total, they had eight Zifu Disciples!”

“Choose!” Dong Ziqi said coldly.

On the Ji clan’s side, some people were so angry that they were trembling.

“Patriarch!” Some clansmen called out loudly.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Ninefire raised his head, howling heroically. “I, Ji Ninefire, am ashamed to meet the ancestors of the Ji clan!”

Ning ground his teeth, his entire body trembling.

As for the distant Dong Ziqi and the other four, they watched this with cold smiles on their faces. The decision to give up an ancestral homeland would indeed cause someone to feel ashamed to meet one’s ancestors. But would these local bumpkins dare to resist? Resistance meant death!

“Die!” Ninefire suddenly threw out six black spheres, which transformed into six rays of light, flying directly before Dong Ziqi’s group of five.

“Thunderflame Pearls!”

Dong Ziqi and the other four were greatly startled. As they came from the main sect, they immediately recognized these very common and extremely vicious and sinister Thunderflame Pearls. They contained the power of lightning and fire, and held extremely explosive force. Once ki caused them to explode…they would immediately detonate, and the power of the explosions would be very shocking. The sudden explosion of six Thunderflame Pearls at a close distance could cause even Zifu Disciples to die.

“These local bumpkin clans really do have some treasures. They are actually able to throw out six Thunderflame Pearls at one go.” Even as Ziqi was frantically dodging, this thought drifted into his mind.

The five Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain quickly separated into separate directions.

Boom…

Powerful explosions of thunder and flame burst forth, and dazzling serpents of electricity blasted out in every direction, while flames began to burn the entire area, causing the entire world to shake. The power was indeed astonishingly fierce.

“Arise!” A look of utter savagery was in the eyes of Ninefire, who had just thrown out those six Thunderflame Pearls.

Swooosh…

Suddenly, the desolate mountain wilderness in the nearby area was surrounded by mist and fog. Mist and fog appeared everywhere, and even Ning was only able to see to a distance of ten meters with the naked eye.

“Not good.” Dong Ziqi, who had just dodged the last attack and was feeling rather smug and disdainful, saw the mist which had appeared out of nowhere. His face instantly changed. “A bewildering formation!”

“That sly old fellow threw out those six Thunderflame Pearls not for the purpose of killing us, but to make sure that the five of us would all put some distance between us.” Ziqi’s face completely changed. He stared at the thick mist around him. He could only see to a distance of six meters with the naked eye. Previously, upon encountering the Thunderflame Pearls, they had all dodged at full strength, trying to move as far away as they could.

Thus, those fellow disciples had all put tens of meters of distance between each other. As long as they were more than fifteen meters away from each other, within this bewildering formation, they would be affected by the master of the formation, resulting in them moving further and further away from each other.

“This Ji Ninefire is planning to completely separate the five of us.” Ziqi was both frantic and furious.

“Senior apprentice-brother!” A distance voice rang out. “It’s a bewildering formation. We’ve all been separated. Ji Ninefire, that old bastard, is planning to kill us one by one! They will definitely have several Zifu Disciples join forces to fight against each of us one by one!”

Although he could hear the sound, within the bewildering formation, directions constantly changed, and so he couldn’t tell where it came from at all.

“Fellow apprentices Ju San, Muse, He Fang, and He Xing, are all of you together?” Ziqi called out frantically.

“I’m with my older brother.” A female’s voice rang out.

“I’m by myself.”

“I’m alone as well.”

The other two voices caused Ziqi’s heart to grow cold. He understood that although He Fang and his sister were together, Ju San, Muse, and Ziqi himself had been completely separated. And even if the two He siblings joined forces…once the Ji clan attacked together, they would also be in great danger.

“This time, I really have fallen into the trap of that old fellow.” Ziqi was both frantic and furious. “But how could he have set up this formation in advance?”

…….

Separated from each other within the fog of the bewildering formation, the five Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain were in a state of panic. At this time, the Ji clan’s side was both excited and shocked.

“Patriarch, why did you suddenly attack?”

“And this…this…this…what’s going on with this formation?”

All of the clansmen were stunned.

Ninefire swept everyone with his gaze, then growled, “My Ji clan isn’t a soft bone for them to chew on. They are riding on our heads to the point where they are even pissing and shitting on our faces. How can we possibly take any more of this? Rather than slink away like cowards, let’s battle to our heart’s content. In the end, my Ji clan will still have a chance!”

“Obey my orders!” Ninefire commanded.

All the clansmen awaited.

“Northwind, you go lead Ji Mo and the others to immediately board our birds to stealthily leave Swallow Mountain in three different streams.” Ninefire said. “They will pass down the lineage of the Ji clan.”

“Yes.”

“Ji Winterpool, immediately head to Swallow Mountain City and make a report to the Grand Xia Dynasty that an elemental ore mine has appeared within the territory of the Ji clan. I entrust this task to you. Remember, arrange for multiple messengers. You have to ensure that at least one group makes it to Swallow Mountain City.”

“Yes.”

Ninefire swept the rest with his gaze. “Everyone else who is not at the Zifu Disciple level, return to the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Leave this place to us. Go.”

With a thud, these members of the Ji clan all fell to their knees. They looked at Ninefire, Ning, Truekeep, Yichuan. Although they didn’t say anything, all of them then quickly left.

“We are the only ones left here.” Ninefire swept the remaining people with his gaze. “These five arrogant Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain have already been separated by my formation. As long as we attack them one by one, we can completely exterminate them!”

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire looked at Ning. “You are the hope of our Ji clan, and the future of our Ji clan. If the situation truly grows dire, you are to immediately use the Traceless Talisman to flee! As long as you survive, our Ji clan will not be exterminated!”

“Yes.” Ning gritted his teeth and replied.

“Prepare to kill, then.” Ninefire began to laugh loudly. “It’s been so many years since I’ve gone wild. I suddenly feel much younger, and filled with anticipation, like the first time I entered my marital bed!”

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Chapter 20 – Each Showing Their Abilities

Chapter 20 – Each Showing Their Abilities

“Patriarch, how did you come up with the idea in advance of setting up a formation?” Ji Truekeep couldn’t help but ask.

This was the question which Ji Ning and the others had on their minds as well. None of them had seen the Patriarch set up the formation, and after the Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain had come over…there was no time to set up a formation either.

Ji Ninefire glanced at the people before him. “When considering matters, one needs to take a longer view of things. When I first had an inkling of how large this elemental ore mine was, I grew concerned that it would attract the greed of Snowdragon Mountain, and so I began to take precautions against them! What if Snowdragon Mountain came and tried to pressure us? Thus, early on, I set down the formation in the area around us. If we didn’t end up fighting, fine. If we did though, then we naturally have to seize the upper hand. As for why I didn’t tell the rest of you? If I told you and let you all be aware of the great formation around us, would you have all displayed such rage and grief? Snowdragon Mountain’s people probably would have realized, found the formation, and broken through it long ago.”

“Uh…” Ning and the others all nodded.

But Ning understood as well…

Although this wasn’t very strange or mysterious once explained, earlier, everyone had been stunned and astonished by the size and scale of this elemental ore mine. None of them, however, had thought to set down a formation first. This was a matter of experience and foresight!

“No matter what, my actions cause me to feel ashamed to meet the ancestors of the Ji clan. I’ve let the Ji clan fall into peril.” Ninefire said in a low voice. “I didn’t want to choose this path at all. Choosing this path means fighting Snowdragon Mountain head on. My Ji clan must sign an agreement as soon as possible with the Grand Xia Dynasty. Once we sign the agreement, we will at least be guaranteed of a thousand years of safety. A thousand years from now, I have faith that our Ji clan would have risen to prominence. Even if we are still weak though, a thousand years is enough time for our Ji clan to have made our arrangements.”

“Now…”

“Let’s go kill them, as many as we can. The more we kill, the less pressure our Ji clan will be under.” Ninefire swept his gaze across everyone. Granny Shadow. The old servant, Ah Xing. Truekeep. Yichuan. Ning. These were the top-tier fighters of the Ji clan. “I, Shadow, Ah Xing, and Ning will join forces to kill the He siblings! Truekeep, Yichuan, the two of you go deal with Ju San.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.” Everyone acknowledged the order.

Shadow hurriedly asked, “Then what about Dong Ziqi? He’s a calamity waiting to happen. We must eradicate him early on.”

“He and Muse have located each other and joined forces already.” Ninefire said. “We will deal with them in the end.”

“Let’s go. I’ll guide you through the fog.” Ninefire immediately advanced, and Granny Shadow, Ah Xing, and Ning all followed him. The four of them were the most powerful four members of the Ji clan. As for Truekeep and Yichuan, a corridor naturally formed for them through the mist, and they advanced at high speed as well.

……..

Within the formation.

Dong Ziqi’s face was icy and sinister. “I actually fell into the old crook’s scheme.” In the area around him, eight black crystal balls appeared out of nowhere, each of which was the size of a person’s skull. Within them, a faint image of a draconic shadow could be seen swimming about. The eight bloody trigrams on the black robe he was wearing immediately radiated a bloody light.

The bloody light encompassed those eight distant black crystal balls.

“Arise!”

One enormous, shadowy, blood-colored dragon after another appeared in front of Ziqi. There were eight shadowy blood-colored dragons. They swirled amongst each other, constantly roving about within the formation.

“Fellow disciples, stay where you are and do not move.” Ziqi shouted, while at the same time, he controlled his Eight Trigram Blood Dragons Formation, constantly expanding the scope of the formation.

As the scope of the formation increased, those eight shadowy blood dragons also swam about in a wider and wider area. Soon, the width of the formation reached a scope of three hundred meters, encompassing the nearby Muse within it as well. This sort of large formation, which spread out in every direction…made it so that even in a bewildering formation, there was no way one would be completely bewildered!

“Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi.” The gray-robed man, Muse, said in surprised delight. He was overjoyed at having been brought within the perimeters of the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation.

“Where are our other fellow disciples?” Ziqi looked around him.

“Not here.” Muse shook his head. “I’m the only one within your Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation.”

Dong Ziqi ground his teeth, then immediately called out in a high voice, “I am together with fellow disciple Muse. He Fang, He Xing, the two of you need to be careful. And Ju San…take care of yourself.”

“Don’t worry.”

“We siblings aren’t afraid of them.”

“If they want to kill me, I’ll make sure one of them dies as well!”

Three voices rang out.

“Damnable.” Dong Ziqi said unhappily. “We fell into that old crook’s trap. Otherwise, if the five of us joined forces, how could we be put into such a situation by the likes of the Ji clan? I myself am able to kill more than half of them. Junior apprentice-brother Muse, your accomplishments in the Myriad Ancient Green Vines technique are quite profound. If you use the Myriad Ancient Green Vines technique, can you break this formation?”

“It would be very difficult.” Muse shook his head. “Even if I could break it, I would need a very long time, and I probably wouldn’t have enough ki energy.”

“Use it as much as you can.” Ziqi said. “I have a bottle of ki recovery pills. Take it.”

“Fine.” Muse gritted his teeth. “Then I’ll hand over the defense to you, senior apprentice-brother.”

Ziqi said confidently, “You are within my Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. Even if several of them attack together…I have no fear of them. The only thing I’m afraid of is that they won’t come for me! How detestable…if I had known earlier, I would’ve started to kill them from the start. Now, I can’t even find them, even though I want to kill them.” He, by himself, was equal to his other four fellow disciples if they joined forces. But unfortunately, although he had power, he had no place to exert it.

“Arise.”

Muse stood there, and a single seed fell into the ground.

Whoosh!

Many tendrils suddenly grew out from that seed, wildly spreading out in every direction.

“Bewildering formations will bewilder the senses.” Muse said in a low voice. “My vines will be affected by the bewildering formation as well. It will be hard for them to move in the correct direction. Still, these vines can constantly grow and expand towards empty areas…as long as they continuously fill up the area, if they continuously grow, then naturally they’ll be able to cover the entire formation, and perhaps even go beyond it. My mind is one with these vines. So long as the vines are able to leave the formation, I will know it.”

“But what I don’t know is how large this formation is. After all, when the diameter expands tenfold, the number of tendrils I need to grow is increased a hundredfold. The larger the formation is, the more exhausting it will be for my Ki.” Muse didn’t feel much confidence.

“Let’s go all out.” Ziqi gritted his teeth. “Trapped here, the only thing that will happen is that we will be butchered as they please.”

“Right.” Muse didn’t say anything further, striving to expand and empower his technique.

Rustle, rustle…

Countless vines frantically grew out and elongated, but in the bewildering formation, where they had no sense of direction, these vines grew out in a wild, unorderly manner as well. Still, one thing was certain…they were to grow in the direction of areas where there were no vines! To cover as much new space as they could!

…………

In another area.

Ning, Ninefire, and the others were present.

“The He siblings are up front.” Ninefire said. “I’ll launch the first attack, and then part open the mist. You will see the two of them. All of you, immediately use killing attacks.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Whoosh!

More than seven hundred sword-type magic treasures suddenly appeared in the area around Ning, each of which glowed with a hazy white light. The swords gently ebbed and flowed, unceasingly summoning and coalescing the power of the world. Ning’s ki was constantly being transformed through these magic swords as well, and in front of him, a dazzling, eye-catching white sword light had taken form.

[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] – Level Nine!

“What a sharp sword light.” Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the old servant, Ah Xing, were shocked. Although they hadn’t interacted with it, they could sense how sharp this sword light was.

Granny Shadow pointed with her finger, and in front of her, three flying swords appeared as well, each of which glowed with a faint, fiery light.

Next to her, the old servant Ah Xing lifted his hand, and a warhammer appeared within it.

“Let’s do it.” Ninefire waved his hand, and a mottled, five-colored flying sword suddenly pierced through the air. Ninefire was famous for using poisons and formations…although this flying sword was a ranked magic treasure, to be more precise, it was a poison sword.

……

A hundred meters in front of Ning, He Fang and He Xing, brother and sister, were present. The two had used a number of Dao-seals, and their bodies were covered by golden light. At the same time, two magic treasures were constantly flying around them, one which looked like an iron pestle, while the other was a strange-looking tiled jar magic treasure.

“We can’t see our surroundings. They will definitely ambush us. Be careful.” The green-haired man, He Fang, said softly.

“Right.” His younger sister, He Xing, was incomparably cautious as well.

Suddenly…

A five-colored flying sword suddenly descended at an astonishing speed. However, as the He siblings were constantly on-guarded, they immediately used their techniques to defend.

“Whoosh…”

The floating tiled jar suddenly emitted a large amount of green liquid into a watery curtain, which was incomparably tough and unyielding. Once the five-colored flying sword pierced into the curtain of green liquid, the speed of it immediately slowed greatly.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Three flying swords glowing with fiery light slashed through the skies as well. It was the three flying swords of Granny Shadow.

This instantly caused the faces of He Fang and He Xing, brother and sister, to change greatly. They hurriedly worked to block it as well, but the water curtain was beginning to be unable to withstand it.

“Bang!” An enormous black warhammer, carrying even more incomparably ferocious power, smashed straight through the quivering water curtain, and then smashed onto the golden light covering the body of He Xing, the younger sister. The golden light instantly trembled violently, as though it was about to shatter.

“Not good.”

“Quick, let’s run. If we stay here, we’re just going to serve as punching bags.” He Fang and He Xing, after having suffered successive strikes, had begun to panic. Clearly, there were quite a few enemies.

Swish!

A dazzling sword light suddenly slashed out in a lonely arc, leaving behind a beautiful, dreary afterimage as it instantly pierced through the quivering barrier of golden light covering He Xing’s body…

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Chapter 21 – The Zifu Lake

Chapter 21 – The Zifu Lake

When Ji Ning’s [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] sword light swept down towards them, the graceful, lithe-bodied He Xing’s face changed. “What a terrifying sword light! There’re no other options!” Her green hair suddenly emitted a dazzling green light while at the same time, her entire body dimly glowed with a green aura. As for that sword light which had just pierced through the golden aura protecting her body, it clashed straight against that green aura. The green aura trembled, and rippling runes appeared on its surface, but in the end, with a boom, it blew apart.

The remaining energy in the sword light was quite weak now, so weak that it wasn’t even able to pierce through the protective magic treasure He Xing was wearing.

“Elder Brother! The talisman which Master gave us was broken through in just one attack.” He Xing said frantically.

This was too terrifying.

The power of that sword light was most likely close to that of a casual blow from a Wanxiang Adept. Even the talisman her master had given her to protect her was only able to take a single blow.

“Little Sister, let’s go all out.” Mu Fang gritted his teeth. “We can’t hope for a lucky break to occur. We have to treat this as our potential tomb, for us to have a chance of surviving.”

“Right.” Xing nodded.

A look of resoluteness appeared in the eyes of these two siblings. Their auras grew savage, and a layer of bloody light arose on their skin.

“Forbidden arts!” The distant attackers, Ji Ninefire, Ji Ning, Granny Shadow, the old servant Ah Xing saw this, and their faces changed.

Forbidden arts…

Generally speaking, they referred to forbidden techniques that were used through sacrificing one’s own lifespan. They could only be used at enormous cost, and once the cost was made, it was very hard to recover from it. But precisely because the cost was great, the power one had upon using a forbidden art would rapidly rise as ewll.

“You want to kill us? Come, then.”

“Come.”

After having used a forbidden technique, He Xing and He Fang both had savagery in their eyes.

“They are like trapped beasts right now.” Ninefire hurriedly sent mentally to the others. “Although they are surrounded and attacked by us, they are still Zifu Disciples, and they’ve used forbidden techniques. If we aren’t careful, some of us might die. We have to be cautious. We have the advantage. I’d rather we give up some opportunities than risk our lives. We just have to find a single good opportunity, at which point we can kill them.”

“Right.” Granny Shadow narrowed her eyes.

The old servant, Ah Xing, just stared at the distant He siblings, controlling that great warhammer of his.

As for Ning, he unleashed a second sword light.

The four were working together!

They wildly attacked the He siblings in unison. Amongst these five enemy Zifu Disciples, the He siblings actually had only average strength; they were ranked behind Dong Ziqi and Muse! As for Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing, they were old fellows who had lived for nearly four centuries, each of whom were actually a good amount more powerful than the He siblings. And that’s not even mentioning the monstrous Ji Ning!

Only through using forbidden arts were the He siblings capable of just barely holding off the joint attacks of these four.

“Despicable, sly Ji clansmen.” He Fang and He Xing were cursing wildly while controlling their magic treasures to resist. Because they had used forbidden arts, their ability to control magic treasures had clearly increased…in particular, the water curtain which flew out from the tiled jar was actually able to resist Ning’s [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

This caused Ning to sigh in his heart.

His enemies were Zifu Disciples, while he himself only had peak Xiantian-level Ki. For him to be able to fight against someone at a higher level who was even using forbidden arts…the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] should be proud of itself.

“Elder Brother, that Ji Ning is too powerful.” He Xing had a look of despair in her eyes. “Even going all out, I’m only able to block him alone.”

“I’m almost unable to hold out any longer as well.” He Fang was simultaneously blocking the other three.

Suddenly…

At the same instant, He Fang and He Xing each released a Dao-seal radiating a black light from their hands. They instantly activated the pair of Dao-seals, which immediately transformed into tens of rays of black light which quickly attacked Ninefire and the other three! Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the old servant Ah Xing were shocked, and they hurriedly used what abilities they had to resist. As for Ning, he wielded two swords in his hands, with the Waterflame Lotus swiveling around his body.

“Boomboomboom…” The rays of black light pierced directly through the Waterflame Lotus, but were blocked by Ning’s Darknorth swords.

But Ning couldn’t help but stagger backwards, taking six heavy steps back, the ground cracking with each step.

“Such power.” Ning stared at his waist. A large hole had been pierced through his waist, but in the blink of an eye, his flesh quickly grew out, regenerating the wound and not leaving behind a single scar.

“Ji Ning, it’s good that we have you. Otherwise, that technique alone would have wounded us, and perhaps one of us would even have died.” Ninefire was frightened as well. That black light had simply been too fast. Once it pierced through their bodies…the other three were all Ki Refiners. If they weren’t careful, they would lose their lives.

Granny Shadow sent mentally as well, “These two really live up to their reputation as being members from the main sect. They have so many techniques. If we aren’t careful, we might fall to one of them. Let’s pull away slightly; at a longer distance, it’ll be easier for us to deal with them.”

“Right.” Ninefire nodded. “The two of them are close to the breaking point. If we keep it up a little longer, they will definitely die.”

Hearing this, Ning frowned.

The Patriarch and the other two were all Zifu-level Ki Refiners. They didn’t dare fight in close quarters combat, because in close quarters combat, if one suffered an attack that was too fast and which didn’t give one a chance to dodge, one could easily die. It was correct for them to decide to pull away…but Ning himself was a Fiendgod Body Refiner! How long would it take for them to continue wasting time like this? They had to end this quickly!

“Patriarch, leave it to me.” Ning shouted mentally to them, while at the same time, a pair of wing-type magic treasures appeared out of nowhere on his back. The wings fluttered, and Ning soared into the air like a giant Roc, instantly appearing in front of He Fang and He Xing, the two siblings.

“Careful.” Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing were all shocked, but they knew that Ning was a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and that he trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. They weren’t too worried about him.

“Perfect timing.” He Fang and He Xing, the two siblings, were startled, then delighted.

Prior to this, they had been filled with rage.

Ninefire and the others had been too crafty; they had insisted on fighting at a distance, not giving the two of them a chance to fight back! The two were all but standing there and letting others beat down on them. They didn’t dare to make the slightest mistake, because if they did, the enemies would seize the chance to kill them. But who could forever be perfect and never make a mistake? Just as they were feeling despair, Ji Ning charged over.

“After killing you, our deaths would have been worth it.”

“The genius of the Ji clan.”

The He siblings had gone mad in their desire to kill Ning.

But Ning, moving like a giant Roc, arced outwards in a curving, solitary line as he attacked He Xing. His target was her, as she had already used up a protective talisman. In front of Ning, there was a flash of sword light, and the Darknorth swords in his hands executed his most powerful attack…Rain Line!

“Bang!”

The sword light flashed outwards!

He Xing’s beautiful head was sent flying into the air, her eyes still filled with disbelief and shock.

“You…you…” The nearby He Fang stared at Ning.

There was a wound on Ning’s head, which carved straight through his forehead, but this wound quickly healed. The reason why he was able to kill He Xing, a Zifu Disciple, in a single exchange was not only that Ning’s swordplay vastly outstripped the opponent’s; it was also because Ning fought in a way where the two of them would both take ‘lethal’ wounds, allowing her to stab him with her sword. This was why he was able to kill her in a single exchange.

“You…have reached the Zifu Disciple level as a Fiendgod as well?” He Fang didn’t dare believe it.

Killing a Fiendgod Body Refiner was far more difficult than killing a Ki Refiner.

Previously, Ning had used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], which was clearly a Ki Refiner technique. And Ning was only sixteen years old…He Fang and He Xing had both believed that given his age, Ning should only have opened his Violet Palace as a Ki Refiner! He most likely had yet to be able to open his Violet Palace as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and should only be a Xiantian-stage lifeform. Generally speaking, a Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner’s head was still a critical area. Even someone who trained in the number one technique, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], would have to reach the peak Xiantian level before having no critical areas anywhere in the body. That was why He Xing had wanted to sacrifice her life in that exchange.

“Little Sister.” He Fang stared at the corpse on the ground, then suddenly let out a heroic howl. “Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi, avenge us and annihilate the Ji clan!!!”

“Back.” Ning’s face changed, and his wing-type magic treasure fluttered as he frantically retreated.

“Boom.”

He Fang suddenly exploded.

The Zifu Violet Palace in his body was like an enormous lake which contained endless amounts of lake water. This lake water was actually liquefied ki energy! When He Fang detonated his Zifu ‘lake’, all of the liquefied ki energy that had accumulated in his Zifu instantly transformed into usable Ki. Even if his body had to blow apart, he wanted to make this liquefied ki instantly transform and blast outwards. The power of this elemental blast was simply terrifying.

The savage, boundless wave of ki spread out, rippling in every direction! Instantly, the turbid wave of elemental ki blasted into the frantically retreating Ji Ning, submerging him within it!

BOOM!!!

“Ji Ning!”

“Ji Ning!” The distant Ji Ninefire and the other two were shocked.

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Chapter 22 – Two More Remaining

Chapter 22 – Two More Remaining

Although Ji Ning had sensed in advance that something bad was going to happen, and thus had immediately used the Windwing Evasion to retreat, he was still struck on the back by the enormous surge of power, and his entire body was knocked helplessly flying, smashing a deep crater into the ground.

“Ji Ning, are you alright?”

“Ji Ning.”

The distant Ji Ninefire and the other two hurriedly flew over, staring into that deep crater with concern. Ning lay deep within the crater, fresh, crimson blood splattered everywhere. The wing-type magic treasure on his back was already twisted…but within the crater, Ning was quickly recovering. He stretched his hand out, lifting himself upwards and quickly returning to his feet.

“I’m fine.” Ning said hoarsely. That earlier explosive force had damaged even his throat. As he arose from the deep crater, the various wounds on his back were quickly healing, and the terrifying injuries his body had sustained were rapidly regenerating. Moments later, not even a scar could be seen. As for Ning’s protective magic armor, it quickly reformed into the shape of the beast fur clothes his mother had made for him.

This caused Ninefire and the other two to sigh in amazement. This was what Ki Refiners like them envied the most with regards to Fiendgod Body Refiners.

If it was them, they probably would have died long ago!

“The power of a detonating Zifu ‘lake’ truly is terrifying.” Ning sighed in amazement.

Establishing the ‘Violet Palace’ was part of the Immortal path. The Zifu was like a lake that contained liquefied ki energy. The Zifu lake was thus the foundation for an Immortal practitioner! A fruit tree that wished to bloom and birth fruits had to have a patch of land, while Immortal practitioners who wished to reach the Wanxiang level or become a Primal Immortal…had to have a Zifu lake! This was their foundation. Zifu Disciples would constantly accumulate their ki energy, expanding the size of that lake…

But once the accumulated ki energy was detonated, the first to die from the explosion iwould be the practitioner! Only then would others be hit by the explosion.

“This is why the three of us didn’t dare to attack in close combat. Only you, a Fiendgod Body Refiner, would dare draw near.” Ninefire said.

“Formidable.” Ning said softly.

“The lifeforce possessed by Fiendgods truly is astonishing.” Granny Shadow said hoarsely.

………..

In a different area.

The eight shadowy blood dragons of the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation roved about sinuously. In the center were Muse and Dong Ziqi. Ziqi had a gloomy look on his face, and his eyes were filled with a boundless killing intent. He truly wished to charge out and kill them. But that group of Ji clan cowards didn’t dare to come face him.

“Little Sister! Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi, avenge us and annihilate the Ji clan!!!” A fierce voice suddenly rang out, and then…a deafening, massive explosion.

Muse, seated in the lotus position, opened his eyes, which were filled with a look of sorrow. “The He siblings are dead.”

“Not only dead; he even detonated his own Zifu lake. He was forced into dire straits.” Ziqi’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes were filled with rage. He, Dong Ziqi, had actually been forced into such a terrible situation, and by the puny little Ji clan. This caused the look on Ziqi’s face to become all the more terrible. He howled savagely, “I, Dong Ziqi, swear that I will definitely annihilate the Ji clan! Definitely!” His roar rang out.

“I will definitely annihilate the Ji clan! Definitely!!!”

As Ning heard this, his face changed slightly. He could sense the wild savagery and killing intent held within this shout. By his side, Ninefire just said coldly, “If we didn’t kill them, they would still annihilate our Ji clan for not handing over the official writ! If they want to kill us, then they need to be prepared for the possibility that we might kill them. Screaming loudly now is the act of a coward.”

“Come. Let’s go deal with Dong Ziqi.” Granny Shadow ground her teeth, speaking in a hoarse voice.

“Right.” The old servant, Ah Xing, acknowledged.

Ning was filled with boundless killing intent as well…against these enemy forces who wanted to annihilate the Ji clan and give them no options, Ning wouldn’t feel a hint of pity!

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire just frowned. “Immediately go to your father’s place. Assist them in killing Ju San.”

“My father?” Ning was startled.

Can it be that his father, Ji Yichuan, and Ji Truekeep had met with trouble in their combined effort to deal with that ‘Jusan’?

“It’s Muse.” Ninefire said urgently. “Muse is currently using a magical technique, causing a large number of vines to rapidly grow out nonstop. They’ve already grown near the place where your father is. Once those vines encounter Ju San…! Dong Ziqi and Muse will quickly follow the vines and rejoin with Ju San! Once the three join forces, it will be even more difficult to kill them.”

A path through the mist had already appeared in front of Ning.

“I’ll go.” Ning transformed into a blurred shadow, quickly advancing forward.

“We’ll go deal with Dong Ziqi and Muse.” Ninefire looked towards Granny Shadow and Ah Xing. “We don’t have to kill them, but we need to disturb that Muse…ideally, making it so that Muse won’t be able to continue to use that technique of his. Those vines have grown so large…Muse definitely had to use up quite a bit of mental energy and Ki.”

“Right.” Granny Shadow and Ah Xing both nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three quickly hurried towards Ziqi…and as for Ning, as he flew forward, he saw the vines rapidly growing, but by relying on the Windwing Evasion, he was able to dodge past them and not touch them.

Soon.

From far away, the sound of explosions could be heard, and the fog grew thin as well. Ning saw two figures standing in the distance; it was his own father, Yichuan, and his clansman, Truekeep.

“Oh? Father isn’t using any magic treasures. Can it be that Father hasn’t established his Zifu yet?” As Ning hurried over, he discovered that Truekeep was currently controlling magic treasures to battle against that muscular man named Ju San, while Ning’s father, Yichuan, was brandishing his sword, releasing one last after another of sword light, each of which flowed out like a stream of water, constantly racing towards that muscular Ju San. Those blasts of sword light seemed like entangling threads, constantly restricting and binding Ju San.

Truekeep was the main force, while Yichuan was support!

“Damnable.” Ju San bellowed.

“From what the Patriarch previously said, it seems as though my father is a Zifu Disciple. But why is it that I’ve never seen Father ride on a magic treasure?” Ning was puzzled. “In fact, that year, when I suffered the attack from Serpentwing, when Father pursued Serpentwing, he didn’t ride on a magic treasure back then either. What’s the reason for this?”

Ning had asked his father before, but his father had refused to answer.

“After this battle, I’ll ask the Patriarch.” Ning buried these doubts in his heart, while at the same time, a pair of Darknorth swords appeared in his hands, while the wings on his back fluttered, sending him piercing through the air.

Prior to this, when He Fang had detonated his own Zifu Lake, the previous pair of wing-type magic treasures had been destroyed, but fortunately, Ning had quite a few sets of these unranked treasures.

“Father, Uncle Truekeep! Leave this Ju San to me!” Ning shouted loudly, then transformed into a ray of light, charging towards Ju San.

Yichuan and Truekeep both turned to look. “Ji Ning!”

“Hahaha, perfect!” From afar, mighty Ju San, who had power but no place to expend it, watched as Ning charged towards him. He was overjoyed! He was a Zifu Fiendgod Body Refiner! Fiendgod Body Refiners loved to engage in close quarters combat. Prior to this, Truekeep and Yichuan had continuously kept far away from him, and he, Ju San, was not proficient in movement techniques, and thus was completely unable to catch up.

To be constantly beaten down on, but be unable to catch up.

What sort of torment was this!

Although he had opened up his Zifu as a Ki Refiner as well, he hadn’t spent too much time and effort on learning how to ride magic treasures. His primary efforts had been expended on close quarters combat.

“Come, come, come. Let me take a look at this genius of the Ji clan and see how powerful you are.” Behind Ju San, a pair of black wings had appeared. As he went forward to engage Ning, he clearly was quite agile.

“Wing-type magic treasure?” Ning looked at the pair of wings on Ju San’s back, and his eyes couldn’t help but light up. The vast majority of Fiendgod Body Refiners would use wings, so as to make them more agile. “It should be a ranked magic treasure. I was worrying about how, after breaking through to the Zifu level, I wouldn’t have any ranked wing-type magic treasures.”

Boom!

Boom!

Two people. One came from the main sect of Snowdragon Mountain, and although he trained in a fairly ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining technique, known as the [Mighty Demon – Introductory], he was an early Zifu Disciple. Although the name of this technique seemed quite ordinary, it was quite a bit superior to the techniques the Ji clan possessed, such as the [Sutra of the Future Buddha] or [Indestructible Blood Fiend], even though those techniques had more impressive-sounding names. Generally speaking, the more powerful a sect was, the more modest the names their techniques would be.

As for the other person, this person trained in the technique that even in the Fiendgod Era was the indisputable number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. But this person was only a peak Xiantian.

“BANG!” “BANG!”

Ju San was wielding a greataxe, while Ning was wielding a pair of swords.

The two exchanged blows…

It was like a pair of juvenile Fiendgods from back in the Primordial Era who were fighting against each other. Instantly, the earth began to quake, then split apart, sending rocks flying everywhere! The two both had wing-type magic treasures behind them, and they they wildly battled each other in close quarters combat, completely unafraid of the occasional wounds they suffered. As for Ju San’s body, one wound after another appeared atop it.

“This Ju San’s axecraft is quite impressive. The greataxe is very large, making it so that when it defends, it is almost like a buckler.” Ning said to himself.

“Ji Ning has actually reached the Zifu level as a Fiendgod practitioner as well.” Ju San was even more shocked. “And his usage of dual swords is all the more marvelous and skilled. I’ve focused on my axecraft for nearly a century, but I actually can’t compare to his swordcraft! I’m at a disadvantage with every exchange…” Right now, he had only left two wounds on Ning’s body, and that was only because Ning had willingly accepted the blow in order to deliver one to him as well. But as for Ju San, his body had suffered over a hundred wounds on it by now. But of course, all of them had healed automatically.

Ning’s swordplay became even more ferocious and wild.

“Faster, faster, faster!”

Ning understood that as the opponent used a heavy weapon, the greataxe, he himself had to fight based on his speed. The faster Ning was, the more flaws the enemy would reveal.

“Like the wind!”

“Like the flame!”

Ning’s left and right hands each held a sword, but they used completely different swordplay techniques. One sword was as illusory as the wind, while the other sword was as aggressively scorching as a flame. Both of them were shockingly fast, and the two worked in unison, creating a explosive combination. The power of the two techniques multiplied, feeding off each other!

“Faster! Even faster!” Ning battled wildly against Ju San, raining down blows upon him.

Ju San’s movements became disordered, unable to keep up.

“SLASH!”

A sword blow that was as strangely agile and graceful as the wind slashed past the greataxe, and also slashed through Jusan’s waist. Crunch. Blood flew everywhere, and Ju San was bisected.

“Here’s my chance.” Ning instantly entered a berserk mode.

Thunderflash Flint!

Thunderflash Flint!

Thunderflash Flint!

Ning’s two swords simultaneously executed this technique. There was nothing weird about this technique, nothing savage about it; all it had was speed! One ray after another of sword light wildly chopped down on the bisected halves of Ju San’s body, causing Ju San’s body to constantly shatter, but Ju San’s head continued to roar, “It won’t be so easy to kill a Fiendgod Body Refiner!”

“Waterflame Lotus.” Ning executed his final, killing stroke.

Those countless pieces of Ju San’s body became enveloped within a Waterflame Lotus. The petals of the fire and water slowly swiveled against each other. After five years of training, the murderous grinding power of Ning’s Waterflame Lotus had reached a terrifyingly strong level. These completely defenseless chunks of bloody flesh were completely ground into dust.

Grind! Grind! Grind!

The pieces of bloody flesh tried frantically to reconnect to each other, reforming into a person. But they were constantly being ground down by the Waterflame Lotus!

Rumble…

The chunks of bloody flesh were completely ground to dust, completely unable to reform once more.

Ju San! Dead!

“Looks like I acquired a set of ranked wing-type magic treasures in advance.” Ning stretched his hand out, collecting the nearby spoils, including the wing-type magic treasures, the greataxe, the protective magic-terasures, and the various other magic treasures.

Ning turned to look.

Truekeep and Yichuan stood there watching from afar, looks of disbelief and shock on their faces. They had watched as two Fiendgod experts battled wildly and viciously against each other…it was power against power, and as soon as one fell, the other wildly charged forward to dismember him, giving him no chance at all to recover. Fortunately, Ning had his Waterflame Lotus, as otherwise it would have been hard for him to so quickly dispose of this Ju San.

“Let’s go.” Ning said hurriedly. “Father, Uncle Truekeep, we need to hurry up and rejoin the Patriarch. There are only two more remaining!”

“Ther are only two more remaining?” Truekeep and Yichuan were excited as well. They hadn’t imagined that in this battle, the Ji clan would actually have achieved such a glorious success, with only two Zifu Disciples remaining now.

However, it was the most powerful two!

“Kill them.”

Ning, Yichuan, and Truekeep transferred into rays of light, hurrying back to regroup with Ninefire and the others…

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Chapter 23 – Life And Death – Two Choices

Chapter 23 – Life And Death – Two Choices

Moments later.

A faint fog surrounded the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, and one shadowy blood dragon after another swam about, look towards Ji Ning, Ji Ninefire, and the rest of the six.

“Ji Ning, don’t charge in.”

“I want to give him a try.” With a thought, Ning summoned more than seven hundred weapon-type magic treasures, which undulated up and down in the air around him, all of them radiating a dim glow. In front of Ning formed an irresistible, unblockable sword light. With a thought, the sword light formed from the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] shot through the air.

[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] – Level Nine!

“Swish!”

The dazzling sword light charged straight into the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, and in the instant that it did so, the shadowy blood dragons immediately bellowed and charged forth. Cracklecracklecrackle…the sword light just managed to eradicate a single shadowy blood dragon before the power of the sword light was used up, but soon, the shadowy blood dragon once more reformed.

“What.” Ning was amazed. “I was only able to destroy a single dragon? And it almost immediately reformed?”

Dong Ziqi, within the formation, gave the distant Ning a cold, insidious look. In a hoarse voice, he said, “You live up to your reputation as being the genius of the Ji clan. Only sixteen years old…and yet you are able to destroy one of the dragons of my Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. However, the little bit of power you have is far from being sufficient.”

“Ning, don’t charge in.” Ninefire sent mentally in a frantic voice. “This sort of formation is perfectly suited to countering Fiendgod Body Refiners. As soon as you charge within, you’ll be attacked by all eight of those blood dragons, and they will rip you to pieces.”

“I know.” Ning nodded.

Although Fiendgod Body Refiners were superior to Ki Refiners…there was no such thing as an absolute truth!

Ki Refiners had their powerful experts as well, who were able to fight against those at a higher level as them. The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was one such example! Or, for example, those Ki Refiners who bred countless venomous pests, which would be released out in a flood, devouring everything in their path. Fiengod Body Refiners were more powerful, yes…but that was as a whole. On an individual level, there were incomparably glorious and talented Ki Refiners as well.

“The six of us should join forces to attack and see if we have any chance of winning.” A killing intent flashed through the eyes of Ninefire.

A flying sword flew through the air!

Venomous bugs danced out!

A sword light pierced forward!

In an instant, the entire world seemed to be filled with various techniques and attacks, which flew towards the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. Within the formation, Ziqi laughed wildly. “Excellent!” Those eight shadowy blood dragons, which had been peacefully swimming about, suddenly turned savage as they charged forward to welcome those attacks. They blocked one magic treasure after another, and as some of the dragons dispersed, they quickly reformed.

The eight shadowy blood dragons coiled about in a circular rhythm, forcibly taking on the attacks of Ning and the rest of the six.

“Cowards of the Ji clan, if you have any ability, come into my Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation.” Seeing that the attacks had been completely blocked, Dong Ziqi, standing within the formation, became even more arrogant. “You killed three of my fellow disciples because you had the advantage of numbers. In terms of actual ability, how could your Ji clan be a match for us? If we were to really fight, I, Dong Ziqi, would be able to annihilate you all!”

Outside the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, Ninefire, Granny Shadow, Ah Xing, Yichuan, Truekeep, and Ning were astonished at the power of this formation.

“Formidable.” Ninefire sent mentally. “Although I have long heard of the power of Dong Ziqi’s Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, I’ve never fought against it. It seems that the eight dragons within the formation are all comparable to a peak Zifu Disciple. With the eight joining forces…the power is truly astonishing. Even if the six of us truly want to go all out and kill him, most likely three of us would die.”

“There’s nothing in life that has no risk.” Granny Shadow sent. “Let’s kill this Dong Ziqi!”

“Our Ji clan has too few Zifu Disciples! But Snowdragon Mountain has plenty of them. It isn’t worth it for us to die alongside these two.” Ninefire refuted.

Ning stared at the distant Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation.

What to do?

After having attacked for the amount of time needed to brew tea, although Ning had only occasionally released an attack from his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the ki energy in his body was more than half used up.

“Hold your attacks.” Ninefire sent. “We’ve attacked together for so long now, but we haven’t had a single chance for breaking through. If we don’t take any risks, we won’t be able to kill Dong Ziqi. In addition, those vines are constantly growing outwards. Soon, they’ll have exited the perimeters of my bewildering formation. Forget it. We’ll just let them go this time.”

“Let them go?” Truekeep’s eyes were filled with disbelief. “Patriarch, if we lose this opportunity, in the future, Dong Ziqi will definitely come together with other Zifu Disciples. Killing him will be even more difficult.”

“Fool.” Ninefire sent furiously. “We aren’t trying to annihilate Snowdragon Mountain. What we are trying to do…is to let the Ji clan survive for a longer period of time! The six of us need to endure for as long as we can, to endure until the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy arrives! Once we sign our agreement, then we will have succeeded. Our lives are more important than Dong Ziqi’s life! If we go all out and three of us die so that we eventually kill the two of them…when Snowdragon Mountain comes for revenge, they’ll come with an entire group of Zifu Disciples. By then, how can the remaining people delay for any longer?”

Truekeep instantly came to his senses.

Killing the enemy was secondary. What really mattered for the Ji clan was to overcome this tribulation.

They had to endure and survive until the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy arrived! As for killing the Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain, that was a secondary goal. Killing a few extra Zifu Disciples would reduce their future pressure, but if today, they suffered too many losses, then it wouldn’t be worth it.

Within the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, Dong Ziqi was feeling taut and nervous as well. As the saying goes, it is hard for a pair of hands to fight off two pairs. He was faced with the attacks of six Zifu Disciples, each of which was displaying numerous techniques which filled the skies. Just now, he had just barely blocked the attacks of these six. If the Ji clan’s forces were to use forbidden arts to go all out…he would be in great danger as well.

“Even if I die, I’ll drag them down with me.” Dong Ziqi’s eyes flashed with wildness.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi.” Seated in the lotus position, the ashen-faced Muse suddenly opened his eyes, a look of wild joy within them. “My vines have already extended to beyond the bewildering formation.”

Ziqi was stunned, and then he was overjoyed as well. “We can leave?”

If he could live, of course he would rather live than fight to the death.

“I can sense the location of that vine. By following my senses, we can charge straight out.” Muse hurriedly rose to his feet. “Senior apprentice-brother Ziqi, control the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. We’re going to leave.”

A green leaf appeared out of nowhere.

The green leaf extended to the size of multiple meters, and Muse and Ziqi stepped atop the leaf. Around them, those eight bloody dragons continued to swim about. Clearly Ziqi was continuously maintaining the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation.

“Let’s go.”

Swoosh!

The green leaf began to fly in a strange, zig-zagging manner, occasionally advancing, then retreating, then turning, then retreating, then retreating, then advancing…the movements were completely bizarre. But in truth, this was caused by the disruptions to their sense of direction within the formation. Although it seemed as though they were constantly changing directions, in truth, they were moving towards the outside this entire time.

Whoosh…

Standing atop the leaf, Muse and Ziqi suddenly saw the desolate mountain forests outside.

“We’re out.”

“We’re out. We made it out.” Ziqi and Muse both had looks of surprise and joy on their faces. They had been trapped within the bewildering formation and unable to escape, giving their enemies complete control over what to do. That was indeed quite torturous. Now that they had escaped, they naturally felt incomparably jubilant.

“Ji clan!” Ziqi gritted his teeth.

Muse’s face was sinister as well. “Three of my fellow disciples have died miserable deaths here. How can we not avenge this great enmity?”

“Ji clan!” Dong Ziqi’s voice echoed for hundreds of kilometers. “Just wait for your clan to be annihilated!”

Swoosh!

A green leaf instantly slashed through the skies, quickly disappearing into the horizon.

And as it did, six figures walked out from within the bewildering formation. It was Ninefire and the other five. Ninefire turned to look towards the distant, desolate mountain forests, and he spied several figures from afar. Ninefire said in a booming voice, “Riverbank clan, Kou clan, Blackfire Sect…” As soon as he spoke, one figure after another flew over at high speed.

“Forgive us for being unable to assist.”

“Brother Ninefire, it wasn’t appropriate for us to intervene.”

One mental voice after another was sent over.

And then, those figures mounted on their magic treasures and flew away, departing. All of the Zifu Disciples of the various powers in the Swallow Mountain region had been drawn here by those earlier elemental waves of energy. Although they weren’t able to see the battle between the Ji clan and Snowdragon Mountain, they were able to guess what had happened. In particular, upon hearing Dong Ziqi’s final, angry words, they could tell what those words had implied.

“Alas.” Watching as those figures left, Ninefire shook his head. “This elemental ore mine has major implications. It will definitely draw the attention of even more Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. No wonder the Blackfire Sect, the Riverbank clan, and the Kou clan weren’t willing to interfere.”

In the Swallow Mountain region, the Ji clan, the Blackfire Sect, the Riverbank clan, and the Kou clan were allied with each other, and they jointly resisted Snowdragon Mountain and the Ironwood clan.

But what they jointly resisted was the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain! But this elemental ore mine…soon, the Zifu Disciples of the main Snowdragon Mountain Sect would come to attack Swallow Mountain, and when that happened, for them to annihilate the Blackfire Sect, Riverbank clan, and Kou clan would be simplicity itself. Of course they didn’t dare interfere. No matter how great the benefits might be, they still wouldn’t dare to intervene.

“Patriarch, what should we do now?” Truekeep spoke out.

Ning and the others turned to look at their Patriarch.

Ninefire said slowly, “This time, the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain has suffered severe losses. Three of their Zifu Disciples are dead. They will definitely invite their comrades from throughout the region to have them hurry over here. Given the allure of this elemental ore mine, there will be a large group of Zifu Disciples who will attack Swallow Mountain.”

Ning and the others all nodded.

“They will definitely invite those nearest Swallow Mountain. Given the speed of Zifu Disciples, they’ll probably arrive in just a day or two.” Ninefire said. “We have two options.”

“The first option.”

“We can hide.” Ninefire said. “We can make it so that the Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain are unable to find it. We only need to hide for a few days, and wait for the Angel arrives to sign a transfer agreement with us. This is a fairly safe route…but it will thrust the countless clansmen of our Ji clan into mortal danger.”

“The Zifu Disciples will be here soon, within just a day or two. In just a short day or two, the hundreds of thousands of tribesmen and clansmen belonging to our Ji clan won’t be able to make it far.” Ji Ninefire sighed. “When the group of Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain find that they are unable to locate us, to give vent to their rage, they will massacre our clansmen, or perhaps seize them and sell them off as slaves. This is normal.”

The faces of Ning and the others all changed.

Hundreds of thousands of their compatriots!

“The second option.” Ninefire said. “We publicly state that we will be in a certain location, and that we will set up a formation there. We publicly declare…that Snowdragon Mountain can come and kill us there, if they are able to.”

“Snowdragon Mountain is a major sect. Sects like them care deeply about their reputation. If we publicly set up this formation, once their Zifu Disciples come, they will definitely attack the formation full force in an attempt to break it. They won’t lower themselves to go slaughter a group of mortals. If they did so, once the word spread, this would be a great stain on Snowdragon Mountain’s reputation. But if we hide, resulting in them being unable to find the ‘culprits’, they will definitely massacre the people of the Ji clan, so as to demonstrate how the supremacy of Snowdragon Mountain is not to be challenged.

Ning and the others all nodded.

Right.

Major sects cared about their reputation!

If they hid, then those Zifu Disciples would use the excuse of wanting to demonstrate how the supremacy of their sect was not to be challenged, and go massacre the members of the Ji clan, so as to warn others.

But if the Ji clan’s experts stood out and openly proclaimed they would be at a certain location within a formation, then the enemies would no longer be able to go act against those ordinary mortals.

“Everyone, speak. What choice should we make?” Ninefire looked at his clansmen.

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Chapter 24 – The Stone Room Within the Mine

Chapter 24 – The Stone Room Within the Mine

Misty fog coiling about, Ji Ning just stood there, looking at his five elders. The Patriarch, his father, and the others were all very calm. Clearly, they had already made their decision.

“I am the Patriarch.” Ji NInefire said very calmly. “For the sake of the Ji clansmen. For the sake of the Ji clan’s reputation! I will stand out and welcome this battle with Snowdragon Mountain!”

Granny Shadow said in her hoarse voice, “I’ve lived nearly four hundred years. Can it be that I, Ji Shadow, am going to hide so as to live for a few more years while watching my clansmen fall into danger? In addition, I feel very happy that I’ll be able to face death with my elder brother.”

“Wherever my mistress is, I shall be there.” The old servant, Ah Xing, actually spoke out, a rare event indeed.

“It’s enough for we three old fellows to be there.” Ninefire smiled.

“Patriarch!” Truekeep spoke out. “I know the limits of my own talent. Even amongst the Zifu Disciples of the Ji clan, I am only average. It’s virtually impossible for me to become a Wanxiang Adept! This battle…is the most critical battle which will determine the fate of my Ji clan. I cannot hide from it.”

Yichuan smiled as well. “Patriarch, you know my situation as well. My Immortal path is shattered. I don’t want to die a silent, meaningless death. I must participate in this battle.”

“The two of you…” Ninefire shook his head.

Ning, hearing this, was stunned.

His Immortal path was shattered?

Didn’t his father always say that his heart was focused on following the Immortal path? Why did that change?

“Father, you said your Immortal path is shattered?” Ning stared at his father in disbelief.

Yichuan looked at his son, a rather complicated look on his face. “Actually, while adventuring in the Darknorth Sea, I had already broken through to the Zifu Disciple level. Afterwards, when your mother became pregnant with you, I had already reached to the middle Zifu level. I led your mother, wanting to return to Swallow Mountain, but your maternal uncle was worried, so he escorted us back.”

Ning listened intently.

He knew that a calamity had occurred on the way back.

“Afterwards, we met with a disaster.” Yichuan said. “Your mother was badly injured, but your Uncle White led you back. Your uncle and I both executed forbidden arts, using all our might to delay the enemy! During that battle, your uncle died while I was badly injured. Because I used a forbidden art for too long a period of time, the damage done to my Zifu Violet Palace was too great, and my Violet Palace became warped and atrophied, unable to expand again in the future. In other words, it is impossible for me to increase my power. I will forever remain a mid-level Zifu Disciple.”

“Because of the atrophication of my Zifu, I’m only able to draw out a hint of the ki energy within my Zifu.” Yichuan shook his head. “There’s no way I can ride on a magic treasure with just that tiny strand of Ki! Thus, I focus on my swordplay, with that strand of ki being the foundation of it. I draw forth the power of the world with every single blow of sword light.”

“But of course.” Yichuan said somberly. “I can still use a forbidden art one more time, forcibly drawing out a large amount of ki energy from within my Zifu. But given how my Zifu is already warped…there’s no need to repeat what I said earlier. Once I use a forbidden art, most likely within one hour, my Zifu will completely shatter, and I will be transformed into a cripple. In other words…I, your father, can only be a Zifu Disciple for one more time. After one last bout of glory, I will become a cripple.”

Ning was stunned.

No wonder his father’s swordplay was so powerful! No wonder his father never rode on a ranked magic treasure!

“My Immortal path is shattered. I only have one opportunity to use this forbidden art again.” Yichuan looked at his son. “Previously, I was keeping this opportunity in abeyance for you. I wanted to protect you. I wanted you to hold on to my jade sword, and upon encountering any danger, you would shatter that jade sword, and I would immediately hurry over to you. Even if you encountered a Zifu Disciple, I would have the power to rescue you. For the sake of my son, it would have been worth it.”

Ning’s heart was trembling.

So the truth was…

So the truth was, his father had been planning on this.

“But you no longer need my protection.” Yichuan smiled. “Your mother is dead as well. My Immortal path is shattered. And you are an adult, now. I have nothing holding me back. I will not retreat, this time. This will be the last battle I shall ever fight, and it will also be the most glorious battle of my life. If I die, I would rather die in this battle, die for the sake of the Ji clan!”

Ning stared at his father, at his father’s smile. His father rarely smiled, but the smile on his father’s face was a very relaxed one. Although Ning felt bitter pain in his heart, he didn’t try to dissuade his father.

…….

Of the six, five of the elders were preparing to do battle.

“I…” Just as Ning spoke out.

Ninefire barked, “It’s one thing for us to go risk our lives, but you, Ji Ning! You are the hope of our Ji clan! Your talent is something which our clan has never given birth to before! You must continue to live!”

“Patriarch, I know what you mean.” Ning shook his head. “But I am not willing to hide and just watch as you risk your lives. I am not willing!”

“You…” Ninefire said, enraged.

“But Patriarch, don’t worry. I’m not a brash and mindless brute. If I see that the situation is unsalvageable, I will immediately leave and save my own life.” Ning looked at the Patriarch. “I have a Traceless Talisman. I imagine, Patriarch, you know how powerful the Traceless Talisman is. Once I activate it, I will instantly be able to travel to a distance of up to ten thousand kilometers.” Ever since his mother had died, his father had given the Traceless Talisman to Ning.

Ninefire was stunned.

The Traceless Talisman? Of course he knew that the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had this treasure. He had once desired it, but the Ji clan had its rules which no one could violate.

“Since that’s the case.” Ninefire nodded. “Fine. You can come along with us. But if the situation grows unsalvageable, you must immediately leave.”

And thus, right here, within the desolate mountain forest filled with the fog of the bewildering formation, the six members of the Ji clan made their decision. Together, they would battle against Snowdragon Mountain.

“There are only six of us.” Ninefire was actually filled with a boundless martial spirit. “As for Snowdragon Mountain, after their Swallow Mountain branch suffered such a loss, they will definitely invite some of their fellow disciples from the surrounding branches to come. By then, an entire group of Zifu Disciples will attack us en masse, and perhaps even a Wanxiang Adept might come as well! Fighting them head on is idiocy. What we need to do is to delay. Thus, we must set up multiple layers of formations.”

“Right. Formations. Patriarch, you are the most skilled amongst us in formations.” Truekeep was filled with anticipation as well.”

“I will set up multiple layers of large formations.” Ninefire looked towards the other five. “Leave the formation setting to me. What the rest of you need to do is come up with ideas to improve your own fighting abilities, such as perhaps using some of the supreme guardian treasures of your respective prefectures…”

Everyone nodded.

“Also!”

Ninefire lowered his head, looking into the ground. “Beneath this desolate wilderness, in an area with a circumference of thousands of kilometers, there lies hidden an enormous elemental ore mine! But the strange thing is, prior to this, nobody had ever discovered it. The vein is very close to the surface, yet nobody discovered it. In addition, previously, there had been such a powerful, forceful elemental energy wave.”

“Right.” Ning nodded as well.

Indeed. It had been the elemental energy ripple that had attracted their attention to this place. It was very bizarre.

“Perhaps a strange, incredible treasure has just entered the world.” Ninefire said. “The elemental energy ripple that came prior to this could have been created by the emergence of this unique treasure, which might have caused the surrounding area to transform into an elemental ore mine.”

“Or perhaps an Immortal was training here. When Immortals train, the amount of elemental energy they consume is as vast as an ocean.” Ninefire sighed. “If they train for a long period of time, an elemental ore mine will naturally form.”

Granny Shadow frowned. “Elder Brother, are you saying…?”

Ning and the others all looked at Ninefire.

“I am guessing.” Ninefire’s eyes held a hint of desire. “That this elemental ore mine must have a secret behind its origins. Perhaps it has some treasures within, or some precious items left behind by an Immortal! Even items casually discarded by an Immortal…are enough to allow our Ji clan’s power to increase greatly.”

“Patriarch, are you suggesting…?” Truekeep grew excited as well.

“Treasures?” Yichuan and the others all stared towards the ground.

Ninefire nodded. “Let’s dig into the ground and do an investigation. Perhaps we might find something.”

“Right.”

“Let’s go.”

Each of them felt that the words of the Patriarch were reasonable. That elemental energy ripple from earlier had indeed been bizarre, and it was also strange that this elemental ore mine had never been discovered. Perhaps some treasure was hidden within.

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire looked at Ning. “That protective lotus technique of yours seems to dig very quickly. It’ll be up to you. We’ll follow from behind you.”

Ning nodded. “Fine. I’ll begin, then.”

……..

Rumblerumblerumble…

Ning controlled his Waterflame Lotus, making it swivel through the ground, constantly digging deeper into it. Those elemental stones were easily broken through, carving out a tunnel. Ning moved quickly and constantly, digging deeper and deeper, while Ninefire and the rest of the five were behind him.

“His speed is so fast.” Truekeep sighed in amazement, following from behind.

“When we started digging, we were fast as well, but after exhausting a large amount of our Ki, we had to begin to slow down. But Ji Ning is completely relying on borrowing the power of nature.” Ninefire had already been able to see through Ning’s Waterflame Lotus, and that it was formed from natural power.

They continued to go deeper.

“Ji Ning, wherever the quality of the elemental ore is the finest, that is where you should dig.” Ninefire said. “If there are any treasures present, they should be located at wherever the elemental energy is the strongest.”

Ning nodded.

He had noticed as well…that different areas had different quality elemental stones. Some places only had low-grade elemental stones, while other places had quite a bit of high-grade elemental stones.

“Rumblerumblerumble…” The Waterflame Lotus drilled down, like a giant dragon swimming through the underground ore deposit, constantly boring in the direction of high-grade stones.

After an hour…

“The majority of stones here are high-grade stones. You can pick them out with ease.”

“This is a precious location.”

“So many high-grade elemental stones.”

Although they knew all along that this was a rich vein, they hadn’t imagined that this elemental ore mine would actually have a location within it with such an abundance of high-grade elemental stones.

“Bang!” Suddenly, an explosive sound.

Ning came to a sudden halt, causing Ninefire and the other four behind Ning to come to a startled halt as well.

“What is it?” Ninefire asked hurriedly.

“In front of me, there is a very tough, unyielding stone. My Waterflame Lotus is actually unable to drill through.” Ning said, puzzled. The power of his Waterflame Lotus was now tremendous, and generally speaking, even forged weapons would be shattered by it, to say nothing of rocks. “It really is strange.”

Rumblerumblerumble…

The Waterflame Lotus quickly swept away the nearby stones, allowing Ning to get a good luck at what was in front of him; a very flat, rocky surface.

“This is…?” Ning was puzzled. Ninefire, Yichuan, and the others were puzzled as well.

Ning continued to control his Waterflame Lotus to scatter aside the surrounding elemental stones…and soon, what appeared before their eyes was part of an enormous stone room, with a door in front of it.

“This…this…”

“This is a stone room! Manmade! Even Ji Ning’s Waterflame Lotus is unable to break through it. This is no ordinary stone room; it must have been left behind by an Immortal.”

The members of the Ji clan all revealed looks of wild joy on their faces.

Deep within the ground, more than a hundred kilometers down, in the heart of this elemental ore mine, they had discovered a stone room. Who amongst them would believe that it was a common room?

“Ji Ning, don’t go too close. Beware of restrictive spells.” Ninefire said. “Keep away from it, and control your magic treasures to open the stone door at a distance.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

All of them hurriedly retreated, while Ning directly controlled a sword-type magic treasure, sending it flying outwards and pushing at the stone door. Rumble…the stone door slowly turned, revealing an entrance. Instantly, an incomparably thick surge of elemental essence spurted out from within that stone room, causing Ning and the rest of them to feel incredibly comfortable.

“There must be Immortal treasures within.” Ninefire called out frantically.

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Chapter 25 – Establishing the Zifu

Chapter 25 – Establishing the Zifu

The dense elemental aura caused Ning to take a deep breath. He could feel the Xiantian ki in his dantian rumble as it continuously grew. “What pure, dense elemental energy. The elemental energy released just by opening the door to this stone room is already so dense…then what about inside the room?”

“Don’t go in rashly. There might be danger within.” Ji Ninefire hurriedly warned. “I’ll release a bug to go investigate inside.”

Ninefire opened his mouth, and a black wasp immediately flew out, quickly flying through the stone door and darting into the stone room. After a span of time of ten breaths, the black wasp flew back out, and Ninefire swallowed it once more into his body.

“How is it?”

Each of them looked at Patriarch Ninefire, who just laughed. “I’ve finished my investigation. There’s no danger at all within. Come, let’s go take a look! You follow behind me. Even if there are dangers hidden within the stone room that I could not detect, I will be the first to die. Ji Ning, you walk in the very back!”

“Right. Ji Ning needs to stay in the back.” Each of them looked towards Ning.

There was nothing Ning could do. He didn’t argue, instead just docilely following from behind. Ninefire and Granny Shadow were in the very front, and as soon as they entered, the sound of their delighted, amazed cries rang out. “What a treasure! What a treasure!” “This place definitely was a place where an Immortal trained. Definitely!”

Ning, hearing this, had an itchy feeling in his heart. What exactly was inside?

“You can all come in. I’ve swept it with my Ki. There’s no danger.” Ninefire said.

Immediately, everyone entered, and even Ning hurriedly followed them inside.

“What thick elemental energy.” This was the first thing Ning sensed when he entered; that there was an incomparably dense, natural elemental energy in this place, causing all of the pores of his body to swell open and welcome it, absorbing as much of it as they could. The entire room seemed to be filled with a visible, verdant aura off life energy. This was a natural color which would appear once natural elemental energy reached a certain density.

“Ji Ning, shut the stone door. Don’t let this elemental energy leak out. This stone room is rather special. Once the door is shut, the elemental energy won’t leak out.” Ninefire said.

“Yes.” Ning understood this as well. Prior to this, it was only when he had pushed the stone door open that the elemental energy had leaked out. Rumble…the stone door shut.

Ning looked curiously in detail at his surroundings.

This room was thirty meters in diameter. There was even a door nearby; there should be other rooms within as well.

“Look.” Ninefire pointed at a large pool, which was filled with a layer of thin green liquid. The green liquid was slowly swirling, filled with boundless life energy. The reason why the air here was emanating that incomparably dense elemental energy was because the liquid was releasing it into the air.

“I am absolutely certain.” Ninefire said confidently. “That it definitely was an Immortal in training who caused this elemental ore mine to be formed. He intentionally set down a formation to summon a boundless amount of natural elemental energy from the surrounding area. After many years of accumulated energy, the elemental ore mine was formed. But to an Immortal, what is necessary isn’t elemental stones, but rather, this…”

Ninefire pointed at the water pool filled with the layer of green liquid, incomparably certain. “Liquefied elemental essence! This is the true essence of natural elemental energy, extremely pure liquefied elemental essence!”

Ning and the others held their breaths.

Liquefied elemental essence?

If one described the elemental energy contained within high-grade elemental stones as ‘very pure’ and as being not very burdensome to the body, and capable of increasing training speed tenfold, then liquefied elemental essence…was the purest form of elemental essence, which place no strain on the body whatsoever. One could completely absorb and convert it within a short period of time.

For example, some Immortals, after being reincarnated, would lose their memories and become ordinary mortals. Once they regained their memories, however, based on the insights they had gained into the heavenly Dao, as well as the power of their souls, they could for example obtain and make use of a legendary ‘Nine Cycles Golden Pill’, which contained an ocean’s worth of elemental energy, and which also placed no burden on the body, allowing one to quickly absorb it all within a short period of time.

Once a reincarnated Immortal regained his memory and swallowed a ‘Nine Cycles Golden Pill’, then just by relying on the natural elemental energy contained within the pill…he would be able to once again become an Immortal within a single day!

To improve in one’s training?

Strengthen one’s soul! One’s level of understanding! One’s techniques! Elemental energy! Not a single one of these four could be lacking! As for reincarnated Immortals, it was because they possessed the first three already, which was why they could rely on a single ‘Nine Cycles Golden Pill’ to instantly become an Immortal. If they didn’t have the Nine Cycles Golden Pill, even reincarnated Immortals would have to slowly, step by step train and rise in power. As for ordinary mortals, if they swallowed a ‘Nine Cycles Golden Pill’, they would be instantly exploded by the sea of elemental energy the pill contained!

The Nine Cycles Golden Pill…was the stuff of legends.

But Ning had read about liquefied elemental essence in books before. Liquefied elemental essence, in sufficient quantities, could be comparable to a Nine Cycles Golden Pill.

“The Immortal who trained here…” Ninefire said excitedly. “He definitely had accumulated a large amount of liquefied elemental essence here. Because of his training, he had already used up the vast majority of it, leaving behind only this thin layer. But even just this thin layer…is perhaps comparable to the entire wealth of our Ji clan. And in addition, even if our Ji clan had the wealth to buy something like this, we still wouldn’t be able to.”

Everyone present was excited.

They all understood that liquefied elemental essence would allow a person to avoid spending a long period of time in absorbing and refining energy! Thus, it had long ago been monopolized by large sects and large clans. They might gift it to some truly monstrous talents, or some top-tier experts, making it so that they wouldn’t have to waste too much time in slowly refining elemental energy. How could the Ji clan possibly be able to buy something like this?”

“Patriarch, with this, will you be able to break through to the Wanxiang Adept stage?” Ning asked hurriedly.

“Our Ji clan’s training methods are fairly poor.” Ninefire shook his head. “In theory, I can break through, but in reality, our Ji clan, from past to present, has never produced a single Wanxiang Adept! I’ve trained for nearly four centuries now. If it were possible for me to become a Wanxiang Adept, I would’ve broken through long ago. This liquefied elemental essence is useless to me, or for your Granny Shadow. But for you, Ji Ning, it has quite a bit of use!”

“Right. Ji Ning, you are the most suitable person for usig it.” Granny Shadow looked at Ning as well, her eyes filled with expectation. “You are such a genius. In truth, for you to have been born to our Ji clan has resulted in the Ji clan holding you back. You have to waste so much time in slowly accumulating elemental ki energy. If you were born within some top-tier clans, you would train much more quickly than you have thus far.”

“Ji Ning, use it.” Yichuan said as well. “Don’t be hesitant and shy. I know exactly what level you are on. In terms of insight, most likely all of us are at least a level bellow you. By relying on this liquefied elemental essence, you absolutely can reach a higher level.”

“Right.” Truekeep, Ninefire, and the others all looked eagerly towards Ning.

Ning felt a warm feeling in his heart.

Such a treasure…

And yet, they were all leaving it for him.

“Patriarch, I won’t be shy then.” Ning said directly. “I’ll immediately take the liquefied elemental essence and begin to train.” It would be hard for him to break through as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and even if he wanetd to try, he needed the power of the Sun and the Moon…and so, this liquefied elemental essence was more suited for him in training as a Ki Refiner. He had reached the necessary level of insight long ago; he absolutely could establish his Zifu foundation!

“Good.” Ninefire and the others were filled with excitement and anticipation. To them, this liquefied elemental essence would only be able to raise their power by a limited amount. But to the most monstrously talented member of the Ji clan, Ji Ning…it would most likely increase his power tremendously.

“I’ll go look at the other rooms and see if there’s anything else we can use.” Ninefire said hurriedly.

There was the other room nearby.

In that room, there was only a stone bed, a stone chair, and a stone table. Nothing else.

“It seems this place was just the place where the Immortal shut himself in for training, while this other room was the study where the Immortal would rest and flip through Immortal manuals.” Ninefire said. “The other room is a room where the Immortal actually trained.”

“There’s nothing else.”

“No other treasures.”

Yichuan and the others took a careful look as well, but this stone room just had a primary room and a side room. It was very simple and plain, and one could tell at a glance that there was nothing else here. They used their ki energy to sweep it as well, but couldn’t find any hiding places for treasures.

“Let’s go.” Ninefire and the others returned to the main room. They looked at Ning, then instructed, “Ji Ning, you remain here and train. Remember, shut the stone door. There’s a secret mechanism above the door. Once you shut the door, no one outside will be able to open it. We’ll wait aboveground for you.”

“Fine.” Ning nodded.

Ninefire and the others all quickly left, leaving only Ning behind in the stone room. Ning pushed the door shut, locking it in place.

Training was something very important. One had to be very careful. Otherwise, if one was disturbed at an important point during the training, it would be very dangerous.

“This time…I should be able to establish my Zifu.” Ning looked at the pool, filled with that spiritual liquefied elemental essence. He didn’t hesitate any further, immediately sitting down next to the pool and immediately activating his [Water Element Art] technique. The [Water Element Art], although a very basic technique, was one in which establishing the Zifu was simple.

However, after establishing his Zifu, Ning needed to change to a different type of Ki Refining technique. Otherwise, just by relying on this poor technique, it would be quite difficult for him to become a Wanxiang Adept. In theory, it was possible, but only in theory. As for becoming a Primal Daoist? Even in theory, it was impossible!

However, Ning wasn’t impatient. He primarily trained as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, after all. In the future, he would also leave Swallow Mountain. Naturally, he would be able to acquire a higher level technique.

“Rumble…” Ning activated the [Water Element Art], and immediately began to absorb the elemental energy nearby. The elemental energy within this stone room was simply too dense, and it constantly condensed into Ki.

Ning opened his mouth.

Absorb!

Immediately, part of the liquefied elemental essence within the pool flew up into the air. Controlled by Ning’s divine will, the essence flew straight into Ning’s mouth and entered his body. As soon as the liquefied elemenetal essence entered his body…it instantly transformed into elemental energy. The incomparably pure elemental energy constantly circulated within his dantian, transforming directly into elemental ki energy. It was successful at a single go! It didn’t place any stress on his body at all. Ning could constantly, unceaselessly continue to absorb and transform this energy.

“Rumble…” The green water-type ki in his dantian began to surge about like endless, vast waves, wildly swirling and constantly accumulating!

“Again.” Ning once more opened his mouth, drawing some liquefied elemental essence into his body.

A massive wave of energy arose within his dantian. His elemental ki energy, which originally needed a long period of time to slowly accumulate, quickly reached a limit. Boundless amounts of elemental energy swirled ferociously in his dantian under great pressure, as though the space in his dantian was too small, unable to contain so much elemental energy.

Rumble…

Instantly, something happened, like when Pangu split open the primordial chaos and created the heavens and the earth! The chaotic, monocolored dantian suddenly exploded!

In the area around Ning, who had been quietly seated in the lotus position by the side of the pool, a large amount of watery mist suddenly arose out of nowhere. In this moment, he could so very clearly sense the ‘Dao’, but soon afterwards, the feeling disappearing.

“I established my Zifu! Now that my Zifu is established, I have my foundation for continuing my training as an Immortal practitioner.” Ning said softly to himself.

Within his body, in the location where the dantian had previously been.

This was now a vast, empty, boundless space. This vast, empty space contained a limitless amount of violet ki which filled it. This strange location, quasi-real and quasi-imaginery, was the Violet Palace! Every single person, upon establishing their Zifu Violet Palace, would have the same thing. However, as to what sort of level a person would be able to train to in the future, that depended on each person’s destiny and techniques.

“Absorb!” Ning opened his mouth, and more liquefied elemental essence from the watery pool into Ning’s body like water.

The vast, spread-out space with violet ki instantly had the first drop of elemental ki formed from it. Soon, a large amount of ki was constantly coalescing. Within this boundless, empty, illusory void, a small pool began to form, which quickly transformed into a small pond…elemental ki continued to solidify and accumulate, and the size of the pond continued to grow as well…

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Chapter 26 – Stormclouds Approaching

Chapter 26 – Stormclouds Approaching

Ji Ning was seated next to the pool of water in the lotus position. His aura was like that of savage waves crashing down. He continued to open his mouth, absorbing the liquefied soul essence within the pool, causing that layer of liquefied essence to quickly deplete.

But suddenly, Ning shut his mouth.

“Whew.”

A smile on his face, Ning opened his eyes. He glanced at the green, liquefied soul essence in the pool. “It let me break through as a peak Xiantian expert, allowing me to establish my Zifu, then solidify my base as an early Zifu Disciple. It has saved me at least a year or two of effort. I used up a third of the liquefied essence!”

In a short period of time, just long enough to boil a pot of tea, not only had he established his Zifu, he had also solifidied his base. Even Ning, at his astonishing rate of improvement, would have needed a year or two.

If I use the remaining two thirds of liquefied essence to train, I might be able to reach the mid-stage as a Zifu Disciple.” Ning understood that since he had already stabilized his base as an early Zifu Disciple, by relying on the remaining liquefied essence, he absolutely had the possibility of breaking through again, but if he really were to rely on the [Water Element Art] to train to the mid-stage as a Zifu Disciple, his future Ki Refining path would become difficult.

After all, the [Water Element Art] was a very low-class technique. It was fine to use it to establish a Zifu, because every person’s Zifu was the same. But if Ning was to use it to break through to the middle of the Zifu level? There would be a very negative effective on the purity of his elemental energy. This single wrong step would be something which he would be unable to undo in the future. In the future, it would become ten times or a hundred times more difficult for him to become a Wanxiang Adept.

“I’ve already made a large leap forward and become a Zifu Disciple! Even if I break through to become a mid-stage Zifu Disciple, the amount of benefit I would see in terms of power would be limited.” Ning pondered to himself. Leaping to a new level was a qualitative transformation! But a small leap within the same level didn’t have that much of an impact on his power.

Xiantian lifeforms could dominate Houtiane experts.

Zifu Disciples could dominate Xiantian lifeforms!

Even an early Zifu Disciple could still dominate most peak Xiantian lifeforms. This was a qualitative difference. To battle someone at a higher level? Difficult!

But if an early Zifu Disciple were to battle a mid-stage Zifu Disciple…it would be hard to say who the victor was. This sort of small gap within the same level didn’t result in huge differences in strength.

“Even if I use up the remaining liquid, the amount of power I would gain would be limited, and it would destroy my future path. Not worth it.” With a flip of his hand, Ning made a talisman appear, which had a Fiendgod word on it; ‘Right’. This was the control talisman for the Aquatic Manor. Ning stared at it, an eager light flickering in his eyes. “Although I’ve established my Zifu, and I am confident that if I were to meet Dong Ziqi again, I would be able to suppress him and perhaps even kill him…this time, I will have to face not just Dong Ziqi by himself, but an entire group of Snowdragon Mountain experts.”

“I hope this Aquatic Manor…will allow my power to rise to a new level.”

“Given that this Aquatic Manor was able to produce the likes of Immortal Juhua, it should be extraordinary.” Ning said eagerly. A drop of green elemental ki passed from his hand into the talisman, quickly binding it.

A surge of ancient-feeling power seemed to awaken, causing Ning to feel the desire to worship it from the depths of his heart.

“What a fellow.” Ningn stared at the talisman. “I really wonder who the first master of the Aquatic Manor was.”

“Let’s go.”

Ning immediately arose, while at the same time, with a flip of his hand, he produced a palm-sized jade bottle. This was an unranked magic treasure. Although it was the size of his palm, it was able to contain within it thousands of kilograms of fine wine. Ning had quite a few storage-type magic treasures like this one. For example, when Ning had undergone the Fiendgod Bloodforging process in the Aquatic Manor, he had used one such gourd to contain a thousand kilograms of blood.

“Go in.” Ning stared at the liquefied elemental essence in the pool. Summoning his divine will, ripple, ripple…the liquefied essence rose into the air, passing through the neck of the jade bottle. Every single drop was put in, leaving not a single drop remaining.

“I wonder which Immortal left behind this stone room.” Ning, before leaving, took a final glance around the room. “It has caused such a calamity to my Ji clan, but it also allowed me to establish my Zifu in advance.”

Ning understood in his heart that this wasn’t the fault of that Immortal; if he had to blame someone, he could only blame the Ji clan for being too weak.

“Whoosh!”

He left the stone room. Ning then used his Waterflame Lotus, which swiveled about him, carving a path straight out from within this elemental ore mine. He quickly charged upwards at a constant pace. Ning knew that it would take some time for him to charge a hundred kilometers upwards, and so two magic treasures appeared in his hands; one was a palm-sized flying boat magic treasure, while the other was a pair of black wing-type magic treasures.

The flying boat had belonged to Bei Zishan, while the black wings had belonged to Ju San. They were both ranked magic treasures.

“Now that I’ve reached the Zifu level! I am able to use these ranked magic treasures.” Ning understood that when reaching a new level, one benefit was a qualitative improvement to his personal strength, while another benefit was that the type of magic treasures he could use had also risen. These two benefits, combined, made it so that Zifu Disciples could absolutely dominate Xiantian lifeforms.

……..

Boom!

A petal of the Waterflame Lotus burst forth from the ground, with Ning behind it.

“Ji Ning.” In the distance were Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others. They had long since dispersed and recollected the surrounding bewildering formation, and the sight of the desolate mountain forests had returned. Only, in parts of the forest, the traces of the earlier battle could still be seen.

“Patriarch. Father.” Ning hurriedly walked over.

“You came out quite quickly. We just arrived on the surface not long ago.” Ninefire and the other four walked over, laughing. “Truekeep just emerged moments ago as well.”

Ning thought about it. He had been in training for as much time as it takes to brew a pot of tea; the amount of time he had spent boring through the ground had actually been greater than that. The Patriarch and the others had most likely had to spend more time boring through the ground than he did…and so, doing the math, it seemed as though they probably really did emerge at roughly the same time.

“Right, Ji Ning.” Ninefire asked. “Prior to this, when you killed Ju San. What magic treasures did you acquire?”

“Quite a few.” Ning said.

The nearby Grany Shadow explained in detail, “We need to do an accounting of these treasures, to see who they are most useful for. This is the easiest way to put them to good use.”

Ning nodded. “Jusan had one flying transportation magic treasure, one storage magic treasure, one protective magic treasure, one magic greataxe, and a pair of magic wings! The magic wings are useful to me, but the others are not.” Ning had already acquired a ranked storage magic treasure, a transportation magic treasure, and a protective magic treasure from Bei Zishan. Thus, only this pair of ranked wing-type magic treasures was useful for him.

“What do you need?” Ninefire looked at Ning.

“Swords!” Ning said. “I only need ranked flying swords. Other things are useless to me. The more ranked flying swords, the better.”

His two sources of combat power were close quarters combat and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

In particular, now that he had established his Zifu, the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had naturally grown only greater. However, if he continued to use unranked swords…his power would most likely only rise by one or two levels. If, however, he was able to completely exchange them for ranked swords, Ning felt that he would probably be able to give even a Wanxiang Adept a good fight.

“Ranked flying swords? The more the better?” Ninefire, Granny Shadow, the old servant Ah Xing, and Yichuan all repeated softly, then offered one or two flying swords each.

“All together, we have five flying swords that we don’t need for now.” Ninefire looked at Ning. “Is it enough?”

Ning was rather disappointed.

Five?

Useless.

His [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] required at least nine swords to be used together in order to work and creation a formation base! And nine formations bases were required for each [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] formation! In other words, the smallest unit, the ‘formation base’, required at least nine ranked swords. And, to make his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] truly transform in power, he needed at least eighty one ranked flying swords. Only by using them as the foundation would the power of the other, unranked swords become truly explosive.

But of course, the ideal solution would be to only use ranked flying swords…

According to Ning’s calculations, if he only used ranked flying swords, he would only be able to use the third level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. But the power of it would be incomparably greater than before! Quality was even more important than quantity!

“How many do you need?” Ninefire asked.

“I need seven ranked flying swords. The more, the better. If I had several hundred, it would be even better.” Ning laughed. Sword-type magic treasures were very common; Ning had acquired a pair of ranked flying swords from Bei Zishan alone. If they could come up with another seven, then Ning would have nine in total, enough for a single, smallest unit ‘formation base’. With this formation base as the core, the power of the entire [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would double or triple!

“Several hundred?” Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others were all shocked. However, when they thought back to the scene of Ning utilizing the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], they realized that he did indeed have seven hundred plus flying swords swirling around him. It seemed as though Ning really did indeed need a large number of flying swords. But several hundred ranked magic treasures? Even if the entire Ji clan bankrupted itself, it wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“We’ll strive to help you come up with seven more swords.” Ninefire said, then changed the subject. “Snowdragon Mountain will publicize this to their comrades. Most likely, they will come for battle in a day or two. Before this, you can all go back and pick up any treasures that you need or take care of any matters that need addressing. Afterwards, we will regroup here.”

“Let’s go.”

Swoosh!

Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing mounted an enormous wine gourd, quickly disappearing into the horizon, leaving behind only Ning and his father.

Ning understood that this was rather like taking care of one’s post-mortem affairs.

“Father, will you return to West Prefecture City?” Ning looked at his father.

“No. To Serpentwing Lake.” Yichuan shook his head. “I want to visit Little White. The two of us are like brothers who have shared life and death together. No matter what, I have to see him again.” Yichuan had stayed for five years at Serpentwing Lake, and the Whitewater Hound had stayed with him this entire time.

“Uncle White?” Ning nodded gently.

The Godbeast ‘Whitewater Hound’ had an extremely close relationship Ning’s father. They had adventured together to as far as the Darknorth Sea. The time they had spent together was even longer than the time Ning’s father and mother had spent together. Indeed, they really were lifelong brothers.

“Let’s go.” A flying boat appeared beneath Ning’s feet, and Yichuan mounted it as well.

Whoosh!

The flying boat instantly rose into the air, quickly passing through the skies and into the clouds…

Swallow Mountain had a total of ten commandery cities. Snowdragon Mountain had three of them, which were similar to the commandery city the Ji clan controlled, the ‘City of Ten Thousand Swords’. As soon as Dong Ziqi had invaded Swallow Mountain, he had given the name of the city he had taken over the name of ‘Snowdragon City’, so as to let everyone know that this was a branch of Snowdragon Mountain!

Although afterwards, they had taken over two more commandery cities, the heart of this branch of Snowdragon Mountain remained in Snowdragon City.

“Where are they? Where are the others?

In the air above Snowdragon Mountain, three figures stood there atop a flying screen, staring into the distance as a greef leaf hurtled through the air, with Dong Ziqi and Muse standing atop it.

“Where are the other three? All dead?” These three figures asked frantically. The three of them were the three other Zifu Disciples of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain. They were of the ‘Ju’ clan and the ‘Dong’ clan. Earlier, the Zifu Disciple belonging to the Ju clan, Ju Nianxiong, had seen that his nephew’s life-talisman had shattered, and so he had hurried over to Snowdragon Mountain. The two elders of the Dong clan were terrified upon hearing this, knowing that something must have gone wrong.

But they didn’t expect that not only had Ju San died, even the He siblings had died.

“They died. My three fellow disciples all died.” Dong Ziqi gritted his teeth. “It was the Ji clan. They set up a formation early on, then suddenly attacked, causing us to be caught offguard. My three fellow disciples were ganged upon and killed one by one. With the He siblings dead, most likely that official writ was taken away as well.

Three commandery cities. They were split up between the Dong clan, the He clan, and the Ju clan. One of the official writs had been carried by the He siblings.

“The Ji clan is asking for death!” Ju Nianxiong’s eyes were bloodshot.

The nearby Muse said in a cold voice, “This time, due to the elemental ripples, we went to go investigate. We discovered that there was an enormous elemental ore mine within the Ji clan’s territory, with a large number of high-grade elemental stones. The entire quarry has a circumference of four thousand kilometers and a depth of three hundred kilometers.

“What!”

Nianxiong and the two elders of the Dong clan were badly startled.

“The Ji clan wasn’t willing to hand it over, so we ended up in a battle.” Ziqi forced the words out.

The shorter of the two elders of the Dong clan howled in a furious voice, “The main sect desperately needs an enormous elemental ore mine such as this! If we offer it to the main sect…this will be a great merit for us. The Ji clan actually dares to oppose Snowdragon Mountain? Then we’ll destroy the Ji clan, we’ll annihilate them all!!!”

“Of course we’ll annihilate their clan!” Ziqi’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “But what I fear the most is that the Ji clan will sign a transfer agreement with the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

The two Dong elders and Ju Nianxiong both paused. If a transfer agreement truly was signed, then even Snowdragon Mountain wouldn’t dare to interfere. Challenge the Grand Xia Dynasty? Did they want to die?

“But the Ji clan needs to first make the report, then await the arrival of the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty. It will take at least three days. If we can do our best to delay, we can delay for a period of time.” Ziqi said hurriedly. “So we have to hurry. We have to invite our comrades and have them arrive at Swallow Mountain as fast as possible, so that we can annihilate the Ji clan together.”

“Right.” Everyone nodded.

The Ji clan had killed three of their Zifu Disciples, leaving them only five. If they went and fought all out, even if the won, most likely most of them would die. No matter how great the merit they rendered would be, they had to be alive to win plaudits for it.

“The four of you, go invite the various Snowdragon Mountain branches nearest to us.” Ziqi said. “I myself will head to Swallow Mountain City to meet with the garrison general, and ask him to delay as long as possible.”

“Alright.” The four nodded.

“Invite a few dozen comrades. By then, with dozens of us together…we will utterly crush and annihilate the Ji clan with ease.” Ziqi said. “There’s virtually no danger when we join together into a group, and everyone will have a share of the glory. Those comrades will definitely come.”

“Fine.”

“Then we’ll go make a trip.”

Soon, the arrangements and travel plans were made. The other four Zifu Disciples headed separately in four different directions to invite their fellow sectmates, while Dong Ziqi headed to Swallow Mountain City.

………..

The vast Serpentwing Lake.

A flying boat descended at high speed from the skies, landing at one corner of Brightheart Island. This was the place where Ning’s father lived. The only thing here was a quite, secluded residence. There weren’t even any servants present, just a large, snow-white dog which lay there.

The Whitewater Hound suddenly raised his head as the flying boat descended at high speed.

“Uncle White.” Ning looked at the Whitewater Hound, feeling a surge of emotion as well. First, Ning knew that this Uncle White and his father were brothers that had fought together and risked their lives together, and that Ning’s mother and Ning himself had both been saved by Uncle White. And second, that year when gone outside of West Prefecture City every day to train archery, it had been Uncle White who had stood guard the entire time.

He watched as his father and Uncle White moved towards each other. Although Uncle White was incapable of speech, the master-servant bond allowed spiritual communication at a close distance.

Ning quietly left as well.

Very shortly.

Ning returned to his own residence, entering the quiet room which he used for training. He immediately sealed the room off. Earlier, while flying over Serpentwing Lake, Ning had already sensed the Aquatic Manor! It was just as the old black bull had said; once he bound the control talisman, he would be able to sense and directly enter the Aquatic Manor.

“During this battle, I saw that although my power was great, it was still far from being sufficient. I hope that this ancient Aquatic Manor will be useful and be able to improve my power greatly.” Ning was filled with hope and expectations.

“Let’s go in.” Ning willed it, and instantly, an enormous illusion of a grizzly head appeared in the quiet room. The enormous grizzly head opened its illusory maw, swallowing Ning with one gulp.

Ning disappeared from within the quiet room.

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Chapter 1 – The Four Palaces of the Aquatic Manor

Chapter 1 – The Four Palaces of the Aquatic Manor

The tall, wide, ancient hall was the same as it had been for countless years. Many enormous prayer mats were placed throughout the hall, and an old black ox had appeared, smiling as he looked at the suddenly arrived Ji Ning.

“The main hall.” Ning looked at the great hall.

“Congratulations.” The old black bull walked over, filled with joy. “It’s only been a few years, but you’ve already reached the Zifu level. It was faster than I anticipated.”

Ning was still worrying about the impending arrival of a large group of experts from Snowdragon Mountain, and so he said without too much joy, “I was simply lucky.”

“The fact that you made it through those three trials earlier wasn’t a matter of luck.” The old black bull sighed. “You bound the control talisman…and you are now able to go to the most important places within the Aquatic Manor. With access to these places, you will now have the capital to truly rise to sudden prominence. Ji Ning, I feel as though I can already see into the future, with you as being one of the supreme experts of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning was stunned. He hadn’t imagined that this old black bull, the spirit of a magic treasure, would be so good at flattery.

“I’m not lying.” The old black bull said. “Immortal Juhua’s decision to accept a disciple caused countless people throughout the Grand Xia Dynasty to go wild. If they knew that Immortal Juhua was merely the third master of this Aquatic Manor, most likely, a true storm would have erupted in the world.”

“What exactly is so special about this Aquatic Manor?” Ning hurriedly asked.

What he cared the most about was if this Aquatic Manor would be able to increase his power or not, and if he would be able to have a greater chance of success in the upcoming battle.

“The Aquatic Manor has many secrets.” The old black bull said. “Immortal Juhua and I stayed here for a very long time. If my predictions are correct…this manor should have been designed for training future generations of Fiendgods.”

“Training future generations of Fiendgods?” Ning was stunned.

“Right.” The old black bull nodded his large head. “The first master of this Aquatic Manor should have been an extremely powerful Fiendgod! Just look at the prayer mats throughout the main hall, and you will understand…originally, quite a few Fiendgods would have sat here, waiting for his command and listening to him expound on the correct way of training.”

Ning stared at the enormous nearby prayer mats, as well as that solitary prayer mat seated at the front of the hall. He nodded gently.

“The first master’s method for accepting disciples was through two corridors; one for Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiners, while the other was for Zifu-level Fiendgod Body Refiners.” The old black bull said. “Ordinary Fiendgod practitioners wouldn’t suffice. Only those whose bodies had transformed and become like the bodies of Fiendgods would qualify. Wouldn’t this be, essentially, true Fiendgods?”

Ning nodded.

His own body had been birthed from fire and water that had descended from the heavens. He did indeed have the body of a Xiantian Fiendgod.

“In addition, clearly the various halls of the Aquatic Manor are meant for cultivating later Fiendgods.” The old black bull said. “Unfortunately, the path of Fiendgods is simply too difficult. Although Immortal Juhua originally started on the path of Fiendgod Body Refining as well, slowly, that path became more and more difficult for him. He advanced more rapidly as a Ki Refiner, but in the end, he failed his tribulation and became a Loose Immortal.”

Ning understood. For example, although he himself focused almost all of his effort on training as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he had first established his Zifu as a Ki Refiner!

Ki Refining was simple. Body Refining was hard.

Perhaps in the future, he would become an Earth Immortal as a Ki Refiner while he was only at the Primordial Daoist level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner…or even just a Wanxiang Adept! Perhaps he, too, would face the tribulation as a Ki Refiner, and end up failing and becoming a Loose Immortal…it was completely possible that he would end up tracing the path of Immortal Juhua.”

“Let me give you a warning.” The old black bull looked at Ning. “This is what Immortal Juhua once said to his disciple, Rampart.”

“Please speak.” Ning immediately said.

“This Aquatic Manor is meant for cultivating Fiendgods. Thus, do your best to walk the path of the Fiendgods.” The old black bull said. “Even if you are at the very verge of the Void stage and becoming an Earth Immortal, Ji Ning, you should halt your training in Ki. No matter what, do not go face the tribulation! Work hard as a Fiendgod Body Refiner and undergo the tribulation as a Fiendgod first.”

Ning frowned.

“According to the hypotheses of Immortal Juhua, the farther along you go on the path of the Fiendgods, the greater assistance this Aquatic Manor will be for you. Immortal Juhua sensed that this Aquatic Manor had some secrets he still didn’t know! They should have been secrets passed down by the first master…but unfortunately, Immortal Juhua was unable to divine them.” The old black bull said.

“Thank you, senior, for your warning. Ji Ning will remember it.” Ning said hurriedly.

“The first owner possessed incredible, divine powers, and he far eclipsed Immortal Juhua.” The old black bull said. “Wait until you go to the Stellar Hall. Then you will understand.”

“Stellar Hall?” Ning was puzzled.

Suddenly…

An illusion suddenly began to form in empty space. It quickly solidified into a tall, powerful bear. The bear’s entire body was covered with yellow fur, and it was staring towards Ning…and as it did, Ning felt as though it was a sort of eternal, ancient existence. This was the same feeling he had when he visualized the painting of Maiden Nuwa in his mind.

No matter how much time passed, it would be eternally present! This was the feeling that the giant bear gave Ning; only, the feeling was murkier, not as powerful as the one which the Nuwa Painting gave him.

“Elder Brother.” The old black bull hurriedly lowered his face and called out. Ning could sense the bull’s mouth trembling, and the old black bull hurriedly said to Ning, “This is the spirit of the aquatic manor.”

“The spirit of the manor?” Ning sensed how the head of this enormous bear before him…seemed very similar to the giant illusion of a bear head which transported him here.

“Ji Ning greets you, senior.” Ning said respectfully.

The giant yellow bear glanced at him. “Yet another who reached the Zifu level as a Ki Refiner first. You train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique in the world. You possess a strong Fiendgod lineage. Work hard as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. Don’t waste your natural talent and potential.”

“Yes.” Ning could feel the invisible aura emanating forward from the giant yellow bear.

That ancient, eternal presence alone…made Ning feel as though this wasn’t something which ordinary practitioners would be capable of. The fact that the spirit of the manor was capable of teleporting people was, in an of itself, incredible and mysterious.

Immortal Juhua was an expert during the latter stages of the Fiendgod Era.

And the spirit of the manor? It had followed the very first master. How ancient was it? How powerful was it? It was best to be humble when facing it.

“Follow me.” The giant yellow bear walked in front.

“Hurry, follow.” The old black bull urged, hurriedly following as well.

Ning followed from behind as the giant yellow bear led the way, into a corridor on the right side of the main hall that was three thousand meters tall.

The giant yellow bear said while walking, “After having bound the control talisman, you can be considered a master-in-training. Aside from the main hall, you can also enter this corridor, which had four major secondary halls. These four major secondary halls are open to you…but of course, right now, you are limited to them. If you want to enter more halls, you’ll have to become a Primordial Daoist.”

Ning understood.

Becoming a Zifu Disciple and binding the control talisman was only the first step.

Becoming a Primordial Daoist and binding the entire estate was just the second step.

Most likely, even the second step would be just a simple binding, allowing one to carry it with him at all times. Most likely, the Aquatic Manor still would not be under complete control, as otherwise, Immortal Juhua wouldn’t have said that he suspected there were more mysteries within.

“Look.” The giant yellow bear pointed into the distance. An ancient, azure bronze gate was there, which was open.

Ning hurriedly walked over, looking through the bronze gate….

Wow.

Ning’s eyes were round He saw an enormous hall past the gate, in the middle of which floated one magic treasure after another, each of them emanating a powerful, ancient aura. Ning saw a large warhammer which glittered with tricolored light that made Ning’s heart pound frantically just staring at it, as though it were about to explode.

There were also four formation flags of different colors. When he looked at it, he felt as though he was being drawn into a boundless separate world.

“This is the Treasure Hall, one of the four major secondary halls you can currently enter.” The giant yellow bear said. “The Treasure Hall is the place where Master stored his countless treasures, ranging from unique mortal items to items from the time of Primordial Chaos, when Pangu split the heavens and created the universe. Master set down a rule for all of these treasures; as long as you can satisfy the requirements the Master set down, you can acquire them.”

Ning held his breath.

Items of Primordial Chaos, from when Pangu split the heavens? What were they? But Ning knew that Fiendgods were naturally birthed from the heavens, and that after Pang split the heavens, there were many Fiendgods.

Now, it seemed as though this Aquatic Manor truly had been left behind by an extremely ancient, powerful Fiendgod.

“What do I need to do to acquire these treasures? What are the requirements?” Ning asked.

“After you enter the Treasure Hall and slowly look through it, you’ll see the rules which Master left behind.” The giant yellow bear said.

Ning nodded slightly.

The first master had created the two corridors that had to be traversed for future disciples to be accepted. The rules of the Treasure Hall were also set by the first master…clearly, the first master had the greatest influence on the Aquatic Manor, while Immortal Juhua was just a passerby.

“Continue walking.” The giant yellow bear said while walking. “The next secondary hall…is the Divine Abilities Hall that you are now able to enter.”

“Divine Abilities Hall?” Ning was stunned.

Divine abilities?

He had only acquired a single divine ability, the [Windwing Evasion]. Ning knew exactly how precious divine abilities were. They weren’t things which just anyone could acquire.

“Here we are.” After having walked momentarily, the giant yellow bear pointed to another nearby giant bronze door. That ancient bronze door had a single bronze palm above it, and the palm emanated boundless might, carrying the power to seal the heavens and block out the sun.

“This is the Divine Abilities Hall.” The giant yellow bear said. “Only Fiendgods who fulfill two requirements are allowed to enter. The first is that the Fiendgod Body Refiner reaches the level of Blood-Drop Rebirth. The second is that it must be done within ten years; at most, ten years.”

Ning was stunned.

Blood-Drop Rebirth? That meant being at the Zifu-level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. He hadn’t reached that yet.

Ten years?

He was already more than ten years old.

“In the past, Immortal Juhua was more than ten years old, so he wasn’t permitted to enter the Divine Abilities Hall.” The giant yellow bear said. “If he had been able to enter it, Immortal Juhua probably would’ve been able to walk a longer path and his power should have been even greater. Perhaps…he wouldn’t have ended up becoming a Loose Immortal.” The giant yellow bear was clearly rather sentimental towards Immortal Juhua, who had controlled the estate for millions of years, after all.

The old black bull sighed as well. “My master always felt regret for the fact that he wasn’t able to enter the Divine Abilities Hall. Every single one of these four secondary halls are important. Master was able to enter the other three, but he wasn’t able to enter this Divine Abilities Hall, and when he passed through the challenge corridors, he was more than ten years old.”

Ning felt bitterness in his heart.

No matter how you calculated it, he was more than ten years old! Could it be that he, too, had lost the chance to enter the Divine Abilities Hall?

“Fortunately, you are lucky. You are only five years old.” The giant yellow bear glanced at Ning.

“Five years old?” Ning stared.

The old black bull understood what Ning was thinking. “Fiendgods are born at the Xiantian level. You are indeed only five years old.”

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Chapter 2 – Treasures

Chapter 2 – Treasures

The age referred to age as Fiendgods reckoned it; true Fiendgods were nurtured by the natural world and born as Xiantian lifeforms. As for Ning, when he was eleven years old, celestial fire and water had descended, nurturing his body and transforming it into a Fiendgod’s body, just like a normal Fiendgod who had just been birthed. And now he was sixteen…as Fiendgods reckoned it, Ning was indeed only five.

“To be able to establish a Zifu within ten years will be proof of your potential.” The giant yellow bear looked at the towering bronze gate, a complicated look in his eyes. “Only then will you be able to enter the Divine Abilities Hall…within the Divine Abilities Hall is a test which Master left behind. If you pass, you will be able to acquire an extremely powerful divine ability which Master left behind.”

“Remember; you only have a single chance to enter the Divine Abilities Hall.” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “Thus, the more powerful you are, the greater your chance will be. It is best if you enter it at ten years of age; otherwise, if you fail, you won’t be able to acquire a divine ability. After all, it is a trial; it does hold some danger, and if you aren’t careful, you’ll lose even your own life.”

Ning asked with curiosity, “What divine abilities are held within the Divine Abilities Hall?”

The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning, then said calmly, “After having passed the trials, you’ll know. And if you don’t make it through? You won’t be qualified to know.”

“Come. Let’s go to the next hall.” The giant yellow bear continued forward.

Ning looked at the single palm above the giant bronze door, radiating that inexhaustible, majestic presence.

Divine Abilities Hall?

His Fiendgod body had yet to reach the Zifu level. There was no point thinking about it for now.

………

The giant yellow bear was in front of them, in this ancient corridor, with the old black bull by his side and Ning walking behind them.

“This secondary hall.” The giant yellow bear looked towards a towering bronze door that was shut. This bronze door had an axe and a spear carved onto it, and a killing aura emanated from it. The bronze door itself had a bloody red light glowing from it, causing Ning to unconsciously feel fear in his heart.

“This is the Wargod Hall.” The giant yellow bear said. “This is the most dangerous place in the entire Aquatic Manor, but a place filled with opportunity.”

The most dangerous? Filled with opportunity?

Ning was curious.

“Continue looking.” The giant yellow bear didn’t waste words, immediately walking forward.

………

From far away, the distant sound of flowing water could faintly be heard. Ning looked with curiosity towards the already opened wooden door. The wooden door was open, and through it, flowing water could be seen, along with some boulders as well as some lonely straw huts.

“This is the Stellar Hall.” The giant yellow bear stood in front of the hall, staring into the vast, boundless space within. “Everything within the Stellar Hall was personally laid out by Master. When living within the Stellar Hall, one can even sense the wondrous mysteries of the Dao.”

The nearby old black bull also said excitedly, “Ji Ning, Immortal Juhua had a lifespan of millions of years, precisely because of this Stellar Hall. The wondrous mysteries of the Dao fill every single part of this Stellar Hall, and it even has multiple complete ‘Daos’…Immortal Juhua had the Stellar Hall, which is why he was at such a high level of understanding, allowing him to withstand so many tribulations and living millions of years.

“Multiple complete Daos?” Ning was rather puzzled.

“I’ve told you everything already.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “The places you are now granted entrance into are the main hall, this corridor, and these four major secondary halls. You are not permitted entry into the other parts, nor would you be able to enter if you wanted to. Act appropriately. I hope you’ll be able to live to become a Primordial Daoist.”

Whoosh.

The giant yellow bear disappeared into specks of light, then completely vanished.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. When facing the giant yellow bear, he always felt that it gave him tremendous pressure, as though he were facing an ancient, powerful Fiendgod.

“That’s how the spirit of the manor is.” The old black bull laughed. “Forget about you; he didn’t even care much about Immortal Juhua. He’s quite arrogant and solitary. Actually, after so many years have passed, I felt that it was normal for him to be so solitary. After all, even Immortal Juhua didn’t truly master this Aquatic Manor.”

Ning seemed to understand, and he nodded slightly.

And then he hurriedly asked, “Senior, what should I do right now in these four major secondary halls? Please guide me, senior.”

“First, go to the Treasure Hall.” The old black bull said. “Follow me. I’m quite familiar with it.”

“Fine.” Ning felt that the old black bull was much more amiable and genial than the giant yellow bear, the spirit of the manor.

The Treasure Hall.

Ning and the old black bull walked together into it, and as Ning did, he instantly felt as though he entered a different world. In the air hung a vast collection of magic treasures, some of which were so powerful that their aura alone made Ning feel his heart shake. Most likely, even the slightest of ripples from it would cause him to crushed and ground to dust. The power of it was far beyond what he imagined.

“Treasures…” The old black bull sighed, his eyes shining. “All of them are true treasures. Immortal Juhua drooled when looking at them as well, back in the day. But there was nothing he could do; he couldn’t acquire them. If he was able to pick and choose as he pleased from these treasures, Immortal Juhua probably would’ve overcome the heavenly tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal long ago.”

Ning felt his heart be moved, as he stared at them.

He saw that above him was a blood-colored warspear. The warspear looked quite plain, but just hanging there, it caused the surrounding space to crumble and crack, although it then quickly recovered. Crumbling, recovering, crumbling…this continued nonstop.

“These were all left by the first master.” The old black bull said hurriedly. “He left them for the future masters. He wanted to cultivate and provide for them, and so if you want to acquire these treasures, you’ll have to fulfill his requirements. Otherwise, even if you end up like Immortal Juhua, dying due to the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, you still won’t be able to acquire a single treasure.”

Ning was curious. “What are the rules? What must I do to acquire these treasures?”

“Look over there.” The old black bull’s head nodded towards the side. Ning followed the bull’s gaze to look, only to see a tight cluster of tiny words on the distant wall. These words were all Fiendgod characters.

Ning hurriedly walked over, reading them all at one go.

“So that’s the situation.” Ning frowned.

The treasures of the Treasure Hall…were all obtainable.

There were two methods.

The first was to rise in power as a Fiendgod practitioner.

Once one reached the Zifu level as a Fiendgod practitioner, one would be able to acquire a ‘Mortal-rank magic treasure’, or a precious item of equivalent value.

Upon reaching the Wanxiang level as a Fiendgod practitioner, one would be able to select a single ‘Earth-rank magic treasure’ or equivalent.

Upon reaching the Primordial level as a Fiendgod practitioner, one would be able to select a single ‘Heaven-rank magic treasure’ or equivalent.

Upon reaching the Void level, one would be able to select an ‘Immortal-rank magic treasure’…

After after successfully passing the tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal! One would be able to select a ‘Pure Yang magic treasure’ or equivalent.

“So there are actually five ranks of magic treasures.” Ning murmured. “Zifu Disciples are only able to activate Mortal-rank magic treasures, while Wanxiang Adepts are able to use Earth-rank magic treasures. Primordials are able to use Heaven-rank magic treasures…and above that are Immortal-rank magic treasures and Pure Yang magic treasures.”

Ning had never even heard of these things before. All he knew was that there was such a thing as a ‘ranked’ magic treasure.

“There are five ranks of magic treasures.” The old black bull nearby said. “In addition, ranked magic treasures are also divide into ‘top’, ‘high’, ‘average’, and ‘low’ grades. The Zifu Disciples in that Swallow Mountain area of yours might use ranked magic treasures, but the vast majority of them are low-grade or average grade magic treasures. However, if you were able to choose at will from the Treasure Hall…I trust you would naturally be able to select the best of yourself.”

Ning listened carefully. These were things he had no idea about.

“The further you advance in your training, the harder it will be for you to acquire magic treasures.” The old black bull said. “At the Void level, Earth Immortals will be able to activate Immortal-rank magic treasures, but Immortal-rank magic treasures…can be considered treasures amongst Immortals. How many Void level Earth Immortals will truly be able to acquire treasures of that level? They are incredibly rare. Thus, generally speaking, those Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals will generally use Heaven-rank magic treasures.”

“In the past, Immortal Juhua became bottlenecked at the Primordial Daoist level as a Fiendgod practitioner. No matter what he did, he wasn’t able to break through and reach the Void level. It was pointless for him to break through to the Void level as a Ki Refiner.” The old black bull shook his head. “Thus, he was never able to acquire an Immortal-rank magic treasure.”

“Ah.” Ning was stunned.

Right.

When one rose in power, one could acquire a treasure, but that was only as a Fiendgod. As for Ki Refiners? No matter how far you advanced, you wouldn’t be bestowed any treasures. Thus, one could imagine how much the first master hoped that his future inheritors would focus on training as Fiendgods.

“Afterwards, Immortal Juhua failed in his tribulation and became a Loose Immortal. After countless years, his power grew greater and greater, and then he succeeded in passing through the seventh level of the Wargod Hall, which was when he was bestowed an Immortal-rank magic treasure.” The old black bull said. “Afterwards, Immortal Juhua collected a large amount of materials, over the course of which he defeated the Thousand Swords Immortal. After acquiring the hundreds of flying swords from the Thousand Swords Immortal…he finally forged me.”

Ning said, curious, “Senior, what rank of a magic treasure are you?”

“An Immortal-rank magic treasure, of course.” The old black bull said arrogantly. “I am an Immortal-rank magic treasure. I have already surpassed the levels of Human, Earth, and Heaven; thus, I gained sentience. Immortal Juhua relied on me to establish his awe-inspiring fame!”

“Your Fiendgod body is only at the Xiantian lifeform level. To acquire magic treasures, you’ll have to achieve victory in the Wargod Hall.” The old black bull said.

Ning nodded.

There were two methods to acquiring the treasures of the Treasure Hall. The first was to rise in power as a Fiendgod. The second was to challenge the Wargod Hall, which had ten stages in total.

If one succeeded in overcoming the first or second stage of the Wargod Hall, one was allowed to choose a Mortal-rank magic treasure or another item of equivalent value.

If one succeeded in overcoming the third or fourth stage of the Wargod Hall, one was allowed to choose an Earth-rank magic treasure or another item of equivalent value.

If one succeeded in overcoming the fifth or sixth stage of the Wargod Hall, one was allowed to choose a Heaven-rank magic treasure or another item of equivalent value.

If one succeeded in overcoming the seventh or eighth stage of the Wargod Hall, one was allowed to choose an Immortal-rank magic treasure or another item of equivalent value.

If one succeeded in overcoming the ninth or tenth stage of the Wargod Hall, one was allowed to choose a Pure Yang magic treasure or another item of equivalent value.

The Fiendgod practitioners who had inherited the manor were each given two chances to challenge the Wargod Hall at each level of power. For example, Ning was now a Xiantian lifeform as a Fiendgod. He had two chances to go challenge the Wargod Hall. Once his Fiendgod form reached the Zifu level, he would gain two more chances.

Xiantian, Zifu, Wanxiang, Primordial, Void.

Before becoming an Immortal, he would only have ten chances! Each chance was incomparably precious!

“Challenging the Wargod Hall is too hard.” The old black bull shook his head and sighed. “But this is the second way in which one can acquire a treasure of the Treasure Hall. Even though it is hard, you’ll have to try.”

“It is indeed hard.” Ning nodded. Even Immortal Juhua had only overcome the seventh stage of the Wargod Hall after having become a Loose Immortal and spent countless years training.

The nearby old black bull said, “I watched you training in Serpentwing Lake with your sword. I don’t want to discourage you, but…for you to challenge the first level with your current level of power? You’d have less than a ten percent chance.”

“Less than ten percent?” Ning didn’t dare believe it.

The Wargod Hall had ten levels in total. The first two levels only allowed him to select a Mortal-rank magic treasure. He had trained with the sword at Brightheart Island…which was within the scope of the Aquatic Manor, and so the old black bull knew exactly how strong he had become. But he was now saying that if Ning went to the Wargod Hall, he would have less than ten percent chance of victory?

“Treasure Hall. Divine Abilities Hall. Wargod Hall. Stellar Hall.” The old black bull said. “The Treasure Hall is a place where, for now ,you won’t be able to acquire a single treasure. You aren’t able to enter the Divine Abilities Hall yet either. You’ll have to go to one of the other two halls.”

“Wargod Hall…perhaps you can give it a try. If you succeed, you’ll be able to select a magic treasure. It will definitely be far superior to the ranked magic treasures you currently have. But of course, if you lose, that means that you’ll have wasted a chance to challenge the Wargod Hall.”

“The Stellar Hall is filled with countless paths of the Dao, and is an excellent place for gaining insight into it.”

“Which place shall you go to?” The old black bull looked towards Ning.

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Chapter 3 – A Tempest Outside the Straw Hut

Chapter 3 – A Tempest Outside the Straw Hut

“Senior, since you said that I have less than a ten percent chance of passing through the Wargod Hall’s challenge, why should I make the attempt?” Ji Ning said. “In addition, Immortal Juhua gained the greatest benefit from this Stellar Hall. I’m quite curious about it.”

As he spoke, Ning stepped into a room.

As for the treasures of the Treasure Hall? If he couldn’t touch them, what was the point? Immortal Juhua himself had only acquired a single Immortal-rank magic after having become a Loose Immortal.

“Best to take things one step at a time.” Ning knew his own limits.

He left the Treasure Hall and headed out through a corridor.

The Treasure Hall was at the frontmost part of the corridor, while the Stellar Hall was at the rearmost.

The old black bull followed while speaking constantly. “The Stellar Hall contains within it miraculous profundities, and by training within it, it is much easier to gain insights into the Dao. If you aren’t carefully, you’ll easily lose yourself in training…it seems as though in the outside world, you were rather frantic. I imagine you must have important business to attend to. Don’t let yourself become lost in meditating on the Dao within the Stellar Hall and delay your important affairs.

“Ah!” Ning was startled, then hurriedly said with gratitude, “Thank you for the reminder, senior.”

He had nearly caused himself to miss the critical affairs coming up!

Although meditating on the Dao was important, if he lost one or two days meditating on the Dao, by the time he woke up and left…it would all be too late.

“No matter what.” Ning instructed the old black bull. “As soon as the sky grows dark in the outside world, if I’m still in the Stellar Hall meditating on the Dao, then I would like to ask you to immediately disrupt my meditation and awaken me, senior.”

“If the sky grows dark in the outside world? That means only twelve hours are remaining.” The old black bull said.

“Right, twelve hours! If I begin to meditate on the Dao…at most allow me to meditate on it for twelve hours.” Ning said hurriedly. “After twelve hours, immediately awaken me.”

Based on Ning’s calculations, generally speaking, Zifu Disciples who were flying on magic treasures would be able to travel a hundred thousand kilometers in a day. But of course, that was normal flight; if they didn’t rest and didn’t sleep and also didn’t worry about using up their elemental energy, one could fly nearly two hundred thousand kilometers in a day. Swallow Mountain, in turn, was only a few tens of thousands kilometers in size…a roundtrip to see the other disciples of Snowdragon Mountain and return with them would take…

As Ji Ninefire had said, most likely just a day or two!

Ning would only be able to spend twelve hours meditating on the Dao. He absolutely couldn’t afford to go over!

“Don’t worry at all.” The old black bull raised his head, looking like a guard. “Once twelve hours pass, I will immediately awaken you! We spirits of magic treasure…will never forget tasks that are assigned.”

“Thank you, senior.” Ning laughed, then headed to the main entrance of the Stellar Hall.

It was different from the other three halls, which all had large bronze doors. The gate to the Stellar Hall was seemingly made out of wood, and it emanated an ancient, natural aura. The old black bull, seeing Ning inspect the towering wooden door, murmured to himself, “This is the Ageless Bluefire Wood which only exists in the Nine Hells. It is a precious, spiritual wood which is very useful in making Immortal-rank magic treasures, but it was used to make a large gate.”

“Is it possible to dismantle the gate?” Ning was curious.

“If it was, Immortal Juhua would have done so long ago.” The old black bull said, resigned. “This gate is part of the entire Aquatic Manor; it is part of the entire magic treasure. There’s no way to move it at all.”

Ning stroked the wooden gate. The wood was covered with a cold, abyssal light, but when touching it, it felt warm and gave off a comfortable sensation. Ning sighed emotionally…the Ageless Bluefire Wood which only the Nine Hells possessed? Alright, then…these were things which he had never even heard of before the old black bull had introduced it to him. He had experienced too little.

“This really is…” Passing through the corridor and through the wooden gate, Ning felt breathless. The sight in front of him completely stunned him. “This really is utterly inconceivable. The works of a god. The works of a god!”

In front of him, in the distance, was a large mountain. The mountain was filled with life, with a large number of trees and other vegetation growing everywhere. At the base of the mountain, the life suddenly disappeared; it was an area were virtually not a single inch of grass would grow. Only very occasionally, within a patch of strewn rocks, would one see a few strands of grass. At the base of the mountain, there was a straw hut.

In front of the straw hut, there was a creek. The creek flowed down from the mountain, and it winded downwards in a curvy path, constantly flowing. It was only in the area wherever the creek flowed that some wild grass could occasionally be seen. The other places were virtually all covered with wild, desolate stones.

In midair, there was one enormous, brilliant star after another. The starlight filled the world, causing every place to seem rather illusory.

“Can it be that this is an entire world?” Ning couldn’t help but say.

“It is its own dimension.” The old black bull followed him in and sighed, “This is a dimension which the first master created within the Stellar Hall! This dimension is connected with the gate of the Stellar Hall. Thus, when we stepped through it, we entered the special space. I’ve heard it said that some great powers of the ancient past were able to create an entire dimension within a single grain of sand. The first master most likely had this ability as well.

Ning nodded.

Unfathomable! Although when he was young, he had heard of some legends, such as ‘Houyi Shooting the Son’ and other such legends, when had he ever seen them in person? After all, those things were a long, long distance away from him. As for creating a dimension? Generally speaking, people created a dimension, then an estate within their own dimension.

The Aquatic Manor was itself a separate dimension…but the secondary halls actually were able to once again merge with another dimension. Although Ning didn’t understand it too well, he understood that accomplishing something like this was an incredible feat.

“I really wonder who the first owner of this Aquatic Manor was.” Ning said to himself.

“Come, come, come. The ‘treasure’ is within the straw hut.” The old black bull urged.

“The straw hut?” Ning strode forward by a few dozen paces, quickly arriving at the straw hut. The straw hut was at the base of the mountain, a seemingly very ordinary straw hat, and with stone furniture inside.

After entering the straw room…Ning was stunned. He saw that on the table of the straw room, there were multiple tomes, all of which were black. Ning couldn’t recognize any of them, and so he opened one. On the surface of the books, there were some beautiful Fiendgod characters: [Stellar Scroll] [Stellar Scroll 2] [Stellar Scroll 3]….there were forty three scrolls in total.

“This is…?” Ning stared at these books.

The old black bull explained, “These are the manuals left behind by the first owner. The name of it is the ‘Stellar Hall’ and there are a total of forty three parts.

Ning lifted up the Stellar Scroll and flipped through it. The pages were black, while the words were in golden Fiendgod strict. The contents were rather puzzling as well…it felt like hastily scribbled notes! There wer like casual recordings which described personal feelings! Ning originally had taken them to be profound books and was rather surprised.

“If you want to read!” The old black bull said hurriedly. “At a simple glance, there are no mysteries and nothing mysterious to the contents. But if you fully read everything…you will discover how extraordinary it is.”

“Oh?”

Ning, startled, picked up the [Stellar Scrolls].

“Go outside the room to read. Sit on that stone bench over there.” The old black bull said. “Read aloud!”

“But I don’t recognize Fiendgod characters.” Ning asked. Although he could recognize Fiendgod characters at first glance, and understood which human words matched each Fiendgod word, the two were different languages after all.

“Just use your own race’s language to read. That is what Immortal Juhua did in the past.” The old black bull said.

“Right.” Ning held the tome in his hand and walked out of the straw hut. He seated himself at the stone table, where the first master might have sat countless years ago and where Immortal Juhua might have sat as well.

Ning flipped open the book and began to read.

“Today, Chang came to pay his respects to me…” Ning began to read, puzzlement in his heart regarding these casual personal recordings.

His voice rang out.

Every single sound was very ordinary, but once the words were read out, the sound of the large number of words connected…in a manner that was like a song, capable of moving a person’s heart, causing pain, amazement, sorrow, and more. The sounds of these words were unfathomable; just by reading them out, the sound of these words seemed to contain a ringing, miraculous power…

Slowly, they drew Ning into a unique world.

When he became absorbed with seeing this world, Ning forgot that he was holding the [Stellar Scroll] in his hands. He stared at the countless stones of the desolate region, at the creek filled with life energy, as though seeing a pair of ‘Daos’. Daos filled with boundless profundities. Even the small grass which was growing out carried another sort of Dao within it.

Ning raised his head.

The stars in the sky were brilliant. Each of them were incomparably bright, and they each gave Ning a different feeling. Suddenly…Ning stared at one particular star, one which caused Ning to feel familiar and intoxicated by it.

“Longing, warmth…”

Ning seemed to be once more lying ont hat little boat of his, drifting atop Serpentwing Lake.

He also seemed to be in his mother’s arms…

That longing, that warmth…it filled his entire heart.

……………

The old black bull stared wide-eyed as it watched. “Truly inconceivable. This this this this…he actually completely read nearly the entire first scroll before halting? This Ji Ning really is at quite a high level of understanding. He was actually able to read so many characters. Most likely, he’s become emeshed on an extremely deep layer.”

The old black bull understood this very well.

This book was nothing more than a sort of ‘guide’, guiding the consciousness of practitioners on an extremely deep level to gain certain insights. The more words one read, the deeper a level of insight gaining one would reach! But of course…how much one would gain from it would depend on how many experiences that person had built up normally in life. Good preparation was the key to success; only by normally accumulating experiences would one have sudden insights.

“Which star is he looking at?” The old black bull saw Ning raise his head to stare at the sky. He couldn’t help but feel curious “According to what Juhua said, every single star contains a different Dao.”

A calm smile was on Ning’s face, as though he were by the side of his mother.

That smile contained an inexhaustible charisma…when the old black bull saw Ning’s smile, he seemed to feel even his own heart grow warm.

This was a form of longing.

A mental warmth.

“Sword.” The old black bull stared.

Ning rose to his feet, leaving the stone table. He pressed his forefinger and middle finger together into the shape of a ‘sword’, then began to brandish them about in training swordplay within the Stellar Hall. This was a type of swordplay that contained inexhaustible, endless longing…Ning didn’t release any rays of sword-light, nor did he use any elemental energy; this was seemingly a very ordinary display of swordplay.

But it made the old black bull sense the boundless longing contained within it.

The old black bull was able to sense the surrounding Serpentwing Lake area. He knew that over the past few years, Ning had gained insights into many hints regarding the True Meaning of the Dao, the majority of which belonged to a longing-type sword intention.

“It changed.” The old black bull instantly saw how Ning’s swordplay had become purer.

“Rustle…”

In the area around Ning, who wasn’t using any elemental energy at all in executing this swordplay with just his fingers, suddenly appeared drops of rain. One drop of rain after another came to form, and they constantly fell. The rain fell nonstop, landing atop the scattered stones…and Ning, in the center of the rainstorm, was like the favored son of the rain, which surrounded him and protected him.

“This this this…” The old black bull stared. “Accumulated effort which results in sudden rewards!”

The accumulated hints of insight into the True Meaning of the Dao which Ning had gained over the past five years, at this moment…finally made a qualitative breakthrough!

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Chapter 4 – Rainwater Sword Domain

Chapter 4 – Rainwater Sword Domain

The raindrops were sprinkling downwards. Ji Ning, amidst the rain, was completely absorbed in his swordplay. His sword-fingers alone were able to execute a sword technique that activated the ‘Dao’.

How comfortable.

Ning felt as though, in this moment, he himself had become a drop of rainwater! He was swirling about, playing and jesting with the other droplets of rain, and joining with them to form a single strand of it. That sort of interconnected-ness and mutual affection…caused the countless drops of rain to all join together.

“Rustle…..” The sprinkling rain surrounding Ning transformed into countless drops of rain which transformed into a drizzling rain. The countless crystalline strands of rain appeared all the more mesmerizing.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Every single strand of rain seemed to secretly be like a knife.

“Rumble…” The rain grew heavier and heavier, transforming into a tempest. The tempest seemed incomparably ferocious, and Ning’s swordplay carried a ferocious, unstoppable power as well.

………..

The old black bull stared, stupefied. Rain drops, rain drizzle, tempest…and in the end, the rainwater once more transformed into that sprinkling, drizzling rain.

One line of rain after another…they seemed like incomparably precious, crystalline jade sculptures that were carved into thin lines. They were also like the hands of a mother, gently stroking down.

Finally, Ning came to a halt.

“This…is Dao?” Ning murmured to himself.

“Congratulations, Ji Ning.” The old black bull’s mouth was hanging wide open, and he was incomparably excited. “You have already truly immersed yourself into the Dao, truly and complete. The feeling of becoming part of the Dao itself is very marvelous, isn’t it?”

Ning nodded gently.

Just now, that feeling had indeed been incredible. He was like a pearl of water, a droplet of rain! In that instant, he felt incomparably familiar to and close with the rainwater. Ning understood…that he had developed his own Dao. The Dao of Rainwater!

“Over the past five years, you have gained insights into many strands of the True Meaning of the Dao. Your accumulated insights have allowed you to break through to a new threshold, with the final result being that you have gained a ‘Dao Domain’.” The old black bull sighed in praise.

“Dao Domain?” Ning looked puzzled. “What is that?”

The old black bull said, astonished, “You don’t even know this?”

“No idea.” Ning said honestly.

The old black bull sighed, shaking his head. “Your clan really is an ordinary one. You don’t even have a basic understanding of the different levels of insight. I’ll tell you, then. In training, one aspect is improving on a technical level; be it sword, saber, spear, or even painting and music and other artistic endeavors, technique matters. The first level is the ‘foundation’! Which is to say, becoming familiar with the basic techniques of an art. The second level is the ‘advanced’ level; it represents that you have all but perfected your mastery of the techniques. The third level is ‘one with the world’; this represents that you are already getting close to the ‘Dao’, and have begun to attune to heaven’s will.”

Ning listened. Naturally, he knew about these first three levels.

“After ‘one with the world’, the next step is in attuning with the intricacies of the natural world, and slowly discovering one of the ‘Daos’. Once you discover it! You will have gained a hint of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’. That is the fourth level; ‘True Meaning of the Dao’.” The old black bull shook his head. “It is very hard to gain insight into a ‘True Meaning of the Dao’. Even some Zifu Disciples aren’t capable of doing it.”

When Ning had been meditating on the Dao by the side of the pool that year, he gained his first insight into a ‘True Meaning of the Dao’.

“Afterwards, when you continue to gain insight and continuously accumulate many more hints of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’, your insights into the Dao will grow greater and greater. There will then come a day when the many hints of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’ will coalesce and then transform qualitatively. Only then will you truly be able to become one with the Dao itself, to the point where, with but a thought, you can summon the power of the Dao in your surroundings, to form it into your own Domain. This is the fifth level; ‘Dao Domain’. This is the level you are currently at. Formidable, formidable.” The old black bull sighed. “Only very few Wanxiang Adepts are capable of reaching this level; generally speaking, only people at the Primordial Daoist level are capable of reaching this level of insight into the Dao.”

“Oh? I’m that amazing?” Ning said with a laugh.

“Your innate talents are extremely high, especially your talents as pertain to the sword. You are an absolute monster! With the assistance of the Stellar Hall, at the young age of 16, you’ve actually reached this level!” The old black bull said.

Ning understood as well.

He possessed the [Nuwa Painting] and was incomparably hard-working. He also had an innately high comprehension ability, and also the Aquatic Estate…there were many variables which contributed to him being able to achieve what he had.

“And above the Dao Domain?” Ning asked.

“Above it…” The old black bull looked at Ning. “Reaching the ‘Dao Domain’ level, after all, just means that you are able to completely immerse yourself into the Dao. What you need to do is to gain greater insights into this Dao of yours, with the end result being that one day, you will have completely understood and mastered this entire Dao Path! That is the sixth level; completely understanding an entire Dao Path!”

Ning now began to understand.

Indeed, just now, he had completely immersed himself with the rainwater, but that was nothing more than immersion; he was still far off from being able to completely control the ‘Dao of Rainwater’.

“The first level is the ‘basic’ level. The second is ‘advanced’. The third is ‘one with the world’. The fourth is ‘True Meaning of the Dao’. The fifth is ‘Dao Domain’. The sixth is a complete ‘Dao Path’!” The old black bull said solemnly. “The level of comprehension and enlightenment one possesses is very important. Only by having sufficient comprehension will one’s power increase. Otherwise, there is no way you’ll be able to withstand and control great power.”

“To become a Celestial Immortal, you have to completely control a Dao Path!” The old black bull looked at Ning. “For example, Immortal Juhua had been a Loose Immortal for millions of years, and had completely mastered nine full Dao Paths. But so what if he did? The increasingly powerful Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations still caused him to fall in the end. Anyone who becomes a Loose Immortal is guaranteed to fall.”

Ning sighed as well.

“You train in the sword, and have reached the level of ‘Dao Domain’. Generally speaking, your Domain will be referred to as a ‘Sword Domain.’” The old black bull reminded. “Just based on the fact that you have a Sword Domain, countless major sects will swing open their doors for you to join.”

“Sword Domain?” Ning said softly. “This Dao is the Dao of Rainwater. Let my Sword Domain therefore be known as the ‘Rainwater Sword Domain’, then.”

Ning looked at his surroundings.

Rustle…

Rainwater appeared out of nowhere, sprinkling downwards and swirling about him. Every single line of rain also seemed like an incomparably sharp arrow, enough to slice apart hard mountain stones or steel.

“Let me warn you. Just now, when you immersed yourself into the Sword Domain, eight hours went past in the outside world.” The old black bull said.

“Eight hours?” Ning was startled. “I really didn’t have any sense of time passing when I was immersed in the Dao. Right, Elder. Now that I have my Rainwater Sword Domain…if I were to challenge the first level of the Wargod Hall, do I have a chance?”

The old black bull was stunned. “The first level of the Wargod Hall? Right, you can give it a try!”

Ning laughed.

Even if the old black bull hadn’t said anything, Ning would have still gone and given it a try, because a Fiendgod practitioner only had two chances at each level of power to challenge the Wargod Hall. He had already reached the peak of power as a Xiantian Fiendgod, and would most likely soon break through to the Zifu level. If he didn’t use the two options he had at the Xiantian level, they would go to waste once he reached the Zifu level.

“Let’s go. I want to see how formidable this Wargod Hall is.” Ning was extremely eager and deeply desired to successfully make it through, so as to be able to go to the Treasure Hall to select a treasure!

The treasures of the Treasure Hall were all left behind by the first master.

Even the Mortal-ranked magic treasures were most likely extraordinary, and might be of great benefit for the Ji clan’s battle against Snowdragon Mountain.

“Snowdragon Mountain.” Ning murmured in his heart…

___________________________

It was already dark, and Zifu Disciple ‘Muse’ of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain had flown without stopping at all for tens of thousands of kilometers to arrive at this place. Like a ray of light, he charged downwards to an estate below.

Below was a large, towering mountain. The name of the mountain was Landwyrm Mountain.

“Human practitioner, immediately depart.”

“Human practitioner, you actually dare invade our Landwyrm Mountain? Are you looking to die?”

As Muse descended towards Landwyrm Mountain on his flying treasure, some of the Diremonsters of Landwyrm Mountain began to curse angrily. Landwyrm Mountain was a powerful force, and the top of the mountain was an ancient Zifu-level monster who had trained for a thousand years, ‘Landwyrm’. Landwyrm was a Godbeast, and as a Zifu-level Godbeast, one could imagine how powerful this old monster was.

Naturally, he commanded a large group of Diremonsters, and this was forbidden grounds for humans.

A Zifu-level ancient monster, and with the lineage of a Godbeast. These two things guaranteed that many Zifu Disciples would be frightened of him.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, your junior apprentice-brother Muse requests a meeting.” Muse didn’t pay any attention to those Diremonsters, flying straight to the top of Landwyrm Mountain before speaking.

“Grooooooowl.”

An enormous draconic head suddenly emerged from a cave at the top of the mountain. That azure draconic head had a single horn atop it, and its wheel-sized eyes stared towards Muse. The incomparable aura alone the draconic head emanated…caused Muse to feel nervous. He knew very well that he wasn’t a match at all for this Landwyrm in front of him.”

The Landwyrm before him was a peak Zifu monster, with the lineage of a Godbeast.

“My respects, Daoist friend Landwyrm.” Muse bowed.

“Master hates to be disturbed. Can it be that you do not know this?” The Landwyrm growled.

“There’s something major happening.” Muse said hurriedly. “I have major news to report to senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, news which will be of great benefit to him.”

Jadechild…

Out of the many people which the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain were inviting over, he was the most important person. As Dong Ziqi and Muse saw it, as long as they were able to invite their fellow apprentice, Jadechild, that was enough; he alone could easily annihilate the Ji clan by himself. Actually, just by looking at this spirit-beast, the Landwyrm, which Jadechild controlled, one could imagine how powerful Jadechild was.

It must be understood that Zifu-level spirit-beasts were extremely rare.

Although many human experts had some Diremonsters as spirit-beasts, that was because there were a fairly high number of humans with the insights necessary to break through to the Zifu level. But for a spirit-beast to break through to the Zifu level was much rarer! Ancient Zifu-level monsters generally weren’t willing to serve, and if they were willing to serve, it was generally only experts. Even if they served a weakling, a powerful expert would soon seize them!

Dong Ziqi. Muse. Ji Ninefire. None of them had a Zifu-level spirit-beast.

“You wish to see me?” A deep, powerful voice rang out, and a muscular man with long, loose azure hair, a pair of tiger-like eyes, and black clothes moved out from one side.

“My respects, senior apprentice-brother.” Muse hurriedly bowed respectfully.

“I’ve seen you before. You are Muse.” Jadechild looked at him. “Can it be that you aren’t aware that I am in closed door training in an attempt to make a breakthrough?”

Muse felt his heart tremble.

He knew exactly how terrifying this senior apprentice-brother Jadechild of his was. Jadechild was a Fiendgod Body Refiner who had reached the peak of the Zifu level! In addition, Jadechild had also learned the divine ability, ‘Heavenly Transformation’. A peak Zifu-level Fiendgod practitioner was already very frightening; being in possession of a divine ability meant they could fight someone at a higher level than themselves.

Dong Ziqi himself was nervous in front of this fellow apprentice, Jadechild. He was the most important person they were inviting on this venture.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild.” Muse said hurriedly. “I know that you are in closed door training and don’t like to be disturbed. However, not too far from here, at the nearby Swallow Mountain, we’ve discovered a large-scale elemental ore mine, with very many high quality elemental stones. The mine has a circumference of four thousand kilometers and a depth of three hundred kilometers.”

“What!” Jadechild, who had been very calm up to now, suddenly had his eyes explode with two rays of golden light. “Your words are true?”

“If I’ve deceived you, senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, you can go ahead and kill me with one palm blow.”

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Chapter 5 – A Wooden Stake

Chapter 5 – A Wooden Stake

“I imagine you wouldn’t dare deceive me.” Jadechild nodded slightly.

Muse said hurriedly, “Although we have discovered this enormous elemental ore mine, this elemental ore mine is within the territory of the Ji clan. The puny Ji clan wasn’t worth fearing, and our Swallow Mountain branch should have been able to easily exterminate it, but…” Muse explained what had happened afterwards.

Jadechild frowned as he listened. “A bewildering formation?”

“Right. Ji clan’s Patriarch, Ji Ninefire, is skilled in formations and poisons.” Muse said hurriedly. “This time, we have invited all our colleagues to go deal with the Ji clan. The Ji clan’s strength isn’t worth fearing. Only, in formations…”

“If they set a great formation…” Jadechild frowned. “Since we are not skilled in formations, they can easily delay for a long period of time. Once enough time passes, the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy will most likely arrive! Of the formation experts close to the Swallow Mountain region…there is a junior apprentice-brother named ‘Nongdao’. If we can invite that fellow apprentice, the formations that a small clan like the Ji clan is capable of using will easily be broken!”

Muse nodded hurriedly. “We have invited fellow apprentice Nongdao as well. Now that you, senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, have spoken, I imagine Nongdao will go as well.”

“Hurry and go invite junior apprentice-brother Nongdao.” Jadechild instructed. “I will go to your Swallow Mountain region right now.”

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother.” Muse was overjoyed.

“Mm. Go.” Jadechild instructed.

A green leaf-type magic treasure suddenly appeared beneath Muse’s feet, and then he transformed into a ray of light, disappearing into the horizon.

Jadechild stared into the distance, silent for some time.

“Landwyrm.” Jadechild turned and shouted.

“Master.” An azure scale covered, horned Landwyrm clambered out. This Landwyrm had four claws, and was an imposing, majestic sight. Currently, his body was rapidly shrinking, until he was only ten meters long.

“Come, follow me to Swallow Mountain.” Jadechild said softly. “If we render major merits this time, perhaps we can use the opportunity to ask the main sect to assist me in making a breakthrough.”

Jadechild was something of a rogue practitioner. He had reached the Zifu level as a Ki Refiner long ago, but the technique he had used to train in ki was a fairly superficial one. This made it so that it was almost impossible for him to break through to become a Wanxiang Adept as a Ki Refiner! Afterwards, he slowly trained as a Fiendgod Refiner until he broke through to the Zifu level as well…he could be considered a talented figure, which is why he was accepted into Snowdragon Mountain!

Unfortunately, he was already a late-stage Ki Refiner. There was no way back for him, and it was too late to change to a different technique.

Fortunately, the long amount of time he had spent in training resulted in him developing a fierce, decisive temperament. After accomplishing a major deed, he was viewed upon favorably by the main sect, and he was given a divine ability, ‘Heavenly Transformation’. This caused his status to rise once more.

Nowadays…

He always stayed in closed-door training, because he wanted his Fiendgod body to breakthrough to the Wanxiang level! Only, each major increase in level was too difficult. Although the main sect did indeed have methods by which the chances of breakthroughs could increase, the price was great; why would they be willing to help him?”

“You will definitely succeed, Master.” The Landwyrm crawled out.

Jadechild sat on the Landwyrm’s back.

Whoosh!

Clouds appeared beneath the feet of the Landwyrm, and it immediately flew into the distant horizons. All dragons were naturally capable of controlling water, and although this one was only at the Zifu level…it was still able to summon the clouds and fly on them.

Within the ancient Aquatic Manor.

Ji Ning and the old black bull were walking shoulder-to-shoulder out of the Stellar Hall.

“It is indeed much faster to train and gain insights in the Stellar Hall.” Ning sighed in praise.

“The Stellar Hall is effective in assisting one in comprehension.” The old black bull said. “But in the end, it still depends on your normal accumulated experiences. Only after you experience many things will you gain many insights. Normally, you randomly accumulate many different experiences…and you yourself won’t even notice it, but once you enter the Stellar Hall and begin to train in gaining further insights, you will improve greatly. But without those normal, everyday experiences…if you stay all the time in the Stellar Hall, it will be pointless.”

Ning nodded.

As the saying went, read ten thousand books, then go on an actual journey of ten thousand kilometers. Personal experiences and insights were what mattered most.

“We’re at the Wargod Hall.” The old black bull stood in front of the Wargod Hall. The bronze gate of the Wargod Hall had the carves of a waraxe and a spear above it, and a martial aura emanated forth from it. In addition, the entire bronze gate was covered with a faint layer of red light, which carried within it an aura of slaughter.

Ning held his breath.

“Senior.” Ning hurriedly asked. “In the past, what did Immortal Juhua experience when he passed the first level of the Wargod Hall?”

“No point in asking.” The old black bull shook its head. “The dangers of the first level of the Wargod Hall are arranged on the fly. They can change at any time. The spirit of the manor and I learned this long ago.”

“Oh.” Ning was resigned.

The old black bull said hurriedly, “Be careful. Although the tests of the Wargod Hall are meant to sharpen your skills and not to kill you, and although you are a Fiendgod practitioner and have a low chance of dying inside, the tests always have an element of danger! Don’t lose your life.”

“Don’t worry.” Ning pushed aside the giant bronze gate and strode inside.

As soon as his hands touched the bronze gate.

“Whoosh!”

The blurry red light on the surface of the bronze gate instantly sucked Ning inside. Ning disappeared into thin air from in front of the bronze gate, and in the instant in which he was drawn within, Ning’s eyes instantly became round and filled with shock.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you that entering the Wargod Hall is a matter of direct teleportation.” The old black bull, seeing the stupefied look on Ning’s face, stared back at him with his own ox-eyes, then began to laugh…

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at a vast, empty land. The ground was covered with ground that seemed to be stained with blood. Up ahead, there was a majestic tower, and the door to the tower glowed with a faint white light.

“Hm?” Ning immediately saw the giant yellow bear standing not too far away.

“Senior.” Ning hurriedly paid his respects.

The giant yellow bear nodded slightly. His formerly uncaring expression seemed to have softened significantly, and his attitude had become much nicer as well. “For you to have reached the level of ‘Dao Domain’ at the age of five is fairly rare, even amongst Fiendgods. Tell me, which level of the Wargod Hall do you intend to challenge?”

“I can choose?” Ning was amazed.

“Of course you can choose! For example, when the Aquatic Manor’s owner is outside adventuring, if he returns at the Primordial Daoist level, and he only has two options to challenge the tower, he naturally won’t choose the first level.” The giant yellow bear said. “You can, if you choose, go directly to the highest level of the Wargod Hall, level ten. But of course, even though the Wargod Hall’s tests aren’t meant to kill the testers, even the slightest energy ripple at that level will cause you to instantly disintegrate, leaving not even your soul.”

Ning rubbed his eyes.

Fine, then.

Level ten?

Even Immortal Juhua only passed level seven after becoming a Loose Immortal! He couldn’t even imagine how difficult the tenth level was. Ning only felt as though the original, ancient Fiendgod who had created this Aquatic Manor was simply too powerful.

“I choose the first level.” Ning said honestly. Based on what the old black bull had said, before he had mastered his Rainwater Sword Domain, his chances of succeeding on the first level were less than 10%. One could imagine how difficult the first level was.

“Fine.” The giant yellow bear nodded. “At least you are doing things step-by-step. This is you first challenge, and this test will be the easiest of tests.”

“Easiest?” Ning was stunned.

The giant yellow bear’s furry paws suddenly grabbed Ning by the arm. Whoosh! Instantly, Ning and the giant yellow bear arrived at the majestic tower. The tower gate glowed with blurry white light as Ning and the giant yellow bear stepped inside with a single step.

This was a blurry white space that was three thousand meters high and with a circumference of many thousands of meters. The only thing present was that floating door behind them.

“This is the first level of the Wargod Hall.” The giant yellow bear said. Ning immediately looked carefully at his surroundings. The first level of the Wargod Hall? Then where was the dangerous test?

“Look.” The giant yellow bear stood there, pointing into the distance.

Ning followed the giant yellow bear’s finger with his gaze. He saw that out of nowhere, a black wooden stake had suddenly appeared. The wooden stake was as thick as Ning’s legs, and was three meters tall. It just stood there.

“A wooden stake?” Ning was stunned.

“The test that I’ll give you is significantly easier than the test which I originally gave Immortal Juhua or Rampart.” The giant yellow bear said. “The first test of the Wargod Hall is…in the time it takes for a single incense stick to burn up, split that wooden stake apart!” The giant yellow bear’s palm suddenly had an incense stick within it, only roughly one foot long.

“Shatter the wooden stake before the incense stick burns up?” Ning looked at the wooden stake.

No wonder the spirit of the manor said that this was the easiest test. It was even easier than the one which Juhua and Rampart had to undergo! Indeed, it was just a matter of splitting a wooden stake. There wasn’t any danger at all. In addition, the wooden stake just stood there, not resisting at all.

“Begin.” The giant yellow bear said. That incense stick appeared on the floor not too far away, already lit.

“A single incense stick…”

Ning didn’t dare to waste any time.

Ning, with a ‘swoosh’, scurried before the wooden stake. Although it was only a wooden stake, blindly striking it was just foolishness. It was better to spend some time to first analyze it…and see where the wooden stake would more easily break apart. Only by knowing one’s self and one’s enemies would one have hope for victory. This wooden stake was completely black, and it had circles of characters covering it.

“Would it be easier to follow the pattern of the runes in striking it?” Ning said to himself.

“Haaargh!”

The Darknorth swords appeared in Ning’s hands, and the divine power in his Zifu completely exploded forth. Whooooooooosh. Drizzling rain appeared in the surrounding area. The drizzling rain merged into lines of rain which swirled about the area, making it quite comfortable and cool. This also clearly caused Ning’s control over the surrounding ‘Dao’ to become much more powerful.

“Rain Line!” Ning used his most powerful attack at the very start!

Whoosh!

Ning’s swords flashed like lightning, disappearing into thin air as they completely merged into the surrounding, billowing lines of rain. Ning’s sword light transformed into one of the strands of rain, as thin as silk, incomparably sharp, instantly chopping towards the wooden stake.

“Bang!” The only thing which occurred was a white smudge appeared on the wooden stake. As the rainwater fell down, the white smudge disappeared, as though nothing had happened.

Ning himself, because of the powerful counterforce, knocked backwards, and the palm of his hands split open. He took three step backwards, but instantly the wound to his palm was healed.

“Just a white smudge. This wooden stake is indeed incomparably tough. To break it in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn is very hard.” Ning instantly charged forward and gave it another blow.

It, too, was ‘Rain Line’.

The sword merged into the lines of rain…

Bang!

As soon as it touched the wooden stake, a powerful concussive sound once more rang out, but this time, Ning chopped in accordance with the magical runes. Although he was still knocked backwards by the collisive force, Ning found to his surprised delight…that there was a hint of a very small wound on the wooden stake. The wound was very small, almost neglible, but it was still there.

“I imagine that by using this sword strike with my Rainwater Sword Domain…the power is comparable to the ninth level of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation. But this is all I can accomplish?” Ning was stunned. “Without the Rainwater Sword Domain, I really wouldn’t be able to do anything to it.”

Ning knew very well that within the Rainwater Sword Domain, he was like a tiger who had been given wings; the power of his sword technique had risen by several levels.”

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Chapter 6 – A Bewildering Selection of Magic Treasures

Chapter 6 – A Bewildering Selection of Magic Treasures

The distant giant yellow bear nodded slightly and mused to himself, “This Ji Ning’s talent for swordplay is indeed high. That sword blow alone has already just barely reached the Wanxiang Adept level. But if that’s all he has, there is no way he will be able to overcome this first trial. His blows needs to reach the power of a full-force blow from an early Wanxiang Adept…only then will he be able to break the wooden stake before a single incense stick burns down!”

The first level of the Wargod Hall required that a person have the attack power of an early Wanxiang Adept in order to be overcome!

This was already the easiest testing method which the spirit of the manor could select. A true test would also test a person’s battle experience, mentality, movement abilities, and many other aspects. After all, in a true battle against a real enemy, would the enemy just stand there like a block of wood, waiting for someone to split it apart?

…….

“Even by using my Rainwater Sword Domain, my Darknorth swords aren’t able to split this wooden stake.” Ning immediately retracted his Darknorth swords.

“Lesser Ten Thousand Swords Formation.”

Ning retreated by thirty meters, and then out of nowhere, more than seven hundred sword-type magic treasures suddenly appeared. All of the magic swords glowed with a blurry white light, and powerful Zifu-level elemental energy filled each magic sword…after circulating through, the power condensed next to Ning, into the form of an incomparably fierce sword light.

This sword light could faintly be seen to have the form of a flying sword.

“Originally, when I fought against Dong Ziqi, I activated these swords with peak Xiantian-level energy. Now that I use Zifu-level elemental energy to activate them, the power of the Lesser Ten Thousand Swords Formation is clearly much enhanced.” Ning could sense the sharpness of this sword light. This sword light’s own power was most likely comparable to the earlier, full-strength close-combat blow he delivered.

“Rainwater Sword Domain!”

A drizzling rain suddenly appeared around him as the area within three hundred meters sank into his Rainwater Sword Domain.

“Go.” Ning willed it, and the sword light by his side instantly vanished, transforming into a line of rain as well. This line of rain instantly traversed the distance of thirty meters, slicing down in the direction of the runes covering the wooden stake.

Boom!

A wound immediately appeared atop the wooden stake, as the sword light chopped in nearly to the depth of half a finger.

“Good.” Ning was overjoyed, and another ray of sword light formed by his side.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

One ray of sword light after another flew into and completely merged with Rainwater Sword Domain, transforming into thin lines of rainwater. The rainwater sliced directly downwards onto the distant wooden stakes, once more leaving behind wounds.. It must be understood that the wooden stake was harder to cut on the inside than on the outside…the elemental energy within Ning’z Zifu was quickly being used up, as the wound on the wooden stake grew greater and greater.

Some time later.

“BANG!” A line of rain sliced across the wooden illar, and the wooden stake snapped in half. The upper half of the wooden stake fell, descending down to and smashing against the ground.

“Success.” Ning rejoiced. He hurriedly turned his head to look at the incense stick behind him. A majority of the incense stick was already gone.

“Congratulations on succeeding.” The giant yellow bear walked across. “Do you wish to challenge the second level of the Wargod Hall?”

Ning was swayed.

The second level?

It seemed as though succeeding on the second level of the Wargod Hall only resulted in a Mortal-ranked magic treasure. The benefit was the same as successfully passing the first level. The difficulty level…

“Senior, how hard is the second level, compared to the first level?” Ning asked. “How is the danger level?”

“Of course it is much more dangerous.” The giant yellow bear said directly. “You overcame the simplest first level test. But from the second level onwards…it won’t be that simple. It won’t be like just now, where there was only a block of wood that wouldn’t fight back. In addition, I won’t give you any advice at all. All you can do is charge in! Fight! If you feel you are in danger of death, you can immediately use the control talisman to teleport out. Once you teleport out, it means you lost!”

“Are you willing to use your second chance to challenge the second level of the Wargod Hall?” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning.

“My second chance?” Ning was stunned.

The giant yellow bear said, “I recommend you to use it. You are already at the peak as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. You might break through at any moment, and if you do…the two chances you have as a Xiantian-level expert will be gone. If you don’t use it, it will go to waste.”

Ning pondered for a moment.

“Then I will try it.” Ning laughed.

“Go then.” The giant yellow bear said.

Whoosh!

Ning disappeared from this first level of the Wargod Hall.

But just ten seconds later.

“Bang!” Ning once more appeared at the first level, flying backwards and falling against the the floor. The furs on his body were all torn apart, and there were multiple bloody wounds on him, although some of them healed by the time he landed on the ground.

“You lost.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning.

“Success in either the first or the second level results in just a single Mortal-ranked magic treasure.” Ning rose to his feet and said angrily. The furs on his body automatically repaired themselves. “Why is the second level so difficult?”

As soon as he had entere, he had instantly been attacked by tens of strange beasts which looked like black panthers. He was caught rather off-guard, and only after he released his power did he realize that every single black panther was comparable to Dong Ziqi! He used everything available to him, but was only able to hold on for ten seconds before being forced to give up. If he didn’t give up, he would have been torn into pieces by that group of black panthers.

“The Wargod Hall has ten levels, each of which is increasingly difficult.” The giant yellow bear growled. “This was decided by Master. There’s no point to you complaining.”

“Is there no difference between passing through the second level and the first level?” Ning asked.

“There is a difference.”

The giant yellow bear said. “As you have passed the first level, I will give you a large number of Mortal-ranked magic treasures and items of comparable value for you to choose from! Some of them are top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasures.”

“If you succeed in challenging the second level, you can choose from any of the Mortal-ranked magic treasures or items of equivalent value which the Treasure Hall holds. There are some very unusual, very unique items there…although they are only Mortal-ranked, they are comparable to some ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasures, or even more valuable.”

Ning now understood.

“Go, then. Go to the Treasure Hall.” The giant yellow bear stretched out a furry paw, grabbing Ning by the arm.

Whoosh!

The two disappeared into thin air…

The Treasure Hall.

The Treasure Hall was an enormous hall, and high above in the air floated one magic treasure and unique item after another. Surges of tremendous power rippled forth…although these ripples were heart-shaking, they were controlled by the restrictive spells of the first master, and didn’t injure Ning at all as he stood down below, preparing to make his selection.

“There are many magic treasures and unique items.” The giant yellow bear looked down towards Ning. Within the bear’s palms, a golden book suddenly appeared. “This golden book has recorded within it magic treasures of the Mortal-rank. You can choose from them. Choose.”

Ning accepted the golden book.

The book only had two Fiendgod characters atop it: [Precious Treasures]. He opened the book, and atop the pages were diagrams of precious treasures and unique items, as well as descriptions of the items.

“This really is…” Ning was stupefied as he read.

“Compared with the magic treasures up above me, the treasures which the Zifu Disciples of my Swallow Mountain region are just dogshit.” Ning had a feeling of speechlessness. It was as though he was a farmer militia who encountered a formal military. The equipment was on a completely different level.

The magic treasures above him were, at very least, high-grade Mortal-rank! Most were top-grade Mortal-rank!

The Mortal-rank magic treasures the first master was willing to keep naturally were all fine items.

“Whew.”

“These Tri-Poison Flags are too vicious. With them, a peak Zifu Disciple can fight head on against a Wanxiang Adept. The power is most likely no weaker than that of a completed form of the Myriad Wraiths Banner which Bei Zishan was working on. In addition, the Myriad Wraiths Banner needs countless people to be tortured to death, but these Tri-Poison Flags don’t require you to commit such grave sins.” Ning sighed in amazement.

The evil Daos also had their own incredible magic treasures. It wasn’t always necessary for one to commit any sins, yet still allowed items of incredible power to be made.

“This one is formidable as well. The Nine Yang Swords Formation?” Ning’s eyes blazed as he looked at it. The most alluring part of it was that this magic treasure was formed from nine flying swords, each of which was a high-grade Mortal-rank flying sword!

“The Nine Yang Swords Formation is the most suited for you.” The nearby giant yellow bear said. “Choosing this magic treasure is equivalent to choosing nine flying swords. Although they are only high-grade Mortal-rank flying swords, they come from the same source. If you use these nine flying swords as the a base core for your [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the power of it will increase threefold or fivefold! These nine high-grade Mortal-rank flying swords alone are worth more than several dozen of your ordinary Mortal-rank flying swords.”

Ning felt desirous as well.

This was an excellent item.

“Yin Fire Bottle?” Ning raised an eyebrow. “How vicious.”

“Waterflame Mixed Element Staff.” Ning felt his pulse race when looking at this one as well. He controlled fire and water, and was also a Fiendgod Body Refiner. The Waterflame Mixed Element Staff was very suited for Fiendgods.

“Divine Starpoint Needles? Thirty six needles in a set? My soul is powerful, making it very suited for controlling large numbers of items.” Ning desired these as well.

One magic item after another.

Even the ones that weren’t suited for him made him feel desirous. These were all top-grade indeed! Top-grade! He had killed Bei Zishan and Ju San and acquired some magic treasures, but compared to these…there was no way to compare! Ning would be willing to trade dozens of magic treasures like those for a single one of these.

What Ning didn’t understand was that these items were viewed by the first master as ‘top-grade’ or ‘high-grade’, but if they were to be ranked in the modern era, all of them would be viewed as top-grade! Even those nine flying swords of the Nine Yang Sword Formation…according to modern standards, they would be viewed as nine top-grade flying swords.

“Wonderful.” Ning felt his heart itch.

He really wanted to grab a pile of them.

Ning began to understand Immortal Juhua a bit better. The poor Immortal Juhua could see all these powerful magic treasures, but couldn’t obtain them! If he could pick one as he pleased, he probably would’ve been able to survive his tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal!

Although the first master wanted to help future generations, he didn’t show them any favoritism. Even if the future generations died…his rules were still unbreakable. You want magic treasures? Then follow the first master’s rules.

“An ice-sealed Three-Eyed Firebug Larva? It can be used to raise an entire race of Three-Eyed Firebugs. An ordinary adult Three-Eyed Firebug is comparable to a Zifu Disciple? The only flaw is that it requires a large amount of spirit materials as food, and it also takes a long time to grow. However, it can also result in the breeding of incredibly powerful Three-Eyed Firebugs.” Ning’s heart burned.

“A golem comparable to an ordinary early Wanxiang Adept? An unkillable golem? The only flaw is that it requires a large amount of elemental energy to be used.”

Magic treasures. Unique items.

Each of them drove Ning crazy and moved him.

“Don’t be dazzled.” The giant yellow bear warned. “The Nine Yang Swords Formation is the most suitable for you. Nine excellent swords which come from the same source…it will be very hard for you to find something like them while adventuring outside. Your [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] needs a core, and the stronger the swords of its core, the better.”

Ning flipped through another page.

Formation techniques? Ning’s eyelids shot up. Right now, the Ji clan was under tremendous threat. The best method for dealing with a large group of Zifu Disciples was using formations! It was formations which could create miracles!

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. A large formation suitable for guarding a clan or a sect. A large formation formed from five component formations…” Ning was moved as soon as he read through this. He hurriedly read through it carefully, and the joy on his face became even greater.

“This is it, this is it!” Ning was howling in his heart. “With this, my power will greatly increase, and the power of the Patriarch and the others will increase as well.”

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Chapter 7 – The Ji Clan Gathers

Chapter 7 – The Ji Clan Gathers

Seeing this major formation that was could be used to guard an entire clan or sect, Ji Ning managed to suppress his excitement and continue reading, despite the fact that he was mentally howling in excitement.

Perhaps there would be something even better!

Ji Ning continued to flip through this golden book, and one magic treasure after another appeared, causing Ning’s heart to clench repeatedly! It was really…really breathtaking. Unfortunately, he couldn’t acquire them all! He only could choose a single item.

“[Soaring Serpent Formation Loop of the Nine Heavens!]” Ning’s eyes lit up as he carefully inspected the descriptions within. “This formation is even more complicated than the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and the power is actually even greater. Still, it seems it needs nine users who are at least be at the Zifu Disciple level.”

Ning shook his head.

…………..

“Whew.” Ning closed the golden book. The item which was most suitable for the current Ji clan was naturally a formation technique! There were several that were comparable to the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and two that were even better than it. But from the current situation, the most suitable, realistic choie was still the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation!

The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was formed from five component formations, each of which a single Zifu Disciple could control. However, if five Zifu Disciples joined forces…the power of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation would reach the maximum level!

As for the Ji clan, including Ning’s father, it had six Zifu Disciples! But his father would have to use a forbidden technique to release enough power. Strictly speaking, the Ji clan only had five Zifu Disciples. Given this…the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was the best choice.

“Have you chosen?” The giant yellow bear said.

“I have.” Ning nodded. “The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation!”

The giant yellow bear stared at Ning in astonishment. “Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation? Did you make a mistake? That is a grand formation suitable for protecting a clan; once you set it down, you cannot move. Even if you choose to fight…you still have to set the formation up in advance! In the future, you will definitely go adventuring outside. If you suddenly encounter any danger, you won’t have time to set up a formation, and what’s more, the power of this grand formation when a single person is controlling is very ordinary. You need five people working together to reach a high level of power! I urge you to reconsider. You will have very, very few chances to select an item from the Treasure Hall. Once you make the choice, there’s no way to change it!”

“I choose it.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all.

“Fine.” The giant yellow bear said nothing further.

“Come.”

The giant yellow bear pointed at a spot in the air far above them, and in the tightly clustered mass of treasures and artifacts, a ray of light flew out from an unassuming dark corner that couldn’t even be seen with the naked eye. It was like a meteor, quickly passing through all obstructions and landing on the ground.

Ning looked at it. He saw four black scales that surrounded a central black pearl.

“This is a dragon pearl.” The giant yellow bear waved his hand, and the black pearl immediately levitated into the air. The black pearl was covered with a large amount of runes, and the faint image of a dragon’s shadow could be seen swimming within it. The complicated runes atop it seemed to be exceedingly beautiful, completely different from the crude scrawlings atop ordinary Mortal-rank magic treasures.

“The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation has five parts to it. The core is the dragon pearl! And then, there is the dragon’s head, the dragon’s body, the dragon’s claw, and the dragon’s tail. Four secondary parts!” The giant yellow bear waved his hand again, and those four scales flew over as well. “They are formed from the scales on the dragon’s body, which were forged into four formation disks. One dragon pearl, four formation disks. This forms the complete, five-part Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. As for the mysteries within, after you bind it and carefully analyze it, you’ll understand.”

Ning nodded.

He stretched his hand out, accepting the dragon pearl and four formation disks.

“You’ve already entered the Wargod Hall, Treasure Hall, and Stellar Hall. Only the Divine Abilities Hall remains.” The giant yellow bear said. “Work hard to make your breakthrough. At the latest, make your breakthrough at age ten. By then, you can challenge the Divine Abilities Hall.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“Then now…?” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning.

“I’m heading out.” Ning didn’t hesitate.

The giant yellow bear nodded slightly. Whoosh! The bear’s head dramatically increased and became illusory, swallowing Ning within it. Ning disappeared.

Serpentwing Lake. Beneath a courtyard within Brightheart Island. There was a lantern hanging nearby, casting a faint light on the surrounding area. It was already late at night.

“Why hasn’t the young master returned?” Autumn Leaf held a flask of wine, standing behind Ji Yichuan. Yichuan sat down, and behind him was lying a big white dog, the Godbeast, ‘Whitewater Hound’. Autumn Leaf’s eyes had a hint of worry within them as well, because Yichuan had been waiting very long already. “The young master said that others were not permitted to disturb him, and that his room was to be completely sealed.”

There was nothing Autumn Leaf could do. She knew Ning’s temper; if he said he was not to be disturbed, others absolutely would not dare disturb him.

The only choice was to wait.

“Don’t be impatient. There is enough time.” Yichuan held a cup of wine and spoke softly. He was very calm, because the coming battle would be the most glorious moment of his life.

“Rumble…” The ground vibrated faintly from far away, and instantly, Autumn Leaf revealed a look of delight. “The young master should be leaving his closed quarters.”

And then, a creaaaak.

From afar, a door to a room opened, and a youth clast in beast furs stepped out.

Yichuan stood up, frowning slightly as he looked at Ning. He had watched Ning grow up, and so he could sense any changes Ning went through. He noticed that the current Ning…seemed to be less ‘sharp’ than before, but in possession of a hint of the calmness of the water.

“You were training?” Yichuan asked.

Ning nodded slightly. “I had a breakthrough!”

A look of delight and satisfaction appeared in Yichuan’s eyes. This was his final battle, and he believed that he would die in it! To be able to, before his death, see his son increase in power yet again…naturally, he was incomparably delighted. For his son to be such a monstrous talent…he could already see the sight of his son’s name being spread throughout the vast world.

“Good.” Yichuan just said a single word.

“Uncle White is going as well?” Ning looked towards the nearby Whitewater Hound.

The Whitewater Hound nodded towards Ning.

Yichuan glanced a side at the nearby Whitewater Hound. “Your Uncle White and I are lifelong brothers. I am prepared to die in this battle; even if I survive, I will be left a cripple. Before this, I released your Uncle White and Uncle Black, giving them their freedom…your Uncle Black has already returned to his mountain forests, but your Uncle White has chosen to accompany me. Even if he dies, he wishes to die by my side. I am unable to force him to leave. I simply cannot. For me, Yichuan, to have a brother like this…even in death, I will feel proud.”

Ning’s heart trembled. He saw the tears brimming in his father’s eyes, and the steely, unrelenting look of eternal companionship in his Uncle White’s eyes.

“Good. Let’s go together.” Ning walked over, embracing the Whitewater Hound, much like he had always done when he was young and would go out to train archery. “Uncle White, let’s go together.” The Whitewater Hound looked back at Ning, and deep love could be seen in his eyes. He had watched Ning grow up from an infant into an adult. This was the only son of his lifelong friend, Ji Yichuan. Naturally, he viewed Ning as a younger family member.

Whoosh.

A boat appeared out of nowhere. Hovering there in midair, it quickly expanded until it reached a size of more than thirty meters. Ning, Yichuan, and the Whitewater Hound boarded it.

“Let’s go.” Ning willed it.

The boat quickly began to fly through the skies, rapidly advancing through the dark night towards the north.

…….

Back at that desolate mountain forest.

Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, the old servant Ah Xing, Ji Truekeep. These four had already arrived, and had already set up a bewildering formation nearby. Ning had spent quite a bit of time meditating in the Stellar Hall. The others had taken care of their matters, then returned. Given the speed a Zifu Disciple could move at, they had naturally already taken care of everything.

“Why did you bring your spirit-beast as well?” Granny Shadow said in a hoarse voice.

Truekeep stroked the head of a black eagle. “I didn’t want it to come, but it insisted. It followed me since it was a chick. All these years, it has never left me. This time, it refused to leave no matter what…forget it. We’ve known each other all our lives. The relationship between the two of us is closer and more familiar than even the relationship between myself and my wife and children.

Ninefire and the others just looked at him, then nodded gently.

For a spirit-beast to willingly accompany a person in braving danger; this was rare indeed.

“Yichuan hasn’t returned yet?” Truekeep stroked the eagle while raising his head to look. The bewildering formation hadn’t been activated yet; naturally, his vision was not impacted. Even in the darkness, the faint light of the moon was more than enough to allow Zifu Disciples to see to a great distance with the naked eye.

“Don’t be impatient.” Ninefire said. “We still have quite a bit of time.”

“It’d be best if that kid Ji Ning doesn’t come.” Granny Shadow sighed, speaking in her hoarse voice. “He insists on coming. He is the true hope of our Ji clan. Given his latent talent and potential, it shouldn’t be hard for him to become a Wanxiang Adept, but his temper is too stubborn.”

Ninefire laughed, then said consolingly, “Don’t worry. He has the Traceless Talisman. When true danger comes, even if he doesn’t leave, we will force him to.”

“Right. We will force him.” Granny Shadow nodded. “If he doesn’t leave at the critical moment, I’ll commit suicide right in front of him.”

“Enough. He knows what is important.” Ninefire’s eyes lit up. “They are coming.”

All of them raised their heads to look.

From afar, in the air, they saw a ray of light fly over. Only when it began to slow as it descended could they see clearly what it was; it was a boat. This boat swiftly descended from the skies, and then, roughly thirty meters away from the ground, vanished. Ning, Yichuan, and the Whitewater Hound all landed on the ground.

“You brought your Whitewater Hound as well?” Truekeep laughed.

Yichuan glanced over in surprise as well. “Your Snow Eagle came as well?”

The two glanced at each other, then both laughed. They both understood why.

“Alright. We are all here.” Ninefire said. “We should prepare to deal with Snowdragon Mountain.”

“Right.” Everyone’s faces grew a hint more solemn.

Ninefire spoke out. “Earlier, I made a special trip to Swallow Mountain City, to pay a visit to General Dong, who is in charge of the forces stationed here!”

“How did it go?” All of them asked with anticipation.

A hint of fury was in Ninefire’s eyes. “Everyone knows General Dong. He is one of the members of that large, far away clan; the Dong clan! That’s the reason why he was able to become the commanding general of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s forces here.”

Ning nodded. They knew these things long ago; becoming a general in the Grand Xia Dynasty’s military…wasn’t something which someone in a small clan like the Ji clan could hope for. After all, that was, without question, a wonderful assignment. Once you put on the ‘tiger garb’ of serving the Grand Xia Dynasty, who would dare offend you?

“I didn’t want to offend this General Dong.” Ninefire said. “Unfortunately, when I wanted to make the report, I was told that General Dong was in closed door meditation and unable to receive visitors. I went to see the Deputy General, but I was told the Deputy General had left Swallow Mountain City and wasn’t here at present.”

“What.”

They all grew frantic.

“Definitely a delaying tactic. They didn’t want to meet with us.”

“Snowdragon Mountain must have done something.” Ning was frantic as well. The point of them setting the formation was to delay until the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy arrived. But if there was no report filed…how could the Celestial Envoy come?

Ninefire said, “I couldn’t be bothered with anything else. This matter involves the fate of our Ji clan. Thus, I no longer cared about whether or not I was offending General Dong. Thus, I began to shout, sending my voice echoing throughout the entire Swallow Mountain City…I said that my Ji clan was willing to offer to the Grand Xia Dynasty an enormous elemental ore mine! My voice naturally flooded the entire Swallow Mountain City, and everyone within it, along with all of the soldiers, all heard my voice. General Dong thus no longer dared to delay, and so he hurriedly came to see me, his face as black as thunderclouds, and then angrily shooed me away.”

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Chapter 8 – A Wonderful Treasure!

Chapter 8 – A Wonderful Treasure!

“Well-offended.” Ji Yichuan’s eyes flashed with cold light. “This matter involves the survival of the Ji clan. How can we be bothered by whether or not we are offending a garrison general?”

“Right.” Ji Ning, Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing all nodded.

Garrison generals wielded great power. The six hegemons of the Swallow Mountain region all needed to pay a large amount of tax each year to the Grand Xia Dynasty. They delivered it directly to Swallow Mountain City! Aside from the authority to collect taxes, the garrison general was also responsible for oversight; he was responsible on behalf of the Grand Xia Dynasty for managing this region.

Power over both oversight and tax collection…if they were really to squabble, these things would cause the Ji clan to suffer in the future.

But that was just suffering; compared to the possible perishment of the entire clan, it didn’t matter!

“As long as we sign an agreement with the Grand Xia Dynasty, we would have their protection. He, a garrison general, wouldn’t be able to do anything to us.” Ji Ninefire said. “Since everyone is here, I will let you know that I have already chosen the location for our battle with Snowdragon Mountain. Let’s head out.”

“Where will we battle with Snowdragon Mountain?” Ning asked.

“Oxhorn Mountain, located close to the City of Ten Thousand Swords.” Ninefire said.

“Oxhorn Mountain?”

Ning was naturally extremely familiar with the geographical areas around the Ji clan. Upon hearing what Ninefire said, he immediately understood where they would be. Oxhorn Mountain was roughly eight hundred kilometers away from the City of Ten Thousand Swords. It was a large, desolate mountain. Because the peak of the mountain was split in twain, like the horns of an ox, it was referred to as ‘Oxhorn Mountain’.

“I’ve also sent envoys.” Ninefire said. “They are flying on winged beasts towards Snowdragon City to idirectly inform them that our Ji clan has set a grand formation at the base of Oxhorn Mountain. Given the speed at which my envoys travel at, I imagine that in roughly ten hours, they will arrive at Snowdragon Mountain.”

Ning and the others nodded.

Ten hours?

It would probably be tomorrow at noon, then! It made sense. The winged beasts the envoys flew on were ordinary, trained animals; it was only natural that they would not be able to compare with Xiantian-level flying monsters, or to Zifu Disciples.

“I will collect this bewildering formation, and then we will immediately head out.” Ninefire, afraid of being suddenly attacked, had set up the formation here.

“Whoosh!”

An enormous gourd appeared. Ji Ning and the other five, along with the two spirit-beasts, stood or sat atop the gourd. The gouard flew through the skies at high speed.

Oxhorn Mountain was roughly three hundred or so kilometers away. They arrived within moments.

“Right there.” Ninefire pointed at the split peak of Oxhorn Mountain below them. “Land there onto Oxhorn Mountain. We can see everything from there, and given that the surrounding area is completely desolate…there’s nothing that can block our line of sight. As long as those Snowdragon Mountain disciples come, we will immediately see them from far away.”

Ning, Yichuan, and the others all nodded.

Whoosh!

They landed from the skies, then put the gourd away. Ninefire and the others thus landed atop the mountain.

“I have already prepared six formations. They represent my hundreds of years of painstaking research in analyzing formations.” Ninefire pointed at the surrounding area. “I’ll only need as much time as it takes to boil a kettle of tea before I set these formations down. Even if experts from Snowdragon Mountain who specialize in formations come to break through them, they will probably need to spend quite some time to break through six of them. During that period of time, we can also borrow the power of the formation to launch sneak attacks and ambushes, one after another, disrupting them from breaking through the formations! Our goal is to make them waste as much time as possible. Based on my calculations, the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty will arrive in three days. If we can hold for three days, then once the Celestial Envoy arrives, we will have won!”

“Right. Once the Celestial Envoy arrives, they will no longer dare to act.” Granny Shadow nodded as well.

“Even if we die, we have to delay them from breaking through our formation.” Truekeep nodded solemnly as well. “Our power, compared to that of a large group of Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain…if we fight them head on, there’s no way for us to compete. We have to rely on the formations! The more time it takes for them to break through our formations, the greater our chances for victory. Ideally, we should get rid of the formation experts which Snowdragon Mountain has invited over.”

Ninefire shook his head. “They will definitely focus on protecting their formation experts; they might even prepare specifically for us launching our most powerful attacks against the. It isn’t too likely that we will be able to kill the formation experts.”

Yichuan nodded as well. “Let’s do our best to delay!”

Six grand formations!

The disruption of each formation represented an increase in the level of danger the Ji clan would face.

“Patriarch.” Ning said solemnly. “I have a grand formation as well. We can be considered to have seven formations in total.”

“Oh?” They all looked at Ning.

“You have a grand formation?” Ninefire was extremely surprised. “Was it Bei Zishan’s? Bei Zishan came from Snowdragon Mountain, and he should have had some formations available to him.” Although this was what he said, in his heart, Ninefire didn’t feel too hopeful, because as he saw it, Bei Zishan was an amateur, while he, Ninefire, had chosen these six formations based on the most exquisite formations available to him and based on the treasures the Ji clan held.

“No.” Ning shook his head. “I once had a special stroke of fortune, and the most valuable item I acquired from it was this grand formation.”

“A special stroke of fortune?” They were all stunned. Yichuan stared at Ning. Yichuan’s first reaction was to think back to how Ning disappeared in Serpentwing Lake. That time, he and his wife had been worried for many days.

Yichuan said, “Ji Ning has indeed had a special stroke of fortune, which he narrowly survived. However, I didn’t know he had acquired a powerful magic treasure from it.”

Ning nodded. “Patriarch, look.”

Ning waved his hand, and instantly, a black light appeared above them, covered with incomparably intricate, wondrous magical runes. It was the dragon pearl and the four black scales. They caused the surrounding space to fill up with a black fog. Just by looking at them, especially considering the majestic presence of the faint draconic shadow within the dragon pearl, Ninefire and the others felt incomparably delighted.

“Dragon pearl?” Ninefire called out in surprise. “There is a dragon soul within?”

“Look at these runes. In my entire life, I’ve never seen runes as beautiful as the ones atop this treasure.” Granny Shadow was scrutinizing the scales.

“What complicated runes.” Ninefire was stunned as well.

Ning said, “Patriarch, once you bind it, you will understand.”

“How can I bind it? A treasure like this…our Ji clan has existed for thousands of years without having a treasure like this.” Ninefire shook his head. Although the Ji clan had its important, clan-protecting treasures, those were generally one-use Dao-seals and the like. How could it have an incomparably precious treasure like this, which could be used repeatedly? “This treasure isn’t something which the likes of our clan can use. Normally speaking, we’d be afraid others would come to steal it. However, now that our Ji clan is facing annihilation, I don’t have to be worried, I suppose. Still, Ji Ning, it’s best if you are the one to bind this magic treasure.”

“Patriarch, didn’t you say that once things grew dangerous, I would have to immediately leave?” Ning said helplessly. “If I leave…am I supposed to take the formation with me?”

“Oh…” Ninefire hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth. “Fine. I will bind it. For now, I’ll use it!”

Given that the annihilation of his clan was at hand, Ninefire wouldn’t hesitate.

However, he could tell, just from the quality of the worksmanship, the runes, and the materials used that this magic treasure was extremely precious.

“Whoosh.” Ninefire stretched out his right hand, and a flood of elemental energy flowed into the dragon pearl and the four draconic scales. This treasure didn’t have any remnants of ki within it, and so it naturally was easily bound.

“A wonderful treasure. A wonderful treasure!” As Ninefire bound it, he immediately began to understand the secrets of the treasure, and his eyes turned completely round. “This is too, too…”

Although he knew that it would be an excellent treasure, Ninefire was still stunned.

“Patriarch?”

“Elder brother?”

Granny Shadow, Yichuan, and the others all looked at the Patriarch.

“What a truly fine treasure!!!” Ninefire stared, round-eyed. He said excitedly, “My Ji clan has hope now. It has hope now! We have a chance! A real chance!”

“What sort of treasure is it? Hurry up and tell us! I’m impatient to hear it!” Granny Shadow said hurriedly.

Ninefire said, with incomparable excitement, “This grand formation has five parts. I can control them all by myself, but I need four Zifu Disciples assisting me! The four Zifu Disciples will be assigned to different locations. One Zifu Disciple will become the core of the ‘Dragonhead Formation’, one will be the core of the ‘Dragonbody Formation’, one will be the core of the ‘Dragontail Formation’, while one will be the core of the ‘Dragonclaw Formation’! Naturally, I will stand guard at the center and control the dragon pearl.”

“When the time comes, for the five Zifu Disciples who set up the formation, the most important thing is that, like with Dao-Soldiers, they will be able to share and borrow each other’s elemental energy! Even if one suffers an attack, it will be spread across to everyone in the entire formation and first be weakened by the formation itself, then dividing up amongst the five users.”

Hearing this, Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the others were all excited.

Being able to combine their elemental energy and defensive strength was already worth them being excited over; it meant all of them had gained in strength.

“But this is just the first benefit.” Ninefire said excitedly. “There are other intricacies within. I’m unable to fully investigate them right now, but the dragon soul alone…when the time comes, we won’t even have to attack ourselves. We can use the dragon soul to launch attacks. This is much like Dong Xiqi’s Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. Only, this formation of ours is far more exquisite than that one!”

“Hurry, hurry. I’m going to immediately set it up. I need to focus on it and become familiar with the intricacies within.” Ninefire was incomparably excited.

“Good, good, good.” All of them nodded.

Ning nodded as well. He knew very well that this sort of formation required a very high level of comprehension regarding formations by the user. Only a high level of comprehension could result in effective control of the formation. Ninefire, in terms of talent, might not be superior to Ning, but he had been studying formations for centuries, and so in terms of his ability to control formations, he was on a similar level as Ning.

“Right. Ning, what is the name of this formation?” Ninefire couldn’t help but ask. “I’ve never seen such an intricate, exquisite formation. This formation is more powerful than all six of my other formations.”

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.” Ning said.

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.” Ninefire murmured this, then transformed into a ray of light as he began to fly about, setting up the formation. The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation had to be set up in advance. The dragon pearl could be carried at all times, but the four dragon scales had to be set down in advance.

……….

Time passed by the minute and by the second. It was now dark at night. The Ji clan set up their formations, here at Oxhorn Mountain, training in them and becoming more familiar with the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. This caused them all to dance for joy.

“So that’s how it is. How incredible.”

“We can allow the Netherwyrm to attack; the rest of us don’t have to interfere. We can also…transform into the ‘claws’ or the ‘tail’ of the Netherwyrm and actively attack. When we attack personally, the Netherwyrm will be able to unleash even greater power.” Truekeep was incomparably excited. He had never seen such an incredible formation.

“In addition, in the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, the heavens and the earth are ‘locked’, making everything seem illusory! This is the most miraculous bewildering formation I have ever seen. If we want to attack, we can; if we want to retreat, we can hide behind the illusions, making it so that Snowdragon Mountain wouldn’t be able to find us.” Ninefire laughed loudly.

Ning was excited as well.

Although this was what he had expected, during their tests, he, a mere early Zifu Disciple, was able to use the combined elemental energy of the entire grand formation…and the Patriarch and the others were peak Zifu Disciples! When accessing all of the elemental energy of the formation, Ning had more elemental energy than any peak Zifu Disciple. For him to use so much ki in setting up his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] meant that the power would be even greater!

“Come, then. Snowdragon Mountain.” Ning was filled with confidence.

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Chapter 9 – Snowdragon Mountain Assembles

Chapter 9 – Snowdragon Mountain Assembles

Noon. The Golden Crow [the Sun] hung high in the sky.

While Ji Ninefire, Ji Ning, and the others were setting up and familiarizing themselves with this grand formation, Snowdragon City of the Swallow Mountain area had already summoned quite a few Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. In the air above Snowdragon Mountain, there was a giant carpet, upon which was placed a number of chairs, fruit platters, wine, and more.

All of the cultivators were seated in the lotus position, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. They were quite at ease.

“Junior apprentice-brother Dong Ziqi really has invited quite a few people this time. He invited all of our fellow apprentices in the areas surrounding Swallow Mountain.” A bearded elder held a beastskull cup of wine in his hands, chatting with a silver-haired cultivator who sat next to him. “It’s only been a short while, but more than ten Zifu Disciples have already arrived.”

“The more Zifu Disciples arrive, the better it will be for us when we use the combination techniques off Snowdragon Mountain!” The silver-haired man laughed. “With so many people, no matter how many tricks that puny little Ji clan have, when we join forces against them…we will sweep them effortlessly.”

“How can we possibly need this many Zifu Disciples to deal with a puny little Ji clan?” The long-bearded elder shook his head. He came just for the purpose of earning some merits; after they captured the elemental ore mine, the main sect would undoubtedly reward those who had played a part in it. Participants like them would be awarded merits, based on the size of their contributions. Unfortunately, with so many cultivators present, each person would have slightly less merits to earn.

While they were discussing this…

Dong Ziqi, as the host, was naturally walking around with a glass of wine in hand, chatting with everyone. Amongst his fellow apprentices, he was considered quite famous and formidable, and could be considered an exceptional character. Everyone would give him face. Still, Dong Ziqi spent most of his time with Jadechild.

Jadechild’s face was glowing with golden light. Seated there in the lotus position, he had his own unique, domineering aura. The nearby Landwyrm shrank to a size of just a few dozen meters and lay there, gorging itself on meat.

Next to Dong Ziqi were three fairly strong fellow disciples.

“Now that senior apprentice-brother Jadechild is here, no matter what tricks the Ji clan uses, it will be useless. Actually, all we have to do is collect some military merits.”

“The last time I saw you, senior apprentice-brother, was more than thirty years ago.”

All of them chatted, beginning to flatter and praise each other.

After all, this person in front of them, Jadechild, in terms of power, was strong enough to fight head on with an ordinary Wanxiang Adept! By relying on his divine ability, he was able to kill Zifu Disciples as easily as chickens. In addition, they had all heard of how Jadechild had secluded himself in the hopes of making a breakthrough. If he didn’t make a breakthrough, that was one thing, but if he did, then he would become a Fiendgod practitioner at the Wanxiang Adept.

By then, Jadechild’s status would skyrocket, and he would become a major figure of the main sect. Naturally, they had to befriend him early on.

“Hm?” Dong Ziqi suddenly turned to look into the skies.

From afar, a fur-clad man could be seen, riding on a winged beast. The winged beast was an ordinary one, not a Xiantian-level Diremonster. The fur-clad man called out, “Cultivators of Snowdragon Mountain, I have come to deliver a message on the orders of my Patriarch. The Patriarch of our Ji clan, as well as the other Zifu Disciples, have set down a grand formation at Oxhorn Mountain, eight hundred kilometers outside of the City of Ten Thousand Swords. We are waiting for you, Snowdragon Mountain, to break it!”

After speaking, the fur-clad man flew away atop that winged beast.

“Arrogant little fellow. Watch me deal with him.” A Zifu Disciple with triangular pupils immediately said in a cold voice, preparing to act.

“Stay your hand.” A calm voice rang out.

The Zifu Disciple turned to look. The speaker was senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, who was seated in the position of honor. He immediately no longer dared to attack.

“We are all people who have embarked on the path of Immortal practitioners, while he, a messenger, is merely a mortal. If you lower yourself to kill him, wouldn’t you be tarnishing the reputation of our Snowdragon Mountain?” Jadechild said calmly. “Their puny little Ji clan dares to brazenly set up a grand formation and ask us to go break it? Then our Snowdragon Mountain will display our overwhelming power and smash them all to death in an awe-inspiring display.”

“Senior apprentice-brother is correct.”

“Senior apprentice-brother’s words are reasonable.”

“Our power far exceeds the Ji clan’s. For us to act openly and above-the-board is the correct path.” All of the Zifu Disciples hurriedly said a few words of praise.

Jadechild continued, “However, for the Ji clan to directly notify us means that they definitely have some tricks up their sleeves. These clans have been rooted here for thousands of years…they might have some powerful techniques available to them. Fellow apprentices, don’t be careless. Be careful and vigilant…if we are vigilant, then given our power, eradicating the Ji clan will not be an issue at all.”

“Right.” All of them nodded, as though having been lectured. Actually, who amongst them didn’t know this already? Only, since Jadechild was speaking, they had no choice to obediently listen.

……………..

Another four hours or so passed, and another series of Zifu Disciples arrived, three more in total. These three new Zifu Disciples who had rushed here, upon seeing so many fellow apprentices present, and upon seeing senior apprentice-brother Jadechild in particular, naturally also accepted Jadechild as their leader. Although quite a few Zifu Disciples went forward to say a few words to Jadechild, Jadechild just gave a few casual replies.

“Hrm?” Jadechild’s eyes lit up as he looked towards the distant skies. He even put down the beastskull goblet in his hand.

In the distant skies, a white Fairy Crane was descending. There were two Zifu Disciples seated atop it. One was Muse, who had gone out to deliver the invitations to the other apprentices of Snowdragon Mountain; as for the other, this man was dressed in ordinary fur clothes. This practitioner had unbound hair, and his eyes gleamed like the stars. Just looking at him made people unconsciously feel calmer.

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao has arrived.” Dong Ziqi hurriedly rose.

“Come. Let’s go greet junior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Jadechild rose to his feet.

Jadechild rose to welcome Zidao, naturally causing the surrounding Zifu Disciples to all rise as well. They also behaved in a very warm, welcoming manner.

Nong Zidao…

This was an awe-inspiring figure known throughout the Swallow Mountain region. Jadechild himself was merely a rogue practitioner who eventually joined Snowdragon Mountain! As for Zidao, he had been trained at Snowdragon Mountain as a child, and was a member of the extremely powerful ‘Nong’ lineage of Snowdragon Mountain! Amongst the younger members of Snowdragon Member, he was quite famous for his prowess in formations, and the Ki Refining technique he trained in was an exquisite one as well. In the future, he would have a chance at becoming a Wanxiang Adept.

Logically speaking, it should have been quite hard to invite such a figure to attend.

“I didn’t expect that Dong Ziqi would be able to invite even Nong Zidao to come.” The Zifu Disciples were all quite surprised.

“Junior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Jadechild laughed as he went forward to welcome him. “I thought it would be quite some time, junior apprentice-brother, before you arrived. I didn’t imagine you’d arrive so soon.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild.” The celestial goose landed on the carpet, and Nong Zidao descended. “After hearing that you were inviting me and giving me a chance of earning some merits, senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, of course I wouldn’t dare be slow. I had Crane leading the way, and so I moved much more quickly than our other fellow apprentices.”

The two of them chatted, paying no attention to anyone else, but the other Zifu Disciples felt that this was only proper.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ziqi.” Nong Zidao looked at the nearby Dong Ziqi. “This time, you’ve accomplished a great deed.”

“With you present, senior apprentice-brother Zidao, I now feel much more confident.” Dong Ziqi said hurriedly. “Prior to this, senior apprentice-brother Jadechild and I were both concerned about those formations…although the Ji clan is a puny little clan, they have a history of thousands of years. For the sake of the survival of their clan, the formations they are setting down will definitely be extraordinary. Before this, I was worried, but with your arrival, senior apprentice-brother Zidao, everything will be simple.”

“With senior apprentice-brother Zidao here, the puny Ji clan’s formations will quickly be broken.”

“Quickly and easily.”

The Zifu Disciples all began to laugh and sigh in praise.

Nong Zidao nodded gently. The main sect actually cared quite deeply about his expertise in formations, but he was still, after all, a mere Zifu Disciple, not yet a Wanxiang Adept…and thus, his status wasn’t able to rise too much. As for Jadechild, however, by relying on his divine ability, he was able to fight with the strength of a Wanxiang Adept. Given that Jadechild wasn’t too old, and was capable of making a breakthrough, of course Zidao wanted to make friends with Jadechild. This mission was absolutely a simple one, but with great potential rewards. Of course he had to come.

“Junior apprentice-brother Zidao, with you being here, we have a total of nineteen Zifu Disciples.” Jadechild glanced at the surrounding people. “If we include my Landwyrm and that Fairy Crane of yours, we actually can be said to have twenty one Zifu Disciples.”

They all nodded.

Jadechild then gave another glance at Nong Zidao. Their gazes intersected, and they made the decision simultaneously.

“We have an absolute advantage in power, and for the formation-breaking, we have junior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Jadechild said. “Since this is the case, there is no need for us to delay any further. Let us head out for Oxhorn Mountain now! As for the fellow apprentices who will arrive later, junior apprentice-brother Ziqi, you arrange for someone to welcome them, then tell them that we have already gone to Oxhorn Mountain.”

“Alright.” Dong Ziqi hurriedly responded. Since Jadechild and Zidao had made their decisions, most likely the latecomers wouldn’t dare say much.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“With so many colleagues present, we have enough power to annihilate the Ji clan.”

“We even have senior apprentice-brothers Jadechild and Zidao. Everything is set.” The Zifu Disciples all spoke out in praise and approval. The more Zifu Disciples came, the more people would divide the merits earned. If they headed out now, and immediately destroyed the Ji clan, then they would earn the majority of the merits, with the latecomers at most getting a few scraps.

Dong Ziqi directly reached out to his clansmen within Snowdragon City: “Wait here within the city. Once our colleagues arrive, just say…that senior apprentice-brothers Jadechild and Zidao have led the rest of us to Oxhorn Mountain.”

“Yes, Patriarch.” The Xiantian lifeforms within the city began to make their preparations for welcoming the latercomer Zifu Disciples.

“Let’s go.” Dong Ziqi laughed.

Whoosh!

The carpet immediately flew into the distance.

This group of Zifu Disciples remained seated on it, continuing to nurse their drinks. They were quite at ease. To them, this trip to Oxhorn Mountain was nothing more than an excursion tour, incomparably relaxed.

………..

Oxhorn Mountain.

The sun had already begun to set, having reached the western mountains. The sunlight bathed the world in its glow, causing the desolate wilderness and Oxhorn Mountain to be covered with a layer of red gauze.

The Ji clan’s experts had already finished familiarizing themselves with the formation and were now resting. Their eyes were all filled with confidence and anticipation. If before this, they were prepared to fight to the death, or perhaps even had mentally prepared to die…then they now could be said to have confidence in their ability to give Snowdragon Mountain a fight. Ninefire said, “Unless a few dozen of their Zifu Disciples perish, they can forget about breaking this formation.” His words were filled with an eagerness for the coming battle.

This powerful formation…it would definitely ensure that a large group of Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain would perish within.

“This bottle of liquefied elemental essence.” Ning was holding the jade bottle while speaking to his clansmen. “Prior to this, when training, I only used thirty percent. Quite a bit of it remains. In this battle against Snowdragon Mountain, our Ji clan cannot be the slightest bit careless. This bottle of liquefied elemental essence will be of great use. Patriarch, please accept it.”

Just as Ning was speaking, Truekeep suddenly shouted, “Look, look north!”

“Hrm?” All of them turned to look.

Standing at the tip of Oxhorn Mountain, they were able to see that in the distant skies, an enormous carpet was flying over. Atop the carpet was tables and chairs, as well as one Zifu Disciple after another, either seated in the lotus position or reclining while drinking wine, seeming quite relaxed. One of them stood at the very front of the carpet.

From the looks of it, it was Dong Ziqi!

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Chapter 10 – Contact

Chapter 10 – Contact

Dong Ziqi stood there atop the carpet, staring into the distance. The distant Oxhorn Mountain looked the same as always, extremely peaceful.

“Apprentice-brothers Jadechild and Zidao.” Dong Ziqi hurriedly called out. “Oxhorn Mountain is up ahead, but at first glance, I don’t see anything.”

Immediately, a group of Zifu Disciples arose, with Jadechild and Zidao leading the way. They stood at the edges of the carpet, staring into the distance. Nong Zidao began to laugh. “Just a vision-bewildering formation. Although you can’t tell from the outside, once you investigate clearly what’s going on, you’ll know.”

Whoosh!

The giant carpet descended, quickly landing on a desolate patch of land not too far from Oxhorn Mountain. This group of Zifu Disciples all walked off, raising their heads as they looked at the distant Oxhorn Mountain.

“Snowdragon Mountain members, our Ji clan has been here waiting for quite some time.” A heroic, forceful voice emanated forth from the distant Oxhorn Mountain.

“So they really are atop the mountain.” Dong Ziqi’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “This is the voice of Patriarch Ninefire of the Ji clan. This old fellow is very crafty, and he is skilled in formations and poisons.”

Jadechild just said calmly, “Nothing more than an old man. Killing him is like killing a chicken.”

“It’s quite impressive for someone to be this bold though.” Nong Zidao laughed as well.

“A grand formation has been set down here at Oxhorn Mountain. There’s no way of knowing what dangers and traps are inside.” A silver-haired Zifu Disciple said, worried. “What are we to do?”

The practitioner with the triangular pupils snorted coldly. “What can we do? To break the formation, we first have to test it and see what intricacies it holds.”

One Zifu Disciple after another began to discuss what they should do to test it.

“No need.”

Nong Zidao laughed gently. “This bewildering formation is quite ordinary. Just from reviewing the elemental energy ripples surrounding Oxhorn Mountain, I already know the secrets behind the vision-bewildering formation in front of us. Crane, go break this formation.” Nong Zidao, through his spiritual connection, informed the Crane of the secrets of breaking this formation.

The Fairy Crane transformed into a blur, then solidified into a white-robed maiden. The white-robed maiden seemed like an eighteen year old girl, youthful and adorable. “Master, please wait momentarily. I will go break the formation.”

The white-robed maiden immediately transformed into a ray of light, flying away towards the base of Oxhorn Mountain. She didn’t enter the formation at all, instead wielding a long black whip in her hands. Striking out with the whip…it suddenly extended, penetrating into the formation, and then wrapping up the formation flag with incomparable accuracy. And then, with a tug, she pulled it out.

“Good.”

“The spirit-beast of senior apprentice-brother Zidao really is extraordinary.”

“Well broken.” They all congratulated.

From their side, all they saw was a long whip enter the formation, with that part of the whip disappearing. By the time the whip returned, it returned wrapped around a formation flag! With one of the formation flags pulled out…instantly, the bewildering formation was broken, and the entire Oxhorn Mountain seemed to change slightly, revealing several figures at the peak of the mountain.

“The Ji clan.” Muse immediately saw the six of them, with that youth amongst them. “That genius of the Ji clan, Ji Ning, is here as well.”

“Activate!”

Far away at the peak of Oxhorn Mountain, Ninefire suddenly let out a loud shout, and instantly, a large amount of fog arose, surrounding the entire Oxhorn Mountain. There was black fog everywhere…and for a time, nothing could be seen within.

“Master.” The white-robed maiden flew back like a streak of light. “I just barely missed. As soon as I pulled away one formation flag, yet another formation was set down…there’s no way for me to pull away the other formation flags.”

“It’s enough for you to be able to pull one out. That bewildering formation has already been broken.” Nong Zidao laughed calmly. “It seems this Ji clan has prepared quite a few formations! Unfortunately…it seems as though none of them are particularly high-class formations.”

The nearby Jadechild said, “How can the Ji clan possibly compare with you, junior apprentice-brother Zidao, when it comes to meticulously analyzing formations? If they were capable of setting up a formation that even you, junior apprentice-brother Zidao, felt was high class, then that would be quite baffling. The situation before us is quite normal.”

“How should we break this next formation, junior apprentice-brother Zidao?”

“It’s hard to see anything within this fog formation.”

The Zifu Disciples all looked at Nong Zidao.

Nong Zidao shook his head as well. “The previous vision-bewildering formation was easy to break. The one in front of us, however, is a bit harder. In addition, I imagine that the Ji clan has set up layers of formations, formations within formations! How can we break this fog formation just by looking at it from the outside? Most likely, only someone at the Primordial Daoist level would be able to see through the illusions of this formation at a glance.”

“Then we…?” Jadechild looked at Nong Zidao.

“Investigate the illusions!” Nong Zidao said. “As I see it, our group of nineteen Zifu Disciples should divide into two squads. We’ll first send one group of twelve Zifu Disciples to enter the formation…these twelve fellow apprentices are not to be separated while carrying out their mission, as otherwise, they will be separated and killed. Twelve Zifu Disciples….the Ji clan won’t have the strength to fight back, even if they want to.

Nong Zidao looked at Dong Ziqi. “Junior apprentice-brother Ziqi, this time, it was your Swallow Mountain branch which invited everyone to come here, and so you should lead eleven of our colleagues in entering.”

“Fine.” Dong Ziqi immediately assented.

Nong Zidao immediately began to name names, until finally, twelve Zifu Disciples had been named, with Dong Ziqi being one of them.

“My twelve fellow apprentices, please head out first.” Nong Zidao waved his hand, and three jade talismans flew out towards Dong Ziqi and two others. “These three jade talismans were forged by me personally. As long as you stay close to me, I will be able to sense them. Fellow apprentices, please enter the formation first. Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild and I will follow afterwards…and then, we shall separately test this formation. I will be able to sense everyone’s locations, and so meeting again will be simple.”

“Excellent.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao is meticulous indeed.”

Nobody had any objections.

Because they were all very confident! As disciples of the main sect, they were all skilled in combination attacks! Every six fellow disciples would be able to form one formation. Nine, ten, or twelve disciples were also able to set up formations…if the thousands of powerful Zifu Disciples of the main sect were to join together in one combination formation, they would even be able to give a Primordial Daoist a good fight!

But of course, the prerequisite was that they all had to understand the intricacies of the combination formations. The larger scale a formation, the greater the level of complexity. For thousands of Zifu Disciples to form into one combination formation would require many moons of training and coordination.

……..

Oxhorn Mountain.

Black fog billowed everywhere, and Ji Ning and the others flew to the edges of the black fog, staring towards the outside.

Everyone had a heavy feeling.

Just now, that Zifu-level Celestial Crane didn’t even enter the formation; all it had done was use a whip from outside, and it was able to effortlessly capture that formation flag. Clearly, it had seen through the illusions of the formation. For it to be able to do so without even entering the formation…this caused every member of the Ji clan to have a heavy feeling in their hearts.

“The bewildering formation I set down outside the perimeter was the weakest one.” Ninefire said. “First, we will make the enemies believe us to be weak, so as to make them lower their guard.”

“Twelve of their Zifu Disciples have broken off and are moving towards us. It appears they are going to enter.” Truekeep suddenly said.

“They are breaking into two groups?” Ninefire nodded slightly. “I expect that the second group is the more powerful one; judging from the conversation they had earlier, it seems as though those two Zifu Disciples are in charge. However, those two are in the second group and haven’t entered yet.”

“Let us prepare the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.” Granny Shadow said hurriedly.

Ninefire waved his hand, and two plain, unadorned emblems appeared. The only thing on them was the character for ‘Xia’.

“The official writs?” Ning stared in astonishment at these two emblems. “Two official writs?”

“Previously, when we killed the He siblings, we acquired an official writ. This unbound writ belonged to them.” Ninefire looked at Ning. His eyes filled with hope, he said, “The other official writ belongs to my Ji clan. It is the official writ of the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Ji Ning, for now, we will entrust you with these two writs!”

Ninefire handed them directly to Ning.

“Me?”

Ning was stunned.

“We are facing countless dangers right now. If I am lucky enough to survive, then you can give the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords back to me. If I die, then keep it.” Ninefire said. “No matter what, we absolutely cannot permit Snowdragon Mountain to acquire this official writ. If the situation becomes untenable, immediately use the Traceless Talisman to depart. The official writ will thus go with you as well…and so, even if they break our formation, they will not be able to find the official writ at all. By then, you will represent the Ji clan in signing an agreement with the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning nodded gently, then accepted the two official writs. When he filled them with his elemental energy, he was able to easily bind them both.

At the same time, he could vaguely sense two places ‘calling’ to him. It was the call of those two cities.

“Excellent.”

Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others all laughed. Now that they had already arranged everything, they would be able to battle without any other concerns.

“Truekeep.” Ninefire said. “You shall be the core for the ‘Dragonhead Formation’ of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. I will fill you with the power of the formation.”

“Yes.” Truekeep immediately nodded.

“Ji Shadow.” Ninefire, for once, called out his little sister by her full name. “You shall be the core of the Dragonbody Formation.

“Alright.” Granny Shadow’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

“Liu Xing.” Ninefire called out the full name of the old servant, Ah Xing, as well. “You shall be the core of the Dragonclaw Formation.”

The old servant nodded gently.

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire looked towards Ji Ning. “You are the strongest person amongst us. Your elemental energy is somewhat weak, but once you join with the formation…our elemental energy will combine with yours! Your strength will thus rise the most out of all of us! Given this, your power will vastly surpass the power of the rest of us. The Dragontail Formation of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation is the most mysterious and most nimble part; it can support everyone else. You will thus serve as the core for this formation, and you will also be our killing blade.”

Ning nodded.

Once the Netherwyrm Heavenlock formation was set down, of the five formations, the Dragonhead Formation, the Dragonclaw Formation, the Dragonbody Formation, and the Dragon Pearl Formation would not be very nimble. The Dragontail Formation, however, was the nimblest formation, and could easily sweep across to many areas.

“I will stand guard at the core, controlling the formation to support you all.” Ninefire looked at the nearby Yichuan. “Yichuan will be my backup. Once I die, Yichuan will replace me.”

Everyone knew…that Yichuan would only be able to unleash sufficient energy from his Zifu after using a forbidden technique.

“Everyone!” Ninefire looked at them all. “Everything we do, we do for the Ji clan.”

“For the Ji clan.” Granny Shadow, the old servant Ah Xing, Truekeep, Yichuan, and Ning all nodded solemnly.

“Go, then. Prepare each of your formations.” Ninefire gave the order.

Immediately, Truekeep, Granny Shadow, Ah Xing, and Ning moved at high speed in four different directions.

……….

At the same time.

Dong Ziqi and the other eleven Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain were carefully entering the black fog shrouded Oxhorn Mountain. As the person who had invited them here, Dong Ziqi naturally set up his Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation to protect them! The enormous Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation swirled around the eleven Zifu Disciples, providing an outer layer of protection.

This also guaranteed that the twelve Zifu Disciples wouldn’t be easily separated from each other.

“A black fog bewildering formation?” The twelve people who entered the black fog region quickly grew cautious.

“Everyone, beware the ambushes of the Ji clan.” Dong Ziqi called out.

In the black fog, the aura of the region had become heavy and weighty. All of them grew cautious and guarded, for fear that a sudden, terrifying attack might emerge from the black fog. As Immortal practitioners…they all understood that even if they looked down upon their enemies, in a true life and death battle, they couldn’t underestimate any enemy Immortal practitioners.

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Chapter 11 – The Netherwyrm in the Dark Fog

Chapter 11 – The Netherwyrm in the Dark Fog

The thick black fog surrounding Dong Ziqi’s group made it so that they couldn’t see too far away at all. If the black fog was to disappear, they would discover, to their amazement…that a completely black, enormous dragon that was more than ten kilometers long was currently coiled around the entire Oxhorn Mountain. At the same time, the head of the Netherwyrm was staring directly at them.

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to see it. This was the reason why Ji Ninefire had set up this black fog bewildering formation.

“Come. Come.” Ji Truekeep stared at them from far away. Twelve distant, faint figures could be seen far away in the black fog. These were created through Ninefire’s control over the fog; they were used to tell Truekeep and the others where everyone’s approximate locations were.

Truekeep himself was within the enormous black draconic head.

After being transformed by the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, the elemental energy of the five had given birth to a powerful draconic energy. At the center of the Dragonhead Formation, Truekeep was naturally able to borrow this power, and he could feel his own strength ready to explode.

“Truekeep, wait a bit longer. Don’t be impatient.” A voice rang out by his ear.

Truekeep nodded.

All the major formations, including the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, was controlled by the Patriarch. Only the Patriarch could effortless speak mentally to them; the others, including Ji Ning, weren’t able to see too far through their eyes. They all needed the Patriarch to assist in guiding them.

………..

Ninefire was halfway up the mountain, within the body of the enormous Netherwyrm. He could see everything within the grand formation clearly, and the black fog served as his eyes.

“They are all quite cautious.” Ninefire stared at them. “There are twelve Zifu Disciples, and they all belong to the same sect. They definitely have combination formation techniques…if we were to ambush them now, the chances of success probably wouldn’t be that great. In a short while, they will discover that this black fog formation isn’t an exceptionally clever one. And once they slightly lower their guard…the power of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation will definitely make them suffer bitterly.”

Ninefire was sufficiently patient. He was able to wait, wait for the best opportunity. Only then would he reveal his teeth and fangs…

Dong Ziqi and the rest of the twelve Zifu Disciples were indeed very vigilant when they entered the formation, all of them staying within the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. At the same time, they kept the elemental energy in their bodies activated, prepared to launch a combination attack at any time.

“There’s nothing particularly special about this black fog bewildering formation. I’ve already discovered some of its secrets!” One of them, a black-haired elder, spoke out.

“I found a few hints as well. However, senior apprentice-brother Zha is more formidable than me when it comes to formations. I imagine that in an even shorter period of time, he would be able to defeat this formation.” A silver-haired cultivator said with a laugh. As Immortal practitioners, especially ones at the Zifu Disciple level…given that they were trapped at the Zifu Disciple level, the most fundamental level, and were unable to make a breakthrough, they naturally would spend their time researching other methods.

Formations? Poisons? Golem arts? They would research anything that was useful to them in enhancing their power. Generally speaking, these old fellows who had been alive for three or four centuries would be specialized in several areas.

These branch sect Zifu Disciples who had left the main sect had almost no hope of breaking through. Most of them thus spent some degree of time on formations, and some of them were even more formidable in formations than Ji Ninefire was! Only…although setting one was easy, breaking one was difficult! They naturally weren’t confident in their ability to defeat the formations that Ji Ninefire had laid down.

However, there were still some formations which they could defeat; only, it wouldn’t be as simple as it was for Nong Zidao.

“I only need as much time as is needed to boil a kettle of tea to break this formation.” The black-haired elder smiled.

“Then we’ll have to trouble you, senior apprentice-brother Zha.”

“We will first break this bewildering formation. There is no need to rely on senior apprentice-brother Zidao to deal with these small formations. We are enough.” These Zifu Disciples clearly felt quite relaxed now. When first entering the black fog bewildering formation, the short line of sight made them grow wary, but upon understanding how simple this formation was to break, they clearly were starting to feel more confident.

The black-haired elder nodded. “I will analyze this formation. Everyone, please stay on your guard.”

“Leave it to us. Senior apprentice-brother Zha, focus on breaking this formation.” Dong Ziqi and the others said.

Moments later.

“Right up ahead.” The black-haired elder’s eyes lit up. He was completely confident. “I’ve already seen through this formation.”

“Excellent.” All of them grew excited.

Dong Ziqi continued to maintain his Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, and the group of Zifu Disciples advanced at high speed. The fog up ahead seemed to be a bit thinner, and Dong Ziqi’s group saw, not too far away, a flag planted into the ground. The flag was grey, and covered with many black diagrams.

“The formation flag!” They revealed looks of delight on their faces.

……

“Truekeep, just wait there quietly.” Ninefire sent mentally. “In a short period of time, those Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain will arrive at your position. When I give the order, kill them.”

“I’ve been waiting for this the entire time.” Truekeep’s eyes were flashing with cold light.

“Excellent. Just listen to my orders.” Ninefire was eager as well.

….

As Dong Ziqi’s group of twelve Zifu Disciples saw the distant flag, they failed to notice that within a hundred meters of them…an enormous draconic head was staring directly at them.

“The formation flag!”

The twelve Zifu Disciples were all wildly overjoyed, and the black-haired elder couldn’t help but reveal a hint of smugness.

Right at that moment…

“Attack!” Truekeep, who had been hiding there for quite some time, finally heard the Patriarch’s voice.

Whoosh!

Just as the group of Zifu Disciples saw the formation flag and were feeling overjoyed, an enormous draconic head suddenly emerged from the nearby dense black fog. The draconic head was incomparably large; in the black fog, they were only able to see several draconic whiskers and scales. The Netherwyrm’s head opened its maw, chomping down towards them.

“Careful.” Dong Ziqi, being in control of the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, was the first to notice it, and he hurriedly called out in surprise and fright.

It was too late.

It came too fast!

The distance at which one could see within the black fog was simply too short. The Netherwyrm was ten kilometers long. How enormous must the head thus be? As the draconic head charged towards them…it moved at a speed that was probably more than ten times faster than that of the Zifu Disciples. The draconic head, with a rumble, blasted into and broke through the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. With a crunch, rumble, boom, and terrifying roar…the Netherwyrm’s head came howling towards the enemies!

In that howling instant…

Truekeep was right in the center of the head. As the Netherwyrm’s head bit down, Truekeep seemed to have gone berserk as the nine sharp awls hovering around his body were filled by the draconic energy generated by the formation. Those sharp awls moved at an astonishing speed, attacking at three of the Zifu Disciples were were closest to and caught offguard by the Netherwyrm’s frontal attack.

Supported by the formation, Truekeep’s current level of power was even more powerful than that of most peak Zifu Disciples.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Simply too fast. Two of the Zifu Disciples had giant holes blasted through their chests and their corpses fell into the Netherwyrm’s devouring mouth. As for the other Zifu Disciple who had been attacked, he kicked backwards, his body flashing like azure light and instantly moving tens of meters away.

A single sudden ambush had killed two Zifu Disciples. The primary reason was that the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation itself was simply too powerful. In addition, all five of its formations had a Zifu Disciple standing guard at the center, making it so that this Netherwyrm seemed to have sentience, making it all the more incomparably, astonishingly powerful.

“While they are ill, go for the kill!” Truekeep then moved towards and attacked two other Zifu Disciples who had somewhat pulled away from their comrades.

“Kill.”

The sharp awls howled!

The black draconic head was like a nightmare.

“Assemble the formation.”

“Assemble the formation.” As the howls rang out, Dong Ziqi and the others had already begun to prepare their formation. These Zifu Disciples were no fools; they knew that they couldn’t move too far away from their comrades. This was because once they moved too far away from each other within this bewildering formation…they would be separately defeated by the Ji clan.

But the problem wasn’t that they moved too far away; it was that the strike of the draconic head had knocked some of them flying!

The power of the Netherwyrm’s attack was simply too great!

“Formation, link.”

“Formation, link.”

A white light suddenly sprang up, instantly circulating around the bodies of each of the Zifu Disciples. Soon, eight enormous trigrams made of white light had appeared out of nowhere, with the eight Zifu Disciples separated in each part. Actually, this technique of Snowdragon Mountain’s only required six Zifu Disciples to be completely linked up.

“Where is senior apprentice-brother Zha?”

“Where is senior apprentice-brother Fang?”

Dong Ziqi and the rest of the eight, after setting up the formation, discovered to their amazement that although they had previously numbered twelve Zifu Disciples, only eight now remained. The other four could not be found.

“Senior apprentice-brother Zha.”

They all called out loudly, and their voices echoed within the formation. If the other four were still alive, they would be able to reply verbally.

“Dead. The four of them are all dead.” Dong Ziqi gritted his teeth.

“Too terrifying. Too powerful.” The silver-haired cultivator had a look of disbelief on his face. “Prior to this, I vaguely saw some draconic scales. It was the head of an incomparably large dragon. How could the Ji clan have access to something so powerful? Could that have been a true dragon?”

“There’s no way it could have been a true dragon. If it was a true dragon, we would have discovered it long ago! In addition, how could a true dragon be so enormous? It must be a formation!”

“But how could the dragon produced by a formation be so powerful?”

This group of Zifu Disciples were still in a state of shock. That earlier attack had simply been too powerful. Although they had all been overjoyed upon seeing the flag and had relaxed slightly, they were still within the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, after all. In their hearts, they also remained vigilant. Who would have imagined that this sudden ambush would have blasted through them, forcing them all to retreat and knocking some of them flying!

This ambush had killed four of them!

“We can no longer see the formation flag either.” Dong Ziqi swept the surrounding area with his gaze. He was now unable to see the formation flag. “When we were struck by that enormous black dragon, we were all knocked backwards and driven farther away from the formation flag.”

“The illusion isn’t that important. That enormous black dragon is the true disaster.”

“We must have senior apprentice-brothers Jadechild or Nong Zidao come.” The silver-haired expert flipped his hand and retrieved a jade seal. This was the seal Nong Zidao had given him. He clenched it. Crunch! The jade seal disintegrated.

….

On the outside. Jadechild and Nong Zidao, along with the other five Zifu Disciples, were waiting. They were in no rush to enter the formation.

“What sort of techniques could this sort of small clan have?” Jadechild laughed. “Our twelve Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain have entered, and they have access to a combination formation technique…that is more than enough to utterly sweep and dominate the enemies.”

“Right. The formations of a small clan like this can’t possibly be very powerful. Our fellow apprentices also have studied formations. They, too, are capable of breaking formations.” Nong Zidao felt relaxed as well. As he saw it, the combined power of those twelve fellow apprentices….should indeed be more than enough to easily dominate this sort of small clan.

Suddenly…

Nong Zidao’s face changed.

“What happened?” Jadechild immediately asked.

“The jade talisman I gave him.” Nong Zidao said in a soft voice. “One of them was just crushed. It seems they encountered some sort of danger. Otherwise, they wouldn’t ask us to save them.”

“This puny little Ji clan was able to force them to beg us to save them?” Jadechild couldn’t believe it. Prior to this, Nong Zidao had given them a jade talisman…primarily because this was a habit of the disciples of the sect. None of them actually thought it would be used.

“Come, let’s enter the formation.” Nong Zidao said.

The other five nearby Zifu Disciples had heard their conversation. They, too, were surprised. The twelve comrades who had entered had actually been forced to shatter a jade talisman? Still, upon seeing Jadechild and Nong Zidao by their side, they felt completely confident.

“You wait here. If any comrades of our Snowdragon Mountain comes here, tell them that we have already entered the formation.” Nong Zidao waved his hand, then produced a wooden golem. The wooden golem had a green light within its eyes, and it just listened, then nodded obediently. “Yes, master.”

“Let’s go.” Nong Zidao said.

Immediately, Jadechild, under Nong Zidao’s guidance, led the group of seven Zifu Disciples and two Zifu-level spirit-beasts into the black fog that surrounded Oxhorn Mountain.

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Chapter 12 – The Secret Killer Weapon – Ji Ning

Chapter 12 – The Secret Killer Weapon – Ji Ning

The enormous scales atop the draconic tail were all incomparably clear. Ji Ning sat within the draconic tail, surrounded by those enormous scales.

“Hrm?” Ning suddenly heard the sound of explosions and angered shouts.

“Assemble the formation!” “Formation, linked!” Cries of surprise and terror rang out from afar. Ning’s ears twitched, and he laughed. “IT has begun.”

Per their original strategy, Ning was in the strongest position of all, out of the various experts of the Ji clan! He would only be unleashed at the critical moment…there was no need for him to engage yet.

Moments later.

“Whoosh!”

A figure flew over. It was Ji Yichuan, dressed in a white fur robe.

“Father.” Ning rose.

“Take it!” Yichuan produced six flying swords out of nowhere, which hovered there above his palm. “These were acquired by your Uncle Truekep after executing four Zifu Disciples. One of them was a Zifu Disciple who controlled multiple flying swords; we acquired five from him alone. Thus, the four of them had a total of six flying swords.”

Ning didn’t hesitate, immediately accepting them.

“Perfect timing.” Ning was incomparably excited. Prior to this, everyone had already traded for some magic treasures. Some of them were useless to him, but were very important to others! At such a crucial, life-and-death juncture, nobody would be shy; everyone acted quite forthrightly. For example, Ning gave the venomous bugs he had acquired from Bei Zishan to Ji Ninefire, while Ninefire, upon learning that Ning desperately needed ranked flying swords, had managed to scrape together five of them.

Bei Zishan had left behind two; combined with those five, Ning had seven. That wasn’t even enough for a single formation base of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! But now that he had six more…he had enough.

“These six flying swords are all ranked magic treasures.” Yichuan said.

“Right.” Ning nodded. “With these six ranked flying swords, my power is going to rise significantly. Later, I’ll have to have a nice little ‘battle’ against these Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain!”

Yichuan had a rare look of delight on his face as well. “This has truly been wonderful. And it is all thanks to the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation you brought out! In a single ambush, we killed four enemy Zifu Disciples. Without the aid of this formation, we would probably lose someone on every attack.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation had been acquired by Ning from the Aquatic Estate. Naturally, it was quite powerful.

“Make your preparations. Once you are needed, the Patriarch will immediately notify you mentally.” Yichuan instructed, then transformed into a ray of light and left.

Ning immediately filled his elemental energy into the flying swords, seizing every moment of time and hurriedly binding them. Although it was true that, as the spirit of the Aquatic Estate had said, it would be best if the flying swords which served as the core of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] all came from the same source, the current Ning, unfortunately, had no right to be choosy. It was already quite good for him to even be able to have enough ranked flying swords.

……

The black fog hung everywhere.

Nong Zidao, Jadechild, and the others were advancing carefully through the black fog. The Fairy Crane and the Landwyrm were all in human form now, accompanying Nong Zidao and Jadechild.

“This black fog bewildering formation isn’t even worth discussing.” Nong Zidao finally spoke. “I’ve already completely seen through its mysteries. I can sense the direction in which Dong Ziqi’s group lies as well. Now, act according to my instructions…and we will soon reunite with them.”

“We will listen to you, senior apprentice-brother Zidao.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao is as formidable as ever.” The other Zifu Disciples previously had ugly looks on their faces, but now they finally looked pleased.

Prior to this, upon entering the formation, they had immediately shouted, and the distant voices of Dong Ziqi and the rest of the eight Zifu Disciples had naturally responded to them…and through the discussion, Jadechild and Nong Zidao learned that four of their comrades had actually died! This caused Jadechild and Nong Zidao to become incomparably enraged and cautious.

Nong Zidao said in a clear voice, “Junior apprentice-brother Ziqi, we are coming over right now. We will soon arrive.”

“Boom!”

“Kill!”

“Kill that old bastard of the Ji clan!”

A series of angry roars rang out from afar, causing Jadechild and Nong Zidao to be startled. But then, the warcries and sounds of battle came to a halt.

Jadechild shouted with a frown. “Dong Ziqi, are you alright?”

“We are fine.” The voice came from far away. “The eight of us stayed in formation the entire time, not relaxing at all. Just now, an enormous draconic claw attacked us…it was even more powerful than the first attack. We were at a slight disadvantage, but by joining forces, the eight of us were able to defend well enough that none of us perished.”

“Alright. We will immediately come over.” Jadechild said.

“Let’s hurry over.” Jadechild looked towards Nong Zidao by his side. “Prior to this, it was the dragon’s head. This time, it was the dragon’s claw. This puny little Ji clan actually has access to such a technique…”

Nong Zidao said solemnly, “Most likely, in the past few thousand years, the Ji clan must have acquired this formation through a stroke of great fortune. It seems to be quite powerful. Let’s quickly reunite with them.”

Right at this moment…

Whoosh!

The surrounding black fog suddenly grew denser, and a bone-piercing, insidious cold seemed to fill it.

“Go forward. Stop. Turn left…stop.” Nong Zidao guided them easily, but then his face suddenly changed. “Eh?”

“What is it?” They all looked towards him, awaiting his directions.

“It changed.”

Nong Zidao had an ugly look on his face. “There are multiple layers of formations, formations within formations. I’ve become baffled by an even more powerful formation.”

“Can it be that even you can’t break it?” Jadechild looked at him.

“It will be very difficult.” Nong Zidao looked at the surrounding area. Waving his hand lightly, he could sense that insidious, bone-piercing chill within the fog.

“How long will you need to break it?” Jadechild asked.

“I don’t know!” Nong Zidao shook his head. “If I’m fast, an hour. If it takes a long time, one or two days.”

The faces of the surrounding Zifu Disciples all changed. Jadechild said, shocked, “That long?”

……….

Ning sat in the lotus position within the enormous tail of the Netherwyrm. Around him, more than seven hundred sword-type magic treasures were floating about, nine of which were particularly dazzling to behold. The white light covering those nine was much stronger. The hazy white light continuously thrummed through the swords, quickly coalescing into a sword light in front of Ning.

“Right. With these nine ranked flying swords as a formation base, they can now serve as the core for the other seven hundred-plus flying swords of my [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. The power clearly has grown dramatically.” Ning revealed a look of delight. “Only, the ranked flying swords put a lot of pressure on my soul as well.”

Unranked flying swords made up the majority of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

The difference between using them and using ranked flying swords in the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…was quite significant and apparent. The difficulty in controlling them rose dramatically, but so too did the power!

“I’ve only added nine ranked flying swords. After gaining insight into my Sword Domain, my soul has grown much stronger. I’m still able to use the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” Ning had the feeling that if he were to add a few dozen ranked flying swords or a few hundred ranked flying swords…the total number of swords he was able to control would drop sharply!

“Ji Ning!” A powerful voice echoed forth.

“Patriarch.” A look of delight appeared on Ning’s face.

“We are in trouble now.” Ninefire’s voice rang out.

“What sort of trouble?” Ning was worried as well.

“The second group of Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Dragon have just entered the formation. Amongst them there is one person in particular, Nong Zidao, who even I have heard of! Nong Zidao is extremely skilled in formations. He is able to easily defeat the black fog bewildering formation, and so I was forced to use the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation to trap and bewilder him.” Ninefire transmitted.

Ning’s face changed.

The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation…it had the secondary effect of being a bewildering formation. It was far more exquisite than the Ji clan’s own bewildering formations.

“They also have someone known as Jadechild. I haven’t heard of him, but his power is extremely great.” Ninefire sent mentally. “In our Ji clan, your power is the greatest, while the second strongest is our old servant, Ah Xing. Just now, when Ah Xing ambushed Dong Ziqi’s group of eight, Dong Ziqi’s group was able to maintain their formation, and Ah Xing wasn’t able to do anything to them. However, I’ve discovered that Jadechild and Nong Zidao haven’t joined together in a formation. I ordered Ah Xing to attack as I thought we had an opportunity…but who would have imagined that despite riding on the claws of the Netherwyrm, Ah Xing was blocked off by Jadechild alone!”

“Blocked by him alone?” Ning was shocked.

“He is extremely powerful. Ah Xing launched a sneak attack, then immediately retreated.” Ninefire said. “Right now, there are a total of two groups in the formation. The second group is clearly far more powerful than the first one. Thus, we need to immediately eradicate the first group; otherwise, if they combine, we won’t be able to do anything against them.”

Ning nodded.

“You are the most powerful person in our group. Immediately go out and attack Dong Ziqi’s group. I will direct you. Prepare to listen to my commands.” Ninefire said.

At the same time, the black fog in front of Ning began to part, revealing a corridor.

“Wonderful. I’ve grown impatient long ago!” Ning sprang to his feet, then shot forward at high speed through the corridor.

………

Dong Ziqi and the rest of the eight advanced carefully, always maintaining their formation. That white glow surrounded the eight trigrams which covered them.

“Fellow apprentices, be careful. This is the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation!” Nong Zidao’s frantic voice rang out from far away.

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation?” Dong Ziqi and the others looked at each other, all of them seeming puzzled.

The distant Nong Zidao said in a loud, frantic voice, “We just suffered an attack from a draconic claw as well. Your senior apprentice-brother, Jadechild, forced it to retreat. I could immediately recognize this as being the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. This Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation is an ancient, powerful formation! There is a complicated version of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and a simplified version of it…according to legend, the Marquis of Stillwater has access to a Heaven-rank Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. This formation which the Ji clan is using must be a simplified Mortal-rank formation. But even a Mortal-rank formation…is astonishingly powerful. We are in true danger this time. We have to conserve our power; otherwise, we will be in danger of dying.”

“Your senior apprentice-brothers, Jadechild and myself, will focus on breaking the formation. We won’t be able to divide our attention and take care of you for now. Take care of yourselves, the eight of you.” Nong Zidao’s voice echoed.

Dong Ziqi and the rest of the eight looked at each other, their faces unsightly.

For this formation to force Nong Zidao and Jadechild to completely focus their efforts on breaking it…one could imagine how terrifying it was.

“I’ve never even heard of this ‘Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation’. Only someone like senior apprentice-brother Nong Zidao, who has studied many formation manuals in the main sect, would know of it. How could the Ji clan have acquired such a powerful formation?”

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation?”

The look on Dong Ziqi’s face was very ugly.

“We will do our best.” Dong Ziqi looked at his seven comrades. “This is a life-and-death battle. Either the Ji clan dies or we die! Everyone, if you have any life-protecting measures, use them. Don’t save them.”

Their attitudes had all changed.

At first, all of them were simply toying around. The sudden deaths of four comrades had shocked them, but they trusted that once Jadechild and Nong Zidao joined them…all the danger would dissipate like smoke, like the clouds. But now, Nong Zidao had said that this game had just turned deadly.

“If I knew that I’d risk my life, I wouldn’t have entered Swallow Mountain.” They all felt misery in their hearts, but with death staring at them, all of them prepared to fight to the death.

Three hundred meters or so away from them.

An enormous draconic tail was coiling there. Ning was in the center of the draconic tail, and the seven hundred flying swords were all hovering around him, prepared to begin the slaughter.

“Ji Ning, attack!” Patriarch Ninefire’s voice rang out within his mind.

“Kill!”

A fierce light flashed through Ji Ning’s eyes.

Swooosh!

Instantly, the entire, enormous Netherwyrm whipped its tail out, and its tail struck forward towards those eight nervous, guarded Zifu Disciples.

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Chapter 13 – Terrified By the Slaughter

Chapter 13 – Terrified By the Slaughter

The black fog swirled about like mist. The eight Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain were constantly staying in their formation and moving about within it.

“This Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation…even senior apprentice-brother Zidao is unable to break it. What else can we do? Let’s just run around wildly. Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild and Zidao are within this formation as well. Perhaps we might run into them.” The eight Zifu Disciples clung to this hope as they advanced.

They all clenched their various Dao-seals in their hands, prepared to do battle at any moment.

Suddenly…

Rustle…

A gentle sprinkling of rain suddenly began to fall. The rain fell like fine, silken threads that were incomparably soft. Dong Ziqi and the rest of the eight, upon suddenly encountering the rain, were greatly shocked. “Rumble…” A layer of white light appeared on their bodies, which directly blocked those ordinary drops of rain.

“It’s simply rain. Don’t make a fuss over nothing.” The hawk-nosed cultivator said coldly.

“Why is there rainwater within this formation?” Dong Ziqi frowned.

“Perhaps it is currently raining outside. This bewildering formation only has the power to bewilder; it isn’t able to block out the rainwater from the outside world.” A silver-haired cultivator spoke out.

Dong Ziqi and the others all nodded.

They were cultivators. They could clearly sense that this rain was falling naturally; it wasn’t poisonous liquid generated by the formation! For the moment, they didn’t think of the possibility of it being a Dao Domain; generally speaking, someone who had reached the Dao Domain realm could, with a thought, convert the surrounding area into their own Domain. Different Daos would naturally result in different Domains.

Some could, with a thought, transform the surrounding area into boundless flames. Others could transform the surrounding area into a field of lightning. As for Ning, what he generated was the descent of rainfall.

“Let’s be careful nonetheless. Don’t let this rainwater soak us.” A gray-robed elder said.

“Junior apprentice-brother An’s words are reasonable. We are trapped in the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation; we should be careful.”

These Zifu Disciples would rather do too much than to be careless.

……

Whoosh!

An enormous black draconic tail swept towards them as fast as lightning. In the midst of the draconic tail, there was a fur-clad Ji Ning, who stood there silently. The area around him was filled with more than seven hundred flying swords, nine of which were ranked. The nine ranked flying swords served as the nucleus, and the converted energy of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was incomparably shocking.

The Rainwater Sword Domain had already been set up!

An elemental energy that was greater than any peak Zifu Disciple’s, activated through the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…although only nine of these seven hundred-plus flying swords were ranked, this was still the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! Sometimes, quantity was a form of quality!

“Die.” Ning’s eyes flashed with a killing light.

Swish!

The sword light in front of him suddenly pierced through the skies, instantly transforming into a line of rainwater. At this moment, Ning was using all his might. The ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], supported by the formation and the Rainwater Sword Domain…all of these things made it so that the power of this sword of Ning’s was at an incredibly high level.

…..

“Let’s keep moving.” Dong Ziqi and the others were continuing to advance while blocking off the descending rain. Just as they were walking forward calmly…

Suddenly…

“Eh?” The face of the hawk-nosed black-robed cultivator changed. In that instant, he vaguely felt a tremendous danger descending. This was something that he gained only after becoming an Immortal practitioner; he could sense when a dire threat was descending. Unfortunately, this danger sense always came quite late; it would only appear when the threat had already drawn very close. Despite that, it had still saved his life a few times.

“Fogswirl Umbrella!” An umbrella suddenly appeared around the hawk-nosed black-robed cultivator. The umbrella spread open, completely protecting the hawk-nosed man’s body.

A seemingly ordinary line of rainwater gently swirled and flew over, lashing out towards the triangle-pupiled cultivator.

The triangle-pupiled cultivator was staring in astonishment at his comrade, who had suddenly used his protective magic treasure. A sense of danger suddenly descended.

“Not good.” As a line of rain drew close to him, the triangle-pupiled cultivator suddenly felt a sharp ripple come towards him. He hurriedly waved the longsword in his hand, wanting to block, but it was too late…

That line of rainwater had come too close!

And his sword techniques were too ordinary. How marvelous were Ning’s sword techniques? With a gentle twist, the rainwater moved past the longsword, then scraped past his head!

“Rumble…” The formerly hazy white light of the Eight Trigrams Formation suddenly grew blindingly bright.

“We are under attack!” Dong Ziqi and the others were all shocked. After suffering an attack, the formation would naturally explode with power.

Bang!

The head of the triangle-pupiled cultivator, his eyes still filled with shock, went flying into the air.

One of the eight Zifu Disciples had died!

“What?!” Dong Ziqi and the others were all terrified and shocked. One of their comrades had been killed while they had been maintaining the formation. How sharp did the enemy’s attack have to be?!

“Assemble the formation!”

“Assemble the formation.”

The remaining Zifu Disciples called out in terror. With one of the eight dead, the earlier formation had already disappeared. For one of them to have been killed after setting up the formation…if they didn’t set it up again, wouldn’t they all be dead for sure?

“Bang!” That line of rainwater, after killing the triangle-pupiled cultivator, had used up most of its power, but the other seven cultivators currently weren’t being protected by the grand formation. Naturally, the line of rainwater flew forward agilely. It swirled past…cutting apart the protection of a set of magic armor, sending yet another head flying, this one of the silver-haired cultivator. Only then did the line of rainwater vanish.

“Rumble…” The white light appeared once more as the six surviving Zifu Disciples reformed the formation.

“Rumble…”

The enormous draconic tail came sweeping over again.

“Kill.”

“Kill him.”

“Kill.”

The six Zifu Disciples, upon seeing the draconic tail, seemed utterly enraged and berserk. Green vines, bolts of lightning, blasts of flame, phoenixes…they threw everything forward towards the draconic tail that was sweeping towards them.

“They really have gone berserk.” Ning was shocked.

“I’m going.” The black wings behind Ning trembled, then sent him flying in a solitary arc, far into the distance. Only the lightning bolt and the fiery phoenix were able to strike him. The strikes from the lightning bolt and the fiery phoenix allowed Dong Ziqi and the others to see Ning’s true appearance…Dong Ziqi was shocked and amazed. He immediately recognized that this was the genius of the Ji clan, ‘Ji Ning’.

Rumble…the powerful attacks sent even Ning hurtling backwards, disappearing into the distant black fog.

Dong Ziqi and the rest of the six Zifu Disciples felt dread in their heart.

“Quick.”

“Assemble the formation.”

“Let’s go all out.”

An enormous Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation suddenly appeared around Dong Ziqi, and the eight blood dragons began to swim about.

That hawk-nosed cultivator, standing outside the formation, hurriedly threw out three flags. The formation flags fluttered, then quickly formed into an enormous hazy aura of light. This white aura of light seemed like a pyramid that enclosed the six.

“Grow.”

Many vines suddenly emerged, wildly sprouting about in the surrounding areas. These vines criss-crossed each other, completely filling the surrounding area.

“Children, go.” A dense cluster of venomous pests began to fly about in the surrounding area, filling the skies and blocking out the sun, completely filling the nearby region.

“Come.”

The gray-robed elder produced an enormous banner that fluttered with a bloody light. One enormous after another phantom flew out from the banner; some were four-legged beasts, while others were flying creatures. Nine enormous phantoms emerged into the surrounding area.

These six Zifu Disciples were all sweating. They brought out all of their best techniques, completely and tightly sealing off the surrounding area…

They looked at each other, their eyes filled with amazement and dread.

“We won’t be able to leave. We have to wait here.”

“We can’t keep walking.”

“We’ll guard here.”

These techniques of theirs were virtually all used for defending a particular location. The long, growing vines, the grand formation, and the other techniques weren’t able to be maintained while moving!

“Who is that person? Who attacked us just now? By his appearance, he should be young.” The gray-robed elder clutched at his bloody banner as he looked at Dong Ziqi.

“Right. Who was that? How could he be so powerful? Before this, we suffered the attacks from the dragon’s claw and the dragon’s head…this should have been the dragon’s tail. Why is it so powerful?” The hawk-nosed cultivator looked at Dong Ziqi as well. The other cultivators also stared at him.

These people felt hatred.

This was supposed to be an easy, relaxed journey. Who would have imagined that they had actually bitten down on such a terrifying, tough bone? First of all, they had even never heard of this ‘Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation’; only Nong Zidao had. The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was one thing; after all, the power of a formation depended on its users. They felt no fear towards those other two who had relied on the power of the formation to attack them. But that young, slender youth that had just appeared was truly terrifying. Even while maintaining their formation, he had still killed two of them…

Dong Ziqi said hurriedly, “The Ji clan has in total six fairly powerful figures. They are Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, an old servant, Ji Yichuan, Ji Truekeep, and Ji Ning! Ji Ning is the genius of the Ji clan…when he was eleven or twelve years old, he killed junior apprentice-brother Bei Zishan.”

“He killed Bei Zishan when he was twelve?” These people all revealed looks of amazement.

“This year, he should be sixteen.” Dong Ziqi said. “Just now, the person who launched that attack was Ji Ning! However, prior to this, Ji Ning and I exchanged blows; he wasn’t able to do anything to my Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. His strength is only slightly superior to Ji Ninefire and the others, which is why I didn’t hold him in any regard. I didn’t imagine that with the support of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, his strength would reach such a terrifying level.”

“If he is only one level higher than Ji Ninefire in strength, how could he explode with such power?”

“A monster who was able to kill junior apprentice-brother Bei Zishan at the age of eleven or twelve…how can we use common reasoning to explain him? Most likely, this Ji Ning made some sort of a breakthrough.” The gray-robed said in a hoarse voice. “This sort of monster…he was able to kill two of our comrades, even when we were in formation. Now, all we can do is stay here and wait.”

…..

Ning was knocked flying backwards a great distance, and he smashed into a region of loose rocks and grass.

“Good heavens.” Ning crawled painfully to his feet. The wounds on his body rapidly healed, leaving behind not even a scar.

“Those Zifu Disciples seemed to have gone berserk. They applied all of those extremely powerful Dao-seals and threw them at me! That fiery phoenix in particular…it even chased after me, and it was also very powerful. It blew a large hole into my chest. I wonder what sort of a Dao-seal that was?” Ning cracked a smile, feeling very confident. “Still, I killed two of them. For me to be able to kill two out of eight of them…only six are left! I’ll keep killing.”

“Ji Ning!” A voice suddenly rang out.

“Patriarch.” Ning was startled.

“Well done, my good fellow! Ji Ning, hahaha, you truly are formidable. You killed two of them at one go. Now only six are remaining. However, don’t be too impatient. Wait for me to finish talking, then attack.” Ninefire sent hurriedly. “Dong Ziqi and the others are terrified by the way you killed them, and so they have set up layers of techniques and are staying on guard. Let me describe these techniques to you. After listening, you can make your decision.”

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Chapter 14 – Crushed

Chapter 14 – Crushed

Ji Ninefire sent, “We are already familiar with Dong Ziqi and Muse, out of those six. Those two have already set up the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation and those growing green vines! The hawk-nosed cultivator used a formation to protect the surrounding area! The black-clothed female cultivator released a large amount of venomous bugs. The gray-robed cultivator is holding a large banner which has released a large amount of monster wraiths.”

“Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation? Green vines? Formation? Venomous pests? Banner? That’s only five; the sixth cultivator?” Ji Ning asked softly.

“The sixth cultivator hasn’t done anything for now.” Ninefire sent. “I’ve told you everything now. You should consider how you will attack. Remember, don’t let yourself fall into any danger.”

“Don’t worry, Patriarch.” Ning laughed.

And then, Ning began to ponder.

Prior to this, although he killed two Zifu Disciples in his surprise attack, he hadn’t acquired any magic treasures, because as soon as he had charged over, he had been blasted backwards. The items of those two Zifu Disciples were still in the hands of Dong Ziqi’s group.

“Five types of techniques?”

“Hmph!” Ning’s eyes had a cold light flash through them. “No matter how they struggle, they will die!”

Suddenly…

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, senior apprentice-brother Zidao.” A voice suddenly called out. “We just suffered the attack from the dragon’s tail of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation! The genius of the Ji clan, Ji Ning, is in command of the dragon’s tail. The power of it is tremendous. He killed two of our fellow apprentices! All we can do for now is stay on guard. Senior apprentice-brothers Jadechild and Zidao, remember, beware the rain…beware the rain!”

“The six of you need to be careful as well. Delay as long as you can.” A voice rang out from the other side.

Hearing the distant shouts, Ning frowned slightly. “I have to eliminate those six as soon as possible.”

Nong Zidao was very formidable!

He was even able to recognize at one glance that this was the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. Although Ning was very confident in the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, he still worried that if they were permitted to slowly analyze it, they might truly be able to break through the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation! If the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was destroyed, then the Ji clan’s members would, one by one, have their formations broken, and Snowdragon Mountain would easily annihilate the Ji clan’s side.

“Kill.” Ning, riding on that enormous draconic tail, once more charged towards those six.

…..

Venomous pests were flying around the outer perimeter.

A hazy pyramid of light stood on guard, and atop it was coiled a large number of green vines.

The pyramid of light had eight blood dragons swimming about within it. It also had various enormous phantasmal birds and beasts moving about, each one of them filled with murderous auras.

“If we just defend, no matter how powerful they are, they will find it hard to break through.” The black-clothed female cultivator said in her cold voice.

“Right.” Dong Ziqi nodded.

These defensive measures were different in nature; they each compensated for the weaknesses of the others. They could be described as an impenetrable wall.

“Even though he is a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and even though his swordplay might be formidable, he can forget about entering.” The gray-robed elder clutched that large banner and spoke in an icy voice.

Rustle…

Thin, sparse droplets of rain began to fall. The rain was as fine as silk, gentle and breezing. Drizzling rain and fog…these two were beautiful things, but the rain that fell in the midst of this black fog made the faces of Dong Ziqi, Muse, the gray-robed elder, the black-robed woman, the hawk-nosed man, and the skinny man change. They grew nervous.

“He’s coming.”

“The rain came.” Dong Ziqi’s group of six held their breaths.

Prior to this, when the rainwater fell, two of their comrades were silently ambushed and slaughtered.

“Chopchopchopchop…” The large number of venomous pests that had been swirling around the outside were suddenly chopped apart by the rainwater, one after another. The silk-like rain…every single strand of rain was as sharp as a knife. Countless lines of rain flew about, wildly chopping apart these pests. Rainwater was everywhere. Although there were many venomous pests, because they were outside the perimeter, many of them were instantly slaughtered.

Every single line of rain contained a hint of the power of the Dao!

Waterflame Lotus; this technique was developed based on control over natural fire and water, which Ning gained through his comprehension of the Dao.

These lines of rain were also formed from natural water. Given Ning’s comprehension of the Dao, their killing power approached that of the Waterflame Lotus now! To use them to break through the formation and kill these Zifu Disciples wasn’t practical, but to kill the venomous pests was simplicity itself. The venomous pests swarmed about in dense clusters; naturally, each of them were individually weak. When Ning had battled against Bei Zishan in the past, he was able to effortlessly crush and kill many venomous pests with his Waterflame Lotus. Ning’s insights into the Dao were now far greater than they had been in the past.

“Rustle…” The rain continued to fall.

“Chirpchirpchirp…” The flourishing swarm of venomous pests let out agonized cries, but then they were annihilated. The outer perimeter, which had been guarded by those dense clusters of venomous pests, had now become very clear. All of the venomous pests had been annihilated.

The black-robed female cultivator’s face was ashen. She said frantically, “Why didn’t you let my bugs return?” Prior to this, when her bugs suffered the initial attacks, she had immediately wanted to control her bugs to make them fly back and hide within the pyramid of white light.

“The pyramid formation has been set up. How can we possibly disperse it for the sake of your venomous pests?” The hawk-nosed cultivator shouted. “The rainwater has already descended. Ji Ning can appear at any moment! How can I disperse the pyramid? And even if I did disperse it, only a small portion of your venomous bugs would be saved. Since that was the case, it was best not to disperse it.”

The black-robed female gritted her teeth in rage.

“Junior apprentice-sister Lu, don’t be angry. It is true that the pyramid cannot be dispersed.”

“The power of this rain is too formidable. Every single line of rain actually has the power to attack.”

“Can it be that this is some sort of rainwater technique? Generally speaking, water-based techniques are used for defense. This sort of rain which descends from the heavens…rain which is completely formed from nature…how can it be used in a technique?!” They were stunned at the power of the rainwater. Those venomous pests were able to bite through a Zifu Disciple’s protective armor, after all. Although they were individually weak, to kill them wasn’t that easy either.

“Can it be a Dao Domain?” The gray-robed elder suddenly said slowly.

“Dao Domain?”

“Rainwater Domain?”

The other cultivators all called out in shock.

“How can that be possible? Impossible. Ji Ning is only sixteen! He’s merely a Zifu Disciple. How can he have developed a Dao Domain? Many Wanxiang Adepts are unable to do this.”

“Impossible!”

These Zifu Disciples didn’t dare believe it.

Right at this moment…

The black fog in the distance began to grow sparse. An enormous draconic tail slowly began to move, and right in the middle of it was a fur-clad youth. The fur-clad youth was surrounded by more than seven hundred flying swords. Smiling slightly, he walked forward, step by step, towards them.

“Ji Ning.”

“It is Ji Ning.” Dong Ziqi and the rest of the six stared at the fur-clad youth. At the same time, they felt astonished that Ji Ning dared come walk over openly.

Dong Ziqi shouted, “Ji Ning, ambushing us is one thing, but you come openly…you are seeking death.”

Ning slowly strolled forward. Suddenly, beneath his feet, a lotus flower appeared. A beautiful, enormous Waterflame Lotus suddenly bloomed, making Ning appear to be the seed within the lotus…the Waterflame Lotus petals swiveled around him, and around the petals were the seven hundred-plus flying swords. Beyond even them was the enormous shadow of a draconic tail. And beyond the tail…was the boundless rainwater.

In this moment, Ning seemed to have become the center of the universe.

Even Dong Ziqi and the others felt as though their souls had been stirred.

“Junior apprentice-brother Muse, stop him.” Dong Ziqi shouted.

“Leave it to me.” Muse’s normally cold face was filled with a murderous aura. Instantly, many of the thick, sturdy vines began to wildly coil about and fly towards Ning. These vines weren’t the vines that Ning had encountered when he had fought against Muse the first time. Those vines had been suddenly grown, but the vines that Muse was now using against him had been growing for quite some time; they had already reached an astonishing degree of toughness.

Ning continued to smile.

“Rustle…” The enormous Waterflame Lotus swiveled about him. After gaining insight into the Dao Domain level, the power of Ning’s Waterflame Lotus had risen yet again.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Countless lines of rain seemed to chop down like countless blades, wildly chopping at the vines. Countless thin vines were shattered and minced into peaces, leaving behind only the thick main vines, which had many wounds atop them. But upon touching the Waterflame Lotus, they were instantly ground apart.

“Rustle…”

One lotus flower after another bloomed, with Ning at the center. The lotus flowers continuously bloomed freely, and even the leaves of the lotus flowers continuously expanded.

The swiveling, crushing power continued unabated.

Those vines weren’t able to draw close to Ning at all.

“Break.” Ning looked at the white pyramid of light, then spoke in a soft voice.

Roar…

A faint draconic roar rang out. The enormous draconic tail suddenly swept forward, smashing viciously against the white pyramid of light. The draconic scales on the draconic tail were all clearly visible, and the power of the tail was astonishing. With an exploding sound, it smashed against the white pyramid of light, crushing it and shattering it. As soon as it did, the rainwater instantly fell down upon and uprooted the three formation flags.

Ning had already effortlessly broken through the third layer of the five layers of defenses they had set up.

“Go. Devour his soul.” The gray-robed elder waved the banner in his hands. This banner wasn’t like Bei Zishan’s, which had been created through refining countless mortal souls into dread wraiths. He used the souls of powerful monstrous beasts, and so comparatively speaking, the amount of sin he had accumulated was much smaller. The power of this banner, although inferior to a dread Myriad Wraiths Banner, was still much more powerful than Bei Zishan’s half-complete banner.

These monster wraiths emitted soundless shrieks as they charged towards Ning, completely ignoring the rainwater and the blocking Waterflame Lotus flowers, instantly invading Ning’s body.

Ning continued to smile.

Within his consciousness, an image of Lady Nuwa emitted boundless light. When the light touched those monster wraiths, smiling looks of relief appeared on the faces of the formerly incomparably savage wraiths. They all bowed towards Ning and towards the divine image of Lady Nuwa, expressing their gratitude, and then disappeared, returning to the cycle of reincarnation.

…….

“What?!” The gray-robed elder watched as the colors of his banner began to grow dim and dull. His face instantly changed. “The monster wraiths were all killed?”

The others, including Dong Ziqi, had been eagerly looking at the gray-robed elder. Hearing this, though, their hearts turned cold.

Ning strolled forward.

The Waterflame Lotus continued to swivel…the rainwater continued to fall…

“You can die now.” In front of Ning, a sword light suddenly formed. When it flew out, it merged into the rainwater and vanished. And then, yet another sword light appeared. Ning was releasing one blast of sword light after another, without stopping.

Bang!

How powerful was Ning’s sword light now? A single sword light was enough to pierce through the eight blood dragons and annihilate them all. As for the others, such as the gray-robed elder and the hawk-nosed man, they all began to howl savagely. They saw that their death had come. They all took our their Dao-seals or unleashed their magic treasures, preparing to go all out.

“Bang…” “Boom…”

The rainwater that swirled around them seemed like an crushing wall of copper or a rampart of steel. The Waterflame Lotuses continued to expand in layers as it attacked them.

Ning had used everything available to him, and he completely crushed these six Zifu Disciples.

“Bang!” Accompanying a miserable, unwilling screech, Muse’s head was the first to go flying. Ning had, at one go, unleashed nine blasts of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] sword light, transforming them all into rainwater and merging them into the boundless rain of the surrounding region. He began to easily kill them, one by one.

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Chapter 15 – Spare No One

Chapter 15, Spare No One

“Junior apprentice-brother Muse!” Dong Ziqi and the others, upon seeing Muse’s head go flying, all turned cold. Prior to this, two of their group of eight Zifu Disciples had been killed despite being in formation by Ji Ning. And now, their six-man formation…Ning had shattered their layered protections, and for him to kill them now was indeed quite easy.

“Kill.”

“Go all out against him.”

The hawk-nosed man, the gray-robed elder, the black-robed female cultivator…they all seemed to have gone mad. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to flee; trapped within the grand formation of the Ji clan, where could they flee to? Only by staying here did they have a chance to live.

“If you struggle, you’ll just die tired.” Ning walked forward, and the formerly savage, wildly coiling thick vines seemed to rapidly transform into nothingness.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The rain dropped down like lines of silk. Within the rain, there were strands of [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] sword light that had transformed into incomparably sharp ‘rain’.

“Ahhh!” Although her body had been protected by that golden light, the black-robed woman’s eyes suddenly widened as a sword light chopped straight through her neck, sending her beautiful head flying.

Yet another one had died!

“Go die.” The Dao-seal in the hands of the gray-robed elder suddenly transformed into an enormous fiery phoenix which once more spread its wings and flew towards Ning. But a curtain of water formed from the rainwater around Ning blocked the advance of the fiery phoenix. Bang!!! An violent explosion blasted apart the watery curtain, and even Ning’s Waterflame Lotus trembled.

Ning himself, however, continued to walk forward.

“Die.” Ning stared at the gray-robed elder, whose face changed. He swung the banner in his hands backwards, because yet another strand of rain was striking towards him.

Slash!

A different strand of rain whipped past the gray-robed elder’s forehead, piercing straight through his head. His eyes were filled with a look of terror, shock, and rage…and then, he collapsed.

“I simultaneously attacked you with two strands of sword light. Did you think you wouldn’t die?” With a thought, Ning then controlled the strands of sword light to strike towards the others.

“Junior apprentice-sister Lu, senior apprentice-brother An, junior apprentice-brother Muse.”

“Junior apprentice-sister Lu!”

The remaining three, the hawk-nosed disciple, Dong Ziqi, and the skinny man, all had ashen looks on their faces. The six of them had lost three of their number in a flash! The power of those rain lines formed from sword light was simply too great, especially with the support of the formation and the Sword Domain. These were attacks of the Wanxiang Adept level. For them to face these attacks by themselves was impossible.

“Ji Ning! You will definitely die!” Dong Ziqi had gone berserk. He stared at Ji Ning. “You killed the disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. Snowdragon Mountain will not let things end here!”

“You will definitely die.”

“Snowdragon Mountain has many more disciples. We will definitely eradicate your Ji clan.”

The three of them had all gone berserk.

Slash!

Slash!

The hawk-nosed man and Dong Ziqi were simultaneously sliced at by three lines of rain formed from sword light. If they had only been struck by a single flash of sword light, they would have been able to resist, but three lines of rain formed from sword light swirled about them. How could they resist? Their foreheads were pierced through, and their eyes became filled with terror, anger, and disbelief.

“I, Dong Ziqi, am the number one expert of Swallow Mountain. I, I actually died in the hands of Ji Ning. I’m unwilling to accept this. I’m unwilling to accept this!!!”

“Detestable, detestable! If I had known, I wouldn’t have come here.”

The two of them had both been heroic figures of their eras. Actually, if it hadn’t been for the support of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, given that Ning only had early-stage Zifu-level energy, either of the two would have been able to battle with Ning for quite a long period of time.

But with the support of the great formation, they died in a single exchange.

“Snick.” The remaining person, the skinny man, had his neck severed as well, but then flesh grew out of his neck as it instantly healed.

“A Fiendgod Body Refiner?” Ning lifted an eyebrow.

“Ji Ning, can you spare my life?” The skinny man took a step back and looked at Ning. Although he was a middle-stage Fiendgod Body Refiner, he no longer felt any confidence. The difference in power between them was too great…with the support of the formation and the Rainwater Sword Domain, Ning absolutely had the power of a Wanxiang Adept. He could crush him!”

Ning laughed softly. “Given how far this has gone, you tell me. Will I spare you?”

Bang!

The black wings on Ning’s back trembled, and he suddenly shot towards the skinny man.

“Ji Ning!” The skinny man howled with rage as he gripped a long black staff in his hands. “Ji Ning, our Snowdragon Mountain will definitely annihilate your Ji clan and kill you!”

Slash!

Slash!

Three flashes of sword light slashed across his body. Although the skinny man’s body was durable, he was still quadsected by the sword flashes of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. As for Ning, who charged towards him…the Waterflame Lotus swiveled around him, grinding down that skinny man, making it so that the man’s corpse was instantly ground into mincemeat. Although the mincemeat struggled to solidify into a whole, they were only able to resist the Waterflame Lotus for a few breaths before completely dissipating.

The surrounding area was now completely silent.

The rain still fell in a drizzle, and the Waterflame Lotus continued to slowly swivel back and forth. Ning, standing in the middle of the lotus, swept the surrounding area with his gaze. Dong Ziqi and the others lay fallen on the ground, none of them breathing, all of them dead.

“Dead.” Ning said softly. “This group of Zifu Disciples has been completely exterminated. Only the other group of Zifu Disciples remain.”

Two badges of Zifu Disciples from Snowdragon Mountain had entered the formation.

The first batch of twelve Zifu Disciples had been completely annihilated!

It wasn’t that they were weak; it was that Ning was too powerful!

Although, for the Ji clan, even though they had the help of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, for them to kill these twelve was still quite hard. Prior to this, when Ji Truekeep and the old servant Ah Xing had tested their attacks, they found that aside from being able to kill those four people in the first ambush, they were no longer able to achieve much success after Dong Ziqi’s group of eight had set down their formation.

As for Ji Ning, he was able to use the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation to make up for his own weakness in elemental energy. He also had the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and his Rainwater Sword Domain, which allowed his power to reach the Wanxiang Adept level. And this was what had allowed him to crush them and slaughter them all…

Halfway up the mountain.

Ji Ninefire, in control of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, revealed a look of shock an amazement on his face. He was so excited, his entire body was trembling.

“Patriarch?” The nearby Ji Yichuan looked at Ninefire.

“Victory. Ji Ning won.” Ninefire was incomparably agitated. “Dong Ziqi’s group has been completely killed by Ji Ning. The first group of twelve Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain has been completely annihilated. None are left.”

Yichuan, hearing this, felt his heart tremble as well. “The first group is completely dead?”

“Right.” Ninefire nodded repeatedly.

They were both excited as well as in a state of disbelief…they were merely the Ji clan, after all, just a clan of the Swallow Mountain region! What they faced was an enormous organization Snowdragon Mountain. The enemy’s group of Zifu Disciples who had hastened over here would have utterly terrified any ordinary clan. Even Ninefire had only wanted to delay until an Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty arrived.

They hadn’t thought that they would actually be able to kill twelve Zifu Disciples in a row, without a single member of the Ji clan dying!

“Now, only one remains.” Ninefire said. “Jadechild and Nong Zidao’s group of Zifu Disciples.”

“Once we kill them, our victory is assured.” Yichuan said hurriedly. “Nong Zidao in particular. If we kill Nong Zidao…I refuse to believe that Snowdragon Mountain would be able to find a second expert in formations in a short period of time.”

“The second group holds Jadechild, Nong Zidao, and others. As long as Nong Zidao dies, our Ji clan will have won for certain.” Ninefire nodded as well.

Snowdragon Mountain might have other Zifu Disciples who would hasten over…

But experts in formations were rare. Nong Zidao had only come to give face to Jadechild. In the region nearby Swallow Mountain, aside from Nong Zidao, Snowdragon Mountain had no other experts who were particularly skilled in formations.

……..

Within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. An abyssal aura wafted about.

Nong Zidao was frowning as he was analyzing the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. He seemed to have completely absorbed himself in calculating the positions of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.

The other Zifu Disciples all stared around them, on high alert.

Jadechild stood by Nong Zidao’s side, with the aura of a general who would block anything and everything which came.

Suddenly…

“Ji Ning!”

“It is Ji Ning!”

“Junior apprentice-brother Muse, stop him!” A series of shouts rang out from afar.

“Go all out against him!”

“Juniog apprentice-sister Lu, senior apprentice-brother An, junior apprentice-brother Muse!” Fierce, grief-stricken shouts rang out from afar.

“Ji Ning, you will definitely die!”

“Ji Ning, our Snowdragon Mountain will definitely annihilate your Ji clan and kill you!” A berserk, desolate curse rang out.

And then, utter silence.

There was no longer any sound that could be heard.

Nong Zidao had already opened his eyes, and a look of utter solemnity was in Jadechild’s gaze. The other nearby Zifu Disciples all had extremely ugly looks on their faces.

“Junior apprentice-brother Dong.” Jadechild called out in a loud voice which echoed within the formation.

No voice replied.

Not a single voice!

“Dead.” Nong Zidao said hoarsely. “All dead.”

“We, we…senior apprentice-brother Zidao. Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild…” The red-haired cultivator stuttered. The other cultivators all looked towards Jadechild and Nong Zidao. Prior to this, there had been twelve Zifu Disciples in that group, but all of them had been killed. How could they not worry? How could they not feel uneasy?”

Jadechild growled, “Obey my orders. Junior apprentice-brother Zidao, continue analyzing the formation. Fairy Crane, Landwyrm, continue to protect junior apprentice-brother Zidao. Myself and the rest of the six, we will set up the formation and protect junior apprentice-brother Zidao.”

“Yes.”

Instantly, the formation lit up.

“All you need to worry about is defense.” Jadechild’s eyes were glowing with a golden light as he swept the surrounding area with his gaze. “If that Ji Ning truly does come, let me handle him.”

“We’ll entrust everything to you, senior apprentice-brother Jadechild.” Nong Zidao said. At the same time, he set up eight formation flags within an area of ten meters. A black tower of light instantly sprang up, layering protections around him. The only people within the black tower of light was Nong Zidao, the Landwyrm, and the Fairy Crane.

“Don’t worry.” Jadechild’s eyes were calm, but his baleful aura surged to the heavens.

As someone who had become a peak Zifu-level Fiendgod Body Refiner long ago, and one who trained in a divine ability and thus was able to fight at the Wanxiang Adept level, how could he fear Ji Ning?

……

The Golden Crow hung high in the sky.

Within the governor’s mansion, inside an enormous city.

One of the two elders of the Dong clan, Dong Fanyu, was seated there. Next to him there was a youth, who laughed and said, “Senior Dong, please wait momentarily. The Patriarch will arrive shortly.”

“No rush, no rush.” Dong Fanyu laughed as well.

Four members of Snowdragon Mountain’s Swallow Mountain branch had gone out to invite people; the two elders of the Dong clan, Muse, and Ju Nianxiong. Of the four, Muse had gone to invite Jadechild and Nong Zidao, which he felt was enough, and so he had returned earlier. Based on their original plans, each of them needed to invite roughly ten or so Zifu Disciples.

The two elders of the Dong clan and Ju Nianxiong had invited many, but some of the Zifu Disciples they wished to invite had already gone to Snowdragon Mountain. Thus, they continued to go out and invite more; only after each of them had successfully invited ten over would it be enough. They had no idea as to what was happening in Swallow Mountain.

“Senior apprentice-brother Fanyu.” A deep voice rang out. A silver-robed, middle-aged man walked out. “Last time I saw you, senior apprentice-brother, you were back at Swallow Mountain. In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred years have gone by. Earlier, senior apprentice-brother, you told my subordinates that there is something important you wish to discuss with me. What is it?”

“A wonderful affair!” Dong Fanyu’s face was all smiles.

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Chapter 16 – Wanxiang Adept

Chapter 16, Wanxiang Adept

“A wonderful affair?” The silver-robed man had a puzzled look on his face.

Dong Fanyu said, his face all smiles, “I’m not going to hide this from you, junior apprentice-brother Wu. This time, we’ve come to deliver you a chance to render some major merits. At my Swallow Mountain region, we’ve just discovered an enormous elemental ore mine. This elemental ore mine has a circumference of four thousand or so kilometers…” Dong Fanyu spent quite a period of time praising the elemental ore mine.

“Elemental ore mine?” A clear, cold voice rang out, and a young man dressed in a long, beautiful black robe emerged from a side door of the hall. This young man had long, narrow eyes and a tall nose. He looked like a viper, and his gaze alone made Dong Fanyu tremble.

Dong Fanyu hurriedly rose to his feet, then asked in a low voice, “Junior apprentice-brother Wu, this is…?”

The silver-haired man had already risen to his feet early on, bowing towards the young man with incomparable respect. “Master!”

“Master?” Dong Fanyu was very shocked.

“This is my master, Adept Xu.” The silver-robed man said.

Dong Fanyu, upon hearing his junior apprentice-brother Wu address this person as ‘master’, immediately knew who this young man was. Immortal practitioners…couldn’t be judged from their outward appearances. The more powerful a person was, the more often they tended to look young. If you were to run into a young Immortal practitioner who looked like a child, one would have to be very careful!

Dong Fanyu was a disciple of Snowdragon Mountain, after all; he knew that his junior apprentice-brother Wu was a student of a core disciple of the main sect, ‘Xu Li’.

They were both students of the main sect, but the difference in their status was very different.

Snowdragon Mountain would divide up students based on their innate talent and potential. Some people who had the potential to break through to become Wanxiang Adepts or even had the chance to become Primal Daoists. Naturally, they would be heavily investd in. Xu Li was a core disciple, and had in fact reached the Wanxiang level more than sixty years ago.

“Dong Fanyu pays his respects to Adept Xu.” Dong Fanyu immediately bowed and saluted.

“You were speaking of an elemental ore mine?” Adept Xu said calmly. “Your Swallow Mountain branch actually discovered an elemental ore mine…so why have you come to invite my disciple?”

Dong Fanyu said hurriedly, “I don’t dare to hide anything from you, Adept…” He described what had happened in detail.

Adept Xu nodded lightly, a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. “So that’s how it is. I didn’t expect that on this leisure trip of mine, I would encounter this sort of wonderful affair. Wu Qi, accompany your master on a trip to Swallow Mountain and take over the elemental ore mine.”

Dong Fanyu said, delighted and surprised, “Adept, if you go, then this matter will be settled!”

But although he was delighted on the outside, he was cursing inwardly. Discovering the elemental ore mine was a great accomplishment, but if the Swallow Mountain branch was actually able to take it over, that would be an even greater one! But for a Wanxiang Adept to now intervene…Wanxiang Adepts were extremely important members of Snowdragon Mountain. After all, the highest ranking Primal Daoists rarely involved themselves in worldly matters.

Thus, for Adept Xu to intervene and take over the elemental ore mine meant that when the main Snowdragon Mountain sect divided up accomplishments, the percentage that Adept Xu would receive would be very high.

For a Wanxiang Adept to intervene…it meant that every single Zifu Disciple would lose a majority of their potential rewards!

“How could a puny Ji clan necessitate a Wanxiang Adept to intervene.” Dong Fanyu felt misery in his heart, but on the surface, he looked incomparably excited. He didn’t dare say a single word of complaint.

Adept Xu gave this old fellow surnamed Dong a sidelong glance. He couldn’t care less about him. “Come. Let’s go to Swallow Mountain.”

Whoooosh.

A sailboat suddenly appeared beneath his feet. Adept Xu, Wu Qi, and Dong Fanyu all boarded the ship. Wu Qi then sent a message to the Zifu Disciples of his own clan: “I’m making a trip to Swallow Mountain. I will return in a few days.”

Swoosh. A white sail fluttered atop the sailboat, and then it transformed into a streak of light, piercing through the skies at an astonishing speed.

“So fast.” Dong Fanyu was in a state of shock. This was the first time he had flown on a flying magic treasure controlled by a Wanxiang Adept.

“We’ll only need two hours to reach Swallow Mountain.” Adept Xu said calmly.

Swish!

The sailboat left behind just a speck of light in the horizon, then completely disappeared. As for Dong Fanyu…he didn’t go invite any other Zifu Disciples. After all, since a Wanxiang Adept was taking part, why bother go asking any Zifu Disciples to come?

……………….

Within an ancient city. Within a hall that was in a rather remote location. There were five jade strips glittering with azure light. The jade strips were all the size of a palm and very slender, seemingly quite exquisite.

There were two servants seated within the hall. They were chatting amongst each other, bored.

“Bang!” “Bang!” Two of the jade strips suddenly shattered, one after the other.

The two servants were both startled.

“What was that? Was that a mouse?”

“How odd.”

They looked around with mystified looks on their faces. And then, one of them saw that two of the jade strips in front of them had completely shattered. He was so terrified that his face changed. “Life…life…” The other servant, seeing the look on his face, couldn’t help but mumble, “Why are you so scared? This is the governor’s estate. How could there be any dange-…life…life…” He, too, stared in terror at the shattered jade strips.

“The life tablets!”

“The life tablets are shattered!” The two servants stared at each other, their eyes filled with shock and terror.

“Quick, quick, report this.”

The two of them charged out wildly.

This was a major event!

Just moments later!

“Whoosh!” A ray of light surged into the skies, and standing above the ray of light was an old man with triangular pupils. His eyes were filled with savagery as well. “Two Zifu Disciples died? What exactly is going on in Swallow Mountain?!”

…………

“The life tablets, the life tablets are shattered!”

…………

“Life tablets!”

…………

In the instant that Ji Ning killed those eight Zifu Disciples, in the commandery cities around the Swallow Mountain area, one clan after another discovered that life tablets of their Zifu Disciples had just shattered. If the life tablet was shattered, that meant the Zifu Disciple was definitely dead! Naturally, these clans were shocked and enraged.

Some of the other Zifu Disciples even began to fly at high speed towards Swallow Mountain.

…………..

Within Swallow Mountain. Oxhorn Mountain, located eight hundred kilometers outside of the City of Ten Thousand Swords. The entire area was covered with black fog.

Ji Ning stood there, and around him was a group of Zifu Disciple corpses, including Dong Ziqi’s.

“Hrm?” Ning frowned. He could sense a savage, fierce aura constantly pouring into the Darknorth swords in his hands. Earlier, he had relied on the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to kill, but to be safe, Ning had also kept the Darknorth swords in his hands. However, that ferocious aura coming from the corpses actually was drawn into the Darknorth swords.

“The Darknorth swords are weapons that have undergone the Fiendgod Bloodforging rites! They are able to absorb baleful auras, murderous auras, necromantic auras…but you have to personally kill someone.” Ning understood this. The boundless earth was filled with baleful auras in many places; for example, when Bei Zishan had tortured countless people to death, that place became filled with a tremendous amount of baleful auras and murderous auras. But because those countless people hadn’t been killed by Ning, Ning hadn’t been able to absorb those baleful auras.

But Ning had personally killed all eight of these Zifu Disciples.

The Darknorth swords were able to actively draw from them.

“How strange. Why is it that they can only absorb the baleful auras created by those I personally killed, and not other baleful auras?” Ning shook his head inwardly. He thought back to the Fiendgod Rites of Bloodforging, and to that ancient, powerful aura which descended that was unfathomably more exalted than even the ‘Dao’. “It makes sense. If it can grow just by absorbing any type of baleful aura, then it would be far too easy for Bloodforged weapons to grow in power.”

“Eh? In my body…?” Ning lowered his head.

Surges of savage auras were constantly entering his body; or, to be more precise, Ning’s Zifu within his body was drawing it all in.

Within the Zifu, that region which was filled with violet energy in the shape of a lake. That lake was formed from elemental energy, and above that lake of elemental energy there were various magical treasures, such as a flying boat, flying swords, and other items that temporarily didn’t need to be used. Amongst them was one of the Darknorth swords, which hovered there…

Given that he was holding two of the Darknorth swords in his hands, there was one of them that was still stored within his body.

Before establishing the Zifu, there was no way for a person to store magic treasures within the body! But upon doing so, ranked magic treasures and the Bloodforged weapons could be stored into his body. As for those unranked magic treasures, there was no way they could be drawn in.

“Crackle…”

The three Darknorth swords. Two were outside, one was within his Zifu.

They shared the baleful auras, wildly devouring them. As they did so, on the surface of the Darknorth swords there appeared a common character, from the Fiendgod language…‘Kill’. The Darknorth swords themselves were evolving; after they had undergone the Rites of Bloodforging, this was the densest collection of baleful auras which the Darknorth swords had ever devoured.

After all, the baleful aura generated from killing a Zifu Disciple was far denser than the aura generated from killing ten thousand ordinary mortals.

“All done.” Moments later, the three Darknorth swords all emerged to hover in front of Ning.

The glow of the Darknorth swords seemed to be even deeper.

He used his divine will to control those three Darknorth swords to slice through the air. Swishswishswish…

Ning even stretched out his palm to allow the Darknorth swords to slice against it. Three wounds appeared, then rapidly closed.

“They did indeed grow much sharper.” Ning revealed a look of surprise and delight. “It seems that to nurture these powerful Bloodforged weapons, there really is a need for much slaughter.” Ning, by nature, disliked wanton killing, but if someone was to violate and offend him and give his Ji clan no chance for survival, Ning wouldn’t show a hint of pity.

“Patriarch.” Ning said. “How should I attack the other group of Zifu Disciples?”

“Ji Ning.” Patriarch Ninefire sent back. “The other group has a total of seven Zifu Disciples and two Zifu spirit-beasts. The most powerful of them are Nong Zidao and Jadechild. Nong Zidao is a formations expert; he isn’t frightening in open battle. The other Zifu Disciples, even combined, are unable to do anything to you. The biggest problem for you will be that Jadechild.”

“Jadechild?” Ning nodded lightly.

“Jadechild should be an Fiendgod Body Refiner. I am always watching him. From their conversations, I can tell…that they are very confident in Jadechild. They know that twelve Zifu Disciples have died, yet still have full trust in Jadechild! I also heard those Zifu Disciples mention the phrase ‘divine ability’. If my guess is correct, Jadechild should be a peak Zifu Disciple who has learned a divine ability.” Ninefire sent. “A peak Zifu Ki Refiner who has a divine ability…his power will absolutely be at the Wanxiang Adept level. You must be careful.”

Ning nodded.

Wanxiang Adept level?

By relying on an elemental energy that was more powerful than the peak Zifu level, the Rainwater Sword Domain, and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…Ning, too, could be said to have the combat ability of a Wanxiang Adept!

The enemy was a Fiendgod Body Refiner and had a divine ability?

“If you can’t kill Jadechild, do your best to kill Nong Zidao.” Ninefire sent. “Nong Zidao is their one and only formations expert. As long as Nong Zidao dies, there is no way they will be able to defeat our Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. We will still be able to hold on until the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy arrives.”

“Fine.” Ning nodded. “I understand.”

Whoosh!

Ning waved his hand, and a large number of storage-type magic treasures, flying swords, wings, banners, and other magic treasures appeared. These were all magic treasures that had been left behind by these eight Zifu Disciples.

“I’ll first retrieve all the ranked flying swords these people carry. After I bind all of them, perhaps my [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] will gain further in power. And then, at full strength, I will go battle that Jadechild.” Ning’s eyes were filled with a killing intent.

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Chapter 17 – Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 1)

Chapter 17, Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 1)

A sailboat was sailing through the endless horizons of the sky.

Adept Xu Li, Dong Fanyu, and Wu Qi were seated in the sailboat. Dong Fanyu suddenly pointed in surprise towards the distance. “That’s junior apprentice-brother Lu.” From afar, a ray of light was advancing at high speed, but clearly it was far slower than them.

“He seems to be headed towards Swallow Mountain as well?” Wu Qi was surprised.

“Apprentice-nephew Lu?” Adept Xu Li revealed a rare smile on his face. Instantly, that flying sailboat drew closer to the ray of light. A few breaths later, it had moved next to it.

The ray of light had a middle-aged man standing atop it.

The middle-aged man had a hint of urgency in his eyes. Upon seeing the sailboat block his way, he was forced to slow down. But upon seeing Adept Xu Li standing atop the sailboat, he immediately bowed with respect. “Lu Huang greets uncle-master Xu. I didn’t imagine I’d run into you here, Uncle-Master.”

Upon seeing Dong Fanyu by Adept Xu’s side, Lu Huang’s eyes instantly turned red, and he roared angrily, “You old bastard, Dong Fanyu!”

“What’s this about, apprentice-nephew Lu?” Adept Xu asked.

“Junior apprentice-brother Lu, previously, I went to visit you and we chatted happily. Why do you curse at me upon seeing me now? I came to deliver to the Lu clan a chance to obtain a great merit.” Dong Fanyu felt completely puzzled.

Lu Huang was enraged. Pointing at Dong Fanyu, he said furiously, “Uncle-Master Xu, this Dong Fanyu previously came to my place to tell me about the elemental ore mine. Thus, our Copperwater branch sent two Zifu Disciples, one from my Lu clan and one from the An clan. But just a short time ago, the life tablets of both the member of the Lu clan and the nearby An clan were both suddenly shattered. My own little sister died. Dong Fanyu claims that this is a chance to render great merits, and claims that the puny Ji clan isn’t worth worrying about. But in reality? Two of the Zifu Disciples of our Copperwater branch are dead! I’m heading straight for Snowdragon City to investigate this clearly and get some answers!”

“What, all dead?” Dong Fanyu was shocked.

“What’s going on?” Adept Xu frowned as well, and the nearby Wu Qi was growing angry as well.

If this matter grew nettlesome, it would no longer be a chance to render a merit; it would be a calamity.

Dong Fanyu said frantically, “I didn’t lie. It really is just the Ji clan. There are no other enemies. In addition, our Swallow Mountain branch invited quite a few Zifu Disciple comrades of our organization. How can…how can…”

“But it is a fact that the two Zifu Disciples which our Copperwater branch sent both died!” Lu Huang roared.

“I, Dong Fanyu, swear that if I lied to you, junior apprentice-brother Lu, then let my soul be shattered and never return to the cycle of reincarnation.” Dong Fanyu said frantically.

Only after hearing this oath did Lu Huang’s face become less ugly.

Immortal practitioners wouldn’t easily swear oaths.

“Hmph.” Lu Huang let out a cold snort.

“It seems Dong Fanyu didn’t lie.” Adept Xu said calmly. “That means something happened at Swallow Mountain. Apprentice-nephew Lu, follow me there.”

Adept Xu no longer seemed as casual as before; instead, he was a bit cautious.

Swish!

The sailboat immediately pierced through the skies, advancing towards Swallow Mountain at high speed.

……

Oxhorn Mountain. Within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position.

Flying swords were hovering around him. When he had previously killed those eight Zifu Disciples, he had searched their storage magic treasures…and had found fifteen flying swords. The most pleasant surprise for Ning was that hawk-nosed cultivator; the hawk-nosed cultivator’s storage treasure actually held a total of nine flying swords…and it seemed as though those nine flying swords came from the same source. They all carried a frigid, icy aura.

Upon finding this, Ning was immediately overjoyed. “Good, good, good. They come from the same source. The formation base they can create will be much stronger. This hawk-nosed man…was the hardest to kill of the eight. I didn’t expect he would have so much treasure.”

Although Ning didn’t know the hawk-nosed cultivator’s name, he knew that when he had first launched the assassination attempt against them, the hawk-nosed man seemed to have sensed the oncoming danger and had suddenly used a giant umbrella to protect himself. Ning had planned to make him the first target, but was forced to instead switch to a different one. Afterwards, when they fought head on with their most powerful attacks, Ning had to release three sword lights to kill him.

“Prior to this, I had thirteen ranked flying swords. Now I acquired fifteen more ranked flying swords, and have a total of twenty eight…that’s enough to create three formation bases.”

Ning naturally immediately began to bind these flying swords, wasting no time.

Without question, his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would now have those nine frigid flying swords that came from the same origin as the core.

“Whew.” Ning opened his eyes. “Done.”

The fifteen new flying swords had all been bound.

“Let me test them.”

Ning willed it…

Whoosh…

Seven hundred-plus flying swords appeared in the air, with twenty seven of them being ranked that formed three formation bases! The nine frigid flying swords formed the core, controlling and guiding the entire [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed; his head hurt as though it were about to split apart.

To divide one’s mind sufficiently in order to control so many flying swords and to set up the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] simply required too much out of the soul, especially with ranked flying swords involved…to control a single ranked flying sword was more difficult than controlling ten unranked flying swords!

“There’s no way I can activate the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]?” Ning’s first attempt resulted in failure. He was unable to activate it fully. “I simply added eighteen more ranked flying swords, but I’m unable to use the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]?”

“That’s not right.”

Ning continued to test it.

The flying swords around him began to move about, changing their locations.

“Yin and Yang transform, endlessly engendering each other!” Ning suddenly thought of the critical barrier needed to break through the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. The book discussed ‘Yin and Yang transforming, endlessly engendering each other’. Now, while analyzing this formation…he suddenly began to understand this principal. If he were to focus on gaining insights at this moment, in perhaps just an hour or just a few days, he would break through to the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!

But Ning didn’t choose to meditate, because even if he rose in strength as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, it wouldn’t increase his power much!

This was because he was borrowing the power of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation…his elemental energy was a good deal stronger than even a peak Zifu Adept’s. He also borrowed from his Sword Domain and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], which was why he was capable of such power. Even if he rose in power as a Fiendgod Refiner, it wouldn’t help him much in battle. Moreover, he didn’t have the time at all to leisurely meditate on these matters right now.

“Yin and Yang transform, endlessly engendering each other.” Ning stared at those twenty seven flying swords.

The nine frigid flying swords served as the core.

The other flying swords in the formation bases swirled around these nine frigid flying swords. They slowly swirled about them, and even began to slowly intersect with them. The power of the formation began to activate, and two formation bases slowly merged into one.

“Right.”

“Yin and Yang mutually transform…” Ning’s eyes lit up. “One serves as the core. Two serve to supplement. The others serve as everything else.”

Rumble…

The seven hundred-plus flying swords hovered around Ji Ning. A faint, incomparably powerful ripple suddenly formed. In front of Ning, an incomparably fierce, sharp sword light had taken shape. This sword light was now completely in the shape of a flying sword; it was nothing more than a flying sword that flashed with light.

“Ahhhh!” Ning felt his head hurt, as though he were being stabbed. Still, his face had an excited smile appear on it. “Hahaha, success, success.”

Although he had gained insight into the mysteries of how Yin and Yang transform and endlessly engender each other, making it possible for him to use the now much stronger ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…Ning was still at his absolute limit. Clearly, his soul felt tremendous pressure right now.

“Best to use the eighth level.” Ning quickly removed eighty one ordinary flying swords, but continued to maintain the hovering formation.

“Sword light.”

Ning once more formed a ray of sword light.

This was sword light formed from the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. The sword light still appeared like a flying sword, except the sword was not as clear as before.

“I feel as though the power is still a bit greater than it was when I used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to kill Dong Ziqi’s group.” Ning revealed a hint of joy on his face. When he had killed Dong Ziqi’s group, his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had nine ranked flying swords, but he now had twenty seven…back then, he was using the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], but he was currently now using the eighth.

The current eighth level was even more powerful than the former ninth level.

Actually, the reason why the improvement was this noticeable was primarily because…the core was now those ranked frigid flying swords that came from the same location.

“Swoosh!” Ning collected the flying swords, then hurried at high speed towards the Patriarch.

He quickly arrived.

“Ji Ning.” Ji Ninefire and Ji Yichuan both looked at the suddenly arrived Ning.

“Patriarch, these are the magic treasures, Dao-seals, medicine pills, and other items that belonged to those Zifu Disciples I killed.” Ning said. “I’ve kept these things, but the others are useless to me. I’ll give them to you, Patriarch…some of these spirit pills are able to replenish elemental energy. They are very useful to us.”

Ninefire nodded. Not hesitating, he accepted the bracelet that Ning handed over.

“I’ll go deal with Jadechild now.” Ning said.

“Be careful.” The nearby Yichuan warned.

“Don’t worry, Father.” Ning cracked a smile, then turned and, under the guidance of Ninefire, moved through the parted black fog and hurried towards Jadechild.

…..

The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was filled with that abyssal aura.

“Why hasn’t he come yet?” Jadechild stood there like a Fiendgod, his aura rising to the heavens, his long azure hair unbound, and surges of divine power thrumming through him. He was currently in the formation of the enemy, after all; he had to keep his divine power flowing, so as to be able to release his most powerful combat abilities at any moment.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, Ji Ning is only sixteen years old. Prior to this, when he killed our other fellow apprentices, he must have used some tricks. But you, senior apprentice-brother, are a Fiendgod Refiner and have a divine ability. Those tricks will be useless against you. He’s probably afraid.”

“He is almost certainly afraid and hiding.”

Those Zifu Disciples all agreed.

Jadechild just stood there, his gaze sweeping into the darkness ahead of him. He couldn’t help but wonder as well…was Ning truly afraid? If he wasn’t, given that he knew that Nong Zidao was currently analyzing how to break the formation, why had so much time passed after Ji Ning killing Dong Ziqi’s group of Zifu Disciples? Why hadn’t he come?

He had no idea that Ning was currently binding flying swords.

“Hmph. The more we delay, the more confidence junior apprentice-brother Zidao will have. Once we break this Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation! Without the formation, you will all die.” Jadechild said with great confidence.

Suddenly…

Rustle…faint lines of drizzling rain suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The rain was icy cold, and it fell down like foggy mist, spreading outwards. It was, however, blocked by the six mation formation and rendered unable to advance at all.

“Rainwater!”

“It is rainwater!” The other Zifu Disciples revealed looks of shock on their faces. Prior to this, Dong Ziqi had told the others that this rainwater…signified danger and perhaps death.

“Rainwater!” A golden light flashed in Jadechild’s eyes. He let out an angry growl, and then his body emanated a dazzling golden as the entire body began to increase in size. Rumble…he transformed into a nearly two-story tall giant. The Zifu Disciples next to him were only as tall as his kneecap. His breaths created tempests that caused the surrounding space to crackle and explode. His footsteps caused the entire world to seem to tremble.

Divine ability – Heavenly Transformation!

The pupils of the eyes of this giant shot out golden light, and the giant roared loudly, “Ji Ning, come out and do battle!”

This deep voice caused his voice to echo, even within his own chest.

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Chapter 18 – Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 2)

Chapter 18, Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 2)

The drizzling rain drifted down gently.

Jadechild’s entire body was covered with a layer of golden light. He looked like a gold armored Fiend, and his eyes were filled with solidified golden light. His very breath caused the surrounding area to tremble.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

The formerly soft, gentle rain suddenly became as sharp as knives. The countless raindrops wildly chopped towards the giant Jadechild, but the hazy golden light covering the giant Jadechild’s body effortless deflected them. He swept his gaze towards the surrounding areas. Suddenly, a ripple caught Jadechild by surprise. Without hesitating at all, he sent a fist smashing over!

A wheel-sized golden fist smashed against one particular line of rain. This line of rain was the transformed sword flash of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

His fist was covered with a black glove, but it was also covered by that hazy golden light right now. Only if one looked closely would one see that beneath the golden light, there was a glove.

His most powerful magic treasure was that glove!

“BANG!” An explosive sound. The giant Jadechild couldn’t help but be knocked a step back by that attack, and his backwards step caused the ground to tremble violently and fracture repeatedly.

“What an impressive Ji Ning.” The giant Jadechild narrowed his eyes. That line of rain had actually contained such astonishing power. It was definitely at the Wanxiang Adept level. No wonder that earlier group of Zifu Disciples had all been killed.

“Formidable.”

“He was actually able to make senior apprentice-brother Jadechild take a step back.”

The hearts of the other Zifu Disciples instantly grew taut. They understood that the difference between Ji Ning and their senior apprentice-brother Jadechild probably wasn’t that great.

“You are Jadechild?” A clear, cold voice rang out. From within the black fog, an enormous draconic tail began to move, and in the center of it was a fur clad youth. The fur clad youth was wielding a sword in each hand, and around him, a lotus flower was blooming and swiveling. Surrounded by the Waterflame Lotus, he walked over.

“Ji Ning!” The giant Jadechild stared at this youth. He could sense an incomparably deep, profound mystery from that blooming lotus flower. He vaguely understood that in terms of the ‘Dao’, the youth in front of him probably had an even deeper understanding than he did.

A monster!

He was only sixteen years of age, but had actually reached such a deep level of understanding when it came to the Dao.

…..

Wielding the Darknorth swords in his hands, Ning strode forward. But upon seeing Jadechild, Ning was greatly shocked. A golden light covered that massive, cliff-like, two-story high body. That invisible, powerful Fiendgod aura made even Ning feel pressure. Ning was probably only as high as the enemy’s kneecaps.

“This is the Heavenly Transformation?” Ning mused to himself. He had heard of this divine ability long ago, as this was known to be the most famous of the divine abilities.

Divine abilities were very precious and very rare.

Generally speaking, only supreme clans, sects, and cults had access to them. However, the majority of them used this ability, ‘Heavenly Transformation’! Even in the Raindragon Guards, this divine ability was extremely famous. As the most widespread divine ability, if one wanted to learn it, naturally, the difficulty level would be a bit lower.

But this didn’t mean that the Heavenly Transformation divine ability was weak! The prerequisites for this divine ability was low, but when trained to a very high level, it was comparable to some truly formidable divine abilities! When the Fiendgods of the primordial eras battled, they loved to use the Heavenly Transformation ability. With a single movement, one could increase to three hundred meters, three thousand meters, or even thirty thousand meters in height.

Those towering, cliff-like Fiendgod bodies could even pick up a mountain range that was thousands of kilometers long as easily as picking up a strand of straw. For them, overturning a sea or flipping over a river was just like taking a bath!

From this, one could see how powerful this divine ability was…

But of course, those were simply ancient myths, like the myth of Houyi shooting down the suns. It was far too distant from them!

“Ji Ning.” Suddenly, a gentle voice rang out.

Ning, who was about to do battle with the giant Jadechild, was suddenly startled. Ning looked over to the origin of that voice. Within that tower of black light, there was an old man with simple clothes and unbound hair. That man was smiling as he looked at Ning. “Your talent and potential is truly astonishing. But what is even more precious is that you were able to reach this level despite being in an ordinary, regional clan. You are certainly a rarely seen piece of unpolished jade. Your value far outstrips the value of this elemental ore mine.

Ning frowned.

The giant Jadechild was startled, as were the other Zifu Disciples as well.

“If you are willing, then I am willing to swear an oath that I will guarantee your entrance into our Snowdragon Mountain sect.” Nong Zidao said with a smile. “Given your talent, you will definitely become one of the most important and most core disciples, the ‘heir-disciples’. Upon entering our school, your status will be no lower than that of a Wanxiang Adept. Our Snowdragon Mountain will definitely expend tremendous effort in training you, making you become a true, supreme expert. In the future, even becoming a Primal Daoist…is possible!”

Jadechild was startled, but then he too said in a low voice. “Ji Ning, since junior apprentice-brother Zidao is willing to swear an oath, then you don’t need to worry about this. If you join our Snowdragon Mountain, we naturally won’t hold any grudges about what happened before this. But if you refuse…then don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

Ning was surprised.

They were trying to pull him into Snowdragon Mountain?

“I killed so many of your fellow apprentices, but you’ll let me enter your school?” Ning said coldly.

“If they died, they died.” Nong Zidao shook his head. “You are different from them. Our Snowdragon Mountain has plenty of those average, ordinary Zifu Disciples! But your talent and your current level of comprehension…I truly have never seen anyone like you in all my life. As long as I make the introductions, the Primal Daoists of our Snowdragon Mountain sect will definitely accept you as a disciple.”

Ning, too, had heard his parents say that given his talents, it would be utter simplicity for him to take roof under any of the major powers. Even the spirit of the underwater estate had clearly shown a markedly better attitude towards him after he had comprehended his Rainwater Sword Domain.

To gain insight into the Rainwater Sword Domain at age sixteen…

This sort of talent was indeed monstrous.

“The results of this grudge between your Ji clan and my Snowdragon Mountain have been the deaths of Snowdragon Mountain disciples only. Within this formation, not a single member of your Ji clan has perished. I imagine that you have no reason to feel hatred towards my Snowdragon Mountain.” Nong Zidao then said, “Since we have no hatred for each other, while you yourself come from a regional clan and have a completely clean history, and are so monstrously talented, why wouldn’t the main sect use all of its efforts to cultivate you? In a few hundred years, it’s even possible that you will become the Sect Leader of our Snowdragon Mountain.”

The giant Jadechild also spoke out. “If you join our Snowdragon Mountain, then what happened before will be of little consequence. But if you do not join Snowdragon Mountain…given how many of our fellow apprentices your Ji clan has killed, for the sake of our face, Snowdragon Mountain will definitely annihilate your Ji clan. Consider this carefully.”

“Consider this well.” Nong Zidao said as well.

Two options.

One to join them; that would make them all one family. As for the dead? That would have simply been a case where a heir-disciple of extremely exalted status killed a few outer disciples. A small matter.

The other option was to refuse. To have killed so many disciples was an affront to Snowdragon Mountain.

“Hahaha…” Ning laughed. How could he join Snowdragon Mountain? Just now, Nong Zidao had said that there was no enmity between their sides, and that Ning’s history was clean, that he was monstrously talented, and that Snowdragon Mountain would focus on training him…

But loyalty would be the number one thing a sect would consider in cultivating its disciples.

Before accepting him as an heir-disciple, Snowdragon Mountain would definitely do a thorough, close investigation of his history. By then, the events which happened to Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow would probably be revealed! Snowdragon Mountain had caused the deaths of Ning’s mother and uncle…given what a huge enmity lay between them, Snowdragon Mountain would never dare to train Ning, no matter how talented he was. Instead, it would want to destroy him as soon as possible, to prevent him from becoming a problem in the future!

“Cut the crap.” Ning barked. “Don’t even think of trying to dissuade me.”

“Ji Ning, you…” Nong Zidao, within that black tower, shook his head. “One step wrong leads to countless steps wrong. If you join Snowdragon Mountain now…it isn’t too late yet.”

“Kill!”

Ning didn’t waste any more words.

Just on the basis of the ‘loyalty’ issue alone…Ning would be finished once they ran a background investigation on him. It was best to follow his previous plans; annihilate all of these fellows immediately, and delay until the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy arrived! Once the Celestial Envoy arrived, they would have the protection of the Grand Xia Dynasty…even if Snowdragon Mountain was a hundred times as bold, they would never dare to do anything. They would have to swallow it.

As long as he had enough time…Snowdragon Mountain? He would eventually rip them apart!

“Then die!” The giant Jadechild smiled savagely as he stomped hard against the ground.

Rumble…

The earth trembled, and countless shattered rocks and sand flew about. Within the flying sand and rocks, there could faintly be seen countless granules of sand that flashed with golden light. These golden specks of sand wildly swirled about like a giant whirlpool which surrounded the giant Jadechild, with a portion of the golden sand wildly charging towards Ning.

This was the magic treasure which the giant Jadechild often used…the ‘Stellar Sands’!

“Thud! Thud! Thud!” The giant Jadechild stomped on the ground, leaving behind a giant golden blur as he charged towards Ning with crushing force.

“Hmph.”

The rainwater surrounding Ning formed itself into a resilient curtain of water. The translucent water curtain was constantly swirling…when the golden sand struck wildly against it, they were all forcibly stopped by the watery curtain.

“Die!” A wheel-sized golden fist smashed through the watery curtain. In the fact of that punch, even the blooming Waterflame Lotus seemed incomparably weak.

“What astonishing speed.” Ning’s face changed slightly as the black wings behind him suddenly trembled.

Divine ability – Windwing Evasion!

Whoosh!

The golden fist smashed through the Waterflame Lotus and pierced past Ning’s frame, but there was no hint of delight on the giant Jadechild’s face. This was because it was just an ‘afterimage’ that his fist had punched through. Ning’s speed was simply too fast, and he was too agile; he had instantly dodged.

“There’s no use. You won’t be able to escape.” The giant Jadechild took a step forward, causing the earth to crack. He himself once more transformed into a golden light as he charged towards Ning, and his fist easily tore apart the watery curtain and the Waterflame Lotus.

“Too fast.” Ning was forced to dodge again.

Whoosh…

After having used the Windwing Evasion three times in a row, Ning finally managed to pull away from him. Ning discovered that…in terms of straight line movements, this giant Jadechild was actually even faster than he was! After having executed the Heavenly Transformation and increased in size, Jadechild’s speed and strength rose to an astonishing level. Ning didn’t dare face him head on.

This was because, when he had used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] earlier, the enemy had used his fist to block it, and had only been forced a single step back. From this, one could tell how powerful that fist was.

Fortunately, Ning had the Windwing Evasion, and so had a bit of an advantage in terms of agility. He was also more nimble to begin with, given his smaller size, while the giant Jadechild was so large that his turning ability was naturally inferior.

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” Seven hundred flying swords suddenly appeared round Ji Ning, but amongst them, only six hundred or so glowed with white light. Ning had only activated the eighty level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

A sword flash materialized in front of his chest.

“Go.”

“Go.”

“Go!”

While using the Windwing Evasion to dodge, Ning simultaneously released six rays of sword light. The six rays of sword light merged into rainwater, then disappeared, transforming into lines of rain…silently, soundless, the six went sweeping towards the direction of the giant Jadechild.

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Chapter 19 – Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 3)

Chapter 19, Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 3)

“Crackle…”

The countless golden grains of the Stellar Sands were swirling around the giant Jadechild. When the six rays of sword light that had transformed into lines of rain wished to pass through them, the Stellar Sands would naturally be knocked flying away.

The giant Jadechild roared loudly, “Ambushing me?”

His fist suddenly unclenched and expanded into his giant, fan-shaped palm. Whooooosh. He swiped out towards the surrounding area, as fast as a blur. His two giant palms instantly formed a protective barrier around himself.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” Consecutive explosive sounds.

The six rays of sword light had all been stopped!

“What a fast palm technique.” The distant Ning, seeing this, was astonished. “Although his body increased in size after using his divine ability, resulting in him becoming a bit less agile, his palms are still astonishing fast!”

“Ji Ning, accept death!” The giant Jadechild’s body transformed into a golden blur as he charged straight towards Ji Ning.

“Go.” The black wings behind Ning’s body trembled, and at the same time, a sword light formed in front of him.

Boom!

As soon as the sword light flew out, it was smashed apart by the giant Jadechild.

“Die.” The giant Jadechild was like a fiendish god, his face savage. His twin fists swung out towards Ning like a pair of meteors!

Back! Back! Back!

Ning used his Windwing Evasion at full strength. Because the giant Jadechild was much faster, Ning had to rely on his agility to dodge. He wasn’t able to pull away at all; it was like dancing atop a steel wire!

If one walked too long by the sides of a river, eventually, one’s shoes would grow wet!

“Whoosh!” The giant Jadechild was clearly to the right, but suddenly his fist suddenly appeared and smashed straight towards Ning.

Bang! The rainwater was knocked flying!

Whoosh! The blooming Waterflame Lotus was completely crushed!

Ning wielded two swords in his hands, and they transformed into two streaks of flowing water. The light of his swords was soft and gentle as they struck forward to welcome the oncoming, attacking golden fist. “Bang!” A giant collision. Jadechild felt as though his fists had smashed into something that was incomparably slick and soft, that couldn’t be affected by his power. He had the feeling that his punch had missed, or that it had been pulled astray.

“Bang.” Ning himself was knocked flying back tens of meters, and a wound had appeared at the joints of his palms, although it then quickly healed.

“What a fellow.” Ning was shocked by the power of that punch.

He had power that surpassed that of a peak Zifu Ki Refiner, and also the Rainwater Sword Domain. The Darknorth swords also surpassed ordinary Mortal-rank magic treasures. In terms of close combat, although he was a bit weaker than when using the sword light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he was probably still close to the Wanxiang Adept level. And yet, when they clashed head on, even when he focused on defense, he was knocked flying.

“He actually didn’t die!” The distant, giant Jadechild stared, astonished.

……

When the giant Jadechild had struck Ning, the nearby Zifu Disciples, including Nong Zidao, were all extremely excited. But upon seeing that Ning was simply knocked flying without being damaged at all, all of them were incomparably disappointed.

“How could it end up this way?”

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild used the Heavenly Transformation divine ability. How powerful much his punches be? How could this person not have been smashed to death?”

All of the Zifu Disciples felt a chill in their hearts.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, we will help you.”

“We will help.”

These frantic Zifu Disciples all unleashed their own techniques.

………

As Ning was sent flying dozens of meters back by Jadechild, a fierce look flashed through his eyes. All of the seven hundred-plus flying swords around him lit up. This was the first time during Ning’s battle with Jadechild that he had used the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

His head instantly felt a splitting, piercing pain!

“Go!” The sword light that had appeared in front of Ning, shaped like a true sword, transformed into a line of rain.

“Go!” “Go!” “Go!” “Go!”

Ning, relying on their earlier exchange of blows, pulled farther away, then launched five attacks of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. And then, he immediately came to a halt. Just launching five attacks of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had made his soul almost unable to take it any longer. Naturally, he halted.

“Die!” Ning’s eyes were filled with eagerness.

This was his most powerful, supreme attack. It had to succeed.

“Useless.” The giant Jadechild was surrounded by those countless flying specks of Stellar Sand. Ordinary raindrops were completely unable to break through them. When the first sword light under Ning’s control pierced through the Stellar Sands, the giant Jadechild glanced at the line of rain, then smashed over with a giant palm atop that rain line.

BANG!!!

The giant Jadechild shook violently. Boomboomboom…he took three hurried steps back, causing the surrounding ground to tremble violently.

The other four rays of sword light attacked from up ahead and from behind.

“How can he be so strong?” The giant Jadechild felt as though his arm was turning numb from pain. However, given the astonishing regenerative speed of his Fiendgod body, he wasn’t afraid. He hurriedly exerted his strength to block the other sword light rays.

Bang! Bang!

Each time he blocked them, he took several steps back. This impacted his agility. He wasn’t careful, and so two lines of ray still chopped past his fists, slicing directly towards his chest. Crackle…the rain line chopped down against the giant Jadechild’s body like a knife. However, his body, covered with that hazy golden light, was incomparably tough. By the time the sword light chopped through his protective armor and began to chop against his body, it found it quite difficult to advance.

Crackle…it just barely managed to leave a large wound on Jadechild’s body, then vanished.

The other flash of sword light also simply left a wound before disappearing.

“What!” Ning stared, wide-eyed.

He understood now.

While activating the ‘Heavenly Transformation’ divine ability, Jadechild’s body had increased tremendously in size. And thus, the level of difficulty for chopping Jadechild’s body in half had risen as well. This was because Jadechild’s body was simply too thick, and every single strand of flesh and muscle had also risen in strength and endurance. The ninth level of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had only been able to leave a wound on Jadechild’s body.

“You injured me?” Jadechild bellowed as he charged over.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, we’ll help you.”

“Ji Ning, prepare for death.”

The other distant, spectating Zifu Disciples all unleashed their various magic treasures and techniques as they flew towards Ning.

“Retreat.” Ji Ning hurriedly activated his wings and retreated at high speed.

The surrounding rainwater began to swivel, spinning into layers of protective curtains that blocked these magic treasures. The magic treasures of these Zifu Disciples…weren’t able to penetrate these layers of protection at all. From this, one could see how terrifying Ning’s ‘Rainwater Sword Domain’ was.

As for Jadechild, he smashed straight through the protective curtains of rain.

“Retreat.” Ning had completely changed his strategy.

While controlling the rainwater to form one layer after another of resilient water to block and slow down his opponent, Ning also generated Waterflame Lotuses around Jadechild! The Waterflame Lotuses around Ning…served as a form of protection. But once the Waterflame Lotuses appeared around Jadechild, they served as a form of binding.

“Break.” Jadechild forcibly smashed apart the Waterflame Lotus, then through one watery curtain after another, seeking to chase after Ning.

Ning used almost all of his concentration on controlling the rainwater and the Waterflame Lotuses. Once he focused his energy on controlling them, it was only natural that the Waterflame Lotuses could constantly bloom and spread out, blocking his foe. Those watery curtains continuously formed as well, one lafter another…faced with so many layers of bindings, the giant Jadechild’s speed naturally dropped dramatically. He wasn’t able to catch Ning at all.

“Dao Domain.” The distant Nong Zidao, secreted within the black tower of light, narrowed his eyes. “It really is a Dao Domain. That rainwater forming into one protective wall after another is actually this powerful…Dao Domain. Only sixteen years ago, and yet he has gained insight into a Dao Domain. What a monster!”

Prior to this, he wasn’t yet certain.

But once Ning focused all his power on unleashing the might of his Dao Domain, using countless amounts of rainwater to block, Nong Zidao and Jadechild, these two experts with tremendous amounts of experience, knew for certain that this was a Dao Domain. If this wasn’t a Dao Domain, how could it be so powerful?

The Waterflame Lotuses just bloomed, one after the other.

But the Rainwater Sword Domain was everywhere. Every single curtain of rainwater was somewhat weaker than a Waterflame Lotus, but there was too much rain. This was quality born from quantity; Jadechild’s speed naturally dropped.

“If you have any ability, fight me head on.” Jadechild roared savagely. “What sort of ability is this, to rely on this sort of technique?”

“To be able to lock you down is a form of ability as well.” Ning laughed coldly. “And in addition, by locking you down, I’ve ensured your death.”

Jadechild’s face changed.

“Indeed…” Ning saw the look on Jadechild’s face. A thought came to his mind; he had guessed correctly.

Previously, when they had fought head on, Jadechild’s strength had been simply too overbearing. Even by going all out and using the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], Ning had only been able to make him take three steps back. Even when he had landed a blow on Jadechild’s body, the sword light had only been able to leave behind an injury on that two-story-tall figure, then vanished. But the heavens were always fair.

The Heavenly Transformation divine ability allowed one to gain in strength and speed. Even one’s endurance would rise dramatically, and one’s size would increase as well…

With so many advantages, could it be that it had no disadvantages?

The disadvantage was…it used up an enormous amount of divine power! To maintain the Heavenly Transformation state used up an astonishing amount of divine power.

Ning had trained in the divine ability, ‘Windwing Evasion’. Windwing Evasion was different from the Heavenly Transformation technique. The Windwing Evasion…focused on technique! But the Heavenly Transformation divine ability…was a sort of divine ability that relied on one’s ability to control one’s body.

The Windwing Evasion was a divine ability technique meant for flying about and evading. Those paintings of the giant Roc contained an incomparably deep and exquisite profoundness to them, while also a technique for using divine power! When Ning had been battling Bei Zishan, he had used up his divine power to activate the Windwing Evasion.

When one used divine power to activate a divine ability, the divine power could increase tenfold or a hundredfold in power, naturally making the divine ability powerful as well.

But Ning’s ‘divine power’ in his Fiendgod body was only at the peak Xiantian level, while his elemental energy surpassed that of a peak Zifu-level Ki Refiner. By using his elemental energy to control the wing-type magic treasures in accordance to the intricacies of the Windwing Evasion, naturally he was still quite fast.

“Maintaining the Heavenly Transformation will use up astonishing amounts of divine power. I want to see how much you have.” Ning mused to himself. “As for myself, the amount of energy I’m using up is negligible. Both the Rainwater Sword Domain and the Waterflame Lotus relies on activating the power of the heavens in order to take form.

“Ji Ning!”

The giant Jadechild bellowed. “All you are capable of is using these despicable methods.”

Ning just focused whole-heartedly on controlling the Rainwater Sword Domain and the Waterflame Lotuses, frantically trying to entangle his foe. The giant Jadechild, as Ning had predicted, was using up an extremely astonishing amount of divine power while using his divine ability. The giant Jadechild didn’t dare to return to his normal state either, as if he did, Ning’s sword light would probably instantly chop apart and slaughter him.

…..

Roughly an hour later.

This was the last hour of Jadechild’s life. During this hour, he came to a halt, no longer going to smash against the Waterflame Lotus or the curtains of rain. By not attacking, he was able to lower his expenditure of divine power. However…when he stopped moving, Ning would begin to control his sword light to attack. After Ning’s sword light left a wound on his body, he would have to use a large amount of divine power to heal.

Not battling wasn’t an option. Battling also wasn’t an option.

Jadechild’s divine power was finally used up, and reluctantly, his body returned to the size of a normal person’s.

Crackle…

A line of rain slashed past, and Jadechild’s head went flying, then landed on the ground. Given how his divine power had been completely used up, there was no way he could heal his wounds any longer. Naturally, he lost his life.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild died.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild!”

The other Zifu Disciples were all incomparably terrified, but within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, they were completely unable to flee.

“It’s all over.” Within the black tower of light, Nong Zido stretched his hand out to stroke the Fairy Crane by his side. A hint of pain and pity was in his eyes. “Crane, I’m sorry. This trip to Swallow Mountain was in error. I’m unable to save you. Let us end our master-servant relationship now. I hope that the Ji clan will spare your life!” Within his other hand, a Dao-seal suddenly appeared.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a spatial vibration appeared, then Nong Zidao’s body disappeared from within the tower of black light, leaving behind only the other five Zifu Disciples, the Landwyrm, and the Fairy Crane.

The Fairy Crane let out a griefstricken bird call as tears began to flow from its eyes.

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Chapter 20 – Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal

Chapter 20, Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal

“Nong Zidao disappeared?” Ji Ning frowned.

The other five Zifu Disciples were utterly terrified as well. Ning, with the assistance of the grand formation, was absolutely at the Wanxiang Adept level of power. The five of them weren’t even enough to join into a formation of their own.

“Ji Ning, please spare our lives.”

“I offer to you all of the magic treasures that I am carrying. My clan will also offer up magic treasures in exchange for my life.”

“Ji Ning…”

The five of them were all begging, without any hint of a martial spirit.

Ning swept the five of them with his gaze.

“Ji Ning.” A voice suddenly rang out by his ears. “We’ve destroyed these two groups of Zifu Disciples, but two more days will pass before the Grand Xia Dynasty arrives…within these two days, more disciples of Snowdragon Mountain might arrive. There is no way for us to watch over and guard these people. Kill them all. As for those two Zifu-level Diremonsters, if you are able to make them submit, do so. If not, kill them!”

Ning nodded.

The Patriarch’s words were reasonable.

“All of you, accept death.” Ning looked at them and spoke calmly.

In front of his body, that flashing sword light suddenly transformed into a line of rainwater and flew towards them. It was immediately followed by yet another flash of sword light.

These were all only at the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

“Ji Ning, Snowdragon Mountain will definitely avenge us.”

“Ji Ning, you will die a miserable death!”

These five seemed to have gone berserk. All of them wanted to go all out, but given that they weren’t able to join in a formation, even though they threw out some powerful Dao-seals…upon encountering that curtain of water, they immediately exploded, unable to touch Ning at all.

Within a few moments, all five of them perished.

“Do you two spirit-beasts submit?” Ning swept his gaze towards the still-living Landwyrm and Fairy Crane.

The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane looked at each other, and then the Landwyrm transformed into a large, azure-armored man, while the Fairy Crane transformed into a white-robed maiden. The azure-armored man and the white-robed maiden all immediately fell to their knees. “We are willing to submit!”

Although Zifu-level Diremonsters were incomparably arrogant and hard to tame, when they were faced with only two options, to perish or to submit…they would generally submit, especially when the opponent’s power completely surpassed their own.

“Follow me.” Ning’s gaze flashed, and the falling rain disappeared. Immediately afterwards, a surge of blazing fire swept out, rendering the corpses of the five Zifu Disciples into ash, leaving behind only their magic treasures, which Ning easily collected.

“Yes.” The Landwyrm and the Celestial Crane all followed after Ning.

Soon, they passed through the layers of black fog and arrived in front of Ji Ninefire.

“Eh?” Ning was surprised. In front of him, aside from the Patriarch and his father, Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing had all arrived as well.

“I asked them to come.” Ninefire laughed. “Both groups of Zifu Disciples are dead. For now, we have no opponents, so I had them all come over.”

“Ji Ning. Formidable.” Truekeep’s eyes were shining.

“Formidable, formidable.” Old servantAh Xing’s face was filled with delight as well.

Granny Shadow laughed and nodded as well.

All of them were very happy.

This was because, in just two or three short days worth of time, Snowdragon Mountain would only be able to invite some Zifu Disciples from nearby regions to come over…and as for the main Snowdragon Mountain Sect, it was simply too far away. There was no way they would be able to make it over in two or three short days. Having killed eighteen Zifu Disciples and tamed two spirit-beasts, the threat level had dropped dramatically.

“Unfortunately, we allowed Nong Zidao to flee.” Patriarch Ninefire shook his head.

“Patriarch, how did he escape? Why did he suddenly disappear?” Ning asked hurriedly. Granny Shadow and the others all looked towards the Patriarch as well. They had just gathered together, and so they hadn’t had a chance to ask about these things in detail.

Ninefire shook his head. “I don’t know either. He simply disappeared. There’s no trace of him in the entire formation. However, if we ask his spirit-beast, I imagine it will know.”

The eyes of Ning and the others lit up. Right. Ask the spirit-beast.

“Fairy Crane.” Ninefire looked at the white-robed maiden. “How did Nong Zidao escape?”

The white-robed woman said respectfully, “My former owner was skilled in formations. He was valued by his master, and so was given a ‘Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal’. This Dao-seal, upon being used, will instantly allow one to teleport to any location within ten thousand kilometers.”

“A Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal?” Ning and the others looked at each other.

Ning quietly memorized this name. It seemed as though this Lesser Teleportation Dao-Seal was the same thing as his so-called ‘Traceless Talisman’. The Traceless Talisman had been acquired in a fortuitous encounter by an ancestor of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, who had used up two, leaving only one behind. Because it allowed one to teleport within ten thousand kilometers without a trace, it had been named the ‘Traceless Talisman’.

“Patriarch, what should we do with these two spirit-beasts?” Ning looked at Ninefire. The other five all looked at each other as well.

“Ji Ning, are you willing to accept them?” Ninefire asked Ning.

Ning looked at the Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane. Zifu-level spirit-beasts were very precious. Ordinary Zifu Disciples wouldn’t be able to acquire them, but in truth…Ning didn’t care about these two Zifu spirit-beasts. If Ning took some time to focus on his insights, in anywhere from a few hours to a few days, he would break through to the seventh level, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner.

In but a few years, he would reach the ninth level as an Fiendgod Body Refiner of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! By then, Zifu-level spirit-beasts would truly be useless to him; in fact, they would slow him down.

“I have no need.” Ning shook his head.

“Since that’s the case…” Ninefire nodded. “Then I will temporarily accept them. After we overcome this tribulation, I will then divide them up.”

“Fine.”

“That’s what we’ll do, then.”

Truekeep, Granny Shadow, Yichuan, and the others all nodded without any debate. It was too early to discuss who the spirit-beasts would go to. Nobody knew which of them would survive this tribulation.

“These are the magic treasures left behind by that Jadechild.” Ning waved his hand, and a large amount of magic treasures immediately appeared on the ground. “Everyone, take a look and see which are useful. If you find any flying swords…various elders, please help me prepare them for binding. I need to find a place to train; just now, in battle, I gained some slight insights.”

“Alright. Leave it to us.” Ninefire and the others didn’t hesitate at all.

“Right.” Ning’s body flickered as he immediately departed at high speed.

The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane, in the form of the azure-armored warrior and the white-robed maiden, were both rather disappointed. In truth, they desired to become Ning’s spirit-beasts.

First of all, they bore no hatred for Ning, as the Landwyrm had, for example, been forcibly subdued by Jadechild in the past. Although the Fairy Crane did have a close relationship with Nong Zidao, since Zidao had given her up and fled for his life, it could be said that the karmic binds between them had come to an end.

Secondly, Ning was only sixteen years old. A monster like this would have unlimited potential; if they followed a master like him, their own future would be bright as well.

Unfortunately, Ning wasn’t willing to accept them.

…..

Ning was seated in the lotus position within the mountainous forests, surrounded by dark energy.

“Yin and Yang transform, endlessly engendering each other.” Ning murmured to himself, then closed his eyes and began to meditate on it. Prior to this, when he had analyzing the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he had come to a realization…that all of the great Daos of the world were, in truth, similar. Formations, swordplay, magic, divine abilities…they all contained the ‘Dao’.

The Dao was the same. Only, the paths of the Dao were different.

Ning understood this principle…and so naturally, it now became much easier for him to break through, from the sixth to the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

“Yin and Yang transform!” Ning, his eyes closed, began to activate the divine power in his body…

In midair, a thousand kilometers away from Snowdragon City, space suddenly rippled, and a figure appeared out of nowhere. It was a fur-clad Nong Zidao.

Nong Zidao’s eyes were filled with grief.

“If you encounter a formation, be cautious. Be cautious.” Nong Zidao let out a soft sigh. “This is the most simple of principles, but we disciples of Snowdragon Mountain had all forgotten about it.”

If you encounter a formation, be cautious. This was something all Immortal practitioners knew.

This was because formations were intricate and marvelous. No one could know what was within a formation, and upon entering it, one wouldn’t even be able to flee! For example, the Wanxiang Adept, Adept Mu Xiao, knew that Bei Zishan was hidden within the formation, but because Bei Zishan had set up a formation, Adept Mu Xiao had chosen to instead wait patiently outside, rather than enter the formation.

But these disciples of Snowdragon Mountain had truly held their foes in too little regard.

Although they knew that upon encountering a formation, they should be cautious, they hadn’t held the Ji clan in any regard at all. The Ji clan was nothing more than a local clan, and they had an understanding of the Ji clan’s power. They didn’t believe that the Ji clan would be capable of any powerful formations at all. In addition, they had Jadechild as well as a formations expert, Nong Zidao. They also had nearly twenty comrades…

Their power was simply too great.

They believed that they would completely dominate and crush a puny clan like the Ji clan. Because of their over-confidence, they had underestimated their foes, and so had become trapped in the formation, with no way to escape!

Jadechild. Even with the assistance of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, Ning was only on par with Jadechild in power; Jadechild had only died after all of his divine power had been exhausted, rendering him unable to use his divine ability. If they had fought outside the formation, upon seeing that the situation was turning grim, he could’ve fled. But within the formation, there was no place to run!

“If you encounter a formation, be cautious. But if we didn’t enter…should we have simply allowed the Ji clan to delay? Watch as the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty came?” Nong Zidao shook his head and sighed.

“Formations…Ji Ning…”

“The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and a monster who gained insight into a Dao Domain at age sixteen. For me to encounter both these things in such a puny little local clan? My defeat was not an injust one!” A flying ship appeared beneath Nong Zidao’s feet, which immediately tore through the skies, flying at high speed towards Snowdragon City.

“No matter what, I have to go warn my other comrades, who are probably heading this way as well.” Nong Zidao mused.

Of the first group of Zifu Disciples, the sole survivor was Nong Zidao.

If he didn’t go warn the newcomers, in the future, when the main sect investigated this matter, he, Nong Zidao, would be censured.

……….

Moments later.

A distant city appeared within his field of vision.

“Eh?” Nong Zidao, atop the ship, saw that there were people in the air above the distant city.

That person flew over, as fast as a ray of light.

“Dong Fanyu?” Nong Zidao immediately recognized this old man.

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Dong Fanyu, upon seeing Nong Zidao, immediately asked impatiently, “I heard that you, senior apprentice-brother Zidao, along with senior apprentice-brother Jadechild and a group of others all went to Oxhorn Mountain. Why have you come here, senior apprentice-brother Zidao? Also…the life-tablets of quite a few people who headed to Oxhorn Mountain have shattered. Even the life-tablet of my own Dong clan’s Patriarch, Dong Ziqi, has shattered. What happened at Oxhorn Mountain?”

Nong Zidao shook his head. “I feel ashamed. Aside from myself, every single one of our fellow disciples who went to Oxhorn Mountain perished.”

“What?! All perished?!” Dong Fanyu was shocked. “So many fellow disciples all, all…”

“Aside from me, all of them died.” Nong Zidao sighed. “I’ve come to warn you that Oxhorn Mountain is incredibly perilous. No matter what, do not enter. I don’t want any other fellow disciples to suffer.”

Dong Fanyu said frantically, “Can’t be entered? But just now, Wanxiang Adept, Adept Xu Li, personally led a group of Zifu Disicples to head towards Oxhorn Mountain.”

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Chapter 21 – [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] – Stage Seven

Chapter 21, [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] – Stage Seven

“Adept Xu Li?” Nong Zidao was shocked. As a valued, intensively trained disciple of Snowdragon Mountain, Nong Zidao naturally was quite familiar with Adept Xu. He knew that Adept Xu wasn’t too skilled in the Dao of formations. Actually, the vast majority of Immortal practitioners with great potential were unskilled in formations; they would focus their efforts on training, on gaining insights into the Dao, on magic treasures, and on magic spells.

“How long ago did the Adept head there?” Nong Zidao hurriedly asked.

“Just a while ago, in less than the amount of time needed to brew tea. Adept Xu left just before you arrived, senior apprentice-brother Zidao.” Dong Fanyu said hurriedly.

Nong Zidao, shocked, immediately instructed: “Remember, if there are any other Zifu Disciples who arrive here, they can go to Oxhorn Mountain, but you must warn them…they are definitely not permitted to casually enter the grand formation of Oxhorn Mountain. That is the place where senior apprentice-brother Jadechild perished.”

“I will definitely inform the other fellow disciples.” Dong Fanyu immediately said.

“Right.” Nong Zidao had no time to speak any further; he immediately boarded his flying ship and flew through the skies, heading once more to Oxhorn Mountain.

……….

Oxhorn Mountain.

Ji Ninefire and the others paid attention to the region outside the grand formation while simultaneously binding the magic treasures. From their viewpoint on up high, they were able to see through the thin mist to the distant, desolate wilderness.

“All of the Zifu Disciples from the earlier group, aside from Nong Zidao, have perished. Our Ji clan even ended up acquiring two additional Zifu-level spirit-beasts.” Ji Truekeep was currently working on binding a flying sword, then said with a satisfied look on his face, “The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain only had a few Zifu Disciples to begin with. With so many dead, I imagine there won’t be any other formidable figures who will come.”

“Yes.” Ninefire nodded with a satisfied smile as well.

“Our Ji clan now has hope.” Granny Shadow sighed in her hoarse voice as well.

From a logical standpoint, their expectations were correct.

The Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty would be able to arrive in two days. The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain simply wouldn’t be able to invite some more distant branches to assist in time. In addition, at most, forty or fifty Zifu Disciples could be invited over from the surrounding areas, and amongst them, the most powerful and famous were Jadechild and Nong Zidao! One had perished, while the other had fled; who else would dare to enter?

The only choice was to report back to the main sect, but the main sect was too far away. Most likely, the Ji clan would receive protection from the Grand Xia Dynasty well before the main sect had even received word of this matter.

“We are fortunate to have Ji Ning.” Ninefire sighed as he glanced at the nearby Ji Yichuan. “Yichuan. You have a good son.”

Yichuan couldn’t help but smile as well. With a son like Ning, how could he not be proud?

“Once this tribulation is over,” Granny Shadow said hoarsely, “Ji Ning will definitely leave our Ji clan and go out to adventure. Give his monstrous talents…I imagine that he should be able to take refuge within one of the great powers. By then, why would we need to fear Snowdragon Mountain?”

“Ji Ning’s future is unlimited!” Ji Truekeep sighed emotionally as well.

These were all the elites of the Ji clan, but compared to Ning…they felt a vast gap between them.

“Someone is coming.” Ninefire suddenly shouted.

“What?!”

Instantly, a great commotion. All of them turned to stare through the sparse black fog, only to see a boat sail through the skies towards their direction, with quite a few Immortal practitioners gathered together atop it.

“Who is it?”

“I haven’t seen any of them. Don’t recognize them.”

“I recognize one of them. That short old fellow is an Immortal practitioner of the Huan clan. The two of us have met once, but I don’t know his name.” Ninefire and the others could see a total of eight Zifu Disciples atop the boat, but they didn’t know the names of any of them. Only Ninefire was able to recognize a single one of them.

Truekeep immediately asked, “What should we do? Should we go call for Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning is currently training within the formation.” Ninefire shook his head. “In addition, only eight have come. No need to be impatient.”

……..

The flying boat descended towards the ground, the vanished. The eight figures atop the boat disembarked. Not too far away, they saw a wood golem standing atop the ground. The eyes of the wood golem flashed with a green light as it looked towards them with curiosity.

“A golem.” Lu Huang said hurriedly. “Master-uncle, I will go take a look.”

Lu Huang immediately moved forward a few steps, but before he said anything, the wood golem spoke out: “Are you disciples of Snowdragon Mountain?”

“Yes.” Lu Huang nodded as he spoke, while Adept Xu and the others walked over as well. The wood golem said, quite obediently, “Per the orders of my master, Nong Zidao, I am here awaiting the arrival of disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. I am here to let you all know that my master, Nong Zidao, along with Jadechild, eighteen other Zifu Disciples, and two Zifu-level spirit-beasts have all entered the grand formation.”

“Do you have any other information?” Adept Xu Li asked.

“I know nothing else.” The wood golem shook its head.

“Has anyone emerged?” Adept Xu Li frowned as he spoke. “Did you feel the ground shake?”

The wood golem said, “Nobody has emerged. Prior to this, I felt the ground shake multiple times, but now, I don’t feel the ground shaking whatsoever.”

The faces of Adept Xu Li and the rest of the eight all changed. Some formations were able to completely block out sound, but it was extremely hard to block out the vibrations created from a battle, which would pass through the earth and the mud to the outside world. It was unheard of, at least, for Mortal-ranked formations to be able to block out ground vibrations.

“The first few ground vibrations indicate that they battled multiple times. But for there to be no further vibrations at all…and given that based on the information we received, the life-tablets of many Zifu Disciples, including Dong Ziqi, are shattered…” Adept Xu Li said in a soft voice, “The most likely possibility is that all of them are dead.”

“Adept, what should we do?” The others all looked towards Adept Xu Li.

Of the seven, some had run into Adept Xu Li on the road, while others had been waiting at Snowdragon City.

Prior to this, nineteen Zifu Disciples and two Zifu-level spirit-beasts had silently, soundlessly disappeared within this formation.

“We can’t enter it casually.” Adept Xu Li said in a soft voice. “Nong Zidao is extremely skilled in formations. Even I am inferior to him. As for Jadechild, he has a divine ability and thus astonishingly great combat power, as well as tremendously strong lifeforce as a Fiendgod Body Refiner…the two of them joined forces to enter, and yet there is no word of them. No matter what, we cannot enter the formation casually.”

The other seven all nodded in agreement.

“Let me try to forcibly break the formation first and see if I can destroy it.” Adept Xu Li glanced at the distant Oxhorn Mountain. He waved his hand, and a large seal appeared within his palm. This large seal flew out from his palm, then rapidly increased in size, quickly becoming an enormous seal that was more than three hundred meters long. It hung there, high above Oxhorn Mountain.

“Descend!”

Adept Xu Li pointed into the distance.

Instantly, the surrounding world seemed to change colors. The brilliant sunlight seemed to instantly disappear as the surrounding world turned pitch-black. Within the pitch-black skies, there were even many flashing stars, and amongst the stars there was an enormous, brilliant moon. Within the moon, a giant palm formed from moonlight emerged, which clasped that giant, three hundred meter seal.

And then, it smashed that seal downwards to the ground!

Bang!

It smashed directly atop the black fog surrounding the base of Oxhorn Mountain. The surrounding earth trembled violently, and then the giant moonlight hand lifted up again, raising the enormous seal once more.

……..

When Ninefire and the others saw the world itself change through the Manifestation, the looks on their faces changed as well. The brilliant light of the sun had been transformed into a constellation of stars in the night sky. They all called out in shock, “A Wanxiang Adept!”

“How could a Wanxiang Adept be here? The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain is nothing more than a branch. These branches only have Zifu Disciples. How could a Wanxiang Adept have come? Wanxiang Adepts are the core of Snowdragon Mountain. How could they have appeared here?” Truekeep stared, wide-eyed.

Every member of the Ji clan was completely shocked.

They didn’t dare believe it.

“Quick, everyone, go to your locations in your sub-formations.” Ninefire hurriedly ordered. “If that Wanxiang Adept thinks he can destroy our formation from outside just by using a giant seal, he is dreaming. At such a great distance…even a Wanxiang Adept is only able to at most unleash a tenth of his full power. Against power at this level, if we join forces and rely on the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, we can definitely fight back.”

“Should we call for Ji Ning?” Granny Shadow asked.

“No need. Landwyrm, follow my orders and head towards the north.” Ninefire gave the order. “For now, you will temporarily serve as the center for the Dragontail Formation of our Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.”

“Yes.” The azure-armored warrior replied.

Monsters initially trained in monstrous power, but upon establishing their Zifu, the body in their energy would also become the elemental energy of the Zifu. This Landwyrm was at the peak Zifu-level…his elemental energy was even more powerful than Ji Ning’s!”

………

“Descend!” From far away, Adept Xu Li pointed yet again.

The giant moonlight hand, clutching that great seal, once more smashed downwards towards Oxhorn Mountain. But this time, a draconic roar suddenly rang out, and an enormous black draconic tail swept out. The draconic tail was tremendous in size as well, and as it emerged from the black fog, it clashed directly against the downwards smashing seal.

Bang!

The giant seal smashed against the giant draconic tail. The draconic tail trembled slightly, but was able to hold on.

“A black draconic tail?” Adept Xu Li frowned. “And it’s actually able to block my Manifestation…”

There were limits to the distance at which an Immortal practitioner could use magic treasures to attack. The farther away they attacked from, the lower the power would be. Wanxiang Adepts could rely on their ‘Myriad Manifestations’ to launch long-distance attacks, but naturally, the power would be much lower than if they attacked in close-quarters combat. For example, when Adept Mu Xiao had wanted to prevent Bei Zishan from escaping, he had been able to, from an extremely great distance, generate his Manifestation to capture the bug-body of Bei Zishan.

“What formation is this?” Adept Xu Li frowned. “A few mere Zifu Disciples, by relying on this formation, are able to block my Manifestation. This formation…”

Despite his knowledge, even he wasn’t able to recognize this formation.

The seven nearby Zifu Disciples had looks of confusion and nervousness on their faces. That draconic tail that had emerged from the fog…what formation was this?

…..

Ninefire and the others, by relying on the Netherwyrm created by the formation, had resisted the smashing blow of the giant seal. Still, they felt that doing so was quite an onerous task.

“I wonder how Ji Ning’s training is progressing. He might be at a critical moment.” Ninefire, frantic, wanted to summon Ning, but he was also worried that he would disrupt Ning’s meditations.

……

Within the formation. Dark energy was flowing everywhere.

Ning sat there in the lotus position, completely absorbed in the intricate mysteries of Yin and Yang transforming. He continuously experimented, gaining a greater and greater comprehension, having reached a level of completely losing himself in his training. He didn’t even notice the tremors caused earlier by the giant seal smashing against the ground. As for Ninefire and the others, the giant Netherwyrm they were controlling was in the area surrounding Ning, protecting him.

“Yin cannot be without Yang.”

“Yang cannot be without Yin.”

“Even the most powerful of dragons has regrets. After every peak, there is a valley…”

“Only when Yin and Yang transform into each other can they endlessly engender each other in a cycle.” Ning suddenly understood.

The Divine Sun Tattoo and the Divine Moon Tattoo on his back suddenly lit up. He could sense, from an unfathomably distance, separated by untold numbers of planes, those two giant stars. The Lunar Star and the Solar Star. They each immediately sent down surges of Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire, which pierced through countless planes and countless voids, descending directly upon Ning.

“Rumble…” “Rumble…” The surrounding area instantly became transformed into a world of fire and water.

Enormous petals of fire and water transformed into the bud of a flower, completely covering Ning within. With the Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire as the core, a tremendous amount of fire and water appeared, forming a gigantic flower that completely surrounded Ning, who was now like the stamen within the flower.

Even the distant Adept Xu Li and his group of Zifu Disciples could see, from far away, an enormous flower emerge from within the dark fog, as the tips of the petals just barely stretched out above the black fog.

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Chapter 22 – Earth-Rank Magic Treasure

Chapter 22, Earth-Rank Magic Treasure

“What is that?” The seven Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain stared in amazement at the tips of the flower petals, which stretched out just beyond the distant black fog. Just from the tips of the petals alone, they could imagine how enormous the entire flower was.

“What is the Ji clan doing?”

“Adept Xu, the Ji clan…” The Zifu Disciples all looked at Adept Xu Li, who frowned and replied, “It should be an enormous flower, with the petals either a fiery red color or a watery blue color. It should be formed from fire and water.”

They weren’t able to reach much of a conclusion from this distance, just by staring at the tips of the flower emerging from the black fog.

“Let me try something.” Adept Xu pointed into the distance. “Descend!”

That giant moonlight hand once more emerged from the brilliant moon that hung in the pitch-black sky. It seized the huge, three hundred meter long seal and smashed downwards towards the petal. Immediately, a dragon’s body emerged from the black fog, receiving the blow from the great seal. With a boom…the black draconic form trembled, but managed to withstand the blow.

“Hmph. They are hiding in a formation. In close quarters, I would be able to crumble that draconic body with a single seal-blow.” Adept Xu shook his head.

…..

Within the formation.

Ji Ninefire was extremely nervous. He sent mentally, “Ji Ning is currently at the most critical moment of his training. That Wanxiang Adept wants to attack by using his Manifestations. No matter what, we must stop him!”

As for Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the others, they all understood that Ning was the future hope for their Ji clan. How could they permit anyone to disturb Ning’s training?

“He formed a flower of fire and water…what is Ji Ning doing?” Although Ninefire could sense that flower, he was still puzzled. This was because Ning already had the Waterflame Lotus technique. Was Ning currently gaining insights into the Dao? Or was he training in his techniques?

……

An enormous flower of fire and water, more than three hundred meters tall, completely enveloped Ning.

The core of it was formed from Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire, which activated and summoned a large amount of solar power and lunar power, flooding Ning’s body with it. Under the guidance of Ning’s divine tattoos, it caused Ning’s divine body to naturally, slowly evolve. Every single tendon, muscle, bone…even every single cell of every organ was wildly devouring this power.

[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Generally speaking, in order to advance by a stage, one slowly accumulated power, and then broke through. For example, from the fourth to the fifth stage, or from the fifth to the sixth stage, one had to slowly train and accumulate strength.

But from the sixth stage to the seventh stage was a giant leap between different realms!

The divine body would change on a qualitative level, and so the amount of energy that was needed was incomparably astonishing. In fact, the amount needed was even more astonishingly tremendous than the amount which Ning had acquired over the course of nearly five years, as he advanced from the fourth stage to the sixth stage. This was the most difficult-to-train Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Ning had even developed his own ‘Rainwater Sword Domain’ by now, and yet only today did he break through to the seventh stage!

The most difficult technique!

The most profound, mysterious technique!

But upon breakthrough through and advancing past this stage, one would receive assistance from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, the two exalted, supreme stars. They would send down their Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater to draw in enormous amounts of power, so as to allow the divine body to rapidly increase in strength.

“Whooosh!”

The enormous flower of water and fire became translucent, slowly opening and revealing the nude form of a youth, whose body was incomparably jewel-like and completely untarnished. It was Ning! A layer of fur clothing quickly appeared on Ning’s body, formed from his armor-type magic treasure.

A hint of a smile was on Ning’s face. He had finally passed into the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. He could sense the surging divine power within his body, and the tremendous, endless lifeforce it contained. His body could be reborn from a single drop of blood.

“Finally, I can truly use divine abilities.” Ning revealed a look of joy.

A Fiendgod Body Refiner had to reach the Zifu level in order to unleash divine abilities.

The Windwing Evasion technique was more a matter of skill and technique, and so it could be used with just elemental ki energy. Still, divine abilities were ‘divine’ abilities, and so only when using divine power to fuel them would they truly be divine, and truly unleash their full power. Previously, Ning was only at the peak Xiantian level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, while his elemental ki energy was beyond the peak Zifu-level within the formation. The difference was too great…which was why he had used his elemental ki to perform the Windwing Evasion.

Now, however, although he had just reached the seventh stage, he had done so by using the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Ning was no weaker than a normal late-stage Zifu Disciple Fiendgod Body Refiner.

“Compared to Jadechild,” Ning mused, “My current divine body is perhaps just a level weaker than his was.”

“He had the divine ability, ‘Heavenly Transformation’, while I have the divine ability, ‘Windwing Evasion.’”

“I also have my Rainwater Sword Domain, the Darknorth swords…if we were to fight again, I would still be able to kill him, even if we were to fight head-on.” Ning was very confident in himself. The Windwing Evasion was a very different type of divine ability, compared to the Heavenly Transformation. Each had their own advantages; Heavenly Transformation was superlative in terms of power and speed, but lacking a bit in agility.

As for Windwing Evasion, it focused on both speed and agility!

“Ji Ning.” A voice rang out by his ears.

“Patriarch?” Ning revealed a smile.

“Hurry over.” Ninefire sent frantically. A corridor appeared in the black fog in front of Ning, and Ning transformed into a ray of light as he hurried through it.

…..

Patriarch Ninefire, Yichuan, and the Fairy Crane in the form of that white-robed maiden were all standing there.

“Patriarch.” When Ning emerged from the corridor within the black fog, he had a feeling that something was wrong. He saw that the Patriarch and his father didn’t look the slightest bit excited; instead, they had very somber looks on their faces.

“What is it?” Ning asked.

Ninefire said in a low voice, “I originally thought that after you killed that group of Zifu Disciples and Jadechild, that we would be able to survive this tribulation. But I didn’t expect…that Snowdragon Mountain would send yet another group of Zifu Disciples over, with a Wanxiang Adept amongst them.”

“Wanxiang Adept?” Ning was shocked. “How could there be a Wanxiang Adept? How could the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain have managed to invite a Wanxiang Adept to come in such a short period of time? Aren’t we extremely far away from the main sect of Snowdragon Mountain?”

“I don’t know.” Ninefire shook his head.

Yichuan said solemnly as well, “No matter what, this Wanxiang Adept has already arrived. His power is quite terrifying. Earlier, he used his Manifestation to attack with a giant seal. By relying on the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, we were just barely able to withstand it.”

Ning’s face grew solemn as well.

A Manifestation? One which the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was just barely able to resist?

“That Wanxiang Adept should be named Xu Li.” The nearby white-robed maiden suddenly said.

“Eh?” Ning, Ninefire, and Yichuan all looked towards the Fairy Crane.

The white-robed maiden said, “I followed Nong Zidao for many years, and once encountered this Xu Li. Adept Xu Li is a formidable figure in Snowdragon Mountain; he’s not someone who Jadechild could be compared to. Jadechild’s status in Snowdragon Mountain was quite ordinary, and even by using his divine ability, he was only on the same level as an early Wanxiang Adept.”

“Adept Xu Li became a Wanxiang Adept more than sixty years ago.” The white-robed maiden said. “He is a Ki Refiner, and the technique he trains in is definitely one of the best techniques available to Snowdragon Mountain. Although his training speed is slow, his elemental ki is extremely pure. After sixty years, he must at least be at the middle stage for Wanxiang Adepts.”

“In addition, as a Wanxiang Adept of Snowdragon Mountain, he definitely has an Earth-ranked magic treasure! There is a qualitative difference between Mortal-ranked magic treasures and Earth-ranked magic treasures…the difference in power is tremendous as well. In addition, his comprehension of the Dao is definitely far above that of Jadechild’s as well. Although Jadechild had a divine ability, there was no way for him to use an Earth-ranked magic treasure. This is a fundamental difference between him and Adept Xu. If Adept Xu wished to kill Jadechild, it would be simplicity itself.”

After speaking, the white-robed maiden no longer spoke.

Ninefire and Yichuan exchanged glances. Earlier, when they were in a state of panic, the white-robed maiden hadn’t said a word. Once Ning appeared, however, the white-robed maiden had provided some information regarding Adept Xu. Clearly, this white-robed maiden felt rather subservient towards Ning, rather than towards the Ji clan as a whole.

“At least at the middle-stage Wanxiang Adept level? An Earth-ranked magic treasure? Insights into the Dao?” Ning pondered. He wasn’t a foolish child who understood nothing. After having seen so many magic treasures in the aquatic estate, Ning knew very well that the difference in power between magic treasures at different levels was tremendous.

There was a fundamental difference in power between an Earth-ranked magic treasure and a Mortal-ranked magic treasure.

As the maiden had said, if Adept Xu wanted to kill Jadechild, it would be simple!

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire’s face was red with worry. He said frantically, “We have never before fought against a Wanxiang Adept; we’ve only heard legends of battling them. Wanxiang Adepts definitely vastly outstrip Zifu Disciples in power. Wanxiang Adepts are able to kill Zifu Disciples as easily as we kill Xiantian lifeforms. Earth-ranked magic treasures…we’ve only heard of them, but have never experienced their power first-hand. You absolutely must not be careless. You hold the official writ to our City of Ten Thousand Swords, and also have the Traceless Talisman. Remember. If the situation begins to turn grim, immediately flee!”

Ning was stunned.

Flee?

“As long as you escape, the Ji clan will definitely rise again, and to even greater heights.” Ninefire instructed.

Ning had a restless feeling. He could vaguely sense danger looming. His soul was so powerful that generally speaking, when encountering danger, he would feel a vague, warning sense.

“Wanxiang Adept?” Ning didn’t have any experience fighting one either.

“Remember. You are not to risk yourself.” Ninefire looked at Ning, and Yichuan looked at his son with worry as well.

“I understand.” Ning nodded gently. “This Wanxiang Adept…I will definitely be very careful. If anything goes wrong, I will immediately flee.”

“Right.” Ninefire nodded.

…..

Outside the formation.

The Immortal practitioners of Snowdragon Mountain stared towards the distant Oxhorn Mountain, shrouded in black fog. The tips of the flower petals had disappeared by now.

“Adept Xu, what should we do?”

“Are we just to wait and watch here?” The Zifu Disciples all looked towards Adept Xu, waiting for his orders.

Adept Xu stared into the distance, a cold look in his eyes. He said a single, cold word. “Wait!”

Both Jadechild and Nong Zidao had failed. Although there was a huge difference in power between him and them, he still had to be cautious. He knew very well that this formation was extremely strange. Even though he was very powerful, he couldn’t enter recklessly. At worst…they could just give up this elemental ore mine.

“Master-uncle Xu, master-uncle Xu.” A distant ray of light shot towards them.

Xu Li lifted his head to take a look.

There was a fur-clad man, riding atop that streak of light.

“Apprentice-nephew Zidao.” A look of surprised delight appeared on Xu Li’s face. He hurriedly went forward to greet him. Out of all the people who had entered the formation, Nong Zidao was the one which Xu Li cared about the most. Nong Zidao was also an expert in formations, and had experience with this one. He was precisely what Xu Li needed the most right now.

“Master-uncle Xu.” Nong Zidao said hurriedly. “I was afraid that you had already entered the formation. Fortunately, you didn’t.”

“What?” Xu Li frowned as he looked at Nong Zidao. “Is this formation truly so terrifying?”

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Chapter 23 – Sealing

Chapter 23, Sealing

Nong Zidao said hurriedly, “This grand formation is known as the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. This is a legendary formation. Although the Ji clan only has the simplified, Mortal-rank version of the formation, this is definitely one of the most supreme formations at the Mortal-rank. The power of this technique cannot be underestimated; it is no lower than some Earth-rank formations. If, master-uncle Xu, you were to enter it, you would be trapped within. Fortunately, you didn’t enter…”

“It is that amazing?” Adept Xu was startled.

A supreme Mortal-rank formation that was no weaker than some Earth-rank formations? Adept Xu knew very well that the value of such a formation was probably no lower than that magic treasure of his, the giant seal he was holding.

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao, then what should we do?”

“Just watch as the Ji clan continues to delay?”

The Zifu Disciples all began to ask questions, worried. Nong Zidao said, “If I hadn’t already entered, I wouldn’t know either. However, since I’ve already spent quite some time within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, I’ve spent a good amount of time analyzing it, and have gained certain insights. Right…let’s not be impatient. Let me first break the black fog formation.”

Nong Zidao immediately walked forward, with Adept Xu right behind him. Adept Xu viewed Nong Zidao as being the most useful of this group of Zifu Disciples. He was a formations expert…naturally, he had to ensure Nong Zidao’s safety.

“The black fog bewildering formation is an ordinary formation.” Nong Zidao laughed. “Prior to this, when I entered it, I was about to break it, but just as I was going to break it, I was trapped by the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.”

“Right.”

Nong Zidao looked carefully at the black fog surrounding the entire Oxhorn Mountain. “If my predictions are correct, one of the formation flags should be three hundred meters in that direction.” As he spoke, a flywhisk appeared in his hands. He swept it out, and its three thousand white strands immediately shot out, swirling towards the distance at high speed.

Swoosh!

Instantly, a formation flag was uprooted, and the black fog that had been covering the entire Oxhorn Mountain dissipated. Sunlight shone down upon Oxhorn Mountain, revealing an enormous black dragon that was currently coiled around it. The enormous body of the black dragon emanated a faint, dark, netherworldly aura, but the area the aura reached out to was far smaller than the area previously covered by the black fog bewildering formation.

……..

Atop Oxhorn Mountain.

Ning, Ninefire, and the others all had solemn looks on their faces. As soon as they saw Nong Zidao appear, they knew that the situation had just turned grim! They hadn’t expected that Nong Zidao, who had clearly fled, would appear once more. Nong Zidao had entered the formation and had a great deal of experience with it. And now, he easily defeated their black fog bewildering formation from outside.

“Why has Nong Zidao returned?” Ninefire’s eyes were filled with resentment and disbelief. “Without Nong Zidao present, even though this Adept Xu is powerful, as soon as he entered the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, he would be trapped within and unable to depart.”

“Nong Zidao!”

“How could things have ended up this way!” The members of the Ji clan were all frantic and grief-stricken.

Ning felt hatred in his heart as well. Nong Zidao’s arrival was akin to making Adept Xu a tiger with wings.

…..

Nong Zidao and Adept Xu stared at the Netherwyrm, coiling about atop the distant Oxhorn Mountain.

“That enormous black dragon is the ‘Netherwyrm’ formed by the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.” Nong Zidao said.

“Netherwyrm.” Adept Xu stared at the giant black dragon coiling about Oxhorn Mountain, then nodded slightly.

Nong Zidao continued, “The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation also has a secondary, bewildering effect. The ‘nether fog’ that emanates from it is also a type of bewildering formation. To break the entire Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation…it is too difficult. Even I don’t know how long it would take for me to break it.”

Adept Xu frowned. “Even you are unable to break it?”

“However, simply breaking the nether fog is much simpler. I’m able to do that.” Nong Zidao laughed. “Master-uncle, don’t be impatient. The Netherwyrm and the nether fog are two separate parts. The Netherwyrm is used to attack, while the nether fog is used to trap enemies. Although I’m unable to break the entire Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, if you give me a bit of time and assist me, master-uncle, I am able to make the nether fog dissipate.”

Adept Xu said in surprised delight, “Make the nether fog disappear? Without the protection of the bewildering formation, if the Ji clan is to rely on the Netherwyrm to fight head on against me, they will definitely perish.”

How could Adept Xu fear a few Zifu Disciples? The reason he didn’t dare enter earlier was because he wasn’t confident in being able to deal with the formations.

“The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation has, in total, five component formations. The bewildering formation also has five components.” Nong Zidao said. “Previously, we entered the Dragonclaw Formation. I have already gained insight into some of the profound intricacies of the Dragonclaw Formation. However, Jadechild wasn’t strong enough…but with your power, master-uncle…as long as you use your Earth-ranked magic treasure, that giant seal, you will be able to disrupt the elemental pulse within the ground and dissipate the nether fog.”

“Haha, excellent.” Adept Xu was overjoyed.

Although he was an amateur, he still understood the principle of how formations relied on activating the power of the heavens and the earth…

If a formations expert had seen through the intricacies of the inner workings of a formation, then just by applying a few techniques to a few areas, the functioning of the entire formation could be disrupted! Nong Zidao wasn’t able to destroy the Netherwyrm, but he was able to disrupt the nether fog.

“Master-uncle.” Nong Zidao laughed. “After I break through the nether fog, the Ji clan will be forced to face us head-on. The Ji clan is very weak; I’m afraid that they will immediately flee! Our ultimate goal is to gain the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords, which they carry. If they are to escape, it will be very troublesome. And so, it is best if we first set down a grand sealing formation around Oxhorn Mountain.”

Adept Xu, hearing this, nodded. “Your thoughts are meticulous.”

“Swoosh!”

Adept Xu immediately transformed into a ray of light, flying about while setting up a grand formation around the entire base of Oxhorn Mountain.

“Rumble…”

A barrier of light, appearing like the ripples of clear water, suddenly sprang into being. The enormous barrier of light covered the entire Oxhorn Mountain, like a giant dome over it! Not just the air; even the ground was sealed off by the barrier of light.

The entire world had been sealed off!

This was a grand sealing formation…

Ning, Ninefire, and the others atop Oxhorn Mountain, upon seeing the giant barrier of light appear out of nowhere, completely separating Oxhorn Mountain away from the outside world, all had exceedingly ugly looks on their faces.

“A grand sealing formation.” Ninefire said hoarsely. “In addition, Adept Xu personally established it. To break through this grand sealing formation….most likely, only someone with power equivalent to Adept Xu is capable of it.”

“Right.” Granny Shadow had a hint of despair in her eyes as well.

“We won’t be able to leave.” Truekeep said softly. “With our power, there is no way for us to break the sealing formation. There’s nowhere to run…so, let’s fight. Let’s have a fight with this Wanxiang Adept!”

Yichuan nodded as well. “Originally, I had thought that we had survived this tribulation. But a Wanxiang Adept has come! Our Ji clan should feel proud; we have forced a Wanxiang Adept to come deal with us.”

“Ji Ning, remember, if you have a bad feeling when fighting with Adept Xu, you must immediately leave.” Ninefire looked at Ning.

“You are the future hope of our Ji clan. Remember this.” Granny Shadow looked at Ning.

Truekeep and Ah Xing also looked towards Ning.

His father, Yichuan, gave him instructions as well. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

At this moment…

Ning could feel the despair his elders felt. When the grand sealing formation had appeared, it represented the fact that there was nowhere for the Ji clan to retreat to. Only he, who had the Traceless Talisman, was able to escape. There was no way for the others to escape.

“Right.” Ning nodded solemnly.

“Xu Li!” Ning looked downwards, staring through the nether fog towards the distant Adept Xu and Nong Zidao, his gaze filled with a killing intent. “A Wanxiang Adept? I want to see exactly how powerful a Wanxiang Adept is.” Ning’s heart was now filled with a desire to kill this Wanxiang Adept, who posed a great threat to the Ji clan!

Kill! Kill! Kill!

………..

At the base of Oxhorn Mountain.

Adept Xu, Nong Zidao, and the others were all within the grand sealing barrier.

“There is another thing I must warn you of, master-uncle.” Nong Zidao said.

“Oh?” Adept Xu looked at him.

Nong Zidao continued, “The Ji clan only has a few Zifu Disciples, most of whom are not worthy of concern. There is only one person we must be careful of! He is the monstrous genius of the Ji clan, ‘Ji Ning’, who is only sixteen years old.”

“Sixteen? We have to be careful of him?” Adept Xu was shocked, and the other Zifu Disciples were incomparably surprised as well.

“Yes.” Nong Zidao said solemnly. “He is power is quite terrifying. Earlier, nineteen of us Zifu Disciples entered, along with two Zifu-level spirit-beasts…actually, by relying on our own formation, we were able to fight against that Netherwyrm. The Ji clan wasn’t able to harm us at all, but in the end, Ji Ning attacked. He was simply too strong.”

“All of our fellow disciples, including senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, died in Ji Ning’s hands.” Nong Zidao said.

“He is only sixteen! He killed Jadechild?” Adept Xu stared.

There was no monster like this in the entirety of Snowdragon Mountain!

The other Zifu Disciples were all dazed as well.

How could such a monstrous talent have appeared in a local clan like this Ji clan?

“You’ll know once you see him.” Nong Zidao said heavily. “Ji Ning dual-trains as a Ki Refiner and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. In addition, he is exceedingly skilled in swordplay, to the point of even having comprehended a ‘Dao Domain’.”

“Dao Domain!” Adept Xu’s heart clenched, hard.

He, a mighty Wanxiang Adept, had yet to reach the ‘Dao Domain’ level in his insights regarding the Dao. The other Zifu Disciples were completely stupefied. Dao Domain? This was a concept that was too distant for them. Sixteen? A sixteen year old who gained a Dao Domain? This…was this real?

“His Dao Domain is a Rainwater Domain.” Nong Zidao said. “Once the rain begins to fall, you must be careful. It represents that Ji Ning is about to attack at any moment.”

“Right.” Adept Xu nodded.

He felt that as a Wanxiang Adept with an Earth-ranked magic treasure and a high level of insight into the Dao…that he would absolutely be able to overcome this genius. However, the enemy did have a Dao Domain. This made it so that that he would definitely pay careful attention to this foe.

“Also. Prior to this, I had to rely on a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal in order to flee.” Nong Zidao said. “This Ji Ning of the Ji clan makes me uneasy. If he begins to battle with you, master-uncle…if they use some techniques against me, it will be very dangerous. Thus, master-uncle, I would like to borrow a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal from you, so as to preserve my own life. Only then would I feel confident in entering the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation once more and calmly investigate the nether fog, as well as how to disrupt the flow of elemental ki.”

Adept Xu hesitated for a moment.

Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal?

This sort of Dao-seal was a life-saving item and exceedingly precious. Although he was a Wanxiang Adept, the main sect had only bestowed upon him a single such Dao-seal. Afterwards, by trading some of his own treasures, he acquired two more. Each Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal was exceedingly precious. But of course, if one encountered a particularly dangerous foe or a unique location, the Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal would be of no use either.

However, for battles at the normal Wanxiang Adept level, this Dao-seal was generally enough for one to flee.

“Fine. I will loan you one.” Adept Xu nodded. He understood that if he didn’t loan it to Nong Zidao, then Zidao, who had just avoided calamity, wouldn’t be willing to enter again.

After accepting the Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal, Nong Zidao instantly felt more confident, and he said with assuredness, “Master-uncle, please don’t worry. Ji Ning battled against Jadechild for quite some time, and was only able to kill Jadechild after exhausting his divine power. Master-uncle, when you go in person, you will definitely annihilate the entire Ji clan and acquire the official writ.”

“Excellent.” Adept Xu nodded and laughed.

“Come, let us enter together.” Adept Xu swept the other Zifu Disciples with his gaze.

The other seven Zifu Disciples glanced at each other, afraid to refuse. They all followed Adept Xu and Nong Zidao towards that distant, enormous Netherwyrm, and the nether fog it emanated. Soon, all of them entered the region of nether fog.

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Chapter 24 – Ji Ning Battles Myriad Manifestations!

Chapter 24, Ji Ning Battles Myriad Manifestations!

As soon as Adept Xu, Nong Zidao, and the rest of the nine entered the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, Adept Xu barked, “Flood Dragon Formation!”

As soon as his words rang out, above the heads of Nong Zidao, Wu Qi, Lu Huang, and the other Zifu Disciples appeared the mirage of a Flood Dragon. The eight Flood Dragon mirages flew rapidly towards Adept Xu. Above him appeared an enormous Flood Dragon Phantom, which hovered there, waiting to join together with the other eight Flood Dragons.

As they joined together, instantly, a Flood Dragon with visible, snow-white scales appeared, circling around the nine.

Snowdragon Mountain was most famous for the ‘Soaring Snowdragon Formation’. This was a grand formation that protected the entire sect. It could be led by a Primal Daoist, who would a group of Wanxiang Adepts and thousands of Zifu Disciples to form a massive formation that would transform into a white divine dragon, with the power to annihilate the heavens. The power was great enough to give Immortals a good fight!

Aside from this supreme ‘Soaring Snowdragon Formation’, it also had various simplified versions of the formation, all of which would be referred to as ‘Flood Dragon Formations’.

All the simplified versions could only be referred to as creating a ‘Flood Dragon’; only the supreme formation of the sect was referred to as creating a ‘Snowdragon’. Adept Xu and the rest of the nine were currently using one of the simplified Flood Dragon Formations.

…….

The snowy white Flood Dragon swirled about them, emanating a powerful presence.

Adept Xu and the rest of the nine constantly advanced.

“Halt.” Nong Zidao ordered, while pointing to the front. “Master-uncle, please act. Make your grand seal transform to a length of thirty meters, and smash down at that mountain over there, lowering it by thirty meters.”

Adept Xu nodded. The grand seal flew out from his hand, which transformed to a large size, roughly thirty meters or so. Below the grand seal was a dense earthen yellow aura. He pointed downwards, and the grand seal, with a rumbling sound, crushed downwards, completely crumbling the trees and rocks beneath as he carved out a thirty meter deep crater.

“In this location, smash out another thirty meter deep crater.” Nong Zidao continued to walk forward while giving guidance.

Bang! Bang ! Bang! As the grand seal smashed down time and time again, one giant crater after another appeared, forming a strange diagram.

More than a hundred deep craters were created.

“Success.” Nong Zidao revealed a smile. Part of the elemental ki that had been flowing through the earth had begun to change directions. Instantly, the nether fog around them began to rapidly dissipate, as the surrounding area once more became clear.

“Formidable.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Zidao is truly formidable.”

The various Zifu Disciples were all overjoyed. Everything around them was very clear now. Part of the entire Oxhorn Mountain was now revealed, and the trees and forests there could be clearly seen with the naked eye. Even the distant, gigantic black claws of the dragon could be seen. Immediately afterwards, the body of the coiling dragon atop Oxhorn Mountain suddenly began to move, and the location of the dragon claw changed as the claw moved to hide in a different part of the nether fog.

Nong Zidao laughed. “The nether fog of the Dragonclaw Formation has been dissipated. Now, only the Dragonpearl Formation, the Dragonhead Formation, the Dragontail Formation, and the Dragonbody Formation still emanate that nether fog.”

“Which sub-formation shall we enter next?” Adept Xu already had a smile on his face.

“The reason why I was able to break the formation so quickly was because I already pondered on this formation for quite some time, previously.” Nong Zidao said. “As for the other four sub-formations…I imagine I will need a bit more time.”

Adept Xu said, worried, “How much longer?”

Nong Zidao let out a confident laugh. “Now that I have some experience from breaking the Dragonclaw Formation, the other four will be fast. I will need at most an hour for each of the others.”

“Excellent.” Adept Xu was instantly overjoyed.

At most an hour?

The remaining four formations, all combined, would only need four hours or so! As long as the nether fog was destroyed, there would be no place for the Ji clan to hide. They would have to fight head on…

“The Ji clan is doomed!” Adept Xu’s eyes were filled with anticipation. If they truly were to acquire this elemental ore mine, he would have rendered the most merits, and would naturally be granted great rewards.

“Let’s go!”

Adept Xu gave the order. The nine of them, surrounded by the protective snowy white Flood Dragon, entered the Dragonbody Formation.

………

“The nether fog around the Dragonclaw Formation was broken!” Every member of the Ji clan was filled with dread.

It was the nether fog that allowed them to hold an advantage, in that they could fight when they wanted to, and flee when they wanted to! As for the enemy, they could only passively be attacked, and wouldn’t have any place to flee!

“We can’t let this continue.” Ji Ning, watching this, grew anxious. He understood the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation quite well, and also had a good grasp of formations in general. He hurriedly said, “The power of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation is extremely great, and it also has an auxiliary nether fog effect. To break the entire Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation is very hard, but it is comparatively easier to break through the bewildering nether fog formation. Nong Zidao…since he was able to break the Dragonclaw Formation’s fog, he will be able to break the others quite quickly as well, because they are all linked and similar.”

The controller of the formation, Ji Ninefire, nodded as well. “Right. We can’t just watch as they destroy the nether fog. We have to stop them.”

“We have to stop them.”

Frantic looks were on the faces of Granny Shadow and the others as well.

“Ji Ning, you’ll have to be the one to go.” Ninefire looked towards Ji Ning. “You are our only hope for stopping them. If even you are unable to stop them…then, the rest of us will have no choice but to try and delay, to try and hold on as long as possible.”

Ning nodded slightly. “Alright.”

This tribulation…it came in waves! After killing Jadechild, they had thought that they had won for sure, but then Adept Xu had arrived. This caused the Ji clan to once more face a terrifying danger.

“This battle…I must win.” Ning’s heart billowed with a boundless desire for battle.

He had to win!

He was the only one who could stop Snowdragon Mountain!

If even he were to fail, then he would be forced to flee, while his Patriarch, his father, and the others would remain trapped here by the grand sealing formation. They would only be able to rely on using their lives to battle for as long as possible.

“Xu Li, I will make sure you die!”

“All of you will die!”

Ning had only one thought – to kill his enemies. For the sake of survival. For the sake of the Ji clan. For the sake of his family. For the sake of not having to leave, grief-stricken, by himself.

He had to kill the enemy!

“Careful.” Yichuan looked at his son.

“Stopping them is important, but staying alive is more important.” Granny Shadow instructed in her hoarse voice.

All of them looked at Ning.

Ning nodded gently. Before him, a corridor in the black fog appeared. He dashed through it, moving like a blur at high speed towards the enemy.

……..

Moments later.

Ning stood next to an old, gnarled, crooked tree. The area around him was filled with a dense cluster of more than seven hundred flying swords, forty five of which were Mortal-ranked flying swords. After killing Jadechild’s group of Zifu Disciples, Ning’s collection of Mortal-ranked flying swords had increased to forty six, enough to create five formation bases.

“Rumble…” The flying swords around him all began to emit a blurry aura.

Ning frowned, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He was struggling to control them, and the flying swords around him constantly rose and fell.

“No. I still can’t do it.” Ning shook his head. “Last time, when I fought Jadechild, I had twenty seven Mortal-ranked flying swords…I was only able to just barely use the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. But now, I have forty five Mortal-ranked flying swords…no matter what I try, I’m unable to execute the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].”

“Level eight, then!”

Ning gave it a try.

The flying swords around him all rose into the air, flashing with a white light, but it was still quite difficult.

“Arise!” Ning gritted his teeth. His head hurt to the point of splitting, but he was just able to manifest a flying sword, glowing with white light, in front of himself.

“Disperse.” With a thought, Ning collected the flying swords hovering about him.

Ning pondered to himself, “I am, at most, able to execute the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and it is quite difficult. I imagine that executing three sword flashes using the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…that is my limit.”

Although he was only able to activate the eighth level, in terms of power, the strength of his attack was 30%-40% greater than in the past, when he had used the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to kill Jadechild.

“Patriarch, where are they?” Ning said. “I am prepared.”

“Right ahead of you. I will guide you.” Ninefire sent mentally.

“Alright.”

Ning wielded a pair of the Darknorth swords in his hands, his eyes filled with a killing intent. He rapidly advanced forward.

………

The snowy white Flood Dragon roved about, its draconic scales glistening with snowy white light. It was shockingly, breathtakingly beautiful. As for Adept Xu, Nong Zidao, and the others, they were protected and surrounded by the snowy white Flood Dragon. Nong Zidao was focused on analyzing the formation; he had to understand the intricate secrets of the nether fog generated by the Dragonbody Formation.

Suddenly…

“Rustle…”

Within the nether fog, a drizzling rain suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The drizzling rain drifted downwards, cool and comfortable. This was an enjoyable, pleasurable drizzle, but the faces of the nine Immortal practitioners of Snowdragon Mountain all changed.

“Rainwater!”

“Rainwater! Ji Ning’s rainwater!”

“Rainwater Sword Domain. Ji Ning has unleashed his Rainwater Sword Domain. He is about to attack.” The Zifu Disciples were all extremely nervous. Even Nong Zidao temporarily paused his musings, a hint of concern on his face.

The descent of the rainwater was like a call from the Deathgod. The last time it came, Dong Ziqi, Jadechild, and the other Zifu Disciples had all perished. And now, the rain had come again.

“Rainwater Sword Domain?” Adept Xu, dressed in a beautiful black robe, swept the surrounding area with his gaze, his pupils contracting to slits, like that of a venomous viper. He was the calmest of the group, but he was still extremely cautious and wary. After all, he was still some distance away from being able to comprehend a Dao Domain.

“Hmph.” A cold snort rang out.

Within the nether fog, one dazzling star after another began to appear. Amongst the dazzling stars was a brilliant moon. The watery glow of the moon shone down upon Adept Xu and the other Zifu Disciples, covering the entire region of the snowy white Flood Dragon. The moonlight completely, forcibly blocked off the rainwater.

“Ji Ning, you lurk and sneak about. This really makes one look down on you.” Adept Xu stood there in the moonlight, the snowy white Flood Dragon swirling around him as he spoke in a cold voice. “If you want to fight, then come and fight.”

“As you desire!”

A thunderous shout, like a spring thunderbolt, exploded forth.

Boom!

From far away, a bolt of light suddenly shot out from within the nether fog. A giant, fiery winged Roc suddenly surged forth, surrounded by a Waterflame Lotus. In but an instant, the fiery Roc appeared before Adept Xu, moving so quickly as to astonish even him.

“Rumble…” The draconic tail of the snowy white Flood Dragon Phantom slapped towards the giant fiery Roc.

But the giant fiery Roc was simply too fast; the tail slap of the Flood Dragon actually missed!

“This is…” Adept Xu could instantly tell that this was no Roc; it was a youth! This youth’s entire body emanated a fiery light, like that of a Fiendgod’s, while on his back was a set of wings that fluttered agilely. The wing-type magic treasure was also covered with a fiery light, allowing him to move so quickly as to cause fear.

Divine ability – Windwing Evasion!

Once a Fiendgod Body Refiner learned a divine ability, he would be able to fight enemies of a higher power level. Although Ning was only at the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he already had the combat ability of an ordinary late-stage Fiendgod Body Refiner. Now that he was also using the exquisitely agile divine ability, ‘Windwing Evasion’, his speed had instantly risen by several levels, to the point of being even faster than Adept Xu.

“Ji Ning?” Adept Xu’s face finally changed as he stared at this fur-clad youth, who wielded two swords, was bathed by the Crimsonbright divine power, and who was so fast as to astonish even him. “He is Ji Ning? Supposedly on par with Jadechild? What sort of joke is this? Jadechild was nowhere near this strong!”

“Die!”

A fierce shout!

Sword light flashed!

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Chapter 25 – 72 Flying Swords

Chapter 25, 72 Flying Swords

Adept Xu stretched out his hand, and the giant seal suddenly expanded, sweeping towards Ji Ning like a gigantic rampart.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ning, bathed in fiery light, fluttered the wings on his back, sending himself arcing out in a line, dodging the grand seal and continuing to charge towards Adept Xu.

“Go.” Adept Xu controlled the giant seal, sending the giant seal, glowing with that earthen yellow light, to curve and turn towards Ning once more! The grand seal struck at Ning repeatedly; it was, after all, an Earth-ranked magic treasure, and so it moved in a straight line at tremendous speeds. Only, in terms of agility, it was significantly inferior to Ning.

Crackle!

Ning’s swords flashed, transforming into lines of rainwater that ‘scraped’ by the edges of the grand seal. The grand seal spun out of control to one side, while Ning once more swept out in an arc, charging straight towards Adept Xu.

“He’s too fast. His speed is too fast, and he’s too nimble.” Adept Xu was completely stunned. Just now, in that short period of time, his Earth-ranked magic treasure had clashed against Ning several times, but even his Earth-ranked magic treasure had been thrown off by Ning’s movement techniques.

“Go.”

Adept Xu let out a loud shout, and a black rope appeared in his hands. The black rope was covered with a layer of black energy, and as Adept Xu waved his hands, the black rope quickly expanded until it was the size of a giant python that was more than three hundred meters long, then swept entanglingly towards Ning.

Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Earth Garrison Seal’.

Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Black Serpent Cord’.

These were the two mighty Earth-ranked magic treasures which Adept Xu relied on as he roamed the world. One was hard, while the other was soft; the two paired together perfectly. Generally speaking, upon encountering those weaker than him, he would use the ‘Earth Garrison Seal’ to viciously smash them to death! Unexpectedly, he hadn’t been able to smash Ning at all, and was forced to bring out the second of his two killing techniques.

“A cord?” Ning stared at the giant black cord, over three hundred meters in length, and his face changed slightly.

“This is troublesome. This giant seal moves in straight lines and isn’t able to do anything to me, but that cord is perfectly suited for locking opponents.” Many thoughts flashed through Ning’s mind. “I definitely cannot permit myself to be constricted by that cord. Once it captures me, I will lose for sure.”

In this battle, Ning had immediately used the Windwing Evasion at full power from the very start. He wanted to rely on his far superior speed and agility to kill his foe!

However…

Adept Xu stood there, unmoving; all he had done was unleash two powerful Earth-ranked magic treasures, and Ning already felt shaken.

“Water Rampart!”

“Waterflame Lotus!” Ning, with a thought, instantly summoned one swirling curtain of water after another in the area around him. These curtains of water, as thin as the wing of a cicada, were all incomparably sharp. They directly chopped apart the moonlight barrier, forming multiple layers of watery curtains.

At the same time, in the air around him, one Waterflame Lotus after another appeared and stabilized. A total of nine lotuses appeared, locked into various locations in the rainwater that perfectly entangled and blocked the rope.

“Hmph, with simple techniques like this, you wish to block my magic treasure?” Adept Xu let out a cold laugh.

The Black Serpent Cord began to wildly wave about and dance. Bangbangbang! One curtain of water was forcibly shattered after the other. Whapwhapwhap! The Waterflame Lotuses were also crushed to bits. How could these water curtains and Waterflame Lotuses possibly block the power of an Earth-ranked magic treasure, when unleashed by a Wanxiang Adept?

But Ning didn’t need to actually block them; what he needed to do was to slow down the speed of the cord, just a bit. Given his ‘Windwing Evasion’ divine ability, his speed would then naturally result in him moving beyond the cord.

“Swish!” “Swish!”

Rainwater filled the skies. Curtains of water swirled around him. Lotus petals of fire and water.

The Black Serpent Cord and the Earth Garrison Seal all strove to slay Ning…but Ning arced out in jagged lines, flashing about like a crooked bolt of lightning, charging straight towards Adept Xu.

“I want to see how many Earth-ranked magic treasures you have.” Ning swiped out with the Darknorth swords in his hands, chopping straight towards Adept Xu.

………….

Nong Zidao and the others, watching from the side, were completely stupefied. They didn’t even dare to breathe. They had no idea at all that this monstrous genius of the Ji clan would actually be able to fight head on against Adept Xu! Adept Xu had already activated two Earth-ranked magic treasures, but still hadn’t been able to do anything to Ji Ning.

“Clearly…he clearly was just at Jadechild’s level.” Nong Zidao couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “How could Ji Ning’s speed have suddenly risen by so much? Even two mighty Earth-ranked magic treasures, under the influence of his Rainwater Sword Domain and his Waterflame Lotuses, are unable to touch him.”

His speed was simply too fast!

“If he had moved this fast in his earlier battle against Jadechild, Jadechild probably would have lost in their first exchange of blows.” Nong Zidao’s eyes were filled with disbelief. “Can it be that he just made some sort of a breakthrough?”

Monster.

What a monster!

“Adept Xu will definitely win.”

“Definitely win.”

Lu Huang and the other Zifu Adepts all prayed quietly. Once Adept Xu lost, Adept Xu could leave through his Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal, but they wouldn’t be able to escape.

………….

“Ji Ning will definitely win.” On the other side, Ji Ninefire and the others were praying as well.

“Ji Ning and Adept Xu are fighting to a standstill.” Ninefire, as the controller of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, was able to watch this battle. As he did, he spoke with the nearby Yichuan. “Adept Xu is using two Earth-ranked magic treasures; his power is indeed exceedingly great. However, Ji Ning’s speed is astonishing; he’s simply inconceivably fast.”

As Ninefire spoke, Yichuan, by his side, was holding his breath.

He was nervous.

This was the critical battle!

………

Seeing that even two Earth-ranked magic treasures hadn’t been enough to stop Ning, Adept Xu suddenly let out an explosive shout: “Formation!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In the air around him, seventy two flying swords suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Every single flying sword glowed with black light, and the seventy two flying swords formed into a circle around Adept Xu, providing him with layers of protections.

“What?!” Ning, just about to display his swordplay and kill Adept Xu, stared in astonishment at the flying swords which had suddenly appeared in front of him. These flying swords all transformed into rays of flowing black light, stabbing straight towards him.

“Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!” Ning wielded a Darknorth sword in each hand, and in the blink of an eye, he used them to block nine attacks from flying swords. He was knocked flying backwards by the force of the collision, and from behind, the Black Serpent Cord and the Earth Garrison Seal came flying towards him once more.

The wings on Ning’s back trembled violently, and he immediately arced away, dodging the attacks.

The layers of Waterflame Lotuses and curtains of rainwater around him continued to hinder everything.

“How could it be like this!” Ning’s face changed. He stared at the distant Adept Xu, securely protected by those seventy two flying swords.

“Seventy two flying swords, each of which strikes with power no weaker than a full-force attack from one of my Darknorth swords.” Just now, Ning had attacked with full force. Although his swordplay was intricate, Adept Xu’s flying swords were still filled with middle-stage Wanxiang-level power, and in terms of technique, they were only slightly inferior.

Every single flying sword was indeed no less than a full-force blow from Ning’s Darknorth swords.

“Hahaha…”

The distant Adept Xu began to laugh. “Ji Ning, I’ve already discovered your weakness. For me to use these two Earth-ranked treasures against you is using my weakness against your strength!”

“Although your speed is astonishing, you are still a Zifu Disciple. There’s no need for me to use Earth-ranked magic treasures; these Mortal-ranked flying swords are already enough to deal with you.” Adept Xu laughed. “In addition, to deal with your fast speed, I should use large amounts of magic treasures to attack you in unison.”

“With many magic treasures at hand, I will just so happen to perfectly counter your speed.” Adept Xu laughed.

When fighting against different foes, naturally one had to use different measures. Adept Xu normally battled against other Wanxiang Adepts…and against them, the power of these flyings words would be considered too low. They would generally only be able to achieve victory through the use of Earth-ranked magic treasures. But against Ji Ning, these Mortal-ranked flying swords were enough to deal with him.

“Return.” Adept Xu laughed softly, and the giant seal and black cord that had been chasing after Ning returned to him, swirling about him.

“Go.” Adept Xu pointed towards the distance.

Swoosh!

Instantly, thirty-six flying swords pierced through the skies, attacking Ji Ning.

Although those blossoms of Waterflame Lotuses and layers of watery curtains strove to block the flying swords, the Mortal-ranked flying swords of Adept Xu were no weaker than the full-force blows of Jadechild. Naturally, these flying swords were able to peirce straight through, and although they slowed down a bit, they were simply too numerous. They surrounded Ning from every direction.

It was as though thirty-six people were simultaneously attacking Ning.

“Against you, the path to victory is through sheer numbers.” Adept Xu was extremely confident.

………..

Ning, seeing the thirty-six flying swords attack, had a dramatically changed look on his face. He hurriedly used his Windwing Evasion, urgently attempting to pull away from them. At the same time, six hundred-plus flying swords appeared out of nowhere in the area around Ning.

“Go!” Ning had a savage look on his face, pouring almost all of his concentration into his sword-formation. For the moment, the surrounding layers of watery curtains and blossoms of Waterflame Lotuses all vanished. He had completely focused his concentrating on executing the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and there was nothing left for him to spare on controlling the Waterflame Lotuses and the watery curtains.

Swish!

A ray of sword light suddenly transformed into a drop of rain, instantly howling and charging towards Adept Xu.

“Clang.” The distant Adept Xu, with but a thought, controlled the thirty-six flying swords in pursuit of Ning to block that line of rainwater…

BOOM!

Three of the flying swords managed to intercept the line of rainwater, and the three flying swords were all blasted away, with that line of rainwater continuing to charge towards Adept Xu.

“Oh?” The distant Adept Xu revealed a smile. “It seems the power is quite formidable.”

“Go.” Nine of the thirty-six flying swords protecting him instantly flew out. Clangclangclang! Repeated collision sounds…and the line of rainwater finally vanished.

Adept Xu stared at the distant Ning and laughed softly. “The power of this sword-formation technique of yours is indeed quite significant. However…it still isn’t at the power of my Earth-ranked magic treasures. Even if I just control these Mortal-ranked flying swords to block, I only need six flying swords in order to completely block the sword light generated by your sword-formation.”

“You are dead.” Adept Xu let out a confident laugh. “Die.”

The thirty-six flying swords that had been by his side all flew out as well, joining together with the thirty-six flying swords that were attacking Ning already.

“Eight-By-Nine Sword Formation! Kill!” A hint of a fierce light flashed through Adept Xu’s eyes.

BANG!

The seventy two flying swords transformed into an enormous circular arc. Like an orderly army in a formation, all of the tips of the swords pointed towards Ji Ning.

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Chapter 26 – A Disastrous Defeat

Chapter 26, A Disastrous Defeat

The curtains of water continued to rise up, and the Waterflame Lotuses continued to bloom.

The seventy two flying swords, in the shape of a giant circular arc, pierced through the multiple curtains of water, pierced through the Waterflame Lotuses, and stabbed towards Ning.

“Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!”

One sound rang out after another. Ji Ning, the Darknorth swords in his hands, hurriedly executed his swordplay, a curtain of water formed from sword light. Ning allowed those flying swords to attack as they pleased, focusing on defense and relying on his two swords to block those seventy two flying swords.

Whoosh!

A flying sword slashed past Ning’s thigh, sending blood flying.

Chop!

A flying sword pierced past Ning’s flank.

“Ning, quick, return, return.” The controller of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, Patriarch Ji Ninefire, sent frantically.

“No.” Ning was unwilling.

“Quick. Your life is more important than ours. Stop fighting. Quick, return.” Ninefire’s voice was filled with urgency and pain.

Ning gritted his teeth, ignoring the Patriarch. He had to go all out and do his best, because…he truly didn’t want to fail.

He didn’t want to fail.

He didn’t want to see them die!

He didn’t want to!

……….

Adept Xu watched from afar, the look on his face having changed. “He lives up to his reputation as someone who has gained insight into a Dao Domain. His swordplay truly is formidable. When defending, his defense can be described as airtight. Even though I’m occasionally able to wound him, it’s under his control.”

After all, the pressure of being attacked by seventy two flying swords was simply too great. Even Ning had to occasionally use his body parts or the magic wings on his back to block those flying swords…

“Kill!” Ning was struggling to block those seventy two flying swords, but suddenly, a fierce light flashed through his eyes.

Of the six hundred-plus flying swords hovering behind him, five hundred-plus suddenly lit up. A sword light began to form in front of Ning, emanating a fierce, sharp aura.

“Swish!” The sword light suddenly pierced through the skies.

This was the seventh level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Despite maintaining the Waterflame Lotuses, the curtains of water, and executing his swordplay…Ning was simultaneously able to divide his mind enough to control the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], but only the seventh level of it.

“Kill, kill, kill!” Ning was in a berserk state. One sword flash after another appeared emerged, transforming into lines of rain and striking out.

“Kill him!” Ning’s eyes were filled with both hope and terror. Terror from the deepest recesses of his heart; terror of being defeated! When the seventy two flying swords had attacked him, causing him to be unable to move closer to Adept Xu, Ning understood…that he would probably lose this time. His greatest advantage in battling Adept Xu was in his movements and agility!

But now, he couldn’t even draw near his opponent. How could he win?

Was he about to lose?

If even he were defeated, then the Ji clan would be unable to stop the enemies. They would have to spend their lives to battle and stop them.

By then, his father, Ji Yichuan, along with Patriarch Ninefire, Granny Shadow…they would all give up their lives.

“Die, die, die!” Ning’s eyes were filled with a killing urge.

He had to go all out!

Go all out, one last time!

One flash of sword light after another transformed into lines of rain, striking towards Adept Xu.

Adept Xu just stood there, laughing coldly. “He really is relentless.” In the area around him, that black cord quickly looped around him multiple times. With the thick cord wrapped about him…the majority of the space was blocked off, and when the lines of rain struck at him, the black cord simply trembled slightly, then shattered the lines of rain.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The cords simply trembled and moved very slightly as they dispersed each attacking line of rain.

The power of this Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Black Serpent Cord’, was simply too great. It was able to easily disperse the blows of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

“Go.”

The remaining, final drop of rain struck out in a solitary arc, actually striking towards Nong Zidao, protected by multiple people.

“If I kill Nong Zidao, I still win!” Ning’s eyes were filled with savagery.

“Roaaaaar!”

That snowy white Flood Dragon gently descended over the bodies of Adept Xu, Nong Zidao, Lu Huang, and the rest of the nine Immortal practitioners. In but an instant…Adept Xu, Nong Zidao, and the others all entered the ‘body’ of the snowy white Flood Dragon.

It was much like how Ning and the others were within the body of the Netherwyrm; Adept Xu and the others were also able to enter the body of their Flood Dragon.

“Bang!” The line of rainwater wildly pierced towards the snowy white Flood Dragon.

The draconic scales of the snowy white Flood Dragon trembled, but the line of rainwater was completely shattered.

Defeat.

“Hahaha.” Nong Zidao, within the body of the snowy white Flood Dragon, began to laugh. “This Flood Dragon Formation was jointly set up by master-uncle, myself, and seven others. Even if you had master-uncle’s level of power, it would still be hard for you to break through it. And your strength is far inferior to master-uncle’s.”

The Flood Dragon simply coiled there.

All of them were within the body of the Flood Dragon, with Adept Xu standing at the Flood Dragon’s head, staring at the distant Ning.

“Our Snowdragon Mountain’s famous ‘Soaring Snowdragon Formation’ is legendary in countless lands.” Adept Xu’s eyes were filled with arrogance. “Although this Flood Dragon Formation is merely a simplified version of the ‘Soaring Snowdragon Formation’, once it has been established with the nine of us within it…even I, using all my power, wouldn’t be able to do anything to this formation, much less you.”

……..

The distant Nong Zidao and Adept Xu spoke smugly. Although Ning was listening, in his heart, he was musing to himself.

“Can it be…can it be that I truly have been forced to take the last step?”

Swish!

Suddenly, a ripple of power surged close to him. Ning was in control of his Rainwater Sword Domain, and so although he couldn’t see anything visibly, he could sense a strange, needle-shaped item pierce towards him.

“Not good.” Ning immediately came to his senses. The magic wings behind his back trembled, and he immediately sought to use the Windwing Evasion to pull away from it. Although the Darknorth swords remained in his hands…they were currently being used to block the seventy two attacking flying swords. If he were to relax against them, the seventy two flying swords would chop his body into mincemeat.

Slash!

As Ning was frantically dodging, the sharp needle, as though consciously controlled, pierced straight through Ning’s flank.

“Bang!”

The elemental ki exploded!

Ning’s incomparably tough Fiendgod body still had a giant hole blasted through it, even larger than the size of his head. The left part of his waist was completely shattered, leaving behind only a few scraps of muscle and flesh.

“Grow.” While using the Windwing Evasion to hurriedly pull away, Ning also controlled his divine power to instantly cause new flesh and blood to grow out at high speed. The giant hole in his side was rapidly healing.

“Quick, come back.” Ninefire howled furiously. “Ji Ning, if you don’t come back, all of us will die with our eyes open and filled with resentment!!!”

He was frantic. Patriarch Ninefire was now truly frantic. He had asked Ning to come back earlier, but Ning insisted on struggling. If this continued…Ning would very likely perish.

Ning gritted his teeth in agony.

He would leave!

“Swoosh.” His wings fluttered, and he instantly charged into the nearby nether fog. The nether fog was filled with darkness, and Adept Xu and the others only watched him enter, not daring to follow in.

“Ji Ning! You’ve already been struck by my Divine Blackblood Needle!” Adept Xu called out in a high voice. “I can already sense your location. Once you draw near me, forget about leaving with your life!”

…………..

Halfway up Oxhorn Mountain.

One figure after another was making haste towards this location, moving like streaks of light. Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the others were all gathering here.

Swoosh

Ning arrived as well.

“Ji Ning.” Ninefire looked at the youth. It was this youth who had risked his life, time and time again. He let out a long sigh. “Ji Ning, our Ji clan has let you down.”

“Patriarch.” Ning’s eyes were red.

“You’ve done enough things. Done well enough.” Ninefire gently patted Ning on the shoulders. “In a slightly larger clan, a slightly more powerful clan…how could a supreme genius like yourself be forced to risk your life repeatedly like this? It is our Ji clan which has let you down. You killed Jadechild and that group of Zifu Disciples; you have done enough.”

“If we truly are not able to endure this, then it will simply be the will of the heavens, that our Ji clan is not to survive this tribulation.” Ninefire said softly. “There is no need to feel anger. No need to feel grief. All clans will have a time to flourish, and a time to fall. What we can do is to fight with all our power. That is enough. For the heavens to allow a genius like you to arrive within our Ji clan is already an incomparable kindness.”

Ninefire looked at Ning. “I know that with you alive, our Ji clan will definitely flourish. It definitely will!”

Ning gritted his teeth. His heart was shaking!

“Given how the situation has progressed…” Ninefire swept his gaze towards the nearby Granny Shadow, Ah Xing, Truekeep, and Yichuan, along with the Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane. “Everyone, you should all know that the situation is very grim. There is also a giant sealing formation outside; there is nowhere for us to run.”

“This time, our only choice is to fight to the death!” Ninefire was very calm, but his gaze was blazing.

“Fight to the death!”

Yichuan, Truekeep, and the others all had the same resolve in their eyes.

None of them would cower!

None of them were afraid!

If they were afraid, they wouldn’t have come here, to Oxhorn Mountain.

“Obey my commands.” NInefire said. “All of us must fight with full force, making it so that Nong Zidao is unable to completely concentrate on breaking the formation. We need to delay as much as we can. Thus, Landwyrm, you will be the first to go and delay them. Once you die, the Fairy Crane will go!”

The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane, the two Zifu-level spirit-beasts, were in the form of the azure-armored man and the white-robed maiden. They glanced at each other, their eyes filled with bitterness.

“The two of you can only blame your poor luck. Fight at full power.” Ninefire said. “If you die in battle for the sake of our Ji clan, you can still enter the cycle of reincarnation. If you resist, then I will shatter your souls!”

“We will obey.”

The azure-armored warrior and the white-robed maiden both lowered their heads.

Once the soul-bond was set, they absolutely had to obey the orders of their owner. Otherwise, their owner could easily destroy their souls.

“After the Fairy Crane dies, Yichuan, you will go next.” Ninefire looked at Yichuan.

“Right.” Yichuan nodded.

He was only able to fight at the Zifu Disciple level for an hour. He was of the least use to the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation; naturally, he would be the first member of the Ji clan to charge forward.

“Once Yichuan dies, Liu Xing, you go.” Ninefire looked towards the old servant, Ah Xing.

Ah Xing nodded.

“Once Liu Xing dies, Ji Shadow, you go.” Ninefire looked at his little sister.

Granny Shadow nodded.

“After Granny Shadow dies, Truekeep, you go.” NInefire looked towards Truekeep. “I will immediately follow!”

Not a single voice was raised in dissent.

Ning, watching this, felt great pain in his heart. He hurriedly said, “Patriarch, I am the strongest, and I’m able to delay them as well. If I ambush them repeatedly…I can make it so that Nong Zidao is distracted and unable to focus on breaking the formation.”

“Didn’t you hear what Adept Xu just said?” Ninefire barked. “You were hit by his Divine Blackblood Needle. He can sense your location. Once you draw near him, he will definitely prepare a heavy counter-attack for you. It doesn’t matter if we die, but if you die, you would have let down the entire Ji clan, not just yourself, understood?”

Ning gritted his teeth.

“Ji Ning.” Granny Shadow said hoarsely. “If you dare to come again, I will immediately commit suicide in front of you.”

“Granny Shadow…” Ning’s heart trembled.

“Ji Ning.” Yichuan looked at his son, then gave him his instructions. “Don’t make our deaths meaningless.”

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Chapter 27 – Ji Ning’s Departure

Chapter 27, Ji Ning’s Departure

Ji Ning nodded gently. “I won’t go fight.”

“Good.” Ji Ninefire swept them with his gaze. “Everyone, return to your positions. Landwyrm, for now, you will assume Ji Ning’s position in the center of the Dragontail Formation. We will control the Netherwyrm and attack!”

“Yes.”

The Landwyrm, Granny Shadow, Ah Xing, and Truekeep all immediately left to their own positions.

…………

The nether fog billowed.

A sinuous, coiling, snowy white Flood Dragon lay there, with Adept Xu and the others within the dragon’s body, clearly quite cautious. Quite obviously, Ning’s earlier prowess had caused Adept Xu to privately feel surprised. Still, the other Zifu Disciples were quite relaxed.

“Although Ji Ning is a monster, he’s still just a Zifu Disciple. He’s no match for the Adept.”

“Compared to master-uncle, Ji Ning is far weaker.”

“The Ji clan is doomed.”

All of the Zifu Disciples chatted amongst each other in quite a relaxed manner.

As for Nong Zidao, his eyes were closed as he focused on analyzing the formation. Suddenly, amidst the distant, dense nether fog, a massive thunderclap could be heard!

“Whoosh!” An enormous draconic tail, covered with black draconic scales, came sweeping towards them.

Bang!

The sweeping attack landed on the coiled body of the snowy white Flood Dragon, causing the entire dragon to be knocked backwards by the blow. Adept Xu, Nong Zidao, and the others, however, naturally remained within the dragon’s body.

“Ambushed.”

“Yet another ambush.”

“Even Ji Ning lost. The Ji clan dares to ambush us again?” All of them were enraged. Given how even the Flood Dragon had been knocked flying, Nong Zidao, who had been focused on analyzing the formation, naturally was startled awake as well.

Adept Xu stood there at the draconic head of the snowy white Flood Dragon. He shouted loudly, “You are asking for death!”

Whoosh!

The grand seal in his hands suddenly flew into the air, rapidly expanding to a size of three hundred meters, smashing directly against that impudent, enormous draconic tail.

“Boom…” An enormous, explosive sound. Draconic scales blew apart, and the draconic tail itself was torn apart, with the dispersed energy quickly vanishing into the nether fog.

“Master-uncle.” Nong Zidao frowned as he stared towards the distant nether fog. “Even Ji Ning was no match for you, master-uncle. The Ji clan has already run out of options. Thus, all they are trying to do now is to waste time and impede me from breaking their formation.”

Adept Xu nodded. “Zidao, just focus on analyzing how to break the formation. Just now, I was caught offguard. Now that I am prepared, I definitely won’t let the Ji clan’s ambushes affect you.”

Whoosh.

Adept Xu waved his hand, and a black cord rapidly expanded to a length of hundreds of meters. It swirled around the snowy white Flood Dragon, while the grand seal returned to Adept Xu.

“As long as that Netherwyrm dares to appear, I will instantly shatter it.” Adept Xu said.

Just moments later.

Whoosh!

A blur suddenly appeared. It was the draconic tail, once more striking.

“Boom…” The black cord suddenly lashed out. The whipping strike from an Earth-ranked magic treasure that a Wanxiang Adept was personally directing was enough to cause the draconic tail to instantly crumble.

Nong Zidao, within the snowy white Flood Dragon, finally let out a relieved sigh. He closed his eyes, once more focusing on analyzing the formation. The simple sounds and ruckuses of the outside battles didn’t have much of an impact on him.

………

Halfway up the mountain.

Ninefire, Ning, Yichuan, the Fairy Crane, and the Whitewater Hound were all present.

“Just relying on the Netherwyrm won’t do.” Ninefire shook his head. “Adept Xu, by himself, is enough to cause the Netherwyrm to disperse. There’s no way to impact Nong Zidao. We still have to rely on everyone going all out.”

The Netherwyrm was just an energy construct, after all. As for monsters and humans, they were living creatures; they could use certain tricks, such as releasing Dao-seals, etc…

“Landwyrm!”

Ninefire sent mentally. “Go!”

……..

The Landwyrm, in the shape of that azure-armored man, glanced at the corridor that had appeared in the nether fog before him. A hint of bitterness was in his eyes.

“Alas, alas…”

When he thought back to what he had experienced in his life, his heart was filled with grief.

Upon becoming tamed as a spirit-beast, one’s only hope was to encounter a kind owner. Otherwise, life would be miserable. For example, after Jadechild died, he had been forced to submit yet again, and now he was being forced to go to his death.

But even though he was being sent to his death, he didn’t dare to resist at all. This was because, if he died here, he would still go to the Netherworld Kingdom. Given the power of his soul, as a Zifu-level Diremonster, he would definitely be a powerful ghost that would find it easy to join the army of ghosts. But if he were to resist…his soul would be destroyed.

“How hateful!”

The azure-armored man immediately transformed into his true form, an enormous, clawed Landwyrm. The enormous body of the Landwyrm moved across the mountain, rapidly passing through the corridor within the nether fog and moving towards Adept Xu.

Moments later.

The Landwyrm could vaguely see, through the corridor, the faint contours of a snowy white Flood Dragon, as well as the figures within the Flood Dragon’s body.

“Swoosh!”

The Landwyrm suddenly flew forwards.

Whoosh!

He instantly charged forward. Nong Zidao was within the snowy white Flood Dragon, analyzing the formation. The other Zifu Disciples were staring at the surrounding areas, while Adept Xu was riding atop his magic treasure, prepared to attack at any moment.

“The Landwyrm.”

“Landwyrm?”

The Zifu Disciples all immediately recognized it.

“Roaaaaaar!” The Landwyrm charged forward, but before Adept Xu even had a chance to attack with his magic treasure, it raised its head, letting out a grieving, furious howl which shook the heavens.

And immediately afterwards, a terrifyingly powerful energy blast exploded forth from the body of the Landwyrm, causing Adept Xu’s face to change.

“Careful!”

Rumble…

As a peak Zifu-level Godbeast, its Zifu lake was far vaster than the Zifu lake of a human Zifu-level practitioner. The amount of elemental ki it contained was also boundless and deep. In terms of amount of elemental ki, this Godbeast’s Zifu lake was not inferior to an early Wanxiang Adept’s.

All of the elemental ki that it had accumulated over so many years suddenly exploded, causing an incomparably powerful blast to instantly ripped out, tearing the Landwyrm’s body to pieces and wildly shooting in every direction.

“Block.” Adept Xu hurriedly controlled that grand seal to serve like a rampart, blocking in front of him.

Rumble…

The terrifying explosion blasted out in every direction, blowing aside that Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Earth Garrison Seal’. But after it sent the seal flying, the remaining amount that struck against the ‘body’ of the snowy white Flood Dragon was greatly reduced, causing the snowy white dragon to roll over a few times, but be completely undamaged.

“What’s going on?” Nong Zidao opened his eyes.

“Self-explosion.”

“It was a Landwyrm which blew itself up.” The Zifu Disciples said.

Nong Zidao said, astonished, “Landwyrm? That was senior apprentice-brother Jadechild’s Landwyrm.”

Adept Xu’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the enormous crater in the ground. HE said in a low voice, “This Landwyrm was a Godbeast amongst monsters. The amount of elemental ki in its Zifu lake was incomparably vast. This self-detonation…truly was astonishingly powerful.”

…….

Halfway up the mountain. Ninefire looked at the Fairy Crane, currently in the form of a white-robed maiden. “The Landwyrm is dead. Fairy Crane, your turn.”

“Yes.”

The Fairy Crane didn’t hesitate at all, immediately departing towards the tunnel through the nether fog that had appeared in front of her.

But just a few moments after she had left…

BOOM!

A rumbling explosion which they seemed to be able to feel.

“That fast?” Yichuan frowned.

“She didn’t go to Adept Xu.” Ninefire growled. “That Fairy Crane…she was formerly the mount for Nong Zidao. Most likely, she had a deep relationship with Nong Zidao. I forced her to go blow herself up, and so she blew herself up midway, not disturbing Nong Zidao in the slightest.”

Ning shook his head gently.

Upon accepting an owner…

In the spirit-beast’s heart, it would naturally feel very obedient to it’s owner. For the Fairy Crane to act in such a way was a testament to how deep the affection she bore for Nong Zidao was.

“Nong Zidao.” Ninefire bellowed loudly. “Your former spirit-beast mount, the Fairy Crane. I ordered her to go attack you, but she actually blew herself up midway, before she had even reached out. It seems as though the relationship between you and the spirit-beast was quite close.”

……

His voice transmitted far away.

Adept Xu and the others all fell silent. They looked towards Nong Zidao, who opened his eyes, staring into the distance with a pained look. “Crane…child…Crane…”

Previously, when he chose to flee, he had only a single Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal, and so he hadn’t taken his Fairy Crane.

He had released her from his bond, in the hopes that the Fairy Crane would be able to continue to live…but now, his Crane had actually blown herself up in the distance, for the sake of not disturbing him.

“Crane…”

“Crane.” Nong Zidao wanted to forget about her, but images from the past welled up, causing his mind to be unable to calm down.

“Apprentice-nephew Zidao.” Adept Xu barked. “This is a psychological ploy of the Ji clan. You cannot be affected by it. Hurry up and focus on breaking the formation; that’s what matters.”

Nong Zidao nodded. “Right.”

Although he understood this principle, how could he so easily discard and forget about the hundreds of years of friendship between him and the Fairy Crane? How could he truly calm down? The impact the Fairy Crane’s self-detonation had on him was far greater than the impact which Ji Ning had when he had attacked earlier.

………..

Halfway up Oxhorn Mountain.

Ning was incomparably nervous. He stared at his father. Based on the Patriarch’s original plan, after the Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane perished, it would be his father who would go!

“The amount of time needed to brew a pot of tea has passed.” Ninefire suddenly said. “The Fairy Crane’s self-detonation had a major impact on Nong Zidao. But now that some time has passed, I imagine that Nong Zidao has calmed down. Yichuan…your turn now.”

Yichuan nodded.

“You need to come up with a way to disturb Nong Zidao and prevent him from concentrating on analyzing of the formation.” Ninefire said. “The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane were only recently tamed, after all; they weren’t fully loyal to our Ji clan. Thus, both of them were used to self-detonate, the simplest, fastest method to disturb the enemy. There was a limit to how long those two were able to delay. In the end, we mainly have to rely on our own people, of the Ji clan.”

“I know.” Yichuan nodded. “Leave it to me. But before this. Ji Ning!”

Yichuan looked at his son.

Ning raised his head, looking at his father.

“You can leave now.” Yichuan looked at his son, then said, “You are useless here. If you wait too long, more variables might come into place. Leave, now.”

“I should leave now?” Ning stared, wide-eyed. His father was about to go risk his life in battle. He was supposed to leave now?

“Go.” Yichuan barked.

Ning, looking at his father’s facial expressions, understood. His father, in his heart, had always been a proud, arrogant person. Even as he went to welcome death, he wouldn’t want to let his son see it.

“Ji Ning.” The nearby Ninefire understood Yichuan’s intent as well. He immediately said, “Go, hurry and go.”

The nearby Whitewater Hound walked over as well, raising its head and looking towards Ji Ning, eyes filled with longing and love.

“Uncle White.” Ning moved forward to embrace the Whitewater Hound.

This time…

The others, including Uncle White, were unable to leave. This was because there was a grand sealing formation outside! Only Ning would be able to escape.

“Father. Uncle White.” Ning held Uncle White, looking at his father, his eyes filled with rare tears.

“Go!!!” Yichuan barked furiously.

Ning was in agony.

He didn’t want to go! He truly didn’t want to go!

He wanted to stay, to battle to the death by their sides!

“It takes courage to fight to the death.” Ninefire looked towards Ning. “But to choose to leave on one’s own requires even greater courage! Ji Ning…don’t disappoint us!”

The Whitewater Hound gently raised its head to look at Ning as well, also urging Ning to leave.

Ning looked at his father, looked at the Whitewater Hound, looked at his Patriarch…

“I’ll go!” Ning said hoarsely.

He turned and walked out through a corridor that had appeared through the nether fog.

In his heart, he was howling to himself that he truly didn’t want to leave. That he wanted to stay here with his father, with his Uncle White, and fight with them.

But his rationale mind told him that he had to go. Otherwise, the Patriarch and the others would all die with their eyes open, filled with resentment.

…………..

The light of the sealing formation was everywhere, and it rippled like water, locking the entire region in.

“Break.”

“Break.”

Ning utilized his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and his Darknorth swords, but wasn’t able to damage the sealing formation at all.

“Why. Why.” Ning was howling in agony in his heart. If he was able to break this grand sealing formation, he would be able to lead his father, the Patriarch, and the Whitewater Hound in a retreat! But there was some distance between the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation and this sealing formation; Ning was without the assistance of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and so the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] immediately decreased to a lower level. He wouldn’t even be able to fight against Jadechild right now.

Although the Darknorth swords were somewhat more powerful, they were still far from being able to break through this grand sealing formation.

“Xu Li! Nong Zidao! Snowdragon Mountain!” Ning turned to look at the coiling Netherwyrm, hidden within the vast, endless nether fog. “I, Ji Ning, swear that in my lifetime, I will eradicate you all!”

The Traceless Talisman appeared in Ji Ning’s hands.

Whoosh.

The space around him rippled, and Ji Ning disappeared, having gone far away.

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Chapter 28 – The Seven Great Divine Abilities of the Divine Abilities Hall

Chapter 28, The Seven Great Divine Abilities of the Divine Abilities Hall

“Eh?” Adept Xu Li, standing within the draconic head of the snowy white Flood Dragon, frowned. The grand sealing formation was under his control, and thus, he could clearly sense…

“Someone is attacking my grand sealing formation from within? It seems as though someone from the Ji clan wishes to flee. Unfortunately, without the assistance of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, even Ji Ning, the most powerful of them, wouldn’t be able to break through the formation!”

“They need to just obediently wait for death.”

Adept Xu’s cold, insidious gaze held a hint of a killing intent.

Although he had used his Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Divine Blackblood Needle’, to wound Ning, in reality, he wasn’t able to sense Ning’s location at all. Previously, when he had loudly said that he could sense Ning’s location, he was completely bluffing! After all, he wouldn’t feel much pressure if other members of the Ji clan came and attacked, but an ambush from Ning put him under great pressure. He trusted that the Ji clan definitely treasured Ning, and so intentionally put on an act, shouting loudly…

And the effect was excellent. The elders of the Ji clan, no matter what, refused to let Ning go risk himself again.

……….

Serpentwing Lake. Within the icy waters of the lake.

Rustle…

Deep within the waters of the lake, space rippled and Ning appeared out of nowhere.

“This is…?” Ning looked at the boundless lakewater above him. He could sense the presence of the aquatic estate. “This is Serpentwing Lake?”

Previously, he had completely relied on a general sense and feeling to activate the Traceless Talisman to teleport him towards the general direction of Serpentwing Lake. Serpentwing Lake was a hundred kilometers in circumference, and so Ning’s teleportation had resulted him being thrown deep into the waters of the lake.

“The aquatic estate. Inwards!” Ning willed it.

As long as he could sense the presence of the aquatic manor, he would be able to enter it.

The enormous phantom of a grizzly’s head appeared in the lakewaters around him, swallowing Ning within its maw.

………..

Within the ancient aquatic estate. The enormous prayer mats lay scattered in the main hall. Everything was just as Ning had left it.

“Eh?” Ning appeared out of nowhere within the main hall. He immediately saw the old black bull and giant yellow bear in the distance.

“I can sense that you have already broken through, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, to the ‘Blood Drop Rebirth’ level. Have you come to enter the Divine Abilities Hall?” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning, a hint of doubt suddenly appearing within its eyes. “Ji Ning, I can sense that your heart is filled with boundless rage, panic, and a murderous intent. What did you encounter, exactly?”

Ning’s heart was still filled with concern for his father, Uncle White, the Patriarch, and the others on Oxhorn Mountain, who were at the brink of death. Upon hearing the words from the giant yellow bear, a light suddenly flashed in his mind!

Right!

The spirit of the aquatic estate!

The old black bull was the spirit of an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, while the giant yellow bear was even more unfathomable; it didn’t even pay much attention to Immortal Juhua. In addition, the giant yellow bear seemed to carry with it an aura of eternity, very similar to the eternal, unextinguishable aura that the image of Lady Nuwa which Ning visualized had.

This aquatic estate, even without his active control, could allow him to go through spatial teleportation? This sort of ability…was simply inconceivable.

“Senior.” Ning gave a brief explanation. “My Ji clan is currently facing a great tribulation. We face a powerful foe, roughly at the early Wanxiang Adept level of power, who has at least three Earth-ranked magic treasures! By relying on my Windwing Evasion, I was able to fight against him, but in the end, I was still defeated by him and forced to flee…senior, dare I ask, can you suggest any method by which I can defeat this Wanxiang Adept, and save my family?”

The giant yellow bear glanced at Ning. “Although you have the Windwing Evasion ability, that’s simply a very crude divine ability which has undergone a simplification process. It only allows your speed and agility to increase! Your actual power, however, is not increased…and so, your flaw is quite evident. If a Wanxiang Adept were to use a large number of magic treasures to attack you and limit your agility, you would definitely be defeated.”

Ning nodded. “Senior, your words are correct. But what should I do to defeat him? If I go to the Divine Abilities Hall and acquire a divine ability, would I be able to defeat that Wanxiang Adept?”

“The Divine Abilities Hall has many divine abilities.” The giant yellow bear said. “If you are able to learn a high-class divine ability, it would be simplicity itself for you to kill even a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept.”

A look of unconcealable excitement appeared on Ning’s face.

The panic and pain in his heart immediately became transformed into hope!

He had to acquire a divine ability!

And then, he would go save his father, Uncle White, the Patriarch, and the others!

“I have reached the Blood Drop Rebirth level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. I can acquire a Mortal-ranked magic treasure from the Treasure Hall.” Ning hurriedly said. “Senior, please let me choose. I will make a quick selection. I’ll choose a powerful magic treasure, so that I can go attempt the Divine Abilities Hall.”

The more powerful he was, the greater his chances would be in challenging the Divine Abilities Hall.

“No need.” The giant yellow bear shook its head. “The Divine Abilities Hall is a test for Fiendgods of later generations. It forbids one from using elemental ki and any magic treasures! You have to use your power as a Fiendgod…and even your weapons will be provided to you by the Divine Abilities Hall.”

“I’m forbidden from using elemental ki and magic treasures?” Ning hesitated slightly, but then he understood.

This was a test. A test of his abilities as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. It made sense that all Ki Refiner things were forbidden.

“You are only five years old.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “You can wait until you are ten. By then, your power will be far greater. I imagine that if you go to the Divine Abilities Hall at that point, you will acquire even more powerful divine abilities. This Divine Abilities Hall is a place you will only be able to enter once. Are you sure you are going to enter now?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I am going to enter the Divine Abilities Hall immediately.”

Perhaps, in five years, he would receive an even more powerful divine ability when he challenged the Divine Abilities Hall.

But his father, Uncle White, and the others wouldn’t be able to wait.

His father, by now, had most likely begun to execute a forbidden technique to delay Snowdragon Mountain. This was very possibly his father’s final hour of life.

“If I can return to Oxhorn Mountain within an hour, perhaps I will be able to save Father.” Ning was filled with hope.

He was fighting for every moment right now.

“Since you’ve decided, then come.” The giant yellow bear strode directly towards a nearby corridor, with Ning hurriedly following from behind. The nearby old black bull mumbled, “What a waste. If you waited five more years, you would definitely acquire an even more powerful divine ability from the Divine Abilities Hall.”

………

The bronze door to the Divine Abilities Hall was shut. The surface of the door was covered with the carving of a single giant hand. The hand seemed to be omnipotent, as though it blocked out the skies and covered the earth, filled with boundless power.

The giant yellow bear only needed to take three steps to travel from the gate of the main hall to the gate of the Divine Abilities Hall. Upon arriving, as though it knew that Ning was currently very nervous, it turned to look at Ning, who was hurrying over like a flash of light.

“Follow me in.” The giant yellow bear said.

Rumble…

The bronze door opened. The insides of the hall were bathed with boundless amounts of gray light. When the gray light fell upon the giant yellow bear and Ning’s bodies, they disappeared without a trace.

“Rumble.” The door to the hall once more swung shut.

The old black bull remained outside the hall. The old black bull raised its head, staring at the gate, then sighed. “Given Ji Ning’s talents, he is even more of a monster than Immortal Juhua. In addition, he entered this aquatic estate at a very young age…his situation is much better than Immortal Juhua’s was. In the past, when Immortal Juhua entered the aquatic estate, he was far older than simply ten years. There was no way he could enter the Divine Abilities Hall at all.”

“If Immortal Juhua had the chance to challenge the Divine Abilities Hall and acquire a powerful divine ability, he probably wouldn’t have ended up becoming a Loose Immortal.” The old black bull sighed. “I wonder what sort of divine ability this Ji Ning will acquire.”

Not even the old black bull knew which divine abilities this Divine Abilities Hall contained.

……….

The blurry, gray area seemed to be an empty void.

Ning and the giant yellow bear appeared out of nowhere within this location. Ning looked around himself, but could see nothing at all.

“This can be said to be the most important part of the entire estate.” The giant yellow bear looked at Niing, then sighed. “I know that your family members are currently in mortal danger, but you only have a single chance to challenge this Divine Abilities Hall. I advise you, wait five more years. Five more years later, when you are more powerful, come and challenge this hall.”

“I’ve made my decision!” Ning said.

“Even the deaths of your family members aren’t as important as this opportunity.” The giant yellow bear said. “You still don’t understand what the divine abilities within this Divine Abilities Hall represent! This Divine Abilities Hall has seven mighty divine abilities; if you are able to acquire the most powerful of them, then in the future, you will even have the potential to dominate the Three Realms. By then, you can even locate your reincarnated family members. Even granting them their memories of their former lives won’t be too hard.”

The giant yellow bear looked at Ning, then said frantically, “Your talent is the best I have seen out of the successors to this estate, ever since Master created it. Don’t squander your talent. I can tell you this…the number one divine ability within the seven divine abilities of the Divine Abilities Hall was personally left here by Master.”

“The other six divine abilities were left behind by Master’s six mighty disciples.”

“If you were to acquire Master’s divine ability…”

“In the future, you have a chance of escaping the Three Realms and becoming a Celestial Immortal, and perhaps even of dominating the Three Realms.” The giant yellow bear said frantically. “In the future, it wouldn’t even be difficult for you to erect an enormous dynasty like the Grand Xia Dynasty, which would exist for untold years.”

Ning, hearing this, was stunned.

At first, the giant yellow bear hadn’t paid him much attention, but ever since he had gained insight into the Rainwater Sword Domain, the giant yellow bear’s attitude towards him had markedly changed.

And now, the giant yellow bear clearly didn’t even want to let him waste this chance to challenge the Divine Abilities Hall.

“I wonder what the first master’s background was?” Ning asked.

“Countless years ago, after Pangu established the universe, but before the Three Realms of the Heaven, Netherworld, and the Mortal Realms were established, and before the three thousand great worlds, and countless minor worlds were created…” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “…as far back as then, the first master had already left behind this estate, for the sake of ensuring that his divine abilities would be passed down. Although Master had six mighty disciples, none of them lived up to Master’s requirements, and thus they did not acquire that mighty divine ability.”

“After leaving down this estate, Master departed. To whence, I know not.”

“After his departure, countless years passed. The War of the Primordial Fiendgods. The birth of the three thousand major worlds and the trillions of minor worlds…” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “It was only due to luck and fate that this estate ended up in this world, one of the major worlds.”

The giant yellow bear said solemnly, “I can tell you this. Given your power, you would at most be able to acquire the third divine ability. As for Master’s divine ability, the chances of you acquiring it are less than one in ten thousand.”

Ning was stunned.

He had guessed long ago that the first owner of the aquatic estate had an extraordinary history to him; he even had left quite a few ‘Pure Yang’ magic treasures in the Treasure Hall, which were above Immortal-ranked magic treasures in power. From this alone, one could tell how powerful the first master had been…but now, it seemed, this person was most likely an incredibly powerful figure of the Three Realms. The giant yellow bear’s words were correct. There was only one chance to challenge the Divine Abilities Hall…and only a single chance to acquire such a powerful divine ability.

The giant yellow bear said, “If you miss this opportunity…you will most likely have to wait until you become a Celestial Immortal before you will have the chance to encounter such a powerful figure and gain another opportunity.”

Ning hesitated slightly, then asked, “Senior, dare I ask, what sort of divine ability do I need to acquire in order to kill a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept?”

“Any of the top three will suffice.”

The giant yellow bear said, “If you are able to acquire the most powerful divine ability which Master left behind, then given how you already have the power of an ordinary late-stage Zifu Disciple Fiendgod, you can use that powerful divine ability to annihilate a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept with a single technique. However, you don’t even have a one-in-ten-thousand chance to acquire that divine ability, at your current level of power. Are you still going to make the attempt? This is your one and only chance to challenge the hall.”

“I will.” Ning didn’t hesitate.

Perhaps, after five years, he would be able to acquire that powerful divine ability, resulting in his future accomplishments being so great that he would be able to dominate the Three Realms, and even find his reincarnated parents and restore their previous memories to them.

But…

Even after his reincarnated parents received their memories back, would ‘they’ still truly be ‘themselves’?

Once they were gone, they would be truly gone!

“Even if I’m not able to acquire that powerful divine ability, I, Ji Ning, can still dominate the Three Realms in the future. I am still planning on meeting with Judge Cui once more.” Ning’s eyes were filled with boundless determination. “What’s more…who says I won’t be able to acquire that powerful divine ability? The chance might be less than one in ten thousand, but that’s still better than zero!”

“Alas! Once you miss this chance, it will be forever gone!” The giant yellow bear shook its head, then disappeared into the void.

Ning was left there by himself, with the empty, gray void.

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Chapter 29 – Strongman

Chapter 29, Strongman

This gray, blurry space had nothing within it, but as Ji Ning stepped on and walked through the gray, misty space, it was as though he was stepping on solid ground.

“Where is the test of the Divine Abilities Hall?” Ning swept his gaze across the area. Suddenly, with a ‘whoosh’ sound, an enormous, pitch-black tablet landed on the ground before him, covered with a dense cluster of more than a hundred Fiendgod characters.

“Use your strength as a Fiendgod! Choose freely from the weapons next to you. Go forth and battle! Divine abilities are consummate skills meant for slaughter. The more strongmen you kill, the more powerful a divine ability you will require. If you kill too few, you might not even receive the seventh divine ability. The seven great divine abilities…they are right there. Kill as wildly as you can. In the instant when you collapse and your body is smashed, the test of the Divine Abilities Hall will conclude.”

He looked at the Fiendgod characters carved atop the giant tablet. Not too far away from the pitch-black tablet, an enormous table suddenly appeared, covered with a large number of weapons. There were hundreds of swords, hundreds of sabers, hundreds of spears, staffs…countless weapons lay densely clustered atop the table.

“So I really can choose as I please.” Ning was surprised by the number of weapons that had appeared. He didn’t dare hesitate at all.

Swish! Swish! He hurriedly picked up two longswords that were comparable to his Darknorth swords.

“Eh?” Ning hesitated slightly. “Just using swordplay and the Rainwater Sword Domain won’t use up too much of my concentration.” Instantly, a large number of small, thin longswords flew up from the table. In total, nine flying swords flew out. The giant yellow bear had only said that for this trial, the participant was not permitted to use any Ki Refiner techniques. As for his divine will…this was the divine will that he had gained through possessing an incredibly powerful soul. Naturally, it couldn’t be considered a Ki Refiner technique.

“If I use my divine will to control these nine swords, although the power will be a bit weak, it will still serve in supporting me.” Ning mused to himself.

This battle…he had to exert all of his strength within it, so as to acquire a more powerful divine ability. If he only received the sixth or seventh divine ability, even with it, he still probably would find it difficult to kill Adept Xu. The worst part of it was, neither the giant yellow bear nor the pitch-black tablet had informed him as to how many he had to kill to acquire the third divine ability or first divine ability.

……

Immediately after Ning selected his swords, the gray mist in the void around him rapidly began to condense, forming one human-shaped figure after another.

“This is!” Ning’s heart clenched. These human-shaped figures were all extremely muscular. They each had three savage eyes in their heads, and their entire bodies were virtually completely naked. The only thing they wore was something akin to a loincloth at their waists. All of their bodies bunched with muscles, and they held various weapons in their hands, such as axes, staffs, and warhammers.

Their breaths rang out like thunder, and their steps caused the earth to shake. Their bodies were filled with a sky-shaking, savage aura. And in an instant, the area around Ning became completely filled with hundreds of these human-shaped freaks.

“These are the ‘strongmen’ which the tablet spoke of?” Ning was startled. He had seen many books, and according to some of the legends recorded in the books, some of the great powers had ‘strongmen’ under their command. The so-called ‘strongmen’ were used to work as coolies to do physical labor. There were many different kinds of them, such as gateguard strongmen, cauldron-bearing strongmen, mountain-guarding strongmen, or even mountain-bearing strongmen and seastriding strongmen…

They had different missions, different names, and naturally different levels of power as well.

Strongmen, according to the legends, generally weren’t living creatures. They were servants with simple intelligences that were created by some of the great powers. But of course, there were some powerful experts who would serve some of the great powers, and willingly take on the title of ‘strongman’; this occurred as well. However, ordinary and extremely numerous strongmen such as these weren’t actual living creatures.

“Kill!” “Kill!” The hundreds of savage, weapon-bearing strongmen rushed forward like the wind, charging towards Ning while running across the foggy ‘ground’. They roared the Fiendgod word for ‘kill’, and their savage triple eyes were locked on Ning. They moved so quickly that in the blink of an eye, they arrived next to Ning, who was three hundred meters away.

“Die!” Rainwater slowly began to fall, encompassing an area of hundreds of square meters.

The rainwater instantly became as sharp as knives. Instantly, it was as though thousands of knives fell down and chopped towards those strongmen. The rainwater, carrying the profoundness of the Dao within them, contained astonishing power. The strongmen all let out savage howls, but were chopped into pieces, and then transformed into fog which once more dissipated into the heavens.

From far away, many strongmen continued to materialize, in even greater numbers than before.

“Kill!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all. Controlling his rainwater, he began to attack those strongmen. The Rainwater Sword Domain was a Dao Domain, and was based off the insights he had gained into the Dao. As for the rainwater, it was formed from the energy of the world itself. These, too, could not be considered Ki Refiner techniques.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed slightly. “The strongmen are growing more powerful and becoming faster. Their bodies are growing sturdy as well. Even their axe and hammer techniques are increasing in power.” It was clearly becoming a bit harder for him to kill them through his Rainwater Sword Domain.

…….

This region of dreary gray space was producing strongmen nonstop. Ning, by relying on his Rainwater Sword Domain, was able to massacre them on a large scale, and so he was able to kill them quite quickly. In just the amount of time needed for five breaths, Ning was able to execute more than ten rounds of thousands of strongmen.

“Slashslashslash…”

The rainwater continued to chop down, leaving scars on the muscular bodies of the strongmen, but were unable to kill them now. “It’s no longer enough to rely on the Rainwater Sword Domain.” A fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes. First, he condensed the nearby rainwater into swiveling petals of Waterflame Lotuses, and using this enormous petals of fire and water, he began to wildly crush and grind down the strongmen. The strongmen relied on their weapons to block and to dodge, but in the end, some still perished.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Nine sword flashed pierced through the skies. These were the nine swords which Ning controlled through his divine will. Under Ning’s control, they all unleashed Ning’s most powerful sword attack…Rain Line! The reason why Ning had previously selected just nine swords was because he wanted to unleash his most powerful sword attacks. Ning’s divine will wasn’t able to control too many of them in doing so.

“Cutcutcut…” It was like chopping vegetables. The divine will controlled the swords at merely the early Zifu Adept stage of power, but under the power of the Rainwater Sword Domain…the strength of the blows was absolutely astonishing. Sword light flew everywhere, and many warriors were chopped into two halves and dissipated into mist.

By relying on his Rainwater Sword Domain, Waterflame Lotuses, and swords controlled by divine will…Ning was able to slaughter the strongmen at an astonishing speed. The amount of time Ning had spent after using the Traceless Talisman to teleport to Serpentwing Lake, then entering the underwater estate was actually quite low. The only place he spent a little extra time was in conversation with the giant yellow bear, but that was far from even being as much time as it took to boil a kettle of tea.

As Ning was engaging in a wild battle against the strongmen in the Divine Abilities Hall…

Oxhorn Mountain. Halfway up the mountain.

“Yichuan. You must be careful in this mission.” Ji Ninefire looked at Ji Yichuan. “Delay as much as you can. There are only five of us left, but we need to try to delay for nearly two days. Although you are ill, delay them as long as you can.”

“I understand.” Yichuan nodded. He looked at the Whitewater Hound by his side, who used its head to gently nudge Yichuan, clearly unwilling to part from him. “Little White.” Yichuan gently stroked the Whitewater Hound’s head.

Yichuan’s parents had died long ago. In his heart, the three who held the most paramount positions were his wife, his son, and his lifelong brother, ‘Little White’. The amount of time Little White had been by his side far surpassed the amount of time his wife and his son had been by his side. Only Little White had always accompanied him. They had adventured together…and even though death was in front of them, neither would retreat in the slightest.

“I’m going now.” Yichuan lowered his head and gently kissed the Whitewater Hound on the forehead. The Whitewater Hound’s eyes became moist. As for Yichuan, he turned his head and charged into a corridor that had just opened within the nether fog. The Whitewater Hound escorted Yichuan into the fog…he truly wished to accompany Yichuan, but as soon as Yichuan used his forbidden techniques, his power would immediately rise. In addition, with the support of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, his power would become truly astonishing. As for the Whitewater Hound, as he was merely a peak Xiantian spirit-beast, he would be nothing more than a burden.

He knew very well that he would only be a burden. That it would be dangerous. He still wanted to go…because he knew that his most beloved, important elder brother, ‘Ji Yichuan’, was probably going to die. How could he not go?

“Whitewater Hound.” Ninefire spoke out. The Whitewater Hound turned to look at Patriarch Ninefire. “My Ji clan has only five members remaining here; we will only just be able to maintain the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.” Ninefire said. “After Yichuan dies, only four will remain, and the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation will no longer be at peak power. I have here a portion of ‘liquefied elemental essence’ that you can use to try and make a breakthrough. If you are able to break through to become a Zifu-level Diremonster, after Yichuan dies, you can take his place.”

Because none of them would be able to escape from the grand sealing formation…even if they died, they had to make their deaths more spectacular.

“Woof.” The Whitewater Hound nodded gently, then opened his mouth and accepted the jade flask. Originally, Ning had used up a third of the liquefied elemental essence, breaking through to the Zifu Disciple and establishing his Zifu as an early-stage Disciple! Ning didn’t waste the remaining amount of liquefied elemental essence, leaving it behind for the Patriarch.

The Whitewater Hound’s eyes were filled with hope. He wanted to breakthrough and help his master once again. Help his elder brother. The person he was closest to in the entire world.

…….

The underwater estate. Outside the Divine Abilities Hall. The old black bull and the giant yellow bear were present. “Alas!” The giant yellow bear sighed. “Big Brother, what is it?” The old black bull said hurriedly.

“It is as I expected.” The giant yellow bear sighed. “I have waited here for countless years. This Ji Ning is the only person I have encountered who truly has a chance at acquiring the divine ability which Master left behind. His soul is so powerful that he is capable of using his divine will, and his understanding of the Dao is quite deep as well, at the Dao Domain realm. By relying on his Rainwater Sword Domain and using divine will…he has been slaughtering and massacring countless strongmen. But now that the strongmen are growing more and more powerful, he is finding it more and more difficult. Even though he himself is also using two swords to battle, he still finds it quite difficult.”

“If he were to wait five more years…his [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] would probably reach the eighth or ninth stage. Given how quickly he gains insight into the Dao, in five years, he will have made astonishing improvements in this regard as well.”

“His divine body will be stronger, and his insights into the Dao greater. By then, he absolutely would be capable of acquiring the divine ability which Master left behind. What a pity, what a pity.” The giant yellow bear sighed.

“Then he…?” The old black bull said, worried. “His killing speed is quite fast. In the time it takes to brew tea, he killed tens of thousands of strongmen. But I can tell from his strength that it would be hard for him to obtain even the third divine ability.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “As for the first divine ability, that’s unfathomably far away. What a pity, what a pity. If he waited five more years…”

“Yes…but he wasn’t willing to wait five more years.” The old black bull sighed as well.

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Chapter 30 – Whitewater Hound Transforms

Chapter 30, Whitewater Hound Transforms

One strongman after another continued to condense from within the gray, misty void. These strongmen were all incomparably savage and fearless. Wielding their warhammers, spears, axes, and other weapons, they charged forth, bellowing that ancient Fiengod word for ‘kill’.

The rain fell down like sheets of curtains. One layer of watery walls swirled through these strongmen. The ‘rainwater’ of the Rainwater Sword Domain was no longer capable of killing these strongmen. All Ji Ning could do with it was to use the rainwater to slow them down as much as possible.

“Slash!” “Chop!” “Pierce!” Nine sword flashes danced in the skies. Some strongmen died after their heads were pierced through. Others died through bisection. Still others died through decapitation…

“Die, all of you.” Ning wielded two swords in his hands, executing his divine ability, ‘Windwing Evasion’, while on his back, a pair of wings created from the Crimsonbright divine power had manifested. This was the true face of the Windwing Evasion! Originally, the Yuchi clan had wanted to hide the fact that their clan had a divine ability, and so they had ordered their descendants to always use wing-type magic treasures when executing the technique.

How could a true divine ability require the supporting help of a magic treasure?

“Swoosh!” Ning moved as fast a ghost, curving through the masses in a solitary line, and wherever he passed, the two swords in his hands accompanied him, transforming into two arcing sword flashes.

Slash! Two rows of strongmen were instantly chopped into two pieces. They died, and then dissipated into mist once more. “Kill.” Ning swept out with his swords, and wherever he struck, strongmen fell and perished.

“Difficult. Starting to grow difficult.” A hint of worry had appeared on Ji Ning’s face. “The Rainwater Sword Domain and the Waterflame Lotuses are now unable to kill them. I have to rely on the nine swords that I am controlling through my divine will, and every single sword is only able to kill one of them at once.”

At the very beginning, those nine swords controlled through divine sense were able to sweep through many strongmen at once. But now, clearly, every single sword had to focus on a single strongman. Only the two swords he personally wielded were capable of killing a row of enemies at once!

……

Strongmen continued to die, but the gray, misty void continued to constantly generated even more strongmen. The newly born strongmen had even more savage auras, and wielded even greater might.

Chop! Chop! Chop! The nine flying swords left behind wounds on the bellowing strongmen, but they continued to charge towards Ning.

“It’s finally come to this. This moment has finally come. These newly born strongmen can no longer be killed by the swords controlled through divine will alone.” Ning gritted his teeth, transforming himself into a streak of light repeatedly, and his the swords in his hands howled out, chopping through swathes of strongmen. Only the sharp swords he personally wielded were able to kill these strongmen now.

After all, the power of the swords he controlled through divine will was merely at the early Zifu stage. But Ning’s physical strength as a Fiendgod refiner was at the late Zifu level…he was two levels higher than he should have been at, thanks to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and so it was only natural that the two sharp swords he personally wielded would be more powerful.

“Kill.” Ning continued to kill with all his strength…and the giant yellow bear, outside of the Divine Abilities Hall, could see exactly what was going on within.

“These are his last death-struggles.” The giant yellow bear sighed. “Ji Ning is about to admit defeat.” “Admit defeat?” The old black bull asked. “Will he be able to receive the third divine ability?”

The giant yellow bear shook his head. “He’s still a bit off. His current Rainwater Sword Domain and his divine will are now completely useless. He can only rely on the two swords in his hands to kill. His sword technique is exceptional, especially given the fact that his dual swords are able to reinforce each other…and thus, he will be able to hold on for a bit longer. However, it will be quite difficult and hard to say if he will successfully acquire the third divine ability.”

“Alas.” The old black bull was resigned as well. “Soon. He will come out soon.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “What a pity. He truly did have a chance at acquiring Master’s divine ability.”

………..

Oxhorn Mountain. Halfway up the mountain.

Ji Ninefire could sense everything which was going on within the grand formation. He was currently focused on two things; the first was Ji Yichuan’s sneak attacks on the forces of Snowdragon Mountain, and the other was the Whitewater Hound’s breakthrough.

“Yichuan truly is wise.” Ninefire’s eyes held amusement within them, but there was a hint of grief hidden within the laughter. “His natural talent is far greater than Truekeep’s. In the past, when he went to roam the Darknorth Seas, he was already at the middle Zifu stage. If he hadn’t suffered that disaster on the way back, he probably would be close to the peak Zifu stage by now.”

If it hadn’t been for a monster like Ji Ning appearing, Yichuan would have definitely been acknowledged as the number one genius of the Ji clan.

“This battle will be the final battle of Yichuan’s life.” Ninefire watched, watched Yichuan’s final, most glorious moment. But suddenly…

A powerful, mysterious aura appeared nearby him, but soon, that aura then dissipated. “The Whitewater Hound!” A look of surprised joy appeared in Ninefire’s eyes. “He made a breakthrough? He made it?”

The Whitewater Hound was a Godbeast that was legendary for its intelligence. Yichuan had mentioned before to Ninefire that this brother of his, the Whitewater Hound, was an extremely high level of comprehension, and had surpassed the Zifu level in that regard long ago. Only, as a Godbeast, the amount of energy that he needed to accumulate to break through was significant. Thus, Ninefire had given the jade bottle to the Whitewater Hound on a gamble. Who would’ve thought that he’d truly succeed?

“Coming.” Ninefire turned his head to look. A white-robed man walked over. This man had a head of long, snowy white hair that fell to his waist. His face was strikingly similar to Yichuan’s, but his eyes held a hint of kindness within them…if Yichuan was described as a glacier that had been existing for ten thousand years, then this man was like the spring wind that brought a sense of warmth.

“Whitewater Hound?” Ninefire looked at the white-robed man, calling out in surprise. Naturally, he knew that this man in front of him was the human transformation of the Godbeast ‘Whitewater Hound’. Only, he was surprised at the Whitewater Hound’s appearance. It must be understood that one’s appearance stemmed from one’s heart; the appearance which some Diremonsters took on after transforming wasn’t based purely on their own choice. Their appearance after transforming wasn’t up to their control.

Everything was determined by their heart! Some monsters, in human form, would appear cold and sinister. Some would appear tyrannous and overbearing. Others would look ugly and crooked, while still others would be devilish and enchanting…everything was determined by their hearts.

“His appearance is striking similar to Yichuan’s; those who didn’t know him might take him to be Yichuan’s sibling. From this, one can tell how important Yichuan is to him.” Ninefire murmured to himself. “In addition, there isn’t a hint of the foul, evil aura which usually emanates from foreheads of monsters. The opposite; he gives off a calm aura…he makes others feel as though they were facing the moist spring wind. It seems the Dao-heart of this Whitewater Hound is extraordinary.

This type of Godbeast, the Whitewater Hound, was legendary for its wisdom, and was very kind-hearted. According to legend, they had a hint of the bloodline of the primordial Fiendgod, ‘Whitemarsh’.

Godbeasts generally had their own unique innate divine abilities. For example, the Azure Skysnake was capable of the Void Blink technique. As for the Whitewater Hound…although it didn’t have any special innate abilities, its innate characteristics was its wisdom and kindness.

“Patriarch.” The Whitewater Hound looked at Ninefire. “Whitewater Hound.” Ninefire said. “Everyone says that Whitewater Hounds are incomparably wise. Our Ji clan currently faces a great disaster; do you have anything you can do?”

Although this type of Godbeast, Whitewater Hounds, were extremely common, very few were able to break through to the Zifu level. This was the first which Ninefire had ever seen.

“Upon being locked within this grand sealing formation, what could I possibly do?” The Whitewater Hound gently shook his head. “The only choice is to fight!”

Ninefire then asked, “What are you skilled in?” “I like to analyze formations.” The Whitewater Hound said softly. “Elder Brother Yichuan, in the past, helped me collect some books on formations. Elder Sister Snow also gifted me with some books on formations. I normally focus on analyzing formations, and have gained significant insights into them.”

Ninefire was a bit disappointed. Formation? The Ji clan had established the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation; even if the Whitewater Hound was skilled in formations, what use would it be?

“I also have some unranked formation flags which I used in the past when developing formations.” The Whitewater Hound said. “By using these formation flags and setting them up around Snowdragon Mountain’s forces, I should be able to make the local elemental pulses and ley lines more complicated, making it harder for Nong Zidao to analyze and break through them.”

“What!” Ninefire was shocked. “You…you are able to…” Ninefire was completely stunned. An amateur might not understand what the Whitewater Hound’s words meant, but Ninefire was a formations expert as well. It must be understood that different formations had different ways of activating the energy of the world; there were different levels and methods. For example, although the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation and the bewildering black fog illusion formation were able to link together, when it came to time spent analyzing, the black bewildering fog formation wasn’t able to do anything to Nong Zidao.

The two formations had different mechanisms for using the power of the world. Naturally, they wouldn’t be able to impact each other. To impact each other…that meant one formation had to be able to guide the natural energy of the world in a way which was very similar to the nether fog’s, to the point of becoming one. The difficulty of doing this was no less than breaking the nether fog formation itself!

“You?” Ninefire stared at the Whitewater Hound, stunned, then said with absolute excitement, “If you are able to do this, that will make the nether fog even more difficult to break. Perhaps we’ll be able to delay for two days.”

The Whitewater Hound’s gaze turned distant. “Given the speed by which Nong Zidao defeated the nether energy surrounding the Dragonclaw Formation…even with my influence, we will be lucky if we are able to delay by two days.”

“I have some additional formation flags here. Would you need them?” Ninefire hurriedly said. “I’m only using them to affect the local elemental energy ley lines, not to engage in battle. These unranked formation flags are sufficient.” The Whitewater Hound said. “In addition, I’ve spent a long period of time practicing with these unranked formation flags. I am very familiar with them.”

“Fine. Hurry and go.” Ninefire said excitedly. The Whitewater Hound, in the shape of a man, walked towards a corridor that had appeared within the nether fog, and then his body turned into a mist which reformed into the Godbeast, Whitewater Hound. Generally speaking, monsters were more accustomed to their own, original form.

“Formidable, formidable.” Excitement was in Ninefire’s eyes. “Everyone says that Whitewater Hounds are Godbeasts legendary for their fame. Who would have imagined that they could reach such heights in analyzing formations as well…

……….

“Little White!” Yichuan was holding a Dao-seal in his hand, but he stared, astonished, as a snowy white hound appeared by his side. This snowy white hound quickly transformed into a white-robed, white-haired man.

“You broke through?” Yichuan was both surprised and delighted. He stared at the man who appeared so similar to him, and yet who had a softer, gentler aura. Yichuan felt a sense of closeness from deep in his heart…because this was his brother, his lifelong friend.

The Whitewater Hound looked at Yichuan, a hint of moisture in his eyes. “This will be the last battle that I shall undergo with you, Elder Brother. In this battle, we shall fight side by side.”

“Alright.” Yichuan slung his arm around the Whitewater Hound’s shoulders, unable to keep the tears from coming out of his eyes as well. “Let’s fight, shoulder to shoulder.”

The Whitewater Hound laughed. To battle to the death alongside his elder brother, one last time…it was enough.

Within the underwater estate’s Divine Abilities Hall. Within that gray, blurry void.

Slash!

Blood spray outwards. In this place, only Ji Ning would shed blood; these strongmen, upon being killed, would transform into mist. “Argh.” Ning clenched his two swords, continuing to fight with all his strength. They blocked a warhammer blow from a strongman, and then struck forward, piercing through the fat strongman’s skull. The hammer-wielding, battle-armored fat strongman dispersed into mist.

“Kill! Kill!” Ning’s eyes were filled with flame, the flame of stubbornness. But strongmen began to cluster tightly around him, each of them no weaker than Dong Ziqi in power. Ning was now only able to kill one strongman at a time, and as they continuously charged forward, clustering attacks against him, Ning was about to be crushed beneath their tide…

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Chapter 31 – Opening the Celestial Eye, Manifesting the Divine Sense

Chapter 31, Opening the Celestial Eye, Manifesting the Divine Sense

Blood splattered everywhere. Waterflame Lotuses continued to swivel in the area around Ji Ning, and Ning himself continued to stand firm and kill. “I have to acquire one of the top three divine abilities.” Ning remembered what the spirit of the estate had said; he would at most be able to acquire the third divine ability. No matter how powerful that giant yellow bear, the spirit of the manor, was, he would only be able to give a vague prediction. He didn’t dare say for certain if Ning would acquire the third divine ability.

What did this mean? Even if Ning went all out, it was hard to say if he would acquire it. If that was the case, then of course Ning would have to go all out!

“Kill.” Ning’s mind was filled with the clear images of the old, cunning Ji Ninefire; of Granny Shadow, who had threatened suicide to force him away; of Ah Xing, the devoted old servant of Granny Shadow; of the heroic, steadfast Truekeep; and of course, of his glacial-face, warm-hearted father, Ji Yichuan. And Uncle White, who had doted on him ever since he was young…

“I want you to all live! Father, Uncle White, Patriarch. You all must live.” Ning stared at the strongmen charging towards him, and in his mind, there was only a single word – kill! Kill! Kill all who barred his way!

He had those he wished to protect! Those he valued! Nobody could take them away!

…….

The nine swords controlled by divine will assisted Ning, helping him block nearby attacks. Those nine swords supported him, but the flood of strongmen continued to roar furiously as they threw themselves towards the encircled Ning. Ning’s struggling efforts grew weaker and weaker, but his gaze was filled with ever-greater berserk fury and steadfast resolve.

He knew what he needed to do. He knew his own heart.

“Bang!”

Within his soul, there was a colossal explosion, a sound akin to Pangu splitting open the heavens and establishing the universe. Ning’s divine will, which had originally been those nine flying swords…could now sense with incomparable clarity the location of every single strongman around him. He could even clearly sense every single bit of skin, flesh, and hair on their bodies. That distant, pitch-black tablet nearby. Those giant tables, filled with large amounts of weapons. It was all within his range of sense.

It was as though…Ning had gained an additional eye, an eye which could clearly see everything around him, letting nothing escape!

“Divine sense!” Ning instantly understood. His divine will had already evolved to a new, higher level. Zifu Disciples were generally all capable of dividing their minds, and Wanxiang Adepts were mostly capable of manifesting their divine will to control material items. Only Primal Daoists were capable of opening the Celestial Eye and manifest their divine sense. Everything within the range of one’s divine sense would be revealed, as though seen clearly with the naked eye.

It was extremely hard to progress in the soul, but in the path of Immortals, the soul was incomparably important. Only a sufficiently powerful soul would be able to command ever-greater amounts of elemental energy. If an ordinary mortal was in possession of the elemental energy of an Immortal, there was only one possible outcome; he wouldn’t be able to tame the elemental energy, which would wildly burst forth and shatter his bones and his flesh, slaying him.

Advancing in the soul was something which could be done through visualization techniques, through gaining comprehension into the Dao, through strengthening the body to support the soul, or through training one’s will.

Training the will…another phrase for it might be training one’s Dao-heart! Ning had already reached the ‘divine will’ level when he was eleven. In the past five years, Ning had made astonishing amounts of progress with regards to comprehending the Dao, eventually reaching the Dao Domain level. Clearly, this had all been very beneficial to his soul.

His body had just reached the Blood-Drop Rebirth level as a Fiendgod refiner, allowing him to once more strengthen the body to support the soul. And, in the past five years, he had visualized the [Nuwa Painting] every single day, allowing him to rise in power ceaselessly. And today…

Ning had first battled at Oxhorn Mountain, then witnessed his clansmen decide to fight to the death, and had even chosen to flee alone, then undergo the Divine Abilities Hall’s trial in the hopes of acquiring one of the top three divine abilities. Everything he had experienced today…it had all tested and forged his will. In utter despair, his will had grown only stronger. And his Dao-heart had become even more perfectly pure and durable.

The Dao-heart and the will…to the soul, they were like the commanders of an army! The same soldiers, if led by strict military discipline, would only rise in battle-strength considerably. But if the military leadership was poor, they would be much less effective.

The same was true for the Dao-heart and the will. A soul, when determined, would allow the Immortal practitioner to unleash great power. Even if one’s base of elemental ki energy was extremely deep, one would still need to use will in order to forcibly summon and activate that power. When one’s will was weak, however, the excessively formidable amount of elemental energy would be rendered unusable, and perhaps even some simple bewitching illusions would cause one to perish.

Thus, to Immortal practitioners, training one’s Dao-heart was extremely important. The more perfect and pure one’s Dao-heart was, the farther one would be able to travel on the Immortal path.

“Five years of comprehending the Dao. Five years of visualization. My increase in power as a Fiendgod refiner. All of these things established a firm, solid base for me. Today, my Dao-heart has been further tempered, allowing me to break through at one blow, to open my Celestial Eye and establish my divine sense.” A vertical-pupiled eye suddenly appeared in the middle of Ning’s forehead. This vertical-pupiled eye was the corridor to the ‘soul’ in Ning’s consciousness; it was as though Ning’s soul was staring towards the outside world through this eye.

Within the Celestial Eye’s range of vision, Ning could instantly tell how these strongmen had been condensed from the fog and energy. “Close.” The eye in the middle of Ning’s forehead closed.

Upon the Celestial Eye opening, even some of the high level transformations which various monsters and devils were capable of unleashing would be easily seen through. In addition, the divine sense covered an extremely wide region, and could see everything within it with perfect clarity. Even in the middle of a bewildering formation, the divine sense could sense everything clearly, preventing it from bewitching Ning.

Ordinary formations, especially bewildering formations, were generally of limited use against Immortal practitioners who were capable of using divine sense. But of course, there were some powerful formations capable of bewildering even the divine sense, but the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts didn’t have access to those sorts of grand formations.

…………

“Whoosh!” The nine swords, controlled by divine will, suddenly increased in power tremendously. Nine rays of sword light howled as they flashed through the air, chopping one row after another of strongmen into two pieces. All of their heads went flying, their bodies shattering and dissolving into the mist.

“Kill, kill kill.” A look of delight appeared on Ning’s face. “All of you, come over here.” Ning stared towards the table in front of him, which was covered with many weapons. One sword after another rose into the air, and a dense cluster of nearly a hundred flying swords flew towards him, all of them transforming into flowing, liquid streams of sword light. With each blow, they slaughtered a heap of strongmen, and many strongmen constantly collapsed, dispersing into mist.

Nearly a hundred swords, transformed into nearly a hundred rays of sword light, danced around Ning. As for Ning himself, he stood there, not needing to fight personally any longer.

“My divine will is now too powerful.” Ning was completely stunned and overjoyed. His divine will had undergone a qualitative change, and its range had been expanded to as far as he could see with the naked eye. As for the power of his divine will to control material objects, it had risen by a terrifying amount! Previously, when his divine will had controlled those swords, it had done so with the power of an early-stage Zifu-level Fiendgod. But now, the evolved divine will contained the power of a peak-stage Zifu-level Fiendgod!

The power of his divine will was now even greater than Ning’s own physical power as a Fiendgod! Such a terrifying strength…when amplified by the Rainwater Sword Domain, even when just using some simple sword techniques rather than the ‘Rain Line’ technique, each blow swept through a crowd of enemies. In addition, the controlled swords didn’t need to worry about defense, and thus were able to display sword techniques in an even fiercer, more vicious manner. Their power would naturally be tremendous.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Groups after groups of strongmen collapsed. Under the dominating, sweeping prowess of those hundred swords, the strongmen died at an astonishing rate. “My divine will is now even more powerful than I am in close-quarters combat.” Ning murmured to himself. His soul had advanced far, far more than he had as a Fiendgod Body Refiner or as a Ki Refiner. His soul was already at the level of ‘Opening the Celestial Eye, Manifesting the Divine Sense’, a level which only Primal Daoists should be able to reach.

Every sweeping blow of the controlled swords contained greater power than Ning’s earlier, personal blows. These hundred swords were like a hundred amplified Ning’s, dominating the region. Groups of strongmen continuously collapsed, and as the rate at which they died quickened, the rate at which they were reformed quickened slightly as well.

New strongmen continuously were condensed from the mist. Kill, kill, kill! The hundred flashing sword lights struck out like roaring dragons, bellowing through the air. However, the strongmen were growing increasingly powerful as well. The killing rate dropped from a group per blow, to five or six per blow, to two or three per blow, all the way down to one per blow. However, because the hundred swords were fighting in unision, they were still extremely efficient.

“Whew!”

Ning looked around himself. It was completely silent. There was no motion or sound, only those hundred flying swords that were hovering in the air. “No more?” Ning was stunned. “It’s empty?” Ning stared at his surroundings. The only thing present was that pitch-black tablet. The many weapons lay soundlessly on their table. It was as though this world was telling Ning…that he had killed all of the strongmen!

Whoosh. A figure appeared by his side. It was the giant yellow bear, who stared at Ning, surprise in his eyes. “Are you the reincarnation of a Celestial Immortal?” The giant yellow bear murmured. “Or the reincarnation of a Primordial Fiendgod?”

Giving how astonishingly keen Ning’s hearing was, he naturally heard the murmured words of the giant yellow bear. Reincarnation of a Celestial Immortal? Reincarnation of a Primordial Fiendgod? Others might not know about their past lives, but Ning knew it with perfect clarity.

“Simply by relying on comprehending the Dao, tempering your Dao-heart, and training your Fiendgod body…it is virtually impossible for you to raise your soul to the level of gaining ‘divine sense’.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Immortal practitioners generally need to first reach the Primal Daoist level. With the soul being nurtured within primal energy, it will grow and develop, eventually opening the Celestial Eye and establishing the divine sense.”

“First, become a Primal Daoist; then, acquire divine sense. This is the case for virtually everyone! Less than one in ten thousand Wanxiang Adepts would be able to acquire divine sense.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Generally speaking, those who are capable of acquiring divine sense prior to the Primal Daoist level are in actuality Immortals and other great powers who reincarnated. Or, of course, those who encountered a tremendously good twist of fate. Can it be that you are a reincarnated Immortal? But if you truly were a reincarnated Immortal, there should have been elders of your school who came to welcome you long ago. Or…can it be that you encountered another fortunate twist of fate, even before you entered the underwater estate?”

Ning just blinked, not saying anything. Twist of fate? Would encountering the Lord of Cui Palace of the Netherworld Kingdom, and being bestowed with the visualization technique, [Nuwa Painting] count? Would the fact that, by luck, he managed to avoid drinking Grandma Meng’s soup before being reincarnated and thus was able to train in the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique as an infant count?

“Elder, which divine ability can I acquire?” Ning hurriedly asked. “You killed all of the strongmen. Naturally, you can acquire the first.” The giant yellow bear blinked. “Follow me.”

He grabbed Ning with his paw. Whoosh! The surrounding region of gray mist began to tremble and distort. Ning even had the strange feeling that time was passing extremely slowly, then extremely quickly.

“How much time passed?” Ning was rather nervous. He was afraid that if too much time passed, unforeseen variables would occur at Oxhorn Mountain. “Don’t worry. No need to be concerned over how long this process of receiving the divine ability will take.” The giant yellow bear said. “In the past, the manifestation and the divine ability which Master left behind was placed in an area completely sealed off from space and time. Thus, by comparison to the outside world, time here was virtually frozen. You could spend a century here, but only a single breath’s worth of time would occur in the outside world.”

Ning was secretly shocked, but he quickly calmed himself. When he had been in the Netherworld Kingdom, the regions near the Bridge of Despair moved at extremely different rates of time. Clearly, some of the great powers in the Three Realms were capable of changing the flow of time.

“I wonder what sort of divine ability the first master of the estate left behind.” Ning secretly mused to himself.

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Chapter 32 – Receiving the Divine Ability

Chapter 32, Receiving the Divine Ability

They were surrounded by fog. Ji Ning and the giant yellow bear stood above the fog, and the previously contorting space and time had calmed down. “That is…!” Ning stared towards the front. Far away, in the distant corners of that boundless gray fog, there was a towering building that flashed with eye-catching golden light. It was like an altar. From the distance, one could see that it had layers of stairs, which led towards the very top of this building.

“Why are you standing here like an idiot?” The giant yellow bear grabbed Ning by the elbow, then walked forward, traveling multiple kilometers with every single step. The distant, towering edifice became clearer and clearer, and its golden light became more and more dazzling. At the same time, the boundless majesty it emanated caused Ning’s heart to tremble.

Moments later, Ning arrived at the very lowest step of this towering edifice. Raising his head, he stared upwards at the various steps. He could immediately tell that there were most likely thousands of steps, from the ground to the peak.

“Go.” The giant yellow bear raised his head, looking towards the peak of the altar as well. “Follow the steps to the very top, and accept the divine ability which Master left behind.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. This was his stroke of good fortune! An incomparably precious stroke of good fortune! This divine ability had been left behind by one of the great powers of the Three Realms which had been created after Pangu established the universe! After learning it, he would be able to kill Adept Xu Li and save his father and family members.

“Father. Wait for your child a few moments longer.” Ning immediately began to run up the steps. But as soon as he stepped atop the first one….

BANG! It was as though the world had collapsed. Ning sensed his entire soul tremble and rumble. At the instant when Ning’s right foot landed on the first stair, it was as though he had been fused with the entire altar, and ancient, long-gone information began to transmit directly into Ning’s soul, burrowing into his memories.

The transmission had begun! Ning hadn’t expected that he would begin to receive the transmission of the divine ability upon stepping onto the very first step…although he was caught somewhat off-guard, Ning quickly began to submerge himself in understanding the ancient information that was being sent towards him.

After a few moments, Ning stepped onto the second stair, and more of that ancient information flooded towards him. One step, another step, yet another step…this ancient, profound information slowly entered Ning’s soul, having been divided into countless little bits and pieces, so as to allow Ning to adapt to this process. As this was a truly, incredibly powerful divine ability, if all the information regarding it had been instantly sent into Ning’s soul, even though Ning’s soul was powerful, he would’ve instantly been rendered an idiot.

“It has begun.” From the below the altar, the giant yellow bear lifted his head, watching as Ning took one step after another atop the altar. His eyes held a very complicated look within them; excitement, anticipation, and wistfulness. “The divine ability which Master left behind has finally found an heir.”

“Master…are you still alive?” A hint of tears appeared within the giant yellow bear’s eyes. In his heart, he only had a single, true master. That was the first master of the estate. The four masters who had come afterwards, including Ji Ning, were in reality the heirs to the first master, but unfortunately, the second, third, and fourth masters hadn’t been able to acquire so much as a single one of the divine abilities. Naturally, they couldn’t be considered true successors. But now, Ji Ning was finally beginning to receive this divine ability.

“Master’s successor.” The giant yellow bear’s had a lost look in his eyes, and his thoughts were whirling about. When the first master had left behind this estate then left, the giant yellow bear had known…that the first master had gone to deal with a tremendous tribulation. Precisely because even the first master wasn’t absolutely confident in his ability to survive the tribulation, he had created this estate, as he was unwilling to permit the divine ability he was proudest of to simply disappear with him.

Countless years had passed…the Three Realms had become fixed and orderly. The three thousand major worlds and the trillions of minor worlds had been born. But his master had never returned to this estate. This filled the giant yellow bear’s heart with unease. Was his master still alive? Although he worried about his master in his heart, he continued to obey his master’s order, and treated finding a successor as the most important matter of all.

……….

One step. Then another step. Atop the towering, lofty edifice, Ning continued to slowly advance upwards. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but finally, he had reached the top.

Only now did Ning awaken from his trance. The primordial, ancient divine ability’s information as well as tricks and knacks had all been infused into his soul. They were like words that had been printed atop his soul itself; even if Ning wanted to forget them, he wouldn’t be able to. And even if someone used a technique to search his soul, they wouldn’t be able to find anything.

“The divine ability…[Starseizer Hand].” Ning murmured gently to himself. He could clearly see one image after another in his mind. There was a vast, boundless void, and within it, there was a giant hand that seemed to be countless kilometers in length. The giant hand passed through the endless void, actually snatching at one of the stars within the void and easily crushing it into dust.

Under the strikes of that infinitely large hand, the vast, towering bodies of a countless sea of Fiendgods who were shouting boastfully were all smashed into nothingness.

That giant hand cupped a world within it, and trapped within the world was a fiery Fiendgod who radiated flames. With a gentle pinch of the giant hand, the world was shattered and the Fiendgod perished.

……

“Beyond the Three Realms, there is the infinite void. The void contains the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, the two most exalted of celestial bodies, as well as numerous other powerful stars. These stars are infinitely majestic and powerful, and even Celestial Immortals would find it difficult to do anything to them. Some of the bits and pieces of rubble which fall down from these stars, after passing through the endless, infinite void, might land on various worlds, where they will be treated as precious materials for forging magic treasures. And yet, my master’s divine ability is named the ‘Starseizer’; from this, one can imagine how infinitely powerful it is.” The giant yellow bear appeared by Ning’s side.

Ning nodded lightly. After having received this divine ability, he could clearly sense how terrifyingly powerful it was. It’s power completely surpassed his imagination. Ning understood, now, why the giant yellow bear had wanted for him to wait five years…why he had felt that it would be better to let Ning’s father and family die, rather than lose the chance to acquire this divine ability.

However, what was meant to be would be. Although Ning had stubbornly insisted on immediately challenging the Divine Abilities Hall, in the end, he had still acquired this divine ability.

“In the end, you still learned this divine ability.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “If it weren’t for the fact that your soul had reached the ‘divine will’ level, even five years later, you would only have had a good chance at acquiring the first divine ability…even I didn’t imagine that your soul would be able to make a breakthrough.”

“Oh?” Ning was shocked. “Is it truly so difficult to acquire the first divine ability? I felt as though, after my soul made a breakthrough, I completely dominated the enemies to the point of annihilating all of the strongmen.”

The giant yellow bear glanced sideways at Ning. “If you didn’t have your divine will, even after five years, would your divine power have lasted long enough for you to annihilate that many strongmen?”

Ning came to his senses. Right. He had relied on his divine will to control nearly a hundred swords to dominate and slaughter those strongmen. This didn’t use up any of his divine power. But if he didn’t have divine will, and had relied on close-quarters combat…he would have used up an astonishing amount of divine power! For example, when he had reached the later stages of the test of the Divine Abilities Hall, he had less than 20% of his divine power remaining, while the strongmen had only grown more and more powerful.

“No matter what, in the end, you succeeded and acquired this. This divine ability.” The giant yellow bear pointed at a giant, distant prayer mat. “Go to that prayer mat. To kneel and pay your respects to Master.”

“Right.” Ning nodded The benevolence a master showed in teaching his art was as weighty as the heavens themselves. Ning walked forward, then immediately fell to his knees before the prayer mat.

As soon as he knelt down, instantly, at the top of the altar, directly in front of Ning, a towering figure suddenly appeared, at least three thousand meters in height. He had ancient, bronze skin, a glowing face, and wore roughly sown beastial furs as clothes. His appearance was similar to humans, with the only difference being that he had only a single arm! He had only a single right arm, and did not have a left arm.

This majestic figure stared at Ning, a faint look of pleasure on his face. He said softly, “You have already received the divine ability. Once you overcome your Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal, you can be considered the disciple of myself, Daoist Threelives. Do not be negligent and lazy, and thus lower my prestige.” And then, the massive, single-armed figure gently pointed with his right hand towards Ji Ning.

Whoooosh. Five rays of light instantly shot towards Ning…and then, the towering figure suddenly disappeared. A look of surprised joy on Ning’s face, Ning instantly sat down in the lotus position. The five rays of light quickly flooded into Ning’s body, and slowly, ripples began to appear on Ning’s form as well.

“Master.” The giant yellow bear saw the towering, one-armed figure appear, then vanish. He couldn’t help but mumble to himself. He knew…that the illusion was nothing more than something his master had left behind. Anyone who received his master’s divine ability and who came to the top of this altar and knelt down before this prayer mat would cause illusion to appear.

Ning was seated in the lotus position, and his two hands were currently emanating five-colored lights. Ning’s hands seemed to have transformed into some sort of precious treasures. The five-colored lights swirled about them, then slowly began to fuse together into a chaotic color.

“Whew.” Everything fell silent, and Ning’s hands returned to normal as well. Ning opened his eyes, then lowered his head to look at the palms of his hands. With but a thought, the palms of his hands manifested a complicated, circular divine tattoo. “Divine Starseizing Tattoo! The Starseizer has six cycles, and I’ve already successfully completed the first one.” And then, the divine tattoos faded away, no longer visible to the naked eye.

Every single divine ability required tremendous amounts of time to train in. They wouldn’t be mastered in one go. Even techniques like the [Heavenly Transformation] or the [Windwing Evasion] had to be trained in multiple stages.

As for this divine ability, [Starseizing Hand], the way in which it was trained in was known as the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer]. Only upon reaching the Zifu level as a Fiendgod could one train in the first cycle! At the Wanxiang Adept level, one could train in the second. As a Primal Daoist, one could train in the third.

With each breakthrough into a completely new level as a Fiendgod, one could train in the next cycle. This divine ability placed tremendous pressure on the divine body, and if it wasn’t strong enough, there was no way it could be trained.

“The teachings you received of the divine ability [Starseizing Hand] are the original teachings.” The giant yellow bear said. “Even if you train all the way to the first master’s level, this divine ability will still be enough for you to use. As for the [Windwing Evasion] you trained in, that was only the simplified version.”

“Simplified?” Ning was startled. “How could the divine abilities that the primordial Fiendgods used to dominate the Three Realms be so casually taught to others?” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Shortly after Pangu established the heavens, one of the primordial Fiendgods, a giant Roc, developed a type of flying evasion technique. With a single sweep of his wings, he could traverse a hundred thousand kilometers. This flying technique is the divine ability…[Garuda’s Wings]! I imagine some great power must have watched the Roc fly. After meditating on it for a long period of time, he wrote down this book known as the [Windwing Evasion].”

Ning nodded slightly. So this divine ability, [Windwing Evasion], was just actually the simplified version of the [Garuda’s Wings].

“If you had the original teachings of this technique in book form, you could spend thousands of years reading it.” The giant yellow bear said. “You spent many months memorizing Master’s [Starseizing Hand], even though it was directly sent into your soul. How could the original copy of a true divine ability be so easily memorized?”

“I spent months traversing those steps?” Ning was shocked. “Only an instant passed in the outside world. No need to worry about your father.” The giant yellow bear said.

Ning nodded, then said solemnly, “Senior, dare I ask, who exactly is this master of mine, ‘Daoist Threelives’?” Just now, that giant, towering illusion had only referred to himself as ‘Daoist Threelives’. Ning knew nothing else of him.

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Chapter 33 – Evanescent Demonslayer Sword

Chapter 33, Evanescent Demonslayer Sword

The giant yellow bear, upon hearing Ning speak of his master, ‘Daoist Threelives’, couldn’t help but feel very happy. He immediately said, “Ji Ning, do you know that when Fiendgods are born, there are differences in their levels as well?”

“Differences in Fiendgods at birth? Aren’t they all born from the universe itself?” Ning asked. “No.” The giant yellow bear said. “Before the Three Realms were born, and even before Pangu established the universe, there was nothing aside from primordial chaos. In that era, the primordial chaos gave birth to some ancient and powerful Fiendgods, such as Pangu or Nuwa. They were Fiendgods who were born from the primordial chaos. Some of these Primordial Fiendgods were strong, while others were weak. The most powerful of them was naturally Pangu!”

“After Pangu established the universe, the universe itself gave birth to some new living creatures. These creatures, being born from the universe itself, were also referred to as innate, Heavenborn Fiendgods. Afterwards, after many transformations, the three thousand major worlds were created, and in the process of the creation of each major world, some Fiendgods would be created. These are the most ordinary of Fiendgods.”

“In short, Fiendgods can be classified according to when they were born; there are Primordial Fiengods, Heavenborn Fiendgods, and ordinary Fiendgods.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “As for Master, he is one of the Primordial Fiendgods.”

Ning held his breath. What a tremendous history! But when he thought about it carefully, it made sense for Fiendgods to be divided into three different tiers, based on their birth. After all, Pangu was capable of establishing the universe itself; from this, one could imagine how powerful he was. As for many of the other Fiendgods which Ning had heard of, some of them were only at the Xiantian level when born. Compared to Pangu…they were countless times weaker.

As for this Daoist Threelives, since he was so powerful, it made sense that he was born as a Primordial Fiendgod. “One’s tier of birth determines both one’s potential as well as one’s power at birth.” The giant yellow bear said. “But no matter how lowly one’s class is at birth, one still has the chance to become an awe-inspiring, major figure of the Three Realms. For example, there are some individuals who were born as members of extremely ordinary races, but after undergoing countless tribulations, also became powerful figures who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Master.”

“Ji Ning, although you are merely a human, you too have this chance.” The giant yellow bear said. Ning nodded gently. He understood. For example, the Lord of Cui Palace was another person from his homeland of Earth. And yet, he rose to become one of the most exalted figures of the Netherworld Kingdom, the First Judge of the Dead.”

“Master had countless experiences.” The giant yellow bear’s gaze grew dreamy as he thought back to the past. “He personally knew figures like Pangu and Nuwa, and even provided some guidance to the giant Roc and some other juniors. He then established his own school, and many Fiendgods flocked to his banner to listen to him expound on the Dao…and thus, Master ended up having many titles. Daoist Threelives, Daoist Starseizer, One-Armed Divine Master, True God of the Right Arm…”

Ning had a thought, and he hurriedly asked, “Could it be that Master, Daoist Threelives, was born with just one arm?”

“No.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Although I don’t know the details, I know that when Master was born from the primordial chaos, he had two arms. Afterwards, because of a major battle, he lost an arm. Master felt deep shame due to this, and thus from that day onwards, only permitted himself to have a single arm. But precisely because he only had a single arm, Master made a further breakthrough in the divine ability, ‘Starseizing Hand’, which he had developed while meditating within the primordial chaos. He reached an even more divine, miraculous level! This breakthrough made it so that the Starseizing Hand could be ranked as one of the ten strongest divine abilities out of the countless divine abilities that had been devised after Pangu established the universe!”

A look of surprised shock appeared on Ning’s face. What an incredible fellow! This Master of Ning’s, whom he had only seen as an illusion, was actually this powerful? How many Fiendgods had there been since Pangu had established the universe? How many divine abilities had been divised? For the Starseizing Hand to be ranked amongst the top ten…it was far more astonishing than he had been able to imagine, previously.

“You have no need to ask about anything else for now.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “After countless years have passed and countless eras, the universe is now in the era of the three thousand major worlds and the trillion minor worlds. This is the era of the Celestial Court administering the Three Realms harmoniously. To you, these ancient secrets of the primordial eras are far too distant and irrelevant. There is no point in you learning these things; they will only vex you unnecessarily. Master once said that only after you become a Celestial Immortal, will you truly be considered Master’s disciple.”

Ning nodded.

“It is time for you to leave now.” The giant yellow bear said. “No rush.” Ning said hurriedly. “My Fiendgod body has just reached the Zifu level. According to the rules of the Treasure Hall, I should be able to select another Mortal-ranked magic treasure, right?”

The giant yellow bear nodded. To acquire a magic treasure from the Treasure Hall, there were only two possibilities; one was to rise to a new level as a Fiendgod, while the other was to challenge the Wargod Hall.

“Senior, please provide me with a list of the Mortal-ranked magic treasures of the Treasure Hall.” Ning said. “I’ll read it here, and decide on which treasure I want. After I leave, I’ll be able to choose it immediately.”

“You certainly know how to save time.” The giant yellow bear laughed. The list of treasures was extremely complicated. It required quite a bit of time to review. In this place of transmission of knowledge, separated from time and space from the outside world, time moved at a much slower rate. It naturally would be best for him to do the reading here.

“Right.” The giant yellow bear said. “Your soul has now reached the level of having ‘divine sense’, and you have learned the divine ability, [Starseizing Hand]. It would be simplicity itself for you to challenge the second level of the Wargod Hall, and you even have a chance to challenge the third level. Would you be willing to do so?”

“I only have a ‘chance’ at challenging the third level?” Ning asked. His power had already risen by an astonishing amount. He had made a spiritual breakthrough! He had also now acquired an incredibly powerful divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand]. He was completely confident in being able to slay Adept Xu with a single blow.

“If your divine power was strong enough to allow you to use the [Starseizing Hand] with abandon, then of course you would have a high chance of success.” The giant yellow bear smirked. “But how many times will your current level of Crimsonbright divine power permit you to use the [Starseizing Hand]?”

Ning hesitated slightly, then stretched out his hands. The Divine Starseizing Tattoos appeared, and the Crimsonbright divine power in his body filled his two palms. A surge of incomparably powerful might filled Ning’s mind, and he even felt as though he could shatter a mountain with a single slap from his hands.

“Bang!” “Bang!” Ning’s two hands each formed sword-fingers, chopping down towards the air in front of him. Swish! Swish! Two rays of pressured energy waves, emitting an ear-piercing howl, rumbled out like crashing thunder.

“So powerful.” Ning was tongue-tied from awe. He hadn’t used any sword techniques, simply pointed with two fingers in a sword-finger position, and yet the energy wave had been so astonishing…Ning had the feeling that if Jadechild was in front of him, he could smash Jadechild to smithereens with a single palm.

“However, the amount of divine power which is used up is also astonishing.” Ning mused to himself, “I only struck out a single time, but I used up so much. The Crimsonbright divine power in my body probably is only enough to permit me to strike out a few dozen times.”

In a life-and-death battle, a few dozen strikes was more than enough. But to challenge the Wargod Hall, for his divine power to only be able to last for so long truly wouldn’t be enough.

“I won’t challenge the Wargod Hall.” Ning said. “I don’t have the time to waste.” “Right.” The giant yellow bear nodded. He pointed to an empty space nearby, and an extremely thick book with golden lettering appeared. Atop it were two characters, for the words ‘Precious Treasure’. “Because this is your second time selecting a Mortal-ranked magic treasure, the amount of treasures available in this book will be greater than previously. If you were to challenge and overcome the second level of the Wargod Hall, when choosing your third magic treasure, you would be permitted to freely choose from all of the Mortal-ranked magic treasures which Master acquired.”

Ning understood. This was the difference between challenging the first and the second levels of the Wargod Hall. The second level was far more difficult than the first level, so naturally, the rewards would be different as well. Although it was still a matter of selecting Mortal-ranked magic treasures, the further along this path he went, the greater his choices would be.”

“Indeed.” As Ning flipped through the book, he immediately saw the difference. “There are some more treasures recorded here than there was last time, and the additions are all extremely rare and powerful treasures.”

“Jade Dragon Cutters…what a savage magic treasure.” Ning read carefully. “Souldrinker Bell. Far more powerful than the Myriad Wraths Banner, and on a much higher level.” Ning sighed in praise. If Bei Zishan had completed his Myriad Wraiths banner, it would have become a top-grade Mortal-ranked item. The methods by which it was created, however, were simply too despicable. By comparison, this Souldrinker Bell was far more intricate and exquisite, and in terms of power, it was even more powerful than a Myriad Wraiths Banner.

Ning read through the descriptions of one treasure after another. There were magic treasures, there were formation flags…although all of them moved Ning, there wasn’t a single one which inspired a great feeling of desire within Ji Ning. This was because, after acquiring the divine ability, [Starseizing Hand], the Darknorth swords in Ning’s hands would swing out with extremely great power already. Although these magic treasures were powerful, if Ning were to control them, the power released would be far weaker from the power released from him using his divine ability.

“Magic treasures are inferior to divine abilities, it seems.” Ning sighed in his heart. In reality, he had forgotten that the real issue was…what sort of divine ability he had just learned!

“Eh?” Ning flipped past another page. His eyes suddenly lit up. This magic treasure was known as the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword. It was a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure, a magic treasure that had been created for the purpose of slaughter. It was forged from an extremely precious material, the golden Nirvana crystals. This was a magic treasure which was extremely well suited for slaughter and for sneak attacks. It was originally an Earth-ranked magic treasure, but after repeated forgings, it had dropped in power to become a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure. However, after committing enough slaughter, it could slowly rise in power to its innate level, and once more become an Earth-ranked magic treasure.

Ning read through the descriptions carefully. There were incomparably detailed notes regarding this magic treasure. According to the notes in this book, it was indeed true that some of the top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasures Daoist Threelives had kept here had the potential for future growth. However, it wasn’t its potential for growth which attracted Ning.

“Alright. This is the one I choose.” Ning felt joy in his heart. The Evanescent Demonslayer Sword had an aura of impermanence and transience about it; it was very hard to detect. Even if the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword drew close to a foe, the foe probably wouldn’t sense anything. This was what pleased Ning the most about it.

Ning continued to flip through the book at a slightly faster clip, finally finishing it. “And?” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Evanescent Demonslayer Sword.” Ning said.

“Haha, good eye.” The giant yellow bear nodded. “I, too, felt that the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword is the most suited to you. This Evanescent Demonslayer Sword is extremely good at hiding its aura, and quite suited to stealth attacks. Now that you have made a breakthrough in your soul, your divine will is incomparably astonishing. You can absolutely control this Evanescent Demonslayer Sword to engage in long-distance sneak attacks! More importantly, you don’t even need to fill it with your elemental ki; this will further lessen the ki ripples, making it even harder for your enemies to detect your Evanescent Demonslayer Sword.”

Ning nodded. This was what he had been thinking about as well. He didn’t need to use his elemental ki, and could simply use divine will to control this Evanescent Demonslayer Sword…

This magic treasure was innately hard to detect. Without any elemental ki ripples, it was just like an ordinary piece of muddy rock. It was too hard to notice it. His divine will could stealthily control the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword to drill through the ground until it reached the enemy, then suddenly attack!

Even a Wanxiang Adept, upon suffering a sneak attack at close quarters, probably wouldn’t have enough time to command his magic treasures before having his head pierced.

“My divine will is perfectly matched for combination attacks with this Evanescent Demonslayer Sword.” Ning mused to himself. “Senior, let’s go now.” Ning said hurriedly. Since he had acquired the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword, he needed to immediately return to Oxhorn Mountain.

“Alright. Hurry up a bit. Previously, you spent roughly an hour undergoing the trial of the Divine Abilities Hall.” The giant yellow bear grabbed Ning, and then in the next breath, they vanished into thin air.

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Chapter 34 – Ji Ning Returns, the Final Battle

Chapter 34, Ji Ning Returns, The Final Battle

It was already close to nightfall. The edges of the Golden Crow could still be seen, setting in the west.

At the northern edges of Serpentwing Lake.

Whoosh! A figure suddenly surged into the skies, moving as fast as lightning. This was Ji Ning, who had just been teleported out of the aquatic estate. Ning’s right hand was wielding one of his flying swords, the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword. The Evanescent Demonslayer Sword was the size of his palm, and it was so dim as to be half-translucent. The dark, translucent, palm-sized flying sword had a faint bloodstain atop it as well.

“Windwing Evasion!” Ning executed the Windwing Evasion, transforming into a ray of light and moving far faster than sound, instantly tranversing a distance of tens of kilometers.

“Father. Wait for me.” Ning’s eyes were filled with urgency. Previously, he had acquired this most suitable of assassination weapons, the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword. Now, Ning had been immediately teleported to the northernmost part of Serpentwing Lake. He immediately moved forward, binding this new treasure to him while flying forward.

“I spent an hour in the Divine Abilities Hall. Father. You have to be able to hold on.” Ning burned with urgency. Whoosh! He was like a giant Roc in flight. Even Xiantian lifeforms probably wouldn’t even be able to catch a glimpse of Ji Ning as he moved forward.

…..

Roughly two minutes later, Ji Ning saw, far in the distance, that grand sealing formation, which looked like a giant shell of clear water. The grand sealing formation completely covered covered the entire Oxhorn Mountain.

Although the distance from Serpentwing Lake to Oxhorn Mountain was thousands of kilometers, Ning’s speed was now extremely fast. It must be understood that a Zifu Disciple who rode atop a magic treasure and travelled would be able to move two hundred thousand kilometers a day. Prior to this, when the Wanxiang Adept, Adept Xu Li, had led Dong Fanyu and the others, they had spent just two hours to make it to Swallow Mountain. They had travelled a hundred thousand kilometers in a single hour! Thus, every few minutes, they were travelling thousands of kilometers.

When using his divine ability, Windwing Evasion, Ning was far faster than Adept Xu Li. Thus, it made sense for him to be able to make it from Serpentwing Lake to Oxhorn Mountain in two minutes.

“Break!” Ning held a Darknorth sword in his hand, and the divine tattoo atop the palm gripping the hilt of the sword began to faintly emerge. The Darknorth sword in his hand pierced straight towards the grand sealing formation in front of him, and Ning himself didn’t lessen his speed in the slightest.

Bang! Ning shot through like a meteor, piercing directly through the grand sealing formation and into the other side! “Father!” Upon piercing through the grand sealing formation, Ning saw the nether energy emanating from up ahead. The enormous Netherwyrm lay coiled atop Oxhorn Mountain. With but a thought, Ning’s awe-inspiring divine will parted a path through the fog. His divine sense encompassed the entire Oxhorn Mountain, including the entire Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.

Within the field of his divine sense, everything was made clear. The frantic, worried Patriarch Ninefire. The quietly waiting Granny Shadow. His father, Ji Yichuan, who had executed the forbidden technique and whose aura had risen to the heavens…

And also the white-robed, white-haired man who looked similar to his father, but whose aura was the same as the Whitewater Hound’s.

All of them were within the reach of his divine sense. “I made it.” Ning’s heart relaxed as he hurried forward. His divine sense also encompassed Adept Xu Li, Nong Zidao, and their group. To his divine sense, the bewildering function of the nether fog was completely useless, unable to affect Ning at all. Everything within the grand formation could be clearly seen by Ning’s divine sense!

“Charge.” Ning’s speed didn’t lessen in the slightest. He immediately utilized his Windwing Evasion to charge towards Adept Xu Li.

Halfway up Oxhorn Mountain. The face of Ninefire, who was controlling the entire grand formation, instantly changed. Others couldn’t see it, but as the master of the formation, he immediately discovered Ning charging into the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.

“Ji Ning?” Ninefire’s face instantly turned white from terror. Ning was the hope for the Ji clan’s future rise to power. He had entrusted Ning with the official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords. So long as Ning survived…even if the rest of them all perished, it wouldn’t impact the future of the Ji clan that much. Ninefire knew that all of them were going to die, but in his heart, he had still been calm, because Ning had already escaped.

But now, Ning had returned. “Ji Ning! Leave, quick, leave!” Ninefire transmitted mentally, his thoughts filled with berserk fury. “Who told you to come back? Leave, leave!” Ninefire was truly frantic. Frantic and enraged, frantic to the point of insanity.

If Ning were to die here, then the Ji clan would truly be annihilated. He, Ninefire, would have no face with which to meet the ancestors of the Ji clan.

“Leave!!! Have you come to throw your life away?” Ninefire howled with rage. His voice carried a sobbing quality to it, but he could sense that Ning’s speed hadn’t lessened at all, and that he was continuing to charge straight towards Snowdragon Mountain’s group.

Ninefire, upon discovering Ning’s appearance, had lost his mind out of franticness. If he had calmed down, he would have realized…that Ning was clearly within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and he hadn’t created a passage for Ning through the nether fog. How, then, was Ning advancing directly towards Snowdragon Mountain’s group, as though he could see them?

But Ninefire had been driven to the brink of berserk madness. Even tears had begun to appear in his eyes. How could he possibly calm down at a time like this?

“Ji Ning, leave, leave, quickly leave.” Ninefire sent frantically. “Yichuan, Yichuan, quick, stop your son. Ning didn’t leave. He’s attacking Snowdragon Mountain’s group again!”

Whoosh! Yichuan was currently leaning against a large, crooked tree trunk. Suddenly, he heard the Patriarch’s voice transmitted into his mind. And then, a corridor suddenly appeared within the nether fog which spanned into the distance. In the distance, he saw a figure moving as fast as lightning towards Yichuan’s general direction. This was because Yichuan was currently very close to Snowdragon Mountain’s group.

“Ji Ning?” Yichuan’s face instantly turned completely white as well, and disbelief appeared in his eyes. He had already prepared himself for death, and his heart had been incomparably calm because his son had departed. The Ji clan would flourish, thanks to his son, and his son’s name would become famous throughout the vast world.

But! Ji Ning had actually returned. “LEAVE!!!!” Yichuan howled hoarsely towards Ning, his face savage. “Ji Ning, who told you to return? Leave!!! If you don’t leave, even in death, I won’t be able to close my eyes in peace. Quick, leave!”

……

Immediately after charging into the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, Ning heard the voices of the Patriarch, and then a corridor in the nether fog ahead of him appeared, revealing, in the distance, his father, Yichuan! His father, Yichuan, was currently just three hundred meters away from Adept Xu Li’s group.

“Leave!” “Quick, leave!” “If you leave, even in death, I won’t be able to close my eyes in peace!” “We will be ashamed to face the ancestors of the Ji clan!”

Patriarch Ninefire and his father, Yichuan, had been incomparably calm in the face of death, but they were now nearly at the point of collapse. Ning’s appearance…was like an utter nightmare to them! They would rather have their souls destroyed than see such a sight. They were at the point of insanity.

Ning’s heart trembled upon hearing his father and the Patriarch’s voices. He knew what his father and the Patriarch were thinking. “They’ll understand soon enough.” Ning’s eyes turned sharp, and a ray of light pierced through the ground, controlled by Ning’s divine will. The Evanescent Demonslayer Sword was moving deep underground at a high speed towards the direction of Adept Xu Li.

Swoosh! Ning himself used his divine ability, the Windwing Evasion, and moved lightning-fast towards Adept Xu Li’s group…

Surounded by nether fog and a snowy white dragon, Adept Xu Li, Lu Huang, Nong Zidao, and the other Immortal practitioners were all quite relaxed and leisurely. Only Nong Zidao was frowning, his eyes closed as he focused on his analysis. The nether fog bewildering formation’s elemental ki ley lines had clearly grown much more complicated. Fortunately, he had gained some experience from breaking the formation previously, and so he was still able to break through this one. Only, he now needed considerably more time.

“Eh?” Adept Xu Li’s face changed slightly. He turned his head, staring into the distance; he could sense that the grand sealing formation he had set up had been pierced through. “Who just passed through my sealing formation?” Adept Xu Li’s heart clenched. He grew cautious, and a Dao-seal appeared in his hand out of nowhere.

As a Wanxiang Adept, he had experienced quite a few dangers. Naturally, he was very cautious. Before preparing for victory, he would first prepare his retreat in event of defeat.

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” The ‘Black Serpent Cord’ and the ‘Earth Garrison Seal’, his two mighty Earth-ranked magic treasures, all appeared and hovered around him, prepared to guard him at all times. But suddenly…

Swoosh! A figure charged in from within the nether fog, swooping in like a giant Roc. The figure was currently wielding a pair of swords, and moved so fast that Adept Xu Li and the others had to sigh in amazement. But upon seeing the charging figure, Adept Xu Li let out a sigh of relief, then called out in a high voice, “Ji Ning! Can it be that you have come to deliver your life…”

His voice was still echoing within the region as he summoned seventy two flying swords out of nowhere, sending them enveloping towards Ji Ning. Adept Xu Li already had some experience with dealing with Ning’s speed; this time, he immediately used the many flying swords to entangle Ji Ning.

“Bang!” An explosive sound rang out. One after another of the flying swords were knocked flying away, and a sword flash immediately appeared in front of Adept Xu Li. Boom! Boom! The Earth-ranked magic treasures, ‘Black Serpent Cord’ and ‘Earth Garrison Seal’, were all blasted away, and the sword light flashed past Adept Xu Li’s head…sending it flying.

Adept Xu Li had died!

Rumble…the snowy white dragon that had been coiling around them disappeared as well, and the Zifu Disciples, astonished, weren’t able to react at all. “Bang!” An illusory figure suddenly appeared from from the ground, slashing past Nong Zidao’s head!

Nong Zidao had been completely absorbed in analyzing the formation. Even now, he was still absorbed in his task…and so, just like that, Nong Zidao died!

……

It all happened in the blink of an eye! Adept Xu Li and Nong Zidao had both died in the blink of an eye. Ji Ning had immediately used his divine ability, ‘Starseizing Hand’, while the Darknorth swords in his hands had also unleashed their most powerful attacks. The power of these attacks was incredible. The seventy two flying swords had all been knocked away, and the two Earth-ranked magic treasures had both been sent flying as well. The sword flash had passed directly through the snowy white dragon and slaughtered Adept Xu Li!

It was simply too fast. Adept Xu Li, upon seeing Ning, had been quite confident, but Ning’s terrifying sword blow…had simply been too fast and too furious. Adept Xu had wanted to use his two Earth-ranked magic treasures to block, but before he had, Ning’s sword had already killed him.

“You…you…” Only now did the other Zifu Disciples react. They stared in astonishment at Ji Ning. It had simply been too fast. In the blink of an eye, both Nong Zidao and Adept Xu Li had died? A mighty, venerable Wanxiang Adept, Xu Li, who had prior experience fighting Ji Ning…how could it be that he had been instantly killed in their first exchange of blows, to the point where he didn’t even have the chance to flee? What was going on?

“Leave!” “Quick, leave!” “If you leave, even in death, I won’t be able to close my eyes in peace!” “We will be ashamed to face the ancestors of the Ji clan!”

Their voices were still echoing, but then…they fell silent. The controller of the formation, Ji Ninefire, was completely stunned. As for Ning’s father, Ji Yichuan, he had ignored everything and chaged more than three hundred meters towards him. His face had been filled with agonized rage, and he was bellowing out the words, “Ji Ning, quick…”

His words instantly became trapped in his throat. He saw the two corpses which now lay fallen on the ground. One was Wanxiang Adept Xu Li, who previously had been as calm and composed as the wind or the clouds, yet who held power that could shake the heavens. The other was the formations expert, Nong Zidao. Blood and brain matter lay oozing on the ground. Clearly, the two were deader than dead.

“This!” Yichuan was completely stunned. He stared in disbelief at his nearby son, who was holding a Darknorth sword in front of Adept Xu Li’s corpse.

“Ji Ning, you can be arrogant for now, but our Snowdragon Mountain will definitely avenge us!” The frenzied, grief-stricken roars of the seven nearby Zifu Disciples nearby rang out.

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Chapter 35 – Snowdragon Mountain’s Prestige

Chapter 35, Snowdragon Mountain’s Prestige

Ji Yichuan was both surprised and delighted. As for the seven nearby Zifu Disciples, who were calling out bravely despite being in despair, Yichuan paid them no mind at all. The only one he cared about was Ji Ning, who was next to the bodies of those two on the ground; Adept Xu Li and Nong Zidao.

“How could…how could…it’s only, only been a short while…” Yichuan couldn’t believe it. How short a period of time had transpired, as he had charged over here from three hundred meters away? Adept Xu Li, an exalted Wanxiang Adept, had perished.

A corridor through the nether fog parted. Ji Ninefire, who had been watching from afar halfway up the mountain, quickly ran this way through the corridor. His face was covered with surprise and delight. Yichuan hadn’t personally seen the slaughter that had just occurred, but Patriarch Ninefire had been able to vaguely sense it all through his control of the nether fog. Although it wasn’t very clear, he knew without a doubt…that Ning had used only a single blow to kill Adept Xu Li.

“In a short hour, Ji Ning’s actually undergone a world-shaking transformation.” Ninefire’s heart was filled with unspeakable joy. “This truly is a blessing for our Ji clan!”

“Little Shadow, Liu Xing, Truekeep, all of you, come over. Snowdragon Mountain’s Adept Xu Li has already perished.” Ninefire sent to them while hurrying over.

In the various other regions. Granny Shadow and the others had felt shock and terror in their hearts, because just now, they had heard Adept Xu Li roar, “Ji Ning, have you come to deliver your life?” Granny Shadow and the others were incomparably terrified upon hearing this; hadn’t Ning left? Why had he returned? Or was Adept Xu Li lying?

And right in the middle of their fear, the Patriarch’s voice came towards them. “Snowdragon Mountain’s Adept Xu Li has already perished.” “Perished?” “The Wanxiang Adept perished?” Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the others felt both astonishment as well as amazement. How could such a powerful Wanxiang Adept have died like this? They hurriedly traversed the corridors through the nether fog which had just opened before them, and they hastened towards Ning’s direction.

Soon…one figure after another arrived, moving at high speed. Ji Yichuan. Ji Ninefire. Granny Shadow. Ji Truekeep. The old servant, Ah Xing. The white-robed, white-haired man. The Thunderhawk.

“Uncle White.” Ning looked at the white-robed, white-haired man who had appeared before him, especially at the face that was striking similar to his father’s. He couldn’t help but call out in surprised delight, “You made a breakthrough?”

“By relying on the liquefied elemental essence, I broke through.” The Whitewater Hound nodded. He looked towards Ji Ning with eyes filled with love. “I didn’t expect that at the end, we would all survive. After all these years, I’ve never been able to speak with you. I didn’t expect that today, Ning, son, I would be able to speak with you.” Ning beamed.

“Adept Xu Li and Nong Zidao?” Truekeep looked at the surrounding area. “They’ve been cremated already.” Yichuan had a rare smile on his face as well. Just now, Ning had immediately cremated the remains and taken the magic treasures. Ning pointed at the seven utterly despondent Zifu Disciples. “Patriarch, how should we deal with these seven? The seven of them aren’t able to fight back at all; we can do with them as we please.”

“The seven of them?” Ninefire turned his head, sweeping them with a glance. “Kill them all. Our Ji clan has already established an enormous grudge with Snowdragon Mountain. There’s no point to keeping them.”

“No.” “Don’t kill me, I’m willing to give up my treasures in exchange for my life. “You will regret it. Your Ji clan will definitely be annihilated by the fiery rage of Snowdragon Mountain.” “Keep acting arrogantly. Your Ji clan will definitely be annihilated within a single day.”

Some of the seven Zifu Disciples were begging for their lives, while others were cursing angrily. Patriarch Ninefire frowned as he pointed at one of the middle-aged men. He barked, “What did you say? Our Ji clan will be annihilated within a single day?”

“Hahaha.” Lu Huang laughed wildly. “Do you know who you killed? The person you just killed was a Wanxiang Adept of our Snowdragon Mountain! Wanxiang Adepts can be considered high-level members of our sect. When they die, the main sect will instantly know, and also know where they died.”

The faces of Ning, Ninefire, and the others all changed. There were indeed quite a few methods by which a location could be divided. For a major sect like Snowdragon Mountain, it would be quite normal for them to leave some markings behind on their Wanxiang Adepts.

“It is one thing for us Zifu Disciples to die, but the main sect will immediately send people over to investigate the death of Adept Xu Li.” Lu Huang looked at Ning. “Ji Ning. Although you are formidable and although you are a talent, in the face of our entire Snowdragon Mountain, you will definitely die.”

“Right. The death of an Adept is an enormous matter. The elders of the main sect will definitely arrive within a single day. You will definitely perish.”

“Before the Celestial Envoys of the Grand Xia Dynasty who you are waiting for will arrive, our elders of the sect will arrive.”

The morale of the Zifu Disciples clearly began to rise. Swish! Suddenly, without giving them any chance to respond, a semi-translucent shadow flashed past, instantly piercing through the heads of the various Zifu Disciples. Blood sprayed everywhere, and then all of them collapsed, dead.

“So fast.” “There were no warning signs at all.” The faces of Ninefire, Truekeep, and the others all changed. Ning’s attack had created no ripples or disturbances at all! After all, Ning hadn’t even filled the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword with his elemental ki; he had completely relied on his divine will to control it. Naturally, Ning was able to attack without giving any warning signs. The seven were still cursing in despair, but in the next instant, they had all died.

“Xu Li is already dead.” Ning said solemnly. “The worst case scenario would be that the Snowdragon Mountain really will send even more powerful experts to come here to investigate. We need to immediately make preparations.”

“What the hell is this? There’s no end to this!” Truekeep gritted his teeth painfully. “Alas!” Patriarch Ninefire shook his head as well. Previously, they had all been incomparably excited, but now, a bucket of ice water had been poured on their heads. Their hearts turned cold!

…….

More than a million kilometers away from Swallow Mountain. Snow drifted down from the skies. It was perpetually freezing here. The endless mountains stretched in a chain, as far as the eye could see. Some were tall, while others were short; some had peaks that stretched into the clouds. This was the location of the main sect of one of the great powers within Stillwater Commandery, Snowdragon Mountain.

Snowdragon Mountain’s main sect was divided into three factions, and the leaders of the three factions were all Summit Lords, with the positions being assumed by Primal Daoists.

The three tallest, most awe-inspiring majestic mountain peaks…were the residences of the three Primal Daoists. There were many other mountain peaks around them, which were the residences of the various Wanxiang Adepts. Naturally, there were many Zifu Disciples who would follow these Wanxiang Adepts or serve the Primal Daoists, waiting for a chance to hear them expound on the Dao.

Within Coldfocus Peak of Snowdragon Mountain were halls and palaces. Within one of the main palaces, there was a jade bed, atop which sat a red-clothed youth in the lotus position. By his side stood a pair of maids. They stood there nervously, not daring to make a sound and disturb him.

Coldfocus Peak…it was a mountain peak that was ranked amongst the top peaks of the many mountains of Snowdragon Mountain’s main sect. The Summit Lord, Xue Hongyi, was a truly outstanding genius that had been cultivated by Snowdragon Mountain. Age ten, Xiantian. Age sixteen, Zifu. Age thirty nine, Wanxiang. Thirty years later, after many trials and tests, he had become a member of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Raindragon Guard!

In the Raindragon Guard, he had learned some particularly powerful techniques. His battle prowess was now within the top three of the Wanxiang Adepts of Snowdragon Mountain.

There could be a tremendous gap in power between two Wanxiang Adepts. The likes of Adept Xu Li were simply ordinary Wanxiang Adepts. There were some particularly talented Wanxiang Adepts who trained in some extremely powerful techniques, who had extremely formidable magic treasures or divine abilities, or controlled particularly powerful golems who were capable of fighting beyond their level and approach the Primal Daoist level of combat power.

Amonst Zifu Disciples, there were outstanding talents and also comparative weaklings. The weaklings were like Ji Ninefire; the stronger ones were like Dong Ziqi. Both were peak Zifu Disciples, but a single Dong Ziqi could battle ten Ji Ninefire’s. As for the more formidable ones like Jadechild, because of their divine abilities, they could dominate a group of Zifu Disciples by themselves. And of course, there were monsters like Ning, who could kill Jadechild as easily as slaughtering a chicken.

Amongst Wanxiang Adepts, there could similarly be a great difference in power levels. Xue Hongyi was one of the most dazzling ones, who had close to a Primal Daoist’s power in battle.

“Hongyi.” An icy cold voice suddenly rang out by the ears of the red-clothed youth. “Hm?” The red-clothed youth opened his eyes, a look of respect appearing in them. “Master.” “Your junior apprentice-brother Xu Li just perished, and it should have been within the Swallow Mountain region.” The icy voice continued, “Hongyi, go make a trip to Swallow Mountain and investigate how your junior apprentice-brother Xu Li died. You are a member of the Raindragon Guard; you can borrow their teleportation array to move to Swallow Mountain as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Master.” The red-clothed youth nodded. He was an orphan whom his master had taken in, because he had been discovered on Snowdragon Mountain’s territory. Back then, because he had been found wearing naut but a red, cotton-padded jacket, his master had bestowed him with the surname of ‘Xue’, meaning ‘snow’, and his name as ‘Hongyi’, meaning ‘red clothes’. The relationship between himself and his master was akin to that between a true father and a son. Only, the two weren’t good at expressing it, as they both had cold, sharp personalities.

“Whoosh.” A red cloud suddenly appeared before the red-clothed youth, and in an instant, it flew out of the main hall, howling through the air as it disappeared into the horizons at an astonishing speed.

…….

Oxhorn Mountain. The Ji clan was currently deciding how they should deal with the expert which Snowdragon Mountain would invariably send over.

“A major sect such as Snowdragon Mountain cares the most about their reputation. Our ‘puny little Ji clan’ has killed so many of their disciples; they definitely won’t let this matter rest.” Truekeep said frantically. “Now, our only chance is to hope for the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty to arrive. Once the Celestial Envoy arrives, we will have the protection of the Dynasty. No matter how audacious Snowdragon Mountain is, they won’t dare attack.”

“But the expert from Snowdragon Mountain will arrive within the day.” Ninefire said with a frown. “As for the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the Envoy probably won’t be able to arrive within a day.” All of them were pondering.

“Our only option is to flee.” Granny Shadow said in her hoarse voice. “Right. Flee.” Ninefire said. “We cannot fight head on. We can’t let Ji Ning take on this sort of danger again. We shall flee immediately. After we flee, Snowdragon Mountain will spend some extra time investigating. As long as we can delay until the Celestial Envoy arrives, we will have succeeded.”

“I’m just afraid that if the experts of Snowdragon Mountain aren’t able to find us, in their rage, they will harm our ordinary clansmen.” Truekeep said.

Ning’s face suddenly changed as he turned to look into the distance. “Eh?” Everyone else, seeing Ning’s face change, also turned to look towards the distance.

The nether fog around them had grown sparse. Ning and the others could now see far into the distance…and because Ning’s soul had reached the ‘divine sense’ level, his senses were extremely acute. He could sense that from far away in the sky, there were faint ripples. Thus, he had turned to look.

From afar…a towering, lofty, wide warship was currently pressing down, emanating waves of energy as it flew over. There were massive armored warriors standing atop the ship, and all of them had extraordinary auras and gazes. This group of warriors surrounded a tall, slender youngster who was dressed in a magnificent uniform and who wore a crown on his forehead. His bearing was extraordinary, and by his side there was an armored man who was fawning on him.

The warship had two mighty pillars and two flags fluttering atop them!

Atop the first flag were two characters: “Still” and “Water.”

Atop the other flag were two other characters: “North” and “Mont.”

“The Northmont clan, of the Marquis of Stillwater.” Ninefire raised his head, staring at the enormous ship which flew through the airs towards them. Upon seeing the great flag atop the warship, he couldn’t help but murmur to himself.

“The Marquis of Stillwater!” Ning was shocked as well. The Sillwater Commandery was a vast, vast land, and it had all been enfeoffed to the Marquis of Stillwater! One could imagine how vast the power of the Marquis of Stillwater was. Only the Raindragon Guards could be considered to be on par with him, but with regards to some of the matters within the territory of the Marquis, not even the Raindragon Guard would dare to casually interfere in and disrupt the Marquis of Stillwater’s management of his lands.

“That is…General Dong.” Truekeep said. “The person standing next to the youngster is General Dong.”

The warship continued to fly towards them. General Dong, who stood atop the warship, by the side of the youngster in the beautiful black uniform, hurriedly barked downwards, “Members of the Ji clan and Snowdragon Mountain, hurry and pay your respects to the exalted envoy of the Marquis of Stillwater!”

His voice echoed and rumbled, reverberating throughout the lands.

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Chapter 36 – The Exalted Envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater

Chapter 36, The Exalted Envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater

The exalted envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater?

Ji Ning, Ji Ninefire, Ji Yichuan, and the others all felt puzzlement in their hearts. Upon seeing the two massive flags aboard the giant warship, they all understood that this warship belonged to to the Northpeak clan of the Marquis of Stillwater, the clan with the most exalted power and authority in the entirety of Stillwater Commandery.

However, they had clearly made the report to the Grand Xia Dynasty, and had hoped to transfer the rights to the elemental ore mine to the Grand Xia Dynasty. It was the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty which they had been awaiting this entire time. Why, then, had the envoy of the Marquis of Stillwater Commandery come?

“Come, let’s go up.” Ninefire said softly. “Right.” All of them acknowledged. Although the arrival of the envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater was quite strange, even General Dong, the general in chage of the forces of the Grand Xia Dynasty stationed in Swallow Mountain, was standing next to the envoy like a fawning sycophant. How could the Ji clan possibly dare offend them?

“Let’s go.” A flying boat appeared out of nowhere. Ning and the others boarded the boat, then flew upwards into the sky. There, high in the sky, the heroic warriors aboard the warship stood proudly, clearly all at the Zifu Disciple level. This made the hearts of Ning and the others clench. This really was the Northmont clan of the Marquis of Stillwater, one of the eight hundred marquisdoms that had been enfeoffed after the Grand Xia Dynasty had unified the world. An ancient marquisate which had existed for countless years…any squad of warriors it casually sent out would all be at least at the Zifu Disciple level.

“Ji Ninefire, your Ji clan has had a stroke of great fortune.” General Dong snorted coldly. “The young master is right up ahead, awaiting you all. Hurry and enter.”

“Thank you, General Dong.” Ninefire said with a smile while leading Ning and the others within. The Ji clan’s forces moved across the deck of the warship, under the guidance of the armored warriors.

“How impressive.” Ning swept the area around himself slightly with his gaze, and discovered that this warship was covered with complicated runes. A powerful aura lay hidden within this warship. “This shouldn’t be a magic treasure; it should be some sort of mechanical golem-ship!”

The warship was divided into three floors. Ascending the stairs, Ning and the others moved into the main hall of the second floor. This main hall was extremely broad, and within there was a youngster in a luxurious black uniform. This black-uniformed youngster was staring through the window, hands clasped, towards the boundless mist outside. By his side, there were two maids, and an old man who was nervously standing in a corner.

“Dong Fanyu!” Ning instantly recognized this person. This was one of the Zifu Disciples of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain. Although he had never seen this man in person before, he had seen his image in intelligence reports.

“Where is Adept Xu?” Dong Fanyu, upon seeing the Ji clan enter, couldn’t help but say in astonishment, “Where are senior apprentice-brother Zidao and the others?” But no members of the Ji clan paid him any heed.

“We pay our respects to the exalted envoy,” Ninefire said, immediately bowing low, almost to the ground. Behind him, Ning and the others all bowed in respect as well.

Only now did the black-uniformed youth who had been looking through the window with clasped hands turn to them. His face was smooth and pale. A faint smile was on his face, and he looked quite amiable. Sweeping them with a glance, he said, “Arise.” Only now did the members of the Ji clan rise from their bow.

“Eh?” The black-uniformed youth frowned, then laughed, “Just your group? General Dong, didn’t you say that Snowdragon Mountain and the Ji clan were engaging in a battle here at Oxhorn Mountain?”

General Dong hurriedly said to him, “Reporting to the young master: Snowdragon Mountain did indeed have quite a few Immortal practitioners who were battling the Ji clan at Oxhorn Mountain. Didn’t Dong Fanyu also stated that even the Wanxiang Adept, Xu Li, had gone to participate? Ji Ninefire! I ask you this: Where are the forces of Snowdragon Mountain? The exalted envoy of the Marquis of Stillwater has come; how dare they not come to pay their respects?”

Ji Ninefire hurriedly said, “Reporting to the exalted envoy: The forces of Snowdragon Mountain wished to destroy my Ji clan. My Ji clan strove to battle against them, and in the end, annihilated all of the invading forces of Snowdragon Mountain.”

“Impossible!” Dong Fanyu, who had been listening nearby, bellowed out, “Adept Xu Li was a Wanxiang Adept. How could the Zifu Disciples of your Ji clan have killed Adept Xu Li? As I see it, by relying on your grand formation, you’ve separated everything within from the outside world. You knew that the young master has arrived, but Adept Xu Li and the others remain trapped within the formation and do not know of his arrival.”

The black-uniformed youngster stood there, not speaking, just watching.

Ninefire said, “Adept Xu Li truly has perished. Ji Ning.” Ninefire turned and spoke to Ning. “Take out Adept Xu Li’s magic treasure, that giant seal; let this Dong Fanyu take a look.” Ning waved his hand, and that grand seal appeared within it. It was the ‘Earth Garrison Seal’. The appearance of it alone indicated that it possessed extraordinary power.

Dong Fanyu said, astonished, “I, I’ve never seen Adept Xu Li use his grand seal, but I’ve flown atop the Adept’s flying magic treasures.”

“This should be an Earth-ranked magic treasure.” The black-uniformed youngster suddenly said. Ning waved his hand again, and a small ship appeared within his palm. Although it was within his palm, it was enough to instantly turn Dong Fanyu’s face ashen. “How can this be!”

The nearby General Dong’s pupils contracted, and then he laughed, “It seems as though this Ji clan has rather extraordinary abilities. Previously, according to Dong Fanyu’s report, Dong Ziqi, Jadechild, and nearly twenty other Zifu Disciples perished here at Oxhorn Mountain. I didn’t expect that even Adept Xu Li and the others who hastened here would all perish here as well.”

Clap! Clap! Clap! The black-uniformed youngster suddenly began to clap his hands. “I am Northmont Baiwei.” The black-uniforned youngster laughed. “I imagine all of you from the Ji clan know why I have come on this trip. I’m here for that elemental ore mine within the borders of your Ji clan’s domain. My goal is simple – I wish for your Ji clan to transfer the rights to the elemental ore mine to the Marquisate of Stillwater, and our estate will also give your clan 30%!”

Ninefire stuttered, “But, but we’ve already report this to the Grand Xia Dynasty…” “No need to worry.” The black-uniformed youngster shook his head. “The Marquisate of Stillwater arrived first. After we sign a transfer agreement, even if the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty arrives, it will be to no avail. The Marquisate of Stillwater will naturally shield you in this matter.”

The members of the Ji clan all let out sighs of relief. To the Ji clan, transferring the mine to the Marquisate of Stillwater or to the Grand Xia Dynasty made no difference. Within the Stillwater Commandery…the Marquisate of Stillwater had a status that was equivalent to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s, because this land had been enfeoffed to the Marquis of Stillwater. If the Marquis of Stillwater chose to take control over certain matters, not even the Grand Xia Dynasty would find it easy to casually intervene.

“Are you willing?” Northmont Baiwei smiled. “Willing, willing!” Ninefire said hurriedly. Ning and the others didn’t speak out in opposition. “Excellent.” Baiwei smiled, then nodded. “I will order my people to go and investigate the quality of this elemental ore mine. Also; the rest of you can retire, but Ji Ning is to stay behind.”

Ji Ning was to stay behind? The Ji clan was startled. The nearby Dong Fanyu and General Dong all bowed and immediately said, “Yes,” then obediently departed. Although the Ji clan was puzzled, they still acknowledged the order and left.

…….

“Ji Ninefire. Congratulations.” General Dong, walking atop the wide planks of the ship, said with clasped hands. “Luck, all luck.” Ninefire hurriedly laughed, but a look of surprise was on his face. “Our Ji clan didn’t make a report to the Marquisate of Stillwater. How did they manage to send someone over so quickly?”

“How should I know?” General Dong shook his head. “If I sent someone to make a report, they probably wouldn’t even have arrived at the city of Stillwater yet.” Ninefire nodded lightly.

Everyone in the Ji clan was rather worried about Ning, who had remained in the hall. Dong Fanyu, off to the side, was gnashing his teeth. Even Adept Xu Li had died. He felt completely unable to accept this.

……

Within the hall. Only Northmont Baiwei and Ji Ning were present, along with two maids.

“Young master, might I ask why you have asked me, Ji Ning, to stay behind?” Ning said with great courtesy. “No need to stand on ceremony.” Baiwei sat down, the pointed at a nearby black chair and said, “You can sit as well. Also, my name is Northmont Baiwei. You can just address me as Baiwei; I don’t actually have an official position.”

“Thank you, young master Baiwei.” Ning sat down. Baiwei looked towards Ning. “At eleven years of age, you slaughtered the criminal Bei Zishan, who the Raindragon Guard was pursuing. You should now be sixteen years of age. If my guess is correct, the reason why the Ji clan was able to exceed everyone’s expectations this time and cause Snowdragon Mountain to suffer major losses was because of you, Ji Ning.”

Ning was startled. This young master, Northmont Baiwei, seemed to know quite a few things. He even knew that Ning was the one who had killed Bei Zishan.

“No need to worry. I didn’t investigate you on purpose.” Baiwei smiled. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve come out on a mission on Father’s orders. Naturally, I must be cautious when carrying out my first assignment. Although this mission is a simple one, I still did a careful investigation into your Ji clan.”

Ning was secretly startled. The Northmont clan of Stillwater was an ancient clan that had existed for as nearly as long as the Grand Xia Dynasty itself had. The descendants of a clan like this were simply extraordinary; even when serving as an envoy to a minor clan like the Ji clan, they would first investigate everything clearly. From this, one could tell how cautious they were.

“You killed Bei Zishan at age eleven, then Jadechild and Xu Li at age sixteen.” Baiwei sighed, impressed. “Even though you relied on the supporting power of a formation, I must admit that I am in admiration for your record in battle.”

“I risked my life, and luck was on my side.” Ning shook his head and sighed. “My Ji clan very nearly perished, there at Oxhorn Mountain.” When he thought back to the twists and turns of the battle on Oxhorn Mountain, Ning still felt some lingering fear.

“You had luck, but you also had strength.” Baiwei said. “A genius like will truly be stifled in a small place like Swallow Mountain. Given your talent…if you don’t have a formidable master instructing you, I fear that in the future, it will be hard for you to achieve great things. For example, if you don’t have access to some supreme training techniques, it will be hard for you to even become a Wanxiang Adept.”

Ning nodded. “I do indeed have the intention of going on a journey and also paying respects to a teacher and master, but I must wait a period of time first.” Baiwei nodded. With a wave of his hand, he produced an insignia. “If you go to the city of Stillwater, you can come seek me out.”

Ning was startled. An insignia? If he accepted it, that meant that he was accepting a favor from this person. This Northmont Baiwei had an exalted status, but he acted in a cautious manner, and treated Ning, a Zifu Disciple from an ordinary clan, with such courtesy. A person like this was worth befriending.

“Thank you, young master Baiwei.” Ning hesitated slightly, then accepted the insignia. The front side of the insignia had the characters ‘North’ and ‘Mont’, while the other side had the characters ‘Black’ and ‘Tiger’. Ning couldn’t help but mumble in a low voice, “North Mont Black Tiger?”

“That refers to my father, Northmont Blacktiger.” Baiwei smiled. Ning immediately said, “When I go to Stillwater City, I will definitely pay you a visit, young master Baiwei.”

“My subordinates will spend quite some time investigating the quality of this elemental ore mine. Let us listen to some music and wait for them.” Baiwei waved his hand lightly, and instantly, the maids appeared from behind the curtains at the sides of the hall. They were carrying musical instruments and were all extremely beautiful. Soon, music began to ring out.

At the same time, other maids delivered delicacies for them to eat. After a long period of casual conversation, Ning began to feel an increased sense of goodwill towards this Northmont Baiwei. But suddenly…

“The Raindragon Guards have a mission to capture the members of the Ji clan for interrogation. I would like to ask the master of this warship to assist me in this.” A cold, sharp voice rang out from straight ahead, echoing within the warship. Even Ning and Baiwei, who were within the main hall, could clearly hear this voice. Ning turned his head to stare out through the glass. He saw, from afar, a red-clothed youth who stood there above a red cloud. The youth was staring coldly in their direction.

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Chapter 37 – Matters Resolved

Chapter 37, Matters Resolved

Atop the warship. Ji Ninefire, Ji Yichuan, and the others all felt shock in their hearts. The Raindragon Guards had come to arrest them for interrogation? Their Ji clan had never committed any grave sins.

“This Raindragon Guard is most likely a member of Snowdragon Mountain.” Ji Truekeep sent. “Right. He came quite quickly. He hastened here in just two short hours from the main Snowdragon Mountain sect.” Ninefire nodded as well.

The only enemy they had offended was Snowdragon Mountain. And, as a major sect, it was normal for Snowdragon Mountain to have members who were also Raindragon Guards.

“A Raindragon Guard is here to deal with a case?” A gentle voice rang out, and the black-uniformed Northmont Baiwei leisurely strolled out down the stairs from the second floor, with Ning following behind him. While walking down, Baiwei glanced at the red-clothed youngster who stood in midair in the distance. “What case does the Raindragon Guard have, for you to come arrest the members of the Ji clan?”

The distant Xue Hongyi, standing upon that red cloud, saw that black-uniformed youth, and his face immediately changed. As a member of the Raindragon Guard, it could be said that his power was extremely great, almost dominatingly so, within Stillwater Commandery. However, upon encountering someone from the Marquisate of Stillwater, he had to somewhat restrain himself. An ordinary member of the Marquisate was one thing, but from the clothes of the youngster before him, Hongyi could tell at one glance that this youngster was of the main lineage of the Marquisate.

“How did I end up running into someone from the main lineage of the Marquisate of Stillwater?” Hongyi frowned slightly. He hesitated momentarily, but then still said, “I have come here on assignment to arrest the wanted criminal, ‘Kebu’. I suspect that the criminal Kebu is hiding within the territory of the Ji clan, and is being protected by them.”

“You are in pursuit of the wanted criminal, Kebu?” Baiwei said softly. “Do you have a military order?” “I do.” A black scroll appeared out of nowhere within Hongyi’s hands. He unwrapped it, and it was covered with characters that proclaimed a military order had been sent for the arrest of the wanted criminal, Kebu, and that the order had been issued to ‘Xue Hongyi’.

Baiwei glanced at it, immediately able to tell that this truly was a military order. Frowning slightly, he glanced at Xue Hongyi. He mused to himself that this Xue Hongyi truly was remarkable; upon seeing him, Baiwei had immediately understood that this person should be a member of Snowdragon Mountain, here to capture the Ji clan and take revenge upon them! To a mighty, exalted Raindragon Guard, dealing with the Ji clan would be simplicity itself. And yet, he had first gone to accept a military mission, and then find the excuse of claiming that the Ji clan was suspected of aiding and hiding a wanted criminal. This really was an airtight plan.

“What should we do?” “A military order from the Raindragon Guard?” The members of the Ji clan were all somewhat panicking. As for Ning, he stared at the distant scroll of parchment, then gave the red-clothed youngster a careful glance. “Based on what Adept Mu Xiao had told me, he had only been permitted to join the Raindragon Guard after becoming a late-stage Wanxiang Adept. I imagine that this red-clothed youngster’s strength is considerable as well. Given how young he appears…he must be a genius as well.”

The younger a person looked, the more others needed to be wary of that person. If, for example, a toddler who appeared to be only five or six years old had suddenly appeared, proclaiming that he was here on behalf of the Raindragon Guard, that would be truly terrifying.

……

“I am here on military orders to capture a wanted criminal. Young master, please assist me in this matter.” Xue Hongyi’s attitude was noticeably more polite now. “I only see that your military orders refer to the capture of the wanted criminal ‘Kebu’; they say nothing about seizing members of the Ji clan.” Northmont Baiwei snapped. “I think you had best depart.”

Xue Hongyi, standing atop that red cloud in the distance, grew angry. He barked, “The wanted criminal, Kebu, is hiding within the Ji clan. The Raindragon Guard has come to arrest him. Can it be, young master, that you are going to give him shelter?”

At a time like this, the reputation of Snowdragon Mountain was completely useless. Only the reputation of the Raindragon Guard would be effective!

“Bullshit!” Baiwei pointed at Xue Hongyi and cursed, “Do you know what is going on, right now? Why have I come here? Go ask the members of Snowdragon Mountain this question! Dong Fanyu, hurry up and go speak to your uncle-master.”

Dong Fanyu was nervous. “Dong Fanyu.” Atop the red cloud, Xue Hongyi gave him a glance and verified that it was indeed Dong Fanyu. Prior to coming, he naturally had familiarized himself with the appearances of the members of the Swallow Mountain branch. Earlier, when passing through Snowdragon City, he had discovered that there wasn’t even a single Zifu Disciple present. “What is going on, Fanyu? Why has this young master of the Marquisate of Stillwater come here?”

Dong Fanyu hurriedly said, “This young master of the Marquisate is the Marquisate’s envoy. He has come to sign a transfer agreement with the Ji clan.” “Transfer agreement?” Xue Hongyi frowned.

Northmont Baiwei laughed loudly. “Your fellow disciples of Snowdragon Mountain, including Adept Xu Li, all died here, because they wanted to forcibly take this elemental ore mine. However, this elemental ore mine has already been transferred to the Marquisate of Stillwater; naturally, we will protect the Ji clan.”

“Even if you came with a military order specifically specifying the Ji clan as to be apprehended, the high level members of your Raindragon Guard would need to come to an accord with the Marquisate of Stillwater on this matter.” Baiwei snapped. “In addition, carry a message from me to the Primal Daoists of your Snowdragon Mountain. The Ji clan is under the protection of the Marquisate of Stillwater! Let him be wiser in his actions!”

Xue Hongyi, hearing this, ground his teeth. “Fine.” Xue Hongyi immediately flew away atop his red cloud, transforming into a streak of red light that quickly disappeared.

If Northmont Baiwei wished to help the Ji clan due to personal reasons, he, Xue Hongyi, would’ve dared to rely on his status as a Raindragon Guard to struggle against him. But…

If this person came in the capacity of envoy, and had signed a transfer agreement, he was currently representing the entire Marquisate of Stillwater! If the Marquisate declared that someone was under their protection, then within the borders of Stillwater Commandery, not even Raindragon Guards would dare to interfere. If a truly evil and vicious criminal was within the Ji clan, they would still need to go negotiate with the Marquisate of Stillwater. Only after the Marquisate gave its blessing would the Raindragon Guard go make the arrest.

………

“Thank you, young master.” “Thank you, young master, for saving our Ji clan.” The members of the Ji clan watched as the red-clothed youngster departed. All of them spoke with great joy. Previously, when they had heard that this person had come on orders from the Raindragon Guard, they had been so terrified that their hearts had trembled.

Ning said hurriedly as well, “Thank you, young master Baiwei.” “I came here to sign a transfer agreement. It is my duty to guarantee your safety.” Baiwei laughed softly. “That fellow name Xue Hongyi, he dressed himself in the imperial garbs of the Raindragon Guard, but he forgot his station! How dare he act so arrogantly in front of the Marquisate of Stillwater? Hmph! Nothing more than Snowdragon Mountain!”

The Ji clan, listening, all felt envious. These words were utterly domineering. Nothing more than Snowdragon Mountain! To the Marquisate of Stillwater, Snowdragon Mountain was nothing more than one of the powers under its dominion. If the Marquisate was angered, it wouldn’t be hard for it to completely uproot the entire Snowdragon Mountain. But to the Ji clan, Snowdragon Mountain was an enormous creature, while the Marquisate was an even more unimaginably powerful behemoth.

From far away, two figures flew over. They quickly landed on the ship’s deck. They were warriors, dressed in armor. One of them said respectfully, “Reporting to the young master: We have finished our investigations. This elemental ore mine has a circumference of four thousand kilometers, and is more than three hundred kilometers deep. The quality is extremely high, and there are even quite a few high-grade elemental stones.”

“Mm.” Baiwei nodded slightly with satisfaction, then laughed as he looked towards Ning and Ninefire. “Patriarch Ninefire of the Ji clan and Ji Ning, the two of you can follow me into the main hall, where we shall sign the transfer agreement.”

“Right.” Ninefire and Ning all acknowledged as they followed Baiwei into the second floor of the hall.

……….

There were two scrolls lying on a table within the room. The wording on both scrolls was identical; they were both transfer agreements. They described how the division would be, how the Ji clan would be protected; everything was explained in detail.

“Take out your official writ for the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Press the insignia of it against it as a seal, then sign your names.” Northmont Baiwei said. “The grand seal of the Marquisate is already there. We are simply waiting for your seals now.”

Ning and Ninefire exchanged glances. Not hesitating at all, they immediately signed their names and sealed both documents.

“One of the agreements will be left with you. The other will belong to the Marquisate.” Baiwei smiled. “This is all according to the rules.”

Ninefire immediately laughed. “Our Ji clan is boundlessly overjoyed to have survived this tribulation. 70% of this elemental ore mine shall belong to the Marquisate, but for our Ji clan, 10% is enough. The remaining 20%, our Ji clan would like to offer to you, young master, to thank you for saving our Ji clan.”

Ninefire was a sly old fellow who had lived for nearly four centuries. How crafty was he? He knew very well that although on the surface, 30% of this elemental ore mine was to belong to the Ji clan, in reality, that amount would be secretly whittled down. It was better for them to directly offer it to an important person, so as to gain that person’s favor.

“No need.” Baiwei smiled. “As soon as Ji Ning and I met each other, it felt as though we were two old friends. Don’t worry. There will be no ‘whittling down’ of your share of the elemental ore mine. Who would dare try to seize something belonging to my friend?”

Friend? Ning’s heart turned warm. Baiwei continued, “I will arrange for soldiers to take responsibility for excavating this elemental ore mine. When the time comes, your Ji clan can take responsibility for mining out the actual ore. The elemental ore you mine out can simply be sent to the soldiers.”

“Alright.” Ninefire hurriedly nodded. “Mm.” Baiwei nodded gently as well. Ninefire, seeing that this person still wished to speak with Ning, immediately said, “If there’s nothing else, I will leave.” And then, he departed.

The only ones left in the hall were Ning, Baiwei, and the two maids.

“Ji Ning,” Baiwei said, “You have had such incredible accomplishments, even within the Ji clan; your innate talent vastly surpasses that of that‘Xue Hongyi’ fellow’s. I urge you not to spend too much time in a small place such as this. The vast world is the place you truly belong. In the future, you will definitely become a momentous figure within the entire Stillwater Commandery.”

Ning said hurriedly, “Young master Baiwei, you praise me too highly. However, very soon, I will go out adventuring.”

“Mm.” Baiwei nodded slightly. Ning continued, “I have always been interested about one thing. Dare I ask, young master, how is it that you arrived at the Ji clan so quickly? It most likely would’ve taken quite some time for the news that the Ji clan has found an elemental ore mine to even make its way to the Marquisate.”

If the Marquisate of Stillwater hadn’t arrived when he did, the Ji clan most likely would’ve had no end of troubles.

“Hahaha…” Baiwei laughed. “Do you know how this elemental ore mine was formed?” Ning shook his head puzzled. “I…”

Baiwei smiled. “This elemental ore mine was formed after a magical formation was set up by a Primal Daoist who was training here in seclusion to try and make a breakthrough. The formation drew in and condensed boundless amounts of natural, elemental energy, finally resulting in the formation of this giant elemental ore mine. As for that Primal Daoist, he broke through to the Earth Immortal stage.”

“Earth Immortal?” Ning was startled. So that underground stone room was where the Earth Immortal had stayed. “That Earth Immortal is known as Immortal Firedragon.” Baiwei said. “After making his breakthrough, he was invited to join the Marquisate of Stillwater. In his welcoming banquet, my father spoke with him and quickly learned of the existence of an elemental ore mine here, and that it was within the Ji clan’s territory. Thus, I was given this mission and came to sign the transfer agreement with your Ji clan.”

Ning now understood. So it hadn’t been the Ji clan making a report; rather, it was that the Marquisate had already known of this. No wonder they had arrived so quickly!

“Alright. This matter is now at an end. I won’t stay here any longer. If you, brother Ji, have anything further that you need, you can come find me. I will definitely show the hospitality expected of a host.” Northmont Baiwei laughed.

“Definitely.” Ning responded.

…………

Oxhorn Mountain. The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation had been collected. The members of the Ji clan raised their heads, staring towards the distant horizon. That warship had already departed, leaving behind only eight Zifu Disciple level soldiers.

“Cough.” Ji Yichuan, who up till now had maintained a fierce aura, suddenly seemed to grow fragile. His face turned ashen, and he began to cough.

“Father.” Ning turned his head towards his father, Yichuan.

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Chapter 38 – Leaving Swallow Mountain

Chapter 38, Leaving Swallow Mountain

Ji Yichuan coughed, his face ashen. Seeing the worried look on his son’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Previously, I used multiple forbidden techniques. My Zifu has been twisting and contorting, and is on the verge of collapse. Thus, my body has suddenly grown much weaker.”

“Used multiple forbidden techniques?” Ning was astonished. “Father, then, you…” “Hahaha.” Yichuan laughed jubilantly as he stroked Ning’s head. “This battle was the last battle I would ever fight. Afterwards, I will become a useless cripple. Naturally, I had to use as many forbidden techniques as I could.”

Ning’s face changed. Forbidden techniques were enormously harmful to the body; they relied on sacrificing the body’s future longevity, then using that to reach a level of power beyond that which was normally possible.

“Yichuan, your body…?” Ji Ninefire’s face changed as well. “I should be able to live for another month.” Yichuan said. “A month!” Ning’s face instantly turned white, without any trace of blood.

Why. Why had it ended up like this? He…he had clearly made it back in time. Why did it have to be like this?

“Ji Ning.” Yichuan looked at his son. “You’ve seen so much life and death. Can it be that you still do not understand? To me, living a life akin to a cripple’s would be a life of torture. I would rather die gloriously after my final, greatest battle…that the fate to which I belong.” Ning’s body was faintly trembling as he listened.

“In addition, your mother has been waiting for me for too long. I should go accompany her.” Yichuan looked at his son. Looked at him closely. “After your mother died, the only thing keeping me here was you. But you no longer need my protection. You are now capable of truly spreading your wings and roaming about the world.”

“No, Father…” Ning looked at his father, his eyes turning moist.

They had survived a tremendous tribulation. They should have been overjoyed, but Ning simply couldn’t find it in himself to rejoice, no matter what.

Time passed by. Ning spent every single day with his father. Each time, the two of them, father and son, would train in swordplay with each other. Although they were simply sparring and displaying their techniques, the two of them fully absorbed themselves within their fights. By their side, a snowy white hound would often appear. At other times, a young Bluestone would appear. Still other times, their steward, Autumn Leaf, would watch from the side.

Finally…that day came.

Yichuan reclined on his seat. The Whitewater Hound was in its original form and by Yichuan’s side, its head gently nudging against Yichuan.

“Little White.” Yichuan gently stroked the fur atop the Whitewater Hound’s head. “To have had a brother like you in my life…I die with no regrets.” The Whitewater Hound lowered its head, its tears falling down.

“Ji Ning.” Yichuan looked at the nearby Ning. “Originally, I wanted to let Little White regain his freedom. However, as a Zifu-level Godbeast, I’m afraid that after he regains his free will, he will be captured by other Immortal practitioners. In addition, Little White has watched you grow up and is very close to you. I want to have him follow you. This is my wish, and it is also Little White’s wish.”

Ning nodded lightly. “Alright.” Yichuan looked at his lifelong brother. “Little White. Help me take care of Ji Ning. When I’m going, you will be Ning’s elder relative. Make sure you keep him from going astray.” The Whitewater Hound nodded lightly.

From within his clothes, Yichuan retrieved a piece of beast skin parchment, handing it over to Ning. “I know that you deeply desire to know who it was that killed your uncle and harmed myself and your mother so badly. The name is on this, along with some information about him. I originally wanted to let Grandfather give it to you, but since I survived and returned from Oxhorn Mountain, I decided to give it to you personally.”

Ning accepted the beast skin, his eyes flashing with a fierce light. Grinding his teeth, he said, “I swear that I, Ji Ning, will definitely kill them and take revenge!”

Yichuan nodded. “I won’t stop you from taking revenge. However, remember this. In the hearts of myself and your mother, your life is far more valuable than theirs.”

Ning nodded. “I understand.”

“Mm.” Yichuan could clearly sense his life force ebbing away. His breathing grew weak. Smiling, he said, “Remember. After I die, cremate me and scatter my ashes over Serpentwing Lake. I once promised your mother that after I died, I would accompany her.”

Ning forced back his tears as he listened. “In my life,” Yichuan continued, “I was fearless and worry-free as a child, hard-working as a youth, and relied on the sword in my hand to became famous throughout Swallow Mountain.” He stared towards the empty skies, his gaze growing distant. “I once swore that I would rely on the sword in my hand to make my name resonate throughout the boundless lands of the Grand Xia Dynasty! Unfortunately…I won’t be able to accomplish it. However…my son will accomplish it.”

Yichuan looked at Ning. His eyes were filled with endless expectations. “Ji Ning. You will accomplish it!”

A sour feeling was in Ning’s heart. He could still clearly remember how his father had taught him, step by step, how to use the sword.

“From today onwards, I will train you in the sword.” He was only a toddler. His father had seemed so tall, so muscular, so big. Starting from those thirteen basic sword stances, his father had taught him, step by step…

Ning now understood that at that moment in time, his father, whose own Immortal path had been shattered, had entrusted his expectations in the sword to Ning himself.

“I will accomplish it.” Ning looked at his father and made gave his word. “Father, I will accomplish it. I definitely will. I will definitely make my name resound throughout the boundless lands of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Yichuan reached out with his hand, gently stroking Ning’s face. His hand was trembling.

“Remember. Live a good life. Live an exciting life.” Yichuan’s voice was beginning to fade, but his smile only grew brighter and brighter. “Live a happy life. A happy, free life…”

His father’s hand suddenly went limp, and his eyes closed as well.

Thud.

Ning fell to his knees, pressing his head to the ground, grinding his teeth. “AAAAAH!” Ning suddenly aised his head again, letting out a loud howl.

The Whitewater Hound used its head to gently nudge Yichuan’s body. As it did, tears appeared in the corner of its eyes as well.

………

No one was aware of what had happened. Ji Yichuan died quietly. Only Ji Ning and the Whitewater Hound were by his side. The other servants on Brightheart Island did not have any idea.

“Splash.” “Splash.” A boat was floating about atop Serpentwing Lake. Ning was at the helm of the boat, holding a crematory urn while sprinkling the ashes within the urn towards the water of the lake, letting the wind pick it up and merge it into the lake.

The glow of the setting sun was around him.

A small boat. A solitary youth. A large, snowy white hound. Together, they slowly drifted on the lake.

……..

Ning didn’t immediately leave Swallow Mountain. He continued to live atop Brightheart Island, within Serpentwing Lake. He also made a trip to the underwater estate, where he challenged and passed the second level of the Wargod Hall! The second level, to the current Ning, posed no danger whatsoever. Afterwards, Ning selected yet another Mortal-ranked magic treasure.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, autumn left and winter arrived. There were large goose-feathers of snow falling down from the skies in the outside world. As for Ning, he sat within his study, executing swordplay techniques with his fingers, then recording a few things down on a beastskin parchment.

“Autumn Leaf.” Ning called out. “Young master.” Autumn Leaf soon pushed the door open and walked in.

“Arrange for some people to notify the City of Ten Thousand Swords and West Prefecture City.” Ning said. “Tell them that I am leaving.” Autumn Leaf was stunned, and she looked at Ning. “Leaving? Young master, are you going to leave Swallow Mountain?”

Autumn Leaf had known long ago that this day would come. Her young master was a supreme talent, the likes of which was rarely seen in the world. Sooner or later, he would leave Swallow Mountain. But now that this day had actually arrived, Autumn Leaf still felt heartsick and unwilling to part from him.

“You truly are foolish.” Ning walked forward, reaching out and wiping away Autumn Leaf’s tears. “I need to go out on a good adventure. The world is so vast, and there are so many experts within it. I can’t just hide here and bask in my own self-importance.”

“Understood. Autumn Leaf understands.” Autumn Leaf said hurriedly. “Autumn Leaf.” Ning took out a kalestone and handed it to her. “This kalestone has some treasures within. I have prepared them for you and Bluestone. Spring Grass died. Although I am leaving, I have to take good care of Bluestone. There is a book within the kalestone that carefully details the ways in which these treasures can be used.”

“Amongst them is an essence-cleansing pill which I acquired from that Wanxiang Adept. After eating it, one will qualitatively transform and rise in power, making the likelihood of you entering the Xiantian lifeform stage become much higher.” Ning said.

“This…this is too precious.” Autumn Leaf, shocked, hurriedly refused. Ning looked at Autumn Leaf. “The path of Immortal cultivation is a long one. I don’t want to see you die early on, Autumn Leaf. If you become a Xiantian lifeform, you will live longer. Don’t refuse…perhaps in places like Swallow Mountain, essence-cleansing pills are precious, but to formidable figures like Wanxiang Adepts, they aren’t much at all.”

“Live longer.” Autumn Leaf nodded gently, no longer refusing. She looked at Ning. “Young master, will you return?” “Of course.” Ning sighed as he spoke. “I will definitely return. Here within Serpentwing Lake, there are many things which I cannot bear to part from. Once I have reached my goals in training, I will return and live here at Serpentwing Lake permanently.”

“I will wait for you, young master.” Autumn Leaf looked at Ning. Ning laughed. “Don’t just wait pointlessly. If you do meet someone you like, then marry him.” Autumn Leaf shook her head. “I am your handmaiden, young master. I will be your handmaiden for my entire life.”

Ning didn’t say anything further.

…..

The next day. The outside world was covered with a decorative silver layer of snow. The snow was so white, so pure. Ji Young, Ji Redflower, Ji Ninefire, Ji Truekeep, and the other members of the Ji clan had all hurried here.

“These are some secret manuals that I managed to acquire by a stroke of good fortune.” Ning handed them over to Patriarch Ninefire. “Most of them are comparable to the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] or the [Raindrop Sutra].”

“This scroll records the insights on formations by a Loose Immortal, known as the [Nine Scrolls on Formations].” Ning handed this to Patriarch Ninefire as well. “The profound mysteries within are unfathomable. However, to study formations requires talent and time. In the future, I hope that it can be entrusted to a suitable clansman.”

Ninefire, Truekeep, and the others were all shocked. The insights of a Loose Immortal regarding formations?

“As for this, this is known as the [Thunderflame Sword Addendum].” Ning took out a fur-clad book. “This was developed based on my hypotheses regarding the fragments of the [Thunderflame Sword] we possess. It includes some of my own insights regarding swordplay. I was able to create four additional sword techniques, and thus this [Thunderflame Sword Addendum] has a total of seven major sword techniques.”

“As for this…over the course of the last half year, I have spent virtually all my energy and effort on creating this.” Ning took out another fur-clad book. It had three characters written on it: ‘Rain’ ‘Water’ ‘Sutra’. “The set of sword techniques recorded within, I named the [Rainwater Sutra]. In the future, if anyone in our Ji clan can reach the level of mastery in the [Raindrop Sutra], they can learn from this [Rainwater Sutra].”

Ning looked at the book within his hands, filled with emotions. Over the past half year, he had pondered nonstop regarding this. He had summarized all of the insights he had gained regarding the ‘Dao of Rainwater’, then written it all down into this [Rainwater Sutra]. The summarization process had caused Ning to make great strides in further understanding the Dao of Rainwater as well.

As the person who had comprehended the Rainwater Sword Domain, the [Rainwater Sutra] he had written contained hundreds of different layers of insight regarding the True Meaning of the Dao. Even his every stroke of the brush had contained sword-intent within.

“This…” Ninefire and the others, upon seeing the three large words imprinted atop the [Rainwater Sutra], could sense the sword-intent pouring from this tome. Their faces all changed. As experts, they could sense how extraordinary this [Rainwater Sutra] was. Even they felt the awe-inspiring presence from it; no wonder Ji Ning required practitioners to master the [Raindrop Sutra] before learning from his [Rainwater Sutra].

“From today onwards, the [Rainwater Sutra] will be the treasure that protects our entire Ji clan.” Ninefire said with incomparable excitement. The other clansmen were all excited as well. For the clan to produce a genius was a matter of luck, but for this book to be left behind would allow them to raise more geniuses in the future. This [Rainwater Sutra] was clearly above the level of the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords] and other secret manuals.

…..

Ning didn’t ask for others to send him off. He had Ninefire and the others all go back.

Late at night. It was very quiet. Ning, by himself, led the Whitewater Hound to the side of the lake, then knelt down atop the snow. Facing the endless waters of Serpentwing Lake, he kowtowed three times, then said solemnly, “Father, Mother, I, Ji Ning, will execute our enemies within Snowdragon Mountain and take revenge for the two of you. I will also definitely make my name resound within the vast lands of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“Please forgive your son for having to depart for a time.” Ning rose to his feet, then looked at the Whitewater Hound by his side. “Uncle White, let’s go.”

“That little girl…” The Whitewater Hound sent to Ning. Ning glanced towards the distance. There stood Autumn Flower, far away in the darkness. Autumn Flower knew that Ning was going to leave, so she hadn’t slept at all. She was waiting quietly. Upon her seeing Ning look towards her, she couldn’t help but cry. Ning grinned towards her.

“Let’s go.” Ning stepped onto the boat that had appeared out of nowhere in front of him, and the Whitewater Hound followed him onto it as well. Whoosh! The boat soared rapidly into the air, piercing through the dark night skies.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf immediately ran forward a few steps. Raising her head, she stared towards the distance. “I will definitely wait for your return, young master. Definitely.”

……..

The night sky. The flying boat was amidst the clouds. Ning looked down at the vast, endless world. He could see the massive lake below him as well: Serpentwing Lake. He could also see Brightheart Island at the center of it.

Ning gave it a deep, meaningful look. There were too many things here which he couldn’t bear to part from.

“Let’s go!” Ning turned his head, staring towards the vast, endless night sky. Outside Swallow Mountain, there was an even larger, even more exciting world.

Swoosh!

The flying boat had only a youngster and a snowy white dog atop it. It quickly disappeared into the horizons of the world.

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Chapter 1 – Mid-Journey

Chapter 1, Mid-Journey

A boat was soaring through the clouds and the mist, heading straight towards Stillwater City. Ji Ning lay there within the boat, leaning against the stern of the boat. From this position, he could stare down at the boundless land beneath him.

“Uncle. Father. Mother. They must be avenged.” Ning pondered to himself. The scroll his father had left him had the name of his enemy. There had been a total of three malefactors; the primary one was named ‘Dong Seven’. This was an extremely strange name, but this Dong Seven’s grandfather was a Primal Daoist.

Ning knew his own power quite well. To be able to kill Adept Xu Li truly didn’t mean anything. After all, there were exceptionally powerful, talented Wanxiang Adepts such as that Xue Hongyi, who Ning didn’t feel confident in being able to defeat. As for those lofty, exalted Primal Daoists…most likely, a single breath of primal flame from them could incinerate Ning and shatter his soul.

Primal fire…this was a sort of ability someone only had upon becoming a Primal Daoist. No one who was not a Primal Daoist was capable of it, much like how the ‘Myriad Manifestations’ could only be unleashed by someone who was at least at the Wanxiang Adept level.

“A total of three culprits, with Dong Seven being the primary one. As for the other two, ‘Yu Dong’ and ‘Shui Yi’, they were accomplices.” Ning pondered to himself. According to what his father had told him, Yu Dong and Shui Yi were like manservants who followed behind Dong Seven. Upon Seven giving the order, they would immediately attack and kill.

Strictly speaking, the killers were actually Yu Dong and Shui Yi, with Dong Seven having given the order.

“Dong Seven! Yu Dong! Shui Yi! All three of you deserve death.” A savage light flashed past Ning’s eyes, and then he considered what to do. “For now, I can’t be in a rush to get revenge. My foundations are still quite shallow; I don’t even know exactly how strong Dong Seven and the other two currently are, nor where they are located. There’s no way I can take revenge.”

“It’s best if I first go to Stillwater City. I should find a school and enter it.” Ning mused to himself. Ning was no fool. His parents had previously told him as well that after he went out into the world, he should find a major power to take shelter under. After all, it was extremely dangerous for a single, solitary person to go wandering the world by himself. If he had someone to rely on, then things would naturally be different. For ordinary Zifu Disciples, it was quite hard for them to be accepted into a school, but unrivaled geniuses like Ning could easily join with a major power.

Since he obviously was capable of joining a major power, Ning naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for himself and act rashly by himself.

“Upon entering a school…I will be able to learn divine abilities within the school, and even learn some supreme Ki Refining techniques.” Ning mused to himself. Even someone like Jadechild had been able to learn the ‘Heavenly Transformation’ technique at Snowdragon Mountain. As long as Ning chose a school that was even more powerful than Snowdragon Mountain, he felt certain that the school should definitely have a divine ability within.

“By borrowing from a school’s strength…my own power shall rise greatly, and my horizons shall be expanded. Only then will I be qualified to take revenge.” Ning didn’t wish to lose his life for the sake of revenge.

It was just as his parents had said; taking revenge was one matter, but his life was more important. He was going to ensure that his name was known throughout the vast world, and that one day, he was going to meet again with the Lord of Cui Palace.

“Unfortunately, I am not strong enough. Otherwise, I could simply directly enter the Raindragon Guard.” Ning shook his head. It was too difficult for one to join the Raindragon Guard. Even Adept Mu Xiao had entered as a late-stage Wanxiang Adept. If Ning were to enter, even if he truly were to pass, upon others discovering that Ning was only at the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and yet capable of unleashing such great power thanks to the [Starseizing Hand], they would certainly realize that something was amiss.

His divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], was his true trump card. Ning wasn’t willing to rely on this technique to enter the Raindragon Guard.

…….

“First find a school and borrow from their strength to increase my own. Afterwards, I’ll join the Raindragon Guard. The Raindragon Guard’s divine abilities and techniques should be all-encompassing, and most likely even more powerful than those available to the Marquisate of Stillwater.” Ning nodded. If one was to stand at the peak, it would be sheer stupidity to foolishly struggle randomly. Without a powerful Ki Refining technique, he wouldn’t be able to break through to the Wanxiang level, much less the Primal Daoist level.

The more precious a Ki Refining technique was, the less willing a school would be to allow outsiders to gain access to it. Anyone who disseminated a precious Ki Refining technique would be hunted and killed by the school!

Given that his talent was unparalleled…first entering a school, and then entering the Raindragon Guard was the proper course of action.

The path of cultivation was one where, as the saying went, every third person in a line could become one’s teacher. The spirit of the underwater estate had also advised Ning to take on many different teachers and masters, to absorb the best from them, and thus more easily become one of the great powers of the Three Realms in the future.

“Uncle White.” Ning spoke out. The Whitewater Hound atop the boat turned to look towards Ning. “Tell me. On this trip to Stillwater City, should I first find a master and then pay a visit to Northmont Baiwei? Or should I go see Northmont Baiwei first?” Ning said. “This man has treated me quite well, and he asked me to go meet him if I were to go to Stillwater City.”

“Northmont Baiwei?” The Whitewater Hound spoke in the human tongue. “This person has an extraordinary background, and likes to make friends. Since he asked you to do so, go and see him. This Northmont Baiwei must be quite familiar with Stillwater City and the various schools within. This will be of assistance to you in choosing a school to join.”

Ning nodded lightly. This made sense. After all, the only major sect within the Stillwater Commandery area which Ning was familiar with was Snowdragon Mountain. He didn’t know much about the others. However, within the borders of the Stillwater Commandery, Snowdragon Mountain couldn’t be considered one of the top schools. Only a school that had an Immortal guarding it could be considered a top school.

…….

The flying boat Ning was aboard didn’t fly too quickly. Each time, it would spend roughly seventeen or eighteen hours flying, with the other six or seven hours on the ground, where Ning would search for a place to train, rest, visualize the [Nuwa Painting], and other things. Travelling at this rate, he was able to advance nearly a hundred thousand kilometers each day.

The sixth day after Ning had left Swallow Mountain. He was aboard his flying boat, moving through the clouds. “Eh?” Ning suddenly sensed a powerful ripple. He couldn’t help but turn his head to look, only to see in the distance, a tall ship was pressing down at high speed, generating waves of air in its wake.

Aboard the large ship, there were many beautiful, flower-like women. On the second deck of the large ship, there sat a young noble with white skin, who had three beautiful women by his side, massaging his legs and his shoulders. This young noble was dressed in red clothes. He held a cup of wine in his hands. He flicked a glance towards Ning, but paid him no heed.

“Look at that man dressed in furs. I wonder which wild, backwater region he came from. He has no class at all.”

“I can tell with a single glance that he doesn’t come from a major clan.”

Those beautiful, flower-like women aboard the ship all spoke as they looked towards Ning. Whoosh! The large ship sped off into the distance, quickly disappearing from Ning’s field of vision.

“That ship is rather fast, at least. I imagine that a Wanxiang Adept is controlling is.” Ning still lay there in his own boat. It continued to ‘slowly’ and ‘leisurely’ advance at the rate of a hundred thousand kilometers each day. Actually, through the flying speed of a magic treasure, one could come to a rough determination regarding the strength of its controller.

“The closer we get to Stillwater City, the more frequently we encounter Immortal practitioners. That large vessel was the sixth one we have encountered.” Ning sighed with emotion.

Stillwater City was the heart and core of the vast Stillwater Commandery. Immortals and devils congregated there. All of the larger clans, schools, and sects would establish a branch in Stillwater City. Many Loose Immortals also enjoyed to gather there in Stillwater City. Because so many Immortals and devils were there, all sorts of treasures were available in the city, which could be traded for.

In addition, the security of Stillwater City was excellent. One could peacefully train there.

“Time to rest.” With but a thought, Ning sent his boat charging downwards, towards the desolate mountain forests below him.

Given Ning’s current power, it was indeed quite hard for him to encounter true danger while he was adventuring. Only Primal Daoists could truly render him helpless, but which of the Primal Daoists wouldn’t be hidden away in their own estates or caves, training? Even if they occasionally came out and wandered, they either travelled about in grand fashion or moved about tracelessly.

Whoosh. The boat charged into the mountain forest, then disappeared. Ning and the Whitewater Hound landed on the ground. “I should rest here, I suppose.” Ning said. With a wave of his hand, he tossed out three formation flags which landed far into the distance, then disappeared without a trace.

From the outside world, one wouldn’t be able to see Ning and the Whitewater Hound within this area at all. Ning sat down in the lotus position, beginning to train quietly, the image of Lady Nuwa floating in his mind.

The Whitewater Hound took out a scroll as well, and it lay there, staring at the dense, complicated array of characters atop the scroll. This was a copy of the [Nine Scrolls on Formations]. Ning had the original [Nine Scrolls on Formations], and so by using a simple technique, ‘Water Seal Technique’, he had printed out two copies of the scrolls. He had left one with his tribe, then gave the other to the Whitewater Hound.

Uncle White was quite knowledgeable regarding formations. In fact, his accomplishments far outstripped Nong Zidao’s; naturally, he surpassed Ning as well. Only, he hadn’t had sufficiently good scrolls on formations to study from. Now that he acquired the [Nine Scrolls on Formations], he naturally spent every day studying it.

The skies slowly grew bright.

Ning rose to his feet. “Uncle White.” Ning looked at the nearby Whitewater Hound, who was still lying there, staring at the scroll. Upon hearing Ning’s shout, he immediately clambered to his feet, collecting the scroll.

“Let’s go.” Ning boarded the ship, with the Whitewater Hound following him. Swoosh! The flying boat immediately and quickly flew into the skies, continuing to head towards Stillwater City.

“Eh?” After flying just a few dozen kilometers, the boat suddenly came to a halt. Ning lowered his head, staring downwards. “What is it?” The Whitewater Hound looked at Ning.

“I sense a disturbance.” Ning lowered his head, looking down at the mountainous forests beneath him. Based on the strengths of the ripples and the general location from which they came, he could tell that it should be Zifu Disciples who were battling. He immediately spread out his divine sense, quickly covering the mountain forest below him with it.

Even when he had first broken through to the level of manifesting his divine sense, Ning had been able to encompass a region of a hundred kilometers. After the passage of half a year, his divine sense’s reach had further expanded.

…..

Within the mountain forest.

“We are the disciples of the Meng clan.” A handsome, pale-skinned youth was roaring in anger. By his side, there was a willowy, extremely beautiful maiden, along with an extremely muscular and sturdy, tiger-backed, bear-waisted youth. The three of them were struggling to defend against their attackers, who were a pair of white-robed men.

The two white-robed men had unleashed their magic treasures and had completely trapped the three of them. “Dregs of Snowdragon Mountain. Once my father learns of this, he will definitely annihilate you two pieces of trash.” The handsome, white-skinned youth roared.

“If the two of you were to leave…our clan won’t come take revenge for a trifling matter such as this. But if we die, our Meng clan will definitely investigate this matter to the very end.” The willowy woman shouted in anger and fear as well.

Only that sturdy, muscular youth remained completely silent.

The three of them truly were disciples of the Meng clan. The Meng clan was one of the highly ranked, extremely large clans within Stillwater Commandery, even more powerful than Snowdragon Mountain. However, as one of the supreme clans…it had quite a bit internal strife as well. Even the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had its own internal struggles, much less a supreme, giant clan like this one. These three were ordinary in terms of talent, and they were born to a fairly low status within the clan. They weren’t viewed as important, and found it hard to even gain a change to learn some top-class techniques. Thus, after making their breakthrough to the early Zifu Disciple stage, they immediately joined forces and set out in the hopes of making it to Stillwatery City and joining a school.

There were quite a few disciples of major clans who would enter a school. Generally, they were all people who were not treated with importance in their own clans.

“Senior apprentice-brother, judging from their clothing, these three truly are of the Meng clan.” The two white-robed men were speaking mentally to each other. “Should we kill them?”

“Clearly, you don’t understand. A truly high-level member of the Meng clan, when setting out on a trip, will have an entire entourage of maids, servants, and guards. These three in front of us might truly be of the Meng clan, but even so, they definitely don’t have any important status within the clan. Kill’m.”

“Alright.”

The two white-robed men came to their decision, then immediately began to launch killing blows.

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Chapter 2 – Arrival

Chapter 2, Arrival

Originally, the combined forces of the three members of the Meng clan had been enough to just barely hold on, but when the two disciples of Snowdragon Mountain stopped holding back, the three Meng clan members instantly found fighting back much more taxing.

“If I had known this would happen, I would’ve listened to what Rocky said.” The beautiful, willowy maiden’s face was ashen. She was filled with regret. These three hadn’t dared to continue with their training after becoming Zifu Disciples, because if upon reaching the middle Zifu stage, their foundation would have solidified into a set pattern. Some of the more powerful schools wouldn’t be willing to take them on as disciples.

Thus, all three of them remained at the early Zifu Disciple stage. Prior to heading out, Meng Roch had said: “Little Xin, our power, amongst Zifu Disciples, is at the bottom end of the scale. If we were to fly on magic treasures, then once we are attacked…we will be in danger. I recommend we walk on the ground or ride on mounts, just like ordinary people, and travel slowly. Although it will take more time, it will be far safer. Immortal practitioners can’t be bothered to act against ordinary commoners.”

“You idiot.” The other fellow, Meng Jun, had said with anger, “Ride on a mount and travel slowly on the ground? That’s a distance of a million kilometers. We’ll probably spend a year before we arrive! Hiking up mountains and wading through lakes? Even if you are willing, I’m not. I refuse to believe that if we fly as fast as we can, with the goal of making it in a few days, we will be as unlucky as to encounter someone who attacks us.”

“Rocky, Meng Jun’s words are reasonable. It’s just a few days. There won’t be any problems.” Meng Xin hadn’t wanted to spend a full year, and so they decided to fly to Stillwater City.

Unfortunately…they really did encounter bandits. Some Immortal cultivators kept their heads down and toiled bitterly towards perfection, others relied on battle to grow, while still others relied on on ambushing and slaughtering. Ambushing and slaughtering was the fastest way to acquire treasures. There truly were quite a few who engaged in this line of work.

…….

“Slash.” One silk ribbon after another coiled about, defending against those encroaching flying swords, but the force of the impact still caused Meng Xin to vomit up a mouthful of blood. “Little Xin!” The nearby, straightforward man, Roch, grew frantic. He gritted his teeth, and his face suddenly turned red as his aura rose dramatically. The nine black stones flying about in front of him suddenly began to move at a far higher speed, and they howled through the air towards the two white-robed men.

“Hurry, leave, immediately leave!” Roch howled.

“Rocky!” Xin’s face changed. She naturally could tell that Roch had just used a forbidden technique. They had come on this trip to join a school. Using a forbidden skill resulted in harm to one’s cultivation foundation; most likely, it would be hard for him to join a good school now.

“Hurry and leave!” Roch seemed to be on the verge of insanity. “Hurry and leave!” The nearby, white-skinned youth had already transformed into a wisp of azure smoke, fleeing at high speed. Gritting her teeth, Xin followed after him and fled.

The two white-robed men, seeing this, just laughed coldly. They wanted to flee, as easy as that? Those two were dreaming.

Slash! Slash!

Suddenly, a blurred form emerged from the ground, moving as fast as lightning and piercing straight through the heads of those two white-robed men.

“How could this be?!” “How could…” The two white-robed men stared, their wide eyes filled with disbelief. The two of them had engaged in quite a few acts of banditry; they were extremely cautious. Even when engaging others in battle, they would pay close attention to their surroundings, but they hadn’t sensed any elemental ki ripples earlier. And yet, they had been suddenly ambushed by a flying sword beneath their feet, and their protective magic treasures hadn’t stopped it at all.

Blood splattered everywhere, mixed in with a bit of white. The bodies of the two white-robed men went limp, and then they collapsed, life having fled.

“Kill, kill.” The simple, straightforward Meng Roch was in a berserk state, frantically controlling those nine black stone globes. But suddenly, he saw, to his amazement…that the two white-robed men collapsed to the ground? Dead?

“But…but…” Roch couldn’t believe it. As for Meng Jun, who had been fleeing at high speed, he turned to glance behind himself. Upon doing so, he saw those two white-robed figures, lying collapsed on the ground. Given his visual acuity as an Immortal practitioner, he could clearly see the bloodstains on the ground.

“Little Sister Xin!” Jun hurriedly sent. “Don’t flee. Those two member sof Snowdragon Mountain are dead.” Xin couldn’t help but come to a halt as well. She turned, only to see that those two figures that had been battling them earlier had indeed slumped to the ground.

“Come, let’s go see what happened.” Meng Jun said hurriedly. “Right.” Meng Xin grew cautious as well. The two of them flew at high speed, returning to the scene of the previous battle. Jun and Xin had confusion on their faces. They stared at Roch, who appeared completely stunned. Jun then said, “Rocky, what happened?”

Bang! Suddenly, flames descended from the heavens, completely enveloping the bodies of those two members of Snowdragon Mountain, completely incinerating them.

“Fire!” The three members of the Meng clan were all startled. They watched as a figure emerged from the mountain forest, followed by the unclear outlines of a earthbound beast. When they took a closer look…they saw that it appeared to be a delicate-looking, fur-clad youth, along with a large, snowy white hound.

Swoosh. The fur-clad youth waved his hand, and the magic treasures left behind by the incinerated members of Snowdragon Mountain all disappeared.

“Thank you, senior, for your kindness in saving our lives.” The simple, straightforward Roch fell to his knees, kowtowing to express his thanks.

“No need to show such great courtesy. No need to address me as senior either. We can simply address each other as fellow Daoist.” Ning couldn’t help but have a good impression of this straightforward man as he looked at him. Previously, he had been watching with divine sense, and had discovered that this man had used a forbidden technique and had gone berserk while instructing the woman to leave. This made Ning think of the uncle he had never met.

This was what his uncle had done; that was why Ning’s mother had been able to escape, which was why Ning was able to enter the world. Although Ning had moved quickly, and even used his divine will to control the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword to attack before he himself arrived, it would be hard for the honest-looking man to recover from the damage his usage of a forbidden technique had inflicted on himself. “What a pity.” Ning sighed to himself.

“Thank you, fellow Daoist.” The white-skinned youth hurriedly pulled the honest man to his feet. “The three of us are the disciples of the Meng clan. This is Meng Roch. Next to him is Meng Xin, while I am Meng Jun. Might I ask who you are, fellow Daoist?”

“Rocky.” Xin pulled at Roch’s hands as well, tears gathering in her eyes. At the same time, she looked towards Ning. Towards this fur-clad youth, she felt both curiosity and dread. Ning nodded. “My name is Ji Ning. I encountered the three of you by luck, on this trip to Stillwater City.”

“Brother Ji Ning, you are headed to Stillwater City as well?” The handsome, slender youth said with joy, “The three of us are headed to Stillwater City as well. Brother Ji Ning, would you be willing to travel along with us?”

Roch and that maiden, Xin, revealed expectant looks on their faces. Ning nodded slightly. “Alright!” Earlier, when he had stretched out his divine sense, Roch had just executed that forbidden technique. Thus, Ning didn’t know who these three were. Judging from their names, however, he could tell that they were from the same clan, and it seemed to be that they definitely weren’t that old.

“A single clan actually sent out three Zifu Disciples, all of the same age.” Ning mused to himself. “And all of the same surname, Meng. The map I have showing the various supreme powers include a clan named Meng.”

…….

One of the reasons he elected to travel alongside these three, was that Ning wanted to learn more about the outside world from them. After all, the Ji clan’s information regarding the outside world was far too sparse.

“Come, my friend Ji Ning, taste this wine. This was brewed within our Meng clan.”

“My friend Ji Ning, come taste this fruit.”

A large boat was sailing through the cloudy skies. Ning and the three members of the Meng clan were all seated. There was a table before them, and the table was covered with fruit and wine. Ning was clearly very powerful, and the three members of the Meng clan wished to befriend him. In addition, for Ning to travel with them meant that he was like a guardian spirit for them.

“So they truly are of the Meng clan.” After having travelled with them for several days, Ning had learned more and more things. Of the three, Meng Jun was the most skilled in conversation as flattery; however, his flattery was too obvious, making Ning feel rather irritated by him.

Meng Xin was definitely an exceptional beauty, the likes of which would be hard to find in the Ji clan.

As for Meng Roch, that honest, straightforward man who had used the forbidden technique, he was the only one of the three whom Ning had a good impression of and was willing to make friends with.

“Meng Jun’s words are correct.” Xin shook her head, then said in a clear voice, “Our East Bend branch has always been squeezed and pressured. Even the clansmen of the East Bend’s main line of descent just barely get by. As for those of us from secondary lineages, our lives are even worse off…we are already lucky to have been able to reach the Zifu level in training. To acquire top-tier Ki Refining techniques? Completely impossible. The other Bends will all squeeze us and prevent our East Bend branch from growing. Thus, the three of us, after reaching the early Zifu stage, agreed to head out together to Stillwater City and settle within a major school in the city. We could go visit many schools and test them, one by one, but unfortunately, Rocky is already…”

Roch chuckled. “It’s fine. It’s enough that we are alive. I only use a forbidden technique once; the impact won’t be great. No matter what, we are almost at Stillwater City! We’ll have the opportunity to walk farther on the path of Immortals.”

“Right. We’ve left the clan.” Jun gritted his teeth. “When, in the future, we become Primal Daoists…hmph. All of those old fellows of the clan will come out and welcome us nervously.”

“Move forward stably, step by step.” Roch glanced at him. Jun immediately raised his head and sighed. “Unfortunately, the three of us are in an incomparably bad situation. We come from the exalted Meng clan, but our magic treasures were inferior to those two members of Snowdragon Mountain.” Jun suddenly glanced towards Ning. “My friend, Ji Ning, your power is incredible. You killed those two members of Snowdragon Mountain as easily as killing chickens. I imagine that their magic treasures, my friend Ji Ning, are completely meaningless. My friend Ji Ning…how about bestowing me with one or two of the magic treasures, so as to allow our strength to rise. That way, we won’t be slowing you down.”

“Just one or two. I don’t ask for too many.” Jun stared at Ning, his eyes filled with eagerness. Ning frowned slightly. This Meng Jun…engaging in excessive flattery was one thing, but this? Ning realized that Meng Jun had a ‘good point’; his tongue was completely shameless.

“No one feels irritated over having too many magic treasures.” Ning glanced at Jun. “I am preparing to go to Stillwater City to trade for some magic treasures, but I have too few on me. I’m afraid that I won’t have enough. Fellow Daoist Meng Jun, how about loaning me one or two?”

Meng Jun’s face turned white. He tittered nervously, but in his heart, he cursed, “How stingy. Last time, when I flattered young master Ruxu, young master Ruxu gifted me with a magic treasure. I’ve spent so much time flattering this Ji Ning and took out fine wine for him to drink, but I didn’t gain anything from it. I saw how powerful he was and the fact that he had a Zifu-level spirit-beast, and thought that he must be quite incredible. But he’s still stingy!”

Ning couldn’t be bothered to even look at this Meng Jun. He had travelled with the three, primarily because he wanted to learn more about the outside world, and also because he felt kindly disposed towards Roch.

“Brother Ji Ning.” Meng Xin suddenly pointed downwards and shouted, “Look, isn’t that Stillwater City?” “Stillwater City?” Ning hurriedly turned to look as well.

Far in the distance, on the vast earth below them, there was an enormous, gigantic city. One couldn’t see to the end of the city with the naked eye. Even though they were a thousand kilometers away, Ning could vaguely sense that a series of ripples was emanating from that vast, towering city. Although the ripples were seemingly weak, the power hidden within them was endless.

Ning, just staring at the city, felt an indescribable pressure emanating from it.

“We made it. Stillwater City.” Ning’s eyes were filled with anticipation. “Stillwater City.” Jun, Roch, and Xin all had eagerness in their eyes as well. Eagerness towards the future.

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Chapter 3 – Meeting Northmont Baiwei Again

Chapter 3, Meeting Northmont Baiwei Again

“I heard that it is forbidden to fly in the air above Stillwater City. If anyone dares to fly past its airspace, they will be in trouble,” Meng Jun said, while the others landed on the ground.

Ji Ning stared at the distant city of Stillwater. This was an unfathomably ancient city that had existed since the Fiendgod Era. They were currently only a few dozen kilometers away , but Ning could already sense the boundless torrent of elemental energy that was constantly coalescing within the city grounds. At the same time, a terrifying presence emanated out from it.

“The entire Stillwater City is like a gigantic formation; I imagine that there should be an Immortal-rank formation there,” Ning mused to himself. Ning and the other three members of the Meng clan hurried towards Stillwater City’s eastern gate. The eastern gate was three thousand meters wide and three hundred meters tall; from this, one could imagine how vast Stillwater City’s walls were.

“Your trading caravan has a total of 321 members. Pay three hundred kilograms of thundergold!” In front of Ning, there was an awe-inspiring merchant caravan, with almost all members being at the Xiantian level. The caravan handed over three hundred pieces of thundergold, and then received around three hundred black embossed books as they entered the city.

“The city entrance fee is two kilograms of thundergold.” A soldier dressed in Dao-armor barked towards Ning. Ning was leading the Whitewater Hound with him; naturally, they had to pay for two.

Ning waved his hand, retrieving two pieces of a golden metal that flashed with an azure light. This was thundergold. Its density vastly surpassed that of normal yellow gold’s. In the past, when Ning had purchased his Darknorth swords, he had used just a small piece of thundergold…but to a Xiantian lifeform, two kilograms of thundergold wasn’t that valuable. To Ning, it was even less noteworthy.

“Alright.” Accepting the thundergold, the soldier handed out two black embossed books.

…….

Soon, the three members of the Meng clan and Ji Ning entered the city of Stillwater. The four of them flipped through the black embossed books in their heads, which had three characters on the cover: “Still” “Water” “City”. Upon taking a closer look, they discovered that it actually was a guide to the entire Stillwater City.

“Stillwater City is 9321 kilometers long and 8910 kilometers wide. It is divided into the east city, the south city, the north city, and the west city, and the Marquisate.” Ning read through the material clearly. The Marquisate was located at the very center of the city, and was roughly eight hundred kilometers in length. It was an absolutely forbidden territory! Entering without permission was a capital offense!

The east city, the south city, the north city; battle was forbidden in these regions, and they were safe places to live in. If anyone dared fight in the city, that would mean they were challenging the authority of the Marquisate of Stillwater! Thus, there were many, varied types of Immortal practitioners who lived in these three regions, and even some ancient Immortals would seclude themselves here and live peaceful lives.

“The west city?” Ning’s eyes lit up. The west city. This was the most bustling, lively part of Stillwater City! West Stillwater City was filled with many large estates, whose owners had exalted statuses or power rivaling the heavens. Naturally, there were some supreme clans, schools, and sects that who set up branches here as well. Many would come to Stillwater City and desire to take on a master, and these people would go to these branches to request admission. In addition, the west city had many merchants present as well.

There was just one thing! In the bustling, rowdy, lively west city, combat was only forbidden in the streets. As for the various estates? No matter how viciously or ferociously you battled within the branches of the various schools and sects, it was fine. But of course, that was if the masters of those estates and branches permitted you to do this.

“Northmont Blacktiger.” Ning looked at his book, and at the names of the various estates that were situated in the west city. Amongst them was the name, ‘Northmont Blacktiger’.

“Northmont Blacktiger Estate. It has a perimeter of ten kilometers. In Stillwater City, where every inch of ground is as valuable as gold…for Northmont Blacktiger’s estate to be so large must mean that his power is astonishing,” Ning mused to himself. There were also quite a few member of high-level members of the Marquis of Stillwater’s Northmont clan who had set up their own estates outside as well. Still, the Northmont Blacktiger Estate, in terms of size, was absolutely supreme amongst them. From this, one could tell what a status he had!

“Oh!” Meng Jun slapped his head. “So apparently, although it is forbidden for people to fly about in the skies above Stillwater City, as long as you are at the level of a Primal Daoist, you are permitted to fly about! I thought that all people were forbidden from flying.” Meng Jun had previously spoken about this in absolute terms, but upon seeing the words written on the book regarding the actual rules, he immediately remedied his ignorance.

“Brother Ji Ning, West Stillwater City is an incomparably bustling place, especially the ‘Treasure Trading Plaza’.” Meng Jun said enticingly. “Let’s go take a look.”

“I’ve heard that there are thousands of Immortal practitioners who have set up shop at the ‘Treasure Trading Plaza’,” Meng Xin was also quite eager. Meng Roch nodded as well. “Let’s take a look then.” Ning was quite eager as well. The Treasure Trading Plaza was a place that had been specially set aside for Immortal practitioners to trade treasures.

……………..

Ning’s group had entered from the gates of the east city. They had to pass through the entire Stillwater City in order to reach the west city. This was a journey of thousands of kilometers. Fortunately, all three of them were Immortal practitioners…although they didn’t dare to move too boldly and so didn’t walk too quickly, in but a single hour, they had reached the Treasure Trading Plaza of West Stillwater City.

The Treasure Trading Plaza. This was actually an enormous public square, covered with a dense cluster of stalls. Many Immortal practitioners were here, having set up shop. Next to the stalls were various white stones that were covered with black words, explaining which treasures the stall owners were here to trade.

“So many.” Ning held his breath. “At a glance, I can see at least ten thousand Immortal practitioners. Stillwater City truly lives up to its reputation as a gathering place for Immortals and Devils. It is the heart of the entire Stillwater Commandery. The Treasure Trading Plaza actually has so many people gathered here.”

The Treasure Trading Plaza had all sorts of treasures, and even some extremely rare curious. The greatest benefit to conducting trade here was…it was comparatively cheaper! But the problem was…it wasn’t safe enough!

This was because it was located in the west city. In the west city, only the streets were safe from battle. There were no proscriptions against battle in the Treasure Trading Plaza! It was absolutely possible that someone might appear to kill you and seize your treasures…but of course, this was still fairly rare, because generally speaking, anyone who dared to bring out sufficiently valuable treasures to display also was in possession of enough power to intimidate any thieves.

“Although battle is not forbidden in the Treasure Trading Plaza, there’s no way to tell someone’s power just by looking at them. Thus, how can anyone know how powerful someone else is? Perhaps the merchant might be a bored Primal Daoist out for some fun,” Meng Xin said. Ning nodded.

“Little Jun!” Suddenly, a voice rang out. Meng Jun turned to look, and he was instantly delighted. “Third Uncle!” There was a balding, middle-aged man in the distance who was walking towards them, face covered with smiles.

Meng Xin and Meng Roch turned to look, immediately recognizing this man as well. They, too, hurriedly called out, “Uncle Ming!” “Haha, all three of you left your clan?” The balding, middle-aged man laughed. “It’s good that you came out. In the clan, every day, you’d have to swallow your temper and suffer indignities. It’s better to come out. Did the three of you just arrive in Stillwater City?”

Meng Jun hurriedly said, “We just arrived at Stillwater City. This time, we have come with the intention of finding a master. However, we were curious, and so we first came to pay a visit to the Treasure Trading Plaza.”

“There’s nothing special about the Treasure Trading Pavilion; it just has many different types of treasures, some of which might be valuable.” The balding man shook his head. “However, one gets bored after spending too much time browsing. This is your first time visiting Stillwater City; in the future, after you enter a school, you won’t have much free time to wander about. I’ve spent a century in Stillwater City; I’m very familiar with it. I’ll take you around to tour it and see some truly excellent areas.”

Meng Jun, Meng Xin, and Meng Roch were all overjoyed. “And this person is…?” The balding man had noticed Ning and the Whitewater Hound following behind Ning. Meng Jun glanced back at Ning, but didn’t say anything. At first, he had constantly fawned over Ning, but after having received no benefits after so long, he had begun to look down on Ning. Now, after he saw his Third Uncle…he had naturally mentally discarded Ning already. In the future, he was going to join a school; why would he need to pay attention to this Ji Ning?

“This is Brother Ji Ning,” Meng Xin said in a clear voice. “He saved the lives of us three.” “Oh?” The balding, middle-aged man immediately said, “Then I truly must thank you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning. Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, why don’t you come along with us? This will allow me to take better care of you, fellow Daoist, and show you proper thanks for your assistance.”

“No need.” Ning shook his head. Meng Xin and Meng Roch both looked at Ning, wanting to urge him to come. But Ning laughed and said, “Let’s part here. For us to have met was a form of karma; in the future, if karma wills it, we will meet again.” “Alright.” Roch nodded.

As for the nearby Meng Jun, he quirked his lips. He just smiled towards Ning, not saying anything; however, his smile was clearly quite superficial. “What a shallow person,” Ning, seeing the way by which Meng Jun was acting, couldn’t help but muse to himself.

……

After watching the three members of the Meng clan depart behind their Third Uncle, and especially the way in which Meng Jun continuously chattered with and flattered the old man, causing his face to be wreathed in smiles, Ning couldn’t help but shake his head.

By the time the Golden Crow was about to set beneath the western mountains, Ji Ning, who had strolled about for quite some time, finally arrived at the Northmont Blacktiger Estate.

“What a dominating estate.” Ning stared at the distant estate. Before the gates of this towering estate were rows of heroic-looking soldiers. The enormous stone sculpture of a black tiger which stood next to the gate was especially intimidating; the head of the black tiger stared down at the passerbys, appearing quite tyrannical. All the pedestrians walking through the nearby streets couldn’t help but unconsciously move a bit farther away, not daring to go too close.

As for Ji Ning, he walked straight towards it.

“Who goes there?” One of the soldiers standing at the gate to the Northmont Blacktiger Estate shouted. Ning understood; once one reached a distance of thirty meters of the estate without permission, the Northmont Blacktiger Estate’s forces could simply kill the oncomer.

Ning waved his hand, and the ‘Northmont Blacktiger’ insignia which Northmont Baiwei had given him appeared within it. Upon seeing the insignia, a smile immediately appeared on the soldier’s face, and he said with tremendous respect, “Might I ask who you have come to meet, milord? I will make the report.”

“I am Ji Ning. I have come to meet young master Northmont Baiwei,” Ning laughed. “I’ll have to trouble you to make the report.” “Alright, please wait a moment.” The soldier quickly charged into the estate. As for the other estate guards, the look in their eyes as they glanced towards Ji Ning had become markedly more friendly. Still, they continued to stare icily towards the other pedestrians on the street.

“Hahaha…” Suddenly, loud, clear laughter rang out. A youth strode out quickly, dressed in a black uniform and with a crown on his head. Upon seeing Ning, his face became filled with excitement and joy. “Brother Ji Ning. I’ve waited so impatiently for you! You originally told me that you would come quite quickly, but in the blink of an eye, half a year has passed. You’ve truly broken my heart, hahaha. Your arrival in the city of Stillwater means that you’ve arrived in my home; there’s no need for you to worry yourself over anything. Leave everything to me.” As he spoke, he walked forward, pulling Ning by the arm in a very friendly manner. “Come, let’s enter the carriage.”

By his side, a carriage that seemed to be bathed in flames suddenly moved forward at high speed before coming to a halt outside the gates. In front of the carriage, there was a woman. The woman left the carriage, then said respectfully towards Northmont Baiwei, “Young master.”

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Chapter 4 – Ninestar Immortal Carriage

Chapter 4, Ninestar Immortal Carriage

“Come aboard the carriage.” Northmont Baiwei pulled Ning up onto the carriage. The carriage was roughly fifteen or sixteen meters long; naturally, the insides of the carriage were extremely comfortable and spacious. Baiwei and Ning entered, then Baiwei hurriedly said, “Sit, sit.”

“This carriage is quite comfortable.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh as he spoke; there were twelve seats within the carriage, and the seats were all covered with incomparably soft furs, making sitting on them very comfortable. “Young master Baiwei, the flames that cover this carriage…?” Just now, he hadn’t sensed any particular power or presence from the flames.

“It’s just an appearance generated by an emanation of elemental energy.” Baiwei smiled as he spoke, then gave instructions to the outside: “Go to the Carefree Caverns.” “Yes, young master.” The woman outside immediately replied respectfully.

Whoosh. The flaming carriage immediately began to move forward at high speed. “Have you noticed? This female servant of mine, along with the carriage…both of them are constructs.” Baiwei smiled delightedly. “Ah?” Ning was surprised. “Constructs?” He really hadn’t noticed. After all, they were in the Northmont clan’s territory; Ning hadn’t dared to casually release his divine sense to investigate anything in depth.

“Right.” Baiwei said delightedly, “That female servant is a golem which my father bestowed upon me. It can explode forth with the combat power of a peak Wanxiang Adept…and it is completely fearless. It is the best guard one can ask for.” Ning nodded.

“As for this carriage, the carriage is named the Ninestar Immortal Carriage.” Baiwei’s face was covered with smugness. “Once it starts flying, not even a Primal Daoist can catch up to it; in addition, it also holds within it the Celestial Ninestar Flames. Once it unleashes those flames…it can incinerate anything and everything. Even some weaker Primal Daoist will be burnt to death by it!”

“What?!” Ning, hearing this, was shocked. Celestial Ninestar Flames? Capable of burning Primal Daoists to death? Even if it was ‘only’ capable of burning and killing some weaker Primal Daoists, this was still inconceivable. After all, it was nothing more than a precious construct.

“Haha.” Baiwei laughed, then said, “My father personally bestowed that female guard upon me, but I’m just temporarily borrowing this Ninestar Immortal Carriage. This Ninestar Immortal Carriage is the personal carriage of my father; even if I sold off all of my treasures, I wouldn’t be able to afford even the slightest part of it. I’m only permitted to borrow and use it within the borders of Stillwater City.”

Ning now understood. So this was the personal carriage of Northmont Blacktiger! This couldn’t help but make Ning sigh at how deep the roots of the Northmont clan were, here in Stillwater; even Northmont Blacktiger had a carriage as astonishing as this.

“A treasured construct on the level of this Ninestar Immortal Carriage actually possesses sentience.” Baiwei stroked the carriage, clearly quite fond of it. “Just now, when I gave instructions to go to the Carefree Caverns, I was actually speaking with the Immortal Carriage itself. This Ninestar Immortal Carriage will automatically lead us there.”

Ning had to admit; this really was incredible and impressive! One did indeed gain great face when riding in this Immortal Carriage, capable of resisting even Primal Daoists. This made Ning fully understand how wealthy and luxurious a lifestyle the Northmont clan of Stillwater was.

“Look outside.” Baiwei pointed towards the outside world. Ning looked through the windows. This Ninestar Immortal Carriage moved extremely rapidly, and the streets of Stillwater City were incomparably wide; the scenes of the outside world passed by in a flash.

“The most mysterious, inscrutable part of the entire Stillwater City is the west city.” Baiwei pointed towards the outside. “After entering Stillwater City, you should’ve seen a book describing Stillwater City. Although the book has the names and signs of the various estates, have you noticed something?”

“I’ve noticed that the Northmont Blacktiger Estate is quite large,” Ning laughed. “Haha, there are a total of more than a thousand estates with the name ‘Northmont’ in front of them. All of them are the estates of members of the Northmont clan with some status. The estates are divided into three sizes; with a perimeter of ten kilometers, a perimeter of one kilometer, and a perimeter of three hundred meters.” Baiwei smiled. “But if you were to believe that these are the estates of the powerful members of our Northmont clan, you would be completely wrong.” “Eh?” Ning was puzzled.

“The book should also have quite a few estates which only have a name and no clan, such as ‘Kind Waters Estate’, ‘Universal Light Estate’, etc…” Baiwei looked at Ning, who nodded. There were indeed some estates like this. He didn’t know what the origins of these estates were.

“These are all the private estates of Primal Daoists, as well as some Immortals.” Northmont Baiwei looked at Ning. “Even some of the Immortals of our Northmont clan, due to having lived extremely long lives, no longer use the ‘Northmont’ name in titling their estates. This makes it so that it is very hard for outsiders to truly understand how many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals our Northmont clan of Stillwater has.” Ning was secretly surprised upon hearing this.

“Many of the estates are empty.” Northmont Baiwei very calmly discussed these rather secretive matters. “In the vast, endless lands of the Grand Xia Dynasty, there are some extremely mighty powers. If they pay a visit to our Stillwater City, our Northmont clan will gift them with a private estate. Although they will come visit only very occasionally, we will always keep these estates in good condition.”

“And so…West Stillwater City is truly a place where fish and dragons swim together. The more mysterious and unknown the owners of an estate are, the less you can afford to offend them,” Baiwei said. “As for North Stillwater City, many of the estates there have been taken over by the Raindragon Guard.”

“Raindragon Guard?” Ning said in surprise, “I heard that the Raindragon Guard’s headquarters in Stillwater Commandery is atop an incomparably towering mountain.”

“Right. It isn’t too far away; its name is the Crimson Dragon Mountains.” Baiwei shook his head and laughed. “The full members of the Raindragon Guard are all quite free and unrestrained; who would be willing to remain atop that desolate mountain? Given how bustling and lively Stillwater City is, and how they also have responsibility for maintaining oversight over the various major powers within Stillwater City, the Raindragon Guards naturally have occupied quite a large amount of land.” Ning nodded.

“Most of the north city is occupied by the Raindragon Guard. In the south city, most of the residences are occupied by the Immortal practitioners that make up the soldiers of our army.” Baiwei laughed. “This is something of an open secret, but naturally, this won’t be recorded in those simple information pamphlets given to everyone who enters the city.”

“Only the east city has many major trading unions and guilds, along with Loose Immortals, who gather there.”

……..

As they continued to advance forward, Baiwei told Ning about some secrets, but only those which many people would learn upon reaching a certain leve. This truly broadened Ning’s horizons.

As for the east city, there were many places for entertainment present. The most famous of those places was the Mountain of Heavenly Treasures! “The Mountain of Heavenly Treasures takes up an area of six hundred kilometers. It is a mountain located within the city itself, and the entire mountain is hollow. There are countless treasures within, along with merchants selling spirit-beasts and slaves, and all sorts of gambles and battles…in short, any sort of entertainment you can think of, the Mountain of Heavenly Treasures has it.”

Baiwei shook his head and said resignedly, “However, this Heavenly Treasures Mountain has the imperial clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty standing behind it! In this vast world, every single commandery city has a Heavenly Treasures Mountain within it. I can’t even imagine how much wealth they have accumulated for the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“The place I’m taking you to, right now, is named ‘Carefree Cave’.” Baiwei winked towards Ning. “The two most exquisite entertainment venues in the entire Stillwater City are the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and the Carefree Cave.”

“The Heavenly Treasures Mountain is something that can be seen throughout the Grand Xia Dynasty. But the Carefree Cave is unique to our Stillwater City, and it was established by three Celestial Fox Immortals.” Baiwei chortled, “But of course, it also has the support of our Northmont clan of Stillwater. After all, we can’t let the Heavenly Treasures Mountain make all the money, right?” Ning laughed as well.

“Young master. We are here.” The voice came from outside. As it did, the speed of the Ninestar Immortal Carriage quickly dropped as well. Baiwei led Ning out of the carriage, then pointed to an incomparably vast edifice in front of them. “This is the Carefree Cavern.”

Ning instantly grew rather stunned. He saw, far away, an enormous, incomparably beautiful, dream-like edifice. It was shaped into the form of a titanic fox; this was a giant building that appeared like a fox that was hundreds of kilometers long. Its entrance was the mouth of the fox, which had its head resting against the ground. The dense natural elemental energy in the surrounding area made Ning feel incomparably comfortable.

The Whitewater Hound leapt out of the carriage as well. Staring at this alongside Ning, it too had a look of shock in its eyes.

“Young master Baiwei, please, come, come.” Instantly, a tall, muscular, ox-horned man ran over. His aura rolled out in waves, startling Ning; this monster clearly wasn’t hiding its aura at all, which allowed Ning to verify that it should be at the Wanxiang Adept level.

“Mmm.” Northmont Baiwei nodded casually. “And this one is…?” The Diremonster looked towards Ning. “This is my good friend, young master Ji Ning.” Baiwei explained. The Diremonster hurriedly nodded. “Is this your first time, young master Ji Ning?” Appearing quite courteously, he led the way forward.

Ning swept his gaze forward. He quickly discovered that there were many people who had entered the Carefree Caverns to enjoy themselves; however, most didn’t have any attendants come welcome them. Although some occasionally did, most of the attendants were at the Xiantian lifeform level, or at most at the Zifu Disciple level. Only Northmont Baiwei had a Wanxiang-level Diremonster welcome him.

Ning and the Whitewater Hound followed Northmont Baiwei forward. The wide, spacious corridor was beautiful and almost dreamlike. Soon, they exited it and arrived at an enormous hall. At the left side of the main hall was a row of individuals who were either monsters or beautiful female Immortal practitioners. To the right, there was a row of individuals who were either monsters or handsome male Immortal practitioners.

“We respectfully welcome young master Northmont and young master Ji.” In unison, the individuals all bowed with respect, their sleeves drooping to the ground.

Upon being welcomed so respectfully by so many monsters and Immortal practitioners, and especially upon hearing them all call out loudly, Ning was instantly stunned. Fortunately, his soul was very strong, and so he quickly came to his senses.

“How incredible. The Carefree Caverns really live up to their reputation as a place established by three Celestial Fox Immortals and the Marquisate of Stillwater.” Ning sighed in amazement.

There were currently many guests seated within the main hall, and amongst them were four people Ning knew quite well.

……

Meng Jun, Meng Roch, and Meng Xin had been led by the uncle of their clan into the Carefree Caverns as well. That balding, middle-aged man had said, “The Carefree Caverns are the most top tier of top tier entertainment sights. In terms of sheer pleasure, it is actually superior to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. There are delicacies here which those of you back in the clan would never be able to even imagine. You will soon enter various schools, and so today, I’ll show you around here and broaden your horizons.”

“Is this the silverpike of Jimin?” Meng Jun ate while sighing in praise. As for Xin and Roch, they were clearly also eating quite happy.

Next to them was a Xiantian monster who had transformed into a beautiful woman, who was dancing about gracefully. There were also human Xiantian maidens who were playing the zither…

“Eh?” The balding, middle-aged man suddenly turned his head. Through another corridor of the main hall, a group of beautiful women suddenly appeared, either emanating a monstrous aura or an Immortal practitioner’s aura. A similar group of men appeared as well. They divided up into two rows, as though respectfully awaiting someone’s arrival.

“A major figure has arrived.” The balding, middle-aged man said hurriedly. “What’s that?” Roch turned to look, puzzled. Xin called out in surprise, “All of them are releasing their auras. It seems they are all Zifu-level Diremonsters or Immortal practitioners.”

“Wow, what sort of a person are they here to welcome?” Meng Jun’s eyes began to shine. If he was able to make friends with this major figure, wouldn’t he instantly rise to the heavens? Suddenly…

The two rows of stunningly beautiful and handsome men and women, who lined up deep into the recesses of the corridor, all said with great courtesy, “We respectfully welcome young master Northmont and young master Ji.” Their voices echoed within the main hall.

“Young master Northmont?” The balding, middle-aged Third Uncle immediately said in a low voice, “This is someone from the Northmont clan of the Marquisate of Stillwater, and definitely someone in the main lineage with a high status. Otherwise, there is no way the Carefree Caverns would treat him with such great ceremony. But who is this young master Ji?”

“Let’s see what sort of major figure of Stillwater City this is.” Meng Jun immediately looked over carefully. In fact, quite a few people were looking towards the distant corridor.

A youngster dressed in a black uniform and a crown walked in. By his side was a youth clad in fur. Behind them was a Godbeast Whitewater Hound, along with a female servant.

“Brother Ji Ning?” Meng Jun, Meng Xin, and Meng Roch were all completely stunned.

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Chapter 5 – Joining A School

Chapter 5, Joining A School

Wasn’t that Ji Ning, who had previously saved them? By his side was that Godbeast, the Whitewater Hound.

For a period of time, Meng Jun, Meng Roch, and Meng Xin’s hearts were filled with incomparably complex feelings. “Young master Ji Ning is this incredible?” Xin murmured to herself softly. “I knew all along that Brother Ji Ning was an extraordinary person.” Roch sighed.

As for Jun, a sunken, dark look was on his face. Previously, on their way over together with Ji Ning to Stillwater City, Jun had realized that Ning didn’t possess much worldly experience. In experience, Ning was very stingy. Thus, he ceased flattering Ning, and even went so far as to not even bother putting on a pretense of cordiality. He knew that Ning had opinions about him, but in the past he hadn’t cared about that. Now, however, he understood that it was probably too late for him to repair the relationship between himself and Ning.

“Is it so very glorious and amusing for an honorable, exalted young master to pretend to be a bumpkin?” Meng Jun felt hidden resentment in his heart. “And you dressed in those furs. You really know how to put on an act! Now look at how arrogantly you are acting today. I refuse to believe that in the future, I won’t surpass you!”

Each of the three members of the Meng clan were sighing for different reasons. By their side, their Third Uncle spoke out. “The Ji Ning we previously met at the Treasure Trading Plaza? Young master Ji?” The bald Third Uncle was shocked. He then said regretfully, “Alas, I didn’t expect that young master Ji had such an incredible status. I actually missed the chance to befriend a person like him; what a pity, what a pity!”

Meng Jun’s face became all the uglier to behold. Just you wait, he told himself. He would show them all!

……..

Ning felt extremely stunned to have been welcomed by so many beautiful women, handsome men, and Diremonsters, all of whom were at the Zifu Disciple level. For so many Diremonsters and Immortal practitioners to work here as servants…this showed how formidable those three Celestial Fox Immortals were, and also how much time and effort the Marquisate of Stillwater had expended on the Carefree Caverns.

“The Carefree Caverns are quite a relaxing, entertaining place. Even Immortals wouldn’t dare act brashly here.” Northmont Baiwei led Ning inwards. The two constantly advanced through the wide, winding hallways, the Whitewater Hound and the maidservants following behind them.

In the blink of an eye, they had walked more than thirty kilometers. To Immortal practitioners, this truly was a short distance. What stunned Ning the most was that the ceiling of the thirty-kilometer walkway was studded with many enormous jewels which flashed with all sorts of colors. This made the walkway appear both beautiful and dreamlike. Ning had seen some things in his life already, but jewels of such size…the Ji clan had never possessed any like them.

“These are jewels which were brought here, with great effort, from the depths of the North Sea. Every single one is a precious item that can be used to refine magic treasures, and they are also luminous by nature, being capable of drawing in elemental energy. A single one of these jewels is worth approximately as much as a single Earth-ranked magic treasure.” Baiwei continued in a soft voice, “The total value of the jewels and decorations in the entire Carefree Caverns is enough to render even an Immortal speechless and stupefied.”

Ning, himself, was speechless as well. Extravagant. Truly extravagant!

“We need to be able to compete with the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Baiwei said softly. “The luxuriousness of the Carefree Caverns is definitely not inferior to that of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

Suddenly, a pink-clothed woman with furry ears and a fox’s tail came towards them from afar. Her smile seemed to be filled with an innate charm and allure. She stepped forward, one step at a time, her fox’s tail swaying along with her rear in an undulating, enticing manner. Ning was instantly stunned as well, but soon afterwards, he regained his calm.

“Eh?” The pink-clothed woman looked at Ning in astonishment, then she laughed. “This must be young master Ji. It seems this is your first time here.” Northmont Baiwei laughed loudly. “This is my brother Ji Ning’s first visit to Stillwater City. I brought him here to show him our Stillwater City’s Carefree Caverns. It seems, Miss Ziyi, you aren’t very happy by the fact that my brother wasn’t bewildered by your charms.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Miss Ziyi laughed. “Young master Baiwei, the same place as usual?” “Naturally.” Northmont Baiwei nodded.

Miss Ziyi looked carefully at Ning, then led the way forward. In front of them was an enormous hall. The entire hall had a circumference of many kilometers, and atop the hall were many jewels of different colors. The floor of the hall was covered with thirty-meter tall sea corals, along with varied other decorations. The entire hall was decorated like an abode from Immortals.

Although Ning had the benefit of his memories from his previous life, he was still stunned. This was a hall that was kilometers in size, decorated with all sorts of marvelous items. Even in his past life, he had never been as stunned as he was today.

There were tens of women who were fluttering about in a dance within the hall, as well as tens of master musicians playing the zither and other instruments.

“Young master Baiwei, young master Ji, please, this way.” Miss Ziyi led them towards an arced entrance that hung in the air, then pushed the door open. Within, there was a secluded, refined private room that was more than thirty meters long.

“Arrange for the Hundred Treasures Banquet,” Northmont Baiwei instructed. “Alright.” Miss Ziyi immediately departed, leaving only Ning, Baiwei, the Whitewater Hound, and that female servant within the secluded room.

“This is a place that must have been sculped with the hands of the heavens.” Ning walked to the sides of the room. He stared through the completely open window, able to see straight down to the massive hall that was kilometers in size.

“This is nothing.” Northmont Baiwei lowered his voice to a whisper. “The Carefree Caverns have many places for enjoyment. Some of them, even I am not permitted to enter. For example, the legendary ‘Palace of Immortals’.”

“Palace of Immortals?” Ning was startled. “Indeed. Only Immortals or extremely important figures are permitted to enter. Supposedly, Primal Daoists are responsible for serving them; on occasion, even one of those three Celestial Fox Immortals will personally go welcome them.” Baiwei continued, “Stillwater City is the heart of the entire Stillwater Commandery. Thus, most of the Immortals are gathered here. Normally, when they hold meetings, they hold them within the Carefree Caverns. Only, when they enter the Carefree Caverns, they will directly fly in through the air, and then enter through a private, exclusive entrance.”

Ning nodded. Immortals? Given how vast Stillwater Commandery was, and how long it had been in existence for, there truly were quite a few Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals present here. Thus, only a school that had an Immortal guarding it could truly be considered a supreme, top-tier school. Those which did not have any Immortals, such as Snowdragon Mountain, were clearly on a lower level.

These Immortals were truly the most supreme of individuals within the entire Stillwater Commandery. They alone would decide the fate of Stillwater Commandery, decide the fates of its countless tribes, decide who would rise and who would fall. Even the Marquisate of Stillwater had to curry favor with these Immortals.

………..

One platter of precious delicacies after another was brought in. They even prepared a secondary side banquet for the Whitewater Hound, and all of the foods they prepared were those which Godbeast Whitewater Hounds loved to eat. All of the food was extremely exquisitely made. They all had extraordinary pedigrees. Ning, just listening to the servants describe each of the dishes, began to grow hungry.

After they ate for quite some time…

“You can leave for now,” Baiwei instructed his servant. “Yes.” The maidservant left respectfully.

“Ji Ning.” Baiwei lifted his beastskull goblet of wine. “Previously, you mentioned to me that you are going to enter a school. Have you made your choice?” “Not yet.” Ning shook his head. “Brother Baiwei, can you introduce me to some?” Baiwei immediately asked, “What are your requirements?”

“I hope that my school will have divine abilities, top-tier Ki Refining techniques, and ideally specialize in sword techniques,” Ning said. Divine abilities and Ki Refining techniques…these would be for establishing his training foundations. However, the Dao he had gained insight into and the Dao he had embarked upon was the Dao of the sword. On the path of Immortals, one’s insights into the Dao was one’s truest foundation.

“Oh?” Baiwei pondered momentarily, then laughed. “You want a school that has divine abilities, top-tier Ki Refining techniques, and which specializes in sword techniques…I do, in fact, have a school to recommend.” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“This school is named the Skysplitter Sword Sect.” Baiwei said with great confidence, “This Skysplitter Sword Sect is ranked as one of the top three major sects within Stillwater Commandery. In the past, didn’t you have some disputes with Snowdragon Mountain? Compared to them…well, Snowdragon Mountain simply can’t compare. This Skysplitter Sword Sect has at least three Immortals! As for Primal Daoists, it has tens of them! Zifu Disciples? It has more than ten thousand!”

Ning was rendered speechless. Tens of Primal Daoists and three Immortals? This, alone, was enough to stun Ning. Generally speaking, a single Immortal was enough to make a sect a supreme sect. But at least three Immortals? No wonder it was ranked amongst the top three major sects within Stillwater Commandery!

“The Skysplitter Sword Sect is famous for its sword techniques.” Baiwei continued quickly, “Just from the name ‘Skysplitter Sword Sect’, you should realize that they are celebrated for their swordplay. More than eighty million years has passed since the founder of the Skysplitter Sword Sect established the sect. The founder of the Skysplitter Sword Sect was a Loose Immortal who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years. He truly was an incredible figure.”

“Given how much time has passed since its founding till now…the amount of sword techniques its successive generations have developed is most likely innumerable.” Baiwei looked at Ning. “It is estimated that this school has at least two or three divine abilities as well, and it certainly must have many supreme Ki Refining techniques. Otherwise, there is no way it could have given rise to so many Immortals.”

A look of excitement appeared on Ning’s face. What a school! There was shade to be found beneath the eaves of a large tree. If he was going to rely on the power of a school to increase his own power, then naturally he had to choose a mighty school.

“This Skysplitter Sword Sect has a branch within Stillwater City. Generally speaking, it will only officially accept new students during the twelth lunar month. Although there is one more month before then…I’ll take you there tomorrow. I’ll simply need to say a few things to them, and this matter will be settled in advance.” Baiwei smiled as he spoke.

Ning revealed a look of excitement and joy. “Thank you, Brother Baiwei.” “Haha, Ji Ning, for you to join the Skysplitter Sword Sect is their great fortune.” Baiwei laughed loudly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He stared down through the open window to the nearby corridor it overlooked, then called out in a high voice, “Brother Zhou Li!” A white-clothed man below them raised his head, then laughed and said, “Brother Baiwei.”

“Brother Zhou Li, why don’t you come up for a few moments?” Baiwei called out in a loud voice. “Alright.” The white-clothed man laughed, nodded, then moved towards the corridor.

……….

Baiwei hurriedly said to Ning, “This person, Zhou Li, is one of the disciples of the Skysplitter Sword Sect who has been sent to stay in Stillwater City. He is a Wanxiang Adept, and quite influential within the Skysplitter Sword Sect. We just need to mention this matter to him. As long as he says yes, then the matter of you entering the Skysplitter Sword Sect will be settled.” Ning now understood.

A knocking sound could be heard. Baiwei hurriedly rose, personally going to open the door. Ning, naturally, followed behind him to welcome the man.

“Hahaha, Brother Zhou Li, just now, I was discussing your Skysplitter Sword Sect, and now you appear. Isn’t this quite the coincidence?” Baiwei immediately said, “Let me make an introduction. This is my extremely good friend, Ji Ning!”

“Brother Ji Ning.” The white-clothed Zhou Li, upon hearing Baiwei describe Ning as ‘my extremely good friend’, didn’t dare to treat Ning lightly, immediately clasping his hands in greeting as he spoke.

“Brother Zhou Li.” Ning returned the greeting. Baiwei immediately said, “Come, come in and sit.” “Not now.” The white-clothed Zhou Li immediately explained, “I’m here on someone’s invitation, and I must go meet with them. Brother Baiwei, if there is anything you need, feel free to tell me.”

Baiwei immediately said, “I’ll speak frankly then. This Brother Ji Ning of mine has heard of the fame and reputation of the Skysplitter Sword Sect, and his heart was stirred. He would like to enter your Skysplitter Sword Sect, and so I wanted to let you know about this, Zhou Li. I trust that once you give the word, this matter will be settled.”

“Oh?” The white-clothed man, Zhou Li, looked towards Ning. He asked Ning, “Brother Ji Ning, what level have you trained to?” Ning replied, “I’m a twin-refiner; both a Ki Refiner and a Fiendgod Body Refiner. Both are at the early Zifu stage.”

“Hahaha, early Zifu stage? Good.” The white-clothed Zhou Li immediately felt relieved. Laughing, he said with confidence, “When accepting new disciples, our greatest concern is that they might have trained in some superficial, inferior techniques and destroyed their future potential. Since you are at the early Zifu stage…your foundation hasn’t yet become fixed and immutable. Just let me give the word first, and when the time of the twelth lunar month comes, you can go to our local branch of the Skysplitter Sword Sect. You will immediately be accepted.”

“Excellent.” Baiwei laughed, then said in praise, “Ji Ning, await the twelth lunar month. When it comes, you will be a disciple of the Skysplitter Sword Sect.”

Ning nodded gently. The Skysplitter Sword Sect? In the future, he was going to be a disciple of the Skysplitter Sword Sect!

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Chapter 6 – Encountering Northmont Fox

Chapter 6, Encountering Northmont Fox

The door to the refined room closed once more.

“You can stop worrying now.” Northmont Baiwei sat down, then picked up the exquisitely made wine flask and poured Ji Ning a cup of wine. “With Zhou Li’s assistance, after you enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect, you won’t suffer much.”

“Suffer much?” Ning raised an eyebrow. Baiwei shook his head. “It’s a major sect, after all, with more than ten thousand Zifu Disciples. Given how many disciples it holds, I imagine you can guess for yourself how frenetic its internal struggles can be. The disciples are all divided into various levels. As a new disciple, if there is no one there to help you, I imagine that you will be treated worse than any of the others.”

Ning nodded gently. It was true. Wherever there were people, there would be competition. A major sect with more than ten thousand disciples…its internal struggles would indeed be quite fierce.

“With Zhou Li’s assistance, it will be a bit easier for you to rise.” Baiwei continued, “But afterwards, you’ll still have to rely on yourself and to fight for yourself! Remember; opportunity comes to those who fight for them. Don’t show any mercy. Although I don’t know the details of the situation, this sort of major sect surely must run internal competitions so as to divide up its disciples into various levels. In these competitions, do your best to be number one and become one of the most core disciples of the Skysplitter Sword Sect.”

“Definitely!” Ning understood this principle. In the Ji clan, he would be given the best of everything, but in an outside school, he would have to fight for whatever he wanted.

“When you are free, please come visit Stillwater City often. I can introduce some friends to you.” Northmont Baiwei smiled. “The path of Immortals is an incomparably difficult one. With powerful friends by your side, things will become much easier. Look…take a look at this person who just came in.” Ning turned to look through the window.

Miss Ziyi had personally gone to greet this person. The person she had gone to greet was an extremely handsome young lord, who had more than ten people in his entourage behind him.

“His bearing is extraordinary,” Ning said with praise. “This person’s name is Hun Wuji.” Baiwei said solemnly, “He is a formidable fellow. As for his clan, the Hun clan, it is an enormous merchant clan.”

Ning was startled. Enormous merchant clan? A merchant? Generally speaking, most of the major powers were sects, schools, or tribes; there were very few organizations solely dedicated to trade.

“The Hun clan is no ordinary merchant clan.” Baiwei continued, “Their business is spread throughout virtually the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. Although they can’t be considered to stand at the very top-tier of the Grand Xia Dynasty, here in Stillwater Commandery, they are one of the top two major merchant clans! And this clan rose to power only a few short millennia ago.”

Ning said, startled, “Just a few thousand years ago?” Baiwei smiled. “The founder of the Hun clan was named Hun Tianyou. He’s still alive. You tell me; how long ago was this clan established?”

Ning was shocked. Only a few thousand years had passed since the clan had been established, and yet it was already one of the top two major merchant clans of the entire Stillwater Commandery, and had spread its trade throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. This was indeed astonishing.

“This founder and Patriarch of the Hun clan, Hun Tianyou, was originally an orphan and a gangster.” Baiwei laughed as he spoke. “He himself gave himself the surname of ‘Hun’, symbolizing his original status as a gangster. He then gave himself the name ‘Tianyou’, meaning ‘protected by heaven’, as he was born as an orphan and kept alive through the grace of the heavens.”

“This Patriarch of the Hun clan…he wasn’t that talented in the path of cultivation. He became a Zifu Disciple early on, and then began to truly focus his attention on building up his business. Who would have imagined that he truly would rise to such heights?” Baiwei sighed, moved. “Audacius yet prudent, and viciously decisive…this person truly is a towering, heroic figure. In fact, when he was merely a Wanxiang Adept, he managed to employ three Immortals to have them kill his enemies.”

“He employed three Immortals?” Ning was speechless. Baiwei continued, “This Patriarch of the Hun clan relied on his tremendous wealth to forcibly increase his power to his current level, that of a Primal Daoist. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the entire Hun clan only has a total of two Primal Daoists. The amount of wealth they possess…compared to your enemy, Snowdragon Mountain, they are unfathomably more powerful.”

Ning nodded. For someone at the Wanxiang Adept level to be able to employ three Immortals…one could imagine how wealthy he now was.

“The Hun clan is one of the most supreme clans within our Stillwater Commandery.” Baiwei continued, “For them to reach such a level in just a thousand years…how formidable! As for that Hun Wuji who just entered? He’s the most prominent person in the younger generation of the Hun clan. He is viewed with great favor by the Patriarch of the Hun clan. Naturally, we need to be friends with people like this.”

“Within the borders of our Stillwater Commandery, the Hun clan is like the embodiment of the God of Wealth.” Baiwei continued, “On the path of Immortals, wealth is very important as well.”

Ning nodded. He understood; magic treasures, unique items, and even spirit-pills were all important. “Borrow from the strengths of those around you,” Baiwei continued, “And make the strengths of others your own strengths. Only then will you be able to walk further along the path of Immortals!” Ning nodded.

“Ji Ning, I trust that in the future, you will definitely become a towering figure somewhere.” Baiwei seemed to speak with great confidence. Ning replied, “Brother Baiwei, you treat me so well that I truly don’t know how to repay you.”

Baiwei immediately waved his hand. “This is what my father taught me; when you encounter someone you view as worth making friends with, you must treat them with sincerity! As for those not worthy of being your friends? I, Northmont Baiwei, wouldn’t even glance at them.” Ning laughed.

“You must be sincere to your friends. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make any true friends. Then, when a critical time comes, none of those ‘friends’ will help you,” Baiwei said. “Well-spoken,” Ning concurred. Only when you treated others with sincerity would they treat you with sincerity.

“If you make friends everywhere, you will naturally build up your own strength. Ji Ning, make some powerful friends. Within, you will rely on your own power; without, you will have your friends to assist you. In the end, you might end up becoming the leader of the Skysplitter Sword Sect,” Baiwei laughed.

Suddenly, laughter rang out from outside. “Hahaha…” The laughter was quite loud, and it echoed throughout the giant main hall of many kilometers. Upon hearing this laughter, the face of Northmont Baiwei, who had been chatting happily with Ning, immediately sank.

“Northmont Baiwei.” That deep voice echoed in the main hall, filling every corner of it. Quite a few of the guests within the various luxurious rooms at the ends of the corridors that hung in midair were listening with curiosity.

“You want for your good friend, ‘Ji Ning’, to enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect?” That deep voice continued to laugh wildly. “Hahaha, unfortunately, I can tell you something right now…and in fact, I can tell this Ji Ning kid directly. Ji Ning, kid, forget about ever being permitted into joining the Skysplitter Sword Sect!”

“Northmont Fox!” Baiwei suddenly roared out with anger. “What is it?” That deep voice let out a chuckle. “Are you upset?” Baiwei growled and cursed, “You shameless thing!”

“You do seem quite pissed.” That deep voice chuckled with delight. “Unfortunately, your good friend won’t be able to enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect.” “Hmph.” Baiwei no longer paid the outside world any attention. That deep voice said a few more mocking lines, but upon seeing that Baiwei was no longer responding, it fell silent as well.

Ning frowned, then said in a soft voice, “Brother Baiwei, who was that?” Baiwei’s face was exceedingly ugly to behold right now. He hurriedly said, “Ji Ning, I truly apologize. I didn’t expect that your affairs would be disrupted because of me. That person is named Northmont Fox. He, too, is a member of our Northmont clan.” Ning nodded.

“My father is Northmont Blacktiger. His father is Northmont Yin.” Baiwei shook his head. “His father and my father are competing to become the next Marquis of Stillwater.”

Ning sucked in a cold breath of air. The next Marquis of Stillwater? It seemed Northmont Blacktiger’s status was incredibly high. No wonder, as soon as Baiwei camed to the Carefree Caverns, Wanxiang Adept-level cultivators and monsters had come to greet him in such a grand fashion.

“His father and mine have always been opposing each other. Thus, this kid always is struggling against me as well.” Baiwei let out a snicker. “His father, Northmont Yin, truly is a heroic, towering figure, as a crafty as a fox. Northmont Yin gave his son the name ‘Fox’, but all his son is capable of is petty scheming.”

“I truly do have to apologize. Because of me, you won’t be able to enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect,” Baiwei said. “For Northmont Fox to proclaim it so boldly means that he definitely must be confident of being able to ensure it.”

Ning felt resignation in his heart. Just now, he was fantasizing about how viciously he would ‘compete’, but in the blink of an eye, it had all disappeared. He immediately said, “This is just a small matter. Stillwater Commandery is such a large place, and there are so many schools here. There are many different places I can choose from.”

“Right.” Baiwei continued, “How about this. Later, I’ll arrange for information regarding the various schools of Stillwater Commandery to be brought over. You can choose for yourself. When the twelth lunar month comes, the various schools will all be accepting new disciples. You can go by yourself. If I don’t go with you, I can’t cause any problems. Given your abilities, it will be very easy for you to join a school. To be honest, my actions just now were unnecessary to begin with.”

Ning laughed, “We were just a bit unlucky to have encountered this Northmont Fox.”

So what if he didn’t enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect? Even the ancient spirit of the underwater estate, after seeing that Ning had mastered the Rainwater Sword Domain, had treated him in a markedly different way. Ning felt certain that it would definitely be simple for him to choose any other schools.

Knock, knock, knock. A knocking sound at the door. “Brother Baiwei. I am Hun Wuji.” A voice rang out from outside. “Wuji, please, come in. Why even knock?” Baiwei hurriedly called out. The door opened.

A handsome, refined young man entered. This Hun Wuji had a smile which made anyone who saw him instantly feel well-disposed towards him. He immediately said, “If you were the only one here, Baiwei, of course I would’ve just entered. But Brother Ji Ning is here as well; I didn’t wish to be discourteous.”

“Ji Ning, come, this is my good friend, Hun Wuji.” Baiwei said. “Young master Wuji.” Ning clasped his hands in salute. “Brother Ji Ning. I heard your name just now.” Hun Wuji clasped his hands in response. “Then you heard me being made a fool out of.” Baiwei felt resigned.

“Just now, shortly after I sat down nearby, I heard what was going on between you, Baiwei, and with Fox.” Wuji sat down as he spoke. “Northmont Fox truly is a fool. How many schools does Stillwater Commandery have? He has a bit of a relationship with the Skysplitter Sword Sect and might be able to prevent Brother Ji Ning from entering that sect, but what about the other sects? For a school, accepting new disciples is a major matter. There are so many schools in Stillwater Commandery that are seeking new disciples, and he’s only able to affect a few of them. In the end, Brother Ji Ning is still going to be able to enter a school.”

“Thus, as you said, he is a fool. He always jumps at any opportunity to make trouble for me.” Baiwei shook his head. “It is as though by doing so, he can demonstrate superiority over me.”

Suddenly, the extravagant music from outside changed. The sound of a zither suddenly rang out. The gentle, watery strumming sounds were soul-stirring to the extreme.

“Eh?” Ning, Baiwei, and Wuji all looked towards the outside. Ning stared down into the wide hall. He immediately sat a green-clothed woman who was seated in front of a zither, plucking at its strings. For a moment, the entire hall seemed to have grown quiet. Only the sound of the zither could be heard.

Such a beautiful zither song.

Such a beautiful person.

Ning, upon seeing the green-clothed woman, instantly felt that she must be one of the fairy maidens of legend. The sound of her zither made Ning’s soul feel incomparably comfortable. Her skill in the Dao of the zither had clearly reached a level of mastery.

After the song was finished, the hall remained quiet for quite some time.

“So it’s actually Zither Fairy.” Baiwei sighed in praise as he spoke, then instructed the servant waiting outside, “Go, have Zither Fairy come over.” “Yes.” The attendant outside replied.

“You are actually going to invite Zither Fairy to come accompany us? The price you will pay won’t be a light one.” Hun Wuji glanced towards Baiwei in surprise, but Baiwei simply said, “Earlier, because of me, Brother Ji Ning’s chance to enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect was ruined. I wish to make sure that Brother Ji Ning will be happy today.”

Ning was quite surprised as well. He was inviting Zither Fairy over, just for him? And from the sound of it, the price would be significant. “Brother Baiwei, you truly are too courteous,” Ning said hurriedly. “That was just a minor matter, not worthy of discussing.”

“Hahahaha…” That deep voice rang out yet again. “Zither Fairy’s skill in the zither is truly at an incomparably miraculous level. Zither Fairy, would you be willing to accept an invitation to come to the room of myself, Northmont Fox?” This voice echoed throughout the hall.

Within Ning’s room. Bang! Baiwei, in his anger, smashed his beastskull goblet against the ground. Grinding his teeth, he said, “What sort of an unlucky day is this? I’m stepping in dogshit repeatedly.”

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Chapter 7 – Treasure Auction

Chapter 7, Treasure Auction

Within the hall.

Per Northmont Baiwei’s orders, the maidservant outside had exited the corridor and had arrived within the main hall. Upon hearing the words, ‘Zither Fairy, would you be willing to accept an invitation to come to the room of myself, Northmont Fox’, she couldn’t help but be stunned. She hurriedly called out, “Mistress, young master Northmont Baiwei also wishes for Zither Fairy to go to him.”

Miss Ziyi, next to Zither Fairy, was stunned upon hearing this. Moments later, she laughed. “Young master Fox, young master Baiwei is also inviting Zither Fairy to pay a visit,” Miss Ziyi called out.

“Haha, Northmont Baiwei, you are also going to invite Zither Fairy?” That deep voice instantly grew smug. “Why were you so quiet and silent about it? I didn’t hear you say a thing. If you are going to invite someone over, you have to show some sincerity.”

“How could I be as boorish and uncouth as you?” Northmont Baiwei replied with a cold laugh. The two were in different rooms, and were both calling out to each other.

Within the other rooms were young masters of major tribes, superb figures of major clans, and Raindragon Guards. Still, they didn’t intervene, just watched with amusement. After all, Northmont Baiwei and Fox were both highly ranked young masters of the entire Stillwater Commandery. They were both descendants of the Northmont clan, and their parents, Northmont Blacktiger and Northmont Yin, were truly incredible figures. They didn’t dare to rashly intervene in a struggle between two such young masters. After all, in Stillwater Commandery, the Northmont clan was the strongest power.

“Northmont Fox?” Ning looked through the window, towards the direction of that voice. Ning could see a figure in a private room that was a few kilometers away. Northmont Fox appeared quite muscular, and he had sideburns on his face. His appearance was very different from his name. He had the frame and musculature of a dominating tyrant, but his eyes were cold, sinister, and arrogant, like those of a viper’s.

Northmont Baiwei appeared ardent and heroic. Northmont Fox, however, appeared cold and sinister. They were two diametrically different people.

“Miss Ziyi.” Northmont Fox called out in his loud voice, “This Northmont Baiwei hasn’t reserved Zither Fairy in advance, has he?” “He has not.” Miss Ziyi, standing on the ground below, shook her head. “Since there is no reservation, and since both myself and Northmont Baiwei are both inviting Zither Fairy over, let this be determined by who offers the highest price.” Northmont Fox’s voice echoed throughout the entire hall as he called out, “I’ll offer ten taels.” Instantly, every single private room within the giant hall became filled with lowered whispers.

Within Ning’s room.

Ning was puzzled. Ten taels? Ten taels of what? As for Northmont Baiwei, he said with cold fury, “I’ll offer fifty.” “Hahaha, Northmont Baiwei, you are going to compete against me? Are you able to win?” Northmont Fox called out from his distant room, with a voice filled with braggado, “I’ll offer a hundred.”

……

Within Ning’s room. Ning, Wuji, and Baiwei were all seated. Wuji lowered his voice and said, “Brother Baiwei, if we are going to get into a bidding war, I can assist you.” But Northmont Baiwei just laughed and said, “No need. In terms of wealth, how could Northmont Fox compare with you, you little God of Wealth? Inviting Zither Fairy over is only a minor matter. Normally, just ‘one’ is enough. To spend too much is just foolishness. He’s now offered a hundred; as long as I raise the price again, Northmont Fox definitely won’t make another counter-offer. By then, I’d have to suffer the consequences.”

“Why aren’t I hearing anything from you?” Northmont Fox mocked from far away. Northmont Baiwei called back, “Congratulations, Northmont Fox. You have invited Zither Fairy to accompany you for the price of a hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence.”

Liquefied elemental essence? Ning was stunned upon hearing this. So the ‘one’, ‘ten’, and ‘hundred’ taels they were referring to…were in reference to liquefied elemental essence! Liquefied elemental essence was the refined, concentrated version of natural, elemental energy. One could rely on it to engage in training, without causing any stress to the body. Previously, Ning had acquired a a very thin layer of liquefied elemental essence from the stone room in the mine, most likely just ten or fifteen kilograms worth.

He had used up only a third of the essence, less than five kilograms. This had allowed him to breakthrough to the Zifu Disciple level and also establish and stabilize as an early-stage Zifu Disciple.

“Ten or fifteen kilograms was comparable to the entire wealth of the Ji clan,” Ning mused to himself. “A hundred taels of it…that’s roughly equivalent to five kilograms. Just now, in order to have Zither Fairy accompany him, Northmont Fox casually tossed out a sum that is equivalent to half the total wealth of my Ji clan? He is too…too insane.”

“A hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence.” Hun Wuji nodded. “That’s roughly equivalent to an Earth-ranked magic treasure. Given Northmont Fox’s temperament…for him to throw away an Earth-ranked magic treasure for the sake of making trouble for you is his limit.”

Ning, hearing this, was speechless. Well, then. After killing Adept Xu Li, he had only acquired three Earth-ranked magic treasures. He had worked so hard to accumulate that amount of wealth…but compared to exalted young masters of the Marquisate of Stillwater, he was indeed quite far off.

……

Outside the room, Northmont Fox’s voice continued to ring out with arrogance and smugness as Miss Ziyi was introducing Zither Fairy to him.

Within Northmont Fox’s room. Northmont Fox was currently seated alongside three other men. As for their servants and followers, they had a separate room of their own.

“I didn’t expect that I would run into Northmont Baiwei here, today.” Northmont Fox held a beastskull goblet in his hand, his red tongue gently lapping at the wine as he laughed sinisterly. “I just so happened to acquire a powerful retainer recently, as well as an extremely rare magic treasure. What happened just now was just the starter course. Today, I’m going to anger him so badly that he vomits blood. I’ll make it so that he will never forget this day. I’ll make him feel terror in his heart whenever he sees me!”

“Then let us congratulate you in advance, young master Fox.” “Let’s watch as Northmont Baiwei is embarrassed.” The other three in the room, Zhou Li included, all cupped their hands in a salute.

“Hahaha.” Northmont Fox laughed joyfully. Right at this moment, Zither Fairy came in, and Fox immediately said, “Come, Zither Fairy, come. Please come in and sit.” “Thank you, young master Fox.” Zither Fairy’s gentle laugh made Fox feel as though even his bones had relaxed. This made him feel all the more pleased.

With a beautiful woman accompanying them, Northmont Fox’s room was filled with laughter and amusement.

A long time later.

“Mm.” Northmont Fox looked down at the main hall, and at the dais that was beginning to be set up. “It should almost be time for the treasure auction.” Fox waved his hand, and a grand seal suddenly appeared within it. He handed it to the neaby Zither Fairy and said, “Zither Fairy, this grand seal is a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure, ‘Grand Mountain Seal’. It was forged from an actual mountain, the ‘Grand Mountain’, which was refined into this seal. Its true value comes from the fact that it is merely a Mortal-ranked magic treasure, but in terms of power, it isn’t inferior to any ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasures. Thus, this Grand Mountain Seal is absolutely a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure.”

“Top-grade Mortal-ranked?” “It is extremely rare to find a top-grade magic treasure. Young master Fox actually has a treasure like this?” Everyone nearby, Zhou Li included, was surprised. Zifu Disciples were capable of using Mortal-ranked magic treasures, while Wanxiang Adepts were able to use Earth-ranked magic treasures. But generally speaking, they only used low-grade or middle-grade treasures. It was extremely rare for someone to be in possession of a high-grade Earth-ranked magic treasure. As for top-grade…that was incomparably rare.

“I’ll deliver it over now.” Zither Fairy rose to her feet.

…………..

The dais rose up within the main hall below. Miss Ziyi’s voice echoed throughout the entire hall: “It is now time for the treasure auction. Today, our Carefree Caverns has prepared eighteen treasures, each with extraordinary attributes. Anyone willing to purchase them can buy them. The high bidder wins the auction!”

Within Ning’s room. Ning, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but feel startled. Wasn’t this identical to auctions on Earth? So a place like this, where Immortals and Devils gathered, also had so-called ‘treasure auctions’.

“In addition, honored guests, if you have any precious treasures which you are willing to sell, you can bring them out as well and allow everyone to bid on them as well,” Miss Ziyi said with a laugh. “Just now, young master Northmont Fox has brought out a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure, ‘Grand Mountain Seal’, and has made it the nineteenth magic treasure up for bidding in our treasure auction.”

“Northmont Baiwei! I wonder what sort of treasures you might have for sale?” That deep voice echoed out once more.

This was a slap in the face. He was directly striking Baiwei on the face! Within his room, Baiwei had an extremely ugly look on his face. Hun Wuji was frowning as well. “This Northmont Fox actually managed to procure a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure. Things are now a bit troublesome. I can bring out quite a few Earth-ranked magic treasures, but in terms of rarity, they can’t compare with this Grand Mountain Seal.”

Ning could tell what was going on. For these young masters, when they competed in treasures, what they cared the most about was rarity! Although Earth-ranked magic treasures were much more expensive, in terms of rarity and uniqueness, they were far inferior.

“Dogshit luck. I truly stepped into dogshit today.” Baiwei gritted his teeth. “I didn’t expect that not only would I run into this fellow, he actually came prepared. I’ll have to endure. Next time, I will get him back.”

“Brother Baiwei,” Ning said, “I also happen to have a top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure.” “Oh?” Baiwei and Wuji both looked towards Ning in surprise. A top-grade Mortal-ranked treasure wasn’t something you could simply buy with money; the reason why they were ranked top-grade was because they were truly few in number.

“Please take a look.” Ning waved his hand, and the dragon pearl appeared within it, along with four dragon scales. The dragon pearl had the illusory dragon swimming about in the middle of it.

“A dragon pearl!” Baiwei and Wuji were all startled. Wuji then cried out in astonishment, “A four-sided formations that matches with a dragon pearl? Judging from how complex the formation is…this is inconceivable. What formation is this?”

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation!” Ning gave his response.

“Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation?” Northmont Baiwei said in astonishment, “Our Northmont clan has a grand formation called the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, but that is a Heaven-ranked grand formation, and an extremely powerful Heaven-ranked grand formation at that. So there is actually a Mortal-ranked version of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation as well? It was actually simplified? This truly is unbelievable.”

Wuji quickly said, “Such a grand formation…this is far rarer than what Fox has brought out. In addition, Fox just brought a single grand seal. What you have here, Brother Ji Ning, is a formation! It is far more valuable.” The value of a formation was, indeed, higher than that of other magic treasures of the same level.

The way in which Hun Wuji looked at Ning had changed. Top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasures weren’t so easily procured. It seemed as though this friend of Baiwei’s, Ji Ning, was quite extraordinary as well.

“Ji Ning, are you truly willing to sell it? A treasure like this…after selling it, it will be hard for you to regain it,” Baiwei said. “Yes, sell it.” Ning laughed.

The Ji clan now had the protection of the Marquis of Stillwater; naturally, it no longer had any need for the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. In addition, a grand formation like this one required five people controlling it in order to unleash its full combat power. The reason Ning had brought this formation to Stillwater City was because he planned to sell it, and thus acquire a large amount of Mortal-ranked flying swords, which would vastly increase the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

“Alright. Brother Ji Ning, I’m not going to waste too many words on effusive thanks. This time, I’m going to give Northmont Fox a good slap across the face.” Baiwei’s own face was turning ruddy with excitement.

“Northmont Baiwei, can it be that you, the young master of Northmont Blacktiger’s estate, don’t have any treasures?” That deep voice once more rang out mockingly. Baiwei laughed softly, then called out in a loud voice, “Miss Ziyi, I have a formation here. Although it is quite ordinary, it is still naturally far superior to what Northmont Fox produced.”

The atmosphere in the hall instantly changed slightly. Everyone understood that young master Northmont Baiwei was finally standing up and preparing to deliver a vicious slap to his opponent’s face.

Only, would his slap be a loud, ringing one?

That would depend on whether or not this formation treasure was superior to the Grand Mountain Seal.

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Chapter 8 – The Boy of Universal Fire

Chapter 8, The Boy of Universal Fire

The treasure auction had begun, amidst this strange atmpshere. One treasure after another was brought out.

“The first treasure.” Miss Ziyi held up a tri-colored stone, which then levitated into the air. “14.5 kilograms of ‘Flame Flint’ which can be used to forge magic treasures. The lowest bid must be at least 130 taels of liquefied elemental essence!”

“150 taels of liquefied elemental essence.” Wuji was the first to speak out. The other guests in the various rooms looked towards Wuji, and all of them called out warmly, “Oh, young master Wuji is present as well?” “Young master Wuji!” They all addressed him in a clearly warm and familiar manner.

“160 taels.” A clear voice rang out from a distant room. It was a rainbow-clothed maiden. “180 taels.” An icy voice from a grim, callous-looking youth.

Within Ning’s private room. Ning just sat there, listening to these people bargain. He glanced backwards towards Hun Wuji. “Brother Wuji, you aren’t going to bid any further?”

“Brother Ji Ning, this is your first time here so you don’t understand.” Wuji laughed as he explained, “The small-scale treasure auctions which the Carefree Caverns normally offer will have treasures that start off at a price which is quite a bit lower than its true value. I offered 150 taels, and that’s a price at which I can definitely make money off this transaction. But as for a price of 200 taels, that’s a bit too much; only those who truly need it would raise it to such a price. I’m a merchant; I don’t like doing business at a loss.”

Ning now understood. So the first bid Wuji had made was for the sake of earning money.

“Ji Ning, after you grow more familiar with Wuji, you’ll understand; this young God of Wealth is always thinking about how to make more money,” Northmont Baiwei said with a laugh.

“290 taels.” A hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

A long silence. “Anyone offering a higher bid?” Miss Ziyi glanced at the private rooms in every direction. “Since there are no other bids, then this Flame Flint will go to young master Qu of the Raindragon Guard.”

“Next is the second treasure…” Miss Ziyi quickly began to introduce the next treasure to the audience.

……

“Young master Qu is a disciple of the Trueflower School as well as a Raindragon Guard.” Baiwei gave a quick introduction regarding the man. “He is already a peak Wanxiang Adept, and his future prospects are unlimited. Upon becoming a Primal Daoist, he will truly become a major figure here.”

Ning nodded. The others within this hall might not have statuses as exalted as that of Northmont Baiwei or Northmont Fox, but they were all extraordinary figures who were able to converse and interact with Baiwei and Fox as equals. After all, although these two young masters of the Northmont clan had exalted statuses, they were still young and didn’t truly command great power yet.

The reason why the Carefree Caverns treated them so respectfully was because behind the two of them were Northmont Blacktiger and Northmont Yin, who were candidates to become the next Marquis of Stillwater.

“That person just now was Miss Leshan of the Meng clan,” Baiwei said. “Within the Meng clan, she is viewed with great favor. Her training speed has been extremely fast, and in sixty short years, she has become a peak Wanxiang Adept. The Meng clan is one of the major clans within our Stillwater Commandery.”

Ning nodded. The Meng clan? He glanced at the distant maiden, who appeared to only be twelve or thirteen years of age. She was one of the true, proud scions of the Meng clan. Compared to her, Meng Jun, Roch, and Xin were far inferior.

…..

One treasure after another was sold off, most of which were meant for Wanxiang Adepts to use. Although occasionally, there were some appropriate for Zifu Disciples, those were all extremely rare items. Of the people present, aside from Baiwei, Fox, and some other young masters with extraordinary backgrounds, most had already reached the Wanxiang Adept level.

“Of the items that our Carefree Caverns prepared, two were not bid on, while the other sixteen have all been sold. Now, the auction for the top-grade Mortal-ranked ‘Grand Mountain Seal’ of young master Northmont Fox will begin. This treasure is a grand seal that was forged from the peak of Grand Mountain. If it was an Earth-ranked magic treasure, it wouldn’t be particularly precious; its value lies in the fact that it is a Mortal-ranked magic treasure which can be used by Zifu Disciples. When a peak Zifu Disciple uses this treasure, it can transform back into its original form of the Grand Mountain and crush downwards with astonishing force. There is no minimum price; everyone can now commence bidding on the treasure.”

Miss Ziyi was laughing as she spoke. The treasures which guests occasionally brought and auction off always started off at a minimum price of zero. The amount that was bid would be the amount the guest would receive; the Carefree Caverns never asked for any commission at all.

Within Ning’s private room. “I wonder how much this Grand Mountain Seal is worth?” Ning mused to himself. After having visited the Treasure Hall of the underwater estate, Ning didn’t hold the Grand Mountain Seal in high regard. If it had been left in the Treasure Hall, the first master probably would’ve just classified as something which only barely qualified as a high-grade Mortal-ranked treasure.

“Eighty to a hundred taels of liqueified elemental essences,” Wuji said. “This is the most common of all grand seal-type magic treasures. Although it is top-grade, it isn’t all that precious; it can just barely reach the price of a normal Earth-ranked magic treasure.”

“Fifty taels.”

“Fifty five taels.”

“Sixty taels.”

The various rooms were all making their bids. Soon, a final price was reached; 110 taels of liquefied elemental essence. Ning stared through the window towards the distant Northmont Fox, who had a smile on his face. Clearly, he was pleased with this price.

“Next is a formation technique, one offered by young master Northmont Baiwei,” Miss Ziyi called out loudly, a look of joy on her face. “The Marquisate of Stillwater has a famous Heaven-ranked formation, the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. As for this formation, this is the simplified version of that ancient, mighty formation. Although it is simplified, our Carefree Caverns have ascertained that it was simplified in a nearly perfect way; it is at the utmost peak of Mortal-ranked magic treasures, a top-grade amongst top-grades.”

In front of Miss Ziyi, a dragon pearl and four dragon scales suddenly emerged, hovering before her. Everyone present had extraordinary eyesight, and as they stared towards these items, astonishment appeared on quite a few faces.

“Ziyi!” Northmont Fox had an extremely ugly look on his face. He barked out, “I’ve never heard of there being such a thing as a simplified Mortal-rank version of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. Are you sure you assessed it correct?”

Miss Ziyi just replied in a loud voice, “Our Carefree Caverns is willing to pay two hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence to purchase this grand formation.” Upon these words coming out, Fox’s face instantly blackened, and he no longer said a single word. The reputation of the Carefree Caverns was beyond reproach; if the Carefree Caverns was willing to make an offer, that meant that it had an extremely good opinion of this formation technique.

“I am willing to offer 210 taels.”

“230 taels.”

Right away, the price began to rise. In his own room, Ning felt his heartrate begin to quicken; this was his treasure, after all. Slowly, the price continued to tick upwards….

“360 taels!” Suddenly, the clear voice of a young child rang out. Instantly, everything fell silent.

First of all, the price had risen very slowly to 300 taels, and this had been viewed as a hard ceiling to break through. For someone to suddenly increase the price to 360 taels was surprising. And secondly, the person who had made the bid had the voice of a child…this caused quite a few people to look towards him. Even Ning couldn’t resist from turning to look. He saw that in a distant, private room, there was a child that appeared to be six or seven years of age. He had a golden necklace around his neck, and he was nibbling on a bone.

“The Boy of Universal Fire?” Baiwei was surprised. “He came today as well?” Wuji was also shocked. As for Ning, he narrowed his eyes. ‘Boy’? This was the first time he had encountered an Immortal practitioner who looked like a child.

“Brother Ji Ning, according to stories, this Boy of Universal Fire is a reincarnated Immortal,” Baiwei said in a soft voice. “He is one of the most indisputable masters of formations, and he stands at the very top of the field amongst those of us in the younger generation. He has trained for less than thirty years, but he is already a peak Wanxiang Adept. In addition, he primarily focuses his efforts on analyzing formations, and has only spent a bit of effort on training. And yet, he has already reached such a level.”

Less than thirty years of age? A peak Wanxiang Adept? Who only spent a small part of his attention on training? And was a reincarnated Immortal? Ning was truly speechless.

“Are there any higher prices?” Miss Ziyi looked towards the surrounding rooms, but unfortunately, there were no further bids. “Then this Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation will go to the young master of Universal Fire,” Miss Ziyi said in an extremely respectful manner.

The Boy of Universal Fire, gnawing on his bone, instantly began to laugh loudly. “To condense such a complicated grand formation in such a manner, yet maintain so much of its essence…it has been a long time since I’ve seen something like this. I truly am curious as to which formations master carried this out. I bought it for just a bit over three hundred taels…what a bargain, what a bargain!” The Boy of Universal Fire waved his hand, and the dragon pearl, along with the four dragon scales, flew straight towards him. At the same time, he also tossed out some black marks, sending them flying towards Miss Ziyi.

As soon as the dragon pearl and the dragon scales entered his grasp, the Boy of Universal Fire instantly began to peruse them. The distant Ning, upon seeing this, sighed to himself. Even though this person was a reincarnated Immortal, he was also insanely dedicated to what he did. If he wasn’t, could he have reached his current level of accomplishments?

“Hmph.” In the other room, Northmont Fox had an increasingly ugly look on his face. He had lost. His Grand Mountain Seal had only sold for 110 taels, while the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation had sold for 360 taels.

……

Within Ning’s room. An attendant brought in a stack of black marks, placing them on the table. The attendant then bowed respectfully and left, closing the door as he did.

“This is 360 taels,” Baiwei said, delivering the stack of black marks to Ning. Ning saw that there were three slightly larger marks and six slightly smaller marks. On the large marks, there were the words, ‘Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the Grand Xia Dynasty’ and ‘Exchangeable For 100 Taels’. On the small marks, there were the words, ‘Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the Grand Xia Dynasty’ and ‘Exchangeable For 10 Taels’.

“Every single commandery city controlled by every single Marquisate of the world has a Heavenly Treasures Mountain within,” Baiwei explained. “This elemental mark is used quite commonly. It is also a magic treasure that requires someone to be at least at the Xiantian level to bind. After binding it, you can carry it with you and use it to buy other magic treasures, or trade for liquefied elemental essence. Liquefied elemental essence is something which every single major power in the entire world delights in.”

Ning nodded. At Earth, one of the trillion Lesser Worlds, it could be said that gold was a common commodity used for trade. In this vast world, however, the refined extract of the natural elemental energy of the world was what was used as a common currency. By relying on them, one could avoid having to waste precious amounts of time in slowly, bitterly gathering in energy. However, not even Immortals could be wealthy enough to use liquefied elemental essence nonstop; at most, they would use them to help in making breakthroughs.

“I’ve caused you, Brother Ji Ning, to lose a grand formation. I truly feel ashamed,” Baiwei said quickly. “But I acquired this liquefied elemental essence,” Ning replied hurriedly. “As for the grand formation, it was of no use to me.”

Baiwei shook his head. “It’s not the same. Such a rare formation can easily be exchanged for liquefied elemental essence, but it will be very hard for you to use elemental essence to buy another such formation. Still, I have to admit, this feels excellent. Today, Northmont Fox wanted to cause trouble for me. He first ruined our plans of having you, Brother Ji Ning, enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect, and then he insisted on taking away Zither Fairy. At last, I’ve given vent to my anger.”

“Given Northmont Fox’s temperament, I imagine that he’s going wild with rage by now,” Wuji said with a laugh. “Right.” Just thinking of this made Baiwei begin to laugh even more happily.

Ning grinned as well…and in his heart, he was calculating how many flying swords he might be able to purchase with these 360 taels of liquefied elemental essence.

“When I left Swallow Mountain, I first made a trip to the underwater estate. I passed the second level of the Wargod Hall and traded for the Nine Yang Swords Formation.” Ning was pondering to himself. The Nine Yang Swords Formation was an extremely good match for the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]; although Daoist Threelives had individually ranked those nine swords as only being high-grade, in the modern era, they would all definitely be considered top-grade. In addition, all nine swords came from the same source, and they just so happened to form a formation base for the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and so the power of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had naturally increased significantly.

“I need to acquire some more high quality flying swords that come from the same source. I can’t hope for top-grade Mortal-ranked flying swords like these Nine Yang Swords, but I have to try and procure high-grade or at least middle-grade swords.” Ning understood that there was a direct link between the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and the quality of his magic treasures. The higher quality those magic treasures were, the greater the power of the formation would naturally become.

Given the current power of his divine sense, his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would be capable of unleashing tremendous combat power. His true killer attack, the [Starseizing Hand], was something he would only use at the most critical moments; under ordinary circumstances, he would rely on the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to make his way through the world.

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Chapter 9 – Ji Ning Reveals His Fierceness

Chapter 9, Ji Ning Reveals His Fierceness

After having vented their anger through the treasure auction, Northmont Baiwei, Hun Wuji, and Ji Ning were now chatting and laughing amongst themselves. They were in quite a good mood. Time passed on slowly, and night began to approach.

“Midnight comes, and the time for the betting arena comes as well.” From outside the window, the voice of Miss Ziyi could be heard. Ning looked out through the window, only to see that the hall had now become completely empty. There were two jewels placed in a corner of the room, and Miss Ziyi was standing in one of the corners while speaking.

“The betting arena duels are absolutely berserk,” Baiwei said as he looked out the window. “Most of the people here are Wanxiang Adepts, and astonishingly talented ones at that. They will send some of their Zifu Disciple followers or retainers to engage in battle against other Zifu Disciples and Zifu-level Diremonsters. The masters on each side will engage in a gamble on the duel.” Ning sighed to himself as he listened. What a tragic sight!

“The Immortal cultivators and monsters who engage in the betting arena duels participate for the sake of survival or for the sake of acquiring treasures,” Baiwei said. “However, a duel must be between two competitors at the same level; there absolutely would never be, for example, a Wanxiang Adept battling a Zifu Disciple.”

……

Ning stared down at the hall below. An Immortal practitioner with a sword on his back had entered the hall, and a red-haired man had entered as well. The two stared at each other, their eyes filled with murderous intents.

They first walked to stand before the two jewels at the two opposite corners of the hall, filling them with their elemental energy and causing each to radiate light.

“The Immortal cultivator under the command of young master Qu is a peak Zifu Disciple.”

“The Diremonster under the command of Miss Leshan is also at the peak Zifu level.”

Miss Ziyi called out in a loud voice, “Activate the grand sealing formation.” Whoosh! Instantly, a watery, rippling layer of light that was nearly a kilometer in circumference suddenly appeared within the hall, covering the Immortal practitioner and the red-haired man within it.

“Qu Yihang, I think you had best admit defeat obediently. Otherwise, not only will you lose your money, you will also lose your man!”

“Hmph. Just wait and you’ll see.”

Voices rang out from the two private rooms…and the battle below them instantly began. The red-haired Diremonster instantly transformed into a strange, four-hooved monster of fire. Its body was covered with armored scales, and it howled as it charged towards the Immortal practitioner while belching forth fiery light from its mouth.

“Vermin, accept death.” The sword-wielding Immortal practitioner let out a cold laugh. Swish! The sword on his back instantly flew out, and as it slashed through the air, it left a rainbow-colored scar through the air…

Ning watched the battle progress beneath him. He nodded to himself. “The Immortal practitioner should be the winner.” After having battled for some time, the Diremonster let out a grief-stricken bellow, then collapsed. The Immortal practitioner’s face was ashen as well; he had been forced to execute a forbidden technique in order to achieve this victory. However, in the end, he had won. Previously, his master-uncle, Qu Yihang had told him that so long as he won, he would help him become a inner disciple.

“Success.” The Immortal practitioner had excitement in his eyes. Although he had used a forbidden technique, he hadn’t used it for very long. In a year or so, he would be fully recovered.

“Hahaha….” Young master Qu immediately began to laugh. As for Meng Leshan, she had an ugly look on her face.

…..

In Ning’s private room. Baiwei said with a laugh, “Meng Leshan and Qu Yihang are both dazzling, outstanding talents. Both of them have joined the Raindragon Guard as well. Rumor said that while on a mission for the Raindragon Guard, the two formed a grudge against each other. Outside Stillwater City, the two would most likely be plotting each other’s deaths. Within the city itself, they are still going all out to harm each other.”

“Much like you and Northmont Fox, actually,” Wuji said with a laugh. “Hahaha, yes, just like me and Northmont Fox,” Baiwei replied with a loud laugh.

Wuji looked towards Ning. “Brother Ji Ning, although these betting duels appear casual, in truth, many mysteries hide within. You have to select a particularly astonishing individual at the Zifu Disciple level…but the more talented an expert is, the less willing they will be to risk their lives. Thus, it’s actually quite difficult to arrange for these betting duels. Both sides have to come up with a way to recruit someone, and if they lose, not only will they lose money and their fighter, they will also lose face. Sometimes, if they grow desperate due to their losses, they might even personally join the field of battle.”

“Personally join the field of battle?” Ning was surprised. These Immortal practitioners all had extraordinary statuses; they would personally join and fight?

“What’s so surprising about this? These geniuses rose to prominence through combat to begin with. When enraged, they will personally join the field of battle. Every year or two, there will be Wanxiang Adepts, unparalleled geniuses all, who will fight a duel to the death here in the Carefree Caverns. If someone dies, no one can be blamed for it!” Baiwei continued, “But of course, aside from those who have grudges against each other, most are just trying to win some money through using the servants and retainers under their command.”

“For example, myself,” Wuji said with a laugh. “I have quite a few servants and retainers. I can send them down to engage in betting duels, and the stakes for each duel must be at least two hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence. I can make quite a bit of money in this manner.” Ning nodded.

Ning now understood that although Hun Wuji and Northmont Baiwei were two of the more amiable figures amongst these exalted young masters…they were still figures of high status. They had high standards. It was precisely because they thought well of Ning that they were willing to treat him as an equal and as a friend. To them, ordinary Zifu Disciples were nothing more than retainers or servants; why would they care about their deaths?

Some time later. More than ten betting duels had already been carried out, and the atmosphere of the entire hall had become noticeably more heated and wild. There was currently a very tall and muscular Fiendgod Body Refiner standing in the middle of the hall. As a Zifu-level Fiendgod Body Refiner with a divine ability, he possessed astonishing combat power.

“Hahaha, everyone, I’ve won six rounds in a row. It seems that the ‘spiritfruit wine’ for today’s betting duels will be mine for the drinking.” A chubby-faced, big-eared youth in a private room was laughing merrily. “Is there anyone else? As long as you can beat my subordinate, you will gain three hundred taels.”

“Su-Su! You’ve won enough. Have your man go down.” A deep voice rang out. Instantly, Ning turned to look; the speaker was Northmont Fox. Fox flashed a fierce glance towards Ning, giving him a long stare, then grinning with a clearly wicked idea in mind.

Ning laughed as well. He had overheard quite a few things today, and now understood that these young masters couldn’t quite be considered the movers-and-shakers of the Commandery. The truly top-tier figures of Stillwater Commandery were the likes of Northmont Blacktiger. Northmont Fox? Ning didn’t fear him at all.

“Bang!” The hall suddenly trembled. A two-meter tall horned man with massive muscles and azure skin strode into the hall, his every footstep causing it to shake. His eyes radiated with azure light as well. Upon seeing him, every single person understood…that this was a Diremonster! Normal people could rarely reach the height of six meters, much less be horned.

The giant, muscular, horned Diremonster strode to the two jewels in the corner, then filled them with his elemental ki and his divine power. “Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ki Refiner. A dual refiner.” Miss Ziyi, standing in the corner, immediately made this report. “Both are at the peak Zifu level. A Diremonster under the control of young master Fox.”

Whoosh. The grand sealing formation once more lit up, and the Diremonster stared directly towards that Fiendgod Body Refiner cultivator. “Die, then.” The azure-skinned, horned Diremonster let out a loud roar, transforming into a rhinoceros with a single horn that was more than thirty meters tall. Its entire body then radiated with light, and the body of the Monoceros once more swelled, transforming to sixty meters in height. The enormous Monoceros…it stared at its opponent as though he were an ant.

Bang! The Monoceros moved as fast as lightning, intending to trample its opponent. Whap! Whap! Whap! After three exchanges of blows, the Fiendgod cultivator had been trampled to the point of having only half his body left. He immediately called out in a high voice, “I admit defeat!” Only then did the azure-skinned Monoceros come to a halt.

If one side perished or admitted defeat, that represented the end of the battle! If one insisted on forcibly killing someone who had surrendered, one would be punished with a fine equal to ten times the stakes of the bet.

“Grrr…” The Monoceros raised its head, letting out a growl, then transformed into mist before recondensing into that azure-skinned, horned man who was six meters tall.

“Northmont Baiwei. Three hundred taels. Dare you engage in a betting duel with me?” The distant Northmont Fox pointed from his window towards Baiwei. “I know that you are as cowardly as a mouse, and won’t possibly dare to engage in a betting duel. Hahaha…as cowardly as a rat!”

The sound of his laughter was so repugnant and vile. Ning now finally understood why some people would personally go enter the arena.

“I didn’t expect that Northmont Fox would be here today. If I did…I would never have allowed him to act so arrogantly for so long.” Baiwei gritted his teeth, so hard that they were at the point of splintering. He was an incomparably proud person; how could he not be enraged after being mocked repeatedly?

“Brother Wuji, do you have any powerful retainers present?” Baiwei looked towards Wuji. Wuji was like a young God of Wealth; he often relied on betting duels to earn money. Naturally, he had some formidable retainers under his command. Nodding, he said, “I do have a powerful retainer amongst the servants I brought today. However, I truly do not feel confident in his chances. That Diremonster retainer which Northmont Fox brought out is a Fiendgod Body Refiner with a divine ability; he truly is extraordinary.”

Ning nodded as well. Monsters were powerful to begin with, and those who trained as Fiendgod Body Refiners were even tougher to deal with, much less those who also had divine abilities. Their combat power was at a level higher than even Jadechild had been at. Generally speaking, those with such a great level of power would disdain from serving as retainers and engaging in betting duels. However, this person was a Diremonster who had definitely been captured and tamed; thus, he must have been forced to obey the order to go take part in a betting duel.

“No matter what, let’s give it a try,” Baiwei said. “Alright,” Wuji nodded. “Attend me.” Baiwei called towards the servant outside, then waved his hand and produced three hundred taels worth of marks, then tossed them over. “Let’s bet on a duel.” The servant nodded.

………..

Soon, a black-robed cultivator entered the hall. He stared coldly towards his opponent, underwent the test, and was verified to also be at the peak Zifu level in power. “Kill him!” From far away, Northmont Fox let out a roar.

That six-meter tall, azure-skinned and horned man stared at the black-robed cultivator, then roared, “You are dead.” And then, it once more transformed into a towering, massive Monoceros, then executed its Heavenly Transformation divine ability and increased in size yet again, to sixty meters in height! Its entire body filled the area with a savage aura, causing the corners of the eyes of the black-robed cultivator to crease.

“A stupid cow.” The black-robed cultivator let out a cold laugh. Whoosh! A black fog appeared out of nowhere in the area around them, filling the entire area, including that Monoceros. The only thing that could be seen within the black fog was an enormous, rainbow-colored serpentine phantom.

“Die, die, die!” The enormous Monoceros wildly charged and trampled about. The black fog swirled around it, and the massive phantom serpent also coiled around the Monoceros, causing its body to crackle and pop. Its body was beginning to rot, and its bones quickly became visible.

“Bangbangbang…” The Monoceros rampaged about, its power seemingly great enough to shatter the skies and overturn the mountains.

“No, I….” Suddenly, a miserable scream rang out. BANG! An explosive sound…and the black fog dispersed, along with the illusion of a serpent. The enormous Monoceros stood there in the hall, vestiges of blood and gore visible beneath its feet. Its body was completely rotted away, and thick white bones could be seen on its back. Still, quite soon, in just a few breaths, its body completely healed.

“Northmont Baiwei. Is that all you have to show?” Northmont Fox arrogantly mocked him yet again. “I’m so very sorry…but your three hundred taels of liquefied essence is now mine. I would now like to propose a challenge of six hundred taels of liquefied essence…dare you accept?”

Silence. Complete silence. The entire hall had fallen silent, and nobody said a thing. Although they weren’t afraid of Northmont Fox, they truly didn’t have any Zifu-level experts who were capable of battling that Monoceros monster. Everyone was waiting to see how Baiwei would respond.

…..

Within Ning’s private room. Baiwei stared towards the outside, his gaze narrowing. “Nine hundred taels! I’ll wager nine hundred taels on a bet with you. Dare you accept it?” Northmont Fox was continuing to shout provocatively. He wanted to seize this opportunity to deeply humiliate his old foe. His father, Northmont Yin, strongly encouraged him to suppress Northmont Baiwei whenever Fox had the chance.

Silence.

Wuji didn’t say anything. He didn’t have any retainers who were more powerful than the monster. Baiwei’s veins began to protrude from his face, and he muttered to himself, “Endure, endure, endure…”

“Let me go.” Ning suddenly rose to his feet. “I will go kill that rhinoceros monster.” “You?” Wuji and Baiwei both stared towards Ning in astonishment.

“No way. Ji Ning, if you train for a few more years, it will be simple for you to kill him, but you’ve only trained for ten or so years to date,” Baiwei said, shaking his head hurriedly. “You can’t take this risk.” But in his heart, he couldn’t help but feel slightly moved; he understood that Ning simply couldn’t watch any longer, and wanted to fight on his behalf.

Ning glanced at the outside. Nine hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence? What he lacked the most right now was liquefied elemental essence; upon killing the rhinoceros monster, he should acquire quite a bit of it.

“Don’t worry. Killing him?” Ning let out a chuckle. “That will be as easy as killing a chicken.”

Wuji and Baiwei were both stunned. These words were simply too dominating!

“Fine. Then I’ll bet against him. If we win, the liquefied elemental essence will be yours, Brother Ji Ning!” Northmont Baiwei felt incomparably excited.

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Chapter 10 – The Monstrous Ji Ning

Chapter 10, The Monstrous Ji Ning

“Brother Ji Ning, you are willing to risk yourself for me. I truly don’t know what I…” Northmont Baiwei looked at Ning, then said hesitatingly, “You know, let’s just forget it. Although Northmont Fox is going too far, it’s not a big deal if we just endure it for a time. In the future, I’ll just seek out an opportunity to avenge myself.” When he recollected how savage that rhinoceros Diremonster was, Baiwei was worried for Ning.

“No need to say anything further. The liquefied essence will go to me upon winning, right? That’s enough,” Ning said with a laugh. Baiwei opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out.

“Don’t worry. I’m completely confident.” Ning cracked his lips into a wide grin. “Excellent!” The nearby Hun Wuji looked at Ning. “Brother Ji Ning, we will wait here for you to drink with us when you return.” Ning nodded, a fierce light flashing through his eyes.

This time…would be the first time he would reveal his power in Stillwater City. Since he had come to Stillwater City, then it was time for him to truly show off what a ‘monstrous talent’ he was.

Since he had already decided to join a school, and since there were so many elite members from many schools present, Ning had come to his decision. He was no longer going to hide himself and conceal his power. He had trained in seclusion in the Swallow Mountain region for ten-plus years; he had concealed enough. In Stillwater City, what he needed was reveal as much of his prowess and talent as he could; he needed for the various schools to view him as a priceless treasure! To make the various powers all view him as someone tremendously important! Only then would he be able to ascend beyond the clouds in the azure sky!

If he was to embark on this path, then he would embark on this path as a genius. The path of a monstrous genius!

“A rhinoceros monster?” Ning looked through the window towards that savage, massive rhinoceros Diremonster. “Nothing more than a stepping stone for me.”

“Attend me.” Baiwei once more summoned the servant, then handed over nine hundred taels. At the same time, he instructed her to take Ning to engage that Monoceros in a duel.

The maid looked in astonishment towards Ning. Within the hallway outside the room, she had seen for herself how savage and mighty that rhinoceros monster was. This delicate, handsome youth in front of her was going to battle against that rhinoceros monster?

“Yes.” The maidservant didn’t dare say anything; she immediately led Ning towards the outside. “Brother Ji Ning, we shall wait here for your victorious return!” Baiwei and Wuji both rose to their feet, watching as Ning left.

“Be careful.” The Whitewater Hound, resting on the ground, rose to his feet as well as he looked at Ning. Still, the Whitewater Hound knew very well…that Ning had killed Adept Xu Li with but a single stroke. Kill this rhinoceros monster? Ning shouldn’t have any problems at all.

Ning turned his head, glancing back towards him, then nodded. And then, Ning departed. Ning headed out through the hallway, following after the maidservant. There were some other attendants in the hallway as well. They all looked towards Ning, a mixture of curiosity, grief, sympathy, and pity in their eyes. As they saw it…this handsome, delicate youth was probably a retainer who was being sent to his certain death.

“Baiwei, are you quivering in fear?” That deep voice once more called out mockingly. “Northmont Fox, have that Diremonster under your command prepare for death!” Another voice, a clear one, rang out from the other room. “In addition, Northmont Fox, let me tell you something. Even if you occasionally acquire a powerful retainer, you should be modest. The more arrogant you are, the more miserable your defeat will be!”

“Bullshit!” Northmont Fox instantly grew enraged. Northmont Baiwei just snickered. “Shortly afterwards, you’ll have to swallow your own pile of crap.” The voices of the two young masters of the Northmont clan echoed in the air.

As for Ning, he had already departed his corridor and arrived within the main hall.

……

“Oh, Northmont Baiwei actually has a subordinate he can send out? Can it be that he feels confident that his subordinate will be able to overcome that rhinoceros monster?” A rainbow-clothed maiden looked downwards from her window.

……

“Someone dares to battle against that rhinoceros monster? Who is it?” A white-robed young master looked downwards as well.

…….

“Hm.” The Boy of Universal Fire, still gnawing on that bone, looked downwards as well. Although he had earlier been focusing on analyzing his new formation, the betting duels was the most lively part of the night, and they didn’t go on for too long. Naturally, he elected to watch them as well.

……

“Who is it? I refuse to believe that he has a subordinate that can kill my rhinoceros monster.” Northmont Fox stared downwards as well. All of them were staring towards that corridor, and soon, they all saw a youth dressed in fur enter the main hall, under the guidance of that maidservant. The youth had a smile on his face, as though this was naught but a game.

“He is Ji Ning.” Zhou Li, next to Fox, spoke out. “That good friend of Northmont Baiwei’s.” “Good friend?” Fox instantly began ro roar with laughter, and his voice filled the entire hall.

“Northmont Baiwei, do you truly have no subordinates left? You actually asked your good friend to personally enter the fray? As I recall, this friend of yours wanted to join the Skysplitter Sword Sect. A young fellow who is just about to enter a sword sect…has actually come out to battle against this rhinoceros Diremonster, who is in possession of a divine ability? He’s throwing his life away. I’m so very sorry, but it seems your 900 taels will be mine, yet again.”

“You laugh quite loudly, but you’ll be crying soon enough,” Baiwei said with a cold laugh of his own, off in the distance.

……

The formidable figures within the private rooms all stared down at Ji Ning. Upon hearing that Ning was Baiwei’s friend, they all mused to themselves that given Baiwei accepted him as a friend, he must certainly have some extraordinary attributes. Although he appeared to be a youth, the younger one appeared to be, the more one needed to be wary of that person.

“Please come.” Miss Ziyi looked at Ning. “This jewel is for testing your divine strength, while this one is for testing your elemental ki. Prior to the betting duel, you must have your basic level of power tested. It is absolutely forbidden for a Wanxiang Adept to battle against a Zifu Disciple, or something similar. If it does happen, then the Carefree Caverns will take the life of the cheater.”

Ning nodded. He immediately filled those two jewels with his Crimsonbright divine power, as well as his elemental ki. The two jewels radiated with light which was far weaker than the previous opponents had generated. The light that emanated from the elemental ki test was particularly dim.

“Eh?” Miss Ziyi looked towards Ning in surprise, then called out in high voice, “The Immortal practitioner who Northmont Baiwei has sent out is a dual refiner, both a Ki Refiner and a Fiendgod Body Refiner. As a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he is at the late Zifu stage. As a Ki Refiner, he is at the early Zifu stage.”

An uproar in the audience! “Elemental ki at the early Zifu stage?” “Only a late stage Fiendgod Body Refiner?” “Not even at the peak of the Zifu stage; is he suicidal? This is insane.” “No wonder he wishes to enter a school; his elemental ki is only at the early Zifu stage. He is indeed a highly suitable candidate.”

The formidable figures seated above, upon hearing Ning’s level of power in these two aspects, all began to shake their head and sigh. Prior to this, they had felt hopeful regarding Ning’s chances of victories, but now, it seemed clear that the youth beneath them was throwing his life away.

……….

“Activate the sealing formation.” Miss Ziyi gave the order. Around them appeared that giant barrier of light. Ning gave the light barrier a glance, then at Northmont Fox, who was watching far away, up above them.

“Kid, you are dead for sure! Even if you have a slightly stronger Fiendgod Body Refining technique, you are only at the late Zifu stage. You actually want to compete against the rhinoceros monster I command? You are committing suicide. You probably won’t even have the chance to beg for mercy!” Fox was incomparably brash right now.

“Just prepare your second opponent for me,” Ning said with a laugh. Northmont Fox was startled momentarily, but then he bellowed with rage, “Such audacity. Monoceros, go and kill this punk!”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. In the private rooms above them, Wuji and Baiwei were feeling concern for Ning, while Fox was hoping for Ning’s death. Others were all watching this play out with amusement. Still, in their hearts…they felt that Ning’s chances for survival were simply too slim.

“Bang!” The six-meter tall, azure-skinned, horned man instantly transformed into an enormous Monoceros. Immediately afterwards, its entire body began to emit a blurry light as it once more transformed, this time into a sixty meter tall colossus. It had already completely executed its Heavenly Transformation technique to the utmost; its current level of power and speed could be described as incomparably astonishing.

“Prepare to die.” The rhinoceros monster galloped forward, its enormous legs causing the hall to tremble with each step. As for Ning, two Darknorth swords appeared out of nowhere into his hands.

Bang!

The giant rhinoceros monster instantly charged towards Ning, its enormous hooves slamming and crushing down towards Ning, but missing each time. “Whoosh!” The Darknorth swords in Ning’s hands transformed into lines of rainwater, slashing past one of the giant hooves. Instantly, blood splattered out, falling down like the rain. One of the rear hooves of the rhinoceros had been completely severed. It had been charging at high speed forward, and it instantly collapsed to the ground, its momentum carrying it to roll forward and slam directly against the grand sealing formation.

Rumble….

A colossal, mountain-shaking collision. Even the grand sealing formation trembled, a few ripples appear as it blocked the Monoceros monster which had lost a leg. The female attendants outside the grand sealing formation, along with Miss Ziyi, had been badly startled upon seeing the Monoceros charge towards them. They knew, rationally, that it couldn’t touch them, but they still took a few steps back.

The rear hoof of the Monoceros flew straight towards it, once more connecting with the trunk. “Growl….” The Monoceros rose to its feet, staring at Ning, a hint of dread and nervousness in its eyes.

Silence! All of the private rooms above them had fallen silent. Fox’s eyes were wide as he stared downwards. Everyone could easily tell who held the advantage.

Given how massive the Monoceros monster was, its hooves were enormous, yet tremendously quick. It was actually extremely hard to dodge its trampling attacks…but Ning had done so easily. Clearly, Ning’s agility was exceptionally formidable, far above that of the Monoceros. In addition, and more importantly, Ning’s swordplay was particularly powerful as well.

In addition to the magic treasure protecting the body of the Monoceros, after using the Heavenly Transformation technique, the body of the Monoceros was incomparably tough. And yet, its rear hoof had been chopped out with one blow? The power of this sword technique…was absolutely…

What no one realized was that Ning’s divine will was controlling his Darknorth sword. At this point in time, Ning’s divine will was actually a bit more stronger than even that the power of a peak Zifu-stage Fiendgod Body Refiner. When matched with the ‘Dao Domain’ level of swordplay and executed with the Darknorth swords, which were more powerful than ordinary Mortal-ranked magic treasures to begin with, how could the power of the blows not be astonishing?

“Aren’t you going to admit defeat yet?” Ning glanced at the distant, towering figure of the Monoceros. There was a huge difference in size between the two, but at this point in time, the Monoceros’ aura was clearly far feebler.

“Admit defeat? It isn’t so easy to kill a Fiendgod Body Refiner. Even if you chopped me a hundred times, I wouldn’t die.” The Monoceros was entering a berserk state. “Kill him, kill him!” Northmount Fox roared from above, and the Monoceros raised its head, glancing at him. “Don’t worry, Master.” The Monoceros stared straight at Ning, its eyes seeming to emit flames.

“Since this is the case…then I will send you on your way.” Ning held his Darknorth swords in his hands, leisurely strolling forward. “Growl…” The Monoceros bellowed, once more charging towards Ning, its savage aura filling the heavens and seeming to contain the power to topple the mountains. As long as he could step on, strike, or even brush against Ning, Ning’s body would probably explode.

Unfortunately…in terms of technique and comprehension, the difference between the two was simply too great. “Die,” Ning said. His entire body transformed into a line of rainwater and slashed outwards. Whoosh…the thick neck of the Monoceros monster was slashed through. Ning flew upwards past him as blood sprayed wildly everywhere. The body and the head of the Monoceros had been completely cut into two pieces.

“Waterflame Lotuses.” Ning willed it. BOOM!

After having reached a new level of power as a Fiendgod Refiner, the amount of fire and water Ning could control had clearly increased significantly. If he was to reach the Celestial Fiendgod level, then most likely his control over fire and water alone would be enough for him to easily slaughter a Primal Daoist, without him needing to use any other techniques.

One Waterflame Lotus after another appeared out of nowhere in the surrounding area, slowly swiveling. Each one of them were at least thirty meters in diameter. In total, twelve Waterflame Lotuses had bloomed!

As for the Monoceros which had just been decapitated by Ning, its body and its head were still in two locations. Its head fell between two Waterflame Lotuses and was instantly ground down by them. The Waterflame Lotuses continuously swiveled, crushing and destroying its body. The completely defenseless head was completely crushed into smithereens, but even after transforming into dust, it continued to be assaulted.

As for the other ten loti, they surrounded the entire enormous body of the Monoceros. Although there were parts of it that weren’t completely surrounded, there was no way for the remaining parts of it to reform into a whole in this situation.

“Grind!” Ning stood there, within the enormous hall. His twelve giant Waterflame Lotuses bloomed, and the petals of the lotuses swiveled, wildly grinding down the enormous body of the Monoceros, slaughtering it and preventing it from reforming. Naturally, this meant it didn’t have a chance to admit defeat either.

This scene, both bloody and beautiful, caused the entire hall to fall silent. Ning just stood there…and then, he raised his head to look towards Northmont Fox.

“I told you to prepare a second subordinate.” Ning laughed calmly, as casual and as relaxed as he had been when he first entered the hall.

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Chapter 11 – The Battle Which Brought Fame

Chapter 11, The Battle Which Brought Fame

“Excellent!” Back in the private room, Northmont Baiwei’s face was red from excitement. By his side was Hun Wuji, and his eyes were also filled with shock and delight. “I truly didn’t expect that Brother Ji Ning would be able to execute that rhinoceros monster with such ease,” Wuji said. “Those movements…that swordplay…he is truly inconceivable.”

Baiwei nodded hurriedly. “Formidable.” Baiwei was grinning so widely that his face threatened to split apart. He immediately shouted loudly, “Northmont Fox, I told you earlier that you were spouting crap. Now, you’ll have to swallow your crap back down!”

…….

Northmont Fox’s face was ashen. Both the actions of the seemingly ordinary youth below him as well as the words of Baiwei caused his heart to clench. He felt extremely miserable!

…….

“How formidable. What formidable swordplay!” Young master Qu stared downwards.

……..

“He was able to effortless execute that rhinoceros monster? Was that a divine ability? Or pure swordplay?” A black-robed youth frowned as he stared down towards the hall.

…….

The Boy of Universal Fire, that child who appeared six or seven years old and who had a golden necklace around his neck, had a look of deep contemplation on his face. He stared downwards at Ning, in the hall beneath him. “That sword technique…such power. It shouldn’t be a divine ability! Given how miraculous his swordcraft is…can it be that he has already reached the Dao Domain realm? That seems unlikely; he’s merely a Zifu Disciple. It’s rather unlikely that he could’ve reached such a high level of comprehension. But that sword…? Can it be that I was seeing things?”

…….

Although there were quite a few formidable figures present, Ning had executed his sword technique too quickly. Only the Boy of Universal Fire had been able to just get a vague sense that perhaps Ning had reached the ‘Dao Domain’ level in swordplay…but even he didn’t dare to feel confident about it.

The grand sealing formation vanished.

“The Immortal practitioner which Northmont Baiwei sent out…was victorious!” Miss Ziyi called out in a clear voice, and then she looked towards Baiwei. “Are you willing to continue accepting further betting duels?”

“Yes.” Ning, standing near her, spoke out instead of Baiwei. Baiwei, within his private room up above, was startled. He hurriedly sent to Ning, “Brother Ji Ning, you wish to continue?” Ning sent back, “As long as Northmont Fox is willing to send someone out, then we’ll keep betting against him. Don’t worry. It’s already quite incredible that he was able to send out a rhinoceros monster. I imagine it will be quite hard for him to send out anything more powerful. And, even if he does…I am confident in being able to kill it. As for the stakes…you can add the 900 taels of liquefied elemental essence I won on top of the stakes as well.”

Ning’s mentally transmitted voice was filled with absolute confidence. He himself had already actively told Fox to prepare a second person; how could he choose to retreat now? “Fine.” Baiwei’s eyes lit up.

“Northmont Fox, my good brother, Ji Ning, is down there awaiting your challenge. Weren’t you bragging quite fiercely earlier? As for the stakes…I’m willing to accept 900 taels, or even 1800 taels! I’m just afraid that you aren’t!” Baiwei snickered as he spoke, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt. The words Baiwei had said, as well as the manner in which he had said them, when matched with that look in his eyes…these things instantly caused the distant Fox to be utterly enraged. His face turned red and swollen.

……

Northmont Fox’s face looked ghastly. He glanced at several of his nearby friends, then said in a low growl, “I’ve suffered such humiliation…I am definitely going to slaughter that one named Ji Ning.” Zhou Li shook his head and said, “To kill Ji Ning…that will be hard. This person’s agility techniques are shocking, and his swordplay is exceedingly formidable. Even the rhinoceros monster who had used a divine ability was executed…”

“He isn’t completely flawless.” Another person nearby, a blue-robed, middle-aged man spoke out. “His divine ability is merely at the late Zifu stage, and his elemental ki is only at the early Zifu stage. His abilities as a Ki Refiner are so weak as to be negligible; he’s only able to bring out his close-quarters-combat techniques in a fight. Thus, as long as you prevent him from drawing nearby, you’ll have won half the battle.”

Northmont Fox’s eyes lit up. Right. This Ji Ning was only skilled in close combat. As long as one didn’t let him draw near, then his defeat would be nigh. “Attend me,” Northmont Fox immediately commanded. “Have the Whitewitch come.”

Fox said to his nearby friends said, “This Whitewitch was offered to me by the White Warlock Sect. I had planned on enjoying her slowly, but after suffering such humiliation…I can’t be bothered with personal enjoyment. Although this Whitewitch is somewhat weaker than the rhinoceros monster, she perfectly counters this Ji Ning.”

“The White Warlock Sect?” Everyone nearby, Zhou Li included, was stunned. The White Warlock Sect…this wasn’t a sect that was located within Stillwater Commandery. It currently desired to be permitted into Stillwatery Commandery, and it had offered a witch to Northmont Fox as a tactic. Zhou Li and the others naturally didn’t dare to say too much about this matter.

Soon, a barefoot woman walked in. She was dressed in a white robe that was hemmed with flowery patterns, and had long black hair that fell to her buttocks. She had a pair of dazzling, bewitching eyes, and she exuded an indescribable magnetism. Her gaze was fixed upon Northmont Fox’s figure, and Fox felt a fire build in his loins as well.

“What an exceptional specimen.” Fox ground his teeth, then said, “Whitewitch, your White Warlock Sect gave you to me. Your life, your everything…it all belongs to me.”

“Your slave understands. Your slave belongs entirely to you, Lord.” The Whitewitch responded in a soft voice, so gentle it seemed to be caressing his heart.

Fox nodded. “That kid named Ji Ning, standing there in the hall below us, killed that rhinoceros monster under my command. Now, I have a feeling of rage that I must give vent to. I order you…to go kill this Ji Ning.”

“Your slave is to go kill Ji Ning?” The Whitewitch, who had been calm this entire time, was instantly stunned. Previously, she had been with the other servants in the other private room. Through the window, they had watched everything happen below them. She knew exactly how formidable this Ji Ning was! She knew that in terms of power, she was quite a bit weaker than even the Monoceros. As for Ji Ning…she had no confidence in being able to defeat him at all.

When the White Warlock Sect had sent her here, they had done so in order for her to entice and mesmerize Northmont Fox!

“Hrm?” Fox frowned. “Are you not going to go? Then what’s the point of keeping you!” “No.” In her heart, the Whitewitch secretly cursed this man, who was of the primary lineage of the Northmont clan, for his viciousness. She hurriedly said, “Young master, it isn’t that your slave isn’t willing. It is that your slave doesn’t feel there is any chance of killing this Ji Ning. Your slave personally witnessed him killing the rhinoceros monster.”

Fox shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about this. This Ji Ning is extremely weak as a Ki Refiner; his only strength lies in his close combat abilities! So long as you can make him unable to draw near you, you will definitely win. As I recall, you have a secret binding skill that is extremely formidable.”

The Whitewitch gritted her teeth. That was a technique that was meant for pleasure on the bed. When she and Northmont Fox had been making love, she had once made it so that her hair had rapidly lengthened, then tied herself up with it. At that time, while they were lovemaking, Northmont Fox had even asked her about her technique, and she had naturally bragged about it. Who would have imagined that the end result was this?

“You are skilled in constricting your foes. In addition, your White Warlock Sect is most famous for your venomous bugs. Amongst them, your technique of ‘Body-Birthing Bugs’ are particularly famous,” Northmont Fox said.

The Whitewitch’s face turned ashen. The Body-Birthing Bugs? This was indeed a technique of the White Warlock Sect that made others terrified upon hearing of it, but if she were to execute it…if she was lucky, she would only suffer severe damage to her elemental ki, but if she was slightly less lucky, she would die.

The Whiteweitch stared at Northmont Fox…she understood that this Northmont Fox fully intended to have her fight to her death, if that was what was needed to kill Ji Ning.

“You can choose to go. Or, you can choose death.” Northmont Fox’s voice was cold. The Whitewitch gritted her teeth. “Your slave shall go.” “Good.” Fox nodded. “The skills of your White Warlock Sect perfectly counter him. You still have a chance at surviving. Go to the hall and kill Ji Ning.”

“Alright.” The Whitewitch immediately turned and left, her body swaying. As Northmont Fox watched her depart, a lecherous light flashed through his eyes. He let out a low sigh. “What a waste of a beauty. Still, there are plenty of beauties in the world. This Ji Ning, however, must die. I have to give vent to my rage.” He turned to stare through the window towards Ning, his eyes filled with savagery now.

“Northmont Baiwei. You just won 900 taels, but now you are going to give them back to me? Fine. I’ll bet against you again and have you send me those 900 taels back to me.”

……

Within the hall. Ning stood there by himself, a hint of a faint smile on his face. He was calm and unflappable. Since he had already decided to reveal his fierceness…how could a single battle be enough?

“Eh?” Ning looked forward. From a staircase up ahead, a barefoot, white-robed woman came striding down, her long black hair falling to her buttocks. Her swaying motion as she walked was filled with allure. “She has come to fight me?” Ning frowned, puzzled. “This woman seems to be more suited for seduction.”

The Whitewitch walked to the jewels in the corner, filling them with her elemental ki. Miss Ziyi called out in a high voice, “The Immortal practitioner which young master Fox has sent out is a peak Zifu-level Ki Refiner.”

“Just a Ki Refiner? A Ki Refiner is at a disadvantage to begin with when facing a Fiendgod Body Refiner. She actually dares to come?” Ning pondered for a moment. “She must have a special technique.” Although he was merely at the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] as a Ki Refiner, the jewels served as a test for the purity and density of the divine power within his body, then determined his level.

Since ancient times to the present day, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had always been the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Although Ning was only at the seventh stage, the purity of his divine power truly was comparable to a late Fiendgod Refiner.

“Boom!” The grand sealing formation once more lit up. Within the enormous barrier of light, only Ning and the Whitewitch remained.

A lady of a sect of warlocks, filled with allure. A handsome, delicate-looking fur-clad youth.

“I was forced to come. Please show mercy.” The Whitewitch bowed slightly.

Ning just smiled. He didn’t say anything.

Whoosh! Suddenly, every single strand of the Whitewitch’s long black hair, previously waist-long, emanated with a devilish red light. Instantly, that long hair began to grow rapidly…and an instant later, it filled the air. Countless strands of black hair swept all-encompassingly towards Ning.

“Not good.” Baiwei, in the private room above, was shocked. “If Ji Ning is caught and bound, he will be in trouble.” Wuji was nervous as well. “Ji Ning is skilled in close combat. His elemental ki is only at the early Zifu stage; the power with which he can control magic treasures is simply too weak.”

Ning stared at the all-encompassing strands of hair, but just revealed a smile. He knew what his opponent’s ability was, now. “So she wants to bind me.”

Rustle rustle rustle…

In the area around them, rainwater appeared out of nowhere. The rain was very light. When landing on someone, it felt cool, refreshing, and comfortable. The countless drops of rainwater instantly filled the entire grand sealing formation.

“Layered Water Walls.” Ning’s gaze was focused on the black hair sweeping towards him. Instantly, one layer after another of incomparably sturdy curtains of water began to condense. In the past half year, Ning had developed the [Rainwater Sutra], and he had indeed risen quite a bit in terms of comprehension and insight. The power of the ‘rainwater’ of his Rainwater Sword Domain had risen the most, and Ning had furthermore spent a great deal of time focusing on these curtains of water.

In fact, he had focused on developing this ‘Layered Watered Walls’ technique, and in terms of intricacy, it was nearly comparable to the ‘Rain Line’ technique, except it was meant to pressure and bind his foes.

“Slash slash slash…” The countless strands of black hair strove to draw close to Ning, but the layers of watery curtains were incomparably durable and entangling. This technique of the Whitewitch’s was meant to be used for pleasure on the bed; while it was exceptionally strong in terms of binding power, in terms of the innate penetrating power of those strands of hair, it was very weak. There was no way it could pass through the Layered Water Walls.

Those countless strands of hair flailed in midair, effortlessly blocked by the Layered Water Walls.

…..

“Rainwater Sword Domain!” The Boy of Universal Fire rose to his feet as well. He tossed that bone to the side of the table, staring down at Ji Ning.

……

“Dao Domain. Rainwater. Rainwater Sword Domain…a Zifu Disciple who has a Dao Domain?” All of the formidable figures who had been calmly watching this battle were now shocked. For someone who was merely at the Zifu Disciple level to have reached the Dao Domain level, this…this was something out of the legends! None of them had been this powerful at the Zifu Disciple level.

“A Zifu Disciple capable of comprehending a Dao Domain? Oh no…oh no! So many people are watching here today. When word of this spreads…if the sect learns that a monstrous genius such as him was refused entrance because of me…I will be in trouble.” Zhou Li, next to Northmont Fox, had an ugly look on his face.

……

The emergence of the Rainwater Sword Domain had shocked everyone. As for Ning, he stood in the hall, as calm as ever.

“Admit defeat. I’ll give you a path to survival.” Ning stood there, surrounded by rainwater. He glanced at the distant Whitewitch.

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Chapter 12 – The Pebble That Aroused a Thousand-Story Wave

Chapter 12, The Pebble That Aroused a Thousand-Story Wave

The Whitewitch, upon seeing Ji Ning display the might of his Rainwater Sword Domain, felt her heart instantly turn icy cold. “A path to survival? What path to survival do I have?” She immediately began to activate the secret technique of her sect within her body. All of the elemental ki in her blood, flesh, and essence began to condense, and her entire body began to emit a bloody glow.

Deep within her Zifu, twelve Gu-Bugs that were hidden there began to move about. The bugs within the bug nest she kept on her also began to move.

“Alas.” The distant Ning shook his head. It seemed as though this woman was being forced by Northmont Fox to fight to the death. Ning immediately prepared to execute his Waterflame Lotus, planning to send this woman directly to the Yellow Springs.

But suddenly…

“We admit defeat!” A deep voice rang out. “Eh?” Ning raised his head, glancing over in astonishment. Northmont Fox, up in his private room, appeared very calm. He even grinned towards Ning. “I didn’t expect that today, I would have the chance to see a genius such as young master Ji Ning. You are merely an early-stage Zifu Disciple, and yet you’ve already comprehended a Dao Domain…admirable, admirable. I, Northmont Fox, am wholeheartedly convinced by my defeat at the hands of young master Ji Ning.”

The Whitewitch stared in astonishment towards Northmont Fox as well. She knew exactly how savage and wild Fox had been previously; he had insisted on her going all out to kill Ji Ning. But now, in the blink of an eye, before she had even lost, Fox had admitted defeat? In this battle, she represented Fox, and Fox was the one doing the betting. Thus, upon his admission of defeat, the battle ended.

Whoooosh. The long black hair of the Whitewitch quickly retracted, changing from three hundred meters to its normal waist-high length.

“Young master Ji Ning was victorious,” Miss Ziyi instantly called out in a high voice. The way in which she had referred to Ning had changed; previously, she had referred to him as ‘the Immortal practitioner who Northmont Baiwei sent out’, but now, she directly referred to him as young master Ji Ning. This was because she knew very well what it meant for a Zifu Disciple to gain insight into a Dao Domain.

The Dao Domain was a level which only Primal Daoists were generally able to reach. For a Zifu Disciple to be able to comprehend a Dao Domain…anyone capable of this was a truly monstrous talent, or perhaps even a major power who had reincarnated. Based on what she had heard regarding people like this, so long as they survived, they would train in the finest of Ki Refining techniques, and there was no question that they would become Primal Daoists!

If it was said that she treated Northmont Baiwei and Northmont Fox with care, due to their family background, she now treated this Ji Ning with the same care due to his innate, terrifying talent.

It must be understood… Primal Daoists were truly influential figures. If one then ascended to become an Immortal, even the Marquisate of Stillwater would actively reach out to befriend that person. Such a person would be capable of influencing the major powers of Stillwater Commandery. A monstrous talent like Ning…so long as he survived, he would have a 100% chance of becoming a Primal Daoist. As for becoming an Immortal? The chances for that were extremely high as well.

“Young master Ji Ning, are you going to continue with another betting duel?” Miss Ziyi smiled towards Ning, and as a fox-spirit, her smile was dazzlingly bewitching.

“Hahaha, after young master Ji Ning revealed his Dao Domain, who would dare battle him?”

“There’s no way for us to find another Zifu Disciple who has comprehended a Dao Domain. Anyone we send would definitely lose.”

“Let the betting duels come to an end.”

“The spiritfruit wine for this series of betting duels shall go to young master Baiwei and young master Ji Ning.”

Laughter rang out from each of the private rooms. Since they didn’t have any grudge against Ning, why would they wish to offend a monstrous talent like him? Although these people were elites amongst their various sects, and although many were Wanxiang Adepts, it was still quite hard for Wanxiang Adepts to leap to the Primal Daoist level. Actually, they still weren’t even ware that Ning’s soul had already reached the ‘divine sense’ level. If they did, they probably would be completely speechless.

It must be understood that by relying on his Rainwater Sword Domain and divine sense, Ning had passed even the ‘divine abilities trial’ left behind by Daoist Threelives, once of the most ancient of individuals who had been born when the Cosmos were first created. Thus, he had acquired the [Starseizing Hand].

But of course, Ning knew that the amount of talent he had displayed today was enough. The divine ability [Starseizing Hand]…he definitely couldn’t reveal it to anyone. If he did, he would be courting death! Of course, he could still use it; after all, given the monstrous talent he had already revealed, even if he unleashed an attack that exceeded the expectations of others, onlookers would come up with their own explanations, such as Ning having learnt some sort of a special divine ability, or being in possession of a very unique magic treasure, or that his level of comprehension was very high. In short, it was normal for a monstrous talent like him to reveal monstrous levels of power.

“Young master Ji Ning.” Northmont Fox was in his distant room, a smile on his face. He called out in high voice, “Northmont Baiwei and I have always been at loggerheads. Previously, I offended you, but it wasn’t because of you, young master Ji Ning; what I did, I did to take aim at Northmont Baiwei. Still, I did offend you, and I hope you will pardon me for that. At the same time, I would like to warn you, young master Ji Ning, that Northmont Baiwei is a two-faced tiger. He’s quite the faker! Don’t be fooled by him.”

Ning raised his head, giving him a glance. What a Northmont Fox! Formidable! Previously, he had acted with such red-eyed bravado and arrogance, but now, after seeing Ning display his Rainwater Sword Domain, it was as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, waking him up. He thus immediately stated that his earlier actions were directed towards Northmont Baiwei, so as to ease the tensions between him and Ning. At the same time, he also tried to disrupt the relationship between Ning and Baiwei.

“And, young master Ji Ning, if you wish to enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect…there will be absolutely no problems at all.” Fox laughed as he spoke. Just moments ago, he had arrogantly stated that Ning could forget about ever joining the Skysplitter Sword Sect, but in the blink of an eye, he had changed his tune. Ning mused to himself that one truly couldn’t underestimate any of the young masters of the Marquisate.

“Northmont Fox, you truly are shamelessly thick-faced. As for entering a school? Given the talents of my brother, Ji Ning, he can enter any school he wishes.” Baiwei immediately began to laugh. “As for you trying to stir up strife between us, everyone in Stillwater City knows of your reputation, and everyone also knows what sort of a person I, Northmont Baiwei, am.”

“Only after spending much time with a person will you understand their heart. You two-faced tiger, do you think I can’t see straight through your façade?” Fox let out a cold laugh. Baiwei shook his head. “Oh? Then I’ll just wait for you to see through.”

………

Suddenly, a figure shot out from one of the private rooms through the window, moving as fast as a streak of light. The grand sealing formation had already been dispersed, and the figure flew directly towards Ning.

“Eh?” Ning glanced at this woman. She seemed to be roughly ten years old, and was innately endowed with a noble grace. “Young master Ji Ning, my name is Hu Shui. My grandfather is the leader of the Thousand Rivers School. Given your talent, young master Ji Ning…as long as you are willing to enter our Thousand Rivers School, I imagine that even the Immortal ancestor of our Thousand Rivers School would be willing to accept you as a disciple.” The beautiful, lithe maiden with hairpins in her hair laughed as she spoke, and her voice was so pleasant to the ear.

Ning glanced in surprise at this young woman named Hu Shui. Thousand Rivers School? What school was this? He had never heard of it before. He had to admit, though, the number of schools within Stillwater Commandery that he knew of could be counted on one hand. He came from Swallow Mountain, and his experience was rather lacking.

“Miss Hu Shui, your Thousand Rivers School, in our Stillwater Commandery, isn’t even ranked in the top ten. You wish for young master Ji Ning to join your Thousand Rivers School? Haha…aren’t you being a bit presumptuous?” A black-robed man flew down as well.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! One figure after another immediately flew down, and even Northmont Baiwei and Hun Wuji flew down as well. Baiwei hurriedly send to Ning, “Ji Ning, for now, don’t agree to enter any of these schools.”

“Alright.” Ning also understood the principle of not acting impetuously or with haste. Stillwater Commandery had many schools, and the relationships between the various alliances and schools could be very complex. Choosing a school, for him, was a major affair. Naturally, he had to be cautious.

Ning immediately looked at all of the powerful figures. Only some of them were from branches of major schools; others included members of tribes and sects. Some just wanted to make friends with Ning. A heroic figure like him…why wouldn’t they want to befriend him? As for being jealous? Perhaps in their hearts, they felt a hint of jealousy towards him, but they all understand that Stillwater Commandery was filled with countless geniuses. If they kept on feeling jealous of this one or that one, then they might as well not bother training to becoming Immortals at all.

“Everyone,” Ning said hurriedly, “I’ve just arrived at Stillwater Commandery a short time ago. Joining a school is a major affair, and I must consider it carefully. I’m unable to come to a clear decision in such a short period of time.”

“Ah, true. One cannot be rash with regards to such a major affair.” “Young master Ji Ning, I am Meng Shan of the Meng clan.” “Young master Ji Ning…”

All of them began to chat conversationally. Immortal practitioners had astonishingly good memories, and so Ning quickly learned and memorized everyone’s names. In truth, there were many figures who hadn’t revealed themselves prior to this. Ning now met them one by one, and only now did he truly understand that Stillwater Commandery was a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

……

“Ji Ning? Swordplay?” The Boy of Universal Fire said a few words with Ning as well, then departed. While leading his servant to leave the Carefree Caverns, he furrowed his brows, pondering to himself about Ning. “Since he chose to reincarnate in Stillwater Commandery…if he is the reincarnation of a major power, then in his previous life, he should’ve been living within Stillwater Commandery as well. But in the past few decades, I haven’t heard of any major powers who were skilled in swordplay who entered the cycle of reincarnation. Even if they reincarnated, their Immortal friends should be here to welcome them. Why would they voluntarily wish to join a school?”

“Can it be that an error occurred in the reincarnation process, and that in his past life, he didn’t live in our Stillwater Commandery? Or is there some other reason?” The Boy of Universal Fire continued to ponder this question.

As a reincarnated Immortal, he hadn’t been living for particularly long in this life. His recollections of his previous life were still hazy and indistinct. Every so often, a memory would flash past his mind, or he might suddenly feel that something was very familiar to him! Although his memories from his past life had yet to completely awaken, his ability to comprehend formations and understand the Dao had risen at an astonishing speed. Clearly, he was benefiting from the hidden memories from his past life. As his strength grew, his memories would become increasingly clear, until one day, he would completely regain his past memories.

But of course, there were also some truly major powers who would directly awaken their memories, but that was extremely, extremely difficult.

……

Northmont Fox also went up to say a few words to Ning. He verbally sparred with Baiwei as well, and then led his group of servants to depart.

Within his carriage. Fox sat there by himself. He was frowning. He was thinking back to everything that had happened within the Carefree Caverns, starting from the very first words he exchanged with Baiwei. He thought very, very carefully…

“Fighting against Northmont Baiwei is one thing. How did this Ji Ning get involved? It seems as though this person has tremendous potential; in the future, he might be influential enough to affect the major powers of Stillwater Commandery, and even the question of whether or not my father will be able to become the Marquis of Stillwater.” Fox frowned as he continued to ponder this matter. There were actually quite a few potential candidates within the Northmont clan for the position of the next Marquis.

The more powerful one was, the more supporters one would have. Naturally, the greater one’s chances would then be of becoming the next Marquis of Stillwater.

“Ugh! Northmont Baiwei actually encountered a monster like him. His luck is too damn good.” Fox gritted his teeth, then shook his head.

……..

Ning bade Hun Wuji farewell, then followed Northmont Baiwei to the Ninestar Immortal Carriage once more.

Within the carriage. The Whitewater Hound was lying to the side, while Baiwei and Ning were both seated. Baiwei’s face was all smiles, and he was incomparably delighted. He hurriedly said, “Ji Ning, the Rainwater Sword Domain you displayed this time truly stunned everyone present. You didn’t see the way Northmont Fox’s face instantly changed. I understand this punk quite well. Although he’s vicious and arrogant, he can also change his attitude very quickly. This is one of his rare strengths.”

“For now, stay with me. My estate has many places reserved for guests. This time, you’ve truly made a name for yourself. There were many people there within the Carefree Caverns, and news of this battle of yours will quickly spread to quite a few schools and sects. There will definitely also be many who will wish for a genius such as yourself to join them. If you stay in my place, you won’t be disturb. Tomorrow, I’ll prepare an intelligence report for you which will introduce you to all of the larger powers within Stillwater Commandery. Naturally, this will also include information on the various schools. You can make a good choice based on it.”

Ning nodded and smiled. “Then I’ll have to trouble you for that, Brother Baiwei.”

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Chapter 13 – Northmont Blacktiger

Chapter 13, Northmont Blacktiger

It was already late at night. The light of the crescent moon shone down upon this giant, ancient city. Within it was a Ninestar Immortal Carriage, wreathed in fiery flames, which was entering the Northmont Blacktiger Estate.

“Young master.” “Young master.” The late night guards all called out towards the carriage respectfully. Northmont Baiwei led Ji Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and his maidservant out of the carriage, and then the Ninestar Immortal Carriage, without anyone controlling it, entered the estate on its own.

“Let’s go,” Baiwei said with a smile, leading them forward. Ning looked around carefully. The door they were entering was a side door.

“How large.” As they moved forward, the scenery continuously changed, and there were pavilions and buildings everywhere. Everything was unspeakably beautiful. “An estate more than ten kilometers in circumference…this can compare with some of the cities I saw in my past life on Earth.”

“Come into this garden. This place is where all of our guests stay.” Baiwei was striding forward atop a series of lotus petals which formed a path over a large pool of water. There were also all sorts of fishes around them, and beneath the water there were some luminous pearls. The light from them caused the entire pool to seem like a jade lake for Immortals.

Within one of the quiet, private courtyards. “Brother Ji Ning, you can rest here for a period of time. Generally speaking, schools take on new students in the twelth lunar month,” Baiwei said with a laugh. “Tomorrow, I will arrange for a book detailing the various major powers of Stillwater Commandery to be brought to you. You can choose carefully, and you can also often come out for a stroll and listen to the conversations going on in the outside world. Only then should you decide which school to join.”

Laughing, Ning nodded. Baiwei continued, “Alright, it is quite late, and I won’t disturb you any further. If there is anything you need, just instruct the servants. I will leave now.”

…..

This residence was clearly meant for entertaining guests. It was quite large and quite roomy, and there were five buildings within this residence itself, along with twelve servants that could be summoned at any time, all of them beautiful, flower-like women.

“Young master.” The twelve maidservants all bowed. Their leader was a tall, willowy Xiantian lifeform. “Prepare my bath for me,” Ning instructed. “When bathing, I do not wish to be disturbed.” “Yes.” The tall, willowy woman acknowledged his commands.

Almost all Immortal cultivators possessed extremely good self-control. Even those who were lustful would only view women as a form of enjoyment. For example, even someone like Northmont Fox would order the Whitewitch to her death when he felt it was necessary.

A short time later. Within the room. Within an enormous bathtub made from slick, polished rock. Hot air steamed everywhere. Ning lay there within the bathtub, head resting against a pillow. By his hands was a tray of fruit and wine.

“Ning, son.” The Whitewater Hound, resting next to the bathtub, glanced at Ning. “You shocked everyone today with your exploits, and did so in the Carefree Caverns, one of the top entertainment venues of the entire Stillwater Commandery. This news will surely spread quickly. Did you do this with the intention of…?”

“Right. I intended to shock everyone today,” Ning said. “The only people I truly have grudges against belong to Snowdragon Mountain. There are no problems between myself and the various other major powers. A monstrously talented youth whom they have no grudges against, who had just reached the early Zifu stage who wishes to join a sect…they will do anything they can to get me to join their schools, or to befriend me.”

“As for my sole enemy, Snowdragon Mountain, I don’t know if they are still paying attention to me. Even if they are…I am currently within the Northmont Blacktiger Estate. There is nothing they can do to me,” Ning said.

“Right.” The Whitewater Hound nodded. “If my predictions are correct,” Ning said solemnly, “Perhaps tomorrow, Baiwei’s father, Northmont Blacktiger, will come to pay a personal visit to me.”

Ning’s divine sense was exceptionally sensitive. He knew right away that there weren’t any eavesdropping tools or monitoring tools here. This was a place for receiving guests; if guests were to discover that they were being monitored, then it would cause tremendous problems. Northmont Blacktiger naturally wouldn’t act in such a manner.

…..

Within a dark space. A tall, muscular, bald man dressed in a black uniform was seated in the lotus position atop a fiery red boulder.

“Slither…” A giant black serpent, more than three hundred meters long, coiled around this dark region. This giant black creature looked like a serpent, but upon taking a closer glance…one would find that it was completely formed from black flames. Its scales, fangs, and body were all formed from countless black flames.

The black flames swirled around this area, and the head of the serpent was close to that of the bald man. “Eh?” The black-uniformed bald man frowned, then opened his eyes. His gaze was like thunder, striking fear into the hearts of men.

“Whoosh!” He exhaled, and instantly, the black flaming serpent around him transformed into countless black flames, wildly surged into his mouth. He swallowed it all into his stomach. “Baiwei. Come in.” The bald, black-uniformed made gave the order.

Creaaaak. A door appeared in this dark space, and Baiwei walked in. He said respectfully, “Father, I have news.”

This person was the awe-inspiring potential candidate to be the next Marquis of Stillwater – Northmont Blacktiger. Someone whose power was truly capable of shaking the heavens. “Speak,” Northmont Blacktiger glanced disdainfully out of the corner of his eyes at his son.

Baiwei instantly recounted with great clarity todays events at the Carefree Caverns. Blacktiger, hearing this, frowned. “The reincarnation of a major power?” Blacktiger mused to himself, “If he is a reincarnated Immortal, he should’ve been received by his friends from his former life long ago. Why would he choose to enter a school?” Baiwei just waited to the side quietly.

“Baiwei,” Blacktiger nodded lightly. “It is good that you can make a friend like him. Tomorrow, I will go visit him. It’s late. Go get some rest.” “Yes,” Baiwei said, then immediately left this dark space.

Within the darkness, Blacktiger continued to ponder, a considering look in his eyes. “The various schools, clans, sects, and Fiendgods…I haven’t heard of anyone entering the cycle of reincarnation in the past twenty or so years. However, for this person to have reached such a level at such a young age…even if he isn’t the reincarnation of a major figure, he must have encountered some sort of incredible stroke of karmic luck.”

“Whooosh.” Blacktiger no longer considered this matter. He opened his mouth, and countless flames charged out from it, quickly forming that enormous serpent of black flames around him once more. This giant serpent seemed to be quite comfortable within this dark region.

……….

The next morning.

The Golden Crow hung high in the sky, its light covering the entire Stillwater City. Within Stillwater City’s Northmont Blacktiger Estate. Within the residence where Ning was currently located. He was seated in front of a table which was covered with fruits and wine. Ning’s fingers were outstretched in a plucking manner, and between them was hanging a Waterflame Lotus that was constantly swiveling.

“Water, fire, wind,” Ning mused softly to himself. “Waterflame Lotus…this is formed from three different types of the True Meaning of the Dao; that of fire, water, and wind. They condense and form it. With regards to water, I have comprehended my Rainwater Sword Domain, but am somewhat weaker in fire and wind.”

Ning stared at his fingers and the Waterflame Lotus swiveling between them. He focused on the mysteries contained within, slowly gaining greater insight into them. At his current level of insight, with but a thought, he could begin to touch the Dao.

Suddenly, a maidservant ran over from far away. “Hm?” The Waterflame Lotus between Ning’s fingers disappeared into thin air. “Young master, young master Baiwei sends word. He will immediately come to visit you, along with the master of the estate.” The maidservant’s face was filled with nervousness.

The master of the estate? Ning frowned, then immediately rose to his feet. “Alright. I understand. You can leave now.” “Yes.” The maidservant immediately left.

“The master of the estate? Northmont Blacktiger? So he really did come.” Although Ning’s will and resolve was firm, in the face of this potential next Marquis of Stillwater, he still felt an invisible pressure.

The Whitewater Hound that had been lying next to him stood up as well. “Come,” Ning said. “Let’s go welcome him.” He immediately led the Whitewater Hound towards the doorway. But as soon as he arrived at the doorway, he saw three figures appear in the distance.

The person walking in the center was a bald man in a black uniform who appeared extremely heroic and imposing. This bald man’s eyes seemed to be as deep as the abyss, and as he slowly walked over, it seemed as though he was one with the surrounding universe. An invisible, majestic presence swept towards Ning, making Ning feel as though he couldn’t even breath.

“Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!” Ning looked at this person, but in his heart, he had an inexplicable feeling of tremendous danger impending.

Ning could tell that it wasn’t because he was in imminent danger; rather, it was that the person before him simply posed far too great of a threat to him, and was most likely capable of instantly killing him without giving him the chance to resist at all.

“So he is Northmont Blacktiger? How could his aura be so powerful and so dominating?” Ning was secretly shocked. Baiwei was a graceful, handsome young master. But his father, Blacktiger, was like an ancient Fiendgod who had been lying hidden for countless ages, filled with inexhaustible savageness and dominance. The look in his eyes…the way he walked…it was all filled with ‘savagery’. As he walked over, it was as though an ancient, primordial beast was walking over.

One’s aura was built up over the course of many years. The fact that the two of them, father and son, had such completely different auras made Ning feel puzzled.

“The two by his side…” Ning glanced at them. To one side of Blacktiger was his son, Baiwei. To his other side was a pale-faced, beardless old man. This old man had a pair of triangular-pupiled eyes. Even when smiling, he gave others a sinister, cold feeling. Upon noticing this old man, Ning immediately realized how terrifying he was as well.

If Blacktiger could be described as an ancient, primordial beast, then this old man was like an icy, sinister viper. If one didn’t focus on him, one might not even notice his presence, but upon focusing on him carefully, one would discover how frightening he was.

“Dangerous!” Ning sensed how terrifying this old man was as well.

Northmont Blacktiger. The triangular-pupiled old man. The sense of danger these two made Ning feel…was incredibly strong. Even that Xue Hongyi who he had encountered was like nothing more than a weak ant before these two.

“Such power. They are too strong, too powerful. No wonder he is someone capable of becoming the next Marquis of Stillwater,” Ning said to himself. But of course, Ning’s soul was extremely powerful, and so he was superficially able to maintain his calm.

“Hahaha…” Blacktiger laughed loudly, and his heroic, noble laughter caused the surrounding space itself to tremble. “I heard Baiwei praise his friend endlessly, but I didn’t believe him. Now that I have had a chance to see him for myself…he truly is extraordinary. A Zifu Disciple who stands before me without batting an eye? I can count such figures on a single hand.”

“I came here to take a look at you. Not bad, not bad,” Blacktiger laughed. “Today, I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t tarry. In the future, after you join a school, you must often come and visit my estate. Baiwei is lucky to have a friend such as yourself.”

“Making friends with Brother Baiwei is also the good fortune of myself, Ji Ning.” Ning acted and spoke with modesty and respect. Blacktiger laughed loudly, then departed with the triangle-pupiled old man. The old man gave Ning a long look, then nodded slightly as well.

The two of them left.

“Whew.” Baiwei let out a long breath. He half-turned, first verifying that his father had departed. Only then did he completely relax. “It’s been so many years, but I’m still so nervous whenever I am in front of my father.”

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Chapter 14 – Black-White College

Chapter 14, Black-White College

“Right. Ji Ning, this book holds records of all of the major powers that are located within Stillwater Commandery. It is quite detailed.” Northmont Baiwei waved his hand, and a foot-long book, appearing as massive and as heavy as a shield, appeared. There wasn’t a single word on the cover of this book. He handed it directly over.

Ning stared at the enormous, shield-sized book. He blinked. “This is too big…”

Northmont Baiwei began to chortle. “Think about how large Stillwater Commandery is! This book holds detailed records regarding every single power within Stillwater Commandery, and it even describes some of the magic treasures and techniques which the more important Immortal cultivators of each sect possess.”

“It’s as detailed as that?” Ning was amazed. “I just want to choose a school to enter.” Baiwei grinned. “I couldn’t be bothered to compile something, so I just had my estate prepare a copy of the pre-existing intelligence report regarding the various major powers in the region. This is classified at a fairly low level. The top-secret version is hundreds of books long.”

Ning was speechless. All he needed to do was consider which school he was going to join, but Baiwei had prepared a copy of a full intelligence report. No wonder there wasn’t even a single word on its cover. “Take it,” Baiwei said. Ning immediately accepted it.

Baiwei continued, “I imagine you will need quite some time to read this intelligence report. Actually, given your current power, Brother Ji Ning, if you are to enter a school, you must select one of the absolute best schools which Stillwater Commandery possesses. Within our Stillwater Commandery, aside from the Raindragon Guard and the Marquisate, there are a total of eight supreme powers. I’ll give you a brief explanation of them. Later, when you read the book, you’ll be able to move through it much more quickly.” Ning nodded.

“These eight supreme powers are divided up as into three major schools, three major tribes, and the two major churches,” Baiwei said seriously. “They all have incomparably long histories, and their roots are unfathomably deep. Although some of the other powers might have Immortals guarding over them, compared to these eight supreme powers, they are still lacking in some manner. Their Immortals might not be strong enough, or their foundations might be a bit unstable, or they might not have existed long enough.”

“The three major schools refer to the Black-White College, the Skysplitter Sword Sect, and the Hundred Flowers Fairyland,” Baiwei said. “These three schools vastly surpass all of the other schools within Stillwater Commandery. The Thousand Rivers School, the North River School…they are all much weaker than these three major schools.”

“All three have an incredible background.”

“The Skysplitter Sword Sect is the only one of the three which focuses on swordplay. It has many disciples, and only by by slaughtering a bloody path through the others will the elites of the school rise to the peak. All of them are exceptionally talented, combat-eager figures.” Baiwei continued, “Enough about this one, though; you already know about it.”

Ning nodded. “Please describe the other two.” Baiwei smiled. “The Hundred Flowers Fairyland only recruits female disciples. Since they only accept female disciples, no matter how much of a genius you are, Ji Ning, you won’t be able to enter. This school is situated in a standalone dimension which a major power set up single-handedly. That place is known as the Hundred Flowers Fairyland.”

Established a standalone dimension? Ning’s own underwater estate was also in a dimension of its own.

“I have no intentions of joining the Skysplitter Sword Sect, and I can’t enter the Hundred Flowers Fairyland. Then what of the Black-White College?” Ning asked. Baiwei chortled. “For now, let’s not discuss the Black-White College.”

“Why not?” Ning asked urgently. “I have my reasons,” Baiwei said. “Let me now describe the three major tribes of the eight great powers. They are the Eastriver clan, the Dragonhunter clan, and the Bluewood clan.”

“The Dragonhunter clan has a divine ability suited for archers that it does not teach to any outsiders,” Baiwei said. “This Dragonhunter clan often produces some truly powerful master archers. Master archers, especially extremely powerful, top-tier ones….they can locate their enemies from far away with their divine sense, at a distance of a thousand kilometers or even greater, then release their arrow and badly injure or even kill their foes from that distance. Even if they cannot kill their foes, they can immediately retreat.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. He himself was in possession of a divine sense that could stretch to a distance of over a hundred kilometers. In addition, his divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], allowed the power of his hands to reach a terrifying level. He could use one hand to grip the bow, and the other to knock the arrow.

“The Eastriver clan. They are extremely skilled in commanding water. I’d strongly urge you not to fight against experts of the Eastriver clan in an aquatic environment.”

“The Bluewood clan is the oldest of these three major clans, comparable to our Northmont clan in age. This is a tribe that was established as far back as the Fiendgod era,” Baiwei said. “The Bluewood clan is extremely skilled in controlling golems and constructs, and many of the constructs within Stillwater Commandery were provided by them. Over the course of countless years…who knows how many powerful constructs the Bluewood clan has amassed? They, too, are a power which no one wishes to antagonize.”

Ning nodded. Three major schools, three major tribes. All of them were extraordinary.

“The two major sects are the Heavenly Saint Church and the Blood God Church.”

“The Heavenly Saint Church acts in a manner which is big-hearted and honest, but also dominating and overbearing,” Baiwei said. “They have existed for an extremely long time, and they are also exceptionally mysterious.”

“The Blood God Church was erected sixty million years ago; it is extremely evil and crazed. The members of the Blood God Church can be described as ‘madmen’; they will often commit major sins, then suffer pursuit and assault from the Raindragon Guards.”

“The Raindragon Guards will pursue after and kill them?” Ning asked, puzzled. Baiwei smiled. “Ji Ning, you should know that in this world, there is such a thing as karmic merits, yes?” “Yes,” Ning nodded.

Of course he knew. It was precisely because of the good karma that he had accumulated that after being sent to the Netherworld Kingdom, he had been assigned to be reborn in the Heaven Realm. However, because of that disturbance in the Netherworld Kingdom, he had entered the mortal realm yet again. If he hadn’t been able to react quickly, he probably would’ve had his soul shattered.

“Acting benevolently accumulates positive karma; acting vilely results in the creation of sin,” Baiwei said. “The greater your karmic merits are, the more you shall be loved by the heavens, and the greater your luck shall be. But if your sins are too great, your ‘three disasters’ and ‘nine tribulations’ will be very terrifying, and your luck will be reduced as well.”

“Killing those creatures who have committed great sins will result in the accumulation of major karmic merits,” Baiwei said with a smile. “The Raindragon Guard serves as the army of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Per the orders of the Grand Xia Dynasty, they will seek out and slay those who have committed grave sins, resulting in the karmic merits of the Grand Xia Dynasty as a whole to rise…and thus, the Grand Xia Dynasty’s fortunes will grow increasingly rosy, and its foundations will become increasingly firm.”

Ning was astonished. So the reason that the Raindragon Guards around the world pursued those who had committed grave sins…was to improve the fortune of the Grand Xia Dynasty? He had no idea, but upon being informed, it was all so simple.

“Those who have rendered karmic merits shall have a clean aura swirling about them. But for those sinners, a corrosive aura will swirl about them,” Baiwei said. “Supposedly, those with extremely high levels of karmic merit will emit a golden light, while those who have committed tremendous sins will radiate a bloody, vile light. Unfortunately, only someone who has opened the Celestial Eye will be capable of seeing it.”

Ning now understood. He himself had opened his Celestial Eye, and had noticed through his divine sense that a faint, clear aura swirled about him. So this was ‘karmic merit’. However, although he had activated his divine sense many times afterwards, he had never found any others with this clear aura around them. Clearly, it was quite difficult to reach this level of karmic merit, much less the level of emanating golden light.

“How can one accumulate sufficient karmic merits?” Ning asked. “Only by doing good deeds can one gain karmic merits, while carrying out vile deeds will result in sin. As for the details…I’m not too clear on them either,” Baiwei said. “Karmic merits and sins; all of these things are determined by the heavens. They are too complicated. However, no matter what, Immortal practitioners must not wantonly slaughter ordinary mortals. It doesn’t matter if an Immortal practitioner kills another practitioner, but if he kills mortals…then his sins will definitely accumulate. This is something my father warned me of.”

Ning was startled. Killing common mortals would result in accumulating major sin? “Thank you for your guidance, Brother Baiwei,” Ning said gratefully.

“After you join a school, you will quickly learn about the various taboos and proscriptions,” Baiwei said. “Killing common mortals is forbidden. Killing one or two is one thing, but the more you kill, the more trouble it will be. That Bei Zishan you killed? It was precisely because he murdered far too many common mortals that he was covered in sin, and thus hunted by the Raindragon Guard.”

……

After this topic of conversation, Ning suddenly thought of something. “You’ve already spoken of the Heavenly Saint Church, the Blood God Church, the Eastriver clan, the Bluewood clan, the Dragonhunter clan, the Skysplitter Sword Sect, and the Hundred Flowers Fairyland. These are seven of the major powers. Then the final one, the Black-White College; what’s that all about?”

Ning cared more about the schools. He didn’t wish to enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect, and wouldn’t be permitted to join the Hundred Flowers Fairyland. The Black-White College was the only one remaining.

“The Black-White College is the most powerful of the eight major powers!” Baiwei looked towards Ning. “Most powerful?” Ning instantly grew curious. “Yes.” Baiwei’s eyes were shining. “The other seven powers are on par with each other; they are all very ancient, and their roots are deep. But the Black-White College is the true cream of the crop. In fact, the Black-White College has even produced a Celestial Immortal.”

“A Celestial Immortal?” Ning’s heart instantly began to pound. Good heavens. Although quite a few of the powers located in the Stillwater Commandery had Immortals, those were all Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals. He had never heard of any power being in possession of a Celestial Immortal.

“Right. Celestial Immortal.” Baiwei continued, “The Black-White College, at its peak of power, was once comparable to my Northmont clan of Stillwater, as well as the Raindragon Guard.”

“Countless years have passed. Although that ancient Celestial Immortal departed long ago, the Black-White College remains the strongest of the eight powers.” Baiwei laughed as he looked at Ning. “And, do you know? Of the three supreme schools, the Skysplitter Sword Sect has a headquarters that stretches a hundred thousand kilometers, the Hundred Flowers Fairyland has its own separate dimension, but the Black-White College…it is located right here in Stillwater City.”

“Stillwater City?” Ning couldn’t believe it. “Stillwater City is so small. How could a school be located here, and such a supreme school at that?”

Baiwei laughed. “That’s because this Black-White College’s members range from Immortals to Zifu Disciples, and they only number in the hundreds. The entire Black-White College has, in total, a hundred Zifu Disciples, two hundred Wanxiang Adepts, thirty-plus Primal Daoists, and a number of Immortals who disappear and reappear randomly. Supposedly, they have at least six Immortals.”

Ning blinked. What? A hundred Zifu Disciples? Two hundred Wanxiang Adepts? There were even fewer Zifu Disciples than Wanxiang Adepts? They had a ridiculous number of Primal Daoists as well…and they had at least six Immortals! That was even more than the Skysplitter Sword Sect had!

“Now do you understand?” Baiwei looked at Ning. “The Black-White Palace has exceedingly few members. To enter it is also exceedingly difficult. Even though I think highly of you, all I can do is recommend you for entry into the Skysplitter Sword Sect. However, now that you have already reached the Dao Domain level, you are qualified to enter the Black-White Palace.”

“Only someone like me can enter it?” Ning was curious.

“The Black-White College’s name is known even in the royal capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty.” Baiwei looked at Ning. “Each year, it will accept at most three or four disciples. Sometimes, it won’t accept any at all. They only accept those who are true geniuses with unparalleled abilities to comprehend things. If one’s foundation is even slightly lacking, one won’t be able to enter. The vast majority of those who are able to enter the Black-White College are the most monstrous geniuses of the various tribes within the Stillwater Commandery. Even some of the major powers outside Stillwater Commandery will send their geniuses over in the hopes of joining the Black-White College.”

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Chapter 15 – Capturing Fiendgods

Chapter 15, Capturing Fiendgods

“The royal capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty?” Ji Ning felt a certain itchiness in his heart. He couldn’t help but immediately begin to flip through this enormous compiled intelligence report.

Northmont Baiwei, seeing how eager Ning was, laughed then said, “Intrigued? Now do you know what I saved it for last?”

Soon, Ning flipped to the relevant page regarding the Black-White College. “So actually…so it’s….” Ning, upon reading the information regarding the glorious history of the Black-White College, began to mumble to himself, his eyes shining.

“Black-White Diagram? The Black-White Bedstone Diagram?” Ning, after reading towards the end of the report, raised his head and looked towards Baiwei, his eyes filled with curiosity. “Brother Baiwei, is this Black-White Bedstone Diagram truly so incredible?”

“How could it not be?” Baiwei laughed. “After you join the Black-White College, you will personally see the Black-White Bedstone Diagram. By then, you’ll understand how miraculous it is.” Ning nodded lightly.

The Black-White Diagram was the most precious treasure of the entire Black-White College! It was an enormous sculpture that was carved into the diagram of a black-and-white bedstone. The black-and-white bedstone appeared ordinary, but in reality it was covered with complicated runes, with white and black lines crisscrossing it. It was so intricate and detailed…that the simple crisscrossings of the black and white lines created incomparably profoundness which contained many different types of Dao. It was simply unfathomable.

It allured many of the major figures from outside sects, who would come to stare at it and meditate. But of course, since this was the most sacred treasure of the Black-White College, the major figures of other powers who occasionally received a chance to view it would be given a time limit. Only the disciples of the Black-White College would be given unlimited amounts of time to meditate on it.

“My father once said,” Baiwei explained, “That the Dao is even profounder than the profound. If one wishes to comprehend it, it is like seeking a flower in a fog…while the Black-White Bedstone Diagram seems to summarize the profundities and mysteries of the countless Daos in a very detailed, expert manner. Those countless crisscrossing black and white lines…by viewing them in a different way, you will gain different insights into different mysteries. Such a marvelous item must have been born from nature itself, which naturally formed this diagram.”

The Black-White Diagram had been found by an Immortal in one of the minor worlds, who had brought it back here. By relying on the Black-White Diagram, the College had grown famous and powerful, and had even changed its name after it, becoming the Black-White College.

“I want to go for a stroll,” Ning said, rising to his feet. “Go where?” Baiwei asked. “The Black-White College,” Ning said. “Haha, you can’t resist taking a look?” Baiwei laughed. “Only when I see it with my own eyes will I have a better grasp of whether or not I will choose to join this Black-White College.” Ning was indeed quite eager to see this Black-White College; after all, every single disciple of a school such as this could be described as a unparalleled genius. Ning was naturally quite eager to see what this place, a gathering spot for supreme geniuses, was like.

“Come, I’ll accompany you.” Baiwei rose to his feet as well.

………

Ning, Baiwei, the Whitewater Hound, and that golem maidservant walked together within the estate, heading towards the outside. “Eh?” Baiwei suddenly noticed several distant figures from the corner of his eyes.

It was his father, Northmont Blacktiger, and that triangle-pupiled old man, along with a third, tall, skinny man. “Xuan Six?” Baiwei frowned, musing to himself. “Why has Six returned to the estate? Can something major have occurred?”

As the only child of Blacktiger, Baiwei naturally knew many secrets. He instantly recognized that tall, skinny man.

“What is it?” Ning asked. “Nothing. Let’s go to the Black-White College,” Baiwei laughed. “We’re in no hurry today. Let’s just walk.” “Alright.” Ning laughed, then followed Baiwei out.

………

Blacktiger and the old triangle-pupiled servant just stood there, listening to the report from that tall, skinny man – Xuan Six. The triangle-pupiled old man glanced sideways, noting the distant Baiwei and Ning.

“After discovering his whereabouts, we did everything we could to set down an all-encompassing net. In the end, we finally captured that Primordial Fiendgod. We captured him alive!” The tall, skinny man spoke with great respect. “Our side lost a squad, a Primal Daoist, and twelve Wanxiang Adepts.”

“Mm. Well done.” Blacktiger nodded, his deep, abyssal eyes flashing faintly with lightning. “And where has this Fiendgod been imprisoned?” Blacktiger asked. “In the second ‘Kun’ trigram character,” the tall man replied respectfully.

Blacktiger nodded gently. “You can leave now.” “Yes.” The tall, skinny Xuan Six immediately, quietly slipped away.

The nearby triangle-pupiled servant hurriedly whispered, “Congratulations and felicitations, master. You caught a Primordial Fiendgod alive.” Blacktiger responded in a low voice, “Let’s first see what sort of Fiendgod it is, how strong it is, and what divine abilities it is skilled in. These Primordial Fiendgods have been able to struggle at death’s doorstep and survive to this era; none of them are easy to deal with. Even the weakest of them…might have others of the same race in hiding. No matter what, we have to take a look. Come, let’s leave the city.”

“Alright.” The triangle-pupiled old servant replied with respect, and soon…

Whoosh! A wave of black energy appeared. Eight black divine dragons, pulling a carriage behind them, flew out from the Northmont Blacktiger Estate, flying directly into the heavens, finally disappearing into the skies above Stillwater City.

……

Ning and Baiwei, by contrast, were quite relaxed. The two strolled through the incomparably wide streets, moving a kilometer with each blink of the eye. The Whitewater Hound and the maidservant were able to effortlessly keep up.

“Here we are. The Black-White College is up ahead,” Baiwei said, pointing towards the front. The two quickly came to a halt. Ning lifted his head, staring straight ahead. Up ahead was an enormous edifice, the main gates three hundred meters tall and nearly six hundred meters wide. The main gates had three characters inscribed onto it – ‘Black-White College’. In addition, in the center of these characters, there was a complicated black-and-white diagram of a bedstone.

“The Black-White Bedstone Diagram?” Ning took a look, and as he did, he could sense infinite mysteries contained within it…but when he took a closer inspection, he felt as though they were all blurred, and that he couldn’t get a clear grasp on them.

“Those characters in front of the Black-White College, along with that bedstone diagram, were left behind by that Celestial Immortal to the Black-White College.” Baiwei explained, “It isn’t the true Black-White Bedstone Diagram; the true Black-White Bedstone Diagram is far larger than this one, and far more complicated.”

“So that’s how it is.” Ning nodded. On the second floor of the main gate of the Black-White College, there was an enormous inky-jade stone sculpture of a lion, as well as the inky-jade stone sculpture of a divine dragon. They stood at each side of the bedstone, with many soldiers in the nearby area as well.

“Those soldiers belong to my Marquisate of Stillwater,” Baiwei said. “They’ve been sent here to help guard this place. That lion and that divine dragon? They are the true gate guards for the Black-White College.”

“Them? Guards?” Ning was astonished. Even with his vision, he hadn’t been able to tell that the stone lion and the stone dragon were guardians.

“These are two constructs which the Black-White College purchased from the Bluewood clan at enormous cost,” Baiwei explained. “Supposedly, these two constructs have close to an Immortal’s power, and they have intelligence no lower than an ordinary person’s. They have already stood guard here for countless years.”

Ning was speechless. Constructs? That were close to Immortals in power?

“Blackcurrent!” Baiwei suddenly called out in a high voice. “Baiwei!” From within the Black-White College, a white-robed youth who was leading a group of followers laughed in surprise.

Baiwei immediately sent mentally to the nearby Ning, “This person is named Northmont Blackcurrent. He, too, is a member of our Northmont clan of Stillwater. However, he’s from an extremely distant branch of the family. Although his talent was exceptional, he wasn’t viewed as being very important. Afterwards, however, he actually was able to successfully enter the Black-White College. His status within our Northmont clan instantly rose dramatically.”

“Oh?” Ning looked at the white-clothed youth with surprise.

“Still, be careful of this person. This person is extremely good at putting on false pretenses. My father once said…this Northmont Blackcurrent is a viper dressed in a sheepskin. You cannot let yourself grow too close to this sort of person, but there’s no need to create any grudges between you either.” This was what Baiwei sent to Ning.

Ning nodded. A viper dressed in a sheepskin?

The Northmont clan of Stillwater had managed to last from the Fiendgod era to the modern era. One could imagine how many members it had. Some of the more distant branches…probably wouldn’t have statuses that were much higher than that of the Ji clan’s. Only if they produced a supreme genius would the Marquisate of Stillwater value them.

“This person had probably been stifled terribly in the past, and so his personality became distorted.” This was what Ning guessed.

“Baiwei, why have you come?” Blackcurrent laughed. “I brought my good friend, Ji Ning, to come take a look,” Baiwei replied. “Brother Ji Ning also wishes to enter this Black-White College.”

Ning spoke out: “It is extremely hard to enter the Black-White College. I just want to give it a try.”

Northmont Blackcurrent glanced at Ning. He instantly felt a hint of dislike towards him! His experiences in his youth had caused him to view all of the members of the primary lineage of the Northmont clan, all those exalted young masters, with extreme jealousy and dislike! Thus, he now easily began to view Ning as being on Northmont Baiwei’s side.

“Oh. Even though you might fail, you should still make an attempt,” Blackcurrent said with a laugh. He looked at Ning…but a hint of pity was in his gaze. “You might be lucky. You might get in. By then, we will be fellow disciples.”

Ning could sense that this Blackcurrent had an arrogant, lofty demeanor about him. Clearly, as Blackcurrent saw it, he himself was an unparalleled genius. As for this Ji Ning? Since he had come alongside Baiwei, Ji Ning’s status was extraordinary, but what of it? What the Black-White College cared about was a person’s innate talent and comprehension ability.

“Baiwei, I can’t stay here for too long. I have business. Let’s have a good chat, sometime in the future.” Blackcurrent clasped his hands, then led his group away. Every member of this group had an extraordinary demeanor. Based on what Ning could sense, it seemed as though all of these followers were Immortal cultivators.

“What’s going on with those followers?” Ning asked. “Didn’t you say that he is an ordinary member of a distant branch of your Northmont clan? Why are there so many Immortal practitioners following him?”

Baiwei shook his head. “Every single disciple of the Black-White College is an unparalleled genius. You can’t expect them to all do everything for themselves, can you? Thus, the Black-White College will permit every single formal disciple to accept ten retainers. Thus, although the Black-White College only has a few hundred disciples, it has thousands of retainers.”

“These thousands of retainers will act on behalf of the Black-White College, and they can also go listen to the Primal Daoists, or perhaps even the Immortals, expound on the Dao. They can also be gifted with Ki Refining techniques. If there is a particularly talented person amongst them, they might even be promoted to the rank of full disciple. But of course, it’s rare for even a single retainer to be promoted to full disciple, even after a hundred years. The Black-White College’s requirements for its full disciples are quite strict, after all. Still, no matter what, to be a retainer in the Black-White College is better than going to be an ordinary disciple in an ordinary school,” Baiwei said. “Thus, many Immortal practitioners are willing to go be retainers.”

Ning nodded. Formidable. By accepting retainers, these genius disciples essentially formed their own coteries! This helped make the Black-White College more stable as well.

“However, this fellow clansman of mine, Blackcurrent, seems to not hold you in particularly high regard, Brother Ji Ning,” Baiwei said. “When the time comes, after you enter the Black-White College, the look on his face will be priceless.”

Ning laughed. “My mind is settled!” Baiwei was startled. “Are you saying…?”

“At the twelth lunar month, I will enter this Black-White College.” Ning raised his head, staring towards the words left behind by that Celestial Immortal.

Black-White College…this was the place where he would begin his sudden rise to prominence!

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Chapter 16 – The Twelfth Lunar Month, Entering a School

Chapter 16, The Twelfth Lunar Month, Entering a School

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, the twelth lunar month arrived. The first to the third days of the twelfth lunar month were the days which many of the schools located in Stillwater City would accept disciples.

“Wow.” Meng Xin, Meng Jun, and Meng Roch walked out of an alley, arriving at the main street. “There are so many people here,” Meng Xin breathed in amazement. Meng Jun said, his expression exuberant, “That goes without saying. Today is the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the very first day in which one can join a school. There are countless people in Stillwater City who will join a school today. There are ordinary mortals, Xiantian lifeforms, and also Zifu Disciples like us! However, those top-tier schools generally will only accept early Zifu stage experts! We are all early Zifu stage experts; it should be much easier for us to join a school.”

Meng Xin secretly gave the neaby Meng Roch a sideways glance. Previously, when the Snowdragon Mountain experts had ambushed them, Roch had executed a forbidden technique in order to save her. This had resulted in damage to his cultivation base, and it would now be much harder for him to join a school.

“Little Sister Xin, let’s go,” Jun said. Suddenly, he gave the nearby Roch a sidelong glance, and then a look of amusement appear on his face. “Rocky, although your cultivation foundation was damaged, you are still an early stage Zifu Disciple. If you are lucky, perhaps you’ll encounter some schools that didn’t investigate too carefully, and you’ll still be able to join them.”

Roch found it hard to hide the anger from his face. What did Jun mean by ‘didn’t investigate too carefully’? Accepting new disciples was something which determined a school’s future. Which school was careless in doing this?

“Oho, you are angry.” Jun let out a snicker, then turned and left.

“Big Brother Rocky.” Meng Xin couldn’t help but call out to him, but Roch said in a low voice, “You two can go. I’ll go by myself to try out some schools.” Xin hesitated, then said, “Big Brother Rocky, I’ll go with you. Let’s go join a school together.”

Roch couldn’t help but feel surprised and delighted. But right at this moment, Jun, who had already walked quite far away, turned and called out to Xin, “Little Sister Xin!” Xin stood there by Roch’s side. “I’ll stay with Big Brother Rocky,” she said. This caused a hint of excitement to appear on Roch’s face.

Jun stared. “You’ll go with him? How can he possibly enter any decent school?” Xin replied, “When Big Brother Rocky used that forbidden technique, he saved your life as well. And you actually treat him like this? I won’t go with you.”

Because she was both beautiful and talented since she was a child, Xin had always been doted on. Thus, she had a bit of a spoiled streak. Although she slightly looked down on both Roch and Jun, she still felt very grateful towards Roch for having rescued her life on the journey over. As for Jun…Xin naturally now held Meng Jun in great contempt, due to the way he treated his savior.

“You…” Jun stared. “Hmph.” Xin just snorted coldly. Jun turned and left. As he did, he said, “You just wait and see. I want to see what sort of a school you two will end up joining.”

Meng Xin turned to look towards Meng Roch. “Big Brother Rocky, let’s go.” As for Roch, a blazing fire was in his heart, and so he followed Xin forward. The two would try to join a school on their own.

………

West Stillwater. Northmont Blacktiger’s Estate.

“Brother Baiwei, no need to send me off,” Ji Ning laughed. Northmont Baiwei laughed as well. “Then I’ll wait for your good news, Ji Ning.” Ning clasped his hands, then turned and left, taking his Whitewater Hound with him as he headed directly towards the Black-White College.

The recent days he had spent in Northmont Blacktiger’s Estate had all been quite calm and peaceful. Ning had learned through Baiwei that in recent days, thanks to the power he had displayed in the Carefree Caverns, there had indeed been quite a few schools which had sent people to the Estate with the goal of having Ning join them.

All of them had made extremely good offers. Some offered an Immortal as his master; others offered five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence; still others had prepared a Heaven-ranked magic treasure for him.

Many offers had been made, and these offers were good enough to make even a Primal Daoist envious. In terms of value, there weren’t at all inferior to the entire value of the elemental ore mine that had been discovered in the Ji clan’s territory. Unfortunately, the Skysplitter Sword Sect wasn’t amongst them, nor the Black-White College.

Of the three major schools that were amongst the eight great powers of Stillwater Commandery, the Hundred Flowers Fairyland only accepted female disciples, while the Skysplitter Sword Sect was extremely proud and wouldn’t go recruit disciples. As for the Black-White College, of course it would never, ever proactively reach out to potential disciples.

“Those schools are all much weaker than the three major schools. The Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts they have to offer are all on a lower level as well.” Ning shook his head. This lower level represented a difference that was as great as that between the heavens and the earth. The more top-tier a Ki Refining technique was, the better a chance one would have of becoming an Immortal.

Moments later. “Here we are.” Ning raised his head, staring towards the distant Black-White College. The Whitewater Hound looked at it as well.

“There really are quite a lot of people here today,” Ning sighed. The Whitewater Hound sent mentally towards him, “This Black-White College is extremely exacting in its standards for taking on new disciples. Ning, son, don’t be careless and end up eliminated.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle White.” Ning nodded.

…..

Today, the gates to the Black-White College were wide open. People were allowed to freely enter, and Ning entered, the Whitewater Hound by his side. Within the thronging masses of people present were the various Immortal cultivators who wished to enter the Black-White College.

“Father, I will definitely work hard. I’ll enter the Black-White College at one try.”

“The Black-White College. I’ll definitely enter!”

“I will definitely become a disciple of the Black-White College. Sister Ru promised that she would be my wife if I succeed.”

All of the Immortal cultivators were gritting their teeth. Near them, many spirit-beasts, servants, family members, and friends were present as well. “There has to be thousands of people here,” Ning said to himself, speechless.

From up ahead, an angry voice rang out. “Why have you, a middle stage Ki Refiner, come to my Black-White College? Hurry up and leave. Everyone who wishes to enter our Black-White College, listen up; you must be an early stage Ki Refiner. Our Black-White College will only accept early stage Ki Refiners! If you aren’t an early stage Ki Refiner, hurry up and leave, unless you want to listen to me curse at you. NEXT!”

“Mmm. The toughness of your meridian channels is insufficient. Begone. NEXT!”

“You’ve used a forbidden technique, and you still have come to my Black-White College? Scram! NEXT!”

“Your meridian channels are insufficiently wide. Begone. NEXT!”

“Mmm. You barely qualify. Go inside and wait.”

Ning heard every single evaluation with perfect clarity. Hearing the voice ring out from far away, he couldn’t help but feel surprised. The vast majority had been eliminated, just based on their physical qualifications. From this, one could tell how strict the standards were.

A short time later. Ning moved closer to the front, and he saw the scene happening up ahead. There was a lake in the distance, and above the lake there was a boat with a black-haired middle-aged man seated on it. The man sat there, holding a flagon of wine, appearing quite relaxed. An enormous bronze mirror hung there in the air above him, and it shone down towards the Immortal practitioners that flew towards the man.

“Greetings, senior.” A young man flew forward, standing atop the water without sinking down. Rumble…the light of the bronze mirror shone down upon him. “Mm. You just barely qualify. Go inside and wait,” the black-haired, middle-aged man said casually.

“Thank you, senior.” The young man instantly walked forward atop the water, moving at high speed across the lake and arriving at the opposite end of it. There were tens of young men and women waiting there already, as well as a few youths.

One Immortal cultivator after another was eliminated, and they all had to return to the side of the shore from whence they had come. As for those who passed, they all flew to the other shore.

Yet another graceful young master glided towards the top of the lake. Cupping his hands, he said, “Meng Tang greets you yet again, senior.” The giant bronze mirror shone down on him from above, and the black-haired, middle-aged man revealed a rare hint of a satisfied smile. “Go in.” Meng Tang bowed modestly, then flew to the other shore.

“Uncle White. Wait here for me.” Ning looked at the Whitewater Hound by his side, then sent him a mental message. The Whitewater Hound nodded. Swoosh! Ning’s figure flickered, and he too appeared atop the lake. Clasping his hands, he said, “My respects to you, senior.”

“He’s dressed in animal furs?” “This young man is dressed in animal furs? How rare.” “I wonder where he came from.” “He looks quite young…I imagine he must be quite talented.” The spectators were all chatting amongst themselves.

……..

Ning, however, was quite calm. Although some of those people looked down on his animal fur clothes, these clothes were a perfect copy of the fur clothes his mother had personally sown for him. When he wore these furs, he felt incomparably comfortable, as though his mother was right there by his side. As for the actual fur clothes his mother had sown, he couldn’t bear to wear them, for fear of wearing them out. He kept them safely hidden away.

The black-haired, middle-aged man on the boat gave Ning a glance. “Move faster. No need to put on airs.” The bronze mirror in the sky shone down towards Ning as well.

“Hrm?” Ning suddenly had a strange feeling, as though this light had penetrated through his skin, flesh, and bones throughout his body. “Eh? A Fiendgod Body Refiner?” The black-haired, middle-aged man gave Ning a surprised glance, then nodded in satisfaction. “Your talent isn’t bad. And you’ve already reached the Zifu level as a Fiendgod as well, and seemingly in a very perfect manner. What technique do you train in?”

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!” Ning gave a direct response, and his words instantly elicited surprised cries.

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?”

“The legendary number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique? Someone was actually able to train to the Zifu level in it?”

“He appears to be simply a youth…it really is true that the younger an Immortal cultivator appears, the more one must be wary of them. For him to be able to successfully train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] at such a young age…formidable, formidable.”

“There really are quite a few geniuses that have come to join the Black-White College. I came very early in the morning, and this is now the second person I have seen here who trains in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and is at the Zifu level.”

……

Ning’s ears twitched. Oh? He wasn’t the only one here who had successfully trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?

“Mm.” The black-haired, middle-aged man nodded with a smile. “Go. Still, you must not be the slightest bit careless. Perhaps you might be able to enter my College after all.” Ning bowed, his heart filled with surprise. “Thank you, senior.”

It seemed as though the Black-White College’s requirements for accepting new disciples truly were exacting. Even someone at the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]… only ‘might’ have a chance at entering? Still, the Black-White College attracted the interest of all of the supreme talents of Stillwater Commandery, and even some of the supreme geniuses outside of Stillwater Commandery would come here. Each year, they would at most select three or four disciples, or perhaps none at all!

Just by relying on the fact that Ning was at the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he could probably easily enter the Skysplitter Sword Sect. But it was incredibly difficult to become one of the very few disciples of the Black-White College!

Swoosh! Ning moved forward, and it was as though he was one with the water under his feet. Quite easily and simply, he flashed across the surface of the water, arriving on the opposite shore.

“Fifth Bro, yet another practitioner of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] has come.” A youth was currently speaking to a black-clothed youth next to him. The black-clothed youth gave Ning a glance, and Ning glanced back at him.

“What stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] have you reached?” The black-clothed youth asked. But Ning just turned his head, not even glancing at him.

The black-clothed youth frowned. Within his clan, he was viewed as a peerless, heaven-favored genius. He was used to being pampered. Moreover, he had reached the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and was now at the Blood-Drop Rebirth level of power. He, too, had decided to join the Black-White College. He was accustomed to not holding others of the same generation with any regard, and by relying on his divine ability, he was even able to fight those at a higher level. Naturally, he was an extremely proud man.

“Hmph. He doesn’t know his place.” The black-clothed youth gave Ning a glance, then paid him no more attention. As for Ning, he chose a large rock, then sat down atop it in the lotus position. He couldn’t be bothered to notice that black-clothed youth.

As time passed on, the number of young men and women nearby grew more and more numerous. Some were from major tribes, and there were even those from outside Stillwater Commandery. Even members of the Northmont clan of Stillwater had come. Ning occasionally would glance at them, but he wouldn’t engage any of them in conversation. He knew that of the people in front of him, most likely at most one or two would actually be able to enter the Black-White College.

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Chapter 17 – Myriad Thunderbolts Launched Together

Chapter 17, Myriad Thunderbolts Launched Together

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was sunset. By now, only the silhouette of half the sun could be seen.

“Today, things will end here. Those who wish to join my Black-White College, please come early tomorrow morning.” The black-haired middle-aged man on the boat within the lake waved his hand as he spoke, and the bronze mirror in the air above him rapidly began to shrink to the size of a palm as it landed towards his hand. After that, the ship automatically began to move towards the other side of the lake.

The man stored away the ship, then disembarked. He looked at the thronging masses of youths, then nodded slightly. “Those who are confident in themselves will generally come on the first day to apply for entry. The majority of those who were accepted by my Black-White College all came on the first day.”

“A total of 962 of you have passed the preliminary selection process on the first day, but the number of which you who will truly be able to join my Black-White College can be counted on one hand. Thus, all of you must be incomparably cautious. You must put forth your full effort.”

“Yes.” The nine hundred plus selectees all responded in unison. The black-haired man nodded. “Mm. Follow me.” Turning, he walked away.

Instantly, this group of young Immortal practitioners all moved to follow him. Ning turned to glance backwards, and he saw that on the other side of the lake, there were quite a few people still waiting quietly. These should most likely be the family, friends, and servants of the selectees. There was also a large Whitewater Hound who stood there, quietly staring towards this side.

……..

The Black-White College, located within Stillwater City, took up an area with a circumference of roughly nine hundred kilometers. Amongst the various Immortal practitioner schools, this was definitely one of the smaller ones. Still, nine hundred kilometers…in his past life on Earth, one of the trillion minor worlds, it would be comparable to a local county. As for Stillwater City, the very heart of Stillwater Commandery and a place where countless powerful experts gathered, it was larger than entire countries back on Earth.

Given that it was roughly comparable to a county in size, strictly speaking, the Black-White College couldn’t be described as ‘small’ per se. And within the Black-White College, there was even a small mountain range.

Ning and the rest of his group, under the guidance of the black-haired man, quickly advanced more than a hundred kilometers, arriving within a gorge. “Halt,” the black-haired man said. The nine hundred plus individuals all came to a halt.

“Arise,” the black-haired man suddenly barked.

Rumble…

This wide, spacious gorge had a perimeter of many kilometers. Suddenly, from far away, a curtain of clear water could be seen, which had formed into an enormous grand sealing formation. This grand sealing formation was extraordinary large; not only did it cover the entire gorge, it even covered several of the nearby mountain peaks. Naturally, the nine hundred plus selectees were trapped within it as well.

“Rumble…” “Rumble…” “Rumble…” Multiple mechanical noises rang out. From within one of the caverns within the region covered by the grand sealing formation, multiple giant shadows suddenly flew out. 810 of these shadows flew out consecutively, halting in midair.

These were 810 dragon heads, all of which had their mouths open wide as they stared down below.

“A grand construct formation.” “A grand formation formed from more than 810 constructs!” Some of the nine hundred plus Immortal cultivators below instantly began to call out, quite a few of their faces ashen.

Swoosh! The black-haired middle-aged man charged into the skies, flying to the top of those 810 dragon heads. At the same time, five additional figures flew out from the cave next to him, each with powerful auras. There were a total of six figures, including the black-haired man; five men, one woman. All of them stared downwards.

“Listen up,” the black-haired man barked. “Afterwards, the grand golem formation will launch attacks…what all of you need to do is endure the attacks and charge into the skies, and to arrive at this cavern by my side. You have as much time as it takes for a stick of incense to finish burning. If you do so, that means you’ve succeeded. But if no one manages to reach this cave before the stick of incense is burnt up, that means none of you are qualified to join my Black-White College!”

Some of the nine hundred plus youths below were confident, while others were nervous. Still others just waited quietly.

“Hiss.” A stick of incense appeared out of nowhere within the black-haired man’s hands, and then it was immediately set alight. At the same time, those 810 dragon head’s simultaneously began to glow with a dazzling azure light, and then, from the mouth of every single dragon head shot out rays of azure lightning. The sound was thunderous! Boom! Boom! Boom! One bolt of lightning after another rained down upon them.

It was as though ten thousand bolts of lightning were descending at the same time!

“It begins now!” The black-haired man barked at them.

……

Given that the dragon heads had begun to vomit lightning, and that the stick of incense had already been lit, everyone knew that it had begun.

“Charging into that cave won’t be easy.” Ning raised his head, giving it a glance. In his heart, he instantly realized that because the 810 dragon heads were next to the side of the cave, if one wished to enter it, one would have to fly directly past those 810 dragon heads…which were constantly raining thunderbolts downwards towards them.

Down below, given how much space there was, each person wouldn’t have to face too many thunderbolts. But the closer one flew towards the cave, the more tightly packed the thunderbolts would be.

“Bang!” Ning, wielding his Darknorth swords, chopped directly towards one of the encroaching thunderbolts. The Darknorth swords were filled with elemental ki, and were capable of blocking lightning.

“So powerful.” Ning felt his hands tremble violently. “The power of this lightning is significant.”

“Up!” “Let’s go!” “Charge!”

Instantly, multiple figures mounted their magic treasures and, in unison, charged towards the sky. But the farther up they went, the more thunderbolts awaited them. They were only able to hold on for a few breaths, making it halfway up, then were knocked downwards by the dense rain of thunderbolts, forced to land again.

…..

The six Primal Daoists of the Black-White College who were above the dragon heads watched on, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. “Everyone, of these youths, how many do you think will enter the caves?” A middle-aged man with a long beard laughed as he asked this question.

A short, chubby, bald man chortled. “Perhaps not even a single one.” “It shouldn’t be that bad,” a white-robed woman said with a laugh. “There should at least be three or four who can enter the cave. Look, there’s someone charging upwards. She shouldn’t be too weak.”

Instantly, the other Primal Daoists turned to look carefully. A black-clothed woman was charging into the skies, her body surrounded by multiple tendrils. When the lightning bolts struck against her, the tendrils and vines would actively go block the lightning, defending against one bolt after another.

Soon, she made it to the halfway point, and moved closer and closer towards the formation of dragon heads. “Half of the grand golem formation.” The black-haired, middle-aged man suddenly spoke softly, and instantly, of the 810 dragon heads, 405 of them focused on that black-clothed woman.

Instantly, thousands of bolts of lightning wildly, completely focused on that black-clothed woman. Although those tendrils and vines struggled ferociously, they weren’t able to do anything. BOOM! Vines and tendrils exploded, and the black-clothed woman fell down from the skies.

“She couldn’t even withstand half.” The black-clothed, middle-aged man shook his head. The white-robed woman shook her head as well. “She can’t be considered a true genius.”

……

Ning was in no rush to charge forward. He watched for a period of time first. He watched as that black-clothed youth who also trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] charged upwards. As that youth moved extremely close to the formation of dragon heads, he suddenly suffered the attack of every single dragon head. As the youth slammed to the ground, Ning understood everything.

“At the very bottom, you only have to meet an occasional bolt of lightning. The higher up you to, the more bolts will strike you. If you pass the halfway point, you will suffer an attack from half of the dragon heads. And, when you are extremely close, you will suffer mass attacks from all the dragon heads.”

“You have to be able to withstand the full might of all of the dragon heads in order to enter the cavern. At such short range…even if two or three people joined forces, upon suffering the full bront of the attacks of the dragon heads, whether or not they work together becomes of little importance.” Ning understood this principle. When they were extremely close to the dragon heads, the amount of space for maneuvering was too small. The myriad thunderbolts would form a nearly complete, solid attack. A web of lightning would completely surround that entire region, and to pass, one would have to charge through. There were no shortcuts around it!

“Charge!” After making sure that there were no other oddities, Ning’s body instantly became surrounded by six full layers of Waterflame Lotuses. At the same time, a flying sword appeared beneath his feet, and he immediately controlled the sword to soar into the skies.

“Let’s go!” “Charge!” At virtually the same instant Ning flew upwards, eight other figures charged upwards as well. These had all been watching silently. After seeing how the black-clothed man had, in the end, suffered attacks from all the dragon heads…they all realized that there were no shortcuts to be taken, and so had decided to charge.

“Charge!” The black-clothed man, who had fallen down halfway, gritted his teeth upon seeing the others charge upwards. He, too, flew upwards yet again.

……

The 810 dragon heads were clustered in one location, quite close to the cave. To enter this cave, one would have to pass through the center of them…which ensured that one would have to face all 810 attacks.

The Six Primal Daoists stared downwards, watching. “This fellows are all quite spirited. None of them are holding back now.” The black-haired, middle-aged man laughed. “Everyone, who do you think will pass?”

“That fellow controlling the Azure Dragon construct.” The white-clothed woman’s eyes lit up as she stared at a white-clothed youth who stood atop an Azure Dragon. This white-robed youth was clearly quite young; there was still a hint of youthful shyness on his face, but the Azure Dragon construct under his control was incomparably nimble, occasionally dodging while knocking aside the bolts of lightning at other times.

“Within this grand sealing formation of ours, one can only use a golem or construct which one personally made.” The white-clothed woman continued, “Look at how he controls that construct. He’s at the level where it is like controlling part of his body; he is the construct, and the construct is him. He is absolutely a genius of the Dao of Constructs.”

“Mm.” “Right.” “Formidable.” The others all nodded and assented. These Primal Daoists were no ordinary Primal Daoists; they were the Primal Daoists of Black-White College. All of them were naturally extraordinary figures, and their judgment was impeccable. They could instantly tell that this white-clothed youth had astonishing talent in the Dao of Constructs.

“What do you think of the others?” The black-haired, middle-aged man laughed.

“The others?” “I don’t see anyone particularly outstanding.” “They are average.”

These Primal Daoists all had extremely high standards; although all of the others, Ning included, had displayed formidable abilities, there was nothing which could make these Primal Daoists feel surprised.

“Hahaha.” The black-haired, middle-aged man instantly began to laugh loudly. “All of you bury yourselves in training. We’ve asked you to come this time to organize the acceptance of new disciples, but you aren’t aware of many things. As for this old Daoist…I collect news from everywhere, and know that there is a true genius in this group. Look over there; that fur-clad youth whose body is surrounded by those blooming lotuses of fire and water.”

“Him?” The other five Primal Daoists looked over. The white-clothed woman said, “Although his lotuses of fire and water is quite marvelous, it can’t be described as astonishing. What about him?” And indeed, the other Primal Daoists didn’t understand either.

The black-haired man laughed. “He is dressed in furs, can create lotus flowers of fire and water, and uses a sword…nine out of ten says that he is that youth, Ji Ning, of the Carefree Caverns. A young, early stage Zifu Disciple who has already gained insight into a Dao Domain.”

“Gained insight into a Dao Domain?” The other five Primal Daoists were all shocked, and they all lowered their heads, looking towards Ning, who had seemed so ordinary and unremarkable.

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Chapter 18 – Ji Ning and Mu Northson

Chapter 18, Ji Ning and Mu Northson

Ten thousand thunderbolts shot down simultaneously, crashing down towards the figures below. Those Immortal cultivators, in turn, all flew for the skies, each displaying their own abilities. Layers of golden light appeared around some of their bodies, while others had illusory divine dragons appear about them. In this situation, the Waterflame Lotuses swirling around Ning’s body truly wasn’t that special.

“Go.”

“Go.”

A white-clothed youth was currently standing atop an Azure Dragon construct. The Azure Dragon coiled about, its body occasionally lashing out while its sharp claws swept out in each direction. Even its draconic tail whipped about. For now, not a single bolt of lightning was capable of drawing close to him.

“Azure Dragon Swings Its Tail.”

“Azure Dragon Flies Skyward.”

The white-clothed youth was gently mumbling a few words every so often, his eyes blazing with heat. Clearly, he was completely lost in controlling his Azure Dragon construct, and he appeared to be incomparably excited.

“Half the construct formation, focus.” The black-haired, middle-aged man hovering high in the air gave the order. Instantly, more than four hundred of the dragon head constructs began to focus their lightning bolts down towards Ning and the others who were charging skywards.

“Awesome, wonderful, incredible!” The white-clothed youth grew increasingly excited. The Azure Dragon construct he controlled was displaying all of its unique points and releasing tremendous amounts of combat power. It was able to effortless block all of the oncoming bolts of lightning.

“Bang!” With but a twist of its tail, multiple lightning bolts were knocked aside by the dragon, but Ning was right by its side. The Waterflame Lotuses swirled around Ning, who had the Darknorth swords in his two hands. Those lightning bolts, despite being able to pass through the protective Waterflame Lotuses, were easily blocked by Ning’s two swords.

Ning’s sword light flashed forward like water, moving with ease and grace as he blocked all of the bolts of lightning. “Eh?” Ning’s face changed. Three bolts of lightning had suddenly attacked him, and they were too close. They instantly arrived, catching Ning, who had been unprepared, completely off-guard.

“Watertight.” Ning’s swords instantly changed directions, hurriedly moving to block those lightning bolts. At the same time, Ning couldn’t help but give that white-clothed youth close to him a glance. Just now, he had been affected by the actions of that youth.

The white-clothed youth was currently looking towards Ning as well, and a look of embarrassment was on his face. He hurriedly sent, “I’m ashamed, I’m ashamed. It was accidental.”

Seeing how the white-clothed youth was sending a mental message, even at a critical time like this, Ning actually felt kindly disposed to him. He sent back, “No worries.”

“I’ll be more careful in the future,” the white-robed youth sent back. “Just be careful. We’re about to face the combined attacks of all those constructs,” Ning said with a laugh.

The two were both able to converse mentally at a time like this; clearly, they still had energy to spare. They continued to fly higher!

The outlines of the dragon heads up above them grew increasingly clear. The 810 dragon heads were clustered together quite tightly, and of the group that had charged up alongside them, two had already been struck down. Only eight figures were able to continue to fly upwards.

“The entire construct formation, focus!” The black-haired, middle-aged man gave the order once again.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Instantly, it was as though the skies had shattered and the earth had collapsed. All of the dragon heads focused their attacks on a single area, and for a moment, it seemed as though the entire world was filled with lightning bolts. Every inch of the surrounding area seemed to be filled with azure bolts of lightning; clearly, they had completely satured the area.

“Waterflame Lotuses!” Ning’s eyes flashed with a fierce look, and one layer after another of Waterflame Lotuses began to manifest around him. Whenever one layer was damaged, a new one would be born. As for the two swords in Ning’s hands, they flashed about, filling the area around Ning with sword light. Not a single bolt of lightning was capable of penetrating Ning’s swordplay defense.

“Charge!”

In an instant, Ning managed to pass through this saturated field of attacks.

Swish! As he charged through the heavens and past the formation of dragon heads, Ning was now able to clearly see, with a single glance, the six Primal Daoists who were watching this event.

“Rumble…” An incomparably dominating Azure Dragon charged into the heavens, also moving past the dragon head formation. The white-clothed youth atop the Azure Dragon, seeing that Ning had charged out as well, revealed a hint of a friendly smile towards Ning.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning immediately flew towards the cave, and the white-clothed youth also flew over, then stored away his construct.

“Bang!” “Clash!” “Boom!” Continuous sounds of explosions could be heard, with furious roars mixed in. Three more figures charged past the saturated field of lightning and into the cave.

The cave was many tens of meters wide. The white-robed youth walked forward alongside Ning. “My name is Mu Northson. I truly am embarrassed for what happened earlier. My mastery over my craft was insufficient, and I ended up harming you, fellow Daoist.”

“My name is Ji Ning.” Ning smiled towards him as well. “You can’t be blamed. You were trying to enter the school, just like me. How could you be careless?” The white-clothed youth hurriedly nodded.

Ning could clearly sense that this white-clothed youth seemed slightly immature. By the looks of him, he was even younger than Ning himself. Most likely, he had reached the Xiantian level even before Ning had. He immediately asked, “Brother Mu, I’m sixteen years of age this year. How old are you?”

“Fourteen.” The white-clothed youth, Mu Northson, gave an honest response. Instantly, the other three youths who had charged into the cave had changed looks on their faces. The three of them looked towards Ning and Northson with incomparably complicated looks on their faces. Monster…monsters! One was sixteen, while the other was fourteen! How young were they? And yet, these two had actually broken through the lightning construct formation before everyone else.

The black-clothed man even had some injuries on his body. He gave Ning a hard look. “This person named Ji Ning is only sixteen, but he’s already at the Zifu level in terms of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. In addition, he was actually able to charge in with ease. I had to make two attempts before succeeding.”

Earlier, he had been the first to try to charge in, but had ended up failing on his first attempt. It was only after seeing him fail did Ji Ning and the others make their charge.

He had immediately charged in behind Ning, and then followed the Azure Dragon construct of the white-robed youth, Northson, in charging past. With the Azure Dragon construct blocking some of the lightning, things had been slightly easier for him. Still, it had only been slightly easier; he still suffered an injury in order to enter.

“It truly was hard.” The white-clothed youth, Northson, glanced downwards, then sighed, “This grand lightning construct formation truly was hard to pass through. The Black-White College really lives up to its reputation.”

Ning looked downwards as well. Below them, the other Immortal cultivators were still continuing to charge upwards, time and time again. “It is hard,” Ning agreed softly. “However, the vast region controlled by the Stillwater Commandery holds many geniuses.”

Swoosh!

Yet another figure passed through the blocking field of lightning. Slashing forward in a lonely arc, it landed at the entrance to the cave. This was a violet-robed maiden whose face was like the frost and the snow. Judging from the look in her eyes…clearly, she had been arrogant since she was a child. Still, every single person who was able to enter the cave was a true talent.

A few moments later. “The time has come to an end.” The black-haired, middle-aged man spoke out in a high voice, and instantly, the 810 dragon heads came to a halt. Those Immortal cultivators who were in midair still wanted to fly upwards, but…

“All of you, go down!” The black-haired man gave a sudden roar, and his eyes instantly became terrifying to behold. A terrifyingly powerful divine sense swept downwards, and instantly, all of the Immortal cultivators who had wanted to fly upwards came to a halt. And then, all of them began to drop downwards.

“Divine sense?” Ning’s eyes lit up as he saw this. “A divine sense attack!” When those Immortal cultivators had been hit by the attack, their gazes had turned dim, and then they had fallen out from the skies. Clearly, their souls had been impacted by the attack.

“So there are attacking techniques for the divine sense as well?” Ning instantly felt an itchiness in his heart. His greatest strength was his divine soul, which was already comparable to a Primal Daoist’s. In addition, by relying on the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique, his divine soul was continuing to grow stronger by the day. At this point, however, he had only been able to use his divine will to control items to assist himself. He had never heard that there were techniques which could allow one to use one’s divine sense to directly attack someone’s soul!

“A divine sense attack? How would that even work? I’ve never heard of it…it must be an extremely high-level technique. Since that black-haired man is able to use it, then I imagine the Black-White College must have this divine sense technique amongst this records.” Ning instantly made up his mind that no matter what, he had to acquire and learn this technique.

…….

The black-haired man and the rest of the six figures flew into the cave. They all appeared different; one looked graceful, another was short and chubby, a third was cold-faced…but they all possessed shockingly powerful auras.

Ning and the rest of the nine called out respectfully, “Respectful greetings, seniors.” The six Primal Daoists swept Ning and the rest of the nine with their gazes. “Mm.” Quite a few gazes paused for a period of time after landing on Ning.

“You.” The black-haired, middle-aged man pointed to a blue-clothed youth who wore a crown and whose gaze was flashing. The blue-clothed youth’s face changed, and he hurriedly said, “Senior, this junior is Eastriver Lush.”

Ning and the others gave him a glance. Eastriver clan? That was one of the eight major powers.

“Eastriver clan?” The black-haired, middle-aged man laughed coldly. “I don’t care where you came from. Everyone, even a member of the Northmont clan of Stillwater or the imperial clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty, must obey the rules of the Black-White College if they wish to join our Black-White College. You used a Dao-seal. You violated the rules. Hurry up and begone.”

The crowned youth gritted his teeth, then immediately transformed into a ray of light as he flew towards the cave entrance.

“He used a Dao-seal?” Ning stared in astonishment at this disciple of the Eastriver clan. When testing new disciples, there had been, at the gate, a list of the various necessary requirements. Dao-seals and other external sources of support were forbidden. One had to rely on one’s own power to pass the trials. All who used external sources of power would be expelled.

“You are Mu Northson?” The black-haired man turned to look towards the white-robed youth, a smile on his face. “Greetings, senior,” Northson said respectfully. The black-haired, middle-aged man nodded. “Fourteen years. Not bad. Let me take a look at your construct.”

“Alright.” Northson knew the rules; there were restrictions on utilizing constructs. If one was an Immortal practitioner who walked on the Dao of Constructs and golems…if they wished to bring a construct into a trial, it was forbidden for the construct to possess sentience! Nor could there be an elemental energy core within the construct. It had to be completely controlled by their own elemental ki.

Actually, during the earlier trial, the six Primal Daoists could already tell the truth of the matter. This ‘examination’ was just for the sake of following the rules to the letter.

The inspection concluded. “Mm.” The black-haired, middle-aged man nodded. “Acceptable.” Northson immediately accepted the Azure Dragon construct back.

“The eight of you.” The black-haired, middle-aged man swept Ning and the other seven with his gaze. “You’ve passed through the first test. Next is the second and final test. As long as you can pass it, you will become a disciple of our Black-White College. If, however, you are unable to pass, I’ll have to ask you to all leave.”

“The second and final test?” Ning was surprised. Even that black-haired youth who had reached the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had just barely passed the first test. And yet, there was a second, follow-up test?

“Chong, child.” One of the six Primal Daoists, that white-robed woman, spoke out. The black-clothed youth said respectfully, “Aunt.”

“Once you reach the ninth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], you will definitely be able to enter our Black-White College. But you are only at the seventh…” The white-robed woman shook her head.

“I can’t wait any longer. I’ll need at least ten to twenty years to reach the ninth stage,” the black-clothed youth replied impatiently. The white-robed woman shook her head. “You won’t be able to pass the final test.”

“Aunt. I wish to try.” The black-clothed youth gritted his teeth. How could he casually give up at a time like this?

His response caused the white-robed woman to shake her head.

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Chapter 19 – The Final Guardian

Chapter 19, The Final Guardian

As one of the managers of this recruitment effort, Fairy Hua Yun naturally knew how difficult the final test would be. This junior of her clan, Hua Chong, had no chance of success at all.

“The eight of you, follow me,” the black-haired, middle-aged man said. The six Primal Daoists began to walk in front, while Ji Ning and the rest of the eight followed from behind.

Ning glanced sideways at the nearby black-clothed youth. The youth’s eyes were filled with defiance and madness. His aunt was Fairy Hua Yun…her status in the Hua clan was extremely high, and although the Hua clan had an Immortal guarding it, since Fairy Hua Yun was a Primal Daoist of the Black-White College, her combat prowess was definitely comparable to an Immortal’s.

He had to honor and respect the words of Fairy Hua Yun. But…he also had to enter the Black-White College. He, too, wished to be like his aunt and be a member of the Black-White College! “I have to enter. The Dao of the Heavens ensures that one will always have a chance.” The black-clothed youth gritted his teeth.

……..

After walking through the dark, gloomy caves for a period of time, they arrived at an exit. Up ahead, there were nine different entrances.

“Halt,” the black-haired man said. Ning and the other seven all came to a halt. “These nine entrances are each guarded by a Zifu Disciple of our Black-White College.” The black-haired, middle-aged man swept Ning and the others with his gaze. “The eight of you shall each choose a passageway.”

The faces of Ning and the rest of the eight all changed. What?! Guarded by full disciples of the Black-White College? These were people who trained in supreme techniques and arts, while the eight of them were all only early Zifu Ki Refiners.

“After you each enter your chosen corridors, you will encounter these guardian disciples. As long as you are able to charge through out of cave while they are guarding it, you will become a disciple of our Black-White College.” A smile was on the face of the man. “Don’t worry. These Zifu Disciples on guard are only permitted to use a single type of technique, while all of you can go all out. In addition, there is no need for you to defeat the guardian disciple; you only need to charge out of the cave. Afterwards, we shall all reunite at the peak of this mountain.”

“Alright.” Ning and the rest of the eight all nodded. “Go, then,” the black-haired, middle-aged man instructed.

They quickly each selected a corridor. Ning pondered slightly, then chose one for himself as well. Only the black-haired youth hesitated for a period of time…and then, gritting his teeth, he entered a corridor as well. All of them entered their corridors.

“Wu Xiu.” The short, pudgy, bald man laughed. “You are in charge of this disciple recruitment, and are managing it from start to finish. Tell me, of the eight, which will be able to become disciples of our Black-White College?”

The black-haired, middle-aged man hesitated. “If I have to choose…of the eight, I’d say Ji Ning will definitely succeed!”

“Right.”

“Yes, he’ll definitely succeed.”

“Everyone knows that Ji Ning will succeed, old Daoist Wu Xiu. What about the other seven?” All of the others were laughing while speaking.

The black-haired, middle-aged man pondered for a bit longer, then said, “Of these eight, only Ji Ning will definitely succeed. It will be hard for all of the other seven. If you insist on me choosing someone…that fourteen year old kid who controls the Azure Dragon construct, Mu Northson. There’s a chance for him as well.”

“Mm.”

“Right. Aside from Ji Ning, the others will all find it quite difficult, especially that clansman of Fairy Hua Yun. He found it rather difficult to even make it through the lightning construct array; he definitely won’t make it past this one.”

“Everyone knows how smart you are.” The white-robed woman gave the bearded, middle-aged man who just spoke a hard look.

…….

While the Primal Daoists were chatting amongst themselves, they were also using their divine senses to investigate what was going on within each of the mountain tunnels.

“Oh, it’s Bloodrinker Bladask.”

“The corridor which Ji Ning chose is guarded by that kid, Bladask? He’s quite arrogant. He definitely won’t make it easy for Ji Ning to pass through.” The Primal Daoists all leisurely watched the events going on through the eight corridors.

Within the corridor Ning had chosen. Roughly a hundred meters past the entrance, there was a white-robed youth. This youth had three bloodstains on the side of his chest. A white vest, with three drops of blood on the chest…only the genius disciples who had acquired the legacy of the Bloodrinker clan were qualified to wear this.

The Bloodrinker clan…was one of the supreme tribes that was located outside of Stillwater Commandery.

“They had me stand guard?” The white-robed youth, Bladask, just stood there, a flying sword hovering around his body. He gently stretched out a finger and tapped it. Rumble…a sword hymn instantly filled the cave. He couldn’t help but close his eyes, revealing a look of enjoyment on his face. “No matter how much of a genius you are, you can forget about successfully passing through the tunnel I have chosen.”

Bloodrinker Bladask’s arrogance made it so that he definitely would not permit any juniors of the early Zifu Disciple stage to successfully pass through his cave.

“A single sword…they only permitted me to use this single sword. Still, it will be enough.” The white-robed youth tapped the sword again, and the sword hummed out in response, as though it were behaving coquettishly towards him. He couldn’t help but smile.

Since the day he was born, he had held a wooden sword as he slept. His parents had named him ‘Bladask’, and in the past thirty years, he had focused all of his efforts on his blade. He was at the point where he was his blade, and the blade was him. Although he was in possession of the consummate skills of the Bloodrinker clan, the clan had still sent him to the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery. He had lived up to their expectations and had entered the Black-White College.

“He’s coming.” The white-clothed youth sensed the impending ripples. Suddenly, he heard a resigned voice ring out from outside. “Nine corridors, eight contestants. Mine ends up being the only one with no selectee…my fellow disciples, I hope that none of you will let these juniors make it through.”

“Don’t worry, senior apprentice-brother Ox.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ox, how sad for you.”

“You’ve waited all this time for nothing.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Ox, although I’m only permitted a single magic treasure, these juniors definitely won’t be able to pass through.”

One voice after another rang out in response. Bladask also shouted back, “Junior apprentice-brother Ox, please wait just a moment. After I turn back this kid, we’ll go back together.”

Footsteps rang out. Bladask immediately stared forward carefully. He saw, from afar, a figure emerge from the depths of the tunnel. A youth with delicate, handsome features emerged, holding a sword in each hand, dressed in furs, and a smile on his face.

“Junior.” Bloodrinker Bladask tapped the flying sword in front of him, and the sword hummed in response. Bladask said calmly, “In the future, remember this clearly – the one who prevented you from entering the Black-White College is me, Bloodrinker Bladask.”

“I am…” Ning was about to say something, but Bladask interrupted calmly, “No need to tell me. We won’t meet again. You don’t need to give me your name.”

Ning frowned. How arrogant. Since this was the case…then he might as well just go ahead and win this quickly and cleanly.

“Let the lightning descend!” Bladask called out softly, and as soon as he did, that flying sword in front of him began to emit a thundering sound. One bolt of lightning actually appeared in the surrounding area, all swirling around that flying sword, then flooding towards Ning with shocking power.

The strength of this blow alone was far superior to the power of Adept Xu Li and the Monoceros. The sword seemed to have transformed into countless bolts of lightning, striking at an astonishing speed.

“Let the lotus flower bloom.” Ning had a faint smile on his face. Instantly, Waterflame Lotuses appeared around him. One layer after another of the flower bloomed; a total of six layers of flowers appeared.

Crackle crackle crackle…

The sword of lightning cut directly through all six layers, but its speed had clearly dropped somewhat. Ning’s Darknorth swords swept out in a deceivingly simple manner, deflecting that powerful, vicious sword blow to one side.

“Such power.” Ning frowned slightly. It had appeared as though he had received that blow with ease, but in reality, his hand had cracked slightly at the point between his thumb and index finger.

“So you do have some ability. It is useless, however!” Bladask suddenly let out a loud roar. “Thundergod’s Hell!”

The flying sword continued to hang there in midair, but around it, one violet bolt of lightning after another appeared. These bolts of serpentine lightning zigzagged into the shape of a prison, and a powerful pressure filled the entire caverns.

“Feel proud that you were defeated by this technique of mine,” Bladask said coldly. “Go.”

BOOM!

The Thundergod Prison technique flew rapidly towards Ning.

“The Black-White College’s disciples live up to their reputation. With but a single flying sword, he’s still able to unleash such power and activate so much of the energy of the world.” Ning mentally sighed in praise as made one flying sword after another appear in the area around him. In total, 729 flying swords emerged.

“A sword formation!” The distant Bladask’s face changed. Anything that had to do with the word ‘formation’ could not be belittled, and there were many swords in this one. If one could perfectly focus all of the energy into a whole, then the power of that one blow would be explosive! As a disciple of the Black-White College, Bladask naturally also was in possession of sword formation techniques, but for the purposes of this assignment, he was only able to use a single sword.

The 729 flying swords hung there in the air. Amongst them, there were eighty one Mortal-ranked flying swords; they included the Nine Yang Sword Formation swords that Ning had acquired from the underwater estate, and the seventy two flying swords Ning had acquired after killing Adept Xu Li. Although he had some other other Mortal-ranked flying swords as well, there weren’t enough of them, and they were all varied and different in nature. Thus, Ning didn’t use them.

The nine flying swords of the Nine Yang Swords served as the core formation base, while the other seventy two Mortal-ranked flying swords, all of which came from the same origin, swirled around them, forming a grand formation of eighty one flying swords. They, in turn, guided the six hundred-plus unranked flying swords.

“Rumble…” Ning’s elemental ki filled those flying swords and was transformed by them. His divine soul, which was at the divine sense level, was completely capable of controlling all of these swords, and soon, in front of his chest, a shocking, awe-inspiringly powerful sword light appeared.

The power of this technique was now truly astonishing. The reason why it was so strong was primarily because of those nine incredibly rare flying swords he had acquired from the underwater estate. Every single one of them was comparable to an Earth-ranked magic treasure, and they all came from the same source, which was even rarer.

“Kill!” Ning willed the attack. Swish! The sword light, now completely in the shape of a real flying sword, shot out through the air, forcibly slashing open the impending prison of lightning.

BOOM! Moments later, the lightning prison detonated in awe-inspiring fashion.

“Go, go, go.” Ning hurriedly executed three more attacks of sword light, striking out in succession.

“Not good.” Bladask’s face changed dramatically. He was a peak Zifu Disciple, after all, while Ning, by controlling and transforming his ki through the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and forming it into his sword light, had a purity of ki that was comparable to a Wanxiang Adept’s. In terms of sword techniques…Bladask was of the Bloodrinker clan and was an elite member of the Black-White College; naturally, he was formidable. But in terms of true insight and comprehension, Ning was on an even higher level. Thus, when Ning activated his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], Bladask actually was at a disadvantage.

“Polaris.” Bladask had no other choice. In an instant, seven flying swords appeared, flashing with lightning. The seven flying swords swirled around him, forming into the pattern of an enormous constellation; it was the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper.

“Down!” Bladask growled. Bang! Bang! Bang! Ning’s three flashes of sword light were all shattered by the slowly revolving Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper.

“Hmph.” Bladask turned his head, collected his flying swords, then transformed into a ray of light and departed. Per the rules, he was only permitted to use a single flying sword…since he had been forced to bring out his other magic treasures, he had naturally lost.

“How formidable.” Ning watched as that disciple of Black-White College, ‘Bloodrinker Bladask’, departed. He couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “The school should have limited him to using just a single flying sword. As soon as he showed his real power…he instantly suppressed my [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. He’s a peak Zifu Disciple, after all, while I am an early stage Zifu Disciple. The difference in elemental ki strength…when I encounter another unparalleled genius, the difference is clear.”

What Ning didn’t realize…was that actually, all he had to do was fly out of the cave. And yet, he had insisted on forcing the guardian to show his real power instead.

“The Black-White College.” Ning slowly strolled forward, walking out of the cave. He stepped onto a flying boat, then stared at the boundless, beautiful mountain scenery around him. From this day forward, he would truly be a member of the Black-White College.

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Chapter 20 – Ji Ning, Disciple of the Black-White College

Chapter 20, Ji Ning, Disciple of the Black-White College

The six Primal Daoists at the entrance to the caves were roaring with laughter. “Hahahaha…this Ji Ning really is formidable. He lives up to his reputation as someone who has gained insight into a Dao Domain. That sword formation technique…although I’ve never heard of it, it clearly is an extremely complicated and powerful sword formation. For it to control more than seven hundred swords…the demands it must place on his soul and on his level of comprehension are definitely extremely, extremely high.”

The short, chubby old man shook his head. “He, an early stage Zifu Disciple Ki Refiner, was able to force the peak Zifu-level Bloodrinker Bladask to release his own sword formation to block it. Bladask didn’t have any face to remain after that, and so he immediately left.”

“Right. Formidable.”

“He clearly could’ve just charged out of the cave, but he insisted on fighting one-on-one, fighting to the point where he forced the guardian disciple to voluntarily retreat.”

These Primal Daoists all sighed with praise. Naturally, all of them took a liking to such a formidable disciple. This meant that their Black-White College would rise in power yet again. Centuries later, perhaps the Black-White College would produce yet another formidable Immortal.

“We must provide him with good guidance and tutelage. This Ji Ning has the potential to become an Immortal,” the black-haired, middle-aged man said. The white-robed woman nodded. “Indeed, he must be properly guided. He can’t be pampered; if we end up ruining this piece of unpolished jade, that would be a huge waste.”

Tutelage was an art all its own. Geniuses were naturally endowed with arrogance and pride, and the path of Immortals was that of the three calamities and nine tribulations. One would grow up in the midst of battle, and there was no way one could avoid establishing grudges with anyone. All these things could possibly result in a genius perishing!

…….

Ning rode atop his boat, moving straight to the very peak of the mountain. “A total of eight people went for the trial. I wonder how many passed.” Ning continued to wait there. “I wonder if that Mu Northson was able to pass or not.” Of the others, the only one who Ning had spoken with was Northson, and he had quite a good impression of him.

Swoosh!

From afar, a ray of light flew towards Ning, followed by yet another ray of light.

“Hey, someone passed? Which cave was it? Which of our fellow disciples was guarding that cave?”

Ning stared into the distance. He could just barely make out the appearance of a disciple of the Black-White College. That disciple gave Ning a few curious glances, then departed.

Moments later. Whoooosh. That distant ray of light shot over; it was an Azure Dragon construct. “Mu Northson.” Ning was surprised, then immediately clasped his hands. “Congratulations, felicitations.”

“Same to you, same to you.” The white-robed youth, Northson, landed and stored away his construct, his face filled with joy. “Brother Ji Ning, you truly are formidable. I was nearly defeated, but in the end, I finally managed to charge out of the caves. But you were even more formidable; you made it out so quickly.”

Ning could sense the joy radiating out from Northson as he spoke. His eyes were filled with excitement as well. “Success. I’ve finally become a disciple of the Black-White College. If Mother finds out, she will definitely be very happy.”

“Right.” Ning nodded, his gaze growing distant. If his own mother knew that he had become a disciple of the Black-White College, she would definitely be proud as well.

“Father…mother…just wait and see. I, Ji Ning, will definitely have my name be spread throughout these vast lands. I will become one of the supreme existences of this world. Definitely! Those disciples of Snowdragon Mountain who caused your deaths…I will definitely execute them all!”

“Hahaha.” Six figures flew out in an arcing pattern, laughing as they did so. They instantly arrived at the top of the mountain. It was the six Primal Daoists.

The short, pudgy, bald one laughed, “This year, our Black-White College has taken in quite a few disciples; two at once!” The black-haired, middle-aged man said, “Today’s only the first day. We still have two more days.”

“Hmph. Everyone capable of joining our Black-White College is a true, unparalleled genius. Geniuses like that are all supremely confident; if they were to join, they would make us their very first choice. Thus, they would come on the first day.” The short, pudgy, bald man shook his head. “It’s been so many years; how many people ended up joining our Black-White College on the second or third days? If they did, it was only because they were delayed slightly and unable to make it.”

The black-haired, middle-aged man looked towards Ning and Northson. “Ji Ning. Mu Northson. The two of you, starting today, are now the disciples of our Black-White College.” Ning and Northson both felt surges of joy in their hearts.

“The grand ceremony of formal apprenticeship will occur after the next two days of recruitment are finished.” The black-haired man waved his hand, and two insignias appeared. One side of each insignia was white, while the other side was black. “This is the insignia of our Black-White College’s disciples. You can bind it now, and in the future, you will be able to freely enter many of the locations of the Black-White College without being attacked by the various restrictive formations within.”

“Alright.” Ning and Northson each accepted an insignia. They naturally were able to easily bond it, and upon doing so, Ning could immediately sense that there was a grand formation throughout the entire Black-White College. He could sense…that this was a terrifying formation indeed. It encompassed the entire college…and he could sense that it acknowledged him. Ning felt as though this insignia was quite similar to the control talisman for the underwater estate.

“A disciple of the Black-White College.” Ning looked at the insignia. How many people desired this insignia? That Hua Chong, the black-clothed youth who had also trained to the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]…he had failed, in the end. There were also several other geniuses who were even more talented than Hua Chong, but they had been eliminated as well. Only Ning and Northson had been accepted as disciples of the Black-White College.

…….

“Wu Xiu, we’ll let you make the arrangements for their residences. We’re going back now,” the bearded, middle-aged man grinned. “Yes, we’re leaving.” The other Primal Daoists immediately flew into the air, quickly departing.

The black-haired, middle-aged man waved his hand. A mist instantly arose, lifting up the three of them. “Let’s go.” The black-haired Wu Xiu immediately guided Ning and Northson to fly forward.

“The entire Black-White College is divided into multiple areas, and it has many rules.” Wu Xiu waved his hand, then took out two books which he tossed to them. “This book has the rules of our Black-White College, as well as some other things which you must know. You must memorize everything within it.”

Ning and Northson accepted the book. Lowering their heads, they saw just two words on the book; ‘Black’ and ‘White’.

……

Atop the peak of a small mountain, there was a graceful little villa. There were multiple buildings surrounding it, but at the peak of this little mountain, Ning was the only person present.

“From today onwards, I am the master of this peak.” Ning stood in midair, staring down at his mountain peak. Because the Black-White College had so few formal disciple, one could choose any mountain one wanted to become one’s estate. Ning thus selected this one, giving it the name ‘Darknorth Peak’.

Darknorth…this was also the name of the swords he wielded. They symbolized that he would embark on a path of his own.

Darknorth. This also was the place where his parents had met and fallen in love. This was a way of memorializing his parents.

“Father. Mother…” Ning was silent for quite some time as he reminisced. And then, he turned his head and immediately flew towards the skies atop his flying boat.

……….

Soon, he arrived at the formal gates to the Black-White College. His Uncle White had been waiting here the entire time. Ning immediately saw that large, snowy white dog who was quietly waiting by the side of the lake. The Whitewater Hound was simply standing there, waiting.

“Uncle White.” Ning immediately charged down. The Whitewater Hound lifted his head, a questioning look in his eyes. “It’s done.” Ning landed, then nodded. “I’m already a disciple of the Black-White College.”

“If Big Brother Yichuan knew this, he would definitely be ecstatic.” The Whitewater Hound’s eyes became filled with delight and excitement as well. The Black-White College! What sort of a school was this? The status of a formal disciple of Black-White College was far higher than that of a Wanxiang Adept of an ordinary school.

Right at this moment…

“Hahaha, Brother Ji Ning, you only have eyes for this spirit-beast of yours. You didn’t even notice me.” A voice rang out, and Ning immediately turned to look. There was a carriage parked before the gates, and Northmont Baiwei was descending from that carriage.

“Brother Baiwei.” Ning immediately went to greet him. Baiwei said, “I expected that you would definitely become a disciple of the Black-White College, so I predicted that you would return at around nightfall.”

“Sorry for making you wait so long, Brother Baiwei,” Ning said. Baiwei’s eyes radiated excitement as he spoke. “Not long at all. You have no idea how happy I was as I waited. Especially towards the end, when those other geniuses emerged, like Hua Chong, Liu Shuilian…they have been famous for quite some time now, but in the end, all of them had been eliminated.”

Ning nodded gently. “Hua Chong and the others you mentioned; they should have been eliminated after the final trial.” Ning had a fairly deep impression regarding Hua Chong, who also had reached the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and whose aunt was a Primal Daoist of the school.

“No matter what, they all slunk away in defeat,” Baiwei said. “In the end…the Skysplitter Sword Sect, the Hundred Flowers Fairyland, and the other schools will still accept many disciples. Given their talent, they can easily enter. Only the Black-White College…unless one is truly a supreme, unparalleled genius, they won’t accept them. Even the most talented of geniuses must undergo a thorough examination. Given their pride, of course they came. What a pity, what a pity.”

There was no hint of pity on the face of Baiwei at all; all he had on his face was a look of schadenfreude.

“Right. How many disciples did the Black-White College accept this time?” Baiwei hurriedly asked. “Today was the first day. They took in two disciples,” Ning replied. “I was one. Another is named Mu Northson.”

Baiwei nodded lightly. “Mu Northson? This is a name I’ve never heard of before. It seems as though some of the backwater, out-of-the-way areas will occasionally produce a supreme genius from time to time. When you are free, why don’t you bring this Mu Northson over? We’ll meet and make friends with each other.”

“Easily done,” Ning nodded. Baiwei said, “I came for two reasons. First, to congratulate you on becoming a disciple of the Black-White College. Secondly, to ask you for some help.”

Ning laughed. “As long as I can help, I will.” Baiwei looked at Ning. “Here’s the situation. You should know that formal disciples of the Black-White College are permitted to bring in ten retainers with them, right?”

Ning nodded. Ten retainers…to be a retainer of a disciple of the Black-White College was far more alluring a position than being a disciple of an ordinary school. This was because the retainer would live within the Black-White College! Even though it would be very, very hard for them to acquire any techniques, anything they did acquire would be supreme, top-tier techniques.”

“Loan me three of those positions,” Baiwei said. “You should know that I have many family and friends. There are many that I will find hard to reject, once they ask me to help.”

Ning laughed. “Why the courtesy? Of the ten positions, you can take nine of them. Just leave one for me!”

That one…

Ning thought back to Meng Roch, who he had encountered on the road to Stillwater City. He knew that after Roch had used a forbidden technique, he had definitely harmed his own foundation. He would most likely find it hard to join any school.

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Chapter 21 – Viewing the Sculpture at Night

Chapter 21, Viewing the Sculpture at Night

“Leave you with just one?” Baiwei hurriedly shook his head. “How can I do that? Although your Ji clan isn’t too large, you still have people who broke through to the Zifu Disciple level. I imagine some of them would wish to become a retainer for a full disciple of the Black-White College. In addition, in the future, you might encounter a powerful figure who would ask you for a slot. How about this; I’ll shamelessly take five of your retainer positions, while you hold on to the remaining five. If, in the future, the five you have is insufficient, come talk to me…I’ll come up with some methods for having those Zifu Disciples enter a good school. But of course, they must be of the early Zifu stage.”

Ning laughed, then nodded. “That’s fine as well.” But in truth, he really did only need a single slot. Retainers entered the Black-White College for the sake of gaining top-tier Ki Refining techniques, but they ideally needed to be early stage Zifu Disciples as well.

If one entered as a middle stage or late stage Zifu Disciple, one’s path would have become set; there was no way to go back! The Ji clan’s Zifu Disciples consisted of Patriarch Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, Ah Xing, and Ji Truekeep.

The Patriarch and the others were all peak Zifu Disciples, while Truekeep was a middle stage Zifu Disciple; their paths were already set. As for the younger members of the Ji clan? For one of them to reach the Zifu Disciple would probably need some time.

“Even if our Ji clan is capable of producing a new Zifu Disciple, they can still rely on their own power to join another sect,” Ning mused to himself. “If my help is truly needed, in a few years, my power and status will most likely be higher as well.” In his heart, though, Ning wanted to let those future descendants of the Ji clan fight for their paths.

At most, he would occasionally give them some opportunities! Only when one adventured through the world by one’s self would one not fear the wind and the waves of life.

“Alright.” Baiwei nodded. “In two days, after the Black-White College has concluded its recruitment cycle, I will send five Zifu Disciples to you, as well as some ordinary commoners.”

“Ordinary commoners?” Ning was startled. Baiwei smiled. “Given how few in number the formal disciples of the Black-White College are, each of them take up an entire mountain for themselves…although the Zifu Disciple are servants and retainers, they still have to train as well. You can’t make them spend all their time boiling water, watering the plants, or doing cleaning, right? You can give them some important tasks, but for the normal tasks, you can have the commoners carry it out.” Ning now understood.

“I won’t tarry any longer. Take a good stroll around the Black-White College.” Baiwei laughed. “The Black-White Diagram of the Black-White College has attracted jealousy from countless powers for many years now. Even the Grand Xia Dynasty will occasionally send people over here, begging for a chance to see the Black-White Diagram. Only formal disciples like you, however, can view it whenever you want.”

After speaking, Baiwei laughed then entered his carriage, departing. Ning turned to look at the Whitewater Hound by his side. “Uncle White, let’s go.” The Whitewater Hound nodded, following him. “Right.”

Swoosh! The man and the snowy white hound both boarded a flying boat, then sped into the air at high speed. It was already dark. The Black-White College, shrouded by the night sky, appeared incomparably tranquil.

“Uncle White,” Ning laughed, “You are at the early Zifu stage. Don’t be in a hurry to train. Soon, I will ask the school for a top-tier Ki Refining technique for you.”

“Thanks for taking the trouble, Ning, son.” The Whitewater Hound looked at Ning. That child who had ridden atop his back while training in archery in the mountains had already grown up. Had become even more powerful than the hound’s elder brother, Ji Yichuan. “Yichuan…I will watch as Ning becomes a truly majestic, heroic figure within these lands.”

Ning didn’t know what his Uncle White was thinking. He instructed, “Uncle White, your status within the College will be that of my spirit-beast, and so you’ll be able to follow me around and listen to some Primal Daoists and even Immortals expound on the Dao. When following me, you’ll also be able to enter the various parts of the Black-White College. If you are moving about by yourself, however, you’ll only be able to enter these places.”

Ning waved his hand and retrieved that black-and-white book, flipping to one of the pages within it. “This is the map of the Black-White College; there are red lines marking the places where you, Uncle White, can go freely,” Ning said.

The Whitewater Hound gave it a quick look, memorizing everything. “Thanks for taking the trouble, Ning.” Ning laughed. “No trouble at all.” When he looked at Uncle White, he felt as though he had returned to those days when he had lived together with Uncle White, Father, and Mother. His parents were now gone…and Uncle White was his closest family now.

……

Spirit-beasts and retainers were different. Retainers who wanted to train in top-tier techniques had to work hard for themselves and be acknowledged by the Black-White College; only then might they have the rare chance to acquire a top-tier Ki Refining technique. In addition, they would only have access to a small number of top-tier Ki Refining techniques. The retainers had to do everything for themselves. For the formal disciples to allow them to enter the Black-White College alongside them was kindness enough.

If Uncle White had entered the Black-White College as a retainer, he too could’ve relied on his own power, but things would have been very difficult.

As for spirit-beasts, spirit-beasts themselves absolutely could not acquire top-tier Ki Refining techniques. But Ning, by paying a certain price, could ask for a Ki Refining technique for him. It was incomparably easier for a formal disciple to acquire a top-tier Ki Refining technique, compared to a retainer.

However, given how exacting the requirements the Black-White College placed upon its formal disciples, they couldn’t hurry fast enough to learn techniques and arts; how many of them would be willing to sacrifice their own advancement chances for the sake of their spirit-beasts?

“Whoosh.” The boat flew to the top of Darknorth Peak. “This is Darknorth Peak.” Ning pointed down towards the mountain peak below. “From today onwards, this peak shall belong to me, Ji Ning.”

“Uncle White, the only people living at Darknorth Peak for now are you and me. Go and get some rest. I’m going to the restricted area of the Black-White Diagram to take a look,” Ning said. “The Black-White Diagram is located in the innermost reaches of the entire Black-White College. Only formal disciples may go view it. Retainers and spirit-beasts are not permitted to do so.”

“Go.” The Whitewater Hound laughed, then leapt downwards from the boat, transforming into a streak of light that landed atop Darknorth Peak.

Ning nodded. Whoooosh. His ship immediately turned and flew towards another direction.

………..

Ning descended from the skies. This was a very wide square, and the innermost heart of the entire Black-White College, a restricted area amongst restricted areas. Even the Grand Xia Dynasty or the various supreme powers would have to strive mightily and use all their connections they had in order to come view this Black-White Diagram. Retainers and spirit-beasts were naturally forbidden to come.

“The Black-White Diagram?” Ning stared at the giant stone wall that was erected within the center of the square. The stone was of an unknown type; it radiated an inky black aura, and was covered with dense, crisscrossing black and white lines that formed countless structures. These two different colored lines intersected in innumerable ways, but in doing so formed the image of an enormous, circular bedstone.

Black. White. It was like the night and the day. Like yin and yang. Like water and fire. Like darkness and light…

With Pangu’s creation of the universe, everything in the universe had a ‘dark’ side and a ‘light’ side; upon seeing those crisscrossing lines, Ning felt as though a powerful aura was surging towards him, and he immediately even felt his soul begin to ache in pain.

“That’s not right.” Ning hurriedly turned around. “The Black-White Diagram actually has so many different lines all tangled together.” Ning was secretly amazed. The Stellar Hall of his underwater estate allowed the various Dao Paths to be completely condensed into separate lines, so that those within could separately focus on comprehending these various Daos. But as for this Black-White College…it mixed in countless Daos, and some were only fragmentary.

But those various fragmentary Daos, when mixed with the other Daos…actually formed this complete Black-White Bedstone Diagram!

“Although in terms of comprehending the Dao, this Black-White Diagram is inferior to the Stellar Hall of the underwater estate…in terms of how the various Daos complement and connect with each other, this Black-White Diagram is actually on a higher level.” Ning understood, however, that the Stellar Hall was comparatively far more valuable.

The Dao was one’s foundation; swordplay and techniques were all extraneous. When Ning had risen in comprehension and gained the Dao Domain, he had done so because he had risen in his understanding of his Dao!

As for the likes of the Waterflame Lotus, it was a technique that was fused from aspects of various different True Meanings of the Dao; it was a matter of applying the Dao.

The Dao was the foundation. Techniques were an application. The Stellar Hall…it separated the various different Daos, allowing others to clearly comprehend them. Its value was priceless, and it was the reason why Immortal Juhua, a Loose Immortal, was able to live for millions of years, so that even the princes of the Grand Xia Dynasty sought to become his disciple to no avail.

The Black-White Diagram was most likely formed by nature itself, and thus contained many different things within it. It allowed others to easily gain insights into some of those things and develop certain techniques, such as the Waterflame Lotus.

………..

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” An Azure Dragon construct, a figure on its back, descended from the skies. It was Mu Northson. “I didn’t expect you’d arrive even earlier than me, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson.” Ning laughed, then instructed, “No matter what, don’t stare directly at that Black-White Diagram. The Daos contained by the Black-White Diagram are simply too vast and unfathomable; we aren’t capable of withstanding them. Just look at a small part of it at a time.”

Unfortunately, his words were slightly too late.

As soon as he had landed, Northson had unconsciously glanced at the Black-White Diagram; naturally, in doing so, he had stared at the entire thing. Instantly, he felt the world start to spin, and his body began to slump and fall from the Azure Dragon construct. Clearly, in terms of the strength of his soul, he was far inferior to Ning, and so his ability to withstand the Black-White Diagram was weaker as well.

Hearing Ning’s words, Northson hurriedly nodded. “Right. We can’t stare directly at the entire Black-White Diagram.”

“Come. Let’s view it slowly.” Ning immediately walked past the stone wall. He stood next to the Black-White Diagram and began to inspect it closely. Actually, next to it, there were two other walls to the left and to the right of it, made from similarly unusual materials which radiated white light. Ning could sense that these three stone walls all had incredibly powerful formations overlaid atop them; most likely, the Immortals of the entire Black-White College paid extremely close attention to this place.

After all, the Black-White College had only risen to power after acquiring the Black-White Diagram. This was their life, their heart.

Each new Immortal of the Black-White College had frenetically added their own powerful formations to seal the diagram, causing it to become terrifyingly powerful by now. Upon being activated, the formations of countless elders of the Black-White College would simultaneously explode. Most likely, even Celestial Immortals would find it hard to survive.

“A three-sided wall. One is the Black-White Diagram, while the other two must have been left behind by the previous Immortals.” Ning glanced at it all. The three-sided stone walls were all more than three hundred meters wide, and they were covered with dense, clustered words, most likely more than ten thousand utterances. From this, one could estimate how many Immortals had been born from the Black-White College.

Ning’s gaze quickly halted at one of the corners of the Black-White Diagram. He began staring at a small part of it, focusing on that part.

The white lines and black lines intersected…they were opposite, and yet alike. A sensation of the marvels of nature completely engulfed Ning. Northson, by his side, was absorbed by the Black-White Diagram as well.

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Chapter 22, The Words Left By An Immortal

Chapter 22, The Words Left By An Immortal

Throughout the history of the Black-White College, whenever a disciple came to view the Black-White Diagram for the first time, they would gain from it. The experience they had accumulated normally, the insights they had gained normally…upon viewing the Black-White Diagram, they would gain corresponding enlightenment.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

Ning sat there in the lotus position, meditating as Waterflame Lotuses began to form around him. One petal after another blossomed, slowly swiveling about him.

A total of six layers of petals had formed…but suddenly, all six layers vanished, reforming into four layers which appeared even more real and solid than the six.

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, an hour passed.

Whooosh. The four quite solid-seeming layers of petals vanished as well, reforming into a total of two layers of petals. One of two layers of lotus petals was formed from red petals, while the other was formed from green petals. The two looked identical to the lotus petals of a real lotus flower.

Rustle…

The lotus flower slowly swiveled, and the grinding, killing power of the two layers of lotus petals grew increasingly powerful. The lotus petals became increasingly clear and lifelike, especially the green lotus petals; slowly, it continued to grow so lifelike that one could see the plant veins as well. Even at close range, most would probably take it to be a naturally grown lotus petal.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly woke up, then nodded gently. “I gained from my previously accumulated experiences. It seems as though my understanding of the Dao has reached a bottleneck in terms of being able to combine water, fire, and wind.”

He looked towards the nearby Mu Northson. Northson was still absorbed in his trance, appearing either drunk or mesmerized. “I have the Stellar Hall in my underwater estate. Although the Black-White Diagram is of use to me, it isn’t as useful as it was to Northson.” Ning turned to walk to the stone wall on the other side. This wall was covered with words left behind by countless generations of Immortals.

One row after another of words.

“The path of Immortal cultivation is the Dao of the grand struggle. These are the words of Five Disgraces!” The powerful intent that surged forth from these characters made Ning feel as though he could see an Immortal cultivator who was constantly advancing, struggling against the heavens, against the earth, against other men, against monsters…

“Consider all things carefully, but act with bravery and resoluteness.” An invisible, grim callousness radiated from these words.

“Where my heart leads me is where I shall go.” A confident, prideful aura radiated from these words, as though no one could block him from moving forward on the path which his Dao-heart had decided upon. Any who tried would be slaughtered.

“All mortal and worldly things shall decay; I ask for just two words; Immortal Life.”

Domineering.

Arrogant.

Fierce.

Leisurely.

Calm.

Simple.

The words left behind by the Immortals of the Black-White Diagram caused Ning’s Dao-heart to be baptized time and time again. He felt as though he could look past time itself to ages past; as though he could watch as these Immortal cultivators held firm to their own Dao-hearts and embarked on their own paths.

“Such powerful, resolved, and untainted Dao-hearts,” Ning murmured to himself. Power. Resolve. Purity. These were the things Ning sensed from the words left behind by these Immortals. Anyone capable of becoming an Immortal had understood his or her own heart long ago, and knew what their heart’s desire was! In addition, their Dao-hearts would be incomparably pure and resolved; they wouldn’t succumb to temptations or let themselves be led astray. The passage of countless years had caused their Dao-hearts to grow incomparably strong.

But if the Dao-hearts of these Immortals somehow grew bewildered, then their faith in themselves would collapse, and they might lose everything they had built up over a thousand years! In fact, in the worst case scenarios, they might not even be able to control the incomparably powerful elemental ki in their bodies, resulting in death.

From this, one could see that the path of Immortal cultivation was an extremely difficult path; it was the path of challenging destiny.

“The only desire in my heart is to be carefree, to be able to do as I please. I only ask that my destiny be in my own hands.” As Ning continued to read, his own Dao-heart grew increasingly pure as well.

The pain and agony he had suffered in his previous life made it so that he was not willing to submit to fate. Not willing to allow his destiny to be controlled by others. In this life, his parents had both died; this caused Ning to feel an even greater desire for the ability to not be controlled by destiny.

However, if one wished to surpass the bonds of fate, then one would have to gain tremendous power! Only by being powerful would one truly be carefree and be able to act as one pleased!

……..

Ning read the words of one Immortal after another. Although Immortal cultivators read very quickly, by the time he finished reading that section of the wall, it was already very late at night.

“Eh?” Ning turned to look at Northson. Northson continued to sit there in the lotus position, staring at the Black-White Diagram. Around him were various parts and pieces that were formed from natural, elemental energy. The countless parts and pieces sometimes joined together and sometimes split apart, forming dragons, tigers, serpents, turtles…all sorts of monstrous beasts and strange creatures appeared, constantly forming and reforming.

“He’s making a breakthrough. Junior apprentice-brother Northson’s insights have reached a tipping point.” Ning felt secret admiration; he had spent less than two hours in meditation, but his junior apprentice-brother Northson had spent far more time than he had in comprehending the Black-White Diagram.

“The other stone wall.” Ning turned to look at the final, third stone wall. The words left behind by the various Immortals were actually meant to help refine the Dao-hearts of their successors. For juniors whose Dao-hearts were not sufficiently stable, it could have the effect of helping them to constantly train and test their hearts. Thus, although the Black-White Diagram served as the foundation of the Black-White College, the words left behind by these Immortals to train the Dao-hearts of their successors could also be considered one of the important things which this supreme, top-tier school relied upon as it passed down its traditions over the course of countless years.

This, too, was their foundation!

…….

The night sky.

A short old man, dressed in ragged beggar’s clothes, stood atop the clouds, holding a calabash of wine and appearing quite at ease.

He seemed to be the very center of the world around him, as though everything would obey his commands. This natural feeling of dominance, of power…it gave the short old man an aura that was definitely not inferior to Northmont Blacktiger’s, and perhaps even more astonishing and terrifying. However, as long as one was not too close to him, one couldn’t sense his majestic presence at all.

“I’ve overcome the ninth-century tribulation… what a wonderful, wonderful feeling.” The short old man shook his head, seeming completely delighted with himself. “I’ll have nine hundred more years of good living.” Raising his head, he gargled in a large mouthful of Immortal wine.

“Uh?” The short old man suddenly halted, staring down at the Black-White Diagram below him. “Two youngsters?” The short old man nodded slightly. “Come to think of it, today is the day in which our Black-White College is accepting new recruits. It seems these two are new disciples. This old Daoist wants to take a good look at them.”

“That white-robed kid…he walks the Dao of Constructs? And he seems quite impressive; quite talented, in fact. It seems as though although I have been in seclusion for many years, the quality of the disciples of our Black-White College hasn’t dropped in the slightest.” The old man nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze towards Ji Ning, who was staring at the the stone wall with writing atop it. “That kid dressed in furs; he’s actually reading those words that were left behind? Can it be that he has finished viewing the Black-White Diagram? I wonder how long that kid viewed the Black-White Diagram for, and how his potential is.”

The longer one was able to view the Black-White Diagram, the more one would gain from it.

……

Ning continued to read the words left behind by the Immortals on the wall. Every single character was a representation of the path an Immortal had followed. Amongst these Immortals, there was only a single Celestial Immortal; the rest were all Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals. From this, one could tell how difficult it was for someone to truly escape the confines of the Three Realms and no longer be bound by the Five Elements.

“Eh?”

Ning looked towards a new line of words, but as soon as his gaze fell upon it, he suddenly felt as though a sword was being pointed at his eyes.

“My three-foot sword in hand, I shall exterminate all injustices! These are the words of Northwalker!”

A very simple line of words. Ning stared at this line of words, left behind by Immortal Northwalker, and could vaguely sense the powerful energy emanating from these words. As Ning carefully sensed and probed it with his own soul, instantly, a powerful aura instantly sprang out from these words, completely filling his consciousness.

A silver-haired old man stood in the void, a sword in his hand. Hua! His entire body became filled with a heaven-towering sword ki, as though he himself had transformed into an enormous sword.

“What a sharp sword.” When Ning saw the silver-haired elder, he had the feeling as though the elder himself was a sword as well, and the most indestructible, the toughest, the most overbearing sword in existence at that. In fact, Ning even felt as though nothing could possibly withstand this silver-haired elder.

Ning trained in the sword ever since he was young. The sword was the weapon of his choice, and his father had personally taught him. By now, Ning had the heart of a true swordsman. When he saw this figure, who appeared to be the utmost embodiment of that which swordsmen aspired to become…the desire Ning felt in his heart and the sincerity he felt towards the sword slowly began to transform, causing that aura that had filled him to begin to resonate with him..

…….

“Eh? That fur-clad little…” The short old man in the clouds above stared down in shock. “Is this…?”

Ning, in the plaza below, was standing next to one of the giant stone wall, and on that stone wall, a certain line of characters was slowly beginning to glow and radiate light. The characters were, ‘My three-foot sword in hand, I shall exterminate all injustices! These are the words of Northwalker!’. Every single character was lighting up, and a powerful sword-intent completely filled each and every one of them.

Ning just stood there, his entire body faintly radiating a sword intent as well. The two had actually begun to resonate with each other. The sword-intent radiating from Ning was far from being able to compare to the heaven-shaking profoundness of the line of characters, but without question, the sword-intent radiating from him was resonating with that of the wall.

“He actually…he actually managed to activate the sword-intent ripples left behind by senior Northwalker?” The short elder stared downwards in astonishment. Although Immortal Northwalker was a Loose Immortal, it could be said that within the Black-White College, his status was comparable to that Celestial Immortal’s, and in fact, his influence was even a bit greater. He had lived for over a million years before finally perishing under the weight of the increasingly powerful heaven-sent Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.

A Loose Immortal who had survived for a million years? This was something out of the legends. Loose Immortals capable of surviving for a hundred thousand years were already incredibly powerful figures; afterwards, surviving for another hundred thousand would be very difficult. Loose Immortals that had survived for two hundred thousand years and three hundred thousand years…they were all completely different, but the longer they lived, the more terrifying their power was.

Loose Immortals who crossed the threshold of one million years were absolutely comparable to Celestial Immortals. However, in terms of the foundation of their elemental ki, they were clearly weaker than Celestial Immortals; the reason they were said to be comparable was because in terms of their comprehension of the Dao, their degree of enlightenment, and their techniques, they were superior to Celestial Immortals! This was why, despite being mere Loose Immortals, they were comparable to Celestial Immortals!

“Sword-intent? The sword-intent ripples are this strong?” The short old man stared, wide-eyed, at the scene below.

…….

Within Ning’s consciousness. The sword-intents of himself and the words had reached an astonishing level of resonance. The figure of that silver-haired elder in his mind…suddenly began to move and display sword techniques. At the same time, he began to chant out the words to a song.

“What is the purpose of a life lived?”

“All I ask for is to be joyful.”

“Kill, kill, kill.”

“Exterminate all injustices!”

“Exterminate all those who deserve killing!”

“Only then will I be exultant.”

“As Loose Immortals, there is no path to immortality.”

“Thus…”

“Better to live passionately for a day, than to live a century while stifled.”

“My sword is the joyous sword, the sword of passion, the sword which exterminates all injustices. The name of this sword technique is the [Three-Foot Sword].”

The voice of the old man echoed within the vast, empty void of Ning’s consciousness.

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Chapter 23 – Immortal Diancai

Chapter 23, Immortal Diancai

The short elder clutched that gourd of wine in his hands, but completely forgot to drink from it. He stared downwards towards the fur-clad youth. The sword-intent radiating from the youth was incomparably firm and resolved, and it continuously resonated with the glowing words on the stone wall.

“Epochal Transmission!”

“Senior Northwalker is transmitting his sword intent to him. And, from the looks of it, this fur-clad youth seems to be receiving it with ease; clearly, he too has the heart of a true Sword Immortal.” The short elder took a deep breath, tamping down his excitement, then turned and sent mentally with a howl, “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai, hurry the hell out!”

“Hurry the hell out!”

“Hurry the hell out!”

His voice transmitted through the air, past countless layers of restrictive spells, and entered the ears of a black-robed, black-haired man who was currently seated in the lotus position atop a jade bed.

“Eh?” The black-haired man revealed a hint of puzzlement in his eyes as he opened them. But then, a look of understanding appeared. “It seems as though senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze has successfully endured the great tribulation which occurs every nine centuries. And he seems to be in quite a good mood!”

The black-robed, black-haired man took a single step forward, then disappeared from his room.

The night sky. The black-robed, black-haired man strode through the skies, moving a hundred kilometers with each step. If one didn’t stare at him carefully, it would seem as though he wasn’t even present.

“Senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze,” the black-haired, black-clothed man said. The short old man gave him a glance, blinked, then mumbled to himself, “You freak. You are growing more and more powerful. It’s been less than a century since we last met, but you’ve reached such a level of power. After I entered the Black-White College, you are the only one I have met who I believe has a great chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal.”

“The path to becoming a Celestial Immortal is incomparably difficult. All I can do is strive as much as I can and to use all my power to attain that goal.” The black-haired, black-clothed man laughed. “Your junior apprentice-brother has to congratulate you, senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze. You once again overcame the nine-century tribulation.”

“I didn’t call you over to chat about becoming a Celestial Immortal.” The short elder pointed downwards. “Quick, look.” Immortal Diancai stared downwards. There were two people in the plaza; one was currently meditating in front of the Black-White Diagram, clearly reaping great rewards from it, while the other was in front of one of the stone walls with words left behind by the Immortals. A line of characters atop that stone wall was currently glowing with light, and the light from each character was incomparably blinding. At the same time, surges of deep, powerful sword-intent radiated from the characters.

The line of words was: ‘My three-foot sword in hand, I shall exterminate all injustices! These are the words of Northwalker!’

“Senior Northwalker’s Epochal Transmission?” Immortal Diancai was stunned. He was an absolute genius which even the Black-White College saw only once in a million years, and the member of the Black-White College with the greatest chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal. When Immortal Diancai had originally entered the Black-White College, he, too, had received an Epochal Transmission from Immortal Northwalker.

“In the past, you received the sword-intent transmission from senior Northwalker, right?” The short old man laughed. “Right.” Immortal Diancai stared down carefully towards that fur-clad youth. His gaze was extremely focused; he was carefully weighing this youth.

“Who is he?” Immortal Diancai finally spoke out. The short elder knew that Immortal Diancai was asking about the fur-clad youth below, and he shook his head and said, “How should I know? I just came out from seclusion and happened upon him by chance, and so I immediately called for you. However, today is the day in which our College accepts new disciples; I imagine this youth should be a newly admitted student.”

Immortal Diancai nodded slowly.

All the higher level members of the Black-White College knew that ever since Immortal Diancai had entered the school and received the sword-intent transmission from ‘senior Northwalker’, and had learned about the life of senior Northwalker, he had felt incomparable respect and veneration for him. Diancai had considered himself to be Northwalker’s apprentice, and had frantically sought out any information he could find about Northwalker, as well as regarding his sword techniques…he had even visited all of the places which his revered mastered, Northwalker, had ever travelled to, in the hope of finding his tracks.

During this process, Immortal Diancai had grown more and more powerful, to the point where he could be described as the second coming of senior Northwalker. All the Immortals of the Black-White College acknowledged him as the one amongst them with the highest chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal.

“Well? Will you take him as your disciple?” The short elder chortled, lifting his gourd of wine up and taking two drinks. This junior apprentice-brother Diancai of his had never before accepted a disciple, because junior apprentice-brother Diancai had once said…only someone who had also received the Epochal Transmission of senior Northwalker’s sword-intent could become his disciple.

Immortal Diancai had trained for less than a thousand years. During the course of these thousand years, there had been quite a few who had sensed the unusualness of that line of characters, but none of them were capable of receiving the sword-intent transmission.

“He’s not bad.” Immortal Diancai nodded gently. “Only…I still need to watch him to determine whether or not I will take him as a disciple.” The short old man shook his head. “Your standards really are high.”

Immortal Diancai didn’t respond. He continued to focus on the fur-clad youth below. He watched in silence. But suddenly…

“Rumble…” The glowing characters on the stone wall suddenly flared with blinding brilliance, to the point where the characters themselves, formed from light, seemed to leap out of the stone wall. One character of light after another hung there in midair. ‘Hand’ ‘Wield’ ‘Three’…

Every single character radiated with blinding light; they seemed to be characters, but every single stroke of the characters contained the shadow of a sword, as though these were words formed from countless sword-shadows.

“The [Three-Foot Sword] technique. The complete [Three-Foot Sword] technique.” Immortal Diancai’s eyes were shining, and a look of shock and delight was in them.

“That sword technique…that’s the legendary [Three-Foot Sword] technique!” The short old man didn’t appear to be the slightest bit relaxed as well, and his eyes were filled with shock, surprise, and ardor.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

At virtually the same instant, three more figures suddenly appeared in the night sky. One was an old man with a long beard, a crown on his head, and who had an extraordinary bearing; when he strode forward, it was as though an emperor was walking past, naturally capable of commanding a realm. The second was a childish-looking boy who radiated an inexhaustible frigid aura, and whose eyes appeared incomparably ancient. The third was a tall, muscular man whose entire body was covered with chains.

The three of them all stared downwards.

“The [Three-Foot Sword].”

“The [Three-Foot Sword] has once more revealed itself to the world!”

“Our Black-White College has recruited yet another incredible disciple.” The three stared downwards towards Ning, their eyes filled with anticipation and excitement. Immortal Diancai and the short elder also stared downwards. The five of them didn’t say a single word.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, yet another figure appeared in the air. This was a white-robed youth who was incomparably handsome, almost devilishly so. The white-robed youth appeared, then immediately said respectfully, “Greetings, Uncle-Masters.”

“Don’t say a thing.” The short elder immediately gestured at him. The white-robed youth nodded. Although he had the exalted status of headmaster of the Black-White College, in front of these five, he still showed the respect due to seniors. He stood there obediently, not saying anything further.

…..

‘Hand’ ‘Wield’ ‘Three’ ‘Foot’ ‘Sword’ ‘Kill’…the characters formed from sword-shadows hung there in the air, radiating light. But suddenly, all of the glowing characters flew straight towards Ning’s eyeballs.

Ning shut his eyes. And then, in the same istant, the glowing line of words atop the stone wall suddenly dimmed, becoming ordinary looking and no longer emanating any radiance or aura whatsoever. Perhaps, when the time was right and when yet another disciple capable of receiving its sword-intent transmission appeared, it would once more display its extraordinariness.

“It’s over.” The short old man laughed. “Senior Northwalker’s complete [Three-Foot Sword] has been transmitted to this kid.”

“Right. The complete [Three-Foot Sword].” The bearded, crowned elder sighed with emotion as well. “How many years has it been? The last time the [Three-Foot Sword] emerged was nearly thirty million years ago. Finally, yet another disciple has inherited the complete [Three-Foot Sword].”

“The [Three-Foot Sword]…it exterminated countless vile demons, and killed until the heavens grew dim and the earth turned dark. It killed so many that even the entire Grand Xia Dynasty was shocked, and it even slaughtered a path out of our very world of existence.” The tall, muscular man who was covered in those bizarre chains spoke in a low, rumbling voice as well. His eyes were filled with eagerness as well.

They were all Immortals, but the difference in their power was great. Immortal Northwalker was at a level where he was no weaker than a Celestial Immortal, and where even some Celestial Immortals would be afraid of him. For someone like him…killing an ordinary Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal was as easy as slaughtering a chicken.

This was precisely why, despite the passage of countless years, the Black-White College continued to feel the utmost of veneration for Immortal Northwalker. In fact, he was the only person in the entire history of the Black-White College whose status was considered to be even higher than that of the Celestial Immortal they had produced.

“The [Three-Foot Sword].” Immortal Diancai spoke very slowly. “According to the legends, it has a total of nine stances; the first six stances are recorded in the secret annals of our Black-White College, but the final three stances…they were what Immortal Northwalker truly relied on when he roamed the world and dominated it with invincibility. They were impossible to record down through words and pictures; the only way one can receive them is through the profounder-than-profound Epochal Transmission.”

“This child has the heart of a Sword Immortal.” The bearded elder stared downwards at Ning. “In addition, his Dao-heart is incomparably firm and pure, and his soul is very powerful. Only one who fulfills all three criteria can receive a technique such as this [Three-Foot Sword].”

The juvenile-looking boy nodded. “In each generation, our Black-White College has a good number of disciples who have firm Dao-hearts and powerful souls, but the heart of a Sword Immortal…this is too rare, too rare.”

“The heart of a Sword Immortal represents the true essence of a swordsman, that which stems from the heart.” The short old man said with a sigh, “In addition, being able to develop the heart of a Sword Immortal is a prerequisite for embarking on one of the Grand Daos, the Dao of the Sword.”

……..

“Junior apprentice-brother Diancai, are you going to accept this excellent disciple or not? If you won’t, I will,” the bearded elder said with a laugh.

The juvenile-looking boy’s eyes were blazing. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai, I’ll take this disciple. Although he isn’t able to execute the [Three-Foot Sword] right now, it has already been imprinted onto his soul. Once he reaches the proper level, he’ll be able to execute it. I am quite eager to have the chance to cultivate a Sword Immortal who will be in possession of the [Three-Foot Sword].”

“Junior apprentice-brother Diancai…” All of them spoke out. But Immortal Diancai just glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the four. “I haven’t even taken a single disciple. Are you all going to fight with me over him?” The other four all laughed.

“Jadesea.” Immortal Diancai looked towards the white-robed youth. “Uncle-master.” The white-robed youth immediately nodded. Immortal Diancai chuckled, then asked, “Who is that young fellow below us?”

The white-robed youth, Daoist Jadesea, immediately responded, “He is one of the two disciples which our Black-White College has just accepted. His name is Ji Ning, and he comes from a minor tribe, the Ji clan, which lives in the Swallow Mountain region of our Stillwater Commandery. His parents are already deceased. Ever since he was young, he displayed astonishing, unparalleled talents, and at the age of eleven, he executed the Zifu Disciple, Bei Zishan, who was being pursued by the Raindragon Guard.”

“Then, because Immortal Firedragon made a breakthrough in the territory of the Ji clan and caused an elemental ore mine to appear, a local branch of Snowdragon Mountain sought to annihilate the Ji clan, but the end result was that Snowdragon Mountain lost a Wanxiang Adept and more than twenty Zifu Disciples. The main reason why Snowdragon Mountain suffered such a catastrophic loss was this Ji Ning.”

“Afterwards, he became friends with Northmont Baiwei, who is of the direct, primary lineage of the Northmont clan. He engaged in a battle in the Carefree Caverns, and during the battle revealed that he was already at the level of comprehending a Dao Domain. He is currently sixteen years of age. The other person who entered our Black-White College, Mu Northson, is fourteen years of age.”

The five Immortals, upon hearing this information, all nodded. Ning’s growth rate was monstrous and astonishing in the ears of others, but in the eyes of these Immortals of the Black-White College, Ning’s growth rate was just decent at best. After all, they had all even seen quite a few reincarnated Immortals.

“This Ji Ning shall be my disciple.” Immortal Diancai glanced at the surrounding individuals. “My four senior apprentice-brothers, please support me in this.”

“Haha.”

“I thought you’d never take on a disciple, junior apprentice-brother Diancai.”

“I won’t fight with you over him. You have gained the deepest level of insight regarding the swordplay of senior Northwalker; if you don’t teach this boy, who will? If I taught him, wouldn’t I hamper his progress?”

And so, over the course of this conversation amongst Immortals, Ning’s future master had been determined, just like that.

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Chapter 24 – The Grand Admissions Ceremony

Chapter 24, The Grand Admissions Ceremony

It was late at night.

There were only two disciples of the Black-White College located in the plaza which held the Black-White Diagram. Ji Ning slowly opened his eyes. Although it was a late night in the twelfth lunar month, and it was extremely cold, Ning’s heart was filled with a scorching heat. He stared at the words left behind by Immortal Northwalker, hidden amongst the countless words left behind on the stone wall, and his emotions continued to fluctuate for a time.

“My sword is the joyous sword, the sword of passion, the sword which exterminates all injustices! It is better to live passionately for a day, than to live a century while stifled.”

Ning still remembered with perfect clarity that vision of that silver-haired old figure, who seemed to be as exalted as the heavens themselves. He clearly remembered that heaven-surging sword-intent, clearly remembered that sword technique. All of these things had been deeply engraved in his heart!

“What level of swordcraft is this? Comparing my swordcraft to it would truly be like comparing the light of a firefly to the brilliance of the full moon.” Ning’s heart was surging with emotions, and his eyes were filled with boundless admiration.

Suddenly…Ning’s ear twitched. He immediately turned, only to see a white-robed figure walk over from afar.

“Eh?” Ning was startled. Today, the only two new students should have been himself and Mu Northson. Aside from the two of them, who else would come here in the dead of night?

The white-robed youth walked over from afar, and as he did, Ning felt as though endless, boundless waves were slowly surging towards him in a crushing flow. The entire world seemed to have transformed into waves…but when they reached Ning, things grew clear once more. There were no waves at all…just that white-robed youth walking towards him.

“How terrifying.” Ning felt alarm in his heart. Although there was no oppressive, dominating aura, the sense of danger which this white-robed youth had given him wasn’t one whit inferior to that which Northmont Blacktiger had given him. In addition, this white-robed youth was handsome to the point of being devilish.

Ning clasped his hands in a salute. “This junior, Ji Ning, pays his respects to you, senior.” Before coming, Ning had already received an intelligence report from Northmont Baiwei regarding the school. Based on the information in that report, Ning already had an idea as to who this person was.

“My Daoist title is ‘Jadesea’,” the white-robed youth said. “I am fortunate enough to hold the position of headmaster for now.” Ning responded with respect, “Greetings, Headmaster.”

The headmaster of the Black-White College, ‘Daoist Jadesea’, was naturally a truly influential and powerful figure within Stillwater Commandery.

“Headmaster, junior apprentice-brother Northson is…” Ning looked towards Northson, who was still absorbed in meditation in front of the Black-White Diagram, seeming to be drunken or dazed.

“No need to disturb him,” the headmaster, Daoist Jadesea, said while shaking his head. “You are the one I’ve come to visit.” As he spoke, a scroll appeared in front of Daoist Jadesea. He then extended his arm, even more pure and jade-white than most women’s, and the scroll floated towards Ning. Ning respectfully accepted it.

“After reading it, you will understand.” Daoist Jadesea looked towards Ning. “As the Epochal Heir of Immortal Northwalker, you must not be indolent. Remember. After finishing reading this scroll, destroy it.” After speaking, Headmaster Daoist Jadesea turned and departed, quickly disappearing from Ning’s field of vision.

Ning stood there, stunned. Epochal Heir? Could not be indolent? Ning immediately unfurled the hide-bound scroll; this scroll was made from the hide of an ordinary animal, but the words and information atop it instantly drew Ning’s attention.

“Immortal Northwalker?” A look of delight appeared on Ning’s face. He had been wanting to learn more regarding this Immortal Northwalker. The upper part of this hide-bound scroll described Immortal Northwalker’s experiences as he grew in power, as well as some notable events he had been involved in. Ning was completely engrossed and mesmerized by the information within.

This was a true legend. The legend which the entire Black-White College held in the greatest respect. “In acting, one should act as senior Northwalker did,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

When senior Northwalker acted, he did so in a manner which could be described in two words; ‘straightforward’ and ‘passionate’! That was the only thing he cared about, to the point where, when he saw the disciples of a supreme clan acting in sinful, wicked ways, he annihilated them all in his anger and even destroyed their souls. This resulted in him being pursued and attacked by this supreme clan, a pursuit which lasted for centuries. Immortal Northwalker had even been forced to flee from this major world, but over the course of this pursuit, he had grown more and more powerful. Afterwards, when he had returned, many of the powerful experts of that supreme clan were killed or injured, and in the end, they had been forced to lower their heads and admit defeat, paying reparations and reconciling themselves to him.

“I wonder which supreme clan it was,” Ning mused to himself. “This scroll didn’t record their name; clearly, they don’t want for this matter to become public. Most likely, this was part of the reconciliation process that occurred.”

Given what a massive battle this had been, clearly, that supreme clan was truly incredible as well. At the same time, it also demonstrated how straightforward and passionate Immortal Northwalker’s actions were. He truly did act to exterminate all injustice!

The middle of the scroll recorded a dialogue. A junior disciple posed a query to Immortal Northwalker: “Countless vile actions were being carried out in this vast world; if one always went to exterminate evildoers, how could one possibly ever kill them all?”

Immortal Northwalker had responded thusly: “The number of sins and wicked deeds carried out in this vast world are numerous beyond count, and I can’t be bothered to take charge of all matters in this world. Any injustices that I personally encounter, however, I will naturally exterminate, and so return joy and passion to myself.”

His meaning was simple and clear. If he didn’t personally encounter injustice, he couldn’t be bothered with it. But if he did? That would ruin his mood…and he would exterminate it.

“He truly did live a carefree live, where he did as he pleased.” Ning felt admiration for the man.

……

After reading through the records of Immortal Northwalker, Ning turned to the bottom part of the scroll, which began to introduce the [Three-Foot Sword]. The [Three-Foot Sword] had a total of nine stances, and was the supreme technique which Immortal Northwalker had used to stun the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. It was the distilled essence of his million-plus years of experience, and it was so powerful that even Immortal Northwalker himself was unable to completely record down this technique in a manuscript for transmission to later descendants.

The Dao Repository Vault of the Black-White College only held the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]. To this very day, no one was capable of recording down the final three stances in written form.

However, those words left behind on the stone wall had been personally penned by Immortal Northwalker. Only when there was a sword-intent resonance would an Epochal Transmission occur, and could the [Three-Foot Sword] be transmitted.

“So that’s how it works. Occasionally, a later disciple of the Black-White College will receive an Epochal Transmission, but even if they do, it’s quite rare for them to obtain the complete sword technique. The last time a complete sword technique was transmitted was more than thirty million years ago.” Upon reading this, Ning finally understood how astonishing a gain he had just reaped.

Ning also now understood why Headmaster Daoist Jadesea had given him this scroll. It was precisely because of how important the [Three-Foot Sword] was; if some of the enemy powers were to learn that the Black-White College had produced yet another genius who had gained the complete legacy of the [Three-Foot Sword], they would probably use any means at their disposal to ensure that this genius would fall early on.

Thus, this news absolutely could not be publicized. But of course, he could still use the [Three-Foot Sword]; after all, the Dao Repository Vault had the secret manuals for the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]. As for using the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], if the situation called for it…then there was no need to keep the secret any longer. Once one possessed the power of the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], then one would already be standing at a peak of power. After all, the seventh stance was already something which even Immortal Northwalker was unable to commit to paper; from this, one could imagine how powerful it was.

…….

Two more hours passed. Only now did Northson completely come to his senses.

“Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.” Northson’s eyes were blazing as he turned to look at the nearby Ning. He immediately called out in excitement, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, this Black-White Diagram is simply too helpful in training. I feel as though I have made tremendous, tremendous progress in the Dao of Constructs.”

But immediately afterwards, Northson realized something; Ning had awoken before he did. Most likely, he hadn’t gained as much from the Black-White Diagram as Northson himself did. This made Northson feel rather embarrassed.

“Indeed, I’ve gained much,” Ning said with a laugh. “It’s late. I imagine that it will be dawn soon. Junior apprentice-brother Northson, it’s time to get some rest. Two days later, we’ll go to the Headmaster’s Palace.”

“Right.” Northson nodded.

“Also,” Ning warned, “These words left behind by Immortals all have quite a history and are worthy of you viewing.” Northson walked the Dao of Constructs; naturally, he wouldn’t have the heart of a Sword Immortal and wouldn’t be able to receive the legacy of the Immortal Northwalker. However, although Ning had received the Epochal Transmission of Immortal Northwalker, it could very well be that there were other legacies left behind by other ancestors of the school on the stone wall.

“Right. It’s almost dawn. I’ll come here in the future and read through them slowly,” Northson said with a laugh.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two left, one on a wooden boat, the other on an Azure Dragon construct. They each headed towards their own abodes.

…………

In the blink of an eye, two days passed. As had been predicted, on the second and third days, there were no applicants who were qualified to become formal disciples of the Black-White College! Thus, this year, the only new disciples of the Black-White College were Ji Ning and Mu Northson.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ning and Northson were streaking through the air above the Black-White College like two streaks of light, moving directly towards the Headmaster’s Palace.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Northson’s eyes were filled with eagerness. “Today, we will receive black-white pellets. We’ll be able to enter the Dao Repository Vault and exchange it for Ki Refining techniques or secret Immortal techniques. In addition…we will be paying our respects to our masters. We don’t even know who they will be yet.”

“Right. I wonder who will be my master,” Ning mused in a soft voice. Master. For an Immortal practitioner to acknowledge a master was completely different from how he had acknowledged Blindfish to be his master when learning archery as a child. Archery was just the technique of an ordinary mortal, but your master on the Immortal path…what they passed down to you would help you on your road to becoming an Immortal. The value of this benevolence shown was far greater, and most likely the relationship between a master and apprentice would persist for centuries or even millennia.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning and Northson landed in front of the Headmaster’s Hall. Quite a few formal disciples had already gathered together within the Headmaster’s Hall, at least a hundred or more. They were casually chatting amongst themselves, and all of them had extraordinary demeanors.

When Ning and Northson entered the palace, quite a few of the formal disciples turned to glance at them. Most of them had kind looks in their eyes, and they nodded slightly, signifying greetings.

“It seems only part of the formal disciples of the Black-White College have come,” Ning mused to himself. “It makes sense. Immortal practitioners can’t always be staying within the school; I imagine many are outside.”

Each year, there would be a grand ceremony for admitting new disciples. But sometimes Immortal practitioners would enter closed-door meditation for decades; thus, attendance at this sort of ceremony was not too important. Those who could come would; if one couldn’t, it didn’t matter much. Still…for most, as long as they weren’t engaged in any pressing matters within the school, they would still come and pay their respects at the Headmaster’s Palace.

“The Headmaster is coming,” someone suddenly called out. Ning and the others immediately turned to look. A white-robed youth was descending from midair, and there were multiple figures behind him. All of them were Primal Daoists of the Black-White College; this entire group of Primal Daoists descended en masse.

“According to the normal customs of the Black-White College, new disciples of the College will generally take on Primal Daoists as masters,” Ning mused to himself. The Primal Daoists of the Black-White College were not like those of ordinary schools; some of them had such astonishing power that they were comparable to ordinary Immortals. Thus, being able to become a disciple of a Primal Daoist of the Black-White College was quite a fortunate affair.

“I wonder which one of them will be my master?” Ning swept his gaze past all of the Primal Daoists, including the headmaster, Daoist Jadesea. He began to privately guess at which of them it would be.

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Chapter 25 – Daoist Title, Darknorth

Chapter 25, Daoist Title, Darknorth

Daoist Jadesea sat on high in the headmaster’s seat, staring downwards towards the Primal Daoists, who had lined up into two rows. Beneath the palace was a group of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples.

Within the Black-White College, the various disciples were primarily divided into three generations of status. The Zifu Disciples and Wanxiang Adepts were considered to be of the same generation of status, and could refer to each other as junior or senior fellow disciples. This was because it was extremely easy for any of these Zifu Disciples to reach the Wanxiang Adept level.

Primal Daoists were on a higher level. Immortals, in turn, had the highest status. Generally speaking, when disciples like Ji Ning met with an Immortal, they would address them as ‘Patriarch’, while when they met with a Primal Daoist, they would address them as ‘Uncle-Master’. But of course, if one was able to take on an Immortal as one’s master, they would naturally refer to that Immortal as ‘Master’. Still, in addressing other Immortals, one would still use the term ‘Patriarch’.

Generally speaking, status amongst Immortal practitioners was determined by strength and power, and they each befriended people on the same level of power.

“Everyone,” Daoist Jadesea said, seated atop his high chair, his voice echoing throughout the hall. “Our Black-White College has taken on two new disciples. The skinny, fur-clad one on the left is Ji Ning.”

Ning gaped. Skinny? Well, it made sense; it wouldn’t be appropriate to refer to him as the ‘youth’ either.

“The one on the right, the even skinnier one who is dressed in white robes, is named Mu Northson,” Daoist Jadesea said.

Northson blinked as well. Even skinnier?

The hundred-plus disciples within the palace all began to laugh, and looks of amusement had appeared on the faces of the Primal Daoists as well. Clearly, they all knew what sort of a character their headmaster, Daoist Jadesea, was.

Daoist Jadesea grinned as he looked towards Ning and Northson as well. “The people present within this palace today consist of a portion of the disciples of our Black-White College. Many are either in closed-door meditation or wandering the world. In the future, you will meet them all. From today onwards, you are all members of the Black-White College. We must be of one mind and one heart; it is forbidden for members of the college to engage in fratricide.”

“Understood.” Ning and Northson both immediately acknowledged these words. Daoist Jadesea continued, “Mm. Then let us begin the Oath of Blood.”

Ning and Northson glanced at each other. They immediately stretched out one finger from their right hands, and a drop of fresh blood emerged from their fingers.

“Let our heart’s blood bear testament, and let the Dao of the Heavens stand witness. I, Ji Ning (Mu Northson), willingly and freely join the Black-White College. As disciples of the Black-White College, I shall obey the rules of the Black-White College…”

A nameless, ancient aura began to circulate throughout the hall. Nobody else said a word; the only ones speaking were Ning and Northson, and their voices echoed within the grand palace.

An Oath of Blood, sworn to the Dao of the Heavens!

This was a mighty oath that absolutely could not be foresworn. This was also the reason why it was extremely rare for someone to betray their school in the Grand Xia Dynasty. If one did betray one’s school, even before the school came to punish them, the punishment of the Dao of Heaven would have already slain the traitor. But of course, if the school had wronged the disciple, or if it had expelled the disciple, then it would no longer be the disciple’s fault.

Since every single disciple was willing to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, it was still quite fair.

……

After hearing the swearing of the Oath of Blood to the Dao of the Heavens, Daoist Jadesea nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. You have now formally joined our school. Since you have joined us, you need to choose your Daoist titles. Each of you can choose a title you like.”

Ning and Northson both began to ponder this. A Daoist title…for example, Daoist Jadesea’s Daoist title was ‘Jadesea’, and Immortal Firedragon’s Daoist title was ‘Firedragon’.

“If you don’t wish to choose a Daoist title, you can use your own given name as your Daoist title,” Daoist Jadesea said with a laugh. “There are some disciples who are accustomed to using their own names and unaccustomed to Daoist titles. There are thus quite a few who use their own names.”

“My Daoist title shall be ‘Twinwood’,” Northson suddenly said. Daoist Jadesea nodded lightly. “Twinwood? Very well.” He looked towards the nearby Ning next. “Ji Ning, what about you?”

Ning said slowly, “My Daoist title…let it be Darknorth.”

“Very well.” Daoist Jadesea nodded. “Since your Daoist titles have been chosen, let the elders of our Black-White College discuss amongst themselves who will take you as their student. If you aren’t willing, you can speak out at this time.”

“Understood,” Ning and Northson both said. Unwilling? What sort of a joke was this? As long as there was no enmity between them, generally speaking, as long as an elder was willing to be their master, the disciple would not refuse to be their student.

“Mu Northson.” Suddenly, from amidst the crowd of Primal Daoists near Daoist Jadesea, a white-haired, baby-faced old lady suddenly spoke out. She looked at Northson, a hint of benevolent love in her eyes. “I heard that you walk the Dao of Constructs. I, Jadefine, have also gained quite a few insights into the Dao of Constructs. I wonder if you would be willing to accept me as your master.”

Ning’s heart thumped. Jadefine? According to the intelligence report which Northmont Baiwei had provided him, Daoist Jadefine had the highest degree of understanding of the Dao of Constructs in the entire Black-White College.

“Your disciple is willing.” Northson respectfully fell to his knees. “Your disciple pays his respects to you, Master.” Daoist Jadefine smiled, then nodded. “Mm.”

Ning turned to look at the various Primal Daoists up ahead. Which one of them would become his master? Which one? But Daoist Jadesea and the other Primal Daoists didn’t say a single word.

“Hrm. Strange. Why aren’t any of them accepting junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning as their disciple?”

“Right. None of our uncle-masters are saying a thing.”

The other disciples were secretly chatting amongst themselves. But Daoist Jadesea, seated above them, suddenly turned to stare towards the outside of the palace. A figure had appeared within the doorway to the palace; a black-haired, black-robed man was walking in. His gaze was both stately and fierce, and as soon as he stepped into the palace, it was as though the entire palace had been steeped into darkness. All of the disciples turned to stare at this man.

“My respects to you, Patriarch.” Many of the disciples quickly spoke out. A few of the others were a bit lost; clearly, they didn’t recognize this man. Still, they hurriedly imitated the other disciples in bowing respectfully. As for Ning and Northson, they followed the crowd in bowing as well.

“My respects to you, Uncle-Master.” The Primal Daoists in front all called out respectfully as well. “Uncle-Master.” Daoist Jadesea rose as well.

The black-robed, black-haired man’s figure had instantly become the center for the entire palace. It was as though the entire world was revolving around him.

“Ji Ning.” The black-robed, black-haired man looked towards Ning. “Are you willing to become the senior disciple under my tutelage?” Ning was shocked. As soon as this man had spoken, Ning had immediately realized who he was.

The intelligence report Baiwei had provided had very little information on the various Immortals in the palace, with just a few lines of information for each; after all, the information on the Immortals was very highly classified, while the report Baiwei had provided him consisted of fairly open secrets. Thus, there was just a very simple introduction regarding Immortal Diancai..

Immortal Diancai: An Earth Immortal of the Black-White College. Highly specialized in swordplay. No disciples to his name.

Of the living Immortals of the Black-White College, Immortal Diancai was the only one who had never accepted any disciples. Upon hearing the words, ‘senior disciple under my tutelage’, Ning immediately understood who the person before him was.

If he didn’t apprentice himself to this man, then who?

“Your disciple is willing.” Ning fell to his knees, respectfully kowtowing in a ritual manner. “Your disciple, Ji Ning, pays his respect to you, Master.”

“Mm. Folllow me.” A rare hint of a smile was on Immortal Diancai’s stern face. Nodding to the others and saying a few words, he immediately left the hall, and Ning hurriedly followed after him.

As for the other disciples in the hall, they all stared in astonishment. An Immortal had taken a direct disciple? This was extremely rare. Only the most monstrously talented of their generation had been accepted by one of the Immortals as a disciple, and all of these monsters were rumored to actually be reincarnated Immortals.

…….

The clouds swirled about Immortal Diancai and Ning as they flew at high speed towards an estate. They entered the estate, then into the main hall.

Immortal Diancai sat down atop his jade bed. As for Ning, he stood there to one side, incomparably respectful. He could tell that Immortal Diancai was normally quite a stern, taciturn person.

“In my entire life, the person I hold the most admiration for is senior Northwalker,” Immortal Diancai said. “I once swore that I would not accept any disciple who did not receive the sword-intent transmission from senior Northwalker. As for you, not only did you receive his sword-intent transmission, you even inherited his legacy, the complete [Three-Foot Sword]. Even I don’t know anything at all regarding the final three stances of this technique.”

Ning just listened respectfully. Given that even the headmaster knew about this matter, for his own master to know of this was only natural.

“The only ones who know that you inherited the complete legacy of the [Three-Foot Sword] are myself, Jadesea, and the other Immortals,” Immortal Diancai said. “Thus, you cannot reveal it either.”

Ning said respectfully, “Your disciple understands.”

Immortal Diancai looked towards Ji Ning. “You should know that in our Black-White College, if you wish to gain a top-tier Ki Refining technique or top-tier divine ability, you have to use black-white pellets to trade for them.” Ning nodded. The black-and-white book he had read earlier had described these things.

If one wished to acquire the divine ability, ‘Heavenly Transformation’, one needed a certain number of black-white pellets. If one wanted to gain a certain Ki Refining technique, one would also need a certain number of black-white pellets. If one wished to acquire a technique for their spirit-beast, one would still need to use black-white pellets to trade for it!

Black-white pellets were rewarded to disciples by the school. For example, if one reached the Dao Domain level, one would be rewarded with black-white pellets. If one became a Wanxiang Adept, one would also be rewarded with black-white pellets. Upon becoming a Primal Daoist, one would receive still further black-white pellets. If one joined the Raindragon Guard, one would be bestowed black-white pellets…

In short, the better one’s performance was, the more black-white pellets the school would bestow. Naturally, this would allow one to gain access to ever more profound techniques owned by the school.

“Has your soul reached the ‘divine sense’ level?” Immortal Diancai asked. Ning couldn’t help but feel shocked; he had never revealed this before.

“Receiving the complete [Three-Foot Sword] legacy places enormous strains on the soul. In the past, virtually every single person who ever acquired the complete [Three-Foot Sword] legacy was a reincarnated Immortal whose soul was at least at the ‘divine sense’ level,” Immortal Diancai explained.

Ning said respectfully, “Your disciple’s soul has indeed reached the ‘divine sense’ level, but as for being a reincarnated Immortal…it seems your disciple…’

“After having drank Granny Meng’s Elixir, you naturally will have forgotten the memories from your previous life.” Immortal Diancai shook his head. “However, given how powerful your soul is, even if you aren’t a reincarnated Immortal, you must have encountered a tremendously great karmic event.”

Immortal Diancai fell silent for a moment, then started to muse to himself. “You’ve just entered the school, so you can receive the basic reward of a thousand black-white pellets. You have reached the Dao Domain realm, so you can be rewarded with another thousand black-white pellets. Your soul is at the divine sense level, and so you can be awarded two thousand black-white pellets. As your master, I can bestow you with another two thousand black-white pellets. Thus, you have a total of six thousand black-white pellets.”

Immortal Diancai said seriously, “Since you have already received the complete legacy of the [Three-Foot Sword], in the future, you will definitely be forced to use it. Thus, when you go to the Dao Repository Vault, you must trade for the first scroll of the [Three-Foot Sword]. The [Three-Foot Sword] is the swordplay which has secured the foundations of our Black-White College; thus, even the first scroll will cost you two thousand black-white pellets.”

Ning was speechless. He clearly had inherited the entire legacy of the [Three-Foot Sword], but in order to hide it, he would actually have to go trade for the first scroll of the [Three-Foot Sword]? And the price was two thousand black-white pellets! So this was the reason why his master had bestowed him two thousand black-white pellets.

“As for your Ki Refining technique…remember, you absolutely must select a Ki Refining technique that you can use to train all the way to the Immortal level,” Immortal Diancai said. “As for divine abilities and sword techniques…choose as you see fit.”

“You can go now. Go directly to the Dao Repository Vault and withdraw your black-white pellets and your liquefied elemental essence. Afterwards, go choose your Ki Refining techniques, sword techniques, divine abilities, and what-not.” Immortal Diancai concluded, “If there is something you cannot comprehend, come ask me.”

“Yes.” Ning bowed with respect. And then, he departed, heading directly to the Dao Repository Vault.

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Chapter 26 – Within the Dao Repository Vault

Chapter 26, Within the Dao Repository Vault

The morning sun rose, and the light of the dawn shone upon the entire Black-White College.

Whoosh. Ji Ning, mounted atop his flying boat, was soaring through the skies. Soon, he saw a majestic, towering vault beneath him. This was the edifice which, within the Black-White College, had a status that was not inferior to the Black-White Diagram’s; the Dao Repository Vault! Whenever the disciples of the Black-White College wished to learn top-tier Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities, or secret arts, they would come here.

A large, muscular man, dressed in a beautiful set of armor, was currently seated next to a stone table, holding an exquisite goblet of wine and enjoying it.

Ning landed on the ground. “My respects to you, Uncle-Master,” Ning said with a bow. “Oh?” The large, muscular man glanced sideways at Ning. “You are the new disciple, Ji Ning?”

“Yes,” Ning said. This large, muscular man was one of the Dao-Protectors of the Vault, a position generally given to Primal Daoists. “Here are six thousand black-white pellets.” The large, muscular man waved his hand, and a black jade bottle flew out towards Ning.

Ning accepted it and filled it with his elemental ki. Within this jade bottle, there really was a veritable mass of pellets, all of which were black and white in color.

“Here are fifty kilograms of liqueified elemental essence. For disciples of the third generation, every ten years, they will receive this amount of liquefied elemental essence.” The large, muscular man tossed another jade bottle to Ning. “Alright. You’ve collected your black-white pellets and your liquefied elemental essence. You can go in now.”

Two bottles; one a dark jade color, the other an emerald jade color. They were used to store six thousand black-white pellets and fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, respectively.

“The Black-White College lives up to its reputation,” Ning said to himself with a sigh. “Someone like me, a third generation disciple, will receive fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence each decade. Doesn’t that mean that every century, I will receive five hundred kilograms? An ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasure is only worth around a hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence, while most Heaven-ranked magic treasures are worth just ten thousand taels or so.”

The five hundred kilograms of liqueified elemental essence which disciples of the Black-White College received each century were already enough to trade for a Heaven-ranked magic treasure. But of course, no one would be so stupid as to save them all up; this liquefied elemental essence was meant to help them rise in power by allowing them to not need to waste a great amount of time in slowly absorbing energy from nature.

“Thank you, Uncle-Master.” Ning immediately strode into the Dao Repository Vault.

……

There were a total of three levels to the Dao Repository Vault. As soon as Ning entered the first level, he felt as though he had entered a sea of books. One enormous book shelf after another could be seen, with countless numbers of books placed on them. At first glance…Ning dared to guess that there had to be more than a million books here, and the vast majority of the books which lined the largest walls and shelves had a single large character on the sides: ‘Technique’!

“Techniques!” Ning mused to himself, “The Dao Repository Vault has three levels. The first level focuses on techniques, the second on arts, and the third on miscellaneous things.”

The word technique, in this case, referred to refining techniques, such as Ki Refining and Fiendgod Body Refining techniques.

The word arts referred to secret magic arts used by Immortals and Fiends. They included ingenious ways of using power, and included the ‘divine abilities’ of Fiendgods, the ‘sword arts’ of Sword Immortals, the ‘forbidden techniques’ which one could use in a crisis, the ‘evasion arts’ one could use when fleeing…all techniques which relied on special tricks and applications of power were classified as skills.

As for miscellaneous, they consisted of things that were not classified with the first two. Constructs, formations, venomous pests, refining magic treasure, refining magic pills, poisons…

“Master said that I absolutely must trade for the first scroll of the [Three-Foot Sword], as well as a Ki Refining technique that can be used all the way up to the Immortal level.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately beginning to search through the first level of the Dao Repository Vault.

Ki Refining techniques were divided into Immortal-rank, Heaven-rank, Earth-rank, Mortal-rank, and so on. Immortal-rank…this meant that this was a Ki Refining technique that could be used to train all the way up to the Celestial Immortal level.

“All the way up to Celestial Immortal?” Ning sighed with emotion. “Although supposedly one can use Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques to train all the way up to the Celestial Immortal level, even the Black-White College has only produced a single Celestial Immortal in its entire history. Even Immortal Northwalker and those other outstandingly talented figures were unable to become Celestial Immortals. The path to becoming a Celestial Immortal is indeed as difficult as Judge Cui described; the tribulations one must face are boundless.”

Ning continued to search carefully. Soon he found, deep in the depths of the Dao Repository Vault, a black, wooden table. Atop it, there were a total of twenty nine golden books arranged in a row. This table had a single character carved on its side – Immortal!

“Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques?” Ning hurriedly picked up a golden book. This book was named [Samgha Sutra of Ascending to Heaven]. This was just a simple, abridged tone; after all, an Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique was definitely one of the most important, foundation-establishing texts for a school. It absolutely would not be permitted for it to be leaked to the outside world.

“This first scroll of the [Samgha Sutra of Ascending to Heaven] actually costs 1500 black-white pellets.” Ning was secretly speechless. Turning his head, he saw that atop the tall bookshelves, there were rows on rows of Earth-ranked Ki Refining techniques, and all of them were complete copies, not abridged ones…

“These are so cheap, just a hundred black-white pellets,” Ning mumbled to himself. Suddenly, a voice rang out by his side. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

Ning turned to look. He saw, from afar, a white-robed youth who had just arrived; his junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson. Northson was clearly quite excited. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, there really are very many Ki Refining techniques here.”

“The school has existed for so long. How can it not have many techniques?” Ning replied. And then, the pair of fellow disciples began to once more earnestly search for their own Ki Refining techniques.

An hour passed.

“I’ll choose this.” Ning picked up a golden book; it was the Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique, the [Flowing Watersource]. The first volume could be purchased for 1500 black-white pellets. The Ki Refining technique which Ning had trained in since he was a child was the [Water Element Art]; after having established his Zifu, of the Five Elements, he was naturally most suited to water-attribute techniques.

“When adding the cost of the first scroll of the [Three-Foot Sword], which I have to acquire, I need to pay 3500 black-white pellets. I have another 2500 black-white pellets I can use.” Ning began to ponder to himself. He needed to acquire a technique for Uncle White. He also needed to acquire a divine ability. He also needed the later parts of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

“Uncle White is at the early Zifu stage; he is in urgent need of a Ki Refining technique. In addition, of the Five Elements, he too is most suited to water. This [Flowing Watersource] is very suited to him as well.” Ning continued to ponder.

Although he had just chosen a single copy of the [Flowing Watersource], if he wanted to let Uncle White train in it as well, then he would have to pay another 1500 black-white pellets! If he didn’t…then that would mean that they had stolen the technique, and an Immortal-ranked technique at that. This was a tremendously grave crime, and the Oath of Blood he had sworn to the Dao of the Heavens, by itself, would deliver a punishment that would probably shatter Ning’s soul.

“I have a thousand more black-white pellets remaining.” Ning instantly felt as though he didn’t have enough black-white pellets to spend. But what he didn’t realize was, no one else would be willing to spend such a fortune on a spirit-beast.

……

A short time later, within the first level of the Dao Repository Vault, Ning was able to find the books focusing on Fiendgod Body Refining. He also found the later scrolls introducing the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; the so-called ‘second scroll’ to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

The second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] also had nine stages to it. It consisted of the tenth, the eleventh, the twelfth…all the way to the eighteenth stage.

These levels corresponded to the Wanxiang Adept, Primal Daoist, and Void stages.

Upon reaching the eighteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], one would undergo a tribulation. If one successfully endured that heavenly tribulation, one would become an Empyrean God!

As for Ki Refiners, once they overcame their tribulation, they would become Celestial Immortals!

Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals…these were two different branches.

“A hundred black-white pellets? So cheap.” Ning, upon seeing the price, couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “Although it will let you train all the way to the heavenly tribulation, it only costs a hundred black-white pellets. It really is the most easily acquired technique.”

It was the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. It was also the most easily acquired technique. And, in turn, it was the most difficult technique to learn.

…….

Ning took a copy of the [Flowing Watersource] and a copy of the second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], then left the first level of the Dao Repository Vault and went to the second level. The second level was also filled with countless bookshelves.

“Arts!” Ning took a deep breath. These were the secret arts of Immortals and Fiends. They represented ways in which one could apply the Dao, divine abilities, sword arts, spells, forbidden techniques, evasion techniques, and more. All of these were classified as ‘arts’.

“Divine abilities.” The first thing Ning did was to head to the bookshelves which held the records on divine abilities. Divine abilities…these were extremely rare. Even his mother’s Yuchi clan had only been in possession of a single divine ability, the [Windwing Evasion] technique.

“So few. So expensive!” Ning finally found the shelf which contained the divine abilities, but the entire shelf only had five abridged books. In other words, despite the passage of countless years, the entire Black-White College was only in possession of five divine abilities! They were even more rare than Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques!

These five techniques were the [Heavenly Transformation], [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], [Myriad Hibernating Venoms], [Three Heads, Six Arms], and [Eye of the Luminous Heart].

“[Three Heads, Six Arms]?” Ning’s eyes instantly lit up. The [Heavenly Transformation] technique was the most common divine ability; generally speaking, all top-tier schools and sects had it. As for the other three divine abilities, [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], [Eye of the Luminous Heart], and [Myriad Hibernating Venoms], these were divine abilities which, according to rumor, some major powers would often use.

“[Three Heads, Six Arms]; it seems to be ordinary in effectiveness, but in reality, once one reaches the late stages of this divine ability, it grows tremendously powerful,” Ning mused to himself. Humans only had two arms; even though, by relying on their divine power or elemental Ki, they could coalesce additional arms, these arms couldn’t possibly compare to true arms.

But the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique…once this divine ability was executed, one truly would gain four additional arms and two additional heads. The power of these four additional arms was comparable to that of one’s true arms; it would be as though three Ji Nings were linking hands against a single foe! It must be understood that just by wielding twin swords, one’s power would increase multiplicatively; with six swords joining together in an attack, the power would reach a truly ridiculous level.

……

Five divine abilities. After seeing them, a look of lust was in Ning’s eyes. [Three Heads, Six Arms] was extremely famous; naturally, there was a reason for that. And thus, the price of the first scroll alone was three thousand black-white pellets.

The [Heavenly Transformation] technique was the most commonly seen technique, but when trained to the later stages, it was also capable of unleashing astonishing levels of power. Its first scroll cost five hundred black-white pellets.

The [Myriad Hibernating Venoms] was also a true killer technique; the first scroll to this divine ability cost five thousand black-white pellets.

The first scroll of the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye] cost two thousand black-white pellets as well.

As for the [Eye of the Luminous Heart], the first scroll cost five thousand black-white pellets.

“This is too…” Ning had to grit his teeth and pick up the abridged version of the [Heavenly Transformations] technique. As for the other four divine abilities, there was no way for him to acquire them at all. The cost of these techniques was vastly greater than the cost of those Immortal-ranked Ki Refiner techniques. But it was only reasonable; these were divine abilities, incomparably precious.

……

Ning, those books in hand, continued forward through the second level in search of even more unusual ‘arts’. After searching for a long time…

“Found it.” Ning finally found, atop a bookshelf, three golden books. The entire shelf only had these three golden books atop it; apparently, the value of these books wasn’t at all inferior to those divine abilities.

Ning immediately picked up one of the golden books. Atop the cover, there were three words: “Soul” “Shaker” “Art”. [Soulshaker Art]!

This was precisely what Ning was searching for; an art which would allow him to use his soul to engage in an attack. This was an extremely rare type of art.

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Chapter 27 – Training in the Still Room

Chapter 27, Training in the Still Room

The [Soulshaker Art] was something only a person with a divine will could use; it could be used to shake the opponent’s very soul. If the enemy’s soul was particularly weak, it might even cause their soul to be extinguished.

“This is it.” Ning nodded. “Previously, during the recruitment, Uncle-Master Wu Xiu used the [Soulshaker Art] to cause hundreds of Zifu Disciples to all fall down from midair. Something only capable of being used at the ‘divine will’ level? I’ve already reached the ‘divine sense’ level!”

Ning continued to read carefully. It really was alluring. Given the power of his soul, once he used the [Soulshaker Art], he would be able to deal with the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts! After all, it was virtually guaranteed that only Primal Daoists would have souls at the divine sense level! Ning’s soul was so very powerful that if he were to use the [Soulshaker Art], he would naturally be able to dominate the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts.

“Two thousand black-white pellets?” When Ning saw the price of this art, he immediately shook his head.

There were a total of three books on this shelf. One was the [Soulshaker Art], one was the [Soulcharmer Art], while the other was the [Soulslayer Art]!

Of the three, the [Soulshaker Art] and the [Soulcharmer Art] only required someone’s soul to be at the divine will level in order to learn them. The prices for them were two thousand and three thousand black-white pellets, respectively.

As for the [Soulslayer Art], this was truly used to extinguish an opponent’s soul, an art used for divine souls to engage in battle. In addition, it required a person to be at the divine sense level to learn it…and in terms of rarity, it was even rarer than divine abilities! To trade for it, one would need ten thousand black-white pellets.

“All I can do is stare at it and drool.” Ning laughed, then shook his head. He immediately turned to go look at the other arts available.

……..

The Dao Repository Vault was divided into techniques, arts, and miscellaneous. Virtually all of the skills available were extremely powerful or particular sinister. There were also all manner of brilliant sword arts as well.

Ning had, in total, just six thousand black-white pellets. Which should he purchase? Which shouldn’t he purchase? He had to gain a clearer understanding.

……

Six full hours later, Ning finally departed from the third floor of the Dao Repository Vault, then walked out of the vault.

“You’ve chosen?” The tall, muscular Dao-Protector gave Ning a glance.

“Right.” Ning nodded, but he couldn’t help but turn to look backwards. It really was…really was…he really wished he had a few hundred thousand black-white pellets and was able to pick from those skills as he pleased. There were all sorts of Immortal and Fiend techniques that were simply too mysterious and godlike, as well as some truly powerful evasive techniques that made Ning truly tongue-tied. Only now did he truly understand how deep the roots of the Black-White College were.

Unfortunately, he only had six thousand black-white pellets, and he absolutely had to choose the first scroll of the [Three-Foot Sword], as well as an Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique.

“Let me take a look,” the Dao-Protector said. Ning handed over the abridged books in his hands. The Dao-Protector, after accepting them, immediately saw that on top was the first scroll of the [Three-Foot Sword]. He immediately said with a frown, “The [Three-Foot Sword] is one of the techniques which secured the legacy of our Black-White College, and its power is absolutely astonishing. But to comprehend it…will be extremely, ,extremely hard. It is a bit too early for you to start training in the [Three-Foot Sword]; in addition, it will cost you two thousand black-white pellets to trade for it.”

Ning felt helpless. He didn’t want to choose it this early either, but his master, Immortal Diancai, had ordered him to do so. He had no one to blame but himself for having received the legacy of senior Northwalker.

“The [Lesser Five Elements Sword]?” The Dao-Protector, upon seeing the second book, immediately nodded. “The [Lesser Five Elements Sword] is also one of the top five sword techniques of our Black-White College, and it is unfathomably deep and profound, allowing one to start at a basic level but progressively comprehend more. It is very suitable for someone who wishes to focus on the Dao of the sword, and it costs eight hundred black-white pellets as well. Actually, I recommend that you only trade for the [Lesser Five Elements Sword], and temporarily set aside the [Three-Foot Sword] for now.”

“The [Flowing Watersource]. An Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique. Not bad.” The Dao-Protector nodded, then raised his head and looked towards Ning. “You made up your mind? These are all you want? You won’t change your mind?”

“I will not.” Ning shook his head. There were many arts that were quite enticing to him, but Ning had given them up. He had even given up acquiring the second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. After all, training in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] required one to absorb the energy of the Solar Star and the Lunar Star…Ning was currently only at the seventh level. To reach the ninth level, he would still need a long period of time. During this period of time, he would probably be able to acquire more black-white pellets.

“Even if I’m not able to acquire the second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] in the Black-White College, I can join the Raindragon Guard and acquire it there, or even purchase it from other places,” Ning mused to himself. The second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was fairly easily obtained.

As for those various sword arts…Ning had spent a long period of time analyzing them in the Dao Repository Vault. Given that his divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], was with him, so long as his swordplay was strong enough, his own power would naturally rise.

For fleeing, he had the [Windwing Evasion]. In a true battle of divine abilities, he already had the [Starseizing Hand], and so wasn’t in a rush to obtain other divine abilities. What truly mattered was his Ki Refining technique and his sword arts!

The [Lesser Five Elements Sword] was the most suitable technique for him, because he had a deep level of insight into three of the elements already; water, wind, and fire.

“2000 black-white pellets for this, 1500 for this, and 800 for this. The three come to a total of 4300 black-white pellets.” The Dao-Protector looked at Ning. “Give me the black-white pellets, and I’ll go get the copies for you.”

Ning shook his head. “Not only am I going to train in the [Flowing Watersource], I am going to give my spirit-beast a copy as well.”

“Your spirit-beast?” The Dao-Protector was shocked. “You are going to give your spirit-beast such a good Ki Refining technique? That costs 1500 black-white pellets. Moreover, you have just started training; this is a critical moment for you. With 1500 black-white pellets, you can purchase many powerful secret arts to protect yourself. There’s absolutely no need for you to spend so much effort on your spirit-beast. Just have him wait a bit longer; in a few decades or in a century, purchase it for him then. Or, just give him a slightly weaker Ki Refining technique.”

As this Dao-Protector saw it…Ning was a formal disciple and a truly monstrous talent. For him to give a spirit-beast such a great benefit was a rash, hot-headed act.

Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques! Something like this could only happen within the Black-White College. If they were roaming in the outside world, even if a Zifu level monster risked his life for centuries, he would still find it virtually impossible to acquire an Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique.

“My mind is decided,” Ning said. The Dao-Protector shook his head. “Alas. Why must you be such a fool?” Ning did not respond, but his gaze told the Dao-Protector that his decision was an incomparably firm one.

“Fine, then,” the Dao-Protector said, rising to his feet. “I will help you find these copies. Give me those 5800 black-white pellets.” “Mm.” Ning nodded, watching as the Dao-Protector entered the Dao Repository Vault.

Uncle White…Uncle White wasn’t just his spirit-beast. More importantly, he was family. If Ning were to acquire a large pile of divine abilities and secret arts, but give nothing to Uncle White, he truly would feel terrible in his heart! In addition, even if he was able to trade for a large number of secret arts, he would still need a large amount of time and energy to focus on training in them.

“I will spend my time focusing on comprehending this [Lesser Five Elements Sword],” Ning mused to himself. The [Flowing Watersource] was something he could simply train in. The [Three-Foot Sword]? His current level of swordplay was somewhat lacking; he couldn’t even execute the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. The only thing he could slowly spend time on comprehending, for now, was the [Lesser Five Elements Sword].

……

The Black-White College. Darknorth Peak.

Ning was standing atop a flying boat in the air, and he sent the boat charging downwards as he entered Darknorth Peak.

“Uncle White,” Ning called out as he landed into the courtyard. Whoosh. A large white hound bounded over from nearby. It was the Whitewater Hound. “Ning, son. You have apprenticed yourself? Which one is your master?”

“Immortal Diancai,” Ning replied, his face covered with joy. The Whitewater Hound’s face became filled with delight and astonishment as well. “An Immortal?” Prior to this, he had chatted with Ning and also made guesses regarding which Primal Daoist would be Ning’s master.

“Uncle White, this is the Ki Refining technique I traded for you, the [Flowing Watersource],” Ning said. “You absolutely cannot reveal this technique to any outsiders; if you do, the Oath of Blood sworn to the Dao of the Heavens will punish you, and your soul will be destroyed.”

“I know.” The Whitewater Hound nodded. Formal disciples, retainers, spirit-beasts…all those who lived within the Black-White College had to swear the Oath of Blood to the Dao of the Heavens! After all, retainers and spirit-beasts all had the chance to learn some top-tier techniques.

“Take it,” Ning said, handing over the [Flowing Watersource], a thick, coiled up booklet. “This is the first scroll; you can train with it directly to the peak Primal Daoist level. After we reach the Primal Daoist level, we can go trade for the second scroll.”

“Thank you for troubling yourself, my boy Ning.” Although the Whitewater Hound had never heard of this technique before, he could guess that given Ning had purchased it for him, it definitely wouldn’t be poor.

Ning chuckled. “Uncle White, I’m going to go train.” Swoosh! Ning’s heart was pumping mightily right now, and he was filled with eagerness. Naturally, he charged directly towards the underground quiet room he had prepared for himself.

Darknorth Peak had many buildings atop it; naturally, it also had some private rooms that were used for Immortal cultivators to train in. All of these private rooms had grand formations set up around them that were linked up to the grand formation which protected the entire Black-White College as a whole. Once one entered secluded meditation, not even Immortals could hope to barge in.

“Creaaaaak!” The stone door slammed shut.

Within the ten foot wide stone room. The ceiling up above was filled with many luminous jewels; these jewels naturally weren’t as extravagant and costly as the ones in the Carefree Caverns, but they were still extraordinary. The light from them made it so that the stone room was perpetually kept bright by the light of the jewels.

Ji Ning sat there in the lotus position atop his jade bed. The runes inscripted onto the jade bed had the effect of calming one’s heart. “[Flowing Watersource]!” Ning flipped through the [Flowing Watersource] in his hands, spending a full hour reading it as he completely memorized the entire book. The memories of Immortal practitioners were exceptionally good. For someone like Ning, who had reached the ‘divine sense’ level, they could actually flip through all the memories in their soul which they had acquired since they were a child, just like flipping through a book.

“Whoosh.” A flame appeared out of nowhere within Ning’s hand, and it burned the [Flowing Watersource] to ash. An Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique like this definitely was not permitted to be revealed to the outside world. Thus, upon finishing reading this technique, one had to destroy it. Thus, killing a disciple of the Black-White College in order to gain some top-tier techniques was completely impossible.

“Let’s begin.” Ning waved his hand, and a jade green flask landed on the floor before him. He opened the bottle, and a dense elemental aura wafted out. The green jade bottle had fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence within. Originally, Ning had used up just five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence in order to break through from the peak Xiantian level to the early Zifu level, and had also solidified his base as an early Zifu level.

“Absorb.” Ning opened his mouth, and instantly, the liquefied elemental essence began to surge out from the green jade bottle and enter Ning’s mouth. As it did…it quickly distilled into vast amounts of elemental energy, which surged into his Zifu Violet Palace.

Within the boundless void of his Zifu Violet Palace. There was a lake there. “Rumble…” Suddenly, the entire Violet Palace began to shudder as an endless torrent of elemental energy surged inwards and was converted into elemental ki. The lake of elemental ki began to slowly expand in accordance with the method prescribed in Ning’s [Flowing Watersource] technique, and it began to slowly swivel as well.

Splash…splash…it continuously swiveled, and as it did, it began to move faster and faster. Soon, the entire Zifu Lake had transformed into an enormous whirlpool, causing the deep heart of the lake to grow deeper and deeper.

The formerly placid, flat lake had transformed into a whirlpool; it was like an awl, its depth having instantly increased hundreds of times over.

“BANG!”

A thunderous explosion. In the deepest part of the whirlpool Zifu Lake, a hole suddenly appeared, which ravenously began to produce new elemental ki. This hole was the ‘Watersource’ of the [Flowing Watersource]!

“Middle Zifu level.” Ning continued to absorb the liquefied elemental essence from the jade bottle, continuing to increase his power.

Rumble…

The deepest part of his Zifu Lake was now a thousand times deeper than it had been in the past. The absorption and transformation process was clearly much faster than it had been, and the elemental ki that was transformed and produced by the Watersource was purer than before as well.

“The late Zifu level!”

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Chapter 28 – Tradition

Chapter 28, Tradition

Ji Ning had already reached the Dao Domain level, and his highest level of accomplishments was in the water-element of the Five Elements. For him, comprehending the [Flowing Watersource] was naturally very easy. Although this was his first time training in it, he thoroughly understood the Zifu level portion of the technique, and even comprehended the majority of the Wanxiang level of the technique.

In other words, if he so chose, Ning could, at one breath, train straight to the Wanxiang Adept level. But of course, the prerequisite was that he had enough liquefied elemental essence.

“Rumble…” The elemental ki in his Zifu Lake was slowly swiveling. The waters of the lake were now swirling in a very slow manner, but the closer to the bottom, the faster the whirling motion was. At the very bottom of the lake, in the Watersource, the whirlpool was spinning with incredible force. As the amount of elemental ki in the Zifu Lake grew, the power of the whirlpool grew as well.

In addition, the Watersource grew deeper and deeper. The elemental ki it produced grew more and more pure as well!

After training for roughly an hour…with a rumble, the entire Zifu Violet Palace began to tremble. The vast lake of elemental ki’s Watersource once more transformed, and the purity of the elemental ki once more skyrocketed.

“Peak Zifu level.”

Within the vast Violet Palace region, the turbid waters of the lake continued to slowly expand. However, in terms of quality, the elemental ki had already reached the ultimate level possible at the Zifu Disciple level; there was no way to increase it any further. The only thing possible was to constantly increase the quantity of ki and expand it in size.

…..

Within the still room. The bright jewels continued to gleam brilliantly. Ning, seated on the jade bed in the lotus position, opened his eyes and glanced at the emerald jade bottle placed before him. He nodded slowly. “I spent nearly forty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, and managed to surge all the way to the peak Zifu Disciple level as a Ki Refiner. Only, to break through from the peak Zifu level to the early Wanxiang level, and while using a top-tier Ki Refining technique…the amount of liquefied elemental essence that will be needed is quite shocking.”

The Wanxiang ‘Myriad Manifestations’ level was an extremely unusual level. Some of the Manifestations possessed by Wanxiang Adepts were merely those of countless stars gleaming in a night sky. But some Manifestations, such as those of Daoist Mu Xiao or Daoist Xu Li, had a brilliant moon amidst the sea of stars. Thus, the Manifestation technique they demonstrated was that of a grand moonlight hand!

However…

According to legend, top-tier Manifestations would generate trillions of stars, the brilliant moon, and the blazing sun, all at the same time! And only the truly supreme Manifestations could, during the peak Wanxiang stage, have the ‘Jade Rabbit emerge from the brilliant moon, the Golden Crow emerge from the blazing sun’.

The emergence of the Jade Rabbit, the appearance of the Golden Crow.

This, and this alone, symbolized that one’s foundations were perfect. This was the so-called ‘foundation of a Celestial Immortal’. If you didn’t reach this stage, there was no way you could become a Celestial Immortal at all.

But where did the supreme Manifestations come from? In truth, they relied on the practitioner having built up an extremely large ‘Zifu Lake’ during the Zifu level. The Zifu Lake is the fundamental foundation for an Immortal cultivator; the deeper and wider the lake is, the deeper the practitioner’s elemental ki foundation would be, and the more astonishing a Manifestation they would be able to create.

“Some poor-quality techniques will result in a Zifu Lake that is both shallow and small. Upon reaching the peak Zifu level, they won’t even be able to expand the size of the lake; they won’t have any hope of becoming Wanxiang Adepts.” Ning sighed to himself. That was exactly the case for his own Ji clan; their techniques were simply too poor, and the Zifu Lakes that they were able to create were correspondingly weak to the point where they could never break through to acquire Manifestations!

The Manifestation of the Stars was the weakest Manifestation.

The Manifestation of the Bright Moon was on a slightly higher level.

The Manifestation of the Sun and the Moon was the best Manifestation.

And, for the Jade Rabbit and the Golden Crow to appear during the peak Wanxiang Adept level was proof that one’s foundation was perfect.

“Based on the recorded experiences of disciples of the Black-White College regarding the [Flowing Watersource],” Ning mused, “Upon reaching the peak Zifu level, if one absorbs a further 250 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, then one will gain the Manifestation of the Sun and the Moon. If one absorbs 400 kilograms before one breaks through to the Wanxiang Adept level…then at the peak Wanxiang level, the Manifestation will produce the Jade Rabbit and the Golden Crow.”

This was one of the benefits of having a sect; the experiences of the forerunners would guide the latecomers in knowing what to do.

Fortunately, this was an Immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique. If it was a poorer technique…even if one had unlimited amounts of liquefied elemental essence, one wouldn’t be able to absorb it all. It would be useless.

……….

He had spent two hours to reach the peak Zifu Disciple level. Next, Ning flipped through the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] tome.

This was how things were in supreme schools, for disciples the schools cared about. Training was as simple as this. Once they reached a certain level of insight, the school would make it so that they could save as much time as possible in training, allowing them to focus their attention on comprehending the Dao, analyzing sword arts, divine abilities, etc.

“Sword arts!” Ning’s eyes were gleaming, and a hungry look was in them. Ever since he had reached the Dao Domain level, the sword arts manuals of the Ji clan had become useless to him; his level of insight was simply too high.

To a true Sword Immortal…an incredibly deep and profound sword art could let them unleash incredibly great power in battle. Although Ning was only at the Dao Domain level, if he focused on comprehending sword arts, he could gain insights into sword arts which were on a higher level than he himself was at.

“The [Lesser Five Elements Sword]! One of the top five sword arts in the entire Black-White College, something which even Immortals would be wiling to study.” The cost of this sword arts manual was close to that of a divine ability manual; from this, one could see how powerful it was.

Ning gently flipped through the pages. Stretching out his fingers, he formed them into the shape of a sword, testing the movements. These still rooms inside the Black-White College were specially designed for its formal disciples to train in, and the formation protecting these rooms were linked together with the grand formation which protected the entire College. Even if one tested out techniques within…as long as one was not an Immortal, there was no way one could possibly damage the still rooms in the slightest.

“Crackle.”

“Slash.”

Ning read while testing out the movements, completely absorbed in this sword technique. He felt as though he were back in his youth, when he was training in the [108 Swords of the Gods and Demons] for the first time. Back then, his father taught him, but this time, Ning analyzed everything by himself.

………..

As Ning was analyzing this sword technique. Within the estate located on another mountain peak within the Black-White College.

“Junior apprentice-brother Bladask, junior apprentice-brother Bladask,” a voice rang out. “Senior apprentice-brother Bu. Please, come in.”

A calm voice rang out from within the estate. Instantly, an azure-robed, long-haired man drifted in. This estate had a Zifu Disciple and some ordinary mortals within it, all of whom saluted. They naturally couldn’t compare in status to a formal disciple of the Black-White College.

“Might I ask why you have come here, senior apprentice-brother Bu?” A white-robed youth walked over. It was Bloodrinker Bladask.

“Junior apprentice-brother Bladask,” the azure-robed man laughed, “I heard that during our recent recruitment, the mountain tunnel which you guarded was broken through, correct?”

Bladask’s face sank. This was a humiliation for him! That time, Ning had forced him to use a sword formation to block. Given his proud nature, he naturally remembered the matter. Thus, when Ning and Northson had undergone the formal ceremony, he had not attended.

“Right,” Bladask said coldly. The azure-robed man laughed. “Junior apprentice-brother Bladask, don’t be angry. I imagine you don’t know this yet but…that Ji Ning is so talented that he has already been accepted by our College’s Immortal Diancai as his first, senior apprentice.”

A look of shock appeared on Bladask’s face. “Immortal Diancai?” Immortal Diancai was a Sword Immortal! As for Bladask, the path he walked was the Dao of the Sword as well. In the past, he had desired to become Immortal Diancai’s apprentice, but formal disciples, upon entering the school, were generally apprenticed to Primal Daoists. It was very rare for Immortals to directly choose them as an apprentice. As time had gone on, they had all grown accustomed to this, and he felt that it was normal that Immortal Diancai had not taken him as a disciple. But this Ji Ning had actually become apprenticed directly to Immortal Diancai!

“What about it?” Bladask had a sharp look in his eyes. “His future level of strength will depend on himself.”

The azure-robed man nodded. “Right. Training depends on one’s self. However, junior apprentice-brother Bladask, the reason why you lost to Ning last time was only because you were only permitted to use a single flying sword. You weren’t able to unleash your true power at all.”

Bladask didn’t say a word. In terms of power, he felt that he was far more powerful than that kid named Ji Ning.

“And, junior apprentice-brother Bladask, you should also know,” chuckled the azure-robed man, “That our Black-White College has an unspoken custom; all new apprentices will be taught a lesson at the Dao Debate Palace.”

Bladask nodded. The battles at the Dao Debate Palace were an extremely safe sort of sparring matches. The Black-White College’s formal disciples loved to engage in this sort of battles against each other!

“All new disciples were supreme geniuses in their former organizations, and are accustomed to being arrogant. The Dao Debate battles…they can help these new disciples wake up. Help them understand a certain principle; that there is a heaven beyond the heavens, and that there are geniuses beyond geniuses.” The azure-robed man laughed. “I wonder, junior apprentice-brother Bladask…would you be interested in having the chance to help that genius, Ji Ning, wake up and understand that in the Black-White College, he’s nothing more than an ordinary figure?”

Bladask’s eyes instantly lit up. After hesitating just a moment, he said in a cold voice, “I will only spar with Ji Ning!”

“There are quite a few other fellow disciples who want to fight,” the azure-robed man said with a laugh. “What we need to do right now is to go invite Mu Northson and Ji Ning to a battle.”

…………

Northson was currently standing atop his Azure Dragon construct, flying through the air towards his own residence. “The Black-White College really lives up to its name.” Whenever he thought about the secret manual on constructs which he held in his hands, he felt a blazing fire in his heart. This manual held answers to many of the questions he had regarding the Dao of Constructs, and he had been completely absorbed by it.

Whoosh.

The Azure Dragon construct which Northson stood upon descended from the skies.

“Junior apprentice-brother Twinwood.” A blue-clothed maiden in front of his gate called out to him. “Who are you, senior apprentice-sister?” Northson remembered seeing this woman amongst the other formal disciples of the Black-White College; she had been with them during the grand initiation ceremony. Immortal practitioners had formidable memories; after having seen her once, he had firmly memorized her appearance.

The blue-robed woman laughed, “My name is Winterain. You can simply address me as senior apprentice-sister Winterain.” Northson said happily, “I don’t have a single servant yet, and thus ended up treating you discourteously by having you wait outside. Please forgive me, senior apprentice-sister.”

Seeing the way in which he acted, the blue-clothed woman felt a hint of goodwill towards Northson. She thus said, “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, I’ve come here to invite you to the Dao Debate Palace…”

“Dao Debate Palace!” Northson’s eyes instantly lit up. He had read the black-and-white book, and knew that the duels in the Dao Debate Palace were extremely safe. They had nothing to do with elemental ki, power, or magic treasures; what they competed in was comprehension regarding the Dao and the ways in which they would apply the Dao. This is why it was described as a ‘Dao Debate’. In addition, there would generally be stakes in these ‘debates’, such as black-white pellets or liquefied elemental essences.

“To be able to spar with you, senior apprentice-sister, is something I’ve been looking forward to,” Northson said eagerly. “Then let’s go,” the blue-clothed woman said.

“Alright.” Northson’s eyes were filled with an eagerness for combat. Geniuses all had their pride. In the past, they had never before met their matches. Although they knew that these old disciples of the Black-White College were all extraordinary, in their hearts, the new students would still feel an eagerness to do battle.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The blue-clothed woman and Northson flew rapidly through the air, heading towards the Dao Debate Palace.

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Chapter 29 – Ji Ning’s Early Insights Into the Sword

Chapter 29, Ji Ning’s Early Insights Into the Sword

The towering Dao Debate Palace was located at the very top of a mountain peak, and the figures of quite a few people could be seen within it.

The Dao Debate Palace…it had always been the place where the disciples of the Black-White College enjoyed to gather at the most. These genius disciples, all of whom had arrogance bred into their bones, would often spar with each other here.

“Swoosh!”

A ray of light shot out from the Dao Debate Palace. Immediately afterwards, a blue-clothed maiden flew out after it. “Junior apprentice-brother Twinwood, junior apprentice-brother Twinwood!” The blue-robed woman was standing atop a giant flower basket, chasing after him at high speed.

“Senior apprentice-sister Winterain, why are you chasing after me?” Mu Northson, standing atop that Azure Dragon construct, had a look of rage on his normally bashful face. “This was what you all planned this entire time, wasn’t it? Hmph!”

The blue-robed maiden, Winterain, shook her head and said, “Junior apprentice-brother Twinwood, actually, you can’t blame your fellow disciples. In our Black-White College…throughout our history, each time a new disciple joins us, that person will taught a vicious lesson at the Dao Debate Palace. This has already become a tradition. Although it isn’t one of the laws of the College, it has been passed down for countless generations.”

“Teach a lesson to new disciples?” Northson stared at her. “If it really was just a lesson, why did the need to pretend to be on par with me at the start?”

“That makes the lesson a deep one, one that you won’t forget,” Winterain explained. “It is to help you understand that there is a heaven beyond the heavens, and geniuses beyond geniuses! Actually, when I first joined the college, I suffered in a similar manner. This happens in each generation; every new apprentice-brother and apprentice-sister will suffer this lesson. It is meant to tamp down their pride. The elders of our College all tacitly approve of it.”

Although Northson understood this principle, he was still only fourteen years old. In addition, the two Dao Debates he had just engaged in had caused him to lose two hundred black-white pellets and ten kilograms of liquefied elemental essences. Although it was just a small bet, his losses had still caused him quite a bit of heartache.

Northson clasped his hands and said, “Senior apprentice-sister, you actually gave me a veiled warning earlier. I was too rash and impetuous. However, there’s no need to say too many words of reconciliation.”

Swoosh! Northson, mounted on his Azure Dragon construct, departed at high speed.

“Alas.” Winterain watched as Northson departed. She couldn’t help but shake her head. Although she had gone to invite Northson to participate, the simple interactions she had with him had made her feel very well disposed towards this junior apprentice-brother of hers. But because this was a tradition…it wasn’t appropriate for her to intervene in the Dao Debate Palace. At most, she could give a hidden warning. Fortunately, this time, he had only lost twice before giving up. If he had continued to duel, his losses would have grown increasingly dire.

…….

“A heaven beyond the heavens, and geniuses beyond geniuses!” Northson was seated on the rooftop of one of the houses in his estate, a jade bottle of wine in his hands. He raised his head, taking a swig.

“Cough, cough.” Northson drank too quickly, and he began to cough. “In the future, I can’t be too careless.” Northson had slowly calmed down and regained his mental clarity. He had entered the Black-White College at the age of fourteen. Ever since he was young, he had never met a match. The unconscious pride and arrogance he felt was what made him go spar against his fellow apprentices. He knew that the foes were very powerful, but he still felt he should be remarkable.

……

Darknorth Peak. The still room. Ning was still completely absorbed by the [Lesser Five Elements Sword].

The [Lesser Five Elements Sword] was divided into a total of nine chapters: [Metal Element], [Wood Element], [Water Element], [Fire Element], [Earth Element], [Duality], [Tripartite], [Four Symbols], and [Five Elements].

Every single chapter allowed one to start from the basics, then go progressively deeper. The basic parts were even inferior to the “Rain Line” technique he had developed. But at a high level, this was a swordplay suitable for a Celestial Immortal!

Ning was carefully meditating on the [Water Element], [Fire Element], and the wind of the [Wood Element] parts 1. These were the three aspects of the Dao which he had the deepest level of understanding about. As for metal and earth…he was lacking considerably in these two aspects. Naturally, he wouldn’t squander his energy in analyzing them.

“Drizzling Rain!” Ning murmured to himself, and the sword-fingers of his right hand shot out. In midair, drops of rain began to appear out of nowhere. These raindrops struck downwards like meteors, slamming against the walls of the still room. A hazy, blurry light appeared on the walls of the room, covered with layers of mysterious runes.

“Success.” A look of joy appeared on Ning’s face. “This skill is even more powerful than my ‘Rain Line’ technique.”

When developing new techniques, one could only develop techniques at the level of one’s own enlightenment. But when learning, one could learn techniques that were at a higher level than one was currently at.

“Fire, water, wind. I’ve learned a total of seven major sword stances from these three parts. They are considerably superior to the sword techniques I developed myself, but the increase in power isn’t that noticeable.” Ning immediately flipped through the book in front of him, straight to the [Duality] part. “Only when these different insights regarding different Daos are merged together and unleashed in a single attack will the power of the attack increase explosively.”

The [Duality] part had a total of eighty nine different sword stances! For example, there were two Duality stances formed from joining the wind and the fire. There were two others formed from joining the earth and the fire. There were yet two more from joining metal and earth.

In short, the sword techniques developed from joining together the profundities of two different Daos were all included within this part, the [Duality] part.

Joining different Daos together truly could allow for the power of a technique to increase explosively. The power could jump to a whole new level! This is what ‘sword arts’ were! There were some Ki Refiners who could rely on exceptionally powerful sword arts and flying sword formations to kill same-level Fiendgod Body Refiners, even if they were in possession of divine abilities.

Sword arts, when trained to an ultimate level, were not at all inferior to divine abilities!

After another hour passed…

“Swish!” Ning’s right hand waved out once more, and a sword-finger shot out. Instantly, a ray of azure fire slashed through the air in the form of a fiery sword, seeming to vaguely shatter space itself. It slammed directly against the stone wall, and the glowing layer of runes atop the wall once more lit up.

“Success. The [Azureflame Duality Sword]!” A look of delight immediately appeared on Ning’s face. The [Azureflame Duality Sword] was a sword technique that contained the fusion of the True Meaning of Water and the True Meaning of Fire.

The power of this technique vastly outstripped Ning’s former supreme attack, [Drizzling Rain]. As for the [Rain Line] technique he had developed at Swallow Mountain? That couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath. The power of this new technique was formed from joining together two completely different True Meanings of the Dao! But of course, the reason why he was able to develop it so quickly was because Ning had a high level of comprehension regarding the Dao to begin with, and his foundation was very solid. In addition, he had seen the Black-White Diagram, which had been of great help in inspiring him regarding how to join together different Daos. Naturally, he had only needed an hour in order to be successful.

This was a case of making a natural breakthrough after accumulating experience!

………

Ning once again flipped to a new part of the book. The [Tripartite] chapter!

This chapter had a total of ninety two sword stances. There was a [Tripartite] sword attack based on the fusion of earth, metal, and fire; there was also one for the fusion of wind, earth, and metal.

As for Ning, however, without question, he was only capable of learning a very small part of the stances within; the sword technique formed from the fusion of wind, water, and fire. But there were a total of eight stances for this type of [Tripartite] sword attack.

It was dark. Only now did Ning leave the still room, jubilant. “I spent ten-plus years at Swallow Mountain, then comprehended the Dao within the Stellar Hall of the underwater estate…but I’ve never been able to acquire a truly powerful sword art. Now that I have obtained the [Lesser Five Elements Sword], I really am like a tiger who has gained wings.” Ning laughed with delight and glee. He truly felt wonderful. This feeling of learning a truly powerful sword art really was wonderful!

“I have already learned two of the powerful sword techniques of the [Duality] chapter. Of the [Tripartite] chapter, I have learned one sword technique as well.” Ning smiled to himself.

The [Tripartite] chapter represented the fusion of three different True Meanings of the Dao. This sort of multiplicative power resulted in a soaring rise in power! Fortunately, he had previously reached a bottleneck in his understanding of the Waterflame Lotus technique while meditating before the Black-White Diagram. With that as his foundation, he was able to, in four short hours, develop an extremely powerful sword technique from the [Tripartite] chapter – the [Tripartite Lotus Sword]!

The [Tripartite Lotus Sword], compared to Ning’s Waterflame Lotus, was like a different melody that was played with the same level of skill; they were two different approaches that led to the same result. However, it was actually even more profound and sharp! This was because Ning had only developed it after comparing the similarities between the two techniques.

“I imagine it will be very hard for my sword arts to improve significantly in a short period of time.” Ning understood this; after all, he only had some insights into three of the Five Elements, and was at most able to comprehend the [Tripartite] chapter. As for the [Four Symbols] and the [Five Elements] chapters, he was completely unable to understand them.

…….

In a single short day, as a Ki Refiner, he had risen from the early Zifu level to the peak Zifu level. His sword arts had consecutively risen by three complete tiers. After having learned a powerful technique from the [Lesser Five Elements Sword], the [Tripartite Lotus Sword], he had reached a limit. This caused Ning to naturally feel an incomparable joy in his heart.

“Ning, son.” The Whitewater Hound was walking over from far away. He sent mentally, “There is another formal disciple of the Black-White College within your estate who has come to pay you a visit. He has waited for a very long time.”

“A formal disciple? Here to see me?” Ning was surprised. He hurriedly walked towards the door; he couldn’t slight his fellow disciples.

He soon walked out and saw, from afar, an azure-robed man who was standing leisurely with his hands clasped, staring at the crescent moon in the sky. The man seemed to sense Ning’s footsteps, and he immediately turned to look, a smile appearing on his face. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

“Might I ask who you are, senior apprentice-brother?” Upon seeing this person, Ning immediately knew that he was a fellow disciple, because he had met this person in the Headmaster’s Palace.

“My name is Bu Ying.” The azure-robed, long-haired man laughed. “My Daoist title is Hawkfish.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Bu, why have you come here?” Ning asked. The azure-robed man laughed loudly. “I saw how talented you appeared at the Headmaster’s Palace, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, and then I saw you be accepted by Immortal Diancai as an apprentice…I imagine that you must be extraordinary, and so some of our fellow disciples wish to have a sparring competition with you.”

“Competition?” Ning had a sudden thought. “A spar at the Dao Debate Palace?”

The azure-robed man laughed. “Right, the Dao Debate Palace. To engage in a discussion on the Dao at the Dao Debate Palace is a superb affair.”

Ning was intrigued. The black-and-white book he had read had discussed the Dao Debate Palace; there was no danger at all in sparring within the Dao Debate Palace, and the disciples of the Black-White College all delighted in sparring there.

However…because he had read the intelligence report Northmont Baiwei had given him, Ning knew that the Black-White College had a certain tradition where some of the new disciples would be taught a lesson and made to suffer a loss at the Dao Debate Palace. In addition, the old disciples loved to watch this happen. The first reason was to help these newer disciples wake up and temper their pride. The second reason? They, too, had suffered this in the past.

“Very well.” Ning’s eyes lit up, and he laughed, “I, too, would deeply desire to spar against my fellow disciples.”

“Hahaha.” The azure-haired man, Bu Ying, began to laugh. “Let’s go. Let’s go to the Dao Debate Palace.” The two immediately mounted on their magic treasures and soared into the skies, heading towards the Dao Debate Palace.

…….

Ji Ning and Bu Ying were flying through the night sky. Suddenly, a ray of light shot towards them from the ground below. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” A white-robed youth, mounted on an Azure Dragon construct, came to greet them.

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson?” Ning was surprised. Northson was reeking of wine. What Ning didn’t understand…was that just before this, Northson had been drinking wine on the roof of his estate. When he saw Ning and Ying soar past, he had flown into the air as well.

Northson said frantically, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, have you been invited to go to the Dao Debate Palace…”

“Junior apprentice-brother Twinwood!” The azure-robed Bu Ying frowned. But Northson continued frantically, “Don’t believe them. They are going to intentionally deceive you to make you lose black-white pellets and liquefied elemental essence to them. I lost to them; don’t be deceived by them as well.” Northson was clearly quite frantic, afraid that Ning would suffer in the same way he had.

The azure-robed man, Bu Ying, barked at him, “Junior apprentice-brother Twinwood, there are always some small stakes when one engages in a duel in the Dao Debate Palace. For someone to win, someone must lose. Can it be that you think things are only fair when you win? If everyone has to be a winner, then there’s no point to even going to the Dao Debate Palace.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Ning.” Northson was extremely nervous. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson,” Ning said reassuringly, “No need to say anything more. I know what is going on. If I lose, I can’t blame anyone else. However, I, Ji Ning, still have a certain degree of confidence in my heart.”

Northson was frantic. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you…!”

“Let’s go.” Ning, who had read the intelligence report long ago, actually knew exactly what was going on.

“I’m going with you,” Northson immediately said. In his heart, he thought to himself that if he were by Ning’s side, he could at least try to help persuade Ning and ensure Ning didn’t lose too much.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three flew towards the Dao Debate Palace at high speed. Soon, the towering Dao Debate Palace could be seen at the top of the mountain peak, shrouded by the night sky. Ning’s group of three charged downwards, moving towards the Dao Debate Palace.

1. In the classical Chinese Five Elements system, wind is classified under wood.

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Chapter 30 – The Battle at the Dao Debate Palace

Chapter 30, The Battle at the Dao Debate Palace

Ji Ning’s group of three landed at the gates to the Dao Debate Palace. As they looked inwards, they saw that although it was night, the insides of the Dao Debate Palace were brightly lit, and the sound of calm laughter rang out from within.

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, I’ll accept these hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.” The speaker was a white-robed man, who had a blood-drop pattern atop his white robes. It was Bloodrinker Bladask. Bladask had a hint of delight on his face; clearly, he was quite happy at having won a victory in the Dao Debate.

In front of him, seated in the lotus position, was a long-haired maiden dressed in water-blue robes. She arose and flew over, landing nearby and shaking her head. “Three years ago, I was able to beat you by a hair, junior apprentice-brother Bladask. I didn’t expect that this time, I’d be defeated by you.”

“Your junior apprentice-brother had to work very hard to just barely eke out a victory.” Bladask, normally quite prideful, was currently quite humble.

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, when sparring, it’s all about that hint of a chance at victory. You and junior apprentice-brother Bladask are comparable; only, junior apprentice-brother Bladask’s attacks are just a hair sharper than yours.”

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus…” The various men and women were chatting amongst themselves. At this moment, Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Bu Ying entered the Dao Debate Hall, and they all turned to look towards them.

“Ninelotus?” Ning’s gaze instantly turned towards that woman who had been referred to everyone as ‘Ninelotus’. She was dressed in casual, water-blue robes, and had long, black hair. Although her face could be considered beautiful, she was slightly less attractive than even Meng Xin. Only, this senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus had a certain graceful aura about her. She was like a fairy lotus, causing the fellow male disciples around her to unconsciously be drawn to her.

“Given her aura and demeanor, I imagine she must have an extraordinary background,” Ning mused to himself.

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus.” Upon seeing Ninelotus, Bu Ying’s voice went slightly higher. A smile on his face, he hurriedly said, “These two are the new disciples that just joined our Black-White College. This is Mu Northson, and this is Ji Ning.”

Ninelotus turned her gaze towards them, a hint of a smile on her lips. “I heard that during the day, junior apprentice-brother Mu Northson was defeated twice while sparring here at the Dao Debate Palace, and was so angry that he left.”

Northson was rather bashful to begin with. A hint of awkwardness immediately appeared on his face. “That’s only because he just entered the school, and has never before suffered a setback like that,” Ning spoke out.

Ninelotus looked towards Ning. “So you are Ji Ning, who Patriarch Diancai took on as his senior apprentice.” Ning nodded. “I am.”

The nearby Pu Yinig hurriedly said, “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, you are the disciple of Immortal Diancai. Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, however, is the disciple of Immortal Fivecraze.”

“The disciple of Immortal Fivecraze?” Ning was surprised. “I just arrived back at the College tonight, and so I wasn’t able to attend the grand ceremony earlier,” Ninelotus said softly. “Now that you’ve arrived, junior apprentice-brother, are you willing to begin a Dao Debate?”

Laughing, Ning nodded. “I would very much like to spar against my senior fellow disciples.” Ninelotus laughed. “Then you have to be careful. I just lost a round myself, just now.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning!” A cold voice rang out. Ning turned to look. The speaker was the white-robed Bloodrinker Bladask. Bladask’s purpose for coming was to defeat Ning, and thus vent the anger in his heart. He hadn’t expected to encounter Ninelotus, whom he had always admired very much. He had gone all out to defeat Ninelotus, in the hopes that this senior apprentice-sister would remember him in the future. Who would have imagined that after Ning arrived, he would immediately get into such an involved conversation with senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus.

“Senior apprentice-brother Bladask,” Ning laughed. Bladask responded in a cold voice, “Do you remember our battle at the cave?” Ning nodded. “I do. That time, I wished to tell you my name, but you, senior apprentice-brother Bladask, refused to let me do so. You said that we’d never meet again.”

The look on Bladask’s face changed as he heard this. Ning laughed and continued, “I didn’t even tell you my name, but it appears you already know it, senior apprentice-brother. Might I ask why you are calling for me?”

Bladask’s gaze was filled with a cold light. “Dare you go onto the dais and debate the Dao with me?” Ning turned his head to look towards the giant Dao Debate Palace. “Go onto the dais and debate the Dao?” The giant palace was quite similar to a giant dining room from his past life. There were quite a few seats nearby, and in the center, there was an enormous battle arena. At the same time, at each side of the arena, there was a tall stone pillar. The Dao debaters would seat themselves atop the stone pillars and rely on golems to engage in a battle!

Ninelotus, standing to the side, said, “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you must be careful. The person I just lost to was junior apprentice-brother Bladask.” Bladask, hearing this, felt all the more jealous, and the cold light in his eyes grew increasingly sharp. “Dare you, or dare you not?”

“I’ve come here precisely to spar with my fellow disciples. Why wouldn’t I dare?” Ning shook his head and laughed. “It’s just a hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

“Haha, a hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence is just the smallest wager possible.” Bladask laughed coldly. “Black-white pellets are gifted to us by the College and are extremely rare. I’m willing to wager fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Do you dare accept?”

Ning frowned. Bladask continued in his cold voice, “Oh, right. As a new disciple, you only have fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. I imagine that you probably wouldn’t be able to produce so much, junior apprentice-brother.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and produced an insignia. “This is an elemental mark from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. It represents a thousand taels of liquefied elemental essence, which is to say, fifty kilograms. If you take it to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, you can trade it for fifty kilograms!”

“Dare you accept my wager?” Bladask looked towards Ning.

……..

The atmosphere instantly turned stiff. The other disciples immediately understood that there was something not quite right between Bladask and Ning. Previously, when they had battled Northson, they had only made the smallest of wagers; after all, nobody wanted to generate enmity and strife amongst their fellow disciples. For Bladask to increase the wager was a clear sign that he wanted to mistreat Ning.

If a new disciple were forced to take out fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, wouldn’t that mean they wouldn’t have anything to train with?

But of course, they had no idea….that although Bladask originally did want to fight against Ning, he hadn’t planned on being so nasty. Only, he had noticed how engaged Ninelotus had been in her conversation with Ning. Ninelotus normally would say just a few meaningless phrases to him when he spoke to her, but towards Ning, she voluntarily spoke out to him. This made Bladask feel quite mistreated.

“How am I inferior to this Ji Ning? Why is it that senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus seems to treat him differently, from the very moment they met each other? In terms of treasures, family heritage, power, or clan, this Ji Ning is inferior to me!” The look in Bladask’s eyes grew still colder.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Ninelotus said. “You just joined the school. Let me lend you fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.” When he heard these words, the angry aura emanating from Bladask grew only more terrifying.

But Ning only laughed. “No need. Since senior apprentice-brother Bladask wishes to wager fifty kilograms, then I will accept.” Ning waved his hand, and several insignias appeared as well. “These are elemental marks of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. They can be traded for a thousand taels as well.”

“Eh?” “Elemental marks of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” All of them stared at the elemental marks. Bladask had entered the school long ago, and had gone adventuring in the outside world; it was normal for him to have acquired some treasures and traded them to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for elemental marks! But Ji Ning had just entered the school, and yet he was able to casually bring out a thousand taels as well…this was quite extraordinary. What none of them realized was that Ning had won these marks at the duel at the Carefree Caverns.

Although news regarding the battle at the Carefree Caverns had spread out, these disciples of the Black-White College knew very little about it. Of the Primal Daoists, only Wu Xiu knew a bit more about these matters.

……

“A hundred black-white pellets and fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essences.” An old voice rang out. A white-haired old man who stood at the side of the Dao Debate Palace had spoken out. “Since you both accept, then let this be the wager.”

“Now, I’m going to ask the two disciples to each select their golem.” The white-haired elder continued to speak. He was a golem as well; he was responsible for some of the matters here in the Dao Debate Palace.

Ning and Bladask both immediately headed towards a side door; there were many golems placed within this side door to the Dao Debate Palace.

They entered a small hall. The white-haired elder pointed to the many golems; there were at least hundreds of them present. These golems were black, and looked like stone sculptures. “These golems have identical elemental ki cores. The energy they release will all be at the early Wanxiang Adept level. That way, those reincarnated Immortals who are within our school who are in possession of a divine sense won’t be able to use it to influence the battle significantly.”

Ning nodded. Divine sense was slightly superior to peak Zifu level power, but roughly the same as the early Wanxiang level. Even if it was used to control weapons, it wouldn’t impact the battle too much.

“These golems all come with their own weapons,” the white-haired elder continued. “They include flying swords, flying needles, giant warhammers…in short, all types of magic treasures are present! Choose a golem based on the type of weapon you prefer.”

Bladask was very quick to make his choice. He immediately walked towards a golem, placing it on the golem’s body and quickly binding it.

“I’ll go now. You can take your time in choosing.” Bladask gave Ning a glance, then immediately left. As for that golem, it transformed into a blur as it followed after him.

…….

The spectating disciples within the Dao Debate Palace, Northson and Ninelotus included, numbered eight.

“The wager is actually this large. A hundred black-white pellets is one thing, but fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! Junior apprentice-brother Bladask is going a bit too far. Hazing the new disciples is one thing, but you can’t do it like this.”

“It is a bit much, I agree.” The fellow disciples were all chatting amongst themselves. Right at this moment, Bladask walked back from the side door, then leapt directly forward by more than three hundred meters before landing atop a stone pillar that was thirty meters tall. He took a seat atop the stone pillar. Swoosh! That golem also leapt up and landed within the battle arena, then quietly waited there.

“He chose the Polaris Golem.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Bladask really is being quite vicious; he actually chose the Polaris Golem which he is the most proficient with.”

“I wonder which golem junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning will choose.”

There were no differences in quality in the golems; the only question was whether or not one was accustomed to using them. If, for example, Ning were to choose a golem that used a giant warhammer, he wouldn’t be able to unleash much of his power.

“He’s coming out.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is coming out.” They all looked over. Northson’s eyes were filled with worry. As for Ninelotus, she stared carefully at Ning, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Ning walked out, a golem following him. Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning and the golem, in quick succession, leapt up then landed; Ning landed atop a stone pillar, sitting down, while the golem landed in the battle arena below, causing the arena to shudder slightly.

The two sat on their stone pillars, staring at each other from afar. Ning and Bladask’s gazes crossed. They were roughly three hundred meters away from each other. The golems below them were roughly three hundred meters away from each other as well.

“Begin!” The white-haired old man barked.

Rumble…instantly, a barrier of clear water immediately appeared. It was an enormous, barrier-type grand sealing formation that completely sealed the entire arena. Northson and the others were all outside of it, while Ning and Bladask were within it.

“The Thousandswords Golem!” Bladask, seated in the lotus position on the distant stone pillar, gave it a glance, then snorted coldly. “He doesn’t know his own limits.”

“I’d like to ask you for some guidance, senior apprentice-brother,” Ning called out in a high voice.

“Please.” Bladask shouted back.

The surrounding disciples all watched with bated breath. The newcomer who had been accepted by Immortal Diancai as his disciple, Ji Ning. Senior apprentice-brother Bladask, who had entered the school many years ago. Which of the two was the stronger?

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Chapter 31 – Shock and Awe (part 1)

Chapter 31, Shock and Awe (part 1)

“Win. Win. Win.” Mu Northson stood outside the grand sealing formation, staring towards Ji Ning, who was seated on that distant stone pillar. His eyes were blazing with hope. “You have to win.” Prior to this, he had lost two rounds in a row. In his heart, he viewed himself and Ning as standing on the same side; they were both new disciples.

As for those old disciples, they were simply teaching the new disciples a lesson in accordance with that ‘tradition’. He lost; naturally, he now hoped that Ning would win a round and gain a bit of face for them, the two new students. In addition, this Bloodrinker Bladask had gone too far in making the wagers so large.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is in for it now.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Bladask really did set a high wager. He showed no mercy at all.”

The old disciples were all chatting amongst themselves. But as for Ninelotus, she stood there, staring carefully at Ning, who was within the grand sealing formation. She said softly, “My fellow disciples, it’s too early to say such things. It’s hard to say who will win; junior apprentice-brother Bladask or junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Bladask entered the school many years ago. Can it be that he is inferior to Ji Ning?”

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, it isn’t very likely that Ji Ning will be able to win.”

All of the disciples present, Northson included, felt surprised at the words of Ninelotus. After all, Ninelotus, logically speaking, should be on the side of the old disciples.

“Just watch.” Ninelotus still had that calm smile on her face.

……….

Bladask sat there atop his stone pillar in the lotus position. He noticed that Ninelotus, standing outside the sealing formation, was paying more attention to Ning. This caused his gaze to grow ever-colder.

“Once the protective surface armor of the golems you two are controlling has been broken, that means that you have lost.” The white-haired elder watched from afar while speaking out. Ning nodded lightly.

The golems were representations of themselves. Breaking through the golem’s armor, in a real battle, was something comparable to truly killing the enemy! Naturally, that represented defeat.

“Since you know the rules, then…begin!” The white-haired elder called out. Within the vast, empty space inside the sealing formation, the two golems simultaneously began to move. Ning controlled the Thousandsword Golem, while Bladask controlled the Polaris Golem.

“Swish!” “Swish!” The two golems retreated at the same time, pulling away from each other. Neither of them wished for their golems to be too close, because once their protective armor was breached, that would mean they had lost.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning! Watch out for this!” Bladask, seated on that distant stone pillar, let out a loud shout. Immediately afterwards, he began to control his Polaris Golem, which had seven flying swords on its back. A savage, baleful aura filled one of the flying swords which instantly shot out, filling the entire area nearby with a dense, bloody light.

“Ursae Majoris Warbreaker!”

“As soon as junior apprentice-brother Bladask attacked, he immediately used the Ursae Majoris Warbreaker. He really is filled with a killing intent right now.” The spectating disciples in the distance were all stunned.

The flying sword slashed through the skies, and as they did so, it was like an iron-blooded army was marching forth. A series of bloody lights flashed, and even the vague sounds of slaughter and warcries could be heard. They struck directly towards Ning’s Thousandswords Golem.

“He really does have quite a bit of a killing intent.” Ning sat there in the lotus position on his stone pillar. Seeing this, he just let out a soft laugh. “Let me extinguish that killing intent of his. Go.”

Clang!

One of the countless tiny swords on the back of the Thousandswords Golem instantly flew out. When it flew out, it was only the size of a sewing needle, but soon it expanded to the size of a palm. The flashing sword flew out…and as it did, the entire area became filled with flowing water, with the flashing sword light submerged within the water.

“Break!” Bladask’s face sank. That flying sword of his, filled with a boundless killing intent, didn’t give way in the slightest. It struck directly towards the flowing water. This Ursae Majoris sword…what it needed was its imposing manner! It couldn’t lose that!

The flying sword struck directly towards the flood of water. Splash! The flowing water was blasted apart, but the water then swirled and reformed around the flying sword, once more entrapping it. As the saying goes, one can swing a blade at water, but the water will still flow; even a blade that had been tempered a hundred times, when faced with this sword light that flowed with endless water, would become as weak as a finger.

The first blow was filled with energy. The second was weaker. By the third, there was nothing left. “Not good.” Bladask’s face changed slightly. He knew that Ning had blocked him with but a single flying sword.

“Formidable.”

“He used just a single flying sword to block junior apprentice-brother Bladask’s Ursae Majoris Warbreaker sword attack. I imagine that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning isn’t much weaker than junior apprentice-brother Bladask.”

The azure-robed man, Bu Ying, said with a frown, “This is the ‘Flowing Water Sword’ of the [Lesser Five Elements Sword].”

“[Lesser Five Elements Sword]? Are you sure about that, senior apprentice-brother Ying?” The others all looked towards Bu Ying, puzzlement on their faces. They had all heard of the famous [Lesser Five Elements Sword], but they didn’t focus on swordplay…naturally, they didn’t understand the sword stances of the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] very well.

Bu Ying nodded. “I’m sure. I’ve meditated on the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] before. This technique is the ‘Flowing Water Sword’ technique within it. I didn’t expect that although junior apprentice-brother Darknorth has just entered our school, he has already begin to gain insights into the [Lesser Five Elements Sword].”

Ninelotus just listened, smiling gently as she watched the battle.

……….

Bladask couldn’t hear the conversation going on outside, but he could guess at it. Both sides had used just a single flying sword, but Ning had actually blocked him. How could he not feel humiliated? After all, he had joined the school many years ago.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, receive my Polaris Direwolf Skyripper!” Bladask let out an angry roar. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The other six flying swords on the back of the Polaris Golem all flew out at the same time. The first flying sword flew back as well, and the seven flying swords instantly formed into a Polaris Sword Formation. Rumble…in midair, one enormous star after another began to appear. The seven giant stars formed into the shape of the Big Dipper, and then a flashing sword light began to expand rapidly.

“Howwwwwwwwwl!” At the core of this sword light, an enormous black wolf phantom actually appeared out of nowhere. The Direwolf raised its head, letting out an angry howl. And then, still howling, it charged straight towards Ning. It looked as though the Direwolf was bounding towards Ning, but in reality, those seven flying swords were launching a simultaneous attack.

“Go!” Ning’s cold voice rang out. Eight more flying swords flew out from the back of the Thousandswords Golem. Along with the first flying sword, they instantly joined together into a simple ‘Nine Palaces Sword Formation’. Ning had acquired the ‘Nine Yang Sword Formation’ in the underwater estate, and this formation contained quite a few profound mysteries as well. Although it wasn’t as complicated as the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], it was still extraordinary.

Ning had quite a bit of ability with regards to formations, and this ‘Nine Palaces Sword Formation’ was quite an excellent one as well.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Nine rays of sword light howled through the air, leaping forward to greet the giant, advancing Direwolf. As they flew over, the light of the nine swords suddenly flashed, then transformed into more than a hundred densely clustered sword shadows. These hundred-plus sword shadows then quickly transformed into drops of rain, and it was as though a hundred-plus meteors of rain were pummeling into the Direwolf.

Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! The hundred-plus meteors of rain smashed downwards, every single drop containing awe-inspiring power.

“Not good.” Outside the formation, the azure-robed Bu Ying leapt to his feet, his eyes filled with astonishment. “How could he have…”

Every single drop of rainwater contained awesome power. Rumble…the unceasingly destructive strikes actually completely smashed apart that baleful, heaven-menacing Direwolf, and it also blasted apart those seven flying swords.

“How can this be?” Bladask, who was seated on the stone pillar, controlling everything, had a completely different look on his face now.

“Swish!” Immediately after disintegrating the Direwolf phantom, several flying swords continued to charge forward, not weakening in the slightest. Howling through the air, they instantly struck against the body of that Polaris Golem. BANG! They slashed straight through it, and the black, rocky exterior of the Polaris Golem was instantly split open, revealing the fiery red body of the golem within.

“Ji Ning wins!” The distant, white-robe elder immediately called out in a high voice.

As for Bladask, his face instantly turned completely ashen.

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Chapter 32 – Shock and Awe (part 2)

Chapter 32, Shock and Awe (part 2)

“Lost. I lost. How could…” Bloodrinker Bladask sat there atop the stone dais, his face ashen. He couldn’t believe what had just happened.

When Immortal cultivators engaged in a battle, life and death was separated by a hair. If they lost a single exchange, they could die.

“He used a golem. I also used a golem.” Bladask simply couldn’t accept this. “The two golems have identical elemental ki cores, and the same amount of elemental ki. It is an extremely fair situation; what we compete in is our comprehension of the Dao, our sword arts, and other skills. How could his sword arts actually be even more powerful than mine?”

How could he have known that Ning had actually reached the Dao Domain level long ago? The Dao Domain level was, normally speaking, the level which Primal Daoists were at. But of course, at the Black-White College, everyone was a supreme genius, and so there were many powerful Wanxiang Adepts who were at the Dao Domain level. Bladask, however, was still a hair away from being able to reach the Dao Domain level.

Through his swordplay, he could just barely touch the Dao Domain level. This was much like how, when Ning was young, when executing the [Raindrop Sword], he was able to unleash the power of being ‘one with the world’ with his sword attacks, even though he himself had not yet reached that level. This was one of the strengths of possessing powerful sword arts!

In terms of comprehension, Ning was at a higher level. In terms of sword arts, after having been doubly baptized by the Stellar Hall of the underwater estate and the Black-White Diagram, and after having meditated on the [Lesser Five Elements Sword], Ning’s sword arts had reached a limit.

In terms of soul, Ning was at the ‘divine sense’ level. Even amongst the Wanxiang Adepts of the Black-White College, only those reincarnated Immortals, so few they could be counted on one hand, were comparable to Ning.

In every single field, he was inferior. How could he not have lost?

“Senior apprentice-brother Bladask, I was lucky enough to win by one stroke.” Ning rose to his feet with a laugh, and the grand sealing formation around them disappeared. With a tap of his feet, Ning flew out of the arena, landing in the distance.

Bladask had an ugly look on his face. He flew out of the arena as well. He walked straight towards Ning, and with a wave of his hand, produced two jade bottles which he tossed to Ning. “A hundred black-white pellets and fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Take it.”

Ning naturally stretched his hand out to accept them. “Hmph. Ji Ning.” Bladask stared at Ning, his eyes filled with a desire for battle. “No wonder Immortal Diancai accepted you as his disciple. I have nothing to say about my defeat. Next time, however…I will challenge you again.”

“I will wait for you.” Ning laughed. If someone wanted to deliver more black-white pellets and liquefied elemental essence to him, why would he refuse? “Hmph.” Bladask immediately walked towards Bu Ying. “Senior apprentice-brother Ying!”

The azure-robed man, Bu Ying, gave him a glance. “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.” This time, it was Ying who had set up and arranged for the new disciples to be taught a lesson, and he had also been the one to personally invite Bladask over. Clearly, now that Bladask had lost, no matter what, he, Bu Ying, couldn’t just let Ning leave victoriously.

Bu Ying’s gaze fell towards his fellow disciples nearby.

“Formidable.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth’s power truly cannot be underestimated.” This geniuses all had looks of caution in their eyes. From watching Ning’s attacks just now, they sensed that Ning’s power was definitely not lower than theirs. Without a certain degree of confidence, they naturally wouldn’t be willing to proceed.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Ying.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Ying, you are the only person who can succeed.”

“Right, senior apprentice-brother Ying, you have also trained in the [Lesser Five Elements Sword], and the time you have spent training in it is longer. Your chances of winning are greater.” Everyone was saying this.

Bu Ying cursed to himself. So what if he trained in it for longer? Training in sword arts wasn’t a matter of time; it was a matter of how much one understood regarding the Dao. An Immortal training in the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] for the first time would, in half a day, train to an extremely high level in it.

But Ying also knew…that since he was the instigator of this event, no matter what, he had to get involved. One had to be able to bear responsibility for one’s actions.

……

Ji Ning had immediately won with his attack; this had caused Mu Northson to be incomparably excited. “Well fought! Let those old disciples know that they can’t just teach lessons to every new disciple as they please.”

Ning laughed. Winning was quite enjoyable. In addition, a hundred black-white pellets and fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence was his, just like that. Previously, when he had advanced from the early Zifu level to the peak Zifu level, he had used less than forty kilograms of it.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.” Bu Ying emerged from the group of old disciples. “Senior apprentice-brother Ying,” Ning responded.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, your power truly is formidable. I didn’t expect that shortly after joining our school, you would have already reached such a level in your understanding of the [Lesser Five Elements Sword]. I imagine that your insights into the Dao are at a very high level,” Bu Ying said..

Ning knew that his opponent wanted to gain some intelligence about him. He immediately laughed and said, “I just gained some initial insights into it, and have much to learn.” Bu Ying laughed loudly. “You are being too modest, junior apprentice-brother. I, your senior apprentice-brother, also train in the [Lesser Five Elements Sword]. As I watched you execute your sword arts…I couldn’t help but feel my hands itch. What say you and I spar for a bit?”

“Oh, this is what I wish for as well!” Ning immediately said. Someone was delivering more gifts to him? Why wouldn’t he want it?

Based on Ning’s calculations, especially given how strong his soul was, he felt that he should hold a major advantage over the other. There were probably not many Zifu Disciples who could match him, unless a reincarnated Immortal emerged to battle.

“What is the wager?” Ning asked. Bu Ying laughed. “Naturally, just a hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Overly large wagers will hurt the camaraderie amongst us fellow disciples.” Ning nodded. “Alright.”

…….

Moments later. Ning and Bu Ying were each seated in the lotus position atop their stone pillars. “Begin,” the white-haired elder barked. Instantly, the grand sealing formation once again appeared.

“The golem which I have chosen is known as the Six Harmonies Golem.” Senior apprentice-brother Ying’s voice rang out. “Be careful, junior apprentice-brother.”

“Senior apprentice-brother. Please proceed.” Ning’s voice rang out as well.

The two sat on opposing stone pillars, staring at each other. The two golems below stared at each other as well.

“Kill!” Previously, Bu Ying had a smiling look on his face, but his face now turned solemn as he let out a low growl. Instantly, the Six Harmonies Golem simultaneously shot out thirty-six flying swords, every single one of them covered with unique runes. The reason why this golem was named the Six Harmonies Golem was precisely because it was capable of executing this ‘Six Harmonies Formation’.

Ning, seeing this, frowned. “Go!” Twelve flying swords emerged from the back of the Thousandswords Golem. These twelve flying swords hissed as they slashed through the air, transforming into a dense layer of rain, each containing inexhaustible amounts of power.

Rumble…

The thirty-six flying swords swiveled as they flew, six of each forming into a formation base, with the six bases forming the Six Harmonies Formation. In addition, the entire formation transformed into a giant windmill.

“Rumble…” The power of it crushed downwards.

Crash crash crash….

The countless droplets of rain smashed viciously against that giant windmill, but the thirty-six flying swords of the windmill swiveled about, easily dissipating the smashing power.

“Can’t block it. This Bu Ying truly is much more formidable than Bladask; fortunately, I was prepared long ago.” Ning’s face changed, and a fierce look flashed through his eyes. The twelve flying swords under his control suddenly separated into two parts. One part spun in a circle in midair, while the other formed a cross.

Whoosh! The twelve flying swords merged with each other, transforming into an azure, flaming sword. BOOM! The giant, azure flaming sword pierced directly through the windmill. The windmill was only able to take it for a brief moment before crumbling.

“[Duality Azureflame Sword]!” Bu Ying, seated there on the pillar, saw this. His face turned ashen, and then he let out a sigh. He didn’t even try to fight back, allowing Ning’s azure, flaming sword to pierce directly through the protective layer of his golem.

“Ji Ning wins!” The white-haired elder once more called out in a high voice.

……

The Dao Debate Palace was a hubbub of noise right now. Bu Ying was definitely an outstanding figure amongst the Zifu Disciples of the Black-White College, and could be considered one of the movers and shakers. In terms of power, he was far superior to Bladask. And yet, even he had been defeated by this new disciple who had just joined the Black-White College?

“They are all supreme geniuses…but this Ji Ning is an absolute monster.” Ninelotus watched everything happen, and she murmured in her heart, “He reached the Dao Domain level at merely sixteen years of age? And his soul has supposedly reached the divine sense level…he’s absolutely a monster, like those reincarnated Immortals.”

“To lose to a monster like him…their defeats are nothing to be ashamed of.”

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Chapter 33 – Two Major Factions

Chapter 33, Two Major Factions

With a thought, Ning removed his binding from the Thousandswords Golem, then leapt three hundred meters and landed outside the battle arena. He secretly sighed to himself, “Although I have reached the Dao Domain level, and my soul is at the ‘divine sense’ level…if I hadn’t meditated on the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] and increased the power of my sword arts, it would be hard to say if I would have won, or this Bu Ying would have won.”

His foundations were exceptionally stable, at the level of a reincarnated Immortal. However, prior to joining the Black-White College, his sword arts had been very weak; only after learning the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] had he been able to address this shortcoming.

If he hadn’t learned it, he would have had to rely on the power of his soul and controlled even more flying swords to achieve victory through numbers.

Swoosh! Bu Ying landed next to Ning as well. “Senior apprentice-brother Bu Ying,” Ning greeted him modestly.

Bu Ying sighed. “No wonder Immortal Diancai accepted you as his disciple, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth. I whole-heartedly acknowledge my loss. You were able to simultaneously control twelve flying swords and execute the ‘Drizzling Rain’ technique. Your level of insight is very high, and your soul is powerful; all of these things inspire admiration in me. In addition, junior apprentice-brother, you were even able to execute the [Duality Azureflame Sword]…I have nothing to say about my loss.”

“Here are a hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.” Bu Ying tossed two bottles to Ning, who accepted them. “However, junior apprentice-brother, you’ve now defeated both Bladask and myself.” Bu Ying looked towards Ning. “Make your preparations. This matter will not conclude here.” After speaking, Bu Ying began to walk towards the outside.

“It won’t conclude here?” Ning frowned, then followed him outside.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Northson excitedly ran over. It was as though he was even more excited than Ning by Ning’s victory. “That was too incredible. And to think those old disciples wanted to teach us new disciples a lesson. Hahaha! They’ve lost two rounds in a row now. This time, the old disciples really did lose face.”

Ning laughed. “It was nothing more than a spar.” Northson disagreed. “No, this was about face. This year, there are only two new disciples, you and me. Now that you’ve won, senior apprentice-brother, as your junior apprentice-brother, I’ve gained face as well.”

While chatting, the two moved to the outside. As for the old disciples, none of them, including Bu Ying, Winterain, and Bladask, moved to speak to Ning. The atmosphere was clearly rather awkward. The only person to move closer to him was Ninelotus.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning felt his heart clench. Ninelotus truly was a naturally mesmerizing figure. In terms of appearance, she could be described as a peerless beauty; of all the beauties Ning had ever seen, she was second only to Meng Xin. But in terms of grace and aura, she was unquestionably number one.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Ninelotus’ voice was very soft and gentle. “You must be careful. You won two rounds in a row. The old disciples won’t just let things slide like this. No matter what, the traditions of our Black-White College will not be broken just for you. When you go back, you need to make your preparations.”

Ning’s pupils contracted slightly. He nodded. “I, Ji Ning, have always looked forward to the opportunity to spar with my fellow disciples.” Ninelotus nodded as well, then departed.

Ning glanced at the other old disciples. However, given that even Bu Ying had been defeated, none of the others felt any confidence in being able to win, and so they naturally didn’t say a word.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately led Northson away, and the two left the Dao Debate Palace. Swoosh! The two quickly disappeared into the night sky.

……….

They watched as Ning and Northson left. Only now did the old disciples within the Dao Debate Palace begin to speak amongst themselves.

“We actually lost two battles in a row!” A tall, skinny youth said in a hoarse voice, “We old disciples are meant to teach a lesson to the newer disciples, to let them understand the principle that there is a heaven beyond the heavens, and geniuses beyond geniuses. This is a tradition of our Black-White College that has lasted for countless years! All of us are old disciples who joined years ago. No matter what, we can’t just admit defeat like this!”

“Right. If we admit defeat, then that means that we old disciples are admitting inferiority to the newer disciples.” Even Winterain nodded as well. The old disciples all nodded. This was a tradition!

The old disciples were to teach the new disciples a lesson. These old disciples had joined many years ago, and although some of the weaker ones amongst them would occasionally lose to a new disciple, the stronger ones amongst the old disciples would gain a victory back in turn! If they weren’t able to do so…didn’t that mean that every single one of them was inferior to the new disciples?

“From ancient times to modern times, there has never been anyone capable of forcing the old disciples of the Black-White College to admit defeat. Not even reincarnated Immortals!” Bu Ying nodded solemnly as he spoke. “I will go ask junior apprentice-brother Qinghe.” After speaking, Bu Ying left the Dao Debate Palace.

“Let’s go!” The old disciples all departed from the Dao Debate Palace, transforming into streaks of light and disappearing into the sky.

……..

The disciples of the Black-White College were divided into three generations. The third generation consisted of Zifu Disciples and Wanxiang Adepts. Amongst the Zifu Disciples…the most outstanding and dazzlingly strong one was Qinghe.

Qinghe entered the school at eighteen years of age, and had also reached the Dao Domain level. Given his current level of insight, he could easily reach the Wanxiang Adept level, but he needed to further solidify his foundation. Only with a sufficiently stable foundation would the Zifu Lake within his body truly expand to the limit, allowing his future potential to be greater.

Late night.

“Junior apprentice-brother Qinghe, junior apprentice-brother Qinghe.” Bu Ying charged into the skies above a towering mountain, then immediately began to shout, his voice echoing within the entire estate.

The Zifu Disciple retainers and the commoner servants in the estate below all began to react.

“Senior apprentice-brother Bu Ying, why have you come to speak to me so late at night?” A figure suddenly emerged from the courtyard, head upraised and staring towards Bu Ying, who stood there in the night sky. Bu Ying immediately landed within the courtyard.

“I’ve come here this late at night to inform you about something, junior apprentice-brother.” Bu Ying shook his head and sighed. “I’m ashamed to even say this. Each year, the new disciples of our Black-White College will go to the Dao Debate Palace and be taught a lesson by us old disciples. In the past, the two of us experienced this as well.”

Qinghe laughed and nodded. “Right. The old disciples have all been in the school for many years. Naturally, they will win.”

“Except, we lost.” Bu Ying shook his head. “Just now, several of us old disciples were at the Dao Debate Palace, sparring with the new disciples, Ji Ning and Mu Northson. We defeated Northson twice in a row…but afterwards, when we sparred with Ji Ning, we were defeated by him twice in a row. In fact, even I lost to the hands of junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

“What?!” Qinghe was shocked. “Senior apprentice-brother, you lost?”

“Right. That’s why I came to invite you,” Bu Ying said. “You can be said to be the Zifu Disciple amongst us who is at the very peak of power, and so…”

Qinghe nodded. “Senior apprentice-brother, don’t worry. Naturally, I won’t shirk my duties in this matter.”

……

“Senior apprentice-sister, senior apprentice-sister.” Ninelotus stood there in midair, staring down towards a graceful estate below.

“Little sister, you came?” A clear, cold voice rang out. “Why don’t you come in?” Ninelotus immediately landed. There was a black-robed maiden standing there, beneath the moonlight. In front of her there was an exquisitely carved wine flask and wine goblets.

This maiden’s beautiful features were absolutely superior to that of even Ninelotus…and that cool, indifferent aura made her seem like a true Immortal of the heavens. And, in truth, this black-robed maiden was indeed a reincarnated Immortal. Within the Black-White College, she was an extremely famous reincarnated Immortal, the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei! As one of the extremely few reincarnated Immortals, although she was currently only at the peak Wanxiang Adept level, her status was comparable to that of the Primal Daoists.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ninelotus sat down as well. “Are you aware that amongst the new disciples, there is one who is apparently a reincarnated Immortal as well?”

“Are you referring to junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning?” The black-robed maiden sat down, then nodded gently. “I heard that Immortal Diancai chose him as his disciple.”

Ninelotus immediately said, “Senior apprentice-sister, you don’t know this, but even before joining the school, Ji Ning has already reached the Dao Domain level, and his soul has supposedly even reached the ‘divine sense’ level.”

“His soul has supposedly reached the ‘divine sense’ level?” The black-robed maiden was rather surprised. Ninelotus nodded. “This is what my master told me.”

“Immortal Fivecraze?” The black-robed maiden nodded gently. “Intriguing. I didn’t expect that one of the new disciples would be such an impressive figure.”

Ninelotus continued, “And just now, at the Dao Debate Palace, this Ji Ning consecutively defeated two of the old disciples. I trust that once this information spreads out, the old disciples definitely won’t let this matter rest. No matter what, they will have to win it back.”

“Mm. Win. Yes, it will be necessary to win a match back.” The black-robed maiden nodded, then smiled. “But if he really is a reincarnated Immortal, given his current level of insight, he might even have some of his former memories from his past life. If you aren’t careful, his power might suddenly explosively increase. Defeating a reincarnated Immortal won’t be an easy matter.”

Ninelotus glanced at this senior apprentice-sister of hers, this Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. Of course reincarnated Immortals were terrifyingly strong. All of them had astonishing levels of talent, and when they started to train, they increased in power at a shocking rate.

“This Ji Ning is only sixteen,” Ninelotus said. The black-robed maiden laughed. “If he hasn’t awakened any of his former memories, beating him shouldn’t be too hard. When are they going to go challenge him? I will go and take a look.”

“It should be tomorrow,” Ninelotus said. “Fine. I’ll definitely go.” Yu Wei nodded.

……

Wanxiang Adept Northmont Blackcurrent frowned. “Ji Ning?”

“Right. Ji Ning. He consecutively defeated two of the old disciples. Even Bu Ying was beaten by him.” A black-robed youth sat there, chatting leisurely.

Blackcurrent laughed. “I didn’t expect that the Ji Ning who Northmont Baiwei befriended is actually as powerful as this. I previously misjudged him. Since he is going to be challenged tomorrow, I’ll go and take a look as well.”

…..

“Ji Ning? I heard that in the Carefree Caverns, he unleashed a Rainwater Sword Domain. Clearly, he’s already reached the Dao Domain level, yes?”

“What? Dao Domain level? No wonder he is this powerful.”

…..

“The new disciple, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, defeated two of the old disciples? How can we accept this? No matter what, we have to win a match back.”

…..

One told ten, and ten told a hundred.

There were only so many disciples in the Black-White College to begin with, and most of them had known each other for many years and were on quite good terms with each other. As they exchanged this news amongst each other…by the second day, this news had already spread throughout the entire Black-White College. In fact, even some of the well-connected major powers within Stillwater Commandery, such as the Northmont clan, had received word of it.

For now, the other disciples all felt that, no matter what, they had to win a match back.

The disciples of the entire Black-White College had naturally divided into two major factions. The first was the new disciples faction; this consisted of just Ji Ning and Northson. The second was the old disciples faction; that consisted of all of the other disciples.

“Senior apprentice-brother, did you just say that this disciple of mine consecutively defeated two of the old disciples?” The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai had a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

“Right. Virtually all of the third-generation disciples are going to the Dao Debate Palace. They definitely want to win a match back..” The short elder, dressed in ragged beggar’s clothes, said with excitement, “Hahaha, it’s been a long time since something so amusing has happened within our Black-White College. Myself, an ole madman, just survived the ninth-century tribulation, and now I’ve encountered this. Intriguing, intriguing. When the time comes, I’ll definitely go watch. Are you going?”

Immortal Diancai nodded gently, then laughed, “Since you are going, senior apprentice-brother, as your junior apprentice-brother, I’ll naturally accompany you.”

“Hahahaha. Great, great, great. Intriguing, intriguing.” The short elder, Immortal Fivecraze, suddenly waved his hand. “Now hurry up and bring out that Centiflower Immortal Wine and let your senior apprentice-brother have a taste.”

“Centiflower Immortal Wine? But I got that in one of the minor worlds…” Immortal Diancai’s face turned ashen.

The short elder stared at him. “I, your senior apprentice-brother, probably will only be able to live another nine centuries. And you can’t even spare me some wine? If you refuse to give me any wine to drink, then when Ji Ning competes against the old disciples, I’ll play some underhanded tricks in secret!”

Immortal Diancai let out a long, helpless sigh. “Fine, I’ll give it to you!”

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Chapter 34 – Fated to be Master and Servant

Chapter 34, Fated to be Master and Servant

“Whew.” Watching the sun rise in the east, Ning let out a soft breath. “Come, all of you, come. I’ll take on all comers!”

He had won two consecutive battles last night. The parting words of senior apprentice-brother Bu Ying and senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus allowed Ning to understand…that no matter what, the old disciples definitely wouldn’t just let things rest. They would have to win one round of battle, no matter the cost. Ning had to admit; some of the supremely talented disciples of the Black-White College would definitely find it hard to admit inferiority.

However, Ning wouldn’t easily admit defeat either. If he had to lose, he had to be thoroughly convinced of his defeat.

“If you want to defeat me, then you need to make me feel completely convinced of your superior power.” Ning’s eyes were filled with a readiness for battle. This entire night, he had been analyzing the [Lesser Five Elements Sword]; since he knew that he had to engage in battles tomorrow, he naturally had to seize every moment.

Whoosh.

Ning willed it, and a flying boat appeared next to him. He prepared to go meet with his master, Immortal Diancai…after all, there were many questions he had encountered when analyzing the [Lesser Five Elements Sword]. Perhaps by asking his master, he would have some of his questions resolved.

Swoosh! The flying boat instantly disappeared into the skies. But suddenly, a voice rang out. “Senior apprentice-brother Darknorth!”

Ning, atop the boat, turned to look. A middle-aged man, mounted on a sword, was flying towards him. A hint of nervousness and awe was on his face, and the borders of his sleeves were decorated with white and black embroidery. Upon seeing the embroidery, Ning immediately understood that this should be a formal disciple’s retainer.

Every single formal disciple was able to take on ten retainers. These Immortal practitioner retainers would carry out some some important tasks, deliver messages, stand as guards, etc. These were the tasks they would carry out.

“What is it?” Ning looked towards him. The middle-aged man replied respectfully, “There is someone outside the College who wishes to see you, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth. He calls himself Northmont Baiwei.”

“Northmont Baiwei?” Ning nodded. “I’ll head right over.” Swoosh! He immediately directed the boat towards the Black-White College’s main gate. Moments later, he arrived and saw that outside the gate, Baiwei was seated atop his Ninestar Immortal Carriage in an extremely ostentatious manner, with the driver still that female servant construct.

“Ji Ning.” Baiwei, upon seeing Ning fly over aboard his boat, immediately disembarked from the carriage. “Baiwei.” Ning landed. “Why have you come so early this morning to the College?”

Baiwei laughed, then pointed towards three people standing nearby. All of them had fairly exceptional auras. “I told you before that I wanted five slots from you. These three will fill up three of the slots. As for the other two…they’ll arrive after a period of time.”

“The three of them?” Ning sized them up carefully. Every single formal disciple could only have ten retainers. Once a master-servant relationship was established, they would generally be together for a century, or even centuries.

“These three are all not bad.” Baiwei pointed to the tallest one, a rather skinny youth. “His name is Cloudship. He’s a member of the Cloud tribe, and an early stage Zifu Disciple.”

Cloudship’s eyes were very bright. He immediately said with respect, “Cloudship pays his respects to senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

“This is Cloudship’s little sister.” Baiwei pointed to a devilishly beautiful, tall, willowy woman who was dressed in white muslin. This woman’s eyes were extremely large, soft, and moist. Her eyes were just as bright as her older brother’s. She gave Ning a deep look, then curtsied and said, “Cloudjade pays her respects to senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

Baiwei then pointed to the final person, a seemingly ordinary youth. “His name is Forgard. He was originally one of my guards, and is extremely loyal.”

“Forgard pays his respects to senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” The ordinary-looking youth also bowed with respect.

“Cloudship, Cloudjade, and Forgard.” Baiwei laughed. “They will be your retainers, Brother Ji Ning. If they treat you with any disrespect at all, you can immediately expel them from the Black-White College. As for myself, Northmont Baiwei, I’ll never meet them again after that. In dealing with them, you do not need to consider the question of giving me face at all.” Ning nodded.

“Here are another hundred ordinary mortals. They were all carefully selected, and all have some special talents. They are skilled in calligraphy, painting, cooking, and the likes.” Baiwei pointed towards a group of ordinary mortals. These were almost all women, with only two or three dozen being men.

When Baiwei pointed towards them, they all fell to their knees in respect, not daring to show the slightest hint of discourtesy.

“Sorry for the trouble, Brother Baiwei.” Ning nodded. Baiwei asked, “If you aren’t in a hurry, how about, in a few days, you, me, and that Mu Northson have a little get together?”

“Very well.” Ning hurriedly added, “Right. There’s something I need to trouble you about, Brother Baiwei.” “Oh? Pray tell,” Baiwei said.

Ning nodded. “Here’s the situation. When travelling to Stillwater City, I encountered three early stage Zifu Disciples of the Meng clan. Their names were Meng Xin, Meng Roch, and Meng Jun. Afterwards, they met with one of their seniors of their clan, someone they addressed as ‘Uncle Ming’, a balding, middle-aged man.”

“Of the three of them, Meng Roch once used a forbidden technique and harmed his foundations. I imagine that it will be hard for him to enter a school, and so I want to give one of the retainer positions to him. Only, I have no idea where he is living, so I’d like to ask you to help investigate, Brother Baiwei.”

“This is a minor matter,” Baiwei said with confidence. “The Meng clan is a major clan. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain will definitely be keeping track of the movements of the members of their clan. I’ll go investigate and will immediately find out.”

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, I won’t tarry.” Baiwei once more walked to his Ninestar Immortal Carriage. The two clasped hands towards each other, bidding each other farewell, and then the Immortal Carriage transformed into a blaze of light, disappearing into the horizons.

With but a thought, Ning made his flying boat increase in size, to a ship that was many tens of meters in length. “All of you, come aboard.” The three retainers and the many mortal followers all boarded the ship, and then the ship soared into the skies, flying at high speed towards Darknorth Peak.

……..

Baiwei, riding within the Ninestar Immortal Carriage, quickly arrived at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

“I heard that the new disciple of the Black-White College, Ji Ning, defeated two of the old disciples in a row last night!”

“What sort of a person is this Ji Ning? He is that amazing?”

“No idea. All I heard is that he was accepted by Immortal Diancai as his apprentice.”

As soon as he left the carriage, Baiwei overheard two Immortal practitioners engaged in a conversation. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain was a place where fish and dragons intermingled; there was quite the free flow of information here.

“Oh?” A hint of a smile appeared on Baiwei’s face. “My brother Ji Ning actually did something so incredible last night, and I didn’t even know about it? Mm. First, I’ll help him locate that Meng Roch fellow. Since my brother Ji Ning remembered him, I imagine that this Roch must have some extraordinary qualities.”

……..

East Stillwater City. Within an exquisite estate. Meng Roch was seated here, drinking wine.

“Little Sister Xin, let me.”

“Little Sister Xin, I’ll help you package these.”

Meng Jun was quite the busy bee right now, helping Meng Xin take care of and package some of her household items. They had been living in their Third Uncle’s residence in recent days, but since they had entered a school, the school had given them three days time to prepare. Then, they would leave Stillwater City and head to the headquarters of the main sect, located a million kilometers away from Stillwater City.

Meng Jun glanced sideways at Meng Roch, who was drinking wine gloomily, then sighed, “Rocky, just endure it for a bit. In a few more years, when your injuries can no longer be detected, you’ll be able to join a school as well. I must say though, it seems as though karma has bound myself and Little Sister Xin together. We actually ended up in the same school by coincidence. Haha, what luck.”

Still drinking wine, Roch’s face sank, and he crushed the beastskull goblet in his hand to dust.

“Hmph.” Jun let out a snort, then turned his head and left.

“Despicable fellow.” Roch gave him a glance.

Actually, he was able to guess that Jun had been following after Xin…and so, when Xin had entered a school, Jun had chosen that same school. Xin and Jun were equally talented, and so it wasn’t strange for them to both join the same school.

Roch had been infatuated with Xin since he was young, but the same was true for Jun! This made Roch feel all the more miserable.

“Despicable fellow!” Roch ground his teeth. “I hate the fact that I…”

“Big Brother Rocky.” Xin stood there next to him. Roch raised his head, looking towards her. “Don’t give up. I believe that you will definitely succeed.” Xin’s eyes were slightly red. Roch instantly felt a warm feeling in his heart, and he nodded strongly.

“Succeed? Hmph.” From nearby, a strange, bizarre sounding snort could be heard. “Little Sister Xin, let’s go. We should go to our Thousand Rivers School.” Xin gave Roch a deep look, but in the end, she had to leave. She had to go to the main sect. Had to embark on her Immortal path.

Roch silently watched as she left.

“Little Xin. Wait for me,” Roch silently said to himself. However, the fact that he had been kicked out by various schools for three days in a row made Roch feel all the more miserable and frantic in his heart.

……

Within the Black-White College. Ning was carefully observing Cloudship, Cloudjade, and Forgard. Although Baiwei had brought them here, if Ning truly disliked them, he could still kick them out. After all, masters and retainers would be together for a very long period of time. As for Cloudship, Cloudjade, and Forgard, they were rather nervous as well.

“This Forgard was originally a guard? And is quite loyal?” Ning had immediately felt well-disposed towards Forgard. “Cloudship, upon seeing me, immediately smiled; he knows how to flatter. As for his little sister, Cloudjade…what the hell was Baiwei thinking? Why’d he deliver such an alluring girl to me?”

Cloudjade definitely could be considered an alluring girl. In terms of appearance alone, she was not even inferior to Meng Xin, and more attractive than even Ninelotus. In addition, her entire body seemed to naturally exude a certain magnetism, and her soft, moist eyes were extremely seductive as well. It seemed as though ever since she had seen Ning, she was either consciously or unconsciously attempting to seduce him.

“Forgard. Why do you have a name like this?” Ning asked.

Forgard said solemnly, “Originally, I had no name. Afterwards, I was given a name by the young master and served him for many years. Perhaps the young master felt that I would have great future accomplishments, and so he gave me this life-changing chance. And thus, he also gave me a Daoist title, ‘Forgard’; he wished for me to forget that I was once a guard, and wished for me to truly become a formidable Immortal practitioner.

Ning nodded.

Whoosh. The ship descended towards Darknorth Peak. The nearby Cloudship, Cloudjade, and Forgard all nervously awaited Ning’s questions…but unexpectedly, Ning didn’t ask them a single thing.

“Uncle White.” Upon landing, Ning spoke out, and the Whitewater Hound immediately appeared. Ning glanced towards the three retainers and many commoners, then said in a clear voice, “All of you, listen up. This is Darknorth Peak, of the Black-White College. Here in my Darknorth Peak…you must always obey the words of my Uncle White. Whatever Uncle White tells you to do, you do. You must never disobey.”

“Yes.” Cloudship, Cloudjade, Forgard, and the crowd of commoners all assented respectfully.

“Uncle White, those three are retainers, while the rest are all ordinary mortals.” Ning looked towards the Whitewater Hound. “I’ll hand full responsibility for all matters in Darknorth Peak to you, Uncle White. Give them their instructions and tell them about the rules here at the Black-White College.”

The Whitewater Hound immediately transformed into mist, and when he reformed, he appeared as a white-robed, white-haired man.

The white-robed, white-haired man had a very gentle look in his eyes, and he seemed to extrude a natural aura of friendliness, as though he brought the gentle, warm spring wind with him. He laughed and said, “Ning, son, go ahead and leave these things to me.”

“Alright.” Ning immediately transformed into a ray of light, quickly departing from Darknorth Peak. As for the others, including the retainers, they were restricted as to where in the Black-White College they could go.

A short while later, Ning arrived before the mountain peak which was the residence of his master, Immortal Diancai.

“Ji Ning. Enter.” A calm voice rang out by Ning’s ears. “Yes, Master.” Ning immediately descended towards the peak.

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Chapter 35 – Immortal Diancai’s Guidance

Chapter 35, Immortal Diancai’s Guidance

There was no one within the hall, only the black-haired, black-robed Immortal Diancai. The Immortal was seated in the lotus position atop his jade bed. Ning stepped into the room, then immediately bowed with respect. “Master.”

Immortal Diancai nodded slightly. He looked at Ning, a hint of amusement visible on his face. “Ji Ning, I heard that yesterday, you defeated two of your senior apprentice-brothers?”

“Yes,” Ning said. “Only, I’m afraid my fellow disciples won’t let the matter rest. Today, they will probably come challenge me again. Thus, I have come to you, Master, in the hope that you can provide me with some guidance.”

“Mm. At least you are grounded. You didn’t grow arrogant just because you defeated two Zifu Disciples.” Immortal Diancai nodded. “Everyone who has been accepted to the Black-White College is a supreme genius. The third generation is primarily divided into Zifu Disciples and Wanxiang Adepts.” Ning listened carefully.

“My Black-White College has more than a hundred Zifu Disciples, and more than two hundred Wanxiang Adepts. Why?” Immortal Diancai continued, “These disciples are all at fairly high levels of comprehension; if they wanted to enter the Wanxiang Adept level, I imagine that all of them would be able to do so. The reason why there are still a hundred-plus Zifu Disciples is for several reasons; firsts of all, they want to solidify their bases of power and prepare an ‘Immortal foundation’. The second is because they wish to increase their level of insight and comprehension; that way, when they encounter the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, they will naturally have a greater chance of surviving them.”

Ning nodded. Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations…as an Immortal practitioner, Ning naturally knew of them. The power of these trials was something that was related to time; the more time passed, the more powerful they would become. In addition, they were also related to one’s karmic merits or sins. The greater the sin, the more difficult the tribulation. Finally, they were also related to one’s level of power. If they had trained for the same period of time, the tribulation for a Primal Daoist would be more dangerous than the tribulation for a Wanxiang Adept….

But of course, there were many other variables. It was difficult to predict the power of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, and in the end, it was the guillotine held over the necks of all Immortal practitioners.

However, there was one commonality: Strengthen one’s level of comprehension! Strengthen one’s soul! Strengthen one’s Dao-heart! The more stable one’s foundation was, the greater one’s chances at overcoming the tribulations would be.

“It is precisely because they wish to prepare for the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, and because they wish to establish a foundation to become a Celestial Immortal, that none of them are in a hurry to make their breakthrough,” Immortal Diancai explained. “Generally speaking, new disciples will remain at the Zifu stage for ten or so years. But of course, those who are slightly weaker in terms of comprehension might stay at that level for fifty or sixty years. As for the extremely talented ones, they’ll stay at that level for half a year before making their breakthrough.”

“This is why the Wanxiang Disciples represent the true elites of the third generation.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. Ning nodded. He understood.

“The Wanxiang Adepts of our Black-White College are different from the Wanxiang Adepts of other schools. They are true geniuses amongst Wanxiang Adepts!” Immortal Diancai said. “For other schools, every so often, they might have one or two Wanxiang Adepts who reach the ‘Dao Domain’ level…but for our Black-White College, almost every single Wanxiang Adept is at the Dao Domain level.”

Hearing this, Ning felt shock in his heart.

“There are some who are even more formidable. They have an incredibly deep comprehension of their chosen Dao, and perhaps even many insights into other Daos as well. They are able to reach the ‘Dao Domain’ level in multiple, different Daos!”

“There are some who are even more monstrous. While at the Wanxiang Adept level, they have completely understand an entire ‘Dao Path’.”

Hearing this, Ning’s face instantly changed. A complete Dao Path?

“In other schools, generally speaking, only Immortals will comprehend an entire, complete Dao Path. But in our Black-White College, every single Primal Daoist has comprehended an entire Dao Path, and amongst the Wanxiang Adepts, a few of the most talented, most monstrous of the Adepts have comprehended an entire Dao Path as well.”

“However, Ji Ning, you have no need to feel embarrassed. These geniuses who were able to comprehend an entire Dao Path? Two of them are reincarnated Immortals, while the other three have been training for more than two hundred years. They might break through to the Primal Daoist level at any moment.”

“If you stay at the Black-White College for a bit longer, you’ll understand a few things. One of them is this; our Black-White College has an unspoken rule that only after one has comprehended a complete Dao Path will one make a breakthrough to the Primal Daoist level.” Immortal Diancai looked towards Ji Ning.

Wanxiang Adepts were the true elites amongst the crowd. For example, Ning himself; once his Zifu Lake expanded to the limit, he probably wouldn’t hesitate at all and break through to the Wanxiang Adept level. Thus, those who remained behind at the Zifu Disciple level were, generally speaking, the average-to-below-average bunch amongst these supreme geniuses.

“Wanxiang Adepts can be divided into three levels. The first level has only reached the Dao Domain level. The second has reached the Dao Domain level in multiple Daos. The third level has comprehended a complete Dao Path.”

Immortal Diancai looked towards Ji Ning. “Don’t worry. This time, your fellow disciples amongst the Wanxiang Adepts level won’t interfere too casually; they’ll first have the most powerful Zifu Disciples make their attempt. But if even they are unable to defeat you, only then will the Wanxiang Adepts make their moves! No matter what, however, those supreme few who have comprehended a complete Dao Path will not interfere. If they did, that would be going a bit far.”

Ning nodded. “Master, how many reincarnated Immortals are there amongst the Wanxiang Adepts?” Ning was curious.

Immortal Diancai laughed. “You disciples are always curious about the reincarnated Immortals. Actually, it’s even possible that you yourself might be a reincarnated Immortal. Amongst the Wanxiang Adepts, there are three who have been verified to be reincarnated Immortals. Two of them spent eighty years in training and have comprehended a complete Dao Path, while the other one has trained for twenty or so years.”

“After having heard me say so many things, you should now understand the situation.” Immortal Diancai sighed. “You’ve only defeated two of the Zifu Disciples, and they aren’t even two of the strongest Zifu Disciples, much less the Wanxiang Adepts.”

“Your student understands,” Ning nodded. Immortal Diancai concluded, “Alright. Time to display your sword arts to me. Show me everything without holding back anything; you won’t be able to damage this hall.”

“Alright.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately executed his most powerful sword attack…the [Tripartite Lotus Sword]. The Darknorth sword in his hand shot out, and as it did, it divided into three colors. Lotus flowers began to bloom with incomparable beauty, but within the beauty, there was a sword light with astonishing power.

“The [Tripartite Lotus Sword]?” Immortal Diancai laughed. “The [Lesser Five Elements Sword]. I, your master, have also studied the [Lesser Five Elements Sword]. This sword attack you just displayed can be considered to have a tenth of its grace and charm.”

“A tenth?” Ning blinked. “Just a tenth?”

Immortal Diancai shook his head. “What do you expect? The [Tripartite Lotus Sword] focuses on it being ‘Tripartite’; it requires balance! Your comprehension into these three Daos, however, clearly shows that your understanding of the Dao of Rainwater is much stronger, while the other two are much weaker.”

Ning was speechless.

“You’ve only developed your Rainwater Sword Domain. If you were to develop two other Dao Domains, then at that point in time, you would be able to display the true [Tripartite Lotus Sword],” Immortal Diancai said.

Ning nodded in acknowledgement. He had to admit, it was true that the [Tripartite Lotus Sword] required balance. His comprehension into the various Daos, however, was unbalanced.

“Your comprehension of the Dao of Rainwater is stronger,” Immortal Diancai said. “Since that’s the case, then I’ll help you retrofit your [Tripartite Lotus Sword] into a [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword].”

Immortal Diancai immediately waved out a sword-finger. Slash! A sword light instantly flashed, and wherever it passed, flowers began to bloom. Only, the green color within the flowerbuds was noticeably stronger, while the other two colors served to accentuate it.

……

Four hours later, Immortal Diancai’s guidance came to an end.

“I’ve already explained as much as I can regarding the mysteries and secrets of the [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword] and the [Three-Foot Sword]’s first stance,” Immortal Diancai said. “Given your current level of understanding, you should completely focus your attention on analyzing these two sword arts. When the day comes where you are able to release the power of both sword arts, come find me again.”

“Yes.” Ning bowed with gratitude. The saying was true; listening to a master say a few words was superior to training by one’s self for a year.

The [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword] was something which he had already begun to vaguely grasp; most likely, he would soon be able to unleash its power. As for unleashing the true power of the original [Tripartite Lotus Sword], he would have to wait until he comprehended three Dao Domains. When the three became one, he would be able to unleash the most power possible from the [Tripartite Lotus Sword]. What he was able to unleash right now was nothing more than some scraps.

As for the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], that was simply unfathomably profound. The [Three-Foot Sword] focused more on the heart; training in the sword was also training in the heart.

Swoosh!

Ning immediately boarded his flying boat and departed from his master’s residence.

The Golden Crow hung high in the sky. The Dao Debate Palace, atop the Dao Debate Peak. Today, this place was incomparably lively. One streak of light after another flew towards here, riding on flying swords, flying boats, flying chains, flying gourds, flying red banners, flying leaves, and all sorts of curious magic treasures. One after another, they flew into the Dao Debate Palace.

“Senior apprentice-brother Icezen, weren’t you wandering outside?”

“I just so happened to be over at the Raindragon Guards’ place, and I heard that one of our new disciples, Ji Ning, defeated two of his Zifu Disciple colleagues in sequence. I’m quite curious, so I came over to take a look.”

“Quite a few fellow disciples have come today. It has been a long time since our Black-White College has been so lively.”

The two figures chatted amongst themselves as they flew to the Dao Debate Palace.

The battle arena was at the heart of the Dao Debate Palace. At the sides of the arena were many chairs. The higher-ranking disciples of the College sat down, while the Zifu Disciples remained standing to the side, chatting amongst themselves and in no rush to sit. After all, who knew how many fellow disciples would come today?

“Senior apprentice-brother Northmont Blackcurrent came as well.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Gatherform came as well.”

One Wanxiang Adept after another arrived, all quite well-known. One high-ranking leader after another arrived; naturally, these junior fellow disciples all had blazing looks in their eyes. As latecomers, they naturally had limited experience in adventuring in the outside world. But these fellow disciples who had joined more than a century ago already had shocking stories and legends about them that circulated in the outside world. It was actually quite a frequent occurrence for the Wanxiang Adepts of the Black-White College to be able to battle at a higher level and combat even Primal Daoists.

“It’s senior apprentice-brother Holyfire.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire!”

“Even senior apprentice-brother Holyfire came as well.”

The entire Dao Debate Palace was now filled with disciples. All of them, Zifu Disciples or Wanxiang Adepts, turned to look. A bald, barefoot, handsome youth who was dressed in fiery red robes came walking in. His forehead had a svastika symbol in the middle, and wherever he passed, it was as though a sea of flame moved with him, as the temperature of the surrounding area instantly skyrocketed.

Holyfire!

He was an absolute leader amongst the third generation disciples of the Black-White College. Although he wasn’t a reincarnated Immortal, he had still comprehended an entire, complete Dao Path. He could become a Primal Daoist of the College at any moment.

“Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire.” Blackcurrent was the first to draw close to him.. “Blackcurrent.” Holyfire glanced at Blackcurrent, then said calmly, “Has the new disciple, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, arrived yet?”

“Not yet. There was a junior apprentice-brother who went quite some time ago to junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s Darknorth Peak, but he hasn’t come yet,” Blackcurrent explained.

Holyfire nodded, then strode forward, taking a seat atop one of the centermost stone seats. The fellow disciples seated around Holyfire were all formidable figures within the College. For the likes of the Zifu Disciples, they could only stare at him from afar; after all, they didn’t have a relationship with him.

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Chapter 36 – Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning Welcomes All Challengers

Chapter 36, Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning Welcomes All Challengers

The winter wind was quite refreshing. Ji Ning stood atop his boat, soaring through the skies, and in his mind, he continued to think back to the scenes of his master, Immortal Diancai, displaying sword arts for him to see.

“Master’s sword arts have truly reached an inconceivable level,” Ning sighed to himself Diancai has often referred to as the ‘second coming of Immortal Northwalker’, and also as the disciple of the Black-White College with the greatest chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal. Immortal Diancai’s sword arts vastly surpassed the level which Ning was able to comprehend.

“Hm? Someone’s here?” As his flying boat reached the air above Darknorth Peak, Ning saw that there were currently two people standing outside the gates to his estate. It was a white-robed Mu Northson and Winterain, dressed in white cotton clothes.

Swoosh. Ning landed on the ground. “Master.” The ordinary mortals standing at the gate immediately saluted.

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson, senior apprentice-sister Winterain, why are you here?” After landing, Ning smiled towards them. Only now did Winterain let out a long sigh of relief. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, can it be that you don’t know about today’s matters?”

Of course Ning knew. “Senior apprentice-sister Winterain, are you referring to the challenges at the Dao Debate Palace?”

“Of course.” Winterain nodded. “Today, many of our fellow disciples have hurried over there. Even some of our fellow disciples who were not present in the college, upon hearing this news, have hurried back. I’ve came to invite you to the Dao Debate Palace, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

Ning nodded. Winterain continued, “Let’s hurry. I imagine many of our fellow disciples are growing impatient.”

“Alright.” Ning looked towards the nearby Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, why didn’t you go to the Dao Debate Palace, and instead came to find me?”

“Need you ask?” Northson stared. “The entire Black-White College only has two new disciples; you and me. The two of us are on one side. All those people at the Dao Debate Palace are older, more senior disciples. If I go there, what am I supposed to do? Just stand there like an idiot and be stared at by everyone?”

Ning laughed. “Let’s go.” There was no way to back off now. If he backed off, he would be looked down upon by everyone. He might as well openly go welcome the challenges.

Whoosh. The three rode atop their respective magic treasures or construct, quickly disappearing into the skies as three rays of light which sped towards the Dao Debate Palace.

…….

It was rare for so many fellow disciples to be gathered here at the Dao Debate Palace. Every single one of the disciples present today could be described as truly heroic figures.

“Why hasn’t that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning arrived yet?”

“That young junior apprentice-brother, Ji Ning…he wouldn’t be afraid, would he?”

The fellow disciples were all chatting in small groups amongst themselves as they waited. It was, however, almost noon. Some of those who had come earlier had been waiting for nearly four hours. Naturally, they were growing rather impatient.

Suddenly…three figures flew towards them from afar, then landed at the gates to the Dao Debate Palace. This instantly attracted the attention of many of their fellow disciples.

“He’s here.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning came.”

“That’s junior apprentice-brothers Ji Ning and Northson. Next to them is junior apprentice-sister Winterain.” Ji Ning and Northson had appeared at the grand ceremony of initiation, after all; most of the people were still able to recognize them with one glance.

Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, seated in the center, glanced at them then said softly, “That fur-clad one is Ji Ning?” Northmont Blackcurrent, seated next to him, immediately said hurriedly, “Right, he is Ji Ning.”

“Just from the look in his eyes, I can tell that his Dao-heart is very resolute,” Holyfire said softly. Blackcurrent replied, “If junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning knew that you were praising him like this, senior apprentice-brother, I imagine he would be endlessly overjoyed.”

……….

After entering the Dao Debate Palace, Ning went directly to the side room where he had previously activated the Thousandswords golem, and then brought the golem to return to the hall.. He stood there, in the hall, sweeping everyone with his gaze.

There were familiar figures, such as Ninelotus and the others. There were several figures he didn’t recognize, but who the other fellow disciples surrounded; clearly, these were extremely high-ranking figures of the College, such as that bald, fiery-robed youth, that black-robed maiden, or that sloppy-looking fat youth, or that large, muscular youth whose entire body gleamed with magic treasures but whose skin was jade-white…

“Those people being surrounded by others are probably the most supreme members of the third generation. They have probably either comprehended an entire Dao Path or are reincarnated Immortals,” Ning mused to himself.

Swoosh. Ning leapt forward like a streak of light, moving three hundred meters and landing on a distant stone pillar. Staring at his surroundings, he said in a clear voice, “My senior fellow disciples.”

Instantly, the entire Dao Debate Palace grew silent.

“Yesterday, I was lucky enough to defeat two senior apprentice-brothers,” Ning said in a high voice. “Thus, today I have come again. Any of my senior fellow disciples who wishes to discuss the Dao with me can come up and do so. As for the wager…I’ve recently joined the school, and can’t afford too large a wager, and so we’ll just go with the smallest wager of a hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. I will wait here. Anyone who wishes to discourse on the Dao with me can come up.”

His words concluded. The entire Dao Debate Palace remained quiet for a moment of time.

That seemingly sloppy-looking, pudgy youth who was surrounded by many others laughed, his face covered with delight, as he looked towards Ji Ning, who stood there in the distance atop the stone pillar. “This junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning really is straightforward and passionate. I like him.”

This sloppy-looking, pudgy youth…was, awe-inspiringly enough, the undisputed number one figure of the third generation of Black-White College disciples. In the outside world, he was often referred to as the ‘Sloppy Daoist’, but his actual Daoist title was ‘Threefat’. Although he was not a reincarnated Immortal, Daoist Threefat was able to suppress the two reincarnated Immortals in might, and so became known as the number one figure amongst the third generation. One truly couldn’t judge by looks alone.

……..

“Hear that? Even little Sloppy likes this Ji Ning.” In a corner of the Dao Debate Palace, the similarly sloppy-looking short elder chortled. Next to him, the black-haired, black-robed Immortal Diancai said resignedly, “Senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze, why did we have to come here to the Dao Debate Palace? We could’ve stayed in our own estate and used a water-scrying technique; wouldn’t we still be able to see everything going on here? Our apprentice-nephews such as the headmaster are definitely all watching this in their own estates through a water-scrying technique.”

The short elder glanced sideways at Immortal Diancai. “When we watch here, we can also hear the conversations going on between the third generation disciples. That’s so much more fun. As for little Sloppy, he really is the disciple I love the most; even his thoughts are identical to mine. Don’t worry; we’ll watch here secretly, and those third generation disciples won’t notice a thing.”

“Alas.” Immortal Diancai shook his head helplessly. This old fellow really was getting crazier and crazier.

Birds of a feather flock together; ‘Sloppy’ had even given himself the Daoist title ‘Threefat’, and was incredibly sloppily dressed. Immortal Diancai was an extremely strict person; naturally, he disliked this tremendously. But there was nothing he could do…’Old Crazy’ was the oldest of the Loose Immortals of the Black-White College, while ‘Young Crazy’ was the most talented disciple the Black-White College had to offer.

“I hope that I can live to witness little Sloppy become an Earth Immortal. If I can witness him become a Celestial Immortal, I’ll die with no regrets.” The short elder suddenly turned somber and serious.

“Senior apprentice-brother?” Immortal Diancai was startled. The short elder stared at the fat, sloppy-looking youth who was surrounded by many other disciples. “Just you wait and see. Little Sloppy will definitely be more powerful than me.”

Immortal Diancai’s gaze fell towards the distant stone pillar, and towards Ji Ning who was seated atop it. This was the only disciple under his tutelage.

“It’s about to begin.” The short elder’s eyes lit up. “It’s the fellow called Qinghe.”

………

There were very many third generation disciples gathered here at the Dao Debate Palace. The first to stand out was Qinghe, the man who was publicly acknowledged as the strongest of the Zifu Disciple students.

Swoosh. An azure-robed figure moved forward like a blur, flying directly towards the distant stone pillar before coming to a halt atop it. The golem he controlled moved with him, landing on the arena below.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” The azure-robed figure stared at the distant Ning. “My name is Qinghe. I joined a few years before you did, and would like to discuss the Dao with you.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“Begin.” The white-haired elder let out a loud shout, and the grand sealing formation instantly covered the entire arena. Ning sat down calmly in the lotus position, and senior apprentice-brother Qinghe did the same.

“Be careful, junior apprentice-brother. I am going to use a secret art which I discovered when adventuring in the outside world; it is an art which a dying senior left behind, which allows for the control of many flying needles. This isn’t a technique which our school has records about,” Qinghe said.

“Senior apprentice-brother, feel free to use it,” Ning replied clearly. The territory controlled by the Grand Xia Dynasty was too vast. Over the course of countless years, there were quite a few legacies left behind by Fiendgods or various major powers. As for legacies left behind by senior Immortal cultivators…those were countless beyond counting. Only, these relic sites also involved tremendous levels of danger. Without having enough ability, one could not rashly enter them.

“Watch carefully.” Qinghe appeared quite relaxed, but suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

Swish swish swish swish swish. Countless flying needles suddenly flew out of the body of the golem below him. Those countless jade-green flying needles spun in midair, resonating with each other and actually forming an enormous green scorpion. This giant jade-green scorpion’s eyes were flashing with a ferocious intent.

For some reason, this caused Ning to feel alarmed. “Not easy to deal with.” He had been planning to once more use his [Duality Azureflame Sword], but he instantly decided to use his current most powerful technique; the [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword].

What he didn’t know was that Qinghe, as the publicly acknowledged number one expert of the Zifu Disciples, had a level of insight into the Dao that was comparable to that of most Wanxiang Adepts already. He, too, had reached the Dao Domain level. In terms of insight, he definitely was not inferior to Ning. In addition, he had spent many years analyzing this ‘Scorpic Godneedles’ technique. Given his power, if Ning didn’t fight back at full strength, he would probably be crushed instantly.

“Swoosh.”

Three swords suddenly lit up. One transformed into a watery light, the second into a fiery glow, and the third into an azure aura. The three flying swords formed into a tripartite formation, and as they flew forward, suddenly transformed into an enormous lotus flower, which had an incomparably sharp and fierce sword light within the blossom.

……

“He wins.” The short elder in the corner of the Dao Debate Palace sighed. “This sword art was born from the [Tripartite Lotus Sword], but is more heavily focused towards the water-element of the Five Elements. However, this power really is quite something! Ji Ning just entered the College, and yet was already able to learn such a powerful technique. He’s definitely not weaker than any ordinary Wanxiang Adept disciples. Sword Immortals…they are famous for their combat abilities. With the heart of a Sword Immortal and a sword art such as this…if he encounters someone at the same level of insight, he will win for sure.”

As the short elder was speaking, the sword light in the form of a lotus flower was clashing repeatedly in midair against the giant, jade-green scorpion. With each clash, a few of the needles would be knocked loose. After six consecutive clashes, the giant, jade-green scorpion completely shattered, transforming back into countless flying needles.

“Slash.” The protective armor of the Godneedles Golem was pierced by that sword light as well.

The entire Dao Debate Palace instantly fell silent. He had lost? The most powerful of the Zifu Disciples, Qinghe, had actually lost? If even he had lost…could it be that one of their senior apprentice-brothers at the Wanxiang Adept level would enter the fray? For the sake of a new disciple, they were going to have a Wanxiang Adept do battle?

“Ji Ning wins.” The white-haired old man spoke out, and his voice echoed within the Dao Debate Palace.

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Chapter 37 – Two-Clawed Raindragon Guard

Chapter 37, Two-Clawed Raindragon Guard

On the distant stone pillar, Qinghe rose to his feet, then clasped his hands. “I lost. I whole-heartedly acknowledge my defeat.”

Ji Ning rose as well, also clasping his hands, and then he swept the entire palace with his gaze, looking towards each of his fellow disciples. In a clear voice, he said, “Are there any other fellow disciples who wish to exchange pointers with me?”

His voice echoed within the entire palace.

“Alas.” Qinghe shook his head, then leapt three hundred meters and landed next to the white-haired elder. He took out two jade bottles, then placed them in front of the elder. This was the wager he had lost. Turning his head, he left.

For a period of time, the Dao Debate Palace was silent. Nobody took up the challenge.

“Even junior apprentice-brother Qinghe lost.”

“The Dao Debates are a competition of one’s comprehension of the Dao, as well as one’s skills. It doesn’t have much to do with one’s elemental ki. Even many of the Wanxiang Adepts amongst us are only on par with junior apprentice-brother Qinghe.”

“I imagine that only those who have comprehended multiple Dao Domains are capable of defeating junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

Of course there were people who could defeat Ning! In addition, there were quite a few. For example, those three reincarnated Immortals who were at the Wanxiang Adept level. Anyone who had comprehended a complete Dao Path could effortless crush Ning. There were also a pile of disciples who had comprehended multiple Dao Domains. But which one of them would stand out?

“Which of my senior fellow disciples wishes to provide me with some guidance?” Ning stood there atop the stone pillar, speaking in a clear voice. “If no one else comes, then I shall retire.”

In this moment, Ning felt filled with a heroic aura. How joyous. He faced a group of supreme geniuses, and he, a newly recruited disciple, was challenging them. This really was a wonderful feeling.

“Since my other fellow disciples aren’t going to participate, then I’ll embarrass myself by volunteering.” A clear, cold voice rang out and a white-robed, white-haired youth strode forward. With a single step, he transformed into a streak of light which entered the side room. Soon, he returned with a golem by his side.

“That’s senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow!”

“Senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow is skilled as a Fiendgod Body Refiner and at close combat; he isn’t skilled in a golem-based Dao Debate!”

“I heard that senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow is already a two-clawed Raindragon Guard. In a real battle, he probably isn’t one whit inferior to an ordinary Primal Daoist. But senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow’s power primarily stems from his various divine abilities, his Bloodforged weapons, as well as his Fiendgod Body Refining Technique, the [Indestructible Bloodshadow Body]! In terms of controlling golems, though, he’s a bit weaker.”

As the white-robed, white-haired youth appeared, a buzz of conversation swept the entire palace. Ning’s ears twitched. He couldn’t help but feel secretly surprised. What a tremendous background this senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow had. The Rites of Bloodforging…although the likes of the Ji clan had never heard of it, the Black-White College had. Only, one needed five hundred black-white pellets to trade for the technique.

“And he’s actually a two-clawed Raindragon Guard as well!” Ning was privately shocked. After entering the Raindragon Guard, one would become an ordinary one-clawed Raindragon Guard, and the Black-White College would reward you with a thousand black-white pellets. If you became a two-clawed Raindragon Guard, you would be rewarded with five thousand black-white pellets. Upon becoming a three-clawed Raindragon Guard, the reward would be increased to fifteen thousand black-white pellets…

However, it was very difficult to become a two-clawed Raindragon Guard. Generally speaking, only someone at the Primal Daoist level of power could become one. Only a very few, exceptionally monstrous Wanxiang Adepts were able to reach that level. As for that so-called ‘genius’ of Snowdragon Mountain, Xue Hongyi, by comparison, he was far inferior to this senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow.

“Swoosh!” The white-haired, white-robed Bloodshadow’s body flickered, and he appeared on the opposite stone pillar. “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Bloodshadow stared towards Ning. “I’m more used to engaging in close combat. I’m not that skilled in controlling magic treasures to attack. However, I’m still a bit stronger than junior apprentice-brother Qinghe. You must be careful.”

“I await your instructions, senior apprentice-brother,” Ning said solemnly.

This was no joke. A freak capable of becoming a two-clawed Raindragon Guard, even one who was primarily a Fiendgod Body Refiner, definitely wouldn’t be weak when controlling magic treasures. Fortunately, he would be doing so through the golems…and so his divine body and divine abilities would be of no use. Otherwise, there would be no need to compete at all. Ning would simply admit defeat.

“Begin!” The white-haired elder called out in a high voice. Rumble…the grand sealing barrier once more covered the entire arena.

Ning sat down in the lotus position. Bloodshadow did the same. “Junior apprentice-brother, be careful!” Bloodshadow called out in a cold voice. Instantly, the strange flying swords on the back of the Nineswords Golem began to fly out. Nine of the queer flying swords flew through the air, beginning to emit a dense, bloody light. The flying swords were all connected by the bloody light, and they quickly formed into an enormous…

Something. It had enormous cicada wings, a head with three horns, a mouth that was as long and sharp as a blade, and a savage, flashing gaze. In fact, the killing aura coming from this creature was even more terrifying than that of the Direwolf which Bloodeater Bladask had summoned.

“Mosquito?” Ning, staring the beast that had appeared, couldn’t help but feel astonished. This was a titanic mosquito.

Swoosh! That sinister-looking, baleful giant mosquito of blood suddenly charged forward, howling through the air, its blade-mouth formed from one of the flying swords. The power and invisible pressure from this creature caused Ning’s heart to clench.

“[Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword]!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately executing his most powerful sword art. Instantly, three flying swords flew out from the back of his Thousandswords Golem. They soon formed an enormous, blooming lotus flower of sword light which stabbed directly towards that baleful, heaven-defying mosquito of blood.

“Bang!” The two attacks were both as fast as lightning, and they instantly crisscrossed in the sky. The blooming lotus flower’s sword-light trembled, beginning to grow unstable.

“It’s going to collapse.”

“Although senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow is not skilled in using flying swords, it isn’t too hard for him to suppress a young, newly recruited disciple.”

“He’s won.”

Quite a few fellow apprentices nodded musingly to themselves. As for Northson, he clenched his fists nervously as he watched, his heart filled with worry. It was as though he himself wanted to personally charge up. “You must win. You must win.”

“Not good.” As soon as he began fighting, Ning began to sense how terrifying the penetrative power of the blood mosquito’s blade-mouth was. “Bang!” The blood mosquito moved as fast as a shadow, quickly smashing yet again against the lotus flower. Instantly, the blooming lotus flower crumbled, and the three flying swords were scattered to one side.

However, Ning had expected this long ago. He had already prepared six more flying swords, which shot out from the back of the Thousandswords Golem.

“Go, go, go.” A savage look was in Ning’s eyes. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Every three flying swords formed a blooming lotus of sword-light, and even the three original scattered swords once more reformed into a giant lotus of sword-light. All of a sudden, the air was filled with three enormous flashes of sword light, each of which bloomed into giant loti. They flew out in a straight row, simultaneously striking towards the blood mosquito. Meanwhile, Ning’s eyes were filled with savagery as he controlled them in attacking.

“What!”

“He’s actually able to simultaneously unleash three of those [Tripartite Lotus Swords]?”

“How can this be?”

The spectating disciples were all speechless. Using top-tier sword arts was tremendously taxing on one’s mental faculties. For something like the [Tripartite Lotus Sword]…most would be able to unleash just a single one at most. To unleash three at the same time was rather ridiculous.

…..

At the corner of the Dao Debate Palace. Immortal Diancai nodded gently.

“He simultaneously executed multiple sword arts.” The nearby short elder shook his head repeatedly. “There’s only two possibilities. The first is that his current comprehension of the Dao is far beyond the level of this sword art, and so it is simplicity itself for him to use it; only then can one simultaneously use multiple sword arts. The second is that his soul is incomparably powerful, and so he can easily withstand the pressure this sword art creates, allowing him to use it multiple times simultaneously.”

Either one had a high level of insight, or one had an extremely powerful soul.

“Your disciple’s soul…is at the divine sense level?” The short elder looked towards Immortal Diancai, who nodded. “Right.”

“As I thought,” the short elder said softly. “If he has a ‘divine soul’ at the divine sense level…I imagine he can execute two or three more sword-lights. This battle…your disciple is probably going to win.”

…….

The giant blood mosquito blurred, then transformed into three smaller blood mosquitoes, simultaneously defending against the three [Tripartite Lotus Swords].

Boom! Boom! Boom! There, in midair, the three [Tripartite Lotus Swords] battled against the three smaller blood mosquitoes. Everything was a blur as they clashed and battled against each other repeatedly. Each side wanted to break through the protective armor of the other’s golem, but they also wanted to block the enemy attacks…for now, they were battling to a standstill.

“Go, go!” Ning’s eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead were protruding. Clearly, he was now going all out. Instantly, six more flying swords flew out from the back of the Thousandswords Golem. The sky was soon filled with two more [Tripartite Lotus Sword] attacks. A total of five [Tripartite Lotus Swords] were surrounding and attacking the blood mosquitoes.

“Eh?” Seated in the distance, Bloodshadow’s face changed. He immediately willed the three blood mosquitoes to once more transform into a giant blood mosquito. The cicada-like wings of the giant blood mosquito fluttered, wrapping around that Nineswords Golem while the blade-beak struck repeatedly against those [Tripartite Lotus Swords].

The five [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Swords] attacked wildly in unison.

“Five!”

“Five [Tripartite Lotus Swords]?”

The spectating disciples were all rather stunned. They knew exactly how much stress would be placed on the soul when one executed five powerful sword arts simultaneously. To an ordinary person, dividing their mind to carry out just two tasks simultaneously was already very difficult. Dividing one’s mind to execute multiple supreme sword arts…and five in total, at that!

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s comprehension must be at a very high level, or his soul must be very strong.”

“He cannot be underestimated.”

“It seems as though senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow is about to suffer from it.”

…….

If one remains perpetually on the defense, one will eventually lose. Under the repeated strikes of Ning’s five [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Swords], in the end, the blood mosquito wasn’t able to block an attack, and the protective armor of the golem was breached.

“Ji Ning wins!” The white-haired elder called out in high voice. Only now did Ning finally relax.

He had won.

He had actually defeated a two-clawed Raindragon Guard! Although this Raindragon Guard was more skilled as a Fiendgod Body Refiner and in using divine abilities, and although this was just a competition of the arts one could use based on their comprehension of the Dao…the fact that he had defeated a two-clawed Raindragon Guard still filled Ning’s heart with incomparable joy.

“I lost.” Seated atop the distant stone pillar, Bloodshadow rose to his feet. Shaking his head, he laughed. “Junior apprentice-brother, you are already so impressive after entering our school. In the future, you will definitely not be any weaker than me.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, you praise me too much.” Ning rose as well. “If we were in a real life-and-death battle, I probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand a single blow from you.”

Bloodshadow laughed. This junior apprentice-brother of his was incredibly talented, and yet clear-minded and modest. He hadn’t turned smug from his victory in the Dao Debate. Most likely, in the future, this youth would have astonishing accomplishments. He was worth befriending.

“Haha…” Bloodshadow laughed, then with a flicker, disappeared from the arena, reappearing before the white-haired elder, who he gave two jade bottles to.

Ning took a deep breath. He had gone all out in his earlier battle against Bloodshadow. The sword art he had used was the strongest one available to him, and by relying on the power of his soul, he had gone all out to generate five of those [Tripartite Lotus Swords]! This was his limit. He had nothing further up his sleeve…and would probably lose the next match.

However, if he was going to fight, he was going to fight to the bitter end.

“Are there any other senior fellow disciples who would like to exchange pointers with me?” Ning looked about the room and spoke in a clear voice. His voice echoed in every corner of the palace.

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Chapter 38 – My Heart Holds Only the Sword, The Sword Immortal’s Path

Chapter 38, My Heart Holds Only the Sword – The Sword Immortal’s Path

The entire Dao Debate Palace once more fell silent. Everyone turned to look at their neighbors. Since Ji Ning was even able to defeat Bloodshadow in a Dao Debate, defeating him would be no easy task. Who would be the next?

“His heart…it has changed!” In that quiet corner, the short elder suddenly spoke out. “This last Dao Debate was a form of baptism for your disciple.” Immortal Diancai turned to look towards Ning as well. There was no hesitating in Ning’s eyes at all; instead, there was a frightening desire for battle.

“Right.” Immortal Diancai nodded lightly. “His heart has indeed changed. It is purer now. Before this, he had many miscellaneous thoughts in his heart, but right now, all he desires is the next battle. This is indeed a rare baptism for his Dao-heart.”

…..

Ning had only one thought in his heart right now; to engage in the next battle! If he was going to fight, he was going to fight to the very end!

The entire Dao Debate Palace was silent for three breaths. Finally, an azure-robed woman walked out.

“It is senior apprentice-sister Whitesnow.”

“Senior apprentice-sister Whitesnow’s [Celestial Silknet Formation] is extremely powerful. In terms of just the Dao, not even senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow is a match for senior apprentice-sister Whitesnow.”

“Right. I wonder if this junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has anything else left up his sleeve. If he does not, he is probably going to lose.” Conversations were going on everywhere.

As for senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, surrounded by many fellow disciples, he stared into the distance, then said softly, “If my guess is correct, that was the limit of junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s power. This next battle…junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is going to lose.”

“When he encounters junior apprentice-sister Whitesnow’s [Celestial Silknet Formation], this junior apprentice-brother is going to lose.” This was the soft comment by the fat, sloppy-looking youth as well.

……..

“Senior apprentice-sister. Will junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning win?” Ninelotus was next to the black-robed maiden, who stared into the distance. “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is probably at his limit. This should be his final battle.”

………

The short elder, standing in the corner of the room, nodded as well. “It’s about time. This series of Dao Debates should be coming to a conclusion. Your disciple is at his limit.”

“Right.” Immortal Diancai nodded lightly, continuing to stare towards his disciple…

On the pillar. Ning stood there, waiting quietly.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, win. Win! I believe in you. You will definitely win.” Mu Northson’s fists were clenched tightly, and he called out in a high voice in the distance. Ning smiled towards him.

The azure-robed woman stepped out from the side-door, leaping gracefully atop the opposing stone pillar. She looked towards the distant Ning, her gaze bringing a cold, quiet feeling. Looking at her was like looking at a sickly, yet beautiful woman. She finally spoke out. “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, I have chosen the Skynet Golem. Be careful.”

“Senior apprentice-sister, please feel free!” Ning sat down in the lotus position, and the azure-robed woman did the same. The two stared at each other.

“Begin!” The white-haired elder let out a loud shout. Rumble…the grand sealing barrier once more covered the entire battle arena.

“Go!” The gaze of the azure-robed woman, seated in the lotus position, was cold and dim. The Skynet Golem beneath her instantly began to emit one line of silk after another, transforming into streaks of light.

“[Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword]!” A sharp look flashed through Ning’s eyes. Not hesitating at all, he immediately, consecutively released fifteen flying swords from the Thousandswords Golem, creating five [Tripartite Lotus Swords]. These five flashes of sword-light…they blossomed into lotus flowers, streaking forward to greet the flashing lines of silk.

Whoosh…

The silken rays of light suddenly slashed out in arious arcs. Instantly, the entire world seemed to change, as these silken ribbons of light actually formed a giant, completely sealed spherical region, trapping Ning’s five [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Swords] within them. The five flashes of sword-light wildly struck at one location, and a large bulge appeared on the side of the silken ribbons of light, but it still successfully kept the sword-light trapped within.

“Constrict!” The azure-robed woman, seated in the lotus position, shouted softly. The silken ribbons of light, in the shape of that giant sphere, began to swivel and shrink, beginning to crush down upon the five flashes of sword-light within it.

Although Ning could release these fifteen flying swords and control new ones…if he wasn’t able to defeat this technique, even if he unleashed more flying swords, the end result would simply be that they would be trapped.

“Break!” Ning strove to control his swords to break through.

“Go.” The azure-robed woman once more pointed. Whoosh! Yet another silken ribbon of light flew out from the golem, this one moving directly towards Ning’s Thousandswords Golem.

“Hmph.” Ning’s gaze turned cold. Three more flying swords flew out from the Thousandswords Golem’s back, transforming to yet another [Tripartite Lotus Sword] and intercepting the ribbon.

There were six [Tripartite Lotus Swords] that had been unleashed, and Ning’s eyes were now completely bloodshot. Taxing. This was incredibly taxing. But Ning didn’t think of anything else. In his heart, there was only one thought; to use all of his power and fight to the bitter end! To force his flying swords to unleash the greatest amount of power possible!

In this moment, the only thing in Ning’s heart…was the sword!

……..

Within the arena.

Ning and the azure-robed woman stared at each other, the golems they were controlling clashing against each other time and time again. Clearly, the azure-robed woman held the upper hand…but no matter what, she wasn’t able to defeat Ji Ning. In particular, with that giant, spherical region, one enormous bulge after another would appear. Clearly, the five rays of sword light within were still struggling, and with greater and greater power. The azure-robed woman couldn’t help but focus a great deal of her attention on that sphere.

In the corner of the Dao Debate Palace. The short elder’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he murmured to himself, “My heart holds only the sword?”

Immortal Diancai stared at his disciple as well. He, too, had noticed Ning’s change. “My heart holds only the sword!” Immortal Diancai said softly, “Finally, his sword-heart has finally begun to reach this level.”

“Now things are unclear,” the short old man sighed. “This disciple of yours truly is a rare talent. This Dao Debate Palace is currently filled with the disciples of our Black-White College. So many geniuses are present…this disciple of yours is welcoming all challengers, and so in the end, he will definitely be defeated. And yet, this process has caused his sword-heart to grow brighter and brighter.”

“It’s still early. Let’s see if he can actually comprehend it thoroughly.” Immortal Diancai stared at Ji Ning. Stared at him without blinking.

…..

Simultaneously executing six [Tripartite Lotus Swords] was Ning at his absolute limit, and he even felt his head going dizzy. But Ning didn’t think of anything else; the only thing he wanted to do was fight! Fight with all his power!

His heart was completely focused on those flying swords of his. In this moment…Ning, who had gained insight into the heart of a Sword Immortal long ago, was currently seeing his own Sword Immortal’s heart grow brighter and brighter. In fact, one memory after another began to flit up through his mind.

“Ji Ning, I am going to demonstrate the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] to you – the Lustrous Sword-Heart!” Prior to this series of Dao Debates, Ning had gone to see Immortal Diancai, who had carefully explained the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] to him.

“This is the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!”

Sword-light flashed like fire, slashing through the air but not dissipating.

“This, too, is the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!”

A ray of sword-light flashed like water, circling and spinning in the air, as though the sky itself had been parted from the world by this layer of water..

“This, too, is the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!”

A cyan light that tore open the skies themselves.

One sword technique another another…they were clearly different sword techniques. Some were average in power, while others were incredibly powerful. But according to Immortal Diancai, all of these techniques were the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

“The [Three-Foot Sword] is a supreme sword technique which leads to one of the Grand Daos, the Dao of the Sword. In order to become a true Sword Immortal who has comprehended the Grand Dao of the Sword, the first thing you need is a sword-heart. Over many years of training, you have long ago unconsciously developed the heart of a Sword Immortal, but the so called sword-heart requires one to truly have supreme loyalty to the ‘sword’. You must understand your own sword-heart.”

“Once you truly comprehend your sword-heart and learn what it means to be a Sword Immortal…only then will you have opened the gates to actually becoming a Sword Immortal. That will be the moment when you will naturally learn how to execute the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].”

“The first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Lustrous Sword-Heart!”

“After your sword-heart becomes lustrous and bright, you will be able to see the true path a Sword Immortal must follow.”

……

The scenes of Immortal Diancai displaying the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], the ‘Lustrous Sword-Heart’, played over and over in his mind. Some of the attacks were extremely weak, while others were extremely strong. However, all of them were flashing through Ning’s mind, and Ning felt vaguely moved; he began to dimly understand something, although he didn’t fully comprehend yet. However, he knew that he had already begun to gain a few insights.

Whoosh! Sword-light continued to flash and dance. The [Tripartite Lotus Sword] continued to flash in the air, and the sword-light grew sharper and sharper, the more growing mightier and mightier, to the point where they began to press down on the silken ribbons of light.

“Rumble…” The five [Tripartite Lotus Swords] within the enormous spherical region were beginning to struggle more and more forcefully as well. One giant bulge after another appeared on the surface of the sphere of silken light, each bulge greater than the last.

Whitesnow, the distant azure-robed woman who was seated in the lotus position, began to sweat.

“What?!” Holyfire, watching from afar, had a changed look on his face.

The fat, sloppy-looking youth’s eyes instantly turned round. “How the hell…he actually, he actually made a breakthrough in comprehending the sword.”

The black-robed woman’s face, formerly as cold as frost, suddenly had a look of shock appear on it. “A Sword Immortal?”

…..

BANG!

A sudden explosion rang out. The sphere of silken light, which had been stretched to its limits, finally exploded. Silk ribbons scattered everywhere, and the six [Tripartite Lotus Swords] once more rose into the skies with incomparable sharpness. The power of the swords was clearly much greater than before, and they charged directly towards the Skynet Golem. Soon, the protective armor of the Skynet Golem was shattered.

“Ji Ning wins!” The white-haired elder called out in a high voice.

A look of disbelief filled the face of the azure-robed woman. Someone had actually made a breakthrough mid-battle? She couldn’t help but mumble to herself, “A monster, he really is a monster of the Dao of the Sword.”

Ning rose to his feet, turning his gaze towards the entire hall. He called out in a high voice, “Are there any other senior fellow disciples who wish to exchange pointers with me?”

……

The short elder in the corner couldn’t help but say, “A true genius of the Dao of the Sword. He really is a genius of the Dao of the Sword. This Ji Ning was born to walk the path of the Sword Immortals! His innate affinity towards the sword surpasses that of others; in fact, we can use the word ‘monstrous’ to describe it. In addition, he has a heart which is supremely devoted to the sword.”

“Right.” Immortal Diancai stared at the distant Ji Ning. “He was meant to be a Sword Immortal.”

“Yet another disciple has gone up.” The short elder nodded. “It’s good that he did. What Ji Ning needs right now is battle experience. The greater a pressure is brought to bear on him, the more lustrous his sword-heart will become.”

“Perhaps…through these battles…he might even comprehend the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Lustrous Sword-Heart!” Immortal Diancai mused to himself.

……..

Ning stood there atop the stone pillar. On the other stone pillar was a black-robed youth. Ning’s eyes seemed to be filled with the light of the sword, and he said in a clear voice, “Senior apprentice-brother, please make your move!”

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Chapter 39 – [Three-Foot Sword] – The First Stance

Chapter 39, [Three-Foot Sword] – The First Stance

“Junior apprentice-brother, for you to gain sudden enlightenment regarding the sword in a moment of battle means that you truly are a marvelous talent for training in the sword. No wonder Immortal Diancai took you on as his disciple.” The black-robed youth said calmly, “Junior apprentice-brother, my techniques are far more vicious than senior apprentice-sister Whitesnow. You must be careful.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, feel free to use everything you have!” Ning sat down in the lotus position, and the black-robed man did so as well. The two stared at each other from afar.

The surrounding area was silent once again. Previously, the two Wanxiang Adepts, Bloodshadow and Whitesnow, had been defeated consecutively. The person who had now joined the fray, Venomblood, was naturally even more formidable than the two of them in a discourse on the Dao. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come.

“Go! Go! Go!” The black-robed youth’s eyes flashed with cold light. Instantly, oily-jade hooks began to fly out from the back of the golem he was controlling in the arena below. Eighteen oily-green poisoned hooks slashed through the air, and while flying over, the tips of these eighteen poisoned hooks began to faintly glow with a venomous, tricolor light. The eighteen poisoned hooks flew straight towards the Thousandswords Golem which Ning was controlling.

It seemed as though the power of this attack was compressed; he didn’t sense any danger at all.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed slightly. A tricolored poisonous light? Previously, he had fought against Bloodshadow and Whitesnow. Bloodshadow was apparently someone who focused on a single Dao, and had mixed in his insights into other Daos into his techniques; much like Ning, he had reached the Dao Domain level in just a single Dao, and not in the others. However, Bloodshadow had reached an extremely deep level of understanding into that Dao, most likely far surpassing Ning’s understanding of his own. Ning had to rely on the power of his ‘divine soul’ to defeat Bloodshadow.

As for Whitesnow, she should have mastered two different Dao Domains! And this Venomblood…should have mastered three different Dao Domains!

Immortal Diancai had told him that after he reached the level of having three Dao Domains, he would be able to unleash the true power of his [Tripartite Lotus Sword]. But this Venomblood had already reached this level.

“So what if you have gained three Dao Domains? Go!” A fierce sword-light flashed in Ning’s eyes, and eighteen flying swords instantly flew out from the back of his Thousandswords Golem.

The eighteen flying swords slashed through the air, instantly booming into lotus flowers and transforming into eighteen flashing sword-lights of the [Tripartite Lotus Swords]. Although a sword-light formed from three swords was very powerful…when dealing with a foe who shot out eighteen attacks, Ning naturally would use eighteen of his own to deal with it!

A competition on quantity? Ji Ning had never feared anyone in this regard!

“Cling!” “Clang!” “Swish!”

Eighteen blooming lotuses of sword-light on one side, and eighteen venomous tricolored hooks on the other. It was as though eighteen Immortal practitioners were controlling them; they clashed in midair time and time again.

Those eighteen venomous tricolored hooks possessed shocking power and were able to completely suppress Ning’s attacks, but Ning’s sword-light attacks were aligned with water, and possessed tremendous resilience and elasticity. In addition, the tremendous pressure caused Ning to once more enter that earlier battle-mode; to enter the mindset of discarding everything, leaving behind only the sword in his heart!

My heart holds only the sword!

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” The lotuses of sword-light flew about, growing sharper and sharper, to the point where even the distant, spectating disciples could visibly notice that the power with which Ning controlled his [Tripartite Lotus Swords] was slowly growing. The sword-lights seemed to be growing ‘sharper’, to the point where they were slowly taking on a life of their own.

They were continuing to grow more powerful! The might of the lotus sword-lights continuously rose!

……

“He’s still in a prajna-state of comprehending the sword.” Holyfire stared into the distance. “This junior apprentice-brother possesses truly terrifying potential. He truly is a marvelous student of the sword.”

…….

“The power of the sword-light is continuously rising. Can it be that this junior apprentice-brother is really going to enter the first stage of the Sword Immortal today?” The fat, sloppy-looking youth watched quietly. On the path of Immortals, where were many subtle, varying branches of enlightenment, such as the ‘Yin-Yang branch’, the ‘Taiji branch’, the ‘Sword Immortal branch’, and more.

Sword Immortals traversed the Grand Dao of the Sword! Sword Immortals had always been famous for their combat power, and could be described as the branch most suited for combat. For example, Immortal Diancai, or Immortal Northwalker, the most famous figure in the entire history of the Black-White College. They were all Sword Immortals!

……..

“Formidable.” The black-robed maiden let out a soft exclamation of praise as well. As for Ninelotus, upon hearing this, she immediately stared towards Ning in the arena, her eyes filled with curiosity.

……..

In the corner of the Dao Debate Palace, the short elder was leisurely holding a calabash of wine. Taking a mouthful of the Immortal wine, he glanced sideways at Immortal Diancai, who was staring at the battle without blinking. Fivecraze let out a snickering, strange laugh. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai, don’t worry. Judging from the situation…this disciple of yours is almost there. Soon, he shall truly understand what his sword-heart is.”

“Mm.” Immortal Diancai’s lips moved slightly, but his eyes continued to focus unblinkingly on the battle going on. This was, after all, his very first disciple.

………

The black-robed youth, Venomblood, continued to sit there in the lotus position, the look on his face growing increasingly ugly. “How can it be like this? A prajna-state of enlightenment should have a limit; how it is that his sword-light is continuously rising in power? At first, he was at a disadvantage, but now he’s slowly beginning to gain the upper hand. When exactly will there be a limit to this prajna-state?”

“What the hell is he gaining insights into?” The black-robed youth gritted his teeth.

For the likes of the Sloppy Daoist and the other supreme disciples, they were able to tell at a single glance that Ning was walking onto the path of Sword Immortals. However, Venomblood’s experience was clearly a bit lacking; all he knew was that Ning was in the middle of a prajna-state of enlightenment, but he had no idea that Ning was embarking onto the path of Sword Immortals.

In midair, those eighteen lotus flowers of sword-light clashed more and more frenetically against those eighteen venomous tricolored hooks. Those venomous hooks were struggling as much as they could…but they were clearly at a disadvantage.

“Grr!” The black-robed youth’s gaze flashed with a fierce light, and a berserk feeling filled his heart. Those eighteen venomous hooks instantly began to transform, forming an enormous venomous tricolored hook that was more than thirty meters long. The entire venomous tricolored hook glowed with a hazy light, and it swept directly towards Ning’s Thousandswords Golem.

“Break!” The eighteen lotus flowers of sword-light instantly transformed as well. With six flying swords forming a formation base, they instantly changed into an enormous [Tripartite Lotus Sword] which went to welcome the attack.

“BANG!” An explosive collision. The venomous hook was instantly blown apart. The enormous [Tripartite Lotus Sword] howled through the air, piercing directly through the protective armor over the body of the Venomhook Golem.

“Ji Ning wins!” The white-haired elder’s voice rang out once more, and at the same time, the grand sealing barrier began to disappear.

“I lost.” A gloomy look was in the eyes of the black-robed youth, who had struggled for so long and yet had still lost. He gave the fur-clad youth seated atop the other stone pillar a glance from the corner of his eyes. Then, he leapt forward, transforming into a streak of light as he left the battlefield. He handed the two jade bottles to the white-haired elder, then turned and left.

The entire Dao Debate Palace was completely silent for a moment. And then, all sorts of discussions rang out.

“He lost.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Venomblood lost. Senior apprentice-brother Venomblood has gained three Dao Domains.”

“Even senior apprentice-brother Venomblood lost. What should we do next?”

Variations on this conversation filled the entire Dao Debate Palace. Many of the disciples were saying the same thing; if even Venomblood had lost, which of them should go up next?

“Well done! Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, well done!” Northson resolutely supported Ning. He was the only person who called out in support of Ning…and he and Ning were the only members in the new disciples ‘faction’.

The other fellow disciples were all chatting amongst themselves, and also discussing who amongst them should be the next to go up. Only, none of them noticed that something unusual was happening to Ji Ning right now.

……..

In fact, not even the Primal Daoists that were watching this through a water-scrying technique were able to notice. After all, they weren’t actually present and able to witness things firsthand. Only two did – Immortal Fivecraze and Immortal Diancai. They noticed something unusual about Ning.

After defeating the black-robed youth, Venomblood, Ning hadn’t risen to his feet as he had in the past. Instead, he continued to stay seated in the lotus position.

“Sense his aura.” Immortal Fivecraze’s eyes were growing brighter and brighter. “Ji Ning’s aura…his aura is sharpening and intensifying.”

“Right.” Immortal Diancai’s eyes were shining as well. He stared fixedly at Ning, seated in the lotus position atop the stone pillar. For a powerful Sword Immortal like Diancai, he could feel that the distant Ji Ning was also beginning to emit a similar sword aura as Diancai himself had. Although it was incredibly weak, it was slowly beginning to manifest.

“He’s growing more and more powerful.” Immortal Fivecraze couldn’t even be bothered to drink wine. He stared excitedly at the distant Ning. “I feel as though he has completely changed into a sword.”

“He made the breakthrough.” A smile appeared on the face of Immortal Diancai as well.

As soon as his words came out…the distant Ning arose from the lotus position, coming to his feet.

…….

When he had been battling against Whitesnow, Ning’s mind had become filled with the scenes of his master, Immortal Diancai, teaching him about the sword. At that time, he had gained a vague feeling for what the ‘Lustrous Sword-Heart’ was. Now that he had battled Venomblood, his insights had grown even deeper, and the power of his sword-light was growing increasingly great as well.

In the instant he had defeated Venomblood, he felt as though he were a bubble that had stretched to its limit, then instantly exploded. All of those doubts and questions in his heart had vanished. Ning’s heart had become truly lustrous!

“If you wish to become a Sword Immortal, you must have the utmost sincerity owards the sword! The sword, and the sword in your heart. If you have the sword in your heart, then even with a rock, a throwing hammer, or a wooden stick, you’ll still be able to execute sword arts.”

“For a Sword Immortal, everything is part of the Dao of the Sword. The Rainwater Dao, the Daos of Wind, Fire, and other Daos…they will all be merged into the Dao of the Sword.”

“The sword is my body. The sword is my life. The sword is my path.”

Ning opened his eyes. His eyes, his entire body…every single part of him seemed to be brimming with sword-ki! It was as though Ning himself was a peerless sword!

The sword of a Sword Immortal was the Sword Immortal himself. He was the sword, and he could use any magic treasures in executing sword arts.

The sword of a Sword Immortal was his Dao. This Dao, when taken to its absolute peak, led one to supremacy amongst the Three Realms.

The sword of a Sword Immortal was what he relied on. On his path as an Immortal cultivator, only by using the sword…would he be able to carve a path to the very top. If Gods blocked him, he would kill Gods; if Buddhas blocked him, he would slay the Buddhas. He would carve a path through all which would oppose him, and he would rely on his sword to do this!

“I want for my mother and father to be able to live forever.”

“I want my loved ones to be able to live joyful lives.”

“I want for tragedies to never befall me.”

“I want to never again be controlled by the hands of fate!”

Ning’s sword-heart was now completely shining and translucent; all of his hopes, his desires, his dreams, they were all embodied within his sword! His body, his life, even his future hopes and aspirations; they were all entrusted to the sword. The sword was what he would rely on to carve out his future and his path.

“The first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], the Lustrous Sword-Heart.” Ning instantly comprehended the very first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

There were many different ways in which the first stance could be executed. What one needed to do was to release the technique in accordance with the insight one had gained into one’s own sword-heart. That would be enough.

…….

Ning rose to his feet. Standing there, atop the stone pillar, he stared at his fellow disciples in the Dao Debate Palace, then once more spoke out.

“Are there any other fellow disciples who wish to provide me with guidance?”

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Chapter 40 – That Chop

Chapter 40 – That Chop

The Black-White College disciples within the Dao Debate Palace began to turn their gazes towards a small number of people. Venomblood was already quite a powerful Wanxiang Adept in terms of the Dao Debates, and yet even he had been defeated by Ji Ning. Then, in order to defeat Ji Ning…they would need someone even more powerful. There were only so many who fit the criteria.

There were only ten or so disciples who had multiple Dao Domains and were extremely strong.

“Given the situation, I would like to test your strength for myself, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” A white-robed man who was standing next to Holyfire suddenly stood out with a calm laugh.

“Northmont Blackcurrent?”

“Senior apprentice-brother Northmont Blackcurrent is about to engage. Senior apprentice-brother Blackcurrent’s ‘Five Energies Grand Grappling Hand’ technique is astonishingly strong, far more so than senior apprentice-brother Venomblood’s technique.”

“If senior apprentice-brother Blackcurrent engages, he will definitely win.”

Debates rang out once again. Blackcurrent, amongst the Wanxiang Adepts of the Black-White College, could be considered a well-known figure. But of course, in normal, real battles, the Fiendgod disciples would be even stronger. The likes of Bloodshadow, for example, possessed real combat power that was simply heaven-defying. On the battlefield, Fiendgod Body Refiners possessed an innate advantage to begin with.

Although Blackcurrent was a Ki Refiner, if one only looked at comprehension of the Dao, he definitely was one of the most impressive of the disciples who had comprehended multiple Dao Domains. He vastly surpassed Venomblood and the others.

“Northmont Blackcurrent?” Ning looked towards him, immediately recognizing him. When he had first gone to visit the Black-White College, he had encountered this Blackcurrent fellow. Back then, Blackcurrent had held him in no regard. “Brother Baiwei, back then, described this Northmont Blackcurrent as a viper dressed in a sheepskin. Now, it seems…at least I see the sheepskin part.”

Blackcurrent had a smile on his face. He moved with leisurely grace, and was dressed in white clothes. Indeed, he appeared quite elegant, and it seemed as though he had quite a few friends.

Soon, Blackcurrent emerged from the side room with a construct. With a step, he flew directly atop the stone pillar, and his golem also landed at the arena below.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Blackcurrent stood on the pillar, staring into the distance. Laughing, he said, “When I first met you, I had no idea that I would be discussing the Dao with you today at the Dao Debate Palace. The changes of the world truly are marvelous and remarkable.”

“To be able to battle with you, senior apprentice-brother…I, too, am amazed by the countless transformations of the world,” Ning replied.

Blackcurrent nodded gently, but the desire for combat was quite evident in his eyes. Because he was born from a fairly remote branch of the Northmont clan of Stillwater, he had always looked down upon those main lineage disciples who had relied on the protection of their parents. He had long ago relegated Ning to the side of people such as Baiwei. Ning’s earlier repeated successes had caused him to feel all the more unhappy.

“His talent is quite exceptional. However, it’s enough for him to have won this many battles,” Blackcurrent mused to himself.

Suddenly…a white-haired, white-robed man standing amidst the many fellow disciples within the Dao Debate Palace spoke out. “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Ning turned his to look, and as he did, he clasped his hands. “Senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow.”

Bloodshadow was a bit weaker in terms of the Dao Debate, but in a real battle, he was definitely one of the top-ranked disciples of the third generation.

“Junior apprentice-brother, first you defeated three Zifu Disciples, then you defeated myself, Whitesnow, and Venomblood. And now, you are going to battle with Northmont Blackcurrent…I am truly in admiration of you. Junior apprentice-brother Blackcurrent is exceptionally talented, while you, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, are a peerless genius. It is hard to say who will win this fight. I’m willing to take out a treasure and add to the intrigue of this battle. If you are able to defeat junior apprentice-brother Blackcurrent, I will give this treasure to you.”

As soon as these words came out, there was instantly a hullabaloo. Bloodshadow’s words were rather ‘damaging’ to Blackcurrent’s face, and he clearly was closer to Ji Ning’s side.

“Hmph.” Blackcurrent felt some unhappiness in his heart, but Bloodshadow was one of the third generation disciples he could least afford to irritate. On the surface, he maintained his calm, smiling demeanor.

“How can I accept this?” Ning immediately said. “No need to be humble,” Bloodshadow replied. “This treasure is a Mortal-ranked magic treasure; to me, it’s not very useful. When I was carrying out an assignment for the Raindragon Guard, I accidentally entered an Immortal estate, and I was lucky enough to manage to pick up a sword formation technique. I saw that you, junior apprentice-brother, are skilled in controlling flying swords, and quite a few of them at once at that. This flying sword formation I acquired is a [Heavenly Spirits, Earthly Fiends] sword formation with a total of 108 flying swords. They are useless to me, but to you, junior apprentice-brother, they will definitely be of great use. However, if you want to acquire them, you’ll have to show off your abilities in this battle, junior apprentice-brother.”

The white-robed, white-haired Bloodshadow had a smile on his face. He did indeed have a very good opinion of Ji Ning.

He had also been the first of the Wanxiang Adepts to engage Ning. In reality, he was simply ‘throwing a brick to attract jade’, seeking to draw out the others. He often engaged in life-and-death battles, and so his senses were exceptionally acute. He could vaguely sense that the distant Ji Ning was like a sword, and he had understood that this junior apprentice-brother of his would have an unlimited potential.

In taking out this set of flying swords…although he said that it would be the reward for a victory, even if Ning lost, when the time came, Bloodshadow could still find an excuse to give it to Ning. And so, the two would naturally grow closer to each other.

“I will definitely work hard,” Ning said. How could this Mortal-ranked flying sword formation be truly useless to Bloodshadow? If nothing else, he could take it to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and exchange it for quite a few elemental badges. Clearly, this senior apprentice-brother wanted to befriend him.

…….

“That kid Bloodshadow is the first to move to befriend your disciple.” The short elder held the gourd of wine in his hand, and was drinking it while chatting leisurely.

Immortal Diancai nodded lightly. “Bloodshadow is also a truly heroic figure amongst the third generation.”

“He stands on the side of your disciple, so he’s a heroic figure?” The short elder gave him a stare, then said with pursed lips, “Still, to tell the truth, although this kid Bloodshadow is a bit slow in terms of comprehending the Dao, he’s moved stably and confidently. In particular…he’s quite good at enduring suffering. Of the various Fiendgod Body Refining Techniques, the [Indestructible Bloodshadow Body] is described as the most painful technique to train in. If one is successful, however, the results are bizarrely, astonishingly powerful. In addition, this kid, Bloodshadow, often takes on dangerous missions for the Raindragon Guard. With his special, unbreakable body, he has walked the path between life and death on multiple occasions, and his power is increasing at a faster and faster rate. His divine ability is fairly powerful as well, now…when he first joined, he was unremarkable, but now he’s one of the most powerful third generation disciples. I imagine that in a few more centuries, he will have become one of the most powerful members of our Black-White College.”

“You have such a good view of him?” Immortal Diancai was surprised. The short elder sighed. “Although comprehending the Dao is important, the Dao-heart is even more important. Once you’ve seen as much as I have, you will understand.”

“Alright.” Immortal Diancai gave Bloodshadow a long, deep look.

“Battle’s starting.” The short elder’s eyes lit up as he stared at the distant battle. Ning and Blackcurrent had each already begun to control their golems in combat. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai, who do you think will win? As I see it, although your disciples has comprehended the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], that first stance involves comprehending one’s own sword-heart!”

“What is his sword-heart like? No one knows. How powerful will the techniques he unleashes be? Hard to say. But this ‘Five Energies Grand Grappling Hand’ of Blackcurrent is far more powerful than the technique that Venomblood kid was using.” The short elder looked at Immortal Diancai, eagerly awaiting a look of concern to appear on his face.

But Immortal Diancai remained as solemn as ever. “What is his sword-heart like? We’ll know if we watch.”

“Oh.” The short elder mumbled a response, then shook his head and sighed. “Ohoho, your disciple is at a disadvantage. Seems as though it’ll be dangerous for him.”

……

Everyone watching what was going on within the sealed arena was holding their breaths.

“Will this junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning be able to produce another miracle?” Holyfire’s eyes were narrowed.

……..

“It seems as though the sharpness of his sword-light is no longer increasing. Has his prajna-state come to an end?” The fat, sloppy-looking youth frowned as he watched. “If it has already come to an end, it’s hard to say who will win.”

…….

“Senior apprentice-sister, will junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning be able to win?” Ninelotus asked. The black-robed maiden, the Rainbowflame Fairy, just watched silently without saying a word.

…….

“Win, win, win.” Northson and Winterain were standing together in a corner. Northson’s fists were tightly clenched, and his eyes were round.

…….

Within the grand sealing formation. Although Ning, seated in the lotus position atop the stone pillar, was at a definite disadvantage, those nine [Tripartite Lotus Swords] were continuing to struggle and resist the enormous ‘Five Energies Grand Grappling Hand’. However, by the looks of things, if they exchanged a few more blows, the [Tripartite Lotus Swords] were going to collapse.

Ning was very calm. He didn’t panic in the slightest, which caused Blackcurrent to laugh coldly in his heart. “It’s about time for you to lose.”

What he didn’t know was that Ning was currently storing up his power. In his heart, the various insights that he had gained into the sword were surging out in waves.

“To be carefree! To do as I please!”

“To force even fate to beat a retreat!”

Ning’s eyes suddenly exploded with a terrifying sword-intent, and an astonishing sword-intent radiated from his entire body.

“The first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Lustrous Sword-Heart!” Ning’s gaze solidified, and instantly, a rumbling sound could be heard. Every single flying sword on the back of the Thousandswords Golem flew out, including the flying swords he had used before. There were a thousand flying swords, clustered there in the air, and they caused all of the spectators to be completely shocked. So many flying swords?! What were they going to do?

Every single one of the thousand flying swords was pointing directly to the ‘Five Energies Grand Grappling Hand’ ahead of them.

“CHOP!” Ning bellowed forth this single word! The thousand flying swords instantly blossomed into lotus flowers, and at the same time, they all chopped forward. The thousand flying swords had instantly transformed into a single, enormous sword-light. Carrying irresistible power and majesty, they chopped forward!

This single chop! It contained the invincible will of Ning’s sword-heart!

In his past life, Ning had experienced the information explosion era. As the saying goes, one who enters the red dust of the mortal world 1 will depart while covered in it. The distracting thoughts generated by the information explosion era were even more astonishing than the distracting thoughts generated during the era of wandering barbarians.

The experiences he had in this life, the lives and deaths of those he loved, the warmth of family; it was these things that allowed Ning’s heart to slowly grow lustrous and be purified of those distracting thoughts.

If a person were to live in a perfect utopia, a peach garden beyond all worldly matters, then perhaps that person would be able to maintain a pure, lustrous heart. But this sort of pure, lustrous heart would be a very weak one. Upon encountering any setbacks or seductions, it might easily crumble.

But Ning had seen far too many things in his past life, in the information explosion era. Tormented and wracked by pain, he had watched as others freely ran about, read books, had lovers, and more. How painful and tortured that had been!

His heart had long ago been stained by the red dust of the mortal world. In this life, the love and warmth of family had slowly polished it bright, and now, his heart was all the stronger and all the more unbreakable!

It was admittedly praiseworthy for someone who stood at the peak of a mountain to maintain perfect purity, but for someone to be born from the sludge to remain unsullied was even harder to do!

“This is my first stance of my [Three-Foot Sword]!”

“Chop!”

“Chop!!!”

“CHOP!!!”

Ning roared the word ‘chop’ three times, and the sword-light in his eyes was visible to the naked eye. That powerful sword-intent, that mighty, irresistible will; it caused even those two Immortals watching from afar to be moved.

BOOM!!!!!

The thousand flying swords, linked into a single, massive burst of sword-light, were all chopping in unison towards a single direction!

Although that mighty, heaven-defying ‘Five Energies Grand Grappling Hand’ was able to resist for just a brief moment, with a mighty boom, it shattered apart like glass.

1. ‘Red dust’ is a Buddhist phrase referring to the mortal world, and all the unhappiness that exists within it. For a similar reason, ‘women of the red dust’ is actually an old-fashioned euphemism for prostitutes.

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Chapter 41 – Yu Wei and Ji Ning

Chapter 41 – Yu Wei and Ji Ning

Some of the extremely high-ranking disciples who had been seated, such as senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, the fat, sloppy-looking youth, and the black-robed maiden had all risen to their feet. Looks of shock were on their faces, and they stared, stunned, at the fur-clad youth atop the stone pillar in the distance.

As for Northmont Blackcurrent, located on the other stone pillar within the grand sealing formation, his face had instantly turned ashen.

“I, I lost?”

“I, how could I have lost? How could I have lost?” Blackcurrent’s eyes were filled with disbelief. He was an incomparably prideful figure. He didn’t even hold high-level members of the Northmont clan, such as main lineage members like Northmont Baiwei, with any regard. This was precisely because he was absolutely confident in his own abilities. But a new disciple who had just entered the school, and one who was extremely friendly terms with Baiwei to boot…had actually defeated him in a ‘Dao Debate’, an arena he had been extremely self-confident in.

“It was that sword…that sword…” Blackcurrent’s mind still clearly remembered that terrifying sword, that chop that was launched simultaneously by a thousand flying swords. It felt as though that chop had cut a scar straight into his Dao-heart.

“What a terrifying sword. Only when facing that sword head-on can a person truly understand how terrifying it is. A sword with no regrets and nothing held back; a sword which nothing can block.” Blackcurrent’s heart was filled with panic and disbelief that he had lost, but when he thought back to that sword, he felt completely powerless.

“Ji Ning wins!” The white-haired elder shouted loudly, and the entire grand sealing formation vanished.

“Senior apprentice-brother Blackcurrent, thank you for taking it easy on me.” Ning’s voice rang out, echoing throughout the entire Dao Debate Palace. Only now did Blackcurrent come to his senses. He forcibly clamped down on the wild thoughts running through his mind, then clasped his hands and said, “Junior apprentice-brother, you truly are formidable. I sigh that I am inferior to you.” After speaking, he released the bond with the golem, then transformed into a streak of light and left the arena. He handed the two jade bottles to the white-haired elder, and then, silently and wordlessly, entered the crowd of spectating fellow disciples.

…….

“What a powerful sword,” the fat, sloppy-looking youth mused to himself.

…….

“In a few decades, our Black-White College will have produced yet another formidable figure.” Holyfire had a hint of a smile on his face as he looked at Ning.

……..

In the entire Dao Debate Palace, only the two Immortals truly understood that sword technique of Ning’s! “Lustrous Sword-Heart! What a fine Lustrous Sword-Heart!” The short elder’s eyes were shining as he stared at Ning. “Such a powerful sword-heart, such a resolute sword-heart…our Black-White College has truly taken in a treasure this time.”

“We have indeed.” Immortal Diancai was staring towards the distant Ning as well, and his eyes were blazing. “I wonder, how in the world did this disciple of mine manage to generate a sword-heart such as this in ten or so short years. The experiences he had did involve life and death, but for them to produce such a powerful sword-heart…this is truly inconceivable.”

“Hahaha, just you watch and see. Those other fellows are probably going to arrive soon,” the short elder chortled. Immortal Diancai laughed as well. The short elder let out a weird laugh and said, “They are definitely feeling regret as well. Regret for not having come to the Dao Debate Palace to watch in person..”

……..

The headmaster of the Black-White College, Daoist Jadesea, was currently seated in the lotus position on his bed. Above him, there was a watery scrying mirror which clearly displayed the discourses on the Dao that were going on within the Dao Debate Palace.

“That sword!” A look of shock appeared on the face of Daoist Jadesea, who was so handsome that women would be infatuated with him. “Can it be that he has embarked on the path of the Sword Immortal?”

“Ugh!” Daoist Jadesea let out a regretful sigh. He could only see the images through water-scrying, but the auras, the presences, the ripples of the world…all of the intricate details were lost.

“I’m going.” Daoist Jadesea didn’t hesitate at all. Waving his hand, he made the water-scrying mirror disappear, and then his body flickered and disappeared.

……..

Quite a few of the Primal Daoists of the Black-White College were watching this battle through the water-scrying technique. When they saw that sword emerge, all of them were awestruck. However, because none of them had personally seen and sensed the sword in the Dao Debate Palace, they weren’t completely certain of what it was either. Thus, all of them hurried towards the Dao Debate Palace…and even two of the Immortals headed there as well.

………..

The third generation disciples who were in the Dao Debate Palace, in turn, had no idea about what was going on in the outside world. They were all chatting amongst themselves. Even Blackcurrent had lost? Then who would be the next to stand forward? Blackcurrent could be considered one of the top ten figures amongst those who had multiple Dao Domains.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, don’t be so sentimental. It’s just a set of flying swords.” Senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow was currently chatting with Ning, and offering to him that set of [Heavenly Spirits, Earthly Fiends] sword formation. Ning laughed. “Fine. Then your junior apprentice-brother will accept it.”

The simple interactions Ning had had with Bloodshadow made him feel quite well-disposed towards him. He accepted the set of flying swords, and by doing so, he was clearly acknowledging Bloodshadow as a friend.

“That’s more like it.” Bloodshadow nodded. “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, your talent is astonishing. However, the path of Immortals is not one in which you can simply bury yourself in training. You also need to wander the world and experience many things for yourself. I imagine that in a few years at most, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you will go out and adventure through the world. Most likely, you will also join the Raindragon Guard and whatnot. If there’s anything you need, feel free to come find me. I’m quite familiar regarding the Raindragon Guard.”

“When the time comes, I will definitely go and trouble you, senior apprentice-brother,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Eh?” Bloodshadow suddenly turned his head to look, and Ning did so as well. A figure had emerged from the third generation disciples.

“Her?” Ning’s pupils contracted. The person who had walked out was a black-robed maiden. Previously, she had sat there, surrounded by others; even Ninelotus had been by her side. Clearly, her status was extremely high.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” The black-robed maiden walked over, then said in a cool, calm voice, “I should be the most powerful of the disciples who have comprehended multiple Dao Domains. If you defeat me, then it will naturally be up to senior apprentice-brother Holyfire and the others will come out to fight you.” After finishing, she turned and moved towards the side room to select a golem.

“You are doomed.” Bloodshadow sucked a cold breath. “Who is she?” Although Ning had a guess, he still asked the question.

“The Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei!” Bladeshadow spoke in a very soft voice. “She is a reincarnated Immortal, and her talent is terrifyingly great. When she had first entered the school, none of the old disciples chose to have a Dao Debate with her! Her training speed is astonishing as well; she is currently just over twenty years old, but her power has already reached a frightening level.”

Ning was inwardly shocked. A reincarnated Immortal? His master had also told him that there were only a total of three reincarnated Immortals amongst the third generation disciples. Two had trained for over eighty years, while one had been training for over twenty years. The one who had been training for over twenty years was most likely this black-robed woman, Yu Wei.

“No wonder she said that she is the most powerful out of those who have comprehended multiple Dao Domains,” Ning mused to himself in shock.

“Junior apprentice-brother, I’d like to help you, but I’m unable to.” Bloodshadow immediately departed.

“So what if she is a reincarnated Immortal? She’s just trained for ten or so more years than I have, that’s all.” Although Ning was on high alert, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of dread.

…..

Just a few moments later. Ning was atop the stone pillar in the arena, under the grand sealing barrier, and he was staring in astonishment at the scene before him.

He had released a thousand flying swords, which had combined to form the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], and the power of this attack was truly astonishing. But this Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei, had actually also chosen the Thousandswords Golem, and had also released a thousand flying swords, all of which had transformed into a sea of fiery sword light.

A scorching sea of fiery sword-light. A sharp, fierce sea of fiery sword-light. An irresistible sea of fiery sword light!

A head-on clash! A frontal clash!

Although Ning’s sword-light was extremely sharp and extremely strong, that all-devouring flame was even more berserk. It smashed apart Ning’s sword-light, piercing past the protective armor of Ning’s Thousandswords Golem.

“Yu Wei wins!” The white-haired elder called out. It was a clean, straightforward win.

“I lost!” Ning rose to his feet and laughed. “Senior apprentice-sister, you are formidable. I whole-heartedly acknowledge my loss.”

“When I was sixteen, I wasn’t as strong as you are.” The Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei, gave Ning a glance. “Right. Don’t forget to give me those hundred black-white pellets and those five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

Ning stared at her, instantly stupefied. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Why would an exalted reincarnated Immortal act as though she cared about the wager that much? What, did she think that he was going to welch on their bet?

……

By now, the various Primal Daoists had all arrived at the Dao Debate Palace. They made it just in the nick of time, and were just barely able to catch the sight of Ning battling against the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. All of them nodded inwardly. “He really is a Sword Immortal. And what a powerful sword-heart! In a few centuries, our Black-White College will most likely produce yet another Sword Immortal that is comparable to Uncle-Master Diancai!”

In a corner of the Dao Debate Palace. Whoosh! Whoosh! Two more Immortals had appeared next to Immortal Fivecraze and Immortal Diancai. One was a bearded old man with a crown on his head, while the other was a juvenile child who radiated an aura of infinite cold. Their arrival had not been noticed by any of the Primal Daoists or the third generation disciples within the Dao Debate Palace.

“Sword Immortal!” The crowned, bearded elder nodded as he spoke. “He has indeed embarked onto the path of a Sword Immortal. Finally, our Black-White College has yet another disciple who has begun to comprehend the Grand Dao of the Sword.”

Daos were divided into levels as well. Rainwater, ice, and whatnot; these were all just some of the countless Daos of the natural world. But the Dao of the Sword, however, was on a higher level; it was a ‘Grand Dao’.

Even gaining a basic understanding of it was extremely difficult; Zifu Disciples would generally find it quite easy to comprehend a hint of the True Meaning of the Rainwater, and in fact, it wasn’t even that impressive for them to comprehend a Rainwater Dao Domain.

But the Dao of the Sword, as one of the Grand Daos…even getting a basic understanding of it was extremely rare.

“And what a powerful sword-heart. A sword-heart like that, talent like that, and comprehension abilities like that…” The juvenile child’s voice was quite youthful, but his words rang out in a manner that seemed aged and sallow. “He is indeed a piece of unpolished jade that can be sculpted into a mighty Sword Immortal.”

“Right, right, right.” The short elder nodded repeatedly. “Our Black-White College currently only has a single Sword Immortal, junior apprentice-brother Diancai. Now, we have another one. A Sword Immortal! Even if he is defeated by the tribulations and ends up becoming a Loose Immortal, he will still be one with astonishing combat power, haha.”

The crowned, bearded elder instantly frowned and barked, “Senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze, junior apprentice-brother Diancai is merely an Earth Immortal right now. He has a very good chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal. Don’t say such negative things at a time like this!”

The short elder immediately looked towards Immortal Diancai. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai…”

But Immortal Diancai just laughed calmly. “It’s fine. It’s enough so long as I act in a way which is true to my heart. It is precisely as senior Northwalker said; it is better to live passionately for a day, than to live a century while stifled. All I need to do is continue moving forward. Whether or not I can become a Celestial Immortal…that’s secondary.”

“Well-spoken!” The short elder nodded. As for the juvenile youth, he looked at Immortal Diancai. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai, Ji Ning is a second Sword Immortal for our Black-White College. You must train him well!”

Immortal Diancai turned his head, staring at the distant Ji Ning, who was handing over jade bottles to Yu Wei. An eager light appeared in his eyes, and he slowly said, “That is to be expected. He is my disciple, after all!”

…….

“Senior apprentice-sister. A hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquefied elemental essences. Here it is.” Ning handed the two jade bottles to the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei.

The black-robed Yu Wei glanced at Ning, a hint of amusement on her face. Stretching her arm out, she snatched the bottles away from Ning, then turned and left.

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Chapter 1 – Jadesea

Chapter 1 – Jadesea

The temperament of the black-robed maiden, Yu Wei, was something Ji Ning couldn’t quite get a grasp on. However, when he thought about how many times the white-haired elder had accepted the black-white pellets and liquefied elemental essence on his behalf, Ning felt absolutely delighted. In addition, this series of Dao Debates had also served as a form of baptism. He could sense that he had evolved, somehow.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning!” A voice rang out in celebration. Ning turned to look, only to see the skinny, small, white-robed Mu Northson charging over with incomparable excitement. He hurriedly howled, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you are way too powerful. You consecutively defeated so many Wanxiang Adepts, and even that seemingly powerful Northmont Blackcurrent was defeated by you. Just now, I asked senior apprentice-sister Winterain; that senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei who defeated you is a reincarnated Immortal, and one who has trained for ten years more than we have, and entered the school long before us.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not upset,” Ning laughed. Northson was still incomparably excited. “In short, you are way too powerful. I heard senior apprentice-sister Winterain say that it is extremely rare to see someone like you, and that even in the Black-White College, you can be considered a supreme genius. Perhaps, in a few thousand years or a few tens of thousands of years, the entire Black-White College will have firmly memorized your name.”

Ning shook his head. “You praise me over-much.” Suddenly…he heard voices ring out from the side. “Uncle-Master Headmaster.” “Uncle-Master Headmaster.” A chorus of voices called out.

The group of Primal Daoists, who had arrived soundlessly and without announcement and who had been hiding themselves, all walked over at this point in time.

“All of you can go back now.” Daoist Jadesea, who was walking at the head of the group, said calmly, “Ji Ning, stay behind!”

“Yes.” Quite a few members of the third generation still wanted to converse with Ning, and at least ensure that Ning knew their names. This was because everyone understood something: Given how powerful he had shown himself to be, so shortly after entering the school…so long as he didn’t die, he would definitely be a truly influential figure of Stillwater Commandery. However, since the headmaster had given the order, they all naturally departed.

“Ji Ning?” Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire gave Ning a deep look, memorizing him.

“Intriguing, intriguing. More and more intriguing.” The fat, sloppy-looking youth had a look of delight on his face. He lazily ambled away.

…….

Ning said to the nearby Northson, “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, you go back as well.” Northson nodded. “Alright.” He immediately departed alongside Winterain. Soon, no one was left in the entire Dao Debate Palace aside from the Primal Daoists and Ji Ning, as well as the Immortals who had hidden themselves in the corner.

“Ji Ning.” Daoist Jadesea looked at Ning, and the Primal Daoists next to him looked at Ning as well, their eyes filled with curiosity. “Uncle-Master Headmaster,” Ning acknowledged respectfully.

“Do you know what a Sword Immortal is?” Daoist Jadesea asked. Ning replied, startled, “Sword Immortals? Some Immortals who use flying swords in extremely powerful ways are addressed respectfully by others in this manner, I believe. Can it be that this term has a special meaning?” Even up till now, Ning still wasn’t quite sure as to what the term ‘Sword Immortal’ truly meant.

“Uncle-Master Diancai didn’t tell you?” Daoist Jadesea seemed to have thought of something as he spoke. Ning replied, “Master didn’t discuss Sword Immortals with me in detail. He only provided me with guidance regarding sword arts. He told me to finish mastering the [Neo-Tripartite Lotus Sword] and the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], then to seek him out again.”

Daoist Jadesea nodded. “That explains it, then. If one is capable of executing the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], then one has already become a Sword Immortal. You should know that this world is filled with many Daos, yes?”

“Yes, I do.” Ning nodded. In his heart, he added…that he also knew that the most supreme figure of the Three Realms, Maiden Nuwa, had comprehended eighty four thousand different Daos! But of course, this was according to what he had heard in the past from the Lord of Cui Palace.

“The Daos are numerous beyond counting.” Daoist Jadesea looked at Ning. “In addition, there are different levels of Dao as well.” Ning’s ears twitched. “Different levels of Dao?”

“Right.” Daoist Jadesea nodded. “The Dao is divided into the supreme ‘Heavenly Daos’, the extremely exalted ‘Grand Daos’, and the ordinary ‘Daos’.”

“The Heavenly Daos, the Grand Daos, and Dao?” Ning held his breath. Not even his master had discussed these things with him in detail.

“The Heavenly Daos are the most fundamental of Daos, and they are the underpinning of the functioning of the cosmos. They are incomparably supreme. For example, the Five Elements! After Pangu established the universe, the universe was formed from the most basic of particles, the Five Elements. Normally, when we talk about ‘swearing an oath by the Dao of the Heavens’, or making a ‘Oath of Blood to the Dao of the Heavens’, we are swearing an oath to the Heavenly Daos. The Heavenly Daos uphold the functioning of the universe, and once we violate an oath sworn to them, they will naturally punish us. No one can escape the punishment of the Daos of the Heavens. This is the most supreme of Daos.”

Ning was shocked and stunned.

“According to the legends, so long as one can comprehend a Heavenly Dao, then one will become one of the most incomparably exalted figures of the Three Realms.” Daoist Jadesea’s eyes were filled with a boundless eagerness as well, and the gazes of the Primal Daoists next to him became lost and dreamy as well. To them, the Heavenly Daos were legends and myths.

“But of course, I’ve never even heard of anyone who comprehended a Heavenly Dao.” Daoist Jadesea laughed as he looked at Ning. “Never, not even in any of the legends or stories.”

Ning sighed to himself. Right. Heavenly Daos. When Immortal practitioners swore an oath, they would do so towards the Dao of the Heavens. It was the Daos of the Heavens which upheld the functioning of the entire Three Realms. It was naturally incomparably exalted.

“One level lower than the Heavenly Daos are the Grand Daos!” Daoist Jadesea looked towards Ji Ning. “Every single Grand Dao is also extremely exalted, and it is extremely difficult to even gain an initial insight into them.”

“On a level lower than the Grand Daos are the most numerous, ordinary Daos.” Daoist Jadesea looked at Ji Ning. “Your Dao of Rainwater, and the Daos of Freezing Ice, Mystic Ice, and the like…these are all ordinary Daos.”

Ning nodded. He now understood that Daos were divided into levels as well! Heavenly Daos were the most supreme, the fundamental Daos which underpinned the cosmos!

“The Dao of the Sword, however, is one of the Grand Daos!” Daoist Jadesea looked towards Ning. “Everyone who has embarked upon the Dao of the Sword is known as a Sword Immortal!”

“Ah?!” Ning stared. The Dao of the Sword was one of the Grand Daos? He had actually embarked onto the path of a Grand Dao?

“To gain an initial insight into the Dao of the Sword, one must clearly develop and comprehend one’s sword-heart and make it lustrous.” Daoist Jadesea looked towards Ji Ning. “This is also the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. You need to have a heart which is supremely, sincerely devoted to the sword, and you need to make that sword-heart of yours lustrous…the difficulty of doing this is even greater than reaching the Dao Domain level of your Dao of Rainwater.”

Ning nodded in acknowledgement. It was, indeed, a bit harder to reach the ‘Lustrous Sword-Heart’ level than to develop his Rainwater Sword Domain.

“This is the difference in Daos. It is even harder to gain an initial insight into a Grand Dao than it is to reach the Dao Domain level in an ordinary Dao.” Daoist Jadesea stared at Ning, his gaze blazing.

“This is also why you were able to defeat even Northmont Blackcurrent, who has reached the level of possessing five Dao Domains. It is because the Dao you comprehended is a Grand Dao! Although he has comprehended many, they are all lesser Daos! In addition…the Dao of the Sword, even amongst the Grand Daos, is known as the Grand Dao with the greatest offensive combat potential. Sword Immortals are legendary for their combat power as well.”

“In our Black-White College…including you, we only have a total of two Sword Immortals,” Daoist Jadesea said. “One is you, with the other being your master, Uncle-Master Diancai.” Ning nodded.

“Because you have gained an insight into the Grand Dao of the Sword, our Black-White College shall bestow upon you two thousand black-white pellets.” Daoist Jadesea took out a jade bottle, handing it over to Ning.

Ning was instantly overjoyed. Two thousand black-white pellets? When his master had bestowed him with black-white pellets, he had informed Ning that he would receive a thousand black-white pellets for reaching the Dao Domain level, and just two thousand black-white pellets for his soul reaching the ‘divine sense’ level. Generally speaking, only Primal Daoists would have a soul at the ‘divine sense’ level. And yet, just gaining an initial insight into a Grand Dao merited a similar award of two thousand black-white pellets!

“Why are there no records of this within the black-and-white book?” Ning hurriedly asked. “The black-and-white book has quite a few records regarding various rewards of black-white pellets, such as for joining the Raindragon Guard, becoming a two-clawed Raindragon Guard, a three-clawed Raindragon Guard…why aren’t there any records regarding becoming a Sword Immortal?”

“Heavenly Daos. Grand Daos. Ordinary Daos. The fact that there are these differences is not something which is to be carelessly exposed.” Daoist Jadesea looked towards Ning. “If you hadn’t comprehended them for yourself and we told you of them, it would actually harm you by affecting your Dao-heart. You would be unwilling to go comprehend an ordinary Dao, and would focus on trying to master a Grand Dao. But do you think a Grand Dao is so easily comprehended? If you aren’t already at that level, letting you know about the levels will harm you for no benefit.”

Ning now understood.

“Even us.” Daoist Jadesea looked at the crowd of Primal Daoists. “Even we only learned about this matter after we finished comprehending a complete Dao Path. Now that we have mastered a complete Dao Path, the next step for us is to comprehend a Grand Dao!”

Ning now understood.

“Grand Daos are extremely hard to understand. Even in our Black-White College, and even for the likes of senior Northwalker, there has never been anyone who has completely and thoroughly mastered a Grand Dao.” Daoist Jadesea looked towards Ning. “The path of mastering a Grand Dao is incomparably more difficult than the path of mastering an ordinary Dao; thousands of times more difficult. However, the power of a Grand Dao is also countless times greater. You must diligently train and not slacken off in the slightest.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded with solemnity.

“Alright. With regards to Sword Immortals…if you have any questions, go ask your master. In the entire Black-White College, only your master is capable of truly teaching you.” Daoist Jadesea laughed, then turned and left.

“Ji Ning, it is quite rare for me to officiate over a recruitment ceremony, and yet when I did, I ended up taking you in, hahaha.” Daoist Wu Xiu and the others all chatted for a bit with Ning as well. Every single one of them spoke with Ning for a bit. Clearly, as they saw it…in a few decades, or perhaps in a century, Ning would be on a completely equal level to them. Shortly afterwards, the Primal Daoists all departed.

Only now did Ning let out a sigh of relief. “Heavenly Daos? Grand Daos? Daos?” Ning suddenly thought of something. “The creator of the underwater estate even had many Immortal-ranked magic treasures and Pure Yang magic treasures. I also heard that he was a Fiendgod who was born during the era of primal chaos, before the creation of the universe, and that he was one of the major powers of the Three Realms. Even the [Starseizing Hand] he developed was so powerful…he most assuredly must have comprehended a Grand Dao. Only, I wonder if Daoist Threelives was able to comprehend a Heavenly Dao.”

“Well, enough of that. Two thousand black-white pellets!” Ning looked at the jade bottle in his hands. “And I earned quite a few black-white pellets during the Dao Debates as well. Should I go to the Dao Repository Vault to exchange them for techniques?” Ning began to ponder. “For divine abilities? Or for the [Soulshaker Art]?”

Right at this moment, a voice was transmitted towards him. “Ji Ning.” This voice echoed in his mind. “Master.” Ning hurriedly looked around.

“Go back and calm your mind and focus on your training. You must solidify your foundation to fully reap the gains from these Dao Debates. I trust you will make even more advancements if you do. Three days later, come and see me.” Immortal Diancai’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind. As for the four Immortals in the corner of the room, Immortal Diancai, the short elder, the juvenile child, and the crowned, bearded elder all gave Ning a final look before disappearing into thin air.

Ning stared around within the Dao Debate Palace, but saw no one else present. Still, he acknowledged respectfully, “Yes, Master.”

Ning immediately boarded his flying boat. Transforming into a streak of light, he flew out of the Dao Debate Palace and returned to his Darknorth Peak. He was going to calm his heart and solidify the gains he had recently reaped.

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Chapter 2 – Northmont Blacktiger’s Style

Chapter 2 – Northmont Blacktiger’s Style

The flying boat soared through the skies, entering the Darknorth Peak’s estate.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Forgard, Cloudship, and Cloudjade, the three Zifu Disciples, all called out with respect. The Whitewater Hound next to them looked towards Ning as well, and Ning grinned towards him. “Uncle White, I’m going to go into my private training room to engage in some closed-door training. Only call me if there is something extremely important.”

The Whitewater Hound nodded. Ning then went directly into his private training room.

Cloudjade nibbled on her lips as she stared at Ning. “He just glanced at me. He didn’t even give me a good look. Hmph. Back in the tribe, there were so many people who wanted to become Dao-Companions with me. But this senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning hasn’t even engaged in a proper conversation with me.”

Cloudjade’s alluring charm was indeed tremendous. The fox spirits and other beautiful maidservants which Ning had seen in the Carefree Caverns were all inferior to her. Even Ninelotus was slightly inferior to her. The only one comparable to her was that reincarnated Immortal, the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. No wonder Cloudjade had always been self-confident!

She naturally wanted to reel in this disciples of the Black-White College. This Ji Ning, in her mind, truly was the best selection for her to become Dao-Companions with. But unfortunately…up till now, Ji Ning had never said a word to her.

“I refuse to believe it!” Cloudjade mused to herself silently.

“I wonder how the battles at the Dao Debate Palace went.” Cloudship, by her side, had a look of anticipation in his shining eyes. “None of us know,” Forgard said gravely. Cloudship glanced at Forgard, then pursed his lips.

…..

Within the private training room. Ning sat there in the lotus position, streaks of sword energy flying around him, occasionally chopping, occasionally stabbing, occasionally blocking. One stance after another came out…they appeared ordinary, but they contained a truly heart-shaking fierceness to them.

Suddenly, all of the sword energies around him vanished. “Whew.” A hint of a smile appeared on Ning’s face. “I’ve spent an entire night training, and I have indeed made further gains, as well as solidified my previous insights.”

“The Grand Dao of the Sword? Sword Immortal?” A look of anticipation was in Ning’s eyes. Whoosh. Ning rose to his feet, and the stone door opened with a rumble. Soon, he arrived outside the courtyard.

There was a hint of light in the skies. Ning stood there in the courtyard, and as he took in a deep breath of air, filled with dense amounts of natural, elemental energy, he felt all the happier.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” A soft voice suddenly rang out nearby. Ning turned to look. It was Cloudjade, dressed in a light pink Daoist robe. Although the robe was rather loose and large, on her incomparably ravishing body, it gave an alluring feeling that was both faint and bone-deep. Her long black hair was simply combed, but it also gave off a natural, magnetic aura.

“She truly is a lovely person. Why in the world did Baiwei have her come and be my retainer?” Ning mused to himself. Although Cloudjade was indeed exquisite in her appearance, what Ning wanted was to be truly carefree and unbound. How could he so casually select a Dao-Companion? Even if he were to choose one, it would be an incomparably major affair. For now, at least, this Cloudjade hadn’t moved Ning’s heart in the slightest.

“I haven’t had a chance to thank you yet, senior apprentice-brother, for giving me the chance to enter your service and join the Black-White College.” Cloudjade’s willowy, graceful body curtsied in a show of respect.

Ning nodded gently. Suddenly, a figure ran over from outside. It was a young servant. The young servant couldn’t help but glance towards that exalted, insurpassably seductive Immortal practitioner, Cloudjade, but then he hurriedly said in a nervous manner, “Master, someone is outside, and he claims to be your senior apprentice-brother. He’s right at the door. He’s already been waiting for the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea.”

“Oh?” Ning nodded, then laughed and said in clear voice, “Which senior apprentice-brother is it, might I ask? I’ve neglected you by making you wait here for so long, senior apprentice-brother. Please, come in, quickly.”

“Hurry and go prepare refreshments,” Ning said, looking at the nearby Cloudjade. “Alright.” Cloudjade hurriedly bowed, then quickly departed.

The ordinary, mortal youth had cold sweat rolling down his back. He hurriedly left as well. Just now, when he had taken a secret glance at that unsurpassingly alluring beauty, Cloudjade, he felt as though he had seen one of the legendary fairies. At the same time, he sighed to himself, “If I could have a fairy like her as my woman, even if I could only live for an hour, I would be satisfied. And yet, Master doesn’t even care about a maiden like her at all.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” A youth dressed in a black Daoist robe came walking in. His eyes seemed to contain the stars in them, and a smile was on his face. “I previously met you both during the grand entrance ceremony as well as the Dao Debate Palace, but I hadn’t had the chance to say anything to you. My name is Hu Yongchun, and my Daoist title is the same as my name; Yongchun, meaning ‘Everspring’.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Everspring, please come in.” Ning, as an Immortal practitioner, had an incomparably perfect memory. He remembered that during the Dao Debates, this Everspring had been by the side of the fat, sloppy-looking youth. Someone who was able to stand directly next to that youth was most likely one of the fairly talented Wanxiang Adepts of the College.

The two fellow disciples sat there facing each other, while Cloudjade delivered fine wine and fruits to them. “Junior apprentice-brother, you have quite a lovely lady here.” Everspring laughed as he delivered a few words of praise, and Cloudjade’s face turned slightly red.

Ning laughed. “She’s just taking the chance to train under my service.” “Oh.” Everspring nodded. He immediately noted that this junior apprentice-brother of his seemed to hold no interest at all in this devilishly attractive maiden, and so he didn’t mention her any further.

………

Cloudjade served the two, watching as Ji Ning and Everspring, two formal disciples of the Black-White College, chatted and laughed amongst themselves. At first, she had been filled with eagerness, but towards the end, she felt vaguely heartsick. At first, Everspring had praised her beauty, but afterwards, both he and her own master, Ji Ning, had completely focused on their conversation, not sparing so much as a glance for her.

Both of them were blessed by the heavens with talent; clearly, they didn’t care about her appearance. This truly hurt her heart.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning!” Suddenly, a voice rang out from outside. “Another one,” Ning mused to himself. The reason why he had left the private training room so early today was precisely because he realized that his performance during the Dao Debates had probably attracted the attention of quite a few fellow disciples, who would come in order to make friends with him. In turn, the more friends he had amongst his fellow disciples, the better it would be for him.

The formal disciples of the Black-White College, after all, were people who outsiders would view as extremely hard to befriend, even if they wanted to. One formal disciple after another arrived, either alone or in pairs or triplets, causing the courtyard to become quite rowdy. Every so often, one of them would leave, but there would always be from three to five people within the courtyard.

Cloudjade, as his female servant, naturally served them personally. What hurt her the most was…aside from those senior apprentices who offered her a kind word of praise, there was only a single senior apprentice-brother out of the twenty-plus formal disciples who gave her so much as a close look. That senior apprentice-brother’s Daoist title was ‘Joybliss’. According to what he said, he delighted in tandem-training.

“These disciples of the Black-White College, aside from that one that likes to engage in tandem-training, truly all have extraordinary Dao-hearts.” In the end, Cloudjade could only sigh to herself in amazement. Indeed, everyone capable of joining the Black-White College was a peerless talent. And, from the sounds of it…

Her own master, Ji Ning, was one of the most outstanding members of this group of peerless talents, someone who could be described as a monster! This was why so many fellow apprentice-brothers and apprentice-sisters had come to befriend him.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, I brought two of my junior apprentice-sisters over as well Would you be willing to meet them?” A soft voice rang out, and instantly, Ji Ning and the two people he was chatting with turned their heads. They soon saw three streaks of light moving towards them through the air from afar.

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, since you wish to meet with me, how would I dare refuse?” Ning raised his head to stare at Ninelotus, high in the sky. Ninelotus was accompanied by a lovely woman dressed in red robes as well as a silver-robed maiden with a fierce aura. The three women landed from the skies at the same time.

“They…” Upon seeing these three senior apprentice-sisters descend, Cloudjade suddenly had a sense of self-contempt in her heart. The bearing and aura of these three…only they were truly worthy of being referred to as fairies.

“This is junior apprentice-sister Qingqing, while this is junior apprentice-sister Whitewater.” Ninelotus laughed as she looked towards Ning. “Greetings to you, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Both the willowy, red-robed woman and the silver-robed maiden looked towards Ning.

……….

Only with the arrival of nightfall did Ning’s Darknorth Peak return to its usual calm. His fellow disciples had all left. Only…one more person had arrived. It was Northmont Baiwei.

“Baiwei, sit.” Ning and Baiwei sat down. Baiwei smiled and said, “I knew that you would definitely be very busy today, and that quite a few of your colleagues would definitely come visit you. So, I intentionally waited until it was almost dark before coming.”

“Baiwei, you truly are formidable,” Ning said in praise. Baiwei laughed loudly. “How could I not guess that this would happen? Right; today, I’ve come at the orders of my father.” Ning was startled. “Your father?”

Northmont Blacktiger…the intimidating aura of that man filled Ning with fear. He definitely wasn’t inferior to the headmaster of the Black-White College, and he was a man with an exceptionally dominating, overbearing aura! One of the candidates to be the next Marquis of Stillwater!

“You’ve come here because…?” Ning was stunned.

Clap, clap. Baiwei clapped his hands twice. Instantly, the two Zifu Disciple servants standing behind him immediately moved forward. They each took out multiple black jade platters from their storage-type magic treasures. These black jade platters were all engraved with the exquisite carving of a black tiger, and the platters themselves were crystal clear, incomparably beautiful works of art. Atop each platter, there were multiple items.

There were, in total, six black jade platters. They had on them a pair of jade bottles, a small boat, a set of black wings, and two sets of flying swords that were the size of sewing needles.

“There are two sets of flying swords. One has 72 flying swords, while the other has 18. They are all excellent Mortal-ranked flying swords.”

“This set of black wings…is a high-grade Mortal-ranked wing-type magic treasure.”

“This boat is a top-grade flying magic treasure.”

“This jade bottle holds a miasma gas treasure, which is a type of fleeing treasure.”

“This other jade bottle holds five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.” Baiwei said, with composure and assurance, “Accept all of these things.”

Ning was poleaxed. He could clearly tell that these were all extraordinary gifts. Aside from the set of black wings, which was slightly poorer, the others were extremely valuable. “This…how can I accept this?” Ning hurriedly refused. “It’s too expensive.”

“My father ordered me to come here, and I’ve already delivered the items. Everything else has nothing to do with me.” Baiwei waved his hands and said, “You don’t have to be modest. You and my father have had the chance to meet each other, and my father has given these congratulatory gifts with good intentions. Just accept them.”

Ning hesitated momentarily. Since Baiwei and himself were good friends, there now existed an irreversible relationship between himself and Northmont Blacktiger’s Estate. Since that was the case, he might as well accept them.

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“That’s more like it! No point in not accepting my father’s things, and these aren’t that important for someone like him,” Baiwei said. “Oh, right. You asked me to search for that Meng Roch. I’ve already found him. It’s true; he hasn’t been able to join any sect at all. Do you want for me to send someone to deliver him directly to the Black-White College?”

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Chapter 3 – Our Master, Ji Ning

Chapter 3 – Our Master, Ji Ning

“Meng Roch?” Ning’s eyes lit up. Although he had only known Roch for a few days when they met on the way to Stillwater City, he felt extremely well-disposed towards Roch. In addition, the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his own life for others meant that he was someone worthy of Ning’s assistance.

“Cloudship!” Ning called out in a high voice. Cloudship soon hurried over, bowing and saying with respect, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you wanted me?”

Ning nodded, then pointed to the nearby Northmont Baiwei. “Baiwei, in a short while, lead this Cloudship and arrange for someone to send Cloudship to Meng Roch’s place. Let Cloudship bring Roch back to the Black-White College.”

“Alright.” Baiwei nodded. Ning looked towards Cloudship. “Cloudship, do you hear and understand?” The reason why he wanted Cloudship to go was because he could tell that Cloudship was a lively fellow who was able to make snap decisions based on the actual situation. Whatever Ning asked him to do, he would definitely do perfectly well.

Cloudship immediately nodded. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, don’t worry. I will definitely invite Meng Roch over.” “Good.” Only now did Ning nod.

Baiwei laughed. “I’ve carried out my father’s tasks as well. Next are the gifts that I personally prepared for you.” “Baiwei, what are you…” Ning hurriedly moved to refuse, but Baiwei immediately interjected, “Don’t decline. You and I are brothers. You have entered the Black-White College, and had a glorious performance at the Dao Debate. As your brother, how can I not prepare a congratulatory gift? Don’t worry; because of the restrictions which Father placed on me, I’m not as wealthy or as generous as Father, and my gift isn’t that valuable.”

Ning let out a laugh. If Baiwei had already put things this way, what else could he, Ning, do? Baiwei waved his hand, and a thick, seemingly ordinary-looking book appeared. Although this book seemed to be made from excellent materials, Ning couldn’t notice anything special about it at first glance.

“I imagine that quite soon, you’ll be going out to do some adventuring. Immortal practitioners all must be tempered by countless life-and-death experiences. Only then will we be able to walk farther on our Immortal paths.” Baiwei laughed and continued, “Thus, I prepared a map for you! This is a map of the entire Xia Dynasty.”

Ning called out in shock, “The entire Xia Dynasty?” The Xia Dynasty was unimaginably vast! “Don’t get too excited. The Xia Dynasty is enormous, and this map only goes into detail regarding our Stillwater Commandery. It only has some rough information regarding the distant places of the vast Xia Dynasty, which is thousands of times larger than our commandery. At least, however, you won’t get lost.” Baiwei was a bit resigned. “A detailed map of the entire Xia Dynasty is something which even I don’t have access to.”

Ning sighed inwardly. To Immortal practitioners who went out adventuring, the importance of a good map was unquestionable. This was because there were simply far too many mysteries, dangers, and terrifying locations in this vast world. If one moved about blindly and ignorantly, one might accidentally charge into a fatal area. If that happened, one really would die a miserable death.

“Now that I’ve done what I need to, it’s time for me to leave.” Baiwei rose and laughed, “I know that for a genius like you, your training time is quite precious.” Ning rose to his feet as well and asked, “Leaving so soon?”

“Your Black-White College is within Stillwater City. I can come any time.” Baiwei led his servants and Cloudship, then quickly departed.

……

Ning watched as Baiwei and the others transformed into streaks of light and departed. Only now did he lower his head to stare at the six jade platters of treasures that were before him.

“My [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] just so happened to be lacking in swords, and now I’ve received two sets of them.” Ning stared at the two sets of flying swords; one a set of 72, the other a set of 18. The set of 18 swords in particular appeared to be all exceptionally fine flying swords. “Although I haven’t used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] many times, Northmont Blacktiger clearly knew long ago that I need a large number of flying swords. He really lives up to his reputation as being a potential candidate for the next Marquis of Stillwater. His information really is reliable.”

“As a Zifu Disciple, it should’t be too hard for me to cobble together seven hundred or so Mortal-ranked flying swords. But once I reach the Wanxiang Adept level, I’ll need seven hundred or so Earth-ranked flying swords. As a Primal Daoist, I’ll need Heaven-ranked flying swords.”

Ning sighed to himself. The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was something which caused even Immortal Juhua concern. Ning also possessed the [Nuwa Painting], and walked the path of the Sword Immortal. Indeed, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was extremely well suited for him. Most likely, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], in his hands, would be even more effective than it had been for the Thousand Swords Immortal.

Ning continued to view the treasures. “Wings?” Ning looked at the black wings atop the jade platter. “They are much better than the wings I acquired after killing the disciples of Snowdragon Mountain.” The wings weren’t that useful for Ning, as he primarily used them to cover-up the fact that he used the [Windwing Evasion].

This was a divine ability which the ancestor of the Yuchi clan had only acquired after rescuing a Celestial Immortal, who in his gratitude had bestowed it upon the clan. It was abundantly clear from the fact that even the entire Black-White College only had five divine abilities that divine abilities were incomparably precious. No wonder the Yuchi clan insisted on using wing-type magic treasures to disguise themselves.

“The flying boat!” Ning stared at the fourth present, then laughed. “A top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure. In the future, I’ll be able to travel much more quickly.” Ning stretched his hands out, effortlessly binding both the wings and the boat-type magic treasures.

“The miasma gas magic treasure.” Ning stared at the fifth treasure. He picked up that white jade bottle. After easily binding it, he discovered that within, there was a white pearl, surrounded by an extremely dense foggy white miasma gas.

“Step back. Go far away.” Ning swept the surrounding area with his gaze, and the nearby Cloudjade hurriedly retreated all the way out of the courtyard. “Activate.” Ning willed it.

Instantly, a large amount of white miasma gas filled the courtyard. The white miasma gas covered an area of many tens of meters, and the density of it was such that even Ning’s Fiendgod-enhanced eyes were only just barely able to view his own fingers. In fact, it even influenced the surrounding elemental ki flow, causing Ning to be unable to sense what was around him.

“According to what I hear, miasma gas magic treasures are extremely suited for fleeing, precisely because they prevent both vision with the naked eye as well as sensing one’s surroundings.” Ning nodded lightly. “So it really is the case. Even I, the person who released the miasma gas, am unable to see the surrounding area. Once I release this miasma gas…for a short period of time, my foe will be unable to find me. I can choose a direction and immediately flee.”

Miasma gases were unable to distinguish from friend or foe. What Ning bound was the jade bottle and the pearl within it; that miasma gas simply existed within the pearl itself.

“I wonder if my divine sense can see through it.” Ning willed it, and suddenly…whoosh! His divine sense spread out, instantly encompassing the entire courtyard. “Eh?” Ning revealed a hint of delight. Although the miasma gas was so powerful as to be able to disturb the flow of natural elemental energy, under Ning’s divine sense…everything still appeared.

“Excellent.” Ning was overjoyed. “To others, miasma gas magic-treasures are only for fleeing, but for me…I can release the miasma gas to befuddle my foes, then engage them and kill them in close quarters.” This combat tactic instantly flashed through Ning’s mind. Given that his own divine sense was not affected by the gas, in the future, it would be much easier for him to deal with Wanxiang Adepts.

“Yet another killer move,” Ning laughed. Ning then looked towards the sixth jade platter. Five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! This was an astonishing fortune; ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasures were worth merely five kilograms, which was to say that this gift was the equivalent of a hundred Earth-ranked magic treasures! Even if he wanted powerful Earth-ranked magic treasures, he would still be able to trade for eight or ten of them.

Even when Baiwei and Fox had been betting frantically against each other, the stakes had only gone up to forty or fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

“Northmont Blacktiger really is quite generous.” Ning no longer hesitated; he collected the treasures, picked up the jade bottles, and headed for his private training room.

…….

Within the private room. The jade flask was placed in front of him, and the stopper had been pulled open. Ning sat in the lotus position atop the jade bed, calming himself down. He opened his mouth, and the liquefied elemental essence within the jade bottle instantly began to fly out and be absorbed by Ning’s body.

Rumble…

The enormous Zifu Lake within the illusory space of the Zifu Violet Palace. The watersource suddenly began to surge with large amounts of pure elemental energy. The entire Zifu Lake began to swirl about expand in an incomparably rapid pace.

The outer regions of the Zifu Lake were constantly expanding towards every direction. The lake was growing to take up a larger and larger amount of the illusory space, and began to surge towards the deepest recesses of it.

Expanding! It was still expanding! Fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. A hundred. A hundred fifty…Ning didn’t hesitate at all, constantly refining and absorbing it all. His base was solid, and his comprehension of the Dao was quite high. His divine soul was very strong, and his sword-heart was lustrous…he absolutely could surge all the way to the early Wanxiang Adept stage if he so chose.

The Zifu Lake continued to expand. It now covered a truly shocking amount of space, and could even be said to have expanded from a ‘lake’ to a ‘sea’. A Zifu Sea!

Three hundred kilograms. Three hundred fifty kilograms!

“Last time, I used forty or so kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. This time, if I use another 360 kilograms, it’ll be about enough,” Ning mused to himself. According to the [Flowing Watersource], if one refined four hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence as a Zifu Disciple, then the foundation that one would establish would be the so-called ‘foundation for a Celestial Immortal’. The Manifestation one would later have would also be the best of Manifestations.

“Rumble…” 355 kilograms. 360 kilograms. 365 kilograms.

“Why doesn’t my Zifu Lake feel as though it has reached its maximum capacity yet?” Ning was feeling rather puzzled, and he slowed down the rate at which he was refining liquefied elemental essence as well. Some of the weaker Ki Refining techniques made it so that the practitioner’s Zifu Lake would at best be able to withstand fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. But Ning had already been able to withstand more than four hundred kilograms.

370 kilograms…390 kilograms…400 kilograms! Ning opened his eyes, halting his training.

“Last time, I used forty kilograms, and this time, I used four hundred. And yet, my Violet Palace is able to continue to accumulate more?” Ning frowned. Although the [Waterstream Source] hadn’t described an upper limit in detail, and there were small differences in each person’s capacity, generally speaking, four hundred kilograms should be quite close to the limit.

“I’ll halt for now. In two days, when I meet Master, I’ll ask him.” Ning halted his training.

As Ning was training. In a quite, secluded courtyard within East Stillwater City. Roch was seated in the lotus position on his bed, quietly nourishing his own Zifu Violet Palace. His Violet Palace had been damaged; naturally, he had to carefully cultivate it and heal it.

“Rocky, Rocky, come out, quick!” A frantic voice rang out. “Uncle Ming?” Roch came to an immediate halt, leaving the bed and walking out. “Uncle Ming, what is it?”

Roch pushed the door opened, then saw the bald, middle-aged man, his entire face covered with urgency. Roch felt extremely grateful towards Uncle Ming; at least Uncle Ming had let him stay here this entire time.

“Did you cause trouble or offend someone? A guard of Stillwater Commandery has come in search of you.” The bald-headed, middle-aged Uncle Ming was utterly frantic right now.

“Ah?!” Roch shook his head. “I haven’t.” Uncle Ming hurriedly said, “Enough talk. Hurry, go see him.” Although he had safely secured this quiet, secluded little residence for himself in Stillwater City, compared to the exalted Marquisate of Stillwater…he was like an ant in front of a divine dragon. No – he wasn’t even an ant. He was nothing more than a speck of sand.

Roch, his face covered with puzzlement and unease, quickly appeared before the gates of the estate. In front of the gates, there were two armored Zifu Disciple guards, and next to them was a white-robed youth. The two guards were standing behind this white-robed youth.

Upon seeing this, although he felt terror in his heart, Roch also felt a hint of bitterness. “To be able to have guards of the Marquis of Stillwater stand behind me…how long will it be before I can be at this level?” Roch felt sourness in his heart. “I’m not even able to join a school right now. Not a single school wants me. How long will it be before I am able to continue walking down my Immortal path!?”

The tall, skinny, white-robed man, upon seeing Roch, immediately revealed a smile. “Are you Brother Meng Roch?” “Brother…Meng Roch?” Roch stared. The bald Uncle Ming, by his side, was astonished as well. He hurriedly said, “Yes, he’s Meng Roch.”

The tall, skinny, white-robed man laughed. “My name is Cloudship. I have come on the orders of my master, Ji Ning, to invite you, Brother Meng Roch, to the Black-White College.”

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Chapter 4 – A Sturdy Base

Chapter 4 – A Sturdy Base

Meng Roch was completely stunned. Ji Ning? Of course he knew Ji Ning. This was the man who had saved his life. In the Carefree Caverns, he had watched as Ji Ning and another youth were welcomed with great splendor.

“Might I ask who your master, Ji Ning, is?” Roch was somewhat hesitant. Was this the same Ji Ning he knew?

“My master is a formal disciple of the Black-White College.” The tall, skinny, white-robed Cloudship laughed. “When he entered the Black-White College, he consecutively defeated multiple senior fellow disciples, and even several Wanxiang Adepts were defeated by him. Brother Meng Roch, my master has invited you to go; will you go?”

“Go? Of course he’ll go.” The bald Uncle Ming, standing nearby, immediately urged Roch to go. At the same time, he sent Roch mentally, “Rocky, your stroke of good fortune has arrived! That Ji Ning is a monstrous talent and has successfully entered the Black-White College as a formal disciple. The formal disciples of the Black-White College are permitted ten retainer positions, and by the look of things, this youth is one of them. If Ji Ning is inviting you to go…it’s very possible that you’ve received one of those ten positions.”

Roch, hearing this mental transmission, was shocked. One of the ten formal retainerships for a formal disciple? The Black-White College was an incomparably exalted place; it was the most powerful school of the entire Stillwater Commandery, and a place where peerless geniuses gathered! Even the retainers of the peerless geniuses, as long as they worked hard and rendered merits unto the school, would have the chance to learn some truly top-tier Ki Refining techniques. This was far better than being a formal disciple of the Thousand Rivers School.

It must be understood that those extremely large schools were divided into outer court disciples, inner court disciples, main disciples, and the most supreme, core disciples. There were multiple layers of status. In the Black-White College, however, there were only formal disciples and retainers; two layers. Thus, even retainerships were positions that were deeply coveted.

“I’ll have a chance to enter the Black-White College?” Roch’s heart was filled with all sorts of ideas. “Uh, Brother Meng Roch?” Cloudship said with a touch of urgency. “Ah?!” Roch frantically nodded. “Go, go, of course I’ll go.”

The Black-White College. Cloudship and Roch had both transformed into streaks of light and were flying in the air. “Look. That is Darknorth Peak, the place where my master, Ji Ning, resides.” Cloudship pointed towards a distant, elegant mountain peak.

Ever since he passed through the formal gates of the Black-White College, Roch’s mind was filled with all sorts of wild thoughts. He…he had actually entered the Black-White College? The nearby Cloudship really was one of the ten retainers?

Whoosh. The two charged down into the courtyard, quickly landing outside of its gates. The two young gate guards outside the gate all saluted respectfully.

“There is such a thick elemental aura here.” After stepping into the courtyard, Roch could sense an incomparably dense elemental aura presence. “The elemental aura in Stillwater City is already dense enough as it is, but this estate actually has a ki-gathering formation that is operating at all times.”

Roch was now growing rather nervous. Cloudship was leading him through a hallway, and they soon passed through a door, at which point they arrived at a wide, spacious estate. In the center of this estate, there was a fur-clad youth, who had a peerlessly bewitching beauty by his side, waiting on him.

It was already very late at night. The figure of the fur-clad youth seemed quite blurry and unclear.

“Brother Ji Ning!” Roch, upon seeing the fur-clad youth, couldn’t help but blurt these words out. “Rocky!” Ning rose to his feet and walked over.

Roch was rather reserved and nervous right now. This was no longer the same Ji Ning who had come to this city alongside him in search of a school. This was a formal disciple of the Black-White College, the number one school of the entire Stillwater Commandery. And, from what Cloudship said…it seemed as though even in the Black-White College, Ji Ning was quite the standout.

“Don’t be nervous,” Ning laughed, then asked, “Meng Xin and Meng Jun?” “The two of them both entered schools.” Roch said hurriedly, “Both of them are at the early Zifu Stage, and so it was easy for them to join a school. They both entered the Thousand Rivers School.”

When saying this, Roch felt a bit of pain in his heart. He had originally wanted to join the same school as Meng Xin, but unfortunately, his foundation had been damaged and not a single school wanted him.

“The Thousand Rivers School?” Ning nodded slowly. “After becoming a formal disciple of the Black-White College, I have ten retainer positions. I don’t know if you’d be willing to become a retainer under my control?”

Roch’s eyes instantly lit up, and his body began to tremble slightly. “I’m willing!” Roch said hurriedly. Ning laughed. “You’ll only be a retainer in name. The two of us will still treat each other as brothers. Oh, right. There’s something you must understand…the Black-White College has quite a few internal rules.”

“Right.” Roch nodded vigorously. What he was afraid of was that he would have no hope for the future. Since he had already joined the Black-White College, a wide route for his Immortal path had just appeared before him. Naturally, he would exert all possible effort to grow increasingly powerful. He walk would ever-farther along the Immortal path, and in his heart, he murmured to himself: “Little Xin. Wait for me.”

“I…” Roch looked at Ning. His eyes were somewhat red. With a thud, he suddenly fell down to his knees, then kowtowed.

“Rocky!” Ning hurriedly went to pull him up. “Brother Ji Ning, you saved my life, and now you’ve given me my Immortal path back. I, Meng Roch, have nothing to repay you with. So long as you give the order, even if I must climb a mountain of blades or enter a sea of flames, I will charge forward.” Roch looked towards Ning.

Ning laughed. “Rise, rise.” Right at this moment, the nearby Cloudjade actually grumbled, “Given senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s talent and power, how can he possibly need your help?”

“Cloudjade.” Ning gave the Cloudjade a glance, then instructed, “Go make the arrangements for some food. Rocky and I are going to have a good chat.” Compared to his other three retainers, Ning felt more well-disposed towards Roch.

“Yes.” Cloudjade turned and immediately departed, but while doing so, she was secretly grumbling to herself. “Yet another hunk of wood!” That Meng Roch fellow, upon entering, had given her just a single glance. She was beginning to question her own seductiveness.

The morning sun rose, spreading its dim light throughout the entire Black-White College. Everything appeared so dreamlike and illusory. Ning was atop a flying boat. Transforming into a streak of light, he flew out of Darknorth Peak. Soon afterwards, he arrived in the air above the mountain of his master, Immortal Diancai.

“Master.” Ning landed in the courtyard, then called out respectfully. “Come in.” Immortal Diancai’s voice transmitted to him from outside. Ning immediately entered, and the servants at the gate naturally did not bar his path.

Within the hall. The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position atop a ‘bed’ of clouds. He looked at Ning, and he felt as though the more he saw him, the more satisfied he was with him. Being able to teach an extremely talented disciple made him feel quite successful as well. Immortal Diancai said in a calm voice, “Ji Ning, how did your three days of meditation go?”

“Your disciple has made considerable gains!” Ning said respectfully. “Mm.” Immortal Diancai nodded slowly, then narrowed his eyes. “Previously, Headmaster Jadesea has already informed you regarding the Great Dao of the Sword, yes?”

Ning nodded. “Yes.”

“The sword,” Immortal Diancai said slowly, “Is a killing tool. It is also the tool which we Immortal cultivators will use in our ascent to the peak, in slaughtering all who would impede our path.”

“The Dao of the Sword is a type of combat-focused Dao. Sword Immortals, in turn, are Immortal cultivators that are extremely skilled in combat.” Immortal Diancai laughed as he looked at Ning. “Do you know…what the Dao of the Sword is?”

Ning was speechless. And then, lost, he shook his head. He had just entered the earliest realm of comprehension regarding this Grand Dao of the Sword, and knew almost nothing at all about it. What is the Dao of the Sword? He really didn’t know how to respond to such a question.

“Some Daos are Daos involving the mysteries underpinning the way in which the world operates. For example, your Rainwater Dao. The Dao of Freezing Ice. The Dao of Mystic Ice. And more! All of them are Daos regarding the profundities of the natural world.”

Ning nodded. These were, indeed, all natural Daos. The techniques one came up with after comprehending these Daos would all be referred to as ‘arts’.

“Arts are a way to apply the Daos. The ‘sword arts’ are that which you generally use when wielding the sword. To reach a level in the sword arts which is so high as to be a Dao of its own….that is what the Dao of the Sword is!” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “Thus, the Dao of the Sword is actually a technical Dao, a Dao of applying certain techniques and knacks.”

Ning now understood.

“Not just the Dao of the Sword; the Dao of Taiji is the same. Taiji also involves the application of certain skills and techniques. Taiji, in turn, is also a Grand Dao.”

“When, for example, you began to gain insights into water and fire, you might be able to apply the insights you gained into fire and water through the Dao of Taiji, and the power will exponentially increase.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ji Ning. “The Dao of the Sword which you have chosen as your path, in turns, results in you applying and executing the insights you have gained into the Dao of the Sword.”

Ning nodded his head in understanding. Taiji? Dao of the Sword? The application of a Dao?

“Regardless of whether it is Taiji or the Dao of the Sword, these are all extremely, unfathomably profound Grand Daos. They are extremely hard to comprehend.” Immortal Diancai sighed. “For example, the Dao of the Sword requires one to comprehend and develop one’s sword-heart. The Dao of Taiji also requires one to comprehend and develop one’s Taiji-heart. Both are extremely difficult tasks. But upon embarking on this Grand Dao, one’s future potential will be limitless.”

Ning nodded as he listened.

“Remember!” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, then said solemnly, “As a Sword Immortal, you must have a supremely sincere heart! Sincere to the sword, and sincere to your own heart. Do you understand?”

Ning nodded solemnly.

“You must always reflect on your actions, and hone your sword-heart. Do not let any dust alight on your sword-heart. You must know, a truly sincere heart is always lustrous!” Immortal Diancai looked at Ji Ning. “You must firmly engrave these words of mine into your heart.”

“Yes. Your disciple will memorize them carefully, and will never dare to forget them,” Ning replied.

“Mm.” Immortal Diancai waved his hand, retrieving a leather scroll which he handed to Ning. Ning accepted it, slightly puzzled. “During these three days,” Immortal Diancai said, “I’ve been carefully considering your earlier performance during the Dao Debates. In the end, I selected thirty-six sword arts manuals for you. Afterwards, when you go to the Dao Repository Vault, go trade for the thirty-six manuals recorded on this leather scroll.”

“Thirty six?” Ning was stunned. “I am to go trade for them?” Although he had just embarked on the path of the Dao of the Sword and had received two thousand black-white pellets…thirty-six sword arts manuals?!

“Don’t worry. These are all Earth-ranked or Heaven-ranked sword arts. In addition, I’m only having you trade for the first scrolls. In total, they will only cost six hundred black-white pellets,” Immortal Diancai said. Only now did Ning let out a sigh of relief. Six hundred black-white pellets was indeed not too great a cost for him.

“Although they are only Earth-ranked and Heaven-ranked sword arts, and although you are only trading for their first scrolls, they will be enough for you to use at the Zifu Disciple level and at the Wanxiang Adept level,” Immortal Diancai said. “These are all sword arts which, if placed within some lesser tribes, would be considered peerless sword arts that serve as the foundation for the entire tribe. Carefully read through these sword arts.”

“The first reason I am having you peruse so many different sword arts is to raise your level of insights into the Dao of the Sword,” Immortal Diancai said with a a laugh. “Second is, the more you see and the more you study, the greater your experiences and understanding will be. In the future, when you are adventuring and battling in the outside world, you’ll be able to advance more quickly and benefit from this study.”

“Understood,” Ning acknowledged.

“Go, then, to the Dao Repository Vault. After today, one day each month, you may come visit me and ask me some of the questions which have mystified you in your day-to-day training,” Immortal Diancai said. “Once I feel your foundation is solid enough, then I’ll permit you to leave the Black-White College and go temper yourself in wandering the outside world. If you stay forever under the protection of your elders, there is no way you’ll be able to become a true Immortal. Only when you live beneath the pounding of the rain and the howling of the wind, when you are tempered by life-and-death battles, will you be reborn into a mighty Immortal who does not fear the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.

Ning nodded. “Understood.”

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Chapter 5 – [Soulshaker Art]

Chapter 5 – [Soulshaker Art]

“Master, your disciple has one more issue.” Ji Ning was still thinking about how, even after using four hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, his Zifu Lake hadn’t reached its limit.

“Speak,” Immortal Diancai said.

Ning hurriedly said, “Your disciple has trained in the [Flowing Watersource]. In total, I’ve used 405 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. According to the [Flowing Watersource], 400 kilograms is enough to establish a ‘foundation for a Celestial Immortal’, and if one tries to refine even more, one will quickly reach a limit. However, my Zifu Violet Palace has not yet reached the limit. Why is this?”

“Oh?” Immortal Diancai laughed. “Hahaha, most Immortal practitioners are vexed by their Violet Palace’s not being able to absorb enough elemental ki and their foundation not being sufficiently stable. But you are complaining about your Violet Palace being able to absorb too much?”

“That’s not it,” Ning said hurriedly. “I just am puzzled, and I don’t understand why I am unique.”

Immortal Diancai laughed. “This is because your body is the body of a Fiendgod! It would be one thing if you had an ordinary Fiendgod body, but yours is one which has been created by the legendary, number one Fiendgod Body Refining Technique, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. It is a truly perfect Fiendgod body, no weaker than that of a mighty Fiendgod who was born from the natural world. It only makes sense that the Zifu Lake within your Fiendgod body is able to withstand a tremendous amount of elemental ki.

“Oh.” Ning now understood.

“Actually, the better a Ki Refining technique is, the more stable one’s foundation will be. Perhaps you’ll spend a bit more time at the Zifu or the Wanxiang levels, but the further you go, the easier your life will be,” Immortal Diancai said. “Also; there are some other techniques that are also Immortal-ranked, but are even better than even the [Flowing Watersource], which allows one to use five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence at the Zifu Disciple stage. The more powerful a technique, the more elemental ki it is able to control.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “You should be happy.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ning said. “However, how much liquefied elemental essence does your disciple need to use before advancing to the Wanxiang level?”

Immortal Diancai pondered for a moment, then said, “Disciples who train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] who also train in the [Flowing Watersource] are indeed quite rare…let me think about it. Mm. Mmm. Yes, I imagine you will need around eight hundred to one thousand kilograms or so.”

Ning sucked in a cold breath upon hearing this. Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is the number one Fiendgod Body Refining Technique in the world. You must practice it with diligence as well.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded, then added, “Then I’ll go to the Dao Repository Vault now.” Immortal Diancai nodded. “Go,” he said, then closed his eyes.

Ning depart. As he left the room, he boarded his flying boat and soared into the skies, heading to the Dao Repository Vault.

……….

The Dao Repository Vault. Ning headed straight for the second floor, that of the ‘arts’. “Originally, I had 200 black-white pellets left over. From the Dao Debates, I gained 600 black-white pellets. After embarking on the path of the Sword Immortal, the College bestowed me with two thousand black-white pellets. I have a total of 2800 black-white pellets.” Ning carefully searched through the countless books placed on the bookstacks. He was searching for the thirty-six sword arts manuals which his master had instructed him to find on that leather scroll.

“Quite cheap. This one is only thirty black-white pellets. Mm, this one is just ten. Ouch, this one is actually a hundred.” Ning moved as fast as the wind, and his eyes scanned the books as fast as lightning. He moved past large stacks of sword arts manuals, quickly picking out all thirty-six books.

The cheapest of these thirty-six books was just ten black-white pellets, while the most expensive was a hundred. However, these were all seemingly random, disjointed manuals; there were strange sword arts, tyrannical sword arts, fast sword arts…

“Out of a sea of sword arts manuals, Master actually chose these thirty-six after considering things for me. From this, one can imagine how many sword arts manuals Master has read.” Ning sighed to himself in amazement.

Clearly, to become a truly mighty Sword Immortal, it was also important to read many sword arts manuals. “Not bad. This sword art is even more suited to me than the [Duality Azureflame Sword].” As Ning flipped through the books, his eyes instantly began to light up.

……..

After choosing the thirty-six books, Ning came to another table. Atop the table, there were five abridged books. They were: [Heavenly Transformation], [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], [Myriad Hibernating Venoms], [Three Heads, Six Arms], and [Eye of the Luminous Heart].

“Divine abilities.” Ning pondered to himself. “I only have 2200 black-white pellets left. Should I choose a divine ability, or a skill for my divine sense.” Divine sense techniques were even rarer than divine abilities; the Black-White College only had three books. The [Soulshaker Art], the [Soulcharmer Art], and the [Soulslayer Art].

Divine abilities and divine sense techniques were equally attractive to Ning. He wanted both. “If only I could choose whatever I wanted…” Ning gritted his teeth.

He gave one last, regretful glance to those five abridged books, then turned and left, moving directly towards the other table filled with divine sense techniques. Atop the table, there were a total of three golden books.

Not hesitating at all, Ning picked up one of the golden books, then straightforwardly departed the Dao Repository Vault.

…….

Upon Ning leaving the Vault, the tall, muscular, armored Dao-Protector looked at him. “You’ve made your choice?”

“Yes. Take it.” Ning handed it over, and when he did, he couldn’t help but turn to look back at the Dao Repository Vault. His divine abilities! He really, really wanted to acquire a few divine abilities.

For example, that [Eye of the Luminous Heart] also had a side-effect pertaining to divine sense, and was extremely mysterious and profound. But the cost of the first scroll alone was five thousand black-white pellets. For the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], one could immediately open a third, divine eye which was able to draw in and store the lightning and thunder of the world. With but a thought, one could release thunderbolts from that divine eye! Its power was truly terrifying.

“For now…I can’t have my cake and eat it as well,” Ning sighed to himself. “I already have a divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], which is vastly superior to these divine abilities. These divine abilities, as far as I’m concerned, are just supporting arts that can make up for some of my weaknesses. They will not, however, noticeably increase my real power.”

“This [Soulshaker Art], however, will allow me to be able to gain yet another killer technique in a short period of time,” Ning mused to himself.

The [Soulshaker Art]’s power was not related to one’s divine power or elemental ki; it relied on the strength of one’s divine will! The stronger the divine will, the more powerful the [Soulshaker Art] would be. His divine will was at the level of a Primal Daoist’s by now, and with the [Nuwa Painting], his divine soul would only continue to grow in strength. Naturally, he had to learn a divine sense technique.

“You didn’t choose a divine ability?” The Dao-Protector, after looking at Ning’s choices, was rather amazed. “Apprentice-Nephew Ji Ning, this [Soulshaker Art] only requires a divine will to be used, but only other Wanxiang Adepts will have a divine will as well. At most, you’ll be able to slightly impact other Wanxiang Adepts. You train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; it’s best if you choose a divine ability.”

Ning laughed. This Dao-Protector had no idea that his divine soul was already at the ‘divine sense’ level. “This is my choice,” Ning said.

“Your decision.” The Dao-Protector had only chosen to say a few extra words for Ning’s benefit. Since Ning insisted, he naturally wouldn’t say anything else.

“The [Soulshaker Art] requires 2000 black-white pellets, while the others need exactly 600.” The Dao-Protector looked at Ning. “I’ll destroy the restrictive spells around these sword arts manuals, and I’ll also go acquire the actual copies of the [Soulshaker Art] and the Heaven-ranked sword techniques for you.”

…….

Soon, Ning paid the 2600 black-white pellets, then departed with the thirty-six sword arts manuals as well as the [Soulshaker Art] and returned to his Darknorth Peak.

Upon returning to Darknorth Peak, Ning felt quite the itchy feeling in his heart. He gave a few instructions, ordering that he was not to be disturbed unless there was something important. And then, he went directly into his private training room.

“Back to the training room again.” Cloudjade stared at Ning, chewing on her lips. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “He won’t talk to me at all.”

The nearby Roch cast Cloudjade a glance, laughing inwardly. How could he not tell that Cloudjade had been hoping to seduce Ning? “What a pity. Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s Dao-heart is incomparably firm. How could a vixen like you possibly move him?”

Within the private room. Ning sat down in the lotus position, immediately beginning to flip through the [Soulshaker Art]’s complete manual. The complete manual to the [Soulshaker Art] wasn’t too thick. After beginning to carefully read through it, Ning started to understand…the so-called [Soulshaker Art] was just an extremely unique way of applying the divine will. This was a technical manual, but its value was comparable to a divine ability.

“The [Soulshaker Art]?” Ning closed his eyes, beginning to ponder on what he had read. Rumble…Ning’s powerful divine will began to spread out, filling the entire private room, and he began to test it over and over.

Failure. Failure. Failure. Ning’s repeated failures didn’t cause him to feel the slightest bit dispirited. Each time, he would realize what his mistake was, and each time, he would perform better than the last.

……

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed with Ning staying within the training room. Because Ning had ordered his servants long ago that he was not to be disturbed unless there was something critically important, for this period of time, things were quite calm and quiet.

Within Ning’s sea of consciousness, there was a miniature Ji Ning, seated in the lotus position. This was Ning’s ‘divine soul’. The divine soul sat there in the lotus position, a runic seal repeatedly appearing and disappearing over his chest.

“Whoosh!” The azure seal managed to remain alive for a few instants, but then was extinguished once more.

Ning calmly absorbed the lessons of this failure, then tried again. “Whoosh!” Instantly, a queer azure seal once more appeared in front of the chest of Ning’s divine soul. This seal, at first glance, appeared to be some sort of script, but it was neither a Fiendgod character, nor a character from any language he was aware of. When seeing this azure rune, one felt as though a violent wave was slamming against the shore.

“Go.” Ning willed his divine soul to release his tremendously powerful divine will, which came out through that azure runic seal. The divine will which was released wasn’t as dispersed as it was before; rather, it was a wave that was folded together in layers. His divine sense spread out like waves in every direction, constantly rolling forth without end. One could imagine how, if Ning encountered a living creature with a soul, these turbid waves of divine will would instantly smash down against the enemy’s soul, just like a wave smashing down upon a shore.

“At last, I’ve finally managed to just barely manifest the ‘Soulshaker Rune’.” Ning opened his eyes, revealing a hint of a smile. “However, I’m still quite far off from the true, perfect Soulshaker Rune as mentioned in the book.”

Relaxed, Ning left the private room. By the time he arrived in the outer courtyard, he saw that it was late at night. Outside was a sea of sparkling stars in the night sky. Ning raised his head, staring at the sea of stars, then laughed. “In the upcoming period of time, what I’ll need to do is spend quite some time meditating on the Dao and on sword arts here at the Black-White College. Only when Master nods in approval shall I go out and temper myself through adventuring.”

……….

Time flowed on like water. Ji Ning and Mu Northson, the two new disciples of the Black-White College, lived lives that were peaceful and yet meaningful. They focused on comprehending the Dao, on analyzing sword arts and the Dao of Constructs, and unconsciously, their power grew greater and greater. The two of them had been like two pieces of unpolished jade, but the Black-White College slowly carved and shaped them, letting them reveal their true luster.

In the blink of an eye, more than three years passed. It was the height of summer now. This year, Ning turned twenty years old.

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Chapter 6 – Three Years Later

Chapter 6 – Three Years Later

This midsummer dawn was uncommonly cool. Ji Ning, still clad in his black furs, walked out from the estate atop Darknorth Peak.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Meng Roch, who had grown only more muscular and tanned, immediately greeted him with respect.

“Rocky, prepare some food for me. Same as what we’ve done in the past.” Ning laughed as he gave some instructions. In the past three years, Northmont Baiwei had delivered two more retainers, and so he now had a total of six under his control. He was now quite familiar with all six of them, but he still trusted Roch the most.

Because Roch had damaged his ki foundation in the past, upon entering the Black-White College, he began to train as a Fiendgod as well, and his skin had darkened as a result. “Yes, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Roch said, immediately departing.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you came out.” A beautiful figure walked over from afar. It was Cloudjade. Behind her was a black-robed youth; this was one of the six retainers under Ning’s command, Weifang.

Cloudjade’s eyes were as bright as jewels. After having been in the Black-White College for so long, her aura had improved as well, and she now had an additional hint of otherworldliness about her. “You were in closed-door meditation for so long this time, senior apprentice-brother. It was almost a month.”

She stared at Ning with a gaze that was quite scorching. Although her horizons had been expanded during her time at the Black-White College…in her eyes, Ji Ning was still the most brilliant star of them all. Three years had passed, and compared to three years ago, Ning’s aura had only grown more simple and pure; he was like a youth who lived a rustic life in the mountain wilderness.

But Cloudjade understood that her senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning was now far more powerful than he had been three years ago. There were now extremely few people who were willing to engage in a discourse on the Dao with Ning at the Dao Debate Palace, and quite a few secretly claimed that Ning must surely be a reincarnated Immortal. From this, one could tell how monstrous Ning’s performance had been.

“Each time I come out of seclusion, I’ll see you,” Ning laughed. “Cloudjade, you need to calm your heart and focus on training as well. Look at Weifang..he arrived after you did, but he’s the most powerful of the six of you.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, you praise me over-much,” the black-robed youth, Weifang, immediately said with respect. “Compared to you, senior apprentice-brother, I am countless tens of thousands of kilometers beneath you.”

“I’ve already worked quite hard,” Cloudjade said. But Ning only shook his head. “Your talent is excellent, but your Dao-heart is somewhat lacking.” Cloudjade just rolled her eyes.

Ning secretly shook his head. When Cloudjade had first joined the school, she had wanted to seduce him. After realizing that there was no hope…although she was still very respectful to Ning, she started to begin to work on seducing the other senior apprentice-brothers of the College.

“She walks the path of Immortal cultivation, but instead of calming her mind and focusing on training, the only thing on her mind is becoming Dao-Companions with powerful Immortal practitioners. Jeeze!” Ning felt quite resigned about this as well.

He understood everything quite clearly. Cloudjade, by nature, wasn’t a bad person. Of his six main retainers, the person Ning trusted the most was Roch, and the person he trusted the second most was Cloudjade. As for the other four, although they were extremely respectful towards him, Ning could sense that all four of them were hugely ambitious, and so he had to be careful in the amount of trust he showed them.

…….

Ning sat there, sipping some stewed rice porridge that contained natural elemental energies within it while eating some delicacies. His mood was quite good to begin with, and it was improving further and further. Next to him was the Whitewater Hound who just lay there, looking at Ning. He sent mentally to Ning, “Ning, son; you seem to be in quite a good mood.”

“Right. I was in closed-door training for nearly a month, but I’ve finally comprehended the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!” Ning looked at his Uncle White, his face covered in smiles.

“You’ve comprehended it?” The Whitewater Hound instantly revealed a look of surprise and delight as well. Over the past three years…Ning had an Immortal guiding him, the sword arts manuals of the Dao Repository Vault to peruse over, and the complete [Three-Foot Sword] in his mind, as well as the sword-intent which senior Northwalker had transmitted to him.

Ning’s rate of improvement had naturally been astonishingly fast. In the past, he had never had a truly formidable teacher. Even his father and the others, when faced with Ning’s monstrous talent, felt that they were not quite good enough to teach him.

With Immortal Diancai guiding Ning, Ning felt incomparable joy, and his rate of improvement had reached an astonishing level. However, he had never been able to completely comprehend the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

“Three years. You’ve finally mastered it.” The Whitewater Hound rose to his feet, feeling excited for Ning.

“With this sword art mastered, I now have the confidence to go spar with Master once again,” Ning said with a laugh. “Perhaps this time, Master will acknowledge my growth and permit me to go out wandering.” Without his master’s permission, Ning was not to leave the school.

Logically speaking, given his current level of power, Ning should’ve been able to go out wandering long ago. However, given how incredible Ning’s talent was, Immortal Diancai’s requirements for Ning were similarly incredible! By now…Ning had sparred against his master numerous times, and although he had improved greatly each time, he had never received his master’s permission.

“Go,” the Whitewater Hound mentally sent to him with a laugh. “If you go, I’ll be able to accompany you in wandering. In the past, I went out adventuring with your father as well. When I think about it, my blood starts to pump.”

By borrowing from Ning’s liquefied elemental essence, the Whitewater Hound had naturally reached the peak Zifu stage long ago. Ning had wanted to trade for some powerful secret arts on behalf of the Whitewater Hound, but the Whitewater Hound didn’t need it. All he accepted was some formation techniques to analyze, which Ning had spent 200 black-white pellets on. Because it took quite a long period of time to analyze formation techniques, the price of such techniques was actually quite low. Ning had spent 600 black-white pellets for his thirty-six sword arts manuals, but as for the formation manuals…he had spent merely 200 black-white pellets for 91 books.

The [Nine Scrolls on Formations] which that Loose Immortal had left behind was incomparably broad and profound. This was the complete legacy of a Loose Immortal. As a Godbeast, the Whitewater Hound had focused on analyzing formations, even when he had been accompanying Ning’s father. Acquiring the Nine Scrolls was already a case of him being akin to a tiger who had gained wings. Now that he also gained so many formations manuals from the Black-White College, he naturally had made enormous improvements. And, every so often, the Whitewater Hound would even go to the Black-White College to listen to some Primal Daoists or even to some of the Immortals expound on the Dao.

“I’ll go, then.” Ning rose to his feet. “Go.” The Whitewater Hound watched as Ning left. Ning boarded his flying boat, then quickly disappeared into the distant horizons.

………

Ning stood there atop his boat in midair, staring downwards. Soon, he arrived at the residence of his master, Immortal Diancai.

Whoosh. Ning landed in front of the estate, and the gate guards smiled towards Ning. Ning strode directly inwards without waiting. Immortal Diancai had given the order long ago that Ning was to be permitted to enter directly, without any need to report his arrival.

Within the hall. The black-haired, black-robed Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position on his jade bed. It seemed as though the passage of three years had not affected Ning’s master at all.

“Today is not the first of the month. Have you come here to spar with me once more?” Immortal Diancai looked at his beloved disciple. Over the course of the past three years, he had come to love his sole disciple even more, to the point where his affection for Ning was even greater than his affection for the descendants of his clan.

“Yes.” Ning looked at his master. A sword-light that seemed almost physical had appeared within Ning’s eyes, and his entire person slowly began to radiate a terrifying sword-intent. His sword-intent surged through the heavens!

“It does seem that you’ve improved a bit.” Immortal Diancai nodded. “Come, then. Attack me.”

“Be careful, Master.” A Darknorth sword appeared out of nowhere, and he gripped it with two hands. Swish! Ning transformed into a blurry, rapidly moving figure, and the sharp sword in his hand seemed to have turned into a ghostly image. His speed had reached an extremely high level, and he instantly pierced the sword towards Immortal Diancai, seated on the jade bed.

Immortal Diancai, seated on the jade bed, leisurely stretched out his fingers, forming a sword-finger. With a light tap, a streak of sword-light instantly arced out. “Clash.” This solitary streak of sword-light repeatedly clashed in mid-air multiple times with Ning’s sword-shadow. Ning’s sword moved about like a ghost, but although this solitary streak of sword-light was in an arc, it’s position also fluctuated unpredictably.

“Hmph.” Ning’s sword-light changed, becoming domineering and tyrannical. Bang! Instantly, the surrounding area was submerged into a sea of fire, and Ning’s sword became one of the flames within it, incomparably valiant as it chopped directly towards Immortal Diancai. This sword attack of Ji Ning’s…had already vastly surpassed the [Thunderflame Sword]’s level, and most likely even the person who had originally developed the [Thunderflame Sword] was no match for the current Ning in terms of the Dao of the Sword.

“Extinguish.” Immortal Diancai revealed a hint of a smile as well. With a gentle tap of the fingers, a sword-light flew out from his fingertips which instantly transformed into thousands of silken lines. These silken lines criss-crossed each other, seeming to form a giant net. This giant net of sword-light howled forward, quickly surrounding and wrapping around Ning’s pyroclasm of sword-light.

“‘Heartless Waterflame’!” Ning revealed a smile as well. Instantly, the surrounding area changed yet again. One side was filled with blazing flames, while the other side was filled with boundless rainwater. In one of Ning’s hands was a blazing sword of fire, while in the other was a sword of rain.

Ning’s entire figure radiated an invincible aura as he charged directly towards that net of sword-light, and the twin swords in his hands spun in a vortex together as he did so.

“Bang!” The sword-lights of fire and water clashed head on with the net of sword-light in a giant explosion…and both shattered apart.

“This latest ‘Heartless Waterflame’ finally seems to have a bit of flavor to it.” Immortal Diancai pointed with his sword-finger once more. Swish! A sharp sword-light attacked with incomparably astonishing speed towards Ning, while at the same time, Immortal Diancai pointed again, and again…one streak of sword-light after another shot out, all moving at incomprehensible speeds.

“Last time, he was defeated by this technique, and his body was filled with quite a few bloody holes. I wonder if he’ll be able to block it this time.” Immortal Diancai’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

Ning no longer revealed an incomparably relaxed smile on his face as he had before. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he seemed to suddenly explode with power.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The twin swords in Ning’s hands began to move. Suddenly, in the area around Ning, an enormous millstone of fire and water appeared. Fire and water were contradictory, opposite types of elemental energy, but they twisted past each other here to form this enormous millstone. In the very center of the millstone, where the water and fire clashed with each other, a terrifying wind force arose. This tri-colored millstone revolved around Ning, and where Ning’s sword light flashed past, an incomparably powerful wind arose as well!

Fast! Faster than fast! Chop! Chop! Chop! Ning consecutively chopped and extinguished the sword-lights created by his master’s finger-taps. The bedstone of fire and water revolved around him, while the gale raged around his body. Ning’s sword flashed out like lightning as well, each time striking at the weaknesses on the side of those flashes of sword-light, rather than taking them head out.

“Faster. Move a little faster.” Immortal Diancai began to tap with his fingers even faster, and the sword-light which appeared in the air grew increasingly ferocious as they shot towards Ning. Ning, ensconced within that giant millstone of fire and water, wielded his sword at an inconceivably fast speed, and continued to chop apart and extinguish those flashes of sword-light.

“Go, then!” Immortal Diancai gently flicked his fingers, and the thousand rays of sword-light that were in midair suddenly seemed to transform into brilliant stars. They resonated amongst each other, thundering forth with a unified attack that blasted towards Ning at the same time.

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Chapter 7 – Master and Disciple, Pre-Departure

Chapter 7 – Master and Disciple, Pre-Departure

“Not good.” Last time, when Ji Ning had sparred with his master, his master hadn’t used this technique. Faced with the sudden attack of a thousand star-like bursts of sword-light, Ning knew that his ‘Tripartite Millstone’ wouldn’t be able to withstand the assault.

The sword-intent radiating from Ning’s body compressed itself to the utmost. “Pierce!” Ning’s sword suddenly shout out. It was as though even if there were infinitely great impediments standing in front of Ning and wrapping around him, as though ropes were bound about him, causing his sword to frantically struggle to pierce forward. It moved incomparably slowly…and yet, in reality, that was just a misperception, as the sword itself had reached an incredibly great speed.

Swish! The sword shot out like a meteor! It tore through the boundless darkness, ripped through all impediments, and completely shattered the thousand-plus bolts of starry sword-light. With part of it having been destroyed, all the surrounding bolts of starry sword-light vanished and dispersed.

As for Ning himself, moving like a phantom, he charged towards his master, the sword in his right hand having stabbed forward and broken those thousand stars of sword-light. At the same time, the sword in his left hand had already stabbed towards his master, Immortal Diancai.

“Break!” Immortal Diancai revealed a smile as he rapped out this word. A formless sword energy instantly clashed with Ning’s Darknorth sword. It was not only powerful, but backed with a seemingly endless momentum of energy, causing Ning to be pushed back many meters before finding his footing.

Immortal Diancai, still seated on his jade bed, nodded slowly. “The ‘Manifold Thistlethorns’. You’ve finally comprehended this technique.”

This was the attack Ning had just demonstrated, the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – ‘Manifold Thistlethorns’. This technique represented the highest level of comprehension regarding the Dao of the Sword which Ning had ever reached. “Thanks to your guidance, Master,” Ning said respectfully, “Your foolish disciple was able to finally comprehend this technique today.”

“Hahaha. You only spend three years to comprehend the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. If this performance of yours is to be described as ‘foolish’, then your master would have to be described with the word ‘idiot’,” Immortal Diancai laughed. “After I comprehended the first stance, it took me ten years before I comprehended the second one. Your talent is, indeed, far superior to mine.”

Ning said respectfully, “My talent is at most comparable to those reincarnated Immortals. Our Black-White College has had reincarnated Immortals in every generation, and even in the current Black-White College, there are several reincarnated Immortals. You, Master, despite not being a reincarnated Immortal, are able to surprass those who are in power, and are universally acknowledged as being the Immortal with the greatest chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal. Similarly, the Sloppy Daoist is also the undisputed number one figure amongst the third generation disciples.”

Immortal Diancai nodded in satisfaction. “It is good that you are always humble and vigilant. Now…you can leave the school and go out wandering.” Immortal Diancai smiled as he looked at Ning. Finally, he had said these words.

“I can go out adventuring now?” Ning couldn’t help but feel excitement in his heart. Each time he had made a breakthrough, he felt that he should be able to receive his master’s acknowledgment, but in reality…he had been disappointed time and time again. For example, when he had reached the Dao Domain level in the ‘Dao of the Inferno’, or when he had developed increasingly powerful sword arts, including his own perfected and highly suitable ‘Tripartite Millstone Sword’ attack, he had felt incomparably proud and vigorous.

However, his master had not nodded in approval. Not until today! After he had mastered the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], he had finally gained his master’s acknowledgment. Finally, he was going to be able to wander the outside world, filled with both dangers and opportunities. The vast, endless outside world.

“Ji Ning.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “Master.” Ning tamped down the excitement in his heart.

“Accept these two protective items.” Two items appeared out of nowhere in Immortal Diancai’s hands. One appeared to be a brooch which was covered with carvings that appeared to be of a beautiful Immortal palace. As for the other, it was a fiery red jade bottle. “This pendant is something I personally created. After refining it, carry it with you at all times. With but a thought, you can release the sword-energy within it to protect yourself. With that sword-energy protecting you…you will be able to resist the attack of even a Loose Immortal or an Earth Immortal for one breath’s worth of time.”

“As for this jade bottle…you must be extremely careful within it. Within it there is a single ‘Polar Aurora Thunderflame Pearl’. It’s power is tremendous. Once you throw it out, it does not distinguish between friend or foe. Everything within a radius of thirty meters will be reduced into powder. Even Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals will most likely be heavily wounded, while almost all Primal Daoists will perish.”

“Of these two items, one is meant for offense, while the other is meant for defense. However, each can only be used a single time. Thus, you must consider carefully when to use them.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, his eyes filled with anticipation and solemnity.

As the saying went, when a child travelled a thousand kilometers away, the parents would be filled with worry. He only had a single disciple under his tutelage, and this disciple was about to go adventuring in distant lands…as his master, how could Immortal Diancai not be worried? After all, no matter how powerful a peerless genius was, if he didn’t have the chance to grow in power, he still wouldn’t be able to overcome some older, more powerful figures. For example, if Ning encountered a Primal Daoist opponent, he would still be crushed without being able to fight back at all.

“You must remember to be cautious in all matters. Think thrice before acting…but once you decide, act decisively.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. Suddenly, Ning felt an aching feeling in his heart. That look…

In the past, when he had left West Prefecture City to go adventuring, his father and his mother had looked at him with those exact same eyes. Eyes filled with worry, but also anticipation. Although his master was powerful, he couldn’t take on all the risks of life for his disciple. Every disciple needed to truly test themselves…only then would they be successful.’

“Don’t worry, Master. Your disciple will definitely be careful,” Ning said hurriedly.

“The only things which Master can give you are these two items.” Immortal Diancai looked towards Ning. “Remember. Everything else will be up to your own efforts.”

“Alright.” Ning accepted the items respectfully. These two items were both truly priceless items; in fact, they vastly outstripped the value of the presents which Northmont Blacktiger had given.

The defensive pendant was able to defend against the attack of an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal for a full breath’s worth of time. In a life-and-death attack, death would sometimes come in an instant. To Immortal practitioners, the amount of time one needed to take a breath was enough for them to fly countless kilometers away.

As for the Polaris Aurora Thunderflame Pearl, it could badly injure Immortals and kill almost all Primal Daoists. It could be described as a true killer item.

“When next you return to the College, come seek me out. You can go now.” Immortal Diancai waved his hand as he spoke, then closed his eyes.

“Alright.” Ning bowed, then immediately departed.

……

After leaving his master, Ning boarded his flying boat and flew into the skies. He felt an aching feeling in his heart. He could sense that his master’s heart was filled with concern for him, and that concern was not unreasonable; the path of an Immortal practitioner was a path which was against the heavens, a path that was filled with pitfalls. Even the heavens themselves would, intentionally or unintentionally, create numerous traps and barriers for Immortal practitioners.

Far too many disciples of the Black-White College had died in the outside world. It must be understood…so long as the disciples of the Black-White College did not perish, the vast majority would become Primal Daoists! But there were hundreds of third generation disciples, while only thirty or so second generation Primal Daoists. Why? The reason was…the rest died!

They died while testing themselves, while roaming the outside world! As the saying goes, if jade isn’t polished, it cannot be carved, but during the carving process, how many pieces of unpolished jade would end up being destroyed? The ‘jade-carving knife’ of the ‘tempering’ process was truly a vicious one. To embark on the path of Immortals…this was embarking on a path that was filled with countless pitfalls and snares.

“Master. I will definitely return to you alive,” Ning murmured in his heart. And then, his flying boat went directly to the residence of his junior apprentice-brother, the mountain peak of Mu Northson.

Twinwood Peak. Ning flew into the air above it, then called out directly, “Junior apprentice-brother Northson.” His voice echoed out in waves, reaching the estate below. Soon, a figure appeared in the courtyard below, who quickly called back, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, quick, come in.”

Ning descended to the ground. Compared to three years ago, although Northson still had the appearance of a immature youth, in terms of both power and Dao-heart, he had grown considerably. After all, he had been able to join the Black-White College at the age of fourteen, and had been able to spend so much time in meditation in front of the Black-White Diagram…his talent was, without question, extremely high.

The reason why he had lost at the Dao Debates was because he was simply too young, and because he hadn’t had as great a stroke of karmic luck as Ning had, who had acquired the underwater estate.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, why did you decide to come here to my place?” Northson laughed. “Normally, it’s quite rare to see you come out.”

“I was just approved by master to go out adventuring in the outside world.” Ning revealed a smile.

“Really? Wonderful!” Northson instantly began to celebrate. “I’ve waited for this day for over a year now. Two years after I joined, my master gave me permission to go out adventuring. You are so strong, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, but you spent three years in training. Immortal Diancai really is extremely exacting towards you.”

Ning laughed. After receiving the nod from his master, Daoist Jadefine, Northson had immediately come to find Ning. But Ning hadn’t been able to leave…and so Northson had tamped down his impatience. He didn’t want to go out wandering all by his lonely self; he wanted a companion. If two brothers went out adventuring together, at least they wouldn’t be too lonely.

And so, he had waited…all the way until today.

“Oh, oh, I need to go to my master and bid her farewell,” Northson said hurriedly. “Go, go,” Ning said. “Your master dotes on you so much, you really should have a good chat with her before leaving.”

The master of Northson, Daoist Jadefine, did indeed dote on him. First of all, the entire Black-White College had very, very few people who focused on the Dao of Constructs; it was rare for her to find such a wonderful disciple. And secondly, Daoist Jadefine had been stuck at the Primal Daoist level for many years. The assaults of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations had grown increasingly difficult for her to withstand, and she was close to her limit. A person close to the end of her years, upon suddenly taking on such a talented disciple who was so young…Daoist Jadefine naturally doted fiercely on this disciple of hers.

After he had entered her tutelage, Daoist Jadefine had given Northson five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Thus, Northson had, at one go, trained all the way to the middle Wanxiang stage. Even in the Black-White College, this was incredibly rare!

The unspoken rule of the Black-White College was that masters would not give their disciples too many treasures; instead, they would provide guidance to them. The College would place those special Ki Refining techniques and divine abilities in the vault, and as the disciples rose in power, for example reaching the ‘Dao Domain’ level, they would then be able to go acquire those techniques.

Even though a mountain of gold or a silver was right there in front of them, the disciples were to go dig for them themselves. Only then would they acquire them. Divine abilities, secret arts; they were all there. However, had to train in earnest and make improvements before acquiring them.

If one didn’t have to work hard and didn’t make any improvements, and yet still received everything one wanted? This would result in a useless, hedonistic son of rich parents. Thus, the unspoken rule.

A master could help, could guide, could lead by the hand. But the disciple had to go out and struggle for himself! It was extremely rare for someone like Daoist Jadefine to give five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to a disciple. However, that was also the limit of Daoist Jadefine’s doting on Northson; in other aspects, such as in handing out black-white pellets, she didn’t wantonly give him things.

“Right.” Northson nodded. “Senior apprentice-brother, go back to your own place for now. I’ll go visit Master, then make some preparations…tomorrow, I’ll come seek you out, senior apprentice-brother. We’ll head out tomorrow morning and leave the Black-White College.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. Northson immediately produced the Azure Dragon construct out of nowhere. Boarding it, he rapidly soared into the skies and disappeared.

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson has gone to visit his master.” Ning boarded his own flying boat, soaring into the skies. As he did so, he turned to glance towards Immortal Diancai’s residence.

“Master. Your disciple definitely will not let you down.”

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Chapter 8 – Entering the Raindragon Guard

Chapter 8 – Entering the Raindragon Guard

The next morning, at dawn. Darknorth Peak.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, I want to go alongside with you. I can pour tea for you and service you.” Cloudjade looked expectantly at Ning.

“We are going out in the world to adventure and to test ourselves. There will be countless dangers. This isn’t tourism! You had best just stay here calmly at the Black-White College.” Ning looked towards his retainers; Meng Roch, Cloudjade, Cloudship, Forgard, Weifang, and Nethersun. “After I leave the Black-White College, all matters here at Darknorth Peak, great and small, will be managed by Meng Roch.”

Cloudship and the others, upon hearing this, were all rather amazed. Roch? The weakest amongst them was most likely Roch. The others had all improved in strength, but because Roch’s ki foundation had been damaged, he had been forced to divide his attention and also train as a Fiendgod. For now, at least, he was the weakest of them.

“Yes, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Cloudjade and the others all acknowledged the order.

“Rocky. I entrust Darknorth Peak to you.” Ning looked towards Roch. The tall, swarthy Roch nodded solemnly. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, don’t worry at all.”

Ning suddenly raised his head. From afar, a streak of light was flying over. It was Mu Northson, riding on his Azure Dragon construct. Northson called out towards him from afar, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning!”

“Let’s go, Uncle White.” The flying boat appeared next to Ning, and the Whitewater Hound ambled into the boat. The two of them, a man and a large, snowy white hound, immediately soared into the air, moving to join with the distant Northson, aboard his flying dragon. Soon, they all disappeared into the distant mountain peaks.

………..

Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound walked out from the main gates of the Black-White College. “The next time we return,” Northson said, “We will be even more powerful.” Northson turned to look at the gates of the school, his eyes filled with anticipation and desire. He said softly, “And I’m going to bring back a pile of techniques and arts which the College doesn’t have…I’ve grown sick of not having enough black-white pellets, and of the pain of not having enough of them to trade for all sorts of golem-related arts.”

The Black-White College had a sea of techniques and arts; where did they all come from? Naturally, they had been accumulated over the years by its disciples, who had brought them back after adventuring in the outside world. When the disciples offered new techniques and arts, they would receive corresponding rewards in black-white pellets and liquefied elemental essence!

Ning actually had two extremely powerful techniques which he could offer to the College; the first was his divine ability, the [Windwing Evasion], while the second was the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. The entire school only had five divine abilities; from this, one could see how rare they were. This divine ability, however, had been passed down from generation to generation by the Yuchi clan, and even his mother had told him that it was not to be given to outsiders. How could he so casually give it up?

As for the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], that was something he could make his own decision on, but he had already left the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to the Ji clan; in the future, the Ji clan would rely on it to rise to prominence. His father had given his entire life for the Ji clan, and Ning had grown up within the clan ever since he was young. He felt a powerful sense of loyalty to the clan. For now, Ning still needed to seriously consider as to whether or not he was to give such a powerful, consummate technique to the College.

After all, all schools, sects, tribes, and clans viewed arts and techniques with great importance. It was entirely possible that an entire tribe might be exterminated for the sake of a divine ability or a powerful secret art.

“Let’s go,” Ning said.

“Where should we go?” Northson asked.

“First, to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.” Ning laughed. “The Heavenly Treasures Mountain has countless treasures within it. If we are going to go adventuring, we’ll need to prepare ourselves. We can go shopping there.”

“Right. I really do want to go shopping.” Northson nodded. And so, Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound immediately departed the Black-White College.

……..

A white-haired, young-faced old granny was standing within a courtyard. The water-scrying mirror in front of her revealed Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound departing from the gates of the Black-White College.

“Northson…” Daoist Jadefine’s eyes held a hint of both worry and anticipation.

……..

The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position on his bed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. They were filled with anticipation. His disciple had gone out to temper himself.

Some disciples would return in two or three years. Some would only return after decades. Still others would return only after centuries! But of course, there were also some who would never return, having died in the outside world.

………

Heavenly Treasures Mountain. This place had the support of the mighty imperial clan of the Xia Dynasty. They were in every single one of the commandery cities which were stretched across the vast land.

In the three years since joining the Black-White College, Ning had come out and met with Northmont Baiwei quite a few times. Naturally, he had gone to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain as well.

“Uncle White, this time when we go adventuring, we shall be beset by dangers. What do you need?” Ning looked towards the Whitewater Hound by his side and spoke to him mentally.

“You’ve already given me that Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal,” the Whitewater Hound sent back mentally. “Right now, there is one thing which I wish for the most…the ‘Fuxi Staff Formation’.”

“Fuxi Staff Formation?” Ning nodded. Although he couldn’t compare with his Uncle White in terms of formations, in his spare time, Ning would also go meditate on them. Naturally, he knew about the renowned ‘Fuxi Staff Formation’. Fuxi…that was a major power from the legends. Even in his previous life on Earth, Ning had heard some of the legends of Fuxi.

Fuxi, Houyi, Kuafu…these were all figures out of ancient legends. The Fuxi Staff Formation, in turn, was supposedly created by Fuxi, formed from eight arrays of eight staffs, for 64 staffs in total. Fuxi was able to use it to execute all sorts of formations. Those 64 staffs…there were boundless ways in which they could be used. In the hands of an ordinary Immortal cultivator, they might be useless, but in the hands of a formations expert, they could unleash astonishing levels of power.

The higher one’s level of insights into formations was, the greater and the more miraculous the power one would be able to unleash from the Fuxi Staff Formation. According to legends, Fuxi was able to rely on this Fuxi Staff Formation to set up a grand formation that had the power to annihilate the heavens and exterminate the earth. In addition, the Fuxi Staff Formation was something which could be carried about; like the ‘Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation’, it could be unleashed at any time. Thus, those who were skilled in formations would generally try to procure a set of the Fuxi Staff Formation.

“Alright. Leave it to me.” Ning nodded.

“Young master Ji. Young master Mu.” A devilishly attractive female Zifu Disciple had come to the gates of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain early on, and she now came to welcome them. Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound thus entered the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

………

There were countless treasures within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, but the prices were similarly extravagant. Still, those who the Heavenly Treasures Mountain cared about would generally be given discounts. For genius disciples of the Black-White College, a 30% discount would be given. This was essentially as large a discount as was possible, because when the Heavenly Treasures Mountain purchased treasures, they would usually buy them at a 60% valuation!

But of course, there were stories of some Immortals who both bought and sold items at a cost of 60%; the Heavenly Treasures Mountain wouldn’t try to make any money off them at all. But of course, for now, Ning’s group couldn’t possibly be treated in this way.

“I’m selling this set of sword formations. This magic treasure as well. Oh, this set of sword formations as well.” Within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, Ning quickly began to sell off the many magic treasures he had accumulated, such as the various magic treasures he had acquired when killing the Immortal cultivators of Snowdragon Mountain. He had even sold off the sword formations bestowed upon him by Northmont Blacktiger and senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow. This was because, although these sword formations were of high quality, they came from different sources; some were ice-attribute flying swords, while others were fire-attribute flying swords. Having too many swords of different types was not beneficial to the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

Soon, an hour had passed. Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound all departed from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

Ning acquired a set of 360 high-grade Mortal-ranked water-attribute flying swords, then acquired another set of 360 high-grade Mortal-ranked fire-attribute flying swords. In total, he had 720 high-grade flying swords now. Although these were all produced by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, and were flying swords of the most common variety, with nothing unique about them, they were still high-grade Mortal-ranked weapons. If he had to use liquefied elemental essence to purchase them, he would have spent nearly five hundred kilograms.

Blacktiger had gifted him two sword formations, while Bloodshadow had gifted him with one. He had managed to sell them off for nearly 450 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. The magic treasures of Adept Xu Li, in turn, were sold off for nearly fifty kilograms.

……

In short, in the end, Ning ended up paying an additional hundred kilograms in exchange for 720 high-grade Mortal-ranked flying swords, and a Fuxi Staff Formation. He then spent a bit more to purchase some necessary adventuring items.

“Ugh!” After exiting the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, Northson let out a sigh. “After entering the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, I realized how poor I actually am. All I have left right now is around five kilograms of liquefied elemental essence or so. As for you, senior apprentice-brother, I imagine you should be a bit better off.”

“In the past three years, although I’ve won a few battles at the Dao Debate Palace…” Ning shook his head. “After this visit to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, I’m essentially bankrupt as well. I only have around fifty or so kilograms left.”

Northson nodded, but then his eyes lit up. “Of course we won’t be able to acquire any treasures while staying within the College all the time. We are now going to go out adventuring, and we’ll have plenty of opportunities to acquire them. For example, back in the day, senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow managed to effortlessly gift you that precious Mortal-ranked sword formation to you, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning. Clearly, to him, it wasn’t worth anything at all. Now that we are going out adventuring, I trust that soon, we’ll be just like him.”

“Right.” Ning’s eyes were filled with eagerness as well. In the College, they would often hear about how this senior apprentice-brother found a senior’s legacy and acquired some precious item, or about how that senior apprentice-sister had killed hundreds of other Immortal practitioners over ten-plus years of wandering and battling, and had acquired countless treasures. Or…

Well. In short, Ning and Northson had never been out adventuring, and so they naturally felt itchiness in their hearts.

“Just now, I traded for some treasures. My power has improved a bit, compared to the past. This time, I’m definitely going to go on a rampage around the world.” Northson was filled with a boundless heroic aura.

“Hahaha.” Ning just laughed.

His [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] still had, as its core, the Nine Yang Swords Formation which he had acquired in the underwater estate. The other 360 water-attribute flying swords and 360 fire-attribute flying swords…they both countered and reinforced each other, and extremely well-suited for controlling within the Dao of formations. Ning trusted that his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would also have incomparably astonishing combat power.

“My long-distance attacks are now comparable to my close-quarters attacks,” Ning mused to himself. Ning was now extremely powerful in close combat, because he had reached the ninth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], which was comparable to an ordinary early stage Wanxiang Adept Fiendgod! In addition, after he had reached the Dao Domain level in the Dao of the Inferno and gained a thousand black-white pellets, Ning had purchased both the divine ability [Heavenly Transformation] as well as the second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

Thus, even if he didn’t use the utterly monstrous [Starseizing Hand] ability, just by relying on his [Windwing Evasion] and [Heavenly Transformation] divine abilities, Ning could unleash a truly astonishing amount of power in close combat. In addition, as a Ki Refiner, he had the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and so he was also extremely strong. Both in close quarters and at long range…he was extremely powerful.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, where should we go?” Northson looked at the nearby Ning. “Where should we go adventure?”

“Previously, our senior fellow disciples all recommended that we go join the Raindragon Guard,” Ning said. “There are many benefits for someone to join the Raindragon Guard, and we can also take on missions from them, and so have fixed goals when we go out adventuring. In addition, as Raindragon Guards who are out on official missions…we can also overawe and frighten off some people, and also avoid some difficulties.”

“Right.” Northson nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

The two finished their discussion, and their decision was…to first join the Raindragon Guard!

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Chapter 9 – Raindragon Guard, Stillwater Division

Chapter 9 – Raindragon Guard, Stillwater Division

Ji Ning, before leaving, paid a visit to Northmont Blacktiger’s Estate as well. He bade farewell to his good friend, Northmont Baiwei, who upon learning that Ning was leaving, gave him quite a few pieces of advice. He knew exactly how dangerous adventuring in the outside world was, but in order to become a truly influential, powerful figure in the greater world, one did have to undergo a brutal, merciless tempering process.

Within a desolate, wild region outside Stillwater City. “Kakakaka…crunch.” An Azure Dragon construct, hovering in midair, suddenly transformed, its body beginning to change into the shape of a wide, dragon-headed ship.

Ning raised his head, staring at the dragon-headed ship, then gave a surprised sigh and glanced towards the nearby Mu Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, this construct of yours can even transform? How formidable.”

“You are an outsider who knows nothing at all about the art of constructs. Transformations are nothing more than parlour tricks,” Northson said smugly. “Let’s go. The Stillwater division of the Raindragon Guard is located at the Crimson Dragon Mountains. Although it’s a bit far from here…flying on magic treasures isn’t quite as comfortable as letting the construct fly for us on its own.”

Laughing, Ning led the Whitewater Hound in boarding the dragon-headed ship. Standing atop the front of the ship, Northson had an incomparably bold appearance, and the ship quickly soared into the clouds, moving at high speed. Northson said, “I have an essence-gathering runic formation placed atop this construct, and so when flying at this speed, it won’t use up any elemental energy at all. The elemental essence it absorbs while flying will be enough.”

“I often heard aunt-master Jadefine praise you and say that your talents in the Dao of Constructs are extremely high. In the College, we would at most engage in Dao Debates, and so I’ve never had the chance to personally witness your power in this regard, junior apprentice-brother Northson. Now that we are joining the Raindragon Guard…I’ll be able to take a good look,” Ning laughed.

“Make sure you watch with wide eyes.” Northson raised his head proudly, seeming quite delighted with himself. Ning roared with laughter.

Although they had gotten to know quite a few senior fellow apprentices during the past three years at the Black-White College, and they were on very good terms with some, such as Ninelotus and Bloodshadow, in Ning’s heart, the one he was closest to was still Mu Northson, who had joined the school alongside him. Northson, perhaps because of his young age, had completely focused on the Dao of Constructs since he was a child, and unlike Ning, didn’t have memories from a former life. Thus, his behavior was quite juvenile and immature. In short; Northson had the temperament of a child!

If he liked something, he liked it; if he was mad, he was mad. He wasn’t able to hide anything! When he first entered the school, he had been defeated twice in Dao Debates, and had been unspeakably angry. If he had been slightly better at hiding his emotions, he wouldn’t have exposed his anger so openly. Strictly speaking…he was a bit too earnest and sincere.

In turn, however, Ning found it quite easy to get along with a little junior apprentice-brother like him.

“There we are. We reached the Crimson Dragon Mountains.” Northson’s eyes were gleaming as he pointed into the distance.

Ning stared into the distance. Past the clouds, he could see a chain of mountains that did indeed seem to be shaped into the sinuous figure of a dragon. The entire dragon-shaped mountain range was covered with a fiery red color, and from the distance, it did indeed look like a fiery, divine dragon! Its aura was quite astonishing as well, and in fact, it was even more terrifying than the grand formation of the Black-White College, which had been reinforced by countless generations of Immortals of the College.

“It lives up to its reputation as one of the top two supreme powers within Stillwatery Commandery,” Ning said with an amazed sigh.

Northson sighed in amazement as well. “The two supreme powers are the Northmont clan of Stillwater, and the Stillwater division of the Raindragon Guard. In addition, just from looking at the grand formation, we can see that they definitely far surpass our Black-White College. The Raindragon Guard really live up to their reputation. This was just a mere commandery division! When you think about how there is such a division in every single commandery which has been united under the control of the Xia Dynasty…one can’t help but shudder.”

Ning nodded. “This is true.” The Northmont clan of Stillwater Commandery held, as their enfeoffment, the entire Stillwater Commandery. They had existed from the Fiendgod era; naturally, they had accumulated countless valiant powers.

As for the Raindragon Guard? One could see from a superficial look as to how powerful they are. In addition, they could ask for the support of the other divisions at any time, and could even request support from the headquarters of the Raindragon Guard in the imperial capital of the Xia Dynasty! To the Raindragon Guard which oversaw the entire Xia Dynasty, sending out a few hundred or even a thousand Immortals was a minor matter.

“It’s precisely because they are so powerful, being representatives of the Xia Dynasty, that even we desire to join the Raindragon Guard,” Ning said. “Come. Let’s move over.”

“Right.” Northson nodded. The dragon-headed boat immediately swooped lower, moving directly towards the Crimson Dragon Mountains.

The Crimson Dragon Mountains were shaped like an enormous dragon, with the head of the dragon being the mountain where guests were welcomed. Ning and Northson directed the construct vessel to swoop downwards, landing directly atop a flat area at the guest-welcoming mountain. After collecting the Azure Dragon construct, Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Northson all moved over. Right at this moment, two Zifu Disciples who wore fiery red armor walked over from afar. A cold look on their faces, they barked, “Why have you come to our Crimson Dragon Mountains?”

Ning and Northson both felt as though they were being rather overbearing, but this was the local division of the Raindragon Guard, after all. The two of them couldn’t act too inappropriately.

“We have come to join the Raindragon Guard,” Ning said. “Oh?” The two fiery-armored Zifu Disciples gave them a glance, and the leader, a tall, skinny cultivator, said in a cold voice, “Then follow me.”

Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound immediately followed after him. They all moved through the mountainous as easily as though they were moving through flat land, and these crimson-armored Zifu Disciples could be seen throughout this guest-welcoming peak.

“The two of you, listen up.” The tall, skinny cultivator leading to them said in a cold voice, “Quite a few wish to join our Raindragon Guard. However, you have not yet joined and are not yet Raindragon Guards. And so, you’d best obediently obey the rules here…”

Northson, upon hearing this, frowned. Ning, however, was more or less calm.

“Remember this. First of all, you are not Raindragon Guards; thus, within the Crimson Dragon Mountains, you are forbidden from fighting. If you violate this, you will be killed with no mercy!”

“Second, the only place within the Crimson Dragon Mountains which you may move about in is this place, the guest-welcoming mountain. If you barge into other areas, you will be killed with no mercy!”

“Third, you are not to touch or damage the restrictive formations set upon the guest-welcoming mouontain. Violators will be killed with no mercy.”

The tall, skinny man didn’t even look at Ning or Northson. Northson’s face was now turning rather ugly. He sent mentally, “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, the Raindragon Guard have too many rules, and they are too brash and arrogant. We are disciples of the Black-White College, and yet they treat us like this?”

“Forget about being disciples of the Black-White College; even if we were members of the Northmont clan of Stillwater, it wouldn’t mean anything in this place.” Ning had read the intelligence reports, and knew a few things about the Raindragon Guard.

Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound continued to follow from behind. Soon, they arrived at the back of the mountain, where there were wooden houses and stone houses scattered everywhere.

“Take a look.” The tall, skinny cultivator pointed towards the distant stone and wood houses. “Within those houses are those who wish to join the Raindragon Guard. These houses were built and left behind by others who came to join us. You can choose an empty one and live there for now. When we’ve cobbled together enough people, you’ll be sent to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

After speaking, the tall, skinny cultivator turned and departed, quickly disappearing.

“Who the hell is he? He’s so arrogant,” Northson muttered. “He’s an auxiliary ‘Keeper’ of the Raindragon Guard,” Ning said. He had met with Baiwei quite a few times, and had learned many things.

“A ‘Keeper’ of the Raindragon Guard?” Northson said, surprised, “The Raindragon Guard actually has Keepers?”

Ning nodded. “Of course. Those of us who join the Raindragon Guard are all quite free and unrestrained; we roam about the world, and only when we come to take on missions will we appear! However, the Raindragon Guard also needs some people who are permanently stationed here, or some soldiers who they will be able to trust completely. Thus, the ‘Keepers’ were created!”

“The Keepers of the Raindragon Guard are like soldiers; they are controlled extremely strictly, and are subject to many rules. They aren’t as free as us,” Ning said. “You should know that the Raindragon Guard has an auxiliary corps! Generally speaking, the Keepers are selected from the auxiliary corps.”

“Oh!” Northson now understood.

“Although their freedoms are restricted, they have the highest degree of trust from the Xia Dynasty. Within the Raindragon Guard, they have access to more divine abilities, secret arts, treasures, etc. As for us, even after we become Raindragon Guards, we’ll still need to carry out missions in order to receive such benefits,” Ning said. “To get something, you have to give something.”

Northson hurriedly nodded. “I don’t want to become a Keeper. There are so many rules; how does it even feel like being an Immortal practitioner? That’s just a form of suffering.”

“Everyone has their own choices,” Ning said with a laugh, then sighed. “Those who are extremely talented will naturally have the option of choosing to be free and unrestrained. But for those who are less talented, they naturally might give up these things, so as to be able to acquire some top-class techniques, secret arts, and whatnot.”

“Mm. That’s true as well.” Northson nodded, seeming to have understood something. As the two chatted, they continued to move forward. The stone and wooden residences were all very simply made; generally speaking, they had just a single house and a yard. A number of them already had Immortal cultivators residing in them.

“This one.” Northson pointed at a grassy area in front of him. As he pointed, instantly, a streak of light flew out, and the streak of light quickly began to transform and expand atop the ground, quickly developing into quite an elegant-looking estate.

“An estate made from a construct?” Ning was startled. The Dao of Constructs truly was a remarkable one. Carriages, warships, people, beasts, estates, or even cities; all these things could be produced through the Dao of Constructs.

“Who knows how long this adventure of ours shall last? It’s quite unsafe to stay in an empty, desolate area. Thus, I personally created this ‘Moonwood Estate’, which even a Wanxiang Adept would need to spend quite a bit of time to break into,” Northson said smugly.

“Not bad, not bad,” Ning laughed as he walked inside. And so, Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound took up residence within the ‘Moonwood Estate’. One day after another passed, and the Immortal cultivators living in the nearby stone and wood houses began to discover that a construct-estate had appeared in their midst. However, none of them commented on it, just waited quietly together.

Early one dawn, a month after Ning’s group had arrived.

“Everyone!” A sonorous voice thundered out, instantly filling every single stone room and even wooden room. Even the construct-estate which Northson had created was unable to block out this sound, which blasted forth next to Ning, Northson, and the Whitewater Hound’s ears.

“It is time to go to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” The voice continued to echo forth.

Ning felt his chest grow tight, and his face changed. “Such terrifying power. This level of power…makes me feel as though I cannot resist it whatsoever. It must be an Immortal.” Although he didn’t feel confident in being able to fight a Primal Daoist, he wouldn’t feel as completely powerless as he did now. Thus, it should be an Immortal.

Ning and Northson both walked out. Northson waved his hand, and the entire construct-estate was tucked away.

At this moment in time, figures emerged from the stone and wooden houses as well. These were all people who wished to join the Raindragon Guard.

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Chapter 10 – The Immortals of the Raindragon Guard

Chapter 10 – The Immortals of the Raindragon Guard

Ning stared at his surroundings. During the past month, all of the Immortal cultivators had remained in their own stone or wooden houses, training quietly. To them…training and waiting for a month was a very simple matter. Thus, during the past month, he hadn’t really gotten to know any of them!

“A hundred!” Ning’s gaze swept past them, and he realized that the total number of figures who had emerged numbered exactly a hundred people. Ning then turned his gaze to the front.

Up ahead, there were three figures who were staring at Ning and the other 99 who wished to join the Raindragon Guard. These three were led by a silver-haired, black-robed elder who carried a desolate, killing aura about him. When he swept his gaze past the prospective recruits, everyone, Ning included, felt an invisible pressure bear down upon them. It was as though a black dragon was staring at a crowd of ants.

“An Immortal!” Ning said silently to himself. The gaze of the silver-haired, black-robed elder flashed like the gleam of a weapon, causing them all to feel shock in their hearts. He suddenly spoke out. “Your batch of a hundred Immortal cultivators has been completed. Now, you can go to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

Ning and the rest of the hundred all listened carefully.

“You are not yet Raindragon Guards,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder continued coldly. “Thus, you were assigned to live in this desolate, backwater part of the mountain. Once you become true Raindragon Guards…you will naturally be permitted to enter the depths of the Crimson Dragon Mountains.”

As he spoke, he pointed towards the distance, to a peak of the Crimson Dragon Moungains. “That place is the place where true Raindragon Guards reside. The Crimson Dragon Mountains aren’t a place for pleasure, and it isn’t as bustling as Stillwater City. The only thing we have here is the endless quiet.” The silver-haired elder continued calmly, “Those who focus on training quietly will generally take over one of the cave estates of the Crimson Dragon Mountains and train within. The number of Immortals who are currently training within the Crimson Dragon Mountains…is greater than twenty!”

Once these words came out, Ning and the rest of the hundred Immortal cultivators all felt their hearts clench tightly. The Raindragon Guard really did live up to its reputation as being one of the two titans of Stillwater Commandery! More than twenty Immortals?!

Ning and Northson were from the Black-White College, which was ranked as the third greatest power. And yet, they now understood what a tremendous difference in power there was. Although the College had quite a few Immortals…just the ones training in at the Raindragon Guard’s base numbered over twenty, much less the ones out on assignment or in the other branches spread throughout the Xia Dynasty.

“In fact, some Celestial Immortals will occasionally come from the imperial capital to expound on the Dao for the Raindragon Guards present.” The silver-haired elder swept his gaze forward. “In terms of power, our division of the Raindragon Guard is comparable to the Northmont clan of Stillwater. In terms of our roots and background, however, the Raindragon Guard vastly outstrips them.”

“So long as you can enter the Raindragon Guard, divine abilities, secret arts, and even the chance to head to the core of the Xia Dynasty, the imperial capital…all these are possible. You might even have a chance to go to the main headquarters of the Raindragon Guard to learn and be trained.”

“All of this…requires you to first join the Raindragon Guard!” The silver-haired, black-robed elder stood there, waist as straight as a mountain, his voice reverberating sonorously in each person’s inner heart. “Now, each of you shall tell me of your history and your power. If you wish to join the Raindragon Guard…you must meet the minimum requirements of our Raindragon Guard. If you aren’t even able to fulfill the minimum requirements, then there is no need for you to go to the Gaol Mountains’s wild marshes; you can just go back right now.”

Whoosh! Instantly, a bronze mirror floated up into the skies, hanging there. “All of you, fully explain your histories and your level of strength. If you dare to lie at all, you will be killed without mercy. You.” The silver-haired elder pointed towards a black-bearded youth, and the bronze mirror turned towards him.

The black-bearded youth immediately said, “Skysplitter Sword Sect, Ki Refiner, middle-stage Wanxiang Adept, Bu Violetsun!”

“Alright.” The silver-haired elder nodded. “Next.”

“Eastriver Clan, Ki Refiner. Late-stage Wanxiang Adept, Eastriver Cloudsoar!”

……

One practitioner after another began to reveal their histories. The Raindragon Guard would naturally want to learn about the backgrounds of those who came to join. After learning their backgrounds and names…given the intelligence networks of the Raindragon Guard, they would quickly be able to obtain detailed reports.

Not a single person dared to lie. To lie in front of an Immortal of the Raindragon Guard would be suicidal.

“You.” The silver-haired elder pointed towards Northson. Northson answered, “Black-White College, Ki Refiner. Middle-stage Wanxiang Adept, Mu Northson.”

“The Black-White College?”

“Someone from the Black-White College came as well.”

Instantly, quite a few Immortal cultivators began to pay attention to Northson. Although they also came from extremely top-tier schools, sects, and extremely large clans that were on the same tier as the Black-White College, those tribes and clans had many disciples and descendants. Every single member of the Black-White College, however, was definitely a peerless genius. Not a single one of them was easily offended.

“You.” The silver-haired elder looked towards Ning.

“Black-White College, Ki and Fiendgod Body dual refiner. Ninth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Ji Ning.” Ning gave his response.

The silver-haired elder gave Ning a surprised glance. For even an Immortal to be surprised, the reactions of the other Immortal practitioners went without saying. All of them were filled with boundless amazement and curiousity. To join the Raindragon Guard…generally speaking, the early Wanxiang Adept stage was a minimum requirement, but of course, if one trained in the legendary, number one Fiendgod Body Refining Technique, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], one would be an exception. Being at the Zifu Disciple level would suffice.

This situation, however, was extremely rare. Unexpectedly, today they managed to encounter someone who had trained to the ninth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

“The ninth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is comparable to an ordinary early stage Fiendgod Wanxiang Adept. Upon using a divine ability, the power will definitely be significant; after all, he came from the Black-White College.”

“He’s too rash. No matter what, he’s only an early stage Wanxiang Adept. Since he didn’t discuss his power as a Ki Refiner, he hasn’t reached the Wanxiang level in it either. He’s a weak Ki Refiner, and just barely qualifies as a Fiendgod Body Refiner…upon encountering a group of enemies, they will trample him to death.” The Immortal practitioners were all thinking this to themselves.

Those who dared join the Raindragon Guard were all quite self-confident, and could be considered elites amongst their peers.

……..

“Mm…” The silver-haired, black-robed elder looked towards Ning’s reflection in the bronze mirror, then nodded slowly. “You are indeed at the ninth stage. Next.” The silver-haired, black-robed elder looked towards the next person. But, right at this moment…

A voice suddenly echoed in Ning’s mind. “Your name is Ji Ning? The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] has been publicly acclaimed since the Fiendgod Era as the number one technique, and it has quite a few special aspects. Once you join the Raindragon Guard, you’ll learn how to better unleash your battle power as a Fiendgod. You must return from the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains alive…and actually, it’d be better if you waited until you reached the tenth stage or the eleventh stage before going to the wild marshes. Then, you will definitely be incomparably safe.”

The silver-haired, black-robed elder even gave Ning a sidelong glance. Ning understood…this Immortal of the Raindragon Guard was the one who had mentally sent him this message. Ning smiled towards this Immortal of the Raindragon Guard, but he didn’t hesitate at all. Clearly, his mind was set.

“Special?” Ning pondered this statement. “When I was in the underwater estate, the giant yellow bear also said that my Fiendgod body can be described as ‘perfect’, and capable of learning the [Starseizing Hand] which Daoist Threelives left behind. In addition, even in the Fiendgod Era, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was publicly acclaimed as the number one Fiendgod Body Refining Technique. It has spread so far…I imagine that it is quite easy to acquire. Even our Ji clan has a complete copy of the first scroll and the first nine stages of it!”

Ning had the feeling…as though there must be a tremendously powerful force which was propagating the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. In addition, this technique had been publicly acknowledged long ago. The Xia Dynasty itself had only been established during the later periods of the Fiendgod Era. This technique had existed even before the Xia Dynasty’s founding…and yet, the Xia Dynasty actively propagated it.

“There must be some reason for this,” Ning mused to himself. “However, without question, this technique, as one which even the giant yellow bear praised, shouldn’t have any problems. Since the technique itself has no problems…then for now, a kid like myself has no need to worry about the other reasons.”

“This Immortal of the Raindragon Guard said that there are some special aspects to it, and that after joining the Raindragon Guard, I’ll learn how to truly unleash the combat potential of my divine body?” Ning instantly grew rather eager. The Raindragon Guard was the most powerful military force of the entire Xia Dynasty. It only made sense that it had some special secret arts.

In terms of its roots and its background…the Raindragon Guard was naturally countless times superior to the Black-White College. Not even the Marquis of Stillwater could compare to the entire Raindragon Guard.

“You.” The silver-haired elder pointed to the final Immortal cultivator. This man was dressed in a beautiful golden robe, and he said with respect, “Snowdragon Mountain, Ki Refiner, peak Wanxiang Adept, Dong One!”

Ning’s ears twitched. He turned to look over towards him, and that Immortal cultivator just so happened to be looking at Ning as well. Their gazes intersected.

“He knows me.” Ning instantly realized this, when their gazes cross. The Immortal cultivator named Dong One had a smile on his face, and he even nodded towards Ning. Ning just gave him a calm look, not smiling at all. His parents and uncle, in a way, had all died due to the disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. How could Ning possibly smile when facing a disciple of Snowdragon Mountain?

Ning began to ponder in his heart. “Why has this Wanxiang Adept of Snowdragon Mountain come here? Did he accidentally encounter me, or was he chasing after me deliberately?”

Previously, he had remained in Stillwater City this entire time, and so Snowdragon Mountain didn’t have any chance to take revenge on him. Was Snowdragon Mountain pursuing him as soon as he had emerged?

“Their intelligence networks shouldn’t be this good,” Ning mused. “In addition, I’m a disciple of the Black-White College, and the personal disciple of an Immortal. Snowdragon Mountain shouldn’t be so bold as to act in this way. It’s possible that this is all just a chance meeting.”

……

Each person had finished describing their histories and strengths. The silver-haired, black-robed elder waved his hand. Instantly, streaks of light flew out towards each person. Ning stretched out his hand, clasping it; it was a talisman.

“This is a talisman,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder said. “Bind it. Only then will you be able to enter the inner regions of the Crimson Dragon Mountains. The teleportation array within the inner region leads to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. If you haven’t bound any talismans, the protective formation around the Crimson Dragon Mountains will not permit you to enter.”

Ning and the others didn’t hesitate at all, as they all immediately bound the talismans. “Go.” The silver-haired, black-robed elder’s body suddenly became shrouded by clouds which appeared out of nowhere, and the clouds lifted up and dragged Ning and the others away. However, the spirit-beasts which some Immortal cultivators had brought were all left behind.

“The test for entering the Raindragon Guard is a personal test. These spirit-beasts are not to enter the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder said. “Have them stay here for now. If you come back alive, you can seek them out.”

Ning stood there atop the clouds. He turned to look downwards towards the Whitewater Hound. “Uncle White, wait for me,” Ning sent mentally. “Be careful,” the Whitewater Hound sent back, looking towards Ning.

And then, the silver-haired, black-robed elder led the group of Immortal cultivators atop his clouds. They quickly flew away, moving deeper into the distant inner regions of the Crimson Dragon Mountains.

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Chapter 11 – The Wild Marshes of the Gaol Mountains

Chapter 11 – The Wild Marshes of the Gaol Mountains

When standing atop the clouds and staring downwards, one would be vaguely make out the Immortal residences that lay scattered throughout the winding mouontains. Occasionally, one would also seem some figures flying about on magic treasures; most likely, those were Raindragon Guards.

Just as Ji Ning and Mu Northson were staring with curiosity towards those Immortal cultivators, suddenly…the cloud began to sink downwards.

“That’s…” Ning saw, in the distance, a towering mountain peak, atop which a massive, complicated, tower-shaped formation had been built.

Boom! The cloud landed, and Ning’s group of Immortal cultivators stared towards the tower-shaped formation. This tower-shaped formation up ahead faintly glimmered with gray light, and it was 2400 meters high! The base had a diameter of three hundred meters, and was divided into what appeared to be nine halls. The entire tower-shaped formation’s structure appeared to be made from rare metals, and it was covered with the carvings of many runes. The densely clustered runes covered the entire, 2400 meter high tower-shaped formation.

The entire tower-shaped formation emanated a hazy gray light. Only the tip of the tower shone with a white light. Next to the formation, there were ten old men dressed in plain clothes who were on guard.

“This is the teleportation array?” Northson’s eyes were shining. “Should be,” Ning said, also incredibly curious.

They had heard long ago about the legendary ‘teleportation arrays’, but had never used them. In Stillwater Commandery, only the Raindragon Guards, along with a very few number of others, had the right to use the teleportation array. But of course, one could bring one’s retainers and spirit-beasts along. It was only because Ning’s group was here to join the Raindragon Guard that an exception was made and they were permitted to use it once.

“Teleportation array?”

“A teleportation array that is 2400 meters high? The division stationed in my homeland has a teleportation array as well, but it is only 300 meters high, much smaller than this one.”

“I’ve never even seen one.”

Although these Immortal practitioners all had seen many things, upon seeing this massive teleportation array, they all sighed in amazement. As for those ten plainly dressed elders, upon they all bowed towards that silver-haired, black-robed elder.

“Make your preparations,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder instructed. “These hundred Immortal cultivators are to be sent directly to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains!”

“Yes.” The ten elders immediately entered the grand formation, which began to change subtly. As for the silver-haired elder, he glanced towards Ning’s group of a hundred, then said in a sonorous voice, “This teleportation array is a top-tier teleportation array. It can even teleport you directly to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty! You can reach any region of this vast world through this teleportation array and arrive in an instant.”

“Although the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains are two million kilometers away, you will arrive in an instant,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder said. “Eh?!” Suddenly, the silver-haired elder’s face changed slightly. Swoosh! He suddenly disappeared fro the spot.

This completely astonished Ning and the others, who were still listening to him speak. “Why did he vanish?”

“Something important must have occurred.”

“Immortals truly are extraordinary. He vanished in an instant, and it wasn’t some sort of movement technique.” The Immortal cultivators all began to chat amongst themselves.

The ten plainly dressed elders who were guarding the teleportation array were all puzzled as well. Why’d he leave? To change the destination and to verify the teleportation was a simple, fast matter.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Northson whispered. “Although I’ve heard of the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains long ago, I don’t know how dangerous it is, exactly.”

“It is quite famous…it is ranked as one of the most dangerous locations within the borders of our Stillwater Commandery. I heard that in that place, there are many areas where space is fractured, and which might lead directly to some fractured dimensions. There are many monsters lying in wait there, and according to legend, even Fiendgods lie in hiding there,” Ning said.

The land under the control of the Grand Xia Dynasty was simply too vast. Aside from some safe areas like Swallow Mountain, there were also countless mysterious, special, dangerous regions!

Even the Earth of Ning’s previous life had, in an area of ten thousand kilometers, countless mysteries and secret areas. The same was true, naturally, for the vast world ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty. Within Stillwater Commandery, there were quite a few bizarre places, and some had been created as part of the aftermath of battles that had occurred back in the Fiendgod Era. There were also Immortal estates, relic sites left behind by major powers, and more.

One of the top ten danger zones of the entire Stillwater Commandery were the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains! However, these danger zones were also filled with countless opportunities.

“I, too, have heard that there are Fiendgods here.” Suddenly, a handsome, white-robed man moved closer to them. Ning and Northson both turned to look.

“Fellow Daoists Ji Ning, Mu Northson,” the handsome, white-robed man immediately said with a laugh. “I am Eastriver Cloudsoar, and my Daoist title is Cloudsoar as well.”

“My Daoist title is Twinwood,” Northson said quite straightforwardly. At the same time, he glanced at Ning, then continued, “My senior apprentice-brother is Ji Ning. His Daoist title is Darknorth! Right, you just spoke of Fiendgods…can it be that there truly are Fiendgods within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains?”

The handsome, white-robed man immediately said, “Can it be that you two have never heard of the legends of the ‘Gaol Mountains’?” “The legends of the Gaol Mountains?” Ning and Northson exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

“According to legend, an unfathomably long time ago, just as the Fiendgod Era was drawing to an end,” Cloudsoar said slowly, “The group of powerful Immortals who had established the Grand Xia Dynasty used a tremendously powerful magic treasure to imprison and seal a large group of Fiendgods! This powerful magic treasure is the ‘Gaol Mountains’. It would have been incredibly difficult to kill all the Fiendgods, and most likely some of the Immortals would have died as well. Thus, they simply used the Gaol Mountains to seal these Fiendgods away. The Gaol Mountains sealed them away from the outside world, completely separating them away and preventing them from absorbing the energy of the outside world. The Fiendgods would only grow weaker and weaker, and after a million years, they would become incomparably weak.”

Ning and Northson listened and nodded. Immortal cultivators and Fiendgods; at a certain level, they wouldn’t need to eat or drink, but they would still need to absorb energy from the outside world. Ki Refiners would absorb natural, elemental ki, while Fiendgods and Fiendgod Body Refiners would absorb some other types of energy, such as the energy of the Five Elements, the energy of the stars, the energy of the sun and the moon, etc. If one was unable to absorb energy from the outside world, one would naturally grow weaker and weaker.

“But afterwards…an extremely powerful Fiendgod who was amongst the group that had been sealed away actually managed to break through the Gaol Mountains and charge out of the sealed grounds! A wild, savage battle erupted. The Immortals and the Fiendgods fought viciously, causing the entire region to shatter and crack. Although no one knows what the results of that battle were, the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains ended up the way they currently are,” Cloudsoar said.

Ning laughed. “The Eastriver clan lives up to its reputation. You even know about secrets like this.” Cloudsoar laughed as well. “I’ve just flipped through some books on myths and legends and heard of this explanation. I have no idea if it is real or not.”

“I heard that back in the Fiendgod Era, the Fiendgods dominated this world,” Ning said. “Now, however, it is us humans who dominate the vast world, with monsters being somewhat weaker…and there are almost no Fiendgods left.”

Northson’s eyes were shining. “I’m quite curious about the Fiendgod Era as well.” Cloudsoar laughed. “When we grow stronger, we’ll naturally learn more.”

……..

“This must be clearly investigated!” The silver-haired, black-robed man was in midair, and his voice snapped out icily. Next to him was a black-furred, three-eyed hound who stood in midair. It spoke out. “Yes! If anyone from the Northmont clan of Stillwater impedes us…”

“Kill them all!” The silver-haired, black-robed elder said in a cold voice. “Don’t act in your capacity as Raindragon Guards, but kill all those who oppose you. This matter must be investigated.”

“Yes,” the three-eyed, black-furred hound said respectfully.

“These Marquisates have grown too accustomed to ruling over the territory which has been enfeoffed to them. They all grow restless, and every so often, they need to be given a drubbing,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder said in a cold voice. “It seems yet another group of people shall die in the Northmont clan of Stillwater Commandery. Go!”

“Yes.” The body of the black-furred, three-eyed hound flickered, and then it disappeared without a trace.

Only now did the silver-haired, black-robed elder ride his flying cloud downwards at a leisurely pace. Soon, he arrived at the mountain peak which contained the teleportation array. Atop the peak was Ning, Northson, and the rest of the Immortal practitioners, all of whom had been waiting for quite some time.

Whoosh! The silver-haired, black-robed elder landed. Instantly, the surrounding area fell silent. Those ten plainly dressed elders all looked towards him respectfully as well.

“All of you, listen clearly,” the silver-haired, black-robed elder said. “Those of you who wish to join the Raindragon Guard; your testing grounds shall be the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains! This place is one of the most famous, most dangerous locations of Stillwater Commandery. What you need to do is to survive in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains for three months, and bring back the head of a Wanxiang-level monster.”

“If you survive three months and bring back the head of a Wanxiang-level monster, you will join our Raindragon Guard. If you die in the wild marshes or come back without the corpse or head of a Wanxiang-level monster, then you will have failed. Understood?”

The silver-robed elder swept them with a gaze. The hundred Immortal cultivators all nodded, not hesitating in the slightest. There were many who participated in the Raindragon Guard trials, and this mission they had been assigned could be considered an ordinary one. Since they dared to come…they naturally had some degree of self-confidence.

“Excellent.” The silver-haired, black-robed elder nodded. “Since that’s the case, then all of you can head out now. I hope that in three months time, I’ll be able to see you return with the head of a monster. Remember; don’t underestimate those monsters. You wish to kill them, but they also wish to kill you. The hatred that has built up between us over countless years means that they won’t show you any mercy at all.

The hundred Immortal cultivators all agreed. Even the youngest amongst them, Mu Northson, had a look of resolve in his eyes.

“All of you, come in. Don’t go beyond the limits of the teleportation base.”

The ten plainly dressed elders began to make the arrangements. Ning’s group all moved into the teleportation array. The entire teleportation array was enormous, capable of transporting thousands of individuals.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, my master instructed me…that after we go to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, we must be wary of not only the monsters, but also of other Immortal cultivators,” Northson sent mentally.

“They all know that we are disciples of the Black-White College. The disciples of the Black-White College are incomparably few in number, and each of us carry priceless treasures on us. Thus, sometimes there will be group attacks launched against us disciples of the Black-White College. We are not yet Raindragon Guards…there are no laws against fighting amongst potential recruits.”

Laughing, Ning glanced at Northson. Indeed, human hearts were hard to fathom. In his previous life, he had lived during the era of the information explosion…Ning had definitely learned far more things than most of the people who lived in this comparatively closed, barbarian world.

Despite that, Ning still said, “I know. Junior apprentice-brother, you must be careful as well.”

“Right. If we two disciples join forces, hmph…if one comes, we’ll kill one. If ten come, we’ll kill ten!” Northson sent back.

Suddenly…

The entire surrounding teleportation formation lit up. The blurry gray light on the surface of the tower began to brighten, covering the entire teleportation formation. Someone looking in from the outside would no longer be able to see Ning and the other hundred Immortal cultivators within.

Swish!

The white light emanating from the peak of the tower suddenly increased in luminosity a thousandfold. Its brilliance made it appear to be a second Golden Crow within the skies.

After the bright light turned dim, the blurry gray light returned to normal as well. Ning and the hundred Immortal cultivators within the formation had already disappeared. By now, they had already arrived at the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.

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Chapter 12 – Entrance

Chapter 12 – Entrance

Ning felt a ripple pass through the area around him. When he had been teleported from Serpentwing Lake to the underwater estate, it had been a similar feeling.

“Eh?” Everything before him suddenly grew clear. Mu Northson was standing next to him, and other Immortal cultivators were around them as well. “We made it?” Northson stared, wide-eyed, at the surrounding area. “That really was fast.”

Ning carefully weighed the surroundings as well. They were currently in a teleportation array that was three hundred meters tall; clearly, it was a size smaller than the one by the Crimson Dragon Mountains. Off in the distance…there were wild marshes, mountains, lakes, and wilderness all about them, as far as the eye cold see.

“Two million kilometers in the blink of an eye.” Ning had known what was going to happen, but after experiencing it for himself, he couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “I heard that some Immortals can instantly teleport a million kilometers. I wonder how long it will be before I have that ability.”

“All of you, come out.” “Hurry up.” Two ancient voices rang out, and two plainly dressed elders outside the teleportation array waved towards them. Only now did the Immortal practitioners walk out from the teleportation array.

“All of you, listen closely,” one of the white-haired, slightly-pudgy elders barked. “These are the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. As far as you should be concerned, the only safe spot in the entirety of the wild marshes is this spot, right here! There are always Raindragon Guards stationed here, and a grand formation has been laid down which no one dares to trespass through.”

Ning and Northson all looked over carefully. They, too, had discovered that this teleportation formation was built atop a mountain peak, which was ringed with Immortal cavern estates. Most likely, quite a few people were stationed here.

“There are a few other things to remind you of,” the fat elder said. “The first is that for three months, you are not permitted to come here. If you come here to avoid danger, you will have failed.”

“The second is that while you are adventuring in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, you must be extremely careful; do not stay in any single place for too long, such as for a month or longer. You must know that there are far more monsters here in the wild marshes than there are humans, and they are far more familiar with the Gaol Mountains than you are. If you stay in one place for too long…you will make it easy for the monsters to join forces against you and attack you en-masse. However, staying in one place to rest for a day or two every so often is fine.”

Ning and the others were listening carefully. This was all potentially life-saving advice.

“The third is that although the monsters of the wild marshes are dangerous, the natural environment of the Gaol Mountains is even more dangerous. Some places might be filled with shattered space…if you aren’t careful, you might exit our world, at which point, given your current level of power, you will all die.”

“The fourth is that due to environmental issues, getting one’s bearings is quite difficult in the Gaol Mountains region. Don’t just rely on your senses to judge directions! You need to judge the directions in accordance with the movement of the sun, the moon, and the stars in the skies. Otherwise, if you simply rely on your own senses…you will never be able to return, and will forever be spinning in circles within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

“Alright. The four most important points have already been provided to you. Go. I hope that in three months time, I’ll be able to see you all return,” the fat elder said.

Finally, the skinny elder spoke out as well. “If you discover that it is too dangerous and that you are unable to handle it, you’d best head back in a hurry. Although you will have failed, you will have at least preserved your life.”

“Go, go.” The fat elder waved his hand. “Go,” the skinny elder said as well. Ning and the rest of the Immortal disciples all stared towards those hazy outlines of Immortal cavern estates ringing the mountain. They could all sense the surge of powerful energy surrounding this entire mountain peak. This was the power of that formation.

And then…swish! Swish! One streak of light after another flew out from the peak at high speed, flying towards the outside. Some moved alone, while others moved in pairs or triplets.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, where shall we go?” Northson asked. “Every direction is the same,” Ning said. Sweeping the area with his gaze, he pointed towards the North. “There are many mountains over there. Let’s go over there.”

“Alright.” Northson nodded. Whoosh! A dragon-headed ship suddenly appeared before them, and Ning and Northson boarded the ship. This dragon-headed ship was only thirty meters long; clearly, it was sized appropriately for roaming the wild marshes. If they made it too large…it would just make it easier for monsters to find them.

Soon, the hundred Immortal cultivators had all spread out in each direction. The two elders responsible for guarding the formation had very complicated looks in their eyes. The skinny one sighed, “I really envy them. I can sense the vitality and energy just oozing from them. Clearly, all of them are very young. Youth is a form of wealth, you know; they have plenty of time to go fight, to struggle, and to go farther along their Immortal paths. As for us…we won’t have these opportunities.”

“But at least we’ve lived a few hundred years,” the fat elder laughed. The skinny elder stared into the distance. “I wonder how many of this batch will make it back alive.”

“If half can make it back, that’ll be pretty good,” the fat elder said. “However…this group knew exactly how dangerous things would be, and they still elected to go adventure. If they can become Raindragon Guards…they’ll be able to benefit from the vast Dao repositories and magic treasures which the Guard possesses, and their Immortal paths will become more surefooted ones. The particularly outstanding ones will even have the chance to go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty, where they will be trained at our Raindragon Guard’s headquarters!”

…….

The dragon-headed boat flew through the clouds in the sky. “These high clouds are actually the safest places, here within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” Northson was standing at the helm of the ship.

Ning nodded. “However, we still need to be careful. Once we discover any spatial ripples, we need to immediately avoid them.” “I know,” Northson said. “The warship is flying quite slowly, actually.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. “Look.” Northson stared down through the thin clouds below at a large mountain. This mountain was particularly majestic in a queer way; it pierced straight through the clouds. In addition, one could see with the naked eye countless monsters atop the mountain. Some were monsters that were in human form. They appeared to be moving about in a manner reminiscent of an army.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, there must be Wanxiang-level monsters in that great mountain,” Northson said.

“Based on what I know…Wanxiang-level monsters are extremely common in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, and Zifu-level monsters can be seen everywhere. As for Primal monsters…they are quite rare,” Ning said. “Some monsters have taken over a mountain and have proclaimed themselves the local king, while others travel by themselves. Those who have taken over a mountain are all extremely strong.”

Northson nodded.

“It’s quite hard to run into one of the Wanxiang-level monsters who are wandering about by themselves,” Ning said reflectively. “So, our target should be the monsters who have crowned themselves ‘kings’ of a mountain. But from far away, we aren’t able to tell exactly how strong those ‘king’ monsters are. If we are unlucky, we might run into a Primal monster.”

“Then what should we do?” Northson asked. Ning had come up with an idea long ago. However, he looked at Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, do you have any ideas?”

“I do have a few,” Northson said with a frown. “The first is to follow other Immortal practitioners about and let them be the ones to investigate. When the battle begins…after verifying that the target is a Wanxiang monster, we’ll attack.”

“Not bad.” Ning nodded in praise. Northson continued, “The second method is to search for a mountain with monsters that don’t seem too strong. Nine out of ten, that mountain would be the territory of a Wanxiang monster.”

“And the third idea?” Ning prompted. Northson’s eyes lit up. “As Master said, the hearts of men are difficult to fathom. Since that’s the case, I imagine that there will be cases where Immortal cultivators will attack other cultivators. Generally speaking, this would involve several of them joining forces. If several of them join forces against us…I refuse to believe that not a single one of them will have acquired the corpse or the head of a Wanxiang monster. We can set up a trap…so if anyone comes to ambush us, we’ll counter-ambush and kill them.”

“However, all three plans have their own flaws. I’m not confident in any of them.” Northson was quite irritated. “Still, we have three months. That should be enough.”

Ning laughed. “Your methods are good, but I have an even simpler one.” Northson looked expectantly towards Ning. “What method?”

“Search for a seemingly ordinary-looking mountain of monsters,” Ning said with a laugh. Northson stared. “Isn’t that my idea?”

“After we find an ordinary mountain…I’ll sweep it with my divine sense!” Ning laughed. “If the opponent can sense my sweep, then it will most likely be a Primal monster. If they aren’t able to…then they will be Wanxiang monsters. Even if we are so unlucky as to run into one of the incomparably rare Primal monsters, we can immediately use our evasive techniques to instantly flee.”

Northson said, startled, “Divine sense? Senior apprentice-brother, your soul has truly reached the divine sense level?” Ning nodded. “You really…” Northson was shocked. “When you joined and defeated senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow and the others, you demonstrated the ability to use multiple sword arts. Many of our senior fellow disciples suspected that your soul must be extremely powerful, perhaps at the divine sense level. Even more of them suspected that you were actually a reincarnated Immortal. So you actually have reached the divine sense level? In the past three years, you’ve never mentioned it!”

“You never asked,” Ning grinned.

“Then are you a reincarnated Immortal as well?” Northson’s eyes were shining. “I heard that as reincarnated Immortals grow older, they will gradually reawaken their memories.”

Ning shook his head. “No clue. I haven’t awakened any Immortal memories, at least.” What a joke. Ning’s memories of his past life were perfectly clear; he wasn’t an Immortal at all.

“Oh.” Northson nodded, then said excitedly, “This is wonderful. Joining the Raindragon Guards poses a great test to others, but for you, senior apprentice-brother, it’s far too simple. We can use your divine sense to run a test from far away…and after verifying things, can immediately act. If we are so unlucky as to run into a Primal monster, we can immediately flee with evasion techniques. This really is simple.”

Ning laughed. “If even someone with a divine sense is unable to join the Raindragon Guard, that’d be quite bizarre, wouldn’t it?”

“Badass,” Northson grinned widely. “Then I, your junior apprentice-brother, shall benefit from your strength, senior apprentice-brother.”

“Junior apprentice-brother, no need to be so polite.” Ning turned his gaze downwards, beginning to search for mountains with monsters.

……..

Just one hour later. Ning and Northston were standing within a desolate area, staring towards a towering mountain before them. Given Ning’s visual acuity, he was able to see that there were some monstrous figures within this mountain.

“This one. Let me search it,” Ning said. “Alright.” Northson had already taken out a Dao-seal.

Although the two of them were both capable of simple evasion techniques, and were able to move multiple kilometers away with a single movement, with the aid of a Dao-seal, they would be able to move a thousand kilometers away. Ning knew that even a Primal monster would find it hard to search a thousand kilometers with divine sense.

“Whoosh!” With but a thought, Ning instantly sent a surge of power divine sense forward, enveloping this entire mountain.

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Chapter 13 – Two Humans Battle Three Monsters

Chapter 13 – Two Humans Battle Three Monsters

Ji Ning’s powerful divine sense thoroughly investigated the entirety of the mountain, inside and out. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, what’s the situation?” Mu Northson asked.

Ning cracked a smile, then looked at Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, need you ask? This mountain really does have quite a few monsters within it. Based on the aura of these monsters, there should be a single Wanxiang monster and around ten or so Zifu monsters. There are also some Xiantian monsters that can transform into human form, as well as a crowd of lesser monsters.”

“Just one?” Northson chewed on his lips. “That’s it? There’s two of us though.”

“Thus, your idea was the right one. We first find a seemingly-ordinary mountain of monsters, with the expectation that the monsters within won’t be too powerful,” Ning laughed. “A mountain like this, the two of us can flatten when we charge in. However, this is the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. Let’s be a bit cautious.”

“I’ll listen to you in all things, senior apprentice-brother,” Northson nodded. “Let’s go. Let’s sneak up the mountain.” Ning pointed upwards.

Northson said, worried, “There should be formations, right?”

“Although there are formations on these monster mountains, with my divine sense spread out, I can see everything.” Ning had quite some experience in analyzing formations, after all, while his Uncle White was a Godbeast Whitewater Hound which was legendary for its intelligence and which was a master of formations. Ning would often chat with Uncle White; naturally, he would gain some pointers from him. Occasionally, Ning’s own thoughts would cause Uncle White to gain certain insights as well.

“Let’s go.” Swoosh! Swoosh! The two stealthily slippd upwards through the wild grass, moving closer and closer to the mountain at high speed.

A black-faced, muscular fellow was seated in the lotus position atop a jade bed, looking quite like an Immortal practitioner. The black-faced fellow suddenly opened his eyes, and a baleful aura shot out from his eyes, but then was quickly retracted.

He stared towards the stone door in the distance. With but a thought, he made the stone door rumble open. Immediately, a small figure charged in from outside. It was a skinny underling, who knelt down and said, “Congratulations, Majesty, for having finished your meditations!”

“Mm.” The large, black-faced man let out a grunt. “Go. Have the Madame come, and arrange for a table of food to be prepared.”

“Yes.” The skinny little figure respectfully departed at high speed.

The black-faced man left his jade bed, walking leisurely out of the hall of his cavern estate and moving outside the stone door. Standing outside, he seemed to be able to see all sorts of sights in the vast marshes outside, and a killing desire filled his eyes. “Humans often come in batches to attack these wild marshes of our the Gaol Mountains. the Gaol Mountains’s marshes belong to us monsters. If a human comes, we will kill him. Mm…it’s been quite a long time since humans have come to my place.”

The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains were simply too vast. There were quite a few human Immortal cultivators who came to this place, but they were all spread out extremely sparsely throughout the wild marshes. A monster would only occasionally run into a human Immortal cultivator.

“Thirty years ago, that human monster offered me quite the amount of liquefied elemental essence and magic treasures, which I traded for liquefied elemental essence as well. It allowed me to shave two centuries off of my training, while my power increased greatly.” The black-faced man was quite eager. “I wonder when I’ll met yet another foolish human.”

Those who dared to crown themselves kings of a mountain in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains naturally laid down many traps around their nest, making it so that any humans who arrived would be unable to leave!

“Your Majesty!” Suddenly, a soft voice rang out. The black-faced man turned to look. A seductive, green-clothed, devilish woman entered, carrying a jade platter with a beautifully carved beasthead goblet of wine, as well as a perfectly made bottle of wine.

“Madame.” The black-faced man smiled. “Your Majesty, you’ve been training for many months now. You’ve worked very hard. This is the wine which I personally brewed, the ‘Immortal Moonspirit wine’.”

The green-clothed, devilish woman walked over while speaking. Monsters, after becoming Xiantian lifeforms, would gain intelligence equivalent to a human’s. This green-clothed, alluring woman was a Zifu monster, while the black-faced man was a Wanxiang monster.

Training took up quite a time…and these monsters knew how to enjoy themselves. They, too, need companions. Although in this part of the world, the monsters were tremendously powerful, it was still the Grand Xia Dynasty which had truly unified the world, a dynasty of humans. Many of the major powers amongst the monsters had official positions within the Grand Xia Dynasty. This was actually the reason why monsters continued to exist.

However, although the high-level individuals were on fairly good terms with each other, generally speaking, human Immortal cultivators and monsters fought quite fiercely against each other.

A sumptuous feast of delicacies had been prepared, including meat, fruit, and wine. The black-faced man picked up a piece of meat and began to chew it, then frowned and barked towards the outside, “Go, go to rear mountains and to the place where we are raising humans. Catch a tender one and send it over. This meat is tasteless. Human flesh is much better.”

“Yes.” The monster outside immediately replied in a high-pitched voice.

“Those humans eat the flesh of us monsters, and in fact, some major power even created a ‘spirit-beast seal’ and other things to forcibly enslave us.” The black-faced man let out a cold snort. “We monsters naturally can eat humans as well, and in fact, we should enslave them as well! Since there’s a spirit-beast seal, why can’t there be a ‘human-slave seal’?”

The alluring, green-clothed poured a goblet of wine for her king. “Your Majesty, I heard that beyond the greater worlds, there is are major powers amongst the monsters, capable of dominating the Three Realms, who are indeed capable of creating a method for enslaving humans. But unfortunately…in our greater world, the world is formally ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty. How can they possibly permit a technique allowing monsters to enslave humans be spread out?”

“Madame, is there truly a method by which monsters can enslave humans?” The black-faced man stared at the alluring, green-clothed woman.

“That’s just a legend.” The alluring woman shook her head. “How would I, a minor Zifu-level monster, know about such things?”

The black-faced man let out a cold snort. “After I become a monster Immortal one day, I will definitely…not good!” The black-faced man suddenly rose to his feet, staring outside the stone door.

“Your Majesty?” The alluring woman was shocked. The look on the black-faced man’s face had changed, and he slapped the table, which with a shudder disintegrated into white dust. He roared with fury, “Since you dare come, why haven’t you shown yourself?”

“Your Majesty, we caught a delectable human child for you.” A terrified voice rang out from afar. And then…“AHHH!” A miserable scream, and then the terrified voice was cut off.

The alluring woman in the cavern estate knew that something was amiss. Terrified and restless, she said, “Your Majesty, what is going on? What is happening? Has a human Immortal cultivator come? Don’t we have layers of formations and restrictive spells here? How could the human cultivators made it all the way here?”

The black-faced man just stared fixedly towards the outside. “They are formations experts,” he said, gritting his teeth. What he didn’t realize was that…

Ning had actually gone around quite a few of his formations while avoiding activating the others. Ning had thus gone straight through, not setting off any alarms at all. In the end, Ning had been forced to break through the bewildering formation which was always active and protecting the caverns; this was why the black-faced man was suddenly shocked into wakefulness.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry. In a short while, Big Brother will help you slaughter that monster.” Three human figures walked over. Walking in front was a fur-clad human youth, while behind was a white-robed youth who was holding the hand of and comforting a toddler who was dressed in just leaves.

“Waa, waaaaaa.” The toddler sobbed, tears still cascading down. Just now, the monster had instantly been chopped into mincement, which had utterly terrified the toddler.

Northson, enraged, pointed straight at the black-faced man. “Monster, the day of your death has come.”

“Hahaha, it’s been quite some time since I encountered any human Immortal cultivators. You dared to come to my place? Today shall be the day of your deaths.” The black-faced man suddenly produced two massive black scimitars, then let out an angry howl. “DIE!”

Bang! Above the hall, one bright star after another, and within this sea of stars, there was even a brilliant moon.

“Kill!” The black-faced man’s face was savage. As for Northson, he howled in anger, “Senior apprentice-brother Ning, hand this monster to me.”

Northson was comparatively immature in terms of personality. Upon learning that this child was about to be eaten by this old monster…his belly had instantly become filled with rage.

“Alright.” Ning nodded, standing to one side, but prepared to attack at any moment.

While Northson howled in range, the skies above him also became filled with stars. Amidst the sea of stars, both a brilliant moon and a blazing sun appeared. The sun and the moon hung in the skies…this caused the face of the Wanxiang monster to change. Only extremely talented humans with significant backgrounds were capable of manifesting such a Manifestation.

“Die.” Northson gnashed his teeth. Swish! Swoosh! Two black lights began to gather in Northson’s hands. He opened them, and the two rays of black light shot out, forming two massive water-snakes within the air.

The two Manifestations struggled against each other, but the Wanxiang monster’s was clearly struggling.

“Bang!” “Bang!” The two giant water-snakes directly clashed in the air with the two giant black scimitars which the black-faced man had unleashed. The power of the collision was so great that even the nearby woman’s face changed dramatically. Instantly, she transformed into a white-furred fox, wanting to flee. However, a cold light flashed through Northson’s eyes, and one of the water-snakes swept out with its tail, smashing directly against the fleeing white-furred fox’s body. Crunch. The white-furred fox spirit was crushed into meat paste.

Ning stood there watching. He nodded to himself. “My junior apprentice-brother has the upper hand. He lives up to his reputation as a genius of the Dao of Constructs who entered the Black-White College at age fourteen. Formidable.”

He had joined the Black-White College at age fourteen, and had been completely absorbed in his meditations in the Black-White Diagram. If it hadn’t been for Ning eclipsing everyone else, Northson would have been a dazzling, eye-catching genius. Only, because he walked the Dao of Constructs, many of his senior fellow disciples weren’t able to truly comprehend what a monstrous genius Northson truly was.

“Halt!” The black-faced man immediately bellowed. He had the sense that things were not right at all. In the past, he had once killed a human Wanxiang Adept. How was this seemingly soft, weak, white-robed youth so strong? In addition, the fur-clad youth standing behind the white-robed youth seemed to be even more dangerous.

“Too late to feel regret!” Northson snapped coldly.

“Why haven’t they arrived yet? Why haven’t they arrived?” The black-faced man struggled to endure. Although his power would increase dramatically once he transformed into his real form, if he truly did that, this would truly become a battle to the death. What he needed to do, right now, was to delay.

“I shattered the talisman earlier. My Third Brother and Fifth Brother are located the closest; with their movement techniques, they should have arrived by now.” But suddenly, a hint of joy appeared on the face of the black-faced man.

He could sense something. Although the formations he had set around the mountain hadn’t been able to detect these two humans, they had detected the arrival of his two good brothers.

“Just you wait. My Third Brother and Fifth Brother will suddenly ambush you, and with me joining forces…the two of you will definitely die,” the black-faced man mused to himself. At the same time, he continued to furiously struggle to resist the attacks.

At this moment, Ning, standing behind Northson, had a changed expression n his face. With a cold snort, he said, “Old monster, so you actually have reinforcements coming.”

The black-faced man’s heart instantly clenched. How had this Immortal cultivator found out? Could it be that this Immortal cultivator had also set down a formation in the area, and so had discovered his allies coming?

No longer considering anything else, he immediately roared loudly, “Third Brother, Fifth Brother, attack together and kill these two Immortal cultivators!”

Northson also let out a wild howl. “Two more coming? Wonderful! We were complaining about there not being enough Wanxiang monsters!”

Ning looked towards the stone door outside the cavern estate, a faint sword-light flashing through his eyes.

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Chapter 14 – The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] Reveals Its Might

Chapter 14 – The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] Reveals Its Might

Two figures, transformed into streaks of light, were making haste towards the cavern estate of this monster mountain. One of the two figures was a hawk-nosed, golden-robed man, while the other was a dark, skinny youth. These were monster kings of two nearby monster mountains. The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains were incomparably dangerous, and even monsters had to form alliances to help each other.

In this surrounding area, a total of eighteen Wanxiang monsters had formed an alliance; if one encountered any danger, they would immediately shatter their runic talismans, and the other seventeen would all immediately be aware of it and would come at maximum speed!

The eighteen Wanxiang monsters had all sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. It was precisely because the eighteen of them had formed a mutual defensive alliance that in this region, it was extremely rare for a monster to be killed.

“Big Brother shattered his runic talisman. I wonder if he encountered one of those lone wanderer freaks, or an Immortal cultivator!”

“The two of us are stronger than Big Brother. When we join forces…regardless of whether its wandering monsters or Immortal cultivators, they will all die!”

The two old monsters were chatting mentally to each other. The original ranking of the eighteen monsters was based on age and seniority, not strength. Their Big Brother was a Blacktusk Elephant who had been training for a very long time.

“Third Brother, Fifth Brother, attack together and kill these two Immortal cultivators!” Suddenly, a loud roar rang out from within the distant cavern estate.

“We’ve been discovered!” The two Wanxiang monsters exchanged glances. They had wanted to launch sneak attacks, but they no longer had the chance now. “Kill!” They transformed into streaks of light, charging directly towards the door of the cavern estate.

………

Within the cavern estate, Mu Northson was exerting his strength to deal with the black-faced man, while Ji Ning was holding onto the child’s hands, looking at the expression of amazement on the child’s face. He said consolingly, “Don’t worry. Just stay next to me and don’t run around.”

Bang! Bang! Three streaks of light suddenly shot in from outside; it was a sharp knife and two sharp awls. They were all incredibly sharp and had a shocking aura.

“Hmph.” Ning, seeing the situation, applied his will. Whoosh! A dense cluster of 729 flying swords suddenly appeared next to Ning. At the very core of those swords was a sword formation that was noticeably more powerful; these were the ‘Nine Yang Sword Formation’ swords and 36 high-grade Mortal-ranked water-attribute flying swords.

As for the other eight major sword formations, four were formed from the 324 water-attribute flying swords, while the other four were formed from fire-attribute flying swords.

Water and fire looped amongst each other, and in the center were the ‘Nine Yang Swords’!

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], level nine!” Ning’s powerful divine will completely filled these 729 flying swords, and they transformed into fire and water, competing against each other and reinforcing each other. The water was Yin in nature, while the fire was Yang in nature; given Ning’s accomplishments in the art of formations, he clearly now found it much easier to control the swords. Operating this sort of exquisite, pure sword formation was actually quite comfortable for Ning.

“Seven hundred flying swords, all of which are high-grade or top-grade,” Ning sighed mentally. “In addition, half are fire, while the other half are water; controlling them is an utter joy.”

Controlling so many flying swords placed an incomparably shocking amount of pressure on the soul. Ning, however, was able to withstand it easily.

“Crackle crackle crackle.”

The flying swords rose and fell in an undulating pattern, all of them emitting a hazy white light on their surfaces. In front of Ning’s chest, an even more brilliant, moving flying sword formed of white light had began to form! This white flying sword was as pure as jade, and it was covered with a lustrous layer of light that made it seem incomparably lovely. The entire flying sword emanated this layer of light, as though it were the treasure of an Immortal.

This was the sword-light of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]! Now that Ning was using such high-quality Mortal-ranked swords, and had such a powerful soul to control them with….it could be said that Ning had already reached the theoretical limit of power a person at the Zifu Disciple level could reach when using the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Such power already vastly oustripped even using the likes of divine abilities such as [Heavenly Transformation] or the [Luminous Eye of the Heart]..

“Go!” Ning smiled. This white, jade-like flying sword shot out, streaking out in an arc and flowing forward like water. Rumble…those three streaks of light were trapped and blocked by this flowing stream of water.

“As I thought, the fur-clad youth really is more powerful.” The black-faced man currently battling against Northson felt shock in his heart. “He’s actually able to simultaneously block the combination attack of two of my brothers by himself.”

Thud! Thud! The hawk-nosed, golden-robed man and the dark, skinny youth both landed within the estate, and their gazes towards Ning were filled with caution as well.

“Third Brother, Fifth Brother!” The black-faced man hurriedly sent mentally, “The two of you, deal with the fur-clad one. Leave the smaller one to me. Use all your strength and kill him.”

“Alright, Big Brother.”

“Done.”

These two newly arrived Wanxiang monsters realized that if they were to maintain human form and control magic treasures from afar, they probably wouldn’t be able to suppress this fur-clad youth. “Human Immortal cultivator, accept death!” The two monsters roared with rage, and then began to transform. The hawk-nosed, golden-robed man instantly transformed into a divinely handsome and golden-feathered winged eagle! As for the other, the black, skinny youth, he instantly transformed into a four-legged weirdbeast with coal-black skin and two curved yellow horns on its head.

“Die!” The black-faced man also transformed into mist, then resolidified into a long-trunked elephant with enormous black tusks.

The three monsters were now all in their true forms! In addition, the power of the magic treasures they were using to attack Ning and Northson had suddenly increased dramatically!

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson,” Ning sent. “Will you be able to hold?” Northson sent back confidently, “Don’t worry. I haven’t even started using my abilities.”

Ning laughed. “Excellent.” Right at this moment, the gold-feathered eagle charged forth with a howl, its pitch-black claws ripping through the air and suddenly expanding tenfold in size to the point where the air itself seemed to emit an ear-piercing screech. Ripples in the air that could be seen with the visible eye appeared; the power of this claw definitely surpassed that of the earlier magic treasure it had used.

Monsters and humans were different; monsters had bodies which were innately powerful and possessed innate abilities. For example, some monsters had the innate ability to control water; and even if they didn’t train in a Fiendgod Body Refining Technique, they would still possess enormous strength! Some of them might even be able to temper parts of their body into magic treasures, such as their horns, their claws, or their tails. This would result in their very body becoming an intrinsic magic treasure, and thus possess astonishing power when used.

“Rumble…” The entire cavern estate was beginning to shake. The four-legged weirdbeast had lowered its head, and its hooves thundered across the ground as it charged towards Ning. The two curved yellow horns on its head suddenly expanded in size and became even sharper than before, and its hoofsteps became incomparably weighty, causing the entire cavern estate to begin to shake and collapse. When these two monsters used all their power, they were truly shocking.

“Hmph.” Ning shook his head. “Die.”

The white sword formed from the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] instantly slashed through the air. In midair, an enormous millstone of fire and water suddenly appeared. Within the center of this millstone of fire and water, a wild tempest of incomparable, astonishing power suddenly formed! The white flying sword was in the center of this millstone of fire and water, and it, too, dissolved into the tempest.

Fast! This was the Ning’s [Tripartite Millstone Sword], the power of which was only inferior to the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. It could also be referred to as the ‘Waterflame Millstone Sword’. Although it was named after the slowly-grinding millstone, it was supremely fast.

Wherever the sword light flashed past…fire and water howled as well, and the millstone itself transformed into a blur! “Not good.” The golden-feathered eagle sensed tremendous danger, but it still sent its sharp claws over in a savage blow.

Whoosh! It was too fast. The flashing light of the millstone sword easily dodged past the claw, then slashed past the body of the golden-feathered eagle. The feathers of the golden-feathered eagle were incomparably tough, as unyielding as a magic treasure…but they weren’t able to defend against this attack in the slightest. They were immediately broken through, and then the light of the Waterflame Lotus Sword turned, sweeping directly towards the impending, charging weirdbeast monster.

“Third Brother!” The four-legged weirdbeast monster was instantly scared silly. His third brother had actually been killed in a single exchange. Everyone in the region knew how powerful the eagle talons of his third brother were. Ordinary hawks used their claws to snatch snakes; from this, one can imagine how fast hawk claws could strike. And yet, the eagle talons of a Wanxiang monster, an intrinsic magic treasure, still hadn’t been able to block and snatch that sword light.

He had never even heard of swordplay on this level. But this was what a Sword Immortal was! It must be understood that when Ning first joined the Black-White College, he had been able to shock everyone just by using the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. Now, he had been able to use the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] manual to develop this Waterflame Millstone Sword, a technique which vastly surpassed the first stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] in power. What’s more, the technique was executed through a sword-light that was manifested by the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Its speed and power…how could a Wanxiang monster possibly defeat it?

“Flee.” The four-legged weirdbeast monster instantly slammed the ground with its hooves, causing the entire cavern estate to tremble. It turned its body, immediately ramming into the nearby stone wall, intending to charge through.

Rumble! The stone wall was instantly shattered, but the light of the millstone sword followed as fast as the wind, continuing to chase after it and not intending to halt before it perished. The four-legged weirdbeast tried to dodge, and it even shot out one of the sharp curved horns on its head, sending it directly towards the sword light.

The sword light flashed!

Rumble…the four-legged weirdbeast’s body continued to charge out of the cavern estate through sheer momentum…but soon, it fell apart into two pieces, slamming against the rocks outside the cave and causing them to shatter and knock the nearby trees down. However, its bisected body collapsed as well. Blood continued to ooze from its mouth, but moments later, it breathed its last.

“Die.” Northson, seeing that his senior apprentice-brother had shown off his power, let out an angry roar as well. The two black water-snakes suddenly criss-crossed, connecting to each other at the tail and instantly forming an enormous black circle which wildly wrapped itself around the black-tusked elephant monster, which was frantically attempting to flee. As the black circle looped around it, it then tightened…crunch!

The upper half of the body of the entire black-tusked elephant was instantly crushed into meat paste, and it died a miserable death.

As for the golden-feathered eagle that lay on the ground, it had died long ago. And so, just like that, three Wanxiang monsters had perished.

Ning waved his hand, collecting the corpses of the golden-feathered eagle and the four-legged weirdbeast. As for Northson, he collected the black-tusked elephant’s corpse as well.

“It’s about to collapse.” Northson charged outside. As for Ning, he had already led the child outside the cave, which was covered with a spiderweb of cracks. With a rumbling sound, it collapsed in on itself.

“Haha, we instantly acquired three corpses of monsters. All we need to do is wait three months, and we’ll be Raindragon Guards.” Northson was extremely excited.

“Right.” Ning nodded gently. The power unleashed by his 720 Mortal-ranked flying swords through the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had caused Ning to feel delighted as well.

“Hey kid.” Northson looked towards the young child. “Why are you here on this mountain?” The child stared blankly. Just now, these two people had effortlessly killed those three monsters, who had appeared to be so incomparably terrifying and savage that his heart trembled from fear! It was simply inconceivable that they had died.

Upon hearing Northson ask him where he came from, the child stared blankly for a moment, but then his tears began to roll down. He pointed into the distance. “There.”

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Chapter 15 – Azure Skysnake

Chapter 15 – Azure Skysnake

Mu Northson turned to look towards the direction which the child was pointing at, while Ning went to hug the child. “Let’s go. I know where it is!” His divine sense covered the entire monster mountain. How could Ning not know?

Swoosh! Swoosh! The two transformed into streaks of light, vaulting through the mountain. The many monsters within the mountain had all been utterly terrified and had gone into hiding. Ning’s group quickly arrived within a deep gorge within the mountain.

“Ah?!” Northson stared downwards, and what he saw made his face changed. Ning stared down silently as well. Below the gorge, there was an extremely deep crevice that was roughly three hundred meters long. Within the crevice were humans, their bodies covered just by tree leaves and bark. All of them were either children or youths; there wasn’t a single old person there. They lived there in the deep crevice, numb to life. Above the crevice, there was a net made from steel which completely covered and sealed the crevice.

“They are being…raised here?” Northson’s body began to tremble slightly. Grinding his teeth, he said, “These monsters truly deserve to die. They deserve to die!”

Swoosh! Northson leapt downwards. There were some lesser monsters standing guard within the deep crevice; they didn’t know that their king had already perished.

“Who goes there! This is Elephant-King Mountain!” A tall, horned monster with a trident in its hands roared angrily, while the group of lesser monsters behind him howled in support.

“Hmph!” Northson let out an enraged snort. The area around him instantly transformed into the darkness of the night. The night sky was filled with dazzling stars, and the sun and the moon hung there amongst them. From within the dazzling sun, a giant hand suddenly stretched out, seizing the suddenly-terrified monsters who were trying to flee, pale-faced. Trapped by that giant hand of golden light, the monsters all felt their hearts shudder.

“Why are they here?” Northson thundered. As for Ning, he just stood to one side, quietly.

“Mighty Immortal, are you referring to these human slaves?” The horned monster, captured by the hand of golden light, hurriedly explained, “These human slaves were brought here long, long ago by his Majesty, who found them elsewhere and decided to raise them here. The big ones birth little ones, and when the little ones grow up, they can birth more! His Majesty delights in eating human flesh, and so the younger, tender ones are for his Majesty to eat. As for some of the older slaves, their meat isn’t as delicious, and so we’ll be given some of it to taste.”

Even Ning’s face turned ashen as he heard this.

“You deserve death!” Northson let out a thunderous roar, and his Manifested hand clenched. Instantly, those monsters, howling in agony, were crushed into meat sludge. Even that horned monster who had transformed back into his original form was crushed into mincemeat by that Manifested hand.

“Clank!” The Manifested hand then clawed downwards, ripping apart those locked steel chains. With a explosive sound, the many chains were instantly shattered into small pieces, and then were tossed to one side.

The many humans who were living within that deep crevice were trembling. They all moved closer to each other, staring upwards in terror.

“They’ve been raised as animals for too long; their slave-mentality has been deeply imprinted upon them.” Ning shook his head and let out a soft sigh, then lowered his head to look at the child next to him. “Only the smaller, younger children might be able to recover.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson looked at Ning. “Let’s help them out, okay?”

Ning nodded. “Of course we’ll help them. To us, it’s just a little bit of extra effort, but to them…it means the changing of their destinies.”

“Right.” Northson nodded, then said with frustration, “But we must stay within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains for three months. We can’t be taking care of them for this entire time. What should we do?”

“If we encounter any danger, we can’t look after them as well as ourselves. Let’s deliver them straight to the Raindragon Guard,” Ning said. “That is the only safe place within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. As for whether or not the Raindragon Guard will accept them…let’s discuss that if it comes to that. Even if the Raindragon Guard aren’t willing to take care of them, we can give these humans some food and let them survive for three months.”

“That’s something,” Northson nodded. Rumble! The giant hand of golden light pressed downwards, and instantly a deep passageway appeared at the margins of the crevice, leading from it to the outside world.

“From now on, you are no longer slaves!” Northson stared at the humans within the corral as he called out to them in a loud voice.

These humans had always lived together, and so they had naturally managed to teach each other and pass down the human language. Naturally, they understood. However, their simple minds made it so that they remained rather uneasy. They stared, frightened, towards the two youths standing in the distance; one a fur-clad youth, while the other was a white-robed youth.

Still…even after the passage of many years, they would never be able to forget this life-altering moment. They would never be able to forget these two youths.

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson, let them board the warship,” Ning said. “Right.” Northson nodded, then waved his hand. Instantly, the Azure Dragon in the sky quickly transformed into a dragon-headed warship which landed on the ground.

Ning barked out, “All aboard the ship!” At the same time, he used his divine sense to invisibly influence them. Although Ning had not learned the [Soulcharmer Art], he had still viewed the abridged version of the technique and had learnd some of the most basic, elementary secrets of it. By using his powerful soul to emit the slightest hint of a soul-ripple, he was able to nudge these numb slaves to all shuffle towards the warship.

“Mommy.” The child next to Ning ran straight towards his mother.

“Let’s go.” Ning raised his head, staring towards the sky. “There are other Wanxiang monsters coming.”

“Good.” Northson, however, was filled with a surging killing intent. But Ning shook his head. “Don’t push it. We attacked that elephant monster, and two more Wanxiang monsters suddenly popped up out of nowhere. And now, four more Wanxiang monsters are attacking…if this continues, who knows how many Wanxiang monsters will arrive. I imagine that these monsters must have formed an alliance long ago, and they might even have Primal monsters supporting them.”

Northson instantly came to his senses. “Senior apprentice-brother, your words are correct.” He nodded his head. “We already have enough Wanxiang monster corpses. There really is no need to kill any more.”

Swoosh! The dragon-headed warship quickly soared into the skies, flying into the distance.

…….

Right at this moment, an incomparably beautiful woman, along with two men and a second woman, arrived in sequence outside the demolished ruins of the cave estate. “I can no longer sense the auras of big brother, third brother, and fifth brother,” the beautiful woman said with a frown.

“Ninth Sister, can it be that that big brother and the others have already died?”

“We already came quite fast. They’ve only fought for a short period of time. The three of them were all Wanxiang monsters.” The other Wanxiang monsters didn’t dare believe it.

The beautiful woman shook her head. “Look at the bloodstains. Look at the auras left behind. Big brother and the other two are probably already dead.” But suddenly, she lifted her head. A streak of light was soaring into the skies, rapidly charging into the clouds. That streak of light was a dragon-headed warship.

“A warship.”

“The warship of an Immortal cultivator.”

“It must be the one which killed big brother and the others. Ninth Sister, let’s attack and get revenge for big brother and the others.” The other monsters immediately began to clamor out. Eighteen of them had joined into an alliance…but in terms of power, their ninth sister, the peacock monster, was the most powerful of them all.

The beautiful woman remained silent for a moment, then said, “If they were able to kill big brother and the other two in such a short period of time, even if we charged over to gain revenge, most likely more than half of us would die. But if we were to wait for the other monsters to come…they will have fled long ago. Let’s go. We can only blame big brother and the others for having terrible luck.”

The other monsters were only calling out in bravado anyhow. Upon hearing the words of the peacock monster, they all nodded quite quickly.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

They all transformed into streaks of light, departing from Elephant King Mountain.

Three of the eighteen Wanxiang monsters had died; this made the peacock monster and the other monsters feel as though their forces were not strong enough. Thus, they decided that they were going to ally with some of the other nearby Wanxiang monsters as well. In fact, they even began to wonder if they should try to recruit some of the solitary wanderer Wanxiang monsters as well.

…….

Within a deep mountain cave in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.

“Slither, slither…” A small azure serpent was swimming about in a pool of water within the cave. The water of this pool emanated an azure light and a freezing aura, and there was a block of ice emerging from the center of the pool. If an Immortal cultivator saw it…they would instantly recognize this piece of ice as being a piece of ‘ancient glacial ice’. It would only be formed in places where the elemental energy was extremely, extremely cold.

“How truly comfortable. The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains really are wonderful. This dangerous, mysterious place is filled with many treasures, but I can easily slip past all of them using my Void Blink.” The little azure snake wriggled about in delight, frantically absorbing the energy from this freezing pool. “Compared to before, my homeland of Swallow Mountain is an utter wasteland. There’s almost no treasures there at all.”

“Wheeeeee. Wonderful, wonderful!” The little azure snake was incomparably delighted. “It seems as though the masters were correct in having me come here to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” The little azure snake’s little head swung to wrap around the piece of ancient glacial ice. Pulses of cold energy flowed into its body. “My power is rising incredibly quickly. When I first arrived at the Gaol Mountains, I was just at the peak Zifu level. Now, three short years later, I’ve risen to the middle Wanxiang level.”

“However, I’m still much weaker than the Patriarch. How long will it be before I, too, will become a monster Immortal? By then, I’ll be able to take up a large reach of land for myself as well and style myself the Immortal master of the region.” When the little azure snake thought about the Patriarch, its eyes couldn’t help but be filled with envy.

“No.” The little azure snake’s eyes suddenly radiated a cold light. “After leaving the Gaol Mountains, I need to make a trip back to Swallow Mountain to take care of some things. In particular, that Ironwood Zhan who pursued and attacked me…I was in such a miserable state back then. I must kill him and annihilate the entire Ironwood clan!” When it thought about its hated foe, Ironwood Zhan, the little azure snake also thought about someone else.

It was the very young human youth, the one who always dressed in fur clothes. That fearless, yet monstrously talented youth who always addressed it as ‘little snakey-snake’.

“Alas. I only know that you are of the Ji clan. I don’t even know your name.” The little azure snake muttered to itself, “You and I fought multiple times, and it was only as a result of those fights that I comprehended the ‘Void Blink’’ technique. However, back then, I wasn’t able to save you. Don’t worry. When the time comes, I’ll take revenge on behalf of you as well. I’ll annihilate that Ironwood Zhan.”

“If you are still alive…given your talent, you must be very powerful by now.” The little azure snake began to mumble to itself again. “But definitely not as powerful as me. I have the Void Blink technique and have gained many marvelous legacies.”

Right at this moment…a hundred kilometers outside the cave…

There were two Immortal cultivators, moving like streaks of light, who had stealthily landed on the mountain.

“You aren’t mistaken, are you?” One of them, a gray-robed Immortal cultivator, said in a low voice.

“Absolutely not. When I tortured those Zifu monsters, they definitely wouldn’t have dared to lie to me. They all said that in recent days, a lone wanderer has appeared in this region; an Azure Skysnake monster which had even fought multiple times against their king,” the white-robed Immortal cultivator said.

The gray-robed Immortal cultivator nodded. “After we kill this Azure Skysnake, we’ll have enough Wanxiang monster corpses. Supposedly, this Azure Skysnake isn’t that powerful, but we need to beware of its innate ability. Don’t let it use the Void Blink technique to escape.”

“Naturally.” The white-robed Immortal cultivator nodded.

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Chapter 16 – The Azure Skysnake and Ji Ning

Chapter 16 – The Azure Skysnake and Ji Ning

Within the icy pool inside the cave. The small azure snake was ceaselessly absorbing the frigid energy of the icy pool, using it to nourish the ‘demon-ice’ in its body. Suddenly, its eyes flickered. It transformed into mist, and then reformed into an azure-robed maiden by the side of the pool. Red lips, ivory teeth, and dark eyes.

“They actually dare come to my place?” The azure-robed maiden muttered, “All I wanted to do was spend some extra time nourishing the demon-ice in my body, and yet they still come to cause trouble. Still, I’m not strong yet. It’s not good for me to fight.” The azure-robed maiden transformed into mist once more, and a small azure serpent appeared in midair. With a flicker, it disappeared into thin air.

………

The white-robed cultivator and gray-robed cultivator were currently advancing stealthily through the cave, searching for any traces of the snake. Suddenly, they saw an azure light flash in the distance. An azure serpent in midair was roaring with anger, “You two human cultivators dare come to my place? You are dead meat!”

The voice echoed and thundered. Rumble…the azure serpent flashed in midair, then disappeared.

“That was the Azure Skysnake monster! It found us.” The two Immortal cultivators were instantly shocked. And then, the white-robed cultivator sent mentally, “This Azure Skysnake seems to be quite angry; it’s probably going to attack us. Let’s respond to its plots with one of our own; let’s quietly set down a space-sealing formation in the area! Once it draws near, we will immediately activate the formation, causing it to be unable to flee through Void Blink. Only then will we attack and kill it.”

“Alright. Be careful and make sure you set it up stealthily. Don’t let it discover you,” the gray-robed cultivator sent back.

……….

Thousands of kilometers away.

“Hahaha, I told those two that they were dead meat, so those two buffoons will definitely plan to fight me there. I’m an Azure Skysnake…my life is quite precious. Why would I fight head on against you two?” The Azure Skysnake continued to blink forward, disappearing once again.

………

Ji Ning and Mu Northson were currently mounted on their dragon-headed warship, carrying the many humans towards the place in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains where the Raindragon Guard were stationed.

Tens of thousands of kilometers away from Ning’s location. Another ship was present here, with two on this ship as well; one female, the other male. The man was tall, strong, and handsome; it was Eastriver Cloudsoar. The woman was also as beautiful as a flower; her name was Eastriver Snowite.

“Big Brother, it’s not too hard to kill Wanxiang monsters. With the two of us working together, in but a single day, we’ve already killed two of them,” Eastriver Snowite said happily.

“Killing two monsters isn’t that big a deal. The two of us were lucky; the first monster mountain we chose had two Wanxiang monsters present, and that’s exactly the number we needed to kill. By the time the other Wanxiang monsters arrived, we used the Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals to flee.” Eastriver Cloudsoar shook his head. “The more important requirement the Raindragon Guard gave us was to survive in the Gaol Mountains’s wild marshes for three months…three full months! These marshes are full of danger everywhere. Surviving will be much harder than killing one or two Wanxiang monsters.”

Eastriver Snowite said, “Big Brother, didn’t you say that the closer we are to the Raindragon Guard, the safer it will be? The monsters stay far away from that place…although we won’t be able to enter, we can just find a place close to the encampment and stay for three months.”

“Right. Still, we need to be careful,” Cloudsoar said. “This place isn’t like the clan…”

“I know,” Snowite responded.

Right at this moment, another warship flew over from far away. “Eh?” Eastriver Cloudsoar and Eastriver Snowite both turned to look.

“Haha, so it is fellow Daoist Cloudsoar, of the Eastriver clan.” Laughter rang out from the distant warship. Atop the warship was a white-robed man with a graceful bearing. The Eastriver siblings immediately recognized him…this was one of the hundred testees, Northriver Zhou.

“Fellow Daoist Northriver,” Eastriver Cloudsoar called back.

“It’s quite rare and fortunate that I would be able to encounter you two siblings here, fellow Daoist Cloudsoar. Would you be willing to board this construct-ship of mine and share some wine?” Northriver Zhou laughed.

“Yes!” Eastriver Snowite revealed a smile. But Cloudsoar shook his head. “No. No need.” This caused Snowite to look towards her older brother curiously, but Cloudsoar just gave her a glance. Snowite didn’t argue.

“If that’s the case, then I won’t force things.” Northriver Zhou was quite straightforward. With a laugh, he said, “I’ll leave, then.”

But just as his words came out…Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Five streaks of light suddenly flew out towards every direction, moving lightning-fast. These five streaks of light…were five Wanxiang Adepts, all of them amongst the testees for joining the Raindragon Guard. The bodies of the five Wanxiang Adepts all emanated a blurry gray light, and the body of Northriver Zhou, still standing atop that warship, also shone with that light.

Six of them in total! The gray lights were all connected, surrounding this region. “A spacelock formation!” The faces of Eastriver Cloudsoar and Eastriver Snowite completely changed.

“You…you…” Cloudsoar’s face was ashen as he stared at the six surrounding Immortal cultivators. “Dong One of Snowdragon Mountain, Xu Manquan of the Thousand Rivers Sect, Northriver Zhou of the Skysplitter Sword Sect…you actually prepared a spacelock formation.”

Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals were only useful against Zifu Disciples and ordinary Wanxiang Adepts. The majority of powerful Wanxiang Adepts would carry a spacelock formation with them. Once they set it down…there would be no way to teleport within the region with locked space.

“Four peak Wanxiang Adepts, two late Wanxiang Adepts.” Cloudsoar and Snowite exchanged a glance, despair in their eyes.

“Kill them.” A cold look flashed through Northriver Zhou’s eyes.

“Kill!”

Cloudsoar and Snowite went berserk as well.

……

“I, Eastriver Cloudsoar, will definitely get revenge! Definitely!!!” A desolate, fierce, hate-filled cry rang out from far away. Eastriver Cloudsoar, who had charged outside of the spacelock formation, his body covered in blood and missing an arm, immediately used his Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal and disappeared. As for his little sister, she was already dead.

After all, these two siblings weren’t faced against Wanxiang monsters who didn’t have any legacies or treasures; they faced human Wanxiang elites who were also from famous tribes and clans!

Four peak Wanxiang Adepts, two late Wanxiang Adepts. Upon joining forces, they were absolutely able to crush the two of them.

“That Eastriver Cloudsoar managed to escape.” Northriver Zhou shook his head. “He should consider himself lucky.” The other five flew back to the warship, while Zhou picked up the magic storage belt of the slain Snowite, beginning to look through it.

“How is it?” The others asked. “Not bad. There’s the corpse of a Wanxiang monster here.” Northriver Zhou handed the magic storage belt to someone next to him, letting them all look through it. Although the six of them had joined forces to support each other in killing others, and although they had sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, they all still wanted to look through the spoils of war.

Northriver Zhou laughed. “Three months. It’ll definitely be quite easy for us to find six Wanxiang monster corpses.”

“Right..” The golden-robed Dong One smiled and nodded. “Those Immortal cultivators who slew Wanxiang monsters will most likely all return to move close to the Raindragon Guards. As long as we patrol this area…we’ll definitely run into more. Any we run into, we kill!”

“We’ll keep doing this, then.” All of them were filled with eagerness. Upon killing cultivators, not only would they acquire Wanxiang monster corpses, they would also be able to obtain the magic treasures of those cultivators. This was far more profitable than just killing monsters.

……

“I, Eastriver Cloudswear, swear that I will definitely kill them.” Cloudsoar appeared in midair, covered in blood. His eyes were filled with hate. “Northriver Zhou. Xu Manquan. Dong One…” Cloudsoar gritted his name as he recited the names, one after the other, as though he was storing them deep into his memory.

“Little sister…little sister.” Cloudsoar’s tears began to fall. He had known all along that the path of Immortals was an incomparably dangerous one, but who would have thought that on his very first true adventure, his little sister would die? This caused Cloudsoar, who had been excited and eager, to become filled with boundless pain and hate.

He knew that Wanxiang Adepts often killed each other, and that the seniors of their clans wouldn’t generally intervene. Only if, say, a Primal Daoist had acted against a Wanxiang Adept, which would be a case of a senior bullying a junior, would the seniors of the sect intervene. So long as the fights were amongst those of the same generation…if you died, you could only blame yourself for being weak!

But of course, if the person who died was a junior who was particularly beloved by a powerful figure, such as the sole disciple of someone…then the powerful figure might go berserk and ignore protocol to gain revenge for that junior.

…….

Ning and Northson road atop the warship, constantly advancing towards the Raindragon Guard’s encampment.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Northson stared at those terrified, restless humans, then said softly, “They are still terrified and uneasy. Even now…they are still afraid of us. Only the children have a bit more courage.”

“They’ve been enslaved for too long.” Ning shook his head. “Slavery has rooted itself within them. To change that will be very, very hard. The children have some hope.”

Northson looked at the first child they had saved. Smiling, he walked over to them. Next to the child was a grimy-looking woman. Terrified, she immediately pulled her son away, but her son was fearless. He just looked at Northson.

“Kid, what’s your name?” Northson said. “My name is Ironboy!” The child raised his head and said, “What are your names, Immortals?”

Northson laughed. “My name is Mu Northson. Over there is my senior apprentice-brother, Ji Ning.”

“Mu Northson. Ji Ning…” The child gently murmured the names, as though memorizing them.

Ning laughed and walked over as well. “This Ironboy is quite clever.”

…….

As Ning and Northson were chatting with the kid, a distant ship was beginning to draw close to theirs.

“Look. That dragon-headed warship.” Northriver Zhou pointed towards the distance. “If memory serves, that dragon-headed warship belongs to one of the hundred, that Black-White College disciple, Mu Northson; it’s the construct-warship he displayed. Most likely, Mu Northson and his senior apprentice-brother are on that ship.”

“The Black-White College?”

“Every member of the Black-White College is a peerless genius. They aren’t easy to deal with.”

“Should we attack?”

These people began to hesitate. But the golden-robed Dong One said, “No need to worry. I understand this Ji Ning quite well. He should only be twenty years old! Although his talent is astonishing, he’s trained for too short a period of time. You should all be aware that his [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is only at the ninth stage. He’s a bit dangerous in close combat, but as long as we can stay away from him, we don’t need to fear him at all. As for that Mu Northson, since he follows this Ji Ning’s lead, his strength probably isn’t that great either.”

“The two of them are headed back…they probably have the corpses of two Wanxiang monster.”

“Disciples of the Black-White College. Killing them is worth more than killing quite a few Wanxiang Adepts. In addition, one of them is a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept, while the other is a Fiendgod Body Refiner who can just barely be considered an early-stage Wanxiang Adept. Us? Four of us are peak Wanxiang Adepts, while the other two are late-stage, and we can join together in a six-man formation attack.”

“Given that we’re plotting against them while they aren’t against us, we have excellent chances.”

Soon, the six came to a unified agreement. “Let’s go. Let’s kill these two ‘peerless geniuses’ of the Black-White College!” Northriver Zhou’s eyes flashed with a savage light.

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Chapter 17 – Waylaying the Disciples of the Black-White College

Chapter 17 – Waylaying the Disciples of the Black-White College

A youth with loose, unbound hair said in a low voice, “We are definitely going to kill them, but don’t forget…earlier, when the six of us joined forces against those two siblings of the Eastriver clan…the final result was that Eastriver Cloudsoar escaped! These two are of the Black-White College. Although one is a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept and the other can be considered an early-stage Fiendgod Wanxiang Adept, they certainly are carrying many protective magic treasures. If we aren’t careful…the two of them might end up escaping in the end. The final result would be, not only would they remain alive, we would have created enemies for ourselves.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jihe’s words are correct.” The golden-robed Dong One nodded. “There exists some enmity between Ji Ning and my Snowdragon Mountain, and I am quite familiar with him. He is a truly monstrous talent, and his training speed is astonishing. If he were to escape, we would definitely gain a powerful foe.”

Although they were considering the matter, in reality, none of these six Wanxiang Adepts were truly afraid of creating enemies. Since they had decided to embark on the path of cultivation, then they would strive to do anything necessary to become Immortals!

“We need to carefully consider how to go about this,” said the only woman of the group. “If we are going to attack, we must instantly use the most vicious attacks we have and kill them before they have a chance to react.”

“My suggestion is…”

The six cultivators chatted amongst themselves. If the enemy was a Wanxiang monster, this would be very simple, but the enemy were disciples of the Black-White College. Even though they were just a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept and the equivalent of an early-stage Wanxiang Adept, they didn’t dare to be the slightest bit overconfident. The disciples of the Black-White College couldn’t be judged in accordance with normal logic. If these two were both peak Wanxiang Adepts, the six of them probably wouldn’t choose to attack at all.

“We have higher foundations than them, and we are working together. I refuse to believe we won’t be able to kill them.” This was what the six cultivators all believed, and the reason why they decided to act.

………..

Ning didn’t notice any of this at all. He continued to chat with his junior apprentice-brother about the disciples. But right at this moment…

“Eh?” Ning turned to look. He stared past the railing, to a distant warship flying over from afar. “This warship…this seems to be the construct-warship which that Northriver Zhou of the Skysplitter Sword Sect used, when the hundred of us dispersed in different directions.

Immortal cultivators had astonishingly good memories. Ning had clearly memorized all of the names of the hundred, when they had reported them to the Immortal.

“Senior apprentice-brother, that’s the warship of Northriver Zhou of the Skysplitter Sword Sect,” Northson said softly as well. “Right.” Ning nodded, staring into the distance. That ship was drawing closer and closer to them…why?

“Hahaha…” An elegant, refined-looking white-robed man was standing at the helm of the warship, staring towards them. Laughing, the man said, “I didn’t expect that I’d encounter the two disciples of the Black-White College here. Northriver Zhou pays his respects.”

“It is quite a coincidence,” Ning said with a laugh. “It seems, fellow Daoist Northriver, that you’ve already acquired a Wanxiang monster corpse.” If another treated him with courtesy and a smile, unless there was enmity or grievances between Ning and that person, Ning wouldn’t treat them with a cold face either.

“It was luck,” Northriver Zhou said warmly. “It’s quite lucky for us to encounter each other here. Why don’t you come aboard my vessel, and we can drink some wine together?”

“Drink some wine together?” Ning had a sudden thought. If it was just a matter of chatting and drinking, that was one thing. But inviting them aboard his warship…Ning began to grow nervous. After all, that was someone else’s territory. With but a thought, he instantly filled the area with his powerful divine sense. He saw with perfect clarity the insides of that warship. Ning was instantly shocked. There were five figures hidden within the warship.

“Everyone, be alert. Once this Ji Ning and Mu Northson board the ship, we’ll immediately activate the grand formation. We need to kill them right away.”

“Right. As time goes on, the situation might change. We have to make it fast.”

“As soon as they board the ship, they’ll be dead.”

All of them were stealthily chatting amongst themselves. This was a construct-ship that was filled with restrictive spells to begin with, and so those in the outside world couldn’t hear the conversations going on within at all. Only Ning, capable of a divine sense, was able to discover everything.

“They are going to waylay and kill us!” This instantly came to Ning’s mind. “I didn’t imagine that we’d encounter this as soon as we arrived at the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, shall we go?” Northson looked towards Ning. He was rather thin-skinned; he found it hard to refuse someone who had invited him over in such a friendly manner.

“Junior apprentice-brother,” Ning hurriedly sent mentally, “Be careful and don’t reveal anything, but…that warship has five other Wanxiang Adepts hidden within it. All of them are amongst the testees for joining the Raindragon Guard. Adding in Northriver Zhou, there are six in total. Four are peak Wanxiang Adepts, while two are late Wanxiang Adepts.”

“What?” It was a good thing that Ning had warned him; although on the surface, Northson pretended to remain calm, in his heart, he was shocked. He sent back, “Senior apprentice-brother, six Immortal cultivators? Why haven’t the other five shown themselves? Can it be that they are…”

“Right. They are going to rob and kill us,” Ning replied. Northson was enraged. “They actually dare to try to pull that on us? Let’s counter-kill them.”

“Careful,” Ning sent back. “Don’t underestimate them. They aren’t like those Wanxiang monsters; they are from top-tier clans and tribes as well, and their techniques will definitely be extraordinary. And, with six of them joining forces…if we aren’t careful, we might perish.”

Ning was quite confident about himself, actually; he was a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and his life force was incredibly strong. In addition, with his ultimate secret weapon, the divine ability [Starseizing Hand]…yes, Ning felt quite confident. However, Northson was still just a middle Wanxiang Adept. In terms of elemental ki, he was far inferior to the others. In addition, Northson was just eighteen, and in a true, chaotic battle, Ning wouldn’t necessarily be able to take care of this junior apprentice-brother of his. If his junior apprentice-brother died here, Ning would never be able to forgive himself.

“Understood.” Northson immediately increased his own level of caution as well. “Stay next to me,” Ning sent to him. “Don’t make any sudden movements. Wait for my commands.”

“Alright,” Northson acknowledged.

……..

While the two fellow disciples decided through their private mental messages as to what they would do, opposite them, Northriver Zhou continued to smile at them and wait for their response. At the same time, he even said, “I’ve always been quite filled with admiration towards the many students of the Black-White College. It is my good fortune to be able to meet you two fellow Daoists today.”

“I’m ashamed to say this,” Ning said apologetically, “But we’re busy. We won’t go over for now. After we all complete the test to join the Raindragon Guard, we’ll drink together.”

“Oh.” Northriver Zhou cursed in his heart, but on the surface, he put on an ‘understanding’ look. “I understand. Then let us wait to meet with each other after we join the Raindragon guard.” But at the same time, he sent mentally, “Attack!”

The five cultivators within the ship, upon hearing this, exchanged glances and nodded. They all immediately rushed outside. Only…

Ji Ning was even faster than them!

Ning had noticed through his divine sense that the five Immortal cultivators within the ship had looked at each other and nodded, and were moving to charge outside. He immediately willed his 720 Mortal-ranked flying swords to appear in midair. “Junior apprentice-brother, attack.”

At that moment, two giant black water-snakes appeared around Northson. The bodies of the black water-snakes constantly flickered in an illusory manner, and began to form into sharp spike sthat were covered by many runic seals. The auras of the water-snakes immediately began to grow savage and brutal.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Five figures moved lightning-fast, charging outside of the ship, their bodies already flashing with that blurry gray light. The spacelock formation was already beginning to take shape. This was a formation which used six Immortal cultivators as the formation-base, and the area covered by the six cultivators would be the area locked in by the formation. But of course, there was a maximum size of just a hundred kilometers or so.

“What’s going on?” Northriver Zhou, Dong One, and the others discovered to their astonishment that Ji Ning and Mu Northson had actually acted even before they did.

“Kill them.”

“They found us out.”

“Don’t hold anything back.”

Northriver Zhou’s group reacted right away as well, and they immediately unleashed their most powerful attacks. The six of them shared their elemental ki through the formation, and their power burst forth.

“Massive Ice Prison.” The golden-robed Dong One pointed towards the distance. Whoosh! A white, freezing aura that was visible to the naked eye swept towards Ning. Ning and Northson were both standing in the air above the dragon-headed warship, which was now completely closed off to the outside world. Clearly, Ning and Northson didn’t wish to cause any disasters to befall these slaves. Actually, if it wasn’t for these slaves, Ning and Northson could’ve just fled through using Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals.

Still…the slaves were just one reason. The second was because both of them had just departed from their schools, and they had proud hearts; why would they flee without even fighting? Thus, the two didn’t even discuss fleeing. In their minds was a single word – Fight!

“It’s dire-ice! This Dong One of Snowdragon Mountain actually was cultivating demon-ice in his body.” Ning was startled. The inner Zifu of a practitioner was an incomparably mysterious place. It could nourish dire-ice, or earthfire, or demonwind…these were all extremely terrifying natural elemental powers, and after being nourished in the body, they would be able to unleash extremely great might.

However, to nourish dire-ice, one would first need to find a secret location where naturally-occurring dire-ice was, and then absorb it into the body. One could only hope for but not count on encountering such a valuable location. The power of this dire-ice, however, was absolutely not lower than a divine ability’s.

“Grand Windmill Formation!” The black-clothed Xu Manquan pointed towards the distant Ning and Northson. Instantly, nine windmills suddenly appeared and began to spin at high speed in the air, transforming into tornado windmills which crushed the air itself as it smashed towards the two.

“Anatta Sword!” Their leader, Northriver Zhou, made nine flying swords appear before him. They simultaneously struck out, and as they did, nine rivers of sword light appeared, sweeping towards Ning and Northson.

“Nirvana Extinction!” Jihe crossed his hands together, and out of nowhere, a gray energy aura appeared which swept towards Ning and Northson.

“Die.” Adept Nongsan let out a cold laugh, then waved his hand. The horsetail whisk in his hands immediately transformed into three thousand white strands, filling the skies as they swept forward.

“Haaaa!” The only woman, Meng Liuqing, crushed a Dao-seal and let out a cold roar. Bang! Countless rays of lightning appeared in midair, striking downwards towards Ning and Northson.

……..

In an instant, the six Wanxiang Adepts had simultaneously used the most vicious techniques available to them. They weren’t itinerant cultivators with no secret arts at their disposals; they were mighty Daoists who had some truly ancient, mysterious techniques.

“Waterflame Lotus!”

“[Three-Foot Sword] – Manifold Thistlethorns!”

An utterly beautiful, enormous blooming lotus flower spread open, with Ning and Northson completely surrounded by it. Ning was holding the Darknorth swords in his hands, just in case, but at the same time, he used the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to execute Ning’s most powerful sword technique – the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

“Serpents Swallow the Skies.” Northson’s two hands moved, and the giant, savage black water-snakes that had latched onto each other’s tails suddenly transformed into an enormous black circle. Carrying an inexhaustible, terrifying devouring power, it swept forward.

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Chapter 18 – Sweeping Through All Opposition

Chapter 18 – Sweeping Through All Opposition

The bolts of lightning struck down at astonishing speed, instantly colliding with the gigantic Waterflame Lotus surrounding Ning and Northson. The petals of the Waterflame Lotus were blooming in layers, and after breaking through three layers of petals, the lightning dissipated, completely unable to harm Ning or Northson at all.

“It actually broke through three layers.” Ning was secretly shocked. In the past three years, Ning had made the most accomplishments in the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Inferno. Every so often, he would go meditate before the Black-White Diagram…and he was now capable of instantly creating and maintaining six layers of petals. If the enemy’s attacks were twice as powerful, they would’ve broken through.

Although Ning was surprised, he saw that the first attacks arriving from far away were those nine tornado windmills.

“Manifold Thistlethorns!” The jade-white sword of light flew out at a seemingly slow speed, as though it was being bound by countless things, which it was just barely able to break through, one layer at a time.

Wherever the jade-white sword of light flew past…the aura it brought with it was enough to cause the faces of Northriver Zhou, Jihe, Dong One, and the other Wanxiang Adepts to change, once they sensed it.

“Who the hell was it that claimed Ji Ning is only skilled in close combat?!” Northriver Zhou and the others were all cursing in their hearts.

The impending sword-light immediately chopped apart the impending dire-ice. Next, it collided against the nine tornado windmills that were flying through the air. Rumble…the nine tornado windmills had aroused an endless tempest, and the nine had immediately formed into a formation which jointly resisted that single jade-white sword of light, but the sword was simply too fast. They could clearly sense it and see it, but it’s speed vastly surpassed that of any of the windmills.

A few seconds after a thunderous collision, the nine windmills were all knocked flying away, but the jade-white sword-light had also grown incomparably dim. “Crunch.” In front of the three thousand white strands of the horsetail whisk, the jade-white sword light completely vanished.

“Formidable. He was actually able to first break through Dong One’s ‘dire-ice’, then break the ‘Grand Windmill Formation’ of myself, Xu Manquan.”

“If he’s so powerful when controlling sword-light…we absolutely cannot let him get into close range!”

Northriver Zhou and the others were all shocked. What they didn’t realize was that Ning felt shocked as well. “My [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] is already essentially as powerful as an attack at the Zifu level can be, and it executed the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. And yet, it was only just barely able to defeat two of their attacks? It appears that my power base is too weak; Xu Manquan and Dong One are both peak Wanxiang Adepts, after all.”

Of the two, one had used dire-ice, something comparable to a divine ability; the other had used a grand formation. And both were at the peak Wanxiang Adept level! Despite that, both of their attacks had been defeated by Ning, a single person. Actually, Ning’s performance was already quite monstrous.

“Serpents Swallow the Skies!”

“Anatta Sword!”

The two black serpents with linked heads and tails had formed into an enormous circle, and they swept towards those nine streaks of sword-light. As for the nine rivers of sword-light controlled by Northriver Zhou, they swept forward like nine mighty floods, wildly attacking that water-snake circle.

For the moment, the battle was actually at a stalemate.

“These two of the Black-White College truly are powerful. They are so much weaker than us in terms of their base of power, but they are able to resist our attacks nonetheless.” Dong One sent hurriedly with a shout, “Everyone, work together and annihilate them.”

“Kill.”

“Kill!”

Meng Liuqing, Nongsan, and the others used their full strength, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly realized that the gray energy flooding towards him actually was capable of somewhat affecting the soul. Although he didn’t care about it, due to the power of his soul, his junior apprentice-brother would be affected by it. Indeed, the nearby Northson had a frown on his face, and the power of the black serpent constructs which he was controlling had begun to drop. Clearly, his mental equilibrium had been affected.

“Die, then.” Ning’s eyes suddenly exploded with a terrifying killing intent. His divine soul was seated in the lotus position deep within his sea of consciousness. In front of his chest, an azure runic seal suddenly formed; the Soulshaker Seal! His powerful divine sense poured out through the Soulshaker Seal and spread out, thundering out like the waves of the sea in multiple layered waves, surging rapidly towards every direction.

It completely avoided the nearby Northson, crushing down towards everyone else. The rolling waves of powerful divine sense instantly crashed against the six Wanxiang Adepts surrounding them. It was as though mighty, savage waves which had been building up power for a long time had suddenly crashed against the shore.

BOOM!!!

The powerful divine sense instantly exploded with inconceivable concussive power.

“What is…” The Wanxiang Adept of Snowdragon Mountain, Dong One, only felt a terrifying collisive power smash towards him. He was instantly terrified, but then…his mind went blank.

“This…”

“I…”

These mighty Wanxiang Adepts, in the face of Ning’s [Soulshaker Art], were instantly stunned and dazed.

Actually, the [Soulshaker Art] was only a technique capable of shaking the opponent’s soul and affecting their power. Generally speaking, it wouldn’t cause others to fall into this dazed, stunned state. The chief reason it did right now was because Ning’s divine soul had already the ‘divine sense’ level. It was comparable to a Primal Daoist using the technique; naturally, it caused them all to enter a stupor. The six of them even began to slowly sink down from the skies.

“Kill!” Ning willed it, and instantly, the jade-white sword of light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] appeared once more, sweeping towards the enemies. “Junior apprentice-brother, hurry and attack,” Ning sent.

“Understood.” Northson realized that the six Wanxiang Adepts had entered a dazed, stunned state as well.

The first person to be struck by the jade-white sword light was the leader, Northriver Zhou. “BANG!” Northriver Zhou’s body suddenly unleashed a barrier of sword-ki. This sword-ki was incomparably resilient, and it was able to withstand Ning’s jade-white sword attack.

“Protective sword-ki?” Ning was startled. “It must be a protective item which the elders of his school provide him with.”

In the instant that he was struck, Northriver Zhou came to his senses, and a look of terror appeared on his face.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” The jade-white sword-light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] chopped three times in a row against that protective sword-ki. Northriver Zhou, who had just come to his senses and didn’t have the chance to begin controlling his magic treasures, was thus bisected by Ning’s sword chop.

Crack, crack, crack…Northson’s black serpent-circle immediately crushed down around the one named ‘Jihe’. This Jihe actually didn’t have a protective item on him.

By now, the other four Wanxiang Adepts came to their senses. They were still late stage Wanxiang Adepts and peak Wanxiang nAdepts, after all; their souls were extremely strong, and their Dao-hearts resilient. Even for Primal Daoists who used the [Soulshaker Art], to be able to send them into a stupor for a moment was already impressive.

“Not good. Jihe and Northriver Zhou are already dead.”

“Quick, flee.”

“They know a powerful divine will technique.”

The four lucky survivors, being Dong One, Meng Liuqing, Nongsan, and Xu Manquan, were all terrified and immediately fled. Two of them had died in an instant; this extinguished any thoughts they had of fighting back. They now understand that one of these two disciples of the Black-White College was in possession of an extremely powerful divine will technique. Still, they were also incomparably puzzled; although divine will techniques were rare, they weren’t invincible. Only someone with an extremely strong divine soul would be powerful when using a divine will technique, and clearly, these two had only trained for a short period of time. How could they be so powerful?”

“Flee?” Ning let out a cold laugh. BANG! His mighty divine will once more spread out in every direction, like the crushing waves of the sea. Although all of the four fleeing individuals were prepared this time, they were still dazed by the powerful divine will, and their speed lessened.

“Junior apprentice-brother, kill them.” Ning, his Darknorth swords in his hands, charged straight towards Dong One of Snowdragon Mountain. At the same time, he controlled his sword-light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to attack that Xu Manquan.

“Understood.” Northson’s black serpent circle instantly broke apart, transforming back into two giant water-snakes which attacked Nongsan and Meng Liuqing.

“[Soulshaker Art]!”

Ning used the [Soulshaker Art] yet again, and ripples of endless, ceaseless waves of energy swept towards those four Wanxiang Adepts.

“Snowdragon Mountain, eh? Die!” The Darknorth swords in Ning’s hands sliced out as two streaks of light, bisecting Dong One. “BANG!” Dong One’s body emanated a black energy which formed in protective layers, protecting him like a cocoon.

“Bang!” Ning launched yet another attack, but still wasn’t able to break through. Dong One gritted his teeth, still under assault by the clashing waves of Ning’s divine will. He gritted his teeth so hard that blood came out from them, and his eyes were bloodshot and crazed. He felt like a person who was drowning in a lake of waves of divine will. However, his powerful Dao-heart caused him to want to remain alive.

“Ignite!” Dong One, just barely managing to remain conscious, executed the Blood Evasion technique. Whoosh! A dazzling, bloody scarlet light suddenly appeared in the skies, and then he disappeared into the distance.

“Swish.” Xu Manquan, pursued by the sword-light of Ning’s [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], had barely managed to remain conscious as well, but he hadn’t been able to flee. He was killed by the sword-light.

“One escaped.” Ning shook his head, collecting the corpses that were falling down from the skies. Ning turned to look. Northson was flying towards him. Northson said resignedly, “Senior apprentice-brother, I let that Meng Liuqing get away. However, I did kill that Nongsan.”

“Out of six, we killed four.” Ning laughed. “Not bad.”

“What do you mean, ‘not bad’? We did extremely well!” Northson stared at Ning in astonishment. “Senior apprentice-brother, what technique did you use just now? I saw them enter a dazed state. It should’ve been a divine will technique, right? Our Black-White College only has three divine will techniques; the [Soulshaker Art], the [Soulcharmer Art], and the [Soulslayer Art]. Which one did you use?”

“The [Soulshaker Art], of course.” Ning didn’t try to hide it. “Formidable,” Northson said, “Formidable. Senior apprentice-brother, your soul is at the divine sense level! The power of your [Soulshaker Art] is astonishing; you were able to make them completely unable to fight back. Actually, they were quite powerful; they were all roughly on par with me.” Northson sighed in amazement. “I really haven’t trained long enough.”

“Let’s see what they left behind,” Ning said. “Alright.” Northson was filled with eagerness as well.

The two first flew back to the dragon-headed warship. The slaves aboard the dragon-headed warship were all quite terrified; they had no idea what had just happened outside.

Ning and Northson paid them no heed. Instead, they began to hurriedly bind the storage-type magic treasures. Although the four they had killed were Wanxiang Adepts, their storage-type magic treasures weren’t all Earth-ranked. Three were Mortal-ranked, while only one was Earth-ranked. It actually didn’t make a huge difference if the storage-type treasures were Earth-ranked or not; thus, not many Immortal cultivators would actively go about upgrading them.

A few moments later…

“Senior apprentice-brother, whose magic treasure was this? It has so much liquefied elemental essence; this bottle has to have at least 250 kilograms!” Northson was instantly overjoyed upon discovering this.

Ning, upon hearing this, was delighted as well. 250 kilograms? So much! Ning quickly understood. “Most likely, after training to the peak of the Wanxiang Adept level, he was preparing to use it to break through to become a Primal Daoist. To break through to the Primal Daoist level would require tremendous amounts of liquefied elemental essence. 250 kilograms is just a rounding error.”

“Makes sense.” Northson nodded.

But Ning was quite eager; they had discovered 250 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence in the storage-type magic treasure of just a single Wanxiang Adept. Perhaps, as a result of othis encounter, Ning would be able to breakthrough to become a Wanxiang Adept himself!

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Chapter 19 – Breakthrough, Wanxiang Adept

Chapter 19 – Breakthrough, Wanxiang Adept

Ji Ning and Mu Northson continued to bind the storage treasures to see what items the four Wanxiang Adepts they had killed had left behind. Immortal cultivators would often carry their most important treasures with them! This was because it would be safest when they were holding onto them personally. And, of course, if they were to die, the treasures would become of no value to them. Thus, cultivators generally carried their treasures with them.

“We’ve bound them all.” Northson let out a long sigh. “All of them were quite ‘fat’,” Ning said with a laugh. “Killing a single cultivator really is far more rewarding than killing a Wanxiang monster.” Although Wanxiang monsters also relied on formations and alliances to occasionally killed cultivators, they would generally trade those magic treasures of the slain cultivators for liquefied elemental essence and some particular items they needed. Thus, when Ning’s group had killed those three Wanxiang monsters, they hadn’t acquired that much from them.

“Northriver Zhou, Xu Manquan, Nongsan, Jihe.” Northson sighed. “Most of them had formation-type treasures. Those nine Earth-ranked flying swords of Northriver Zhou…I imagine those are all Earth-ranked high-grade flying swords.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “These were all fairly formidable figures amongst Wanxiang Adepts. Their magic treasures are extraordinary.” The Adept Xu Li who Ning had killed in the past had carried quite ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasures. He was merely a low-level figure amongst Wanxiang Adepts; by contrast, Northriver Zhou and the others were top-level figures.

“In total, 33 Earth-ranked magic treasures. No need to count the Mortal-ranked ones. These treasures are most likely worth around 1000 or 1500 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.” Northson was quite excited. “They also have Dao-seals like these Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals, and some formations, spirit-pills…and liquefied elemental essence! These four Wanxiang Adepts have, in total, 900 kilograms of it! Senior apprentice-brother, you are still at the peak Zifu level; the liquefied elemental essence will be yours. With them, I imagine you will be able to smash through to the early Wanxiang stage at one blow. By then, your power will increase dramatically.”

Ning said, “No rush. Junior apprentice-brother, you need to increase your power as well.” But Northson shook his head, then said resignedly, “Even if you gave me all 900 kilograms, it’s hard to say whether or not I’d be able to break through to the late Wanxiang stage.”

Ning was startled, but after thinking over it, he nodded slightly. Indeed, it would be hard to say. When Immortal cultivators rose in power to a completely new stage, the amount of elemental ki they would have to absorb would also increase tenfold, or perhaps even tens of times. Although it might only take 500 kilograms to go from the early Zifu stage to the early Wanxiang stage, from the early Wanxiang stage, it might take tens of thousands of kilograms to reach the early Primal Daoist stage!

The early Primal Daoist stage, in turn, would probably need hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of kilograms in order to reach the early Earth Immortal stage!

Tens of thousands vs hundreds of thousands? How incredible was this? Even major schools or sects would at most be willing to squander a bit of liquefied elemental essence on powerful Zifu-stage disciples. Once they reached the Wanxiang Adept or Primal Daoist stages…one had to simply train slowly. Even some truly supreme, monstrous geniuses would at most be given a bit of help by their clans. It would be incredible for the clans to be willing to part with a few tens of thousands of kilograms. Hundreds of thousands of kilograms? Not even Immortals would be able to bring out that much!

“Senior apprentice-brother, hurry up and make your breakthrough,” Northson urged. “Once you break through to the early Wanxiang stage, the rate at which you are able to absorb elemental ki will explosively increase by tens of times. By then, a single year’s worth of training would probably be equivalent to using hundreds of kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

“Fine, then.” Ning nodded. “I’ll accept the liquefied elemental essence, but you take the magic treasures, junior apprentice-brother.” Northson said, delighted, “Fine, fine, fine. I won’t refuse.”

The two made a simple division; the various magic treasures would go to Northson, while the liquefied elemental essence went to Ning. As for the Dao-seals, spirit-pills, and other items, the two divided them equally.

Although it seemed as though Northson was at a bit of advantage in terms of value, these were the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, after all; if he was to trade for liquefied elemental essence, he would first have to go back to the Crimson Dragon Mountains. Thus…comparatively speaking, Ning was a bit better off. Ning understood this, and he quietly memorized this event.

“Up ahead is the place where the Raindragon Guard is stationed.” Ning walked to the helm of the warship, staring through the sparse clouds to the distant lands below. “After we deliver these slaves to them, we’ll find a place where I can quietly absorb this liquefied elemental essence.”

“Alright.” Northson nodded.

……

The Raindragon Guard encampment within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. This was a towering mountain, and there were estates erected throughout it. Quite a few Raindragon Guards were present here.

The dragon-headed warship hovered there in midair, slowly drawing closer to the mountain peak.

“Hurry and depart.” A black-robed elder stood there in midair, appearing in front of the dragon-headed warship. He said furiously, “The two of you have come here to participate in the trial to join the Raindragon Guard. You are forbidden from entering. After you enter this encampment, you will have failed the test.”

Ning and Northson immediately saluted with respect. They could sense that this black-robed elder’s aura…seemed quite similar to the aura the Primal Daoists of the Black-White College possessed.

“Ji Ning [Mu Northson] greets you, senior,” the two said respectfully.

“No point in being respectful. Hurry up and depart.” The black-robed elder waved his arm.

Ning persisted in saying, “Senior, we haven’t come here to enter the encampment. We’ve come because earlier, when we two brothers went to deal with Wanxiang monsters atop a monster mountain, we discovered a group of pitiable humans who were being raised as livestock. Thus, we delivered them here in the hopes that the Raindragon Guard will take pity on and care of them.”

The black-robed elder was startled. A look of rage appeared on his face. “These monsters…they never learn the error of their ways.” He looked towards Ning and Northson with a slightly kinder look in his eyes now. “Bring these slaves out. Release them and let me look at them.”

“Yes,” Ning and Northson said respectfully. Instantly, they opened the doors to the warship, and the group of slaves that had been eating and drinking within the warm cabins stared outwards in terror.

The look on the black-robed elder’s face grew even uglier to behold, upon seeing those human slaves clad in leaves and in bark, who had terrified looks in their eyes. He let out a soft sigh. “There is no hope for most of these slaves. Some of the children, perhaps. These humans who were treated as meat by the monsters…their lives are incomparably terrible, generation after generation. Now that they have escaped their tribulations, the Raindragon Guard will naturally take care of them. Hand them over to me. The two of you shall continue within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. After three months time, you may return.”

“Yes.” Ning and Northson were both overjoyed. Previously, they were afraid that the Raindragon Guard wouldn’t take care of them, but now, it seemed, the Raindragon Guard was quite benevolent towards these human slaves who had been reared as livestock by the monsters.

A short time later. The black-robed Primal Daoist elder had led away all the human slaves. The child who Ning and Northson was the most familiar with, the one called ‘Ironboy’, had stared at the two of them the entire time, as though wanting to completely memorize their faces.

“I wonder what will happen to him in the future,” Northson said softly, a complicated look in his eyes. “Everyone has their own destiny,” Ning said. “Let’s go.”

“Alright.” Northson nodded.

The two disciples once more boarded the dragon-headed warship, quickly departing the encampment region and beginning to once more head deep into the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.

………

Half a day later. It was already night.

Ning and Northson had chosen a desolate mountain with no monsters present. Ning’s divine sense had inspected the entire mountain, but hadn’t found any monsters at all. Thus, they entered a cave which was deep within the mountain.

Within the cave, there was a flowing underground river. The two set up a grand alarm formation, and Northson also arranged for some constructs to stand guard alongside himself.

“Senior apprentice-brother, focus on your training. Leave everything here to me. I won’t even let an ant crawl in,” Northson chortled. Ning laughed. “Sorry for the trouble, junior apprentice-brother.”

Then, no longer thinking about anything else, Ning immediately sat down into the lotus position atop a flat rock he had chopped apart with his Darknorth sword. A jade bottle appeared next to him. Within this jade bottle was the liquefied elemental essence of all four Wanxiang Adepts; a total of 900 kilograms of it.

“Whew!” Ning opened his mouth, and the liquefied elemental essence began to flow out, directly entering Ning’s mouth.

Within Ning’s Zifu Violet Palace region. The liquefied elemental essence began to frantically transform. His entire Zifu Sea was swiveling slightly, because at the very base of the Zifu Sea large amount of pure elemental ki was flowing out from the Watersource. The Zifu Sea…it continuously expanded in each direction, taking up more and more of the space in this region.

50 kilograms. 150 kilograms. 250 kilograms. 300 kilograms!

Ning continued to absorb more and more.

“Eh? Previously, in the Black-White College, I absorbed 405 kilograms. Afterwards, I spent three years in training. Those three years should be roughly equivalent to fifty or a hundred kilograms as well. In other words, my body should’ve had nearly 500 kilograms.” Ning pondered to himself. “And now, I’ve absorbed 300 more, but I still haven’t reached my limit.”

“Let’s wait and see. I want to see exactly how much my Zifu Lake can expand to.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, continuing to ceaselessly absorb liquefied elemental essence. The Zifu Sea within his body was constantly expanding, taking up more of the space of the void. The entire Zifu Violet Palace region was growing sturdier and sturdier as well.

350 kilograms. 400 kilograms. 450 kilograms…

“Master’s previous guess was that I would roughly need to absorb around 800 to 850 kilograms or so, but I’ve already…wow, a thousand kilograms.” Ning’s former Zifu Sea had held roughly 500 kilograms worth of liquefied elemental essence, but now he had absorbed 500 more. And yet, Ning still didn’t feel as though he had reached his limit.

“Come. Continue.”

Slowly, the rate at which his Zifu Sea expanded began to slow down, as though it was beginning to reach its limits. The surrounding void had begun to generate a shocking resistive power, preventing the Zifu Sea from expanding much more.

Rumble…

The entire Violet Palace was beginning to tremble. The Zifu Lake was no longer able to expand by another inch. The entire Violet Palace region was now incomparably sturdy.

Ning understood that his Zifu Sea had finally reached its limits. Factoring in his previous accumulated energy and this time’s absorption…he had actually taken in the equivalent of 1250 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!

“No matter what, my peak Zifu stage is definitely at a true peak now,” Ning mused silently to himself. “I can now break through to the early Wanxiang stage.” Actually, he could’ve broken through three years ago, but his base wasn’t stable and solid enough. Ning was a person of great ambition; naturally, he had insisted on waiting until today.

Ning began to mentally recite the words from the [Flowing Watersource] describing the process of breaking through to the Wanxiang Adept stage.

With but a thought…his entire Zifu Sea began to change…

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Chapter 20 – Manifestation

Chapter 20 – Manifestation

Within Ji Ning’s Zifu Violet Palace. The boundless sea of elemental ki was vast and endless. With but a thought from Ning, the surface of the entire sea of elemental ki began to sink downwards.

Deep within the sea of elemental ki. A large amount of elemental ki essence was quickly, continuously condensing. One enormous star after another was constantly being born.

After an indeterminate period of time.

Rumble…the surface of the sea of elemental ki had already sank downwards considerably. Suddenly, it began to roil, and one enormous star after another slowly rose up from above it, breaking through the surface and floating upwards. Countless giant, tightly packed stars emerged from the surface of the sea, flying higher and higher into the void, each of them gleaming with faint light.

Rising. Rising. Finally, the countless stars came to a halt, high in the vast, infinite ‘sky’. In this moment, true darkness came to the Zifu. Those countless, brilliant stars hung there in the night sky, and beneath the night sky was the vast, endless sea.

This was the very first Manifestation after one broke through to the Wanxiang level – a sea of stars in the sky.

Rumble…the sea of elemental ki continued to sink downwards. In the center of the sea, where a countless amount of elemental ki essence had condensed, an even more astonishingly large ‘star’ was being formed. After another indeterminate period of time, this unfathomably larger ‘star’ slowly began to rise upwards as well. Eventually, it broke through the waves and slowly floated into the sky.

This rose in a manner which was different from the countless stars which had just soared upwards. In this moment, it was as though the only thing thing which existed in the night sky was this incomparably vast ‘star’. It emanated a soft, gentle light which illuminated the entire night sky, and which shone down on the entire sea of elemental ki. In this moment, it was the most brilliant part of the entire Zifu region.

This was evidence of a breakthrough to the second Manifestation of the Wanxiang level – the bright moon ascending from the sea!

Finally, this enormous, brilliant moon came to a halt, high in the sky. In this moment, there was a sea of stars in the sky, along with a luminous moon.

Rumble…the sea of elemental ki continued to sink. If the sea of elemental ki had been too small, perhaps even the creation of a sea of thousands of stars would be impossible. If even that was impossible…then that symbolized that there was no hope for a breakthrough to the Wanxiang level. Since the likes of Adept Mu Xiao and Adept Xu Li trained in what could only be considered decent techniques, when they made their breakthroughs, they were only able to reach this second Manifestation.

But Ning’s sea of elemental ki was now incomparably vast. Although it had continuously sank downwards for a long period of time, less than 30% of the sea had been drained.

In this moment…an even more incomparably enormous ‘star’ was forming, deep in the bottom of the sea. Even before being truly born, this ‘star’ was already beginning to emit an astonishing, blinding brilliance, to the point where even the entire sea of elemental ki was beginning to glow. Finally, it too began to rise, and this titanic ‘star’ rose upwards.

Finally, it broke through the surface of the water. In that instant, the scorching, blazing light of this star instantly spread out, covering the entirety of the Zifu with its light. The Zifu space instantly transformed from night into day.

This great sun slowly, unhurriedly rose into the heights of the sky. This was proof that one had broken through to the third Manifestation of the Wanxiang level – the dawn sun rising from the east!

The sea of stars, the bright moon rising from the sea, the dawn sun rising from the east…the appearance of these three Manifestations symbolized that this breakthrough to the Wanxiang level had been a perfect one.

When the sun flew to the highest part of the entire region, it became surrounded by stars. It was located directly opposite to the nearby moon. One Yang, the other Yin. Because it had flown so high, the light of the sun was no longer as scorchingly powerful as it had been before. The bright moon, the blazing sun; one cool, the other blazing. Two different types of light filled the sea below.

“Condense!” Ning willed it. The entire sea of elemental ki, which had only sunk by less than half, began to frantically sink at an even faster rate. As it did, spots of light began to float up from the sea of elemental ki. These countless spots of light broke through the surface and floated upwards…and as the sea of elemental ki continued to sink, more and more spots of light emerged. They were so densely packed and numerous as to be countless; there were hundreds, no, thousands more spots of light than there were stars in the sky. They all flew up into the sky.

These spots of light flew towards the stars, the moon, and the sun, then merged into them. The moon, the sun, and the countless stars began to increase in size. And, as they absorbed those spots of light, the moon, the sun, and the stars also began to evolve.

By the time the sea of elemental ki had sank down to 10% of its original size, everything finally came to a halt. The moon, sun, and stars in the sky had increased by a full size.

“Success.” Ning finally relaxed. The stars in the sky began to slowly move about. At first, they moved about in a very slow, sluggish manner. Soon, however, they began to move in a very natural, easy way, and they began to revolve around the two larger stellar bodies, the sun and the moon. The movement of the countless stars was natural and innate. These stars and the sun and the moon were naturally linked with the countless true stellar bodies in the outside world, and thus they began to move in this manner.

Within the deep cave.

Northson turned his head to look at Ning. Ning still sat there in the lotus position, but he had stopped absorbing liquefied elemental essence. “Senior apprentice-brother should have made his breakthrough.”

Right at this moment, suddenly, a large amount of natural elemental ki from the surrounding area began to wildly surge towards Ning at an incomparably shocking speed. Moments later, this elemental ki ripple came to a halt. Ning opened his eyes. Laughing loudly, he rose to his feet.

“Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother. You have stepped into the Wanxiang level,” Northson said in delight.

“I made some tests just now. Indeed, it is as you said, junior apprentice-brother; upon breaking through to the Wanxiang level, the stars within the Zifu in my body truly do resonate with the countless real stars of the outside world. Once I begin to absorb the elemental ki of the outside world, the rate at which that happens has increased by many tens of times.” Ning laughed, but at the same time, he sighed in his heart.

If one wanted to create liquefied elemental essence, it would be far more difficult. If one wanted to do that, then one would need to do what Immortal Firedragon had done; set down a grand formation, then spend a long period of time converting the elemental ki of the natural world and distill it into liquefied elemental essence!

Thus, liquefied elemental essence was naturally, incomparably precious. Wanxiang Adepts and Primal Daoists would rather spend a bit of extra time in training than use it; extremely few were able to wantonly use vast amounts of liquefied elemental essence to rise in power quickly.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you broke through to the Wanxiang level; you should be lacking in suitable Earth-ranked magic treasures.” Northson laughed. “Earlier, we acquired a set of flying swords from that Northriver Zhou. It should suit you very well. This set of flying swords shall be your junior apprentice-brother’s gift to you for making your breakthrough, senior apprentice-brother.”

Ning was startled. “No, I can’t!”

Northriver Zhou’s set of flying swords? Indeed, it really was a set of nine Earth-ranked flying swords, and they were quite good as well, most likely high-grade Earth-ranked swords. Although the current core of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the ‘Nine Yang Sword Formation’, was comprised of top-grade Mortal-ranked swords, for a Wanxiang Adept…they were still vastly inferior to a set of nine quality Earth-ranked flying swords. The comparative price of these items testified to this as well.

Top-grade Mortal-ranked flyinig swords would generally go for a hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence, which was to say, around five kilograms. This set of Earth-ranked flying swords of Northriver Zhou, however, would probably see each sword going for nearly fifty kilograms. Since the nine came in a set, most likely if sold as a set, a price of five hundred kilograms or so could be fetched.

“Senior apprentice-brother. These flying swords are useless to me.” Northson shook his head. “This is my congratulatory gift…can it be that you are going to refuse, senior apprentice-brother?”

Ning looked at Northson, then smiled. “Fine, then. I’ll accept this set of flying swords.” The two were fellow disciples, and they were engaged in a life-and-death adventure together. Ning wasn’t going to be wishy-washy about it; only, he firmly engraved this moment into his heart.

Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, it had been half a month.

The clouds drifted forward in the sky. A dragon-headed warship was leisurely advancing. Up ahead, a spatial distortion could be seen, as well as cracks and tears in space. Beyond those cracks was a gray, blurry void. Although Ning and Northson had seen these things many times now, they still felt their hearts beat in fear.

The dragon-headed warship naturally stayed far, far away from these things. If they were accidentally trapped within these spatial distortions…Ning understood that given their current level of power, they would definitely die.

“This set of flying swords truly is sharp and dominating. It has an extremely strong murderous intent about it.” Ning stood at the helm of the ship. He stretched his right hand out, and around his right hand were nine finger-sized flying swords. These nine flying swords swirled around Ning’s right hand, constantly spinning…and occasionally spitting out sword-light. Ning was still familiarizing himself with this set of nine Earth-ranked flying swords.

Because he didn’t know the name of these swords, Ning described them as the ‘Northriver Sword Formation’. Both because it had belonged to Northriver Zhou, and also to constantly remind himself to be warry of other Immortal cultivators.

“Senior apprentice-brother, look.” Northson pointed towards the distance. Ning took a careful look. In the foggy distance, a warship was currently flying towards them. Upon seeing the shape of the warship, Ning immediately said, “This is one of the hundred who took part in the Raindragon Guard trial. This is the ship of the peak Wanxiang Adept named ‘Formless’.”

“Formless?” Northson turned to look as well. “It’s not going to be like when we met Northriver Zhou and the others, is it? There aren’t other Wanxiang Adepts hiding on his ship, are there?”

“Let me take a look.” Ning willed his divine sense to sweep forward, thoroughly surrounding the distant warship. Ning thoroughly investigate all the activities going on inside that ship. After doing so, Ning relaxed. “It’s not bad. Including Adept Formless, there are only two individuals…eh?” Ning’s face suddenly changed.

In that distant warship. The white-robed ‘Daoist Eastdawn’ and the gray-robed ‘Daoist Formless’ were also staring towards Ning’s distant dragon-headed warship.

“That dragon-headed warship should belong to that disciple of the Black-White College, Mu Northson,” the gray-robed Daoist Formless said.

“Judging from how leisurely they are acting, and how slow they are flying…I imagine they must have acquired the corpse of a Wanxiang monster long ago,” Daoist Eastdawn said.

“They are members of the Black-White College, after all.” Daoist Formless frowned, then shook his head. “It’s unfortunate. When we first entered the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, our luck wasn’t bad. We even killed a Wanxiang monster! But afterwards, ever since we acted against that Azure Skysnake, our luck has taken a turn for the worse. We failed numerous times. Three days ago, we were played for idiots by that Azure Skysnake, and the two of us nearly died there.”

Adept Eastdawn gritted his teeth. “The first time, we let her escape. The second time, after she discovered us, she actually played us for fools and let us fall into a trap. If we run into her again, I’ll definitely kill her.”

“Azure Skysnake?” Ning had a sudden thought. In the past, shortly after he had left the protection of his parents, he had gone adventuring in a region within ten thousand kilometers of West Prefecture City. He had battled numerous times with an Azure Skysnake.

After Ning had killed Ironwood Zhan, he had been unable to discover the corpse of the Azure Skysnake. Back then, he had suspected that it must have suddenly comprehended the ‘Void Blink’ technique and fled.

“Azure Skysnakes are still quite rare. In addition, due to their innate gifts, they generally grow quite quickly,” Ning mused to himself. “I wonder if the Azure Skysnake they met…is the same one I met in the Swallow Mountain region.”

“Junior apprentice-brother, let’s move towards them,” Ning said.

“Move towards them?” Northson looked towards Ning, who nodded. Northson no longer asked anything, instead moving the dragon-headed warship closer.

Ning stared into the distance. He wanted to learn more information about this Azure Skysnake from these two men. Since he had nothing to do during the next two-plus months in the wild marshes, he might as well go investigate and see if this Azure Skysnake was the same one he knew.

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Chapter 21 – Meeting Again After Many Years

Chapter 21 – Meeting Again After Many Years

“Fellow Daoist Mu Northson.” Adept Formless, on the other warship, clasped his hands, then said with a laugh, “Oh, fellow Daoist Ji Ning is here as well. For us to be able to meet here in the wild marshes is truly a karmic sign. After we return to the Raindragon Guard encampment, we must have a good reunion.”

“Naturally! Fellow Daoist Formless, fellow Daoist Eastdawn,” Ning said, clasping his hands, “Judging from how relaxed you see, I imagine that you must have already acquired enough Wanxiang monster corpses.”

“Relaxed?” The two Wanxiang Adepts on the warship opposite from them stared at each other. Daoist Eastdawn couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, what makes you feel we are relaxed? Just a short while ago, we nearly died. We are just taking a short rest, and then we’ll go hunting for Wanxiang monsters again. After all, the time limit is three months; we have a bit of time.”

“Oh, you haven’t collected enough either?” Ning was ‘surprised’. “Either?” Daoist Eastdawn was truly surprised. “Can it be that the two you have yet to collect enough either?”

Although Northson was puzzled by why Ning had said this, he nodded and said in support, “Right, not yet.” Ning sighed. “Actually, this time, we nearly killed an Azure Skysnake. Only, that Azure Skysnake was too slippery; she managed to escape.”

“Azure Skysnake? You also encountered an Azure Skysnake?” Daoist Eastdawn was shocked. Ning instantly looked towards him, ‘puzzled’.

Daoist Eastdawn said hurriedly, “We met her as well, a total of two times. This Azure Skysnake truly is sly and slippery; to kill her won’t be easy.”

“Where did you meet her?” Ning asked. Daoist Eastdawn didn’t try to hide anything. “The first time was in the north, roughly two hundred thousand kilometers from here. Three days ago, we met her again, roughly a hundred thousand kilometers northeast of here, at the ‘Mount Demonlotus’ region.

Ning shook his head and sighed. “We really are linked by karmic. We both encountered the Azure Skysnake. However, I don’t know if it was the same one. Well. We two brothers need to continue to search for Wanxiang monsters, so we won’t dally. Once we return to the encampment, we can meet again.”

“Alright.” Daoist Formless and Daoist Eastdawn clasped their hands in salute. Soon, the two warships separated.

…….

Daoist Formless, aboard his ship, laughed. “That was such a coincidence. They encountered the Azure Skysnake as well.”

“I was actually worried that there might be other Wanxiang Adepts hiding within that dragon-headed warship, preparing for an ambush,” Daoist Eastdawn said. “But now, it seems, disciples of the Black-White College really are different. They are quite proud, and they won’t stoop to doing such things.”

“Right. It’s the Black-White College, after all,” Daoist Formless agreed, nodding. They actually had been vigilant this entire time. However, chatting about the Azure Skysnake didn’t impact them at all; naturally, they didn’t mind discussing it.

…….

Aboard the dragon-headed warship. “We’re going to the Mount Demonlotus region?” Northson looked towards Ning, puzzled. “Senior apprentice-brother, why are we going to Mount Demonlotus?”

“In my homeland, I once battled numerous times against a Xiantian-level Azure Skysnake monster. After having fought so many times, we actually ended up with something of a friendship.” Ning sighed. “Only, afterwards, it most likely left the Swallow Mountain region, heading to unknown places. Now that I heard of an Azure Skysnake appearing here…I want to go and see if it’s the one I knew.”

“Oh.” Northson now understood. “Azure Skysnakes are Godbeasts, and very rare Godbeasts at that. Given how rare they are, it just might be the same one you met in your homeland.”

“It also might not be,” Ning said. “But since we have nothing to do, we might as well go there to take a look.” Northson nodded. “Alright.” He immediately controlled the dragon-headed warship to fly towards the north, then pursed his lips and said, “Come, senior apprentice-brother. Tell me the story about you and that Azure Skysnake.”

“Very well, I’ll tell you about it.” Ning began to slowly narrate that tale from many years ago.

…….

Mount Demonlotus. This was a mountain that took up tens of kilometers of the surrounding region, and was shaped like a blooming lotus flower. Supposedly, this peak was a very mysterious one…no one who entered was able to leave. The monsters of this region, at least, did not dare to enter Mount Demonlotus at all.

The Mount Demonlotus region took up an enormous amount of space. Because the natural elemental aura of this location was exceptionally dense and nourishing, it attracted quite a few monsters, who took up residence in the various mountain peaks of the region.

This was a place of many monsters, much elemental energy, and many treasures! Naturally, the Azure Skysnake had prepared to make this place her home as well.

In a desolate part of the Mount Demonlotus region, one enormous formation-flag after another began to appear in multiple places, covering a region of over a hundred kilometers.

“Not good!” A small azure snake hung there in midair, staring about. Its tail flashed, and it transformed into a streak of light, wanting to flee.

“Azure Skysnake! Even now, you want to try and flee?” This voice boomed like thunder. From far away, in front of one of the formation flags, a ten-meter tall, azure-skinned man had appeared. This muscular man’s eyes glowed with a dark green light, and he had a heaven-shaking aura around him.

“Azure Skysnake, surrender and allow yourself to be captured.”

“Stop struggling.”

“If you resist, you will die an even more miserable death.”

One voice after another rang out. In each of the formation flag locations, figures began to appear, all of them with monstrous auras that filled the heavens. There was an alluring, white-furred woman, a shockingly savage black monster, a tall, skinny, evil-looking man…more than ten Wanxiang monsters had appeared.

The little azure snake swept the surrounding area with her gaze, and then her body blurred before transforming into a ruby-lipped, ivory-toothed, azure-robed maiden. Worry on her face, she hurriedly said, “You should be King Dragonwhale.”

“I am indeed.” The ten-meter tall, azure-skinned man’s voice rumbled like thunder. This monster, Dragonwhale, was extremely famous in the Mount Demonlotus region. This was a monster who trained as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and who even had a divine ability. There were dozens of Wanxiang monsters who served him. Not even human Immortal cultivators would be so foolish as to try and act against this Dragonwhale.

“I don’t know how a humble monster like myself offended you, your Majesty, for you to come deal with me in such an awe-inspiring manner,” the azure-robed maiden said, panicked.

“Just yesterday, you killed my lifelong friend.” The Dragonwhale monster’s eyes glowed with a shockingly powerful light. The azure-robed maiden was stunned.

“Right. That Zifu-level panther-headed monster was my lifelong friend.” The Dragonwhale monster’s eyes were filled with a savage, killing intent. “The two of us knew each other back when we were both ordinary little monsters. It has been countless years…I didn’t expect he’d fall to your hands.”

“I, I…” the azure-robed maiden said, panicked, “I didn’t…”

“Stop dissembling,” the Dragonwhale said coldly. “You killed my lifelong friend. I will definitely let you know what it means to be in such agony that you would wish to die. Everyone…capture her alive. I will use ki-sealing chains to bind her, then viciously torture her for ten or a hundred years. Only in this way can I give vent to my hatred.”

“Very well.”

“Big Brother, don’t worry at all.”

“Leave it to us.”

The ten-plus Wanxiang monsters began to surround her.

“You want to kill me? In your dreams!” That azure-robed maiden, a look of panic still on her face, suddenly roared in rage. With a swoosh, she transformed into a small azure snake once more, then immediately fled at high speed.

“Fleeing?” The Dragonwhale watched emotionlessly. The ten-plus Wanxiang monsters surrounded her, moving towards her in an enveloping manner.

“This Dragonwhale really is insidious. It actually set up a spacelock formation in this region, making me unable to Void Blink.” The little azure serpent cursed to itself. “It seems this time, I’m really in danger. The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains truly are a dangerous place; my senior fellow disciples spoke the truth.”

Although she had apprenticed herself to a monster Immortal, that monster Immortal accepted many monsters; virtually no monsters would be refused. Although she, an Azure Skysnake, was viewed with comparative importance, if she were to be attacked or killed in the outside world while adventuring, no one would help make an appearance on her behalf. Amongst monsters…life was far more savage and ruthless than life was amongst humans.

“This Azure Skysnake really is slippery.”

“Although she cannot Void Blink, her speed is still astonishingly fast.”

“Dire-ice! She actually was nourishing dire-ice. Everyone, be careful.”

The small azure snake, while fleeing, would immediately belch forth a blast of dire-ice when any Wanxiang monsters moved to gang up on her! Dire-ice, for Wanxiang Daoists, was not at all inferior to divine abilities; they were extremely powerful supportive techniques. Against weaker opponents, this dire-ice was capable of freezing them to death.

Even against strong opponents, the incomparable cold of ‘dire-ice’ would cause them to be affected by the chilling cold. Their speed would be dramatically lessened, and their power would fall as well.

“It won’t be able to continue emitting dire-ice for much longer. Soon, there will be none left in her body.” The Dragonwhale watched from far away. As the saying goes, spectators view things with the greatest clarity. “All you need to do is continue to shrink the zone in which she can flee towards. That will guarantee that she will die.”

“What should I do. What should I do. What should I do!” The Azure Skysnake, suffering the combined attacks of so many, had to rely on the dire-ice to impact them and slow them down, as well as her own innate nimbleness and speed to escape them time and time again. However, clearly, under the combined attacks of more than ten monsters, the region in which she could flee about was rapidly shrinking. If this continued…she would definitely be captured alive.

“Bang!” The little azure snake’s tail flickered as fast as lightning, striking against the sharp claws of an enormous white fox. The two were both knocked backwards by the collision. The little azure snake’s tail flickered once again, sending her into a solitary arc and fleeing in another direction.

“Still running?” The giant white fox’s slanted eyes were filled with ridicule. “You won’t be able to escape.”

“Bang!” “Boom!” “Wham!”

The Azure Skysnake was forced to exchange multiple blows with these monsters. As a Godbeast, the Azure Skysnake had incredible tools at her disposal, and in a one-on-one fight, she would be able to withstand them. However, the enemies comprised more than ten Wanxiang monsters, several of which were stronger than her. And there was also that Dragonwhale monster who had yet to join in; he vastly outstripped her in strength.

“It seems as though this time, I really am going to die.” The Azure Skysnake had this sudden thought spring to her mind; today, perhaps, she really wouldn’t be able to escape. She looked at the distant Dragonwhale, who was still staring at her coldly. She gritted her teeth. “I’d rather die than allow myself to be taken alive. Even if I die, I’ll pull a few of them down with me to pad my grave.”

“Kill.”

The Azure Skysnake went berserk.

……

In the clouds above the Mount Demonlotus region. A dragon-headed warship was slowly advancing. Ning had already spent roughly half a month in this region, but he had yet to locate the Azure Skysnake.

“Given how large the Mount Demonlotus region is, it is simply too hard to find an Azure Skysnake. In addition, it might have left this region long ago,” Northson said. Ning nodded. “Perhaps it really has.”

“Eh?” Suddenly, Ning frowned and stared downwards. “A ripple.” Northson sensed it as well. When Wanxiang monsters battled against each other, the elemental ki ripples they created were extremely strong. Ning was able to vaguely sense it.

“Let’s go take a look,” Ning said. “Alright.” Northson immediately commanded the warship to quickly draw closer. As they moved closer, the ripples grew more and more intense.

“Right there.” Northson pointed downward, through the faint fog. Through it, they could see that a massive battle was going on in the wilderness, with the auras of that battle surging towards the skies.

Ning glanced downwards. “They should be Wanxiang-level monsters. I’ll take a look.”

With but a thought, Ning sent his divine sense to cover the region, sweeping towards the battle going on in that desolate wilderness.

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Chapter 22 – Lil Snakey-Snake, Don’t You Recognize Me?

Chapter 22 – Lil Snakey-Snake, Don’t You Recognize Me?

“How is it?” Mu Northson stood next to Ji Ning. Ning’s divine sense enveloped the lower area. He was naturally able to see with perfect clarity the little azure snake struggling for her life. The enraged, desperate, despairing look in the eyes of the little azure serpent…upon seeing it, Ning was instantly certain. “That’s the one!”

There were differences in the appearance of every snake, in terms of scale pattern, coloration, eyes…there were minute differences in many areas. It was much like how, although humans all had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, because of certain micro-differences, every single person was unique and different from others.

“But those formation flags…” Ning’s divine sense sweep discovered that there were formation flags fixed into the ground in an area of a hundred kilometers. Ning could be considered to be quite skilled in formations now. “These are sealing formations; they should be used to lock space.”

“These Wanxiang monsters really set up a watertight scheme; even if the Azure Skysnake escapes their assaults, the formation flags can also form an enormous sealing formation, preventing it from charging out.”

Thoughts were flashing through Ning’s mind at lightning speed. “Junior apprentice-brother,” Ning sent mentally. “Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson looked at Ning. “That Azure Skysnake below us is the one I am looking for. I’m planning to save it. Want to come with me?” Ning asked.

“Need you ask?” Northson laughed. “Then let’s charge down right now,” Ning said. “Let’s charge into that grand sealing formation. Otherwise, once it activates, because of its spacelock function…we won’t even be able to enter with a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal.”

Northson nodded as well. Swoosh! The dragon-headed warship suddenly shrank, and its coloration changed as well, becoming the same color as the skies. And then, it transformed into a blurry streak of light, shooting directly towards the battle in the wilderness.

“Bang!” A golden metal rod slammed directly onto the Azure Skysnake’s body. The Azure Skysnake rolled away from it, dodging far away, but at the same time it vomited out a mouthful of jade-green blood.

“This time, I’m really going to die here.”

“I really want to go back to Swallow Mountain…” This thought suddenly flashed through the little azure snake’s mind. But then, it transformed into a streak of light, pouncing towards the white-furred fox, sending a mighty surge of dire-ice straight towards the white-furred fox.

“F*ck off!”

A sudden, explosive roar rang out. The Dragonwhale monster, who had only been watching this entire time, without intervening, suddenly stared into the distance and let out a mighty roar. And then, with a thought, the formation flags that had been placed in the four directions all instantly lit up. An enormous glowing barrier appeared out of nowhere, completely covering this region for a hundred kilometers.

However, an extremely small, dragon-headed warship had already charged into the sealed-off region.

“Eh?” The little azure snake glanced sideways as well, seeing the the distant warship fly in, and the grand sealing formation suddenly appear. “Who barged in? For the sake of capturing me alive, this Dragonwhale has truly made meticulous preparations. These formation flags have actually sealed this region in. Even if I throw off these monsters, I still won’t be able to escape.”

“A human Immortal cultivator.”

“A human.”

The Wanxiang monsters all noticed the warship that had charged in. By now, it had disappeared, with two human youths flying out of it. Although they appeared to be young, these monsters didn’t lessen their caution. The younger an Immortal cultivator appeared to be, the more worthy of caution they were.

“Qushan, block them.” The Dragonwhale ordered one of the Wanxiang monsters under his command with the most formidable life-preserving techniques to go out.

“Alright.” Bowing, an ugly man covered in armor strode forward, his steps causing the earth to shake as it charged towards Ning and Northson.

As Ning flew forward, he mentally summoned 720 flying swords out of nowhere, with the core being the nine Earth-ranked flying swords of the ‘Northriver Sword Formation’. At the same time, the sun, moon, and countless stars of the Zifu region within his body began to resonate with the outside world.

Rumble…the surrounding skies suddenly transformed into a sea of glittering stars, with a brilliant sun and a moon within them. This was a Wanxiang Adept’s Manifestation!

In front of Ji Ning’s chest, a jade-white sword of light had already appeared. When Ning had faced the combined attacks of Northriver Zhou and the others, he had dared to use the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to deal with the attacks of two peak Wanxiang Adepts at once. Now that his elemental ki had also reached the early Wanxiang stage, and the core of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had the ‘Nine Yang Sword Formation’ had been replaced with the ‘Northriver Sword Formation’, it could be said that the sword formation Ning was using today could’ve defeated all six members of Northriver Zhou’s party!

“Hurry up and flee, and I’ll spare your life.” Ning flew forward, as fast as lightning, while calling out in a loud voice.

“Puny human child, you really know how to waggle your tongue.” The hoarse voice of the ugly man rang out as he lifted up two golden metal rods, transforming into a shadow as he charged straight towards Ning.

Ning shook his head. “You sought out your own death! Go!” With but a thought, Ning instantly transformed the jade-white sword of light in front of his chest into an enormous Waterflame Millstone which moved as fast as the wind, spinning towards the ugly man. With the support of his Wanxiang Manifestation…this sword became even more unpredictable.

“Gotta block.” The ugly man was badly frightened. This human kid’s flying sword was incredibly fast! “Double block!” The ugly man twirled his two metal rods, struggling to block, but in terms of skill alone, how could the monster be a match for Ning, who had already embarked on the path of the Sword Immortal? Even the likes of Northriver Zhou would be capable of completely suppressing this ugly monster, much less the current Ji Ning. This ugly monster was only skilled in preserving his life.

Crunch!

The sword-light flashed past the defense of the two golden metal rods, chopping directly onto the body of the ugly man. With a slashing sound, his body was instantly bisected.

The ugly man’s body, upon being chopped in half, instantly dissolved into mist, then reformed into an enormous black-shelled turtle. It hurriedly retreated far away. This sight caused the other Wanxiang monsters to all be shocked. Even the Dragonwhale, who had been standing apart from the battle this entire time, to frown as he looked towards the two human youths.

The Dragonwhale waved his hand and said, “Halt!” The other Wanxiang monsters all immediately halted, moving backwards.

“Big Brother, it seems those two human youths are fairly powerful. That slightly taller one was actually able to chop second brother Qushan in half.”

“What do you mean, chopped in half? That’s because I was in human form, which was why he was able to easily chop me in half. In my true form…how could he be able to chop through?” The giant, black-shelled turtle flew over, snapping irritably.

“You couldn’t even block a single sword. You really are useless,” a tall, skinny monster said with a cold snicker.

“Why don’t you try!” The black-shelled turtle was furious.

“All of you, shut your mouths.” The Dragonwhale swept them with his gaze, and the ten-plus Wanxiang monsters no longer dared to say anything. All of them stared towards the distant Ji Ning and Mu Northson, who were flying towards them.

The Dragonwhale said in a clear voice, “Human, it’s best if you don’t interfere in the matters of us monsters. You had best leave right away. I will release the grand sealing formation and let you leave. If you don’t leave…” The green light in the Dragonwhale monster’s eyes appeared quite insidious.

Ning and Northson just glanced at the monsters, then turned their gazes towards the rather bedraggled little azure serpent. The little azure serpent’s body was torn open, but it was rapidly healing.

She, too, looked towards these two humans who had temporarily rescued her from disaster. As she did…she was instantly dazed.

That fur-clad youth?

His appearance…it was identical to that arrogant youth of the Ji clan who had challenged her to do battle countless times, back in Eastmount Marsh.

“Little snakey-snake!” Ning stared towards that distant, somewhat stupefied azure snake. He began to roar with laughter. “Don’t you recognize me anymore?”

Little snakey-snake?

The little azure snake was stupefied. That nickname…it was so familiar. Back then, that arrogant youth of the Ji clan had addressed her in this manner.

“It really is you!” The little azure snake instantly shouted back in shock, “You are that arrogant kid of the Ji clan?”

Ning laughed. “Listen up! My name is Ji Ning!”

With a flash, the little azure snake moved next towards Ning. It even transformed into human form, into an azure-robed maiden. Her face was rather ashen, but the azure-robed maiden inspected Ning closely, as though she wanted to carefully inspect even the pores on Ning’s face. Completely flabbergasted, she said, “You really are that kid of the Ji clan? You weren’t killed by Ironwood Zhan?”

“I killed Ironwood Zhan,” Ning said with a pursed smile. “I didn’t expect that in human form, you’d assume the form of a woman.”

The azure-robed maiden stared back at him. “I was a female to begin with.”

It had been many years since they had met. One had only been at the Houtian level, while the other was an ordinary Xiantian monster. Back then, they had battled many times, but now, when they saw each other, they felt so very close, very familiar with each other…perhaps this was the effect of running into a familiar face in an unfamiliar place. This naturally made them feel all the closer to each other.

“You two!” The distant Dragonwhale frowned. He naturally could tell that this human youth seemed to be familiar with the Azure Skysnake. He immediately barked, “Stop acting so friendly with each other. This is my turf, and you are currently within the grand formation I am controlling.”

The azure-robed maiden’s earlier joy instantly evaporated. She hurriedly sent mentally to the nearby Ning, “Kid of the Ji clan, it seems as though you are now quite powerful. However, don’t think that just because you were able to overcome the human form of that Wanxiang monster, that you are capable of defeating that group of monsters. There are sixteen Wanxiang monsters present, and when they are in their true forms, their power will increase explosively. And that Dragonwhale…by himself, he’s more powerful than the rest of them joined together. It not only is a Dragonwhale with tremendous talent and incomparably great strength, it also trains as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and has a divine ability. Its power is tremendous.”

Ning was startled. A Fiendgod Body Refiner, with a divine ability?

“This Dragonwhale monster is the leader of the Mount Demonlotus region,” the azure-robed maiden sent. “He has tens of Wanxiang monsters under his control. This time, to attack me, he only brought fifteen of them. He has long ago reached the peak of the Wanxiang level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. With his divine ability and his innate talent…you cannot take him on as an enemy. Hurry up and flee. Don’t worry about me.”

The distant Dragonwhale shouted calmly, “I will give you two choices. The first choice is to immediately leave. The two of you will be able to live. The second choice is to die, both of you, right here.”

Northson stood there, grinning, seeming quite relaxed.

Ning was similarly relaxed.

“Kid of the Ji clan, don’t be stupid. Hurry up and leave. If you are willing to do so, in the future, get revenge for me,” the azure-robed maiden sent to him. “For I, Qingqing, to be able to see you before I die is already enough. It can be said that the heavens were not unkind to me.”

Ning glanced towards the distant Dragonwhale and the fifteen other monsters next to him. Their auras were surging towards the heavens. Ning said in a clear voice, “Dragonwhale, I’ll give you two choices as well. The first choice is, I’ll leave with this little snakey-snake, and you can live. The second choice is, I’ll kill all of you, and then I’ll take this little snakey-snake away.”

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Chapter 23 –Monsters Executed By The Sword

Chapter 23 –Monsters Executed By The Sword

The azure-robed maiden stared, astonished, towards the nearby Ji Ning. This Ji Ning actually dared say something like this? These words were too…too dominating!

The distant Wanxiang monsters were startled as well. Instantly, a Wanxiang monster howled in rage, “Human punk, kill us all? Just you?”

“You are looking to die!”

“A little human punk like you dares to be so arrogant?”

“Kill him!”

The Wanxiang monsters were all enraged, but they didn’t dare to act rashly. The nearby Dragonwhale stretched his hand out, and instantly, the other monsters all fell silent.

The Dragonwhale looked weighingly at this human youth. Ning’s calm appearance caused him to be puzzled…what abilities did this human youth have, for him to dare to act so confidently? But just now, the Wanxiang Manifestation had indicated clearly…that this youth was indeed merely a Wanxiang Adept.

Many thoughts flashed through the Dragonwhale monster’s mind. In the end, he said in a growling voice, “I’ll give you a final chance to live. Leave, immediately!” Given his fame and prestige, how could he possibly be scared off by a few words from Ning?

“Haha…” Ning began to laugh. He looked at the nearby Mu Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother, tell me, are they or aren’t they seeking a path to death for themselves?”

“They are, indeed, seeking a path to death for themselves.” Northson laughed as well. He knew exactly what this senior apprentice-brother of his was capable of. His [Soulshaker Art] was comparable to a Primal Daoist’s, and even the majority of those six elite Wanxiang Adepts in Northriver Zhou’s group had died due to it, despite having protective treasures which their seniors had bestowed upon them. If it hadn’t been for those treasures, most likely all of them would have died.

These Wanxiang monsters? At most, Ning would spend a little extra time on them.

“Hurry up and depart. Don’t charge straight into the path of death.” Ning’s 729 flying swords hovered about him, forming that jade-white sword of light in front of him. Ning stretched out a finger, gently tapping the jade-white sword. It actually emitted a clear, ringing sound; this jade-white sword of light had actually condensed so much that it was like a real flying sword.

“If you don’t leave, I’m going to start a massacre,” Ning said calmly.

The pupils of the distant Dragonwhale monster shrank, but the light from his abyssal, green eyes brightened significantly. His savage aura began to fill the heavens, and he roared out an order: “Use all methods available to you at full strength and kill these two humans.”

“We were waiting for these words.”

“Big Brother, leave it to us.”

“Let’s go!”

“Slaughter him.”

One Wanxiang monster after another immediately transformed into their true forms. They were avians, they were hooved beasts, they were aquatic beasts…they had jade eyes, they had three eyes…in short, they were all sorts of strange creatures. After transforming into their true forms, all of them emanated a heaven-filling monstrous aura. And then, with savage howls, they charged towards Ning and Northson.

This sight caused tremendous shock to the azure-robed maiden by Ning’s side. She looked towards the nearby Ning, then sent hurriedly, “Are you just bluffing them, or are you really that capable? Nine years ago, you weren’t even at the Xiantian level. It’s only been nine years…these are all Wanxiang monsters. If you aren’t able to beat them, hurry up and run.”

“Little snakey-snake…” Ning pursed his lips into a grin. “You just watch and see.”

Ning gently flicked at the jade-white sword in front of him. Hearing the clear ringing sound, he beamed. “They are nothing more than birds made of mud and toy mutts made from bricks. Junior apprentice-brother, let’s do it!”

Swish!

The jade-white sword in front of him immediately transformed into a gleaming Waterflame Millstone. Moving as fast as the wind, it howled forth.

“Excellent.” Northson’s hands swept out with two rays of black light which transformed into two giant black snakes in the air, which flew over with a howl as well.

A fierce look flashed through Ning’s eyes. The Soulshaker Seal in front of his divine soul, seated within his sea of consciousness, suddenly brightened dramatically. A large amount of divine will surged forth from the Soulshaker Seal. Under Ning’s control, it crushed outwards towards every direction. Savage, turbid waves of divine will roared forth, and everything within its path was struck by the waves of divine will.

The divine will moved at an incredible speed, faster than even the flying swords and constructs. Even before the sword-light had arrived, Ning’s waves of divine will had collided with the souls of those fifteen Wanxiang monsters.

BANG!!! The fifteen Wanxiang monsters were all filled with boundless self-confidence and killing intent, but suddenly, the invisible, formless wave of divine will struck them, causing them to feel as though their souls had been viciously smashed down upon by an iron warhammer.

“How can this…”

“This…”

Even as terror appeared in their minds, they all became dazed.

The sword-light of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was incomparably soft and slick. It howled drearily like the wind as it moved forward, first chopping directly through the body of the golden-furred ape. The golden-furred ape didn’t try to resist in the slightest, allowing the sword-light to easily chop through it from head to tail, slicing it in half. And then, still howling forward, it chopped towards the white-furred fox, which was similarly split in half in an instant…

“Kill.” On the other side, the two black water-snakes under Northson’s control also savagely attacked their targets. The tail of one serpent viciously lashed out, instantly disintegrating the body of one Wanxiang monster. The tail of the other serpent tightened around the bodies of another monster, crushing it to smithereens.

…..

Fast!

It was too fast!

How fast was the sword-light? How fast was the flight of the constructs? The Dragonwhale monster in the distance had been watching calmly as Ning and Northson had unleashed their sword-light and constructs, and he had paid them no heed. He believed that the fifteen Wanxiang monsters under his command would definitely be able to resist, and should even have the advantage. “I imagine, these two humans will be killed without needing me to intervene.”

Just as this thought flashed past his mind, he saw, to his astonishment, that in the face of Ning’s sword-light and Northson’s constructs, his fifteen Wanxiang monsters didn’t fight back at all, allowing the attacks to strike them.

Yes, these were monsters. However, it must be understood that if they weren’t using any defenses at all, even Primal Daoists wouldn’t dare to use their bodies to block the sword-light of a Sword Immortal, even if the Sword Immortal was only at the Wanxiang Adept stage.

“Swish!” The sword-light danced, and the constructs danced as well. In but the blink of an eye, the sword-light had consecutively executed nine monsters. The other monsters were all finished with a single chop; only the giant, black-shelled turtle had required two chops. The first chop hadn’t been able to crack its shell; the second time, Ning’s sword-light had shot forward like ‘Chef Ding carving the ox’ 1; he carved in through the seams and the slits, thus executing the black-shelled turtle.

As for the other six monsters, they were crushed into mincemeat by Northson’s constructs. In but the blink of an eye, the fifteen monsters had all been killed!

“No!” The white-furred fox, after being chopped into two pieces, actually reformed, then frantically retreated in terror.

“A Fiendgod Body Refiner?” Ning laughed softly. “You won’t be able to escape.” The rolling waves of divine will once more struck the white-furred fox, and the fleeing fox was once more stunned. The sword-light once more flashed towards it through the air in an incomparably graceful manner, easily chopping her apart. At the same time, a beautiful Waterflame Lotus bloomed next to her, completely surrounding her within. Soon, it ground the flesh and blood of the white-furred fox into dust. Soon, the divine power within the flesh and the blood was used up, and the fox became deader-than-dead.

The fifteen Wanxiang monsters were now all dead!

“Killing Wanxiang monsters really is much easier than killing Wanxiang Adepts,” Ning murmured to himself. “Not a single one of them had any protective treasures bestowed by seniors.”

Complete silence!

The entire wilderness had fallen silent. Ning and Northson smiled in a relaxed fashion, but the nearby azure-robed maiden was completely stupefied. “Fifteen Wanxiang monsters, all of them extremely powerful and at the middle, late, or even peak Wanxiang level. Why is it that when faced with this kid of the Ji clan, none of them resisted at all, resulting in them instantly being killed?”

Because Ning’s divine will had bypassed her, she didn’t realize that Ning had used it to attack at all.

“It’s only been nine years.” The azure-robed maiden looked towards Ning, somewhat dazed. “I’m an Azure Skysnake. I’ve gone to many places and have encountered repeated strokes of good fortune, and have even apprentice myself to a monster Immortal. Only thus did I reach the Wanxiang level. How is it that this kid of the Ji clan…was able to kill Wanxiang monsters as easily as killing a chicken? How could he have become even more powerful than me?”

When the two had battled at Eastmount Marsh countless times, their power had always been roughly equal. The Azure Skysnake had felt quite confident that her power had risen very quickly, but now, it seemed….

……

The distant Dragonwhale monster was both stunned and incomparably enraged. Immediately afterward, however, he calmed down. He stared at the distant Ning and Northson, then said in a low voice, “No wonder you are so confident. You actually have a divine will technique. And you have such a powerful divine soul; when using the divine will technique, you were actually able to affect fifteen Wanxiang monsters with it.”

Ning laughed. Even before joining the Black-White College, his soul had already reached the ‘divine sense’ level. Now that more than three years had passed, he had increased his comprehension of the Dao, his sword-heart had been honed, and he had spent every day of the past three years visualizing the [Nuwa Painting], and enjoying the soul-improving benefits it brought…by now, Ning’s soul would be considered powerful even amongst Primal Daoists. Affecting fifteen Wanxiang monsters at the same time was nothing.

The pressure these fifteen Wanxiang monsters had given him was even less than the pressure those six Wanxiang Adepts of Northriver Zhou’s group had brought! However, this Dragonwhale monster…

Ning felt confident in his ability to handle it, and also completely confident in his ability to flee. However, Ning didn’t feel completely confident in being able to actually defeat or kill it. After all, the opponent was extraordinarily talented, and a Fiendgod Body Refiner with a divine ability. To kill it would definitely be incomparably difficult.

“Hurry up and depart. I’ll spare your life.” Ning stared towards the Dragonwhale monster and spoke in a cold voice.

A cold light flashed through the eyes of the Dragonwhale. After having consecutively killed fifteen monsters in such an awe-inspiring manner, Ning’s words did indeed have a rather frightening effect.

“Do you think you can scare me off by killing those monsters?” The Dragonwhale said hoarsely, “I was born in the Darknorth Sea and have wandered many places. I then entered this region, then arrived in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains…I’ve already dominated this region for ten thousand years, and I’ve even battled Primal Daoists on several occasions. You, a puny Wanxiang Adept, want to scare me away? You are dreaming!”

Ning stared into the distance. “Then let’s stop wasting words. Accept your death.”

“Accept death?” The Dragonwhale monster began to roar with wild laughter. His laughter was like the thunder, echoing out to a distance of a hundred kilometers.

BOOM! Suddenly, he disappeared, his body dissolving into mist, then reforming in midair to become an incomparably massive, bizarre beast. This bizarre beast had the head of a dragon, but the body of a whale. The dragon’s whiskers were more than three hundred meters long, and the length of the body of the entire Dragonwhale was more than three thousand meters. And then, the green light emanating from its body suddenly increased dramatically in brightness, and its body actually began to slowly increase to a size of ten thousand meters.

This massive, ten thousand meter long Dragonwhale hovered there in the air, completely covering the skies and casting the land below it into darkness. The vast, endless savage aura from it filled every part of the area, causing one’s heart to shudder.

Ning, Northson, and the azure-robed woman all raised their heads, staring towards it.

“Wow, that’s big.” Northson stared.

“Kid of the Ji clan, are you really…able to handle it?” The azure-robed woman’s face turned even whiter than before.

Ning stared into the distance. “Little snakey-snake…”

“You just watch and see!”

1. This is a Chinese idiom about a chef named Ding who was able to carve up an ox effortlessly.

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Chapter 24 –Ji Ning Explodes With His Full Power!

Chapter 24 –Ji Ning Explodes With His Full Power!

Suddenly, Ji Ning frowned. “Why are the Darknorth swords in my Zifu region trembling?”

He immediately sent in his divine sense to investigate his Zifu region in detail. Many magic treasures were hovering with his Zifu region, and amongst them were three Darknorth swords. The investigation of his divine sense…instantly discovered that streaks of blood red baleful energy and gray, evil energy were coming in from the outside world, constantly flowing towards the Darknorth swords and being absorbed by them.

The Darknorth swords had undergone the Fiendgod Rites of Bloodforging. They were so happy when absorbing the evil, baleful auras that they were beginning to tremble.

“It seems as though this time, I really killed too many Wanxiang monsters. The evil, baleful, energies from them were also very strong. The evil, baleful energies generated when I killed those two Wanxiang Adepts last time were nowhere as strong,” Ning mused to himself. Only when one personally killed monsters would the evil, baleful auras from them swirl around one’s self, and then be absorbed by the Darknorth swords. If he didn’t have the Darknorth swords to absorb them…the evil, baleful auras would continuously swirl around him. As time went on, they would slowly grow faint, but in the end, a few remnants would be left behind.

Although Ning did have the Darknorth swords to absorb the auras, there were still residual baleful auras and evil auras! This was why those who had committed countless killings would still emanate an incomparable, shockingly baleful aura.

……….

The massive Dragonwhale, ten thousand meters long, covered the skies with its massive bulk. It hung there in the air, staring downwards, a cold look in its glowing green eyes. Its voice once more rumbled out like thunder. “Human, accept death!”

Ning raised his head, sword-light flashing in his eyes. “Hmph.” Ning’s voice turned cold as well. Bang! His divine will surged forth from his Soulshaker Seal, exploding forth and flooding upwards in a crushing series of waves, instantly colliding against the massive Dragonwhale’s soul.

Although the Dragonwhale had prepared itself, it still felt its soul tremble. Even its massive airborne body suddenly sank downwards for a moment, but soon afterwards, it regained its stability.

“Eh?” Ning was surprised. “He actually shook it off in an instant?”

Bang! Ning willed it again, and his divine will once more surged forth. The Dragonwhale in midair was struck once more by Ning’s divine will, but its eyes were only filled with savagery; clearly, it remained perfectly lucid.

“What a powerful divine will technique!” The Dragonwhale stared downwards, its voice rumbling. “Human, your divine will technique is comparable to a Primal Daoists! However, I am a Godbeast with exceptional talents, and have lived for more than ten thousand years. The passage of countless years has tempered my Dao-heart and strengthened my soul. Don’t think you can do anything to me just through your divine will technique.”

Ning was secretly surprised as well. This Dragonwhale really was quite extraordinary; it was actually able to remain awake after being struck by Ning’s divine will attack. Still, Ning had somewhat expected this.

This was because this Dragonwhale had claimed to have fought against Primal Daoists. Someone who could battle against Primal Daoists would generally be able to defend against the divine will attacks of them. For example, Ning’s senior apprentice-brother, Bloodshadow; Bloodshadow was a Fiendgod Body Refiner with a divine ability, and a two-clawed Raindragon Guard!

He trained in the most painful of all techniques, the [Indestructible Bloodshadow Body]; one could imagine how resilient Bloodshadow’s Dao-heart was, for him to be capable of training in this technique to such a high level. And precisely because of this, Bloodshadow didn’t have to be afraid of the divine will attacks of Primal Daoists.

In addition…previously, when Ning dealt with ‘Dong One’ of Snowdragon Mountain, Dong One had been able to escape in front of Ning, precisely because he was able to just barely remain conscious.

Primal Daoists were simply a level higher than Wanxiang Adepts in power, after all. Although they were much stronger, if they wanted to dominate just through using their divine will…against truly peerless, elite Wanxiang Adepts, it wouldn’t be enough. Wanxiang monsters like this Dragonwhale, in turn, clearly had extremely powerful Dao-hearts.

“Hahaha, don’t grow too arrogant, just because you were able to receive my divine will technique,” Ning barked. “Now, receive my sword.”

The 700+ flying swords in the surrounding area instantly began to radiate light. In front of Ning’s chest, a jade-white sword of light instantly appeared. As though chopping through countless barriers and moving with incomparable difficulty, it appeared to ‘slowly’ flew up…but this was a misperception, as in reality, it was ridiculously fast!

The second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Manifold Thistlethorns!

“Hmph!” The Dragonwhale in midair let out a cold snort. Its two extremely long dragon-whiskers instantly grew even lower, moving to entangle Ning’s attacking sword-light.

The jade-white sword was so beautiful as to move one’s heart. In midair, it slashed out in what could only be described as a flawless arc, easily avoiding the entangling strikes of those two dragon-whiskers, chopping directly towards the head of the Dragonwhale.

“What a fast sword…what a frightening sword.” The Dragonwhale was secretly surprised. His dragon-whiskers were an ‘intrinsic magic treasure’ that were used to constrict and defend against opponents. They weren’t even able to touch the opponent’s sword-ligiht?

“Bang!”

The Dragonwhale let out an angry roar. The nostrils of his draconic head suddenly emitted two streams of dire-ice which could be seen with the naked eye. The dire-ice instantly swept towards Ning’s ray of sword-light.

The sword-light moved like a ghost. In midair, it once more moved in an enormous, solitary arc, managing to evade the dire-ice and then plunge directly towards the Dragonwhale’s giant head.

“Slash!” It was simply too fast. The Dragonwhale wasn’t able to dodge in time; the sword-light plunged directly into its head.

This sword attack was filled with early-stage Wanxiang energy, formed by the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and executed in accordance with Ning’s most powerful sword art…the power of it was unimaginable! Crackle crackle crackle!!! It pierced through one layer of armor after another, but the massive body of the Dragonwhale was simply too dominatingly vast. Its entire body was akin to a magic treasure. After chopping through to a depth of thirty meters, the light of the jade-white sword finally vanished.

“The hell?” Ning cursed to himself. “Its carapace is actually this thick?” It must be understood that the body of the Dragonwhale was ten thousand meters long, and the draconic head was many hundreds of meters long as well. Stab in a mere thirty meters? This was nothing more than stabbing into its skin!

“Puny human, even if I stood here and permitted you to strike at me, you still wouldn’t be able to harm me. That sword-light of yours…that’s just tickling me.” The Dragonwhale instantly began to laugh wildly, and its laughter echoed within a hundred kilometers.

Ning was finally understanding exactly how difficult it was to deal against a peak Wanxiang Godbeast with a divine ability. Its body alone was so powerful…no wonder it was able to survive, even when facing a Primal Daoist.

“Just tickling?” The nearby Northson’s face had changed as well. “Senior apprentice-brother’s [Soulshaker Art] was useless, and even his sword-formation was only able to tickle it. This Wanxiang monster really is terrifying.”

“Kid of the Ji clan. If you aren’t able to beat him, we need to immediately flee. If too much time passes, we won’t be able to escape,” the azure-robed maiden sent frantically.

“Senior apprentice-brother, should we flee?” Northson sent a mental message to Ning as well.

Ning gave the two each a glance, confidence in his eyes. He said in a clear voice, “Dragonwhale, I was just playing around with you just now.”

“Playing around?” The Dragonwhale’s massive, lake-sized eyes stared downwards. “If you have anything else, show me what you have. Otherwise, you’ll never have the chance to do so ever again.”

“Such ignorance. You are a frog seated in a well, staring at the skies.” Two Darknorth swords appeared in Ning’s hands.

“Oh?” The Dragonwhale stared downwards at the longsword-wielding human youth, as though seeing something that was completely inconceivable. “You…can it be that you are actually dreaming of fighting me in close combat? Hahaha, are you sure you haven’t made a mistake? Human kid, if you immediately flee, then due to your divine will technique, I’m not confident in being able to catch you. But if you move close to me and battle me, you really will be throwing your life away.”

As a monster with a mighty Fiendgod-like body, the Dragonwhale was naturally the most skilled at close combat.

“Kid of the Ji clan, this is a peak Wanxiang monster with a Fiendgod-like body, and with a divine ability. And it is a Dragonwhale!” The azure-robed maiden was shocked.

At this moment, Ning leapt forward, soaring into the skies and transforming into a streak of light, instantly moving thousands of meters and charging towards the Dragonwhale above him. While charging towards the skies, Ning’s eyes were filled with coldness. He wielded two of the Darknorth swords, and while flying in midair, his body became covered with crimson light. His body was quickly increasing in size; he actually transformed into a ten meter tall giant. This was a ‘magnified’ Ji Ning!

“A Fiendgod body! Heavenly Transformation?” The azure-robed maiden called out in shock, then hurriedly sent a mental message to Northson, whose face was similarly filled with concern. “This kid from the Ji clan is going to fight head on against the Dragonwhale…does he have a chance?”

“I don’t know.” Northson stared fixedly towards the skies. He sent back, “However, I heard that in the past, before joining the Black-White College, my senior apprentice-brother was able to rely on his close combat skills to become famous. I hear that he is most skilled in close combat and is very formidable…but I’ve never seen him truly fight in close combat.”

“He is most skilled in close combat?” The azure-robed maiden no longer asked any further questions, because the battle occurring in the skies was making her incomparably nervous.

…….

When Ning soared into the heavens, as he was executing the Heavenly Transformation technique, the two dragon-whiskers of the Dragonwhale in the sky once more swooped towards him, trying to entangle him. In addition, the Dragonwhale once more let out an angered snort. Rumble…two streaks of dire-ice belched forth from its nostrils, spreading out and freezing the air itself as it swept towards Ning.

The sword-light was able to dodge, but although Ning had the Windwing Evasion technique, he couldn’t possibly compete with sword-light in terms of speed.

He couldn’t dodge? Then…he would chop it apart!

“BREAK!” Ning violently swung the Darknorth swords in his hands, executing the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], the ‘Manifold Thistlethorns’. Where his swords flashed past, the layers of dire-ice were all chopped apart, and even the dragon-whiskers that sought to entangle him were split apart and sent flying. Ning’s speed dropped as a result, but he had already reached the head of the Dragonwhale.

“Die.” The Dragonwhale’s massive body suddenly twisted, and its massive tail swept towards Ning in a whipping motion, covering the earth and blocking out the skies as it did so.

But Ning leapt directly atop the Dragonwhale’s massive tail, utilizing his Windwing Evasion technique to charge directly towards the Dragonwhale’s head. The divine ability, ‘Heavenly Transformation’, was something which allowed Ning’s speed to increase dramatically to begin with. Now, with the Windwing Evasion supporting him as well, Ning was astonishingly agile and quick.

Still…this Dragonwhale’s massive, monster body was still ten thousand meters long. It was quite accustomed to enemies climbing atop its body in a battle, and it actually didn’t care about it, because it had its methods for dealing with this. In addition, generally speaking, most of its enemies weren’t even able to break through its first carapace layer.

In an instant, Ning had moved from the tail of the Dragonwhale to its draconic head. “Kill!” Ning’s eyes exploded with an incomparably savage intent for battle. After three years, he was finally going to once more unleash his most powerful divine technique, one of the top ten most terrifying divine techniques which had existed ever since Pangu had established the universe…the [Starseizing Hand]! In this instant, Ning felt his blood was boiling, was bellowing!

It had been so long. Too long! He hadn’t met an opponent who could truly make him battle wildly in far too long. Even when he had been very weak, he had still been able to kill Adept Xu Li in a single exchange with the [Starseizing Hand]. He had never before used the [Starseizing Hand] to engage in a truly heart-pumping battle.

“COME, THEN!” Ning’s aura was as magnificent as a dragon’s.

“Not good.” The Dragonwhale suddenly felt as though the aura of this ‘ant-like’ human on its body had suddenly exploded and become incomparably terrifying. It even felt a sense of tremendous danger, the likes of which it usually only felt when facing Primal Daoists.

“Go.” A thick dire-ice aura suddenly emanated from the body of the Dragonwhale, and the vast amounts of dire-ice frantically tried to freeze Ning.

BANG!

Ning’s twin swords instantly transformed into two sword-rivers. In an invincible, irresistible manner, it blasted past the blocking dire-ice as though the dire-ice was nothing more than rotting wood, and then, with a crackle, charged directly into the body of the Dragonwhale.

In the face of Ji Ning’s sword light, that incomparably tough body of the Dragonwhale, comparable to a magic treasure…finally began to crack.

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Chapter 25 –A Suggestion

Chapter 25 –A Suggestion

“How did he become this powerful? My Fiendgod body isn’t able stop his attack at all?!” The Dragonwhale could feel the ant-like man easily burrowing through his head. The Dragonwhale instantly panicked. “Force him out!”

Ning had instantly burrowed more than three hundred meters deep into the draconic head of the Dragonwhale. Right at this moment, a flood of watery green light suddenly surged towards him from every direction.

“Divine power!” Ning instantly understood; this was the divine power of the Dragonwhale. Divine power was stored in every single part of a Fiendgod’s body. At this moment, with but a thought, the Dragonwhale had sent the tremendous amount of divine power that resided in its head in a flood towards Ning. It was simply too ferocious! Endless amounts of divine power surged out, causing even Ning to shrink back.

“It actually has this much divine power?!” Suddenly, Ning understood that his chances of actually killing this Dragonwhale probably weren’t very high. This was because the amount of divine power contained within this massive body was unfathomably greater than his own. To kill such an enormous creature…one had to have power that was far greater than it, as otherwise, one would only be able to harm it.

“Break!” Ning, after executing the [Starseizing Hand], was incomparably valiant. He burst through the flood-like waters of divine power, charging straight towards the weak spots of the Dragonwhale’s head.

Rumble…

Wherever Ning moved, those two streaks of sword-light accompanied him, wildly hacking and chopping away throughout the insides of the Dragonwhale’s head.

The head was the most central, core part of the body. If an ordinary Xiantian Fiendgod’s head was severely damaged, it would immediately perish. Upon reaching the Blood-Drop Rebirth level (the Zifu level), although they wouldn’t die…they would lose control over their bodies, and would only feel an innate instinct to reform and repair their bodies. After reaching the Wanxiang level, Fiendgods could rely on their control over their bodies to easily change their appearances and shape, but upon the head being damaged, they would still find their control over their bodies being dramatically weakened, albeit they wouldn’t lose complete control. They would only be barely capable of a few simple techniques. After reaching the Primal level, however…they could even separate off a part of their flesh to create a clone!

Fiendgods at the Zifu level were capable of Blood-Drop Rebirth. At the Wanxiang level, they were capable of changing their appearances and form. At the Primal level, they were capable of creating clones.

……

For powerful Fiendgods, pulling out a hair and forming a clone with it was simplicity itself. 1

To Primal-level Fiendgods, the head was no longer important or special at all. At the Wanxiang level, however…the head was still important. At this level, the divine soul primarily resided within the sea of consciousness; once the head was damaged, the divine soul’s control over the body would naturally be greatly lowered.

“Rumble…” As Ning’s sword-light pierced through the vital points of the head, the entire Dragonwhale’s body began to tremble in mid-air, and then it began to fall towards the ground. While falling, the entire, massive body of the Dragonhead was twisting and twitching.

Northson and the azure-robed maiden watched this below, incomparably nervous. The azure-robed maiden, seeing this, sent mentally to Northson in disbelieving joy, “Can it be that he’s won? Your senior apprentice-brother really is so formidable that he can even defeat the Dragonwhale?”

“Seems so.” Northson was watching as well.

“However, this Dragonwhale is a Fiendgod. He won’t be destroyed so easily.” The azure-robed woman continued to watch, nervous.

……

Within the Dragonwhale’s head. Ning had slashed through multiple vital points; instantly, the resistance ability of the entire Dragonwhale began to drop dramatically. Ning understood that his opponent’s control over it’s body had already become extremely weak.

“Excellent.” Ning’s eyes flashed. “Waterflame Lotus.” Instantly, one enormous Waterflame Lotus after another began to bloom in the surrounding area, beginning to grind and strike at the Dragonwhale’s body. These Waterflame Lotuses were all many tens of meters long, and appeared at the chest of the Dragonwhale, beginning to grind away wildly at parts of its body.

But…

Grind, grind, grind. It wasn’t able to grind through! “Eh?!” Ning stared. They weren’t able to grind through? “Smaller, smaller, smaller.” Ning willed the Waterflame Lotuses to instantly shrink in size, and their power continuously increased as they did so. Six Waterflame Lotuses, each of them thirty meters in diameter, once more began to grind against the Dragonwhale’s body.

“What a freak.” Ning was truly stunned. “The power of my Waterflame Lotuses is now incomparably greater than in the past, but when their power is dispersed too widely, they aren’t able to grind down its body at all. Its flesh and its muscles are simply too tough!”

At a diameter of thirty meters, Ning was able to keep the Waterflame Lotuses at the peak of their power. Clearly, only when the Waterflame Lotuses were at maximum power would they be able to grind and damage this creature.

However…they were only able to grind a little bit of flesh away. How long would it take to grind away a ten thousand meter body? Most likely, the speed of the grinding wouldn’t even be able to match up to the rate at which the divine power of the Dragonwhale would naturally regenerate.

“BOOM!” The head of the Dragonwhale suddenly exploded, and Ning was thrown aside as well.

“What a fellow. He actually discarded his head.” As Ning was sent flying back by the explosion, he felt stunned by the Dragonwhale’s decisiveness. Although the Dragonwhale’s control over its body was very weak, it was still capable of a few simple techniques. A self-detonation of its head was simplicity itself.

The head had completely detonated, and the massive body of the Dragonwhale was sent flying as well. In the process, the head of the Dragonwhale once more grew out.

The Dragonwhale released a furious howl. “RAAAAAAWR!” Accompanying this heaven-shaking roar was its massive, sky-covering tail, which swung directly towards Ning. It was too fast! In addition, this massive, fan-shaped tail, in terms of width, was nearly three thousand meters. Ning was in midair, unable to borrow strength from anything else and not as nimble as he was on the ground. For a moment, he was completely unable to dodge.

If he couldn’t dodge…then he wouldn’t!

“You shall…BREAK!” Ning’s twin Darknorth swords transformed into two rivers of sword-energy. He let out an explosive roar, chopping directly towards the massive tail sweeping towards him.

The massive tail was like a giant fan, blocking out the entire sky. The two streaks of sword-light, however, were like arrows that were going to pierce through the firmament. The two collided!

BANG!!!

It was as though the heavens had shattered and the earth had collapsed. The air itself seemed to blow apart. Fresh, scarlet blood instantly spewed out, seeming to dye the skies themselves red. Ning was knocked downwards like a meteor, smashing into the wilderness below. The desolate land, with a massive thudding sound, instantly shattered apart, with massive, deep crevices appearing in a turtle-shell pattern. As for Ning himself, he was knocked deep underground.

“Human.” The massive tail of the midair Dragonwhale now had an astonishing wound in it. The massive wound, many hundreds of meters deep, had nearly split the tail in half. This wound was currently healing at high speed.

It stared downwards, clearly sensing that the aura of this human, deep underground, was still as powerful and as wild as ever. It didn’t seem to have weakened at all. The Dragonwhale now understood…the enemy was also a Fiendgod Body Refiner. A single blow would at most be able to wound the foe, but the foe could also heal perfectly at high speed.

“I didn’t expect that you are even more powerful as a Fiendgod Body Refiner than as a Ki Refiner. You truly hide your power well.” The Dragonwhale’s voice rumbled forth, and then it transformed into a streak of light, flying far away at high speed. As it left, its formation flags also flew into the air, soaring towards it.

Swoosh! Ning leapt out from the underground crevice, landing on the surface of the ground once more. “He’s gone?” Ning continued to hold the Darknorth swords in his hands, staring towards the distant, departing Dragonwhale.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you actually beat the Dragonwhale monster into a retreat?” Northson was quite excited. The nearby azure-robed maiden, in turn, was completely stupefied. She stared at the Dragonwhale, which disappeared into the distance, then towards that young, seemingly fragile youth, who looked just like he had in the past.

“You…you beat the Dragonwhale into retreating? Is it possible that you actually have a younger twin brother?”

Ning laughed, then replied back, “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

“How can you be so powerful? I had countless lucky encounters, you know.” The azure-robed maiden stared at Ning blankly. “That was the Dragonwhale…I heard that it was even able to stay alive when facing Primal Daoists. It was extremely powerful.”

“It is indeed strong,” Ning said. “In particular, its body is so massive that the amount of divine power within it has reached an inconceivable level. To kill it? I don’t have that ability at all. Even Primal Daoists…I imagine that only Primal Daoists that were capable of completely dominating it would be able to kill it. Otherwise…ordinary Primal Daoists wouldn’t be able to do anything to it.”

Much like how Wanxiang Adepts could have differing levels of power, the same was true for Primal Daoists. Primal Daoists of the Black-White College, for example, had all comprehended a complete Dao Path before entering the Primal level! Or, for example, Northmont Blacktiger; who was a candidate to be the next Marquis of Stillwater; he gave Ning a sense of incomparably great danger. These could all be considered exceptional figures amongst Primal Daoists.

“If you aren’t able to do anything to it, why did it flee?” The azure-robed maiden asked. “Because he’s not able to do anything to me either,” Ning laughed. “In addition, after I slashed through the vital points in his head, his control over his body weakened dramatically…any Fiendgod who tasted that once would never want to taste it a second time.”

The divine soul could clearly sense the body, but because of the damage to the head, its control over the body was incomparably weak. This sort of feeling was an absolute nightmare.

“In addition, each time we exchanged blows, it came out the worse. Most likely, it felt nervousness in its heart and was afraid that I had something else up my sleeve,” Ning said. “And so…it naturally decided to hurry up and flee.”

“Oh.” The azure-robed maiden nodded. At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel admiration for Ning. Her eyes flashed as she stared towards Ning; he was too powerful. When he had fough against her, he had merely been at the Houtian level. But now, he was actually as powerful as this; even the Dragonwhale who she thought was invincible had been beaten off by him. The other ten-plus Wanxiang monsters had been killed as easily as chickens.

“Actually, if we kept on fighting, I would’ve left if he didn’t,” Ning said with a sigh. Although by relying on the [Starseizing Hand], he could unleash shockingly great power, this divine ability…it used up far too much divine power. Its power vastly surpassed divine abilities like ‘Heavenly Transformation’, and by multiple levels, at that! This was why Ning could explode with such strength, but the amount of divine power it consumed was also incomparably astonishing. Ning was unable to fight for long periods of time with it.

“Senior apprentice-brother, enough of that,” Northson smirked. “I can’t stand to hear you keep talking with such modesty. Just now, it was a peak Wanxiang-level Fiendgod cultivator, and a Dragonwhale Godbeast with a divine ability at that.”

Ning blinked.

“Hey, kid of the Ji clan!” The azure-robed maiden suddenly called out to him. “Eh?” Ning turned to look. “Little snakey-snake, what is it?”

“Do you have any spirit-beasts by your side? How about I join you?” The azure-robed maiden came up with this suggestion. “I’m an Azure Skysnake; we grow extremely quickly, and I’m skilled in discovering precious treasure troves…when you want to teleport, you have to use Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals, but for me, it is as simple as breathing. In addition, when I’m at a higher level of comprehension in the future, those large, spacelock formations will be unable to affect me.”

Ning blinked.

“Uh, actually, I already have a spirit-beast.”

1. This is a shout-out to the Monkey King, Sun Wukong/Sun Goku, who in Journey to the West was capable of transforming his hairs into countless clones which would attack his foes.

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Chapter 26 – Dire-Ice, Earthfire

Chapter 26 – Dire-Ice, Earthfire

“You have a spirit-beast? Who? Why haven’t I seen it?” The azure-robed maiden looked about, but she began to feel a vague anger in her heart. She was a Wanxiang monster, but because she had been wandering the world by herself for so long, she was truly beginning to grow tired. This was why she had decided to establish a home for herself, here at Mount Demonlotus..

Earlier, she had suffered the pursuit and attack of the forces of the Dragonwhale. Ji Ning’s sudden appearance, and also the relationship which existed between them in the past, caused her to desire to journey through the world alongside Ning.

Unexpectedly, this kid of the Ji clan wasn’t willing to accept her good will!

“It’s my Uncle White,” Ning explained. “Uncle White previously followed my father. After my father died, he followed me. The reason why he didn’t come was because I am undergoing the Raindragon Guard trials, and I am not permitted to bring spirit-beasts to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

“Oh.” The azure-robed maiden nodded, but she didn’t say anything else. Ning revealed a smile. “However, although I already have a spirit-beast, since you desire so badly to accompany me, I suppose I can force myself to accept you.”

“The hell do you mean, ‘force yourself to accept me’?!” The azure-robed maiden stared at him, furious.

“Alright, let’s leave this place first.” Ning stared at the cracked, shattered wilderness about them. “The ripples from the earlier battle might have attracted the attention of some other monsters.” Mu Northson and Qingqing both nodded.

A dragon-headed warship appeared out of nowhere. The three of them all stepped aboard the warship.

At their level of power, they were actually able to fly through the air by themselves. However, that speed of flight was vastly inferior to riding on a magic treasure…and in turn, riding on a magic treasure wasn’t as comfortable as riding on a construct-warship.

…..

Swoosh! The dragon-headed warship soared forward through the clouds, while Ning used a spirit-beast talisman. Maiden Qingqing, in turn, was willing to become his spirit-beast.

Aboard the warship, Ning stared at this azure-robed maiden. “I’ll call you Little Qing.” “Fine.” The azure-robed woman nodded. “From today onwards, my name shall be Ji Qingqing. What do you say?”

Ning was stunned. The nearby Northson jested, “When I lived in the tribes in my youth, when women without clan surnames married a man, they would generally take the names of the men they married.”

“Ji Ning, this junior apprentice-brother of yours is actually so very naughty! I’m even older than your grandmother!” Qingqing stared.

Ning laughed as well. “Fine, fine. You shall be Ji Qingqing. From today onwards, you shall follow me…and if the day comes when you no longer wish to follow me, just let me know, and I will restore you to freedom.”

Thanks to the influence of his father, Ji Yichuan, Ning treated his spirit-beasts as he might his other brothers or sisters. He couldn’t force his spirit-beasts to their deaths, or treat them as his slaves.

“Since you saved my life, in the future, I’ll definitely follow you.” Qingqing pursed her lips. “In addition, since you have grown in power even more quickly than I have…I want to see what will happen to you in the future.”

“Little Qing. What exactly happened to you in the past, after you left Eastmount Marsh? Why did you end up here?” Ning asked. The nearby Northson perked his ears up to listen as well.

Qingqing said, “That year, when I comprehended the Void Blink technique, I escaped Ironwood Zhan. I soon left Swallow Mountain and began to roam the world. By relying on this innate ability, ‘Void Blink’, I discovered quite a few marvelous fruits and holy elixirs, and quickly grew to the Zifu level. Afterwards, I headed towards the famous Whitedragon Mountain.”

“Whitedragon Mountain?” Ning was stunned. “Are you referring to the monster Immortal, Whitedragon?”

Amongst humans of this region, aside from the two most powerful forces of the Raindragon Guard and the Northmont clan of Stillwater, the next most powerful forces were the Black-White College, the Skysplitter Sword Sect, the Hundred Flowers Fairyland, the Eastriver clan, the Dragonhunter clan, the Bluewood clan, the Heavenly Saint Church, and the Blood God Church, these eight supreme powers.

That, however, was just amongst humans.

The monsters had their own great powers, such as monster Immortals. Immortal Whitedragon was one of the extremely famous monster Immortals. This Immortal Whitedragon’s true form was that of a female dragon, but she possessed heaven-defying power. She was willing to teach anyone who wished to learn; so long as one went to her, she would almost never refuse them. However, she was still capable of training some truly formidable monster cultivators, and had even produced Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals.

“At Whitedragon Mountain, I was highly valued, and was bestowed with quite a few techniques,” Qingqing said. “After spending a few years training at Whitedragon Mountain, I reached the peak Zifu level, and the school instructed me to go out adventuring. They said that Azure Skysnakes would only be able to grow fast when constantly journeying and adventuring. The school instructed me to come to the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, and I’ve spent three years here and broken through from the peak Zifu level to the middle Wanxiang level.”

Ning immediately asked, “What level is your Manifestation at?”

Qingqing said confidently, “I was highly valued by the school. Naturally, my Manifestation is that of the bright moon shining in the sky.” Ning and Northson exchanged a glance, both rather speechless.

Three years…Ning and Northson knew exactly how much elemental ki was needed to advance from the peak Zifu level to the middle Wanxiang level. Ning had spent over a thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to reach the early Wanxiang level.

“How many fortunate events happened to you here at the wild marshes of Gaol Mountains?” Ning asked.” “Seven, I suppose.” Qingqing spoke casually, but then her eyes lit up. “Oh, right. I’ve used up everything that can be eaten or drunk. However, there are two places that will be very useful to you two.”

“Which two places?” Ning and Northson instantly grew eager. A fortunate event? Aside from him barely surviving the test of the underwater estate, Ning really hadn’t had any fortunate events happen to him.

“I discovered a vein of dire-ice, and a vein of earthfire,” Qingqing said. “A vein of dire-ice? And earthfire?” Northson and Ning’s eyes began to blaze with excitement. In unison, they spoke out, “Where is it?”

Why was dire-ice called dire-ice? Why was earthfire called earthfire? After Pangu established the universe, the natural world had given birth to many times of natural, elemental energy, such as water, fire, lightning, light, etc.

For example, Ning’s Fiendgod body was formed from a wisp of the Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire that had been sent down by the two most exalted of heavenly bodies, the Lunar Star and the Solar Star. That wisp of Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire…if one was capable of controlling them in battle, then even an Earth Immortal who was brushed by them would most likely perish.

This was because these types of power came from the energy of the most exalted of stellar bodies. This was why, when one broke through to become a Xiantian lifeform, even Immortals were unable to disrupt it.

Fire, from low to high, could be ranked as human fire, earthfire, skyfire, and truefire. Human fire was the mortal fire which naturally occurred in the world, the most ordinary of fires. As for earthfire…

This was an extremely unique sort of fire which was created by the earth itself. Theoretically speaking, Zifu Disciples should be capable of absorbing a wisp of earthfire into their Zifu and nourishing it, but this was extremely dangerous. Generally speaking, only one at the Wanxiang level would go absorb earthfire and nourish it in their Zifu.

Earthfire was divided into nine grades. One could start with earthfire of the ninth grade, then nourish it until it reached the first grade! The ninth, eighth, and seventh grades were the low-grades; the sixth, fifth, and fourth grades were middle-grades; the third, second, and first grades were high-grades!

Earthfire of the first grade…this represented earthfire taken to its limits. Actually, as long as one reached the third grade…then one would be able to go absorb a wisp of skyfire and allow the earthfire in one’s body advance to the ‘skyfire’ level.

…..

The same was true for water as was true for fire. Water was also divided into human water, earthwater, skywater, and truewater. Human water, as went without saying, was the most ordinary, commonly seen type of water. Earthwater was what the so-called ‘dire-ice’ was.

Cultivating earthfire and earthwater was the same process. It required one to first find a place which naturally had a vein of earthfire or earthwater! After absorbing enough of the earthfire or earthwater into one’s body, if the ‘planting’ processs was a success, there would be seeds of fire or water which could then be nourished into earthfire or earthwater. If one wasn’ able to find those veins of earthfire or dire-ice…then there was nothing that could be done. This was a sort of natural, precious treasure; one could hope to encounter it, but not expect to.

“It’s right here in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. The vein of dire-ice is a bit closer, while the vein of earthfire is a bit farther away,” Qingqing said.

“Qingqing. You are absolutely amazing.” Northson was incomparably excited, and he also felt awe. “We weren’t able to find even one of them, but you easily found two.”

“Heh heh. Those places that you normally won’t visit? I’ll often use my Void Blink to enter and carefully investigate them. After having investigated many places, I naturally discovered these two,” Qingqing said smugly. “Given how rarely humans go there, after a great deal of time passes, some precious treasures will naturally be born.”

Ning hurriedly asked, “What sort of dire-ice is that dire-ice? What sort of earthfire is that earthfire?”

Dire-ice and earthfire were both just terms. There were a hundred types of earthfire, such as moonflame earthfire, azurethunder earthfire, and what not. Even skyfire was divided into many different types, and the awe-inspiring truefire which caused even Immortals to tremble in fear was divided in several types as well.

“While I was at Whitedragon Mountain, I procured a book, ‘Records of the World’s Treasures’. They had records of various spirit-fruits, spirit-grasses, and other things. There was no record regarding these types of earthfire and dire-ice. When you go, you’ll know.” Qingqing added hurriedly, “As for the dire-ice…I imagine that it can be used anywhere from three to five more times. As for the earthfire, that’s harder to say; perhaps it can only be used one or two more times.”

Absorbing earthfire into the body was a form of harvesting; a single vein of earthfire or dire-ice couldn’t be harvested indefinitely. After being harvested enough times, it would be used up.

“I’m more aligned towards water and wood. I choose the dire-ice,” Northson said. “I train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens],” Ning laughed. “My body was born from Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire. Dire-ice, earthfire…I need to harvest each once.”

“Good. Let’s hurry out.” Qingqing stood by the side of the boat, staring downwards, then pointed towards the north. “Move towards there.”

“Alright,” Northson replied. The dragon-headed warship immediately began to move towards the direction where Qingqing was pointing.

Ning was quite excited. His divine tattoos were what allowed him to control fire and water. If he were to then nourish earthfire and dire-ice in his body, when he combined them together, at very least, the power of his Waterflame Lotus would increase dramatically. In addition, he had many other ways he could use them. When earthfire and dire-ice were strengthened to a sufficient level, they were definitely not inferior to any divine ability.

……..

Just as Ning’s group was headed towards the vein of dire-ice. Within a distant, short, desolate mountain.

“Whew.” A golden-robed Dong One slowly opened his eyes. “Finally, I’m safe.”

“I joined forces with those other five in Northriver Zhou’s group, but in the end, we lost everything. I was fortunate in that six years ago, I acquired a protective magic treasure thanks to that fortunate event, and so was lucky enough to survive and escape. I wonder if the others are alive or dead.” Dong One thought back quietly. When he recollected that fight, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear, shock, and anger.

He had heard long ago of Ji Ning, and knew that Ning was a monstrous talent, but he didn’t expect that even six truly elite Wanxiang Adepts would fail so catastrophically. “That divine will technique…I wonder if it was Ji Ning or Mu Northson who used it.” Till this very moment, Dong One still had no idea which of the two had used the divine will technique.

“This mountain is an extremely mysterious place; it can be said to be the most mysterious mountain I have located. I’ve spent so much time healing here, but no one has discovered me.” Dong One secretly rejoiced at this. “And it seems as though there is an underground river below here.”

Dong One’s body flickered, and he moved through the winding caverns, going deeper and deeper within. He continued to investigate this underground river. Soon, he felt the temperature rise to an increasingly high level, and he slowly saw, off in the distance, a wisp of golden fire within the cracked earth. The fire blazed with scorching heat.

“A vein of earthfire!” Dong One called out in shock.

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Chapter 27 – Harvesting Dire-Ice

Chapter 27 – Harvesting Dire-Ice

Dong One had been training for hundreds of years now, and had adventured in many places. He had his own share of fortuitous encounters, and even had the chance to cultivate dire-ice in his body. Previously, when he had battled Ji Ning, he had put that dire-ice on display.

“This is…” Done One looked carefully towards that wisp of golden fire that was swirling in the crack in the ground up ahead. This crack was roughly six meters wide, and if one looked down into it…one would able to barely make out the frothing lava below.

“This earthfire…has some gold mixed into it? And it is both pure and dazzling…” Dong One nodded slightly as he noted all these things. “Given that it was born atop a river of lava, this earthfire should be the ‘goldflame earthfire’.”

There were more than a hundred types of earthfire. Some were actually insidiously, bone-piercingly cold, while others exploded with uncontrollable wildness. As for goldflame earthfire…it was famous for being ‘scorching’, and was an extremely fine type of earthfire.

“What a pity. I train in freezing-attribute arts.” Dong One shook his head. “In addition, my body is already nourishing dire-ice, and is completely unsuited for nourishing earthfire as well. Once the dire-ice and earthfire clash…most likely, I’ll transform into dust.”

It was extremely rare for one to be able to simultaneously nourish both earthfire and dire-ice. Doing so was extremely difficult, and one had to meet extremely exacting standards in terms of talent and technique. Ning, however, clearly fulfilled these requirements.

“I can’t use it, but others can.” Dong One had a sudden thought, a natural thought; he could trade this goldflame earthfire to another Wanxiang Adept. This sort of naturally occurring earthfire vein was something one could only dream of; naturally, he had to sell it for a high price.

“I’ll leave for now.” With a flash, Dong One quietly slipped away.

……..

The dragon-headed warship was rapidly advancing towards the north through the clouds. Mu Northson was constantly scanning the ground through the sparse clouds. “Qingqing, are we there yet?”

Ning sat there to the side, a small azure snake wrapped around his wrist. The little azure snake suddenly raised its head, staring downwards, then spoke out in the human tongue. “Not yet. I’ll tell you when we get there. We’ll definitely arrive today, so stop worrying.”

“That’s dire-ice! How can I not be impatient?” Northson mumbled, “If we’re too slow, someone else might end up seizing it.”

“If that really happens, you’ll just have to consider yourself unlucky.” After saying a few things, the little azure snake once more wrapped itself around Ning’s arm, leisurely closing its eyes and falling asleep.

Perhaps because she knew Ning from in the past…

Perhaps because they were from the same homeland…

Perhaps because Ning saved her life…

But for some reason, she very much liked to snuggle up to Ning. She felt quite comfortable when doing so.

“Senior apprentice-brother, she’s not even looking outside. Is it possible that we might’ve flown past without her even knowing about it?” Northson said, worried. “Well, we’ll just fly back if that’s the case,” Ning said with a smirk.

“Right. I wonder what sort of dire-ice it is,” Northson mumbled. “I’ve never had a stroke of luck like this before.” And in truth, Ning was very curious as well. What sort of dire-ice was this? Was it suitable for him? His divine body was formed from Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire; thus, this dire-ice would hopefully, ideally be able to connect with Lunar Truewater. Some types of dire-ice actually weren’t able to really merge with Lunar Truewater, such as the ‘sinblood dire-ice’. But of course, aside from those extremely rare cases, the vast majority would be suitable for him.

“Eh?” The little azure snake suddenly transformed into a mist, then reformed into human shape. “Almost there.” Qingqing stood at the ship’s rails, staring downward. “Hey, Woody, hurry up and change directions. Curve towards the east a bit.”

“My Daoist title is Twinwood, not Woody.” Northson gave her a glare. “Not even my senior apprentice-brother addresses me as ‘Woody’.”

Qingqing stared back at him. “So what if I call you Woody? Ji Ning is my master, but you aren’t…you’ve gotten such a great benefit from me in the form of dire-ice, and you are going to get upset at me just because I call you ‘Woody’?”

Northson said, resigned, “Fine, call away.”

Ning had to laugh. This junior apprentice-brother of his really was easy to pick on; even Qingqing was able to effortless pick on him.

“Uh, we’re there.” Qingqing pointed downwards. “It’s that giant lake, down there.”

……

The dragon-headed warship quickly shrank in size, and as it did so, the surface of the warship quickly changed to become one with the color of the sky as well, so as to avoid attracting attention. Soon, the warship arrived in the air above this vast lake. And then, after storing the warship away, Ning, Northson, and Qingqing moved to stand atop the lake’s surface.

“Where is it?” Northson looked around. “This lake is thousands of kilometers wide.” “At the bottom,” Qingqing quietly sent mentally to them. “I have an innate affinity for water, and I entered this lake and accidentally discovered that a secret, hidden area at the bottom. Don’t worry…there are quite a few dangerous zones in the bottom of this lake, so there are few monsters present, and no Wanxiang monsters. Follow me and don’t worry.”

“Let’s go, into the water.” Qingqing led the way, immediately entering the water. The elemental ki surrounding their body kept the water away, allowing them to effortlessly dive deeper.

“It really is deep,” Northson sent mentally. Ning nodded as well. “It’s many kilometers deep.” They were now able to see the bottom of the lake. At this depth, despite their visual acuity, even they could just barely make out the sights around here. Although they occasionally encountered some lesser monsters, the powerful aura which Qingqing intentionally spread out instantly terrified them into staying far away.

Qingqing pointed towards a dark abyss below. “Follow that underwater gorge and keep going down!”

…….

After entering the underwater gorge, the temperature of the water began to fall more and more, and pieces of ice began to appear around them. And then, at the very bottom of this lake gorge, an extremely thick layer of sturdy ice appeared. Ning, Northson, and Qingqing came to a halt, standing atop this layer of sturdy ice.

“Previously, I relied on the ‘Void Blink’ technique to pass through this wall of ice to go play around,” Qingqing sent mentally. “Roughly three thousand meters beneath this layer of ice, there’s a hidden dire-ice vein. Without me guiding you, you wouldn’t have been able to find this place at all, just barging around randomly.”

“Three thousand meters?” With but a thought, Ning sent his divine sense sweeping downwards. Deep within this incomparably enormous piece of ice, there was indeed a vein of dire-ice; just a single one.

“Let’s move.”

To be cautious, Ning and Northson both used agility techniques to charge forward by three hundred meters each time. As they charged forcefully in, they effortlessly smashed a tunnel through the ice. Although this ice was as tough as a rock, to a Wanxiang Adept…it was naturally easily parted. The coldness of the ice, in turn, was nothing to them at all.

Moments later…Ning’s group arrived at the location of the dire-ice vein. “This is…?” Ning and Northson both stared at the vein of dire-ice. This vein of dire-ice was completely formed from various pieces of dire-ice. It was tens of meters long, and the pieces of dire-ice even had human-shaped elemental spirits playing around in them, causing the dire-ice to be filled with something akin to sentience.

“Snowspirit dire-ice?” Ning revealed a look of delight. “It really is snowspirit dire-ice!” Northson was overjoyed as well. As for the nearby Qingqing, she immediately asked, “Well, how is this dire-ice? I swallowed a piece of it as well and am cultivating it inside my body.”

“This is known as snowspirit dire-ice,” Ning said. After having spent three years at the Black-White College, he naturally knew far more now than he had in the past. “Even amongst dire-ice, this is a top-grade type; it is innately filled with sentience. You should know that dire-ice can be divided into nine grades, right?”

“Yes, I know, I know.” Qingqing nodded. “I know this much. I hear that if one absorbs in a first grade piece of dire-ice, one will possess incomparably astonishing power.”

“Right. But some types of dire-ice are almost impossible to nourish to the first grade,” Ning said. “Dire-ice is divided into nine grades; the ninth, eight, and seventh are the ‘low-grades’, the sixth, fifth, and fourth are the ‘middle-grades’, while the third, second, and first are the ‘high-grades’. Generally speaking, it’s quite impressive for dire-ice to be nurtured to the third grade; dire-ice of the second grade is extremely rare, and the first grade is even less common.”

“Snowspirit dire-ice is extremely fine dire-ice, with tremendous potential. It can be nourished to the first grade,” Ning said.

“Looks like my luck isn’t bad,” Qingqing called out in delight. The nearby Northson said, “And it looks as though quite a few people can use this vein of dire-ice. Let’s immediately begin the harvesting.”

“Qingqing, I’ll leave the protecting to you.” Ning waved his hand, producing six formation flags. “This is a bewildering formation that is extremely strong. Unless one is skilled in formations, there is no chance of being able to break through. While my junior apprentice-brother and I are implanting the dire-ice into our bodies, help us stand watch. This process is extremely dangerous, and we cannot stop it midway. You must be very vigilant..”

“Alright,” Qingqing nodded. “Don’t worry, Master.” Of course she understood. Dire-ice was, intrinsically, an extremely damaging, harmful thing; otherwise, Immortal cultivators wouldn’t value it so much. This sort of natural dire-ice was even more savage. During the implanting process, one had to absorb the dire-ice into the Zifu of one’s own body; if one was interrupted midway, the dire-ice might rupture within the Zifu, and could even damage it. It was even possible that this might result in death.

Ning possessed the body of a Fiendgod, so he wouldn’t actually die, but he still was worried about his Zifu being damaged.

……

Deep within the freezing gorge at the bottom of the lake. Ning’s group had quickly dug out a room of freezing ice, which became merged with this vein of dire-ice. Outside, the bewildering formation had been set, with Qingqing managing it!

As for Ning and Northson, they sat down in the lotus position atop the ice, facing the vein of dire-ice. “Junior apprentice-brother, you must be careful,” Ning warned solemnly. Harvesting dire-ice…at most, Ning might damage his Zifu and would need to spend several years healing. His junior apprentice-brother, however…if things went badly, he might die.

Ning had already come to a decision that if something truly amiss happened during this process…even if he had to injure himself and halt his implanting process to protect his junior apprentice-brother, he would do so.

“Don’t worry,” Northson laughed. “The Dao of Constructs is a Dao of using countless strange materials to begin with. Harvesting dire-ice…as long as I’m careful about it, it’ll be simplicity itself.”

Ning laughed. Then, he turned his head to look towards his piece of dire-ice, filled with sentience. He immediately opened his mouth lightly, and began to absorb! A pincer of elemental ki surged out, and a wisp of the dire-ice in front of him began to be absorbed into Ning’s body.

“So cold.” As soon as the dire-ice entered his body, he instantly felt his entire body grow cold. As a Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ning naturally didn’t mind. However, the nearby Northson was suffering quite a bit.

Within Ning’s mind began to float the memories of how to use the [Flowing Watersource] technique to harvest dire-ice, earthfire, direwind, direlight, and other materials.

“Condense!”

Within the skies of the Zifu region, there were thousands of stars, a luminous moon, and a blazing sun. They simultaneously shone down rays of light. This was all pure Wanxiang elemental ki, and they quickly formed a small, rather nondescript island atop the boundless sea of elemental energy.

As Ning absorbed that wisp of dire-ice into his body, it departed from the outside world and emerged here, within the Zifu region. And, as it did…Ning felt his entire Zifu turn cold, almost stabbingly so. Not hesitating at all, Ning instantly guided that piece of dire-ice to fly towards that small island.

Whoosh!

Like a tree being driven into the ground, the piece of dire-ice was driven straight through this small island.

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Chapter 28 – Primal Monster

Chapter 28 – Primal Monster

As Ji Ning and Mu Northson were absorbing wisps of dire-ice from within the glacial ice, trying to implant it into their Zifu region…

The winds were stirring and the clouds were gathering in the skies above ‘Dragonwhale Peak’, of the Mount Demonlotus region. A vast amount of elemental ki was gathering here, and in the skies, the vague manifestation of an enormous turtle with a serpent coiled around it could be seen 1.

“That’s…”

“The Turtle-Snake. The Turtle-Snake!”

The many monsters on Dragonwhale Peak all raised their heads, staring in astonishment at what had appeared in the skies. The gathering of the elemental ki, the manifestation of the Turtle-Snake…these monstrous Immortal cultivators naturally all knew what this represented.

“A Primal!”

“A Wanxiang monster, here on Dragonwhale Peak, has broken through to the Primal level.”

“It must be the Primal level.”

All of them were astonished and excited. When Ki Refiners reached the Primal level, regardless of whether they were Fiendgods, humans, or monsters, the ‘Primal Turtle-Snake’ would appear. The appearance of the Primal Turtle-Snake would naturally generate a constant flow of ‘primal fire’. The Primal Turtle-Snake embodied the most supreme of the mysteries of the universe.

“Who broke through to the Primal level? Our Dragonwhale Peak has quite a few Wanxiang monsters, and several of them are at the peak-stage.”

“I hear that last time, when his Majesty led a group of Wanxiang monsters out, he returned by himself. I heard that all the other Wanxiang monsters that went with him died.”

“They all died?”

“Right. The Wanxiang monsters of Dragonwhale Peak, including his Majesty, number just two or three in total. This time, it should be his Majesty who is making the breakthrough.”

……

As the monsters chatted amongst themselves, the most powerful leader of the Mount Demonlotus region, the Dragonwhale monster, walked out of his closed meditation room.

“Hahaha…hahahaha….” The massive, enormous Dragonwhale laughed with jubilation. His laughter crashed out in waves like the thunder, shaking the entire Dragonwhale Peak. Upon hearing this laughter, how could these monsters not understand? Their king had made a breakthrough.

“Congratulations, your Majesty! Felicitations, your Majesty!” The monsters in front of the Dragonwhale all fell to their knees and called out in unison.

“Congratulations, your Majesty! Felicitations, your Majesty!” The distant monsters began to call this out as well, and then even more distant monsters…in short, all of the monsters of the entire Dragonwhale Peak began to cry out, “Congratulations, your Majesty! Felicitations, your Majesty!”

Their voices rumbled through the skies and the clouds.

Primal? Upon reaching the Primal stage, one would be considered a mover and shaker of the entire Stillwater Commandery region. In addition, given the Dragonwhale’s innate gifts, even though he had just made a breakthrough, his combat power would still be incomparably astonishing.

“Your Majesty, you have painstakingly trained for so long, but today, you have broken through to become a Primal. You have gained eternal life, and in the future, not even Immortals can compare to you.” A sharp-mouthed simian monster was calling out flattery next to him.

Upon becoming a Primal, one’s lifespan did indeed become infinite. However, the increasingly powerful ‘Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations’ would cause Primal Daoists to eventually die at some point. Thus, only becoming a Celestial Immortal would one truly gain eternal life.

Still, the flattery was quite pleasing to hear.

“His Majesty’s innate talents are incredible, and he is a Dragonwhale with a Fiendgod’s body…even Immortals will most likely be unable to do anything to his Majesty,” another nearby monster, a devilishly alluring one, flattered.

“His Majesty…” One person after another began to flatter him.

The Dragonwhale glanced at the surrounding lesser monsters. He sighed in his heart. In the past, his Dragonwhale Peak had been the leading mountain peak of the Mount Demonlotus region, and he always had ten-plus Wanxiang monsters present. However, after that massacre by that human brat, Ji Ning, only two Wanxiang monsters were left, and they lived in two separate regions of Dragonwhale Peak. These little Zifu monsters in front of him were only able to engage in flattery.

“Immortals?” The Dragonwhale secretly shook his head. He knew exactly how powerful he was. “I’ve only made a breakthrough as a Ki Refiner; I didn’t make a breakthrough as a Fiendgod. After becoming a Primal…although my power has indeed increased significantly, I’m still far from being able to compete with Immortals. Still, in the future, if I encounter that human punk, Ji Ning, I’ll definitely execute him.” The Dragonwhale monster’s dark green eyes flashed with a savage light.

“Big Brother!”

“Congratulations on your breakthrough, Big Brother.”

From far away, two streaks of light flew over. It was the other two Wanxiang monsters who lived on Dragonwhale Peak. The Dragonwhale looked towards them, then said in a clear voice, “It is good that you have come, my brothers. I just made my breakthrough. When I think about how our other brothers and sisters were massacred by that human brat…my heart aches, and I feel endless regret. I was just about to give an order for some of the other monster of the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains who are on good terms with us to help me search for him. We must find those two human brats.”

“Well spoken, Big Brother.”

“Right. We should indeed take revenge.”

Those two monsters both landed. Their bodies were massive and pitch-black, with curved horns on their heads. They were a pair of bison-type monsters, and they were the two who the Dragonwhale trusted in the most. Even when he went out to do battle, he would have these two stay behind to protect his lair.

The Dragonwhale nodded. “I’ll send someone to deliver the letters now to the various monster kings and have them help investigate.”

“Now that you’ve made this breakthrough, the various monster kings will all have to give you face, your Majesty.”

“I trust that we’ll quickly be able to find them.”

The two bison-type monsters spoke in unison. As for the Dragonwhale, he took out a sheet of leather parchment. Atop it, he wrote a description of Ning, Northson, and Qingqing, as well as provided drawings of them that were almost lifelike in their accuracy. In addition, he also described the dragon-headed warship and a few other unique aspects. He also filled this parchment with his powerful Primal aura.

It was the water-imprinting technique. As a water-type monster, the Dragonwhale naturally found it quite easy to utilize this technique. It used it dozens of times, making tens of copies of the leather parchment. And then, he instructed his many Zifu monsters to go deliver the letters.

Soon, the Zifu monsters all transformed into streaks of light, moving towards the various bases of power amongst the monsters.

“When I think of that human brat, I can’t help but want to eat his flesh and drink his blood.” The Dragonwhale ground his teeth. “I haven’t even avenged the death of my lifelong brother. And now, so many brothers and sisters who have accompanied me for so many years have died as well. The more I think about it…detestable!”

“Big Brother, don’t be angry for now. I trust that in a few days, you will hear some news.”

“Once we find those human brats, we’ll go kill them.”

Both of the bison-type monsters tried to placate him.

“True.” The Dragonwhale nodded. “I’ll endure it for a few more days, and then I’ll go kill them.”

………..

The peacock king was seated on its throne. It glanced at the leather scroll, and as it did so, its face instantly changed. It looked down from the throne. “Your king…he broke through to the Primal level?”

“Our king made the breakthrough just today,” the Zifu-level simian said with a touch of delight. The peacock king nodded. “Understood. I will instruct the monsters under my command to help search for these two humans and that Azure Skysnake. Go and make the report.”

………

One group of powerful monsters after another received letters from the Dragonwhale. From the letter, they could sense that the Dragonwhale had broken through to the Primal level. Those powerful monsters who had previously been equals with the Dragonwhale now no longer dared to treat him with any discourtesy at all. All of them gave the order to begin the search for those two humans and the Azure Skysnake.

………

Meanwhile, Ning and Northson had no idea as to what had just happened in the outside world.

Within the room of ice. Ning and Northson were seated in the lotus position in front of the dire-ice. The vein of dire-ice, previously many tens of meters in size, was now less than thirty meters. Clearly, it was now a full size smaller.

“Absorb.”

One wisp after another of dire-ice continuously flew towards the mouths of Ning and Northson. Clearly, however, Ning’s absorption rate was much faster.

“That’s about it.” Ning’s complete attention was on his Zifu region. He didn’t dare to be the slightest bit rash. The dire-ice within the little island atop the sea of elemental ki in the Zifu region was beginning to solidify and taken shape.

At this point in time, the dire-ice within the Zifu region was like a poisonous pustule that could explode at any moment, causing the entire Zifu to be damaged! This was an extremely dangerous moment! This was because the dire-ice had yet to completely solidify and take shape. The more Ning absorbed, the greater the danger would be. Only after the implanting process was complete would things be safe.

“I’ve absorbed enough of the dire-ice. I should be able to begin condensing it into a ‘seed’, now.” Ning spent a few moments in preparation, and then, with a thought, caused the thousands of stars, the Jade Rabbit, and the Golden Crow within the skies of his Zifu region to begin to shoot down rays of light towards that dire-ice island. These rays of light contained incomparably pure elemental ki, and as they appeared in the air above the dire-ice island, they began to gather together there. They formed an incomparably transparent seal over the dire-ice.

BOOM!

It was like an earthen rampart or barrier that had been erected over it, completely sealing it in. The entire dire-ice island appeared almost crystalline in its transparency. Above it, multiple runic symbols began to appear, and the dire-ice began to appear and condense atop each of the runes. It was as though the runes were the countless branches of a large tree.

A short period of time later…

“Crackle!” A sound akin to the wild grass growing out from the earth. An extremely thin layer of dire-ice emerged from the surface of the mountain, trembling and shaking, but continuing to grow. And so, a vein of dire-ice appeared in Ning’s Zifu, just like that.

“Success!” Ning instantly opened his eyes, overjoyed. He instantly saw the distant Qingqing, who was standing guard carefully while staring at the nearby Northson, who was still seated, absorbing the dire-ice.

“Master, you succeeded?” Qingqing asked excitedly. Ning nodded. “Right. Has anything happened to my junior apprentice-brother?” Qingqing shook her head. “Nothing. Only, he clearly absorbs dire-ice much more slowly than you do. You succeed in the implanation in just a day. Given his speed, he’ll probably need three days to fully complete the process.”

Ning nodded. His Zifu was even more stable than his junior apprentice-brother’s, and his divine will was powerful as well. He was also able to control dire-ice more easily as well. These were the reasons why Ning had expected his implantation process to be quick.

“Master. I have a present to serve as your congratulatory gift for success in implanating the dire-ice,” Qingqing laughed.

“Congratulatory gift? There’s no need for such things between the two us,” Ning said with an involuntary laugh.

“You’ll definitely like it, Master.” Qingqing let out a mysterious smile. Then, with the wave of her hand, she produced an enormous wooden chest that was completely gray and emanated a fragrant scent. Ning said, puzzled, “Something within the chest?”

“Look.” Qingqing smugly opened the lid to this wooden chest. Within it, there was a chunk of ice that was two feet long and one foot wide, and which glowed with a hint of green light. When this piece of ice was fully revealed, the surrounding temperature began to fall. It must be understood that this was a room of ice to begin with; and yet, this piece of ice was capable of causing the temperature to drop even more?

“This is ancient glacial ice,” Qingqing said smugly. “I discovered this, too, in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. That place even has a freezing pool of liquid. I was enjoying myself immensely, lying down in that freezing pool and absorbing the frigid aura from it to nourish my dire-ice, when some Immortal cultivators suddenly came. Thus, I dug out this piece of ancient glacial ice.”

Ning did indeed feel exceptionally delighted and surprised. Qingqing truly was a little treasure trove. That piece of dire-ice in his body was nothing but a mere ‘seedling’, dire-ice of the ninth grade. It needed constant nourishing. Although elemental ki could be used to nourish it, the speed would be too slow. It would be much faster to use certain types of precious, rare treasures, and ancient glacial ice was one of them.

“Don’t you need it for yourself?” Ning asked. “Use it for yourself. I’m in no rush.”

A slightly awkward look appeared on Qingqing’s face, “Eh heh heh, I dug out quite a bit. I just gave you a small chunk.” “How big is your piece of ancient glacial ice?” Ning asked.

“Ten meters tall.” Qingqing lowered her head, then stretched out her dainty little hand. An enormous chunk of ice suddenly appeared out of nowhere; it looked like a miniature iceberg. And then, it vanished away as Qingqing stored it away again.

Ning blinked. It really was ten meters tall. He then turned to look at his congratulatory gift, the six foot tall chunk of ancient glacial ice.

Ning shook his head and laughed. He immediately accepted it, then immediately began to utilize the power of this ancient glacial ice to nourish the dire-ice within his body.

1. Xuan Wu, the Black Tortoise of the Chinese four legendary beasts, is often represented in this way

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Chapter 29 – The Gathering

Chapter 29 – The Gathering

Ji Ning sat there, his right hand extended. A hazy elemental ki enveloped the chunk of ancient glacial ice within the heavy wooden chest. The cold energy of the ancient glacial ice was absorbed by Ning steadily, all the way into his Zifu region. Within his Zifu region, the dire-ice, upon coming into contact with the cold energy, instantly began to excitedly, wildly absorb it.

“Master.” Qingqing, who had hesitated for quite some time, suddenly spoke out. “Eh?” Ning turned his head to look at her. “Master, after you use up your piece of ancient glacial ice, I can give you more.” Qingqing looked carefully towards Ji Ning. “I’ll give you another six foot chunk.”

Ning instantly started to laugh. He could tell that this Little Qing was a bit of a miser. As he looked towards Little Qing…another woman’s figure suddenly appeared within his mind.

“Elder sister Autumn Leaf,” Ning murmured to himself. “It’s been more than three years since I left Swallow Mountain. Three years since I’ve seen her. I wonder how elder sister Autumn Leaf is doing.”

That woman who had accompanied him since he was a child, who was like an older sister to him; Ning felt deep emotions for her. “After I become a Raindragon Guard, I need to begin investigating those three culprits who, many years ago, harmed father, mother, and uncle so catastrophically,” Ning mused to himself. “And…I also need to go back to Swallow Mountain to go visit elder sister Autumn Leaf, Bluestone, and Serpentwing Lake…”

Ning suddenly had a strong desire to return to Serpentwing Lake. It had been so long since he had lain within that small boat atop Serpentwing Lake and just floated on the surface of it.

“Serpentwing Lake!” As Ning thought of this, a faint, fierce light began to flash in his eyes. “Sooner or later, there will come the day when I will be able to ensure that those I love will always live joyful lives. Tragedies will never befall those by my side. Never!” Ning’s heart was filled with an incomparably powerful desire, and his Dao-heart was extremely pure. “As for Snowdragon Mountain? They are nothing more than my first stepping stone on my Immortal path.”

In his heart, Ning’s target had always been to become a major power who could dominate the Three Realms; a figure who could completely control his own destiny. Snowdragon Mountain? Ning had never treated them as his number one priority.

………

In the blink of an eye, three days passed within that room of ice. The dire-ice in Ning’s body, after having been nourished by the ancient glacial ice, was now significantly larger, and had reached the eighth grade. However, only the early grades would progress this quickly; the farther along it went, the slower it would become. Some types of dire-ice with weaker potential would have no hope at all of reaching the first grade.

“Eh?” Ning stared towards the nearby Northson. Northson was opening his eyes. “Ah, success,” Ning said. “Right.” Northson’s eyes were filled with delight as well.

“Woody,” Qingqing said, “I’ve prepared a gift for you. Consider it a congratulatory gift for implanting that dire-ice.” “A gift? For me?” Northson was instantly astonished.

“Yep,” Qingqing nodded smugly. Within her dainty hand, a fairly small wooden box appeared. Upon seeing the size of the wooden box, Ning instantly clapped his hand to his forehead.

“Look.” Qingqing opened the wooden box up.

“Ancient glacial ice!” Northson instantly called out in surprise. Earlier, he had focused all of his attention on implanting the dire-ice, and hadn’t been able to divide his attention at all. Naturally, he had paid no attention to the conversations going on outside.

Ning glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the chest. That piece of ancient glacial ice within the ‘small’ chest was merely half a foot long. Qingqing hurriedly looked towards Ning, winking at him.

“How can I accept…” Northson began, but Ning rose and interjected, “Just take it. After you take it, we’ll head out immediately and go to the earthfire vein.”

Slightly more than half of the nearby dire-ice vein was left. Ning could go find other Wanxiang Adepts and engage in a trade…but the two group battles in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, one against those six Wanxiang Adepts, the other against those ten-plus Wanxiang monsters, had quickly taught Ning something. Given his current level of power, when adventuring in the outside world, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to acquire treasures. He really didn’t need to waste his time conniving and scheming on potential trades with one or two Wanxiang Adepts.

…….

Atop a desolate mountain. A Xiantian monster was standing guard here.

“His Majesty ordered me to go patrol and investigate the various mountains for that human cultivator. The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains have so many mountains. Who knows which one the human cultivator has gone to? How could I possibly be so lucky as to run into them while patrolling this mountain?” A yellow-haired monster was leaning against a giant rock. As a Xiantian monster, he would’ve been a minor figure even in the Swallow Mountain region. Here, in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, he was an even more minor figure.

“Two human youths actually caused King Dragonwhale to suffer such a loss.” The yellow-haired monster still clearly remembered the contents of the letter. The water-imprinting technique had been used to duplicate thousands of copies of the leather parchment scrolls which the Dragonwhale had sent out. All of the Xiantian monsters had seen the contents, and they had all memorized it.

Swish!

A streak of light suddenly flew through the clouds, charging towards a nearby mountain. “Is that…?!” The yellow-haired monster was instantly startled. Upon taking a closer look, it revealed a look of shock and delight. “No mistaking it. That’s a dragon-headed warship.”

After seeing the dragon-headed warship fly to the mountain, it saw three figures disembarking; Ning, Northson, and Qingqing. And then, the three of them disappeared into thin air.

…….

“It’s that mountain over there. There are no monsters nearby, just a few minor monsters who aren’t worthy of concern,” Qingqing said. The dragon-headed warship instantly dove downwards.

Ning spread out his divine sense to encompass a range of three hundred kilometers. This was the maximum range Ning could currently search at. Upon doing so…indeed, he saw that for hundreds of kilometers around, only minor monsters were present; there was one that was possibly just barely at the Zifu level, and who was painstakingly training within a private room.

“Let’s go.” They executed their movement techniques, entering the heart of the mountain.

Qingqing led the way as they moved through the mountain. “If we follow this tunnel, we’ll quickly arrive at the river. If we follow the river, we’ll soon be able to see the earthfire vein.”

Indeed. Moments later, a subterranean river appeared within the gloomy, dark underground. The end of the river had a six meter wide crack, and within the crack, there was a tendril of golden fire.

“The earthfire vein.” Ning’s eyes lit up. “That should be…goldflame earthfire!” Ning immediately recognized it. “This is an excellent type of earthfire as well.” Ning felt great joy in his heart, and he stared downwards. Beneath the deep crack was a roiling river of scorching hot lava. It made sense for the goldflame earthfire to appear here, above a river of lava. But when Ning looked at the lava…for some reason, he suddenly felt his heart clench!

It was a vague sense of danger which something within the deep, dark regions of his soul could sense. It was a warning.

Ning turned his head, no longer looking at the river of lava, and the sense of danger instantly disappeared. “Can it be that there is a region of shattered space below?” Ning mused to himself.

When Ning normally looked at some twisted areas of shattered space, he would also feel his heart clench slightly. In a place like the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains…situations like this were extremely common.

“Don’t go into the lava. You in particular, Little Qing. Don’t charge into it rashly,” Ning instructed. “Don’t enter the lava?” Qingqing looked at Ning.

Ning nodded. “There should be a spatial distortion or rift below. Be careful. Right; I’m probably going to take much longer for the harvesting of earthfire, because my body already has dire-ice in it. I need to be even more careful in harvesting earthfire. I imagine that I’ll need anywhere from three to six days.” Ning then sat down in the lotus position next to the goldflame earthfire.

“Leave it to us,” Qingqing said. Northson added, “Don’t worry at all; relax. I’ll go set up the formation right away.” The two of them had already set up an alarm formation outside the mountain, and then within a few kilometers of the goldflame earthfire vein, they set up a second bewildering formation.

Ning was seated in the lotus position. He opened his mouth, and with ‘pincers’ of elemental ki, he guided the goldflame earthfire directly into his mouth and into his body.

Earthfire and dire-ice were polar opposites. Because Ning already had dire-ice in his body, he had to be incomparably careful when absorbing earthfire into his body…if any of it leaked out and if the earthfire and dire-ice interacted with each other, there would be an explosion. Even if Ning was able to survive, thanks to his Fiendgod body, his Zifu region would still probably be completely ruined. Even if he was lucky and it wasn’t destroyed, it would still be badly damaged to the point where he would be like his father, never able to advance at all as a Ki Refiner.

However, Ning couldn’t possibly give up this opportunity because of such a minute risk. The path of Immortals was always one in which one would fight for any chance to become an Immortal.

…..

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. The Xiantian monster had painstakingly run back to report, and then the Zifu monster had personally gone to Dragonwhale Peak to make the report. “King Dragonwhale, this is the map.. Three days ago, those humans you are chasing after, your Majesty, appeared in this area.” A black-furred bear monster was speaking with great respect.

“Over here?” The Dragonwhale sat on his throne, staring at the map in his hands. He quickly understood the location. “Very good. Go back and tell old Wolf that he helped me this time, and I’ll remember it.” The Dragonwhale’s voice boomed out.

“Yes.” The black-furred bear monster bowed respectfully, then immediately departed.

The Dragonwhale’s shadowy green eyes were filled with a murderous intent, and the aura from his body was more than ten times as violent as it was in the past. After becoming a Primal Diremonster…his power had naturally increased dramatically.

“Big Brother.” The two bison-type Diremonsters standing nearby both looked towards their king. “I’m going to kill that human brat. My two brothers, for now, look after Dragonwhale Peak,” the Dragonwhale instructed.

“Don’t worry, Big Brother. Leave everything here to us,” the two bison-type Diremonsters replied. “Then just wait for me to return and drink celebratory wine.” The Dragonwhale let out a savage laugh, and then its body disappeared from the cavern estate with a flash. Soon, an azure streak of light appeared in the skies, streaking towards and disappearing into the horizons.

……….

Atop a green leaf, there were three Wanxiang Adepts who were soaring through the clouds.

“Fellow Daoist Dong One, have we reached that place where you said you found the earthfire vein?” A bald, black-robed woman was speaking in a pressing manner. Her face was covered with red tattoos, and she looked quite devilish.

“The two of you, don’t worry. I’ve sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. What have you to fear?” The golden-robed Dong One smiled as he spoke. “The earthfire vein is in an extremely secretive place…even that cave within the mountain is extremely remote and hard to find. I only encountered it through luck; I trust that within such a short period of time, no one else should have been able to find it.”

Dong One was in a splendid mood, because he had traded the location of this earthfire vein for quite a few treasures. But of course, this was just an agreement; both sides had sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. Only when they actually reached the earthfire vein would they give him the items.

“Here we are. It’s that short mountain below us.” Dong One pointed downwards through the clouds, where a short, squat mountain could vaguely be seen. “That desolate, short mountain over there. Not even monsters can be bothered with taking over that place. It’s quite unremarkable.”

The eyes of the two Wanxiang Adepts next to him, one male and one female, were filled with excitement.

“Follow me,” Dong One said confidently, and then he controlled the flying treasure to descend rapidly.

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Chapter 30 – Hunted

Chapter 30 – Hunted

Deep within the subterranean region.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position. Wisps of earthfire were unceasingly being absorbed into his Zifu region. The glow of the goldflame earthfire within the crack in the ground was now much weaker than before.

“Eh?” Northson’s face suddenly changed. “What is it?” Qingqing hurriedly looked towards him. “A person has arrived!” Northson’s face was now quite solemn. “It could also be a monster. Either way, some form of lifeform has barged into the mountain.”

Earlier, they had set down an alarm formation within the mountain. Since alarm formations were meant to warn the user, they naturally were hidden extremely well, to the point where they didn’t cause any elemental ki ripples at all. Anyone who barged into the region would unconsciously activate the alarm formation. However, there was no way for Northson to know exactly who had arrived.

“Activate the bewildering formation,” Northson instructed. “Even if it is a Wanxiang Adept or Diremonster who has come…even if they enter the underground river region, from a distance, they will be baffled and affected by the bewildering formation.”

“Alright.” Qingqing hurriedly activated the formation which Ning had given her.

………

The Wanxiang Adept of Snowdragon Mountain, Dong One, was currently in an excellent mood, and he led these two other Adepts down towards the underground river in a very practiced manner.

“This really is quite hidden,” the nearby, bald, black-robed woman laughed. The bald, white-robed man by her side nodded. “One can only enter this mountain through movement arts…if one didn’t have a divine sense, one really wouldn’t be able to find this place and enter. Fellow Daoist Dong, how did you enter this place?”

“You are mistaken.” Dong One shook his head. “There is an extremely well-hidden entrance to the insides of this mountain from the outside world. I found it by accident, but I’ve already destroyed that entrance.”

“Ah, so that’s the situation.” The two bald Adepts both nodded. Soon, the three of them reached the river. “Look.” Dong One pointed towards the distance. If we follow that river and constantly advance, we will shortly be able to see the earthfire vein.”

“After we discover the earthfire vein, we two fellow disciples will carry out our promise.” The bald, white-robed man smiled. “Good.” Dong One nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three advanced at high speed along the river. A short while later, Dong One suddenly stretched his hand out and barked, “Halt.” The man and woman looked towards him. “What is it?”

“Something’s wrong.” Dong One frowned as he stared forward. “Logically speaking, by now, we should be able to see the earthfire in the distance. But I can’t see it.”

“What?!” The two Adepts were both shocked. The female one barked fiercely, “You are playing us!” But her white-robed senior apprentice-brother shook his head. “Don’t be hasty. Fellow Daoisti Dong has already sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. He shouldn’t have lied to us…and I can vaguely sense elemental ki ripples from up ahead.”

“Ripples?” Dong One and the black-robed woman both looked towards him. “Yes.” The white-robed man nodded. “Let’s continue to move forward. You’ll be able to sense it soon as well.”

“Redleaf [Hongye] lives up to his reputation,” Dong One sighed in amazement to himself. “The genius disciple of the Bloodlotus Monastery! The power and sensitivity of his soul is far superior to mine.” The reason why he had chosen these two was precisely because he knew that Redleaf was extremely powerful; if he hadn’t been delayed by other matters, he probably would’ve become a Raindragon Guard long ago. Redleaf definitely had many magic treasures; knowing this, Dong One chose to trade with him.

They advanced by another half-kilometer. By now, both Dong One and the woman could sense the elemental ki ripples as well. “That’s a bewildering formation,” the white-robed Redleaf said softly. “In addition, it is an extremely complicated one. It seems, fellow Daoist Dong, that another Immortal cultivator came after you left.”

“What!? What were the chances of that!?” Dong One gritted his teeth. But of course, he had no idea that even before he came, the Azure Skysnake had already discovered this place.

“This bewildering formation is an Earth-ranked magic treasure, and the user should be at the Wanxiang level,” Redleaf sent mentally to them. “In addition…generally speaking, only Wanxiang Adepts will go harvest this type of earthfire. If my guess is correct, they’ve already discovered our arrival. However, since they haven’t moved to attack, they probably aren’t confident in being able to beat us.”

“Right.” Dong One and the black-robed woman both nodded.

“Let’s wait a bit. Let me break this formation,” Redleaf said. “The two of you stay outside. You are not to enter.”

“Don’t worry, senior apprentice-brother,” the black-robed woman said hurriedly.

“Don’t worry.”

Redleaf’s eyes were filled with complete confidence. And then, he walked to enter the bewildering formation.

……

Within the bewildering formation. “That’s Dong One, Redbud [Hongrui], and Redleaf!” Through the bewildering formation, Northson quietly peered towards the three figures who were flying down through the distant river. Upon seeing this, he was shocked.

“Who are they?” Qingqing hurriedly asked. “Dong One is of Snowdragon Mountain. Redbud and Redleaf are two disciples from the Bloodlotus Monastery,” Northson said.

As the two were chatting amongst each other, the nearby Ning, who was in the middle of harvesting the earthfire while seated in the lotus position, began to grow anxious. Because of how incomparably strong his soul was, even stronger than those of many Primal Daoists, he didn’t have to completely block off his six senses while implanting earthfire.

“Dong One? Redbud? Redleaf?” A thought came to Ning’s mind. “These three…when we all reported our names and titles at the Crimson Dragon Mountains, when Redleaf reported his name, all the Wanxiang Adepts were shocked. Clearly, this Adept Redleaf is an extraordinary figure. I have to speed it up.”

Previously, Ning had been extremely cautious, making safety his top priority. However, in reality, he was capable of going a good deal faster, while just increasing the level of danger very slightly.

“Absorb!” One wisp of earthfire after another entered Ning’s mouth and his Zifu region. Within his Zifu region, the amount of earthfire within the ‘earthfire island’, which was far away from the ‘dire-ice island’, was beginning to grow.

…….

Outside the formation, Redleaf walked forward while calling out in a high voice, “I don’t know which fellow Daoist is within this formation, but I would like to ask you to collect it. We can negotiate things peacefully. But if you aren’t willing to do so and force me to break this formation, then we’ll have to shed all pretense of cordiality.”

“Redleaf.” An icy voice rang out from within the formation. “Leave obediently. If you really break this formation, then we’ll fight to the death!”

“Whose voice is that?” Adept Redleaf frowned. The distant Dong One and Redbud frowned as well, because they were very familiar with the voices of every single member of the hundred who had joined this Raindragon Guard trial, but they couldn’t tell whose voice this was.

“Since he can call me out by name, he definitely is one of the hundred,” Redleaf mused to himself. “Since he intentionally disguised his voice, and tried to frighten me off by saying we would fight to the death…hmph, if he was actually powerful, why would he have to use these techniques?”

Adept Redleaf calmly stepped directly into the bewildering formation. Upon doing so, the surrounding space instantly grew chaotic. A bewildering fog drifted everywhere, and it became difficult to even tell the directions. Adept Redleaf stood there within the formation, taking a few casual steps forward. After attuning himself to the transformations of the formation, he instantly began to laugh.

“Junior apprentice-sister, fellow Daoist Dong, I’ll definitely break this formation within two hours.” Adept Redleaf’s voice rang out.

One minute after another passed. Murderous auras began to emite from Northson and Qingqing. “Three in total,” Northson said with a growl. “Qingqing, you take care of that woman, who seems to be the weakest. Leave the other two to me.”

“Can you handle it?” Qingqing looked at him. “Don’t worry. I also have some things which Master bestowed upon me which I’ve never used. When the time comes, I’ll definitely annihilate both of them with one blow. Do you think that we disciples of the Black-White College are so easily antagonized?” A cold light was flashing in Northson’s eyes.

“Right, right. Even I’ve heard of the famous reputation of the Black-White College. Supposedly, every single member is a supreme genius.” Qingqing nodded. “Leave that woman to me, then…”

Northson and Qingqing were incomparably cautious, preparing to battle at any moment.

……..

“Absorb!” Ning began to absorb the earthfire at an even more rapid pace.

……..

The massive body of the Dragonwhale King had appeared in the air above this squat mountain. It stared down towards the mountain, its dark green eyes filled with a heaven-shaking killing intent.

“Right here? Human brat, Ji Ning, I hope you are still here!” The Dragonwhale King sent out his will. Boom! A vast, rolling wave of divine sense instantly spread out in every direction. It had trained for more than ten thousand years, after all; its soul was incomparably powerful, and its Dao-heart was also very resilient. Thus, upon becoming a Primal Diremonster…after but a single day, he had acquired divine sense!

Some Primal Daoists would need six months or a year to acquire their divine sense after their breakthrough. If one’s foundation was insufficiently stable, then the rate at which one would acquire divine sense would naturally be slower. Someone like Ji Ning, who possessed a divine sense at the Zifu level…could only be described as an utter monster. It was no wonder that so many believed him to be a reincarnated Immortal!

The Dragonwhale’s divine sense spread out to a range of a hundred kilometers, completely covering the short mountain below. “Eh? Nobody?” The Dragonwhale King frowned. “Wait; that mountain actually has an alarm formation within it.” The divine sense could see everything within its range with perfect clarity. Although not even Redleaf or Dong One had been able to discover the alarm formation, the Dragonwhale King had effortlessly discovered it.

“There must be someone there.” The Dragonwhale King instantly charged tens of kilometers downward, towards the short mountain below. And then, with a single blinking movement, moved deeper inside the mountain.

Within the mountain. The Dragonwhale once more spread its divine sense. “Hahaha…” A look of savage joy instantly appeared on the Dragonwhale’s face. This time, he effortless detected that less than a hundred kilometers away, close to an underground river, there were several human cultivators.

“That human brat, Ji Ning, is harvesting earthfire? And there is a human cultivator who is outside a formation, trying to break it?” The Dragonwhale laughed coldly. “These humans are actually fighting amongst themselves…how laughable. Unfortunately…all of them shall die.”

“I will set down a massive spacelock sealing formation outside, and then kill them all.” The Dragonwhale immediately began to carry out his plan.

……..

None of the humans had detected the arrival of the Dragonwhale. The Dragonwhale had intentionally avoided the alarm formation. The only person who was aware of his arrival…was Ji Ning!

When the Dragonwhale’s divine sense had swept out towards him, Ning’s own divine sense had naturally detected it. After all, in terms of just divine sense, Ning was even more formidable than the Dragonwhale.

“Divine sense?” Ning was shocked. “A Primal Daoist? Or a Primal Diremonster?” Ning was truly stunned. Ning slowed down his absorption of the earthfire, and with a single thought, instantly spread his divine sense out towards every direction. He instantly discovered the Dragonwhale King, who had already moved to the skies above the short mountain. The Dragonwhale King was currently planting formation flags everywhere, preparing a spacelock sealing formation.

“Hahaha…human brat?” The Dragonwhale sensed Ning’s divine sense. Instantly, he sent through divine sense, “I have to thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, how could I have broken through to become a Primal so easily? Hahaha, to thank you, I will annihilate all of those humans who are planning to act against you. But of course, all of you will die as well. Hahaha…”

Swoosh!

The Dragonwhale instantly used his blinking movement technique to go inside the mountain once more. He soon arrived at the underground river, then charged forward.

Right at this moment, Dong One and Redbud were outside the formation, watching as Adept Redleaf was striving to defeat the formation from within it. “The Wanxiang Adept within the formation is dead for sure.” Redbud’s eyes were filled with eagerness. “Right.” Dong One was eager as well.

Dong One had no idea…that within the formation were the two people he feared the most; Ji Ning and Mu Northson. And, at this moment, a Dragonwhale King was charging straight towards him!

Most importantly of all…the surrounding area was completely sealed by a spacelock sealing formation. There was no way to flee at all.

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Chapter 31 – Vengeance in the Next Life

Chapter 31 – Vengeance in the Next Life

Dong One and Redbud were both outside the formation, waiting. “Eh?” The two of them, as though having sensed something, turned to look behind them, only to see in the gloomy darkness a massive, muscular figure surging towards them.

This was a giant figure that was two stories high. Clearly, this wasn’t a body which a normal human being could possess, and it wasn’t attempting to hide whatsoever the savage, monstrous aura which poured out wantonly from it. Its two sinister green eyes seemed to carry a lofty, arrogant look within them.

“Who are you?” Redbud barked. But Dong One said cautiously, “Monster, hurry up and leave. We don’t want to kill any monsters right now.”

“You don’t want to kill monsters, but I want to kill humans right now.” The Dragonwhale King was incomparably relaxed right now; a sort of relaxation that came only when one had an absolute advantage in power.

“Kill humans?” The faces of Dong One and Redbud changed.

“If you want to blame someone, blame that brat, Ji Ning.” After finishing his words, a giant black sword, wreathed by a river of golden flames, stabbed directly towards Redbud and Dong One.

“Ji Ning?” The two of them were completely baffled, but in the face of this attack from the giant black sword, they didn’t have any time to ponder; they hurriedly prepared to battle the enemy.

“Hmph.” The black-robed woman, Redbud, suddenly waved her hand, and two blood-red silk ribbons slashed through the air. While flying, they appeared to be two dragons of blood, and emitting draconic roars, they swept towards that giant black sword.

“Freeze.” Dong One pointed towards the distance, and his dire-ice swept forward, preparing to freeze and lock that giant sword.

“BANG!” Like a hot knife going through butter, the giant black sword easily dispersed both of the blood dragons. The golden flames on the surface of the giant black sword appeared incomparably brilliant…they effortlessly dissipated the dire-ice, and in an instant, appeared in front of the body of the bald, black-robed Rosebud.

“How can this be?!” Redbud hurriedly leapt backwards, transforming into a streak of light and about to retreat as an azure bell suddenly appeared in her hands. However, the golden flames on that giant black sword suddenly expanded, and with a boom, it instantly enveloped Redbud. “No!!!” A miserable, agonized scream. Bathed in golden flames, Redbud howled in agony, and then her body was instantly charred to ash. Even her divine soul was burnt into nothingness.

“What sort of earthfire is this?!” Dong One was so terrified, his face changed.

“Junior apprentice-sister!” Adept Redleaf, within the formation, heard that miserable scream coming from the outside. He grew frantic. “Dong One, what happened to my junior apprentice-sister?”

“Haha, earthfire?” The Dragonwhale King let out a cold laugh. “This is Primal Fire!” Dong One’s face completely changed, and the face of Adept Redleaf, within the formation, changed as well. Primal Fire?

Just from looking at the surface of the flames, it was hard to tell; after all, there were more than a hundred types of earthfire, including gold, white, green, and all sorts of other flames. It was quite hard to differentiate them. Primal Fire, however…was the flame which the Primal Turtle-Snake naturally generated. Its power was tremendous; most likely, earthfire would have to be cultivated to the third grade before being able to compete against it.

“She’s dead. Now, you can die as well.” With but a thought, the Dragonwhale King sent his flying sword chopping towards Dong One. This was a Heaven-ranked flying sword, which it had acquired by luck. Given its power, acquiring an ordinary Heaven-ranked flying sword wasn’t too difficult. Although it wasn’t very skilled at using flying swords, since it had become a Primal Daoist, it was able to fill this flying sword with his Primal-level elemental ki, and also fill it with his Primal Fire. Thus, the power of this attack was absolutely comparable to the power of his Fiendgod divine ability attacks.

“Last time, I ran into a disciple of the Black-White College who could use a divine will attack. This time, I ran into a Primal Diremonster. Why am I so unlucky?!” Dong One’s face was ashen. Gritting his teeth, he instantly transformed into a streak of bloody light. Swoosh! He quickly moved far away with an evasion technique, moving so fast that even the Dragonwhale was slightly surprised.

“Unfortunately, I prepared a spacelock sealing formation long ago.” The Dragonwhale King shook its head and laughed coldly. With but a single step, it moved tens of kilometers.

………..

As the Dragonwhale King went chasing after Dong One, Adept Redleaf, within the formation, had an ugly look on his face. “Junior apprentice-sister died? A Primal Diremonster appeared?”

Within the fog, Adept Redleaf gritted his teeth, then produced a long, black weaver’s shuttle in his hands. This black shuttle emanated an evil, ancient aura; this was a treasure for escape which Adept Redleaf had discovered when adventuring, which had been passed down from the Fiendgod Era. Its name was the ‘Lightspeed Shuttle of the Nine Heavens and Ten Hells’. Upon using it, one’s speed would become incredibly fast, and the tips of the shuttle itself were extremely, shockingly strong as well, capable of effortless piercing through even a towering mountain.

However, after using it a single time, the shuttle’s power would be exhausted, and he would have to wait ten more years before the power would regenerate.

“No other choices.” Adept Redleaf immediately willed it to activate. Swoosh! The evil black shuttle suddenly increased massively in size, while the Adept himself hid himself within it. Swish! The long black shuttle instantly transformed into a streak of light, moving with such astonishing speed that the tiny bewildering formation wasn’t able to impede it in the slightest. It easily passed through the formation…and then, moving like a streak of black lightning, it effortless pierced through the rocky mountain, then stabbed against the edges of the sealing formation.

Crunch! It pierced directly through…and then, moving at high speed, disappeared into the distant wilderness.

……

Dong One, who had been hoping to flee, stared at the grand sealing formation. Instantly, he despaired; he had already tried to attack it twice, but hadn’t been able to do anything to it at all.

“You won’t be able to escape.” The Dragonwhale King suddenly appeared. Its two dragon-whiskers suddenly appeared, wreathed in blazing embers of Primal Fire as they swept towards Dong One.

A look of utter despair was on Dong One’s face. Although he had protective treasures, they would only be able to endure for a brief moment. If he wasn’t able to escape this formation, the end result was still a single word; death!

“If you have to blame someone, blame that brat, Ji Ning,” the Dragonwhale King said with a cold laugh. “You are just the starting courses…eh? One of you actually fled? What sort of a treasure was that long shuttle? It was so fast.”

Despite his extensive experience, even he had never heard of this ancient treasure which had been passed down since the Fiendgod Era, the ‘Lightspeed Shuttle of the Nine Heavens and Ten Hells’.

“Why should I blame Ji Ning?” Dong One roared in fury, “If I have to die, let me die knowing why.”

The Dragonwhale King stared in astonishment at the human cultivator before him. “Can it be that you don’t know that the person within the formation is that brat, Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning is inside the formation?” Dong One stared. But…but but…

If he had known that it was Ji Ning inside the formation, he would have immediately fled without saying a second word. Last time, the six of them, despite joining forces, had all fallen to Ji Ning and his fellow disciple. Why would he try to act against Ji Ning yet again? But Ji Ning hadn’t said a single word…

“You damnable, detestable Ji Ning! In this life, you doomed me, but in the next life, I’ll take my revenge!” A wild, berserk look appeared on Dong One’s face. BOOM! As the dragon-whiskers swept forward, his entire body instantly blew apart.

He knew that the opponent was a Primal Daoist, and had no intentions of allowing the Primal Fire to burn him to death, because if it did, even his divine soul would be burnt to ashes. That meant his soul would be destroyed! If he committed suicide, at least he would be able to rejoin the cycle of reincarnation!

“A straightforward death.” The Dragonwhale King actually didn’t care at all. With a wave of its hand, it collected the treasures which Dong One had left behind, but it couldn’t be bothered to actually flip through them. With a leap, it once more charged towards Ning.

Ning was seated there in the lotus position, one wisp of earthfire after another being absorbed into his Zifu. His absorption speed was so fast that the nearby Qingqing and Northson both felt their hearts race.

“How is my senior apprentice-brother doing? Is he alright?” Northson was worried. Qingqing looked towards Ning as well. “Master wishes to finish implanting the earthfire as quickly as possible.” And indeed, Ning was going all out.

Previously, during the last three days, he had already absorbed quite a bit of the earthfire. Just now, when Adept Redleaf and the others had come to break the formation, Ning had immediately begun to accelerate the absorption process.

“I finally have enough earthfire.” Ning could no longer be bothered with anything else. “Condense!” The thousands of stars, the Jade Rabbit, and the Golden Crow within his Zifu region all emanated countless rays of light which descended upon the earthfire island, as though creating a giant barrier which completely covered all of it. The earthfire quickly began to swirl and merge into the runes atop it, causing them to transform into gold. Crackle! Atop the earthfire island, a tiny little golden flame was suddenly born.

“Success.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. Opening his eyes, he glanced at his junior apprentice-brother and Little Qing. Ning’s forehead and back were all covered with cold sweat. Towards the very end, he really was going all out in absorbing earthfire. That sort of absorption speed was truly deadly; it was as though he had been dancing atop a steel wire. The slightest mistake, and he’d fall off. However, with a Primal Diremonster outside, Ning had no other choices.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what’s going on outside?” Northson hurriedly asked, “I saw that Adept Redleaf, who had been in our bewildering formation, has already escaped, and there was a battle outside.”

“It’s the Dragonwhale,” Ning said grimly. “Dragonwhale?” Qingqing said, shocked, “The Dragonwhale Diremonster we ran into last time? But just now, I heard the words ‘Primal Fire’ coming from outside; can it be that the Dragonwhale has already broken through to become a Primal Direfiend?” Ning nodded.

Qingqing and Northson’s hearts instantly turned cold.

Unlike Adept Redleaf, Ning and Northson had just left their schools; they had spent very little time adventuring outside, and the treasures they had on them were limited to what their schools had given them. They didn’t have any strange treasures, like the ‘Lightspeed Shuttle of the Nine Heavens and Ten Hells’.

“The grand sealing formation is still just an Earth-ranked magic treasure,” Ning sent mentally. “Although it is now a Primal Diremonster and has activated it with Primal-level elemental ki…there is a limit to the power of the seals. If I strike it at full power, I might be able to break through.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, I have a guardian construct which Master gave me; it can burst forth with the power of a Primal Daoist for a short period of time. It should be able to break through the formation. However, this guardian construct can only battle for ten breaths, after which it will instantly disintegrate, because the materials it was made out of were ordinary,” Northson said.

Ning felt relieved. It made sense; his own master, Immortal Diancai, had also given him two protective items. Daoist Jadefine doted even more dearly on her apprentice, Northson. In addition, she specialized in the Dao of Constructs…some truly monstrous constructs were capable of battling opponents at a higher level. It was only natural for his junior apprentice-brother to have some protective treasures as well.

“Hahaha…” A deep voice laughed out. “Ji Ning, brat, you were so smug and brash last time; did you think that a day like this would come? Ten thousand years of training…it all came to a head, and I broke through to the Primal level. Now, killing you will be much easier.”

“Kill me? When we battled, you survived because of how fast you fled,” Ning said coldly. “Although you have become a Primal, you’ve only recently broken through; I imagine your power isn’t too ridiculously great yet. I still am capable of killing you! We disciples of the Black-White College specialize in battling those at a higher level than us.”

“The Black-White College?” The Dragonwhale King was slightly startled, but then it sneered. It had a Fiendgod’s body, a divine ability, and was a Primal Diremonster that had exceptionally superlative talents. Why would it worry about a Wanxiang Adept?

“If you leave now, you can keep your life. Otherwise…” Ning stared towards the outside; the Dragonwhale King was standing right outside the formation. To the two of them, both of whom possessed the divine sense, bewildering formations were completely useless.

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Chapter 32 – Awoken

Chapter 32 – Awoken

“Little Qing, pack up the bewildering formation,” Ji Ning instructed. This bewildering formation was of no use at all against the Dragonwhale King; it would only baffle themselves.

The formation vanished. The massive, bulky body of the Dragonwhale King could now be seen, standing off in the distance. The aura of the Dragonwhale King was now clearly far more savage and explosive than it had been in the past. In his subconscious…Ning felt a sense of danger. This was a warning from his divine soul.

“I have to thank you for helping me break through to become a Primal. Thus, I helped you kill those two humans. They should be your enemies, yes?” The Dragonwhale looked at Ning disdainfully, then said, “My brothers and sisters all died in the hands of you three. And you, Ji Ning…you deserve death more than anyone else.”

“Go.” The Dragonwhale’s eyes flashed with cold light. Swoosh! A giant black sword, thirty meters long, almost the size of a warship, chopped directly towards Ji Ning, the surface of the sword covered with the swirling flames of Primal Fire.

“Hmph.” Seeing this, Ning let out a cold snort, while at the same time, his own divine sense sent out the [Soulshaker Art]. The rolling waves of divine will swept forward like a flood, viciously striking against the Dragonwhale’s Primal soul! Rumble…the Dragonwhale felt its Primal soul shudder, and the power of its magic treasures was noticeably lowered.

This caused the Dragonwhale to be secretly shocked; how did this Ji Ning have such a powerful soul? Could he be a reincarnated Immortal? But even if he was, he still had to die!

“Haaaargh!” The giant black sword, carrying Primal Fire, howled as it flew towards Ning. Ning let out an angry roar, and his body instantly expanded as he transformed into a ten meter high giant. The Darknorth swords in his hands transformed into a blur as they moved to engage.

BOOM! Sword-light and the giant black sword collided in midair. Ji Ning, after using the [Starseizing Hand], had released incredibly great power with this sword attack, and was able to forcibly knock the giant black sword backwards, while he himself took two steps back. At the same time, the Waterflame Lotus appeared around his body. The petals of this breathtakingly beautiful lotus now contained both snowy dire-ice and golden earthfire…causing its power to increase dramatically.

“Dragonwhale, you want to rely on magic treasures alone to kill me? You are looking down on me a bit too much,” Ning laughed loudly.

The Dragonwhale noticed this as well. This Ji Ning’s power was far beyond that of those other two Wanxiang Adepts, especially in close quarters combat; he was exceedingly strong.

“As you wish, then.” The Dragonwhale King let out a massive howl, and instantly, its entire body transformed into a heaven-filling fog, but then, next to that underground river, its body began to transform into its true form.

Ning hurriedly sent to the nearby Northson and Qingqing, “Junior apprentice-brother, Little Qing, once this Dragonwhale takes its true form, it’ll cause the heavens to collapse and the earth to shatter; the surrounding parts of the mountain will definitely be shattered. I’ll battle against him and hold him off; you two, hurry up and go break out of this sealing formation. Junior apprentice-brother, use whatever means you must in order to break through the formation and uproot the formation flags. Once the formation is gone, I’ll have plenty of ways to escape.”

Northson hesitated momentarily, then nodded. “Fine. Senior apprentice-brother, be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” Ning lowered his head, glancing sideways his junior apprentice-brother and Qingqing. After having transformed into a giant due to the ‘Heavenly Transformation’ divine ability, it really did feel a bit odd interacting with them.

“Rumble…”

The true form of the Dragonwhale was beginning to take shape in this subterranean cavern. Its body was simply too vast, while the caverns were too small. After having used its divine ability, it was ten thousand meters in length, while its body was many hundreds of meters wide. For such an enormous body to be squeezed into a mountain cavern meant that the surrounding mountain itself would begin to split apart.

“Break apart!” The Dragonwhale felt too confined and cramped as well. When it was young, it had lived in the Darknorth Seas. After coming to this vast region, it normally battled in the wide, spacious skies. Naturally, it preferred wide spaces, and wasn’t very comfortable when underground.

Its enormous, ponderous body began to shake violently and wriggle about, its tail slapping about as well. Slash! It was like an earthworm flipping over, and in the process, the mountain peak above that had taken up ten kilometers suddenly fell over and collapsed. Many stones were knocked flying into the skies as well. Even the earth itself was ripped apart, while the underground river ceased to floor. The underground passage, previously thirty meters wide, was instantly, forcibly expanded to three thousand meters wide.

“Rumble…” Even the boiling lava beneath them began to soar towards the skies, belching forth in a paroxysm of fire as the river of lava itself reversed course. The Dragonwhale’s revealing of his true form had truly caused the heavens to split and the earth to shatter. As for Ning, he held his twin swords in his hands, watching this as the Waterflame Lotus bloomed about him.

“Hurry up and leave,” Ning immediately transmitted and shouted to them, “If we get separated, we’ll reunite at the dire-ice location.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, be careful.”

“Master, be careful.”

Qingqing instantly transformed into a small snake, wrapping herself around Northson’s arm. As for Northson, he transformed into a streak of light, breaking through the crumbling rocks and charging outside, moving as fast as lightning.

“Hahaha, fleeing? Do you really think you’ll escape?” The Dragonwhale’s massive draconic head released a wild, savage laugh. The sky was now visible from their location, and the lava around them bubbled and hissed. It was a picture of utter chaos.

“Die.” The two dragon-whiskers of the Dragonwhale descended in a sweeping movement towards Ning, surrounded by Primal Fire and moving as fast as lightning.

“Break!” Ning’s sword-light was especially dazzling. “BANG!” Ning’s twin swords clashed against them, and with the collision, Ning was knocked flying backwards.

“Its power increased by quite a bit.” Ning was sent smashing through tens of meters of the mountain rocks, and his face changed. “Ah, right. Those dragon-whiskers are its ‘intrinsic magic treasures’ which it spent many years cultivating. Now that it has become a Primal, in its true form…the power of its intrinsic magic treasures have naturally improved dramatically.”

After having reverted to its true form, the Dragonwhale’s power had increased significantly. Even despite using the [Starseizing Hand], Ning still felt as though he couldn’t be able to withstand it.

“It seems as though my power, now, is still quite a bit weaker than a Primal Daoists.” Ning faced the Dragonwhale King, not knowing how to battle him and trying to think of a way to delay. But suddenly…

The world went silent.

The river of lava, previously flowing in the opposite direction, came to a halt.

The spraying water of the underground river froze in midair.

The stones that had been blasted into the skies froze there.

Ning was still in the pose of executing the Windwing Evasion and retreating frantically…

Northson was standing in front of the grand sealing barrier, unmoving…

Even the incomparably massive Dragonwhale Diremonster that was floating in the air had come to a halt. Its dragon-whiskers that had been dancing in the air were now frozen there.

In this instant, it was as though everything in this region had gone still. But Ning, Northson, the Azure Skysnake, and the Dragonwhale King, these four living creatures, knew very well that this wasn’t the case!

“This is…” Ning could feel an incomparably powerful force instantly descend, so powerful as to completely suppress him. He felt like an ant atop of an iceberg, completely unable to move. He even felt as though he couldn’t change his facial expressions. That surge of power was simply too massive.

“What…what is going on?” Ning was completely stunned and uneasy. His soul was pulsing at him, screaming of a terrifyingly great danger. Ning had the feeling that whatever threat had appeared was capable of instantly annihilating him.

……

“What…what’s this??!” Northson, who had just reached the grand sealing formation, was incomparably frantic as well. In his heart, he was also completely stunned. He felt as though he had been completely suppressed and sealed away; he couldn’t even move a single finger. He could also see that even the rocks in midair weren’t moving at all, causing him to feel all the more horrified.

…….

The Dragonwhale was stunned as well. It was a Primal Diremonster, and a Dragonwhale at that; how incredibly great was its power? With but a single flip of its body, it could shatter the heavens and break the earth. And yet, in this instant, its massive body hung there in midair, completely unable to move.

“I’ve already reached the Primal stage. What power is this, which is capable of preventing me from even fighting back? Even Immortals shouldn’t be this powerful. Can it be a Celestial Immortal? Or a Loose Immortal who has lived for hundreds of thousands or millions of years?” The Dragonwhale’s heart was filled with many thoughts as well, and it too was both terrified and restless.

…….

Although Ning didn’t move at all, he could still see. “Is that…?!” Ning suddenly stared in astonishment as the distant, bubbling river of lava began to part. The entire earth began to crack open, as a massive, fiery red hand, wreathed in lava, emerged from it. This hand…just staring at it, Ning became filled with despair.

This was something which occurred only when the disparity in power had reached an unbelievable level.

This palm of this titanic hand was more than three thousand meters long, and the palm lines were all clearly visible. These ancient, criss-crossing palm lines appeared to be carved or sculpted. As this titanic, fiery hand stretched out from the lava, it seized the head of the Dragonwhale in midair.

CRUNCH.

Like crushing an egg, the titanic, fiery hand easily pinched and squished the skull of the Dragonwhale. Although the Dragonwhale was a Fiendgod Body Refiner, during the instant in which its head was pinched, even its soul was crushed and dispersed. It wouldn’t even have the chance to reincarnate.

An exalted Primal Diremonster had just died!

“This…” Ning’s heart was filled with incomparable shock, but his facial expressions remained completely unchanged from earlier. Even his facial muscles couldn’t budge.

“Rumble…”

An even more titanically massive, fiery red head suddently emerged from the splitting lava. Right; a head! He had a single eye, a nose, and a mouth. The size of his head alone was more than three thousand meters tall. His entire, massive body slowly emerged from the deep abysses of the earth. Only after half of his body was revealed did he come to a halt. His body seemed to be formed from solidified magma, and it emanated an incomparable, scorching aura. He glanced at the corpse of the Dragonwhale, which now lay amongst the shattered rocks. His single, fiery red pupil had a cold look in them.

“A puny earthworm actually dared to destroy my residence and disturb my slumber. He deserved to die,” this titan rumbled.

Ning was unable to reveal any expressions on his face. But in his heart, he was screaming in shock, “Fiendgod, this is definitely a true Fiendgod!”

In this instant, Ning could think of no other possibilities. Neither Immortals nor Diremonsters matched this creature’s appearance. This incomparably ancient, terrifying presence…in terms of appearance, aura, or power, the only type of creature which matched it was a Fiendgod! Fiendgods were born from the heavens themselves, and thus most had incomparably vast bodies.

They were incredibly powerful, and they had been born unfathomable ages ago, during the Fiendgod Era!

“And two humans, along with a little snake.” This ancient Fiendgod, who had been slumbering for who knows how long, swept his single eye to glance towards Ning, Northson, and the Azure Skysnake, as though he were looking at ants.

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Chapter 33 – Fiendgods and Humans

Chapter 33 – Fiendgods and Humans

Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and the Azure Skysnake could feel the hint of killing intent wafting towards them from this ancient Fiendgod. The three of them truly were like ants before him; whether or not he killed them was truly a trifling matter. After all, he had been sleeping happily deep beneath the river of lava. After having been woken up, it was rather irritated, and so the main culprit, that Dragonwhale, was the first to die. Ning and the others were just unlucky enough to be caught up by it all.

“No.” Northson, upon feeling that killing intent, couldn’t help but feel despair in his heart. Was he going to die?

“I can’t die. I can’t die! I just entered the Black-White College. I swore an oath in front of Mother’s grave…that I would make the Bluewood clan regret what they did! I haven’t, I haven’t done anything yet. I can’t accept this, I can’t!” Northson’s eyes were filled with boundless panic and regret, but under that boundless pressuring power, he couldn’t even change his facial expressions.

……….

“Am I going to die?” The Azure Skysnake was coiled around Northson’s arms. She was able to see the towering, vast, ancient Fiendgod from the corner of her eyes. The feeling that ancient Fiendgod gave her was that of the vast universe itself; she couldn’t even bring herself to want to try to resist.

“It’s sad that I’m going to die along with Woody. If I have to die, I should die alongside Master,” the Azure Skysnake murmured to herself. She looked towards Ning as well, but because the mountain was blocking her vision, she wasn’t able to see him at all.

……….

Ning also felt as though death was coming towards him. He had never had a strong a feeling of impending death before; not even when he was progressing through the three trials of the underwater estate had he felt so powerless! He couldn’t fight back at all…this sensation of impending death was something Ning couldn’t resign himself to.

“I haven’t destroyed Snowdragon Mountain yet.”

“I haven’t even come close to being a major power in the Three Realms.”

“Father. Mother…I want to see if they are living good lives after their reincarnation.”

“And Autumn Leaf…she must be waiting for me still.”

Ning felt powerless. Although he still had that protective brooch in front of his chest that had been given to him by Immortal Diancai, which would release a protective sword-ki with but a thought…it would only be able to resist the power of a Loose Immortal or an Earth Immortal for a single breath’s worth of time. In the face of a Fiendgod who had killed a Primal Diremonster as easily as stepping on an ant, what could it possibly do?

“Activate.” Ning had bound the brooch long ago. With but a thought, Ning instantly attempted to activate the brooch, and the protective sword-ki within it tried to surge outside. Although it was probably useless, he had to at least give it a shot.

“Eh?” The ancient Fiendgod’s single eye turned to stare at Ning. That seemingly omnipresent power seemed to completely focus on Ning as well, also pushing down towards Ning’s brooch. The protective sword-ki within the brooch tried to charge out, but it was pressed down upon by an invisible, formless strength, preventing it from emerging.

It was pushed back inside!

Ning willed it to activate again.

But yet again, it was pushed back inside!

“How can this be?” Ning now felt truly powerless.

But a hint of surprise was in the ancient Fiendgod’s single eye. He looked at Ning, murmuring to himself, “A Sword Immortal? A Loose Immortal or an Earth Immortal? The sword-ki is both condensed and sharp; although it’s a bit different from that of Immortal Northwalker, who chased me around in the past, it’s still quite astonishing. This human brat most assuredly has a powerful Sword Immortal behind him.”

“That Sword Immortal…most likely has other colleagues and seniors who stand behind him as well.” The ancient Fiendgod mused to himself, “I had best leave. I suffered miserably enough, the last time I was chased around.”

As someone who had existed from the Fiendgod Era to the present era, he knew exactly how terrifying the humans were.

You kill a puny one, a strong one comes. You kill the strong one, an entire host of strong ones would come!

Humans simply had far too many experts, and they could send out entire groups of Immortals to attack him, a single person. The countless times he had suffered in this manner had caused him to become incomparably cautious. It was precisely this caution which had allowed him to survive to the present day. Otherwise, he would’ve been killed or sealed away by the humans long ago!

And, most importantly of all, humans trained far too quickly! Fiendgods were the favored children of the heavens. They were born with tremendous power, and didn’t even suffer from the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations as they naturally increased in power. Only human cultivators had to deal with the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations! However, in turn, Fiendgods were far slower in learning and comprehending. They generally would spend tens or hundreds of thousands of years in training, or even millions of years. Training, to them, took an incomparably long period of time.

But humans? A single human could become an Immortal in just a few centuries! A few centuries? This was an extremely short period of time for Fiendgods.

They had terrifying reproductive abilities, powerful learning abilities, and a rapid rate of advancement…this was why humans became the true leader of the countless races of this world, and indeed, of the entirety of the Three Realms. They were the true overlords! Even Fiendgods had to avoid them.

“Eh? And a Loose Immortal has come.”

The ancient Fiendgod glanced towards the distant skies. It would be extremely easy for him to kill this Loose Immortal, but did he dare? He did not, because he knew that this Loose Immortal should be a member of the Raindragon Guard. If he killed one of them, very soon, the Guard would send tens or even hundreds of Loose Immortals…and perhaps even the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty would send some of its ancient, nigh-unkillable figures.

“Time to leave.” The ancient Fiendgod’s entire body instantly emerged from the ground. With but a single step….whoosh. Space itself twisted, and the ancient Fiendgod entered the twisting void, disappearing without a trace.

The spraying water and flying rocks that had previously been locked in midair finally collapsed. For a moment, there was utter chaos.

“He left?” Ning gawked in astonishment. And then, from the corner of his eyes, he stared at the massive corpse of the Dragonwhale. He immediately waved his hand, collecting the entire, massive, three thousand meter long corpse of the Dragonwhale into his storage-type magic treasure.

After having reached the early Wanxiang level, Ning had switched to using an Earth-ranked storage belt. This was a spoil of war he had acquired from killing the Wanxiang Diremonsters earlier. This belt had an enormous space within it; however, the massive body of the Dragonwhale still took up more than half of the space within.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson ran over, excited.

“Master.” The Azure Skysnake transformed into an azure shadow, moving forward and coiling herself around Ning’s arm.

After having just escaped from certain death, they all had somewhat changed feelings in their hearts.

“Senior apprentice-brother, why did that Fiendgod leave?” Northson hurriedly asked, “And why didn’t he kill us?”

“I don’t know either.” Ning shook his head. Although the Fiendgod had been mumbling to himself, the surrounding space had been completely locked; not even sound waves were able to move. Naturally, Ning hadn’t heard anything. But right at this moment…

A blood-robed elder suddenly appeared in the skies. This blood-robed elder had a crown on his head, and the blood-red robes were incomparably beautiful. However, a hint of resentment was within his gaze. “I actually let it escape. It ran quite quickly. It can consider itself lucky.” As soon as he had sensed the local ripples, he had immediately hurried over here, but on the way, he had noticed that the Fiendgod had begun to flee. He had wanted to pursue it, but unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to.

“You three.” The blood-robed elder, after appearing in midair, stared downwards towards Ning, Northson, and the Azure Skysnake. As he did, the three of them felt their hearts grow numb.

“You should’ve seen that Fiendgod emerge, just now.” The blood-robed elder’s voice was icy cold, and slowly, the world itself around them seemed to begin to freeze. Ning, Northson, and the Azure Skysnake all felt an invisible pressure crush down towards them, quite similar to the technique which the Fiendgod had previously used. However, this pressure was far weaker than that of the Fiendgod’s. Despite that, however, Ning’s group knew that this Immortal in front of them was still invincible, as far as they were concerned.

“Tell me, what did it look like?” The blood-robed elder pointed towards the Azure Skysnake. “You, monster. You speak first.” A look of terror appeared on the Azure Skysnake’s face, and she immediately said, “It was an extremely massive Fiendgod, with a palm of more than three thousand meters long. As for its body, it was thirty thousand meters tall! Its body appeared to be formed from lava stones. It had a single eye, a single nose, and a single mouth. It didn’t have hair, and lava seemed to be flowing from its head as well.”

A look of shock appeared in the eyes of the blood-robed elder. Him? Only now did the elder know which Fiendgod it was, and cold sweat trickled down his back. That was too close; fortunately, he hadn’t caught the Fiendgod, as if he had, he probably would’ve died.

Next, he pointed towards Northson. “You. Speak.” As soon as his words came out, Northson felt an invisible power command his soul. Although he remained conscious, his mouth began to speak by itself. “He emerged from the lava beneath us. His entire body was fiery red, he bound us with an invisible pressure that we weren’t able to resist at all. He had a single eye, a single nose, a single mouth…”

“You. Speak.” The blood-robed elder pointed at Ning. Ning, too, sensed an invisible divine will instantly invade his sea of consciousness. However, Ning’s powerful divine will pushed back against it.

BOOM! A soundless, invisible collision of divine wills. Although the blood-robed elder held an absolute advantage, he was unable to control Ning like a puppet.

“Eh? Your divine soul is this powerful?” The blood-robed elder looked towards Ji Ning. “Which school are you from?”

“This junior is Ji Ning, disciple of the Black-White College. My master is Immortal Diancai.” Ning continued respectfully, “Next to me is my junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson. This Azure Skysnake is a spirit-beast I have recently tamed while wandering the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

“Immortal Diancai? The Black-White College?” The blood-robed elder nodded calmly, then said in a still-cold voice, “I ask you this; when the Fiendgod appeared…why didn’t he kill the three of you?”

“I don’t know.” Ning shook his head.

I don’t know..” Northson said the same thing.

Qingqing just shook her head, not even daring to speak.

The blood-robed elder knew very well that this particular, ancient Fiendgod had a strange temper. When angered, it would occasionally kill humans. However, because that ancient Fiendgod had always been cautious and low-key, and had never acted to kill human Loose Immortals with powerful backgrounds, the Grand Xia Dynasty had never put too much effort into chasing after and capturing him.

If he had engaged in wanton massacres and killed many influential figures, the Grand Xia Dynasty, in its rage, might send its full might against him. In that situation, it probably would be caught alive after just a few days!

“The three of you can consider yourself lucky to have survived a meeting with a Fiendgod,” the blood-robed elder barked. “However, you absolutely must not reveal the details of this meeting. If I find out that you have, then the Raindragon Guard will hold you accountable for it!”

“Yes.” Ning, Northson, and the Azure Skysnake all acknowledged this order. The blood-robed elder calmly waved his hand. “Then hurry up and leave.”

Ning’s group didn’t dare to tarry; they immediately boarded the dragon-headed warship, transforming into a streak of light and leaving at high speed.

……

Whoosh!

Shortly after they left, yet another person appeared. This was a silver-haired youth with loose, unbound hair, and who also had a crown on his head. Immediately afterwards, a muscular, armored old man appeared as well.

“A Fiendgod emerged?” The silver-haired youth laughed calmly.

“Which Fiendgod was it?”

……..

Ning had guessed that the emergence of this ancient Fiendgod would cause quite a stir. Still, for now, these were problems for Immortals to deal with; they were far from being something he could intervene in.

“Senior apprentice-brother, this time, that was far too close. We nearly died there.” Northson let out a sigh, staring towards the clouds nearby, then down towards the vast wilderness. “It’s so good to be alive.”

“It’s so good to be alive.” Ning nodded as well.

If he had truly died like this, then that would be far too unfair. There were many things he had yet to do!

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Chapter 34 – Entering the Raindragon Guard

Chapter 34 – Entering the Raindragon Guard

The dragon-headed warship was flying through the clouds. Ji Ning and Mu Northson, faces full of joy, were going through and binding the assorted magic treasures.

“Senior apprentice-brother, this Dragonwhale’s wealth was far greater than the wealth of those four Wanxiang Adepts we killed,” Northson said, incomparably excited. “Previously, we killed more than ten Wanxiang Diremonsters, but all their wealth combined…can’t match up to this single Dragonwhale.”

“Of course. The Dragonwhale King had roamed the world for ten millennia, and had even escaped from Primal Daoists on numerous occasions, then had advanced to the Primal stage itself,” Ning said. “And it just broke through to the Primal level. If it had spent a thousand years training at the Primal level, its wealth would be even more astonishing. However, a Primal Diremonster who had been training at the Primal level for a thousand years…I probably wouldn’t be able to block it at all.”

Northson immediately shook his head. “Even a Primal who had trained for a thousand years would perish upon encountering that ancient Fiendgod! And you were quite fast with your hands, senior apprentice-brother; as soon as the Fiendgod left, you immediately collected this massive corpse of the Dragonwhale. The Loose Immortal who came afterwards didn’t notice anything; if he had, he probably would’ve taken it with him.”

Ning laughed as well. He, too, felt that he had been quite clever. Still…this Dragonwhale King truly did possess an astonishing amount of wealth. There had been eight magic treasures stored in its Zifu region, and upon the Dragonwhale’s death, they had fallen to the ground alongside its corpse. Two were Earth-ranked storage treasures, four were Earth-ranked magic treasures, while two were Heaven-ranked magic treasures. Those two Heaven-ranked magic treasures alone were worth thousands of kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! Ning and Northson were currently binding the storage-type treasures.

“So many magic treasures.”

“What treasure is this?”

“And here are other storage-type treasures. These should have belonged to Adept Dong One and Adept Redleaf. Keep searching!”

“Here’s a bottle of liquefied elemental essence. Wow, three hundred kilograms.”

“I imagine this one must be quite excellent. It should be the protective magic treasure of Adept Dong One. He previously relied on it to escape from my attacks; I didn’t expect that he would end up dying in the hands of this Dragonwhale, and his treasure would fall into my hands…”

Ning and Northson sorted through one magic treasure after another, appraising their value. The nearby Qingqing, in turn, picked up a few in curiosity. She was a Diremonster, after all…and one who hadn’t been training for too long. She naturally wasn’t able to assess the value of many unique, peculiar magic treasures. Thus, all she could do was stand next to them and celebrate with them.

“We’ve finished searching them.” Ning let out a long sigh of relief. “That was awesome.” Northson’s eyes were glowing with delight, and he chortled, “Senior apprentice-brother, I really am beginning to admire you more and more. This Dragonwhale corpse you picked up…I admire you so much, I could prostrate myself before you.”

Ning laughed as well. “Anything you need?” Northson took a careful glance, then shook his head and said, “None of them are on the Dao of Constructs. There really isn’t anything I need in particular.” Ning shook his head as well. “Nothing for I need either.”

Dong One’s protective treasure wasn’t bad, but its power was only ordinary; in the face of a Primal Daoist, it wouldn’t be able to hold for too long. Ning, by relying on his own power, was already able to flee for his life in the face of a Primal Daoist’s attacks; naturally, he wouldn’t care too much about it. His protective sword-ki treasure was something which could block the attacks of even a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal for a full breath’s worth of time.

“Let’s split the liquefied elemental essence in half,” Ning said. “As for the magic treasures, let us send them to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and sell them, then we’ll split the revenue.”

“But you collected them, senior apprentice-brother.” Northson stared at him, but Ning just laughed and ‘barked’ at him, “Stop kidding around, all I did was grab it.”

“What about me, what about me?” The nearby Qingqing said. Ning gave her a sideways glance. “You miser! For you, finding treasures is as easy as eating food or drinking water. Stop fighting with impoverished cultivators like us over treasure.” Qingqing’s hill-sized chunk of ancient glacial ice alone was worth more than five thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

Qingqing instantly pouted. “Stingy!”

……..

Time flowed on. In the days after this, Ning’s group returned to the dire-ice room to continue their training. That place was quite secretive and hidden. After the three months came to an end, Ning’s group began their return journey to the Raindragon Guard encampment.

“Here we are.” The dragon-headed warship soared there through the clouds. Ning stood atop the ship, staring towards the distant earth. Soon, he saw, off in the distance, a mountain peak. It was the Raindragon Guard’s encampment.

“Hahaha, we’re back. We are about to become Raindragon Guards!” Northson whooped in delight as the warship hastened downwards.

This time, no one came to block Ning’s group. They flew directly towards the peak of the mountain encampment, the place next to the teleportation array. Ning instantly saw those two plainly dressed elders who stood next to the teleportation array; it was the same two Ning had seen last time, that skinny old man and the fat old man.

“Two more made it back alive,” the fat elder laughed, and then his gaze fell upon the little snake wrapped around Ning’s wrists. “A monster?”

“This is a spirit-beast which I tamed in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains,” Ning said.

“You are quite formidable, young fellow. The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains are incomparably dangerous…it’s one thing for you to come back alive, but you actually brought a spirit-beast back as well?” The fat elder shook his head and sighed. “The two of you can go rest over there and wait a while. There are still thirty or so who haven’t arrived yet.”

Ning glanced towards the distance in surprise. A total of just sixteen Immortal cultivators were there, either seated or standing and chatting with each other. Including Ning’s group, there were only eighteen present.

“Senior, how do you know that there are thirty who have yet to arrive?” Ning asked curiously. Northson was puzzled as well. “Right. A hundred of us headed out; how do you know how many have died?”

Both the fat elder and the skinny elder laughed. “Have you forgotten the talisman which each of you bound upon entering the Crimson Dragon Mountains?” The fat elder asked.

Ning and Northson instantly remembered; only after binding the talismans had they been permitted to enter the Crimson Dragon Mountains, as otherwise, they wouldn’t have been allowed in.

“When one of you dies, the talisman becomes an ownerless object. Thus, we Raindragon Guards would immediately become aware of it,” the fat elder said. “Right now, fifty two of the talismans are in good shape, while the others are ownerless.”

Ning and Northson now both understood. So that tiny little talisman they had received…actually had this secret hidden with it. The Raindragon Guard’s methods really were unpredictable.

“Senior,” Northson asked, “A while ago, my senior apprentice-brother and I came back to send some ordinary mortals here. Those ordinary mortals who had been corralled and raised as livestock by the monsters…how are they doing?”

“Yes, are they doing alright?” Ning asked.

The fat elder said, somewhat surprised, “Oh, it was you two who sent them over? Don’t worry; of course they are doing alright. We Raindragon Guards will naturally take care of those pitiable tribesmen; however, they were teleported away long ago and left the Gaol Mountains long ago. We Raindragon Guards will take good care of them.”

Ning nodded slightly. That was good. Only, he didn’t know…what that little kid called ‘Ironboy’ would end up like.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately moved with Northson to one side. With but a flick of their fingers, they each pointed towards a boulder that had been chopped flat. Crackle…frost appeared, instantly covering the stones with a layer of ice. These boulders were used for the Raindragon Guards who had come here to rest on, but with so much wind and dust swirling about, they had naturally been quite dirty. After Ning and Northson revealed this ability, quite a few nearby cultivators looked towards them.

Dire-ice?

Soon, cultivators came over to chat with the two of them. Ning and Northson chatted with them, making quite a few friends amongst them.

……..

One surviving cultivator after another hurried back from locations throughout the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. Eastriver Cloudsoar, who both Ning and Northson recognized, returned as well. However, Cloudsoar returned with only one arm, and the baleful aura around him was much stronger than it had been in the past. This caused quite a bit of silent discussion amongst the various cultivators.

“What happened?” Northson sent mentally, “In the past, Eastriver Cloudsoar was quite the talker; why is it that he’s grown so much colder? And he’s lost an arm…but it’s just an arm. All he needs to do is eat a spirit-pill that allows the regeneration of limbs. In addition, Wanxiang Adepts can also slowly regrow their arms by using their elemental ki. Why hasn’t he done so at all?”

Ning shook his head. He, too, had noticed…that after this tempering experience, Cloudsoar seemed to have changed dramatically.

In the blink of an eye, half a day passed. More cultivators returned. “Look, Meng Liuqing!” Northson sent mentally to Ning, “She’s the only survivor of those six Immortal cultivators who tried to gang up on us.”

“Meng Liuqing?” Ning saw this female cultivator of the Meng clan arrive as well. She descended from the skies. Upon seeing Ning and Northson, her face changed slightly. She immediately turned and was about to walk to one side, when…

“Meng Liuqing!”

A fierce voice rang out.

Meng Liuqing turned her head, only to see a one-armed, white-robed youth, filled with a baleful aura that reached the heavens, and whose eyes were filled with an icy light. “I, Eastriver Cloudsoar, will definitely avenge my slain younger sister. Meng Liuqing…prepare for your death! And the other five…I won’t spare any of you!” As the disciple of the Eastriver clan, he dared to say these words openly and directly!

“The other five?” Meng Liuqing shook her head. “I don’t know about Dong One, but the other four…Northriver Zhou, Xu Manquan, Nongsan, and Jihe…are already dead.”

Cloudsoar was stunned. “Dead?”

All the surrounding cultivators looked towards them as well. Dead? Four Wanxiang Adepts had died? These cultivators all grew curious…what exactly had happened?

“They died in the hands of the two disciples of the Black-White College.” Meng Liuqing glanced sideways towards Ning and Northson. Enmity had been created between her and the two of them; naturally, she didn’t mind giving the two of them a bit of extra trouble. Earlier, she had intentionally reported the names of those four, so that the friends and family members of the four would know who had done the deed.

“You b*tch!” Northson instantly rose to his feet and roared with fury, “Previously, the six of you tried to ambush and sneak attack the two of us. Four of you died, and now, you are still trying to plot against us? Listen up, you b*tch! In the future, you’d best never run into me. If I do, I’ll take your life!”

“Right.” Ning stared coldly towards her as well. Unfortunately, this was the encampment of the Raindragon Guards; no one dared to fight here. As for Meng Liuqing, she just gave Ning and Northson a cold glance; since there was already enmity between them, why fear this additional threat?

“Fellow Daoists Ji Ning and Mu Northson.” Eastriver Cloudsoar turned to look towards Ning and Northson, then bowed deeply. “Those six didn’t go kill Diremonsters; instead, they came to ambush and kill us, fellow cultivators. They deserved to die in your hands, fellow Daoists. In the future, if either of you need anything, fellow Daoists, just let me know; I, Eastriver Cloudsoar, will definitely comply, even if I have to go through water or climb past fire.”

“You are too courteous. We, too, were ambushed and attacked, so we simply dealt with them.” Ning and Northson hurriedly went over to raise Cloudsoar from his bow.

………

Soon, all of the remaining, surviving cultivators had returned. Adept Redleaf returned as well! Only, Adept Redleaf had no idea that it had been Ji Ning and Mu Northson within that formation! Still, he had heard the Dragonwhale King say something about ‘blame Ji Ning’, and so he naturally gave Ning a deep look.

“You fifty two survived. If you have brought back the corpse or the head of a Wanxiang Diremonster, then you will naturally become Raindragon Guards,” the skinny elder said. “Go. Go into the teleportation array and return to the Crimson Dragon Mountains.”

The fifty two cultivators all entered the teleportation array. Soon, the array lit up, and Ning’s group of fifty two were once more teleported back to the Crimson Dragon Mountains, more than two million kilometers away.

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Chapter 1 – New Raindragon Guards

Chapter 1 – New Raindragon Guards

The winding Crimson Dragon Mountains stretched off into the endless horizons. Even Immortal cultivators couldn’t see to the end of them.

Atop one of its peaks, an enormous teleportation array began to glow with light. Whoooosh! Ji Ning and the rest of the fifty two suddenly appeared within the formation.

“That was fast.” Ning glanced at his surroundings. Although he had already used the array once, the speed at which it transported a person still caused him to sigh in amazement.

“Wait here. Soon, the Raindragon Guards will send people to welcome you,” said a red-faced old man in a high voice. He was one of the ten plainly dressed elders who were located around the array and guarded it.

Ning’s group thus obediently walked out of the array, waiting next to it quietly. Very soon, a large, wide ship swooped down from the distant clouds, causing waves of air to emanate from around it as it landed atop the peak.

An incomparably ravishing pink-dressed maiden flew down from this large ship. Behind her was a group of similarly alluring women. For a moment, it was as though a host of fairies had descended into the mortal world. And then, the spirit-beasts flew down as well, each of which immediately moved towards the cultivators.

“Uncle White!” Ning instantly recognized the Whitewater Hound, who was also amidst the group of spirit-beasts. The Whitewater Hound had a look of surprise and delight his eyes. Over the past three months, he had grown increasingly concerned. When the master of a spirit-beast died, the spirit-beast would regain its freedom, and they would sense when that occurred. Over the past period of time, spirit-beasts would often depart and fly away, and as one after another left, the spirit-beasts who remained began to understand that quite a few cultivators had died!

“Ning, son.” Uncle White looked towards Ning. Suddenly, he saw the head of the little azure snake, wrapped around Ning’s wrist. He couldn’t help but say in surprise, “Ning, son, this snake is…?”

“This is an Azure Skysnake,” Ning sent mentally to him. “She’s that Azure Skysnake who I battled in the past, when I adventured through Eastmount Marsh. This time, we were lucky enough to meet yet again in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, and it can be said that we experienced a life-and-death event together. Perhaps because I saved her, she voluntarily offered to become my spirit-beast. And so…that’s how it happened.”

The Whitewater Hound nodded gently. He looked towards the Azure Skysnake with friendliness in his eyes while mentally saying to Ning, “Azure Skysnakes will often discover some treasure sites, and they have astonishing potential for growth. They are indeed quite suited for you, Ning.”

“So you are ‘Uncle White’?” Qingqing sent to him. The Whitewater Hound looked at her, amusement in his eyes. “You were good brothers with Ji Ning’s father, right? I heard that you are from Swallow Mountain as well. So am I. It can be said that we share the same hometown. Myself, Master, and you, Uncle White…we can be described as the Three Heroes of Swallow Mountain!”

…….

While Ning and the other cultivators were chatting with their spirit-beasts, the group of beautiful, alluring women stared with curiosity towards them. Their leader, the pink-robed woman, waited for a short while, then finally said, “Everyone…” The fifty two all looked towards her.

“First, let me congratulate you all for having survived. You may address me as ‘Daoist Yulan’.” Her flesh beneath the pink robe seemed both visible and hidden, and her voice was even more irresistibly charismatic. Ning’s retainer, Cloudjade, could be described as possessing innate beauty and seductiveness, but the charisma of this woman clearly came from some technique or some secret art which she had trained in. But her allure was even more powerful! In addition, she was a Primal Daoist; this made it so that even Wanxiang Adepts were susceptible to their Dao-hearts being affected by her charm.

“Each of you, please produce your corpses of Wanxiang Diremonsters for my inspection. I’ll review them, one by one.” Daoist Yulan looked at each of them, her eyes filled with a seductive, alluring look. “For those who have not acquired Wanxiang Diremonster corpses, you should stand forward now, so as to help save me some time.”

Immediately, seven figures walked out. As for Ning and the rest, they produced Wanxiang Diremonster corpses for inspection.

Diremonster bodies were innately different from human bodies. Humans bodies were, by nature, weak; unless they trained as Fiendgods, their bodies would be incredibly fragile. Diremonsters, however, were different; many of them possessed certain innate abilities that granted them mighty physical strength. Although they were far from being a match for Fiendgods, they could be considered as standing somewhere between humans and Fiendgods. Many monstrous races would even transform some of the deadlier parts of their bodies into intrinsic magic treasures; from this, one could see how extraordinary their bodies were. This was why it was quite easy to tell, from a corpse, if a monster had been of the Wanxiang level or not.

“Mm.” Daoist Yulan spread out her divine sense, instantly sending it into the heads of each Diremonster corpse. After but a single breath, Daoist Yulan nodded gently. “Very good. They’ve all reached the Wanxiang Diremonster level.”

“The seven of you, stay over here. Later, someone will come to arrange for you to leave.” Daoist Yulan looked at the seven rather haggard-looking figures, then turned her gaze to Ning’s group. “As for the forty five of you, take your spirit-beasts and bring them aboard my ship.”

Moments later, the incomparably alluring Daoist Yulan led Ning’s group aboard her ship.

……

“This Daoist Yulan…jeeze…” Ning’s forehead had a faint sheen of sweat, and he even felt a faint fire begin to stir in his loins. In the past, Ning hadn’t been moved by even bewitching figures like Cloudjade or Ninelotus. However, the allure of this Daoist Yulan clearly stemmed from some technique or art which she had trained in. How could the mesmerizing technique of a Primal Daoist be so easily shrugged off?

The nearby Mu Northson’s face was completely flushed. In fact, some of the Wanxiang Adepts even had bloodshot eyes by now. However, their tempered Dao-hearts allowed them to maintain their calm, in the end.

As for Daoist Yulan? She swept them with a gaze, then let out a soft laugh. This gaze…this laugh…instantly, quite a few Wanxiang Adepts closed their eyes.

“Doombringer, what a doombringer,” Ning murmured silently to himself. “No wonder, in my previous life on Earth, there were so many historical records of cases where beautiful women brought doom and destruction to entire nations. These Wanxiang Adepts all have sturdy Dao-hearts, and yet they are all so drawn to her…if she were to go charm a mortal Emperor, she would easily be able to cause that Emperor to no longer care for his empire, and only care for her.”

……..

The ship continued to fly through the clouds. Daoist Yulan waved her hands, and one book after another began to fly towards Ning and the rest of the forty five.

“Congratulations to you forty five for having become new Raindragon Guards!” Daoist Yulan continued, “Now that you have become Raindragon Guards, you have gained some of the special privileges belonging to the Raindragon Guard. At the same time, you also have some duties and responsibilities to the Raindragon Guard. Take a close look.”

Ning and the others began to flip through the books. As he did, Ning secretly sighed in amazement. “The Raindragon Guard truly lives up to its reputation. This book’s description of the special powers they possess…the Raindragon Guard truly is incomparably overbearing and dominating! Its Immortal cultivators cloak themselves in imperial authority, and can all but act with impunity.”

The Northmont clan of Stillwater could only act as they pleased in Stillwater Commandery, but Raindragon Guards could do the same in virtually any commandery in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty!

“Responsibilities?” Ning gave them a quick glance. They were fairly simple.

One-clawed Raindragon Guards – Every ten years, they had to complete a mission worth a single karmic point (these were the most ordinary of missions).

Two-clawed Raindragon Guards – Every hundred years, they had to complete missions worth a total of a hundred karmic points (the value of a normal two-clawed mission).

Three-clawed Raindragon Guards – Every thousand years, they had to complete missions worth a total of ten thousand karmic points (the value of a normal three-clawed mission).

Four-clawed Raindragon Guards – Every ten thousand years, they had to complete missions worth a total of a million karmic points (the value of a normal four-clawed mission).

Five-clawed Raindragon Guards – These were the highest ranking members of the Raindragon Guard. They were able to mobilize the armies of the Raindragon Guard, and were comparable to a Marquis in power.

……….

The book described the basic requirements and responsibilities of Raindragon Guards!

For Wanxiang Adepts like Ji Ning, carrying out one mission every ten years was enough. For example, if you carried out a minor mission like killing Bei Zishan, upon completion, the Raindragon Guard would no longer bother you for a time.

Some Loose Immortals would spend thousands or tens of thousands of years between carrying out missions. By comparison, their lives were fairly relaxed.

“This isn’t so bad.” Northson sent to Ning, “Senior apprentice-brother, being a Raindragon Guard isn’t that hard. Based on what this says…we can just go ahead and carry out a ‘ten karma’ mission. After doing so, we can relax for a century.”

“We can relax, yes, but in doing so, we won’t be able to acquire any secret arts, divine abilities, or magic treasures,” Ning sent back.

“Uh…” Northson immediately flipped through a few more pages, then stared. “Whaaat? Divine abilities and secret arts require the exchange of karma points? And also have requirements in terms of rank?”

Many divine abilities could only be acquired by two-clawed or three-clawed Raindragon Guards. However, there was one exception; if one became a Keeper of the Raindragon Guards!

……

“Done reading?” Daoist Yulan swept her gaze towards this new class of Raindragon Guards. “It can be said that we Raindragon Guards have the most plentiful number of secret arts and divine abilities in this entire world. Even the Northmont clan of Stillwater cannot compare with us in this regard, because we are the most powerful force of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“However, these many divine abilities and precious treasures cannot be casually granted to you. After all…it wouldn’t be quite fair or equitable for all of you to simply have to do one mission, then relax for centuries and gain access to all these things.” Daoist Yulan continued, “Thus, you have two choices. The first is to just train slowly; after you become two-clawed or three-clawed Raindragon Guards, you’ll slowly gain chances to acquire divine abilities.”

Ning and everyone else nodded. Two-clawed Raindragon Guards were comparable to ordinary Primal Daoists in power; Bloodshadow was one such example. Three-clawed Raindragon Guards, however, were probably comparable to Loose Immortals. To wait that long to train…would probably be too late.

“The second choice is to become a member of the Keepers of the Raindragon Guard, the most incomparably loyal soldiers of the Grand Xia Dynasty! If you do so, the Raindragon Guard will naturally expend quite a bit of effort in training you!” Daoist Yulan swept them with her gaze. “Think well on this. Whether now, a year from now, ten years from now, or a century from now…we will always welcome you to join us as Keepers.”

Ning and the others understand quite well that ordinary Raindragon Guards were like deputies or retainers! They were quite free, and they had some special powers…but the Keepers of the Raindragon Guard essentially made up the devoted armies of the Grand Xia Dynasty!

Actually, early on in the history of the Raindragon Guard, every single Raindragon Guard was mandated to be governed in the same manner Keepers were now governed. However, Immortal cultivators, by their very nature, pursued carefree, unbound lives! The more talented an Immortal cultivator, the less they liked to be governed. Thus, if the rules were too strict, the only result would be for many of the most peerless, powerful, talented of cultivators to end up leaving the Raindragon Guard.

Thus, the Raindragon Guard, in order to be able to draw in many elites from around the world, finally set up a stand-alone ‘Keepers’ organization.

As a result, many lone wanderers and solitary Loose Immortals who had been training in their own private mountains all decided to join the Raindragon Guard. The Raindragon Guard’s power and reputation instantly skyrocketed, and they became the undisputed number one military force of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty! There were many major powers who were secretly members of the Raindragon Guard, and most likely, there were very few people in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty who could enumerate them all.

No one knew about all of the old freaks and talented figures who lay hidden within the Raindragon Guard. And today…Ning had become a member of the Guard as well. Although, he was of course the most ordinary type; a one-clawed Raindragon Guard.

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Chapter 2 – Torch Dragon’s Eye

Chapter 2 – Torch Dragon’s Eye

Two hours later.

Ji Ning and the others, after having acquired a Raindragon Guard talisman, were guided by Daoist Yulan towards a beautiful palace, filled with sculptures and paintings. The palace was roughly three hundred meters high, and it took up nearly three thousand meters in length.

“This is our Dao Repository,” Daoist Yulan said with a smile. “It holds countless techniques, secret arts, and various skills. You can take a good look; your spirit-beasts, however, cannot.”

“Uncle White, Little Qing, wait for me outside.” Ning and Northson immediately followed the others, entering this palace.

The Dao Repository of the Raindragon Guard was simply too vast. “It’s far larger than even the Dao Repository Palace of our Black-White College,” Northson said with a sigh. “Yeah.” Ning stared about himself as well as he walked forward.

“There are 360 different types of Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques? This, this is…” A shocked shout rang out from afar. Upon hearing these words, the faces of Ning and Northson changed as well. 360? Even the Black-White College only had 28!

“There actually are Ki Refining techniques that allows one to reach the ‘Pure Yang’ level? A level which is above even Immortal-level Ki Refining techniques?” Another shocked cry from afar. Upon hearing this, Ning and Northson immediately ran over.

There was an incomparably, exquisitely carved crystalline table here, and atop it were two books. The covers of the books had starry points of light drifting atop them, and next to the books was a silver-haired youth. The silver-haired youth had one of these starry books in his hands. While reading through the book, he called out in shock, “It actually requires anywhere from a thousand to fifteen hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to break through to the Wanxiang level?”

“Is it that incredible?”

“Immortal-level Ki Refining techniques generally only require four hundred to eight hundred kilograms.” Quite a few people ran over, and some of them moved quite quickly. Although Ning and Northson both saw those two books on the table, they were instantly snatched up by the other new Raindragon Guards.

While reading through it, the other new guards shook their heads and sighed in shock. “If one trains in this Pure Yang-level technique, then one’s chances of reaching the Void stage and becoming an Earth Immortal is several times higher than if one uses an Immortal-level technique. The sturdier one’s foundation is, the better!”

Many of the people present had never even heard of Pure Yang techniques. They only knew of four levels of techniques; Mortal-ranked, Earth-ranked, Heaven-ranked, and Immortal-ranked; they hadn’t imagined that there was an even more powerful, Pure Yang-rank. It must be understood that not even the Black-White College, which had produced a Celestial Immortal, had such a technique.

“You don’t understand.” The smug voice of a fairly attractive green-robed woman rang out. “Ki Refining techniques can be divided into Mortal-ranked, Earth-ranked, Heaven-ranked, Immortal-ranked, and Pure Yang-ranked techniques! However, generally speaking, even the most supreme and most firmly established of organizations, such as the Northmont clan of Stillwater and the other Marquisates, will only have access to Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques. Only the likes of the Raindragon Guard, the most powerful organization of the entire, vast empire of the Grand Xia Dynasty, has a Pure Yang-ranked technique!”

“Not even the Stillwater clan of Northmont has one?” Ning mused silently to himself, “Perhaps they do, but don’t dare make it public.” After all, the many Marquisates of this vast world might possess certain special powers and techniques, but they would all have to hide them, for fear that the Grand Xia Dynasty would suspect them of desiring to rebel!

“What?!”

“Only Keepers of the Raindragon Guard can train in this? And even Keepers have to have a thousand karmic points before acquiring it?”

“Ordinary Raindragon Guards like us will never have the chance to learn it? I wanted to switch to training in a Pure Yang-level technique!”

Soon, these people flipped to the final pages regarding the Pure Yang-level techniques. Instantly, they all began to curse and moan.

Ning had a thought. Swoosh! He moved directly towards the table containing the 360 Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques, immediately beginning to flip through them. The other new Raindragon Guards also seemed to have thought of something, and they, too, came to flip through the books.

“Keepers of the Raindragon Guard need a hundred karmic points to learn this. One-clawed Raindragon Guards need ten thousand karmic points to learn this. Two-clawed Raindragon Guards need a hundred thousand karmic points to learn this…” Ning flipped through the requirements, then shook his head.

In the end, Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques were still quite precious. For ordinary Raindragon Guards to acquire ten thousand karmic points required them to risk their lives repeatedly. They would probably have to battle for dozens of years before accumulating enough.

“Cruel.”

“That’s just cruel.”

Quite a few cultivators shook their heads. Ning shook his head as well. Originally, he had wanted to switch to training in a water-attribute Pure Yang-ranked technique, but unfortunately, all of those techniques were reserved for the Keepers!

It was quite common for one to change in techniques. For example, while he was at the Swallow Mountain region, Ning had trained in the quite average [Water Element Art], while after arriving at the Black-White College, he had established his foundations with the [Flowing Watersource]. If he then switched to training in an even-better Pure Yang technique…although it wouldn’t be as good as if he had trained in it from the very beginning, it would still be superb.

Unfortunately…how could the Raindragon Guard so easily allow this technique to be learned by others?

……

Soon, they arrived at the second floor of the palace.

“It’s so hard to learn divine abilities as well.”

“There are 89 divine abilities, but more than half are reserved strictly for Keepers!”

“The requirements for the Heavenly Transformation technique are the lowest…one-clawed Raindragon Guards only need ten karmic points!”

Ning and the others flipped through one divine ability manual after another.

[Heavenly Transformation], [Rainbowflame Evasion], [Moving Mountains, Overturning Seas]…these techniques all caused Ning’s eyes to go red wth lust. Each of them had different requirements. [Heavenly Transformation] was naturally the easiest to learn, while the hardest was a divine ability known as the [Torch Dragon’s Eye]; it required one to be a Keeper, and also have accumulated ten million karmic points!

“Ten million?” Ning was secretly speechless. He had heard of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] long ago; this was a divine ability that only appeared in the legends, and was a divine ability on par with the likes of [Houyi Shooting the Suns]. He hadn’t expect to encounter it here, today. Clearly, the roots of the Grand Xia Dynasty were incomparably deep, for it to be able to produce such a legendary divine ability.

“The [Torch Dragon’s Eye]…it’s just here to draw people’s attention.” Ning shook his head. “It requires one to be a Keeper; clearly, one has to be completely loyal to the Grand Xia Dynasty. And it requires ten million karmic points…this would be incomparably difficult for even an Earth Immortal. Clearly, only truly powerful Fiendgod Body Refiners could possibly fulfill these requirements! But would a major power amongst the Fiendgod Body Refiners sell his life into the service of the Grand Xia Dynasty, for the sake of a single divine ability?”

But of course, Ning also understood that this divine ability was definitely incomparably powerful. “Still, compared to my [Starseizing Hand], it’s probably still a bit weaker,” he mused to himself.

The [Starseizing Hand]…this was ranked amongst the top ten of the countless divine abilities that had been developed since Pangu had established the heavens. It wasn’t too realistic for the Grand Xia Dynasty to acquire one of the top ten divine abilities.

……

360 types of Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques. Three Pure Yang-ranked. 89 divine abilities. 61 divine will techniques. 102 forbidden techniques.

……

There were also a number of other unique treasures as well as countless precious materials. Although they were only recorded in books, the requirements for acquiring them were all noted clearly…and since they were all mentioned, given the Raindragon Guard’s resources, they would surely be able to produce them.

“Even Immortal-ranked magic treasures are available for trade. Immortal-ranked! I hear that even many Immortals lack treasures of that rank. Unfortunately, again, this requires one to be a Keeper, and one who has accumulated tremendous sums of karmic points.”

…….

He continued to read about what was available. Even Ji Ning and Mu Northson, disciples of the Black-White College, the third most powerful organization in Stillwater Commandery, felt moved and desirous. One could imagine how ordinary new Raindragon Guards felt! All of them had itchy feelings in their hearts.

In terms of the Dao Repository…the Raindragon Guard truly was number one in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty!

“Everyone, what have you decided upon?” As Ning and the others walked out, Daoist Yulan, seeing the unhappy looks on their faces, said to them, “If you join the Keepers, then you will instantly soar to the heavens.”

Ning and the rest were all quiet.

“I’m not in a rush.”

“You can request to be admitted to join the Keepers at any time.” Adept Yulan shook her head and said, “However, the later you join the Keepers of the Raindragon Guard, the more training time you waste. Perhaps, because of the time you wasted, you won’t be able to ascend to the highest levels of your Immortal path.”

Suddenly, a short, pudgy man strode out from the group. A fierce look I his eyes, he said in a low voice, “I will join the Keepers.”

Daoist Yulan instantly laughed, her smile as beautiful as a flower’s. “Excellent. You are the first of this batch!”

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Chapter 3 – Seclusion Within the Black-White College

Chapter 3 – Seclusion Within the Black-White College

To choose to roam the world, carefree? Or to give that up in exchange for the chance to acquire truly top-tier techniques and arts? Which was the better choice? Since ancient days, there had never been a clear answer. As for Ji Ning, since he had access to the divine abilities, secret arts, and techniques of the Black-White College, he naturally wasn’t too moved.

“The Grand Xia Dynasty has really used all means available to lure the Raindragon Guards to become Keepers.” Ning sighed to himself. “Most importantly of all, the Dynasty never forces anyone; it’s up to everyone’s own decision! If you join the Keepers, you have no one to blame but yourself. What a superb move!”

“Everyone.” Daoist Yulan’s voice rang out once more. “After having become Raindragon Guards, your tribes will be blessed as well. Within the territory of your tribes and clans, you can carve out a territory of ten thousand square kilometers. So long as you are alive, this territory will be protected by the Raindragon Guard! There will definitely be no one who will dare to invade it! This includes the Marquis of Stillwater!”

Ning chuckled. Years ago, when he was young and encountered Adept Mu Xiao, the Adept had said the same thing to him.

“Even if you do die, this land will still be protected for a thousand years.” Daoist Yulan suddenly laughed, as beautifully as a blooming flower. “But if you become Keepers, even if you die, your territory will still be protected for ten thousand years!”

“Ten thousand years?” Ning was surprised. “Ten thousand years is enough time for the clan to produce some truly powerful figures, if it focuses on doing so. Ten thousand years of peace?” This hadn’t been recorded in any of the books. Aside from a few people who already knew about this, most of the new Raindragon Guards were still incomparably stunned.

“If you wish to join the Keepers, you may do so at any time.” Daoist Yulan turned and walked away. While doing so, she said, “Let’s go. Let’s go mark out the territory of your clans.” They walked to an ancient hall, where each of the new Raindragon Guards marked out their territories.

“Ji clan. City of Ten Thousand Swords.” Pen in hand, Ning lightly circled around an area on the map, encompassing an area of ten thousand square kilometers around the City of Ten Thousand Swords, with all of the four prefecture cities just barely included within as well.

The old man in front of the table nodded. Accepting the leather map from Ning, he rolled it back up, then gave Ning a talisman. He said, “Take this and have someone who is at least at the Zifu level bind it, then hang it at the gates of the City of Ten Thousand Swords.” Ning accepted it, then immediately left.

One person after another entered, mapping out their chosen territory. Some lone practitioners belonged to no clans, and so for now, they chose not to draw.

“If you wish to join the Keepers, you can do so at any time.” A lotus flower leaf appeared beneath her feet, then lifted her up into the air. Her voice resonated through the skies as she said, “Now, you can each go do whatever you please. However, remember one thing; you are now one-clawed Raindragon Guards. Every ten years, you must complete a mission for at least one karmic point. This is your responsibility as Raindragon Guards. If you aren’t able to complete this…you’ll be apprehended and forced to carry out a mission. If you aren’t able to carry it out, then you’ll be expelled.”

Her voice echoed in the air. As for Daoist Yulan herself, standing atop that lotus leaf, she gracefully soared into the clouds, disappearing into the mountains.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what should we do now?” Northson asked. Ning replied, “What can we do?” He shook his head. “Although this division of the Raindragon Guard has a plentiful Dao Repository, one has to use karmic points to trade for them. We don’t have any karmic points at all…we need to hurry up and go accept some missions. After doing so, the Raindragon Guard won’t bother us. Let’s go accept the mission, then go back to Stillwater City and sell off the items we acquired in the wild marshes.”

Northson laughed. “Alright.”

“Let’s go.” The little azure serpent was wrapped around Ning’s wrist, and the large white dog was behind his back. By his side was his junior apprentice-brother, Northson. The two of them went off to accept missions, and then…

“Back to Stillwater City!”

Ning, Northson, the Whitewater Hound, and Qingqing were seated atop the dragon-headed warship. They quickly soared into the skies and into the clouds. “Senior apprentice-brother, this mission isn’t so hard,” Northson said. “Honestly, we should’ve taken on twenty or thirty karmic point missions. When the two of us join forces…it really will be hard to find a Wanxiang Adept who is a match for us!”

“Be a bit humbler,” Ning said with a smirk. “If we encounter the likes of senior apprentice-brothers Bloodshadow, Holyfire, or Sloppy…will we be able to overcome them?”

“They, uh, they…” Northson mouth opened and closed a few times. Honestly; they really wouldn’t be able to. These were figures who had comprehended a complete Dao Path and who were definitely comparable to Primal Daoists.

Ning said, “Don’t think that just because we killed a few Wanxiang Adepts and Wanxiang Diremonsters that we are invincible. In addition, we’ve already taken on two ‘ten karmic point’ missions. As long as we can accomplish them, for the next century, we’ll be completely free.”

“True. A hundred years of freedom is good enough.” Northson nodded, then gritted his teeth. “Before going to the military missions headquarters, I really had no idea that this region had so many vile figures present. There really are all sorts of vile men here.”

“Right.” A hint of a killing intent appeared in Ning’s eyes as well. The military missions headquarters had many missions, the vast majority of which entailed killing some individuals who had committed extremely grave sins. These sins had reached the point of causing the Dao of the Heavens to cause sins to swirl about these sinners. By killing them, the entire Grand Xia Dynasty’s fortunes would improve. Naturally, the Dynasty would set up long-lasting mechanisms for ensuring this happened.

“These two…one massacred countless mortals in order to train his ‘Demonic Bloodhell Eye’. The other was actually able to cultivate a ‘Ghostfetus King’…I really don’t know how many infants he killed.” Northson shook his head. “In addition, these are just missions of ten karmic points. Those missions for tens or hundreds of thousands of karmic points…they require that one go kill some truly evil, terrifying, demonic figures which cause headaches to even the Grand Xia Dynasty itself. Despite being surrounded by countless sins, they are still capable of withstanding the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.”

When one embarked on the proper path, one had to be able to comprehend the Dao, had to refine one’s Dao-heart, and move one step at a time. On the deviant paths, however, things moved much faster. Although they caused sins to swirl around a person, making the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations to grow even more powerful…these deviant, evil paths could also allow for one’s power to skyrocket, which would actually make resisting the calamities and tribulations much easier.

However, in the end, although the evil paths could allow you to grow temporarily more powerful, they were never long-lasting! When the time came for the Celestial Tribulation, those who walked the righteous, orthodox path had a chance to become Celestial Immortals; even if they failed, they would become Loose Immortals. However, it was virtually impossible for those on the vile, deviant paths to become Celestial Immortals, and extremely few of them would even be able to become Loose Immortals. This was because the Celestial Tribulation for practitioners of the vile arts was simply too terrifying!

“We reached Stillwater City.” Northson glanced downwards.

“Little Qing.” Ning glanced at the little azure snake on his wrist. “Your ancient glacial ice…give me half of it.”

Whoosh.

The little azure snake instantly transformed into mist, then reformed into an azure-robed maiden. Her eyes were completely round, and she said furiously, “That’s mine, Master! I worked extremely hard to acquire it! You…you…you damn bandit, I completely misjudged you! That pure, innocent youth of the past has actually become so vicious. You truly have no…”

“Shut your mouth,” Ning hurriedly barked. He took a deep breath, then said, “You damn miser, you can’t possibly use up such an enormous piece of ancient glacial ice. I’m going to help you sell it at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain in exchange for liquefied elemental essence, so as to help you increase in power. Understood?”

Qingqing blinked, then mumbled, “You better not skim any of it.”

“…come with me and watch as I trade it for liquefied elemental essence. Is that acceptable?” Ning was truly speechless. Little Qing was simply too miserly.

“Fine. Here you go.” Qingqing stretched her hand out. Whoosh. A chunk of ancient glacial ice the size of a small mountain instantly appeared in front of her hand.

The nearby Northson’s mouth immediately hung open. He howled, “You little green snake, you had so much ancient glacial ice, but you only gave me such a tiny piece?! And to think I was so grateful towards you!!!”

Qingqing didn’t even give the bellowing Northson a single glance. With a wave of her hand, she sent her elemental ki out, slicing through the iceberg of ancient glacial ice, dividing it in two. She then stored half of it, giving the other half to Ning.

“Let’s go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

The dragon-headed warship charged downwards, towards that enormous, ancient city of Stillwater.

After returning to Stillwater City, Ning and Northson felt an instant sense of familiarity and nostalgia; they had lived here for more than three years, after all. After being inside the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for an hour, Ning’s group re-emerged.

“Yours.” Ning handed a jade bottle to the nearby Qingqing. Qingqing accepted the bottle, carefully inspecting its contents. There was exactly 2650 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence within; this was the exact amount which Ning had acquired when selling off the ancient glacial ice. Only now did she nod, satisfied.

Ning shook his head and laughed. Then he turned to Uncle White. “Uncle White, this is for you.” When Ning looked at the human-formed white-robed, white-haired Uncle White, who looked so similar to Ning’s own father, he felt all the more warm and loving towards him.

The Whitewater Hound walked over. After doing an inspection, he was shocked; there was 4000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence within this bottle. He shook his head and sent mentally, “Ning, son, this amount of liquefied elemental essence would raise your power dramatically. There’s no need to waste it on me.”

“I have another 3000 kilograms here,” Ning sent back to him. “To me, an extra four thousand kilograms won’t have much of an impact. I’ll probably need tens of thousands of kilograms to reach the Primal Daoist stage. In addition, according to the traditions of the Black-White College, I must completely comprehend an entire Dao Path before I am permitted to enter the Primal Daoist stage. I’m still quite far away from being able to comprehend an entire Dao Path.”

“This isn’t of great use to me, but to you, Uncle White, it will be very helpful. Right now, Little Qing is a Wanxiang Diremonster. When you increase your power, Uncle White, you’ll be able to better assist me,” Ning sent mentally. The Whitewater Hound hesitated, but in the end, he nodded.

During this trip to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, Ning sold off almost all of the treasures he had acquired in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, including Dong One’s protective treasure, as well as the treasures of the Dragonwhale King. He even sold off the Dragonwhale King’s intrinsic magic treasures for a high price; the intrinsic magic treasures of a Primal Dragonwhale Diremonster, those two dragon-whiskers, were far more valuable than ordinary Heaven-ranked magic treasures.

Ning and Northson had each acquired five thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Northson purchased quite a few construct ingredients, while Ning only had a bottle of ‘firelotus pith’, which was necessary for nourishing his goldflame earthfire.

“Let’s go back to the Black-White College. Training back in the College will be very safe; we won’t have to worry about being disturbed,” Ning said.

“Right. What we need to do is go into secluded meditation and get it all done at one go. I should be able to train directly to the peak of the Wanxiang level,” Northson said excitedly. “Senior apprentice-brother, you should be able to reach the peak of the Wanxiang level as well, right?” He had no idea that Ning had given four thousand kilograms to his Uncle White; he thought that Ning still had five thousand kilograms.

Ning laughed, then said, “Let’s go. Let’s go back and do some training.”

Immediately, the two men and the two spirit-beasts began to walk towards the Black-White College.

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Chapter 4 – Disappointed and Confused

Chapter 4 – Disappointed and Confused

The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position atop his jade bed. Suddenly, a hint of amusement appeared at the corner of his lips. “Seems as though this kid was successful in joining the Raindragon Guard. He came back quite quickly.”

At this moment, Ji Ning and Mu Northson had just re-entered the Black-White College, flying through the air.

“Senior apprentice-brother, I’ll go find you tomorrow,” Northson said. “Go back and focus on your training,” Ning said. “After you finish, we’ll go take on more missions.” The two of them had prepared well in advance; after absorbing enough liquefied elemental essence and rising in power sufficiently, they would immediately go and execute those vile, sin-laden cultivators.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning moved forward on a small boat, while Northson rode his dragon-headed warship. Each flew to their own little mountains.

In midair.

“Ah, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth returned? Last time, when I went to visit you, I discovered that you had gone out to go adventuring.”

On the way back to Darknorth Peak, Ning ran into six ordinary retainer-disciples and a single formal disciple.

“There’s Darknorth Peak.” Atop his flying ship, Ning stared downwards towards a mountain peak. It was already sundown, and beneath the glow of the setting sun, Darknorth Peak seemed so dreamlike and illusory. “Little Qing, you are my spirit-beast, but in the Black-White College, there are many forbidden areas which you cannot enter without permission. Today, just be good and quietly train in a secluded room. Don’t go anywhere else and don’t make trouble for me, understood?”

“Don’t worry, Master.” After entering the Black-White College, Qingqing was extraordinarily excited. Ning couldn’t help but laugh, and then he immediately sent his ship flying downwards.

One figure after another emerged from the Darknorth Peak’s estate; it was the six retainers Ning had left behind. Meng Roch, Cloudship, Cloudjade, Forgard, Weifang, and Nethersun.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” the six called out, welcoming him in unison.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you came back already? Were you successful in joining the Raindragon Guard?” Cloudjade looked at Ning, her eyes shining brightly. As a naturally beautiful, alluring maiden, she naturally attracted admirers like moths to the flame. She had many pursuers, and even amongst Ning’s retainers, aside from Meng Roch and her elder brother Cloudship, the other three were all trying to woo her. Naturally, there were other retainers on other mountains who were chasing after as well.

Unfortunately…

After having grown accustomed to the retainers, when she saw Ning, she instantly mused to herself, “Compared to senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, all of them are like clay pidgeons or earthen dogs! Hmph…even if the Dao-Companion of myself, Cloudjade, isn’t as good as senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, he should be at least half as good as him. These people aren’t even close to being comparable to him.”

“Right. I joined the Raindragon Guard,” Ning said with a smile. The six all said in unison, “Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother!”

Ning nodded, then pointed towards the azure-robed maiden by his side. “This is my spirit-beast, Qingqing. You should get to know each other.”

“Senior apprentice-sister Qingqing.” Everyone, Cloudjade included, spoke with great respect, because they could sense the powerful, monstrous aura emanating from her. She was definitely a Wanxiang-level Diremonster, while the six of them were all merely Zifu Disciples. In truth, Qingqing had released her aura intentionally, wanting to overawe them.

“Alright, all of you can leave now. Uncle White, arrange a private training room for Qingqing,” Ning said, then went by himself to his own training room.

“As soon as he comes back, he goes into training. No wonder he’s so talented.” Cloudjade looked at Ning, then nodded. “The Dao-Companion I find in the future must be as hard-working as senior apprentice-brother.”

Within the private training room. The ceilings glowed with light from the star-like jewels, which bathed the entire room in their glow. Ning sat there quietly in the lotus position, atop the carved jade bed in the center of the room.

“Let’s begin.” Ning waved his hand, and a jade bottle appeared. He placed it in front of himself, then opened the stopper. This jade flask had three thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence within, and as soon as he opened the stopper, a thick, nourishing elemental aura drifted out from with it. Just breathing in the air in this room made one feel extremely comfortable.

Ning’s soul was powerful, his talent was tremendous, and his foundation was very deep and stable. His training speed was also astonishingly fast. Normally, Wanxiang Adepts might spend centuries without building up enough elemental ki to break through to the Primal Daoist level, but for Ning, even if he just trained slowly, a few decades would be enough.

Desspite that, however…these three thousand kilograms would be the equivalent of Ning engaging in painstaking training for six to ten years.

“Absorb.” Ning opened his mouth, and the liquefied elemental essence entered his mouth.

Within his Zifu region. At the deepest depths of that sea of elemental ki, the Watersource began to rapidly release large amounts of incomparably pure elemental ki. The entire elemental sea began to swivel slightly, and the surface of the sea naturally began to rise. At the same time, countless grains of refined essence began to emerge within the sea of elemental ki.

Rumble…these countless grains of refined essence rose into the skies. In the skies of the Zifu Region, there were thousands of stars, a sun, and a moon. These incomparably mysterious and profound stellar bodies were beginning to slowly move as well, and as they did, the truly pure ‘Wanxiang-level elemental ki’ began to be generated.

Rumble…the countless grains of refined essence were instantly swept into the orbits of these stellar bodies as they soared into the skies. The countless stellar bodies slowly moved about, grinding the grains and breaking them apart, then absorbing the remains. Naturally, it was the sun and the moon which absorbed the most.

Not seeming tired at all, the stellar bodies moved nonstop, each one exerting their own attractive or repulsive forces. Suddenly, the gravitational forces locked, and they were now unable to move an inch! These locked in stellar bodies continued to absorb more and more grains of refined essence. Upon reaching a certain size, they would undergo a qualitative transformation.

Bang!

The Wanxiang-level elemental ki from these stars was now clearly much more pure than before!

“The middle-stage of the Wanxiang-level,” Ning mused to himself. “After using up nearly a thousand kilograms, I’ve reached the middle of the Wanxiang-level. Let’s continue!”

A long period of time later.

This time, Ning used up more than 1500 kilograms, and the countless stars within Ning’s Zifu region began to undergo yet another qualitative transformation.

“The late Wanxiang-level!” Ning opened his eyes, staring at the jade bottle before him. The jade bottle had less than five hundred kilograms left, but there was no way he could reach the peak with this amount. Based on his previous experiences, from the late Wanxiang-level to the peak Wanxiang-level would probably require 2000 to 2500 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!

“Actually, the hardest part is stil going to be going from the peak of the Wanxiang stage to the Primal Daoist stage. That step will take tens of thousands of kilograms,” Ning sighed.

Could it be that Ning would go and ambush and kill other Wanxiang Daoists?

As the saying goes, if one always walks by the side of the river, eventually, one’s shoes would get wet. Perhaps Ning would encounter a low-profile yet incredibly powerful Wanxiang Adept, or one with a tremendously powerful magic treasure. In that case, he truly would die! Thus, generally speaking, unless there were special circumstances, one wouldn’t go waylay and kill other Immortal cultivators. If one did so repeatedly, one might be successful for a time, but sooner or later, one would be finished.

“No rush. For now, in terms of both comprehension as well as in the Dao of the Sword, I’m not good enough yet. Breaking through to the Primal stage won’t be for some time to come.” Ning once more began to ponder on his swordplay and began to meditate.

Time flowed past, and soon, it was light outside. It was dawn, and Northson had come.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother,” Northson called out, appearing to be in uncommonly high spirits. ‘I went all the way to the peak of the Wanxiang stage, and still have quite a bit of liquefied elemental essence left.”

“Why so smug? I’m at the peak of the Wanxiang level as well!” Qingqing stared at him. Northson was shocked. “You? With just that little bit of liquefied elemental essence? Previously, you were like me, at the middle of the Wanxiang level; I used up far more liquefied elemental essence than you.”

Qingqing pursed her lips. “I spent three hundred kilograms to reach the late Wanxiang stage, then another 2250 to reach the peak of the Wanxiang stage. Clearly, previously I was already quite close to the late Wanxiang stage and was much stronger than you.”

Ning sat there to the side, sipping on some wine and laughing while the two bickered.

“Senior apprentice-brother, how about you?” Northson sat down as well. “Late Wanxiang level,” Ning said with a calm laugh.

“Late?” Northson was shocked. “Why only late?”

“My son Ning and I are both at the late Wanxiang stage now.” A white-haired, white-robed man walked in through the gate. Northson, upon hearing this, instantly understood. Ning must have given his liquefied elemental essence to the Whitewater Hound, who had previously only been at the peak of the Zifu level. Otherwise, how could the hound have trained all the way to the late Wanxiang stage at one go?

“Uncle White had an extremely high level of comprehension with regards to the Dao of formations. Thus, with enough liquefied elemental essence, he was able to advance considerably. If one doesn’t have a sufficiently high level of comprehension and a strong enough Dao-heart, even if one has liquefied elemental essence, it won’t make a difference.” Ning looked at Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother, are you going to go visit your master? If you don’t, we’ll head out right now.”

“No,” Northson said, shaking his head. “You didn’t go visit your master either, right?” Ning nodded. They had just said their farewells last time…it had only been three months. Ning hadn’t improved that much in terms of swordplay, and so he didn’t need to be in a rush to see his master.

“Let’s eat breakfast, then head out,” Ning said. “All of you, sit down. Uncle White, Little Qing, sit.” Northson, Qingqing, Uncle White, and Ning all sat there, chatting, laughing, and eating. That very day, after the sun fully rose, Ning’s group once more left the Black-White College…and after this departure, it would be a long time before they returned.

Ning had encountered quite a few people after returning to the Black-White College, and so those who were interested in him naturally learned quite quickly that he was back.

“Whoosh.” Ninelotus waved her hand, and a watery mirror appeared in front of her. She stared at herself in front of the mirror.

“Eh?” Ninelotus frowned slightly. The style of her blue robes began to change, and even the embroidery of the robes began to change. As a set of magic robes, it naturally could change in coloration. A short time later, Ninelotus finally smiled. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the watery mirror in front of her.

Whoosh. A snowy white lotus flower appeared. Ninelotus stepped onto the snowy white lotus flower, then flew straight into the air, leaving her estate.

A short while later. Ninelotus, aboard the snowy white lotus flower, saw the distant Darknorth Peak. After flying a bit closer, she finally spoke out: “I heard that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has returned. I wonder if we can meet?” Her voice echoed in the air above Darknorth Peak.

Soon, a swarthy, black-skinned man and an alluring woman appeared. It was Meng Roch and Cloudjade. Roch hurriedly bowed. “Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning returned yesterday, but he left again this morning.” The nearby Cloudjade stared up at Ninelotus, who stood upon her snowy white lotus flower. She felt as though Ninelotus were a beautiful, Immortal fairy, and she couldn’t help but feel envious.

“He’s gone?” Ninelotus was stunned. “When will he be back?” She asked.

“We don’t know.” Roch shook his head. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning said that this time, he probably wouldn’t be back for a long time.”

“A long time?”

Ninelotus nodded slowly, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. And then, still atop her magic treasure, she departed, disappearing into the distant horizons.

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Chapter 5 – Never Forget

Chapter 5 – Never Forget

Ji Ning didn’t know that Ninelotus had come to his place shortly after his departure. At this moment in time, he was on a journey with his junior apprentice-brother, Uncle White, and Qingqing to go apprehend some criminals.

Thanks to the intelligence reports provided by the Raindragon Guard, after roughly a month or so wandering through various regions, Ning’s group finally arrived at the location where an evil cultivator known as Adept Blackhorn was hiding. This Adept Blackhorn relied on a ‘Ghostfetus King’ to do battle, and no one had ever been able to overcome him.

Unfortunately, this time, he encountered Ning’s group.

First, Uncle White stealthily set down a formation, making it so that Adept Blackhorn had nowhere to run. Next, Ning’s group revealed themselves. Ning didn’t even fight; he let Mu Northson reveal his ‘Fiendish Skyeater Serpents’ and use his constructs to grind the Ghostfetus King to death. Without the protection of the Ghostfetus King, Adept Blackhorn was instantly thrown into a state of terror and was effortless killed.

“Junior apprentice-brother, your power has clearly increased,” Ning praised. “You were able to kill the infamous Adept Blackhorn with such ease.”

“Heh heh.” Northson scratched his head. “I’m at the peak of the Wanxiang level, after all, and my Fiendish Skyeater Serpents were upgraded considerably after I acquired quite a few materials at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Naturally, their power has increased substantially.

Ning understood. The Dao of Constructs…it required significant amounts of resources and precious items. “Let’s go. Let’s go take down the next criminal,” Ning said.

“With us four Wanxiang Adepts working together, taking down this type of criminal is truly effortless.” The nearby Qingqing was quite smug as well. As for the Whitewater Hound, he just stood there quietly, smiling.

Swoosh! The dragon-headed warship once more soared into the skies, and Ning’s group once more embarked on a journey. They would go after the next criminal – Adept Qiandou!

No matter how well they had hidden themselves, they still couldn’t escape the eyes and ears of the Raindragon Guard. Unless, of course, they were like Ning, who could go hiding within his underwater estate. For everyone else, so long as they were in this major world which was controlled by the Grand Xia Dnasty, it would be impossible for them to escape the assault of the Raindragon Guard.

“Adept Qiandou really did hide quite far away. This place is three million kilometers away from Stillwater City, and can be considered one of the most distant backwaters of the entire Stillwater Commandery. If he were to flee any further, he would have left the entire Commandery.

“If he left Stillwater Commandery, then it wouldn’t be for our division of the Raindragon Guard to pursue him.”

Ning’s group was chatting amongst themselves at the Crimson Dragon Mountains’ teleportation array. Whoosh! Within Dongyu City, three million kilometers away, a teleportation array that was more than three hundred meters high suddenly lit up. Ning, Northson, and the others all appeared within it.

“Greetings, milord Raindragon Guards.” An old man nearby bowed respectfully. There were six Zifu Disciples and a group of Xiantian experts present as well, and they all were incomparably respectful. Ning swept them with a glance.

Dongyu City was a commandery city where the Grand Xia Dynasty had armies stationed, much like Swallow Mountain City. The only difference was that within this commandery city was a small teleportation array of the Raindragon Guard! The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains was a major danger zone and thus it had Primal Daoists and Loose Immortals on guard, but Dongyu City was an extremely ordinary location, and so it only had Zifu Disciples present.

“Mmm.” Ning nodded. “Junior apprentice-brother, let’s go.” Ning didn’t chat with these people; he immediately boarded the dragon-headed warship and soared into the skies. Based on the latest intelligence reports from the Raindragon Guard, Adept Qiandou was within an ancient mountain range that was located a few tens of thousands of kilometers outside of Dongyu City.

Ning’s group searched carefully for him. Soon, it was night. “There he is.” Ning, standing atop the warship in the night sky, had been spreading his divine sense throughout the ground below, to a distance of three hundred kilometers. He suddenly found that within this mountain, there was a truly ferociously guarded city. This city was apparently protected by a vision-impairing formation; one wouldn’t be able to locate it with the naked eye at all. Fortunately, Ning possessed the divine sense; otherwise, they would’ve spent months before being able to find it.

“What a city.” Ning’s eyes flashed with a killing intent. “Where is it?” Northson hurriedly asked. “Right below us,” Ning growled. “Let’s go. Follow me.”

Ning jumped down, and as he did, a sword flashed and appeared beneath his feet, tearing through the air as it flew downwards. The Whitewater Hound and Northson followed him down as well. While charging down…

“Break.” Ning pointed off into the distance, and a stream of water appeared out of nowhere. It swirled around a distant formation flag, then easily pulled it out. Instantly, the scenery for a region of around ten kilometers began to twist and change. The seemingly ordinary, wild mountains instantly disappeared, transforming into an enormous city that was filled with a large number of slaves. The slaves were all carrying out arduous manual labor, either carrying stones, building walls, or even cutting wood from the surrounding area in order to further reinforce this city.

“This is really…” Upon seeing this city appear out of nowhere, Northson stared, speechless. “Utter wasteful extravagance,” Ning said coldly.

“He’s a cultivator of vile arts. It’s one thing for him to massacre commoners in order to complete his vile techniques, but why must he have them build this city for him? And why must he squeeze them so?” Northson was immediately able to see that these commoners were under such great duress while building the city that many were literally worked to death.

Ning didn’t say a single word. Because his divine sense covered the entire city, he could easily sense the despair, agony, pain, and numbness of the countless people within it! This was a sort of numbness that came from completely and utter despair. In addition, a number of these commoners held a boundless amount of resentment in their hearts. Their hatred so was so strong that Ning’s divine sense could easily sense it.

“This is hell!” Ning suddenly charged into the skies, transforming into a streak of light and moving to stand in the air directly above this city of doom. An enormous Waterflame Lotus swirled around Ning.

The light of the Waterflame Lotus was incomparably eyecatching in the night sky. Instantly, the countless commoners who were engaged in crushing physical night labor all raised their heads. They saw the enormous Waterflame Lotus in the air above them, and saw a seemingly small, frail form.

“Qiandou, you old demon, hurry up and come out to die!” Ning let out an explosive roar, which rang like thunder and echoed throughout this entire city.

“Ah?!”

Boom

BOOM!

The many, incomparably savage and bloodthirsty Xiantian experts who were in charge of overseeing this city all began to howl in agony. Blood poured from each orifice, and they died on the spot. These were the disciples and grand-disciples of Adept Qiandou, and had supported him in his evildoings.

Ning’s divine sense was able to tell that these people were surrounded by the foul aura of sin as well. Ordinary people would neither be surrounded by the clear aura of positive karma or the foul aura of sin. The fact that they were surrounded by sin represented that their vileness had already reached an extremely high level. Against these sin-covered malefactors, Ning had used his [Soulshaker Art]; because the difference in power between them was too great, all of them died right away, blood flowing from their orifices!

“What?”

“How could that old fiend have…?”

Those commoner slaves stared in astonishment. Those terrifying Xiantian lifeforms, who had always appeared to be incomparably savage, all fell over, dead. The slaves simply couldn’t believe it.

Right at this moment…

“Might I ask, which fellow Daoist has come!?” A white-robed, long-bearded man suddenly appeared in midair, locking gazes with the distant Ning. Ning stared at him, not the slightest bit worried that he would flee!

This was because, when he had charged out, Uncle White had already, secretly acted the grand spacelock formation.

“Qiandou, you old fiend, you have a few young fiends with you.” Ning swept the distant palace with a glance. There were quite a few Zifu Disciples standing at the entrance to the palace; clearly, they were the disciples of this old demon.

“Dare I ask, who are you, fellow Daoist?” The old fiend, Qiandou, maintained a smile on his face. Ning, surrounded by the Waterflame Lotus, stared downwards towards the hellish landscape below, then said softly, “After you die and go to the Netherworld Kingdom, you will be tormented in the eighteenth level of the Netherworld. The torment suffered by these commoners you tortured to death will be repaid unto you thousands of times over.”

“Die?” Adept Qiandou shook his head. “So long as I can become an Earth Immortal, when the time comes, I’ll send a hint of my truesoul into the Netherworld Kingdom. Given my prowess as an Immortal, I will willingly become a Ghost Immortal. Why should I fear torment?”

“Earth Immortal?” Ning stared at him coldly. “Wait to suffer in agony in the eighteenth level of the Netherworld. Given how many sins you have committed, I imagine that you won’t be able to endure for many years before you are tormented to the point of your soul collapsing.”

The amount of sin he had committed vastly surpassed Bei Zishan’s. Adept Qiandou’s body was not surrounded by a foul aura, but by a bloody light! An eye-piercing bloody light! A bloody light that caused one’s heart to quail! This amount of sin was utterly astonishing.

As soon as Ning’s words came out, Adept Qiandou roared in fury, “I think you’ll be the one to die instead!”

Whoosh. An enormous pupil of blood suddenly appeared above his head. This enormous bloody eye, filled with boundless sin and evil, stared directly towards Ning. And as it did so….boom! An incomparably powerful, bloody, baleful light shot straight towards Ning’s soul.

“An ant who wishes to shake a tree.” Within Ning’s mind appeared the divine visage of Maiden Nuwa. Nuwa stood there in midair, radiating an endless aura of light. As soon as the bloody aura touched it, it instantly melted away like snow in the face of the sun, transforming into nothingness.

“Not good.” Adept Qiandou’s face changed, and he hurriedly turned, meaning to flee. But right at this moment, Ning let out an icy roar. “DIE!”

His powerful divine sense swept out in an incomparably savage wave, crushing down upon Adept Qiandou’s soul. Adept Qiandou instantly felt dizzy and dazed. Ning pointed towards him with a single finger, and around Adept Qiandou’s body, a Waterflame Lotus appeared out of nowhere. Adept Qiandou was completely dazed and unable to fight back; as a result, as soon as the Waterflame Lotus began to swivel…he was instantly transformed into meat paste!

“What?!”

“Flee!”

Those five Zifu Disciples before the palace were incomparably terrified. The five of them had followed Adept Qiandou in doing countless evil deeds, and the tainted aura of sin had surrounded them long ago. Ning pointed to them from far away, and one Waterflame Lotus after another began to bloom, glowing with holy light as they crushed these five into meat paste.

All of them were taken care of at one go.

As for Northson and the Whitewater Hound, they flew over as well. They displayed no joy; as they stared down at the countless oppressed commoners, they couldn’t muster any joy at all. “How could he do such a thing?” Northson let out a sigh.

This opponent possessed the ‘Hellblood Demon Eye’, and was extremely hard to deal with. Ning had a powerful soul, and also possessed a divine will attack; he was the perfect counter to this person. Thus, they had planned all along for Ning to be the one to fight him alone.

“There is kindness in the world, but there naturally is evil as well,” Ning said calmly. “Senior apprentice-brother,” Northson looked at Ning, “Now that we’ve both completed our missions, what shall we do next?”

Ning was startled. Next? Instantly, three blood-soaked names suddenly emerged from the deepest recesses of Ning’s mind. Dong Seven! Yu Dong! Shui Yi! Ning had never forgotten these three names. These three names were like blazing irons that had been imprinted onto his very soul. The most important people in his life, his mother and father, had died…because of these three!

Suddenly, a surge of emotion filled Ning’s breast. Kill! Kill! Kill! When Ning unburied this matter from where it had lain deep within his heart, he became filled with hatred and a desire to kill. These three were the three he hated most in the world!

“Next…” Ning said softly, “I’ll get revenge!”

“Get revenge?” Northson was puzzled. “On who?”

“Those who slew my parents!” Ning said slowly. Hearing this, Northson’s face instantly changed. Qingqing lowered her serpents head, pressing it against Ning’s arm, as though to console Ning. As for the nearby Whitewater Hound, he just stared quietly at Ning, his eyes also filled with the same desire. After all…he had personally witnessed that nightmarish day.

“I cannot share the same heavens with those who slew my parents!” Ning said.

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Chapter 6 – A Surging Killing Intent

Chapter 6 – A Surging Killing Intent

Although Ji Ning spoke very softly, Mu Northson and Qingqing could both sense the boundless hatred and killing intent within those words. This enmity had sunk deep into his soul, and had embedded itself within the marrow of his bones!

Ning could never forget it. When he had left Swallow Mountain, Ning had deeply desired to take revenge! However, at that point in time, he didn’t know anything about the world; it was simply too vast and too alien. That was why he had decided to join a school and to first increase his own power, temporarily burying his hatred deep within his heart. Now that he had finished his training and joined the Raindragon Guard, it was time to take revenge!

“Father, Mother, Uncle,” Ning murmured to himself silently, “Those three of them…your child will not spare a single one! Not a single one!”

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Ning turned to look at the nearby Northson. “I am going to take revenge. It will be enough for me to bring along Qingqing and Uncle White. There’s no need for you to go.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, what the hell are you talking about?!” Northson said furiously, “I no longer have any kin in this world, now that my mother is dead! I have no attachments to anyone, so you don’t need to worry about causing trouble for me. As your junior apprentice-brother, I know exactly how agonizing your pain is, with your parents having been killed. In the past, I personally slaughtered those evil villains and avenged my mother. This time, I will definitely go with you!”

Ning was stunned. His mother had died? He had taken revenge on behalf of his mother? He had no kin left in the world? His junior apprentice-brother had never told him this before.

“Fine!” Ning nodded, then gave Northson a gentle clap on the shoulders. “You are a good brother.” Northson looked at Ning, who said, “Let’s go. Let’s go to Stillwater City.”

Northson immediately said, “Stillwater City? Right…didn’t you say you wanted to get revenge? As I see it, although we’ve fulfilled two assignments already, for now, there’s no need for us to go back to the Crimson Dragon Mountains to turn them in. For now, we can go act against your enemies while claiming we are on a mission to apprehend suspects on behalf of the Raindragon Guard. This gives us a good excuse.”

Ning nodded. In the past, Xue Hongyi had used the excuse of ‘suspecting that the Ji clan was harboring criminals’ to investigate Ning himself. Fortunately, Northmont Baiwei had stopped him. At that time, Baiwei had the status of ‘Emissary for the Marquisate of Stillwater’; if he hadn’t, even he would’ve found it difficult to stop this matter!

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ning said. “However, we still need to go to Stillwater City to make some preparations. First, I need to get the intelligence reports on my enemies. Second, I need to buy some magic treasures.”

“Magic treasures?” Northson said, puzzled, “Can it be that your enemies are extremely powerful, senior apprentice-brother?” Ning shook his head. “No, they should only be Zifu Disciples. Even if they make a breakthrough, they’ll only be ordinary Wanxiang Adepts.”

“Then why must you buy treasures to deal with them, senior apprentice-brother?” Northson asked, puzzled. Ning said in a low, growling voice, “Because…I am going to shatter their souls!”

The cold malice in these words caused Northson, Qingqing, and the Whitewater Hound to all feel shocked. Northson thought back to how when he was a child, he had slaughtered those enemies…back then, he had been similarly crazed by hate. He could completely understand what Ning was currently feeling.

“Let’s go,” Ning said. “Alright.” The group immediately boarded the dragon-headed warship, quickly departing and going to Stillwater City.

Stillwater City. Ning first paid a visit to his good friend, Baiwei. “I already know,” Baiwei said, “That the most recent group of Raindragon Guard testees included you, Brother Ji Ning. And the name of your junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson, as well.” Baiwei looked towards Ning, then smiled towards Northson as well. He saw that Ning was glancing towards the maidservants, and he waved his hand towards them. “You can leave,” he said, and they all left.

“Brother Baiwei, I’ve come to ask you for some help,” Ning said solemnly. “Please, speak,” Baiwei said.

“I need intelligence reports for three people,” Ning said. “Snowdragon Mountain’s Dong Seven, Shui Yi, and Yu Dong! However, I don’t wish for the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to know that I was the one investigating them.”

Baiwei nodded lightly. “Understood. I’ll immediately arrange for people to go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and do some investigations.” “Sorry for the trouble,” Ning said.

Killing the three of them wouldn’t be hard. What made things difficult was Snowdragon Mountain. Shui Yi and Yu Dong had less impressive backgrounds, but Dong Seven was the grandson of a Primal Daoist of Snowdragon Mountain. Once Ning acted against him, no matter how secretively he acted, Snowdragon Mountain would still investigate…and if they discovered that someone had once investigated all three of these individuals, they would definitely grow suspicious. Thus, he had to leave as few clues behind as possible.

“I’ll immediately send someone to go. In less than two hours, they’ll be able to have the results,” Baiwei said, rising to his feet. “The two of you can rest here. I’ll make the arrangements.”

……

Just two hours later, a servant came in, carrying three thick tomes and giving them to Northmont Baiwei. “You can leave now,” Baiwei instructed, and the servant quietly departed.

Baiwei handed the three reports directly to Ning. “These are the most detailed reports the Heavenly Treasures Mountain has regarding these three individuals. Reports are divided into multiple levels, but these are the highest level reports, and are the most detailed ones, which have all of their most secret details. However, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain is just an intelligence network, not the heavens; they can’t possibly know everything. For example, they have no idea that this time, it was you, Brother Ji Ning, who wanted these reports.”

Ning nodded. Human resources were limited. No matter how formidable the Heavenly Treasures Mountain was, they couldn’t know everything.

“Dong Seven.” Ning began to flip through the book. The nearby Baiwei simply drank his wine, slowly savoring it, while Northson did the same. None of them spoke or did anything to disturb Ning.

Ning read quite quickly. This report was fairly detailed; it had records of many of the events Dong Seven had carried out since he was young. It had details on some of the problems he had caused Snowdragon Mountain, and even discussed some of the women he had raped. There were records of many events…but no records of his attack against Ning’s parents and his uncle.

“The Heavenly Treasures Mountain isn’t omniscient. Immortal cultivators will occasionally run into trouble while wandering the world. If they don’t tell anyone, it really is quite hard to find out about it.” Ning shook his head.

“This Dong Seven…he truly is a calamity.” As Ning continued to read, he began to understand that Dong Seven was a child who had been spoiled rotten. Even now, he was still a mere peak Zifu Disciple.

Dong Seven came from the major ‘Dong’ clan. Because the Dong clan had a Primal Daoist amongst their ranks, Daoist Coldsun, they naturally were an extremely powerful clan. The Dong clan had quite a few talented figures, and the earlier Dong One had been the eldest and most talented member of Dong Seven’s generation! But of course, Dong One had already been killed by the Dragonwhale King back in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.

Daoist Coldsun previously had a single son, but his son had died while roaming the outside world. His son had left behind only one child as well; Dong Seven. Thus, Daoist Coldsun doted far too much on this sole grandson of his.

Although the likes of Dong One and the others of his generation would also be treated well, they naturally couldn’t compare to Dong Seven. Thus, in the Dong clan, there were many who would flatter and fawn over Dong Seven, causing him to grow ever more arrogant and brash. His greatest hobby was to rape beautiful women, but only those with particularly refined auras.

Thus, he had caused countless calamities. However, due to his powerful background and strong supporters, nothing had ever come of it.

“What’s this?” Ning frowned. “He actually lives on Snowdragon Mountain, along with Daoist Coldsun?” Dong Seven truly was coddled too much. Others found it quite difficult to even see a Primal Daoist in person, but he actually lived alongside his grandfather.

“If he lives on Snowdragon Mountain, there’s nothing I can do.” Ning shook his head. Although he was confident, he wasn’t so crazed as to charge straight towards an ancient school that had existed for countless years. Even Loose Immortals would probably be hesitant; after all, that was the foundation of the entire school, and the various formations as well as suicide or self-destruct mechanisms there would be enough to threaten even them.

“Next one.” Ning turned to Yu Dong’s information. Yu Dong was a cultivator with tremendous ambition, and who was incredibly calculating. For the sake of acquiring enough resources, he willing served as Dong Seven’s henchman! After getting what he wanted for Dong Seven, he had silently slipped away.

“He’s now an early Wanxiang Adept, and he lives at Mount Mooncrescent with his master, a peak Wanxiang Adept.” Yu Dong personally hadn’t actually done too many vile deeds; the records of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, at least, included only two matters. Naturally, what he had done to Ning’s parents hadn’t been included!

His master, Adept Mooncrescent, had actually done quite a few evil deeds. He was a sinister, despicable fellow who had reached the peak of the Wanxiang level more than two centuries ago, and was extremely strong!

“Although he has a master, they are at Mount Mooncrescent?” Ning felt relaxed. “This is in a wild, desolate region; dealing against him won’t be too hard. Let’s look at the last one.”

Ning flipped to Shui Yi’s materials. Shui Yi…he was originally a servant of the Dong clan, but was an extremely outstanding one who had been viewed favorably by the Dong clan. By now, he had become a peak Wanxiang Adept as well, but because his potential was limited, he had left Snowdragon Mountain and had always lived within the Dong clan’s territory.

“The Dong clan’s territory?” Ning begin to feel a headache coming. “This is a bit more troublesome. However…I’ll still be able to kill him.”

The Dong clan was the clan of Daoist Coldsun. Daoist Coldsun, however, stood guard over Snowdragon Mountain, and so there were no Primal Daoists protecting the Dong clan. It did have a group of Wanxiang Adepts, but clearly, the Dong clan wasn’t guarded nearly as tightly as Snowdragon Mountain was. Ning felt confident in being able to deal with them. After all, he only needed to kill Shui Yi, not annihilate the entire Dong clan.

“First kill Yu Dong, then kill Shui Yi. In the past, it was the two of them who actually fought against my uncle and my parents; they are the actual killers,” Ning mused to himself.

The nearby Baiwei could sense the hard, killing intent radiating from Ning, as well as the cold, ferocious light flashing through his eyes. Baiwei mused silently to himself, “My brother, Ji Ning, is normally an extremely amiable person, but he actually has such a fiendish side to him as well. This must be a deep enmity, and an extraordinary one at that.”

“Brother Baiwei.” Ning rose to his feet, and Baiwei hurriedly rose as well. “Sorry for troubling you, Brother Baiwei. You’ve helped me numerous times. I won’t waste words thanking you; I, Ji Ning, will remember everything you’ve done.” Ning clasped his hands. “I won’t stay any longer. I’ll leave now.”

“If there’s anything further you need, Brother Ji Ning, please feel free to tell me,” Baiwei said.

“Everything is as I expected.” Ning clasped his hands again, then led his junior apprentice-brother and departed.

Two hours later. After the sun had set. Ning’s group boarded the dragon-headed warship and flew into the skies, departing from Stillwater City.

“With this magic treasure, I will definitely ensure that you won’t even have a chance to reincarnate!” Ning gripped a magic treasure that looked like an incense burner, then raised his head. “Junior apprentice-brother, let’s go south. To Mount Mooncrescent!”

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Chapter 7 – The Real Yu Dong

Chapter 7 – The Real Yu Dong

Mount Mooncrescent. This place was considered holy grounds by everyone within the surrounding hundred thousand acres, because there was a truly powerful Wanxiang Adept here, Adept Mooncrescent. And because of this, the nearby tribes and monsters didn’t dare create any trouble!

Within a beautiful, lavish hall. An old man was seated atop a jade bed, radiating a cold, sinister aura. Above his hands, there floated a black, palm-sized scimitar.

“Master.” A respectful voice rang out from outside. “Daddy.” Another voice rang out as well. The sinister old man revealed a hint of a smile. “Come in.”

A short, ugly looking man walked in, alongside a tall, azure-robed, beautiful woman. The ugly man appeared quite calm and collected.

“This Yu Dong…” The sinister old man looked at the ugly man, nodding mentally to himself. “When he first apprenticed himself to me, I didn’t hold him in any regard, but unexpectedly, he was the first amongst my many disciples who reached the Wanxiang level! In addition, he made his breakthrough after a few short decades, which is quite fast. He really can’t be underestimated.”

As for his appearances? Immortal cultivators didn’t care too much about appearances. If you were both weak and ugly, then others might look down on you, but if you were powerful…no matter how ugly you were, others would respect you.

“And, by the looks of it, it seems as though Wei’er has taken quite a fancy to Yu Dong as well.” The sinister old man nodded to himself. “It seems as though in the end, my lineage will pass into the hands of Yu Dong.”

“Wei, daughter, come over here,” the sinister old man said. The azure-robed woman walked over, sitting atop the jade bed as well. She hugged the old man’s arm in a very close manner. “Daddy, this time, senior apprentice-brother Yu Dong has procured a gift for you. You’ll definitely like it,” Yue Wei said.

“Oh?” The sinister old man laughed as he looked over. Yu Dong immediately said with respect, “Master, your disciple just procured a bottle of ‘Three Immortals’ wine, and so came to offer it to you.”

“Three Immortals wine?” The sinister old man’s eyes instantly lit up, and he couldn’t help but sniff the air. He had been stuck at the peak Wanxiang level for more than two centuries, and was close to the end of his lifespan; he didn’t have much longer to live. For cultivators who were close to the end of their lives, they cared deeply about being able to enjoy themselves.

Three Immortals wine was a truly top-class wine that was incredibly hard to find. Generally speaking, it was only available in places like Stillwater City, while hard to procure in backwater places like Mount Mooncrescent.

“You are quite thoughtful.” The sinister old man nodded in approval. He felt more and more satisfied with this Yu Dong. Despite having reached the Wanxiang level, Yu Dong had remained under his tutelage, and remained as respectful as ever. In addition, he served as respectfully as he would towards his own father…

“Master, you showed me great kindness by transmitting knowledge unto me. What’s a little wine?” Yu Dong produced a jade tray, atop which was a bottle of Immortal wine. That incomparably beautiful and intricately carved jade wine-bottle alone would be considered a priceless treasure in the mortal world.

“Junior apprentice-sister, if you would be so kind.” Some time later, Yu Dong and his junior apprentice-sister, Yue Wei, both left the hall.

The sinister old man watched his most capable disciple and his beloved daughter walk off into the distance. He couldn’t help but nod, especially upon seeing how respectfully Yu Dong treated his daughter.

Within another hall on Mount Mooncrescent. This was Yu Dong’s estate. This area was naturally warded by formations, preventing outsiders from entering.

“You can leave,” Yu Dong instructed his servants upon entering his estate. “Yes.” The servants and maids all respectfully departed, going to other halls within this estate, leaving behind only himself and his junior apprentice-sister, Yue Wei.

After seating himself in the hall, Yu Dong glanced at Yue Wei, then said calmly, “Kneel.”

Yue Wei immediately laughed enticingly, her robes immediately disappearing from her body, revealing her ravishingly beautiful body. She lightly knelt down, then, like a little dog, slowly crawled forward. And then, moving close towards to Yu Dong’s legs, she began to lick.

“In the past, you held me in such disregard. But now, you are kneeling between my legs.” Yu Dong looked downwards towards Yue Wei as he would towards a dog.

“Senior apprentice-brother, stop teasing me,” Yue Wei said with an adorable harrumph. Yu Dong stretched his hand out, grabbing her head and pushing it down hard. Instantly, Yue Wei began to cough and choke.

“Hahaha…” Yu Dong laughed wildly. “Endure it.” Yue Wei had no choice but to do so.

Later the next morning…

“Mm.” After having thoroughly enjoyed himself, Yu Dong sat there, pondering. As for Yue Wei, she sat on his lap. “Junior apprentice-sister, that old bastard…when will he transmit the Mooncrescent Saber Formation to me? I’ve served him a long, long time after I became a Wanxiang Adept, and yet he still hasn’t taught it to me!”

Yue Wei said gently, “Don’t worry, senior apprentice-brother. I mentioned this to father before, but at that time, my father was hesitant. By the looks of it, father is beginning to like you more and more. I’ll mention it again later. I’ll definitely succeed.”

“I hope that old bastard doesn’t die and take that saber formation to the Netherworld Kingdom with him.” A cold light was in Yu Dong’s eyes.

“Don’t worry,” Yue Wei said hurriedly, and Yu Dong nodded slightly. He continued to ponder silently, while the nearby Yue Wei didn’t dare to disturb him.

“Three years. At most, I’ll wait three more years for that old bastard. I can’t keep wasting my time like this,” Yu Dong said broodingly while looking at Yue Wei. “Half a month from now, I’ll go ask the old bastard to teach me his saber formation; after that, you go help me speak to him as well.”

“Alright.” Yue Wei nodded obediently. Yu Dong suddenly began to laugh strangely. “Junior apprentice-sister, if your daddy saw you right now, would he die of anger? Hahaha…hahahahaha…”

His evil, wicked laughter was completely different from his normal, honest attitude. All of the servants in the estate had been instructed to leave, and the protective formations had been activated; there was no way any sound would leave the room, and there was no way to scry inside from the outside world. Thus, Yu Dong didn’t need to disguise himself at all.

When he was young, he had understood quite early on that this was a world where the weak would be devoured by the strong. Thus, he had clawed up, step by step, either slaughtering or flattering until he had grown powerful enough to fear no one. However, he had always been very good at hiding his nature. Those who knew what his true nature was like were either dead or under his complete control.

Even Ji Ning’s intelligence report had been unable to see through Yu Dong’s façade. After all…the Heavenly Treasures Mountain wouldn’t expend too many resources on a minor figure like him.

“The Mooncrescent Saber Formation that old bastard possesses was left behind by a deceased Loose Immortal. Not even Snowdragon Mountain has such a powerful formation.” In the past, Yu Dong didn’t have any other options, which was why he had apprenticed himself to Adept Mooncrescent. However, based on some tools he had, as well as his many years of service, he had discovered some of Adept Mooncrescent’s secrets. Thus, he worked ever more diligently.

“If I still cannot acquire it…then I’ll kill him.” A cold light flashed through Yu Dong’s eyes. He had originally been an ordinary mortal, and had clawed his way to his current position. Naturally, he was an incredibly calculating person, and he had caused the deaths of many. In the past, he had caused the deaths of two young masters of his clan, three elders of his clan, and even two genius disciples of Snowdragon Mountain. However, to this very day, no one knew that it had been him.

That young master ‘Dong Seven’ of the Dong clan was nothing more than a chess piece to him.

……..

A dragon-headed warship was in the air above Mount Mooncrescent. Ning stared downwards. “Senior apprentice-brother, aren’t you going to attack?” Northson was puzzled. He could sense that Ning was filled with a powerful killing intent, but upon reaching Mount Mooncrescent, they had actually come to a halt.

“Not just yet.” Ning stared downwards. His divine sense had already been spread out, covering the entire Mount Mooncrescent. He could see everything going on within it. In front of Adept Mooncrescent, Yu Dong had acted one way, but upon returning to his own hall…he had acted in a completely different manner.

“This Yu Dong seems to be quite an extraordinary fellow,” Ning mused to himself. His divine sense hadn’t been able to find a single flaw in Yu Dong’s façade before Adept Mooncrescent. If this person had become friends with Ning, most likely even Ning would have been fooled into trusting him; he was definitely a very steady, sure-footed person.

“He was able to start as an ordinary mortal and reach this current level…” Ning thought back to the history of Yu Dong as mentioned in the intelligence reports, then silently mused to himself, “I imagine it wasn’t as simple as the reports described. The reports made it seem as though everything had been smooth sailing for Yu Dong, and that he had flattered and fawned over many as he eventually reached his current heights. I thought that he was just talented and lucky, but now, it seems that he is quite the ambitious figure.”

“However! Even if you are an ambitious, ruthless, formidable figure, today you shall definitely die!” A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes. In the world of Immortal cultivators, personal power was more important than games of intrigue. For example, with his divine sense, Ning was able to clearly see each of Yu Dong’s actions, and so Yu Dong’s hidden, true face was instantly discovered by Ning.

“Let’s go,” Ning said, pointing towards the distant estate. “Let’s go to Yu Dong’s estate.” “Alright,” Northson immediately said.

The Whitewater Hound, now in human form, also stared towards the distant estate. His eyes were also filled with killing intent; after all, he had personally experienced the events of that year.

Swoosh! The dragon-headed warship surged downwards towards the ground.

“Uncle White. Set up the spacelock formation,” Ning sent mentally. “Alright.” The Whitewater Hound nodded, then silently slipped out of the ship, beginning to stealthily set down spacelock formation flags in the area around Mount Mooncrescent. The grand spacelock formation was able to take up a hundred kilometers of space…the entire Mount Mooncresent was covered by it. But of course, they didn’t activate the formation yet. Once they did, Adept Mooncrescent and Yu Dong would instantly notice.

The dragon-headed warship flew towards the air above the estate. Yu Dong and his beautiful, bewitching junior apprentice-sister were openly engaging in lewd, lascivious acts within their estate. Yu Dong, despite acting in a crazed manner, had a very calm look in his eyes; only, he would occasionally let out a vile laugh.

“YU DONG!”

Suddenly, a voice rang out from on high. Yu Dong, shocked, instantly came to a halt, while his junior apprentice-sister also came to a halt and said, puzzled, “Senior apprentice-brother, who is it?”

“Hurry and get up.” Yu Dong’s body quickly became covered by his robes, and the same happened for his junior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei.

Yu Dong called back in a warm, loud voice, “Which fellow Daoist has come?” At the same time, he released the protective formation. He immediately saw the dragon-headed warship in the distant skies. Upon seeing it, Yu Dong felt a slight hint of surprise; he was an experienced person, after all, and he knew that no ordinary Immortal cultivator would be in possession of such a fine construct-warship.

“Junior apprentice-sister, hurry up and ask Master to come,” Yu Dong sent mentally. “Understood.” A leaf appeared in Yue Wei’s hands, and she lightly twisted it.

Right at this moment…

A handsome, delicate-looking youth dressed in furs flew down from the dragon-headed warship. He had an azure serpent wrapped around one wrist, while a white-haired, white-robed man and a white-robed youth were behind him. The fur-clad youth, the leader of the group, said in a calm voice, “An old friend, of course!”

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Chapter 8 – The Mysterious Adept Mooncrescent

Chapter 8 – The Mysterious Adept Mooncrescent

The highest hall on Mount Mooncrescent.

“My daughter, Wei?” The sinister old man’s face changed. His daughter had shattered the talisman he had given her, and he could clearly sense that the talisman had been shattered in Yu Dong’s nearby estate.

“What’s going on? With Yu Dong protecting her, what sort of problems could Wei have encountered, that she would suddenly break the talisman? This is Mount Mooncrescent.” Adept Mooncresent couldn’t believe that in his own territory, his daughter would encounter any danger.

Swoosh!

Adept Mooncrescent instantly transformed into a streak of black light, departing from his hall and charging towards the skies, flying towards Yu Dong’s estate.

Given how fast peak Wanxiang Adepts moved at, as soon as Ji Ning emerged from his dragon-headed warship, Adept Mooncrescent appeared before him.

“This is…?” Adept Mooncresscent, upon seeing the distant dragon-headed warship in the skies, and upon seeing Ji Ning and Mu Northson, couldn’t help but secretly feel alarmed. Given his experience and judgment, he could immediately tell, just through that distant glance, that these were definitely no ordinary cultivators. No wonder his daughter had instantly shattered the talisman.

“I wonder which Daoist friends have come to visit my Mount Mooncrescent,” Adept Mooncrescent said with a loud laugh. “Why haven’t you come to visit me, and have instead come to my disciple’s place?”

His voice reverberated in the air, and as it did, Adept Mooncrescent landed in the courtyard, standing in front of Yu Dong and Yue Wei, who respectfully moved backwards.

“Who are they?” Adept Mooncrescent sent to them.

“Daddy, I’ve never met them before,” Yue Wei hurriedly sent.

“Master, I’ve never met them either,” Yu Dong said.

“Hmph, if you don’t know them, why would they suddenly come to my place, but not come visit me, and instead visit you?” Adept Mooncrescent barked mentally at them, and Yu Dong didn’t dare to say a single word in response.

However, Adept Mooncrescent still had a smile on his face. He looked towards Ning and the others in midair. “Fellow Daoists, it seems as though my disciple doesn’t know you; why, then, do you say that you are old friends?”

“Adept Mooncrescent.” Ning took a single step forward, descending from the skies to the estate below. Northson and the Whitewater Hound followed behind him. Ning said, “I have something to discuss with your disciple, Yu Dong. I’d like to ask you, Adept Mooncrescent, and your daughter to temporarily withdraw.”

Yu Dong’s face changed, and Adept Mooncrescent couldn’t help but feel shocked as well. Previously, he had only spoken mentally with his daughter, but this fur-clad youth actually knew that they were father and daughter…clearly, he had come prepared.

“Withdraw?” Yue Wei grew frantic. Her loyalty had long since been given to Yu Dong, and she couldn’t help but mentally send, “Daddy, we have no idea who these people are. You can’t let senior apprentice-brother face them on his own.”

“Daughters always favor outsiders.” Adept Mooncrescent frowned as he looked at his daughter. At the same time, Yu Dong sent frantically, “Master, it seems to me that these people must have come with a plot in mind.”

“Leave it to your master,” Adept Mooncrescent snapped back, then laughed loudly. “You wish to speak in private with my disciple, but I don’t even know who you are…isn’t this a bit too impolite?”

Ning’s divine sense covered the entire mountain. Thus, although Adept Mooncrescent had arrived quite quickly, Ning could’ve killed Yu Dong even more quickly. Still, the hatred he felt towards the murderer of his parents had caused Ning’s heart to become filled with rage. To kill his enemy so quickly? That would be letting him off so easily.

What Ning wanted was for this man to die in regret, agony, and despair! Only thus would he be able to give vent to the hatred in his heart!

“Adept Mooncrescent.” Ning’s face sank. “I respected you, which is why I asked you to leave. To tell you the truth, the reason I wish to speak in private with your disciple, Yu Dong, is because I suspect that he is colluding with a criminal I am pursuing.”

“Colluding with a criminal?” Adept Mooncrescent was startled.

“Colluding?”

Yue Wei and Yu Dong were both greatly shocked as well. Ning waved his hand, and a medallion appeared within it, atop which was the image of a Raindragon.

“The Raindragon Guard!” Adept Mooncrescent’s face turned solemn. He knew that trouble had truly arrived today; anyone capable of becoming a Raindragon Guard was a true elite, and even he didn’t feel confident in being able to defeat this youth in front of him.

Yue Wei felt nervous as well; to her, a Zifu Disciple, any Raindragon Guard was an incomparably powerful individual.

As for Yu Dong, he was absolutely panicking. “I’ve never offended the Raindragon Guard, and I’ve never met these three. What on earth is going on?” He quickly went through a mental list of those he had killed, but no matter what, he couldn’t find any flaws in his plots; he had no idea what these people had come for.

“I’ve come to Mount Mooncrescent for the purpose of seeking out Yu Dong and chatting with him,” Ning said coldly. “Adept Mooncrescent, are you going to interfere in the Raindragon Guards carrying out their cases?”

Adept Mooncrescent’s face clenched. He definitely wouldn’t be able to handle the repercussions of such an act. But at this time, Yu Dong spoke out. He said respectfully, “I don’t know what you wish of me, milord Raindragon Guard; if you are asking questions pertaining to a case, why must you avoid my master? If you have any questions, ask away; I, Yu Dong, will definitely be fully honest and speak no word which is not true.”

Having clawed to his current position over many years, Yu Dong was an incomparably intelligent man. Since this ‘Raindragon Guard’ insisted on separating him from his master, he definitely wouldn’t let his master leave. Once his master left, he would probably be at the complete mercy of this man, without any protection at all.

“Right. If you have any questions, ask them here,” Adept Mooncrescent said hastily. “I definitely won’t interfere in the Raindragon Guards carrying out a case.”

Ning’s face sank. This Adept Mooncrescent had reached the peak of the Wanxiang level more than two centuries ago, and was close to the end of his life. Because of this, Ning didn’t dare to underestimate him at all. Although his talent was inferior to the likes of Dong One, he had trained for very long and must have had many fortuitous encounters; an old fellow like him would surely have many tricks up his sleeve.

To take away Yu Dong while he was present would be quite difficult. As for Northson, he pointed towards Adept Mooncrescent and cursed angrily, “Mooncrescent, we Raindragon Guards are carrying out a case, but you are here causing trouble. I urge you to immediately depart! Otherwise…don’t blame us two brothers for being merciless!”

“Two sirs,” Adept Mooncrescent said, a smile still on his face, “This is the talisman of the Northmont clan of Stillwater.” As he spoke, a blood-red medallion appeared in his hands, with the characters ‘North’ and ‘Mont’ atop it. “You can refuse to give face to Snowdragon Mountain, but you should still give face to the Northmont clan of Stillwater, yes? If you have any questions, ask them right now. If you have no questions, hurry up and leave.”

“A medallion of the Northmont clan?” Ning was startled. This wasn’t something an ordinary person could produce. The medallion which Baiwei had given him was merely the medallion of his father, Northmont Blacktiger, not the true medallion of the Northmont clan.

As good friends of Baiwei, he had learned quite a few things. Someone capable of producing the ‘blood medallion of the Northmont clan’ was definitely someone who had a deep connection to the Northmont clan of Stillwater.

“It’s been so many years, and this is only the second time I’ve ever taken out this medallion.” Adept Mooncrescent looked towards Ning’s group. “I haven’t much longer to live, and I really don’t want to trouble the Northmont clan to help me.”

Although his words were casual, the threat behind them was real. This caused looks of delight to appear on the faces of Yue Wei and Yu Dong.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what should we do?” Northson sent mentally. “This old fellow was actually able to take out a medallion of the Northmont clan; I imagine he has an impressive background. How about we step back for now…then find another chance later?”

“Adept Mooncrescent.” A hint of anger was in Ning’s gaze. “You have truly decided to stand up for him?”

Adept Mooncrescent smiled, then nodded. He could tell that this Raindragon Guard appeared fierce but was actually nervous; he trusted that this person would soon leave.

“You can protect him for now, but I refuse to believe you can protect him forever!” Ning turned and said, “Junior apprentice-brother, let’s go.”

“Hmph.” Northson let out an angry snort as well, also turning and leaving.

But right at this moment…a savage look flashed through the eyes of Ning, who had just turned his back on Adept Mooncrescent. This was savagery born from long-suppressed hatred. However, since Adept Mooncrescent and Yu Dong couldn’t see Ning’s face…they were feeling quite smug, and a smile was actually on Adept Mooncrescent’s own face.

“Rumble…”

Ning’s powerful divine will suddenly swept outwards like a raging river, crushing directly towards Adept Mooncrescent. BOOM! It viciously collided against his soul. [Soulshaker Art]!

Adept Mooncrescent was close to the end of his life, and he now only cared for enjoying himself; as a result, his Dao-heart had actually weakened considerably. Still, since Adept Mooncrescent would never encounter the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, he hadn’t cared too much about the weakening of his Dao-heart. At this moment, however, as Ning’s divine will came crushing downwards, Adept Mooncrescent instantly felt his soul shudder.

“Not good! A divine will art!” He had many years of experience, and he had risked his life many times in the past for the Northmont clan. His Dao-heart was consequently still quite firm, and he was instantly shocked. “Wake up! Wake up!” Adept Mooncrescent’s soul was struggling fiercely, and a hint of clarity appeared in his eyes. “Saber formation!”

Just as he was about to activate the supreme technique which he had used to dominate the region, the ‘Mooncrescent Saber Formation’, a mesmerizingly beautiful and seemingly slow sword-light flashed.

The sword-light was absolutely breathtaking! Just as ten black sabers appeared in the surrounding area and were about to join together to block, the sword-light slashed past one of the black sabers…and chopped directly onto the body of Adept Mooncresent. The two scimitars in Adept Mooncrescent’s hands moved to block, but were knocked flying away.

Slash! His body was rent in half, and blood splattered everywhere. Ning appeared directly behind Adept Mooncrescent, Darknorth sword in hand.

In that instant…he had used the [Soulshaker Art], the [Starseizing Hand], the Windwing Evasion, and also the Manifold Thistlethorns of the [Three-Foot Sword]!

In that instant, Ning had completely exploded forth with his most powerful attacks! This was an old fellow who had lived for very long, and who had an unfathomable background…Ning didn’t want to waste too much time with him. If he did, who knew what might happen? Ning’s subconscious had been warning him…that this old fellow would be extremely hard to deal with! He had to instantly execute the old man as he was feeling smug and overconfident.

“You…you killed…” Yu Dong came to his senses. Staring at Adept Mooncrescent’s bisected body, his face completely changed.

Darknorth sword in hand, Ning stared coldly at him. The icy look in his eyes caused Yu Dong’s heart to shudder. Ning said in a growling, cold voice, “Forget about a damn medallion…even if members of the Northmont clan were present, I would still kill him!”

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Chapter 9 – Why, Why?!

Chapter 9 – Why, Why?!

Yu Dong felt despair. The youth in front of him was simply too terrifying; he had actually killed Yu Dong’s master, Adept Mooncrescent, in an instant…and that divine will attack! Yu Dong had personally sensed it as well, and had gone dizzy for a brief moment. He knew exactly what that sort of short-term dizziness represented in a battle between Immortal cultivators, where life and death was determined in an instant.

“Milord Raindragon Guard.” Yu Dong was incomparably frantic; he could sense the surging, killing intent coming from the person before him. “Are you sure there isn’t a mistake? I, Yu Dong, have always been unwilling to offend people, and in fact, I’ve never offended others. Milord Raindragon Guard, is it possible that you’ve been deceived? Killing me isn’t a major matter, but if you were to let the real culprit escape, that’d be a disaster.”

Yu Dong was trying his best to dissuade Ning. Ning just laughed. “Deceived?” His laughter caused Yu Dong to shiver. Could it be that Ning’s father and mother had deceived him? In addition, Ning’s Uncle White, who had personally experienced the events of that year, was standing right next to him. How could there be any mistake?

“The real culprit is enjoying himself while you, milord, have been deceived into acting against me,” Yu Dong said frantically. Ning, seeing the frantic, terrified look on Yu Dong’s face as he tried to dissuade him, only felt a surge of satisfaction in his heart. The more panicked his enemy was, the more agonized and desperate he was, the more satisfied Ning would be!

“Father. Mother. Uncle. Can you see this?” Ning murmured in his heart. “This Yu Dong is just the first one. All of them will slip into despair. They will die in regret,” Ning promised himself.

Yu Dong watched as the freezing light in Ning’s eyes continued to grow, and he couldn’t help but grow increasingly frantic. What should he do? What should he do?

He had yet to become a true leader within Snowdragon Mountain; had yet to make his name known throughout the world. How could he die like this? Yu Dong’s heart was filled with a strong unwillingness to accept this. What he desired the most was not to slowly, stealthily clamber his way up to the top using tricks and stratagems; he wanted to use absolute power to shock the world and be revered by countless individuals.

He had yet to truly explode onto the world’s stage! The vast world had yet to hear of his name! “I have to go all out!” Yu Dong felt as though he had become suddenly trapped back into his early, childhood days when he had to fight and kill, with only a hint of a chance of survival. Success meant that he would rise to the heavens, while failure meant that he would die without a place to be buried.

The same was true right now. If he were to escape, he would be able to soar to the heavens. If he died, he would truly not even have a place to be buried.

“Junior apprentice-sister.” Yu Dong looked towards Yue Wei, then sent urgently, “Help me stop him at any cost.” He trust in his junior apprentice-sister, trusted in his own abilities. He knew with absolute certainty that his junior apprentice-sister wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice her own life for him.

Yue Wei’s eyes reddened, and infinite love radiated from her eyes. “Do it!” Yu Dong howled mentally. Swoosh! Yue Wei threw herself straight towards Ning, just like a moth throwing itself into a flame. Her Zifu Lake instantly began to detonate. Tears were at the corners of Yue Wei’s eyes, and she stared at Yu Dong with a longing look in her eyes as she sent to him, “Senior apprentice-brother, I truly do love you!”

BOOM!

Ning’s Waterflame Lotus had both dire-ice and earthflame merged into it. The power of his Waterflame Lotus was consequently much greater than before…the self-detonation of a Zifu Disciple wouldn’t be able to move him in the slightest.

“Senior apprentice-brother, I truly do love you!” Her voice echoed in his mind, and even Yu Dong felt his heart shake. But then, he instantly suppressed this feeling. He understood that this ‘love’ his junior apprentice-sister felt towards him was nothing more than a natural ‘love’ that would emerge once a person’s soul had been completely dominated and tamed. It was precisely because her mind had been tamed that she was willing to die for him.

Was this love?

This was just slavery!

BOOM. As the explosion rang out, Yu Dong instantly fled far away, and as he did, he produced an insect nest in his hands. “Children, go, stop them!”

The nearby Northson and Whitewater Hound just watched, not interfering. As for Ning, the Waterflame Lotus around him first blocked the self-detonation of that woman, and then greeted the countless venomous pests that swarmed towards him. The enormous Waterflame Lotus was imbued with both dire-ice and earthflame, which were no weaker than divine abilities. However, after imbuing both into the Waterflame Lotus, they both reached new heights of power.

Under that grinding, killing power, the countless venomous pests were all ground into dust, without a single one of them able to survive for even a moment. Seconds later, the countless, heaven-covering swarm of venomous pests that had been attacking Ning had all been reduced to dust.

“Hahaha…” Yu Dong had charged far away into the distance, and activated a bewildering formation. Instantly, the area around him changed and twisted into illusions as he remained within its borders.

“Do you think that you’ll be able to escape, just because you are hiding within a bewildering formation?” Ning took a single step forward, towards the formation.

Ning appeared to be quite brash and arrogant, but in truth, he was being extremely cautious. His divine sense had already covered this entire area, to a distance of a hundred kilometers, and everything was under his control. If a Primal Daoist suddenly appeared, Ning would no longer delay, and would instantly kill Yu Dong. But now? Since no one had appeared to stop him, Ning would slowly torment him.

The long-suppressed hatred within Ning’s heart made it so that he wasn’t willing to let the man die too easily.

“What?” Within the bewildering formation, Yu Dong watched as Ning walked in. Ning didn’t appear to be the slightest bit puzzled or baffled by the formation, and he walked directly towards Yu Dong. “How can this be?! Seal it!” Yu Dong once again used a formation technique; this was his estate, and naturally he had quite a few formations present.

A blurry light sprang up, protecting him. Swish. A sword-light flashed past, and Ning easily chopped apart the grand sealing formation.

“Too weak.” Ning continued to slowly stroll forward.

“Teleport.” Yu Dong clutched at his precious Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal, intending to flee…but it was completely useless.

“The surrounding region has already been spacelocked.” Ning continued to walk towards him.

Yu Dong finally went berserk. He howled with rage, “What the hell do you want?! The bewildering formation is useless against you, you effortlessly killed my venomous bugs, you killed even my master with a single sword blow…and you even prepared a spacelock formation in advance! You are so powerful and so calculating…what the hell did I do to piss you off?”

Instantly, a figure appeared before him, moving as fast as lightning. A sword-light pierced directly into Yu Dong’s dantian. One magic treasure after another tumbled out from his body. Only the magic robe he wore on him, as well as the bracer on his arm, remained his; the rest all fell out, no longer under his control. This sword attack was so fast that Yu Dong wasn’t even able to dodge.

“You…you!” Yu Dong stared. Ning replied calmly, “The Zifu in your dantian has already been destroyed by me.”

Yu Dong was absolutely terrified. The Zifu in his dantian was his foundation as a cultivator; it had been destroyed, just like that? In the instant it had been destroyed, a feeling of weakness suddenly filled his body, causing him to be incomparably terrified…

“Why don’t you just kill me cleanly?” Yu Dong howled with rage. “Kill you?” Ning shook his head. “I simply destroyed your Zifu in your dantian because I was afraid that you would commit suicide.” If the Zifu was present, Yu Dong would’ve been easily able to self-detonate his Zifu Lake.

But with his Zifu destroyed, Yu Dong had been transformed into an ordinary mortal. But of course, despite being an ‘ordinary’ mortal, his body had been nourished for many years by elemental ki, and so it would still be quite powerful, comparable to an ordinary Xiantian lifeform. Unfortunately, he was now no longer able to use magic treasures; naturally, he wouldn’t even be able to kill himself in front of Ning.

“Afraid that I’d commit suicide?” A look of terror appeared on Yu Dong’s face. What the hell sort of a grudge was this? This person wouldn’t even let him commit suicide?

With the destruction of his Zifu, the formation around him naturally vanished. Northson and the Whitewater Hound walked over as well.

“Enjoy this,” Ning said with a cold laugh. His elemental ki quickly formed into a shining runic seal in front of him. Upon seeing the shining rune, Yu Dong seemed to realize something. Instantly, utter horror appeared on his face, and he immediately turned to flee. Ning, with a gentle flick of his fingers, sent that shining runic seal into Yu Dong’s body.

“NO!” Yu Dong let out a miserable cry, his skin and his bones beginning to twist and his skin beginning to turn red. “AHH, AHHHH!!” An agonized scream ripped out from his throat.

Yu Dong was like a lobster that was being boiled alive; his entire body was turning red, and he fell to the ground, beginning to twitch and twist about. He felt as though countless bugs were crawling beneath his skin, and could even see his skin begin to char and turn black.

“The Heartburner Art?” Northson was secretly shocked. This was a torturing technique possessed by the Black-White College’s Dao Repository Vault. Because it didn’t have much combat potential, one didn’t need too many black-white pellets to trade for it.

Ning had memorized it long ago. When he had memorized it…it was for the purpose of allowing his enemies to enjoy its taste! Enjoy the taste of having their hearts been set aflame! When Ning’s father and mother had died, he himself had been filled with the utmost of agony, despair, and hatred. He had decided long ago to do the same in gaining revenge!

“Tell me tell me tell me tell me…” Yu Dong howled hoarsely as he stared at Ning, his eyes filled with madness.

“You are actually still clear-minded. Even though you have the soul of a Wanxiang Adept, for you to stay awake for so long is inconceivable.” Ning let out a cold snort. “It seems as though your Dao-heart is even stronger than I had anticipated.”

“Why, why?!” Yu Dong’s eyes were filled with resentment. As for Ning, he turned towards Uncle White, who was by his side. Uncle White instantly transformed into mist, then reformed into a large, snowy white hound.

“Yu Dong. Do you remember me?” The Whitewater Hound looked towards Yu Dong. Yu Dong’s agonized eyes were suddenly filled with shock and resentment. Immortal practitioners had nearly perfect memories. Because Uncle White was now a Wanxiang Diremonster, and because he was in human form, Yu Dong had been unable to recognize him earlier. Now that Uncle White had returned to his true form…Yu Dong immediately thought back to the events of that year…

“Young master, look. That little lady looks quite attractive. That face, that aura, that attitude…ohoho!”

“Mm, not bad at all! And she seems to be pregnant as well…hah, just what I like. The two of you, go over there and catch that little lady alive. Be careful though; those two men next to her should both be Zifu Disciples. The two of you had best not grow careless and fail.”

“Don’t worry, young master.”

“Young master, leave it to us. We’ll definitely catch that little lady and bring her over to you.”

Those events…that battle…everything came to his mind. Deep in his memory, he thought back to how both of those men had been willing to sacrifice their lives for that woman.

“Little Sister, the two of you, go!”

“Snow, go. Little White, take her away!”

In that battle, he and his accomplice, ‘Shui Yi’, were both just peak Zifu Disciples, while their opponents had both used forbidden arts. That woman’s older brother…he was enormously powerful! He had been able to lock down the two of them and let that woman, along with the other, heavily wounded youth, to escape.

However, in the end, he and Shui Yi had naturally killed that woman’s older brother in their rage.

“They…they…” Yu Dong’s entire body was beginning to char. He stared towards Ning with completely bloodshot eyes.

“They were my father, mother, and uncle!” Tears began to appear in Ning’s eyes, and he growled out, “And I, I was the child that woman was pregnant with. I…have come for revenge!”

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Chapter 10 – A Disaster Caused

Chapter 10 – A Disaster Caused

“My uncle, Yuchi Mount. My mother, Yuchi Snow. My father, Ji Yichuan!” Ji Ning stared at him, his eyes filled with pain and madness. “At the time, you didn’t give a damn about them at all, did you? In fact, you’ve forgotten all about them. But now, I have come to take revenge for them!”

Ning’s words came one at a time from the innermost depths of his heart. As for Yu Dong, he could feel the hatred oozing from the fur-clad youth. “This youth…he’s the child that woman was pregnant with?”

“Twenty years…it’s only been twenty years. That child was born, and now is easily able to kill my master, Adept Mooncrescent. I…what the hell type of an enemy have I, Yu Dong, created for myself.” Yu Dong had always been extremely cautious and unwilling to offend important figures. Even when killing a few geniuses, he had been extremely cautious and made sure to leave behind no clues that it had been him.

Unexpectedly, that pregnant woman he had simply wanted to catch in order to flatter and pander to young master Dong Seven had given birth to such a terrifying youth.

“I…I actually fell due to this?”

Yu Dong in absolute agony due to his torment, but in his mind, one scene after another flashed by. Scenes of how he had clawed his way up the ladder as a youth. In order to reach further heights, he had been willing to do anything! He had even been able to toy with and manipulate figures who were more powerful than him, and he had made them into his pawns. And now, he had become a Wanxiang Adept.

“I’ve been calculating my entire life, but I failed due to this…” Yu Dong’s eyes were filled with torment. Suddenly, he let out a final, furious howl. “The heavens conspired against me! I don’t accept this, I can’t accept this!!!”

As his howl rang out and echoed in the estate, Yu Dong’s charring body suddenly began to blaze with fire as his entire body started to roast. As for Ning, he just watched calmly. Suddenly, an incense burner appeared in his hands. “Collect it!” Ning willed this to be done.

Ning’s divine sense could clearly see a soul be absorbed directly into the incense burner. There were many types of magic treasures that were meant to be used against the soul, such as the ‘Myriad Wraiths Banner’ and the like, that were capable of sucking souls into them. As for Ning’s incense burner, it was an item with a different purpose that had a similar effect. However, it was just meant to absorb in a soul and then destroy the soul’s power; it could be considered a sort of supportive treasure that couldn’t actually be used to attack.

“This Yu Dong can be considered a formidable figure as well,” Northson sighed. “He was able to claw his way up from an ordinary commoner to the Wanxiang Adept level, and was even able to make Adept Mooncrescent’s daughter be willing to sacrifice her life for him! Formidable!”

Halfway through his words, Northson suddenly stopped speaking. He couldn’t help but look at the nearby Ji Ning. This Yu Dong was Ning’s hated enemy, after all.

Ning’s gaze was as deep and tranquil as the waters of a lake. He glanced calmly at the blazing corpse on the ground, then said calmly, “He was indeed a formidable figure. However, he was unscrupulous in his actions…for the sake of being able to reach a higher position, he was willing to do anything! For the sake of ingratiating himself to that young master Dong Seven, he was actually willing to act against my mother, even though she was pregnant! For the sake of protecting my mother, my uncle died on the spot, while my father’s future potential in his Immortal path was shattered.”

“In the end, Mother and Father still died. Just for the sake of ingratiating himself with Dong Seven, he was able to do such a thing…” Ning thought back to what he had seen with his divine sense, and how Yu Dong had treated Yue Wei as he might a sex slave. This person was completely unscrupulous. As the saying went, if one often walked by the river, eventually, one’s shoes would get wet. Even if Yu Dong didn’t fall in Ning’s hands today, eventually, a different expert would have come to kill him!

The path of Immortal cultivation was one of self-reliance! Tricks, strategies, outside sources of help, waylaying others…they would only allow one to rise to prominence briefly. In the end, the grave would await.

Self-reliance was the only true, eternal path!

“Whoosh.” Ning waved his hand, collecting all of the magic treasures within the courtyard. “Let’s hurry up and leave.” Ning looked towards Northson and Uncle White. “Earlier, that Adept Mooncrescent gave me a very bad feeling. I imagine he must have a significant background; we cannot tarry here.”

“Alright.” Uncle White nodded. “Right.” Northson agreed as well. “That blood medallion of the Northmont clan proves that he is dangerous.”

Soon, Ning’s group quietly snuck away from Mount Mooncrescent. Nobody noticed their departure at all.

In midair. The dragon-headed warship once more changed colors, to a pure, pitch-black color as it slowly flew forward. “Father. Mother. Uncle.” Ning quietly murmured to them, “I’ve already killed one of our three enemies. Don’t worry. Not a single one of them will survive! And uncle’s only child…one day, I’ll find a way to find her.”

Based on what Ning’s father had said, his uncle had a single daughter. But where exactly was this cousin of his? What was her name? What did she look like? Unfortunately, Ning didn’t know the answer to any of these questions. It would be very hard to find her.

However, Ning didn’t give up, because the more powerful an Immortal cultivator was, the more options they would have to them…he had heard that some legendarily powerful Immortals could, with the flick of a finger, even be able to calculate what events would unfold in the future. If, in the future, he was able to learn these techniques, searching for his cousin probably wouldn’t be too difficult.

The nearby Whitewater Hound just watched quietly. He also felt incomparably excited at having been able to kill one of their hated foes, and also felt gratified in his heart. He murmured silently to himself, “Big Brother, our child Ning has grown more and more powerful. Even a peak Wanxiang Adept was slaughtered by him. Ning’s name will definitely be spread throughout the vast, endless world, and he will become a truly influential and famous figure in the world ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson spoke out. Ning looked over to him. “Shall we go to the Cloudfields?” The Snowcloud Fields was the place where the Dong clan had established their foundations. Shui Yi was a Zifu Disciple of the Dong clan. If they were to kill Shui Yi, they would naturally have to go to the Snowcloud Fields. “Yes. We’ll go right now,” Ning said.

“But that’s an extremely large clan,” Northson said hurriedly. “They have more than ten Wanxiang Adepts, and it is also the tribe of a Primal Daoist. Although that Primal Daoist stands guard over Snowdragon Mountain, he certainly will have left some protective techniques for his clan. And, at a critical moment, the Primal Daoist himself might hurry back.”

Ning nodded. “I know. Don’t worry, junior apprentice-brother. I’m not so arrogant as to go head-on against a Primal Daoist.”

“It’s good that you are clear-minded.” Northson nodded. When he had watched Ning kill Yu Dong, Northson had begun to worry. He had personally undergone a similar experience, and he knew that once one faced the killers of one’s parents, one might go berserk, at which point one really might be capable of anything. He didn’t wish for Ning to throw his life away.

“Ning, my son,” the nearby Whitewater Hound urged, “As I see it, let’s first investigate the treasures left behind by Adept Mooncrescent. I, too, continue to feel as though that Adept Mooncrescent was a very dangerous person.”

“Alright.” Ning and Northson both nodded. They immediately began to bind the magic treasures left behind by Adept Mooncrescent and began to search through his storage-type magic treasures.

Mount Mooncrescent was as calm and peaceful as before. The servants and retainers didn’t even know that Adept Mooncrescent had died. However, roughly two hours after Ning’s group had left, the surrounding space began to buggle and twist.

Slash! A completely pitch-black sword-shaped warship appeared in the air above the mountain. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. One blood-robed figure after another immediately flew out from it, and in the blink of an eye, the skies became filled with thirteen of them. Their leader had a silvery flying sword embroidered on the sleeves of his robes. As for the other twelve, they had grayish flying swords embroidered on their sleeves.

“Rumble…” A powerful divine sense instantly swept downwards, covering the area. The leader of the blood-robed men, a bald figure, had bizarre runes atop his skull. His gaze was icy cold as he stared downwards.

“Captain? Second Brother, he…?” A blood-robed man next to the leader whispered. “He’s dead.” The bald, blood-robed man’s voice was gravelly; it sounded ear-piercing, like sabres clashing against each other. “Although his corpse has already been destroyed by the murderer, the aura of the battle is still present, and the scent of Second Bro’s blood remains in the air. Actually, back when Second Bro’s candle, which we had within our main hall alongside all the other candles, went out, he had already died! Only, none of you were willing to believe it…”

“How could that be? Old Second Bro was close to the end of his life, and he had returned to Mount Mooncrescent to enjoy his retirement. He didn’t have any enemies, and even if he did, when he took out our blood medallion of the Northmont clan, shouldn’t he have been able to scare them off? Who would have dared to forcibly kill Old Second Bro?”

“Ole Second Bro was extremely powerful as well. Old Second Bro acquired his Mooncrescent Saber Formation thanks to his many military accomplishments, and it was tremendously powerful. Perhaps a few geniuses at the Wanxiang level would be able to defeat him, but he should still be able to withstand them for a period of time. Giving his fleeing abilities, he shouldn’t have found it too difficult to escape.”

“The only possibility is that someone knew all of Old Second Bro’s abilities, and so specially set things up so that they could kill him at one blow.”

The group continued to chat amongst themsleves.

“Old Second Bro fought in our squad for more than a century. Countless generations of brothers formed lifelong friendships with him! He had returned to his own Mount Mooncrescent, but was killed by someone here? The other old brothers won’t accept this lying down. Others should feel relieved if we don’t bully them; who dares to bully us?! We definitely must avenge him!”

“We must take revenge!”

“Whoever killed Old Second Bro, we must kill him. We’ll destroy his soul.”

“The brothers of the Shadow Army cannot be killed without repercussion.”

All of the blood-robed figures were filled with furious, baleful auras.

As for the bald, blood-robed leader, he said in a cold voice, “Investigate! We must investigate this thoroughly! We need to find out who killed Old Second Bro. He had gone home to enjoy his retirement, but they still refused to spare him…we must find the killer.”

“Right.”

“Yes.”

They all nodded.

“Let’s go back. I’ll ask the Old Captain to help and also have the headquarters of the Shadow Army to initiate an investigation into who the murderer is.” The bald man said in a cold, grim voice, “Let’s go.”

Whoosh. The group of blood-robed men all flew back into that pitch-black, sword-shaped warship. A spatial ripple once more appeared, and then the pitch-black warship disappeared into thin air once more.

As for Ning, Northson, the Whitewater Hound, and Qingqing, they were going through the relics left behind by Adept Mooncrescent. Yu Dong’s items were mostly Mortal-ranked, and so they were the first to be bound. Ning’s group was surprised as the items contained within his storage treasures, because his wealth was actually comparable to Dong One and Northriver Zhou’s.

However, Ning’s group was primarily interested in binding Adept Mooncrescent’s magic treasures. Finally, they were able to bind one of the storage-type magic treasures he had left behind, and they took out one item after another from within. Ning’s group began to closely investigate them. And as they did…all of their faces changed.

“Oh, crap,” Qingqing muttered softly.

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Chapter 11 – The Culprit, Ji Ning

Chapter 11 – The Culprit, Ji Ning

After having bound Adept Mooncrescent’s storage-type magic treasure and taken the items out, Ji Ning and his companion’s faces changed.

“This is…!”

Ning’s gaze fell upon a blood-red robe. This blood-red robe emanated a sanguine aura, and it had a grayish flying sword sown onto the sleeve.

“A battle-uniform,” Mu Northson said softly. “This blood robe is covered with many runes and can also serve as a construct-type magic treasure…if my guess is correct, this should be meant to be used in unison with a group of people who all wear this same robe. They’ll be able to join into one entity and unleash an extremely powerful joint attack.”

Northson was a genius of the Dao of constructs; he instantly discovered this. As for Ning, although he wasn’t able to understand this as clearly as his junior apprentice-brother did, he was skilled in formations and so was able to discover that this war-robe was similar to a Dao-soldier’s armor.

“Judging from the complexity of the runes on this blood-red robe…it’s definitely not something which an ordinary organization can produce,” Northson said with a frown. “Sects like Snowdragon Mountain are completely unable to produce this sort of uniform war-robe…and in fact, most likely even my master wouldn’t be able to produce it.”

“He had the blood medallion of the Northmont clan,” Ning said in a low voice. “It’s very possible that he has some sort of a connection with the Northmont clan of Stillwater.”

“Look at this.” Qingqing pointed at a leather parchment. They had removed several leather parchments from the storage treasure. “Don’t touch them with your hands,” Ning barked. And then, he carefully inspected the contents on the leather scrolls.

“Old Second Brother, I, your brother, am going to retire as well. However, I will stay here at the Skylands world. I don’t want to go back…there’s nothing for me there. I’ve fought to subjugate the enemies for so many years here in the Skylands world, that I have grown accustomed to it. I have so many old brothers here, and I truly don’t wish to leave. In the past, you invited me to go with you to Mount Mooncrescent, but…forget it. If, in the future, you are free, please come to the Skylands world…”

The contents of the leather scroll instantly made Ning’s scalp turn numb. Retired? Old Second Brother? Skylands world?

“Retired?” Northson called out in shock, “Adept Mooncrescent must’ve been a member of an army, and judging from the blood-red robe…the robe should be the uniform which Adept Mooncrescent wore in that army! Because he was too old and was close to the end of his life, he came back to retire here.”

“Old Second Brother?” The Whitewater Hound spoke out as well. “Given how long this Adept Mooncrescent had lived for, I imagine that all of his surviving brothers must be extremely old as well, which is why they addressed him as ‘Old Second Brother’. But this Skylands world…”

“Skylands world…?” Ning frowned as well.

“Can it be one of the trillions of lesser worlds?” Northson whispered.

The Three Realms were incomparably vast, and the ordinary, common worlds were exceedingly numerous. The worlds were divided into the three thousand major worlds and the trillion lesser worlds. Some of the trillion lesser worlds were naturally created by the universe, while some had been established by major powers!

“Battling in the Skylands world?” Ning mused to himself, “The blood medallion of the Northmont clan?” Ning continued to ponder, while at the same time, he began to carefully read the other leather scrolls. Some had strange maps on them, while others were letters. Ning then looked at the other items. Slowly…a hypothesis began to form in Ning’s mind.

The Northmont clan of Stillwater must have had a secret, hidden army, with Adept Mooncrescent having been one of the members of this army! Ning didn’t feel surprised at the fact that the Northmont clan had a secret army of its own, because the history of the Grand Xia Dynasty included quite a few rebellions by Marquisates. The mere fact that Marquisates would attempt to rebel was a testament to how powerful and how deep their roots were. They had existed from the Fiendgod Era until the present era; this was simply too long a stretch of time.

Nobody knew exactly how deep the roots of the Marquisates were; it was quite normal for them to have secret armies of their own. As for the Skylands world, it must be one of the trillion lesser worlds, or a dimension which a major power had carved out for himself. In short, there should be living creatures within this world, which is why it needed to be subjugated.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what should we do?” Northson said softly. “It seems as though Adept Mooncrescent was most likely a member of a secret army under the control of the Northmont clan of Stillwater. And, by the looks of it, he had battled for many years for them…he definitely must have an extremely good relationship with those lifelong, battle-tested friends.”

Ning nodded. After battling shoulder-to-shoulder for counless years…one could imagine how close those soldiers were! Now that Adept Mooncrescent had died in his retirement, how could those people take it lying down?

“This is trouble.” Ning frowned. Still, even if he had known Adept Mooncrescent’s background, Ning still would’ve done the same thing. Although Adept Mooncrescent had returned to Mount Mooncrescent to retire, he had still proved to be a calamity for the surrounding area. Ning had acquired quite a bit of information on Adept Mooncrescent when reading up on Yu Dong, and the description of the Adept was…he was a sinister, petty man who had offended many.

Perhaps because he had so many pent up desires in the army, as soon as he had retired, he had relied on his power to act savagely and viciously, revealing his true nature! Ning wouldn’t show mercy to this sort of person.

“Ning, son, what should we do?” The Whitewater Hound looked towards Ning. “Master?” Qingqing looked towards Ning as well.

Ning frowned. “Let’s keep the liquefied elemental essence. We’ll put all the other treasures into the storage treasure, and then…Qingqing, use your Void Blink to go extremely deep underground and cast it deep into the magnetic core.”

“The deep magnetic core?” Qingqing nodded. “Understood.”

They kept only the thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, and then discarded everything else, including even the jade bottle which held the essence! The liquefied elemental essence was incomparably pure and untraceable, so they could keep it, but everything else had the potential to prove problematic.

“I’m going now.” The little azure snake winked out of existence, passing through the void and disappearing. Deep underground, there was a magnetic core, and a powerful field of magnetic light that one could see with the visible eye. Qingqing carefully threw the storage-type magic treasure, now unbound, into the magnetic light.

A short time later.

Qingqing returned. “I tossed it all.” She looked at Ning, who nodded. “Good. Everyone, let’s think it over. Have we left any clues behind?”

“Senior apprentice-brother, earlier, when we appeared at Mount Mooncrescent…is it possible that the servants or disciples of Adept Mooncrescent might have noticed us?” Northson said, worried.

Ning shook his head. “Don’t worry. My divine sense covered the entire Mount Mooncrescent, and everything was within my field of observation. Only three people accidentally saw our dragon-headed warship, but at that time, the warship was under disguise and also had a different coloration. There’s no way they would’ve been able to identify us just on the basis of seeing that warship.”

“Alright.” Northson nodded. They came here secretly, and so they had naturally disguised the warship into a very ordinary, common-looking sort. “There’s no way they could find us just based on the appearance of the warship.”

“Good.” Ning nodded. “Everyone, can you think of any flaws?” They all shook their heads. They had been incomparably cautious when coming, and hadn’t even used teleportation arrays. They had flown all the way here, through the clouds and the mist. Only three people had seen their true appearances at Mount Mooncrescent; Adept Mooncrescent, Yu Dong, and Yue Wei. All three were now dead.

“Junior apprentice-brother, next I am going to act against Shui Yi. There’s no need for you to go,” Ning said. “Dealing with Shui Yi…will be much tricker than dealing with Yu Dong. Although he’s merely a peak Zifu Disciple, he’s within the Dong clan’s territory.”

“I have no ties or attachments to be worried about. Senior apprentice-brother, don’t say anything else,” Northson said firmly. Ning nodded gently. “Fine, then. Still…we need to decide on how we should deal with Shui Yi.” Ning looked around at everyone.

Qingqing said hurriedly, “It’s quite simple. Master, you have divine sense…you can effortlessly cover the entire Dong clan with it. As long as you find a chance to kill him, you can easily kill him, right?”

“It won’t be that easy.” Northson shook his head. “That’s the lair of the Dong clan, and the home of a Primal Daoist. It definitely will be guarded by numerous layers of protections, and there’s no way an outsider will be able to silently sneak in…”

Ning nodded. “Even an idiot can guess that this place must be ringed by countless formations. There’s no way to sneak in at all.”

Qingqing pouted.

“Ning, son,” the Whitewater Hound said, “Although it might be hard for us to enter the Dong clan to kill Shui Yi…why can’t we make Shui Yi come out instead?”

“Have him come out?” Ning’s eyes lit up. “Right!” Northson called out in approval as well. Ning quickly began to ponder this, and the information he had acquired on Shui Yi began to flash through his mind. Soon, he came up with a way.

“If it’s hard to go in to kill him, then we’ll draw him out.” Ning nodded. “Find. Then let’s go right now…”

“Let’s go.”

Immediately, the warship, now appearing to be an ordinary, pitch-black ship, disappeared from the clouds.

They had already killed Adept Mooncrescent. There was nothing else they could do about that now! However, just as they were afraid of…Adept Mooncrescent’s group of old friends wouldn’t let the matter of his death rest! The entire Shadow Army wouldn’t let one of its old, retired brothers die in such a manner! The members of the Shadow Army had all battled for many years together, and too many of them had died. Very, very few survived to retire. If even their retirees could be killed without rhyme or reason…how could they accept this?

“Don’t worry. The old brothers of our Shadow Army won’t be killed for no rhyme or reason, just like this! In other places, the intelligence reports of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain might be formidable, but here in Stillwater Commandery…the intelligence reports of our Northmont clan are even more superior!” Within the headquarters of the Shadow Army, a red-haired old man was speaking to a group of blood-robed men in a loud voice.

Stillwater Commandery was the territory of the Northmont clan. Here, the Northmont clan’s roots were the deepest.

Just half a day later….

Stillwater City. Northmont Blacktiger’s Estate.

“Eh?” Northmont Baiwei, who was drinking some wine and listening to music, suddenly frowned. He heard footsteps from outside. “I’m listening to music. Who dares disturb me?” A hint of anger could be seen in Baiwei’s furrowed brows.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a muscular, bald man dressed in an ornate black uniform walked in. Next to him was a pale-faced, beardless old man with triangular pupils. The triangle-eyed old man seemed to have a hint of laughter on his face, but it made others shiver.

“Father!” Baiwei shot to his feet. In the face of his father, Biawei always felt uncontrollably nervous. “Baiwei.” Northmont Blacktiger’s deep, hooded gaze was like an infinitely cold pool of ice. “I ask you this – was it you who sent people to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for an intelligence report on Yu Dong, Shui Yi, and Dong Seven?”

“Yes.” Baiwei nodded. “Why?” Blacktiger asked. Baiwei immediately said respectfully, “It was for the sake of my brother, Ji Ning, who brought his fellow disciple, Mu Northson, and asked me to assist. He didn’t wish for the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to find out, so I was extremely careful as well. Aside from myself and the our servants who carried the orders out, no one else knows.”

“Oh?” Blacktiger’s eyes were dark and cold. He said calmly, “It seems, then, that the culprits are Ji Ning and his group.”

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Chapter 12 – Father and Son

Chapter 12 – Father and Son

“The culprit is Ji Ning?” Northmont Baiwei said, frantic, “Father, what are you talking about? What ‘culprit’? What are you saying?”

“Can’t you guess?” Northmont Blacktiger looked at his son. This was the son who he had entrusted all his hopes to, the one whom he had always strove to train. If he hadn’t placed all of his hopes on Baiwei, he would’ve left Baiwei to his own devices and let him become a carefree, ignorant, wastrel descendant. However, Blacktiger had instead always been very strict and exacting with him.

“Father, are you saying…” Baiwei was no fool. Frowning he said, “Brother Ji Ning didn’t want for the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to know it was him, so he must’ve been carrying out something he couldn’t let others know about! He went to kill an enemy with a powerful background? Dong Seven, Yu Dong, Shui Yi…of the three of them, the only one with a bit of a background is Dong Seven! Can it be that he killed Dong Seven? But Dong Seven has a mere Primal Daoist backing him; he isn’t worthy of you, Father, acting like this.”

Blacktiger nodded. “It isn’t Dong Seven. He killed Yu Dong.” Baiwen shook his head. “Yu Dong? He’s just a minor figure.”

“But Yudong’s master, Adept Mooncrescent, was present at the time as well. Thus, most likely because he tried to stop Ji Ning, he was caught up in the fray and killed by Ji Ning as well.” Blacktiger stared at his son. “And Adept Mooncrescent was a retired Immortal cultivator who belonged to one of the armies under the control of our Northmont clan of Stillwater, the Shadow Army.”

“What?!” Baiwei’s face instantly changed. Naturally, he knew that his own clan, the Northmont clan, had some hidden, powerful armies of Immortal cultivators. Every single Marquis had some armies of their own.

The Grand Xia Dynasty knew this as well. However, the exact number of secret armies, how many individuals were in each army, and how powerful the members of the armies were…those were the true secrets.

“A retired cultivator of the Shadow Army?” Baiwei began to mumble to himself, “A retiree? Then he must have fought for many, many years…he must have many old friends and brothers-in-arms. The retirees…they are the most sensitive figures for these Immortal armies.”

“Right. Just so!” Blacktiger growled, “They battle for the sake of our Northmont clan, and countless numbers of them have perished. Very, very few are able to survive and retire. If the retired cultivators are killed…the cultivators of the entire army will naturally be enraged! They absolutely will not permit this sort of event to occur, and if it were to occur, they will find out who the killer was, then take revenge for their old brother!”

“This is a sensitive, sore spot for Immortal cultivator armies! Those who touch it will die!” Blacktiger’s eyes were filled with solemnity as well. This was one of the unspoken rules of the armies; they wouldn’t permit their old, retired brethren to suffer! Absolutely not!

“Ji Ning’s group acted very cleanly and professionally,” Blacktiger said. “The intelligence division of the Shadow Army has begun their investigations, they have already searched the memories of many of the ordinary mortals who lived on Mount Mooncrescent. They’ve even found the blood-robe which Adept Mooncrescent once wore; it had been cast deep into the magnetic depths of the world.”

“However, because a total of three people had died, being Mooncrescent, his disciple Yu Dong, and his daughter Yue Wei, the Shadow Army’s intelligence division has already begun to investigate Yu Dong and Yue Wei as well. Soon, they found that someone has recently asked the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for a copy of the report on Yu Dong.”

Blacktiger stared at his son. “Following this clue, the Shadow Army’s investigations led them to my estate; the Northmont Blacktiger Estate! That is how I learned of this.”

“What should we do, then?” Baiwei was worried now. “The Shadow Army is currently following up on several leads,” Blacktiger said, “But if Shui Yi and Dong Seven both die as well, then the Shadow Army will definitely grow convinced that the culprit had purchased intelligence reports on these three figures at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

Baiwei said, frantic, “Then I’ll immediately send someone to seek out Brother Ji Ning and have him temporarily avoid killing Shui Yi and Dong Seven?”

Blacktiger shook his head. “No use. They’ll soon be able to rule out the other leads, at which point in time, they will make inquiries to us regarding this matter.”

“Then what should I do?” Baiwei said, worried. “There are two options,” Blacktiger said. Baiwei looked towards his father.

“The first option is to give up Ji Ning,” Blacktiger said. “That way, we’ll avoid all trouble.”

“Impossible.” Baiwei shook his head.

Blacktiger, seeing this, actually began to laugh. “Hahaha, that’s my boy. Right; don’t easily give up or betray your good friends and brothers! If you can so easily sacrifice them…then you’ll never be able to make any true friends and brothers! If you wish for others to be willing to risk their lives for you, you have to treat them with sincerity, understood?”

Baiwei was startled.

“Then, only the second option remains,” Blacktiger said. “Just admit that you were the one who did this deed.” Baiwei was astonished. “Me?!”

“Right. Admit to the Shadow Army that it was you who did it; it was you who sent people to investigate Yu Dong, and then who led people to kill Yu Dong! However, because Adept Mooncrescent tried to stop you…you ended up killing him as well!” Blacktiger continued, “You had no idea that Adept Mooncrescent was a retired soldier, and thus you cannot be faulted for what you did. There’s no way for the Shadow Army to insist on punishing you…as a member of the main lineage of our Northmont clan, and as someone who might become a future Marquis of Stillwater, for you to have accidentally killed Adept Mooncrescent is just a small matter.”

“If you accept responsibility for this matter, it will just be a small matter, because in the end, the Shadow Army is the army of our Northmont clan. It won’t be easy for the cultivators of our Shadow Army to make too much trouble for a main lineage descendant of the Northmont clan, just due to an accident.”

“However, if anyone else were to accept responsibility, they would almost assuredly die.” Blacktiger looked at his son. “Still…as a result of this, I imagine that there will be some old fellows of the Shadow Army who will hate you.”

“Just hate me? A mere retired Wanxiang Adept…I would be shocked if there was even a single Loose Immortal-level cultivator who was a true friend of his! And I imagine that very, very few will truly, deeply hate me.” Baiwei shook his head. “For now, I don’t have anything to do with the Shadow Army. As for Brother Ji Ning, I can tell that he’s the sort who is willing to shoulder difficulties for his friend. I will accept responsibility for this matter!”

“Good.” Blacktiger nodded. “As for how Yu Dong, Shui Yi, and Dong Seven offended you, I’ll come up with a suitable excuse.” Baiwei nodded respectfully. “It shall all be as you say, Father.”

“Remember!” Blacktiger looked at his son, then said softly, “You’ve done very well to be willing to sacrifice for your brother, but you must remember…you need to let Ji Ning know what you did for him.”

“Let him know?” Baiwei was startled. “Right. Let him know about your sacrifice,” Blacktiger said calmly. “You’ve paid a high price for him; if he doesn’t even learn of it, then wouldn’t that mean that you did it for nothing? If he were to ‘accidentally’ find out the truth of what transpired, then he will naturally feel grateful towards you.”

Baiwei frowned. “Isn’t that a bit artificial and contrived?” “Contrived?” Blacktiger gave his son a glance. “You just need to let him find out by ‘accident’; after all, you really did take on responsibility for his actions. Remember…although you must be sincere in taking care of your friends, you need to be slightly strategic about it as well. This is the principle behind using your human resources.”

“Think about what I have said.” Blacktiger gave his son a frowning glance. His son was extremely intelligent, and he had high hopes for him. However, thanks to the influence of Baiwei’s mother, he was sometimes excessively sincere in his treatment of his friends. Although this allowed him to make some truly good friends, a temperament like this would make it very hard for him to truly dominate and unify a powerbase.

“Let’s go,” Blacktiger said, leading the triangle-pupiled elder away with him. The frozen atmosphere within the courtyard instantly grew calm, and the beautiful maid who had been singing a little song nearby suddenly came to her senses. “What, what happened?”

She didn’t see anything or hear anything earlier; in fact, it was as though she had lost a portion of her memories. She just vaguely remembered the master of the estate, Northmont Blacktiger, arriving. And then, by the time she regained her faculties, Northmont Blacktiger was departing.

“Strategy? Using your human resources?” Baiwei frowned. “Father…you are calculating towards everyone…and that’s why Mother left you. You are you. I am myself.”

His father wanted to train him and make him into a second Northmont Blacktiger.

But he was Northmont Baiwei.

The one and only Northmont Baiwei!

“I wonder how Ji Ning is doing,” Baiwei worried silently to himself.

……..

Ning’s group had flown for half a month and had arrived at Stillwater Commandery’s ‘Dawn Bay’. Dawn Bay was roughly equivalent to Swallow Mountain in size.

“Shui Yi’s tribe really is puny.” A ship that was six hundred meters wide was floating atop Dawn Bay. The Dawn River was more than a million kilometers in length, and it was a large river that passed through nearly half of Stillwater Commandery. Northson, atop the ship, said with a sigh, “It actually doesn’t even have a single commandery city!”

“It is quite weak.” Ning nodded. The Ji clan at least had a commandery city of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the City of Ten Thousand Swords; being in possession of at least one commandery city was necessary for a clan to be considered a local hegemony. But Shui Yi’s clan, the Shui clan, was truly puny.

Before Shui Yi had appeared, their clan was an extremely ordinary, weak one. Afterwards, Shui Yi had become a servant for the extremely large and powerful Dong clan, and had been trained by the Dong clan until he had risen to the Zifu Disciple level. He had also served young master Dong Seven for a long time. Naturally, he brought prominence to his Shui clan as well.

With Shui Yi’s assistance, the Shui clan slowly grew more powerful and built a city of their own. But of course, it wasn’t a commandery city; it was more like the Ji clan’s ‘West Prefecture City’, a self-built city.

In addition, the Shui clan was actually under the umbrella of another clan. Because Shui Yi remained with the Dong clan, it didn’t cause any troubles for the Shui clan, and so it continued to grow to the point where it now had a middle-stage Zifu Disciple guarding over it.

“Senior apprentice-brother, how are you planning to draw out Shui Yi and have him leave the Dong clan?” Northson laughed as he looked towards Ning. “Simple.” Ning shook his head. “His clan, the Shui clan, is too puny; the entire clan only has a single Zifu Disciple guarding it. I have plenty of ways to send the entire Shui clan into a state of panic and chaos! To force Shui Yi to immediately hurry back!”

And indeed, he did have many methods. The Shui clan was far too weak; whenever it encountered any major troubles, it would immediately reach out to Shui Yi to beg for rescue.

“Master, let’s kill them. If we slaughter the clan, it will be sent into a state of chaos,” Qingqing said. But Ning shook his head. “No need.”

Much like how when he killed River He of the Riverside tribe, he didn’t act against River He’s son, Ning wouldn’t act against the other members of the Shui clan. As to the potential fall of the Shui clan with Shui Yi’s death…Ning would just calmly watch.

As an Immortal cultivator with a powerful Dao-heart, Ning was extremely confident in his actions, and he wouldn’t act in a way that was contrary to his Dao-heart. If, in the past, he had acted to kill River He’s son, it would have affected his faith in his own heart and would’ve posed a major obstacle to his path of cultivation.

“If you don’t attack them, how will you throw them into a state of chaos?” Qingqing muttered.

“It’ll be quite quick. Wait here. I’ll pay a visit and will be back in the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea.” A sword-light flashed into existence beneath Ning’s feet, and he soared through the air, moving towards the headquarters of the Shui clan, located thousands of kilometers away; Yishui City.

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Chapter 13 – The End of the Road for Shui Yi

Chapter 13 – The End of the Road for Shui Yi

Yishui City.

This was a newly constructed city. It had been slowly built up as the Shui clan had begun to flourish, and it was guarded by the current Patriarch of the Shui clan, the Zifu Disciple, Shui Tianyi.

“Eh?”

Ning stood atop the clouds, staring downwards. His divine sense covered the entire city. By now, Ning had enough power that he could’ve annihilated this entire city, but as an Immortal cultivator…Ning didn’t dare to massacre too many commoners. For Immortal cultivators to kill commoners was a taboo and a grave sin! But of course, if commoners dared to offend cultivators, cultivators could naturally punish them, but a large-scale massacre would result in sin swirling around one’s body…and just like Bei Zishan, invite the assaults of the Raindragon Guard!

“It seems as though those ten are all potentially the Patriarch of the Shui clan.” Ning’s divine sense swept out and identified several people with fairly powerful souls and strong auras, but he wasn’t able to accurately ascertain their strength just by looking at them.

After watching for a bit longer…“It’s him.” Ning quickly picked out the actual Patriarch of the Shui clan.

……….

“Patriarch.”

“Milord.”

When Shui Tianyi was walking across the stone path, the other clansmen were incomparably respectful towards him, because he was the only Zifu Disciple guarding the clan! But of course, there was also the even more powerful ‘Shui Yi’, who was located in the distant, incomparably powerful Dong clan.

These people had no idea that the fact that they were respectfully addressing Shui Tianyi as ‘Patriarch’ had let Ning, high above them in the skies, know exactly who the Patriarch was.

“Mm.” The blue-robed Shui Tianyi’s long beard billowed in the wind. He did appear quite distinguished. Soon, he arrived at his quiet, secluded meditation room. No servants were here, and no clansmen dared to draw near. To his clansmen and servants, his meditation room was an extremely mysterious place that no one would dare to disturb.

Within the private room. Shui Tianyi sat down in the lotus position, his eyelids drooping. “My Shui clan is increasingly flourishing. The liquefied elemental essence which Elder Yi has delivered us has allowed our clan to produce three more peak Xiantian experts. If one of them were to break through to the Zifu level, that would be wonderful. Our Shui clan currently has too few Zifu Disciples!”

As the Patriarch of a tribe, Shui Tianyi held a deep desire to let his tribe grow stronger. Their current status was simply too awkward. Weak? They did have Zifu Disciples. Strong? They didn’t even have a single commandery city! An awkward status like this naturally caused Shui Tianyi and ‘Elder Yi’, these two Zifu Disciples, to rack their brains for methods for strengthening their tribes.

“Endure for now.” Shui Tianyi still remembered the words which Elder Shui Yi had told him. “Tianyi, don’t be impatient. Take things one step at a time. The roots of our tribe are simply too shallow…if we are too impatient, we might be viewed with hostility by the other great powers in the Dawn Bay region, at which point, we might be in danger of being annihilated. We need to be patient and slowly wait. Since I am with the Dong clan, the other powers of the Dawn Bay region won’t launch a war against us. When we have more Zifu Disciples in the tribe, I will bring over some of my good friends from the Dong clan and establish a base and foundation for our Shui clan!”

“Elder Shui Yi has sacrificed far too much for our tribe,” Shui Tianyi said with a silent sigh. It was only because Shui Yi had willingly entered the Dong clan as a servant that he had been able to slowly help the Shui clan.

“Eh?” Shui Tianyi suddenly felt a powerful collision against his soul. BOOM! Everything in the world instantly went dark. A sword-light flashed past, piercing through the roof of the private room, and a figure entered the room. Ning stood there in the room, a white sack having appeared out of nowhere into his hands.

“Come in!” Ning opened the bag, and the bag instantly unleashed a powerful, wild sucking power. Whooooooosh. The sucking power was so great that the nearby plates and utensils were all drawn in. As for the dazed and completely defenseless Shui Tianyi, he too was drawn directly into the sack. This sack was known as the ‘one-breath sack’, and was only a Mortal-ranked magic treasure. The sack possessed a sucking power that could drawn objects into it, and although it didn’t seem to be larger, it could store quite a few meters worth of objects.

This sack wasn’t able to be used to actually attack others. Only when enemies were completely helpless would they be absorbed into it. To put it simply, this was used to store people! It was impossible to breathe within the ‘one-breath sack’, and so ordinary people who were drawn into it would all suffocate to death. Xiantian lifeforms and above, however, would be fine even if they couldn’t breathe.

“Hmph.” Ning immediately tied the sack off with a rope. Then, with a wave of his hand, he sent out a powerful surge of strength from his Fiendgod-enhanced arms, smashing directly against the wooden table and blasting it apart in an explosion of sound.

“Time to leave.” The large sack over his shoulders, Ning transformed into a streak of light, moving towards the hole he had created moments earlier, charging into the heavens and disappearing.

The people outside were naturally able to hear the explosive sounds which came from within the private room.

“What just happened?”

“A streak of light seemed to soar into the skies, just now.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The Xiantian experts of the Shui clan all hurried over, moving so fast as to appear like blurs. Quite a few of them saw the streak of light soar into the skies, moving so fast that they could only vaguely tell that it was human-shaped.

“So fast…it should have been an Immortal cultivator.”

“A cultivator flew out from the Patriarch’s private room?”

“Not good.”

All of them began to panic.

“Look, there’s a giant hole in the roof of the private room.” The Xiantian lifeforms who had reached this place first had flown in at a high enough angle that they could immediately see the large hole in the private room’s ceiling.

“Let’s go in.”

“Quick.”

They each leapt into that giant hole.

The Shui clan was truly too weak. The strongest member of the clan, Shui Yi, was merely a servant for the Dong clan, and so only the Patriarch’s private room was made of decent materials. Ordinary Xiantian lifeforms wouldn’t be able to break through the room, but Zifu Disciples generally would be able to.

The private rooms of the formal disciples of the Black-White College, by comparison, couldn’t be broken into by even the likes of Loose Immortals.

“Where’s the Patriarch?”

“It’s a disaster zone inside.”

“The table has been smashed, and the roof was broken apart, and the Patriarch is gone.” The entire Shui clan was instantly thrown into a state of panic. The very first thing they did was to go investigate the Patriarch’s life-tablet in the ancestral hall. When they did, they let out sighs of relief.

“The Patriarch’s life-tablet is intact. The Patriarch isn’t dead.”

“But why has the Patriarch gone missing?”

“Which Immortal cultivator attacked him?”

The Shui clan remained restless and uneasy. Their most powerful cultivator, the Patriarch, had gone missing; how could they not be uneasy? At this point in time, they thought of the most powerful member of their clan; Elder Yi, also known as Shui Yi, who was a servant within the Dong clan.

“Quick, ask Elder Yi to come back.”

“Quick, ask for Elder Yi to return.”

Ning, in the clouds above, held the one-breath sack over his shoulder as he inspected the below area with his divine sense. “As I thought, they have gone to ask Shui Yi to come.” Ning revealed a smile on his face. “However, from here to the Snowcloud Fields of the Dong clan is quite far. It will take anywhere from half a month to one or two months.”

Ning glanced sideways at the one-breath sack on his shoulder. “This fellow is a Zifu Disciple. He’ll survive a month or two being trapped inside this sack.”

Time flowed on.

The Shui clan had immediately shattered an insignia, causing Shui Yi, located in the distant Dong clan, to be greatly shocked. He knew that something major must have occurred within his clan, as otherwise, they wouldn’t have shattered it.

“I have to go back right away.” Shui Yi instantly applied for a leave of absence from the high-level members of the Dong clan. As a peak Zifu Disciple, he was naturally no ordinary servant, and could be said to have some status within the clan…a leave of absence to pay a visit to his home was a small matter. The high level members of the Dong clan had naturally nodded in approval. That very day, Shui Yi had embarked on a return trip back to his clan.

Roughly half a month later.

Just a hundred kilometers away from Yishui City, atop a wild, untamed, forested mountain, there was a beautiful estate. This was Northson’s construct-estate, and it was covered by formations that ensured that commoners and Xiantian experts would have no chance of discovering it. Ning’s group, for now, took up residence within this place.

“Master, would Shui Yi perhaps not return?” Qingqing said, worried. Ning shook his head. “This is his tribe, and he is the most powerful member of it. How can he not come back?” Aside from a very small minority of figures who had been humiliated by their tribes, most members of a tribe who had grown up within it would feel a powerful sense of belonging to their tribes. This was part of the law of survival in this vast world. If one wanted to live a good life, the entire tribe would have to be incomparably unified.

One generation after another would do battle for the sake of the tribe; this had become a form of faith for the countless tribesmen. Even those who weren’t truly infatuated with and loyal to their tribes would generally return when the tribe was in trouble.

“Eh?” A flash of sword-light suddenly appeared in Ning’s eyes. The nearby white-robed Uncle White glanced towards Ning as well. “He’s back?” Ning nodded. “He’s back!”

“Let’s go.” Uncle White couldn’t resist any longer as well, and Ning nodded. “Right.” Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning and Uncle White soared into the skies, quickly moving towards Shui Yi, who was currently hastening back towards Yishui City.

“We’ll follow them as well.” Northson and Qingqing immediately transformed into streaks of light, following after them.

In midair. A green, leaf-type magic treasure was soaring through the skies, with a gray-robed Daoist standing atop it. Shui Yi had a black birthmark on his face, and he always bore a smile, which gave him a rather crafty, sly look. However, a sly, craft person like him…had been able to claw his way to increasingly greater heights within the vast Dong clan, and rise from becoming a servant to a peak Zifu Disciple.

Actually, in addition to from those who had truly formidable backgrounds, the Immortal cultivators who had clawed their way up the ladder, one step at a time, could not be underestimated!

“What exactly happened? Why did they break the seal and ask for me to return? Even Tianyi couldn’t handle this matter?” Shui Yi, till this very moment, had no idea what had happened.

“Here I am.” Shui Yi could already see the distant Yishui City. The reason why Yishui City was named Yishui was precisely because the entire clan wanted to express its gratitude to him, Shui Yi.

“Swoosh.” Just as Shui Yi controlled his green leaf-type magic treasure to soar down from the clouds, suddenly…

Swish! A streak of light suddenly flew past, blocking his way. “Eh?” Shui Yi’s face changed. Just as he was about to reach Yishui City, another cultivator had come to bar his way? Shui Yi instantly sensed danger.

He took a close look. Standing in the air opposite from him was a fur-clad youth and a white-robed man. The white-robed man appeared to be the fur-clad youth’s servant or housekeeper. The fur-clad youth just stood there, staring at Shui Yi, his eyes as cold as ice. He said in an icy voice, “So you are Shui Yi?”

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Chapter 14 – Return to Serpentwing Lake

Chapter 14 – Return to Serpentwing Lake

“Not good.” Shui Yi was secretly shocked; he could sense that both the fur-clad youth and the white-robed steward by his side both posed a serious threat to him.

This sensation came from the killing intent that filled the hearts of Ning and Uncle White. Shui Yi could sense it, and thus his heart was filled with dread.

“I am Shui Yi. Given that the two of you have stopped me, I imagine that you already know who I am.” Shui Yi looked at the two of them. “I imagine that you two also expected that I would hurry back here from the distant Dong clan. Our Shui tribe is a small one, and it isn’t overly ambitious; if there’s anything you want, just go ahead and tell me. As long as I can accomplish it…naturally, I won’t decline.”

His words were simple, but at the same time, he not only issued a threat via his backers, the Dong clan, he also assumed a humble attitude. In an ordinary power struggle, this would be enough for the two sides to enter a negotiation. However…this wasn’t a power struggle. This was revenge!

“I want you…” Ning suddenly moved as he executed the Windwing Evasion, and a flashing sword-light stabbed directly through Shui Yi’s chest. Shui Yi wanted to dodge, and in fact, he even sent a few flying swords in front of him, but the difference in power between them was too great…in terms of power or in terms of the Dao, the difference was too great. In a single exchange, Shui Yi’s chest was pierced through.

“You…you!” Shui Yi stared. His flying swords fell down from midair, and multiple magic treasures spilled out next to him. Although his storage-type magic treasure remained with him, it was now an ownerless item, because his Zifu had been completely destroyed.

“You destroyed my Zifu…” Shui Yi couldn’t believe it.

“I’ll take these.” Ning waved his hand, collecting all of the magic treasures, then turned to stare coldly at Shui Yi. Although his Zifu had been destroyed, Shui Yi still stood there in midair, not sinking down at all…because an enormous Waterflame Lotus had bloomed beneath him, and Shui Yi was standing right on top of it, at its center. The lotus wasn’t swiveling; naturally, it contained no killing power.

“Why did you destroy my Zifu. I…I don’t even know you.” Shui Yi was stupefied. This sudden calamity was beyond his ability to comprehend. “Who exactly are you? Who are you!!!” Shui Yi’s face began to twist and distort. With his Zifu destroyed, his Immortal path had been severed; he would have no more hopes for advancement.

“Shui Yi, do you recognize me?” The nearby Uncle White transformed into mist, and then reformed into a snowy white dog.

“A Godbeast, Whitewater Hound?” When Shui Yi saw it, memories from twenty-plus years ago suddenly flooded his mind. These were memories from back when he followed young master Dong Seven. Back then, he had done all sorts of dastardly deeds with Dong Seven, but he had been completely fearless, because the young master would be able to deal with any repercussions. That truly was an enjoyable period of time for him.

Back then, he and Yu Dong had received orders to go capture a woman…but that woman’s elder brother and husband had used forbidden arts, frantically trying to block them. At that time, a snowy white dog had carried the woman away and fled.

“You…you are that Whitewater Hound?” Shui Yi looked at Ji Ning. “And you, you are…?”

“Those people you acted against were my uncle, my father, and my mother!” Ning stared at him, the cold look in his eyes causing Shui Yi’s heart to tremble.

“You are that child the woman was pregnant with?” Shui Yi stared. Good heavens. It was only twenty or so years. The child that woman was pregnant with had become this powerful? Could it be that the woman was pregnant with a reincarnated Immortal?

“Hmph.” With but a thought, Ning sent the elemental ki surging from his body, forming into a glowing rune that appeared in front of him. It was the Heartburner Art. The shining runic seal instantly merged into Shui Yi’s body.

“Enjoy this,” Ning said with cold emotionlessness. Shui Yi instantly let out an agonized scream. His flesh and his bones began to twist and distort, and his skin turned completely red. The agony was causing him to scream in pain.

“Kill me, kill me!” Heartrending roars rang out from Shui Yi’s mouth, but Ning just watched him calmly. “KILL ME!” Shui Yi bellowed. “Make it clean and fast!”

“Clean and fast? If I granted you your wish, who would come and grant me mine? Can you let my parents come back to life? Let my uncle come back to life?” Ning stared at him coldly. Shui Yi’s flesh was beginning to char, and his eyes had turned completely red. This was hell itself.

“I curse you, I curse you. You’ll die a miserable death, a miserable death!” Utterly agonized, Shui Yi stared death at Ning, filled with a towering rage.

Crackle, crackle, crackle…his body began to actually flicker with flames as it began to burn…

Ning produced the incense burner magic treasure. “In you go!” A soul was directly absorbed into the incense burner, then was corroded and destroyed. Ning then waved his hand, collecting all of the magic treasures that remained in the surrounding area.

Ning, previously incomparably icy, suddenly turned calm. Only, a very complicated look remained in his eyes. “Two are dead,” Ning said softly.

“Ning, son, your father and your mother never would have imagined that two out of the three culprits would have died in your hands so quickly.” Uncle White stood there to one side, gently patting Ning on the shoulders. “If they knew, they would definitely feel very gratified.”

“The last one, Dong Seven, remains. However, he’s at Snowdragon Mountain. That’s the headquarters of a school; even Loose Immortals would be cautious about charging into it. I have no chance at all, right now,” Ning said softly. “I’ll wait. I’ll let Dong Seven live for a bit longer, but when the time comes, I’ll destroy his soul as well!”

Revenge. Naturally, he wouldn’t give them a chance at all. These enemies were all Immortal cultivators with extremely powerful souls. Generally speaking, after they died and went to the Netherworld Kingdom, they could cooperate and become ghost soldiers, and eventually train to become Ghost Immortals. Ning wouldn’t permit this to occur.

“Let’s go. The others have been waiting quite a while,” Uncle White said. Ning turned his head and saw the distant Mu Northson and Little Qing. They clearly didn’t want to disturb Ning as he was taking revenge, and so simply had watched from far away.

“Right. It’s time to go back.” Next, Ning released Shui Tianyi. They were no grudges between them; given Ning’s proud disposition, he wouldn’t stoop to massacring this man. However, with Shui Yi’s death, in the future, the entire Shui clan would definitely begin to decay.

At the Crimson Dragon Mountains, the headquarters of the Raindragon Guard, not too far away from Stillwater City.

Ning and Northson both handed in their missions. “With these ten karmic points, we’ll have a hundred years of leisure.” Northson looked towards Ning. “Senior apprentice-brother, where are you planning to go?”

“I plan to go home,” Ning said. “I will probably stay permanently at Serpentwing Lake in my homeland, Swallow Mountain. I’ll occasionally go out and do some adventuring, but most of the time, I’ll be staying at Swallow Mountain.”

That place was his home.

That place had the people he was most familiar with.

That place had the underwater estate which would be of great use to him.

And similarly…it had been a long, long time since he had drifted about on a small boat on Serpentwing Lake, and enjoyed that feeling, that truly warm sensation, of being in the embrace of his father and his mother. He missed that sort of feeling.

“Back to Serpentwing Lake?” Northson paused for a moment, then said, “Senior apprentice-brother, then I’ll part with you for a time. I want to focus on analyzing the Dao of Constructs…I am going to return to the school. My master has reached an extremely deep level of understanding regarding the Dao of Constructs, and being with her is of great help to me. In addition, Master is close to the end of her life; I want to spend some time with her.”

Ning could sense that this junior apprentice-brother of his truly viewed Daoist Jadefine with affection, almost like the affection a son felt for a mother. After all, his actual mother had long since passed away.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. “Let’s split up for now. If you are free in the future, you can come to Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain.”

“Right. When the time comes, I’ll definitely go to visit you, senior apprentice-brother,” Northson said with a nod. And then, Northson rode his dragon-headed warship into the skies, flying straight towards Stillwater City.

As for Ning, he just watched as his junior apprentice-brother left. Then, he turned to Little Qing and Uncle White. “Let’s go.” They walked towards the Crimson Dragon Mountain’s teleportation array. This place was rather far away from Swallow Mountain, and going through the array would be somewhat faster.

Swallow Mountain. The mountains were the same mountains; the water was the same water. A ship was soaring through its skies, and aboard it was a fur-clad youth, a large, snowy white hound, and also a little azure snake, the latest addition to the party.

“We’re back.” As Ning stared at the sight of his homeland, he revealed a hint of a smile on his face. “When I left, it was winter, and white snow covered the entire place. Upon my return…it is still the cold winter.”

When he had left the Black-White College and joined the Raindragon Guard, it had been the middle of summer. However, after the trials at the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, the pursuit of criminal suspects, and the killing of Yu Dong and Shui Yi, it was already the middle of winter. The ground below was covered with silver-white decorations of snow. Swallow Mountain was a cold place to begin with, and in the winter, it was almost completely covered in snow. When Ning was born, the world was covered in snow as well.

“Serpentwing Lake.” The Whitewater Hound suddenly spoke in the human tongue. “We’re here.” Ning, too, stared at the vast Serpentwing Lake. Although snow had built up on the banks of the lake, the waters of the seemingly endless lake continued to flow forth in waves. A lake of this size…even in the coldest of temperatures, it would very rarely be completely frozen over.

“Serpentwing Lake.” Upon seeing the lake, Ning felt a surge of warmth. His mother’s ashes…his father’s ashes…they had all been sprinkled into the waters of this lake. The boat drifted downwards from the skies, landing in the middle of the lake.

“Father. Mother.” Ning looked towards the lake, then revealed a smile. “I’m back. Of our three enemies, your son was only strong enough to kill two of them for now. One of them is awaiting his turn. He, too, will die.”

“Uncle White. I’m going to sleep for a time,” Ning said. The Whitewater Hound nodded. Ning then lay down on the boat, feeling incomparably relaxed and comfortable. The boat drifted atop the surface of the lake. It felt so very wonderful, far more so than sleeping on a bed. The gentle rocking movements of the boat stop the waters of the lake…it felt like how, when he was an infant, his mother had constantly cradled him in her arms.

The boat slowly rocked forward, a Whitewater Hound lying on one side of it, and with a little azure serpent wrapped around Ning’s wrist, snuggly nestled against him.

Slowly, the boat floated towards the center, towards Brightheart Island.

Sundown. Only now did the boat draw close to the shores of Brightheart Island. Ning could sense the auras of the many people living on the island, and he naturally rose to his feet. As he rose to his feet, he saw the distant snowbanks, and a white-robed woman standing within them, staring towards him, unable to disguise the tears within her eyes.

“Autumn Leaf!” Ji Ning revealed a smile on his face. “I’m back.”

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Chapter 15 – The Rise of the Ji Clan

Chapter 15 – The Rise of the Ji Clan

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf’s eyes flashed with tears, but these were the tears of joy. Ning laughed as well. It had been so long since he had seen Autumn Leaf. Since he was a child, the closest to him had been his father, his mother, Uncle White, Spring Grass, and Autumn Leaf. His parents and Spring Grass had all passed away, leaving behind only Uncle White and Autumn Leaf. Ning knew that what he felt for Autumn Leaf wasn’t romantic love; it was a sort of familial love.

“Four years. Autumn Leaf, you haven’t changed much at all. You should’ve broken through to become a Xiantian lifeform.” Ning walked over to her. Autumn Leaf hurriedly wiped her tears away, then said, “It was all thanks to the medicines that you left behind, young master; they helped me to break through to the Xiantian level.”

Ning didn’t feel the slightest bit surprised by the fact that Autumn Leaf had made a breakthrough, because as someone who had been selected to be his personal handmaiden, she was naturally quite talented. With the help of the medicines he had left behind for her, Autumn Leaf did indeed have a very high chance of becoming a Xiantian lifeform.

“Have you been well, these past four years?” Ning asked.

“I’ve been alright. Brightheart Island is the same as it always has been, while the Ji clan has been growing more and more powerful,” Autumn Leaf said. “After that battle, Snowdragon Mountain’s forces in the Swallow Mountain region grew much weaker. Although they sent three more Zifu Disciples to be stationed at the Swallow Mountain branch, after news spread that you joined the Black-White College, young master, the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain no longer dared to cause trouble.”

Ning nodded. In terms of power, since the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain had the support of the main Snowdragon Mountain sect, it had far more experts and a much deeper base of strength than the Ji clan.

However, Ning joined the Black-White College. When Northmont Baiwei had sent people to Swallow Mountain to collect and harvest the elemental ore mines, he had also sent messengers to inform the Ji clan that Ning had joined the Black-White College. Once this news spread, the Ji clan’s reputation instantly soared to unprecedented heights.

Good heavens. The Black-White College! To the powers located in the Swallow Mountain region, the Black-White College was an incomparably massive behemoth that was far beyond their level. According to legend, every single person admitted to the Black-White College was a supreme, peerless, monstrous genius. Even Snowdragon Mountain, despite its grudge against Ji Ning, had to temporarily stay their hand and let go of their hate.

“And Bluestone?” Ning asked. “Bluestone.” Autumn Leaf turned and called his name out, and a tall, muscular youth ran towards them from far away.

Ning was shocked. What a tall, muscular fellow! The man was at least 1.9 meters tall, even taller than Ning himself. When Ning had left, Bluestone had been a mere youngster, but after four years…he’d actually grown so tall!

“Big Brother.” Bluestone walked over. “Why were you hiding over there?” Ning laughed as he ‘reprimanded’ Bluestone. He had watched Bluestone grow up from his toddler years, and had long since come to view Bluestone as his own little brother.

Bluestone chortled. “I wanted to let Big Sister Autumn Leaf and you, Big Brother, have a private meeting, alright?”

Autumn Leaf instantly stared at him. As for Ning, he just laughed.

“Big Brother, why do you have a snake around your arm?” Bluestone saw the little azure snake wrapped around Ning’s wrist.

“Little Qing,” Ning called out. Whoosh; the little azure snake instantly transformed into mist, and then reformed into an azure-robed maiden. Even Autumn Leaf was shocked, and as for the nearby Bluestone, he actually jumped. “A monster! A Diremonster!”

“I’m a Wanxiang Diremonster! A peak Wanxiang Diremonster!” Qingqing raised her head and spoke smugly.

“A Wanxiang Diremonster?” Bluestone blinked. Although Ning had originally left behind some pills and treasures for him, in terms of talent, Bluestone was somewhat inferior to even Autumn Leaf. Although Autumn Leaf had already become a Xiantian lifeform, Bluestone remained unable to break through, and was still at the Houtian stage. However, he knew about the major levels of Immortal cultivators.

“Peak Wanxiang? Our Patriarch of the Ji clan seems to only be a Zifu Disciple.” Bluestone looked towards the azure-robed maiden, unable to believe that this was someone who could easily crush the Patriarch of the Ji clan.

Ning laughed. “Little Qing was originally an Azure Skysnake who lived in the Swallow Mountains. Afterwards, fate brought us together in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, and so she accompanied me and became my spirit-beast.”

“Your spirit-beast, Big Brother?” Bluestone let out a sigh of relief, then asked with curiosity, “Big Brother, are you at the peak Wanxiang level yet?” “Late Wanxiang level, a bit weaker than Little Qing,” Ning said.

“Although Master’s only at the late Wanxiang level, I’m far from being his match.” Qingqing lowered her head and said, “Master…he’s a real monster, even more of a monster than me.”

Autumn Leaf and Bluestone were both delighted and surprised. Autumn Leaf then looked at the Whitewater Hound behind Ning. “Uncle White, you…” “Uncle White is also at the late Wanxiang level,” Ning said.

“This…this…” Autumn Leaf instantly realized how, despite only a few years having passed, her young master had improved at an utterly astonishing rate.

The Whitewater Hound began to speak in the human tongue. “Monsters train much more slowly, and many monsters will take thousands of years to go from the Zifu level to the Wanxiang level, and tens of thousands of years to go from the Wanxiang level to the Primal level…although I reached the necessary level of insights long ago, in terms of accumulated elemental ki, I had needed to accumulate much more. Fortunately, Ning helped me, and thus I very quickly reached the Wanxiang level.”

“Three Wanxiang experts.” Bluestone was full of delight and excitement. “The other powers of Swallow Mountain don’t even have a single Wanxiang Adept amongst their ranks, but our Ji clan has suddenly gained three. This is too…too…ahahaha, we’re going to be invincible!”

“The young master’s formidable, but you aren’t. He gave you excellent techniques, excellent masters, and various treasures and spirit-pills…but you still have yet to become a Xiantian lifeform. When the young master was your age, he was able to effortlessly kill Zifu Disciples,” Autumn Leaf scolded.

“How can I compare to Big Brother? In terms of cultivating, I can’t even compare to you, Big Sister Autumn Leaf,” Bluestone shook his head. Autumn Leaf scolded him angrily, “You don’t work hard, and you always make excuses for yourself.”

Seeing this, Ning actually felt a strong, warm feeling surge into his heart. It was just like before; Autumn Leaf also treated Bluestone as she would her own little brother.

Ji Ning had returned. The unparalleled genius, the disciple of Black-White College, Ji Ning. He had come back to Swallow Mountain. This news quickly stunned the entire Ji clan, and the members of the clan celebrated and danced for joy.

Soon, the likes of Patriarch Ji Ninefire, Ji Young, Ji Redflower, and the others, including the most outstanding youths the Ji clan had produced in recent years…they all made their way to Brightheart Island of Serpentwing Lake!

“This is a Wanxiang serpent monster?”

“The Whitewater Hound has become a Wanxiang Diremonster as well?”

The Patriarch and the others, upon arriving, were all astonished. They weren’t too surprised by the fact that Ning had become a Wanxiang Adept, as Ji Ning had been able to easily slay the Wanxiang Adept, Xu Li, in the past. In addition, Ji Ning had entered the legendary Black-White College; in their hearts, for a monster like Ji Ning to improve so rapidly was perfectly normal. If he trained as slowly as they did, that would be quite surprising.

“Patriarch,” Ning said, “Recently, I joined the Raindragon Guard.” The nearby Ninefire, Granny Shadow, Ji Truekeep, and Young all revealed looks of surprise on delight on their normally calm faces. They didn’t know that Ning had recently joined the Raindragon Guard; however, they weren’t at all surprised by the fact that he was strong enough to join them.

“After joining the Raindragon Guard, I was granted the authority to designate a region of ten thousand kilometers to be protected by the Raindragon Guard! Even if I were to die in the future, this land would still be protected by the Raindragon Guard for a thousand years. The region I designated has the City of Ten Thousand Swords at the center, and the other four prefectural cities included within it as well.”

“Here’s the talisman.” Ning took out a talisman, then said, “Only Zifu Disciples can bind it. After doing so, hang it above the gates of the Lord Prefect’s residence at the City of Ten Thousand Swords. When you do so, the entire city’s walls will have a vague outline of a Raindragon appear. Others will instantly know that this place is under the protection of the Raindragon Guard, and they won’t dare to invade.”

Ninefire accepted the talisman with incomparable excitement. “This will be the foundation of our clan, the foundation of our clan! With this talisman, our clan’s base will be even more secure, and our Ji clan will definitely flourish and grow!” The nearby Truekeep and others were all filled with anticipation and eagerness as well.

“Ji Ning, how long will you remain, this time?” Ninefire asked. “In the future,” Ning said, “I’ll permanently live here at Serpentwing Lake. I’ll occasionally go out and take on some missions for the Raindragon Guard, and also occasionally pay a visit to my master at the Black-White College of Stillwater City. The rest of the time, I should be here.”

There were some students of the Black-White College who always stayed at the College. This was because the college had the Black-White Diagram, and because they could often discuss the Dao with their fellow disciples. Ning, however, was different. First of all, Immortal Diancai only occasionally provided guidance to him. As for the Black-White Diagram? It wasn’t of too much benefit to Ning, as it would be enough for him to just go view it occasionally. This was because Ning had the underwater estate, which was even better. The Stellar Hall of the underwater estate was far more formidable than the Black-White Diagram.

Whether for the sake of the clan, or because of the underwater estate, or for the sake of the calmness of his own soul, Ning would choose to remain at Serpentwing Lake.

“Good. Good!” Ninefire, overjoyed, said hurriedly, “It won’t affect your training, will it? No matter what, training as an Immortal is of paramount concern.”

“It will not,” Ning shook his head. “Good.” Ninefire nodded repeatedly. “With you here long-term, Ji Ning, and with two Wanxiang Diremonsters…our Ji clan’s power will grow exponentially. With this additional power, our Ji clan will flourish still further, and our territory will grow.”

“Right. Three Wanxiang Adepts, and with Ning possibly being a Primal Daoist in the future! The territory our Ji clan has is too small.” Granny Shadow, Ji Truekeep, and the others all began to grow excited. The larger one’s stomach was, the more food one could eat. In the past, the Ji clan’s power was limited, and so they naturally didn’t dare to desire too much. But now that Ji Ning was so powerful, and now that he had two Wanxiang Diremonsters, and had the support of the Black-White College? Given their power, the Ji clan was naturally going to flourish.

“Do as you see fit.” Ning agreed, because this had been his father’s hope as well. “If you run into any trouble…Little Qing, Uncle White, the two of you need to give them a hand.”

“Leave it to me,” Qingqing said confidently. “Swallow Mountain only has us three Wanxiang Adepts; doesn’t that mean we’ll be able to do whatever the hell we want?”

“Haha…” Ninefire and the others all began to roar with laughter.

Ji Ning’s decision to stay at Serpentwing Lake sent excitement throughout the Ji clan. Ning also gave some guidance to some of the more promising new talents of the Ji clan. However, these so-called talents could only be considered talents in the Swallow Mountain region; none of them truly astonished Ning. Ning soon understood that the fellow disciples he usually interacted with were all members of the Black-White College…how could the ‘geniuses’ of a small clan such as the Ji clan compare with them?

Reuniting with his clan members. Providing guidance to his juniors. After three days, things at Brightheart Island finally calmed down. Only now did Ning enter his private study room.

“The underwater estate.” With but a thought, Ning manifested an enormous phantom of a grizzly bear’s head within his private room. The phantom bear had a hint of a smile on its face. Opening its mouth, it swallowed Ning into it.

Ning disappeared from the private room. He had returned to the ‘underwater estate’, located in a different dimension.

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Chapter 16 – Comprehending the Dao in the Stellar Hall

Chapter 16 – Comprehending the Dao in the Stellar Hall

The large, ancient hall was the same as it had been in the past. Those giant prayer mats remained in the same positions as they had for trillions of years.

Ning materialized out of nowhere within this main hall. He instantly saw an old black bull and a giant yellow bear, and he hurriedly said with respect, “Ji Ning greets you two, seniors.”

“Late Wanxiang stage?” The giant yellow bear nodded slightly. “You’ve improved quite quickly as a Ki Refiner, but you have only reached the ninth stage as a Fiendgod. You are a bit slower.”

“Already at the Wanxiang level?” The old black bull was quite surprised. He looked at Ning. “Ji Ning, kiddo, it seems as though you are already much more powerful than our fourth master, Rampart. Rampart died at the Wanxiang level, you know.”

Ning just grinned. As for the giant yellow bear, he nodded. “Ji Ning is naturally much more powerful than Rampart; his talent is comparable to a reincarnated Immortal’s.”

“You praise me too much, senior,” Ning said with a laugh. Naturally, he felt quite pleased at being praised. “I wonder how much of a chance I would currently have at challenging the third level of the Wargod Hall?”

“Less than ten percent.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “What?!” Ning was shocked. When he had left Swallow Mountain and gone to Stillwater City, he had already successfully passed the second level of the Wargod Hall. In the past four years, he had only grown more powerful as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and had embarked on the path of the Dao of the Sword…and yet the spirit of the estate, the giant yellow bear, was actually saying with great certainty that he had less than a ten percent change of passing the third level?

“Senior, you don’t even know what level I have reached in the sword,” Ning protested. The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Ji Ning, you don’t understand. The first and second levels of the Wargod Hall, upon being completed, result in rewards of Mortal-ranked magic treasures or items of comparable value. But the third and fourth levels, when completed, will resulted in you acquiring Earth-ranked magic treasures or items of comparable value…in short, after every two levels of the Wargod Hall, the difficulty skyrockets.”

“Skyrockets?” Ning frowned.

“Right. The first and second levels of the Wargod Hall are generally meant to be a test for Fiendgods who have reached the Zifu level. The third and fourth levels, however, are meant for Fiendgods who have reached the Wanxiang level.” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “Generally speaking, only when Fiendgods have reached the Wanxiang level will they have a chance at passing the third level of the Wargod Hall. You are only at the ninth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; your fundamentals are, by comparison, far too weak. Although you have divine abilities, the test has already accounted for them as well; these are tests meant for the heirs of Master, after all.”

“For example, the seventh and eighth levels of the Wargod Hall are meant to test Fiendgods who have reached the Void level of power. In the past, Immortal Juhua had remained unable to break through as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and so although he did break through as a Ki Refiner, and he even reached the peak of the Void level as a Ki Refiner, he was still unable to pass the seventh level. Only after he trained for many years and became a Loose Immortal was he able to pass the seventh level…from this, you should be able to imagine how difficult it is.”

Ning nodded silently. Right. Immortal Juhua, even as a peak Void-level Ki Refiner, was unable to pass the seventh level. Thus, for a peak Wanxiang-level Ki Refiner to pass the third level would be similarly difficult. One had to have the finest Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, a high level of insight into the Dao, and and a divine ability like the [Starseizing Hand], or one of the other top three divine abilities in the Divine Abilities Hall, in order to be able to pass it.

These were the trials left behind by Daoist Threelives!

“But of course, you can try if you want,” the giant yellow bear said. “At the Zifu level, as a Fiendgod, you have two chances to challenge the Wargod Hall. You’ve only used one; you have one more!”

Ning laughed. “No rush. The main reason I’ve come is to go visit the Stellar Hall.” The old black bull said hurriedly, “Let me take you there. The Wargod Hall is extremely difficult; in the past, it drove Immortal Juhua nearly insane. The Stellar Hall is much better; it is completely filled with the mysteries of the Dao, and is a sacred place for comprehending it.”

The giant yellow bear followed them from behind. A bull, a man, and a bear. They walked together towards the Stellar Hall.

Within the Stellar Hall. The giant mountain remained there, filled with green, verdant life. Beneath that mountain, the stones remained strewn about wildly, with a thatched straw hut in the mist of them. The sky was still filled with those countless, sparkling stars.

“Each time I come, I have a different feeling.” Ning looked towards the stream of water which flowed atop some of the rocks, then towards the wild grass that grew amidst them. He stared at the stars in the sky, each of which made him feel extremely aware of the profundity of the Dao. “That one is the Dao of the Inferno. That one is…the Dao of the Sword?”

Ning raised his head, giving it a look. “The Dao of the Sword?!” Ning couldn’t help but let out a startled cry. The nearby old black bull gave him a surprised glance. “You’ve embarked onto the Dao of the Sword?”

Ning nodded. “Right. After leaving Swallow Mountain, I went to Stillwater City. Shortly after I entered the Black-White College, I embarked on the Dao of the Sword.”

“In the past, Juhua embarked on the Dao of the Sword as well. Immortal Juhua was an extremely famous Sword Immortal…unfortunately, he wasn’t able to completely comprehend the Dao of the Sword.” The old black bull shook his head and sighed.

“The Dao of the Sword is one of the Grand Daos.” The giant yellow bear walked towards them from behind, then said leisurely, “If you have the heart of a Sword Immortal, a heart which is sincere to the sword, and a high level of comprehension, you’ll generally be able to embark on the Dao of the Sword.”

Ning muttered to himself. It was easy for the bear to say that, but in the entire Black-White College, aside from his master, Ning was the only person to embark on the Dao of the Sword. It seemed, however, as though the bear viewed it as quite a simple matter. Still…the spirit of the estate had previously followed Daoist Threelives, a Primordial Fiendgod. It only made sense that he had a broader view of things.

“It’s easy to embark on the Dao of the Sword, and it’s also not too hard to be fairly accomplished in it. However, to comprehend the entire Dao of the Sword…that is incomparably difficult.” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “In your homeland, this world which has been unified by the Grand Xia Dynasty, there probably isn’t a single person who has comprehended the entire Dao of the Sword!”

Ning was speechless. He continued to listen.

“Lesser Daos are lesser Daos. Grand Daos are Grand Daos. Heavenly Daos are Heavenly Daos!” The giant yellow bear let out a sigh. “The differences between the three are tremendous. Immortal Juhua had comprehended nine complete Dao-Paths, but even if you gave him another ten million years, he still wouldn’t be able to completely comprehend a complete Grand Dao! My master, a Primordial Fiendgod, was born from the primordial chaos with innate mastery over an entire Grand Dao! Afterwards, he comprehended quite a few complete Grand Daos, and many ordinary Daos…but unfortunately, up till the day he built this estate, he still remained unable to master a Heavenly Dao.”

Ning’s ears pricked up. Daoist Threelives? He was born from the primordial chaos with innate mastery over a Grand Dao? And had mastered many Grand Daos?

“Slowly enlighten yourself. Your talent is far greater than Juhua’s. Only by comprehending a complete Grand Dao will you have a chance at becoming a major power who can roam freely about the Three Realms. Only then will you have a chance at becoming comparable to your master, Daoist Threelives.” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “In this major world controlled by the Grand Xia Dynasty…you may become the very first person to completely comprehend the entirety of the Grand Dao of the Sword.”

Ning instantly felt his blood beginning to pump. Neither Immortal Northwalker nor the even more powerful Immortal Juhua had been able to even come close to mastering the complete Grand Dao of the Sword, despite the fact that they had travelled quite far along that path. And yet, they had already become incredibly powerful figures that had awed the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, and were even comparable to Celestial Immortals, despite only being Loose Immortals. If he were to truly master the complete Dao-Path of the Sword, then he would become a truly formidable figure in the Three Realms.

“My talent is greater than Immortal Juhua, and I have the divine ability, Starseizing Hand…my starting point is much higher than his as well.” Ning mused to himself, “And with the underwater estate assisting me…given all of my advantages, if I’m still unable to become a Sword Immortal who has completely mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword, I’ll have no one to blame but myself.”

Ning felt an incomparably heroic aura surge within his breast. Senior Northwalker? Immortal Juhua? He was going to become an even more powerful Sword Immortal, the most powerful Sword Immortal of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty! A Sword Immortal whose name would be known throughout the Three Realms!

“A nine-story tower is built on a foundation of earth. A journey of a thousand kilometers starts with the first step. I must move forward on my path, one step at a time.” Ning immediately moved towards the thatched hut, then pulled open a book. It was the [Stellar Scroll One], [Stellar Scroll Two], and so on…after placing these books on the stone table within the thatched cottage, Ning sat down on a stone bench. Opening the first scroll, Ning began to read.

“Today, Chang Laijian came to me, asking me for help…” Ning read on, his enunciation of each character seemingly quite simple, but when spoken together, they linked in a way which was filled with the exquisite music of the great Dao. Naturally, this guided Ning’s heart to begin to enter a state where his subconscious beagn to focus even more on comprehending the Dao…

Ning’s eyes grew hooded as he stared towards the stars in the sky. Whoosh. A wind arose. Small winds began to stir in the nearby region. Ning stood up, then took a single step, and as he did, he seemed to become part of the wind, merging into it. He was like the flapping wings of a giant Roc, soaring about through the wind. With each movement, it was as though he was using an evasive, agility technique; he’d disappear in one place, then reappear somewhere else, where the wind had arisen. This…this was the true [Windwing Evasion].

“The Dao of the Gale.” The giant yellow bear nodded slightly. “He has reached the Dao Domain level in yet another Dao. It seems as though in the past four years, Ji Ning has improved considerably.”

During these past few years, Ning had accumulated many experiences and insights. All of them were now being drawn out by the Stellar Hall, and they began to burst forth.

Within the Black-White College in the distant Stillwater City, as Ning was reading the [Stellar Scrolls] and meditating on the Dao in the Stellar Hall.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning and I have both completed our Raindragon Guard missions. Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning returned to his homeland, the Swallow Mountain region. For me to go there wouldn’t help me much in gaining insights into the Dao of Constructs, so I came back,” Northson said with a laugh. In front of him was senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, dressed in a sky-blue robe.

Ninelotus laughed, then nodded. “You two junior apprentice-brothers truly are formidable. Both of you became Raindragon Guards in such a short period of time. To this very day, I have not yet joined the Raindragon Guard.”

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, you have also reached the Wanxiang level. I imagine that you will soon become a Raindragon Guard,” Northson said.

“No rush. When I grow a bit more powerful, I’ll join the Raindragon Guard.” Ninelotus paused for a moment, then asked, “Right…when junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning returned to Swallow Mountain, did he tell you where he was going?”

Northson said, “Serpentwing Lake! Senior apprentice-brother said that in the future, he would be living there!”

“Oh, Serpentwing Lake!” Ninelotus nodded gently, silently memorizing this name, then laughed and rose to her feet. “I won’t bother you any further, junior apprentice-brother. I’ll go back now.” Ninelotus stepped onto a snowy white lotus-shaped magic treasure, then soared into the skies, flying far away.

While soaring through the skies, she had a hint of a smile in her eyes. “Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain? Master also said that I’ve spent too much time in the College, and should go out and do some adventuring and broaden my horizons. Mmm. I’ll first go visit Serpentwing Lake.”

Two days later.

Ninelotus and her junior apprentice-sister departed from the Black-White College, heading out on an adventure. The first destination for the two of them was Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain.

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Chapter 17 – The Third Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

Chapter 17 – The Third Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

The underwater estate. The Stellar Hall.

A wild gale howled within the skies of the Stellar Hall. Occasionally, flames would fill the skies, and occasionally, sheets of rain would fall. And Ning…he was the master of the wind and the storm, as though everything was under his command.

“A true genius.” The giant yellow bear stood within the thatched cottage, staring off into the distance. He couldn’t help but sigh, “In four short years, he’s managed to improve this much.”

“He is formidable.” The old black bull’s pair of ox-eyes were completely round as he stared. “As long as this kid doesn’t screw up on his path and die somewhere, he will definitely be able to reach Immortal Juhua’s level with ease.”

The giant yellow bear gave a sidelong glance to the old black bull. “Stop praising your master. Your master, as an Earth Immortal, wasn’t able to overcome the seventh level of the Wargod Hall…despite the assistance of the underwater estate, in the end, he still became a Loose Immortal. How can his talent be compared to Ji Ning’s? Ji Ning, in terms of comprehension or temperament, is significantly superior to your master.”

The old black bull let out an awkward laugh. “Look,” he said hurriedly, “Ji Ning is now beginning to gain insights into the Dao of the Sword.” The giant yellow bear turned to look over…

Ning stood there, amidst the strewn rocks. The wild gale, the torrential rain, the blazing inferno…it had all vanished. In the area around him, one surge of sword-ki after another began to emerge, visible to the naked eye. They began to wantonly swing through the area near Ning, and each stroke of sword-ki contained the profoundities of the Dao of the Sword, as they continuously put on display the insights Ning was gaining.

As for Ning himself, he remained staring at the star-studded skies, focusing on one star in particular. This was the star that contained the complete Grand Dao of the Sword.

Previously, when Ning was comprehending the Dao, he had been like a blind man trying to build a mental image of an elephant by using his hands to feel it. He had advanced at a very slow pace, one step at a time…but now, within the Stellar Hall, which contained an entire, complete Dao-Path, it was as though a lamp had been lit within the darkness, allowing Ning to see where he was going. The accumulated experiences Ning had gained into the Dao of the Sword were beginning to burst forth…

“His ability to comprehend the Dao of the Sword is quite high,” the old black bull breathed in surprise. “Ji Ning’s ability to comprehend the Dao of the Sword has long surpassed the level of ‘comprehending one’s sword-heart’.”

“Right. A bit a higher than I predicted.” The giant yellow bear laughed, then said in praise, “It seems as though Master will finally have a true successor.”

……

Time passed, one minute at a time. The sword-ki around Ning became increasingly intricate and profound, and increasingly pure as well. The old black bull and the giant yellow bear, these two magic treasure spirits who had lived for unfathomably many years, watched leisurely as Ning continued to gain insights into the Dao. They watched for more than half a month.

“It truly is unfathomably profound.” Ning suddenly let out a surprised sigh, and the sword-ki around him instantly, completely vanished.

“Finished?” The old black bull called to him. Ning turned to look, only to see the old black bull and the giant yellow bear within the thatched hut. He immediately nodded and sighed in amazement, “To be able to easily view and analyze the complete Dao of the Sword is the dream of any Sword Immortal. This time, when I viewed the entirety of the Grand Dao of the Sword, I finally understood…that even our Black-White College’s Immortal Northwalker’s [Three-Foot Sword] only contained a small portion of the complete Grand Dao of the Sword. The path of Immortal cultivators truly is a long, winding one.

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear had a hint of a smile on his face. “What level has your swordplay reached? Show it to me.”

“Please provide me with some guidance.” Ning manifested a longsword of elemental ki in his hands. Calmly, he struck out with the sword, almost as though he were painting something. The sword danced in his hands, just like the brush of a master painter on a canvas; it was a very natural, relaxed movement of the sword.

“Swish!” The sword of elemental ki flashed outwards, and a faint sword tip suddenly appeared, leaving behind a sword-scar in the skies that could be seen with the visible eye, as though a painter’s brush had left behind visible markings.

The third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Sudden Sword Light!

“What a reserved sword. What a shocking sword.” The giant yellow bear’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but saying in praise, “The person who was able to develop this sword technique was truly a genius, most likely superior to even Juhua.”

The old black bull instantly said, angry, “Big Brother, how can you say that he’s superior to Juhua? My master was an extremely powerful Loose Immortal whose fame was well known throughout the lands under the control of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning explained, “This sword technique is known as the [Three-Foot Sword], and it has a total of nine stances. Just now, I displayed the third stance, ‘Sudden Sword Light’, the most powerful sword technique I am currently capable of using. This sword technique was developed by the most powerful Sword Immortal in the history of the Black-White College, ‘Immortal Northwalker’. He was a Loose Immortal who lived for more than a million years…but of course, in terms of longevity, he couldn’t compare to senior Juhua.”

“More than a million years?” The giant yellow bear stared at the old black bull. “Black bull, this Immortal Northwalker was merely an Immortal of Stillwater Commandery, but he still became so accomplished. I wasn’t wrong in saying that he was more talented than Juhua, was I?”

“Hmph. Maybe he had even more monstrous luck than Juhua did,” the old black bull snorted. The giant yellow bear stared at him. “You black bull…you are going to be pig-headed with me? So I have to lock you up for a few thousand years before you shape up?”

“Big Brother, we’re just debating with words, not violence!” The old black bull hurriedly took two steps back. Ning, seeing this, couldn’t help but secretly laugh. These two…

One was the spirit of Immortal Juhua’s Immortal-ranked magic treasure, while the other was the spirit of the estate which Daoist Threelives had forged. The two were both magic treasure spirits, and yet they could actually end up bickering like this?

“Big Brother, let’s not make a fool out of ourselves in front of Ji Ning. Am I right?” The old black bull hung its head. The giant yellow bear couldn’t even be bothered to look at the old black bull. He said directly to Ning, “Ji Ning, you have finished comprehending the Dao in the Stellar Hall…even if you spend more time here, it will be useless. You will need more normal, everyday experiences in the real world before you can gain more insights here! What do you plan to do next?”

“Senior,” Ning said. “If I were to go challenge the third level of the Stellar Hall, how are my chances now?”

“Now?” The giant yellow bear hesitated. “Your insights into the Dao of the Sword truly are at a higher level than I had anticipated. That that sword technique of yours, that…what was it…the ‘[Three-Foot Sword]’? It is quite formidable! Mm, and given that you have my master’s most powerful divine ability…you should have a 30% chance of overcoming the third level of the Wargod Hall.”

“Thirty percent?” Ning was secretly startled. The Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of the Inferno, the Dao of the Gale…he had improved significantly in all three Daos. He had also made significant gains in the Dao of the Sword, and had comprehended the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]! Ning could sense that his power had increased dramatically! But he still only had a thirty percent chance?

“Are you going to challenge it?” The giant yellow bear asked. “Yes!” Ning nodded, not hesitating at all. “Eh?” The giant yellow bear was puzzled. “Why’ve you decided to challenge it? Aren’t you going to wait until you are a bit stronger and have a better shot?”

Ning shook his head. “I can sense that I will soon break through to the tenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Once I make the breakthrough, I will be at the Wanxiang level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. By then, I’ll have two new chances to challenge the Wargod Hall, and the previous chance will have been wasted.”

As a Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ning had two chances. He used the first to pass the first level of the Wargod Hall, and the second in a failed attempt at the second level.

As a Zifu-level Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ning had gained two additional options. He had only used one, to pass the second level of the Wargod Hall. If he didn’t use this second option…he would soon break through to the Wanxiang level, at which point it would be wasted.

“Let’s go,” the giant yellow bear said. “Follow me to the Wargod Hall.”

……

As they exited the Stellar Hall, they moved through the winding corridor, soon arriving in front of the Wargod Hall. Ning pressed hand directly against the giant bronze door that was covered with a layer of bloody light . With a whoosh, that layer of bloody light devoured Ning, teleporting him away.

He was in a vast, endless world. The ground here seemed to be stained red with blood, and in the distance, a massive, towering edifice could be seen.

“Senior.” Ning saw that the giant yellow bear had appeared out of nowhere, next to him. “The third level?” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Go, then!” The giant yellow bear pointed towards the distant tower. “Go in through the gates to that tower. You’ll be transported directly to the third level. Remember; if you realize that you have no hopes of winning, immediately use the talisman to teleport out. Your opponent won’t show any mercy; if you aren’t careful, you might die. That really wouldn’t be worth it.”

Ning nodded. Swoosh! Moving like a flash, he crossed the three hundred meters and arrived at the gates to the tower, glowing with a hazy white light. He took a step inside…and space twisted.

“The third level?” Ning stared at his surroundings. This was a blurry white room that was three thousand meters high and many thousands of meters in circumference. “What’s the trial here on the third floor?” The Darknorth swords materialized into Ning’s hands as he carefully stared around.

Suddenly…

A ray of golden light shot out. It began to coalesce, quickly shaping into a golden-armored general. This golden-armored general had a cold, cruel look on his face, but his armor was incomparably beautiful. He had a pair of warhammers in his hands.

“Eh?” The golden-armored general looked around, then a hint of delight appeared on his face. Soon, his gaze fell upon Ning. Ning…felt his heart tremble.

Danger!

Danger!

His subconscious was frantically warning him that the golden-armored warrior in front of him was extremely terrifying. His soul had never been wrong before, and Ning instantly grew extremely cautious. “Didn’t the spirit of the estate say that I have a 30% chance of winning? 30% isn’t that bad…why is it that this golden-armored warrior gives me such a terrifying sense of danger? Even ordinary Primal Daoists don’t have such a terrifying presence.”

“Little kid, you seem quite weak. The aura of your Fiendgod body isn’t that strong.” The golden-armored warrior looked weighingly at Ning. “Although I’m nothing more than an avatar created by a strand of divine power…beating you will be far too easy.”

Divine power?

Avatar?

Ning new that Fiendgod Body Refiners had special powers at special levels. At the Zifu level, one would be capable of the Blood-Drop Rebirth ability. At the Wanxiang level, one would be able to change one’s appearances and features. At the Primal level, one could separate part of their flesh and blood and form it into a clone, but the so-called ‘clones’ a Primal could create were not capable of independent movement; they had to move alongside the main body, and weren’t independent.

In order to create an avatar through a strand of divine power, and one that was able to move about at that…this was definitely something only an extremely powerful Fiendgod was capable of!

“A Fiendgod?” Ning held his breath. “It must be a Fiendgod who is at least at the Void level. How could the avatar of a Fiendgod have been teleported here by the Wargod Hall?”

“What other secrets does this underwater estate hold? In the past, Immortal Juhua was capable of binding the estate and carrying it with him, but the old black bull said…that Immortal Juhua always had the feeling that there were other secrets hidden within it.” Ning cursed inwardly, “Given that the avatar of a Fiendgod has appeared in the Wargod Hall, even an idiot would be able to guess that there are other secrets within the underwater estate.”

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Chapter 18 – The Avatar of a Fiendgod

Chapter 18 – The Avatar of a Fiendgod

“Unfortunately, I have yet to truly be acknowledged by the spirit of the estate.” Ning understood this point. There were many secrets which the giant yellow bear refused to tell him. Instead, he had Ning go risk his life time and time again. If Ning truly were to die…then, it would be just like it had been for Immortal Juhua and Rampart. If he died, he died. The spirit of the estate would wait the next master. Even Daoist Threelives had stated that Ning would only be considered his disciple upon reaching the ‘Empyrean God’ level; clearly, Ning’s current level of power was far from being sufficient.

“It makes sense. The more powerful a person is, the more attention will be paid to him. Compared to the first time he met me, the spirit of the estate is being much nicer nowadays.” Ning remembered quite well that the first time he had met the giant yellow bear, the bear had paid him almost no attention.

These thoughts flashed through Ning’s mind, but he then immediately crushed them. This wasn’t the time to over-analyze them! What truly mattered right now was to defeat this Fiendgod avatar in front of him!

“I’ve heard that some powerful Fiendgods can create clones just by plucking hairs from their bodies.” Ning stared at the distant, golden-armored warrior, then said in a high voice, “However, in those legends, the power of those transformed hairs are extremely weak…I imagine that this avatar of yours is quite weak as well.”

The golden-armored warrior’s face changed slightly. Ning had cut straight to the heart of the matter; indeed, this avatar was simply formed from a strand of divine power, and even his ‘weapons’ were just formed from divine power. In terms of just comparing bodies, this avatar’s body was even weaker than Ning’s! However…his comprehension of the Dao was far too high.

“If my true body was here, a single breath from me would disintegrate you!” An arrogant look flashed through the golden-armored warrior’s eyes. “Even though this is merely an extremely weak avatar, formed from a strand of divine power…against you…hmph!”

“Disintegrate me with a breath? It seems as though his true body is indeed extremely formidable. No wonder I had such a sense of danger earlier. That sense of danger from my subconscious must have originated from his true body,” Ning mused to himself.

Ning spread out his divine will with a thought. Bang! His divine will poured out through the Soulshaker Seal, instantly surging forward in a tidal wave and crashing towards the soul of that golden-armored warrior.

BOOM. The tidal wave of divine will seemed to have crashed against an extremely unyielding rock; as it smashed against it, despite being powerful, it couldn’t overcome the resilience of the rock.

“Haha, divine will?” The golden-armored warrior shook his head, saying with disdain, “Although the hint of my soul contained within this wisp of divine power is very weak, the quality of it is far greater than yours. Your divine will could be ten times stronger than it is now, and you still wouldn’t’ be able to move me. Kid, use everything you have; later, don’t blame me for not having given you a chance.”

Although the golden-armored warrior appeared quite brash, in truth, he was pondering meticulously. This was because he, too, was both curious and cautious about this legendary place. “The legendary abode of the God-King…why have I been summoned to deal with a little child? He’s so weak…where did this child come from, and what is his relationship with the God-King? His soul is fairly strong, though; he’s not yet at the Primal level, but his soul is already this powerful.”

Although he was powerful, compared to the legendary God-King, he was filled with dread and veneration. That one-armed God-King would most likely be able to annihilate him with a single glance.

…….

Ning felt that the golden-armored warrior was mysterious. But the golden-armored warrior also felt that Ning was similarly mysterious.

…….

“Actually, it would’ve been enough to have a golem fight against you.” The giant yellow bear said to itself, amused, “But you are indeed someone with the potential to be the successor to Master, a person who will roam the Three Realms…and so, I might as well let you find a few things out in advance.” By letting Ning touch a few secrets, it would actually help instigate Ning to work harder and desire to learn more.

“Quite powerful, eh? It’s been a long, long time since I’ve interacted with those ancient, powerful presences as well.” The giant yellow bear was also filled with desire. He had been alone for far, far too long.

……

The third level of the Wargod Hall. Ning was rapidly considering his options. “He’s a weak avatar of an extremely powerful figure. His strength lies in the fact that his insights into the Dao are very high, but his weakness is that he is only formed from a strand of divine power. Because it has been separated from his true body, it is like water that has been separated from its source; after using up divine power, there’s no way to replenish it.”

The Dao of combat required one to be able to use one’s strengths to attack others’ weaknesses.

“Exhaust his divine power!” Ning immediately began to move. Swoosh! He didn’t charge directly forward. Instead, he rapidly retreated, while at the same time generating more than seven hundred flying swords in front of him. Late-stage Wanxiang elemental ki filled every single flying sword, and instantly, the flying swords began to undulate slightly. After having increased his comprehension of the Dao, it was now much easier for Ning to utilize the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

“The ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” Ning formed an flying sword that seemed to be made of white jade in front of him. Swish! Swish! Swish! One white jade sword after another formed, then flew at high speed towards the golden-armored man.

“This sword formation is quite profound, but unfortunately, the user is too weak.” The golden-armored warrior raised his two massive warhammers in an extremely leisurely manner, then strolled forward. With each step, however, he traversed many hundreds of meters, even faster than Ning using the Windwing Evasion.

“Waterflame Lotus.” Ning divided his mind, using half of it to control the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and the other half to generate Waterflame Lotuses. One enormous Waterflame Lotus after another began to bloom, surrounding the golden-armored warrior and furiously seeking to impede his movements.

“This is troublesome.” The golden-armored warrior frowned. A warhammer in his hand swung out, instantly creating rippling cracks in space. The outer layer of the Waterflame Lotus it collided into immediately began to crack, then finally shattered apart.

“I only destroyed a single lotus?” The golden-armored warrior was secretly surprised. But swish! Swish! Swish! The jade-white swords flew out, moving like strokes of the brush on the canvas of the sky, all of them seeming quite plain, simple, and reserved, but causing the golden-armored warrior to feel exceptionally cautious. “The Dao of the Sword? And what a fierce, terrifying sword technique.”

Clank. The golden-armored warrior swung out with his massive warhammer, blocking one sword-flash after another. Each time he blocked one of Ning’s sword-flashes, the warhammer would tremble. This was because the warhammers were formed from divine power, and weren’t actual magic treasures.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Faced with the Waterflame Lotus that was infused with dire-ice and earthfire, and the rays of sword-light from the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the golden-armored warrior was temporarily befuddled…

When roaming the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had been inferior to Ning’s close combat skills, but afterwards, at the Black-White College, Ning had trained all the way from the early Wanxiang stage to the late Wanxiang stage! The rise in power of his elemental ki made it so that when Ning now used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the power was two levels higher than it had been before. It was extremely close to Ning’s close combat power by now.

“His avatar is clearly very weak, but he’s still able to defend against all of my techniques.” Ning’s face turned cold, and the Darknorth swords in his hands disappeared. Immediately afterwards, a black greatbow appeared in his hands.

This black greatbow was an Earth-ranked magic treasure. It could only be considered an ordinary item, and it didn’t have any special, additional powers. It was quite hard for Ning to locate a legendary divine bow, but…this Earth-ranked greatbow was enough for Ning to display all of his power.

“[Starseizing Hand]!” Ning instantly executed the [Starseizing Hand], holding the grip of the bow with one hand and nocking the arrow and pulling the bowstring with the other…

Creaaak. He pulled the bowstring to its maximum length. Ning’s eyes seemed to spit lightning towards the distant figure. Pulling a bow didn’t require much mental effort; it only used his divine power! This, Ning could pull the bow, control the Waterflame Lotuses, and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] at the same time.

Swish! The arrow flashed out, instantly passing through the distance between them and arriving before the golden-armored warrior. “Not good.” The golden-armored warrior was shocked ; this arrow was even faster than the sword-flashes sent out be that [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. He hurriedly moved to block.

Bang! The giant warhammer in his hands trembled so hard, it began to crack. It then quickly healed, but the golden-armored warrior had to take a few hurried steps back.

The power of an arrow…it came from accumulating strength, then letting it all explode forth from the arrow. The explosive power of an arrow was naturally even more powerful than Ning’s close combat power. However, the weakness of an arrow was its lack of agility; so long as enemies could dodge, the arrow would have been shot out for nothing.

But, Ning and the golden-armored warrior were only hundreds of meters away from each other! Given the speed of the arrows which Ning shot out while using the [Starseizing Hand], that distance would be passed in an instant. It was simply too fast! And the Waterflame Lotuses and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] were also restricting and impeding the warrior’s movements! Due to these reasons, the golden-armored warrior wasn’t able to dodge at all, and had to rely on his own strength to block the arrows.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Each arrow carried a mountain-shattering force which burst forth with each collision. The nearby Waterflame Lotuses of dire-ice and earthfire, along with the late-stage Wanxiang-level [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] sword-flashes were hard to deal with as well. For a time, the golden-armored warrior found it incredibly hard to cope, and his divine power was rapidly depleting.

“If this continues, my divine power is going to be used up. After this avatar of mine uses up its divine power, it’s going to dissipate.” The golden-armored warrior couldn’t hesitate any longer.

“RAAAARGH!” The golden-armored warriors suddenly let out an explosive shout. His entire body suddenly radiated a powerful golden light, and the warhammers in his hands transformed into streaks of light, shattering the nearby sword-flashes of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] as well as the Waterflame Lotuses as he charged straight towards Ning.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ning shot out four arrows in a row! These arrows were all under the control of Ning’s divine will, and they were even able to slightly curve in midair, attacking the golden-armored warrior in unison. There was no way the golden-armored warrior could avoid the joint attack of these four arrows; all he could do was hurriedly block, and in doing so, he was immediately knocked backwards.

The Waterflame Lotuses and the sword-flashes of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] once more formed and moved to entangle him…

One arrow after another, each containing astonishing, savage power. They all swept towards him! These arrows guided by divine will moved in eerie, unfathomably strange ways. Now only were the arrows too powerful…the divine will caused them to adjust in minute ways.

“You little rascal, do you dare fight me in close combat?” The golden-armored warrior bellowed.

“You lose.” Ning just replied in a soft voice as he shot out four more arrows simultaneously. The golden-armored warrior was barely able to block them, but then his entire body began to tremble, then collapsed and vanished into the void. As his body vanished, he growled in anger, clearly quite dissatisfied.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh. “This was a mere avatar of the Fiendgod, but he was already quite difficult to deal with. I had to use the [Starseizing Hand] eighteen times in a row, and 39 attacks with my [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” Ning could sense that his divine power had been enormously depleted, as well as much of his elemental ki, and he couldn’t help but feel secretly amazed.

Whoosh. Ning disappeareed into thin air. By the time the world grew clear, Ning found himself within the main hall of the underwater estate again.

“…you actually used the bow to win?” The giant yellow bear stared at Ning, disbelief in his eyes. He had expected that this would be an extremely difficult battle; the two would’ve fought savagely in close combat, and in the end, Ning stood a high chance of losing.

But in the end…Ning had annihilated his foe by using the [Starseizing Hand] to shoot arrows at him from far away.

“The divine ability which Master transmitted to me, aside from being used in close combat, can also be used to attack others with the bow,” Ning said meekly. “I was lucky enough to win.”

“Lucky?” The giant yellow bear saw through Ning’s meekness and saw the smugness underneath. “Fine, fine. You defeated the third level, and you can go choose an Earth-ranked magic treasure or item of equivalent value. Go!”

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Chapter 19 – Nethercold

Chapter 19 – Nethercold

The Treasures Hall was the same as it had always been. Hanging in the air at the top of the hall were many powerful magic treasures and curious artifacts, all emanating powerful ripples…if it weren’t for the fact that they were separated from the bottom by restrictive spells, those powerful ripples would easily annihilate Ji Ning if he were to interact with them! Ning felt no doubt about this whatsoever.

The giant yellow bear and Ning were within the Treasures Hall. “Ji Ning, you may now begin to select Earth-ranked magic treasures from the Treasures Hall,” the giant yellow bear said, looking at Ning. “You must be even more careful than in the past, when you chose a Mortal-ranked magic treasure. This is because although you moved quite quickly from the Zifu level to the Wanxiang level, you will most likely take far more time to move to the Primal level. As for going from the Primal level to the Void level, the amount of time that will consume is even greater.”

Ning nodded. The farther along the path one went, the longer it would take to reach the next stage.

“The same is true as well in selecting magic treasures.” The giant yellow bear said, “It is guaranteed that you will only be using Mortal-ranked magic treasures for a short period of time; the three that you chose previously, for example, are most likely already of limited use to you.”

Ning chuckled. Of the three he had chosen, he had sold off the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation at Stillwater City’s Carefree Caverns long ago! As for the Nine Yang Swords Formation, he had replaced them with the superior Northriver Sword Formation which he had acquired at the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.

Only the Evanescent Demonslayer Sword, which he could use for sneak attacks, was still being regularly used. However…this sword had its flaws as well. It was most suited for underground sneak attacks; in other situations, such as when battling in midair in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, as soon as it moved close to the enemy, it would be easily discovered, at which point in time it could no longer used for a sneak attack.

“You’ve passed through the third level of the Wargod Hall, and soon, you’ll be able to overcome the fourth level. Once your Fiendgod body reaches the Wanxiang level…you’ll have had a total of three chances to obtain Earth-ranked magic treasures, or artifacts of an equivalent value.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Choose carefully. Some of the top-grade magic artifacts present are most likely only owned by the most powerful of organizations in this major world of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s. It will be incredibly difficult to purchase or trade for them.”

Ning nodded. There were very few top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasures, and top-grade Earth-ranked treasures were even more incomparably rare. They were almost never seen, and to find one suitable for one’s self was even less likely. He, however, now had a chance to choose amongst the top-grade Earth-ranked magic treasures of the underwater estate for one he liked.

“Choose.” The giant yellow bear produced a golden book out of nowhere, and the book was covered with two Fiendgod characters for ‘Precious Treasures’.

“Why is it that this book looks identical to the Mortal-ranked magic treasures book?” Ning couldn’t help but ask this question. The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Not just Earth-ranked; the Heaven-ranked, Immortal-ranked, and Pure Yang-ranked magic treasures book are the same as well, because I personally compile these books. This is your first time choosing an Earth-ranked magic treasure, and so I will only show you a portion of the items available. The second time, you’ll have more options, and the third time, you’ll be able to go through any of the items in the book.”

Ning asked hurriedly, “Senior, which is the most suited to me?” The treasures to be chosen from were simply too dazzling. Only the giant yellow bear would know which were the best. Last time, for example, the giant yellow bear had advised him to choose the Nine Yang Sword Formation, and the third time, he had indeed chosen it.

“There are plenty of precious artifacts, quite a few of which are suited to you,” the giant yellow bear said. “I think you should read through it slowly.” Resigned, Ning began to flip through the book.

“Wow, this really is…!” Ning’s gaze instantly grew heated. He had gone to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain before, and had seen the Earth-ranked magic treasures there, and had also seen some Earth-ranked treasures that were only for display and not for sale; these were some of the most precious, top-quality magic treasures of that local branch of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Without having a few treasures like this to display, how could the Heavenly Treasures Mountain awe the masses? But Ning couldn’t help but think to himself, “All of these treasures are comparable to those items at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.” His heartrate sped up.

Xuanwu’s Goldscale Ship; a top-grade Earth-ranked flying treasure. While flying, it could transform into a goldscale fish that could soar into the heavens or burrow into the ground. It was incomparably quick when flying, and was as incomparably nimble in the skies as a fish was in the water. Upon entering the ground, it would become even more agile, comparable to many Heaven-ranked flying treasures.

In addition, given that it was named after Xuanwu, the Black Tortoise, it was also incomparably sturdy. When hiding within the Xuanwu Goldscale Ship, even a Primal Daoist’s attacks would find it difficult to do anything to it.

“What an item,” Ning murmured to himself. “In the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, I saw an item on display, the ‘Ruyi Godspeed Boat’, which was comparable to this item in speed but far weaker in defense. And yet, that was enough for it to be considered one of their not-for-sale items.”

It was indeed an excellent item. However, since it was guaranteed that Ning would at most have three chances to choose Earth-ranked magic treasures, he wasn’t willing to waste one of the three chances on a flying magic treasure.

Earthfire Heartlamp, a strange artifact. The Earthfire Heartlamp was a unique sort of rock that was formed from the natural world. It was naturally formed into the shape of the lamp, and within it there was something akin to the extracted essence of fire…this extract was incomparably, shockingly effective in nurturing earthfire, and if Ning were to often place his earthfire within it and absorb from that essence, in ten short years, his earthfire would rise to be of the first grade! If other types of supportive treasures were used, the amount of time it would take for earthfire to be nourished to the first rank would be even less.

“Earthfire Heartlamp!” Ning was truly intrigued. Although many of the previous items had caused his heartrate to speed up, this was the first time he was truly filled with a powerful urge. “This is what I’ll choose, I imagine.”

“Should I choose it?” Ning began to ponder. “Earthfire, at the first grade, is capable of threatening even Primal Daoists. But this will take roughly ten years.” Ning thought about it, shaking his head in the end. “In ten years, my [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] will probably have increased dramatically in power, and my swordplay as well; earthfire of the first grade won’t be as helpful then as it would be now.”

It had only been four years since he had joined the Black-White College! And yet, he had already developed the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]! He had truly improved tremendously during the past four years. Ten years ago, he had been fighting with the Azure Skysnake, and had just arrived at the Eastmount Marshes after having left West Prefecture City. Now, ten years later, he was capable of effortlessly killing Wanxiang Adepts.

Although it was true that the further along one went, the slower one improved, ten years…Ning felt confident that he would improve dramatically in this period of time.

“It’s very good item.” Ning pondered a bit more. “However, it’s guaranteed that the goldflame earthfire will never be my most powerful attack; in addition, my body has both earthfire and dire-ice. When using the Waterflame Lotus, ideally, the dire-ice and earthfire should be balanced. If the earthfire is too powerful or the dire-ice too weak, that will not be good for my Waterflame Lotus.

“Even without this Earthfire Heartlamp, I’ll still have the ancient glacial ice, the firelotus pith, and other treasures. Although they are a bit slower, and will only be able to improve my earthfire and dire-ice to the fourth or fifth grade, at least the power will be matched.” Ning persuaded himself to forget it, then began to continue reading.

One magic treasure after another. In the past, any Earth-ranked magic treasures were very alluring, but that was before Ning had truly gone out adventuring. Now that he was a disciple of the Black-White College, a Raindragon Guard, and had visited the Heavenly Treasures Mountain…his horizons had been broaded, and only now did he understand how precious and rare the priceless items which Daoist Threelives had left behind were. Most likely, not even the treasures of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty were comparable to the items here. Unfortunately, he was only allowed to choose three items from each level.

The Brocade-Cloud Miasma, a top-grade Earth-ranked protective item…

A Hundred Venoms Immortal-Lock Formation…an Earth-ranked formation…

A Dire-Ice Mirror…a precious item capable of improving dire-ice to the first grade in ten years.

One precious item after another. Ning’s eyes were turning red from desire. “Senior, you should treat the Dire-Ice Mirror and the Earthfire Heartlamp as one treasure,” Ning said, raising his head to look at the giant yellow bear. “If you did, I’d pick it.”

“As one treasure?” The giant yellow bear stared at him. “Are you not aware that many different types of earthfire and dire-ice are only capable of being improved to the third or second grades? Although some have the potential to be improved to the first grade, that’s just potential! How hard would it be for one to truly improve it to the first grade? Upon doing so, once it is further upgraded to skyfire, its potential and its power will become even greater. Are you aware of all this? I refuse to believe that in the entirety of the Grand Xia Dynasty, you’ll be able to find a single place which is willing to sell Earthfire Heartlamps or Dire-Ice Mirrors to outsiders!”

Ning was speechless. Sell it to outsiders? In the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and the Carefree Caverns, he truly had never seen these items for sale before.

These rare artifacts were all formed naturally by the natural world, and were not magic treasures which would be created or forged. Thus, there was a very limited number of them in the world. Given that there were thousands of Heavenly Treasures Mountains, one in each commandery, how could they possibly sell Earthfire Heartlamps to outsiders?

“The only reason I brought out the Earthfire Heartlamp and Dire-Ice Mirror out for your first selection is because I saw that you, kid, have dire-ice and earthfire in your body.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “I’m taking special care of you, which is why I expanded the range of choices a bit. To tell you the truth, there are three items that are the most suited for you in this selection.”

“The Earthfire Heartlamp and the Dire-Ice Mirror are two of them. There is a third, however, on the third to last page.” As soon as the giant yellow bear’s words came out, Ning immediately flipped to the third to the last page, looking at it carefully.

The Nethercold Sword Formation. The Nethercold Sword Formation was made up of nine top-grade Earth-ranked flying swords, each of which was made from an extremely precious material known as the nethercold lunar metal.

“All nine are top-grade Earth-ranked flying swords?” Ning was so shocked, his eyes bulged out. These so-called ‘top-grade’ items were not graded by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; they were graded by Daoist Threelives!

These were on completely different levels; Daoist Threelieves was far more strict in grading these magic treasures. There were some items he had left behind, such as the Nine Yang Swords Formation which Ning had chosen previously, which he had ranked as nine high-grade items, but which the Heavenly Treasures Mountain would rank as nine top-grade items!

“How can all nine be top-grade Earth-ranked swords?” Ning stared in shock at the giant yellow bear.

“Originally, I planned on separating the nine of them and just putting in a record for a ‘Nethercold Sword, a top-grade Earth-ranked flying sword’.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “But afterwards, I reconsidered; if I were to split them apart, I would probably go through dozens or even hundreds of masters without any of them choosing a Nethercold Sword. So, I decided I might as well list them here together, as a sword formation. Because these nine swords form a complete sword formation…logically speaking, I shouldn’t have shown it to you until your third selection. However, I don’t want for you to die early on in the outside world, kid. So, I decided to just forget it, and let you see it in advance.”

“Earthfire Heartlamp, Dire-Ice Mirror, Nethercold Sword Formation. These are the most suited for you.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Choose.”

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Chapter 20 – Senior Apprentice-Sister Ninelotus

Chapter 20 – Senior Apprentice-Sister Ninelotus

Ji Ning hesitated. Which to choose?

“Senior.” Ning hurriedly, deferentially asked, “Given that when my Fiendgod body reaches the Wanxiang level, I’ll have another chance to acquire an Earth-ranked magic treasure after overcoming the fourth level of the Wargod Hall…will I have the chance to acquire even better magic treasures at that time?”

“Of course!” The giant yellow bear said confidently, “Items better than the Earthfire Heartlamp, the Dire-Ice Mirror, and the Nethercold Sword Formation…there will be more than one that is better than these three! You’ve merely overcome the third level of the Wargod Hall; how can I possibly bring out the very best Earth-ranked magic treasures right away? When I bring those out, you won’t choose the likes of the Earthfire Heartlamp.”

“Hurry up and choose. In the end, there will be countless treasures, but unfortunately, I can’t give them all to you.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Master left behind many treasures, but not for just any single successor. In the event of your death, I need to ensure that the next successor has some treasures as well, yes?”

Ning pursed his lips. What a doleful thing to say! Die? Ning absolutely didn’t wish to fail, after having embarked on the Immortal path.

“This is my choice.” Ning flipped through the book to the third to last page, the one mentioning the Nethercold Sword Formation.

“I really do want the Earthfire Heartlamp and the Dire-Ice Mirror,” Ning sighed to himself. “However, they aren’t able to increase my power right away, but the Nethercold Sword Formation can! These nine Nethercold Swords in the formation are all top-grade, and it was Daoist Threelives who was the appraiser; their power must be superior to that of ordinary Heaven-ranked flying swords. They’ll be able to increase the power of my [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to a whole new level!”

The higher one’s level of power became, the more difficult it was to further strengthen one’s self. To rise by a full level was incomparably difficult, but these Nethercold Swords were simply too powerful.

If he were to go and try to purchase them at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, their price would surpass that of an ordinary Heaven-ranked flying sword. And, given their rarity, they would probably at least five thousand kilograms per sword! With all nine top-grade flying swords having come from the same source…the entire set would definitely go for at least fifty thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Fifty thousand kilograms? That was enough to make even a Primal Daoist turn green in envy. Even when Ning had been lucky enough to loot the corpse of the Dragonwhale King, he hadn’t reaped such a fortune.

“The power of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] depends entirely on the powerful flying swords comprising it! This is completely indisputable! Fortunately, I have the Treasures Hall,” Ning mused to himself. “In turn, only in my hands can this [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] unleash its true, terrifying power.”

The more powerful the swords used, the more monstrous and heaven-defying these swords were. In the past, the Thousand Swords Immortal had grown tremendously famous with this technique, but in the end, he had still fallen to Immortal Juhua. Given that Ning had the Treasure Hall behind him…the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would be even more incomparably shocking.

“Come.” The giant yellow bear beckoned towards the distance. In the void above, a point of light suddenly flashed and started to descend. It quickly passed through the restrictive spells, arriving next to Ning. It was nine completely black flying swords. Although they were completely black, they had a very soft, luxuriant gleam to them; it was almost as though a faint, extremely dark green luster covered these flying swords. They were so beautiful that they could be considered a work of art.

“They are perfect.” Ning couldn’t help but let out a sigh of praise. Reaching out with this elemental ki, he sent one strand after another of watery-blue ki forward, swirling around the nine Nethercold Swords and easily binding them. With but a thought, Ning sent them swirling around him like nine shining stars.

“They are comparable to Heaven-ranked magic treasures in power,” Ning said in praise. Heaven-ranked magic treasures were only usable by Primal Daoists, but his magic treasures were also at this level of power…this was why they were considered top-grade treasures. And he had nine of them!

“Most likely, they would be enough to cause even Primal Daoists to grow envious and kill me for them,” Ning said with a soft laugh. The giant yellow bear replied, “If they don’t bind them personally, it’ll be hard for them to tell just by looking at them that these are top-grade.”

“What fine treasures.” The more Ning thought about them, the happier he became.

“Time to go. If you want more treasures, go back and train hard,” the giant yellow bear urged. Ning nodded. Instantly, a phantom of a giant bear’s head appeared, swallowing Ning with a single gulp.

……….

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island. Soon, everyone on the island knew that after half a month, Ji Ning had left from his secluded meditation.

Aside from Ning, no one else knew of the existence of the underwater estate. Given that Ning’s training room was a place where others were strictly forbidden from trespassing, everyone had assumed that he had been in the room training this entire time.

“Master, Master!” An azure-robed maiden was the first to suddenly appear at the entrance of the room. Ning walked out of it, raising his head to look towards the outside. A cold wind pressed down upon him, and giant plumes of snow were falling down from the skies.

“Master, why is it that after you went into training, I could no longer sense your presence?” The azure-robed maiden stared at Ning, mentally sending to him with franticness, “I felt as though you were very, very far away. I’m your spirit-beast, and our spirit-bond was not dispersed, so I knew that you weren’t dead, but…if you weren’t dead, why couldn’t I sense you?”

The nearby Whitewater Hound walked over, sending mentally, “Ning, son, when you went into training, this Azure Skysnake wanted to go inside to search for you. I had to stop her.”

“Oh.” Ning laughed. The first time he had entered the underwater estate, he had caused his father and mother to be concerned over him. They all knew that he had entered a special, ancient relic site, and naturally, Uncle White had learned this as well.

“I had a stroke of karmic luck,” Ning said. “Luck?” Qingqing was surprised. The Grand Xia Dynasty’s territory was simply too vast and contained far too many secrets; anything was possible within it. For example, someone might be in the middle of a perfectly normal battle when an ancient Fiendgod might suddenly wake up and intervene. If this could happen, what couldn’t?

Qingqing could tell that Ning didn’t want to discuss this in detail, so she just muttered to herself, “So stingy with your secrets.”

Ning laughed. The underwater estate involved Daoist Threelives, and it was so important as to be able to shock the entire Three Realms! How could Ning casually reveal its secrets to others? For example, although he was now the master of the underwater estate, he was the only one who could enter it; others could not. Thus, Ning hadn’t even told his parents; after all, given that his parents couldn’t enter it, letting them know of it would only prove problematic, not beneficial in any way.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf walked towards them from afar, face covered in smiles. “You’ve left your secluded meditation. During this period of time, young master Ji Mo came. He wished to ask for your instructions, young master.”

“Ji Mo?” Ning nodded. “During those first three days after my return, he hadn’t come.” Ji Mo was, aside from Ning himself, the most talented member of the younger generation of the Ji clan.

“Young master Ji Mo was adventuring and testing himself in the outside world as well,” Autumn Leaf said. “Thus, when you returned, the Patriarch sent people out to find young master Jji Mo. They spent quite a few days before finding him, and afterwards, young master Ji Mo came by himself, arriving on the ninth day of your secluded meditation.”

Smiling, Ning nodded. Suddenly, another figure appeared in the distance. In but two flashes, the figure appeared close to them; it was a tall, sturdy-looking handsome youth with a pair of sword-shaped eyebrows. He stared towards Ning with a blazingly eager gaze, and he immediately said with respect, “I pay my respects to you, young master Ji Ning.”

“It seems as though you’ve improved quite a bit in recent years,” Ning said with a praising laugh. With but a single glance, he could tell that Ji Mo’s aura had changed significantly. In the past, Ji Mo had been quite reserved, but now, Ji Mo seemed like a drawn warblade. He had a powerful, sturdy willpower that was forged through battle.

“Compared to you, young master, I’m still quite inferior,” Ji Mo said respectfully.

“If you are willing,” Ning suddenly said, “You can come here and stay here whenever you please.” Ji Mo was stunned. Instantly, he revealed a look of joy on his face. In the past, he had knelt down to beg Ji Ning to accept him as disciple, but at that time, Ning was focused on his own pursuit of the Dao, and didn’t have any time to spare. Now that Ning had chosen to permanently stay here at Serpentwing Lake…he was naturally willing to occasionally make the time to provide some guidance to the most talented younger members of the Ji clan. This could be considered a way in which he would help the Ji clan train future experts.

Suddenly…

“Is junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning present?” A very familiar voice rang out, echoing throughout the entire Serpentwing Lake.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning?”

“Someone who addresses our young master as ‘junior apprentice-brother’?” Autumn Leaf revealed a look of amazement.

“Someone who is addressing the island master as junior apprentice-brother?” The many maids and servants who lived on Brightheart Island all revealed looks of amazement. The ‘island master’ was, of course, the master of Brightheart Island, Ji Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother?”

Instantly, everyone in the Serpentwing Lake area was puzzled and curious. Only a very few of them knew that Ning had joined the Black-White College, and they were able to guess at the truth: “Most likely, a member of the Black-White College has come.”

Upon hearing this voice, Ning also lifted his head in surprise, staring towards the source of the voice. A masted ship soared towards them from the distance, with two beautiful, indistinct figures atop it.

“Ning, son, it seems to be two of your senior apprentice-sisters,” the Whitewater Hound sent. “You really are formidable. As soon as you came back, you managed to get two of your senior apprentice-sisters to chase after you all the way here.”

Ning stared at Uncle White. “They are just passing through and paying their respects.” Uncle White just snickered.

Ning lifted his head, staring towards the distant ship. He said softly, “But it really is a coincidence. As soon as I left my seclusion, they arrived.”

Swoosh. Ning immediately flew into the skies to go greet them. “Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, senior apprentice-sister Qingqing.” In the skies above Serpentwing Lake were the blue-robed Ninelotus and the silver-robed Qingqing. They, too, flew over.

“We learned from junior apprentice-brother Twinwood that you, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, were living here,” Ninelotus laughed. “We are out adventuring and just so happened to go past Swallow Mountain, so we decided to come and pay a visit. Junior apprentice-brother, you really have quite the eye; you actually chose such a beautiful place! This vast Serpentwing Lake, and that island in the center of the lake; they are all quite lovely.”

Ning turned to look. Indeed; light rippled off the waves, which appeared as beautiful as jade, and the countless flowers and grassy areas on the central island, along with the various pavilions, made it look like a true utopia, a peach garden beyond the mortal world.

“Senior apprentice-sister, you don’t know this, but this used to be the territory of a monster,” Ning said with a laugh. “Afterwards, I eradicated that monster, and our Ji clan arranged for quite a few people to spend a long period of time renovating the place. Only then was the previously monster-infested island changed to its current appearance. My two senior apprentice-sisters, let’s not chat in the air. Come, let me show you around my island and show you some hospitality.”

“Let’s go.”

Ninelotus and Qingqing, along with Ji Ning, immediately flew down. The mortal maids of Brightheart Island all murmured to themselves, “Wow…as Immortal fairies!”

“They are flying.”

“They are so beautiful.”

“Goddesses!”

All of the mortals were extremely excited.

Ning’s group of three quickly descended. The Azure Skysnake and the Whitewater Hound came over at this time as well. “These two Diremonsters are the ones which junior apprentice-brother Twinwood spoke of, right? The Azure Skysnake, ‘Qingqing’, and the Whitewater Hound, ‘Uncle White’?” Ninelotus laughed.

“What?! Qingqing!?” The nearby, silver-robed maiden instantly stared.

“Right, Qingqing, she’s also named Qingqing.” Ninelotus choked back a laugh. She had been waiting, a long, long time to say these words; she had been eagerly anticipating the meeting between these two Qingqings.

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Chapter 21 – Life With Ninelotus

Chapter 21 – Life With Ninelotus

“My name is Luo Qing.” The silver-robed maiden stared at the Azure Skysnake.

The Azure Skysnake replied, “My name is Ji Qingqing.”

And then, they began to laugh and chat amongst themselves. These two ‘Qingqings’ grew quite close to each other. From this day forward, Ninelotus and Luo Qing began to temporarily live at Brightheart Island.

Only at nightfall did the snowfall come to a halt. In the sword-training terrace of Brightheart Island.

“Young master.” Ji Mo was incomparably respectful, and his eyes were filled with anticipation and eagerness. “Please provide me with some guidance.”

Ning stood with hands clasped behind his back, not too far away. With but a thought, he instantly created multiple waterflame swords out of nowhere through his elemental ki. These waterflame swords were incomparably fierce, and they began to swirl around Ji Mo. Ji Mo’s face changed…although Ning had merely activated the power of the natural world, it was still enough to cause a Xiantian lifeform to be in tremendous danger.

“Condense.” Ning’s eyes flashed as he looked at the manifestations of sword-ki. The many waterflame swords in midair quickly condensed into a single, massive lotus of sword-ki that was many tens of meters in diameter. The sword-ki had formed into a blooming lotus which had completely surrounded Ji Mo.

“Ji Mo,” Ning said. “This lotus of sword-ki contains some elementary tricks and knacks of the sword. There are a total of ninety one lotus petals that are revolving around you, each of which has a different type of sword-ki…what you need to do is destroy all of the lotus petals. Only after you destroy all of the lotus petals can you be said to have truly gained a basic level of expertise in the sword.”

“Can it be that I can’t be said to have reached even a basic level of expertise? But I reached the ‘one with the world’ level long ago,” Ji Mo couldn’t refrain from saying.

“You haven’t even gained a hint of the True Meaning of the Dao; how can you be considered to have reached a basic level of expertise?” Ning shook his head, then sat down nearby, leisurely pouring himself a cup of wine. While drinking some of this wine that Autumn Leaf had specially prepared, he pondered on the fourth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

Right at this moment…

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” From afar, a woman walked over; it was Ninelotus and Luo Qing. In terms of appearance, they were absolutely the most beautiful women here at Brightheart Lake, and in terms of aura? They were disciples of the Black-White College! Luo Qing’s aura was quite unique, while Ninelotus was an incomparably dazzling figure even within the Black-White College who had drawn quite a few suitors.

Ning turned to glance at them, then hurriedly rose to his feet. “Senior apprentice-sisters Ninelotus and Luo Qing.”

“You are training your clan members?” Ninelotus glanced with interest towards the enormous lotus of sword-ki, as well as Ji Mo, who was striving to attack the lotus petals from the center of the lotus.

“A lotus?” The nearby Luo Qing laughed in surprise. “You were actually able to form a lotus of sword-ki by activating the energy of nature. It seems as though you are quite formidable in the mysteries of the lotus, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

Ning shook his head. “I just learned a few things and developed a protective technique, the Waterflame Lotus…which is why I have a few simple insights into the lotus.”

The lotus flower…its very existence was filled with countless mysteries. In the Three Realms, there were many major powers who would seat themselves on thrones of lotus flowers, or have protective lotus-treasures, or use lotus-related techniques.

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has comprehended many things pertaining to the lotus as well,” Luo Qing hurriedly said. Ninelotus shook her head. “A bit less than junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” she said.

“Artificial modesty!” Luo Qing frowned, then let out a smirk. “In terms of swordplay, it’s true that you cannot compare to junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, but in terms of the lotus…senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, you were born into the Dongyan clan, which is referred to as the Freshlotus Tribe …and the secret manual which brought your tribe to prominence is the ‘Fresh Lotus Manual’! In terms of the lotus, I imagine that none of us third-generation disciples of the Black-White College can compare to you.”

Ning looked towards Ninelotus in surprise. The Dongyan clan? He had read various intelligence reports regarding the major powers of the Stillwater Commandery region. The Dongyan clan was an extremely powerful clan. Although it wasn’t ranked amongst the eight major powers of Stillwater Commandery, the actual power of the Dongyan clan was actually superior to the likes of the Black-White College, the Skysplitter Sword Sect, the Eastriver clan, the Dragonhunter clan, and the other four! This was because the Dongyan clan’s roots were actually in another place, the Highwater Commandery.

The Dongyan clan’s roots were from the Highwater Commandery, but they were located in multiple other commandery cities. It could be said that the Dongyan clan stretched across three entire commanderies! It was a truly ancient and powerful clan. It was only because it was generally considered a power of the Highwater Commandery that it was not ranked amongst the eight great powers of Stillwater Commandery. But in terms of total power, in Stillwater Commandery, most likely only the Northmont clan or the local Raindragon Guards surpassed them.

“No wonder senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has such an extraordinary aura and demeanor, and was so unique even in the Black-White College.” Ning sighed in amazement to himself. “So she’s from such an ancient clan, the Dongyan clan. The genius disciples of such an ancient, deeply rooted clan…they truly are extraordinary.”

“So you come from the Dongyan clan. The Dongyan clan’s ‘Fresh Lotus Manual’ has long been famous throughout the world,” Ning said with a laugh. “I do have a few questions; might you be willing to answer them, senior apprentice-sister?”

“Junior apprentice-brother, please go ahead and ask them. If I can answer them, of course I will; if I’m not able to, then please don’t blame me,” Ninelotus replied. Ning was secretly elated; Ninelotus was from the Dongyan clan, and she most likely had an extremely deep level of understanding regarding the secrets of the lotus flower.

“I once self-created a technique, the Waterflame Lotus…” Ning immediately began to ask questions. Stretching his hand out, he immediately caused a small Waterflame Lotus to bloom out of nowhere atop his palm and began to discuss some questions he had.

“Junior apprentice-brother, actually, you’ve gained a very deep level of insight already. However, you’ve never truly realized the ways in which the various elements of this technique interact with each other.” A fresh, azure lotus appeared within Ninelotus’ palm as well. She lightly tapped just one of the petals, and one petal after another instantly began to open, like a real lotus flower beginning to bloom. In fact, one could even see the dew atop the petals.

Ning’s eyes began to shine as he listened.

“However, junior apprentice-brother, this Waterflame Lotus of yours…” Ninelotus began to ask questions of her own.

“Actually, the secrets within are quite simple…” Ning began to explain.

The two both possessed extraordinarily strong Dao-hearts, and were quite resolute in pursuing their Immortal paths. Once they became absorbed in discussing the Dao, they naturally began to ignore everything else.

The two of them…one was a truly monstrous genius of the Dao of the Sword, who had the support of the underwater estate and who had gained quite a few insights into the lotus. As for the other, she came from the massive, mighty Dongyan clan, and had meditated on the Fresh Lotus Manual, and was even more impressive with regards to the secrets of the lotus. As the two of them discussed their insights into the Dao, they stirred insights in each other, and both of them improved.

This was the reason why Immortal cultivators delighted in discussing the Dao with others who were on the same level. If they were to truly discuss the insights they had gained without holding anything back, then as they discussed the Dao together, both would gain tremendously.

The Waterflame Lotus was a supportive technique Ning had personally developed, and so there was no need for him to withhold any of its secrets. As for Ninelotus, she knew exactly what she could say, as the Dongyan clan was an incredibly majestic clan which had strict rules on what its disciples could and could not say when discussing the Dao. Ninelotus only revealed a few of the profound mysteries that could not be considered the true secrets of the clan, but this was already enough to cause Ning to feel incomparably delighted and overjoyed.

“The two are chatting quite happily to each other.” The nearby Luo Qing felt helpless; while absorbed into their discussions of the Dao, Ji Ning and Ninelotus paid no attention to her whatsoever.

“Hmph.” She sat there next to them, picking up the vessel of wine that had previously belonged to Ning and beginning to drink it.

An entire night was spent in a discussion on the Dao. Autumn Leaf and the others didn’t dare disturb them. But by nightfall the second day, as the sun was about to disappear…

“What?! The two of you are still here?!” A silver-robed Luo Qing walked past, staring at them and shouting. As she did, Ning and Ninelotus instantly ‘woke up’. They immediately realized that a night and a day had passed.

“This junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning truly is brimming with talented. Although this Waterflame Lotus technique of his isn’t that profound, he’s gained so many insights from it.” Ninelotus began to feel even more admiring of him now. She had joined the Black-White College a long time ago, but as soon as Ning had joined, he had debated many senior fellow disciples in the Dao Debates. If she had engaged in a Dao Debate with Ning back then, she definitely would’ve been defeated.

Back then, Ninelotus had begun to admire Ji Ning. Now that she saw that Ning had so many insights into the lotus, which she herself specialized in, she grew all the more admiring.

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has truly treated me well. She’s told me so many secrets.” Ning felt secretly grateful; after all, these techniques were not to be casually taught to others. Although she wasn’t explicit about them, the pointers that she gave caused Ning to instantly comprehend. If it hadn’t been for her guidance, he probably would’ve needed a much, much longer period of time to understand some of the things he had learned today.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, we’ve discussed the Dao for very long, and I’ve benefited greatly from it. I’m going to go back and meditate,” Ninelotus said, rising to her feet. As she did, she took the nearby Luo Qing’s hand and walked together to their residences.

Ning watched as Ninelotus left. Thinking back to the night and day they had spent discussing the Dao, he couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling in his heart. He felt as though…he and Ninelotus were quite suited for each other.

“Eh?” Ning turned his head. The lotus of sword-ki which he had generated previously was still active. As for Ji Mo, who was within the lotus, his face was pale, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Clearly, he had been striving an entire day and night to break the formation, and he was utterly exhausted.

“…I ended up making Ji Mo spend an entire day and night here.” Ning willed the lotus to dissipate.

Whoosh. The lotus of sword-ki instantly disappeared into thin air.

“Petals? Petals?!” Ji Mo hurriedly stared around him, his eyes terrifyingly bloodshot.

“Ji Mo.” Ning felt guilty, but he still called out in a high voice, “You’ve spent an entire day and night on breaking through this formaton; it seems you are rather tired. Go back and get some rest. Tomorrow, you may come back again and once more attempt to break this lotus sword-ki formation.”

After speaking, Ning turned and left. Ji Mo stared, stunned, for a moment, then began to worry. “I spent an entire day and night here without being able to break through the sword-ki lotus…did this cause young master Ji Ning to feel angry with me?”

Time flowed on.

Ninelotus and Ning both gained significantly from their discussions on the Dao; naturally, they were quite delighted to continue. Every three or five days, they would engage in a discussion on the Dao. In the blink of an eye, more than three months had passed in leisure.

Within a private, secluded room within Brightheart Island. This was Luo Qing and Ninelotus’ room. Luo Qing and Ninelotus were currently seated next to a black stone table which was as smooth as jade. Atop the table was fruit and wine.

“Senior apprentice-sister,” Luo Qing said, “We’ve spent three months here. Isn’t it time to leave? We came out to go adventuring, but the only place we’ve gone to is this place, Serpentwing Lake. We haven’t gone anywhere else.”

“No rush,” Ninelotus said. “Let’s spend a few more days here. During the past three months, my lotus techniques have improved considerably, even more so than in the past three years. Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning truly is formidable; he always has so many new and original insights.”

“We still aren’t leaving?” Luo Qing stared, then gave Ninelotus a weighing glance. She stared carefully at Ninelotus, as though trying to find any warts or blemishes on her face.

“What are you looking at? Why are you staring at me like that?” Ninelotus frowned slightly.

“Senior apprentice-sister, I wonder…have you taken a fancy to Ji Ning, and wish for him to be your Dao-Companion?” Luo Qing asked the question directly.

Ninelotus was stunned. Despite always being so composed, she suddenly felt rather embarrassed.

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Chapter 22 – The Tenth Stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]

Chapter 22 – The Tenth Stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]

Luo Qing was truly quite familiar with Ninelotus; the two had known each other for many years, and she had never before seen this expression on Ninelotus’ face. Ninelotus had always been calm and composed, and she had a breathtaking background; she had been selected long ago to be the next leader of the Dongyan tribe. As such, Ninelotus had naturally been given the best of training since youth. To force her to reveal shyness and bashfulness…this was virtually impossible.

“You…you…” Luo Qing stared, her mouth falling open as she pointed to Ninelotus. “You really are…” Ninelotus quickly recovered her calm. “Is there a need for you to act so shocked?”

“Shocked? Senior apprentice-sister, when you were in the Dongyan clan, you had countless admirers. Even in the Black-White College, where many of our fellow disciples do not know of your history and background, you still have many admirers and pursuers. You’ve never taken a fancy to any of them!” Luo Qing said, shocked, “Why have you taken a fancy to him? He’s a disciple of a small clan, and won’t be of any help to you in administering the Dongyan clan’s affairs in the future.”

Ninelotus frowned, revealing a hint of displeasure. Luo Qing hurriedly shook her head and said, “I’m not saying…I mean, you…”

“Although the tribe which Ji Ning is from is a weak and small one, his own potential is quite astonishing,” Ninelotus said. “You must understand that for some people, it doesn’t matter which tribe they come from, because they, by themselves, are even mightier than entire tribes.”

Ninelotus had a hint of anticipation in her eyes. “And…in choosing a Dao-Companion, what matters the most is the feeling one has in one’s heart. He…gives me a very good feeling.”

Luo Qing stared at Ninelotus. “You really are choosing him for your Dao-Companion?” Ninelotus shook her head. “Not just yet. Immortal cultivators have extremely long lives, and the selection of a Dao-Companion is a monumental, life-altering event. Naturally, I’ll have to spend more time watching him and understanding him. We’ve only interacted for three or so months; it’s still too early to discuss becoming Dao-Companions.”

Even mortals, when in a relationship, would at least be together for a year or two before getting married. Immortal practitioners…there were even those who would be involved with each other for centuries before finally becoming Dao-Companions!

“If news of this were to spread, that the future Matriarch of the Dongyan clan has chosen a Dao-Companion…oh, boy!” Luo Qing let out a sigh. “This would definitely cause a storm of commentary!”

“My choice of a Dao-Companion is mine alone. Who can intervene?” Ninelotus was very calm. Luo Qing could sense how resolved Ninelotus was, and she immediately said, “Senior apprentice-sister, I won’t try to dissuade you from this decision. By staying here, you’ll be able to improve your understanding of your lotus techniques, and also continue to inspect a potential future Dao-Companion. For me, however, staying here is pointless…I’m planning to leave tomorrow. I’ll go around adventuring for half a year, then return to the Black-White College.”

A look of guilt appeared on Ninelotus’ face, and she took Luo Qing by the hand. “Qingqing, we said that we’d go out adventuring together…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Since you are choosing a Dao-Companion, as your junior apprentice-sister, of course I’ll be supportive,” Luo Qing said with a laugh.

…..

The next day, Luo Qing departed, having been sent off by Ji Ning and the others. As for Ning and Ninelotus, they continued to live quite peacefully on Brightheart Island, discussing the Dao every few days.

“Eh?” Late one night. Ning, who had been seated in the lotus position on his bed, suddenly revealed a hint of excitement. “It seems that over the course of the past five months, all these discussions on the Dao with senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has caused my understanding of the ways in which fire and water support and neutralize each other to rise significantly. I’ve finally understood the final principles that were necessary for a breakthrough to the tenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].”

“In I go.” Ning willed it, and instantly, a giant phantom of a bear’s head appeared out of nowhere within the room. It opened its mouth, swallowing the seated Ning within it. And, just like that, Ning disappeared..

……….

Within the main hall in the underwater estate. The giant prayer mats were there, the same as ever. Ning casually chose one of them, taking a seat in the lotus position.

“Ji Ning, kid, why’ve you returned so soon after your last trip?” The old black bull looked at Ning. At this moment, the giant yellow bear suddenly materialized as well. “He’s about to make his breakthrough. If he were to make it in his own room, it would probably be destroyed. In addition, to be a bit more cautious, he decided to come here, to the underwater estate, which naturally would be the safest place.”

Ning sat there in the lotus position, having absorbed his magic robes into his body, leaving it completely nude. “Let it begin.”

Since he had already grasped the essence of it, Ning immediately began to activate the principles of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Whoosh! Whoosh!

Upon Ning’s bared back, the Divine Solar Tattoo and the Divine Lunar Tattoo all suddenly lit up with incomparable brilliance. They instantly began to resonate with those two most supreme of celestial bodies, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, which were located an unfathomable distance away and separated by countless realms. The Solar Star and the Lunar Star instantly began to send out a stream of Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater towards him.

To advance from the ninth stage to the tenth stage was a major leap between realms. With each major transformation, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star would provide their assistance, causing the divine body to become transformed once more.

“Breakthroughs via the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] truly are special.” The giant yellow bear stared at the lotus flowers, stamen, and petals that had appeared around Ning, all of which looked just like real ones. Ning was completely enfolded within the lotus flower. “Each time, there will be Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater to assist. This sort of divine body will thus have the potential to control Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater in the future.”

“To advance from earthfire and dire-ice to skyfire and sky-ice, then to Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater…” The nearby black bull shook his head. “That is all too far off. Generally speaking, only Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods have the chance to control Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater…and that’s just a chance.”

A cultivator had to start by nurturing earthfire, then slowly improve it step by step, painstakingly nourishing it to the point of it becoming Solar Truefire when the cultivator became a Celestial Immortal!

“He’s almost finished,” the giant yellow bear said. Indeed. The Waterflame Lotus surrounding Ning was beginning to turn translucent; clearly, the truefire and truewater within had slowly been completely absorbed by Ning. The translucent petals of the Waterflame Lotus slowly opened, revealing Ning within the heart of the lotus. Every single part of Ning’s body was incomparably perfect; it was the body of a Fiendgod!

Ning opened his eyes, and the fur clothes appeared on his body. They still appeared just like the ones his mother had made for him.

“I broke through,” Ning said with a smile. What massive, majestic divine power. His entire body coursed with a flood of strength!

At the ninth stage, he was only comparable to regular, early Wanxiang Fiendgod Refiners. But at the tenth stage, he was already comparable to late Wanxiang Fiendgod Refiners! Most importantly of all…after every three stages, there would be a major gap, and passing through each gap was extremely hard. The three mini-stages were much easier to advance through; one only had to absorb enough solar power and lunar power in order to break through. Thus, there would be no bottlenecks for Ning as he advanced from the tenth to the twelfth stage.

“I have the Fiendgod body of a late Wanxiang Adept, and have mastered the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!” Ning mused to himself, “And, with the divine ability, [Starseizing Hand]…my current level of power is significantly greater than it was back in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. If I were to once more encounter a Primal-level Dragonwhale Diremonster, it wouldn’t be too hard for me to fight against him head on. And, I most likely should be on par with senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow,” Ning thought to himself delightedly.

In terms of Fiendgod bodies, Bloodshadow was merely at the peak Wanxiang stage; Ning was comparable to being at the late Wanxiang stage, and was just slightly weaker. However, he had a far more powerful divine ability! And, with the help of his swordplay…

“Given my current level of power, I can fight against Primal Daoists now. Even if I cannot overcome them, I should be able to escape,” Ning mused to himself.

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear spoke out. “Senior.” Ning looked towards him. “Since your foundation has improved, your power has naturally improved as well,” the giant yellow bear said. “If you were to go re-challenge the third level of the Wargod Hall, even without relying on archery, you would have a 100% chance of obtaining victory in close quarters combat.”

Ning laughed. “Then if I were to go challenge the fourth level? Would I pass?” “The chances of passing are less than ten percent,” the giant yellow bear said. “Once your Fiendgod body reaches the eleventh stage, you should have a 30% or 40% chance of victory. If you were to improve in swordplay as well, then your chances would become still greater. To overcome the fourth level of the Wargod Hall…generally speaking, you’ll need to be powerful enough to defeat Primal Daoists.”

Ning couldn’t help but secretly shake his head. Oh, Daoist Threelives…

The bar he had set for his successors really was too high. Even someone as monstrous as Ning found it incredibly difficult; the former successor, Immortal Juhua, really was unfortunate! He ended up becoming a Loose Immortal, and only many years after doing so was he capable of defeating the seventh stage and selecting an extremely powerful Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Unfortunately…by then, it was too late.

“No rush. I’ll challenge the fourth level of Wargod Hall next time,” Ning said with a laugh. “I just made a breakthrough as a Fiendgod; I can be considered to have reached the Wanxiang level formally now.”

The giant yellow bear nodded. “Yes.” Ning’s eyes lit up, blazing with eagerness. “Then I now have another chance to choose a treasure from the Treasures Hall.”

“Naturally. You will only have a total of three choices each time, so you must be cautious each time you do so; there’s no going back after you make your choice,” the giant yellow bear said. “Come. Let’s go to the Treasures Hall and slowly pick through the treasures.”

…….

An hour later. After having selected yet another treasure, and with his power greatly improved, Ning quietly returned to Serpentwing Lake. No one knew that within those two short hours, Ning had left Serpentwing lake. Naturally, no one knew that Ning’s power had greatly improved.

Time continued to flow on. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since Ninelotus had arrived at Serpentwing Lake.

The distant Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

“Junior apprentice-sister Qingqing!” In the skies above a mountain, a black-suited youth was calling out in a high voice.

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud, it’s quite rare for you to come visit me here.” A tall, willowy, silver-robed, maiden, Luo Qing, walked out of her courtyard. Raising her head, she smiled towards the skies as she spoke. The black-suited youth in the air immediately landed in the courtyard.

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud, please sit,” Luo Qing said. The black-uniformed youth sat down, then laughed, “I heard that recently, junior apprentice-sister Qingqing, you came back from your adventures, so I came to see how you are doing…as I recall, you and junior apprentice-sister Ninelotus went out together. Why is it that a year later, you returned but she did not?”

Luo Qing hesitated a moment, then said, “Chen Jin!”

The black-suited youth was startled. Chen Jin was his true name; however, Qingqing usually referred to him by his Daoist title, as ‘senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud’. For her to address him by his actual name…she most likely was going to discuss something important with him.

“You, me, and Ninelotus, we all came to Stillwater City together,” Luo Qing said in a low voice. “You and I both know about her background.” Chen Jin nodded. “Of course I do.”

“In the past, when senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus was in the Dongyan clan, you continuously wooed her. When she brought me to Stillwater City and the Black-White College, you decided to enter the Black-White College as well…I know that your heart has continued to be infatuated with her,” Luo Qing said.

Chen Jin laughed. “Although Ninelotus has never nodded and accepted me, I’ll continue to wait. Ten years, a hundred years…I’ll slowly wait for her.”

“There’s something…” Luo Qing gritted her teeth. “…that I think I must tell you about.”

“What is it?” Chen Jin laughed. Luo Qing looked so unwilling to speak out; could it be that she was about to confess feelings for him?

Luo Qing took a deep breath. “Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has chosen a Dao-Companion.”

Chen Jin was stunned.

“But unfortunately…it isn’t you.” Luo Qing looked at him.

It was as though a thunderbolt had fallen out of the clear skies, completely stunning Chen Jin.

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Chapter 23 – Holyfire

Chapter 23 – Holyfire

“What did you say?” Chen Jin stared at Luo Qing, an incomparably terrifying look in his eyes. “Say it again!”

Luo Qing knew Chen Jin very well. She naturally could guess at what Chen Jin was currently feeling, and she immediately said with solemnity, “I said…that senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has already chosen a Dao-Companion. She’s chosen someone else, not you.”

Chen Jin’s face was ashen, and his body swayed.

“A pity,” Luo Qing murmured to herself secretly. They had been friends for many years, and so she couldn’t bear for Chen Jin to be kept in the dark. However, she also knew exactly what a blow this was for Chen Jin to hear. “He pursued her for so many years without success. In the end, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, who didn’t even pursue her, ended up attracting her attention.”

Chen Jin shook his head. “Impossible. Ninelotus is the future Matriarch of the Dongyan clan; she has tremendous expectations for her future. Not even the many geniuses of the Black-White College have ever attracted her attention. Soundless and silently, she suddenly selected a Dao-Companion?”

“His name is Ji Ning,” Luo Qing said. “He’s our junior apprentice-brother. His Daoist title is Darknorth.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth?” Chen Jin was stunned. Ji Ning, also known as Adept Darknorth, was quite resoundingly famous within the Black-White College. When this crazy junior apprentice-brother had first joined, in the Dao Debates, his performance had been such that the reincarnated Immortal, Rainbowflame Fairy Yu Wei, had been forced to personally intervene to overcome him. However, back then, Chen Jin had been carrying out a mission for the Raindragon Guard, and so hadn’t been in the College and hadn’t met Ning.

But he knew very well…for him to have been so powerful immediately after joining the school, and to have been selected by Immortal Diancai as a disciple, this person, Ji Ning, would definitely be one of the most supreme disciples of the Black-White College.

“Him?” Chen Jin couldn’t help but say, “How can that be? How long have they even known each other? Ninelotus is the future Matriarch of the Dongyan tribe; she’s extremely cautious by nature, and she considers all of her actions thoroughly. Even if truly she were to choose a Dao-Companion, she would be more prudent than prudence itself in doing so. It is precisely this temperament of hers that has led the various Immortals of the Dongyan clan to jointly concur on her as their choice. Even though her background is astonishing, it alone wouldn’t be enough for her to be selected as the next leader. Given her temperament…she couldn’t possibly have chosen a Dao-Companion this quickly!”

Luo Qing nodded. “You understand her very well. The choice of a Dao-Companion is a choice that will change one’s life. Indeed, she didn’t come to a decision this quickly. I’ll tell you something…she’s already spent an entire year with Ji Ning, in the secluded Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain.”

“She’s spent a full year with Ji Ning in his secluded residence?” Chen Jin’s face changed. There was no man who could accept the fact that the woman he loved had been living with another man for a full year! The same was true for Immortal cultivators! In fact, the purity of an Immortal cultivator’s Dao-heart made it so that they were far more terrifyingly stubborn than most mortals.

“So what if they were together for a year?” Chen Jin suppressed the rage in his heart.

“When senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus and I first arrived there, we spent three months there, and I left,” Luo Qing said. “I’m a woman as well; I could sense what senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus was feeling. After just three months…she was already beginning to show hints of bashfulness on her face. Now that a year has passed…I can’t even guess at how far the relationship between her and Ji Ning has developed!”

Chen Jin’s face was as lifeless as steel! He was completely dazed, and his mind was in a state of chaos.. Bashfulness? Three months? Now a year? How far the relationship had developed? What had happened? Could it be that the two of them had already…

“IMPOSSIBLE!” Chen Jin let out a growl, then transformed into a streak of light, flying into the distance.

Watching him fly away, Luo Qing couldn’t help but shake her head. “He actually lost composure this badly. It seems this truly was a major blow to him. I really didn’t want to tell you, but I had to…telling you now means that you’ll have a chance to fight for her. If I were to tell you in a few years…you would probably have no hope at all.”

As far as she was personally concerned, given that she, Ninelotus, and Flowcloud had all come to Stillwater City together, she naturally felt extremely close to both of them. Between Ji Ning and Flowcloud…she naturally was biased towards Flowcloud, Chen Jin!

Chen Jin flew blindly through the skies, confusion raging in his mind. “No, no, I can’t…I can’t continue like this. I need to immediately go to the place where Ji Ning is living, to that Serpentwing Lake place in Swallow Mountain. Right now! Immediately! This very moment!”

Panic. Worry. Unease. These emotions tore at his breast.

“Flowcloud, come in.” A voice suddenly rang out in his mind, carrying a hint of meditative dhyana; it actually was able to instantly suppress the turbulent emotions in Chen Jin’s heart.

“Uncle Fire?” Chen Jin was stunned. He looked ahead of himself, towards a mountain peak and the scarlet red estate built atop it. This was the residence of one of the leaders of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College – Holyfire.

“Earlier, my mind was in a state of chaos. I actually unconsciously made my way to Uncle Fire’s place. It seems as though…my heart subconsciously felt that this was the safest, most secure place for me in the entire Black-White College?” Chen Jin immediately flew into the estate below.

Within a courtyard.

A handsome, elegant looking bald youth, dressed in a fiery red robe, was seated in the lotus position, his feet bare. He seemed almost crystalline in his incomparable purity, and yet he also seemed to blaze like a flame, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to rise.

“Uncle Fire.” Chen Jin walked in. Although both he and Holyfire were third generation disciples, in terms of age, Holyfire was more than a century older than him. When he was but a child, Holyfire had already been a prominent figure amongst the other third generation disciples of the Black-White College. Because Holyfire was on extremely good terms with his clan, the Chen clan, ever since Chen Jin had been young, he had addressed him as ‘Uncle Fire’. Even after he himself had joined the Black-White College, he continued to address Holyfire in this way.

“I can tell that your aura is disturbed, and a look of chaos and wildness is in your eyes. If this continues, your Dao-heart will be damaged.” Holyfire shook his head. “What exactly has happened?”

“Uncle Fire, I, I…” Chen Jin found it difficult to speak. Holyfire let out a calm laugh. In terms of Dao-heart and comprehension, there were actually even many Primal Daoists who were inferior to him. In terms of pure power, there were even some Primal Daoists who had been defeated by him! In addition, Holyfire had already made his preparations…in the next few years, he was going to make his breakthrough to the Primal Daoist level. In the entire Black-White College, of the third generation disciples, only the Sloppy Daoist was able to suppress him in might. This wasn’t because Holyfire wasn’t strong; it was because the Sloppy Daoist was truly too much of a monster.

Even Wanxiang Adepts who were reincarnated Immortals were completely convinced of the Sloppy Daoist’s superiority. He, and he alone, was acknowledged by all as the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples.

However, monsters like the Sloppy Daoist only came once in countless years. In addition, they had a chance at becoming Celestial Immortals. In any other era, someone like Holyfire, who was capable of defeating Primal Daoists as a Wanxiang Disciple, would have already been considered the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples.

“Speak,” Holyfire said. His voice seemed to carry a power to calm the hearts of others. Chen Jin nodded. “It is because of Ninelotus. Uncle Fire, as you know, Ninelotus and I grew up together, and our parents are good friends with each other.” Having calmed down, Chen Jin began to slowly narrate everything, but towards the end, he couldn’t help but begin to grow frantic once more. “…but she’s now spent a full year at Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain! That’s Ji Ning’s place. I, I…”

“Don’t panic,” Holyfire said calmly. “Panicking won’t help solve the situation; thus, why panic? Your Dao-heart is insufficiently tempered. Romantic love between men and women can result in an emotional tribulation. If you trap yourself too deeply within it, then when you encounter the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, you will most likely suffer greatly for it.”

Chen Jin was shocked into awareness by these words.

“I know that you can’t possibly wait, however, so…I’ll come with you. Let me take a look and see what techniques this junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has used to attract the attention of that child, Ninelotus,” Holyfire said with a laugh.

“Uncle Fire, you’ll come with me?” Chen Jin revealed a look of joy. Chen Jin had joined the Raindragon Guard long ago, and was extremely powerful amongst the third generation disciples of the Black-White College; he was only inferior to the most monstrous of the other disciples. The reincarnated Immortal, Yu Wei, was slightly stronger than him as well; he could be considered to be one of the top ten disciples.

This was, of course, in reference to real combat power. Thus, Chen Jin was actually quite talented…and why he was always extremely self-confident.

“Come.”

Very soon, a fiery cloud arose. Atop it stood two figures; Holyfire and Chen Jin. They rapidly soared into the skies.

Serpentwing Lake.

It was spring, now. The days were warm, and the flowers were blooming. A boat was lazily drifting atop the waters of Serpentwing Lake. Ning was lying down within the boat, sleeping blissfully. There was another person within the boat…Ninelotus, who was seated within it. Ninelotus sat there, looking quietly at the sleeping Ji Ning.

A year…

The two of them had become extremely familiar with each other, to the point where they could faintly sense the joy each felt for the other’s presence. But the selection of a Dao-Companion…both Ninelotus and Ji Ning were hesitant. Choosing a Dao-Companion was an incomparably important decision. Ninelotus was the next leader of the Dongyan clan, while Ning was the heir to the underwater estate; he had already cast his vision beyond the limits of this major world, and his goal was to roam the Three Realms and become a major power within them.

Both of these two were extremely ambitious, and their Dao-hearts were extremely resolute. Thus, neither of them would casually choose a Dao-Companion. However…for Ning to be willing to allow Ninelotus to accompany him in floating in the waters of Serpentwing Lake represented certain thoughts and feelings that Ning felt.

“Is this…truly like sleeping in the embrace of his parents?” Ninelotus mused silently to herself. Because Ning often liked to lie on that boat and drift on the waters of Serpentwing Lake, Ninelotus had asked Autumn Leaf, “Why is it that your young master often goes to lie on that boat and drift around on Serpentwing Lake for an entire day?”

“The ashes of his parents were sprinkled atop Serpentwing Lake. Serpentwing Lake is like his parents,” Autumn Leaf had said.

For some reason…Ninelotus had felt a twinge of pain in her heart.

“If I were to lose my parents?” Ninelotus thought of her own father and mother. Both of them were alive, and her elders were all tremendously powerful. “Ji Ning, he…” Ninelotus couldn’t help but stretch out her hand, gently stroking Ning’s face with it.

Ning continued to sleep.

Ninelotus gently helped Ning adjust his hair. She watched there, quietly, feeling an unusual calmness in her heart.

In midair. A fiery cloud was flying towards them at high speed, and atop it were two figures. Both of them stared downwards. As they did, they immediately saw that little boat floating atop Serpentwing Lake. Ning was lying there, within that small boat, his head next to Ninelotus, who sat next to him, helping him comb his hair.

“Ninelotus!” Chen Jin, aboard the fiery cloud, instantly turned red-eyed as he saw this.

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Chapter 24 – Burning With Jealousy

Chapter 24 – Burning With Jealousy

They had grown up together, and he had followed her all the way from Highwater Commandery to Stillwater Commandery and entered the Black-White College with her. After having pursued her for so long, how could Chen Jin not be infuriated by what he saw in front of him?

“Flowcloud.” The nearby Holyfire grabbed Chen Jin by the arm, pulling him towards him. Chen Jin had been about to charge out.

“Uncle Fire.” Chen Jin turned to look at him. Holyfire looked back, gaze as calm as ever. “Calm down.”

Chen Jin said, agonized, “How can I possibly calm down. I have to ask and understand exactly what the hell is Ninelotus thinking. Why would she take a fancy to this kid, Ji Ning?” Although they were fellow disciples, Chen Jin was currently filled with boundless disgust and distaste for Ning.

“You’ll only have a chance if you can calm down.” Holyfire looked at him.

Chen Jin wasn’t a fool; he had simply been provoked by the scene before him. He quickly suppressed his rage, then nodded and said, “Uncle Fire, don’t worry. I won’t do anything crazy.”

“Right. No matter what, we are all fellow disciples of the same school. We cannot commit fratricide against each other,” Holyfire instructed. “Come. Let’s go meet with junior apprentice-brother Darknorth and junior apprentice-sister Ninelotus.”

Chen Jin obediently followed by his side as the two flew downwards…

Atop the boat. A surge of power was rippling down towards them from the skies. Ninelotus couldn’t help but look upwards, and the ripple of power caused Ning to awaken from his slumber and open his eyes.

“Is that…?” Ning immediately recognized the bald, handsome, crimson-robed, bare-footed youth who had a divine svastika tattoo in the middle of his forehead. A look of surprise appeared on Ning’s face. “Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire? Why has he suddenly come to my place? There shouldn’t be many people who know that I am here at Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain.”

Holyfire had mastered a complete Dao Path, and whose Fiendgod body had reached the peak of the Wanxiang level long ago. He had even defeated Primal Daoists before. He was one of the true leaders of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College!

“Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud.” The nearby Ninelotus’ face suddenly changed. “He actually came…it seems Qingqing must’ve told him. This will be troublesome.” As soon as she saw the two, Ninelotus was able to guess at what had happened.

“Ji Ning.” Ninelotus hurriedly sent to him, “Next to senior apprentice-brother Holyfire is senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud! Be careful of him.”

“Be careful of him? He should be one of our fellow disciples, right? Although I’ve never met him, I’ve heard of his name and that he is very powerful. Why should I be careful of him?” Ning was puzzled; he had never met Flowcloud before, and no enmity existed between them.

“Just be careful.” Ninelotus gritted her teeth. Right at this moment, Holyfire and Chen Jin flew down from the skies, landing atop the water. The two strode forward atop the water as easily as if they were walking on flat land.

“Senior apprentice-brothers Holyfire and Flowcloud,” Ning laughed, “Why have the two of you come to my Swallow Mountain?”

Holyfire smiled at him. “We learned that you were here by chance,” Holyfire said. As for Chen Jin, he just let out a cold snort, not speaking. This caused Ning to feel surprised…he had never offended this man before. Why was he treating Ning so coldly? Just now, Ninelotus had also warned him to be wary of Flowcloud…it seemed there really were some strange things going on. Multiple thoughts instantly began to flit through Ning’s mind.

“Since you’ve come to my place, senior fellow disciples, I naturally will show the hospitality of a host. Senior fellow disciples, please come with me,” Ning said warmly.

“No need.” The black-suited Chen Jin gave a cold response.

Ning frowned. No matter how good-tempered he was, he wouldn’t try to ingratiate himself to someone who was treating him icily. “Oh, then why have you come to my place, senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud?

Holyfire gently shook his head, not saying anything. As for Chen Jin, he looked at Ninelotus. He stared directly into her eyes.

Ning couldn’t help but begin to feel anger rise in his heart. After having been together with her for a year, Ning had begun to understand how Ninelotus felt, and the two of them had reached a tacit level of understanding. They hadn’t felt the need to rush into open proclamations, but…Ning naturally felt quite upset for this Chen Jin to stare so fixedly at ‘his’ senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus.

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud,” Ning barked.

“Shut your mouth.” Chen Jin gave him an angry glance.

Ning’s gaze instantly turned sharp. Although he had been angry, he had at least been able to maintain a level of decorum. But this Flowcloud telling him to shut his mouth was a clear sign that he intended to give Ning no face at all. If that was the case, then he had no need to give him any face either. He immediately barked back, “Flowcloud, this is my territory. This isn’t a place for you to throw your weight around. Get the f*ck out of Serpentwing Lake.”

Chen Jin was startled by Ning’s shout, and he immediately said with fury, “You think you are capable of making me leave? You don’t know your own limits.”

As for the nearby Holyfire, he just watched quietly. Ninelotus, however, could no longer hold back. “Chen Jin!” Ninelotus barked angrily. Chen Jin, pain in his eyes, turned to look at her.

“Ninelotus, leave this to me,” Ning said. Although Flowcloud was famous, Ning truly didn’t hold him in any regard. Amongst Wanxiang Disciples, only the truly most top-tier experts such as Holyfire were capable of inspiring caution in Ning.

“Let me handle it.” Ninelotus shook her head, staring at Chen Jin.

Chen Jin, agonized, looked back at her. “Little Yun, you’ve really made up your mind?”

Ninelotus let out a light sigh. She had grown up with Chen Jin, after all. “Chen Jin, stop being so stubborn. Let it go.”

Let it go?

Let it go?

Let it go?

These three words continuously echoed in Chen Jin’s mind, causing the last vestiges of hope thad he had in his mind to instantly be exterminated. His face changed, beginning to redden as he pointed towards Ning and howled, “Because of HIM!?”

“Chen Jin!” Ninelotus immediately barked at him but Chen Jin said, agonized, “Little Yun, we grew up together. When we were young, you always liked to be together with me as well, right? Because of you, I left Highwater Commandery and came to join the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery! You should know that my departure from Highwater Commandery had a major impact on my status within the tribe, but for your sake, I didn’t hesitate at all. I sacrificed so much, and in all these years, I’ve never wavered in my feelings towards you. You…you…you…this is how you are going to treat me?”

Ning, standing there, finally understood. So the two of them had known each other as children…but so what? Did they necessarily have to become Dao-Companions, just because they had grown up together?

“Chen Jin.” Ninelotus shook her head. “I’ve never accepted you, despite the passage of all these years. How can you not understand?”

“Understand what?” Chen Jin let out a cold laugh. “You just grew fickle-hearted!”

Ninelotus was stunned. As for Chen Jin, a cold light flashed through his eyes. His many years of pursuit had resulted in such an ending…his final hopes had been extinguished. The jealousy that he had previously felt was completely transformed into rage! He was enraged…enraged that all of his sacrifices over the years had were like water that flowed east into the sea, never to return. Enraged that Ninelotus had actually taken a fancy to this kid from a minor clan!”

“No need to say anything else.” Chen Jin looked at Ninelotus. “Dongyan Yun, after today, I will never bother you again. However, your judgment truly is terrible for you to have taken a fancy to this kid! We’ve been friends for so many years…today, I’ll help you out and let you know how utterly worthless this kid you’ve taken a fancy to is!”

“Ji Ning!” Chen Jin let out a loud roar.

Rumble…instantly, the air above Serpentwing Lake instantly exploded with noise. At the same time, a large number of clouds began to gather, and the entire world seemed to change color. Around the black-suited Chen Jin, 108 golden disks of light suddenly appeared out of nowhere, all of which immediately flew towards the skies in every which way.

The clouds into the sky also surged at high speed towards those 108 golden disks of light. Soon, the clouds had transformed into a formation of 108 giant clouds, which were shaped like lions, chariots, dragons, and other creatures. These 108 giant clouds circled about the surrounding area.

As for Chen Jin, he stood there in midair, staring towards the distant Ning and shouting, “Ji Ning, if you have even the slightest bit of courage, then come battle with me. I’ll let Ninelotus know…that you will crumple at a single blow. But of course, if you have no courage, if you are afraid, then just hurry up and get the hell away from Ninelotus. You aren’t worthy of her!”

“Chen Jin!” Ninelotus was angry now as well. But the nearby Ning stretched out his arm, stopping her. Ninelotus couldn’t help but turn to look at him.

“Leave it to me.” Ning only said these four words. Ninelotus felt her heart tremble; she could sense Ning’s determination.

The changes to the world near Serpentwing Lake and the sudden appearance of these 108 giant clouds had thrown Brightheart Island into a state of chaos. Many people charged out, and even Patriarch Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the old servant Ah Xing came out to see what was going on.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s happened? Who is causing trouble here at our Serpentwing Lake?”

All of them were shocked and mystified. Ninefure, Granny Shadow, and Autumn Leaf all looked towards the Whitewater Hound and the Azure Skysnake.

“That red-robed man is named Holyfire; he’s one of the leaders of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College. He’s extremely powerful, and supposedly has even defeated Primal Daoists,” the Whitewater Hound said. “Next to Holyfire is another disciple of the Black-White College; his name is Flowcloud.”

“If they are all disciples of the Black-White College, what’s there to fight about?” Autumn Leaf said, worried, “Is the young master alright?”

“Ning’s already sent a message to me. Don’t worry,” the Whitewater Hound said. But although he said that, he was very worried as well, because he had spent quite a long period of time in the Black-White College and heard of Flowcloud’s reputation. In addition, the grand aura of the technique which Flowcloud had just used was proof that his power was unfathomably greater than the likes of Dong One and Northriver Zhou.

This was a true elite of the Black-White College!

“Ning, son, be careful,” the Whitewater Hound sent mentally to him. Ning’s soul was so powerful that he could engage in a spiritual communication with his spirit-beast as long as they were in range of his divine sense.

Ninelotus looked at Ning, worry in her gaze. Although she knew that Ning was monstrously talented, he had still only been in the Black-White College for five years. Flowcloud, also known as ‘Chen Jin’, was also extremely talented and had been training for many years, and was shockingly strong. She was very worried that the two would truly engage in a wild, murderous battle against each other.

“Hmph.” Chen Jin, in midair, saw the look of worry on her face. He couldn’t help but let out a cold snort. “Ji Ning, dare you or dare you not? If you don’t have the courage to fight, then f*ck off and go back to your little clan.”

“Chen Jin.” Ning strode through the air, one step at a time, moving higher and higher with each step. As he did, he spoke calmly, “It seems that your embarrassment has transformed into anger. Becoming Dao-Companions is a personal matter for two individuals; can it be that just because you were stubborn in your pursuit, that Ninelotus has to accept you? You think a bit too highly of yourself. As for you saying that you wish for Ninelotus to know how utterly worthless I am, that I can’t stand up to a single blow…once again, I’m afraid you think a bit too highly yourself.”

“Enough bullshit. Do you dare to fight or not?” Chen Jin stared at the distant Ning.

Ning continued to walk through the air, soon coming to stand at an equal level to Chen Jin. The two stood there in midair, staring at each other. A Darknorth sword suddenly appeared in Ning’s hands. A sword-hum rang out, filling the air above Serpentwing Lake.

“Come, then,” Ning said calmly.

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Chapter 25 – Ji Ning Battles Chen Jin

Chapter 25 – Ji Ning Battles Chen Jin

The two stood there in midair. As for Holyfire and Ninelotus, they stood atop the water, heads raised, watching them. Ninelotus sent frantically, “Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, aren’t you going to stop Chen Jin?”

Holyfire, head raised, continued to watch. He sent back calmly, “Chen Jin wooed you for many years. The rage generated from the instant eradication of a dream held for many years is quite astonishingly great; it’s best to let him give vent to it. After doing so, in the future, it will cast less of a shadow on his heart. If he has to completely suppress his feelings, in the future, it will prove to be a disaster for him.”

“For the sake of letting him give vent, you are going to make junior apprentice-brother Ning suffer,” Ninelotus said angrily.

“Don’t worry. The Black-White College forbids its disciples from fratricide,” Holyfire said.

“Although the Black-White College does indeed forbid fratricide, as far as I can tell, Chen Jin has gone completely mad. He’s capable of anything right now. Although the College might punish him later, if he truly does wound Ji Ning…what good would punishment do?” Ninelotus said furiously, “Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, you are very powerful; you can stop him.”

Holyfire gave Ninelotus a glance. “If something dangerous truly happens, I’ll intervene.”

“I’m afraid that by that time, it would be too late. They are Wanxiang Adepts, after all, and you, senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, are a Wanxiang Adept as well. Life and death can be determined in an instant…senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, you won’t necessarily be able to make it in time,” Ninelotus shouted back mentally. She wanted to give Holyfire more pressure, hoping that he might intervene.

Holyfire just raised his head, continuing to watch.

……..

Ji Ning and Chen Jin were in midair, staring at each other.

“Kid of a puny clan, so you actually have the courage to battle me.” Chen Jin let out a cold laugh, then sent mentally, “But this will make you all the more aware of your foolishness!”

Faint flames could be seen burning in Ning’s eyes as well now. The flames of rage!

“I’ll let you know how weak you are, how puny you are, how worthless you are!” Chen Jin’s eyes were filled with savagery. “In terms of clans, the Chen clan of Highwater Commandery is unfathomably more powerful than your puny little backwater clan. In terms of parentage, both your parents are dead, while my father is a Primal Daoist! In terms of personal power, I’m one of the top ten third generation disciples of the Black-White College, but you? You are merely a junior disciple who just entered a few years ago. Now, let me, your senior apprentice-brother, help you wake up and understand…that compared to me, you are a pile of shit!”

His voice rang out by Ning’s ear. Ning’s face became extremely ugly to behold…these were the words of a disciple of the Black-White College?!

“Indeed, even Immortal cultivators who are normally calm, reserved, and aloof, upon going berserk, can become thousands of times uglier and more unsightly than evil commoners.” Rage was now truly burning in Ning’s heart.

Comparing clans?

Comparing parents?

Comparing personal power?

The reference to his parents had particularly enraged Ning.

“Chen Jin, you’ve always chased after Ninelotus, but she never paid any attention to you, right?” Ning sent back, his voice mocking, “You chased her for so many years, but she never paid you any attention, and yet you still weren’t wise enough to just give up. I feel embarrassed on your behalf! Just look at yourself. Take a good look at yourself…look at how ugly you look right now, with that angry look on your face. Honestly…you are worse than a pile of shit.”

Ning’s words struck straight at Chen Jin’s weakness. Ninelotus had never shown him any interest…there was no way he could refuse this. As far as relationships went, Ninelotus had already chosen Ning; this meant that Ning was the victor.

“You really deserve to die!” Chen Jin’s eyes flashed with savage light. “Wind!” Chen Jin suddenly let out a great howl. The giant clouds that had filled the skies instantly began to glow with streaks of light which condensed around Chen Jin’s body, forming into a gigantic azure bird-of-paradise. The massive azure bird-of-paradise proudly raised its head, the plumage atop its head clearly visible, as well as the arrogance in its eyes.

“Compared to me, you are nothing!” Chen Jin sent a furious mental roar to Ning, while at the same time, the gigantic azure bird-of-paradise charged at high speed towards Ning.

Ning stood there in midair. “Hmph.” Ning let out a cold snort. The area around him instantly became filled with a large number of flying swords. In the center of the mass of flying swords were those nine black Nethercold swords, which had caused the power of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to rise by a full level. Light began to glow from the flying swords, and soon, a jade sword of light appeared before Ning. This was the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

“CHOP!” Ning let out an explosive roar. The jade sword of light instantly slashed through the skies, and as it did, the vague outlines of a tri-colored lotus could be seen. Ning had already reached the ‘Dao Domain’ level in the Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of the Inferno, and the Dao of the Gale. The power of his Tripartite Lotus Sword had also reached an astonishing level, and the attack of this sword was filled with some of the mysteries of the Grand Dao of the Sword.

The sword-light flashed, and as it did, it was as though a dragon had appeared in the skies.

Rumble…the azure bird-of-paradise charging down at high speed instantly collided with the dragon of sword-light. It was just like Chef Ding carving the ox 1; the sword-light sliced seamlessly through the azure bird-of-paradise, causing it to be instantly chopped apart.

…….

“What?!” A look of shock appeared on Holyfire’s face. He knew exactly how strong Chen Jin was; Chen Jin could be said to be one of the top ten figures of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College. “Although that attack wasn’t his strongest, it was one of his more formidable techniques; how could it have been suppressed by Ji Ning? In addition, Ji Ning used flying swords, not close-quarters combat.”

Ninelotus, by Holyfire’s side, was similarly shocked. She had no idea as to exactly how strong Ning was in real combat, because during this year at Serpentwing Lake, Ning had never truly exploded forth with his full power in battle.

“He actually…actually…” Ninelotus couldn’t believe it. “Can it be that Ji Ning is going to defeat Chen Jin?”

…….

Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others on Brightheart Island all felt extremely nervous. This combat between two Wanxiang Adepts was a world-shaking battle to them, and the power of these blows vastly outstripped the might that had been on display during their previous battle at Oxhorn Mountain. Everyone, including Autumn Leaf, Bluestone, Uncle White, and Qingqing, felt extremely nervous. However, upon seeing Ning’s sword-light chop through the azure bird-of-paradise, they all felt relieved. “It seems he’s going to win.” The Whitewater Hound nodded slightly.

As for the midair Chen Jin, his face was completely ashen. He had wanted to teach Ning a vicious lesson in front of Ninelotus and trample over him, so as to let Ninelotus know how worthless this Ji Ning was, and that he, Chen Jin, was the truly powerful one.

Chen Jin knew very well that in the world of Immortal cultivators, strength determined a person’s true status; everything else was meaningless. He wanted to use his own strength to show that he was more powerful than this kid, Ji Ning, which Ninelotus had taken a fancy to.

“How could…” Chen Jin couldn’t accept this outcome.

“Come, winds! Come, clouds!” Chen Jin suddenly let out a savage roar. Instantly, the skies once more began to gather power, and two creatures simultaneously appeared; an enormous azure bird-of-paradise, and a pure, golden divine dragon.

The bird-of-paradise and the divine dragon coiled about each other, a shocking aura of power radiating from them. They charged directly towards Ning.

“Chop!” The distant Ning once more let out a cold, angry bark. The power of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] once more exploded forth. This time, the jade sword of light seemed to be like a painter’s brush, swiping outwards in an arc that was so beautiful as to cause the heart to tremble…and as it painted a streak of light through the skies, an astonishingly sharp sword-flash appeared as well.

The third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Sudden Sword Light!

“What?!” Holyfire was watching this from down below, and upon seeing this technique, his eyes instantly turned completely round. “The [Three-Foot Sword] – Sudden Sword Light!”

“This…!” Ninelotus was shocked as well. They were both disciples of the Black-White College, and the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword] had been passed down for many years; they naturally all recognized this technique.

Swish!

The sword-light suddenly appeared, carrying an invincible aura of majesty and power. Although the bird-of-paradise and the divine dragon mutually reinforced each other, filling each other with power and flexibility, in the face of this sword attack, which seemed to fill the world with its aura…they were still chopped into two halves, completely destroyed.

“The third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]?” Chen Jin’s eyes were filled with disbelief as well. “Impossible. This is completely impossible. There’s no way his swordplay can be this powerful. He’s just joined recently; how could he have already comprehended the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]? And even if he did master it, he still shouldn’t be a match for me.”

“I reached the peak of the Wanxiang level long ago, and have the support of the Cloudwind Formation. The treasures used to form this formation, my father personally gathered for me…this formation is formed from 108 high-grade Earth-ranked magic treasures. Their power is definitely no weaker than a divine ability’s.” Chen Jin shook his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Although his swordplay is powerful, the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]…it should only be slightly more powerful than my attacks.”

He was, after all, one of the top ten figures of the third generation disciples. He knew exactly how strong the [Three-Foot Sword] was. The fourth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] was comparable in power to complete mastery over a Dao Path. The third stance, however, was a level lower in might.

In the Black-White College, only Holyfire, the Sloppy Daoist, and a very few others were at a higher level of comprehension than Ning. The power of this sword attack alone was already enough for Ning to rank alongside Chen Jin and the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei, as one of the top ten disciples of the third generation.

“Hmph.” Ning let out a cold laugh. It seemed as though Chen Jin found this to be unfathomable?

Chen Jin’s ‘Cloudwind Formation’ had been famous for many years, but Ning’s own [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was also extremely powerful. By relying on the nine Nethercold swords, Ning was capable of unleashing tremendous power as well, and thus had been able to suppress his foe.

“Impossible. You, a brat from a backwater clan…how can you compare to me?” Chen Jin’s face was filled with savagery. “I’m definitely going to beat you to your knees. Beat you until you submit!”

This was the only thought in Chen Jin’s mind. He had to defeat Ji Ning; he had to!

“Cloudwind Worldchains!” Chen Jin let out a furious howl. But right at this moment, a pair of black wings suddenly appeared on Ning’s back. The black wings trembled, and Ning instantly charged forward like a streak of light.

At this moment, many chains of azure light and golden light were sweeping forward, seeking to wrap around Ning.

Slash! Ning’s Darknorth sword flashed out. Ning’s Fiendgod body had already reached the tenth stage; he was comparable to a normal late-stage Wanxiang Adept Fiendgod, and he was using his divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand]! Ning would even dare give Holyfire a battle, much less this Chen Jin!

“Rumble…” The azure chains and golden chains were completely shattered.

“No…” Chen Jin, shocked, wanted to dodge. But how could he possibly do so?! Ning’s left hand suddenly stretched out like the hand of a Fiendgod, grabbing Chen Jin around his throat, clenching around it. Chen Jin gurgled but was unable to speak. His eyes were filled with shock and horror.

“Who is the pile of shit?” Ning, his hand around Chen Jin’s throat, barked coldly, “Tell me…who is the pile of shit?”

1. Mentioned before, but this is an idiom

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Chapter 26 –Chen Jin’s Threat

Chapter 26 –Chen Jin’s Threat

Chen Jin was being choked by the throat. Ning’s left hand appeared ordinary, but it contained power that was capable of tearing apart mountains; there was no way Chen Jin could struggle at all.

“No…no…” Chen Jin’s eyes were bloodshot. This was humiliation. His throat was being choked by Ning; he felt humiliated, like he had never felt humiliated before.

“You don’t know the answer?” Ning continued to grip Chen Jin by the throat. He said coldly, “Then I’ll tell you the answer. YOU are the pile of shit!”

Although they were fellow disciples, Ning felt nothing but boundless distaste for Chen Jin. Ninelotus and Chen Jin were nothing more than old friends…what business was it of Chen Jin as to who Ninelotus wished to become Dao-Companions with? Because Ninelotus was interested in Ning, Chen Jin was going to try to vent all of his anger on him? He had held Ning in no regard at all.

“If it weren’t for the fact that we are forbidden from committing fratricide, I wouldn’t let you off this easily.” Ning continued to clench Chen Jin by the throat.

“You’d dare to kill me? Do you dare? Do you dare?” Chen Jin stared at Ning, eyes filled with madness.

“Kill you? Kill you, then be punished by the College?” Ning shook his head and let out a cold laugh. “You aren’t worth it!” And then, Ning swung his arm, exploding forth with the might of his Fiendgod body and throwing Chen Jin out like a meteor into the distance.

The events which had transpired in midair caused Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others on Brightheart Island to feel incomparably nervous.

“He’s grown stronger, stronger than in the past.” Ninefire’s eyes were blazing with heat. “It’s only been a few years…although in the past he was already able to easily slay a Wanxiang Adept, Adept Xu Li was incomparably weaker than this student of the Black-White College. However…even this powerful disciple of the Black-White College was easily defeated by Ji Ning. Ji Ning’s advancement speed is simply too fast. If this continues…in a few more decades, what will he be like?”

“Young master…” Autumn Leaf watched quietly as well, eyes filled with excitement.

“Too formidable.” Qingqing blinked, somewhat dazed. Ning’s performance this time was clearly far stronger than his previous one against the Dragonwhale King. “No wonder, despite my countless strokes of good fortune, I remain so much weaker than him. His rate of advancement is simply too monstrous.”

……

Chen Jin shot down from the skies like a meteor, smashing into the waters of Serpentwing Lake and arousing a wave that was three hundred meters high. However, he quickly managed to steady himself.

“Flowcloud.” The fiery-robed, bare-footed Holyfire walked over the waves, moving towards him.

“Uncle Fire.” Chen Jin lowered his head, an incomparably ugly look on his face. He had never imagined…that he would lose so disastrously!

He had wanted to let Ninelotus see how powerful he was, and how worthless Ji Ning was! He had wanted to completely dominate and trample this Ji Ning, so as to give vent to his anger. Reality, however, was completely different from what he had anticipated. He hadn’t defeated his enemy; instead, he had been completely crushed.

“Ji Ning’s innate talent is indeed monstrous,” Holyfire sighed softly. “In the past, when I watched him battle our fellow disciples in the Dao Debates for the first time, I knew that he was monstrously talented…but it seems I still underestimated him. Perhaps our Black-White College is going to produce yet another senior apprentice-brother Sloppy.”

“Him? As if!” Chen Jin couldn’t help but grit his teeth. The Sloppy Daoist…he was universally acknowledged as the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples of the Black-White College. Although he had trained for many years, the Sloppy Daoist was someone who only became more outstanding as the years went on. Generally speaking, Immortal cultivators would find their rate of improvement lessen as time went on, but the opposite was true for the Sloppy Daoist; he seemed to contain endless, inexhaustible potential, causing him to make one breakthrough after another. His combat power was even more incomparably shocking. Even Fiendgod practitioners like Holyfire and the various reincarnated Immortals were all completely convinced of his superiority.

In this moment, Holyfire had the feeling that this Ji Ning’s potential was enough to make him the next ‘Sloppy Daoist’.

“Senior apprentice-brother Sloppy is like a raging wave that continues to surge forward, building up power and becoming increasingly mighty as it moves forward,” Holyfire said. “As for this Ji Ning, he’s like a sharp sword, capable of chopping through all obstacles, allowing him to advance at an inconceivable speed. This sort of astonishing speed…even the reincarnated Immortals in our Black-White College aren’t able to advance at such a rate. He’s simply too monstrous!”

Chen Jin gritted his teeth. The more Holyfire praised Ning, the more miserable he felt.

“Now, do you understand?” Holyfire looked athim.

“Understand?” Chen Jin looked at the distant Ji Ning, but his heart felt extremely miserable. He felt stifled! Enraged! Unrepentant!

He had wooed Ninelotus for many years, and his jealousy had transformed into rage! He had wanted to viciously pummel Ning and give vent to his rage, then leave in a carefree, relaxed manner. But instead, he had been dominated by Ning, causing his pent-up anger to cause him to feel even more miserable…this sort of agony caused Chen Jin to understand that a shadow had fallen over his heart!

“I understand.” Chen Jin nodded, staring towards the distant Ning. Holyfire nodded slightly as well.

“He, Ji Ning, has cast a shadow over my heart. Unless I defeat him, unless I dominate him, or unless he dies…it will be very hard for me to wipe out the anger in my mind.” Chen Jin gritted his teeth. “I’ve never been humiliated like this in my life. I’ve never felt so stifled, so angry before.”

“You…” Holyfire was astonished. He had thought that thanks to this defeat, Chen Jin would regain his calm clarity of mind, but instead…Chen Jin was sinker deeper and deeper into the morass.

“This is terrible.” Holyfire instantly understood his mistake. He had thought too highly of Chen Jin. Chen Jin and Ninelotus were of the same age; they were both very young, and were both proud, pampered scions of their clans; thus, they had never suffered much. In addition, Chen Jin himself truly was also an extremely, astonishingly talented individual; this was why, even when Ninelotus had been at the Zifu Disciple stage, he had already become one of the top ten members of the third generation disciples.

He was extremely talented, and so had always been praised by others! The elders within his clan had also encouraged him to woo Ninelotus and become her Dao-Companion; after all, Ninelotus was the next leader of the Dongyan clan, an ancient clan that was even more powerful than the Chen clan and which was spread over three commanderies.

Because he himself truly did like her, and because of the encouragement of his elders, and because of his self-confidence, Chen Jin had always believed that eventually, he would become Ninelotus’ Dao-Companion! For her sake, he even chose to join the Black-White College…he truly believed that he had already sacrificed enough for her.

But…

First, Ninelotus had chosen Ning, causing him to feel completely stunned, jealous, and angry. He had planning to release his anger on Ning, but instead was completely crushed…this sort of humiliation was something he had never felt before in his entire life.

“Ning has cast a shadow over my heart.” Chen Jin understood this point; he was an extremely intelligent person, and upon realizing this, he immediately grew frantic. “I want to become a Primal Daoist, and then become an Immortal. I have to disperse this shadow. I have to!”

“What should I do? What should I do? Defeat him? Kill him?” Chen Jin couldn’t come up with any ideas. Just now, they had already fought each other; he was no match for Ning. As for causing Ning to die? Ning was a disciple of the Black-White College, and the senior disciple of Immortal Diancai. Who would dare kill him?

“What should I do?!” Chen Jin shook his head. “No. I must immediately disperse this shadow.” The humiliation and stifled rage which he felt caused him to feel extremely agonized. He knew that these emotions would have an enormous impact on his Immortal cultivation…but he wasn’t able to sever this emotions.

Knowing the problem was one thing; being able to address it was another.

“Ji Ning!” Chen Jin suddenly raised his head, staring towards Ning and Ninelotus, who were chatting in midair. A savage light flashed through his eyes, and with a swoosh, he immediately soared into the air once more.

……

Ninelotus was in a dazed state right now. She had no idea that Ning had such tremendous power. Chen Jin was one of the top ten third generation disciples of the Black-White College, but he had been defeated so cleanly by Ning. Didn’t that mean…that in the Black-White College, only the likes of Holyfire and those few who had completely mastered a Dao Path were a match for him?

“Ji Ning, you…how did you become so strong?” Once her words came out, Ninelotus began to laugh at herself for saying such childish words. She hurriedly changed her words, saying, “You defeated Chen Jin…I imagine that he should leave now.”

“I hope he has come to his senses.” Ning turned to look downwards, but as soon as his words came out…a streak of light shot upwards from the ground. It was Chen Jin.

Chen Jin flew into the air, staring towards Ning and Ninelotus. He let out a cold laugh. “Ji Ning.”

Ning smirked. “Want another fight?”

Chen Jin could feel his anger begin to blaze up again, but he forced it down and growled, “Ji Ning, I urge you to leave Ninelotus.”

“Leave?” Ning felt quite amused.

Ninelotus sighed. “Chen Jin, you had best leave.”

At this moment, Holyfire flew up towards them as well. However, he just stood to one side, watching calmly and not saying anything. He hadn’t been able to help Chen Jin; instead, a shadow had been cast over Chen Jin’s heart. In truth…Holyfire felt rather vexed.

Chen Jin was looking at Ji Ning. He said in a cold voice, “You are indeed talented…but so what if you are powerful? Your clan, the Ji clan, is too weak…it doesn’t even have a single Wanxiang Adept. Annihilating this sort of tribe is simply too easy, as easy as blowing a speck of dust.”

Ning’s face sank. “What do you mean by this!” Ning said in a cold voice.

“You know exactly what I mean!” Chen Jin looked at Ning. “You had best leave Ninelotus. Otherwise…don’t blame me for being vicious! I don’t even need to do anything personally; I have plenty of tools at my disposal for dealing with a small clan like the Ji clan.”

Ning’s face was ashen, the color of iron. Threatening his clan? For the sake of the clan…his father, the Patriarch, and the others all had been willing to sacrifice their lives. Although, due to his former life, Ning didn’t care as much about the clan as his parents and his elders, because of their influence, he still cared quite a bit about it.

“You…” A killing desire began to surge within Ning’s mind. However, the Black-White College restricted its disciples from committing fratricide.

“I know that you are a Raindragon Guard, and that ten thousand kilometers of the territory of the Ji clan is protected by them.” Chen Jin looked at Ning. “Anyone who dares violate your territory will definitely suffer retaliation from the Raindragon Guard! However, in this vast world, there are still many forces that don’t care at all about the Raindragon Guard…such as those criminals which the Raindragon Guard pursue. They are already wanted criminals; they won’t be worried about offending the Raindragon Guard!”

Ning’s gaze flashed with a cold light as he listened.

“It will have nothing to do with me. The ones who will annihilate your Ji clan will be those wanted criminals.” Chen Jin looked at Ning. “Honestly. It will have nothing to do with me at all.”

Ning, as well, understand…that the so-called ‘iron rule of law’ was something which the supreme clans were capable of avoiding or skirting around. The Raindragon Guard operated on the basis of proof; without proof, the Raindragon Guard wouldn’t do anything to Chen Jin.

Chen Jin looked at Ning, then said coldly, “Make your choice. Do you choose Ninelotus, or do you choose your clan?”

Ninelotus was enraged. “Chen Jin, you…”

“He’s cast a shadow over my heart. To get rid of it, I will stop at nothing. Ninelotus, you won’t be able to stop me.” Chen Jin looked towards Ning. “Ji Ning, what will you choose? Speak!”

BOOM!!!!!

The black wings behind Ning’s back suddenly flashed, and he transformed into a streak of lightning as he charged straight towards Chen Jin.

“HALT!” Holyfire roared.

“F*CK OFF!” Ning let out a savage roar back, and a crushing wave of divine will smashed outwards, striking directly against the soul of Holyfire, who wanted to intervene and block him. Although Holyfire was powerful, he wasn’t a reincarnated Immortal, and although both his soul and his Dao-heart were powerful, he still felt his soul tremble.

That moment’s tremble…made him too late!

Chen Jin, whose soul had also been struck, wasn’t able to even use any magic treasures before Ning’s hand once more clenched around his throat.

Ning, his left hand clenched around Chen Jin’s larynx, began delivering blows with his right hand. “SLAP!” “SLAP!” “SLAP!” “SLAP!” “SLAP!” “SLAP!” He viciously slapped Chen Jin on the face, and in a single breath, he delivered tens of slaps. “Threaten me? You dare THREATEN me? To boast of annihilating MY clan? You deserve to die. To DIE!”

Chen Jin’s face instantly began to swell.

“I’ll give you two choices.” Ning came to a halt, giving a sideways glance to the distant Holyfire. “Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, don’t come any closer, or I’ll immediately kill him.” Holyfire was shocked.

Ning then continued to look towards Chen Jin. “You have two choices. The first choice is for you to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that you will never cause any harm in any fashion to my Ji clan; otherwise, your soul will instantly be shattered. The other choice…is for me to shatter your soul right now. DECIDE!”

“You dare…you actually dare kill one of your fellow disciples?!” Chen Jin stared at him.

“You threatened to annihilate my clan. You tell me; would I dare kill you or not?” Ning stared at him. “Swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. Otherwise, I’ll shatter your soul right now.”

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Chapter 27 –Traversing the Immortal Path Together

Chapter 27 –Traversing the Immortal Path Together

“You…” Chen Jin stared at Ji Ning, his eyes filled with astonishment. Previously, Ning had appeared to be a very courteous, handsome, slim young man, but now, he was no longer masking the killing intent in his eyes. “If…if I don’t swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens…he’ll kill me. He’ll definitely kill me!”

Correct.

Ning did indeed desire to kill him now. He absolutely wouldn’t permit his own clan, the Ji clan, to face annihilation. Whether for the sake of his father,the sake of those clansmen who he cared about, or because he felt a strong sense of belonging for the clan, Ning would definitely do everything he could to preserve the clan.

“Even if I commit fratricide against a fellow disciple and violate the laws of the school, so what! I’ll accept the punishment!” This was what Ning was thinking to himself.

Although the school did indeed forbid fratricide, if he actually were to kill Chen Jin…in carrying out any punishment, the school would still first investigate the details of the situation. For example, if a disciple of the College sought to kill another disciple, could it be that the second disciple would not be allowed to fight back? Thus, this rule against fratricide was an internal rule of the College, and the exact punishment for violators would be determined by the College.

Chen Jin had threatened to annihilate the Ji clan…it was understandable for Ning to desire to kill him. The College wouldn’t go so far as to destroy his Zifu; however, he would most likely be sentenced to go into a confinement of atonement for three hundred years, at the very least.

“What do you choose?” Ning stared at Chen Jin.

The distant Holyfire felt quite startled and nervous as well. “This Ji Ning…he actually is capable of using divine soul attacks. It seems he must have reached the divine sense level long ago…and he’s also extremely strong! Chen Jin has fallen into his hands, and he can kill him with a thought; there’s no way I can save him in time.”

He felt somewhat confident in being able to deal with Ji Ning. However…his advantage in power over Ning was still limited; it could be said that the two of them were on the same general level of power. To rescue Chen Jin from Ning’s hands? It clearly wasn’t possible.

“I, I…” Chen Jin’s entire body was quivering slightly; he felt both agonized and humiliated. He finally spat out a phrase that he would never forget for the rest of his life. “I am willing to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens!”

“Whew…” Holyfire let out a sigh of relief. The distant Ninelotus, watching this, also let out a sigh of relief. She had been nervous this entire time, because this entire problem was due to her. Although she herself was innocent in her actions, she still felt nervous and ashamed.

“I’ll speak first. Repeat the words that I say in swearing your oath to the Dao of the Heavens. You are not permitted to change a single word!” Ning continued to grip Chen Jin by the neck as he said coldly, “Listen clearly. I, Chen Jin, swear an oath right now, with the Dao of the Heavens as my witness…”

“I, Chen Jin, swear an oath right now, with the Dao of the Heavens as my witness…” Although Chen Jin was unwilling, he still repeated every single word.

Invisible ripples of power descended. These were ripples generated by the most supreme of Daos, the Heavenly Daos. This meant that this oath had been officially acknowledged by the Dao of the Heavens. Upon violating this oath, one would have to face the punishment of the Dao! Even an Immortal who violated such an oath would immediately suffer a retributive attack, and if the Immortal had originally sworn that a violation of the oath would cause his soul to be destroyed, then his soul would indeed be destroyed and dispersed.

“…and if I violate this oath, then let the soul of myself, Chen Jin, immediately be destroyed and dispersed, never to be reincarnated again.” Chen Jin gritted his teeth as he stared at Ning. “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, are you satisfied?”

Ning let out a cold laugh, then swung his hand. Swoosh! He tossed Chen Jin far away from him. This time, Chen Jin managed to stabilize himself in midair. He gave Ning a cold glare.

“If you want to act against me, do your best,” Ning said. “If you can invite any experts to come help you, I, Ji Ning, will be here waiting for you.” Ning stared hard at him. “But when you come to deal with me, prepare to suffer my reprisal!”

“Aren’t you a piece of work.” Chen Jin gritted his teeth. Of course he wanted to kill Ji Ning. But…he couldn’t!

He was, after all, just a disciple of the Chen clan with a bit of status; he wasn’t even the heir who was in line to become the next clan leader! His father was merely a Primal Daoist…even if an Immortal of his clan was somehow willing to give him face and help him, how could that Immortal possibly go kill the disciple of Immortal Diancai, a monstrously talented genius of the Black-White College?

For the sake of its own survival, a clan would definitely not act in rash, violent, dangerous ways. A clan which did act in such a way wouldn’t be able to survive for too long!

“Let’s go.” Holyfire flew to his side. Chen Jin glanced at Holyfire. Although his heart still blazed with rage, there was nothing he could do. All he could do was nod. “Fine.”

“Ji Ning.” Chen Jin, before leaving, gave Ning a final glance, then said in a low voice, “Let me offer you a word of advice. Ninelotus is the next leader of the Dongyan clan; this has already been set in stone. The Dongyan clan is an ancient clan that is even more powerful than our Black-White College. Not just anyone can become the Dao-Companion to the next leader of a clan like this. Even I, in terms of background alone, don’t quite match up; that’s why I still have to frantically train. As for you? Hmph…”

“No need to worry yourself about that,” Ning said calmly.

“Hmph.”

Chen Jin and Holyfire once more mounted that fiery red cloud, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the distant horizons. The only figures now left in the skies of Serpentwing Lake were Ning and Ninelotus.

“Ji Ning.” NInelotus stood there, a look of guilt on her face. “It’s all my fault…I’ve caused you to gain another enemy.”

This was the way of human interactions in the world.

Prior to this, Ji Ning and Chen Jin were fellow disciples of the same school who had never met. In the blink of an eye, however, Ji Ning had become a fiend in Chen Jin’s heart, casting a shadow over it! Similarly, because Chen Jin had threatened to annihilate the Ji clan, Ning now viewed him as his hated enemy.

“This isn’t your fault, senior apprentice-sister,” Ning said with a laugh. “Don’t worry. Chen Jin is nothing more than a dancing clown. He might be able to hop around smugly for a time…but what of it? What can he do to me?”

He was one of the two Sword Immortals of the entire Black-White College! The other, naturally, was his own master, Immortal Diancai.

“Right. Earlier, you demonstrated the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], the ‘Sudden Sword Light’,” Ninelotus said softly. “If the Black-White College was to learn of this, the degree of importance they view you with would skyrocket even more. The [Three-Foot Sword] is the most powerful sword art of the Black-White College, and you are a genius of the Dao of the Sword; the Black-White College will definitely spare no expense in training you!”

“The Chen clan is comparable to the Black-White College, but it’s in the Highwater Commandery; the amount of influence it has in Stillwater Commandery is quite low. In addition, Chen Jin’s status in the Chen clan is fairly ordinary…and so you truly don’t have much to worry about.” Ning nodded as he listened.

Both of them were chatting in midair, and standing very close to each other. When Ninelotus spoke, Ning could almost feel her breath. This caused Ning, who had never before had a relationship with a woman, to suddenly have an impetuous feeling…which was only strengthened by the fact that just now, he had defeated his ‘rival in love’, Chen Jin. Ning suddenly stretched his hand out, grasping Ninelotus’ hand.

Ninelotus’ hand was very soft, as though it were made out of water.

“Eh?” Ninelotus was somewhat caught off guard.

“Be my Dao-Companion,” Ning said.

For a moment, Ninelotus’ mind was thrown into a state of chaos. She had actually been hesitating this entire time; during the past year, she had slowly grown more certain of herself, but she was, by nature, a cautious person. She had been planning to wait and watch for a few more years, but in the face of Ning’s sudden ‘attack’…she didn’t know what to say or do.

“The path of Immortal cultivation is one filled with pitfalls and traps. But we would at least have a Dao-Companion as we traverse this path.” Ning looked at Ninelotus. “Senior apprentice-sister, are you willing to accompany me in traversing this path of Immortal cultivation for a thousand years…for ten thousand years…and for eternity?”

Ninelotus’ eyes suddenly turned red. She nodded gently. “Hahaha….” Ning began to laugh joyfully.

“Remember what you said,” Ninelotus said, looking at Ning. “We shall walk this path of Immortal cultivation together. A thousand years…ten thousand years…an eternity.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Their gazes met.

As for Autumn Leaf, who was watching this scene from the distant Brightheart Island, she revealed a hint of a smile as well. “The young master…has finally found his love.”

……

The Black-White College of Stillwater City. Adept Flowcloud, also known as Chen Jin, had returned to his own estate. He sat there by himself, drinking one cup of wine after another.

“Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning.”

Chen Jin muttered this name repeatedly, a terrifying look in his eyes. The woman he had loved had been taken from him, and he had first been defeated, then been choked and forced to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. All of these things caused Chen Jin to feel a boundless amount of hatred towards Ning, but…there was nothing he could do. Ning had been training for far fewer years than him, but Ning’s rate of advancement caused even Chen Jin to feel tongue-tied and speechless.

“I won’t be able to catch up to him. I won’t be a match for him.” Chen Jin couldn’t even rouse himself to fight back.

“What should I do?”

Agony filled Chen Jin’s heart.

“Right!” Chen Jin’s eyes suddenly let up. “Although Ninelotus won’t be mine, Ji Ning’s clan is far inferior to mine. Although he is a monstrously talented person…to an ancient, massive clan such as the Dongyan clan, they won’t care about that at all. Right…I imagine that the Dongyan clan doesn’t know about Ninelotus and Ji Ning yet. Then…I’ll give Ji Ning ‘a hand’!”

“Once the Dongyan clan learns of this, they will definitely prevent the two from being together. Definitely!”

Chen Jin was a disciple of a major clan as well; he knew very well how major clans carried out their affairs. Everything was done for the sake of the clan! The same was true for the leader of the clan as well. Only someone whose status in the clan was like Ji Ning’s status to the Ji clan, whose personal status and influence completely eclipsed the entire clan itself, was able to surpass the importance of the clan. In those cases, the entire clan would move according to the wishes of that person.

Clearly, Ninelotus, by herself, couldn’t possibly surpass the entirety of the Dongyan clan in importance!

“Let’s do this.” Swoosh. Chen Jin transformed into a streak of light, once more departing from the Black-White College.

…….

The Dongyan clan was an extremely mighty clan; since it stretched over three commanderies, it naturally had a local branch in Stillwater City. That very day, Chen Jin spread news of Ninelotus and Ji Ning to this branch.

The Primal Daoist in charge of running this branch didn’t dare to be negligent at all in handling this affair; this news, after all, involved their next leader, ‘Ninelotus’.

Very soon…the news made its way back to the primary headquarters of the Dongyan clan in Highwater Commandery, in the Dongyan Mountains. This was a mountain range that spanned more than a hundred thousand kilometers, and which was densely packed with countless structures and buildings. The Dongyan clan’s population was calculated in the hundreds of millions, and all of the clansmen lived here. In addition, this mountain range was also filled with countless ancient formations.

This was, after all, an ancient clan that spanned three commanderies, one which had produced multiple Celestial Immortals. But of course, too much time had passed; although Celestial Immortals had infinite lifespans, they might fall or die. No one knew for certain if the Dongyan clan still had any living Celestial Immortals.

In terms of their roots and their foundation, the Dongyan clan definitely surpassed the eight major powers of the Stillwater Commandery; they were actually close to the Northmont clan in power! Perhaps the only major difference between them and the Northmont clan was that they had never been enfeoffed with a marquisdom.

“Little Yun has chosen a Dao-Companion?”

“What’s her Dao-Companion’s name?”

“Ji Ning?”

This news instantly caused a major upheaval amongst the high-ranking members of the Dongyan clan.

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Chapter 28 –Taken Away

Chapter 28 –Taken Away

“Bring Little Yun back here!” An unfathomably old and reclusive patriarch of the Dongyan clan gave the order personally.

“Yes, Forefather.” A Loose Immortal, ‘Immortal Norshok’, responded with great respect. That very day, he led a group of Loose Immortals in an awe-inspiring display as they left the Dongyan Mountains of the Highwater Commandery.

………..

The warm spring had come, and the flowers had bloomed. A leaf-shaped boat was lazily floating about on the surface of Serpentwing Lake. Atop the boat were only two people; Ji Ning and Ninelotus. In the past, the two had never made their feelings clear to each other, but upon both of them acknowledging each other as Dao-Companions, upon acknowledging that they would continue to accompany each other as companions for the rest of their long life on the Immortal path…their hearts only grew closer.

The two sat there, facing each other atop the boat. In front of them was a table, and on the table was some Immortal wine. This Immortal wine had naturally been provided by Ninelotus. Ninelotus had an extraordinary background, and the cups, wine, and various other items she carried with her were all things which Ning had never seen before.

“What sort of wine is this?” Ning held an exquisite jade wine cup in his hand, lightly tasting the wine. Instantly, his entire body became filled with a pleasurable feeling, while his heartrate began to quicken.

“This is known as ‘Immortal Dong’s Wine’.” Ninelotus held a cup of her own. “This wine actually has quite a history to it. In another one of the major worlds, one which is comparable in size and scope to this world of ours which is under the control of the Grand Xia Dynasty, an Immortal maiden from the Heaven Realm descended upon it. By a chance encounter, she met with an ordinary Immortal cultivator of that world, ‘Dong You’…the two entered into a secret relationship, wishing to accompany each other forever. Unfortunately, that Immortal maiden had an extremely exalted status in the Heaven Realm; the elders behind her would absolutely not permit her, an exalted Celestial Immortal, to become Dao-Companions with an ordinary Immortal cultivator. Thus, they forced them apart.”

Ning immediately let out a moved sigh. An Immortal maiden of the Heaven Realm? A cultivator of the mortal realm?

“Afterwards, this Dong You swore an oath that he would ascend to the Heaven Realm and take back his Dao-Companion.” Ninelotus said softly, “A mortal cultivator actually dared to claim he would go to the Heaven Realm and take his Dao-Companion back…this was simply inconceivable. But Dong You actually managed to overcome all of his difficulties, conquer the Heavenly tribulation, and become a carefree, eternal Celestial Immortal. He even became one of the leading figures of his major world, and then…he led the many Immortals of his major world to charge towards and attack the Heaven Realm. In the end…the powers behind the Immortal maiden lowered their heads. He took her back…and their legend became known throughout the Three Realms.”

Ning sighed in amazement. He had become a Celestial Immortal, then led a group of Immortals from his major world to assault the Heavens themselves?

“Dong You is also known as Immortal Eastroam, and has become an awe-inspiringly famous figure in the Three Realms. Even I, as a child, heard stories of him.” Ninelotus sighed with emotion, “And this Immortal wine was the wine concoted by Immortal Eastroam, Dong You. Many Immortals of many major worlds love this wine, and my Dongyan clan managed to acquire a bit. I carry three canteens of it with me, but have never tasted it before.” After speaking, Ninelotus cast Ning a glance.

There was something she left out; the reason she had never tasted it was because she had always planned to one day enjoy it with her own Dao-Companion. This Immortal Dong’s Wine was a sort of testament to fidelity in love, and so maidens of the royal Xia clan, the Dongyan clan, and other supreme clans liked to collect this wine and enjoy it with their Dao-Companions.

Ning, in turn, understood what Ninelotus was thinking. He took another small sip of this Immortal wine. The rousing feeling in his heart brought by the wine did indeed feel similar to the feeling one might have upon seeing one’s beloved woman.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned, raising his head. Ninelotus did the same.

In the formerly completely empty sky, an enormous, completely black warship had appeared. The warship was extremely wide, and it was covered with fluttering flags with two characters atop it; ‘Dong’ and ‘Yan’. The warship emanated an aura of might, as though it were capable of battling the heavens and the earth.

Rows of armored Dao-soldiers stood atop the desk of the warship, and the eyes of these Immortal cultivators were both cold and dominating. Each of them was at least at the Wanxiang Adept level, and they were trained to a high level.

Waves of wind crushed outward from the warship as it soared towards Serpentwing Lake. The invisible ripples of wind caused the surface of the distant Serpentwing Lake to generate massive waves, and the little boat Ning and Ninelotus were seated on were lifted up as well.

“In you go.” Ning immediately collected the little boat. He and Ninelotus stood on the surface of Serpentwing Lake. The lakewater around them immediately grew calm. Although awe-inspiringly massive waves crashed down nearby, the area immediately next to them was completely calm and placid.

“What’s going on?” Ning sent to the nearby Ninelotus, “Senior apprentice-sister, this is a warship of your Dongyan clan, but it seems they come with ill intentions.”

“It must be that the clan has learned of our affairs. But…very few know about you and me. Luo Qing knew more than a year ago; if she notified the clan, the clan would’ve come long ago…for them to only come today means that it was most likely Chen Jin who told them.” A hint of worry appeared on Ninelotus’ face. “The day I worried the most about has finally come…”

Ning looked at Ninelotus. “Senior apprentice-sister,” he said softly.

“I’m the next leader of the Dongyan clan. I refuse to believe that I won’t even be permitted to decide upon my own Dao-Companion.” Ninelotus looked at Ning. “Don’t worry.”

Ning, however, suddenly felt an invisible pressure descend upon him. In this moment, he finally, suddenly understood the meaning of Ninelotus preparing Immortal Dong’s Wine for them. “So she was telling me to be steadfast…”

The enormous warship slowly descended, landing atop the surface of Serpentwing Lake. It came to a halt directly in front of Ning and Ninelotus. In the face of this massive, three thousand meter long warship, Ning and Ninelotus seemed so small, so puny.

“Whoosh!”

An opening appeared at the head of the warship, and a wide plank automatically descended, landing on the surface of the lake. A man dressed in golden Daoist robes walked out, and behind him were nine Primal Daoists whose auras filled the skies. Behind the nine were a group of armored Wanxiang Adepts. This group of Immortal cultivators caused both the heavens and the earth to shudder; a martial force like this would be able to annihilate a sect like Snowdragon Mountain without any problems at all.

“The leader is Immortal Norshok of our Dongyan clan. Behind him are his nine Primal Daoist disciples, and behind them is the Darkane Guard of our Dongyan clan; all of them are at the Wanxiang Adept level,” Ninelotus sent to him. Right at this moment, she saw that Ning’s face had turned rather white. “Ji Ning, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” Ning said softly.

Surges of terrifyingly powerful divine will were crashing against his soul.

Immortal Norshok and the nine Primal Daoists behind him had simultaneously launched divine will attacks against him; even Ning felt it incredibly hard to endure against an attack like this. His mind was focused on silently visualizing the painting of Maiden Nuwa, and as it did, an image of Maiden Nuwa appeared in his skull, emanating golden light and causing Ning’s soul to grow calm and steady, allowing him to endure the repeatedly clashes.

“Eh?” The golden-robed Immortal Norshok’s forehead creased slightly. He had led such a large group over for the express purpose of shocking and awing this kid from a backwater clan, and this divine will clash was meant to teach him a long-lasting lesson. However, this young man named Ji Ning, who was just barely twenty years of age, had actually been able to withstand the divine will attacks of himself and his nine mighty disciples.

“Master, this Ji Ning’s soul is quite powerful…can it be that he’s a reincarnated Immortal?”

“Even if he is a reincarnated Immortal, of what use is he to our Dongyan clan?” Immortal Noshok sent a calm message back mentally.

Even the Black-White College had quite a few reincarnated Immortals within it. What were reincarnated Immortals? They were individuals who, at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal stage, had despaired of making any further advancements and thus had chosen to reincarnate! After reincarnating, although it would be fairly easy for them to once more train to become Earth Immortals…if they didn’t succeed in becoming Celestial Immortals in their past life, it was very possible that they also wouldn’t be successful in this life!

After withstanding the divine will clash and sending the enemy divine wills off, Ning understood that these people had definitely come with ill intentions!

“Little Yun.” Immortal Norshok didn’t even look at Ning, just looking at Ninelotus. “It’s time to go back.”

“Wasn’t I only supposed to go back after becoming a Primal Daoist?” Ninelotus frowned. “Why must I go back so early? On whose authority?” Her status in the clan was very high; even Immortals didn’t have the authority to order her around.

“The Forefather personally gave the order for me to bring you back,” Immortal Norshok said solemnly.

“The Forefather?” Ninelotus was stunned.

In some clans, on occasion, an extremely powerful person would appear, whose status was far more exalted than even that of the clan leader. Ning’s status in the Ji clan was one such example! His status surpassed the Patriarch’s; although he wasn’t the titular clan leader, he was the true leader of the clan.

And for the Dongyan clan…the Forefather of the Dongyan clan was the true leader of the clan. He was an ancient presence that had existed for an unfathomably long period of time; his lifespan was measured in hundreds of millions of years. Anyone capable of living this long was, very naturally, not a Loose Immortal! The high level members of the Dongyan clan were all certain that the Forefather was a Celestial Immortal, but the Forefather himself had never admitted to it or publicized his status.

His true power was also a mystery; however, those few times he did display it, those so-called Loose Immortals were completely unable to even try and resist his might.

No one in the clan could go against his decrees. He was always in seclusion, and almost never interfered in clan matters, but once he gave an order, everyone would obey. Removing a clan leader from power, for the Forefather of the Dongyan clan, took nothing more than a single sentence. From this, one could see how exalted his status was!

“The Forefather? I, I…” Ninelotus gritted her teeth. One of the reasons why she had been selected as the next clan leader was because of the Forefather; the Forefather loved her and doted on her dearly.

“I’ll go back with you,” Ninelotus said.

Immortal Norshok nodded gently. He had never even thought about Ninelotus resisting; in the Dongyan clan, there was no one who would dare to disobey the Forefather’s orders! Unless, that is, they were truly about to betray the clan.

Ninelotus looked at the nearby Ning. She sent mentally to him, “Wait for me.”

Ning nodded gently. “Right.”

“Let’s go,” Immortal Norshok urged. Ninelotus immediately walked towards Immortal Norshok; those nine Primal Daoists and the Darkane Guard all clustered around her, escorting her onto the warship.

Immortal Norshok turned his head, giving Ning a glance. He sent a direct mental message. “Your name is Ji Ning? I think you had best wake up and understand that Little Yun is not an ordinary disciple of an ordinary clan. If she was an ordinary woman of the Dongyan clan, becoming Dao-Companions with her would be fine, but she has been chosen to be the next leader of our Dongyan clan. And you…you aren’t worthy of her.” After speaking, he gave Ning a cold glance, then followed Ninelotus into the warship.

Ninelotus looked down from the warship.

Ning looked up from the lake.

Their gazes intersected in the air.

“Rumble…” The air around them began to roil about, then the enormous warship vanished into thin air.

Ning watched Ninelotus and the warship disappear. For a moment, he felt empty inside.

“Not worthy?” Ning murmured these words to himself. The resolve in his eyes only grew stronger.

“Young master.”

“Ning, son.”

From afar, a green leaf-type magic treasure flew over. Atop it was Autumn Leaf, the Whitewater Hound, and Qingqing; they had seen these events occur from far away, but due to the distance, they hadn’t been able to overhear what had been said. Still, they clearly saw that Ninelotus had been taken away.

“Young master, are you alright?” Autumn Leaf was extremely nervous.

“It’s fine. The elders of her clan miss her and want to see her, that’s all,” Ning said.

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Chapter 29 – The Forefather of the Dongyan Clan

Chapter 29 – The Forefather of the Dongyan Clan

Highwater Commandery. The Dongyan Mountains.

This was the headquarters of the Dongyan clan. Outsiders were completely forbidden from entering. An enormous, awe-inspiring warship was in the azure skies of the mountains, flying through them.

“I’m back.” Ninelotus looked at the distant, familiar mountains. This was her homeland.

“Little Yun, let’s go. Go meet the Forefather,” Immortal Norshok said. Ninelotus nodded obediently.

Immediately, a cloud suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Immortal Norshok, controlling and riding upon the cloud, took Ninelotus directly into the forbidden lands of the Dongyan Mountains.

“Is the Forefather truly going to stop me?” Ninelotus mused silently to herself. Even when she was a child, the Forefather had doted on her; in turn, she absolutely worshipped the Forefather, and was extremely obedient towards him.

Whoosh.

They continued to fly forward through one forbidden region after another of the Dongyan clan. The guards of these locations, upon seeing Immortal Norshok and Ninelotus, did not move to stop them.

After flying for a period of time, they arrived at a secluded, ordinary-looking gorge. Within the gorge, a small river was flowing, and by the sides of the river, there was a man dressed in plain blue clothes. The man sat there, fishing calmly.

“Forefather.” Immortal Norshok landed, then called out to him respect. Ninelotus looked towards the blue-robed man, veneration in her eyes as she, too, called out gently, “Forefather.”

“Norshok, you can go for now. Little Yun, stay with me.” The blue-robed continued to fish, not even turning to look at them.

“Yes.” Immortal Norshok respectfully departed.

Only the blue-robed man and Ninelotus were left within the gorge. Ninelotus was very familiar with this gorge, because she had spent her childhood here. Because of the Forefather’s support…she had been selected as the next clan leader without any disputes or struggles at all.

“Little Yun.” The blue-robed man turned to look at her, the faintest hint of a smile on his face. It made him look very friendly and amiable. He sat there, fishing, as though he were an ordinary commoner; he didn’t have the aura of a cultivator at all. But in front of this man, the entire Dongyan clan would be respectful and subservient, not daring to offend him at all.

“Forefather.” Ninelotus instantly grew nervous.

“I hear you chose a Dao-Companion,” the blue-robed man said with a laugh. “Named Ji Ning?”

“Yes.” Ninelotus nodded.

“For now, you should forget about him,” the blue-robe man instructed.

Ninelotus grew frantic. “Forefather, you chose me to be the next leader of the clan; can it be that I can’t even choose a Dao-Companion for myself? I know that our Dongyan clan needs to grow stronger, and that my choice for a Dao-Companion would ideally be a member of the royal Xia clan or one of the main lineage descendents of a marquisdom, but…even if I do choose one of them to be my Dao-Companion, the benefit it would bring to our Dongyan clan would be limited. Are you truly going to force me, Forefather?”

“Do you think I would force you?” The blue-robed man looked at her. Ninelotus was stunned.

“Even if a prince of the Grand Xia Empire became your Dao-Companion, he would only bring a limited degree of benefit to our Dongyan clan. Would I really force you over something like this?” The blue-robed man shook his head. “Ninelotus, you truly are too young.”

“But Forefather, you, you told me to forget about junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning…” Ninelotus was frantic.

The blue-robed man suddenly asked, “Do you know what it means to be Dao-Companions?”

Ninelotus hesitated for a moment. Dao-Companions?

“Dao-Companions…those who will traverse the pitfalls of the Immortal path together for a thousand years, for ten thousand years, for eternity; companions who will never leave each other. Right?” Ninelotus responded softly.

The blue-robed man let out a sigh. “Anyone can say the words. But Dao-Companions who truly support each other and never leave or abandon each other…this is incomparably rare. In my life, I have seen far too many ‘Dao-Companions’ betray each other, kill each other, abandon each other…far, far too many. Nothing in this world is absolute.”

Ninelotus was stunned upon hearing this.

“You are too young.” The blue-robed man shook his head. “That Ji Ning, he’s too young as well. Are the two of you certain…that you truly understand what it means to become Dao-Companions? Do you truly know what becoming Dao-Companions means?”

“Dao-Companions…this means that you are willing to die for him!”

“Dao-Companions…this means that if Immortals or Buddhas were to try and separate you, you would slaughter Immortals and annihilate Buddhas in order to bring your Dao-Companion back.”

“Dao-Companions…this means that if he dies, even if an eternity passes, you would still be unable to forget him; you would feel as though he was still alive and right by your side.”

“Dao-Companions…your other half in life! Without him, your life is no longer complete!”

The blue-robed man stared at Ninelotus, a look of unfathomable ancientness in his eyes. “Are you certain…that you would be willing to die for him? Are you certain…that for his sake, you would have the courage to slaughter Immortals and annihilate Buddhas?”

Ninelotus’s mouth opened and closed a few times.

Die for him?

Battle with all the Immortals and the Buddhas of the heavens for him?

“If you are certain of these things, if you feel no hesitation at all in answering this question, then I won’t stop you. I would only support you.” The blue-robed man sighed. “But I can see from your eyes that you are hesitating, that you are pausing…”

“If you aren’t able to treat him as the other half of your life, if you aren’t able to die for him, if you don’t have the courage to battle against all the Immortals and Buddhas of heaven for him…then why must you become Dao-Companions?”

“Without that degree of resolve, there’s no need for you to choose a Dao-Companion.”

“The path of Immortal cultivation…is a path which defies the heavens.”

“You can traverse it alone. You can also traverse it with a Dao-Companion. This is an incomparably difficult path, filled with pitfalls. Thus, if you are to choose a Dao-Companion, you absolutely must choose a Dao-Companion who will truly share life and death with him; one you would die for, and one who would die for you. Otherwise…you would be better off traversing this path alone.”

The blue-robed man gave Ninelotus a glance. “Ninelotus, what do you think?”

“I, I…” Ninelotus was completely stunned.

Had she been wrong?

“You are too young…and that Ji Ning is even younger than you. The two of you haven’t experienced enough! You two are nowhere near close to the point of selecting Dao-Companions, because your hearts are not yet sufficiently resolved; the two of you simply feel a sort of indistinct longing and affection for each other.” The blue-robed man shook his head. “This sort of indistinct longing and affection…it won’t last.”

“I won’t forcibly prevent you from being together with Ji Ning,” the blue-robed man said.

Upon hearing this, a hint of delight instantly appeared in Ninelotus’ eyes.

“But you must have patience. When you become a Primal Daoist, if you still feel that Ji Ning should be your Dao-Companion, than you can choose him. For now, however…you will have to endure,” the blue-robed man said.

“Wait until I’m a Primal Daoist?” Ninelotus was stunned. “How long is that going to take?”

“I’ve doted on you too much. Your Dao-heart truly is quite ordinary. Go to the Myriad Lotuses Cave. I’ll set down a formation; only when you can walk out of the Myriad Lotuses Cave will you be permitted to leave the Dongyan Mountains,” the blue-robed man instructed.

Ninelotus said frantically, “The Myriad Lotuses Cave? How am I suppose to break through a formation that you set down, Forefather?”

“This will just be a bewildering formation meant to help illuminate your Dao-heart,” the blue-robed man said, shaking his head. “No need to argue about it. Go.”

“I’m going to send someone to notify Ji Ning.” Ninelotus knew that refusal was not an option, and so she hurriedly switched tacts.

“Go,” the blue-robed man said calmly.

Ninelotus immediately boarded a lotus-shaped magic treasure, immediately departing and making arrangements for a notification to be given to Ning.

The blue-robed man watched Ninelotus leave, then gently shook his head. “She truly is too young. Still…Ruyin, she truly does look just like you. How long has it been…do you remember how the two of us fought, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the ‘Skylight’ major world? That battle…no matter how much time passes, I’ll never forget it. Never…”

And then, he quietly went back to his fishing. His fishing hook attracted quite a number of fish to come circling around it, but the ‘hook’ was straight. It would never catch a fish.1

1. This is a reference to the legend of Jiang Ziya, a ‘historical’ Chinese Immortal who fished without a hook, on the belief that the fish would come to him when they were ready, without need for a hook.

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Chapter 30 – Nine Years in the Blink of an Eye

Chapter 30 – Nine Years in the Blink of an Eye

In the air above Serpentwing Lake. A tall, willowy, silver-armored woman appeared, standing atop a giant sword.

“Ji Ning!” The silver-armored woman called out in a high voice. Swoosh! A wind suddenly howled forth from Brightheart Lake, and then Ji Ning appeared in midair.

“You are…?” Ji Ning looked at the silver-armored woman.

“My mistress is your ‘senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus’. Per the orders from my mistress, I have come to notify you of something,” the silver-armored woman said. Ning, actually, had already guessed that this woman had something to do with Ninelotus.

“My mistress said that she needs to remain within her clan for a time and won’t be able to come out in the near future. She asks you to wait for her patiently.” The silver-armored woman said in a cold, clear voice, “Mistress also said that the two of you could take this opportunity to consider if the two of you were perhaps too rash in deciding to become Dao-Companions.”

Ning frowned. Ninelotus had gone back to her clan and would not return? And was asking him to consider if they had decided to become Dao-Companions too rashly? What was this supposed to mean?

“I’ve delivered my message.” The silver-armored woman, after finishing, flew away on her giant sword, quickly disappearing into the horizons.

……

Ning returned to Brightheart Island with a belly full of suspicions. Auutmn Leaf was there by the beach, quietly waiting for him. “What happened, young master?” Autumn Leaf, seeing the restless look on Ning’s face, couldn’t help but ask him.

“That was senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus’ servant, just now,” Ning said with a frown. “She came on orders to deliver a message. Ninelotus won’t be able to leave the clan for a period of time, and also said that I should calm down and think about if we were perhaps too hasty in choosing to be Dao-Companions. What does this mean? Since we’ve already chosen to become Dao-Companions, what’s this about it being ‘too hasty’?”

In both the previous life and this one, Ning’s romantic history, or lack thereof, was completely blank.

“Young master,” Autumn Leaf said hurriedly, “I think these words don’t come from senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus. She treats you with sincerity. I imagine that the high-level members of the Dongyan clan instructed this maidservant to speak those words, so as to make you nervous. If you were to give up on your own, then they would have successfully separated the two of you.”

“Riiiight.” Ning’s eyes lit up. “You are right. This is probably their scheme. The Dongyan clan, in truth, doesn’t quite want to see myself with Ninelotus.”

Autumn Leaf, seeing Ning’s spirit rise, couldn’t help but laugh. So long as Ning was happy, she was happy.

………

Life went on without Ninelotus for Ning. He continued to live at Serpentwing Lake. He had concluded that the words sent by Ninelotus had come from the Dongyan clan, which was seeking to cause trouble between them! Thus, Ning didn’t question Ninelotus’ dedication at all. Rather, Ning felt absolutely irritated with the Dongyan clan, and truly wanted to find a chance to shock the contemptuous clan. This, Ning was quite industrious in his training at Serpentwing lake.

Every so often, he would go into seclusion to practice his swordplay…

Every so often, he would go to the Raindragon Guard’s branch to take on some missions to chase after and kill criminals or problem-causing Diremonsters…

Every two or three years, he would make a trip into the underwater estate to meditate on the Dao in the Stellar Hall…

And oftentimes, he would just lie there on his boat, letting it drift about on the surface of Serpentwing Lake. These moments were the calmest, most peaceful moments for his soul…

……

In the blink of an eye, nearly nine years had passed. After having killed many powerful criminals, Ning was now extremely famous.

“It’s a new year.” Ning stood there on his balcony, which was decorated with red lanterns, illuminating the snow that continued to fall down in this dark night.

“Young master, the dinner banquet is ready.” Autumn Leaf walked over. Ning looked sideways towards Autumn Leaf. Although it had been nearly nine years, Autumn Leaf’s appearance looked just as it had in the past. But perhaps because of her innate talent, despite using the many spirit-pills and medicines which Ning had provided, Autumn Leaf remained at the peak of the Xiantian level, and was still yet to establish her Zifu. The primary reason was her lack of comprehension into the Dao, and so Ning would often provide her with personal guidance. With his guidance, Autumn Leaf had begun to advance quite a bit, and most likely in a few more years, she would finally step into the Zifu level.

“Bluestone, however, is much less talented than Autumn Leaf,” Ning sighed to himself. Bluestone was the little brother of Spring Grass, and Ning had once sworn an oath in front of her grave to provide him with good tutelage. Ning truly had gone all out in his efforts, and Bluestone had managed to, just barely, reach the Xiantian level. However, his rate of improvement in comprehending the Dao was far, far too slow.

Bluestone knew that there wasn’t much hope for him, and so he instead asked Ning to take him to Stillwater City. He had always lived at Serpentwing Lake, and had very few life experiences; he wanted to see the legendary Stillwater City.

Ning, taking advantage of a trip to accept a mission for the Raindragon Guard, delivered Bluestone to Northmont Baiwei’s residence in Stillwater City, asking Baiwei to help take care of him.

“Let’s go.” Ning and Autumn Leaf were walking side-by-side in a corridor.

“Young master, the clan has sent another twelve youths over. Including that last time five years ago, as well as that very first time…a total of twenty eight youths have come,” Autumn Leaf said softly. “I feel that the clan is going a bit too far. Young master, you need to spend time on your own training as well. How can you possibly have enough time to guide all of these youths?”

Ning laughed. “These youths are quite weak. Your level of insight into the sword is fairly high now; follow my instructions and go provide them with guidance.”

“Me?” Autumn Leaf was surprised.

“Don’t underestimate yourself,” Ning instructed. “When they break through to the Xiantian level, bring them to see me. Come, let’s go eat dinner together. Tonight will be the eve of the new year.”

………..

The eve of the new year was a day of great celebration. But within the Kou clan, one of the six major hegemons of the Swallow Mountain Region, nobody was laughing or smiling.

The new clan leader of the Kou clan, Kou Huai gently stroked the ancient stone walls in front of him. He stared at each tile and each brick, at the courtyards and the grass. “This is the homeland of our Kou clan…” Kou Huai touched the walls and spoke in a hoarse voice, his eyes red.

Tears streamed down the face of a maiden next to him. “Father, let’s go all out against the Ji clan. This is our foundation, the foundation of our clan. They are going to destroy our foundation, so let’s go all out against them. At worst, both of us shall suffer injuries.”

“What do you know?” Kou Huai shook his head, then raised it, staring at the snow falling from the skies. They felt very cold. “Go all out against the Ji clan? With what? For now, let’s not discuss the most powerful member of the Ji clan, Ji Ning; not a single clan in the Swallow Mountain region is capable of blocking either of those two Wanxiang Diremonsters under his command. Both of those Diremonsters are Godbeasts, and are at the peak of the Wanxiang level! They are far more powerful than ordinary peak Wanxiang Adepts. And Ji Ning himself…he is the true face of terror.”

“Ji Ning.” The maiden gritted her teeth. “I will definitely make the Ji clan regret this.”

“Don’t even think about causing the Ji clan trouble.” Kou Huai shook hi shead. “Those incomparably vile, wicked cultivators and Diremonsters in the Stillwater Commandery region…quite a few of them were killed by him. Amongst them was a particularly notorious and evil practitioner, Adept Poisondove. Adept Poisondove was someone capable of fighting against a Primal Daoist, then escaping with his life. And yet, he ended up dying to Ji Ning. I imagine that soon afterwards, this Ji Ning will become a Primal Daoist himself.”

“So what if a clan with such power takes over the entire Swallow Mountain region? Our Kou clan is so weak; if we don’t move, we’ll just be constantly suppressed by the Ji clan. In the end, we’ll be wiped out. Moving now, on the other hand, gives us a chance to survive and flourish in another place.

“And in addition!”

“It can be said that the Ji clan has already shown us mercy. They have not, at least, embarked on a slaughter against us. They’ve allowed us to continue to stay here.” Kou Huai let out a sigh.

Although they had been forced to hand over their official writs for their city to the Ji clan, which was tantamount to surrendering their base, Kou Huai didn’t feel hatred in his heart. This was because, after any clan produced a supreme expert, they would rapidly consolidate control over their surrounding territory. The Ji clan had Ji Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and the Azure Skysnake; they had complete, overwhelming power, and could’ve swept everyone away.

The Ji clan, however, had not swept anyone away. Instead, they had ‘negotiated’, allowing the various powers to voluntarily submit and decide to move. The Ji clan even gave them some buffer time, allowing them at least three but no more than ten years to depart from the Swallow Mountain region.

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow, we shall leave.” Kou Huai stroked the walls again. “Remember, child. If you are weak, you will have to lower your head. There’s no one else to blame but ourselves, for not being strong enough.”

The maiden nodded. “Tomorrow, I will go to the Thousand Rivers Sect. Father, I will definitely work hard to bring our Kou clan to prominence once more.”

“Alright.” Kou Huai looked at his daughter, his eyes filled with expectations. His daughter, his pride and joy.

However, compared to a monster like Ji Ning, she was far inferior. If his daughter was capable of becoming a Wanxiang Adept, most likely the entire Kou clan would celebrate.

……

The eve of the new year. The City of Ten Thousand Swords.

Ji Ninefire had already retired; the current Patriarch of the Ji clan was the younger Ji Truekeep!

“The Kou clan and the Blackfire Cult, in the next three days, will depart from their commandery cities,” Truekeep said with a loud laugh. “Once they leave, our Ji clan’s power will have expanded even more.”

“They were quite obedient. They didn’t try to resist.” Ninefire smiled as he spoke.

“The difference in power was too great. They had no desire to fight back at all.” Granny Shadow was very satisfied as well. “Truekeep, once the Kou clan and the Blackfire Cult have left their commandery cities and our Ji clan moves in, then in the Swallow Mountain region…the only remaining powers will be the garrison of the Grand Xia Dynasty and Snowdragon Mountain’s branch, right?

Truekeep nodded. The Grand Xia Dynasty’s garrison would definitely remain. As for the Snowdragon Mountain branch? Although Dong Ziqi and the others had died, Snowdragon Mountain had quickly sent more Zifu Disciples to enter Swallow Mountain, causing the local branch to once more flourish!

“The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain has the main Snowdragon Mountain sect behind them. Although they aren’t willing to offend our Ji clan, they aren’t so afraid of us as to hand over their territory,” Truekeep said with a sigh. “This will be troublesome. If we were to truly act against the local branch of Snowdragon Mountain, I’m worried that they will send some Wanxiang Adepts over from the main sect.”

Snowdragon Mountain didn’t wish to offend Ji Ning, whose potential was unlimited. But they weren’t actually afraid of him! They didn’t expand their territory in Swallow Mountain, but continued to stubbornly remain within their previous territory. They wouldn’t launch any attacks, but if the Ji clan were to dare to invade, they would show no mercy.

“As soon as we invade, the Swallow Mountain branch will immediately retaliate. The leader of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain, Daoist Xu Ke, has said long ago that if our Ji clan were to dare to attack, then they would dare to kill us.” Truekeep continued, “Although during the past nine years, our Ji clan’s power in terms of our Xiantian experts has swelled, it truly wouldn’t be worth it for us to truly fight head on against Snowdragon Mountain. Their foundation is much deeper than ours, and in terms of supreme experts, behind them are Primal Daoists.”

“Let’s not rush to fight them.” Ninefire shook his head. “I’ll go ask Ji Ning about this.”

The local branch of Snowdragon Mountain was a tough bone to chew on. They were the final obstacle preventing the Ji clan from completely dominating Swallow Mountain.

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Chapter 31 – Ji Ning’s Letter

Chapter 31 – Ji Ning’s Letter

However, this was the new year celebration; Ninefire and the others didn’t immediately go disturb Ning. They waited until the sixteenth day of the month before heading towards Serpentwing Lake.

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island. Within a study.

Ning was standing in front of a desk, holding a writing brush and writing some characters. Autumn Leaf, by his side, was helping him grind the ink. Brush-calligraphy was something Ning had taken a liking to in recent years, and it was also one of the ways in which Ning trained his heart and also trained his sword.

With every single stroke of the brush, sword-light seemed to flash out in a dominating manner. Ji Ning’s signature…it verily emanated an almighty sword-intent.

“The sword-intent in young master’s signature has become increasingly powerful.” Autumn Leaf secretly sighed in amazement, “The young master personally instructed me in all of my sword training, and I am at the peak of the Xiantian level…but when I look at these words, I feel my heart tremble, as though I’m completely powerless. In recent years, his sword-intent has grown increasingly astonishing.”

Nobody knew exactly how powerful Ning had grown during these past nine years, but when Ning had occasionally taken on missions for the Raindragon Guard and revealed his power a few times, he had completely stunned all onlookers. His most successful battle was definitely his execution of Adept Poisondove.

It must be understood that evil cultivators whose bodies were surrounded by sin were usually far stronger in battle than similarly ranked cultivators. In turn, Daoist Poisondove was one of the most superb cultivators amongst the ranks of evil cultivators. He was capable of successfully escaping from the attacks of Primal Daoists…but he wasn’t able to escape from Ji Ning! From this, the outside world was able to guess…that Ning’s power must have truly reached a formidable level.

However, only Autumn Leaf, who had the most direct access to Ning, was able to gain a fairly accurate level of insight.

“The sword-intent in the young master’s calligraphy has only grown stronger and stronger, at an astonishing rate. Compared to three years ago…it seems to have changed in a qualitative way. There’s no point to even comparing him to where he was nine years ago.” Autumn Leaf secretly shook her head.

“I’m done.” Ning put down his brush, then said with a laugh, “Autumn Leaf, go ahead and incinerate this.”

“Yes, young master,” Autumn Leaf replied obediently. From the very beginning, Ning had always instructed her to burn his writings. At first, Autumn Leaf had been rather reluctant, and she had even said, “Young master, this is such fine calligraphy…I can even feel the sword-intent surging within the characters. If you were to leave this set of calligraphy within the clan to allow the juniors to view it, it would be wonderful.”

But Ning had explained, “I’ll be writing every day. After a few years, how many scrolls will I have written on? In addition, these examples of calligraphy are just casual writing samples; they have no keepsake value. Every year, I’ll leave behind one special set of calligraphy, to be stored within the clan. As for the others, burn them all.”

After Ning gave these instructions, Autumn Leaf no longer argued with him.

“Young master, young master.” A voice suddenly rang out from outside. Ning raised his head to look.

Autumn Leaf also walked out, then asked, “What is it?” The messenger maidservant called out hurriedly, “The Patriarch and the others came. They are waiting in the guest hall.”

“Uncle Truekeep?” Laughing, Ning instructed, “Then I’ll come right now.”

“Help me tidy these things.” Ning glanced at Autumn Leaf, who nodded. Autumn Leaf would generally be the one to personally take care of and store Ning’s personal belongings; other maids and servants were forbidden from touching them. In particular, Ning’s calligraphy with sword-intent…mere Houtian warriors might literally be frightened to death by the sword-intent emanating from them!

Even normal Xiantian lifeforms would be terrified to the point of paralysis. Autumn Leaf trained under Ning and had an exceedingly high level of expertise in swordplay, and yet…usually, even she felt her heart quiver.

……

In the guest hall.

Ning, dressed in furs, smiled as he walked in. Upon seeing Truekeep, Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Ah Xing in the living room, he couldn’t help but say with an astonished laugh, “I thought it was just Uncle Truekeep. I didn’t imagine that the Elder Patriarch and the rest of you came as well. For all four of you to come…this must be about something major.”

“Is it indeed,” Truekeep nodded.

“Speak, what is it?” Ning sat down.

Ninefire and Truekeep exchanged a glance, then nodded slightly. Truekeep said, “Ji Ning, you know that with your help, our Ji clan’s power has grown explosively. Naturally, we’ve begun to expand.”

Ning nodded. Any clan, upon growing powerful, would expand! He had gone to the local branch of the Raindragon Guard and traded for some techniques, which he was permitted to transfer to his clan. It must be understood that some Ki Refining techniques were possessed by virtually all large clans, and thus the Raindragon Guard would permit these techniques to be passed down to a Guard’s clan. However, the price in karmic merit points would be much higher. The reason Ning had repeatedly gone to take missions was precisely due to this.

Aside from techniques, Ning had also acquired liquefied elemental essences, spirit-pills, and various other things. With those things and his tutelage, the Ji clan’s ranks of Zifu Disciples had swollen to more than ten. Three of them had left Swallow Mountain, and had joined various sects.

“The Kou clan, the Riverbank clan, and the other clans have been friends with our Ji clan for many years,” Truekeep said with a sigh. “However, this matter involves the strength and success of our clan; our Ji clan doesn’t need to be too merciful. That’s why we asked them to voluntarily migrate out of Swallow Mountain.”

Ning nodded. He knew about these matters and wasn’t surprised by them. The Dongyan clan, for example, took up a mountain range of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, comparable to more than a hundred Swallow Mountains! Snowdragon Mountain, in turn, had also taken up an extremely large territory as their headquarters! But of course, the Black-White College focused on a small group of elites, and so didn’t need a large territory.

However, the Black-White College was a school; it could recruit elites from the outside world. Major tribes and clans, however, felt more trust towards their own descendants. In order for the tribe to flourish, there was naturally a need for increasingly large amounts of space.

“Currently, in the Swallow Mountain region, only that branch of Snowdragon Mountain has refused to leave,” Truekeep said. “The other powers have all left. As for Snowdragon Mountain, they have the main sect behind him; clearly, they are prepared to do battle at a moment’s notice. If our Ji clan dares to invade, then they will dare to attack. Our Ji clan has accumulated quite a bit of power in recent years, but reinforcements arrive from the main Snowdragon Mountain sect in an unending stream. If we truly were to fight them…the Ji clan would find it quite difficult.”

Ning understood. Frowning, he said, “This local branch…are they truly so impertinent as to not know when their time is up?”

“They’ve correctly calculated that our Ji clan doesn’t dare fight with them head on, I imagine. They event sent me an envoy, saying that they won’t expand their territory, but that they also wouldn’t leave. Their attitude was quite resolute.” Truekeep gritted his teeth. “Hmph. Come to think of it, when our Ji clan was weak, Dong Ziqi led the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain to try and force our Ji clan to leave, threatening us with annihilation. Now, however, they see that you, Ji Ning, are not an easy person to deal with…and so they say they won’t expand? It isn’t that they won’t expand, it is that they don’t have the strength to!”

For someone who was weak to say they wouldn’t expand their territory was nothing more than empty self-praise. When the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain had been powerful, hadn’t they been constantly, slowly expanding their territory? They had been an outside force that had shoved their way into Swallow Mountain, becoming the most powerful local organization.

“Ji Ning, what do you think our Ji clan should do in response?” Truekeep looked towards Ning. “Our decision today will impact the entire clan. We can’t be the slightest bit negligent.”

“The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain truly doesn’t know its limits. A puny little branch…dares to act like this?” Ji Ning frowned, then said, “I’ll send a letter. Uncle Truekeep, send someone to deliver it to the Snowdragon Mountain branch. However, after the letter is rolled up, it absolutely must not be opened. I’ll set a restrictive spell over it.”

“Alright.” Truekeep nodded. Ning immediately took out leather parchment and began to write a letter.

Ninefire, Granny Shadow, Truekeep, and the old servant Ah Xing watched from the side. When they saw what Ning wrote, their faces couldn’t help but change.

“Is…is this perhaps, going a bit far?” Ninefire said, worried.

“Don’t worry,” Ning said calmly. “Snowdragon Mountain does not concern me.”

Nine years. Ning knew exactly how powerful he had grown in these nine years. In just three years after joining the Black-White College, he had mastered the first two stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]. Nine more years had passed, and in the underwater estate…Ning had successfully challenged and overcome the fourth level of the Wargod Hall, acquiring yet another magic treasure. Ning’s power, compared to nine years ago, was unfathomably greater.

“Charge into Snowdragon Mountain? That’s their headquarters; I can’t imagine how many secrets and spells they have hidden in that place. Even Immortals would be wary of charging in; my power isn’t enough for now. But outside Snowdragon Mountain…without the support of the spells and formations located in the mountain, those Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain are not enough to cause me concern,” Ning mused to himself.

Snowdragon Mountain had powerful backers, yes; its backer was the Northmont clan of Stillwater Commandery! Generally speaking, all of the major powers within Stillwater Commandery would ally themselves with the Northmont clan of Stillwater, or with the Raindragon Guard!

But Ning, in turn, had backers of his own! In fact, his relationship with the Northmont clan of Stillwater Commandery was even closer than Snowdragon Mountain’s…and he also had his master, Immortal Diancai!

……

That very night. Snowdragon City of Swallow Mountain. This was the only commandery city which the local branch now controlled. As for the other two…the Ji clan had acquired both official writs when Dong Ziqi and the others had died. Now that the Ji clan was so strong, they were easily able to take over those two cities.

Snowdragon City, however, was like a nail, sticking up in the wilderness, firmly fixed into the Swallow Mountain region.

“A messenger from the Ji clan?”

“Hmph, this puny Ji clan…they only relied on that Ji Ning in order to grow strong. How old is Ji Ning? Although his potential is astonishing, it’s quite possible that he might die on his Immortal path one day. I don’t even know how many so-called ‘geniuses’ died in such a manner,” a silver-haired elder said, an ugly look on his face.

His name was ‘Xu Fang’; he was the custodian of Snowdragon City. The Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain, in turn, was under the control of Xu Ke. The ‘Xu’ clan was a fairly powerful clan which belonged to Snowdragon Mountain; it had quite a few Wanxiang Adepts. However, Adept Xu Li had died in that battle. This had enraged the Xu clan, and when Snowdragon Mountain’s main sect had begun to make preparations for sending reinforcements to Snowdragon Mountain, the Xu clan had volunteered its services bravely.

However, Ji Ning’s rate of improvement had been simply too shocking. The true leader of the Xu clan, Adept Xu Ke, had been so terrified that he had fled back to the main sect, leaving behind the Zifu Disciple, ‘Xu Fang’, to control matters here.

After all, for Ji Ning, killing a Wanxiang Adept was as easy as killing a chicken. Naturally, Adept Xu Ke didn’t dare take the risk of being present. Xu Fang would only send a message to the main sect and Adept Xu for major matters.

“Xu Fang, this is the letter my young master has written to you.” A tall, muscular old man spoke out in a cold voice.

They were in the main hall. Xu Fang was seated on his throne, while next to him was three Zifu Disciples.

“Your young master?” Xu Fang couldn’t be bothered to rebuke this man for his lack of courtesy; he was badly frightened by the two words, ‘young master’. The ‘young master’ who was writing to him…was the legendary Ji Ning of Serpentwing Lake!

The three Zifu Disciples within the hall were all petrified as well. They could be disdainful in front of Ji Truekeep and the others, but as for the legendary Ji Ning of Serpentwing Lake…they felt terror from the bottom of their hearts.

“Catch.” The elder of the Ji clan tossed the scroll over towards them. Xu Fang caught it, and the three Zifu Disciples next to him moved towards him as well.

He unfurled the scroll. As he did, the first thing they noticed was the sword-intent which flooded towards them from the characters atop it. It caused their hearts to tremble and their legs to turn weak.

“Xu clan, of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain. I give you ten days to get the f*ck out of Swallow Mountain. If after ten days you have yet to move, then don’t blame me for showing no mercy with my sword.” It was quite a casual letter, but it was filled with an absolutely dominating aura! Normally, the Ji clan and the Snowdragon Mountain branch would tussle back and forth, but they would never get into a real fight. Ji Ning’s letter, however, showed no sign of compromise at all.

They had to leave in ten days. Otherwise…he would attack!

“This…this…” Xu Fang stared, then said with fury, “This shows no respect for our Snowdragon Mountain at all. Quick, report this to the main sect! Report this to the main sect!!!”

As soon as his words came out…

Whoosh. The restrictive spells on the parchment, summoning natural fire, instantly caused the parchment to begin to blaze, transforming it into gray ash.

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Chapter 32 – Daoist Snowplume

Chapter 32 – Daoist Snowplume

“They aren’t even leaving the words behind?” Xu Fang, of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain, and the other three Zifu Disciples were so furious that they gritted their teeth. When they looked at the characters on the leather parchment, they had sensed the sword-intent surge towards them, and had been so frightened that their legs had turned soft. They understood that they were at too low of a level, and that they were unable to comprehend the level of insight the sword-intent within the characters indicated.

However, if the high-level members of Snowdragon Mountain were to see the parchment, they should be capable of deducing Ji Ning’s level of strength. Clearly, Ji Ning was extremely cautious and didn’t plan on giving them that chance.

“The young master’s letter has been delivered. I won’t tarry!” The envoy of the Ji clan turned, openly and unabashedly walking away. As for Xu Fang and the other members of Snowdragon Moutain, they could only watch as the envoy walked away.

“What should we do?”

“Ji Ning of Serpentwing Lake has made his threat. What should we do?”

They looked at each other, their gazes filled with fear and unease. Upon seeing the characters on the scroll, they immediately knew…that Ji Ning’s power had reached a level that was vastly beyond their’s. He was most likely capable of annihilating them with one blow. This massive gap in power which they faced made them feel tremendous pressure.

“No matter what…this person isn’t someone the likes of us can deal with. Ji Ning of Serpentwing Lake…he is someone who is able to effortlessly kill Wanxiang Adepts. We have to report this to the main sect.”

“Right. We must report this to the main sect.”

“Third Brother, we are simply too far from the main Snowdragon Mountain sect. In ten short days…we won’t even be able to make it back to the sect. There’s no way to report this at all.”

Xu Fang and the other three exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness and bitterness. Right. Ji Ning had only given them ten days, but they were only Zifu Disciples; they wouldn’t be able to make it back to Snowdragon Mountain in just ten days. They wouldn’t be able to alert the main sect of the letter and the threat which Ji Ning had made.

“There’s no other options. I’ll have to use the talisman,” Xu Fang said, shaking his head. “Although there’s no way to let the main sect know of the details, at least we’ll be able to let them know that something happened.”

“Right. Break the talisman.”

“That’s our only choice.”

All four men were in accord.

The leader of the Swallow Mountain branch was Adept Xu Ke, but because Adept Xu Ke was terrified of Ji Ning, he had hidden himself within the main sect. Before leaving, he had left three talismans, then gave these instructions: “These three talismans are different in size. When you break then, I’ll be able to sense it. If you break the smallest talisman…that means that the Ji clan’s attack is imminent! If you break the middle one, that means Ji Ning’s attack is imminent! And if you break the largest one, that means that the local branch has already been shattered. Remember – only when a true emergency occurs are you to break these talismans.”

These three talismans represented three different danger levels.

An attack from the Ji clan?

This meant that the situation wasn’t that bad; after all, in terms of their relative power bases, the local branch of Snowdragon Mountain truly wasn’t afraid of the Ji clan. But if Ji Ning were to attack…then things really would turn grim. There was no way the Swallow Mountain branch could possibly resist the monster-like ‘Ji Ning of Serpentwing Lake’.

Xu Fang waved his hand, and three talismans of different sizes appeared within it.

“Ji Ning is going to personally attack…there is nothing we can do.”

“We have to hope that the main sect will send experts to come negotiate with Ji Ning.”

In their hearts, they didn’t believe that the main sect would truly choose to engage in a battle with Ji Ning. After all, he was a disciple of the Black-White College, and he had an Immortal behind him! Compared with the Black-White College, Snowdragon Mountain was unfathomably weaker. Although it was on good terms with the Northmont clan of Stillwater Commandery, the Black-White College was actually located inside Stillwater City, and its relationship with the Northmont clan was incomparably close.

It could be said that the Northmont clan viewed the Black-White College as its hands and arms, while Snowdragon Mountain was nothing more than a lackey.

“Crack.” Xu Fang shattered the second, pitch-black talisman.

The distant Snowdragon Mountain. This was a place of unending winter, of eternal snow. Peaks of various heights towered here, with Immortal cultivators living with them. Within one such peak, the master was Adept Xu Zhen.

Adept Xu Zhen had pale, beardless face. He appeared quite handsome. He sat in the lotus position on his jade bed. The white-robed Adept Xu Zhen’s eyes were closed in relaxation, and he appeared quite rested. Next to him, there were two young apprentices waiting on his instructions and his needs.

“Eh?” Adept Xu Zhen’s face suddenly changed slightly. With a wave of his hand, he produced a black talisman. This talisman had already shattered.

This talisman had originally come in a pair. If one was shattered, the other would crumble as well.

“This talisman is…” Adept Xu Zhen thought back to what he had said, and then his face changed. “This is the second talisman. It represents that Ji Ning is going to act against the Swallow Mountain branch!”

“Ji Ning…he has quietly slumbered for nine years. Is he finally going to attack?” Adept Xu Zhen was rather panicked.

When the Xu clan had volunteered to be stationed within the Swallow Mountain region, they had done so for two reasons. First, they had been angered by the fact that Adept Xu Li had died there. Secondly, they wanted to expand the territory of their own clan. But how could they have imagined that soon after they had taken over, news would come…that Ji Ning had joined the Black-White College?! This caused the Xu clan to be filled with boundless regret. This assignment had become a hot potato that they couldn’t discard, because…the prestige of Snowdragon Mountain meant that the Xu clan was absolutely not permitted to retreat or fold up.

But as time passed, Ji Ning’s fame only grew greater and greater! Adept Xu Ke had been so terrified that he had hidden himself back within the main sect, leaving behind only those four Zifu Disciples. Even if the four of them died, it wouldn’t represent too much of a loss for the Xu clan.

“Ji Ning has finally revealed himself. What should we do next? My Xu clan has multiple Wanxiang Adepts, but I’m afraid that even if we join forces, we won’t be able to overcome Ji Ning. He’s a monster that was capable of killing even Adept Poisondove!” Adept Xu Ke frantically pondered what to do next. “I have no other options…I’ll have to go visit Master.”

Snowdragon Mountain had a total of three Primal Daoists; they were Daoist Snowplume,Daoist Coldsun, and Daoist Blackdragon. They each took up one of the three highest mountain peaks in the region. The master of Adept Xu Ke, in turn, was Daoist Snowplume.

For a school of elites like the Black-White College, the Primal Daoists of the second generation disciples, when interacting with the Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples of the third generation disciples, would be fairly courteous. They wouldn’t act arrogantly or show off! However, in schools with many disciples, where dragons swam alongside minnows, the more powerful one was, the more high-and-mighty one would behave. In the case of Snowdragon Mountain, to be one of only three Primal Daoists meant that one really would put on a show of grandeur.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xu Ke requests an audience.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Xu Ke requests an audience.”

First, the junior disciples guarding the gates to the mountain would make the announcement. Next, one of the 99 male Zifu Disciples or 99 female Zifu Disciples would go to report this to one of the Wanxiang Adepts servants, who would then personally inform Daoist Snowplume.

“Master, junior apprentice-brother Xu Ke requests an audience,” a gray-robed man said, standing respectfully outside a private room.

“Granted.” A calm voice came out from the private room.

This response was once more passed out in multiple layers, and in the end, Adept Xu Ke was finally allowed to come to the private room. Generally speaking, Daoist Snowplume would only permit disciples which the school valued greatly to remain by his side. For the likes of Adept Xu Ke, who had no chance at all of breaking through to become Primal Daoists, they had all been sent out long ago. They would only be permitted to make an occasional visit if they had something important to discuss.

“Your disciple greets you, Master.” Adept Xu Ke respectfully knelt outside the private room. The outside area was covered in piles of snow. The white-robed Adept Xu Ke, kneeling there within the pristine white snow, actually made for quite a beautiful sight.

Creaaak.

The door swung open.

A handsome Daoist, dressed in a feathered robe, walked out. He had a head full of long, unbound black hair, and a hint of amusement could be seen in his long, slender eyes.

He was one of the three titans of Snowdragon Mountain; Daoist Snowplume!

Daoist Snowplume’s disciples all shared one commonality; they had to be handsome. He himself was an extremely handsome man, and the same was true for his disciples. The kneeling Xu Ke, the gray-robed man by the door…all of them were exceptionally attractive in their looks.

“What is it?” Daoist Snowplume said calmly.

“Respected master,” Adept Xu Ke said, still kneeling, “Years ago, our Swallow Mountain branch, because of the Ji clan, was nearly annihilated. At that time, I went along with some of my fellow disciples and took up station there, helping to steady and firm up that branch. However, by now, Ji Ning’s level of power has reached unearthly levels. Relying on his prestige, the Ji clan has shown us no consideration at all. This very day, I received word that Ji Ning is about to attack our Swallow Mountain branch in person! I truly am unable to do anything about him, so I have come to request an audience with you, Master. I beseech you, Master, tell me what I should do with regards to this Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning?” Daoist Snowplume frowned slightly. “He is going to personally attack? How did you receive this news? We are quite far from Swallow Mountain; I imagine that by now, our branch has already been destroyed.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Adept Xu Ke said respectfully. “When I left Swallow Mountain, I left behind three talismans to my clansmen. The destruction of different talismans represented different types of news! The talisman they destroyed…represented that Ji Ning would be attacking personally! As soon as they destroyed it, I became aware of this news, and so I immediately came to visit you, Master.”

Daoist Snowplume nodded. “I have heard of the affairs between Ji Ning and the Swallow Mountain branch. Ji Ning is perhaps too arrogant; our Snowdragon Mountain has always been accommodating and unwilling to create true enmity between our two sides, and we even chose to pretend as though the death of Adept XuLi didn’t happen. After all, in truth, that year, it was our Snowdragon Mountain which suffered a loss, not their Ji clan.”

“But he views this as being insufficient; he even wants to expel our entire Swallow Mountain branch?” A hint of anger had appeared in Daoist Snowplume’s eyes.

How could anyone capable of becoming a Primal Daoist be a pushover?

“Hmph! No matter what, he is merely a Wanxiang Adept; he’s not yet qualified to try and force Snowdragon Mountain into avoiding him!” Daoist Snowplume said coldly, “Let’s go. Accompany me to Swallow Mountain.”

Adept Xu Ke and the gray-robed man were both greatly shocked. The master was going to go in person? They had originally assumed that an envoy would be sent to negotiate.

“He is a mere Wanxiang Adept,” Adept Snowplume said coldly. Snowplume was a cultivator who had trained for more than a thousand years, and was now at the peak of the Primal stage! Although some truly monstrous Wanxiang Adepts were capable of giving Primal Daoists a good fight, there were differences between early, middle, late, and peak-stage Primal Daoists.

How could he possibly fear Ji Ning?

“The Black-White College has a large number of Wanxiang Adepts; the most monstrous of them are the truly genius disciples such as Holyfire. Every few centuries, they will produce another ‘genius’, but in the end, the Black-White College still only has a few Immortals.” Daoist Snowplume mused to himself that becoming an Immortal was no easy feat! “Even if Ji Ning is a monster, it will still be hard for him to become an Immortal! And even if he does become an Immortal…he will still be under the control of the Marquis of Stillwater. What can he do to us!”

“Come, let’s go take a look at this Ji Ning and see how much of a ‘genius’ he is and how much of a ‘monster’ he is, for him to show such disregard for our Snowdragon Mountain,” Daoist Snowplume said calmly.

“Yes.” Adept Xu Ke and the other all immediately bowed in acknowledgment.

Shortly afterwards, a large warship, under their control, began to soar through the skies, departing from Snowdragon Mountain.

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Chapter 33 – A Primal Daoist and Ji Ning

Chapter 33 – A Primal Daoist and Ji Ning

Within the Swallow Mountain region.

The ancient Immortal vessel, emanating a powerful, crushing aura, was surging towards Serpentwing Lake.

“Our repsects to you, Patriarch.”

Xu Fang and the other Zifu Disciples knelt down, extremely nervous. They didn’t even dare to raise their heads to look at him. To the four Zifu Disciples…the Primal Daoist level was unfathomably distant from them. In addition, they hadn’t imagined that after shattering that talisman, one of the three Patriarchs of Snowdragon Mountain, Daoist Snowplume, would be the one to come.

“Describe the situation to me in detail.” The feather-robed Daoist Snowplume sat there. He gave them a sideways glance, then closed his eyes and calmly gave them their orders.

“Yes.” The leader, Xu Fang, cleared his throat, then said nervously, “Just yesterday, an envoy from the Ji clan came to our Snowdragon City and tossed a scroll written by Ji Ning for us to read. When we saw the scroll…we were immediately frightened by the terrifying sword-intent contained within those characters, to the point of our legs going soft and our hearts quivering.”

“You were so frightened that your hearts quivered and legs went soft?” Daoist Snowplume suddenly opened his eyes wide as he stared at the kneeling Xu Fang.

“Right. Patriarch, you can ask the other three,” Xu Fang said hurriedly. The other three kneeling Zifu Disciples all hurriedly nodded as well. “It is true. We were so frightened that our hearts shook and our legs went weak. The characters on that scroll did truly contain a terrifying sword-intent. We’ve never seen such a terrifying sword-intent before…those characters completely chilled our hearts.”

“We wouldn’t dare to live. This sort of sword-intent…we’ve never even heard of it before.”

“This was the letter written personally by Ji Ning of Serpentwing Lake.”

All of them hurriedly responded in unison. This caused Daoist Snowplume to frown and bark, “Give me that letter and let me look at it.”

Xu Fang immediately said, “That scroll was covered by a restrictive spell. When we opened it and read it, it automatically self-destructed and was set aflame.”

Daoist Snowplume’s face instantly turned rather unsightly. This caused Xu Fang and the other three to be utterly terrified at the thought that they might have angered their Patriarch.

“What did his letter say?” Daoist Snowplume barked.

“His letter just had a simple line of words. It said this: Xu clan, of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain. I give you ten days to get the f*ck out of Swallow Mountain. If after ten days you have yet to move, then don’t blame me for showing no mercy with my sword。“

Xu Fang was a cultivator; naturally, his memory was extremely good, and he had completely memorized the words which Ji Ning had written.

Daoist Snowplume, upon hearing this, immediately started to laugh. “He’s quite arrogant. He truly does hold our Snowdragon Mountain with no regard at all.”

“The rest of you can leave.” Daoist Snowplume waved his arm. Instantly, Xu Fang and the other three quickly departed from the cabin, leaving behind only Daoist Snowplume and his two disciples.

“Master.” Adept Xu Ke and the gray-robed man both looked towards their master, waiting for his response.

“For the sword-intent within that scroll to terrify Zifu Disciples to the point of their legs going soft…no one within Snowdragon Mountain has been able to produce sword-intent on this level,” Daoist Snowplume said, nodding gently. “I’ve heard that this Ji Ning specializes in using the sword. Now, it seems, this truly is the case. However, no matter how talented he is, he is merely a Wanxiang Adept, and the only magic treasures he can use are top-grade Earth-ranked magic treasures.”

Daoist Snowplume felt absolute confidence. Most of the so-called ‘Primal Daoists’ who were defeated by Wanxiang Adepts were mere early-stage or middle-stage Primal Daoists. He, however, was a peak-stage Primal Daoist!

He had trained for more than a thousand years. As one of the three Patriarchs of his clan, all the magic treasures he used were high quality Heaven-ranked magic treasures. Everything else aside, his foundation of elemental energy and his magic treasures completely surpassed Ji Ning’s. That was without accounting for the ‘primal fire’ his body could produce, or the ‘skywater’ he was cultivating, which was even more formidable than dire-ice…

“Let’s go take a look at this so-called genius of the Dao of the Sword,” Daoist Snowplume said with a calm laugh. “I truly am curious…what makes him think he can abuse our Snowdragon Mountain so? Does he truly think that his reputation as a disciple of the Black-White College is enough to allow him to act in such a lawless manner?”

Brightheart Island. Serpentwing Lake. Within a study.

Ji Ning was currently doing what he did almost every day…writing calligraphy! Next to his side, Autumn Leaf continued to grind ink for him. Ning, brush in hand, wrote one character after another. To him, writing was a form of enjoyment, a way to temper his heart and improve his understanding of the Dao of the Sword.

Rumble…

A surging, crushing wave of divine will instantly swept across nearly the entirety of Serpentwing Lake, including the entire Brightheart Island.

Boom. Ning’s own divine will, however, was like an unmoving boulder, and when the crushing wave of divine will struck against it, the wave.

“Which fellow Daoist is this?” Ning instantly sent through divine will.

“Divine sense? It seems the outside world has underestimated you, Ji Ning. At such a young age, you already possess divine sense…I imagine you are a reincarnated Immortal.” The other surge of divine sense, having realized that it held no advantage at all in terms of the soul, began to chat with Ning. As for Ning, his own divine sense swept out as well.

[Soulshaker Art]!

A raging wave of divine will smashed outwards, crashing towards the soul of Daoist Snowplume, who was in the air above Serpentwing Lake!

BOOM.

Although Daoist Snowplume had trained for more than a thousand years, ten years ago, Ning had already reached the Primal Daoist level in terms of the soul. During the past ten-plus years, he had never slackened off vigilantly training with the [Nuwa Painting]. His soul-improvement had been tremendous, and his divine sense was now capable of stretching to nearly a thousand kilometers. This made it so that even the vast majority of Primal Doaists were unable to compete with him.

Daoist Snowplume, at least, was somewhat weaker in terms of the soul. His divine sense was only capable of stretching to six hundred kilometers!

“Autumn Leaf, tidy things up here. I’ll go and take a look,” Ning said. Autumn Leaf nodded and replied, “Yes, young master.”

There was an ancient, enormous Immortal warship hanging in the air above Serpentwing Lake. The Immortal cultivators aboard this ship included a feather-robed Primal Daoist; it was Daoist Snowplume. At this moment, Daoist Snowplume’s face changed slightly; clearly, he was feeling some discomfort from Ning’s [Soulshaker Art] attack. However, since the difference in soul strength between the two wasn’t that great, the collision wasn’t able to affect him much.

“What a formidable Ji Ning!” Daoist Snowplume, having suffered a slight loss in secret, murmured softly to himself, “No wonder he is such a monster…so he truly is a reincarnated Immortal! But so what if he is? It’ll be even harder to withstand the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations,” Daoist Snowplume smirked.

Every three centuries, a tribulation would descend. Generally speaking, a mental trial would accompany the tribulation, and the more one knew, the more terrifying the mental trial would be. Reincarnated Immortals would have mental trials that were far more powerful than the trials ordinary cultivators would face. Thus, Immortals who chose to reincarnated would initially advance at a breakneck pace, but the further they went, the harder they would find it.

In turn, there were few to no reincarnated Immortals who would successfully pass the Heavenly Tribulation to become Celestial Immortals. Their chance was actually far lower than the chance which most Immortal cultivators faced.

“A reincarnated Immortal?” Adept Xu Zhen and the gray-robed man looked at each other, secretly shocked.

“This Ji clan truly did blunder into tremendous luck; a reincarnated Immortal was actually born into their clan,” Adept Xu Ke mused to himself. “That junior apprentice-brother of mine, Xu Li…poor bastard…he died to a reincarnated Immortal…”

Daoist Snowplume said calmly, “Don’t be frightened by that. So what if he is a reincarnated Immortal? Many reincarnated Immortals fall and perish on their Immortal path, even before becoming Immortals again. This is all too common.”

This was the truth.

The likes of the Sloppy Daoist and Holyfire all had foundations for becoming Immortals! However, the path of Immortal cultivation was a path which went against the will of the heavens…and so the heavens would send invisible trials and tribulations, causing the vast majority of these geniuses to fall and perish. It was equally possible for reincarnated Immortals to perish at the Wanxiang Adept or Primal Daoist levels.

“Are you Daoist Snowplume of Snowdragon Mountain? A distant voice rang out, a voice which shook the world. Daoist Snowplume walked straight to the helm of the ship, staring into the distance.

Off in the distance, there was a fur-clad youth. He looked like an ordinary youth from a barbarian tribe, and behind him, there was an azure-robed maiden and a large, snowy white dog. They all stood there in midair, staring towards the ship.

“Master, these people from Snowdragon Mountain come with bad intentions,” the nearby Little Qing sent mentally.

“Of course they do. However, I didn’t expect that my intentions to drive out their Swallow Mountain branch caused a Primal Daoist to come in person.” Ning stared towards the distant warship.

Daoist Snowplume, standing at the helm of the Immortal warship, truly did have the elegant aura of an Immortal. He laughed loudly, “I am indeed. I heard that the Black-White College has produced a disciple, Ji Ning, whose talent is astonishing and whose power is formidable. Upon my first time meeting you…I can tell that your reputation is well-deserved.”

“You praise me too much,” Ning replied. “Might I ask why you have come to my Serpentwing Lake, Daoist Snowplume?”

Daoist Snowplume, aboard his warship, spoke frankly. “I have come because of some matters between you and the local branch of our Snowdragon Mountain. Your Ji clan is expanding its territory here in Snowdragon Mountain…our local branch won’t hinder you in the slightest, but I heard that you sent word ordering the branch to move away within ten days?”

“That did indeed happen,” Ning said, nodding.

“Don’t you feel that you are being a bit too arrogant?” Daoist Snowplume looked towards Ning.

Ning shook his head. “Based on what I know, your Snowdragon Mountain, in establishing your headquarters, have taken over a territory of a hundred thousand kilometers. You have also set up numerous branches throughout Stillwater Commandery, and are constantly infiltrating into new areas and continuing to expand your branches. Can it be that your own Snowdragon Mountain is permitted to frantically expand, while my Ji clan is to be so limited that we cannot even take over the Swallow Mountain region?”

Those who were powerful would naturally expand.

“How can your Ji clan be compared in the same breath to my Snowdragon Mountain!” Daoist Snowplume said with a frown.

“In the past, when our Ji clan was weak, your Swallow Mountain branch dared to constantly invade and push forward, becoming the most powerful force within Swallow Mountain despite not being local to this place. You even dared to try and forcibly take our elemental ore mine!” Ning stared at Daoist Snowplume. “Now that our Ji clan is powerful, can it be that we can’t even expel a single branch of yours? Can it be that only you are allowed to abuse others, while our Ji clan isn’t even allowed to expand?”

A look of anger was on Daoist Snowplume’s face. “You truly are determined to exile our Swallow Mountain branch?”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“You are holding Snowdragon Mountain in no regard at all!” Daoist Snowplume said with anger.

“Think whatever you wish. The expelling of the Swallow Mountain branch is something I have set my mind on doing,” Ning said, staring at Daoist Snowplume.

Their gazes intersected.

Daoist Snowplume instantly understood that this Ji Ning was not going to lower his head.

“Do you think that your reputation as a disciple of the Black-White College will scare me off?” Daoist Snowplume’s face sank, and his voice began to echo in the skies. “I urge you to know when to cut your losses. Otherwise…today, I will personally teach you a lesson and let you know…that the words you say need to be matched with an equal amount of strength.”

Ning stared at the distant Daoist Snowplume. He cracked his lips into a smile, and his voice also echoed in the skies. “The words you say need to be matched with an equal amount of strength…well-spoken! I was actually hoping for you to provide me with some pointers, Daoist Snowplume, and see what formidable techniques you have!”

Daoist Snowplume was instantly enraged. “You don’t know your limits,” he howled angrily, his voice echoing out like a thunderclap from an enraged God of Thunder. Instantly, the world around them began to change colors. “I shall grant you your wish.”

“Come!” Ning’s response was cold and calm.

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Chapter 34 –Ji Ning Battles a Primal Daoist

Chapter 34 –Ji Ning Battles a Primal Daoist

Daoist Snowplume soared onto a cloud, then stood there in midair, staring towards the opposite Ji Ning.

“Little Qing, Uncle White, the two of you, stay farther away,” Ning instructed. This was a competition between himself and Daoist Snowplume; there was no need for Uncle White or Little Qing to interfere.

“Ning, son, be careful,” the Whitewater Hound instructed.

“Master, beat the crap out of that old Daoist!” Little Qing clenched her fists, full of anticipation. Although she didn’t know exactly how strong Ning was, she knew he was unfathomably stronger than he had been when they had met in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.

……

Daoist Snowplume and Ji Ning both stood there in the air, staring at each other.

“They are actually going to fight?!”

Adept Xu Ke and the gray-robed man both watched with eyes filled with amazement.

“Senior apprentice-brother Lu, how can this Ji Ning be so bold as to dare to fight against Master?” Adept Xu Ke had never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined that Ji Ning would be this arrogant, not even giving Daoist Snowplume any face. “Master is a peak Primal Daoist, and has the full strength and support of our Snowdragon Mountain sect behind him; even amongst Primal Daoists, he would be considered formidable.”

“Madman. A true madman.” The gray-robed man shook his head, also in disbelief. “Can it be that this Ji Ning thinks that he can defeat Master? Master isn’t like some of those newly ascended Primal Daoists; he became a Primal Daoist centuries ago! His foundation is unfathomably deep and stable, and he has gained tremendous fame!”

The two of them, both Wanxiang Adepts, were stunned. And as for the Zifu Disciples on the ship? Their amazement went without saying!

The large group of Zifu Disciples of Snowdragon Mountain were completely shocked and dazed. Ji Ning actually dared to challenged their unfathomably exalted Patriarch, Daoist Snowplume? He was absolutely suicidal!

“I shall grant you your wish!”

“Come!”

Daoist Snowplume and Ji Ning’s words, one after the other, thundered in the skies, filling the air above the entire Brightheart Island. Quite a few denizens of the island had already stood up to stare.

“Ji Ning is going to fight a Primal Daoist?” Ji Ninefire’s face instantly changed.

“How can Ji Ning act so rashly? That’s a Primal Daoist! And a peak Primal Daoist, at that…even if he wanted to fight one, he should choose an early or mid-stage Primal Daoist to test himself against first. How can he immediately challenge a peak Primal Daoist like Daoist Snowplume?” Ji Truekeep was panicking as well.

In fact, he even began to feel regret. He began to regret asking for Ning’s advice as to how they should deal with the local branch of Snowdragon Mountain. He had no idea that Ning would be so ‘unyielding’, and be willing to go head on against the enemy, even when they sent a Primal Daoist!

“Daoist Snowplume…he’s a peak Primal Daoist!” Granny Shadow was beginning to worry as well.

The Ji clan had always been on poor terms with Snowdragon Mountain, which was why Ning had acquired a set of detailed intelligence reports on Snowdragon Mountain. After reading it, he had stored it within the Ji clan’s archives. Naturally, Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and the others had all read through it and had gained an extremely clear understanding of Snowdragon Mountain.

And this was exactly why they were so worried right now.

“Young master…” Autumn Leaf chewed on her lips, holding her breath as she stared at the two figures in midair.

………

Everyone on both sides felt that Ning was playing with fire…but Ning himself knew his own level of power clearly. The reason why he dared to write such a letter…was because he truly felt no fear towards Snowdragon Mountain’s Primal Daoists!

There were differences in power amongst Primal Daoists as well.

The Primal Daoists of the Black-White College, for example, were absolute elites amongst elites, who were even capable of giving Immortals a fight! Some of the weaker, early-stage Primal Daoists, in turn, were far, far weaker…even nine years ago, Ning was confident in being able to escape with his life from them. It was precisely figures like Daoist Snowplume who were the most suitable for Ning to test himself against.

“Even if you are a reincarnated Immortal, I imagine that at your current level of power, you haven’t completely awakened all of your former memories,” Daoist Snowplume said, shaking his head and laughing. “I’ll let you know…what the difference is between Primal Daoists and Wanxiang Adepts!”

A fan suddenly appeared within Daoist Snowplume’s hand. He gave it a casual wave.

Whoosh!

This fanning motion instantly caused flames to appear out of nowhere. A brilliant golden flame wildly rippled forth, exploding into a sea of flames that swirled towards Ning.

“Primal Fire?” Ning instantly recognized it for what it was. Primal Fire was something which every Primal Daoist possessed. During his adventure in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, the Dragonwhale, upon becoming a Primal Daoist, had relied on this technique to burn Adept Redbud to death. However, at that time, the Dragonwhale had only been an early-stage Primal, and so the power of his Primal Fire wasn’t strong enough. It was far weaker than Daoist Snowplume’s Primal Fire.

“Condense.” Ning let out a soft chant. Instantly, a lotus flower colored red and green suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The green came from the leaves of the lotus flower, while the red came from the petals. The enormous green leaves swirled around the red petals in the center, which were clustered much more tightly together. They swiveled together naturally, with Ning at the very center, completely protected by this lotus flower.

This was his protective technique, the Waterflame Lotus.

Rumble…

The flames formed from Primal Fire seemed to cover the heavens. They surged towards Ning, but the lotus simply continued to swivel in the middle of that sea of flame. Clearly, the flames were completely unable to penetrate past them.

“What?!” Daoist Snowplume, fan in hand, revealed a look of shock on his face. “This Ji Ning is able to easily deflect my Primal Fire, and without using a sword technique, but some sort of protective technique?”

Previously, upon learning that Ji Ning’s calligraphy had terrified the Zifu Disciples so badly that their hearts had trembled and their legs had gone soft, he had guessed that Ji Ning must be at an extremely high level of expertise with the sword. He had thought that Ji Ning would execute his swordplay, using it to strike against all techniques and shatter the sea of Primal Fire. Daoist Snowplume was only intending to use this ‘sea of Primal Fire’ to test Ning’s capabilities, but he hadn’t expected that Ning would be able to block it with just a single lotus.

“A lotus flower? This Ji Ning has an exceedingly deep level of comprehension of both fire and water,” Daoist Snowplume mused secretly to himself.

Indeed, his words were correct.

Ning had indeed reached an extremely high level of mastery in both the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Inferno. During the past nine years, he had been supported by the underwater estate! His rate of improvement was incomparably astonishing; his past nine years was comparable to ninety years for an ordinary genius! In these two Daos, Ning already felt in a vague way that he had reached a bottleneck. With but a single further step, he would be able to completely comprehend the Daos of Rainwater and the Inferno!

With the added help he had from Ninelotus in discussing the Dao and the secrets of the lotus, Ning had further perfected this Waterflame technique. During the past nine years, Ning’s dire-ice and earthfire had both reached the fourth grade as well.

With dire-ice and earth-fire assisting the Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo on his body in activating the natural fire and water of the world, and with his comprehension of the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Inferno, and with his additional prowess in the mysteries of the lotus…the current Waterflame Lotus had been formed, which was now a supremely skillful protective technique.

The petals and the leaves swiveled about each other in layers, possessing incomparable defensive power.

…..

The two had exchanged their first blows. One had unleashed a sea of Primal Fire, while the other had created a lotus within the sea.

This caused the spectators on both sides to feel incomparably nervous.

“He’s fine. Ji Ning is fine.”

“Ji Ning is within the lotus.” The Ji clan’s side let out sighs of relief.

“What technique did this Ji Ning use? The Primal Fire which Master has been cultivating for centuries isn’t able to do anything to him?” Snowdragon Mountain began to grow nervous.

……

In midair.

“It seems you truly do have a bit of talent,” Daoist Snowplume barked coldly. As his words came out, the sea of fire that had filled the skies vanished. “But I want to see how long you can hold on for.”

One drop of water after another began to appear in the skies. These ‘raindrops’, however, were the size of a fist, and there were 108 of them which hovered around Daoist Snowplume’s body.

“Skywater?” Ning revealed a look of curiosity and excitement on his face. Earthfire, upon improving to the next level, would transform into skyfire; dire-ice upon improving to the next level, would become skywater. Even amongst Primal Daoists, only a few would have access to skyfire and skywater.

“Go.” Daoist Snowplume waved his fan yet again. Instantly, the 108 fist-sized raindrops shot out like meteors, slashing through the skies and smashing towards Ji Ning.

BOOM!

When the first raindrop smashed directly against Ning’s protective lotus, it broke straight through the outermost layer of leaves, but was blocked by the red petals within.

“What tremendous power.” Ning could feel the terrifying collisive force of those raindrops. His current Waterflame Lotus was capable of completely dominating the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts, and had even been capable of blocking Primal Fire, but it had been badly damaged by a single drop of skywater…most likely, that drop of skywater would have been enough to smash an ordinary peak Wanxiang Adept to death.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…many raindrops of skywater came smashing downward. Ning no longer dared to allow his Waterflame Lotus to take it all head on.

“Spin.” Ning held a Darknorth sword in each hand. Sword-light flashed, and those oncoming drops of skywater, carrying a savage aura that filled the heavens…instantly began to swirl around the sword-light Ning had generated. They had actually been captured and taken control of by Ning’s sword-light.

The sword-light was like water, guiding the drops of skywater in their movements…

“Eh?” The distant Daoist Snowplume was startled. “A seemingly simple sword attack, and yet, it contained so many mysteries…Ji Ning’s sword techniques has already surpassed those of any members of Snowdragon Mountain.”

“It seems I’ll be forced to rely on raw power to crush him.”

Daoist Snowplume didn’t dare to hesitate. With but a thought, he instantly caused the drops of skywater that were wildly spinning around the Darknorth swords to instantly detonate. Boom, boom, boom. The temperature instantly began to fall, and even the air itself began to freeze. Frost appeared on Ning’s face, covering it with a layer of white.

“Very cold.” Even Ning’s Fiendgod-like body felt the cold. “It really is on a higher level than dire-ice; the cold of this skywater…once it is unleashed, it quite astonishing!”

A large amount of frost had condensed in the surrounding area, and a faint mist was beginning to arise. Suddenly, from within the midst, two snowy Flood Dragons appeared.

“Kill!”

The distant Daoist Snowplume had finally unleashed a killing blow, the powerful magic treasure which he used to shock the world…the Binary Diffraction Swords!

The Binary Diffraction Swords were actually two swords; one yin, and one yang. The swords would transform into a pair of Flood Dragons with astonishing power. These were rare magic items, even amongst Heaven-ranked magic items. When used separately, each would be considered high-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasures. When used together…their power would merge, reaching even more shocking levels.

“Master has executed his Binary Diffraction Swords.”

“That’s the Binary Diffraction Swords. This Ji Ning is so incredibly powerful…he’s actually forced Master to use his Binary Diffraction Swords. Even if he loses, he has much to feel proud about.” The two distant spectators, Adept Xu Ke and his senior apprentice-brother, both felt stunned. For their master to have been forced to use the Binary Diffraction Swords…it meant that the other options which their master had would not be enough against Ji Ning.

Suddenly, a loud laugh.

“So these are the Binary Diffraction Swords?” With the loud laughter, Ji Ning, who had been standing in midair unmoving the entire time, suddenly manifested a pair of black wings behind his back. At the same time, his body suddenly grew in size as he transformed into a thirty-meter tall giant. A heroic, terrifying Fiendgod’s aura instantly spread out, causing all of the spectators to feel their hearts freeze.

“A divine ability!”

“The ‘Heavenly Transformation’ divine ability!” Adept Xu Ke and the others, including the Whitewater Hound, Little Qing, and Ninefire, were all speechless.

They all knew of the ‘Heavenly Transformation’ divine ability, but generally speaking, one would only transform to ten meters or so in height, while powerful users might increase to fifteen meters in height. Ning, however, had actually transformed to thirty meters. His Heavenly Transformation…had made him an enormous giant with astonishing power.

BOOM!

The thirty-meter tall Ning had wings on his back, and the Waterflame Lotus around him. With a single ‘step’, he transformed into a gust of wind as the swords in his hands slashed out through the air, leaving behind an eye-catching, dazzling sword-light. With an explosive sound, the Binary Diffraction Swords attack, which had sought to defeat Ning, were knocked flying back.

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Chapter 35 –Moving Out of Swallow Mountain

Chapter 35 –Moving Out of Swallow Mountain

“Eh?” The distant Daoist Snowplume’s face completely changed. Ning’s power was even greater than he had expected…but as one of the three Patriarchs of the sect, how could he just give up so easily?

Bang! Bang!

The sword-light of the Binary Diffraction Swords, which had been knocked flying back, suddenly increased tremendously in brilliance. One sword completely transformed into a Flood Dragon whose entire body glowed with blue light, while the other transformed into a Flood Dragon whose entire body glowed with golden light. These two Flood Dragons of sword-light were each three hundred meters long, and the scales on their body were clearly visible. The eyes of the double dragons were filled with a killing intent, as though they were alive!

The two Flood Dragons of sword-light, their power having explosively increased, let out earth-shaking draconic roars as they charged straight towards Ning.

Ji Ning, despite being thirty meters tall, felt pressure from this attack. The Darknorth swords in his hands once more sliced out, as though preparing to chop apart the heavens themselves as they once more left that dazzling scar of sword-light in the skies.

BANG!

BANG!

Ning’s entire body trembled. He felt as though he had been struck by two giant mountains; he couldn’t help but be knocked back several steps by the collision.

“What a fellow.” Ning wasn’t shocked; rather, he was delighted! The black wings on his back began to tremble as he used the Windwing Evasion…and for a moment, he seemed to be a ghost as he once more charged forward.

“Yin-Yang, Divide and Transform!”

The distant Daoist Snowplume’s face was extremely solemn as well. He now viewed Ning as a true, worthy opponent.

The azure Flood Dragon and the golden Flood Dragon of sword-light, high in the air, once more let out a series of earthshaking dragon roars as they wildly enveloped Ning with their attacks. As for Ning, the Darknorth swords in his hands, he clashed against them repeatedly…and with each collision, the surrounding air blasted apart and distorted. Even the water of Serpentwing Lake below them began to distort, with troughs of many dozens of meters and massive waves of many hundreds of meters.

Even at a distance of ten kilometers, Ninefire, Truekeep, Granny Shadow, Autumn Leaf, and the others who were on Brightheart Island all felt a savage wind sweep towards them.

“What tremendous power.”

“Ji Ning is actually this powerful.”

Ninefire and the others were all speechless and stupefied.

The distant, thirty meter tall Ji Ning was like an exalted god of the heavens, battling against those two massive Flood Dragons!

“He’s actually able to battle a peak-stage Primal Daoist to a standstill?”

“That’s one of the three Patriarchs of Snowdragon Mountain!”

“Too strong.”

“It’s only been ten-plus years since the battle at Oxhorn Mountain, but Ji Ning has advanced to such a level. If Yichuan were still alive, he would definitely be incomparably delighted.” Ninefire and the others were both stunned and excited; after all, the incomparably dazzling figure before them was the ultimate expert of their Ji clan.

The Ji clan’s side was excited and animated.

Snowdragon Mountain’s side, however, was shocked and enraged.

Ning, who was battling in midair against the two Flood Dragons of sword-light, suddenly began to move in a different way; the extremely forceful and dynamic swordplay suddenly became incomparably reserved and stately.

Bang!

Bang!

The sword-light in the air seemed to have transformed into the light of the moon; it was incomparably soft. It also seemed like the caress of a lover…silently, soundless, the two Flood Dragons of sword-light began to crumble.

“What?!” Daoist Snowplume was shocked. This sword technique, ‘Yin-Yang, Divide and Transform’, was an extremely powerful one. And yet, even this technique was unable to resist Ning? Holding nothing back, he immediately unleashed the most powerful technique available to him: “Binary Commingling!”

Those two Flood Dragons of sword-light, on the verge of collapse, actually began to twist into each other, connecting into each other as though they were two living creatures bound into one body.

The commingling Flood Dragons of sword-light supported each other, reinforcing each other’s deficiencies and completely blocking Ning’s sword technique.

“In terms of profoundness of sword techniques, he is absolutely inferior to me.” Ning knew this quite well. “However, the foundations of Daoist Snowplume are simply too strong…and those two Heaven-ranked swords are also exceptionally powerful.”

The Darknorth swords were Bloodforged weapons; the more one used them to kill, the more death-energy and baleful energy they would absorb and the more powerful they would become. However, during the past nine years, Ning hadn’t killed many people…and so these Darknorth swords continued to be the equivalent of top-grade Earth-ranked magic treasures. Compared to the Binary Diffraction Swords, they were unfathomably weaker.

Ning’s superiority in sword techniques had cancelled out his inferiority in weaponry.

“I have to unleash the advantages of my Fiendgod body.” Ning’s primary goal in this battle was to test his own ability; however, since the opponent’s pair of Binary Diffraction Swords had already unleashed a power which surpassed his most powerful sword techniques, he could no longer just use sword techniques to compete.

Swish!

Swish!

Instantly, the surrounding wind began to howl as Ning himself merged into a gust of wind, moving with ghostly speed as he charged directly towards Daoist Snowplume.

Nine years. Not only had he improved tremendously in using the Heavenly Transformation technique, his Windwing Evasion technique had also improved an astonishing amount. And now, he was unleashing his full power!

Daoist Snowplume was tremendously shocked, and hurriedly controlled the Binary Diffraction Swords to try and block Ning.

Clang! Clang!

Ning’s swordplay became even softer, only defending and not attacking. In the blink of an eye, he managed to charge towards Daoist Snowplume’s side.

“Not good.” Daoist Snowplume was shocked; how could he dare fight against Ning in close combat? If Ning was struck by a sword, by relying on his Fiendgod body, he could almost instantly heal; if he, Daoist Snowplume, was struck by a sword, he would only be heavily wounded if he was lucky. If he wasn’t that lucky, he would truly perish!

Whoosh!

Daoist Snowplume immediately utilized his own evasive technique. A snowy white light flashed, and Daoist Snowplume immediately retreated back onto his warship.

“Master.” Adept Xu Ke and the gray-robed man stared, astonished, at Daoist Snowplume, who had suddenly appeared in the midst. The two distant streaks of sword-light flew over as well; it was the Binary Diffraction Swords.

Daoist Snowplume’s face was incomparably unsightly to behold. He spoke out, “What a formidable Ji Ning. Sword Immortals live up to their reputation. Admirable, admirable!”

His voice was deep and it shook the heavens.

“Let’s go.”

After Daoist Snowplume finished his words, that gigantic warship instantly soared away, quickly disappearing into the horizons.

Ning stood there in midair, watching Daoist Snowplume and the others depart. “Daoist Snowplume is quite a decisive fellow. He hadn’t even lost, but upon seeing that the current state of affairs was set in stone, he immediately retreated.”

Ning had engaged in this battle, primarily to test his strength. Over the past nine years, his [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had already reached the eleventh stage, and he had a body that was comparable to a peak Fiendgod Body Refiner. The main issue was that after advancing through one of the major stages, training in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] would become considerably harder; thus, in the past, every two or three years, Ning would advance by a stage. But from the tenth stage to the eleventh stage, Ning had spent six years!

Clearly, the amount of time he had spent was much more.

Still, at least his Fiendgod body was all but perfect, superior to the likes of Bloodshadow. In addition, he also had the divine ability, [Starseizing Hand]; upon using it, his power was no less than that of a peak Primal Daoist’s! And this was with his [Starseizing Hand] being only at the first cycle; if he were to train to the second cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], then the power would be even greater.

The training method of the [Starseizing Hand] was known as the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer].

At the Zifu level, one could train in the first cycle.

At the Wanxiang level, one could train in the second cycle.

And so on and so forth.

However, training in the [Starseizing Hand] required a large amount of precious essences of the Five Elements. A large amount of external support was required. When Ning had trained in the first cycle in the underwater estate, he had used the Five Elements essence left behind by Daoist Threelives. Now, however, to train in the second cycle, Ning would have to go seek out the precious essences by himself. During the past nine years, although Ning had collected quite a few treasures, he was still far from having enough.

“A divine body and divine abilities…with these two, I’m comparable to a peak Primal Daoist Ki Refiner,” Ning sighed to himself. “My swordplay has reached the fifth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], and is at a level even higher than his! But I’m at a disadvantage in terms of weapons…my Darknorth swords cannot compare to his Binary Diffraction Swords.”

The Binary Diffraction Swords even possessed some rudimentary sentience. Those two transformed Flood Dragons held a degree of sentience in their eyes…but it only made sense. After all, these were high-grade Heaven-ranked treasures. Upon reaching the higher ‘Immortal-ranked’ treasures, then a treasure spirit would emerge, such as the black bull of the underwater estate, which was the spirit of the Immortal-ranked magic treasure which Immortal Juhua had left behind.

“Master.”

“Ji Ning.”

“Young master…”

A distant group of people, riding on a leaf-type magic treasure, were flying towards them. Ninefire and the others were all in a state of delight and excitement.

Good heavens. That had been a peak Primal Daoist! He had actually been forced to retreat by Ji Ning. They could tell…that when fighting against Daoist Snowplume, Ning hadn’t been at the slightest disadvantage.

“My Ji clan is about to truly rise to prominence, to true prominence!” Ninefire roared with laughter. “Haha, I, Ji Ninefire, even at the moment of my death, will be satisfied. How many years…how many years! My Ji clan has finally produced such a figure! Ji Ning, I trust that soon, your name will be known throughout Stillwater Commandery!”

“Your name will be known throughout Stillwater Commandery. All of the major powers will known of you and will spread your fame.” Truekeep was excited as well.

The Ji clan was merely a minor power, located in Swallow Mountain. And yet, it had produced someone like Ji Ning. Someone capable of forcing a Primal Daoist like Daoist Snowplume to voluntarily retreat…this battle could be described as the battle which truly established Ji Ning’s reputation. His fame would be spread throughout the region; after all, he hadn’t battled a mere middle-stage Primal Daoist, or an ordinary, unaffiliated practitioner. Daoist Snowplume was a truly formidable figure!

“It wasn’t bad. I didn’t achieve victory, after all,” Ning said. “That Daoist Snowplume is truly formidable as well; if I were to truly battle him, it’s hard to say who would win.”

This was the truth.

It was true that Daoist Snowplume hadn’t really gone all out. Upon realizing that even his supreme technique, the ‘Binary Commingling’ was unable to do anything to Ning, he had immediately retreated. If this had been a true life-or-death battle, however, Daoist Snowplume wouldn’t have been so stingy in his usage of the skywater in his body; he would have wildly filled the skies with it as he attacked Ning, while also controlling flying swords to attack. Ning, in turn, wouldn’t have tried to avoid injuries and would have wildly fought back.

As a Fiendgod practitioner, for Ning, injuries were a minor thing. Thus, in a true life-or-death battle, Ning would’ve had a higher chance of victory! But that was just hypothetical; after all, no one knew what sort of treasures Daoist Snowplume carried with him.

“Master, don’t be so humble. You beat him into running away! You are a Fiendgod Body Refiner…I refuse to believe that he would dare fight with you to the death. When two combatants who are on par with each other fight, and when one is a Fiendgod Refiner while the other is a Ki Refiner, it will generally be the Ki Refiner who dies.” Little Qing was incomparably excited.

Aboard the distant warship, soaring through the skies.

Daoist Snowplume could still feel his heart trembling. When a Fiendgod practitioner whose power was on par with his had charged straight towards him…that was like death sweeping directly for him. He had been so terrified, he had immediately used an evasive technique.

The nearby Adept Xu Ke and the gray-robed man didn’t even dare to make a sound.

“Disciple,” Daoist Snowplume said, looking at Adept Xu Ke, “Go and have your Xu clan immediately evacuate from Swallow Mountain. Ideally, avoid any and all trouble with the Ji clan in the future. Although Snowdragon Mountain doesn’t fear them, they don’t need to fear Snowdragon Mountain either.”

“Yes,” Adept Xu Ke immediately said.

“Soon, the news of this battle will be spread throughout the entire Stillwater Commandery.” Daoist Snowplume shook his head. “I truly didn’t expect…that I, Snowplume, would end up becoming a stepping stone for another’s rise to fame.”

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Chapter 36 –Famous Throughout Stillwater

Chapter 36 –Famous Throughout Stillwater

Daoist Snowplume, as someone capable of reaching the Primal Daoist level, was no fool. He knew very well…that given Ji Ning’s monstrous rate of improvement, this was someone that he absolutely could not be enemies with. Ning had only been alive for thirty short years, but he was already comparable to Daoist Snowplume, who had trained for a thousand years!

“All of you, listen clearly.” Daoist Snowplume swept the crowd with his gaze. “You are absolutely not permitted to antagonize Ji Ning! If you do, even my Snowdragon Mountain will find it difficult to protect you!”

All of them assented. Nobody who had witnessed the earlier battle had the courage to go antagonize Ji Ning.

News of this battle spread with astonishing speed. Daoist Snowplume didn’t issue an order of silence to his subordinates, because he knew that even if Snowdragon Mountain didn’t spread the news, the Ji clan would. Given the situation, it was best for them to pretend to ignore it all and allow the news to spread.

“Given this Ji Ning’s rate of improvement, I imagine that very soon, he will become even more illustrious and famous. For me to be the stepping-stone to fame for someone like him…it’s not that embarrassing…” This was how Daoist Snowplume tried to console himself.

The news quickly spread to the center of the entire Stillwater Commandery; Stillwater City. Amongst Ning’s friends, the first to receive word was, naturally, Northmont Baiwei.

“Hahaha, good, good, good!” Baiwei excitedly slapped his desk, causing the fruit platters and wine bottles atop it to rattle, then tumble to the floor. The nearby musicians were badly startled by this sudden act.

“Piao An.” Baiwei looked at the messenger servant, who was kneeling before him. He immediately beamed and said, “You have rendered a great merit by delivering this report. I shall award you ten taels of liquefied elemental essence.” He immediately tossed a jade bottle over.

The servant before him, who had just reached the Zifu Disciple level, accepted it with great excitement. This was an intelligence report that came from the spy network of Northmont Blacktiger’s estate; he was nothing more than a messenger boy. And yet, just like that, he had acquired ten taels of liquefied elemental essence; clearly, young master Baiwei was exceedingly delighted.

“My brother, Ji Ning, truly is formidable. Formidable. Formidable!” Baiwei excitedly stalked back and forth within his hall. “How long has it been? Just ten years since he entered the Black-White College? He’s only a peak Wanxiang Adept, and yet he’s already capable of forcing Daoist Snowplume into a retreat and to relocate his local Snowdragon Mountain branch. Clearly, Daoist Snowplume has lowered his head!”

“Amongst the third generation disciples of the Black-White College, I imagine that only the likes of the Sloppy Daoist and Holyfire are capable of matching my brother Ji Ning.”

“But the Sloppy Daoist and Holyfire have all trained for at least two centuries, while Ji Ning has only trained for thirty years.” Baiwei was delighted for his friend…and he felt all the more convinced that he had truly hit the jackpot when he had decided to become friends with Ji Ning.

The excited Baiwei suddenly saw, out of the corner of his eye, the pole-axed, stupefied group of musicians. Only now did he remember that he was actually listening to a private concert.

“Out, out, all of you.” Baiwei waved his hand. The musicians, including his maidservant, all bowed and departed.

Baiwei’s eyes were filled with anticipation. “I hope that Brother Ji Ning isn’t going to trip and fall on his Immortal path…given his rate of improvement, which is vastly superior to that of the Sloppy Daoist and Holyfire, and even vastly superior to most reincarnated Immortals…as long as he doesn’t die, when he becomes an Immortal, he will definitely become a top-tier Immortal. By then…I’ll truly have a powerful supporter by my side.”

The news also quickly made its way to the Black-White College. Daoist Flowcloud, also known as Chen Jin, had just returned from a relaxing trip to the Carefree Caverns. He was feeling quite rested and relaxed, and had just flown back into and landed within his own mountain estate.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud.”

Two of his ten retainers, both female, immediately came to greet him.

“What is it?” Chen Jin gave these two retainers a glance.

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud, you wanted us to keep track of any information regarding senior apprentice-brother Darknorth, right?” One of the female retainers, the slightly skinnier one, hurriedly said, “We just heard…that senior apprentice-brother Darknorth, Ji Ning, engaged in a battle with one of the three Patriarchs of Snowdragon Mountain, Daoist Snowplume, at Serpentwing Lake. Ji Ning’s power filled the heavens, and in the end, he forced Daoist Snowplume to retreat and even voluntarily relocate the local Snowdragon Mountain branch.

“What?!” Chen Jin’s good mood instantly and completely evaporated. His face was ashen. “Did you perhaps mishear things? Ji Ning was actually able to force Daoist Snowplume into retreating? He has this level of power?”

“We didn’t mishear. This news just made its way to the Black-White College, and it has been spread throughout the College.”

“Right. Everyone is talking about it right now.”

Both of the female retainers answered together.

Chen Jin’s face was utterly pale. Ning had become the shadow over his heart long ago; for Ning to become even more dazzling naturally caused him to feel even more enraged. He barked angrily, “Describe the information you heard in detail.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud, this event originated from a dispute between the Ji clan of Swallow Mountain and the local branch of Snowdragon Mountain…” The skinnier female retainer began to speak.

……

“Little Sloppy, Ji Ning, by the look of things, seems to have improved quite a bit. He’s already reached the same level as Holyfire and the others, and might even be comparable with you.” Within a spacious, lavish hall, a short old man who was dressed in beggar’s clothes was seated on the ground. In front of him were a number of bowls, filled with various types of meat and other food. He stretched out a grubby, greasy hand and snatched a chunk of meat from a bowl while using his other hand to pour wine into his mouth from a gourd.

In front of him was a fat and similarly sloppy-looking youth. He, too, was using one hand to grab at the food and eating with abandon, while using his other hand to drink from a gourd of wine.

“So what if he is comparable to me?” The fat youth didn’t seem to be concerned at all, continuing to eat and drink.

“Little Sloppy, that means that your reputation as being the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples of the Black-White College might be taken away,” the short elder hurriedly warned.

The fat youth shook his head. “When I first joined the Black-White College, I was completely unremarkable. Back then, there were countless senior fellow disciples who were stronger than me. But in the end, I surpassed them all…and that’s when I became the ‘number one figure’ amongst the third generation disciples. But has that reputation ever done anything for me in terms of helping me improve in power?”

“Nope, not at all!” The fat youth seemed completely unconcerned. “In the Black-White College, I can rank at the very top, but if we look at the entire Grand Xia Dynasty and the major world they have unified…given how there are thousands on thousands of reincarnated Immortals at the Wanxiang level, I imagine that there are far more people that are more powerful than me!”

“That’s why it doesn’t matter at all what my ranking is within the Black-White College. I only have one opponent; myself. As long as I continue to surpass myself and improve…that’ll be enough.” The fat youth shook his head. “This is also the reason why I won’t go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“Oh, right. This time, the imperial capital of the Grand Xia has attracted interest from the most powerful geniuses of virtually every commandery city in this boundless world. In fact, even some of the supreme talents who live in the seas beyond are heading towards the capital! This is an event that will only occur every three centuries! Only those who are below the Primal Daoist level are allowed to attend. This is a chance that only comes in three hundred years! Once you defeat the various reincarnated Immortals and geniuses of the other parts of the world, then you’ll truly soar to the heavens!” The short elder said hurriedly.

“I’m afraid of death.” The fat youth shook his head.

“You sloppy bastard!” The short elder was so angry, he began to curse. “How can you be so lazy in pursuing your Immortal path?”

“I’m in no rush. I’m going to train slowly. If there’s good wine, I’ll drink it; if there’s tasty meat, I’ll eat it. I’ll live a wonderfully happy life. Whatever level I’ll end up training to, that’ll be the level I’ll train to. I’m not going to go risk my life.” The fat youth shook his head.

The short elder was completely helpless.

Still..he felt great admiration for this fat youth. In fact, he even began to wonder…if perhaps, in terms of Dao-heart alone, this fat youth might be stronger than all of the Primal Daoists and Immortals of the entire Black-White College! Still…there was no way one could tell from the surface if another had a powerful Dao-heart or not. To this very day, he was the only one who believed that this fat youth had the strongest Dao-heart of anyone in the entire Black-White College.

……

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning truly is formidable. We haven’t seen him in ten years, but he’s grown so powerful.” Mu Northson, who had completely absorbed himself into the art of constructs during recent years, was exceptionally excited upon hearing this news. “It’s been so many years since I’ve seen him…it’s time for me to pay a visit.”

Given how powerful Ning had shown himself to be during this battle, there truly were quite a few who wanted to go pay a visit to him now.

Northson just made some casual inquiries, and soon, a large group of people gathered.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go to Serpentwing Lake.”

“It’s been years since we’ve seen junior apprentice-brother Darknorth. He has grown so powerful.” More than ten people had decided to go visit Ning, most of whom were on extremely good terms with him. There were even two reincarnated Immortals amongst them.

Once one’s power reached a certain level, one would naturally be acknowledged by others. Soon, this group of ten-plus fellow disciples left the Black-White College and headed towards Serpentwing Lake.

……

The black-robed Immortal Diancai, seated on his jade bed, opened his eyes, revealing a smile within them.

“So many young fellows have gone to visit Ji Ning. It seems my apprentice’s strength has been acknowledged by his fellow disciples. In fact, come to think of it…if he was able to force Daoist Snowplume to retreat, then my apprentice’s [Three-Foot Sword] must have reached an extremely deep level of expertise. Is he at the fourth stance, or the fifth stance? Ugh, this kid…he didn’t visit me a single time in ten years,” Immortal Diancai mused to himself. Because only six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword] were made public within the Black-White College, even Immortal Diancai himself had only learned those first six stances.

But naturally, Immortal Diancai’s most powerful sword technique wasn’t the [Three-Foot Sword]; it was the one he had established for himself.

This battle had truly brought fame to Ji Ning. His name was spread throughout the entire Stillwater Commandery. His friends, his seniors, his elders, and even other large clans and sects began to pay close attention to him. From this day onward, Ji Ning had become one of the notable, well-known figures of the Stillwater Commandery region.

In the distant Highwater Commandery. The Dongyan Mountains. Within a quiet, secluded cave.

A snowy white-robed Ninelotus was seated in the lotus position atop a boulder. She had been trapped within this Myriad Lotuses Cave for nearly nine years now. Almost every day, she came to try and break through the formation, but the formation set down by the Forefather of the Dongyan clan was a reflection of one’s Dao-heart; to break the formation, one had to thoroughly comprehend one’s own Dao-heart and to thoroughly understand one’s self!

Ninelotus had never been successful.

“Mistress, mistress.” A voice rang out from outside.

Ninelotus opened her eyes. “What is it?” Although she couldn’t leave, her servants could still bring her news from the outside world through the most simplest of methods; by standing outside the cave and shouting towards her.

“Mistress, we just received word that the Ji clan of Swallow Mountain has forced the local branch of Snowdragon Mountain to leave. This caused one of the three Patriarchs of Snowdragon Mountain, Daoist Snowplume, to be angered and personally make a trip to Serpentwing Lake. However, that Ji Ning wasn’t willing to lower his head at all, and so he and Daoist Snowplume got into a battle,” the servant said.

Ninelotus was instantly furious, frantic, and concerned. “That idiot! How could he be so forceful about it? That’s a peak Primal Daoist!”

“Daost Snowplume used his supreme techniques with the Binary Diffraction Swords to battle against Ji Ning, but Ji Ning used his divine ability to transform into a thirty meter tall giant. He unleashed an incomparably astonishing sword technique…and was actually able to force Daoist Snowplume to voluntarily retreat, and even lower his head and have the Swallow Mountain branch leave,” the servant said.

“What?!” Ninelotus was astonished.

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Chapter 37 – Leaving the Myriad Lotuses Cave

Chapter 37 – Leaving the Myriad Lotuses Cave

Ninelotus was truly surprised. Although she felt great admiration for Ji Ning, the young, handsome, fragile-looking Ning made her think of her own younger brothers. Ninelotus felt an almost maternally protective instinct towards Ning, and the fact that he loved to lie in his boat and drift above the waters of Serpentwing Lake further stirred the soft feelings inside her.

She knew that Ning was extremely talented, but she hadn’t expected him to be this talented. His level of monstrousness had already surpassed what even she had imagined.

“The Black-White College has three reincarnated Immortals at the Wanxiang Level. Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei has spent the least amout of time training, while the other two reincarnated Immortals have trained for more than ninety years. Ji Ning has only trained for thirty, but he’s already comparable to the two of them, and perhaps even stronger.” Ninelotus suddenly began to feel a bit of panic in her heart.

It was as though her Ji Ning had surpassed the limits of what she could comprehend and control.

“What’s going on with me?”

“Why am I panicking? Why am I so uneasy?”

Ninelotus immediately realized that her emotions were off. “For Ji Ning to be powerful is a good thing. Why am I so nervous and restless?”

She asked herself this question, over and over. She questioned herself repeatedly.

During the past nine years of her ‘imprisonment’ within the Myriad Lotuses Cave, she had continuously attempted to challenge the Dao-heart illumination formation which the Forefather of the Dongyan clan had left behind. Actually, she was already quite close to ‘comprehending her own heart’. Upon feeling uncontrollable nervousness and restlessness when learning that Ji Ning had forced a peak Primal Daoist to lower his head…she finally broke through the final barrier.

“This…is me?” Ninelotus suddenly calmed down. Her eyes no longer appeared lost; the only thing left was the calmness of the vast, endless sea. “So this is who I am.”

“I’m used to being in control.”

“I like to control everything.”

“I want to be in control of everything I am surrounded by. I am going to command the Dongyan clan and lead it to greater heights, to spread my name throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.” Ninelotus murmured softly to herself. Ever since she was young, she had been ambitious, but she had never truly understood her own nature as clearly as she did now. In the past, she merely acted in accordance with her subconscious.

She had gone to be a disciple of the Black-White College because she wanted to prove herself, and prove to herself, that even without the assistance of the Forefather of the Dongyan clan, she was still capable of entering the likes of the Black-White College, where only supreme geniuses were admitted.

The reason why she had never been moved by Chen Jin was because there was no way she could control the ‘Chen clan’ which stood behind him. And thus, she subconsciously rejected his advances.

The reason she was moved by Ji Ning…was precisely because Ji Ning’s clan, the Ji clan, was very weak; thus, she was completely capable of controlling and guiding it. Ning himself was extremely talented, but his talent was still within the realm of what she, as the next leader of the Dongyan clan, was capable of controlling. So long as Ning did not become a Celestial Immortal, he would not be out of her sphere of control.

Most importantly of all…Ning’s parentage and history had truly moved her inner heart. She wanted to protect him.

“He’s even more powerful than I had predicted.” Understanding her own nature, Ninelotus now calmed down. “However, even if he truly does become a Celestial Immortal in the future…that’ll be something that happens many, many years from now. After so many years together, the affection between the two of us will become incomparably deep and stable.”

In her heart, Ninelotus didn’t truly believe in ‘love at first sight’.

She believed more in…love built up over time.

“The Forefather said that becoming Dao-Companions means being willing to die for each other,” Ninelotus murmured to herself. “Perhaps I’m not yet able to do that for him, but in a thousand years, I believe that I will truly, whole-heartedly, be willing to die for him. He’ll be willing to die for me too.”

Ninelotus no longer hesitated; she immediately walked towards the grand formation. The grand formation of the Dao-heart had impeded Ninelotus for nearly nine years…but this time, it no longer did.

Ninelotus walked out of the Myriad Lotuses Cave.

“Mistress.” The female servant outside, upon seeing Ninelotus walk out, immediately knelt down in surprise and delight. “Congratulations and felicitations, mistress.”

Ninelotus smiled slightly.

That very day.

Ninelotus left the Highwater Commandery and the Dongyan Mountains, heading towards Swallow Mountain of Stillwater Commandery.

The sun was brilliant this day. The Forefather of the Dongyan clan, still leisurely fishing within the gorge, revealed a look of surprise on his face. He murmured softly to himself, “Ruyin, although she physically appears very similar to you, and on the surface has a temperament similar to yours…her true nature is completely opposite to yours. Ninelotus’ heart is far stronger and harder than yours. She truly was born to lead. It seems that when I chose her to be the next leader of the Dongyan clan…it was a choice that will lead the Dongyan clan to great glory.”

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

Northmont Baiwei and Ji Ning were seated facing each other, toasting each other and laughing and chatting loudly and happily.

“Right! There’s one thing that you never found out about,” Baiwei suddenly said.

“What is it?” Ning laughed.

“The one who killed Yu Dong and Adept Mooncrescent was you, right?” Baiwei first set up a restrictive spell around them, blocking out all sound, then continued to speak softly. Ning didn’t hesitate; he immediately nodded. He had originally asked Baiwei to help acquire the intelligence reports regarding Yu Dong, Shui Yi, and Dong Seven. It wasn’t strange that Baiwei would be able to guess that he had done the deed.

“Adept Mooncrescent had an extraordinary background,” Baiwei said softly.

“What background?” Ning was startled, although he had guessed at this long ago, which was why he had been so cautious.

“Adept Mooncrescent was a retired Immortal cultivator of one of the secret Immortal armies our Northmont clan controls, the ‘Shadow Army’,” Baiwei said seriously. “You should know that after having experienced life-and-death battles with each other repeatedly, soldiers develop extremely deep ties with each other. Incredibly few manage to survive all the way into retirement. If any retirees are killed, then their old brothers will definitely stand up for them…and in fact the entire Shadow Army will support them, because they have to be able to guarantee that the retirees will have safe, comfortable lives in their final years.”

Ning was shocked. So this was the situation? It really had been a secret Immortal army of the Northmont clan of Stillwater?

“Given the Northmont clan’s intelligence network, they should have already found me out.” Ning frowned.

“If they did, you wouldn’t have been able to spend the past ten years in security and peace.” Baiwei shook his head. Ning’s battle with Chen Jin had been after spending a year back at Serpentwing Lake, and then he had spent nearly nine more years…indeed, he had been back for nearly ten years.

Baiwei said softly, “The Shadow Army’s investigation traced the clues all the way to my estate, the Northmont Blacktiger estate. However, in the end, the Shadow Army is in service to our Northmont clan of Stillwater. They wouldn’t dare do anything to the Northmont Blacktiger estate, and so in the end, our estate stonewalled them. The Shadow Army was forced to just give up; they weren’t able to continue the investigation.”

Ning now understood. So it had been all thanks to the help from the estate of Northmont Blacktiger.

However, what Ning didn’t realize was that the loyalty of an army to its patron was an incredibly important thing. The Northmont clan had to take care of the feelings of their Immortal armies; thus, things couldn’t have been handled as simply as Baiwei had just implied. In truth, Baiwei himself had taken on the blame for this matter, informing the Shadow Army that it was he, Northmont Baiwei, an important young master of the Northmont clan, who had unknowingly killed one of their old retirees. There was no way the Shadow Army could act against such an important young master of the Northmont clan, and thus they had been forced to give up.

Ning, in both his past life and his present life, didn’t understand politics very well. Naturally, he wouldn’t understand that Baiwei had made sacrifices on his behalf.

“Thank you, Brother Baiwei. Please thank Uncle as well,” Ning said hurriedly.

“A minor matter, a minor matter.” Laughing, Baiwei waved his hand in dismissal, then lowered his voice again. “Brother Ji Ning, I heard some stories about you and your senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus.”

“You even know about this?!” Ning was surprised.

Baiwei nodded. “One time, when I was drinking at the Carefree Caverns, I invited Holyfire over. At that time, Chen Jin was present as well. I mentioned you to them, thinking that since you were fellow disciples, by mentioning your name, it would help all of us be better friends. Who would’ve thought that Chen Jin’s face would immediately turn ugly and that he would he quickly leave? Afterwards, I asked Holyfire about this matter, and thus learned about the details of the situation.”

Ning now understood. Shaking his head, Ning laughed, “To be honest, it’s a bit funny. Ninelotus had never felt anything for Chen Jin, but Chen Jin himself, in a hotheaded fit, insisted on dealing with me…but unfortunately, I ended up dealing with him.”

Baiwei shook his head. “I can tell that he feels deep hatred for you. Given how narrow-minded he is…it’ll be hard for him to accomplish any great deeds. Chen Jin is of the impressive Chen clan of Highwater…who would’ve thought that he’d be so narrow-minded? I imagine that the Chen clan must not have provided him with very good tutelage; most likely, he hasn’t been selected to be the next leader of their clan.

Major clans viewed the training and tutelage of their future leaders as something of paramount importance. They had to whole-heartedly strive to provide the proper upraising for a suitable leader. Clearly, Chen Jin wasn’t such a person.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.”

Suddenly, a voice rang out which instantly echoed across the entire Serpentwing Lake.

“Huh?!” Ning instantly rose to his feet, his face covered with delight.

“You look so happy, who is it?” Baiwei was surprised.

“That’s my junior apprentice-brother, Northson,” Ning said in delight.

Ji Ning and Northmont Baiwei immediately flew into the air to welcome him. A dragon-headed warship was flying towards them, with an entire group of Immortal cultivators aboard it.

“So many people?” Ning was surprised as well.

All of these people were at the Wanxiang level. Even Bloodshadow and Yu Wei had come. In the Black-White College, they were all considered elites. In total, fifteen people had come.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” Northson was the first to fly over to Ning, and he excitedly pounded his fist against Ning’s chest. “Incredible! Even an old fellow at the peak Primal Daoist stage was sent scurrying away by you. In the past, when we met with that Dragonwhale King, we found it so difficult to deal with him!”

“Actually, there wasn’t a conclusive end to the fight,” Ning said hurriedly.

The white-robed, white-haired Bloodshadow spoke out. “Junior apprentice-brother, no need to be modest; you are a Fiendgod Refiner, while Daoist Snowplume is a Ki Refiner; in a situation where both sides are equally matched, Ki Refiners generally won’t dare to fight all out against Fiendgod Refiners. He retreated was because he did indeed fear you, feared dying at your hands.”

Ning, seeing this, no longer tried to equivocate.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” A beautiful, black-robed maiden looked at Ning.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei.” Ning hurriedly acknowledged her.

During his first Dao Debate, in the end, it had been Yu Wei who defeated Ning. During the past nine years, when Ning had gone to the Raindragon Guard branch to accept missions, he heard some news about Yu Wei; during the past nine years, she had become a brilliant star as well, and had even defeated a middle-stage Primal Daoist. Her reputation was outstanding and no less than his.

“If we were to compete again, even I might not be able to defeat you, junior apprentice-brother,” the black-robed maiden said with a laugh.

“Senior apprentice-sister, you are being too modest,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Let me make the introductions. You probably don’t recognize these people yet.” The black-robed maiden pointed to a nearby gray-robed man with deep eyes. “This is senior apprentice-brother Vastriver. He is often adventuring in the outside world. We just so happened to run into him in the Black-White College, and so he accompanied us to come visit you, junior apprentice-brother.”

Ning was startled. Vastriver? The Black-White College only had three reincarnated Immortals at the Wanxiang level. Yu Wei was one, while Adept Vastriver was another. He had also trained for a very long period of time, and only rarely appeared for brief periods of time. This truly was the first time Ning had met him.

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Chapter 38 – The Tricentennial Conclave of Immortal Destiny

Chapter 38 – The Tricentennial Conclave of Immortal Destiny

The gray-robed man couldn’t be said to be handsome, but he truly did have an extraordinary aura. Actually, as a reincarnated Immortal, and one who had long ago mastered a complete Dao Path, he should have awakened quite a few memories of his former life. Thus, his aura would be affected, naturally making him seem different from the crowd.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth,” Daoist Vastriver said, smiling towards Ning, “I heard of your reputation long ago, but because I’ve always been adventuring, we haven’t had the chance to meet. This time, upon my return, I heard that you defeated Daoist Snowplume…you truly are impressive, quite impressive. Amongst the third generation disciples of our Black-White College, only junior apprentice-sister Yu Wei is a match for you in training speed.”

“I can’t compare to junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Yu Wei said hurriedly.

“You are being modest. Junior apprentice-sister, three years ago, you completely mastered the Dao of the Freeze; compared to the two of you, myself and Vileslayer are truly ashamed,” Adept Vastwave said.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, you were able to comprehend a complete Dao Path so quickly! Only junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is a match for you,” the nearby Bloodshadow said with a laugh as well.

Ning was quite surprised. By the sound of it…quite a few people knew that Yu Wei had mastered a complete Dao Path. Vastriver and Bloodshadow, at least, knew about it.

Formidable! Yu Wei wasn’t actually that old; she was only roughly ten or so years older than Ning himself! And yet, she had already completely comprehended an entire Dao Path, and the Dao of the Freeze, at that! It must be understood that when Yu Wei had defeated Ning during their initial Dao Debate, she had used techniques pertaining to fire.

“Senior apprentice-sister, aren’t you the ‘Rainbowflame Fairy’? Are you actually more talented in ice?” Ning was surprised.

“She’s skilled in both ice and fire,” Adept Vastriver sighed. “Although we are all reincarnated Immortals, there are still differences between us. Some reincarnated Immortals were ordinary Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals, while others were Loose Immortals who had trained for hundreds of thousands of years…in her past life, junior apprentice-sister Yu Wei must have been an incredible Loose Immortal.”

Yu Wei said, resigned, “We’ve come to congratulate junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning; why do you all keep talking about me? Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, we’ve come to your place…are you going to just have us keep chatting here in midair? Aren’t you even going to offer us a glass of wine?”

“Yes, of course,” Ning immediately led the way.

The awe-inspiring group of Black-White College disciples chatted and laughed amongst themselves as they arrived at Brightheart Island. Autumn Leaf had already arranged for the servants to prepare in advance; how could they dare to be negligent in taking care of so many disciples of the Black-White College?

The entire group stayed here for time; some stayed for just two or three days, then returned on their own. Northson, Yu Wei, Vastriver, and Baiwei continued to spend some more time at the island.

On this day, the sky was completely cloudless, for as far as the eye could see.

Ning’s group was aboard a large ship on Serpentwing Lake. They were seated, drinking Immortal wine, and eating spirit-fruit.

“Junior apprentice-sister Yu Wei,” Adept Vastriver, seated opposite from her, spoke out, “There are three more years before the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. What do you plan to do during these three years?”

“Whatever I feel like.” The black-robed maiden, Yu Wei, sat there while viewing her surroundings. “I’ll stroll about and do what I please. When enough time has passed, I’ll go directly to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.”

“Then let me congratulate you in advance, Rainbowflame Fairy, for spreading your name throughout the world,” Baiwei said with a laugh.

Northson stared. “Wait, wait. What are you all talking about? What Conclave of Immortal Destiny? What’s this about the imperial capital? And spreading one’s name throughout the world? Hey, senior apprentice-brother…do you know what they are talking about?”

Puzzled, Ning shook his head as well. “What are you all talking about? Why haven’t I heard of this before?”

Baiwei said, “This Conclave of Immortal Destiny is an event which the founding emperor of the Grand Xia Dynasty established. All Immortal cultivators beneath the rank of Primal Daoist are permitted to participate. This is a tournament of the truly supreme geniuses of the world. Our Grand Xia Dynasty has unified this major world, which holds 3600 commanderies and many oceanic territories…I can’t even imagine how many monstrous geniuses and reincarnated Immortals will be attending this event.”

“A tournament of geniuses?” Ning was astonished.

“Right. Although it is called the ‘Conclave of Immortal Destiny’, it should really be called the ‘Tournament of Geniuses’,” Baiwei said with a sigh. “This is because one must be below the Primal Daoist level…thus, almost all the participants are peak Wanxiang Adepts. The peak Wanxiang Adepts who participate are geniuses who come from the various commandery cities and oceanic territories…I can’t help but shudder, just thinking about it. Generally speaking, those who dare participate are, at the very least, comparable to Primal Daoists!”

The look on Ning’s face grew solemn as well. He now understood. If all the geniuses of this entire major world were to gather in one place…it must be understood that the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery, alone, already had the likes of the Sloppy Daoist, Holyfire, Vastriver, and Yu Wei. Stillwater Commandery had other schools and sects and clans as well, some of whom had brought up their own heaven-defying geniuses.

Every commandery would have tens of such geniuses.

The Grand Xia Dynasty controlled 3600 commanderies, and oceanic territories as well!

In other words…the entire Grand Xia Dynasty most likely had more than a hundred thousand individuals on the level of Holyfire and Vastriver!

“If you don’t have some true ability, going and participating is suicide,” Baiwei said. “The reason you never learned about it is because you weren’t strong enough, and so the Black-White College never notified you. After all, your defeat of Daoist Snowplume is a recent event.”

Ning nodded.

“Can it be that you want to go?” Baiwei looked at Ning.

“I’m not in a rush to,” Ning said.

“I, too, feel that you don’t need to go. After all, you’ve only trained for thirty years. That’s too short a period of time,” Baiwei said. “You might as well just stop at the Wanxiang level and train for another three centuries and wait for the next Conclave of Immortal Destiny. If you go then…you will definitely shock the world. I know quite a few supreme talents who insisted on waiting for three centuries, and in the process mastered multiple complete Dao Paths!”

Ning was secretly speechless. Multiple Dao Paths?

“Given how high a level of comprehension they have, why not become Primal Daoists or Earth Immortals? Why insist on forcing themselves to remain at the Wanxiang level?” Ning asked.

The nearby Northson also said hurriedly, “Right. Why suppress themselves for so long? Is the Conclave of Immortal Destiny truly so enticing?”

“You don’t understand,” the nearby Adept Vastriver spoke out. Baiwei and Yu Wei looked towards Ning and Northson as well. Vastriver continued, “This Conclave of Immortal Destiny …those who rank in the top three will acquire an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.”

“Immortal-ranked?!” Northson cried out in shock.

“A single Immortal-ranked magic treasure shouldn’t be enticing enough,” Ning said with a frown. Anyone capable of comprehending multiple Dao Paths in three centuries would definitely be a truly monstrous genius; someone like this, upon becoming an Earth Immortal, shouldn’t find it too hard to acquire an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

“That’s just the nominal prize,” the black-robed Yu Wei said. “Participating in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny is a chance to skyrocket to the heavens in prominence. It’s a chance to allow the entire Grand Xia Dynasty to pay attention to you. If you rank in the top ten…just for the sake of becoming friends with you, some of the major clans might give you five thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, or even more. That might not be too much from a single clan, but if multiple clans were to do the same…your hands would go limp from receiving liquefied elemental essence.”

“But all that is secondary.”

“The most important part of this event lies in the words, ‘Immortal Destiny’.” The black-robed maiden looked at Ning. “If you rank in the top ten of this event, then you’ll be able to apprentice yourself to some truly major powers. Generally speaking, if you do so, you’ll have a much higher chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal.”

“Major power?” Ning hurriedly asked, “Major powers of where?”

Adept Vastriver said in a low voice, “Perhaps some of the truly supreme powers of this major world who have been in seclusion…or perhaps powerful figures from outside this major world. No matter what, they will definitely be more powerful than Celestial Immortals! I’ll tell the two of you one more thing…more than 80% of Celestial Immortals we know of first came to prominence during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, where they were accepted by major powers as disciples.”

“This is a chance, a chance to show your prowess and let the major figures of the Three Realms to see how talented you are.” Adept Vastriver looked at Ji Ning and Northson. “Understand, now? Understand why so many geniuses are willing to stay at the Wanxiang level for three centuries? It’s all for the sake of being able to show their prowess and blaze brilliantly during the Conclave.”

Yu Wei sighed as well, “Reincarnated Immortals like us are nothing. Earth Immortals? Loose Immortals? We are nothing at all. Only becoming Celestial Immortals will one become truly carefree and unrestrained! But how hard is it to become a Celestial Immortal? The entire Black-White College, in all its history, has only produced a single one. But this Conclave of Immortal Destiny…this is a moment of true destiny. Naturally, one has to grasp it.”

Ning and Northson completely understood.

Becoming a Celestial Immortal was too hard!

If a major power of the Three Realms was willing to give some guidance, it would be much easier. For example, if Daoist Threelives were to personally teach and train Ning, his own Immortal path would naturally be much more quickly traversed.

The Conclave of Immortal Destiny…this was a chance for one to attract attention from major figures of the Three Realms.

“Beyond Celestial Immortals in power?” Northson couldn’t help but ask, “All I know is that Celestial Immortals have surpassed the restrictions of the Three Realms and are able to roam about, carefree. What is above a Celestial Immortal?”

Yu Wei and Vastriver exchanged a glance.

Yu Wei said slowly, “True Immortals! True Immortals of Pure Yang!”

“True Immortals?” Northson murmured these two words to himself.

“One of the prerequisites for becoming a Celestial Immortal is the comprehension of an entire Dao Path,” Yu Wei said. “Mastering an entire Grand Dao Path, however, is the prerequisite for becoming a True Immortal.”

Northson nodded gently. Ning did the same.

The two of them both knew what Grand Daos were. Ning’s Dao of the Sword was a Grand Dao…and Northson’s Dao of Constructs was also a Grand Dao! However, it was even more difficult and rare to completely master and control the Grand Dao of Constructs than it was to completely master the Grand Dao of the Sword. Some Immortals were said to be ‘skilled’ in constructing constructs, but to clain true, complete mastery over the Grand Dao of Constructs? Not even the legends mentioned such a figure.

“And that’s just a prerequisite. To surpass the Celestial Immortal level…how incredible must that be? Any such person would be considered a formidable figure of the Three Realms. Generally speaking, those who are chosen during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny will ‘only’ become honorary disciples…but even being a mere gate-guard for such a major power is more exalted than being a prince of the Grand Xia Dynasty, to say nothing of an honorary disciple,” Adept Vastriver said.

Ning and Northson both nodded in agreement.

Those figures could be considered major powers of the Three Realms.

Ning suddenly thought of the master of the underwater estate – Daoist Threelives. He was a Primordial Fiendgod, who had been born from the primordial chaos with the complete mastery of a Grand Dao. Afterwards, he had mastered many other Grand Daos, and then developed the [Starseizing Hand], ranked as one of the top ten divine abilities out of the innumerable divine abilities that had been created after Pangu had established the universe.

“Master said that only after I become an Empyrean God can I be considered his disciple. I wonder how strong Master is, compared to a True Immortal,” Ning mused to himself.

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Chapter 39 – Meeting

Chapter 39 – Meeting

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei…” After realizing how brutal this Immortal Conclave could be, Ning couldn’t help but look towards Yu Wei. “You’ve only trained for ten more years than me, and in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny, there are monsters who have trained for more than three centuries. Isn’t it going to be very dangerous for you? If you truly are going to go, why don’t you wait for three more centuries?”

The black-robed maiden, Yu Wei, gently shook her head. “Three centuries is too long.”

“I tried to dissuade her as well,” Adept Vastriver said with a sigh.

“It’s true. It really is too dangerous. The most elite participants of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, although still only at the peak Wanxiang level, have insight into the Dao that is definitely at the level of Immortals, and perhaps even higher than ordinary Immortals. Some are geniuses like our junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, except they have insisted on staying at this level for three centuries, for the sake of this battle.” Similarly worried, Baiwei continued, “Rainbowflame Fairy, although you are a reincarnated Immortal, you’ve spent too little time in training. Unless you’ve completely awakened your former memories…”

If that was to happen, then one would immediately gain all of the insights one had from one’s previous life. In that case, she might have a shot!

“The Conclave of Immortal Destiny…most of the people there will have mastered a complete Dao Path.” Yu Wei shook her head. “Very, very few will have mastered even two Dao Paths, and if one has mastered three, I imagine that one would be able to rank in the top ten. In comprehending the Dao, one might quickly gain insights into the Daos that one is suited for, but for the others…comprehending them will only become slower and slower.”

Ning nodded.

Aside from the Grand Dao of the Sword, Ning had aptitude for the Dao of the Inferno, the Dao of Rainwater, and the Dao of the Gale. If he had an additional century, he had a chance of completely mastering these three Dao Paths, but if he had to go and comprehend a fourth or fifth…even if he had three hundred more years, he might not be able to do it. This is because he didn’t even have the most rudimentary of insights into other Daos.

“Although I’ve only mastered a single Dao Path,” Yu Wei said with a laugh, “I am still gaining some fragmented memories from my previous life, which have taught me some secret arts. I’m considerably stronger than those people who have just recently mastered a Dao Path.”

“To try and hit the top ten? I have no chance.” Yu Wei shook her head. “But, I should be able to keep myself alive.”

Ning, Baiwei, and the others exchanged glances. Since Yu Wei had made her stance clear, they found it difficult to continue to try and dissuade her. In addition, reincarnated Immortals were quite special to begin with; perhaps they might suddenly gain all of their former memories.

“In my past life, I failed my tribulation; in this life, I naturally must be courageous and valiant in moving forward.” Yu Wei’s eyes were shining. “This Conclave of Immortal Destiny will be a chance to fight against many truly top-tier geniuses. This is a chance to test and temper myself, a chance that truly comes once in a lifetime.”

Ning was suddenly swayed as well.

Right.

To be able to fight against so many geniuses…and all of whom were below the Primal Daoist level. After breaking through to the Primal Daoist level, one would no longer have a chance.

“Should I go or not?” Ning began to ponder. “Yu Wei spoke of three Dao Paths allowing one to enter the top ten. Each additional Dao Path gained represents a major increase in power…I’m still quite far away from comprehending three Dao Paths.”

“I have three more years. I’ll wait and see. Let’s see how much more powerful I become in these next three years,” Ning mused to himself.

In this moment, Ning made up his mind that in the next three years, he would whole-heartedly devote himself to increasing his power as much as possible.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yuwei, senior apprentice-brother Vastriver.” Ning looked towards his two senior fellow disciples. Yu Wei and Vastriver looked towards Ning.

“I wonder if the two of you would be willing to stay at my Serpentwing Lake for an extended period of time. As your junior apprentice-brother, I’d love the chance to ask the two of you for some pointers,” Ning said. “During the past few years, only Daoist Snowplume has been a true match for me; the other few times, when I went chasing after those criminals, I’ve never really enjoyed a good fight.”

“Hahaha!” Daoist Vastriver laughed as well. “It is indeed hard to find a good match. Junior apprentice-brother, you walk the path of the Sword Immortal; I hear that they are very skilled at battle. I want to compete with you as well, junior apprentice-brother.”

Yu Wei nodded and laughed as well. “I have nowhere to go before attending the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Before I go out and fight against the countless geniuses of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, I might as well stay here and spar with you…perhaps this will allow my power to increase once again. However, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you need to prepare fine wine and delicacies; senior apprentice-brother Vastriver and I are quite picky.”

“Leave that part to me,” Baiwei said with a laugh. “I’ll definitely make sure you three are satisfied.”

These three were amongst the most elite of Wanxiang Adepts. Yu Wei and Vastriver were reincarnated Immortals, while Ji Ning was actually viewed by many as a reincarnated Immortal as well; otherwise, how could his soul be so strong? Many believed that in the past, he must have been an extremely, extremely powerful Immortal. Precisely because of how powerful he must have been in the past, it was now very hard to reawaken his memories.

The more powerful one was in a past life, the harder it would be to reawaken one’s memories. For people like Immortal Juhua or Immortal Northwalker, who were Loose Immortals but comparable to Celestial Immortals in power, if they were to reincarnate, even after becoming Earth Immortals, they still might not be able to reawaken their memories.

“Are the three of you ignoring me?!?” Northson stared. Ning, Yu Wei, and Vastriver all looked towards Northson.

Northson said angrily, “Perhaps I’m not a match for you three in controlling magic treasures, but my truly supreme, trump card constructs, were built by myself and Master together. Although it uses up an enormous amount of liquefied elemental essence, it is definitely comparable to a Primal Daoist. In addition, the construct is a magic treasure, and so its body is even more indestructible than a Fiendgod’s!”

“We’ll count you amongst our sparring ranks,” Yu Wei said with a laugh.

“The Dao of Constructs…some powerful constructs truly are mighty,” Adept Vastriver nodded. “Unfortunately, the Conclave of Immortal Destiny forbids those who train in the Dao of Constructs from participating.”

“Why aren’t practitioners of the Dao of Constructs permitted to attend?” Northson said angrily, “That’s completely unfair!”

Ning laughed. “I know the reason. It’s because I’ve never heard of a major power who has completely mastered the Grand Dao of Constructs. Since there are no major powers who have mastered this Dao, how can they possibly guide you into becoming a Celestial Immortal?”

Northson was speechless. Right. The point of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny was to allow some major powers to discover monstrously talented geniuses and take them as disciples. If there were no major powers who specialized in the Dao of Constructs, they naturally wouldn’t choose cultivators of this Dao.

The Dao of Constructs involved the pursuit of unleashing the physical power of material items…to reach the utmost limit of the natural world! However, the world was filled with countless materials and objects; to simply review all of them would take an unfathomably long period of time. To truly master and comprehend the Grand Dao of Constructs? Not even in legends had anyone ever done this! Every single practitioner of the Dao of Constructs understood this…and at the same time, they all believed that this Grand Dao was limitless, and so they too would become even more powerful.

Yu Wei, Vastriver, and Northson settled down at Serpentwing Lake, while Baiwei returned. Ning would often compete against these three or engage in discourses on the Dao with them. This caused all of them to improve, sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot.

One day, a large boat was floating on Serpentwing Lake. Ning and the other three were chatting on it.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, what is it?” Ning noticed that Yu Wei’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. He couldn’t help but ask her what was wrong. Previously, when they were chatting, he had discussed how his parents had already passed away…and somehow, this had caused Yu Wei to appear utterly heartbroken.

Vastriver said softly, “Much like you, junior apprentice-sister Yu Wei’s parents are also deceased. They died when she was young.”

“They died young?” Ning was stunned.

Tears were in Yu Wei’s eyes…and then they began to fall. Her gaze was long and distant. She said tonelessly, “In the past, when I was young and before I had started to train, and before I gained any of my former memories…my tribe suffered an attack. The tribesmen began to flee…and during the flight, my parents died in order to protect me. I suffered a severe shock from this, and my innately powerful soul burst forth with power, killing all of my enemies.”

Ning could imagine the scene of a stimulated and shocked child, seeing her parents be killed, and then exploding forth with spiritual power. Given how powerful the divine will of a reincarnated Immortal was…even Zifu Disciples would be easily slaughtered.

“But it was too late.” Yu Wei shook her head. “My parents were gone, never to return. Although we had only known each other for three years, I’ll never forget them.”

Three years?

So Yu Wei had only been three years old.

…….

A long vessel was streaking through the air, moving from the distant Highwater Commandery to Stillwater Commandery’s Swallow Mountain.

Because Ninelotus wasn’t a member of the Raindragon Guard, she was unable to use teleportation arrays. Thus, she had to fly in a straight line.

“Finally, I’m here!” The long vessel came to a halt. A snowy-robed Ninelotus flew out. With a wave of her hand, she collected the vessel, then stared towards the distance. She immediately saw the boat on the surface of Serpentwing Lake, as well as Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Rainbowflame Fairy Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver, all of whom were drinking and chatting.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei and senior apprentice-brother Vastriver?” Ninelotus was surprised.

Ning and the other three, on the boat below, could sense the ripples in the air. They all raised their heads to look up.

Upon seeing Ninelotus in midair, Ning revealed a look of surprise and delight. He immediately rose to his feet.

Yu Wei and the others rose up as well. Yu Wei and Ninelotus were extremely close to each other, and she immediately called out in a high voice, “Little Sister Ninelotus.”

Swoosh!

Ninelotus descended from the skies, landing on the ship. First, she exchanged a glance with Ning. A hint of emotion could be seen in both their eyes. And then, Ninelotus turned to look at Yu Wei. She said happily, “Senior apprentice-sister, I didn’t expect to see you here as well. It’s been so long since we’ve met. Oh, and senior apprentice-brother Vastriver and junior apprentice-brother Northson.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you as well. It’s been ten years, right?” Yu Wei felt very happy. “Why did you disappear for ten years?”

“I don’t even want to talk about it.” Ninelotus shook her head helplessly. “I was held by the tribe in the Myriad Lotuses Cave and wasn’t able to leave, up until a few days ago, when I managed to break through the formation around it. I flew all the way from Highwater Commandery to Stillwater Commandery. It took me forever.”

“Given your status, why would the clan hold you in the Myriad Lotuses Cavern?” Yu Wei was surprised. It could be said that she was Ninelotus’ closest friend in the Black-White College; although Luo Qing was someone who had grown up with Ninelotus, Yu Wei and Ninelotus truly shared the same temperament and opinions. Thus, Yu Wei knew a few things about Ninelotus’ background.

Ninelotus gave Ning a resigned glance. “It’s all because of him.”

“Him?” Yu Wei felt as though Ninelotus’ glance was a bit…strange. It didn’t seem like a glance between fellow disciples; rather, it seemed like a glance between Dao-Companions, whose emotions and feelings were linked together.

Ning walked over, taking Ninelotus by the hand. He didn’t know what to say. After hesitating for a while, he only said three words: “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…it was just a bit stuffy there. Still, now that I’m out, in the future, the Dongyan clan won’t interfere in our matters again.” Ninelotus looked at Ning, her eyes filled with delight.

“Won’t interfere?” Ning couldn’t help but reveal a look of delight as well. The Dongyan clan’s interference had always been a source of worry for Ning. Now, everything was fine, and his worries dissipated like smoke in the wind.

“The two of them…?”

Yu Wei looked at Ning and Ninelotus. She couldn’t help but feel stunned.

“I had no idea…that the two of them became Dao-Companions!” Adept Vastriver began to roar with laughter.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you actually formed Dao-Companions without telling me?!” Northson roared as well.

As for Yu Wei, she just stood there quietly, keeping that calm, faint smile on her face.

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Chapter 1 – Youngflame Clan

Chapter 1 – Youngflame Clan

Just shortly after Ninelotus reached Serpentwing Lake, in the distant Crimson Dragon Mountains of Stillwater Commandery, a large group of people were gathered around the tall, large teleportation array.

All of them had powerful auras. Clearly, none of them were ordinary.

Northmont Fox was standing behind a tall, skinny man. He sent to him, “Father , who did you pull me over here to meet? You didn’t even permit me to ask about this while we were in Stillwater City; you insisted on bringing me to the Raindragon Guard branch before telling me.”

The tall, skinny man was dressed in a black uniform. He wore a crown on his forehead, and his eyes were sunken and deep. However, his pupils seemed to carry a cold light that would bring fear to many.

This man was Northmont Fox’s father…Northmont Yin!

The two most likely candidates to become the next Marquis of Stillwater were Northmont Blacktiger and Northmont Yin. They had completely different temperaments. Northmont Blacktiger was like an enormous, primordial beast who was born with a dominating aura; anyone who looked at him would feel terror. In acting, he was incomparably dominating as well, and so he had many followers.

As for Northmont Yin, he was a truly ambitious and ruthless figure who was particularly skilled at biding his time. Nobody could see through Yin’s thoughts; he was a mystery to all.

“If I told you in Stillwater City, given your temperament, you might have leaked this information, which would be disastrous.” Yin shook his head. “This matter is extremely important, and very few know of it. Look at Immortal Eastrock of the local Raindragon Guard branch; he’s waiting, just like us. Although he’s brought a group of subordinates, I imagine that only he himself knows exactly who it is that we are waiting for.”

Fox instantly felt an itchy feeling in his heart. Someone capable of making even Immortal Eastrock and Yin come in person to wait for him, and to act so secretively as for Yin to not even tell Fox, his own son, who it was?

“Who is it?” Fox was extremely anxious to know.

“This person is Youngflame Nong, of the Youngflame lineage,” Yin sent mentally.

Fox’s face instantly changed. He revealed a look of shock and amazement as he yelped back mentally, “Young master Youngflame Nong? One of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital? Why has he come to Stillwater Commandery? This, this…how can this be?”

“Now do you understand why I didn’t tell you?” Northmont Yin cast his son a glance.

Northmont Fox hurriedly nodded. He understood. Of course he understood.

Although the Northmont clan of Stillwater held a marquisdom and was incomparably ancient and large, if they were compared to the rest of the Grand Xia Dynasty…there were still powers that were even mightier than the Northmont clan. For example, the almighty imperial clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the Xiamang clan, or some of the most powerful clans that had helped the Xiamang clan unify the world.

The Youngflame clan was one of the faithful ministers that served the imperial clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty!

Supposedly, during the Fiendgod era, the Youngflame clan was a clan that was as old and as powerful as the Xiamang clan. In fact, their history stretched to the most ancient of eras of this major world.

In the end, the Youngflame clan had submitted to the Xiamang lineage! They had followed the Xiamang clan in conquering the world, and had been one of the most powerful clans under the Xiamang clan’s control. As for the the Northmont clan and the other clans, they had all slowly begun to join the Xiamang clan later on, and in terms of power, they were vastly inferior to the Youngflame clan.

And nowadays…

The Youngflame clan’s leader had the revered title of the ‘Godplume Duke’, and the clan itself held three marquisdoms! The three commanderies it ruled over were all extremely vast ones, far larger than Stillwater Commandery. After all, the 3600 commanderies of the Grand Xia Dynasty were all different in size; Stillwater Commandery could only be described as an ordinary one. Some extremely large commanderies were comparable in size to dozens of Stillwater Commanderies.

As for this Youngflame Nong who was about to arrive, he was one of the leaders of the younger generation of Youngflame nobles. Unless something went amiss, the next clan leader of the Youngflame clan, the ‘Godplume Duke’, would be this Youngflame Nong!

But of course, the Youngflame clan’s next leader had not been 100% set in stone; the selectees would still be tested and tried. Generally, however, the trials would be easily passed. It could be said that Youngflame Nong’s status in the Youngflame clan was comparable to Ji Ning’s status, when he had been a child, in the West Prefecture City of the Ji clan!

Internally, it had all but been decided that he would be the next Godplume Duke.

He would be a powerful figure, capable of influencing the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. The arrival of someone like him…it now made perfect sense as to why Northmont Yin and Immortal Eastrock had come in person and been so secretive about it, not letting anyone else know what was happening.

……..

“Coming.”

“He’s coming.”

Their eyes all lit up. The teleportation array once more began to glow, and then a group of people appeared within it.

The leader was dressed in azure robes. He seemed quite plainly dressed, but upon a close examination…one would discover that the threads of this azure robe were actually the draconic whiskers of the ‘divine dragons of the East Sea’. The man’s face had a calm smile on it, but the welcomers could all sense the natural, noble aura emanating from him!

It was a true, noble aura which only someone like him, who an ancient clan like the Youngflame clan had trained to be their next leader, would possess!

Youngflame Nong’s status was such that even in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty, he was called one of the ‘Four Dukelings’. Even imperial scions of the Xiamang clan had to have enough status within their clan to be able to treat with them on an equal footing. There were some members of the clan who borrowed the Xiamang clan’s prestige but had no real status within it; these people weren’t even qualified to become friends with Youngflame Nong.

“Young master Youngflame,” Northmont Yin laughed and saluted with clasped hands.

“Young master Youngflame.” Immortal Eastrock also clasped his hands.

Youngflame Nong looked at the two of them, then nodded. “Northmont Yin, Eastrock. I saw the two of you last time at the imperial capital. So much time has passed, as though in the blink of an eye. I have to trouble the two of you on this trip of mine to Stillwater City; I truly am guilty for doing so.”

“It is our honor to be able to assist you, young master Youngflame,” Immortal Eastrock and Northmont Yin both spoke out together.

The two of them couldn’t help but glance at the person slightly behind Youngflame Nong. There was a tall, skinny, narrow-eyed, middle-aged man standing there, his skin pitch-black. The aura this man was emanating caused even Northmont Yin and Immortal Eastrock to feel secretly astonished.

“Fiendgod.”

“A Fiendgod.”

Both of them quickly came to this realization.

However, for an ancient clan like the Youngflame clan, raising Fiendgods wasn’t too difficult. After all, these ancient clans had been flourishing since shortly after the major world was created. They had long ago captured countless Fiendgods. Although Fiendgods were arrogant, in the face of certain death, many would still be willing to submit.

“Young master Youngflame.” Immortal Eastrock pointed at the group of people behind him. “I’ve already given them their instructions. They are absolutely reliable. There are two peak Wanxiang Adepts and a hundred Zifu Disciples. Young master Youngflame, if there is anything you need, just give them their instructions. Oh, and both of the Wanxiang Adepts are two-clawed Raindragon Guards.”

“Two-clawed Raindragon Guards?” Youngflame Nong nodded after hearing this. Someone capable of becoming a two-clawed Raindragon Guard had to at least be comparable to Primal Daoists; they could be considered useful. As for the hundred Zifu Disciples? They’d be nothing more than cannon fodder.

“Bu You pays his respects to you, young master Youngflame,” a messy-haired youth said respectfully.

“Xue Hongyi pays his respects to you, young master Youngflame,” a red-robed youth saluted respectfully.

Youngflame Nong nodded lightly. “I’ll have to trouble the two of you this time.”

“It is our honor to be able to toil in your service, young master Youngflame,” Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You both responded with modesty.

Northmont Yin, on the other side, spoke out as well. “I’ve also arranged for ten Wanxiang Adepts and a hundred Zifu Disciples. They are all Deathsworn and completely loyal. Perhaps the ten Wanxiang Adepts are not comparable to Xue Hongyi and Bu You, but if they join forces…generally speaking, even Primal Daoists would have to give them a wide berth.”

“Deathsworn?” Youngflame Nong’s eyes instantly lit up and he revealed a smile. Generally speaking, it was extremely hard to make an Immortal cultivator become a suicide soldier, a Deathsworn; generally speaking, one would first train a normal person into becoming a Deathsworn, and then teach them cultivation! However, given the mindset of a Deathsworn, it would be very hard for them to advance very far on the path of Immortal cultivation…and thus, for Northmont Yin to be able to deliver ten Wanxiang-level Deathsworn was a major gift.

After all, although Immortal Eastrock had arranged for Xue Hongyi and Bu You to assist, they were clearly there to assist him, not to be suicide soldiers.

“This is my son, Northmont Fox. He’s never met you, young master Youngflame, but he’s long heard of your great fame. This time, he repeatedly begged me to let him come and let him see you in person, young master Youngflame,” Northmont Yin said with a smile.

“My respects to you, young master Youngflame.” Northmont Fox was incomparably excited and he quickly spoke his respects.

Youngflame Nong nodded gently. “Northmont Fox. Mm. I’ll remember your name.”

A simple phrase, but it caused Fox to feel incomparably excited.

“This trip of mine to Stillwater Commandery is part of a small test the clan has arranged for me.” Youngflame Nong looked towards Immortal Eastrock and Northmont Yin. “Thus, it isn’t appropriate for me to cause too much of a stir here. With these helpers you two have given me, my chances of success are now increased. I can’t be too slack in addressing this trial; thus, I won’t stay here any longer. There’s no need for the rest of you to send me off.”

“Then we will wait to congratulate you on your triumphant return, young master Youngflame, and then celebrate with you.” Northmont Yin and Immortal Eastrock both watched as Youngflame Nong’s group departed.

Only Northmont Yin, Northmont Fox, and Immortal Eastrock were left by this teleportation array.

Of course, those old servants who were in charge of maintaining the teleport array were present as well. However, when they were chatting, Immortal Eastrock had naturally used elemental energy to block out all sound, and so the old servants had no idea who had arrived.

“Father, we gifted him with Deathsworn…he’s just going to leave like that?” Fox gave his father a glance.

Yin glanced back at his son. “Consider yourself lucky that he accepted them. He is currently in the middle of his trials and just so happens to need helpers, and so he’ll accept them. In the future, when he becomes the next Godplume Duke, he’ll become a person capable of easily impacting the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. By then, he’d view our gift with contempt. Gifting him with a group of Deathsworn now is worth more than sending a hundred groups or a thousand groups in the future!

Fox seemed to understand.

“Let’s go back,” Yin instructed.

An enormous, completely dark-red warship. It seemed ancient and plain, and it soared through the skies.

Within the warship, there were a total of six hundred Zifu Disciples and ten-plus Wanxiang Adepts. Youngflame Nong and the skinny, black-skinned man next to him both stood at the railing of the warship, staring at the vast world before them.

“Xue Hongyi, Bu You,” Youngflame Nong asked, “Who are some of the formidable figures in Stillwater Commandery? Aside from Primal Daoists and Immortals.”

“Aside from Immortals and Primal Daoists…” Xue Hongyi said, “In our Stillwater Commandery, the most powerful of the Wanxiang Adepts would definitely include the most powerful geniuses that are gathered at the Black-White College. Of course the Skysplitter Sword Sect, the Bluewood tribe, and the Dragonhunter clan also have their own elites. I am afraid that being able to convince these true core members of these forces to risk their lives would be quite hard.”

Youngflame Nong nodded lightly.

Xue Hongyi was one of the most talented younger members of Snowdragon Mountain. However, because Snowdragon Mountain, in the grand scheme of things, was a small sect, Xue Hongyi was willing to serve as a servant in front of noble carriage.

Those even more talented geniuses, however, wouldn’t necessarily be able to do so.

“Oh?” The nearby Adept Bu You’s eyes lit up. “It seems we’ve reached Swallow Mountain. There is a peerless genius in Swallow Mountain, one of the truly top-tier Wanxiang members of the Black-White College. He is Adept Darknorth, Ji Ning.”

Hearing Ji Ning’s name, Xue Hongyi frowned.

“Ji Ning?” Youngflame Nong revealed a look of curiosity as well.

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Chapter 2 – Power Makes Major Powers!

Chapter 2 – Power Makes Major Powers!

“I’ve never heard of him. Bu You, you tell me; what is so special about this person?” Youngflame Nong asked with curiosity.

Xue Hongyi stood to one side. Although he wasn’t happy, he could only hide his resentment in his heart.

“This person is a genius of the art of the sword. When he first entered the Black-White College, he defeated several of his senior fellow disciples in Dao Debates. In the end, it was a reincarnated Immortal, the Rainbowflame Fairy Yu Wei who defeated him. And now, he has only grown even more formidable! Not too long ago, he even defeated one of the three Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain, Daoist Snowplume!” Adept Bu You said.

“Snowdragon Mountain?” Youngflame Nong looked at the nearby Xue Hongyi. “Hongyi, you are of Snowdragon Mountain, yes? Did this happen?”

Xue Hongyi felt extremely stifled, but in the end, he said in a low voice, “It did.”

“What level is Daoist Snowplume at?” Youngflame Nong asked. He lived in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty; how could he possibly know about the Primal Daoists of a small sect in Stillwater, such as Snowdragon Mountain?

Xue Hongyi said in a low voice, “Peak Primal.”

“Hahaha…this Ji Ning is worth paying a visit to.” Youngflame Nong laughed and nodded. This trip was an important trial the clan had assigned him, and in fact, they wouldn’t even provide him with much support. The only person he brought out from the clan was the old servant, Xiangliu Fang, who had protected him since he was a child. As for any other subordinates, he had to have others ‘volunteer’ them to him.

This trial was actually quite a difficult one.

The old servant had to stay next to him and protect him, and so he still needed formidable subordinates. To invite a Primal Daoist or an Immortal? Youngflame Nong didn’t feel safe doing so, because some powerful Primal Daoists and Immortals, given their combat ability, could instantly kill him! He absolutely would not permit this sort of a threat to exist.

Thus, he would only ask Wanxiang Adepts. No matter how powerful a Wanxiang Adept was…their power was within the realm of what he could handle.

However, some extremely powerful Primal Daoists were outside of that realm.

It is impossible to tell how powerful a person is just by looking at them. Even if a Primal Daoist might be little-known, no one could know how many secret arts he might be actually hiding. It was best to invite Wanxiang Adepts! It was safer, and within his realm of control. However, the more powerful a Wanxiang Adept, the harder it would be to invite them to come.

“Young master Youngflame, this Ji Ning has trained for less than thirty years. I imagine he might be quite hard to invite,” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. “In addition, he’s also very arrogant. He didn’t even show my Snowdragon Mountain any face at all. If we just go and ask him, he might be discourteous…”

“Hahaha, he wouldn’t give your Snowdragon Mountain face, so you think he won’t give me face?” Youngflame Nong gave him a glance. “Hongyi, I can tell that there are some grudges between your clan and him. However, since you’ve come to assist me, then you don’t need to think about those things for now.”

Xue Hongyi had no choice but to lower his head and say, “Understood.”

“Come, let’s take a look at this Ji Ning.” Youngflame Nong smiled, filled with anticipation.

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island. Within a study.

Ning was currently writing calligraphy, one character at a time. Autumn Leaf was by his side, accompanying him and grinding hink for him. Ninelotus stood to one side, watching.

“Whew.”

Ning put down his brush, revealing a hint of a smile. Writing calligraphy truly was a form of enjoyment for him, especially when he incorporated his insights into the sword into them. This sort of feeling was truly pleasurable.

“Autumn Leaf, take it and burn it,” Ning said.

“Yes, young master.” Autumn Leaf immediately began to roll up the scroll.

“Autumn Leaf,” Ninelotus said, “Take it and burn it in a nearby room. I have some things to discuss with Ji Ning.”

Autumn Leaf nodded, then obediently left. In the room, only Ji Ning and Ninelotus were left.

“What secrets do you wish to discuss, that you need to avoid Autumn Leaf?” Ning hung the brush in its holder, then glanced at Ninelotus.

Ninelotus looked at Ning. “Ji Ning, don’t you feel as though…you are a bit too friendly and intimate with Autumn Leaf?”

Ning was stunned.

“As I see it, there’s not much of a difference between the way you treat Autumn Leaf and the way you treat me.” Ninelotus looked at Ji Ning. “I’m your Dao-Companion. She’s just your maid.”

“Hahaha…” Ning began to laugh. “You are over-thinking things.”

“I’m not,” Ninelotus said quickly. “I’m not as jealous and small-minded as you are thinking. However, in the future, it is guaranteed that you will become more and more powerful, and your status will become higher and higher. More and more people will follow you as well. With so many subordinates…how are you going to properly manage them? With rules, that’s how. How can you go without rules? There must be a clear distinction between those with high status and those with low status. Autumn Leaf is a maid? Then she’s a maid! If you don’t distinguish between those of high and low status, then everything will be a mess!”

Everything she had learned within the Dongyan clan caused Ninelotus to believe that one had to clearly distinguish between exalted and humble statuses.

Servants were servants!

Even if you doted on a particular servant, a servant still had to act the part of a servant!

“What are you trying to say?” Ning began to frown.

“I just want to tell you that in the future, as you grow increasingly powerful, the Ji clan will also slowly grow powerful. A major clan needs to look like and operate like a major clan. As the supreme power behind this major power…you need to be even more careful in distinguishing between the statuses of those by your side!” Ninelotus said. “And you? Enough about Autumn Leaf for now; you even converse with those ordinary servants? You chit-chat with them? Those are just ordinary mortal servants. Why pay them any attention at all?”

Ning suddenly snapped, “Enough!”

Ninelotus was stunned.

“Everyone has their own way of handling their affairs. As for Autumn Leaf, although she is a maid, in my heart, she’s my older sister!” Ning looked at Ninelotus.

Ninelotus gritted her teeth.

The two had lived in different environments, and Ning, in his previous life, had come from Earth. Naturally, there would be major differences in the ways they viewed and handled things.

“In the future, people are going to laugh at you if you act this way!” Ninelotus said with a frown.

“Laugh at me? Who will laugh at me?” Ning looked at Ninelotus. “In fact, why should I even care about if others laugh at me? I’m me. When my fame truly reaches the point of shaking the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, others will most likely revere every single word I say and thing I do. Ninelotus, can it be that you still haven’t seen through these things? A True Immortal, even one of low and despicable moral character…in the end, the various tribes will all lower their heads to lap at his feet. If, however, he was nothing but an ordinary mortal, even if his every word and action was keeping in accord with the rules of your so-called ‘major clans’, in the end, he’ll be nothing more than a joke.”

“Expand your horizons to include the entire Three Realms!”

“Personal power is the most important fundament! Only when you have power, will you become a major power!” Ning stared at Ninelotus.

Ninelotus could sense the powerful determination and the wild ambition in Ning’s eyes. She lowered her head.

“Alright. I won’t speak of this anymore. In the future, you’ll understand.” Ninelotus turned her head, moving to walk outside. But right at this moment…

A powerful ripple spread out from far away.

“Eh?” Ning and Ninelotus both turned their heads, staring towards the distant skies. They could both sense the ripple. Although they had just had an argument, they still flew together towards the skies.

…..

In midair. Ning, Ninelotus, Northson, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver had all flown here.

“Who is it?” Ning saw the ancient, plain-looking warship hanging in the skies far away. Atop the warship, a flag was fluttering with two characters on it – ‘Young’ ‘Flame’.

“Youngflame Nong!” Ninelotus was shocked.

“The Youngflame clan?” Adept Vastriver was similarly shocked.

As for Ning, Northson, and Yu Wei, they hadn’t even heard of this clan before. Clearly, they were befuddled.

Adept Vastriver hurriedly sent to them, “Be careful, fellow disciples. This Youngflame clan ranks amongst the top ten powerful clans in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. Many of their clansmen are officials serving the Grand Xia Dynasty, and they are extremely influential in this major world. Within their clan, there are three Marquisates, and these three marquisdoms vastly outstrip Stillwater Commandery in size.

Ninelotus hurriedly sent as well, “The Youngflame clan’s territory, in terms of size, is nearly a hundred times that of Stillwater Commandery! Their roots are incredibly deep; supposedly, shortly after this major world was created, the Youngflame clan had already begun to grow and prosper. In the incomparably distant Fiendgod Era, the Youngflame clan was an incomparably mighty force.

Ning, Northson, and Yu Wei were stunned upon hearing this.

“That’s too badass…” Northson blinked.

“Three marquisdoms in a single tribe?” Ning had reviewed a map of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty; amongst them, there were indeed three marquisdoms that were marked with ‘Youngflame clan’. These three marquisdoms were spread out in different areas, but each of them were vast; they were all extremely large marquisdoms.

“Why has the warship of such a powerful clan appeared at my Serpentwing Lake?” Ning was completely puzzled.

At this moment, a long corridor suddenly opened up from within that ancient, plain warship. An azure-robed man emerged, followed by a swarthy, tall, slender-eyed middle-aged man. Behind them was Xue Hongyi, Bu You, and a group of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples.

“Xue Hongyi?” Ning immediately recognized him. Xue Hongyi gave Ning a glance as well.

“Everyone, be careful,” Ninelotus hurriedly sent. “This azure-robed youth…he’s one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty, ‘Youngflame Nong’. Youngflame Nong’s status is extraordinary; unless something unexpected happens, he’ll be the next leader of the Youngflame clan, the next Godplume Duke.”

Ning, Northson, Adept Vastriver, and Yu Wei were all secretly tongue-tied. The next leader of the Youngflame clan? He was this incredible?

“Dongyan Yun greets you, young master Youngflame,” Ninelotus said with a smile.

“You know me?” Youngflame Nong said, surprised, “Dongyan Yun? Can it be that you are ‘Ninelotus’ of the Dongyan clan?”

“Precisely so.” Ninelotus nodded.

Youngflame Nong smiled and nodded. He had been carefully reared since young, and was quite familiar with some of the most important figures of the supreme powers of this the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world. Ninelotus was the next leader of the Dongyan clan ; naturally, he was familiar with her. Although he had learned of her long ago, after reflecting slightly, he remembered everything about her.

“Ninelotus, you are far more beautiful than the painting I saw. In the painting, you were far more youthful,” Youngflame Nong said with a laugh.

Ninelotus laughed, then said, “Let me make the introductions for you, young master Youngflame. This is my Dao-Companion, Ji Ning.”

“Dao-Companion?” Youngflame Nong was startled, and then he nodded. “A perfect pairing, to be sure.”

“This is my senior apprentice-sister, the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. She is also a reincarnated Immortal.” Ninelotus next pointed to the black-robed Yu Wei.

Youngflame Nong’s eyes immediately lit up. Ninelotus could be said to be an extremely beautiful and graceful woman, but the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei, was even superior to her. She caused even the eyes of Youngflame Nong, who usually stayed in the imperial capital, to light up.

“This is my senior apprentice-brother, Adept Vastriver, also a reincarnated Immortal. And this is my junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson,” Ninelotus said.

As soon as Ninelotus finished her words…

“Greetings to you, young master Youngflame,” Ning, Northson, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver said in unison.

Youngflame Nong nodded as well. He could tell that this group was an extraordinary one. Next to him, Adept Bu You secretly sent him a mental message. “Congratulations, young master Youngflame. The Rainbowflame Fairy and Adept Vastriver are amongst the most supreme geniuses of the Black-White College; they are easily comparable to Ji Ning.”

Youngflame Nong looked towards their group, then said with a smile, “Come to think of it, I actually do have something to ask you to help out with.”

Ning’s group exchanged glances.

“Young master Youngflame, please speak,” Ning said.

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Chapter 3 – Witchriver Immortal Estate!

Chapter 3 – Witchriver Immortal Estate!

Youngflame Nong said, “This is a small test my clan has given me. They’ve charged me with investigating an ancient Immortal estate. As for whether or not I’m able to acquire the aid of others, the clan won’t care! I won’t lie to you; this Immortal estate belonged to a Celestial Immortal. Although he died countless years ago, his estate is filled with many dangers, and the Diremonsters who were trapped within have constantly propagated. I imagine that there are quite a few monsters living there now…and there are some unknown dangers as well. Thus, I need some helpers. If you are willing to help me, then I will remember this favor.”

These words caused the faces of Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Ninelotus, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver to change.

The estate of a Celestial Immortal?

Although the vast world was covered with countless Immortal estates, those generally belonged to Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals. Estates of Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals might be quite alluring to ordinary Zifu Disciples, but they were much less intriguing to the likes of Ning’s group; after all, Ning’s group had constant access to many living Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals. For example, Ning’s master was Immortal Diancai!

But a Celestial Immortal’s estate? That was completely different!

“Everyone, what do you think?” Adept Vastriver sent.

Ninelotus sent, “Youngflame Nong is one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital; given his status, if he says he will remember this favor, he definitely will. For the sake of this favor along…I feel that we can help him. Once he becomes the next Godplume Duke, if he is willing to help us out even slightly, we will benefit tremendously.”

“Let’s not rush into it. I feel that the servant next to him is extremely dangerous,” Ning sent. His subconscious had begun to warn of him a tremendous threat long ago, and the threat came from that servant. “If he has such a formidable helper already, why does he need our help? Let’s not rush into it and ask a bit more.”

“Mm, makes sense,” Adept Vastriver concurred.

“I’ll follow you, senior apprentice-brother,” Northson said simply.

“Let’s wait and see first,” Yu Wei agreed.

Although Ninelotus was more inclined towards accepting, clearly, Ning’s influence was a bit stronger within this group. The main reason was because, when a group of geniuses were together, they would value ability the most. The most powerful of their group was Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and Vastriver.

……

Youngflame Nong could tell from the looks on the faces of Ning and the rest that they hadn’t yet been convinced. He thus continued, “This Celestial Immortal was known as Immortal Witchriver! He was an aquatic Diremonster who gained insight into the Dao and became a Celestial Immortal. In the past, his fame was widespread. Afterwards, he fought with other Immortals of the Three Realms and perished. The key to his Immortal estate was acquired by my Youngflame clan. However, my clan was in no rush to investigate. That’s why I’m certain that after Immortal Witchriver died, nobody has entered.”

“In addition, this Immortal estate is the lair of a Celestial Immortal; it definitely has many precious items inside, such as spirit-herbs, precious magic treasures, spirit-pills, unique refining materials, and more. There might even be Immortal-ranked magic treasures within!”

By now, Yu Wei and Adept Vastriver’s eyes were shining. Ning and Northson couldn’t help but feel stirred as well. An Immortal-ranked magic treasure? Right…the vast majority of Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals didn’t have Immortal-ranked magic treasures, but Celestial Immortals definitely would, and not just one! It was very possible that they might leave one behind in their homes.

“My goal is to achieve mastery of this Immortal estate; as for the treasures within, so long as you can acquire them, they will be yours. I definitely won’t fight with you for them. Even if I truly want them, I’ll give you a satisfactory offer for them and won’t force you.” Youngflame Nong looked towards Ning’s group. “This is my promise, and the promise of the Youngflame clan.”

Ning’s group exchanged glances with each other while secretly sending mental messages.

“We can go take a look,” Adept Vastriver sent. “Entering a Celestial Immortal’s estate is a rare opportunity to begin with. It is just as young master Youngflame said…without the key to the estate, there’s no way to enter at all. It’s a rare opportunity for us to enter alongside him.”

“He’s the young master of the Youngflame clan…the Youngflame clan’s promises are worth trusting,” Yu Wei sent.

“I’ll follow you, senior apprentice-brother.” Northson’s words were the same as before.

“Ji Ning?” Ninelotus looked towards Ji Ning.

Ning was intrigued as well now.

Youngflame Nong look at them, then added, “Based on what I know, although Immortal Witchriver was a Diremonster, he was a Diremonster Sword Immortal, and had an extremely high level of insight into the Dao of the Sword. I imagine that his sword technique must be recorded down within his home.”

Ning’s eyes lit up.

“It seems as though junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has been moved,” Adept Vastriver sent with a laugh. “Everyone, let’s decide…should we go?”

“We can make the trip,” Yu Wei said. “Although it will be dangerous…if the Youngflame clan is willing to allow their young master to go, the danger level shouldn’t be too ridiculous.”

“Go,” Ninelotus sent.

Northson looked at Ning.

“Let’s go take a look,” Ning nodded.

“Fine, I’ll go as well.” Northson revealed a smile.

…..

Adept Vastriver was the oldest of the group, and so he was the one to speak out. “Young master Youngflame, the five of us are willing to accompany you to the Witchriver Immortal Estate.”

“Haha, excellent!” Youngflame Nong’s eyes were shining. He clapped his hands, then said happily, “With the help of the five of you, I will definitely succeed!”

“Everyone, if there are any preparations you need to make, make them quickly,” Youngflame Nong said hurriedly. “We need to head to the Witchriver Immortal Estate as soon as possible.”

“We’re all free,” Adept Vastriver said with a laugh. “I’m afraid that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning might need to make some minor arrangements, however.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you go make your arrangements. We’ll wait for you here,” Northson laughed as well.

They were guests; naturally, they could leave at any time. Ning, however, had to make some arrangements for his clan.

“Everyone, please wait a few moments.” Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Brightheart Island.

Brightheart Island. Autum Leaf, Little Qing, and the Whitewater Hound had been waiting here the entire time.

“What’s going on? Who is that person?” Little Qing asked.

Ning looked towards Autumn Leaf. “Autumn Leaf, the person who came on that warship is a young master of an ancient, powerful clan known as the Youngflame clan. He’s asked us to help him carry out some matters…I need to temporarily leave for a period of time. I’ll hand everything on Brightheart Island over to you to handle. As for the Ji clan, help me send word that I’ll return soon.”

“Alright.” Autumn Leaf nodded obediently. Whatever Ning wanted to do, Autumn Leaf would quietly support.

“Let’s go, Little Qing, Uncle White,” Ning laughed.

“We’re off!” Little Qing instantly transformed into a streak of mist, then reformed and wrapped herself around Ning’s arm as a little snake. As for the Whitewater Hound, he just quietly padded along besides Ning.

In going out and adventuring, one would naturally bring one’s spirit-beasts along.

“I want to see how incredible this Celestial Immortal’s estate is.” Ning felt a bit eager. Suddenly, he had a thought; “It’s best to be cautious. I should bring that treasure along and carry it on me. Supposedly, there are some places where magic treasures cannot be taken out of storage-type magic treasures.” A black armband appeared around, then wrapped itself around Ning’s arm. His magic clothing, in the appearance of furs, quickly covered it, making it disappear.

This black armband was one of the two major unique items which Ning had acquired from the underwater estate.

Ning still felt quite confident of his chances in this trip to the Celestial Immortal’s estate. He had overcome the fourth level of the Wargod Hall and had reached the Wanxiang level as a Fiendgod Refiner…the two treasure selection chances he had gained, Ning had used to choose protective items, not Earth-ranked magic treasures!

This was what the giant yellow bear had said: “It’s best to be careful. In the past, Rampart died at the Wanxiang Adept level. The Wanxiang level…it’s neither high nor low; you aren’t a weakling, but you also aren’t a true power yet either. It’s the level with the highest chance of death. Although this protective item can only be used once, its power is extraordinary. You can view it as a second life for yourself.”

The third time Ning had chosen a treasure, the giant yellow bear had said something similar: “This unique protective is the most suited for you; in the past, Daoist Threelives felt a sudden moment of interest and personally fashioned it.”

Aside from the Nethercold Swords which Ning had chosen the first time, Ning had used his other chances to choose protective treasures!

It must be understood that the set of Nethercold Swords, in and of itself, was already an extremely valuable treasure. It vastly surpassed the protective treasure which Immortal Diancai had previously given Ning; that protective treasure, for the current Ning, was a bit lacking. The two protective treasures which Ning chose this time, however…were no lower in value than the Nethercold Swords. Given that they were assessed by the underwater estate as top-grade, they were naturally extraordinary.

“With these two protective treasures, I should have enough resources to deal with any sudden, unexpected dangers,” Ning mused to himself. “Time to go.”

Ning had a little azure serpent around his arm, and a Whitewater Hound by his side. He immediately flew into the air.

……

“Ji Ning, you also have spirit-beasts?” Youngflame Nong, who was waiting for him on the warship, immediately laughed upon seeing the little azure snake on Ning’s arm. “I have one as well. Come on out, Crimsonfire.”

Instantly, a crimson-headed serpent reared its head, emerging from the skin on Nong’s arm. This crimson serpent had a single horn on its head, and its eyes were gold.

“A Redscale Salamander?” Ning and the others were all secretly shocked. Godbeasts had the blood of Fiendgods, but there were differences amongst Godbeasts; normal Godbeasts were capable of transforming at the Zifu level, such as the Whitewater Hound and the Azure Skysnake! However, according to legend, some truly powerful Godbeasts would only be able to transform into human form after becoming Celestial Immortals. Those Godbeasts were truly fearsome.

Redscale Salamanders were extremely famous; they had to at least reach the Primal level before being able to transform! They were far more exalted than Azure Skysnakes and Whitewater Hounds.

“Hisssss.” The Redscale Salamander gave the Azure Skysnake and the Whitewater Hound a glance, then buried its head once more into Nong’s skin.

“Hahaha, Crimsonfire still isn’t able to take human form, so he’s quite depressed.” Youngflame Nong sat at the highest, principal seat of the warship, with Ning and the others seated below him. “Come, come, come. Let’s drink together. After we enter the Witchriver Immortal Estate, we won’t be as relaxed as we are now.”

“A toast to you, young master Youngflame.”

Adept Vastriver, Ning, Northson, Yu Wei, and Ninelotus all raised their cups. As for Xue Hongyi and Bu You, who were seated at the very bottom, they also raised their cups.

“Hahaha…” Youngflame Nong’s laughter rang out. Clearly, he was in an exceedingly good mood. And why wouldn’t he be? Although Xue Hongyi and Bu You were both two-clawed Raindragon Guards, compared to Ji Ning, the most brilliant genius of the Black-White College, and compared to the two reincarnated Immortals, Yu Wei and Adept Vastriver, Bu You and Hongyi were on a lower level.

His casual detour to Swallow Mountain’s Serpentwing Lake had resulted in five more helpers, each of whom were extraordinary! Even the slightly weaker Mu Northson was a genius of the Dao of Constructs. Those who walked the Dao of Constructs were innately skilled at fighting those who were of a higher level. In turn, Ninelotus was the next leader of the Dongyan clan; how could she not be in possession of some powerful protective items?

……

They drank and made merry with each other. After just two days, they arrived at the place where the Witchriver Immortal Estate was hidden.

“The Witchriver Immortal Estate is in the distant Skyrove Mountains.” Youngflame Nong, standing at the front of the ship, pointed towards a distant, towering mountain range. He seemed quite resplendent and valiant.

Ning and the others followed his gaze, filled with anticipation as well.

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Chapter 4 – Seize It!

Chapter 4 – Seize It!

The Skyrove Mountains were vast and endless, covering an expanse of more than a hundred thousand kilometers.

“The Witchriver Immortal Estate is hidden within these mountains. Even if one was to rely on divine sense to search for it, it would take weeks.” Youngflame Nong had a hint of anticipation in his eyes. “However, I have the key to the estate; so long as we draw close to it, I’ll be able to sense it. Everyone, make your preparations; after we enter the Immortal estate, things will truly grow dangerous.”

The nearby Immortal cultivators all nodded.

“We are finally going to go in.” Mu Northson’s eyes were shining.

“Right. The abode of a Celestial Immortal.” Ning felt quite eager as well.

“Ji Ning.” The nearby Ninelotus stealthily sent him a message.

Ning turned to look at Ninelotus, revealing a smile. He sent back, “Senior apprentice-sister, what’s this about? Why are you sending me a mental message?”

“After entering the Immortal estate, you need to reveal your prowess, and also actively move to be more friendly to young master Youngflame. To be able to meet him is a rare opportunity; if you let it slip, it’ll be hard to gain it again in the future,” Ninelotus instructed. “You wasted both of the past two days. After entering the Immortal estate, you can’t continue to be so remiss.”

Ning frowned. “Senior apprentice-sister!”

“Don’t be angry,” Ninelotus said. “I know your temper; you don’t like to flatter others, but I’m not asking you to do that. I’m just asking you to be a bit more friendly…Ji Ning, you should know that you are far more powerful than Xue Hongyi, but during the past two days on the warship, Xue Hongyi often engaged young master Youngflame in conversation, and he has a much closer relationship to him than you do, as of right now. You always just stand there, not saying a thing…this is really…”

“Senior apprentice-sister, I…” Ning wanted to explain.

“Let me finish.” Ninelotus looked at Ji Ning. “Relationship-building…the reason why it is called relationship-building is because you need to build up a relationship between the two of you, which is accomplished through interacting with each other. That’s the only way you can build up a relationship with him. Don’t think that just because you helped him out that you’ll have much of a relationship; that’s just a favor, nothing more.”

“When a favor is used up, it’s gone. But a relationship is long-lasting!”

“You are arrogant and aloof by nature; you don’t like to flatter others. But young master Youngflame is even more arrogant than you! As a result, the two of you barely interact with each other. Let me ask you this; if you were young master Youngflame…how much of a relationship would you feel that you have with a person who won’t even talk to you? Even if this person helped you, I imagine that you wouldn’t care too much about him.”

Ning was stunned. Ninelotus’ words did indeed have merit to them.

“Human relationships can be divided into several categories; strangers, familiar faces, friends, close friends, and lifelong friends,” Ninelotus said. “You’ve only said one or two things to each other; to be honest, you and young master Youngflame can’t even be considered ‘familiar faces’; you continue to be strangers to each other. As for Xue Hongyi, he often chats with young master Youngflame. Afterwards, he is going to risk his life for him. Perhaps they might end up becoming friends.”

“After you enter the Immortal estate, perhaps you might end up rendering more merits..”

“But in young master Youngflame’s heart, he’ll feel closer to Xue Hongyi, not you. Right now, because young master Youngflame needs your help for this trial, he’s fairly courteous to you. But after he completes it, and especially after he becomes the next Godplume Duke…I imagine that he wouldn’t even be bothered to cast you a single glance. If you ask him to help out, if it’s a small matter, he might nod and return the favor, but if what you ask is too troublesome, he might not even receive you. Even an Immortal might find it hard to meet with the new Godplume Duke.” Ninelotus looked at Ning.

“Senior apprentice-sister, I admit that your words have merit,” Ning sent back. “Favors, once repaid, are gone. Relationships are indeed long-lasting.”

“However…you are you, and I am me.”

“I don’t like to go and intentionally try to befriend someone. Let everything happen naturally,” Ning sent. “If I can become friends with young master Youngflame, that will naturally be a good thing. But if we cannot be friends, that’s fine as well.”

“A fortuitous encounter! That’s what this is, and you have to seize it!” Ninelotus sent urgently, “How many major figures will you run into in your life? If you miss this chance, it’ll be gone.”

“In taking the Immortal path, one will have to rely on one’s self.” Ning shook his head.

“But if someone helps you out at a critical moment, you’ll be able to move farther on your Immortal path,” Ninelotus sent.

“Senior apprentice-sister, if I were to intentionally go and befriend or ingratiate myself to someone, it will only impact my Dao-heart…in the end, it would be a loss,” Ning said.

“You…” Ninelotus was furious.

“Everyone has their own Dao. Senior apprentice-sister, there’s no need for you to try and force things,” Ning said. “Senior apprentice-sister…I’ve never tried to force you to do anything. I hope you won’t try to force me to do anything either. This is the second time now!”

Ninelotus was stunned. Right. Not too long ago, the two of you had squabbled at Brightheart Island over the matter of differentiation of statuses. That was the very first squabble the two had ever had.

“I’m just trying to help you accomplish greater things in the future.” Ninelotus’ eyes were turning slightly red.

“Alright, alright.” Ning took Ninelotus by the hand, smiling towards her.

……

The nearby Yu Wei, noticing that Ji Ning and Ninelotus were holding hands, frowned very slightly. And then, she turned her head, staring towards the distant, vast mountains outside the ship.

“How is Ji Ning so lucky?” Xue Hongyi glanced from the corner of his eyes at the hand-holding Ji Ning and Ninelotus, then cursed to himself, “This trip of young master Youngflame to the Immortal estate clearly didn’t have anything to do with Ji Ning, but now he’s been invited to participate as well. In addition, he actually ended up becoming Dao-Companions with Dongyan Yun.”

Xue Hongyi, at first, had no idea about Ninelotus’ background. However, over the course of the past two days on the ship together, Youngflame Nong had chatted with Ninelotus, and from their conversations, Xue Hongyi had learned…that Ninelotus was actually the next leader of the Dongyan clan. Instantly, Xue Hongyi felt incomparably jealous!

“That brat from the Ji clan ended up reaching such a level…” Xue Hongyi couldn’t help but feel envy in his heart.

When news had spread of Ning defeating Daoist Snowplume, Xue Hongyi could scarcely believe it. He couldn’t believe that the little punk who he could’ve obliterated with ease a few years ago had become even more powerful than him.

And now, Ji Ning had also gotten to know Youngflame Nong, and had become Dao-Companions with Ninelotus…

“I really hope this Ji Ning will die in the Witchriver Immortal Estate!” Xue Hongyi mused secretly to himself.

The ship flew through the air above the Skyrove Mountains for the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea. Suddenly, the azure-robed Youngflame Nong’s eyes lit up as he stared downwards. “The Immortal estate is directly below us. Everyone, follow me inside.”

“We’ve found the Immortal estate?”

“Right below us?”

The experts, previously still chatting casually, all focused their attention below.

BOOM!

The warship shot downwards, quickly gliding past the mountain peaks and flying into an extremely deep gorge.

“Halt.”

The ancient warship came to a halt in the air before one of the cliff walls.

“Wait for me to unlock the Immortal estate first.” Youngflame Nong produced a golden talisman in his hand. He pointed it towards the distant cliff, then used his elemental ki to activate the talisman. Rumble…the golden talisman instantly emitted a hazy golden pillar of light which illuminated the stone wall. The surface of the stone wall immediately began to twist and change, soon revealing an enormous, rippling, watery surface.

“Go in.” Youngflame Nong revealed a look of delight.

Swoosh!

The warship flew directly in, passing through the watery, rippling surface, then disappearing within it. Immediately afterwards, the rippling surface disappeared as well. The stone wall remained a stone wall, with nothing special about it at all.

…..

Ning’s group, aboard the warship, flew through the watery surface, then saw the scene in front of them rapidly change.

“This is…?” Ji Ning and the others aboard the warship saw the area around them be filled with a connected range of mountains. The mountain peaks were dreary and cold, as though nothing could thrive on them. As for the ground, it was a lifeless desert.

The Skyrove Mountains was a living, thriving mountain range. But upon entering this Immortal estate…what they saw was this desolate desert and the mountains above it.

Boom!

Rumble!

Boom!

Rumble!

From far away, a series of loud, earthshaking sounds rang out. The sounds rang out from a distant mountain peak, the most towering of the mountains present. The top of the mountain was completely covered by white patches. These white objects were Diremonsters, dressed in snowy white armor, which were clustered together, forming the various white patches.

These snowy white armored Diremonsters all had enormous fish-like tails and human bodies; their faces were covered with scales.

“Eh?”

“There?”

The countless Diremonsters all turned their heads in unison towards Ji Ning’s group, because the ripple caused by the warship passing through the watery surface had been detected by them.

“Humans!”

“They are humans!”

The thousand-plus merfolk, who were in the midst of training, all called out in shock. How many years had it been? Ever since their ancestors had been trapped within here, unable to escape, they had bred countless generations of descendants. The entirety of this Immortal estate world was filled with monsters; there wasn’t even a single human present. In fact, the late Immortal Witchriver himself was born a monster!

“Eh?” The leader of the training Diremonsters, an alluring-looking female merfolk with a naked upper body, was stunned…but then, her shrill voice bellowed out, “Humans! Humans have entered the Immortal estate! They definitely have the key to the estate…quick, quick, seize it from them, seize the key of the estate!”

“Seize it!”

“Seize it!”

“Follow me and kill them!” The female merfolk immediately manifested a set of golden armor over her.

As she charged towards the sky, the thousand snowy-white armored merfolk Diremonsters all followed from behind. The runes on the Dao-armors they were wearing all began to glow as well.

Rumble…these thousand Diremonsters suddenly formed into an enormously massive, sky-filling wave. This vast, endless wave rolled forward, smashing towards Youngflame Nong and his group, aboard the distant warship.

“Once we seize the key to the estate, we’ll be able to escape. Take it!” The female merfolk bellowed mentally, causing the other merfolk Diremonsters behind her to bellow with fury as well.

The mountain peak was only a few dozen kilometers away from Ning’s group. Precisely because of how close it was, these merfolk Diremonsters were able to immediately ascertain that they were humans! This was the very first time this unfathomably ancient Immortal estate had humans appear within it..

A few dozen kilometers…it only took a few breaths to traverse this!

Aboard the warship, Youngflame Nong, Ji Ning, Xue Hongyi, and the others were all stunned.

“Dao-soldiers!”

“Monstrous Dao-soldiers!” They were all shocked. They had all seen, from far away, that there were quite a few Wanxiang Diremonsters amongst the crowd of beasts, and that female merfolk leader was very possibly a Primal Diremonster! Even the weakest monster in the group was at the Zifu level. And with all of them also being Dao-soldiers…

“These Dao-armors must have been left behind by Immortal Witchriver for building up an army of Dao-soldiers.” Ning and the others all realized that they were in for quite a bit of trouble now.

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Chapter 5 – Unblockable

Chapter 5 – Unblockable

This Immortal estate was the home of Immortal Witchriver; naturally, he had set up layers of defenses. Although he himself had perished, some of the defenses he had left behind remained usable; for example, his Dao-soldiers!

Immortal Witchriver had used up countless treasures in order to cultivate a powerful army of Dao-soldiers. In their most powerful prime, they were capable of easily killing a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal! However, the Immortal estate had suffered through countless years of decay. Those oldest monstrous Dao-soldiers had died long ago, leaving behind a large amount of Dao-soldier armors.

Prior to this, Ji Ning and the others had guessed that as Immortal Witchriver was a monster Immortal, it was only logical to expect that he had stationed some of his race within his Immortal estate. This Immortal estate world…although it wasn’t as infinitely vast as the Grand Xia Empire, it still spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, and was comparable in size to Earth. Thus, the monsters had continuously propagated.

The monsters had left behind their training methods to their descendants, while the Immortal estate itself had incomparably dense, nourishing levels of elemental energy. It was only normal for more Diremonsters to be created.

An host of Diremonsters…and a host of monstrous Dao-soldiers…these were two completely different concepts! With precious Dao-armors equipped, their power would explode tenfold or even a hundredfold!

Clans like the Ji clan also had Dao-armor suitable for mortals to use.

Dao-armor usable by Xiantian lifeforms and Zifu Disciples, however, were much more rare. Generally speaking, schools on the level of Snowdragon Mountain would have them.

As for Dao-armor which Wanxiang Adepts and Primal Daoists could use? Even sects like the Skysplitter Sword Sect would have to use all their ability and spend enormous amounts of precious resources to procure such Dao-armors.

And so, right now…Ji Ning’s group was in serious trouble!

……

“Rumble….” A thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers swept forward, having transformed into a vast wave.

“Block them!”

Youngflame Nong, aboard the warship, let out a furious roar. Faced with a thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers, even he had an ugly look on his face now. A watery, rippling layer of black light appeared on the surface of the warship, completely protecting it.

BOOM!!!!

The edges of that vast, surging wave slashed against the warship like blades, causing the entire warship to be flipped over and sent flying backwards, smashing viciously against a nearby mountain peak. The entire mountain rang out from the sound of the collision, while the warship itself plunged deep into it. The black, watery curtain of protective light had completely dispersed.

“Uncle Fang, what should we do?” Youngflame Nong sent mentally.

“Young master, the combined, full-strength attack from those thousand Dao-soldiers was comparable to a Loose Immortal’s might.” The black, middle-aged man next to Youngflame Nong sent mentally, “That merwoman leader…she is definitely a Primal Diremonsters. My priority is definitely going to be staying close to you and protecting you. After all, I’m only skilled at close combat; if I were to charge out, then I would no longer be able to protect you. Let the others go face them. I’ll wait for a good opportunity; once I seize it and kill that leading Primal merwoman…then the other Dao-soldiers will be much less of a threat.”

“Kill!”

“Everyone, it’s up to you.” Youngflame Nong sent a mental message to Ning, Xue Hongyi, Adept Vastriver, and the others.

Ning’s group were all secretly cursing; clearly, this Youngflame Nong wouldn’t willingly risk himself. He was having them face the danger.

“Kill!” Xue Hongyi was the first to attack. With a sweep of his hand, he transformed into a streak of snowy white large, charging towards the thousand invading Dao-soldiers.

“Sword formation!” More than seven hundred flying swords appeared around Ji Ning. His peak Wanxiang-level elemental ki, using the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], formed a sword of light before him. This sword of light immediately executed the fifth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Moonlight Hiding the Sword. Instantly, a seemingly soft, gentle beam of moonlight seemed to caress the wave of monstrous Dao-soldiers.

“Seal!” Yu Wei pointed into the distance. Whoosh! An enormous ice phoenix appeared in midair. This giant phoenix, completely formed from frozen ice, spread its wings and flew forward, carrying a heart-shaking, majestic aura.

“Vastwave Breaker!” Adept Vastriver let out a loud cry, but maintained his elegant and graceful poise. An enormous black sword appeared in midair, covered with runes. This giant black sword slashed through the skies, chopping towards the Dao-soldiers.

…….

Ning’s group, including the Zifu Disciples and the Wanxiang-level Deathsworn, all released powerful techniques. Ning and the others on his level were all capable of giving that female Primal Diremonster a good fight! However, she was linked to the thousand Dao-soldiers, and thus was now able to unleash astonishing levels of power, vastly surpassing any single person in Ning’s group.

Rumble….

With an enormous rumbling sound, their sword-light and magic techniques either crumbled, vanished, or were knocked flying back.

The Zifu Disciples all formed into formations, preparing to resist together.

“We have to move fast. Fast, fast, fast! We need to take that key as soon as possible; if we are too slow, then the key will be taken by those old bastards,” the leading merwoman Diremonster sent mentally. “Children, annihilate these humans.”

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

The thousand-plus Dao-soldiers, when joining forces, were capable of unleashing power which no one in Ning’s group was capable of resisting.

That enormous wave once more smashed directly towards them. Ning’s group was quickly forced to retreat, but the weaker Zifu Disciples began to perish. Although they had formed formations…their formations, in the face of the formation of monstrous Dao-soldiers, simply wasn’t able to hold on at all.

Crunch.

Some of the human Zifu Disciples spat up mouthfuls of blood. Some of their bodies crumbled. One after another, they died.

Fortunately, Ning and the others were working to block as well. Otherwise, most likely, in a single breath’s worth of time, all of the Zifu Disciples would have perished.

“Too vicious,” Northson sent mentally. “Senior apprentice-brother, that Youngflame Nong definitely has many treasures on him, but he’s not even willing to use a single one of them. He just watched as those Zifu Disciples perished.”

“We just entered the Immortal estate moments ago. It’s only natural that he wouldn’t be willing to use his treasures right away,” Ning responded.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Ninelotus, and the others all had their own life-saving techniques. But nobody would choose to use them this early. After all…they had only just entered the Immortal estate.

……..

Youngflame Nong stood there watching, with the swarthy, black-skinned man standing by his side, protecting him. The black-skinned, middle-aged man just watched quietly. His facial expressions didn’t change at all when their Zifu Disciples started to die; his gaze was firmly focused on the distant, ferocious wave of elemental power, formed by the monstrous Dao-soldiers. The way in which the elemental ki circulated through their formation was extremely subtle and profound.

Right at this moment…

The black-skinned man, still by Youngflame Nong, suddenly revealed a cold light in his eyes. A pair of sharp awls appeared in his right and left hands. He took a sudden step forward, and his left arm began to elongate. In fact, one long serpent after another began to appear and coil around his arm. His left arm struck out with massive, savage power, sending the awl flying towards the front!

Whoosh!

The long black awl instantly pierced through the skies, leaving behind a brilliant, eye-catching scar in the sky as it pierced directly towards the giant wave formed from monstrous Dao-soldiers.

BOOM!!!

An explosive sound. The massive, ferocious wave actually was blown apart! The giant wave vanished, revealing that more than ten of the Diremonster Dao-soldiers had been completely blasted into chunks of meat. The other monstrous Dao-soldiers were all completely stunned, and they all stared at the black, middle-aged man who had thrown out the long awl.

“What?! He actually discovered the core of our Dao-soldier formation, then shattered it and destroyed the formation?” The merwoman Diremonster was shocked. If the attack hadn’t struck the core, it would’ve passed through the massive wave, not cause it to completely collapse.

The merwoman Diremonster turned her head, staring at the black, middle-aged man who had thrown out the awl. But…

Whoosh!

The long awl in the middle-aged man’s right hand suddenly flashed out as well; his right arm also became covered with long, coiling serpents, and it became incomparably strong and muscular, emanating a terrifying, heart-shaking aura. Once more, that dazzling, eye-catchingly brilliant scar in the skies appeared…as the awl pierced directly through the body of the merwoman Diremonster, who had wanted to dodge, but was completely unable to!

“This, this…” A look of shock and despair appeared on her face. “How can he be so powerful? I was completely unable to dodge. He, he…he’s a human Immortal?” And then, her consciousness faded away. She fell down from the skies, her body pierced through. She was dead!

“The Queen is dead!”

“The Queen died! Quick, flee, flee!”

“Quick, flee!”

Seeing that their leader had been so easily killed, the other merfolk Diremonsters no longer had any appetite for battle. All of them began to flee.

“Swish!”

“Whoosh!”

“Bang!”

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, and the others naturally wouldn’t show mercy at a time like this. It be must understood that these monsters were all wearing Dao-armor, most of which was meant for Zifu Disciples, and some of which were even usable by Wanxiang Adepts. A single set of Dao-armor usable by Wanxiang Diremonsters was far more valuable than an ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasure.

“Two sets. Three sets.” Northson didn’t hold back at all, killing one after another and seizing as many as he could.

Moments later.

The remaining monstrous Dao-soldiers had all fled far away, leaving behind a pile of corpses and a heap of Dao-armors in the hands of Ning’s group.

“We killed more than two hundred monsters, while more than a hundred of our Zifu Disciples died.” Youngflame Nong didn’t reveal a look of happiness on his face at all. Although he knew all along that there would be some danger in this trial, he hadn’t expected that his team would’ve suffered such a thwack as soon as they entered.

“Young master Youngflame.” The black-skinned, middle-aged man retrieved his awls, then said in a low voice, “Let’s hurry and leave. Perhaps even more powerful Diremonsters will come over soon.”

“Right.” Youngflame Nong nodded. “Let’s go.” He looked towards Ning and the others.

Right at this moment…

A deep, powerful surge of divine sense instantly encapsulated this region.

“Humans, now that you have entered the Immortal estate…are you still dreaming of leaving alive?” A deep, sonorous voice rang out.

“What a powerful divine sense.” As soon as Ning’s own divine sense collided against this person’s, he could sense how powerful it was. Although he viewed his divine sense as his strongest attribute, he could tell that this person vastly surpassed him.

“Senior apprentice-brother, look.” Northson stared, wide-eyed, towards the distance.

“This…is big trouble.” Adept Vastriver was staring towards the distance as well.

Ning turned to looked as well.

There, in the distant skies, an enormous, massive wave of water was soaring this way, like a titanic flood that covered the heavens themselves. The size of this massive wave was more than ten times greater than the previous one…and the aura emanating from this massive wave was vastly more powerful than the wave created by the merfolk.

“More than ten thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers!” The black-skinned, awl-wielding man by Youngflame Nong’s side growled out in a low voice.

The hearts of everyone in Ning’s group sank. More than thousand? This was comparable to the entire Snowdragon Mountain sect. The worst thing was, each and every one of these ten thousand Diremonsters were Dao-soldiers! There was no way a school like Snowdragon Mountain could possibly acquire so many Dao-armors, especially the ones which even Primal Diremonsters could use. This level of power…it was enough to cause even an Immortal to feel fear.

“Young master, I won’t be able to block them,” the black-skinned man sent.

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Chapter 6 – Fiendgod, Hydraga

Chapter 6 – Fiendgod, Hydraga

“Young master Youngflame, there’s no way we can deal with so many monstrous Dao-soldiers,” Adept Vastriver sent hurriedly.

Ning, staring at the titanic, sky-filling wave that had been formed by countless monstrous Dao-soldiers, felt powerless as well. He sent, “Young master Youngflame, what now?”

“Young master Youngflame.”

“Young master Youngflame.”

All of them looked towards Youngflame Nong. Even the black-skinned man, Xiangliu Fang, looked towards his young master.

“Uncle Fang, don’t worry about me. Go all out and massacre them.” Youngflame Nong ground his teeth. Waving his hand, he produced a marvelous golden globe of light which flew into the air, quickly growing in size until it reached a diameter of thirty meters.

“All of you, get in,” Youngflame Nong ordered. At the same time, he produced a white sack in his other hand, which opened up. “Don’t resist.”

Whooooooosh.

The surrounding Zifu Disciples were all sucked into the sack, and then the sack itself was carried by Youngflame Nong as he stepped into the golden globe of light.

Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, Xue Hongyi, Adept Bu You, and the other Wanxiang adepts all flew into the golden globe of light as well.

“Uncle Fang, I’ll leave this in your hands. Let’s reunite later,” Youngflame Nong said.

“Alright. It’s been quite a while since I’ve truly gone all out in a fight.” A hint of excitement had appeared in Xiangliu Fang’s eyes. Even he found it quite taxing to help protect Youngflame Nong from so many combined Dao-soldier attacks, as he had to block them all. Now that he no longer needed to do so, he was suddenly much more free to utilize his speed and agility, fighting to his heart’s content.

“Let’s go.” With but a thought, Youngflame Nong instantly caused the golden globe of light to begin flying at high speed. With a swoosh, it quickly flew towards the distance.

Ning and the others within the golden globe of light, curious, reached out to touch the light. Previously, they had been able to easily pass through it, but now, they realized that this golden globe of light felt extremely tough and resilient.

“This is my ‘Goldspirit Halo’,” Youngflame Nong said confidently. “Once I’ve activated the divine light within it, we are no longer able to exit it, but outside attacks are similarly unable to reach us…forget about these Dao-soldiers, even if three or five Loose Immortals came and attacked, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to us until after the energy of the divine light is used up.”

Ning secretly sighed in amazement. Unless something unexpected occurred, Youngflame Nong would be the next Godplume Duke…and he really lived up to that reputation. A casual treasure he pulled out was already comparable to the two life-saving items which Ning had acquired from the underwater estate.

Of the two life-saving items Ning had acquired in the underwater estate, one was offensive while the other was defensive. The defensive one, he had acquired from the Treasure Pavilion when he had reached the Wanxiang level as a Fiendgod. The offensive one, he had acquired after passing the fourth level of the Wargod Hall. This offensive treasure had been personally forged by Daoist Threelives in a moment of amusement, and its power was extraordinary.

“Five Skypillars!”

“Look! Five Skypillars!”

The Goldspirit Halo had just flown a few hundred kilometers away, high into the skies. As the saying went, when standing at a high vantage point, one would be able to see to a greater distance. This Immortal estate was tens of thousands of kilometers in size. Now that they were in the skies, they could immediately see that at the ends of the world in each direction, there was a pillar of golden light, soaring through the clouds and into the heavens. There were five in total, and each was unfathomably tall.

These five golden Skypillars of light seemed to be holding up the entire Immortal estate world.

“Five directions…the Five Elements,” Ning murmured to himself. “It seems this Immortal estate is divided up into five branching halls, each of which help to stabilize this world.”

“Skypillars.” Adept Vastriver and the others all revealed looks of delight.

“Hahaha…” Youngflame Nong began to laugh loudly. “So this Witchriver Immortal Estate is divided up into five halls. Those five distant Skypillars represent the locations of the five halls. Let’s immediately go over there. I have the key to the estate, and we can enter the halls. Those monstrous Dao-soldiers, however, cannot. Let’s go!”

Swoosh!

The golden globe of light quickly flew towards one of the closest Skypillars.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The thundering roars of battle seemed to shake the world. That vast, heaven-covering wave came crashing towards them, but in front of that Goldspirit Halo, a single, seemingly ordinary figure stood there protectively. It was that servant…Xiangliu Fang.

“Young master, the rest of you can head over. I’ll be there soon,” Xiangliu Fang said.

Within the Goldspirit Halo, Ji Ning and the others were naturally staring towards the distant figure of Xiangliu Fang, as well as that heaven-covering wave.

And then…

Xiangliu Fang’s body suddenly increased explosively in size. An unearthly, savage aura blasted out from him, and his figure quickly transformed into an incomparably massive, terrifying, and towering shape that was more than three thousand meters tall. His lower body was that of an enormous serpent, while his upper body appeared to be human. From his head, however, eight additional, massive serpentine heads emerged as well.

Nine heads, and the body of a serpent. An ancient, primal, savage aura emanated from him, filling the skies.

“Fiendgod!” Ning held his breath.

“A Fiendgod.”

“Good heavens…a Fiendgod.”

All of them were completely overwhelmed. They could all tell that this was definitely a Fiendgod! Someone with a strange appearance like this, with nine heads and the body of a serpent, clearly was not a human…and yet, he didn’t have the slightest hint of a monstrous aura either. What he emanated was the aura of a primordial Fiendgod, which caused all of their hearts to quiver. Given his massive body and ancient aura…he could only be a Fiendgod.

The likes of Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You had never before seen a true Fiendgod.

“What an enormous body…is that a divine ability, or is his body naturally that large?” Adept Bu You couldn’t help but ask.

“Fiendgods are born with massive bodies,” Youngflame Nong said confidently. “Uncle Fang belongs to the primordial Fiendgod race known as the Xiangliu, the Hydraga. Hydraga, even amongst Fiendgods, are extremely powerful. Even without using any divine abilities, they have Fiendgod bodies that are three thousand meters long. Although Uncle Fang is only at the Primal level, as a true Fiendgod, and a Hydraga at that, even many Loose Immortals are no match for him.”

Ning and the others were all completely stunned. Although previously, Ning had seen an ancient Fiendgod attack during in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, and that ancient, awakened Fiendgod was clearly even more powerful than Xiangliu Fang…that ancient Fiendgod had simply crushed the Dragonwhale King’s with his fingers. Ning hadn’t had a chance to watch him truly fight.

But this time…he finally had a chance to see a true Fiendgod fight.

Fiendgod Body Refining…the goal was for humans to approach Fiendgods in terms of body strength! However, compared to a true Fiendgod, there was still a huge difference; for example, one’s body wouldn’t be as large as a Fiendgod’s, and one’s innate talents wouldn’t be as strong as a Fiendgod’s…

…..

“A Fiendgod?” The monstrous Dao-soldiers that were attacking were all badly startled as well. They had been living in this Immortal estate the entire time; they had heard of Fiendgods, but this was their first time actually seeing one.

The enormous, nine-headed, serpent-bodied Fiendgod towered there in the skies, two enormous black awls appearing within his hands.

“KILL!” Xiangliu Fang bellowed loudly.

BOOM!

Xiangliu Fang’s enormous serpentine tail swept out, and the air itself seemed to explode. Xiangliu Fang threw himself directly towards the giant group of monstrous Dao-soldiers.

“Just a single Fiendgod, and one that hasn’t even reached the Void level. No need to fear him.” That massive, sonorous voice echoed out once more, ringing in the ears of each of the monstrous Dao-soldiers. “Crush this Fiendgod to death.”

“Haaaaaargh!”

“Haaaaaargh!”

“Haaaaaargh!”

Xiangliu Fnag’s eight serpentine heads simultaneously unleashed savage roars. Suddenly, the temperature in the surrounding area dropped precipitously, to the point where ice and frost began to form. Instantly, a world of frost and snow manifested. In addition, his roars also struck out against their souls. However, since the monstrous Dao-soldiers were joined together as one, their souls were joined together as well.

“Kill!” The massive tidal wave crushed forward.

BOOM! BOOM!

The three-thousand meter Fiendgod moved straight forward to receive the attack, and the long awls in his hands stabbed out viciously towards the massive wave, causing the air to expode and seeming to carry enough power to shatter the skies and rend the earth.

Xiang Liufang’s massive serpentine tail oscillated repeatedly, causing him to be incomparably agile and crafty, allowing him to time and time again avoid the sharp ‘tip’ of the massive wave, and then give the massive wave a vicious counter-stab!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

There, in the skies, the Fiendgod and the massive wave collided against each other repeatedly. A true Fiendgod absolutely had the power to fight those at a higher level of power. A Primal Fiendgod…this was something that was generally comparable to a powerful Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal. As for a Void-level Fiendgod? They were all comparable to Celestial Immortals! By comparison, Void-level human Earth Immortals, even those who trained as Fiendgods, however, were vastly inferior to Celestial Immortals. From this, one could tell how unique Fiendgods were.

However, there were simply far too many of the monstrous Dao-soldiers. Even Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals would have to stay away from them. Thus, the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, was still the weaker party in this engagement. However, given his massive, Fiendgod body, he wasn’t afraid of suffering wounds. He was also incomparably nimble, and was thus able to unleash one terrifying attack after another in response.

“Uncle Fang can both advance or retreat in this battle, and he’s extremely nimble. He’s also able to keep fighting for a very long time…although these monstrous Dao-soldiers are capable of unleashing a shocking amount of power, there is a limit to their elemental ki; they won’t be able to hold on for too long,” Youngflame Nong said confidently.

“Formidable.” Adept Vastriver couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “A true Fiendgod…they truly are formidable. Fiendgod Body Refiners…no matter how hard they strive to approach Fiendgods in power, a gulf still remains.”

“Right.” Ning nodded as well.

“The Youngflame clan truly is one of the top ten ancient clans of the Grand Xia Empire. A single young master’s personal servant…is actually an ancient, Primal-level Fiendgod.” Ning secretly sighed in amazement as well.

“How long will it be before my Dongyan clan is this powerful as well?” Ninelotus murmured silently to herself. Although the Dongyan clan also had Fiendgods, they wouldn’t go so far as to let one of their Primal-level Fiendgods serve as personal bodyguards.

Yu Wei just watched all of this quietly. As she looked at the Hydraga, some images from her past life began to flit through her mind.

“Hydraga…” Yu Wei let out a soft sigh.

……

As Ning’s group was fleeing towards the Skypillar while watching the battle, suddenly…

“Old Poison-Dragon, hahaha…this Fiendgod is clearly only at the Primal level, but you still aren’t able to do anything to him? You, a Loose Immortal? Hahaha, it seems as though in the end, it will still be left to our Witchriver clan.” Accompanied by a laugh that seemed to cause the world to tremble, off in the distance, an enormous, ugly, hunchbacked giant suddenly appeared. The hunchbacked giant was tens of thousands of meters tall, and wielded a massive metal pitchfork. This giant appeared rather blurry and indistinct; clearly, it was formed from a large number of monstrous Dao-soldiers.

“Yaksha Dao-soldiers? Immortal Witchriver actually had Yaksha Dao-soldiers under his command?” Youngflame Nong was shocked. “The Witchriver clan…can these be the descendants of Immortal Witchriver?”

Immortal Witchriver was originally a monster himself. Naturally, he treated his own clansmen with more favor. Although countless years had passed, the clansmen of Immortal Witchriver remained the most powerful monstrous force within this Immortal estate world.

“Uncle Fang, quick, retreat.” Youngflame Nong didn’t dare to hesitate, staring with panic towards the distant Skypillar.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The Goldspirit Halo continued to move closer and closer towards it.

“I can sense it.” Youngflame Nong revealed a look of delight as he stared towards the massive yet blurry illusion of a Skypillar, then loudly shouted, “OPEN!”

Instantly, an enormous entrance appeared into the illusory Skypillar. The entrance was open, and upon seeing it, Ning and the others all revealed looks of delight, knowing that this was one of the true, important locations of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

Swoosh.

The Goldspirit Halo flew directly inside, and then the illusory entrance once more vanished.

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Chapter 7 – The Vault of Treasures

Chapter 7 – The Vault of Treasures

This was an enormous palace, but it was completely quiet and soundless. The stillness here had remained unbroken for countless, countless years.

Once Youngflame Nong, Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Xue Hongyi, and the others flew into the palace from within the Goldspirit Halo, all of them let out sighs of relief. They had finally managed to escape and make it inside.

“We finally made it in. That Immortal estate world is simply too terrifying. One group of monstrous Dao-soldiers after another…one feels terrified just looking at them.” Although Ning was no coward, he had felt completely powerless earlier, because the difference in power was simply too great. He would have been completely unable to fight back.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson looked at Ning.

“Hm?” Ning looked back towards him.

“Do you think…we shouldn’t have come here?” Northson muttered, “Earlier, the very first group of merfolk Dao-soldiers we fought against numbered over a thousand. They were able to effortlessly crush us. And then, afterwards, an even more powerful army of more than ten thousand Dao-soldiers appeared…and then the so-called Yaksha Dao-soldier appeared, formed from the monsters of the Witchriver clan. Even that Fiendgod Hydraga was unable to stop them. I feel as though…we are completely useless here.”

Northson was muttering, not sending a mental message. Thus, everyone around him could hear his words. All of them were silent.

It was true. Just now, they had relied on Youngflame Nong’s servant, the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, to do everything. It was the Fiendgod who had killed the leader of the merfolk Dao-soldiers, and it was also the Fiendgod who had gone to block the ten-thousand plus Dao-soldier wave. Ning and the others had only been able to watch.

“Everyone,” Youngflame Nong laughed, “Don’t feel dispirited. There was no way that we could’ve predicted in advance that this Immortal estate woud actually give birth to so many powerful monsters, all of whom possessed Dao-armors. No matter what, however, in the end, we’ve managed to make it inside one of the palaces of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.”

“Only one who has the key to the estate can make it inside; thus, after Immortal Witchriver died, despite the passage of countless years, no other living creatures have ever made it inside this palace. This is an extremely safe place. But of course…some of the safeguards Immortal Witchriver had originally set up might still be functioning. Thus, let’s not rush about rashly. Wait for me to welcome Uncle Fang inside, and then we’ll slowly search through this palace.” Youngflame Nong’s words caused everyone to grow calm once more.

No matter what, given that Immortal Witchriver had died more than a hundred million years ago, there were definitely no living creatures within this palace. Thus, it was certainly safer in here than it was outside.

“Whew.” Northson immediately plopped down, seating himself cross-legged, then staring around and calling out, “Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-sister, let’s all sit down and take a break.”

Ning laughed, then sat down in the lotus position as well.

“That scared me to death.” Little Qing reared her serpentine head, blinking repeatedly. The Whitewater Hound also lay down on the ground.

Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, Xue Hongyi, Adept Bu You, and the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn all either sat down or remained standing.

With but a thought from Youngflame Nong…whoosh. In the air in front of them, a fist-sized tunnel appeared. Through the void-tunnel, one could see the outside world, where many monstrous Dao-soldiers were currently fighting against a towering Hydraga Fiendgod!

“Uncle Fang!” Youngflame Nong was somewhat worried as well as he watched.

“Master, if that Fiendgod dies outside, we are in big trouble,” Little Qing sent mentally to Ji Ning. “We’d be trapped inside this palace, unable to leave.”

“Don’t jinx us! Hydraga Fiendgods aren’t so easily killed. What’s more…how could the exalted heir to the position of Godplume Duke of the Youngflame clan just be trapped here?” Ning was still quite calm. Even if the heavens were to collapse upon them, they had a ‘big fellow’ ready to prop it back up. This was a trial which the ancient, vast Youngflame clan had prepared for Youngflame Nong. Perhaps Youngflame Nong might fail the test, but it wasn’t too likely that he would simply be trapped here forever.

……

Ning’s group remained there, within the palace. They knew that this palace was extremely large, and that there were many places within it, but they didn’t dare to barge about wildly. Who knew which safeguards and protective measures left behind by Immortal Witchriver were still active? If they were unlucky and ran into a particularly powerful defensive mechanism…a large number of them might die.

Better to wait. Wait to reunite with the Hydraga Fiendgod.

As Ning’s group quietly waited. Deep within a corridor, in a hidden passageway within the heart of this vast palace.

This passageway was filled with countless, towering statues. At a glance, one would see eighteen grayish-black status, each of which were in the shape of a legendary Godbeast, the Qiongqi Manticore. They coiled there within the corridor. Countless years had passed in stillness, but as Ning’s group had entered the quiet, silent, ancient palace…

Something seemed to have been activated. The eighteen Qiongqi Manticore statues all began to glow with golden light, a light which constantly flooded into the statues and made them slowly appear more and more real.

“Snap.” The eyes of one of the Qiongqi Manticores suddenly opened. A pair of jade-green, glowing eyes.

“Snap.” “Snap.” “Snap.” “Snap.” “Snap.” “Snap.”

One Qiongqi Manticore after another opened their eyes. Their eyes were filled with nothing but coldness. They all rose to their feet, and even began to spread their wings. They had a body as thick as an ox’s, but were covered with bristling spikes. They also had a pair of giant wings, but the head of a tiger.

These were the most loyal, devoted guards of this palace…the eighteen Qiongqi golems.

Golems were not living creatures, and thus they were truly ageless. Immortal Witchriver’s servants and subordinates had all died of old age, but these golems remained here, standing guard despite the passage of ages, continuing to obey Immortal Witchriver’s order for them to guard this palace.

“Outsiders have entered the Vault of Treasures,” one of the Qiongqi golems rumbled.

“Not Master.”

“Not Master’s heir either. These outsiders forced their way in through using the key to the estate.”

Some particularly powerful golems possessed sentience and intelligence. For example, when Ning had faced the initial trials of the underwater estate, he had encountered that black-furred golem at the third challenge. That golem had actually been filled with an actual spirit, and thus it was even more intelligence.

“Neither Master, nor Master’s heirs…all invaders must die.” one of the Qiongqi Manticore golems said.

“Must die.”

“Must die.”

The eighteen Qiongqi golems spoke out in unison.

To truly master the Witchriver Immortal Estate, there were two methods. The first was to possess the key to the estate and then have Immortal Witchriver bestow a transmission incantation. Naturally, in that situation, all of the formations, restrictive spells, and golems would be obedient. The second method was to possess the key to the estate, then find and bind the five cores within the five palaces. After completely binding all five palace cores, then the entire Immortal estate would be bound; this, too, would be complete control.

Youngflame Nong’s trial was to completely control this Immortal estate! But of course, right now, Youngflame Nong was not yet the master of it…which was why the Immortal estate was beginning its counterattacks!

…….

The outermost part of the palace.

Through his void-tunnel, Youngflame Nong was viewing the massive battle going on in the outside part of the Immortal estate. The Hydraga Fiendgod was roaring with rage as blood splattered everywhere; he fought while retreating.

“Faster, faster, faster.” Youngflame Nong was extremely worried. Ning, Northson, Yu Wei, and the others were all standing behind him, watching the battle through the void-tunnel as well.

“Given the strength which the Hydraga Fiendgod has demonstrated, I imagine it will be quite hard for him to make it back here. That Yaksha Dao-soldier formation is simply too powerful,” Yu Wei sent.

“Right. He’s being attacked by two parties right now; one is the massive wave formed from more than ten thousand Dao-soldiers, while the other is the even more powerful Yaksha Dao-soldier formation. Both are more powerful than him…” Adept Vastriver was frowning as he watched as well.

Ninelotus sent mentally, “Given that this Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, was assigned to protect Youngflame Nong, he is definitely carrying some treasures. He’s only using those two long awls to battle right now; he hasn’t used any other treasures at all. I imagine that he isn’t in any real danger yet.”

Their group continued to watch the battle through the void-tunnel, while the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn continued to maintain a vigilant watch.

“What’s that?” Ning’s face suddenly changed dramatically, as the space in the surrounding area began to change.

Previously, they were in a hall, but suddenly, their group became trapped in a misty, blurry illusory world. It became extremely hard for them to tell north from south, east from west…they couldn’t even tell up from down.

“Not good.” Youngflame Nong’s face changed as well, and the void-tunnel that had been in front of him disappeared as well.

“A restrictive formation!” Adept Vastriver hurriedly sent mentally, “This palace has a restrictive spell formation which was left behind by Immortal Witchriver. Just now, the restrictive spell formation became activated, and the spell formation covered that hall that we were in just now. Although we are still within the hall, we’ve already become trapped by the formation!”

“The surrounding space has been locked and distorted. Even though I have the key to the Immortal estate, I’m not able to open a tunnel to the outside world either,” Youngflame Nong sent frantically. “Rainbowflame Fairy, Adept Vastriver, Ji Ning…if I’m unable to open a corridor to the outside world, there’s no way for Uncle Fang to come in. It’s up to us now.”

Ning and the others felt their hearts sink. Right. If they were unable to open a corridor to the outside world, then there would be no way for the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, to enter. They had lost their strongest ally.

“Eh?” Ning had a sudden thought. He immediately released his divine sense…but he sensed nothing but a blur. The power of the surrounding restrictive spell had already completely smothered Ning’s divine sense. He couldn’t even sense Mu Northson and the others who were right next to him.

“I have one more bit of news to tell you all. In this formation…divine sense is of no use,” Ning sent mentally.

“What?” Adept Vastriver and the others were shocked. They gave it a try as well, and as they did, their faces changed. “Even divine sense is unable to see through this formation…then this means that this is definitely no ordinary formation.”

Ning’s group began to unconsciously move closer to each other. As for the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn, they immediately joined together into a formation.

“Is there anyone here skilled in breaking formations? Hurry up and break it,” Youngflame Nong sent.

“Uncle White?” Ning sent to the nearby Whitewater Hound. In recent years, he had spent almost all of his energy on the Dao of formations, and he was definitely superior to Ning in this regard.

“This is a very terrifying formation.” The Whitewater Hound shook his head, continuing to analye it. But right at this moment…

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Out of nowhere, a throng of icy arrows suddenly shot out, each containing awe-inspiring power as they sprang towards Ning’s group, trapped within the formation.

They were too close, and they were too fast.

“BOOM.” A Waterflame Lotus appeared around Ning, but upon being struck by three attacking arrows, it instantly began to shatter and collapse.

“Careful.” Ning’s face completely changed. These arrows were simply far too powerful; just three arrows contained power great enough to shatter his lotus…

Ning now had a premonition. With their group of Wanxiang Adepts being trapped within this terrifying restrictive formation, most likely, a number of them would truly perish.

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Chapter 8 – Casualties

Chapter 8 – Casualties

“A single ice shard is capable of killing an ordinary peak Wanxiang Adept.” Adept Vastriver immediately sent urgently, “Everyone, quick, assemble into formation!”

“Assemble into formation; a five-elements pentagonal formation,” Ji Ning sent.

“Right.”

“This is too terrifying,” Mu Northson said loudly.

Rumble…Ning, Northson, Yu Wei, Ninelotus, and Adept Vastriver were of the same school; naturally, they instinctively elected to use a five-elements pentagonal formation of the Black-White College. Combination formations did not need to be purchased with black-white pellets; on the contrary, the disciples of the school were required to learn them.

Their five figures began to move, and instantly, their bodies began to glow with light. Metallic light, red light, watery blue light, yellow light, and azure light.

“Whoosh.” Once their formation was joined, Ning calmed down slightly. “The power of these ice shards is too astonishing; when I fought against Daoist Snowplume, he sent out those drops of skywater against me…but although they were capable of damaging my Waterflame Lotus, they weren’t able to break through it. Those three ice shards, however, were able to break my Waterflame Lotus. This means every single shard contained power comparable to a drop of skywater.”

Daoist Snowplume had only used, in total, 108 drops of skywater…in contrast, these ice shards came in a tightly clustered, endlessly streaming series of attacks.

Most likely, even a Primal Daoist would be killed by this cluster attack!

“Ji Ning, the five of you, stand in front of me,” Youngflame Nong barked mentally. “The other ten of you, stay behind me. Xue Hongyi, Adept Bu You, stay to my sides.”

Ning’s group of five was the strongest; after all, three of them were somewhat stronger than ordinary Primal Daoists. After joining forces…they would be the most powerful force present. Naturally, they would have to block in front of Youngflame Nong and help screen him from the ambushing arrows.

As for the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn, although they were somewhat weak, there was still ten of them; when in formation, they were also quite powerful, and thus they could help Youngflame Nongn block ice shards from behind.

The remaining gaps would naturally be filled and covered by Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You. The two of them both joined together into the most common of formations, the ‘Liangyi Duality Formation’. This formation was one which virtually all Immortal cultivators were capable of, but in turn, it wasn’t very effective; there was a limit to how much it could raise one’s power. Still, it was still able to increase one’s power slightly, and so the two would naturally execute it.

“This is going to be trouble,” Xue Hongyi cursed secretly.

“This is going to be very dangerous.” Adept Bu You grew frantic as well; the two of them were weaker than Ji Ning to begin with. Ning was now in a five-man formation, while they were only in a two-man formation!

It must be understood that these ice shards were capable of easily killing Primal Daoists.

Swish.

Boom.

Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You were in an extremely dangerous situation.

“Young master Youngflame, we’re almost unable to hold on,” Xue Hongyi sent frantically.

“I’m unable to hold on for much longer as well,” Adept Bu You was similarly frantic.

“How useless,” Youngflame Nong cursed mentally. He was frantic too. “In the end, it’s still those five from the Black-White College who are formidable.”

“Hold for as long as you can…the longer you can hold, the better our chances,” Youngflame Nong sent mentally.

Adept Vastriver sent hurriedly back, “Young master Youngflame, this formation must have been left behind by Immortal Witchriver. If Immortal Witchriver was present and personally controlling it, this formation would perhaps be even more powerful, capable of causing even Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals to perish. Now that he’s gone, the power of it has been lessened a bit, but we won’t be able to resist it for too long. There is a limit to how much elemental ki we have, but the formation utilizes the elemental energy of the natural world…it can persist indefinitely! It can exhaust us to death. The most important thing for us to do right now is to have a formations expert locate a flaw in this formation and break it.”

When trapped within a formation, if a true formations expert was present, he could guide the party through and out from the formation.

If a somewhat weaker formations expert was presence, he could work hard to find some flaws and weaknesses in the formation, then use their most powerful attacks against their weak points. In a situation like that, the chances of victory would naturally be greater.

But if one was too weak in terms of formations…then one would remain trapped within the formation, subject to being trampled upon and incapable of doing anything but using brute force to try and resist. This was the worst case scenario.

“Young master Youngflame, you must have brought a formations expert with you in your investigation of this Immortal estate,” Northson sent.

Youngflame Nong gritted his teeth. A formations expert? Of course he had brought one! But his formations expert was in the outside world of the Immortal estate! It was the Fiendgod – Xiangliu Fang.

Fiendgods were born from the natural world. The Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang had been born during the Fiendgod Era, and he had survived from then until now; from this, one could imagine how long a life he had lived. However, Fiendgods were different from other races; Fiendgods were truly the favored children of the heavens, the beloved scions of the universe. They were born with the innate ability to train and with innate divine abilities. In fact, some Primordial Fiendgods were even born with mastery over a Dao Path, or even an entire Grand Dao Path.

Thus, Fiendgods did not need to suffer the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations! Their lives were infinite and unlimited! However…

Their training speed, in turn, was incomparably slow. In fact, upon reaching a certain level, they would be unable to improve any further! For example, this Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, had reached the Primal level countless hundreds of millions of years ago, but he remained at the Primal level. Most likely, his potential had been exhausted, and in the future, he would forever remain a Primal.

However, their extremely long lives led them to begin to analyze and train in other areas, such as the Dao of Constructs or formations, which required a tremendous amount of time to research. Thus, although he was a bit weaker in terms of his comprehensive abilities, due to his extremely long life, Xiangliu Fang was a true formations master!

Per their original plan, Xiangliu Fang was to stay right next to Youngflame Nong and protect him. They shouldn’t have been separated at all! But earlier…when faced with attacks from so many monstrous Dao-soldiers, someone had to go delay them. Thus, Xiangliu Fang had been separated from the group.

“Uncle Fang!” Youngflame Nong was both frantic and filled with regret. “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have left Uncle Fang leave me. After we overcome this tribulation and once he returns, I won’t let him leave me again. Absolutely not!”

“Uncle Fang is skilled in formations,” Youngflame Nong sent back hurriedly, “But he’s completely unable to come inside. Everyone…are any of you skilled in formations?”

“What kind of a sick joke is this?!” Northson was both angry and frantic.

“The Fiendgod is skilled in formations?” Ning and the others were all speechless. The one who was skilled in formations was trapped outside, unable to enter the palace. As for the rest of them, who amongst them was skilled in formations? Although they were all true geniuses, they had all spent all of their energy on their own Daos; even Ji Ning, who was talented in terms of formations, he still primarily spent his time and energy on the Dao of the Sword. He would only occasionally flip through formation scrolls to relieve boredom.

“Adept Vastriver, Rainbowflame Fairy, the two of you are both reincarnated Immortals. In your past lives, I imagine that you must have researched formations before. Can you remember anything about them?” Youngflame Nong sent.

“We are only at the Wanxiang level; we occasionally gain just a few fragments of our memories. The Dao of Formations is an extremely vast and broad one; only after completely awakening our former memories will we be able to master our previous insights regarding formations,” Adept Vastriver sent back helplessly.

…..

Youngflame Nong, Ji Ning, and the others were chatting mentally at an extremely high speed. However, these arrows of ice that were being created and shot out by the formation were also moving at extremely high speed. The two weakest spots in the protective array, Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You, were even beginning to suffer wounds.

“Young master Youngflame, we aren’t able to hold,” Xue Hongyi said, left arm stained red with blood.

“Can’t hold.” Adept Bu You sent hurriedly as well.

“Hurry up and come in.” Youngflame Nong had no choice but to give this order. “Ji Ning, Adept Vastriver…the five of you, you’ll have to cover the locations which Xue Hongyi and Bu You were previously covering.”

Ning’s group had no choice but to grind their teeth and expand the scope of their formation to cover a wider range. But in doing so, the number of ice shard attacks they suffered increased as well!

“Whew.”

“We were almost finished.”

Upon entering the center, Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You couldn’t help but let out sighs of relief. They hurriedly swallowed spirit-pills, replenishing their power and healing.

“What should I do? What should I do?” Youngflame Nong began to ponder frantically. Although he had quite a few protective treasures on him, there was no way for him to break through this ancient, giant formation which a Celestial Immortal had set down. But of course, he could give up on this trial and use a ‘greater teleportation’ to immediately leave.

But upon doing so…that meant that he would have failed his trial. Youngflame Nong absolutely would not permit this to happen.

“I have to break this formation, but how? For now, those five disciples of the Black-White College and those ten Wanxiang Deathsworn are able to hold on, but as time goes on, their elemental ki will begin to deplete, at which point, death will be the result.” Youngflame Nong was frantic.

Right at this moment…

Within the chaotic void of the formation, an enormous, grayish-black, winged, ox-bodied, spiked, tiger-headed golem appeared. It was a Qiongqi Manticore golem! This Qiongqi Manticore suddenly appeared within the formation, and then, with a flutter of its wings, swooped out in an arc, avoiding the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn and clawing towards young master Youngflame at the center.

“Protect young master Youngflame,” Xue Hongyi immediately called out.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

One Qiongqi Manticore golem after another came howling forth. In almost a single instant, eighteen of them appeared in the surrounding area. For the moment, Ji Ning and the others were all being held down by these other Qiongqi Manticore golems, and were completely unable to protect young master Youngflame.

“Break.”

A sword struck out like a gleam of moonlight, chopping against the head of one of the Qiongqi golems. The Qiongqi golem was knocked backwards by thirty meters, came to halt, then threw itself forward once more.

Ji Ning was surrounded by seven hundred-plus flying swords. Seeing the situation, his face changed. Right now, the five of them were in a formation, and so his own elemental ki naturally had strengthed significantly…and yet, despite using the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], he was still only able to knock the Qiongqi golem back a short distance?

“Careful.”

“These Qiongqi golems all have the combat capability of a Primal Daoist, and their bodies are nigh impenetrable, as hard as magic treasures. They are far more difficult to deal with than ordinary Primal Daoists.” Northson was a genius of the Dao of Constructs; upon seeing these Qiongqi golems, he immediately knew that they were in serious trouble.

“This place actually has golems that are as powerful as Primal Daoists…every single one of them is incomparably precious, and there are a total of eighteen of them here!” Ning struck out with one flash of sword light after another, only just barely managing to tie down two of the Qiongqi Manticore golems.

Golems with the power of Primal Daoists would generally cause even Loose Immortals headaches. However, for a Celestial Immortal…purchasing eighteen golems on this level was still fairly easily done.

………

Eighteen Qiongqi golems. Ten of them were able to completely tie down Ji Ning’s group of five, as well as the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn. As for the other eight, they charged straight towards Youngflame Nong in the center of the array. These Qiongqi golems were sentient; they knew that Youngflame Nong was the ‘bandit chief’.”

“Stop them.”

“Careful.”

By Youngflame Nong’s side was Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You. They naturally were caught in the crossfire as well. When these eight Qiongqi golems attacked, both Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You began to panic. This was because every single Qiongqi golem was at least as strong as them. In addition, their ‘bodies’ were actually magic treasures, and thus were unbreakably tough.

“Riiiiip!” A sharp claw flashed out lightning-fast, slashing past Adept Bu You’s body, tearing him apart and sending blood flying everywhere.

“No…” Adept Bu You’s eyes were completely round. He had thought that by coming, he would gain young master Youngflame’s favor…but in the end, he had lost his life.

The first Wanxiang Adept death in their group had finally occurred.

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Chapter 9 – Heavy Casualties, a Change

Chapter 9 – Heavy Casualties, a Change

Adept Bu You’s death provoked Youngflame Nong, Ji Ning, and the others. The most provoked of all, of course, Xue Hongyi, whose strength was essentially on par with Adept Bu You.

“I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have come here!” Xue Hongyi’s eyes were completely red. A Dao-seal appeared in his hand, and it instantly transformed into a barrier of light that covered his body. Boom! It managed to forcibly endure a claw strike from a Qiongqi Manticore Golem. The golden light around his body trembled, but Xue Hongyi seized this chance to quickly escape.

He fled far away!

Ten of the eighteen Qiongqi golems were tied down by Ji Ning’s group of five and the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn. As for the other eight, they focused on young master Youngflame. Xue Hongyi, going all out, managed to escape from the center of their array, and for a moment, there were no Qiongqi golems after him.

“Damn, damn.” Youngflame Nong gave a cold sideways glance to the distant Xue Hongyi. Earlier, Xue Hongyi and Adept Bu You had been at least able to tie down three of the Qiongqi Manticore golems, but now with Adept Bu You slain and Xue Hongyi fled…the eight golems were completely surrounding and focusing on Youngflame Nong himself.

A pitiable look appeared on Xue Hongyi’s face, and he frantically sent mentally, “Young master Youngflame, I’m truly unable to stop them. Brother Bu You has already died; even if I were to resist, in just a few breaths, I would lose my life.”

Young master Youngflame was extremely angry, but he knew that these people weren’t his slaves, nor were they Deathsworn; in the face of certain death, it was normal for them to flee.

“Damn, damn, damn! If I can reunite with Uncle Fang…within this Witchriver Immortal Estate, I’m never going to let him leave my side again, ever!” Youngflame Nong truly felt regret for having allowed Xiangliu Fang to depart. If he had known that this would be the result, he would’ve simply used two of his treasures to lock down the two groups of monstrous Dao-soldiers.

Treasures capable of blocking more than ten thousand linked Dao-soldiers were naturally extraordinary, and young master Youngflame hadn’t been willing to use them up. But now, it was too late for regret.

….

Young master Youngflame stood there, a crimson red salamander coiling around him. The crimson salamander was emanating a terrifying aura, and it repeatedly slashed its claws against the attacking Qiongqi golems.

Bang! Bang! Bang! One golem after another was sent flying back.

The long tail of the Redscale Salamander slapped out repeatedly as well, but the ‘body’ of the Qiongqi golems was composed of magic treasures; they were unbreakable. Thus, they didn’t fear being struck, and they wildly surrounded and attacked Youngflame Nong. The sharp claws of the Qiongqi golems left enormous, gaping wounds on the body of the Rescale Salamander as well, tearing its scales open and sending blood spraying everywhere.

However, the Redscale Salamander was able to heal its wounds at an astonishing rate, and it continued to go all out in its battle against these Qiongqi golems.

This single Godbeast, the Redscale Salamander, was blocking eight Qiongqi Manticore golems!

“What a formidable Redscale Salamander.” Although Ning was fighting, he was also keeping an eye on the overall situation. The power of the Redscale Salamander made him sigh in amazement. “It lives up to its reputation as possessing one of the most exalted Godbeast lineages. In addition, it should also have trained in Fiendgod Body Refining; although it is only at the Wanxiang level, it already has combat prowess comparable to a peak Primal. Even if I were to unleash all my power, I would probably only be on par with it.”

Ning was currently utilizing his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Although he was being supported by the five-elements pentagonal formation, the power of it was still a bit weaker than his close combat prowess.

“Clank.”

“Clank.”

Ning’s group was working extremely hard to block the Qiongqi golems. From the side, those icy shards continued to fill the air and shoot towards them at high speed as well. However, the Qiongqi golems were also accidentally struck by and injured by the ice shards; after all, they were only capable of activating the formation, not controlling it.

Only the master of the Immortal estate and the heir to Immortal estate were able to truly control the formation. Without a controller, the icy shards were unable to differentiate between friend or foe. However, since the Qiongqi golems had treasure-like bodies, they didn’t care about the attacks from the icy shards.

“Not good.” Ning’s face suddenly changed.

“This is trouble.” Adept Vastriver was shocked as well.

All of them had been keeping an eye on the overall flow of battle. Those eight Qiongqi golems that previously had been surrounding and attacking young master Youngflame, due to being constantly blocked by the Godbeast, ‘Redscale Salamander’, actually gave up attacking him and instead immediately threw themselves towards the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn.

Comparatively speaking, the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn were a bit weaker. However, their wills were joined, and after having entered the grand formation, they were capable of tying down three of the Qiongqi Manticore golems.

However, when eight more of the golems suddenly charged towards them, this meant that the number of golems they were facing instantly reached eleven.

If the eleven golems were attacking Ning’s group of five, the five of them would’ve been able to hold on, but they were attacking the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn instead…

….

“HALT!” Youngflame Nong was enraged. Up till now, he had not personally intervened, but at this moment, an enormous black whip suddenly appeared out of nowhere into his hands. The black whip was covered with a flowing layer of black firelight. He snapped the whip out powerfully, and it lashed through the air, striking towards the Qiongqi golems in the distance.

BOOM!

The long whip struck one of the Qiongqi golems, and immediately knocked it backwards, sending flying all the way out of the formation, causing it to disappear from Ning’s field of vision.

BOOM! BOOM! Young master Youngflame lashed his whip out repeatedly, each strike carrying inconceivable power and sending each stricken Qiongqi Manticore golem flying backwards.

“Formidable.”

“Terrifying.”

“Powerful.”

Ning and the others were all shocked. None of them had imagined that this young master Youngflame was so powerful. In fact, at a single glance, Ning was able to tell for certain that the fire covering the whip which young master Youngflame was using was actually ‘earthfire’. And, unless he was mistaken, it was earthfire that should have reached the first grade, which was why it was comparable to ordinary skyfire in might!

“His flames are formed from first-grade earthfire. That whip is strange as well. In addition, young master Youngflame’s aura suddenly exploded with might; it must be some secret technique.” Ning sighed mentally at what he had seen. This ancient, massive Youngflame clan clearly had made multifaceted preparations for the upbringing of their next clan leader. His combat power, at the very least, was amazing. The man was definitely at the same level as Ning himself and Yu Wei, and his treasures were even more powerful!

“No!” A look of utmost anger appeared on Youngflame Nong’s face.

Although his whip had sent three Qiongqi golems flying in sequence, Youngflame Nong was, after all, just a single person…and there were eleven golems attacking. Thus, the other eight Qiongqi golems, accompanied by a large number of icy shards, continued to tear into and through the formation of the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn, ripping one of them into tiny pieces.

The death of one caused the strength of the other nine to immediately fall dramatically. And, at this moment, those three Qiongqi Manticore golems that had been sent flying out of the formation now came flying back inside. They were completely undamaged, and they once more threw themselves towards the nine Wanxiang Deathsworn.”

“Kill.”

“Master, we are leaving now.”

BOOM.

BANG.

RIP.

These Wanxiang Adepts did not fear death, but they were still torn apart, one by one, by the Qiongqi golems. Some were torn apart, while others were flattened to death by blows from the Qiongqi golems’ wings. In virtually just a single breath’s worth of time, the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn had all died.

Young master Youngflame was utterly enraged, but he didn’t dare to allow the Redscale Salamander by his side to leave, because he himself was not an Fiendgod Body Refiner. In close combat, he was at a huge disadvantage, and so the Redscale Salamander had to stay next to him to protect him.

“Kill those five.”

“Kill them.”

The eleven Qiongqi Manticore golems didn’t even look at Youngflame Nong; they threw themselves directly towards the five disciples of the Black-White College.

When Ning’s group had seen how the Qiongqi golems had surrounded and killed those ten Wanxiang Deathsworn, they knew that things had taken a turn for the worse. However, they were being tied down by these other seven golems…after all, of the five, the three most powerful were Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver, with Ninelotus and Mu Northson being comparatively weaker.

“Ji Ning, Rainbowflame Fairy, Adept Vastriver,” Young master Youngflame sent frantically, “Be careful of those Qiongqi golems. You have to be able to hold.”

“Damn these detestable Qiongqi golems. Damn them! First, they killed my ten Deathsworn, and now they are going to kill Ji Ning’s group.” Young master Youngflame knew exactly what was going on. Ning’s group was helping him tie down quite a few of the Qiongqi golems; if they were to die, then all eighteen golems would encircle and attack him. Although he had many magic treasures, his only choice would be to use the greater teleportation seal and flee. But upon fleeing, he would have failed this trial, and in the future, his chances of becoming the next Godplume Duke would be lessened. He absolutely would not permit this to happen.

“Ji Ning, let me in. Xue Hongyi, get the f*ck over here as well.”

Young master Youngflame and his Redscale Salamander, as well as the terrified Xue Hongyi, flew directly into the five-person formation which Ning’s group had set up. Ning’s group naturally did not prevent them from doing so.

“Attack.” Young master Youngflame, a sinister look on his face, gave the order, then immediately began to brandish his long black whip, blazing with black fire. As for the Redscale Salamander, it stretched half of its body outside, sending its claws towards the Qiongqi golems in raking attacks. Xue Hongyi also used all of his magic treasures, wanting to make up for his earlier transgression of fleeing.

“Young master Youngflame,” Ning sent suddenly.

“What is it?” Young master Youngflame was in an extremely foul mood right now, but to one of his main sources of support, Ji Ning, he still maintained an air of courtesy.

“The spirit-beast under my control, the Whitewater Hound, is exceedingly well-versed in the Dao of Formations, and he has studied it for a long time. He’s already discovered a flaw in the formation, and is confident in being able to break it,” Ning sent.

Young master Youngflame had been in an utterly furious mood, but upon hearing Ning’s words, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of eagerness and disbelief. “Did you just say that the spirit-beast you control, that Whitewater Hound, is able to break this formation? This is a formation which Immortal Witchriver set down. He is actually able to break a formation set down by a Celestial Immortal? Are you sure he can do it?”

It wasn’t that he was belittling the Whitewater Hound; rather, he didn’t believe the Whitewater Hound could possibly be that gifted in formations.

“Young master Youngflame, although this is a formation left behind by Immortal Witchriver, he himself wasn’t necessarily skilled in formations. In addition, although this formation is formidable, there isn’t anyone currently controlling it. A formation which no one is controlling…is extremely clumsy and not at all agile,” Ning sent hurriedly. “My Whitewater Hound spirit-beast, by using the Fuxi Staff Formation, is absolutely capable of breaking this formation.”

“Fuxi Staff Formation? Fine, I’ll trust you. I have a set of top-grade Fuxi Staff Formation treasures; use them, and the power of his formation will definitely increase.” At a time like this, young master Youngflame wouldn’t be stingy at all; he immediately took out a set of top-grade Fuxi Staff Formation artifacts, then tossed them over.

Behind Ning was the Whitewater Hound, who had yet to fight and had spent this entire period of time focusing on analyzing the formation. He sent a surge of elemental ki out from his body, wrapping it around the completely ownerless Fuxi Staff Formation artifacts and easily binding them.

“Uncle White, you truly feel confident?” Ning sent.

“Don’t worry, Ning, my son. I’ve spent a long time analyzing this formation, and am absolutely certain that I’ll be able to break it. This formation, despite being incomparably powerful, has no one at the helm. You should know that the more powerful a formation is, the more complicated it is as well. The formation is only able to unleash such power because it is drawing in the natural energy of the world, then transforming it through repeated cycles; as long as we are able ‘choke’ a single part of the cycle, then the entire formation will become useless.”

“If this formation had someone controlling it, then he naturally would be constantly changing things. It would be extremely hard to break the formation. But without a controller, it is hundreds and thousands of times easier to break this formation,” the Whitewater Hound said. “And with these unexpected top-grade Fuxi Staff Formation artifacts…well, young master Youngflame really is quite generous.”

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Chapter 10 – This is the Vault of Treasures

Chapter 10 – This is the Vault of Treasures

“That’s because you, Uncle White, are capable of breaking the formation,” Ji Ning sent mentally. “Uncle White, we have no time to waste. Hurry up and break it. If there’s anything you need, just speak out; young master Youngflame will definitely provide it.

“Keep these Qiongqi golems a bit farther away; make it so that within thirty meters, I won’t be disturbed in the slightest.”

“Alright.”

Ji Ning immediately sent mentally, “Young master Youngflame, everyone, we are going to expand the scope of this five elements formation.”

“Expand it? The larger we make the formation, the more ice shards will strike us,” Adept Vastriver said frantically.

“My Whitewater Hound spirit-beast is able to break this formation, but he needs thirty meters of space to do so,” Ning sent.

“Break the formation?”

“Truly?”

All of them were both delighted and shocked. Youngflame Nong urged frantically, “Everyone, hurry up and do your best to hold on for a period of time.” After finishing his words, he gave Xue Hongyi a hard look, and Xue Hongyi hurriedly tried to make it appear as though he truly was going all out and risking his life to hold on.

Rumble…

The formation expanded. Youngflame Nong and his Redscale Salamander displayed their might as well; the two of them, man and spirit-beast, were able to simultaneously tie down eight of those Qiongqi Manticore golems, while Xue Hongyi managed to block one as well. As for Ji Ning and the rest of the five, they were able to block the other nine Qiongqi golems. For a period of time, the group was actually able to overpower the golems and deliver blows to them.

However, while they were overpowering the golems, they still had to divert part of their attention and efforts to blocking the icy shards. Each of them were using up astonishing amounts of elemental ki; they were all operating at maximum power, a state which they couldn’t maintain for too long.

“Arise.”

A large, snowy white hound was in the very center of the entire formation. Around him were ancient, simple-looking wooden staffs that were covered with magic runes. The staffs suddenly flew out in every direction, quickly landing in various areas. As each staff landed down, the space around them seemed to have been ‘nailed down’. All sixty four Fuxi Staffs descended on their respective locations.

Every single staff suddenly began to glow with an eye-catching, watery glow. In addition, lines of watery light began to connect between the staffs, forming an incomparably massive seal-formation.

Rumble…

The seal-formation actually began to merge with the giant formation around them.

It was like a drop of black water, falling onto a spotless white cloth, or a iron spike that was thrust into the spokes of a wheel; in short, the grand formation which had previously been incomparably harmonious and perfect was suddenly, instantly, ‘stuck’. In turn, the incomparably powerful surges of elemental energy from the natural world ceased to flow, and the attacking ice shards suddenly began to weaken in power. In but a single breath’s worth of time, they all vanished into nowhere.

And then, the entire grand formation itself completely vanished.

The ancient hall that they had been in previously once more appeared within Ning’s field of vision. They were still within the hall; they had never actually left it.

“The formation is broken?”

Youngflame Nong was stunned for a moment, but then he was wildly overjoyed. When he had been trapped within the formation, he had been consumed with the agony of despair and bitterness. Now that he had been released from it…it was hard for him to express the joy in his heart through words.

“Formidable, formidable.” Mu Northson blinked his eyes as he looked at the large, snowy white dog in their midst.

“What a formidable Whitewater Hound.” Adept Vastriver looked at the snowy white dog as well.

“Uncle White, you really are formidable,” Ninelotus sent mentally as well.

All of them were absolutely overjoyed.

Although Xue Hongyi was surprised and delighted at their escape, in his heart, he still felt extremely displeased. “Even his spirit-beast is as formidable as this in formations…why the hell don’t I have such a powerful spirit-beast? Damnable, absolutely damanable…this time, Ji Ning once again became the one to accumulate great merits in front of young master Youngflame.”

…..

No longer having to worry about the constant attacks from the overwhelming number of icy arrows, Ning and the others instantly exploded with power. By relying on the five-elements pentagonal formation, Ning, Adept Vastriver, and Yu Wei were each able to lock down four of the Qiongi golems, while Ninelotus, Northson, and Xue Hongyi were each able to lock down one. The Redscale Salamander, by itself, was able to block all of the other golems.

It was now extremely easy. Young master Youngflame didn’t even need to personally intervene; all eighteen of the golems were now locked down.

“Uncle Fang, the formation has been broken. You can come in now.” Youngflame Nong sent a spiritual message to Xiangliu Fang, who was still outside.

The two had set up a soul-bind long ago. Xiangliu Fang, this Fiendgod, was Youngflame Nong’s most loyal servant; otherwise, how could the Youngflame clan be comfortable with sending a Fiendgod to accompany their young master?

……

Xiangliu Fang had successfully fled to the outside perimeter of this palace long ago, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to enter. Thus, he could only continue to run about and flee outside of it. The entire Immortal estate was only a few tens of thousands of kilometers in size; it truly was too small. Xiangliu Fang had already completely circumnavigated this world once.

“Stop chasing.”

“That Fiendgod is too crafty.”

“And he won’t die.”

The two mightiest monstrous powers in the Immortal estate world had both given up their chase. Although their attacks on Xiangliu Fang had caused him repeated injuries, as a Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang’s recuperative abilities were simply too astonishing. In addition, he had been using evasive techniques, causing his speed to vastly outstrip the combined Dao-soldier armies. After repeated engagements, the two forces had given up.

“This Fiendgod isn’t easy to deal with, but those humans that came in with him are far weaker. This Fiendgod is a protector for one of them; once they come out, we’ll kill the humans, then seize the key to the Immortal estate.” These monstrous powers were also waiting outside the Vault of Treasures, one of the five palaces of the Immortal estate.

As soon as Ning’s group came out, they would surround them and kill them!

This was their one and only chance at seizing the key to the Immortal estate. Leaving this Immortal estate world was something which the various monstrous races here had hoped and dreamed about for countless ages. Their ancestors had all passed down legends of how incomparably vast the outside world was, and how even Immortals could fly for days and nights without reaching the ends of the world.

Days and nights?

The monsters of the Immortal estate world couldn’t even imagine such a thing, because in the Immortal estate world, a Loose Immortal could completely circumnavigate the world in as much time as was needed to boil a kettle of tea.

“I truly want to leave.”

“I truly want to see that vast, endless world.” All the monsters shared this feeling.

At this moment, the distant Xiangliu Fang was still awaiting Youngflame Nong’s spirit-message; both of them had extremely powerful souls, and thus they could naturally communicate spiritually at a fairly long distance.

“The young master is trapped within a formation in that palace…what should I do?” Xiangliu Fang was worried as well. “I can’t go in. If no one can break the formation and the young master remains trapped in it…in the end, I’m afraid he’ll give up and leave, but if he does, that means he will have failed this trial.”

Xiangliu Fang was worried, but he had no way of entering.

“Uncle Fang, the formation is broken. You can come in now,” Youngflame Nong sent spiritually.

“The formation is broken?” Xiangliu Fang was amazed and delighted. He immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the palace.

Swoosh!

He flew over at high speed.

“That Fiendgod is coming again.”

“We can’t kill him…why’s he coming?”

“Can it be that he wants to enter the palace? Let’s follow him and go in together.” The monstrous Dao-soldiers reformed into that titanic wave and the Yaksha Dao-soldier. They looked at the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, but didn’t attack.

Whoosh. In midair, an enormous palace door suddenly appeared, and then the door swung open. Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang had just reached that location. With a swoosh, he flew through the palace door…and then, the illusory door once more vanished.

Xiangliu Fang and young master Youngflame’s coordination was simply perfect. As soon as he had arrived, the door had appeared, and as soon as he entered, the palace door had once more shut, causing the pursuing Dao-soldiers that were right behind him to be unable to enter at all. After all, Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang was faster than them to begin with.

“Wait! I refuse to believe he won’t come out! As soon as they come out, we’ll first kill those humans, then seize the key to the Immortal estate.” The monstrous Dao-soldiers could only choose to wait patiently.

……..

Within the massive palace hall. Ning’s group was still fighting back against the wildly attacking Qiongqi golems.

“Swoosh.” A figure suddenly charged in. It was a pitch-black, narrow-eyed, middle-aged man…the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang.

“Uncle Fang.” Youngflame Nong was delighted. Finally, he had reunited with Uncle Fang. After seeing Uncle Fang, his restless, uneasy heart finally calmed down. With Uncle Fang present, he was safe.

Upon entering, Xiangliu Fang immediately saw those Qiongqi Manticore golems.

“Golems?” Xiangliu Fang, with a single step, arrived next to one of the Qiongqi golems. The golem immediately bellowed, slashing out with his claws and wanting to tear Xiangliu Fang apart. But what welcomed it was Xiangliu Fang’s fist!

BOOM!

The fist smashed directly upon the Qiongi golem, like the descent of a meteor, knocking it flying back and, with a titanic smashing out, sending it smashing hard against the walls of the palace. The walls of the Immortal estate were incomparably sturdy, while the Qiongqi golem itself was a magic artifact; neither were damaged. However, the Qiongqi golem first slumped to the ground, before them clambering back to its feet.

“A Primal golem?” Xiangliu Fang frowned, and then he threw out an enormous sack. “Come.” Xiangliu Fang waved his large hands, and then his ten fingers transformed into ten giant snakes, filling the air as they seized two of the Qiongqi golems. The two Qiongqi golems struggled viciously, but weren’t able to escape from Xiangliu Fang’s snake-hands.

“Get in.” After having seized the two Qiongqi golems, Xiangliu Fang tossed them directly into the sack.

Xiangliu Fang moved as fast as lightning, his giant hands filled with boundless, awe-inspiring might. Clearly, this was a powerful divine ability he had access to. With power far greater than that of the Qiongqi golems, he snatched them two or three at a time. In the blink of an eye, all eighteen of the golems had been seized and thrown into the sack; they didn’t even have a chance to flee.

“So powerful.” Ning and the others were stupefied and speechless with amazement.

“Uncle Fang.” Youngflame Nong was delighted.

Xiangliu Fang nodded, then gave a sideways glance to the Whitewater Hound, who was still maintaining the formation. He said softly, “Whitewater Hound? There are very few monsters who are skilled in formations. Whitewater Hounds are indeed extremely intelligent and well-suited for analyzing formations.”

After speaking, Xiangliu Fang transformed into a streak of light.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! He flew to three places, smashing down viciously with his fist. Although the palace itself was undamaged, some of its decorations, such as its giant chandeliers and drapes, were smashed into tiny bits.

“Alright. I’ve already blocked the critical chokepoints to the formation.” Xiangliu Fang looked towards the Whitewater Hound. “No need for you to constantly maintain the formation.”

The Whitewater Hound retrieved the artifacts from his Fuxi Staff Formation, and indeed, the previously active enemy formation didn’t respond at all.

“Whew.” Ning and the others shared glances, then revealed smiles. With an expert present, things would indeed be much simpler going forward.

“Eh?” Xiangliu Fang frowned slightly as he looked towards a distant place in the palace. He pointed towards it, and instantly, a ray of black divine power flew out from his finger, striking against the distant palace wall. Three giant characters instantly appeared on the wall – VAULT OF TREASURES.

“The Vault of Treasures?” Ning, Northson, and Xue Hongyi were all overjoyed.

The Immortal estate world had a total of five palaces. Ning’s group had no idea what the palace they had entered was meant for. Now, upon seeing those three characters, they knew immediately that this must be for storing treasures! Originally, Youngflame Nong had promised that any treasures they were capable of acquiring from within the Immortal estate would be theirs!

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Chapter 11 – The Treasure Vault of a Celestial Immortal

Chapter 11 – The Treasure Vault of a Celestial Immortal

“Don’t be impatient.” Youngflame Nong could naturally tell what Ji Ning and the others were thinking. Smiling, he said, “The treasures aren’t going anywhere. As I said to you, and as I even promised in the name of the Youngflame clan, anything you acquire will belong to you.”

Ji Ning and the others all nodded.

“And these.” Youngflame Nong pointed towards the ground nearby. On the ground were the magic treasures left behind by Adept Bu You and the ten Wanxiang Deathsworn.

“This time, we were trapped within the Immortal estate’s formation; it was thanks to Ji Ning’s spirit-beast that we were able to break through it. These magic treasures aren’t worth that much; Ji Ning, go ahead and take them.” Youngflame Nong looked towards Ning, who didn’t hesitate; he immediately collected all of the various magic treasures. After all, these were treasures from eleven Wanxiang Adepts, one of whom was a two-clawed Raindragon Guard. This sort of treasure was quite valuable.

Xue Hongyi looked at Ning, musing secretly to himself, “Damn your luck! I want to see how long it holds!”

Although he felt jealous hatred, he still understood that right now, the Black-White College’s five disciples held the advantage in power.

“Let’s go.” Youngflame Nong now appeared much more relaxed. With Xiangliu Fang by his side, he began to walk leisurely to the front.

Each of the five palaces were extremely large. However, Xiangliu Fang was a true expert of formations; he led them with ease through the various corridors, and they thus naturally made their way towards the heart of the entire palace. Just a short while later, Ning’s group arrived at an incomparably wide hall within the palace, filled with a jade bed at the front and prayer mats below.

The jade bed was most likely where Immortal Witchriver used to sit and meditate.

“This is…!?” Youngflame Nong suddenly stared at the jade bed. His Immortal estate key was vibrating strongly, having sensed where the heart of this palace was.

“That jade bed is the core of this palace,” Youngflame Nong said.

“Young master, let me take a look.” Xiangliu Fang stretched his hands out. His hands instantly expanded, and his ten fingers transformed into ten giant snakes which filled the air and swarmed the region. After sweeping past the region, he nodded and said, “Young master, there are no dangers here.”

Only now did Youngflame Nong, with a swoosh, scurry to the top of the jade bed. He sat down in the lotus position, then began to fill the jade bed below him with elemental ki.

This jade bed was the core of this palace, the Vault of Treasures. Every palace had a core, and if one could bind them all, the entire Immortal estate would be bound as well. The test the Youngflame clan had given Youngflame Nong was to have him completely bind this Immortal estate.

“Alright. The rest of you can go,” Youngflame Nong said, seated on the jade bed, “And search to your hearts’ content for the treasures which Immortal Witchriver left behind here. I won’t go.”

Xiangliu Fang stood at the jade bed as well, quietly standing guard.

Ning and the others exchanged a glance, secretly celebrating. If the most powerful member of their group, the Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang, was not going to compete with them for treasures, it would be wonderful.

“I’ve already begun to bind the core of this palace. None of the restrictive spells within this palace will activate, so the only thing you need to worry about are golems lying in wait,” Youngflame Nong said with a loud laugh. “However, my guess is that this palace doesn’t have any golems left. If there were, they would’ve attacked us long ago.”

“Young master Youngflame, we’ll go search for treasures, then.” Ning and the others didn’t stay here any longer; they immediately departed. They had arrived in hall together, but now, they immediately parted ways.

“Senior apprentice-brother, treasure-hunting is a matter of individual luck,” Northson said with extraordinary excitement.

“There might be Immortal-ranked magic treasures,” Adept Vastriver said with great eagerness as well.

“It’s up to destiny,” Ninelotus said.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! They all quickly parted ways. Even the Whitewater Hound and Little Qing parted ways from Ning, moving out on their own.

“I refuse to believe you’ll be that damn lucky.” Xue Hongyi, at the rear of the procession, had a cold look on his face. He chose a pathway for himself, then began to search.

…….

The Vault of Treasures, one of the five palaces of the estate, was simply too vast.

“And my divine sense can’t even penetrate through the walls here?” Ning had no other options; he had to rely on the simplest, most rudimentary of methods to search; push through the doors of each room and search them.”

Rumble. A stone door was pushed out. Ning swept the inside of the room with his divine sense while also scanning it with his eyes. “Not this one.”

Rumble. Yet another stone door was pushed open, and Ning searched this room as well. “Not this one either.”

“Nope.”

“Not this one.”

Ning quickly searched through multiple rooms.

Rumble! Ning pushed open the door to the sixth room. “Not this one eith-…eh? This is…?!”

Ning’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot with excitement. He hurriedly shut the door to the study, then entered.

Surges of ripples emanated from the magic treasures in this room. Ning stared at the magic treasures and sensed the rippling waves of energy coming from them, and felt as though he were in a dream.

“I actually was the one to discover the true Treasure Vault. It seems I really am lucky.” Ning swept the room with his gaze. Upon an enormous display case, there were many magic treasures, including ropes, flying swords, gongs, disks, needles, awls, nails, sacks, warhammers, seals, staffs, ribbons, horsetail whisks, fog bottles, jade flasks, colored clothes, powders, armbands…

The amount of treasure here was simply astonishing. They all had different auras of power as well; the ones closest to Ning had ripples of power that were a bit weaker, while the more distant ones were more powerful. Clearly, these magic treasures were divided up by power levels.

“So many magic treasures…how could Immortal Witchriver possibly have a use for all of them?” Ning sighed gently, but suddenly, he thought about the so-called ‘Witchriver clan’ which he had encountered in the outside areas of the Immortal estate world. “Right. Immortal Witchriver, as a Celestial Immortal, naturally had many, many monstrous attendants. Of course he would want to be able to take good care of them and provide resources for them.”

It was much like how Ning had made certain preparations for the Ji clan as well. Immortal Witchriver had made preparations to strengthen his descendants. In addition, as a Celestial Immortal, Immortal Witchriver naturally had far more members in his clan than the Ji clan did. In turn, then, he would need to be extremely strict in handing out magic treasures. He must have created this ‘Vault of Treasures’, with clansmen who had rendered meritorious deeds or who had extremely good talent being provided gifts. This was only logical.

“Bind them!” Ning’s body instantly emanated streaks of elemental ki, like ribbons of light, filling the air with them as he shot them towards the magic treasures. Countless years had passed; even if the treasures did have masters in the distant pass, by now, there wasn’t even the slightest bit of vestigial ki within them, and they were extremely easy to bind.

“These are Mortal-ranked. These are Earth-ranked…I’m unable to bind this one! Haha, it has to at least be a Heaven-ranked magic treasure.” Ning could no longer remain calm, beginning to laugh wildly.

He had hit the jackpot!

He had truly hit the jackpot today. This was a stroke of tremendously good fortune. He originally had thought that Immortal Witchriver would carry his most important treasures with him, and thus logically the Vault of Treasures wouldn’t have too many treasures within, but in reality, within this treasure room, there was a veritable sea of treasures, all of which Immortal Witchriver had prepared for his clansmen.

A few poor Witchriver clansmen had been trapped within the Vault of Treasures after Immortal Witchriver’s death, forever unable to leave. They had died within the vault of old age. Fortunately, however, the Witchriver clansmen outside the vault had some other treasures as well. Still, despite that, they were only able to be local hegemons in the outside world of this Immortal estate world.

In as much time as was needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning completely bound everything he could.

“My heavens.” Ning took a deep breath, his heart pounding so loudly, he felt as though he could audibly hear his heartbeats. This was simply too amazing.

“More than 180,000 Mortal-ranked treasures, more than 16,000 Earth-ranked treasures, and more than a hundred treasures which I could not bind.” Ning was somewhat stunned. This…this was too amazing. Although he had already been an extremely wealthy Wanxiang Adept, compared to this sea of treasures…there was no comparison at all.

“Even Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals probably don’t have this much,” Ning sighed in amazement. “Celestial Immortals live up to their reputation. Even a small fraction of their wealth is far beyond what ordinary Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals possess.”

“I’m taking this.”

“And this.”

“My precious, my precious, all of you, come here.” Ning was absolutely giddy. He collected up all the Mortal-ranked magic treasures, storing them in his storage magic treasure, then stored all of the Earth-ranked magic treasures into his Zifu region. His Zifu was incomparably vast; even the 16,000-plus Earth-ranked magic treasures only took up a small corner of his Zifu.

Swoosh! Ning, with a flash, instantly arrived next to one of the longest display counters. This display counter was covered with magic treasures that emanated powerful ripples; Ning wasn’t able to bind any of them.

“Unless I’m mistaken, these should be Heaven-ranked,” Ning said softly. Although he was unable to bind them, which meant they could also be Immortal-ranked treasures, logic argued against it. Although the magic treasures atop this long table emanated ripples that were different in power, the general strength of the ripples were roughly on the same level.

Most likely, some were middle-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasures, while others were high-grade or even top-grade.

“Even Primal Daoists generally only have a few Heaven-ranked magic treasures, but I have more than a hundred. And, given that they were stored away by a Celestial Immortal, I imagine that none of them are weak.” Ning could feel his blood pumping.

It must be understood that even the weakest, low-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasures could only be purchased with five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Slightly better treasures would cost much more, upwards of five thousand kilograms.

If, theoretically…

If all of these hundred-plus magic treasures were Heaven-ranked, and all of them were slightly better than low-grade, without a single top-grade…they would still be worth nearly five hundred thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! This was a sum that was enough to cause even Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals to feel their hearts tremble.

“A Celestial Immortal could pluck a hair from his head, and it would still be thicker than my legs. And what I have here isn’t just one of his ‘hairs’…it’s more like one of his ‘legs’!” Ji Ning was simply too excited. He actually began to ramble and spout nonsense, while mentally calculating the worth of these Heaven-ranked magic treasures. The powerful ripples emanating from them caused Ning to feel incomparably delighted, especially because several of the ripples were extremely strong, which caused Ning to feel even more pleasure.

“Haha, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]? Just 700 Earth-ranked magic treasures…that’s nothing!” Ning continued to celebrate. “In training to the Second Cycle of the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer], I’ll also need a lot of precious materials, but with this, I can go trade for them at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

Previously, he had been extremely tight on money. He felt that he was extremely poor, unable to buy this and unable to buy that. Now, however, he suddenly felt that he was extremely rich. Even ordinary Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals were a bit less wealthy than him! But of course, some of the top-class Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were still wealthier.

“In you go.” After savoring the feeling for a while, Ning began to collect these powerful Heaven-ranked magic treasures as well. As he was unable to bind them for now, he had no choice but to put them within his storage-type magic treasure.

“This trip with Youngflame Nong to this Celestial Immortal’s estate was absolutely worth it. Celestial Immortals…Celestial Immortals…they really live up to their reputations.” Ning had completely cleaned out all of the treasures within this room. Suddenly, he blinked. “Hey…these display tables that held the magic treasures…the wood seems to be quite extraordinary. Slumberghost Waterwood? A single kilogram of it is equivalent in value to two taels…there has to be a million kilograms worth of Slumberghost Waterwood here. Mm, makes sense…Immortal Witchriver put the magic treasures on the display tables for his descendants to look at. Of course he had to procure some good tables. I’m taking this as well! And this one here!”

Ning collected up all of the tables and cases within this room as well. The entire room was now completely empty. Not a single thing was left.

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Chapter 12 – An Immortal-Ranked Magic Treasure Emerges

Chapter 12 – An Immortal-Ranked Magic Treasure Emerges

Ji Ning, feeling incomparably delighted, walked out of the treasure storeroom. “This was a tremendous stroke of fortune. No wonder so many Immortal cultivators, despite knowing some places are dangerous, insist on going into them. It is because they hope for strokes of fortune like this. With such wealth…my power will increase tremendously, and my ability to stay alive will improve tremendously as well.”

As long as he had enough treasures, he would be able to trade for what he needed at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

Life-saving items, fleeing items, support items, Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities…as long as he was willing to pay a high enough price, he could acquire them all!

Although Ning currently had those two extremely powerful life-protecting items from the underwater estate, one of which had even been personally created by Daoist Threelives…two wasn’t enough. The likes of young master Youngflame definitely carried more than ten life-saving items by his side.

“If I had so many treasures to begin with, my earthfire and dire-ice would’ve been raised to the first grade long ago.” Ning continued to advance through the corridors at high speed, pushing open the doors to one study after another.

Rumble. “Nothing here.”

“Nothing here either.” Ning continued to search.

Given how enormous the Vault of Treasures was, aside from the items treasure storeroom he had located, there might be other treasures present. Just as Ning was continuing to relaxedly search, suddenly…

BOOM!

The entire region seemed to tremble, causing Ning’s skin and hair to begin to shake. Ning couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the corridor behind him. Deep from the ends of that corridor, an incomparably powerful ripple was surging forth.

“A magic treasure ripple.” Ning, having seen so many magic treasures earlier in the treasure hall, immediately came to this conclusion. “In addition, this ripple is far more powerful than the ripples that were given off by the Heaven-ranked magic treasures in that storeroom!”

Instantly, a thought flashed past Ning’s mind. Immortal-ranked magic treasure! “It has to be an Immortal-ranked treasure.” Ning instantly swept forward, moving towards the direction of the ripple at high speed.

……

“This material is excellent. I can use it to create constructs.” Northson was searching within the palace as well, and he didn’t hold back at all. He immediately collected all of the drapes, tables, and prayer mats he found on his path through. “Just now, I discovered long-decayed corpses with magic treasures that even I am unable to bind. I imagine they must be Heaven-ranked, while the dead were Primal Diremonsters. Heh heh, one more corpse, please, one more corpse!”

When Immortal Witchriver had died, the palace had instantly become sealed off.

Generally speaking, those granted access to this palace were experts of high status. However, trapped within, they had no escape, eventually dying of old age! They left behind their corpses, and all of the treasures next to the corpses were extraordinary.

“One more corpse, please…” Northson’s gaze was blazing as he continued to search.

Rumble!

A powerful ripple surged forth. Northson was momentarily stunned, and then he immediately turned to face a sideways, curving corridor, letting out a surprised howl. “It must be an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.” And then, he immediately transformed into a streak of light, flying over.

…….

“Why doesn’t this Vault of Treasures have anything? I wonder if the others found anything.” Adept Vastriver had nothing to show for his efforts, finding nothing on his path.

“Eh?” Adept Vastriver suddenly came to a halt, sensing that powerful ripple.

“Such a powerful ripple…it must be an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.” Given that he had fragments of memories from his past life, some naturally involved Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Adept Vastriver’s eyes instantly turned red with desire, and he immediately transformed into a streak of light, hurrying forward.

……

All of them, scattered throughout the palace, advanced at high speed towards the source of the ripples.

The Immortal-ranked magic treasure was within an extremely large and quiet secret room. The room was very large. The insides, however, were quite empty. The red-robed youth, Xue Hongyi, was currently staring, mouth hanging open, at a nearby oil lamp. Above the lamp, there was an azure, blazing flame. The area around the tiny lamp was filled with circles upon circles of flames, all of which emanated powerful ripples, forcibly preventing Xue Hongyi from reaching out to seize it.

“This, this…Immortal-ranked magic treasure?!” Xue Hongyi felt that this really was his lucky today. Just now, when he had entered, he had seen that to the side of the room, there was a seemingly ordinary decorative lamp. Only, a fire was blazing within the oil lamp, causing him to feel intrigued. What he had thought to himself was, “Given that Immortal Witchriver has died countless hundreds of millions of years ago, for this lamp to remain burning means that it must be extraordinary.”

He immediately had stretched his hand out to collect it into his storage-type magic treasure, but as he was about to do so, the lamp suddenly exploded with awe-inspiring might. Circles of fire blazed out from within the lamp, emanating a powerful, rippling energy aura that easily deflected him.

“Hahaha, who says Ji Ning is the only lucky one around? I, Xue Hongyi, can be lucky as well. This Immortal-ranked magic artifact is mine.” Xue Hongyi was incomparably excited. He produced a horsetail whisk within his hand, then swept out with it. The white threads on the whisk immediately flew out, moving to surround the oil lamp.

The oil lamp remained where it was, but the flames around it began to blaze even greater, forcibly keeping the threads at bay.

“What?” A look of amazement appeared on Xue Hongyi’s face. “I can’t take it, even when I’m using a magic treasure?”

“A puny Wanxiang wants to be my master?” The flame atop the oil lamp suddenly transformed into the face of a child, which then stared angrily at Xue Hongyi. “You had best know your own limits and quickly depart.”

Xue Hongyi, however, only felt all the more delighted. According to the legends, Immortal-ranked magic treasures would give birth to treasure-spirits which could speak in the human tongue.

“It is as the legends say. They really are capable of human speech. An Immortal-ranked treasure!” Xue Hongyi’s eyes were shining. The entire Snowdragon Mountain was not in possession of a single Immortal-ranked magic treasure, but now, he had a chance to acquire one! A tremendous bit of luck had befallen him; it would be a sin to to anything besides seize it.

“Magic treasure, you had best obediently follow me.” A snowy white ribbon appeared in front of Xue Hongyi, the power of it clearly much greater than the previous treasure. This was one of Xue Hongyi’s most favored magic treasures, and it went sweeping in an entangling manner towards the lamp.

The lamp remained where it was. It was, after all, only an Immortal-ranked magic treasure; it wasn’t yet able to fly about and move about on its own. However, it was capable of manifesting a bit of its might…and even just a small portion of the might of an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, was not something which an ordinary Wanxiang Adept could handle. The circles of fire around it began to grow even larger, and the ripples it manifested grew even stronger, managing to forcibly block Xue Hongyi’s white ribbon.

“You aren’t able to collect me. Your power is lacking, lacking by far.” The blaze-turned-toddler face sneered, “You had best leave now. If someone who is weak acquires an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, it will only be a disaster, not a blessing.”

“Hmph. I can take you and trade you for top-grade Heaven-ranked magic items and many other treasures. Alternately, I can go to the local Raindragon Guard branch and immediately enter secluded meditation, only leaving once I reach the Primal level…by then, my power will greatly expand, and Snowdragon Mountain will hold me in reverence.” Xue Hongyi’s eyes were filled with madness. “I refuse to believe I can’t collect you, an inanimate object!”

Xue Hongyi used magic treasures repeatedly, attempting to capture it.

However, he simply could not.

He didn’t dare use his own hand to snatch it; after all, he wasn’t a Fiendgod Body Refiner. Upon doing so, he would probably be burnt to ash.

“Swoosh.” Ripples of power suddenly came from outside, and the stone door began to be pushed open.

“Someone’s coming in.” Xue Hongyi could no longer afford to wait. “GET OVER HERE!” Xue Hongyi let out a howl, then executed a forbidden technique. His face turned completely red, and a series of flying needles flew out, exploding with power and transforming into a gigantic hand that grabbed the lamp, smothering and breaking the flames surrounding it.

“GET IN!” He immediately collected the Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Only now did Xue Hongyi turn his body, only to see that two figures had appeared from behind; Ji Ning and Yu Wei.

“Decisive and vicious,” Ning said softly. Xue Hongyi just grinned, seeming quite smug. At the critical moment, he had executed a forbidden technique and collected the Immortal-ranked magic treasure. He, too, felt that he had been quite decisive.

“Unfortunately, you were a step too late.” Xue Hongyi gave Ning a glance.

“That was an Azuresilk Godfire Lamp!” Yu Wei said softly, “It can be used to nourish skyfire and raise it to the first grade in power! In addition, the azuresilk godfire within it can be activated to attack enemies. It will pose a grave threat to even Loose Immortals, although it isn’t very effective against Celestial Immortals…still, it can be considered an excellent Immortal-ranked magic treasure. If it were to be sold to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, it could fetch a price of 1.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!”

Ning’s heart shook. 1.5 million? And, according to what Yu Wei said, it seemed as though this Azuresilk Godfire Lamp was similar to the Earthfire Heartlamp in effect, capable of nourishing skyfire to the first grade! And it could also be used to fight against enemies…

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. A series of figures flew out; Ninelotus, Adept Vastriver, Northson, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing.

“The Immortal-ranked magic treasure? Where is it?” Northson hurriedly looked around, then stared at Xue Hongyi. “It wasn’t acquired by Xue Hongyi, was it?”

“It was him,” Yu Wei explained.

……

In the largest hall within the Vault of Treasures.

Youngflame Nong was seated in the lotus position, continuously working to bind the hall. He, too, could sense the powerful ripples emanating from the Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

“There actually is an Immortal-ranked treasure?” Youngflame Nong said, surprised, “Was Immortal Witchriver so wealthy that he wouldn’t keep all of his Immortal-ranked treasures by his side?”

Powerful experts would keep their most powerful artifacts by their side. A Celestial Immortal would generally have multiple Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Youngflame Nong had originally felt certain that the Witchriver Immortal Estate would have no Immortal-ranked magic treasures within, and so he didn’t care about the treasures here at all.

“Young master, are you going to take action?” Xiangliu Fang asked.

“No need.” Youngflame Nong shook his head. “I have, after all, made a promise in the name of the clan. In addition, they will be needed within this Immortal estate.”

Xiangliu Fang nodded.

“Once they are no longer of use…” Youngflame Nong’s eyes suddenly flickered with a bit of heat. “I have to say, that Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei…she really is quite fine.”

Xiangliu Fang laughed. He knew exactly what his master was thinking about.

“Young master, when the time comes, you just need to give a few subtle hints, and Yu Wei will know how she should act. She’s merely a reincarnated Immortal; to Immortal cultivators, the most important thing is their cultivation paths. The pleasures of the flesh are, by comparison, a minor matter. For the sake of being able to proceed to greater heights on her path, she will yield to you, young master.” Xiangliu Fang spoke in a soft voice; his young master, in the imperial capital, was quite a lavish, generous spender.

He was the future Godplume Duke! Given his status, the types of pleasures he enjoyed were quite extravagant as well. It was actually quite common for reincarnated female Immortals to submit to being maidservants for him.

“Not the same. This Yu Wei isn’t like the others; she’s even better than those I had in the imperial capital.” Youngflame Nong licked his lower lip. “But as for that Ninelotus, heh heh…her demeanor and aura is quite extraordinary as well. People from large, top-tier clans like her know how to judge a situation. I imagine that it would be a bit easier to convince her to play with me a few times. Yu Wei will probably be harder.”

“How about…” Xiangliu Fang’s voice grew even softer.

“No need. I still need them.” Youngflame Nong shook his head. “Some matters are more important than others.”

“Right.” Xiangliu Fang nodded.

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Chapter 13 – The Humble Xue Hongyi

Chapter 13 – The Humble Xue Hongyi

Within the private room. Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Yu Wei, Ninelotus, Adept Vastriver, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing were all staring towards Xue Hongyi.

The allure of an Immortal-ranked magic artifact was incomparably great. Although Adept Vastriver had been a Loose Immortal in his past life, he had never acquired an Immortal-ranked magic treasure…for the sake of such a treasure, even the annihilation of entire clans and sects was not uncommon.

“Why don’t we kill them, then take the Immortal-ranked magic treasure to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and trade it for liquefied elemental essence? We can split it evenly,” Adept Vastriver sent mentally, a hint of coldness in his eyes.

“Kill?”

“Should we kill?”

They were all hesitating, but the most determined one was Adept Vastriver.

Ning and Xue Hongyi weren’t exactly on good terms; in the past, Xue Hongyi had even intended to try and capture Ning. Fortunately, Northmont Baiwei had stopped him. Ning didn’t feel any compunctions against killing Xue Hongyi…but they had entered this Immortal estate together. And, when they had done so, Youngflame Nong had already given them a strongly worded warning.

“What are you planning on doing?” Xue Hongyi shouted, “Previously, when we arrived at this Witchriver Immortal Estate, young master Youngflame said on the warship that we were forbidden from fighting against each other!”

Xue Hongyi was mentally panicking as well. Although Youngflame Nong had issued this warning, the reality was that at this point in time, these five disciples of the Black-White College were definitely more important to Youngflame Nong than Xue Hongyi was. If they really were to kill Xue Hongyi, most likely Youngflame Nong wouldn’t be too upset about it.

Ning and the others all exchanged glances.

Previously, Youngflame Nong had said these words: “After we enter the Witchriver Immortal Estate, we have to be of one mind and work together. We cannot fight internally. If anyone causes chaos inside, then don’t blame me, Youngflame Nong, for becoming cruel and unfeeling.”

“What is there to fear? We five disciples of the Black-White College are more important to Youngflame Nong,” Adept Vastriver sent mentally. “After we kill Xue Hongyi, Youngflame Nong definitely wouldn’t act against us; that would be like breaking his own arms.”

“He won’t act against us now, but after he binds this Immortal estate, we won’t be of use to him and he’ll be able to act against us,” Ninelotus sent.

“Act against us? We aren’t so easily dealt with. What’s more, you, Ninelotus, are the next leader of the Dongyan clan. Youngflame Nong won’t dare to act too rashly; after all, he’s currently just an ordinary disciple of the Youngflame clan who has a high chance of becoming the next Godplume Duke; he’s not the actual Godplume Duke yet. If he dares to act against you…his inheritance might actually be seized and stolen by another,” Adept Vastriver said.

“He won’t act against senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, but he would act against us,” Yu Wei sent mentally. “If we don’t kill Xue Hongyi, then he won’t have an excuse to attack us, because he previously gave us a promise. But once we actually kill Xue Hongyi, then we’ll have given him an excuse.”

Whether or not an excuse was created was of great importance.

In all matters, one needed to occupy the moral high ground. After all, behind Ning and the others were powerful forces such as the Black-White College and the Dongyan clan. If Ning and the others were extremely weak and without much influence, then simply killing them might not matter. But because they did have backgrounds…in all matters , there was a need to occupy the moral high ground before dealing with them!

“We cannot give him an excuse. After all, that Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, is far more powerful than us,” Yu Wei said. “As for Xue Hongyi…after we leave, we can find another chance to get rid of him.”

“I agree with senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei.” Ning expressed his opinion mentally as well.

Adept Vastriver frowned. Of the five of them, himself, Ning, and Yu Wei were the most powerful. With Ning and Yu Wei disagreeing…while Vastriver was capable of defeating Xue Hongyi, he wasn’t certain of being able to kill him.

“Hmph.” Adept Vastriver turned his head and left. Ning and the others exchanged a glance, then all left as well. The only one left in the room was Xue Hongyi, who finally let out a sigh of relief.

“In the end, I was able to rely on Youngflame Nong to scare them off,” Xue Hongyi mused to himself. “After we leave the Witchriver Immortal Estate, I need to immediately stick very close to young master Youngflame, and then find a chance to use a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal and flee.”

He understood that successfully escaping might be difficult. But he had to take the risk; for the sake of this Immortal-ranked magic treasure, he had to!

In fact, he didn’t even dare trust the three Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain. In the Immortal path, it was not rare for disciples to kill their masters and ancestors, and it was even more common for masters to kill disciples. For the sake of acquiring an Immortal-ranked magic treasure…anything might happen.

Ning and the others all spread out, once more continuing to search through the palace for treasures. After all, this was the Vault of Treasures of a Celestial Immortal; any random treasure would be worth more than the entire holdings of an ordinary Wanxiang Adept.

They carefully searched for another hour. Each of them had completely searched the entire palace. They all believed that it might be possible that the others might have missed searching a spot.

“I’m finished. Master, I don’t have anything, not even a single magic treasure.” The distant Little Qing was chatting mentally with Ning.

“Not a single magic treasure? That’s so sad!” Ning teased.

“Ask Uncle White and see if he found any treasures,” Little Qing sent back through their spirit-link.

“Alright, I’ll ask.” Ning sent spiritually to the Whitewater Hound, “Uncle White, have you finished your search?”

“I’m finished.” The Whitewater Hound’s mental voice seemed quite delighted. “My luck wasn’t bad. I discovered a corpse, which had a magic robe and some other treasures near it. I don’t know if it was left behind by a Loose Immortal or a Primal Diremonsters, but all the treasures are excellent. I’m not able to bind them; they should be Heaven-ranked magic treasures.”

Ning was instantly delighted.

This Vault of Treasures actually could be said to be the most important of the five palaces. It had the most treasures, and thus it was normally guarded by monstrous experts that were at least at the Primal or Loose Immortal levels.

Even Loose Immortals generally wouldn’t have access to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, and so it was quite hard to judge from magic treasures alone if they were left behind by a Loose Immortal or a Primal Diremonster. Only after binding the storage items and seeing how many treasures were inside it would one know.

“Master, Master, how did Uncle White do? Did he also find nothing?” Little Qing sent spiritually.

“Uncle White’s luck was better than yours; he acquired the treasures from a skeletal corpse.”

“A corpse? His luck was actually better than mine? I’m an Azure Skyserpent; it’s as easy for me to encounter a stroke of luck as it is to eat rice. I’m surrounded by good fortune…but his luck was better than mine? Master, what about you? Did you find any treasures?”

“I acquired…even more than Uncle White,” Ning replied.

“Even more?! How can this be?!”

…..

Within the largest hall in the palace. Youngflame Nong remained seated in the lotus position on the jade bed, continuing to bind it, while Xiangliu Fang stood to one side. Ning and the others had all regrouped here together.

“This is the Vault of Treasures. It should be the place within the Witchriver Immortal Estate which was meant for the storage of treasures, and the place with the most treasures. By the looks of it, you have all gained quite a bit.” Youngflame Nong sat above them, smiling. “And just now, I could sense some ripples; it should have been an Immortal-ranked magic treasure emerging. I wonder which of you was so lucky as to acquire the Immortal-ranked treasure.”

Ji Ning and the others all turned their heads, looking towards Xue Hongyi in unison. Xue Hongyi was stunned.

“Oh, so it was you, Xue Hongyi?” Youngflame Nong raised an eyebrow. Earlier, when trapped within the formation, Xue Hongyi had hid far away and abandoned Youngflame Nong. This caused Youngflame Nong to feel ill-will towards him.

“Young master Youngflame, I am willing to offer this Immortal-ranked magic treasure to you,” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. Against Ji Ning’s group, he was willing to threaten them and struggle against them, but young master Youngflame was simply too powerful. In terms of both background and political power, Youngflame Nong could completely crush him. In terms of personal power, that Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, could probably annihilate him with one blow.

Ning and the others all looked over with surprise. Offering it to young master Youngflame?

“Treasures should go to the worthy!” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. “I, Xue Hongyi, acknowledge that I am lacking in worthiness; a treasure like this, to me, is a disaster, not a blessing. It is better for me to offer it to you, young master Youngflame. It is only natural and reasonable that someone as exalted as you, young master Younglame, be the possessor of this treasure.”

Youngflame Nong laughed.

He liked those who knew how to flatter, especially when the flatterer was a fairly powerful genius. Ji Ning and the others were from the Black-White College; all of them were proud by nature, and there was no way they could debase themselves to flatter in this way. Xue Hongyi, however, had lowered his head and bent his waist, truly humbling himself.

“I’ve already promised, in the name of my Youngflame clan, that the treasures you acquire will belong to you. I absolutely will not fight with you for them, or ask you to offer them,” Youngflame Nong said.

“This isn’t fighting with me, nor is it asking me to offer it up…this is a normal trade,” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. “This Immortal-ranked magic treasure, the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp, isn’t very useful to me. I’m willing to trade it to you, young master Youngflame, for some other treasures. You can just give me some random Heaven-ranked magic treasures and it would suffice.”

“You are over-thinking things.” Youngflame Nong shook his head. “No matter what, I will not accept this Immortal-ranked magic treasure.”

Only now did Xue Hongyi let out a mental sigh of relief. He had proactively offered the treasure, but young master Youngflame had declined. Now, he was calm.

“Xue Hongyi is quite the clever fellow,” Youngflame Nong mused secretly to himself. “I can’t accept it now. If I did, the hearts of Ji Ning and his group would turn cold! They are still very useful to me. After I bind the immortal estate…at that point, I can have Xue Hongyi offer it to me again. If necessary, I can just bestow a few treasures upon him in exchange.”

After two full hours later, Youngflame Nong finally completed binding the jade bed.

“Haha, the binding is finally complete.” Youngflame Nong walked down from the jade bed, a smile on his face.

“Young master,” the nearby Xiangliu Fang said with a frown, “Right now, the two most powerful monstrous forces in the entire Immortal estate world are waiting outside. As soon as we emerge, we will most likely suffer their immediate attack.

“The two most powerful monstrous forces?” Ning and the others were all startled. The titanic wave formed from more than ten thousand Dao-soldiers, and the giant Yaksha Dao-soldier formation formed by the Witchriver clan? Those were capable of completely suppressing even the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang; he had been forced to rely on his astonishing recuperative abilities and evasive techniques in order to escape with his life. He hadn’t been able to fight back at all.

“I can stay alive, but I am not confident in being able to protect the young master.” This was Xiangliu Fang’s worry.

“Oh?” Youngflame Nong frowned slightly. “You say they are waiting outside?”

“Right. They’ve been waiting outside the entire time,” Xiangliu Fang growled. “They’ve been trapped for countless years within this Immortal estate world; every generation has always dreamed of leaving and going to the vast Grand Xia Empire. Thus, they will definitely stop at nothing and be willing to pay any price in order to seize the key to the Immortal estate you hold, young master.”

Youngflame Nong nodded. He could understand the powerful desire and urge these two monstrous forces had to leave. It was a desire to see the greater world, a desire that would lead them to use all their might in acting against Youngflame Nong.

“This will be trouble.” Youngflame Nong gritted his teeth. Ning and the others all stood there, racking their brains. What to do?

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Chapter 14 – The Immortal Grass Palace

Chapter 14 – The Immortal Grass Palace

“How strong are the Dao-soldiers of the monsters in this Immortal estate world?” Youngflame Nong frowned.

He understood that the biggest obstacles to him binding this Immortal estate were the local monster races present. They had all been trapped in this tiny world for far too long; every generation dreamed of leaving. This sort of powerful desire was something which would cause them to be willing to sacrifice anything. The worst thing was, these monstrous Dao-soldiers were all extremely powerful.

“The two most powerful forces are the Titanwave Dao-soldier formation and the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation,” Xiangliu Fang said. “These two forces both have more than ten thousand Dao-soldiers, and the leaders of each are at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level.”

“Both are at the Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal level?” Youngflame Nong was surprised.

“Right. They each should have one,” Xiangliu Fang said. “The Titanwave Dao-soldier formation’s leader should be a bit stronger. As for the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation’s leader, although their Immortal is a bit weaker, as a whole, they are stronger…against these two forces, even the most supreme of Loose Immortals would be beaten so badly they would have no choice but to flee!”

Xiangliu Fang was a true, primordial Fiendgod, and one of the Hydraga race at that. Although he was at the peak Primal level, he was comparable to a supreme Loose Immortal in actual combat power.

The slightly weaker Titanwave Dao-soldier formation was already powerful enough to force Xiangliu Fang into constant flight. The Yaksha Dao-soldier formation was also able to dominate Xiangliu Fang with ease.

“It isn’t too likely that we would be able to defeat them.” Xiangliu Fang shook his head. “Even if a few extra Loose Immortals came, it would be far from being enough.”

“The Immortal estate has five palaces in total,” Youngflame Nong said in a low voice. “Right now, I’ve bound one of them. I’m confident in being able to move to the other two palaces, but the final two will be troublesome.”

“Young master Youngflame, you are confident in being able to go to two palaces?” Mu Northson said with surprise, “Since you can go to two, why can’t you go to all four?”

Ning and the others all looked towards Youngflame Nong, confused. The two monstrous forces were waiting outside; how were they supposed to charge past them?

“You don’t understand,” Youngflame Nong said with a laugh, “I’ve already bound this Vault of Treasures. This palace is extremely large, one of the five main pillars of the entire Immortal estate world, capable of affecting an area of ten thousand kilometers around it. By relying on the key to the Immortal estate, I can open a corridor, allowing us to exit this palace at any location within ten thousand kilometers of this palace.”

“If these two monstrous forces choose to just wait close nearby, then I can move us to a location thousands of kilometers away from them. Afterwards, by relying on Uncle Fang’s evasive techniques, we can hurry towards the next palace.”

Ning and the others now understood.

“After I bind all five palaces, I can appear in any location within this Immortal estate world!” Youngflame Nong sighed, “But right now, I’ve only bound one.”

“Young master Youngflame, by using this ability,” Xue Hongyi said with astonished delight, “Can’t you just go into all four of the palaces? There’s no way these monstrous forces can possibly prevent us from entering.”

“You are wrong.” Youngflame Nong shook his head and sighed. “They have been sealed within this Immortal estate world for too long, and so they’ve forgotten about the power of the palaces. But once I use the palace to move us to a location thousands of kilometers away…as soon as I use this technique, they’ll know that it is possible for us to do this. By then, they will probably go and guard the palaces which I have yet to bind.”

The looks on everyone’s faces grew solemn. Right! Five major palaces…there was no need for the monstrous forces to wait for them outside. They could just go and completely surround and guard the palaces that had yet to be bound! For the sake of binding the Immortal estate, Youngflame Nong would still have to charge towards them, even though he knew that the unbound palaces were now surrounded in rings of protection.

“Lying in wait to catch the hare!” Ning murmured this saying to himself. “The unbound palaces…Youngflame Nong has to go there. As long as they surround the unbound palaces with layers of protection, then…there will be no way for us to avoid them.”

Lying in wait to catch the hare was a seemingly clumsy technique. But this technique was aimed at their weak point; Ning’s group would have no other options other than to fall into the trap.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s first go bind two of the palaces,” Youngflame Nong said. “Let’s go!”

……

In the area around the pillar of light which represented the Vault of Treasures. The two most powerful monstrous forces of this world were gathered here. The Titanwave Dao-soldier formation and the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation were both present.

“Duohe, this time, the two of us should set aside our differences and work together to deal with the humans and seize the key to the Immortal estate.”

“Witchsui, if your Witchriver clan is willing to join forces, I naturally will be delighted to comply.”

These were the two most powerful figures of the entire Immortal estate world. One was an old Loose Immortal, Immortal Duohe, who had lived for more than a hundred thousand years. The other was Immortal Witchsui, who had only lived for ten thousand years. The two of them immediately swore an oath to the Dao of the Heavens to join forces on this day.

For the sake of being able to leave, they would be willing to sacrifice anything.

The two sides continued to wait quietly. A long time later…

“Eh?” The two Loose Immortals, as well as some Primal Diremonsters, simultaneously turned their heads to stare thousands of kilometers away. There, a warship suddenly appeared out of nowhere. And then, aboard the warship, Xiangliu Fang’s body suddenly blurred, transforming into an enormous Fiendgod that was three thousand meters tall, with the lower body of a serpent and nine heads. The Fiendgod Hydraga clutched the warship in his claws, then used an evasive technique, fleeing at an utterly astonishing speed.

Swoosh!

He left behind only a streak of light in the air. This caused both Immortal Duohe and the Witchriver clan to be flabbergasted. They knew very well that in terms of speed, they couldn’t possibly catch up with that Fiendgod. Since they had already started at a distance of thousands of kilometers…there was no hope at all.

“How could this be? How could they have suddenly appeared thousands of kilometers away?”

“When they had entered the palace, they had all been very close to it.”

“They had to be very close to enter…why were they able to leave at a distance of thousands of kilometers?”

Even countless years ago, when Immortal Witchriver was still alive and the master of this place, his clansmen didn’t fully understand the special powers of these palaces. And now that countless years had passed? How could these monsters possibly understand them?

“They must have bound the palace. The palace is under their control, which is why they were able to do something so unique,” Immortal Duohe said.

“That has to be the case,” Immortal Witchsui agreed.

“The Immortal estate has five palaces in total. They’ve only bound one. There are four which remain unbound. Let us each guard one of the unbound palaces; unless they give up their quest, they will have to fight us head on,” Immortal Duohe said.

The two sides quickly agreed on a plan, and they howled through the air as they flew at high speed towards two of the distant golden Skypillars of light.

……

“The worst case scenario has already come to pass.” The nine-headed, serpent-bodied Hydraga was still clutching the warship. Within the warship, Youngflame Nong, Ji Ning, and the others were watching those two distant monstrous powers begin to move. They hadn’t moved to pursue or attack; rather, they had flown off into two different directions, towards two of those golden Skypillars of light.

“I have to bind this Immortal estate.” Youngflame Nong gritted his teeth. “These monsters…damn them. Damn them!”

Soon, the enormous Hydraga Fiendgod, warship in one hand, had arrived at one of the other golden Skypillars of light.

“Go in.” Youngflame Nong activated the key to the Immortal estate, opening up a corridor.

Ji Ning and the others all felt a certain somberness. They were able to easily enter this time, but that was only because there were no monsters blocking them. Two of the five palaces, however, were now under heavy guard; how could those two palaces be so easily traversed?

Whoosh.

The Hydraga shrank himself, once more entering the warship, and the entire warship flew into the opened tunnel.

…….

An incomparably massive hall, so large that it was more than a thousand times larger than the first hall they had entered in the Vault of Treasures.

“It’s so big.” Ning’s group was completely amazed. Looking at this world felt like looking at an entire continent.

This utterly massive hall actually really was a miniature sealed world. In the skies above it, a ‘sun’ was blazing with endless light and heat. In the earth below, there were countless types of spirit-grass and spirit-fruit that were growing. During the passage of countless years, the Immortal grass here had been taken care of by some constructs, but hadn’t truly been nourished properly.

These types of spirit-grass and spirit-fruit generally needed many unique treasures in order to grow properly. Still, despite that, after the passage of countless years, some truly rare and precious specimens of spirit-grass and spirit-fruit had appeared.

“Immortal grass and Immortal fruit!” Ning and the others were overjoyed.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, the Fiendgod Hydraga by Youngflame Nong’s side stretched his hands out. His hands quickly increased in size as his fingers transformed into ten giant snakes, covering the skies as they swept out towards the entire region of Immortal grass. In a twinkling, the eighteen types of Immortal grass and spirit-fruit with the densest elemental auras were all plucked clean.

“Growl…damn you.”

“This is the Master’s Immortal Grass Palace. You dared to steal his Immortal grass…damn you.”

Three golems came flying out.

The Fiendgod Hydraga sent one of his giant hands outwards in a backhanded blow. The three golems were instantly sent flying away, smashing against the distant walls. And then, Xiangliu Fang sent out another hand to grab them, tossing the three Primal-level golems into his own large sack.

Only then did Xiangliu Fang come to a stop, standing there calmly by Youngflame Nong’s side, as though nothing had happened.

“Uhh….”

Ning and the others stared towards the Fiendgod Hydraga in astonishment. There was no way they could compete against Xiangliu Fang, when he chose to act.

“The treasures will go to whoever obtains them. I said these words earlier. Since Uncle Fang obtained them, those things will go to Uncle Fang,” Youngflame Nong laughed. “There is still quite a bit of spirit-fruit and spirit-grass remaining. Although their medicinal value is a bit lower, they still are very good.”

Ning and the others couldn’t help but curse in secret.

This medicinal garden left behind by Immortal Witchriver, despite the passage of countless years, had never received the top-tier treatment it deserved. The ‘large fish ate the small fish, and the small fish ate the shrimp’; as a result, eighteen truly Immortal-grade spirit-fruit and spirit-grass had emerged. All of the other remaining Immortal grass and Immortal fruit had had much of their spiritual energy stolen by those eighteen. Although all of them were unhappy, Ji Ning and the others, including Xue Hongyi, still hurriedly went to collect all of the Immortal grass and Immortal fruit remaining.

“The Immortal Grass Palace is an empty place; there are barely any rooms here.” Youngflame Ning quickly discovered the core of this palace; it was a quite, secluded little room built right next to the Immortal grass garden. The entire room was the core of this palace.

“The rest of you can do some sightseeing outside. You might find some treasures.” Youngflame Nong calmly entered the room, beginning to bind it.

Ning and the others cursed in secret. Immortal Grass Palace, Immortal Grass Palace …from the name alone, one could tell that the treasures within consisted of Immortal grass. The Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, had already taken the most valuable specimens for himself; what other treasures could they possibly find?

Despite that, Ning and the others still separated and began a quick search. Unfortunately, this Immortal Grass Palace didn’t have so much as a single skeleton within it. It made sense; this was Immortal Witchriver’s personal medicinal garden. He trusted his own constructs above all, and thus forbade any of his clansmen from entering this palace.

Two hours later.

“I’ve already bound the Immortal Grass Palace,” Youngflame Nong laughed. “Come. Let us go to the next palace.”

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Chapter 15 – The Desire of the Monstrous Cultivators

Chapter 15 – The Desire of the Monstrous Cultivators

Within the Immortal estate world.

The three thousand meter tall Hydraga Fiendgod, warship in hand, once more used his evasive techniques to move towards a third palace.

“These local monsters…” Youngflame Nong stared coldly into the distance. Of the five Skypillars of golden light, two of them were tightly surrounded by dense clusters of Dao-soldiers. “After I bind this Immortal estate, I am definitely going to summon the clan’s army and enslave all of these local monsters. They will forever serve our Youngflame clan in battle.”

The local monsters of this Immortal estate were all exceptionally powerful. Even after binding the Immortal estate, Youngflame Nong wouldn’t be able to do anything to these powerful monsters. Still, behind him, there was the even more powerful Youngflame clan.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what method do you think young master Youngflame will use in order to bind the final two palaces? It seems quite difficult to me. The monsters present really are a bit too powerful,” Mu Northson sent mentally.

“Don’t underestimate Youngflame Nong. He is one of the ‘Four Dukelings’ of the imperial capital; since he has dared to come accept this trial, he definitely has many things up his sleeve,” Ji Ning sent back.

Swoosh! Soon, Ning’s group entered a new palace.

……

In the midst of the sky-covering Titanwave Dao-soldier formation. The leader was a silver-haired, feather-robed, middle-aged man. His eyes flashed with electricity, and his bearing was graceful and leisurely. He was the the most powerful and longest living figure within this Immortal estate world; Immortal Duohe.

“Everyone, the moment has come for the destinies of all of us within this world to be changed. I won’t try to invade or to assimilate you.” Immortal Duohe stared into the distance. Right in front of him, there was another massive wave. This was a wave formed from one of the lesser monstrous powers of this world; all of the weaker monsters had been invited to come over as well.

The Immortal estate world was simply too small; it was very easy for them to gather together.

“I can even swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that I am willing to enter an alliance with you to work together against that Fiendgod and those humans,” Immortal Duohe said. “We have to acquire that key. As long as we can acquire the key…all of us who live within this Immortal estate world can leave and go to the wider world.”

“Immortal Duohe, you might not act against us, but what about the Witchriver clan?”

“Don’t worry. Witchsui and I have already sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. At a moment like this, why should we engage in internecine strife?”

The decision came very quickly.

This was because all of the monsters present shared the same goal – to go to the greater world outside. Since they were all sincere in their desires and had no wish to squabble, the leaders naturally decided to swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens.

Although these loose, scattered powers were seemingly small and weak, if one added them all up, they were definitely not any weaker than the ten thousand-plus Dao-soldiers which Immortal Duohe himself commanded.

“Witchsui, your Witchriver clan is a bit stronger than my forces. Let these monsters stay with me and stand on guard here,” Immortal Duohe said.

“That’s fine.”

The proud Witchriver clan disdained from allying with the other monsters. With a teleport, Immortal Witchsui once more departed, returning to his own Yaksha Dao-soldier formation.

……

Ning and the others had no idea at all that the monsters outside had finally accomplished a miracle which had not been seen in all the countless years after Immortal Witchriver’s death…absolute unity!

The Dao-soldiers which Immortal Witchriver had left behind consisted of two types; the ‘Seawave Dao-soldiers’ and the ‘Yaksha Dao-soldiers’. The Seawave Dao-armors were extremely numerous. As for the more elite Yaksha Dao-armors, he had left them to his own Witchriver clan.

Now, under Immortal Duohe’s command, all of the Seawave Dao-soldiers had been gathered in one place, forming a power that was no weaker than the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation! These Seawave Dao-soldiers tightly surrounded one golden Skypillar of light, while the other Yaksha Dao-soldiers tightly surrounded the other one.

“Swoosh.”

Ning’s group flew into the palace. This was an extremely large hall, almost identical to the Immortal Grass Palace. Within the hall were many, many corpses.

“Those are Dao-soldier armors.”

“Dao-soldier armors!”

Ning’s group, upon entering, was immediately stunned by the many corpses on the ground. And then, they noticed those Dao-armors.

BOOM! The Fiendgod Hydraga once more stretched out his two massive hands. With inexorable power, he snatched up the the magic treasures around two corpses that were covered with Dao-armors that were nearly translucent and which glowed with black light. These two Dao-armors both emanated incredibly powerful ripples; although they were inferior to Immortal-ranked magic treasures, they vastly surpassed the other Dao-armors.

After collecting these two Dao-armors and sets of magic treasures, the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, once more returned to stand on the warship next to Youngflame Nong, acting as though nothing had happened.

“This guy…”

Ning’s group was completely helpless.

They had no time to waste for words. All of them transformed into streaks of light, beginning to frantically collect the treasures lying on the ground. The entire, massive hall had to have at least hundreds of skeletons littering it, all of which were covered by Dao-armors. These Dao-armors varied in strength; some were suitable for the Zifu level, some were suitable for the Wanxiang level, and some were even suitable for Primals.

“Those two that glowed with black light were probably meant for Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals to wear,” Ning and the others mused silently to themselves.

Soon, Ning’s group had completely swept through this entire hall.

This palace didn’t have any private rooms; it was just a massive, empty palace.

Swish. The Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, pointed off into the distance. A black surge of divine power landed on the distant walls of the palace, and three characters instantly appeared on the wall – DAO SOLDIER PALACE.

“This is the Dao Soldier Palace,” Youngflame Nong laughed. “However, Immortal Witchriver had too many Dao-soldiers, so most remained in the outside world. Only a small number of them remained in here…just now, the two Dao-armors which Uncle Fang collected can only be considered top-grade Heaven-ranked treasures; they are far from being at the level of Immortal-ranked treasures. If they were Immortal-ranked treasures, then they probably would have manifested treasure-spirits.”

Ning and the others understood that Youngflame Nong was trying to console them.

Within the wide palace, there were also a series of extremely large pillars. One of them, covered in decorative carvings of a divine, coiling dragon, was the core of this palace. Youngflame Nong thus sat down in the lotus position in front of the pillar, beginning to bind it.

Ning and the others could do nothing but wait patiently to one side.

“Senior apprentice-brother, that’s amazing,” Northson said, seated next to Ning. He chortled, “Just now, each of us only managed to acquire a few of the treasures from those hundreds of Dao-soldier corpses, but you, senior apprentice-brother…with two spirit-beasts helping you, it was as though there were three of you scavenging at the same time. And that Azure Skysnake in particular…with a blink, she moved from corpse to corpse at astonishing speed.”

Earlier, it had primarily been Ji Ning’s group, Xue Hongyi, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing who had been scavenging the corpses. Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing had thus made up three of the eight scavengers!

“Hmph. He ended up with the most Dao-armors as well. Still, I acquired an Immortal-ranked magic treasure; it’s even better than a thousand or ten thousand Dao-armors.” The nearby Xue Hongyi mused silently to himself, but he didn’t dare to say anything aloud.

“Right, right. Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, after we go to the next palace, you need to take it easy,” Adept Vastriver laughed.

“Him? Take it easy?” Yu Wei laughed as well.

“It is your own fault for not having spirit-beasts.” Ninelotus spoke up in Ning’s defense.

Adept Vastriver sighed, “Everyone wants good spirit-beasts. If, for example, a Redscale Salamander was willing to submit to me, of course I would accept it. Unfortunately, there’s no way I can even get close to that sort of Godbeast; as soon as the mere hint of one appears, supremely powerful clans like the Youngflame clan will immediately capture it. Even your Azure Skysnake, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning…Azure Skysnakes are extremely skilled at finding treasures and fortuitous legacies. They are extremely rare and hard to find; to take in one as a spirit-beast is quite hard as well.”

“Azure Skysnake, come, take me as your master,” Northson called out.

“Woody, you blockhead, you think you are worthy of being my master?” Little Qing, coiled around Ning’s arm, raised her serpentine head and spoke out in the human tongue, clearly filled with disdain.

“You, you Azure Skysnake, I’m still your master’s brother, you know!” Northson stared at him.

“I only acknowledge my master. You? Go sit in the corner somewhere,” Little Qing said with tremendous arrogance.

“You…!” Northson, utterly infuriated, was only able to let out a snort. “You know what? I’m not going to squabble with a little snake like you.”

He had never been able to win a verbal victory over Little Qing.

Ning, watching this, began to laugh. Actually, the likes of Yu Wei and Adept Vastriver, both reincarnated Immortals, trained at extremely rapid rates. Thus, they generally would not acquire spirit-beasts, because their spirit-beasts wouldn’t possibly be able to keep up with them! As for some truly powerful Godbeasts…they weren’t so easily acquired.

For example, the Redscale Salamander; everyone wanted them, but they weren’t so easily acquired.

Although the Azure Skysnake was a bit weaker in power, it was still extremely talented in seeking out fortuitous legacies and treasures; generally speaking, Immortal cultivators would all be willing to tame one. Unfortunately, they were too rare, and also very skilled in escape.

As for Whitewater Hounds? By comparison, they were actually a bit inferior. Their strengths mainly lay in their intelligence and their comprehensive abilities. Still, to Ning, the Whitewater Hound was his Uncle White, like a parent or an elder in the family. He had also once saved both Ning and Ning’s mother, and had always quietly supported Ning in his endeavors.

Still, it had to be said that Uncle White was indeed quite accomplished in the art of formations; he had been the main problem-solver in the Vault of Treasures.

……

Youngflame Nong rose to his feet. He had already bound the core of this palace, but there wasn’t a hint of joy on his face. Ning and the others weren’t smiling either.

This was because…they had now completely bound three of the palaces; the Vault of Treasures, the Immortal Grass Palace, and the Dao Soldier Palace. Two more palaces remained…and one was under heavy guard by the Yaksha Dao-soldiers, while the other was under heavy guard by the Seawave Dao-soldiers. If they wanted to enter, they would have to fight. There would be no way to avoid them!

Those terrifying monstrous Dao-soldiers were so powerful that they had beaten even a Fiendgod like Xiangliu Fang into a constant retreat. If Ning and the others were to engage them in battle, they would probably be effortlessly slaughtered!

Compared to Xiangliu Fang, they were in a position of extreme weakness, to say nothing of those Dao-soldiers.

The threat of imminent death…it caused all of them to have ugly looks on their faces.

“Everyone.” Youngflame Nong swept Ning and the others with his gaze. “I have the key to the estate, and can open a corridor to leave from any location within this Immortal estate. If we truly encounter a great danger that we simply cannot withstand…I’ll lead you all in fleeing this Immortal estate. Don’t worry; I’m still confident in my abilities to escape.”

“However, everyone, you need to be very careful; I don’t wish for any of you to end up being killed by the monsters,” Youngflame Nong said.

Ning and the others all understood that there was no way out now.

However, none of them had thought that challenging a Celestial Immortal’s estate would be an easy task. Danger was expected and normal. Ning and the others all had their own life-saving measures, none of which had been used yet.

“Very good. Let’s head out,” Youngflame Nong ordered.

……

All of the monsters of this Immortal estate world had been divided into two forces. One was the Witchriver clan’s Yaksha Dao-soldiers, while the other was the Seawave Dao-soldiers. They were each guarding one of the palaces.

In air, far away, a large warship suddenly appeared. Waves of energy rippled out from it as it cruised forward, flying through the air at high speed and heading directly towards the Seawave Dao-soldiers, led by Immortal Duohe.

“They are coming.”

“That Fiendgod and those humans are coming.”

“Duohe, it’s up to you,” Immortal Witchsui sent mentally from far away.

Immortal Duohe had more than twenty thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers under his command. They formed into an incomparably titanic wave that covered the skies, and all of them stared coldly towards the large warship flying towards them.

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Chapter 16 – The Wildcore

Chapter 16 – The Wildcore

Aboard the warship.

Ji Ning and the others stared at the massive, distant wave, and the savage, sky-filling aura the wave emanated. All of them had heavy feelings in their hearts.

“These monsters…after I bind the Immortal estate, I am going to enslave all of them. All of them!” Youngflame Nong stared at the distant monsters, his face turning savage. He also gritted his teeth, then produced in his hand a queer contraption that was the size of a person’s head. Extraordinarily powerful ripples emerged from it.

Ning and the others couldn’t help but look at this item.

“A Wildcore?” Mu Northson called out in surprise.

Ning and the others, including Adept Vastriver, Ninelotus, and Xue Hongyi, all had puzzled looks on their faces. Clearly, they had no idea what this was.

“You actually know about Wildcores?” Youngflame Nong nodded. “Right. This is a Wildcore! An Immortal-grade Wildcore.”

“But your construct-warship is only at the Heaven-rank. If you put this Immortal-grade Wildcore into this construct-warship, it won’t be able to withstand the power. Even if it looks perfectly fine from the outside, the formation diagrams inside it will begin to crumble. Your construct-warship will be doomed.” Northson couldn’t help but voice his concerns.

“It will be able to hold for a short period of time, the time needed to boil a kettle of tea,” Youngflame Nong said calmly. He then immediately pressed the head-sized Wildcore towards the planks of the warship.

Whoosh.

A dark corridor naturally appeared in the floorboards of the warship, and the Wildcore burrowed within.

“For at least that period of time, this warship of mine will be able to reach a level that approaches the Immortal-rank. Perhaps it wouldn’t be able to withstand the attacks of Celestial Immortals, but these monstrous Dao-soldiers won’t be able to break my warship,” Youngflame Nong said in a low voice.

“What’s a Wildcore?”

“Junior apprentice-brother, what sort of a thing is this Desolate Heart?”

Ning and the others, puzzled, all sent mental messages to Northson.

Northson was extremely skilled in the Dao of Constructs, and he also understood Wildcores very well. He immediately sent back, “It’s quite complicated, but to simplify it…Wildcores are, in reality, meant to be used for Immortal-ranked construct-warships, allowing them to temporarily explode with power. Immortal-ranked construct-warships are able to withstand this sort of sudden increase in power…but Immortal-ranked warships are far more valuable than even ordinary Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Even young master Youngflame most likely doesn’t possess this sort of warship.”

“Thus, Youngflame Nong is placing his Wildcore into the warship he is using. His warship is actually very good as well; it is Heaven-ranked, and a very precious one. But the power of a Wildcore is simply too great, and this Heaven-ranked construct-warship cannot endure it. Even though its own ‘body’, being a magic treasure, won’t be damaged, the formations and diagrams within it will begin to crumble,” Northson said.

Although Ning and the others understood little of this craft, they understood the importance of formation-diagrams.

The formation-diagrams of a construct served as their core; they were what made the constructs work properly! It was precisely because of the existence of formation-diagrams that constructs were able to possess sentience and unleash powerful, precise attacks. Once the formation-diagrams crumbled, the entire construct would be finished.

“One warship, one Wildcore,” Youngflame Nong growled. “We have to enter this palace. We have to!”

Ning and the others exchanged glances. They could all sense Youngflame Nong’s resolve.

…….

The warship steadily moved forward. Immortal Duohe, in command of more than twenty thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers, stared coldly as it approached.

“Kill.’

“Kill that Fiendgod. Kill those humans.”

These monstrous Dao-soldiers were all eager and impatient. However, without Immortal Duohe’s order, nobody dared to attack rashly.

Finally…

The seemingly placid and calm warship, that had been advancing at an ordinary speed, suddenly began to glow with an dazzlingly brilliant golden light. Its aura vastly increased, and a golden halo suddenly covered the entire warship as it became criss-crossed with lines of power. It seemed to have transformed into a long awl, shuttling through the air at an incomparably astonishing speed towards the massive, sky-filling Seawave Dao-soldier formation.

It was too fast! The warship’s sudden explosion of speed made it move lightning-fast, catching the Seawave Dao-soldiers off-guard.

“Kill!” Immortal Duohe’s already-gravelly voice suddenly rang out in the minds of every single Dao-soldier. All of them activated their elemental ki into their Dao-armors, and an enormous, endless amount of elemental ki passed through their armors as more than twenty thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers merged powers.

As for Immortal Duohe, he was the ‘head’ of this massive Seawave Dao-soldier formation. How to attack and how to defend…it was all up to him.

“Let’s go,” Immortal Duohe howled. The massive wave came smashing down towards the lightning-face warship. BOOM! The wave heavily struck the warship head-on.

The golden aura surrounding the warship, however, just trembled once, then regained it’s perfect stability. However, the collisive power was simply too great, causing the warship to be knocked backwards.

“We can’t charge them head-on,” Northson shouted hurriedly.

Ning and the others, standing within the warship, were incomparably stable. All of them had solemn looks on their faces, and their raised their heads to stare at the massive wave which came crashing down upon them once again.

“Uncle Fang, go,” Youngflame Nong said, gritting his teeth.

“Alright.” Xiangliu Fang let out a growling response, and each of his hands became filled with a long awl that emanating an astonishing aura. And then….swoosh! He passed straight through the outer layer of golden light surrounding the warship. The golden light didn’t impede him at all, allowing Xiangliu Fang to leave.

“Monsters, f*ck off.”

Xiangliu Fang, having transformed into his true form of a three thousand meter tall, nine-headed, serpent-bodied Hydraga, went forward to clash with the massive, sky-filling wave. He began to launch his attack.

By now, his awls were also three thousand meters long. They struck out like the galloping thunder or the dancing lightning, stabbing directly into the wave.

“Puny Fiendgod, don’t even think of affecting us.” Immortal Duohe’s voice boomed out, and the massive, savage wave sent out another surge of power, smashing directly against the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Skin tore open, and flesh split apart. Blood flew everywhere. One of the long awls was knocked flying, while Xiangliu Fang himself was sent hurtling through the air as well. Last time, although he was capable of fighting against Immortal Duohe’s monstrous Dao-soldiers, there had only been ten thousand of them. This time, Immortal Duohe had unified all of the other smaller powers, forming a Seawave Dao-soldier formation of more than twenty thousand monsters. The power had increased several times over, causing even Xiangliu Fang to be completely unable to fight back.

“Come.” Xiangliu Fang’s hands stretched out, transforming into countless giant snakes and latching onto the discarded awl. The injuries on his body rapidly healed, and he once more fearlessly charged forward.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The clashes between the Fiendgod and the wave contained enough power to shock the heavens and shake the earth.

Although the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, was in a position of absolute inferiority, he still managed to divert a large part of the power of the Seawave Dao-soldiers. For a moment, the warship, seeming incomparably tiny in the face of this vast wave, was able to once more advance at high speed, seizing the chance to hurtle forwards.

“Detestable.” Immortal Duohe was frantic as well. If he had to deal with Xiangliu Fang, it was hard to avoid the warship from advancing through openings in their defense.

He had no idea how this warship could have suddenly grown so powerful; despite the power of the waves and the collisive force of the blows, they still weren’t able to force the warship back.

“Zhenbao, you come and lead my tribe,” Immortal Duohe sent mentally. “We will divide into two Seawave Dao-soldier formations.”

“Yes, Master.”

Zhenbao was the disciple which Immortal Duohe trusted the most, and was second only to him in power. He was already a peak Primal, and was extremely powerful.

“Divide!”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The massive wave in the air instantly split apart, dividing into two. The Seawave Dao-soldier formation personally commanded by Immortal Duohe, formed from many merged lesser monstrous tribes, went to block the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang. As for the other ten thousand Dao-soldiers, they were led by Daoist Zhenbao to block the warship.

…….

Ning and the others, within the warship, watched as the massive Fiendgod battled with the giant wave. The warship continued to advance forward at high speed.

“Hahaha, it is capable of stopping Uncle Fang, but not me.” Youngflame Nong’s eyes were filled with madness. “Keep charging. Charge to the edges of the palace, and I’ll be able to enter.”

Around them were countless waves, but the warship continued to charge forward with inexorable power.

“Eh?!”

The massive wave suddenly split apart, forming into two waves. One completely focused on stopping the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, and completely tied him down. The other, seemingly slightly weaker, was completely focused on guarding against the encroaching warship.

The advance of the warship instantly grew much more difficult.

“They separated?” Youngflame Nong ground his teeth. “Charge, charge, charge! Wildcore, blaze for me!”

BOOM!!!!

The light on the surface of the warship suddenly skyrocketed in luminosity, and its charging power grew even more ferocious. The ten thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers commanded by Daoist Zhenbao were completely capable of suppressing Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals, but in the face of this explosively powerful warship, they actually weren’t able to tie it down, and the warship continued to advance.

“Stop it, Zhenbao, stop it, stop it!” Immortal Duohe hurriedly sent a mental message.

“Don’t worry, master, leave it to me!” Daoist Zhenbao was going crazy as well. His entire wave suddenly grew even more savage, transforming into a bloody color. As for the warship, it too advanced forward at a berserk speed.

“Faster, faster, faster.” Youngflame Nong gritted his teeth.

“Dangerous. This is dangerous. This is way too dangerous.” Northson’s eyelids were twitching as he watched. He hurriedly sent a mental message to Ning and the others, “Senior fellow disciples, be careful. Youngflame Nong has gone utterly mad. This Heaven-ranked construct-warship was unable to withstand the Wildcore to begin with, and now he’s burning its power like mad, causing its power to explode even more in a short period of time. The formation-diagrams within this Heaven-ranked warship can collapse at any moment. Once it does, the warship will be finished, and we’ll have to suffer the attacks from these ten thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers head on.”

Ning, Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, and the others all began to feel nervous.

“Charge, charge, charge!” Youngflame Nong’s face was completely red, and madness was in his eyes.

“Madman. He’s a madman.” Xue Hongyi, seeing this, felt panic in his heart. In front of the warship was that terrifying Seawave Dao-soldier formation; it was capable of splitting the skin and rending the flesh of even a Fiendgod like Xiangliu Fang. If the warship was destroyed and the wave slammed against them, it would probably break them all into tiny pieces.

Crack….

Crack crack crack…

Suddenly, the entire warship began to emanate sounds. Its charging speed began to lessen, and the aura of golden light around it began to grow unstable, starting to shudder.

“It’s breaking. It’s breaking!” Northson immediately called out, “Young master Youngflame!!!”

As for Daoist Zhenbao, who was in command of the ten thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers, he naturally noticed that the speed of the warship he was in charge of dealing with was beginning to lesson, and that the golden light surrounding it was weakening. He immediately was overjoyed, and he bellowed out, “Kill them! Kill them all and seize the key!” Instantly, an even more terrifying wave-crest formed, smashing down viciously towards the warship!

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Chapter 17 – One Instant, A Thousand Years

Chapter 17 – One Instant, A Thousand Years

Ji Ning, Adept Vastriver, Yu Wei, Ninelotus, Mu Northson, and Xue Hongyi were all incomparably nervous.

As for Yu Wei, a dim spot of light appeared in her forehead.

Ning’s elemental ki had already seeped into his storage-type magic treasure. Within it, there was a green leaf that was covered with gray runes, causing it to appear unfathomably mysterious This was one of the two life-saving treasures which Ning had acquired within the underwater estate, the one meant for defense.

“Hm?” Ninelotus clenched her fist as well, and the skin on her arm began to vaguely emanate with white lotus flowers.

All of them were preparing to activate their life-saving treasures at a moment’s notice. They stared towards the warship nervously, watching the shuddering, fluctuating golden barrier of light.

BOOM!

A massive, savage wave viciously struck against the barrier of light. The warship flipped over, but then continued to charge forward.

Despite the warship flipping over, Ning and the others all stood firmly on the floor of the warship, as though rooted to it. Their eyes couldn’t help but suddenly widen as they all stared at the warship.

Crack crack rack….

A series of shuddering cracks rang out from inside the warship, the golden barrier of light began to dim.

“AAAAARGH! Damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU!” Youngflame Nong let out a throat-rending howl. A rolled paper scroll suddenly appeared within his hand. The scroll seemed quite ordinary; although paper was relatively rare in the Ji clan’s territory, in Stillwater City, it was still quite common.

This seemingly ordinary scroll, however, had a single, large character written atop it.

LOCK!

“Lock!” The gazes of Ning and everyone else were completely captivated by the ‘lock’ character on the paper scroll. It was an extremely simple character, but it emanated with the aura of a vast Dao, far broader and wider than the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Inferno which Ning normally meditated on. In fact, Ning even felt a desire to submit and kowtow towards it.

Rumble!

The ‘lock’ character atop the scroll suddenly began to glow with light. It emanated a blurry radiance which spread out to the sourrounding area, and the surrounding Seawave Dao-soldiers were caught by it as well.

In this moment…the wind halted. The water halted.

It was as though the world had frozen.

Ning and the others, however, were completely unaffected. All of them couldn’t help but feel astonished.

“What, what, what was that?!”

“Wait. Those Seawave Dao-soldiers are still moving, only…they are moving extremely slow.” Ning’s group immediately realized that the massive, surrounding wave hadn’t actually frozen; it was just advancing at an extremely slow pace.

Swoosh!

Without the Seawave Dao-soldiers blocking the way, the warship instantly traversed the final ten kilometers.

“Open!” The ashen-faced Youngflame Nong activated the key, and an illusory palace door instantly appeared in front of him. The warship immediately flew into the illusory gate, and then the gate swung shut.

Whoosh…

As Youngflame Nong and the others entered the illusory gate, the massive wave, which had seemed to be almost frozen in place, suddenly came crashing down.

“How can…how can that have happened?” The leader of the Seawave Dao-soldiers, Daoist Zhenbao, stared in disbelief at the distant, already-shut palace door. “Just now, just then…”

He would never forget that feeling.

He clearly had already unleashed the full power of the Seawave Dao-soldiers, and had been attacking at high speed, but…how could the enemy warship have suddenly increased in speed by ten thousand times or a hundred thousand times? It was precisely because the enemy’s speed had suddenly increased by an utterly ridiculous amount that he had been unable to control the wave and unleash an attack. Thus, the enemy had passed straight through his Dao-soldiers and entered the illusory palace gate.

“Master, they…how did they suddenly move so fast? I was completely unable to block them,” Daoist Zhenbao sent mentally.

The distant Immortal Duohe, who had been dealing with Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang in the distance, had actually been paying attention to the battle over here as well. After all, the humans aboard the warship were what mattered the most.

Just now, he had been completely stupefied as well.

“It wasn’t that they were fast; it was that you were slow,” Immortal Duohe sent mentally. “All of the Dao-soldiers, in that instant, seemed to be crawling even slower than a baby turtle.”

“How can that be? I didn’t feel as though my speed lessened, and none of the Dao-soldiers under my command felt that their speed had lessened,” Daoist Zhenbao said frantically.

“That’s because…time changed for you. You should have heard the saying, ‘a day in the Deva realm, a year in the mortal realms’, right? This is because time passes at different rates in the Deva realm and in the mortal realms. Perhaps in the Deva realm, you might only feel as though a day had passed, but in the mortal realm, a year might have passed. This is exactly what happened just now. You felt as though just an instant had passed, but in reality, an extremely long period of time had passed, and the enemy warship flew more than ten kilometers away.” A hint of despair was in Immortal Duohe’s eyes. “These humans were actually able to produce such a treasure…can it be that the Heavens themselves wish to destroy those of us in this Immortal estate world?”

Daoist Zhenbao now understood as well. So it was time. Time had changed for them.

It was as though an instant had passed for him, but thousands of years had passed for them; when time flowed at completely different rates, what happened just now would occur.

“There’s actually a treasure like this…” Daoist Zhenbao murmured to himself.

“Hahaha…you aren’t capable of stopping my young master. You aren’t capable of it!” The distant Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, had already begun to flee. As he did so, his laughter echoed out in the heavens.

The Seawave Dao-soldiers were completely unable to catch him with their attacks. When Xiangliu Fang completely focused on running away, they weren’t able to catch up to him at all.

“Let’s go, all of us.” Immortal Duohe had the appearance of a middle-aged man, but in that instant, he seemed to have aged significantly.

Rumble…

The two Seawave Dao-soldier formations reformed into one, and the massive seawave flew at high speed towards the distant.

A short period of time later, the massive Seawave Dao-soldiers reunited with the Yaksha Dao-soldiers.

“You actually failed? Failed?!” Immortal Witchsui sent a mental message over, and the other members of the Witchriver clan looked at them as well.

“Failed.” Immortal Duohe said hoarsely, “These humans actually held an inconceivably powerful treasure.” Earlier, the two sides had been separated by ten thousand kilometers, and so the Witchriver clan hadn’t been able to clearly watch the exchange of battle.

“What sort of treasure was it, for it to be able to break through your defense?” Immortal Witchsui asked.

“A treasure capable of affecting time itself,” Immortal Duohe said, shaking his head.

“Time?” Immortal Witchsui was shocked as well. He was, after all, of the Witchriver clan; he knew some secrets. Generally speaking, it was fairly common for Celestial Immortals to encounter treasures that affected time itself. For Celestial Immortals, it was a common type of attack. But it was rare for even even one out of ten thousand Earth Immortals to become a Celestial Immortal…

Treasures capable of influencing the flow of time, to Loose Immortals, were incomparably powerful. The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the outside world might have witnessed such treasures before, but these two Loose Immortals of the Immortal estate world had only heard of them.

“Don’t worry,” Immortal Witchsui sent mentally. “It is already incredible that the human had even one such treasure. I refuse to believe he has a second one.” Immortal Duohe nodded as well.

“Duohe, we have no way out now. This is the last palace. We have to guard it! This is our last chance to acquire the key to the Immortal estate,” Immortal Witchsui said. “The dream which those of us within the Immortal estate have held for countless generations…this is our very last chance.”

“Not just our last chance at leaving,” Immortal Duohe said hoarsely. “Our last chance at survival as well.”

“Survival?” Immortal Witchsui was startled…and then, his face turned completely pale.

“Someone capable of having a treasure like this, and having a Fiendgod serve as a guard…these humans definitely have an extraordinary background.” Immortal Duohe’s voice echoed out in the minds of every single Dao-soldier. He slowly said something which caused terror in every single monstrous Dao-soldier’s heart. “After he completely binds this final palace, then he will be in complete control fo the entire Immortal estate. By then, he can do whatever he wants to us; everything will be under his control. He can also summon an army from the outside world, or he can also destroy the environment of this Immortal estate world, causing our descendants to not even have anything to eat or drink, starving them to death. In short…if he binds this Immortal estate, he will have countless tools at his disposal.”

All of the monsters were terrified. Right. If the enemy was to control the Immortal estate, he could launch sneak attacks from anywhere in the estate. If he were to toss out some powerful, deadly poisons…

It would be too simple to destroy an area of mere tens of thousands of kilometers. Some terrifyingly powerful poisons were capable of causing an area of tens of thousands of kilometers to be completely poisoned, where not even a blade of grass would grow.

Creation was hard. Destruction was easy. After destroying the environment of this Immortal world, a few tens of thousands of years later, most likely almost no one would be left alive within it.

“This is our last hope.”

“This is our last chance.”

“We have to fight.”

“We have to seize the key to the Immortal estate.”

“Even if all of us die, we cannot let them bind this final palace!!!” Immortal Duohe’s voice rang out in the skies.

“Fight.”

“Fight!”

“FIGHT!”

All of the monsters howled in anger. All of them brimmed with eagerness for battle. This was no longer a battle for freedom; it was a true battle for survival!

…….

Within an ancient palace.

The warship had charged in, and as soon as it did, the golden glow around it completely vanished. The mysterious, powerful aura that had previously permeated the warship was completely gone; it seemed completely inert and lifeless.

“The formation-diagrams finally collapsed.” Northson shook his head. “Towards the end, the warship was just flying forward on momentum. A Heaven-ranked construct-warship, just like that, was destroyed.”

“The Heaven-ranked construct-warship was nothing.” Adept Vastriver shook his head, gesturing with his eyes. “Take a look at young master Youngflame.”

Ning and the others had noticed as well. Youngflame Nong was currently clutching that paper scroll, staring fixedly at the ‘lock’ character atop it. Alas, the ‘lock’ character now seemed completely ordinary. There was nothing special about it at all.

“One Instant, A Thousand Years,” Yu Wei said softly. “This sort of treasure, when used, can virtually guarantee the death of a Loose Immortal. Although this sort of treasure isn’t Immortal-ranked, it isn’t too far from it in value.”

Ning and the others were puzzled. The nearby Ninelotus, seeing the look on Ning’s face, sent mentally to him, “One Instant, A Thousand Years – this name symbolizes the ability of this sort of treasure to affect the rate of time. For you, it might feel as though an instant had passed, but for the enemy, more than a thousand years would have passed. But of course, that’s only an extremely, overly extravagant description. In short, when the rate of time is flowing at very different speeds, a Primal Daoist is capable of killing a Loose Immortal. From this, you can tell how precious this treasure is.”

Ning understood.

Originally, when he had been received the [Starseizing Hand] transmission in the transmission space of the underwater estate, he had spent months within, but time in the outside world had barely moved. This was indeed far more incredible than a mere scroll.

“Damn. Damn.” Youngflame Nong stared at the scroll in his hand, grinding his teeth.

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Chapter 18 – The Dao Repository of the Ji Clan

Chapter 18 – The Dao Repository of the Ji Clan

“Judging from the look on young master Youngflame’s face, he must be about to go crazy from grief.” Mu Northson’s mental voice had a hint of schadenfreude to it. This exalted young master had taken one one powerful treasure after another. How could Ji Ning, Northson, Xue Hongyi, and the others not feel powerless before them?

They all understood that they were nothing more than geniuses of Stillwater Commandery…while the man before them was very likely going to be the next Godplume Duke! Someone who was even more exalted than the Marquis of Stillwater!

Even though he was just the heir to the position, the treasures he possessed were enough to cause Ning and the others to constantly sigh in amazement.

“The monsters of this Immortal estate…I won’t spare any of them.” Youngflame Nong ground his teeth. To charge into this fourth palace, he had to use up his Heaven-ranked construct-warship, a Wildcore, and his ‘Lock’ scroll; psychologically, he had been completely unprepared to have to use up all three treasures. And this was just the fourth palace; by now the Seawave Dao-soldiers and the Yaksha Dao-soldiers had surely assembled outside the fifth and final palace. The cost for them to enter that fifth palace would definitely be incomparably astonishing. Just thinking about it made young master Youngflame feel miserable.

“I am definitely going to enslave them all, then sell them offer to various tribes. Their descendants will forever be slaves,” Youngflame Nong said with a hate-filled voice.

“Young master Youngflame.” Xue Hongyi spoke out softly.

“Yes?” Young master Youngflame looked at him. “What is it?”

Xue Hongyi immediately smiled and said, “Young master, are you worrying about entering the fifth palace? As I see it, actually, there’s no need to fight head-on against them. These monsters just want to leave this Immortal estate world, right? Young master, you can promise to let them leave. I imagine that these monsters would be willing to accept. Each of you can set an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, which they wouldn’t dare violate. In this way, young master, you would be able to enter the fifth palace without using up any treasures. What do you think, young master?”

Xue Hongyi thought that his idea was a good one.

Young master Youngflame gave him a cold glance. Between grinding teeth, he spoke out two words: “You imbecile!”

“Young…” Xue Hongyi’s face instantly turned red.

Being a genius of cultivation didn’t necessarily mean that one was intelligent in handling worldly affairs. Still, Xue Hongyi was still quite intelligent; upon being rebuked as young master Youngflame as an ‘imbecile’, although he felt incredibly insulted, he then immediately understood what Youngflame Nong was thinking.

Ninelotus, standing next to Ning, sent a mental laugh to him. “This Xue Hongyi really is an imbecile. Since young master Youngflame has elected to come to this estate, he most likely has already prepared for all contingenices. As far as he is concerned, if he can bind this estate, then all of the monsters within can be toyed with as he pleases; they wouldn’t even be able to escape. Tens of thousands of monster-slaves, and all of which are Dao-soldiers as well! There are even precious Yaksha Dao-soldiers here…only Celestial Immortals could afford to be so extravagant. Once he offers these Dao-soldiers to his clan, not only will he be able to make up for his losses, he will be rewarded richly! To negotiate with the monsters and to let them leave…isn’t this the same as letting an enormous fortune just walk away?”

Ning nodded his head. The vast number of Seawave Dao-armors and Yaksha Dao-armors alone was an inestimable fortune.

“This palace actually doesn’t even have a single golem within, nor are there any attacking formations.” Youngflame Nong no longer focused on his losses, instead carefully inspecting the palace.

“Hmph.” He suddenly waved his hand, and a bubbling, boiling black strand of elemental ki spread out in every direction, striking against the walls of the palace. Rumble, rumble, rumble. The palace walls were incomparably sturdy, but under the assault of the elemental ki, three words suddenly appeared on the palace wall in front of them: DAO REPOSITORY PALACE.

“Dao Repository Palace?” The eyes of Ning and everyone else lit up.

Every single power needed to build a Dao Repository. Even the Ji clan of West Prefecture City had its own vault that was used for hiding sutras and scripts for its descendants to learn from. The Black-White College had its own Dao Repository as well. Immortal Witchriver had his own forces; although his roots weren’t as deep and his history wasn’t as old as the Black-White College, he vastly surpassed the likes of Snowdragon Mountain.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Without even waiting for Youngflame Nong to say anything, Ning and the others transformed into streaks of light, charging towards a corridor right next to the three characters, ‘DAO REPOSITORY PALACE’. The reason they all charged towards this corridor was because this was the only corridor there was.

“These guys…” With a swooshing sound, Youngflame Nong charged forward as well.

…..

Upon charging into the corridor, what greeted them was a massive, vast hall. The insides of this hall were filled with countless books, a veritable sea of them, most likely not much smaller than the Dao Repository of the Black-White College.

“Quick, take them.”

“Quick.”

All of them seemed to have been possessed.

Every single power cared deeply about its techniques and secret arts. If they were to find any which the Black-White College was not in possession of and offer it to them, they would be able to acquire enormous sums of black-white pellets.

“Whoosh.” Ning waved his hand, and a large number of books in front of him were immediately collected in into his storage-type magic treasure.

As for the Azure Skysnake, she blinked from place to place, calling out in celebration, “C’mere, all of ya!” The books beneath her all vanished.

“Come.” The Whitewater Hound collected the books before him as well.

“Take them.”

“These are mine.”

Xue Hongyi had gone crazy as well. Everyone, including the final person to enter, Youngflame Nong, began to quickly collect the books.

Although this giant hall had a massive number of books, in just a few moments, the entire hall had been completely emptied out. In the end, they didn’t even spare the shelves used to carry the books.

“Look at how crazy all of you have gotten.” Youngflame Nong shook his head. “I hope these aren’t just the abridged versions. All of you will be stupefied if they are.”

Ning and the others knew this as well. It was very likely that the books here were simple abridged versions…but no one wanted to take the risk that they weren’t. After all, it would take some time to ascertain if a book was an abridged version or not, and in the time it took, everyone else would have seized all the other books.

“Let’s take a look.” Ning and the others started to take out one book after another, perusing through them carefully. Moments later…

“Abridged.”

“This one is abridged; it just has the very first part of the technique.”

“This is abridged.”

“This one is also abridged.”

“This one isn’t abridged, it is complete, but it is actually the most commonly seen formation technique.”

All of them were instantly downfallen; nearly ninety percent of the books were abridged, and as for the complete versions? They were commonly known commodies; in the Black-White College, one didn’t even have to use black-white pellets to trade for them. Almost all larger schools had them.

The books with more valuable techniques, secret arts, and divine abilities…were all abridged.

“Almost all of these are abridged,” Ning mused to himself. “But there should definitely a place where the full versions are located. The full versions should be located in a more hidden area. I refuse to believe that Immortal Witchriver carried all of those books with him. Can it be that his clansmen wouldn’t need to train while he was wandering and adventuring?”

Swoosh1 Ning immediately scurried towards one of the four corridors leading away from the massive hall.

It wasn’t just Ning who had come to this conclusion; the others had as well. There had to be complete versions somewhere! And that place was most likely hidden.

Swoosh. Youngflame Nong, by relying on the affinity from the key to the estate, moved into one corridor, quickly discovering a private room.

“Here it is.” Youngflame Nong entered the room, immediately seeing the skeleton within it.

This skeleton was the guardian of the Dao Repository Palace!

“In you go.” Youngflame Nong collected the skeleton, and then turned his gaze towards a stone book. His key was telling him…that this stone book was the core for the entire Dao Repository Palace.

“Bind.” Youngflame Nong just bound a small part of it, then came to a halt. He only needed to bind a small part of it to ensure that all of the formations and restrictive spells within the Dao Repository Palace would be deactivated.

And then, Youngflame Nong quickly left the room, beginning to search as well. If he were to locate a powerful divine ability or secret art which the Youngflame clan didn’t already possess, he would be rendering a major merit. However, given how ancient and powerful the Youngflame clan was…it was very, very hard to discover secret arts or divine abilities they didn’t already have.

……

Ning’s divine sense had been activated long ago, filling every single part of the hall he was in. However, since the walls of the Immortal estate blocked out divine sense, he wasn’t able to search deeper.

“Ning, son, quick, come over here!” Uncle White suddenly sent him a mental message.

Ning, just about to push open a stone door and investigate, suddenly came to a halt. He transformed into a streak of light, hurrying towards Uncle White’s direction. Just a few seconds later, he entered a private room.

Within the private room, there were rows of books, all of which were protected by restrictive spells. However, these restrictive spells were all inactive, and the Whitewater Hound, Xue Hongyi, and Adept Vastriver were frantically seizing them.’

“Quick.”

Ning had no time to waste. He began to frantically start collecting books. Actually, as soon as he entered the room and saw the books and bookshelves, Ning felt quite certain that they should all be complete versions. This was because generally speaking, complete versions of techniques would span up to ten full volumes. Abridged versions, in turn, might take up just a thin book.

“…and this. And this!” Ning was frantically collecting books.

A short while later, the entire room was completely empty. The final person to arrive, young master Youngflame, was only able to collect a few books.

“These are all full versions.” Ning and the others began to look through the books they had acquired.

“Eh? Just Earth-ranked techniques?”

“This one is Mortal-ranked?”

“These ‘secret arts’ are too ordinary.” Ning and the others began to frown as they looked. They were all geniuses, and in the Black-White College, they chose from Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques. However, the books they had found here were all Mortal-ranked and Earth-ranked techniques and secret arts. Although the books were extremely numerous, there wasn’t even a single Heaven-ranked technique.

“My Youngflame clan has plenty of this sort of crap. There isn’t even a single useful book here.” Youngflame Nong furrowed his brows, shaking his head.

Ning, however, just laughed. Right. These books were useless to him, but they would be very useful to the Ji clan. The Ji clan had far, far too few techniques and secret arts, and those they had, he had purchased from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. But how many could he possibly buy, on his own? To accumulate a large number of secret arts and techniques, generally speaking, the only way was annihilate another large clan and seize their books.

“More than a million techniques and secret arts. Although they aren’t that good, they are enough for Xiantian lifeforms and Zifu Disciples to use,” Ning mused to himself. “In the future, after I find some top-tier Ki Refining techniques, my Ji clan will be able to set up a Dao Repository of its own to pass down to later generations.”

Dao Repositories were the heart of any tribe, sect, or school. Each generation relied on their Dao Repositories to grow strong.

“Immortal Witchriver was a Celestial Immortal; he definitely must have more powerful techniques and divine abilities. But where are they?” Youngflame Nong frowned.

“The most powerful techniques and divine abilities must be stored in extremely well-hidden places. They might not even be in this Dao Repository Palace.”

Ning and the others just pondered briefly, and then…swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! They all scattered in different directions, searching for treasures. Although this Dao Repository Vault didn’t necessarily have any top-tier techniques, secret arts, or divine abilities, perhaps it did!

Swoosh.

Youngflame Nong once more returned to that earlier room. He sat down in the lotus position in front of the stone book, beginning to once more bind the core of this Dao Repository Palace.

“Once I bind it, I’ll be in complete control of this entire Dao Repository Palace. No matter how well-hidden a room is, I’ll know about it,” Youngflame Nong mused to himself. “I need roughly two hours to bind it. Given how well-hidden the top-tier secret arts and divine abilities must be, they might not be able to find them within two hours.”

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Chapter 19 – Pentabolt Vajra, Soldiers of the Mind

Chapter 19 – Pentabolt Vajra, Soldiers of the Mind

“The top-tier techniques, divine abilities, and secrets arts. They are going to be mine, all mine!” Xue Hongyi was rapidly checking one room after another, his eyes filled with an endless frenzy. He came from Snowdragon Mountain, which currently didn’t even have a single Loose Immortal; even if it did occasionally produce a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal throughout its long history, there was no way those figures could compare to a Celestial Immortal like Immortal Witchriver.

The divine abilities and secret arts left behind by a Celestial Immortal would definitely be extraordinary.

When one’s level of power was very close to another’s, the deciding factor were divine abilities and secret arts. This was especially true for geniuses.

…..

“This is a chance. A tremendous chance. I have to find it. With powerful secret arts, in this life, I might be able to overcome the Celestial tribulation.” Adept Vastriver was filled with endless desire as well.

…..

Everyone was searching. Ji Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing had separated as well.

“Where is it? Where could it be?” A little azure serpent was slithering forward like a streak of light, occasionally disappearing into thin air and reappearing somewhere else, and at other times moving directly into a room without even pushing the stone door open.

“For me, finding fortunes is as easy as eating rice, but in this Immortal estate, I’ve gotten fewer treasures than even Uncle White.” The Azure Skysnake used her Void Blink technique repeatedly, and even blinked from one end of a hallway to the other to save time, or directly into rooms. She wildly teleported about with abandon, trying to find something.

Whoosh.

Yet another Void Blink. The Azure Skysnake appeared within a new room. “Nothing here eith…” The Azure Skysnake suddenly came to a halt. “Eeee?”

The Azure Skysnake looked about this room in surprise. This was a very ordinary room. It wasn’t very large, and it only held two bookcases and a single table. The bookcase was covered with a few books, while the number of books on the table was even more pitifully low. The total number of books in this entire room was very low.

“That’s all?”

It must be understood that training tomes for Immortal cultivators were extremely massive and complicated; a single set might comprise of dozens of books. For example, when Ji Ning had received the transmission of the [Starseizing Hand] divine ability, it had been directly transferred to his soul, and had taken several months. From this, one could tell how massive the amount of information was.

The Azure Skysnake couldn’t help but transform into an azure-robed maiden. She lowered her head to glance at the books, and as she did, her gaze narrowed.

“Master, master, quick, come quick!!!” Little Qing hurriedly shouted through their spirit-link.

“Wha..? Coming!”

Ji Ning, located in another region, spread out his divine sense, searching through the various corridors. Given that he could mentally sense where Little Qing was located, he quickly found a route to her. As he did, he felt extremely surprised. “Little Qing actually ran to this place? This place really is rather unassuming and out of the way. How long would it have taken to find such a tiny little study?”

Swoosh!

Ning immediately transformed into a streak of smoke, rapidly advancing forward and soon arriving outside the room. He pushed the door open.

“What is it?” Upon entering, Ning saw that the room was completely empty. There was nothing there, aside from Little Qing, who stood there.

“I collected it all,” Little Qing said excitedly. “I didn’t dare leave them here, for fear that others might take them.”

“What techniques did you discover? Why are you so careful?” Ning began to grow excited as well.

Little Qing said in a lowered whisper, “Six types of Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques, totaling more than three hundred volumes. Three types of divine abilities, totalling more than a hundred volumes. One divine will technique, totaling six volumes. All of them are complete!”

Ning’s eyes instantly turned completely round.

Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques?

Divine abilities?

A divine will technique?

This…this was truly, truly priceless. Even in the Black-White College, it would number amongst their top-tier materials.

“This room was actually filled with Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities, and divine will techniques.” Ning quickly understood. “Previously, we only discovered Mortal-ranked and Earth-ranked techniques and what not…I imagine that another room was used to store Heaven-ranked techniques and arts.”

Mortal, Earth, Heaven, Immortal – the higher the rank was, the more precious the technique was. Now that he had acquired the Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities, and a divine will technique, Ning was no longer too interested in those Heaven-ranked techniques and arts. It’d be nice if he could get them, but it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t.

“Master, they are all over here.” Little Qing waved her hand, and a pile of books instantly appeared in front of her.

Ning was so terrified that he instantly waved his hand, collecting them into his own storage-type magic treasure. He actually began to sweat from fear. “How could you just take them out?!”

“It’s better to leave them with you. I’m not a Fiendgod Body Refiner; those divine abilities are useless to me. I already have top-tier Ki Refining techniques of my own as well. Right…later, I’ll give that divine will technique a try,” Little Qing instructed.

“Right.” Ning nodded. He immediately sent his divine sense into his storage treasure, beginning to investigate.

There were only a few hundred tomes present; in total, there were ten complete sets! Six sets of Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques! Three sets of divine abilities! One divine will technique!

“These Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques are useless to me. The divine abilities?” Ning swept them with his divine sense. “[Heavenly Transformation], [Three Heads, Six Arms], and [Pentabolt Vajra].” This caused Ning to feel delighted.

[Heavenly Transformation] was a commonly seen divine ability, which virtually all larger schools and sects possessed.

[Three Heads, Six Arms] was in the possession of the Black-White College, but it could be considered quite a precious divine ability. Ning had yet to train in it, primarily because he didn’t have enough black-white pellets yet. Now, however, he had acquired it, and a complete set at that!

“This ability, [Three Heads, Six Arms]…when executed, it will allow me to grow four more arms that are identical to real arms.” Ning was extremely excited. Actually, at the Void level, powerful Fiendgod Body Refiners were capable of transforming a single strand of hair into a clone, and could completely change their physical appearance. It would be extremely easy to even generate eighteen new arms, but that would just be a superficial change; those wouldn’t be true arms.

The reason why [Three Heads, Six Arms] was so powerful was because the heads and arms it generated were absolutely real, allowing one’s power to truly rise exponentially! Ning could execute the [Starseizing Hand] divine ability with two arms, but once he used the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique, all six arms would be able to use the [Starseizing Hand]…this was why Ning had always deeply desire to acquire this technique.

“I didn’t acquire it at the Black-White College, but I acquired it here.” Ning was absolutely overjoyed. “The [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique, when synergized with my [Starseizing Hand]…the power will definitely be exponentially greater.”

“[Pentabolt Vajra]?” Ning, with a thought, made a book appear in his hand. It was the first volume of the [Pentabolt Vajra]. He began to flip through it…

The [Pentabolt Vajra] was a divine ability which only a true Fiendgod, or perhaps a Fiendgod Body Refiner who was very close to being a true Fiendgod, was capable of learning.

“Fortunately, I trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].” Ning let out a secret sigh of relief. Previously, when he had been at the local Raindragon Guard branch, Ning had discovered that some supreme, top-tier divine abilities had extremely high requirements for Fiendgod Body Refiners. Some actually stated outright that only someone who trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] or someone who was a true Fiendgod could train in them.

That Immortal of the Raindragon Guard had also told Ning…that once he passed the trials of the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, he would soon come to learn how truly powerful the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was.

The reason the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was so mighty was because it allowed the user to train in some truly top-tier divine abilities, including some which generally only Fiendgods were able to use.

“[Pentabolt Vajra]…to bathe in thunder and lightning and form a vajra-like body. Only after five baptisms by five types of lightning can one be said to have mastered it. But the fifth one actually requires one to be at the Empyrean God level before training in it?” Ning was secretly shocked.

It was the same as the [Starseizing Hand], which was divided into the Six Cycles. The [Pentabolt Vajra] was divided into five levels; the highest level was only trainable by Empyrean Gods. Only at that level could this divine ability be truly perfected to a supreme level.

“This is the simplified version of the legendary divine ability, [Golden Nirmana Body]?” 1 Ning, upon seeing this, nodded in understanding. The very first tome said it plainly; this divine ability’s creator had developed it as a simplified version of the [Golden Nirmana Body], to be left to his descendants.

The [Golden Nirmana Body]…it was a legendary divine ability that was one of the top divine abilities of the entire Three Realms. From the notes in this tome, at least, the [Golden Nirmana Body] was one of the absolute best divine abilities. Ning hypothesized that it should be on the same general level as his own [Starseizing Hand].

“I wonder which major power simplified the [Golden Nirmana Body] into this [Pentabolt Vajra],” Ning mused to himself. “To be able to simplify it…this major power must be incredible.”

……

Ning waved his hand, collecting the divine ability book, then took out the divine will technique. There was only one of them, and it was titled [Soldiers of the Mind].

“Soldiers of the Mind?” Ning had just begun to flip through it, but he suddenly frowned, then hurriedly sent through their spirit-link, “Little Qing, hurry up and leave.”

Swoosh. Little Qing instantly disappeared into thin air.

BOOM. The stone door was pushed open, and Xue Hongyi charged in.

“You?!” Xue Hongyi stared in astonishment towards Ning.

“What a coincidence.” Ning glanced at Xue Hongyi, then paid him no attention, immediately flying out from the stone door that had just been opened.

Xue Hongyi frowned as he studied the room. It was completely empty, with nothing within. He hesitated a moment, then shook his head. “Nah…no way…” He then turned and left, continuing the search.

…….

Each of the rooms within the Dao Repository Palace were hidden quite well. Ning continued to frantically search through them in a seemingly crazed manner. He didn’t want others to know that he had already acquired top-tier Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities, and a divine will technique. It must be understood that the Yuchi clan had suffered annihilation, simply because they had been discovered to be in possession of a single divine ability, the [Windwing Evasion].

Thus, it was best not to casually reveal such things.

……

“Whew.”

Youngflame Nong gave the stone book in front of him a glance. He had already completely refined the core to this Dao Repository Palace, and everything within it was now under his control.

“Eh?” He closed his eyes, sensing everything in the palace. “Nothing? There is actually nothing?”

His senses were telling him that the entire Dao Repository Palace didn’t have a single book within it. It was completely empty.

…..

Another hour passed. Ning and the others had just reunited with Youngflame Nong at the outermost hall.

“We’re all here. Did you find any divine abilities or secret arts?” Youngflame Nong laughed as he looked at them.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing.”

They all shook their heads. Ning, too, shook his head. “Nothing.”

“The Rainbowflame Fairy and Adept Vastriver were fairly lucky; they discovered those Heaven-ranked techniques,” Xue Hongyi spoke out. “But…there should be Immortal-ranked techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts. We didn’t find them anywhere.”

“Can it be that those things were too valuable, and so they weren’t placed in the Dao Repository Vault, and were instead hidden somewhere else?” Northson said.

“Hm, that’s possible,” Ning nodded.

1. It is indeed Nirmana, not Nirvana. This bit actually took me nearly half an hour to research and completely comprehend. The actual term in Chinese was ‘丈六金身’, literally ‘Zhang Six Golden Body’. Zhang is a term referring to 3.3 meters, so this would literally mean ’20 Meter Golden Body’. I did some research, and the phrase 丈六金身 refers to one of the manifestations of Buddha’s corporeal/created body. In Buddhism, the Lord Buddha has three bodies (Trikaya); the Dharmakaya (Truth body), the Niramanakaya (the created/corporeal body), and the Sambhogakaya (I’m not even sure how to translate this one). Since this 20 Meter Golden Body was basically one of the manifestations of the Nirmanakaya/Nirmana Body, I decided to translate this as Golden Nirmana Body.

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Chapter 20 – The Final Palace

Chapter 20 – The Final Palace

Youngflame Nong gave the group of Wanxiang Adepts a look. He mused to himself, “Perhaps they aren’t in the Dao Repository Palace…or perhaps one of them has them. Still, Immortal Witchriver was merely a Diremonster Immortal; his roots weren’t that deep. Even if he had some divine abilities or techniques, the Youngflame clan probably has them as well. And they are still very useful to me…”

“Everyone, since we have finished our investigations, then let us head to the final palace,” Youngflame Nong said.

“Right.”

Ning and the others immediately began to grow nervous.

“Let’s go!” Youngflame Nong took out yet another magic treasure, a flying weaver’s shuttle. The flying shuttle expanded to thirty meters long and ten meters wide. Ning and the others entered it, which was quite roomy.

Swish! The flying shuttle immediately exited the Dao Repository Palace. As they emerged, the Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang was already waiting for them.

“Young master.” Xiangliu Fang transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the shuttle

Youngflame Nong smiled and nodded towards Xiangliu Fang, seeming somewhat relaxed. But then, he turned his head to stare at the final golden Skypillar of light, and the many monstrous Dao-soldiers guarding it. He snorted coldly, “These monstrous Dao-soldiers have blocked me repeatedly. After I bind this Immortal estate, I am definitely going to repay them for their actions!”

“How could the monsters of a puny little Immortal estate possibly withstand the Youngflame clan?” Xiangliu Fang laughed as well, and Youngflame Nong nodded.

Ning and the others were secretly surprised…why was it that Youngflame Nong didn’t seem to be the slightest bit worried?

“So many monstrous Dao-soldiers…” Ning mused to himself, “The Seawave Dao-soldiers and the Yaksha Dao-soldiers are all far more powerful than ordinary Loose Immortals; even Xiangliu Fang was dominated. What sort of treasure does this Youngflame Nong have?”

“Senior apprentice-brother, he seems quite confident,” Northson said with a smirk.

“Let’s watch and see,” Ning sent back.

As the flying shuttle continued to fly forward, constantly advancing towards that distant golden Skypillar of light and the Seawave Dao-soldiers and the Yaksha Dao-soldier formations surrounding it. They were now quite close.

“Humans!” A deep voice shook the heavens.

Youngflame Nong just laughed icily, while next to him, Xiangliu Fang spoke out on his behalf. “What is it?”

“Actually, there is no need for you to fight with us, the monstrous races of the Immortal estate world. So long as you are willing to open up a corridor out with your key and let us leave to the world of the Grand Xia Empire, then we are willing to permit you to enter this final palace,” the deep voice said. Immortal Duohe and Immortal Witchsui both felt that, given these humans still dared to advance in the face of so many monstrous Dao-soldiers, that they probably felt confident in passing through them. Thus, Immortal Duohe and Imimortal Witchsui quickly came to the decision of negotiating with these humans.

“Let you leave? That’s not impossible.” Youngflame Nong revealed a smile. “But I have a requirement.”

“Oh? Speak. What requirement.” The deep voice echoed forth once more.

“Simple. Hand over all of your Dao-armors, and I’ll let you leave.” Youngflame Nong’s voice also echoed out in the skies.

“All of our Dao-armors?”

“Impossible.”

“Kill this human.”

“In his dreams!”

All sorts of ferocious howls rang out.

These Dao-armors had been left behind by Immortal Witchriver, and were the reason why these monsters were so powerful.

“Without the Dao-armors, we would be like a pile of loose sand; we wouldn’t even be able to defeat that Fiendgod by your side. In fact, we’d probably be beaten by him instead,” the deep voice thundered angrily.

“I can swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that if you are willing to hand over all of your Dao-armors, that I will let you leave and will not pursue or kill you,” Youngflame Nong said.

The Dao-armors interested Youngflame Nong the most; if he could obtain them easily, then he wouldn’t mind letting the wielders of them leave.

“Impossible!” The deep voice bellowed angrily.

“Then don’t blame me for this,” Youngflame Nong shook his head.

“You are forcing us!” The deep voice snarled.

“Right. So what if I am?” Youngflame Nong snickered.

These powerful monsters were bloodthirsty to begin with. Given how excessive Youngflame Nong had behaved, they were now truly angered.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

An enormous, sky-filling wave arose, blotting out the heavens and smashing down towards the flying shuttle which Ning and Youngflame Nong were riding. The flying shuttle, however, went directly towards the giant wave with incredible agility.

“This is the moment.” A long time ago, Youngflame Nong had produced a queer-looking disc in his hand, which was a mixture of black and white in color.

“POLARIS STARSHIFTER!”

Youngflame Nong let out an angry roar.

Rumble…

This black and white bi-colored disc floated into the air. A ray of black light enveloped the entire flying shuttle, while a ray of white light shot directly towards part of the distant Yaksha Dao-soldiers.

Whoosh!

Space instantly distorted.

That portion of the distant Yaksha Dao-soldiers instantly disappeared, then appeared in the location where the shuttle had been. As for the flying shuttle, it appeared in the location where those Yaksha Dao-soldiers had been.

“Open.” As soon as the shuttle appeared, a corridor into the palace appeared. Swoosh! The long shuttle flew directly into the tunnel, and then the gate shut behind it.

“This…”

Immortal Duohe and Immortal Witchsui were completely stunned. All of the Dao-soldiers were stunned. Then stared stupidly at the bi-colored black and white disc. As the energies of the disc were used up, it silently, soundlessly shattered.

“They entered?”

“They entered, just like that?” Immortal Duohe and Immortal Witchsui, as well as all the other monsters, had looks of disbelief, anger, and despair in their eyes.

“It shouldn’t have been like this. It shouldn’t have…” Immortal Duohe’s eyes were filled with boundless rage. Raising his head, he let out an earth-rending, pained, agonized roar.

They had lost. Utterly lost.

If this had been an actual battle, teleporting away a small part of their Dao-soldiers would have only been a minor matter. But this wasn’t an actual battle; the enemy, upon teleporting those soldiers away, had immediately been able to enter the final palace.

“After this, the Immortal estate will be bound. After this, all of us will be under his control.” Immortal Witchsui was mumbling to himself.

In this moment, the countless monstrous Dao-soldiers were all howling in anger, grief, and despair…

……

Swoosh.

A long shuttle appeared within the hall, with Youngflame Nong, Xiangliu Fang, Ji Ning, and the others within it. They all emerged from within.

“Hahaha.” Youngflame Nong, upon entering, began to laugh joyfully. “We’ve finally arrived at the final palace. Mmm, and it is quite beautiful as well, far more so than those other four palaces.”

Ning and the others were still feeling shocked by what had happened with that bi-colored disc. It had actually caused them to completely swap positions with the distant enemy Dao-soldiers. What treasure was that? Ning, at least, had never even heard of such a treasure.

“It really is much more beautiful. Every single pillar is exquisitely, intricately carved,” Xue Hongyi said quickly.

“The final palace. After binding it, the entire Immortal estate will be under my control, and the trial the clan gave me will have been concluded. I’ll have earned an Immortal estate as well.” Youngflame Nong was quite delighted, but then he let out a sigh. “What a pity, though…after entering this Immortal estate, I lost two of my three most powerful treasures.”

“Treasures are meant to be used. After you master the Immortal estate, you’ll acquire even better treasures, young master,” Xiangliu Fang said.

“I hope so.” Youngflame Nong still felt a bit of pain in his heart. The ‘Lock’ scroll and the Polaris Starshifter disc were two of the most powerful magic treasures he had on him. These were treasures which even many Loose Immortals didn’t have access to; even if one had large amounts of liquefied elemental essence, it would be difficult to purchase them. After all, they were simply too rare. Youngflame Nong had only managed to acquire them after many years of collecting resources. Still, for the sake of solidifying his status as the next Godplume Duke, he had no other choices.

“Acquiring the Immortal estate will mean that I’ll have recouped my costs, and earned a little on top of it. Those monsters…hmph. They should make their preparations for all of their descendants to forever be slaves.” A cold light flashed through Youngflame Nong’s eyes. “And that Xue Hongyi…I need to acquire his Immortal-ranked magic treasure as well.”

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Chapter 21 – Preparing a Celebratory Feast

Chapter 21 – Preparing a Celebratory Feast

This impressive group of experts filed in through a corridor, arriving at a massive, towering hall. The hall was lined with seats, and the walls were lined with musical instruments.

“This must have been the place where, when Immortal Witchriver was alive, he would merrymake with his monstrous clansmen,” Youngflame Nong laughed loudly. “These tables, these pillars, and these sculptures…all of them are utterly exquisite and extraordinary.”

Ning and the others all nodded. They could completely imagine how, countless years ago, the Diremonsters would all be seated next to those tables, eating and drinking and making merry.

“And there. That’s the place where Immortal Witchriver must have sat.” Youngflame Nong pointed towards the front of the hall. The front of the hall had the most beautiful, lavish table of all, and decorative screen behind it was also exquisite. To each side of the decorative screens, there were bronze lamps.

“That bronze lamp was the core of this Witchriver Palace,” Youngflame Nong said, pointing towards a Zifu Disciple. “Go next to that bronze lamp.”

“Yes.”

These Zifu Disciples were all Deathsworn. They knew very well that they had been trained, solely for the purpose of obeying their master. If their master was to order them to their deaths, they wouldn’t hesitate at all.

As soon as the Zifu Disciple moved to walk towards the front of the hall…

BOOM!

The entire hall instantly began to change in appearance. Ning and the others watched as the scenery around them transformed into a beautiful peach tree garden. They were surrounded by peach trees, and the floor was covered with petals.

“Careful. It is an illusory formation,” Xiangliu Fang shouted.

“I knew it. This place, the main palace, the Witchriver Palace…there’s no way we’d be able to acquire it so easily.” Youngflame Nong laughed coldly. With Uncle Fang present, he wasn’t nervous at all. This was a formation that had been in storage for countless years, and it didn’t have anyone truly controlling it; at most, this formation would be able to unleash a tenth of its power.

“Assemble into formation.” Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, and Ninelotus all immediately assembled into that five-elements, pentagonal formation. All of them were on their guard.

“This illusory formation is very formidable; even divine sense is unable to see through it,” Adept Vastriver said. “And I have a vague feeling…that this formation is even stronger than the one which had been located in the Vault of Treasures.”

“This formation seems to be gathering Azurewood Godbolts,” Ning said with a frown.

“It seems you understand a bit about formations as well.” Xiangliu Fang, standing next to Youngflame Nong, gave Ning a glance, then said calmly, “This formation activates the power of the Solar Star. Using wood to guide the power, it generates Azurewood Godbolts. Although no one is controlling it, you still can’t underestimate the power of the Azurewood Godbolts. I need some time to break this formation; I wish all of you the best during this time.”

Ning and the rest of the five moved closer to each other, prepared to deal with the Azurewood Godbolts at any moment. They didn’t dare to run about wildly; to do so in this illusory world was to seek death.

“I, I, what should I do?” Xue Hongyi was panicking internally, but on the surface, he continued to grit his teeth and wait.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Suddenly, three bolts of azure lightning thundered down from up above, smashing directly towards Youngflame Nong.

“Someone is commanding the formation?” Xiangliu Fang was shocked.

“How could someone be commanding it?” The nearby Youngflame Nong was panicked as well.

Whoosh! Xiangliu Fang stretched his large hands out. His hands were like dark clouds capable of covering the skies and smothering the sun; they stretched out to those three bolts of lightning. Boom, boom, boom…the lightning struck against the giant hands, and although the giant hands sank down momentarily, and the skin on the hands split apart as lightning writhed and spat against them, the hands endured.

“Hahaha, young master, don’t worry.” While receiving the lightning bolts, Xiangliu Fang actually began to laugh loudly. “Immortal Witchriver died countless hundreds of millions of years ago; the Witchriver Palace definitely has no living creatures within it. Anything still surviving should be a golem. Generally speaking, golems only possess a simple level of intelligence; at most, they can activate formations. They aren’t able to control them. After all, this sort of large formation is quite complicated. Without Immortal Witchriver passing down the the special technique to control it, there is no way they will be able to do so.

“If my guess is correct, the Witchriver Palace should have a powerful golem within it, and this golem should have a sentient spirit animating it. Thus, this golem is extremely intelligent, and is thus also skilled in controlling formations. Immortal Witchriver must have trusted him so much that he transmitted the formation control method to him,” Xiangliu Fang laughed. “But unfortunately, he is still merely a golem, with no elemental ki within his body; at most, he is capable of unleashing twenty to thirty percent of the power of the formation.”

As Xiangliu Fang was speaking loudly, one bolt of thunder after another continued to come crashing down from the skies. Xiangliu Fang, by himself, received all of these blows.

Ning and the others let out sighs of relief. Xiangliu Fang’s guess was most likely accurate; to truly control a formation required the usage of elemental ki. If the ki was that of an Immortal, then the power of the formation would naturally increase greatly. But golems didn’t have any ki at all; even if they were able to control the formation, they would only be able to, at most, increase its power by a small amount.

“Humans, you are not the Immortal’s heirs. To barge into the Witchriver Palace is a capital offense.” A furious shout rang out from within the illusion of a peach garden.

“A capital offense? Who is going to carry out the penalty, you? If my guess is correct, you are at most comparable to an ordinary Loose Immortal in strength,” Xiangliu Fang laughed coldly. “Your power is far from being a match for mine.”

As soon as his words came out, Xiangliu Fang suddenly let out a savage howl. “BREAK!” Instantly, Xiangliu Fang’s hands swung outward, howling out as the fingers on his large hands all transformed into giant serpents. The ten giant serpents instantly latched onto something in the void and gave it a hard pull. The entire formation immediately seemed to have been ‘stuck’, and the peach blossom formation trembled, grew blurry, and completely vanished.

“How can this be?!” An astonished cry.

With the disappearance of the peach blossom, Ning’s group once more was able to see the giant hall, and the tables within it.

“Not bad, not bad. I managed to survive. Fortunately, that golem was extremely intelligent and knew that it had to kill Youngflame Nong, and so it focused all of its efforts on him. If those lightning bolts had struck amongst the rest of us, although those five of the Black-White College would probably be able to endure it, I would have been in danger.” Xue Hongyi felt as though he had been blessed with tremendous luck.

Last time, when he and Adept Bu You had faced those attacks from the golems, Adept Bu You had died, while he had been lucky and survived. He had then acquired an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, and just now avoided yet another tribulation. He had survived multiple dangerous encounters, and had even acquired an Immortal-ranked treasure. Wasn’t this a tremendous blessing of luck?

“The formation is already broken.” Xiangliu Fang swept the hall with his gaze, then said calmly, “Everyone, no need to be afraid. Immortal Witchriver was only a Celestial Immortal, and his roots were not very deep; it is already quite impressive for him to have produced a golem that is fairly close to a Loose Immortal in power. If that golem doesn’t appear, then fine; if he does, however, I’ll capture him.”

Youngflame Nong laughed and nodded, then instructed, “There are golems lying in wait within the Witchriver Palace. Everyone, don’t run around rashly; if you run into those golems, Uncle Fang won’t be able to save you in time.”

“How could we dare to run about rashly? Are we suicidal?” Xue Hongyi hurriedly responded.

Ning and the others shared a glance. Clearly, an extremely powerful golem was lying in wait within the Witchriver Palace. They were no fools; naturally, they wouldn’t run about wildly within.

Xiangliu Fang and Youngflame Nong moved to the front of the main hall, beginning to bind a bronze lamp.

“Haha, this is the core of the final palace.” Youngflame Nong was utterly delighted. “After binding it, the entire Immortal estate will be under my complete control. The Witchriver Palace definitely has other dangers lurking within; however, there’s no need at all for us to go and take any risks. Once I bind the Immortal estate, the golems will naturally have lost.”

Ning and the others nodded.

“The rest of you, be careful; those golems won’t just watch and wait for me to successfully bind this palace. I imagine they will try to ambush us,” Youngflame Nong said.

……..

Eighteen savage, fearsome looking Qiongqi Manticore golems were looking at their leader, a black- armored, muscular man. The black-armored man growled, “That person who broke the formation just now, he is most likely a Fiendgod. He was able to make his hands so large, and his fingers transform into giant serpents; only true Fiendgods are capable of such a thing. From the techniques he displayed, I can tell that he is more powerful than me.”

“Commander, what should we do?”

“They are starting to bind the Witchriver Palace.”

The Qiongqi golems were all panicking.

“I estimate he will need two hours to completely bind the Witchriver Palace,” the black-armored man said in a low voice. “We need to come up with a method…and we need to succeed in one try. We need to kill the humans that Fiendgod is protecting. From the conversation between those humans when they first arrived, that human should have already bound the other four palaces. This is the last one.”

“Prepare to obey my orders.” The black-armored man’s cold, dark eyes flashed with a freezing light.

………

A group of Zifu Disciples were scattered in the surrounding area. Ji Ning, Ninelotus, Adept Vastriver, Xue Hongyi, and the others were all waiting vigilantly, worried that the golem might suddenly attack.

Youngflame Nong, seated high above at the front of the hall and binding that bronze lamp, seeing how nervous everyone in the hall was, couldn’t help but frown. He barked, “No need to be so nervous. It’s just a few golems. If one comes, Uncle Fang will capture one. They will definitely lose.”

Ji Ning and the others, including Xue Hongyi, silently tightened their lips. Yes, Xiangliu Fang could defeat all comers. But the most powerful of those golems had the combat strength of an ordinary Loose Immortal; if golems of such power were to suddenly attack and catch this group off guard, some of them might die. They were not protected by Xiangliu Fang, after all.

“Attend me.” Youngflame Nong, seeing how Ning and the others remained vigilant, couldn’t help but frown and bark, “Prepare a celebratory banquet.”

Very soon, the two Zifu Disciple maidservants who personally served Youngflame Nong had prepared a banquet of fine wine. Actually, during the two day journey on the warship from Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain to the Immortal estate, they had often drank and enjoyed themselves, and so the fine wine had been prepared long ago. Very soon, the table became filled with wine, spirit-fruit, and delicacies.

Youngflame Nong sat down in the lotus position, laughing loudly as he scooped up a goblet of wine. He only needed to use up a small amount of his attention on binding the bronze lamp. “Everyone, no need to worry. The outer perimeter will be handled by my Zifu Deathsworn; even if golems attack, they’ll be the first ones engaged, giving you enough time to react and fight back.”

“Sit, all of you,” Youngflame Nong called out. Seeing Ning and the others continue to hesitate, he couldn’t help but snap, “I told you all to sit!”

Ning and the others exchanged a glance. They had no choice but to sit down.

“That’s more like it.”

Youngflame Nong laughed, “You’ve all accompanied me into this Witchriver Immortal Estate and engaged repeated dangers with me. You’ve rendered quite a few merits. However, this is the final moment; after I bind this bronze lamp, the task shall be complete. Although a few golems continue to resist, they aren’t much to be worried about. Come, let us toast each other for the treasures we have gained, and for my successful binding of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.” After speaking, Youngflame Nong lifted up his bronze wineglass, etched with a tattoo of flames.

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Chapter 22 – Youngflame Nong’s True Face

Chapter 22 – Youngflame Nong’s True Face

“Let us down this cup together,” Xue Hongyi hurriedly called out. He wanted to flatter Youngflame Nong as best as he could, because in his heart, he was still thinking about later leaving the Witchriver Immortal Estate, then fleeing alive with the Immortal-ranked magic item in tow!

“My fellow disciples, we must be vigilant against the outsiders. Let’s not drink this wine,” Adept Vastriver sent mentally.

“We were useful to him earlier, but now we are useless; who knows what sort of tricks he might play,” Northson sent as well.

But Ninelotus said, “I imagine he wouldn’t dare to be so heartless and crazed.”

While sending mental messages amongst themselves, they all lifted up their cups and drank from it.

“Gulp.” The wine entered Ji Ning’s mouth, then a surge of elemental ki surrounded the liquid. The liquid was completely vaporized by a streak of fire. Only then did Ning put down his winecup.

“Chun and Ji, the two of you, perform a dance and help us enjoy ourselves.” Youngflame Nong was in an extremely fine mood as he gave the orders. Instantly, two of the female Zifu Disciples behind him moved. Previously, their robes were in the shape of maid robes, but the robes now changed. Their sleeves fluttered as the two of them laughed, unveiling their astonishing charisma as the two of them began to dance gracefully in the center of the palace hall.

Strum. Clink. Three other nearby Zifu Disciples who were musicians moved to those ancient musical instruments in the hall, then in a very practiced manner, began to drum and strum. Although countless years had passed, the instruments were completely undamaged, as they were all magical treasures.

One melody rang out after another, while the beautiful courtesans danced. Youngflame Nong was absolutely delighted with himself as he watched and drank, and Ning and the others all accompanied him.

His spirits having grown increasingly high as he drank, Youngflame Nong suddenly glanced sideways at the truly peerless, fairy-like beauty, ‘Yu Wei’. In terms of appearance and aura, even he, Youngflame Nong, who had seen reincarnated fairy-like maidens in the capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty, felt her to be astonishing. His throat went a little dry, and his heart began to grow heated. The desire he had held down this entire time was beginning to rise.

Still, he knew quite well that this Rainbowflame Fairy would probably be hard to convince. Thus, he then looked towards Ninelotus, then laughed, “Little Sister Ninelotus, now that I have completed my task, we need to have a good celebration. Little Sister Ninelotus, why don’t you perform a dance to us and help us celebrate?”

“Eh?” Ning frowned, his face growing somewhat unsightly. ‘Little Sister’ Ninelotus? This was not a form of address for Youngflame Nong to use. And he wanted Ninelotus to dance? How could Ning not feel angry?

“This Youngflame Nong is going too far,” Little Qing sent through the spirit-link. “Master, this Youngflame Nong holds you in no regard at all; he knows that you are Ninelotus are Dao-Companions, but he still acts in such a way.” Indeed, all of the others present in the hall were stunned.

Ninelotus was astonished as well. She first gave Ning a glance, then said hurriedly, “Young master Youngflame, I have no talent in dance. Compared with the beautiful courtesans you have by your side, I am far inferior; I’d rather not go up and embarrass myself.”

“How can they compare with you, Little Sister Ninelotus?” Youngflame Nong laughed, “What, aren’t you even going to give me, Youngflame Nong, even this tiny bit of face?”

Ninelotus hesitated a moment, then put a smile on her face. “Then I’ll go up and dance to a song.” At the same time, she gave Ning a glance.

Ning just sat there, an ugly look on his face. It was just a dance. With so many fellow disciples present, it wasn’t appropriate for Ning to grow angry.

“Ning, son, be careful,” the Whitewater Hound sent spiritually. “Inviting her to dance as part of the victory celebrations is a small matter. Youngflame Nong clearly knows that you and Ninelotus are Dao-Companions, but when he asked her to dance, he didn’t even look at you or say a single word to you. Clearly, he holds you in no regard at all. Given that, you need to be careful.”

Ning immediately came to his senses. “Don’t worry, Uncle White. I understand,” Ning sent back, and then turned to look at Ninelotus, who was dancing in the middle of the hall, in tune with the melodies.

As Ning watched, he suddenly realized…that Ninelotus was actually a very skilled dancer.

Truth be told, Ning knew far too little about the Dongyan clan and the other major clans. The people which future clan leaders like Ninelotus interacted with were generally some of the more formidable figures of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, and thus she would learn a bit of this and a bit of that, so as to ensure that her performance in any event was perfect.

“Good, good, good.” Youngflame Nong laughed as he drank his wine, occasionally clapping his hands in praise.

Ninelotus was like a blooming lotus flower, swirling about throughout the hall.

But as she moved closer to Youngflame Nong, Youngflame Nong suddenly swung his arm out. A long, black whip actually swept out, coiling around Ninelotus’ arm, then tugging at her. Ninelotus, caught completely offguard, couldn’t help but be pulled even closer to Youngflame Nong. Still, Ninelotus was a Wanxiang Adept; by activating her elemental ki, she managed to stabilize herself as she was pulled closer to Youngflame Nong.

However, Youngflame Nong intimately grabbed her by the arm; he had originally actually been planning on taking her by the waist. Laughing, he pulled at Ninelotus’ arm, wanting to pull her in while saying, “Little Sister Ninelotus, come, let’s drink a cup of wine together.”

This scene shocked everyone present in the hall.

“What?!” Mu Northson, Yu Wei, and the others were all shocked. As for Xue Hongyi, he just gave Ning a sideways glance, revealing a cold smile as he took a sip of wine.

Ning felt as though his head had gone blank. Earlier, Ninelotus’ dance could have been said to be a performance for everyone, but now…

BANG!

Ning suddenly rose to his feet, smashing his hand hard against the table. This table was technically a Mortal-ranked magic treasure, but it was only used for holding wine and food; it wasn’t meant for combat. In addition, Ning was currently gripped by rage, and even his eyes had begun to turn bloodshot. This slap towards the table was actually even more powerful than the palm blows he would deliver in a life-or-death battle.

The energy wave alone from this palm blow smashed all of the plates into tiny pieces, and the fine wine and meat were utterly transformed into dust. BOOM!!! The entire table actually was split apart. Large amounts of shards went flying everywhere, and some of them actually sliced across the body of a nearby Zifu Disciple, causing blood to instantly fly everywhere.

“Hm?” Youngflame Nong immediately gave him a cold look. “What, I can’t even share a drink of wine with Little Sister Ninelotus?” As he finished speaking, a hint of anger appeared on Youngflame Nong’s face.

Youngflame Nong’s anger would’ve instantly reduced most people to a quivering pile of fear. But Ning’s eyes only reddened further. Ignoring all else, he barked out, “Youngflame Nong!”

“Ji Ning.” Ninelotus realized that Youngflame Nong’s eyes had a hint of a murderous intent in them, and she immediately barked out towards Ning.

Ning looked at Ninelotus, then said coldly, “Ninelotus, there’s no need for you to pay any heed to this young master of the Youngflame clan. Hmph. He’s not even the Godplume Duke yet! When we first followed him into the Immortal estate, he was so mild and humble. But not that we are useless to him, this is how he acts!”

“You are courting death.” Youngflame Nong’s anger was beginning to build. Previously, Ning was a useful assistant, but he was now useless. Geniuses like him…they weren’t much in the eyes of him, Youngflame Nong.

Ning said angrily, “Do you remember our original agreement? You made us promises in the name of your Youngflame clan. What, now that you have the Immortal estate, you are planning to act against us? Are you feeling greedy for the treasures we acquired in the Immortal estate? You endured it then, but are now planning to act against us?”

“Be silent!” Ninelotus cried out.

“Ninelotus.” Ning was utterly infuriated.

“Sit down!” Ninelotus shouted at him, while also sending him a frantic mental message. “Ji Ning, you are too rash. Think about Youngflame Nong’s status. He’s normally in the imperial capital, and when together with the imperial princes and various young dukelings, they often act in dissolute, wanton ways. I just have to deal with it and drink a few cups of wine with him, and this matter will be at an end. If you let anger cloud your mind, then it will be trouble.”

Ning sent back, “Some things, I can endure, but others, I cannot. Ninelotus…”

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? You want to fight him?!” Ninelotus sent furiously, “Don’t be so immature!”

Ning was stunned.

Immature?

Youngflame Nong was naturally watching the mental argument between Ninelotus and Ning.

“It seems as though this young and famous Ji Ning doesn’t live up to his reputation,” Youngflame Nong sent mentally to the Fiendgod by his side, Xiangliu Fang. “A scene like this has already angered him to the point of insanity. To deal with him would be simplicity itself. For now, however, there’s no rush to deal with him; if I kill him within the Immortal estate, once the news of it is spread out by the Dongyan clan, the other large tribes will all think of me, Youngflame Nong, as a narrow-minded man.”

“Right.” Xiangliu Fang concurred.

……

Ninelotus’ words had truly enraged Ning now.

Who was Ninelotus? She was the next leader of the Dongyan clan! There was absolutely no need for her to compromise in such a manner; since there was no need, why did she do so?

“Young master Youngflame, Ji Ning is still young; please pardon him.” Ninelotus smiled towards Youngflame Nong.

Youngflame Nong didn’t continue with his earlier actions. He could tell that if he went just a bit farther, this Ji Ning probably would actually start to a fight to the death against him. He dared to kill Ji Ning, but Ninelotus? Ninelotus was the next leader of the Dongyan clan. If he killed her, he would be in serious trouble.

Ninelotus quickly returned to Ning’s side and sat down. Ning remained seated in the lotus position on his chair. Zifu Disciple servants removed the shattered magic treasure table in front of him, replacing it with a new one.

“Ji Ning.” As soon as Ninelotus returned to her seat, she immediately spoke mentally to Ning. “Calm down.”

“Oh, so you know I’m pissed?” Ning looked towards NInelotus.

“This really was nothing. This was a small matter. If in the future, you were to see how the young masters of the major clans act when they are together, you’ll understand that this sort of minor flirtation…it really means nothing. Generally speaking, everyone has a bottom line that they won’t cross; to engage in a little playing around is nothing,” Ninelotus sent. “You’ve seen too little, which is why you were so easily enraged. Look over there; after drinking a cup of wine, Youngflame Nong is no longer harping on this matter.”

“I’ve seen too little?” Ning sent back with a shout, “Bottom line? Ninelotus, you are my Dao-Companion. This so-called ‘a little playing around’ of yours, being embraced by others men, being teased by them, drinking with them…these thigns have already gone beyond my bottom line. Do you understand?”

“You…how can you act this way?” Ninelotus was furious as well.

“That’s the way I am. Can it be that you didn’t know?” Ning stared at her.

Ninelotus and Ning’s gazes intersected. She could sense the determination and resolve from Ning’s eyes.

“Fine. I won’t be act like this in the future.” Ninelotus lowered her head.

Ning lowered his head as well, beginning to drink. Although Ninelotus had bowed her head to him, Ning still felt as though there were thorns stuck in his heart. Just now, he truly hoped that Ninelotus would directly refuse Youngflame Nong. Even if she didn’t throw the cup of wine into Youngflame Nong’s face, she had to at least turn and immediately leave.

In this recent period of time, the two had already argued twice due to differences in the way they behaved towards others. This time, their fight was due to the fact that they handled matters and conducted themselves in completely different ways.

“Heh. Heh. Heh heh.” Youngflame Nong, seated at the front of the hall, was able to tell that there was some unhappiness between Ji Ning and Ninelotus. He actually laughed…and then his gaze fell towards the nearby Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. The flames in his heart blazed even hotter. The desire he felt towards Yu Wei was far stronger than the desire he felt towards Ninelotus.

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Chapter 23 – Windwing Evasion

Chapter 23 – Windwing Evasion

Quite a few thoughts were going through Youngflame Nong’s mind. At the same time, the other members of the Black-White College began to console Ji Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother, endure it,” Adept Vastriver sent to Ning. “After we leave the Witchriver Immortal Estate, you won’t have to stay here and swallow Youngflame Nong’s attitude.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Yu Wei sent, worried, “We aren’t able to beat Youngflame Nong right now. However, truly powerful Immortal cultivators rely on themselves; no matter what how impressive he might be, in the future, Youngflame Nong will only be the Godplume Duke, whereas the real powers behind the Youngflame clan are those old fellows who have lived for countless years. When you train to the Celestial Immortal level in the future, the Youngflame clan will treat you with courtesy, not daring to slacken off in the slightest. What would a Godplume Duke be to you? He’s nothing more than a titular leader.”

Ning gave Yu Wei a look. He had met with the Lord of Cui Manor and Granny Meng, and had watched as a great power had assaulted the Six Paths of Reincarnation! His master, Daoist Threelives, was one of the most incredible figures of the Three Realms…it really was as she had said; personal strength was the truest foundation to power.

If Ning were to also become a major power of the Three Realms, what would a mere Youngflame clan, one of the clans subordinate to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s major world, be to him? There were three thousand major worlds!

As long as he was able to reach the Celestial Immortal level, the Youngflame clan would be respectful to him. After all, it was rare for there to be even a single Celestial Immortal for every ten thousand Loose Immortals. Celestial Immortals were true Immortals, who had escaped the binds of the Three Realms and lived carefree lives.

“Senior apprentice-brother,” Northson sent to him, “If you aren’t happy with senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, then as I see it, you should just break up. I mean, I’m just saying…it’s up to you, and how you really feel. You need to ask yourself if you truly want for senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus to be your Dao-Companion.”

Ning gave Northson a glance. “Junior apprentice-brother, no need to say anything further.”

In his heart…Ning truly did like Ninelotus. In his past life and in this life, Ning had never been in a romantic relationship. He couldn’t quite explain how he felt towards her, but he truly did feel a hazy liking for her. However, these recent arguments had caused Ning to truly feel upset!

“Glugglugglug.” Ning held his cup, constantly drinking wine. Although he downed one cup after another, all of the wine continued to be burnt away by flames after it entered his body.

…….

Ninelotus sat there in the lotus position, staring at the constantly drinking Ning.

“It seems Ji Ning is really angry.” Ninelotus felt frustrated as well. “How can Ji Ning act like this. I lowered my head to him, and this wasn’t even a big deal to begin with. This sort of thing is too common; I just had to deal with it in a casual, superficial manner. Why does he have to be so angry about it? If he gets angry at this and angry at that…in the future, after I become the leader of the Dongyan clan, am I supposed to follow his every wish and desire?”

“I’ll let him calm down and sober up first. He should understand, later.”

One had been held up high since childhood, and had been chosen to be the next leader of a major clan.

The other came from a world of peace in his past life, and was a genius who had been born into a backwater clan in this life.

The two of them attracted each other. When they had been in the secluded peach-garden utopia of Serpentwing Lake, there had been no problems, but once they truly began to face worldly affairs together, their disagreements had begun to constantly worsen.

……….

Ning and Ninelotus were both feeling rather frustrated in their hearts.

Suddenly…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A figure carrying a terrifying, tremendous force came charging in. Those Zifu Deathsworn that had been stationed in the outer perimeter instantly blew apart, their bodies being knocked flying and blood spraying verywhere. In the blink of an eye, the entire hall was transformed into an asura’s hell, the floor stained with blood and chunks of meat.

“The golem.” Youngflame Nong, seated at the front of the hall, was greatly surprised, but then he immediately grew excited and eager.

One golem after another charged in. As for Ji Ning and the others, as they had been assigned to sit down at various locations in the table, they weren’t able to assemble into formation.

“That dogshit Youngflame Nong…he said that those Zifu Deathsworn would be able to hold on for a few moments, but in reality, they weren’t able to do so at all.” Ning’s Darknorth swords appeared in his hands as he hurriedly blocked the Qiongqi Manticore golem which was pouncing towards him.

BOOM!

Ning’s sword-light flashed out, crashing against the body of the Qiongqi golem and sending it flying away.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, protect junior apprentice-brother Mu Northson,” Adept Vastriver sent.

“I know, don’t worry,” Ning said hurriedly.

This hall was simply too large. Ning’s group had been divided into two rows that sat on each end of the table. Ninelotus, Vastriver, and Yu Wei were on the side opposite to Ning, and were quite far from each other as well. As for Ning, Northson, and Xue Hongyi, they were on the same side. Right now, six Qiongqi golems were throwing themselves against Ning and the rest of the six Wanxiang Adepts. Even more of the golems were charging towards Youngflame Nong!

It was very easy for Ning to handle a single Qiongqi golem, but clearly it was a bit difficult for Northson; Northson was more talented in controlling golems, not at close combat.

Swoosh. A pair of black wings appeared on Ning’s back, and the wings fluttered as he began to execute the Windwing Evasion, howling through the air as he moved next to Northson. His sword-light flashed out, striking against a Primal-level Qiongqi golem and sending it flying.

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother.” Northson was covered with cold sweat, and he hurriedly controlled a giant silver serpent construct, sending it into battle.

“It’s nothing.” Ning laughed, twin swords in hands, and then lotus petals began to bloom around him, easily blocking those two Qiongqi golems.

…….

Ning and the others, including Xue Hongyi, were each dealing with a single Qiongqi golem. In truth, these six golems weren’t meant to kill them; they were assigned to keep them tied down. The other twelve Qiongqi golems and their black-armored leader simultaneously charged towards Youngflame Nong.

“Hahaha…” Youngflame Nong laughed loudly. “Capture them.”

Xiangliu Fang’s twin hands struck out, and those massive hands seemed to cover the skies as they did so. His fingers transformed into massive serpents, which seemed to coil about as they moved to wrap around the Qiongqi golems. In fact, some of them managed to snare two Qiongqi golems each. All twelve of them were actually seized by his giant hands…but the black-armored man pulled out a longsword from within his leg with his right arm, hacking it directly against Xiangliu Fang’s hands.

BOOM!

The surrounding area was filled with a deafening explosion. Actually, it was quite taxing for Xiangliu Fang to rely on nothing but a pair of hands to capture those twelve Qiongqi golems. The power of this sword attack was even more tremendous. His hands trembled and were knocked aside, allowing the Qiongqi golems to all escape their captor.

“Eh?” Xiangliu Fang was shocked. “This sword of yours…”

CHOP. The black-armored man transformed into a streak of light, charging forwards and slamming the sword down towards Xiangliu Fang once more.

Right at this moment, the other twelve Qiongqi golems howled through the air, flying towards Youngflame Nong. Youngflame Nong frowned, and instantly that enormous Redscale Salamander appeared around him. At the same time, a leaf-like Dao-seal appeared in his hand.

“They are rather irritating.” Youngflame Nong muttered softly, but he felt completely confident; he had Uncle Fang, the Redscale Salamander, and a protective treasure; he was definitely going to win.

“Growl…”

The Redscale Salamander howled with rage as it fought against the Qiongqi golems. But suddenly, a Qiongqi golem reached out to snatch the nearby bronze lamp, then began to run away withi t!

“The bronze lamp!” Youngflame Nong was shocked. Now, he understood. These golems weren’t meant to kill him; they knew that they weren’t strong enough to do that. Thus, their real target was the bronze lamp. To bind a treasure, one had to be right next to it and slowly use one’s elemental ki to bind it. If one was a bit too far away, or if someone else took possession of it, then there would be no way for one to fill it with elemental ki. Naturally, then, there would be no way to bind it.

This would result in it taking forever for him to control the Immortal estate. Given how well these golems knew the Witchriver Palace, they could simply play hide-and-seek with him within it. The golems could delay for thousands of years…but he could not.

“Quick, seize the bronze lamp,” Youngflame Nong howled furiously..

Xiangliu Fang immediately let out an astonishing howl as well. His right arm suddenly split apart and flew out from his body. His severed right arm blasted out with a sky-filling black-colored divine power, which rippled forth, then transformed the right arm into a new Xiangliu Fang. As for the original Xiangliu Fang, he grew out a new arm.

In the blink of an eye, two Xiangliu Fang’s had appeared within the main hall. However, by the time this splitting process had completed, that Qiongqi golem had already charged out of the main hall; after all, Primal-level Qiongqi golems were indeed as fast as lightning.

One Xiangliu Fang remained in combat against the black-armored man. The other, however, went chasing after the Qiongqi golem that had fled with the bronze lamp. With a swoosh, he charged into the corridor, continuing his pursuit.

“Two Xiangliu Fang’s? A clone?” Ning and the others were all shocked.

“The bronze lamp, the bronze lamp! Damn them, damn them!” Youngflame Nong bellowed with rage. But right at this moment, at a distant corridor within the hall, Xiangliu Fang suddenly reappeared, bronze lamp in one hand, sack in the other.

“Haha.” Youngflame Nong instantly laughed.

As for the black-armored man, he immediately felt disappointed. He knew that the difference in power between himself and these invading humans was simply too great; thus, he had hoped to catch them offguard and seize the bronze lamp. Unfortunately, this Fiendgod was truly too powerful; the Fiendgod was able to tie him down with one body, then use another one to chase after the Qiongqi golem and bring the bronze lamp back.

“The overall situation has been cast in stone.” Youngflame Nong immediately felt completely relaxed, watching the battle going on in the rest of the hall with leisure. But as he did so, his face suddenly changed.

He was looking at Ning and Northson, located far away from him. Ning was wielding two Darknorth swords, and on his back was a pair of black wings; he was effortlessly blocking two Qiongqi golems.

“Wings?” Youngflame Nong carefully watched the way in which Ning moved. At the same time, he sent mentally to Xiangliu Fang, “Uncle Fang, look at Ji Ning.”

Xiangliu Fang’s two bodies had merged into one again. Fighting at full power once more, Xiangliu Fang stuffed the black-armored man into his sack. Upon hearing Youngflame Nong’s words, he immediately turned to look. Upon doing so, his face changed as well.

“Uncle Fang, that’s the Windwing Evasion. I’m not mistaken, am I?” Youngflame Nong asked.

Windwing Evasion.

Youngflame Nong himself had never trained in it, but he had watched his clansmen train in it repeatedly. Because of how often he had seen it, and because he had personally read the contents of the [Windwing Evasion] manual, he could see traces of it in the way Ning moved.

“Right. That’s the Windwing Evasion. I’ve trained in it before. Although Ji Ning is using wings to mask it, he is definitely using the Windwing Evasion,” Xiangliu Fang sent mentally. “In the past, the descendants of the Yuchi clan also used wings to hide it; Ji Ning is using the same old trick. Although this is a rather clumsy method, unless one has an extremely deep understanding of the Windwing Evasion, there’s no way one would be able to tell.”

Youngflame Nong sent mentally, “Uncle Fang, how could Ji Ning know the Windwing Evasion?”

“It should be one of the surviving spawns of the Yuchi clan!” Xiangliu Fang sent back.

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Chapter 24 –Enmity Born From Genocide

Chapter 24 –Enmity Born From Genocide

“Surviving spawns of the Yuchi clan?” Youngflame Nong began to feel a killing intent in his heart. “Not a single member of the Yuchi clan is to be spared, and those members of the Yuchi clan who have trained in the Windwing Evasion are all the more deserving of death. The Windwing Evasion…only my Youngflame clan can have it. It cannot be learned by others!”

The secret arts and divine abilities which were unique to a certain major clan were absolutely forbidden to be taught to others. Any outsiders who learned these techniques would suffer pursuit and assault!

“Uncle Fang, let’s deal with these golems first.” Youngflame Nong had no desire to play around anymore at all. For the first time, he truly had the desire to kill Ji Ning.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Xiangliu Fang’s two large hands swished through the air, snatching away at the Qiongqi golems with abandon while shouting, “Everyone, stop these Qiongqi golems. Don’t let them escape; if they escape, they’ll cause problems in the future.” While saying this, he continually captured Qiongqi golems and stuffed them into his sack.

Everyone did their best to stop the Qiongqi golems from escaping, allowing Xiangliu Fang to capture them, one by one.

“They really were suicidal.” The black wings on Ning’s back disappeared. He gave a glance to the bloodstained corpses on the ground. Although those Zifu Disciples were all Deathsworn and were able to assemble into formation…the difference between them and golems at the Primal level of power was simply too vast. The first wave of assaults from the Qiongqi Manticore golems had caused virtually all of the Zifu Disciples to be wiped out, leaving behind only ten or so.

“How pitiable. They were Zifu Disciples…but against these golems, they were completely useless. And yet, Youngflame Nong insisted on having them watch the perimeter; clearly, he didn’t give a damn about them dying,” Mu Northson sent with a mental sigh. “Youngflame Nong truly is cold-blooded.”

These Deathsworn had been voluntarily gifted by Northmont Yin and some others. To Youngflame Nong, however, these Deathsworn had been raised by outside clans, and there was no way the Youngflame clan would truly trust them. There was no point to him bringing him back! And yet, he couldn’t just ‘return’ them back to Northmont Yin. Thus, he might as well let them die. If some were lucky enough to survive, then that meant that they had been blessed with good fortune and might be worthy of bringing back to the clan and training.

………

The few lucky Zifu Disciple survivors hurriedly began to clean the hall, completely removing all of the corpses and bloodstains and restoring it to a pristine condition.

Youngflame Nong reseated himself at the front of the hall. His gaze cold, he stared directly at Ning, then barked, “Ji Ning!”

Everyone in the hall was stunned.

Northson, Yu Wei, Ninelotus, Adept Vastriver, and Xue Hongyi were all astonished; they could sense that there was a terrifying look in Youngflame Nong’s eyes, and the cold, tyrannical way he had just shouted was something they could all sense. Not even earlier, when Ning had shattered the table, had Youngflame Nong been so formal and cold.

“Young master Youngflame.” Ning looked towards Youngflame Nong. “What is it? Speak..”

“Youngflame Nong.” This time, it was Ninelotus, seated on the other side, who grew angry. “Ji Ning is my Dao-Companion. Earlier, he offended you, but that was just a minor matter. For you to act this way…you are being a bit too narrow-minded.”

Although these young masters and princes of major clans often chatted and teased each other, there were some bottom lines that could not be crossed. Ji Ning was her Dao-Companion, after all, and he had also helped Youngflame Nong this time. It was one thing for the two of them to have had a bit of friction earlier, but for Youngflame Nong to act this way now was going too far.

“Ninelotus, you’ll understand after hearing what I say,” Youngflame Nong said coldly.

“Then I shall listen attentively,” Ninelotus said with cold anger as well.

“Ji Ning, I ask you this.” Youngflame Nong looked at Ning. “Just now, was the divine ability you displayed the Windwing Evasion?”

Ning was stunned.

Windwing Evasion? How did Youngflame Nong know about the Windwing Evasion? Ning’s mother’s clan, the Yuchi clan, had been almost completely obliterated; most likely, the only remaining member was Ning’s uncle’s daughter, and Ning didn’t even know if she was still alive. Ning could be somewhat considered a descendant of the Yuchi clan…but the Yuchi clan was extremely secretive about the Windwing Evasion to begin with.

“No need to deny it. You used the Windwing Evasion,” Youngflame Nong said with a cold laugh. “Uncle Fang, display it for him.”

Whoosh.

Xiangliu Fang suddenly disappeared from Youngflame Nong’s side. He seemed to have transformed into a giant Roc, instantly appearing in the center of the main hall. Then, with another movement, he retreated and returned to Youngflame Nong’s side.

Ning, seeing this, felt his heart tremble. His other fellow disciples of the Black-White College couldn’t tell, but he himself, as a practitioner of the Windwing Evasion, could – Xiangliu Fang truly was using the Windwing Evasion! In addition, it was even more precise and profound than Ning’s own usage! But this made sense; after all, Ning was only a Fiendgod Body Refiner; compared to Xiangliu Fang, a true Fiendgod, he was still far inferior.

“They are the culprits!”

“They are the ones who annihilated my clan!”

A thought suddenly entered Ning’s mind. “Can it be that it was the Youngflame clan which annihilated my mother’s Yuchi clan? Can it be that the grandparents and aunts and uncles who I never met were all slain by the Youngflame clan?”

“Well?” Youngflame Nong looked at Ning. “Is it the same as yours?”

“I do indeed train in the Windwing Evasion.” Ning knew that there was no point in lying. Frowning, he said, “But so what if it is?”

Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, and Northson all sood there, watching nervously but not rushing to speak.

Youngflame Nong laughed loudly, “The Windwing Evasion technique was originally unique to the Yuchi clan of the Eastisle Commandery of our Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning, hearing this, felt his heart shake.

“The Yuchi clan had possessed this divine ability for a long, long time; however, they relied on using wing-type magic treasures to hide it. Our Youngflame clan, however, found out about it long ago. After preparing for an extremely long period of time, we annihilated the entire Yuchi clan in one blow…but were unable to find the original manual of the [Windwing Evasion]! Some of the powerful Immortals of my Youngflame clan personally intervene and used a soul-scour technique to collect enough memories from members of the Yuchi clan to completely rebuild the [Windwing Evasion] manual from scratch.” Youngflame Nong looked at Ning. “Right now, the [Windwing Evasion] is unique to my Youngflame clan, and it is absolutely forbidden to teach it to others. For you to learn the Windwing Evasion without the permission of my Youngflame clan…this, in and of itself, merits the death penalty for you. What’s more, I suspect that you are one of the surviving spawn of the Yuchi clan!”

“SPEAK! Are you a surviving spawn of the Yuchi clan?” Youngflame Nong stared at Ning.

Everyone else now completely understood. So this was what it was all about! Warfare between clans…there was no real right or wrong in inter-clan warfare! Since the Youngflame clan had annihilated the Yuchi clan, and the Yuchi clan’s Windwing Evasion technique was now solely possessed by the Youngflame clan…from the Youngflame clan’s standpoint, it was true that all descendants of the Yuchi clan had to be annihilated. After all, between the two clans, there was now a grudge that stemmed from clan genocide.

“Ji Ning.” Ninelotus sent to Ning, saying frantically, “No matter what, don’t admit that you are a descendant of the Yuchi clan. If you admit to it, given that there is hatred that stems from clan genocide between you and the Youngflame clan, the Youngflame clan will definitely not permit you to remain alive. You only need to say that you acquired the original copy of the [Windwing Evasion] manual through happenstance, and that without knowing the full backstory, you learned it. Thus, since you didn’t know it was forbidden to learn it, you cannot be blamed. I will have my Dongyan clan engage in negotiation with the Youngflame clan on your behalf, and this matter will quickly come to an end.”

Ning looked towards Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang. His heart was filled with boundless rage. The Immortals of the Youngflame clan had soul-scoured the souls of many Yuchi clansmen in order to remake a complete Windwing Evasion.

Upon being soul-scoured, one’s soul would generally be dispersed and destroyed.

“Damn. Damn. Damn!” Ning truly wanted to take revenge for his mother’s entire clan.

“Are you the surviving spawn of the Yuchi clan?” Youngflame Nong stared at Ning, his murderous intent billowing to the heavens. Previously, during the banquet, he had just been flirting a bit with Ninelotus; he hadn’t truly felt any desire to kill Ning. After all, he had to protect the Youngflame clan’s face and reputation. However, if Ning truly was a spawn of the Yuchi clan, then even the patriarchs of the Youngflame clan were present, they would still mercilessly kill Ning.

In this moment, he was the representative of the entire Youngflame clan!

“I am not.” Ning stared at Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang. He forcibly repressed his anger and said in a low voice, “Youngflame Nong, if you want to kill me, there’s no need for you to put on such a show to find an excuse.”

“My senior apprentice-brother has already spoken; there is no relationship between himself and the Yuchi clan,” Northson said angrily. “Young master Youngflame, we came here to help you; is this how you are going to treat us?”

“Young master Youngflame, since my junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has said that he is not a descendant of the Yuchi clan, that means he is not. He most likely acquired this divine ability through a fortuitous encounter. He can negotiate with your Youngflame clan and offer some compensatory gifts, then swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that he absolutely will not pass this divine ability out ot anyone else,” Adept Vastriver said.

Yu Wei spoke out as well. “Young master Youngflame, for you to claim at a time like this that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is a descendant of the Yuchi clan…once word of this spreads, people will think that it is you, Youngflame Nong, who intentionally sought out an excuse to act against him.”

“Youngflame Nong.” Ninelotus stared at Youngflame Nong as well. Filled with wrath, she said, “Ji Ning is my Dao-Companion!”

Everyone was standing out, pressuring Youngflame Nong from all sides. But he only laughed.

“Hahaha…don’t worry,” Youngflame Nong said with a laugh. “Since Ji Ning has accompanied me on this trip through the Immortal estate, I’ll give him a chance to live.” As he spoke out, he produced a set of black manacles, covered with ancient golden runes. He tossed the manacles directly towards Ning. Clank. They landed on the ground before him.

“These are godlock chains.” Youngflame Nong looked towards Ning. “Upon being manacled, you’ll be like an ordinary mortal. Even Fiendgods, when locked by these chains, won’t be able to resist. Put these chains on and wait for my orders. I can swear an oath as well; so long as you are not a spawn of the Yuchi clan, I absolutely will not kill you, nor harm your power. I will go out and engage in an investigation. If, however, I can verify that you are a spawn of the Yuchi clan, I will kill you. If you are not? I’ll release you to your freedom.”

Ning furrowed his brows.

Yu Wei spoke out in a high voice, “Young master Youngflame, think about how powerful your Youngflame clan is; is it necessary for you to act in such a petty manner? You can let junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning go free for now, then engage in your investigations; upon verifying the results, you can act against him later. Can it be that in the face of the power of your Youngflame clan, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning would be able to escape your reach?”

“Ji Ning, do you agree or not?” Youngflame Nong looked at Ning. “I’ve given you your only way out.”

Ning stared at Youngflaem Nong. “You want me to chain myself and hand over my life to you? Do you think this is possible?”

Youngflame Nong’s face instantly turned even colder and more sinister.

No matter what, Ning would not voluntarily put the godlock chains around himself. But right at this moment…

“Young master Youngflame!” The nearby Xue Hongyi suddenly laughed coldly as he pointed at Ning. “Don’t listen to his lies. This Ji Ning’s father was known as Ji Yichuan, while his mother was known as Yuchi Snow!”

“You learned the Windwing Evasion, and your mother was Yuchi Snow?” Youngflame Nong instantly revealed a savage look on his face, and his voice became as cold as ice. “So you truly are the spawn of the Yuchi clan! Die! Ji Ning shall die! Anyone who attempts to block the path of the Youngflame clan in doing so will be killed, without reservation!”

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Chapter 25 – Grand Dao Domain

Chapter 25 – Grand Dao Domain

Everyone close to Ji Ning, such as Mu Northson and Ninelotus, all knew that Ning’s mother was named Yuchi Snow. However, they all wanted to try and buy him some time; at the very least, they wanted to make sure that could leave this major world alive. Later on, the Dongyan clan and the Black-White College could use some methods at their disposal to ensure that Ning could be sent and escape to other lesser worlds, or perhaps even a different major world.

Unfortunately…

Xue Hongyi had thoroughly investigated Ning long ago, and had even purchased a set of intelligence reports regarding Ning from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Naturally, he knew who Ning’s parents were.

“Youngflame Nong!” Ninelotus was enraged.

“Hold!” Yu Wei’s forehead suddenly began to glow with white light. Her aura quickly became terrifying as she, too, roared with fury.

Adept Vastriver and Mu Northson all called out in anger as well.

Whoooosh.

Xiangliu Fang only stretched out a single hand, which instantly expanded to a tremendous size. At the same time, his five fingers transformed into five giant serpents, each more than three hundred meters long. They stretched out towards Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Northson, and Adept Vastriver. Every single serpent emanated a terrifyingly powerful aura, causing the faces of Ninelotus and the others to become unsightly.

“Ninelotus, I won’t kill you.” Youngflame Nong pointed towards Ninelotus. “But those three fellow disciples of yours…Uncle Fang, if they dare interfere, just kill them.”

Although he felt lust towards Yu Wei…women, to Youngflame Nong, were nothing more than playthings. Playthings, in the end, were still playthings; they could be killed at a moment’s notice.

“You…”

“Youngflame Nong…”

Ninelotus, Northson, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver all stared towards him with hatred, but they knew exactly how strong Xiangliu Fang was; he was absolutely capable of crushing them. Although they had some protective items on them, those items would at most allow them to stay alive for a short period of time. To completely change the situation…was impossible.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-sister, junior apprentice-brother…Ninelotus.” Ning looked towards Youngflame Nong, seated at the front of the hall, then said calmly, “There’s no need for you to intervene. This is a matter between myself and Youngflame Nong.”

“Ji Ning.” Ninelotus called out frantically towards him.

Ning looked towards Ninelotus. “Don’t worry.”

“YOUNGFLAME NONG!!!” Ninelotus was absolutely livid. “You are provoking my Dongyan clan!”

“If it was the Forefather of the Dongyan clan who said these words to me, then I might truly be forced to reconsider. But you?” Youngflame Nong laughed, then shook his head.

Ninelotus suddenly produced a black lotus petal in her hand, a petal with an aura that inspired terror. The black lotus petal quickly expanded, causing Xiangliu Fang to called out icily, “Are you looking to die!?” His giant python-finger instantly smashed headlong against the black lotus flower, which trembled, then began to crack. This cracked black lotus flower continued to fly straight towards the giant serpent.

BOOM!

The giant serpent quickly froze into a statue of ice, then shattered apart. In fact, Xiangliu Fang’s entire hand became frozen, all the way to his elbow, then began to splinter across. However, Xiangliu Fang’s arm then once more grew out. WHAP. His fingers once more transformed into serpents, striking heavily against Ninelotus and causing her to be knocked flying, vomiting blood from her mouth.

“Not bad. Unfortunately, you were only capable of injuring Uncle Fang.” Youngflame Nong shook his head. “Even I am unable to produce treasures capable of killing Uncle Fang. You?”

Xiangliu Fang was of the ancient Fiendgod ‘Hydraga’ race; his lifeforce was incredibly powerful, and his combat ability was comparable to a peak Loose Immortal’s. To kill Xiangliu Fang? This was an incredibly hard task.

“Xue Hongyi, I’ll give you a chance to render merits for yourself.” Youngflame Nong looked towards Xue Hongyi. “Go and kill Ji Ning.”

“Me? Kill Ji Ning?” Xue Hongyi was stunned.

“Are you going to kill him or not?” Youngflame Nong’s eyes flashed with a cold light.

Xue Hongyi mentally cursed nonstop. He had been flattering Youngflame Nong this entire time, and had even told him that Ning’s mother was named Yuchi Snow. He had done all of this in the hopes of making Youngflame Nong like him…but who would’ve imagined that Youngflame Nong would be this vicious? Youngflame Nong had actually ordered him to go kill Ji Ning…he had no confidence in being able to do so at all!

“Kill, yes, kill.” Xue Hongyi nodded frantically, but in his heart, he thought to himself, “I’m not going to be able to kill Ji Ning, but I should be able to stay alive at least.”

“Ji Ning, prepare to die,” Xue Hongyi called out with anger, then instantly shot out a series of flying needles towards Ning.

Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang stood there at the front of the hall, watching this happen. A look of anticipation was in Youngflame Nong’s eyes. “Xue Hongyi’s strength should be a bit weaker than Ji Ning’s; if Ji Ning really was to go all-out against him, he should be able to kill Xue Hongyi…and after Xue Hongyi dies, his Immortal-ranked magic treasure will be mine.”

“Uncle Fang, after Xue Hongyi dies, you attack and kill Ji Ning,” Youngflame Nong sent. “The Immortal-ranked magic treasure will be mine then.”

“Yes, young master,” Xiangliu Fang said.

……

Upon hearing Youngflame Nong say, the words, “Ji Ning shall die” and “anyone who attempts to block the path of the Youngflame clan in doing so will be killed,” Ning had already made up his mind to kill Youngflame Nong!

Xiangliu Fang was far too powerful; Ning didn’t feel any confidence in his ability to defeat him, but he had no choice now.

“Die.” Xue Hongyi charged forward.

“First you. Then Youngflame Nong.” Ning wielded his Darknorth swords in his hands. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to use wings to hide his technique.

Whoooooosh!!!

A series of flying needles filled the skies, shooting towards him.

“KILL!” Ning let out an enraged bellow. In this moment, Ning’s sword-heart was more steadfast and firm than it had ever been before.

He understood now.

In this moment, he had embarked on a brand new path. If he didn’t kill Youngflame Nong, then due to being physically located within this Immortal estate, he wouldn’t be able to escape. He would die! But if he did kill Youngflame Nong, someone who had the highest chances to become the next Godplume Duke…the Youngflame clan would definitely pursue him with full power. This was a clan that was even more terrifyingly powerful than the Northmont clan of Stillwater!

Two roads lay ahead of him.

One was the road to death.

The other was the road of being pursued by the Youngflame clan.

After having been pressured to this extent…Ning actually became incomparably resolved.

BOOOM!!!

His soul became completely pure and transparent in this moment, more than it ever had been before. Ning suddenly felt as though time itself slowed down. Something that he had been struggingly this entire time to reach, and yet had never been able to…finally, he truly had reached it, and embarked on a new journey through his Grand Dao. This was…the Grand Dao of the Sword! A vast, awe-inspiring Grand Dao! In this moment, Ning felt as though he had transformed into a sword that was swimming through the entirety of the Grand Dao.

In this moment…Ning had completely reached the Grand Dao Domain level.

Generally speaking, Immortal cultivators who trained in a Dao all had the chance to reach the ‘Dao Domain’ level, but that was generally only true for an ordinary Dao. The Dao of the Sword, however, was one of the Grand Daos; to reach the Grand Dao Domain was far more difficult than even completely mastering an entire Dao-Path. Although Ning had reached the fifth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] long ago, if he hadn’t been placed under such enormous pressure this time, causing his heart to suddenly and completely comprehend and allow him to pass through the final barriers, it would have remained very difficult for him to reach this new level.

Within his sea of consciousness.

Ning’s soul suddenly transformed into a sword, an incomparably dazzling sword. This was the sword-soul, which only a Sword Immortal who had truly reached the Grand Dao Domain level would possess. This was a fundamental change, an evolution of the soul.

Whoosh.

The sword suddenly transformed into Ji Ning’s appearance…but the spirit-Ning faintly emanated with the light of a sword.

“What is the purpose of a life lived?”

“All I ask for is to be joyful.”

“Kill, kill, kill.”

“Exterminate all injustices!”

“Exterminate all those who deserve killing!”

“Only then will I be exultant.”

“As Loose Immortals, there is no path to immortality.”

“Thus…”

“Better to live passionately for a day, than to live a century while stifled.”

“My sword is the joyous sword, the sword of passion, the sword which exterminates all injustices. The name of this sword technique is the [Three-Foot Sword].”

While battling against Xue Hongyi, Ning suddenly began to laugh. Laugh loudly, and with joy. “Kill, kill, kill; exterminate all ijustices, and exterminate all those who need killing! Better to live passionately for a day, than to live a century while stifled.” As Ning laughed loudly, the Darknorth swords in his hands suddenly became incomparably brilliant and incomparably awe-inspiring.

Swish!

An unfathomably terrifying sword-aura instantly filled the entire hall. A dazzling streak of sword-light lashed out, tearing through the flying needles as though they were made of rotting wood, then sliced across Xue Hongyi’s body.

“I, I, I…” Xue Hongyi’s eyes were completely round. He had never imagined that he would end up like this. Filled to the brim with terror, even his soul began to crack and shatter under the terrifying sword-aura filling the hall.

And then…his body fell into two parts on the ground.

The sixth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]…the Grand Dao Domain!

The [Three-Foot Sword], as the highest level sword art of the Black-White College, had six stances that were available to the public. The final three stances, however, were limited to direct, Epochal Transmission for Sword Immortals.

The first stance – Lustrous Sword-Heart

The second stance – Manifold Thistlethorns

The third stance – Sudden Sword-Light

The fourth stance – Sun in the Sky

The fifth stance – Moonlight Hiding the Sword

The sixth stance – Grand Dao Domain.

These sword stances weren’t completely set in stone; for example, the first stance, Lustrous Sword-Heart, was different for each person, depending on how they comprehended it. The [Three-Foot Sword] primarily served as a guide. It guided Sword Immortals towards techniques that suited them best. Every single practitioner of the [Three-Foot Sword] was capable of executing the [Three-Foot Sword] in a way which suited them the most.

In dire straits, Ning’s heart had completely merged into the Grand Dao, allowing him to reach the Grand Dao Domain level. The power of this sixth stance he had comprehended was truly incomparably frightening.

“Is this a Grand Dao Domain?” Youngflame Nong watched as a terrifying sword-aura washed over the entire hall, causing even his own soul to shudder. Youngflame Nong’s face completely changed from its previous, calm and smug look. He stared at Ji Ning, this young man from a backwater clan, who seemed to have gone berserk and who had just killed Xue Hongyi with one blow. “How old is he? He actually…actually has already reached the Grand Dao Domain level? And in the Dao of the Sword, the most offensive of Daos?!”

Youngflame Nong suddenly felt jealousy in his heart; why couldn’t he be this talented? Why did this sort of talent had to fall onto a rustic youth like this one?

“Grand Dao Domain?”

“This Dao of the Sword…”

Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, and Ninelotus were in a state of shock. The sword-aura that filled the hall…all of them could feel the resoluteness, the sharpness, the indomitableness emanating from it.

The sword was a sharp weapon. The heart of a Sword Immortal…only one whose heart was truly as sharp, resolute, and indomitable as a sword would be capable of truly comprehending the exquisiteness of the Dao of the Sword.

When the sword emerged, there was no room for regret.

When the sword emerged, it could not be blocked.

This was what it meant to be a Sword Immortal!

“KILL!” Ning wielded his twin swords in his hands. His body suddenly increased dramatically as he transformed into a thirty meter tall giant as he simultaneously executed his divine ability, [Starseizing Hand] as well. In this moment, the sword-light in Ning’s hands had reached an awe-inspiringly powerful level. But Xiangliu Fang just let out a furious growl, smashing out with his palm, which swept forward like a dark stormcloud as the giant serpents that were his fingers ravenously bit down.

BOOOOM!

An explosive sound rang out. The flesh on Xiangliu Fang’s serpent-hand split open, and fresh blood sprayed everywhere as divine power lashed everywhere.

Ning was sent flying nback as well, blood spewing out from his mouth. In this moment, Ning understood…that although his power had increased dramatically, compared with Xiangliu Fang, who possessed the power of a peak Loose Immortal, the difference in power was simply too great. The opponent was able to defeat him with just one hand.

“Ji Ning.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.”

Northson, Yu Wei, and Ninelotus all called out in alarm.

While being knocked backwards, Ning’s eyes became filled with madness. That black loop, which had been tucked into his bracer the entire time, suddenly appeared in his palm. This was the treasure which Daoist Threelives had personally forged; of Ning’s two important life-saving treasures, it was the only one capable of an active attack.

Ning had no other choices left to him.

“GO!” Ning waved his hand, sending the black loop flying out.

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Chapter 26 – Killing Youngflame Nong

Chapter 26 – Killing Youngflame Nong

The black loop seemed quite ordinary, but as Xiangliu Fang struck out with his massive, dark, cloud-like hand, with those giant, serpentine fingers…the black loop actually passed straight through it. The giant Fiendgod’s hand wasn’t harmed at all; it was as though the black loop was composed of a different type of force, as though it was illusory. It passed straight through.

“What’s this?” Xiangliu Fang was completely flabbergasted.

“Kill him.” Youngflame Nong’s eyes were filled with a murderous intent as well, but then…he too stared in amazement at the black loop which had appeared.

A seemingly ordinary black loop, but it caused both Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang to feel nervousness, because they had no idea what sort of a treasure it was.

One of them was an ancient Fiendgod with vast experience. The other was all-but-guaranteed to be the next Godplume Duke, who similarly had seen many things. The two of them had seen countless treasures…but they had never seen a treasure like this before. In fact, they couldn’t even tell what it was.

“This black loop easily passed through Xiangliu Fang’s massive, Fiendgod hand…and didn’t injure it in the slightest?” Mu Northson was completely awestruck as well.

It was like an ordinary person being ‘struck’ by a ghost; the ghost would pass straight through the person. When Xiangliu Fang and the sphere collided, the sphere shot straight through him. But Xiangliu Fang, as a Fiendgod, had an incredibly powerful level of divine power; if it had been a ghost or something like a ghost, it would have been shattered.

“What queer thing is this?” NInelotus was amazed as well. She came from the Dongyan clan, but had never heard of such a treasure.

“Eh?” Adept Vastriver had long ago awakened fragments of his former memories, but he felt puzzled as well.

Yu Wei originally had a look of puzzlement, but then she revealed a look of astonishment. “Can this be…how can it…”

…..

The black loop flew into the air directly above Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang, and as it did, it suddenly emanated a soft, hazy glow, causing it to appear dreamlike and illusory.

“Shatter,” Xiangliu Fang howled angrily. A long awl appeared in his hand, filled with a boundless, savage aura, and Xiangliu Fang stabbed the black loop viciously with his awl.

“Protect me.” Youngflame Nong also felt that this black loop was extremely bizarre. He had already taken out that leaf-like Dao-seal earlier, in order to protect against the black-armored golem’s sudden ambush if necessary. He now shattered it right away. Instantly, a hazy golden aura covered him with a tight defensive aura. “This would be able to withstand for a few moments against even a full-strength attack from a Loose Immortal.”

Whoosh.

Xiangliu Fang’s ferocious stab…missed. It was as though the black loop didn’t exist at all; or perhaps, it existed on a completely different plane.

The black loop continued to emanate that hazy light. Suddenly, an invisible, devouring ripple swept out.

“This is…”

Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang’s faces both changed dramatically. They could both sense that invisible devouring force…and it was aimed directly at their souls.

“AHH!! NO—!” Youngflame Nong’s face turned incomparably savage and terrified. He let out a hideous howl…and then, his soul left his body. Twisting and distorting, it was forcibly drawn into that black loop.

Youngflame Nong was a peak Wanxiang Adept, and ever since he was young, he had access to an extremely high level visualization technique; his soul was comparable to a Primal Daoist’s by now, and so naturally it could almost take physical form. Ning and everyone else personally witnessed his twisting, distorting soul howl in anguish as it was drawn into the black loop.

“What sort of treasure is this? How can it absorb my soul? How can…how can…how can this be my end? How could I have died to this Ji Ning? Is my soul about to be destroyed? Ji Ning, Ji Ning, spare me, spare me!” Youngflame Nong’s soul let out a soundless screech, continuing to twist and distort as it was drawn deeper and deeper within.

“I, I…” Xiangliu Fang was struggling in a berserk manner. And yet…his powerful Fiendgod’s soul was still being forcibly ripped out from his Fiendgod body. As a Primal-level Fiendgod who was capable of creating a clone of himself, it was clear that his soul had long ago completely merged with his Fiendgod body, fusing into one. And yet, it was still being forcibly ripped out right now.

It was an enormous soul, and it was letting out earth-shaking bellows that shook the entire hall…but it, too, was being drawn into the black loop.

And so, just like that…

Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang, despite their protective treasures or powerful divine bodies…had their souls forcibly devoured by this terrifying, bizarre treasure.

Crack. The black loop let out a clear sound, like a piece of ice breaking. Instantly, it shattered apart, dissipating and melting in midair, leaving nothing behind at all. Even Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang’s souls had completely vanished.

Slump.

Youngflame Nong’s body remained standing there for a moment, eyes completely blank, and then his body slumped gently to the ground. The mighty Xiangliu Fang remained standing for a moment as well, but then he too collapsed to the ground, no longer breathing. This ancient Fiendgod, who had been born in the Fiendgod Era, then been enslaved by the Youngflame clan…finally died on this day.

“Youngflame Nong and Xiangliu Fang just…just…just died, like that?” Northson stared with huge eyes. He cleared his throat repeatedly, completely awestruck.

“Dead. This…this…” Adept Vastriver was completely awestruck as well.

Ninelotus and Yu Wei both looked at the two collapsed, lifeless figures as well; one master, the other a servant. They felt as though they were in a dream.

Xiangliu Fang had been so powerful! He was an ancient Fiendgod! As for Youngflame Nong, his background and status were both mighty as well; earlier, when dealing with the monstrous Dao-soldiers, he had taken out the likes of the ‘Lock’ scroll and the ‘Polaris Starshifter’ treasure. They had watched him do this and had realized how truly extraordinary the next Godplume Duke truly was, and how many protective items he had. But the end result? They had both died.

Ji Ning, who had been knocked flying backwards and had vomited out blood, revealed a look of astonishment as well. He had never imagined that the black loop would be this powerful.

When he had originally selected the black loop, the giant yellow bear had said to him, “Ji Ning, to tell the truth, I originally didn’t want to give you this treasure. However, after you grow more powerful, it will no longer be of much use to you, as by the time you become a Primal, you’ll be able to carry around this underwater estate with you. The Wanxiang Adept period…this is the period in an Immortal cultivator’s life when he is most susceptible to dying. This treasure was personally forged by my master; although he did so casually, it is more than enough to keep you alive. You can consider it a second life….but it can only protect you once.”

“A treasure personally forged by Daoist Threelives…even though he made it in a casual way, it was simplicity itself for it to devour the souls of a Primal Fiendgod and a Wanxiang-level noble of a major clan.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in astonishment to himself.

He only knew that this black loop was meant for the sole purpose of drawing in and eradicating souls…but up till now, he had no idea how powerful it was.

…..

Ning was only amazed for a second. In the next instant, however, he understood that he had embarked on a path of no return.

Actually, ever since Youngflame Nong had determined that Ning was a descendant of the Yuchi clan and moved to kill him, Ning had already embarked on a path of no return. Either he would be killed by Youngflame Nong, or he would kill Youngflame Nong. These were his only two options! But by killing Youngflame Nong, someone who was virtually guaranteed to be the next Godplume Duke, and whose background was incredibly astonishing…

Youngflame Nong’s status within his clan was similar to Ning’s former status in the Ji clan of West Prefecture City; Ning had both the Lord Prefect and his own father supporting him. For it to be all but determined that Youngflame Nong would be the next Godplume Duke meant that he definitely had an incredibly powerful figure supporting him as well!

Youngflame Nong had died. If only for emotional reasons alone, that powerful figure would come to seek revenge! Aside from saving face for the Youngflame clan, revenge for Youngflame Nong would also be an important reason!

“Hahaha…” Ning actually began to laugh loudly. With a wave of his hand, he sent out a streak of earthfire, which burnt the corpse of Xue Hongyi to ash. He then collected the magic treasures which Xue Hongyi had left behind. Xue Hongyi had that Immortal-ranked magic treasure; naturally, since Ning was about to flee for his life, he would want to carry as many treasures with him as possible.

Whoosh.

With a single step, Ning moved to Youngflame Nong and the Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang’s corpses. A streak of earthfire burned Youngflame Nong’s corpses to gray ash, but the earthfire was completely unable to damage Xiangliu Fang’s Fiendgod body at all. This caused Ning to frown.

“Come in here.” He simply stored the entire Fiendgod body into his storage-type magic treasure. Then, with a wave of his hand, Ning collected the key to the Immortal estate.

Ning quickly began to bind it. The key to the Immortal estate was merely a talisman; binding it was quite simple.

The nearby Northson, Yu Wei, Ninelotus, and Adept Vastriver just watched as Ning burned the corpses of Xue Hongyi and Youngflame Nong, then took away all their magic treasures. All of them were still in a state of shock.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you, you…you killed Youngflame Nong?” Northson’s mouth flapped open a few times. He was still speechless.

More than ten or so Zifu Disciples were still alive. They all watched Ning intently, especially those two female Zifu-level maidservants who served Youngflame Nong.

Swish!

Ning’s gaze flickered past them. Suddenly, the air was filled with sword-ki, which howled downwards, instantly killing all of the Deathsworn.

“If the Deathsworn remain alive, they would only reveal everything which happened here.” Ning knew very well that these Deathsworn were completely loyal to Youngflame Nong. They had watched everything happen; once the Youngflame clan found these Deathsworn, everything would have been exposed.

“Ji Ning.” Ninelotus had a look of panic on her face. Tears actually began to appear. “How could you have killed Youngflame Nong. This…next…this…the Youngflame clan is definitely going to pursue and kill you. There’s no way…no way to stop the Youngflame clan. He was one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty. He was extremely famous…for the sake of their reputation alone, the Youngflame clan would spare no expense in pursuing and killing you.”

Ning looked towards Ninelotus. “I had no choice. I only had two options; to let him kill me, or to kill him! Either he died or I died. What should I have done?”

Ninelotus was so frantic, she began to cry. Previously, she had been trying her best to prevent hatred from developing between Ning and Youngflame Nong, but in the end…the result was even worse than what she had feared. Youngflame Nong, the exalted heir-presumptive to the position of Godplume Duke of the Youngflame clan…had died.

“No need to panic,” Ning said with cold calmness. “I killed Youngflame Nong, but I trust that none of you will voluntarily report me. There’s no way the Youngflame clan would be able to ascertain, within such a short period of time, who the killer was. They will need to spend time to investigate. I’ll immediately send you all out of this Immortal estate. By then, you can return to your own homes, to the Dongyan clan and to the Black-White College of Stillwater City. Nothing which happened here had anything to do with you. I was the killer; the Youngflame clan won’t act against the rest of you. But by the time they’ve fully investigated this matter, I’ll have already arranged an escape plan and executed it.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you are wrong.” Yu Wei was frantic and restless as well, and she said hurriedly, “According to legends, some extremely powerful figures, such as Celestial Immortals, are completely capable of causing a temporal inversion, resulting in scenes from the past being replayed in the present. From this, they can discover right away that you were the culprit.”

Ning instantly felt his heart clench.

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Chapter 27 – Traveling Alone

Chapter 27 – Traveling Alone

“Temporal inversion?” Ning instantly realized that the situation was far more dire than he had thought! He had previously believed that after having killed Youngflame Nong, he would have some time before the Youngflame clan discovered him, which would allow him to arrange for his clan, the Ji clan, to escape. But now, it seemed, time was far too tight.

“Everyone, we have no time. I’ll send you all out now. Go to a safe location. Because of me, all of you have been implicated.” In order to save time, Ning began to converse mentally with them.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Yu Wei sent hurriedly, “You don’t need to worry about our safety; the Grand Xia Dynasty has its rules, and the Youngflame clan cannot simply do what it wishes. As long as we return to the Black-White College, we will be fine; the Grand Xia Dynasty’s laws state that violence is forbidden within its commandery cities. In addition, we weren’t the ones to kill Youngflame Nong, and so the Youngflame clan would have no excuse to act against us. Right now, you need to worry about yourself.”

“You have two main options right now.”

“The first is to flee. Flee to a place where the Youngflame clan cannot reach you and take revenge, such as other lesser or major worlds. Another option would to be to flee straight to the main headquarters of the Raindragon Guard. The Raindragon Guard remains the most powerful military force within the Grand Xia Dynasty; no matter how daring the Youngflame clan is, they wouldn’t dare to act against you while you are with the Raindragon Guard.”

“The second option is to go up against them head-on. Go straight to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty; that’s the capital city for the entirety of the Grand Xia Empire, and the most supreme clans and schools of the entire Grand Xia Empire reside there. You can first go to the local Raindragon Guard branch; that place will be absolutely safe. Afterwards, you can participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Now that you have mastered a Grand Dao Domain, you will definitely be able to perform with brilliant splendor at the Conclave. Given your talent, there will be quite a few powers which will want to draw you into their fold. By then, you can join a power that is opposed to the Youngflame clan.”

“The Youngflame clan is powerful, but if you look at the Grand Xia Dynasty as a whole, you’ll still find a few organizations which are more powerful than them and which hold vast grudges against them. Some of the grudges can be described as ‘mortal enmity’, and there are more than a few; after all, in this vast world which the imperial clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty has unified, it is normal for the largest, most powerful clans, sects, and churches to have their disputes and grudges against each other. For example, the ‘Kindwater’ 1 clan is even more powerful than the Youngflame clan 2, and these two clans have felt mortal enmity towards each other ever since the Fiendgod Era. After countless generations of struggle, both sides have even lost Celestial Immortals. One leader after another has been assassinated by the other side as well. Given that you’ve killed Youngflame Nong, powers like the Kindwater clan would definitely be willing to pull you into their fold. By relying on powerful clans such as them, you can continue to fight against the Youngflame clan.”

“Two options; one to flee, the other to resist. These are the only two ideas I’m able to come up with in such a short period of time,” Yu Wei sent.

Ning had previously been planning on fleeing. He hadn’t expected that Yu Wei would be able to provide yet another clear path for him.

Right!

The Youngflame clan ranked in the top ten clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty…but that meant there were nine other clans on par with them! The more powerful an organization was, the more fights it would get into over resources; this was extremely common.

“As for your clan, the Ji clan,” Yu Wei sent hurriedly, “For now, you can have your clansmen lay low; you can also have some of the elites be sent to Stillwater City or the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Murder and fighting is forbidden in commandery cities; if anyone dares to act in such a way, they will definitely suffer reprisals from the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“Although the Youngflame clan might be able to arrange for some wanted criminals to go commit suicide attacks…how powerful could these wanted criminals possibly be? These wanted criminals are all completely lawless; the more powerful they are, the less willing they are to do anyone’s bidding, especially those Fiendgods and Loose Immortals. It will be very hard for the Youngflame clan to invite those truly terrifying figures to intervene.”

“The only option is for the Youngflame clan to send its own Loose Immortals out to annihilate your Ji clan. Even if they escape blame by claiming that the Loose Immortal did it of his own free will…that Loose Immortal would definitely die!”

Yu Wei continued, sending mentally, “No matter what, so long as a tribe can save its elites, in the future, it will flourish again. You are the genius which the Ji clan has finally produced after countless years; you need to protect yourself.”

“Thank you, senior apprentice-sister.” Ning had some plans of his own, but upon hearing Yu Wei’s suggestions, he instantly felt as though a bigger picture had been revealed to him, giving him some new ideas as well. And, Ning also had a feeling…as though Yu Wei seemed to have quite a clear understanding of the most powerful, supreme forces of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.

“Ji Ning,” Ninelotus sent hurriedly, “Come with me. I’ll take you to see the Forefather and have him send you out from this major world of the Grand Xia Dynasty. As for the Ji clan, I’ll come up with a way to protect some of their elites. In the future, when you are more powerful and come back, we can have the Ji clan flourish again.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, are you preparing to flee? I’ll go with you. My master is close to the end of her life; she’s going to enter her final, closed-door meditation. She’s already taught me everything she can. I have nothing holding me back. Going with you and fleeing together is bound to be an exciting life,” Northson sent.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, protect yourself; only then will you have a chance to turn the tables in the future.” Adept Vastriver looked towards Ning.

Ning laughed. Then, suddenly…Ning’s gaze fell upon Ninelotus. He sent mentally, “Ninelotus.”

“Yes?” Ninelotus looked at Ning.

“I killed Youngflame Nong. Regardless of whether I choose to flee to another world, or if I choose to join another supreme clan or alliance…I’ll be unable to remain within Stillwater Commandery. I’ll be a homeless wanderer…would you be willing to go with me?” Ning looked towards Ninelotus, eyes filled with hope.

“I, I…” Ninelotus hesitated.

She could imagine the path which Ning would walk down in the future. It would be a path of incomparable danger. Should she accompany him on that wandering path?

She felt an impulsive urge to agree. To wander to the edges of the world with Ning, to share life and death together.

But then she thought of her clan. She was the next leader of the Dongyan clan. She couldn’t possibly just go wandering off with Ning to the ends of the earth endlessly. No one could know how long the wandering would last.

“Ninelotus.” Ning could sense her hesitation. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of pain in his heart.

He knew that this request of his was a bit excessive. Only…in this moment, after having embarked on this path, Ning truly wanted for someone to walk it with him. This arduous Immortal path…if someone could share it with him and share its burdens with him…Ning truly hoped that someone would be Ninelotus.

“I’m sorry.”

Ninelotus’ eyes filled with tears as she looked at Ning. “Ji Ning, I suddenly understand now. I simply can’t wander the world by your side; I can’t share life and death with you. The Forefather’s words were right. To be Dao-Companions…that means to be willing to die for someone. Dao-Companions…if Immortals or Buddhas block your path, for the sake of bringing your Dao-Companion back, you would be willing to murder Immortals or annihilate Buddhas. But I can’t do it! I truly can’t do it. I have my own path to follow and I…I don’t want to give up my own path for you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Tears were streaming down Ninelotus’ face.

“No need to say anything further.”

Ning’s eyes were glimmering with unshed tears as well. “It’s my fault for being too greedy. I’m embarking on a path of certain danger, and I’ll definitely be fighting against the Youngflame clan for countless years to come. I went too far in what I asked for. I shouldn’t dare to drag you in and implicate you as well.”

“From now on…you are you.”

“I am me.”

“This Immortal path…it’s enough for me to walk it alone.”

Ning pointed into the distance. Whoosh! Instantly, a watery, rippling pattern appeared, followed by a tunnel. Outside the tunnel was the Skyrove Mountains of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s major world. Ning immediately said, “Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, senior apprentice-brother Vastriver, junior apprentice-brother Northson, and Ninelotus…you can leave.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, I told you that I’m going to go adventuring with you. I have nothing holding me back. What the hell do I have to be afraid of?” Northson spoke with great urgency.

“This is an extremely dangerous path I am embarking on, junior apprentice-brother Northson…”

“Do you think I’m too weak for it?” Northson ground his teeth.

“Right. You are too weak. You can’t help me; instead, you’d slow me down.” Ning gritted his own teeth as well as he responded.

The nearby Yu Wei spoke out to urge Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, don’t be stubborn; this isn’t the time to show your loyalty. Your strength truly is a bit too low.”

Northson looked at Ning, his eyes turning slightly red. “Senior apprentice-brother, after my mother died, I no longer had any kinsmen left. After I joined the school, you became the closest person in my life. Long ago, I started to view you as I would an actual, biological brother. It is true that I am a bit weak, and I know that you said those word because you don’t want me to be pulled into this. I’m not going to say anything else for now, except…”

“When I go back, I’m going to train hard. And if you die, I’ll definitely take revenge for you.”

Ning’s eyes turned red. He hadn’t imagined…he truly hadn’t imagined that Northson, in his heart, viewed Ning as he would a real brother.

“Hahaha, don’t worry. I won’t die that easily.” Tears in his eyes, Ning laughed loudly, then said, “Stop dawdling. Hurry up and leave.”

Ninelotus felt all the more agony in her heart at this moment.

Even Northson had been willing to throw everything away, but her? She truly wanted to do the same, to throw everything away, to discard her clan, to roam the world by Ning’s side. But…she continued to hesitate. She just couldn’t throw it all away.

“I’m sorry.” Tears fell down Ninelotus’ face. “Stay alive. You have to stay alive.” And then, she turned her head and flew through the corridor to the Skyrove Mountains on the other side.

Northson, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver all understood. Dao-Companions, Dao-Companions…what were Dao-Companions? Only those who would never abandon each other, even at their most critical moments, could be considered Dao-Companions. Ninelotus’ departure, and the words she had just spoken…they caused the three to understand that in the future, most likely Ji Ning and Ninelotus would truly embark on completely separate Immortal paths.

“Be careful,” Northson said.

“Stay alive.” Yu Wei looked at Ning.

“You have to stay alive,” Adept Vastriver instructed as well.

And then, the three flew through the corridor, arriving within the Skyrove Mountains. The corridor then shut.

…..

The Skyrove Mountains.

They had returned to the world of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Northson, and Adept Vastriver all turned their heads to stare at the corridor. Through it, they could vaguely make out that solitary, lonely figure within the main hall on the other side.

From today on…Ning was going to have to fight by himself.

Ninelotus stared through the tunnel. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her tears from continuing to fall.

The choice she had made today was an incomparably agonizing choice for her.

She wasn’t able to abandon her tribe. She had her own dreams. She simply couldn’t make herself discard everything for Ning’s sake.

Yu Wei, Northson, and Adept Vastriver didn’t say anything. This was because they, too, understood how rare it was for there to be a pair of Dao-Companions who would truly share life and death together, who would never leave each other, and whose lives would become as one. In fact, many so-called Dao-Companions would actually end up hating each other and becoming enemies; it wasn’t uncommon for them to end up fighting over treasures and killing each other.

To truly be together until death parted them…this was far too rare. Ninelotus had too many other things she cared about. She couldn’t throw them all away.

Whoosh. The corridor swung shut, and they could no longer see to the other side.

“Let’s go.” Northson gritted his teeth.

“Let’s go.”

“I’m going back to my clan.”

Ninelotus returned by herself to the Dongyan clan, while Northson, Adept Vastriver, and Yu Wei returned to the Black-White College.

…..

Within the palace.

“From today onwards, I shall traverse my Immortal path alone. It’s for the best, actually. By myself, I’ll be much more carefree,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Master, you still have us.” Little Qing raised her serpentine head and called out to him.

Ning looked towards the Azure Skysnake, then towards Uncle White, who had followed him silently this entire time. He felt a warm feeling in his heart. “Right. I still have you two. Little Qing, Uncle White, let’s go. Let’s go and meet the monsters of this Immortal estate.”

1. The character for ‘Kind’, Zhuan, is a reference to mythological Emperor Zhuanxu, one of the legendary Five Emperors of prehistoric China

2. The character for ‘Flame’, Yan, is a reference to mythological Yan Emperor, the Flame Emperor

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Chapter 28 – The Thousand Year Pact

Chapter 28 – The Thousand Year Pact

Within the Immortal estate.

The clan commanded by Immortal Witchsui, along with the many Seawave Dao-soldiers commanded by Immortal Duohe, continued to wait on the outside of the fifth palace. Although they were enraged and despairing, they still hoped…hoped that a miracle might occur.

“Monster clans.” Suddenly, a voice rang out, and along with it, waves of divine will rolled out, instantly encompassing all of the monstrous Dao-soldiers.

“Eh?” All of the monsters looked over. Even Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe were shocked.

A few hundred kilometers away, there was a fur-clad youth, with a little azure serpent coiled around his arm and a large, snowy white dog by his side. In the air around them hovered ancient, plain, unadorned wooden sticks. It was the Fuxi Staff Formation; space within a hundred kilometers of that human was completely locked, and there would be no way to teleport inside.

“You?” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe immediately recognized him. Amongst the group of humans, there was indeed a fur-clad human who had a giant snowy white dog.

“The key to the Immortal estate is now in my hands.” Ning’s voice rang out by the ears of every single monster. His divine sense had spread to a thousand kilometers; naturally, he was able to send his voice to each and every one of them.

“Open.”

Ning held the key to the Immortal estate in his hands. He sent his will forth, and next to him a corridor appeared; it was the corridor to the Skyrove Mountains in the outside world. Actually, just now, Ning had already used the key to leave and go to the Skyrove Mountains, then re-entered, having Little Qing lead him and Uncle White in a teleportation. Little Qing was actually far more powerful now than she had been in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains; for near-distance blinks, she could bring others along with her. The main thing was that Ning had yet to bind the various branches; if he emerged directly from within the Witchriver Palace, he would have been surrounded by the monsters.

“The key to the Immortal estate.”

“He is holding the key to the Immortal estate in his hands.”

“That’s the outside world, the smell of the outside world.” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe swept forward with their divine senses, and were even able to extend them into the corridor leading to the outside world. “That’s another world!”

Immortal Witchsui, Immortal Duohe, and the many monsters all stared towards Ning with even more blazingly desirous gazes. Although they were suspicious as to why the other human was no longer holding the key, the truth remained that this man before them was holding it now. They couldn’t be bothered to over-analyze it; they knew that the appearance of this youth represented a desire by this youth to negotiate with them.

Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe were actually considering whether or not they should try to seize the key to the Immortal estate. However, their earlier, repeated failures caused them to no longer dare to act rashly.

“Don’t try anything. I’ve already set up a formation around me, and the corridor is already open; I can leave at any time. In addition, even if you truly were to attack, you wouldn’t be able to kill me,” Ning said. He had that other protective magic treasure, and also the magic treasures which Youngflame Nong had left behind. His words were completely true.

Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe, as well as the other monsters, all calmed down. They no longer dared to make any more gambles.

“What do you want?” Immotal Witchsui asked.

“I offended a powerful a tribe, the Youngflame clan, and the clan is going to come act against me. They might even act against my tribe.” Ning’s divine sense was sending a message to every single monster. “My tribe is located in a commandery city of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the City of Ten Thousand Swords. I wish for you, the monsters of this Immortal estate world, to go to the City of Ten Thousand Swords and protect my tribe. Protect them for a thousand years; after that period of time, I’ll release you and give you your freedom. As for the key to the Immortal estate? I can just give it to you.”

The key to the Immortal estate wasn’t of much use to Ning. There was no way he could carry the Witchriver Immortal Estate with him; what was he supposed to do with it? In addition, he had the underwater estate, an even finer estate left behind by Daoist Threelives. As for the treasures within the Witchriver Immortal Estate? The Dao Repository and the Treasure Vault had already been looted clean.

“Protect them for a thousand years?” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe, along with the tens of thousands of monsters, were both amazed and delighted.

Although a thousand years was a fairly long period of time, monsters had extremely long lifespans to begin with. To simply protect a tribe for a thousand years…they would then be able to go to the wider, vast world. They would even receive the key to the Immortal estate. They didn’t even dare to imagine something like this previously. They had been preparing to be fleeced, and had even been willing to hand over part of their Dao-armors as their offer for peace.

But Ning had no desire for the Dao-armors; wearing the Dao-armors, these monsters would be ten times or even tens of times more powerful. That was what he wanted; them to be powerful!

“Your tribe is located in the ‘City of Ten Thousand Swords’ of the Grand Xia Dynasty? Based on what I know, the Grand Xia Dynasty is extremely strict in its prohibition against battles within commandery cities. If anyone dares to fight within one, they will suffer pursuit and apprehension by the Grand Xia Dynasty. This ‘Youngflame’ clan that wishes to act against your tribe, they shouldn’t dare to actually attack your city, should they?” Immortal Duohe asked.

Although they had always been trapped within here, they had passed down records regarding the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world from generation to generation, and so they knew some of the most basic things.

“Correct, they won’t dare to launch an actual attack. However, if they were to send some wanted criminals or some Deathsworn to attack my tribe…” Ning sent to them, “These criminals and Deathsworn would most likely be at the Wanxiang level or the Primal Daoist level. Loose Immortals? The chances of there being one of them should be very, very low. Celestial Immortals? That’s even less likely.”

To enter a commandery city of the Grand Xia Dynasty and launch an attack was a challenge and affront to the entire Dynasty. Anyone who did so would be killed without question.

For the sake of Youngflame Nong, who was already dead…would they really be willing to sacrifice a Loose Immortal, just for the sake of giving vent to their rage and killing a backwater tribe? The chances were quite low. As for sacrificing a Celestial Immortal? That was virtually impossible.

It must be understood that every single Celestial Immortal was considered one of the true foundations for a clan. A single word from a Celestial Immortal could even cause the clan leader to be changed.

If Ning were to become a Celestial Immortal, he would become one of the figures capable of influencing the entire Grand Xia Dynasty; even the entire Youngflame clan would treat him with courtesy. If it had been a Celestial Immortal who had killed Youngflame Nong, most likely the Youngflame clan would just go negotiate with him, rather than pursue and attack him. Thus, there was no way the Youngflame clan would be so stupid as to send a Celestial Immortal into a commandery city and begin a slaughter.

“We know a little bit about the Grand Xia Empire’s world. It is already incredible for the supreme clans to have even just one or two Celestial Immortals; there is no way they would let them end up as wanted criminals.” Immortal Duohe and Witchsui exchanged a glance, then made up their minds.

“We have decided to agree to your request. For a thousand years, we shall be stationed at that commandery city of the Grand Xia Empire, the ‘City of Ten Thousand Swords’, and protect your clan. Given our power, even if supreme Loose Immortals come, we should be able to easily defeat them. However, if a Celestial Immortal comes, there is nothing we can do.”

“If a Celestial Immortal attacks, I’ll just accept it,” Ning sent. “Monsters, all of you need to now swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. I shall do the same.”

“Fine.”

“That’s how it should be done.”

The monsters were indeed afraid that Ning would later go back on his word; it was best if they all swore oaths to the Dao of the Heavens.

Soon, with Ning personally choosing the words to the oaths, both came to an agreement on what to say, then swore the oaths.

Tens of thousands of monsters simultaneously swore an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. Ripples of power from the Dao of the Heavens descended upon them, and through his divine sense, Ning could clearly see every single monster making the oath. These thirty thousand-plus monsters were the elites of this entire Immortal estate world; more than ninety nine percent of the Diremonster Immortal cultivators were present.

Oaths to the Dao of the Heavens were useless against mortals and useless against ordinary monsters, but upon monsters or humans embarking upon the Immortal path, it would have tremendous effect! These monstrous Dao-soldiers were all at the Zifu level at the very least. The thirty thousand-plus monsters, along with two Loose Immortals, all swore their oaths to the Dao of the Heavens, and Ning, in turn, was no longer worried about them going back on their word.

Naturally, he swore an oath as well.

“There is no time to waste,” Ning sent mentally. “That expert from the Youngflame clan might even be a Celestial Immortal, and he will soon reach the Witchriver Immortal Estate. Once he comes, he might annihilate all of you. We need to immediately leave.”

“What?!” Immortal Witchsui, Immortal Duohe, and the others were all shocked.

The two Immortals were quite decisive; in the face of an opportunity that would change the destinies of all the monsters in the Immortal estate world, they immediately ordered the necessary arrangements be made. “Daoist Zhenbao, Daoist Witchaxle, each of you go lead a thousand Dao-soldiers and gather all of our clansmen within the Immortal estate world, then lead them to the City of Ten Thousand Swords.”

“This is a map of the Stillwater Commandery of the Grand Xia Empire. There is a mark here for the City of Ten Thousand Swords.” Ning flew over as well. Given that they had all sworn oaths to the Dao of the Heavens, they were naturally now in the same boat.

“We’ll lead these soldiers to head there right away,” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe both said. “Everyone, get in.” The two Immortals each produced a giant sack.

Whooooooosh.

Not a single one of the many monstrous Dao-soldiers resisted. All of them allowed themselves to be drawn into the sacks, leaving behind just Immortal Zhenbao, Immortal Witchaxle, and the two thousand Dao-soldiers under their command.

“Let’s go.”

Whoosh. A corridor appeared, leading to the Skyrove Mountains.

Ning, Immortal Witchsui, Immortal Duohe, and Daoist Witchaxle all flew out.

They appeared within the gorge in the Skyrove Mountains. Even the aura and the smell here was different compared to the Immortal estate world; this was an aura of a vast, endless world, the smell of an entire, major world.

“It’s different.”

“It really is different.”

“This is the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world.” Immortal Witchsui, Immortal Duohe, and the others were all stunned and excited.

“This is the key to the Immortal estate.” Ning handed the key directly to Daoist Witchaxle. “I’m giving it to you now. Immediately lead the remaining monsters to quickly depart from the Immortal estate world; if you delay, the situation might change.”

“Right.” Daoist Witchaxle accepted the key, then immediately generated a corridor, returning to the Immortal estate and then shutting the corridor off.

“Let’s go,” Ning said. “The City of Ten Thousand Swords is six hundred thousand kilometers to the north.”

“Let’s go.”

Immortal Duohe, that powerful old fellow, personally executed a teleportation, bringing Immortal Witchsui, Ning, Little Qing, and Uncle White with him in a long-distance teleport.

……

Whoosh.

Ning realized that the surrounding environment had changed. He took a careful look, then said, “We were slightly off; the City of Ten Thousand Swords is roughly twenty six thousand kilometers to our southeast.”

“Then I’ll just teleport us again.” The shorter the distance, the easier a teleportation was. Immortal Duohe easily teleported them a short distance.

In the middle of the air, surrounded by clouds, at a location just a few hundred kilometers outside the City of Ten Thousand Swords. A spatial ripple appeared, then from within it emerged Immortal Duohe, Immortal Witchsui, and a fur-clad youth, a little azure serpent, and a large, snowy white hound.

“Here we are.” Ning stared towards the distance. His Fiendgod-like eyesight could easily see the distant commandery city, just a few hundred kilometers away. This caused Ning to let out a sigh of relief; previously, when he had been chatting with the monsters in the Immortal estate, he had done so through divine sense, so as to save as much time as possible. He had been worried about taking too much time and unforseen things happening.

Ning pointed towards the distant commandery city. “That city is the City of Ten Thousand Swords, the city which the monster clans of the Immortal estate must protect for a thousand years.”

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Chapter 29 – Patriarch Arcanum

Chapter 29 – Patriarch Arcanum

Within the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Inside a large, secluded, palace.

“What? A tribe even more powerful than the Northmont clan of Stillwater?” Ji Ninefire, Ji Truekeep, and Granny Shadow were completely petrified.

“This is Immortal Duohe, while this is Immortal Witchsui; both are extremely powerful Loose Immortals.” After describing the dangerous situation, Ji Ning moved to introduce the two by his side.

“Loose Immortals?”

Ninfire and the others felt dazed. Legendary, exalted Loose Immortals were before them…and two of them at that.

“They will command thirty thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers to protect our City of Ten Thousand Swords,” Ning said. “They are all wearing Dao-armors, and so with these two Loose Immortals in command of thirty thousand monstrous Dao-soldiers…even if tens of Loose Immortals come, they should be able to withstand them. They will protect our city for a thousand years. Unless a Celestial Immortal or someone with a Celestial Immortal’s power attacks us, our city should be completely safe.”

Ninefire, Truekeep, and Granny Shadow were cultivators, after all; despite still being stunned, they quickly regained their equilibrium.

“You three can decide what arrangements need to be made for the tribe,” Ning said. “You know more about these things than me anyhow.”

“Don’t worry.” Truekeep nodded. “With such a powerful army of Dao-soldiers stationed here, and with this being a commandery city of the Grand Xia Empire that is under special protection from the Raindragon Guard as well…anyone who dares attack will be pursued throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty! No matter how powerful the Youngflame clan is, they wouldn’t possibly be willing to have one of their legendary Celestial Immortals become a wanted criminal.”

Celestial Immortals were figures of legends. It wasn’t even known for certain whether or not the Northmont clan of Stillwater had a Celestial Immortal. As for the Black-White College, in its countless years of existence, it had produced countless Loose Immortals, but only a single Celestial Immortal.

“Little Qing, Uncle White, the two of you shall stay here for now. Here is a talisman.” Ning handed a talisman to the human-shaped Uncle White. “If you notice that the talisman has shattered, then teleport directly towards Serpentwing Lake and reunite with me. If the talisman remains whole, then you are absolutely not permitted to come.”

“Right.” Little Qing and Uncle White both nodded. At a critical moment like this, they wouldn’t let him down.

“Ning, son, be careful,” Uncle White instructed.

Ning nodded and smiled.

“I’ll leave now. After this departure, I probably won’t be able to return for a very long period of time.” Ning looked towards Ninefire, Truekeep, and Granny shadow. “It was I who brought this calamity upon the tribe. In the future, I’ll make up for it.”

“Don’t say such things!” Ninefire scolded in a low voice. “Remember, you have to protect yourself. Only if you are alive shall our Ji clan have a chance to flourish.” For a tribe to produce a genius like Ning was completely a matter of luck.

“I’m leaving now.” Ning immediately used a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal. Whoosh. He disappeared from within the hall.

……….

In the air above Brightheart Island of Serpentwing Lake. A ripple in the air could be seen, and then Ning emerged.

“Autumn Leaf.” Upon landing, Ning immediately sent his voice out, calling towards Autumn Leaf. Soon, a light gray-robed Autumn Leaf emerged. She looked at Ning in surprise and delight. “Young master.”

“You can no longer stay on Brightheart Island. Hurry up and have everyone on the island move away to the City of Ten Thousand Swords. As for you, you need to leave immediately,” Ning instructed.

Autumn Leaf was stunned. “What, what happened?” Brightheart Island had long ago become her home; she had poured her heart out in developing this place.

“Don’t ask. I don’t have time to explain in detail. When you arrive in the City of Ten Thousand Swords, you can ask Uncle White and the others, and they will let you know. Right now, you need to make the arrangements right away, then immediately leave. This is a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal; you can use it to teleport up to ten thousand kilometers away. Teleport straight to the city.” Ning handed her a Dao-seal.

Autumn Leaf immediately understood how grave the situation was.

Actually, even if a Celestial Immortal of the Youngflame clan was to personally investigate, he would have to first go into the Witchriver Immortal Estate, find the ‘Witchriver Palace’ in which Youngflame Nong had been killed, then utilize a temporal inversion technique. Even if, through the usage of such a technique, he discovered that Ning was the killer, he would probably need a bit of time before finding out about Ning’s background.

This entire process would take time, and in truth, by the time that Celestial Immortal might have made his way to Swallow Mountain, much time would have passed. And even if he came, he wouldn’t recognize Autumn Leaf, nor know about the relationship between her and Ning; thus, there was absolutely no need at all for Autumn Leaf to use the Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal. Ning, however, was uneasy. In order to prevent any unknown variables from arising, he thus instructed Autumn Leaf to use the Dao-seal.

Swoosh.

After making the arrangements, Autumn Leaf, per Ning’s request, was forced to use this Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. “Alright.” He pushed open the door to the private room he normally stayed in, entered, then shut the door. With but a thought, he caused the illusion of a giant grizzly head to appear within the room. The grizzly head swallowed Ning within its mouth, and Ning disappeared from Serpentwing Lake, entering the underwater estate in another world.

……….

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty. This was the administrative heart of this entire major world. There were many Loose Immortals and Primal Daoists here, as well as various supreme tribes, schools, and sects as well! In fact, even some of the most powerful forces from other major worlds would arrange for spies and intelligence agents to be placed here. This was truly a place where the fish swam with the dragons. Immortals were as common as the clouds, and unfathomable in their power!

The Youngflame clan’s estate in this place took up a thousand kilometers. It was incomparably luxurious.

Within a quiet study inside their estate.

A golden-robed man with a crown on his head was seated before a desk, reading various intelligence reports. He was the leader of the Youngflame clan, the current Godplume Duke!

“The Kindwater clan is becoming increasingly excessive in their actions!” The golden-robed man frowned and muttered to himself.

“Clan leader, clan leader.” Suddenly, a panicked voice rang out. Upon hearing this voice, the golden-robed man’s face sunk. He hated it when his subordinates lost their bearings and grew panicked. However, this particular subordinate was his personal attendant, and one who should have known the rules.

The door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man dressed in blue robes charged in, then knelt down and said in sobbing voice, “Clan leader, young master Youngflame Nong, he, he…”

“Youngflame Nong? What about him?” The golden-robed man frowned.

“He died!” The blue-robed middle-aged servant spoke out in a terrified, frantic voice.

“What?!” The golden-robed man rose to his feet, revealing a look of astonishment. “How did he die? How do you know he died? You can’t say such things unless you are absolutely certain.”

“His life-tablet in the ancestral hall has shattered,” the blue-robed servant called out.

The golden-robed man stood there in the study. After a few moments of silence, he said in a low voice, “Investigate. Send out my orders; within the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Youngflame Nong’s whereabouts needs to be discovered.”

“Yes,” the blue-robed servant said hurriedly.

“Youngflame Nong actually died? He should have gone to the Witchriver Immortal Estate. How could he have died? Even if he wasn’t able to bind the Witchriver Immortal Estate, he had a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal on him…even within the Immortal estate, he would’ve been able to teleport out to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world. And he had that Fiendgod with him, Xiangliu Fang.” The golden-robed man was pondering to himself.

Youngflame Nong was one of his juniors; they weren’t exactly on close terms with each other, and in fact, he didn’t really like Youngflame Nong. But Youngflame Nong had a Celestial Immortal supporting him!

Although on the surface, the most powerful figure in a clan was its titular clan leader, compared to the Celestial Immortals who were the Patriarchs of the clan, the clan leader was far inferior. These Celestial Immortal Patriarchs who had lived countless years were the true foundation of a clan. The birth of every Celestial Immortal would cause the entire clan to celebrate, and the fall of every Celestial Immortal would be hidden for as long as possible.

This was why no one was certain as to how many Celestial Immortals a clan had. For example, the Northmont clan of Stillwater; did it have any surviving Celestial Immortals or not? This was a mystery.

How many Celestial Immortal Patriarchs did the Youngflame clan have? This, too, was a mystery.

Even the Godplume Duke himself only knew of three Celestial Immortal Patriarchs within the clan; as for Youngflame Nong, he only knew of one! But even the Godplume Duke wasn’t certain as to exactly how many Celestial Immortals his clan had.

“Clan leader.” The blue-robed servant returned, saying hurriedly with respect, “Three days ago, Young master Youngflame Nong used a teleportation array to go to Stillwater Commandery, then headed towards the Witchriver Immortal Estate. I’m not capable of locating the exact location of the estate.”

“Right.” The golden-robed man nodded. “I need to go on a visit. For now, you are not to inform any outsiders of Youngflame Nong’s death.”

“Yes.”

Soon, nine golden Flood Dragons, pulling an Immortal carriage behind them, soared out from within the Youngflame clan’s estate. They howled through the air, departing from the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty and entering the azure void of the skies.

……

At the peak of a tall volcano which stretched through the clouds. The nine golden Flood Dragons, pulling the Immortal carriage, descended from the skies, then flew into the mouth of the volcano. The last time this volcano had erupted was hundreds of thousands of years ago.

They continued to fly down through the opening.

Bubbling streams of lava could be seen in the depths below. In the center of the lava flows, a towering, red-haired giant could be seen, reclining in the lava. This red-haired giant lay there as though lying within a personal bathtub. His head was supported by a ‘pillow’ of stone, and his feet pressed against another stone. His eyes were even larger than the Immortal carriage.

“Senior Bafire.” The golden-robed man stood in front of the Immortal carriage and called out.

“Oh?” The red-haired giant opened his eyes and looked at the golden-robed man. After pondering a moment, he said slowly, “You are…Youngflame Fujun, the current clan leader and Godplume Duke?”

“I am.” The golden-robed man was still quite humble.

This was because he knew who the Fiendgod in front of him was. This Fiendgod was surnamed Bafire, and was an incomparably powerful warrior who had belonged to an extremely mighty Fiendgod tribe, back in the Fiendgod Era. He was a Void-level Fiendgod! However, although he was ‘only’ a Void-level Fiendgod, his true combat power was absolutely on the level of Celestial Immortals. In the past, it had been one of the most brilliant, outstanding Patriarchs of the Youngflame clan who had subdued and tamed him. Unfortunately, that Patriarch had already fallen over the passage of countless years.

“What is it?” The red-haired giant asked.

“Are the three Patriarchs still within this major world?” The golden-robed man asked.

The red-haired giant said slowly, “Patriarch Infatuation left this major world more than ten thousand years ago. Where he went, and when he shall return…is unknown. Patriarch Sunfish, just a few decades, went to meet with friends in the Deva realm; generally speaking, he will spend a century in the Deva realm when meeting with friends. Only Patriarch Arcanum remains here, in secluded meditation.”

“Youngflame Nong just died. This is a matter of grave import; I’d like to trouble you, senior Bafire, to make a report to Patriarch Arcanum,” the golden-robed man said hurriedly.

“Youngflame Nong? The next clan leader of your clan?” The red-haired giant laughed. “Your next clan leader actually died? What a joke. I’ll go help you make the report.”

The red-haired giant closed his eyes. Moments later, he opened them again. “Patriarch Arcanum will arrive right away.”

The location of the place where Patriarch Arcanum was secluded was a mystery; only some of Patriarch Arcanum’s closest confidantes knew. Not even the Godplume Duke knew.

Whoooosh.

In the air above the lava, spots of stellar light suddenly appeared. The brilliant spots of stellar light began to link together, seemingly forming a mysterious, arcane formation. Suddenly, a tall, skinny, narrow-eyed elder stepped out from within that swirl of countless stars. In this moment, it seemed as though the entire world was bowing towards him, as though he and he alone was the only master of the world.

“Patriarch Arcanum.” The golden-robed man hurriedly bowed with respect.

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Chapter 1 – The Culprit is Ji Ning

Chapter 1 – The Culprit is Ji Ning

The old man looked at the golden-robed man. His voice was rather shrill, and his gaze was filled with grief. “My child Nong died?”

“Patriarch, Youngflame Nong’s spirit-tablet has shattered,” the golden-robed man said respectfully, not daring to show the slightest bit of discourtesy.

“Lishui, your master has failed you.” Patriarch Arcanum shut his eyes, tears appearing at the corner. Immortal Lishui was the female disciple who he had loved the dearest; the two had identical dispositions, and Patriarch Arcanum had all but viewed her as he would his own daughter. Unfortunately, Immortal Lishui had been too arrogant when facing her Celestial Tribulation, and in the end, her spirit had been destroyed!

The Celestial Tribulation was the greatest tribulation in any individual’s life. Overcoming it meant becoming a carefree Celestial Immortal; failing it, for the lucky, meant becoming a Loose Immortal, while the unlucky would have their souls destroyed.

Immortal Lishui had simply been too arrogant. At the last stage, she refused to give up, and had chosen to continue to fight head on! And so…she died!

Patriarch Arcanum had been griefstricken by this for an extremely long period of time. Fortunately, Immortal Lishui had a son named Youngflame Nong. Patriarch Arcanum had supported him from an early age, wanting to make up for his failure with Immortal Lishui by taking care of Youngflame Nong. He had given Youngflame Nong his full support this entire time, and had insisted on pushing Youngflame Nong onto the position of Godplume Duke.

Unfortunately…Youngflame Nong had died! Died at the Wanxiang level!

“I arranged a Fiendgod to protect him. That Fiendgod should’ve been able to withstand even a supreme Loose Immortal. How could he have died? How? Who killed him?” Patriarch Arcanum revealed a look of explosive, incomparably terrifying savagery in his eyes. “He was also carrying the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal I gave him; even in a completely different world, he would’ve been able to teleport straight back.”

The golden-robed man said hurriedly, “Patriarch, Youngflame Nong should have died within the Witchriver Immortal Estate.”

“Witchriver Immortal Estate?” Patriarch Arcanum was instantly enraged. “Tests, tests, always the stupid tests. What’s the big deal about becoming Godplume Duke?!”

Although he was angry, Patriarch Arcanum knew that this was in accordance with the rules of the clan; they couldn’t be easily discarded.

“Where is the Witchriver Immortal Estate?” Patriarch Arcanum asked.

“Within Stillwater Commandery. I’ll lead the way for you, Patriarch,” the golden-robed man said respectfully.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Patriarch Arcanum gave the order.

Soon, the nine Flood Dragons flew out, with that Immortal carriage behind them. Patriarch Arcanum remained seated within, while the golden-robed man sat in the front, in the position normally reserved for servants, carriage drivers, and bodyguards.

Swoosh!

The Immortal carriage soared into the skies, flying out off the volcano.

The Immortal estate had been hidden in a separate world which was only connected to the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world by a single corridor. If one did not know where the connection point was, there would be no way to find the exact location of the corridor, even if one was a Celestial Immortal. Thus, one would naturally be unable to enter that world.

Since the Youngflame clan had arranged for Youngflame Nong to take his trials there, they naturally had, early on, sent clan elders bearing the key to the Immortal estate into the estate. They had done a quick surveillance, assuring themselves that the ‘Witchriver Immortal Estate’ was a place which would pose something of a challenge to Youngflame Nong, but which absolutely couldn’t put him in mortal danger. Only then did they bestow the key onto Youngflame Nong and have him come.

This was why the Youngflame clan had the precise location of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

Whoosh.

In the air above the Skyrove Mountains, there appeared an Immortal carriage that was pulled by nine Flood Dragons.

The golden-robed man at the front of the carriage pulled out and unfurled a scroll while saying, “This scroll is of the Skyrove Mountains, and it also marks the location where the Skyrove Mountains connects to the Witchriver Immortal Estate. It’s right in front of us.”

They gave it a careful glance and did a quick comparison. Soon, the Immortal carriage arrived within the gorge. “Right there, on the walls of the gorge,” the golden-robed man said.

Patriarch Arcanum, seated within the carriage, had a very sinister look on his face. He barked, “This cliff wall is enormous. Where, exactly, is the connection point? The Witchriver Immortal Estate is in a separate dimension; unless you can find the exact point, there’s no way to enter it.”

“Patriarch, please wait a moment.” The golden-robed man immediately executed a secret art, causing a golden, glowing rune to appear in his palm.

Rumble…

A golden rune began to glow somewhere on the cliff wall as well.

“Right there. That’s the place where the Witchriver Immortal Estate connects to our world,” the golden-robed man said, pointing forward. “The clan elders set a secret mark there long ago. That’s the mark.”

“Open up.” Patriarch Arcanum’s gaze turned incredibly sharp as he released his full power. To forcibly break through the defenses of an Immortal estate was no easy task. Spots of starlight began to appear in the surrounding area. The countless specks of starlight seemed dreamlike and illusory. At the same time, two giant hands of starlight began to coalesce, then tore towards the front.

Riiiiiip. Space itself tore apart, a corridor appearing. One could vaguely see through the corridor that there was an Immortal estate world on the other side.

If one had not known the exact connection location, however, the only result of this rip would have been the void.

“The Witchriver Immortal Estate? So it truly is here.” Patriarch Arcanum said coldly, “Wait here then.”

“Alright.” The golden-robed man responded with respect.

Swish. Patriarch Arcanum rose to his feet, then took a single step which carried him straight through the torn-open corridor and into the Immortal estate world.

The Immortal estate world was completely empty. With but a thought, Patriarch Arcanum spread his sense out to cover the entire world, capable of discovering everything within it.

“There isn’t a single living thing here?” Patriarch Arcanum was startled. But of course, how could he know that when Ning fled, he had told the monstrous races that there was a high chance a Celestial Immortal would come. The monsters had been so terrified that the monstrous Dao-soldiers had seized all of their kinsmen and pulled them onto warships in quite a brutal and ruthless fashion, using all sorts of cultivation techniques to quickly drag and send away one batch after another. In but the time needed to boil a cup of tea, the entire population of monsters had completely fled.

“But those items in those monstrous mountain lairs…those lake lairs…those estates…there’s fruit and wine placed out in the open. Clearly, they just left a short time ago.” Patriarch Arcanum turned his gaze towards a nearby Skypillar of golden light. “The five palaces of Immortal Witchriver. After my child Nong came, he definitely would’ve entered one of these five palaces. Most likely, he died within one of them!”

With a single step, Patriarch Arcanum appeared before the Dao Repository Palace. He then stretched out his finger and pointed towards the distance. “Temporal Inversion!”

The ‘Temporal Inversion’ technique was an incomparably powerful technique. Generally speaking, only Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals who had incredibly profound insights into the Dao of Time were capable of using it. If their insights were insufficient, then they would have to wait until they surpassed the restrictions of the Three Realms and became Celestial Immortals before they would be able to use this art.

Whooosh….

The scenery in the area began to change as time began to rapidly flow backwards. It flowed all the way back to the point where Youngflame Nong used the Wildcore and the ‘Lock’ scroll before just barely bypassing the monstrous Dao-soldiers and entering the Dao Repository Palace. And then, time began to progress forward at a normal pace. Soon, Youngflame Nong led Ning and the others out of the Dao Repository Palace.

“My boy Nong entered this palace, then left this palace; he didn’t die here.” Patriarch Arcanum followed Youngflame Nong’s warship as it flew forward. As he did so, the scene in the second location began to replay once more.

Youngflame Nong, Xue Hongyi, Ji Ning, and the others rode the warship all the way to the fifth palace, the Witchriver Palace, where the monsters had set up a tight guard. Patriarch Arcanum just flew behind them.

Youngflame Nong used the black and white disc, then immediately entered the fifth palace.

“All of the monsters were gathered here, rather than being dispersed in the other palaces. My boy Nong, in turn, was willing to pay any price to enter this palace. This should have been the final palace he entered.” Patriarch Arcanum’s figure turned blurry for a moment, and then he reappeared within the fifth palace, the Witchriver Palace.

Within the Witchriver Palace.

Patriarch Arcanum once more used the Temporal Inversion technique, replaying the scene in front of him, starting from when Youngflame Nong and the others entered the palace.

The breaking of the illusory formation…the entering of the main hall…the celebratory banquet…Ninelotus’ dance…Ji Ning’s anger…the attack of many golems…Ji Ning using the Windwing Evasion…one scene after another appeared. Even the dialogue was repeated.

“Eh?” Patriarch Arcanum suddenly frowned. “That’s the Windwing Evasion!”

In the past, for the sake of completing and perfecting their copy of this divine ability, Patriarch Arcanum had personally soul-scoured some members of the Yuchi clan; he naturally was quite familiar with the Windwing Evasion. He immediately recognized that Ji Ning used the Windwing Evasion.

The scenes continued to change at high speed. Youngflame Nong tried to force Ji Ning to cuff himself with the godlock chains; Xue Hongyi then suddenly called out that Ji Ning’s mother was named Yuchi Snow. Instantly, a major battle began!

Xiangliu Fang, by himself, was able to block Mu Northson, Ninelotus, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver.

Xue Hongyi went to fight Ji Ning. However…Ji Ning’s power suddenly increased explosively, causing the entire hall to be filled with countless swords. A single, dazzling sword-light executed Xue Hongyi.

“Grand Dao Domain?” Patriarch Arcanum continued to watch, and as he did, his magical power continued to rapidly deplete; Temporal Inversion, after all, was no ordinary technique. “This kid named Ji Ning who knows the Windwing Evasion, he’s only at the Wanxiang level. Even if he comprehended a Grand Dao Domain, he should’ve been far from being a match for the Fiendgod bodyguard my boy Nong had.”

Indeed, Ning was defeated by a single palm blow from Xiangliu Fang. But right at that moment…that black loop had flown out.

The souls of Youngflame Nong, Xiangliu Fang, and the Redscale Salamander were all devoured and extinguished.

“This, this, this is…” Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes were filled with shock and rage. “A Soulslayer Loop? How could this kid have possibly procured such a treasure? Can it be that a major power died during one of the huge, chaotic battles of the Fiendgod Era, and the Soulslayer Sphere ended up as a relic somewhere, where the kid found it?”

Luck. It was hard to say what luck might bring.

A backwater bumpkin might be lucky enough to acquire a heaven-defying treasure! In fact, a lucky kid who offered an old man a bowl of water might end up finding that the old man was one of the major powers of the Three Realms.

“My child Nong didn’t have bad luck, but he actually ended up dying to this Ji Ning of the Black-White College. For this Ji Ning to have procured such a treasure…it seems he must have been blessed with tremendous luck. However, no matter how lucky he might be, he won’t be able to overcome my divine abilities.” Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes became filled with a cold light. “Those survivors were Yu Wei, Mu Northson, Vastriver, and Ninelotus; all of them are disciples of the Black-White College.”

“Black-White College.”

Patriarch Arcanum turned, once more ripping a corridor through space, at the point where the estate was linked with the outside world of the Grand Xia Empire.

Swoosh!

Within the Skyrove Mountains. The golden-robed man had been waiting here the entire time, only to see Patriarch Arcanum tear a corridor through space and emerge through it.

“Patriarch,” the golden-robed man said.

“The culprit was Ji Ning of the Black-White College.” Patriarch Arcanum looked at him. “Do you know him?”

The golden-robed man was the Godplume Duke; how could he possibly know about one particular genius within Stillwater Commandery? He immediately shook his head. “I do not.”

“Then let’s go straight to Stillwater City. First, we’ll do a thorough investigation regarding Ji Ning at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; then, we shall go to the Black-White College! Those other disciples are most likely still within the Black-White College,” Patriarch Arcanum instructed coldly.

“Yes.” The golden-robed man immediately commanded the Immortal carriage to leave.

The nine Flood Dragons pulled the Immortal carriage, quickly departing from the Skyrove Mountains. They flew through the skies, heading towards Stillwater City.

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Chapter 2 – The Eight Loose Immortals of the Black-White College

Chapter 2 – The Eight Loose Immortals of the Black-White College

In the skies above Stillwater City. There were nine Flood Dragons, pulling an Immortal carriage behind them, which had come to a halt above the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

“Patriarch, wait here. I will go investigate Ji Ning in detail,” the Godplume Duke said respectfully.

“Also, Ji Ning’s mother is named Yuchi Snow; purchase an intelligence report on her as well.” Patriarch Arcanum remained seated aboard the Immortal carriage as he calmly gave the orders.

“Yes.”

The Godplume Duke immediately flew down into the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Just a short while later, the Godplume Duke walked out from within it. With a blurring movement, he flew back into the sky, next to Patriarch Arcanum, respectfully handing him a book with two characters on it – JI NING.

“Just Ji Ning’s?” Patriarch Arcanum frowned.

“Ji Ning’s mother, Yuchi Snow, was a minor Xiantian lifeform who hadn’t accomplished any major deeds; the only record of her is that she had a son named Ji Ning. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain informed me that there is virtually no intelligence regarding Yuchi Snow, and all of what they have is in this tome,” the Godplume Duke explained.

Patriarch Arcanum nodded softly.

Although the Heavenly Treasures Mountain’s intelligence unit was spread throughout the world, they weren’t as all-knowing as the heavens themselves. They, too, needed to engage in deep, careful investigations in order to find things out. Yuchi Snow and her family’s flight was a very secretive thing to begin with; even the Youngflame clan hadn’t been able to catch these final few fish who had fled their net. It wasn’t strange for the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to be unaware of it as well.

“Ji Ning? He’s actually this young?” Patriarch Arcanum, upon seeing the report, was shocked.

His beloved Youngflame Nong had trained for more than a century. Amongst Wanxiang Adepts, that was actually quite young, because Wanxiang Adepts could live for up to eight hundred years. Unexpectedly, this kid who had killed the Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang as well as Youngflame Nong, this kid who had already reached the Grand Dao Domain level in the Dao of the Sword, was actually this young!

“The more impressive his potential, the more he needs to die!” A cold light flashed through Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes. He quickly flipped through the report, finishing it.

“Swallow Mountain? Serpentwing Lake?” Patriarch Arcanum hummed to himself, then instructed, “Come, let’s go to the Black-White College.”

…….

The Black-White College had made thorough preparations long ago. Mu Northson, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver had used the closest teleportation array to first go straight to the Crimson Dragon Mountains, and then from those mountains to Stillwater City; they had moved fairly quickly, and as soon as they had returned to the Black-White College, they had immediately reported this event to the higher-ups.

The Headmaster’s Palace of the Black-White College. This was also the place where they welcomed important guests.

Within the palace were multiple seated figures. On one side of the palace sat the black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai, along with Immortal Fivecraze and the rest of the Immortals. There were a total of eight of them. Behind them stood Headmaster Jadesea and three of the third-generation disciples; Rainbowflame Fairy Yu Wei, Adept Vastriver, and Mu Northson.

In front of them sat Patriarch Arcanum and the Godplume Duke.

“I imagine you all know why I have come here today.” Patriarch Arcanum sat there and spoke calmly as he swept his gaze across the group of Immortals before him.

Eight Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals.

Virtually all of the Loose Immortals of the Black-White College who were normally in closed-door meditation, in seclusion, or adventuring had returned. Aside from a single Loose Immortal who had already left this major world and wouldn’t be able to make it back in time, the other eight had all returned. The Immortal cultivators of the Black-White College were all absolute elites; they all had mastered a complete Dao-Path, which was a prerequisite for them even reaching the Primal Daoist level. Only after mastering two Dao-Paths, however, were they permitted to break through to the Earth Immortal level!

This is why the Primal Daoists of the Black-White College were comparable to Loose Immortals in combat power. As for the Loose Immortals of the Black-White College…each of them were capable of fending off ten ‘normal’ Loose Immortals. Each of them had the combat power of a supreme Loose Immortal.

“Of course we know.” The short old man, Immortal Fivecraze, chuckled as he spoke. “Youngflame Nong of your Youngflame clan was killed by our disciple, Ji Ning, correct?”

“Correct.” Patriarch Arcanum replied calmly.

“If he died, he died. When young people are out adventuring, it’s normal for them fight and kill each other. If you are weaker than someone else, you die. That’s normal,” the short elder said. “If you have to blame someone, you can only blame yourself for being too weak. Generally speaking, the clans and sects won’t intervene.”

For example, the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains; Ning’s group had often fought internally and quite a few had died, but no sect had ever come for reprisal against another.

Patriarch Arcanum’s gaze instantly changed. It became sharp.

“However, if you, senior Arcanum, doted on this Youngflame Nong to the point where you would lower yourself to personally attack Ji Ning, there’s nothing our Black-White College can do about it.” The short elder sighed, “So…I really don’t understand why, senior Arcanum, you have come to our Black-White College?”

“Hand over Ji Ning,” Patriarch Arcanum said coldly, “And this matter will have nothing to do with your Black-White College. Otherwise…hmph!”

Instantly, the faces of the Immortals of the Black-White College changed.

Hand over Ji Ning?

“Forget it!” The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai snapped coldly, “Ji Ning is a disciple of our Black-White College. If he were to die while adventuring in the outside world, we wouldn’t blame others…but you want us to hand him over? Are you dreaming? And, let me tell you something – so long as Ji Ning returns to the Black-White College, your Youngflame clan can forget about harming a single hair on his head.”

“Senior Arcanum, we respect you as a Celestial Immortal, but our Black-White College, which has existed for so many generations, isn’t so easily abused either,” the short, elderly Immortal Fivecraze warned coldly as well.

“Our Black-White College has our own rules; if our disciples die while adventuring, we won’t blame others, but once they return, then they will absolutely be protected by us.” The tall, muscular man wrapped up in chain links spoke out in a loud, rumbling voice, his eyes seemed to be filled with thunder.

Patriarch Arcanum’s face sank. “Oh, so your Black-White College wishes to become enemies with my Youngflame clan.” Patriarch Arcanum swept these Immortals with his gaze.

The Youngflame clan was, indeed, powerful. It was much more powerful than even the Northmont clan of Stillwater. It had more than a thousand Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals; from this, one could imagine how mighty they were! However, just because they were powerful didn’t mean they could freely abuse other powers; for example, the Black-White College was located within Stillwater City. Who would dare launch a massive attack within Stillwater City? There would only be one result – becoming wanted criminals of the Grand Xia Dynasty!

As for fighting in the outside world?

Every single Loose Immortal of the Black-White College was top-tier; each of them were capable of fighting against ten Loose Immortals! If they completely focused on fleeing, it would be very hard to deal with them.

“It isn’t that we wish to become enemies with you; rather, your Youngflame clan is forcing us to become enemies. If our Black-White College can’t even protect our own disciples, what the hell type of College would we be?” Immortal Diancai replied coldly.

“If that’s the case!” Patriarch Arcanum coldly rose to his feet. “Then don’t blame the Youngflame clan for our future actions. Let’s go!”

“Yes, Patriarch.” The Godplume Duke followed by his side.

But just as Patriarch Arcanum was about to lead the Godplume Duke to leave, a voice suddenly rang out. “Brother Arcanum.”

A hunchbacked old man suddenly walked in. His hair was completely white, and his eyebrows drooped downwards. He was leaning against a wooden cane as he walked in.

Patriarch Arcanum was momentarily startled. Then, he let out a cold laugh. “Hunchmont? You are still alive?”

“You haven’t died yet; how could I?” The hunchbacked old man laughed.

“Senior Hunchmont.”

The eight Loose Immortals of the Black-White College all rose to their feet and saluted respectfully. Celestial Immortal Hunchmont…he was one of the most famous Celestial Immortal Patriarchs in the history of the Northmont clan. However, because he had lived for so very long, many outside schools and sects thought him to be dead; after all, Celestial Immortals would occasionally engage in battles against each other for the sake of their tribe or for certain treasures. After many battles, some would eventually fall.

“The Black-White College belongs to our Stillwater Commandery.” The hunchbacked elder leaned against his cane. “Arcanum, if you want to deal with their disciples, there is nothing they can do to stop you; why must you force the Black-White College to hand Ji Ning over? If you have the ability to do so, go ahead and deal with him yourself; our Northmont clan absolutely won’t interfere. But if you were to deal against the Black-White College, you would be stepping beyond your bounds! Stillwater Commandery belongs to the Northmont clan!”

Patriarch Arcanum’s face sank. Although the Youngflame clan was even more powerful than the Northmont clan, there was a limit to their strength; the Northmont clan held a marquisdom, and it had existed since the Fiendgod Era as well. After the passage of so many years…who knew how many trump cards the Northmont clan of Stillwater might be holding in secret?

“Fine. Since you, Hunchmont, have spoken out…” Patriarch Arcanum nodded. “Then I won’t quibble with the Black-White College. However, this Ji Ning…he absolutely must die! If anyone tries to stop me, I’ll kill them as well! Fujun, let’s go.”

Patriarch Arcanum led the Godplume Duke out of the Headmaster’s Palace. They boarded the Immortal carriage, then quickly flew into the skies and disappeared.

“Senior Huchmont.” Immortal Fivecraze walked over, watching as Patriarch Arcanum flew away aboard the Immortal carriage. “This Patriarch Arcanum seems to be a bit too arrogant.”

“That’s just the way he is. He’s like a madman.” The hunchbacked elder laughed. “Don’t worry about him. But that Ji Ning of yours…you had best not interfere. Given how murderous Patriarch Arcanum seems to be feeling right now, you won’t be able to stop him. Alright, it is time for me to go. Such a pity. Ji Ning was a fine young sapling. What a pity.”

And then, the hunchbacked elder left.

…….

Within another world. The underwater estate.

Ning had just appeared within the main hall. He immediately saw the giant yellow bear and the old black bull.

“Seniors,” Ning was about to speak out.

“You caused a huge mess in the outside world, eh?” The giant yellow bear said, “You were in such a frantic hurry to order all of the people off of Brightheart Island.”

“I did cause a huge mess, yes,” Ning said hurriedly. “I have…”

The giant yellow bear interrupted Ning. “Let me ask you this; have you completed your arrangements in the outside world?”

“I have.” Ning nodded.

“Mm.” The giant yellow bear nodded. “I can sense the turbulence in your heart. Your mind is currently in a state of chaos. First, go to the Stellar Hall and read some of the star maps within it. After reading a few books and calming yourself down, come and speak to me regarding your matters.”

Ning was startled. “Read in the Stellar Hall?”

“Go,” the giant yellow bear instructed.

“Yes, senior.” Ning didn’t disobey. He went straight to the Stellar Hall.

Within the Stellar Hall. Outside the thatched cottage.

Ning carried a book to the stone desk, then sat down, opened it up, and began to force himself to calm down and read. He had first killed Youngflame Nong, then separated with Ninelotus, and then arrange for the monsters of the Immortal estate to protect his clan. Whenever Ning thought about the impending arrival of the Youngflame clan, Ning’s mind would become filled with a myriad of random thoughts, causing him to feel extremely restless.

“Today, Chang came to pay his respects to me…” Ning’s voice reverberated within this small pocket world. Every single word was extremely simple, but when joined together, they became filled with boundless magical power. In a very natural way, Ning began to calm down; in fact, he even began to slowly enter a state of attunement and meditation on the Dao.

Calm.

Relaxation.

The restlessness in Ning’s heart faded away, and Ning raised his head to stare at the stars in the sky.

Suddenly…rain began to fall down from the skies, as fine as silk, sprinkling everywhere, including upon Ning himself.

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Chapter 3 – Mastering the First Dao-Path

Chapter 3 – Mastering the First Dao-Path

The downpour steadily grew, and it poured down into this world. Ji Ning didn’t move to avoid it, nor did he use his elemental ki to block it; he allowed the rain to cascade onto his body. He felt closer to the raindrops than he ever had before, so close that he felt intoxicated by them.

Suddenly…

A nameless aura began to envelope Ning. This was the aura of the Dao! Ning’s entire body seemed to have become the Dao itself.

“The Dao of Rainwater?” The giant yellow bear and the old black bull were both completely stunned.

“He’s actually mastered it. Although Ning has made major improvements in the ten years he spent at Serpentwing Lake, and had an extremely deep grasp regarding the Dao of Rainwater, he was still some distance away from mastering it. Generally speaking, when comprehending the Dao, the farther along the path you go, the more difficult it will become. What in the world has Ji Ning experienced? Whatever it was, it seems to have baptized him, allowing him to break through and completely understand the Dao of Rainwater at one go.” The giant yellow bear sighed in amazement.

The old black bull nodded as well. . “Whatever it was he experienced, it had a tremendous impact on him.”

……

The rainwater vanished. Ning stared at the stars in the sky. He had advanced in the Dao of the Inferno, the Dao of the Gale, and the Dao of the Sword as well. His understanding of the Dao of the Sword in particular, which had reached the Grand Dao Domain, had further stabilized after this period of time of time in the Stellar Hall.

Finally, he came to a halt and rested.

“How much time did I spend in meditation?” Ning spoke out.

“Not too long, just an hour.” The giant yellow bear laughed, “But in this hour, you improved quite a bit; you surged forward tremendously in one breath.”

Ning felt more peaceful than he ever had before. He revealed a hint of a smile. “I can sense my improvement as well. I have thoroughly comprehended the Dao of Rainwater, and in fact, I have gained a certain degree of insight into all ‘water’-type Daos.”

“This is called resonance,” the giant yellow bear said. “You have now mastered the Dao-Path of Rainwater; naturally, you will continue to advance in the element of water. For the other, similar Daos to resonate is quite normal. Unfortunately, although you advanced a bit in the Dao of the Inferno and the Dao of the Gale, you are still a little ways off from completely mastering these Dao-Paths.”

Ning nodded.

Of his three Daos, he had gained insights into the Dao of Rainwater the earliest, and his level of comprehension with regards to this Dao was the highest. His insights into the Dao of the Inferno was secondary only to the Dao of Rainwater, and was actually quite close; however, he still had yet to completely master it. As for the Dao of the Gale, it was weaker than both the other two.

“I didn’t expect that you’d actually be able to master a Grand Dao Domain.” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Sword Immortals are all skilled at offense; it’s clear that your strength has risen significantly after you reached the Grand Dao Domain. Now that you’ve also mastered the Dao-Path of Rainwater, you will be absolutely capable of fusing your Dao of Rainwater into your Dao of the Sword.”

The Dao of the Sword was a mechanistic Dao. One could infuse one’s insights in other areas into the Dao of the Sword and display it through the sword!

“Let me try.” Ning laughed, then struck out with a finger into a sword-stance.

Suddenly, rainwater appeared in the surrounding area. The rainwater sprinkled everywhere, but each drop of water carried an incomparably amazing amount of power. The entire world seemed to have been frozen into place. An ordinary Wanxiang Adept probably wouldn’t even be able to move right now. After completely mastering a Dao-Path, one would be able to summon the awesome presence of the Dao itself, causing the entire surrounding area to be under one’s own control.

“This technique is called ‘My Own World’. Activate.” Ning suddenly flicked his finger. Swish! A streak of watery sword-light sliced through the skies, leaving behind a scar in the air that lingered for quite some time without vanishing.

“A good technique; truly, a good sword technique,” the giant yellow bear praised.

“It’s not just good; even Loose Immortals are generally only at this level, and many aren’t as good as you, Ji Ning,” the old black bull called out in surprise.

Ning laughed. Generally speaking, Primal Daoists were at the Dao Domain level, while Loose Immortals were generally capable of mastering a complete Dao-Path.

Ning had not only mastered a completely Dao-Path, he had also reached the Grand Dao Domain level in the Dao of the Sword. It was even harder to reach the Grand Dao Domain level than mastering a complete Dao-Path. With the two amplifying each other…indeed, many Loose Immortals were inferior to Ning. However, that only referred to ‘ordinary’ Loose Immortals, not ones like the Loose Immortals of the Black-White College.

“I am now in control of a complete Dao-Path. According to the rules of the College, I can make my breakthrough to the Primal Daoist level,” Ning said. “In addition, after having killed a young master of a major tribe, I’ve reaped quite a few rewards; I imagine I should now have enough liquefied elemental essence to make that breakthrough. Only, I’m still hesitating; should I make that breakthrough or not? I’d like to ask you two seniors to please advise me on what I should do next.”

The old black bull had accompanied Immortal Juhua for a million years, and had a great deal of experience. Naturally, his vision would be very broad as well.

As for the giant yellow bear, he had followed Daoist Threelives and had unfathomable experiences.

Ning felt that he truly should ask the advice of these two.

“Speak,” The giant yellow bear said.

“What’s this? You killed a young master of a major clan? Tell, tell,” the old black bull said with great eagerness.

Ning nodded. “I was originally training in Brightheart Island on Serpentwing Lake, but a few days ago, a large warship suddenly appeared in the skies above it…” Ning began to describe his experience in detail, from start to finish. He even explained the backgrounds of Youngflame Nong and Ninelotus, so as to give these two old figures sufficient background information for pondering.

He even told them about Yu Wei’s advice and the upcoming Conclave of Immortal Destiny.

“The Youngflame clan is going to pursue me. What should I do?” Ning looked at the old black bull and the giant yellow bear.

“A major tribe that can rank amongst the top ten clans of one of the three thousand major worlds…this sort of tribe definitely has Celestial Immortals,” the giant yellow bear said. “In addition, they should have more than just one. A force like this…for the current you, they are indeed far too powerful. Fortunately, in the Grand Xia Dynasty, there are strict laws, which is why you still have a chance to resist them.”

“The Youngflame clan? I know this clan,” the old black bull said hurriedly. “In the past, Immortal Juhua had a bit of a relationship with the clan. The Youngflame clan does indeed rank towards the front amongst the clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty. However, although the imperial clan of the Grand Xia did indeed need these clans when it was unifying the world, after doing so, these clans became a threat to them.”

Ning was startled.

“In truth, the imperial clan of the Grand Xia has been working all this time to try and weaken the power of the clans,” the old black bull said quickly. “They first built the commandery cities, spreading them throughout the world so as to increase their sphere of control, and then formed the Raindragon Guard and spread them throughout the world as well! In addition, they secretly forment internal struggles between these clans, tribes, and sects.”

“Can it be that the other tribes are idiots? They’ll just stupidly fight amongst each other like that?” Ning was curious.

“This is what you don’t understand. This isn’t a hidden scheme; it’s an open scheme. There is only so much land in this major world, and only so many treasures. And yet, there are so many tribes. What to do about it? The imperial clan of the Grand Xia will take their share, then leave the other major powers to fight over what’s left. If you aren’t willing to fight for your share, then your clan will end up with no treasures. Thus, they are forced to struggle against each other, and as they do, they naturally end up forming grudges.”

Ning nodded.

“However, the imperial clan of the Grand Xia wouldn’t dare to act directly against its marquises. That’s because if they were to act against one marquis, all of the other marquises would feel threatened; in fact, some actually might join forces to revolt!” The old black bull continued, “This is why the imperial clan of the Grand Xia has set down some laws, some public laws.”

“So long as you do not disobey the laws, the imperial clan absolutely won’t touch you.”

“But if you were to violate those laws? The imperial clan of the Grand Xia would be like sharks that smelled the scent of blood; they will eat you alive,” the old black bull laughed. “So long as you hide within a commandery city, the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan definitely won’t dare to act against you, because once they do, then the imperial clan of the Grand Xia, which has always wanted to whittle away at the power of the marquises, will have an ironclad reason to act against them. They would quickly send out a squad to annihilate that Celestial Immortal!”

“Now, do you understand some of the hidden undercurrents of this world of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s?” The old black bull looked at Ning.

Ning nodded.

The imperial clan of the Grand Xia, and the many marquises.

Many of the marquises held grudges against each other; no wonder Yu Wei had advised him to join a different marquisdom.

“That senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei of yours told you to go participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Her words are quite correct,” the giant yellow bear said. “You are going to become a Celestial Immortal, and in fact, an Empyrean God…”

“Senior, what is an ‘Empyrean God’?” Ning immediately asked. Ning had never quite understood what Empyrean Gods were.

“When Earth Immortals, who are at the ‘Void’ level, overcome the Celestial Tribulation, they will naturally become carefree Celstial Immortals.”

“Void-level Fiendgods, however, when overcoming the Celestial Tribulation will become Empyrean Gods!” The giant yellow bear said, “To become an Empyrean God is tens of times, perhaps a hundred times, as difficult as becoming a Celestial Immortal.”

Ning was speechless. “A hundred times harder?”

It was rare for there to be even a single Celestial Immortal for every ten thousand Earth Immortals; to become an Empyrean God was even harder?!

“That’s because they have completely different levels of power,” the giant yellow bear explained. “Earlier, you said you encountered a Fiendgod, a Hydraga. He was only at the Primal level, but already comparable to a peak Loose Immortal.”

“Right.’ Ning nodded.

“A Void-level Fiendgod is already comparable to a Celestial Immortal. And an Empyrean God…they are absolutely comparable to True Immortals!” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning. “Now do you understand? Once you become an Empyrean God…you would become a true major power of the Three Realms. In fact, even if you were to go to the Deva realm and express a desire to join the Celestial Court, the Celestial Emperor would warmly welcome you and even let you command hundreds of thousands of celestial soldiers or generals.”

Ning blinked. The Celestial Emperor of the Celestial Court would personally welcome him? Let him command hundreds of thousands of celestial soldiers?

“Master said that only after I become an Empyrean God would I truly be considered his apprentice.” Ning couldn’t help but say, “This requirement is a bit high for me.”

“Think about what Master’s status was. He emerged from the world alongside Pangu and Nuwa…he was one of the most supreme powers of the entire Three Realms. Only after reaching the Empyrean God level could it be said that you are not an embarrassment to him,” the giant yellow bear said. “But don’t change the subject. As I was saying earlier, the advice from your senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei, to go to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny was very good advice. This is because, as the saying goes, it is better to travel ten thousand kilometers than to read ten thousand books…and it is better to make a single journey on the border between life and death than to travel ten thousand kilometers.”

“The Conclave of Immortal Destiny will have all the geniuses of this entire major world present; in fact, some of the geniuses of other major worlds might come in secret as well, so as to take part.”

“This is just like the cultivation of Gu-bugs. Put ten thousand venomous bugs in one place and have them fight against each other and devour each other. In the end, the venomous bugs that you have left will be incomparably powerful. The principle is the same; the ones to survive the Conclave of Immortal Destiny shall be truly extraordinary. This is an excellent chance for you to temper yourself, a chance which is quite rare and hard to find.”

The giant yellow bear continued, “Right, you said you killed Youngflame Nong; didn’t you acquire a great deal of treasure from him? Take it out, take it all out and let me take a look and see which would be of use to you.”

Ning waved his hand. “He had many treasures. I just bound the storage-type magic treasure not long ago.” He had been hiding some of the treasures within his Zifu, while he had stored the others in his own storage-type magic treasure.

Whoosh.

Instantly, a small hill appeared on the ground, completely formed from precious items and magic treasures.

“These are the treasures and precious items of Youngflame Nong.” Ning pointed at them.

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Chapter 4 – Primaltwin

Chapter 4 – Primaltwin

Ning waved his hand again, and another hill of items appeared as well, as well as some sacks. “These were left behind by that dead Fiendgod.” The Hydraga had once forced himself to train as a Ki Refiner as well. Unfortunately, natural Fiendgods were innately very weak as Ki Refiners. Only after many years of painstaking training had he reached the Zifu level; afterwards, Xiangliu Fang could no longer be bothered to train in this regard.

After reaching the Zifu level, he was able to use storage-type magic treasures, at least. This was enough to make Xiangliu Fang quite happy! In the Fiendgod Era, before he had trained as a Ki Refiner, he always had to carry around his treasures with him.

“There’s quite a bit.” The old black bull sighed in amazement.

“Let me take a look.” The giant yellow bear swept his gaze across the magic treasures. Suddenly, the two treasure-hills all flew into the air, then stayed there.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

These treasures quickly began to sort themselves out by type. Bottles and jars moved to one side, while Dao-seals and jade discs, as well as some other unique items were pulled to another. The many magic treasures were also placed on another side…

Ning simply watched as the levitating treasures sorted themselves out by type. “I didn’t sense any ripples of power, but these treasures all levitated into the air; the powers of this spirit of the underwater estate truly are unfathomable.”

“This is a spirit-pill; if you lose an arm or a leg, eat the pill, and it’ll be healed. You are a Fiendgod Refiner; this is useless to you. Go back and sell it off or give it to a friend.”

“This is a poison powder…it’s hard to ascertain how powerful the poison is, but it should be decent.”

“This bottle is marked with the words, ‘Drunken Immortal’s Pill’? Eh? Its intoxicating properties are quite strong; I imagine that even if Loose Immortals ate it, they would be intoxicated. Three pills in total.”

The giant yellow bear quickly went through the various jars and bottles. Soon, he pulled out two of the jade bottles from the masses. “These two bottles both contain liquefied elemental essence, roughly twenty five thousand kilograms each, for a total of fifty thousand kilograms. Youngflame Nong actually carried fifty thousand kilograms on him…that’s quite a bit.” Unless they were in desperate need, most Immortal cultivators wouldn’t carry that much with them. They would use them to buy magic treasures or just use them up. However, to Youngflame Nong, fifty thousand kilograms wasn’t that much.

“He must’ve been worried that he might gain a sudden insight while wandering the world, and so prepared them for a possible breakthrough to the Primal Daoist level,” Ning laughed. Fifty thousand kilograms; this was absolutely enough to break through to the Primal Daoist level.

“You cannot use it.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “You are going to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny; you cannot breakthrough to become a Primal Daoist.”

Ning nodded. He understood this principle. This Conclave came only once every three centuries; there was no way he could wait another three hundred years. Thus, this was the only chance he would have to attend the Conclave. Sparring against so many other geniuses on the same level was an opportunity that would have long, far-ranging impacts on him. If one didn’t have a long-term plan and only focused on short-term gains, in the end, one would suffer for it.

“These curios aren’t bad either.”

“Oh? A Greater Teleportation Dao-seal? Youngflame Nong had a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal?” The giant yellow bear called out in surprise as he pointed with a finger. Instantly, a rune-covered leaf flew over.

Ning’s eyes lit up. “Greater Teleportation Dao-seal?”

He had previously acquired two protective items from the underwater estate; one was that black loop, while the other was, in fact, a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.

One was meant for attack; the other was meant for defense and escaping.

Upon using a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal, the might within it would instantly activate and surround him in a barrier which even Loose Immortals wouldn’t be able to break. And then, he would vanish and disappear. Even if the region was spacelocked, even if he was trapped in a place of no escape, he could still use a Greater Teleport to leave! He could even teleport from a different world directly to the world of the Grand Xia Dynasty!

“You now have two Greater Teleportation Dao-seals.” The giant yellow bear flicked his finger, sending the leaf flying towards Ning. Laughing, Ning waved his hand and accepted it.

“Youngflame Nong truly was unfortunate to run into you. His soul was immediately ripped out, giving him no chance to even use the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.” The giant yellow bear continued to investigate. “There’s quite a few protective treasures as well. There’s a Vajra-Guard Skypearl, a Golden Skyfire seal, a Skyflee shuttle…still, these are quite inferior compared to a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.”

Youngflame Nong actually had three major treasures; the ‘Lock’ scroll, the black and white disc, and the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal. He had used up two of them. The plan had been to bind the Immortal estate, sell the monstrous Dao-soldiers of the estate to his clan, then use those resources to purchase some truly top-tier treasures. Unfortunately, he would never have the chance to do so.

“Big bro, take a look; isn’t that the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater?” The old black bull suddenly pointed to a watery pearl which hovered in the mass of precious items.

“A Sole-Ki Pearl of Elemental Water?” The giant yellow bear hurriedly looked over. His eyes lit up, and he began to laugh loudly. “Ning, you little tyke, it seems it is indeed time for you to reach the Primal level. With this Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater, you can now cultivate a Primaltwin.”

Ning called out in surprise, “A Primaltwin?!”

Naturally, Ning knew what a Primaltwin was; virtually all cultivators knew what it was! In the Black-White College, the technique for forming a Primaltwin was something which every single disciple could learn. There was no need for using black-white pellets at all. It was something for everyone to know, but unfortunately, less than one in a thousand Primal Daoists would actually be able to refine a Primaltwin!

This was because…it was too hard to find the right vessel!

When a cultivator broke through from the Wanxiang stage to the Primal stage, the essence of the myriad manifestations of stars and the elemental sea within the Zifu region would crystallize and give birth to a Turtle-Snake 1. At the same time, the soul would descend from the sea of consciousness and sink deep into the Turtle-Snake.

When they fused into one…the Primal Turtle-Snake would be formed! With the Primal Turtle-Snake serving as a physical vessel, and the soul serving as the self, a Primal Daoist would arise from the fusion!

In order to refine a Primaltwin, one would need to find a physical vessel; once one found it, one would use a secret art to split one’s soul in two, keeping half the soul in the original body and placing the other half within the vessel and forming a Primaltwin.

“Right. This Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater is like a natural Zifu region,” the giant yellow bear laughed. “All you need to do is split out part of your soul and place it within the pearl, and you’ll be able to slowly refine it into a Primaltwin! In fact, in the future your Primaltwin would even be able to become an Earth Immortal and perhaps surpass the tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal.”

Ning had never even heard of a ‘Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater’; in the annals of the Black-White College regarding Primaltwins, the most famous vessel was the ‘Darkvalley Pearl’.

“How is it compared to the Darkvalley Pearl?” Ning asked.

“The Darkvalley Pearl is too mediocre,” the giant yellow bear said. “A Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater contains the essence of primal, elemental water. After you fuse your soul into it and form your Primaltwin, your body will be formed from the essence of primal water as well. By then, when you use it to train in water-type Daos, you will find it much simpler. It seems as though you are destined to travel very far in the element of water.”

The Dao of Rainwater was nothing more than an extremely unremarkable type of Dao that belonged to the element of water, one of the Five Elements.

“How is your soul? Is it capable of withstanding a Primaltwin secret art?” The giant yellow bear asked.

To divide a soul in half was extremely dangerous. The soul had to be sufficiently strong; if it wasn’t, then dividing it in half was akin to suicide! Thus, generally speaking, only Primal Daoists who had been at that stage for a very long time or experts who had already reached the Void level and become Earth Immortals would be able to produce a Primaltwin!

“My divine sense stretches to a thousand kilometers,” Ning said.

“Mm. There are very few Primal Daoists who have souls comparable to yours; you can compare to a weak Loose Immortal.” The giant yellow bear nodded. “You can split your soul in half.”

Ning felt a fire begin to blaze in his heart. To produce a Primaltwin at the Wanxiang level; this was far too rare. First of all, the soul had to be strong enough; then, one had to have a vessel, such as the ‘Darkvalley Pearl’ or the ‘Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater’. Thus, for every thousand recinarnated Immortals, perhaps only one would be able to produce a Primaltwin at the Wanxiang stage.

The reason why only those below the Primal stage were allowed to participate in the contests of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny was to ensure fairness!

Although Ning might have refined a Primaltwin, his true body remained at the Wanxiang level. So long as it was only his true body which went to compete, and his Primaltwin stayed out of it…there would be no problems! Ning had already chatted previously with Yu Wei regarding the Conclave, and so he naturally knew about some of the rules of it.

Only geniuses amongst geniuses would be capable of producing Primaltwins at the Wanxiang level; naturally, they wouldn’t be barred from participating in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. However, they would only be allowed to use their true bodies to compete; in fact, their Primaltwins wouldn’t even be permitted to enter the competition grounds!

“Eh?” The giant yellow bear frowned.

“What is it?” Ning asked.

“A Celestial Immortal has come to Serpentwing Lake,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Celestial Immortal?” Ning was shocked. “It must be the Youngflame clan!”

“Don’t worry. I can discover him, but he can’t discover me.” The giant yellow bear said calmly, “Master spent unfathomable amounts of blood, sweat, and effort in order to forge me. There is no one in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty capable of discovering me.”

In the air above Serpentwing Lake.

It was already dark. Nine Flood Dragons, pulling an Immortal carriage behind them, had appeared in the skies. Aboard the Immortal carriage sat Patriarch Arcanum, with the Godplume Duke attending to him by the side.

“This is the place where Ji Ning is permanently stationed?” Patriarch Arcanum, with but a single thought, was able to scan this entire region. Brightheart Island was now completely empty; not a single person was present. However, there were still a few people on boats who were sailing aboard Serpentwing Lake. These were ordinary mortals. Given how large Serpentwing Lake was, it would take them a tremendous amount of time to pass through it.

“They fled?” A baleful look appeared in Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes. “Kill those mortals.”

“Kill them?” The Godplume Duke hesitated.

The Dao of the Heavens was protective of mortals. For Immortal cultivators to kill mortals was a grave sin. Even someone like Patriarch Arcanum, who wanted to kill these mortals, wasn’t willing to personally kill them and cause sin to surround him. Even Celestial Immortals would see their luck plummet, and as their luck plummeted…they would run into all sorts of trouble. If Celestial Immortals had sufficiently bad luck, they might end up dying in battle.

“Why aren’t you acting yet?” Patriarch Arcanum gave the Godplume Duke a sidelong glance.

“Alright.” The Godplume Duke gritted his teeth, then looked at the nine Flood Dragons pulling the Immortal carriage. He sent a spirit-message: “Kill the mortals.”

Although none of the nine Flood Dragons wanted to obey, they still all opened their mouths.

Whoooooosh.

Nine streaks of fire descended, instantly sweeping through the entire lake. The commoners on the lake’s surface were all shocked and terrified for a moment…and then they transformed into ash. Tendrils of sin instantly descended, with some swirling around the bodies of those nine Flood Dragons, and the rest swirling around the Godplume Duke. A very small amount of sin ended up swirling around Patriarch Arcanum as well.

“Let’s go to the City of Ten Thousand Swords.” Patriarch Arcanum gave the order, and the nine Flood Dragons pulled the Immortal carriage away, quickly arriving at the City of Ten Thousand Swords, just a few thousand kilometers away.

The City of Ten Thousand Swords remained as it always had been.

Patriarch Arcanum did a quick inspection. His face immediately changed. “There are this many monstrous Dao-soldiers here? Hrm? Ji Ning’s master, that Sword Immortal known as Diancai, he is here as well?”

“Hmph.” Patriarch Arcanum’s temper was volatile, but he knew that there was nothing he could do to this city. He immediately ordered coldly, “Fujun, arrange for the City of Ten Thousand Swords, Western Prefecture City and Serpentwing Lake be under constant watch! This is the homeland of Ji Ning’s clan; I refuse to believe he will never return. Also, ask the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to keep a close watch on Ji Ning. Upon discovering his whereabouts, immediately inform our Youngflame clan. No matter where he is hiding, once we discover him, immediately send people to kill him.”

“Yes,” the Godplume Duke said respectfully.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Tortoise#/media/File:Wudanghshan-Xuanwu-in-Beijing-Capital-Museum-3796.jpg

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Chapter 5 – Immortal Diancai and Ji Ning

Chapter 5 – Immortal Diancai and Ji Ning

“Let’s go. We return to the imperial capital!” Patriarch Arcanum gave the order. Immediately, those nine Flood Dragons pulled the Immortal carriage away, disappearing into the skies.

Patriarch Arcanum was a decisive individual. He knew that given that he hadn’t discovered Ji Ning right away, if he wanted to capture Ning…he would have to spend quite a bit of time. Although he was a Celestial Immortal, he wasn’t omniscient; he still had to resort to using the power of the tribe and the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to find Ning.

…..

Within the City of Ten Thousand Swords.

Immortal Diancai lifted his head, watching as Patriarch Arcanum departed. By his side were Ji Truekeep, Ji Ninfire, and the other members of the Ji clan, along with the two monstrous Loose Immortals.

“Clan leader Ji,” Immortal Diancai said, “Patriarch Arcanum has already departed. He wasn’t able to find my apprentice, but he won’t stay here indefinitely; he’s a Celestial Immortal, after all, with an exalted status! However, I imagine he will arrange for some people to stay on watch, here at Swallow Mountain. This is my apprentice’s homeland, after all; they will definitely keep an eye on it. Now that your Ji clan has so many monstrous Dao-soldiers present…there’s no reason for me to stay here. I won’t tarry any longer, then.”

“Thank you, senior Immortal,” Truekeep and the others said hurriedly.

They felt tremendous gratitude for this Immortal of the Black-White College, who had hurried here at such a critical time. Although he was Ning’s master, when trouble came, some masters would flee even faster than their disciples would.

Immortal Diancai didn’t say anything else. He soared straight into the skies. The City of Ten Thousand Swords had already set down a grand spacelock formation, preventing teleportation.

Whoosh. After flying high into the sky, Immortal Diancai immediately disappeared.

“This Immortal Diancai truly is a loyal man,” the monstrous Immortal Duohe said with a sigh.

“Admirable, admirable,” Immortal Witchsui said as well.

“It’s true. For Ning to have such a master is his good fortune,” Ninefire sighed.

…….

Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

The black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai was seated face to face with a short old man. Before the two of them, there was only a flagon of Immortal wine.

“Senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze,” Immortal Diancai said softly, “The arrival of Patriarch Arcanum caused me to feel powerless. Ning is my apprentice, my one and only disciple…but I’m not able to do anything in the face of the Youngflame clan’s attempt to kill him! I’m completely unable to save him!” As he spoke, Diancai’s body was visibly trembling.

“Junior apprentice-brother Diancai,” the short elder said hurriedly, “Don’t be so stubborn. He’s a Celestial Immortal, after all.”

“So what if he is? In the past, wasn’t senior Northwalker, a Loose Immortal, comparable to a Celestial Immortal in might?” Immortal Diancai growled, “I’ve made up my mind. Today, I am going to leave. Leave this major world of ours, and temper myself through adventuring. Although I reached the peak of the Void stage long ago and although I can attempt my tribulation, I’ve been suppressing myself, precisely because I don’t feel confident in succeeding. My talent is a bit weaker than this disciple of mine’s. If I don’t frantically temper myself, most likely, in the end, I won’t be able to avoid being overcome by the Celestial Tribulation and becoming a Loose Immortal. After becoming a Loose Immortal…even if I stay alive countless eons and reach senior Northwalker’s level of power, what’s the point? In the end, I still won’t be able to overcome the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, resulting in death.”

The short elder was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “It seems your apprentice’s matter has affected you tremendously.”

“I, his master, have failed him. I am of no use!” Immortal Diancai rose to his feet. “I’ll leave now, senior apprentice-brother.”

“Be careful!” The short elder said solemnly.

To temper one’s self naturally required one to experience deadly situations, to walk on the border between life and death, which would allow one’s insights and comprehension to rapidly increase. However, this sort of tempering was extremely dangerous. When walking on a line between life and death, one might truly fall into death.

Immortal Diancai laughed, then charged into the skies, quickly disappearing.

Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish.

Five figures appeared in succession by the short elder’s side. These were the other Immortals of the Black-White College.

“He truly is decisive,” a youthful-looking ‘child’ sighed.

“Compared to him…” The tall, muscular, chain-shrouded man said in a low voice, “Although I am a reincarnated Immortal, my Dao-heart isn’t as firm as his. It seems the common saying is true; if you fail in one life to become a Celestial Immortal, even if you reincarnated ten times or a hundred times, you still won’t be able to become a Celestial Immortal.”

“There are still some reincarnated Immortals who do become Celestial Immortals,” the short elder said.

“But how few and rare are they?” The youthful-looking child sighed. “With the great determination that junior apprentice-brother Diancai has…as I see it, he might have just increased his chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal by a bit. He may very well truly have a shot at becoming only the second Celestial Immortal the Black-White College has seen in our ancient history.”

“He does indeed have a shot,” the tall, blood-robed, skinny youth said with a nod. “However…the Celestial Tribulation is difficult to overcome!”

All of them fell silent. The Celestial Tribulation? This was a nightmare for all Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals. The worst part of it was, every single Celestial Tribulation was different in power; just because one was strong, didn’t mean they would necessarily succeed in overcoming it!

“First, junior apprentice-brother Diancai needs to return safely. Otherwise, there’s no point in discussing the Celestial Tribulation.” The short elder’s eyes were filled with anticipation. “I wonder if I, a crazy old madman, will be able to see him again before I die.”

…..

Within another world. The underwater estate.

Ning had no idea as to what had happened in the outside world. His attention was completely focused on the Primaltwin secret art; this was a soul-splitting technique, and he had to be incredibly cautious in using it.

Ning was seated in the lotus position on a prayer mat. Not too far away, the giant yellow bear and the old black bull were staring at him.

“He won’t fail, will he?” The old black bull said worriedly They had already set up a barrier around them, preventing their voices from reaching out and disturbing Ning.

“Ji Ning’s visualization technique is an extremely impressive one. Even if he fails, he would at most lose control over half of his soul; he wouldn’t die,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Lose control over half his soul…” The old black bull murmured to himself. That was still quite severe.

If the Primaltwin art was a success, the soul would be split in two, but both parts would still remain in existence. Although Ning would temporarily be weakened, that would be a minor matter, and he would soon recover. If, however, one of the two parts of his soul was to be completely extinguished, Ning’s personality might change drastically. He might even develop mental issues such as depression or madness.

To lose control over half of one’s soul…this could indeed cause a drastic personality change.

Huff. Puff. Ning took several long breaths, completely calm. He had already memorized and mentally repeated the Primaltwin art several times now.

“Let’s begin.”

Ning shut his eyes.

Within his sea of consciousness. The spirit-Ning stood there, entire body emanating with sword-ki. This was an evolved sword-soul! Sword-souls were almost utterly indestructible, making a split even more difficult.

Whooooooosh. The forehead of the spirit-Ning began to glow with light, a vertical-shaped light. Ning used all of his energy in executing the secret art, causing his own divine will to form into a knife that began to cut both upwards and downwards from his forehead.

That vertical light slowly began to elongate.

“Arggggggh!” Agony. The soul-ripping agony caused even Ning, despite his incredible endurance and Dao-heart, to tremble. However, generally speaking, those who dared to execute the Primaltwin technique were all extraordinary figures who would be able to endure this level of pain.

The vertical light continued to elongate. It reached his neck…his chest…his abdomen…

The vertical light splitting the ‘body’ of the spirit-Ning had completely cut him in half. It was as though a ray of light had just cleanly bisected him. However, this wasn’t the dangerous part; what was going to happen next was the dangerous part.

“SPLIT!”

Ning’s soul began to split apart. That vertical light splitting his spirit in half separated, causing his spirit to split into two parts. One half, moving as fast as lightning, flew back into Ning’s physical body. In the instant his soul split apart, Ning felt a wave of dizziness overcome him, and while flying over his soul trembled as well. Ning’s Dao-heart, however, was resilient, and so although the dizziness caused him to feel incredibly tired, he was still able to withstand it.

This was a step that had to be fast and had to be endured. Otherwise, if the other half of the soul wasn’t able to enter the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater, it would die on the way. After splitting the soul, there was no way to merge it again.

“Enter.”

The other half of the soul flew out like a streak of light, entering the Sole-Ki Pearl.

In the instant it did, the soul felt as though it was a son entering the embrace of the other, a wandering, adrift boat that had finally returned to harbor. There was a feeling of peace, of warmth, of calm which completely filled the soul. The soul had its vessel…naturally, it felt nice.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief.

“visualization technique!”

For the moment, Ning had no time to waste on training his Primaltwin. His very first response was to immediately have both of his souls immediately execute the visualization technique.

Within his sea of consciousness.

The now-shrunken spirit-Ning sat down in the lotus position. Ahead of him, within the vast void of his sea of consciousness, appeared an enormous image of Maiden Nuwa. The image of Maiden Nuwa, in the void, seemed to press down upon both the past and the future. It was eternal and unchanging, and it caused Ning’s soul to become incomparably stable as well. The aura of divine light emanating from her, filled with boundless warmth, illuminated Ning’s soul, causing the badly damaged soul to begin to heal.

Within the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater, there was the second, also-shrunken spirit-Ning, who was also visualizing an image of Maiden Nuwa. When her image appeared, her light seemed to stretch off into infinity.

Both souls were in a wounded state right now, but they rapidly began to heal. This healing process took nearly three full days, during the course of which both souls grew considerably stronger.

“Whew.” Ning opened his eyes. The Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater in front of him flew up as well, landing within his hand.

“How did it go?” The giant yellow bear asked hurriedly, “How is your soul?”

“I’ve healed to roughly seventy percent of normal,” Ning said.

“Seventy percent?!” The giant yellow bear was stunned. “It seems you truly do have a formidable visualization technique.”

When the soul split into two, both souls would have roughly half of the strength of the former soul. For an ordinary visualization technique, the user would be lucky to see each half-soul stabilize at fifty percent power. You could forget about having the soul quickly grow back! But Ning had not only stabilized his souls, he had already reached seventy percent power.

“However, this is a one-time thing. After all, the damage caused by the soul-splitting was fresh, which was why I was able to heal so much of it at one go. In the future, it will be slower. To return to a divine sense of a thousand kilometers…I’m afraid it will take a long time,” Ning sighed.

“Don’t be too greedy. You’ve already produced a Primaltwin, after all; this represents a second life for you,” the giant yellow bear sighed. “Your Primaltwin can also become an Earth Immortal or Celestial Immortal; in fact, if your true body dies, your Primaltwin will still survive.”

Laughing, Ning nodded.

The true body and the Primaltwin had linked memories; in all other ways, however, they were completely independent. Indeed, a Primaltwin could be described as a second life.

“Hurry up and begin your training. Completely refine all of the essence within the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater,” the giant yellow bear laughed.

“Right.” Ning nodded, then had his Primaltwin within the Sole-Ki Pearl begin to train.

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Chapter 6 – Primal Breakthrough

Chapter 6 – Primal Breakthrough

The Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater was a naturally occurring spirit-treasure that was one of the most superb resources for nourishing the soul.

There were some Immortal cultivators who, believing their Zifu’s to be damaged, would steal the bodies of others. This sort of possession, however…had a major problem. It was that the affinity between the body and the soul would be very weak. Generally speaking, most bodies were not of very high quality. Some Immortal cultivators, upon finding a good body, would seize it. Once their affinity with it reached a certain level, they would be extremely satisfied.

However, the likes of the Darkvalley Pearl, the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater, and other such naturally occurring spirit-treasures were truly perfect vessels. Because they had never been inhabited by a soul, once a soul did enter them, they would merge together perfectly. In terms of quality, as naturally occurring spirit-treasures, they were of course of superb quality.

“It was lucky for me that Youngflame Nong had procured this. If I were to search for it on my own, where the hell would I even start?” Ji Ning had begun his refining process, and as he did, he instantly realized how wonderful this pearl was. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself, “Youngflame Nong must have prepared this for himself. However, in the end, his efforts ended up being for my sake.”

Sole-Ki Pearls of Primalwater were filled with elemental essence to begin with; there was thus no need to absorb elemental ki from the surrounding world. One only needed to refine the ki within it. Ning was currently rising in power at a rapid rate.

BOOM!

A world suddenly came into being within the pearl. A Zifu region was born, and large amounts of elemental water essence began to transform, causing the Zifu region to expand in size.

Stars. The Moon. The Golden Crown. Three major Manifestations appeared…and the body immediately broke through to the Wanxiang level.

“This sort of ‘training’ truly is wonderful.” The old black bull, watching, couldn’t help but sigh in amazement, “What tremendous speed.”

“It’s just like when a reincarnated Immortal regains his memories. He already had the sufficient insights and a strong enough Dao-heart. Given that the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater has condensed water elemental essence within it to begin with, it wouldn’t even surprise me if he trained all the way to the Primal stage,” the giant yellow bear said. These sorts of treasures, which contained elemental essence within them, would generally allow those who used them to reach the Primal stage. One couldn’t help but sigh at how marvelous the treasures of the natural world could be.

“He’s about to make a breakthrough,” the old black bull suddenly said.

After just an hour, the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater had risen in power from the Xiantian level to the peak of the Wanxiang level. It was currently moving towards the Primal level.

Within the pearl. There was a vast, empty void here. The Zifu Lake was almost infinitely vast, and within the sky of this world, thousands of stars, a Jade Rabbit, and a Golden Crow hung in the sky. The aura of this place was even more powerful than the aura of Ning’s true body. This was because this body had truly reached the absolute peak of the peak Wanxiang stage!

“Arise!”

Ning’s soul was above the thousands of stars, at the very heart of the void in his Zifu region. He willed it…and instantly, the sea of elemental energy in his Zifu began to frantically condense into trillions of specks of purified light that wildly soared into the skies, towards those stars, the moon, and the sun, all of which were beginning to move in accordance with a secret rhythm. In the instant in which they all merged into the heavenly bodies, the stars, the Jade Rabbit, and the Golden Crow, all of which had already reached their limit long ago, suddenly transformed into pillars of light that shot downwards.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Tens of thousands of pillars of light, some thin, some thick. The pillars of light created from the countless stars appeared very thin, while the pillars of light from the Golden Crow and the Moon Rabbit were clearly far thicker.

The countless pillars of light all focused on the central part of the Zifu, beginning to slowly form into an enormous creature.

The enormous creature was beginning to take shape. The light from the Golden Crow was focusing on its head, forming a tortoise-like beast. The light from the Jade Rabbit was beginning to focus on the other side, forming a serpent’s head. The countless beams of light from the stars were beginning to form the body of the creature. The massive thing began to take clearer and clearer form; it was a mutant beast that looked like a turtle with a snake intertwined within it.

This was a legendary creature; the Turtle-Snake!

Any living creature, upon breaking through to the Primal level, would form a Primal Turtle-Snake.

Rumble….

In that instant, the enormous Turtle-Snake suddenly seemed to move. It actually began to crawl downwards, through the void, until it reached the elemental sea. Within that vast elemental sea of energy, the enormous, island-like Turtle-Snake began to slowly swim about.

“The Turtle-Snake has been formed. Let the Primal soul descend!”

Instantly, Ning’s soul, which had remained hovering in the sky this entire time, descended directly into the enormous Turtle-Snake. As it entered the creature’s body, it felt an incomparably comfortable sensation. It was as though the body of the Turtle-Snake was innately nurturing to souls; Ning could even feel his own soul begin to strengthen at an alarming speed.

“What a shocking speed of advancement. The rate at which my soul is strengthening is even faster than the rate at which it was healing when I visualized the image of Maiden Nuwa.” Ning sighed in absolute amazement. He finally understood why it was that although many Immortal cultivators had fairly weak souls at the Wanxiang stage, upon reaching the Primal stage, they would all quickly come to possess divine sense.

It was precisely because, within the Primal Turtle-Snake, the soul would strengthen at an astonishing rate! It was like grass being sown into mud, then quickly growing out of it.

Rumble…

The Turtle-Snake swiveled there. Yin and Yang intersected on the back of the Turtle-Snake, which is to say, it’s shell. Suddenly, a golden flame emerged, blazing with incomparable heat and yet not harming the Primal Turtle-Snake in the slightest. This was the ‘Primal Fire’ which every single Primal Daoist was capable of using.

Whooooooosh. The enormous Turtle-Snake swam about happily in the vast sea of elemental ki. The eyes of both the turtle-head and the snake-head both seemed extremely lively and clever, as though they were true living creatures.

As for the thousands of stars, the Golden Crow, and the Jade Rabbit, they continued to send down their condensed elemental essence. Bathed by it, the Turtle-Snake was still continuing to slowly grow.

After another long period of time, the stars, the Golden Crow, and the Jade Rabbit finally stopped sending down essence.

“The early Primal stage!” The giant Primal Turtle-Snake spoke out in the human tongue. “The energy within the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater truly is remarkable. It was only used up after I trained all the way to the early Primal stage, then solidified my base.”

……

In the instant he had become a Primal Daoist, there had actually also been a sudden change in the surrounding elemental ki aura of the underwater estate. In addition, the ancient, eternal aura of the Dao itself had also descended.

“He made the breakthrough.” The giant yellow bear and the old black bull both laughed. Very soon, mist suddenly began to emerge from the pearl, which had been hovering in midair…and then the mist solidified into a black-robed Ji Ning.

“Greetings, seniors,” the black-robed Ji Ning laughed.

“Take a look at your original body,” the giant yellow bear said with a smirk.

The black-robed Ning turned his head. The original Ning turned his head as well. Their gazes intersected.

“Hahaha…” The two both laughed.

Actually, their memories were linked; it was as though one was the left hand, while the other was the right hand. As they exchanged glances, their thoughts were identical; this was, indeed, an extremely marvelous feeling.

“Greetings, fellow Daoist,” the black-robed Ning said..

“Greetings, fellow Daoist,” the other Ning also said.

And then, both laughed. With identical memories and thoughts, saying ‘greetings, fellow Daoist’ to each other was like mumbling to himself. It was nothing more than a joke.

“How does it feel?” The giant yellow bear asked.

“Very good,” the black-robed Ning nodded. “Breaking through to the Primal level feels very different. The soul fused with the Primal Turtle-Dragon, which felt incomparably comfortable. It is also advancing very rapidly.”

“Right. Generally speaking, upon breaking through to the Primal level, the rate of advancement for the soul will be very fast for a period of time. Afterwards, it will slow down, and in fact the soul might advance very little even after a century passes,” the giant yellow bear said.

The black-robed Ning nodded. “Although the Primal Turtle-Snake is of tremendous help to the soul, everything has a limit. If the soul were to continue to rise at this rate perpetually, that would be ridiculous!”

“Let me first try the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] with this Primaltwin and see how it is.” The black-robed Ning willed it, and suddenly, a dense cluster of more than seven hundred flying swords appeared. Nine were the Nethercold swords, while 360 were high-grade fire-attribute Earth-ranked flying swords, and another 360 were high-grade water-attribute Earth-ranked flying swords.

He had picked these flying swords out from the vast ocean of magic treasures left behind by Immortal Witchriver in the estate. Ning had procured more than sixteen thousand magic treasures. With flying swords being one of the most common types of magic treasures, it hadn’t been too hard for him to find some that were suited to him.

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!”

The black-robed Ning willed the formation to immediately activated. Previously, when activing the formation, Ning had always used the Nethercold swords first, then led the other 720 Mortal-ranked flying swords with them! Now, however, with all 720 Mortal-ranked flying swords having been changed into Earth-ranked flying swords, the difficulty of controlling the swords instantly increased more than a hundredfold. After all, he had upgraded far too many swords.

“Eh?!” The black-robed Ning frowned.

“How is it?” The old black bull laughed.

“I wanted to activate the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], but I’m unable to.” The black-robed Ning shook his head, then began to lower the level. The eighth level? The seventh level?

Whoosh!

Finally, he successfully activated the technique. More than five hundred flying swords swiveled about Ning, beginning to levitate up and down. Ning’s Primal-level elemental ki filled them, and his soul commanded them. Before his chest solidified an incomparably brilliant flying sword, which was even covered with a layer of prismatic white light.

“The seventh level [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” The black-robed Ning shook his head. “I broke through to the Primal level, and my elemental ki has increased in power dramatically. However, my soul is still somewhat weaker than it was, before it split in two. Even though I’ve gained much enlightenment regarding the Dao…I’m still unable to go past the seventh level.”

“These are, after all, all Earth-ranked magic treasures, and most are high-grade. Even the seventh level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] is still more powerful than the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] with those Mortal-ranked flying sword,” the giant yellow bear said.

The black-robed Ning nodded in agreement.

“Right. Just now, I took a look at your other treasures,” the giant yellow bear said, pointing towards the other magic treasures, all separated by type. “Some of the sacks have quite a few golems in them.”

The black-robed Ning nodded. “These are the golems that we discovered in the Witchriver Immortal Estate. That Fiendgod collected them.”

“Let me help you retrofit these golems. Otherwise, they won’t listen to your commands,” the giant yellow bear said. “Right; don’t you have fifty thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence? Hurry up and refine it all. You are only at the early Primal level, right? Raise your power a bit more. That way, your elemental ki will grow more pure, and it will be easier for you to control your magic treasures. By then, I imagine you’ll be able to control the eighth, or even the ninth, level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].”

The black-robed Ning nodded. “Right.” There was no reason not to use them up; it was best to use the liquid to improve his own power. Fifty thousand kilograms? This was more than enough to allow his Primaltwin to once more improve its power dramatically.

“In the future, I need to focus on the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation],” the black-robed Ning mused to himself. Although he had read many secret manuals, amongst those that were meant for Ki Refiners, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] remained the best suited for him, and the most powerful one as well. His Primaltwin was a Ki Refiner; there was no way it could train in divine abilities, and so it naturally would have to focus on the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

It was destined that his Primaltwin would become an extremely powerful ki-refining Sword Immortal!

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Chapter 7 – Binding the Underwater Estate

Chapter 7 – Binding the Underwater Estate

Within the quiet hall. The black-robed Ning sat in the lotus position, a jade bottle in front of him. The liquefied elemental essence within it was continuously flowing into Ning’s mouth.

“Heh heh heh.” The old black bull watched, quite excited. He had been alone for far, far too long.

As for the giant yellow bear, he waved a paw and two giant sacks opened up. The golems within all flew out, howling through the air. A total of thirty-six Qiongqi Manticore Golems, along with a black-armored male golem, emerged. As they flew out, they began to frantically struggle, trying to fight back.

“Be good and be obedient,” the giant yellow bear chuckled merrily. The thirty-six Qiongqi golems and the black-armored man all hung there in midair. Although they were struggling, there were unable to move at all, causing them to all reveal looks of amazement.

“Who are you?” The black-armored man stared at the giant yellow bear, then shouted, “Why are you confining us?”

“Oh, you actually have a soul planted inside you?” The giant yellow bear then shook his head. “Who made these golems? He was so rough and clumsy.”

Clatter clatter clatter…

The thirty-six Qiongqi golems and the black-armored man all suddenly separated into tens of thousands of component parts.

“Let me first collect the parts. I’ll slowly reconfigure them.” The giant yellow bear had a look of anticipation in his eyes. He waved a paw, and whoosh, all of the tens of thousands of parts disappeared, having been teleported away.

“Ji Ning, kid,” the giant yellow bear said. “I’m going to go analyze these golems and wipe out some of the seals the former controller placed on them. After fixing them up, I’ll return them to you.”

“No rush,” Ning laughed. Ning himself wasn’t training; it was currently the Primaltwin, the ‘black-robed Ji Ning’, who was training.

……

Time slowly passed on. Finally, all of the fifty thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence in the jade bottle had been used up. The black-robed Ning opened his eyes, revealing a look of joy in them.

“Ji Ning, how is it?” The old black bull asked eagerly.

“Just as I used up the liquefied elemental essence, I finally reached the late Primal stage,” the black-robed Ning said. “Let me test the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] first.”

Swish. Once again, more than seven hundred flying swords appeared. The Earth-ranked flyinig swords, led by the Nethercold Sword Formation, all flew into the air. However, even after trying his hardest for a long period of time, Ning was still unable to control them well, and was only able to execute the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. “My elemental ki is far more pure than it was before, but I’m still only able to use the eighth level?”

“Ji Ning, you’ve already reached the Primal level with your Primaltwin. By using it, you can go and bind this underwater estate now,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Bind the estate?” Ning willed it, and suddenly, the Primaltwin transformed into a pearl that flew into Ning’s clothes.

“Come with me.” The giant yellow bear walked forward.

Ning felt tremendous anticipation. He had waited for this day for a very, very long time. When he had become a Zifu Disciple, he had only been able to bind a talisman; now, after having created his Primaltwin, he was finally going to be able to bind the underwater estate. Afterwards, he would be able to carry it around with him, just like Immortal Juhua had.

He followed the giant yellow bear through a wide, spacious corridor that he previously hadn’t been given access to at all.

“From now on, you will be granted access into 90% of the areas of the underwater estate,” the giant yellow bear said. “After binding the underwater estate, you’ll be able to carry it with you.”

“90%? Senior, are you saying that there are still areas which I cannot enter?” Ning asked.

“Right. For example, the Divine Abilities Hall; you cannot enter it. There are some other regions as well.” The giant yellow bear gave Ning a glance. “I imagine that you have already guessed…that at the Primal stage, you are only able to do a very basic binding of the estate, allowing you to carry it with you. To truly master all of its mysteries, you will need to wait until the day you become an Empyrean God and truly become Master’s disciple.”

Ning nodded. He had expected this all along. Earlier, he had watched as the giant yellow bear had effortlessly paralyzed in midair and rendered immobile the black-armored male golem, which was comparable to a peak Loose Immortal. In addition, Ning could sense the ancient aura of eternity emanating from the giant yellow bear, an aura that was even more heart-shaking than the aura which emanated from the Fiendgod he had encountered in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. To completely master the underwater estate as a Primal Daoist? Even Ning himself felt that he was far from being able to do so.

“Empyrean God?” Ning murmured to himself, “Daoist Threelives, what in the world did you leave behind, that I have to become an Empyrean God before receiving it?”

They walked through the corridor and thorugh various passages. Soon, they arrived at an ancient, simple room. Ning walked in, immediately feeling as though his heart was more peaceful than it ever had been before.

“This is the Still Room. In the past, Master personally set down a Buddhist formation, the ‘Grand Bodhi Stillheart Formation’, in this place. Amongst all the mind-calming formations known throughout the Three Realms, this formation ranks close to the top. Its name is ordinary, but its power is extraordinary.” The giant yellow bear pointed at the giant, vast room with a claw. Instantly, an incomparably complicated golden formation appeared on the walls. Ning felt dizzy just looking at it. “This formation isn’t something you can try to comprehend yet. One glance is enough; don’t stare at it.”

The complicated golden formation covering the four walls of the place once more dimmed.

“Look.” The giant yellow bear pointed at the center of the Still Room. There was a platform there, atop which was an ordinary-looking, inky jade bed which emanated a frigid aura. “This is made from netherwater jade, retrieved from the deepest depths of the Nine Hells. It is extremely cold. When you first sit atop it, you feel feel extremely cold, but soon afterwards, you will feel very comfortable, and also feel it help to calm your heart. This jade bed alone is comparable in value to a Pure Yang magic treasure.”

Ning’s heart clenched, hard. A Pure Yang magic treasure? Daoist Threelives truly was wealthy and generous.

“However, don’t even think about selling it. This is already part of the underwater estate; there’s no way for you to pull it off.” The corners of the giant yellow bear’s mouth twitched upwards, a hint of smug amusement visible. “Haha, enough joking. The Still Room is the center of the entire underwater estate. All you need to do is bind it, and you’ll have a basic control over the underwater estate. Go ahead and start the binding process.”

Ning nodded, walking straight towards the inky jade bed.

Upon sitting atop it, he did indeed feel a heart-penetrating chill instantly fill his entire body. Even his soul seemed to have been frozen solid, but immediately afterwards, he felt calmer than he ever had before.

A void-soul! His soul was in a state of complete transcendence. Ning began to carefully go through and dissect every single thing which had happened to him recently. This sort of reflection and contemplation of one’s memories caused Ning’s Dao-heart to slowly strengthen even further.

“This is incredible. The Buddhist formation, ‘Bodhi Stillheart Formation’, and the netherwater jade truly are extraordinary.” Ning hesitated no longer. With but a thought, he unleashed the black-robed Ning, who also sat down atop the netherwater jade, then began to use his powerful elemental ki to fill the Still Room and bind it to him.

The Still Room was slowly becoming bound. Time flowed on…

This binding process took six full days! And this was only the first, most elementary binding possible for the underwater estate.

……

“What a truly marvelous feeling.” It felt as though every part of the entire underwater estate was under his control, but the strange thing was, although he felt as though he was in complete control, the Divine Abilities Hall seemed to have vanished, as though it didn’t exist.

“Weird.” Ning returned to the main hall. Within the main hall, the giant yellow bear and the old black bull were both present.

“Senior, did you forget about something?” Ning asked.

“What is it?” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning.

“The treasures which Immortal Juhua left behind.” Ning couldn’t help but say, “I’ve already bound the underwater estate…where are his treasures?” The treasures of Immortal Juhua, the disassembled golems…although Ning could sense the entire estate, he couldn’t find any trace of those things. And, right now, Ning didn’t feel any sense of control over the giant yellow bear either.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” The giant yellow bear waved a hand.

Whoosh! Instantly, a mountain of magic treasures appeared within the hall. It truly was a mountain! A treasure mountain that was hundreds on hundreds of meters in height. Ning’s eyes instantly lit up upon seeing it.

“After living for a few million years, he really did accumulate quite a bit of treasure.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Immortal Juhua left behind a total of three Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and each one of them could be considered high-grade for Immortal-ranked treasures.”

Ning’s eyes instantly began to shine. Three? And all high-grade?

Immortal Juhua really lived up to his reputation as a Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years, a figure even more powerful than Immortal Northwalker. Most likely, even the Immortal artifacts owned by actual Celestial Immortals were only on par with his at best.

“Still, only one is left,” the giant yellow bear continued, pointing towards the old black bull. “Him.”

“Just one?!” Ning was flabbergasted. “Didn’t you say there were three? Immortal Juhua left three behind, right? The fourth master of the estate died at the Wanxiang level; there’s no way he could’ve taken away the Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Where’d the other two go?”

Was this a joke? Two high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures had just ‘gone missing’?!

“Don’t be in such a rush. It’s a good thing for you that two of them are gone now,” the old black bull said smugly. “You still have me, right? Ji Ning, kiddo, in the future, this old bull is going to follow you, and you are enormously lucky to have me.”

Ning was still filled with puzzlement. What about the other two Immortal-ranked magic treasures? The spirit of the estate wouldn’t have embezzled them, would he?

The giant yellow bear said, “The three Immortal-ranked magic treasures left behind by Immortal Juhua were the ‘Thousandbull Sword’, the ‘Nightriver Painting’, and the ‘Nine Realms Seal’.”

“The Nightriver Painting was chosen by Immortal Juhua as his reward after he overcame the seventh level of the Wargod Hall, a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Within it, it held an ancient river from the primordial era that came before the three thousand major worlds were born; the Nightriver. By drawing the enemy into the painting, the enemy would be within your domain and dramatically weakened, while you would be able to borrow from the power of the Nightriver to increase your own might. One of the reasons why Immortal Juhua was so famous was because of this magic treasure,” the giant yellow bear said.

Ning listened, speechless. What fine treasures! Compared to the Nightriver Painting, the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp was far too inferior. That was a primordial river, the Nightriver, which existed before the three thousand major worlds had been born!

“The Nine Realms Seal was fashioned by Immortal Juhua from the extract of materials collected by Immortal Juhua after wandering nine different major worlds. This seal…naturally, it’s used to smash and crush. He used up an astonishing amount of precious materials in fashioning it, managing to brute-force it up to be a high-grade Immortal-ranked seal. In his old age, Immortal Juhua loved to smash people with the seal.”

“The Thousandbull Sword…when Immortal Juhua met the Thousand Swords Immortal, the two exchanged blows. After killing the Thousand Swords Immortal and acquiring hundreds of valuable flying swords, he traded them for precious materials, using them and other treasures he had accumulated in forging a flying sword. Immortal Juhua was also a Sword Immortal; the most important thing for a Sword Immortal is their flying swords. The Thousandbull Sword was thus the weapon he used in order to dominate the world.”

Ning listened, spellbound and rapt. He couldn’t help but ask, “Then what happened to the Nightriver Painting and the Nine Realms Seal?”

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Chapter 8 – Carrying an Immortal Estate, Adventuring Through the World

Chapter 8 – Carrying an Immortal Estate, Adventuring Through the World

“Let me finish,” the giant yellow bear continued. “Did you think that I just absconded with those two Immortal-ranked magic treasures? When I followed Master, I saw more treasures than you’ve even heard of.”

Ning blinked.

“After Immortal Juhua died, he left behind these three Immortal-ranked magic treasures. He died just as the Fiendgod Era had come to an end. Over the countless years that passed since then, I was completely bored out of my mind. It wasn’t convenient for me to mess around with the magic treasures which Master left behind, and so I took some of the treasures which Immortal Juhua left behind and began to retrofit them.”

“Retrofit them?!” Ning was speechless.

“The Thousandbull Sword, the Nightriver Painting, the Nine Realms Seal; all of them were pretty good, but they couldn’t be considered top-grade; they weren’t truly mighty,” the giant yellow bear said “That Nine Realms Seal in particular; it was forged in a slipshod way, completely wasting the massive amount of precious materials which were piled together to create that seal. So…I completely destroyed it, pulled out the extracted essence of it, then slowly spend the next 360 million years to completely fuse the essence into the Thousandbull Sword. This slow fusing process caused the Thousandbull Slow to evolve to a new level of power, but it didn’t disrupt any of its inherent might.”

Ning blinked again.

360 million years? Not even a Celestial Immortal would dare to waste time like this.

“But, you know, I realized the Nightriver Painting was also pretty terrible as well.” The giant yellow bear shook his large head. “A perfectly fine primordial Nightriver was being wasted, having merely been forged into a separate world. To pull the enemy into the world and fight inside it? What sort of a terrible idea is that? So…I just completely destroyed it as well.”

“I pulled out the flows of the Nightriver from within the painting, then reforged it into a sword-diagram which I also fused into the Thousandbull Sword.”

The giant yellow bear seemed extremely smug. “Now, this is what you call a real treasure! The Thousandbull Sword, as a short, is unblockably sharp; with the extracted essence of the Nine Realms Seal, the Thousandbull Sword’s power rose dramatically. It absolutely became a top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure.”

“But after mixing in the Nightriver Painting as well…whenever the Thousandbull Sword is use, the ancient, primordial Nightriver will suddenly appear within a region of ten thousand kilometers. With the assistance of the Nightriver, one’s power will explode dramatically! The stand-alone Nightriver Painting required one to pull the enemy into it, but the upgraded Thousandbull Sword has no need to do so at all. As long as the sword is drawn, the ten-thousand kilometer Nightriver will immediately appear.” The giant yellow bear was absolutely delighted with himself. “Heh heh heh. The Pure Yang swords used by the major powers of the Three Realms…which one of them doesn’t have a sword-diagram within? How can a Sword Immortal without a sword-diagram even be considered a Sword Immortal?”

Ning was completely stunned.

“Three mighty Immortal-ranked magic treasures were combined into one. When the upgraded Thousandbull Sword leaves the sheath, the Nightriver Sword-Diagram shall appear…sword-ki shall emerge and roam about for ten thousand kilometers, completely unstoppable.” The giant yellow bear was extremely smug. “This truly is a top-grade amongst top-grade Immortal-ranked treasures. Those three original magic treasures combined aren’t even half as good as it is. As for the hundreds of millions of years I spent in total on this project, I’m not going to go into detail.”

“Thousandbull Sword!” The giant yellow bear called out.

“Coming!” The old black bull called out. Instantly, from within the mountain of treasures that was many hundreds of meters high, a black sword flew out. When this flying sword emerged, a whooshing sound of flowing water could be heard as well, as though an ancient, primordial river had begun to flow. And then…the hazy outlines of a river appeared.

When the illusion of the river appeared, space itself seemed to freeze. Ning could feel a sudden pressure envelope him as well.

The ordinary looking black flying sword had caused the entire mountain of treasures next to it to fade by comparison.

Swoosh. The old black bull immediately transformed into a streak of light, burrowing into the black flying sword.

“Ning, take a look at me; what do you think? Aren’t I awesome?” The black flying sword hovered there in midair as the old bull’s voice echoed in the halls.

Ning suddenly called out in surprise, “You, how can you move around? How can magic treasures move around on their own?!”

Magic treasures were lifeless things; without a master controlling them, how could they move around? Even if an Immortal-ranked magic treasure had given birth to a treasure-spirit, logically speaking, they shouldn’t be able to move around. For example, the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp was completely incapable of movement; it could only summon flames to block Xue Hongyi, but in the end, it was still forcibly taken away by him.

“Who told you that magic treasures can’t move around?” The giant yellow bear said. “Pure Yang treasures, for example, can soar into the heavens or delve deep into the earth.”

Pure Yang magic treasures? Those were on a higher level than even Immortal-ranked magic treasures. They were simply on a realm too far from Ning.

“Based on what I know, Immortal-ranked magic treasures aren’t capable of movement,” Ning said. “I read it in the books, and earlier, I also talked about how I acquired an Immortal-ranked magic treasure after killing Xue Hongyi in the Witchriver Immortal Estate.”

“Are you talking about that Azuresilk Godfire Lamp?” The giant yellow bear shook his head disdainfully. “That’s just a low-grade Immortal-ranked item! It’s true that the vast majority of Immortal-ranked magic treasures are incapable of movement, and in fact, there’s extremely few top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures capable of movement as well. The Thousandbull Sword, however, is a top-grade amongst top-grades; his sentience and his power is comparable to some weak Pure Yang magic treasures. Given how sentient he is and how pure and valuable his components are, he’s naturally able to move about on his own. Still, without a master controlling him, he’s only able to release a tiny amount of his power. If your Primaltwin was to unleash its full power, you’d be able to suppress him.”

Ning was secretly speechless. His Primaltwin was at the late Primal level; when using the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] with the Grand Dao Domain and the Dao-Path of Water, he was absolutely comparable to a Loose Immortal! Only a Loose Immortal’s full power could suppress this ownerless Immortal-ranked magic treasure? The Azuresilk Godfire Lamp had been suppressed by someone like Xue Hongyi!

“Ji Ning, train hard. After you become an Earth Immortal, I can come out and fight again, hahaha…I, Thousandbull, will once be able to roam and dominate the world!” The black flying sword landed. The old black bull walked out of the blade, speaking with incomparable excitement. But then, he grew forlorn once more. “Unfortunately, Juhua has already passed away.”

Magic treasures all felt a very unique attachment to their first master; their first master was like their parents or elders.

“Perhaps he might have reincarnated.” Ning could sense the old black bull’s sadness.

“Stop trying to console me. Juhua died countless years ago. Even if he reincarnated…I can’t even imagine how many times he would’ve reincarnated by now,” the old black bull sighed.

…….

Ning wasn’t in a hurry to depart from Stillwater Commandery.. After all, there were three years left before the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Instead, he began to calmly train in seclusion within the underwater estate.

After all, he had reached the Grand Dao Domain level, then mastered the complete Dao of Rainwater. Ning needed to quickly and completely master a way of using them to increase his power.

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed.

Winter.

Within the Stellar Hall of the underwater estate. The space within this separate world, the Stellar Hall, was quite vast.

Ning was walking through the skies. Suddenly, he disappeared before reappearing more than ten kilometers away, where a spatial ripple had just appeared.

Swish, swish, swish. Ning blinked forward repeatedly, disappearing and reappearing as he teleported again and again.

“Success, success.” The old black bull, lying on the grassy ground next to the thatched hut, stood up and called out in delight, “Ji Ning, you’ve finally mastered the technique of teleportation.”

“It took me over a year.” The distant Ning, with a blink, reappeared in front of the thatched hut, then said, “I feel so ashamed.”

Teleporting through the void was one of the most basic, most fundamental underpinnings to the Grand Dao of the Qiankun 1.

Another name for the Grand Dao of the Qiankun was the Grand Dao of Space.

The Azure Skysnake, because of her innate abilities, was able to utilize the ‘Void Blink’ technique was a Xiantian lifeform. In truth, the Void Blink was a form of teleportation through the void! However, for an ordinary Immortal cultivator to try and develop a void teleport technique was extremely difficult; after all, this was akin to gaining a basic understanding of a Grand Dao. The vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts would therefore purchase and keep a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal with them at all times.

Still, virtually all Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals were capable of void teleportation. This was because, generally speaking, Earth Immmortals and Loose Immortals were in control of at least one complete Dao-Path. If one mastered a complete Dao-Path, one would be able to take control of the world around them.

With but a thought, they could cause the power of the Dao to descend, placing the world around them under their control. When controlling the world around them, they would be able to clearly sense the Grand Dao of Qiankun around them. As time passed and as they did this often, they would naturally be able to comprehend the principles of teleportation.

This was why Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, regardless of which Dao-Path they had mastered, were almost all capable of void teleportation; the only difference was in how much time they spent before achieving it.

Whoosh. The giant yellow bear suddenly appeared. “Ji Ning,” the giant yellow bear called out.

“Senior,” Ning responded.

The giant yellow bear nodded in satisfaction. This year of pain-staking, solitary training, combined with the invisible pressure from the Youngflame clan, had indeed caused Ning to improve rapidly.

“You have already completely fused your Dao of Rainwater into your Grand Dao of the Sword; your sword arts can be considered nearly perfect for your current level,” the giant yellow bear said. “However, Immortal cultivators who spend all their time in private training will never be able to become Celestial Immortals. You remain unable to break through in the Dao of the Inferno and the Dao of the Gale, unable to completely master them. This is because you’ve spent all your time here in study, instead of going out and tempering yourself. It is now time for you to leave.”

Ning nodded gently. He, too, recently felt a desire in his heart to see the outside world; a desire to fight, to test himself.

……

It was a cold winter. It was noon, but the skies were dark. Giant plumes of snow were drifting about in the air.

Whoosh.

A fur-clad youth suddenly appeared on Brightheart Island. Turning his head, he glanced at his surroundings. The area around him had been reduced to rubble. This was, after all, a place under the surveillance of the minions of the Youngflame clan, and in fact, Youngflame Nong’s biological father had come here as well. Because he was unable to attack the City of Ten Thousand Swords, in his rage, he had destroyed all of the buildings on Brightheart Island here in Serpentwing Lake.

“In the future, I will definitely rebuild Brightheart Island,” Ning said softly.

“Ji Ning, it is time to go. Soon, the patrols from the Youngflame clan’s Immortal cultivators will arrive.” A voice rang out within Ning’s mind; it was the voice of the spirit of the estate. Ning was now able to carry the underwater estate with him at all times.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

He lifted his head, staring at the skies.

Snow continued to drift in the skies above him.

“I remember the last time I left Swallow Mountain and went to Stillwater City…it was winter then as well. Now, it’s winter again.” Ning shook his head with a smile, then took a single step and disappeared from Brightheart Island.

Just a few moments later…

Whoooosh.

A warship came howling through the air, leaving ‘waves’ of air in its wake. Aboard the warship stood many armored Immortal cultivators. The watchers the Youngflame clan had sent to Serpentwing Lake included Primal Daoists and other soldiers as well. The Primal Daoists would be constantly using their divine sense to scan the region every day. However, to ensure that they wouldn’t simply be fooled by bewildering formations that could affect their divine sense, they would also send ordinary soldiers over to do visual inspections, to make sure that their oversight was completely perfect.

1. Remember my previous post about Daoism?

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Chapter 9 – Foundation Established

Chapter 9 – Foundation Established

The City of Ten Thousand Swords, under the falling snow, remained as lively as ever. The city had now become the very center of the entire Swallow Mountain region; naturally, it was quite bustling! As for the grudge between the Youngflame clan and the Ji clan? Those merchants and peddlers who came and went from Swallow Mountain’s commandery cities were all ordinary mortals; the Immortal cultivators stationed by the Youngflame clan weren’t willing to wantonly slaughter too many mortals, as that would cause the accumulation of far too much sin.

Within a particular alleyway in the City of Ten Thousand Swords.

Space rippled, and then Ji Ning appeared. Although there were some ordinary mortals within the alleyway, they didn’t seem to notice Ning’s presence at all.

“These minor invisibility tricks are still useful against mortals.” Ning spread his sense out, and as he did, he couldn’t help but feel startled. “The city is absolutely…”

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” A ripple of divine sense spread out to him.

“Immortal Duohe.” Ning took a single step forward, then transformed into a gust of wind and disappeared.

The Lord Prefect’s estate was the heart of the entire city; it also comprised the inner city. Within a particular courtyard in the estate. Immortals Duohe and Witchsui were both seated here. A gust of wind blew in, then Ning appeared as well.

“Master.”

“Ning, son.” Two other figures almost simultaneously appeared as well; it was the Whitewater Hound and Little Qing. In the instant Ning had teleported to the City of Ten Thousand Swords, Uncle White and Little Ning had sensed his arrival.

“Master, it’s been over a year.” Little Qing, in azure serpent form, immediately coiled around Ning’s arm, then raised her little serpentine head and spoke in the human tongue. “I’ve been worried to death over you during this past year. The army of the Youngflame clan has been sending nonstop patrols around. Fortunately, I could sense that you were still alive, master; otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to sleep.”

The Whitewater Hound looked at Ning. He, too, had been worried about Ning this entire time.

“Uncle White, Little Qing,” Ning laughed. “The Youngflame clan isn’t able to do anything to me.”

“Immortal Duohe, Immortal Witchsui.” Ning turned to look at the two already-standing monstrous Immortals, then laughed. “I didn’t expect that after being absent from here for a year, by the time of my return, your forces would have layered it in protections that render it as impregnable as an iron fortress. I sense more than a hundred different types of formations alone, and wasn’t even able to teleport into the city. Also, you discovered me as soon as I arrived; this is an even more restrictive area than some headquarters for major schools.”

Immortal Duohe nodded. “This is the core of your Ji clan, and the place where all of us monsters of the Immortal estate world have gathered. Naturally, we cannot be careless. We’ve used all our power to set up these formations; so long as any Loose Immortal dares to enter, we will immediately notice them.”

“This is the homeland of your Ji clan, and the home of our clans as well, for the next thousand years,” Immortal Witchsui said with a smile.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. He had been right to invite the monsters here.

“Not just that,” Immortal Duohe chuckled, “Our clans have a vast number of Xiantian lifeforms amid our ranks as well. We’ve sent out tens of thousands these Xiantian Diremonsters to spread out throughout the Swallow Mountain region, allowing us to completely control and oversee the mortals here as well. This way, it will be hard for the Youngflame clan to kill the mortals.”

Ning nodded. It was a grave sin to kill ordinary mortals, but Xiantian lifeforms had yet to truly embark on the Immortal path; the amount of sin they accumulated was much lower.

“This is the decision which we came to after negotiating with Old Patriarch Ninefire. The Old Patriarch was worried that the Youngflame clan would butcher ordinary mortals with abandon,” Immortal Duohe said. “Actually, I feel that the Old Patriarch is worrying too much; the Youngflame clan is, after all, a major clan that has existed for countless years. Clans like this care tremendously about their karmic luck. Even if they send Xiantian lifeforms to slaughter ordinary mortals, there will still be some degree of sin that will surround the bodies of the Youngflame clan members, which will affect the luck of the clan as a whole. Although it won’t have a huge impact, given how much these ancient clans care about luck, they absolutely wouldn’t do anything that would negatively influence it, just for the sake of giving vent to a bit of anger.”

Ning nodded. Luck. You couldn’t see it, nor could you feel it. But it did indeed exist. Those blessed by luck were the favored of heaven, and their lives would naturally be different. For example, the Grand Xia Dynasty established the Raindragon Guard, whose primary mission was to constantly capture and kill major sinners and thus allowing the Dynasty’s luck to constantly rise!

“I’ll trouble you all to take care of my Ji clan’s affairs,” Ning said. “I need to go see the clan leader and the others. Afterwards, I’ll leave the city, and it will most likely be many years before we meet again.”

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you must be careful,” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe both said.

“Right.” Ning nodded. And then, he led Uncle White and Little Qing to go see the clan leader.

…..

Ji Ninefire and the others had no idea that Ning had returned. Soon, however, Ning’s divine sense reached out to Ji Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Ji Truekeep, who went to go meet with Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing in a secluded courtyard.

Rumble…the door to the courtyard shut.

Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and Truekeep all looked at Ning. Given they had secluded themselves in this place, the conversation was undoubtedly a weighty one.

Ning spread out his divine sense as well, keeping a vigilant watch on the surrounding area.

“We are going to leave the City of Ten Thousand Swords soon. I don’t know how long this journey will last, or if I will be able to return,” Ning said.

“Ji Ning, don’t say such things; you’ll definitely be able to return,” Ninefire said hurriedly.

Ning laughed. “Alright. I’ll definitely be able to return. Before leaving, there’s something I want to give you all.”

“Oh?” Ninefire and the others were quite curious.

Ning waved his hand, and the floor became filled with piles of magic treasures, such as swords, spears, staffs, needles, shuttles, grand seals, ribbons, and horsetail whisks. The treasures were numerous beyond counting.

“This is?” Ninefire and the others held their breaths.

Ning waved his arm again, and nearly thousand magic treasures appeared on the ground.

Yet another wave of the arm, and ten more treasures appeared as well.

“There are more than ten thousand Mortal-ranked magic treasures, nine hundred-plus Earth-ranked magic treasures, and twelve Heaven-ranked magic treasures,” Ning said. “Even if our Ji clan produces several Primal Daoists and a group of Wanxiang Adepts, these treasures should be enough for us.”

“It’s enough, it’s enough. Immortal cultivators usually acquire magic treasures through adventuring in the outside world,” Ninefire said hurriedly. “At most, the clan will provide a little bit of support. So many treasures…Ning, son, where in the world did you get them?”

Ning didn’t answer. Instead, he waved his hand again. A large number of spirit-pills and valuable treasures and materials appeared.

“These are all spirit-pills and valuable materials,” Ning said. “There are some commonly seen Immortal elixirs and pills here. Clan leader, if you flip through this book, you’ll know what is here. As for the most precious spirit-pills and materials, I’ve written down a book explaining their value and usage. You can’t be too wild in your use of these things; after all, some of them are poisonous in nature.”

This caused Ninefire and the others to all feel breathless.

“These magic treasures are all external items.” Ning solemnly waved his hand, and instantly, a vast, dense cluster of books appeared, filling more than half of the hall and rising to thirty meters in height.

“This will be our Dao Repository,” Ning said. “It includes everything, and in number should be even larger than Snowdragon Mountain’s.”

He had killed Xue Hongyi, Youngflame Nong, and had also acquired the Dao Repository of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

“These eighteen sets are the most important.” Ning waved his hand yet again. “Here there are Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques, Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, divine abilities, and divine will arts,” Ning said. “These are precious techniques which Celestial Immortals and those on their level use; some of them aren’t even available to the Black-White College.”

Ninefire, Truekeep, and Granny Shadow were all completely stunned.

Divine abilities?

Divine will techniques?

These were things that only existed in legendary Dao Repositories. Actually, these things had been left behind both by Immortal Juhua and the Witchriver Immortal Estate. Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years, after all, and his combat power was comparable to a Celestial Immortal’s; he had acquired quite a few Dao Repositories in his time. In other words, Ning’s repository was the combination of the ones that had belonged to Immortal Witchriver and Immortal Juhua!

Immortal Juhua was a lone wanderer with no clan to worry about, and so the techniques he left behind were all top-notch, at least at the Heaven-rank.

“These eighteen sets that I’m giving to you,” Ning said solemnly, “Absolutely must not be taught to others. They are the hope for our Ji clan’s rise to power, the heart of our heart. Who to pass them down to? When to pass them down? I’ve left behind my recommendations on this book.” Ning handed a book directly over to Truekeep. Truekeep, hands trembling, accepted it.

He was completely stunned. Perhaps this repository was quite a bit weaker than the Dao Repository which the Black-White College had accumulated over the course of countless years, but it definitely far surpassed the likes of Snowdragon Mountain, and definitely ranked amongst the top ten or so of the entire Stillwater Commandery. Those divine abilities and secret arts in particular…the other powers didn’t have them at all.

Whooosh. Ning waved his hand yet again, and a pile of statues appeared. A total of nine golems, all of Qiongqi Manticores.

“Master.” The nine Qiongqi Manticore golems all looked towards Ning with respect.

He had originally acquired thirty-six Qiongqi golems and the black-armored male golem from the Witchriver Immortal Estate. The giant yellow bear had completely disassembled them, then rebuilt them into eighteen Qiongqi golems. As for that black-armored male golem? He was completely, truly finished; he no longer existed.

After the retrofitting of the eighteen Qiongqi golems, every single one of them was now close to a Loose Immortal in combat power. Nine of them could join together to form into a ‘Grand Nine Heavens Formation’, and even Ning’s Primaltwin fighting at full power still found it hard to overcome them when surrounded.

“These nine golems are each close to a Loose Immortal in combat power. For a single one to actually kill a Primal Daoist on its own might be difficult,” Ning said, “But once the nine join forces into a golem formation…they will be able to kill Primal Daoists as easily as killing chickens. This will become our Ji clan’s final trump card. Every single one of them has an elemental ki formation within their bodies, and they can absorb natural elemental energy and distill it into liquefied elemental essence, so there’s no need for you to provide them with a power supply. However, remember this…don’t use them too often. Once they use up the essence inside, they will no longer be able to fight. You can ask them yourself how much energy they have remaining and how much longer they can fight for.”

“Kill Primal Daoists as easily as killing chickens?” Ninefire, Truekeep, and Granny Shadow exchanged a glance. They were completely filled with joy by this situation.

“Ji Ning,” Ninefire said hurriedly, “I know about golems. Such powerful, mighty golems are incomparably valuable; it’s better to keep them by your side. You will be experiencing countless dangers; these golems will be of great use to you.”

“For me, killing Primal Daoists is also as easy as killing chickens,” Ning said..

Ninefire and the others were speechless.

These words were simply too savage and brutal. If Ning dared to say these words, that meant he absolutely had the combat power of a Loose Immortal! Actually, Ning’s true body wasn’t that strong, but his Primaltwin? It definitely did have that power.

“Hurry up and collect these,” Ning said.

“Right, right. Truekeep, hurry up and collect them,” Ninefire said hurriedly.

Truekeep nodded. “These treasures cannot leave the City of Ten Thousand Swords; in fact, they can’t even leave the Lord Prefect’s manor. I’ll allow these nine Loose Immortal golems to guard them.”

……

Everything had been arranged.

The door to the hall swung open.

Ning led Uncle White and Little Qing out, transforming into a gust of wind that disappeared into the skies.

Truekeep, Ninefire, and Granny Shadow raised their heads, staring into the firmament.

“Our Ji clan’s foundation has been established. So long as we are given enough time, we will definitely become one of the local hegemons of Stillwater Commandery.” Ninefire murmured silently to himself, “Although my life is coming to an end…it’s enough…it’s enough. Even in death, my life will have been worth it. Yichuan…I knew your son was formidable, but not that he was this formidable! You produced a fine son!”

Truekeep and Granny Shadow were both in a stunned state as well.

They both understood…that because of the things Ji Ning had left behind today, the Ji clan now had a powerful foundation. Like seeds entering fertile mud, the only thing left to do was to wait. All they needed now…was time!

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Chapter 10 – Imperial Capital of the Grand Xia

Chapter 10 – Imperial Capital of the Grand Xia

The Crimson Dragon Mountains. The local branch of the Raindragon Guard. The enormous, tower-shaped teleportation array. There was a white-robed elder seated in the lotus position next to it, quietly waiting.

“It seems as the Youngflame clan’s hatred for Ji Ning is truly bone-deep. They instructed me long ago to help keep an eye out, and to immediately inform them upon discovering him.” Ten servants near the teleportation array were whispering and laughing amongst themselves. “And yet, they also sent one of the Raindragon Guards belonging to their clan to stay here permanently and keep watch.”

“It’s been over a year. Ji Ning definitely left Stillwater Commandery long ago, but this Raindragon Guard of the Youngflame clan is still waiting here like an idiot.”

“Everyone says that Ji Ning killed that young master ‘Youngflame Nong’; how could the Youngflame clan not be enraged? Stillwater Commandery is Ji Ning’s homeland, and this teleportation array of ours is the largest one within Stillwater Commandery, capable of sending someone to any place in the Grand Xia Empire. They are definitely going to stay on watch here permanently.”

Just as the two servants were chatting, the teleportation array suddenly lit up.

“Someone is coming.” The ten servants all turned their heads to look. As for the white-robed elder who had been in the lotus position this entire time, he opened his eyes out of habit. He had been on watch here for far too long, but each time the teleportation array lit up or someone used the array to leave, he would still pay attention.

Rumble!

A fur-clad youth appeared within the teleportation array. On his arm was a little azure serpent, while by his side was a large, snowy white dog.

“Ji Ning!” The ten servants responsible for maintaining the teleportation array, as well as the distant, lotus-seated white-robed elder, all called out in shock.

A fur-clad youth? An azure snake? A large, snowy white dog? This was…a perfect match! And he looked identical to Ji Ning as well!

“He, is he Ji Ning?” The white-robed elder couldn’t help but look towards those ten servants of the array. What his thinking was, even if Ji Ning was going to use the teleportation array, he would most likely do it in secret! For example, he might change his appearance, change his clothes, and temporarily hide his spirit-beasts, making others unable to see that it was him. For Ji Ning to suddenly appear without any disguises at all…this actually made it so that he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Could it be a fake?” The white-robed elder suddenly had this thought.

“That’s him. He’s Ji Ning.” Those ten servants of the array all spoke out. “We met him several times before. There’s no mistake.”

“Yes. I am Ji Ning.”

The fur-clad youth stood there within the formation, sweeping those ten with his gaze. The ten were so frightened, they hurriedly took several steps back. This was a branch of the Raindragon Guard; if Ji Ning dared to kill someone, he would become a wanted criminal and be pursued! They all knew that the chances of him attacking were very low, but when they thought about the fact that he was already being pursued by the Youngflame clan, they felt that he might be capable of doing anything. Naturally, these ten servants felt a bit of dread.

“Everyone,” Ning said. “I am going to the imperial capital. Please activate the teleportation array.”

“The imperial capital?” The ten servants were amazed. He wasn’t going to flee to a distant place; instead, he was going to the very heart of the Grand Xia Empire?

“Are you going to activate it or not?” Ning barked.

“Alright.” After a brief moment of surprise, the ten calmed down. No matter what, the grudge between the Youngflame clan and Ji Ning was a private matter. Ji Ning was still nominally a Raindragon Guard; they could not bar his way to the imperial capital. The ten immediately began to make minor adjustments to the teleportation array.

“Wait a moment. I’m going to the imperial capital as well.” The white-robed elder immediately walked over, stepping into the teleportation array.

Within the array.

Ning and the white-robed elder exchanged glances.

“You are quite bold,” the white-robed elder said in a low voice. “It’s been more than a year, but you actually have dared to return in Stillwater Commandery!”

“This is my homeland. Why wouldn’t I dare to return?” Ning gave him a sidelong glance. “Did you actually wait here for me this entire time? Poor bastard.” This man’s strength was ordinary; after scanning him with divine sense, Ning estimated that he probably should be a Wanxiang Adept. It was also possible that he vastly surpassed Ning, causing Ning to be completely unable to tell how terrifyingly strong he was.

Given the attunement towards the Dao which Ning’s divine sense now had, to make it so that even he couldn’t discover anything at all…the man would have to be at least at the Celestial Immortal level.

But clearly, there was no way this watchman could have been a Celestial Immortal.

“You’ve returned to Stillwater Commandery. And now, after revealing your whereabouts, you plan to go straight to the imperial capital? Hmph, hmph. Ji Ning, you won’t be able to escape. Those who my Youngflame clan wish to kill will definitely die,” the white-robed elder said.

“Oh, is that so? Then hurry up and kill me,” Ning smirked.

“The two of you, we’ve finished our adjustments to the teleportation array. We will send you to the imperial capital now.” The ten servants, while speaking, stepped back and activated the array.

Soon, the teleportation array lit up.

Whooooosh.

The array was now empty. Everything inside had vanished.

………

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. This was the very core of this entire major world. It was truly a place where the fish swam with the dragons, where experts were as common as the clouds. In terms of size of commandery cities or number of experts, compared to the imperial capital…Stillwater Commandery was nothing more than a backwater.

Within a tall, towering mountain within the imperial capital. This was the tallest mountain within the imperial capital, and its name…was Raindragon Godpeak.

The Raindragon Godpeak was the most towering edifice present. Even the tallest building of the imperial citadel, the Skylight Palace, was slightly lower.

Raindragon Godpeak was ten thousand kilometers high, while the Skylight Palace of the imperial citadel was 9999 kilometers high! These were the two most towering structures of the imperial capital…and in fact, there were no buildings in the entire Grand Xia Empire which were taller than these two. Correct – buildings! In truth, the Raindragon Godpeak, while nominally a ‘mountain’, was actually an enormous magic treasure building!

Halfway up Raindragon Godpeak, there were numerous, enormous teleportation arrays. This was the center of this major world, and in fact, it was to here where those from other major worlds would come!

Whoosh.

In one of the many teleportation arrays halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, a number of people appeared. There was a white-robed elder, a fur-clad youth, a little azure snake, and a large snowy white dog.

“He’s Ji Ning. Hurry up and make the report.” As soon as the white-robed elder appeared, he turned his gaze to two armored men in a higher part of the mountain and sent a mental message to them. These two armored men were on permanent station here, and were responsible for welcoming the guests of the Youngflame clan.

“Ji Ning?” The two armored warriors were shocked. They exchanged a glance, and then one of them immediately flew down from his position.

Ning, with Little Qing and Uncle White by his side, leisurely strolled over towards the edge of the cliff. From this position, he could stare down and marvel at the vast, endless imperial city. As he stared down…there was actually not a cloud to be seen. Although he was more than three thousand kilometers in the air, when he looked downwards, he didn’t see any clouds at all, nor was there any smoke or dust; nothing hindered his vision.

From their vantage point, an enormous, awe-inspiring commandery city could be seen, a city that seemed to have no end. Far away, there was a towering, massive Immortal palace that was as large as this mountain. This was the place the Emperor of the Grand Xia normally resided; the Skylight Palace. The Skylight Palace, 9999 kilometers tall, was a single massive magic treasure. It emanated all sorts of brilliant, blinding light; golden light, silver light, red light, azure light, violet light…

The streams of light shone over the entire imperial capital.

At the highers point of the Skylight Palace, starting at roughly six thousand kilometers or so, fog and mist could be seen, as well as a layer of incomparably beautiful red clouds.

“It is said that the Skylight Palace of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia is 9999 kilometers high. At 6000 kilometers, there is a layer of red clouds, with multiple other layers of clouds beyond that, for a total of nine layers! In terms of power and prestige…it can absolutely compare to the Sacred Palace of the Skies 1 of the Heaven Realm. That’s what is said…and today, I can see that it truly is extraordinary.” Ning sighed in amazement.

“They are so high. Everyone says that both the Skylight Palace and Raindragon Godpeak are magic treasures,” Little Qing called out in amazement. “Look at the infinite light the Skylight Palace is giving off…that power and might…if such a massive palace is actually a magic treasure, what level of magic treasure is it?!”

“Immortal-ranked at the very least, and most likely Pure Yang-ranked,” Ning said softly.

“Let’s go down.”

Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White, flying down from the mountain. Whoosh! They flew along the wind, staring down at the seemingly endless imperial capital and feeling completely stunned. This was no mortal city…this was a city which should only exist in the Heaven Realm.

“According to legend, Immortal Eastroam, ‘Dong You’, once led the Immortals and Fiendgods of a major world to assault the Heaven Realm, forcing that power of the Heaven Realm to lower their heads and allow him to reunite with his beloved.” Ning sighed, moved. “As I look at the power of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia…I now believe that an emperor of a major world does indeed have this level of power.”

Ning had realized some time ago that in the books regarding the Heaven Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom, it seemed as though the Celestial Emperor wasn’t viewed as being tremendously important. It seemed as though the emperors of major worlds were completely qualified to sit down and chat with the Celestial Emperor as equals. This was the feeling which Ning had after reading those books.

……

They flew down Raindragon Godpeak, landing on a long street that seemed to be made from clouds. They saw, atop this massive street, countless people either flying on magic treasures, riding flying carriages, or mounted on spirit-beasts. Not a single mortal could be seen.

Ning turned his head to look backwards; behind him was the seemingly infinitely tall Raindragon Godpeak. “Raindragon Godpeak is actually slightly taller than even the Skylight Palace. The Skylight Palace is the place where the Emperor of the Grand Xia resides, whereas Raindragon Godpeak is nothing more than the headquarters of the Raindragon Guard. Why have they been raised to such an exalted status?

Ning was secretly puzzled. The height of a building had to conform to exacting requirements; for the Skylight Palace to be 9999 kilometers tall meant that no one in any of the other commandery cities would dare to construct a building of such heights. But Raindragon Godpeak was actually slightly higher…

“The imperial capital lives up to its reputation,” Ning said. “Come, let’s go wander about the city.”

Ning no longer pondered this matter. He immediately produced a construct-carriage. It appeared, surrounded by mist, with a black dragon construct pulling it. This carriage had been left behind by Youngflame Nong! Although Immortal Juhua had left behind far more treasures than Youngflame Nong, including fine Immortal carriages as well, Ning decided it was best to be a bit low-key.

Whoosh. The black dragon carriage flew forward, with Ning seated in the carriage, an azure snake on one side and the Whitewater Hound on the other. Soon, the carriage reached the walls of the imperial city.

The imperial city was surrounded by a wall that was more than thirty thousand meters high. It had an enormous gate, and the gate was guarded by four human-shaped Fiendgods that were also thirty thousand meters tall. Of the four Fiendgods, the first had red skin and flames coming out of his nostrils, the second had azure skin and was surrounded by watery mist, the third gleamed with golden light and had a sharp golden gaze, while the fourth was completely pitch-black and had a giant snake wrapped around its body.

These four Fiendgods guarded the city gate. Regardless of entry or exit, they had to first give permission.

“My God.” Ning stared at these four titanic Fiendgods. He couldn’t help but shake in amazement.

“Master, those four Fiendgods, it, it feels as though each of them are comparable to that one from the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” Little Qing and Uncle White sighed in amazement as well.

1. This is where the Jade Emperor of Chinese mythology resides in Heaven

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Chapter 11 – A Major Business Deal

Chapter 11 – A Major Business Deal

The imperial capital. Within the Youngflame clan’s estate.

“Clan leader.” An azure-robed middle-aged man flew in a rush into a study, then knelt down, unable to mask the excitement on his face. “We’ve found Ji Ning.”

The Godplume Duke, who was seated behind a table, flipping through a book, was stunned upon hearing this. And then, he called out in delight, “Found Ji Ning?”

It had been more than a year.

Per the orders from Patriarch Arcanum, the Godplume Duke had been searching for Ji Ning’s traces this entire time, but Ji Ning seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving behind no traces behind at all. In fact, the Godplume Duke actually believed that Ji Ning had perhaps hidden himself within another lesser world or major world. In fact, he had thought that ten or twenty years might go by without any traces of Ji Ning being discovered. For Ji Ning to kill the successor to the Youngflame clan and then leave completely unhindered was a humiliation to the entire Youngflame clan…but if they couldn’t find him, what could they do about it?

And yet, they actually found him!

“Where is he?” The Godplume Duke immediately asked.

“Ji Ning has already arrived here in the imperial capital. We followed him the entire time,” the azure-robed man said hurriedly.

“The imperial capital? He came to the imperial capital?” The Godplume Duke frowned. The imperial capital was tightly guarded, and here in the imperial capital, without a shadow of a doubt the most powerful organization was the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. For Ji Ning to come to the imperial capital actually made things more difficult.

“He actually came to the imperial capital. Fighting is forbidden in the imperial capital…what should we do about him, then?” The Godplume Duke continued to frown. In some other commandery cities, the Youngflame had quite a large amount of influence, but in the imperial capital, there were quite a few clans more powerful than the Youngflame clan…and in the end, there was the Imperial Xiamang clan, which had completely unified this major world.

In the face of the Imperial Xiamang clan, even the supremely powerful clans such as the Youngflame clan, the Kindwater clan, and the Skyfarmer clan had to tread carefully.

“Ji Ning must be followed continuously. Keep a close watch on his movements,” the Godplume Duke ordered. “Don’t do anything else for now; just await my orders.”

“Yes.” The azure-robed man immediately acknowledged the order.

It was true that Patriarch Arcanum had originally ordered for Ji Ning to be killed immediately upon him being found, but this was the imperial capital! To kill someone inside the capital…this was a challenge to the Imperial Xiamang clan! The only way to do it was to send out Deathsworn, Deathsworn who wouldn’t betray the Youngflame clan even after being captured.

“Given how tightly guarded the imperial capital is, once the battle starteds, most likely in the space of a single breath, the Imperial Guard of the Grand Xia will immediately arrive,” the Godplume Duke pondered to himself. “To find a Deathsworn who can kill Ji Ning in just the space of a single breath…where am I supposed to find such a Deathsworn? Ji Ning has acquired many of Youngflame Nong’s treasures!”

Ji Ning was powerful to begin with. Given that he had protective treasures on him as well, even Loose Immortals would find it hard to defeat him in such a short period of time. A Deathsworn like this would be very difficult to find.

“I’ll go see the Patriarch.” The Godplume Duke no longer hesitated.

Soon, the nine Flood Dragons flew outwards, pulling an Immortal carriage behind them with the Godplume Duke seated within it. They howled through the air, leaving the imperial capital and entering the azure skies.

……….

Filled with curiosity, Ning continued to stare at the imperial citadel, and also at the distant Skylight Palace. Alas, given Ning’s status, how could he possibly be allowed to enter the imperial ccitadel? And so, a few moments later, his black dragon carriage flew away.

“Master, there are three people behind us now,” Little Qing glanced backwards. Ning, seated within the carriage, glanced backwards as well. There was a long shuttle behind them, with a white-robed elder and two others on it. Earlier, the only one following them had been the white-robed elder, but now, there were three in total.

“One is a Primal Daoist.” Ning could feel those behind him reaching out through divine sense, and he immediately sent his own divine sense crushing backwards as well.

BOOM.

[Soulshaker Art]! Their divine senses collided, and instantly, the face of the tall, thin, azure-robed man changed. “This Ji Ning actually has such a powerful soul?”

After the divine sense collision, the three behind Ning immediately grew much more ‘obedient’, no longer trying to challenge him.

“Ning, son, where shall we go next?” The Whitewater Hound sent through their spirit-link.

“To the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Ning sent back through their spirit-link as well. “I’ve acquired quite a few treasures this time; the amount of magic treasures alone is quite astonishing. With so many magic treasures…I should go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to exchange them for liquefied elemental essence, then trade for treasures I actually need.”

Right now, what Ning needed the most desperately was treasures which contained the purified essences of the Five Elements, so that he could begin training on the second Cycle.

Whoosh.

The black dragon carriage advanced at an astonishing speed through the wide streets. The streets of the imperial capital were all extremely wide. The several major thoroughfares were actually built and ‘tiled’ with clouds, causing them to seem extraordinarily beautiful. Even the ordinary streets were tiled with incredibly rare and precious stones.

“The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain lives up to its name.” Ning’s eyes lit up as he stared into the distance. The other Heavenly Treasures Mountains in the various commandery cities were merely local branches; this one here in the imperial capital was the true center. Many of the most rare and precious curios were all stored here in the main headquarters. Many Immortals would come to the imperial capital expressly for the purpose of purchasing items at the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain that could not be found elsewhere.”

“It really is huge.” Little Qing’s eyes were filled with excitement as well.

The Whitewater Hound raised his head as well. He had never before seen such a beautiful place. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain before them was structured like an enormous qilin creature which lay there, nearly ten thousand kilometers long. In other words, the size of this Heavenly Treasures Mountain was comparable to the entire Stillwater City.

Whoosh.

The black dragon carriage quickly flew into the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

“Let’s first get something to eat, then sell off our treasures.” Ning was in a superb mood. He paid no attention to those three following him, and the black dragon carriage flew straight in, under the guidance of the greeters.

The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain was filled with enormous crystalline mirrors which hung in the air everywhere, nearly covering the entirety of the sky at a height of tens of kilometers.

Beneath the countless mirmrors, many Immortal cultivators were congregating.

Swoosh.

As Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing flew into the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, one of the mirrors quickly locked onto them.

“Black dragon carriage, the one used by young master Youngflame Nong of the Youngflame clan. Youngflame Nong has already been killed by Ji Ning..”

“The rider on the carriage is dressed in magic robes in the shape of furs, and looks identical to Ji Ning.”

“Next to him are two Godbeasts; Azure Skysnake and Whitewater Hound.”

“99% chance of the youth being Ji Ning.”

This report was quickly duplicated and spread out, and as it was, it was sent out through one of the thousands of intelligence channels. This was a location under constant surveillance by the main headquarters, as every day, all sorts of figures would arrive, including those from other major worlds or even the Heaven Realm or the Netherworld Kingdom. All sorts of intelligence reports could be generated here, of greater or lesser import. As for the news of Ji Ning…in the eyes of the many intelligence agencies, he was very unremarkable and ordinary.

“Ji Ning has already appeared within the main headquarters of our Heavenly Treasures Mountain. There are five customers who have a standing purchase order for all information regarding him. Immediately deliver these reports to them.” A black-robed woman gave a calm order, and soon, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain sent out five subordinates, each with a copy of an intelligence report, towards five different locations in the imperial capital.

Immediately report Ji Ning’s whereabouts upon discovering him! There were five customers who had standing purchase orders of this nature.

“Is that the Blackwater Carriage?” Within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, a violet-robed man stared into the distance as Ning, aboard his carriage, entered a private courtyard. The black dragon carriage brought him all the way into the courtyard, then Ning entered a two-story building within the estate, sitting down alongside Little Qing and Uncle White to enjoy some of delicacies that came from places throughout the Grand Xia Empire, and even from some other major worlds.

“Fur-clad youth? Azure Skysnake? Whitewater Hound?” The violet-robed man murmured to himself, “Can this be the Ji Ning who killed Youngflame Nong? He truly is ignorant, to dare to so be so arrogant and open…he’s probably already been discovered by the intelligence division, and the Youngflame clan will most likely quickly be aware of him as well. However, none of that has anything to do with me.”

“Youngflame Nong was quite wealthy. Ji Ning killed him…and must have taken his many treasures. It seems my opportunity has come.” The violet-robed man’s eyes lit up, and he immediately, leisurely walked forward. A few moments later, he arrived outside the courtyard. He stood there, outside the courtyard, waiting silently, not entering.

A long time later…

“Who is it outside?” Ning’s voice rang out.

“Yu Qi of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the violet-robed man laughed.

“Enter,” Ning said.

The violet-robed man obediently entered, quickly arriving at that two-story building. He followed the stairs up to the second floor, where Ji Ning, an azure-robed maiden, and a white-robed man were seated. They had essentially finished eating..

“You were outside the courtyard for quite some time. What for?” Ning leisurely held a cup of wine in his hand, sweeping this Yu Qi with a weighing gaze. Yu Qi’s power…from what Ning could tell, he should be at the Wanxiang level.

“I am responsible for purchasing and selling treasures on behalf of the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Yu Qi said modestly. “For example, if some people wish to sell their treasures or want to buy something special, I can assist. And of course, for the deals that I was responsible for carrying out, the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain will give me some rewards.”

Ning nodded lightly. “You recognize me?”

Yu Qi laughed. “I immediately recognized that carriage that you rode on, fellow Daoist Ji Ning. The carriage is known as the ‘Blackwater Carriage’, and was used in the past by Youngflame Nong; he often rode in it to come to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Thus, quite a few people recognize it. Upon seeing the carriage, seeing the way you look, and the Azure Skysnake and Whitewater Hound by your side, I was able to guess that you are the ‘legendary’ Ji Ning.”

“It seems I’m quite famous. Even the imperial capital knows about me.” Ning couldn’t help but laugh.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you might not be aware of this, but you are indeed quite well-known,” Yu Qi laughed. “Youngflame Nong was one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital. Although they were described as the Four Dukelings, they weren’t necessarily the most powerful individuals of their generation; however, they had exalted statuses, were extremely wealthy, and loved to have fun. Youngflame Nong, however, ended up dying in the outside world. This news was naturally picked up by interested parties. Although the Youngflame clan never publicized it, anyone who did just a bit of investigation would realize that the killer was Ji Ning. Thus, your information was quickly unearthed by many as well. You have as spirit-beasts a Whitewater Hound and an Azure Skysnake; you like to dress in fur-shaped magic robes; you are extremely talented in swordplay, and have the appearance of a delicate, handsome youth…”

Yu Qi rambled on and on, while Ji Ning, Little Qing, and Uncle White just stared.

It seemed as though after having killing Youngflame Nong, he truly had become quite well-known in the imperial capital.

“…and I guessed that the reason you came here today, fellow Daoist Ji Ning, was to sell off some treasures,” Yu Qi laughed. “And I, here at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, specialize in this sort of business.”

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Chapter 12 – Tears

Chapter 12 – Tears

Right at this moment, someone suddenly knocked at the door. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, might I come in?”

“Eh?” Yu Qi frowned. This voice was quite familiar.

The door swung open.

A short, chubby old man walked in, also dressed in violet. The man looked towards Ning and bowed. “Hawkart greets you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” He smiled casually towards Yu Qi. “Yu Qi, you came quite quickly.”

“Fellow Daoist Hawkart, you actually discovered fellow Daoist Ji Ning so quickly. I’m quite surprised.” Yu Qi let out a cold snort. Both of them were responsible for dealing in the treasure trade. Everyone loved treasures, especially rare ones. When absolutely unique, one-of-a-kind treasures were discovered, the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain would go and collect them and offer them only to the imperial clan, not selling them to outsiders. That was why some of the major clans and sects, in order to avoid certain precious treasures from being completely monopolized by the imperial clan, would also collect many treasures and keep them internally.

For example, the Northmont clan of Stillwater had the ‘Carefree Caverns’, which was secretly collecting precious items as well. And in turn, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain had a number of people who were responsible for befriending experts and acquiring treasures from them.

“I didn’t ‘discover’ fellow Daoist Ji Ning; it was he who declared his interest in selling treasures, which is why I learned of this,” the violet-robed elder laughed.

Yu Qi was startled.

Ning, seated there, said calmly, “I came to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain this time for the purpose of selling treasures. Thus, I had already instructed the attendant to make it known. I imagine that fellow Daoist Hawkart was notified by the attendant.”

Yu Qi now understood. The short elder said proactively, “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, if you sell your treasures to me, I will definitely give you a price that satisfies you.”

“I don’t really care who I sell them to. To me, this is but a small matter.” Ning looked at the two. After entering into a feud with the Youngflame clan, Ning’s Dao-heart had improved considerably, and the two in front of him weren’t able to entice him at all. “I know quite well that the most common treasures are always purchased at 60% of actual value by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

Yu Qi and the short elder both nodded.

“Come, let’s go to a larger location.” Ning rose to his feet. “As for who I will sell the treasures to, we can discuss that in a bit.”

“This way, please.” “After you.” Yu Qi and the short elder both responded with warmth.

Moments later, they arrived within a large garden, where only maidservants were present.

“All of you, leave.”

Yu Qi and the short elder were both dressed in violet robes. Upon their entrance, the maidservants immediately left obediently.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, how about this garden? Large enough?” Yu Qi glanced at the surrounding area. “Generally speaking, when Loose Immortals trade with us, they’ll come to this type of location.”

Ning swept the area with his gaze. In the center of the garden, there was a gazebo, next to which was nearly a three hundred meter region of polished stone, surrounded by precious flowers of all types.

“It’ll work.” Ning nodded, then waved his hand. Instantly, an awe-inspiringly massive pile of magic treasures appeared on the ground. There were more than a hundred thousand Mortal-ranked, ten thousand Earth-ranked, and a hundred-plus Heaven-ranked. “First calculate as to roughly how much these treasures are worth.”

“Whoah.”

Yu Qi and the short elder both took deep breaths. This many treasures?

“This is just a portion,” Ning said calmly. “I’ll sell them to whoever gives me the best price. Oh, right; if I recall correctly, as long as the value of a business deal reaches two hundred and fifty thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, one can receive a ‘Xia’ insignia, right?”

“Right.” Yu Qi and the short elder didn’t hesitate at all. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, don’t worry at all; we will definitely give you a ‘Xia’ insignia.” Just by a quick visual appraisal, they could tell that the treasures in front of them definitely exceeded the necessary value.

Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing sat down within the gazebo, leisurely sipping wine and laughing.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh. The magic treasures were quickly divided by type. Yu Qi and the short elder both carefully assessed every single magic treasure. Since the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain employed them to deal in treasures, they were clearly no ordinary Wanxiang Adepts. Each of them had memorized the prices of hundreds of millions of types of magic treasures and items, as well as the details regarding them. Their memories, naturally, were unfathomably superior to the memories of ordinary mortals.

Still, it took them a full hour before they finally came to a halt.

“The Mortal-ranked treasures would round up to be 40,600 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. The Earth-ranked treasures are approximately 252,500 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. As for the Heaven-ranked, the highest price I can give is roughly 560,000 kilograms,” Yu Qi said. “A final price of 853,100 kilograms for everything.”

“I can give you 855,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence,” the short elder said.

“Me too,” Yu Qi said hurriedly.

Ning chuckled. “Any higher prices?”

Yu Qi and the short elder exchanged glances, secretly feeling hateful towards each other. Ning just laughed. Actually, most of these were mass produced magic treasures, and so the price that could be offered for them was set in stone. Those hundred or so Heaven-ranked treasures, however, did include a few that should have been personally produced by an Immortal, and thus were priced differently and with some fluctuation. Still, the overall price wouldn’t change much.

“So that’s the price for the treasures, eh?” Ning waved his hand again. “I have quite a few more treasures here as well. Give me a calculation and an offer; the magic treasures and these curios will go to the high bidder.”

The ground was instantly filled with a huge amount of Immortal grass, spirit-pills, protective curios, and other such items. These protective items were useful for Youngflame Nong, but with Ning now having a Primaltwin, Ning’s combat power was now comparable to a Loose Immortals, and so the treasures were useless to him.

“Eh?” Yu Qi and the short elder’s syees lit up. Immortal grass, spirit-pills, and protective curios?

There was some degree of fluctuation in the price of treasures that couldn’t be mass-produced. They would be able to make the most profit from these items. As for those magic treasures…although there was a high number of them, there was very little margin to be made.

“What a fellow. He really did take out all of Youngflame Nong’s treasures,” Yu Qi murmured to himself.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen so many nice items,” the short elder said, his eyes shining as well.

The two rapidly began to calculate while pondering internally as well.

“The magic treasures, combined with these various other treasures…I can offer you 1,300,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!” Yu Qi gritted his teeth, then made the offer. “If this old fellow gives a higher price, then I’ll bow out.”

The short elder was stunned. He stared at Yu Qi in amazement. “Are you mad?”

Ning was completely amazed as well. Ning had actually already had an estimate in mind regarding the value of the medicinal items and magic treasures he had taken from the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

“Can you beat that offer?” Yu Qi stared at the short elder, savagery in his eyes.

“Eh, I’m too old for this.” The short elder shook his head and sighed. “I don’t dare act as crazily as you. Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, I bid you farewell. Yu Qi, the end of my life will be coming soon. Let me offer you a few words of advice; don’t be too crazy. If you wager too heavily, you might end up losing yourself.” The short elder turned his head and left.

Ning looked at Yu Qi. “1,300,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence?”

“Right.” Yu Qi nodded.

“Fine.” Ning laughed. He couldn’t be bothered with the interactions between the two; what mattered was getting the liquefied elemental essence into his hands.

Moments later, the two carried out their trade. The treasures went to Yu Qi, while Ning acquired the 1,300,000 kilograms, as well as a Xia insignia. This represented that Ning was like most Loose Immortals, qualified to purchase magic treasures at a 40% discount.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” After having completed the transaction, Yu Qi’s face was ruddy with excitement. “It’s almost night. At nightfall, the monthly Treasure Auction will begin.”

“Treasure Auction?” Ning nodded, but didn’t look too interested.

“This is the Treasure Auction of the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. The major powers of this world, and in fact many lone wanderer Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals will deliver their treasures to this Treasure Auction,” Yu Qi said. “In fact, even Immortal-ranked magic treasures might appear, along with many other hard-to-purchase items. If you have time, you should make an appearance at the Treasure Auction.”

Ning was intrigued. It was worth a visit; perhaps he might find essence extracts of the Five Elements. He immediately said, “Will members of the Youngflame clan participate?”

“The Youngflame clan? That’s a major clan; they will definitely send someone to participate in the monthly auction,” Yu Qi said.

“Good. Tonight, I’ll pay a visit.” Ning nodded.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. Within King Yan’s estate.

Anyone conferred the title of ‘King’ was definitely someone who had an extremely high status within the imperial Xiamang clan. After all, the Xiamang clan had existed for countless years; as the chief of this major world, they had countless offspring, but extremely few who would receive the title of ‘King’.

“Princess, Princess!” An armored female soldier charged towards a residence.

“You can come up.”

There were two stories to this residence. On the second floor, a green-robed woman was seated, against the railing, staring at the garden below. The garden was filled with some stones, sand, and even had a small lake; it looked just like a little beach.

“Princess.” The female soldier fell to one knee.

The green-robed woman seemed a bit fragile and weak, but the look in her eyes caused the female soldier to feel dread. The green-robed woman said calmly, “Speak. What is it.”

“A report from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the female soldier said.

“The Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” The green-robed woman was startled, then immediately said, “Hand it over.”

“Alright.” The armored female soldier immediately offered the report over.

The green-robed woman accepted it, then opened it. Upon seeing the details regarding Ji Ning within the scroll, she couldn’t help but tremble, then murmur to herself, “Ji Ning? Came to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia? Is at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain?”

Plop.

A single tear suddenly fell down onto the scroll.

Only now did the green-robed woman suddenly seem to come to her senses.

“Hahahahaha…” The green-robed woman suddenly began to laugh. She immediately rose to her feet, then shouted, “Transmit my orders. The Golden Imperials are to prepare to accompany me to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

“You are summoning the Golden Imperials?” The armored female soldier was stunned.

“Why haven’t you gone yet?!” The green-robed woman snapped at her.

“Right away.” The armored female soldier didn’t dare to hesitate; she immediately departed.

As for the grene-robed woman, she excitedly paced back and forth within the residence, her body trembling slightly as she murmured to herself, “The only child left behind by Aunt…my little cousin, my one and only little cousin…you’ve finally arrived. I, your big sister, am finally going to see you. Finally. I definitely won’t let the Youngflame clan harm a hair on your head. Definitely not!”

“Princess.” The voice of a female soldier, calling from outside.

The green-robed woman turned her head, and then her body flickered as she flew out gracefully.

Soon, a carriage that was completely wreathed in golden flames and which was pulled by two enormous azure phoenixes flew out. In front and behind the carriage was a crowd of Golden Imperials, all of whom had heroic, vigorous auras and who seemed to move as one. Clouds naturally manifested in the area around them, and the Golden Imperials all flew forward, striding on the clouds.

“Azure phoenixes, to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” the green-robed woman said, seated within the carriage.

“Yes, Princess.” One of the azure phoenixes spoke out in the human tongue. Immediately afterwards, the two phoenixes began to pull the carriage forward. Escorted by the Golden Imperials, they immediately flew towards the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

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Chapter 13 – Dharmic Decree

Chapter 13 – Dharmic Decree

Escorted by a ring of Golden Imperials, the azure phoenixes pulled the Immortal carriage to the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain. As they arrived, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain proactively sent someone out to welcome them; after all, this was the exalted Princess Xiyue of King Yan’s estate.

“Little sister Xiyue.” A white-robed, fairy-like maiden with an extraordinary aura that stuck out from the crowd went to welcome her.

“Elder sister Azurewillow.” Princess Xiyue emerged from the Immortal carriage, revealing a smile.

“Little sister Xiyue, why have you come to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain? You come here quite rarely. I was planning to go visit you in a few days,” the white-robed maiden, Azurewillow, laughed. Fairy Azurewillow…she was a reincarnated female Immortal, and in the past, she had been a Loose Immortal of the Skyfarmer clan. After reincarnating, she had once more been reborn into the Skyfarmer clan!

Azurewillow, a Primal Daoist, was an extremely high ranking member of the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, and a very close friend of Princess Xiyue’s.

“I wanted to come and take a look, so I did.” Princess Xiyue and Azurewillow linked arms together. Clouds emerged beneath their feet, leading them forward towards a particularly wide hallway. Most ordinary guests, such as Ning, entered through an ordinary hallway.

“You should’ve come a long time ago. You always stay cooped up within the king’s estate. Don’t you feel stifled there? I feel stifled for you!” Azurewillow felt that this good friend of hers, Princess Xiyue, was excellent in all areas save for one; she was a bit too solitary. When the younger generation members of the various major clans located in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia met together, they would often discuss Princess Xiyue.

There were simply too many imperial descendants, and so ‘princes’ and ‘princesses’ had varying levels of status. King Yan, however, only had a single family member, Princess Xiyue, and so he doted heavily on her. Thus, her own status naturally became extremely high as well.

Many people believed…that the reason why Princess Xiyue was so solitary was because of her childhood. This was because no one knew about what she had experienced as a child; all they knew was that when King Yan brought Princess Xiyue back, she was already a grown woman.

“Right. Help me look into something,” Princess Xiyue said. “Someone named Ji Ning should’ve come to your Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Help me investigate and see where this Ji Ning is currently located? He should still be within your Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

“Fine.” Azurewillow smiled, then stretched her divine sense out a few hundred kilometers, giving the instructions to a subordinate.

“It seems, Xiyue, that you came because of this Ji Ning. Ji Ning…the only person of this name that I can think of is that disciple of the Black-White College of Stillwater Province, who killed Youngflame Nong,” Azurewillow said.

“That’s the one.” Princess Xiyue revealed a smile as well. “I’m quite curious about him. He actually dared to kill Youngflame Nong.”

“I’m quite intrigued by him as well,” Azurewillow said.

Moments later.

“Found him.” Azurewillow said, “Ji Ning is at Fortunes Peak.”

“Fortunes Peak? Then let’s go to Fortunes Peak,” Princess Xiyue said directly.

The main Heavenly Treasures Mountain took up an extremely large amount of space. There were many mountain peaks within it, and the top of the mountain peaks appeared like the scales of an enormous kirin. Amongst them, there were nine peaks that were jointly referred to as the Fortunes Peaks. Every single one of them had hundreds of estates floating around them, all of which were surrounded by clouds. The dense clouds were more than thirty meters thick, forming into streets and traversed by carriages and maidservants.

Ning was seated in the lotus position atop one particular cloudbank, eating delicacies with Uncle White and Little Qing by his side, along with a maidservant who was awaiting his instructions.

Whoosh.

A ripple in the air above the mountain peak. Azurewillow and Princess Xiyue flew out together, landing atop a cloud. Both sat down, and instantly, maidservants came to deliver delicacies to them.

“Look. That’s Ji Ning, right over there.” Azurewillow gave Ning a glance.

Princess Xiyue followed Azurewillow’s gaze, quickly discovering that in that direction, there were quite a few clouds at various different levels, upon which were seated various guests. In fact, some of them were extremely respected, high-status members of the Grand Xia Dynasty, and they voluntarily smiled towards Azurewillow and Princess Xiyue.

“Eh?” Princess Xiyue quickly discovered that amongst the guests, there was a very ordinary-looking fur-clad youth. This youth was almost completely absorbed in his eating, and by his side was a snowy white hound and an azure serpent, both of whom were eating as well while chatting about how ‘this one tastes great’ or ‘the imperial capital lives up to its reputation’ or ‘I never tasted this in Stillwater Commandery’ or ‘we certainly came to the right place, master!’

“Ji Ning.” Princess Xiyue looked towards the distant Ning, a warm feeling in her heart. “They look so similar. He looks just like father!” Princess Xiyue murmured quietly to herself.

Ning’s appearance was more like that of his mother, Yuchi Snow. Yuchi Snow and Yuchi Mount, in turn, were actual siblings…as the saying goes, a boy will look more like his maternal uncles. Ning did indeed have many facial similarities to his uncle, Yuchi Mount. However, because Ning broke through to the Xiantian level quite early on, he had always looked just as he had when he was a youth. If he had made his breakthrough a few years later…given how tall he already was at age eleven, by age sixteen, he would’ve been quite massive and muscular.

“Little brother.” Princess Xiyue felt warmth in her heart, and her eyes couldn’t help but begin to glisten.

It had been far too long.

She had always been by herself. Even after her grandfather had found her and brought her back to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, she was still very lonely. She dearly missed her her departed mother, and her father, who would never return…every night, in her dreams, she would return to the warm, happy days she had spent with her parents on that island.

She wanted to return to that island, to go back to the life of a fisherman’s daughter. Unfortunately…there was no way to ever go back.

Her father’s life-tablet had already shattered. She had thought that she would never have any other family members…but Youngflame Nong’s death was discovered to have involved a youth, a youth whose mother was named Yuchi Snow, a youth who was supposedly a ‘spawn of the Yuchi clan’. Yuchi Snow…although she had never met this woman, she had heard her father speak of her. That was the one and only surviving little sister of her father’s.

“Little brother.” Princess Xiyue had been quite frantic earlier, but upon seeing that youth, seated atop the clouds, be eating and chatting with his two spirit-beasts, the Whitewater Hound and the Azure Skysnake, she no longer felt frantic.

“Xiyue. Tonight is the night of the monthly Treasure Auction,” Fairy Azurewillow said with a laugh. “And I heard some news regarding this Ji Ning.”

“What is it?” Princess Xiyue, upon hearing the words ‘Ji Ning’, instantly felt curious.

Azurewillow said, “Ji Ning originally wasn’t very interested in the Treasure Auction, but upon hearing that the forces of the Youngflame clan would also be present, he came.”

“Ah?!” Princess Xiyue was amazed. “What’s he going to do?”

“Ji Ning came without changing his appearance. He also brought his spirit-beasts and rode on the carriage Youngflame Nong had owned, straight into the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. It’s as though he was afraid the Youngflame clan wouldn’t realize he was here.” Azurewillow sighed, “In fact, upon hearing that the Youngflame clan would attend, he insisted on attending as well. I feel as though he is setting himself directly against the Youngflame clan. I must say, he truly is quite audacious.”

“Isn’t he in great danger?” Princess Xiyue said hurriedly.

“This Ji Ning has acquired the treasures of the Youngflame clan; he definitely must have quite a few protective treasures,” Azurewillow said. “And…for him to be capable of killing Youngflame Nong means that he is an extraordinary figure. Given his power, it will actually be quite hard for the Youngflame to kill him in the imperial capital.”

Princess Xiyue quickly returned to a clear-minded state. She nodded. “Right. The Imperial Guard maintain a constant watch over the entire imperial capital. Once battle begins, they’ll quickly teleport over.”

“Right. So, if the Youngflame clan wishes to kill Ji Ning, they’ll probably have to send Deathsworn, and a Deathsworn capable of killing him in a single breath at that. Finding this sort of Deathsworn…” Azurewillow shook her head. “Hard. Very hard. He’d have to be a supreme Loose Immortal at the very least, but most likely, even a supreme Loose Immortal wouldn’t necessarily be able to kill him within a single breath. After all, Ji Ning has already displayed prowess in battle sufficient to kill Youngflame Nong and a Primal-level Fiendgod.”

Princess Xiyue laughed as well. She suddenly felt a sense of pride for this cousin of her’s; her cousin truly was formidable.

…..

It was already late at night. Stars had appeared in the night sky. The starlight linked together, creating rays of starlight. A tall, thin, narrow-eyed old man was taking a stroll through the skies, surrounded by starlight. It was Patriarch Arcanum.

Beneath him was a quiet, secluded mountain range.

“Floatcloud.” Patriarch Arcanum spoke out, and his voice instantly echoed out, passing through the mountains.

Soon, a figure emerged from within the mountains. It was a bald old man. Upon seeing Patriarch Arcanum, the bald old man immediately bowed with respect. “Floatcloud pays his respects to the Patriarch.”

“Mmm. How many years have you trained for?” Patriarch Arcanum asked calmly.

“It has already been 128,113 years,” the bald elder said respectfully.

“Not bad. Every hundred thousand years constitutes a major accomplishment; many Loose Immortals are unable to make it past a hundred thousand years,” Patriarch Arcanum said.

The bald elder said hurriedly, “When I faced the tribulation that year, my Primal base was damaged. It was all thanks to the help of the tribe that I was able to restore my base quickly, which allowed me to survive until now. However…I’m almost at my limit. Each trial and tribulation poses a major threat to me. I want to reincarnate, but I’m afraid that I will fail in doing so.”

Reincarnation wouldn’t necessarily be successful; if one was lucky, one might succeed, but there were also those who would fail. The Netherworld Kingdom, after all, was not a kind, gentle place.

“I can bestow a dharmic decree of reincarnation unto you,” Patriarch Arcanum said.

“A dharmic decree of reincarnation?” The bald elder instantly revealed a look of surprise and joy.

Dharmic decrees were decrees which were issued by major powers of the Three Realms. Even the Netherwold Kingdom would give face to the dharmic decrees of major powers. Even for the Youngflame clan, such decrees were extremely precious. After all, there were far too many Loose Immortals; the entire Youngflame clan had in excess of a thousand Loose Immortals.

“I need you to accomplish something,” Patriarch Arcanum said.

“Please instruct me, Patriarch,” the bald elder said hurriedly. He had begged the clan repeatedly in the past, but the clan had not given him a dharmic decree of reincarnation. Now that the Patriarch had come in person and said that he would bestow a dharmic decree of reincarnation…this must involve a major affair.

“You know that Ji Ning killed my child, Nong?” Patriarch Arcanum said calmly.

“I do,” the bald elder said hurriedly. How could he not know? Youngflame Nong had been all but guaranteed to be the next Godplume Duke, and had a Fiendgod bodyguard. In the Patriarch’s heart, his status had been far higher than that of Loose Immortal whose life was nearing its end.

“That Ji Ning is currently in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.” Patriarch Arcanum instructed, “You are to go there and kill Ji Ning, then go reincarnate.”

“The imperial capital?” The bald elder’s face changed. Kill someone in the imperial capital? Kill Ji Ning?

This was no simple task. After all, Ji Ning was someone who had even managed to kill both Youngflame Nong and a Primal-level Fiendgod. Killing Ji Ning was very difficult, and to kill someone in the imperial capital was incredibly troublesome. If he wasn’t, even his soul would be captured and taken away by the Imperial Guard. Most likely, the end result would be that his soul would be shattered.

“I’ll give you time to prepare. Buy or trade for whatever treasures you need. However, I want you to kill Ji Ning within three days,” Patriarch Arcanum said coldly. At the same time, he produced a golden scroll in his hand. “This is the dharmic decree of reincarnation. If you swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, I’ll give it to you.”

The bald elder hesitated, looking at the golden dharmic decree. He thought about the fact that he had quite a few treasures; he could sell them off and purchase a few particularly powerful items.

And…since Patriarch Arcanum had personally come, most likely, he had no choice but to accept.

“Let the Dao of the Heavens bear witness! I, Floatcloud, shall kill Ji Ning within three days, and will not reveal any information regarding the Youngflame clan. If I violate this oath, let my soul be shattered.” The bald elder gritted his teeth, then swore the oath.

“Very good.” Patriarch Arcanum nodded, then casually waved his hand, sending the golden scroll flying forward. The bald elder immediately caught it.

“I’ll give you three days…but the sooner the better.” After saying his part, Patriarch Arcanum took a single step, then disappeared within the countless stars of the night sky.

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Chapter 14 – First Encounter With Woodpass

Chapter 14 – First Encounter With Woodpass

The Heavenly Treasures Mountain. The clouds hovering around the nine peaks of the Fortunes Peaks. Atop the clouds were formidable figures from various areas around the world; this truly was a place where the fish swam with the dragons.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” A violet-robed Yu Qi had just arrived at Ning’s place.

“Oh?” Ning gave him a glance. Earlier, he had sold off treasures worth 1.3 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to this man. Ning was quite satisfied with this. Smiling, he said, “Fellow Daoist Yu Qi, come, have a few cups of wine with me.”

“No need,” Yu Qi said with a laugh, then whispered, “I’ve come to inform you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning, that the men of the Youngflame clan have arrived.”

“The men of the Youngflame clan have arrived?” Ning’s eyes lit up. “Where?”

“Right? Where?” Little Qing’s eyes were shining as well.

Yu Qi was flabbergasted. When these two had heard the word ‘Youngflame clan’, it was as though they had located their prey.

“Right over there.” Yu Qi gestured with his eyes as he gave a sideways glance to a distant mountain peak. “See them? That group that just flew out from that mountain peak. Including the maid, there are nine in total.”

Ning immediately followed Yu Qi’s gave. Right away, he saw the group of people flying out; the group was led by a middle-aged man with an extraordinary aura and loose, unbound long hair. By his side were two youths. As for the others with him, they were all guards, servants, and maids.

“Youngflame Xiushui?” Ning’s eyes narrowed. After having sold off the magic treasures, Ning had purchased quite a few intelligence reports, such as a detailed one regarding the Youngflame clan and the various other powers of the imperial capital. In short, Ning had already memorized all of the fairly formidable figures of the Youngflame clan that had been mentioned in the intelligence reports.

Youngflame Xiushui was a Void-level Earth Immortal! He was being nurtured by the Youngflame clan, and had a good chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal. In fact, his position was such that he couldn’t even be bothered to become a Godplume Duke. This was because, for one who had a true chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal, there was generally no time to take care of various clan matters.

Becoming the Godplume Duke meant that one would have to carry out many matters and divide one’s attention.

“You recognize him?” Yu Qi laughed softly. “This is Youngflame Xiushui with his son, Youngflame Jun. They’ve invited Adept Woodpass of the Southern Seas to be their guest for dinner.”

“They’ve invited Adept Woodpass?” Ning said, puzzled, “Youngflame Xiushui has an extraordinary status; he’s actually inviting a Wanxiang Adept to dinner, and one from the Southern Seas?”

Yu Qi laughed. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you don’t understand; the Southern Seas are incomparably vast and difficult to govern. Thus, the battles between the cultivators in that area are extremely chaotic and ferocious. However, this chaotic region has given birth to some truly outstanding geniuses. Adept Woodpass can be described as one of the most supreme of Wanxiang Adepts of this place.”

“Most supreme?” Ning was shocked.

The Southern Seas…that was a place of endless water, with many islands and cultivators, that was comparable in size to several commanderies. To describe someone was being one of the most supreme of Wanxiang Adepts in this place was quite the boast.

“Adept Woodpass is one of those who have come to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny in order to fight for first place,” Yu Qi said softly. “Three hundred years ago, Adept Woodpass was already capable of executing a Primal Daoist.”

“He killed a Primal Daoist more than three centuries ago?” Ning was greatly shocked.

“This Woodpass…for the sake of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, he managed to force himself to remain at the Wanxiang Adept level for three centuries?” The nearby Little Qing called out in shock, “I’ve heard of freaks like him, but I didn’t expect to actually run into one.”

Fortunately, every single cloud was surrounded by formations which blocked out sound.

Ning still felt his heart clench. He had killed Primal Daoists three hundred years ago? Then how powerful must he now be?

“Adept Woodpass is extremely famous,” Yu Qi said hurriedly. “Two hundred years ago, he produced his Primaltwin.”

“Primaltwin…” Ning silently memorized this.

“A few decades ago, his Primaltwin actually trained all the way to the Void level, becoming an Earth Immortal!” Yu Qi said. “He took over an island in the Southern Seas and often expounds on the Dao there, turning away neither monsters nor humans. He often expounds on the Dao, causing his fame to grow greater and greater…and, according to what the outside world knows, more than six Loose Immortals have died to him already!”

Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing were completely stunned upon hearing this.

“What a madman! His true body is only at the Wanxiang Adept level, but his Primaltwin actually dared to train to the Void level and become an Earth Immortal?” Little Qing called out in shock. “Three hundred years…isn’t he afraid of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations?”

“To dare to act in such an insane manner…either he’s a madman, or he’s an absolute, peerless monster,” Ning said.

It was actually incredibly dangerous for a Primaltwin to train to the Void level and become an Earth Immortal when the true body was a Wanxiang Adept. This was because once a Calamity or a Tribulation descended, the power of the trial would be linked to one’s own power. How terrifying would a Calamity or a Tribulation meant for an Earth Immortal be? The terrifying trial would simultaneously descend on both the true body and the Primaltwin. The Primaltwin might make it, but if the original body was too weak, it might not be able to do so.

“The Primaltwin of Adept Woodpass broke through to the Earth Immortal level a few decades ago; it’s possible that he had already overcome his Calamity at that time,” Yu Qi said with a laugh. “I refuse to believe that his true Wanxiang-level body is capable of overcoming a trial meant for a Void-level Earth Immortal.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. That made sense.

“However, Adept Woodpass truly is at a high level of comprehension. He dares to publicly expound on the Dao, and the outside world knows of at least six Loose Immortals who died to him…in the imperial capital, he is publicly acknowledged as one of the contenders for the number one position.” Yu Qi sighed, “He’s already so formidable; if his true body becomes apprenticed to one of the major powers of the Three Realms and learns even higher level techniques and divine abilities, it will definitely become far more powerful than even his Primaltwin.”

“Fellow Daoist Yu Qi,” Ning said hurriedly, “Regarding this Conclave of Immortal Destiny…there should be intelligence reports regarding some publicly acknowledged formidable figures, right?”

“Right.” Yu Qi nodded. “However, just some of the more famous ones; after all, the Grand Xia Empire is simply too vast. No one knows about all of the monstrous geniuses that are hidden within it. For example, yourself, fellow Daoist Ji Ning. Before you killed Youngflame Nong, no one in the imperial capital had ever even heard of you.”

“The Grand Xia Empire is a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Adept Woodpass is just one of the most likely contenders, but no one knows if an even more terrifying genius might emerge.” Yu Qi sighed with great emotion.

Ning nodded as well. “I need the intelligence reports regarding this Conclave of Immortal Destiny and some formidable Wanxiang Adepts participating in it.”

“I’ll deliver it shortly,” Yu Qi said with a laugh, then departed.

Still seated atop the cloud, Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing all felt as though this Conclave of Immortal Destiny wouldn’t be an easy one to win.

“Even his Primaltwin is a Void-level Earth Immortal…and yet he insists on shamelessly keeping his true body at the ‘Wanxiang’ level,” Little Qing grumbled viciously.

“Well, he wants to be apprenticed to a truly formidable figure of the Three Realms,” Ning said with a laugh. “It makes sense.” As the saying went, a teacher could lead you through the door, but training relied on one’s self.

Although training did indeed rely on one’s self, one still needed a teacher to at least lead one through the door. If one had a good teacher, the situation would be completely different. Although Ning had never met Daoist Threelives, given that Daoist Threelives had arranged the ‘Divine Abilities Hall’, ‘Wargod Hall’, and ‘Stellar Hall’ for him, it was as though Daoist Threelives was personally guiding him.

……

In another area.

“Since our last parting in the Southern Seas, it has been more than a century. Now, fellow Daoist, you have come to the imperial capital, hahaha…” The long-haired Youngflame Xiushui laughed with emotion. “When I think about how how you will display your divine might in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, and about how some of the major powers of the Three Realms will discover you and perhaps accept you as disciple…I can’t help but feel jealous of you. I feel as though I should’ve stayed a few more years at the Wanxiang level as well.”

Adept Woodpass looked like a youth; he had a simple, honest appearance. But this simple, honest-looking youth was known throughout the Southern Seas. He had travelled alone, establishing a tremendous reputation, and openly gave lectures on the Dao. He was venerated by countless Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters.

“Fellow Daoist Xiushui, you don’t understand; to stay at the Wanxiang Adept level is incredibly miserable,” Adept Woodpass said with a sigh. “My true body’s foundation is far more powerful than that of my Primaltwin’s; after all, my Primaltwin is only a Ki Refiner, while my true body is primarily a Fiendgod Body Refiner. And yet, I keep on refraining from breaking through. After having done so for so long…it’s actually cast a shadow over my heart. In the recent Calamity, when my Primaltwin was at the peak Primal level, the mental attacks were exceptionally powerful. I almost died due to the blandishments of the mental attacks.”

Youngflame Xiushui nodded. “Others only see your gloriousness and see you shine with power at the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, but they don’t see how you’ve gritted your teeth and endured the passage of the past three centuries. The shadow cast over your heart by three centuries of forcibly repressing your power…how terrifying it must be!”

“Father.” A handsome youth next to them suddenly called out. Youngflame Xiushui looked towards his son.

“Should I wait for three cenutires as well?” The handsome youth asked.

“You? Even if you wait three centuries, you have no hope. Focus on your training. If you are able to become a Void-level Earth Immortal, I’d have to thank the heavens and thank the earth.” Youngflame Xiushui shook his head in resignation. His son, at his level of ability, wanted to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny? In the past, even Xiushui himself had chosen to give up. There were countless monsters who had been suppressing their own power for years, waiting for this chance to soar to the heavens during the Conclave.

The handsome youth pursed his lips. Although he too had participated in the conversation between his father and Adept Woodpass, he was clearly on a lower level…and so, bored, he looked around. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a distant cloud. Atop the cloud there was a fur-clad youth, a snowy white dog, and an azure-robed maiden. The fur-clad youth was actually holding a book and reading it.

“Is he…?” The handsome youth stared, wide-eyed. “…Ji Ning?”

“Father, Father, quick, look.” The handsome youth immediately called out.

Youngflame Xiushui frowned as he looked at his son. His son had interrupted him while he was speaking; clearly, he was rather displeased.

“Quick, look. Ji Ning. That’s Ji Ning, who killed Youngflame Nong.” The handsome youth pointed towards Ning’s direction.

Youngflame Xiushui and Adept Woodpass both looked in that direction. They immediately saw the distant, fur-clad youth.

“His appearance, his clothes…and he has a Whitewater Hound and an azure-robed maiden by his side. Can that really be Ji Ning?” Youngflame Xiushui frowned. The Youngflame clan had been pursing Ji Ning this entire time…however, they wouldn’t bother Youngflame Xiushui over a matter like this. Still, in his heart, he felt proud of his clan, and naturally wouldn’t permit outsiders to challenge it.

“Can that really be him?” Youngflame Xiushui said softly, “He dares to come to the imperial capital…what is Ji Ning planning? To challenge my Youngflame clan?”

Adept Woodpass looked over as well, then laughed. “I heard that Ji Ning is quite formidable. Can it be that he, too, has come to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny?”

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Chapter 15 – Desiring Fame at the Treasure Auction

Chapter 15 – Desiring Fame at the Treasure Auction

“Him?” Youngflame Xiushui shook his head. “He’s only trained for thirty short years. To try to shock everyone at the Conclave of Immortal Destiny before he’s truly established his foundation of power? He’d just be dreaming.”

Next to him, his son said while grinding his teeth, “Father, Ji Ning rose to fame by stepping on our Youngflame clan. For the sake of our clan’s reputation alone, we should kill him.”

“That’s none of your concern.” Youngflame Xiushui glanced at his son.

…..

As Youngflame Xiushui, Adept Woodpass, Princess Xiyue, and Fairy Azurewillow were all paying attention to Ning, the number of guests at the Fortune Peaks had continued to steadily grow. These guests had all come here to participate in the Treasure Auction. Amongst them, there was a bald elder. He walked by himself to a cloud, then sat down in the lotus position.

“Ji Ning?” The bald elder gave Ning, seated on a distant cloud around a different mountain, a sidelong glance.

“If I kill Ji Ning, I’ll then reincarnate. If I can’t kill him, then my soul will be shattered.” The bald elder was Immortal Floatcloud, who had been given the mission by Patriarch Arcanum. Although he had been away from the imperial capital for more than ten thousand years, and very few people in the capital were even capable of recognizing him, Immortal Floatcloud had still changed his appearances and pulled in his aura.

Immortal Floatcloud stood there. Although he was drinking wine quite casually, he had chosen the perfect spot; from the corner of his eyes, he could pay clear attention to Ning’s actions.

“The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. There are layers of protective spells here, and many Immortals on guard. To kill Ji Ning within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain…unlikely!” Immortal Floatcloud pondered on what to do. Actually, he wanted to walk right over to Ning, quickly kill him, then immediately self-detonate and go reincarnate. But he knew quite well…

As soon as he attacked, in the blink of an eye the formations of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain would activate. There was almost no chance he would be able to kill Ji Ning.

“I’ll wait until he leaves the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarters. Once he goes out, on the outside streets…” Immortal Floatcloud continued to ponder. “There will be no restrictive formations there. I can make my move then! As for the Imperial Guards, although they will arrive very quickly, it’ll still take them a bit of time.”

“I’ll let you live a little while longer.” Immortal Floatcloud’s Dao-heart was currently filled with the utmost resolve. There were no contradictory thoughts in his mind at all. He had only one thought – to kill Ji Ning, then reincarnate!

………

Ning was carefully reading through the intelligence report which Yu Qi had brought. This report detailed all of the more famous Wanxiang Adepts of the entire imperial capital. Indeed, there were several individuals who were publicly acclaimed as having the highest chances of success in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. There was Xiamang Zishan of the imperial clan, Cangwu Jiu of the Cangwu clan, Xiangtian Xiao of the Xiangtian clan, Youngflame Xuan of the Youngflame clan, Adept Woodpass of the Southern Seas, Adept Redbamboo of the Eastern Seas…

These individuals all had enormous reputations, and were publicly acclaimed as the most supreme of Wanxiang Adepts.

Although the likes of the Sloppy Daoist of the Black-White College were also recorded within the book, they were clearly ranked towards the lower end. The Sloppy Daoist could only be considered one of the supreme Wanxiang Adepts of Stillwater Commandery. Adept Woodpass, Cangwu Jiu, and the others listed in the front, however, were the most supreme of this entire major world.

“I’m actually in this as well?” Ning flipped through, then laughed. “My main battle accomplishment is actually the killing of Youngflame Nong and a Primal-level Fiendgod.” If he hadn’t killed Youngflame Nong and his servant, given how short Ning’s period of training had been, he logically wouldn’t have emerged in this intelligence report at all.

Suddenly, the maidservant who had been standing behind him moved forward. Ning turned to look at her. She smiled and said, “Adept, the Treasure Auction is about to begin. Are you going to participate? If you are, please hand over five thousand kilograms as your deposit; if you are not, then you will have to leave.”

“Participating in the Treasure Auction requires a deposit?” Ning said, surprised, “And five thousand kilograms?”

“This is the requirement of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarters,” the maidservant explained. “Ordinary Treasure Auctions don’t require deposits, but the monthly Treasure Auction held by the headquarters is an auction with treasures collected from throughout the Grand Xia Empire, and even some other major worlds. Generally speaking, there will be extremely valuable treasures present that are extremely rare and precious. To prevent customers from making random bids they cannot or will not honor, there is a need to put in a deposit of five thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. If someone makes a bid but doesn’t honor it, then we will punish them by taking away the five thousand kilograms.”

Ning nodded.

“Also, the five thousand kilograms is non-refundable,” the maidservant said. “Adept, you can use it to buy whatever treasures you like during the Treasure Auction. In the end, we will deduct the five thousand kilograms from your total bill.”

“It seems all participants in the Treasure Auction, no matter what, must pay at least five thousand kilograms…” Ning swept the area with his gaze. “There are more than a thousand customers present. The amount of liquefied elemental essence will be at a minimum of five million kilograms.”

“We have prepared many treasures as well,” the maid said.

“Mm.” Ning nodded, then tossed out an elemental talisman he had acquired earlier when selling his treasures. The maid accepted it, then stepped backwards once more.

Atop the Treasures Peaks, the clouds were filled with maids chatting with their customers. Some customers left, but quite a few remained. In fact, there were some latecomers as well who had clearly arrived just for the Treasure Auction.

“Youngflame clan.” Ji Ning stared towards the distant Youngflame Xiushui. “It seems they’ve discovered me as well. Hmph. The reason I came to the imperial capital was to make more people know about me. The more, the better.”

The reason why Ning had come so openly and in full ‘regalia’ was to become famous! The Youngflame clan had been frantically searching for him and knew about his whereabouts. However, the enemies of the Youngflame clan such as the Kindwater clan, their most powerful enemy, probably didn’t know about Ning’s arrival yet. So…what he wanted to do was to make himself famous! To make all the customers at the Treasure Auction spread word of his arrival.

“When the major powers of the Grand Xia’s imperial capital all know that I am here…those who wish to befriend me will probably seek me out.” Ning knew quite well that fighting against the Youngflame clan by himself would be extremely taxing. He needed a bit of outside support! Thus, he needed to become famous! It would be even better if his name became spread throughout the imperial capital!

…..

Moments later. An enormous, rainbow-colored cloud soared into the skies, with a black-haired maiden standing atop it. Riding the cloud, she flew directly towards the air in the center of the nine peaks of the Fortune Peaks.

“Everyone.” The black-haired maiden laughed, spinning around and curtseying in each direction. “The time has come once more for the monthly Treasure Auction. This Treasure Auction shall be administered by myself, Feathervoid. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain has prepared, in total, 1360 treasures, each of which are extraordinary. They all have their own unique attributes, and many of them come from hidden areas. Some even come from dangerous areas that are elsewhere in the Three Realms, or even beyond the Three Realms.”

“Same as always; aside from the treasures which our Heavenly Treasures Mountain is selling off, all the customers present who possess treasures they wish to auction off can do so, after an examination by us. The Treasure Auction itself will only charge a commission of 5%, capped off at five thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

“Alright, enough with the small talk. Let’s begin with the first item of this Treasure Auction.”

The long black-haired maiden waved her hand, and a golden set of drums suddenly appeared in the air, wafting out with ripples of power.

“Battlesoul Drums, Heaven-ranked magic treasure. It can be used to wound enemies, and it can also be used to make thousands of your Dao-soldiers unleash extraordinary combat power. Reserve price of five thousand kilograms! Each bid has to be at least five hundred kilograms higher,” the black-haired maiden said with a laugh.

“5500 kilograms.”

“6000 kilograms.”

……

The formidable figures who had come to attend the Treasure Auction all began to make their bids, purchasing one treasure after another. Those who had the money to put down 5000 kilogram deposits were all extraordinary cultivators. Ordinary Primal Daoists wouldn’t be willing to spare a deposit of such size.

Ning sat there, drinking and watching leisurely.

“Master, aren’t you going to act yet?” Little Qing felt her blood boil as she watched the Treasure Auction go on. She was incomparably excited.

“Don’t be impatient,” Ning said. “The Youngflame clan hasn’t acted; why should I be in a rush? And in addition, there aren’t any treasures that I deeply desire either.”

The treasures which Ning had sold off were virtually all from either the Witchriver Immortal Estate or from Youngflame Nong. As for the truly exquisite items left behind by Immortal Juhua, Ning was holding them back and in no rush to sell! After having been ‘baptized’ by going through the treasures of Youngflame Nong, Immortal Witchriver, Immortal Juhua, and the underwater estate, Ning now had very high standards.

“This next treasure is a formation diagram! This formation diagram belonged to the Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo. These two old Celestial Immortal Diremonsters made them as part of a game. I imagine that you all know that the Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo had received a legacy from a major power of the Three Realms, and are exceptionally skilled in the Dao of Formations. Although this was nothing more than a toy to these two Celestial Immortals, it is still quite extraordinary, and contains many profound mysteries regarding formations. The Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo once said…anyone who completely comprehends this formation diagram can be considered a grandmaster of formations.” The black-haired maiden laughed, “This formation diagram will start at a minimum price of 25,000 kilograms. Everyone, place your bids.”

“The Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo?” Everyone began to discuss this. As for Ning and Uncle White, their eyes lit up as well.

The Whitewater Hound was completely focused on the Dao of Formations. Ning had a certain degree of understanding regarding formations as well. Naturally, the two knew of the Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo. The Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo were two figures out of legends. Both were Celestial Immortal Diremonsters…and they could be said to have the highest level of comprehension regarding formations, here in the major world of the Grand Xia Empire. In addition, it was said that they were apprentices to a truly major power of the Three Realms.

“Nothing more than a toy to them…if this was the essence of their knowledge, then the price would definitely not be a mere 25,000 kilograms.” Ning gave the nearby Uncle White a glance; clearly, Uncle White was rather eager and excited.

As someone who walked the Dao of Formations, he was naturally filled with eagerness towards this formation diagram.

“25,500 kilograms.”

“30,000 kilograms.”

The price of this formation diagram quickly skyrocketed. Although the Dao of Formations was an extremely complex and difficult one which very few truly supreme geniuses would embark on, there were still some people who knew that they had no hopes of becoming a Celestial Immortal and who would thus focus their efforts on formations. Formation grandmasters were quite terrifying, and in fact there were even some Celestial Immortals who relied on formations as well.

Still, the Dao of Formations was a bitter, tough Dao to follow. A single formation diagram wouldn’t rise to an excessive price.

“40,000 kilograms.” Youngflame Xiushui finally spoke out. This was already quite a high price. Those who had come to the treasure auction were all quite level-headed, and wouldn’t bid randomly.

“Any higher bids?” The black-haired maiden swept her gaze towards the surrounding area.

Suddenly…

Ning, who had yet to make a bid yet, suddenly spoke out. “42,500 kilograms!” He had immediately raised the price by 2500 kilograms, and it had already been at quite a high price.

The black-haired maiden glanced over, revealing a smile. “42,500 kilograms. Any higher?”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The guests seated on the clouds surrounding the various peaks all looked over, curious as to who the bidder was.

“Oh? A fur-clad youth? A Whitewater Hound? An Azure Skysnake?” Ning, for the sake of making himself more recognizable, had Little Qing revert to her Azure Skysnake form.

“That fur-clad youth…is he Ji Ning, who was said to have killed Youngflame Nong?”

“Who is Ji Ning?”

“Youngflame Nong, the next Godplume Duke of the imperial capital’s Youngflame clan, was killed in Stillwater Commandery. Didn’t you hear about this? The person who killed him was Ji Ning! The one who just made the bid! Look at those two spirit-beasts next to him, and look at his appearance. There’s no mistaking it. It’s him.”

“He killed Youngflame Nong?”

“Ji Ning?”

“The previous bidder was Youngflame Xiushui of the Youngflame clan. Ji Ning is in a bidding war against Youngflame Xiushui!”

The many guests of the Fortunes Peaks were all focused on Ning now, and instantly, a buzz of conversation swept the area.

Youngflame Xiushui’s face became unsightly to look at. As for the nearby Youngflame Jun, his face turned red with anger. He ground his teeth, and it seemed as though his eyes were spitting fire. He called out loudly, “45,000 kilograms!”

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Chapter 16 – Peacock Plume

Chapter 16 – Peacock Plume

“45,000 kilograms!”

The rage-filled voice echoed through the entire Fortune Peaks, reverberating in the air. This caused quite a few guests to look over. From that rage-filled bid…they could tell that the Youngflame clan must have been truly enraged.

“You imbecile.” Atop the cloud. Youngflame Xiushui, upon hearing his son make the bid, couldn’t help but give his son a hard look. He shouted mentally at him, “Can’t you tell that Ji Ning wants to make a name for himself today? He’s dared to come to the imperial capital openly and without any disguises, and even came to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarter to participate in the Treasure Auction and cause trouble for our Youngflame clan during the bidding. This is all because he wants to make a name for himself!”

“In Stillwater Commandery, even the Northmont clan would have to give our Youngflame clan face. But this isn’t Stillwater Commandery; this is the imperial capital. This isn’t a place where we can just do whatever we please. What he wants to do is make a name for himself and make everyone in the imperial capital know about him, Ji Ning! Later on, he will enter an opposing power, which will make it much harder for our Youngflame clan to act against him.”

Youngflame Xiushui looked at his son. “Earlier, we could’ve just ignored him, but now that you are in a bidding war against him…more and more people are going to know about him.”

“But, but I’ve already made a bid…how about, how about we stop bidding?” Youngflame Jun was beginning to panic.

“Since we’ve made a bid, we can’t lower our heads,” Youngflame Xiushui sent. “The more people are watching, the more careful we need to be not to lose face for our Youngflame clan. Don’t say anything else. Let me handle it.”

“Alright.” Youngflame Jun didn’t dare to say anything else.

……

Ning, upon hearing a bid of ’45,000 kilograms!’ be called out, immediately laughed. This was as perfect as someone delivering a pillow to him, just as he was feeling drowsy. He wanted to make his name known!

“45,000 kilograms. Anything higher?” The black-haired maiden atop the cloud called out.

“If someone else was bidding, I’d just say forget about it. But, since it’s the Youngflame clan that’s bidding, then I, Ji Ning, refuse to back down. 47,500 kilograms!” Ji Ning’s voice rang out as well, echoing within the nine peaks.

“So it really is Ji Ning!”

“Who is Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning, who killed Youngflame Nong, is at the Treasure Auction?”

Although earlier a few guests had noticed Ning, they only made up a small part of the total people present. Now that Ning spoke out so challengingly…more and more people began to pay attention to him.

……..

“I KNEW he was trying to make himself known.” Youngflame Xiushui’s face was like ice. As for his son, Youngflame Jun, he didn’t dare to make a single sound. He knew that his earlier bid had given Ning his opportunity.

“Little fellow from Stillwater Commandery, you actually want to struggle against my Youngflame clan?” Youngflame Xiushui said calmly, “50,000 kilograms.”

“Hmph, if your Youngflame clan wants this formation diagram, then prepare a bit more liquefied elemental essence. 60,000 kilograms!” Ning once more spoke out.

Youngflame Xiushui’s face sank. This was a formation diagram that was clearly only worth forty to fifty thousand kilograms, but the price had been forcibly uplifted. If he continued to bid, regardless of whether or not he ended up acquiring the formation diagram, the Youngflame clan would still have ‘lost’. This was because, even if they acquired it…they would’ve paid an excessive price for it. But if they didn’t acquire it? It would be akin to having let Ning trample all over them.

“62,500 kilograms,” Youngflame Xiushui growled.

“64,000 kilograms.” Ning didn’t increase the price too much this time.

“My Youngflame clan has plenty of formation diagrams like this. I’ll let you have this one.” Youngflame Xiushui felt as though something was wrong, and he immediately stopped bidding. “You have no skill in formations, but actually bid so much out of spite. How amusing.”

“Hahaha, what’s a mere 64,000 kilograms? It’s nothing. Youngflame Nong, of your Youngflame clan, gifted me with millions of kilograms!” Ning’s laugh rang out.

Youngflame Xiushui’s face immediately sank. Actually, he knew very well that as soon as his son called out a bid of 45,000 kilograms, their side was going to suffer a loss no matter what. This was because Ji Ning’s motivation was to make a name for himself! No matter what, Ning would definitely be able to achieve his goal.

At the price of 64,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, the formation diagram left behind by the Crab-Tortoise Immortal Duo was purchased by Ji Ning. And, in turn, Ji Ning attracted the attention of the vast majority of the guests present.

Those final words in particular, about how ‘Youngflame Nong, of your Youngflame clan, gifted me with millions of kilograms’, was simply too vicious and brutal. Virtually all of the guests present began to murmur amongst themselves.

“Millions of kilograms of liquefied elemental essence?”

“Youngflame Nong was one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital; he had quite a few magic treasures on him. Now, all of them were taken away by Ji Ning at one go. I imagine he really does have several million kilograms now.”

“I’m starting to wish I was the one who killed Youngflame Nong.”

“Millions of kilograms. That’s enough to buy even an Immortal-ranked magic treasure!”

Actually, although Youngflame Nong did indeed carry astonishingly valuable treasures on him, of his three most precious treasures, he had already used up two of them; the ‘Lock’ scroll and the black-and-white disc. The only one remaining was the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal, which was something that generally wasn’t even available on the market for those who had enough money to purchase it. Ning wasn’t willing to sell it.

Amongst the many guests. Princess Xiyue stared at Ning from afar, a hint of softness in her eyes. This look was the look one had when one looked at a kinsman.

“Xiyue, you are quite well-disposed towards Ji Ning?” Fairy Azurewillow laughed.

“Yes.” Princess Xiyue nodded.

“Want to bring him on as your groom?” Azurewillow teased.

“Don’t speak nonsense.” Princess Xiyue frowned as she snapped back in a soft voice. She viewed Ji Ning purely as a family member, as a little brother. What was this nonsense about marrying him?

“I have to admit though, this Ji Ning really is bold. He actually dares to go completely head-on against the Youngflame clan.” Fairy Azurewillow sighed. “He even said that Youngflame Nong gifted him with millions of kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. I imagine that when the Youngflame clan heard these words…I don’t even know how angry they must be right now.”

…….

Time flowed on. One treasure after another was auctioned off.

Nearly two hours later.

“Everyone.” The black-haired maiden’s voice suddenly went higher. “Don’t just chat with your friends. This next treasure is the most valuable one this particular Treasure Auction has put up so far. This is truly a treasure which normally cannot be purchased. If you miss this chance, who knows if you’ll ever have another one?”

The many guests all immediately turned to look at her, curious.

Ning, curious, looked over as well. The most valuable treasure thus far? The highest bid for a treasure in this auction thus far had gone up to more than 150,000 kilograms.

“This is an ‘intrinsic magic treasure’, left behind by a peacock-type Godbeast from the Heaven Realm after it died,” the black-haired maiden called out loudly. “And this peacock-type Godbeast had an incomparably pure lineage; even after it had reached the Void level, it was still unable to transform.”

“What?!” Ning, hearing this, was shocked. Unable to transform even after becoming a Void-level Earth Immortal? Could it be that it could only transform after becoming a Celestial Immortal? A Godbeast like this…he hadn’t even heard of such a creature in this world of the Grand Xia.

“This peacock-type Diremonster’s ‘intrinsic magic treasure’ consisted of five plumes.” The black-haired maiden waved her hand, and instantly, five peacock feathers appeared out of nowhere. These five peacock plumes hovered there, emanating a natural aura of might and power. One was wreathed by fire, one was wreathed by water, the third seemed to emanate an aura of infinite ponderance, the fourth howled with golden energy, and the fifth emanated a blurry, azure aura.

When the five plumes appeared, the surrounding space seemed to be immediately frozen.

“That is…!”

Instantly, a series of cries rang out from throughout the Treasure Auction area.

Peacocks were born from the Five Elements, and even amongst such creatures, were the favored children of the heavens. Supposedly, the more pure the lineage of a peacock-type Godbeast was, the more dense and pure the Five Elements essence would be in their plumes. Some were capable of manifesting two plumes, others three. Only those with the most exquisite and pure of Godbeast lineages would be capable of forming five plumes!

A peacock Godbeast with such a pure lineage was definitely no weaker than a Fiendgod. A Void-level peacock Godbeast was most likely comparable to a Celestial Immortal!

“These five plumes it had were innately bestowed with the five elements,” the black-haired maiden said with a laugh. “Unfortunately, it was merely a Void-level Diremonster. If it had been a Diremonster at the Celestial Immortal level…the value of these five plumes would be truly high. Most likely, even Celestial Immortals would go mad for it. But of course, if this peacock Godbeast had become a Celestial Immortal, this plume wouldn’t appear in a place like this. In fact, there’s no way we would sell it.”

Everyone nodded. These five plumes were already incredibly precious; if the peacock had undergone the heavenly tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal, the value of its plumes would probably rise by thousands of times. Most likely, even the emperors of the major worlds would feel desire for it. However, a Celestial Immortal peacock Godbeast with such an exalted, rare, and pure bloodline would probably be comparable to an ordinary True Immortal. It wouldn’t easily perish.

“Although it was merely a Void-level Earth Immortal, given how exalted and noble its lineage was, and how its five plumes were divided into the Five Elements…if these plumes are used to forge a magic artifact, when a few other things are mixed in, they can absolutely produce an Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Normally, it would at least be a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure, but if you were lucky, you might even be able to produce a top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure,” the black-haired maiden said.

These five plumes were the ‘intrinsic magic treasures’ of the peacock-type Godbeast. To humans, however, they could only be used for refining artifacts. As for making them into a top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure? That was just nonsense. Many other materials would be required, and the chances of success were virtually negligible. However, there truly was a very high chance of producing a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

“A reserve price of a million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! Each bid has to increase by at least fifty thousand kilograms!” The black-haired maiden called out.

“1,050,000 kilograms. I’m taking these Five Elements Peacock Plumes.” An ancient voice rang out. The speaker was an old man dressed in a long, gaudy robe that was covered with draconic runes. Anyone who looked at the clothes would be able to tell right away that this should be someone from the imperial clan of the Grand Xia.

But…

In the Treasure Auction, no one gave a damn if you were from the imperial clan!

“My master is going to forge an Immortal-ranked magic treasure of the Five Eleemnts. He’s lacking in some primary materials. 1,100,000 kilograms.” A white-whiskered youth said with a laugh.

“1,150,000 kilograms.” Another man called out, his entire body covered with azure light. He was built like a rod of iron.

“1,200,000 kilograms. I need a Five Elements Immortal-ranked magic treasure for my tribulation.” The speaker was Youngflame Xiushui. By now, he paid no attention to Ji Ning at all; he stared directly at the Five Elements plumes. Clearly, he was determined to acquire it.

“1,250,000 kilograms. The Raindragon Godpeak will take this.” A woman with a monstrous aura that filled the skies spoke out in an icy voice.

Every single person had an extraordinary background. However, the imperial capital of the Grand Xia had its laws, and no one was able to take this thing by force. Everyone had to rely on their own ‘abilities’; whoever had more liquefied elemental essence would win! Materials like this, with a perfect set of the Five Elements…they were indeed extremely rare. You truly might only encounter them once; no one could say when such items would appear again. You couldn’t simply purchase them, even if you had enough liquefied elemental essence.

Many people wanted to acquire them. So, too, did Ning.

“Naturally formed by the Five Elements?” Ning’s eyes were shining. “I train the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer]. I need the essence of the Five Elements. These five plumes and the essence within them…based on the legacy of the [Starseizing Hand] which I acquired and the materials mentioned within them, these would definitely be considered absolutely high-grade materials. These are five plumes that were born from a peacock Godbeast with a supremely pure and exalted lineage. The essence of the Five Elements within them…they’d probably be enough to allow me to reach the third Cycle of my [Starseizing Hand]!”

“1,300,000 kilograms!” Ning called out loudly.

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Chapter 17 – Stopping At Nothing to Acquire It

Chapter 17 – Stopping At Nothing to Acquire It

Whoosh! Instantly, more than a thousand of the other customers at the Fortune Peaks all turned to stare. It must be understood that although they, too, were participating in the Treasure Auction, in reality they would only spend around fifty thousand kilograms or so in purchasing treasures. Only very, very few were truly willing to pay more than five hundred thousand kilograms! The entire networth of many Loose Immortals was perhaps lower than this amount, and their networth was usually tied up in their magic treasures!

Only a small portion of the people present at the Fortune Peaks were capable of making a bid of 1.3 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

“It’s that Ji Ning again.”

“A mere Wanxiang Adept?”

“He dares to purchase the Five Elements peacock plumes?”

“Does he even have that much liquefied elemental essence?”

“He killed Youngflame Nong and a Primal-level Fiendgod. Youngflame Nong had quite a few treasures on him, and that Fiendgod probably had quite a few as well.”

A series of conversations erupted. Everyone was stunned at the fact that Ning dared to bid as well. After all, all five of the previous bidders had extraordinary backgrounds, and all of them were Immortals! Ji Ning? He was a mere Wanxiang Adept.

“1.35 million kilograms. Young fellow from the Black-White College, this is just raw materials, not an actual magic treasure; even if you buy it, it will be of no use to you. You have to match it with many other raw materials and invite a forging expert to forge an Immortal-ranked magic treasure for you.”

“1.4 million kilograms. Whoever bids the highest will gain the treasure. It doesn’t matter that Ji Ning is just a Wanxiang Adept; even an ordinary mortal who has enough money can bid. Don’t concern yourself over why he’s buying it.”

“1.5 million kilograms. Everyone, stop fighting with me over it. Master has needed this sort of Five Elements raw materials for a very long time.”

The price slowly began to rise. Ning, in turn, began to feel the pressure as well. After all, he had only sold off around 1.3 million kilograms of treasure earlier. Still, this was within his expectations; after all, the peacock plumes could serve as the primary materials for a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure. This wasn’t something which his Azuresilk Godfire Lamp could compete with. It was, after all, just a low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure!

“Ji Ning, send the price sky-high and stun then.” Suddenly, the giant yellow bear’s voice rang out in his mind. “If they slowly bid it up, the final price will probably be even higher. Make an immediate bid of 2 million kilograms.”

Ning hesitated slightly. He was carrying the underwater estate with him, and the spirit of the estate was capable of sensing everything going on in the surrounding area.

“2 million kilograms!” Ning called out in a loud voice.

Instantly, the Fortune Peaks fell completely silent.

Earlier, the bidding increases had all been at slow increments of just fifty thousand kilograms. This sudden increase of five hundred thousand kilograms was simply too huge. After all, this wasn’t an actual Immortal-ranked magic treasure; just materials for making one.

……

“He has that much liquefied elemental essence?” Princess Xiyue began to worry in her heart. When she saw Ning make bids, she wanted to help him…but she always stayed within the royal estate and rarely ventured out to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. As a result, she almost never spent money, and thus she only carried some protective treasures with her. In addition, she was only a Wanxiang Adept herself; she naturally wouldn’t have any Immortal-ranked magic treasures with her.

She didn’t go out adventuring, and she always stayed in the imperial capital; thus, most likely the total value of the magic treasures she was carrying, if sold off, would only come to perhaps five hundred thousand or a million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

2 or 2.5 million kilograms…not even many imperial princesses were capable of producing such a sum.

“If only Grandpa was here,” Princess Xiyue mused silently to herself. Given how her Grandpa coddled her in all things, if he was here, purchasing the peacock plumes would only be a minor matter.

“This Ji Ning…how much treasure did he acquire from killing Youngflame Nong?” The nearby Fairy Azurewillow sighed, completely moved. “He even dares to bid on items like the peacock plumes. 2 million kilograms! That’s enough to actually purchased a completed Immortal-ranked magic treasure.”

…..

“Ji Ning only killed mere Youngflame Nong; how much could Youngflame Nong have possibly been worth? Ji Ning actually dares to bid two million kilograms?” A white-faced, beardless youth frowned.

…..

“Two million kilograms?” The man whose entire body glittered with a metallic azure light frowned as well. This price was indeed rather high. To produce a powerful Immortal-ranked magic treasure, other materials were needed as well. In addition, a Celestial Immortal Patriarch who was skilled in forging artifacts would have to personally oversee the forging, which would not be cheap either. Only after all these expenses would an Immortal-ranked magic treasure take form.

“What a fellow.” Adept Woodpass, who had been watching this with intrigue, sighed in amazement as well. He couldn’t help but cast the distant Ning a deep, long glance. Two million kilograms? Ji Ning truly was quite wealthy.

As the saying went, a horse who was not fed an extra ration of grass wouldn’t be fat and sturdy; to focus on training and searching for natural treasures truly wasn’t as efficient as Ning’s killing of Youngflame Nong. By killing Youngflame Nong, he had instantly grown rich!

“Fellow Daoist Xiushui, are you still planning to bid against him?” Adept Woodpass laughed. “I still have roughly half a million kilograms that I can led to you, fellow Daoist.”

“Thank you, fellow Daoist Woodpass.” Youngflame Xiushui glanced towards a nearby attendant, and the azure-robed man immediately walked over.

“Didn’t you say earlier that based on your investigations, Ning’s trade with the Heavenly Treasures Mountain was only worth around 1.3 million kilograms?” Youngflame Xiushui said, frustrated and irritated, “If he only had 1.3 million kilograms, how would he dare make a bid of two million?”

The azure-robed servant said hurriedly, “Master, this information is absolutely correct. Don’t worry; the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarters also knows that Ji Ning only traded for 1.3 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence with them. For him to suddenly bid two million…they, too, will be worried that Ning is not going to be honor his bid for this auction, and so will go investigate him.”

“Mm.” Youngflame Xiushui nodded. His gaze suddenly lit up, as he already saw that atop the distant cloud on which Ning was seated, a man and a woman were flying towards him.

Ning had noticed two figures were flying towards him from behind as well. One was an azure-robed Yu Qi, while the white-robed one was a bald woman. As the two flew towards the cloud, a mist suddenly arose from it, completely blocking out the surrounding area, causing the outside world to have no idea what they were discussing.

The bald woman said with a smile, “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, I am Soledust of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. I know that you, fellow Daoist, had already traded for 1.3 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, but now that you are suddenly bidding 2 million…our Heavenly Treasures Mountain is concerned that in the end, this transaction cannot be completed.”

Ning nodded. In an ordinary treasure auction, if the auction failed due to insufficient funds from the winning bidder, it would be enough to just punish the faithless bidder by taking away his deposit of 5000 kilograms. But this was the auction for the peacock plumes; the value of it was simply too great. If Ning were to make random bids that he could not honor, there would be no way to make up for the damage done by just penalizing him 5000 kilograms.

“I truly hope you can understand our position, fellow Daoist Ji Ning,” the bald, white-robed woman said with great courtesy.

“I do understand,” Ning laughed. “I’ve heard earlier that during this Treasure Auction, if I have treasures of my own, I can hand them over to you for auctioning, right?”

“Right.” The bald, white-robed woman nodded.

“I have one right here.” Ning waved his hand, and an ancient, unassuming lamp appeared. The lamp had azure flames blazing above it. Instantly, the face of a child appeared within the azure flames. Scanning the surrounding area, the child sighed, “You locked me in your storage treasure for so long. That was really stifling. And whoah, what’s this place?”

“An Immortal-ranked magic treasure?” The white-robed woman was startled. “Azuresilk Godfire Lamp?”

An Azuresilk Godfire Lamp was considered a fairly common type of Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Described simply, it was just a type of lamp with Azuresilk Godfire within it, but the Godfire within the lamp could be borrowed to attack enemies. Although it was fairly common, quite a few experts would still fight over the chance to acquire one. After all, everyone wanted to help the skyfire in their bodies rise to the first grade if at all possible.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, are you saying that you are intending to auction off this Azuresilk Godfire Lamp? Here, at this Treasure Auction?” The white-robed woman asked.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“Our Heavenly Treasures Mountain can just purchase it for a price of 1.5 million kilograms,” the white-robed woman, Soledust couldn’t refrain from saying. Although fairly common, it was extremely rare for an Azuresilk Godfire Lamp to appear at auction, and whenever one appeared, it would immediately be purchased. Naturally, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain was willing to accept it.

“No, I’ll sell it off in this Treasure Auction. Let’s set the reserve price at 1.5 million kilograms. If no one buys it, then I’ll sell it to you,” Ning said. “Fellow Daoist Soledust, you wouldn’t object to this, would you?”

The white-robed woman’s facial muscles twitched. A reserve price of 1.5 million kilograms? To be sold to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain only if no one was willing to buy it?

“No objections, no objections.” The white-robed woman picked up the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp, then turned and left.

Ning didn’t feel worried; when the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarters engaged in a business trade, they wouldn’t stop so low as to embezzling a single low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure like an Azuresilk Godfire Lamp.

…….

The black-haired maiden standing on a cloud and officiating over this Treasure Auction was waiting for the investigate by her side to conclude. Now that she knew that Ning did indeed have the ability to complete this purchase, she immediately said, “2 million kilograms. Are there any higher bids?”

“It seems this Ji Ning does have the ability to honor his bid.” The pale-faced, beardless youth shook his head and sighed. “Too expensive. The price is too high.”

“The price is too high.”

People immediately began to give up. After all, Ning’s suddenly price increase of five hundred thousand kilograms had truly stunned quite a few people.

Still…there were others who remained greatly desirous of these peacock plumes.

“2.05 million kilograms!” The man who shone with a metallic azure light said with a growl, “This is something I need for my tribulation. I hope that you will all give me, Eastclown, some face.”

“Hmph, Eastclown, you need to pass your tribulation, but so do I! 2.1 million kilograms,” Youngflame Xiushui growled back.

Immortal Eastclown was just a solitary, wandering figure; although he was extremely powerful, Youngflame Xiushui was still of the Youngflame clan.

“2.15 million kilograms!” Immortal Eastclown growled.

“2.2 million kilograms!” Youngflame Xiushui ground his teeth.

“2.3 million kilograms!” A killing intent appeared in Immortal Eastclown’s eyes.

“2.35 million kilograms!” Youngflame Xiushui’s gaze was like ice.

The tribulation. This was the most difficult trial for any cultivator on an Immortal path. By passing the Celestial Tribulation, one would be able to escape the confines of the Three Realms, to live a carefree life, to live forever! Upon failing…if one was lucky, one would end up as a mere Loose Immortal. How could they not be willing to fight over a treasure helpful for their tribulations?”

“2.5 million kilograms!” Ning’s voice thundered out.

Youngflame Xiushui and Immortal Eastclown simultaneously turned to stare. All of the guests present turned to stare as well. They couldn’t help but begin to chatter about Ji Ning once again. This was insane. 2.5 million kilograms?!

“Youngflame Xiushui, do you have another bid?” Ji Ning stared at the distant Youngflame Xiushui. If the desire those two Earth Immortals towards acquiring the plumes could be described as ‘intense’, Ji Ning’s desire would have to be described as no less than theirs! Finding treasures with the essence extracts of the Five Elements…although it was a bit easier for the second Cycle of the Starseizer, the third Cycle was far more difficult.

The peacock plumes, however, were absolutely capable of allowing Ning to reach the second and third Cycles, with some left over! Of the divine abilities Ning trained in, the most powerful one was definitely the [Starseizing Hand]; this was ranked as one of the top ten divine abilities that had been created after the heavens had been established. It was supreme within the Three Realms!

Magic treasures, curios…those were all secondary. The divine ability, [Starseizing Hand], was what would make Ning’s power rise the most! The peacock plumes…he absolutely had to have them!

“2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Any higher bids? Any higher?” The black-haired maiden, atop her cloud, called out in a high voice. The Fortune Peaks were filled with a buzz of conversation, but not a single bid came out. Although Youngflame Xiushui’s face was quite ugly to behold, even he hesitated. As for Immortal Eastclown, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept it.

“If there are no higher bids, then this peacock plume will go to fellow Daoist Jij Ning!” The black-haired maiden made one final urging call to the crowd.

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Chapter 18 – The Princess Wishes to See Me?

Chapter 18 – The Princess Wishes to See Me?

After a long pause, during which the black-haired woman carefully looked at both Immortal Eastclown and Youngflame Xiushui, the woman called out loudly, “Done! 2.5 million kilograms. The peacock plumes go to fellow Daoist Ji Ning!” And with this declaration, the ownership of the peacock plumes was settled.

Youngflame Xiushui let out a single, long sigh.

Just now, he had been hesitating and considering to bid again, but in the end, his reason won out and held him back. The nearby Adept Woodpass gave him a glance, then picked up his goblet of wine and took a sip.

“Father, why didn’t you buy it?” Youngflame Jun couldn’t help but ask, “The peacock plumes would be of great service to you during your tribulation…and that Ji Ning was insisting on bidding straight against us. Whether for the sake of giving vent to our anger or for your tribulation, Father, you should’ve continued.”

“What do you know? 2.5 million kilograms? Do you even know how much that is?” Youngflame Xiushui stared at his son.

Youngflame Jun was stunned. His status in the clan could not be compared to Youngflame Nong’s; any amount of liquefied elemental essence above a million kilograms was already a vast, astronomical sum to him.

“With that much, I could just go ahead and buy an excellent Immortal-ranked magic treasure!” Youngflame Xiushui said, “There are many types of Immortal-ranked magic treasures that can be used for the tribulation; why should I completely focus my attentions on these peacock plumes? Paying more than 2.5 million kilograms isn’t worth it. That’s a sum of money that would have a major impact on my Immortal path; I can’t possibly make random, stupid bids just because I’m angry and want to give vent.”

Youngflame Jun nodded obediently.

“And this Ji Ning is an idiot as well.” Youngflame Xiushui turned to give him a cold look. “Even though he has the peacock plumes, he’s just a Wanxiang Adept. What’s the point of having them?”

“If we kill Ji Ning, then the peacock plumes will be ours,” Youngflame Jun said, a hint of desire in his eyes.

“And who would go do the killing?” Youngflame Xiushui shook his head. “This isn’t for something for you to concern yourself over.”

…..

“2.5 million kilograms.” Immortal Eastclown shook his head as well. “This young Wanxiang Adept is really quite crazy.”

…..

“2.5 million kilograms. My little brother really is…formidable.” Princess Xiyue stared at the distant Ning, a smile on her face.

…..

“Hmph. Acquiring the peacock plumes won’t do a damn thing for your power. After you leave the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, you die.” Immortal Floatcloud quietly drink his wine, watching from afar.

…..

Ning, however, was extraordinarily excited. Success! He had acquired the peacock plumes! Immortal-ranked magic treasures? Curios? Those were all less than a dog’s fart in comparison. His Primaltwin only needed a large amount of flying swords, while his main body, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, mainly needed divine abilities!

“With this thing, I won’t have to trouble myself at all regarding the completion of the second and third Cycles for my [Starseizing Hand].” Ning was absolutely delighted.

Time continued to flow on.

Because there were more than a thousand magic treasures up for sale, the entire Treasure Auction took up an entire day. Still, Ning left roughly six hours later, because during the sixth hour of the Treasure Auction, the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp came out for bidding.

Azuresilk Godfire Lamp, an Immortal-ranked magic treasure. This was a completed treasure!

It instantly aroused a storm of bidding. The Azuresilk Godfire Lamp was different from the peacock plumes; very few people needed those thing, but quite a few had a use for the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp. This was because it could nurture ‘skyfire’ to the first grade! Although each usage of the lamp consumed a large amount of resources that took a long period of time to replenish, after the replenishment, it could be used again.

This was an item that could be used over and over!

However, because the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp needed time to absorb elemental energy from the natural world and replenish its own energy, none of the major tribes would ever be worried about having ‘too many’ of the lamps on hand.

The reserve price was 1.5 million kilograms, but the price quickly skyrocketed! It rose all the way up to a price of 2.45 million kilograms before the bidding came to an end.

Immortal-ranked magic treasures of this level were, in the end, still fairly common. Thus, the price would settle down at a certain point. There was a limit to how much it could rise during an auction.

…..

“He left?” Immortal Floatcloud immediately noticed when Ning began to prepare to leave. Frowning, he too began to leave.

Soon, Immortal Floatcloud arrived at the streets outside the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarters. It was early morning now. The Golden Crow had just risen into the skies, casting its light upon the world.

“Senior.” Immortal Floatcloud’s emergence caused the members of the Youngflame clan who were waiting outside to immediately move towards him.

“Ji Ning should be comoing out soon. Go inside the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and keep an eye on him. Be ready to report as soon as he does.” Immortal Floatcloud gave them order, then began to wait outside silently. He was waiting for the final battle he would experience in his life! In this battle, he would use all of the power available to him to kill a supremely talented Wanxiang Adept within the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

…..

“He’s leaving?” Princess Xiyue, upon seeing Ning prepare to leave, immediately rose to her feet. A hint of panic was in her eyes. She could feel her heartrate quickening, and she immediately said to the nearby Fairy Azurewillow, “Azurewillow, help me make some arrangements. I want to meet privately with Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning?” Fairy Azurewillow was startled, but then she nodded. “I’ll go make the arrangements right now.”

“Thank you.” Earlier, when Princess Xiyue had been watching Ji Ning, she hadn’t felt that nervous. Now, however, as she thought about how they were about to meet, she immediately became incomparably nervous.

“Whew.” Princess Xiyue let out a long sigh, then said quietly to herself, “Little brother, we’re going to meet soon.”

Princess Xiyue began to withdraw from the event as well.

Actually, since the Treasure Auction would go on for a full day, over the course of it, quite a few people would withdraw.

Ning, after handing over his liquefied elemental essence, acquired his formation diagram and the peacock plumes.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, in the future, if you have any more magic treasures you don’t want, you can deliver them here to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. It doesn’t matter if you decide to sell them to us or if you sell them at the Treasure Auction.” The white-robed woman, Soledust, laughed.

“Treasures don’t just fall out of nowhere from the sky,” Ning sighed. “I even had to hand over my Azuresilk Godfire Lamp to you.”

Soledust laughed, then withdrew.

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing glanced towards the nearby violet-robed Yu Qi.

“Fellow Daoist Yu Qi, I wish to purchase some flying swords,” Ning said.

“Flying swords?” Yu Qi was instantly delighted. He knew very well that Ning had more than a million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence on him. This was a major customer! He immediately said, “What sort of flying swords? Just tell me what you need. We have plenty of precious flying swords manufactured by Celestial Immortal Patriarchs, and in fact we even have flying swords with powerful formations within them.”

Ning shook his head. “I only require large-scale manufactured flying swords.”

“Large-scale manufactured…” Yu Qi’s face stiffened. The profit on those was incredibly low; after all, Ning could buy them at a 40% discount.

“I need a total of 720 high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords,” Ning said.

Yu Qi’s facial muscles spasmed. Good heavens; Heaven-ranked flying swords? 720 of them? Was this a joke? It must be understood that even many Loose Immortals would generally use Heaven-ranked magic treasures; many of them would just use several particularly powerful ones. Even those who focused on victory through superior numbers would at most have a few dozen Heaven-ranked magic treasures, which was already quite incredible.

720 Heaven-ranked magic treasures? The number alone would terrify quite a few people! But in turn, the price was quite high as well.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, are you certain you want 720? Are you able to afford them?” Yu Qi couldn’t help but add, “High-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasures are generally around 5000 kilograms per sword. If you want more than 700 of them, then you’d need to pay over 3.5 million kilograms.”

Ning frowned. Ugh! Earlier, he had felt that he was quite wealthy, but when he thought about the price of seven hundred Heaven-ranked magic treasures, he suddenly felt his heart ache with unbearable pain.

“Go ahead and give me a book on the types of mass-produced Heaven-ranked flying swords,” Ji Ning said.

“Alright. This way, please,” Yu Qi said hurriedly. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain both bought and sold mass-produced magic items to Ji Ning at a price of 60% the list price. On the surface, it would seem as though they didn’t earn any money at all. In reality, however, the mass-produced magic treasures which the Heavenly Treasures Mountain sold were all mass-produced by the mighty imperial clan of the Grand Xia, which stood behind them.

In truth, the cost for the imperial clan to mass-produce these magic items wasn’t really as high as 60% of the list price; at most, 30% to 40%. The reason they told the outside world that they were willing to both buy and sell these items at 60% was just to encourage more people to come shopping. After all, after an Immortal cultivator purchased a life-saving treasure, it was quite rare for them to later sell it off.

Thus, Yu Qi would earn quite a bit from this deal for 700+ Heaven-ranked flying swords, even if they were only mass-produced artifacts.

…..

Ning was seated before a gazebo, staring at the rising sun and in quite a good mood. He had no idea that right now, on the streets outside, a Loose Immortal named Immortal Floatcloud was waiting for him impatiently.

“Here’s the report regarding the mass-produced Heaven-ranked flying swords.” Yu Qi handed Ning a thick, fur-clad book. Ning flipped it open, taking a look. By his side, the Whitewater Houna and Little Qing helped scan thorugh it as well.

Mass-produced flying swords were rather cheap, because mass-produced flying swords mainly required only that the swords were sharp and hard to break. In other aspects, they were quite poor.

“Low-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords are 500 kilograms each? At a discounted price of 60%, that’s just 300 kilograms.” Ning mumbled to himself while reading. “Middle-grade is a bit more expensive; 1500 kilograms each.”

There were nearly a hundred types of low-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords.

There were nearly two hundred types of middle-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords.

There were far fewer high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords; just eighteen.

As for top-grade Heaven ranked flying swords? There was no such thing as a mass-produced ‘top-grade’ flying sword. High grade was already the limit for Heaven-ranked mass-produced flying swords.

“High-grade, Heaven-ranked flying swords are all roughly 5000 kilograms each.” Ning frowned. “What should I do?”

He was going to purchase them for his Primaltwin to train in. The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was a technique where the more and the better flying swords he had, the more powerful it would be! However, controlling so many flying swords was incredibly taxing on the soul. Still, during his year of training in the underwater estate, Ning’s soul had improved dramatically, especially with the support of the Nuwa visualization technique and the fact that his Primaltwin’s soul was being nourished.

Ning was currently able to control all 720 Earth-ranked flying swords. But if they were to be changed into Heaven-ranked flying swords? Most likely, for at least a period of time, it would be hard for him to control that many.

“I’ll take 198 of these Redsol swords!” Ning pointed towards the book. “And these Netherblue swords, I’ll take 198 of them as well!”

“The Redsol swords were 5500 kilograms each, while the Netherblue swords are 3500 each,” the nearby Yu Qi said with a laugh. “All together, this comes out to be a price of 1,945,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. At the discounted price of 60%, that comes out to be 1,185,300 million.

Ning felt resigned. After factoring in the money he had spent…the 2.3 million kilograms he had remaining had been almost completely used up, leaving just a bit behind. In addition, his Primaltwin actually needed elemental essence as well.

“Here!” Ning waved his hand, and instantly, the black dragon carriage appeared on the ground next to them. “I’ll sell this carriage to your Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Ning said majestically.

….

The black dragon construct had the combat power of a Primal Daoist. Youngflame Nong had often ridden it about the various locations of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia; naturally, its price was extraordinary. In the end, Ning acquired not only his 396 Heaven-ranked flying swords, but also 60,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, there’s one more thing.” Yu Qi, after concluding their deal, suddenly winked and laughed, “Princess Xiyue wishes to meet with you.”

“A princess wants to see me?” Ning was startled.

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Chapter 19 – Peak Primal

Chapter 19 – Peak Primal

“Master, it must be because you made a name for yourself during the Treasure Auction?” The nearby Little Qing immediately added, “That’s why this Princess Xiyue wants to meet you.”

Ning grinned as well. During the Treasure Auction, he had purchased the peacock plumes for 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Even Youngflame Xiushui had lowered his head and retreated in the end. This news would definitely spread like wildfire, and later on, some of the major clans would come to befriend him and meet him. This was within his realm of expectations. However, for Princess Xiyue to invite him for a meeting while the Treasure Auction was still going on…his ‘fame’ was perhaps just a bit too effective!

“Might I ask who Princess Xiyue is?” Ning asked..

“Princess Xiyue is from King Yan’s Estate,” Yu Qi explained.

“King Yan?” Ning’s eyes lit up. Ning had already purchased intelligence reports regarding some of the major powers and figures within the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. King Yan was one of those major figures. King Yan…was a Celestial Immortal who had just recently succeeded in overcoming his tribulation!

He was a Celestial Immortal! It was simply far, far too difficult to become a Celestial Immortal. Just by looking at the history of the Black-White College, one could tell how hard it was. The Black-White College had existed for countless millions of years, and every ten thousand years or so would produce an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal. How many had they produced over the countless ages? And yet, they had only produced a single Celestial Immortal!

From this, one could tell what a terrifying barrier the Celestial Tribulation was. Countless geniuses, such as Immortal Northwalker or even Immortal Juhua, who had the benefit of the underwater estate, had failed and perished.

Celestial Immortals were simply too rare! It was rare for the Grand Xia Empire to produce a single Celestial Immortal in a million years!

However, how many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals did it produce during a million years? This was why there were actually very many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals; the Youngflame clan alone held more than a thousand of them. Every few tens or hundreds of millennia, there would be a new ‘batch’ of Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals…but the number of Celestial Immortals who had arisen from them over the course of countless years was pitifully low.

Any Celestial Immortal was the foundation of his or her entire clan! Even for the mighty imperial Xiamang clan of the Grand Xia Dynasty, a Celestial Immortal was extremely valuable. For clans like the imperial Xiamang clan, which had unified an entire major world, the number of Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals under their control was an absolutely terrifying figure. Naturally, however, these figures had very ordinary statuses. If, however, one of them were to break through and become a Celestial Immortal…the imperial clan of the Grand Xia would immediately bestow upon them the royal title of ‘King’ and give them an estate, Immortal treasures, etc…

In short, within the imperial clan of the Grand Xia, anyone who became a Celestial Immortal would see his status suddenly and explosively skyrocket!

This often happened less than once in a million years…and yet King Yan was the latest, newest Celestial Immortal!

“Of King Yan’s Estate…” Ning nodded inwardly to himself.

“Princess Xiyue is the only family member King Yan has,” Yu Qi said in a lowered voice. “King Yan absolutely dotes on Princess Xiyue. He even allows Princess Xiyue to command the Golden Imperials which the Emperor bestowed upon him. He even gave Princess Xiyue a pair of azure phoenix Godbeasts, having them pull her carriage for her. Those two azure phoenixes have incomparably exalted lineages; although they are only at the Primal level, each of them have the combat power of a supreme Loose Immortal. As for the Golden Imperials, they are the absolute elites of the Imperial Guards of the imperial capital. Even the weakest amongst them is at least a Primal Daoist!”

Ning, hearing this, was secretly speechless.

Azure phoenixes? Golden Imperials?

“Princess Xiyue usually remains within King Yan’s Estate and rarely comes out, nor does she participate in the various gatherings for nobles,” Yu Qi said in a low voice. “That’s why Princess Xiyue actually isn’t very well-known. However, given how much King Yan dotes on her, if she truly was the spoiled, arrogant throwing type, she probably would be even more famous than Youngflame Nong.”

“Then why does she wish to see me?” Ning asked.

“I don’t know either,” Yu Qi said, shaking his head. “I heard that today, she came to the Treasure Auction along with Fairy Azurewillow of our Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Perhaps she grew curious upon seeing you, and so she wishes to meet you.”

Ning hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Fine. Lead the way.”

Yu Qi laughed. “Follow me.”

Within Ning’s Zifu region. The underwater estate was located there.

Generally speaking, there was no way to put people within storage treasures, but estate treasures were capable of holding people. Ning’s Primaltwin continued to reside within the underwater estate. There, within the main hall, a black-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position, a jade bottle placed in front of him. Within the jade bottle, there was a total of 60,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. This came from the earlier trade he had engaged in.

Whooosh.

The black-robed Ning opened his mouth. Instantly, the liquefied elemental essence began to flow in a continuous stream towards Ning’s mouth, and his power began to quickly rise. Just a few moments later, he broke through to the peak Primal level.

“Good.” After stabilizing his power base slightly, the black-robed Ning came to a halt. “Mm.” The black-robed Ning looked at the jade bottle. “More than 15,000 kilograms remain. My Primaltwin has broken through to the peak Primal level.”

In the past year after forging his Primaltwin, the divine soul of the Primaltwin had advanced at a frightfully fast pace. This was because of the Primal nurturing effect; thus, his Primaltwin had advanced even more quickly in soul power than his true body had! The Primaltwin’s divine sense could now stretch to a distance of 1600 kilometers, while his main body’s divine sense had only just recovered to the pre-splitting level of power, just barely reaching 1000 kilometers.

A powerful soul! A high level of comprehension! A mighty Dao-heart!

After reaching the peak Primal level, the Primaltwin was virtually instantly able to fully control his elemental ki. Everything was as familiar to him as the back of his hand; there wasn’t the slightest bit of discomfort at all.

“Flying swords.” The black-robed Ning willed it. Whoosh! Instantly, the surrounding area, with a swish swish swish series of sounds, became filled with 405 flying swords, each of which emanated mighty ripples of power. Those nine flying swords in the center, in particular, emanated truly mighty ripples! These 405 flying swords were all Heaven-ranked flying swords, and 396 of them had been purchased just now at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

As for those nine other Heaven-ranked flying swords…more than a year ago, by relying on his Primaltwin, Ning had overcome the fifth level of the Wargod Hall, and then chosen from the Heaven-ranked magic items of the Treasure Hall.

These nine Heaven-ranked flying swords were known as the Waterbreaker Godshark Swords. The primary material for the forging of these swords had been the body of a slain, primordial nine-headed Godshark that had existed in the era before the three thousand major worlds had even been born. These nine flying swords were all quasi-sentient. According to the rating of the underwater estate, all nine were high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords. However, according to the rating system of the Grand Xia Dynasty, they were absolutely top-grade Heaven-ranked, and each of them were probably worth 100,000 to 150,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! And with all nine coming from the same source…the set was probably worth a million kilograms, and could be traded for a low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

In the past, when Immortal Juhua had owned the underwater estate, he had acquired a top-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasure as well. By relying on the magic treasures of the underwater estate…he could’ve gone and traded them for Immortal-ranked magic treasures..

Unfortunately…he would only have been able to trade them for low-grade or middle-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

To overcome the Celestial Tribulation? One had to at least have high-grade, or even top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures in order to have a degree of confidence. It would be best if the magic treasures were also suited to one’s abilities; that would give an even better chance. All of the Immortal-ranked magic treasures of the underwater estate were at least high-grade, and some were even top-grade. Unfortunately, Immortal Juhua hadn’t had the chance to choose from them, as he had only been given the chance to do so after becoming a Loose Immortal and overcoming the seventh level of the Wargod Hall.

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].” The black-robed Ning willed it. With the nine Waterbreaker Godshark Swords serving as the core, all the other flying swords were activated. The exquisitely pure elemental ki of a peak Primal Daoist filled them, and Ning’s powerful soul began to guide them. All of the flying swords began to ripple as Ning tested time and time again the limits of his power.

“Can’t do it.”

“I’ll drop it by one level. [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], level four!” The black-robed Ning was striving to test his might, but Heaven-ranked magic treasures were on a completely different level than Earth-ranked magic treasures. Controlling a single Heaven-ranked magic treasure was at least as hard as controlling more than ten Earth-ranked magic treasures! Even though Ning was relying on formation techniques to lessen the difficulty…it was still extremely hard for him to execute the fourth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], level three!”

Whoosh! Instantly, more than two hundred Heaven-ranekd flying swords all began to flutter in the air, emanating an incomparably powerful ripple of power. Immediately afterwards, a flying sword appeared in front of Ning’s chest as well. This flying sword, which managed to completely manifest, flashed repeatedly with a golden metallic light. Swords were sharp in weapons; for metallic light to flash off a sword was a testament to the quality of the sharp aura of the sword.

The flying sword, flashing with golden light, held power within it that caused even Ning to feel astonished.

“Such power.” Although he was only using a bit more than 200 Heaven-ranked magic treasures, the effect was far more powerful than when he used 700+ Earth-ranked magic treasures. It was a huge increase in power, an increase of more than just one level.

Generally speaking, it was incredible for Primal Daoists to be able to control even a few dozen magic treasures. Ning, however, was able to control more than two hundred, and amongst them were incomparably precious flying swords such as the Watercutter Godshark Swords. It could be said that Ning’s soul was at the Earth Immortal level. He controlled a Grand Dao Domain, and was quite skilled in formations. The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] itself was quite special to begin with. The combination of these factors was why he was able to control more than two hundred Heaven-ranked magic treasures.

“By relying on my sword formation…my Primaltwin is strong enough to compare to supreme Loose Immortals!” Ning felt a boundless heroic feeling within his heart.

……

Within a quiet, secluded residence. The windows were all closed, and even the servants had departed. Within the residence was only Princess Xiyue. Outside the door, however, there were some servants, and a group of Golden Imperials remained on constant guard.

“Ji Ning.” Princess Xiyue held a cup of warm wine in her hands, unable to suppress the excitement and nervousness in her heart. “We are finally going to meet.”

“My cousin. My one and only little brother.”

Princess Xiyue’s heart was nervous, excited, and tense.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from outside. “Go report to the Princess. Ji Ning has already arrived.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll make the report,” a servant said.

“He’s here!” Princess Xiyue took a deep breath. This was as nervous as she had ever been during the past thirty years; she was even more nervous than when she had met Grandpa for the first time.

…..

Ji Ning and Yu Qi were both standing outside the door to the courtyard.

The Heavenly Treasures Mountain was simply too vast. It had taken them quite a while to go from Ning’s previous location to this place. Ning’s Primaltwin had reached the peak Primal level long ago, and had already begun to test the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] when they arrived.

“The Princess is instructing Ji Ning to enter,” an armored female soldier said.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, I’ll leave now. If there’s anything you need, you can find any staff member of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and ask them to send a word to me,” Yu Qi laughed.

“Thank you for your help this time, fellow Daoist Yu Qi. If I have any business in the future, I’ll definitely seek you out again,” Ning said.

After the exchange of farewells, Yu Qi left. As for Ning, he said to the nearby Little Qing and Whitewater Hound, “Little Qing, Uncle White, wait here a while for me.”

“Right.” Uncle White and Little Qing both believed that there shouldn’t be any danger, here within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

Ning immediately entered the courtyard by himself. After entering the courtyard, Ning felt a surge of mental pressure, due to the troop of Imperial Gods who were watching him carefully. Moments later, the female guard led him to a stand-alone residence, then pushed at the door. “The Princess is inside.”

The door opened.

Ning saw a green-robed woman seated inside. Right at this moment, the green-robed woman turned to look at him as well.

Their gazes intersected.

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Chapter 20 – Sister and Brother Meet

Chapter 20 – Sister and Brother Meet

Ji Ning understood that this green-robed woman in front of him should be Princess Xiyue. From this first glance…Ning felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and closeness towards her.

“My respects, Princess,” Ning said.

“Sit.” Princess Xiyue spoke out.

Only now did Ning take a seat.

Princess Xiyue, however, remained standing. She waved her arm, and a series of formation flags began to fly out, emanating a gray, rippling power. These nine formation flags penetrated into the wooden floor, and a series of ripples began to emanate from the formation flags, quickly covering the entire residence. A series of Dao-seals began to flow atop the surface of the residence, instantly and completely severing it from the outside world.

“Now no one can spy on our conversation,” Princess Xiyue said. “This is a magic treasure which Grandpa gave me; upon hiding within it and retracting one’s aura, even Celestial Immortals would find it difficult to detect you.”

“Princess, you are doing this because…?” Ning was puzzled. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain publicly proclaimed that they would never spy on the conversations of their customers. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain relied on the faith of its customers; unless they were willing to pay a truly high price for it, there was no way they would eavesdrop on the conversation of two guests.

Their sterling reputation had been built up over the course of countless years. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain wouldn’t dare act rashly in matters that would affect it.

“I have to be careful.” Princess Xiyue looked at Ning. Ning felt his heart clench; it seemed as though Princess Xiyue hadn’t just invited him for a simple meeting.

“Ji Ning, I ask you this.” Princess Xiyue looked at him. “Your mother was Yuchi Snow? You are a descendant of the Yuchi clan?”

Ning frowned. He wasn’t willing to discuss his mother with others. “Princess, the Youngflame clan is pursuing me because they believe me to be one of the surviving spawn of the Yuchi clan. Although this information is quite well hidden, for someone like you, Princess, it shouldn’t be too hard to acquire this type of report.” Ning was rather displeased.

Princess Xiyue, however, revealed a look of delight. She could already tell the truth from Ning’s reaction. She immediately said, “Actually, I found out about it long ago, and I even sent people to your West Prefecture City of Swallow Mountain to investigate. Only, I still couldn’t quite believe it, so I had to ask you myself.”

“Oh?” Ning, surprised and puzzled, asked her, “Princess, you sent people to Swallow Mountain to investigate? Dare I ask, why did you seek me out, Princess?”

She was so cautious, and her words gave no clues at all. What in the world was this princess up to?

“Ji Ning.” Princess Xiyue began to feel rather nervous. Looking at Ning, she said, “Actually, actually, I, I…”

Ning just looked at her.

“Actually…you are my little brother.” Princess Xiyue finally said the words.

“Little brother? My mother only had one son; me.” Ning immediately shook his head, refuting these words. However, in his heart, a different idea came to Ning’s mind…little brother? Could it be that this Princess Xiyue was the cousin which his mother had always been thinking about, the final successor to the Yuchi clan’s lineage? 1

“You are my younger cousin. I’m your older cousin.” Princess Xiyue said, “My father’s name…was Yuchi Mount!”

Ning was stunned.

Although this thought had flashed through his mind earlier…when Princess Xiyue said the words, Ning was still rather stunned.

“But…you are a princess. A princess of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia,” Ning said.

“King Yan is only my maternal grandfather; my mother was of the Xiamang clan, but I am a true heir of the Yuchi clan. My true name is Yuchi Xiyue.” Princess Xiyue looked at Ning.

Ning’s heart was in a state of chaos now. In the past, Ning’s uncle, Yuchi Mount, had given up his life in order to block the forces of Snowdragon Mountain and protect his pregnant little sister, Ning’s mother. He had been the strongest one of their group, but he had died. In doing so, he had allowed Ning’s parents, Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow, to escape with their lives. The bitter seeds sown in that year, however…had caused his parents to only live for a fairly brief period of time. Ning’s father had always felt guilt towards Ning’s uncle, and even more guilt towards his daughter, whom they had never seen before.

Strictly speaking…although Ning also carried the blood of the Yuchi clan in his veins, he was a child of the Ji clan! Only his older cousin…only she, and she alone, was a true member of the Yuchi clan!

“Your name is Yuchi Xiyue? Your father was Yuchi Mount?” Ning couldn’t even believe it.

“Yes.” Princess Xiyue nodded heavily.

“Princess…it’s not that I don’t want to believe you. However, this matter is of tremendous importance to me. We have to test our blood together.” Ning’s heart was filled with excitement as well. Actually, upon Princess Xiyue saying that she was the daughter of Ning’s uncle, Ning had already been mostly convinced. This was because…very, very few people knew about Ning’s uncle. As for the fact that Ning’s uncle had a daughter, even within the Ji clan, only Ning and his parents knew about it. His parents had already passed away. No one else could possibly know.

Ning himself had never before revealed this to anyone. And so, this Princess Xiyue who stood in front of him was indeed quite possibly his own cousin, who he had never seen before!

“Alright. Let me test our blood.” Princess Xiyue immediately slashed out with her fingernail, using it as the tip of a dagger to prick her own wrist.

Swish. Instantly, fresh, scarlet blood flicked out.

Ning stretched out his own wrist, using his own finger to cut it as well. After he cut his own wrist and the blood flew out, the wound on his wrist instantly healed.

Those two drops of blood flew towards each other in midair, forming into two small spheres of blood. These two spheres of blood swiveled around each other, and as they did, Ning executed a technique that would cause blood from the same lineage to resonate with each other. Instantly, golden runes began to flash atop the two spheres of blood. Whooooooosh. Slowly…strands of golden blood began to appear above the two spheres of blood.

The two strands of golden blood quickly began to ravel around each other, forming into one. There was no way to tell them apart now.

“It’s true!” Ning was stunned.

“It’s true. It’s true!” Princess Xiyue revealed a look of excitement and joy as well. Although she had engaged in deep, thorough investigations, those couldn’t compare to testing their blood lineage.

“Cousin…” Ning stared at Princess Xiyue, still in a shaken state. This news had simply arrived too quickly. He had truly been caught caught off-guard.

“Little brother. Little brother.” Princess Xiyue excitedly stretched her hands out, clutching at Ning’s own hands. Because she had mentally prepared herself over the course of the past year, she had been desiring to meet Ning this entire time. She simply hadn’t been able to find him.

“My cousin is Princess Xiyue? A princess of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia?” Ning still couldn’t believe this was happening.

Princess Xiyue let out a long sigh, then said, “What’s the point of being a princess? It’s all too late…Grandpa came too late. If he had come a bit earlier, then my father, my mother, and even Aunt…none of those tragedies would have occurred.”

“What happened? The exalted King Yan just allowed his own daughter and son-in-law to die, without even responding to it?” Ning couldn’t help but say these words.

“You don’t understand the situation back then.” Princess Xiyue said slowly, “Grandpa was of an extremely distant branch of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. Even though he worked hard and trained to become a Void-level Earth Immortal, all he received was a few treasures from the imperial clan that were mandated by the rules. Every single person who became an Earth Immortal would be bestowed those treasures. That was it; just a few treasures. After that? They no longer paid any attention to my grandfather. His status within the imperial clan of the Grand Xia remained low.”

Ning nodded. He could understand. Just look at the Ji clan; the Ji clan had only been within the Swallow Mountain region for a comparatively short period of time, but the number of clansmen it had was truly astonishing.

The imperial clan of the Grand Xia had begun to establish itself as soon as this major world had been born. From then til now, countless, unfathomable numbers of eons had passed. The passage of so much time had caused the imperial clan of the Grand Xia to possess an utterly breathtaking population; just the number of people with the surname of Xiamang was beyond number.

As for Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals? Within the Black-White College, they might be major figures.

Within the Youngflame clan, they might be considered fairly powerful figures.

But within the imperial clan of the Grand Xia? They’d just be given a few treasures, and then let loose to live or die on their own merits. If they were to fail their tribulation and perish, the imperial clan of the Grand Xia wouldn’t even notice! Only those who succeeded in overcoming their tribulation…only then would they suddenly ascend to the heavens in status. The imperial clan of the Grand Xia would immediately bestow all sorts of treasures, estates, and guards to them, treating them with incomparable importance.

“My grandfather had average talent, and trained very slowly,” Princess Xiyue said slowly. “There are very few members of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia who are viewed as important. Grandpa wasn’t one of them…and so he went out to adventure, tempering himself between life and death, striving to encounter a major twist of fate. In fact, he even trained in some evil, demonic secret arts.

“Evil, demonic secret arts?” Ning was amazed.

“Right. When facing the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, he even activated his evil demonic arts to voluntarily draw more demonic mental attacks to himself, causing them to grow even stronger,” Princess Xiyue said. “The more powerful those demonic mental attacks, the more his own Dao-heart could be tempered and the stronger it would grow.”

“He’s an absolute madman.” Ning was utterly astonished now. The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations…all Immortal cultivators were terrified of them and wanted to come up with ways to weaken them. But this King Yan actually came up with a method to cause the demonic mental attacks to become even more powerful, so as to temper himself? Yes, this did indeed have the effect of strengthening his Dao-heart, and it was astonishing effective, but…if he failed, he would’ve died.

“Once, Grandpa was successfully enticed and seduced by the demonic mental attacks. That was incredibly dangerous,” Princess Xiyue said. “In fact, he completely transformed into a crazed demon, and he began to torture and rape women with wild abandon.”

Ning was secretly speechless. Be driven into an insane state during the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations? That virtually guaranteed death. Many of the major demons and vile figures were born after having been driven into an insane state. They would die in their insanity, unless some sort of a miracle occurred, allowing them to reawaken from their crazed state.

“Afterwards, a miracle occurred and Grandpa came back to his senses. The process of entering an insane demonic state and then recovering was tremendously beneficial to Grandpa. Afterwards, he endured all sorts of trials and tests, and in the end he actually overcame the Celestial Tribulation, becoming a Celestial Immortal.” Princess Xiyue sighed with emotion. “After becoming a Celestial Immortal, he could sense those of his bloodline. He could sense that he had family still alive, and so he began to search. In the end…he found me.”

“My grandmother…she was one of the countless women who he raped in the past. After being raped, Grandma gave birth to Mother. Because this was an out-of-wedlock birth, they were all viewed with contempt by the other clansmen on our island. They shunned the two of them…and in the end, Grandma died in depression.”

“Then Father arrived on our island. He had grown weary of fleeing. He wanted to live permanently on this island. He wanted to take Mother as his wife, and continue the lineage of our Yuchi clan. Father and Mother joined together…and in the end, I was born.”

“Those were the happiest years of my life.”

“Father was an Immortal cultivator, and would often fly out of the island to other places. However, he would always come back very quickly. One day, Father said that his little sister and his brother-in-law wanted to leave the Darknorth Seas and return to the mainland. Father said that his little sister was pregnant and that he was worried about her, so he was going to personally escort them.”

“But…when Father left, he never returned. The life-tablet he left at home shattered. Mother couldn’t bear this mental blow, and filled with both grief and agony, she perished as well.”

“I lived by myself, there on that island. Afterwards…Grandpa came.”

“Grandpa had already become a Celestial Immortal by then, but he had no family members of his own. All of his closest family members had died. I was the only family member left, his one and only granddaughter.” Princess Xiyue continued to speak slowly.

As for Ning, he was silent.

The path of Immortal cultivation was a lonely one. Although King Yan was a member of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia, generally speaking, after five or six generations of separation, one couldn’t truly be described as ‘family’. King Yan’s parents and brothers had died long ago. As for family, only one was left; his one and only granddaughter.

“I came with Grandpa to the imperial capital. I investigate and discovered that our Yuchi clan had been annihilated by the Youngflame clan.” Hatred was in the eyes of Princess Xiyue. “From that day forward, I swore an oath that I, Yuchi Xiyue, would definitely take revenge. I would definitely destroy the Youngflame clan! And, I’m going to re-establish the Yuchi clan, fulfilling my father’s dream! This was what my father had always dreamed of…and I am definitely going to accomplish it!”

1. Chinese lineages are patriarchal; because Ning’s lineage was through his mother, he is not a ‘real’ Yuchi clan member, and is considered a ‘Ji’ clan member. Xiyue’s lineage, however, is from her father, and so she is a ‘real’ Yuchi clan member. Alas, because there are no male Yuchi clan members left, technically speaking, she is the ‘final’ one of this line.

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Chapter 21 – The Enemy of the Two Cousins

Chapter 21 – The Enemy of the Two Cousins

“Annihilate the Youngflame clan?” Ning was stunned. Even though he viewed the Youngflame clan as a major, powerful foe, deep in his heart, Ning had the same desire…to utterly eradicated the Youngflame clan, so as to console the spirit of his mother!

His mother’s sisters, father, and family members…the entire Yuchi clan had died in the hands of the Youngflame clan.

His mother must have deeply desired to eradicated the Youngflame clan…but the Youngflame clan was simply too powerful, so powerful that Yuchi Mount never even dared to tell Princess Xiyue that their enemy, the one who had destroyed their clan, was the Youngflame clan. Yuchi Snow had never told Ning this secret either. This was an ancient tribe that could rank in the top ten of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, a might tribe that had existed from the Fiendgod Era into the present era. Who would dare claim that they would definitely annihilate a clan such as this?

Ning had this desire in his heart…but he wouldn’t dare say these words.

Princess Xiyue, however, did!

Ning could sense the hatred in his cousin’s words, a hatred that had forged into a will that would pay any price and stop at absolutely nothing to accomplish its goals!

“This was Father’s dream. Father died…and I’ll do it on his behalf.” Princess Xiyue ground her teeth. “Even if I fail and die, in failing, I’ll deliver a vicious bite to the Youngflame clan.”

“Cousin,” Ning couldn’t help but say, “The eradication of the Youngflame clan isn’t something to be rushed.”

“Of course. I know that.” Princess Xiyue shook her head. “I haven’t even told Grandpa of my intentions, because I know that while perhaps the entire imperial Xiamang clan is capable of wiping out the Youngflame clan, the imperial clan will not do such a thing. The imperial clan isn’t willing to pay the price of having the countless tribes under its command feel frightened, restless, and possibly rebel.

Ning nodded.

If the imperial clan were to wipe out a major tribe, they would have to have a sufficiently solid excuse! They couldn’t just find a random excuse to do this. The many marquises of the world weren’t fools, after all; the Youngflame clan would have had to truly commit a heinous crime that exceeded the imperial clan’s bottom line before the imperial clan would eradicate them. Otherwise…if the imperial clan could just wipe out another clan on a whim, how could the other marquises feel at ease?

Most likely, they would all revolt together, and by then, this major world would probably once more enter into a state of chaotic war, just like in the Fiendgod Era.

One of the reasons why the imperial clan of the Grand Xia had been able to unify the world was because many tribes had given them their support and subordinated themselves to it. If these tribes were to all revolt, then it was very likely that the imperial clan of the Grand Xia would come to a calamitous end.

“That’s why I’m enduring it for now. There aren’t even many people in the imperial capital who know that my name is actually Yuchi Xiyue. I asked Grandpa not to tell others,” Princess Xiyue said. “I don’t want to cause the Youngflame clan to be on guard against me. I will find a chance, seek out all opportunities, and use any means necessary. When I act, I will make sure that this Youngflame clan is wiped out…and even if I fail, I’ll make them suffer a grievous wound.”

“Cousin, what are you planning?” Ning was quite puzzled. His cousin had an ordinary level of power; to annihilate the Youngflame clan? Not even a Celestial Immortal would dare say such things.

“If I had your talent, I would definitely work hard to train and become a Celestial Immortal. Upon becoming a Celestial Immortal, I will have as much time as I need to slowly work against them.” Princess Xiyue shook her head. “But I don’t have your talent, so I’ll have to borrow power from others. I plan to borrow the power of the imperial clan of the Grandn Xia.”

“Borrow power?” Ning was startled.

“The imperial clan of the Grand Xia doesn’t have enough of a reason to wipe them out. So…I’ll have to come up with a way to give them enough of a reason,” Princess Xiyue said. “Even if I have to use my own life…it will be worth it. But I know that even if I sacrifice myself, it will still be quite hard. No matter how hard it is, however, I’ll strive to accomplish it. I’ll slowly wait…silently wait…”

Princess Xiyue seemed to have transformed into a vengeful, venomous viper; she was silently waiting, waiting for the moment to deliver her final blow.

“To annihilate the Youngflame clan in my lifetime will be very, very hard.” Resolve flashed through Princess Xiyue’s eyes. “That’s why I’m going to find a husband. I’m not going to marry out; I’m going to bring one in. The children I give birth to will follow me in publicly using the surname ‘Chi’. My children will have children of their own, and our family will grow from one generation to the next…and the ultimate goal of my descendants will be bringing down the Youngflame clan!”

“I have Grandpa backing me up; I’m his only family member. Even if I die, I’ll beg Grandpa to help me take care of the Chi clan,” Princess Xiyue said. “Grandpa is a Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia; with his protection, the Chi clan will definitely grow stronger and stronger. When the Chi clan itself gives birth to a Celestial Immortal, or when the Youngflame clan is finally annihilated, the Chi clan will truly return to becoming the ‘Yuchi’ clan.

Ning took a deep breath. He couldn’t help but feel his heart quiver at the hatred contained within his cousin’s words.

Yes. She was different from him.

He was a child of the Ji clan; this was why his mother, Yuchi Snow, didn’t even mention the Yuchi clan’s feud. In turn, the hatred he felt for the Youngflame clan hadn’t truly sunk into his bones. But his cousin was a true descendant of the Yuchi clan. Ning’s uncle, Yuchi Mount, had trained her from childhood and had told her stories of the former glory of the Yuchi clan.

Although Yuchi Mount had never told her who their enemies were, Yuchi Mount himself had always trained hard, always wanting to restore his clan and strengthen himself enough to take revenge.

Yuchi Xiyue had always quietly watched her father at work. She knew that her father’s desire was twofold; to re-establish the Yuchi clan, and to take revenge! Yuchi Mount was simply suppressing his desire for revenge…but his daughter could sense the hatred buried within his heart. This was why she wanted to fulfill her father’s hopes…to re-establishing the clan, and to take revenge!

“Right.” Ning’s heart suddenly trembled. “Uncle was the last surviving man of the Yuchi clan. The amount of hatred he felt must have been tremendous. My cousin has a similar level of hate towards the Youngflame clan. What about Mother?”

“Grandpa and the others, they all died…could it be that Mother didn’t feel hate?”

“But after marrying my father and marrying into my Ji clan, she never mentioned this matter. She never even displayed any hint of it in front of me. Perhaps, in private, she would feel agony and hatred on behalf of her murdered parents and kinsmen.” Ning’s heart suddenly ached. His mother had never passed any of the hatred she felt to him, precisely because she didn’t want him to go take revenge.

She was afraid that he would become an egg that tried to smash itself against a rock!

“Mother…you were worried about me. But in the end, your son has still ended up fighting against the Youngflame clan.”

“This is what destiny is!”

“Mother, if your son was nothing more than an ‘ordinary’ supreme genius, it would indeed be hard to take revenge…but I’m not! I have the legacy of the primordial Fiendgod, Daoist Threelives. I can easily acquire Immortal-ranked and even Pure Yang magic items. My divine ability is a terrifying one that ranks amongst the top ten of the entire Three Realms. I absolutely have hope of being able to become a power that dominates the Three Realms. Annihilating the Youngflame clan…I can do it, I can absolutely do it!”

Resolve flashed in Ning’s eyes as well.

“Cousin.” Ning looked towards her.

“Little brother.” Yuchi Xiyue looked towards her little brother, then said in a soft voice, “I’ve never spoken these words before to anyone else. When I saw you, those words that I kept hidden in my heart all came spilling out. Aside from Grandpa…you are my only family.”

Ning nodded. “Cousin, don’t worry. Becoming a Void-level Earth Immortal, to me, is absolutely not a problem at all. It will happen without any impediments! Even dealing with the Celestial Tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal…although it will be hard, I can do it. I definitely will do it. Dealing with the Youngflame clan isn’t just your personal issue; it’s mine as well. The Youngflame clan and I are already like fire and water; either they will extinguish me, or I’ll extinguish them!”

“Little brother.” Yuchi Xiyue felt a warm feeling in her heart. Although the two knew exactly how hard it would be for one to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal…neither of them said such things right now.

No matter what, the two of them still had their resolve.

“The two of us, brother and sister, will join hands and annihilate the Youngflame clan.” Ning tightly clasped his cousin’s hand.

“Right. Hand in hand, we will annihilate the Youngflame clan.” Yuchi Xiyue nodded in excitement as well. “The two of us shall be of one heart, and our will shall be sharp enough to cut metal!”

“The two of us shall be of one heart, and our will shall be sharp enough to cut metal.” Ning nodded heavily as well.

On this day. In this moment.

The Treasure Auction was still underway. Immortal Floatcloud was still on the street outside, waiting for and wanting to assassinate Ning.

Yuchi Xiyue and Ji Ning, a pair of cousins, truly joined forces against their common foe…the Youngflame clan!

With two massive azure phoenixes pulling from up ahead, an Immortal carriage, wreathed in golden flames, flew into the skies of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. There were some servants by its side, and a large amount of Golden Imperials protecting its perimeter.

Princess Xiyue and Ji Ning were both seated within the carriage. The Whitewater Hound was lying on one side, while Little Qing remained wrapped around Ning’s arm.

Just a short while ago, when Princess Xiyue had pulled Ning into the Immortal carriage, the maidservants were speaking out about how this action was inappropriate, for fear that Ning might be an assassin. Still, given how the princess always followed her own plans…there was naturally nothing they could do.

“In the imperial capital, it’s quite common for geniuses to be pulled into and share carriages as part of a befriending process,” Princess Xiyue sent mentally. “If you are going to invite a genius to be your friend, can it be that you’d seat yourself in your carriage, then have him fly alongside it? That would be a show of absolute disrespect to such a peerless genius. Am I right?”

Ning could only let out a helpless laugh.

“Don’t go take up residence in the Raindragon Guard headquarters. Although it’s safe there, there’s too many people and too many eyes. The Raindragon Guards of the Youngflame clan will definitely be keeping watch over you, and all of your actions will be under complete surveillance. Better to come to King Yan’s Estate. There will be absolutely no one who will make trouble for you,” Princess Xiyue sent mentally.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. It was true that his earlier plan had been to live at the Raindragon Guard headquarters in the imperial capital. The Raindragon Godpeak was an absolutely secure location; the Godpeak was higher than even the Skylight Palace, which meant that the martial power hidden within it was surely endlessly amazing. Not even Celestial Immortals would dare to act rashly within it.

However…plans never keep pace with events. He had run into his cousin, and so he would now go to the estate of a king of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. Naturally, it was also extremely safe there.

“The Golden Imperials…two of them are Immortals?” Ning sent mentally.

“Little brother, you truly are impressive. Right; these hundred Golden Imperials include 98 Primal Daoists and two Loose Immortals. These are definitely the most elite soldiers amongst the Imperial Guard of the imperial capital. They had originally been bestowed upon Grandpa, who ordered them to obey my commands. This time, I only brought out two small squad. Every single squad has one Loose Immortal and 49 Primal Daoist who can join together into a Dao-soldier formation. If two squads join forces, even tens of Loose Immortals would find it difficult to defeat them,” Princess Xiyue sent mentally.

Ning sighed in amazement upon hearing this. The imperial clan of the Grand Xia truly was extraordinary in its resources.

“Later, we’ll only need to send out a single squad to annihilate that ‘Snowdragon Mountain’ you spoke of.” A fierce look flashed through Princess Xiyue’s eyes. “I’ll have Grandpa give the Northmont clan of Stillwater advance notice. They absolutely won’t argue about it. A sect that doesn’t even have a single Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal? If they get wiped out, they get wiped out.”

Ning nodded. Previously, during their discussion in the residence, they had spoken of how Yuchi Mount had been killed by Snowdragon Mountain’s men. Yu Dong and Shui Yi had already died, leaving behind only Dong Seven, who remained on Snowdragon Mountain. Because Ning had been pursued by the Youngflame clan, he absolutely didn’t dare to spend time fighting at or attacking Snowdragon Mountain. Upon being encircled and trapped there, he would be finished.

Annihilating Snowdragon Mountain? To Ji Ning, that was a bit tricky. But for Princess Xiyue? It was much easier.

…..

“Why isn’t he out yet?” Immortal Floatcloud, who had been waiting on the streets outside for quite some time, was frowning. He had been waiting for a very long time now.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, an azure-robed servant emerged from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain headquarters, hurriedly sending mentally, “Senior, Ji Ning emerged, but he’s with Princess Xiyue.”

“Princesss Xiyue?!” Immortal Floatcloud was flabbergasted.

Just a few seconds later, an incomparably beautiful and noble pair of azure phoenix Godbeasts flew out, pulling an Immortal carriage wreathed in golden flames. A green-robed woman was seated alongside Ning within it, and next to them lay a Whitewater Hound. In front of them and behind them was a troop of Golden Imperials, emanating powerful auras.

“But, but, but…” Immortal Floatcloud was completely poleaxed. “Two azure phoenix Godbeasts? A hundred Golden Imperials? I…how the hell am I supposed to assassinate him?”

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Chapter 22 – King Yan, Yama-King

Chapter 22 – King Yan, Yama-King

The two azure phoenix Godbeasts were both comparable to supreme Loose Immortals in power. Those two squads of Golden Imperials were even mightier! Even ten Immortal Floatclouds wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“What…what should I do? He’s with Princess Xiyue. How am I supposed to kill him?” Immortal Floatcloud began to briefly panic, but he quickly came back ot his senses. “Princess Xiyue is a woman, and she never met Ji Ning before. This is just their first meeting; she wants to befriend him, which is why they are sharing an Immortal carriage…I imagine that in a short while, they will separate, and Ji Ning will return to his residence, while Princess Xiyue will go back to her royal residence.”

“I’ll follow them. Once they separate, I’ll kill Ji Ning.” Immortal Floatcloud immediately sent a mental order to his subordinates, ordering them to follow. He stayed far away behind them, so as to avoid being discovered.

…..

The spies of the Youngflame clan quietly followed, only to discover that Ji Ning and Princess Xiyue actually weren’t separating.

The azure phoenixes pulled the Immortal carriage whistling through the air, all the way to King Yan’s Estate.

“Come.” Princess Xiyue disembarked from the Immortal carriage. Ning, too, led the Whitewater Hound out of the carriage, following Princess Xiyue into the royal estate.

“Senior, Ji Ning and Princess Xiyue both entered King Yan’s Estate,” the spy immediately reported back.

“What?! Entered the royal estate?! Ji Ning entered King Yan’s Estate?!” Immortal Floatcloud couldn’t even believe it. “Keep watching! I refuse to believe he won’t come out. As soon as he does, immediately report it to me.”

“Yes.” The spy resumed his watch.

……

King Yan’s Estate took up a large amount of space, but it was fairly cold and pristine. This was because although most kings had many friends and relatives with them, King Yan had only a single family member; Princess Xiyue. This caused the estate to feel cold and clean. Still, King Yan was a newly ascended Celestial Immortal; most likely in a thousand years or ten thousand years, this estate would become incredibly lively.

“The royal estate is quite large,” Princess Xiyue said with a laugh. “Many places are unoccupied. Later, I’ll accompany you in picking out a place.”

“Everyone says that it is hard finding a place to stay in the imperial capital, and that most Immortal cultivators can’t even afford it,” Ning laughed. “I didn’t expect that I, Ji Ning, would actually be able to pick and choose. It seems my luck isn’t bad!”

Princess Xiyue laughed as well. The two walked together, chatting and laughing. The two female soldier-servants following them were quite surprised; their princess was quite solitary and rarely made friends she could chat with. Those she did make friends with were all women. For her to chat so happily with a young man….they had never seen this before.

“Xiyue, bring Ji Ning to my place.” A voice suddenly echoed in Princess Xiyue’s mind.

“Let’s go,” Princess Xiyue said. “My Grandpa wants to see you.”

“King Yan wishes to see me?” Ning felt a surge of nervousness. He knew that King Yan was a friend and not an enemy…but he was still a Celestial Immortal! Ning had never before seen a Celestial Immortal Patriarch.

Perhaps the Lord of Cui Palace Ning had met in the Netherworld Kingdom was a Celestial Immortal, or even more powerful than a Celestial Immortal…but Ning had been a mere mortal soul, and the Lord of Cui Palace had completely hidden and suppressed his aura of power. Ning couldn’t sense the Lord of Cui Palace’s level of power at all.

Now, however, things were different. Ning was an Immortal cultivator, and his soul was comparable to a supreme Loose Immortal’s. He now understood more than ever before how powerful Celestial Immortals were.

“Let’s go.” Princess Xiyue laughed as she pulled at Ning’s hand.

“They are holding hands?!” The eyes of two female soldier-servants escorting them turned completely round. “Can the princess actually have fallen for Ji Ning?” The two were personal maidservants; although they were stunned, there was no way they would speak of what they had seen. Every single personal servant had sworn certain oaths to the Dao of the Heavens.

A very short time later. Princess Xiyue led Ning towards a graceful mountain. King Yan’s Estate spanned a thousand kilometers, and so the insides of it were naturally filled with winding mountain ranges, and even some lakes and pools.

“This place, Skygazer Mountain, is the place which Grandpa likes to come to the most,” Princess Xiyue said. “Servants are forbidden from coming up the mountain. Usually, I’m the only one who goes up.”

“Oh?” Ning nodded.

Little Qing nand Uncle White were left at the base of the mountain, not coming up; after all, King Yan had only said that he wanted to meet with Ji Ning.

At the very summit of othe mountain peak, there was an old, gnarled, twisted tree. Next to it, there was a pavilion, which had a single table, a single chair, and a single person within it! This was a tall, muscular man who was dressed in a long black robe. He quietly sat there by himself, drinking wine and staring at the vast landscape around him.

In this moment, it seemed as though the sky, the earth, and the man were all one being.

“Grandpa,” Princess Xiyue called out, her voice breaking the stillness. Only then did the man rise to his feet, turning to stare at them.

He was more than eight feet tall, and his eyebrows were crow-black and almost excessively thick. The eyes below the brows were staring straight at Ji Ning. Ning, in turn, was looking back at King Yan.

Whoosh!

Everying in the surrounding area completely vanished. Ning could only sense an infinite, baleful aura, a baleful aura that filled the skies and covered the earth, so strong as to cause even Ning to feel fear. However, Ning’s soul was powerful and his Dao-heart was sturdy; his sword-soul quickly stabilized itself, allowing him to escape that state a short moment later. Ning looked at the man in front of him. “What a King Yan! He didn’t even try to consciously attack me; he just revealed the baleful aura contained within his body, but it was almost enough to cause me to lose myself within it.”

“Cousin said that her grandpa had only an ordinary level of talent, and wasn’t even viewed as important by the imperial clan of the Grand Xia…but he dared to use evil, demonic techniques and even strengthen the demonic mental attacks of the calamities to temper himself. This is a very crazy fellow…and because of his craziness, although his talent was clearly ordinary, he managed to force his way into becoming a Celestial Immortal.” Ning knew quite well that it was rare for even a single Celestial Immortal to emerge within the Grand Xia Empire over the span of a million years.

King Yan’s talent had been ordinary for an Earth Immortal, but he had succeeded in becoming a Celestial Immortal. He most assuredly had his own terrifying secrets. Everything else aside, that baleful aura contained within his gaze…that alone was enough to make Ning understand that this person before him had definitely undergone terrifying experiences. Otherwise, there was no way the baleful aura could be so strong.

“Ji Ning pays his respects to you, King Yan.” Ning respectfully bowed deeply.

“Not bad. You’ve only trained for thirty years, but your Dao-heart wasn’t moved by my baleful aura; you instantly threw it off.” King Yan nodded slightly, then said with a calm smile, “Formidable, formidable.”

Princess Xiyue said, surprised, “Grandpa, you just praised him as ‘formidable’ twice in a row? I’ve never seen you praise someone like that before.”

“Xiyue, can it be that you don’t know Grandpa’s nickname?” King Yan revealed a hint of smugness in his eyes.

“You mean…Yama-King?” Xiyue said. 1

Ning revealed a puzzled look.

“Yama-King refers to the Yama Hell-Kings of the Netherworld Kingdom!” Xiyue explained. “Even I don’t know why Grandpa acquired a nickname like this.”

“It’s precisely because I became a Celestial Immortal through a life of slaughter that my baleful aura is this strong. Otherwise, why would others call me Yama-King?” King Yan laughed smugly. In front of his only granddaughter, he acted as if he were an ordinary person; if he wanted to laugh, he would, and if he wanted to be smug, he would. And if he wanted to be unhappy, he would.

King Yan looked at Ning. “Which is why it is quite formidable that you are able to ignore the influence of my baleful aura.”

“I know that you and Xiyue are maternal cousins.” King Yan nodded. “I also know that enmity exists between you and the Youngflame clan. Their roots, however, are deep and stable; they won’t be so easily uprooted. Xiyue hasn’t even publicly acknowledged her true surname. However, you, Ji Ning, have truly gone head-on against the Youngflame clan. You need to be careful in your day-to-day life.”

Ning nodded. “Understood.”

“Grandpa!” Princess Xiyue immediately said, “Didn’t you say that Patriarch Arcanum of the Youngflame clan doted heavily on Youngflame Nong, and would definitely take revenge for him?”

“Yes, I did say that,” King Yan nodded. “Patriarch Arcanum truly is quite an unreasonable fellow. Although I’m savage, I can be reasonable. He, however, is completely unreasonable. That’s why you have to be careful.”

“Don’t you have more Golden Imperials under your control? Divert a squad to my little brother,” Xiyue immediately pleaded.

Ning was stunned. She had never before mentioned this idea to him.

“Golden Imperials?” King an frowned. “Xiyue, the Golden Imperials belong to the Imperial Guard of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. Generally speaking, only members of the imperial clan will have Imperial Guards with them. You are a princess, so it doesn’t matter that you have them with you, but if Ji Ning were also to have them…this is…”

“Grandpa!” Princess Xiyue said frantically. “His Majesty, the Emperor, bestowed the Golden Imperials to you for you to command as you see fit, right? I’m not asking you to give my little brother all the Golden Imperials as protection, just a single squad. The laws of the imperial clan have never stated that the Golden Imperials can only protect imperial clan members.”

King Yan shook his head, letting out a resigned laugh. It was true. There was no way the laws of the Grand Xia would stipulate that Golden Imperials could only protect imperial clan members. After all, even the Emperor himself had his important ministers and subjects, or formidable independent roving Immortals who he wanted to befriend. For the sake of showing his grace, he would arrange for some Golden Imperials to serve these people.

“Fine then.” King Yan nodded. “I’ll arrange for a squad of Golden Imperials. The worst thing that could happen is some people will mumble about it behind my back.”

“Thank you, Grandpa. Grandpa, you are the best.” Princess Xiyue hugged King Yan by the arm in quite the friendly manner.

“Hahaha.” King Yan laughed. Only with her, his granddaughter, would he feel the warmth of family. In front of others…he would always remain the legendary Yama-King.

“Hurry up and thank my grandpa,” Princess Xiyue said, immediately looking at Ning.

“Thank you, King Yan,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Mm.” King Yan nodded, then laughed, “Go now. You are quite cautious in front of me. Xiyue, make the arrangements for your little brother. The royal estate is quite large; let him choose a place as he pleases, then have him settle down. There will definitely be no one who will dare to barge into my estate.”

“Grandpa, we’ll leave now.” Xiyue immediately pulled Ning away, and they quickly descended from Skygazer Mountain.

King Yan watched as Princess Xiyue and Ning went down the mountain. He nodded lightly. “Xiyue clearly is much happier now. She’s suppressed her hatred in her heart for too long. In the end, it is family which will allow her to become a happier person.”

King Yan then turned and sat down again. He sat there, by himself, holding a cup of wine, staring at this vast, wide world.

…..

They had arrived at a grassy area next to a lake. Ning nodded. “Right here. I’ll live here.”

“Here?” Princess Xiyue was flabbergasted. “But this is a barren place. There’s nothing but grass here. There’s no place to stay at all. We have plenty of residences in this royal estate…why are you going to stay in a barren grassland?”

“Watch.”

Ning waved his hand.

Whoosh! Instantly, an enormous, beautiful Immortal estate appeared, with beautiful pavilions and residences that were decorated with paintings and sculptures. Like golden jade, they stood there, emanating natural elemental ki.

“What a fine Immortal estate.” Princess Xiyue was surprised. “You can actually carry this Immortal estate with you…it definitely can’t be a cheap one.”

“Right. This is an Immortal estate that one can carry at the Wanxiang level; it’s worth at least half a million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence,” Ning said. Actually, this Immortal estate was one which the giant yellow bear had given to Ning, free of charge; although it was a ‘gift’, Ning was absolutely forbidden from selling it. This was because within this Immortal estate which worth half a million kilograms, there was a region where the underwater estate was secreted.

Within the underwater estate, inside the Immortal estate, there were layers on layers of protective formations. It was definitely a completely safe spot.

“Half a million kilograms? Nice.” Princess Xiyue said, “Is this Youngflame Nong’s as well?”

“No. I acquired it by luck,” Ning said.

“I knew it. For you to be able to kill Youngflame Nong and a Primal-level Fiendgod means that you definitely must have had some tremendous strokes of fortune.” Princess Xiyue laughed, “Alright, go inside and get some rest. When night comes, I’ll prepare a dinner banquet for you.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“Get a good rest. You haven’t had a chance to rest at all after arriving at the imperial capital.” Princess Xiyue then led her two female soldier-servants away. As for Ning, he led Uncle White and Little Qing into his own Immortal estate.

1. In Chinese, the ‘Yan’ of King Yan and the ‘Yama’ of Yama-King are pronounced identically, although the characters are completely different.

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Chapter 23 – Fivecraze Arrives

Chapter 23 – Fivecraze Arrives

“Master, has Princess Xiyue taken a fancy to you? She’s so nice to you. She even brought you to the royal estate and had you live here.” After they entered the Immortal estate, Little Qing could no longer refrain from beginning to jabber at Ji Ning.

“Ning, son, this princess is indeed treating you quite well. I feel as though she is being sincere,” the Whitewater Hound said as well.

Ning just grinned, not explaining. The fact that his cousin’s name was Yuchi Xiyue was a major secret which she had never before revealed to her servants or spirit-beasts. Naturally, Ning wouldn’t reveal it either. Although his spirit-beasts were absolutely loyal to him, sometimes…just because a person didn’t want to reveal a secret, didn’t mean it wouldn’t end up being revealed anyhow. For example, weren’t the members of the Yuchi clan all soul-scoured?

“We’ve already established ourselves here, at the imperial capital of the Grand Xia,” Ning said. “Next, we’ll just stay for a time here at King Yan’s Estate, awaiting the Conclave of Immortal Destiny.”

“Ning, son, at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, you suppressed many challengers with your financial might, spending 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to buy the peacock plumes. I trust that word of this will quickly spread, and more and more people within the imperial capital will know of you. Soon, I imagine, some major clans will invite you over,” Uncle White said.

Ning nodded. This was what he had planned to begin with. He had originally wanted to seek out various powers, so as to use their strength against the Youngflame clan. He hadn’t expected he would run into his cousin!

“There’s no harm getting to know more of the clans and tribes which are feuding against the Youngflame clan,” Ning said. “Uncle White, Little Qing, let me go train in my private room for a time. If there’s nothing important, don’t call for me.”

And then, Ning returned to his own private room. As for the underwater estate…it was secreted within that very room.

Whoosh!

Ning entered the private room. Within it, there was actually a secondary door. Upon opening it, he immediately arrived at the enormous main hall of the underwater estate, filled with those giant prayer mats.

The giant yellow bear was within the main hall, smiling as he looked at Ning. “King Yan truly is a fine fellow; earlier, when he swept his entire royal estate with his coresense, he scanned our Immortal estate as well. When he realized that there were layers of restrictive spells on it, he didn’t try to send his coresense to penetrate through them.”

Coresense…this was something a level higher than even ‘divine sense’.

Immortal cultivators were primarily divided into two categories; the one before and the one after the Celestial Tribulation. The category before the tribulation was a category filled with misery and painstaking work, faced with the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations and countless dangers. The ‘divine soul’ of this level was independent; even after becoming a Primal Daoist, although the divine soul would enter the body of the Primal, it would just be nurtured there within it. The soul itself was still stand-alone and independent. Independent souls could divide into two, and the split half could be trained into a ‘Primaltwin’.”

The second category of Immortal cultivators was those who had overcome the Celestial Tribulation. After it, the divine soul and the Primal would truly fuse together. There would be no distinction between the two; each would be part of the other. This was a true transformative change, and over the process of it, the ‘coresense’ would emerge as well.

This was a form of power that was even more formidable than ‘divine sense’. A form of power that was able to touch on the hidden, underworld currents of fate and destiny.

“This royal estate is his territory, after all; some Celestial Immortals will carefully investigate everything which is brought onto their estate, or even force their way in to take a look. King Yan, however, went out of his way to avoid scanning this estate again.” The giant yellow bear nodded in approval; clearly, he was quite approving of the way this King Yan acted.

“If he insisted on using his coresense to investigate?” Ning asked.

“I could forcibly deny him,” the giant yellow bear said. “Or, I could allow his coresense in and let him believe that he had already found everything, when in reality, he would be ridiculously wrong.”

Ning nodded. He then sat down in the lotus position, and with a wave of his hand, produced the five peacock plumes. The peacock plumes emanated powerful ripples of might that were not one whit weaker than that of an ordinary Immortal-ranked magic treasure. The space and world around them even seemed to begin to congeal. Still, compared to the Thousandbull Sword, it was still rather weaker.

“What a pity. A peacock with plumes that manifested from the Five Elements actually died at the Void-level. If he had overcome the Celestial Tribulation, the various major powers of the Three Realms would probably fight over him as a mount,” the giant yellow bear sighed. “The more monstrously powerful a Godbeast is, the harder it is for them to overcome the Celestial Tribulation.”

“…a mount?” Ning was speechless. Poor Godbeast; his destiny was just to become a mount at best?

Ning then stretched out both of his arms, beginning to absorb the extracted essence of the Five Elements contained within the five peacock plumes.

Ning executed a special technique, and his palms began to be covered with the Divine Starseizer Runes. The divine runes glowed with light, and the round runes began to spin, vaguely generating a devouring power that seemed to fill the region. The Five Elements peacock plumes began to try and resist, not willing to allow the essence of the Five Elements within theselves be lost.

However, these were nonliving items; how could they overcome the technique? Slowly, one strand after another of essence was extracted from and flew out of the five peacock plumes. They strands were golden, azure, watery-blue, fire-red, and dark yellow. The five types of essence continuously flew out and into Ning’s twin hands.

Slowly, Ning’s entire body began to send out one ripple of power after another as well.

Time passed on. The five-colored essences continuously flew into Ning’s hands. After a long period of time, Ning finally put his hands down, halting the absorption process.

“That’s enough.” After having absorbed enough of the Five Elements essence, Ning began to activate another technique. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! His twin hands began to emanate a blinding, pentacolor aura of light. The strength of the light was incomparably strong! His hands were no longer ordinary items; they were more like magic treasures, and the powerful ripples emanating from them vastly surpassed those given off by Heaven-ranked magic items in power.

Slowly, the pentacolored aura of light swiveled and spun into Ning’s palms, transforming into a chaotic mash of colors. Immediately afterwards, the round divine tattoos on Ning’s palms once more began to expand and become even more profound, with some additional, complicated diagrams appearing. As they did so, the ripples emanating from them began to grow even more terrifiyingly strong.

“The [Six Cycles of the Starseizer]…the second Cycle is completed!” Ning revealed a look of delight.

“Whew.” Ning clenched his fists. BOOM! BOOM! Both fists exploded with power, causing sonic booms. Even the surrounding space, which had been congealed and frozen by the Five Elements peacock plumes, trembled and shook, with the energy within beginning to fluctuate.

“My pair of hands…they are far more powerful than even Heaven-ranked magic items. They are comparable to Immortal-ranked magic items now.” Ning sighed in amazement. “From the first Cycle to the second Cycle…it truly is a major rise in power. Only after training to the second Cycle can my Fiendgod body truly explode with the power it should have.”

Actually, the true [Starseizing Hand] technique was to transform one’s hands into weapons. When receiving the legacy, Ning had seen one image after another of Daoist Threelives using his own hands to launch attacks! The hands of Daoist Threelives were more terrifying than any magic treasure. He had no need of any magic treasures. His hands were the most powerful of magic treasures.

Ning, however, used his hands to control his swords!

“Ji Ning, after having mastered the second Cycle, your [Starseizing Hand] has already reached the highest level of power which your current Fiendgod body can withstand.” The giant yellow bear nodded and said praisingly, “Train harder. You are only at the eleventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; if you were to train to the tweltfth stage, then you would have an even better chance at the Conclave of Immortal Destiny.”

“Senior, if I use the [Starseizing Hand] at the Conclave…wouldn’t I be revealing myself? Supposedly, the Conclave will attract attention from some of the most formidable figures of the Three Realms,” Ning said.

“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t reveal the Divine Starseizer Tattoos, they won’t be able to realize what you are doing, no matter how many times you use the technique,” the giant yellow bear said with a laugh. “At most, they’ll believe that you have access to some sort of powerful divine ability or secret art…or perhaps they’ll believe that your weapons, the Darknorth swords, are incredibly powerful. There’s no way they’ll be able to guess at the true might of your divine ability.”

Ning nodded.

“There’s no major power who, just by glancing at your physical body, can recognize the divine ability you are using,” the giant yellow bear said. “Unless it’s one of those special attack divine abilities, or those divine abilities that allow the body to instanteously increase in size. Those are all immediately recognizable. Aside from that, it’s incredibly hard to recognize the vast majority of divine abilities.”

“Eh?” The giant yellow bear frowned. “Someone is coming.”

Ning could sense it as well. A servant had arrived outside the gates to his Immortal estate. “I’ll take a look,” Ning said.

Swoosh.

Ning quickly arrived at the gataes to his Immortal estate. The servant outside it said respectfully, “Outside our royal estate, a short old man who styles himself ‘Immortal Fivecraze’ wishes to see you, milord.”

“Immortal Fivecraze?” Ning was startled, but he immediately said, “Understood.”

Outside the gates to King Yan’s Estate. There was a rather sloppily dressed short elder who was waiting here. As Ning appeared at the gates, Ning immediately cried out in delight, “Patriarch.”

“Ji Ning.” Immortal Fivecraze beamed as well.

“Please, come in, Patriarch.” Ning hurriedly led the way. “Come to my place.”

“Alright.” Immortal Fivecraze nodded.

……

Immortal Floatcloud had been waiting outside this entire time, waiting for a good opportunity to assassinate Ji Ning.

“Senior, Ji Ning has arrived at the gates to the royal estate.”

“Is he coming out?” Immortal Floatcloud grew eager and excited.

“No. He went back inside. It seems he was welcoming a short, sloppy-looking old man.”

“Keep watching for me.” Immortal Floatcloud was beginning to grow a bit frantic. When he had sworn the oath to the Dao of the Heavens, he had said that he would kill Ji Ning within three days; else, his soul would be shattered. If Ji Ning continued to hide within King Yan’s estate for three days and refused to come out, then Immortal Floatcloud would have no choice but to allow his soul to be destroyed.

…….

Ji Ning led Immortal Fivecraze back to his own Immortal estate, preparing Immortal wine and fruit for him.

“Patriarch, how did you know I was here at King Yan’s Estate?” Ning said with a laugh.

“I came here for the express purpose of seeking you out,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Seeking me out?” Ning was surprised.

Immortal Fivecraze nodded. “Right. Your master, Immortal Diancai, has gone out adventuring. Before doing so, he asked us to all give you a hand. Our Black-White College is unable to help you directly fight against the Youngflame clan. The only thing we can do…is give some of the secret arts and manuals of the school to you. We wanted to do so, but we weren’t able to find you. Just now, we received word that you had appeared in the Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the imperial capital. Only after I arrived at and searched everywhere in the Heavenly Treasures Mountain did I learn that you had entered King Yan’s Estate.”

“I’ve brought scrolls for your Ki Refining Technique and your Fiendgod Body Refining Techniques over,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “Also the divine abilities and secret arts of our College; I’ve brought all of them as well. Look at and memorize all of them; after memorizing each one, destroy it.”

As he spoke, thirty-six formation flags suddenly appeared in midair around them. As they hovered there, they emanated a series of pulses of light which covered the region.

“Not even Celestial Immortals can think about spying on you.” Immortal Fivecraze looked at Ji Ning. “Hurry up and view them.” As he spoke, he offered them to Ning.

Ning was speechless. So Immortal Fivecraze had hurried all the way from Stillwater Commandery to deliver him divine abilities and secret arts?

“Don’t stand there like a fool. You are a student of the Black-White College; you are supposed to be able to train in these anyhow. The point of those so-called black-white pellets is just to ensure that you will work hard and test yourself. We can’t just give everything to you without making you work for it, right?” Immortal Fivecraze sighed. “This is all the Black-White College can do for you now…”

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Chapter 24 – Invitation

Chapter 24 – Invitation

Ji Ning’s eyes stung.

After killing Youngflame Nong, Ning had never hoped for the Black-White College to help him, their disciple. In truth, he felt guilt towards the Black-White College. Because of him…the relationship between the Black-White College and the Youngflame clan had almost assuredly turned quite stiff. Thus, Ning had only planned to rely on his own power to fight against the Youngflame clan.

“Master…Master went out adventuring?” Ning asked, worried.

“Right. Your matter…your master is unable to assist you in resolving it. This had a tremendous impact on your master. In addition, he isn’t certain of his ability to overcome the Celestial Tribulation. Thus, he is going to go out and adventure and temper himself.” Immortal Fivecraze said with a sigh, “However…how can the matters of the world always go as you desire them to go? Your master is too stubborn and fixated.”

Ning didn’t say a word.

“Hurry up and read.” Immortal Fivecraze handed the [Flowing Watersource] to Ning.

“Right.” Ning nodded. No matter how many thoughts he had in his mind, given his power was insufficient, those thoughts were useless.

“In the past life, or in this life…my goal is to have my destiny in my own hands.” That powerful desire filling Ning’s heart continued to cause his Dao-heart to grow firmer. He flipped through the second half of the [Flowing Watersource], memorizing it carefully. After doing so, a flame emerged from Ning’s hand which completely burned the book into ash. Next, Immortal Fivecraze gave him the third scroll for the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

The full copy of the [Flowing Watersource]. The third scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. The full copy of [Heavenly Transformation]. The full copy of the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye]. The full copy of the [Myriad Hibernating Venoms]. The full copy of [Three Heads, Six Arms]. The full copy of the [Eye of the Luminous Heart]. The full copy of the [Soulshaker Art]. The full copy of the [Soulcharmer Art]. The full copy of the [Soulslayer Art].

This was what Immortal Fivecraze had brought him. Almost all of the most important divine abilities and secret arts of the Black-White College; he had brought them all for Ning.

After each read, Ning would burn the book.

Some of the divine abilities took up ten full books. Immortal cultivators had utterly astonishing memories, but Ning still needed to read all the way to the dawn of the next day before completely memorizing all of the techniques. But of course, halfway through the process, Ning had taken a break and taken the Patriarch to participate in the dinner banquet which Princess Xiyue had prepared for him.

“No need to see me off.”

Ning was at the gates to the royal estate, sending off Immortal Fivecraze.

“Ji Ning…” Immortal Fivecraze looked towards Ning, then said with a laugh, “Last night, I could tell from the banquet that King Yan treats you with great importance. He is a Celestial Immortal Patriarch, and yet he views you so highly; you need to work hard! Every bit of help the Black-White College can possibly give you, we have already! As for myself, I’m just trying to overcome as many tribulations as I can before succumbing. I don’t have much time left to me. I truly hope to be able to see one of the disciples of the Black-White College become a Celestial Immortal. Your master is striving to do this; you need to as well.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“In the imperial capital, when you are alone, you need to be careful.” Immortal Fivecraze cracked a smile. “Since you are going to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, you need to go all out. If you can apprentice yourself to a major power of the Three Realms…by then, the Youngflame clan will be completely stupefied.”

“Right. I’m going to go all out.” Ning nodded.

“Alright. I’m leaving now.” Immortal Fivecraze turned and left. He was holding up his calabash of wine, appearing to be quite relaxed and at ease. Moments later, he disappeared from Ning’s field of vision.

Ning took a deep breath. In this moment…Ning felt an incomparably powerful sense of belonging for the Black-White College.

“No matter how much time passes…I, Ji Ning, shall forever be a disciple of the Black-White College.” These were the words Ning said silently to himself.

And then, Ning turned and returned to the estate.

……

“Senior, Ji Ning came to the entrance of the royal estate.”

“He’s coming out?” Immortal Floatcloud asked frantically.

“He just went back inside again.”

Immortal Floatcloud’s face was filled with indisguisable franticness. He barked, “Keep watching!”

Although he was a Loose Immortal, and although he was extremely patient…he had already sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens before Patriarch Arcanum. He had to kill Ji Ning within three days.

“It’s already been a day and a half!” Immortal Floatcloud said frantically to himself, “Ji Ning, oh, Ji Ning…are you going to stay inside the entire time? Then my death will really have been for nothing.”

…….

Within King Yan’s Estate. The underwater estate.

“Ji Ning, that fellow named Fivecraze brought over quite a few divine abilities and secret arts. The secret arts are one thing; you can do as you please. But of the divine abilities, you absolutely cannot train in the [Myriad Hibernating Venoms]. Absolutely not,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Eh?” Ji Ning said, surprised, “This [Myriad Hibernating Venoms] is said to be one of the most powerful divine abilities the Black-White College possesses; the cost in black-white pellets is as high as the [Eye of the Luminous Heart]. They are the most expensive of all. And isn’t it better to have as many divine abilities as possible? There shouldn’t be any issues.”

The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Yes, the more divine abilities the better, but…training in divine abilities will distract you take up your time, won’t it? As for the [Myriad Hibernating Venoms], you will need to use more than ten thousand types of strange venoms in order to train in it. Searching for and acquiring so many venoms will cost you a great deal, and merging those venoms into your body is extremely troublesome. It will cost you a lot of effort, for little gain! In addition, the more pure a divine body is, the better; fusing so many venoms into your body isn’t worth shit. In the future, after you become an Empyrean God, you’d probably have to actually purify your body of those venoms and actively wipe out the traces of this divine ability from it.”

Ning was speechless.

“What about the other divine abilities?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“[Heavenly Transformation] and [Three Heads, Six Arms]; virtually all of the Fiendgods of the Three Realms train in these two divine abilities. Although they are very common, they are still quite useful,” the giant yellow bear said. “You are definitely going to train in them. As for the rest? Didn’t you already acquire the [Pentabolt Vajra]? You can train in both the [Pentabolt Vajra] and the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], and the two can actually support each other, causing both to grow stronger. In addition, in reality, this [Divine Thunderbolt Eye] is in reality the foundation for one of the supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms, the [Thundergod’s Eye].”

Ning laughed, “So it really is true that having an old man at home is like having a treasure.”

“Yep. So you, you little tyke, need to be more polite to me,” the giant yellow bear said smugly.

“How powerful is that [Thundergod’s Eye] you spoke of, the one you said is a supreme divine ability of the Three Realms?” Ning asked, curious.

“Amongst the countless divine abilities of the Three Realms, it can rank in the top hundred, I suppose. It’s on a lower level than your [Starseizing Hand],” the giant yellow bear said. “But it’s still quite powerful. Anyone who can completely master the [Thundergod’s Eye] will become a major figure of the Three Realms.”

Ning nodded. During the past year, he had already trained the [Pentabolt Vajra], [Soldiers of the Mind], and [Three Heads, Six Arms] to a very high level.

“There’s still more than a year from now until the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. I need to reach a certain level of accomplishment in the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], the [Soulcharmer Art], and the [Soulslayer Art],” Ning mused to himself.

……

“Open.”

Ning let out a loud shout within the underwater estate’s main hall. His forehead suddenly split apart, revealing a vertical eye-slit. A bolt of thunder snaked out from it, crashing against the ground of the distant hallway.

“Eh? Someone’s coming? It’s not even dark; dinner hasn’t even begun. Why has a servant come?” With a thought, Ning willed the Divine Thunderbolt Eye in his forehead to close. He had just reached a basic level of understanding of this technique, but the power was already quite something.

Ning arrived at the entrance to the Immortal estate, with Uncle White and Little Qing hurriedly following.

“What is it?” Ning asked.

The female soldier-servant at the gate said with a laugh, “The Princess is asking you to meet her, young master.”

“Oh?” Ning nodded. “Uncle White, Little Qing, I’m going to make a short trip.”

Soon, Ning arrived at his cousin’s residence. She was currently within her pavilion, and in her hands she held a leather scroll that was covered with golden light.

“All of you, leave,” Yuchi Xiyue instructed. Soon, the entire courtyard was emptied, save for Ning and Yuchi Xiyue.

“Little brother, after you went to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain and tossed out 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to buy the peacock plumes, word of you spread. Many in the imperial capital now know about you.” Yuchi Xiyue handed the golden leather scroll to Ning. “So, someone has already come to invite you to attend a banquet.”

Ning accepted it and took a glance.

“Kindwater clan?” Ning’s eyes lit up. Ning had already purchased intelligence reports regarding the various major powers of the imperial capital. Although he didn’t know the details, he knew the rough situation.

“The Kindwater clan and the Youngflame clan are mortal enemies! In addition, the Kindwater clan is even more powerful than the Youngflame clan.” Yuchi Xiyue laughed. “According to the stories, back in the Fiendgod Era, the Kindwater clan led a large number of tribes, as did the Xiamang clan. The Xiamang clan and the Kindwater clan fought for a long period of time before the Kindwater clan finally submitted to them.”

Ning sighed in amazement. He didn’t know about the hidden histories such as these.

“Back in the Fiendgod Era, the Kindwater clan even declared themselves as emperors!” Yuchi Xiyue sighed, moved. “Even after submitting, they still remain one of the top three clans of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning knew about this part. As for the leader of the top three clans, that was of course the imperial Xiamang clan! It was they who had unified and controlled the world.

As for the second and the third, they were the Kindwater clan and the Blackgod clan.

“The Kindwater clan and the Youngflame clan have an enormous feud between them. And the first one to invite me really is the Kindwater clan.” Ning laughed. “Right. This invited you as well, cousin; they asked you to accompany me tonight.”

“I won’t go. Although they invited me, that was just to be polite. I’ve never liked to get too involved with them,” Yuchi Xiyue said, shaking her head. “Don’t force me.”

“Then I won’t try and compel you, cousin.” Ning nodded.

……

Ji Ning led the Whitewater Hound and Little Qing to the gates of the royal estate. Outside, fifty Golden Imperials were already congregating.

“Our respects to you, young master.” The leader of the Imperials, Immortal Plumerider, said.

“Sorry to trouble you, fellow Daoist Plumerider,” Ning said.

“This is no trouble. We are at the command of King Yan; naturally, we will strive to do our utmost to protect you, young master,” Immortal Plumerider said.

Ning waved his hand, and instantly, a large ship appeared. This was a large ship that was ancient and unadorned, and yet faintly radiated a threatening presence. This was one of the treasures which Immortal Juhua had left behind; it was a construct-ship, and was quite a bit more valuable than even the black dragon carriage that Youngflame Nong had.

“Let’s go.” Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing all boarded the large ship.

Whoooooosh. The crowd of Golden Imperials boarded as well. In a very practiced manner, the Golden Imperials quickly assumed positions throughout the ship, all of them vigilant and continuously scanning the area.

The warship immediately released crushing waves of energy as it began to fly towards the place which the Kindwater clan had invited Ning to meet at. This was a place that could be considered one of the most exquisite of entertainment venues; Cloudwater Manor.

Swoosh.

Immortal Floatcloud appeared in midair, staring at the distant, enormous warship flying through the skies. The Golden Imperials standing aboard the warship caused him even more frustration.

“My three day deadline is growing closer and closer. He finally came out, but why…why is he bringing a squad of Golden Imperials with him? How am I supposed to kill him when he is protected by Golden Imperials?” True panic was in the eyes of Immortal Floatcloud now. He truly didn’t want to end up having no chance to attack, and then being punished by the Dao of the Heavens by having his soul shattered.

That would be too unjust!

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Chapter 25 – Cloudwater Manor

Chapter 25, Cloudwater Manor

Cloudwater Manor. It was built over the massive Ninesun Lake. Wreathed by clouds and mist, it appeared like an abode for Immortals, built amidst the clouds.

A large, plain, ancient-looking warship came cruising forward, flying towards the Cloudwater Manor.

“Is this young master Ji Ning?” An attendant had been waiting for quite some time, outside the Cloudwater Manor.

Ning, leading a group of Golden Imperials, disembarked from the warship. With a wave of his hand, he collected it, then walked to the long-awaiting, white-robed, youthful-looking Primal Daoist. He said, “I am Ji Ning.”

“Per orders from my young master, I have been here awaiting you, young master Ji Ning. Young master Ji Ning, please follow me.” The white-robed youth gave the Golden Imperials behind Ning a glance. His eyelids couldn’t help but twitch. Someone who could summon a troop of Golden Imperials when travelling… was definitely no ordinary person. He was absolutely someone with a background, with a backer!

For those important officials and senior ministers, the backer was the Emperor of the Grand Xia himself; that was why they would be bestowed with a squad of Golden Imperials. In turn, only the important figures of the imperial clan would be bestowed with Golden Imperials. The only reason Ning had a troop of Golden Imperials was because behind him stood King Yan!

“This Cloudwater Manor is quite awe-inspiringly majestic.” A little azure serpent was wrapped around Ning’s arm, while by his side was a large, snowy white dog. Behind him was a large group of Golden Imperials. This impressive troop moved through the Cloudwater Manor, moving swiftly and unopposed as they glided many kilometers each moment.

The white-robed youth who was leading the way said with a laugh, “Cloudwater Manor was only completed after our Kindwater clan spent countless treasures and three years of time. After its initial creation, countless years of time were spent to carefully carve and sculpt it. Only after all these efforts did the Cloudwater Manor before you come into being.”

“The Kindwater clan lives up to its name. Formidable, formidable,” Ning said in praise.

This was a mighty tribe which had once been able to struggle against even the imperial Xiamang clan over control of the world, a clan that absolutely ranked amongst the top three clans of this major world. Its roots were unfathomably deep. One could tell this just by looking at the many restrictive formations set up on a building like Cloudwater Manor, which was most likely on par with some of the main headquarters of other supreme clans. The Kindwater clan had indeed spent boundless effort on Cloudwater Manor, as the largest business building the Kindwater clan owned within the imperial capital. Ning’s praise for it truly came from the heart.

The white-robed youth, hearing Ning’s praise, couldn’t help but smile. He then said, “The young master is right up ahead. He’s prepared a banquet long ago, and is awaiting you, young master Ji Ning.”

“It seems I am late,” Ning laughed.

Soon, they arrived at a long pathway that hung in the air. As they walked through the pathway, they could look down and see the rippling waves of the lake, as well as the mist that filled the entire place…

This corridor led to an enormous building that was at least three thousand meters high. This building was standalone, and the Cloudwater Manor had only a single corridor that led to it.

In front of the doors to the building, there were two servants standing guard. These servants were both Wanxiang Adepts. Upon seeing the white-robed youth, they immediately pushed the door open with tremendous courtesy.

“The young master is right inside,” the white-robed youth laughed. “This place is fairly secluded, and it has a wonderful view of the beautiful scenery of the Ninesuns Lake.”

Ning led his troop of Golden Imperials in, and the door closed behind them.

“Hahaha, brother Ji Ning truly is extraordinary. Just a short while ago, you spent 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to purchase the peacock plumes, causing your name to be spread throughout the imperial capital. Now, shortly after entering King Yan’s Estate, you actually re-emerged with a squad of Golden Imperials. I have no choice but to be in awe of you, so much so that I might prostrate myself before you. Songspear, how about you?” A slightly frivolous voice spoke out.

A youth dressed in loose white-robes walked over barefooted, his long hair casually unbound. His eyes had a seemingly drunk look in them, appearing to be quite hazy. His face, however, was covered with a warm smile as he came to welcome them.

Next to his side was a tall, muscular, black-robed youth. This tall youth nodded as well. “I am in awe as well. King Yan is notorious for being unapproachable. He’s quite cold and grim. There are truly very few youngsters who he views with importance. For brother Ji Ning to be able to emerge in just two short days with a squad of Golden Imperials…he truly is formidable.”

Of the two, the white-robed, barefoot youth appeared to be a bit more of a dandy, and he seemed to be quite free and relaxed. As for the other, the tall, muscular, black-robed youth, he emanated a sharp, fierce aura.

Behind the two was a man and a woman, who followed them.

“You praise me too much,” Ning laughed. His invitation to the Cloudwater Manor had come from Kindwater Xiaolou. Ning naturally knew of Kindwater Xiaolou, one of the Four Dukelings of the imperial capital. The white-robed, barefooted youth was Kindwater Xiaolou. Although he and Youngflame Nong shared the same reputation of being one of the ‘Four Dukelings’ of the imperial capital, their clans were mortal enemies, and so the two naturally had been on extremely tense terms.

Normally, they struggled quite viciously against each other. Still, in turns of resources, personal ability, connections, or tribal strength, Kindwater Xiaolou was superior to Youngflame Nong.

“Brother Ji Ning.” The white-robed, barefoot Kindwater Xiaolou warmly took Ning by the hand. “Come, let me make some introductions.”

Kindwater Xiaolou pointed towards the tall, muscular, black-robed youth. “This person is the truly peerless genius of the younger generation of the Skyfarmer clan – Skyfarmer Songspear! Songspear isn’t like me; I often go out and party, but Songspear is quite low-key. He focuses on his training, and often goes out to temper himself through adventuring. In fact, he’s almost never in the imperial capital. The only reason he’s here right now is the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Since he just so happened to hear about your matters as well, Ji Ning, and was curious about you, he told me that he wanted to meet with you.”

“Skyfarmer Songspear?” Ning was secretly surprised. Amongst those who were believed to have a good chance of ranking number one in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny were the likes of Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Adept Woodpass, and some other exceedingly famous people. Although Skyfarmer Songspear was comparatively speaking much more low-key, he was still the most outstanding figure amongst the younger generation members of the Skyfarmer clan, and was believed to definitely rank in the top hundred, and in fact was a genius likely to be able to explode forth with tremendous power. He was too low-key, causing others to be unable to be certain of his current level of power.

“Brother Ji Ning.” Songspear laughed.

“Brother Songspear.” Since the man had warmly greeted him as ‘brother Ji Ning’, Ning naturally wouldn’t treat him coldly. If he were to foolishly respond to him as ‘fellow Daoist Songspear’, then the man would probably think Ning was not giving him face.

“Come, come, come. Let me introduce you to another person who is taking part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny.” Xiaolou pointed to a man behind him. This man was dressed in violet robes, and his skin was pure white and incomparably beautiful. His eyes even seemed to have a hint of devilishness to them. “This is a good friend which I met many years ago; Xiao Lang. He’s definitely one of the most famous of playboys; in the imperial capital, quite a few maidens are completely smitten with him, wanting to marry him.”

“So he is Xiao Lang?” Ning said to himself. Xiao Lang was recorded in his intelligence records as well. He was quite dissolute, and his temperament was a bit bizarre. Still, in the Heavenly Treasures Mountain’s reports, he was a figure who was only mentioned; there was no way he could compare with Skyfarmer Songspear.

“My respects to you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” Xiao Lang looked at Ning, clasping his hands in greeting, a smile that wasn’t a smile on his face.

“Fellow Daoist Xiao Lang.” Ning nodded as well.

The nearby Songspear said with a laugh, “I have a good friend as well. I met her while adventuring in the outside world, and she came back with me to the imperial capital on this trip. She is also going to participate in the Conclave.” As he spoke, the alluring, red-robed woman behind him walked forward. “Wavecolor greets you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning.”

“Fellow Daoist Wavecolor,” Ning greeted her as well.

Kindwater Xiaolou, Skyfarmer Songspear, Xiao Lang, Wavecolor. Ning secretly sighed in amazement; all four of these figures were extraordinary.

Xiao Lang was a dissolute figure with a strange personality and a bizarre temperament.

Wavecolor was a figure who was quite famous in the Northern Seas. However, her fame came primarily due to her beauty.

“Come, let’s sit over there,” Kindwater Xiaolou said.

The Golden Imperials, Little Qing, and Uncle White sat down to one side. There were sitting mats specially prepared for them as well. As for Xiaolou, Songspear, Xiao Lang, Wavecolor, and Ji Ning, they walked to another place.

There, all five of them sat down.

“I had originally planned to invite you, brother Ji Ning, to go stay with me at the Kindwater Estate. I didn’t expect that you would have ended up staying at King Yan’s Estate so quickly.” Xiaolou let out a very regretful sigh, then laughed, “If you ever are dissatisfied with your accommodations, you can move out and come stay at my Kindwater Estate.”

“King Yan treats me with great kindness, and he cares greatly about me. He’s also bestowed Golden Imperials onto me; how can I possibly disappoint him like that?” Ning laughed.

This was what he and his cousin had decided on as their cover story. To the outside world, they would only say that King Yan cared about Ji Ning!

“It’s true.” Xiaolou nodded. He didn’t truly expect to be able to pull Ning over to his side; he was just speaking casually.

“Glug.” Xiao Lang, seated to one side, drained his cup of wine. He thought to himself, “This Ji Ning’s only trained for thirty years. How formidable can he be? He simply managed to kill Youngflame Nong and acquire many treasures, then spent 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence to purchase the peacock plumes. That’s the only reason why he’s famous in the imperial capital. His luck really is good, though; Princess Xiyue took a liking to him and brought him to King Yan’s Estate. Given how much King Yan’s temperament and how much he dotes on Princess Xiyue…I imagine that it was she who asked King Yan to send a squad of Golden Imperials to follow Ji Ning around.”

Xiao Lang looked down on Ji Ning. He had been adventuring for many years, and he was much more famous than Ning! This time, he wanted to truly shine during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny!

Ji Ning? A little fellow who only grew famous through killing Youngflame Nong, and who relied on a woman to make King Yan care about him.

Actually, in his heart, Xiao Lang felt some jealousy…because Ning was able to produce 2.5 million kilograms, while he, Xiao Lang, wasn’t even close to be able to doing that. Ning was also able to command a squad of Golden Imperials; how majestic and awe-inspiring as that? Although Xiao Lang was now living in the Kindwater Estate, how could he move about in as majestic a manner as Ning?

“Lucky punk. You aren’t strong enough. When enough time passes, others will discover that you are nothing more than lead covered by gold paint.” Xiao Lang drank there by himself. He couldn’t be bothered to even chat with Ning.

…….

Xiao Lang was a strange, eccentric figure to begin with. Others didn’t think anything of this; amongst Immortal cultivators, there were many with far more bizarre temperaments than him.

Ning, Xiaolou, Songspear, and Wavecolor were chatting quite happily amongst themselves.

“Ji Ning, Cloudwater Manor just recently purchased some strange creatures, all of which came from one of the lesser worlds. This lesser world is quite unique; there are thousands of types of bizarre lifeforms within it. These two can be considered some exceptionally powerful creatures of this lesser world; each of them are comparable to peak Wanxiang Adepts in power.”

Kindwater Xiaolou pointed towards the large arena, more than three hundred meters in diameter, up ahead. There were people carrying enormous metal cages towards it. Within one of the two metal cages was a golden-haired giant who was more than ten meters tall, while in the other was and a strange creature with the lower body of a lion and the upper body of a human.

“Let’s watch these creatures fight each other. It can be considered someone amusing.” Xiaolou clapped his hands.

Instantly, a rumbling sound could be heard. A grand sealing formation instantly covered the entire arena. Within it, with clanking sounds, the cages were automatically unlocked. The golden-haired giant, clad only in beast furs, came charging out from his cage, with the sphinx charging out of the other.

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Chapter 26 – Provocation

Chapter 26, Provocation

Kindwater Xiaolou, Ji Ning, Skyfarmer Songspear, and the others each held cups of wine, chatting while watching the battles going on in the center of the arena.

Within the grand sealing formation, the golden-haired giant and the sphinx both charged out of their pens, then raised their heads and let out bellows. Although the sound of their bellows was blocked out by the grand sealing formation, the sonic booms were visible from outside.

“Their physical bodies are quite powerful. They should be fairly low-level Fiendgod Body Refiners of a sort.” Fairy Wavecolor laughed, instantly transforming into a rupturing sight that caused both the golden-haired giant and the sphinx to stare, stunned, at the alluring woman outside the formation.

“Even creatures of other races find it hard to withstand Fairy Wavecolor’s allure,” Kindwater Xiaolou laughed.

But soon, the golden-haired giant and the sphinx regained their faculties. The two now stared fixedly at each other. Ever since the day they had been seized and brought to this Watercloud Manor, they had been told by the staff: “One of you must die in every single battle. If you survive nine in a row, you’ll be able to leave, and you’ll become a soldier for our Kindwater clan.”

The golden-haired giant and the sphinx, in their own respective lesser world, were supreme experts who normally had a group of servants following them. Ever since that group of terrifying Immortal cultivators had arrived in their world, however, they had quickly been subjugated, and the two had become slaves…then sold off to this ‘Kindwater’ clan. When this had happened, they discovered, to their amazement, that virtually every single servant of the Kindwater clan was more powerful than them.

They felt utter despair. They no longer harbored any hopes for escape. They had no choice but to obey. They hoped for just one thing – to survive the nine battles, and then become soldiers of the Kindwater clan!

“Goldsea clansman, prepare to die.” The sphinx bellowed, then sent its four limbs flying forward as it transformed into a tornado that pounced towards the golden-haired giant.

“It is you who shall die!” The giant bent down, charging forward as well.

BOOM!

The two collided head on. The sphinx left a bloody wound on the chest of the golden-haired giant, while the giant’s fist smashed hard against the head of the sphinx. Blood splattered everywhere.

The wounds of both combatants quickly closed, and they continued to battle.

…..

“They are indeed Fiendgod Refiners.” Ning nodded.

“The cultivators of that lesser world are all Fiendgod Refiners,” Xiaolou said. “Still, they use the most low level of Fiendgod Body Refining techniques. Supposedly, the three most powerful figures of that lesser world were three Fiendgod Body Refiners that were roughly at the Primal level. They also have extremely poor comprehensions of the Dao. Any Primal Daoist of our Grand Xia Dynasty could use magic treasures to effortlessly take care of those three ‘strongest’ figures from that lesser world.”

Ning nodded. Ki Refiners required an extremely high level of comprehension of the Dao so as to control elemental ki well. As for Fiendgod Body Refiners, comparatively speaking, there wasn’t as high a requirement in terms of the Dao. Of course, the most supreme [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had a ridiculously high level of demand regarding the Dao. Some of those comparatively poorer techniques, especially those which could be described as the weakest of Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, had no requirements with regards to understanding the Dao at all. However, with such a poor foundation, it was naturally hard for one to reach a very high level of insight. Training to the Wanxiang level was essentially the limit; to reach the Primal level as an Fiendgod Body Refiner was a stroke of tremendous luck.

“Their close combat abilities are roughly at the ‘one with the world’ level,” Skyfarmer Songspear laughed.

“Victory is about to be determined,” Xiaolou said.

The sphinx let out a savage bellow, charging forward repeatedly with paws flying and hands grappling.

But the golden-haired giant was clearly more nimble, sometimes appearing on the left, other times appearing on the right. He left behind one massive, gaping wound after the other on the body of the sphinx, using up the sphinx’s divine power.

“Whoosh!” The golden-haired giant brushed past those trampling paws, at the same time stabbing his right hand directly into the chest of the sphinx, as though his hand was a knife.

Slash!

The chest was ripped open, and blood flew everywhere.

Bang! The sphinx swiped out with both hands, and the golden-haired giant hurriedly moved to block, in the end being knocked flying by the blow.

“Hahaha…” the golden-haired giant laughed wildly, then continued to encircle and strike at the sphinx with lightning-fast blows, leaving behind massive wounds on his body each time. In the end, the sphinx’s divine power was used up, and his wounds would no longer close. His speed dropped as well.

Crunch. The golden-haired giant was like a golden bolt of lightning; he howled through the air, then caught the sphinx’s head and gave it a hard twist. The head was forcibly ripped off.

Picking up and hoisting the head aloft with one hand, the golden-haired giant looked as though he was a victorious general. As for the sphinx, its body slumped to the ground with a thud, blood staining the ground.

Whoosh. The grand sealing formation disappeared, and the servants of the Cloudwater Manor hurriedly moved forward to quickly scrub the ground clean. The sphinx’s body was disposed of as well, and soon, the arena was now completely spotless once more.

“Reporting to the young master,” a manager of the Cloudwater Manor said respectfully while standing within the arena, “This golden-haired giant has already won nine consecutive victories. According to the rules, he is now a soldier of our Kindwater clan.”

The golden-haired giant was standing obediently to the side of that Cloudwater Manor manager.

“Oh?” Xiaolou, seated high above them, laughed. “What a coincidence for him to win his ninth victory today. I will bestow you with a flagon of Immortal nectar. Work hard for my Kindwater clan; my Kindwater clan will definitely not mistreat our soldiers.”

“Thank you, exalted Immortal.” The golden-haired giant knelt down on one knee, his voice rumbling. Although his words sounded rather muddy, they were the words of the human tongue; he was a creature comparable to a Wanxiang Adept, after all, and was quite intelligent and thus quick to learn a new tongue.

Soon afterwards, the golden-haired giant departed. In his place within the arena appeared a troop of seductive female dancers, who began to dance with fans while the sound of music rang out from the side.

“In the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, these creatures from other worlds are set to fight each other. When I first arrived at Stillwater City, in the gambling arena, I fought against those monstrous beasts, as well as with other humans. Those monstrous beasts and humans weren’t able to refuse at all; they were forced to obey and go fight. The weak are given no choices. Only by becoming strong can one have the power to choose. First, grow strong enough to choose for yourself; only then can one master one’s own destiny.” This was what Ning was thinking to himself. Only by constantly reflecting on one’s own heart and mind could one make one’s Dao-heart continually grow stronger.

“The Conclave of Immortal Destiny is a chance for me to be reborn anew and change my life. I need to rely on the Conclave and make myself even more powerful through tempering through adversity.”

…..

All sorts of performances were going on in the center of the arena. Ji Ning and the others were clinking wine glasses together while watching. As for the antisocial Xiao Lang, who was rather unhappy to begin with, upon seeing how courteously Xiaolou and Songspear treated Ning, he was growing even more unhappy.

“Everyone.” Xiao Lang suddenly spoke out.

Instantly, Ning and the others all looked over. Xiao Lang rarely spoke; since he now spoke, everyone naturally turned to look at him.

“The battles of these creatures aren’t interesting enough. As I see it…why don’t I have a little spar with fellow Daoist Ji Ning?” Xiao Lang’s eyes had a hint of desire for battle in them, as well as complete confidence. “I hear that fellow Daoist Ji Ning’s power is formidable. He was even able to kill Youngflame Nong, and in particular was also able to kill that Primal-level Fiendgod under Youngflame Nong’s command. This makes my hands itch. Today, fellow Daoist Ji Ning and I will merely spar with each other; if one party is unable to keep fighting, then we can just simply admit defeat. We absolutely won’t harm the friendship between us. Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, what say you?”

Ning was startled. Why did the man suddenly want to spar with him?

Although it was Ning who killed the Hydraga Fiendgod, that creature was a Primal-level Fiendgod with the power of a supreme Loose Immortal; anyone with half a brain would understand that Ning must have used some sort of special method to kill it. Otherwise, just by relying on his own true power, how could he have done so?

Xiaolou, Songspear, and Fairy Wavecolor just watched, waiting to see Ning’s reaction.

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

Xiao Lang, upon hearing this, became all the more convinced that Ning had no ability, which was why Ning had no confidence in fighting him. Ning was, after all, just thirty years old.

“It’s just a spar, not a life-and-death battle,” Xiao Lang said unhappily. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, your fame is widespread. You even killed a Primal-level Fiendgod; why don’t you dare spar against me?”

“It was luck that allowed me to kill that Primal-level Fiendgod, not my own true power,” Ning said.

Xiao Lang secretly snickered. Everyone knew that there was no way Ning could’ve done it through his own power! But today, so long as Ning could be convinced to spar, he was going to make Ning look like a fool.

“We are all going to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. By then, life-and-death battles will come in a steady stream. Today is just sparring; if you don’t even dare to spar, how can you participate in the Conclave?” Xiao Lang intentionally put on an angry, unsatisfied appearance. “Are you actually afraid, fellow Daoist Ji Ning?”

Ning frowned. Why was this Xiao Lang trying to force him into this?

“I don’t want to spar.” Ning shook his head. “If fellow Daoist Xiao Lang truly wishes to fight me, once the Conclave of Immortal Destiny begins, we can fight then.”

“Conclave of Immortal Destiny? That’s more than a year from now! And those battles are all life-and-death battles. If you don’t even dare spar, how…” Xiao Lang laughed coldly, a look of disdain already on his face.

“Enough.” Kindwater Xiaolou frowned and spoke out.

Xiao Lang nodded. “I won’t force fellow Daoist Ji Ning. Since fellow Daoist Ji Ning won’t spar, then forget it. Fellow Daoist Wavecolor, how about we two spar for fun?”

Fairy Wavecolor frowned slightly, but then she laughed and said, “Then I’ll ask you, Xiao Lang, to show mercy in our fight.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” Xiao Lang said. “I’ll stop after knocking your magic treasures away.”

This caused anger to appear in Fairy Wavecolor’s heart. It was just as the stories said; this Xiao Lang truly did have a bizarre disposition. He was so arrogant in his speech.

“Then let’s do it.” Fairy Wavecolor immediately flew towards the center of the arena.

“Alright.” Xiao Lang’s body blurred, then he appeared within the arena as well. As for the dancing women that had been in the arena, they all quickly fled and left.

Ning sat there, looking at the arena and at Xiao Lang and Fairy Wavecolor. He frowned to himself. “This Xiao Lang really thinks he is invincible. I’ve just arrived at the imperial capital; the Youngflame clan is definitely scheming to act against me, so I need to be vigilant for a period of time. This Xiao Lang might be secretly working for the Youngflame clan, and might throw out some terrifyingly powerful magic treasures at me, such as that ‘Lock’ scroll, at which point I might suffer a tremendous loss. Although I have a Primaltwin, my true body is still more important.”

In the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, the usage of Dao-seals and certain other magic treasures was forbidden. One had to rely on one’s own true power; only in such a way could geniuses be chosen.

But in a spar in the Cloudwater Manor, if Xiao Lang truly had been sent by the Youngflame clan, if he were to suddenly produce a terrifying, bizarre treasure and destroy Ning’s true body…that’d be a completely unfair death.

“This Kindwater Xiaolou was actually able to bring even a person of such a disposition into his estate…” Ning gave a glance to the nearby Xiaolou. Xiaolou continued to smile as he watched the arena.

Xiaolou knew exactly what sort of a weird, twisted personality Xiao Lang had. But even if Xiao Lang was a rabid dog, so long as he obeyed orders, he would still be very useful.

Sometimes, there were things that he couldn’t do that a rabid dog could.

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Chapter 27 – Assassination

Chapter 27, Assassination

Within the central arena. The grand sealing formation now covered this region, and a violet-robed Xiao Lang and a red-robed Fairy Wavecolor were staring at each other from afar.

“Hahaha, Fairy Wavecolor, if you aren’t able to withstand my attacks, then hurry up and admit defeat.” Xiao Lang laughed in a ratherly sickly fashion. And then, following his laughter, his skin turned completely red, as though a river of lava was flowing beneath his skin. His eyes also turned the color of fire as well.

He lifted his hands slightly.

Whoosh. Instantly, petals of fire began to emerge around him, each of them blazing with the stench of blood. At the same time, the arena seemed to instantly become transformed into a world of fire. Although the flames just hovered there in the air, it caused the insides of the grand sealing formation to become extremely hot, and even the air in the arena began to shimmer in a twisted manner.

“Hmph.” Fairy Wavecolor let out a cold snort. Whoosh. A jade-green ribbon suddenly howled through the air. This jade-green ribbon swirled out in circles, instantly and completely guarding an area of tens of meters around Fairy Wavecolor’s body. At the same time, it caused a seemingly limitless amount of watery mist to emerge, and the region around her seemed to become a world of water.

Around Xiao Lang, the temperature was extremely high. Around Fairy Wavecolor, however, was a world of watery fog and mist. The fire and the water began to clash against each other, and crackling sounds could be heard.

“Your alluring charms are useless against me.” Xiao Lang emitted a shrill screech, and his fiery, lava-like eyes became even more savage. “Have a taste of my bloodflame earthfire!”

As he let out the screech, Xiao Lang suddenly opened his mouth. Whoosh! Instantly, flames that reeked of blood billowed out, instantly filling the region. The petals of fire that were hovering in the area around him, under the guidance of the earthfire, actually formed into an enormous formation, transforming into a an enormous midair millstone formed from bloodflame earthfire that slowly swiveled, grinding downwards.

Swish…the jade-green ribbon continued to swim about in circles, and the runes on it began to glow, with undulating ripples rising up then snapping back down like bubbles. The ribbon was incomparably flexible and resilient, and it was able to forcibly resist the bloodflame earthfire.

……

Outside the formation, Ji Ning and the others focused their attentions as they watched. Kindwater Xiaolou said, “Xiao Lang’s ‘bloodflame earthfire’ has already reached the first grade. When forged into this ‘Bloodfire Millstone’ technique, it is quite formidable. Ordinary Primal Daoists aren’t able to withstand the crushing pressure of the Bloodfire Millstone.”

The nearby Skyfarmer Songspear laughed, “Fairy Wavecolor perfectly counters him; her ‘Skywater Net Formation’ is perfect and legendary for defense. To break through it is actually an incredibly hard feat.”

“Fairy Wavecolor has fairly few techniques.” Xiaolou shook his head. “She generally uses her Skywater Net Formation to protect herself, then relies on her divine will and her charming abilities…and she has indeed reached a formidable level in them. But Xiao Lang is a madman; it’s simply too hard to mesmerize him.”

“Aside from her charming techniques, Fairy Wavecolor is skilled in other divine will techniques as well. So long as Xiao Lang succumbs to one of them, she will immediately be able to switch from defending to attacking!” Songspear said.

Ning, curious, just listened. The report from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain only had cursory explanations; how could they be as well-informed as Songspear and Xiaolou regarding their own friends?

…..

“You crazy bitch…argh!!!!” Xiao Lang pressed a hand against his head, howling savagely. As for Fairy Wavecolor, she just laughed coldly. Those ribbons that had been circling around her suddenly expanded dramatically, and at the same time, one drop after another of incomparably dense and heavy water, each one having the weight of a mountain, came smashing towards Xiao Lang!

“Graaaaaaaah!” Xiao Long howled shrilly, and then he suddenly grew out four more arms, and two more heads emerged from his shoulders as well.

[Three Heads, Six Arms!]

Each of Xiao Lang’s six arms clenched a long black awl in them, and with the shrill howl, the long black awls transformed into a rainbow streak of light as it struck straight towards Fairy Wavecolor, carrying the limitless force of the bloodflame earthfire with it. Every single one of those six long black shuttles were capable of causing the colors of the world to change, and gave off the strange feeling of being able to puncture a hole through reality.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Xiao Lang, with three heads and six arms, attacked wildly as the surrounding area once more manifested the millstone of bloodflame earthfire, which crushed down towards her.

“F*ck off.” Fairy Wavecolor struggled to execute her divine will technique once more. She was skilled in three mighty divine will techniques; one was a charm, one was for ambushing, and one was for forceful assault. She had trained all three to an extremely high level, and by relying on her powerful soul as a reincarnated Immortal, she was extremely powerful when using them. She had, indeed, gained quite a bit of fame.

But if, however, an opponent was able to resist her secret arts, then her chances for victory would be much lower.

BOOM. With the support of the millstone of bloodflame earthfire, the three-headed, six-armed Xiao Lang attacked with incomparable savagery, forcibly breaking through one layer of the defense of the jade-green ribbon.

“I admit defeat.” An unhappy voice rang out.

“Bahahaha…”

Only now did Xiao Lang stay his hand, dismissing his bloodflame earthfire and his divine ability. He laughed wildly, and his body continued to emit a scorching heat. “Fairy Wavecolor, I told you that you’d lose. That divine will technique of yours? Bahaha, you want to shake my soul? In your dreams.”

The grand sealing formation disappeared. Fairy Wavecolor, with a cold face, flew back to her own position, not even bothering to look at Xiao Lang.

“Ji Ning, wanna spar?” Xiao Lang gave Ning a glance, appearing quite smug.

“No need,” Ning said calmly.

“Hmph.” Xiao Lang flew straight back to his own seat, clearly quite delighted with himself. Generally speaking, madmen with twisted personalities actually had extremely tough Dao-hearts. Xiao Lang was one such twisted madman. He was the sort who would never bow his head, even in the face of death; he’d remain as arrogant and unbridled as ever. Although he had offended quite a few people, he remained true to his own personality.

Still…he also knew who he couldn’t afford to offend. For example, he never tried to set himself up against Kindwater Xiaolou.

Cloudwater Manor. In the air above the long passageway that led to the place where Ji Ning currently was, a bald old man suddenly appeared. It was Immortal Floatcloud, who had changed his appearance.

“Ji Ning!” Immortal Floatcloud walked through the midair corridor, no thoughts in his mind save one – to kill Ji Ning!

When he saw Ji Ning lead a group of Golden Imperials to Cloudwater Manor, Immortal Floatcloud understood that he would have no other opportunities. In King Yan’s Estate, there was no way to kill Ji Ning at all. When leading a group of Golden Imperials on his flying ship, Immortal Floatcloud still didn’t have even the slightest hint of a chance.

But right now, Ning was chatting and merrymaking with others, and his servants and guards were all stationed somewhere else. This…this actually gave Immortal Floatcloud his one and only chance.

Although the Cloudwater Manor definitely had experts guarding it, as well as layers of protective formations and spells, as far as Immortal Floatcloud was concerned, this was going to be the best chance he had. If he continued to hesitate, then by the time Ning returned to King Yan’s Estate and rested for a day without leaving, he, Immortal Floatcloud, would have his soul devoured and shattered due to his oath to the Dao of the Heavens.

“This is my final chance.”

“Ji Ning. Either you die, or I die.” Immortal Floatcloud walked on the levitating pathway, moving straight towards main door towards that three thousand meter tall building.

There were two Wanxiang Adepts standing guard at the door; they were here to prevent others from disturbing the people inside.

“Eh?” One of the guards immediately spoke out. “What are you doing here?”

The noise-cancellation features of the Cloudwater Manor’s buildings were simply too good; there was no way for the people inside to hear the noises coming from outside. Ning and the others continued to eat, drink, chat, and laugh. They weren’t on guard at all.

“I came to meet young master Kindwater,” Immortal Floatcloud said. As his words rang out, the two Wanxiang guards suddenly felt their souls grow dazed.

And in that instant that their souls were stunned!

Immortal Floatcloud, with a single step, appeared before the door, then pushed it open and charged in.

Bang! The door immediately swung open.

“Haha, Fairy Wavecolor, I don’t want to criticize you, but your weakness is way too obvious. If your divine will technique is useless, then you are guaranteed to lose.” Xiao Lang, who had just won, was incomparably smug right now. “And Ji Ning. Hey, Ji Ning, you’ve only trained for thirty years; I recommend that you don’t go embarrass yourself in the Conclave of Immortal destiny. Train for another three centuries.”

“Enough.” Xiaolou spoke out.

And just as Xiaolou spoke out…the door suddenly opened.

“Eh?” Xiaolou, Songspear, Ning, and the others all turned their heads to look. Because the building in which they were having their banquet was three thousand meters high, the servants who brought in food and wine, as well as the dancers and musicians, would all come in through another corridor. And when they did, they would all be completely silent. Very few would just push the main door open.

Swoosh.

Immortal Floatcloud, after pushing the door open, took a single step and appeared directly in front of Ning. At the same time, a white bone needle suddenly appeared in his hand, and he sent it flying forward, straight towards Ning!

The surrounding world instantly froze! A powerful, deathly aura emanated outwards as the white bone needle, carrying an infinitely terrifying aura, pierced straight towards Ning.

“Whitebone Immortal Slayer Needle!” Xiaolou, Songspear, Ning, Fairy Wavecolor, and the smug Xiao Lang all had the looks on their faces completely changed.

In this instant…all of them felt cold fear. They all knew how terrifying the Whitebone Immortal Slayer Needles were…and they all watched as one of them flew straight towards Ji Ning!

“It must be a Deathsworn the Youngflame clan has sent over…and it is a Loose Immortal Deathsworn at that. Only an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal can activate this Whitebone Immortal Slayer Needle.” Xiaolou immediately shattered a Dao-seal, and a stream of jade water immediately began to glow as it flowed over his body. “With the emergence of this needle…even though Ji Ning is a Fiendgod Body Refiner, even his soul will probably be destroyed, to say nothing of his Fiendgod body.”

“He’s dead. He’s dead for certain. That’s a Whitebone Immortal Slayer Needle; it’s a killing technique against even many Loose Immortals. Many Loose Immortals would perish to it; only a few, extremely powerful Loose Immortals would be able to block it, but they would still be injured. Ji Ning is absolutely dead.” Xiao Lang was actually delighting in Ning’s misfortune; he, too, could guess that this was a Deathsworn from the Youngflame clan.

In this instant, Xiaolou, Songspear, Fairy Wavecolor, and Xiao Lang were all certain that Ning was most likely going to die.

As for the Golden Imperials which Ning had brought with him, they were shocked as well. “Protect the young master!” The problem was, it would take the fifty Golden Imperials a little bit of time to assemble into a Dao-soldier formation, then hurry over to save Ning. But…how fast was the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle flying? There was no time for them at all.

No one could save Ning. Everything relied on Ning himself!

“The Youngflame clan.” Ning instantly understood, and he immediately unleashed his divine ability.

Ning’s body instantly exploded forth with divine power, becoming incomparably tall and muscular. Lightning began to crackle on his body as he seemed to transform into an enormous vajra. At the same time, four more arms grew out from his body, and two more heads emerged from his shoulders.

[Three Heads, Six Arms]!

Ning’s six arms wielded the three Darknorth swords and three Heaven-ranked flying swords. These three were all top-grade magic treasures left behind by Immortal Juhua which he personally used for battle.

“Waterflame Lotus!” Thanks to the treasures which Youngflame Nong had left behind, Ning’s earthfire and dire-ice had both reached the second grade already.

An enormous Waterflame Lotus appeared, swiveling around this three-headed, six-armed Fiendgod.

“[Starseizing Hand]!”

Ning’s six arms exploded with awe-inspiring power!

“Grand Dao Domain!”

The three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning, wielding six enormous Immortal swords, crackled with electricity. His aura filled the heavens, and a Waterflame Lotus swiveled around him. At the same time, the entirety of the building became instantly transformed into a world of sword-ki. The limitless field of sword-ki instantly filled the entire building, and sword-ki was stabbing everywhere. The six enormous swords in Ning’s hands began to glow with an incomparably dazzling golden metallic light, a light that was so strong that it was all but in material form.

“Block.” The three-headed, six-armed Ning used all six swords to simultaneously block towards the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle!

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Chapter 28 – Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation

Chapter 28, Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation

Although this was slow to describe, in reality it happened in an instant!

Faced with the lightning-fast Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle, Ji Ning didn’t even have time to make his Primaltwin emerge to block. After all, although he could indeed make his Primaltwin emerge from the underwater estate extremely quickly, it would still need to unleash the hundreds of Heaven-ranked flying swords and execute the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. All these things took time! The Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle, however, gave Ning no such time at all.

Ning only had enough time to immediately activate his divine abilities, then block!

BOOM!

Although the Waterflame Lotus surrounding Ning was incomparably resilient, it was still instantly penetrated through!

The three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning held his Immortal swords in his hands, unleashing his most powerful attacks to block the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Six consecutive and incomparably ferocious collisions. Of the six swords, three were Darknorth swords and thus possessed tremendous power. As for the other three Heaven-ranked swords, although Ning’s true body couldn’t fill them with his elemental ki, as Heaven-ranked artifacts, they were still quite tough and strong.

If Ning had used Earth-ranked flying swords, the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needles probably would’ve pierced straight through them. These three Heaven-ranked flying swords Immortal Juhua had left behind wouldn’t shatter, at least! They would at least allow Ning to unleash the full power of his [Starseizing Hand]!

Each collision was like an enormous mountain range smashing towards Ning. Six consecutive collisions! Fortunately, Ning’s palms had been strengthened by the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer] to be even more powerful than Heaven-ranked magic treasures. That’s the only reason why he was able to hold the hilts of the swords securely.

BOOM!

As the six sword-wielding ars all executed the [Starseizing Hand] and strove to block the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needles, Ning himself was knocked flying back by the terrifying collisive force. He shot out backwards like a meteor.

“Block, block, BLOCK!” Ning strove his utmost to block for as long as he could.

Although Ning had already trained to the eleventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] as a Fiendgod Body Refiner and was nominally only at the peak Wanxiang Adept level, because Ning had acquired the peacock plumes and trained to the second Cycle of the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer], his [Starseizing Hand] technique was now capable of exploding with incomparably terrifying force. This caused Ning’s power to instantly surpass the Primal stage and charge all the way into the Void-level Earth Immortal stage!

With the additional support of his current Grand Dao Domain, his nearly perfect Dao of Rainwater, and the fact that Sword Immortals were extremely skilled in attacks….

BANG!!!! Ning’s towering Fiendgod body struck heavily against a wooden pillar. This wooden pillar, however, was covered by the restrictive spells which stretched across the entire Cloudwater Manor. It was extremely stable, and it wasn’t damaged in the slightest.

“Ugh.” Ning spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His physical body actually was already covered with all sorts of scars and wounds by now, and blood was oozing out from them. The collisive forces had been far, far too powerful. Although Ning had executed [Heavenly Transformations] and [Pentabolt Vajra] to stabilize and bolster his divine body, his body was still vastly inferior to his two hands. The force of the collisions caused his flesh to split open into countless wounds.

“I didn’t die.” Ning was startled.

He had gone all out to block the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle, and as he had continued to block, the power of the needle had continuously been whittled away. In the end, as it smashed down against the final sword, it had caused the sword to slash across Ning’s chest. The force of that final collision had nearly caused Ning’s body to implode…but in the end, although countless tears and rips appeared on his body, he didn’t truly perish.

“I blocked it.” Ning mentally began to celebrate wildly. “Fortunately, I trained in the second Cycle of the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer]. And fortunately, during this past year, I’ve begun to train in the [Three Heads, Six Arms] ability. This allowed all six of my arms to execute the [Starseizing Hand]!”

Crimsonbright divine energy began to flow over the countless wounds covering his body, and the divine energy quickly began to cause the wounds to heal and close. Ning’s six arms continued to each grasp an Immortal sword. The sword-light unique to Sword Immortals filled the skies. Sword-ki filled the entire area with their awe-inspiring might.

“He didn’t die?”

As Ning was knocked flying backwards, Immortal Floatcloud had charged forward as well. Although he was amazed by the fact that Ning had managed to block it, he didn’t pause or hesitate at all! This was because he had sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens for this assassination. If Ning didn’t die, then his soul would be shattered. Thus, his reaction came quite quickly.

Whoosh! As he charged straight towards Ning, Immortal Floatcloud waved his arm. Instantly, a golden heart appeared in midair. The golden heart immediately began to manifest thousands of veins and arteries, forming an enormous net that completely covered the empty central region they were in. This enormous net formed from countless blood vessels glowed with a bloody light, and an aura of power emanated from it.

For the sake of assassinating Ning, Immortal Floatcloud had prepared two magic items. The first was the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle. It possessed astonishing power, and Immortal Floatcloud believed that even he would be heavily injured upon being assaulted by it. Ji Ning? Ordinary protective items would be immediately shattered by it; Ji Ning would almost assuredly perish.

The other item was this, the ‘Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation’. Once the formation was set down, it would take a good amount of time for either the Imperial Guard or the Loose Immortals on guard here to charge through it. As long as he had enough time, he would be able to kill Ji Ning in a one-on-one fight.

He was a supreme Loose Immortal! Ji Ning was merely a Wanxiang Adept! Even though the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle had been blocked by some strange magic treasures, in a true one-on-one fight, if he had enough time, he refused to believe Ji Ning could withstand him!

Both treasures were single-use items. Although he had paid a high price of many magic treasures, in truth, the Youngflame clan had essentially ‘gifted’ these two items to Immortal Floatcloud.

Cloudwater Manor was the largest, most important trading ground for the Kindwater clan in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

There were thirty-six Loose Immortals permanently stationed here.

The Kindwater clan had thousands of Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals. For only thirty-six to be stationed here…on the surface, the numbered seemed to be quite low. In truth, however, these thirty-six Loose Immortals…were all dressed in Immortal-ranked Dao-soldier armors. Once they all joined forces, they could even force a Celestial Immortal to retreat!

“Earth character, second number. There’s an assassination attempt there!”

Some of the thirty-six Loose Immortals were in private training, while others were drinking and carousing. However, upon the Primal Daoist overseeing Cloudwater Manor sending them mental messages, they all instantly arrived in the air above Cloudwater Manor.

Thirty six of them in total! They were all dressed in black Dao-armors, and they each emanated with terrifying auras that filled the heavens. They hung there in midair for a moment, then suddenly all thirty-six of them joined together to transform into an enormous black serpent. As soon as it appeared in the skies, a stream of water appeared. The surrounding space was completely frozen. The giant black serpent immediately charged towards the three-thousand meter tall building where Ning and the others were currently located.

Whoosh.

The enormous ceiling, under the control of the overseer of Cloudwater Manor, split open, allowing the giant black serpent to immediately charge in.

Although this took time to describe, in truth, the thirty-six Loose Immortals were incredibly fast. And yet, despite their speed, by the time they arrived, the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation had already completely covered Ning’s region.

“He’s dead for sure.” Xiao Lang stared at the area covered by the massive net of blood vessels. “This is the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. It can only be acquired at a cost of half a million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, and it can only be used once. Although it can only be used once…it has truly astonishing power. Even if the Imperial Guard of the Grand Xia were to arrive, it would take them some time to break through it. Although Cloudwater Manor is guarded by experts of the Kindwater clan, I imagine it will take them time to break through as well.

Skyfarmer Songspear, Kindwater Xiaolou, and Fairy Wavecolor were all in a stunned state as well as they all sighed.

The reason why they were stunned…was because they all saw how just now, Ning had instantly exploded with terrifying power. All of those divine abilities aside, Ning had demonstrated a Grand Dao Domain, and it had even had the resilience and elasticity of water. Ning’s sword-light had flowed in a steady, unbreakable stream as his six Immortal swords had blocked the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle! Clearly, Ning was incredibly powerful in terms of the Dao.

“Just by virtue of the fact that he has comprehended a Grand Dao Domain, this Ji Ning has vastly surpassed all of those geniuses who have only mastered a single Dao-Path. Xiao Lang, Fairy Wavecolor…they are vastly inferior to Ji Ning.” Xiaolou secretly sighed to himself. “And he was actually able to survive under the assault of the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle. Clearly, in that instant when he unleashed his full power, he reached the level of a Loose Immortal.”

Those who dared to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny were generally geniuses at the peak Wanxiang Adept level who were capable of exploding forth with the power of a peak Primal Daoist! Only a small number were able to reach the combat power of a Loose Immortal!

Only…

Immortals had tremendously varying levels of power as well. Void-level Earth Immortals, for example, were also divided into early, middle, late, and peak stages. Because of different levels of insight into the Dao, Immortals had tremendously different levels of power as well. Even those most supreme of Wanxiang Adept geniuses were only comparable to ordinary Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals.

But even amongst supreme geniuses, there were still differences; Ning, because of his [Starseizing Hand], could be considered an ordinary Void-level Earth Immortal, but with the powerful life-force of his Fiendgod body, and the added support of the [Three Heads, Six Arms] ability giving him six arms that could use the [Starseizing Hand], Ning was able to stay alive against the assault of even a Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle.

“What a pity.” Songspear secretly sighed to himself.

“What a genius. And he’s only trained for thirty years?” Fairy Wavecolor secretly sighed as well.

“He’s already so strong at thirty years of age. He is indeed much stronger than me. Buuut, he’s gonna die soon.” Xiao Lang stared fixedly at the grand formation.

……

“Young master.”

The squad of Golden Imperials instantly transformed into a divine golden dragon, battering and smashing towards the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation.

Rumble…

The thousands of blood vessels covering the formation just bulged slightly, then easily deflected the force of the attack. The golden heart was pumping blood in an endless stream to them, causing the grand formation to remain standing. Only the blood was used up would the formation dissipate.

“Break!” The thirty-six Loose Immortals in the form of a giant black serpent flew in from above. With power that was tens of times more powerful than the divine golden dragon, they launched an awe-inspiring strike against the formation.

The formation trembled, and many of the blood vessels actually splintered and shattered. The golden heart, however, frantically sent out more blood, causing many new blood vessels to be grown out, allowing the formation to be sustained.

…..

“No one can save you now.” Immortal Floatcloud was within the formation. In front of him, three flying swords had appeared, forming into a formation-diagram.

As for Ning, who had been smashed against the wooden pillar…he laughed coldly. “Youngflame clan, right?” Next to him, a black-robed youth suddenly appeared. This black-robed youth looked identical to him, and as it appeared, more than two hundred flying swords appeared around him as well.

Ning’s true body suddenly vanished from sight. He had entered the underwater estate. After all, during the previous exchange, Ning’s true body had been heavily wounded and needed to recuperate. His divine power had been almost used up, with only 20% remaining; he didn’t have enough to continue fighting against this Immortal.

Rumble…

With the nine precious Waterbreaker Godshark Swords serving as the core, the other 200+ Heaven-ranked flying swords were all activated, causing the insides of the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation to be filled with an endless amount of sword-ki. This sword-ki…was tens of times more powerful than the sword-ki Ning’s true body had shown earlier.

“Primaltwin?” Immortal Floatcloud’s eyes instantly turned huge. He stared at the three Heaven-ranked flying swords in front of him, then at the 200+ Heaven-ranked flying swords hovering in front of the distant, black-robed Ji Ning.

“WHAT?!” Outside the formation. Songspear, Xiaolou, and Fairy Wavecolor, who had been feeling pity for Ji Ning, were all flabbergasted.

“But, but…IMPOSSIBLE!” Xiao Lang, who had been smirking coldly as he watched Ning ‘go to his death’, actually called out in shock.

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Chapter 29 – Primaltwin Vs Loose Immortal

Chapter 29, Primaltwin Vs Loose Immortal

The black-robed Ji Ning stood there, more than two hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords floating around him. The amount of sword-ki filling the region inside the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation was simply astonishing and heart-shaking. Anyone could tell what terrifying power this black-robed Ning possessed. And, given that Ning’s true body had suddenly vanished, everyone present could guess…

That this black-robed Ning was a Primaltwin!

“That’s a Primaltwin. How…but…Ji Ning’s only trained for thirty years…” A look of shock and anger was in Xiao Lang’s eyes, along with disbelief. “He’s only trained for thirty years! How can he have a Primaltwin? He dared to split his soul in half? Isn’t he afraid of death?”

“What a formidable Primaltwin. All of those two hundred-plus flying swords seem to be Heaven-ranked. I heard that this Ji Ning purchased hundreds of high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; so it was for the sake of giving them to his Primaltwin for use. This Ji Ning is exceptionally wealthy; his Primaltwin has probably trained all the way up to the peak Primal level at one go.” Kindwater Xiaolou secretly sighed in amazement. “To be able to simultaneously control more than two hundred Heaven-ranked magic treasures…he absolutely has a peak Loose Immortal’s power. His true body has vanished; it should’ve entered an estate that he carries with him. Mobile estates are exceptionally valuable. How much money does this Ji Ning have? Can it be that he gained an enormous sum from the Witchriver Immortal Estate?”

Not even Youngflame Nong had an estate that he could carry around with him…but Ji Ning did!

Xiaolou believed that Ning must have acquired it from the Witchriver Immortal Estate. He had no idea that this Immortal estate which Ning was carrying with him had been gifted to Ning by the giant yellow bear, the spirit of the underwater estate, for free.

“Formidable.” Skyfarmer Songspear stared at the formation.

“Such power…and yet, when Xiao Lang challenged him in such an insulting manner, he didn’t pay him any heed. He truly has tremendous restraint.” Fairy Wavecolor sighed in amazement as well.

They could all guess that Ning’s true body was now hidden within the estate he carried with him. Mobile estates could indeed hold people…but no matter what, either Ning’s true body or his Primaltwin had to be in the outside, real world. If both hid inside, then the mobile estate would be forced to reveal itself.

Generally speaking, mobile estates weren’t too strong in terms of resisting attacks. Enemies could forcibly take it over, then toss it into the voids of the Three Realms, at which point the person inside would be doomed.

The Witchriver Immortal Estate, for example, was immobile and couldn’t be carried away. That was why it was able to be used as a headquarters and why it had such strong defenses. Estates that one could carry, however, were generally very weak.

One had to choose between strong defenses and mobility. Generally speaking, one could only choose a single quality from the two. Except, of course, for the likes of the ‘underwater estate’. Daoist Threelives, one of the primordial Fiengods who had been born before the universe had been established, had used all of his effort to craft it for his heirs. Only at the Primal level could it be carried, and it was exceedingly strong in defense. However, the value of such a treasure far surpassed even Pure Yang magic treasures; this was why it was so special.

Normal estates, however, had to obey the normal rules. Mobility or defensive strength; the two couldn’t co-exist.

“If my true body and Primaltwin both hide within the underwater estate, then under the wild attacks of this Loose Immortal of the Youngflame clan, the secrets of my underwater estate will probably be revealed.” Ning absolutely would not permit this to happen. “What’s more, my Primaltwin has already reached the peak Primal level. Although in terms of a base of power, he’s on a much lower level…that’s not insurmountable.”

……

“It’s actually a Primaltwin. Patriarch Arcanum, you screwed me over!” Immortal Floatcloud was howling with grief in his mind…and then, a look of savagery filled his eyes. “I have no way out. Either Ji Ning dies or I die.”

“I refuse to believe that I, who have trained bitterly for more than a hundred thousand years, can’t do anything to this little fellow who trained for thirty.”

These thoughts flashed through his mind lightning-fast. After Immortal Floatcloud had laid down his Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation and saw Ning’s Primaltwin, he spent just a brief moment in shock before executing his most powerful attack.

“HEAVEN!”

“EARTH!”

“MORTAL!”

Immortal Floatcloud bellowed, his entire face instantly turning completely red. Ignoring all consequences, he immediately used a forbidden technique. Within the core of his body, a golden lotus Primal exploded forth with even more elemental ki. The auras of those three flying swords in front of him which vaguely formed into a sword-diagram formation suddenly increased dramatically, and the formation-diagram seemed to truly materialize. The enormous formation-diagram seemed capable of swallowing the universe. It was incomparably vast, and clouds and fog appeared within the formation.

“KILL!!!” Immortal Floatcloud immediately used his most powerful killing technique.

He had no time to waste. The thirty-six Loose Immortals of the Kindwater clan who were outside were joining forces to wildly assault his Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. Once the formation was broken through, then in the face of those thirty-six Loose Immortals who were dressed in Immortal-ranked Dao-armors, he probably would be finished in a single exchange. Naturally, he had to seize the moment.

Rumble…

Heaven, Earth, Mortal. The three top-grade flying swords, surrounded by the spinning formation-diagram, seemed to carry the majesty of the world itself as it came crashing downwards towards Ning. This was using raw force to suppress the foe!

“Hmph.” The distant black-robed Ning, faced with this attack, didn’t move slower than Immortal Floatcloud at all. He also immediately executed the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Under the guidance of those nine Waterbreaker Godshark Swords, the power of the two hundred-plus Heaven-ranked flying swords was joined together by the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], forming in front of Ning a flying sword that was surrounded by an aura of golden light.

“In terms of elemental ki, I’m a major level below him.”

“But in terms of the Dao…I’ve comprehended the Grand Dao Domain of the Dao of the Sword, and I’ve mastered the Dao-Path of Rainwater. The two have been fused into one, and Sword Immortals specialize in attacks.”

“In terms of treasures and formations, I have the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]; that Heaven-Earth-Mortal formation clearly isn’t all that exquisite. This technique of mine belonged to the Thousand Swords Immortal, a major foe of Immortal Juhua who Immortal Juhua had never been able to forget. Even the spirit of the underwater estate praised this technique. And, for the Youngflame clan to send you as a Deathsworn means that your status amongst the Loose Immortals of the Youngflame clan probably wasn’t that high either. You are vastly inferior to the Thousand Swords Immortal and Immortal Juhua.”

“In terms of flying swords…the Wavebreaker Godshark Swords come from the underwater estate, and are vastly superior to your three flying swords. In addition, I have nine of them. In terms of raw numbers, I have more than two hundred flying swords.”

“I refuse to believe I can’t win!” A cold light flashed through the eyes of the black-robed Ning, and his savage aura filled the skies.

One was dressed in black robes, the other in white. They stared at each other from afar.

BOOM! BOOM!

The three flying swords, carrying the enormous formation-diagram with them, came crashing downwards. As for that flying sword wreathed in golden light in front of Ning, it instantly pierced through the skies, carrying a sharp sheen that caused one’s heart to tremble. It clashed directly against the enormous formation-diagram ahead of it.

Rumble….

An enormous rumbling sound of a collision. Elemental ki exploded, causing space to distort.

The three flying swords were actually forced backwards by several meters, and many cracks had appeared atop the foggy formation-diagram. As for Ning’s flying sword, it dispersed into nothingness.

“Again.” The black-robed Ning laughed coldly, and the two hundred-plus flying swords around him undulated once more. A large amount of sword-ki coalesced in front of his chest, forming yet another flying sword that was covered with a golden glow.

“How can this be? He blocked…blocked it!?” Immortal Floatcloud felt his heart grow cold. It was as though he was beneath the moon in a freezing winter night, and someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over his head. Even his soul felt cold. He had a feeling…that he was going to lose. He had executed a forbidden technique to unleash his most powerful killing attack, but his attack had actually been met head-on and blocked.

A head-on collision was the most effective way to judge the opponent’s strength.

“His Primaltwin has the power of a supreme Loose Immortal in combat.” Immortal Floatcloud now understood. “This…this is a true genius. His Primaltwin is probably only at the peak Primal level, and he has only trained for thirty years…but he’s comprehended a Grand Dao Domain. His insights are not inferior to mine, and the power of that grand flying sword formation is simply marvelous and unfathomable. His power is no lower than mine either.”

“Can it be that I, Floatcloud, am going to die here?” Immortal Floatcloud felt despair for just a brief moment; he wouldn’t so easily discard more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

“I failed to crush him with raw force…then I’ll try techniques, speed, and other secret arts.” Immortal Floatcloud had gone completely mad. He was using all of his power to struggle to kill Ning!

Whoosh!

The entire region within the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation became filled with white fog. The fog was incomparably thick, so thick that not even divine sense could penetrate eit. This was Immortal Floatcloud’s most powerful supportive art, the ‘Heaven-Covering Fog’. However, executing this secret art consumed an enormous amount of his mental energy, and he was no longer able to keep his flying swords at peak power.

“I can’t see anything.” Xiao Lang, who had been staring so hard and fixedly that his eyes had gone bloodshot, instantly grew frantic. “Why is there so much fog there? I can’t see anything.”

“Fog? This fog is definitely capable of blocking out divine sense; otherwise, that Deathsworn wouldn’t use it..” Kindwater Xiaolou was pondering. “Of the many Loose Immortals of the Youngflame clan, there should be a few dozen that are close to the point of being unable to resist the Three Calamities or Nine Tribulations. Those amongst them that are capable of unleashing this sort of mist…it seems the only one is Loose Immortal Floatcloud?”

Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were truly ageless; they would only ever die in combat. Thus, they generally would live extremely long lives and experience countless things. It was thus quite hard for anyone to know for certain how many of the Celestial Immortals of a particular clan remained alive.

Loose Immortals, however, were different.

It was incredible for a Loose Immortal to live even a few million years, such as Immortal Juhua. This was why the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of every tribe could generally be located and verified. The Kindwater clan, at least, was quite familiar regarding the statuses of the vast majority of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of their mortal enemy, the Youngflame clan.

“This Ji Ning is so formidable. His Primaltwin definitely has the power of a supreme Loose Immortal…and he’s also a Sword Immortal. In a head-on clash, he was no weaker than that Loose Immortal Deathsworn.” Songspear mused to himself, “But with this bewildering fog unleashed, Ji Ning can’t see anything at all…he’s now in a bit of danger.”

….

“Strike.”

The thirty-six Loose Immortals, in the shape of that giant black serpent, were absolutely as powerful as a Celestial Immortal. They once more charged towards the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. They had smashed against it eight times now, and they had shattered countless blood vessels of the formation. However, that golden heart continued to frantically spew out even more blood, forming more arteries and veins as it strove to support and maintain this formation. Still, one could tell that scars were beginning to appear on the surface of the golden heart. Clearly, the attack of the thirty-six Loose Immortals was simply too strong.

Within the grand formation. Fog was everywhere.

“Grand Dao Domain!”

“Waterflame Lotus!”

“My Own World!”

The black-robed Ning stood there. Faced with this divine sense smothering technique, he finally unleashed the protective technique which he had developed during this past year within the underwater estate. It must be understood that Ki Refiners had very weak bodies; thus, they usually researched protective techniques that would prevent the opponent from easily reaching their flesh. Ji Ning naturally had to consider the best way to protect his Primaltwin.

Under the guidance of the spirit of the underwater estate, Ning had used his Grand Dao Domain, his Waterflame Lotus, and the ‘My Own World’ technique 1 to serve as the foundation for the development of a powerful protective technique.

The ‘Lotusflower Swordland!’

1. This was the technique of merging the Grand Dao Domain and the Dao-Path of Rainwater, which I realized I accidentally missed in B11C3

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Chapter 30 – A Loose Immortal Dies

Chapter 30, A Loose Immortal Dies

Rumble…

The thirty-six Loose Immortals of the Kindwater clan, in the form of the giant black serpent, launched a twelfth attack against the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. It was already beginning to shudder, and the color of the golden heart was beginning to change. Beginning to grow dim, as the cracks and scars on its surface multiplied.

“Break, break, break!”

Immortal Floatcloud was in a berserk state, his white hair flying about. His three flying swords clashed hard against Ning’s Lotusflower Swordland.

Crackle…

Layers of lotus petals continuously defended, one layer after the other.

The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]-formed golden flying sword was as fast as lightning. By comparison, the speed of the flying swords of Immortal Floatcloud was much lower; they were once more struck, then sent back.

“It’s over.”

Immortal Floatcloud suddenly gave up. His three flying swords no longer attacked. He just stood there, staring blankly at the black-robed Ji Ning, who stood there within the Lotusflower Swordland.

In the face of the Lotusflower Swordland…Immortal Floatcloud felt as though he was facing a turtle that had retreated into its shell. There was no way to break it at all! Or, at least, he wasn’t going to be able to do it in a short period of time. In addition, he could sense that his Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation was at the breaking point. He felt despair. He gave up. He understood that this time…he had failed.

Immortal Floatcloud looked at Ning, his face incomparably calm and peaceful. He sent mentally, “Ji Ning, tell me, what…what technique is this?”

The black-robed Ning, seeing that the opponent had actually stopped attacking, realized that the opponent had given up. Towards the bald elder in front of him, Ning actually didn’t feel any hatred; instead, he felt pity. This was because Ning could tell…that this person was a Deathsworn!

“This is my Lotusflower Swordland.”

“Every single lotus petal was formed from my elemental ki and the sword-light.”

“The region covered by my lotus flowers becomes my world.”

“This is a world with the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of Space, and the Dao of the Inferno. This is the most powerful technique which I have developed.” The black-robed Ning spoke mentally to his foe. In this moment…Ning understood that the man had chosen death.

Immortal Floatcloud looked at Ning, envy in his eyes. “The Dao of the Sword? The Dao of Space? The Dao of Rainwater? The Dao of the Inferno? So many Daos…and two of them are Grand Daos. You’ve actually been able to join them together perfectly and create a technique of your own. At only thirty years of age, you are already so talented…I’ve never before met a genius like you in my life. I can’t even imagine what your future shall be like. I…am whole-heartedly convinced that my defeat was deserved.”

Ning, however, knew exactly how much effort he had put into the creation of this technique.

He had often gone to the Stellar Hall to meditate on the Dao.

He had often gone to the Still Room to quietly ponder.

He had repeatedly, tirelessly tested time and time again.

The spirit of the underwater estate had guided him as well…and all of these things had helped to inspire him, allowing him to develop this protective technique, this technique that was completely focused on defense.

“Kill me. Let me die by your hands.” A dreamy look was in Immortal Floatcloud’s eyes. In the moment before his death, his subconscious was telling him…that this peerless genius in front of him, Ji Ning, would have an astonishing future. In fact, he even had the vague feeling that an incomparably massive storm was about to arise…and that the peerless genius before him would become one of the most dazzling figures to emerge from the storm.

“As you desire.” The black-robed Ning nodded.

Swish!

A golden sword-light flew out.

Immortal Floatcloud didn’t block at all. He allowed it to slash directly through his body, piercing into the golden-lotus Primal within his body. The golden lotus, upon being pierced through, began to collapse.

Although Ning hadn’t destroyed Immortal Floatcloud’s soul, because of the oath he had sworn to the Dao of the Heavens, Immortal Floatcloud knew that his soul was about to be shattered regardless. He knew this…because he could sense the ripples from the impending descent of the Dao of the Heavens.

“Patriarch Arcanum…”

“In this moment, my subconscious is telling me that an enormous tempest is about to descend…one dazzling, eye-catching figure after another is going to arise from the storm, and this Ji Ning is going to be one of them. Our Youngflame clan is going to have a calamity befall us because of this…”

“Patriarch Arcanum, it is one thing for you to have doomed me…but how terrifying of an enemy have you made for our Youngflame clan?”

“In the future, you will regret it.”

“You will regret it.”

“You are the criminal, the sinner of our Youngflame clan. The sinner! But none of this has anything to do with me any longer…I, whose soul is about to shatter, no longer have any connection to anything, to anything at all…”

Immortal Floatcloud closed his eyes. His body completely dissipated into nothingness, revealing an already battered and disintegrating golden-lotus Primal. Under the descent of the ripples of the Dao of the Heavens, the golden lotus was completely annihilated, quickly and completely vaporizing.

The more powerful a cultivator was, the more faith they would place in what their subsconscious told them.

Immortal Floatcloud, in the moment before his death, could also sense that in the future, a terrifying storm was about to arise…and that even the likes of the Youngflame clan, which had existed from the earliest days of the Fiendgod Era until now, would be shaken and perhaps be thrown down by the storm…

BOOM!

As the sword-light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] pierced through the golden-lotus Primal and as Immortal Floatcloud transformed into nothingness, a massive explosion could suddenly be heard. The Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation blew apart, and a giant black serpent coiled in the air above it, staring down at Ji Ning, who was being protected by a titanic, swiveling lotus flower.

One lotus petal swept around and picked up the flying swords, storage treasures, and other relics left behind by the deceased Immortal Floatcloud. This petal then drifted over to the black-robed Ji Ning.

The black-robed Ning waved his hand, collecting it all.

The entire manor was completely silent.

The terrified servants…the stunned Golden Imperials…Skyfarmer Songspear…Kindwater Xiaolou…Fairy Wavecolor…Xiao Lang…and even the thirty-six Loose Immortals, who had dropped their formation…all of them stared at the black-robed Ning, protected by the defensive layers of the enormous Lotusflower Swordland.

They had just witnessed…

A Wanxiang Adept’s Primaltwin execute a mighty Loose Immortal.

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Chapter 31 – Fame From the Battle

Chapter 31 – Fame From the Battle

Kindwater Xiaolou, Skyfarmer Songspear, and the others were unable to even breathe. They were all in a state of shock.

“Xiaolou, whose this friend of yours?” The leader of the thirty-six Loose Immortals, a burly and muscular bearded man, spoke out.

“Uncle Fan, he is Ji Ning. I invited him here…but who would’ve thought that he’d suffer an attack from a Loose Immortal Deathsworn?” Xiaolou said.

“Ji Ning?” The bearded, burly ‘Uncle Fan’ immediately realized who Ning was, as did the group of Loose Immortals behind him. The death of Youngflame Nong wasn’t something everyone knew, but most of these Loose Immortals who were permanently stationed at Cloudwater Manor knew about this matter. They thus immediately guessed that it had been the Youngflame clan who had sent out the Loose Immortal Deathsworn. Instantly, these Immortals of the Kindwater clan began to feel a sense of delighted schadenfreude; the Kindwater clan had been mortal enemies with the Youngflame clan for countless eons now.

“My young friend Ji Ning.” Kindwater Sanfan looked at the black-robed Ning, then said with a loud laugh, “You truly are formidable. If my guess is correct, this Loose Immortal should have been Immortal Floatcloud. He’s a Loose Immortal who has lived for a hundred thousand years, but he actually died in your hands…and your Primaltwin should be at the peak Primal level, correct?”

“For a peak Primal to be able to kill a supreme Loose Immortal…you clearly are a level lower in terms of elemental ki, and you’ve only trained for thirty years, but…formidable, formidable.”

“That lotus technique truly broadened my horizons as well, and that sword formation technique was also quite impressive.”

The group of Loose Immortals of the Kindwater clan all laughed and praised Ning.

The reason why they praised him was not just because Ning truly had surprised them; more importantly, there was a huge grudge between Ning and the Youngflame clan! Since the Kindwater clan was mortal enemies against the Youngflame clan, they took a true liking towards Ning. The more impressive he was, the more of a threat he would be to the Youngflame clan, and the more they would like him.

“You praise me too much.” The black-robed Ning shook his head. “The only reason I won was because your combined powers, seniors, was far too strong. You caused the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation to nearly break down. Immortal Floatcloud knew that he had no more time left, and so he voluntarily gave up. Only thus could I kill him.”

In terms of power, Ning’s Primaltwin was actually only on par with Immortal Floatcloud. If they had been in a simple one-on-one fight, it would be hard to say who would be the winner.

But this was no simple battle; it was an assassination attempt! An assassination attempt in the Cloudwater Manor of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia! It had to be resolved quickly. As a Deathsworn, Immortal Floatcloud had already been forced to the brink from the very beginning. If he wasn’t able to kill Ning in a short moment, then he would have no choice but to welcome death in his despair.

Swoosh. Swoosh. The Whitewater Hound and Little Qing charged over to the black-robed Ning. Previously, the two had been seated alongside the Golden Imperials, drinking and eating with them. When Ning suffered the attack, not even the Golden Imperials had been able to protect him in time, much less the two of them.

The two had been frantic and nervous, and had been driven nearly to the point of insanity. They didn’t even dare to send soul messages, for fear that Ning would be distracted by them; after all, this was a life-and-death battle. If Ning was distracted and something untoward happened as a result, then it truly would be too late for regrets.

Fortunately! Fortunately, Ning had survived.

“You killed him, that’s all that matters.” Kindwater Sanfan shook his head, then laughed, “Your Primaltwin is at the peak Primal level; it is a full tier lower than Immortal Floatcloud in power. But in the end, Immortal Floatcloud wasn’t able to do anything to you. There’s nothing he can say about his loss, and your victory was a clean and fair one.”

Right at this moment, a powerful aura suddenly spread out from the air above them. This caused all the people present, including the Loose Immortals, Ning, Xiaolou, Songspear, and the others to all raise their heads to look. From the opened ceiling above them, a group of figures flew downwards, with the leader dressed in black armor and the rest dressed in silver armor. These were the Imperial Guards of the Grand Xia!

The leader, a black-armored youth, chortled, appearing to be quite relaxed and at ease. The silver-armored warriors behind him also seemed quite relaxed.

“Xiaolou, what’s going on in your Cloudwater Manor?” The black-armored youth laughed. “Just now, when the watchers of the Imperial Guard headquarters were scanning the entire imperial capital, they realized that thirty-six Loose Immortals had appeared in the air above Cloudwater Manor, and that they had all formed into the Kindwater Godsnake and flew into this building. Something happen?”

The Imperial Guards watched over the entire imperial capital, including the streets, the arenas, and the many Immortal estates. Once powerful ripples of battle were felt, the Imperial Guard would immediately hurry over.

However, places like the Heavenly Treasures Mountain or Cloudwater Manor would often have some gambling duels and battles; these locations had all applied for permission for these events from the Grand Xia Dynasty. That was why they were permitted to hold battles, ‘with conditions’. The so-called ‘battles with conditions’ were almost all gambling battles and duels.

Assassinations, however, were still absolutely forbidden.

When the Imperial Guard had first noticed the powerful ripples coming from Cloudwater Manor, they had thought that it was a fairly powerful betting duel going on. Only after seeing the thirty-six Loose Immortals form into the Kindwater Godsnake did they realize that something was wrong! Still, with so many experts protecting Cloudwater Manor, the Imperial Guard didn’t panic; one of the deputy commanders just grabbed a few people and casually sauntered over.

“It was an assassination,” Xiaolou laughed. “The Loose Immortal Deathsworn assassin should have been Immortal Floatcloud of the Youngflame clan. Brother Hong, although I say that it was Immortal Floatcloud, that’s just a guess.”

“Immortal Floatcloud of the Youngflame clan? Who was he assassinating?” The black-armored youth, Xiamang Hong, exclaimed in surprise.

Xiaolou pointed at Ning. “Look. Him right there.”

Xiamang Hong looked towards Ning with curiosity. “Him?” Xiamang Hong said, “The Youngflame clan sent a Deathsworn to assassinate you, but you remain alive?”

Ning was speechless. This man was excessively impolitic in his words; he actually said to the assassination target, ‘you remain alive’?! How was Ning even supposed to respond to that?

“Ji Ning, let me make the introductions,” Xiaolou said. “This is Deputy Commander Xiamang Hong of the Imperial Guard, and a good friend of mine.”

Ning instantly understood. Xiamang Hong? So he was of the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. Most likely, he was viewed with some degree of importance by the imperial clan; otherwise, Kindwater Xiaolou wouldn’t be so courteous to him.

“Brother Hong, this Ji Ning is a good friend of mine; when Immortal Floatcloud tried to assassinate him, he used the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation to seal the region off from outsiders, causing the many Immortals of my Cloudwater Manor to be unable to save Ji Ning in time. Fortunately, Ji Ning had a Primaltwin, and his Primaltwin should have been at the Primal Daoist level…and yet, he was able to actually kill Immortal Floatcloud. You tell me; is he amazing or not?” Xiaolou said.

“He’s that amazing?” Xiamang Hong’s eyes lit up. “Ji Ning? I know about you. You are the little Wanxiang Adept fellow who killed Youngflame Nong, right? I didn’t expect that you’d actually have a Primaltwin. If my memory serves, you’ve only trained for thirty years…and in thirty short years, your produced a Primaltwin that was able to kill Immortal Floatcloud, who was a full tier higher in power? Impressive, impressive. I, Xiamang Hong, deeply admire people of ability. I imagine that after this assassination attempt, you are a bit unsettled; in a few days, I’ll send someone to invite you over. I’ll put on a feast, and we can chat a bit. You have to give me this face, right?”

“I naturally will accept Commander Xiamang’s invitation,” the black-robed Ning said.

“Brother Ji Ning, you truly did scare me silly this time,” Xiaolou said, looking at Ning. “It was a series of frightening events; even I thought that you would find it hard to overcome this tribulation.”

“Brother Ji Ning’s power is truly formidable. In this Conclave of Immortal Destiny, I am certain that brother Ji Ning will shine quite brightly,” Skyfarmer Songspear nodded in praise as well. For Ning to be able to use his true body to survive the attack from the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle was enough for Skysong to feel certain that Ning’s true body was incredibly powerful as well.

“I quite admire brother Ji Ning as well,” Fairy Wavecolor said with a laugh while looking towards the nearby Xiao Lang. “But just now, someone was provoking brother Ji Ning repeatedly, insisting on sparring with him and looking down on him…and saying that if brother Ji Ning went to the Conclave, he would just lose face…and advising Ji Ning to go back home and train for three more centuries…”

“The person who said that is quite incredible as well.”

Xiao Lang’s face instantly began to alternate between purple and pale.

It was true that earlier, he had provoked Ning repeatedly, and had even spoken disdainfully about Ning afterwards. When he had defeated Fairy Wavecolor, he had indeed felt quite smug, and in his arrogance had said quite a few unpleasant things. Now, looking back…it did all seem quite laughable.

“Look down on Ji Ning? Told him to not to go lose face in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, and to go home and train for three more centuries instead?” Xiamang Hong could tell what was going on, but he put on an act as he asked with ‘curiosity’, “Who in the world said that?”

“Who else could it be? None other than the distinguished, elegant, and suave young master, Adept Xiao Lang,” Fairy Wavecolor said, pointing at Xiao Lang.

Earlier, Xiao Lang had given her no face at all. Women…held grudges.

“Xiao Lang? It was you who looked down upon Ji Ning?” Xiamang Mang clearly was playing his role to perfection as he looked at Xiao Lang.

Xiao Lang gritted his teeth, his face pale. “Hmph.” He let out an angry snort, then turned and left, pushing open the main door and walking out from the corridor.

“He left?” Xiamang Hong shook his head. “Boooring.”

Kindwater Xiaolou was still looking at Ning. “Brother Ji Ning, you suffered an assassination attempt at my Cloudwater Manor, and we weren’t even able to help save you; the Cloudwater Manor was remiss…”

“The Cloudwater Manor is not to blame. This feud is one that I caused myself,” Ning said.

“Since our Kindwater clan has established Cloudwater Manor, we absolutely have to protect our guests who come here. There is nothing more to be said about this; it was our Kindwater clan who did not do what we were supposed to. Here is a treasure I recently acquired; I saw that you, brother Ji Ning, are exceptionally formidable in lotus techniques, and this treasure might help bring you some more insight.” Xiaolou suddenly produced a very slender bottle in his hand, topped by a lotus flower.

“This lotus bottle has been infused with some of the essence of the arcane secrets of the lotus within it; I’ll give it to you in recompense,” Xiaolou said, handing it over to Ning. “Brother Ji Ning, no need to refuse; if you refuse, I truly won’t know what to do.”

Ning hesitated a moment, then accepted it.

Ning was able to tell at a single glance that this lotus bottle was extraordinary; the bottle itself wasn’t too impressive of a treasure, but the lotus flower on top of it was covered with many runes. It was indeed worth analyzing. It might indeed help inspire Ning to further perfect his Lotusflower Swordland.

After chatting for a few more moments, Ning made his farewells. He had just suffered an assassination attempt, after all; there was no way this banquet could continue.

Before Cloudwater Manor.

Kindwater Xiaolou and Skyfarmer Songspear watched as Ning flew out within that giant warship, which sent out waves of energy as it departed. They were silent for a moment.

“Xiamang Hong led a group of Imperial Guard over and learned about this event. I imagine that soon, the entire Imperial Guard will know about it…and as a result, the entire imperial capital will know about it.” Xiaolou sighed. “Word of this battle is going to quickly spread over the entire imperial capital. Ji Ning has now truly become famous.”

Previously, when Ning had purchased the peacock plumes, others thought that he had simply been lucky. But this time, however, Ning had proven his power in battle; only now would others truly esteem him.

“It is true. He’s only trained for thirty years, but has already produced a Primaltwin, and one which can kill a supreme Loose Immortal at that. A genius like him is quite rare, even in the imperial capital. The Youngflame clan has actually attracted an enemy like him…I imagine that in a few thousand years or a few tens of thousands of years, Ji Ning will be able to give the Youngflame clan quite a few good battles,” Songspear said with a laugh.

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Chapter 32 – A Silent Prayer

Chapter 32 – A Silent Prayer

Nightfall. A cold wind was howling through the air. Within the Youngflame clan’s estate.

The current clan leader of the Youngflame Clan, the Godplume Duke, was currently seated in his study. He had no desire to keep reading through the book he was holding. There was just a single thought in his mind; had the assassination of Ji Ning succeeded?

Tonight, Kindwater Xiaolou had invited Ji Ning to a banquet. Immortal Floatcloud was going to take the chance to assassinate Ji Ning. Naturally, the Godplume Duke knew of this plan. He was waiting for the results.

Crack!

The Godplume Duke suddenly turned to look at the life-tablet placed at the edges of his table. This was the life-tablet of Immortal Floatcloud, and at this moment, it had shattered.

“Floatcloud died. It seems the assassination attempt was made. However, I don’t know if it was a success or not.” The Godplume Duke took a deep breath. Regardless of whether it had succeeded or not, Floatcloud would perish. If he succeeded, then he would go reincarnate; if he failed, his soul would be shattered.

Time slowly passed…

The Godplume Duke continued to quietly wait for news to arrive.

A long time later.

“Clan leader.” An azure-robed servant charged in, then immediately whispered, “We have word.”

“Speak,” the Godplume Duke said calmly.

“Immortal Floatcloud attempted to assassinate Ji Ning in Cloudwater Manor, and he even used the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation, engaging in a one-on-one fight with Ji Ning within it. But Ji Ning suddenly produced a Primaltwin and killed Immortal Floatcloud,” the azure-robed servant said.

The Godplume Duke had an ugly look on his face. He hesitated for a moment, then said with a frown, “You said Ji Ning’s Primaltwin killed Immortal Floatcloud? But his true body is only at the Wanxiang level; can it be that his Primaltwin has already trained to the Void-level and become an Earth Immortal?”

“His Primaltwin should be at the Primal level,” the azure-robed servant said. “There shouldn’t be any mistake about this.”

The Godplume Duke sat there quietly pondering, and the azure-robed servant didn’t dare to make another sound.

After pondering for quite some time, the Godplume Duke said coldly, “Immortal Floatcloud was a Loose Immortal of my Youngflame clan; how dare he act in such an audacious way? Without receiving permission from my Youngflame clan, he actually dared to go attempt to assassinate Ji Ning on his own accord! This is a violation of the laws of the clan. Inform the outside world that Immortal Floatcloud violated the laws of the clan and has been expelled from the Youngflame clan, and is no longer a member of the clan. Also – blot out his name from the Youngflame clan registrar.”

“Yes,” the azure-robed servant said respectfully.

“Go now.” The Godplume Duke waved his hand, and the azure-robed servant hurriedly retreated. As for the Godplume Duke himself, he sat there quietly for a long moment. This wasn’t the news he had wanted; in fact, it was the worst news possible. Ji Ning had actually been able to rely on his own power to kill Immortal Floatcloud. Then killing Ji Ning…was truly going to be difficult.

“He’s trained for thirty years, but is already so formidable; he needs to be killed. But in the imperial capital…killing him will be as hard as ascending to heaven. I imagine that we’ll have to wait for him to leave the city before our Youngflame clan will be able to use all of the methods available to us to deal with him. But who knows how long we will have to wait before Ji Ning will leave?” The Godplume Duke quietly pondered this issue. “I can only hope that his true body will be killed in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny by other supreme geniuses! His true body has far more potential than his Primaltwin does; so long as it dies, then his threat will be greatly lessened.”

Although the Primaltwin was currently more powerful than Ning’s true body, without question, the true body had more potential and a much more solid foundation.

“It’s time to pay a visit Patriarch Arcanum.” In truth, the Godplume Duke felt some resentment as well. This was all because Patriarch Arcanum had doted on Youngflame Nong too much; otherwise, how could all of this nonsense have occurred?

“Once news of this battle spreads, the various major powers of the imperial capital will most likely all learn about Ji Ning. My Youngflame clan will have truly lost face.” The Godplume Duke shook his head. Then, by himself, he boarded his Immortal carriage and departed from the imperial capital to go pay his respects to Patriarch Arcanum.

After the Imperial Guards under the command of Xiamang Hong returned to their headquarters, the news that Ning’s Primaltwin had killed a Loose Immortal quickly spread throughout the entire headquarters. The Imperial Guard was the most important military which guarded the imperial capital; all of the various major clans had disciples within it, and so this news quickly spread to all of the major clans as well.

Now they all understood that it wasn’t that Ji Ning didn’t know his own limits; rather, it was that he did indeed have enough ability to back up his actions.

……

Stillwater Commander. The Black-White College.

Amongst the powers that paid the most attention to Ning, the one which cared the most was the Black-White College. Within the Headmaster’s Hall of the Black-White College.

“Apprentice-nephew headmaster, why have you asked us to all gather here?”

“Senior apprentice-brother, for what reason have you asked us to hurry here so late at night?”

The first generation Immortals and the second generation Primal Daoists who were gathered within the hall all spoke out to ask questions.

“Don’t be impatient. Listen to me read this intelligence report.”

Daoist Jadesea, the Headmaster, was holding a copy of an intelligence report sent from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. He read aloud, “Tonight, in the Kindwater clan’s Cloudwater Manor located in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, Kindwater Xiaolou hosted a banquet for Ji Ning. Ji Ning attended with a troop of Golden Imperials. Halfway through the banquet, Immortal Floatcloud suddenly appeared. He first used a Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle to ambush Ji Ning, who was heavily injured but managed to stay alive. Immortal Floatcloud then utilized the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation to seal off the surrounding area, then engaged in a one-on-one fight with Ji Ning. Ji Ning’s Primaltwin suddenly emerged. His Primaltwin had already reached the peak Primal level. By using a sword formation technique involving hundreds of Heaven-ranked flying swords, he executed Immortal Floatcloud.”

The hall was completely silent.

Everyone was speechless for a moment…and then, a storm of commotion.

“Apprentice-nephew headmaster, are you sure about what you read?”

“Do you speak the truth?”

“Ji Ning’s Primaltwin killed Immortal Floatcloud?”

None of them could believe it. Many of them had actually been present when Ning had joined the school. That little fellow who had only been a Zifu Disciple…after just ten or so years, he had killed a Loose Immortal? Was this a joke?

“This is a report from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. How could they lie about something like this?” Daoist Jadesea looked at his fellow disciples.

“Wonderful, wonderful.” Immortal Fivecraze called out, “This is absolutely wonderful. Spread the news. Let all of the disciples of our Black-White College learn of this matter!”

Some would celebrate, some would mourn. News of Ning’s battle spread throughout the entire imperial capital, and it also spread to the ears of certain people located in many other commandery cities. Some celebrated, some sighed in amazement, some felt jealousy, and some felt disdain.

Highwater Commander. The Dongyan Mountains.

Late night. Within a mountain peak inside the Dongyan Mountains.

Ninelotus was seated by herself at the edges of a cliff. The cold night wind felt as sharp as knives of ice, but Ninelotus allowed the wind to blow against her as she continued to sit there silently. Ever since she and Ning had parted ways at the Witchriver Immortal Estate, Ninelotus had begun to enjoy sitting by herself in this quiet place at night, a time of absolute stillness. She would just watch quietly until the sun rose.

“Little Yun.” Suddenly, a voice rang out. Ninelotus turned to look. A very beautiful woman walked over; it was her mother.

Ninelotus’ mother looked at her daughter, feeling quite pained for her. Ninelotus and her were extremely close. When Ninelotus had returned from the Witchriver Immortal Estate, she had been truly been heartbroken, but had no one to talk to about it. Her mother had consoled her, and eventually, Ninelotus had told her mother about the pain in her heart. Only then did her mother realize that her daughter had very nearly chosen to completely walk the same path with Ji Ning.

“Little Yun, are you still not over it?” The mother sat down as well, looking at her daughter.

“I’ve been over it for quite some time,” Ninelotus said, gently shaking her head. “I just continue to feel ashamed.”

“If you feel ashamed, how can you say you are over it?” Her mother shook her head. “No need to be ashamed. This Ji Ning, he isn’t worth you feeling ashamed over. He just came from a backwater clan; how good could his upbringing have possibly been? The two of you belong in completely separate worlds. There’s no way the two of you could’ve been together. No way at all.”

“Enough,” Ninelotus said softly.

“You are going to command the entire Dongyan clan, and the Forefather of the Dongyan clan has full faith in you. You need to stir yourself up. You might not be able to forget about him now, but in a few centuries or millennia, you’ll realize that he was actually just a very ordinary passerby in your life. Nothing more than a bumpkin. Forget about him,” Ninelotus’ mother said.

Before Ninelotus was born, her mother and her father had decent lives in the Dongyan clan, but were quite ordinary figures. However, after Ninelotus was born, she was loved and doted upon by the Dongyan clan’s Forefather, who trained her and assigned her to be the next clan leader. Thus, Ninelotus’ father and mother saw their statuses skyrocket, and they now had a very great deal of power within the Dongyan clan.

“He isn’t a bumpkin.” Ninelotus stared at her mother. “He is my former Dao-companion, and a true genius!”

“And what good is a genius? He might just end up being killed by the Youngflame clan,” her mother said angrily.

“Enough!” Ninelotus was growing angry as well.

Her mother forced down her anger. Ninelotus was the next clan leader, after all, and so normally she and her husband would listen to Ninelotus. But with regards to Ji Ning…the mother had always nursed a belly full of anger. How exalted a status did her daughter have? How could she possibly be together with someone who came from a backwater tribe? That was an absolute travesty.

“Mistress, mistress!” Suddenly, a female servant flew in on a flying sword, landing on the mountain peak.

“Mm?” Ninelotus looked at her servant.

“The Heavenly Treasures Mountain sent an intelligence report. It has to do with young master Ji Ning,” the female servant said.

Ninelotus waved her hand, and the intelligence report scroll immediately flew towards her. By her side, her mother said unhappily, “You said you are over it, but you continue to pay attention to his intelligence reports?”

“Does being over it mean that I can no longer pay attention to news regarding him?” Ninelotus gave her mother a glance, then unfurled the scroll to read it. A look of shock and amazement appeared on her face.

“Let me take a look. What’s this all about? Was he killed by the Youngflame clan?” Her mother snatched it over to take a read. And as she did…she was so shocked that she jumped to her feet.

“Ki-ki-killed Immortal Floatcloud of the Youngflame clan?” She was astonished. “He’s only trained for thirty years, right? How could, how, how could…”

“I told you. He is a genius.” Ninelotus said softly, “Mother, go home. Let me be by myself for a while.”

Her mother was truly stunned by this news as well. She simply couldn’t comprehend it. How could this young fellow from a backwater tribe, who was even younger than her own daughter, have actually killed a supreme Loose Immortal?

Stunned, she left obediently. The maidservant left as well.

Ninelotus sat there by herself, silent.

“As long as you are doing well, I can be at ease. Ji Ning…stay alive.” Ninelotus could only pray silently in her heart. When she had chosen the path of becoming the next leader of the Dongyan clan, she had decided to follow this path to its completion. As for Ji Ning? All she could do was silently pray for him in her heart.

This was because, after their parting at the Witchriver Immortal Estate…

“You shall be you, and I shall be me…”

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Chapter 33 – From Whence Came, To Where Go

Chapter 33 – From Whence Came, To Where Go

It was a late, cold winter night. The temperature was bone-chillingly low.

But Princess Xiyue, of King Yan’s Estate, was filled with burning rage. She angrily slammed her hand against the table. “The Youngflame clan is truly damnable. They actually dare to attempt an assassination within the imperial capital. Damnable, damnable, absolutely damnable!”

“Cousin, although the Youngflame clan sent a Loose Immortal Deathsworn, that person ended up dying in my hands,” Ji Ning said. “Don’t be so angry, cousin.”

“How can I not be angry?” Princess Xiyue looked towards Ning. “I’m still covered in cold sweat. Fortunately, you are strong and were able to block both the Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needles as well as Immortal Floatcloud. If not…little brother, aside from Grandpa, you are my own family.”

If her one and only little brother would have died…Princess Xiyue didn’t even know what she would’ve done.

“The Youngflame clan is utterly damnable,” Princess Xiyue said, so angry that she was shaking.

“Their strategy this time of sending out a Loose Immortal Deathsworn failed. I imagine that for now, they won’t have any other tricks up their sleeves; so long as I stay within the imperial capital, the Youngflame clan shouldn’t be able to do anything to me,” Ning hurriedly consoled his cousin.

Princess Xiyue took a deep breath, then nodded. “Right. There is nothing else they can do to you. I imagine that a year later though, during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, they will use the rules of the Conclave to act against you.”

“Against others who are at the peak Wanxiang level…although I don’t dare say that I am unequaled in the world, I should be able to keep myself alive.” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Cousin, my Primaltwin just finished binding the storage treasure which the deceased Immortal Floatcloud left behind.”

“Oh?” Yuchi Xiyue’s eyes lit up as well. “Let’s see what sort of treasure Immortal Floatcloud left behind. However…since he dared to attempt to assassinate you, and also carried a Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle and a Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation with him, I imagine that he no longer had many other treasures on him.”

“Let me take a close look.” Ning nodded. He immediately began to have his Primaltwin, located within the underwater estate, to carefully investigate each treasure. Suddenly, Ning revealed a look of astonishment.

“What is it?” Yuchi Xiyue asked hurriedly.

“The other treasures are as I expected, but I found a scroll.” Ning waved his hand, and a golden scroll suddenly appeared within it, emanating ripples of power that were ancient and strange.

“This scroll…?” Yuchi Xiyue looked at it, also curious. Ning unfurled the scroll. Atop the golden scroll, there was just a single, simple line of characters. They stated:

“From whence come, to where go. Xiamang Xun.”

Every single stroke was simple and plain, but an aura of majesty exploded forth from them. Both Ning and Xiyue felt their hearts tremble; they felt as if they were facing the heavens themselves. Even Ning, when facing that ancient Fiendgod in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, hadn’t felt such terror.

Whoosh. Ning hurriedly closed the scroll, and only then did the terrifying majesty completely disappear.

“What in the world is this?” Xiyue was absolutely amazed.

“I don’t know either.” Ning shook his head.

“Just a single line of characters; from whence come, to where go. And a single, simple signature inscription – Xiamang Xun. Who exactly is Xiamang Xun? Can it be that he is an ancient member of the imperial Xiamang clan?” Xiyue was completely puzzled. “Why haven’t I ever heard of this name before?”

Ning said with a frown, “The person who wrote the line of words should be named Xiamang Xun…and judging from the majestic power from those words, he should be an incredibly powerful figure.”

“I’ll go ask Grandpa,” Xiyue immediately said. “Wait a moment for me.”

“Right now? So late at night?” Ning was amazed.

“It’s fine. My grandfather is a Celestial Immortal; do you think there is a big difference between day and night for him? And he lives by himself; he doesn’t even let maidservants move close to him. It’s fine for me to find him late at night. And I’m in quite an uneasy mood as well; I feel as though this scroll is quite extraordinary. Wait a moment; I’ll be back shortly.” Xiyue hurriedly departed.

In just the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea.

Xiyue once more flew back gracefully, her face filled with excitement.

“Cousin, what’d he say?” Ning was quite curious as well as to exactly what this scroll is.

“Do you know who Xiamang Xun is?” Xiyue had a secretive look on her face.

“Who?” Ning asked. He had never heard of this name before.

“He is his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of our Grand Xia Dynasty!” Xiyue whispered to him, “He’s also the founder of the Grand Xia Dynasty, and the sovereign of this major world.”

“His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor?” Ning was awestruck. The Grand Xia Emperor stood far above them. He was the sovereign of this entire major world, and his power filled the skies. In fact, it was said that the Grand Xia Emperor could even sit down and speak to the Celestial Emperor as equals. One was the Emperor of a major world of the mortal realms; the other was the Emperor of the Deva realms.

This was how things had been since the Fiendgod Era.

The Grand Xia Emperor had never been anyone else. He rarely showed himself; after all, this ancient dynasty which he had founded and which had existed for countless millions of years had long ago stabilized. It had its own laws, and most matters could be handled by his senior officials.

He was powerful. After all, he had single-handedly established an enormous dynasty and unified the world, after the end of the Fiendgod Era.

He was mysterious. Over the course of countless years, he had almost never shown himself.

He was exalted. No one in the Grand Xia Dynasty dared to go against his decrees.

As the sovereign of this major world, who had stood at its very peak from the Fiendgod Era until now, a figure who the vast majority of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals couldn’t even approach…very few people even knew his name.

“Right. His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor. This is his name.” Xiyue was extremely excited. “Xiamang Xun…that’s the name of his Imperial Majesty.”

“Xiamang Xun, his Imperial Majesty…the Emperor…” Ning’s heart was suddenly filled with fright and nervousness.

In his subconscious…he suddenly felt as though a pair of eyes was staring directly at him.

Previously, when he hadn’t known this was the name of the Emperor, Ning hadn’t felt anything. But now that he knew…he felt in his subconscious as though a pair of eyes had suddenly turned towards him.

“Do you know what this scroll is?” Xiyue didn’t sense anything amiss at all. All she felt was excitement and energy. “A dharmic decree of reincarnation! This is a dharmic decree that was personally penned by the Grand Xia Emperor. If you possess this decree, once you perish, the dharmic decree will escort and accompany your soul into the Netherworld Kingdom. When the Yama-Kings of the Ten Halls see this dharmic decree, they will naturally give some face to our Grand Xia Emperor. The line of ‘from whence come, to whence go’ is an instruction; it means that the bearer is to reborn back into the major world and the clan from whence he last lived in.”

Ning was enlightened.

The Yama-Kings of the Ten Halls. The Lord of Cui Palace. All of them had exalted statuses in the Netherworld Kingdom. For them, letting a few Immortals return to their own major world and clans was nothing more than a minor matter. It could also be viewed as helping to build up ties between themselves and the major power who wrote the dharmic decree.

“Right. My grandfather said that you are not to rashly tell others of the name of his Imperial Majesty,” Xiyue said hurriedly. “According to what my grandfather said, if you say his Imperial Majesty’s name aloud, his Imperial Majesty will sense it. However, since we are within King Yan’s Estate, his Imperial Majesty won’t mind too much.”

“Understood. I won’t tell others,” Ning immediately said. In his heart, however, he felt shocked. So just now, when he felt in his subconscious as though a pair of eyes were paying attention to him…it had probably been his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor.

Time flowed on. News of Ning’s Primaltwin’s slaying of Immortal Floatcloud spread, and Ning’s fame grew greater and greater. In the imperial capital, almost everyone believed that Ning had an exceedingly high level of insight into the Dao; far higher, at least, than Immortal Floatcloud possessed. Otherwise, how could he have so fought him, despite Immortal Floatcloud being at a higher tier of power?

…..

Stillwater Commandery. Within a private training room in the Black-White College.

The Sloppy Daoist, the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples, was seated in the lotus position. He was only wearing pants, his upper body unclad. The skin on his upper body was actually covered with runes that looked like the shell of a tortoise, and series of ancient-feeling ripples of power poured out from him.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, within the private training room, the illusion of an incomparably enormous Turtle-Snake appeared. This Turtle-Snake filled nearly the entire training room, and the Sloppy Daoist stood on the illusory Turtle-Snake’s back. The entire Turtle-Snake began to move, and both the turtle head and the serpent head emitted growling roars.

A layer of turtle shell began to appear on the Sloppy Daoist’s entire body as he sat there, but his eyes were like the eyes of a snake, capable of filling the hearts of viewers with terror. His aura was incredibly ancient and powerful.

“Eh?” The Sloppy Daoist suddenly frowned. In his subconscious, he could feel something calling to him. It was…

“The Conclave of Immortal Destiny?” The Sloppy Daoist mumbled to himself, “What’s going on? Why is it that when I’m training in the Black Tortoise 1 divine ability, my subconscious is foretelling that this upcoming Conclave is going to be quite important. It seems as though it is a major chance for me.”

The powerful call was so strong that the Sloppy Daoist was almost unable to suppress it.

The Sloppy Daoist knew very well that this sort of subconscious feeling didn’t need to be doubted; if he could sense that it was going to be a major stroke of luck for him, then he had to go.

“I don’t like fighting and struggling with others. I just want to quietly relax and train. But…I didn’t expect that in the end, I still have to go to this Conclave of Immortal Destiny.” The Sloppy Daoist nodded lightly. “What shall be, shall be. Those things that are meant to be mine will be; for those things that aren’t meant to be mine, there’s no need to force it. I’ll go give this Conclave a try and test out these geniuses of our major world.”

“I’ve just reached the second Cycle of my Black Tortoise divine ability. I was planning to break through to the Primal level, but it now seems that I shouldn’t be in a hurry. After this Conclave of Immortal Destiny is concluded, I’ll make my breakthrough.” The Sloppy Daoist no longer considered this matter, and began to train once more.

The enormous phantom of a Turtle-Snake once more filled the entire training room.

The Sloppy Daoist was like an ancient, primordial Fiendgod. He sat there quietly, meditating.

……..

In the great Darknorth Sea, there was an Immortal island known as Goldcrow Island. The master of this island was referred to as Immortal Goldcrow; he was a truly mighty Void-level Earth Immortal. Although he had only reached the Void level a century ago, he had been famous for a long period of time. He had the lineage of the Golden Crow, and so although he was merely a Void-level Earth Immortal, he was close to Celestial Immortals in power.

In the Darknorth Sea, there were countless powers who wanted to befriend him, but Immortal Goldcrow was solitary and did as he pleased. As someone with the lineage of the Golden Crows, and as a man with a strange temper who was quite bloodthirsty, there were very few powers who dared to antagonize him.

Within Goldcrow Island.

A golden-robed Immortal Goldcrow was seated at the front of a grand palace, expounding on the Dao. Before him were six young men and women who were listening reverently. These were the six major disciples of Immortal Goldcrow.

During a pause in the expounding of the Dao, the eldest of the six disciples, a human, spoke out and asked, “Master, I heard that the Grand Xia Dynasty is about to hold the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Your disciple wishes to go; may I?”

“You, with your level of power, plan to go to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny? Do you want to die?” Immortal Goldcrow responded calmly, but as soon as his words came out, his face suddenly changed.

1. This term ‘Xuanwu’literally translates as ‘Black Warrior’, but is also supposed to be, in Chinese mythology, either the name of the Black Tortoise/Turtle-Snake of the Four Beasts, or the Immortal whose pet is the Black Tortoise.

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Chapter 34 – A Gathering of Heroes

Chapter 34 – A Gathering of Heroes

Immortal Goldcrow could sense a powerful beckoning coming from his subconscious, from deep in his soul.

“Why do I suddenly have such a powerful premonition?” Immortal Goldcrow was stunned; as an Immortal cultivator, he placed a great deal of faith in his subconscious premonitions. “It seems as though this Conclave of Immortal Destiny will be very important to me…as though it is calling for me to attend…”

“Master, your disciple isn’t that bad. If I truly am unable to win it, then I will immediately give up and admit defeat.” The senior disciple, unhappy, hurriedly added, “This Conclave of Immortal Destiny will see countless geniuses from this major world gather together. A chance like this will probably only come once in a lifetime.”

Immortal Goldcrow, whose mind had been wandering, quickly returned to his senses. “Enough!” Immortal Goldcrow snapped with a frown, still seated at the front of the hall. “That little bit of talent you possess; you think that’s ‘not bad’? You have always stayed in a distant island and your experiences are very shallow. You’ve only heard of the Conclave; you have no idea how formidable the geniuses participating in the Conclave truly are. This is a report from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain regarding the previous Conclave; go ahead and read it.” As he spoke, he produced a book in his hand, then tossed it out. His senior disciple hurriedly caught it.

“To enter the Conclave without having at least a bit of ability…you won’t even have a chance to admit defeat.” Immortal Goldcrow rose to his feet. Whoosh. He transformed into a rainbow, disappearing from their sight.

“Eldest apprentice-brother, you angered Master.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother, let me take a look at this book as well. How formidable are the participants of the Conclave?” The other junior apprentice-brothers and junior apprentice-sisters all crowded around as well. As for Immortal Goldcrow, he had already arrived within his own Immortal estate.

This Immortal estate could not be carried away, but it had tremendous power.

No one else was inside the estate.

Immortal Goldcrow quickly entered a pavilion, within which sat a black-robed man. The black-robed man and Immortal Goldcrow appeared nearly identical; only, Immortal Goldcrow had a stronger and more bloodthirsty aura.

“It seems as though the reason I had that premonition is because my true body is still at the peak Wanxiang level.” The black-robed man rose to his feet. “Although I have already had a stroke of great fortune, from my subconscious premonition…it seems as though this Conclave is going to be an extremely important one. I might be able to truly soar into the heavens at this Conclave.”

“If I, Bu Yi, wish to become a Celestial Immortal, it seems that my chance will come through this Conclave of Immortal Destiny.” The black-robed man continued to mutter to himself.

He had been the son of a fisherman. In his youth, he accompanied his father out to sea to catch fish, but because of a great storm, the waves had caused the ship to capsize. He had passed out, and by the time he had woken up, he had found out to his astonishment that he had entered an estate in the bottom of the sea.

This was an estate left behind by a powerful predecessor, and was filled with many cultivation techniques, arts, divine abilities, and even some supreme visualization techniques, along with magic treasures and curious items. There had even been an amount of liquefied elemental essence which had accumulated over the course of years within the estate, forming a giant pond with at least five million kilograms. Amongst the various precious treasures, he had also discovered a Golden Crow’s egg. His youthful self had settled down in the estate, focusing on his training.

Most likely, he had been a cultivator in his past life as well; his soul was innately powerful to begin with, and with the aid of the supreme visualization techniques, when his true body had reached the Wanxiang level, he had split his soul, using the created half to possess the Golden Crow’s egg. Afterwards, the egg had hatched, and the Golden Crow had been born.

This Golden Crow had an extremely pure lineage; only after training to the Void level had he been able to transform into human shape.

Over the course of many long years, Bu Yi had wandered the great Darknorth Sea, experiencing many life-and-death dangers. Thanks to the Golden Crow Primaltwin body he had acquired thanks to his great stroke of fortune as a youth, he had managed to overcome those dangerous situations and profit from them. After his Primaltwin had experienced the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, he had decided to break through to become a Void-level Earth Immortal. He had more than two hundred years before the next calamity descended; for Bu Yi, this was more than enough time.

“Although my Primaltwin’s body is that of a Golden Crow and is extremely powerful…” the black-robed Bu Yi shook his head. “But the body is a possessed one. I’m a human, whereas Golden Crows are monsters. Although I possessed the egg…I was at most able to complete a 70% or 80% fusion with it. Training to the Void level is most likely my limit. To overcome the tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal? There’s no hope at all!”

Possessing a Golden Crow’s egg was a stroke of tremendous fortune. When he had been very weak and young, he hadn’t hesitated at all to make this choice.

However, a Primaltwin acquired through possession wouldn’t be sufficiently well fused together, and becoming a Celestial Immortal was difficult to begin with. Even creatures such as a Golden Crow Godbird with exceedingly pure Golden Crow lineages would find it hard to overcome the Celestial Tribulation. He, whose soul and body had only fused 70% or 80%, had almost no chance of overcoming it at all. He knew this quite well.

“I can sense that this Conclave of Immortal Destiny is a chance for me.”

“I, Bu Yi, have roamed and dominated the Darknorth Seas. It has always been my Primaltwin, ‘Immortal Goldcrow’, who was famous. This time…my true body shall reveal its own brilliance as well at this Conclave of Immortal Destiny.” The black-robed Bu Yi felt tremendous eagerness.

Three days later.

Immortal Goldcrow gave instructions to his disciples to train hard, stating that he was going out for some wandering…and then quietly left, heading towards the imperial capital.

…..

A small ship was flying through the misty clouds, atop which was a black-robed man seated in the lotus position, a sharp, saber-hacking aura emanating from him.

“Eh?” The black-robed man suddenly opened his eyes. Previously, his eyes had been closed as he was meditating, but the Conclave of Immortal Destiny had suddenly come to his mind, and as it did, his subconscious began to whisper to him.

“After bidding Master farewell, I began to rove through the various major worlds to adventure and train. This world of the Grand Xia Dynasty is already my ninth major world. I completely have no interest in this so-called ‘Conclave of Immortal Destiny’; after all, I apprenticed myself to Master long ago. But why is it that I suddenly have a feeling…as though I should go participate? It seems as though if I don’t go, I’ll miss something or will lose something.” The black-robed man was mystified.

However, he didn’t doubt the premonitions of his subconscious.

“If that’s the case…then I might as well make a trip to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia and participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. I want to see how formidable the geniuses of this major world are.” The black-robed man willed it, and the air around the small ship began to shimmer. It then disappeared completely; he had used a void teleportation technique to head directly towards the imperial capital.

……

An ordinary tavern within a commandery city of the Grand Xia. A dirty-looking maiden was completely drunk, and there was even some straw in her hair. She continued to call out loudly, “More wine, quick, more wine!”

“Miss, you’ve used up all your money already,” the tavern waiter hurriedly said.

The dirty-looking maiden opened her eyes. “Used up?”

“Listen up, all of you. I’ll let you guys hit or kick me as you please; I definitely won’t fight back at all. Buuut, you have to help me pay some money for wine. You don’t need to pay too much; just a gourd’s worth of wine is enough. Just let me fill up my gourd,” the dirty-looking maiden called out.

“Beat you as I please?” Instantly, a newcomer was intrigued.

“Heh, yet another poor bastard is going to fall for it.”

“That gourd just won’t fill up no matter how you try.”

Some of the regulars were secretly muttering to each other. The guest who had wanted to give her a kick for fun felt that something was off and immediately stopped himself.

The dirty maiden, holding that gourd of wine, looked around herself. No one had come to hit her.

“I’ll let you hit or kick me as you please. I definitely won’t fight back,” the dirty maiden called out.

“…ugh. It seems I need to switch places again. I can’t swindle too much in a little place like this anyhow. Why don’t I go to a larger place…say, the imperial capital, the largest city of them all?”

The maiden was suddenly stunned.

Her blurry, drunken eyes suddenly grew clear.

“The Conclave of Immortal Destiny?”

She could feel a powerful call from it.

Originally, in accordance with the way she trained her Dao, she shouldn’t have participated in the Conclave at all. But her subconscious premonition couldn’t be wrong.

“As soon as I had the idea to go to the imperial capital, I immediately felt a strong premonition regarding the Conclave of Immortal Destiny…it seems as though I truly will have to go attend. Perhaps this Conclave of Immortal Destiny will be of help to me in overcoming the tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal. I’ve reincarnated nine times now…if I fail again, then I truly will have no more hope for the future.”

Whoosh. The drunken woman suddenly disappeared from within the tavern. As for the ordinary mortals within the tavern, they didn’t notice anything at all. It was as though this maiden had never appeared in their midst before at all.

……

The truly formidable figures who had secluded themselves throughout the vast Grand Xia Empire, including some truly peerless monsters who had originally disdained from attending the Conclave, all felt a call from their subconscious. All of them changed their minds, hastening towards the imperial capital.

The imperial capital. King Yan’s Estate. Ji Ning’s Immortal estate. There was a lake in front of it, and atop the lake, there was a small ship. Ning was lying down in the middle of the ship, allowing it to drift where it pleased.

Perhaps because he had grown into a habit of drifting on a boat at Serpentwing Lake, when Ning lay down in a boat and let it drift where it please, his soul felt exceptionally calm and empty. It was even often of benefit to him in pondering secret arts.

“Young master Ji Ning.” A maidservant, standing at the side of the lake, called out.

A handsome, slender fur-clad youth suddenly stood up from within the distant wooden boat. With a single step, he disappeared from the boat and reappeared on the shore.

“Young master Ji Ning,” the maidservant said respectfully, “A group of people are at the royal estate and wish to meet you.”

“Meet me? Who are they?” Ning asked.

“They say…that they are your fellow disciples from your school, or something like that,” the maidservant said.

Ning’s eyes lit up. He immediately transformed into a gust of wind, howling through the air as he disappeared.

King Yan’s Estate’s front gate. A gust of wind blew past, and Ning appeared at the entrance.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning!” A white-robed youth ran over excitedly.

“Junior apprentice-brother Northson.” Ning, upon seeing his junior apprentice-brother, felt extraordinarily happy as well. The two of them clutched each other in a bear hug before letting go.

Ning had long ago begun to view Northson as he would a true little brother.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you truly are amazing. You actually produced a Primaltwin and even killed Immortal Floatcloud.” Northson was extraordinarily excited. “When I was in the Black-White College, I heard the news and was absolutely tickled. Hahaha, you killed Youngflame Nong and that Fiendgod, and then you caused even a Deathsworn sent out by the Youngflame clan to perish. Hehehe, I wonder how infuriated the Youngflame clan is right now?!”

“Hopefully, they’ll die from their anger,” Ning said. And then he looked at the other three in front of him. “Senior apprentice-brother Vastriver, senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, and eldest apprentice-brother…why have you all come?”

The figures in front of him were the Sloppy Daoist, Yu Wei, Vastriver, and Northson.

Yu Wei laughed, “Both myself and our eldest apprentice-brother are participating in this Conclave. Senior apprentice-brother Vastriver and junior apprentice-brother Northson are here to watch. I imagine that once the Conclave truly begins, quite a few other disciples of the Black-White College will come to watch as well. After all, actual participants are quite few in number, but quite a few spectators will be present.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother, you are attending as well?” Ning was surprised. When he had chatted with Yu Wei and the others about the Conclave, it seemed as though the only member of the Black-White College to attend would be Yu Wei. The others wouldn’t participate, and the leader of the third generation disciples, the Sloppy Daoist, wasn’t planning to attend either.

“What should happen, will happen,” the Sloppy Daoist said with a laugh.

“This time, our Black-White College will have a total of three participants in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, and eldest apprentice-brother. Our Black-White College is definitely going to be famous!” Northson was filled with anticipation.

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Chapter 35 – The End Days for Snowdragon Mountain

Chapter 35 – The End Days for Snowdragon Mountain

Yuchi Xiyue was also aware that Ji Ning’s fellow disciples had arrived, and she arranged a special banquet for them, inviting the disciples of the Black-White College to attend.

….

On this very day. In the distant Stillwater Commandery. A giant warship, covered with flowery golden tattoos, was howling through the air, sending out waves of energy in its wake. Aboard the warship there was a large, tightly clustered group of Golden Imperials. Upon the deck, there were also nine black-armored Captains of the Imperial Guard, each of whom emanated unfathomably mighty auras.

“Snowdragon Mountain is up ahead,” a black-uniformed man said with a laugh.

“Sorry to trouble you, fellow Daoist Skyfall,” one of the nine Golden Imperial captains said.

“This is a small matter. It is the good fortune of myself, Northmont Skyfall, to be able to assist King Yan in handling this matter.” Skyfall spoke in a flattering manner, but in his heart, he sighed to himself. “Oh, Snowdragon Mountain…how could you be so foolish as to offend King Yan? Even though in the past King Yan was in dire straits, he still wasn’t someone which your puny little Snowdragon Mountain sect could afford to offend. This time, King Yan has sent nine full squads of Golden Imperials over. It seems as though he truly harbors hatred for Snowdragon Mountain. I wonder what exactly Snowdragon Mountain did to him in the past.”

Yuchi Snow, Yuchi Mount; their deaths were caused principally by Dong Seven!

Ning and Xiyue naturally hated the man deeply. King Yan knew how his granddaughter felt, and so immediately ordered nine squads of Golden Imperials to head towards Stillwater Commandery. He instructed them to first notify Stillwater Commandery’s Northmont clan of the following: “In the past, when our royal excellency was wandering the world, a feud arose between himself and Snowdragon Mountain. Today, we have come to annihilate Snowdragon Mountain; we’d like to ask the Northmont clan to permit this.”

The Northmont clan’s response: Annihilate Snowdragon Mountain? A little clan which didn’t even have a single Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal? The Northmont clan naturally wouldn’t care about this matter. In addition, given how diplomatic King Yan was by first sending people to notify them, the Northmont clan immediately arranged for Northmont Skyfall to personally lead the way, bringing these Golden Imperials directly towards Snowdragon Mountain.

“Here we are.” Skyfall pointed towards the area below them. Past the clouds, one could vaguely make out a long, winding mountain range, amongst which were three particularly imposing and tall mountain peaks that vastly surpassed the other three mountains.

“Snowdragon Mountain?” The nine Imperial Guard captains looked down at the base, all nodding slightly.

“First capture Dong Seven, then annihilate Snowdragon Mountain,” one of the captains said.

BOOM!

The warship immediately flew downwards, carrying boundless might and power as it soared directly towards the area above Snowdragon Mountain’s headquarters. This instantly caused a huge shock within Snowdragon Mountain; who would actually dare to have their warship halt directly above the school? This was too arrogant.

“I wonder which fellow Daoist has arrived at Snowdragon Mountain?” Boom! Boom! Boom! Three figures soared into the skies; they were the three Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain. Daoist Snowplume, Daoist Coldsun, and Daoist Blackdragon.

Upon flying upwards, their gazes were immediately drawn to the eye-catching, golden-armored soldiers. The terrifying majesty and aura of power emanating from the soldiers caused their hearts to quail.

However, upon seeing the black-uniformed Northmont Skyfall, Daoist Blackdragon hurriedly said, “Senior Skyfall, why have you come to our Snowdragon Mountain? If there’s anything you need, just summon us; we will simply go to you. There’s no need for you to personally make a trip.”

“Senior Skyfall, might I ask why you have come to Snowdragon Mountain? If there is anything you need, just tell us; we will definitely strive to accomplish it,” Daoist Coldsun said hurriedly as well.

All three Primal Daoists were extremely courteous.

“Gentlemen?” Skyfall just looked at the nine Imperial Guard captains; all nine of them were Loose Immortals.

“Found him.” The eyes of one of the captains lit up.

Whoosh!

He took a single step, then disappeared from his original location, reappearing inside the Snowdragon Mountain headquarters. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly flew back with a white-robed youth in tow. The white-robed youth’s face was ashen. His entire body was shaking in abject terror.

“Dong Seven!” Daoist Coldsun called out in shock.

“Grandpa, Grandpa!” The white-robed youth was utterly terrified. He hurriedly called out, “My Zifu has been destroyed, my Zifu has been destroyed!”

Daoist Coldsun’s face instantly changed. A hint of rage was now visible, but he forced it down and said angrily, “Senior Skyfall, what’s this all about? Why have you led people here to apprehend disciples of Snowdragon Mountain? If Snowdragon Mountain has offended you in some way, just tell us; those who deserve to be punished will be. Snowdragon Mountain will definitely give you a satisfactory response.”

“These aren’t my men.” Northmont Skyfall shook his head. “You really have no vision, have you? You aren’t even able to recognize the most formidable soldiers of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, the Golden Imperials!”

“Golden Imperials?” Daoists Coldsun, Blackdragon, and Snowplume were all shocked. Imperial Guards? Even in Stillwater Commandery, Snowdragon Mountain was a fairly ordinary sect, located in a fairly distant location, without even a single Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal to their name. Naturally, they knew very little about the distant imperial capital. Although Daoist Blackdragon would occasionally make a visit to the imperial capital, he had never even seen an Imperial Guard, much less the elite ‘Golden Imperials’ of the Guard. When they saw the golden armor worn by the soldiers, they had taken them to be soldiers of the Northmont clan of Stillwater!

“Generals,” Daoist Blackdragon said hurriedly, “If Snowdragon Mountain has acted offensively in some manner, please tell us.”

Daoist Coldsun and Daoist Snowplume were terrified and restless as well.

“We have come on orders to apprehend Dong Seven and wipe out Snowdragon Mountain,” one of the captains said coldly.

“Apprehend Dong Seven? Wipe out Snowdragon Mountain?”

Daoist Blackdragon and the other two felt as though thunderbolts had suddenly come crashing down out of the clear sky. Both were stupefied.

Wipe out their school?

Good, good heavens!

Their school was one which had existed for a very long time. Everything had been perfectly fine; why had the Golden Imperials suddenly come to wipe them out?

“Coldsun!” Daoist Blackdragon, upon seeing the captured Dong Seven, instantly understood what this was about. He stared at the nearby Daoist Coldsun, then roared furiously, “It is all your fault. You coddled Dong Seven! Dong Seven has harmed countless people in the outside world; even in our own school, he’s harmed quite a few of our female disciples. But you’ve always protected him! Dong Seven must have offended a powerful figure at some point, causing our Snowdragon Mountain to now face complete annihilation.”

Daoist Coldsun’s face was completely ashen now as well.

Daoist Snowplume begged, “Everyone, you can punish Dong Seven as you please. You can even have Snowdragon Mountain do whatever you wish us to do. Just, please give us a way out.”

“Everyone.” The captain who had apprehended Dong Seven spoke out emotionlessly. “Let’s do it.”

With this order given, the squads of Golden Imperials immediately began to fly out of the warship.

“FORMATION! PROTECT THE MOUNTAIN!” Daoist Blackdragon let out an earsplitting bellow, and his voice rang out in the ears of every single disciple.

“SEALS!”

“SNOWDRAGON SKYSOAR FORMATION!”

Every single formation and restrictive spell which the previous generations experts of Snowdragon Mountain had every created were instantly activated. One seal after another instantly appeared, hovering in the air. Clouds and mist appeared. One snowy white dragon after another began to appear as well, flying and weaving amidst the skies above the mountains. When a school unleashed all of its stored powers at once, even a Loose Immortal would find it difficult to break through the school.

Rumble….

One divine golden dragon after another began to appear in the skies. There were a total of eight divine golden dragons, each of which was coiled and nearly ten thousand kilometers long, and emanated a majestic presence.

It was true that ordinary Loose Immortals would find it difficult to break through Snowdragon Mountain’s headquarters…but a squad of Golden Imperials consisted of a Loose Immortal commanding forty nine Primal Daoists, all of whom were dressed in Dao-armor, and who joined together to form into a divine dragon! Their might was at the very least comparable to ten ordinary Loose Immortals!

And here…there were nine squads!

Rumble…

The golden dragons coiled and writhed in the sky. A simple thwack from one of the tails caused all of the seals to explode and crack, bursting as if they were soap bubbles.

The captain who had captured Dong Seven just watched from above. As for the other eight squads, they had all transformed into golden dragons and were launching attacks at the below Snowdragon Mountain. With absolute superiority in raw power…they smashed through every single grand sealing formation. As for the so-called bewildering formations? Every single divine dragon was ten thousand kilometers in length; a single trembling movement from them caused entire formations to break apart.

“This, this…” Daoist Coldsun had led his own disciples to form into an enormous Snowdragon. But, upon seeing the might and power of the divine golden dragons, he was so terrified he didn’t even dare to go block.

He was a Primal Daoist, leading a group of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples in forming a Snowdragon…and he was supposed to fight against a divine dragon formed by a Loose Immortal leading forty nine Primal Daoists? They were on completely separate levels. The difference in power was just too great.

“Oh, Dong Seven…who the hell did you offend…” Daoist Coldsun felt both fury and despair.

“It’s finished.” Daoist Snowplume led his disciples to block, but at the very first exchange, more than half of his disciples perished and the Snowdragon was completely shattered. A look of despair appeared on Daoist Snowplume’s face. “Snowdragon Mountain is finished. Damn us…damn us for not being strict in carrying out the laws of the sect. Our disciples have caused harm everywhere, and in the end…they finally offended a powerful figure.”

BOOM.

Daoist Snowplume instantly blew apart, causing an enormous storm of elemental ki. He had chosen self-detonation; this way, at least his soul would be able to reincarnate.

…..

Daoist Snowplume self-detonated. Daoist Coldsun was killed. Daoist Blackdragon was killed.

Every single mountain peak that belonged to Snowdragon Mountain was overturned. Under the majestic power of these eight divine dragons that were ten thousand kilometers in length, some parts were crushed down to form a lakebed, while other parts were flattened into plains. In short…not a single true mountain could now be seen.

“This…this…” Dong Seven was completely stunned.

“Fellow Daoist Skyfall, sorry for the trouble. We’ll head straight back to the imperial capital now.”

“This was a small matter. Snowdragon Mountain offended King Yan; they invited annihilation upon themselves. They cannot blame anyone but themselves.”

“Then we’ll leave now.”

“Please do. I won’t send you off.”

The group of Golden Imperials immediately led Dong Seven aboard their warship, then departed. As for Northmont Skyfall, he stared at the former Snowdragon Mountains, which had now been smashed into lakes and plains. He couldn’t help but shake his head. “A small sect like this…they weren’t strict in their rules, and their disciples harmed many. The karmic luck of the school would naturally continue to drop, until finally, one day, annihilation arrived. How utterly laughable…even the imperial clan of the Grand Xia erected the Raindragon Guard and sent them out to apprehend and execute sinners for the sake of improving their luck, but a small sect like this actually acted with such wild abandon.”

Whoosh. Northmont Skyfall disappeared into thin air, teleporting away.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. King Yan’s Estate.

The snow was drifting downwards right now as a group of Golden Imperials entered King Yan’s Estate.

“Brothers, go get some rest, but keep an eye on that Dong Seven. I’m going to go report to the Princess right now,” a captain said, then immediately went to go see her.

Within a wide, spacious hall. A banquet had been prepared here. Ning and Xiyue were currently accompanying Northson and the others, watching the snow while eating and chatting together.

“Reporting to the Princess,” the captain said respectfully as he appeared, “We’ve caught him.”

Ning and Xiyue both looked at the captain, and as they did, both were breathless. Upon hearing the words, “We’ve caught him”, both of them couldn’t help but rise to their feet.

“Everyone, Ji Ning and I have something to attend to. We’ll return shortly,” Yuchi Xiyue said immediately.

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Chapter 36 – The Grand Xia Emperor

Chapter 36 – The Grand Xia Emperor

A dark, gloomy room. There were many instruments of punishment located in this room. In the center, there was a punishment rack, atop which was bound a terrified, pathetic-looking white-robed youth.

“This, this…” Dong Seven stared at the punishment instruments, face utterly ashen.

“Who is it? Who exactly did I offend?” Dong Seven was absolutely horrified. “They actually annihilated Snowdragon Mountain.” His previous arrogant demeanor had completely vanished, leaving behind nothing but terror.

The soldiers in the corner of the room just watched quietly. Suddenly…

Rumble…the stone door swung open, and a woman walked in alongside a fur-clad youth. This caused Dong Seven to feel even more uneasy. He didn’t recognize these two at all.

“Princess.” The soldier on guard called out with respect.

“You can leave,” Yuchi Xiyue instructed.

“Yes.” The soldier immediately departed, and the stone door once more swung shut.

Yuchi Xiyue and Ji Ning both stared at the terrified, pathetic man bound atop the rack. These two cousins had long ago repeatedly reviewed the intelligence reports regarding Dong Seven. His appearance had been deeply engraved in both their hearts.

“Dong Seven!” Ning’s eyes flashed with coldness.

“It was you. It was you. It was you who destroyed my family, who killed my father and caused my mother to die of depression as well.” Xiyue’s eyes instantly turned red. She picked up a large ladle, filled with a bubbling, hot silver liquid, then flicked it towards Dong Seven.

Crackle…

The blazing silver liquid splattered on Dong Seven’s body. Dong Seven instantly emitted a miserable wail, and his neck stretched out as his agonized cries rang out. His face was as white as paper.

After he somewhat came back to his senses, he pitifully cried out, “Mercy, mercy!”

Ning’s eyes were red as well. Everything…everything had been a result of this wayward, hedonistic wastrel. This detestable person, this vile little creature who he, Ji Ning, now only looked down upon! But this detestable little creature had caused Ning’s parents as well as his cousin’s parents to all die early on. A feud of familicide…he could not live under the same skies with this man!

“It hurts, it hurts! Mercy!” Dong Qi screamed miserably.

“Hurts?” Ning picked up a blazing branding iron-type magic treasure and walked over. “That was just the start. Dong Seven, don’t be in such a rush. Slowly enjoy this.”

“No, no, no no no—!” Dong Seven felt his own heart quiver. He began to scream miserably once more…but protective formations covered this punishment room, and no one outside could hear him at all.

Ning heated up this branding iron-type magic treasure, filling it with his elemental ki. Instantly, a crackling sound could be heard as he pressed it down against the tattered body of Dong Seven. Smoke and steam arose. After he moved the branding iron away, he saw that Dong Seven’s skin now had the diagram of a flame branded into it, a brand which quietly activated the power of the natural world.

“AHHH!! It hurts, it hurts!” Dong Seven’s entire body was quivering. That brand diagram seemed to be causing his entire body to burn, and this sensation of being burned to death repeatedly nearly caused him to mentally collapse.

The nearby Xiyue said coldly, “Don’t worry. These are all instruments of punishment used by the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. You’ve only tasted two types so far. I won’t let you die that easily. I’ve prepared many fine spirit-pills. I’ll heal you repeatedly and let you taste the more than ten thousand types of corporal punishment the Grand Xia Dynasty has to offer. I’ll let you learn what pain is, what regret is!”

Dong Seven, upon hearing this, nearly broke down. Ten thousand types of punishment? The first two had already nearly driven him to insanity.

“How the hell did I offend you two? What the hell did I do? You must have the wrong person!” Dong Seven was almost crying now.

Rumble…the stone door was once more pushed open. From outside padded in a large, snowy white hound. The stone door then shut once more.

“Do you still recognize me?” Savagery was in the eyes of the Whitewater Hound as he stared at Dong Seven.

“Whitewater Hound?” Dong Seven was stunned. Deep in his memories, a scene from decades ago began to replay. A scene with a tall, muscular man and a loving couple; the wife was pregnant and truly beautiful, with a rare and noble aura. Her pregnancy just added a strange mystique to her charm…and Dong Seven had been incredibly aroused.

And so, he had ordered Yu Dong and Shui Yi to make their moves.

“You remember now?” Ning said coldly. “That couple back then…they were my mother and father.”

“The one that was killed by your group back then was my father.” Xiyue began to grow even more crazed. Her father had absolutely doted on her when she was a child. His wide, mountain-like shoulders…his loud laughter…his repeated appearances in her dreams…

He was her most beloved father…and she had been her kind and gentle man…

Ning and Xiyue both stared at Dong Seven.

Dong Seven felt coldness in the bottom of his heart.

“It was you who killed Shui Yi and Yu Dong?” Dong Seven said quaveringly.

“Right.” Ning nodded. “And now, it is time for you. The principal instigator.”

“My cousin was far too gentle; he simply used the Heartburner Art to torment those two.” Xiyue was gnashing her teeth. “Those two died, so that’s that…but as for you, the main culprit? I’m going to let you taste all of the ten thousand-plus punishments the Grand Xia has to offer. When the time comes for you to die, I will absorb your soul into the Furnace of Despair. I am going to torture your soul, every day and every night, for thousands of years…”

Dong Seven’s gaze grew numb as he listened.

Ning looked at his nearby cousin. Although he felt tremendous hatred as well, and also wanted to torture and shatter this man’s soul…compared to his cousin, he was far off.

“Cousin, it’s enough for you to torment his soul for ten days and ten nights,” Ning sent mentally, his eyes red. “There’s no need for you to steep your soul in hatred for thousands of years for the sake of this piece of trash.”

Torturing Dong Seven for thousands of years would also mean that Yuchi Xiyue would be steeped in hatred for thousands of years. Torturing others was a form of tormenting one’s self as well.

“The seeds of my hatred are deep. Little brother, don’t worry about me.” Xiyue’s gaze had become twisted from madness.

As Ning had grown up, he had been taught by his parents for more than ten years, then taught by Immortal Diancai as well. He also had his good friend, Mu Northson; thus, Ning’s inner heart had never become twisted.

As for Xiyue, however…after her parents had died, she had lived by herself and suffered tremendously. She didn’t wish to think back to her days of suffering, but even after being brought back by her maternal grandfather to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, she remained quite solitary. Only in front of her cousin would her heart feel slightly warm.

…..

Dong Seven died an agonizing death.

After having been tortured for three months and perishing, his soul was indeed drawn into the ‘Furnace of Despair’ and tormented for more than another month. In the end…it had been King Yan who intervened. Although Princess Xiyue kept the Furnace of Despair on her own person at all times, and although there was no way an ordinary person could kill a soul that was located with a magic treasure…King Yan could. He destroyed Dong Seven’s soul.

“Ji Ning, spend more time with Xiyue. She’s given vent to her hatred for nearly half a year now; she should be about done. If she continues like this, then she will completely lose herself to madness. Spend more time with her; this will help her slowly begin to walk out from the grips of hate.” King Yan personally chatted with Ning on this, and Ning naturally memorized these words.

Deep autumn.

In the deepest reaches of the skies above the imperial capital, there was a hazy gray void. Whoosh…the dim gray void suddenly parted, revealing an enormous corridor which was filled with a hazy golden light. A large number of black soldiers flew out in columns, and behind them there was a group of black-armored warriors that were riding on celestial horses. Behind the riders, there was an enormous coiling black dragon whose incomparably powerful aura filled the skies. It was pulling an enormous Immortal carriage that emanated golden light. There were golden lamps hanging from the Immortal carriage, and seated atop it was a black-robed man.

This black-robed man had a plain, unassuming face. His eyes, however, seemed to hold thunder within them. Wherever his gaze passed, the world itself seemed about ready to split apart.

His might and prestige caused the surrounding soldiers to feel absolute submission in their trembling hearts.

Behind this Immortal carriage, there was a group of black-armored soldiers who were seated obediently within a warship. This warship was three hundred meters long, but it was much smaller than the Immortal carriage. It must be understood that the black dragon was more than thirty kilometers long…and the Immortal carriage was roughly the same size as the black dragon.

Whoosh.

The Emperor was out and about, with 999 guards escorting him.

This squad flew downwards, flying directly towards the Skylight Palace. Amidst the clouds at the highest point of the Skylight Palace, a large group of Immortal maidens and soldiers were already waiting. They all fell to their knees. Each of them were at least at the Primal Daoist level…but for them to be able to serve the Grand Xia Emperor was their fortune.

“We bow to you, your Imperial Majesty.” A muscular, two-headed Fiendgod was the first to immediately kneel down and call out the words.

Instantly, the other Immortal maidens and soldiers all knelt down as well. “We bow to you, your Imperial Majesty.”

The black dragon pulled the Immortal carriage downwards. The many black-armored soldiers that were escorting the carriage all quickly separated, moving to stand in different positions.

“Mm.” The black-robed man left the Immortal carriage. With but two steps, he arrived at the nearby imperial throne, then sat down. He looked downwards at them from his position on high, then instructed, “Send an order out to have King Qi come.”

“Yes.” The twin-headed Fiendgod immediately obeyed the order.

The black-robed man continued to sit there on the throne. He swept his gaze forward, seeming to stare through the layers of clouds and be able to inspect everything within the imperial capital.

He sat there on high. This was the Emperor of this major world…the one who had truly, absolutely unified it!

However, he had set his sights on the Three Realms long ago. He rarely came back to spend time in this major world of the Grand Xia.

“A few decades ago, the Netherworld Kingdom of the Three Realms suffered an attack. The Six Paths of Reincarnation were collapsed and destroyed…and then the attackers suddenly vanished without a trace.” The black-robed Emperor mused softly to himself, “The Netherworld…that is where the souls of the Three Realms reside. How important it is! The defenses there are very tight. The Yama-Kings of the Ten Halls and the Lord of Cui Palace are all Pure Yang True Immortals, and each of them are formidable.”

“Kshitigarbha 1, of the Buddhist schools, stands guard there as well. The Netherworld has some other ancient fellows there as well…it is a place of tremendous power, but upon suffering a sneak attack, it wasn’t able to fight back at all. In a very short period of time, the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed…and they haven’t even been able to find out who caused it or where the attackers came from. Even someone like Master was unable to find out.”

“These forces which lie in the shadows…they are terrifying powerful. And their very first attack was against the Six Paths of Reincarnation.”

“It seems…the Three Realms are about to fall into a state of chaos.” The black-robed Emperor had a look of deep worry within his eyes.

When a tribulation came for the Three Realms as a whole, it would be incredibly terrifying. In the unfathomably ancient past, after Pangu established the world, the first era had been the Primordial era. Afterwards, the Primordial World had been shattered; only then had the three thousand major worlds and the trillions of smaller worlds been created. From this, one could tell how terrifying that storm had been.

“Every single major cataclysm will give birth to some truly supreme heroic figures.” The black-robed Emperor stared downwards towards the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. As the saying went, heroes were born in the midst of chaos. All of the powerful figures of the Three Realms had been born over the course of the truly major tribulations of the past.

“This will be the first Conclave of Immortal Destiny after the destruction of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Then…most likely, some of those heroic figures that are going to emerge in this era will first appear in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny,” the black-robed Emperor mused to himself…

1. This is the bodhisattva who swore that he would only become a Buddha after emptying out all the hells of their sinners through enlightening mankind.

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Chapter 1 – The Emperor’s Decree

Chapter 1 – The Emperor’s Decree

“My imperial Xiamang clan is the successor to and has the bloodline of the imperial ‘Xia clan’ of the Primordial World of Pangu. We long ago unified this major world and have cultivated it for countless years. I then apprenticed myself to Master, who once said…in terms of strength of karmic luck, the major world of the Grand Xia Dynasty ranks as number one amongst the tens of major worlds under his control. With so much karmic luck present here, the upcoming tremors that are going to give birth to some peerless heroes will very likely give birth to them right here, in the world of the Grand Xia!” The black-robed Emperor was pondering this matter.

“Master is someone who mastered a Heavenly Dao. Even in the Three Realms, he is one of the most absolutely supreme of major powers…but even he is worried about the major storm that is going to sweep the Three Realms…if I am careless, the imperial clan of the Grand Xia might be wiped out.”

He knew very well that his master was one of the truly supreme powers of the Three Realms, with tens of major worlds that completely obeyed his orders. The Grand Xia’s world was just one of them.

As for the Celestial Emperor?

The Celestial Emperor was nothing more than a person who was in charge of administrating and managing some of the rules of the Three Realms. In terms of power and authority, the Celestial Emperor wasn’t that much higher than the Grand Xia Emperor, much less his master. Only individuals on the level of his master were hegemons who truly governed the destiny of the Three Realms. In the past, when there had been some disturbances in the Three Realms, quite a few Celestial Emperors had been appointed. Who would be the Celestial Emperor? This was something that would be decided by the supreme experts on his master’s level.

“If even someone like Master is worried, then his disciples, such as myself, have a very high chance of falling. I must be absolutely cautious, as careful as I can.”

The black-robed Emperor had lived from the era of the Primordial World until this era; in the past, he had led his tribe from the Primordial World and relocated to this world, later known as the world of the ‘Grand Xia Dynasty’. He had battled against the local Fiendgods and the other tribes before finally unifying the world. He wasn’t an easy person to deal with!

He knew exactly what needed to do in order to survive a major cataclysm.

“I need to befriend even more experts of the Three Realms. It would be ideal if some of them were willing to put themselves under my command. My luck would improve significantly if they did.”

“During this Conclave of Immortal Destiny, I imagine that future experts of the Three Realms will be born.”

The black-robed Emperor’s eyes were hooded.

Suddenly…from afar, a figure appeared atop the clouds. This man was dressed in long yellow robes that were embroidered with the image of a Raindragon. His face was round, with soft lines, but his eyes were like the stars themselves. He…was King Qi! A Celestial Immortal!

“I bow before you, your Imperial Majesty,” King Qi said, bowing respectfully.

“King Qi, have any major matters occurred during this period of time when I was gone?” The black-robed Emperor asked. Normally, it was the Emperor’s clansmen and senior officials who managed the major affairs of the empire; only the truly major matters would be reported to the Emperor.

“Your Imperial Majesty, you already know that King Yan has become a Celestial Immortal. As for other matters…nothing major has occurred. Everything in the Grand Xia Dynasty is rather peaceful,” King Qi said respectfully. The death of Youngflame Nong? Forget about the next Godplume Duke; even if the current Godplume Duke died, it would be a petty, minor matter that was not worth mentioning to the Emperor.

But of course, if a Celestial Immortal like Patriarch Arcanum perished, it would be worth reporting.

“Mm.” The black-robed Emperor nodded. “There are a few months left before the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Have you heard any unusual news regarding this Conclave?”

“The Conclave?” King Qi was startled.

The Conclave of Immortal Destiny was carried out every three centuries. For short-lived Immortal cultivators, this was something that happened only once in a lifetime, but for someone as exalted as the Grand Xia Emperor…the Emperor had lived for so incomparably long that for him, the tricentennial Conclave was quite a ordinary, regular event. He might spend ten thousand years in a single closed-door meditation session; he normally wouldn’t pay any attention to the Conclave. It would be his subordinates, the Celestial Immortals, who would spend a bit of time on it.

For Celestial Immortals to officiate over it was already putting it on a very high pedestal.

“If I must point out something unusual regarding this Conclave of Immortal Destiny…” King Qi pondered for a moment as he thought about an intelligence report that had been delivered to him by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, then said, “I suppose there is something. In past Conclaves, some of the truly proud and peerless geniuses would disdain from attending…but all of the extremely famous peerless geniuses are attending this time. In terms of quality, the competitors in this Conclave should be exceptionally high.”

Peerless geniuses wouldn’t necessarily take part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Because of their own personality, characters, and training techniques, quite a few would not attend. For example, the Sloppy Daoist had originally not been planning to attend at all.

“Oh?” The black-robed Emperor nodded lightly. Indeed; the signs were all there. Luck, the invisible intrinsic, was beginning to gather.

This Conclave of Immortal Destiny was going to be one of the places where karmic luck would gather. Those peerless geniuses would innately be drawn to attend, because the most outstanding of them would gain the blessing of even more luck, allowing their future potential to be limitless.

“I shall personally host this Conclave of Immortal Destiny,” the black-robed Emperor said.

“Persona–” King Qi said, astonished, “The Conclave happens every three centuries; it isn’t that important. Your Imperial Majesty, you are going to personally host it?

The black-robed Emperor nodded. “Yes. I shall personally host it, and I am going to increase the rewards for this Conclave a hundredfold as well.”

“A hundredfold?” King Qi’s heart shook. In the past, only the top three competitors of the Conclave would be bestowed an Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Then this time…?

“Spread my command to the various marquisates and the major schools and sects of the world,” the black-robed Emperor said calmly. “Tell them that I am paying close attention to this Conclave, and that I will personally officiate over it. Have the various marquisates, schools, and sects all arrange for their most supremely talented disciples to attend this Conclave.”

“Command?” King Qi was even more speechless. The question of participation was generally a matter of personal choice.

“King Qi, you should know about the major upheavals that occurred in the Netherworld Kingdom a few decades ago, yes?” The black-robed Emperor looked at King Qi.

“I do. Of course I know about the collapse of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. But what does this have to do with the Conclave of Immortal Destiny…?” King Qi had some vague premonitions, but because his vision was limited to this major world, he didn’t truly understand. In his heart, however, he understood that most likely it was the prior upheavals in the Netherworld Kingdom which caused the Emperor to pay such attention to this Conclave.

If that was the case, then he definitely could not be negligent.

“I’ll send your commands right away,” King Qi immediately said.

“Good. Arrange for the opening ceremony of the Conclave to be on the sixteenth of the first lunar month,” the black-robed Emperor ordered.

“Yes,” King Qi acknowledged.

…..

Soon, the news that his Imperial Majesty the Grand Xia Emperor was going to personally host this Conclave of Immortal Destiny and was ordering the various marquisates, schools, and sects to arrange for their most elite of disciples to participate quickly spread from the imperial capital to the entirety of this major world. The countless marquises of this vast world, as well as the major powers located in the boundless seas, all received the Emperor’s commands!

“The Emperor is going to personally officiate?”

“The last time the Emperor officiated a Conclave of Immortal Destiny was back when the revolting Dong’e clan and the other clans were annihilated. That was already countless years ago…and the only time that he officiated before that was the during the very first Conclave. Why is the Emperor going to host the Conclave of Immortal Destiny this time?”

All of the marquises, major schools, and major sects were all uneasy. They weren’t worried about the deaths of their Wanxiang Disciples; even if all of them perished, that would simply mean that there would be a gap at a certain level of experts for a few centuries, after which new geniuses would have arisen.

What they were worried about was what the Emperor was planning. This was the Emperor who controlled the destiny of this entire major world! He was going to personally officiate, and had send commands to them…the hidden meaning behind this was extraordinary.

“Patriarch, it was the Emperor who officiated over the very first Conclave of Immortal Destiny; he also officiated the Conclave that occurred after the revolting Dong’e clan was wiped out. This will be only the third time the Emperor is personally hosting the Conclave…there must be a reason behind it.”

“Enough. Don’t trouble yourself about it. How can someone like you possibly comprehend the thoughts of someone as exalted as his Imperial Majesty? Even if he ordered all of the younger geniuses in our clan to go die, we would still obey. Arrange for the top three Wanxiang Disciples of the younger generation in our clan to go attend this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. As for the others…let them do as they please.”

……

“Summon the three Sacred Childs. They are to prepare to join the Conclave of Immortal Destiny.”

“Yes, Sacred Master.”

……

“The five highest ranked disciples of our school, Heaven’s Equal, are all required to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. As for the others, they can do as they please.”

“Yes, Supreme One.”

……

Not a single one of the many powerful forces of the world of the Grand Xia dared to disobey. Those who received the orders were all at least on the level of the Northmont clan of Stillwater. As for the likes of the Black-White College? They weren’t even qualified to receive these orders.

Another winter had arrived. The sun shone down on the accumulated snow, making it gleam brightly.

Ji Ning, Yuchi Xiyue, Yu Wei, Mu Northson, Adept Vastriver, and the Sloppy Daoist were all together, drinking Immortal nectar, eating seafood, and chatting casually.

“The order has already come down from within the imperial citadel,” Xiyue said with a laugh. “The date of this Conclave has been set down as the sixteenth of the first lunar month. A little more than a month remains now.”

Every single Conclave was hosted during the first lunar month.

“I was wandering the imperial capital the other day, and when I was eating, I heard people next to me chatting. They said that three of the nine top-ranked disciples of their school had arrived, and that various other figures from other schools had arrived as well. It seems as though very many geniuses are participating this time.” Northson, holding a beasthead goblet of wine, spoke quite excitedly.

“From the intelligence reports I purchased from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, I can see that one batch after another of geniuses are gathering here at the imperial capital,” Yu Wei said solemnly.

Xiyue said with a laugh, “It seems as though you don’t know enough of the inner details; in reality, it will be his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor himself, who will personally officiate over this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. The various schools, sects, and marquisates are all naturally sending their most talented geniuses over, in the hopes of ingratiating themselves with his Imperial Majesty.”

“His Imperial Majesty is personally officiating?” Ning, Yu Wei, and the Sloppy Daoist were all surprised.

“Actually, all of the marquisates know about this matter, and I imagine some of the peerless geniuses of the various schools know as well. However, they don’t dare to casually discuss this with others,” Xiyue said. “I’m letting you know now, but don’t let others know.”

“Of course.”

Ning and the others were still in a state of shock. The Grand Xia Emperor? The person who unified this entire major world? Someone who stood at the true peak of this land?

Ning and the others couldn’t help but feel even more eager now.

As time flowed out, more and more geniuses arrived at the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. In fact, there were some people who originally hadn’t planned to come, but decided to hurry over specifically because they heard that a truly staggering number of geniuses was attending this Conclave.

Time passed in the blink of an eye…and it was now the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

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Chapter 2 – The World-Guarding Formation

Chapter 2 – The World-Guarding Formation

The day was just beginning. The Wanxiang Adepts who were scattered in residences throughout the imperial capital, as well as the 3600 marquises and their entourages, were all floating towards the imperial citadel.

“So many people.” Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and the Sloppy Daoist were currently flying together shoulder-to-shoulder on a cloud towards the imperial capital.

“Junior apprentice-brother, where are the others?” The Sloppy Daoist seemed to have just woken up. He asked, puzzled, “Why haven’t junior apprentice-brother Vastriver and the others shown up?”

Ning laughed, “Junior apprentice-brother Northson and senior apprentice-brother Vastriver have gone to go join with the main delegation from Stillwater Commandery. His Imperial Majesty is personally officiating over this Conclave, and delegations have come from all 3600 commanderies to pay their respects to his Imperial Majesty. They have to be alongside the Stillwater delegation; otherwise, they won’t even be able to enter the imperial citadel.”

“Oh.” The Sloppy Daoist nodded, now understanding. “I thought anyone who wanted to go watch could just go in and watch.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, all you ever do is train. You should at least read some of the intelligence reports,” Yu Wei said helplessly. “How can just anyone come and watch the Conclave of Immortal Destiny? Do you think the imperial citadel is just a place anyone can enter?”

“Well, I’m always in closed-door training, so…” the Sloppy Daoist scratched his head, grinning.

Ning explained, “There are three types of people who are entering the imperial citadel today. The first type consists of Wanxiang Adepts like us; because we are going to risk our lives in battle, we can just go in directly. The second type consists of the delegations that are led by the various marquises who are going to go pay their respects to his Imperial Majesty. The third type consists of the likes of Celestial Immortals, such as King Yan, who can take Princess Xiyue directly into the citadel. As for others? There might be some exceptional, powerful figures who can enter the citadel, but I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

The Sloppy Daoist nodded in understanding.

Right at this moment, as they were speaking, Ning’s group had flown through the clouds and arrived at a large street. In the distance, they could see those four massive Fiendgods that were thirty thousand meters tall who were guarding the gates to the imperial citadel.

Whoooooosh. One squad after another of Immortal cultivators flew past, either in groups of two or three, or in giant delegations. All of them were flying towards the imperial citadel.

However, the gates to the imperial citadel remained shut.

Soon, Ning’s group arrived as well, and they landed.

“So many people.” The Sloppy Daoist looked around at his surroundings. A vast, tightly packed cluster of more than a hundred thousand individuals had already gathered outside the imperial citadel. Some were here to participate in the Conclave, but most were here to spectate. A steady, unbroken stream of Immortal cultivators continued to descend from the heavens.

“We might as well wait patiently. When the nine gongs ring out, the citadel gates will open,” Ning said.

……

They waited for nearly two hours. The Golden Crow had already risen high into the sky, and the light of the sun shone down upon the entire imperial capital.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Nine consecutive gongs rang out. The sound was melodious, seeming to come down from the Nine Heavens, causing the million-plus individuals who had gathered outside the imperial citadel to all quiet down.

RUUUMBLE!

The tall gates of the imperial citadel suddenly swung open. The four massive Fiendgods stared down at the million-plus humans. One of them, a fire-spewing, fire-skinned Fiendgod, spoke out: “Wanxiang Adepts who wish to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, you can now enter the imperial capital. If you enter, then you must participate in the Conclave; there will be no chance to change your mind. You may now enter!”

Instantly, with a series of whooshes, a vast locust swarm of figures all began to fly towards the imperial citadel’s gates, blocking out the skies as they did so.

“How many people is this?!” The Sloppy Daoist’s eyes were completely round.

“Normally, each Conclave of Immortal Destiny will generally have twenty or thirty thousand competitors,” Ning said with a laugh. “In this Conclave…since his Imperial Majesty is personally hosting it, this Conclave is extraordinarily special, and I estimate that there should be roughly a hundred thousand or so.” Much of this information had come to Ning via his cousin.

“On average, each commandery has sent thirty individuals?” The Sloppy Daoist pondered on this. “It seems as though 99% of the formidable elites of the world have all come.”

“This Conclave of Immortal Destiny is different from normal ones,” Yu Wei said.

As they flew into the imperial capital, they saw a wide, spacious thoroughfare.

“Those who shall participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, follow me!” A deep, booming voice shook the heavens. Up ahead, a squad of Imperial Guards had appeared in midair, and they were guiding the way.

They followed the wide thoroughfare and quickly arrived at an incomparably vast plaza. This plaza was so large that one couldn’t see to the end of it with the naked eye alone. It was paved with pitch-black stones, and the pavestones were all covered with incomparably complicated runes. The runes covered the entire plaza, causing it to emanate a terrifying, heart-freezing aura.

“Those who shall participate in the Conclave are all to wait in this region,” the Imperial Guards up ahead instructed.

Almost none of these geniuses and talents from around the world had ever been in the imperial capital. They were all rather awestruck, and they behaved obediently, all moving towards the designated region.

Whoosh!

The Imperial Guards quickly split apart, forming a perimeter that completely surrounded the region. They stood there with blank faces, not moving at all. These Imperial Guards also knew that today, his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor, was going to be personally hosting the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. It was rare for Imperial Guards like them to encounter his Imperial Majesty; how could they not be extremely earnest and serious today?

“I imagine that this plaza is at least ten thousand kilometers wide.” The chubby Sloppy Daoist lowered his heads, inspecting the runes. “And it contains an extremely terrifying formation, one that vastly surpasses any I have ever sensed.”

“Right.” Yu Wei had a solemn look on her face as well as she carefully inspected the plaza.

The voice of the giant yellow bear rang out in Ning’s mind. “It seems as though the roots of this Grand Xia Dynasty of yours are actually quite deep. Based on what I can tell from the runic formations covering this plaza…it should be a single formation-diagram! This formation-diagram was formed from the linkage of more than three Pure Yang magic treasures, and more than a thousand Immortal-ranked magic treasures. With but a thought, the Grand Xia Emperor could probably activate this titanic formation, formed from all those treasures. A formation formed from so many treasures…it should be a vast formation designed to safeguard his headquarters, and also to safeguard this entire major world of yours. Formidable, formidable. Incredible! I imagine that even most Pure Yang True Immortals are unable to lay such a grand formation; the person who laid out this world-guarding formation is absolutely one of the truly top powers of the Three Realms, most likely on par with Master himself!”

“What?!” Ning was shocked. Comparable with Daoist Threelives? A formation which even most Pure Yang True Immortals would not be able to establish? A world-guarding formation? Meant to protect this entire major world?

What Ning didn’t know…was that the guess of the spirit of the underwater estate was absolutely correct. Although this ancient world-guarding formation hadn’t been established by the master of the Grand Xia Emperor, and had instead been set up by another major power who was equivalent to him in power…it was indeed meant to protect this entire major world, and the headquarters of the Grand Xia Dynasty.

“If the Emperor of your Grand Xia is a Pure Yang True Immortal…with a formation like this at his back, there are extremely few figures in the entirety of the Three Realms who can do anything to him at all. The major powers who are capable of acting against him, upon seeing the world-guarding formation, would probably give face to the major power who set up the formation and stay their hands.” The giant yellow bear said. “Formidable, formidable! The background of your Grand Xia Emperor is truly exceptional. He lives up to his reputation as someone capable of controlling an entire major world.”

The spirit of the underwater estate was tremendously experienced; at a single glance, he could tell how extraordinary the Grand Xia Emperor’s background was.

“Then would his Imperial Majesty be able to discover your presence?” Ning asked.

“Don’t worry at all. Even the supreme major power who set up this formation would at most notice something unique about the underwater estate, but they can forget about trying to spy inside it. This is, after all, the treasure which Master poured all of his efforts into as his legacy.” The giant yellow bear was extremely confident.

Ning nodded.

….

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Ning and all of the other Wanxiang Adept participants of the Conclave all turned to look. One delegation after another, in absolute perfect formation, came flying over. They came over methodically, clearly understanding quite a bit about the rules of propriety. By contrast, Ning and the other geniuses had all flown in like a horde of locusts.

“3600 commanderies, and the four seas…” Ning could immediately tell that all of these delegations were split up by commanderies. The delegations all flew in, then settled down onto the plaza.

“Stillwater Commandery.” Yu Wei pointed towards the distance. Ning and the Sloppy Daoist both looked over.

The Stillwater delegation was led by a tall, skinny, black-robed man. His aura was heroic and majestic, and his bearing was extraordinary as well. It was the Marquis of Stillwater. Behind him was a group of Northmont clansmen. Amongst them, Ning noticed Northmont Baiwei, who was obediently following within the crowd. Behind them were ten-plus individuals from the Black-White College, as well as representatives from the Dragonhunter clan, the Bluewood clan, and the other major clans of Stillwater Commandery. The entire Stillwater delegation consisted of at least hundreds of individuals.

The delegations from the 3600 commanderies and the four seas all landed in perfect unison.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

One figure after another now began to soar in through the skies.

“Cousin.” Ning could see that the figures who were flying through the skies included King Yan, who had led Xiyue directly into the skies and through the clouds.

“Is that junior apprentice-sister Ninelotus?!” The Sloppy Daoist called out in surprise.

Ning saw her as well.

Ninelotus was currently flying through the skies alongside a blue-robed man. Ning had heard his cousin speak of this as well…only Celestial Immortals were allowed to fly directly into the main hall of the Skylight Palace and go see the Grand Xia Emperor. The others actually wouldn’t even have a chance to see him at all. Celestial Immortals were permitted to bring two followers with them, and so the blue-robed man should be a Celestial Immortal.

As Ning lifted his head, Ninelotus looked downwards with a searching gaze as well. Suddenly, their gazes intersected.

A familiar yet strange feeling resonated between their hearts.

Both of them couldn’t help but look away.

…….

The highest point of the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

The Grand Xia Emperor, dressed in black robes, was seated on high atop his throne. The individuals below him were divided into two columns, all standing. Those standing closest to the Grand Xia Emperor were naturally the Celestial Immortals and Kings of the Xiamang clan, while those towards the rear consisted of the Celestial Immortals from other parts of the Grand Xia Empire. Although technically speaking, there had been no order for the Celestial Immortals to all attend as well, many of them were quite keen and sharp; they, too, sensed that there was something strange with the fact that the Grand Xia Emperor was going to personally officiate over this Conclave, and so quite a few of them had hurried over as well.

At a glance, one could see nearly a thousand Celestial Immortals who stood there before the Emperor.

“We bow in respect to you, your Imperial Majesty.”

King Qi led the first respectful salute. Instantly, all the other Celestial Immortals bowed as well. As for the followers who had accompanied the Celestial Immortals, they all fell to their knees.

In this moment…

Every single individual present on the vast plaza located far below the Skylight Palace, be it the hundred thousand-plus geniuses who were participating in the Conclave or the million-plus members of the delegations from the 3600 commanderies and four seas…they all knelt down in unison, kowtowing and pressing their foreheads against the ground. In unison, they called out:

“WE BOW IN RESPECT TO YOU, YOUR IMPERIAL MAJESTY!”

The sound echoed like thunder, shaking the entire world.

“ARISE!” The voice of the Grand Xia Emperor shook the world as well.

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Chapter 3 – The Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 3 – The Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers

The black-robed Emperor, seated at the highest point of the main hall of the Skylight Palace, spoke out. “King Qi.”

“Your Imperial Majesty,” King Qi immediately acknowledged.

“Announce the rules for this Conclave,” the black-robed Emperor instructed.

“Yes.”

King Qi immediately flew out of the main hall. He stood atop a cloud, staring downwards as his voice echoed out within the heavens. “This Conclave of Immortal Destiny has a total of 109,362 participants!”

His voice rang out clearly, echoing in skies. More than nine thousand kilometers below him, the Wanxiang Adepts of the Grand Xia Empire as well as other major worlds all listened carefully.

“More than 109,000?” Ning’s eyebrows twitched. Although he could clearly calculate the number of people present through a simple sweep of his divine sense…this was the imperial citadel, and the Grand Xia Empire was seated directly above them. No one dared to wildly spread out their divine sense to investigate the place.

The voice above them continued to speak. “Wanxiang Adepts, each of you shall receive a talisman. All of you shall enter the magic treasure which his Imperial Majesty shall use; the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers! This painting is capable of holding the cosmos, of holding qian and kun; it forms an independent world of its own. Within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, you can battle each other and seize each other’s talismans without any restrictions. If you feel that you are not strong enough, you can discard your talisman, which will cause you to immediately be teleported out from the Diagram. Although this will represent defeat, you will at least be able to stay alive.”

“Those who choose to give up…”

“Those who are killed…”

“Your talismans will be taken away by the victor of your battle. The length of time you are to remain within the Diagram is at most one year; after a year, the eighty competitors with the most talismans will have passed the trial of the Diagram. If, however, before the year is up…if, for example, after three months, only eighty of you are still alive…then the trial of the Diagram will be stopped early, and the eighty lucky survivors will have passed.”

“If after a year has passed and eighty victors are selected, but other Wanxiang Adepts remain alive within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, then the remaining survivors will be put together in one place and engage in a final battle. You shall fight until only sixteen of you remain. Those sixteen will receive chances as well.”

“In other words, the trial of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountain and Seas will have at least eighty victors, and at most ninety six.”

“Remember – within the Diagram, you are forbidden from using any Dao-seals, golems, or strange treasures! This trial is meant to test your personal ability. All of your actions within the Diagram shall be under the gaze of his Imperial Majesty, as well as the gazes of the Celestial Immortals present. You absolutely cannot act improperly; those who disobey shall be slain without exception!”

Slain without exception!

These final three words caused the hearts of all of the competitors to quiver.

“At least eighty? At most ninety six?” Ning, Yu Wei, and the Sloppy Daoist exchanged glances. They all could sense how bloody the upcoming battles would be.

This was absolutely insane.

All of these hundred thousand-plus individuals were peerless geniuses who were at least at Holyfire’s level! A hundred thousand-plus peerless geniuses, many of whom would most likely have a high chance of becoming Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals…but because of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, they had to engage in a bloody battle against each other. Although it was said that one could give up, in the heat of a battle, it was very likely that many would end up perishing.

“At most ninety six…and the world has 3600 commanderies, as well as four vast seas. On average, there will only be a single victor for every few dozen commanderies.” The Sloppy Daoist let out a sigh. “This is crazy.”

“I wonder if the three of us will be able to overcome this trial.” Yu Wei’s gaze was much more solemn now as well.

Ning, too, felt the pressure.

In the past, the Conclave had generally not been this bloody; in the past, there were usually only twenty or thirty thousand Wanxiang Adepts, all of whom would go through several rounds of selection, resulting in the top hundred, then top fifty, then slowly a top ten and top three.

But this time, more than a hundred thousand of them were going to be sent directly into the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, with this competition intended to produce between eighty to ninety six victors.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

King Qi walked back, bowing respectfully. “Reporting to your Imperial Majesty: The proclamation has been made.”

“Mm.” The black-robed Emperor nodded lightly. His gaze pierced past the blocking hall and clouds, landing upon the bodies of the hundred thousand-plus youths. He wanted to watch…watch and see which of them would rise up to become truly powerful figures within this upcoming storm for the Three Realms.

“There are more than a hundred who are surrounded by the golden light of karmic virtue.” The black-robed Emperor reflected silently on this. “The more karmic merits one has rendered, the better one’s luck shall be. But it is also possible for those who have ordinary karmic merits to be tremendously lucky as well, and sometimes even astonishingly so.”

Karmic luck and karmic virtue weren’t identical. If one had a high level of karmic virtue, then one would naturally be blessed with additional luck. But, for example, if one apprenticed one’s self to a major power of the Three Realms, one would also be blessed by karmic luck. If one’s parents were major powers of the Three Realm, one would similarly be blessed.

Or perhaps, because of a tremendous stroke of fortune, one would suddenly have the blessing of luck.

One could tell at a glance if a person had high or low karmic virtue, but luck…this was unfathomable and invisible.

Whoosh. The black-robed Emperor suddenly produced a wrapped diagram in his hand. He unfurled the diagram, and atop it, one could vaguely make out a painting of a bright moon, hanging over a mountain and a river.

The eyes of the Celestial Immortals all lit up. The Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers…

This was a Pure Yang magic treasure. It was a tremendously intriguing artifact for them…but at the same time, these Celestial Immortals were all pondering nonstop. Today, the Grand Xia Emperor had barely said anything to these Celestial Immortals before immediately beginning the initial selection tournament for the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. From this, they could tell how much importance this Conclave held for the Grand Xia Emperor. In fact, the very fact of him taking out the Diagram and using it as the place for the competition was proof of how seriously he took this.

Rumble…

Ning and the others all raised their heads, looking towards the skies. The delegations from the 3600 commanderies and the four seas all raised their heads to stare as well.

In the air above them, an utterly enormous painting, at least ten thousand kilometers long, had suddenly appeared. It blocked out the skies, and one could even vaguely make out the world within the diagram.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ning, Yu Wei, the Sloppy Daoist, and the rest of the 109,362 individuals, who had all been just standing there, were suddenly and involuntarily pulled into the skies. All of them were sucked inwards as the surface of the vast painting began to undulate. When each of them touched the painting, their bodies also began to undulate; it was as though they were drops of rainwater that had landed on a lake.

In just the blink of an eye, all of them had completely disappeared.

…….

The main hall of the Skylight Palace. The black-robed Emperor finally revealed a smile as he said calmly, “This trial within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers shall most likely go on for a year. Everyone, watch at your leisure. Prepare the banquet!”

Instantly, a large number of maids immediately moved over. They placed down long tables, then delivere pitchers of Immortal nectar and platters of Immortal fruit.

All of the Celestial Immortals sat down in the lotus position. As for the followers that had come alongside them, they sat down in the lotus position to the side of and slightly behind the Celestial Immortals.

“You can watch everything which is going on within the Diagram.” The black-robed Emperor pointed towards the clouds outside the main hall. The vast, ten thousand kilometer long diagram hung there amidst the clouds. The world within the diagram was clearly visible; within it, there were mountains, rivers, a bright moon, and more than a hundred thousand Wanxiang Adepts who were scattered in different areas.

“Dongyan, tell me, why do you think his Imperial Majesty cares so much about this Conclave of Immortal Destiny?” A scabby-looking old man seated next to the Dongyan Forefather spoke out. “He’s personally hosting it, and even commanded people to participate. Although so many of us Celestial Immortals have arrived, he is still mostly paying attention to the Conclave. Can it be that this Conclave is very special? Does it involve the reincarnation of someone exceptionally powerful? As I recall, a few decades back, the Netherworld Kingdom suffered a sudden attack, and the Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed, right? Can this have something to do with it?”

“How am I supposed to know? However, the collapse of the Six Paths of Reincarnation is an absolutely world-changing event. The mysteries behind its collapse must definitely be quite shocking. We should just stay in our own major world and not go running around wildly; otherwise, something might happen and we might even fall. In addition, although the Six Paths of Reincarnation collapsed, the venerable Daofather has re-established the cycle of reincarnation for us and several dozen other major worlds. We have the protection of the venerable Daofather; there’s no need for us to panic,” the Dongyan Forefather sent back.

The scabby-looking old man nodded as well.

While the Dongyan Forefather and Patriarch Riverbridge were discussing their worries regarding the impending storm, Ninelotus, seated behind the Dongyan Forefather, was carefully watching the ten thousand kilometer long painting.

The painting was truly enormous, so much so that the individual figures within it could be seen clearly.

“Where is Ji Ning?” Ninelotus couldn’t help but search for him.

……

“Where is Ji Ning?” Yuchi Xiyue was seated behind King Yan in the lotus position. She, too, was carefully staring at the enormous painting. “Little brother, you have to be careful. Be careful!”

……

“Where is Master?”

In the plaza below the painting, amidst the delegation led by the Marquis of Stillwater, Mu Northson was standing next to a large, snowy white hound and an azure-robed maiden. Ning had gone out to battle, but spirit-beasts were forbidden from participating. Thus, Uncle White and Little Qing had to stay with Northson for now as they watched the battle.

“Don’t worry. Senior apprentice-brother is a truly monstrous genius; back in the Witchriver Immortal Estate, he was in such dire straits, but in the end he was still able to kill Youngflame Nong and that Fiendgod. He absolutely will not easily die or easily give up.” Northson’s eyes were shining as he stared at the skies above him, and at the massive, illusory world that had appeared there.

This illusory world was an image of the situation within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. One could clearly see every single figure located within the mountains, the rivers, the grasslands, and the forests of the world.

The Whitewater Hound, Little Qing, and Northson quickly scanned the massive painting with their gaze, flashing past one figure after another.

“Look.” Uncle White suddenly spoke out as he stared at one location. Northson and Little Qing followed Uncle White’s gaze, looking over as well. Indeed; within one particular corner of that world, there was a fur-clad youth within a mountain gorge.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson’s eyes lit up.

“Master.” Little Qing watched with excitement as well.

The nearby Immortal Fivecraze quickly discovered Ning as well. His eyes were also filled with excitement.

……

The people of this plaza, filled with delegations from the 3600 commanderies and four seas, were all staring upwards, trying to find the people they cared about within the painting. They quickly were able to find them, and they began to watch eagerly, quietly praying for the people they cared about to end up as one of the final 96 survivors.

Within the world of the Diagram.

Ning had suddenly felt the world change as soon as he touched the diagram. He had suddenly appeared within a mountain gorge.

“A gorge?” The Darknorth swords instantly appeared in Ning’s hands. He carefully scanned his surroundings, so cautious that he didn’t even use divine sense. This was because, upon using divine sense, the enemy would locate him as soon as he found them. A solid majority of the participants of this Conclave all possessed divine sense, after all.

Swoosh. Suddenly, a light flashed past Ning’s eyes, and a green talisman appeared before him.

“Each of you shall have a talisman. If you no longer wish to fight and wish to give up, you only need to throw the talisman away, and I will immediately throw you out of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.” The voice of the Grand Xia Emperor rang out in the minds of the hundred thousand-plus individuals.

Ning immediately reached out to grasp the talisman.

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Chapter 4 – True Immortals, Bodhisattvas

Chapter 4 – True Immortals, Bodhisattvas

After taking the talisman, Ning turned to stare at the gorge before him. He was the only person present within it.

“So I was separated from senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei and eldest apprentice-brother Sloppy, just like that. It makes sense. The Grand Xia Emperor won’t let us so easily join forces. In addition, per the rules, the more talismans you acquire, the better a chance you would have of passing this trial. If I don’t kill others, others will still try to kill me. In this trial…I will have to kill!” Ning made up his mind on what to do, but suddenly, his ears twitched.

Rumble…

A faint ripple of power swept out.

With a swoosh, Ning immediately flew to the very top of the nearby mountain, stealthily looking towards the source of the ripples. In the distant wilderness, eight men and women were separately using magic treasures and techniques against each other. It was an utter clash of attacks, causing the color of the sky to change. These were all peerless geniuses from various places of the Grand Xia Empire, all of whom had the pride innate to all geniuses. How could they easily admit defeat?

However, one of the young women quickly began to weaken slightly, and the other seven immediately began to focus their attacks on her. That woman, dressed in violet, immediately sent out her divine sense to scan the nearby 300 kilometers, then hurriedly sent mentally, “Everyone, let’s stop fighting. There are a total of 103 Wanxiang Adepts who are hidden in the surrounding area. If we keep fighting like this, we are going to get ambushed by others.”

“What?! 103?!” The other seven were badly frightened.

None of them knew exactly how large this world within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers was; they thought that a short battle wouldn’t attract too much attention. Who would have imagined that 103 individuals would come? Although they were very self-confident, they knew that all the participants in this Conclave were formidable and could not be underestimated.

Rumble!

After the violet-robed maiden sent out her divine sense, the other Wanxiang Adepts all sent out their own divine senses to investigate in succession. Some of them were reincarnated Immortals, while others had been at the Wanxiang level for far too long, and so their soul had also reached the divine sense level. A few also has supreme visualization techniques. In short, they did a scan, and they were all shocked by what they found.

“A fur-clad youth? That’s Ji Ning! Ji Ning, up there on the mountain! He’s the one who killed a Loose Immortal.”

“Ji Ning is atop that mountain.”

“Ji Ning is ranked in the top hundred for this Conclave. Let’s join forces to wipe him out first.” The divine senses joined together as they began to converse through it.

Since they had decided to attend this Conclave, they had naturally purchased intelligence reports from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Ever since Ning’s Primaltwin had killed Immortal Floatcloud, his fame had skyrocketed. Even the Heavenly Treasures Mountain had come to believe that Ning’s Primaltwin, despite being only at the peak Primal level, was capable of killing supreme Loose Immortals. This meant that Ning was superior to Loose Immortal Floatcloud in terms of the Dao and in terms of techniques; naturally, this caused Ning to become quite famous.

“Let’s join forces and wipe him out.”

“Let’s go.”

These Wanxiang Adepts quickly came to the same conclusion. They howled through the air, flying towards the mountain top where Ning was standing. More than a hundred figures suddenly flew out, moving at astonishing speeds like thunderbolts or swift gales.

Ning was badly startled.

“These individuals are all heroic talents in their own locales, but they don’t seem to care about their bearing at all.” Ning was helpless; he had watched those eight fight, and none of them were easy to deal with. He was confident in being able to deal with eight, but more than a hundred? That was suicide!

“Time to go.” Ning waved his arm, and a ship-type treasure appeared before him. Ning immediately jumped into it. Swoosh! The ship instantly transformed into a streak of black light, disappearing without a trace into the distance.

“Ji Ning ran quite quickly.”

“He killed Youngflame Nong, then a Loose Immortal. It is said that he is valued by King Yan as well. He really has quite a few treasures, and he really was able to run quite fast.” The hundred-plus men and women in the air felt helpless as well. Unless they had already completely encircled him, if someone like Ning who was clearly more powerful than them wished to flee, it would be hard for them to stop him.

They quickly began to stare vigilantly against each other, stealthily pulling apart.

Nobody wanted to suddenly start a giant, chaotic battle of over a hundred people. They were confident in their ability to handle a wild battle with seven or eight people, but a wild battle with over a hundred…once a person was trapped, there would be no way to escape.

“Time to go.”

“This is going to be troublesome. More than a hundred thousand people, all of whom are crafty and cautious. To be able to survive to the very end and become one of the final 96…that is going to be very difficult.”

“Power alone won’t be enough. Even the most powerful competitor, when surrounded and attacked by a hundred in a formation, will have no option but death.”

The people all quickly departed.

As for Ning…only after his ship had fled more than several thousand kilometers and entered a large mountain did Ning reappear.

“To overcome the trial of the Diagram…power is just one aspect of it. This is also a trial of the mind, a trial of intelligence.” Ning quickly understood this. Everyone was a Wanxiang Adept, after all, and everyone was a supreme talent. They had all essentially reached the limit of what was possible for a Wanxiang Adept to accomplish; to be able to improve any further would be incredibly difficult.

The average person here was at least comparable to an ordinary peak Primal Daoist! If a hundred people joined together in a formation, then they would definitely be comparable to a supreme Loose Immortal!

“I have to be careful and cautious…and also ruthless. I need to seize any opportunities and to kill at high speed. I can’t let myself be surrounded.” Ning nodded to himself.

In the plaza below, the delegates from the 3600 commanderies and the four seas all raised their heads and watched, extremely nervous.

Previously, they had all felt that their own disciples were quite formidable, but as they watched…they realized that every single person was crafty and capable. There were more than ten thousand who had reached the twelfth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! There were even more who had cultivated earthfire or dire-ice to the first grade. None of them were easy to deal with.

“Why is it that I suddenly feel as though senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, and eldest apprentice-brother are all in a lot of danger?” Northson blinked.

“Right.” Adept Vastriver shook his head. “As I see it…I imagine that most likely, more than half of these individuals are reincarnated Immortals.”

The Whitewater Hound and Little Qing just stared fixedly at the skies, paying attention to Ning the entire time. Wherever Ning ran to, their gazes would turn to.

The atmosphere within the main hall of the Skylight Palace, by contrast, was much more relaxed.

The black-robed Emperor sat there. He took a sip from the wineglass he was holding, then said with a smile, “This Conclave shall initially proceed within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers for a year. This is just the beginning; the most exciting parts will come later.”

The Celestial Immortals seated below him were all chatting and laughing as well.

“That little fellow isn’t bad. He actually killed someone, then scared someone into throwing their talisman away. Who is that little fellow?”

“I don’t recognize him.”

“Never seen him.”

The Celestial Immortals chatted and laughed, but as they watched, they saw that likes of the long-famous ‘Xiamang Zishan’, ‘Cangwu Jiu’, ‘Adept Woodpass’, and others had yet to truly put on an awe-inspiring display. Instead, they suffered repeated attacks by groups of others and were often put in quite sorry positions. To the contrary, it was the figures that they had never heard about and who were heretofore unknown who were suddenly revealing their terrifying power.

“A cataclysm of the Three Realms truly does cause heroes to gather.” The black-robed Emperor was quite satisfied. “I imagine that many formidable figures who no one had ever known about in the past are going to display their truly shocking power.”

Right at this moment…

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out. “Fellow Daoist Xiamang, I come uninvited; are you willing to welcome me, fellow Daoist?”

The black-robed Emperor’s face changed slightly, and the thousand Celestial Immortals seated below him all quieted down as well. From the mists and clouds outside, eight figures suddenly appeared, each of whom had different appearances. There was a dissolute, handsome man who was dressed in an azure Daoist robe; there was a middle-aged Buddhist who was dressed in yellow robes; there was an old man who was riding an old bull; there was a muscular, golden-eyed man who was dressed in dragon robes…

All eight of them had marvelous, unfathomable, profound auras about them.

The eight caused the thousand Celestial Immortals to secretly feel as though their hearts were trembling. As for the Grand Xia Emperor, he immediately arose from his throne and walked down.

“Fellow Daoists, why is it that you’ve decided to come to my Grand Xia?” The black-robed Emperor laughed, “Come, come, come, come and sit!” He waved a hand, and on the two sides next to his throne, eight more seats and tables appeared. Immortal fruit and nectar appeared atop the tables as well, and they were far better than the fare provided to the Celestial Immortals.

“Why we came to your Grand Xia? Fellow Daoist Xiamang, can it be that you don’t know?” The leader of the group, an azure-robed man who carried an Immortal sword on his back, laughed in a hearty manner. “The Three Realms are currently filled with dangerous hidden undercurrents. Most likely, a great cataclysm is coming. This is precisely the point in time when heroic figures will emerge into the world. Your Grand Xia is one of the most highly ranked of the three thousand major worlds in terms of karmic luck; perhaps one of the peerless figures of the future will be born here. That is why I, Lu Dongbin, have shamelessly come here. You won’t mind, will you, fellow Daoist Xiamang?” 1

Although his voice echoed loudly, none of the nearby Celestial Immortals could hear anything.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, my own major world just concluded a Conclave of Immortal Destiny, and so Eastflower paid a visit to my place, then insisted on pulling me here as well.” The muscular, golden-eyed man who was dressed in dragon robes spoke in a resigned manner.

“Sovereign Hao, since you knew how shameless this Lu Dongbin is, you truly should have stopped him.” The Xia Emperor spoke with resignation.

“As for myself, this old man is just here to watch the fun. Don’t worry, don’t worry; I’m not here to try and snatch some of the geniuses from your major world,” the old man riding the old bull laughed merrily.

“I’m just here to watch the fun as well.”

“I’m just wandering about.”

They all spoke out.

This caused the Xia Emperor to feel exceptionally resigned; the individuals in front of him were all awe-inspiringly famous and influential figures of the Three Realms. For example, there was Lu Dongbin, the leader of the Eight Immortals of the High Caves. Lu Dongbing was the reincarnation of Emperor Eastflower, and back when he had been Emperor Eastflower, he had apprenticed himself to a major power. After reincarnating and becoming Lu Dongbin, he had apprenticed himself to a second major power.

Behind him, a single person, stood two major powers. What’s more, Lu Dongbin had merged the strong points from both schools, infusing them into his Dao of the Sword. He was known in the Three Realms to be frighteningly powerful…and he was a famous, awe-inspiring Sword Immortal! Even amongst Pure Yang True Immortals, he was ranked towards the very front.

However, Lu Dongbin was utterly shameless, had a weird temper, liked to play tricks on people, and cursed or giggled as he pleased…and he often liked to wander about the mortal realms, leaving behind quite a few legacies in many of the worlds he passed through.

“And you, Mahasthamaprapta? Why have you, a member of the Buddhist way, come here?” The Xia Emperor’s gaze fell upon the yellow-robed Buddhist. Followers of the Daoist path felt a certain degree of disliking towards followers of the Buddhist path. 2

The male Buddhist had a smile on his face that made others feel calm. Clasping his palms together in a prayer, he said, “I’m just here to take a look.”

The Xia Emperor was helpless.

Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, the Bodhisattva of Great Strength, was someone who had an extremely high status amongst those of the Buddhist path. He was someone who had followed Lord Buddha for a long period of time, and was also someone comparable to a Pure Yang True Immortal. In addition, he had an extremely good temperament, always having a smile on his face whenever he met anyone. In the face of such a truly kind, amiable individual…there was no way the Xia Emperor could shoo him off.

“Everyone, take your seats. Why are you all standing? Others will think that the Xia clan doesn’t understand how to treat guests.” The Xia Emperor said, rather impolitely, “But everyone, please understand this; I’m not the only person paying attention to this Conclave of Immortal Destiny of the Grand Xia. Even my venerable Master is paying close attention to it as well. Thus, the only one who can choose a disciple must be my venerable Master.”

“We naturally won’t fight over with the Daofather over a disciple. Xiamang, stop worrying. After you have made your picks, if I take a fancy to one of the remaining individuals, there won’t be any problems if I choose him, right?” Lu Dongbin had been the first to plop his butt down on the seat, then had picked up a bottle of Immortal nectar and started to drink. His eyes instantly lit up.

“Hey, this is good wine. Not bad! Your Xiamang clan truly lives up to its reputation as being of the lineage of the imperial Xia clan of the Primordial Era. You have so much fine wine, and it’s even better than the Celestial Court’s. What’s the name of this wine?” As he spoke, Lu Dongbin’s eyes began to spin as he turned to stare at the massive Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, carefully inspecting each of the young men and women within it.

1. Lu Dongbin is one of the most famous Immortals in Chinese mythology, and he is reputed to lead an entire group known as the Eight Immortals, although these eight are not them. From this point on in the story, a lot of ‘real’ Chinese mythology is going to be incorporated. I will do my best to point it out when it occurs via footnotes.

2. Mahasthamaprapta is a bodhisattva of wisdom; his name means ‘great strength’.

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Chapter 5 – Life in the Diagram

Chapter 5 – Life in the Diagram

The other Pure Yang True Immortals all turned their gazes towards the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers as well. The Xia Emperor felt resigned. He mused to himself, “It seems it truly is the time for a cataclysm to befall the Three Realms. All the major powers are beginning to make their preparations. My Master, Daofather Crimsonbright, has previously provided some tutelage to Lu Dongbin in the past as well. In his past life, Lu Dongbin had a very close relationship with me. He’s not an issue, nor are the others…but that bodhisattva, Mahasthamaprapta!”

The Xia Emperor knew very well that the supreme powers of the Three Realms were divided into many different organizations.

Fortunately, all of the eight Pure Yang True Immortals who had arrived today had major powers backing them who were on good terms with his own master, Daofather Crimsonbright. The only exception was Mahasthamaprapta, who was of the Buddhist path. It couldn’t be said that he was on good terms with Daofather Crimsonbright…but they weren’t enemies either.

“I have to be careful. If he takes a fancy to one of the individuals in this Conclave, Mahasthamaprapta might actually plot to abduct the person in secret,” the Xia Emperor pondered to himself.

Within the Diagram.

Ning was atop a dwarf mountan, his body covered by trees and shrubs.

“Before killing Immortal Floatcloud, I was a very ordinary, unremarkable figure in the intelligence reports of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain who was casually mentioned in them. After killing him, however, my name became widespread throughout the Grand Xia Empire. Even the intelligence reports praise me tremendously, claiming that I have the power to rank in the top hundred.” Ning felt helpless.

The Heavenly Treasures Mountain had to have some margin for error, and so in truth, they had only ranked thirty-two individuals as having the power to rank in the top hundred! The thirty-two the Heavenly Treasures Mountain ranked as being in the top hundred were all but guaranteed to truly have that power…and Ning was one of those thirty-two!

From this, one could imagine how within the Diagram, the top thirty-two such as Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Ji Ning would instantly be attacked by groups upon them being discovered! The other Immortal cultivators all believed that the likes of Ji Ning had a very high chance of winning, and so they needed to eliminate them as soon as possible. Only then would they themselves have a chance to pass this trial.

“I need to change myself slightly.” Ning had just suffered an attack from more than a hundred individuals. Fortunately, his treasured ship had been able to flee fast enough.

Whoosh.

Ning’s magic robes transformed into ordinary black robes, no longer appearing like furs.

“There should be quite a few black-robed youths,” Ning mused to himself. “I won’t be recognized on sight, at least.”

“Time go to.”

From a fur-clad youth to a black-robed youth. Ning quietly began to wander the world of the Diagram. Every so often, he would spread out his divine sense to scan the ten surrounding kilometers.

Within this short distance, Ning could instantly move to a location…and that way, he wouldn’t startle too many with his divine sense.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! He spread out his divine sense repeatedly. On the eighteenth time, Ning immediately discovered a white-robed maiden who suddenly turned her head towards him, having noticed him.

Swoosh! Ning seemed to have transformed into a giant Roc, howling through the air as he moved at lightning speed and charged down from his mountain peak. In a flash, he appeared in front of the white-robed maiden.

“Do you want to die?” The white-robed maiden’s face turned cold, and a pair of short sticks appeared in her hands, flashing with electric light.

As Ning attacked, the first thing he did was will an enormous Waterflame Lotus to appear. After developing the Lotusflower Swordland, he had gained insights into both this technique and his Waterflame Lotus due to their commonalities. During the past year at the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, Ning had carefully worked to further refine his technique, making the Waterflame Lotus technique even more perfect!

In addition, after a full year of cultivation, the earthfire and dire-ice in Ning’s body had already risen to the first grade as well!

The earthfire and dire-ice of the first grade served as the foundation, and the True Lunar Tattoo and the True Solar Tattoo within his divine body activated fire and water of the natural world in support. The Dao of the Sword, the Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of the Inferno, the Dao of the Gale, and the Dao of Space were all joined together as well…to finally form into this Waterflame Lotus, which now had reached a ridiculous level of power.

“Eh?” The white-robed maiden was completely shocked. This enormous Waterflame Lotus was at least three thousand meters, completely surrounding her.

“A technique?” The white-robed maiden laughed coldly. Her body suddenly expanded dramatically in size as she transformed into a thirty-six meter tall giant. The giant white-robed maiden also activated the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability. In her hands, she now wielded six of the short sticks, each of which flashed with electric light. The sticks in her hand howled through the air as she smashed downwards towards the layers of Waterflame Lotus petals binding her.

BANG!

BANG!

It was as though two mountains had collided. The six short sticks carried the majestic, divine power of lightning. Given the power of this woman, a Fiendgod Body Refiner, when she smashed down upon the flower, a layer of leaves cracked…but new leaves were then born from the Waterflame Lotus.

“What?!” The white-robed maiden was shocked. Per her predictions, she should’ve been able to smash through this technique like rotting wood, but in reality, the breaking process was very slow. The enemy’s technique could continue to be maintained indefinitely.

“What a fellow. This white-robed maiden is probably even a bit more powerful than Daoist Snowplume was.” Ning was shocked as well. “Fortunately, my earthfire and dire-ice have both reached the first grade, and I’ve further perfected this technique. If this was a year ago…she probably would’ve broken through it. However…since you can’t break through my Waterflame Lotus, then you have lost.”

Whoosh!

More than seven hundred flying swords immediately appeared in the air around Ning, with the Nethercold swords serving as the core. All of them were Earth-ranked flying swords.

“Go!” Ning pointed, and instantly, a golden flying sword that had formed in front of his chest howled forth as it flew out, striking towards the white-robed maiden. The golden flying sword carried a terrifying sword-intent that struck directly at the opponent’s soul. This was the terrifying sword-intent which only Sword Immortals possessed.

“You are Adept Darknorth…Ji Ning!” The white-robed maiden called out in shock. Lotus-type techniques were fairly common, but upon seeing those seven hundred-plus flying swords? If she wasn’t able to put two and two together and recognize Ning from this, it would have been bizarre.

Clang! In the face of the attack of the sword light from Ning’s [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the white-robed maiden hurriedly used all six short sticks to block.

BOOM!

The power of Ning’s [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was far greater than the Waterflame Lotus; the Waterflame Lotus was primarily meant to bind and grind an opponent, whereas the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was a purely offensive technique. Ning was using nearly ninety percent of his spiritual energy on maintaining the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. The white-robed maiden was knocked flying backwards, and two of the short sticks flew out of her hands. She was, however, blocked from behind by the Waterflame Lotus once more.

Whooosh.

The killing, grinding power of the Waterflame Lotus was constantly pressing down on the white-robed maiden’s body.

“Damn you.” The white-robed maiden gritted her teeth, staring viciously at Ning. “Ji Ning, you are a piece of work.”

She tossed out her talisman.

Rumble! An invisible power instantly covered her body, and then she was teleported away.

“How powerful.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the talisman. “A random person I encountered was already this powerful…fortunately, I was able to use the Waterflame Lotus to bind her. Otherwise, she would’ve fled upon realizing she couldn’t beat me.”

The intelligence reports of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain stated quite clearly that Ji Ning’s true body was skilled in close combat. Next was his flying swords formation, which was significantly weaker than Ji Ning’s close combat ability.

The white-robed woman had realized that Ning was capable of using just his sword formation to completely suppress her, and would most likely be able to kill her in just ten exchanges or so! If he closed to engage in close quarters combat…he might be able to kill her in just one or two exchanges. With the Waterflame Lotus binding her and preventing her from fleeing, she had no choice but to admit defeat. That way, she would at least stay alive.

……

Ning carefully advanced, continuing to be very cautious for fear of suffering another group attack. There was a reason why his power was such that the Heavenly Treasures Mountain ranked him as being within the top hundred.

After all, Ning’s true body relied on his divine abilities to do battle, and had been able to stay alive against the assault of a Whitebone Immortal Slaying Needle! This was enough to ensure that the Heavenly Treasures Mountain viewed Ning’s true body as definitely being extremely formidable in close combat.

One against one…

It was true that within the Diagram, Ning was indeed one of the supreme fighters.

Against ordinary foes, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and the Waterflame Lotus was already enough to suppress them.

Against powerful foes, he would have to use both the Waterflame Lotus and close quarters combat.

But of course…that was in one-on-one fights.

“All of the fairly famous individuals are beginning to slowly display their might.” The Xia Emperor accompanied the eight Pure Yang True Immortals in drinking as he watched.

Previously, Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, and the others had all suffered quite a bit. However, they quickly hid their tracks and began to act with great caution. Whether through killing their foes or forcing them to voluntarily give up, they began to slowly accumulate more and more talismans. Still…things were quite early. Thus, with each kill, they only acquired one or two talismans.

“That dirty-looking maiden, she’s quite formidable.” The Xia Emperor’s eyes lit up.

The Xia Emperor suddenly looked towards the nearby Lu Dongbin. Lu Dongbin had left behind many legacies throughout the Three Realms, and liked to take on new disciples. Amongst Pure Yang True Immortals, he was one of the most powerful; naturally, he had quite an astute gaze. The Xia Emperor couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Lu Dongbin, which of these youths do you view as having the most luck surrounding them?”

“The most luck?” Lu Dongbin half-lay there, sipping his wine. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the Diagram, then shook his head and said, “How can you tell just by looking? Luck is unfathomable and ever-changing to begin with…even someone with tremendous luck can still be killed.”

The Xia Emperor felt resigned. Of course he knew that lucky individuals could be killed as well. Those blessed by luck would just have more lucky encounters and have the assistance of the heavens. They could still, however, be killed! In fact, the person who killed them might even be able to steal their luck…but it was also possible that their own luck would lessen as a result.

For example, let’s say an individual was the only child of a major power. Killing this person would cause the major power to feel great hatred, and perhaps even personally intervene; in this case, one’s luck would naturally lessen.

For another example, if one person had a tremendous stroke of fortune and acquired a huge treasure repository, this person could be said to have had great luck. But if he were to killed by another and his treasure repository stolen, then his luck would now be the killer’s.

Thus…

Luck was something which could neither be seen or felt; it could only be hypothesized based on numerous factors. This required astute judgment. Clearly, Lu Dongbin was a person with incredibly astute judgment.

“You alcoholic! I asked you to tell me, but you refused to.” The Xia Emperor felt resigned. “Of course I know that lucky individuals can be killed, but lucky individuals will still have a higher chance of becoming powerful figures of the Three Realms, right?”

“But what if I told you, then you picked that person?” Lu Dongbin glanced sideways at him. “Pick your own. I told you that I’ll definitely let you and your Daofather pick first. I’ll pick from whoever is left.”

The Xia Emperor felt resigned. What could he do against such a shameless person?

……

Within the Diagram. More than five days had passed. Ning was currently resting within a cavern estate. There was a cold pool of water here. When washing his face in it, Ning felt incomparably refreshed.

“Five days. I’ve acquired a total of fifty talismans,” Ning mused to himself. “However…at the beginning, there will be many Wanxiang Adepts within the Diagram, and I would often encounter them. Later on, however, the number will begin to drop and it will be more rare to run into someone. In addition, those who survive until the end will be extremely powerful and hard to deal with.”

“Still, there’s a benefit to that as well; those who survive for longer will also have more talismans on them.” Ning’s eyes suddenly flickered.

Rumble…

A vague, trembling ripple was sweeping towards him from far away.

“A battle? And it seems it’s quite a big one.” Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light, leaving the cavern and carefully moving closer.

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Chapter 6- Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning

Chapter 6- Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning

The Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers was perpetually cast in the glow of moonlight.

Ji Ning passed through a mountain forest, silently and soundlessly arriving at the mountain’s peak. He hid there within the grass, staring into the distance.

Off in the distance, within a gorge, there was a mirror-like lake. A massive battle was underway at the lake; three individuals were attacking a single woman.

The three individuals included a black-robed man who hovered in midair, an enormous black Flood Dragon coming into being in front of him. The black Flood Dragon appeared to be real, and its aura was powerful. It was savagely attacking the woman.

The second of the three attackers was a silver-haired woman. The silver-haired woman, every so often, would open her mouth, and with a whooooosh, an incomparably terrifying gust of balewind would be unleashed. It was as though countless sharp swords were flying out, slicing away at even the ground itself. The balewind, carrying a glowing azure light, was savagely attacking the woman as well.

The last attacker was a silver-robed youth with a cold, arrogant face. He pointed from far away into the air, and as he did, an enormous greatsword that was three hundred meters long would appear, chopping down repeatedly as its tip pierced towards the woman!

The person the three were attacking…

Was an absolutely peerless black-robed beauty. Around her, there was a pair of enormous phoenixes, one of fire and one of ice, which swirled around her, struggling to defend. However, under the triple attack, the woman was clearly finding it quite hard to endure. In addition, the coiling black dragon continually attacked her as well, giving her no way to flee or escape.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei!” Ning stared. The woman being attacked was, amazingly, Yu Wei. The black-robed man’s eyes had grown bloodshot, and it seemed as though the black Flood Dragon was about to change…

“HOLD!” A sudden, explosive roar exploded from Ning’s lips.

Swoosh!

Ning immediately utilized the [Windwing Evasion], seeming to have transformed into a giant Roc as he howled through the air towards them.

……

Yu Wei had felt that she had become trapped in a dire situation. The three in front of her were all extraordinarily strong, especially the one with the giant black dragon. The black Flood Dragon was the personification of a magic treasure formation that was absolutely massive. Its coiling body completely surrounded her.

As for the silver-haired woman, her balewind technique was extremely amazing as well. When the gust of balewind blew out, when one tried to dodge, it felt as though one was moving against the wind. The technique lowered her speed ridiculously.

“It’s only the sixth day, but I’m already in grave danger.” Yu Wei gritted her teeth.

Rumble…

Thirty-six Rahu Godneedles formed into an enormous phoenix of ice, whose entire body seemed to be produced from arcane ice that was incomparably hard. It blocked the balewind repeatedly, as well as the strikes from the Flood Dragon and the massive sword. This was the absolute best defensive technique Yu Wei had available to her.

As for the other thirty-six Rahu Godneedles, they were formed into the enormous phoenix of fire. Its flames blazed ferociously, and it clashed repeatedly against the balewind, causing even the balewind to crumble, while at other times forcing the Flood Dragon or the massive sword back. But it could only knock back one thing at a time.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-sister, this woman’s power is formidable; she certainly must have many talismans on her. She might have over a hundred! I’ll tie her down; you two, kill her at one blow.” The black-haired man sent a mental message to the other two. They were from the same school, and although he seemed old, he was actually the junior disciple.

“Alright.

“It’ll be up to you, junior apprentice-brother.” The silver-haired woman and the silver-robed youth both responded.

The black-robed man immediately gritted his teeth as his eyes began to turn bloodshot. His elemental ki wildly exploded forth, and the enormous black Flood Dragon let out a furious howl as its head actually split into two enormous heads. The two-headed black Flood Dragon’s aura instantly expanded greatly, and it threw itself towards the phoenix of ice. So long as it was able to break through the phoenix of ice, Yu Wei wouldn’t have anything to rely on and would be finished.

“Damn.” Yu Wei gritted her white teeth, revealing a look of savagery as well.

But right at this moment…

“HOLD!” A furious roar, filled without elemental ki, instantly exploded forth into the area.

The silver-haired woman, the silver-robed man, and the black-robed man all turned to look. They saw a black-robed youth who was howling through the air as he flew towards them like a giant Roc.

Yu Wei turned her head and saw the black-robed youth flying towards them from afar. Upon seeing his face…her heart suddenly shook.

“Ji Ning!” Yu Wei couldn’t believe it. In the moment that she had been trapped in a dire situation, her junior apprentice-brother had actually arrived as well.

“Can this be fate?” Yu Wei’s heart instantly was thrown into a rather chaotic state.

Actually, a long time ago, shortly after Ning had joined the Black-White College, Yu Wei had investigated Ning’s background and learned of his past…she, too, had a tragic past, and her parents had both passed away as well.

This was why Yu Wei had, from the very beginning, felt well-disposed towards Ning. When Ning had instantly shocked everyone in such a splendid manner during the Dao Debates, she liked him even more. In the end, after she personally intervened and defeated Ning, she even teased him a little bit.

Given her normal, icy disposition, why would she so casually tease one of her junior apprentice-brothers like that?

She had always been quietly watching Ning…

However, Ning ended up being together with Ninelotus. This tied Yu Wei’s heart up in knots, but all she could do we silently bless them and hide everything she felt in her heart.

Afterwards, when she learned that Ning had defeated Daoist Snowplume, she had an excuse to go seek him out alongside Mu Northson and Adept Vastriver. In fact, she had even been preparing to stay for the next two or three years at Serpentwing Lake, but who would’ve thought that Youngflame Nong would invite them to the Witchriver Immortal Estate?

That journey to the Witchriver Immortal Estate! In the end, it caused Ninelotus and Ning to part ways for good.

Ninelotus had chosen to leave. As she had, in that moment, Yu Wei had a sudden impulse…she wanted to say to Ning, ‘I will go with you!’ But she wasn’t in a position to say such a thing; she was not Ning’s Dao-companion. In addition, her power was truly not enough to help Ning at all in facing the disaster that was unfolding for him. The only thing she could do was wrack her brains to come up with strategies for him!

After she and Ning separated, she watched as he wandered by himself. She could only repress all her feelings once more, and once more silently bless him.

Who would have imagined…

Ning was even more brilliant than she had thought he would be. His Primaltwin had actually slain Immortal Floatcloud, causing the Youngflame clan to be unable to do anything to him. In addition, Ning was participating in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny as well! This caused a surge of delight in Yu Wei’s heart. Only…after entering the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, they had all been separated.

“The world of the Diagram is enormous, and there are more than a hundred thousand people present. On just the sixth day, and coincidentally just as I found myself in a dire situation, Ji Ning arrived? Can this be fate? Are the hands of fate at work here?” Yu Wei was shocked, delighted, and stunned.

The distant Ning howled through the air like a streak of lightning. The silver-robed youth, the silver-haired woman, and the black-robed man were all enraged.

“Junior apprentice-sister, stop him,” the silver-robed youth sent mentally.

“Right.”

The silver-haired maiden immediately stared at the distant Ning. Suddenly, she opened her mouth. Whooooooosh. The balewind came out, filling the skies with its azure light. If one looked carefully, one would be able to see that in reality, this was a tempest formed from countless azure needles, and thus had even more penetrative power than ordinary wind attacks.

Whoooooosh.

A beautiful Waterflame Lotus appeared, swiveling around Ning. The enormous Waterflame Lotus was incomparably resilient, and the layers of leaves actually completely blocked the balewind. After all, Ning was using earthfire and dire-ice of the first grade to serve as his foundation of this technique, then activating the fire and water of the natural world to condense around it.

In terms of technique quality, Ning was a hair above his opponent; this was a self-created technique, after all.

In addition, he had both earthfire and dire-ice, whereas this woman only had balewind.

Although the power of her balewind was truly astonishing, it was still blocked by the Waterflame Lotus.

“F*ck off!” The approaching Ning’s body suddenly expanded as he transformed into a 54 meter tall black-robed giant. The surface of his body flowed with electricity, and Ning’s forehead suddenly split open as well, revealing a vertical eye.

Divine ability – [Divine Thunderbolt Eye]!

CRACK! A bolt of lightning thundered out from Ning’s third eye, that vertical slit in his forehead. It was astonishingly fast, and it struck directly against the round umbrella which had suddenly appeared in the hands of that distant, silver-haired woman. [Pentabolt Vajra] and [Divine Thunderbolt Eye]; these two divine abilities synergized, causing the power of his thunder to vastly surpass that of ordinary divine abilities. This caused the silver-haired woman to be knocked flying back by the thunderbolt, and she threw up a mouthful of blood. In addition, this [Divine Thunderbolt Eye] attack also contained a divine will attack as well.

“Argh!!!” The silver-haired woman let out a miserable cry.

“Protect senior apprentice-sister!” The black-haired man and the silver-robed youth were both greatly shocked. They had thought that the balewind would be enough to block the youth for a period of time, but who would’ve imagined that the enemy would not only easily block it, but also injure their senior apprentice-sister with a bolt of lightning?

“Let’s go.” The silver-robed youth couldn’t be bothered to deal with Yu Wei; the aura of this approaching black-robed youth who was protected by the Waterflame Lotus was simply too ferocious.

Rumble!

With but a thought, the silver-robed youth willed the surface of his massive, three hundred meter long greatsword to suddenly be covered with flowing runes. The power of his sword continuously rose and focused on the tip of the sword. This enormous sword pierced towards Ning, lightning-fast!

“You want to block me?” Ning surged forward like a rainbow streak of light, neither dodging nor moving away. The vertical eye in his forehead sent out two bolts of lightning in a row.

CRACK! CRACK!

One bolt of lightning struck towards the silver-robed youth, while the other struck towards the black-robed man.

The thunderbolts couldn’t be casually blocked; both of them knew this very well. Thus, they all immediately used powerful techniques to block against it. Around the silver-robed youth, a chain link suddenly appeared. CRACK! The thunderbolt was blocked by the chain link, which was knocked flying back by the collision. However, the divine will attack within the thunderbolt was transmitted into the silver-robed youth’s body, causing his face to change. However, he was able to withstand it.

As for the black-robed youth, he was protected by the black Flood Dragon, which withstood the lightning bolt. However, the divine will attack also penetrated invisibly into his body. His body suddenly swayed, and even the black Flood Dragon turned blurry for a moment. However, it quickly re-stabilized.

“Careful, his divine ability includes a divine will attack.” Only now did the silver-haired woman, who had been knocked to the ground by the earlier attack, manage to send a frantic mental message to them.

The main reason was that the two were battling far too fast. Ning had immediately sent out three lightning bolts upon arriving, causing the heart of all three to be filled with amazement.

“[Soldiers of the Mind]!”

Immediately after having used a divine ability, Ning then revealed a true divine will attack; the [Soldiers of the Mind] he had acquired from the Witchriver Immortal Estate. This was an even more powerful technique than the Black-White College’s [Soulslayer Art]! Although Ning had also spent some time on other divine will techniques, most of his time had been spent on this, [Soldiers of the Mind]!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Within Ning’s sea of consciousness, his soul was seated in the lotus position, and a soldier’s seal was hovering in his hand. When his divine will was summoned forth from this soldier’s seal…it instantly transformed into invisible and untraceable sharp swords, warblades, and longspears. These spiritual weapons howled forth, striking towards the silver-robed youth, the black-robed man, and the silver-haired woman.

Imagine how fast divine will attacks were!

Sharp swords formed from divine will…they were incomparably sharp and stabbed right towards the soul!

Warblades formed from divine will…they carried an unstoppable might, hacking against the enemy soul with overwhelming brute force!

Longspears formed from divine will…they combined both of the advantages of the two other weapons, and were also savage in focusing their power at one point as they pierced straight towards the enemy!

Invisible, formless weapons that were created from divine will. The sharp swords, giant sabers, and longspears were savagely attacking the three!

Slash! Chop! Boom!

The souls of the three were immediately, violently assaulted by Ning’s divine will technique.

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Chapter 7 – It Must Be Love

Chapter 7 – It Must Be Love

Ji Ning’s soul was comparable to many Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, and [Soldiers of the Mind] was even more formidable than the [Soulslayer Art] technique. The power of his assault…it was so great that both the black-robed man and the silver-haired woman felt their souls rumble as they were sent into a dazed state. Only the silver-robed youth was dazed momentarily before immediately regaining consciousness.

“Not good.” The silver-robed youth was shocked. “Even I passed out for a moment; how can junior apprentice-brother and junior apprentice-sister withstand that?”

However, at this moment, he could not do anything for the two of them, because Ning was pouncing towards him.

“Who on earth is this person? He is so powerful that just by using a divine will attack, he was able to set me back?” The silver-robed youth’s heart clenched, and he didn’t dare to be the least bit overconfident. He hadn’t been able to recognize Ning, who had only used a single lotus technique so far.

“Your divine will attacks are formidable, but I refuse to believe that you are that formidable in actual combat as well.” A cold look flashed through the eyes of the silver-robed youth. “Die!”

BAM! The power of the enormous, three hundred meter long greatsword was now completely focused on the tip, where black and white light had joined together to form a strand of golden sword-light. The silver-robed youth had already poured all of his power into this attack. A powerful soul might be stem from a person’s birth; although the black-haired youth that was pouncing towards him had a powerful soul, he didn’t necessarily have a high level of insight into the Dao.

“Die!” The charging Ning showed no mercy at all. The layers of the Waterflame Lotus swiveling around him blocked the massive sword, which repeatedly hacked against it but was firmly stopped.

A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes.

Divine ability – [Starseizing Hand]!

CLANK! The Darknorth sword in Ning’s hand instantly lit out a brilliant flash of sword-light, and with a massive boom, it collided against and actually knocked that enormous enemy sword flying. As for Ning, after the sword in his left hand knocked the massive sword flying, he immediately used the [Windwing Evasion] technique to arrive in front of the silver-robed youth.

The silver-robed youth was tremendously shocked. He couldn’t believe that his most powerful technique had been knocked away by a single sword blow. He was one of the most elite of geniuses within his school! He no longer had the courage to fight against Ning, and he immediately produced dozens of talismans and threw them all away.

He had given up his talismans and was planning to flee.

It must be understood that the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers was a Pure Yang magic treasure; naturally, it had a soul as well. There was no way that Ning and the others could deceive the spirit of the Diagram as to how many talismans they had. They had to throw out all of their talismans in order to be teleported away.

Swish!

Ning’s sword-light had already arrived in front of the silver-robed youth. Clang! The silver-robed youth used both his earthfire and his chains, striving to buy himself just a single moment of time.

BOOM!!!

Ning’s sword-light was like an attack unleashed by one of those ancient, primordial Fiendgods. It possessed an utterly shocking power that shattered the earthfire and sent the chains flying. The body of the silver-robed youth, when struck, was instantly turned into pulp. Blood sprayed everywhere, along with chunks of flesh and bits of bone, but even as it sprayed everywhere, it was completely vaporized in midair by the terrifying sword-ki.

It was all too fast!

Although the silver-robed youth had already thrown away the talismans…there was an extremely short window of time between the talismans being thrown away and himself being teleported away. In a true, close quarters battle, that window of time was enough for Ning to attack ten more times with his sword!

Ning felt hatred for these three for daring to act against his senior apprentice-sister, and so he showed no mercy at all. In addition, the silver-robed youth truly was quite powerful; without using the [Starseizing Hand], Ning would only at most be able to seize an advantage; he wouldn’t be able to cause the foe to completely collapse at all. He had to use his [Starseizing Hand], and use overwhelming raw power to deal with this foe!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The two enormous phoenixes of fire and ice struck against the bodies of the other two temporarily stunned Adepts. Although the stunning effect was only for a short moment, Yu Wei was a true expert as well; she naturally seized the chance to immediately change from defending to attacking as she sent her phoenix of fire and her phoenix of ice to separately attack the black-robed man and the silver-haired woman, instantly killing the two!

Yu Wei then turned her head, looking at the black-robed youth who was 54 meters tall, crackling with lightning, and who had a vertical eye-slit in his forehead. She was both excited and nervous.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning’s third eye closed. The lightning around his body vanished. He returned to the size of a normal person.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei spoke out as well, and her eyes glistened like jewels.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

“Those three are disciples of my Heavenly Silkworm Sect. That black-robed woman is almost finished; yet another is going to be a slain and vanquished corpse of my Heavenly Silkworm Sect.” An extremely skinny and shriveled Celestial Immortal was laughing smugly right now. Normally, when in front of their own disciples, these individuals would maintain the majestic decorum expected of a Celestial Immortal. Here, however, in front of all of these other Celestial Immortals, they would revealed his true personality, acting with abandon. When it was time to be smug, they would be smug; when it was time to mock, they would mock.

“That black-robed maiden is quite formidable as well. Look at those two techniques of hers; one is a phoenix of fire, the other a phoenix of ice. As I see it, she has absolutely mastered two complete Dao-Paths.” Next to the first Celestial Immortal was a laughing fat man whose robe was open, revealing his chest.

“Right. She has mastered two complete Dao-Paths. That’s the only reason why she was able to hold off the attacks of three of my sect’s disciples for a period of time,” the skinny, shriveled Celestial Immortal said confidently.

“Do you know which school the black-robed maiden comes from?” The bare-chested fat Immortal asked.

“No idea.” The wizened Celestial Immortal shook his head. “Who knows what minor sect she’s from? Major sects naturally sent quite a few disciples, who would usually travel in pairs or trios.”

The fat Immortal’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Help has arrived.”

The shriveled Celestial Immortal’s eyes narrowed. He, too, saw that within the enormous Diagram, a black-robed youth had suddenly appeared to assist the black-robed maiden being attacked by those three Adepts of his.

The black-robed youth was ridiculously powerful. He instantly defeated the three, as easily though he were bursting through rotting wood, and in the end all three died.

“Hmph.” The shriveled Celestial Immortal couldn’t help but frown. He slammed his wineglass against the table, appearing to be quite vexed.

“Bahaha, didn’t you say the black-robed maiden was going to die?” The chubby Celestial Immortal began to laugh loudly.

In truth, Celestial Immortals like them didn’t care too much about the deaths of these geniuses; after all, geniuses came every three centuries. Their deaths were minor matters. However, when so many Celestial Immortals were gathered together, they naturally hoped that the disciples of their school would be outstanding and earn some face for them from their peers.

But of course…that was just a matter of face.

……

The thousand Celestial Immortals down below were chatting amongst themselves. Up high, the Xia Emperor and the other eight Pure Yang True Immortals were chatting as well.

“Look there!” Lu Dongbin’s eyes suddenly lit up as he pointed towards a corner of the Diagram. “Look at the black-robed girl being attacked by those three. A black-robed youth appeared next to them. Look, quick! See that look in the black-robed girl’s eyes? That look in her eyes that instantly appeared when she looked at the black-robed youth…bahaha, a gaze that is extremely complicated, as though long-suppressed emotions were instantly unleashed! Although it was only for an instant, I daresay that this black-robed woman must have fallen in love!”

“Fallen in love?” The Xia Emperor, the Bodhisattva of Great Strength, Sovereign Hao, the Immortal Elder of the Northlands…they all were completely speechless.

They had followed Lu Dongbin’s pointing finger to watch, and they had been paying attention to Ning who had exploded with power. Who would’ve thought that Lu Dongbin, however, was paying attention to the look in Yu Wei’s eyes?

“That gaze…ahaha…it was really…not only has this woman fallen in love, I daresay that she’s never confessed it to this black-robed youth before.” Lu Dongbin swept his gaze across the other True Immortals, then laughed smugly, “Any of you want to bet with me on this?”

The Xia Emperor and the others exchanged glances, all feeling quite resigned.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, that black-robed youth of yours is rather formidable,” Emperor Hao congratulated.

The Xia Emperor laughed. “The black-robed youth is named Ji Ning. He numbers amongst the few dozen most famous figures participating in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. His Primaltwin has even killed a Loose Immortal.”

“Oh?” The True Immortals present all nodded, but to them, killing a Loose Immortal was an extremely minor matter. They naturally wouldn’t pay too much attention to it. What they cared more about was if any of the many geniuses present at this Conclave would become one of the powerful experts of the Three Realms in the future. And if so…who would it be?

“One of the few dozen most famous? He lives up to the reputation.” The Bodhisattva of Great Strength smiled and praised him.

They actually didn’t feel that Ning was particularly outstanding; after all, in the past five days of the Conclave, quite a few members of the hundred thousand-plus competitors had revealed astonishing levels of power. They were all Wanxiang Adepts, but had been capable of exploding forth with power comparable to an ordinary Loose Immortal’s…and in fact, there were two Wanxiang Adept monsters who had comprehended five complete Dao-Paths.

Comprehended five Dao-Paths? Even this wasn’t enough to shock the Pure Yang True Immortals present.

This was because they felt that it wasn’t too shocking for some peerless geniuses to have mastered five complete Dao-Paths after having spent three hundred years at the Wanxiang level, all for the purpose of surprising everyone at this Conclave.

Pure Yang True Immortals like them…they were major figures of the Three Realms, and so naturally their vision was quite broad. If one looked at the Three Realms as a whole, it was indeed not rare for competitors with five mastered Dao-Paths to appear at the Conclave.

“That little lass is quite interesting, quite interesting.” Lu Dongbin was rather intrigued now, and he laughed in a self-congratulating manner, “Yep…that black-robed maiden’s been hiding her feelings all along. I wonder when she will voice them?”

The nearby Xia Emperor and the others just pretended not to hear anything.

Everyone knew that what Lu Dongbin loved to do was play matchmaker. This was one of his favorite hobbies, and in fact, stories about him playing matchmaker were extremely common throughout the Three Realms. They could tell that Lu Dongbin was feeling the impulse to do so once more. He might add a bit of ‘spice’ into the relationship between the black-robed maiden and the black-robed youth.

……

Ninelotus sat in the lotus position behind the Dongyan Forefather. Her head had been raised this entire time as she stared at the Diagram. She was mainly paying attention to the six disciples sent by the Dongyan clan and the three from the Black-White College…but of course, she paid the most attention to Ji Ning!

“Not good. Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei is in danger.” A look of worry appeared on Ninelotus’ face as her hands clenched around her robes.

“Ji Ning. Ji Ning is nearby.. Ji Ning, hurry up and notice it, hurry!” Ninelotus hoped it would happen.

And indeed, just as she had hoped, Ning had sensed the ripples from the battle. He had immediately moved in that direction, and had even displayed an astonishing amount of power. All three died, and Ning and Yu Wei were reunited.

“Whew. The danger is past. Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei is safe.” Ninelotus let out a sigh. “Now, senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei and Ji Ning can move together and support each other. It will be much safer for them.”

Suddenly, Ninelotus’ heart trembled.

It was only natural and normal for Ji Ning and Yu Wei to travel together; they were fellow disciples, after all. It was normal for them to support each other. But Ninelotus suddenly realized…Ji Ning and Yu Wei, a single man and an unmarried woman, would be together for most likely an entire year.

“A single man and an unmarried woman…experiencing life and death together…for nearly a year…” Ninelotus suddenly shook her head gently. “But I no longer have any right to think about such matters.”

Love was a strange thing.

They had clearly already separated, but upon seeing Ji Ning with Yu Wei, she felt as though a stone had just hammered against her heart, causing ripples that would be difficult to calm down.

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Chapter 8 – The Grand Black Tortoise Divine Ability

Chapter 8 – The Grand Black Tortoise Divine Ability

Within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei’s emotions and her excitement were all difficult to control right now.

“Senior apprentice-sister, your earlier battle caused quite a stir, and you fought for a long while. Others are definitely lying in wait in this area, and even more are probably on the way.” Ning had no time to talk; with a wave of his hand, he collected the magic treasures and storage treasures of the silver-haired woman and the black-robed man. The talismans were located in the storage treasures; how could he not take them away?

Whoosh.

A ship appeared in front of Ning and Yu Wei. “Senior apprentice-sister, let’s go.” Ning pulled Yu Wei by the hand as he leaped into the ship. The two immediately entered it, and the ship transformed into a streak of light, quickly fleeing. As it fled, Ning spread out his divine sense to sweep the area…and, just as he had expected, quite a few people were present.

“Who was that black-robed youth? How could he be so powerful?”

“Given his power, he should be one of those who was ranked as one of the top hundred prior to the Conclave beginning. He seems rather similar to that Ji Ning, mentioned in the reports of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. He uses twin swords, is very powerful in close combat, and is skilled in lotus techniques. Given the level of his power…it should probably be Ji Ning. However, Ji Ning is usually dressed in furs, whereas that youth was dressed in black robes. It seems that even Ji Ning doesn’t dare to be too bold and brash.”

“Right. Anyone would recognize him in furs. In black robes…one would have to carefully inspect him.”

“The top hundred experts of the Conclave truly are formidable. In single combat in close quarters against this Ji Ning, when he activates all his divine abilities…he can probably kill me in just one exchange of blows.”

“Gotta be careful.”

All of them quickly and secretly departed. Ning had fled quite fast. In addition, without enough people joining forces, they didn’t dare to try and antagonize Ning.

……

Whoosh.

The ship flew thousands of kilometers, then hide within a large mountain. Ning put away the flying treasure, then let out a sigh of relief alongside Yu Wei.

Ning said with a laugh, “Senior apprentice-sister, earlier when we were fighting, there were eight figures within ten kilometers who were watching us, and nearly two hundred people within a thousand kilometers were pressing near. In this Diagram, even if you get into a fight, you can’t continue to fight for too long. Otherwise, the disturbance will definitely attract attention from others. You have to resolve any fights quickly.”

“Of course I know that, but I was trapped by them and wasn’t able to even flee,” Yu Wei said helplessly. “I was just about to throw out my talismans and prepare to escape.”

His senior apprentice-sister definitely was a supremely beautiful woman in terms of appearances. This look of helplessness on her face couldn’t help but cause Ning’s heart to tremble slightly, but then he quickly calmed himself.

“Senior apprentice-sister, earlier you used phoenixes of ice and fire,” Ning said with a sighing laugh. “I have yet to congratulate you on mastering yet another complete Dao-Path.”

Three years ago, she had already mastered the Dao of the Freeze, but that was but a single Dao-Path.

“You all call me the Rainbowflame Fairy, right?” Yu Wei laughed softly. “I was more talented in fire to begin with. Thanks to a stroke of luck, I first mastered the Dao of the Freeze. My Dao of the Inferno was just a small step behind that.”

Ning nodded. He, too, felt as though he was about to make a breakthrough in the Dao of the Inferno…but he continued to be just a hair away from actually accomplishing it.

“Later on, I’ll need to ask you to help guide me on the Dao of the Inferno, senior apprentice-sister,” Ning said.

“A minor matter.” Yu Wei naturally was happy to help teach him.

“Right, senior apprentice-sister. This is the storage treasure of the silver-haired woman. Help me bind it. I’ll bind the other one’s storage treasure. The talismans are all inside.” Ning handed a bracelet to Yu Wei.

“You go ahead and slowly bind it yourself,” Yu Wei said, looking at Ning. “If I bound it, you definitely wouldn’t accept the talismans inside. Don’t try to trick me.”

Ning was flabbergasted. Yu Wei was truly quite meticiulous and intelligent. Ning felt that he was a smart man, but compared to her, he was still a bit inferior. For example, just now; all he had done was ask her to help bind the storage-type bracelet, and she had immediately been able to infer that in reality, he was giving the talismans within to her.

“You killed both of those two. The talismans belong to you. How about we split them?” Ning said.

“You saved my life, and when I killed them, they were in a dazed state because of you.” Yu Wei shook her head. “Enough. In the future, we are going to continue to adventure in this Diagram. In the future, whoever makes the kill will get the items, but this time, since you saved my life, the talismans should be yours.”

Ning had no choice but to nod.

Seeing how Ning was behaving, Yu Wei felt quite happy, and the corner of her lips couldn’t help but curve upwards.

“Let’s go. Senior apprentice-sister, you battled for a long time earlier; you need to first restore your elemental ki and also calm your mind.” Ning immediately led Yu Wei to quickly find a cave to hide in.

Time flowed on. The days passed, one by one.

Together, Ji Ning and Yu Wei truly were much more formidable.

Yu Wei had mastered two complete Dao-Paths, and was able to combine fire and water together. Her phoenixes of ice and fire were indeed incredibly powerful, and in terms of defense alone, the ice phoenix was comparable to Ning’s Waterflame Lotus! This was the reason why Yu Wei had been able to hold on for so long against the attacks of those three. In terms of offense, the fire phoenix was quite astonishing as well.

With each other’s support, even if ten or so people attacked them at once, they would still have a chance at winning.

……

“Yu Wei truly is extraordinary; she has comprehended two entire Dao-Paths.” Immortal Fivecraze was quite delighted with the performance of these two disciples of the Black-White College. He often bragged about them to the nearby members of other major powers of Stillwater Commandery. “Ji Ning is even more formidable! One of the 96 positions will definitely go to our Black-White College. And the eldest disciple of the third generation; little Sloppy has yet to show his power.”

“Ji Ning is formidable, but I really don’t see anything remarkable about that the Sloppy Daoist of your Black-White College.” A white-haired Loose Immortal of the Skysplitter Sword Sect shook his head and sneered, clearly unhappy at how smug Immortal Fivecraze was acting.

“You are just jealous!” Immortal Fivecraze stared at him.

……

The Conclave had been going on for more than a month. The Sloppy Daoist was reclining lazily within a cave. Next to him was a pool of water that was both clear and refreshing.

“The first three months will be the craziest. I’ll relax for three months. Those who survive to the end will all be formidable, and will definitely have many talismans on them. Fighting will only be fun by that point.” The Sloppy Daoist just lay there, producing a large cooked rib and beginning to gnaw on it, covering his mouth in oil.

Suddenly…

Whoosh!

A wind blew past, and eight figures suddenly appeared at the entrance to the cave. One of the eight, a muscular man, said with a laugh, “Eldest apprentice-brother, let’s take a break at this cave and bind the storage treasures we just acquired. I hope there are talismans inside—” But suddenly, the muscular man stared.

The other seven also stared, flabbergasted, at the sloppy, chubby man lying down in the cave and gnawing on a roast rib.

The world of the Diagram was clearly quite large; the chances of encountering someone in a cave they randomly selected was very low. For the Sloppy Daoist, despite having often hidden in this cave during the past month, this was his first time encountering someone at the entrance.

“If you always walk by the side of the river, eventually your shoes will get wet.” The Sloppy Daoist resignedly stood up and muttered to himself, then said with a chortle, “Everyone, I’m resting here. Why don’t you leave? Or perhaps I shall leave?”

“Little sloppy kid, are you playing dumb or actually dumb?” A youth with triangle pupils said coldly, “Be good and hand your talisman over and we can spare your life. Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

“Nope.” The Sloppy Daoist shook his head.

“Don’t waste words with him. Attack!” the leader, a youth holding a feather fan, let out a cold laugh and then immediately waved his hand. Feathers instantly began to shoot out from the feather fan in his hands, and hundreds of feathers instantly formed into an enormous Immortal crane. The Immortal crane screeched as it sent its claws tearing towards the Sloppy Daoist, and the surrounding rocky walls of the cave were beginning to shatter from the force of the attack.

“Die.” The muscular man let out an angry roar, then immediately expanded in size to thirty-six meters. Because they were in a cave, he had to squat down and lower his head. He also suddenly activated the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability, and in each hand he wielded an enormous greataxe.

He transformed into a streak of lightning, charging forward.

Each of the eight released their own techniques.

Three were Fiendgod Body Refiners, while the others were Ki Refiners. Each had secret arts of their own, and the ‘Immortal Crane of the Nine Heavens’ technique of their leader, the fan-wielding youth, wasn’t that much weaker than even the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. However, although the technique was fine, the power a technique could actually unleash depended on the user. For example, when Ning used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], it was even more powerful and dazzling than when the Thousand Swords Immortal had used it back when he himself had been at the peak Wanxiang level.

These eight all came from an extremely large clan from the Eastern Seas known as the ‘Myriad Beasts School’. This was ranked as one of the most supreme of schools in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, and it was ranked several tiers higher than the Black-White College. It had hundreds of Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals! Naturally, all eight were extremely powerful.

Rumble…

The battle began. Rocks began to fly everywhere, and the mountain peak itself began to crumble.

BOOM!

Within the crumbling mountain peak, the illusion of an enormous Turtle-Snake suddenly appeared. A powerful aura that filled the heavens swept out from it. A chubby youth with the eyes of a snake and whose skin was covered with tattoos that looked like the shell of a turtle was there…and with his bare hands, he smashed aside a giant, blood-red seal, then slapped a terrified white-robed youth into dust with a single palm blow. Next, his hand formed into a claw, striking forward like the beak of a crow and piercing directly through the head of one of the Fiendgod Refiner men. Then, with a swiping movement, he completely tore the Fiendgod Refiner’s body apart.

Whoooooosh. The enormous illusion of the Turtle-Snake quickly ground apart the body of the Fiendgod Refiner, quickly transforming it into ash.

“Quick, run!”

“My lord…”

“How can he be this powerful?! The records of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain regarding the most powerful participants made no mention at all of this sloppy-looking fatty!”

The geniuses of the Myriad Beasts School had completely collapsed. They all threw our their talismans, but in total six of them still ended up being killed by the sloppy-looking fatty. Only two of them just barely managed to escape with their lives.

“Whew.” The Sloppy Daoist stood there atop the destroyed mountain. Waving his hand, he collected up all the talismans and storage treasures. He was completely back to normal, and no longer seemed as terrifying as he had before.

“I didn’t want to fight in the first three months, but they actually forced me to unleash my grand divine ability.” The Sloppy Daoist shook his head. “The participants of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny truly are extraordinary. The attacks of just eight of them were enough to force me to use my grand divine ability. I imagine that many others are going to quickly arrived. I’d best leave.”

Whoosh.

With a single step, the Sloppy Daoist transformed into a gust of wind and disappeared.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

The faces of the Xia Emperor, Lu Dongbin, the Immortal Elder of the Northlands, and the rest of the nine had all changed. Although it didn’t appear as though they were paying much attention to the Diagram, since they were Pure Yang True Immortals, they actually saw everything which was going on within it.

“The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability.”

“Grand Emperor Xuanwu!” 1

“He’s actually a successor for Grand Emperor Xuanwu. I wonder if he is a personal apprentice or just an honorary apprentice.”

They all had solemn looks on their faces now. Grand Emperor Xuanwu…he was one of the major powers of the Three Realms, and an extremely terrifying figure.

“The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability…it is definitely ranked as one of the top hundred divine ability of the countless divine abilities created since the universe was established.” Lu Dongbing spoke with a serious look on his face. “I didn’t imagine that here, at the Conclave of Immortal Destiny of your Grand Xia Empire, I’d be able to see one of the most supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms!”

1. As noted previously, Xuanwu, literally ‘dark warrior’, is both the name of an Immortal as well as the Black Tortoise of the Four Beasts. There are many legends regarding the both, and often the legends are linked, such as the Black Tortoise/Turtle-Snake originally being the guts and intestines of Xuanwu.

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Chapter 9 – Repeated Breakthroughs

Chapter 9 – Repeated Breakthroughs

The Xia Emperor, Sovereign Hao, and the rest of the nine Pure Yang True Immortals were all staring at the distant, massive Diagram which hung in the skies. They stared at that sloppy-looking, chubby youth. Without question, this divine technique, the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, absolutely was not something that could be recorded down in a book. It had to be transmitted through very special methods, and it had to be Grand Emperor Xuanwu himself who did the transmitting!

“Someone who was approved of by Grand Emperor Xuanwu…he cannot be a simple figure.” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands chortled. “Xiamang, who is this youth? Where is he from?”

The others all looked towards the Xia Emperor as well.

The Xia Emperor knew the details of every single one of the hundred thousand-plus attendees to this Conclave. Not trying to hide anything, he said, “This youth is a disciple of the Black-White College, which hails from the Stillwater Commandery of my Grand Xia Dynasty. His name is Zhang Qi, and his Daoist title is ‘Threefat’, but because he’s always dressed so sloppily, there are very few people in the outside world who refer to him as Adept Threefat. The majority refer to him as the Sloppy Daoist.”

“The Sloppy Daoist? His Daoist title is ‘Threefat’? This young fellow is quite amusing.” Lu Dongbin laughed. “He actually picked such a casual Daoist title. It seems as though this youth who Grand Emperor Xuanwu took a liking to really does have unusual points about him.”

“Grand Emperor Xuanwu is so majestic, and yet he actually chose such a sloppy young fellow as his disciple.”

“The Sloppy Daoist?”

They all memorized this name.

Even if this fat youth was currently nothing more than an honorary disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu, after he became a Celestial Immortal, he would most likely become a personal disciple! For him to have been taught the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, even when he was so young and weak, was testament to how much Grand Emperor Xuanwu liked him. For a major power to care about him so much…his future would definitely be extraordinary.”

Pure Yang True Immortals had incredibly good high standards. The number of Celestial Immortals that would arise from these hundred thousand-plus geniuses could be counted on one hand, and they actually didn’t care about them too much. However, the Sloppy Daoist’s status as the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu was definitely enough to make them pay serious attention to him.

……

“The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability?” The Dongyan Forefather revealed a look of astonishment. “This, this Conclave actually has a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu?”

“The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability!” A stunned look was on Patriarch Arcanum’s face as well. “This sloppily-dressed youth…who is he?! Our Grand Xia world actually has someone capable of becoming a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu?!”

The thousand Celestial Immortals had often journeyed to other worlds as well, and some had even gone to the Heaven Realm. Thus, they were fairly experienced. In addition, the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability was an extremely recognizable one; upon seeing the massive illusion of the Turtle-Snake, and upon seeing the turtle shell-like tattoos that had suddenly emerged on the Sloppy Daoist’s skin, there was no question in their minds at all that this was the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability. More than 80% of the nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals present all recognized it.

And they were all amazed!

The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability…it meant that this person was the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu! Grand Emperor Xuanwu was one of the hegemons of the entire Three Realms. He had been a hegemon ever since the Primordial Era, and was absolutely one of the most major of powers! Celestial Immortals like them dreamed about being able to become a personal disciple of such a major power…but alas, the vast majority of them would only be permitted to become honorary disciples at best.

There was a huge difference between honorary disciples and personal disciples. Personal disciples…to be one meant that the major power would use all of his effort in training you.

Honorary disciples, by contrast, were just honorary; you’d be qualified to go listen to the major power expound on the Dao, but it would be hard to even speak a single word to that major power in private!

Celestial Immortals were carefree Immortals who had escaped the restrictions of the Three Realms, and were able to dominate a local region. Major powers needed servants to take care of matters for them, which was why they give appropriate Celestial Immortals a status of being ‘honorary disciples’.

But the Sloppy Daoist was different. He had been taught the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability when he was merely a Wanxiang Adept. His treatment was absolutely on par with a personal disciple’s treatment! Even though he was currently just an honorary disciple, that was merely because he was currently too weak; after becoming a Celestial Immortal, he would be immediately promoted to personal disciple.

……

The plaza below.

“The Patriarch has ordered us to immediately investigate who that sloppy-looking fatty is.” An azure Flood Dragon that had shrunken in size and was coiling in midair stretched out a claw, pointing towards a spot in the sky.

“We’ll investigate right away.”

…….

“The Supreme One has ordered us to investigate that sloppy-looking fatty.”

……

Celestial Immortals were on too high of a level, and so they knew very little about the geniuses in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. The Sloppy Daoist, at least, was someone which almost none of them recognized. They didn’t dare to spread out their coresense; after all, the Xia Emperor and eight other Pure Yang True Immortals were right next to him. All they could do was just to send orders to their subordinates.

More than half of the major powers of the 3600 commanderies and four seas immediately began to investigate.

Soon, they discovered…that this person was named Zhang Qi, his Daoist title was Threefat, and that most referred to him as the Sloppy Daoist. He was a disciple of the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery!

“Stillwater Commandery…the Black-White College?”

“Black-White College?”

“A small school like that actually produced a disciple that Grand Emperor Xuanwu cares about?”

The Celestial Immortals located in the main hall of the Skylight Palace all quickly received this information. They were all completely puzzled…but in their hearts, they already viewed the Sloppy Daoist as someone with status equal to theirs. The mere fact that he was someone whom Grand Emperor Xuanwu cared about was more than enough for him to be treated as an equal.

The leader of the Black-White College delegation, Immortal Fivecrazed, couldn’t help but laugh delightedly as he saw all this. “I always did say that little Sloppy is extremely formidable. I understood his Dao-heart long ago…and I’ve always said that not even the Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals of the Black-White College are comparable to him in terms of his Dao-heart. He truly is formidable! But what divine ability is that? Not even I have ever seen it. It seems fairly powerful though; little Sloppy must’ve had a very lucky encounter.”

“Heh heh heh…given how formidable little Sloppy is, perhaps in this Conclave…he’ll be accepted by one of the powerful Celestial Immortals or Pure Yang True Immortals of the Three Realms as a disciple.” Immortal Fivecraze was daydreaming beautifully right now.

……

Time flowed on. More than a month had already passed.

The battles raging within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers were exceptionally agonizing, because everyone understood that they were all fighting over their Immortal destiny.

However, in the eyes of the exalted Xia Emperor and the other eight True Immortals, aside from the Sloppy Daoist, who had caused them to sigh in amazement…these other geniuses could at most cause their eyes to briefly light up. In addition, it was already quite rare for a disciple of a major power to appear in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny of a major world; they didn’t believe a second would emerge!

Rumble….

Within the world of the Diagram. A waterfall cascaded down like a white torrent, smashing against a pool and spraying water everywhere.

Next to the pool, there was a violet-robed, thick-browed, large-eyed, massively built youth. He was seated in the lotus position. Not too far away from him another youth, also in the lotus position; this youth had a head of tousled, unruly hair, and looked almost like a barbarian. His gaze was like that of one of the eagles in the sky, filled with a savagery that could cause the heart to quiver.

“Xiamang Zishan, are you done rest? It’s time for us to go. We don’t have enough talismans yet!” 1

“Hey, I’m talking to you!” The wild-haired barbarian youth began to get angry. But right at this moment…

Arcane ripples of power suddenly began to descend around the massively built violet-robed youth. These were the ripples of the Dao. Water and mist began to swirl around him, and in the midst of the water and mist could be seen flashes of lightning.

“…the hell? You made a breakthrough, just like that?” The barbarian youth was speechless.

The violet-robed youth slowly opened his eyes. If the barbarian youth could be described as an eagle of the heavens, then this violet-robed youth was like a primordial behemoth of the group, filled with an absolutely dominating aura. In terms of dominating auras, even the father of Northmont Baiwei, ‘Northmont Blacktiger’, was a level inferior to him.

“Cangwu Jiu.” 2 The azure-robed youth cracked a smile, revealing his white teeth. “I’ve mastered a fourth Dao-Path as well! I’ve caught up to you!”

“Before this, you and I were on par…and now, you punk, you are even more powerful than me?” Cangwu Jiu was amazed.

The two of them had run into each other shortly after entering this Diagram world. They had fought together, then realized neither could achieve victory of the other. Given that they had also grown up together in the imperial capital, and felt friendly towards each other to begin with…and that as soon as they had entered the Diagram world, they had both suffered repeated group attacks…they decided to join forces!

“You run too fast. If you focus on avoiding taking on my attacks head-on, there’s nothing I can do to you either.” A look of confidence was in Xiamang Zishan’s eyes. “But if you actually fight against me head-on…you naturally are no longer my match. With four Dao-Paths which have been infused into my Grand Dao of Lightning…I imagine that in this entire Diagram world, if I said that I was number two, no one would dare claim themselves to be number one!”

“Don’t go too crazy,” Cangwu Jiu sneered. “And don’t be smug. There are countless geniuses in the Diagram, and given how many times they are battling every day…these battles are tempering them and allowing them to improve at an astonishing rate. Quite a few people are most likely making breakthroughs!”

“Mm. That’s something I do need to be careful about.” Xiamang Zishan nodded. “I can’t be too overconfident. My goal in this Conclave is to come out number one!”

Cangwu Jiu shook his head. “Let’s hurry up and go.”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu both flew off.

……

The Sloppy Daoist was standing by the side of a lake. Underneath the light of the moon, it appeared illusory and dreamy. His eyes were closed. He had no idea that in the outside world, nine True Immortals and many Celestial Immortals were all focusing on him, and that he was the largest focal point for the entire Diagram right now.

“whew.”

The Sloppy Daoist’s body suddenly trembled slightly, and then a swirl of fire erupted in the surrounding area, billowing outwards. One circle of fire after another spread out, with the Sloppy Daoist at the center. The ripples of the Dao descended.

The Sloppy Daoist opened his eyes. “After training for all these years, and after fighting tens of times every day in the Diagram world…I’ve finally made a break through in the fourth month and mastered my third complete Dao-Path. What I need to do now is to fuse all three of these complete Daos into my Grand Dao of Taiji.” 3

The Sloppy Daoist had also gained insight into a Grand Dao.

Ji Ning had gained insight into the Grand Dao of the Sword, while the Sloppy Daoist had embarked on the path of the Grand Dao of the Taiji.

……

After a few months, many of those who had been present in the Diagram had given up…and many of them had perished within it! But for the surviving geniuses? It was normally incredibly rare for them to be able to encounter geniuses on their same general level and fight with them…and now that they were doing so for tens of times or a even hundred times each day, many of them began to make sudden breakthroughs.

Many of them had been trapped at bottlenecks, and now, they were all making their breakthroughs.

The sixth month of the trials within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.

Within a wilderness region. A black-robed youth and a black-robed woman were within the wild grass of this area.

Ning sat there in the lotus position, and not too far away was Yu Wei. Yu Wei was also seated in the lotus position, quietly looking at Ning. Earlier, Ning had said to her: “Senior apprentice-sister, I gained some insights in that previous battle. Help stand guard for me.” And then, he had set down a simple vision-obscuring formation, then closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.

Yu Wei looked at Ning, whose eyes were still closed. She carefully looked at his eyes, his nose, his lips…she looked at him very carefully and very earnestly.

1. Zishan means ‘Violet Mountain’, which goes with his preference for violet clothes.

2. ‘Jiu’ means hawk, hence the description of him as looking like an eagle.

3. This is the same Taiji as the Taiji Diagram, aka the Yin-Yang diagram, or in ‘Tai Chi’ martial arts. The concept of the Taiji is one of the most fundamental ones in Daoism.

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Chapter 10 – The Most Powerful Two-Man Squad

Chapter 10 – The Most Powerful Two-Man Squad

Yu Wei rested her hands on her chin, just looking at Ji Ning. In fact, an unconscious smile even crept onto her face.

It was very quiet.

They were underneath the light of the moon. The only people present were herself and her junior apprentice-brother. She just gazed at her junior apprentice-brother…and everything seemed so perfect.

……

The plaza of the imperial citadel.

“Whaaaaaat?” Mu Northson stared at the image of Ji Ning and Yu Wei within the Diagram in the skies. Yu Wei sat there, resting her hands on her chin and staring intently at Ning. “Can it be that senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei has fallen for senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning? Good heavens!”

Little Qing, wrapped around Northson’s arm, was staring intently as well.

Just from the look on Yu Wei’s face, anyone with the slightest bit of intelligence would be able to guess that Yu Wei harbored feelings for Ji Ning.

“That little girl Yu Wei and Ji Ning…?” Immortal Fivecraze revealed a grin. As he saw it, since both Yu Wei and Ji Ning were peerless geniuses of the Black-White College, they were quite a match for each other.

……

“Look look, look look look, that expression on that little girl’s face! I told you, I told you all! I told you that this little girl must be in love with that Ji Ning fellow.” Lu Dongbin urgently pointed at a corner of the massive Diagram while saying to the nearby Xia Emperor, Sovereign Hao, and others, “I wanted to bet with you earlier, but none of you were willing.”

“You are the Sage of Love, a legendary matchmaker, the Moon Elder…who would dare bet against you in such a matter?” A Pure Yang True Immortal dressed in black Daoist robes that had a blood-colored Taiji diagram embroidered onto them laughed. 1

“Truelord, I’m no sage of love; I don’t even have a Dao-companion. I’m definitely not the Moon Elder either; the Celestial Court already has a designated Moon Elder,” Lu Dongbin said hurriedly.

Buffoonery and jests; shamelessness and thick-skinnedness; a master of pretense.

In short, any place with Lu Dongbin in it would be a place of laughter. This was why Lu Dongbin had so many friends in the Three Realms. He was an incredibly good-natured fellow, had powerful backers supporting him, and was very strong in his own right. How could he not have countless friends?

……

Ninelotus, seated behind the Dongyan Forefather, tightly grasped at her robes as she stared at the massive Diagram. She chewed on her lips, a complicated look in her eyes. “Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei…towards Ji Ning, you…”

In the past, she had only been a bit worried. Although over the past few months, Ji Ning and Yu Wei had grown fairly close as they had adventured together, Ninelotus had chalked that up to being because they were fellow disciples of the same school. But upon seeing that look…she had no more doubts at all!

“I’ve made my choice.”

“No regrets.”

Ninelotus bit her lips, lecturing herself mentally.

Yu Wei just gazed at Ning, completely absorbed in her own little world. She completely forgot that there even was an outside world.

After an indeterminable period of time, tendrils of flame began to emerge around Ning, which grew and expanded into an lotus flower that began to continuously expand, from a fist-sized lotus flower to an enormous flaming lotus that was many tens of meters long. Ning sat there in the very center of the lotus amidst the pistils as the ripples of the Dao descended.

“Eh?” Yu Wei suddenly came to her senses.

“Not good!” She suddenly felt shocked. “Those in the outside world can see everything that’s going on within this Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers! Someone might’ve noticed me!”

She had only revealed her emotions and ceased disguising them when she had seen that Ning had been completely absorbed in meditating on the Dao. She had forgotten that others outside could see her! This caused Yu Wei to feel incredibly awkward and embarrassed.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning opened his eyes, then said with a laugh, “I’ve broken through the bottleneck. I’ve finally mastered the Dao of the Inferno.”

Yu Wei hurriedly came back to her senses, then said happily, “That’s wonderful. Junior apprentice-brother, you’ve already mastered the Dao of Rainwater. Now that you’ve mastered the Dao of the Inferno as well…with fire and water joining together and then infusing your Dao of the Sword, your power must have grown significantly.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded, filled with anticipation as well.

Two complete Dao-Paths. He had also reached the Grand Dao Domain in the Dao of the Sword. He now felt even more confident in his chances. Although some of the most supreme geniuses amongst these hundred thousand-plus competitors in the Conclave might have already started training in their own Grand Daos, some had just a basic grasp while others had just gotten to understand their own hearts. Only a very few would have reached the Grand Dao Domain like Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you need to seize the chance to train in your [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens],” Yu Wei immediately said. “You are only at the eleventh stage. There are many practitioners of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] in this Conclave, and most of them have reached the twelfth stage.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. This was his weakness. In Swallow Mountain, countless years would pass before there would a genius capable of training in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], but in Stillwater Commandery, the Black-White College alone had quite a few. As for the participants in this Conclave, many of them trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. To be at the eleventh stage of it was indeed a bit weak.

However, he had a powerful soul and was a Sword Immortal, and also had the [Starseizing Hand]. He didn’t fear fighting against any of them.

……

Just half a month after Ning had mastered the Dao of the Inferno.

A massively built violet-robed youth and a barbarian youth were walking shoulder-to-shoulder amidst the mountain forests, sweeping out with their divine sense to a distance of ten kilometers.

“Cangwu Jiu, how many talismans do you have?” Xiamang Zishan asked.

“Just barely over a thousand. You?” Cangwu Jiu asked.

“You have more than a thousand already? I’ve killed even more people than you, but I only have 989!” Xiaman Zishan stared at him.

“That’s because you are stupid. Will you necessarily acquire a lot of talismans just by killing a lot of people? Some people had many on them; some had less. It comes down to being a matter of judgment…and clearly, your judgment is vastly inferior to mine,” Cangwu Jiu said disdainfully.

Xiamang Zishan shook his head. “You don’t have THAT many more than me. Look at how smug you are acting! We’ve spent more than six months in the Diagram; more than half a year has passed. We need to speed it up and acquire at least 1300 each.”

The Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers had a total of 109,362 competitors within it.

After a year, the eighty contestants with the most talismans would have passed the trials. Thus, so long as they acquired at least 1370 talismans, it was guaranteed that you would have passed. And given that some would have more and others less, while some of the losers would also have talismans…1300 was probably going to be enough.

“We have to aim for 1400! Only then can I be at ease,” Cangwu Jiu said.

While chatting, the two continued to sweep their divine sense forward. Whoosh! They continued to advance rapidly forward.

“Eh?” Cangwu Jiu and Xiamang Zishan’s eyes suddenly flickered. Swoosh! Swoosh! The two transformed into streaks of light, instantly charging forward by many kilometers. Many kilometers away, halfway up a tall mountain peak, there stood a black-robed man and a woman. It was Ning and Yu Wei.

Ning and Yu Wei both had powerful souls as well; when the enemy swept them with their divine sense, they both immediately noticed it. A moment later, two figures appeared in the distance.

“Them?” Ning and Yu Wei were both shocked. They immediately recognized the two, because these two were simply far too famous. And, more importantly, the two hadn’t changed their clothes at all.

“Xiamang Zishan? Cangwu Jiu?” Ning’s heart clenched. According to the reports from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain regarding the peerless geniuses participating in this Conclave, the number one ranked figure was Xiamang Zishan, while the number two was Cangwu Jiu!

Xiamang Zishan trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and also trained in my divine abilities that were used only by the imperial Xiamang clan and were not taught to outsiders! His talent was absolutely top-notch as well, and the Grand Xia Emperor was quite pleased with him. Supposedly, he had long ago been guided by the Grand Xia Emperor into the tutelage of one of the experts of the Three Realms, and his power was immeasurable.

Cangu Jiu was one of the rare, peerless geniuses of the Cangwu clan. His age was comparable to Xiamang Zishan’s, and ever since they had been young, they had been famous geniuses of the imperial capital. They had grown up together.

Because Xiamang Zishan was of the imperial clan, he was ranked as number one while Cangwu Jiu was forced to be ranked as number two. But no matter what…without question, these two were the two most famous participants in this Conclave!

“Given how famous they are, they assuredly have the power to back it up. Why have the two most famous figures joined forces?” Ning felt nervousness in his heart. If he encountered one of them, he would dare to fight…but he had Yu Wei with him as well, and she was a Ki Refiner. Although she had mastered two complete Daos, her power was still quite a bit lower than figures like Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu.

……

“Lu Dongbin, weren’t you paying a great deal of attention to that little girl? This time, that little girl and Ji Ning have really run into trouble,” the Immortal Elder of the Northlands called out with a chortle.

Lu Dongbin was watching. He said vexedly, “This really does seem to be trouble. Those two are named Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu, right? Their power can be considered to be in the absolute top tier of these hundred thousand-plus competitors. Even compared to the Sloppy Daoist, they would still probably be on par. You can’t say for certain who is stronger until they actually fight, but…Ji Ning and the little girl are a bit too weak.”

“Zishan is the most outstanding member in the junior generation of my Xiamang clan, and has a chance to rank in the top three this time.” The Xia Emperor laughed as he spoke. It was rare for him to care about someone from the younger generation, but Xiamang Zishan was the one he liked the most.

……

“Senior apprentice-sister, Ji Ning.” Ninelotus watched nervously. She knew how frightening Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu were. Earlier, when she had watched as Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu had been headed in the direction of Ning and Yu Wei, she had begun to feel nervous. And in the end…they really did encounter each other.

“I hope nothing bad happens.” Ninelotus was extremely nervous.

……

Within the world of the Diagram.

The friends and family outside were worried, but there was nothing they could do. Ning and Yu Wei were now both very cautious as well.

“You are…Ji Ning?” Cangwu Jiu’s hawk-like eyes stared at Ning, immediately recognizing him.

“He’s Ji Ning? Doesn’t Ji Ning dress in furs?” The nearby Xiamang Zishan said.

“I told you that you are an idiot, but you wouldn’t listen. Can’t you just change your damn robes?” Cangwu Jiu shook his head. “I acquired quite a few paintings of Ji Ning. I collected many paintings of all the geniuses. Just by looking at a single one, it can be hard to recognize the real person, which is why I had to view many of them.”

“I have more than a hundred paintings of Ji Ning, so I recognized him at one glance,” Cangwu Jiu said confidently.

Ning and Yu Wei exchanged a glance.

From the way the two were chatting to each other and from how calm they were, it was clear that they were very confident.

“Senior apprentice-sister, don’t fight them head on. Use your phoenixes to attack them, while I’ll tie them up for a while. You flee first, then I’ll come afterwards,” Ning sent. Yu Wei nodded as well. She knew that if it weren’t for her, it would be much easier for Ning to flee, but with her here…although their attack power was greater, fleeing became trickier.

As Ning and Yu Wei were chatting mentally…

“Hand over your talismans, and I’ll spare your lives!” Cangwu Jiu’s voice suddenly turned sharp, and his mental message echoed in Ning and Yu Wei’s minds. Cangwu Jiu charged forward, and suddenly in midair a massive black vulture that was was three hundred meters long suddenly appeared. The plumes of the black vulture glowed with an oily light, and its eyes seemed almost alive as it dove forward with a screech.

1. In Chinese Daoist religions, a minor divinity known as the ‘Moon Elder’ is responsible for marriages and matchmaking, much like Cupid is in Western mythologies.

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Chapter 11 – Ji Ning Battles Xiamang Zishan

Chapter 11 – Ji Ning Battles Xiamang Zishan

“That’s the Venomous Nethervulture secret art!” Ning immediately recognized the technique. Cangwu Jiu had become famous long ago, and this Venomous Nethervulture art was his signature technique. It was an enormous Venomous Nethervulture that was formed from many magic treasures in a formation. As for Cangwu Jiu himself, he was hidden within the grand Venomous Nethervulture. Once it failed, Cangwu Jiu would emerge from within the body of the Nethervulture and enter close combat!

Yu Wei pointed towards the distant. Whoosh! All 72 Rahu Godneedles instantly appeared in midair. Filled with elemental ki, they activated the natural energy of the world to form a pair of enormous phoenixes of fire and ice. The two phoenixes simultaneously howled through the air as they charged towards the giant black vulture.

“Shkreee!” The black vulture let out a venomous screech, then slashed downwards viciously with his claws.

The phoenix of ice and the phoenix of ice charged upwards, but after exchanging just two blows many cracks had already appeared on their bodies. Upon their third collision against the vulture, both phoenixes completely shattered, and the 72 Rahu Godneedles were immediately knocked flying back as well.

“Arise.” Ning stood there, and around him manifested the Waterflame Lotus. The Waterflame Lotus surrounded him, the lotus leaves swaying gently as they continuously swiveled.

Boom…

The charging black vulture smashed directly against the Waterflame Lotus. There was an enormous collision sound, but although some of the leaves of the Waterflame Lotus shattered, new ones quickly emerged. Clearly, this technique was incomparably resilient. This caused the relaxing, spectating Xiamang Zishan to feel startled; this was rather beyond his expectations.

After six months of tempering and especially after having thoroughly mastered both the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Inferno, Ning had further perfected his Waterflame Lotus, as his powers were now in perfect equilibrium, allowing the technique to clearly grow more formidable. In addition, this was a technique which used earthfire and dire-ice of the first grade as its base; how could it be so easily defeated?

“Quick, leave.” Ning sent mentally.

Swoosh! Yu Wei transformed into a streak of light, immediately planning to fly away.

“Shkreee!” The venomous black vulture suddenly opened its mouth, and a person emerged from within it. It was Cangwu Jiu. Cangwu Jiu was wielding a scimitar in his hand, and as he flew out, his body suddenly exploded in size to become sixty meters tall. His right arm transformed into a golden color, and with a single flash, he caught up to the location in front of Yu Wei, frightening her into hurriedly retreating.

“Go!” Ning suddenly manifested more than seven hundred flying swords around him. A golden flying sword appeared in front of him, then shot out with a bang.

Boom! The power of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] caused even Cangwu Jiu’s body to tremble for a moment, but in the next moment, the golden right arm of Cangwu Jiu brandished that scimitar and chopped apart the flying sword of golden light. By this time, Yu Wei had fled back to the Waterflame Lotus.

“He is too fast. I’m not able to escape,” Yu Wei sent frantically.

Ning understood as well. Forget about Yu Wei; even he himself wasn’t confident in being able to escape from the attacks of Cangwu Jiu. Cangwu Jiu’s strongest point was his speed to begin with.

“Then I’ll trap him!” Ning sent. “Senior apprentice-sister, you and I shall first block him off together!”

Swish! Swish! Swish! One golden flying sword after another, formed from the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], flew out and attacked. As for Yu Wei, the 72 Rahu Godneedles in front of her flew out once more.

The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the phoenix of ice, and the phoenix of fire simultaneously attacked. Cangwu Jiu, seeing everything headed his way as well as that enormous Waterflame Lotus, couldn’t help but frown. He mentally barked, “Xiamang Zishan, why aren’t you helping out yet?!”

There was no way Cangwu Jiu could dominate Ning and Yu Wei by himself, after they joined forces.

“It’s just two people. I thought you could handle it by yourself.” Xiamang Zishan laughed loudly in response. “Cangwu Jiu, remember, don’t let these two escape. You are most skilled in pursuing and trapping enemies.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Cangwu Jiu stood there in midair, pointing towards the distance.

Instantly, a fierce gale arose in the surrounding area, howling as it spun into a tornado. The spinning tornado covered the surrounding area, stretching several kilometers and completely trapping Ning and Yu Wei within it.

“I’ll use the Qian-Heaven Soulwind to trap them, the Venomous Nethervulture to support it, and I’ll personally be prepared to attack at any time,” Cangwu Jiu sent mentally. “Under these three techniques…there’s no way they’ll escape. As for fighting them head on? I’ll leave that to you.”

“Hahaha…”

Xiamang Zishan laughed loudly.

Boom!

His footsteps suddenly began to cause the mountains to tremble as he immediately transformed into a sixty meter tall giant, and his entire body began to radiate with a violet-colored lightning. The violet-colored lightning even began to appear in the surrounding area, and an enormous black metal staff appeared in his hands. Wielding the black metal staff, he charged into the heart of the giant tornado towards the Waterflame Lotus.

Bang!!! He unleashed a single sweeping smash from the black metal staff, but the power of it was so great it seemed capable of reversing the course of rivers. Many of the leaves of the Waterflame Lotus were completely smashed apart into two pieces.

“Such power.” Ning was shocked. Why was the man even more powerful than he had predicted? In the Heavenly Treasures Mountains’ reports, it didn’t seem as though Xiamang Zishan was quite this terrifying. Ning’s Waterflame Lotus wasn’t even able to withstand a single blow from this man.

“Ji Ning, right? Come!” Xiamang Zishan laughed loudly, possessing the aura of a dominating mountain that would crush and destroy anything before it.

Ji Ning suddenly took a step forward as well. Boom! He transformed into a 54 meter tall giant, and lightning crackled around his body as well. In his hands, two Darknorth swords appeared. He charged forward, and as he did a third eye appeared in the middle of his forehead. A succession of lightning bolts slammed out towards the distant Xiamang Zishan…who actually didn’t dodge at all!

The violet lightning crackling around his body was enough to easily deflect Ning’s thunderbolt strikes. As for the divine will component to the attack? He paid even less attention to that.

“[Soldiers of the Mind].”

An invisible, formless surge of divine will shot out, forming into sharp swords, warblades, and longspears. The weapons howled as they flew towards Xiamang Zishan’s sea of consciousness, frantically chopping and stabbing at it.

Xiamang Zishan paused momentarily, but he then quickly regained control over himself. The savagery in his eyes only grew stronger. “So you have some ability after all!”

“You live up to your reputation as the number one expert in the Heavenly Treasures Mountain’s intelligence report.” The enormous Ning charged forward, twin swords in his hands and absolute confidence in his eyes.

“Hahaha…” Xiamang Zishan twirled his black metal staff, his aura of power filling the heavens. Even before his breakthrough, he had been ranked by the Heavenly Treasures Mountain as the number one figure in this crowded. Now that he had made a breakthrough, Xiamang Zishan personally believed that he had no equals left. His goal in this Conclave was to become the number one champion!

The two instantly collided against each other!

A dazzling sword-light filled the skies!

A massive staff shattered apart the Waterflame Lotus with the force of a flood!

BOOM!!!!

Ning took three steps back.

Xiamang Zishan took three steps back as well. The surrounding mountain had begun to crumble, and even the mountain peak was trembling, on the verge of collapse.

“What?!” Cangwu Jiu, in midair, was astonished. “He blocked that madman Xiamang Zishan? This Ji Ning has incredibly terrifying close combat power.”

“What a fellow. You actually managed to receive the third stance of my self-created Qiankun Staff of Force! Have a test of the fourth stance I just created! This is a stance which I created by fusing four complete Dao-Paths into my Grand Dao of Lightning!” Xiamang Zishan was clearly growing even more berserk as he charged towards Ning once more, and the staff in his hands verily surged with flows of violet lightning.

As his staff smashed down, it seemed to tear apart the world itself.

Ning stepped forward to receive the blow, the Darknorth swords in his hands transforming into dazzling streaks of sword-light as they blocked the terrifying staff.

BOOM!!!!

A heavy collision.

Xiamang Zishan didn’t even take a single step back, but Ning was actually forced backwards until his back slammed into the mountain wall behind him. The mountain peak, already trembling and unstable, suddenly began to collapse.

“How can this be?!” Ning’s face was completely ashen. In his very first clash against Xiamang Zishan, he had already executed the [Starseizing Hand]. In the first exchange, he had barely managed to fight the man to a standstill, but now that this man had used an even more powerful technique, Ning was now in a position of absolute inferiority.

“His staff techniques are more powerful than my sword techniques.” Ning understood the issue. The difference between the two in terms of the Dao was too great. In addition, the enemy had reached the twelfth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], which was more than Ning!

This opponent was of the imperial Xiamang clan. Although the divine abilities he trained in couldn’t compare to Ning’s [Starseizing Hand], they were still some of the better divine abilities of the Three Realms, and the difference wasn’t too staggeringly great.

Rumble…

The mountain peak collapsed, sending rocks flying everywhere.

Ji Ning and Xiamang Zishan stared at each other, completely ignoring the flying rubble. The flying rubble couldn’t even strike them; as soon as they came near, the divine power covering their bodies would instantly smash them apart.

“[Three Heads, Six Arms!]” Ning’s body suddenly swayed as two new heads and four new arms emerged.

“Haha, me too!” Xiamang Zishan’s body swayed as well, and he too used the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique. He was now wielding a total of three giant black metal staffs.

“Come.” Ning charged forward, displaying his Windwing Evasion, moving as unpredictably as a ghost as he moved to engage Xiamang Zishan.

Hahaha….” Xiamang Zishan continued to fight him head-on, charging straight for him.

Both of them were using [Three Heads, Six Arms]! Six swords, fighting against three black metal staffs!

Sword-light flowed through the air like streams of running water, incomparably beautiful. A flood of staff-blows filled the skies like bolts of thunder. Ning no longer fought head on; in the past, when he relied on the [Starseizing Hand], he was able to brute-force everything, but upon meeting Xiamang Zishan…he began to instead turn to using the nimbleness inherent to swords, as well as the Windwing Evasion technique. Although with each exchange of blows, Ning was knocked backwards, he wasn’t sent completely flying like earlier.

“I’m going to hit! Hit! Hit hit hit you!!!” Xiamang Zishan was incomparably berserk as his three black metal staffs wildly smashed everywhere.

Ning’s six swords were like an unbroken, everflowing stream of water, blocking and shunting the power of the enemy attacks to the side each time. Every so often, he would even be able to deliver a counterblow with his sword as well.

However, Ning could taste the blood in his mouth. “I can’t continue like this. I have to rescue senior apprentice-sister.”

“[Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!”

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Instantly, a golden sword coalesced before him, then howled through the air and shot towards Cangwu Jiu. Ning sent frantically, “Senior apprentice-sister, hurry up and leave.”

BANG! With a powerful staff blow, Xiamang Zishan smashed Ning down into the shattered stones. He roared angrily, “Punk, don’t get distracted. If you get distracted, you’ll die!”

……

The fight between Xiamang Zishan and Ji Ning had long ago attracted the attention of almost everyone, from the Pure Yang True Immortals and Celestial Immortals to the people on the plaza below the Skylight Palace.

“Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain reported these two as number one and number two.”

“Ji Ning is so formidable; he was actually able to tie down Cangwu Jiu.”

“He’s now fighting against Xiamang Zishan.”

“Xiamang Zishan is so powerful. Ji Ning has actually been able to exchange more than a hundred rounds of attacks with him?” The various delegates from the 3600 and 4 great seas all felt their hearts clench. Many of them were Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals; naturally, they could tell how formidable and fierce Xiamang Zishan’s staff technique was.

This was a staff technique that surpassed the techniques of many Loose Immortals! In addition, Xiamang Zishan’s divine body and divine abilities were clearly incredibly powerful as well. He was an absolutely dominating and irresistible force.

But Ji Ning, a young fellow who had only trained for thirty or so years, was actually able to withstand the attacks. Although he was in a position of inferiority, he was able to rely on the nimbleness of his sword arts to deflect the attacks, and tie down his opponent!

But upon seeing Ji Ning be distracted as he controlled the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to tie down Cangwu Jiu, resulting in Xiamang Zishan heavily injuring him and sending him flying into the rubble, many people instantly felt their hearts clench for Ning.

“Ji Ning is actually allowing himself to be distracted in a life-and-death battle? His opponent is Xiamang Zishan!”

“I hope he doesn’t end up losing his own life for the sake of saving his female companion.”

Many of the people in the plaza of the imperial citadel were discussing the situation amongst themselves.

Mu Northson, Little Qing, the Whitewater Hound, Immortal Fivecraze, Northmont Baiwei, and Ninelotus had begun to feel nervous and worried long ago. But there was nothing they could do; they couldn’t go inside. No one could help Ji Ning. They could just watch as the scene played out before them.

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Chapter 12 – The Sound of the Flute in the Mountain Cave

Chapter 12 – The Sound of the Flute in the Mountain Cave

Yu Wei, hidden within the Waterflame Lotus while controlling her phoenixes of fire and ice, watched as the three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning battled with full force against Xiamang Zishan, then diverted part of his attention to use his sword formation against Cangwu Jiu. This caused the eyes of Yu Wei, who was only controlling her phoenixes to protect herself, to instantly turn red.

How long had it been? It had already been six months. During the past six months, she and Ning had adventured together through the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. They had fought nearly a hundred times on every single day; sometimes, others fled, while other times, it was her and Ning who fled!

Ning was more powerful than her, and was a Fiendgod Body Refiner as well; each time they were in danger, it had always been Ning who had charged forward to block the enemy from pursuing. Although this time there were only two enemies fighting them, compared to the previous dangers they had undergone, this was the most dangerous one of them all!

“Senior apprentice-sister, hurry up and leave!” Ning’s voice echoed out in Yu Wei’s mind.

“He’s telling me to leave again. To leave again. Why am I always a burden to him?” Yu Wei ground her teeth, tears flashing through her eyes. She sent back, “Junior apprentice-brother, don’t worry about me. I’m not strong enough to continue. I’ll give up. I’m going to leave this Diagram. In the future, you’ll have to rely on yourself.”

With her slowing him down, Ji Ning would definitely find things easier. Given his power, there was no need at all for him to go fight anyone head-on if he didn’t have to.

Whoosh…

In front of Yu Wei, many talismans suddenly appeared, and they scattered out in the area around her.

She truly didn’t want to accept this.

It had only been six months.

She truly wanted to accompany Ji Ning in continuing to journey through the world of the Diagram until the year was over.

“Give up the talismans and I’ll spare your life.” Cangwu Jiu, in midair, revealed a smile. But suddenly…his smile froze.

This was because Yu Wei, who had just thrown out all her talismans…actually grabbed a handful back. Then, with a wave of her hand, she actually collected all of them once more.

“Are you looking to die?!” Cangwu Jiu, who felt as though he had just been played for a fool, was instantly enraged. He no longer waited there in midair; he immediately transformed into a streak of light and charged downwards.

Yu Wei, who had just taken back her talismans, now had a deep, dark, dangerous look in her eyes. She stared at the charging Cangwu Jiu, then gently pointed a single finger towards him. Instantly, the 72 Rahu Godneedles separated into two groups which undulated in the air.

36 of the Rahu Godneedles, summoning the power of the natural world, formed into a single, enormous black phoenix. This phoenix was completely black, and the tail-feathers of the phoenix blazed with black flames.

As for the other 36 Rahu Godneedles, they transformed into an enormous white phoenix which was completely pristine and pure, emanating an almost holy gaze. Lines of glowing white light could be seen emanating from the tail-feathers of the white phoenix as well.

“Eh?” Cangwu Jiu instantly felt his heart tremble as an inexplicable, nameless sensation of danger caused him to instantly explode forth with full power.

Whoosh! The 60 meter tall Cangwu Jiu struck out with his golden right arm, and his saber was absolutely dazzling to behold, leaving behind a beautiful, solitary, perfect arc in the skies as it chopped downwards towards that black phoenix. The black phoenix let out a bird’s call; although it was knocked backwards, it wasn’t damaged in the slightest.

“Screech!” The white phoenix began to battle against Cangwu Jiu’s black vulture…and the black vulture actually began to tremble and crack.

“How can this be? She, she…” Cangwu Jiu was incomparably shocked and angered. This woman was clearly much weaker than him! Ji Ning was one thing; he had been famous before this, and was even capable of battling with Xiamang Zishang for so long. Most likely, Cangwu Jiu himself was only on par with Ji Ning.

But how was it that this woman, who had no reputation whatsoever, was able to completely block him now?

“Not happening. Don’t believe it.” Cangwu Jiu exploded with power, also manifesting two more heads and four more arms. He now wielded three scimitars in his hands, and he transformed into a tempest as he shot forward, his scimitar-light seeming capable of splitting the skies and carrying a terrifying majesty.

But the black phoenix and the white phoenix supported each other…and were actually able to block the berserk Cangwu Jiu.

……

Previously, Mu Northson, the Whitewater Hound, Little Qing, Immortal Fivecraze, Adept Vastriver, Northmont Baiwei, and Ninelotus were all extremely nervous. Now, they were all stunned. How had Yu Wei suddenly exploded forth with such power? Her defense was completely airtight, causing even Cangwu Jiu to be unable to do anything to her at all. This was simply inconceivable!

It was Cangwu Jiu she was facing!

“Can, can it be that senior apprentice-sister had been hiding her power all along?” Northson was puzzled. “But she hasn’t been training for much longer than senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has.”

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

The Xia Emperor, watching, couldn’t help but smile. “The situation has just reversed.”

“Just like in the poem; ‘the same mountains and the same rivers, with seemingly no path forward; then the shady willow tree, the brilliant flowers, and a mountain village’1. Something pleasant and unexpected has just occurred.” Lu Dongbin sighed in surprised. “Who would’ve imagined that at this critical moment, the little girl managed to reawaken her memories from her past life? Judging from what I saw…her reawakening of memories caused her to master at least four complete Dao-Paths. Her level of insight in the Grand Dao of Taiji is quite high as well; in her past life, she must’ve been a fairly formidable Loose Immortal.”

The Grand Dao of Taiji and four complete Dao-Paths; this would make someone a supreme expert amongst Loose Immortals.

“She had already mastered two Daos before this.” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands, nursing a cup of wine, rolled his head. “When one is at a high enough level of comprehension, it does indeed become possible for the memories from a previous life to reawaken. However, it is quite hard for the memories of a past life as a Loose Immortal to completely awaken; it seems in that instant, she suffered a severe mental blow which stimulated her, causing her soul to instantly explode and activate the hidden memories.”

“Mm.”

“Right.”

The Pure Yang True Immortals present all nodded.

The Conclave of Immortal Destiny had more than a hundred thousand participants, and there were many reincarnated Immortals amongst them. It was indeed theoretically possible for them to reawaken their past memories…but it was extremely, extremely rare.

“What’s the name of this little lass?” Lu Dongbin looked towards the Xia Emperor. “I don’t know her name yet.”

“Her name is Yu Wei. Her Daoist title is Rainbowflame; because she is a reincarnated Immortal, she is referred to by others as the Rainbowflame Fairy,” the Xia Emperor said. “She, too, hails from the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery. You already know about Ji Ning, who is next to her. This time, the Black-White College has produced three attendees, and each of them truly are formidable.”

“The Sloppy Daoist is the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu, and his power is on par with Cangwu Jiu, Xiamang Zishan, and Ji Ning. This Yu Wei was originally weaker, but now that she’s regained her former memories, she’s on the same level as well,” Sovereign Hao said with a sigh.

“As I see it, the Sloppy Daoist has trained for more than a century, while Yu Wei had memories from a past life that she reawakened. But Ji Ning has only trained for thirty years, yet already has such incredible power…this is rather inconceivable.” Lu Dongbin stroked his jaw, murmuring to himself, “As I see it, Ji Ning has tremendous potential.”

The Xia Emperor laughed. “Lu Dongbin, can it be that you want to take on a disciple?”

“No, no, no…I actually have more of a liking for that little lass named Yu Wei.” Lu Dongbin’s eyes lit up. “She was actually stimulated to the point of having her former memories awaken; this little lass is quite, quite amusing.”

The others all immediately shook their heads. Reincarnated Immortals generally didn’t have much potential; if they weren’t able to overcome the tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal in their past life, then the chances they would succeed in this one would be very, very low.

“Ji Ning does have some potential.” The Xia Emperor murmured quietly to himself. He had already taken notice of twenty one youths in this Conclave, each of which had tremendous potential; Ji Ning was one of them.

Within the world of the Diagram.

BOOM!

Ji Ning was suppressed by Xiamang Zishan’s might; although he used his agility to counter the other’s raw power, he was still wounded by their colliding blows. Still, this sort of injury was minor; Ning was still paying full attention to his senior apprentice-sister, only to discover that under Cangwu Jiu’s attack, Yu Wei had suddenly exploded with power. She was actually able to fight him to a standstill! This caused Ning to feel both astonished and delighted.

“Junior apprentice-brother, come over here. Hurry up and collect your sword array,” Yu Wei sent frantically.

“Senior apprentice-sister!” Ning stopped wasting time with Xiamang Zishan. With a whoosh, he swept through the air to move towards Yu Wei, while at the same time mentally commanding the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] swords to return to him.

“Let’s go.” Yu Wei grabbed Ning by the arm.

The black phoenix and the white phoenix suddenly began to revolve around each other, forming into a black and white vortex. Yu Wei grabbed Ning, then charged into the vortex.

Swoosh!

A brilliant, dazzling streak of black-and-white light appeared in the skies. They had instantly moved more than a thousand kilometers away.

“What, what technique is this?!” Xiamang Zishan walked over, saying in astonishment, “How could they have escaped so quickly? Cangwu Jiu, even you were unable to catch them? Didn’t you say that you are the fastest person in the world at the Wanxiang level?”

“I can’t catch them.” Cangwu Jiu shook his head. “I can tell that this is evasive technique which uses a magic treasure…a technique that was specifically designed for escape, formed from the Grand Dao of Taiji. This woman has an extremely high level of comprehension in the Grand Dao of Taiji!”

……

Within a mountain cave. After setting up a simple formation, Ning plopped his rear down.

“Xiamang Zishan really was an absolute madman.” Ning felt utterly exhausted; the earlier battle had been simply too frenetic. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye he saw a pool of water located deep in the cave. He immediately ran over, then used his hands to cup some water and wash his face. “That feels great.”

Yu Wei laughed.

She was going to be able to continue to stay with her junior apprentice-brother in the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.

She walked towards the side of the pool, then sat down. With a wave of her hand, she produced a jade flute, then began to gently blow it.

The sound of the flute was melodious and leisurely, seeming to reach deep into a person’s heart.

Ning, stunned, put down the water in his hands and sat down to listen.

The sound of the flute was drifting and soft…

…it spoke of a vast grassland, a peaceful, gentle tribe, and a female child who was the member of that small tribe…

…the peace was destroyed, and disaster descended…

…the female child embarked upon the path of slaughter, becoming a terrifying female Asura…

……

One scene after another, starting from childhood in the past life, to death and reincarnation…they all entered Ning’s mind.

The sound of the flute seemed to possess an indescribable magic power, causing Ning to feel joy, rage, sorry, and pleasure. It was a flute song that bored straight through to the heart. Ning was completely drawn into it. He looked at the black-robed woman playing the flute. This memory was deeply engraved into Ning’s heart. Even after a tremendous period of time passed, he would still be unable to forget it.

Drip.

A single tear fell down onto the ground, staining the dirt.

Ning was startled awakened from the reverie the flute song had brought him into. Only now did he realize that Yu Wei had two tearstains on her face. He couldn’t help but call out, “Senior apprentice-sister!” Yu Wei trembled…then gently put down her flute.

“Senior apprentice-sister, you…” Ning was a bit worried.

“I’m fine.” Yu Wei shook her head, looking at Ning. She even smiled. “I just thought of some things in my past life. Although everything has already happened…now that the memories have truly returned, they really do make it hard to control one’s emotions. Still, those are all in the past now; let the past be in the past. I’ve already reincarnated into a different world. In truth…I would rather not know about what happened in my past life.”

“Can you talk to me about it?” Ning asked.

“I don’t want to.” Yu Wei shook her head.

“Then…did you have a Dao-companion in your past life?” Ning suddenly asked.

Yu Wei was startled. She gave Ning a close look, as though wanting to see something in Ning’s expression. She then gently shook her head. “I did not!”

1. In the original Chinese, only a very short fragment of the poem was included, which has become an idiom. The full poem, which comes from 1166, involves a weary traveler who travelled through countless mountains that seemed identical, but then finally, as he was expecting yet another identical mountain, he saw a beautiful village with a willow tree and brilliant flowers beneath it.

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Chapter 13 – Immortals and Gods

Chapter 13 – Immortals and Gods

“Oh.” Ning said hurriedly, “I…used up a lot of divine power in the previous battle. I need to take a rest.”

As he spoke, Ning hurriedly walked deeper into the cave. Waving his arm, he chopped out a neat, flat region onto the ground and then lay down. Using his arms as a pillow, he immediately closed his eyes and began to snore.

He seemed calm, but in his heart Ning felt a bit confused.

“Why the hell did I ask senior apprentice-sister if she had a Dao-companion or not?” Ning’s mind was restless. He was a smart person, and an Immortal cultivator who had understood his own heart long ago. He quickly understood the issue. “Can it be that I’m…”

“Forget it…how can Dao-companions be so casually joined?”

“Am I mentally ready?”

“Not yet! I’m not yet ready…”

Ning turned in his sleep, suppressing everything in his heart.

He thought back to the experiences he had in the past half year. He thought back to the first time he had met her, and all the times he had met her up till today. Ning had to admit…from the very beginning, he had felt very friendly towards her, because she was unlike Ninelotus, who had many beliefs that were different from Ning’s. He and Ninelotus were from different worlds. As for Yu Wei…many of her beliefs were the same as his, and her personality was similar as well!

Her birth…

Her experiences…

Her talent…

He and Yu Wei were very similar. She was even more intelligent than him! The past half year he had spent with her was very relaxed and comfortable. She had silently, tracelessly slipped deep into his heart with her warmth. Just now in particular, when she had played the flute, the song of the flute had thoroughly penetrated his heart. Ning could even feel the joy, the pain, and the sadness she felt in her heart…

This feeling, as though he had touched her soul, made Ning feel a certain softness towards her. He even wanted to go over and hug her. This was why his subconscious had moved him to ask her about Dao-companions.

“Dao-companions…this sort of promise cannot be casually made.” Ning sighed quietly to himself in his heart.

…..

Yu Wei watched Ning lie there deep in the cave. She rose, then walked to the entrance of the cave, where she sat down. She stared at the vast, seemingly endless mountain forest. The cave was protected by a bewildering formation, and so the outside world couldn’t see inside it.

Moonlight shone down into the cave.

Yu Wei picked up her flute, holding it as she sat there quietly.

“I can feel junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s heart.”

“Previously, I held back, wanting to let it all pass.”

“But on the sixth day I was in the Diagram, I was in dire straits…despite how vast the Diagram was, junior apprentice-brother ran into me. Can it be that fate is telling me that I should be together with him?”

“But…can I even have a Dao-companion? Can I dare hope for a Dao-companion?”

Yu Wei stared at the moon hanging high in the skies. She quietly asked…“Heavens above…what should I do?”

Yu Wei understood that she had reached a fork in the path.

If she chose to be with Ning, then the two might have a chance. But if she didn’t want to be with him, then after leaving the Diagram, she would have to separate from him and make a clean break.

……

One month after another passed. The number of Wanxiang Adepts within the Diagram dropped continuously. Now, virtually all the remaining competitors within the Diagram were monsters capable of exploding forth with power that rivaled ordinary Loose Immortals.

Within the imperial citadel’s plaza.

“Haha, only a thousand remain within the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, but the Black-White College has taken up three of those slots!” Immortal Fivecraze was utterly delighted. There was no way any of the other powers of Stillwater Commandery, including the Northmont clan of Stillwater, could compare to the Black-White College in this regard. The three experts the Black-White College had sent out this time were simply too dazzling.

“Even the Marquis of Stillwater came over to chat with me for quite a long period of time. Even other marquises came over, as well as leaders of supreme clans and sects.” Immortal Fivecraze then frowned. “But it’s weird…Ji Ning is clearly very powerful as well, but why is it that those who came to chat with me discussed little Sloppy even more?”

He could sense the goodwill these major clans and sects were displaying towards the Black-White College was primarily aimed towards befriending the Sloppy Daoist. It seemed as though Ji Ning and Yu Wei were far from being comparable with the Sloppy daoist.

“Weird, weird. Ji Ning is very formidable as well, and he’s trained for an even shorter period of time.” Immortal Fivecraze was puzzled.

……

“How bizarre.” Lu Dongbin, who had spent a period of time napping in the main hall of the Skylight Palace, stared at the Diagram. “I took a three month nap…why is that this little girl named Yu Wei still hasn’t become Dao-companions with Ji Ning yet?”

“Dao-companions represent a promise that cannot be so easily uttered!” The Pure Yang True Immortal who was dressed in black robes decorated with a blood-colored taiji diagram shook his head.

“You can’t dawdle when it comes to matters of love!” Lu Dongbin shook his head. “Based on my experiences roaming the Three Realms and countless minor worlds, matters of love must be immediately seized and settled down upon at the critical moments in time! If you hesitate, the more you dawdle, the more difficult it will become to form Dao-companions. I am willing to bet on it! If this Yu Wei and Ji Ning are to become Dao-companions, they’ll become Dao-companions within the Diagram. If they don’t, then after they leave it…without these shared daily life-and-death experiences, the chances will drop even more!”

“Do any of you dare to bet against me?” Lu Dongbin stared at them.

“Lu Dongbin, you are a Sage of Love. You spout so much wisdom about love…why don’t you have a Dao-companion of your own?” The True Immortal with the blood-colored taiji diagram robes spoke out.

“Those in the game are blinded by it. Those who are watching the game have clear eyes.” Lu Dongbin gave a calm response, then stopped talking.

…….

Within a quiet mountain. A bewildering formation had been set down. Ning was seated in the lotus position atop a grassy area.

Streams of fire and water swirled around the surrounding area. Surges of power from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star were being absorbed into Ning’s body. Although they were within the world of the Diagram, he was still able to train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

Rumble…

A series of rumbling sounds could be heard from within Ning’s body. His bones were clattering together as his muscles and skin were rapidly transforming.

At his current level, Ning’s physical body was already extremely tough; he wasn’t too far off from the likes of the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang. A casual breath from him could generate a hurricane that would sweep out for a thousand kilometers.

Slowly…everything calmed down. Ning opened his eyes, revealing a smile.

“Junior apprentice-brother?” Yu Wei, who had been standing guard for him, looked eagerly at Ning.

“Mm. I’ve already broken through.” Ning let out a laugh. “It took me quite a few years, but I’ve finally managed to reach the twelfth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. And it really is different; the twelfth level of this technique…it’s comparable to ordinary early Primal stage Fiendgod Body Refiners. My divine body and my soul have completely joined…and I can feel that my soul is rapidly strengthening.”

Fiendgod Body Refiners and Ki Refiners…these were two different paths. Upon reaching the Primal level, Fiendgods could directly split off a clone! Upon reaching the Void level, they could pluck out a hair and transform it into a clone!

Now that Ning had trained to the twelfth stage, his body was actually quite similar to the Primal Turtle-Snake in that it was capable of nourishing the soul. In addition, he was able to join his soul to his body! His soul was able to enter every single part of his body. In other words…Ning’s current body was no longer made of mere flesh. His flesh and blood contained his soul within it as well! This was why he was now capable of creating mobile ‘clones’.

“Your soul is rapidly gaining in strength?” Yu Wei hurriedly said, “I heard that the souls of Fiendgods are generally even more powerful than that of ordinary Primal Daoists.”

“It’s true.” Ning nodded. “The soul-nourishment provided by my divine body is even more astonishing than that provided by the Primal Turtle-Snake…based on what I sensed when I created my Primaltwin, my Fiendgod body is strengthening my soul at least five or six times faster than the Primal Turtle-Snake did.”

“No wonder Fiendgod Body Refiners are so powerful. Everyone says that at higher levels, Fiendgod Body Refiners are even more powerful, especially after overcoming the Celestial Tribulation and becoming Empyrean Gods. Empyrean Gods are comparable to Pure Yang True Immortals in power,” Yu Wei sighed.

“Senior apprentice-sister, you know about Empyrean Gods and Pure Yang True Immortals?” Ning was startled.

“Don’t forget that I’m a reincarnated Immortal.” Yu Wei nodded. “Based on what I know…for Immortal cultivators, the stages are Zifu Disciples, Wanxiang Adepts, Primal Daoists, Void-level Earth Immortals…and, for those who pass the Celestial Tribulation, the stages are Celestial Immortals and True Immortals! True Immortals are also known as Pure Yang True Immortals. After them are Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, also known as Daofathers of the Great Firmament! Alternately, they can just be addressed as Daofather! Daofathers are the absolute most supreme figures of the Three Realms. They are unquestioned hegemons who are even more exalted in status than the Celestial Emperor!”

Ning’s eyes lit up. He didn’t know any of these things. He had only trained for thirty years. Compared to someone who had memories from a past life, he did indeed know very little regarding the Three Realms.

“Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament, also known as Daofathers of the Great Firmament or as Daofathers?” Ning murmured to himself.

“Mastery of a Dao-Path is a prerequisite for becoming a Celestial Immortal. Mastery of a Grand Dao is a prerequisite for becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal. And mastery of a Heavenly Dao is the prerequisite for becoming a Daofather of the Great Firmament!” Yu Wei said.

Ning’s heart shook. Mastery of a Heavenly Dao?

When the Black-White College’s Headmaster Daoist Jadesea had discussed these things with him, he hadn’t explained in such detail. It seemed as though Yu Wei was truly extraordinary in her past life. At least, she knew much more than Daoist Jadesea!

“After Pangu established the heavens and the earth, there were ten Heavenly Daos! This is common knowledge for Celestial Immortals. It was a Celestial Immortal who told me this,” Yu Wei said.

“Ten Heavenly Daos?” Ning immediately asked, “What are the ten?”

“They are the Heavenly Dao of Metal, the Heavenly Dao of Wood, the Heavenly Dao of Water, the Heavenly Dao of Fire, the Heavenly Dao of Earth, the Heavenly Dao of Life, the Heavenly Dao of Destruction, the Heavenly Dao of Yin, the Heavenly Dao of Yang, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos,” Yu Wei said.

Ning immediately memorized this all.

Metal, wood, water, fire, earth, Yin, Yang, life, destruction, and primordial chaos!

“All things in the world were born from primordial chaos. They are then split into Yin and Yang. The Three Realms…its foundation comes from the Five Elements,” Yu Wei said. “For example, your Dao of Rainwater actually belongs to the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop. As for the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, it belongs to the Heavenly Dao of Water.”

Ning nodded.

Dao. Grand Dao. Heavenly Dao.

The Five Elements served as the foundation for the functioning of the Three Realms, and were all Heavenly Daos. This was as he had expected.

“Mastery of a complete Grand Dao is already incredibly difficult,” Yu Wei said. “As for the legendary Heavenly Daos…only those who master them can have the exalted title of ‘Daofather’. After all, the Heavenly Daos are the source of all things. Thus, their masters can be titled Daofathers!”

Ning now understood.

Daoist Threelives had been born with mastery of a Grand Dao. He had later mastered many Grand Daos, but never a Heavenly Dao.

“Daofathers of the Great Firmament are seated above all. They possess inconceivable power, and are the hegemons of the Three Realms,” Yu Wei said. “Pure Yang True Immortals are the experts of the Three Realms! Daofathers won’t casually engage in combat, and so the most glorious, eye-catching figures of the Three Realms are actually the True Immortals. As for Celestial Immortals, they are also free-willed, unconstrained figures with immortal life. They can dominate a region for themselves; after all, Pure Yang True Immortals are fairly rare in the Three Worlds, and so Celestial Immortals have very high statuses as well.”

Ning nodded. Only today, did he understand…some of the higher levels of the Immortal path.

“What about the path of Fiendgods?” Ning immediately asked.

“After Fiendgods pass the Heavenly Tribulation, they become Empyrean Gods! Empyrean Gods are comparable to Pure Yang True Immortals in power. Every single one of them is an expert of the Three Realms,” Yu Wei said. “Above Empyrean Gods are True Gods! True Gods are generally actual Fiendgods who have created their own divine ability. They war against the heavens and against the earth with terrifying power, and are absolutely comparable to Golden Immortal Daofathers of the Great Firmament!”

“True Gods are the highest level of Fiendgods possible. According to legends…the Fiendgods born in the primordial chaos before the heavens were established were at all least Empyrean Gods! The strongest amongst them were True Gods of Primordial Chaos! They were born into the very highest realms of power of the Three Realms. Even without training, they were incomparably frightening figures.”

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Chapter 14 – The Final Month

Chapter 14 – The Final Month

Yu Wei said with envy, “They are the true favored children of the heavens. Ki Refiners revere Golden Immortal Daofathers of the Great Firmament, whereas Fiendgod Refiners revere True Gods of Primordial Chaos. Daofathers or True Gods; ever since Pangu established the heavens, they have been the most supreme of existences in the Three Realms. They are the ones who truly determine the destiny of the Three Realms. Even the Celestial Emperor is chosen by these major powers.”

Ning suddenly felt many thoughts flood his mind.

Daoist Threelives was born in primordial chaos and had mastered a Grand Dao. Clearly, Daoist Threelives was a True God of Primordial Chaos!

However, according to what the giant yellow bear had said, Daoist Threelives had once suffered a catastrophic defeat, losing an arm in it. The proud Daoist Threelives elected not to regrow his arm, continuing to only have one arm. Thanks to his constant research and meditation, he had developed one of the ten most terrifying divine abilities of the Three Realms…the [Starseizing Hand]!

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear’s voice suddenly echoed in Ning’s mind.

“Senior,” Ning immediately said.

“Amongst Empyrean Gods, there are those with powerful divine abilities and those with weak ones. Amongst True Gods, there are those with formidable divine abilities and ordinary ones. How can they all possibly be on par?” The giant yellow bear clearly felt displeased on behalf of his master. “In addition…if Master was still alive, I imagine that he would have long ago mastered a Heavenly Dao. Only…despite the passage of ages, Master has never come to seek me out…”

The giant yellow bear’s voice suddenly faded away. He didn’t know if Daoist Threelives was still alive or not either.

…….

After this conversation with Yu Wei, Ning’s vision had been greatly broadened.

At the most exalted, venerable positions were the Daofathers of the Great Firmament and the True Gods of Primordial Chaos. The Three Realms were their chessboard, and they controlled everything in it.

The Celestial Emperor and the Yama-Kings of Hell were jointly decided upon and appointed by them.

“However…I wonder what Daoist Threelives encountered in the past, which caused even him to feel that he had no confidence in being able to survive,” Ning pondered to himself. When Daoist Threelives had left behind the underwater estate, he had gone to deal with a so-called ‘tremendous calamity’. Afterwards, all word of him had been lost, and he had never returned to the underwater estate.

Daoist Threelives was a major power. Something that could cause even him to feel uncertain regarding his chances of survival…what sort of calamity was that?!

“The Three Realms…”

“I imagine that senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei doesn’t know the true face of the Three Realms either.” Ning continued to feel as though a layer of gauze was preventing him from understanding the truth of things. For example, in the Netherworld Kingdom, he had encountered a terrifyingly strong power which had assaulted the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Fortunately, Ning had leapt into the Six Paths and been reincarnated; otherwise, he would’ve died permanently on the spot.

“Who attacked the Six Paths of Reincarnation?” The more Ning’s horizons were broadened, the more he was amazed…because the Six Paths of Reincarnation were the most important, central region for the functioning of the Three Realms. Most likely, even major powers wouldn’t dare to act rashly there. Otherwise, the other major powers would be enraged and join forces to deal with them.

“I’m nothing but an ant; this matter isn’t for me to worry about. If the heavens fall, the tall fellows will hold it up.” Ning quickly discarded these thoughts for now.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. It was already the twelfth month within the trial of the Diagram. This was the final month!

A dirty-looking maiden and a violet-robed youth were walking forward, shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Where the hell did this Adept Ninedeaths come from?” The violet-robed youth glanced sideways at the maiden, secretly muttering to himself. He, Xiamang Qi, was one of the most outstanding young members of the imperial Xiamang clan, second only to Xiamang Zishan! In addition, he had never been convinced of his inferiority; he always wanted to be able to overcome Zishan with his power.

During this Conclave, Xiamang Qi had revealed his magnificence as well. His strength was formidable…but upon encounter this girl, this so-called ‘Adept Ninedeaths’, he had felt deflated.

“This girl is too powerful. No matter how I hit her, I couldn’t injure her. Her body is just like a magic treasure.” The violet-robed youth was very resigned. “Adept Ninedeaths? More like Adept Nodeath!”

The dirty maiden had said to him back then, “I have enough talismans already. The more time passes in the Diagram, the more powerful the survivors are. Many of them have already formed into small teams. Kid, you seem pretty powerful; shall we join into a team of our own? That will make the final two months easier.”

“If we encounter any enemies and kill them, can I have the talismans?” Xiamang Qi listed his requirement.

“Fine.” The dirty maiden nodded, and so Xiamang Qi and Adept Ninedeaths joined forces.

“Eh?” The two suddenly came to a halt. They stared into the distance, where four figures had appeared, some male and some female.

There was a wild, black-haired youth who was very skinny, a silver-haired maiden, a woman who was so beautiful she looked like a fairy from the legendary Moon Palace, and a bald, black-skinned youth. The black-skinned youth was actually barefoot, and he wielded a gnarled black staff in his hands.

“Kindwater Qi? Second brother, why is it that you are travelling alongside Adept Danzhu?” Xiamang Qi laughed.

“Big brother?!” The skinny, black-haired youth called out in surprise.

These two were known as the ‘Two Qis’ of the imperial capital. This was because both of them had strange, rather wicked personalities. However, the two just so happened to take a liking to each other, and they had become sworn brothers. Xiamang Qi was the elder brother, while Kindwater Qi was the younger brother. 1

“The more time passes, the more dangerous it gets; I no longer dare to travel alone.” Kindwater Qi said with resignation, “I feel confident in my power, but even Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu have formed an alliance long ago. We have to do the same! The four of us even fought against those two. Fortunately, thanks to Blackstone’s presence, the two were frightened into immediately fleeing.”

“Oh?” Xiamang Qi was surprised, and the dirty maiden by his side, Adept Ninedeaths, revealed a look of surprise as well.

Someone had caused Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu to flee?

“Introduce us,” Xiamang Qi said with a laugh.

“You already know Adept Danzhu of the East Seas.” The black-haired Kindwater Qi pointed at the beautiful maiden who looked like a fairy from the Moon Palace. Adept Danzhu smiled and nodded at them.

Kindwater Qi then pointed at the silver-haired maiden. “This is Adept Snowfly; her magic arts are extremely powerful.”

He then pointed at the barefoot, black-skinned youth with a gnarled black staff. “This is Adept Blackstone. Adept Blackstone is exceptionally skilled in the Fuxi Formation Staffs, and a true grandmaster of the art of formations…with him present, we can flee when we wish and attack when we wish. Adept Blackstone is also extremely powerful in close combat. With a single blow, he was able to block an attack from Xiamang Zishan…as I see it, Adept Blackstone absolutely has a chance to become number one in this Conclave.”

Xiamang Qi and Adept Nindeaths both looked towards the bald, staff-wielding, black-skinned youth.

It was quite curious. When they faced this bald, black-skinned youth, they felt as though they were facing the vast heavens themselves…

“A grandmaster of formations? Capable of withstanding Xiamang Zishan in close combat?” Xiamang Qi was secretly shocked.

“Hm…” The dirty maiden looked towards the bald, black-skinned youth with curiosity as well. He, in turn, was looking back at her. The two of them both had an indescribable feeling…that the other was quite terrifying!

“How about it? Shall we travel together?” Xiamang Qi asked.

Kindwater Qi looked towards the black-skinned youth.

The black-skinned youth gave the dirty maiden a glance, then revealed an extremely thin smile. “Fine.”

“Fine.” The dirty maiden spoke out as well.

And so…

The six of them joined into a squad.

In this squad, Adepts Blackstone, Ninedeaths, and Danzhu had already acquired more than 1400 talismans. As for the other three, Xiamang Qi, Kindwater Qi, and Adept Snowfly still needed a bit more.

……

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were wandering the mountains as well. They moved as fast as the wind, instantly moving across the peaks. As they walked, they released their divine sense to scan up to a thousand kilometers away.

Although it was the twelfth month already, nothing had changed between the two. Ji Ning and Yu Wei acted like a pair of normal fellow disciples.

“Senior apprentice-sister, how many talismans do you have? How many more do you need?” Ning asked.

“Do you have enough?” Yu Wei asked.

“I have 1200 or so,” Ning said. “Actually, since everyone is going to have different amounts of talismans, I should have a 99% chance of ranking in the top eighty.”

“Better to be safe. Only if you have 1370 will you be absolutely certain to be qualified of passing the trial,” Yu Wei said. “I have slightly fewer talismans than you; I have nearly eight hundred.”

Ning nodded. The two had continued to split talismans based on who had killed the foe. Although Ning had been trying to hold back for her sake, ever since he had reached the twelfth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], his power had simply grown too great. Upon encountering some powerful foes, Ning had to explode forth with full power. Naturally, he would thus be the one to kill them, and so the talismans would go to him.

“In the final month, I imagine that all of the remaining survivors have hundreds of talismans on them. As long as we just kill two or three, we’ll have enough,” Ning said.

“But killing those final two or three will be very hard.” Yu Wei spoke with great solemnity as well.

There were now fewer and fewer people present. It was quite hard to run into someone, and in each battle, if the enemy felt that the situation was bad, they would immediately flee! To kill them or force them to give up their talismans…it was far too difficult!

“We still have plenty of time. We have more than half a month,” Ning said.

The two continued to advance, and in the blink of an eye, they had passed more than a thousand kilometers. Their divine sense continued to sweep out to a thousand kilometers as well.

“Eh?” Ning and Yu Wei suddenly raised their heads, staring towards the sky. A ship was charging downwards at high speed towards them.

“That ship is covered with restrictive spells, making it unable to be scanned by divine sense. They come with ill intentions. Be careful.” Yu Wei mentally messaged Ning, but the two were bold due to their power; they wouldn’t easily retreat or flee.

Swoosh!

A thousand kilometers was passed in an instant. The ship vanished, and six figures appeared on the grassy ground.

Ning and Yu Wei’s pupils contracted.

“Xiamang Qi, a genius of the imperial Xiamang clan. Kindwater Qi, a genius of the Kindwater clan. And Adept Danzhu!” Ning and Yu Wei’s glances fell upon the figure of the beautiful Adept Danzhu, who looked like a fairy maiden from the Moon Palace. Of the six before them, the most famous one was Adept Danzhu.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

“For the Ji Ning – Yu Wei pair, their earlier encounter with Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu was a tribulation.” Lu Dongbin said with a sigh, “That time, they only escaped because Yu Wei awakened her former memories. This time…these six are even more powerful. That dirty maiden has mastered five complete Daos! That bald, bare-foot, black-skinned youth is an expert in formations. Both of these two are capable of fighting to be the number one competitor in this Conclave. Upon encounter this six-person squad…Ji Ning’s duo is in huge trouble.”

“Within the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, how many have died in the past year? Each battle was a life-and-death trial for them. For your precious little pair of Dao-companions…this is nothing more than a slightly tougher trial,” Truelord Chiji said calmly. 2

“This battle is going to be interesting,” the Xia Emperor laughed.

There were roughly twenty or so that had a chance at the top spot in this Conclave.

Adept Ninedeaths, Adept Blackstone, and Ji Ning, after his recent breakthrough…they all had a chance at becoming number one in this Conclave.

1. Qi can mean bizarre/strange/wondrous.

2. Chiji literally means crimson taiji; this is most likely the person with the blood-taiji robes mentioned earlier.

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Chapter 15 – Dire Circumstances

Chapter 15 – Dire Circumstances

Although Ji Ning and Yu Wei were wary, they weren’t afraid. As they saw it, the only one of the six who they needed to be careful of was Adept Danzhu. Ning had broken through to the twelfth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and he was completely confident in being able to defeat Adept Danzhu. What he didn’t realize was that although Adept Danzhu was formidable, in this six-person squad, Adept Blackstone and Adept Ninedeaths were even more frightening.

Whoosh! The bald, barefoot, black-skinned youth suddenly smirked, and instantly, streaks of light shot out everywhere like bolts of lightning. They were ancient, plain-looking Fuxi Staffs.

“Fuxi Staffs! A formation!” Ning was startled. There were very few supreme geniuses who also trained in formations.

Rumble…

Streaks of light intersected and runes formed and flowed. The formation appeared, locking down the nearby region of space for ten kilometers, completely capturing Ning and Yu Wei within it.

“Done.” The black-skinned youth said calmly, “I’ve already sealed this area off. There’s no place these two can run to. Whether you decide to kill them or release them is up to you.” He actually sat down in the lotus position towards the edges of the sealing barrier, planting his gnarled staff next to him. He just sat there, clearly not wanting to intervene.

He already had enough talismans; for him to set up this grand sealing formation against the enemies was enough of a show of kindness for his teammates. Have him do battle as well? He couldn’t be bothered to…and in his bones, he wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed battle.

“Ji Ning.” Xiamang Qi said coldly, “Obediently hand over all of your talismans, and the two of you can live. Otherwise…death is your only escape!”

“Hand over your talismans!” Kindwater Qi barked as well.

“Hand them over.” The silver-haired maiden, Adept Snowfly, barked at them as well.

These three didn’t have enough talismans yet. Naturally, they felt the most urgent.

Adept Danzhu smiled. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, to tell you the truth, there are people in this squad who are more powerful than me. I urge you to cease any attempts at struggling and hand over the talismans. That way, you will stay alive. You’ve only trained for a very short period of time; your potential is limitless. There’s no need for you to push yourself too far in this Conclave.”

Ning stood there in the distance. “Come and take them, if you can.” He replied coldly, “You want me to just give them up to you? Keep dreaming.”

Alongside Ning’s voice, an enormous Waterflame Lotus suddenly appeared and bloomed. The layers of fiery lotus petals and watery lotus petals were incomparably beautiful as they continuously swiveled. Ning and Yu Wei were in the center, protected by the enormous Waterflame Lotus.

“Don’t waste words with them,” the silver-haired maiden said coldly. “Attack.” As she spoke, a horsetail whisk suddenly appeared in her hand. She flicked it outwards, and thousands of white strands flew towards the air, then formed into a bizarre beast’s head. This snowy white beast’s head appeared incomparably savage. Its mouth was filled with rows on rows of jagged teeth that gnashed against each other.

The snowy white beast head opened its mouth, then bit downwards towards Ning and Yu Wei.

The Waterflame Lotus, however, continued to protect the two of them.

Crunch. The snowy white head bit down against the Waterflame Lotus, and its countless teeth ground against each other, easily biting through a layer of leaves.

“Oh?” Ning was secretly startled. Still, as he had expected, no one who was able to survive to this stage would be easy to handle.

“Kill.” Kindwater Qi’s hands formed together into a hand-seal. Instantly, layers of black light flew out from his body, forming giant serpents that appeared in midair. A total of six giant black serpents appeared, wildly assaulting Ning and Yu Wei and also breaking through a layer of leaves.

“Too stubborn.” Adept Danzhu let out a soft sigh, but then her eyes suddenly lit up. An invisible divine will attack instantly swept towards Ning and Yu Wei.

Yu Wei’s face turned white. As for Ning, he felt as though his soul was being stabbed at by a needle-like divine will. However, his soul and his divine body had now completely fused together, and it was far more durable against this sort of attack. He was able to completely withstand it.

“Ninedeaths, kill them!” Xiamang Qi howled as he transformed into a 54-meter tall giant. His entire body glowed with a golden light, and he radiated an aura that filled the heavens. He was wielding a giant warblade in his hands, and he trampled past the already-shattered lotus leaves as he charged towards Ning and Yu Wei.

“Ji Ning? Seems pretty powerful.” The dirty-looking maiden chortled. With a flicker, she transformed to a size of sixty meters, but her body didn’t give off a hint of any aura at all. She seemed quite ordinary, just enormous, and she charged forward with completely empty hands.

The five of them had instantly attacked in unison.

“F*ck off!”

Ning suddenly exploded with power, becoming a 54-meter tall giant with an aura that similarly filled the heavens. Letting out an enraged roar, his divine will formed into countless invisible swords, warblades, and longspears that immediately struck towards Adept Danzhu, Adept Snowfly, Adept Ninedeaths, Kindwater Qi, and Xiamang Qi.

When a Ki cultivator broke through to the Primal Daoist level, it was his soul that benefited the most. Similarly, once a Fiendgod Body Refiner broke through to the Primal level, his soul would be tremendously benefited as well. Ning had reached the twelfth stage, and his soul had been nourished by his divine body, resulting it in explosively increasing in strength. In fact, it was already almost comparable to his Primaltwin’s soul.

In this clash, the faces of all five immediately changed.

“BREAK!” Ning, his aura filling the heavens, wielded two enormous Immortal swords in his hands as he charged forward, sending the swords howling forth as his sword-light chopped directly against that enormous snowy white beast’s head.

BOOM!

The snowy white beast’s head was immediately chopped apart and collapsed, transforming back into countless white strands that flew black to the silver-haired maiden with the flywhisk. She had a look of shock on her face.

“Go!” After breaking through the snowy white hound with one sword chop, Ning sent his dominating sword-light forward once more, charging straight against the six giant black snakes, knocking all of them flying backwards.

“Kill!” With the next step, Ning arrived in front of Xiamang Qi, and his sword-light chopped directly towards him.

“Block!” Xiamang Qi was frightened by Ning’s ferocious, savage aura. He didn’t dare to be overconfident, and he focused on defense. CLANG! With a loud sound, Xiamang Qi’s enormous, 54-meter tall giant body was knocked backwards like a meteor, slamming directly against the walls of the distant sealing barrier.

“He’s this powerful?!” Xiamang Qi, Kindwater Qi, and Adept Snowfly were both awestruck. Against the three of them, Ning had absolutely suppressed and crushed them; if they were fighting one-on-one, he probably would’ve taken their lives in just two or three exchanges of blows.

Swoosh. Right at this moment, the dirty-looking youth charged straight forward towards Ning. She struck out with her palm, and it hacked downwards like a knife towards Ning. This palm-blow…it was simply perfectly exquisite. Ning could sense the unfathomable profoundness of it, a profoundness which absolutely surpassed his own sword technique.

Ning raised his own sword as well to meet the palm.

BANG!

The sword-light and the palm collided against each other; the dirty-looking maiden was knocked backwards and forced to take three steps back, while Ning only took a single step back.

“What?!” Ning was shocked. During the final few months in the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, he had always immediately used the [Starseizing Hand] when he attacked; he didn’t dare to hold anything back at this point. After all, none of the survivors were easy to deal with. For example, against Xiamang Qi, even though he had immediately used the [Starseizing Hand], he still hadn’t been able to kill him with a single blow. Clearly, all of the survivors were extremely powerful! But this maiden actually dared to block his sharp sword with her hands, and did so successfully?! This was insane!

“The rest of you, go handle that woman. Leave this Ji Ning to me.” The dirty-looking maiden was clearly quite excited.

Ning’s body blurred momentarily, and he instantly transformed into a three heads and six arms form. With six swords in his hands, he charged straight towards the dirty-looking maiden. “If you don’t want to die, then hurry up and leave!”

“It’s so rare for me to encounter a good opponent.” Instead of leaving, the dirty-looking maiden went to welcome his attacks.

“Kill, kill, kill!” Ning showed no mercy at all. After using [Three Heads, Six Arms], his sword-light rained down like a curtain of lightning. This dirty-looking maiden, however, relied on her pair of palms. They danced in front of her and were actually able to block the majority of the sword-light. Although the remaining sword-light blows were able to pierce onto her body…they were only able to leave some minor wounds on her.

“How can her body be as tough as magic treasures?! My full-force blows can cause even Earth-ranked magic treasures to be torn asunder…but are only able to leave small wounds on her skin?” Ning was completely awestruck. “I can’t waste time with her.”

With a flash, Ning moved to charge towards Adept Snowfly and Kindwater Qi.

“You are mine!” The dirty-looking maiden’s body flashed as well. She, too, transformed with the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique. She moved alongside Ning as though she were flying water, and her six palms continuously smashed and hacked towards Ning.

“What the hell?!” Ning was frantic. The maiden in front of him was completely insistent on continuing to fight against him. Although Ning’s swordplay was ferocious, against a person whose entire body was comparable to an unbreakable magic treasure, there was nothing he could do.

……

Adept Snowfly, Kindwater Qi, Xiamang Qi, and Adept Danzhu, seeing the situation, all began to focus against Yu Wei.

“Black and white.”

“Taiji.”

Yu Wei stood there, the black phoenix and the white phoenix twirling around her. She was like an unbreakable steel wall, simultaneously dealing with the attacks of all four. The giant snowy white beast head, the six giant black serpents, and an enormous semi-translucent grand seal in the skies created by Adept Danzhu through a secret art…they came smashing down towards her two phoenixes repeatedly.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei sent a frantic mental call.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning understood that she wasn’t going to be able to hold much longer. Although her power had increased tremendously, and although she was an expert at defense…she still wasn’t going to be able to defend against four at once.

The three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning roared furiously, “Get the f*ck away!”

“You aren’t strong enough to make me.” The dirty-looking maiden, also with three heads and six arms, had completely tied him down.

Ning hadn’t even felt this stifled when fighting against Xiamang Zishan. Not only did this maiden have a body like a magic treasure, she also had an extremely, extremely high level of comprehension regarding the Dao. Each of her techniques were unfathomably miraculous, and she was able to completely tie him down, giving him no chance to run away from her at all.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind, and as it did, Ning saw what was happening from afar.

Boom!

The white phoenix finally collapsed, and the 54-meter tall Xiamang Qi charged towardsYu Wei, warblade at the ready.

“Go.” Ning frantically summoned the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Instantly, more than seven hundred swords appeared, floating in midair and condensing their power to form a streak of sword-light that shot out towards Xiamang Qi. Although Ning’s close combat power had increased tremendously, the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] hadn’t improve that much.

Clang! Xiamang Qi was able to block the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] with one saber blow. Although his body trembled from the collision, he continued to charged towards Yu Wei.

A single black phoenix was left, and it was struggling to defend against the grand seal, the giant black snake, and the snowy white beast head.

Xiamang Qi was charging into close combat…Yu Wei hurriedly moved to retreat, but given that they were trapped within this grand sealing formation and being attacked from all sides, where could she retreat to?!

Clang! After Xiamang Qi’s warblade blocked the attack from the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], his right arm suddenly began to emanate hundreds of bizarre colors and even a strange black ki that caused one’s heart to tremble as he grabbed towards Yu Wei.

“The [Myriad Hibernating Venoms]!” Yu Wei’s face immediately changed.

BOOM!

Although she struggled to block, how could she compare in close combat to a Fiendgod Refiner like Xiamang Qi? Instantly, his right arm, still emanating that terrifying black aura, pierced directly through her flank, and the terrifying venoms instantly invaded her entire body, causing her face to instantly turn a deathly dark gray color.

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Chapter 16 – The Seventh Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

Chapter 16 – The Seventh Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

Yu Wei understood that she was at a true life-and-death juncture. Her body suddenly flashed with a bloody light, forming into a blood-colored taiji symbol.

Swish!

Yu Wei transformed into a streak of blood light, retreating more than three hundred meters before collapsing to the ground. She spat out a mouthful of black-colored blood, a savage, jagged wound in her flank that was filled with black blood.

Ji Ning watched this all happen. His senior apprentice-sister had been stabbed through the flank by Xiamang Qi’s palm. She had spat out blood, then collapsed to the ground. This caused Ning’s eyes to instantly turn red.

A surge of uncontrollable rage and terror instantly filled his entire soul.

“AAAAHHHHH!!!!” Ning let out a massive howl, and a limitless bloodlust instantly filled every part of his spirit.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Kill them all!

Kill all who oppose him!

“Angry, eh? Won’t do you any good.” The dirty-looking maiden continued to tie down Ning, seeming quite entertained.

“CHOP!” Ning let out an enraged howl. This howl emerged from the deepest parts of his soul, from the innermost depths of his spirit.

The three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning simultaneously struck out with all six swords, and six enormous streaks of sword-light immediately shone with incomparable brilliance. They transformed into six strings of line…the sword-light had been compressed into lines! There was nothing capable of stopping Ning…he was going to chop through all which stood in front of him!

He had never felt such a desire to kill. He had never before felt so determined.

The more than ten thousand life-and-death battles he had engaged in over the past year had been even more effective for improving his insights than the past ten years. The [Three-Foot Sword], which Immortal Northwalker had imprinted deep into Ning’s soul many years ago, once more arose. A limitless, terrifying killing intent…determination which no one would withstand at all…an sword-heart that was completely enlightened…many former insights…they all combined together, allowing Ning to immediately execute the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

The seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Horizontal Sword Execution! 1

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whosh!

Six rays of silken lines of sword light sliced through the body of the dirty-looking maiden. When the first sword descended, her face began to change…because the first sword actually chopped straight through her hand, cutting it off. Her body, as tough as a magic treasure, was completely unable to block this fierce, sharp sword-light.

“RETREAT!” The dirty-looking maiden no longer appeared as relaxed as she had earlier; in fact, she even seemed slightly frightened as she frantically retreated.

Whoosh! As her hand was chopped off, a massive wound appeared on her chest as well.

However, she did managed to actually retreat. Her Fiendgod-like body frantically healed as she stared towards Ning in both terror and rage. “Sword-light compressed into silken lines! He’s actually reached this level!”

……

“Sword-light like silk!”

“He’s only trained for thirty years, right? He’s actually reached the level of sword-light like silk…he truly is a rare genius of the Dao of the Sword!”

“He truly does have a chance to make it all the way to the top position of this Conclave. I imagine that even Xiamang Zishan is inferior to him.”

Within the Skylight Palace, the nine Pure Yang True Immortals and the thousand Celestial Immortals were all stunned by this. They all began to let out sighs of amazement and chatter amongst each other.

Sword-light like silk…

This meant that a person had already treached a truly, incomparably high level of attainment in the Dao of the Sword. The seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], ‘Horizontal Sword Execution’, was at the level of ‘sword-light like silk’.

Actually, each of the final three stances of the [Three-Foot Sword] were more terrifying than the last. The seventh, the eighth, the ninth…they were so formidable that not even Immortal Northwalker was able to record them down in books.

For the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword], it could be said that one would advance through them in an ordinarly fashion, all the way until one reached the Grand Dao Domain level. The increase in power between each stance wouldn’t be too great, because these six stances focused on an orderly sort of improvement; they were primarily meant for guiding and teaching, which was why they could be compiled into books. Naturally, the level of improvement between each stance would be a bit smaller, which would make it easier to train.

But those final three stances which could not be recorded down in any books…there was a truly explosive increase in power between each of the three stances.

The seventh stance represented that a person had reached a level that was comparable to the techniques of a Loose Immortal who had trained for three hundred thousand years.

The eighth stance was comparable to the technique of an ordinary Celestial Immortal.

The ninth stance was comparable to the techniques of an absolutely supreme Celestial Immortal!

It was because of the ninth stance that Immortal Northwalker, despite being a Loose Immortal, was comparable to a true Celestial Immortal!

These three stances…there was a huge gap in power between each of them, but each of them were tremendously powerful.

Yu Wei lay there, struggling to control her magic treasures to form into the white phoenix and black phoenix. At the same time, she produced a jade bottle, shattered it with her elemental ki, then swallowed a pill into her mouth.

Rumble…the wound in her flank began to rapidly heal.

“Myriad Hibernating Venoms.” Yu Wei knew that this was going to be trouble.

The Myriad Hibernating Venoms was a divine ability which the Black-White College had as well. However, the imperial Xiamang clan had countless divine abilities in its Dao Repository, amongst which was the Myriad Hibernating Venoms. Xiamang Qi trained in this technique!

The Myriad Hibernating Venoms was an extremely deadly, poisonous art; it required one to fuse a large amount of strange poisons into one’s own body. Xiamang Qi, as a genius of the imperial clan, naturally was able to easily procure many hard-to-find poisons. Thus, his Myriad Hibernating Venoms was exceptionally vicious. Anything he touched would be instantly poisoned.

A Fiendgod Body Refiner might not fear him too much, but Yu Wei was a Ki Refiner; her body’s defensive and recuperative power was insufficient, and she had to rely on pills. But pills that could suppress the dire venom of the Myriad Hibernating Venoms…Yu Wei had none of those precious pills at all.

“Die!” The distant Xiamang Qi howled with laughter, but as he did, a golden sword-light suddenly flew towards him; it was the light of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

“Although the power of this sword-light is significant, it’s not enough to do anything to me.” Xiamang Qi had already withstood it several times; this time, he once more swung his arms out as he chopped out with his warblade towards it.

Swish!

The sword-light was as fine as silk, but it carried an incomparably powerful force. Xiamang Qi was caught completely off-guard, and his warblade was instantly knocked flying away. The skin between his thumb and forefinger was split apart, and he himself was knocked backwards. However, Ning suddenly charged towards him at an utterly astonishing speed, and so Xiamang Qi hurriedly produced yet another warblade in his hands.

“Die.” The three-headed, six-armed Ning appeared incomparably savage. Six rays of sword-light struck out like a giant windmill of light. Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!!!! Six consecutive rays of sword-light came howling down.

Xiamang Qi stared, eyes bulging. He was instantly chopped apart into small chunks of meat.

A Waterflame Lotus suddenly bloomed, surrounding the chunks of meat and grinding down at them.

“No…” Xiamang Qi’s soul was howling. Bu unfortunately…he was ground to death, until nothing remained.

“What?!” Adept Danzhu, Adept Snowfly, and Kindwater Qi were all shocked. Xiamang Qi had been killed in a single exchange!? This level of power was too great! How could Ji Ning’s power have increased so explosively in just an instant?!

“All of you should die.” Ning immediately turned and threw himself at Adept Snowfly, who was the closest to him.

“Quick, flee!” Adept Danzhu, Adept Snowfly, and Kindwater Qi, upon seeing how savage and ferocious Ning was, didn’t dare to take him on at all. They immediately fled at high speed.

“Open.” The bald, black-skinned Adept Blackstone, who had been controlling the grand sealing formation this entire time, quickly withdrew the formation.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Adept Danzhu, Adept Snowfly, and Kindwater Qi all immediately charged out of the formation. As soon as they did, Adept Blackstone, with a single thought, once more activated the formation. The barrier of light arose once more.

“Open up!” Ning howled. His sword-light was like silk, and six streams of silken light chopped towards the grand sealing formation.

BOOM!

The grand formation was immediately torn apart, and the three-headed, six-armed Ji Ning charged out from within it.

“What?!” Adept Snowfly, who had just let out a sigh of relief after leaving the formation, was completely shocked. She immediately turned to flee…but how could her speed comparable to that of Ning, a Fiendgod Body Refiner? Although she hurriedly brandished her flywhisk to defend, transforming it into tens of thousands of tightly clustered strings that formed into a strange white fox to defender her, she also threw out a large number of talismans. She frantically sent to Ning, “Take my talismans, spare my life!”

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…six more streams of sword-light came. They chopped straight through the white fox, chopping Adept Snowfly to death.

It was too fast.

The three-headed, six-armed Ning’s sword-light was so fast that there wasn’t even enough time for Adept Snowfly to be teleported away after throwing out her talismans. She was immediately killed by Ning.

Kindwater Qi and Adept Danzhu were both terrified by Ning’s savagery. Adept Danzhu was formidable, but she was a Ki Refiner…how could she possibly summon the courage to fight Ning to the death?

Swish! Swish!

Kindwater Qi and Adept Danzhu both flew far away, fleeing into the distance.

As for the bald, black-skinned Adept Blackstone, he collected his grand sealing formation. The dirty-looking maiden, Adept Ninedeaths, was standing by his side. She was now wearing a pair of silver gloves on her hands.

“Let’s go. This isn’t the time for us to be fighting with him to the death,” Adept Blackstone sent mentally.

Adept Nindeaths gritted her teeth, giving Ning a glare.

“Let’s go.”

The two were quite decisive in their actions; they realized that Ning’s power had already reached a level where it posed a threat to them. They were not confident in actually beating him in a fight to the death, and they already had enough talismans; it wasn’t worth it for them to risk it.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The two quickly departed.

……

The enraged Ning had slaughtere Xiamang Qi and Adept Snowfly, then scared off Kindwater Qi and Adept Danzhu as well as caused Adept Ninedeaths and Adept Blackstone to choose to temporarily retreat as well.

“Hmph.” Ning, still filled with a boundless killing intent, swept the area with his gaze. He collected the treasures which Adept Snowfly had left behind, then quickly ran towards his senior apprentice-sister. Upon reaching her side, he immediately returned to his normal form.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning saw that Yu Wei’s face was so dark, it was almost black. She had been very badly poisoned. He couldn’t help but begin to grow frantic. As for Yu Wei, she forced herself to sit up, then smiled as she looked at Ning.

Ning had seen everything; it had been Xiamang Qi who had used the divine ability, ‘Myriad Hibernating Venoms’. This divine ability was one which the giant yellow bear of the underwater estate had forbidden him from training in; although it was quite formidable when the practitioner was weak, once the practitioner grew strong, he’d probably actually have to spend some effort in purging the poisons from his body.

But…it had to be said that this was an extremely terrifying divine ability at this level. Anyone who was touched would immediately be poisoned and see their power drastically lowered!

“I have antivenoms here. They might be able to suppress…” Ning was extremely frantic.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Yu Wei sat there, looking at Ning. She smiled, then shook her head gently. When she saw how crazed Ning had become, she actually felt a blissful feeling in her heart.

Ning, seeing the shape his senior apprentice-sister was in, couldn’t help but feel pained for her as well as feel frightened.

Forgetting everything else, he immediately took her into her arms.

Yu Wei allowed Ning to hold her. She rested her head against his neck. She could sense the warmth surging from Ning’s body, an almost boiling heat that actually startled her.

“I don’t want to hesitate any longer.” Ning gently murmured into her ears, “I don’t want to feel any regrets. No regrets. I was truly afraid…afraid that you were dead. If you were dead…would I keep hesitating?”

Yu Wei reached out as well, tightly clinging to Ning as she revealed a smile on her face. Her tears began to fall down.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

Lu Dongbin suddenly slapped his table, the force of the blow causing the Immortal wine in front of him to be knocked flying. He jumped to his feet, then pointed towards the portion of the enormous Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers where Ning was holding Yu Wei. He roared with laughter, “That’s how it should be! That’s exactly how it should be! What’s the point of being so squeamish and indecisive? If they missed this opportunity, they would never have a chance to be together again for the rest of their lives. They had to seize this opportunity! If you have the right feelings, then you should act on them! You’ve been fighting in so many life-and-death battles together; how could you not have understood your own hearts? How could you have even hesitated for so long? Bahahaha, but now it’s all better. In the final month, they are finally embracing.”

1. In Chinese, the original is literally ‘one-character sword execution’ – the character for the letter 1 in Chinese is just a horizontal line: 一

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Chapter 17 – I Will Never Hurt You

Chapter 17 – I Will Never Hurt You

The Xia Emperor, Sovereign Hao, and the others all stared as Lu Dongbin slapped his table so hard, he sent the Immortal wine flying everywhere. They couldn’t help but feel speechless.

Lu Dongbin, you are one of the most awe-inspiringly famous figures of the Three Realms. Countless schools located throughout the three thousand major worlds and the trillion minor worlds all venerate you as ‘Patriarch Lu’. Is it really appropriate for you to get so excited over a bit of romance between a pair of young Wanxiang-level fellows? This is at most a spot of entertainment; why must you be so excited?

Still…they all understood that this was precisely Lu Dongbin’s temperament. He loved to wander the mortal realms, and absolutely delighted in paying attention to the love stories of minor figures as well as playing the role of the Moon Elder as a matchmaker.

……

The imperial citadel plaza. The disciples of the Black-White College were staring at the massive Diagram in midair, feeling incomparably nervous.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, quick, QUICK! YES! Kill them! KILL THEM ALL!” Mu Northson was incomparably agitated as he stared at the explosively savage Ji Ning within the Diagram.

“Quick, quick!” Immortal Fivecraze watched anxiously as well…and in the end, he finally let out a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, Xiamang Qi was only a Wanxiang Adept as well; although his Myriad Hibernating Venoms is powerful, by relying on some pills, its effects can be suppressed for a short while, at least.”

“Whaaaaat?!”

Northson, Little Qing, the Whitewater Hound, Immortal Fivecraze, Adept Vastriver, Northmont Baiwei, and the others all suddenly stared with bulging eyes.

Because…

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were actually embracing!

“But but but…” Northson actually began to stammer.

“Master…and Miss Yu Wei…” Little Qing was completely flabbergasted as well.

Northmont Baiwei was the first to recover. Roaring with laughter, he slapped his thigh. “My brother Ji Ning truly is formidable. In the Conclave of Immortal Destiny’s trial within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers…he actually is going to be returning with a beauty in his arms.”

“Right!” Immortal Fivecraze shook his head a few times, feeling extremely delighted. “The Black-White College is going to be the talk of the world for some time now!”

……

Ninelotus watched this silently. She felt as though the entire world had turned still.

“He ended up with senior apprentice-sister after all.”

“It’s for the best.”

“I am myself. He is himself! Only…should I hope that the two will forever be together and forever be blissful…or should I hope that they will separate as well?” Ninelotus wanted to offer them her prayers, but while searching in her own heart…she found that deep inside her heart, for some reason she couldn’t explain, she still felt a strange sort of hope. Hope that Ning and Yu Wei would separate as well.

Ninelotus was an Immortal cultivator who understood her own heart; she immediately analyzed and realized what she was feeling. She quietly said to herself, “It is said that the trial of emotions is the most difficult trial to overcome…although I have already comprehended my own heart, whenever I see Ji Ning, waves always once more appear upon the lake of my heart. If I wish to be able to walk further on the path of Immortal cultivation, then I should never meet him again.”

“It will be better for him. It will be better for me as well.” Ninelotus made up her mind. After this Conclave of Immortal Destiny concluded, she would return to the Dongyan clan. Unless there was an absolutely pressing need, she would absolutely never meet Ning again.

The nearby Dongyan Forefather glanced sideways at Ninelotus, seated by his side. He saw the look in her eyes.

A look of determination!

The Dongyan Forefather shook his head gently. He had not desired for things between Ning and Ninelotus to end up like this. However…this was Ninelotus’ decision, born from her heart. He would not interfere.

Within the Diagram.

Yu Wei was tightly embracing Ning. She could feel the warmth from his body, and she could feel a sense of bliss that came with it. It had been a long, long time since she had felt this sort of bliss. Far too long. Even in her past life, as a child, she had known this bliss for just a brief period of time. Now, she once more felt this sense of bliss and contentment. This caused uncontrollable tears to streak down her face.

She moved slightly, clutching Ning even more tightly to her. In her mind, she couldn’t help but think back to that terrifying figure from her memories of her past life, that figure which caused her heart to remble with fear. Yu Wei bit her lips, bit them so hard that blood appeared. In her heart, she quietly said to herself, “I swear that even if it means that I, Yu Wei, will have my soul be shattered…I will never hurt you. Never!”

After making up her decision, Yu Wei actually relaxed. Now that she was mentally prepared for her soul to be destroyed, the knot in her heart had been resolved.

“My man.” Yu Wei revealed a smile on her face.

Ning held Yu Wei in his arms, smelling the fragrance that came from her body. The feathery down on her clothings around her neck rubbed against his face. Ning felt calmer than he ever had before. It had been a long time since he had felt so calm. He could feel that the heart of this woman before him was extremely close to his own. It was as though the two of them were one.

“From today onwards,” Ning whispered words gently into Yu Wei’s ears, words that sounded like a sort of promise, “Yu Wei, you shall be my woman.”

“And you’ll be mine as well,” Yu Wei replied softly.

The two could both sense each other’s hearts.

You are willing to die for me.

I am willing to die for you.

In the future, we shall walk the Immortal path together, never leaving or separating.

“Yu Wei.” Ning released Yu Wei, looking at the deathly dark pallor to her face. He said with concern, “You’ve been badly poisoned?”

“The poisons of the Myriad Hibernating Venoms are very unique.” Yu Wei gently shook her head. “The pills I have on me only suffice to temporarily suppress them for two to four hours. To actually cure the poison, I would either need an incomparably precious Immortal pill that could resolve countless poisons, or a spirit-pill that was specially designed to dissolve the poisons of this divine ability. There’s no way I can do this from within the world of the Diagram. I have to leave.”

Ning gritted his teeth. He and Yu Wei had been on the verge of passing the trial, but she now had to depart. If the poison wasn’t cured, then once it was no longer suppressed, she would die.

“Enough. Don’t be unhappy.” Yu Wei smiled as she looked at Ning, contentment in her eyes. “To ‘win’ you here is better than winning any other award in the Conclave.”

“Right.” Although Ning wanted to continue to be together with Yu Wei, he immediately said, “Hurry up and cure your poison. It won’t be so easily cured, so don’t dawdle.”

“This is the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, and there are countless experts gathered outside. It won’t be too hard.” Yu Wei nodded. “Take my talismans.”

Whoosh. Instantly, a large number of talismans appeared on the ground.

Yu Wei looked at Ning.

Rumble…

An invisible ripple of power descended, teleporting Yu Wei away.

Ning collected the talismans. Actually, the number of talismans he had acquired after killing Xiamang Qi and Adept Snowfly was more than enough to allow himself and Yu Wei to pass the trial. But she had been poisoned by the Myriad Hibernating Venoms…she had to leave and have it cured.

Swoosh!

Ning took a single step forward, then disappeared as a streak of light.

Within the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

The nine Pure Yang True Immortals were all staring at the Diagram.

“This Yu Wei girl is coming out. Xiamang, have her be teleported over here,” Lu Dongbin immediately said.

The Xia Emperor, seated on his imperial throne, simply smiled.

Whoosh!

A black-robed woman whose skin was as lustrous as white jade and who was roughly 1.7 meters tall by Earth measurements suddenly appeared within the main hall of the Skylight Palace, right next to the nine Pure Yang True Immortals.

“Eh?!” Yu Wei stared at her surroundings, immediately poleaxed.

The Xia Emperor was seated on high atop his throne. The other Pure Yang True Immortals who were seated with him hadn’t suppressed their auras, and so naturally their auras rippled out…causing absolute terror in Yu Wei. She had seen Celestial Immortals in her past life, and not just one; these figures before her gave her the semse of tremendous power. They absolutely were not Celestial Immortals.

Yu Wei looked backwards and saw nearly a thousand Celestial Immortals. Their auras were similarly shocking.

“Yu Wei, disciple of the Black-White College, prostrates before you, your Imperial Majesty.” Yu Wei immediately fell to her knees with tremendous respect.

“Quite clever.” The Xia Emperor laughed and praised her. “Arise.”

Lu Dongbin was staring at Yu Wei with interest. Actually, the other eight Pure Yang True Immortals present rather looked down on Yu Wei; she was nothing more than a reincarnated female Immortal. The only one intrigued by her was Lu Dongbin.

“Little girl.” Lu Dongbin tossed her a gourd of wine, sending it flying towards Yu Wei. Yu Wei immediately caught it, her eyes filled with puzzlement.

“Drink it,” Lu Dongbin instructed. Yu Wei stared at the gourd of wine in her hands. Although she was restless and nervous, she knew that there was no way she could refuse. She immediately lifted up the gourd of wine and gulped it all down. The sight of her lifting up her neck and drinking the wine was extremely pretty; however, her neck and her face were a bit black. Slowly, however, the color of her neck and face began to change, beginning to turn pale. Moments later, Yu Wei had transformed from a gray-skinned girl to a white-skinned girl.

“My poison…?” Yu Wei was extremely startled. The poison in her body was no ordinary poison…but just by drinking some wine, it had been dissolved?

“Little girl, this Immortal nectar which you just drank was no ordinary wine. It came from the Xia Emperor’s private stash, and he rarely brings it out. Usually, not even Celestial Immortals will have a chance to drink it. This was specially prepared by the Xia Emperor for Lu Dongbin.” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands chortled as he spoke.

Yu Wei immediately knelt down in gratitude.

“No need. It was just a gourd of wine.” Lu Dongbin seemed quite indifferent. “Alright, you can go now.”

“Go?” Yu Wei stared at the vast Skylight Palace. Behind here were nearly a thousand Celestial Immortals who were split into two lines that stretched far off into the distance!

Yu Wei actually didn’t know where to go for now.

“Go sit down next to King Yan,” the Xia Emperor instructed.

“Yes.” Only now did Yu Wei feel a bit relaxed. When she had scanned the room earlier, she saw Yuchi Xiyue seated behind King Yan.

……

Yu Wei, her thoughts in a confused jumble, walked before King Yan, then sat down behind next, close to Yuchi Xiyue. All of the Celestial Immortals present stared at the black-robed maiden. They had all personally witnessed Lu Dongbin bestow a gourd of wine upon her. All of the Celestial Immortals present knew of the legendary Lu Dongbin, but almost none of them had ever spoken with him before.

“Who is this little girl? She was actually able to chat with Patriarch Lu.”

“No clue.”

“She should be from the Black-White College; that Ji Ning is from the Black-White College.”

The Celestial Immortals were all chatting amongst themselves regarding this.

Yu Wei was now seated behind King Yan, next to Yuchi Xiyue.

“Yu Wei, you are so amazing.” Xiyue sent an excited mental message to her. “You were actually able to chat with Patriarch Lu. Not even my grandfather has ever spoken to Patriarch Lu before.”

“Yeah…” Yu Wei was still in a dazed state. She had heard of Lu Dongbin even in her past life. He was one of the most famous experts of the Three Realms.

“Right. You and Ji Ning have chosen each other to be life partners?” Princess Xiyue’s eyes were shining brightly. As Ning’s cousin, she naturally paid tremendous attention to this.

Yu Wei’s face instantly became slightly red and bashful, but she still nodded and sent back, “Right.” However, in her heart, Yu Wei felt a bit nervous. This was because the outside world had long buzzed with rumors that Princess Xiyue liked Ji Ning very much. It was said that it was Princess Xiyue who had led Ji Ning into King Yan’s Estate when he had just arrived at the imperial capital, and that it was because of her that King Yan treated him so kindly!

He was nothing more than a genius. Think about who King Yan was! If it wasn’t for Princess Xiyue, how could he have sent his Golden Imperials out to protect Ji Ning?

Everyone believed that Princess Xiyue must have fallen for Ji Ning! Even many members of the Black-White College believed this, and this was Yu Wei’s guess as well.

“Has Princess Xiyue truly fallen for Ji Ning as well? Is she going to be angry at me?” Yu Wei was feeling worried.

“WONDERFUL!” Princess Xiyue was absolutely delighted and excited. “Yu Wei, you need to take good care of Ji Ning. Ideally, you would immediately have his babies!”

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Chapter 18 – The Year Ends

Chapter 18 – The Year Ends

Within the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.

The hazy glow of the moon shone down upon the land. By the side of a river, Ning was seated in the lotus position, a simple bewildering formation having been laid down long ago.

Slash…

Streaks of silken sword-light howled about the region. Sword-light criss-crossed everywhere with astonishing power.

Ning had comprehended the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – ‘Horizontal Sword Execution’. As a result, he had reached the level of silken sword-light. He had also finally gotten together with Yu Wei, and as a result was in extremely high spirits. His Dao-heart was incomparably pure and comprehended, and his heart was currently calm and peaceful, without a hint of rage or hate poisoning his soul at all.

Generally speaking, after making a breakthrough, one would need to stabilize one’s foundations. Ning was doing this right now, focusing his heart on the Dao of the Sword. Naturally, one thread of enlightenment after another was filling his heart.

“Within the heart, each person has their own desires, their own obsessions.”

“The stronger the obsession, the sharper the sword.”

“What I ask for…”

“Is to be carefree and unrestrained!”

Ning spoke these words silently to himself.

What did it mean to be carefree and unrestrained? It meant to be able to protect those that you loved. It meant being free from the threats of others. It meant having your destiny in your own hands!

“This…is my Dao of the Sword.”

“All those who oppose my Dao shall be slaughtered!”

Ning’s eyes flashed like lightning.

Whoosh!

Sword-light flew everywhere in an invincible, dominating fashion. The sword-intent contained within it was so powerful, it had reached a height which Ning had never before reached! Every single Sword Immortal had their own sword-heart. There were evil Sword Immortals, arrogant and solitary Sword Immortals, carefree and unrestrained sword…and they all continued to advance in accordance with their own sword-hearts. If they were to hesitate, to be puzzled, to be confused…then their sword-intents would grow weak. Their sword-intents would no longer be pure, and the power of their sword would constantly drop.

“The [Three-Foot Sword] of Immortal Northwalker…it desires to be ‘joyful’. Better to live joyfully for a day, than to live a century while stifled.”

“My [Three-Foot Sword], however, desires to be carefree and unrestrained! To be joyful is only one part of being carefree and unrestrained; to be carefree and unrestrained is to surpass, to surpass the bounds of the Three Realms, to possess invincible power. Only then can one truly do as one pleases.”

Ning understood the difference between himself and Immortal Northwalker.

Immortal Northwalker was a Loose Immortal; it was guaranteed that he would eventually perish under the increasingly powerful Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. Thus, the sword art of Immortal Northwalker was a sort of savagery that came after a person knew that he was going to die. No matter who opposed him, he would kill, kill, kill! He would exterminate all injustices, exterminate all those who deserve killing. All he asked for was to be joyful. He didn’t give a damn how powerful one’s backer was; he would still slaughter you!

But in reality…precisely because he knew that he was going to die, Immortal Northwalker’s [Three-Foot Sword] was excessively savage. When one went too far into an extreme, one’s sword art would actually lessen in power.

Ning had comprehended profound mysteries of the Dao of the Sword through the [Three-Foot Sword], but his sword-intent was his alone. It formed into a [Three-Foot Sword] that belonged to himself and only himself.

In truth, Immortal Northwalker understood this issue as well. This was why when each time the [Three-Foot Sword] was transmitted to an heir, the heir would form a [Three-Foot Sword] of their own.

……

Ning wielded the Darknorth swords in his hands. He had the feeling of being one with the sword as he strode forth through the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.

“Someone travelling by himself? Let’s go. Surround him.”

Instantly, three figures came howling through the air. One of them executed a secret art, and a dense cluster of crows flew out, quickly and completely surrounding Ning.

Ning…actually just smiled.

Swish! Ning suddenly moved. His entire body crackled with lightning, and he moved forward with the speed of a Roc and the unpredictability of a ghost, constantly darting and flashing about. His sword-light flew through the air, like thin silken strands. Countless crows were instantly sliced apart, transforming into one spike-type magic treasure after another. And then, like a completely unpredictable ghost, he moved to attack those three.

“Who is this?! He’s too fast!”

“Careful!”

“Argh!”

Although Ning hadn’t used the [Starseizing Hand], [Heavenly Transformation], or [Three Heads, Six Arms], having only executed the [Pentabolt Vajra] and the [Windwing Evasion], just by relying on these two divine abilities he was still able to explode forth with enough speed and power to deal with them. He wasn’t trying to completely crush these people; he was using them to train and refine his sword art.

Sword-light flashed everywhere, beating the three into utterly sorry sights. All they could do was use all their power to try and stay alive as they started to flee.

“He’s too fast, and his sword arts are too formidable.”

“And he’s a Fiendgod Body Refiner, but hasn’t even used the [Heavenly Transformation]. I refuse to believe he doesn’t even know that divine ability!”

……

Ning continued to stroll forward.

In this final month within the Diagram, he spread out his divine sense with abandon as he searched for opponents, engaging in one battle after another.

Against weaker Ki Refiners, he wouldn’t use the [Heavenly Transformation].

Against tougher foes, he would rely on [Heavenly Transformation].

Against a group of tougher foes…he would use his full power, as well as the [Starseizing Hand]!

In short, Ning was fast, had a savage sword, and was tremendously strong…he wandered the Diagram as he pleased. He didn’t care about how many people joined forces against him; he would kill, kill, kill them all as he continued to roam forward! After all, by now, everyone was in a small squad. If things were like they had been back at the very start, with the possibility of hundreds of people joining forces against him, Ning wouldn’t have dared to be so bold.

But right now…

There were very few still alive!

That being said, the survivors were all true monsters. Ning used them to temper his sword arts; the sword was a weapon of battle, and in battle his sword arts rose in power with great speed. Ning fused both the Dao-Path of Rainwater and his Dao-Path of the Inferno into his Dao of the Sword; it was hard when it needed to be hard and soft when it should be soft. He was now significantly more powerful than back when he had killed Xiamang Qi and Adept Snowfly.

The people in the imperial citadel’s plaza all sighed repeatedly with incomparable amazement. Only two hundred or so individuals were left in the Diagram, and each of them were peerless monsters…but there were still a few that shone with particular splendor.

One of them was Ji NIng!

“Ji Ning’s sword arts are improving at a simply astonishing pace. He’s far more powerful than he was when he first entered the Diagram. Now, in the entire world of the Diagram…he should be one of the most powerful.”

“As I see it, Ji Ning can become number one in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny!”

“He’s only trained for thirty years; how can he be so powerful?!”

“Monster, what a monster!”

“This Ji Ning was born to be a Sword Immortal! After only thirty years, he has already reached such a level; I’ve trained for thirty thousand years, but am inferior to him. What a damn waste of my life!”

“In the entire Conclave, as far as sword arts go….Ji Ning is definitely number one!”

The individuals who had come from the 3600 commanderies and four seas were all chatting amongst themselves.

There was no question whatsoever that of the hundred thousand-plus who had entered this Conclave, Ning was the number one Sword Immortal! After all, those few who were on his level, such as Xiamang Zishan, Adept Ninedeaths, Adept Blackstone, and the Sloppy Daoist were not Sword Immortals. Sword Immortals were extremely skilled in attacking, and so naturally there were many who believed that Ning would become number one in this tournament.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

Patriarch Arcanum seemed to have quite an unpleasant taste in his mouth. Although it was true that the Youngflame clan had the extremely powerful Youngflame Zhan, who was comparable to Xiamang Zishan…in the world of the Diagram, Youngflame Zhan wasn’t as brilliant or as eye-catching as Ji Ning was.

“This Ji Ning…” Patriarch Arcanum ground his teeth.

“The more of a talented monster he is, the more he needs to be eradicated!”

“Hmph. I’ll let you act smugly for now. You are nothing more than a genius in a Conclave. There’s a Conclave every three centuries. I can’t even count how many times a Conclave has gone on…but how many of the winners end up being Celestial Immortals?” Patriarch Arcanum mused silently to himself, “If you can’t become a Celestial Immortal, in the end you’ll never be able to step out onto the grand stage.”

“The Xia Emperor cares deeply about this Conclave, and quite a few Pure Yang True Immortals are watching as well. However, they are doing nothing more than just watching; after all, consider how exalted a status True Immortals have! They are experts of the Three Realms who definitely will not choose apprentices casually. They shouldn’t decide to accept Ji Ning as a disciple, right? So long as the True Immortals don’t take him as apprentice…once the chance comes, I’ll definitely exterminate him.”

Patriarch Arcanum felt an extremely intense desire to kill.

He had truly felt love for Youngflame Nong, and he truly wanted to avenge him! In addition, the feud between the Youngflame clan and Ning was by now an enormous one; after all, the Youngflame clan had even sent Deathsworn to assassinate him. If Ji Ning truly did spread his wings one day…how could he not desire to take revenge?

Given how much monstrous talent he had displayed in this Conclave…how could Ji Ning be permitted to continue to grow like this?

He had to be eradicated!

But of course…if a Pure Yang True Immortal really did accept Ji Ning as his disciple, then Patriarch Arcanum would have no choice but to swallow this bitter fruit.

“Generally speaking, the number of disciples a Pure Yang True Immortal accepts can be counted on one hand. They definitely will not casually accept new apprentices.” Patriarch Arcanum quietly hoped that none of the True Immortals would suddenly reach out and take on Ji Ning as a disciple. If that happened…he would truly be stupefied.

……

Ning sat in the lotus position atop the mountain peak.

Suddenly…

“The year has ended. The eighty contestants with the most talismans have successfully passed the trial of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers.” The voice of the Emperor of the Grand Xia suddenly rang out in the minds of every single person present within the Diagram.

With it, a rumbling sound could be heard…

Rays of golden light shot out to surround Ji Ning, Xiamang Zishan, Adept Ninedeaths, the Sloppy Daoist, and the rest of the eighty. Some were seated in the lotus position, others were walking around, and still others were sleeping. In short, all of their bodies were surrounded by golden light; clearly, the light was meant to let the people in the outside world be able to clearly see who the eighty were.

Swish, swish, swish!

The eighty were all immediately teleported out of the world of the Diagram.

“The 159 of you who remain must engage in the final battle. Only sixteen of you are permitted to remain alive within the world of the Diagram.” The voice of the Emperor of the Grand Xia reverberated in each of their minds…and then all 159 of them were teleported to a vast, spacious grassland.

A grand sealing formation appeared on the grassland, spanning a hundred kilometers.

All 159 of them were locked within the sealing formation.

They all looked towards their fellow contestants.

“Start killing,” boomed the voice of the Emperor of the Grand Xia.

Instantly, the 159 competitors within the grand sealing formation began a berserk, final struggle against each other. This was a very small region of just a hundred kilometers; to people like them, who could move a hundred kilometers with a single movement…and with so many of them present…the battle here was exceptionally fierce and miserable. Many people were forced to voluntarily throw our their talismans and give up.

……

The clouds in front of the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

Ji Ning and the rest of the eighty all appeared atop the cloud. They looked at each other.

“Eh?” Ning quickly saw quite a few familiar faces; Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Adept Blackstone…

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Ning saw the Sloppy Daoist as well.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” The Sloppy Daoist beamed as well.

“The eighty of you, all stand up!” An attendant wearing a crown spoke out to them coldly: “The other sixteen will appear shortly, at which point the ninety-six of you will jointly follow me to go pay your respects to his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor. This time, some Pure Yang True Immortals of the Three Realms have also arrived to watch. All of you need to know what the rules are; no matter what, you cannot offend or disturb one of the True Immortals.”

The crowned attendant had a pale, beardless face. He had an insidiously cold aura, and Ning and the others could tell from the invisible ripples of power that radiated from the man that this person…was most likely a Celestial Immortal.

This caused Ning and the others to all secretly sigh in amazement.

It was possible that not one of the hundred thousand-plus competitors would become a Celestial Immortal…but this attendant was one. This instantly caused Ning and the others to feel an invisible pressure push down upon them.

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Chapter 19 – The Conclave of Immortal Destiny’s Awards

Chapter 19 – The Conclave of Immortal Destiny’s Awards

After a long period of time passed, another sixteen figures appeared atop the clouds. Most of these sixteen appeared to be in quite the sorry shape, and most of them were heavily wounded.

“Everyone is present.” The crowned attendant wave his arm, and instantly a rainbow-colored drizzle descended from the heavens onto Ning and the rest of the ninety-six. The rainbow raindrops quickly merged into their bodies, and the heavily wounded all saw their injuries immediately repaired, leaving them in perfect condition. Even those who had exhausted much of their divine power and elemental ki due to having battled for a long period of time saw their energy replenished. This caused Ning and the others to all feel stunned.

“Remember. The main hall of the Skylight Palace currently has nearly a thousand Celestial Immortals, his Imperial Majesty the Emperor, and Pure Yang True Immortals who have gathered from various places throughout the Three Realms. You absolutely must not be careless. If you anger a true True Immortal who takes your life on the spot, don’t say I didn’t warn you!” The crowned attendant swept his gaze past the ninety-six, pausing very slightly as he glanced at the Sloppy Daoist, whom he actually revealed a hint of a smile towards.

“Obey my commands. Let’s move,” the crowned attendant ordered.

He led the way up ahead. Ning and the other ninety-six followed from behind, walking through the clouds. They quickly arrived at a wide, spacious palace hall. The main hall of the Skylight Palace had no ceiling; above it was the infinitely vast firmament.

“So many Celestial Immortals.” Ning immediately saw the two rows of Celestial Immortals. They stretched all the way to the deepest parts of the main hall; there truly were nearly a thousand.

“In Stillwater Commandery, I didn’t even see a single Celestial Immortal Patriarch, but today I’ve seen so many. I imagine that the entire Grand Xia Empire must have several thousand Celestial Immortals. No wonder it is said that the emperor of a major world is capable of sitting down and speaking with the Celestial Emperor as equals.” Ning could sense the ripples of power coming from around him. The ripples that emanated from a Celestial Immortal, even when they were not actively flaring their power, was still enough to cause a Wanxiang Adept like Ning to feel tremendous pressure.

“Hmph!” Patriarch Arcanum was seated there. Upon seeing Ning walk past him, his long, narrow eyes flashed with a hint of coldness. He let out a cold snort, not disguising his hostility towards Ning at all.

……

“Halt.” The crowned attendant sent a mental message to Ning and the others, who all immediately came to a halt.

Right in front of them, not too far away, were the eight Pure Yang True Immortals and the Emperor of the Grand Xia. Ning and the others could tell that the auras emanating from those eight figures next to the Emperor of the Grand Xia were simply too terrifying. In addition, the tables and Immortal nectar placed before them were completely different from those given the Celestial Immortals. They could immediately tell who these eight were.

“They are all Pure Yang True Immortals!” Ning and the rest of the ninety-six all felt as though they were looking up at unfathomably exalted figures.

“All of you, kneel,” the crowned attendant sent mentally.

Whoosh.

Ning and the rest of the ninety-six all fell to their knees, calling out at the same time, “We prostrate ourselves before you, your Imperial Majesty.”

The Emperor of the Grand Xia looked downwards towards them, and his gaze along with the gazes of the eight Pure Yang True Immortals all landed upon the Sloppy Daoist. To these nine Pure Yang True Immortals, the only person worth them paying serious attention to was the Sloppy Daoist. This was because he was the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.

As for the others?

The nine of them didn’t hold them in too much regard. The only reason they paid even a slight bit of attention to them was because the Three Realms was entering turbulent times. During one of the ‘normal’ Conclaves of Immortal Destiny, they wouldn’t even be bothered to come attend and watch, nor would the Emperor of the Grand Xia come to officiate. The officiator would at most record down the most exciting scenes of the battles through a scryer technique and deliver it to some of the major figures of the three realms. On occasion, someone might be lucky and end up becoming an apprentice to one of those True Immortals!

“It would be impressive if even three or four out of these ninety-six became Celestial Immortals. As for Pure Yang True Immortals? If a true expert of the Three Realms really was to emerge from this Conclave, it will probably be this disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.” This was what the Immortal Elder of the Northlands and the others were thinking. This was what even Lu Dongbin believed as well.

For two Pure Yang True Immortals to emerge from a group of ninety-six? That was bit too unrealistic.

“Arise!” The Grand Xia Emperor commanded.

Ning and the other ninety-six all arose, each acting with complete decorum.

The Grand Xia Emperor looked down upon them, then said calmly, “You have all passed the trial of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. You have thus passed the preliminary sorting out process. From today onwards, I will arrange for the ninety-six of you to engage in duels with each other. The losers will be eliminated, while the winners will remain.”

“The ninety-six of you will engage in a round of duels. After the first round, forty-eight will remain. All forty-eight of you will each receive an Immortal-ranked magic item.”

The voice of the Grand Xia Emperor echoed throughout the entire main hall.

Whooosh.

Everyone below was stunned. Even the near-thousand Celestial Immortals were stunned. All forty-eight would receive an Immortal-ranked magic treasure? In the past, only the top three figures in the Conclave would receive such a treasure. This was more than ten times as extravagant as the past; it represented forty-eight Immortal-ranked treasures!

“The forty-eight will go through two rounds of elimination duels, resulting in twelve remaining. These twelve will each receive five million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!” The Grand Xia Emperor said calmly.

Utter silence.

The Celestial Immortals were all surprised…and Ning and the rest of the ninety-six were all stunned. Their eyes turned red with desire. Even Ning, despite his tremendous wealth, felt a surge of desire. Five million kilograms…even if Ning sold off all of Youngflame Nong’s treasures and everything he had acquired from the Witchriver Immortal Estate, it would still be far less than five million kilograms. Five million kilograms was a sum that would cause even many Celestial Immortals to turn red-eyed with envy. Only the Grand Xia Emperor could afford to be so generous.

“Why is his Imperial Majesty being so generous? Five million kilograms to each person? Twelve people…how many kilograms is that?!”

“His Imperial Majesty has never been so generous when bestowing even the likes of us with gifts.”

The Celestial Immortals were speechless.

……

The Grand Xia Emperor, still speaking in a very calm manner, continued: “The twelve will engage in another series of duels, resulting in six remaining. These six will fight until only three remain! The three final winners…will be permitted to go into the imperial treasure vault of my Grand Xia Dynasty and choose out any divine ability or secret art of their choosing.”

Choosing?!

Ning and the others turned berserk with desire. The accumulated knowledge of an entire major world…it vastly surpassed the Dao Repository of the Black-White College by countless times! The techniques which the local Raindragon Guard branches possessed were already enough to cause Ning to turn red-eyed with desire, to say nothing of the main Raindragon Guard headquarters! And the imperial treasure vault of the Grand Xia Dynasty? It most assuredly had even more than the main Raindragon Guard headquarters!

“How can they be allowed to choose?! Divine abilities and secret arts are the foundation of a powerful tribe.” Even King Qi, King Yan, and the other Kings were completedly stunned. “That vault is the foundation of our Xiamang clan. How can they be allowed to choose from it as they see fit?! They will definitely choose the strongest techniques. How can the most powerful divine abilities and secret arts we possess be disseminated to outsiders?!”

However, the leader of the Xiamang clan, the Emperor of the Grand Xia, held unquestioned authority and power.

“In addition…per the orders of my venerable master…!” The Grand Xia Emperor spoke in an extremely solemn voice.

All of the Pure Yang True Immortals next to him, be it Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, Lu Dongbin, or the Immortal Elder of the Northlands, all felt their hearts clench.

“Amongst the final three victors…my venerable master will choose a person to become his own honorary disciple. After said person breaks through to become a Celestial Immortal, said person shall become my venerable master’s personal disciple.” The Grand Xia Emperor’s voice rang out clearly, echoing throughout the entire main hall. All the Celestial Immortals within the main hall fell completely silent. Even the Pure Yang True Immortals had fallen silent.

The eight Pure Yang True Immortals were all in a state of shock; they had no idea that this was going to happen.

“What boldness and spirit! Daofather Crimsonbright truly is bold and spirited; he’s actually going to accept a disciple from this Conclave!” Lu Dongbin sighed mentally to himself. “Still…it makes sense. Amongst the tens of major worlds under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright, the world of the Grand Xia is number one in terms of luck and karma. The Three Realms are in a state of upheaval and facing turbulent undercurrents. It has only been a few decades since the collapse of the Six Paths of Reincarnation…it is indeed true that one of the future heroes of the Three Realms will emerge in the first Conclave of Immortal Destiny to be held here after the collapse. It is worth him taking on a new disciple.”

“One of them will become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright?”

Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta and the others all stared at Ning’s group.

“Clearly, Grand Emperor Xuanwu has taken a fancy to that sloppy-looking fatty, and has even taught him his Grand Black Tortoise divine ability. There’s no way Daofather Crimsonbright would disgrace himself by trying to steal him! Then of the other 95…which one shall become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright?” All of them were now guessing.

……

“The disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright?”

The eyes of the near-thousand Celestial Immortals below all turned red.

They were the Celestial Immortals of the world of the Grand Xia; thus, they were all naturally under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright! Daofather Crimsonbright had an exalted status far above theirs; he was a major power of the Three Realms who commanded dozens of major worlds. The Celestial Immortals under his command were as numerous as the clouds. Almost all of these Celestial Immortals were his honorary disciples…but most of them had never even said a single word to Daofather Crimsonbright!

They dreamed about becoming a personal disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright, but alas, they had no chance. In fact…not a single one of these near-thousand Celestial Immortals was a personal disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright!

“None of us will become a personal disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright, but one of them will actually become the Daofather’s personal disciple.”

“That Sloppy Daoist is the personal disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu…as for the other six, one of them will become the personal disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright.”

“This is really too insane.”

The Celestial Immortals present found it hard to accept this.

A Daofather!

Someone who was capable of controlling a Heavenly Dao. The personal disciples they took on were innately endowed with astonishing potential and comprehension ability; after spending enough effort and paying enough of a price, they would generally all become Celestial Immortals! This was why, even though the likes of Daofather Crimsonbright and Grand Emperor Xuanwu nominally took on weak Wanxiang Disciples as mere ‘honorary disciples’, in the future it was all but guaranteed that they would be upgraded to ‘personal disciples’.

The eight Pure Yang True Immortals were surprised…and the nearly-thousand Celestial Immortals were filled with disbelief and envy. As for Ning and the others, they were completely stunned silly. Most of them didn’t even know who the master of the Emperor of the Grand Xia was! But since the Emperor of the Grand Xia was the emperor of this major world, someone capable of casually tossing out dozens of Immortal-ranked magic treasures…how formidable was his master?!

The Grand Xia Emperor was someone who could speak with the Celestial Emperor of the Celestial Court as equals. Then his master…?

The ninety-six could all guess the answer, and they were naturally both stunned and filled with wild desire.

Was this like manna from the heavens?

“The place where you shall engage in your duels shall be atop the clouds outside the palace.” The Grand Xia Emperor pointed to the distant clouds outside the hall. Whoosh. Instantly, an enormous grand sealing barrier that was ten kilometers in size appeared atop the cloud. “You shall battle there, within the grand sealing formation. When one side dies or admits defeat, then the battle will conclude.”

“The first battle shall be Cangwu Jiu of the Cangwu clan against Dragonmatch of the Myriad Beasts School!” The Grand Xia Emperor continued, “The others can rest off to the side.”

“Ji Ning, little Sloppy, come over here.” Ning immediately heard someone call out. Turning his head, he saw that it was King Yan. Behind King Yan was his cousin, Yuchi Xiyue, along with Yu Wei. Ning immediately went over. As for the Sloppy Daoist, upon seeing this he immediately followed; they were all of the Black-White College, after all.

The others who had Celestial Immortal Patriarchs of their various schools or clans present all went to the sides of those Celestial Immortals. As for those who didn’t have any Celestial Immortals behind them, as long as there was even a hint of a relationship with them, a Celestial Immortal would call them over.

“Zhan, child!” Patriarch Arcanum’s long, slanted eyes were filled with savagery. He sent mentally, “This is a chance that rarely comes once in even ten thousand reincarnations. You absolutely must use all your power to fight into the top three! If you can become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright, then you shall have done more for our Youngflame clan than anyone else in our entire history. Even the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs of our Youngflame command shall obey your command!”

Youngflame Zhan couldn’t help but send mentally, “Who is Daofather Crimsonbright?”

“The teacher of his Imperial Majesty!” Patriarch Arcanum explained, “He is one of the true major powers of the Three Realms…someone who can determine whether our Youngflame clan will flourish or decay with but a single word!”

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Chapter 20 – Daoist Threelives and Daofather Crimsonbright

Chapter 20 – Daoist Threelives and Daofather Crimsonbright

“If you die here as a result, I guarantee that after reincarnating, you will be reborn into our Youngflame clan once more, and I will take you on as my disciple.” Patriarch Arcanum looked at Youngflame Zhan. “Zhan, child, this is a rare chance. You have to seize it!”

Zhan could sense Patriarch Arcanum’s ardent desire. He understood how important this was.

“If you succeed…then you might become an expert on the level of his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor,” Patriarch Arcanum said eagerly.

Zhan nodded heavily.

……

“You have reincarnated nine times for the sake of overcome the Celestial Tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal. To become a Celestial Immortal is far, far too difficult…the path in front of you is almost guaranteed to be a dead end. Little girl, if you become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple, you need not fear that you will not be able to become a Celestial Immortal!”

……

“Jiu, child, you absolutely have the power to make your way into the top three of this Conclave. Although our Cangwu clan has already reached the very pinnacle of power in the Grand Xia Empire, that’s our limit; there’s no way the imperial clan of the Grand Xia will give us any chance to increase in power any further, unless our Cangwu clan also produces a Pure Yang True Immortal. That, however, is too difficult…but you now have that chance! You have to seize this sort of a chance!”

……

The various major clans, sects, and schools were all saying these words to the competitors with them.

If previously the Celestial Immortals were quite relaxed, upon learning that Daofather Crimsonbright was going to take on a disciple, all of them were frantic. They even felt hatred…self-hatred for not having personally taught these young geniuses! If they had personally taught them, then the young geniuses on their side would probably be even more powerful.

Unfortunately, they had previously held these so-called geniuses in no regard at all; after all, there were far too many geniuses in the world. It was too late for any regrets.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were next to each other. They were even holding hands, and the dreamy looks they were giving each other were causing even the nearby Yuchi Xiyue and Sloppy Daoist to get a bit sick of it.

“Junior apprentice-brother, junior apprentice-sister, the two of you…?” The Sloppy Daoist blinked a few times.

“You just found out?” Yuchi Xiyue smirked.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei looked at each other and smiled.

After sharing life and death experiences together during the past year, their hearts had long ago become linked.

“Haha, congratulations and felicitations. The disciples of the Black-White College, in participating in this Conclave, have actually produced a pair of Dao-Companions. This shall be the talk of the world,” the Sloppy Daoist laughed.

“Sloppy Daoist, Ji Ning, don’t be too relaxed,” Yuchi Xiyue quickly warned. “Didn’t you hear? The top three have a chance to become accepted by Daofather Crimsonbright as a disciple. This is a chance to ascend to the heavens at one go! Daofather Crimsonbright is one of the true hegemons of the Three Realms, someone who has mastered a Heavenly Dao.”

“Right! We have to fight for this chance,” the Sloppy Daoist nodded.

Ning nodded as well. At the same time, he mentally asked, “Senior, if I become apprenticed to Daofather Crimsonbright, will he recognize my [Starseizing Hand] and realize the relationship between myself and Daoist Threelives? Will this be trouble?”

Suddenly, a voice rang out in his mind. “Ji Ning, don’t worry; Daofather Crimsonbright was born a True God of Primordial Chaos. Like Master, he was born from the primordial chaos itself. They even adventured and faced life and death together; the relationship between them is quite deep. Although he wasn’t one of Master’s most intimate of friends, they were still on extremely good terms. Even if he knows of the relationship between you and Master, he won’t harm you. Someone like Daofather Crimsonbright would not lower himself by acting against you.”

“A True God of Primordial Chaos…and they adventured together?” Ning was puzzled. “Daoist Threelives was one of the major powers of the Three Realms, while Daofather Crimsonbright is one as well. Even they need to adventure together and risk their lives?”

“I don’t understand this very clearly either; all I know is that there truly are some extremely terrifying places in the Three Realms. Master and some other True Gods of Primordial Chaos have joined forces in the past to fight in those places. All of them are very close to each other, and some of them are in fact individuals who are willing to sacrifice their lives for Master, and vice versa.” The giant yellow bear sent, “Don’t worry. The True Gods of Primordial Chaos are quite a unified group.”

“In addition, it was Daofather Crimsonbright who developed the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] which you train in.” The giant yellow bear sighed, then sent, “After countless years have passed, Daofather Crimsonbright has mastered a Heavenly Dao and become a Daofather. If Master is still alive, he should have perhaps mastered a Heavenly Dao as well.”

“Daofather Crimsonbright is very good-natured, and all the other True Gods of Primordial Chaos praise him. If you can become his apprentice, you should be able to learn some information regarding Master from him.” The giant yellow bear had always wanted to learn if Daoist Threelives was still alive or not.

“Then I will force my way into the top three, or even become number one. I will do my best to make Daofather Crimsonbright choose me as his disciple,” Ning sent.

“Right.” The giant yellow bear felt eager as well.

……

King Yan suddenly turned to look at the Sloppy Daoist, then asked mentally, “Little Sloppy, you also want to become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright?”

“I naturally have to at least give it a good shot,” the Sloppy Daoist said, puzzled. “How can I let a chance like this just slip away? If I miss it, I probably won’t have another chance like this for the rest of my life.”

“How did you learn the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability?” King Yan asked.

The sloppy, pudgy youth grinned. He knew that upon revealing it, his secrets would be eventually revealed. After all, the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability was simply too easy to recognize. He laughed then sent mentally, “Your Highness, I acquired this Grand Black Tortoise divine ability by luck. While adventuring, I entered a cavern estate and thus inherited a legacy and was taught this grand divine ability.”

“Oh.” King Yan now understood. Most likely, the Sloppy Daoist had no idea…that his master was Grand Emperor Xuanwu!

In the main hall of the Skylight Palace, the various Celestial Immortals were all chatting and laughing amongst themselves while paying attention to the duels that were going on atop the cloud.

The first round of duels was currently taking place.

In the first battle, Cangwu Jiu battled against Dragonmatch. This was an exceptionally vicious battle, as both were Fiendgod Body Refiners. Dragonmatch was unwilling to admit defeat until almost all of his divine power had been used up. However, his eyes were clearly filled with resentment. As for the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs of the Myriad Beasts School, they couldn’t help but shake their heads with resentment and sigh as they saw this. The chance had come and go, just like that.

In the second battle, Adept Woodpass battled against Kindwater Qi. Kindwater Qi immediately used a forbidden technique at the very start, going all out. However, Adept Woodpass actually showed mercy; at a critical moment in the fight, he merely gave Kindwater Qi a heavy wound, not taking his life. The helpless Kindwater Qi was forced to admit defeat.

One battle after another went on, everyone going all out.

“The allure of becoming a Daofather’s disciple…who can resist it?” Lu Dongbin shook his head and sighed. Raising his head, he took a swig of wine from his cup. “And yet, how many of them understand…that the disciple of a Daofather is still nothing more than a disciple. The master can bring you into the school, but training is a matter of personal cultivation. The major powers of the Three Realms…they all relied on their own abilities for their achievements.”

“Lu Dongbin! You hypocrite, you have two Daofathers standing behind you and even more Daofathers who have provided you guidance, and you’re going to sigh and shake your heads at them?” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands was clearly rather displeased. “This old man can’t stand your words.”

“You’re just jealous.” Lu Dongbin cast the Immortal Elder a sideways glance out of the corner of his eyes.

“Jealous my ass. This old man is also a Pure Yang True Immortal; if you have true ability, then go become a Daofather! By then, I’d definitely admire you; in fact, I’d even go to your door and obediently listen to you expound on the Dao and treat you as I would a teacher,” the Immortal Elder snorted.

“Shameless old fogey. Once I truly do become a Daofather…I might not even be willing to expound on the Dao with you. It’ll depend on my mood.” After saying these words, even Lu Dongbin himself felt that he was boasting too much; after all, it wasn’t so easy for someone to become a Daofather. He didn’t even have mastery over a Heavenly Dao yet! He immediately pointed towards the outside and said, “Look, the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu has entered the arena.”

……

In the sixth battle, the Sloppy Daoist fought against Adept Gloomcloud.

Adept Gloomcloud truly was an extraordinary figure; however, there was a quite a bit of difference in power between himself and the Sloppy Daoist. Fortunately, the Sloppy Daoist showed mercy and so Adept Gloomcloud’s life was spared. He admitted defeat, then left.

……

The Grand Xia Emperor, seated atop his imperial throne, stared downwards at his subjects. He said calmly, “The 41th duel shall be between Ji Ning of the Black-White College and Zhuxiang of the Redlotus Sect.”

His voice didn’t just reverberate within the main hall; his echoing voice, filled with all of his majesty, reverberated within the imperial citadel plaza as well.

The delegates from the 3600 commanderies and four seas all stared into the skies. In the sky above them was a massive mirror, which reflected the scenes of battle between the geniuses within the grand sealing formation atop the cloud.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you have to be careful.” Within the palace, the Sloppy Daoist said with a laugh, “This Zhuxiang is a Fiendgod Body Refiner. All Fiendgod Refiners are tough to deal with. Thankfully, the Adept Gloomcloud I ran into just now was a Ki Refiner, which made it a bit easier.”

“Ji Ning, be careful.” Yu Wei looked at Ning as well.

“Don’t worry. I’m planning to go for number one.” Ning immediately turned and walked outside.

Right at this moment, a youth who had been seated in the lotus position behind a distant Celestial Immortal also rose to his feet and began to walk towards the outside. This youth seemed quite wanton and dissolute, and gave the impression of being perpetually sleepy. However, he was the number one Holy Child of an extremely large sect, the Redlotus Sect. His power was indeed formidable; previously, the outside world had known very little about him, and he had only become famous during this Conclave.

“They are coming out. Coming out!” Mu Northson stared upwards excitedly. “Quick, look, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is coming out.”

“Brother Ji Ning’s power is formidable; that Zhuxiang of the Redlotus Sect is no match for him at all. Brother Ji Ning is aiming to be number one.” Northmont Baiwei was watching with excitement as well; he naturally was pleased upon seeing his good friend ascend farther and farther along this Immortal path.

“Wonderful. My Black-White College is about to suddenly become famous, utterly famous!” Immortal Fivecraze was in extremely high spirits and excited.

“Master.” Little Qing’s serpentine eyes were flashing with light as well.

The Whitewater Hound’s head was also lifted. As he watched, he felt his chest heave with emotions. “Big brother, if you were still alive…how wonderful it would be for you to be here and watch Ji Ning become such a dazzling figure in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

……

Atop the cloud. Within the grand sealing formation.

Ji Ning and Zhuxiang of the Redlotus Sect were both standing within the grand sealing formation. Zhuxiang was dressed extremely casually. His Daoist robes appeared quite sloppy, and a large portion of his chest was revealed as well. He looked at Ning, appearing to be still half-asleep.

Zhuxiang sighed gently, “I didn’t expect to run into you in the very first duel. I heard that you are one of the participants in this Conclave who is the hardest to deal with. In the Diagram, I travelled alongside my fellow disciples. No one was capable of forcing me to unleash my supreme technique…but I didn’t expect that I would be forced to do so in this very first battle. You should feel lucky to lose to my supreme technique.”

“Zhuxiang.” Ning spoke out. “Do you know…what I view you as?”

“What?” Zhuxiang smiled lazily. “A pile of crap? A mere ant? A mighty dragon? Or…?”

“No, no…in my eyes…you are an Immortal-ranked magic treasure,” Ning chortled.

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Chapter 21 – The Top Twenty-Four

Chapter 21 – The Top Twenty-Four

The Xia Emperor, Lu Dongbin, and the rest of the nine Pure Yang True Immortals were watching the two competitors within the grand sealing formation. Upon hearing their dialogue, all nine of them couldn’t help but laugh.

“This Zhuxiang…he is fearless due to his ignorance.” Lu Dongbin shook his head and sighed, “Actually, everyone who has been watching this Conclave already has a rough sense of who the most powerful individuals of the ninety-six are. By contrast, the ninety-six themselves actually aren’t clear about how powerful many of them are.”

Indeed.

Zhuxiang had only been warned by a Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Redlotus Sect that Ji Ning was one of the most difficult to deal with contestants in this Conclave, and that he had to fight with full power and not be the slightest bit overconfident. But Zhuxiang himself had never fought against Ning; how could he understand how powerful Ning was?

The spectators on the outside had seen all the battles within the Diagram. The Wanxiang Adepts themselves, however, were ignorant despite having been actually within the Diagram itself. Even Ning himself had only fought against ten or so members of the other 95.

“The first round of duels doesn’t matter that much.” The Xia Emperor nodded. “The purpose of this first round is to separate the most powerful experts; I’m not actually having the most powerful ones fight against each other yet. Ji Ning truly is far more powerful than Zhuxiang.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, you had best hurry up and prepare those Immortal-ranked magic treasures. All forty-eight of the winners are going to need one.” Sovereign Hao let out a loud laugh. “Right; are the forty-eight Immortal-ranked magic treasures going to be low-grade or middle-grade?”

“Low grade, of course!” The Xia Emperor laughed.

“I knew it!” Sovereign Hao nodded as well.

“You aren’t ashamed to take out low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures? The Immortal-ranked magic treasures I carry with me and which I hand out on a whim are all at least high-grade!” Lu Dongbin glanced sideways at the Xia Emperor, who instantly felt resigned. “I have many subordinates under my command, and I also need to keep control over an entire major world. It isn’t easy, you know! I can’t just randomly throw out Immortal-ranked magic treasures like you, Lu Dongbin. You are free to do what you please.”

……

Ning exploded forth with his full power. His six Immortal swords simultaneously chopped downwards towards Zhuxiang of the Redlotus Sect like a series of catastrophes, giving him no chance to fight back at all.

“I admit defeat,” Zhuxiang called out loudly. He then gave Ning a hard look, as though memorizing Ning’s appearance. This defeat had been simply too disastrous…

“Mm. One Immortal-ranked magic treasure down.” Ning quickly returned to normal, then lazily left the grand sealing formation and returned to King Yan’s side within the palace, moving to stand together with his cousin and Yu Wei.

……

Soon, all forty-eight battles came to an end. The battles in this first round were all fairly simple; after all, the Xia Emperor had arranged a strong competitor to fight a weak competitor in each duel, with the goal of selecting out the strongest competitors.

“The forty-eight of you have each won a duel in the first round. Each of you shall receive an Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Now, I shall bestow them unto you.” The Grand Xia Emperor, seated high up above them on his throne, waved his hand. Instantly, magic treasures that emanated massive ripples of power came flying out. There were ropes, flying swords, clocks, millstones, needles, shuttles, spikes, warhammers, grand sealings, longstaffs, silk ribbons, flywhisks…

The forty-eight Immortal-ranked magic treasures all flew outwards to the forty-eight winners.

It was an Immortal-ranked sword that flew towards Ning. The sword-ki revolving around the Immortal sword transformed into the appearance of an old man that looked towards Ning with curiosity.

“This is…” Ning stretched his hand out, catching the Immortal sword and sending his senses into it briefly.

He was someone who had seen the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp and the Thousandbull Sword, after all; Ning had the feeling that this was comparable to the ripples given off by the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp.

“It should be a low-grade Immortal-ranked item.” Ning mused secretly to himself, “But it is still a flying sword, extremely suited to attacks. The Grand Xia Emperor saw that I am a Sword Immortal and so bestowed an Immortal sword upon me? Mmm…it’s probably worth around 1.75 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

He had expected this Immortal-ranked magic treasure to be low-grade. After all, the top twelve would receive five million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. It was reasonable for the top forty-eight to be bestowed with a low-graded Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

“Thank you, your Imperial Majesty!”

Ning and the rest of the forty-eight all kowtowed as their voices rang out in unison. Some of them had looks of uncontrollable excitement on their faces.

Low-grade Immortal-ranked?

Not all of these Wanxiang Adepts were as lucky as Ji Ning! Many Loose Immortals were not in possession of Immortal-ranked magic treasures; for them to possess one was already quite incredible.

Whoosh. The Xia Emperor smiled and nodded. Instantly, rainbow-colored raindrops appeared above Ning and the others. As they landed upon the bodies of the Ning and the others, Ning could feel his divine power and elemental ki be quickly restored. Those who were wounded were all quickly healed as well. Although most of them had spirit-pills that could have accomplished this, Ning and the others couldn’t help but feel excited that the Xia Emperor had personally healed them.

“Arise. All of you can go back and get some rest. Prepare for the next competition,” the Xia Emperor said.

Ning and the others all returned to their respective locations. Ning and the Sloppy Daoist returned to King Yan’s side.

Soon, the Xia Emperor ordered for the second round of duels to begin.

“The second round of duels shall begin now,” the Xia Emperor said calmly. “In the first battle, Xiangtian Xiao of the Xiangtian clan shall face Kindwater Gan of the Kindwater clan.” 1.

Xiangtian Xiao…he was the final remaining competitor of the Xiantian clan within this Conclave. Kindwater Gan, in the same way, was the final disciple the Kindwater clan had within this Conclave.

Both of these ancient clans hoped for their own disciples to win.

However, victory was determined after a few short exchanges in this duel. Xiangtian Xiao, with clear superiority, defeated Kindwater Gan.

“Xiangtian Xiao is quite powerful.” The Sloppy Daoist watched the battle outside the palace and spoke out in praise.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “His Dao is the Grand Dao of the Sabre; the Dao of the Sabre is a Grand Dao that is comparable to the Dao of the Sword…and it is even more dominating and overbearing. Xiangtian Xiao himself is quite a heroic and straightforward figure, and his sabre arts are like him…he is indeed a formidable foe.”

“He can indeed be described as a formidable foe,” the Sloppy Daoist nodded.

“The second battle shall be between the unaffiliated Adept Blackstone and Adept Danzhu of the East Seas,” the Xia Emperor proclaimed.

Upon hearing this, Adept Danzhu, as beautiful as a fairy from the Moon Palace, couldn’t help but frown. Still, she still walked into the grand sealing formation outside of the main palace. As for Adept Blackstone, he appeared as he always did; barefoot, bald, and pitch-black. He leaned on a gnarled staff as he walked forward with a calm smile.

“The Xia Emperor actually pitted Adept Danzhu against Adept Blackstone? Based on what we saw from the first round…the Xia Emperor generally pits a strong fighter against a weak fighter, so as to ensure that strong fighters won’t clash against each other too early on.” Ning shook his head. “It seem as though in the Xia Emperor’s eyes, Adept Danzhu’s power should be in the bottom twenty-four of these forty-eight.”

“Right. Although Adept Danzhu is quite famous, she still isn’t a Fiendgod Body Refiner,” the Sloppy Daoist agreed. “When Ki Refiners fight against Fiendgod Body Refiners, they are generally at a significant disadvantage…especially seeing as how all the competitors in this Conclave are supreme geniuses. The weaknesses of Ki Refiners are made even more apparent.”

Ning nodded. It was true. And this was before the tribulation; upon a Fiendgod Body Refiner becoming an Empyrean God, his power would immediately be on the same level as a Pure Yang True Immortal! From this, one could tell how major an advantage Fiendgod Body Refiners towards the late stages!

……

The battle between Adept Blackstone and Adept Danzhu was an extremely weird battle.

Adept Blackstone only had to use his Fuxi Staff Formation to cause Adept Danzhu to be completely unable to fight back. In the end, she had to admit defeat. From start to finish, Adept Blackstone hadn’t been forced to fight in close combat a single time.

“What a terrifying Adept Blackstone.” This caused Xiamang Zishan, Ji Ning, Adept Ninedeaths, Cangwu Jiu, and the other geniuses to all memorize what had just happened.

……

One competition after another.

Several figures appeared who caused Ning to be secretly alarmed. There were some whom he wasn’t too familiar with, such as the likes of Adept Goldcrow, Adept Primalback, or Adept Unicosmo. Actually, everyone in the top twenty four was quite frighteningly strong.

“The twenty-fourth battle. The unaffiliated Adept Saberslave shall fight against Adept Bloodfiend of the Heaven Piercing clan.”

This was the final battle of the second round.

Adept Bloodfiend was a fairly dazzling figure; his berserkness and his bloodlust had caused everyone watching to firmly fix them in their minds.

But…

He was actually defeated miserably!

Just two blows of the saber! The first blow caused Adept Bloodfiend to be knocked flying backwards, but he had enough power to want to come back and try to fight again. The second blow, however…it chopped his body completely in half! The bisected Adept Bloodfiend hurriedly called out loudly, “I admit defeat!”

“What?!”

“How can this be?!”

Ji Ning, the Sloppy Daoist, Xiamang Zishan, Adept Blackstone, Adept Ninedeaths, and the others were all tremendously shocked. A serious look appeared in their eyes.

A formidable foe! Without question, a formidable foe! Nobody dared to say that they were confident in being able to defeat this mysterious ‘Adept Saberslave.’

Adept Saberslave was a black-robed man that carried a warcleaver. He was cold-faced and didn’t say anything at all. When he stood there silently, he was easily overlooked…but when acting against Adept Bloodfiend, he revealed his fierceness!

“This wandering cultivator…he should be the disciple of a good friend of mine. Previously, he didn’t cause any stir at all, and I thought that he simply had the same Daoist title. But those two saber blows, and his status as a wandering cultivator…there should be no doubt about it.” Lu Dongbin’s eyes lit up, and he laughed as he praised, “This good friend of mine once mentioned this disciple of his; he said that his disciple had taken on the Daoist title ‘Saberslave’ and had sworn that he would offer everything he had to the Dao of the Saber. He was going to infuse everything he had into the Dao of the Saber, and that he was willing to be a slave to the Dao of the Saber!”

“Oh? Intriguing.” Truelord Chiji’s eyes lit up. “Eastflower, who is friend of yours?”

“Umm…nice weather we have today!” Lu Dongbin suddenly turned his head to stare into the void of the skies.

Truelord Chiji was instantly speechless.

The Xia Emperor and the others couldn’t help but smile. Still, they could tell that Lu Dongbin clearly didn’t want to name this friend of his; most likely, this friend of Lu Dongbin most likely belonged to an alliance that was an enemy of one of the Daofathers supporting Lu Dongbin! Lu Dongbin made friends throughout the Three Realms; he even dared to befriend some enemies and some vile demons.

“There are quite a few solitary wandering cultivators this time,” the Xia Emperor said. “This Adept Saberslave is one of them. There are some truly powerful figures amongst this group; some most likely come from other worlds. No matter where they are from, however…since they have participated in this Conclave, I will naturally treat them all equally.”

“However, for this Saberslave to suddenly explode with such power causes me a bit of a headache.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “Based on my previous understanding of their power levels, in the third round, I had already made plans for who would fight who…but for this Saberslave to explode with such power in the final battle of the second round makes it so that I don’t know what to do.”

“I have a recommendation,” Lu Dongbin suddenly said.

“Oh?” The others all looked over.

“This Saberslave should be the most powerful expert of the Dao of the Saber out of these remaining twenty-four. As for that Dao-companion of the little girl I like, that Ji Ning…he’s the most powerful expert of the Dao of the Sword. One is a Sword Immortal while the other is a Saber Devil; having the two of them fight each other will undoubtedly be quite interesting.” 2

The Xia Emperor, hearing this, let out a laugh. “Each of the twenty-four are formidable. No matter who I put Adept Saberslave against, it will still cause me a headache. Since you’ve spoken out, Lu Dongbin…then let’s have this Ji Ning fight against this Saberslave.”

1. Xiangtian Xiao is an interesting name; Xiangtian means ‘facing the heavens’, while Xiao means laugh; his name thus means ‘laughing towards the heavens’

2. In Chinese, the sword (jian) refers to thin, double-edged longswords that are used for slashing and piercing. The saber (dao) can refer to either daggers (duan dao, short saber), or to (usually) single-edged bladed weapons meant for hacking and chopping, such as backswords/broadswords and cleavers. The sword is viewed as the weapon of the gentleman due to its more graceful stances and elegance, while the saber is viewed as the sword of a brute/warrior due to its violent, hacking blows that are extremely suited for the battlefield.

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Chapter 22 – Ji Ning and Saberslave

Chapter 22 – Ji Ning and Saberslave

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, the Sloppy Daoist, and Yuchi Xiyue were quietly whispering amongst each other, discussing each of the remaining twenty-four competitors.

“Adept Woodpass always defends passively, reacting to whatever the enemy throws at him…but he ended up winning, just like that.” Yuchi Xiyue sighed. “I have the feeling that he hasn’t shown his full power yet.”

“Adept Ninedeaths, her body is like a magic treasure. Enemies aren’t able to do anything to her at all.”

“Adept Goldcrow is bizarre and savage.”

“That Adept Saberslave is also quite terrifying.”

“Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor isn’t going to arrange for you to fight against the Sloppy Daoist, is he?”

“The Xia Emperor wouldn’t, unless senior apprentice-brother and I both make it into the top three.”

They continued to chat amongst themselves. Not a single remaining expert was easy to fight; after all, all of the twenty four were favored by the Xia Emperor. Although it seemed as though Ji Ning, Adept Ninedeaths, Adept Blackstone, Xiamang Zishan and the others were the most outstanding, the others weren’t much weaker. Perhaps they were hiding supreme techniques, or perhaps they might make a sudden breakthrough.

At a time like this, anything could happen.

“The twenty-four of you!” The Xia Emperor suddenly spoke out.

The entire main hall of the Skylight Palace fell silent. All of them listened carefully. The closer they were to the finale, the more cautious the Celestial Immortals present were; after all, a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu had appeared in this Conclave, and one of the final three would definitely become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright.

“In the third round of duels, the twelve winners shall each receive five million kilograms as a reward,” the Xia Emperor said calmly. “I hope that you will all use your full power. Don’t let it all be for nothing.”

Ning and the rest of the twenty-four held their breaths as they waited eagerly.

“In the first battle of the third round…Ji Ning of the Black-White College shall fight against the unaffiliated Adept Saberslave,” the Xia Emperor said.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Countless gazes turned towards Ji Ning and Adept Saberslave.

The faces of Yuchi Xiyue Yu Wei both changed. They were both looking towards Ning as well. To both of them, Ji Ning was the most important person in their world. Although they had great faith in him…Adept Saberslave’s earlier performance had been simply too shocking. In addition, they had the feeling that they hadn’t seen the full extent of his power.

Ning and Adept Saberslave both began to walk towards the grand sealing formation outside the palace.

……

“It is the two of them?”

The delegates from the 3600 commanderies and four seas who were watching from the imperial citadel plaza were all completely focused. During this past year, they had been relaxing, chatting, eating, and drinking…but these were the final battles between the ninety-six. This was going to be the most dazzling spectacle in this entire Conclave.

This was especially true now that only twenty-four remained! Each of them were incomparably amazing, supreme geniuses. In addition, this Conclave itself was far more dazzling than previous ones; the top twenty-four were each capable of being ranked in the top three of ordinary Conclaves.

The Sloppy Daoist, Saberslave, Adept Goldcrow, Adept Ninedeaths, and most of the others had originally not planned to come. It was only because their subconscious called them to come that so many peerless monsters had gathered in this place!

“This Adept Saberslave, when fighting against Adept Bloodfiend earlier, chopped through him as easily as chopping through vegetables. He’s terrifyingly strong.”

“Ji Ning was also one of the most dazzling figures in the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. He is tremendously strong as well. For these two to fight…it’s truly going to be hard to say who shall win.”

Everyone present couldn’t help but hold their breaths.

As for the disciples and Loose Immortals of the Black-White College, which had skyrocketed in fame during this Conclave, all of them were extremely nervous. This was because the person who was going to enter battle was Ji Ning, of their own school!

“Master.” Little Qing watched without blinking.

“Ji Ning.” Northmont Baiwei looked towards his good friend as well. When he had first met Ning, Ning was nothing more than a youth of Swallow Mountain…but now, he had become the focal point of attention for the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.

……

Within the grand sealing formation.

Ji Ning and Saberslave stood there atop the cloud, staring at each other from afar.

Ning carefully inspected Saberslave. The black-robed man who carried a warcleaver appeared to be extremely calm. He was as still as water, and his aura was completely withdrawn; it was indeed easy for others to pay no attention to him.

“For him to be able to remain so calm at a time like this…for his heart to have reached such a level…when he explodes forth with full power, it will be extremely terrifying. Even I didn’t pay any attention to him before he unleashed his full power.” Ning was quite cautious.

……

Adept Saberslave was inspecting Ji Ning as well. This delicate-looking fur-clad youth before him seemed to be like a young bumpkin from the vast wilderness, quite ordinary-looking without appearing to be the slightest bit threatening. But Adept Saberslave had watched the two previous rounds of duels; he naturally knew how terrifying this seemingly-delicate youth could be when he exploded with power.

And his eyes…they were as deep as a bottomless pool of water, but within them one could faintly make out a spirit that was as sharp and fierce as the blade of a sword!

This was quite a terrifying youth.

Based on the intelligence reports he had seen earlier, this youth had trained for only thirty years or so. He truly was an incredible monster.

“I have to attack with full power,” Adept Saberslave mused to himself. He had often fought those at a higher level of power, and had even killed quite a few Primal Daoists. However, he had never encountered such a terrifying foe who was also at the Wanxiang Adept level, just like he was.

……

“I have to fight with full power.” This was Ning’s private conclusion as well.

Bang! Bang!

Their bodies simultaneously flickered as they both transformed, one into a 54-meter tall giant and the other into a 60-meter tall giant. Clearly, Ji Ning had spent comparatively less time training in the [Heavenly Transformations], and so was slightly lacking in this regard.

Next, the two of them simultaneously executed [Three Heads, Six Arms]!

[Heavenly Transformations] and [Three Heads, Six Arms]…these were two extremely widespread divine abilities in the Three Realms, and were viewed as absolutely necessary for all true experts who trained as Fiendgod Body Refiners.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two charged towards each other like a pair of true Fiendgods. Ning wielded six Immortal swords in his hands, while Adept Saberslave wielded six warcleavers.

As they moved next to each other…both of them released their most powerful divine abilities as well! Ning held nothing back, immediately executing his [Starseizing Hand].

Clang! Clang! Clang! ……

A consecutive, frantic flurry of sounds could be heard as the swords and sabers collided. The sounds were actually incomparably clear as they spread far away.

In total, they exchanged a total of twelve blows. The six Immortal swords and the six warcleavers clashed against each other twice.

Whoosh. Adept Saberslave suddenly retreated at high speed, transforming into a streak of black light. He retreated all the way to the edge of the grand sealing formation. His entire body seemed to be brimming with dim flames, and he stared coldly towards Ning with a dark gaze. His six hands had already split open at the juncture between his thumb and forefinger, and blood was dripping out.

…….

Adept Saberslave stared at Ning, his pupils contracting. “What a terrifying strength this Ji Ning possesses, and what terrifying sword arts! Sabers are single-edged weapons that are thicker at the back, allowing them chop out with even greater force. In terms of weapons…if two opponents with equal strength fight against each other, the side wielding a saber will have a greater advantage. But I was actually at a disadvantage!”

Practitioners of the Dao of the Sword were referred to as Sword Immortals; they were agile, relaxed, refined, and free-spirited.

Practitioners of the Dao of the Saber were referred to as Saber Devils; they were savage, brutal, vicious, and ferocious.

These were two diametrically opposed styles!

But in a frontal clash…Adept Saberslave had actually been at a disadvantage.

……

“I’ve reached the twelfth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and my Fiendgod-like body is incomparably mighty. I also have the [Starseizing Hand]; in terms of pure strength, I am definitely number one in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny! My sword arts are comparable to his saber arts; in a frontal clash, how can he compare to me?” Ning felt complete self-confidence.

Although he looked like a delicate youth, his physical strength was definitely number one in this Conclave! His [Starseizing Hand] allowed his hands to explode forth with truly tremendous power; after all, it was ranked as one of the top ten divine abilities to be invented ever since the universe had been created!

Ning refused to believe that in this Conclave, there would appear another divine ability that ranked in the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms. That was simply too unlikely.

“You are the most powerful Wanxiang Adept I have ever met. However…a battle isn’t just about fighting head-on against your foes,” Adept Saberslave growled.

“In terms of agility, the Dao of the Sword has always been superior to the Dao of the Saber,” Ning replied tranquilly.

As soon as Ning’s words came out…

Swish!

Adept Saberslave, moving like a ghost, suddenly appeared in front of Ning. His six arms simultaneously chopped down with his warcleavers, all moving in an extremely strange pattern. It was as though a series of illusions had appeared, each of which was completely silent, either stabbing or hacking towards Ning.

Ning immediately used his own Windwing Evasion, and his six arms also executed his own sword arts. His sword-light was like silk, dancing and fluttering about in the surrounding area with absolute beauty.

It was quite bizarre. There were no sounds of weapons colliding at all.

Their sword-light and saber-light howled past each other repeatedly, seeming to almost clash but then separate before actually doing so.

Adept Saberslave’s warcleavers were truly unfathomably strange.

Ning’s swords were moved about in a profound, agile manner.

Ning still held the upper hand! After all, in terms of agility, the Dao of the Sword was indeed slightly superior to the Dao of the Saber.

“The saber…is my life!” Suddenly, a hoarse voice rang out.

Adept Saberslave’s eyes suddenly brimmed with a fiery light. His six hacking warcleavers suddenly began to move with incomparable speed! One chop after another…they all chopped down towards Ning. The six warcleavers seemed to have transformed into the spokes of a wheel. A limitless amount of saber-light was constantly descending towards Ning, and Adept Saberslave’s eyes, glowing with fiery light, appeared to burn with insanity.

In this moment, he had forgotten himself. Only the saber remained!

In this world of the saber…

Fast! Faster! Fastest! One blow after another!

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!

Ning fought back against his foe, and their two figures began to appear in multiple places throughout the grand sealing formation. The saber-light flashed at a simply incomparably fast rate; after all, sabers were single-edged weapons that were used to hack and chop. In terms of raw speed…their attacks had an advantage over the attacks of a sword.

“Break! Break! BREAK!”

Ning, assaulted and pressured by countless saber-assaults that flashed as fast as fire, instantly exploded with power. Previously, he had been planning to use this as a chance to temper himself, but he now had no other choices. His six Immortal swords instantly became unfathomable in their movements; some were invincibly savage and ferocious, some were as nimble and dextrous as an Immortal maiden sewing clothes, while others solely focused on support.

“YOU CANNOT WITHSTAND ME!” Adept Saberslave had gone completely berserk. In the area around him, a fiery dragon suddenly appeared. The fiery dragon wrapped itself around him as it launched sneak attacks against Ning, disturbing Ning’s rhythm.

Around Ning’s own body, an enormous Waterflame Lotus suddenly appeared. The Waterflame Lotus bloomed open, the petals of the lotus swiveling against each other.

Slash! Slash!

Blood flew everywhere as the two battled with utter madness.

Adept Saberslave could only be described in a single word – fast!

Ji Ning, in turn, brought out all of the magnificent splendor of the Dao of the Sword.

CLANG! A warcleaver was suddenly knocked aside…and attached to it was a severed hand.

“I admit defeat.” A hoarse voice rang out.

The two separated with a swoosh.

Adept Saberslave’s entire body was covered in wounds. The wound on his chest was particularly bad; it had torn apart almost his entire chest. His face was covered with many savage wounds, and one of his hands had been severed, causing his warcleaver to fly away.

Ji Ning, by comparison, was a bit better off. He only had a single vicious wound on his chest, as well as several wounds that were about to completely finish healing.

“You weren’t completely defeated yet.” Ning looked at Adept Saberslave.

“With six sabers, I still lost a hand. With only five sabers…you probably would’ve taken my life.” Adept Saberslave gently shook his head. He picked up his discarded warcleaver, then walked out of the grand sealing formation. Ji Ning walked out as well.

All of the Wanxiang Adepts within the main hall had extremely solemn looks on their faces.

The battle between Ji Ning and Adept Saberslave had been too berserk, too violent. The two had pulled out almost all the stops in their battle, releasing the full power of the Grand Dao of the Sword and the Grand Dao of the Saber, the two Grand Daos that were most suited for attacking. This caused all of the spectators to feel nervousness in their hearts. Many of them would most likely have been defeated had they been the one to encounter Adept Saberslave.

Fortunately, it was Ji Ning, a Sword Immortal, who had been the one to fight. He had managed to suppress this Saber Devil!

And now…Adept Saberslave had admitted defeat, leaving behind the even more terrifying Ji Ning!

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Chapter 23 – Ji Ning’s Divine Ability

Chapter 23 – Ji Ning’s Divine Ability

“Ji Ning won!”

“Ji Ning of the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery won!”

The imperial citadel plaza was a hubbub of noise. The delegates from the 3600 commanderies and four seas were all excitedly discussing this most recent battle. It had indeed been quite spectacular! This was because the other competitors, such as Xiamang Zishan, Adept Ninedeaths, or the Sloppy Daoist all relied on their hands or on staffs.

When they fought, their techniques might be more exquisite or more violent…but in terms of murderous savagery, they were far from being a match for the Dao of the Sword or the Dao of the Saber. Sword Immortals and Saber Devils were highly suited to combat! Previously, the two had easily defeated their foes, but this time when they collided against each other…they finally, truly revealed the strengths of Sword Immortals and Saber Devils, these two major schools of combat.

The sight of their battled caused hearts to shudder and grow numb.

The sword-light, the saber-light…any casual blow was capable of slaughtering a Primal Daoist!

……

Ning walked back into the main hall of the Skylight Palace, moving behind King Yan and seating himself alongside the Sloppy Daoist, Yuchi Xiyue, and Yu Wei once more.

The gazes of many individuals within the main hall all fell upon Ning.

“I absolutely can’t exchange blows head-on against this Ji Ning. I need to use my strengths to seize his weaknesses.”

“Sword Immortals truly are formidable in an all-out fight.”

“I can’t take him head-on.”

The rest of the twenty-four Wanxiang Adept competitors were all pondering. Only when knowing one’s self and one’s enemies could one win a hundred battles without fail. They all knew that Sword Immortals specialized in attacking, and they naturally knew where their own advantages lay as well…and so the likes of Adept Ninedeaths, Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Youngflame Zhan, and Adept Blackstone were all quietly pondering on their plans.

The nine Pure Yang True Immortals seated on high, by contrast, began to grow puzzled.

“I wasn’t able to see it clearly previously,” the Immortal Elder of the Northlands said in a suspicious manner, “But during the battle between Ji Ning and Saberslave, everything became apparent. In terms of their levels of comprehension regarding the sword and the saber, the two were on par…but when they fought head-on, Ji Ning actually held the upper hand. This Saberslave is the disciple of a good friend of Eastflower; his divine abilities shouldn’t be weak. So…this Ji Ning should train in an even more powerful divine ability! Or perhaps the power of the swords he wields is greater!”

Truelord Chiji nodded as well. “Ji Ning has only trained for around thirty or so years, but has already reached such a level; he should have had a tremendous stroke of luck that allowed him to learn a powerful divine ability. However, this divine ability is a support-type divine ability that is quite low-key, making it extremely hard to detect from the surface.”

“He should indeed have a formidable divine ability.” Lu Dongbing laughed loudly. “But each of those who have managed to survive this Conclave thus far are the darlings of this entire major world of the Grand Xia; I’m sure that all of them have had tremendous strokes of luck. Since the universe was established, countless divine abilities have been invented. Some are for attack, others are for suppressing and sealing, others are for poison, while some are for raw strength…they are all different. Ji Ning should have trained in one meant for raw strength.”

“Right.

“His speed isn’t exceptionally impressive.”

They all nodded.

There were, after all, far too many variables that could affect a person’s combat power. Some were exceptionally talented; even if they were also just at the twelfth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], their talent made it so that they were a bit stronger! Not everyone at the same level would necessarily have the exact same level of strength! Even those who trained in the same Ki Refining technique, such as the [Flowing Watersource], would need different levels of liquefied elemental essence for a breakthrough. After all, each of them were born with unique bodies that had their differences; the only thing that could be said was that the difference between them wouldn’t be too ridiculous.

Different weapons, different insights into different Daos, particularly special divine abilities, or secret arts that allowed elemental ki to explode in certain ways…

These could all cause differences in one’s level of power.

Previously, they hadn’t even been able to tell that Ning possessed a powerful divine ability, but in Ning’s battle against Saberslave, the two had simply been too similar! One was of the Dao of the Sword, the other was of the Dao of the Saber. Putting them side by side made the differences very easily detected, which was why the Pure Yang True Immortals were able to ascertain that Ning should be in possession of a powerful divine ability.

But that was nothing special.

There were plenty of formidable divine abilities; the imperial treasury of the Grand Xia Emperor even held the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], one of the top hundred grand divine abilities of the Three Realms. However, the treasury only held the first part of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye]; it was only suitable for Void-level Fiendgods to train in. They didn’t have the higher-level training techniques.

In truth, a grand divine ability like this, ranked in the top hundred in the entire Three Realms, shouldn’t actually have been transmitted to outsiders, even if it was just the first part. The reason the imperial treasury of the Grand Xia had it was because…the creator of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], the major power of the Three Realms known as the Torch Dragon, had died long ago during the era of the Primordial World!

“Ji Ning might have learned a unique divine ability developed by some Empyrean God or major power,” the Pure Yang True Immortals believed.

The divine abilities developed by major powers weren’t necessarily the most supreme abilities.

For example, Grand Emperor Xuanwu; only his ‘Grand Black Tortoise’ divine ability was exceptionally famous. He would occasionally develop some other unique divine abilities as well. Some were suited for fleeing, others were suited for defense, while still others were suited for attacking…these types divine abilities, which he would create in a fairly casual manner, were comparatively speaking of much lower value. Only supreme abilities which the creator poured all of their blood and sweat into would become truly precious.

For example, the ‘Grand Black Tortoise’ divine ability of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.

Or for example, the [Starseizing Hand] of Daoist Threelives.

……

“In the second duel, the unaffiliated Adept Ninedeaths will battle against Adept Rainflower of the Soaring Immortal School.”

This was a battle between two women.

Adept Ninedeaths had a body like a magic treasure; Adept Rainflower was completely unable to do anything to her. After all, her attacks weren’t as powerful as that of a Sword Immortal like Ji Ning!

In this battle…Adept Ninedeaths was the victor!

……

“The third duel…”

“The fourth duel…”

……

One duel after another. The people watching from the imperial citadel plaza below were all breathless. The Celestial Immortals and Pure Yang True Immortals seated within the main hall of the Skylight Palace were all watching attentively as well. The only reason why the Pure Yang True Immortals were paying so much attention was because Daofather Crimsonbright would choose one of them as a disciple.

“The eighth duel shall wee Youngflame Zhan fight against Xiangtian Xiao.”

This was a battle that many people cared about.

This was because, amongst the twenty-four competitors, only four came from the major clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty – Xiamang Zishan of the imperial Xiamang clan, Cangwu Jiu of the Cangwu clan, Youngflame Zhan of the Youngflame clan, and Xiangtian Xiao of the Xiangtian clan. Just four of them! This proved that in terms of searching for geniuses, the number of geniuses within the various clans was vastly inferior to the number of geniuses spread out within the entire world.

In this battle, Xiangtian Xiao was quite berserk. He completely displayed the legendary valor and savagery of the Xiangtian clan, famous for being willing to challenge the heavens themselves. However…he still lost. His power was indeed quite a bit lower than Youngflame Zhan’s. 1

In addition, Youngflame Zhan had been entrusted with the hopes of his clan; he had also gone all out.

The victor of the eighth battle was Youngflame Zhan!

“Good, good, good. Very good!” Watching the battle, Patriarch Arcanum couldn’t help but laugh so hard his mouth was about to split apart. Everyone knew how crazed and cold-blooded he was; it was rare to see him smile a single time in ten thousand years. But right now, he was laughing! And in truth, the other Celestial Immortals all understood how Patriarch Arcanum was feeling.

“Zhan, child, well done. Charge forward in just this manner. You’ve already made it to the top twelve.” Patriarch Arcanum watched as Youngflame Zhan walked to his side, then immediately encouraged him, “You are very, very, very close to being in the top three now.”

…….

Finally, the twelve competitions in the third round came to an end.

This resulted in the final twelve being determined!

Ning and the rest of the twelve all stood in a neat line in the main hall, awaiting the Grand Xia Emperor’s bestowal of five million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

“Xiamang Zishan. Cangwu Jiu. Ji Ning. Sloppy Daoist. Youngflame Zhan. Adept Woodpass. Adept Blackstone. Adept Ninedeaths. Adept Whitedragon. Adept Unicosmo. Adept Primalback. Adept Goldcrow.” The Xia Emperor stood at the front of the hall, listing out the names of all twelve before continuing. “The twelve of you have ranked in the top twelve in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. I said previously that those who made it into the top twelve would each receive five million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

The Xia Emperor waved his hand. Instantly, twelve violet-jade bottles appeared out of nowhere in the air before them. One of the twelve violet-jade bottles flew to each of the twelve victors.

This caused even the Celestial Immortals present to stare towards the bottles. Five million kilograms! This caused even them to feel envy and desire. These twelve little fellows ended up acquiring so much!

Ning and the others reached out to grab them. They then swept the bottles with their divine senses!

“Wow.” Ning secretly sighed in amazement. “This violet bottle is a wonderful treasure for storing liquefied elemental essence as well. It is actually able to hold five million kilograms of it. It’s comparable to a high-grade Heaven-ranked flying sword in value.”

“With these five million kilograms, my Primaltwin should be able to charge all the way to the peak of the Void-stage,” Ning mused to himself. “But there’s no need to rush it; my Primaltwin has spent very little time at the Primal level. I should keep it there for a period of time longer and understand it better.”

At every single level, there were different insights to be gained. Reincarnated Immortals might have already trained at a certain level, so it didn’t matter, but Ji Ning was no reincarnated Immortal. It was best for him to spend a bit of extra time at each level. But of course, after his true body broke through to become a Primal, his Primaltwin could make the breakthrough to the Void-level.

“You shall first enter the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers,” the Xia Emperor suddenly said. “I will change the flow of time in the place where you reside. I shall wait for you for two hours in the outside world; within the Diagram, you will have three days to quietly train.”

Ning and the others were flabbergasted. Train for three days within the Diagram?

“Strange. Previously, when the hundred thousand-plus competitors entered the world of the Diagram, wasn’t the flow of time inside it the same as the flow of time outside it? Why is it that all of a sudden, three days in the diagram becomes equal to two hours outside of it?” Ning was puzzled.

“Ji Ning!” The giant yellow bear’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind. “It seems as though the emperor of your Grand Xia Dynasty has quite a bit of insight into the Grand Dao of Time. However, changing the flow of time will use a tremendous amount of energy; although the Grand Xia Emperor is a Pure Yang True Immortal, he still wouldn’t dare to try and change the flow of time for more than a hundred thousand people. The twelve of you represent a much lower burden to him.”

……

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!!

Ning and the rest of the twelve were teleported straight into the world of the Diagram, and then the scroll of the Diagram itself flew into the Grand Xia Emperor’s hands.

“Xiamang, you want to let them train for three days?” Truelord Chiji laughed. “It seems you truly do place tremendous importance on this Conclave.”

“It’s not that I place importance on it; it’s that I must not only be hard-working in service to Master, I also must put thought into it,” the Xia Emperor said. “There are only twelve who remain in this Conclave. The previous battles they engaged in have caused their hearts to be tempered through the invisible pressure their competitors placed upon them…and they are currently in the process of evolving. I am giving them three days. Perhaps, this will be enough to let them make a breakthrough. I naturally wish to ensure that only the three best geniuses are presented to Master for the choosing.”

“Right. When you are working for your master, you need to not only be hard-working, but also put thought into it.” Lu Dongbin nodded and smiled. “No wonder Daofather Crimsonbright likes you so much, Xiamang.”

……

Ji Ning and the others appeared atop a mountain peak. The mountain peak was more than a three hundred meters in size; naturally, it was enough for twelve cultivators to train in. In addition, there were invisible barriers surrounding the mountain peak; there was no way for Ning or the others to walk out from the area of the peak.

Ning and the others immediately sat down into the lotus position, not even saying anything to each other.

They all felt as though their souls had been filled with new insights; perhaps this might be their chance to apply them and make a breakthrough. A little bit of a breakthrough might make a tremendous difference in whether or not they would be able to be selected into the top three! That meant a chance to become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright! Who wouldn’t go all out for that chance?

Ning, too, had the ardent desire to become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple!

1. Remember, Xiangtian means ‘facing the heavens’.

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Chapter 24 –The Sloppy Daoist Against Adept Ninedeaths

Chapter 24 –The Sloppy Daoist Against Adept Ninedeaths

While Ji Ning and the rest of the twelve were in secluded meditation and training within the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. The imperial citadel’s plaza.

Twelve names repeatedly came up in conversations: Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Ji Ning, Sloppy Daoist, Youngflame Zhan, Adept Woodpass, Adept Blackstone, Adept Ninedeaths, Adept Whitedragon, Adept Unicosmo, Adept Primalback, Adept Goldcrow.

“The top twelve have been determined.”

“Our South Seas have Adept Woodpass.”

“Our North Seas have Adept Goldcrow!”

“Our Quchang Commandery has Adept Whitedragon.”

“You guys are nothing. Our Stillwater Commandery has two people; Ji Ning and the Sloppy Daoist!”

Only twelve finalists had emerged from the 3600 commanderies. Two of them belonged to Stillwater Commandery, and both were from the Black-White College!

Immortal Fivecraze was grinning so broadly his jaw was almost crooked. Clutching a calabash of wine, he gulped it down happily, occasionally chatting through divine sense.

“Oh, you are the leader of the Myriad Beasts School? Haha, yup, I’m Fivecraze. Yup, Ji Ning and little Sloppy both belong to our Black-White College. To be honest, Yu Wei of our Black-White College was poisoned; otherwise, she would’ve made it into the top ninety six as well. She might have even entered the top twelve! What? You would like to get to know the disciples of our Black-White College? You want to go spend some time viewing the Black-White Diagram within the Black-White College? Sure, no problem! How about letting the disciples of our Black-White College also go take a look at the ten thousand beasts of your school?”

“Xiangtian clan? Your Xiangtian clan wishes to send its disciples to the Black-White College? But, but…the Black-White College is in Stillwater Commandery, after all. We have very little room, and it’s not convenient for us to have too many disciples! That’s why we are extremely strict whenever we take on new students. What’s that? Your Xiangtian clan wishes to send an envoy delegation to the Black-White College? No problem. Our Black-White College will definitely take good care of them.”

Many people had come to seek out Immortal Fivecraze.

It must be understood that the Xiangtian clan and the Myriad Beasts School were some of the most supremely powerful schools in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. They had all learned from their Celestial Immortal Patriarchs that the Sloppy Daoist was the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu. Given how outstanding Ji Ning was as well…all of the major powers were puzzled.

“For a small school to suddenly produce one outstanding genius is one thing; that can just be attributed to luck. But they actually produced two! The entire Grand Xia Dynasty has only twelve on their level…and one of them is the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu. I imagine that this Black-White College must be one of the places within our Grand Xia Dynasty where luck is gathering and flourishing.”

“It must be a place of tremendously positive karmic luck.”

Many major powers came to this conclusion.

Luck; it couldn’t be seen, nor could it be touched. But some places were just naturally lucky! When the imperial capital of the Grand Xia had been built, the Grand Xia Emperor had invited a major power to personally choose a site with great karmic luck to build on, then set up a grand formation that guarded the entire world from the site.

“We have to send our disciples over there. When they train in a place of such karmic luck, they too will be blessed by luck.”

“Right. We also need to go spend some time observing the Black-White Diagram of this Black-White College.”

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace. An hour had passed.

The Grand Xia Emperor sat above all others atop his throne. With a wave of his arm, a furled scroll appeared in his palm. It was the Pure Yang treasure, the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. The scroll opened, and twelve streaks of light flew out and landed on the ground. It was Ji Ning, the Sloppy Daoist, and the rest of the twelve.

“We prostrate ourselves before you, your Imperial Majesty,” Ning and the others said as they all fell to their knees.

“Mm.”

The Grand Xia Emperor glanced at them, then nodded in satisfaction. He could vaguely sense that after three days of quiet training, all twelve of these had made some improvements. Some of them had improved considerably.

“This is now the most important part of this Conclave. Three of you shall emerge from the twelve…and one of the three shall definitely be chosen by my master as a disciple,” the Xia Emperor said. “There is no time to waste. Let the first battle in the fourth round of duels begin. Let us have the Sloppy Daoist of the Black-White College fight against the unaffiliated Adept Ninedeaths. The others can all rest, watch, and prepare for their own duels.”

Ning, Xiamang Zishan, and the others were all surprised.

The Sloppy Daoist against Adept Ninedeaths?

Adept Ninedeaths was extremely strong, and she had yet to unleash all of her full power. As for the Sloppy Daoist, the Celestial Immortals had all gushed over him endlessly. Xiamang Zishan and the others had all heard their respective Celestial Immortal Patriarchs praise the Sloppy Daoist and warn them to be wary of him. It was as though the Sloppy Daoist was the strongest amongst them.

Due to the warnings of their Celestial Immortal Patriarchs, all of them were paying very close attention to the Sloppy Daoist.

Sloppy against Ninedeaths? So soon?

As for the Sloppy Daoist and Adept Ninedeaths, they each gave the other a glance, then walked out from the main hall and towards the grand sealing formation.

……

The nine Pure Yang True Immortals seated at the front of the main hall of the Skylight Palace began to argue amongst each other.

“Xiamang, is something wrong with your head?” Truelord Chiji said with a frown, “This is just the fourth round, meant to determine the top six; why are you pitting the Sloppy Daoist against Adept Ninedeaths? Adept Ninedeaths has mastered five complete Dao-Paths long ago, and her divine abilities and training techniques are all incredibly powerful. Her might is significant! She should rank amongst the very top, and definitely has a chance to become number one. The Sloppy Daoist is the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu; he should rank at the top as well, and also has a chance to become number one. For you to have them fight now…that means one of them will have to be discarded prematurely.”

“It is indeed too early. It isn’t appropriate to have the two of them compete so soon.” Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta slowly spoke out as well.

“Do all of you think that I can’t tell that Adept Ninedeaths is powerful?” The Xia Emperor shook his head.

“Xiamang has his own difficulties.” Lu Dongbin shook his head. “Actually, by now, I have a favorable impression of eight…but six must be eliminated! Thus, no matter how you match them up, at least two of the eight I like will be eliminated.”

The Xia Emperor nodded. “Right. By now, of these twelve, I have a particularly favorable impression of Xiamang Zishan of my own clan, Ji Ning, Adept Goldcrow, Adept Woodpass, Adept Blackstone, the Sloppy Daoist, and Adept Ninedeaths! No matter how I match them up, two of these seven will have to end up fighting each other. I pondered for a long time about what to do. The Sloppy Daoist is already the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu; Master definitely won’t try to steal someone else’s disciple. As for Adept Ninedeaths, she’s the only female amongst the seven. They stood out. So, I ended up deciding to stop worrying about it and just have the Sloppy Daoist and Adept Ninedeaths fight. Whoever wins will stay behind.”

“That’s quite decisive of you.”

“The reason you are having Adept Ninedeaths fight the Sloppy Daoist is actually because she’s female?” The other Pure Yang True Immortals couldn’t help but laugh.

……

Ning, Yu Wei, and Yuchi Xiyue were all behind King Yan. They were staring at the distant grand sealing formation outside the hall. Within the formation, there were two individuals; a sloppy, chubby youth and a similarly dirty maiden.

“Both of them are incomparably slovenly. They are a good match,” Yuchi Xiyue whispered.

“But both are very powerful,” Yu Wei praised.

“They are indeed. When Adept Ninedeaths puts on those silver gloves, even I can’t tell how great her power is. Although I fought against her previously, she hadn’t used that magic treasure at all.” Ning watched carefully. “Eldest apprentice-brother’s power is unfathomable as well. It’s hard to say who will win.”

They were all staring at this battle. The Pure Yang True Immortals were paying absolute attention as well.

The Sloppy Daoist? A disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.

Adept Ninedeaths? Everyone had noticed long ago that she was one of the two masters of five Dao-Paths, and she had a body like a magic treasure.

“They are starting.” Yuchi Xiyue stared intently.

Ning’s eyes instantly narrowed. “They are finally showing their powers. Adept Ninedeaths…she truly is frightening.” Till now, Adept Ninedeaths had never before revealed her full power. When she had fought Ning, she had mainly focused on tying him down. But this time, in her duel against the Sloppy Daoist, she actively launched a sudden, violent attack.

Gloves on hands, Adept Ninedeaths six arms had become six incomparably fierce weapons!

Attack!

Sometimes, her hands hacked down like blades with invincible sharpness.

At other times, they glided like water, swirling about in a soft, circular manner.

Adept Ninedeaths circled around the Sloppy Daoist, attacking wildly. The two of them both used their divine abilities, both having transformed into three-headed, six-armed giants.

“Which Grand Dao is this?” Ning frowned. The attacks of Adept Ninedeaths were extremely strange. They created an extremely uncomfortable stifling feeling, while her own attacks were constantly fluctuating in style in an unfathomable manner. “It shouldn’t be an especially well-known one. I, at least, have never seen this Grand Dao.”

……

“The Grand Dao of Mortality 1! This little girl truly is quite ambitious. The Grand Dao of Mortality…it is one of the most supreme of the many Grand Daos. It is extremely hard to train in. She actually dares to trod on this Grand Dao?” Lu Dongbin shook his head with a sigh. “But if she reaches a certain level in this Grand Dao, then overcoming the Celestial Tribulation will become significantly easier by comparison.”

The Grand Daos of Taiji, the Sword, and the Saber were all technique-focused Daos!

By contrast, the Grand Dao of Mortality contained the infinite mysteries of life and death within it, as well as the technical principles regarding how life and death interchanged.

It was a Grand Dao that not only contained many profound mysteries, but also ways to apply techniques! It was extremely difficult to train in, even more so than the Daos of the Sword or the Saber.

“Interesting.”

“This little lass truly is formidable.”

……

Adept Ninedeaths attacked wildly, occasionally becoming as savage and vicious as a God of Death, while at other times seeming to be as gentle and soft as the caress of a mother. The interchange and the linkages between life and death…they caused even the Sloppy Daoist to be suppressed for a period of time.

However…

The Sloppy Daoist was truly too stable and unshakeable. When executing the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, he also executed his Grand Dao of Taiji.

The Sloppy Daoist seemed to have transformed into a whirling and spinning turtle-shell. His defense was absolutely impregnable. The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability was exceptionally suited for defense, and the Grand Dao of Taiji was also extremely suited for defense.

“Damn.” Adept Ninedeaths let out a furious growl as she grew even more berserk.

By contrast, the Sloppy Daoist was incomparably relaxed and leisurely. His six arms seemed to have transformed into the spokes of an enormous windmill, blocking one attack after another.

HISS!

A sound like the hissing of a serpent.

The Sloppy Daoist had been defending this entire time, his guard as tight as a turtle shell, allowing the opponent no flaws to slip attacks through. All of a sudden, his arm came slamming out! His hand struck out in a serpentine stance, viciously stabbing forth! As it did, it just so happened to strike at a flaw in the stances of the frantically attacking Adept Ninedeaths, tearing her arm apart at the shoulder and sending it flying off.

Slash…

After his first attack, the Sloppy Daoist suddenly exploded with power. He charged forth with the power of a formerly dormant volcano that was suddenly exploding, and his six arms had all transformed into vipers that moved with strange savagery.

His defense had been completely impregnable. His attacks…they were as terrifying as the strikes of a viper.

“Perfect. I was afraid you’d keep hiding!” Adept Ninedeaths wasn’t startled; in fact, she was delighted. If her opponent had continued to defend, he might have been able to exhaust her divine power. That would be an unfair way to lose! Adept Ninedeaths immediately moved forward to exchange blows, and her severed arm was quickly regrowing.

Both of them truly did have the power to contend for the number one position!

1. Literally, life/death

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Chapter 25 – Secret Art ‘Wavefolding’

Chapter 25 – Secret Art ‘Wavefolding’

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Sloppy Daoist’s six arms were currently striking out like six venomous serpents, moving with unstoppable ferocity and extreme viciousness! His savage attacks seemed as torrential as a storm of rain, and each strike was potentially lethal. Clearly, he wanted to seize this chance to break down Adept Ninedeaths; after all, she had lost an arm and now had only five remaining.

“Hahaha…hahaha…” Adept Ninedeaths actually let out a delighted laugh. Each of her palm blows seemed to contain the power of life and death within them, causing everyone who looked at her to feel a stifled feeling. She madly blocked all of the Sloppy Daoist’s attacks, and she even used her own body to block some strikes to win a little bit of time.

The Sloppy Daoist was ferociously attacking, while Adept Ninedeaths was striving to hold on until her severed arm had regrown.

“Not good!”

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and Yuchi Xiyue all felt nervous as they saw this. Even though Adept Ninedeaths only had five arms, the Sloppy Daoist remained unable to shatter through her defenses. She was currently planning to hold on until her sixth arm grew back…at which point, it would be even harder for the Sloppy Daoist to defeat her.

“Is this all he has…this disciple which Grand Emperor Xuanwu took such a fancy to?”

He can’t even defeat an unaffiliated cultivator like Adept Ninedeaths?” The True Immortals at the front of the Skylight Palace were all quite puzzled. As they saw it, given Grand Emperor Xuanwu’s status, his disciple should naturally be extraordinary. Otherwise, that would be an utter loss of face for Grand Emperor Xuanwu.

Lu Dongbin, by contrast, was staring far into the distance. Smiling, he said, “This battle is interesting. This Adept Ninedeaths has an extremely deep level of insight into the Grand Dao of Mortality; in fact, I even suspect that she has memories from several previous lives…she is definitely extremely strong. Can it be that the Sloppy Daoist is actually going to lose to her?”

“It wouldn’t be strange if he did,” Truelord Chiji agreed.

“Just because someone is going to become a Celestial Immortal in the future doesn’t mean they cannot lose a battle in the present.” Sovereign Hao shook his head.

All of the Pure Yang True Immortals felt that the outcome of this battle was now in doubt.

Based on their judgment, both the Sloppy Daoist and Adept Ninedeaths had used all of the powers available to them. The Sloppy Daoist had am impregnable defense, and his attacks were absolutely savage as well…and yet, he remained unable to do anything to his opponent. This was indeed quite dangerous for him.

……

The Sloppy Daoist suddenly took a break from his frantic attacks, beginning to launch a different tempo of strikes.

“This is…?!” Adept Ninedeaths face suddenly changed. The Sloppy Daoist was currently very calm; his six arms moved in unfathomable ways, and at almost all times four of them were defending while two of them were attacking! They felt like the waves of the sea. Each successive wave was increasingly powerful, and the same was true for the Sloppy Daoist’s attacks. When defending, he was accumulating power…and when attacking, he would let it erupt forth!

Accumulating power, then unleashing it!

This sort of strange tempo caused the Sloppy Daoist’s attacks to slowly become increasingly ferocious. One wave after another continued to merge into each other, causing Adept Ninedeaths to feel increasingly stifled.

“What what what…what is this?!” Adept Ninedeaths couldn’t understand it at all. The waves were growing increasingly savage in power!

BOOM!

The Sloppy Daoist suddenly struck out with all six arms. They all struck out as fists with a power that felt faintly similar to an enormous black tortoise slamming against the pillars of heaven. Boom….Adept Ninedeath blocked the blows, but was knocked flying backwards. Her body had split open at many places from the force of the collision, and blood was flowing from the wounds nonstop.

Whoosh. The Sloppy Daoist took a single step, appearing before Adept Ninedeaths. His six fists once more moved to strike out.

“I admit defeat.” Adept Ninedeaths discontented voice rang out. She was now using all her efforts to dodge. Only now did the Sloppy Daoist come to a halt. The turtle-shell runes covering his body disappeared as well as he returned to normal.

The dirty face of Adept Ninedeaths was filled with resentment and an unwillingness to accept this. She looked towards the Sloppy Daoist: “Sloppy Daoist; your level of comprehension of the Dao is limited, and whether I am attacking or defending, I can handle you. So why is it that this last technique of yours became increasingly hard for me to withstand…until in the end, I had to admit defeat?”

The Sloppy Daoist just laughed. This was a battle technique he had developed after gaining insight into the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability. When he had been transmitted this Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, he had sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that without permission, he absolutely wouldn’t teach anyone any part of it at all. This technique involved some of the profound mysteries of the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability; naturally, he couldn’t teach it to anyone else.

“What is the name of this sort of battle technique?” Adept Ninedeaths quickly asked.

“Wavefolding!” The Sloppy Daoist responded to her.

“Wavefolding…one wave after another, folding onto each other…I was trapped within the waves, and death was the only way out…I clearly wasn’t weaker than you, but I was still defeated…wavefolding…wavefolding…” Adept Ninedeaths walked away, murmuring the word ‘wavefolding’ to herself. She even had a sudden feeling…that if she could comprehend the mysteries of this ‘wavefolding’, then she would have a chance to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal!

This was a stroke of luck for her! But if she was unable to comprehend it, then in this life, her ninth life, she would probably once more fail the tribulation!

……

Within the Skylight Palace’s main hall. The nearly thousand-strong Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were all frowning. Although they were very experienced, even they couldn’t understand what had just happened. Clearly, these two were both on par with each other in terms of divine abilities, comprehension of the Dao, and Fiendgod Body Refining techniques. In fact, Adept Ninedeaths was even at a slight advantage. So why, in the end, had she been defeated like this?

It had seemed as though Adept Ninedeaths had walked into an endless tide; no matter how much she struggled, it was useless. In the end, the tide had completely drowned her.

“What was that?”

“How could that have happened?”

“I don’t understand.”

The Celestial Immortals all felt that there were strange mysteries to what had just happened. It should have been some sort of battle art they just saw, but none of them could comprehend it.

“He truly lives up to being the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.” This was the only thing they could come up with.

……

“Wavefolding!” The Xia Emperor and the rest of the nine Pure Yang True Immortals all revealed a look of surprise and amazement.

“I sigh in amazement. I sigh in amazement!” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands shook his head and sighed with emotion, “This Sloppy Daoist truly has astonishing comprehension abilities. He was even able to comprehend some of the true exquisiteness of this secret art of Grand Emperor Xuanwu’s…when I watched that battle just now, I was even reminded of that scene from back when I was listening to Grand Emperor Xuanwu expound on the Dao.”

“Truly incredible!” Lu Dongbin sighed in disbelief as well.

“Formidable.” The Xia Emperor seemed to show a hinit of envy.

“Grand Emperor Xuanwu…he truly is a major power!” Truelord Chiji’s eyes were filled with admiration.

At their level, they actually all understood the profound principles behind the Sloppy Daoist’s ‘wavefolding’ technique. This was a technique that constantly circulated and accumulated waves of power; the longer the power was stored up for, the more terrifying the final explosion of power would be! But even if one was taught this technique and completely understood its principles, that didn’t mean one would necessarily be able to use it. This was a matter of heart, a matter of comprehension.

They all understood some of the profound underlying principles, but as the saying goes, some things are ‘easy to understand, but hard to do’! Understanding was one part; actually executing the technique was something else entirely.

“We can comprehend the mysteries of this Sloppy Daoist’s ‘wavefolding’ technique, but when the Grand Emperor personally executes it, the profound mysteries are countless times more complicated,” Lu Dongbin sighed. “Grand Emperor Xuanwu’s ‘Grand Black Tortoise’ divine ability…its true exquisiteness lies in a single word; the so-called ‘folding’.”

……

Ning was frowning as he watched. He could vaguely sense that the final battle technique the Sloppy Daoist had used had seemed to contain an utterly heaven-shaking profound mystery. He could even sense that the Grand Dao of Taiji was mixed into it. But Ning himself did not walk upon the Grand Dao of Taiji; he couldn’t understand what he had seen at all.

“Yu Wei, what do you think?” Ning looked towards the nearby Yu Wei; she herself was walked upon the Grand Dao of Taiji.

“I don’t understand it. It is very profound, unfathomably so. I can vaguely sense the exquisite essence of the Grand Dao of Taiji, but that’s just one part of this secret art. I imagine that eldest apprentice-brother has only mastered the tiniest portion of this secret art.” Yu Wei completely couldn’t understand the technique either; she couldn’t get the slightest bit of insight into it.

……

The Celestial Immortals were puzzled, while Ning and the others were completely baffled. Just like that…this battle ended.

One of the top six had been determined…the Sloppy Daoist!

Rumble…

Suddenly, a ripple of the Dao descended within the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

“Eh?”

Everyone’s gazes turned in unison to stare at the point where the Dao-ripple had descended. They saw Cangwu Jiu, seated in the lotus position behind a Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Cangwu clan. In the area around him, a hint of a black wind could vaguely be seen.

“He comprehended a Dao?”

“He comprehended yet another complete Dao-Path?”

“He actually comprehended a complete Dao-Path by watching that battle?”

Everyone present was completely astonished. Generally speaking, it was fairly common for someone to suddenly make a breakthrough during the course of a battle, but Cangwu Jiu had just been watching the battle. In that tense atmosphere, he had actually gained sudden mastery over a complete Dao-Path?

Ning, Xiamang Zishan, Youngflame Zhan, Adept Blackstone, Adept Woodpass, Adept Whitedragon, Adept Goldcrow, and the rest of the twelve Wanxiang Adepts all sensed a new threat.

Cangwu Jiu had been very powerful to begin with. And now, he had mastered yet another complete Dao-Path….and in doing so had immediately become a truly formidable foe!

……

“But, but…” The Grand Xia Emperor, seated atop his throne above the others, shook his head and laughed bitterly. He looked towards the other eight Pure Yang True Immortals. “Everyone, how do you think I should arrange these next battles? With this breakthrough, he has now mastered five complete Dao-Paths. In addition, this breakthrough was in one of the Daos of the Wind, one of the Five Elements. He was already exceptionally fast; he now will be even more formidable.”

He had already come up with a plan for matching up duelists. But Cangwu Jiu’s sudden mastery of a new Dao-Path, combined with the fact that he was already very formidable…this made him an even more shocking competitor.

“I view Cangwu Jiu quite positively,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh. “He was actually able to make a breakthrough just by watching a battle…I imagine that his level of luck must be quite high as well. He was already quite formidable, and had never exploded forth with his full power; now that he has made another breakthrough, I imagine that his power is most likely not inferior to even the likes of Adept Ninedeaths.”

“This is going to be trouble.” The Grand Xia Emperor was pondering. He immediately made some slight mental adjustments to the pairings he had come up with earlier. He had originally ranked Cangwu Jiu as number eight or nine amongst the twelve, but now he ranked him somewhere around the third or fourth.

……

A sudden breakthrough in the main hall of the Skylight Palace…this naturally attracted quite a bit of attention. The Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Cangwu Clan had extremely long eyebrows, and he was currently extremely excited. He stared at Cangwu Jiu, this disciple of his clan. Upon seeing him open his eyes, the Celestial Immortal immediately said, “Good, good, good. Jiu, child, this is an excellent breakthrough. For you to make a sudden breakthrough here in the Skylight Palace must be the arrangement of the heavens; this time, you’ll definitely make the top three.”

The Celestial Immortal Patriarch was almost able to visualize how glorious the Cangwu clan would be in the future.

Why did the Cangwu clan necessarily have to submit to the Xiamang clan? With Daofather Crimsonbright supporting them, in the future the Cangwu clan would be able to grow and develop to the point where they would be able to sit down with the Xiamang clan as equals.

“The second duel in the fourth round shall see Adept Whitedragon of the Divine Dragon Mountain against Cangwu Jiu of the Cangwu clan.” The Xia Emperor’s voice suddenly echoed in the main hall of the Skylight Palac as well as the vast imperial citadel plaza below.

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Chapter 26 – Ji Ning Battles Youngflame Zhan

Chapter 26 – Ji Ning Battles Youngflame Zhan

Cangwu Jiu against Adept Whitedragon!

Every person who had battled through the Conclave of Immortal Destiny to this point was a peerless genius. As if by unspoken agreement, they had all but given up using divine will attacks or spell-based attacks against each other! This was because using magic treasures and elemental ki was not enough to threaten their foes; they all had to rely on divine abilities to battle. Ji Ning had given up the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] as well!

BOOM! WHOOSH!

Cangwu Jiu and Adept Whitedragon were battling savagely against each other. Both of them used [Heavenly Transformation] and [Three Heads, Six Arms], then each unleashed their respective divine abilities.

Adept Whitedragon had completely transformed into a snowy white divine dragon, while Cangwu Jiu had exploded forth with a level of speed that was utterly amazing. The only thing that could be seen was a howling wind which flashed with streaks of lightning. Within the berserk lightning, the vague form of Cangwu Jiu could be barely made out. He flashed forward repeatedly at an utterly astonishing speed…it was as though a group of Cangwu Jius were fighting against this single snowy white divine dragon!

“What terrifying speed.”

“What shocking agility.”

Everyone was secretly amazed.

Ning, Xiamang Zishan, the Sloppy Daoist, and the others all felt their hearts sink. In terms of speed, Cangwu Jiu had always been ranked number one in this Conclave! Now, with this additional new breakthrough, his speed and agility had reached an unfathomable new level.

In close combat, speed and agility were even more important than strength!

“What a terrifying Cangwu Jiu.”

“A single overwhelming advantage can be used to great effect everywhere. Just by relying on his absolute advantage in speed and agility, he is an extremely terrifying foe.”

……

There was no question about it. In t his battle between two powerful Fiendgod Body Refiners, Cangwu Jiu could attack when he wished and could retreat when he wished; he completely controlled the tempo of battle! Although Adept Whitedragon was powerful, in the face of Cangwu Jiu’s agility and speed, he had no tactical options available at all. In the end…he was defeated.

The second of the sixth finalists in this Conclave had been chosen…Cangwu Jiu!

“Goodd, good, good!” The long-browed Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Cangwu clan grew even more excited, and his eyes gleamed with light. He was a Celestial Immortal; naturally, he could tell that although by this point there shouldn’t be any tremendous differences in power amongst the finalists, Cangwu Jiu was able to make his enemies helpless against him, thanks to his tremendous advantage in speed. If this continued…he would definitely be in the top three as well.

The Grand Xia Emperor spoke out once more. “The third duel in the fourth battle…Ji Ning of the Black-White College shall battle Youngflame Zhan of the Youngflame clan!”

His voice echoed forth everywhere.

Ning was seated by King Yan. His pupils contracted. Youngflame Zhan? The Youngflame clan? It was well-publicized that he had a major feud against the Youngflame clan…and his opponent would actually be Youngflame Zhan?

“Ji Ning.” Yu Wei held Ning’s hand in her own as she looked at him. “Be careful.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

By now, none of the remaining opponents could be underestimated.

On the other side.

Patriarch Arcanum’s face had changed slightly as well. Ji Ning? He had long ago desired to find a chance to get rid of Ji Ning, but compared to the chance of having a clansman becoming the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright, getting rid of Ji Ning was much less important. He had put that in the back of his mind, and his entire focus was on Youngflame Zhan making the top three.

“Zhan, child.” Patriarch Arcanum looked at Youngflame Zhan, who was by his side. He instructed mentally, “This Ji Ning is a Sword Immortal; he’s most skilled in attacking and battling. There is no need for you to fight him head on…and your talents don’t lie in fighting head on either. Use your strengths to strike as his weaknesses. You absolutely can win.”

Youngflame Zhan nodded gently as well. This battle…it was more important than life or death!

Whoosh. Youngflame Zhan immediately walked over towards the outside of the main hall.

……

“Xiamang, when you instructed Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan fight…why is it that I felt as though the atmosphere within the Skylight Palace became a bit strange? Those Celestial Immortals seem to be looking at Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan in a rather queer manner,” Lu Dongbin said, puzzled.

The other Pure Yang True Immortals had noticed this as well.

The Xia Emperor laughed loudly, “Everyone, you don’t know this, but there is a feud between Ji Ning and the Youngflame clan. To be honest, it’s actually become a bit of a legend.”

“Legend?” Lu Dongbin and the others all began to listen carefully.

All of these True Immortals had arrived after this Conclave had already begun; they didn’t have much of an understanding regarding these Wanxiang-level geniuses of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Naturally, they didn’t know of the matters between Ning and the Youngflame clan. The only reason the Grand Xia Emperor himself knew about it was because he had collected intelligence reports on all of the geniuses, which was why he learned of it.

“The Youngflame clan had a member known as Youngflame Nong, who was going to be their next clan leader…”

“……”

“…and in the end, that Deathsworn which the Youngflame clan sent out ended up being killed by this Ji Ning’s Primaltwin,” the Xia Emperor said with a loud laugh. “So…you now understand the feud between Ji Ning and the Youngflame clan, yes?”

The other Pure Yang True Immortals now all understood.

“Xiamang, that’s a nasty little trick. You know that there is a feud between them, and yet you intentionally set them up against each other. Still…given that such a feud exists, they are definitely going to fight even more insanely against each other.”

“Mm. This battle is definitely going to be quite exciting.”

……

Two of the six finalists had already been determined. Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan; only one of them could enter the final six! So long as they could enter the final six…they would be very close to becoming the three victors. Just one step away!

“The disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright should be me.” Youngflame Zhan’s gaze was cold. He was a very low-key person; in the younger generation of the Youngflame clan, the most famous person had been Youngflame Nong. He, Youngflame Zhan, had kept his head down and focused on quietly training; his goal had always been to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become an immortal, free, unconstrained Celestial Immortal!

He had never held that playboy, Youngflame Nong, in any regard at all. Youngflame Nong merely relied on the affection of the Patriarch; he would only be able to dominate for a period of time.

“To become a disciple of a Daofather…this is indeed a chance that rarely comes even after a thousand reincarnations. I have to seize it.” Youngflame Zhan walked into the grand sealing formation, then stared at the distant Ji Ning.

……

“The Three Realms are unfathomably mysterious. After I become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple and have the guidance of a Daofather, I shall be able to advance along my path in a faster, more stable manner!” Ji Ning knew very well that personal hard work and comprehension abilities were only part of it; luck and fate were another part. For example, if he hadn’t had the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique as he had worked hard under the tutelage of his father, Ji Yichuan…although he still might have been able to surpass his father and become a major figure of Stillwater Commandery after a few centuries, it was thanks to the [Nuwa Painting] that his rise to prominence had become more than ten times faster!

In fact, were it not for the [Nuwa Painting]…he probably would’ve died when he had entered the underwater estate. Strictly speaking, without the [Nuwa Painting], Ning’s talent might not have been high enough for the underwater estate to even teleport him inside.

An initial advantage snowballs into continuous advantages!

To walk farther, to make it to a higher position, to become a major power of the Three Realms…one had to seize every single opportunity possible!

“I am definitely going to enter the top three, and perhaps even become number one!” Ning looked towards Youngflame Zhan. “This Youngflame Zhan…he’s a stumbling block, a tiger blocking a critical juncture in my path of Immortal cultivation. I must annihilate him.”

Their gazes collided from far away.

Even their gazes seemed to be striking at each other. Everyone could sense the resolute aura emanating from the two. Either I can live, or he can…we cannot coexist!

Boom! Boom! Their bodies moved at the same instant as both transformed into three-headed, six-armed giants!

Ning’s six arms were holding six Immortal swords, while Youngflame Zhan’s six arms were holding onto six long black whips.

“Ji Ning, although your swordplay is indeed formidable, I perfectly counter you. You will definitely lose.” Youngflame Zhan’s voice echoed forth from his chest as his six arms struck out. The six long black whips began to dance, each one contorting and twisting in the air like an enormous, coiling black serpent. The whips were tipped with a series of sharp spikes, and were also covered with runes. A powerful aura sprang out from each of them.

“Youngflame Zhan, once you get into close combat with me, you will definitely lose.” Ning’s voice was also incomparably valorous and echoing.

Although both their words held some degrees of truth, they were actually trying to cause their opponent’s Dao-hearts to become unstable.

At their level, if their Dao-hearts became the slightest bit unstable, then the amount of power they could unleash would be slightly lessened. If a strike at a critical moment was slightly weaker…one might be defeated.

Ning was pondering to himself. “Youngflame Zhan is an expert in using whips. Once one whip entangles me, the other whips will come to surround me as well. By then, I will be in serious trouble, and might even lose! Thus, I absolutely cannot give him that chance. That means I can’t be too straightforward and rely on brute force…in this battle, I need to focus on agility.”

Against different opponents, different battle tactics were needed.

Suddenly…

The two of them, who had been speaking and sensing each others auras, suddenly began to charge forward. The battle had instantly begun!

Swish! Swish!

A Waterflame Lotus bloomed around Ning. He stood at the pistil within the center of the lotus, within the leaves. This Waterflame Lotus was capable of affecting the opponent’s whips…although the amount of influence was miniscule, it was enough to be of tremendous help in this fight.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Three long black whips simultaneously lashed out, unleashing crackling sounds of thunder as they did. They were like three black Flood Dragons, containing an incomparably dominating power! As for the other three long black whips, they silently struck out like deadly vipers towards Ning as well.

Ning brandished his Immortal swords while doing his best to close the gap with his foe. The closer they were to each other, the greater his advantage was! Whips…they needed sufficient space to unleash their power. The closer they were in distance, the less of a threat a whip would be.

Crackle…

Sword-light like silk. Silken rays of sword-light flew about in midair, constantly colliding against the whips.

The flying, dancing silken rays of sword-light carried an incomparable resilience. They came out in an interconnected, unending cycle.

“What tremendous strength.” From this first exchange, Youngflame Zhan immediately sensed how terrifying Ning was. Although Ning had not chosen to fight him head-on, and had instead chosen to rely on a sword technique that was like water, repeatedly carrying away the strikes of the long whip…each time the sword-light and a whip collided, a terrifying tremor of power would be unleashed!

Youngflame Zhan even felt as though his six arms were beginning to slightly grow numb! Each time he lashed out wih his whip, they were knocked to the side.

After using the [Starseizing Hand], Ning truly did have an absolute advantage in terms of power against him.

……

Immortal Fivecraze of the Black-White College, Uncle White, Little Qing, Yu Wei, Yuchi Xiyue, and the others were all watching nervously.

Patriarch Arcanum was incomparably nervous as well.

Both Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan seemed to be quite cautious in their clashes. They were both familiarizing themselves with their opponent’s techniques, giving their foe no chances at all.

“Kill him, kill him!” Patriarch Arcanum’s narrow eyes flashed with cold light as he quietly chanted these words to himself.

Suddenly…

Within the grand sealing formation, Youngflame Zhan’s six arms suddenly, simultaneously changed. His arms actually became covered with many black scales, as though he himself had transformed into serpent as well. His arms instantly became soft and boneless. His whip strikes, which had previously been savage and vicious…immediately became softer and more insidious as they frantically moved forward to encircle and bind Ning.

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Chapter 27 – The Six Finalists

Chapter 27 – The Six Finalists

“Youngflame Zhan has lost for sure.” Upon seeing Youngflame Zhan execute this divinen ability, and upon seeing how the whip grew even more insidious and soft in its movements, the Xia Emperor couldn’t help but shake his head and say these words.

“Indeed. Youngflame Zhan lost his composure. He actually made a mistake like this!” Lu Dongbin shook his head disdainfully. “Ji Ning has been extremely cautious and hasn’t used any power attacks…thus, Youngflame Zhan’s whips seemingly held the upper hand for a while. In reality, however, Ji Ning’s attacks are the most powerful amongst the top twelve! Just because he didn’t reveal his fangs doesn’t mean that he isn’t powerful; rather, he was just being cautious against whip-type weapons. Who would’ve thought that Youngflame Zhan, frantic to achieve victory, would have immediately used this divine ability as soon as he held the upper hand. He wants to use the whips to try and entangle and bind Ji Ning…but in reality, he’s doomed himself!”

Pure Yang True Immortals had exceptional judgment. They saw right away, as soon as Youngflame Zhan executed this unnamed divine technique, that the divine technique was meant to make one’s arms soft and boneless, so as to allow the movements of the whips to become even more insidious and softer as well. However, this caused the strength of the attacks to actually drop.

In this battle between Ning and Youngflame Zhan, Youngflame Zhan was already at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength! And now, he was being so hot-headed as to execute this divine technique and further lower his own strength…wasn’t this the same as dooming himself?!

……

Ning had started off quite cautious, and his six Immortal swords flowed like water in an airtight defense. Youngflame Zhan, upon seeing this, had immediately used a divine ability to make his arms soft and boneless, making his whip movements even more softer and insidious as well. He thought to himself, “Although my strength will lessen slightly, the movements of my whips will become even more unfathomable and insidious. So long as I can tie him down, I’ll definitely win.”

Youngflame Zhan had gone completely berserk; in the face of this opportunity to become the disciple of a Daofather, even someone as cold and calm as him had grown hot-headed.

“Eh?” Ning was surprised and speechless. “I haven’t even started fighting at full power; I’ve just been carefully guarding. I wasn’t trying to seize an advantage, just working to ensure I didn’t suffer a loss. This would allow me to get a clear look at the secrets of his whip techniques. Why has this Youngflame Zhan suddenly lowered his own strength?” Upon discovering the changes in Youngflame Zhan’s whips, Ning felt surprised and perplexed. “He’s dooming himself!”

Ning trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!

His divine ability was the [Starseizing Hand]!

In terms of raw strength, he had an absolute advantage! He was just being very careful and cautious, but his opponent actually lowered his own strength in a frantic rush towards victory…

“He’s delivering a present to my door.” Ji Ning suddenly exploded with power.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Six brilliant streaks of sword-light flashed through the air, each one incredibly dominating and savage! The power of the [Starseizing Hand] and his Fiendgod-like body simultaneously exploded forth!

BOOM!

A black whip was blasted away as soon as Ning’s sword-light brushed past it. The difference in power between the two was simply too great, causing the whips to be blasted away. Although Youngflame Zhan managed to keep his grip on it, the skin between his thumb and forefinger had split apart and blood was leaking out.

The six streaks of sword-light, carrying extraordinary savagery and ruthlessness, swept, chopped, and slammed against the whips, blasting all of them apart.

Whoosh. Ning instantly charged right next to Youngflame Zhan.

Youngflame Zhan was tremendously shocked. His face instantly turned ashen as he realized that he had acted too impetuously and rashly. He had completely underestimated Ji Ning. Previously, he had watched Ji Ning’s other battles, but only now did he realize how savage and powerful Ji Ning’s attacks actually were. At the very beginning, when his hands were turning slightly numb from the colliding blows, Ning had actually been fighting very carefully and conservatively; he hadn’t exploded forth with full power at all.

He now knew how utterly terrifying Ning was when fighting him head-on. Unfortunately, it was too late. Ning had already reached him.

“I admit defeat!” Youngflame Zhan’s face was ashen as he called out these words loudly. His six arms brandished his whips as well as he frantically tried to create a wall of whips in front of him.

Whoosh! Slash! Ning’s six rays of sword-light streaked out before Youngflame Zhan’s voice actually rang out. As soon as he spoke out, Ning immediately came to a halt. This was in accordance with the rules of the duel. Anyone who dared violate them would be killed by the Grand Xia Emperor.

Even though Ning had halted, Youngflame Zhan’s body had already been chopped into several sections. His body quickly began to pull together and reconnect.

“I lost.” Youngflame Zhan rose to his feet, a look of self-mocking in his eyes. “I, Youngflame Zhan, have always felt myself to be an extremely cold and calm person. I didn’t imagine…that this time, I was defeated because I wasn’t calm enough. The allure of becoming a disciple of a Daofather combined with your ability, Ji Ning…they put me under too much pressure. I wanted to win too badly.”

Ning also felt that this battle had been too easily won.

In his previous battle against Saberslave, he had to go all out in order to win. This battle against Youngflame Zhan, however, he had won easily. He had actually been fighting very carefully and conservatively, for fear of the unpredictable movements of the whip.

In truth, amongst the top twelve, all of the Pure Yang Immortals including the Xia Emperor and Lu Dongbin felt the most favor towards the Sloppy Daoist, Ji Ning, Xiamang Zishan, Adept Blackstone, Adept Woodpass, Cangwu Jiu, and Adept Goldcrow. As for Youngflame Zhan…they actually didn’t hold in much favor. Still, any of the top twelve, no matter how weak, shouldn’t have been defeated so calamitously.

If he hadn’t been in a rush to win, and had instead moved to make the blows of his whips more powerful, so as to counter his disadvantage in strength…Ning probably would’ve had to first understand and familiarize himself against the whip technique.

“Useless thing!” Patriarch Arcanum gave Youngflame Zhan a glance, his gaze filled with nothing but ice. “You knew that his attacks were powerful, but still lowered your own strength…you are utterly useless.”

Youngflame Zhan sat down in the lotus position silently.

Patriarch Arcanum felt like his belly was filled with fire…but he had forgotten that all the things he had told Youngflame Zhan earlier had actually also contributed to Youngflame Zhan being insufficiently calm.

“Calm…even in the face of a tremendous stroke of fortune, one still must be calm.”

“This was a tremendous fall for me. Patriarch Arcanum even cursed me as ‘useless’. I imagine that upon my return to the clan, the other high-level clan members will also be filled with endless rage.” Youngflame Zhan came to a decision. “Since I would have to endure the mockery and insults of others within the clan…after this Conclave concludes, I shall leave the clan and go adventuring.”

He had always been an extremely calm person. This rare case of hotheadedness had caused him to lose his chance. This was a tremendous loss to him.

But one learns wisdom from each setback. He became even calmer as he coolly reflected on the path he should take in the future.

……

The Xia Emperor had originally viewed seven favorably. He had been forced to decide on having the Sloppy Daoist and Adept Ninedeaths fight, but then Cangwu Jiu had unexpectedly made a breakthrough. The number of people the Xia Emperor viewed favorably had suddenly risen to eight as a result.

Of the eight, the Sloppy Daoist and Adept Ninedeaths had already fought. But what should his next arrangements be?

……

In the fourth duel, Adept Woodpass battled Adept Primalback! Adept Woodpass was like a human-shaped tree; he was too sturdy and resilient, seemingly even tougher to deal with than the Sloppy Daoist. He, too, was a terrifying foe that was extremely, extremely good on defense. He forced Adept Primalback to use up all of his divine power…and in the end, forced him to admit defeat.

…….

In the fifth duel, Adept Blackstone battled Adept Unicosmo! The bald, bare-footed youth, Adept Blackstone, was indeed extremely powerful. He executed the Fuxi Staff Formation, then relied on it to launch sudden attacks and then vanish. Adept Unicosmo was thoroughly abused until he was finally forced to admit defeat.

……

In the sixth duel, Xiamang Zishan battled Adept Goldcrow!

……

The most vicious, bloody battle was the sixth duel; that between Xiamang Zishan and Adept Goldcrow! Both of them were viewed favorably by the Pure Yang True Immortals. Per the Xia Emperor’s original plans, Xiamang Zishan was going to fight Adept Whitedragon, while Adept Goldcrow was going to fight Cangwu Jiu. But Cangwu Jiu’s sudden breakthrough had transformed him into an extremely formidable figure.

There was nothing for it. The second duel had become Cangwu Jiu against Adept Whitedragon. The sixth one had thus become Xiamang Zishan against Adept Goldcrow.

“That Adept Goldcrow is truly formidable; he will be a test for Zishan. If he cannot even defeat Adept Goldcrow, how can he possibly become Master’s disciple?” The Xia Emperor was quite harsh in dealing with with the disciples of his clan.

And thus, this battle was an exceptionally violent one!

Xiamang Zishan was even more powerful than he had been when battling Ji Ning; his staff techniques were now even more overbearing and dominating than before. As for Adept Goldcrow, his speed and agility were second only to Cangwu Jiu, while his attacks were even more savage vicious and savage.

The two battled until their blood flowed like rivers. It was an incomparably savage sight. In the end, because Adept Goldcrow had been badly injured and had used up almost all of his divine power, he had been forced to admit defeat!

In this battle…Xiamang Zishan had won!

…….

And so, the six finalists of this Conclavef of Immortal Destiny had finally emerged from the crucible.

They were the Sloppy Daoist, Cangwu Jiu, Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, Adept Blackstone, and Xiamang Zishan!

“Two of the top six are actually of the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery.”

“But but but…what sort of a place is this Black-White College? Two of these six peerless monsters are actually from them?”

“I hear that the Black-White College is merely a school within Stillwater City that takes up a very small amount of land. They have a total of just a few hundred disciples.”

“What?! They only have a few hundred?! Our school has nearly a million, and is one of the most supreme, large schools of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, but we didn’t even make it into the top ninety-six. But they actually have two in the top six?!”

Of the top six finalists, two came from major clans; Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu. Two were unaffiliated wanderers; Adept Blackstone and Adept Woodpass. Two came from a school…and they both actually came from the same school, the Black-White College; Ji Ning and the Sloppy Daoist.

“Ahaha, ahahaha…” Immortal Fivecraze was laughing so hard his jaw was turning crooked. He was utterly beside himself with delight. “Haha, I didn’t expect that an old alcoholic like myself would actually be showered with such glory before dying. Even if I die right now, it would be worth it. Ji Ning, little Sloppy, well done, well done, ahahaha! If that little girl Yu Wei had also entered the top six, things would be even better!”

“Patriarch, you want senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei to make the top six as well? This…is a bit too ambitious, isn’t it?” Upon hearing this, the nearby Mu Northson’s eyes couldn’t help but twitch.

“You think this is ambitious? Nope…in fact, I’m still hoping for little Sloppy and Ji Ning to both make it into the top three. That would be even better. Ahahaha! Two of the top three finalists of this entire Conclave of the Grand Xia Dynasty both belonging to the Black-White College…I’d wake myself up laughing whenever I fell asleep. When I die and go to the Netherworld Kingdom, I’d be able to brag a bit with the Judges of the Dead.” Immortal Fivecraze was indeed absolutely overjoyed.

……

The imperial citadel plaza was incomparably lively right now, but the atmosphere in the main hall of the Skylight Palace was rather stifled.

This was because the top six had been determined! Next would come the top three! One of the top three would definitely become the disciple of a Daofather.

“Top three…” Xiamang Zishan’s gaze was crackling with hidden thunder.

“Top three…” Cangwu Jiu was seated, head lowered. He murmured these words to himself.

Ji Ning, the Sloppy Daoist, Adept Woodpass, Adept Blackstone…they were all silent.

In fact, they weren’t even talking to the people nearby them. An invisible pressure had completely surrounded the six of them. With one more fight, it would be determined whether or not they would make it into the top three.

Six people. Three duels. Three eliminations. Three victors!

Who would be eliminated? Who would remain?

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Chapter 28 – The Sloppy Daoist Battles Adept Woodpass

Chapter 28 – The Sloppy Daoist Battles Adept Woodpass

The Xia Emperor sat above all others atop his throne. Staring downwards, he said calmly, “This is the most crucial point of this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Xiamang Zishan. Cangwu Jiu. Ji Ning. Sloppy Daoist. Adept Woodpass. Adept Blackstone.”

Ning and the other six all looked towards the Xia Emperor.

“This next round will determine which three of you six will have the chance to be chosen by Master as a disciple.” The Xia Emperor’s voice was calm, but his gaze swept past Ning and the other of the six. He knew very well that if the Grand Xia Dynasty’s world was to produce a peerless hero in this upcoming period of upheaval for the Three Realms, it would most likely be one of the six! In addition, it was guaranteed that one would be taken on by Daofather Crimsonbright as a disciple, while a second one was already a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.

“First, spend two hours calming your minds. After two hours, the final, crucial battles shall begin,” the Xia Emperor said calmly.

Ning and the rest of the six were instantly stunned. Calming their minds for two hours? The pressure of making it into the top three had already made it hard for them to even breath. They were all prepared to start beginning their one-on-one duels…but who would have imagined that the Xia Emperor would instruct them to spend two hours calming their minds.

“After two hours, the duels shall begin. These duels shall be the fulcrum on which your destinies shall turn,” the Xia Emperor said calmly, then fell silent.

……

“Xiamang, you are quite the tormenter,” Lu Dongbin said with a smirk. “As the saying goes, death isn’t frightening; the terror you feel right before dying is what is frightening. If they were to compete right away, that’d be one thing, but you insisted on delaying for two hours…during these two hours, the invisible pressure they are feeling will most lkely torment all of them.”

“How can a chance to become a Daofather’s disciple be so easily given?” The Xia Emperor said calmly, “The nine of us all encountered countless life-and-death tribulations before making it to our present levels. They, however, are merely Wanxiang Adepts. They must be tempered a bit, and the invisible pressure created by this chance of becoming a Daofather’s disciple is an excellent form of tempering.”

“Everyone, which one amongst the six do you think the Daofather will choose?” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands said.

“The Sloppy Daoist won’t have any problems entering the top six, but he is already the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu. There’s no way the Daofather will choose him. Mm…it might be Xiamang Zishan. Xiamang Zishan’s dominating aura is bone-deep, and he is most likely being assisted by the karmic luck that surrounds the Xiamang clan. As long as he can become the Daofather’s disciple, his future potential will be limitless.”

“I favor that bald, bare-foot youth. I keep on feeling as though I can sense the shadow of the Shennong clan on him.” 1

The human race was the most powerful of the countless races of the Three Realms. In the Primordial World which Pangu had established after creating the universe, after Maiden Nuwa created humanity, the human race began to flourish nonstop. They learned, they grew powerful, and they began to embark upon the Immortal path…and so even as far back as the era of the Primordial World, mankind had already given birth to countless supreme powers.

The Emperor of Mankind, the Divine Farmer Shennong, was one of them.

“Mahāsthāmaprāpta, is something wrong with your head? That bald, bare-foot lad uses the Fuxi Staff Formation; if anything, he arguably has a connection to the Fuxi clan.”

“I favor Ji Ning. This Ji Ning has trained for just thirty years, but he’s already such a monster; his talent is limitless. Perhaps the Daofather shall choose Ji Ning.”

“I think Adept Woodpass is not bad.”

“I favor Cangwu Jiu.”

The Xia Emperor and the rest of the nine Pure Yang True Immortals each had their own favorites amongst the top six, aside from the Sloppy Daoist.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Yuchi Xiyue, and the Sloppy Daoist were currently seated together. Yu Wei and Yuchi Xiyue looked at each other, not daring to say a word. As for Ning and the Sloppy Daoist, they were silent as they meditated calmly.

“Yu Wei, the two of them are…” Yuchi Xiyue sent a worried mental message.

“Don’t worry about them. Although both their Dao-hearts are formidable, the allure of becoming a Daofather’s disciple is simply far, far too great. In addition, this is the final, critical battle. It’s good for them to sit quietly for a time and temper their Dao-hearts,” Yu Wei said. Her training experience was, comparatively speaking, much greater; after all, she had her memories from her past life.

Although Ning also had memories from his past life, not only was his past life a short one, he had also been an ordinary mortal.

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, two hours passed.

“The fourth round. The most important round.” The Xia Emperor’s voice suddenly rang out.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ji Ning, the Sloppy Daoist, Xiamang Zishan, Adept Blackstone, Cangwu Jiu, and Adept Woodpass; their gazes turned scorchingly hot as they simultaneously turned to look towards the Xia Emperor.

“After careful consideration, the six of you shall fight these three battles.”

“In the first battle, the Sloppy Daoist shall fight Adept Woodpass.”

“In the second battle, Adept Blackstone shall fight Cangwu Jiu.”

“In the third battle, Ji Ning shall fight Xiamang Zishan.”

His voice was deep and resonating. It echoed throughout the hall.

Ning and the rest of the six instantly turned their gazes towards their respective opponents.

The Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpass both appeared to be simple, honest, good-natured individuals…and yet these two good-natured individuals had both battled their way into the top six. Only one of the two could enter the top three. Their gazes turned towards each other…but both were very calm. However, behind the calmness, an unshakable resolve could be seen.

Adept Blackstone and Cangwu Jiu were both unconventional. The bald Adept Blackstone always walked around barefoot, leaning on his staff. Cangwu Jiu, in turn, always appeared to be like a hawk, his gaze predatory and devouring. The two gave each other a glance, and their eyes both seemed to spark with fire.

Ji Ning and Xiamang Zishan were the two most ferocious individuals of the six. Xiamang Zishan’s domineering, tyrannical temperament was bone-deep, and his staff techniques were similarly overbearing. Ji Ning, in turn, was the number one Sword Immortal of this Conclave; although he looked like a handsome, delicate youth, in terms of strength, he was the strongest of them all.

……

Good-natured against good-natured.

Unconventional against unconventional.

Savage against savage.

“The first battle. Sloppy Daoist, Adept Woodpass, the two of you can go to the grand sealing formation. You can begin now,” the Xia Emperor instructed.

“Yes.” The Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpass both responded with respect, them immediately both moved towards the outside of the hall.

“Xiamang, your arrangements truly are like pitting the point of the nail against the tip of the needle.” Lu Dongbin shook his head. “Not even I would dare guess as to which of them shall become the top three. I can’t tell, I truly can’t tell.”

“It’s precisely because we can’t tell that makes this intriguing.” Although the Xia Emperor was chatting with Lu Dongbin, his gaze was focused on the grand sealing formation outside the palace. He had to pay extremely close attention to each of these three battles…after all, watching with his own eyes was completely different from watching using a water scryinig technique.

Water scrying techniques only transmitted images. Watching with his own eyes, however, allowed him to sense the ripples of the Dao.

“Ji Ning, which of the two will win?” Yuchi Xiyue was extremely nervous.

“I don’t know.” Ning shook his head, then gave a sideways glance towards the nearby Xiamang Zishan.

Xiamang Zishan seemed to feel his gaze, as he turned to look back at Ning as well. Their gazes met…and then both turned away to look towards the battle outside that had just begun.

The Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpass; one of them would make it into the top three.

Who would it be?

……

Within the grand sealing formation.

The Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpass were staring at each other from far away.

“You are the most powerful foe I have encountered so far in this Conclave.” Adept Woodpass normally looked quite amiable, but right now his eyes were as sharp as knives. He said seriously, “I watched you defeat Adept Ninedeaths, but…you will be defeated by me.”

“Oh. Just saying the words is nothing; if you have any formidable techniques, bring them out,” the Sloppy Daoist said with a chortle.

Boom! Boom!

The two simultaneously transformed into towering giants, each with three heads and six arms.

Each of the six arms of Adept Woodpass clutched a giant hammer, while the Sloppy Daoist remained barehanded. However, with the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, he truly didn’t need any weapons at all. Actually, Ning didn’t need to use any weapons either; his [Starseizing Hand] made his hands comparable to Immortal-ranked magic treasures, after all. But the implications of the [Starseizing Hand] were simply too great; Ning didn’t dare to casually reveal this technique.

If he revealed it in front of Daofather Crimsonbright, that was one thing, but the Conclave of Immortal Destiny had too many eyes and ears present. Once he revealed the technique, news would surely spread like wildfire, and most likely many individuals within the Three Realms would learn of it. Perhaps some of the major powers who held grudges against Daoist Threelives would decide to wipe out Ning, the successor to Daoist Threelives’ legacy!

Ning didn’t dare to make this gamble. Thus, he had never used his bare hands to block magic treasures, even though his hands were even more powerful than the Darknorth swords!

“Growl…”

An enormous Turtle-Snake had appeared. It was even letting out a slight growl. The Sloppy Daoist, in the very center of the Turtle-Snake, came crushing downwards towards Adept Woodpass with an absolutely dominating air.

“This is my world…” Adept Woodpass narrowed his eyes, a look of intoxication appearing on his face. Instantly, fruit tree saplings began to appear and grow throughout the sealed region. The saplings quickly grew into towering trees which died, transformed into ash, then gave birth to new saplings. Countless saplings were growing, and the three-headed, six-armed Adept Woodpass was himself like a human-shaped tree, with his six arms like tree branches and the giant warhammers in his hands like fruit.

BANG! The Sloppy Daoist’s attack had arrived. His fist smashed down like thunder, crushing downwards. Adept Woodpass, in turn, waved a great warhammer.

BOOM! The warhammer met the fist. Adept Woodpass just took one heavy step back after another, deflecting the force of the collision. He continued to look like a human-shaped tree as he brandished about those six giant warhammers.

“I couldn’t break through?” The Sloppy Daoist was surprised. “He truly is a peerless genius who was famous even as far back as three cenuturies ago who insisted on stifling himself for three hundred years as he waited for this day.”

The Sloppy Daoist’s attack form c hanged. He immediately executed the ‘Wavefolding’ secret art, and his attacks began to seem to turn into the waves of the sea, each wave more savage than the last as power continuously accumulated! Even Adept Woodpass, legendary for his defense, was finding it increasingly difficult to handle.

“For trees to grow, they need water!” Adept Woodpass’ face changed slightly as he suddenly spoke out in a gravelly voice.

Rumble…

The trees that had sprung up within the sealed region began to be surrounded with a large amount of water. The vast amount of water swirled around the trees…and the feeling which Adept Woodpass gave off changed. He previously seemed like a man-shaped tree, but now he seemed more agile, with perfect dexterity.

“Two Grand Daos?”

“He actually has embarked on two Grand Daos?”

Lu Dongbin, the Xia Emperor, and the rest of the Pure Yang True Immortals were instantly shocked. During the previous duels as well as when he was within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers, Adept Woodpass had always used the Grand Dao of Verdant Wood. This Grand Dao of the Watersource, Adept Woodpass had never before revealed.

The Grand Dao of the Verdant Wood. The Grand Dao of the Watersource. These were two Grand Daos that reinforced and supported each other. For a Wanxiang Adept to simultaneously train in two Grand Daos to such an extremely high level, at very least at the Grand Dao Domain level…in this entire Conclave, only Adept Woodpass had accomplished such a thing.

This seemingly amiable and honest Adept Woodpass had never before revealed this, and upon doing so, he shocked everyone.

1. Shennong, lit. ‘Divine Farmer’, is the name of one of China’s legendary Emperors from thousands of years ago. He was supposedly also the father of Chinese medicine, as he tested countless plants for their medicinal properties, then wrote them all down.

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Chapter 29 – Ji Ning Enters the Fray

Chapter 29 – Ji Ning Enters the Fray

“It’s hard to say who will win and who will lose.” Watching the battle, Lu Dongbin said softly, “The two of them really are similar…their battle styles are both majestic, using absolute power to crush their foes.”

“Right.” The Xia Emperor and the others nodded as well. Adept Woodpass and the Sloppy Daoist were indeed quite similar. And both were extremely skilled at defense!

As for attacking? The Sloppy Daoist had always used his bare hands, while Adept Woodpass used six large warhammers. But in reality, those six large warhammers were just bigger fists! Since Adept Woodpass didn’t have the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, he naturally didn’t dare to actually use his bare hands to fight. The Sloppy Daoist’s fists were definitely no weaker than the large warhammers in power.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two were clashing head on. The Sloppy Daoist was like a wave that was growing increasingly savage and powerful. Adept Woodpass, in turn, seemed incredibly resilient. His six arms swung about those six giant warhammers, counterattacking again and again.

Warhammers and fists. Boom, boom, boom! They slammed against each other repeatedly!

“They really are similar.” Ji Ning, seated behind King Yan, couldn’t help but mumble to himself, “Eldest apprentice-brother and Adept Woodpass are both so majestic in their attacks…and the more majestic their attacks, the harder it is to defend against them.”

Both of them had extremely strong defenses and would fight opponents head on! Other peerless geniuses, when encountering them, would most likely use up all of their divine power and then be forced to admit defeat.

“Eldest apprentice-brother seems like a black tortoise divine beast.”

“Adept Woodpass seems like a mobile, man-shaped tree.”

Just as Ning and the others were watching and pondering, suddenly…

The Sloppy Daoist, whose aura had been growing increasingly wild and explosive, suddenly came to a halt. The folding waves of attacks came to a halt as well. Adept Woodpass immediately noticed this weakening, and with a grand hammer blow, he directly caved in the Sloppy Daoist’s chest.

BOOM! This hammer blow was incomparably heavy, and cracks appeared on the turtle shell runes on the Sloppy Daoist’s body as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

BOOM BOOM BOOM! Adept Woodpass struck out repeatedly with his great hammer, showing no mercy at all in seizing the advantage. The Sloppy Daoist was smashed by multiple hammers in virtually the same instant. Heavily wounded, he struggled to defend while calling out: “I admit defeat!”

Whoosh! Adept Woodpass immediately retreated, the giant hammers in his hands disappearing as he returned to a normal size.

The Sloppy Daoist returned to a normal size as well. He looked at Adept Woodpass with a hint of resignation. “I lost…but I’m convinced by my defeat.”

“Your attacks clearly had me at a disadvantage. Why did you suddenly stop?” Adept Woodpass asked, puzzled, “Your earlier attacks were becoming increasingly berserk…if that continued, I probably would’ve lost.”

“If the ‘wavefolding’ secret art can continue to explosively increase in power into perpetuity, wouldn’t that make me invincible?” The Sloppy Daoist shook his head.

Adept Woodpass now understood. Right. If the power of this wavefolding technique could increase without end…how crazy would that be?

“The length of time I sustained in using this secret art today…it is already the longest I have ever used it in all these years.” The Sloppy Daoist shook his head and laughed. “But no matter what, this Conclave has proven to be a tremendous tempering experience to me, and my wavefolding abilities have increased dramatically as well.”

Adept Woodpass instantly began to feel admiration for the Sloppy Daoist.

The top three…they had a chance of becoming a Daofather’s disciple. Losing such a supreme chance was something that would definitely cause a major mental setback towards one’s self-confidence. And yet, this Sloppy Daoist was actually able to recover from it almost instantly; he was even able to laugh. This sort of Dao-heart alone was already enough for Adept Woodpass to feel endless admiration.

In addition, when they fought earlier, Adept Woodpass also noticed that both their personalities and their paths were quite similar!

The path of Immortal cultivation was an incomparably difficult one. Upon finding a powerful figure that was very similar to one’s self…they were practically bosom friends now. Adept Woodpass felt tremendous affection and admiration for him.

“Congratulations, fellow Daoist Woodpass,” the Sloppy Daoist said with a laugh.

“This duel with you, fellow Daoist Sloppy, was a truly joyful one for me. It is rare for a person to encounter a bosom friend on the Immortal path, but you, fellow Daoist Sloppy, feel like a bosom friend to me…if you are free, you must come to the South Seas. When I’m free, I’ll definitely visit the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery,” Adept Woodpass said.

“Definitely.” The Sloppy Daoist nodded as well. Over the course of this battle, he had also come to feel very positively towards Adept Woodpass.

There were some people who had never met before in the past, but upon meeting a single time would become bosom friends with each other! The Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpass were two such people…their Dao-hearts, their beliefs, and their ideas were all very similar. It was rare to encounter such a similar bosom-friend!

……

The Xia Emperor, Lu Dongbin, and the rest of the Pure Yang True Immortals all nodded silently. When Adept Woodpass had suddenly demonstrated yet another Grand Dao, they had all come to believe that the results of this battle had become hard to predict.

Adept Woodpass winning was reasonable.

“Wavefolding has a limit…upon reaching it, it will collapse and become uncontrollable.” Lu Dongbin nodded. “This is true even when Grand Emperor Xuanwu personally uses the technique. Although it might not actually collapse, upon reaching the limit, there will be no way to increase the power of the wavefolding any further. For this Sloppy Daoist to be able to use this technique for so long is already quite rare.”

“This Adept Woodpass is a rare talent as well. He was actually able to defeat the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu,” Mahasthamaprapta said. His gaze was focused on Adept Woodpass; clearly, he felt quite positively about him.

“For the Sloppy Daoist to be defeated makes sense,” the Xia Emperor said. “This Sloppy Daoist, when entering the Black-White College of Stillwater Commandery, was a fairly ordinary disciple in the sect. However, he grew increasingly formidable; in training, he’s one of those that becomes increasingly brilliant as time goes on. His late-blooming potential is tremendous. In terms of amount of time spent training, the Sloppy Daoist has trained for much less time than Adept Woodpass has. For him to lose by a stroke isn’t strange. I imagine…that if we were to give them another century, most likely the Sloppy Daoist would be able to defeat Adept Woodpass.”

“Right.”

“Tremendous late-blooming potential.”

They all nodded.

There were far too many ‘geniuses’ in the Three Realms that were exceptionally brilliant early bloomers. Much rarer were those who were not only dazzling in the early stages, but were also able to train all the way through the Primal and Void levels, or even all the way up to the Celestial Immortal and True Immortal levels! Those who grew more formidable as more time passed…these late-bloomers were the true, unpolished jade. After being ‘sculpted’ properly, they would become even more dazzling. Clearly, the Sloppy Daoist was one such person.

When he was young, he was very unremarkable. Afterwards, he entered the Black-White College but was still just an ordinary disciple. After even more time passed, he became the number one figure amongst the Black-White College’s third generation disciples. And now, he was so incredibly dazzling in this Conclave for the entire major world.

This sort of rise…was quite terrifying.

“And more importantly…his heart!” Lu Dongbin sighed. “I can tell that this Sloppy Daoist doesn’t actually know that Grand Emperor Xuanwu has taken note of him; he’s been working hard this entire time in the hopes of making it into the top three and apprenticing himself to Daofather Crimsonbright. But just now, after losing that battle…he should have felt a tremendous psychological blow. And yet, he was able to almost instantly grow calm again, and he was even able to laugh. A heart like his…incredible.”

“Right.” They all nodded. The more these Pure Yang True Immortals watched the Sloppy Daoist, the more strengths they discovered. No wonder Grand Emperor Xuanwu accepted him as a disciple.

In this first battle to determine the top three…the Sloppy Daoist had been eliminated!

This caused the members of the Black-White College, such as Immortal Fivecraze, Mu Northson, and Adept Vastriver to all feel tremendous regret. Ning shook his head and sighed as well. There was nothing to be done; there was nothing that could be said regarding this loss. These two fought each other in a completely head-on manner…and in the end, the Sloppy Daoist had lost.

……

The second battle had begun!

Adept Blackstone against Cangwu Jiu!

“Sloppy.” Yuchi Xiyue began to chat with the Sloppy Daoist. “You have good judgment. Can you tell who is going to win in this fight between Adept Blackstone and Cangwu Jiu?” The two had already begun battling within the grand sealing formation outside.

“Let me watch for a bit first.” The Sloppy Daoist watched in a seemingly casual manner, but his eyes were very intent. After watching for just a brief moment, he gently nodded. “Adept Blackstone has a major advantage. He has a higher chance of winning.”

“Oh?” Yuchi Xiyue was puzzled. “But that Cangwu Jiu seems to be quite formidable, and he’s also astonishingly fast. Why do you think Adept Blackstone has a better chance of winning?”

Yuchi Xiyue actually wanted to ask Ning his opinion as well. But this was the second duel; the third would be Ning’s. She naturally didn’t want to disturb him.

The Sloppy Daoist laughed, “Adept Blackstone is skilled in the Fuxi Staff Formation. Through his usage of the formation…he has actually made it so that Cangwu Jiu is already unable to use his speed to its full potential. Adept Blackstone can just hide inside the formation, and there’s no way Cangwu Jiu can even find him. Adept Blackstone has complete control over the tempo of this entire duel. He can attack when he wants to and flee when he wants to!”

“Based on what you are saying, by relying on his formation, Adept Blackstone is now invincible?” Yuchi Xiyue was puzzled.

“No.” The Sloppy Daoist shook his head. “This sort of duel has to come to a conclusion. Although Cangwu Jiu is trapped within the formation, if Adept Blackstone doesn’t actually attack, Cangwu Jiu can just relax and wait within the formation. He wouldn’t need to use up any divine power at all, but Adept Blackstone needs to maintain that powerful formation. It definitely is consuming a large amount of elemental ki. And, as time passes, I imagine that the Xia Emperor will also order Adept Blackstone to attack. Otherwise, who knows how long this would drag out to?”

Yuchi Xiyue nodded gently.

“Thus, in the end, it is still Adept Blackstone’s close combat ability that will determine victory or defeat! But of course, he still benefits from the advantages of his formation. And, based on what I saw from their close combat previously, Adept Blackstone is definitely no weaker than Cangwu Jiu in close combat!”

“Comparable power in close combat, but with Adept Blackstone having the advantage of a formation, and Cangwu Jiu being unable to fully utilize his speed…in this battle, Cangwu Jiu is completely countered. He should lose.”

Just as the Sloppy Daoist’s words were concluding…

Within the formation, Cangwu Jiu was like a hawk that had been trapped within a cage. He was injured repeatedly until finally, Adept Blackstone saw his opportunity and seized it, suddenly delivering a heavy wound to Cangwu Jiu. Cangwu Jiu was unwillingly forced to call out, “I admit defeat!”

And so, the second of the three had been chosen…Adept Blackstone!

“Xiamang, are you trying to prevent this Cangwu Jiu from entering the top three? It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had encountered Ji Ning, Xiamang Zishan, the Sloppy Daoist, or even Adept Woodpass; he would’ve been able to make full use of his speed and agility. He’s at the greatest disadvantage when fighting against Adept Blackstone, a master of the Fuxi Staff Formation,” Lu Dongbin said with a smirk.

“The ambitions of the Cangwu clan are a bit too grand,” the Xia Emperor said calmly.

He was suppressing them by doing this! The other major clans all had extremely deep roots of power; if given a chance, they would be able to soar into the skies! And so, he let Ji Ning fight Youngflame Zhan while having Adept Blackstone fight Cangwu Jiu. In truth, this was his scheme to suppress them.

As for Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, and the others, they didn’t come from major clans.

……

The third duel was now beginning.

“Ji Ning, be careful.” Yu Wei held Ning’s hand and spoke gently to him.

Ning nodded lightly, then rose and began to walk towards the grand sealing formation outside the hall!

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Chapter 30 – Desiring To Accept a Disciple

Chapter 30 – Desiring To Accept a Disciple

Ji Ning and Xiamang Zishan both walked towards the outside of the main hall.

Within the main hall of the Skylight Palace. The nine Pure Yang True Immortals and nearly one thousand Celestial Immortals were all gazing towards these two young men. Two of the top three had been determined; Adept Woodpass and Adept Blackstone. Now, only the last one remained…

“Which of them will win?” Lu Dongbin said softly.

The Xia Emperor and the others were all silent. Only after a long moment did Truelord Chiji say slowly, “Their power is comparable, and both are extremely skilled in close combat. The end of this battle will most likely come when one side runs out of divine power and admits defeat.”

“Right.” Lu Dongbin nodded gently as well.

“Zishan has a better chance,” the Xia Emperor said.

……

Yu Wei looked quietly at Ning. She knew very well that Ning wanted to seize this chance to become a Daofather’s apprentice and thus soar into the heavens. She was eager for his success…but she hoped even more that Ning would be safe.

“Ji Ning, be careful.” Yu Wei watched him nervously.

……

“One last step before entering the top three.” Ninelotus was seated behind the Dongyan Forefather. In this moment, she was quietly hoping to herself, “Ji Ning, I hope you succeed.”

Although they had broken up, in her heart, Ji Ning would forever be a peerless genius. She didn’t want to see him discouraged and defeated.

……

“Master.” Little Qing raised her head, staring at the massive curtain of water and the scene within it.

“Ning, son…” The Whitewater Hound was even more restless.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you have to win!” Mu Northson called out in a high voice.

Atop the clouds, within the grand sealing formation.

Ning and Xiaman Zishan stared at each other from afar. Both of them just stood there with seeming tranquility. However, underneath the tranquility, there was a savage self-confidence…they had to win! Both of them felt incomparable desire for entering the top three, but to do so, they had to defeat the opponent before them.

One of them was a young man dressed in violet; the other was a youth dressed in furs.

Their auras were completely different. The violet-robed young man was born with a dominating aura, as well as an air of nobility that came from being born into an imperial clan.

By contrast, due to Ji Ning’s sufferings in his former life as well as this life, Ning looked like just an ordinary, bumpkin-like youth…but due to having come from a world of peace, he showed neither subservience nor arrogance.

“We meet again.” Xiamang Zishan’s voice boomed out heroically. “Last time, you were defeated by me. This time, you will be defeated again.”

“I have only trained for a bit more than thirty years,” Ning said calmly. “It has only been ten or so years since I became a Zifu Disciple…and during these ten years, I’ve reached my current level. That year of nonstop battling in the world of the Diagram was definitely equivalent to ten years of hard training in the outside world. The battle between us was more than half a year ago…and during that half a year, my power has vastly surpassed your imagination.”

Xiamang Zishan’s pupils shrank. Indeed. Ji Ning’s short period of training truly did cause astonishment.

“You improved during the past half year. So did I.” Xiamang Zishan’s natural, inborn aura of arrogance caused him to release an angered laugh. “If you have any techniques to show, go ahead and show them. Otherwise…when you are defeated, you won’t be thoroughly convinced.”

“Come.” Ning looked calmly towards Xiamang Zishan. This sort of calmness…masked an even more berserk desire for battle!

Xiamang Zishan’s body instantly flickered as he transformed into a 60-meter tall giant that had three heads and six arms.

With regards to the [Heavenly Transformation], it was true that Ning had spent several fewer centuries training in this technique compared to Xiamang Zishan. However, unlike other divine abilities such as the [Myriad Hibernating Venoms], the amount of power the early stages of the [Heavenly Transformation] granted significantly weaker. In the early stages, other divine abilities were better than the [Heavenly Transformation].

However, the latter stages of [Heavenly Transformation], especially during the Empyrean God stage, were truly and terrifyingly formidable.

As for now?

Ning used the second Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]; thus, [Heavenly Transformation] didn’t increase the power of his hands in even the slightest.

“Taste my staf!” Xiamang Zishan bellowed with incomparable savagery.

Three black steel staffs simultaneously smashed through the air, carrying an invincible aura as they slammed towards Ning.

Staves were heavy weapons. Only powerful experts with truly great strength would be able to unleash the advantages of staves. Compared to sabers and swords, staves were inferior in terms of agility. Compared to spears, which were also long weapons and even had sharp tips, staves naturally were naturally inferior in terms of piercing power.

But staves had a tremendous advantage as well. This was…in smashing as one pleased! In the Three Realms, especially amongst Empyrean Gods who were famed for their strength, there were very many people who used staves! The power of a single staff blow could pierce through the heavens…and could smash apart the earth!

These two were the same in terms of strength, level of cultivation, and divine abilities. A staff-wielder was naturally much more savage and overbearing than a sword-wielder; this was due to the differences in the weapons. The ‘best’ type of weapon was the weapon that was most suited to you…and clearly, Xiamang Zishan was best-suited for wielding staves.

BOOM!

The staves cleaved through the skies, causing the world to change in color.

Ning wielded six Immortal swords in his hands. Although it wasn’t too suitable for him to brashly use Immortal swords to block head-on, Ning wanted to give it a try, given the power of his divine abilities. He blocked the attacks head on!

The three staves thundered forth with the power of a flood!

They were met by six dazzling sword-lights!

They smashed directly onto each other. They caused the surrounding area to tremble with the terrifying force of the collision…and the result of this head-on strike was that the two were actually on par with each other!

“We’re actually on par.” Ning was startled. “Last time, I was at an absolute disadvantage. I’ve made repeated breakthroughs…but this Xiamang Zishan has made some breakthroughs as well. It seems there’s no hope of defeating him in a head-on fight. In addition, the amount of divine power my [Starseizing Hand] uses up is quite astonishing; it can’t be used for prolonged combat!”

Ning knew exactly what his own weakness was. Although he was very powerful in the Grand Dao of the Sword, with regards to ‘ordinary’ Daos, he had mastered only two Dao-Paths.

Xiamang Zishan’s ‘Grand Dao of Lightning’ might be a bit weaker than Ning’s own ‘Grand Dao of the Sword’, but he had mastered four complete ‘normal’ Dao-Paths! In addition, after spending the past half year constantly infusing all four Daos into his staff technique, his staves had become increasingly powerful.

The power of Ning’s divine ability compensated for this weakness…but the power of his divine ability resulted in a similarly astonishing rate of using divine power. After fighting for a prolonged period of time, his divine power would probably be exhausted.

“I am a Sword Immortal; why should I fight him head-on?” Ning’s swordplay began to change. Previously, his six streaks of sword-light had flown out in straight lines, but they now changed. Ning’s sword-light became like an unending flow of water, constantly striking in a steady stream towards Xiamang Zishan. Xiamang Zishan continued to do as he normally did, releasing his staff strikes as he pleased, either smashing down, lashing out, or suddenly sweeping forth.

Ning’s swordplay was like water, flowing without an end. Xiamang Zishan’s staff techniques were unable to accomplish anything at all…but in turn, Ning was unable to leave even a single wound on Xiamang Zishan’s body.

“There’s no chance at all. It seems I’ll have to use that unfinished sword technique,” Ning mused to himself.

Whoosh!

Ning’s sword changed once again. Of Ning’s six Immortal swords…some of them suddenly blazed like fire, containing the fierce sharpness of the Dao of the Sword! Others flowed like an unbroken stream of water, continuously moving to entangle and hinder his foe! The rest fluctuated unpredictably with tremendous speed!

After, this sort of sword technique placed a great deal of strain on Ning’s mind and spirit upon execution.

This sort of combat technique was something Ning had thought up when he had watched the Sloppy Daoist battle with his ‘wavefolding’ technique. The Sloppy Daoist used four arms to defend and two arms to attack, and then formed a ‘folding’, circular wave of power…although Ning didn’t understand it, he had still been stimulated by the Sloppy Daoist’s combat method.

“The sword can be used as a spear, but it doesn’t have as much penetrative power as the spear. It can be used as a warblade, but it doesn’t have a warblade’s savage chopping power. It can be used as a staff, but it isn’t as heavy as a staff…”

“Swords have two edges; they are incomparably agile, and can be used in many different manners of battle. After using the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability, if I were to use the six arms to fight in different manners…perhaps they might affect each other and cause a loss of power, but it’s also possible that just like with the Sloppy Daoist, the power will actually join together increase.”

Prior to this battle, Ning had been constantly visualizing and hypothesizing regarding this technique in his mind. Earlier, during the previous battle, he had been completely silent, partially because he had been spending part of his attention in pondering the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] that he had learned back at the Black-White College. Within the manual, there was a combination technique that used the Five Elements. Ning carefully reflected on these things, and had already come up with a vague technique in his mind. In this moment, he unleashed it.

Whoooosh.

Sword-light like water, sword-light like fire, and sword-light that fluctuated unpredictably…

Ji Ning was incomparably agile and graceful, occasionally advancing and occasionally retreating. His swordplay became similarly illusory and fluctuating as large amounts of sword-light howled everywhere. Suddenly, all sorts of different types of sword-light appeared…it was like a melody that was occasionally soft, occasionally bright, sometimes flowing, and sometimes explosive…

The Daos of Water, Fire, Wind, Space, and the Sword.

He infused all of his insights into the Dao of the Sword and into his hands. Ning had a wonderful feeling, as though many different types of sword techniques were cooperating together and supporting each other. It was all so natural that he didn’t even have to intentionally come up with next sword techniques; everything came out naturally, in accordance with this marvelous feeling.

He didn’t want to disrupt this sort of feeling; he wanted to flow with it and let it unleash what it could!

“Beautiful.”

“So beautiful.”

“So swordplay can actually become this beautiful!” The nearly one thousand Celestial Immortal Patriarchs within the main hall of the Summerlight Palace all felt a carefree, relaxed feeling in their heart as they watched. Ning’s three-headed, six-armed form executed various different sword techniques. It was just like he was painting a beautiful watercolor painting. The watercolor splashed everywhere, but it had a beauty that moved the heart.

In this moment, Ning’s form was like the wind. His six Immortal swords were graceful and agile, putting the exquisite essence of the sword on complete display.

The sword was by nature incomparably complicated. Even the most simple of sword techniques could be divided into thirteen different basic movements, which was far more complicated than the spear, the staff, and the saber. This sort of complicatedness…to a true expert, it represented many materials to work with, allowing him to produce a consummately beautiful product. For a weakling, however, too much complicated was actually a bad thing.

……

“Genius!” Lu Dongbin, within the main hall of the Skylight Palace, couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “He’s actually able to enter such a deep state during such a crucial battle. If my judgment is correct, he is currently in a state of no-thought, where everything simply flows from the heart…when executing swordplay in this state, the power is naturally going to be extraordinary. In addition, he will also firmly memorize these extraordinary sword techniques. After this battle ends, his insight into the Dao and into swordplay will both rise dramatically.”

“He is indeed a rare genius of the Dao of the Sword,” Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta couldn’t help but say. “We Buddhists are willing to accept this sort of genius.”

“He has only mastered two ordinary Daos, but his Dao of the Sword is at such a high level that he is absolutely the number one genius Sword Immortal of the Conclave.” Lu Dongbin couldn’t help but say, “He was indeed born to be a Sword Immortal. His talent in the Dao of the Sword is absolutely inconceivable. Xiamang…if you don’t accept this Ji Ning, can I take him on as my disciple?”

“Eastflower, is your heart feeling itchy?”

“Even the Buddhists are feeling itchy. Why can’t I?” Lu Dongbin looked back at the Xia Emperor.

The Xia Emperor shook his head. “All of the top six in this Conclave must first be given to my master and his many disciples for choosing! If no one picks Ji Ning, then you, Lu Dongbin, can be his master. What do you say?”

“Bullshit! Are you telling me that you guys won’t choose a potential peerless Sword Immortal like him?” Lu Dongbin immediately shook his head.

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Chapter 31 – Closed Door

Chapter 31 – Closed Door

The Xia Emperor laughed, saying nothing else. Ji Ning and the others were of the Grand Xia Emperor’s world to begin with; thus, as the saying goes, ‘fertilizing water must not be allowed to flow into the fields of another’. He naturally had to keep these individuals who had a chance of becoming experts of the Three Realms on his side. How could he release them?

“You old scallywag.” Lu Dongbin pursed his lips. “Look at how smug your smile is. Haven’t you noticed that Ji Ning’s power is currently increasing, and that his opponent Xiamang Zishan is at an increasing disadvantage? This is someone of your Xiamang clan.”

“Indeed, in this battle, Zishan is going to lose.” The Xia Emperor was extremely calm. “I have nothing to say if he is beaten by Ji Ning. In addition, given Zishan’s temperament…he’s too brash and wild, making him excessively hard and brittle. Given Master’s temperament, I imagine that he would choose Ji Ning even if both he and Ji Ning were in the running.”

“This guy Xiamang…”

The other Pure Yang True Immortals all shook their heads. Still…given that the Xia Emperor had spoken out, all of them had no choice but to give up any thoughts of acquiring Ji Ning. In truth, given how turbulent the undercurrents were in the Three Realms right now, and how the Grand Xia Dynasty’s major world was one that was exceptionally blessed by karmic luck, this world did indeed have a very good chance of giving birth to a future expert of the Three Realms.

However…not even they fully understood how enormous the impending tribulation would be.

The greater a tribulation, the more powerful major figures would born from it. In fact, even multiple Daofathers might be born! However, they would be spread out throughout the three thousand major worlds and the trillion minor worlds. It was very hard to say exactly how many experts the Grand Xia Dynasty’s major world would give birth to.

“The Sloppy Daoist, as a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu, must be blessed with luck.”

“Of the top three…one of them will become a disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright. He too will be blessed by luck. For this single Conclave of Immortal Destiny to give birth to two future experts would be quite remarkable.”

And precisely because of this, their desire to acquire Ji Ning wasn’t too burning; after all, Ning was still just a Wanxiang Adept. No one could tell how far he would be able to actually make it…

…….

Within the grand sealing formation.

Xiamang Zishan was growing increasingly surprised and worried. The Ji Ning before him wielded those six Immortal swords as though they were parts of a moving melody. They danced with tremendous beauty, and just watching them felt like a form of enjoyment! But this sort of ‘enjoyment’ wasn’t something which Xiamang Zishan could withstand. He only felt increasingly stifled, and no matter how he fought back, he remained at a disadvantage!

Ji Ning’s swords were simply too inconceivable. They were savage, gentle, fast, slow…Xiamang Zishan was unable to keep up, and wounds began to appear repeatedly on his body. Blood sprayed everywhere as his divine body had to heal repeatedly as well.

“No.”

“I don’t accept this. I’m going to win. I have to win.” Xiamang Zishan’s eyes were crackling with thunder as he grew increasingly berserk.

If before this, he could be described as ‘dominating’ in a heroic manner that subjugated his foes, then his current berserk status was like a sort of utter madness, a madness born from despair.

He was struggling to hang on! And it was lucky for Ning that he did. His struggle to hang on allowed Ning to continue to stay immersed in this wondrous state for even longer. This sort of level of no-thought didn’t actually mean that one had lost all consciousness; rather, it allowed one to unleash one’s full potential and be guided by the invisible hands of the heavens…simply put, it was as though gods were helping him reach a perfect state that he normally would find it hard to enter.

For example, some poets might suddenly feel divinely inspired and write a line of poetry that would be passed down for ages…but for the rest of their lives, they would never again be able to write something to match it.

This was the wondrous state which Ning was currently immersed into.

“I admit defeat!” Suddenly, an unhappy, dissatisfied voice rang out.

Only now did Ning come back to his senses. Whoosh. Ning came to a halt. The area around him was completely splattered with blood, and half of Xiaman Zishan’s body was lying off in the distance. His two halves quickly flew to each other and began to fuse together, but his bloodshot eyes remained filled with discontent.

“A pity that it ended so soon.” Ning understood how rare it was for him to have entered such a state just now. If Xiamang Zishan had been able to hold on for a bit longer, it would’ve been even better for him. However, more than half of Ning’s divine power had been used up as well; it was enough for him to have battled for so long.

And then…a look of wild joy appeared in Ning’s eyes. “I won!”

“I won.”

“Won.”

“The top three. The Xia Emperor will send a recording of my battle to Daofather Crimsonbright. He might choose me as a disciple.” Ning was filled with eager expectation. “But ideally, I shall become number one in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny. That way, I’ll have a better chance of being chosen.”

“I won.”

The imperial citadel plaza was filled with delegates from the 3600 commanderies. Amongst them, many of the delegates from Stillwater Commandery began to call out in celebration. Although they each belonged to different powers within Stillwater, they were all from the same commandery! They had all felt regret when the Sloppy Daoist had been defeated, but now that Ji Ning had successfully entered the top three, they all felt incomparably proud.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother, I knew you’d do it! Haha, and to think the Heavenly Treasures Mountain ranked Xiamang Zishan at number one. He still got taken care of by my senior apprentice-brother!” Mu Northson was incomparably delighted. He called out loudly, “Number one! Number one! Take number one in this Conclave!”

“Take number one!” Little Qing spoke out in the human tongue as well as she called out in excitement.

The Whitewater Hound grinned as well.

A series of joyful shouts swept the plaza.

……

Yu Wei watched from afar as Ning walked out from within the grand sealing formation. In this moment, all of the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs within the main hall of the Skylight Palace were watching Ning. Ning was the most dazzling figure of them all at present.

Yu Wei felt a surge of excitement as well. Excitement for Ning. “Right. He’s entered the top three. Perhaps Ji Ning shall become the Daofather’s disciple.”

……

Ninelotus was watching from afar as well. A hint of a faint smile appeared on her face. In this instant…her heart and soul suddenly became tranquil. With regards to Ning and Yu Wei being together, she still felt jealousy, but with regards to Ning himself…she was filled with nothing but hopes for the best for him.

……

With the most important top three victors of this Conclave being now chosen, all three of them advanced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the main hall of the Skylight Palace, awaiting the Grand Xia Emperor’s orders.

Even the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs had a hint of envy in their eyes.

“One of the three will definitely become the Daofather’s disciple.”

“Such luck…and yet, we can’t touch that luck.”

“Perhaps in the future, one of them shall become a figure which we must revere with tremendous respect.” The Celestial Immortal Patriarchs all sighed with emotion.

Still…only one of the three would become a Daofather’s disciple. The other two by comparison wouldn’t be nearly as well-off. If they were lucky, they might become a disciple of a Pure Yang True Immortal, but there was an enormous difference between becoming the disciple of a Pure Yang True Immortal and a Daofather’s disciple.

Upon becoming a Daofather’s disciple, it was virtually assured that one would become a Celestial Immortal.

However, far too many disciples of a Pure Yang True Immortal would fail in their Celestial Tribulation. It could only be said that compared to ordinary cultivators, they had a much higher chance. Perhaps not even one out of a hundred thousand Void-level Earth Immortals would successfully pass the tribulation. If a Pure Yang True Immortal patiently taught his disciple, then perhaps one out of ten might become a Celestial Immortal.

And individual variables mattered as well. Some were very skilled at training disciples, while others were not.

For example, in terms of training disciples, Lu Dongbin was clearly far superior to the Xia Emperor. Lu Dongbin’s disciples even included another Pure Yang True Immortal. This was often spoken of and praised in the Three Realms.

……

The Xia Emperor looked down upon the three youths, revealing a smile. “I have to congratulate you. You are all extremely fortunate…and in the future, many years from now, you will understand how special this Conclave of Immortal Destiny was for you! This is a critical turning point in your lives. It is clear that all three of you shall soar into the heavens. Only, it’s hard to say exactly how high you shall each soar.”

Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone all listened obediently.

“One of you three shall definitely become the Daofather’s disciple,” the Xia Emperor said. “As for the other two…I can promise you that you shall both become disciples of a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

Whoooosh. The nearly thousand Celestial Immortals were all stunned. What?! For a Daofather to take a disciple was one thing, but the other two would also become the disciples of a Pure Yang True Immortal? Pure Yang True Immortals didn’t casually take on disciples either. Why would two suddenly be taken on today?

“It seems this Conclave truly is special. First a Daofather chooses a disciple, but then even Pure Yang True Immortals will take on disciples.” These Celestial Immortals now all realized how unique this was.

In truth, because they didn’t have a high enough status, they only came to realize this now. As for the experts and major powers of the Three Realms, they had long ago understood that a storm was coming…and that this storm would most likely be a major one. Naturally, these major powers would have to plan early in advance!

“A Daofather’s disciple.” Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone all wished to become a Daofather’s disciple.

As for a Pure Yang True Immortal? There was a thousandfold difference between a Daofather and a Pure Yang True Immortal! For Ji Ning, in particular…since he had already received the legacy of Daoist Threelives, and the Stellar Hall provided guidance in multiple Dao-Paths and Grand Daos…what was a Pure Yang True Immortal? They weren’t that attractive for Ning. He still felt more desire for becoming a Daofather’s disciple.

“But of course, all of you will desire to become the Daofather’s disciple, and so these final battles are still very important,” the Xia Emperor said. “Two hours from now, the three of you shall engage in the final duels, divided into three sets.”

Ji Ning battling Adept Blackstone.

Adept Blackstone fighting Adept Woodpass.

Adept Woodpass battling Ji Ning.

Three duels…each person would compete twice against the others.

“I shall use a water scrying technique to record all three duels and give it to Master. Master shall watch all three of your duels, then choose who his disciple will be,” the Xia Emperor said. “In these three competitions, you need to display out all of your abilities; after all, the number one victor in this Conclave isn’t necessarily going to be the person the Daofather shall choose. The choice is his. But of course…if you become number one, the chances the Daofather shall choose you might be a bit higher.”

Ning and the other three all waited quietly.

“Now, all three of you shall enter the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. Two hours in the outside world shall be equivalent to a month of quiet training in the Diagram,” the Xia Emperor said. “In this month, you need to reflect on the experiences you have gained in this Conclave and prepare for the final competition.”

“Yes,” Ning and the other three all said.

The Xia Emperor waved his arm, and the Diagram floated up into the skies. Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone were all sucked into it.

……

Within the Diagram. The moonlight continued to shine everywhere. Atop a mountain peak, Ning seated himself in the lotus position. In two other corners of the peak were Adepts Blackstone and Woodpass, also seated in the lotus position.

These three were the most powerful competitors in this Conclave. Of the three of them…only one could become a Daofather’s disciple.

“Mm…?” Ning sat there in the lotus position, beginning to reflect on what he had learned and gained during his battle against Xiamang Zishan. Many insights began to fill his mind…

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Chapter 32 – Number One

Chapter 32 – Number One

In terms of appearance, Ji Ning appeared the youngest of the three, like a youth. However, although that was younger than his actual age of over thirty, the other two had trained for more than a century.

“This is…?” Adept Blackstone and Adept Woodpass both turned their heads to stare at Ning. They saw Ning sit there in the lotus position as sudden gusts of wind began to swirl around him. At the same time…ripples of the Dao descended.

“What? He broke through?” Adept Woodpass and Adept Blackstone both felt shock. They could naturally tell that Ning should’ve completed an entire Dao-Path pertaining to wind.

“He was actually able to master yet another Dao-Path at such a critical moment. Ji Ning was formidable to begin with. In close combat, Adept Saberslave and Xiamang Zishan were both very powerful, but both were defeated by him. For him to make a breakthrough now…his close combat ability will most likely be superior to even me.” Adept Blackstone made some calculations. Instantly, he began to grow nervous.

During the competition in the world of the Diagram, he had somewhat of an advantage. This was because the most important part in that competition was to stay alive and have enough talismans! Naturally, he was able to put on full display all of his advantages gained from his mastery of formations. But in a one-on-one fight, where one side had to win, he was at a disadvantage. The aid provided to him by his formations skills wasn’t as significant.

“However, the Daofather isn’t necessarily going to pick the number one winner for his disciple,” Adept Blackstone mused to himself. “When the duel comes, I’m going to unleash all of my insights in the art of formations so as to let the Daofather see my full potential…and I believe he will choose me.”

He was very powerful in close combat as well, close to Xiamang Zishan’s level. But he was more confident in his formations ability! He had spent far, far too much of his blood and sweat on formations.

……

Ning could sense the ripples of the Dao from around him. He opened his eyes, revealing a hint of a smile. The Dao of the Gale…he had finally mastered this Dao-Path!

Actually, long ago when he had mastered the Dao of the Raindrop, his Dao of the Inferno and Dao of the Gale had already been close to mastery. These two Daos had been just slightly lacking…but the many battles over the past year had been very helpful towards him. In the end, he had finally mastered both the Dao of the Inferno and the Dao of the Gale.

“Three Daos. Rainwater, Inferno, Gale. I’ve mastered them all.” Ning had primarily been spending his time meditating on these three Daos, and they had all advanced in unison. It wasn’t too strange that by the time of the Conclave, he would have mastered all three.

“My Dao of the Sword improved tremendously as well,” Ning celebrated. During his earlier battle with Xiamang Zishan, his insights into the Dao of the Sword had indeed increased significantly. However…there was a huge gap in difficulty between the seventh, eighth, and ninth stances of the [Three-Foot Sword].

After all, the eighth stance was comparable to an ordinary Celestial Immortal’s technique, while the ninth stance was a skill that allowed a Loose Immortal like Immortal Northwalker to unleash the power of a Celestial Immortal!

Ning’s current level of insights into the Dao of the Sword was between the seventh and the eighth stance. He had yet to be able to unleash the eighth stance…but he had still improved enormously. His combat power had risen by a large amount.

“The Xia Emperor gave us a month. During this month, I need to fuse the Daos of Rainwater, Inferno, and Gale into my Dao of the Sword, making the power of my sword increase even further,” Ning mused to himself, then calmed down and began to meditate.

……

The main hall of the Skylight Palace. Everyone was waiting for the two hours to conclude, and for the three final duels to begin. These three final duels would be recorded and given to Daofather Crimsonbright to watch.

“In his battle with Xiamang Zishan, Ji Ning entered a state of no-thought; I imagine that he must’ve improved considerably. By the time they have left their secluded meditation, Ji Ning’s power will most likely have risen significantly yet again. In terms of attack power, he is most likely the absolute number one in this Conclave. As for Adept Woodpass, he should be the absolute number one in terms of defense. Adept Blackstone…he’s a bit worse off. If this was a battle in the outside world, his skill in formations would make it difficult for others to slay him. But this is a duel in the Conclave in which a victor must be determined,” Truelord Chiji said calmly. “As I see it, the number one position should go to either Ji Ning or Adept Woodpass.”

“Mm.”

“Right.”

“It’ll be a bit harder for Adept Blackstone.”

Lu Dongbin and the others all nodded in agreement. Even the Xia Emperor nodded as well. “Ji Ning has mastered yet another Dao-Path in secluded meditation in the world of the Diagram. This should be part of what he gained during the previous battle with Xiamang Zishan.”

“No-thought, no-self; as expected, he has gained power after having entered that state of mind.” The Pure Yang True Immortals were all quite calm.

……

Comparatively speaking, in the final three duels, who won and who lost wasn’t as important. This was because the Daofather wouldn’t necessarily choose the top-ranked person. However, without question…the victor would have a better chance of being chosen. After all, over the course of history, victory and defeat usually determined who would be acclaimed as the hero.

In the blink of an eye, two hours passed.

Swish swish swish! Three figures flew out from the world of the Diagram, appearing on the main hall.

“Your Imperial Majesty.” Ning and the other two both called out in unison with respect.

“With regards to these three duels, the first shall see Ji Ning against Adept Blackstone,” the Xia Emperor instructed. “After these three duels, I’ll arrange for all of you to go to the imperial treasury of my Grand Xia Dynasty and pick out a divine ability of your choice. However, compared to becoming the disciple of the Daofather, choosing a divine ability is naturally a small matter.”

Ning and the other two just listened quietly.

“Let it begin, then,” the Xia Emperor instructed.

“Yes.” Ning and Adept Blackstone exchanged a glance, and then both walked towards the outside of the hall.

……

By now, Ning and the other two no longer had any more tricks up their sleeves. They had long ago unleashed all of their abilities, which was why Lu Dongbin and the others were able to get a very good picture of what would happen!

Adept Blackstone was clearly a master of formations, but Ning just stood there without moving, just using a Waterflame Lotus to protect himself. As soon as Adept Blackstone moved near him, Ning would fight him…but if he didn’t, then Ning wouldn’t move about randomly.

And so…

Adept Blackstone began to put on his ‘performance’, unleashing all of his abilities as a master of formations. The seemingly simple Fuxi Staff Formation unleashed one mighty formation after another. Some were illusory, others were meant to kill, while still others were meant to seal. In fact, the formations actually were layered atop each other, causing the area to be filled with illusions and killing intent.

But Ning didn’t even try to break the formation; all he had to do was wait for Adept Blackstone to move close to him and start fighting.

Only after putting on a show of displaying his formidable formations did Adept Blackstone begin to actually fight with Ning. And indeed…in close combat, now that Ning had improved even further, he ended up defeating Adept Blackstone!

In the first battle…Ji Ning won!

……

As for the second battle, Adept Woodpass and Adept Blackstone fought against each other. Adept Woodpass was even more shameless than Ning! Although Ning had stood there without moving, he had still at least engaged Adept Blackstone in a frenzied battle.

Adept Woodpass, however, had just stood there as unmoving as a mountain. Like a giant, human-shaped tree, he just stood there and let Adept Blackstone whale on him. No matter how Adept Blackstone attacked, Adept Woodpass was still able to withstand it…and he didn’t even counter-attack! And so, just like that…Adept Blackstone’s divine power ended up being exhausted. He was forced to admit defeat!

In the second battle, Adept Woodpass had won!

……

The third duel was between Ning and Adept Woodpass. This battle was clearly much more exciting than the last two. In the two previous battles, Ning and Adept Woodpass hadn’t dared to run about randomly within Adept Blackstone’s formations. In this battle, the two fought each other head on!

Ji Ning was the most powerful attacker in this Conclave! His [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was at the twelfth stage, his Dao of the Sword was at an extremely high level, and he had three complete Dao-Paths as well as the [Starseizing Hand]!

In this battle…

Ning put his sword arts on full display, wildly unleashing all of his attacking abilities. At the beginning, Adept Woodpass had attempted to counter-attack, but he was quickly forced by Ning into a point where he was spending 90% of his efforts on defense, with only the occasional counter! This was because Ning was different compared to the Sloppy Daoist; the Sloppy Daoist’s wavefolding technique would eventually collapse, whereas Ning’s sword arts would not. His sword arts came out in an endless series, causing Adept Woodpass to begin to be injured. With each injury, he would have to spend divine power to heal it…and in the end, Adept Woodpass was forced to admit defeat!

“I used up more than 70% of my divine power in wild attacks before he admitted defeat.” Ning felt cold sweat trickle down his back as well. His [Starseizing Hand] used up far too much divine power. If Adept Woodpass had been able to hold on for a bit longer, Ning’s own divine power probably would’ve been used up.

……

Three duels. Ning won two! Adept Woodpass won one! Adept Blackstone won none!

“He won!”

“Ahaha, won, won, WON!!!” The Stillwater Commandery delegation in the imperial citadel plaza let out an incomparably excited roar of delight. They all called out jubilantly and their roars of laughter rang out.

There were more than a million delegates present from the 3600 commanderies and the Four Seas, but the number of them who knew that the Daofather would choose a disciple could be counted on one hand. To them…seizing the number one position in the Conclave was a matter of the utmost glory.

“Number one, number one!” Mu Northson was so excited, his entire face was red. He was incomparably delighted as he said, “My senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is number one!”

Adept Vastriver sighed with emotion. “In the past, when I saw junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning kill Youngflame Nong, all sorts of worries had appeared. But unexpectedly, after such a short period of time, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning actually became number one in this Conclave. This is really…a miracle. A real miracle!”

“NUMBER ONE!” Immortal Fivecraze was so excited that he actually tossed his gourd of wine to the ground. He seemed to have gone mad, and was so excited he seemed berserk. “Ahahaha! A disciple of my Black-White College has become number one in this Conclave! This has never before happened in the entire history of my Black-White College, never ever! Haha, the champion of the Conclave…belongs to a disciple of my Black-White College! Haha, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!”

“Ji Ning truly is incredible.” Northmont Baiwei’s breathing was rather ragged. He was simply too excited. “He actually became number one in the Conclave. I didn’t even dare imagine this happening. This is truly unfathomable.”

“Master is so amazing.” Little Qing’s eyes were glowing.

“Big brother…” The Whitewater Hound thought back to the scenes of Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow teaching Ji Ning swordplay. “Can you see this? You taught him movement arts…taught him swordplay…and now, sword in hand, he has become the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny of this entire vast Grand Xia Dynasty! Can you see it? Can you see it?!”

The Whitewater Hound’s tears began to fall. He was incomparably agitated.

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Chapter 33 – Grand Emperor Xuanwu

Chapter 33 – Grand Emperor Xuanwu

Deep within the void of the Three Realms. There was a world here that had been born from chaos, filled with endless, fathomless amounts of seawater.

The fathomless oceans had several islands within it, and Immortal cultivators as well as Immortals were very common.

At the very center of this ocean world, atop an island surrounded by the waters of the sea, there were a series of indescribably beautiful palaces. Immortal maidens, celestial generals, and celestial soldiers were everywhere to be seen. On the top of the highest palace, there was an enormous diagram of a yin-yang taiji symbol that hung high up in the air, constantly emanating boundless amounts of white and black light…

An old black-haired man was seated atop a bed formed from clouds, and the enormous yin-yang taiji diagram was directly above him.

“Mm?” The old black-haired man opened his eyes. “Novice,” he said calmly.

Beneath him were a pair of male and female novices, who were obediently awaiting his orders. The golden-robed male novice immediately responded obediently, “Patriarch.”

“Go and call out your uncle-master, Seatopple,” the black-haired elder instructed.

“Yes.” The golden-robed male novice acknowledged with respect, then took a single step forward through a ripple in the air that had appeared. He teleported away and disappeared.

……

Deep within the sea of this world, there was an underwater palace. The golden-robed novice teleported straight into the depths of the sea, and where he passed by the waters of the sea parted, allowing him to go straight to the jade-colored underwater palace. There were many soldiers and guards protecting this underwater palace, and upon seeing this person approach, they immediately moved to block him.

“Uncle-master Seatopple,” the golden-robed novice called out. His voice echoed within the sea.

Within the underwater estate. There was a tall, skinny man dressed in deep green armor whose eyes flashed with deep green light and a gaze that caused the hearts of others to quiver. In front of him was a white-robed cultivator. The two were happily drinking and chatting with each other.

“It isn’t that I, your big brother, don’t want to help you. You must understand, I’ve been confined to this place by Master…I want to help, but there’s nothing I can do. But come, come, come, let’s stop talking about these unhappy things. Let’s drink.” The tall, skinny man in the deep green armor lifted up a large bowl of wine, drinking happily. That bowl contained at least a kilogram of wine, but he gulped it all down at once.

“Eh?” The green-armored man’s face suddenly changed. With but a thought…

Whoosh. The golden-robed novice that had been outside the underwater palace was instantly teleported inside.

“Uncle-master Seatopple.” The golden-robed novice bowed respectfully.

“Apprentice-nephew, why have you come to my place?” The green-armored man asked hurriedly. Although this golden-robed novice was merely a Celestial Immortal, he was permanently stationed by the side of Grand Emperor Xuanwu to carry out his orders. Thus, the green-armored man was very courteous to him and didn’t dare show him any discourtesy.

The white-robed cultivator next to him hurriedly rose to his feet as well. “I greet you, Immortal novice.”

The golden-robed novice glanced sideways at the white-robed cultivator, just nodding slightly at him, then said, “Uncle-master Seatopple, I have come per the orders of the Patriarch. The Patriarch wishes to see you.”

“Oh.” Upon seeing this, Seatopple immediately said, “Then I shall go right away.” Seatopple then immediately said to the white-robed cultivator next to him, “Master is ordering me to go to him. I must…”

“Big brother, no worries; go take care of your matters first. I won’t stay here any longer; I’m going to pay the Heaven Realm a visit and see if I can find anyone to help that poor child of mine,” the white-robed cultivator hurriedly said, then left gracefully.

……

“Master!” The green-armored man called out with respect.

Above him was the black-haired elder, seated atop a cloud. He nodded lightly, then said with a smile, “Seatopple, there is something I am going to have you go do.”

“Master, please instruct me,” Seatopple said respectfully.

“A hundred years ago, I accepted a disciple in the world of the Grand Xia, one of the three thousand major worlds,” the black-haired elder said with a calm laugh. “In other words, a junior apprentice-brother for you.”

“A junior apprentice-brother?” Seatopple was amazed. A hundred years ago? When his master took on a disciple, it was a matter of tremendous importance. And yet, he had no idea of this whatsoever.

“His true name is Zhang Qi. He is learning the Dao in a small school known as the Black-White College within the world of the Grand Xia. He is currently just a Wanxiang Adept, and others refer to him as the Sloppy Daoist.” The black-haired elder said with a laugh, “The Grand Xia world has just held a Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Your junior apprentice-brother attended this Conclave, which has now concluded. Go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia’s world and bring your junior apprentice-brother before me. Remember…on this trip, you absolutely cannot cause any trouble. All you need to do is bring your junior apprentice-brother back here.”

“Understood,” Seatopple said respectfully.

“Go then,” the black-haired elder nodded.

Seatopple immediately departed respectfully, and then he left this major world to go to the world of the Grand Xia.

……

The world of the Grand Xia Dynasty. The imperial capital. The main hall of the Skylight Palace.

Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone were all standing there respectfully, awaiting the order of the Grand Xia Emperor.

“This Ji Ning truly is formidable.”

“He’s only trained for thirty or so years, and yet became number one in this Conclave. It seems he has an extremely good chance of becoming the Daofather’s disciple.”

“It’ll be soon. His Imperial Majesty is about to deliver the scryer recording of the duels to the Daofather.”

The nearly thousand Celestial Immortals were all chatting amongst themselves. The Conclave had come to an end, with Ji Ning number one, Adept Woodpass number two, and Adept Blackstone number three. However, right now what everyone was paying attention to was…who the Daofather would choose as a disciple! The ‘champion’ of the Conclave was nothing but a meaningless title; to become the disciple of the Daofather was what really matter and came with real benefits.

“The three of you.” The Grand Xia Emperor’s voice once more rang out. Ning and the other two immediately listened carefully.

“I have already recorded all three of the previous duels using the water-scrying technique. I am now going to go to my master’s place and offer them to Master for the viewing.” The Grand Xia Emperor’s voice once more rang out, and a second, white-robed Xia Emperor appeared by his side who looked identical to the main body of the Xia Emperor.

Swoosh! The white-robed Xia Emperor took a single step forward, entering the skies above them, then tearing open the void and departing from this major world.

Ning and the other two were incomparably nervous. The white-robed Xia Emperor was clearly the clone or Primaltwin of the Xia Emperor. Clearly, he had gone to visit Daofather Crimsonbright. Now, they were going to wait for the Daofather’s selection.

Who would be chosen?

……

“My formations are even more formidable than my personal close combat strength. The Daofather will naturally have excellent judgment and will be able to see how special and blessed I am in formations.” Adept Blackstone was ranked number three. He had very complicated feelings in his heart right now. “Given my talent in formations…the Daofather should choose me.”

……

“I became the champion. I did everything I could. Next, all I can do is wait for the Daofather’s decision,” Ning said to himself silently.

……

“Let’s see if this destiny is mine,” Adept Woodpass silently mused to himself.

……

The Grand Xia Emperor, seated up high, once more spoke out. “My Primaltwin has already headed towards Master’s place, but it is hard to say when Master will meet me and when he will choose a disciple.” The Grand Xia Emperor looked down at the three nervous individuals below him. Clearly, it was hard for Ning and the other two to feel at ease for even a second. “Since the three of you are the top three of this Conclave, you can go pick a divine ability of your choosing from the Grand Xia’s treasury.”

“King Qi,” the Grand Xia Emperor spoke out.

“Your Imperial Majesty.” King Qi immediately rose and acknowledged him.

“Lead these three to our Grand Xia treasury. Let them choose a divine ability,” the Grand Xia Emperor said.

How could Ning and the other two be in a mood to choose a divine ability right now? In a normal situation, yes, they would be incomparably excited at this chance to choose a divine ability from the Grand Xia’s treasury. But they were waiting for Daofather Crimsonbright’s decision. Their hearts felt suspended, and they only had one thought in their minds…

Who will the Daofather choose…who will be the one to be chosen…?

Choose me, choose me, choose me…

“Go. After my Primaltwin returns, I will naturally notify you of Master’s final decision,” the Grand Xia Emperor said.

“Yes,” Ji Ning, Woodpass, and Blackstone both responded respectfully. Then they moved to follow King Qi through a side corridor leading away.

The nearly thousand Celestial Immortals in the main hall, as well as the eliminated Wanxiang Adept geniuses, all watched the three leave with envious eyes…

The Grand Xia Emperor had already informed them all that one would be chosen by the Daofather as a disciple, while the other two would be chosen by Pure Yang True Immortals as disciples. In other words, all three of them would see their statuses suddenly and dramatically change. How could the eliminated contestants not feel envious?

“Yu Wei, Sloppy, do you two think Ji Ning will be chosen by the Daofather as a disciple?” Yuchi Xiyue was both excited and nervous. He was her most important family member; naturally, she hoped that Ning could ascend to the heavens with a single step. That way, it would also be much easier for Ning to deal with the Youngflame clan in the future.

“He will. The Daofather definitely will.” Yu Wei was holding Yuchi Xiyue’s hands.

“Sloppy?” Yuchi Xiyue looked towards the Sloppy Daoist, who shook his head. “I don’t know the Daofather’s temperament. It’s hard to say. Still…since junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has become number one in this Conclave, and has trained for such a short period of time…he is indeed the most dazzling figure of the three. There is a very high chance that the Daofather will choose junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning. However…no one can be absolutely certain regarding this.”

Those who cared deeply about something would often find their thoughts in a jumble because of it. Both Yu Wei and Yuchi Xiyue cared far too deeply about Ning.

“But even if he cannot take on Daofather Crimsonbright as his master, he’ll be apprenticed to a Pure Yang True Immortals. There’s no need to be too nervous,” the Sloppy Daoist said with a sigh. “I wonder if I would have this same good fortune to become the disciple of a Pure Yang True Immortal one day.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother, you were also quite dazzling in this Conclave. You should be accepted by a Pure Yang True Immortal as well,” Yu Wei said.

“It won’t be as simple as that. Pure Yang True Immortals won’t casually accept new disciples.” Although the Sloppy Daoist did feel a hint of hope, he maintained a calm heart.

……

Suddenly, a heroic but terrifying aura spread out from the main hall. At the same time, a voice rang out: “Xiamang, long time no see.”

Whoosh! Nearly a thousand Celestial Immortals, along with the eliminated Wanxiang Adepts, all turned to stare towards the outside in astonishment. This aura was so powerful and the words were so grandiose that this was clearly an extraordinary person.

“Hahaha…” The Xia Emperor rose to his feet, and the other eight Pure Yang True Immortals rose to their feet as well.

From the outside, a tall, skinny man dressed in deep green armor strode in. He had a heroic aura of vigor that caused all the surrounding Celestial Immortals to feel stunned.

“That’s Great Sage Who Topples the Seas.”

“Empyrean God Seatopple!”

“Demon King Seatopple!” 1

The nearly thousand Celestial Immortals all cried out in their hearts.

The Xia Emperor was now on his feet. He said with a laugh, “Seatopple, it has indeed been a long time. The Three Realms are currently filled with the stories of your heroics.”

“Seatopple, have you come to receive your junior apprentice-brother?” Lu Dongbin said with a lazy grin.

“Right.” Seatopple had an incomparably dominating aura, and his deep green eyes swept the surrounding figures. He immediately called out, “Who here is known as Zhang Qi? Who here is known as the Sloppy Daoist?”

The sloppy-looking fatty seated behind King Qi trembled with shock. What the hell?

1. This figure is a figure from Journey to the West. Early in the story, Sun Wukong (aka ‘Monkey King’) swore brotherhood with six other powerful demons. The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong, took on the title of ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven’, while this demon, the Flood Dragon Demon King, took on the title of ‘Great Sage Who Topples the Seas.

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Chapter 34 – A Mighty Divine Ability

Chapter 34 – A Mighty Divine Ability

Seatopple was an extremely famous figure of the Three Realms. He was a Diremonster who had trained all the way to the Empyrean God level. Generally speaking, others would refer to him as ‘Empyrean God’ or ‘Great Sage’ when being respectful to him…but in reality, since Empyrean God Seatopple was something of an unruly, lawless individual who was also quite savage and tyrannical, others would often secretly refer to him as the ‘Demon King’.

The sloppy, chubby youth had indeed been badly frightened. After all, Seatopple’s savage aura…was utterly terrifying within the main hall of the Skylight Palace. Even the Celestial Immortals were shocked by it, to say nothing of the Wanxiang Adepts.

“I, I am…” The Sloppy Daoist rose to his feet.

“Oh?” Seatopple turned to look at him, then nodded in satisfaction as he revealed a smile. “You really are pretty sloppy-looking.”

As he spoke, he walked over, then grabbed the Sloppy Daoist by the arm, pulling him over as he walked towards the Grand Xia Emperor. A new table had already been prepared, covered with Immortal nectar and fruit.

The Sloppy Daoist was slightly panicking now. Still…this Empyrean God, Seatopple, was far too powerful. After having his arm grabbed, the Sloppy Daoist was completely unable to resist.

“What in the world is going on? Why has this savage-looking man with a dark-green Flood Dragon armor sought me out upon entering the Skylight Palace? Even the Grand Xia Emperor is polite to him, but I have never met such a formidable figure before.” The Sloppy Daoist was panicking, but could do nothing but just go with the flow.

At the same time…the Sloppy Daoist that the gazes of those nearly thousand Celestial Immortals who were looking at him were filled…with envy! In fact, some of these Celestial Immortals smiled in a friendly manner towards him.

“I was eliminated…but these Celestial Immortal Patriarchs are still this polite towards me? And they are envious of me?” The Sloppy Daoist’s mind began to be filled with many thoughts.

“Junior apprentice-brother, come and sit.” Seatopple first sat down, then pulled the Sloppy Daoist to sit next to him.

“Junior apprentice-brother?” The Sloppy Daoist was completely bewildered now.

“Seatopple, it seems your junior apprentice-brother doesn’t understand the situation yet,” the Xia Emperor laughed.

Seatopple turned his head to look at the rather confused Sloppy Daoist. He said in a very straight manner, “Junior apprentice-brother, Master ordered me to come to the Grand Xia world, one of the three thousand major worlds, in order to take you back!”

“Senior, are you…sure you aren’t mistaken?” The Sloppy Daoist was feeling rather unnerved. He had no idea who this person was.

“Little Sloppy,” Lu Dongbin laughed, “This person before you is a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu, Empyrean God Seatopple! He’s not just an Empyrean God; he’s also reached the Pure Yang True Immortal as a Ki Refiner as well. In the Three Realms…he is extremely well-known. Not too long ago, he actually wrecked the Celestial Court.”

“Empyrean God? Pure Yang True Immortal? Wrecked the Celestial Court?” The Sloppy Daoist stared at this savage-looking man, completely shocked.

“Hahaha…” Seatopple began to laugh loudly. Slapping the Sloppy Daoist on the shoulder, he said, “Junior apprentice-brother, I have come on Master’s orders to receive you. Master said that you took part in this Conclave, and said that you come from the Black-White College, that your name is Zhang Qi, the Sloppy Daoist. There shouldn’t be a second person in this entire Conclave who comes from the Black-White College and who is known as the Sloppy Daoist Zhang Qi, right?”

The Sloppy Daoist nodded. In this competition, the Black-White College only sent a total of three participants. There was naturally only one called the Sloppy Daoist.

“Little Sloppy,” the Xia Emperor laughed as well, “Don’t question it. Earlier, the divine ability which you displayed is called the ‘Grand Black Tortoise’ divine ability. Did you know that?”

“I did.” The Sloppy Daoist nodded.

“The Grand Black Tortoise divine ability was created by Grand Emperor Xuanwu. Without his permission, there’s no way you could’ve learned this divine ability,” the Xia Emperor laughed. “Perhaps you don’t realize this, but Grand Emperor Xuanwu has long ago viewed you as his disciple. He is a major power of the Three Realms, on the same level as my own master. He is a Daofather! When you put your divine ability on display earlier during this Conclave, all of us already guessed that you are the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.”

The Sloppy Daoist began to think back to the strange encounter he had so long ago…

“So…he was Grand Emperor Xuanwu…” The Sloppy Daoist was stunned.

So…there had been no need at all for him to fight so crazily in order to become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple. He had long ago been chosen as a disciple by Grand Emperor Xuanwu. However…this Conclave had been extremely beneficial to him. His insights into the Dao, especially into the ‘wavefolding’ secret art, had reached a very high level.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you’ve learned the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability? Then there’s no mistake about it; without Master’s permission, there’s no way you could’ve learned this.” Seatopple knew quite well that someone who had been accepted by his master at the Wanxiang Adept level or perhaps even earlier was someone who his master clearly viewed with tremendous favor. Thus, it would be best if he made friends with this Sloppy Daoist.

Seatopple himself usually caused quite a bit of trouble. In the future, once this junior apprentice-brother became powerful, he’d be able to give Seatopple a hand.

As the saying went, every hero should have at least three helpers by his side. The more powerful figures by his side, the better. That would naturally give him more confidence in roaming the Three Realms!

“Greetings, senior apprentice-brother,” the Sloppy Daoist immediately said while saluting him.

“Hahaha, don’t be so courteous.” Seatopple was extremely happy. “A while ago, I wrecked the Celestial Court and was confined by Master to my quarters. It’s rare for me to be allowed out. And today, I’ve even run into Eastflower, this old fogey from the Northlands, and all of these others as well. I’m just going to drink some wine first; in a bit, I’ll take you back to meet Master.”

“I’ll listen to your arrangements, senior apprentice-brother.” The Sloppy Daoist naturally was willing to follow his lead.

Seatopple patted the Sloppy Daoist on the shoulder. “Junior apprentice-brother, you have quite a good temper.”

“Eastflower, this Grand Xia world is holding a Conclave…why have all of you come as well?” Seatopple’s gaze swept forward as he asked this question. He felt quite puzzled. Pure Yang True Immortals were considered experts of the Three Realms. For nine of them to be gathered in one place was indeed fairly rare.

“This Conclave is quite special. One of the top three of this Conclave shall be chosen by Daofather Crimsonbright as a disciple,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh. “Including little Sloppy, this Conclave actually includes two Daofather disciples.”

“What? Daofather Crimsonbright is taking on a disciple?” Seatopple looked towards the Xia Emperor. “Who is he choosing? Let me take a look.”

“The top three of this Conclave consist of Ji Ning, Blackstone, and Woodpass,” the Xia Emperor said. “As for who Master shall choose…my Primaltwin is heading towards Master’s estate right now. After a little bit more time, I imagine we’ll know the results.”

Seatopple immediately nodded, his eyes gleaming. Daofather Crimsonbright was taking on a disciple? This was quite an interesting affair. He had been confined to his quarters for years now, and had been incredibly stifled.

“Come, let’s drink while chatting. Xiamang, you are of the Primordial Imperial Clan…you need to prepare more wine.” Seatopple immediately guzzled down all the wine on his table, causing the corners of the Xia Emperor’s eyes to begin twitching. The others were drinking in a fairly graceful way, but this Great Sage Who Topples the Seas was a Flood Dragon; it was a minor matter for him to swallow all the water of a river with a single gulp. In drinking Immortal wine, he was similarly savage beyond all compare.

……

The imperial treasury of the Grand Xia was located on the sixth floor of the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

“This place holds the abridged versions of all of the books held by the Dao Repository of our imperial Xia clan,” King Qi said with a laugh as he pointed towards countless bookshelves that were filled with books. “You can choose a divine ability at will, or a secret art or technique. But only one!”

Ji Ning, Adept Blackstone, and Adept Woodpass all nodded.

Although their minds were still occupied with the matter of becoming Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple, for now they put that matter aside. The three began to search through this Dao Repository.

Soon, they saw a black jade table that was the most eye-catching of all.

This enormous black jade table was filled with abridged versions of divine abilities! On another table, a white jade table, there were abridged versions of precious secret arts.

[Moving Mountains, Overturning Seas] [Qiankun Arrow] [Myriad Hibernating Venoms] [Formless Illusions]

……

Ning and the other two hurriedly grabbed one divine ability book after another, flipping through them. These books all had had some prerequisites listed on the front; for example, some required a person to have reached a certain level in order to train in it. These requirements, however, were all meant for the clansmen of the imperial Xia clan. Ning and the other two could choose as they pleased.

They read for a long period of time.

……

They flipped through all the secret arts as well. In the end, as if by tacit agreement, all three of them chose the same divine ability – [Torch Dragon’s Eye]!

“Are you certain you are going to choose the [Torch Dragon’s Eye]?” King Qi asked.

“Yes.” Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone all nodded in unison.

“Fine.” King Qi revealed a smile. “Come with me, then.” King Qi was actually fairly happy that all three had chosen the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], because this technique was still fairly widespread amongst the various major powers of the Three Realms.

However, this [Torch Dragon’s Eye] really was the most powerful divine ability within the imperial treasury of the Grand Xia! Although this was only the first part to the whole technique…this was still a technique that ranked in the top hundred of the Three Realms.

Rumble…a stone door was pushed open. King Qi led Ji Ning and the others into the stone room. In the center of the stone room, there were bamboo books that was hovering in midair, emanating a dreamy light and covered with restrictive spells.

“This is the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].” King Qi pointed towards a bamboo book. “The restrictive spells covering them have been unsealed. The other ones remain sealed; there’s no way for you to touch them.”

“All you need to do is touch the bamboo with your hands. The large amounts of information contained within the bamboo will instantly be transmitted into your soul,” King Qi said. “Fortunately, this is merely the first part of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], and so it won’t take too much time to accept the transmission. For each person, it will at most take as much time as needed to brew a pot of tea.”

Ning understood. This divine ability was one of those that increased dramatically in difficulty at the higher levels. Most likely, the part meant for Empyrean Gods was thousands of times more difficult than the part meant for Void-level cultivators. In addition, the part meant for True Gods would be thousands of times more complex than the part meant for Empyrean Gods.

Ning had accepted the complete transmission of the [Starseizing Hand], which was why it had taken him months to do so.

“Ji Ning, you come first,” King Qi said. Ning nodded, stretching out his hand and pressing it against the hovering bamboo book.

As soon as he touched it!

Boom! Instantly, a large amount of information began pouring into his soul. Although the transmission wasn’t as efficient and fast as when he had received the [Starseizing Hand] transmission, Ning’s soul was far more powerful than it had been back then, and the speed at which he accepted the data was faster as well. In just a short while, the complete first part of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] had been transmitted into Ning’s soul.

“So that’s how it is.” Ning was secretly startled and delighted. The [Torch Dragon’s Eye]…this was a divine ability developed by the Torch Dragon, one of the major powers of the Three Realms. This divine ability was extremely famous! The legends often mentioned abilities like the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] or [Houyi Shooting the Sun]. Now, upon seeing the real method to activate this technique and its real power, Ning was secretly startled as well.

The [Torch Dragon’s Eye], in short, relied on harvesting the light of the Nine Heavens and focusing it in the eye, and then cultivating a so-called ‘innate torch-light’.

“Although this is just the first part, which any Fiendgods up to the Void-level can train in…it’s enough. After all, beyond that is the tribulation that results in Empyrean Gods. Upon becoming an Empyrean God, I’d be someone on the level of the Xia Emperor. I can just rely on my own powers to search for the second part to the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].” Ning was extraordinarily excited.

Aside from the [Starseizing Hand]…he had finally acquired yet another truly powerful divine ability.

Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone all meditated on the contents of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye]. Each of them felt delighted in their hearts; after all, this was a technique comparable to the [Grand Black Tortoise] technique. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the Torch Dragon had perished, how could they have had a chance to learn this?

“Alright,” King Qi suddenly said. Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone all raised their heads to look at him.

“His Imperial Majesty has sent word to me that Daofather Crimsonbright has chosen a disciple. The three of you need to hurry back with me to meet his Imperial Majesty at the main hall,” King Qi said.

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Chapter 35 – Daofather’s Disciple

Chapter 35 – Daofather’s Disciple

Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone all felt their hearts clench. The joy they felt upon acquiring the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] instantly fled to the back of their minds. All three of them had the same question in their heart: “Who did the Daofather choose? Was it me?”

“Let’s go,” King Qi said.

“Right.” Ning and the other two obediently followed behind him, but in their hearts, they felt their emotions surge like the waves of the ocean.

The main hall of the Skylight Palace. The Xia Emperor’s face changed as he revealed a look of surprise.

“What is it, Xiamang?” Lu Dongbin, Seatopple, and the rest of the nine all looked towards the Xia Emperor.

“Xiamang, can it be that the Daofather has already chosen a disciple?” Lu Dongbin chortled as he spoke. These Pure Yang True Immortals were all clever fellows; a simple change in expression by the Xia Emperor instantly drew their attention and caused them to be able to guess at what had happened. After all, given the Xia Emperor’s status, why would he suddenly appear surprised for no reason at all?

“Hahaha…” The Xia Emperor laughed and nodded. “I really can’t hide anything from you all. Indeed, my Primaltwin has visited Master, and Master just made his choice.”

“Who?”

“Who did the Daofather choose?”

These Pure Yang True Immortals from the Celestial Court, the Buddhist Sangha, and the Daoist Path were all filled with curiosity as they asked the Xia Emperor.

“No rush, no rush. I’ve already sent for King Qi to bring those three little fellows back,” the Xia Emperor laughed. “After those three little fellows return, I’ll make the announcement.”

“Show-off!” Seatopple pursed his lips, then glanced at the Sloppy Daoist. “Junior apprentice-brother, this Conclave you participated in the world of the Grand Xia really is quite special. You are a disciple of Master, while Daofather Crimsonbright is going to accept a disciple as well…the news that there were two disciples of a Daofather in a single Conclave is most likely going to soon spread throughout the Three Realms.”

The Sloppy Daoist just smiled. In front of these True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, he rarely said anything.

“Who will the Daofather choose?” The Sloppy Daoist felt puzzlement in his heart as well. “Will it be junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning?” In his heart, he hoped that his own junior apprentice-brother would be the one to be apprenticed to the Daofather. If that were to happen, then things really would be perfect for the Black-White College this time.

……

Moments later. King Qi led Ning and the other two back into the main hall. Instantly, the gazes of the nearly thousand Celestial Immortals present swung towards them.

“Why have the three of them returned?”

“Can it be that the Daofather has already made his choice?”

The Celestial Immortals instantly guessed at the reason, and they all felt nervousness in their hearts.

“Your Imperial Majesty, the three have come,” King Qi said respectfully. Ji Ning, Adept Woodpass, and Adept Blackstone stood obediently behind him.

“Mm.” The Xia Emperor nodded slightly.

King Qi retreated to one side, sitting down in the lotus position in the seat he had been in previously. Ning and the other two were now the focal point for the entire main hall of the Skylight Palace. They found it difficult to hide the restlessness and nervousness in their eyes. Although all three of them were monstrous geniuses, they were still extremely nervous right now!

The Xia Emperor, seated above them atop his throne, revealed a rare smile. He said in a clear voice: “Master has already chosen a disciple amongst you three. The disciple shall be…”

When these words came out, everyone held their breaths.

“Gotta be Ji Ning. Gotta be Ji Ning.” Yuchi Xiyue was tightly clenching Yu Wei’s hands.

“Ji Ning. Ji Ning.”

Ninelotus raised her head to watch as well.

“Don’t let it be Ji Ning. Don’t let it be him!” Patriarch Arcanum’s narrow eyes were filled with frantic worry. If Ji Ning became the Daofather’s disciple, then in the future, he would most likely prove to become a true disaster for the Youngflame clan!

Many people were waiting silently. Some hoped it would be Ning; others hoped it would be Adept Woodpass; still others hoped it would be Adept Blackstone. They each had their own supporters and detractors.

For the world of the Grand Xia to give birth to a new disciple of a Daofather was something that would completely, fundamentally change the balance of power in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.

……

The Xia Emperor’s gaze swept downwards, pausing to intentionally prolong the tension. Only upon seeing Seatopple glare angrily at him and Lu Dongbin rub his nose did the Xia Emperor declare, “The Daofather’s chosen disciple is…Adept Woodpass!”

“Adept Woodpass!”

The Xia Emperor’s voice echoed within the entire main hall. For a moment, the entire main hall was completely silent.

“Adept Woodpass!”

“The Daofather’s disciple…Adept Woodpass!”

“Adept Woodpass!”

In perfect unison, all of the Celestial Immortals and eliminiated Wanxiang Adepts within the main hall all turned their gazes towards the simple, honest-looking youth, Adept Woodpass. For a time, all of the Celestial Immortals found it difficult to mask the envy and desire they felt. They knew very well that this honest-looking youth’s status had just soared into the heavens!

The Daofather’s disciple! Adept Woodpass!

In this instant, Adept Woodpass had become the most dazzling figure in the entire Skylight Palace!

“It was actually Adept Woodpass!” Yuchi Xiyue, Yu Wei, the Sloppy Daoist, and some others all turned to look at Ji Ning. They felt unhappy on Ning’s behalf.

Ning had already tried his best. He was the youngest of the three, and was number one in this Conclave. Why hadn’t he been chosen?

However, they didn’t argue against this decision, because the decision was Daofather Crimsonbright’s! Only the person who the Daofather took a favoring to would be chosen…and that person didn’t necessarily have to be number one.

“The Daofather’s chosen disciple is…Adept Woodpass!” The voice rang out in Ning’s ears. He felt dazed.

For an extremely brief moment, Ning’s entire mind went blank. However, he quickly came back to consciousness. Although he was clear-headed now, in his heart, he still felt countless emotions.

“Why would it be him? Why did the Daofather choose him?” Ning’s heart was filled with urgency, resentment, rage…and helplessness!

He was helpless. Truly helpless. The choice of a disciple was up to the Daofather; no matter how dazzling Ning had proven himself to be, if the Daofather didn’t like him, it was all for nothing.

“If I had completely exposed my [Starseizing Hand], then perhaps Daofather Crimsonbright would have chosen me.” This thought suddenly came to Ning’s mind…but it was nothing more than a disgruntled thought. Ning knew very well that given how many people were watching this Conclave, as soon as his [Starseizing Hand] was revealed, the after-effects would be completely unpredictable!

The Three Realms were currently filled with turbulent undercurrents that were simply too mysterious. Daoist Threelives’ status was unknown. Ning didn’t dare take this risk.

“Congratulations, brother Woodpass.” Ning immediately turned to the nearby Adept Woodpass, expressing his congratulations.

On his other side was Adept Blackstone, who had an extremely complicated look in his eyes. Upon hearing Ning’s words, he immediately came to his own senses. In his heart, he secretly felt ashamed; in the face of this mental blow, he had actually taken longer to recover than Ji Ning, who had trained for just thirty or so years. But no matter what…he hadn’t been chosen. It was guaranteed that two of them would be eliminated.

“Congratulations, brother Woodpass,” Adept Blackstone said as well.

Adept Woodpass’s eyes were filled with joy. He immediately said, “Brother Ji Ning, brother Blackstone, I was just lucky. Neither of you are inferior to me.”

The Xia Emperor, seated on his throne, nodded slightly upon seeing this.

Ji Ning and Blackstone’s Dao-hearts were fairly formidable. The chance of becoming the Daofather’s disciple had suddenly disappeared; this was a tremendous blow that would cause some people’s Dao-hearts to completely crumble, and perhaps even cause them to go insane. For Ji Ning and Adept Blackstone to be able to quickly recover from this blow and regain their faculties…they did indeed live up to being top of the top three contestants in this Conclave.

“Ji Ning, Blackstone,” the Xia Emperor said. “The two of you don’t need to be depressed. I told you that the two of you will both be able to apprentice yourselves to a Pure Yang True Immortal! I will help you select a suitable master…and if others do not take you in, then I, Xiamang Xun, will personally take you on as my disciples. However, I do not travel on the Dao of the Sword, nor do I travel on the Dao of Formations. I’m not necessarily the best suited master for you two. Go and spend three days in the imperial capital first. Within three days, I’ll send someone to meet you two.”

“Thank you, your Imperial Majesty.” Ning and Adept Blackstone both responded respectfully.

“The two of you can leave now,” the Xia Emperor said. He was quite favorably disposed towards both Ji Ning and Adept Blackstone. The attack on the Six Paths of Reincarnation and its collapse…the fact that this Conclave gave birth to two Daofather’s disciples…the Xia Emperor felt increasingly certain that this Conclave was going to give birth to future heroes of the Three Realms. Ji Ning and Adept Blackstone both had this potential!

“Junior apprentice-brother Woodpass, go ahead and seat yourself next to junior apprentice-brother Sovereign Hao,” the Xia Emperor said.

Adept Woodpass couldn’t breath. ‘Junior apprentice-brother’? The Xia Emperor had just referred to him as junior apprentice-brother? Adept Woodpass now truly understood…that from today onwards, his destiny had indeed been completely changed. He truly was about to soar into the heavens.

“Yes.” Adept Woodpass obediently walked forward. Sovereign Hao grabbed him and pulled him over to sit next to him.

“Eh?” Only now did Adept Woodpass see Empyrean God Seatopple, as well as the Sloppy Daoist who was beside him. “Why is the Sloppy Daoist sitting here as well?”

This place was a place where the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods were seated; not even the Celestial Immortals were permitted to come close. Why was the Sloppy Daoist here? And who was this man dressed in deep green Flood Dragon armor?

……

Ning was seated back before King Yan once more. King Yan consoled him, “Ji Ning, don’t feel dispirited. After all, you shall still become the disciple of a Pure Yang True Immortal. Even if there are no suitable ones…you will at least become his Imperial Majesty’s personal disciple. For him to become your master means that in the future, you will have no troubles at all within the world of the Grand Xia Dynasty. You will no longer need to fear the Youngflame clan.”

Ning nodded lightly. Since he couldn’t become the Daofather’s disciple, then all he could do was lower his expectations for now. Pure Yang True Immortals were truly formidable figures of the Three Realms as well. Perhaps they might know about whether Daoist Threelives was alive or not. In addition, with a Pure Yang True Immortal as his master, he would have a powerful backer in the future!

“Ji Ning.” Yuchi Xiyue looked towards Ning with concern.

“Ji Ning.” Yu Wei looked towards him as well.

Both of them were worried about him.

Ning, after sitting down, smiled gently. “There’s no way I can change the Daofather’s decision on whether or not too choose me! No matter what, I’ve already done all I can.”

“Right.” Both Yu Wei and Xiyue let out sighs of relief. Ning’s Dao-heart was even more firm and strong than they had expected.

Ning then looked towards the place where the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods were gathered. He immediately whispered, “Why is eldest apprentice-brother seated over there? Who is that fellow dressed in the dark green Flood Dragon armor in front of him?”

Yu Wei and Xiyue exchanged a glance. Xiyue spoke out, “When you went to choose a divine ability, that Empyrean God known as Seatopple arrived. He is the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu, and he has come to this Conclave for the express purpose of bringing back the Sloppy Daoist.”

“He’s taking him away?” Ning was puzzled.

Yu Wei said, “You didn’t see it, Ji Ning. Everyone in the main hall was talking about it earlier. The divine ability which eldest apprentice-brother uses is known as the ‘Grand Black Tortoise’ divine ability, which was created by Grand Emperor Xuanwu, one of the major powers of the Three Realms. In reality…he had been chosen by Grand Emperor Xuanwu long ago to be his disciple. After this Conclave, he is going to be taken before Grand Emperor Xuanwu and truly taught the Dao.”

“What?!” Ning was stunned. Woodpass was a major power’s disciple, and now the Sloppy Daoist was becoming one as well?

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Chapter 36 – Lu Dongbin Accepts a Disciple

Chapter 36 – Lu Dongbin Accepts a Disciple

Ji Ning, Adept Blackstone, and Adept Woodpass quickly came to understand the situation. It wasn’t so bad for Adept Woodpass, but Ji Ning and Adept Blackstone found it hard to refrain from feeling envy.

Becoming a Daofather’s disciple! Aside from personal effort, luck was another part of it!

“Xiamang,” Seatopple said, puzzled. “I heard you say earlier that it seems as though of the three, Ji Ning is the youngest. In addition, he also became number one in this Conclave. In turn, Blackstone is a grandmaster in formations. Why would the Daofather end up choosing Adept Woodpass?”

“How should I know?” The Xia Emperor shook his head. However, in his heart, the Xia Emperor thought back to his Primaltwin’s visit with Daofather Crimsonbright.

……

Beyond the Three Realms, within the infinite void. There was a mountain that was hovering within the void. The mountain was a million kilometers in size, and it was filled with palaces. This was the place where Daofather Crimsonbright, a major power of the Three Realms, resided.

“Master, here are the recordings of the top three youths who participated in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny.” The white-robed Xia Emperor stood there respectfully while handing over a scroll.

Off in the distance, there was an elder with long azure hair seated in the lotus position atop a stone. The void around the place where he was seated seemed to be incomparably stable and steady.

The azure-haired elder nodded gently. The scroll instantly unfurled, its surface flashing through the images of those three duels.

Whoosh…the scene of the first battle suddenly turned dramatic and exciting. Instantly, the battle between Ji Ning and Adept Blackstone began to proceed.

“Mm.” The azure-haired elder revealed a hint of a smile as he nodded lightly. “This young fellow who uses formations truly is quite remarkable in this respect. If he were to focus on it, in the future, he would most likely become a true grandmaster of the Dao of Formations! By relying on the Dao of Formations, he has a chance of overcome the Celestial Tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal. He is worth nurturing!”

“The young fellow who uses the sword isn’t bad either. His sword-intent is quite formidable; he should be an excellent potential Sword Immortal,” the azure-haired elder said in praise.

The white-robed Xia Emperor said respectfully, “Master, of the final three in this Conclave, the number one victor is the sword-wielding one. His name is Ji Ning, and he has only trained for thirty years. This formations wielder is known as Blackstone; he ranked number three, and has spent a hundred years in his training. As for the last one, his name was Adept Woodpass. He ranked number two in this Conclave, and has trained for more than three hundred years!”

“Thirty years?” Daofather Crimsonbright was surprised. He nodded lightly, a look of delight appearing in his eyes. “It seems his talent in the Dao of the Sword is quite astonishing. He’s worth nurturing as well.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor nodded lightly as well. That went without saying. Even Lu Dongbin had grown intrigued, and he was someone who was quite skilled at guiding disciples, and who had exceptional judgment. He had taken a liking to Ji Ning…and had long ago praised him as being a genius in the Dao of the Sword.

Whoosh. Daofather Crimsonbright flicked through to the second battle. This was between Adept Woodpass and Adept Blackstone.

Upon seeing seeing this battle, Daofather Crimsonbright’s eyes lit up. He immediately flicked through to the third battle, the one between Ji Ning and Adept Woodpass.

“Good, good, good.” Daofather Crimsonbright said the word ‘good’ three times in a row.

The white-robed Xia Emperor was immediately surprised and perplexed. Who was Daofather Crimsonbright praising? Was it Ji Ning?

“Master, there was someone else in this Conclave known as the Sloppy Daoist. He is the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu, and has trained for a hundred years. The Sloppy Daoist was actually himself kept in the dark, and had no idea that he was the Grand Emperor’s disciple. In the end, Seatopple personally came to receive him back to meet with Grand Emperor Xuanwu,” the white-robed Xia Emperor added.

“The Turtle-Snake’s disciple?” Daofather Crimsonbright was curious. “Do you have a scryer recording?”

“I do.” Since the white-robed Xia Emperor had mentioned the Sloppy Daoist, he naturally had come prepared. He immediately offered yet another scroll, this one with multiple battles recorded, including that between Adept Woodpass and the Sloppy Daoist, where the Sloppy Daoist had been defeated in the end.

After viewing that battle, Daofather Crimsonbright couldn’t help but laugh. “Hahaha, that old Turtle-Snake’s temperament is very similar to mine, and his judgment is the same. This Sloppy Daoist that he chose…he is quite low-key and quite reliable, with a solid, deep foundation that has no flaws. Although in his youth he may have seemed to be slow in training, as time passes…his deep, solid foundation will allow his Immortal path to be a long and stable one.”

“Woodpass and this Sloppy have almost identical Immortal cultivation paths,” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded with a sigh. “Both have incomparably perfect and stable foundations, and both have extremely strong Dao-hearts.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor was startled. Judging from these words…it seemed as though his master favored Adept Woodpass.

“Daofather, can it be that you are going to choose Adept Woodpass?” The white-robed Xia Emperor couldn’t help but speak out. He had spent the most time training out of the top three.

“Remember,” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a calm laugh, “Don’t just judge a person just by his temporary prominence. The path of Immortal cultivation is an incomparably long and limitless one…and these three have just embarked on it a short while ago. In choosing a disciple, one must see through the present and into the infinite future.”

“Thirty years? A hundred years? Three hundred years? In the fact of the long Immortal path, these timeframes are nothing,” Daofather Crimsonbright said. “The Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpath are both unrushed and stable, with calm, leisurely dispositions! Just by looking at their combat styles, I can tell that they didn’t waste any of their attention on small tricks and benefits.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor nodded. Indeed, the Sloppy Daoist and Adept Woodpass were quite similar.

“This sort of temperament is the best sort of mentality and heart for an Immortal cultivator,” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a laugh. “Or at least, it’s the sort that I and the old Turtle-Snake favor.”

Daofather Crimsonbright was an extremely good-natured person; everyone knew this. As the saying goes, when a turtle sees a pea, he would like it for its color! Daofather Crimsonbright favored Woodpass for his heart and mind. He knew very well that although the Immortal path required a certain degree of comprehension ability and talent, towards the later parts of the path, it required even more regarding one’s mind and Dao-heart!

“It’ll be Woodpass,” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded. “As for the other two, they are moldable talents as well. Go and seek out your fellow disciples and see which of them are willing to accept these two as disciples. The Three Realms are in a state of upheaval; perhaps my gaze has gone astray and either Ji Ning or Adept Blackstone shall become formidable in the future as well. Thus, we should still bring them into my Crimsonbright League!”

“Yes,” the white-robed Xia Emperor nodded. “Ji Ning is a Sword Immortal. I shall go seek out junior apprentice-brother Evergreen! Junior apprentice-brother Evergreen is a Sword Immortal as well. As for this Blackstone…it seems as though none of us are truly peerless with regards to the Dao of Formations.”

“If you can’t find anyone suitable, then you can accept this Blackstone yourself. Although your talent in formations isn’t amongst the top within the Three Realms, it is more than enough to teach this Blackstone,” Daofather Crimsonbright said.

The white-robed Xia Emperor nodded in acknowledgment.

Back within the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

Amongst the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, Lu Dongbin was the strongest. He was ranked at the very top amongst the Pure Yang True Immortals of the Three Realms, and was a peerless Sword Immortal who had an extremely good chance of becoming a Daofather of the Great Firmament.

As for the Daofathers supporting him…they were Lieges of the Daoist Path.

He was viewed with great favor by those two Daofathers, and had even produced a disciple who became a Pure Yang True Immortal. Lu Dongbin’s vision was particularly astute! Long before the others had realized how special Ji Ning was, Lu Dongbin had been able to somewhat sense it.

“Xiamang,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh, “Since Daofather Crimsonbright has not accepted Ji Ning as his disciple, then I’ll shamelessly raise this topic again; Ji Ning truly has exceptional potential as a Sword Immortal, and I like him very much. I wonder, Xiamang, if you would ber willing to give me some face and let me take Ji Ning. I truly do want to take on this disciple.”

“Lu Dongbin…” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “Although Master didn’t choose Ji Ning, he still praised him multiple times. So…please don’t make things hard for me, Lu Dongbin.”

“Xiamang, it is just a Wanxiang Adept.” Empyrean God Seatopple pursed his lips. “Since Eastflower has asked this of you…can it be that Eastflower’s face is worth less than a young Wanxiang Adept? In addition, your Crimsonbright League only has a single Pure Yang Sword Immortal, Immortal Evergreen, right? Immortal Evergreen isn’t a good teacher; it’s been so many years, but I’ve never heard of him producing a single Celestial Immortal.”

The corners of the Xia Emperor’s eyes twitched.

“Since Eastflower has made the request, just give him some face, Xiamang,” the Immortal Elder of the Northlands spoke out as well.

At the beginning, Lu Dongbin had mentioned this in a joking way, but had been refused. But this time…he was being extremely serious.

Lu Dongbin had many good friends. He was very influential, and his backers were very powerful. All of the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods present aside from Sovereign Hao, who was also Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple, were speaking out on his behalf.

“Xiamang, you know what sort of a temperament I have. I’ve always been a blunt, straight-talker. I truly am intrigued by this Ji Ning, and I want to take him on as my disciple. Xiamang, help me out here. I’ll owe you a favor and I won’t forget it. What do you say?” Lu Dongbin spoke out earnestly.

The Xia Emperor was startled. A favor from Lu Dongbin? That was quite valuable indeed.

But…Daofather’s Crimsonbright’s words remained within his mind. Although the Daofather hadn’t chosen Ji Ning and Blackstone, he still had a very good impression of them. He had said that perhaps Ji Ning and Blackstone would also be quite astonishing in the future…and that they had to be brought into the Crimsonbright League.

“Lu Dongbin, it’s not that I won’t allow it, it is that Master has given his orders.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Lu Dongbin frowned.

The Xia Emperor could tell that Lu Dongbin was unhappy…but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to make this refusal.

Lu Dongbin shook his head and sighed. It seemed as though he truly was not destined to become Ji Ning’s master! He didn’t dare to actually kidnap and forcibly take away Ji Ning…after all, that would be the equivalent of slapping Daofather Crimsonbright directly in the face! A Daofather who had emerged from the primordial chaos and had survived into the present era…he absolutely would not offend such a person for no good reason.

“Then Ji Ning’s Dao-companion, Yu Wei. I rather like this little lady as well. If I take her as my disciple, you won’t stop me, will you Xiamang?” Lu Dongbin said.

“Haha, that’s a small matter. Lu Dongbin, you can pick anyone you want from outside the top ninety-six. Even if you choose them all, it’d be fine.” The Xia Emperor spoke out in a very magnanimous way. He knew that he had caused Lu Dongbin to feel unhappy, and so he naturally now spoke out in a way to make him feel better.

Lu Dongbin nodded, then turned his gaze towards King Yan’s side, towards Yu Wei. She was currently holding hands with Ji Ning and whispering with him.

“Little girl, come over here,” Lu Dongbin smiled towards Yu Wei. His voice rang out directly within her ears.

“Eh?” Yu Wei was startled. Raising her head to look over, she immediately saw that the Xia Emperor and the others were all looking towards her.

“Yu Wei, come here,” the Xia Emperor said as well.

Only now did Yu Wei, rather puzzled and lost, rise to her feet. She began to walk towards them…and in doing so, caused quite a few of the Celestial Immortals and Wanxiang Adepts present to pay attention to her.

“Little girl,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh as he looked at Yu Wei, “I, Lu Dongbin, wish to take you on as a disciple. Are you willing?”

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Chapter 37– Sword Immortal Evergreen

Chapter 37– Sword Immortal Evergreen

Lu Dongbin didn’t mask his voice at all. It echoed throughout the entire main hall of the Skylight Palace, and all of the nearly thousand Celestial Immortals as well as the various Wanxiang Adepts were all incomparably surprised.

“Exalted Immortal Eastflower is taking on that little girl of the Black-White College?”

“Why is Lu Dongbin taking on this little girl?”

“Lu Dongbin’s judgment is exceptional. Even I would like to take him on as a master, but he wouldn’t even look at me! But why is it that today…”

Many of the Celestial Immortals present were rather jealous. Becoming the disciple of a Daofather was a stroke of tremendous karmic fortune! They didn’t even dare to dream of such a thing, and so most of them actually hoped for becoming a disciple of a Pure Yang True Immortal.

Lu Dongbin was one of the very top True Immortals or Empyrean Gods, and his background was incredible as well. He was also superb at teaching his students! He was a passionate man, and whenever he took on a disciple, he would use all his heart in training them. Compared to him, many of the other True Immortals or Empyrean Gods were focusing on training in the Dao, and didn’t care as much about their disciples.

“Lu Dongbin?”

“The legendary Lu Dongbin?” The Wanxiang Adepts, such as Adept Ninedeaths, Cangwu Jiu, Xiangtian Xiao, Youngflame Zhan, and the others all turned red-eyed with jealousy. They had fought into the top ninety-six, and some had even fought into the top twelve or top six!

Lu Dongbin’s fame was such that even many ordinary mortals and commoners had heard of it. This was because figures such as Houyi, Father Kua, and the Eight Immortals of the High Caves were simply too famous and too well-known in the legends. As for Lu Dongbin…he was the leader of the Eight Immortals of the High Caves!

……

Although they were red-eyed with jealousy, the Celestial Immortals all knew that this was the type of person Lu Dongbin was.

“Are you willing?” Lu Dongbin asked once again.

Yu Wei was stunned. This sudden, unexpected surprise had made her somewhat speechless. Of course she was willing! Who wouldn’t be willing to be an apprentice to Lu Dongbin? This was something that was second to only becoming a Daofather’s disciple!

But she had just become Dao-companions with Ji Ning…were they going to be separated just like this?

Yu Wei turned her head to look towards the distant Ning. Ning understood what she was feeling. Although he couldn’t bear to let her go, he knew that Yu Wei was also a person whose heart was focused on the Dao. He nodded gently.

“Don’t feel too much regret for your little lover.” Lu Dongbin saw Yu Wei turn her head towards Ji Ning. He explained, “Your little lover is definitely going to become an apprentice to a True Immortal or Empyrean God as well; he’s definitely going to spend some time by their side. And so, regardless of whether or not you accept me as your master, in a short period of time, Ji Ning himself will depart from the world of the Grand Xia.”

Yu Wei now understood. She gave the distant Ning another glance. Ning himself repeatedly gestured with his eyes at her while nodding.

“Can I ask how long it will be?” Yu Wei asked nervously.

“At least a few decades, at most a century,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh. “Don’t worry; once I hear that Ji Ning has returned to the world of the Grand Xia, I will soon let you come back and reunite with your little lover.”

Yu Wei said with desire, “Then can Ji Ning take you on as his master as well?” She knew that Lu Dongbin was a Sword Immortal; he was quite suited to teach Ning.

“I want that too,” Lu Dongbin said, shaking his head and sighing. “But unfortunately, this Grand Xia Emperor of yours won’t allow it no matter what.” As he spoke, he gave the Xia Emperor a glance.

The Xia Emperor just sat there smiling, not saying a single word. Clearly…there was no room for discussion on this at all!

Yu Wei nodded. She no longer hesitated at all. Falling to her knees, she called out respectfully, “Your disciple greets you, Master.”

“Hahaha…” Lu Dongbin began to laugh loudly. “Good, good, good. To be able to take on a good disciple such as you…this trip of mine to this Conclave was worth it. Yu Wei, go spend some more time with your little lover; in a short while, when the Conclave concludes, we shall leave this world of the Grand Xia.”

“Yes, Master.” Yu Wei once more headed right back to Ning’s side.

……

“Yu Wei, congratulations.” Yuchi Xiyue was very happy for Yu Wei. Her cousin’s Dao-companion had become Lu Dongbin’s apprentice; this was a joyous matter indeed.

“Ji Ning, after this Conclave concludes, the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods will leave. Master will take me away from this world of the Grand Xia as well.” Yu Wei had a look of longing in her eyes.

Ning gently took Yu Wei’s hand in his own. “Both of our hearts are focused on the Dao. An opportunity like this is rare; how can we let it pass by? In addition, I’m going to be apprenticed to a True Immortal or Empyrean God as well. By then, I’ll be stayed permanently by Master’s side…and I too shall leave this world of the Grand Xia.”

Although he wasn’t going to be able to become a Daofather’s apprentice…by becoming a True Immortal or Empyrean God’s apprentice, he would still have a powerful backer! He would also learn more about the various powers within the Three Realms! Ning had already decided to spend some time alongside the True Immortal or Empyrean God and focus on training with him or her.

Yu Wei nodded. “Master said the same thing. He will probably take me away for a few decades, no more than a century. Once you come back, Ji Ning…Master will know and will quickly release me as well.”

“We’ll both work hard,” Ning said softly. “We are both going to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become Celestial Immortals. We truly be together for eternity.”

“Together for eternity.” Yu Wei nodded as well, her eyes slightly red. To be by the side of her lover for all eternity…how beautiful that would be.

“But can I truly be together for eternity with Ji Ning?” Yu Wei once more thought back to her past life, and her heart began to be filled with a surge of terror. “…no matter what, I will rather let my soul be destroyed than harm Ji Ning in the slightest. At least before I die…everything will be perfect.”

Within one of the trillion minor worlds of the Three Realms.

This was a beautiful world with fragrant flowers and chirping birds. The people were simple folk. Although the world was separated into three nations, they usually just engaged in shouting matches against each other. Occasionally, some Immortal cultivators would compete against each other in order to win some advantages for their respective nations, but actual large-scale wars were very rare.

Whoosh. A tear in space appeared.

The white-robed Xia Emperor strode out from the void. Upon arriving within this minor world, he soon headed towards a mountain. Atop the mountain, there was a Daoist monastery, known as the Evergreen Monastery. Evergreen Monastery was extremely ordinary, and in this minor world very few knew of it. It was only known in the nearby counties and towns.

How could the people of this minor world have any idea that within this Evergreen Monastery, there was a truly exalted and peerless Sword Immortal.

“Junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, so all you do is train in the Dao alongside your four or five novices within this crappy monastery?” The white-robed Xia Emperor went to the back of the monastery, where several farm plots were located. A young man was next to a pool of water.

“You can manage your major world. As for myself, I have nothing holding me back. Why should I trouble myself with various things?” The young man said calmly.

“What about your disciples?” The white-robed Xia Emperor shook his head. “If you are going to stay in this monastery, why don’t you bring those disciples of yours over and give them some good tutelage.”

“Teachers can show you the way, but cultivation relies on one’s own abilities. I guided them for ten years and taught everything which I should’ve taught. It is enough. As for what they will end up like, and as for whether or not they will become Celestial Immortals…there’s nothing more I can do.” The young man sat down casually, scooping up a ladle of water from the water bucket in front of him and drinking it. He sighed to himself, “Such sweet water.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor felt resigned. Anyone capable of becoming a True Immortal or an Empyrean God was an expert of the Three Realms; even the Celestial Court would have to treat them with courtesy. Every person had a different personality. He was unable to persuade this junior apprentice-brother of his.

“I’ve come on Master’s orders,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Master?” The young man immediately became serious.

The white-robed Xia Emperor said. “You know that three or so decades ago, the Six Realms of Reincarnation suffered an attack and collapsed. The Three Realms are filled with hidden, dangerous undercurrents. A major storm is most likely coming, and it is unavoidable. And…the more chaotic an era, the more heroes will emerge from it into the Three Realms.”

The young man nodded.

“My Grand Xia world is blessed by karmic luck. During this Conclave of Immortal Destiny, even Master choose one of the top three to be his disciple, a man named Adept Woodpass. Even a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu appeared in this Conclave,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Oh?” The white-robed man said in surprise, “One Conclave, two Daofather disciples?”

“According to Master’s instructions, all three of the top three in this Conclave are to be brought into our Crimsonbright League. Master himself chose Adept Woodpass, while the other two are known as Adept Blackstone and Ji Ning. Ji Ning is a potential peerless Sword Immortal; he’s only trained for thirty years, and even Lu Dongbin wanted to take him as a disciple. I didn’t let that happen, though. In addition…he was born shortly after the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed. Perhaps he truly is blessed by tremendous luck,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said in a persuasive manner.

“No need to try and sway me.” The young man shook his head. “Whether or not Lu Dongbin takes on a disciple has nothing to do with me. That personality of his…he can even take on ordinary mortals as disciples. As for the fact that this Ji Ning has trained for just thirty years, and was born shortly after the collapse of the Six Paths of Reincarnation…that’s an utter joke!”

“The reason why heroes emerge from periods of chaos in the Three Realms is because those periods are periods of constant battle. Many experts will die, and their luck will dissipate from them and gather around others…” The young man continued, “With each storm in the Three Realms, old experts fall and new experts rise. Even some Daofathers fall, while new Daofathers emerge. The total number of experts in the Three Realms has remained constant.”

“Whether or not one will become an expert depends entirely on whether or not one can seize the right opportunity during periods of chaos in the Three Realms!”

“As for the time of their birth? Hmph, try that line on someone else.”

The young man wasn’t swayed in the slightest.

The white-robed Xia Emperor could only laugh.

Even Daofathers could re-establish the cycle of reincarnation! Everyone knew what the secrets of reincarnation were. A person’s destiny, however, wasn’t determined by their birth; what mattered was what happened to them after it! Nobody was guaranteed to be a Daofather upon birth! There was no such thing. At most, one might be born into a good family, thanks to good karma stored up from a past life.

“And, senior apprentice-brother…it’s not that I want to criticize you,” the young man said, “But so what if a storm is coming to the Three Realms? Whether or not one takes on a disciple doesn’t matter at all. What matters is one’s personal power!”

“The only ones we can trust, that we can control, are ourselves!”

“Disciples can turn traitor. Subordinates can turn traitor. Even friends can stab you in the back…only by increasing your own power can you fundamentally grow strong,” the young man said. “As far as I am concerned, this period of chaos in the Three Realms is a chance for me, Evergreen, to break through to become a Daofather of the Great Firmament. As for taking on disciples? Even if my disciple trained to become a Daofather, it wouldn’t mean a damn thing for me!”

The white-robed Xia Emperor no longer said anything. He and Sword Immortal Evergreen were on two completely different paths; he himself was born from the lineage of the Primordial Imperial Clan, and so his way of thinking was naturally different. He immediately took out a scroll. “Take a look. These are the scenes of Ji Ning’s duels.”

The scroll unfurled. One scene of battle appeared after another.

“A Sword Immortal?” The young man nodded. He gave the white-robed Xia Empror a small azure sword. “This kid truly is quite talented. Since Master has ordered it, then I shall take on this Ji Ning as my apprentice. This is my talisman; arrange for someone to give it to him. If he is willing to take me on as Master, then let him crush it within ten days, and I will go find him. After ten days, the talisman will automatically dissipate.”

Even if a master was willing to accept an apprentice, the apprentice also had to be willing to take on this master.

Lu Dongbin had needed to ask Yu Wei for her agreement. The same was true for Sword Immortal Evergreen. If Ji Ning wasn’t willing…then given his arrogance as a Pure Yang True Immortal, he naturally wouldn’t run over to beg Ning to accept him.

“Alright.” The white-robed Xia Emperor accepted the little azure sword, then said with a laugh, “Then junior apprentice-brother, I won’t disturb your leisurely life in your monastery any more.” After speaking, he vanished into thin air.

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Chapter 38 – A Friend Comes From Afar

Chapter 38 – A Friend Comes From Afar

The Conclave of Immortal Destiny had concluded.

The Skylight Palace. The various Celestial Immortals were all beginning to leave.

“It’s rare that I’m allowed out, but I have to go back now.” Empyrean God Seatopple opened his mouth, and all of the platters of delicacies on his table flew into his mouth. He then rubbed his belly, then said in satisfaction, “Xiamang, Eastflower, everyone, I’m going to take my junior apprentice-brother back now.”

And then, he pulled the Sloppy Daoist by the arm. Whoosh! He flew onto a cloud and disappeared deep into the depths of the sky.

“Time to go, apprentice,” Lu Dongbin said as he looked towards Yu Wei, who was next to Ji Ning in the distance.

Yu Wei and Ning were speaking to each other. Upon hearing Lu Dongbin urge her to leave, she couldn’t help but feel even more reluctant to part from Ning. She gave him a tight hug, and Ning held her in his arms.

He could sense Yu Wei’s heart. This was a woman with a cold exterior but a scorchingly hot heart. Upon becoming Dao-companions with her, he could sense the warmth of her heart.

“Wait for me,” Yu Wei said softly.

Ning pressed his face against Yu Wei’s, feeling the warmth of her skin. He whispered back gently, “Gotta. I swear it.”

“No need for oaths.” Yu Wei released Ning, tears appearing in her eyes. “I believe you.” And then, she turned and ran to Lu Dongbin’s side.

“Sorry for making you wait so long, Master,” Yu Wei said hurriedly.

“Silly child, silly child.” Lu Dongbin shook his head and sighed. A cloud appeared beneath their feet, and they too quickly flew into the skies and disappeared.

Ning raised his head to watch.

Atop the cloud, Yu Wei lowered her head to look at him.

Their gazes met…but soon afterwards, the cloud completely disappeared.

After this departure…they had no idea how long it would be before they met again.

“Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei and Ji Ning…they are very suited to each other.” Ninelotus looked at Ning and Yu Wei, at the looks in their eyes as they parted. Their gazes were filled with longing and a reluctance to part. “The feelings between them are deeper than the feelings between myself and Ji Ning had been. My heart and Ji Ning’s heart…they were never so close.”

……

“Let’s go.”

“We should leave as well.”

Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta, the Immortal Elder of the Northlands, and the others all flew away gracefully as well.

“Junior apprentice-brother Woodpass, come with me to meet Master.” The Xia Emperor left alongside Adept Woodpass.

Instantly, the nearly thousand Celestial Immortals present all began to depart as well. Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue departed alongside King Yan, while Ninelotus left alongside the Dongyan Forefather.

Per King Qi’s command, the delegations from the 3600 commanderies and Four Seas began to leave in an orderly fashion. As for Ji Ning, he flew back to return to the Stillwater Commandery’s delegation.

“Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning! The champion of the Conclave!”

“Adept Darknorth!” The delegates of Stillwater Commandery saw Ji Ning fly down from the skies. Instantly, they began to call out in celebration.

They didn’t know about the matter of the Daofather accepting a disciple. All they knew was that Ji Ning was the champion of this entire Conclave! This was an incomparable glory, a proud moment for the entire Stillwater Commandery.

“Master.” Little Qing transformed into a streak of light that flew towards Ning, then wrapped herself around Ning’s arm.

“Ning, child.” The Whitewater Hound flew to Ning’s side as well.

“Little Qing. Uncle White.” Ji Ning was feeling rather miserable due to Yu Wei’s temporary departure. He immediately felt much better; at least Little Qing and Uncle White would continue to accompany him.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you are too awesome.” Mu Northson called out excitedly, “The champion of the Conclave. The champion! The entire world of the Grand Xia has 3600 commanderies, as well as countless islands in the Four Seas. You’ve only trained for thirty years, but you actually seized the championship. You are too awesome. The person I admire most in the world is you, senior apprentice-brother!”

“Congratulations, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Adept Vastriver said as he and others came over as well.

“Ji Ning.” Northmont Baiwei walked over as well, delight on his face. He pounded Ji Ning on the chest. “What a fellow. When you first said you were participating in the Conclave, I actually tried to stop you. It seems I underestimated you! You are so formidable that you actually were able to become the champion of this Conclave. You are now a truly major figure in our Stillwater Commandery; in fact, your name will be ringing throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning could only laugh.

If this Conclave of Immortal Destiny had only been an ordinary one, then he would indeed feel quite delighted. But the most important part of this Conclave had been the Daofather’s choice of a disciple. As for the empty title of ‘champion’, it wasn’t that important. Sadly…he wasn’t able to be apprenticed to the Daofather.

“Ji Ning, our Black-White College has really gained a lot of face this time,” Immortal Fivecraze said in a gratified manner. “Both you and little Sloppy entered the top six, and you even became champion. Haha…our Black-White College has to memorialize this occasion. Even after a million years, even after a hundred million years…so long as our Black-White College still exists, we’ll make sure that those who come after us know of this matter. This is the pride of our Black-White College!”

“Where is eldest apprentice-brother?”

“Where is senior apprentice-brother Sloppy?”

“And senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei, where is senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei?” One question after another.

Ning sent mentally to Immortal Fivecraze, “Eldest apprentice-brother was accepted as a disciple by a Daofather, Grand Emperor Xuanwu, while Yu Wei was accepted as a disciple by a Pure Yang True Immortal, Lu Dongbin. They have all been taken away from this major world.”

“What…” Immortal Fivecraze was greatly shocked.

Grand Emperor Xuanwu?

Lu Dongbin?

Fivecraze was the longest living Loose Immortal the Black-White College currently had. He had met Celestial Immortals before, and had a vague understanding of the Three Realms. He knew what it meant for a person to become a Daofather’s disciple. Lu Dongbin accepting Yu Wei as a disciple was also an earth-shaking matter for the Black-White College.

“Understood. Don’t let anyone learn of this,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“And you?” Immortal Fivecraze sent mentally.

“I should be arranged to be apprenticed to a Pure Yang True Immortal,” Ning sent. “The Xia Emperor told me to spend three days in the imperial capital to await word.”

……

Upon the conclusion of this Conclave, the various Celestial Immortals all departed. A long time later.

Whoooosh. In the air above the imperial capital. Deep within the void. A tunnel was ripped in space.

A white-robed youth with long, unbound hair leisurely strolled out from this corridor. He stared downwards, his gaze passing through space and seeing the vast imperial capital of the Grand Xia before him.

“Grand Xia?” The white-robed youth nodded gently. He quickly moved through the void, descending into the imperial capital.

He walked forward in a very relaxed manner. A short time later, he arrived outside King Yan’s Estate.

……

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Outside King Yan’s Estate, Ning gave Northson a hug, then separated. “Both myself and your senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei will be apprenticed to a Pure Yang True Immortal. Once the Xia Emperor’s notification comes, I trust that I will soon follow the True Immortal to leave this major world of the Grand Xia. After this departure, it may be decades or a century before I return. It will be many years before we two brothers shall meet again.”

Of his fellow disciples, Ning had the closest relationship with Northson. They were true, lifelong brothers.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you are following a Pure Yang True Immortal in order to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. This is a good thing.” Northson’s eyes were turning slightly red. “However…I really can’t bear to part from you, senior apprentice-brother.”

“Hahaha, we two brothers will still meet again,” Ning said.

“Although you will be following a Pure Yang True Immortal, don’t get too cocky. I, Mu Northson, will also train hard. If you get lazy, upon your return, our big Champion of the Conclave might end up be weaker than me, Mu Northson. Ahaha, that would be a huge joke,” Northson laughed.

Ning laughed as well.

“Alright, no need to send me off! When you return to the world of the Grand Xia, come find me,” Northson said.

“Definitely. I’ll definitely seek you out.” Ning nodded.

“Right.” Northson turned and left, riding an azure dragon and soaring into the skies. The other disciples had bid farewell to Ning long ago, after they left the imperial citadel. Only Northson, who was closest to Ning, had escorted Ning all the way to King Yan’s Estate.

Ning watched him fly away atop the azure dragon. He watched for a long moment, then turned and led Little Qing and the Whitewater Hound into King Yan’s Estate.

“Hm!” The white-robed youth who had been quietly watching from afar shook his head. “It seems this Ji Ning is a fellow who cares quite a bit about relationships. Not bad, no bad.” As he spoke, he leisurely sauntered towards King Yan’s Estate.

King Yan’s Estate had many guards watching the gate, but when the white-robed youth leisurely sauntered through it, none of them seemed to notice a thing.

“The restrictive spells covering King Yan’s Estate have a bit of power behind them. This new Celestial Immortal, King Yan…he’s not too shabby.” As the white-robed youth walked forward, he encountered quite a few maids and soldiers on his path. None of them, however, noticed a thing. It was as though he was invisible, as though he didn’t exist.

The royal estate was very tightly guarded, and it was protected by restrictive spells. It was no weaker than any major sect. Logically speaking, as soon as someone entered, the master of this royal estate, King Yan, would have immediately noticed.

But the white-robed youth walked in without a single person noticing him!

Rustle…

By the side of a creek, there was an Immortal estate. This was the place where Ning was living.

“Ji Ning is just a Wanxiang Adept, but he’s not doing too bad for himself.” The white-robed youth walked to the door of the Immortal estate, then entered it. Not a single one of the spells covering the Immortal estate activated.

……

Within the Immortal estate. Ning, who had just returned to the estate, quietly sat down within a pavilion. Yu Wei had already left along with her master, Lu Dongbin. This caused Ning to feel a melancholy feeling in his heart.

“Ji Ning, someone entered. Someone entered your Immortal estate.” The giant yellow bear’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

“Entered my Immortal estate? I’m the master of this Immortal estate; how could I not have noticed?” Ning’s face changed.

“He’s very powerful. Even I can only vaguely sense him; I don’t dare to really go test him,” the giant yellow bear said urgently. “This person is very powerful; he should be on the level of a True Immortal or an Empyrean God. Your Immortal estate is merely an ordinary residence-type magic treasure, and the door to your estate was open. How could you possibly notice someone like him?”

Ning was shocked. A True Immortal or an Empyrean God? This was someone comparable to the Grand Xia Emperor. They were quite rare in the Three Realms, and were very powerful.

“You became the champion of the Conclave, but not only do you not celebrate with friends, you actually sit here by yourself, drinking wine unhappily? Strange, quite strange.” An airy voice rang out, and a white-robed, long-haired youth strolled forward into the spacious courtyard.

Within the courtyard, Ning hurriedly rose to his feet.

“A friend has come from afar; is this not a wonderful affair?” The white-robed youth said with a smile, “Young friend Ji Ning, I’ve made quite a long and arduous journey to come to your place. Aren’t you going to at least invite me to have a cup of wine?”

“Senior, please do!”

Ning waved his arm, and the table before him became filled with Immortal nectar and spirit-fruit.

“Although the wine and the fruit are a bit lacking, I suppose they are edible.” The white-robed youth took a step forward and sat down in front of Ning. Picking up a gourd of wine, he took two sips.

“Senior, might I ask why you have come to see me?” Ning asked nervously.

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Chapter 39 – The Most Mysterious Daofather

Chapter 39 – The Most Mysterious Daofather

The white-robed youth laughed as he spoke. “Young friend Ji Ning, you are a bit too nervous. You don’t even know who I am, but you are asking me what I’m doing here. Aren’t you being a bit too impatient?”

Ning muttered to himself. Nervous? A Pure Yang True Immortal had just sat down in front of him. How could he not be nervous? After this Conclave, Ning had come to understand quite well that unless a True Immortal or an Empyrean God had taken a fancy to you, they wouldn’t pay you any heed, even if you were a so-called genius. After all, there were far too many ‘geniuses’, but how many would be able to overcome the Celestial Tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal? Much less become a Pure Yang True Immortal.

“Dare I ask who you are, senior?” Ning asked.

“A carefree figure of the Three Realms, born in the era of the ancient Primordial World, where I gained my Dao. I am Lord Jiang.” The white-robed youth said with a sigh, “I rarely roam the outside world, and even when I do I rarely use my own name. Thus, there are very, very few people who know of me.”

He then winked towards Ning. “I just told you my real name.”

Ning relaxed a little bit. It seemed as though this person bore him no ill-will.

“Also, don’t addresss me as senior this and senior that. You can just address me as brother Jiang,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

Ning was startled. Brother Jiang? For a Pure Yang True Immortal to tell him to refer to him as just ‘brother’…Ning was no fool. He naturally understood the meaning hidden within these words.

“But it seems if I don’t spell things out, you won’t be able to calm down.” The white-robed Lord Jiang glanced sideways at Little Qing and the Whitewater Hound. “Have your two spirit-beasts step back for now.”

“Alright,” Ning immediately said. He had Uncle White and Little Qing temporarily leave. A Pure Yang True Immortal could crush him to death; Ning was naturally going to listen to his instructions with obedience.

……

Within the courtyard, only Ji Ning and Lord Jiang were present. They were seated facing each other.

“I imagine that you have already guessed that I have come today per the orders of my master to receive you,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said with a smile. “In other words, my master wishes to take you on as a disciple, and you shall become my junior apprentice-brother.”

Ning could barely breathe. He couldn’t help but ask, “Then brother Jiang, your master is…?”

“He is naturally one of the most supreme major powers of the Three Realms, a Daofather-level figure,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

Ning’s eyes lit up. It was as he had thought. When this person had instructed him to refer to himself as ‘brother Jiang’, Ning had already been able to guess at what this was about. But upon hearing the full explanation, he still couldn’t help but feel that this was inconceivable.

A Daofather!

He had fought and clawed to become the champion of this Conclave, but in the end, Daofather Crimsonbright still did not choose him to be his disciple. The Sloppy Daoist, in turn, was chosen as a disciple by Grand Emperor Xuanwu. There was nothing Ning could do about these things, and he had already resigned himself to becoming the disciple of a lower-ranked Pure Yang True Immortal. But now, a Pure Yang True Immortal named Lord Jiang had appeared, saying that he represented his master!

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear’s voice suddenly rang out in Ning’s mind. “Lord Jiang said that he was born in the Primordial Era, and gained his Dao in that era as well! But…I’ve never even heard of him. And he says his master is a Daofather…you need to figure out exactly which Daofather it is. Some of the Daofathers of the Three Realms were good friends of my master, Daoist Threelives…but some of them were his mortal enemies! Don’t end up becoming an apprentice to one of his mortal enemies. Given a Daofather’s vision, if you learn the Dao from him, he will sooner or later see hints of the truth and discover that there is a relationship between you and Daoist Threelives. If you become apprenticed to one of his mortal enemies, then you’ll be throwing yourself up for capture.”

Ning instantly came to his senses. He felt as though someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over him!

“Dare I ask which Daofather it is?” Ning asked.

Lord Jiang’s eyes had a look of reverence in them as he spoke.

“Master was born from the primordial chaos, and was good friends with Pangu and Nuwa.”

“He became famous in the Primordial Era, and has killed many Fiendgod Daofathers.”

“His name is known throughout the Three Realms, but very few have ever seen him.”

“The Buddhist Sangha, the Daoist Path; he is a master of both. With but a dream, he knows of all the affairs of the Three Realms.”

“He has many disciples, but very few know this.”

“In terms of who is the most mysterious figure in the Three Realms…it is my master!”

The white-robed Lord Jiang nodded as he spoke.

Ning, hearing this, was stunned. “Who on earth is he?”

“Mount Innerheart 1, the Tristar Crescent Abode…Patriarch Subhuti!” 2 The white-robed Lord Jiang’s eyes lit up, and he smiled as he looked at Ning.

“It’s him. It’s him! The Tristar Crescent Abode…the most mysterious Daofather…the most secretive Daofather! Ji Ning, you’ve hit the jackpot. I…ahahaha…you really hit the jackpot! Patriarch Subhuti actually knows about you. He actually knows about your existence. How in the world does he know?!” The voice of the giant yellow bear rang out within Ning’s mind. Clearly, he was incomparably excited.

“…is it really necessary for you to be so worked up?” Ning asked mentally.

“Of course! You have no idea how mighty he is! Ji Ning, let me put it to you this way…in terms of teaching disciples, Patriarch Subhuti is definitely one of the absolute most peerless figures of the Three Realms. What this Lord Jiang said earlier was absolutely correct; Patriarch Subhuti truly has produced many formidable disciples. However, Patriarch Subhuti has a rule; whenever the disciples he has taught leaves his side, unless he gives permission, they are forbidden from telling others that he is their master. Thus, even back in the Primordial Era, there were already many powerful and seemingly unaffiliated wandering Immortals who were actually under the command of Patriarch Subhuti!” 3

“Ordinary people don’t know about this, but my master, Daofather Threelives, did. He knew exactly how formidable Patriarch Subhuti is.” The giant yellow bear was extremely excited right now.

“Oh.” Ning asked, “Why is he the most mysterious, then?”

“Right, he really is the most mysterious Daofather!” The giant yellow bear said with absolute certainty, “In the Three Realms, not even Pangu or Nuwa were as mysterious as him! In fact, to this very day, no one even knows where his estate is located. Without his permission, no one can even find his estate.”

“The estates of the other major powers of the Three Realms are all findable; after all, major powers often interact with other figures of the world, and they will often invite their good friends into their estate.”

“Patriarch Subhuti has taken in many disciples, and also invites his friends over to his estate. But be it disciples or friends…upon leaving his estate, they’ll never be able to find it again. You must understand that all of his friends are also at the True God level. After having entered the estate once, how is it that they cannot locate it again? Isn’t this completely bizarre? Isn’t this very mysterious?”

“He’s that mysterious?” Ning was amazed.

Daofathers were major powers of the Three Realms who controlled a Heavenly Dao. For a Daofather to visit a place, then be unable to find it again afterwards? How bizarre!

“No one knows where his estate is. Even his disciples who have trained within the estate for many years are still unable to find it upon leaving. Unless Patriarch Subhuti nods and permits it, none of them can return.” The giant yellow bear sighed emotionally. “In the past, my master Daoist Threelives once said…in the entire Primordial World, of all the major powers, Maiden Nuwa would be ranked number one in terms of survival abilities, but right after her was the legendarily mysterious Patriarch Subhuti.”

“Patriarch Subhuti. He’s so secretive that other major powers can’t even find his estate. You tell me; how formidable are his survival skills?” The giant yellow bear sighed, “If Master had Patriarch Subhuti’s survival skills, he would definitely still be alive to this very day.”

Ning was speechless as he heard these things. This was an absolute bizarro amongst the major powers of the Three Realms. No one could even find his estate, and his survival abilities were second only to Maiden Nuwa.

“Patriarch Subhuti trains in both Buddhism and Daoism. 4 With a single dream, he learns of all the matters of the Three Realms. His power is simply unfathomable. This Lord Jiang said earlier that Patriarch Subhuti has slaughtered many Fiendgod Daofathers. Although I don’t know much about this, it should be true. There should have been Daofathers and True Gods who had fallen to him, and not just one,” the giant yellow bear said.

“What a formidable figure.” Ji Ning felt stunned.

“Most importantly of all, your master Daoist Threelives and Patriarch Subhuti were true lifelong friends who went through life and death together!” The giant yellow bear was extremely excited. “They were true lifelong friends! The relationship between Master and him was even closer than the relationship Master had with Daofather Crimsonbright. When Master forged this underwater estate, he even asked Patriarch Subhuti to come help out!”

“Ah?!” Ning now understood exactly how close the relationship between Daoist Threelives and Patriarch Subhuti was.

“Given Patriarch Subhuti’s status, he definitely won’t harm you at all,” the giant yellow bear said.

……

Ji Ning was mentally speaking with the giant yellow bear. Gradually, traces of unbearable excitement and astonishment appeared on his face.

The white-robed Lord Jiang laughed as he watched. “My master learns of the matters of the Three Realms in a single dream. In his dream, he saw the Conclave in your world of the Grand Xia. It was as though he watched in person. During this Conclave, Master took no interest in anyone else; just you.”

“He watched personally?” Ning instantly understood. Perhaps True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would find it hard to discover his [Starseizing Hand], but greater powers could, especially one who was such an incredibly good friend with Daoist Threelives.

“In addition, Master instructed me to deliver a message. He told me to say: ‘Little yellow-furred bear, how have you been’?” Lord Jiang continued, “He said that after I delivered this message, you would agree to leave with me.”

Ning’s pulse began to speed up. Little yellow-furred bear? He was speaking of the spirit of the underwater estate!

“Ji Ning, Patriarch Subhuti must have discovered your [Starseizing Hand] through his ‘Dream of the Three Realms’. He must have guessed that you are Master’s heir. That’s why he personally ordered someone to receive you.” The giant yellow bear’s voice was filled with excitement. “Hurry, hurry and go! So long as you go to Patriarch Subhuti, we can learn about what has happened to Master.”

The spirit of the underwater estate…he truly wanted to know if his master was alive or dead.

……

As Ning and the white-robed Lord Jiang were chatting, King Qi had arrived at King Yan’s estate.

“This Conclave of Immortal Destiny has concluded. Why have you come to my place?” King Yan said with a laugh.

“Because of Ji Ning, of course,” King Qi laughed as well. “His Imperial Majesty personally went to visit uncle-master Evergreen. You know what sort of a temper he has; he doesn’t like to teach students, and is an extremely solitary person. Still…since this was the Daofather’s order, uncle-master Evergreen nodded and agreed to accept Ji Ning as his disciple.”

“Oh. Uncle-master Evergreen is a Sword Immortal, while Ning was born to be a Sword Immortal. He is quite suited for teaching Ji Ning. However, I’m just worried that uncle-master Evergreen…” King Yan was rather worried.

“That’s not for you to worry about.” King Qi shook his head. “I’m here on his Imperial Majesty’s orders to give uncle-master Evergreen’s talisman to Ji Ning.”

“It seems as though Ji Ning really is going to become uncle-master Evergreen’s disciple,” King Yan said.

Because of his granddaughter, King Yan had actually been hoping for Ji Ning to be apprenticed to a better teacher. However…of the Pure Yang True Immortals under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command, the only Sword Immortal was Sword Immortal Evergreen.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked to Ning’s Immortal estate.

“Ji Ning,” King Yan called out.

1. In Chinese, this was ‘fangcun’, which literally means a square inch, but metaphorically refers to the workings of a person’s inner heart.

2. Subhuti is not only a famous disciple of Gautama Buddha in real history, he is also extremely famous as being the teacher of Sun Wukong, the person who taught Sun Wukong Daoist magic and his legendary 72 Transformations.

3. This is a play off what happened in Journey to the West. When Sun Wukong left Subhuti’s tutelage, Subhuti ordered him not to tell anyone that he had been Sun Wukong’s master; he knew how unruly this monkey was and was afraid he would lose face/be implicated if others realized that he was the one who had taught Sun Wukong.

4. This historical Subhuti was a Buddhist figure. Because he taught Sun Wukong Daoist magic in Journey to the West, he is often conflated as both a Buddhist and Daoist figure.

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Chapter 40 – A Swift Departure

Chapter 40 – A Swift Departure

At the entrance to Ning’s Immortal estate.

Ning came out to the entrance to greet them. Upon seeing the two, he immediately said with respect, “Greetings, King Yan, King Qi.”

“Ji Ning, good news has arrived,” King Yan said with a laugh.

“Oh?” Ning was startled. Good news? Could it be that the Grand Xia Emperor had found a Pure Yang True Immortal to be his master?

The nearby King Qi said with a laugh, “His Imperial Majesty has sought out his junior apprentice-brother, Sword Immortal Evergreen. Sword Immortal Evergreen is a Pure Yang True Immortal. He is very powerful, and has thoroughly mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword. He is quite a famous Sword Immortal in the Three Realms…he is quite suited for teaching you.”

Ning nodded gently. Sword Immortal Evergreen?

“Ji Ning,” King Yan said in a lowered voice, “This Sword Immortal Evergreen is rather arrogant and aloof. You need to be careful around him and be very respectful.”

Ning’s heart twitched. To respect one’s master was only proper; that didn’t need to be said. But for King Yan, as a Celestial Immortal, to describe a Pure Yang True Immortal like Sword Immortal Evergreen as arrogant and aloof, then tell him to be very respectful…Ning thought to himself, “I imagine this Sword Immortal Evergreen isn’t merely ‘aloof’ and ‘arrogant’. Luckily, I don’t need to take him on as my master at all.”

“Don’t say so many things,” the nearby King Qi frowned.

King Yan laughed, saying nothing else.

“Ji Ning.” King Qi waved his hand, and a little azure sword appeared within it. “This is Sword Immortal Evergreen’s talisman. I’ll hand it to you now. All you need to do is crush it, and Sword Immortal Evergreen will come find you and take you away! Remember – you have to crush it within ten days. After ten days, the talisman will automatically disintegrate. By then, given Sword Immortal Evergreen’s temper, he probably won’t take you on as a disciple.”

Ning immediately accepted the talisman. “I understand.”

“The talisman is in your hands now. I’m going to leave now.” King Qi smiled towards Ning, then turned and left.

King Yan whispered softly, “Sword Immortal Evergreen has a rather bad temper. You have to remember this. Also, before you leave with your master, let Xiyue know. You don’t need to inform me of it. I’ll pray that when you leave, you’ll be able to learn some real abilities, and that you shall overcome your Celestial Tribulation in the future and become a carefree and unbound Immortal.”

Ning could feel King Yan’s caring towards him. “Thank you, King Yan. Ji Ning will remember it.”

“Good.” King Yan immediately left.

……

Just moments later.

Yuchi Xiyue arrived at Ning’s estate.

“Cousin.” Ning didn’t want to part with her either. He truly was about to leave, but it wasn’t with Sword Immortal Evergreen; rather, it would be to meet the most mysterious major power of the Three Realms, Patriarch Subhuti. After this departure, it would probably be decades or a century before he could return.

“Little brother.” Xiyue sat down, then took Ning by the hand. Her eyes were filled with tears…but they were tears of joy. “The two of us were together for two or three years, but it is now time to part. However…don’t feel unhappy. This is your chance, your chance to soar into the heavens. Although you weren’t able to become a Daofather’s disciple, it’s still quite good for you to become a Pure Yang True Immortal’s disciple.”

Ning truly wanted to tell his cousin that he was taking on Patriarch Subhuti as master.

However…

When he had gone to greet King Yan and King Qi, Lord Jiang had instructed him, “Remember, no matter what you cannot tell them of this. Upon Xiamang Xun learning of this, he will move to obstruct it. He might even pull in Daofather Crimsonbright, who stands behind him. That will make things troublesome.”

“Cousin, after I leave the world of the Grand Xia, you need to take good care of yourself,” Ning said. “Don’t let yourself suffer because of your hatred for the Youngflame clan. In the future, I will overcome my tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. By then, dealing with the Youngflame clan will be much easier.”

“Right, right.” Xiyue nodded. “I get it. I get it.”

The two chatted for a long period of time. Xiyue only left when the sky was completely dark.

Within the Immortal estate.

“Brother Jiang, what should I do with this talisman of Sword Immortal Evergreen?” Ning pulled out the little azure sword. “If I crush it, Sword Immortal Evergreen will come take me away. If I don’t crush it, it will dissipate naturally.”

“Give it to me,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said with a laugh. He stretched his hand out, and the little azure sword flew into it.

“This world of the Grand Xia is part of the territory of Daofather Crimsonbright, after all.” Lord Jiang said with a laugh, “We can’t be too brash here. Fortunately…when a Pure Yang True Immortal takes on a disciple, the disciple has to be willing. If you don’t crush it within ten days, then Sword Immortal Evergreen will assume that you weren’t willing to accept him as your master…and they will have no idea that you’ve actually taken on Patriarch Subhuti as your master. They will probably think that you are adventuring in the outside world. Even if you reveal hints of it upon returning once you are powerful, causing someone to learn that you are Patriarch Subhuti’s disciple, so what? In the Three Realms, my master has quite a bit of face.”

Ning nodded. “Then my two spirit-beasts?”

“You can bring your spirit-beasts into the Tristar Crescent Abode,” the white-robed Lord Jun said. “However, they cannot take on Master as their teacher.”

“As long as I can bring them.” Ning nodded repeatedly in delight.

“If there’s nothing else, we can head out right now,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

“Right.” Ning nodded, them immediately called out, “Uncle White, Little Qing.”

The distant Little Qing flew over with a swoosh, wrapping herself around Ning’s arm. Uncle White arrived by Ning’s side as well.

“Uncle White, Little Qing, we are preparing to leave the world of the Grand Xia,” Ning said.

“Leave the world of the Grand Xia?” The two of them were both amazed. Leave this world? “To where?” Little Qing asked.

Ning turned to ask, “Brother Jiang, where is the Tristar Crescent Abode?”

“The Tristar Crescent Abode…it consists of a crescent hook and three stars. Tell me, what character is this?” The white-robed Lord Jiang said with a smile.

“A crescent hook and three stars? The character for heart ‘心’?” Ning instantly understood.

“Right. The character ‘heart’. The Tristar Crescent Abode is Master’s estate. The Three Realms is vast, but no one can find the location of Master’s estate. This place is a place where one can only go through the heart, a place you find with your heart,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

Ning instantly felt that this was incomparably mysterious. A crescent hook and three stars? This was indeed the character ‘heart’ 心. This name which Patriarch Subhuti gave his cavern estate was quite interesting.

“Patriarch Subhuti, the Tristar Crescent Abode…” Ning began to think back to one of the mythological fantasy novels he had read in his world, [Journey to the West]. [Journey to the West] was a novel written by ancient individuals, and it included Pangu, Nuwa, Patriarch Subhuti, and others. However, there was no mention of the three thousand major worlds or trillion minor worlds.

Ning had gone to the Netherworld Kingdom and been reincarnated before learning a few things about the Three Realms.

Ning now understood that every single world shared some legends, especially those regarding formidable figures such as Pangu, Nuwa, Houyi, and Kuafu, were discussed by countless people of the Three Realms. Novels like [Journey to the West] were influenced by even more ancient legends; for example, the legends of Pangu establishing the heavens or Nuwa creating humanity didn’t come from [Journey to the West].

Actually, in the world of the Grand Xia as well, there were some novels and literature regarding various Gods and Immortals; these novels even recorded down tales involving divine abilities such as [Heavenly Transformations] or the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], which compiled into various stories. Some of these stories were real while others were false. Some even got the names wrong!

Perhaps in the ancient days on Earth, there were actual Immortal cultivators. In fact, some humans on Earth might have been reincarnated Immortals who had awoken their previous memories, and so had left behind certain legends to the world.

……

“The Three Realms have countless legends, and many of them have been compiled into novels. However…the true secrets of the Three Realms remain unclear to me, even though I have slaughtered Loose Immortals and received the legacy of Daoist Threelives.” Ning sighed to himself, “Why was the previous Primordial World destroyed and transformed into the three thousand major worlds and trillion minor worlds? Who on earth attacked the Six Paths of Reincarnation?”

These were mysteries!

“The Tristar Crescent Abode is an estate of one of the major powers of the Three Realms, and the most mysterious one at that. Although I’ve always remained within the Tristar Crescent Abode, I don’t actually know where it is. I have to have Master guide me into it in order to return.” The white-robed Lord Jiang said with a sigh, “Let’s go. Pick up your Immortal estate.”

“Right.” Ning willed it. Instantly, the Immortal estate was collected. Ning stood there on the grass next to the river, Little Qing around his arm and the Whitewater Hound by his side. The white-robed Lord Jiang said, “This journey will last decades or even longer. Is there anything you need to do?”

Ning shook his head gently. There was nothing.

The reason he had left Stillwater Commandery was because of the Youngflame clan’s pursuit. He had told Autumn Leaf and the leaders of the Ji clan that he would be leaving for a very long period of time! Yu Wei had already been taken away by Lu Dongbin to train in the Dao, while he had already told his cousin, Yuchi Xiyue, of his departure. He had also bade farewell to his fellow disciples of the Black-White College.”

“Then let us go.” The white-robed Lord Jiang willed a cloud to appear beneath their feet. The cloud floated upwards, carrying Lord Jiang, Ji Ning, and the Whitewater Hound to quickly soar into the skies, completely bypassing the restrictive spells as they flew deep into the void.

Soon, they reached the very highest parts of the sky.

Riiiip. Lord Jiang waved his hands. The dim, twisting void above them was instantly torn apart, and a corridor emerged. Within the corridor, one could vaguely see twisted, distorted rainbow light.

“Let’s go.” The white-robed lord Jiang gave the little azure sword a toss, and it fell down many tens of thousands of kilometers towards the ground. He then led Ji Ning, Little Qing, and the Whitewater Hound into the spatial tunnel.

Whoosh.

The spatial tunnel quickly closed. Everything was back to normal.

Within the world of the Grand Xia…there was no longer a Ji Ning to be found.

Twelve days passed after the conclusion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny.

The Xia Emperor was within a side hall of the Skylight Palace, seated in the lotus position with eyes closed.

“Eh?” The Xia Emperor suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a confused look. “Why has junior apprentice-brother Evergreen come?”

Soon, a young man walked into the side hall. The servants and guards present didn’t seem to see him at all.

“Senior apprentice-brother,” Sword Immortal Evergreen said.

“Junior apprentice-brother, why have you come to my place?” The Xia Emperor asked, puzzled.

“This is the twelfth day. The talisman I gave you has long since dissipated.” Sword Immortal Evergreen shook his head. “Normally, I couldn’t be bothered to come; after all, Ji Ning didn’t crush the talisman, and so I couldn’t be bothered to take him as my disciple. But since this was Master’s instruction…I came to make a trip to this world of the Grand Xia. If Ji Ning is willing, I’ll give him another chance to be my disciple.”

“What did you say?!” The Xia Emperor was shocked. “Ji Ning didn’t crush the talisman?”

“Right. He didn’t crush it.” Sword Immortal Evergreen shook his head.

“But Ji Ning left King Yan’s estate long ago. I thought that you had taken him away. I thought that because of how arrogant and aloof you are, you simply didn’t inform me.” The Xia Emperor was flabbergasted. “I even did an investigation; he’s no longer in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. Lu Dongbin, Mahasthamaprapta…they wouldn’t go so far as to offend the Daofather for the sake of this little fellow, right? Can it be that Ji Ning is just too young? He became the champion of the Conclave, but wasn’t able to become the Daofather’s apprentice, and so in his anger he decided not to accept a Pure Yang True Immortal as his master and instead left by himself?”

Sword Immortal Evergreen snorted coldly. “Oh? You say he left the imperial capital long ago? If that’s the case, then senior apprentice-brother, I’ve already done all I can. This matter no longer has anything to do with me.”

After speaking, Sword Immortal Evergreen turned and departed, quickly leaving this major world.

He really didn’t care about Ji Ning at all. He had only made a trip here because of his master’s instructions.

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Chapter 1 – The Senior Apprentice of the Daofather

Chapter 1 – The Senior Apprentice of the Daofather

Whooooosh.

Distorted rainbow light could be seen coming from within the torn-open void corridor. The white-robed Lord Jiang led Ji Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing in moving through this void corridor.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly revealed a look of surprise, and the nearby Whitewater Hound and Little Qing stared in shock as well. This was because this void corridor’s colors were fluctuating from fiery red that made it look like a tunnel of fire to a watery blue that made it seem as though they were moving through a tunnel of water…and despite flying through this corridor for enough time to boil a kettle of tea, they were still flying.

“Brother Jiang,” Ning immediately asked, “Why have we been flying through this void corridor for so long? Can it be that it normally takes this long to fly through a torn open void tunnel?”

“No.” The white-robed Lord Jiang shook his head. “Normally, to leave a major world, after you rip open the fabric of space you can easily leave the world and enter the infinite void, then use a Greater Teleport and easily arrive at your destination. But the place we are headed to is Master’s Tristar Crescent Abode, the most mysterious place in the entire Three Realms. Ordinary techniques are completely useless in going to Master’s place.”

“Oh.” Ning nodded slightly.

“I’m not the person controlling this void tunnel right now; it is Master who is guiding us in,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said. “Through this void tunnel, we can directly access the Tristar Crescent Abode.”

“How much longer?” Ning look at the void tunnel surrounding him; it had just turned into a completely pitch-black color. The pitch-black tunnel was twisted and distorted as it spiraled forward, causing Ning to feel a vague sense of fear.

He felt as though if he were to be wrapped up into the distorted space, he would be ground to death.

“Soon, soon,” Lord Jiang said with a laugh. Just as his words came out…

Whoosh! A misty world suddenly appeared in front of the void tunnel. The white-robed Lord Jiang, Ji Ning, and the others flew out into the world.

“Here we are!” Lord Jiang stood there in midair, a look of delight on his face. He smiled as he swept the misty world with his gaze.

“This…this is the Tristar Crescent Abode?” Ji Ning stared downwards. What he saw was an infinitely vast world with many cities. He could tell just by looking downwards how vast this world was.

Lord Jiang said, “This is the world which Master established. In terms of size, it’s comparable to the world of the Grand Xia.”

“Comparable to the Grand Xia?” Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing all nodded to themselves.

Ning asked, “So the Patriarch personally established this world? According to the legends, formidable figures of the Three Realms are able to establish some smaller worlds of a few tens of thousands of kilometers…but it’s actually possible to establish a world comparable to the world of the Grand Xia in size as well?”

“Haha…the world of the Primordial Era was established by Pangu. Compared to the various ‘major worlds’, it was unfathomably larger,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said, shaking his head and laughing. “Although Master cannot do as Pangu did, he’s still able to establish an estate-world that is comparable to the Grand Xia in size.”

“This estate-world is completely separate from the outside world. It has its own cycle of reincarnation, and a miniature Netherworld Kingdom. After dying, the souls of the world will be reborn into this world anew,” Lord Jiang said with a laugh. “This estate world is actually a miniature version of the Primordial World of Pangu; it is completely outside the structure of the Three Realms. Thus, not even other major powers can enter it.”

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing were all secretly stunned. Completely outside the structure of the Three Realms…a completely stand-alone cycle of reincarnation…

Major powers truly were incredible!

“Mount Innerheart is at the very center of this estate-world.” Lord Jiang pointed towards the distance. “Right over there.”

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing all raised their heads to look. Indeed, they could vaguely make out the outlines of a mountain that was hovering in the skies.

“Let’s go.” The white-robed Lord Jiang led Ning and the others to fly out. The hovering mountains grew closer and closer, and one could even make out the fairy cranes and running beasts around it.

Whoosh. Lord Jiang, Ji Ning, and the others flew to the very top of the mountain, landing atop a mountain path. “If we follow this path to the very top, we shall reach the place where Master trains in the Dao and teaches his disciples,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said. Ning and the others followed him upwards.

The mountain path winded up the mountain, but fortunately there were stone steps to walk on.

After walking a short while, the white-robed Lord Jiang turned and moved onto a well-trodden pathway that led into a mountain forest. “Ji Ning, come with me to meet our eldest apprentice-brother.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother?” Ning felt slightly puzzled, but he followed the white-robed Lord Jiang deep into the forest.

“He was the very first to follow Master. You absolutely must not be disrespectful to him,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

“Right.” Ning nodded. As he walked forward, he could just barely make out a voice speaking out.

“A one, a two, a three and a four. A five and a six, a seven and an eight, a nine and a ten…now fall down!” As the bright voice rang out, a ‘crunch’ sound could be heard, followed by a rumble…

The white-robed Lord Jiang and Ning moved quite quickly. As they moved closer to the sound of the voice, they saw an enormous tree fall down. Through the other trees, Ning could just barely make out the figure of a woodcutter dressed in grass shoes and a grass hat. The woodcutter’s skin was swarthy and dark, but he was dressed quite simply.

The white-robed Lord Jiang walked over. “Eldest-apprentice brother.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother?” Ning was flabbergasted. This woodcutter? He was their eldest apprentice-brother?

The woodcutter in front of him appeared very ordinary and was dressed in a very ordinary manner as well. Ning’s judgment was quite astute by now, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see anything special about the tattered grass shoes or raggedy clothes; they seemed to be ordinary clothes, not magic treasures.

And…no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t sense any presence or aura stemming from this woodcutter at all. In fact, Ning didn’t even feel the slightest hint of danger emanating from him. No matter from what angle Ning inspected him, this woodcutter seemed like an ordinary mortal!

“Whew.” The woodcutter rested his hatchet over his shoulder, straightened his waist, then turned and said with a laugh, “Haha, so it’s Lord Jiang. Why have you come to my place?”

“Per Master’s orders, I went to the world of the Grand Xia to bring our junior apprentice-brother. I’m back now, and I thought I’d bring him over to see you, senior apprentice-brother,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

“Junior apprentice-brother?” The woodcutter looked at Ning, looked at him quite carefully. His gaze, however, seemed quite ordinary. It didn’t seem to be the slightest bit penetrating.

“He’s our junior apprentice-brother. His name is Ji Ning, and he is currently just a Wanxiang Adept,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said. “Ji Ning, hurry up and pay your respects to our eldest apprentice-brother.”

“Greetings, eldest apprentice-brother,” Ning said while bowing.

The woodcutter laughed. “I’m just a chopper of firewood. Still, for you to be accepted by Master at such a young age means that Master must value you highly. Master is very good-natured, but you still need to work hard and not disappoint him.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“Alright, you can go now, Lord Jiang. Take this Ji Ning to meet Master,” the woodcutter said.

“Alright.” The white-robed Lord Jiang immediately led Ning away.

Back on the main mountain road.

Ning said, puzzled, “Eldest apprentice-brother…he isn’t a mortal, is he?”

When he saw the likes of Lu Dongbin and the Xia Emperor, he could clearly tell how incredible they were. But of course, it was also possible that this was because Lu Dongbin and the others hadn’t retracted their auras! But this woodcutter…no matter how hard Ning tried, he couldn’t sense even the slightest hint of cultivation about him. In fact, the woodcutter even had calluses on his hands, and there was some white hair on his head.

“Of course not,” Lord Jiang said. “From the Primordial Era to the present day, Master has taken in many disciples, and there are even quite a few True Immortals and Empyrean Gods. But in terms of power, eldest apprentice-brother is the undisputed number one! He’s far more powerful than the rest of us.”

“The undisputed number one?” Ning was stunned.

“Right. Only, ever since the destruction of the Primordial World, eldest apprentice-brother has never left this world of the Tristar Crescent Abode,” Lord Jiang said. “This is why there are very, very few people in the Three Realms who know of him.”

Ning couldn’t help but feel stunned. It was only after the destruction of the Primordial World that the three thousand major worlds and the trillion minor worlds were born. An unfathomably long period of time had passed since the creation of the three thousand major worlds, but this eldest apprentice-brother actually had the patience and temperament to never roam the Three Realms? Generally speaking, powerful experts would like to stroll about many of the places of the Three Realms. After all, each of the trillion minor worlds had their own unique aspects, and were quite exciting.

Lu Dongbin, for example, liked to play around in the mortal world. He had left behind his legacy in countless worlds.

The names of many formidable figures had been spread throughout the Three Realms. But eldest apprentice-brother had never left after the destruction of the Primordial World?

“What is his name?” Ning asked.

“Woodcutter,” Lord Jiang said.

“I meant his real name. Or his Daoist title,” Ning said.

“Real name, Daoist title…all I know is that eldest apprentice-brother is referred to as the woodcutter.” Lord Jiang shook his head. “I don’t know anything else. When you are training in the Dao on the mountain, you can come to this mountain forest to train. Perhaps he will see you and be willing to guide you.”

Ning nodded. So the senior disciple under Patriarch Subhuti’s tutelage was actually such a mysterious figure. Ning was quite curious as well.

Soon, Lord Jiang brought Ning to the entrance to the cavern. The entrance had a large stone in front of it, which had three words on it: Tristar Crescent Abode!

By each side of the entrance, there were two azure-robed Dao novitiates. For these two to be assigned to Mount Innerheart meant that they were monstrously talented figures themselves. However, here at Mount Innerheart, they were only viewed as ordinary figures. They were already quite delighted to be chosen as entrance guards.

“Patriarch.”

“Patriarch.”

The two novices respectfully bowed towards Lord Jiang. Lord Jiang was a Pure Yang True Immortal. His rank was extremely high!

“Mm.” Lord Jiang nodded, then brought Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing through the entrance. The two novices naturally did not bar his way.

……

They continued to walk forward into the cavern.

The insides of this Tristar Crescent Abode was quite beautiful and graceful. It had all sorts of fairy cranes and animals. Their auras were all retracted and hidden, but despite that Ning could still sense a tremendous degree of threat and power emanating from them.

The aura of the Tristar Crescent Abode itself was quite calm and peaceful. The various beasts and Diremonsters didn’t have even a hint of a baleful, savage aura at all. They seemed extraordinary docile.

“When the Patriarch takes on disciples, he doesn’t care about their birth or lineage. Thus, aside from humans, even many monsters and Fiendgods have come to learn the Dao from him,” Lord Jiang said with a laugh. “The Patriarch has a particular rule; anyone who comes to Mount Innerheart is forbidden from fighting with the other disciples. If any disciple dares to assault another, the Patriarch will immediately intervene to suppress the fight and shatter his soul!”

“No matter who! Even I am not permitted to act against those various younger generation disciples. If I do, then Master will kill me as well,” Lord Jiang said. “This is an iron rule that no one can violate.”

Ning nodded. No wonder the aura here was so peaceful. So all types of battle were completely forbidden. The Patriarch himself was at the top of the mountain. Who would dare act wildly?

They continued to walk forward. On the path upwards, they heard various greetings, such as ‘Patriarch’, ‘uncle-master’, ‘uncle-master’, ‘Patriarch’, and more. Clearly, Lord Jiang’s status was very high.

“Master is inside.” Lord Jiang pointed to an ordinary-looking Daoist monastery up ahead. There were two more Dao novitiates standing in front of the monastery.

“Uncle-master, the Patriarch instructed us long ago that Ji Ning can be brought straight to him. There’s no need for any report to be made,” one of the novitiates said with a smile.

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Chapter 2 – The Status of Daoist Threelives

Chapter 2 – The Status of Daoist Threelives

“The two spirit-beasts should wait here for now,” the Dao novitiate instructed.

Ning nodded. Little Qing and Uncle White both obediently stood to one side, waiting silently. Both of them knew quite well that the person within this Daoist monastery was an awe-inspiringly famous supreme power of the Three Realms, Patriarch Subhuti.

“Let’s go.” The white-robed Lord Jiang led Ning directly into the monastery.

“Uncle White, Master is going to go meet a Daofather. I feel like I’m dreaming.” Little Qing’s eyes were filled with excitement.

The Whitewater Hound nodded gently as well. He, too, was still in a state of shock. That little child who had trained in the sword and in archery by his side…he was actually about to become an apprentice to a major power, Patriarch Subhuti. “A person’s fate truly is unfathomable.”

Within the monastery.

There was an empty region filled with many prayer mats. In front of this empty region, there was an elevated platform, atop which there was another prayer mat. On this elevated prayer mat, there was a skinny, white-bearded elder. This skinny elder was dressed in loose robes. He was seated in the lotus position, and he emanated an aura that caused others to feel at peace in their heart.

“He is Patriarch Subhuti?” Upon seeing this white-bearded elder, Ning couldn’t help but secretly feel nervous. This was a truly major power, a power that had even killed other Fiendgod Daofathers, a power that was acclaimed as the most mysterious Daofather of the Three Realms!

How could Ning not feel nervous in front of such a person?

“Master, I’ve brought Ji Ning over,” Lord Jiang said with great respect.

“I bow in respect to you, Daofather,” Ning said with great respect as well.

Patriarch Subhuti opened his eyes, looking at Ning. A hint of a smile appeared on his face as he nodded gently. He then instructed Lord Jiang, “You can leave for now. Ji Ning can stay by himself.”

“Yes.” The white-robed Lord Jiang respectfully departed, leaving behind only Ning and Patriarch Subhuti.

Patriarch Subhuti said with a calm smile, “No need to be nervous. Pick any prayer mat and sit down first.”

“Yes.” Ning chose a prayer mat, then sat down in the lotus position.

“I watched the Conclave of Immortal Destiny of the world of the Grand Xia. Of the participants, you, Woodpass, and the Sloppy Daoist were the most outstanding,” Patriarch Subhuti evaluated. “Crimsonbright ended up choosing Woodpass…and this was as I expected. In choosing disciples, Crimsonbright cares about mindset and temperament the most. The temperament of that Woodpass truly is most suited to him.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh in secret. The spirit of the underwater estate had said that Patriarch Subhuti was very good at teaching students. Comparatively speaking, Daofather Crimsonbright and Grand Emperor Xuanwu’s teaching abilities were significantly lower. For even Patriarch Subhuti to praise both Woodpass and Sloppy as excellent meant that they truly did have potential.

“But in my eyes, you have even more potential than the other two,” Patriarch Subhuti said.

Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart. This was the very first time someone had said that he had more potential than Sloppy and Woodpass…and the speaker was Patriarch Subhuti!

“The path of Immortal cultivation is filled with many dangers and obstacles. Thus, with each step, you need to leave a firm footprint as you walk forward in a stable manner. Your heart must be stable as well. This is indeed true,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “From this perspective, Woodpass and Sloppy are both excellent disciples. Their foundations were the most stable amongst the contestants in the Conclave, and their hearts were also the most stable and calm as well.”

“However…everything in this world is divided into yin and yang,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “Although it is important to be stable and solid, it is also important to be sharp.”

“You need to be stable, but you also need sharpness.”

“Stability is yin, while sharpness is yang! When yin and yang support each other, one can walk farther on one’s path.” Patriarch Subhuti laughed. “Ji Ning, you are far ‘sharper’ than the other two, and your foundation is quite solid as well. Only…a disciple like you is harder to guide and teach. It is very easy to teach disciples like Sloppy and Woodpass. So long as you let them slowly train and slowly adventure, they will slowly rise in power.”

“As for you…your rate of improvement will be faster, but things will also be more risky. Your future potential might be higher than theirs, but you might also perish midway.” Patriarch Subhuti looked at Ning. “Today, I shall impart a few words to you. You need to memorize them.”

“The path of Immortal cultivation… your goals should be distant and grand, with Pangu and Nuwa as your models.”

“The path of Immortal cultivation…it requires you to lower your head and watch the road, for you to remember to maintain a solid foundation. Do not merely think about soaring into the skies; when a bird soars too far, its eggs might be stolen and destroyed. It will perish, its Dao gone.”

“The path of Immortal cultivation…it requires caution. It is a boat that will sail for ten thousand years that you must control with care.”

“The path of Immortal cultivation…it requires sharpness. Only with a heart that is filled with a desire to charge into the heavens can you walk even farther on this path.”

Patriarch Subhuti’s words were simple, but they struck at the very foundation of an Immortal cultivator’s heart and mind.

Everyone summoned before Patriarch Subhuti as a student had superb talent and comprehensive abilities. What determined one’s accomplishments after that…was the heart!

“Ji Ning shall firmly memorize these words,” Ning said seriously.

“How to make your goals grand but not too high…how to be cautious and yet have the desire to charge into the heavens…you will need to handle this yourself. The world is divided into yin and yang, and between yin and yang lies the heart,” Patriarch Subhuti said.

Ning nodded.

As soon as the Patriarch had met him, he had imparted these words. Ning understood how important these words were, and also the principles which the Patriarch spoke of. However…some things were easy to ‘understand’ but hard to ‘carry out’. On the path of Immortal cultivation, one would need to constantly remind one’s self, so as to prevent one’s self from embarking on a wrong path. These four things the Pariarch had advised him regarding was like four signposts on the Immortal path that would constantly remind him.

……

Patriarch Subhuti continued to speak. “I watched the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. You should have learned the divine ability, [Starseizing Hand].”

“Yes.” Ning admitted it. Since the Patriarch himself had said the words [Starseizing Hand], how could he even think about hiding it?

“My fellow Daoist Threelives…he finally has a true successor. His divine ability has once more reappeared in the Three Realms!” Patriarch Subhuti let out an emotional sigh. “Little bear, why haven’t you come out yet?”

Whoosh. A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to Ning. It was the giant yellow bear.

“Eh?!” Ning realized to his astonishment that the giant yellow bear next to him was quite solid and seemingly real, as though he were a living creature. He didn’t seem as illusory and dreamlike as he did when he was the spirit within the underwater estate.

“This little bear pays his respects to the Daofather.” The giant yellow bear fell to his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground.

“So indeed, Ji Ning, you managed to enter the Starseizing Manor and learned the divine ability within it.” Patriarch Subhuti nodded.

Ning revealed a surprised look. “Patriarch, the Starseizing Manor…?”

The nearby giant yellow bear explained, “The ‘Starseizing Manor’ is the true, original name of this underwater estate. Although the estate was left behind by Master for his successors, it was also the estate which Master lived in. In the past, Master would often receive his guests within the Starseizing Manor, and even invite some Fiendgods to listen to him expound upon the Dao.”

Ning instantly thought back to the many giant prayer mats in the middle of the underwater estate. Indeed, many people must have come to listen to lectures on the Dao.

Patriarch Subhuti said, “The relationship between Threelives and the Starseizing Manor was similar to the relationship between myself and the Tristar Crescent Abode. In the past, when Threelives knew that the upcoming tribulation would be a hard one to overcome, he made careful preparations, adding a vast quantity of treasures into his estate. He even melted down and extracted the essence of multiple Protocosmic spirit-treasures and invited multiple major powers over in order to forge it. Afterwards, he gave it up and had this little bear search for a successor for him.”

“I ask for your guidance, Daofather.” The giant yellow bear pressed his head repeatedly against the ground, his eyes brimming with tears. “Tell this little bear…where is Master? Is he alive or is he dead?”

The sound of his kowtowing rang out as he pressed his head against the ground repeatedly. Clearly, he desperately wanted to know this answer. He had waited countless ages for this day.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Upon hearing this, a complicated look appeared on Patriarch Subhuti’s face. He was silent for a moment, then said, “Threelives was my very best friend…my lifelong bosom friend! We met each other in the primordial chaos and adventured together. I was a bit more reserved, whereas brother Threelives had a sharpness that couldn’t be hidden! I enjoyed comprehending the cosmos and the various mysteries of the Heavenly Daos; I didn’t involve myself in the various power struggles of the Primordial Era. Brother Threelives, however, desired to do battle against the heavens and the earth. He loved combat, and he had many Fiendgods who followed his command. He carved out an enormous territory within the Primordial World for himself, and was referred to within it as the Godking.”

“Because very early on in his training, his arm had been severed, he trained painstakingly until he finally developed the utterly astonishing divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand]!”

“True Gods of Primordial Chaos are innately predisposed to enjoy battle. Even many Ki Refining Daofathers are unwilling to engage in life-and-death battles against True Gods of Primordial Chaos. After brother Threelives developed his [Starseizing Hand] divine ability, especially the Sixth Cycle of it, he reached an unfathomable level of power. He was extremely famous for his power even in the Primordial Era, and was ranked as one of the top True Gods.”

Patriarch Subhuti’s gaze was rather dreamy as he slowly spoke. “However…he was unable to comprehend a Heavenly Dao, and so his danger sense was comparatively weaker. That great tribulation that came…it was the greatest tribulation which had occurred ever since Pangu had established the universe. Threelives insisted on participating in it. I tried to stop him, but he was filled with a desire to fight; he wasn’t willing to shrink back. He knew that it would be incredibly dangerous…but his hot-blooded nature made him decide on going. Before leaving, he wanted to ensure that his [Starseizing Hand] wouldn’t be lost with him, and so he asked many friends to help him out. With their help, with his original estate as a raw material, and with many melted down treasures, he managed to create this new Starseizing Manor, meant to pass down his legacy.”

“After he created the new Starseizing Manor, the tribulation came…and without any hesitation, he went to welcome the battle.”

“That battle…I shrank back from it.” Patriarch Subhuti’s gaze was misty.

Ning, hearing this, couldn’t help but feel his heart shake. Patriarch Subhuti had shrank back? The greatest tribulation to occur ever since Pangu had created the universe?

“That tribulation, the greatest tribulation since Pangu had created the universe…the very first parts of it caused the Primordial World to shatter. Countless experts and Fiendgods fell. Figures that were even more powerful than Threelives fell as well.” Patriarch Subhuti sighed and shook his head. “Miserable. It was miserable. Threelives loved battle, and so of course he took part. His divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], truly was one of the most supreme of grand divine abilities; even Nuwa herself praised its power. Threelives fought like a man possessed, and multiple Fiendgod Daofathers perished by his hand. As for myself, I relied on the [Dream of the Three Realms] to watch the battle; I didn’t participate.”

“This divine ability was forged from Threelives’ innate love for battle, as well as some guidance from both Pangu and Nuwa. Only then was this divine ability developed. The creation of a divine ability requires talent. Although I have created far more divine abilities than Threelives, I’ve never been able to create one that was comparable to the [Starseizing Hand].” Patriarch Subhuti looked towards Ning. “For such a divine ability to have passed down to you…no matter what, you cannot let it sink into the dust and disappear.”

Ning nodded repeatedly.

So Daoist Threelives had relied on the [Starseizing Hand] to kill multiple Fiendgod Daofathers. From what Patriarch Subhuti was saying, this divine ability truly was incredibly terrifying.

The giant yellow bear, however, felt his heart shake upon hearing these words. “Daofather, my master, he…”

Ning looked towards Patriarch Subhuti as well. Was Daoist Threelives alive or dead? This was a question that he had wanted to know for a long time as well.

“Little bear…” Patriarch Subhuti looked at the giant yellow bear. He let out a soft sigh.

The giant yellow bear’s heart instantly trembled. His face changed, and he repeatedly pressed his head against the ground, kowtowing so hard that deep thudding sounds could be heard. “Please inform me, Daofather. Is Master dead or is he alive?”

“Little bear…actually, in your heart, you’ve known the answer all along. Why must you ask?” Patriarch Subhuti shook his head.

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Chapter 3 – The Patriarch Accepts a Disciple

Chapter 3 – The Patriarch Accepts a Disciple

“I…” The giant yellow bear looked at the Patriarch.

“He died. He died long ago. He died within that tribulation.” The Patriarch shook his head. “Given Threelives’ temperament, if he was still alive, how could he not come back for you? How could he have let you drift through countless ages by yourself? Little bear, you clearly knew the truth…you just weren’t willing to believe it.”

Drip! Drip!

One teardrop after another fell onto the ground. The giant yellow bear’s kneeling body was shaking. He let out an agonized moan. “Nnnrragh…”

The agonized cry caused Ning’s own heart to feel sour as well.

“Master…master…master…” The giant yellow bear raised his head, howling madly. Daoist Threelives was like his father. Only a long time later did the kneeling bear say, “Forgive this little bear for his earlier outburst.”

“Alright,” the Patriarch said, “You can go back to the Starseizing Manor. You cannot break away from the Starseizing Manor for now.”

“Yes.” The giant yellow bear responded respectfully, then disappeared, having once more returned to the underwater estate.

Although Ning felt moved by the depths of the feelings the spirit of the underwater estate had for Daoist Threelives, he had noticed a few puzzling points. Since the giant yellow bear was the spirit of the estate…why did he seem like he was a living creature? He even shed tears? And the Patriarch had even said that he couldn’t break away from the Starseizing Manor yet? Could it be that he could in the future?

However, given that the spirit of the estate had already been within it for countless years without breaking free, it probably would take it a very, very long time before succeeding.

“Ji Ning.” The Patriarch looked at Ning. “Threelives is dead. I will teach you the Dao in his place. Are you willing to take me as your teacher?”

Ning immediately fell to his knees. “Your disciple greets you, Master!”

“Mm.” The Patriarch revealed a hint of a smile. “From today onwards, you shall be one of the honorary disciples of my school. Once you become a Celestial Immortal after your tribulation, you shall become my personal disciple.”

“Yes,” Ning said respectfully.

“There aren’t too many rules in my school. Just two.”

“One: You must not be disobedient and unfilial.”

“Two: Without my permission, in the outside world you cannot say that I am your master,” the Patriarch said. “If you violate these rules…for a lesser infraction, I will kill you, wipe your memory, and return you to the cycle of reincarnation. For a severe infraction, I will destroy your soul. For an extremely severe infraction…I will make your soul suffer an eternity of pain through truefire.”

Ning said respectfully, “Your disciple understands. Then…when can I say that I am your disciple?”

“When the time comes, you shall naturally be permitted,” the Patriarch said with a laugh. “Alternately, if you can reach your eldest apprentice-brother’s level of power, you can also tell whoever you please.”

Ning was secretly speechless. Eldest apprentice-brother? He was the number one expert amongst the many disciples. Even the white-robed Lord Jiang sighed at his own inferiority. How could it possibly be easy for him to reach such a level of power?

“As for whether or not you act virtuously or evilly in the future, I won’t interfere. I only ask that you act in accordance with your true nature,” the Patriarch said.

“Yes,” Ning said.

“Step forward. Come to stand in front of me,” the Patriarch instructed. Ning was startled, but he moved forward, moving up the steps and walking to the Patriarch’s side.

Suddenly…

The Patriarch stretched a finger out, tapping Ning on the center of his forehead. This was a simple tap, but it caught Ning completely off-guard. The tap landed directly on his forehead.

Rumble…

Ning’s entire body turned soft. He sat down on the ground, then shut his eyes. He just sat there.

The Patriarch smiled as he looked at Ning. He then closed his own eyes as well, no longer paying any attention.

……

A lonely corridor. The two sides of the corridor were covered with paintings of various sword-art techniques. The sword-arts in the paintings were even moving, displaying the profound mysteries within.

Ning walked forward through the corridor, staring at the endless sword-arts lining the two sides.

“These sword-arts are fairly ordinary; they aren’t even comparable to the first level of the [Three-Foot Sword].” Ning walked forward.

He forgot why he had come here.

He forgot about the past.

All he knew was that he was walking deeper and deeper through this corridor.

The sword-arts on the two sides continuously moved about. They even managed to separate from the walls, swirling around Ning and allowing him to understand the mysteries within them.

“This place…has reached the power of the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].”

Ning continued to walk forward. After walking for a short period of time, the sword-arts lining the halls began to demonstrate themselves in front of Ning, as though displaying the Dao of the Sword in fine detail. Ning had originally thought that he had a high level of comprehension of the Dao of the Sword, but he now realized that his insights were insufficiently detailed! Evil…dominating…arrogant…lonely…savage…all sorts of sword-arts were being displayed before him.

“This place…has reached the level of the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].”

……

He had no idea how long he had been walking for.

“This place…has already reached the level of the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].” Ning continued to walk forward, constantly interacting with large amounts of marvelous sword-arts. Ning’s foundation became increasingly solid and stable. Although he had long ago reached the level of the seventh stance, his insights into the Dao of the Sword were now significantly greater than before.

……

After yet another long period of time.

“This is now at the level of the eighth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].” Ning felt that walking forward was becoming increasingly difficult. The countless sword-arts around him were constantly transmitting all sorts of profound mysteries to Ning. Ning was constantly being buffeted by them. This made his walking pace through the corridor to grow slower.

……

“The level of the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].” The sword-arts became increasingly unfathomable. Every single sword-art surrounding him was comparable to the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], and countless sword-arts were on display. Although Ning couldn’t comprehend them, the fundamental mysteries of these sword-arts were firmly imprinted onto Ning’s soul.

……

As he walked forward, the techniques vastly surpassed the [Three-Foot Sword].

If there were more stances to the [Three-Foot Sword], then the later sword-arts were comparable to the tenth and the eleventh stance…

……

Ning was completely submerged in the sea of swords. As he walked through the corridor, his heart and soul was completely filled with all sorts of sword-arts, and the increasingly unfathomable sword-arts brushed past his heart. Although he didn’t understand them, this baptism by countless sword-arts caused Ning to become extremely familiar with the profound mysteries.

A long, long time passed.

It felt as though thousands of years had passed. Ning finally saw the end of this corridor. The end was an enormous, glowing streak of sword-light.

Ning didn’t know why he was walking towards it. He didn’t know whether or not he should stop. And so, just like that…he walked to the end of the corridor. His body became submerged into that giant sword-light.

Rumble…

A vast flood of mysteries flooded his soul.

The vastness of the Dao of the Sword…all of its mysteries…Ning was touching it all right now. The countless sword-arts he had interacted with earlier in the corridor also flashed through Ning’s mind, causing his heart to become even closer to the Dao of the Sword.

“Eh?”

Ning suddenly opened his eyes.

He was still seated on the dais. Before him, seated on a prayer mat, was the loose-robed Patriarch. The Patriarch opened his eyes, smiling as he looked at Ning.

“I…this…” Ning stared at his surroundings. Everything felt so fake and illusory.

Only after a long period of time did his three decades of memories completely recover. The marvelous sword-arts that he had seen were now suppressed and hidden deep in Ning’s soul.

“Master, I, I…” Ning nervously looked at the Patriarch. He felt as though thousands of years had passed. It had taken him so long to recover his decades of memories.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you just doze off?” The Patriarch laughed.

“Master, how long did I sleep for?” Ning asked.

“Not too long. The amount of time for a stick of incense to burn down,” the Patriarch said.

“But I…I feel as though thousands of years passed,” Ning said.

The Patriarch said, “All I did was apply the [Thousand Year Dream] technique to let you truly experience the complete Dao of the Sword for once. From the very start of the Dao of the Sword…to the very end, the completion of the Dao of the Sword.

Right. The [Thousand Year Dream]. It truly did feel as though he had been in a dream. He had lost almost all of his cognitive abilities; all he could do was walk forward along the corridor in a daze.

“All I did was let you sense the complete Dao of the Sword for once. Your own Dao of the Sword hasn’t risen in level that much,” the Patriarch said. Ning, however, knew very well that this [Thousand Year Dream] had been tremendously beneficial to him.

Although he was still only able to execute the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], his understanding of the sword was now far more stable and solid than it had been before. And as he continued to move forward on the Dao of the Sword…he would feel a vague sense of recognition of what to do next. In fact, he would even have a vague sense of what it felt like to completely master the Dao of the Sword.

The path of Immortal cultivation was akin to a blind man using his sense of touch to search for rocks which would allow him to ford a river. Now that he had vague understanding of the path forward…he would be able to move through it much more quickly.

“Thank you, Master.” Ning immediately fell to his knees.

“I just gave you a single helping hand. How much you can make of it is up to you.” The Patriarch pointed gently, and a streak of light flew directly into Ning’s mind.

Ning could sense a large amount of information pouring into his brain. Only after a long period of time did he become clear-minded again.

“The [Darknorth Sutra]? The four scrolls of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?” Ning could sense the cultivation techniques that were now within his soul.

The first scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was divided into the Houtian, Xiantian, and Zifu levels.

The second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was divided into the Wanxiang, Primal, and Void levels.

The third scroll was the Empyrean God scroll!

The fourth scroll was the True God scroll!

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was created by Crimsonbright. Even Nuwa praised this technique, and it truly is an exquisite specimen that allows you to train all the way to the True God level,” the Patriarch said. “As for the [Darknorth Sutra], it is a water-element Ki Refining method that was created by Daofather Carefree; it will allow you to train all the way to the level of Daofathers of the Great Firmament.”

“One is Body Refining, the other is Ki Refining. In the future, they shall serve as your foundation,” the Patriarch said.

“Yes.” Ning was absolutely delighted. [Darknorth Sutra]? Something which Daofather Carefree had created? Just from this alone, he could tell that this was one of the most supreme Ki Refining techniques of the Three Realms.

“In the Three Realms, Ki Refining Techniques and Body Refining Techniques aren’t that valuable,” the Patriarch said calmly. “Divine abilities and secret arts are much more valuable.”

However, not even the Grand Xia Emperor possessed techniques like the [Darknorth Sutra]. Only someone on Patriarch Subhuti’s level would dare describe it as ‘not that valuable’.

“My Mount Innerheart has two Dao-Palaces which contain all things within them. Formation techniques, construct techniques, the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of the Saber, Taiji, lightning arts, lotus arts…it includes all types of techniques, as well as many divine abilities and secret arts. It will be up to you to acquire them, if you can,” the Patriarch said calmly. “The Dao cannot be casually transmitted. If you wish to learn, then you must show the ability to learn.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ning said respectfully.

“Go, then. Calmly focus on studying the Dao, here in my Mount Innerheart. Only when your power is sufficient shall you be permitted to leave the mountain and return to your world of the Grand Xia,” the Daofather said. “And when you leave my tutelage and leave the mountain, I shall give you two great gifts.”

“Master…at what level will my power be ‘enough’?” Ning asked.

“When you reach it, I will tell you,” the Patriarch said.

Ning was instantly speechless. He was being told to study the Dao…but he didn’t even know when he would be allowed to leave his master’s tutelage.

“Go now,” the Patriarch said, calmly closing his eyes. “Without my permission, you are not to come here and disturb me.”

“Understood.” Ning immediately left obediently.

Only after Ning left did the Patriarch open his eyes again. He gently shook his head. “How long has it been? This is the first time I’ve ever been so talkative in front of a disciple. When I thought of Threelives, of that tremendous calamity we faced…my heart ended up being disturbed.”

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Chapter 4 – Divinity Palace, Three Realms Palace

Chapter 4 – Divinity Palace, Three Realms Palace

Ji Ning walked out of the Daoist monastery. Outside of it was the white-robed Lord Jiang, Little Qing, and Uncle White.

“Master.” Little Qing had already transformed into an azure-robed maiden. She immediately called out in delight upon seeing him.

The white-robed Lord Jiang smiled as he looked at Ning. “I should now address you as junior apprentice-brother.”

“Senior apprentice-brother,” Ning called out in response.

The two novitiates outside the Daoist monastery all revealed looks of surprise. The white-robed Lord Jiang said with a laugh, “Clearwater and Whiteriver, Master has just accepted junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning as his disciple. The two of you need to remember this.”

“Greetings, uncle-master,” the two novices both said towards Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Lord Jiang said with a laugh, “Clearwater and Whiteriver are the personifications of two Protocosmic spirit-treasures who always serve him. Normally, even if I wish to meet with Master, I must first notify him and receive his permission, but the two of them are always by his side. They are able to see Master far more often than disciples like ourselves.”

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing were all greatly shocked. Protocosmic spirit-treasures?

“Greetings, apprentice-nephews.” Ning naturally didn’t dare to show any hint of arrogance.

“No need to be so courteous, uncle-master. We are merely two Protocosmic spirit-treasures; it is incomparably difficult for us to even train in cultivation. How can we possibly compare to the two of you? Your training speed far surpasses us,” the novitiate named Clearwater said.

……

Protocosmic Fiendgods were the Fiendgods who had been born by the heavens and the earths after Pangu had created the universe.

Protocosmic spirit-treasures were the magic treasures that were born by the heavens and the earths after Pangu had created the universe!

Immortal cultivators were generally only capable of making Mortal-ranked, Earth-ranked, Heaven-ranked, Immortal-ranked, and Pure Yang magic treasures! Even major powers were only capable of creating Pure Yang magic treasures; this was the limit for manufactured treasures. However, Pure Yang magic treasures possess souls; they could absorb energy from the natural world, comprehend the profound mysteries of the universe, and have a very tiny chance of breaking through to become a Protocosmic spirit-treasure.

“Junior apprentice-brother, the scenery here is quite beautiful, and it is also quite secluded. This can be your home, here at Mount Innerheart. Junior apprentice-brother, you can place your Immortal estate here.” The white-robed Lord Jiang looked at Ning as they arrived within a secluded region. Creeks could be seen nearby, as well as ripe red spirit-fruit hanging from the branches of trees, as well as some fairy birds flying past.

Ning nodded. “Fine. Here it is, then.”

He had come to the Tristar Crescent Abode in order to study the Dao. It didn’t really matter where he lived. In addition, this place which Lord Jiang had helped him choose was indeed worthy of being an abode for an Immortal.

Whoosh. The Immortal estate descended, landing upon the grassy region.

“Mount Innerheart has spirit-fruit and wells. You can eat and drink from them as you please,” Lord Jiang said. “There are many Diremonsters in this mountain, but you must remember that they cannot be killed. Those ordinary animals that are merely at the Houtian level, however, can be hunted, cooked, and eaten.”

“Right.” Ning nodded his head.

“We can only eat ordinary animals?” Little Qing was mumbling by herself.

“Senior apprentice-brother, Master told me earlier that Mount Innerheart has two Dao-Palaces that include everything within them,” Ning said.

“Right.” Lord Jiang nodded. “I’ll take you three over.”

……

The place in the entire Tristar Crescent Abode with the most Fiendgods and Diremonsters was the Divinities Palace.

“That’s the Divinities Palace, one of the two Dao-Palaces.” Lord Jiang pointed to a nine-layered palace in the distance. “The Divinities Palace is divided into nine levels, each one containing all sorts of techniques, including those for formations, golems, the Dao of the Sword, evasion, lightning, magnetism…all sorts of divine abilities and secrets arts are within it. The higher up you go, the more profound the mysteries are. The ninth floor naturally has the most profound techniques.”

“Anyone can come to the Divinities Palace. All living creatures within Mount Innerheart can enter and learn. However, the Dao cannot be casually taught; there is a simple test that must be taken before studying a technique or secret art. Only after passing the test can you learn it,” Lord Jiang said.

Ning nodded and immediately asked, “Then my two spirit-beasts can study here as well?”

“Of course.” Lord Jiang nodded. “The techniques and arts within the Divinities Palace might not be the most profound and arcane ones possessed by the Tristar Crescent Abode, but they vastly surpass the Dao-Repositories of your Grand Xia world.”

“Do you have techniques and secret arts of the Grand Dao of Qiankun1?” Little Qing was extremely delighted.

“Do you have many formations here?” The Whitewater Hound was excited as well.

“Far more than exist in your entire world of the Grand Xia,” Lord Jiang said confidently. “Even Daofather Crimsonbright is inferior to my master in terms of how many techniques he possesses. If you want to learn Ki Refining, Body Refining, formations, the Grand Dao of Qiankun, the Grand Dao of Taiji…you can learn all these things. All you need to do is pass that simple test.”

Little Qing and the Whitewater Hound instantly realized that their chance had come.

Actually, everyone within Mount Innerheart had some sort of connection to Daofather Subhuti. Some were his disciples or grand-disciples, while others were his disciples’ servants, spirit-beasts, etc. In short, they were generally all under Patriarch Subhuti’s command, which was why it made sense that everyone here within Mount Innerheart was permitted to learn these techniques.

“There are many humans here, but even more Diremonsters and Fiendgods.” Ning saw many figures on the ground outside the Divinities Palace. There were even avian Diremonsters flying about, as well as some Fiendgods that had extremely strange appearances.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what’s the other Dao-Palace?” Ning asked.

“Two Dao-Palaces – the Divinities Palace, and the Three Realms Palace. All living creatures within Mount Innerheart are permitted to enter the Divinities Palace, but only personal disciples of the Patriarch or those with special dispensation from the Patriarch are allowed to enter the Three Realms Palace!” Lord Jiang continued, “Junior apprentice-brother, since you are still weak, you are technically only an honorary disciple for now. However, Master treats you as he does his other personal disciples, and so you can enter the Three Realms Palace. Your two spirit-beasts, however, cannot.”

Ning nodded in understanding.

“The Three Realms Palace holds some of the most truly supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms, as well as some terrifying secret arts. These things cannot be casually taught. Even personal disciples are only permitted to learn a few, at which point Master forbids them from learning any more,” Lord Jiang said. “To be able to learn a few is already a tremendous fortune; after all, for normal Empyrean Gods, being able to learn even one of these techniques is already enough to allow them to roam the Three Realms fearlessly.”

This caused Ning’s heart to be filled with a blazing fire. The power to roam the Three Realms without fear!

“And generally, when a student leaves his tutelage, Master will bestow a divine ability or secret art that is very suited to him,” Lord Jiang said with a laugh.

Ning now remembered…that his master had said that when he left, he would be given two great gifts.

“Divinities Palace, Three Realms Palace.” Lord Jiang sighed, “Junior apprentice-brother, you must remember that you must have the ability to acquire one of the techniques or secret arts from the ninth level of the Divinities Palace before you can enter the Three Realms Palace.”

“If you can’t even acquire the ninth level techniques, then you naturally aren’t qualified to enter the Three Realms Palace,” Lord Jiang said. “As for the other living creatures of Mount Innerheart, generally speaking, after they have the ability to learn ninth level techniques, they will eventually be shooed off the mountain.”

Ning nodded. This was something that was different for personal disciples! And although Ning was only an honorary disciple, his treatment was completely in line with that given to personal disciples.

“The Three Realms Palace.” Ning felt an itchiness in his heart.

“Junior apprentice-brother, spend some time and look around. If there’s anything you need, just come find me. I live just up the mountain; you can ask anyone and they’ll tell you where I am,” Lord Jiang said.

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother,” Ning said with gratitude.

“A minor matter.” Lord Jiang left gracefully. He had long ago ascended past his apprenticeship and had reached the Pure Yang True Immortal level. The main reason he continued to live at Mount Innerheart was because he liked the peaceful quiet of this place, and because he could occasionally listen to Patriarch Subhuti expound on the Dao. After all…at his level, everyone’s main goal was to become a Daofather.

Daofathers were truly the most supreme figures of the Three Realms!

……

“The Three Realms Palace is so tiny,” Little Qing mumbled. “It looks completely unremarkable. It’s a place that holds the most supreme divine abilities and most terrifying secret arts of the Three Realms; this Dao-Palace should be built to look a bit more imposing and have at least a bit of Immortal majesty.”

Ning blinked as well. The distant ‘Three Realms Palace’ was just an ordinary little building, just ten or so meters high. Outside the building, there was a skinny old man that was lying down taking a nap, a fan across his chest. His slumbering snores were quite loud; even at this distance, Ning could hear everything clearly.

The Divinities Palace.

Ning, Little Qing, and the Whitewater Hound arrived at the Divinities Palace. The humans, Diremonsters, and Fiendgods outside the Divinities Palace all looked at the three with curiosity.

“Who are these three? Why haven’t I seen them before?”

“I’ve never seen them either. They must’ve just come to the mountain.”

“I saw Patriarch Jiang leading them around earlier. Perhaps that fur-clad youth is a disciple which Patriarch Jiang accepted as a disciple.”

“Their auras are very weak. It seems these three are at the Wanxiang level.”

“Right. Quite weak.”

The humans, monsters, and Fiendgods chatted amongst themselves, clearly not recognizing this group.

In front of the entrance to the Divinities Palace, there was a handsome man in a white robe and who held a white fan in his hands. The handsome man languidly barked, “Hush.”

Instantly, everyone fell silent. All the humans, Diremonsters, and Fiendgods all fell silent. This handsome man was in charge of the Divinities Palace; of course they respected him! In addition, he was also an incredibly, terrifyingly powerful Primordial Fiendgod. His power was incomparably great, far greater than any of theirs.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.” The handsome man smiled and nodded towards Ning. “My name is Silvermoon. You may simply refer to me as senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon. I already know of your affairs.”

“Ji Ning greets you, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning could sense an incomparably terrifying aura emanating from this handsome man’s body, an aura comparable to the one which Empyrean God Seatopple had.

All of the humans, Diremonsters, and Fiendgods were completely stunned.

Junior apprentice-brother? That old demon Silvermoon had actually addressed the fur-clad kid as junior apprentice-brother? That meant…this fur-clad kid was Patriarch Subhuti’s disciple! For a mere Wanxiang Adept to become Patriarch Subhuti’s disciple…there was no question that the Patriarch viewed him with great favor. If he was to become a Celestial Immortal, he would definitely become a personal disciple.

“Right.” The white-robed, fan-holding man glanced at the many distant humans, Diremonsters, and Fiendgods. He said calmly, “All of you, listen up. This Ji Ning is the new disciple the Patriarch has just accepted. All of you need to be respectful. Those of you who should address him as uncle-master, do so. Those of you who should address him as Patriarch, do so as well.”

“Respectful greetings, uncle-master.”

“Respectful greetings, Patriarch.”

All of these mighty humans, Diremonsters, and Fiendgods were all calling out to him with respect.

Ning stared at these figures. There were all at least at the Primal or Void levels. There were even quite a few Void-level Fiendgods and Godbeasts. Void-level Fiendgods…these were figures on the level of that Fiendgod he had met in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. For all of them to be obediently calling out to him as ‘uncle-master’ and ‘Patriarch’…Ning felt this was quite bizarre.

“Come in, junior apprentice-brother,” the white-robed man said.

Ning immediately turned and entered the Divinities Palace. The very first floor was filled with bookshelves and countless books. Atop one of the bookshelves, there was a line of large characters: “If you clean the mountain path of Mount Innerheart once, you can choose a technique at will.”

1. Also known as the Grand Dao of Space per Book 11, Chapter 8.

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Chapter 5 – Trials

Chapter 5 – Trials

“That’s the requirement for learning these techniques and secret arts?” Ning stared in amazement at the line of characters above the bookshelf.

The Patriarch had told him previously as well that a simple trial would have to be passed before one could train in these techniques. Ning had already been prepared for this, and had the feeling that the trial would be easy, but…this was too easy. Just clean the mountain path once? It must be understood that everyone with access to the Divinities Palace was extraordinary; most likely, they’d be able to clean the mountain path in the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea.

Ning pulled out a sword-arts manual and flipped through it. He was instantly astonished. This was definitely at the level of the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] manual.

“Wow, this is an Immortal-ranked Ki Refining Technique!” Little Qing called out.

“This book on formations is definitely not inferior to the [Nine Scrolls on Formations]!” The Whitewater Hound grew excited as well.

Ning swept his gaze forward. The enormous bookshelves were simply brimming with books, and above all of them were the same line of characters – “If you clean the mountain path of Mount Innerheart once, you can choose a technique at will.” Clearly, the requirement for choosing any book on this first floor of the Divinities Palace was the same.

The handsome white-robed man shook his head and laughed. “In Mount Innerheart, there is an old saying…the techniques and secret arts of the Divinities Palace, when learned, shall allow you to become a Celestial Immortal or Empyrean God. The divine abilities and secret arts of the Three Realms Palace, however, shall allow you to be able to roam and dominate the Three Realms.”

“Master learns of the affairs of the Three Realms through his dreaming, and so he is naturally incredible in collecting divine abilities and secret arts. The number of techniques and arts he has collected here in the Divinities Palace from ancient times til now is simply uncountable. Even at the lowest level here on this first floor, the techniques present are considered quite excellent in ordinary worlds,” the white-robed Silvermoon said.

Ning nodded gently. Indeed. Through the [Dream of the Three Realms], his master was indeed quite astonishingly good at collecting various sorts of techniques.

“Senior apprentice-brother, so this is the trial for learning first level techniques?” Ning pointed at the line of characters.

“Right. When cleaning the mountain paths, you have to personally sweep it using a broom. Most likely even Immortal cultivators will need half a day to clean the many levels and layers,” Silvermoon said.

Ning nodded. If one could use techniques it would be much faster, but if one had to use a broomstick, it would indeed take considerably more time.

“The first level is too simple. Junior apprentice-brother, follow me,” Silvermoon said.

“Alright.”

……

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing all followed Silvermoon, the manager of the Divinities Palace, up the stairs and to the second floor of the palace.

The bookshelves of the Divinities Palace also all had a line of characters above them. The line said: “ Wipe down every single table within the entire Divinities Palace and you can choose a technique at will.”

“…so easy.” Ning blinked, lowering his head to stare at the sword-arts manuals. “These are already comparable to some of the supreme manuals the Black-White College has.”

“What a precious place.” The Whitewater Hound was completely stunned as well.

“And this is just the second level? I’ve never even seen such deep and profound techniques!” Little Qing’s eyes were completely crimson.

“Hahaha, come, let’s go see the third level,” Silvermoon laughed.

……

They arrived at the third level. Above the bookcases were a line of characters: “Get rid of the weeds within a hundred kilometers and you can choose a technique at will.”

The nearby Silvermoon said, “You have to pull up every single weed manually. To pull up all the weed within a hundred kilometers, one weed at a time…that should take at least a month or so.”

“Getting harder.” Ning nodded. He was beginning to notice that each progressing level had a higher level of difficulty. Although it was all just manual labor, it took up time.

“Pulling up a hundred kilometers of weed for a single technique…then pulling ten or a hundred would need…” Little Qing muttered to herself.

“Let’s look at the fourth floor.” Ning led them upwards once more.

……

The bookshelves here had a new line of characters above them: “Personally plant ten thousand fruit trees, and you can choose a technique at will.”

“This seems a bit easier than the weeding,” Little Qing said in a puzzled manner. Ning nodded as well. Weeding had to be done within a hundred kilometers; there would definitely be far more.

“Ah, you don’t understand. These fruit trees are not the fruit trees of the mortal worlds. These are fruit trees that bear Immortal fruit or spirit-fruit; they naturally require tremendous care when planting. Even though Immortal cultivators have incredible abilities, for them to carefully plant one tree at a time by hand…ten thousand will take at least half a year,” Silvermoon said.

“Half a year?”

“So much hard work for half a year, just to learn a single technique? And this is just the fourth level, right?” Little Qing stared.

Ning was quite calm; he continued to the fifth floor.

……

One floor after another.

The trial of the first floor only required half a day’s worth of work.

The trial for the second floor required three days.

The trial for the third floor required a month.

The trial for the fourth floor required half a year.

The trial for the fifth floor required three years.

The trial for the sixth floor required twenty full years.

The trial for the seventh floor required a century.

……

“And here is the eighth floor.” Although Ning was filled with questions, he still looked calm on the surface as he arrived on the eighth floor of the Divinities Palace.

The number of books on this floor was clearly much lower. The Ki Refining techniques here had already surpassed the Pure Yang level and were at the Daofather level.

The divine abilities and secret arts here…any one of them could serve as a foundational treasure for the likes of the imperial Xiamang clan.

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing simultaneously turned their gazes towards the line of characters above the bookshelves. The line of words read: “Serve as novitiate guards for the Tristar Crescent Abode for a thousand years and you can choose a technique at will.”

“The seventh floor only required a hundred years, but this one requires a thousand.” Little Qing couldn’t help but say, “How long are we going to have to stay here at the Tristar Crescent Abode before we can leave it?”

“But the techniques and secret arts here…I imagine that not even the most treasured techniques of the Youngflame clan or the Northmont clan are so deep and profound.” Ning was still quite calm. “Come. Let us go to the ninth floor.”

……

The ninth floor was the final floor of the Divinities Palace.

On this floor, there were only three bookshelves, and they didn’t have that many books on them. Clearly, however…these were truly standouts. Any book here would allow the practitioner to become a powerful expert of the Three Realms. They could absolutely serve as pinnacle techniques…and for normal disciples here at Mount Innerheart, these were the ultimate techniques available!

Only personal disciples and those with special permission from Patriarch Subhuti could go to the Three Realms Palace!

“Eh?” Ning discovered to his astonishment that the bookshelves were completely black, with no characters above them.

“Why aren’t there any characters? Can it be that the techniques here on the ninth floor cannot be taught?” Little Qing was puzzled.

Ning turned his head to look towards the nearby Silvermoon. “Senior apprentice-brother, the trials for the first eight floors of the Divinities Palace require increasingly longer periods of time to complete…can it be that there is no trial for the ninth floor? And…can it be that the only way to learn the techniques of the Divinities Palace is to engage in manual labor? The eighth floor requires one to be a novitiate for a thousand years to learn a technique…does that mean if you want to learn ten techniques, you would have to spend ten thousand years?”

Ning had been planning to train for just a few decades or a century and then return to the world of the Grand Xia. This was his agreement with Yu Wei! To spend ten thousand years here at Mount Innerheart? He would be arriving far too late!

“Haha…you are quite clever, junior apprentice-brother.” Silvermoon waved his feather fan, then said leisurely, “The Divinities Palace actually has two types of trials. The first type consists of manual labors which naturally are not difficult at all; all one needs to do is spend some time. For those slightly dumber cultivators with poorer comprehension abilities, this is usually the type of trial they will choose. A thousand years as a novitiate to learn the powerful techniques of the eighth floor? It is worth it.”

Ning nodded. After one became a Primal, one’s lifespan became limitless; all one had to do was be able to overcome the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. To spend a thousand years on a single technique was indeed worth it.

“You can view this as a gift which Master gave to Mount Innerheart. Although it is said that the Dao cannot be casually taught, Master only required these simple ‘trials’ be passed,” Silvermoon said. “But of course, for truly peerless geniuses who have superior comprehension there is naturally no need to engage in all this manual labor. There are other trials for such individuals.”

“What trials?” Ning asked.

Silvermoon laughed. “Junior apprentice-brother, didn’t you notice that in the empty region outside the Divinities Palace, where all those humans, monsters, and Fiendgods were congregating, there were some restrictive formations and spells?”

Ning thought back to what he had seen, then nodded. “Right. That region was indeed marked with some formations and restrictive runes.”

“That place is the place for battling,” Silvermoon said. “Master created nine golems at nine different of power. Anyone who is capable of defeating the first golem is allowed to pick a technique from the first level of the Divinities Palace at will.”

“If you defeat the second golem once, you can choose a technique from the second floor at will. If you beat it twice, you can choose two techniques. Three times, pick three…and so on.”

“If you beat the third golem, you can choose from the third floor.”

“The principles are the same for the ninth golem; if you defeat it, you can naturally choose a technique from the ninth floor.”

Silvermoon smiled as he looked at Ning. “Understand, junior apprentice-brother?”

“This trial is quite simple as well. Understood.” Ning nodded, then asked with suspicion, “If you beat it once you will gain one technique, if you beat it twice you will gain two…can it be that the more times you fight, the more powerful the golem will become?”

“When you actually go fight them, you’ll know the answer.” Silvermoon no longer gave any more information on this. “But remember; these fights are meant to test your insights into the Dao! Thus, all divine abilities are forbidden, as well as any formations, forbidden arts, etc. I hear you are a Sword Immortal. If so, then you are only permitted to use your sword and sword-arts. Unleash the full power and sharpness of your sword-arts.”

Ning nodded.

“By doing manual labor, one can learn techniques up to the eighth floor. Only by defeating the ninth golem, however, can the ninth floor techniques be learned.” Silvermoon looked at Ning. “Junior apprentice-brother, once you defeat the ninth golem and learn a ninth floor technique, you can go to the Three Realms Palace.”

“Right.” Ning nodded, then asked, “Senior apprentice-brother, which golem should I test myself against for now?”

“There isn’t much point in acquiring those weaker sword-arts manuals; it’s best to start from a higher place! Since Master was willing to accept you as his disciple, I imagine that you are a rare, peerless genius as well…how about this? Why don’t you give the sixth golem a try?” This was Silvermoon’s best guess, as he didn’t know anything about Ning’s level of power. Still, he could guess that Ning was most likely a supreme genius.

“The sixth golem? The sixth floor?” Ning thought back to the sixth floor; the sword-arts manuals there were already even more profound than the full nine stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]! Every sword-arts manual there surpassed the best that the Black-White College had to offer.

“But I’m only at the Wanxiang level,” Ning said, a bit worried. “Isn’t that a bit…”

“Don’t worry. The nine golems which Master created are extraordinary. They will release different levels of power, based on the strength of their foes. Since you are at the Wanxiang level, the elemental ki these golems will use shall also be at the Wanxiang level. If you were a Void-level Earth Immortal, then the elemental ki these golems would use would also be Void-level. This is why I said this is a test of your comprehension of the Dao! It doesn’t matter if you are a Wanxiang Adept, a Primal Daoist, or a Void-level Earth Immortal,” Silvermoon said.

Ning instantly felt reassured. “Good. Then I’ll give the sixth golem a try.”

“Come, let’s go to the testing ground.” Silvermoon immediately lead Ning down from the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace to the empty field outside.

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Chapter 6 – Puny

Chapter 6 – Puny

Outside the Divinities Palace.

“All of you, step back,” Silvermoon instructed. All of the disciples of Mount Innerheart present all hurriedly departed from the empty region.

Silvermoon waved his arm, and a golem that was more than three meters tall appeared out of nowhere. The golem’s body seemed completely metallic, and its arm had six hoops around it.

“Junior apprentice-brother, this is the sixth golem,” Silvermoon said.

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning was filled with anticipation.

Silvermoon, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing immediately left the dueling grounds. As for the other Mount Innerheart disciples, they all revealed looks of amazement and curiosity.

“Uncle-master is going to duel a golem.”

“The Patriarch is about to show his power!”

“The Little Patriarch is immediately challenging the sixth golem upon arriving at the power. I imagine that he’s pretty confident in being able to defeat it. He’s only a Wanxiang Adept, but he actually dares to fight the sixth golem. What level of insight into the Dao must the Little Patriarch have reached?! No wonder Patriarch Subhuti took him as a disciple. He truly is a peerless monster.”

“I’ve been on the mountain for thousands of years, but I’m still unable to defeat the sixth golem. I had to serve as a novitiate in order to acquire an eighth level Divinities Palace technique,” an old Void-level Diremonster growled.

“Challenging the sixth golem as soon as he comes up the mountain? Formidable, formidable indeed. Even in the major world from whence I come, it is rare for such a peerless genius to come in countless lifetimes.”

These humans, monsters, and Fiendgods all spoke out in praise. As they saw it, since Ning had been chosen by Patriarch Subhuti as his disciple, he was assuredly extraordinary. In addition, that old demon Silvermoon, the manager of this Divinities Palace, was also a personal disciple of Patriarch Subhuti. Since he chose the sixth golem for Ning, he probably felt confident that Ning could beat it.

“Formidable.”

“A peerless genius.”

“Incredible.”

The disciples of Mount Innerheart were all filled with eagerness as they waited to watch.

……

The trial grounds. Ning was exchanging stares with the distant sixth golem. From far away, Little Qing was cheering, “Master, master, beat the snot out of that golem!”

“Little Wanxiang kid, if you want to beat me, bring out your power.” The three meter tall golem growled, then waved his hand as a longsword suddenly appeared within it.

“Good.” A Darknorth sword appeared in each of Ning’s hands as well.

“Kill!” Ning instantly charged forward.

All of the disciples of Mount Innerheart present, as well as the old demon Silvermoon, were watching this battle carefully.

After having mastered the Dao-Path of the Gale, Ning’s speed had become incredibly fast; he blew forward like a gust of wind and arrived before the sixth golem, and his Darknorth swords instantly struck out like two streaks of dazzling sword-light.

After experiencing the [Thousand Year Dream], Ning’s sword-arts had clearly become firmer and more stable, and his movements were more pure and exquisite as well.

Bang!

The golem struck out with its longsword, and the earth itself seemed to tremble. The longsword actually came smashing down with the weight of a mountain, and Ning could even see with his naked eyes the vague illusion of massive mountains appearing around it. The might and aura of this sword stance caused Ning to feel completely awestruck.

“Not good. The difference in power is too great!” Ning, upon seeing the illusion of massive mountains which had manifested around the golem’s sword-chop, instantly felt completely unable to resist. The profoundness of the attack’s formless Dao…

His own two chopping streaks of sword-light became as thin as silken, becoming incomparably soft.

BOOM!!!

The golem’s longsword smashed down upon Ning’s twin Darknorth swords. A surge of invincible power crushed downwards, and Ning was sent flying through the air like a meteor. He only stopped when he arrived at the edge of the trial grounds, where a nearly invisible barrier hovered in the air. The barrier blocked Ning’s fall, but his two Darknorth swords were also sent flying into the air, and they then smashed against the restrictive barrier and fell to the ground.

“I admit defeat,” Ning hurriedly called out. The flesh on his two hands had been completely split open, and blood was leaking everywhere.

Just a single exchange of blows…but his sword had actually been knocked flying. This difference in power was simply too enormous.

“Uh…”

“Um…”

“But…”

The many disciples of Mount Innerheart who were watching outside the trial grounds, be they human, monster, or Fiendgod, all were completely flabbergasted at what they had just seen. They blinked.

As they saw it, Ning was the chosen of Patriarch Subhuti, and so he surely must be extraordinary! Even when these other disciples had first arrived on the mountain, they were generally able to defeat the second or third golem. Some of the more powerful ones were able to defeat the fourth or even the fifth golem. None of the ones present had been able to defeat the sixth golem right away, but over the course of Mount Innerheart’s many years of history there had been some who had defeated the sixth golem upon arriving.

The statuses of these disciples were far lower than Ning’s. Ning was the Patriarch’s disciple! All of the other disciples believed that Ning was going to make a miracle happen.

But unfortunately…this ‘exceptionally extraordinary’ Ji Ning was actually defeated in one blow. He wasn’t even able to fight back!

“Master!” Little Qing looked towards Ning, tight feelings appearing in her chest. Her master was the number one figure in his Conclave, and she had thought for certain that her master was going to dazzle everyone with his power upon arriving at Mount Innerheart. But he had actually been defeated so miserably. “Master must be feeling horrible right now! And there were so many Mount Innerheart disciples watching! That despicable old bastard, Silvermoon…he’s the one who told Master to fight against the sixth golem!”

“Ning, child…” The Whitewater Hound had not expected this either.

“Uh.” The fan-wielding Silvermoon hastily waved his arm, collecting up the sixth golem. He hurriedly ran over. “Junior apprentice-brother, this, uh, I didn’t, I…I didn’t know exactly how strong you were, but since Master took you on as a new disciple, I…”

Silvermoon hadn’t done this on purpose. He knew exactly how stringent and exacting Patriarch Subhuti’s requirements for accepting new disciples were. Those who were accepted as disciples before becoming Celestial Immortals or Empyrean Gods were all incredible talented, so monstrously skilled as to cause utter terror! Thus, he had guessed that this new junior apprentice-brother of his, Ji Ning, should be able to give the sixth golem a good fight. Even if he were to be defeated, he should have been able to fight for quite a long time before losing. He hadn’t expected at all that Ning would be defeated with a single blow and that he wouldn’t be able to fight back at all.

“It isn’t your fault, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning shook his head. He could tell that the spectating humans, monsters, and Fiendgods all had a look of surprise, puzzlement, and even hidden disdain in their eyes. Clearly, these Immortal cultivators cared about strength the most; even though his status was high, if he wasn’t strong enough, others would still look down on him in their hearts.

“It was simply that I was not strong enough,” Ning said. “The sixth golem truly does vastly surpass my current limits.”

“It was my fault,” Silvermoon said hurriedly. This junior apprentice-brother had suffered such a huge defeat in his first trial upon coming up the mountain…and he had been the one who had chosen the opponent. He naturally felt extremely ashamed. He hurriedly said, “Given the sword techniques you displayed, you definitely would have no problems defeating the third golem, and as for the fourth golem…you have a chance as well. Which one would you like to choose?”

“The fourth golem,” Ning said.

“How about you take a break, then fight?” Silvermoon asked.

Ning shook his head and chuckled. “I was instantly defeated in that earlier battle. I used up almost no divine power at all, as a result. There’s no need to rest.”

Silvermoon, seeing the smile on Ning’s face, couldn’t help but nod mentally to himself. This junior apprentice-brother had an impressive mentality; he had been defeated in front of so many watchers during his very first trial, but he remained quite calm.

“Alright.” Silvermoon nodded, then waved his arm. Yet another golem, a fiery red golem, appeared within the battlefield. This golem had four circlets around its arm.

……

“This uncle-master, Ji Ning, seems to be ordinary in power. He was actually completely unable to fight back against the sixth golem.”

“Right. He’s quite puny.”

“Puny my ass. When you came up the mountain, you probably would’ve been defeated by the sixth golem in one blow as well.”

“I’m just my Master’s spirit-beast, while Ji Ning is the Old Patriarch’s disciple. I even have to address him as Patriarch! How can you compare the two of us? When I first arrived, I was also able to defeat the fourth golem.”

“Look, it is starting.”

“The Patriarch is starting to fight against the fourth golem.”

The disciples of Mount Innerheart had all originally been filled with admiration towards Ning, but now they found out…that this Ji Ning was rather so-so! In fact, compared to the rest of them when they had first arrived in the mountain, Ning’s performance was average at best. He was completely unremarkable!

Actually…many of these other disciples were the personal disciples that had been accepted by True Immortals or Empyrean Gods! They, too, were truly first-rate geniuses which the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods had chosen from throughout the Three Realms. Not even the likes of Adept Blackstone or Adept Ninedeaths would necessarily be chosen by True Immortals or Empyrean Gods; from this, one could imagine how much talent and comprehension ability these disciples possessed.

Some disciples were disciples of Celestial Immortals!

Some were spirit-beasts!

Others were Fiendgod servants!

Some of them had merely been at the Wanxiang level when arriving at the mountain. Some had already reached the Primal level. Some had even reached the Void level!

Some Void-level Fiendgods had lived for an incredibly long time, and were born with a very high level of insight into the Dao. It was normal for them to be able to defeat the fifth golem or sixth golem. As for the disciples of Celestial Immortals, they were also quite extraordinarily talented, and could absolutely compare to the likes of Cangwu Jiu or Adept Blackstone.

Thus…the vast majority of these disciples who had to refer to Ning as ‘uncle-master’ or ‘Patriarch’ were, in reality, the peerless geniuses of the major worlds they came from! Some were even more monstrously formidable than that!

“But this Patriarch’s sword-arts aren’t bad. It seems he should be able to defeat the fourth golem.”

“Right. He should be able to beat the fourth golem…but just barely.”

“Right. Just barely.”

The disciples of Mount Innerheart all gave their evaluation. Towards this Ji Ning, the disciple of the Old Patriarch who had an incredibly high status…they no longer felt too much reverence for him.

……

Slash!

A streak of sword-light plunged into the golem’s chest. It didn’t even sink in a single inch before it became unable to go in any deeper.

The golem came to a complete halt. It stared at Ning unmovingly, then said in a low voice, “You won.”

These golems were non-living creatures; even Void-level Fiendgods that fought against them would be unable to destroy them. Thus…being able to break through their outer layer of protection was enough to symbolize victory.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you can now go to the fourth floor of the Divinities Palace and choose a technique at will,” the fan-holding Silvermoon said with a smile as he walked over. With a wave of his hand, he collected the golem again.

Ning smiled. Fortunately, he had experienced the [Thousand Year Dream] earlier; his sword-arts had indeed stabilized and become more firm, and his execution of them had become more profound and unpredictable as well. That was the only reason why he was able to defeat the fourth golem. Otherwise…he would have probably only been able to beat the third golem.

This was as he had expected. After all, he had been forbidden from using any divine abilities, resulting in his greatest source of power, the [Starseizing Hand], being unusable. His power would naturally be much lower as a result!

Although he had become the champion of his Conclave of Immortal Destiny, he was actually a bit weaker than Cangwu Jiu, Xiamang Zishan, and the others when it came to his comprehension of the Dao. He had only become champion thanks to the [Starseizing Hand].

“Senior apprentice-brother, when ordinary disciples of Mount Innerheart first arrive at the mountain, which golem are they generally able to beat?” Ning asked.

“The newcomers are sometimes a bit weaker while sometimes a bit stronger. On the whole, they are on par with you, I suppose. However, they have generally trained for centuries before arriving, while some have trained for thousands or tens of thousands of years,” Silvermoon said. As they chatted, the sound around them was blocked from transmitting to others.

Ning laughed. “Given how many years the ordinary disciples have been in the mountain, they are definitely more powerful than they were in the past. It seems I am the weakest person here at Mount Innerheart.”

Still…Ning continued to feel complete confidence in himself. He had only trained for thirty years, and had just arrived at the mountain. After a hundred years, he would definitely be able to surpass them all! And he also had the [Starseizing Hand] in reserve! In these trials against golems, since his divine abilities were unusable, his greatest advantage had been neutralized.

Still…no matter what, compared to the ordinary disciples of Mount Innerheart, he was at the bottom of the barrel.

A thirty thousand meter tower starts from the ground. He still had to work hard!

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Chapter 7 – Thirty Years at Mount Innerheart

Chapter 7 – Thirty Years at Mount Innerheart

“Junior apprentice-brother, how long have you been training for?” Silvermoon asked.

“More than thirty years,” Ji Ning said.

Silvermoon instantly began to laugh. “Ah, no wonder! That explains it. So you’ve only been training for around thirty years. For you to be able to defeat the fourth golem despite having trained for such a short period of time…I trust that in the future, here at Mount Innerheart, your rate of improvement will be similarly astonishing.”

Ning smiled. “Thank you for your kind words, senior apprentice-brother.”

……

Under the gazes of the many humans, monsters, and Fiendgods, Ji Ning and Silvermoon stepped into the fourth floor of the Divinities Palace. The profoundness of any of the sword-arts manuals located on the fourth floor was comparable to the complete nine stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]!

“This truly is a blessed land for learning the Dao.” Ning flipped through the abridged versions of the sword-arts manuals, which included some of the preliminary parts to each technique. His eyes and eyebrows danced expressively as he read. “So many sword-arts…this place represents the collective enlightenment gained by countless Sword Immortals of the Three Realms. My own sword-arts will definitely improve dramatically after I draw from the wisdom of so many other Sword Immortals.”

……

And so, Ning’s life of learning the Dao at Mount Innerheart had begun.

If he wanted to leave his master’s tutelage, he had to at least be able to defeat the ninth golem and acquire a ninth-level technique from the Divinities Palace. Only then could he enter the Three Realms Palace, and only then could he leave. This was a prerequisite! He had to be trained as a personal disciple would be trained, which meant that he had to be able to enter the Three Realms Palace and learn the truly powerful divine abilities located within it. This was the most fundamental of expectations which Patriarch Subhuti had for Ning as his apprentice; Ning understood this quite well.

Ning and Yu Wei had agreed that they would reunite in the future in the Grand Xia world. And so…he had to enter the Three Realms Palace as soon as he could!

Ning didn’t want to spend centuries or millennia here at Mount Innerheart; if he truly did spend thousands of years here, then what in the world would happen to the people he cared about in the Grand Xia such as Yu Wei, Autumn Leaf, Mu Northson, or Yuchi Xiyue?

“I have to defeat the ninth golem as soon as I can, ideally within a few decades.” This was Ning’s goal for himself, but he knew very well how incredibly difficult this goal would be. “I can’t allow myself to be distracted whatsoever during this period of time at Mount Innerheart. Lotus techniques, divine will techniques…I’ll put them all to one side for now. Here in the Divinities Palace, I will exclusively focus on sword-arts manuals!”

Sword-arts, focused on attacks! This was Ning’s decision!

……

Time slowly flowed on.

Ning, the Whitewater Hound, and Little Qing all spent their time training on Mount Innerheart. And in fact, the Whitewater Hound and Little Qing were even more excited than Ning to be here!

“What should I do? The third golem defeats us with utter ease,” Little Qing said helplessly.

“It seems that we might not even be able to beat the second golem,” the Whitewater Hound said helplessly as well.

The disciples of Mount Innerheart were almost all incomparably talented monsters who came from throughout the Three Realms. Some of the others were spirit-beasts of Celestial Immortals who had trained for a very long time. By comparison, the Whitewater Hound and Little Qing had trained for a very short period of time.

“There’s nothing we can do. Let’s go do manual labor,” the Whitewater Hound said.

“That’s our only option.” Little Qing nodded as well.

And so, both of them went to accept the manual labor ‘trials’. They spent nearly a full month manually deweeding the surrounding hundred kilometers of land. Only then were they allowed to choose a third level technique from the Divinities Palace.

The techniques on the third floor of the Divinities Palace…any one of them when placed within the Black-White College would become the most treasured technique of the College!

“Hahaha, so someone like me can actually acquire a technique like this!” Little Qing snatched up a copy of the [Qiankun Sword Song] with absolute excitement. “I can now finally, truly train on the Grand Dao of Qiankun.”

“These are the writings of a Celestial Immortal on formations?” The Whitewater Hound was holding a book on formations. He, too, was incomparably excited.

Both of them were actually extremely gifted. Uncle White was a Whitewater Hound; although in other aspects he was rather ordinary for a Godbeast, in one aspect, he was exceptional – his intelligence!

Little Qing, in turn, had absolutely astonishing talent in the Grand Dao of Qiankun. She was even able to use the Void Blink (spatial teleportation) technique at the Xiantian level! Although at that point in time, there was no way Little Qing could actually understand the profound mysteries and principles behind spatial teleportation, this was her innate ability as a Godbeast. All she had to do was be able to touch upon just the slightest bit of this Grand Dao and she would be able to teleport. She didn’t need to actually understand it; just brushing against the Grand Dao of Qiankun allowed it!

However, neither of two had ever had a truly good teacher! Ning had the help of the Stellar Hall of the underwater estate, and also had the guidance of Immortal Diancai. Uncle White and Little Qing, however, had to work hard to study on their own!

Having arrived at Mount Innerheart, however, everything had changed! They had a chance to interact with so many talented humans, monsters, and Fiendgods. The Void-level Fiendgods in particular had lived extremely long lives, and their level of experience was definitely not inferior to Immortal Diancai’s. For the sake of giving Ning face, they would often give pointers to Little Qing and Uncle White. And occasionally, the two would even have a chance to ask the likes of the white-robed Lord Jiang or the old demon Silvermoon for some advice as well!

But most importantly of all…

Patriarch Subhuti had begun to lecture on the Dao!

Patriarch Subhuti rarely expounded on the Dao; sometimes, ten thousand years would pass without a single lecture. However, ever since he had taken on Ning as a disciple, Patriarch Subhuti immediately began to give far more open lectures on the Dao than before; in fact, he would expound on the Dao almost every month! This was a habit for Patriarch Subhuti; generally speaking, after taking in a new disciple, he would often expound on the Dao with great frequency for a time. But if he didn’t take in a new disciple? He would only expound on the Dao when he was in the mood for it.

After all, the Old Patriarch only truly valued his personal disciples enough to do it. As for the other disciples…they generally didn’t even have a chance to meet or speak with the Old Patriarch.

Thus, all of the disciples of Mount Innerheart were in a state of collective excitement. Even several True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would occasionally come over to listen.

“The Daofather lives up to his reputation.” The Whitewater Hound was currently filled with the utmost of excitement. “Listening to the Daofather expound on the Dao once is more helpful than me ruminating by myself for a century. So many of the questions in my mind have been explained, and I have now mastered a Dao-Path!”

“The Daofather must have completely mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun. His casual mentions regarding it have caused me to comprehend so much. I can now even teleport out of a spacelocked region!” Little Qing was excited as well.

……

One year after another passed. The two of them had spent another half year doing manual tasks and had acquired a technique from the fourth floor of the Divinities Palace.

These manual tasks just took up time; they didn’t need to actually use up too much of their mental energy on them. They were able to completely focus on training in the Dao while carrying out the menial jobs!

They then spent another three years carrying out menial jobs, thus acquiring a fifth level technique from the Divinities Palace.

And then they spent another twenty years before finally acquiring a sixth level technique from the Divinities Palace!

The sixth level techniques would be considered amongst the most supreme of techniques in the Grand Xia Dynasty! Almost all of them were created by Celestial Immortals, and some were even created by Pure Yang True Immortals.

The twenty-sixth year at Mount Innerheart.

“AHAHAHA! I’m invincible! INVINCIBLE!” As rain poured down from the skies, Little Qing ran around wildly in circles around Ning’s Immortal estate, her body flickering and flashing about. Her figure was very blurry as she repeatedly teleported about with high speed.

“Little Qing. Little Qing!” Ning stood there at the entrance to his Immortal estate. Just by standing there, he gave off the aura of an Immortal sword, causing others to feel an uncontrollable desure to submit to him. “How are you now ‘invincible’? Can’t you see it’s raining? Stop running around like that!” Ning laughed.

“Little Qing.” The Whitewater Hound spoke in the human tongue as well. “What is going on? Why are you so excited?!”

“Ahahaha…” Continuing to laugh, Little Qing suddenly appeared in front of Ning with a swish. “Master. Master!” Little Qing’s eyes were filled with excitement. “I’m now able to use Greater Teleportation! I’m finally able to use Greater Teleportation!”

“What?! Greater Teleportation?” Ning revealed a look of surprise. When he had killed Youngflame Nong, he had once acquired a Dao-seal of Greater Teleportation. In the underwater estate, he had also acquired one as a protective item. Normal ‘Void Blink’ techniques or ‘spatial teleportation’ techniques…they were all classified as ‘Lesser Teleportation’. They only allowed one to teleport around within a single region; at most, they would allow one to move a certain distance.

As one gained more and more insights into space, one would be able to teleport greater and greater distances, and even spacelock techniques would begin to become ineffective.

But upon completely mastering the complete Grand Dao of Qiankun, one would be able to use Greater Teleportation. Greater Teleportation…it could allow you to teleport from one world to another world.

For example, one might be located in the Netherworld Kingdom, but with a single Greater Teleportation, one could move straight back to Serpentwing Lake of the Grand Xia world!

This was why Youngflame Nong had been so confident despite having been trapped within the Witchriver Immortal Estate. He knew that no matter how dangerous things became, all he had to do was use the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal and he would be able to immediately flee back to his clan’s headquarters in the Grand Xia world. But unfortunately, he had viewed Ning with complete contempt, and had believed Ning to pose no threat to him at all. By the time Ning released that black loop…there was no longer a chance for Youngflame Nong to escape!

“I’ve reached the Grand Dao Domain level of the Grand Dao of Qiankun!” Little Qing said excitedly, “I’m already capable of Greater Teleportation. Ahahaha…I’m now invincible. Who can kill me? Who can kill me?! Ahahaha, I can now escape from any formation, no matter how formidable.”

Ning and the Whitewater Hound both laughed.

Azure Skysnakes possessed astounding talent and affinity for space. Upon reaching the Grand Dao Domain level, they could become as one with the Grand Dao, and thus they would be able to utilize Greater Teleportation. There was no point in even feeling jealous about it.

“Master, teach me some more about the sword. I now have a greater understanding of the Grand Dao of Qiankun, and my ability to improve my sword-arts will improve as well,” Little Qing immediately said. She wanted for Ning to be able to teach her, and so she had chosen to learn the sword as well, fusing her Grand Dao of Qiankun into her sword-arts.

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

Little Qing was improving, but his own rate of improvement was even more astonishing. After all…from the time when Ning established his Zifu region in the Grand Xia world to the day he entered Mount Innerheart, only roughly twenty years had passed!

Now he was training at Mount Innerheart, and he even had the chance to listen to his master, Patriarch Subhuti, lecture on the Dao. He also often went to meditate in the Stellar Hall, and also fought constantly against the golems, so as to further sharpen and refine his sword-arts. He also had countless exquisite sword-arts to analyze! How could his rate of improvement be slow?

……

With each defeat of a golem, Ning was allowed to choose a new technique. But with each fight, the golems would change as well. For example, during the first battle, the fourth golem had used overbearing, powerful sword-arts; during the second, third, and fourth battle, however, the golem had used different techniques. At the start, the golem only changed between different sword-arts styles, but afterwards it even began to use sabres, longspears, staves, and even flying swords, magic treasures, or formations to assist it. This made the fourth golem increasingly difficult to defeat.

However, Ning’s own power was improving at an astonishing rate as well!

He had now analyzed more than a hundred sword-arts from the fourth level of the Divinities Palace, all of which were comparable to the complete [Three-Foot Sword].

Next, Ning had defeated the fifth golem more than thirty times and analyzed more than thirty sword-arts manuals from the fifth floor!

After that, Ning defeated the sixth golem more than twenty times and acquired more than twenty sword-arts manuals from the sixth floor.

And then, Ning had defeated the seventh golem eighteen times, acquiring eighteen sword-arts manuals from the seventh floor!

Although he had read and analyzed multiple sword-arts manuals, many of which had been written by Empyrean Gods or True Immortals and some of which had been written by Daofathers…Ning continued to spend most of his efforts on the [Three-Foot Sword], keeping it at the heart of his sword-arts. He infused the strengths and excellences of the other sword techniques in the [Three-Foot Sword], causing it to be continuously improved and perfected. There were now more and more differences between the current [Three-Foot Sword] and the one which Immortal Northwalker had originally created. In fact, it had now transformed into an even more formidable sword-art that belonged to Ning and Ning alone.

……

And so, completely focusing on his training, Ning spent more than thirty years here within Mount Innerheart.

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Chapter 8 – The Ninth Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

Chapter 8 – The Ninth Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

Within a grassy area in the Tristar Crescent Abode. This was the location of Ji Ning’s Immortal estate.

Within a courtyard inside the Immortal estate.

Ning was seated in the lotus position on the ground, eyes shut, completely unmoving. Next to him lay a large, snowy-white hound.

Whoosh.

An azure-robed maiden appeared out of nowhere. It was Little Qing.

“Don’t make a sound.” The Whitewater Hound opened his eyes, hurriedly sending her a mental message.

“What is it, Uncle White?” Little Qing looked puzzledly at Ning, seated in the lotus position with shut eyes. She sent mentally back, “Master is training? But doesn’t he usually go into his private room when meditating? Why is he sitting here on the ground?”

When training, Ning actually spent most of his time within the Still Room in the underwater estate. This was a training room built by Daoist Threelives which truly did allow one to gain insights into the Dao at an astonishing rate. But of course, the very existence of the underwater estate was a huge secret; Patriarch Subhuti had also reminded Ning that he absolutely could not reveal its existence. Thus, not even Little Qing or Uncle White knew about it.

“He was taking a stroll in the courtyard but suddenly had a flash of insight, and so he immediately sat down in the lotus position to meditate on it,” the Whitewater Hound sent back. “This flash of insight came suddenly; he didn’t have any time to waste on running back to his private room.”

“Oh.” Little Qing nodded. This was how sudden flashes of insights often worked; when they came, they had to be seized right away.

“During the past thirty years, Master’s sword-arts have improved at an astonishing rate. He’s even defeated the eighth golem nine times. He’s now gained a sudden flash of insight…his power is definitely going to improve dramatically!” Little Qing said excitedly, “He might even be able to beat the ninth golem!”

The ninth golem…even many Void-level Diremonsters and Fiendgods were helpless before it! From this, one could tell how utterly astonishing Ning’s rate of improvement had been during the past thirty years.

“My child Ning’s talent is extremely high, and his affinity for the Dao of the Sword is particularly exceptional,” the Whitewater Hound said. “When in the Grand Xia world, he had to divide up his attention amongst multiple types of techniques as well as engage in all sorts of battles! Here at Mount Innerheart, however, there is no infighting at all. In addition, Ning has completely focused his attention on his sword-arts for more than thirty years. His sword-arts have already exceeded an utterly inconceivable level.”

“Right. Truly inconceivable.” Little Qing nodded as well. During the past thirty years, Little Qing had improved dramatically as well, having mastered Greater Teleportation. The Whitewater Hound was more intelligent than Little Qing, with superb comprehension ability; thus, he had become a true grandmaster of formations.

But Ning’s improvement outstripped both of theirs!

Originally, the ordinary disciples of Mount Innerheart murmured amongst themselves about the strength of this new disciple, not feeling much respect for Ning. Afterwards, however, Ning began to focus all his heart and efforts on sword-arts, and his abilities began to dramatically rise without pause. He defeated the fifth, sixth, seventh, and even the eighth golem…causing all of the disciples of Mount Innerheart to be completely tongue-tied in shock.

Even the controller of the Divinities Palace, the old demon Silvermoon, had said with an emotional sigh, “Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning truly is a peerless future Sword Immortal. His improvement in his sword-arts has been utterly terrifying.”

Although Patriarch Subhuti helped by expounding on the Dao, as the saying went, the master might open the door, but cultivation depends on the self. The Patriarch could give some advice at critical moments, but most of Ning’s cultivation and insights came from himself. Clearly, he was extremely well-suited to the Dao of the Sword! Even the similarly peerless Sword Immortal, Lu Dongbin, had felt the desire to recruit him, and had made repeated requests to take him as his disciple.

Unfortunately, the Grand Xia Emperor had steadfastly refused! However, thanks to this ‘setback’, Ning had ended up arriving at Mount Innerheart and becoming apprenticed to Patriarch Subhuti.

“Quick, look!”

On the twelfth day of Ning sitting in the lotus position in meditation, sword-ki suddenly began to fill the pavilion area around Ning.

Swish! Swish!

Little Qing and Uncle White both hurriedly stepped back, moving to a distant pathway to watch from afar. They saw that more and more streaks of sword-ki began to appear in the area around Ning. Suddenly, Ning opened his eyes as well.

“Is this…the realm which senior Northwalker had reached in the past?” Ning murmured gently to himself as the countless streaks of sword-ki around him began to gather together, becoming extremely solid and dense and forming into a single, dazzling Immortal sword that glowed with white light.

“Chop,” Ning said.

SLASH!

The sword-ki that had formed into a sharp Immortal sword of light sliced through the air, and as it did so, the illusion of an enormous black dragon actually appeared above it! This illusory black dragon coiled around the flying sword of light, and in the eyes of the black dragon a look of wanton arrogance could be seen. The flying sword of white light sliced through the air, and the surrounding space completely exploded.

“The ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]…” Ning murmured to himself, “Sword Roaming the Three Realms!”

“The most powerful sword technique left behind by senior Northwalker…I’ve finally mastered it. However, I feel as though this sword technique of senior Northwalker’s, this ‘Sword Roaming the Three Realms’, is too flamboyant and brash. It isn’t stately enough. If this technique could be altered to be slightly more reserved and not so brash, its power might rise even more.”

Ning’s own level of judgment was now extremely high.

It must be understood that the sword-arts manuals on the fourth floor of the Divinities Palace were already on the level of the complete [Three-Foot Sword].

The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth floors…although Ning hadn’t chosen certain techniques that overlapped with techniques he had already chosen, he had still analyzed a total of more than a hundred sword-arts manuals! Ning had even chosen nine books from the eighth floor of the Divinities Palace, each of which had been written by major powers of the Three Realms. Although they were written rather casually, they were still unfathomably profound.

Given that Ning already had so many sword-arts for his perusing, how could he not have superb judgment by now?

Immortal Northwalker had roamed the world by himself and painstakingly taught himself. Ning, however, had become an apprentice to Patriarch Subhuti, and had the chance to analyze countless sword-arts that had been collected from throughout the Three Realms. Given that he was incomparably suited to be a Sword Immortal, how could he not be extremely astute in judging these types of techniques?

“I have now completely mastered all nine stances of the [Three-Foot Sword].” Ning nodded to himself. “However, I’ve modified the first eight stances to make them more suited to me. As for this ninth stance…I will need to modify it as well.”

With so many peerless sword-arts manuals available to him, Ning’s foundation in the Dao of the Sword was indeed at an inconceivably sturdy level.

……

“Master, Master.” Little Qing flew over. “That sword technique just now…it seemed to be unfathomably profound. Did you make a breakthrough?”

“Yes. I’ve already mastered the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].” Ning nodded.

The nine complete stances of the [Three-Foot Sword] were: Lustrous Sword-Heart, Manifold Thistlethorns, Sudden Sword-Light, Sun in the Sky, Moonlight Hiding the Sword, Grand Dao Domain, Horizontal Sword Execution, Immortal-Devil, and Sword Roaming the Three Realms!

The nearby Uncle White also said with amazement and excitement, “Ning, child, I heard that by using this [Three-Foot Sword], Immortal Northwalker was comparable to a Celestial Immortal in power. There are even Celestial Immortals whose sword-arts are not as profound as this [Three-Foot Sword]. Your sword-arts are already now comparable to that of some Celestial Immortals?”

“Immortal Northwalker was comparable to a Celestial Immortal…but that was a bit of a misleading saying.” Ning had often chatted with his fellow disciples here at Mount Innerheart, and he now naturally knew much more than he had in the past. “It is extremely hard for a person to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. Some Void-level Earth Immortals have fairly simple tribulations, while others might have tribulations that are hundreds or even thousands of times harder. In fact, I’ve even heard that for some Void-level Earth Immortals, the Celestial Tribulation didn’t even descend at all; it just dissipated. In addition, Celestial Immortals have trained for varying amounts of time, and some are unaffiliated individuals who train on their own while others are apprenticed to major powers. Naturally, they will all be at different levels of power.”

“Thus, Immortal Northwalker being ‘comparable to a Celestial Immortal’ was only in reference to the most ordinary type of Celestial Immortals.

“For example, Loose Immortal Juhua had lived for many millions of years and was also referred to as being ‘comparable to Celestial Immortals’, just like senior Northwalker who had lived for a million years,” Ning said with a laugh. “There are great differences in power between Celestial Immortals. Things are quite tricky. It’s possible that monstrously powerful Loose Immortals who have lived for millions of years or ten million years might be able to kill weak Celestial Immortals, but the most powerful Celestial Immortals…I hear that some of them have already completely mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword or other Grand Daos, and are extremely close to becoming Pure Yang True Immortals. These are the geniuses of Celestial Immortals, and some are even able to compete against Pure Yang True Immortals.”

“Thus, even amongst Celestial Immortals, there are still many varying levels of power. This thing about being ‘comparable to Celestial Immortals’…haha, that’s just a form of praise and flattery,” Ning said.

Indeed.

At present, Ning has already reached the fifteenth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, which was comparable to an early-stage Void-level Fiendgod Body Refiner! Upon using his [Starseizing Hand], and his terrifyingly powerful sword-arts…he was definitely no weaker than the former Immortal Northwalker by now!

When Ning had first entered the Black-White College, he had felt incomparable veneration for Immortal Northwalker. Naturally, at the time, he had felt nothing amiss about the saying that he was comparable to a Celestial Immortal.

But now that Ning himself had already reached Immortal Northwalker’s level, he felt a bit embarrassed upon hearing himself being praised as ‘comparable to Celestial Immortals’. After all, Ning knew very well that he was currently merely on par with ordinary Celestial Immortals. If he were to run into slightly more powerful Celestial Immortals, they would probably be able to defeat and even kill him!

But Little Qing still said excitedly, “Master, stop being so modest. No matter what, your sword-arts are definitely at the level of a Celestial Immortal by now! In fact, you are even superior to ordinary Celestial Immortals, right?”

Ning was startled for a moment, then let out a resigned laugh and said, “True. But Little Qing, I’m still just a minor figure in the Three Realms; it’s best for me to be a bit more low-key at my current level of power.”

“Master, it can be said that at your current level of power, you are utterly invincible against anyone below the Celestial Immortal level.” Little Qing didn’t show the slightest hint of modesty at all.

Ning smiled. Invincible against anyone below the Celestial Immortal?

Most likely even monstrously powerful Loose Immortals who had lived for millions of years wouldn’t be that much more powerful than the current Ning. It could indeed be said that he was at the very peak of power for those below the Celestial Immortal level. However…in the Three Realms, Loose Immortals were still just minor figures; only Celestial Immortals had some status. As Ning was the Old Patriarch’s disciple, he had higher standards for himself.

“I haven’t even accessed the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace or the Three Realms Palace,” Ning mused to himself. “After I go to the ninth floor and to the Three Realms Palace…especially the Three Realms Palace…mm. My fellow disciples have all said that so long as I can acquire a single technique from the Three Realms Palace, I can rely on it to roam the entire Three Realms. By then, I’ll probably be much more powerful than I currently am; I’ll no longer be on Immortal Northwalker’s level, and will probably be on Immortal Juhua’s level. Even against fairly formidable Celestial Immortals, I should still be able to keep myself alive.”

Ning was quite eager to see the Three Realms Palace.

“Little Qing, Uncle White,” Ning instructed, “I am going to go into secluded meditation to further perfect my [Three-Foot Sword]. For now, continue to handle your own affairs; there’s no need to pay me any attention.”

“Alright.” The Whitewater Hound nodded.

“Master, you are going into seclusion right after making a breakthrough? The gap in power between you and me is growing greater and greater,” Little Qing said helplessly. But then she chortled, “Fortunately, I have Greater Teleportation. It will probably be a long, long time before you can do this, right Master?”

Ning shook his head. A ‘long time’? He was a human; he had to completely master the Grand Dao of Qiankun before he could use Greater Teleportation. He was still extremely far away from mastering his Grand Dao of the Sword, much less the Grand Dao of Qiankun!

Rumble…

The stone door slid shut as Ning entered his private room. A rippling ‘wall’ could be seen in this private room, and as Ning stepped into the ripples, he arrived within the underwater estate.

“Ji Ning, you have finally mastered the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].” Within the underwater estate, the giant yellow bear was waiting with a smile on his face.

“Senior, will I now be capable of challenging the eighth level of the Wargod Hall?” Ning asked. More than ten years ago, he had already passed the seventh level of the Wargod Hall and chosen an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

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Chapter 9 – Two Immortal-Ranked Magic Treasures

Chapter 9 – Two Immortal-Ranked Magic Treasures

The giant yellow bear nodded lightly. “Your chances are quite good. You can give it a try.”

Ning smiled, then walked towards the corridor.

At every distinct level of power, Fiendgody Body Refiners would have just two chances to attempt to pass the Wargod Hall’s trials. Thus, Ning would generally ask the giant yellow bear for his opinion. Each trial represented a supreme treasure, and so Ning didn’t dare to be too reckless in taking them. This was especially true now, as they represented Immortal-ranked magic treasures!

A short while later.

Whoosh. Ning walked out from the Wargod Hall.

“Success!” Ning let out a soft breath. On the eighth floor of the Wargod Hall, he had encountered an ancient, Void-level Fiendgod! Ning’s own [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was only at the fifteenth stage, and he was only comparable to an ordinary early-stage Void-level Fiendgod Body Refiner. If he was to be compared against real Fiendgods, he would probably only be equivalent to a peak Primal-level Fiendgod!

A Void-level Fiendgod was a full level higher than him in power! It also had its own divine abilities that allowed its might to increase even further!

This truly had been a bloody, hard-fought battle. In fact, the Void-level Fiendgod had even unleashed three powerful clones as he transformed his single body into three mighty Fiendgods which surrounded and assaulted Ning! Ning had used the [Three Heads, Six Arms] ability, the [Starseizing Hand], and had sent his sword-light flashing everywhere…and in the end, he managed to seize the upper hand, then force the Fiendgod to admit defeat.

“That was absolutely fantastic. After studying the Dao for thirty years here at Mount Innerheart, I finally defeated a Void-level Fiendgod!” Ning thought back to the past, when he had roamed the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. Back then, he had been nothing but an ant in the eyes of that ancient, Void-level Fiendgod.

But now! He himself was on the same level of a Void-level Fiendgod! He was no weaker, and in fact, he had just defeated one!

“Strange. Why would a Void-level Fiendgod have appeared within the underwater estate?” Ning’s heart was filled with questions. He had asked the spirit of the underwater estate, that giant yellow bear, about some of these questions, but the spirit refused to say.

“Ji Ning, congratulations. You’ve defeated the eighth level of the Wargod Hall.” The giant yellow bear appeared out of nowhere. “In the past, even Immortal Juhua himself was only able to overcome the seventh level.”

Immortal Juhua, after becoming a Loose Immortal, had finally challenged and overcome the seventh level. A long, long time later, he became powerful enough to challenge and overcome the eighth level, but by then he no longer had any chances left to make the attempt!

“Senior, I’m going to choose a treasure now,” Ning said with a laugh. “Last time, when I overcame the seventh level, the book of treasures you brought out only included high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures; there wasn’t a single top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure to be found.”

“This time, there definitely will be,” the giant yellow bear said. “And during your third selection, the number of treasures will be even greater.”

Ning felt resigned. This was in accordance with the rules of the Treasure Hall. In principle, one had three chances to acquire Immortal-ranked magic treasures! They would come when one challenged and overcame the seventh and eighth levels of the Wargod Hall, and when one reached the sixteenth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and entered a brand new and distinct level of power!

But the number of Immortal-ranked magic treasures available for the choosing during the first chance was quite limited.

The second choosing saw more choices.

As for the third…all of the Immortal-ranked magic treasures which Daoist Threelives had left behind would be put on display. Naturally, many exquisite specimens would be made available then.

“You know, it is a minor matter for you, as the controller of the Treasure Hall, to pull out those other treasures and let me choose from them, right?” Ning felt resigned.

“Can’t do it.” The giant yellow bear shook his head. “Not even I can change the rules which Master left behind. In the past, it was because you had just entered the Wanxiang Adept level, the level at which a cultivator is most likely to perish, that Master’s rules allowed for an exception to be made and for you to choose some protective treasures. As for now? You are sufficiently strong enough already; we must follow the rules now.”

Ning nodded.

……

Ning entered the Treasure Hall.

An amount of time equal to boiling a kettle of tea passed.

He left the Treasure Hall, another Immortal-ranked magic treasure in his hands!

“Hahaha…” Ning laughed as he walked out of the Treasure Hall. He was indeed much happier with what he chose during this second choosing than he had been for the first.

“Senior, I’m going to go to the Still Room for a period of closed-door meditation,” Ning said, then headed to the underwater estate’s Still Room.

Rumble! The door to the Still Room swung open, then once more swung shut.

Ning sat down in the lotus position atop that enormous bed of netherwater jade. The inky-jade bed emanated an astonishing aura of coldness, causing even the soul to feel chilled! The very first time he had sat atop this bed of netherwater jade, Ning had felt as though his soul had been completely frozen. However, Ning was now far more powerful.

His insights into the Dao were at a high level. His Dao-heart was firmer. His soul was more powerful! Even the bed of netherwater jade was only able to make Ning feel extremely cool and relaxed.

Rumble…

The Grand Bodhi Stillheart Formation began to emanate ripples of power.

Ning’s heart turned completely calm. With a wave of his hand, Ning caused two treasures to appear and levitate before him. One treasure was a golden circlet! As for the other, it was a set of nine black Immortal swords that seemed to flutter in and out of existence in a transient manner.

The golden circlet was the item Ning had chosen when he had overcome the seventh level of the Wargod Hall. It was known as the Tripartite Immortal-Locking Circlet. It was a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure that was meant to trap or restrain foes. Once a foe was caught by it, it would become very hard for the foe to escape, and in fact some weaker foes would be restrained and absorbed into the circlet itself. There was a stand-alone dimension within the circlet, and it could be used to collect living creatures or inanimate objects. Upon being trapped within it, even the likes of a Pure Yang True Immortal would be unable to depart from it.

But of course, Pure Yang True Immortals wouldn’t be so stupid as to just stand there and allow it to draw them in!

As for the nine black Immortal swords, they were the set of Immortal-ranked magic treasures which Ning had just chosen after having overcome the eighth level of the Wargod Hall. They were known as the Heavenraker Swords. All nine of them were top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. These nine swords…although they were individually still inferior to the Thousandbull Sword, which had reached the very peak of top-grade Immortal-ranked magic items and was almost comparable to a Pure Yang Immortal sword in power, there were nine of these Heavenraker Swords! Taken as a whole, they were not weaker than the Thousandbull Sword at all!

Most importantly of all, Ning had once seen a sword-arts secret manual on the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace which was known as [Heavenraker].

Ning had previously asked the giant yellow bear, “Senior, on the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace, I saw a sword-arts manual titled [Heavenraker]. The abridged version stated that this technique was a sword-art created by a major power of the Three Realms known as Daofather Heavenrake. Might I ask if there is a connection between the Heavenraker Swords and Daofather Heavenrake?”

“Hahaha, this set of Heavenraker Swords were specially designed to be used to execute the Heavenraker sword technique! The Heavenraker sword technique was already tremendously famous back in the Primordial World of Pangu, and is still an extremely famous sword-art in the current Three Realms!” The giant yellow bear had said with a laugh.

And so, Ning had immediately chosen this set of swords!

……

Ning sat there atop the netherwater jade bed, staring at the two mighty Immortal-ranked magic treasures before him. He nodded gently. “After I defeat the ninth golem, I’ll immediately go to the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace and choose the [Heavenraker] sword technique.”

“In the future, I will need to slowly perfect the [Three-Foot Sword] by absorbing many of the best points from other techniques. As for [Heavenraker]…if things are as I suspect, it will become yet another technique that I can use to defeat my foes.

The sword-arts which Immortal Northwalker had created was…more than a bit lacking compared to some of the powerful sword-arts contained within the Divinities Palace.

Ning had already completely overhauled and perfected the first eight stances! As for the ninth stance, he had improved and perfected it. He himself would have to go create a tenth stance and an eleventh stance for this technique.

The sword-arts which Ning himself created would be the sword-arts that were best suited to him, and which would be the most powerful in his hands!

However, before he actually created his own sword-arts, the [Heavenraker] technique could be used for a period of time.

“This Tripartite Immortal-Locking Circlet…after Uncle White becomes a Void-level Earth Immortal, I’ll give it to him,” Ning murmured to himself. This circlet wasn’t of great use to him, and when he had chosen it, it was with the intention of giving it to Uncle White. Uncle White was a grandmaster of formations, but he was lacking in attacking techniques. This Tripartite Immortal-Locking Circlet could transform into the tripartite powers of Heaven, Earth, and Man. It was incredibly difficult to use, but it was very well-suited for Uncle White, who was a grandmaster of formations. It didn’t even require Uncle White to go fight in close combat. It was indeed quite well suited for him!

……

This closed-door session lasted for more than a month. Ning completely and thoroughly overhauled this ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], ‘Sword Roaming the Three Realms’, making it more reserved and stately while also making it even more ferocious and fast!

For Immortal Northwalker, the ninth stance of ‘Sword Roaming the Three Realms’ represented the pinnacle, but for Ji Ning, the ninth stance was just a midway point; he was definitely going to go create a tenth and an eleventh stance.

“It’s already summer?” When Ning walked out of his Immortal estate he saw the sun hanging high in the sky, blazing with incomparable heat.

Every single world was illuminated by the Solar Star and the Lunar Star.

This was even true for the estate-world of the Tristar Crescent Abode. Every single world would see the projections of the Solar Star and the Lunar Star. For example, within the world of the Grand Xia, there was also a Solar Star and a Lunar Star! Because the Solar Star was a bit closer to the world of the Grand Xia, in that world, the Solar Star was a bit larger while the Lunar Star appeared a bit smaller.

Although they were only ‘projections’ of the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, they still possessed utterly terrifying power. Clearly, the power of these two stars, the most supreme and exalted of celestial bodies, was utterly inconceivable.

“Uncle-master.”

“Patriarch.”

“Patriarch.”

Many disciples of Mount Innerheart were currently congregated outside the Divinities Palace. Some were quietly training in the Dao, others were discussing it, and still others were relaxing. Upon seeing Ning arrive, they all hurriedly rose to their feet and called out with respect.

During the course of these thirty years, these disciples of Mount Innerheart now felt true esteem for Ji Ning, an admiration which came from the depths of their heart!

“Mm.” Ning just nodded lightly, then stepped into the Divinities Palace. He started from the first floor and walked all the way to the ninth.

On the staircase to the side of the ninth floor, the white-robed Silvermoon was seated, leaning against the banister. There was some Immortal wine, roasted goose, and other roasted meat next to him. His feather-fan was covering his stomach as he just lay there napping.

Ning was in no hurry. He first walked to a nearby bookshelf, then picked out the sword-arts manual titled [Heavenraker].

The secret manuals located here on the ninth floor were all extraordinary.

Ning flipped through the abridged version, then nodded gently, revealing a hint of a smile. [Heavenraker] was indeed created by Daofather Heavenrake of the Three Realms. It required nine Immortal-ranked flying swords to be used, and ideally the nine swords would all be infused with the 36-Layered Heavenrake Sword Formation.

“This [Heavenraker]…it uses the profound mysteries of the elements of Water and Earth, has also been infused with the secrets of the Grand Dao of Qiankun, and is unleashed through the Grand Dao of the Sword.” Ning nodded to himself. He was quite skilled in Water, Qiankun, and the Sword. As for Earth…Daofather Heavenrake had clearly prepared some more elementary sword techniques amongst the many sword techniques.

Although Ning had few to no insights regarding the element of Earth, he could still use those sword-arts that didn’t include the Earth-element. In the future, he would probably advance in Earth as well as a result.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning put down the abridged version, then walked next to Silvermoon and called out to him. In fact, he even gave him a little push. “Senior apprentice-brother!”

“Huh?” Only now did Silvermoon open his eyes. “What, what is it?”

“Senior apprentice-brother, I want to challenge the ninth golem,” Ning said.

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Chapter 10 – The Senior Disciples

Chapter 10 – The Senior Disciples

“The ninth golem?” Silvermoon immediately rose to his feet. Feather-fan in hand, he began to laugh in surprise. “Junior apprentice-brother, do you feel confident?”

“Haven’t fought it before, so hard to say,” Ji Ning said.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you are always so modest. Come, come, come. Let’s hurry. Show me what you have.” Silvermoon immediately led Ning down from the Divinities Palace and to the empty testing grounds.

……

Many of the disciples of Mount Innerheart were gathered in the empty area. Even Little Qing and Uncle White had hurried over here. Because Ning had sent his two spirit-beasts a mental message earlier, telling them that he was going to challenge the ninth golem, Little Qing and Uncle White had paused their training and hurriedly ran over to watch the fight.

“Can it be that Patriarch Ji Ning is going to challenge the ninth golem? He’s already defeated the eighth golem nine times by now, right?”

“He might really be challenging the ninth golem!”

“There are so many of us here, including some monsters that have lived here for tens of thousands of years, but none of us have ever defeated the ninth golem.”

The other disciples were all stealthily chatting amongst themselves. In fact, some of them even spoke out towards Little Qing or Uncle White.

“Azure Skysnake, Whitewater Hound, which golem is Patriarch Ji Ning challenging?”

“Little sister Qing, don’t tell them, just tell me alone.”

Over the course of the past thirty years, Little Qing and Uncle White had become quite familiar with these disciples.

Uncle White smiled. Little Qing just raised her head proudly. “Just keep watching and you will find out.”

The distant Ning and Silvermoon were currently chatting with each other. These two both had very high statuses, and generally speaking the normal disciples of Mount Innerheart wouldn’t dare to speak to them too often.

Whoosh. Silvermoon waved his hand, and a golem appeared out of nowhere.

This golem’s entire body was a white jade color. Around his right arm were nine circular loops, and the invisible aura of power emanating from him was quite strong.

“The ninth golem!”

“The ninth!”

“Uncle-master Ji Ning is actually challenging the ninth golem!”

Instantly, a series of startled cries rang out as everyone felt excited.

Life here at Mount Innerheart was too relaxed and peaceful. Normally, everyone just focused on quietly training in the Dao. Thus, when someone went to challenge the ninth golem, many of the other disciples would cluster around to watch. And this particular challenge…was issued by Ji Ning, who had just become a member of Patriarch Subhuti’s school around thirty years ago, and who had been selected as the Old Patriarch’s future personal disciple. This naturally caused great excitement.

……

Within the testing grounds. Ning and the ninth golem stared at each other from afar.

“This is your first time challenging me, but your Fiendgod body is only at the peak Primal level,” the ninth golem said, his eyes flashing with hidden sharpness as he carefully inspected Ning.

Ning knew that this ninth golem had been personally forged by his master, Patriarch Subhuti, and that it was comparable to a Pure Yang treasure in power. It had its own soul and possessed intelligence.

A pair of Darknorth swords appeared in Ning’s two hands. “Enough chit-chat. Show me your most powerful sword attacks.”

“Hmph.” The ninth golem let out a cold snort as a wide, heavy sword appeared in his hands. “Then I’ll play with you for a bit.” As soon as his words came out, the ninth golem took a single step forward, causing the ground to tremble as he suddenly appeared in front of Ning. He had moved so fast that Ning couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. Ning’s feet moved just slightly as he simultaneously sent the twin swords in his hands blocking upwards.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh….

A massive illusory wave that seemed to fill the heavens suddenly appeared. Ning’s sword-arts had reached a high enough level that it could call upon the aid of a large amount of natural energy, thus generating this sort of manifestation.

The illusory wave swept forward, Ning’s sword-light within it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The ninth golem’s heavy sword carried incomparable savagery and dominance, and with each stroke the heavy sword smashed against the wave!

Ning’s sword technique was more tenacious and powerful, and it came out in a steady, unbroken stream. By contrast, the ninth golem’s sword technique was more savage and ferocious. However, in the face of Ning’s unbroken, flowing string of attacks, the ninth golem was finding it increasingly hard to hang on.

“So you have a bit of talent after all. If I don’t bring out some of my true power, I won’t be able to beat you.” The ninth golem produced a second heavy sword in his other hand as well.

Boom. Boom. The two heavy swords began to whirl out, seeming to have transformed into an enormous windmill and creating the massive illusion of a whirlpool above it! The enormous whirlpool illusion clearly represented an enormous amount of natural power had been summoned…and the ninth golem’s sword technique clearly became even more savage and dominating! It carried a crushing, grinding power that was able to completely suppress Ning!

“Sword Roaming the Three Realms!” Upon being suppressed, Ning instantly changed his sword technique. He immediately executed ‘Sword Roaming the Three Realms’, which he had perfected while in closed-door training. Two streaks of dazzling sword-light flew out like a pair of black dragons that were swimming through the air. These two roaming black dragons twined around each other as they pounced towards the enemy.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their respective sword-lights clashed out three times.

Suddenly, everything came to a halt.

The ninth golem and Ning had moved past each other while exchanging blows. Their backs were to each other, and the ninth golem was completely unmoving. As for Ning, he put away the Darknorth swords in his hands.

On the golem’s chest, there was a wicked, savage-looking wound!

During their three clashes, Ning’s sword had clearly been a slight bit faster. Although it was only faster by a small amount…it had been the deciding factor in this battle.

The ninth golem lowered his head to look at the wound. The wound on his chest disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“You win.” The ninth golem turned, giving Ning a glance. “You beat me in our very first fight; you can now enter the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace.”

“Jadesuffer, this is my junior apprentice-brother; it is only natural that he beat you.” Silvermoon walked over.

“Junior apprentice-brother? The Old Patriarch took on a new disciple?” The ninth golem looked towards Ning in surprise.

“The more disciples who defeat you, the closer you are to freedom. You should be happy. Alright, time for you to go back to your place.” Silvermoon waved his hand, instantly collecting the ninth golem again.

“Junior apprentice-brother, congratulations.” Silvermoon smiled towards Ning. “Come, let’s go into the Divinities Palace.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. He immediately followed Silvermoon into the Divinities Palace.

The disciples of Mount Innerheart watched this all happen in a daze. They stared as Ning and Silvermoon entered the Divinities Palace.

“He won!”

“He actually won!”

“Patriarch Ji Ning defeated the ninth golem.”

“What a dominating sword-art…what a terrifying sword-art!”

“Uncle-master truly is a peerless Sword Immortal.”

All of them sighed in endless amazement.

“It has only been thirty years, right?”

“It has only been about thirty years since the Patriarch became the Old Patriarch’s disciple, right? Thirty years ago, the Patriarch was just barely able to defeat the fourth golem, but after thirty short years, he has actually defeated the ninth golem. I’ve been here on this mountain for nearly a million years!” A six-armed Fiendgod whose body was wreathed in dim flames muttered to himself, then shook his head and sighed. “You humans truly do have a ridiculous level of comprehension.”

“I’m a human and I’ve been on the mountain for a thousand years, but I haven’t beaten the ninth golem.”

“Not even Celestial Immortals are necessarily capable of defeating the ninth golem. Thirty years…no wonder the Old Patriarch chose him as a disciple.”

“The personal disciples of the Old Patriarch truly are all formidable.”

“Little sister Qing, can you ask the Patriarch to lecture to us on the Dao sometime?”

“Brother White, your master’s sword techniques are truly formidable. I have many questions with regards to the sword; can we have your master provide us with a few pointers sometime?”

Everyone was discussing what had just happened. Little Qing and Uncle White both felt their hearts filled with delight.

……

After just thirty years, Ning had defeated the ninth golem. This caused all the ordinary disciples of Mount Innerheart to sigh in amazement at how inconceivable this was. However, for the personal disciples such as the old demon Silvermoon, this was as expected.

Ning and Silvermoon were walking up the stairs in the Divinities Palace, striding upon the wooden steps as they moved upwards.

“Junior apprentice-brother, for you to be able to defeat the ninth golem after thirty years is quite impressive,” Silvermoon laughed. “All of those ordinary disciples below us are completely shocked right now.”

“Eh.” Ning didn’t feel as though there was anything to be proud of. He had the guidance of his master, Patriarch Subhuti, as well help from the Stellar Hall of the underwater estate. He would often sit atop the bed of netherwater jade within the Still Room in the underwater estate, and constantly attune to the Dao within the Grand Bodhi Stillheart Formation. Thirty years? His original goal had always been to defeat the ninth golem within a few decades.

“Might I ask, how did my senior fellow disciples do? How many years did they spend in order to defeat the ninth golem?” Ning asked curiously.

“Amongst Master’s many personal disciples, your performance can be described as normal,” Silvermoon said with a laugh. “Ruling out the ones who were already extremely strong when they first followed Master…there have been a total of twelve who were very weak when they first followed Master. The fastest one took one year, while the slowest one took more than 13000 years.”

Ning was amazed. “The fastest one took one year? The slowest one took more than ten thousand?” A personal disciple of the Old Patriarch who had taken more than ten thousand the years…this was too ridiculous. And just a single year for the other? This was also too crazy!

“Master has a total of nineteen disciples. There were seven who were already extremely strong when they accepted him as their master, while there were twelve who accepted him as master when they were weak,” Silvermoon said. “Amongst them…ninth junior apprentice-brother had an exceedingly high level of comprehension. Back then, Master’s avatar was roaming the ancient Primordial World. He ran into ninth junior apprentice-brother, who at that time was nothing more than an ordinary child who loved to paint. Master just provided him with a single line of guidance…and ninth junior apprentice-brother transformed overnight from an ordinary child who had never before engaged in cultivation to the level of having completely mastered an entire Dao-Path, the Dao of Inkwater. He then followed Master to Mount Innerheart. After a year, he defeated the ninth golem.”

Ning blinked. To transform overnight from an ordinary child who loved painting…to someone who had completely mastered a complete Dao-Path?

To defeat the ninth golem after a single year?

“Next are third senior apprentice-brother and sixth junior apprentice-brother,” Silvermoon said. “Both of them only spent a few years to defeat the ninth golem, and when they first joined the school neither had engaged in any cultivation training. However…they have extraordinary heritages. Third senior apprentice-brother was blessed with tremendous luck when he was born, as he is a Golden Crow who was born on the Solar Star. As for sixth junior apprentice-brother, he is also incredible; he is a spirit-monkey who was born from one of the stones which Lady Nuwa used to repair the Heavens.” 1

Ning was startled. A spirit-monkey born from a stone that was used to repair the Heavens? This caused Ning to think back to a story recorded in a novel back from his own lesser world of Earth. 2 He wondered if this so-called spirit-monkey was similar to the one mentioned in the story he had read.

“After those two are the ones who trained for dozens of years,” Silvermoon said. “In short…humans have extremely high levels of comprehension, while third senior apprentice-brother and sixth junior apprentice-brother were born as extraordinary living creatures who also had extremely high levels of comprehension.”

“All of the disciples under Master’s tutelage who defeated the ninth golem in under a century were humans and those with extraordinary lineages.”

“There are several who are monsters like me who are under Master’s tutelage. For example, I had to train for more than three thousand years before I defeated the ninth golem. There are some who were even slower than me. On the whole, monsters have a much lower level of comprehension than humans do.”

Ning nodded.

Monsters had poor levels of comprehension, and Fiendgods had it even worse! However, the heavens had made it up to them in other ways. Humans at the Zifu level had a lifespan of five centuries, while those at the Wanxiang levels had a lifespan of eight centuries. Monsters, however, were different. Xiantian-level Diremonsters were capable of living up to a thousand years, and Wanxiang-level Diremonsters were able to live more than ten thousand years. As for Fiendgods, their lifespans were even more ridiculous. Fiendgods were innately ageless, and they didn’t even have to worry about the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. However, their levels of comprehension were pitifully low; it was possible for them to spend a trillion years without improving even a tiny bit.

“Truly, all of the senior fellow disciples under Master’s tutelage are extraordinary. Some were born incredible, while others met with incredible luck and destiny. I myself was only able to enter his tutelage due to having acquired the legacy of Daoist Threelives.” Ning understood that amongst his fellow disciples, he was quite ordinary.

Still, there was a difference between him and the others. He was the disciple of both Patriarch Subhuti and Daoist Threelives…and his divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], was the ability which Daoist Threelives had relied on to dominate and roam the Primal World. Not even Patriarch Subhuti had ever created a divine ability on this level.

“The ninth floor.” Silvermoon reached the ninth floor, then said with a laugh, “After you choose a technique from this ninth floor, you can go to the Three Realms Palace! After you learn a single technique from the Three Realms Palace, if you can train in that technique to its limit, you’ll absolutely be able to roam the Three Realms fearlessly and become an awe-inspiringly famous figure.”

1. The sixth person is obviously Sun Wukong/Monkey King, who was born from a holy rock and was also known as the ‘stone monkey’.

2. This ‘story’ is obviously Journey to the West.

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Chapter 11 – Houyi’s Archery

Chapter 11 – Houyi’s Archery

Ji Ning walked to the bookcase that only held sword-arts manuals, carefully flipping through the others. After confirming his decision, he then picked up the abridged version of the [Heavenraker].

“Senior apprentice-brother, I choose this one, [Heavenraker],” Ning said.

With the Heavenraker Swords in his hands, he would of course choose [Heavenraker].

“Fine.” Silvermoon nodded, then waved his hand. A series of thick tomes appeared within his hands; this was the full version of the [Heavenraker] technique which Daofather Heavenrake had created. Ning’s eyes immediately lit up as he accepted the tomes. As he opened them up, he couldn’t help but lose himself within their contents. Ning couldn’t be bothered to move around, and so he just sat down right there on the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace and began to analyze this sword-art.

……

Summer left, winter came. A full year had passed.

During this past year, Ning didn’t immediately go to the Three Realms Palace. After all, it wasn’t as though the palace would run away. During this year, Ning defeated the ninth golem three more times, acquiring two more sword-arts manuals alongside the [Heavenraker]. These were all created by Daofathers, and were all some of the most supreme sword-arts of the Three Realms!

Ning carefully analyzed the techniques, gaining quite a bit from them. He mastered thirteen sword-stances in a row of the [Heavenraker]!

“It is time to go to the Three Realms Palace.”

It was already night, but Ning set out from his Immortal estate. Over the course of this past year, he had further perfected his [Three-Foot Sword], and his level of insight into the [Heavenraker] had already reached a very high point. It would be hard for him to improve significantly within a short period of time, and so he decided to go to the Three Realms Palace.

……

The Three Realms Palace was an ordinary building that was just ten meters high…but it was the one of the most mysterious places in Mount Innerheart!

Ordinary disciples of Mount Innerheart could occasionally enter Patriarch Subhuti’s Daoist monastery and listen to him expound on the Dao, but they would never, ever have the chance to enter the Three Realms Palace. Almost every single person allowed into the Three Realms Palace was an extremely famous figure of the Three Realms.

Snooooore.

A ringing, snoring sound rang out, occasionally high, occasionally low. Outside this palace was a skinny old man who was lying on the ground, his fan across his chest as he slept. When Ning had first arrived at Mount Innerheart, he had seen this old man sleeping. It had been thirty years, but Ning had never seen him wake up.

It was as though this old man would slumber for ten thousand years at a time!

“Second senior apprentice-brother,” Ning walked over, then called out respectfully.

After having lived here for a period of time, Ning now knew about this second senior apprentice-brother.

As Lord Jiang had said, “Of the many disciples which Master has accepted, his true heir is our second senior apprentice-brother! Second senior apprentice-brother trains in both the Dao and in Buddhism, and is a master of all techniques. He’s even the only one who has ever learned Master’s greatest divine ability, [Dream of the Three Realms]. I once asked Master to teach me this divine ability, but Master said that I cannot learn it. Of his students, only second senior apprentice-brother was able to learn it!”

Silvermoon had said something similar. “Don’t be fooled by the fact that second senior apprentice-brother is always there sleeping. In reality, his avatars are roaming throughout the Three Realms, leaving behind countless legacies. There are very few mysteries in the Three Realms which can deceive second senior apprentice-brother. As I see it, under Master’s tutelage, eldest senior apprentice-brother might be the most powerful, but the second most powerful is definitely second senior apprentice-brother!”

Patriarch Subhuti had also praised him. “Your second senior apprentice-brother has done countless good deeds and accumulated nigh-infinite amounts of karmic merit. He truly wishes to do good, and has been like this since the era of the Primordial World. His karmic luck has already reached an utterly inconceivable level. Both the Buddhists and the Daoists have invited him on multiple occasions to join them.” Even Patriarch Subhuti felt proud when mentioning his second disciple. Clearly, he was very satisfied with him!

After learning more about his second senior apprentice-brother, Ning also felt extreme admiration.

Because of the [Dream of the Three Realms], Ning’s second senior apprentice-brother’s avatar had visited almost all of the lesser worlds, and had left behind legacies in countless places. Thus, his name was extremely famous! Even in Ning’s own world of Earth, his second senior apprentice-brother’s reputation was as resounding as the thunder.

“Second senior apprentice-brother? Senior apprentice-brother Crazy Ji?” Ning called out. 1

“Who is calling my name?”

The skinny, napping old man rubbed his name, then opened his eyes languidly, seemingly to still be half-asleep. Beaming merrily, he said, “Oh, you are the disciple which Master just took in, that Ji Ning of the Grand Xia world?”

“Just so,” Ning immediately said.

Of the figures the Old Patriarch’s command, eldest senior apprentice-brother was unfathomably profound in power and without question the number one figure.

Second senior apprentice-brother’s reputation was known throughout the Three Realms, and he had accumulated tremendous karmic merits and had tremendous karmic luck. Both the Buddhists and the Daoists desired to take them into their leagues…but he continued to wander the Three Realms by himself, doing countless good deeds but belonging to neither the control of the Daofathers or of Lord Buddha.

“Master told me long ago that you would come, but I didn’t expect you to come so soon. Just thirty years after joining, you have already come to my Three Realms Palace.” Crazy Ji held that ragged fan in his hands as he nodded slightly. “Go in, then. You can choose from the divine abilities and secret arts inside as you please…but the Dao cannot be casually taught. You will have to pass some simple tests in order to learn them.”

“I understand,” Ning said. He had similarly had to pass some tests in order to acquire each of the sword-arts manuals he had chosen in the Divinities Palace.

……

Crazy Ji watched as Ning entered the palace, a hint of light flashing through his half-asleep eyes. “This junior apprentice-brother…he has a pure and innocent heart, and is surrounded by karmic merit. And that sword-heart of his…ohoho, it really is not bad at all! But why has Master chosen him as a disciple?”

Crazy Ji understood Patriarch Subhuti more than anyone else, and he had learned more of Patriarch Subhuti’s abilities than anyone else as well.

When Patriarch Subhuti chose a disciple, he always had a reason for it; he wouldn’t just randomly pick someone. Perhaps the disciple was surrounded by tremendous karmic luck! Perhaps the disciple had an extraordinary heritage! Perhaps the disciple had an unearthly level of comprehension! There was always something!

“But it seems this junior apprentice-brother doesn’t fit any of the usual criteria. Can it be that there is a huge secret regarding him?” Crazy Ji smiled, then walked in as well. He was going to see what Ning would choose.

……

Upon entering the building, Ning saw three tables scattered within it. Theses tables all had various abridged books placed in a casual manner atop of them. In total, there were only nineteen books. There were divine abilities, there were formations, there were secret arts…

“The complete [Torch Dragon’s Eye]?!” Ning immediately picked it up. Back in the world of the Grand Xia, Ning had only learned the first part of the technique. So the Three Divinities Palace had the full version!

He flipped the abridged version open. Atop the first page was listed a simple trial: “Go and clean the mountain paths of Mount Innerheart and you can learn this technique.”

“But but but…” Ning was speechless. “How can this be a trial?! And this is the same as for the techniques on the first level of the Divinities Palace!”

A supreme divine ability that could rank in the top hundred of the Three Realms…could actually be so easily learned? Just by cleaning the mountain paths? That wouldn’t even take half a day!

“It was Master who collected these divine abilities and secret arts in this Three Realms Palace,” Crazy Ji said as he walked in, a smile on his face. “He did this to teach them to his disciples. Naturally, he wouldn’t make the trials too hard.”

“But…this is still too easy. Even the trials for the seventh and eighth floors of the Divinities Palace are far more difficult than this,” Ning said.

“It is true that the ‘test’ for this [Torch Dragon’s Eye] is a bit too simple,” Crazy Ji agreed. “However, the Torch Dragon died a long, long time ago, after all. After he died, quite a few of the Daofathers acquired this divine ability! This is the first reason why the test is so simple. The second reason is that the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] is best-suited for Fiendgods like the Torch Dragon to train in. As for other living creatures…to this very day, I’ve never heard of anyone who could reach a level of power in the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] that the Torch Dragon had.”

Ning now understood. This technique was not only difficult to train in, it was also fairly common amongst the various Daofathers, and so the ‘trial’ was made a simple one.

“This is the easiest of all trials,” Crazy Ji said. “Junior apprentice-brother, keep looking at the others carefully. There are some truly supreme techniques here…and in fact, there are some that are unique in the Three Realms, to be found nowhere else.”

Ning immediately began to look carefully at the others.

Soon…

Another manual suddenly caught his attention. The words atop the manual caused Ning’s pupils to contract. The words were: [Houyi’s Archery].

“Houyi?” 2 Ning had naturally heard of this major power before. He immediately picked up the copy of [Houyi’s Archery] and started to flip through it.

The name of this technique was very simple…but [Houyi’s Archery] was indeed an incredibly powerful divine ability! In fact, it was even more powerful than the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

“Ever since Pangu established the universe, this divine ability has always been ranked in the top ten,” Crazy Ji said. “This was created by True God Houyi, who used it to roam and dominate the Primordial World. However…the trial to acquire it is also the most difficult trial here in the Three Realms Palace!”

“Master actually has the main divine ability of Houyi?” Ning was astonished. This was ranked in the top ten! That meant it was on the same level as Ning’s own [Starseizing Hand]?! Not even Patriarch Subhuti had ever developed a divine ability on this level.

“This trial truly is difficult.” Ning immediately frowned upon seeing it. This trial was indeed the hardest of the nineteen trials here in the Three Realms Palace. Ning then looked at the contents of the abridged book. “So this is what [Houyi’s Archery] is all about…”

Ning immediately understood. Although [Houyi’s Archery] and the [Starseizing Hand] both ranked amongst the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms, they were diametrically different.

The [Starseizing Hand] was used to make one’s hands even more terrifyingly powerful than magic items. By the Second Cycle, one’s hands would already be comparable to Immortal-ranked magic treasures. By the Third Cycle, they would be comparable to Pure Yang magic treasures! The raw power and strength of the [Starseizing Hand] was utterly astonishing!

But [Houyi’s Archery] was a skill-type ability!

It was just like the [Windwing Evasion], in that it was a matter of skill and finesse. It required enlightenment and it required slow comprehension. Although it did include some clever ways to use divine power…it was more about skill and technique! Even Ki Refiners were capable of learning [Houyi’s Archery], so long as they could comprehend the mysteries within it.

“It is much simpler to train in the [Starseizing Hand]; all I need to do is procure enough Five Elements essence, and my hands can become even more terrifyingly powerful, to the point where in the future I will even be able to crush stars with my hands,” Ning mused to himself. “But this [Houyi’s Archery]…it requires enlightenment!”

They truly were completely different. As a result, [Houyi’s Archery] was extremely hard to train in. To this very day, aside from Houyi who had dominated the Primordial World with this divine ability, there had never been any other individuals who had been able to completely master this divine ability.

“Don’t read it,” Crazy Ji said, shaking his head. “Quite a few of Master’s disciples have chosen this archery technique, but most of them were only able to gain a basic understanding of it. None of them have reached the level which the primordial Houyi once did. Go look at the other techniques first…and in the future, when you have some more free time, you can try and learn [Houyi’s Archery].”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

No matter what…this simple archery technique was still ranked in the top ten of the divine abilities created since Pangu established the universe! He had to learn it sometime! But of course, there was no rush.

Ning immediately began to read through the other tomes…and suddenly, yet another technique caused his eyes to light up. The words written atop this abridged tome were: [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

1. This person is Ji Gong, aka Daoji, aka Li Xiuyuan. He was an eccentric monk that lived 800+ years ago that was famous for being extremely kind, seeming to have magic powers, but lived a life in violation of Buddhist rules due to eating meat and drinking wine. He is an incredibly famous semi-mythological figure in China that everyone has heard of. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Gong

2. As explained long ago, Houyi is a mythological Chinese archer and an incredibly famous god. According to Chinese legend, long ago there were ten suns that baked the Earth and nearly killed everyone. Houyi ended up shooting down nine of the suns, sparing only the last one. He was acclaimed by mankind as a hero, but was punished by the heavens because the suns were the sons of a powerful God, and was later banished from the heavens. He was also the husband of Chang’e, who later became the goddess of the moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houyi

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Chapter 12 – The Choice Within the Three Realms Palace

Chapter 12 – The Choice Within the Three Realms Palace

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] is the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level.” This line of characters on the abridged version instantly drew Ji Ning’s attention.

Number one in the three realms?

Ning had never before heard anyone bold enough to claim that a particular divine ability was number one in the Three Realms. This claim couldn’t even be made regarding the [Starseizing Hand] or [Houyi’s Archery]. But this [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] actually dared to claim itself the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level!”

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], also known as the [Nine Cycles Arcane Art] or the [Seventy-Two Transformations]1. This divine ability allows one to completely and perfectly control one’s Fiendgod body. A basic level of skill in this art allows one to transform into anything in the world; this is why this divine ability is also referred to as the [Seventy-Two Transformations].”

Ning understood that this didn’t mean that the technique was really just limited to seventy-two transformations; rather, ‘seventy-two’ was another way of referring to the original name of ‘Eight-Nine’. It was a figurative number!

“This divine ability allows one’s divine body to become akin to a magic treasure, to the point of being like an unbreakable vajra! At its peak of power, the user can allow Pure Yang magic treasures or even supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures to chop against the user’s body. At most, there might be a few sparks; the body itself won’t be harmed at all!”

Ning’s gaze turned heated as he read. Even Pure Yang magic treasures and Protocosmic magic treasures would only be able to cause a few sparks to fly? This was insane!

“This divine ability places tremendous stress on the body. Thus, only Fiendgod Body Refiners can train in it. You have to at least have reached the Primal level as a Fiendgod before you can train in the First Cycle.”

“At the Primal level, you can train in the First, Second, and Third Cycles.”

“At the Void level, you can train in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Cycles.”

“At the Empyrean God level, you train in the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Cycle.”

“Once the Third Cycle is mastered, then the body will be comparable to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure! Even ordinary Celestial Immortals would find it difficult to wound you.”

“Once the Sixth Cycle is mastered, then the body will be comparable to a Pure Yang magic treasure! By relying on it, one can become truly famous in the Three Realms!”

“Once the Ninth Cycle is mastered, the body will be comparable to the most supreme of Pure Yang magic treasures, comparable to a Protocosmic spirit-treasure! It can truly be described as an unbreakable vajra at that point, and one can truly roam about the Three Realms without fear. Aside from major powers, no one can harm you at all. Even major powers will have to use special techniques in order to break your vajra-like body.”

The description on the manual caused Ning to pant in excitement. This was far too formidable. Manmade magic treasures were divided into Mortal-rank, Earth-rank, Heaven-rank, Immortal-rank, and Pure Yang rank, with the Pure Yang rank being the limit. Above Pure Yang magic treasures were Protocosmic spirit-treasures!

Protocosmic spirit-treasures were born from the natural universe itself. However, this didn’t necessarily mean that all Protocosmic spirit-treasures were superior to all Pure Yang magic treasures. After all, amongst manmade Pure Yang magic treasures, there were treasures which truly possessed insane levels of power. In fact, some were created by fusing the extracted essence of multiple Protocosmic spirit-treasures, such as the Starseizing Manor itself, which had used quite a few Protocosmis spirit-treasures in the forging!

Thus, there were grades of Protocosmic spirit-treasures as well. They were also divided into low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

Supreme Pure Yang treasures were generally comparable to middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures!

Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “Protocosmic treasures!” To make one’s body comparable to a Protocosmic spirit-treasure! No wonder one’s body could be described as unbreakable as a vajra, and why even major powers of the Three Realms would have to use special methods in order to break past this divine ability.

Whoosh! Ning continued to flip through the pages and read.

“This divine ability was jointly developed by the spiritual leaders of both Buddhism and Daoism, who wished to create a divine body that was comparable to that of the great god Pangu’s.”

“Per the predictions of the spiritual leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, this arcane art should have a total of Twelve Cycles.”

“The first three were for the Primal level; the next three were for the Void-level, and the Seventh to Ninth Cycles were for the Empyrean God level, while True Gods would train in the Tenth to Twelve Cycles. The True Gods of the Three Realms, when using this divine ability, should theoretically have divine bodies that were comparable to Pangu’s. Unfortunately, although their predictions were idealistic, despite spending countless amounts of effort and time on this technique, they were still unable to come up with anything past the Ninth Cycle…”

“And so, this divine ability only has Nine Cycles!”

Upon seeing the description within the tome, Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement yet again. So the [Seventy-Two Transformations] had such an illustrious history. It had been jointly developed by the spiritual leaders of Buddhism and Daoism!

“Pangu…the same Pangu who established the universe?” Ning sighed in amazement. If one could use a divine ability to strengthen one’s body to Pangu’s level, that would be utterly insane. However…even the most supreme of experts in the Three Realms were only able to develop a total of nine of these Cycles. Mm…it truly can be described as the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level.” Ning couldn’t help but nod to himself.

It lived up to its reputation!

……

After reading the description, Ning noticed that the [Seventy-Two Transformations] was quite similar to his own [Starseizing Hand].

The Second Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] made one’s hands comparable to Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

The Third Cycle, Pure Yang magic treasures.

The Fourth Cycle, supreme Pure Yang magic treasures or middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

The Fifth Cycle, supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

The Sixth Cycle…it allowed a pair of hands to effortless seize and crush stars! One truly could use one’s bare hands to annihilate an entire world. As far as the major powers of the Three Realms were concerned, the reason why Daoist Threelives had become so famous and powerful was only because he had managed to develop the Sixth Cycle of his [Starseizing Hand]; only then had he been able to kill so many Fiendgod Daofathers during that great tribulation!

“My [Starseizing Hand] only focuses on a pair of hands, while the [Seventy-Two Transformations] trains the entire body.” Ning realized what the difference was.

Because the [Seventy-Two Transformations] was only designed for the Empyrean God level, it could only be described as the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level.

The [Starseizing Hand], however, had a level meant for True Gods. Thus, it could be described as one of the top ten divine abilities in the Three Realms.

After reading this [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] tome, Ning set it aside and began to flip through the other books.

[Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe] 2

This was an axe-technique developed by one of the major powers of the Three Realms known as Xingtian, the Castigator of Heaven. However, it was ranked as a divine ability, because just like [Houyi’s Archery], it largely involved profound and arcane ways to apply divine power. This complicated way of applying divine power, when matched with the axe technique, would produce the true power of [Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe]!

This divine ability was ranked as one of the top hundred in the Three Realms.

……

[Vairocana Guardian Halo].

This was a protective divine ability developed by the spiritual leader of Buddhism, Lord Buddha. It was extremely powerful, and at the True God level it was even slightly more powerful than the [Seventy-Two Transformations]. However, the [Seventy-Two Transformations] required a large amount of magic artifacts, and so the number of people who had ever trained in the [Seventy-Two Transformations] all the way to the Ninth Cycle was very low. Although at the same level, this [Vairocana Guardian Halo] was a bit weaker in power, it didn’t require as many magic treasures; one only need to focus on comprehending and mastering it.

……

[Thundergod’s Eye].

This divine ability attracted Ning’s attention as well. This was because Ning had previously trained in the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], which was a simplified version of the [Thundergod’s Eye]. Upon training in the [Thundergod’s Eye], when the user unleashed the eye, it could be used to see even the ghosts in the Netherworld Kingdom. Nothing could escape the gaze of this divine eye, and when mastered to an extremely high level, one could unleash ‘Divine Lightning of the Violet Skies’. Not even someone with an unbreakable, vajra-like body would dare to take a blow from this divine lightning!

But of course…just like the other supreme divine abilities, to train in this one to the point of unleashing the ‘Divine Lightning of the Violet Skies’ was harder than hard.

……

[Buddha-Realm Within the Palm].

This was a truly powerful divine ability of Buddhism, which could be trained all the way up to the True God level. If one mastered it, then an entire major world could be stored on one’s palm! When one struck out with one’s palm, one would be striking out with the entire power of a major world. If any enemy were to land atop the massive palm, even if they flew for an extremely long time, they would still find it difficult to fly out from this palm. 3

This was because the palm itself was the size of an entire major world!

But of course, compared to the [Starseizing Hand], it was still a bit weaker. The [Starseizing Hand], when trained to its limit, could effortless annihilate an entire major world.

……

[Heavenslayer Sword Formation].

This was a true sword-formation technique. The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was also a true sword-formation technique, but compared to this [Heavenslayer Sword Formation], it was much weaker. The [Heavenslayer Sword Formation] was incredibly complicated, and it required the forging of a Heavenslayer sword-diagram, as well as a total of eighty-one Immortal swords…but it was extremely powerful, ranked as one of the supreme skills of the Three Realms. However…only someone with the power of a Daofather could produce the required sword-diagram.

……

Ning’s gaze burned hotter and hotter as he continue to read.

There were a total of nine divine abilities: [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], [Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe], [Vairocana Guardian Halo], [Thundergod’s Eye], [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm], [Torch Dragon’s Eye], and two more.

There were also a total of ten secret arts, formations, and other varied techniques.

“Eh? There are actually no manuals focused exclusively on sword-arts, saber-arts, archery, axecraft…” Ning was surprised by this. For example, [Houyi’s Archery] wasn’t purely archery; it also included a very complicated way of activating and transforming divine power. This was why [Houyi’s Archery] was considered a divine ability! The same was true for [Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe].

If the unique methods of employing divine power were stripped from these divine abilities, then [Houyi’s Archery] and [Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe] would most likely only be placed on the ninth level of the Divinities Palace.

Crazy Ji beamed merrily as he watched. He could tell that Ning had been completely captivated by these techniques.

There were five techniques Ning wanted: [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm], [Thundergod’s Eye], [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], and [Torch Dragon’s Eye]!

For one’s palm to be able to encompass an entire major world, a major world that completely belonged to him and him alone…how could Ning not feel desire for this technique?

[Thundergod’s Eye]…Ning had long ago started to train in the elementary version of this divine ability.

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was even critical! After all, the path of Immortal cultivation was a difficult and dangerous one. To reach the Empyrean God level meant that one would be comparable to figures like Lu Dongbin and be an expert of the Three Realms. It was far too difficult to reach the True God level and become a major power like Daoist Threelives.

Thus, this number one divine ability for those below the True God level, this [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], was absolutely necessary.

“Junior apprentice-brother,” Crazy Ji said.

“Second senior apprentice-brother.” Ning turned to look at him.

“Are you aware that you are not permitted to simply learn as many techniques within the Three Realms Palace as you please? Every single fellow disciple is limited to just a few,” Crazy Ji said.

“I know.” Ning nodded. “Silvermoon and Lord Jiang both spoke to me of this.”

Generally speaking, each person could only learn two or three divine abilities or secret arts from the Three Realms Palace before Patriarch Subhuti would forbid them from learning more!

“Right. To be greedy is unwise!” Crazy Ji nodded. “Any one of these techniques, when trained to the peak, will allow you to roam and dominate the Three Realms. Even the seemingly unremarkable [Thundergod’s Eye], when trained to the limit, will allow you to control ‘Divine Lightning of the Violet Skies’ . Thus, if you are too greedy, the end result will be that you will be unable to train any technique to its limit and end up an ordinary figure. If you focus on training in one, however, you will be able to train to the limit and dominate the Three Realms.”

Ning nodded. He understood this principle.

Ning pondered for a time…then picked up an abridged version. “This is my choice from the Three Realms Palace.” This book was of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]!

The number one technique for those below the True God level. Ning had to choose it!

Crazy Ji laughed and nodded. “Alright. Look at the trial first.”

“Right.” Ning immediately flipped to the first page of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], carefully looking at the trial details. Ning immediately frowned upon doing so. This trial was many times more difficult than the trial for the [Torch Dragon’s Eye]; after all, that trial was just to sweep the mountain paths.

1. The Seventy-Two Transformations is the name of the legendary ability which Sun Wukong learned from Patriarch Subhuti and which made him into the badass that he was.

2. Xingtian is one of the early gods in Chinese mythology. He was decapitated by the Yellow Emperor, the legendary forefather of the Chinese race, but he remained alive and continue to fight with axe and shield, transforming his nipples into eyes and his navel into his mouth – seriously.

3. This is yet another reference to Journey to the West and Sun Wukong; when fighting with Lord Buddha, Sun Wukong and Buddha made a bet where Buddha bet him that Sun Wukong would be unable to jump out from his already quite large-looking palm in a single leap. Sun Wukong, capable of leaping 108,000 kilometers in a single bound, accepted the bet…and lost. Buddha then transformed his massive hand into a mountain, trapping Sun Wukong beneath it until his future master, the Tang Monk, came to rescue him.

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Chapter 13 – Void-Level

Chapter 13 – Void-Level

The trial was explained in just two simple lines of words:

Go and take on a disciple of great karmic virtue, surrounded by at least three hundred meters of golden karmic light.

Go and kill ten Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals who have committed great sins, surrounded by at least three hundred meters of bloody sin light.

“This…” Ning frowned.

To take on a disciple? To go kill?

Someone who had accumulated so much karmic virtue as to be surrounded by three hundred meters of golden karmic light was far too rare. Generally speaking, such individuals would have tremendously good luck, and so they would have joined a school long ago, and most likely a major school at that. After all, the larger a clan or sect, the more they would desire to take on a disciple with that much karmic virtue. This would bring the entire sect fortune!

Was he supposed to steal a disciple from someone else?

As for killing someone…the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations which Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals had to face were of frightening power. The more sin one had accumulated, the greater the power of the calamities and tribulations. Thus, most Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals would limit the amount of sin they would accumulate; they wouldn’t dare act in excessively sinful ways, and would in fact try to do good as much as they could. Only truly fiendishly demonic figures who truly had formidable Dao-hearts and unearthly levels of power would dare engage in wanton slaughter and draw countless amounts of sin to them! This type of Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal definitely wasn’t easy to deal with.

And he didn’t have to just kill one…he had to kill ten!

“Taking on a disciple and killing others…second senior apprentice-brother…” Ning looked towards Crazy Ji.

“To take on a person with great karmic virtue as a disciple and to teach that person is in and of itself an act of karmic virtue. Killing great sinners, in turn, is also an act of karmic virtue. Both of these things are good for you.” Crazy Ji nodded. “Although it might take a bit of time…there’s no need for you to rush. Go down into the world and spend some time searching. If you haven’t succeeded in one year, then go ahead and take ten.”

Ning nodded. “The so-called going ‘down into the world’…where am I supposed to go? The three thousand major worlds and the trillion minor worlds?”

“You haven’t left Master’s tutelage; you are not permitted to leave this estate-world,” Crazy Ji said. “The so-called going ‘down into the world’ refers to this estate-world itself. It is absolutely not inferior to a major world in any way. You can spend a million years wandering it without seeing everything within.”

“Alright.” Ning immediately said, “Thank you for your guidance, second senior apprentice-brother. I’m going to leave now.”

“Go ahead.” Crazy Ji waved his fan.

……

Ning didn’t immediately go into the rest of the estate-world; first, he returned to his own Immortal estate.

Within the Still Room in the underwater estate.

Rumble…the stone door swung shut.

Ning sat in the lotus position atop the netherwater jade bed, his heart quickly calming down. The excitement he had felt upon previously seeing so many divine abilities in the Three Realms Palace gradually dissipated. After he was completely calm, Ning began to ponder.

“Although there are many divine abilities and secret arts in the world, it is true that one should focus on a few. If you learn many of them but are unable to focus on them, there’s no point.” Ning calmly reflected on each divine ability and secret art he had learned.”

“Learning the [Vairocana Guardian Halo] is a waste of time; it is of very little help to me. Although the [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm] technique is quite powerful, I already have the [Starseizing Hand]; training in that divine ability won’t increase my power by much.” Ning quickly began to mentally discard one divine ability after another as he focused on which techniques were worth his energy and which ones would bring the maximum amount of power to him.

“There are two I must train in.”

“The first is the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Once I train in it, my body will be as unbreakable as a vajra, just like a magic treasure. I won’t need to waste any divine power; most divine abilities require divine power to be used, such as my [Starseizing Hand], which uses up a shocking amount of it. The Nine Cycles of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], however, causes the body itself to be made as hard as a vajra. The fact that this does not consume divine power in battle is a tremendous advantage! I can just stand there, and my foes will be unable to do anything to me.”

Ning mentally discarded all of the other techniques within the Three Realms Palace.

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] focused on defense! It made the body as unbreakable as a vajra, and it didn’t use up any divine power.

[Houyi’s Archery] focused on long range combat! It was one of the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms.

The [Starseizing Hand] focused on close combat! It was also one of the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms.

“Defense, long range combat, close combat…that’s enough.” Ning nodded gently. “If Master permits it, I will also choose the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].”

The [Torch Dragon’s Eye] was neither defense, nor long range combat, nor close combat; it was an extremely powerful support technique! And not only was it able to provide support skills, it was also a divine ability with an extremely simple ‘trial’; to simply clean the mountain roads a single time. However, Ning didn’t dare choose it just yet. After all, no one could say how many techniques Patriarch Subhuti would choose from the Three Realms Palace.

If Ning were to choose the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] and the Old Patriarch then forbade him from choosing any more, he would feel miserable.

First, the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Then, [Houyi’s Archery]. Lastly, if possible, [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

“But why is it that the Three Realms Palace doesn’t have a single evasive divine ability?” Ning furrowed his brows. The Windwing Evasion was just the simplified version of the divine ability [Garuda’s Wings]; after having spent thirty years at Mount Innerheart, he now felt that the Windwing Evasion was far too weak and wasn’t suitable for him to use at all.

He had already completely mastered the Windwing Evasion, but the technique itself was far too low-level.

“When I next see Master, I’ll ask him to provide me guidance and teach me an evasive divine ability,” Ning mused to himself. “If there are no other options…then I’ll go find one in the Divinities Palace.”

The Divinities Palace had quite a few divine abilities. Ning had completely focused on studying sword-arts, and hadn’t chosen a single other type of manual from the Divinities Palace. He had wanted to choose his other techniques from the Three Realms Palace, but who would’ve expected that the Three Realms Palace wouldn’t even have one evasive technique? He would first go ask his master; if his master wasn’t able to provide him with one, then he would go to the Divinities Palace to find an evasive divine ability. Although those techniques were fairly average amongst the upper tiers of the Three Realms, they were still hundreds to thousands of times better than the likes of the Windwing Evasion.

……

“Whew.” Ning seated himself atop the netherwater jade bed, a mist arising around his body. The mist condensed into a figure; it was the black-robed Ji Ning. Ning’s Primaltwin!

“It is time for my Primaltwin to become a Void-level Earth Immortal.”

During the past thirty-one years at Mount Innerheart, Ning’s Primaltwin had remained at the peak Primal stage. The reason he didn’t advance further was because his master, Patriarch Subhuti, had warned Ning: “Ji Ning, I know that you acquired five million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, but you should not be in a hurry to make your Primaltwin break through to the next level. Your Primaltwin was formed from the Sole-Ki of Primalwater, and has an extremely high level of aptitude for understanding the element of Water. Even though both are at the Primal level, there is a difference between your true body and your Primaltwin in terms of how fast you will comprehend Water. Thus, you should have your Primaltwin remain at the Primal level for at least ten years.”

“Understood.” Ning had immediately acknowledged his master’s orders back then.

And indeed, it had been as his master had said; the Primaltwin’s aptitude for Water was quite incredible. Aside from the Dao of the Sword, Ning’s current highest level of attainment was in Water. Water far surpassed Fire…and the weakest were Wind and the Grand Dao of Qiankun!

Because he saw the aforementioned advantages, and because there were no fights on Mount Innerheart whatsoever, Ning had never been in a rush to make any breakthroughs. He wanted to let his Primaltwin remain at the Primal level for as long as possible. His master had said ten years, but Ning had spent more than thirty years at this level. But now, he was going to leave the mountain and go kill enemies.

He wasn’t going out to kill ordinary Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals; he was going to kill figures who were surrounded by sin, going to kill terrifying, demonic figures that were surrounded by three hundred meters of bloody sin light. Ning naturally was going to make ample preparations, and thus he was going to have his Primaltwin advance to the Void level.

Actually, during these past thirty-one years, the Primaltwin had also been training in the [Darknorth Sutra]. However, since this sutra was created by a Daofather of the Great Firmament, the Primaltwin remained at the peak Primal level and had not reached its limit, despite having painstakingly trained for all these years! If it had still been training in the [Flowing Watersource] of the Black-White College, most likely thirty or so years after reaching the Primal level it would have been time for a breakthrough to the Void-level and to become an Earth Immortal.

Given that Ning was training in the even more profound [Darknorth Sutra], if he had slowly cultivated as he had planned without using any spirit-pills or liquefied elemental essence, he would’ve had to spend at least eighty or ninety years before training to the early Void level.

Swoosh.

A jade bottle flew out, landing in front of Ning. The bottle’s stopper opened on its own.

“Fortunately, I have five million kilograms.” The Primaltwin Ning willed it, and wish a swoosh, a flood of liquefied elemental essence flew out from the jade bottle. The mouth of the bottle was only as thick as a finger, but as the essence flew into the air the stream became more than thirty meters thick. It flew straight towards the Primaltwin Ning, then formed into a vortex around him.

The essence vortex swirled into Ning, then disappeared.

Within the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater inside the Primaltwin Ning’s body, a blurry void of a Zifu region could be seen. Within this void, there was a sea of elemental ki which had an enormous Turtle-Snake within it. On the back of the Turtle-Snake, flames could be seen blazing. These flames were Primal Fire!

Rumble…

The Zifu sea began to surge and swell as refined elemental essence began to surge to the ‘skies’ above them. The countless stars in the sky shone down with rays of light, all centered upon the giant Turtle-Snake. The Primal Fire on the Turtle-Snake’s back instantly and dramatically expanded!

Crackle…

The Primal Fire roared and blazed, causing the Turtle-Snake to begin hiss and screech.

Fifty thousand kilograms. A hundred thousand kilograms. A hundred and fifty thousand kilograms…more and more of the liquefied elemental essence was absorbed, and as Ning’s level of power began to rise, his rate of absorption began to rise as well. The Primal Fire began to blaze with greater and greater fury.

A long time later…

WHOOSH.

It was like a planted seed suddenly sprouting up beyond the dirt. From within the blazing, heaven-towering flames on the back of the Turtle-Snake, a single, slender, delicate golden lotus emerged from the cracked turtle shell.

The turtle shell was like the soil. The Primal Fire was like the sunlight and water. The golden lotus slowly grew out and grew larger.

This golden lotus was extremely small; compared to the heaven-towering flames on the back of the massive Turtle-Snake, it was extremely unremarkable. However, elemental ki of unbelievable purity swirled arounded the golden lotus, far surpassing the purity of the elemental ki Ning had in the past. Then, the entire Turtle-Snake began to grow dim as large amounts of its essence began to flow towards the golden lotus, causing the lotus to continuously grow larger and larger. As it continued to grow, the luster of the shell of the Turtle-Snake began to disappear as it grew dark.

“The early Void level.” Ning’s Primaltwin soul had advanced from the Primal Turtle-Snake to the ‘Goldlotus’ level.

Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals all had Goldlotus souls for their Primal soul!

If one wished to become a carefree, unbound Immortal, one had to plant the seeds of the Goldlotus within the flames!

“Continue!” The Primaltwin Ning was like a black hole, absorbing as much liquefied elemental essence as there was on offer. Only after a long time did he stop.

The Primaltwin Ning pointed towards the distance. Instantly, the jade bottle on the ground became stoppered up again.

“The amount of liquefied elemental ki needed to train in the [Darknorth Sutra] is absolutely astonishing. However, my elemental ki is now up to two levels more pure than that of an ordinary Earth Immortal.” Ning didn’t feel sorry for how much he had used up. “I used a total of 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence in training from the peak Primal stage to the late Void stage! Around two million kilograms remain in this jade bottle of mine. Right…I should leave it for Uncle White and Little Qing.”

The reason why he had halted at the late Void stage was because upon reaching the peak of the Void stage, the Celestial Tribulation would be impending.

“Time to go down into the world.”

Rumble…

The door to the Still Room slid open, and Ning’s true body walked out.

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Chapter 14 – Going Into the World

Chapter 14 – Going Into the World

Ji Ning stood outside the entrance of his Immortal estate.

“Uncle White. Little Qing.” Ning sent a mental message to the two, and they soon arrived.

These two had previously been elsewhere at the Divinities Palace, discussing the Dao with the other disciples of Mount Innerheart.

“Master, why have you summoned us? We were in the middle of this great discussion about the Dao,” Little Qing said unhappily. The Whitewater Hound just looked at Ning, waiting for him to speak.

“I am going to go down into the world and roam about this estate-world,” Ning said. “It will be anywhere from a year to ten years before I return.”

“Whaaa?! Go down into the world?!” Little Qing said with great excitement, “Great, great! Although Mount Innerheart is nice enough, and I have the chance to listen to the Old Patriarch discuss the Dao here and have many divine abilities and secret arts to peruse…it is way too relaxed and boring here.”

Ning shook his head. “I’m going down into the world on official business. You and Uncle White need to seize every moment of this incredible chance you have to study here at Mount Innerheart. After all, we are going to go back to the Grand Xia in the future…and I don’t know when we will return. A chance to study here is something that most people can’t even dream of.”

After they went back to the world of the Grand Xia, it would not be easy for them to come back here. It wasn’t up to them; it was up to the Old Patriarch. Without his permission, no one could locate this estate-world.

“Oh.” Little Qing nodded in understanding.

“Ning, child, be careful as you roam the world. This estate-world is not one whit inferior to the world of the Grand Xia, and experts are as common as the clouds within it. I imagine there are quite a few Celestial Immortals as well,” Uncle White instructed.

“Don’t worry.” Ning nodded.

“Master, why are you going down into the world? What’s this official business all about? Oh, if it’s really important, then don’t worry about telling me.” Although this was what Little Qing said aloud, her eyes were sparkling. Clearly, she was quite intrigued.

Ning laughed. “This is a test which Master gave me. I need to go down into the world, accept a disciple, and kill some people.”

“Accept disciples? Kill people?” Little Qing and Uncle White both grew intrigued.

“These two jade bottles each have a total of 750,000 kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.” Ning waved his hand, and two jade-green bottles appeared. “Uncle White, Little Qing, the two of you have reached the peak Primal level in recent years as well. However, from the peak Primal level to the Void level requires a long period of time. Although the techniques you use are the techniques from Mount Innerheart, you will still probably need a few decades before succeeding. With this essence, the two of you will be able to reach the early Void stage and also stabilize your foundation.”

The Whitewater Hound hesitated momentarily. Little Qing, however, immediately accepted her bottle with glee. “Thanks, Master! Master, you are the best. I’ve been hankering to reach the Void-level and become an Earth Immortal.”

“Take it, Uncle White,” Ning said.

Here at Mount Innerheart, there was no way to acquire more liquefied elemental essence. Otherwise, given his current level of power, it wouldn’t be too hard to sell some treasures and procure some. In the future, his true body, Uncle White, and Little Qing would all rise to the late Void level.

As for the peak Void level?

Ning was in no rush because he often heard Patriarch Subhuti expound on the Dao and had learned that every Celestial Tribulation was tailored to the specific person. The more monstrous a genius, the more ridiculously powerful a Celestial Tribulation would be. For someone like him, an expert who had divine abilities such as the [Starseizing Hand] and who was blessed by luck, the power of his divine tribulation would be similarly astonishing!

He had to make ample preparations!

He had to raise his level of comprehension. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], and the [Starseizing Hand]; they all had to reach the highest level of power possible prior to the Celestial Immortal level. He had to prepare enough magic treasures and curios as well. His Dao-heart also needed to be stronger…in short, in the face of the Celestial Tribulation, no matter how many preparations he made, it wouldn’t be too much. No one wanted to be defeated by it, after all!

Upon being defeated, one would naturally perish. Even if one managed to luck out and become a Loose Immortal, under the eternal, remorseless trials of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, death would be the only result.

The Celestial Tribulation…

This was a true tribulation that would determine one’s destiny! The greatest tribulation there was on the Immortal path! Those who succeeded would soar into the heavens and truly escape the binds of the Three Realms. They would be carefree and unbound, no longer subject to the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. But those who failed…they were finished.

……

On the mountain paths of Mount Innerheart.

The Whitewater Hound and Little Qing sent off Ning together. Ning didn’t bid his fellow disciples farewell; after all, this was just a trial, and a short one at that. To his fellow disciples who had lived for countless years, this was indeed a very brief trip.

“No need to send me any further,” Ning said with a smile. He then transformed into a streak of light and flew out of the giant, levitating Mount Innerheart. He flew downwards towards the vast, endless world.

“Ning, my son, be careful.”

“Master, be careful.” The Whitewater Hound and Little Qing watched as Ning flew away. They watched until he disappeared.

……

Ning stared downwards towards the countless cities that dotted the vast world. Prior to him leaving Mount Innerheart, Little Qing had gone to a good friend she had made, an ordinary disciple of Mount Innerheart who was a Void-level Diremonster, and acquired a fairly detailed map of the entire Crescent world!

“The Crescent world is as large as the world of the Grand Xia. Above an endless sea, there are three enormous continents. These three continents are all slightly smaller than the continent of the Grand Xia, but combined they are comparable to it.” Ning pondered to himself. “Mm. To the Star continent!”

The Crescent world had a total of three continents. The Cloud continent, the Flame continent, and the Star continent.

The one which was below the airborne Mount Innerheart was known as the Cloud continent. The Cloud continent was the continent with the best governance, whereas the Flame continent and the Star continent were in states of utter chaos. They had many small kingdoms, as well as many Diremonsters, clans and sects that caused a state of turmoil to be maintained.

“Great sinners can be found amidst great chaos. Perhaps I might also find an individual of great karmic merit who has escaped notice,” Ning mused to himself.

Whoosh!

Space rippled around him, and Ning then disappeared from midair.

……

The Crescent world. The Star continent.

A flying shuttle was flying through the skies at high speed. Within the shuttle were a group of cultivators, with the leader being a man and two women. The other six were all servants and guards.

“Our Qi Empire has been abandoned to those monsters. Why won’t they let us be?!” A violet-robed woman spoke out, her eyes filled with rage. “When we hide in mountain wilds, the Diremonsters still find us and chase us. Our imperial clan of the Qi Empire is now extremely puny; we aren’t a threat to them at all. Why won’t they let us be?!”

“Little sister.” A black-robed maiden next to her shook her head. “The monster king who has taken over our Qi Empire has given the order to completely exterminate our imperial clan of Qi. None are to be spared. The countless monsters under that monster king’s command are naturally going to chase us and kill us. Only by killing us will they have rendered merits and be rewarded by the monster king.”

“So are we just going to keep running and running?” The violet-robed maiden gritted her teeth. “I’ve had enough of this life of fleeing. I started fleeing when I was a child, and it has now been several decades. I’ve been running away this entire time. I have had enough. Enough! Let’s go all out against these demons. Big brother, second sister, let’s fight them!”

“Shut your mouth.”

The tall, muscular man who was on his feet growled softly, “Our imperial clan has existed for tens of thousands of years; now, only the three of us still remain. Even our uncle ended up dying when he fought against those demons to try and protect us. We are alive because of the sacrifices of countless subordinates. We absolutely cannot just throw our lives away.”

“Then what should we do? That monster king is so powerful; how are we supposed to escape him? And where can we run to?” The violet-robed woman said with rage.

The tall man growled, “By now, there’s no other choices for us. The only choice is…to go to the Viledragon River!”

Instantly, everyone fell silent.

The two younger sisters who were behind him as well as all of the servants fell silent. Their eyes were filled with amazement.

Viledragon River?

The Star continent was vast and boundless. There was no way these three imperial scions and their servants could fly out from the Star continent. Within the Star continent, however, Viledragon River was one of the most famous and largest rivers of all!

Viledragon River cut through a large half of the entire Star continent. It was incomparably wide; even at the narrowest points, it was at least eight hundred kilometers across, and up to a thousand or more at its thickest. As far as its length…given that it cut through most of the Star continent and was a sinuous, undulating river, one could imagine how unfathomably long it was!

According to legend, after a primordial Viledragon was killed, its body was transformed into this river. But of course, this was too extravagant a legend and there was no way to verify its authenticity. Still…Viledragon River truly was bizarre. Anyone who moved within a thousand kilometers of it would become completely unable to fly, and also become unable to use evasive techniques based off the Five Elements. Supposedly, even Celestial Immortal Patriarchs who neared this Viledragon River would also be unable to fly or use evasive techniques.

From this, one could see how bizarre Viledragon River was!

In addition, Viledragon River also had some dangerous zones inside of it which even Immortal cultivators did not dare to charge into.

“There’s no way to fly within Viledragon River, and no way to use evasive techniques. It will be very hard for the monsters to catch us within it,” the tall man growled. “I trust that they will also be nervous, and won’t dare to chase us all the way into Viledragon River.

“But…that’s Viledragon River,” the black-robed maiden said hurriedly.

“We’re trying to find a way to stay alive in an impossibly lethal situation. It doesn’t matter how dangerous Viledragon River is! In addition, Viledragon River is enormous, and it cuts through more than half of the Star continent. Actually, most of it is quite safe; only a few parts of it are dangerous. If we are lucky, we can find a safe island and start life anew there. We can build up our power on the island, and in the future, we can slaughter that monster king and take back the Qi Empire,” the tall man said. “Second sister, little sister…we have no other paths to take.”

The two girls gritted their teeth and nodded.

“Life or death…it comes down to this toss of the dice,” the black-robed woman said.

“Right. Let’s do it.” The violet-robed maiden gritted her teeth as well.

……

Rumble…

Viledragon River. The waters of the river frothed and bubbled with unnatural turbidity.

“Viledragon River.”

“Big brother, up ahead is Viledragon river.”

“Here we are.”

The man, two women, and six guards quickly arrived at the banks of Viledragon River. They stared at the turbid waters. They could already sense the invisible, nameless ripples of power emanating from the entire Viledragon River. They couldn’t help but feel terrified; Viledragon River was simply too famous.

“Hey, big brother, second sister, hurry and look over there.” The violet-robed maiden pointed at the distant, wide Viledragon River. Aboard the river, a wooden boat was slowly sailing forward. Atop the wooden ship was a fur-clad youth who was holding and playing a bamboo flute.

Everyone present was an Immortal cultivator; given their perfect vision, they were able to see this person clearly.

“This youth actually dares to sit on a boat on Viledragon River and leisurely play the flute?” The black-robed woman was extremely startled as well.

“If he is an Immortal cultivator…no matter how powerful he is, he should still be extremely cautious right now.” The tall man frowned. “Can he be an ordinary mortal?”

Although Viledragon River was reputed to be dangerous, that was only in some parts of it. There were often some stupidly brave mortals who would try to show off their valor and sail on a ship atop Viledragon River. And indeed, there were some mortals who were lucky enough to be able to sail on Viledragon River for months, then come back to tell the tale.

“Big brother, that youth is coming over here!” The violet-robed maiden called out in alarm.

The fur-clad youth’s ship, which had previously been following the currents of the river, suddenly turned. The oars on the boat began to strike against the water, kicking up waves of white froth as it moved closer.

……

Ning used his hands to steer the boat, beaming as he stared at the individuals on the distant shore. His divine sense had covered this region long ago, and he saw that amongst the crowd, there was a female servant who was emanating a golden light detectable only by his divine sense. The golden light of karmic virtue was at least nine hundred meters long and was utterly astonishing.

“How very lucky I am! I found a person of great karmic virtue quite quickly.” Ning felt incomparably delighted.

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Chapter 15 – The Survivors of the Qi Empire

Chapter 15 – The Survivors of the Qi Empire

After having descended onto the Star continent, Ning had sailed down the Viledragon River, continuously sweeping his surrounding region with divine sense. He had already searched for nearly half a month, but he hadn’t found a single person of great karmic virtue or great karmic sin. Today, he had been leisurely relaxing on his boat while playing his bamboo flute…but he had actually run into a person of great karmic virtue.

Whoosh. The oars of the boat continued to sweep forward, sending the boat towards the shore. Ning walked out of his boat and onto the shore.

As the distant group of imperial Qi clansmen walked over, they saw Ning disembark through a very ordinary method. They couldn’t help but feel even more convinced that he was an ordinary mortal. The weakest in their group was at least a Zifu Disciple; why would they view an ordinary mortal with any care? And yet…this mortal was walking straight towards them.

“Big brother, he’s actually walking towards us,” the black-robed princess sent mentally.

“A puny little mortal…if we were back in our imperial palace, he would’ve been killed long ago for trying to stand in our way.” The violet-robed princess had a hint of darkness in her eyes. After having fled for so many years, her heart had become filled with hate and darkness.

“Don’t cause unnecessary trouble.” Their leader, the tall youth, just spread out his majestic aura. He was the most powerful figure in this squad of theirs, a Wanxiang Adept.

An invisible aura of power came crashing downwards. Any mortal faced with this aura of a Wanxiang Adept would instantly quiver and become utterly terrified.

“Let’s go.” After having released his aura, the imperial prince led his two younger sisters and his guards towards Viledragon River. They couldn’t be bothered to act against a mortal as they were fleeing.

“Haha…” Suddenly, loud laughter rang out.

The imperial prince, the two princesses, and the guards all turned to stare in astonishment. That fur-clad youth who they had assumed to be a mortal was standing there, laughing. The fleeing imperial prince of Qi naturally understood right away that this backwater youth was clearly not a mortal. A mortal would have been quivering supinely on the ground by now.

Rumble…

An invisible aura of might and power swept out from Ning like an enormous tidal wave, smashing towards the imperial Qi group.

All of their faces changed. This backwater youth…he was no mortal. He was someone whose power vastly outstripped theirs.

“My name is Shi Feng. These are my family retainers. Dare I ask who you are, senior?” The tall imperial prince immediately spoke out with great respect. At the same time, he produced a tiny bead of water on his finger. He pretended to scratch his eyes, but in reality he pressed that bead of water onto them.

Rumble…

The imperial prince lifted his head to take a look. He saw the ripples of power emanating from the backwater youth, then immediately sent mentally to his two little sister, “Ruyu, Ruhui, judging from the ripples this backwater youth is emanating, he should be at the peak Primal level…and he doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions. We absolutely cannot make an enemy out of him. Each time we use up one of our protective treasures, that is one less that we will never get back.”

“Understood, big brother,” the black-robed princess sent mentally.

“He’s just a Primal Daoist. If our imperial father were here…how could a Primal Daoist like him possibly behave so arrogantly in front of us?” The violet-robed princess felt relaxed; she no longer felt afraid. They were of the imperial clan, after all; although their nation had collapsed, they had quite a few treasures on them. They had remained alive for several decades despite being continuously pursued; this was proof of their ability to stay alive.

Clearly, they were confident in being able to escape from a single Primal Daoist by using up some treasures.

……

“I am Darknorth. For us to meet here today is destiny.” After releasing his aura, Ning then said, “Come aboard my boat and drink a few cups of wine?”

Ning could tell that these individuals had moved towards Viledragon River with the intent of sailing atop it.

However….

Viledragon River was extremely famous, and of these nine only a single was at the Wanxiang Adept level. The other eight were all merely Zifu Disciples. Why was it that they dared to come to Viledragon River?

Others might fear Viledragon River, but Ning was Patriarch Subhuti’s disciple. He often chatted with his fellow disciples, and had learned about some of the secrets of this Crescent world. Naturally, he had no fear of Viledragon River.

“Since senior Darknorth has invited us, we shall naturally comply.” The imperial prince immediately accepted the offer. They were going sailing to begin with; with a peak Primal Daoist by their side, they might have a helper.

Whoosh. Ning waved his finger, and instantly the wooden boat expanded in size, expanding to a three hundred meter long ship. The nine figures immediately boarded the large ship.

Atop the deck of the ship appeared chairs, tables, fine wine, and spirit-fruit.

“Sit.” Ning sat down at the host’s position. The imperial prince and the two princesses all sat down, while the other guards remained standing.

“Shi Feng.” Ning’s gaze fell upon the female maidservant whose body was covered by the golden light of karmic virtue. The golden light surrounding her appeared incomparably majestic and vast; it was at least nine hundred meters long. That was as long as some of Earth’s rivers were wide; from this, one could imagine how utterly astonishing this young woman’s karmic light of virtue was.

“She is your maidservant?” Ning pointed at the maidservant standing behind the seated violet-robed princess.

The imperial prince smiled. “Indeed.”

“What is her name? What is her history? Tell me of her,” Ning said. As Ning saw it…it wouldn’t be too hard for him to take this maiden away from these people. However, this was his first time taking on a disciple! Ning naturally wanted to get an idea as to what sort of personality this maiden had. Her golden light of karmic virtue might be a result of her actions in her previous life; it was hard to say what she was like in this life.

If she had a negative personality, Ning would rather go find another person with karmic virtue.

“Her name is Qi Xiaoyu 1; she came from a backwater place,” the imperial prince said with a laugh. “An elder of my family saw that she was talented, and so took her on as a disciple when she was very young and taught her cultivation. The elder doted on her fiercely; although she is a servant in name, in reality she can be described as my junior apprentice-sister.”

“Qi Xiaoyu?” Ning raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at her. Her appearance was quite pretty; although she was inferior to Yu Wei, she was still quite a beauty. In addition, there was a resolved look in her eyes; clearly, her Dao-heart was excellent as well.

“Qi Xiaoyu, come here and sit.” Ning waved his hand, and another table filled with fine wine and spirit-fruit appeared next to him.

Qi Xiaoyu stood there, hesitating slightly as she looked towards the imperial prince and the two princesses.

The imperial prince instructed, “Senior Darknorth has already given you instructions; why don’t you go to him?”

“Alright.” Qi Xiaoyu immediately walked obediently towards the table, but she didn’t touch the wind or the spirit-fruit.

Ning looked towards Qi Xiaoyu. He could sense that this maiden had an invisible sort of magnetism that caused one to naturally gravitate towards her and want to befriend her. “Is this what it is like to be blessed with tremendous karmic virtue? This is my first time seeing her, but I can’t help but feel kindly inclined towards her.”

“Xiaoyu,” Ning spoke out.

“Senior Darknorth,” Qi Xiaoyu replied with great respect.

“Tell me about your life, from youth til now,” Ning said.

Qi Xiaoyu looked towards the imperial prince and the two princesses. In truth, this request of Ning’s was rather excessive. Still, the imperial clansmen didn’t wish to offend Ning. This was one of the benefits of being powerful; as long as Ning didn’t go way too far, the imperial prince and princesses wouldn’t quibble too much.

The imperial prince nodded gently.

Qi Xiaoyu immediately said, “Senior, when I was young, I lived in a tribe with a few tens of thousands of individuals known as the Bluecliff tribe. The chief of the Bluecliff tribe was my great-grandfather. When I was young, I was without a worry in the world. I was very happy…”

As she spoke, a look of happiness appeared on Qi Xiaoyu’s face.

“However, my tribe suffered an attack from Diremonsters. Our tribesmen were all forced to flee in defeat. My family all died, and as I was fleeing, I encountered Master…”

Ning listened quietly. At his current level, Ning could clearly sense the changes in Qi Xiaoyu’s soul! If she lied, Ning would immediately be able to tell.

……

As Ning was revealing his power, forcibly inviting the imperial Qi clansmen onto the ship, then asking Qi Xiaoyu about her history…

In the skies more than ten thousand kilometers away, there was a giant black ship. The giant black ship had twelve black-armored figures aboard it.

The giant black ship had a single flag atop its mast; the flag had the diagram of a pair of flaming wings.

Local monsters and Immortal cultivators would immediately be able to tell…that this was the legendary Flamewing Guard, which many powers were in absolute dread of.

“Captain, the survivors of the imperial Qi clan really know how to flee. It has been so many years, but they still haven’t been wiped out yet. Our Flamewing Guard have been chasing them for this entire time.” A skinny man with scales on his face let out a sigh as he spoke.

“They are indeed skilled at flight. For the Qi Empire to be able to take over a territory of a million kilometers over the course of just a few tens of thousands of years, and for them to have been able to kill so many Diremonsters at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level…how many treasures must they have? In addition, given how rapid their rise to power was, there are many who believe that the founding emperor of the Qi Empire had acquired an enormous treasure trove. Regardless of whether or not that is true, these fleeing survivors most assuredly have many treasures on them. We’ve chased after and attacked them so many times, but they’ve always been able to flee.” A massively muscular black-armored man replied.

Next to him was an alluring woman who had a plume on her head. She laughed beautifully. “Captain…no matter what, more and more of the surviving imperial Qi clansmen have been killed by us during the pursuit. The last time we attacked them, we killed the final Primal Daoist the imperial Qi clansmen had. The only three survivors of the imperial Qi clan are the crown prince and those two princesses.”

“They don’t even have Primal Daoists with them; they are going to die soon.”

“If we can kill the crown prince and the two princesses, we will have rendered a great merit.”

Although the survivors of the imperial Qi clan were very weak…they represented the last remnants of their clan. Many of the treasures of the Qi Empire, and perhaps even the Dao-Repository of the Qi Empire, were undoubtedly being carried by the crown prince.

“Eh?” Suddenly, the massively muscular black-armored man was startled. He waved his hand, and a fireseed appeared within it. The fireseed was trembling.

“We are within ten thousand kilometers of the survivors of the imperial Qi clan!” The black-armored man revealed a look of delight.

“Hahaha, this time we are going to catch them all.”

“We’ve rendered incredible merits.”

“They don’t even have a single Primal Daoist with them. Wanxiang Adepts? Killing them is as easy as chopping lettuce!”

The soldiers of the Flamewing Guard were all extremely excited.

There had long been rumors that the reason why the Qi Empire had risen to power so quickly was because they had acquired an enormous treasure trove. As a result, even the Flamewing King had grown envious, and he had led his Diremonster army to annihilate the entire Qi Empire! He had seized all of the important treasure troves of the Qi Empire. As for the surviving imperial clansmen, the Flamewing King couldn’t be bothered to kill them personally; he simply ordered his subordinates to handle it.

“If we were to kill these survivors, we can just offer the most precious treasures to the King. As for the other treasures…” The twelve soldiers of the Flamewing Guard looked at each other and smiled. Their eyes flashed with greed and viciousness. Their monstrous king was savage, and his soldiers were also quite savage as well.

1. Xiaoyu means Little Rain.

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Chapter 16 – Flamewing Guard

Chapter 16 – Flamewing Guard

The waves of the vast Viledragon River crashed down like the stampede of ten thousand stallions.

Aboard the giant ship. After chatting for a period of time, Ning felt as though his mind had been settled. The little lass named Qi Xiaoyu had very little experience; she was as pure as a sheet of white paper. In addition, she was clearly quite respectful towards the young man and the two sisters; she continuously watched for the young man’s signals before acting.

“Based on what she said, she’s only trained for twenty years. Those blessed by great karmic virtue are indeed talented. And…she isn’t a bad person.” Ning nodded lightly.

He didn’t require that his disciples be perfect; however, they couldn’t be evildoers. Given his current level of enlightenment, it was very simple for him to judge and assess a mere Zifu Disciple.

“I like Xiaoyu very much,” Ning said. “Since Xiaoyu’s former master has already perished…I wonder, Shi Feng, if you would be willing to give her up and let her become my disciple.”

The waves of the vast Viledragon River continued to crash down resoundingly…but within the ship, things had fallen silent.

Qi Xiaoyu was completely speechless. She hurriedly shook her head repeatedly as she looked towards the crown prince.

The crown prince and the princesses had changed looks on their faces.

“This Darknorth really thinks too highly of himself,” the violet-robed princess sent angrily. “He actually wants to take Xiaoyu as his disciple. Xiaoyu is blessed by karmic virtue; she can provide karmic luck to our entire imperial clan. How can we give her away to a random Primal Daoist?! Hmph, even if an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal wants to take away Xiaoyu, we still shouldn’t agree hastily, to say nothing of this Darknorth!”

“Big brother,” the black-robed princess sent mentally as well, “What should we do? We definitely can’t let Xiaoyu just be taken away, but this Darknorth wishes to take her as a disciple…what should we do?”

The crown prince was frowning. The roots of their imperial clan were very deep, and in the past, they had Primal Daoists of their own! A simple sweep of divine sense had allowed them to know that ‘Qi Xiaoyu’ had an utterly astonishing level of karmic virtue. Thus, they had done everything they could to take Qi Xiaoyu into their fold, and had even bestowed her with the imperial surname of ‘Qi’. They had shown her incomparable favor, causing her to feel incomparably grateful.

“Xiaoyu is an important chess piece. This Darknorth is just a Primal Daoist…we absolutely cannot give her to him,” the crown prince sent mentally.

……

As the crown prince and the princesses were conversing mentally, Qi Xiaoyu said hurriedly, “Senior Darknorth, I received great benevolence from Master and cannot betray…”

Ning said, “So long as you are willing to allow Xiaoyu to be my disciple, then I will repay you with magic treasures.” As he spoke, he suddenly produced ten Heaven-ranked flying swords that emanated watery ripples of power. The strength of these ripples caused everyone present to feel a sense of pressure.

“Ten high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords. What do you say?” Ning asked.

“It seems this seemingly rustic Daoist Darknorth is actually quite wealthy,” the violet-robed princess sent mentally.

“Heaven-ranked magic treasures are very important to Primal Daoists. It isn’t easy for one of them to produce ten. It seems he truly does want to take Xiaoyu as his disciple. Unfortunately for him, as far our imperial Qi clan is concerned, ten high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords are nothing,” the crown prince sent back.

Although the three feigned looks of amazement, in their hearts they remained quite calm.

Seeing this, Ning frowned slightly. “How about a hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords?”

Instantly, a dense cluster of a hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords appeared in the air above the ship. The ripples emanating from each Heaven-ranked flying sword were enough to cause the Wanxiang Adept and eight Zifu Disciples present to feel an enormous sense of pressure.

“This, this…”

Qi Xiaoyu was completely stunned. A hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords? To take her on as disciple, this man was willing to take out this many magic treasures? Although she wasn’t willing to betray the clan, the actions of this ‘senior’ Darknorth who looked like a youth still caused her to feel a hint of delight. For this senior Darknorth to be willing to offer such a high price was testament to how much he valued her.

“A hundred!” The crown prince and the princesses felt desire now. Although they had quite a few treasures on them, over the course of decades of pursuit after the destruction of their country, with so many of their experts having perished and their treasures having been taken…the total number of treasures they had was now limited.

A hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords was worth five hundred thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!

“This Primal Daoist has actually taken out this many Heaven-ranked flying swords.” The violet-robed princess’s eyes were blazing. “Big brother…”

“The three of you!” Ning controlled the hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords which hovered above them as he frowned and barked, “This is enough. Don’t go too far!”

The crown prince naturally wanted these items. But he knew quite well that these hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords would be of almost no use to them in their flight. Even if they went to a city and traded it for some elemental essence, what good would that be? They already had some protective, fleeing items; if they bought a few more copies, that wouldn’t make a huge difference.

“Senior Darknorth,” the crown prince said respectfully, “For you to give up a hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords in exchange for having Xiaoyu follow you as her disciple is of course acceptable. However…it isn’t that we aren’t willing, it is that after Xiaoyu became a Zifu Disciple, she swore an oath to the Dao of the Heavens to be loyal to my clan. For you to force her to leave would be to cause her to violate her oath. She will immediately perish.”

Ning frowned. “The oaths a servant swears to the Dao of the Heavens…but the master can generally gift the servants to others.”

It was extremely common for major clans to give away Deathsworn, for example. Thus, when servants swore an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, they would generally say that they would follow the clan leader’s orders in all things.

“That is true. However, that requires the clan leader of my Stone clan to agree. I cannot agree in his stead,” the crown prince said.

Ning’s face instantly sank. As it did, the hearts of the crown prince and the others all clenched.

Ning waved his hand. The hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords in the sky all vanished, and he gave the crown prince a cold look. “You are lying.”

“Lying?” The crown prince was flabbergasted. “I didn’t lie…”

“You say that you are Shi Feng? That was a lie! You said that you are unable to permit Xiaoyu to be my disciple and that you need the clan leader to agree; this, too, was a lie!” Ning said coldly.

The crown prince was startled. The two princesses were shocked as well. Indeed, the crown prince’s name was not Shi Feng; rather, it was Qi Rufeng! His surname was ‘Qi’.

The only members of the imperial Qi clan left were the three of them; thus, the crown prince Qi Rufeng was the leader of the clan. As long as he agreed, he could give Qi Xiaoyu to Ning.

“I didn’t lie.” The crown prince wanted to keep up his false front.

“Would you dare swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens stating that you didn’t lie? So long as you dare to swear this oath, I will gift you with those hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords and leave on the spot.” Ning’s face sank even further.

Qi Rufeng and his two sisters both felt pressure now.

“Since Darknorth won’t accept a soft refusal, let’s give him a hard one. Ten years ago, back when the old servants were alive, he would’ve been killed long ago by now.” The violet-robed princess sent an angry mental message to the other two.

Right at this moment…

“Eh?” Ning suddenly turned his head.

“Huh?” The crown prince and the others turned their head as well.

A group of figures had appeared on the distant shores of the Viledragon River. There were a total of twelve figures, all dressed in black armor and staring in their direction. On their bracers were emblazoned the logo of a flaming wing.

These twelve warriors stared in their direction. Their captain, the massively muscular black-armored man, was holding a flamewing bug in his hands, a cold smile on his face. He pointed towards the distance. “The survivors of the Qi Empire are over there. Do it!”

“Kill.”

“Kill!”

All of them emanated incomparably savage auras. The twelve soldiers instantly transformed their shape. One became an enormous horned rhino, another into a three-tailed fox, a third into a coiling serpent, a fourth into a white-furred bear…but they all shared a single commonality. All of them wore black armor. With the giant horned rhino at the center, the other soldiers spread out, filling and cycling their elemental ki through their Dao-armor and joining together into a whole.

Rumble…

An enormous venomous bug that had fiery wings suddenly appeared in the skies.

……

“The Flamewing Guard.” The faces of the crown prince and the others changed dramatically. They had suffered miserably for the past few decades under the pursuit of the Flamewing Guard; the Flamewing Guard was their nightmare, a nightmare they had never been able to escape. The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of their clan had all perished; even all of their Primal Daoists had perished.

They were the only ones left. How could they resist the Flamewing Guard?

Although this was just a small squad of the Guard, the imperial clansmen knew quite well that each squad of the Flamewing Guard was led by a Primal Diremonster as well as eleven Wanxiang Diremonsters who were capable of joining together into a Dao-soldier formation. After they assumed the formation…even peak Primal Daoists would probably find it hard to do anything to these Diremonsters.

“What should we do?” The black-robed woman frantically sent mentally.

“There’s no way to use evasive techniques here on the Viledragon River, and there’s no way to fly. We have to rely on the ship.” The crown prince was panicking as well.

“Have this Darknorth go block them. He is a peak Primal Daoist; he can definitely buy us some time,” the violet-robed princess sent mentally.

Right at this moment, the enormous bug with flaming wing charged straight into the Viledragon River. It flew through the river, moving as fast as lightning. It was about to arrive.

“Hurry up and die!” An enraged bellow rang out from the enormous flamewing bug.

“This is my ship.” Ning stood on the prow of the ship, staring at the enormous flamewing bug that was flying towards him. “Hurry up and beat it.”

The crown prince and the others instantly felt overjoyed.

“Wonderful. This Darknorth has actively gone out to engage it.”

“Let him help us block them.”

“Ideally, this Darknorth and the Flamewing Guard will kill each other. We can then acquire all of Darknorth’s treasures.”

……

The Flamewing Guard were famous for their savagery. Local cultivators and monsters would’ve fled long ago in the face of their arrival. They didn’t expect that today, they would run into someone who didn’t fear them at all. Behind them stood the fearsome Flamewing King! What they didn’t realize…was that behind Ning stood Patriarch Subhuti.

“Since you dare to try and stop the Flamewing Guard, you can die with them!” The green eyes of the enormous flamewing were filled with viciousness as it let out a shrill, enraged screech.

Whoosh. The flamewing bug soared towards the boat, and a blurry green fog appeared around it, causing the crown prince’s group to be filled with terror. They hurriedly retreated, setting down a formation in the surrounding area to defend. The hideous insectoid head of the massive flamewing bug shot outwards through the mist, attacking Ning atop the board of the ship.

Ning shook his head. “You truly are seeking death!”

BOOM!!!!

Aboard the ship, the formerly ordinary-looking Ji Ning suddenly exploded forth with a terrifyingly powerful presence. The world itself seemed to instantly grow silent, and even the powerful, turbid waves of the Viledragon River went still. In fact, the waves and even sea spray suddenly froze mid-motion. The enormous flamewing bug was paralyzed in its attacking posture as well.

The imperial Qi clansmen who were hiding behind their formation were all frozen as well. Some had frozen looks of astonishment on their faces, others had mouths open, while still others were mid-step. They were all frozen.

The entire world had turned still.

The wind had stopped. The water had stopped. The people had stopped. The monsters had stopped. Everything had stopped.

That vast, terrifying presence caused everyone present to feel terrified. The crown prince and the others couldn’t even change their facial expressions…but shock and terror could be seen in their eyes.

In this region, only Ning alone was the same as he had been before. He stood there atop the prow of his ship, staring at the giant flamewing bug before him. He shook his head and sighed. “It was you who sought death. You have no one else to blame.”

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Chapter 17 – Forced

Chapter 17 – Forced

The twelve Diremonsters that had formed into the massive Dao-soldier formation of a giant flamewing bug were all filled with terror.

This formation was formed by a Primal Diremonster leading eleven Wanxiang Diremonsters. Through the Dao-soldier formation, they were extremely powerful when fighting together, and only foes who at least had the power of a Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals were able to do anything to them. They had held this fur-clad youth atop the ship’s prow in no regard…but now, just standing there without moving at all, the fur-clad youth had unleashed such an aura of majestic power that they were completely frozen!

“Where did this expert come from?!”

“How…how can he be so terrifying?! What level of insight into the Dao has he reached?!”

The monsters were completely stunned. They had held the fur-clad youth in no regard and wanted to just dispose of him…but now they realized they had stomped down on a giant steel plate that was harder than any they had ever seen.

Boom! Boom! Boom! One streak of light after another appeared in the skies. They instantly pierced through the enormous flamewing bug and the twelve Diremonsters within it. The Primal Diremonster, the Wanxiang Diremonsters…they all instantly perished.

……

Ning stood at the prow of his ship, looking at the twelve dead Diremonsters. He couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle.

Killing these twelve Diremonsters was as easy as waving his hand. They had actually dared to assault him without even saying a few words to him; naturally, Ning had shown no mercy in dealing with them.

As for why Ning was laughing…

It was because he was thinking back to the ancient Fiendgod he had met back in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. “When I had encountered that ancient Fiendgod, the Dao Domain the Fiendgod unleashed was enough to freeze everything, causing me to be unable to move…and now, I just used the exact same sort of technique to kill a squad that was far more powerful than I was back then, led by that Primal Diremonster.”

Dao Domains…through one’s mastery and insights into a Dao, one could use the power of the natural world to form a Domain that solely belonged to one’s self!

Dao Domains, Dao-Realms, Grand Dao Domains…although they had differing levels of power, in truth, they were all variations on Dao Domains. They shared the same principles.

Ning’s Rainwater Sword Domain was also a sort of Dao Domain.

At a higher level, after one mastered a complete Dao-Path, one’s mastery over the energy of the natural world would become even stronger; this was what was known as a Dao-Realm.

But of course, that only referred to lesser Daos!

There were also Grand Dao Domains. They belonged to Grand Daos, and were actually even more powerful than Dao-Realms. And beyond them were the Grand Dao-Realms! After one completely mastered an entire Grand Dao, one would be able to summon an even more terrifying amount of natural energy than Ning was currently able to. In the face of this sort of power, even Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals would probably be paralyzed.

……

Dao Domains were linked to one’s insight into the Dao. The higher one’s level of insights, the more natural energy of Heaven and Earth one could activate. As one’s insights into a Grand Dao increased, the power of the Grand Dao Domain would similarly increase, until finally it reached the Grand Dao-Realm level.

Ning’s level of insight into the Dao of the Sword was already at Immortal Northwalker’s level! This level of insight was even superior to the level which that ancient Fiendgod of the Gaol Mountains had possessed. Thus, just by using his Dao Domain, he had been able to completely suppress those twelve Diremonsters who had been in a Dao-soldier formation, to the point of making it completely impossible for them to fight back.

……

Everything was back to normal now. The waves of the Viledragon River continued to crash forward, and the large ship continued to sail forward.

The survivors of the Qi Empire, standing atop the deck of the ship, stared towards Ning in utter terror and unease.

“The survivors of the Qi Empire?” Ning sat down relaxedly, then said slowly, “Are you still trying to hide it, given the situation? Are you still going to try and tell me that your name is Shi Feng?”

The crown prince Qi Rufeng exchanged glances with the two princesses. The guards behind them looked towards Ning with fear in their gazes as well. The look in Qi Xiaoyu’s eyes was especially complicated. This Daoist Darknorth wanted to take her on as his disciple, and the power he had just displayed was truly inconceivable.

“Big brother, what should we do? When the Flamewing Guard attacked, they revealed our true identities. This Darknorth knows that we are of the imperial Qi clan,” the black-robed woman sent mentally.

“Word of the destruction of our Qi Empire has long since spread. This Darknorth must know very well by now that we are the lucky survivors of the imperial clan. He might act to seize our treasures,” the violet-robed princess sent frantically. “We need to seize the advantage and use up our magic treasures to kill him.”

“Idiocy. Although the remnant treasures of the Qi Empire are in my hands, I have no confidence in being able to deal with this Darknorth.” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng sent back with anger, “Just by relying on his Dao Domain, he was able to summon enough energy from the Heavens and the Earth to cause a squad of the Flamewing Guard to be completely unable to move. His insights into the Dao are superior to those of even supreme Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals. Although judging from the ripples of power emanating from him, he should still be a peak Primal Daoist, his power is definitely at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level. And given that he was able to so easily bring out a hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords, he certainly has powerful treasures of his own. I imagine that he has the power of a supreme Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal.”

His nation had once spanned a million kilometers. The final survivors, including the crown prince of the nation, naturally had quite a few formidable treasures of their own.

“Then what should we do?” The violet-robed princess was panicking now.

“We only have two Greater Teleportation Dao-seals; at most, two of us can escape,” the crown prince said. “This Daoist Darknorth hasn’t moved to attack us yet; we can still negotiate with him.”

“Right. Let’s negotiate,” the violet-robed princess said hurriedly.

“We have no other choices,” the black-robed princess sent as well.

……

Ning watched as the crown prince and the two princesses stealthily sent mental messages to each other. Previously, when they had first boarded the ship, they had felt mentally superior to Ning; they had believed him to merely be a Primal Daoist, and that by relying on their imperial treasures they could deal with him. Now, however, they didn’t even think about fighting back against him.

“Senior.” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng said respectfully, “I imagine that since you have heard what the Flamewing Guard said, you already know the truth. It is true. We are indeed of the imperial Qi clan.”

News of the destruction of the Qi Empire was extremely wide-spread. Virtually all of the at least somewhat powerful cultivators in the surrounding million kilometers knew about this matter. However, although Ning had arrived at the Star continent half a month ago, he actually didn’t know about this matter at all.

Ning calmly sipped his wine as he listened.

Qi Rufeng continued nervously, “Ever since our Qi Empire was destroyed by the Flamewing King, the imperial Qi clan has been fleeing. The Flamewing Guard has never let up on their pursuit of us…and so we had to be cautious. I was forced to report a false name, ‘Shi Feng’, to you. My true name is Qi Rufeng! A prince of the Qi Empire!”

“Prince?” Ning gently murmured this word, but continued to look at Qi Rufeng.

Qi Rufeng hurriedly continued, “This is my little sister, Qi Ruyu. This is another little sister, Qi Ruhui.”

Ning glanced sideways at the two; the black-robed princess was Qi Ruyu, while the violet-robed princess was Qi Ruhui.

“Wise. You didn’t continue to lie.” Ning just sat there. “If you continue to lie…I probably will no longer have the patience to talk to you. I’d just kill you and take away the treasures of your imperial Qi clan.”

The crown prince and the princesses felt their hearts tremble as they heard this.

Ning said calmly, “I wish to take Qi Xiaoyu as my disciple. I imagine that all you need to do is nod and agree to it. Do not lie to me. If you lie…I will know.”

The difference in power between the two was simply too vast. In addition, Ning’s soul was extraordinarily powerful; this was why Ning was so confident. If the crown prince’s soul was a bit stronger, however, then Ning would no longer be so sure of himself.

“It is true. So long as I agree, I can indeed give Qi Xiaoyu to you, senior,” the crown prince said respectfully.

“Then why haven’t you done so?” Ning snapped softly.

The crown prince, Qi Rufeng, just shook his head.

“You want those hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords?” Ning looked at him, then said calmly, “I can give them to you. However…don’t go too far. Taking your life would be as easy as turning over my hand.”

“I don’t want flying swords.” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng looked at Ning. “I want you, senior, to protect our imperial clan for a hundred years! If you agree to protect us for a hundred years, then I will immediately allow Qi Xiaoyu to take you on as master, and…after a hundred years, I definitely won’t hinder you in any way. If you want to leave then, you can!”

Ning’s face sank, and a cold light flashed through his eyes. “You are courting death!”

“Hahaha…”

Qi Rufeng actually began to laugh, laugh in a mad manner. “Courting death? Right, I am indeed courting death. Senior, you have no idea how pitiful the lives of myself and my two little sisters have been. Ever since the Qi Empire was annihilated many decades ago, we have been under constant pursuit. Every day, we are filled with terror and unease. One clansman after another has perished, one elder relative after another has died, and one sibling after another has perished. Many imperial Qi clansmen had fled with us…but now, only three of us remain. I’m the only surviving male of our entire imperial Qi clan.”

“Hahaha, it’s enough. I’ve had enough! My little sister here is already unable to endure the stress; she wanted to fight those Flamewing Guards to the death. Although Ruyu has never said it aloud…I know that she is tired as well.”

“And in truth, I am even more tired!”

Qi Rufeng stared at Ning, tears in his eyes. “I’m the final male survivor. The three of us are the only survivors of the entire imperial clan, and I am the most powerful of our group, a Wanxiang Adept. All of the burdens are on my shoulders. Where shall we go? How shall we rebuild our empire? How shall we take revenge? All of these burdens are crushing me down. I’ve had enough. Enough! You can say that I’m courting death or that I’m crazy. Whatever! I’ve given you my terms. If you protect us for a century, then I will give my servant, Qi Xiaoyu, to serve you as your disciple, senior.”

“Qi Xiaoyu is a person of tremendous karmic virtue, and more than nine hundred meters of golden light surrounds her. When the elders of our clan discovered her, they were absolutely delighted and believed that she would be able to provide luck to our entire imperial clan.”

“I will not so easily let Qi Xiaoyu go…”

“Either protect us for a century, or kill us and let us reunite with our mother, our father, and our many relatives.”

Qi Rufeng’s eyes were filled with tears, but his voice was filled with absolute determination.

He was staking it all. He was throwing their lives into this wager. He was tired…he didn’t want to continue to flee in terror like this. He could tell how powerful Ning was; with Ning as their guardian and protector, they would have a much better chance at surviving.

“Big brother.” The black-robed princess’s face was streaked with tears as well.

“Big brother, don’t beg him. Let’s just end it all here.” The violet-robed princess gritted her teeth, madness in her eyes.

Ning frowned. This was trouble. He hadn’t expected that the survivors of the imperial Qi clan felt such despair, that they had nowhere to go. He had thought that a simple threat would have been enough…but they were now staking everything against him!

A hundred years?

No chance. Ning had only spent thirty years on Mount Innerheart, and he had agreed to reunite with Yu Wei back in the world of the Grand Xia as soon as possible. How could he possibly extend their reunion by a century?

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Chapter 18 – Treasure Trove

Chapter 18 – Treasure Trove

The violet-robed princess glared at Ji Ning. Gritting her teeth, she said, “If we die, Xiaoyu dies as well. When the master dies, the servants shall not live either!”

Ning instantly felt a loathing for this violet-robed princess, Qi Ruhui. However, Ning knew that since the imperial Qi clan had known all along that Qi Xiaoyu was a figure with great karmic virtue, that they definitely would firmly fasten her to the sides of the imperial clan. Once the imperial clan perished, Qi Xiaoyu would probably truly die as well.

Ning shut his eyes.

The ship became completely silent. Everyone stared at Ning, waiting for his response.

The crown prince, Qi Rufeng, waited with nervousness and anticipation. “Given how powerful this senior Darknorth is…a hundred years shouldn’t be anything to him.” How could he imagine that Ning had only lived for a few decades?

Utter stillness!

The crown prince and the princesses were all extremely nervous. Qi Xiaoyu felt restless and uneasy as well.

Ning suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the crown prince, Qi Rufeng. “I agree…to protect you for a year or to kill the Flamewing King. Once I complete either of these two conditions, I will take Qi Xiaoyu away.”

“This is my response to you. If you agree, than you shall release Qi Xiaoyu to me to be my disciple. If you refuse, then I’ll kill you and take away your imperial treasures.”

“Do you agree or do you refuse?” Ning stared at Qi Rufeng.

“Senior, it’s just a hundred…” The crown prince, Qi Rufeng, couldn’t help but begin to argue.

“You only need to tell me…if you agree or refuse?” Ning repeated coldly.

The crown prince and the two princesses exchanged glances. There were no other options now! If this Daoist Darknorth was to protect them for a year…within this year, they might have a chance for a game-changer to occur.

“Fine.” Qi Rufeng gritted his teeth.

Ning nodded lightly. This was as he had expected. If he didn’t give them any benefit at all, then they probably really would rather die. If he gave them at least a little bit…their desire to live would take the upper hand! And in truth, Ning wasn’t planning to actually waste a full year; he would rather just go and kill that Flamewing King!

After killing the Flamewing King, his promise would have been completed.

“Then why haven’t you given Qi Xiaoyu her freedom?” Ning looked at the crown prince.

The crown prince couldn’t help but mumble, “Please swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens to attest to your promise, senior, so as to put us all at ease.”

Ning’s face sank, and a true killing intent burst forth from him. “It seems you really do wish to die!”

An oath to the Dao of the Heavens was simply too powerful and restrictive; thus, Immortal cultivators definitely would not casually swear any such oath.

The crown prince and the princesses could all tell that Ning had truly lost all patience. Terrified, the crown prince hurriedly said, “We, we are willing to believe in your promise, senior.”

“Qi Xiaoyu, from this day forth, you shall obey the instructions of senior Darknorth. There is no longer any connection between you and the imperial Qi clan,” Qi Rufeng said.

Instantly, the ripples of the Dao of the Heavens descended within her subconscious mind. Clearly, the oath which Qi Xiaoyu had sworn in the past to the Dao of the Heavens had been fulfilled.

Qi Xiaoyu fell to her knees. “Xiaoyu shall never forget the benevolence you have shown me, your Imperial Highness.”

Ning, standing to one side, just sighed to himself. Qi Xiaoyu truly was quite faithful. However…based on what she had told him regarding her experiences, Ning had already discovered quite a few suspicious indicators. The tribe which Qi Xiaoyu had belonged to as a child had tens of thousands of tribesmen; a tribe like this would rarely be attacked by Diremonsters!

Xiantian-level Diremonsters wouldn’t be able to do it, while higher-level cultivating Diremonsters wouldn’t be willing to cause sin to gather around them. And yet…the large tribe in which Qi Xiaoyu had lived in as a child was attacked and destroyed. Even all of her family had been slain…and then she just so happened to run into an expert of the imperial Qi clan.

How could things be so coincidental? The imperial Qi clan was in the middle of fleeing for their own lives as well; how could such a concidence happen?

“Perhaps the destruction of the tribe which Qi Xiaoyu lived in as a child had something to do with the imperial Qi clan,” Ning mused silently to himself.

……

Qi Xiaoyu knelt down towards Ning as well. “His Imperial Highness has instructed Xiaoyu to follow you in the future and listen to your commands.”

Ning looked at Qi Xiaoyu, then said, “Remember this. From this day forth, you have regained your freedom. You are neither a servant nor a slave; do not act like one.” Ning continued, “I have never before taken on a disciple; if you take me as your master, then you shall naturally become the senior disciple under my tutelage. This is an important matter for you, but also an important matter for me. I have no wish to force this upon you; if you are willing, then you may bow to me as my disciple. If you are unwilling, then I will send you off to some other places with Immortal cultivation sects; I trust that they will fight over the chance to recruit you.”

Ning had his own pride. There was no way he would force his very first disciple to accept him as master. Given how large the Crescent world was, he could simply go and find another person of great karmic virtue.

In truth, Qi Xiaoyu was extremely intelligent. She could tell…that the crown prince actually treated her rather indifferently. The second princess was a bit better, while the youngest princess actually loathed her. The only person in the entire imperial Qi clan who had treated her with sincerity was her master…but her master had been killed by the pursuing Flamewing Guard long ago.

As for this Darknorth who stood before her…Qi Xiaoyu could tell how much this ‘senior Darknorth’ valued her. He had immediately taken out a hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords for her, and now he had promised to protect the imperial Qi clan. This was as good as becoming enemies with the Flamewing Guard.

All of this was for the sake of taking her on as his disciple. And if she didn’t accept him as her master, he was still going to have to carry out his promise to protect the imperial Qi clan for a year. From this, she could tell…he truly cared very much about her own will and her own choice.

“Your disciple greets you, Master.” The young maiden immediately fell down to her knees and kowtowed.

Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart. He couldn’t help but laugh, then nodded his head and said, “Good. From this day forth, you are the senior disciple of myself, Darknorth Daoist Ji Ning. I don’t have any requirements for my disciples, aside from one; not to be traitorous!”

“Your disciple understands,” Qi Xiaoyu said respectfully.

“Come with me.” Ning immediately walked towards a cabin on the second level of the ship. As he walked, he instructed, “Qi Rufeng, you can take your people into your cabins to rest. Aboard my ship, I shall naturally see to your protection. You have nothing to worry about.”

Qi Xiaoyu obediently followed Ning to the second level.

As Ning was accepting his first disciple. Within a city that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. Within an enormous palace.

This palace was simply so vast that not even sunlight could penetrate into its depths. Within a dark, secluded courtyard, a tall, thin, red-skinned man dressed in black robes was frowning pensively in thought.

“Third brother.” Suddenly, a voice rang out. A similarly tall and skinny man, this one dressed in azure armor and with eyes like an incomparably savage hawk, came walking in.

“Seventh brother.” The black-robed man nodded lightly. “You came.”

“As the Flamewing King, you are living a carefree life of ease. Why have you summoned so many of us brothers?” The hawk-eyed, azure-armored man asked.

“Naturally, there is something good I want to share,” the Flamewing King said. “Seventh brother, you are the first to arrive, so I’ll let you know in advance. Do you know why I spent so much effort to annihilate the Qi Empire all those years back?”

The azure-armored, hawk-eyed man said, puzzled, “The destruction of the Qi Empire…didn’t you say that you felt your territory was too small, and that you wanted to take over a large area? Was that not the real reason? Can it be that it is as the legends claimed, that the Qi Emperor had a treasure trove? Hahaha…I don’t believe in such things. As far as we are concerned, not even the treasures left behind by Celestial Immortals can be considered a ‘treasure trove’.”

“There is indeed a treasure trove,” the Flamewing King said seriously.

“Oh?” The hawk-eyed man was startled.

“It was only because I learned of the imperial Qi clan’s huge treasure trove that I acted against them,” the Flamewing King said. “Through torture and soul-scouring and all other methods available to me, I learned from the elder members of the imperial Qi clan…that the founding emperor of the Qi Empire had indeed encountered a treasure trove. However, he was too weak and so was only able to acquire a very small portion of the treasure trove, including some cultivation methods, divine abilities, and secret arts. But just by relying on this small portion, the Qi clan was able to rapidly rise to power, establish an empire, and then expand to the point where a few tens of thousands of years later, they had taken over a million kilometers of land.”

The hawk-eyed man was quite startled to hear this.

“Over the past few tens of thousands of years, the imperial Qi clan has repeatedly ventured forth to the location of the treasure trove, but they were unable to make any progress,” the Flamewing King said. “After I discovered the location of this treasure trove, I ventured there twice. The first time, I came back with nothing to show for my efforts. The second time, I made more ample preparations and forced my way deeper in…but I ended up being trapped within the place for more than twenty years. I nearly died there, and just barely managed to escape from it a short while ago!”

“What?!” The hawk-eyed man was completely shocked. He knew exactly how powerful this Flamewing King was. Of the major powers of the Star continent, the ‘Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows’ were extremely well-known. Each of them had unearthly amounts of power and extremely large territories. The Flamewing King was one of the ‘Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows’ and was extremely powerful. Otherwise, how could he have annihilated the Qi Empire?

“The place where this treasure trove is located is incomparably dangerous.” The Flamewing King shook his head. “The treasures within the outermost perimeter of the trove have all been picked clean by the founding emperor of the Qi Empire…but those treasures aren’t worth our attention anyhow. Deeper within are even more powerful treasures, and the ripples of those treasures…cause even my heart to tremble.”

“Cause your heart to tremble?” The hawk-eyed man was intrigued as well.

“This treasure trove is incomparably mysterious, and I’ve always wanted to discover what it contains. But I’m unable to find out on my own; that’s why I’ve asked all of our brothers to join forces with me. With us twelve kings combining our powers…I trust that we have a chance to go deeper into the treasure trove region,” the Flamewing King said.

The hawk-eyed man nodded lightly as well.

Right as the two monster kings were chatting…a figure suddenly appeared in the distance, outside the courtyard. “Your Majesty, your subordinate has a report regarding the Flamewing Guard.”

“Oh?” The Flamewing King glanced outside, then nodded. “Come in.”

A tall, skinny old man with an extremely long neck and a furry face walked in. He glanced at the hawk-eyed man before speaking.

“Speak. There’s nothing you need to hide from my seventh brother,” the Flamewing King said.

“Understood.” The long-necked elder said respectfully, “Your Majesty, you instructed us to pursue and kill the survivors of the imperial Qi clan. Only three of them remain, with the strongest being a Wanxiang Adept. However, just now, one of our ten-plus Flamewing Guard squads who were chasing after them was completely wiped out. Their jade life-tablets have all shattered. They died roughly six hundred thousand kilometers away from us…”

“Oh?” The Flamewing King frowned. That didn’t make sense. This area was under the command of himself, the Flamewing King. All the monsters obeyed his orders, and the human cultivators had been shooed away by him long ago. Logically speaking…there should be no one in this region who would dare act against his Flamewing Guard.

“My guess is that the survivors of the imperial Qi clan…” The long-necked elder was about to venture a guess, but the Flamewing King interrupted him. With a frown, the Flamewing King barked, “Arrange for three companies of Flamewing Guards to head there and investigate. Can it be that the survivors of the imperial Qi clan have hidden secrets that even I am unaware of?”

“Yes,” the long-necked elder said with respect, immediately accepting the order

……

Soon, three companies of Flamewing Guards that were led by three Loose Immortal monsters teleported away from the royal capital of the Qi Empire and moved to investigate this affair.

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Chapter 19 – Great Sinners

Chapter 19 – Great Sinners

Viledragon River. A large boat was sailing through it with the currents.

Within a cabin on the large boat. The crown prince, Qi Rufeng, was currently alongside his two little sisters.

“By this point…all we can do is trust this senior Darknorth,” Qi Rufeng sent mentally.

“Hmph.” The violet-robed princess, Qi Ruhui, had a look of dissatisfaction in her eyes. “Although Xiaoyu was just one of our servants, she was surrounded by the light of great karmic virtue. Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of major clans would fight for the chance of taking her on as a disciple. We actually let this Darknorth acquire her so easily; he didn’t even have to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens! He took advantage of how downtrodden we are; back when our imperial clan was flourishing, we would’ve annihilated him for daring to toy with us in such a manner!”

“Little sister,” the black-robed princess sent mentally, “That was then, this is now. We are now extremely weak, and senior Darknorth had even offered a hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords for her. This means that he isn’t an unreasonable person. He hasn’t abandoned us after taking her own as his disciple, and is continuing to hold fast to his promise to protect us. Given how weak we are right now, we should celebrate the fact that we’ve found someone who keeps his promises.”

“Little sister, remember this: You are no longer a princess like you were before,” Qi Rufeng mentally barked at her.

The youngest princess had been a child living in the palace back when the attack came; she had been spoiled absolutely rotten. Before the elders had a chance to teach and train her as she grew up, the entire nation had been destroyed. They had been fleeing this entire time, and nobody had a chance to teach her and see to her upbringing. Growing up in a state of constant flight, the hatred and grievances in her heart had grown increasingly strong. In fact, because the elders of the clan took good care of Xiaoyu, she herself felt jealousy and dislike for Xiaoyu.

However, since Qi Xiaoyu was a person of great karmic virtue, the clan had ordered long ago that she could not be assaulted or killed. Otherwise…the princess probably would’ve arranged for Qi Xiaoyu’s death long ago.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Suddenly, footsteps rang out on the stairs outside.

The crown prince and the two princesses looked out through the window towards the deck. They saw a white-robed maiden walking down from the second floor. The white-robed maiden was clearly different from other people, and a series of ripples could be sensed coming from the magic robes she wore.

“Qi Xiaoyu?”

The crown prince and princesses were greatly shocked.

Qi Xiaoyu, who had previously been in servant clothes, now looked completely different. Her robes were clearly extroradinary, and she had a silver bracelet around her arm. Her pure white arms were a perfect match for the bracelet, which made her skin look even paler. She now had a jade hairpin affixed in her hair which gave off mysterious, powerful ripples. As the saying goes, clothes make the man; Qi Xiaoyu was already a person of great karmic virtue who naturally made others feel positively towards her, and as an Immortal cultivator, her skin and her figure were superb. Beauty, poise, a wondrous aura…and now that she had changed clothes, she appeared even more dazzling than the two princesses.

“Those robes, that bracelet…they should be extremely rare top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasures. As for the jade hairpin…even I can’t tell what it is!” Qi Rufeng said.

“Darknorth truly is an extraordinary figure. Although Mortal-ranked magic treasures aren’t that precious, top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasures…they are still very rare.” The black-robed princess sighed in amazement. “In addition, judging from the way in which senior Darknorth took out a hundred high-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasures earlier, he probably would’ve given her even better treasures, were it not for the fact that she is still weak and can only use Mortal-ranked treasures. That jade hairpin…it should also be a top-grade Mortal-ranked treasure.”

The violet-robed princess disagreed. “It’s just a bunch of Mortal-ranked items.”

Qi Xiaoyu walked down the stairs, then knocked on the door to the cabin.

“Open the door,” the crown prince immediately instructed. One of the guards behind him immediately walked forward to push open the cabin door.

Qi Xiaoyu walked in, then immediately said, “Your Highness, Master wishes you to go to him.”

“In the future, there’s no need to refer to me as ‘your Highness’. You are now the exalted disciple of senior Darknorth; you can just refer to me by my name,” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng said.

But young princess Qi Ruhui said, “Xiaoyu, what sort of magic treasure is that hairpin? Neither my big brother nor my second sister can recognize it.”

“Master said that this is a protective treasure that can only be used once. Once the elemental ki within it is unleashed, it can withstand the attacks of even a supreme Loose Immortal for a space of ten breaths,” Qi Xiaoyu replied obediently.

“What?!” Everyone in the cabin was astonished. Block a supreme Loose Immortal’s attacks for the space of ten breaths? This was definitely a supremely valuable protective item.

In truth, this was just one of the many magic items left behind by Immortal Juhua. Ning felt that it was actually rather embarrassing for him to give out Mortal-ranked magic treasures to his first disciple; after all, she too was now a member of Mount Innerheart. Thus, he gave her this protective item.

“To block a supreme Loose Immortal…” The violet-robed princess gritted her teeth. She couldn’t help but feel jealous. “This shitty slave…she sure has some good luck.”

Because they had been fleeing for so long, they had often used this sort of protective, anti-attack magic treasure. Over the course of tens of years, they had used them all up!

……

Qi Rufeng hurriedly emerged from his cabin, climbing up the stairs to the second floor to go see Ji Ning.

“Greetings to you, senior Darknorth,” Qi Rufeng said respectfully.

“Qi Rufeng, I have questions for you.” Ning sat there, pointing towards a chair. “You can sit as well.”

“Alright.” Qi Rufeng immediately sat down obediently as directed. He was a person who knew when to advance and when to retreat. There was an enormous gap in power right now; he was completely unable to fight back against someone like Ning. Ning had given him a promise, and he had the feeling that this senior Darknorth was a decent person. If he had encountered a vicious, barbaric person, that sort of person would undoubtedly have had many ways to force him to hand over Qi Xiaoyu.

“I ask you this. Why is it that you have fled for so many years from the Flamewing King without successfully escaping?” Ning asked, puzzled, “Given how large this Star continent is, if you run a few million kilometers away, it will be easier for the Flamewing King to find a needle in the sea than to find you. And yet…you’ve been fleeing in such a haggard fashion for decades, and remain under pursuit.”

Qi Rufeng shook his head and sighed. “This Flamewing King was originally a venomous pest of a type known as the ‘flamewing bug’ who cultivated the Dao. After he led his Diremonster army to suddenly attack my Qi Empire, the Flamewing King personally covered the entire imperial citadel with flamewing venom. The venom filled every single palace, and it instantly merged into the body of every single person it touched. There’s no way to separate it from the bodies it has touched, and in fact it even has corrupted our souls. Even Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals are unable to get rid of this poison.”

“Oh?” Ning was surprised. Flamewing bugs? He had never heard of this sort of venomous bug back in the Grand Xia world.

“This flamewing venom doesn’t actually harm the body or the soul.” Qi Rufeng shook his head, then said bitterly, “But no matter how far away we move away, the flamewing bugs can still sense the location of the flamewing venom. Even if we flee to the Cloud continent or the Flame continent, the flamewing bugs can still sense us. The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals under the Flamewing King’s command can engage in teleportation and go to the Cloud continent and Flame continent…and so no matter where we flee to, we are unable to escape pursuit.”

Ning now understood. What a nasty poison! He still remembered how in his youth, when he was adventuring in Eastmount Marsh, he had been attacked and pursued by Ironwood Zhan. It was precisely because Ning had been touched by that ‘iceflower liquid’ that Ironwood Zhan was able to continue the chase, even though Ning had fled very far away.

However, by comparison this flamewing venom was even more formidable…and it was the Flamewing King who had personally used it. It was able to stain even the soul. Within this Crescent world, no matter where the clan fled to, the countless flamewing bugs under the king’s command would still be able to sense their direction.

“The majority of our imperial clan was killed on the spot, and the rest fled in every direction,” Qi Rufeng said. “Back then, Loose Immortals numbered amongst the fleeing survivors. However, no matter where we fled to, they continued to chase us. Thus, we chose to continue to flee about the former territory of our Qi Empire; after all, this was the place we originally controlled, and so we were quite familiar with it. In addition, the imperial clan had built up many secret bases…”

“After having fled for so long, we three are the only survivors.”

Qi Rufeng’s words were filled with grief and powerlessness.

Ning now understood it all.

The main problem was that the flamewing venom was hard to eradicate; thus, this crown prince and the princesses were constantly pursued. This sort of venom that stained even the soul…not even Ning was able to help get rid of it.

“I ask you this,” Ning said. “How great a sinner is this Flamewing King? Is he surrounded by bloody sin light?”

“The Flamewing King is one of the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows. He is famous for his savagery; naturally, the amount of sins he has committed towers to the skies. As far as the bloody aura of sin…from what I hear, all twelve of them are wreathed in tremendous amounts of bloody sin light. Anyone who uses divine sense to look at them will see a towering, tidal-wave of bloody sin light swirling around them. Even Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals will feel terrified upon seeing them,” Qi Rufeng said.

Ning felt a sense of jubilation in his heart. A towering tidal-wave of bloody sin light? A huge sinner?

The trial to acquire the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was to kill ten great sinners and to accept a disciple. He had now accepted a disciple, and his next objective was to kill ten great sinners. Perhaps he would be able to fulfill the criteria by dealing with these twelve monster kings.

“You heard this personally, yes? You aren’t just making this up?” Ning asked.

“Perhaps the stories are exaggerated, but they shouldn’t be too exaggerated. The savagery of the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows is known throughout the Star continent. In fact, even those in the Cloud continent and the Flame continent know about their reputation. Even supreme powers with Celestial Immortal Patriarchs are unwilling to go all out against these twelve monster kings,” Qi Rufeng said. “Although my imperial Qi clan had originally fled to the Cloud continent, we were unfamiliar with the place and the people there. The fame of the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows was simply too great; no one was willing to help us, and so in the end, we were chased all the way back home. At least here within the former territory of our Qi Empire, we are able to struggle and fight for a period of time.”

Ning felt startled. Even powers with Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were unwilling to fight with them?

“How strong are these twelve monster kings?” Ning asked. “How strong is the Flamewing King?”

“All twelve of them are incomparably savage and ferocious; the reason why they were willing to swear brotherhood was because they all had similar temperaments. Every one of them is incredibly powerful…but of course, some are stronger and some are weaker. The Flamewing King’s power is average for the twelve; he has nearly a hundred Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals under his command. Given his power, killing ordinary Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals is as easy as killing a chicken,” Qi Rufeng said.

“The strongest of the twelve, their number one figure, is the Goldfur Bearking. I’ve heard that the Goldfur Bearking has previously fought a Celestial Immortal Patriarch, who was unable to do anything to him. In the end, it was the Celestial Immortal who retreated. You tell me; is he powerful or not? When these twelve monster kings join forces, advancing and retreating in unison…they are one of the absolute hegemons of the entire Eastern Flows region. Although our Qi Empire previously spanned a million kilometers, we’ve never dared to encroach on their territory. Who would’ve thought that the Flamewing King would annihilate our empire?”

Ning was secretly startled. Even a Celestial Immortal had been unable to do anything, and had voluntarily retreated?

He had thought that he would be able to get his quota of ten great sinners from these twelve monster kings…but now, it seemed, things wouldn’t be so easy!

“Easy is boring. Hard is interesting. I spent more than thirty years training at Mount Innerheart; I have yet to truly fight with anyone. The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows…a perfect foe!” Ning could feel his blood beginning to pump excitedly through his veins, and his desire to do battle was growing…

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Chapter 20 – The Slaughter on Viledragon River

Chapter 20 – The Slaughter on Viledragon River

Ji Ning stood there by himself on the prow of the ship, staring at the raging waves. He was in an excellent mood.

He had already found his disciple, and the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows would probably fulfill his quota of ten great sinners to kill. The only problem was…these monster kings were quite hard to deal with.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly stared towards the distant horizon. Atop the distant shore, a vague group of figures could be seen drawing closer and closer to them. They were moving at an extremely fast speed, and Ning could visibly make out the emblem of a flamewing on their Dao-armors.

“Flamewing Guards?” Ning laughed in surprise. “There’s actually a few hundred of them.”

Crown Prince Qi Rufeng and the others with him within the cabin stared outwards through the window towards the Viledragon River. They were seeking for a place to hide.

“Is that…” The crown prince’s face changed dramatically.

“Hundreds of Flamewing Guards?!” The violet-robed Qi Ruhui’s face instantly turned ashen. Twelve Flamewing Guards had already terrified them, but now hundreds more had come…even Loose Immortals would perish in a situation like this!

“Disastrous!” The crown prince’s face was ashen. He frantically sent mentally, “It must be due to the fact that all twelve of those Flamewing Guards died, without a single one escaping. That’s why they sent so many over this time.”

In the past, during the flight of the imperial Qi clan, the Flamewing Guard had always held the upper hand. It was the imperial Qi clan which had continued to flee; the Flamewing Guard had never before had a situation where all their troops died in an encounter.

In addition, the crown prince, Qi Rufeng, was only recently the leader of their squad; in the past, they had Primal Daoists with them, and it was the clan elders who made the decisions. But now the Primal Daoists were all dead…and the decision-maker was Qi Rufeng!

Qi Rufeng was inexperienced. He had never before encountered a situation where all the chasing Flamewing Guard forces had been wiped out. He had no idea that the extermination of an entire squad would result in such a terrifying consequence.

“A total of three companies…each one led by a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal, eleven Primal Diremonsters, and over a hundred Wanxiang Diremonsters.” The black-robed princess sent solemnly, “With so many Flamewing Guards in one place…even supreme Loose Immortals will most likely perish.”

“Why haven’t we fled?” The violet-robed princess sent frantically, “That Darknorth is merely a Primal Daoist. Even if he has a high level of comprehension of the Dao and can fight those at a higher level, he would at most be comparable to supreme Loose Immortals. In the face of this many Flamewing Guards, which number three Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal monsters amongst their ranks, there’s no way he can hold on.”

……

Just as Ning was smiling…and the imperial Qi clan was utterly terrified…

The hundreds of distant Flamewing guards joined together into a grand Dao-soldier formation. The three companies were all led by Loose Immortals, who led their Primal Diremonsters and Wanxiang Diremonsters on the distant shore to join form into a a trio of three thousand meter tall flamewing bugs.

Blazing wings, and the body of a centipede.

The enormous three-headed flamewing bugs were filled with unearthly, savage power. Their auras alone caused the surrounding waves to instantly be crushed downwards and flattened.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The three massive flamewing bugs all flew into the river, running across the waves as they threw themselves towards Ning’s ship.

Ning stood at the prow of the ship. He barked, “Hurry up and leave, and you can keep your lives.”

“So you are the one protecting the imperial Qi clan.” One of the three massive flamewing bugs spoke out in a growling voice. “Human, this is the territory of our Flamewing King. How dare you act so wildly here?”

“Don’t waste words with him. Kill him.”

“Kill the human.”

Monsters and humans were enemies in virtually every part of the Three Realms. After all, these two races were the two most powerful races in the current Three Realms.

Ning shook his head gently. Three Loose Immortal monsters? They were most likely only on par with that Loose Immortal, Floatcloud, who had tried to assassinate him. Even all those years ago, he had been able to deal with Immortal Floatcloud. Now that his Primaltwin was a full level of power greater than it had been in the past, and now that his insights into the Dao of the Sword were unfathomably greater than before…killing these Loose Immortals would indeed be as easy as killing a chicken.

Accompanied by three massive waves, the three enormous flamewing bugs charged forward, seeking to attack Ning en-masse and annihilate him at one go.

Ning remained very calm. To deal with hundreds of Flamewing Guards, just by relying on his Dao Domain wouldn’t be enough; he had to actually fight! But of course, it would still be very easy for him.

“Quick.”

“Let’s go.”

“If we dawdle, we won’t be able to escape.”

The imperial Qi clan didn’t dare to hesitate at all. If they did, they would probably die here. As they saw it, no matter how high a level of comprehension Ning had, he was still just a Primal Daoist. In the face of three Loose Immortal monsters and hundreds of Flamewing Guards…it would be incredible if he was even able to block them.

“Let’s go.”

The crown prince, Qi Rufeng, waved his hand and a long shuttle once more appeared by the side of the large ship. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The crown prince, the princesses, and the five servants all entered the shuttle.

“Go!” The violet-robed woman waved her hand, and instantly, a series of green bamboo strips flew out and descended from the skies, plunging into the roiling waves.

Swoosh!

The shuttle cruised through the waves, moving as fast as lightning. As for those green bamboo strips, there were hundreds of them, and they all stabbed downwards, completely surrounding the region where Ning and the three giant flamewing bugs were located. The bamboo strips even had bamboo leaves attached to them. The bamboo leaves floated about, causing the entire region to transform into nothingness. Even the surrounding waves had completely disappeared.

……

“Little sister, you, you…!” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng, within the fleeing shuttle, was completely shocked.

The violet-robed princess turned her head to stare at the now-massive bamboo strips. She smirked disdainfully, “What is it? That Daoist Darknorth is merely a Primal Daoist; it’d be impressive if he even had the power of a supreme Loose Immortal. And even if he did, he still most likely isn’t a match for those Flamewing Guards. Since that was the case, we have to use him as best as we can and make him offer up his strength in service to our imperial clan. It can be said that this is the price he must pay for taking Xiaoyu away as his disciple.”

“You…are…AN IDIOT.” Qi Rufeng was speechless with rage. “Given how powerful this Daoist Darknorth is, if he has a school or a master behind him, how are we supposed to deal with them?!”

“So what if he does? Who will learn of this?” The violet-robed princess remained disdainful.

The black-robed princess disagreed frantically. “Little sister, given this Daoist Darknorth’s powerful, he probably has a Celestial Immortal Patriarch behind him. Celestial Immortals are able to investigate the past. When they find out…”

“Don’t worry. So what if they do find out? Even if this Daoist Darknorth has a Celestial Immortal Patriarch backing him, there’s no way that Celestial Immortal will find us. All that Celestial Immortal will know is that Daoist Darknorth was killed by the Flamewing Guard. Perhaps this might cause his school to go act against the Flamewing King!” A look of savagery was in the violet-robed princess’s eyes. “Hmph. Hmph. Perhaps the Flamewing King will be killed as a result. Everything would be worth it!”

……

Ning waved his hand, collecting his ship. Qi Xiaoyu, aboard the ship, was also collected into the Immortal estate he carried with him at all times.

“Hmph.” Ning glanced at the fleeing imperial Qi clan. He watched as the treasures the youngest princess threw out, those bamboo slips, sank into the sea and formed a formation. He naturally understood what the plot was; to trap him here along with the Flamewing Guard. Otherwise…if so much as a single one of the three massive flamewing bugs moved to attack them, they would be in big trouble!

Now that they were all trapped in the formation, all three would undoubtedly join forces to attack him, Ji Ning. Only afterwards would they move to break the formation. This was a scheme to force Ning to fight with full power. And if Ning’s level of power truly was what the imperial Qi clan believed it to be, then most likely the end result truly would be as the princess predicted; he would be able to buy them some time, then die.

Unfortunately…their guess was wrong!

Ning’s school was indeed powerful, far more so than they could imagine. Ning’s master was Patriarch Subhuti, the creator of this entire world! And Ning’s own level of power was far greater than they imagined as well!

“Kill him, then break the formation.”

“Kill him.”

The three massive flamewing bugs didn’t panic at all. They had complete confidence in their ability to first kill this human, then break the formation. It would at most take them a bit of extra time, which didn’t matter; those imperial Qi clansmen were all stained by flamewing venom, and they’d be able to find and catch them later.

“Die.” Ning had an ugly look on his face. He was protecting them, but they had put a knife in his back. How could he not be enraged?

The enraged Ning no longer wished to waste any time; he was going to make the imperial Qi clan pay for what they did.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ning stood there atop the water, Darknorth swords in his hands. He chopped out three times in a row with his sword-light!

Three streaks of blindingly bright sword-light transformed into three enormous black dragons. The power of the black dragons was utterly unearthly, and they smashed towards the three massive flamewings with utterly catastrophic power.

“What?!”

“How can this be?!”

“NO!”

The Loose Immortal monsters, Primal Diremonsters, and Wanxiang Diremonsters within the three flamewing bugs were all stupefied. They were truly scared silly.

The three black dragons each flew to a different target. They had the shape of black dragons, but they were in reality streaks of incomparably terrifying sword-light. They chopped through the titanic flamewing bugs as easily as chopping through rotting wood. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The hundreds of monsters, including the Loose Immortal monsters, all perished!

Their souls were annihilated!

The enraged Ning’s sword-blows were so powerful that they destroyed flesh and soul alike. In fact, even the Dao-armors worn by the Wanxiang Diremonsters were ground into dust, and quite a few of their magic treasures were shattered as well.

“BREAK!” Ning launched yet another streak of sword-light.

The surrounding formation was a one-use formation. It contained elemental ki and was primarily meant to trap foes. However, Ning couldn’t be bothered to actually disrupt the formation; he just broke straight through it with a streak of howling sword-light, causing the bamboo talismans to instantly shatter.

Swoosh! Ning moved forward in pursuit.

……

Within the shuttle which was escaping at lightning speed, the violet-robed princess had a look of madness in her eyes. “Hmph. Hmph. Perhaps the Flamewing King will be killed as a result. Everything would be worth it! Hahaha, I’m too clever. Earlier, I just wanted to make this Darknorth’s death useful, to buy us some time. But now, it seems as though I, Qi Ruhui, just played a marvelous card.”

“Yes. Quite the marvelous card.” A cold voice rang out.

The crown prince and princesses suddenly shook. They turned their heads to look.

On the other end of the shuttle stood a fur-clad youth.

Ning looked at the three imperial Qi clansmen.

“How can this be…”

They were completely stupefied. They had escaped just moments ago and had said just a few words to each other. Almost no time had passed at all. They had no idea…that Ning would be able to kill hundreds of Flamewing Guards with a single exchange, then break through the formation and chase after them. Naturally, this had taken very little time.

“Senior Darknorth.” Qi Rufeng immediately rose to his feet.

Boom.

Ning’s gaze turned towards the violet-robed princess. Instantly, a streak of sword-light flew out…and the violet-robed princess was instantly ground into dust which flew everywhere. At Ning’s level…just the slightest bit of power was enough to shatter someone’s soul.

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Chapter 21 – Bluecliff Xiaoyu

Chapter 21 – Bluecliff Xiaoyu

The crown prince, the second princess, and the servants aboard the shuttle all had ashen looks on their faces. They could all tell that this time, Darknorth was truly enraged!

They were all Immortal cultivators; naturally, they were no fools. They knew that the little princess had plotted against this senior Darknorth just now. Senior Darknorth had clearly gone to help them fight against the Flamewing Guard, but the little princess had stabbed him in the back…an action like this would be viewed with contempt by mortals and cultivators alike!

“Senior Darknorth…”

“Darknor…”

The crown princess and the second princess hurriedly spoke out, utterly terrified. This was completely not their fault. The little princess had acted completely of her own accord; they didn’t instruct her to carry out those actions at all! As for her death, the crown prince and the second princess felt a hint of regret but not too much pain. This was because far too many of their siblings had died on this journey, and all of their elders had perished as well. They were used to this sort of loss…and on an emotional level, the crown prince and the second princess were much closer.

Whoosh. Ning willed it, and a white-robed maiden appeared next to him. It was Qi Xiaoyu.

“Master,” Qi Xiaoyu said hurriedly, “I saw the little princess…” Halfway through her words, she realized that she was within the flying shuttle. Seeing the situation, she couldn’t help but grow confused.

“Disciple, watch carefully,” Ning said coldly.

“Yes,” Qi Xiaoyu said.

“Senior Darknorth, what happened just now was completely the actions of Ruhui; she wanted to use you to delay the Flamewing Guard,” Qi Rufeng said hurriedly.

“It was our little sister who carried out that action. Her alone,” the black-robed princess said hurriedly as well.

Qi Xiaoyu just watched silently. When the Flamewing Guard had arrived, her master had gone to fight them while the imperial Qi clan had fled…and while fleeing, the little princess had thrown out a formation to trap them. Qi Xiaoyu had seen all of these things with perfect clarity. In addition, after having accompanied the imperial Qi clan for so long, Qi Xiaoyu knew very well how vicious and cruel the little princess was. Thus, by now she more or less knew what had happened!

Ning looked at the crown prince and the second princess. He said coldly, “I heard it all. There was talk of having the Celestial Immortal Patriarch behind me go take revenge upon the Flamewing King on my behalf and kill him? Hmph…I don’t like to kill, but some people deserve killing!”

The crown prince and the second princess trembled.

“If the two of you were behind her actions, then you two shall both die as well. If you did not…I won’t go so far as to implicate the two of you.” Ning’s gaze turned to the black-robed princess. He immediately used the [Soulcharmer Art] divine ability. Although this Black-White College art wasn’t that strong, Ning’s soul was far too powerful! The black-robed princess’s gaze instantly turned dull.

“Speak. Did you have anything to do with the little princess’ plot against me?” Ning asked calmly.

The black-robed princess spoke in a dull voice without any inflection at all. “It had nothing to do with me. Ruhui acted of her own volition. Although her action may have caused senior Darknorth to fight for a bit longer, it also created yet another powerful foe for our imperial Qi clan. If the school behind senior Darknorth came for vengeance, our imperial Qi clan would most likely be in even more dire straits. Ruhui was far too shortsighted…”

“…what just happened?” The black-robed princess regained her clarity of mind. She stared around in astonishment…and slowly, the memories of what had happened just now when she had been hypnotized came rushing back to her. She couldn’t help but look towards Ning in terror.

The crown prince’s face instantly turned even more ashen.

“You.” Ning looked towards the crown prince.

The crown prince gritted his teeth. “I definitely didn’t have the intention to harm you, senior.” Just as these words came out, Qi Rufeng’s gaze also turned dull.

He, too, dully spoke out the truth. This truly did not have nothing to do with him.

The nearby Qi Xiaoyu let out a sigh of relief. She actually felt good-will towards the crown princess and the second princess.

“I ask you,” Ning suddenly said, “Did your imperial Qi clan arrange for the destruction of Qi Xiaoyu’s tribe?”

The black-robed princess’s face instantly changed. Qi Xiaoyu’s body trembled as well, and a look of terror and unease appeared in her eyes.

The crown prince responded in a wooden, robotic manner, “For the sake of ensuring Qi Xiaoyu’s total devotion to our imperial clan, we had to make it so that she had no one else to rely on. Otherwise, in her heart, her tribe would still be occupy the most important position. Thus, the elders of the clan forced three Xiantian Diremonsters to attack the tribe. As for the two Xiantian experts of that tribe, our clan elders plotted against them and ensured that they naturally wouldn’t be able to fight back, causing the entire tribe to be broken apart.”

“Qi Xiaoyu’s family members all died, giving her no one else to rely on. At that moment, our elder stepped in to protect her; naturally, she felt gratitude and affection for the elder’s actions. Everything happened as we planned, and Qi Xiaoyu became incomparably devoted and loyal to our imperial Qi clan. In addition, after Qi Xiaoyu became a member of our imperial Qi clan, our luck took a noticeable turn for the better. The number of times we were attacked dropped, and the number of elders who died in each attack also lessened…”

“No…no…” Qi Xiaoyu’s face was covered with tears. She repeatedly shook her head.

Ning sighed mentally to himself. In truth, the main reason he had used the [Soulcharmer Art] was to ask about this matter. Given Ning’s keen senses, he naturally noticed quite a few oddities regarding the destruction of Xiaoyu’s tribe. It was extremely rare for this sort of large-scale tribe to suffer an attack from Diremonsters.

“As I thought.” Ning nodded to himself. Qi Xiaoyu felt extremely deep gratitude towards the imperial Qi clan. Ning was afraid that this might cause problems in the future, and so he wanted to clarify this matter right away.

“You were plotting against me all along. All along…” Qi Xiaoyu looked at the crown prince, her face completely pale. “My master? Was she plotting against me as well?”

“Aunt-master Everlotus was opposed to our scheme. She wanted to go to your tribe and take you on as her disciple in a voluntary manner. However, our imperial Qi clan was in a state of flight; all of our actions had to be for the sake of the imperial Qi clan’s best interests.” The crown prince, Qi Rufeng, continued to speak in a monotone voice. “She felt sorry for you, and so when she took you on as disciple, taught you, and doted on you, it was out of love. In fact, some of the other princes and princesses felt jealousy for this.”

Qi Xiaoyu felt her heart unclench slightly. The person she felt the most gratitude for in the entire imperial Qi clan was her master, Everlotus. Everlotus had taken care of her like she was her own daughter. She had loved her and cherished her. Qi Xiaoyu had been able to sense how much love Everlotus had felt for her, and ever since she was young, her master had taught her. Thus, although she didn’t have many memories regarding life in the Bluecliff tribe and although she only had blurry memories of her parents, she felt an extremely deep affection for her master, Everlotus. After all, they had been together for the longest period of time.

Qi Xiaoyu was fairly accurate in sensing if others were kind or malicious towards her, if they cared about her or hated her. She had always felt as though her master, Everlotus, had truly loved her. This was why she felt such gratitude for the imperial Qi clan. In fact, when the now-deceased leader of the imperial Qi clan had asked her to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, she hadn’t hesitated at all.

“What just happened?” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng came back to his senses. He quickly regained his memories, and his face immediately changed. He stared towards Ning in terror, then looked towards Qi Xiaoyu.

“Master Everlotus…I can understand why you did what you did. I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you…” Tears streaked down Qi Xiaoyu’s face. She stared at the black-robed princess and the crown prince. Gritting her teeth, she said, “Your imperial Qi clan destroyed my tribe and home and killed my family. But Master Everlotus’s benevolence towards me was as weighty as a mountain. From this day forth, I, Qi Xiaoyu, will no longer have any connection to your Qi clan. From this day forth, my name shall be Bluecliff Xiaoyu!”

“Master.” Bluecliff Xiaoyu turned to look towards Ning, tears in her eyes. “Thank you, master, for enlightening me and not letting me continue to remain deceived. I wish to be by myself for a time.”

“Go.” Ning nodded, then willed Qi Xiaoyu to be teleported into his Immortal estate with a swish.

Ning’s gaze turned towards the crown prince and the princess. Both of them felt helpless; when they had been hypnotized, they had thought it was just over the little princess’ plot, but who would’ve thought that this senior Darknorth would actually uncover the matter of the destruction of the Bluecliff tribe? Still…by now, they had no options left. All they could do was beg for their lives.

“Since you had no intention to harm me, I naturally won’t act against you. I will still hold to my promise,” Ning said. “However…before I do so, come with me to a place.”

As he spoke, Ning waved his hand, causing the imperial Qi clansmen and the flying shuttle to all be drawn into his Immortal estate. And then, Ning strode forward across the waves of Viledragon River, quickly departing from this place.

……

A short period of time later.

The peak of a tall mountain, surrounded by clouds. A ripple in space could be seen above it, then a fur-clad youth appeared out of nowhere and descended.

“This place works.” The fur-clad youth nodded, then waved his hand. An Immortal estate appeared.

Within the Immortal estate. As Ning entered, the crown prince and the second princess both immediately paid their respects. The crown prince said, “Senior, where are we?”

“You can exit the estate now, but you had best not go too far. If you do, I won’t be able to keep you alive,” Ning said calmly. “This place is more than ten million kilometers from our previous location; I trust that the Flamewing King will need some time before chasing you here. Take a rest and prepare for the next battle.”

“The next battle?” The two were startled.

“I killed hundreds of Flamewing guards, including three Loose Immortal monsters. Do you think that the Flamewing King is just going to shrug that off?” Ning said calmly.

The two shook their heads. Impossible. The Eastern Flows region was the territory of the twelve monster kings; given that this senior Darknorth had killed hundreds of Flamewing Guards, how could the Flamewing King not be enraged? It must be understood that the Flamewing Guards were the most devoted servants of the Flamewing King. Given that so many of them had perished, the Flamewing King would probably personally attack next time.

“The Flamewing King is coming in person.” Both the crown prince and the second princess felt restless and uneasy. “And yet this senior Darknorth still intends to fight?”

“How powerful is he? Can it be that my earlier investigations were in error? He is more than just a peak Primal Daoist?”

Their hearts were in a state of panic. Still, given how quickly Ning had chased after him, he must have disposed of all of those Flamewing Guards…which meant that things probably truly were as Ning said. He had killed hundreds of Flamewing Guards.

“In such a short period of time, he killed hundreds of Flamewing Guards, broke the formation, then caught up to us. How powerful is this Ji Ning? Is it truly possible that he can fight the Flamewing King?” The crown prince and the princess both felt as though their thoughts were in a jumble.

……

Ning couldn’t be bothered to pay them any heed. He entered a private room within the Immortal estate. A ripple in space appeared within it and Ning stepped into the ripple, entering his underwater estate.

“I can’t underestimate the Flamewing King’s power. In fact, I might have to deal with the other monster kings as well. Before doing so…I need to increase my power a bit,” Ning mused to himself. “My true body, when using [Three Heads, Six Arms], needs a total of six Immortal swords. Three of them are my Darknorth swords, and the other three would ideally be Immortal-ranked.”

He had an exquisitely top-grade Thousandbull Sword, as well as a low-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword that the Grand Xia Emperor had bestowed upon him previously. Just now, when killing those three Loose Immortal monsters, he had further acquired two more low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, one of which was a flying sword.

“My true body needs to break through to the early Void stage as soon as possible. Only then can I better unleash the power of my Immortal-ranked magic treasures,” Ning mused to himself. Those two low-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords were comparable to the Darknorth swords in power…what Ning really cared about was the Thousandbull Sword! That sword had close to the power of a Pure Yang treasure!

Ning immediately entered the Still Room within his underwater estate, then began to absorb liquefied elemental essence…

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Chapter 22 – The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows

Chapter 22 – The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows

Roughly ten million kilometers away, in the imperial capital of the former Qi Empire. Within the imperial palace.

Within a lavishly decorated palace hall. Beautiful female attendants carried in platters of exquisite food and Immortal nectar, delivering them to the twelve tables, including the main table at the front of the hall.

“Come, drink.”

“Big brother, I toast you.”

“Ninth brother, it has been a thousand years since we met. Come, come, come; let us brothers have another cup together!”

Carefree laughter rang out. High-pitched, low-pitched, screeching…every single voice carried a dominating aura.

The monsters in the form of female attendants all felt their hearts tremble. They acted with the utmost caution, terrified of offending one of the monster kings. They knew that the twelve gathered here in this hall today were the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows; the likes of them could not risk offending any of these twelve. If they accidentally irritated one of the monster kings, the results would be disastrous.

One of the maidservants had, due to her nervousness, splattered some of the wine from her platter atop the Jadetoad King, one of the twelve monster kings. The Jadetoad King had rolled his eyes, opened his mouth, and devoured the maidservant into his belly.

In the center of the hall, there were beautiful human maidens and monsters who were engaging in dance. Naturally, there were also musicians who were beating the drums and playing the flute.

“Alright, all of you can leave for now.”

After a long time, the Flamewing King, seated in the host position at the front of the palace, ordered the servants to depart.

“Yes, your Majesty.” The many servants, dancers, and musicians all immediately withdrew, leaving behind only the twelve monster kings within the hall.

“Third, you invited all of us brothers here today. Whatever important matter this is regarding, hurry up and speak.” An extremely muscular monster king whose entire body was covered with golden fur and who had the head of a grizzly bear spoke out in a booming voice. This was the leader of the twelve monster kings, the Goldfur Bearking.

“Big brother.” The tall, skinny, black-robed Flamewing King laughed, “Haha, I invited all of you here to take part in a joyous affair. Seventh brother came earlier, and so I’ve told him already. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him.”

The other monster kings all looked over to the azure-armored, hawk-eyed Skysoar King, who nodded. “This is indeed regarding a joyous affair.”

“Oh?” The other monster kings all looked back towards the Flamewing King with curiosity. Although they were friends due to their similar temperaments, they were famous for their savagery. If they found anything good, they would usually keep it for themselves. Why would one of them now be willing to share with the rest of the brothers?

The Flamewing King, seeing their looks, smiled. He waved his hand and a black leather scroll flew out and unfurled in the air before them. On the leather scroll there was a complicated map, as well as a diagram.

“What is this?” The other monster kings were puzzled.

“The map to a treasure trove!” The Flamewing King said.

“Treasure trove?”

“A map to a treasure trove?”

“Are you joking? A ‘treasure trove’? To the likes of us, even the treasures of a Celestial Immortal are nothing. The treasures of a True Immortal or an Empyrean God might barely qualified as a ‘trove’.”

All of the monster kings spoke out. They were the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows, who even Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were unwilling to offend. For them to acknowledge a collection of treasures as a ‘treasure trove’ was extremely hard.

The Skysoar King spoke out, “My fellow brothers, third brother hasn’t deceived you. The place marked by this map as having treasures can indeed…be described as a major treasure trove.”

“Oh?”

“A major treasure trove?” The other monster kings all began to ponder. For even their seventh brother, the Skysoar King, to acknowledge this place as being a treasure trove meant that there really might be something to this.

“Third brother, can it be that this has something to do with the Qi Empire?” The short, chubby, green-skinned Jadetoad King growled out.

The Flamewing King, seated at the head of the hall, nodded. “This does indeed have something to do with the Qi Empire. When I acted against them and destroyed them, it was because I heard some news regarding this treasure trove. I suddenly attacked without giving them any notice and seized a group of important figures of the imperial Qi clan. Then, I used soulscouring and other methods to learn more about the treasure trove, then acquired this treasure map from the imperial Qi clan as well.”

“Since you already have the treasure map, you can go by yourself, third brother.”

“I refuse to believe you are truly so generous, third brother.”

“Haha, third brother, what are you plotting? Speak up and be honest. Everyone here knows what type of person you are.”

All of them were renowned for their savagery; they knew what sort of individuals the other monster kings were.

The Flamewing King chortled. The nearby Skysoar King said, “Third brother did indeed go twice. The first time he went, he came back with nothing to show for it; he wasn’t able to go deep inside at all. The second time, he made more ample preparations and forced his way inside…but was trapped within the region for twenty years, just barely surviving and coming back. He just escaped a short while ago.”

“What? Trapped for twenty years?”

“Third brother, you couldn’t even use a Greater Teleportation Dao-talisman to flee?”

“It was that dangerous?”

The monster kings were all astonished. The Flamewing King immediately said, “Listen to me describe in detail. This treasure trove region…”

The Flamewing King spoke nonstop regarding what he had experienced. He knew quite well that by relying on his own power, there was no way he would be able to make it any deeper; he had to have the rest of the twelve join him if he wanted to have any chances of success.

As the Flamewing King spoke, looks of astonishment and seriousness gradually began to appear on the faces of the other monster kings. This place was indeed both dangerous and terrifying…the Flamewing King’s descriptions alone indicated how mysterious and frightening this place was. Most likely, even Celestial Immortals who ventured there would perish.

“Only if the twelve of us join forces do we have any chance,” the Flamewing King said.

“What in the world is within this treasure trove?”

“I feel quite eager to find out.”

All of them felt tremendous desire towards this treasure trove.

The founding emperor of the Qi Empire had already scoured the outer perimeter of this treasure trove, and he had acquired Ki Refining Techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts from it. These techniques were all truly top-tier techniques; otherwise, the Qi Empire wouldn’t have been able to expand so rapidly. Given that the outer perimeter already possessed such incredible treasures…what did the depths of the trove hold?!

“We have to plan this out carefully,” the top-ranked Goldfur Bearking said solemnly. “We cannot be rash.”

“Yes, we must make ample preparations.”

“An extraordinary place.”

Just as the monster kings were discussing and planning, a long-necked elder appeared at the entrance to the hall.

“Majesty, Majesty!” The long-necked elder called out repeatedly.

“Enter.” The Flamewing King frowned.

The long-necked elder entered, then immediately said with respect, “Your Majesty, the three companies of Flamewing Guards led by those three Loose Immortals which we sent out…they all died. None of them escaped to make it back.”

“They all died?” The Flamewing King suddenly jumped to his feet.

“Right. All of them.” The long-necked elder nodded repeatedly, worry in his eyes.

The Flamewing King’s face changed. Hundreds of Flamewing Guards, led by three Loose Immortals…how powerful was the enemy, to be able to wipe them out so cleanly and let none survive?

“What’s wrong, third?”

“Third brother, what happened?”

The other monster kings began to query him. The Flamewing King responded solemnly, “To tell the truth, brothers…there are still a few survivors of the Qi Empire who are running around. However, the strongest of the imperial Qi clansmen is a mere Wanxiang Adept. One of my squads of Flamewing Guards found and attacked them, but the squad was wiped out. I felt this was strange, and so I sent three full companies to attack, but all of them were killed as well. None of them survived.”

“Three full companies? Hundreds of Flamewing Guards in a Dao-soldier formation…they would be able to wipe out even a supreme Loose Immortal.”

“To kill hundreds of Flamewing Guards without letting even one escape…that is quite difficult.”

“This is an extraordinary foe.”

The monster kings knew each other’s forces quite well; they knew how strong the Flamewing King’s forces were.

“Hahaha, why worry about this matter? It is quite rare for all of us to be gathered in one place; let us pay a visit together, then, and see what the survivors of the imperial Qi clan have up their sleeves.” The Goldfur Bearking let out a loud laugh. “When all of us join forces…there truly are few in the entire Star continent who are a match for us.”

The supreme powers of the Star continent only held Celestial Immortal Patriarchs amongst their ranks. When the twelve joined forces, they truly did have nothing to fear from Celestial Immortals.

“Let us go together.”

“Third brother, let’s go take a look and see who has dared to antagonize the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows.”

“Wiping out the Flamewing Guard…they gave you no face at all, third brother. Giving you no face is the same as giving all of us brothers no face.”

“Let’s go take a look together.”

The Flamewing King immediately roared with laughter. “Hahaha, fine! With so many brothers here…it doesn’t matter who is protecting the imperial Qi clan. That person will die!”

“Let’s no waste time. We’ve already eaten and drunk our fill; let us go out and fight!”

“Let’s go out and fight!”

The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows were decisive in their actions. They immediately led thousands of monsters in an awe-inspiring wave from the imperial capital of the former Qi Empire.

……

At the top of a mountain peak. Ning was seated next to a cliff. He was holding a gourd of wine in his hand, drinking in a leisurely manner while staring at the clouds and the sea. He had just consumed six hundred thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence, causing his true body to break through as a Ki Refiner from the peak Primal level to the early Void level! He would now be able to more perfectly control his Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

“My true body can use the Thousandbull Sword, the Darknorth swords, and other magic treasures. My Primaltwin will use the [Heavenraker] sword formation.” Ning nodded to himself. His power had reached the maximum level it could reach for now.

“Flamewing King, I killed hundreds of your Flamewing Guards…I imagine that you will personally come seek me out, right?”

Ning was waiting eagerly. Given that he was protecting the imperial Qi clan, the Flamewing King would definitely be lured over here!

“Ten major sinners. First I will kill the Flamewing King, and then I’ll go deal with the others one by one,” Ning murmured to himself. Given his current level of power, when his true body and his Primaltwin fought together, it shouldn’t be too hard for him to kill a monster king.

As Ning was drinking and waiting leisurely by the cliffside, suddenly…

“Eh?” Ning suddenly stared into the distance. An enormous cloud was soaring towards his direction, and atop the cloud there was a dense cluster of countless figures. There were many monsters there, and in front of the countless monsters were twelve mighty figures whose auras filled the heavens, causing Ning’s face to change.

“Twelve?” Ning’s face couldn’t help but blanche as he stared at the twelve figures standing in front of the countless monsters atop the massive cloud.

Such powerful auras…these were definitely no ordinary Loose Immortals. The formless ripples of might caused even Ning to feel surprised. In addition, these twelve figures stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the countless monsters; clearly, there were no differences in rank here.

“Are you the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows?” Ning called out loudly, his voice echoing and filling the heavens.

“Little child, who are you? Is it your master who is protecting the imperial Qi clan?” The tall, thin, black-robed Flamewing King called out back, “Hurry up and have your master come out. We twelve brothers would like to see exactly who it is that has the audacity to annihilate hundreds of my Flamewing Guards with one breath.”

Ning cursed to himself with resignation. “All I wanted to do was fight against a single Flamewing King. Why the hell have all twelve shown up?! The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows all come from their own separate territories; why have they all gathered here today?”

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Chapter 23 – Towering Amounts of Sin

Chapter 23 – Towering Amounts of Sin

The voices of both Ji Ning and the Flamewing King were very loud.

“Are you the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows?”

“…hurry up and have your master come out…”

Both voices echoed in the heavens, causing the surviving imperial Qi clansmen to feel shocked. They hurriedly moved to the entrance of the Immortal estate.

Crown Prince Qi Rufeng, Second Princess Qi Ruyu, Ning’s disciple Bluecliff Xiaoyu, and the imperial Qi servants all stared outwards past the gates of the Immortal estate. They saw Ning standing at the side of a cliff, wine-gourd in hand. Far away from him in the skies, there was a massive horde of countless monsters atop a cloud.

“Is that the Flamewing King?” Qi Rufeng’s face changed. He would never be able to forget that figure; that was his eternal nightmare.

But right now, the Flamewing King was just one of the twelve leading figures. “The Goldfur Bearking, the Snowfox King…there’s no doubting it. They are identical to the images of the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows which the imperial Qi clan recorded down.” Qi Rufeng’s face was ashen. “All twelve of them have arrived.”

“They all arrived? Even though hundreds of Flamewing Guards were killed, why would all twelve of them come?!” The black-robed princess felt despair as well.

Although the two had Greater Teleportation Dao-seals, once they used them up, they would be gone. In addition, given the power of these monster kings, the monster kings could immediately teleport after them as well.

If the Flamewing King wanted to chase after them, he would definitely be able to. The reason why they had been able to flee and survive for so long was because the Flamewing King didn’t care too much about them; after acquiring the treasure map, the Flamewing King’s full attention was on the treasure trove. He had only sent a few of his Flamewing Guards to deal with the imperial Qi clansmen.

“The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows?” Upon hearing these words, Bluecliff Xiaoyu’s face changed as well. “Those twelve are the twelve monster kings?”

Xiaoyu stared at the twelve distant figures that commanded the countless monsters. Even at this great distance, the infinitely powerful aura emanated by the twelve caused her heart to tremble. She grew worried. “Master…I just took you on as my master. Don’t die. Don’t die!”

Now that she had severed all ties with the imperial Qi clan, she no longer had any friends or family in the world. Ning was her master, and thus the closest person she had left. She could tell that Ning viewed her kindly.

“I don’t want Master to die. I don’t want…” Xiaoyu was panicking inside. If her master died…she would be all alone.

Qi Rufeng’s face was ashen. He shook his head in despair. “It’s finished.”

The black-robed princess shook her head as well. “All twelve of the monster kings have arrived. Even during our Qi Empire’s most powerful era, they would have been able to wipe us out immediately. There is no way this senior Darknorth can withstand them. No way at all.”

The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows were legends! Legends known throughout the Star continent, the Cloud continent, the Flame continent…

In short, within the Crescent world, these twelve monster kings were extremely famous. Most likely only Celestial Immortals would be able to flee and survive from them when they joined forces!

“Given the abilities these twelve monster kings have…even if senior Darknoth uses a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal, he still probably wouldn’t be able to teleport away before being attacked,” Qi Rufeng said as he trembled with despair.

Using Dao-seals took time. At the Celestial Immortal level, multiple techniques could be used in the blink of an eye.

Behind Ning, the imperial Qi clan was in a state of terrified despair, while Bluecliff Xiaoyu was praying ardently for his survival.

Ning stood there at the cliff. He quickly pondered as to how he should deal with these twelve monster kings while spreading out his divine sense in a wave to test them. And as he did…

“What fine fellows!” Ning was instantly shocked. The region with the twelve monster kings was completely filled with limitless amounts of bloody light. The bloody sin light surged and swelled like the waves of the sea, and the twisting waves of bloody sin light even formed illusions of ghosts who had died wrongful deaths.

“Wait. They aren’t all like that.” Ning took a careful look. “Eleven of these twelve monster kings are surrounded by hundreds of meters of bloody sin light. But…that monster king with the head of a golden-furred grizzly bear actually is only wreathed by a bit of corrosive black light?”

Indeed. The only one of the twelve not wrapped by the bloody aura of sin was actually the most famous of the twelve, the Goldfur Bearking. This caused Ning to feel extremely startled…and also even more wary. For this Goldfur Bearking to set up an alliance of twelve monster kings and be acknowledged as the most powerful amongst them, but possess the lowest amount of sin…one had to be wary of him.

“Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows,” Ning called out loudly, “Per Master’s orders, I am here protecting the imperial Qi clan. If you are wise, you shall immediately retreat. Otherwise, when Master returns, all of you shall perish!”

“Who is your master, exactly? Give us his name!” The Flamewing King barked from far away.

“He dares be so arrogant? The master of this Primal Daoist must be a powerful figure.”

“With all of us brothers present, we wouldn’t feel fear if even Celestial Immortals came.”

The monster kings silently sent mental messages to each other, trying to guess at who Ning’s master was. They paid no attention to Ning himself; given their power, they could naturally tell that Ning was merely at the Primal Daoist level! A mere Primal Daoist…although they noticed through their divine sense sweep that his soul was fairly powerful, he was still merely a Primal Daoist!

As they saw it, there was no way a Primal Daoist could kill hundreds of Flamewing Guards without letting a single one escape!

“Brothers, watch from the sides for now,” the Flamewing King said.

“Don’t worry, third brother. If a Celestial Immortal Patriarch comes, we will intervene.”

“Third brother, go and capture those imperial Qi clansmen.”

The other monster kings all spoke out in support. A minor matter like capturing the imperial Qi clan wasn’t something which required all twelve of the monster kings to join forces in carrying out.

……

“Little child, hurry up and beat it,” the Flameking King barked flatly. At the same time, he waved his arm, and with a whoosh, a massive fiery palm suddenly appeared above the mount peak. This massive fiery palm clawed towards the Immortal estate below it, terrifying the imperial Qi clansmen and Xiaoyu into fleeing into the estate.

“Come in.” Ning willed it, and the Immortal estate instantly returned to his side.

“You dare interfere in my matters?” The Flamewing King was instantly enraged, and the massivey fiery palm in the sky slammed towards Ning instead. “Since your master has not arrived, I shall take your life first and calm myself down a bit.”

“You monster!” Ning pretended to be enraged. His body instantly transformed and became three hundred meters in size, and he also executed the [Three Heads, Six Arms]. In his arms were the three Darknorth swords and three Heaven-ranked flying swords.

“I’ll chop you down!” Ning’s swords were like silken light as they chopped down wildly towards the massive fiery palm. The level of swordplay Ning was currently displaying was merely on the level he had displayed back during the Conclave, comparable to a supreme Loose Immortal.

Boom boom boom…with a series of massive exploding sounds, the massive fiery palm was completely destroyed, but part of the mountain peak was torn apart as well. The three-headed, six-armed Ning appeared to be quite angry as he said, “You monster, you actually dare to try to pick on me, your grandpa? If Master was here, you’d already be dead!”

“Ahahaha…”

“This human Primal Daoist is quite arrogant in the face of death.”

“This human is pretty powerful. He’s a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and was able to use [Heavenly Transformation] and [Three Heads, Six Arms]; he is indeed able to give Loose Immortals a fight. His swordplay is also at the level of a supreme Loose Immortal…he does indeed have a supreme Loose Immortal’s combat potential.”

“Right. Although he is a Primal Daoist, he does indeed have the power of a supreme Loose Immortal.”

“Third brother, if you want to annihilate a supreme Loose Immortal at such a great distance just by controlling the natural elemental energy of the world…you’d need to do some more training first,” another monster king teased.

Indeed. If the Flamewing King was to use magic treasures, it would naturally be very easy for him to kill a supreme Loose Immortal. But to annihilate a supreme Loose Immortal just by using a fiery palm formed from the natural elemental energy of the world? He was indeed not even close to being at that level yet.

“Hmph.” The Flamewing King’s face sank as he flew forward. Six fiery-red scimitars suddenly appeared before him, each one carrying a powerful presence; clearly, all of them were Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

“Die, brat.” The Flamewing King was using his true power now.

“You monster!” Ning let out a roar, then moved forward like a giant Roc, flying at high speed towards the Flamewing King and seeking to engage him in close combat.

“This human is pretty powerful. His agility technique would be exceptional even amongst Loose Immortal monsters,” the Skysoar King evaluated.

“He does indeed have some potential. When he reaches the late Void level, he’ll probably be comparable to us.”

“Unfortunately, he’s going to die now.”

“Still, we need to be careful. His master might suddenly appear.”

The monster kings chatted amongst themselves lazily as they watched the battle.

The six scimitars of the Flamewing King formed into an enormous fiery serpent in mid-air. The fiery-red serpent was filled with unearthly savagery as it pounced towards the three-headed, six-armed Ning, who also flew forward to meet it.

Swish swish swish. The swords in Ning’s hands suddenly changed!

Previously, he was wielding three Darknorth swords and three Heaven-ranked flying swords. But suddenly, he put away his three Heaven-ranked flying swords and pulled out the Thousandbull Sword and two Immortal-ranked flying swords!

Riiiip! The giant serpent of fire flashed like lightning, pouncing towards Ning. But what welcomed it was a terrifying sword blow!

Ning’s sword-light had transformed into a divine black dragon. The terrifying divine black dragon sword-light chopped through it like rotting wood, instantly breaking it apart and knocking the six scimitars aside.

“What?!” The Flamewing King was instantly shocked.

“Die.” Ning, who had previously appeared ‘enraged’, now let a hint of a killing intent flash through his eyes. With a swoosh, he reached the Flamewing King’s body.

Six streaks of sword-light simultaneously transformed into six divine black dragons, filling the world with their power.

“Quick, go save third brother!” The face of the Goldfur Bearking instantly changed.

“Not good!” The Skysoar King’s face changed as well.

“How can this…”

“His power…”

“This human…”

The monster kings had been watching from far away, ready to ward off a Celestial Immortal. None of them had expected that this clearly puny Primal Daoist would suddenly explode forth with such power! Ning’s aura increased explosively, and the power of his swordplay reached an extremely profound level as well.

Swish swish swish…the black dragon sword-light slashed forth with irresistible power.

“No…”

Engaged in close quarters, the Flamewing King had no chance to flee at all. In but an instant, Ning’s six streaks of sword-light completely surrounded the Flamewing King and killed him!

The surrounding area turned silent. The entire world seemed to freeze. The many monsters watching from far away were still in a state of amazement…but looks of seriousness appeared on the faces of the monster kings.

Ning stood there in midair. Waving his hand, he collected the magic treasures of the Flamewing King, a smile on his face. “I’m ashamed to say that I played a little trick on you just now. There was nothing I could do; the twelve of you are simply far too famous, and given that you have dominated the Star continent for so many years, I imagine you definitely have a formation which is extremely well-suited to the twelve of you. That’s why I had to kill one of you first.”

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Chapter 24 – The Sword as the Rake, the Heavens as the Field

Chapter 24 – The Sword as the Rake, the Heavens as the Field

The eleven remaining monster kings were so angry, their teeth hurt from gnashing. The reason they were so famous was naturally in part because they had developed a ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’ which was very well-suited to the twelve of them. The Goldfur Bearking was the heart of the formation, and the other eleven monster kings served to support him, transforming into a single massive flying bear. It was well-suited for both attack and defense, and in the face of it even Celestial Immortal Patriarchs would choose to flee. Once formed, even Ning fighting at full-strength would probably be forced to flee.

However…the Flamewing King was now dead. He had been responsible for the ‘central wing region’ of the formation; without him, there was naturally no way to execute the incomparably complicated and powerful ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’ to its full power.

“He tricked us.”

“Damn him.”

“How is this little human kid so powerful? I’ve never heard of someone like him in the Star, Cloud, or Flame continents.”

The monster kings really were tricked in a rather unfair manner. Only someone with the power of a Celestial Immortal would be able to kill the Flamewing King in an extremely short period of time! Those with the power of a Celestial Immortal generally were all quite famous. In addition, Ning had just recently reached the early Void stage; naturally, his level of insight wasn’t much higher than back when he was a Primal Daoist, and his elemental ki was three levels lower than that of the twelve monster kings, who were all comparable to the peak Void stage. All of the monsters had Immortal-ranked magic treasures as well!

The combination of all of these factors was what let Ning catch them off-guard with his successful sneak attack!

……

“Hahaha, without the Flamewing King, I imagine you are now unable to form your formation. If you want to kill me…I’m afraid you won’t be strong enough.” Ning stood there in the air as he said leisurely, “I urge you to depart right away. In the future, you can at least term yourselves the Eleven Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows. However, if we truly were to fight each other…under the merciless exchange of blows between swords and sabers, you might end up the Nine Monster Kings or the Eight Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows.”

“Damn it.”

“Human, report your name!”

“Who in the world are you?”

The monster kings were utterly infuriated. Although they were very much on their guard now against Ning, none of them chose to leave. After all, he had just killed one of their brothers; if the remaining eleven fled without even choosing to fight, that would cause their reputations to be truly tarnished. For Loose Immortal monsters like them, given that the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were growing increasingly powerful and that they would eventually die, their reputation was extremely important!”

Ning secretly felt resigned as well at their decision to stay. If the monster kings had chosen to leave, he would’ve secretly gone to their headquarters and slain them all, one by one.

“Listen up,” Ning said with a laugh. “I am Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning.”

“Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning?” The eleven monster kings all quietly memorized this name. As they did so, they continuously reflected on it, but no matter what, they couldn’t recollect having heard of such a monstrously powerful genius on the Star, Cloud, or Flame continents who was known as Immortal Darknorth or who was known as Ji Ning.”

“I made a promise to the survivors of the imperial Qi clan. I will hold to it and protect them,” Ning said with a laugh. “I urge you all to leave.”

The eleven monster kings stealthily sent messages to each other, but their decision had been made long ago. Leave? What a joke. Even if this was a Celestial Immortal Patriarch, they would still attack. One of their brothers had just died; how could they possibly choose to flee without even fighting?

“Assemble the formation!” The Goldfur Bearking ordered mentally.

Rumble…

Formless strands of glowing elemental ki sprang up around the bodies of the eleven monster kings. They used just a very rudimentary sort of combination technique, a technique that was similar to the [Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation] in that it allowed them to pool and share their elemental ki! The elemental ki of eleven monster kings merged together…this allowed the power of their attacks to rise to a brand new level.

“Use all abilities you have to kill him,” the Goldfur Bearking sent mentally.

Whooooosh. Instantly, one Immortal-ranked magic treasure after another appeared in front of the eleven monster kings. As for the Goldfur Bearking, a total of ninety-nine pearl-type magic treasures appeared around him, each one with the aura of an Immortal-ranked magic item. Clearly, this was a set of items. As the leader of the twelve monster kings and the only one truly comparable to a Celestial Immortal, someone capable of forcing even Celestial Immortals to retreat, the Goldfur Bearking naturally had some truly extraordinary Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

Boom! As they joined into their formation, Ning charged forward as well.

“Kill!”

“Kill him.”

“Damn him.”

The eleven monster kings shared their elemental ki together, using all of their specialized techniques. After all, if they didn’t have a truly supreme formation like the ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’, it was better to just share and pool their elemental ki as they used their own best techniques.

Streaks of light appeared in the skies. Enormous flaming phoenix wings that blazed for thirty thousand meters…a black deluge of water that surged towards Ning…boundless amounts of golden light that streaked and stabbed towards Ning…

……

Both Ning and the eleven monster kings had a degree of insight into the Grand Dao of Qiankun. They all activated the power of the natural world, freezing the local space with the intention of binding their opponents, preventing them from teleporting away.

Of course, one could still use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to flee…but who would choose to flee at a time like this?

“The monster king died.”

“That human is actually this terrifyingly powerful.”

The vast horde of monsters that had been led here by the monster kings primarily consisted of the most talented and skilled monsters within the court of the Flamewing King! They numbered tens of Loose Immortals as well as many Primal Diremonsters and Wanxiang Diremonsters. However, even their king had been killed by this human youth in a single exchange; how would they possibly dare to charge forward?

And now, the other eleven monster kings were attacking the human youth together. A battle at this level was something which fodder like them would play no role in.

“The surrounding space has been locked. There’s no way to teleport.”

“It seems the monster kings aren’t willing to let the human escape. They insist on killing him.” As the monsters saw this, their eyes lit up. As they saw it, the eleven monster kings, when fighting in unison, would definitely have the upper hand. As to whether or not they would be able to kill this human…that was hard to say.

……

The three-headed, six-armed Ning was three hundred meters tall, and his six swords were also three hundred meters long now. Whirling his six sharp swords, he sent sword-light criss-crossing across the sky, resisting the attacks of the eleven monster kings!

“Kill!” While blocking attacks, Ning continued to move closer and closer towards the monster kings. However, given that he was under heavy attack, how fast could he possibly move? The monster kings were able to easily pull away from Ning, and the pearl-type magic treasures of the Goldfur Bear King were particularly fierce. Every single pearl was like a miniature star that smashed down towards him with the weight of a massive mountain, causing Ning to feel very taxed when blocking them. Another monster king, the Mountback monster king, controlled a mountain-type magic treasure that smashed down with even greater power than the pearls. Fortunately, however, he only possessed a single such treasure.

The sword is an agile weapon. In the face of other attacks, Ning was able to deflect with a degree of ease, but he was at a disadvantage when faced with these heavy smashing blows.

“Hahaha, big brother, although this human has the power of a Celestial Immortal, you also have the power of a Celestial Immortal. Although the rest of us are a bit weaker, when we join forces we can completely suppress him. However…he is a Fiendgod Body Refiner with extremely powerful recuperative abilities. Still…that will only allow him to delay the inevitable.”

“If this continues, he will definitely die.”

“My brothers, be careful; don’t let him use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape.”

“Don’t worry, big brother; we are using many Immortal-ranked magic treasures to attack him. How can he possibly have the time to pull one out and activate it?”

The monster kings were filled with an aura of explosive might.

Ning was being assaulted by dozens of Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and every single wielder was an expert who was at least comparable to a Loose Immortal who had lived for five hundred thousand years. The Goldfur Bearking was comparable to a Loose Immortal who had lived for over a million years.

“Urgh.” Ning was repeatedly struck by one of the pearls, causing him to vomit up blood.

“Quick.”

“He’s almost finished.”

“Kill him.”

The monster kings all directed their Immortal-ranked magic treasures to attack, wanting to seize this chance to slay Ning.

But right at this moment, Ning mused to himself mentally: “This should be the right moment.”

Swish! Not too far away from Ning, another figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This was a black-robed Ji Ning who emanated an extremely powerful aura, the aura of a late Void-stage Earth Immortal. Behind him there was a sword sheath, and within the sword sheath were many Immortal swords that had been turned illusory and transient. The black-robed Ning pointed his finger, and instantly…swish swish swish!!! The nine seemingly-illusory black Immortal swords instantly flew out.

“Heavenraker!”

The black-robed Ning’s eyes flashed with a cold light. Instantly, the nine translucent black flying swords instantly slashed through the skies, causing massive black scar to appear in the heavens.

Why was this technique known as [Heavenraker]?

This technique used the sword as the rake, and the heavens as the field. Mortals would use rakes and plows to tear through the fields, while Ning’s sword-light was like a rake that would tear through the firmament like a field. Nine massive black scars instantly appeared in the skies, stretching towards the monster kings and enveloping three of them.

“That’s a Primaltwin.”

“This human brat actually has a Primaltwin!”

“At the late Void-stage!”

The eleven monster kings were all shocked. As soon as Ning’s Primaltwin had emerged, it had immediately used [Heavenraker], a sword technique developed by a Daofather of the Great Firmament. In addition, he was using it with nine top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, and ones that were specially designed to form into the [Heavenraker] sword formation at that! This technique was unquestionably Ning’s most powerful attack right now!

When Ning used the [Starseizing Hand], perhaps only the hand which wielded the Thousandbull Sword, a weapon almost comparable to Pure Yang treasures, would be able to unleash power which surpassed one of the nine swords in the [Heavenraker Sword Formation]. As for the combined attack of all nine swords? Even the Thousandbull Sword was a bit weaker.

“No!”

“Block it.”

“Hurry and block it!”

The other monster kings moved to help, and the three monster kings assaulted by the [Heavenraker] swords were completely focusing on blocking the technique, but…they were unable to!

A look of utter despair appeared in the eyes of the three monster kings.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! All three of them were instantly killed.

The [Heavenraker] formation of Ning’s Primaltwin was currently Ning’s most powerful technique. It was also incredibly fast; although the three monster kings knew that they wouldn’t be able to block it, there was no time at all for them to use Greater Teleportation Dao-seals to flee.

BOOM! Ning’s true body charged forward as well as his Primaltwin once more launched the [Heavenraker] towards the other monster kings. The remaining monster kings instantly grew both panicked and frantic!

Ning, having fought with them earlier, already knew about the techniques they had available to them. As the saying went, know thyself and know thy foe; in doing so, you shall be victorious in all your battles. When his Primaltwin executed the [Heavenraker], he had focused on the weakest ones of the eleven! Naturally, he had been completely successful.

BOOM! Ning’s true body exploded with full power as well. Previously, all six of Ning’s Immortal swords were comparable in power because Ning was hiding the full might of the Thousandbull Sword. The enemies believed all six swords to be identical in power! But now that the real attack had begun, Ning naturally would no longer hide anything at all. He exploded forth with full power!

“KILL!”

The Thousandbull Sword was three hundred meters long, and as it chopped out, the illusion of an old black bull could be vaguely seen above the sword. The old black bull was emanating an utterly astonishing sword-ki, and as the sword itself struck out, it seemed to have transformed into an enormous divine black dragon.

In terms of single-target attacks, even the [Heavenraker] swords were inferior to this blow. The Jadetoad King was immediately heavily injured, and a second blow from Ning’s Darknorth sword finished him off.

“Retreat!” The Goldfur Bearking gritted his teeth and howled angrily.

“Too late!” The reason why Ning had previously hid his power was for the sake of letting it all explode forth now. Holding nothing back at all, his Primaltwin and his true body both attacked at maximum force. The astonishingly fast strikes of his Primaltwin’s [Heavenraker] swords tore jagged wounds into the skies, and the nine tears were like infinite chains that came to drag away the lives of the monster kings.

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Chapter 25 – The Monster Kings Flee For Their Lives

Chapter 25 – The Monster Kings Flee For Their Lives

“Quick, flee!”

“How is this human so powerful?”

The monster kings were terrified and gripped by despair. Of the group, only their boss, the Goldfur Bearking, was able to withstand Ji Ning’s attacks. The others were only able to buy themselves a bit of time, but Ning’s terrifying [Heavenraker] attacks and savage close-combat strikes would take their lives if they made even the slightest of mistakes.

Swoosh. A bloody streak of light flashed through the skies as the Redhate monster quickly fled.

“Time to go.” A gale arose, but six streaks of distorted sword-rifts appeared in the skies, surrounding that gale and slaughtering three of the monster kings who had been on the verge of fleeing.

……

They had truly stumbled into a hornet’s nest. The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows had never imagined that this human, this Immortal Darknorth, would have reached such a terrifying level of power. If they had been able to use the perfect, complete ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’, they definitely would’ve been able to suppress Ning…but Ning had plotted to kill the Flamewing King right off the start, causing them to only be able to fight individually.

Ning’s own level of power was simply too strong. Ning’s Primaltwin was at the late Void-stage and trained in the [Darknorth Sutra], a Ki Refining Technique developed by a Daofather of the Great Firmament. In terms of elemental ki, he had an amount that was comparable to the amount which Immortal Northwalker had previously possessed. In terms of sword-arts, he was comparable as well. But more importantly, Ning had a full set of nine top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords that were perfectly suited to the [Heavenraker] sword technique.

Thus, the power of Ning’s Primaltwin was on a level higher than even Immortal Northwalker!

Ning’s true body was a bit weaker, but the Thousandbull Sword was exceptionally ferocious. In addition, wounds were not a problem for his Fiendgod body, and slashes and stabs were of minor import. This caused the Loose Immortal monster kings to fear fighting Ning in close combat.

……

Two Nings. One had incomparably powerful long range attacks that surpassed each of the monster kings in might. The other had a Fiendgod body that excelled in close combat.

Combined, the two utterly dominated these eleven monster kings that were unable to assemble into their standout formation, causing one after another to perish as they tried to flee.

“Immortal Darknorth.” The Goldfur Bearking stood there in midair, his voice booming. “What sort of a grudge did you have against the twelve of us, for you to repeatedly plot against us in such a manner?”

By now, the Goldfur Bearking could tell that Ning had been scheming against them this entire time. Ning had first feigned weakness and had even lowered the power of the Thousandbull Sword, only to suddenly unleash it later on and kill three of the monster kings. The monster kings had immediately been thrown into a state of utter chaos. Each and every action of this Immortal Darknorth was clearly meant to result in the deaths of the twelve of them!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three figures disappeared into the horizons. Ning shook his head and sighed softly. “I was so careful, but I only killed eight of them.” He only had a single main body and his Primaltwin, while his opponents were far more numerous. When they all moved to flee, they all began to use formidable agility techniques; naturally, Ning was unable to kill them all.

The Goldfur Bearking was so angry, he almost vomited blood. ‘Only’ killed eight of them?

“CHOP!” Ning’s gaze turned towards the distant Goldfur Bearking.

Whooooosh. Nine streaks of distorted sword-tears ripped through the skies, wrapping around the body of the massive Goldfur Bearking. The ninety-nine pearl-type magic treasures around the Goldfur Bearking, however, moved about in extremely profound ways as they joined together in three layers of defense. The defense was extremely tight and blocked off Ning’s sword-light attack.

“Don’t waste your energy. I’ve fought against more than ten Celestial Immortals, and none of them were able to do anything to me.” The Goldfur Bearking’s voice boomed out as he growled, “Tell me, why did you kill my brothers?”

“Brothers?” Ning shook his head. “Goldfur Bearking, all of the other monster kings were wreathed in enormous amounts of sin, and each of them were covered by more than three hundred meters of bloody sin light. You, however, have an extremely low amount of sin; you just have a bit of a corrosive black aura around you. You are completely different from them.”

The Goldfur Bearking nodded slowly. “Truth. You speak truth. They are too blind, too foolish, too insane. I am more clear-headed than them. In the face of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, they were all gripped by despair and so no longer cared about incurring sin at all. But I know that the more sins one commits, the more powerful the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations are. I want to live longer; naturally, I won’t let large amounts of sin wrap around me.”

“But they were my subordinates, the subordinates I used to unify the Eastern flows region. You’ve destroyed everything.” The Goldfur Bearking growled, “I don’t wish to be enemies with you, but I want to understand things clearly. Why did you have to kill them?”

“Because of…” Ning said with a laugh, “Sin!”

The Goldfur Bearking suddenly understood. “Ah, I see. You wish to kill great sinners so as to accumulate more karmic merit. The more karmic merit you accrue, the easier it will be and the more help you will have during your tribulation.”

“No.” Ning chuckled. “It is because of a test my master gave me.”

“Oh?” The Goldfur Bearking was puzzled.

“I must kill ten great sinners. This is my trial,” Ning said.

The Goldfur Bearking was speechless. “What…what school are you from? Why would you be given a trial like this? And…you are already so powerful. Who would dare give you a trial? Can it be that your master is a True Immortal or an Empyrean God?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Let me ask you a question; compared to Celestial Immortals, how strong am I?” Ning asked. Since this Goldfur Bearking had fought with more than ten Celestial Immortals, he should be able to give an accurate assessment.

The Goldfur Bearking nodded. “You are a Sword Immortal. Your attacks are extremely powerful, especially those of your Primaltwin, which has reached the level of an average Celestial Immortal.”

“As for your true body, it is a bit weaker; it should be at the level of a weak Celestial Immortal. Still…your true body should have an extremely powerful Immortal-ranked flying sword which is clearly more formidable than the other five. Although you are ‘only’ at the level of a weak Celestial Immortal, you have the advantage of being a Fiendgod Body Refiner.”

“If the twelve of us had been able to form into the ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’, we would’ve been able to suppress you. Without it, however, you were able to break us down one by one and defeat us. The other eleven were comparatively weak and were not quite comparable to Celestial Immortals yet,” the Goldfur Bearking evaluated.

Loose Immortals were capable of living for a hundred thousand years, three hundred thousand years, five hundred thousand years, seven hundred thousand years, nine hundred thousand years, a million years…

The longer they survived, the greater their power became.

Back in the world of the Grand Xia, Immortal Floatcloud was merely a Loose Immortal at the hundred thousand year tier. These monster kings, however, were all at least at the five hundred thousand year tier. The Goldfur Bearking had surpassed the million-year tier, which was the level of Immortal Northwalker. As for Immortal Juhua, he had lived for millions of years.

“Oh.” Ning nodded, now having a rough estimation of his level of power.

“Immortal Darknorth, if there’s anything you need, you can come visit me at Goldtop Mountain.” After speaking, the Goldfur Bearking transformed into a streak of golden light and disappeared.

……

Ning watched as the Goldfur Bearking left. He mused softly to himself, “The defense of that Goldfur Bearking was quite formidable. Those ninety-nine pearl-type treasures…the value of that entire set is definitely incalculable. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to acquire it.”

“Eh?” Having suddenly thought of something, Ning took a step back and returned to the cliff. The mountain was now a full level shorter than it had been in the past.

Ning waved his hand and an Immortal estate appeared. Bluecliff Xiaoyu and the imperial Qi clansmen emerged from the Immortal estate.

“What’s going on?” The imperial Qi clansmen stared around in terror.

“Did that Immortal Darknorth die, resulting in the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows acquiring his Immortal estate? Are we now in the hands of monsters?” The black-robed princess was terrified as well. Xiaoyu stared around with worry as well, searching for her master’s figure.

Suddenly…they were all transfixed by what they saw.

This was because they saw Ning seated next to the cliff, a gourd of wine in his hands. He was sipping it and staring towards the endless sea of clouds in the sky.

“Where are the monsters?” Qi Rufeng was awestruck.

“But, but…” The black-robed princess was stunned as well.

“Master, Master.” Xiaoyu ran over to Ning’s side. Amongst Immortal cultivators, masters and disciples had extremely close relationships. As the saying went, ‘one who is your master for a day should be revered as a parent for a lifetime’; this saying was no joke. After all, the benevolence shown by a master in transmitting the Dao was extremely great. Xiaoyu was very excited to discover that the seemingly young-looking youth was still alive and perfectly fine.

“Senior Darknorth, where are the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows?” Qi Rufeng didn’t dare believe that Ning had the power to defeat the twelve of them, and he couldn’t help but ask this question.

“Unfortunately, I only killed eight of them.” Ning shook his head and sighed.

“What?” Qi Rufeng’s eyes bulged out.

Ning paid him no attention. He continued to drink his wine and stare at the scenery. Although he was in quite a good mood, he still felt rather regretful. His trial for acquiring the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was to kill ten great sinners, but he had only killed eight! He was still missing two! If he had just killed two more of them, he would be able to go back to Mount Innerheart and learn the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] right away. Now, however, he would need to remain here for at least another short period of time and find two more great sinners to kill.

“Senior Darknorth…senior Dark…?” Qi Rufeng couldn’t help but call out repeatedly.

“Master.” Xiaoyu called out softly as well. At the same time, she couldn’t help but use her dainty little hand to gently touch Ning.

Ning turned to look at her. Xiaoyu’s face was full of questions. She whispered, “Master, you said you killed eight of them? But this…this…” She was a mere Zifu Disciple; the twelve monster kings were incomparably exalted figures in her eyes. The entirety of the Eastern Flows were ruled by them. Her master had claimed to kill eight of them? He must’ve actually just killed eight ordinary Loose Immortal monsters, right?

“Look.” Ning disdainfully waved his hand, and one Immortal-ranked magic treasure after another appeared in midair. These items had been left behind by the eight slain monster kings, and each of them emanated powerful ripples.

The eyes of Crown Prince Qi Rufeng, who had the most experience of the lot, instantly bulged out. He had seen Immortal-ranked magic treasures back in the imperial palace, which was why his eyes were bulging out right now. “These…these…these are all Immortal-ranked magic treasures? So many…how…what…”

“This set of Immortal-ranked treasures!” Qi Rufeng suddenly stared at six scimitars that hung in the skies. The six scimitars were the very same Immortal-ranked magic treasures which the Flamewing King had used long ago to slaughter a path through the Qi Empire. Qi Rufeng would never forget the scene of how one Loose Immortal after another fell in the face of those scimitars’ wanton slaughter.

“This set belonged to the Flamewing King. He’s dead now,” Ning said calmly. “He was one of the eight I killed. I promised to protect you for a year, or until I killed the Flamewing King. I’ve accomplished my promise and I’ve done enough. You can go now.”

Ning began to walk towards his Immortal estate, then instructed to Xiaoyu, “Xiaoyu, come with me.”

“Y…yes master.” Bluecliff Xiaoyu immediately followed Ning into the estate obediently.

As the two entered the Immortal estate, the Crown Prince and the princess simply stood there and stared at the estate for a long, long moment.

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Chapter 26 – Success

Chapter 26 – Success

The crown prince and the princess were indeed rather dazed. They could clearly see that the person before them was merely a Primal Daoist. For him to kill hundreds of Flamewing Guards was one thing, but how was it that he had killed eight of the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows?

Although they hadn’t personally witnessed it, the tens of Immortal-ranked magic treasures before them were real. They didn’t believe that the Flamewing King and the other monster kings who had used these Immortal-ranked magic treasures to dominate the region would just voluntarily give them to senior Darknorth.

“Big brother, we must take on this senior Darknorth as our master. Once we miss this opportunity, we might never encounter someone like him again for the rest of our lives,” the black-robed princess suddenly said.

“Right.” The crown prince’s eyes lit up as he nodded repeatedly. “Senior Darknorth is even more formidable than the twelve monster kings! He is far more powerful than our Qi Empire ever was.”

The black-robed princess said solemnly, “The Flamewing King is now dead; the Flamewing Guards under his command were sent fleeing in panic. They know that we are under senior Darknorth’s protection, and so the surviving ones definitely will not pursue us any longer. In the future, we will no longer need to flee.”

The crown prince was startled for a moment, but then he nodded repeatedly with excitement. He hadn’t seen the situation as clearly as his little sister.

“But the only two survivors of the imperial Qi clan are the two of us. How are supposed to grow stronger?” The black-robed princess said in a low voice, “The two of us, relying on our own efforts…we will probably never see the Qi Empire returned to its former glory again in our lifetimes. But by borrowing the strength of senior Darknorth, we would still have hope.”

“Right.” Qi Rufeng nodded solemnly. “Let’s go take him on as our master.”

“We have to do so with sincerity. For someone as formidable as senior Darknorth…if he detects even a hint of insincerity, he will probably refuse,” the black-robed princess warned.

The two siblings thus entered the Immortal estate as well.

Within a hall in the Immortal estate. Bluecliff Xiaoyu was seated there, watching as the two imperial siblings entered the estate.

“We wish to see senior Darknorth,” Qi Rufeng said.

“Master is in seclusion right now. Wait a bit.” Xiaoyu didn’t shoo them away, because she knew that the only reason why the two were able to enter the Immortal estate was because Ning had permitted it. Ning was the master of this estate, after all; if he didn’t wish to permit it, there was no way they would’ve been able to enter at all.

……

The reason why Ning had let them enter was because he had discovered some interesting things.

“Eh?”

“A treasure trove?” Ning flipped through the maps in front of him. There were eight maps, all identical, and all pointing towards a treasure trove!

Although the eight slain monster kings were formidable, their storage-type magic treasures were all merely Heaven-ranked items. It was naturally quite easy for Ning to bind them. As he sorted through their items, he discovered to his surprise…that every single storage item contained a map of a treasure trove. All the maps were completely identical.

The treasure maps only had some simple markings atop them, such as ‘Qi Empire’, ‘Riverfang Mountains’, etc. This made it so that Ning knew that the treasure map was originally created by the imperial Qi clan! This was the reason why Ning permitted the two imperial Qi clansmen to enter his estate.

“Each of the eight monster kings had a copy of this map, with the Flamewing King’s copy being much older. The other seven should’ve been made through a ink-duplication technique.” Ning frowned. “Right…I merely killed a few hundred of Flamewing Guards, but all twelve of the monster kings immediately attacked just a short while later. Logically speaking, the twelve of them should be scattered throughout the Eastern Flows; it would take them quite a bit of time just to spread the word to gather here. There can only be one explanation…when word of my slaughter of hundreds of Flamewing Guards made its way to the Flamewing King, the other monster kings were already present!”

“What sort of a situation would cause all twelve monster kings to gather together?”

Given that every single one of them had a copy of this treasure map…Ning had his answer. “They were most likely gathering for the sake of this treasure trove!”

Ning immediately began to search through the other items, paying especially close attention to the storage treasure of the Flamewing King. And indeed…although he didn’t find anything in the other storage treasures, within the Flamewing King’s items, Ning found an ancient book with golden parchment; clearly, it was designed to be able to withstand the passage of ages.

“The first time I ventured to the Riverfang Mountains, I was merely adventuring and entered by accident…”

“I am already a Void-level Earth Immortal; before my tribulation comes, I’ve decided to venture there once more, even though I know this place is very dangerous. I’ve only investigated a very small portion of this treasure trove; I trust that if I can acquire some more treasures, I will have a good chance of overcoming my Celestial Tribulation and becoming a Celestial Immortal.”

“……”

“Six Loose Immortals once more ventured to the Riverfang Mountains…”

“This time, we prepared many Dao-seals and treasures before venturing forth to the Riverfang Mountains…”

Ning flipped through the pages of the book. This was a legacy record passed down by the imperial Qi clan; it described the secrets of the Qi Empire’s sudden rise to power. The founding emperor of the Qi Empire had acquired a portion of the benefits of the treasure trove and thus founded his empire. In just a a few tens of thousands of years, the Qi Empire had grown to encompass an enormous territory and have quite a few Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals. Thus, the imperial Qi clan had naturally tried repeatedly to enter and investigate further. As they did, they had noted down the various dangers within the treasure trove.

They wanted to accumulate more experience and penetrate deeper within!

“A treasure trove?” Ning said softly in surprise, “Based on what this book describes, this treasure trove has Ki Refining Techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts…and is the reason why the Qi Empire was able to give birth to dozens of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals within a short span of just a few tens of thousands of years. This is far more formidable than the Black-White College; I imagine that these techniques also vastly surpass the Black-White College’s.”

“Mm. I need to go take a look.”

While at Mount Innerheart, Ning would often chat with his fellow disciples, and so he naturally knew quite a few things about this Crescent world. For example…he knew about the secrets of Viledragon River. He also knew the secrets of many other places.

Although Patriarch Subhuti had created the Crescent world, in truth, when Pangu’s World had shattered, Patriarch Subhuti had used a powerful divine ability to teleport some of the shattered portions of the Primordial World to his own Crescent world. In addition, when Patriarch Subhuti wanted to test something or create something a new, his experiments would be carried out here on the Crescent world! This was because this world was his territory; the secrets here would never be released to outsiders.

“From what my senior fellow disciples told me…within this Crescent world are some remnant parts of the ancient Pangu’s World, as well as some of the treasures left behind by that cataclysmic war.” Ning instantly felt a hot eagerness rise in his heart. Very few knew this secret, and almost all who did were the personal disciples of the Old Patriarch. Thus, they would often go roving and exploring within the Crescent world.

“But after the Old Patriarch sealed off these places with vestigial powers left behind by the cataclysmic war that ended Pangu’s World…if one doesn’t visit the places in person, it would be very hard to locate the places from afar.”

“Now, it seems…this treasure trove is one of those special places.”

Ning felt quite certain. This was because the book stated that the deepest ripples within the treasure trove caused the Loose Immortals of the Qi Empire to tremble with terror. It must be understood that Loose Immortals were capable of suppressing and binding Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and sometimes even capable of suppressing Pure Yang treasures. A treasure that could cause them to feel terror? Could it be the corpse of a major power from the Primordial Era? A weapon? A grand formation? Or was it some other oddity?

“I need to go take a look.” Ning immediately made up his mind to go take a look. Since destiny had come knocking, why hesitate?

The crown prince and the princess waited for Ning for a long time. Finally, Ning came out.

Ning asked questions them regarding the treasure trove. The second princess knew nothing of this matter, while Crown Prince Qi Rufeng hemmed and hawed, not wanting to reveal the biggest secret of their imperial Qi clan. However, by the time Ning spoke of the Riverfang Mountains…the crown prince felt regret for his hesitation. Only now did he hurriedly reveal everything.

“You can leave now.” This was the last thing Ning said to them.

The crown prince and the princess both fell to their knees, wanting to beg Ning to take them on as disciples. But Ning’s response was very simple; he teleported them outside the Immortal estate, and then caused the entire Immortal estate to vanish into thin air.

The crown prince, the princess, and their servants stood there in a daze, atop the half-shattered mountain peak. The mountain wind blew through their hair, causing them to feel despair.

“The opportunity was right there in front of me. Why didn’t I tell him? It’s just a treasure trove! Senior Darknorth already knew about it; he must’ve been considering taking us on as disciples, and just wanted to give us a test. But I didn’t tell him! Damn me!” Crown Prince Qi Rufeng was utterly tormented by regret.

But he had no idea that even if he had been honest, Ning still wouldn’t have taken him on as a disciple.

How could one accept disciples in such a casual manner?

……

Ning didn’t immediately hurry to the treasure trove area in the Riverfang Mountains. Instead, he went to search for those two other great sinners.

He first went to search for the three surviving monster kings of the Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows who had fled. Unfortunately…the only one Ning found was the fourth, the ‘Venomspike King’. The Venomspike King was drinking unhappily in his palace with a belly full of anger and unhappiness. He was toying with a beautiful, fox-like maiden in his arms as he drank.

When Ning appeared, the Venomspike King was so terrified that he wanted to immediately flee…but how could Ning give him the opportunity to do so?

“How the hell did I piss you off?!” The Venomspike King was only able to let out one final enraged bellow before being killed by Ning.

……

Ning then spent more than half a month before finally finding a Loose Immortal within a school whose evil reputation was widespread. This was a human Loose Immortal, and the most powerful expert of his school! This was an old fellow who had lived for six hundred thousand years. His school was an evil one, and so Ning immediately went to uproot this vile base!

He first slaughtered three Loose Immortals who charged towards him, causing the old fellow to appear at last. As the many disciples of the school watched with anticipation…their ‘infinitely powerful’ and savage Patriarch battled against Ning for a period of time, then was pincered and slain by Ning’s true body and Primaltwin!

“What a fellow. His power was close to the Goldfur Bearking’s; only, his defense was a bit weaker.” Ning had enjoyed this battle quite a bit. He had also acquired two more Immortal-ranked magic treasures from the old fellow, one a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure, one a top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

This was the most powerful person Ning had slain.

“Wonderful, wonderful.”

“I’ve killed so many formidable Loose Immortals, all of whom were surrounded by vicious, baleful auras. My three Darknorth swords are now comparable to high-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords now.” Ning felt quite delighted; killing ordinary Loose Immortals didn’t do much, but the nine monster kings and that wicked Patriarch released an absolutely astonishing amount of baleful energy when slain. The wicked Patriarch in particular; his baleful aura was comparable to four or five of the monster kings combined!

“If I kill ten more figures like that wicked Patriarch, I imagine that my Darknorth swords will be comparable to top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords.” This was Ning’s estimation.

……

He had successfully taken on a disciple. He had also killed ten great sinners. Now, Ning led his disciple, Bluecliff Xiaoyu, to the Riverfang Mountains.

“So these are the Riverfang Mountains?” Ning stared towards the distance. The mountains here stretched out past the horizon and were perpetually shrouded by fog and clouds. From Ning’s vantage point, these mountains did indeed look like a series of sharp fangs that were jutting towards the skies.

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Chapter 27 – Riverfang Mountains

Chapter 27 – Riverfang Mountains

As Ji Ning stared at the distant Riverfang Mountains, he couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat. He could vaguely sense an incomparably terrifying threat that lay coiled deep within the mountains.

“At my current level of power…there are very few people in the entire Crescent world who can pose a threat to me. The ones who are more powerful than me have almost all been recruited into Mount Innerheart; when they see me, they might even have to address me as ‘uncle-master’. Even the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would be my fellow disciples,” Ning mused to himself.

Roaming within the Crescent world should be like roaming within his own family garden. This was the very first time he felt a thrill of fear!

“It seems there really is some danger here, enough danger to threaten me.” Ning nodded lightly. “Mm. If the situation looks bad, I’ll immediately hide in the underwater estate. Later, I’ll ask Master to help me escape back to Mount Innerheart.”

When trapped in dire circumstances, ask for Master’s aid. Although this was a bit shameless, Ning was within the Crescent world, after all; his master couldn’t be too strict with him. In addition, after he truly left the Crescent world, Ning wouldn’t even be able to mention his master’s name; he’d have to rely on himself for everything.

“Master?” The nearby Bluecliff Xiaoyu called out softly.

Ning glanced sideways at his disciple, then said with a laugh, “Xiaoyu, I am going into the mountains to take a look. These mountains are very dangerous; go into the Immortal estate first.”

“Yes, Master,” Xiaoyu said obediently.

Ning waved his arm, immediately drawing Xiaoyu into his Immortal estate. And then, by himself, Ning transformed into a streak of light that flew straight into the Riverfang Mountains.

……

Ning had acquired the detailed records produced by successive generations of Qi Empire experts. He soon reached the outer perimeter of the treasure trove.

“Eh?” As he strode through the mountains, Ning felt a strange sensation coming to him through the earth.

“Kill…kill…kill…”

He could vaguely sense as though an invisible howl was being transmitted from far away through the dirt, as though an unfathomably long period of time ago, an enormous battle had occurred in this place. Even now, after so many years had passed, the murderous intent from that battle remained unabated.

“The earth here is different from the ordinary earth found elsewhere in the Crescent world. It’s clearly much heavier, and the earth’s aura in this region is significantly denser as well.” Ning nodded lightly. “This might truly be a tiny remnant of Pangu’s shattered Primordial World which was teleported here.”

With the aid of the tests the imperial Qi clan had carried out, Ning quickly found a mountain valley and began to walk through it. The clouds and the mists coiled about here, making it so that even Ning was only able to see to one or two kilometers. As for divine sense? What his divine sense found was completely different from what his physical eyes could see. This was because….

“My divine sense has been completely fooled. Everything my divine sense is showing me is false.” Ning even stretched his hand out to touch a place, ascertaining that his eyes weren’t being deceived as well!

He carefully advanced.

Far away, up ahead, he saw an enormous ravine. Ning could sense a terrifyingly sharp saber-intent radiating from that ravine.

“Apparently, although this ravine looks as though it was naturally formed, it was actually carved out through saber-ki.” Ning walked forward for the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea. Suddenly, he felt an invisible pressure envelop him.

“This is the same as what was recorded within the Qi Empire’s book. According to the book, the deeper one goes in, the greater the pressure shall become. The experts of the various generations of the Qi Empire were all ultimately forced to give up by this pressure and return. The pathway I’m walking through right now should be the pathway with the least amount of pressure.” Ning quickly advanced. As he did, the strength of the pressure rose dramatically.

When Ning had first entered this region, five thousand kilograms of pressure was evenly being applied to his body. But now, it had already reached five hundred thousand kilograms…fifty million kilograms…

Rumble…

A powerful repulsive force collided against Ning’s body, causing a series of rumbling sounds. The amount of pressure pushing down against Ning was now comparable to a series of massive mountains that were smashing down repeatedly towards him!

“Even most Loose Immortals wouldn’t be able to withstand this amount of pressure.” Ning waved his hand, and the Thousandbull Sword appeared within it. Brandishing the Thousandbull Sword, Ning caused a divine black dragon to suddenly howl forth, striking against the pressure that was crushing down against Ning and lessening it.

“Pretty easy.” Ning continued to advance forward while using the Thousandbull Sword to chop apart the invisible pressure.

Clearly, this sort of invisible pressure was born from some sort of ancient, powerful restrictive formation; it sent pulses of pressure out to attack. Loose Immortals were generally Ki Refiners with very weak bodies; thus, if they wanted to advance, they would have to rely on their magic treasures to break apart the pulses of pressure. Previously, Ning had been relying on his Fiendgod Body and so didn’t need to use any magic treasures to make it to this point.

Whoosh. Yet another divine black dragon howled forth, leaving behind a dazzling arc in the mist and blasting apart yet another pulse of pressure.

After walking for another period of time.

“Change!” Ning suddenly transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form. Five more Immortal swords appeared in his hands, all of them the illusory black Heavenraker swords. In such a dangerous region, Ning was unwilling to let his Primaltwin appear. Thus, his true body would temporarily use the Heavenraker swords; after all, the power of top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords was very great.

With six top-grade Immortal-ranked swords in his hands, as well as the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability, Ning once more found it easy to advance through the region.

The amount of divine power [Three Heads, Six Arms] used up was more than ten times less than the amount the [Starseizing Hand] used up.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

Six divine black dragons howled forth, blasting apart one pulse of pressure after another. However, some remnant pulses still made their way through and struck Ning, causing explosive sounds when they did! Ning, however, was a Fiendgod Body Refiner; so long as the remnant pressures didn’t contain too much power, he would be fine.

“This place is a place the imperial Qi clansmen have never reached.”

After walking for another period of time, Ning realized that even with six Immortal swords, he was beginning to feel a bit taxed. Right at this moment, Ning saw a figure off in the distance. The figure saw Ning as well.

“Immortal Darknorth.” A booming voice rang out.

“Goldfur Bearking.” Ning spoke out. The man before him was the tall, muscular Goldfur Bearking. Around him were those ninety-nine pearls that were circling and swirling as they broke apart the pulses of pressure.

“Immortal Darknorth, you acquired a treasure map and discovered this place?” The Goldfur Bearking said.

“Just so.” Ning didn’t deny it.

“Originally, the twelve of us were planning to enter these Riverfang Mountains. We were discussing this matter with our third brother, but when we received word that hundreds of his Flamewing Guards had been slain, all of us immediately followed him to your place to provide support…but who would’ve thought that most of the others would die, and that today I would be the only person to come to this treasure trove? Oh, and you, Immortal Darknorth, the slayer of so many monster kings…you came as well. Truly, anything can happen in this world!” The Goldfur Bearking sighed.

Ning laughed. “I do indeed need to thank the Flamewing King. Otherwise, how could I have learned about this treasure trove? Still…why have you come to a halt here? Are you unable to move any further?”

There was something quite strange about this region. If one advanced, no matter towards which direction, one would feel tremendous amounts of pressure crashing down upon one’s body. However, if one didn’t move at all, one wouldn’t suffer the pressure.

“Right, I can’t move any further! You have a Fiendgod body, and so you can endure the remnant repulsive force when it strikes you. Loose Immortals Ki Refiners like myself, however, don’t dare to fight head on in such a manner. We need to completely dissipate all of the terrifying pressure, which requires an enormous amount of elemental ki to be used up. I need to first restore more of my elemental ki before I go in any further,” the Goldfur Bearking said.

“Then I’ll take my leave for now,” Ning said with a chuckle. Six top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords in his hands, Ning once more began to force his way forward, quickly disappearing from the Goldfur Bearking’s field of vision.

“The preparations we made all ended up benefiting this Immortal Darknorth.” 1 The Goldfur Bearking gritted his teeth, but he felt quite helpless. He knew that Ning was more powerful than he was, and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ning had a better chance of survival in a place like this.

……

“[Starseizing Hand]!”

Ning was finally forced by the pressure to use his [Starseizing Hand].

Instantly, the power of the divine black dragons of sword-light increased dramatically. In fact, Ning even temporarily cancelled his [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique. Just by relying on the Thousandbull Sword and the [Starseizing Hand], he carved a path forward!

Charge! Charge! Charge!

But gradually, Ning was once again pressured to the point of being forced to use [Three Heads, Six Arms]. All six arms were now using the [Starseizing Hand]. After a long period of time, Ning was even forced to take a break, so as to recover his largely depleted divine power.

……

Occasional breaks, followed by occasional advances. Towards the end, Ning would have to use six strikes of the [Starseizing Hand] for every thirty meters he travelled. One could imagine how quickly his divine power was being used up!

Rumble…

As Ning took one more step forward…he actually broke through and out of the pressure region.

“Hahahaha.”

“I finally escaped that damn place.”

Ning laughed loudly. There were no more ripples of pressure in this location. For the first time in his life…Ning felt as though walking forward normally was actually quite an enjoyable thing.

“I spent nearly a full day walking a mere several thousand kilometers, and I used up all of my divine power several times.” Ning shook his head and sighed. Still, he continued to advance with all six Immortal swords at the ready. He tried to use his divine sense to scout ahead, but unfortunately, his divine sense remained deceived, as everything it was telling him was clearly false.

Ning walked forward, following a winding creek. Fog and mist continued to swirl around the region, causing him to only be able to see to a distance of one or two kilometers, where he could vaguely make out a gorge.

CRA-KOW! Just as Ning took a step forward, a bolt of lightning suddenly descended out of nowhere.

“Beat it!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all as he immediately swung out all six swords with full force. Six divine black dragons of sword-light hwoled forward, shattering that bolt of lightning.

Crackle crackle crackle…a large amount of lightning and thunder began to swell forward towards him.

“Previously it was invisible pressure…but at least that wasn’t lethal. But this lightning is.” Ning hurriedly used his swordplay to defend. He noticed that so long as he retreated, the number of attacking thunderbolts would lessen. When he advanced, however, the attacking thunderbolts would increase at an astonishing rate, growing increasingly savage and increasingly powerful.

Ning was only able to advance three hundred meters before being forced to come to a halt, unable to advance any further.

Rumble….

The bolts of lightning were now as thick as a water barrel. They wildly flooded towards and hammered down upon Ning, who struggled to block them. He tried to take a single step forward, but the increasingly frenetic thunderbolts instantly pushed him backwards.

“What should I do? I can’t advance at all.” Ning was worried now. The attacks were simply too powerful.

Ning had tested letting a small amount of the lightning strike him, and his divine body had easily deflected it. However, as he continued to test it, he realized that there was a limit to how many thunderbolts his divine body could endure. He had to use his sword-light to break apart the rest!

The only reason he had made it as far as he did was because of his Fiendgod-like body.

“Am I going to have to go back? Going back is easy, as the number of lightning bolts will lessen as I retreat. As for the pressure zone, I’ll only need around half a day or so to move through it and slowly escape.” Ning didn’t have any problems with leaving, unlike some; according to the imperial Qi records, there had been Loose Immortals who had used special methods to force a path forward, but after making it too far in, they were unable to escape. This was because when leaving, they still had to go through the pressure zone once more. They eventually had to spend countless years retreating, one step at a time.

What Ning didn’t realize was that the Flamewing King had been trapped within the pressure zone for tens of years!

Rumble…

Countless bolts of lightning continued to slam down frantically.

Ning truly didn’t want to give up.

“Kiddo, you came in at such a low level of power? I urge you to hurry up and leave. Don’t lose your life here!” A shrill voice suddenly rang out within Ning’s ears.

1. In the original Chinese, the saying was ‘made wedding clothes for him’; this is a classic saying about how you put in a tremendous amount of work, only for someone else to reap the benefits.

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Chapter 28 – Returning to Mount Innerheart

Chapter 28 – Returning to Mount Innerheart

There was someone else here?

Ji Ning was startled. He hurriedly retreated several meters, causing the striking lightning bolts to weaken slightly. Only now did he dare divide his attention to look around carefully.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. From the crevices between the bolts of lightning that continued to hammer towards him, Ning saw a black-robed youth was standing far away at the entrance to the distant gorge.

Swoosh! Ning hurriedly retreated, leaving from the thunder field region. All of the lightning bolts vanished, allowing Ning to clearly see the figure at the entrance to the gorge. The black-robed youth was similar to Mu Northson in height, and even skinnier than Ning himself. However, Ning could sense that this black-robed youth had been alive for a long, long time.

The black-robed youth’s gaze was both sharp and terrifying. His face was expressionless; he was most likely the type that was born arrogant and aloof.

“Who are you?” Ning asked.

“Me?” The black-robed youth’s voice was shrill. He looked thoughtfully towards Ning. “Even if I told you my name, kid, you wouldn’t recognize it. You should be at the early Void stage, but you actually broke through the first forbidden zone, and were even able to advance three hundred meters in the second zone, the lightning zone. You just barely qualify as having the power of a Celestial Immortal. For someone to have such power at the early Void stage…which school do you belong to? Who is your master?”

Ning was secretly surprised. Celestial Immortal?

Since the black-robed youth had already arrived at the entrance to the gorge, he clearly should’ve already made it past the lightning zone. This meant he was far more powerful than Ning. Ning’s Primaltwin at full power would be just barely at the average Celestial Immortal level; some particularly formidable and monstrously talented Celestial Immortals were far more powerful than him.

“My master’s name is not for the likes of you to learn,” Ning said.

“Oh, is he a True Immortal or Empyrean God?” The black-robed youth chuckled softly as he carefully scrutinized Ning’s face. Ning, however, remained calm.

The black-robed youth shook his head. “Leave, hurry up and leave. Even I am unable to acquire the treasure within. Even if you were a hundred times stronger than you are now, it wouldn’t suffice.”

“A hundred times?” Ning frowned, not believing it.

“You don’t believe it? Then listen to this; this treasure trove is divided into three forbidden zones. The first zone simply uses pressure and repulsive force! It is quite safe. The second zone is the lightning zone, and it is 540 meters long in total. As for the third forbidden zone, it forbids the usage of all magic treasures. Even I am unable to break through it.”

The black-robed youth looked disdainfully at Ning. “And you? You haven’t even overcome a Celestial Tribulation. You might be a peerless genius, but you are unable to advance past three hundred meters of the lightning zone. You must know by now that with each step forward, the power in the lightning zone increases dramatically. Only if your power increases tenfold will you be able to break through the second zone…but the third zone is even more terrifying. I imagine not even many Celestial Immortals are capable of breaking through it.”

“What is in the third forbidden zone?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“That’s not for you to worry about,” the black-robed youth said.

“Why haven’t you left?” Ning asked.

“I’m a Celestial Immortal with an infinite lifespan. Since the treasure is here, I will slowly train here. Perhaps a chance will present itself and I’ll be able to acquire it,” the black-robed youth said.

Hearing this, Ning instantly felt irritated. He could sense the faint ripples of power coming from within the valley; the ripples were extremely old yet very powerful. “The Thousandbull Sword is almost at the level of Pure Yang treasures in power, but its ripples are vastly inferior. The treasure within must have be an extremely powerful one that was left behind from Pangu’s World.”

“However…I can’t even make it through the second forbidden zone. How am I suppose to pass all three?”

Ning stood there by the creek outside the lightning zone. He pondered quietly for a moment, then gritted his teeth, turned, and left.

Whoosh.

Ning quickly re-entered the invisible pressure zone, slowly forcing his way outwards.

“He’s gone?” The black-robed youth shook his head. “A young kid who was far too weak. Given his talent, though, he might have a shot at becoming a Celestial Immortal.” And then, the black-robed youth once more walked into the gorge.

“Immortal Darknorth, you returned?” On the way back, Ning once more encountered the Goldfur Bearking. The Goldfur Bearking was advancing again, but he had only traversed a kilometer beyond his earlier point.

“I’m not strong enough. Naturally, I have to return.”

Ning, in his three-headed, six-armed form, wielded six Immortal swords and chopped a path through the pressure pulses as he left.

“Not strong enough?” The Goldfur Bearking muttered to himself, “Is it possible that this Darknorth has already acquired the treasures? Still, from the look on his face, I’d say he isn’t lying.” Although he secretly mumbled and muttered to himself, the Goldfur Bearking wasn’t confident in being able to wrest any treasures from Ning’s grasp.

……

Ning exited the Riverfang Mountains.

Turning his head, he gave the mountain ranges, perpetually shrouded by fog and clouds, a glance. He murmured softly, “Wait for me to train in the arcane art…I’ll give you another try then.”

Whoosh. A spatial ripple appeared, and Ning disappeared into it. He reappeared in the sky above the mountain peak of Mount Innerheart, a cloud beneath his feet.

“Come out.” Ning willed it, and instantly a white-robed maiden appeared by his side. This was Ning’s disciple, Bluecliff Xiaoyu.

“Master.” Xiaoyu stood atop the cloud, staring at her surroundings. “Where are we now?”

Ning looked at his disciple, then turned to stare at the levitating Mount Innerheart. It had only been a month, but he had already accepted a disciple and killed ten great sinners. Bluecliff Xiaoyu’s golden glow of karmic virtue stretched to more than nine hundred meters…and now, Ning’s own clean aura of holiness had also transformed into the golden glow of karmic virtue!

However, his divine sense told him that his own golden light of karmic virtue merely stretched to be three feet long.

Actually, the process of accepting a disciple and killing the monster kings had already caused his clean aura of holiness to become quite dense; after he killed the wicked Patriarch, it suddenly transformed into the golden light of karmic virtue.

“Three feet of golden karmic light, compared to nine hundred meters for my disciple.” Ning laughed, then pulled Xiaoyu by the hand as he flew upwards.

“Xiaoyu, the mountain up ahead is Mount Innerheart. This is the place where Master’s school is located,” Ning said with a laugh.

Xiaoyu stared at the massive levitating mountain, then lowered her head to look at the endless world beneath them. “Master’s school?” She felt rather stunned.

They flew into Mount Innerheart, went up the mountain road, and soon arrived at the gates. Xiaoyu was only Ning’s disciple, and so Ning didn’t take her to see the eldest apprentice-brother.

At the gates were those two azure-robed Dao-novitiates. When they saw Ning, they immediately bowed and said with great respect, “Patriarch.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

Still stunned, Xiaoyu let Ning tug her forward by the arm. After passing through the gates, Xiaoyu came back to her senses. She whispered, “Master, it seems as though those two novitiates at the gates were very powerful?”

“Both were Void-level Earth Immortals,” Ning said casually.

Just as Ning’s words came out, two extremely ancient and powerful Void-level Fiendgods walked over. Both of them called out with tremendous courtesy, “Patriarch?”

The feeling these two ancient Fiendgods gave Xiaoyu…was that they were even more terrifying than the monster kings. They caused her to quiver and shake! And yet, they referred to her master as ‘Patriarch’?!

They continued walking up the mountain path of the Tristar Crescent Abode. As they did so, they encountered humans, monsters, and even Fiendgods, all of whom had powerful auras and many of whom were even more terrifying than the monster kings. And yet, upon seeing Ning, they all showed extreme respect, addressing him as either ‘Patriarch’ or ‘Uncle-Master’.

“It seems as though my master has a very high status in his school. On our way over…it seems everyone we ran into had a lower status than him. I haven’t even met a single person on his level,” Xiaoyu murmured to herself.

“The Divinities Palace is up ahead,” Ning said.

“Divinities Palace?” Xiaoyu looked curiously at the nine-storied Divinities Palace. Many disciples of Mount Innerheart were congregating outside of it, and they all respectfully bowed towards Ning and addressed him as uncle-master or as Patriarch. Little Qing and Uncle White ran straight towards him; they were spiritually connected to Ning and knew exactly where he was.

“Master.”

“Ning, child.”

Both Little Qing and Uncle White ran over.

Right at this moment, a handsome, white-robed man walked over from the entrance to the Divinities Palace. This was naturally the controller of the Divinities Palace, Silvermoon. Silvermoon smiled as he walked over. “I heard, junior apprentice-brother, that you accepted a disciple and subdued viledoers in the world below us. This would be the apprentice you took on, yes? What a pretty little lass.”

“I’ve finally met someone of the same generation as Master…and they seem quite friendly. He doesn’t have any frightening aura at all,” Xiaoyu mused silently to herself.

“Xiaoyu, hurry up and pay respects to your uncle-master,” Ning instructed.

“Greetings, uncle-master,” Xiaoyu said as she hurriedly bowed with respect.

“Since you’ve addressed me as uncle-master, I need to prepare a gift for you.” Silvermoon shook his head and laughed. “It’ll be hard for a little girl like you to make proper use of a good treasure. Mmm…keep this little toy with you. Even if a Celestial Immortal wants to kill you, it’ll be able to protect you for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea.”

As he spoke, he tossed a jade brooch towards Xiaoyu.

Xiaoyu was rather stunned. A Celestial Immortal’s attacks? Able to withstand them for a short period of time? This tiny little brooch? Not even the treasure which her master had given her was this incredible.

“But…but…” Xiaoyu couldn’t help but feel awkward at the ‘pricelessness’ of this treasure.

“Hurry up and take it,” Ning chortled. “This jade brooch is nothing to your uncle-master. He kills Celestial Immortals as easily as killing chickens.”

“Junior apprentice-brother, you…fine, I admit that I did indeed make this jade brooch in a rather casual manner. I’ll also give you another gift then, a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal. I’m not capable of forging them; I used treasures to trade for it.” Silvermoon handed over a Dao-seal to her.

Ning’s smile became incandescent. His senior apprentice-brother was an Empyrean God; although a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal was a treasure to Ning, it wasn’t much to Silvermoon. It was only fair for him to seize this opportunity to milk Silvermoon for a few things.

Xiaoyu blinked repeatedly.

Two treasures? Given away so casually? Kill Celestial Immortals as easily as chickens? This…what the hell type of school had she been recruited into?!

“Little Qing, show Xiaoyu around the Tristar Crescent Abode and help her familiarize herself with this place. Chat with her a bit as well; she still doesn’t know what sort of a school the Tristar Crescent Abode is,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Yes, Master.” Little Qing immediately responded with excitement.

Ning immediately said, “Senior apprentice-brother, I am going to go to the Three Realms Palace.”

“Go, go,” Silvermoon said, nodding his head and smiling. “It seems you are going to leave our master’s tutelage soon.”

……

The Three Realms Palace.

Second apprentice-brother Crazy Ji was beaming merrily here as he waited for Ning.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Ning bowed.

“Master told me that you passed the trial. This is the full copy of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. You can learn it now.” Crazy Ji held his fan in one hand and used the other to hand over a scrolled bamboo book.

Ning’s eyes instantly lit up. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]? After he gained a basic level of expertise in it, his body would be like an Immortal-ranked magic treasure. He would definitely be able to give the Riverfang Mountains another try by then.

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning immediately accepted the bamboo book. He sent his divine sense into it, and instantly an utterly prodigious amount of information began to flow into his soul.

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Chapter 29 – Training in the Arcane Art

Chapter 29 – Training in the Arcane Art

By the time Ji Ning came back to his senses, it was already dark.

He was still standing outside the small building. As for the nearby Crazy Ji, he had long since gone back to sleep and was snoring contentedly.

“Although my soul is unfathomably more powerful than it was back when I learned the [Starseizing Hand], it still took me many hours to process all that information.” A hint of a smile was on Ning’s face. This feeling of complete confidence was quite wonderful. He had fully memorized the method of training in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“It truly is the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level.”

Ning smiled as he walked into the Three Realms Palace.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you can just put the complete copy of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] back in the Three Realms Palace. If you want to choose something else, you can do so.” Crazy Ji lay there, seemingly mumbling in his sleep. He then turned and started to snore again.

Ning smiled. He turned and bowed. “Yes, senior apprentice-brother.”

……

After returning the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning unhesitatingly walked forward to pick up another abridged book. Atop this book were the characters: [Houyi’s Archery].

Ning had dreamed of learning [Houyi’s Archery] for a long time now. His own divine ability was the [Starseizing Hand], a divine ability which caused his pair of hands to possess unfathomably great power. With one hand holding the bow, and the other drawing it…and in addition, [Houyi’s Archery] was a technique-focused ability. These two divine abilities, both ranked in the top ten of the Three Realms, could be used simultaneously and would synergize very well.

The first gave Ning’s twin hands unfathomable power. The second would raise his archery skills to the limit. Combined…they would become one of Ning’s most powerful killer combinations.

“However…this trial truly is difficult. Can I accomplish it?” Ning stared at the trial, frowning. “No matter what, I have to give it a try. There’s no time limit, anyhow.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Ning put down the abridged book, walked to the doorway, and looked at the slumbering Crazy Ji. “I wish to learn [Houyi’s Archery].”

“Go then. Come back after you pass the trial,” Crazy Ji mumbled in his sleep.

Ning smiled, turned his head, and immediately departed.

Actually, although on the surface it seemed as though he was informing Crazy Ji, in reality his was telling his master, Patriarch Subhuti! After all, it was the Patriarch who would decide whether or not this technique could be taught to him.

Whoosh. Ning departed.

Crazy Ji suddenly sat up. Leaning against the wooden door of the hall, he frowned as he stared at the departing Ning. “He wants to train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and [Houyi’s Archery]? Doesn’t this little junior apprentice-brother of mine walk the path of the Sword Immortal? Why is it that I feel as though he views [Houyi’s Archery] as absolutely critical for him to acquire? No one in the entire Three Realms has ever reached a level of archery as terrifying as Houyi did.”

The [Starseizing Hand] only required sufficient amounts of Five Elements essence; with it, one could train all the way to the Sixth Cycle and master it!

The same was also true for the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Upon gaining a basic level of skill with it, as long as one fused enough magic treasures, one could master all nine of its cycles.

But the [Starseizing Hand] and the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] both needed astonishing amounts of items. The first required shocking amounts of Five Elements essence, while the other required similarly shocking amounts of magic treasures. There were quite a few people in the Three Realms who trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], but the number who truly achieved mastery and an unbreakable, vajra-like body was very very low.

[Houyi’s Archery] was completely different! It was a skill-based, technique-based ability. It required a certain level of comprehension and enlightenment. This made it even harder to master! It also required a person to constantly ruminate on the Dao of Archery…although Houyi’s own level of archery had already surpassed the bounds of the actual Dao of Archery.

“A Sword Immortal…who is also going to split up his attention to walk the Dao of Archery?” Crazy Ji pondered. “Perhaps it is simply because this junior apprentice-brother knows that [Houyi’s Archery] is one of the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms, and so he truly wishes to learn it. After he learns how truly difficult it is, he might just give it up.”

……

Within the Still Room in the underwater estate. Ning was seated in the lotus position as he began to train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. This was a divine ability, and so he had to have his true body train it!

Whooosh. Ning let out a breath of air. A blurry golden light began to slowly appear around his body. The golden light was very faint at first, but it slowly grew denser until Ning seemed to be made out of gold.

“Change!” Ji Ning, who had been seated atop the netherwater jade bed, suddenly vanished. Atop the jade bed appeared a rock. However, this rock had a living aura; any Immortal cultivators would be able to immediately tell that it was extraordinary.

“Cancel.” The rock disappeared and Ning once more reappeared.

For a Fiendgod Body Refiner at Ning’s level, the divine body could be completely transformed into divine power, and vice versa! In fact, even a single hair could be transformed into a completely separate body! Thus, to transform one’s self into a rock wasn’t difficult; what was difficult was to make it so that one’s aura would be so retracted that one would be indistinguishable from a true rock.

“Retract the aura? Change even the aura of one’s soul?” Ning murmured softly to himself, “This [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] truly is difficult to learn. However…once I gain a basic level of expertise, I can change my aura as I please and will be able to easily make it so that I am like a rock or a piece of dirt.”

……

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was the [Seventy-Two Transformations]. As noted, the term ‘seventy-two’ came from the term ‘eight-nine’; in reality, the number of transformations it allowed was limitless. Rocks, trees, flowers, plants, animals…even humans, monsters, and Fiendgods! Anything that existed in the Three Realms, one could transform into. Even the aura would become absolutely identical.

Even those more powerful than the user would find it difficult to see through the transformation. Only those who specialized in extremely powerful ‘god-eye’ techniques or other special techniques, when actively using those techniques, would be able to see the truth! If they didn’t actively use the special techniques, however, even they would be unable to realize that the tree before them was actually someone else transformed.

……

Early dawn.

Bluecliff Xiaoyu, rather bored, walked out of her room.

“It’s been half a year since Master brought me back to Mount Innerheart, but he’s only taught me twice. He instructed me to go learn everything, such as Ki Refining Techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts, from the Divinities Palace.” Xiaoyu felt rather resigned. She knew that some experts had strange temperaments, but she didn’t expect that her master would care so little about her. She normally didn’t even have a chance to meet him.

“Still…”

“Mount Innerheart truly is an incredible place.” Xiaoyu sighed in amazement. Over the course of the past half year, she was often together with Uncle White and Little Qing, as well as the other disciples of Mount Innerheart. Thus, she was beginning to learn more and more. And the more she learned, the more amazed she was!

Celestial Immortals? Their statuses was lower than her master’s!

Personal disciples? The others were all Pure Yang True Immortals or Empyrean Gods. The guard of the Divinities Palace was an Empyrean God. No wonder that day her master had told her that this uncle-master killed Celestial Immortals as easily as chickens!

Whaaaat?! The entire Crescent world had been created by Patriarch Subhuti? He had set up his own cycle of reincarnation? The Old Patriarch had done this all by himself?

Xiaoyu now realized that the entire Crescent world was like a garden world for the members of Mount Innerheart. Supposedly, beyond the Crescent world, there was the even vaster Three Realms. Supposedly, this ‘Three Realms’ had many other major powers that were comparable to the Old Patriarch.

“Um.” Xiaoyu saw a large rock next to her as she walked forward. Without thinking too much, she plopped her rear down on it and sat down.

“I wonder when I’ll see Master again,” Xiaoyu murmured to herself. And then…

“Eh?” She suddenly frowned, glancing downwards at the stone beneath her. “Weird. If memory serves…there shouldn’t be a rock here. Where did this rock come from? Uh…well, this is Master’s Immortal estate; everything within it is under his control. No need for me to worry about it, I suppose. Mm…right. I’m going to go find that big dumb lunk. He’s at a fairly high level of enlightenment; he can provide me with some guidance.”

Bluecliff Xiaoyu stood up and quickly ran off.

Whoosh.

The stone transformed into a fur-clad youth, Ji Ning.

“…I was actually sat on by my disciple.” Ning took a deep breath. “Fortunately, no one saw this. Um…right. Definitely can’t tell anyone about this.”

“No more transforming into rocks. I’ll transform into a tree. I refuse to believe anyone is going to sit on me then.”

Whoosh.

In a corner of the estate, there were some trees and flowers. Another tree, a small pine tree that was a few meters tall, now joined their ranks. The branches of the tree even fluttered in the breeze.

Ning had already more than half-mastered the rudiments to the transformation aspects of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. What he was doing every day was transforming into rocks, trees, creeks, grass, and other things. To this day, no one had been able to discover him. In fact, Ning’s Primaltwin had visually searched, used divine sense, and even opened the ‘Celestial Eye’, but was still unable to discover any flaws!

When Ning was transformed into a tree, his bark, his branches, his leaves…they were absolutely identical to real ones. Even the aura of his soul had transformed into a tree’s aura! There was nothing special about it at all!

……

Time flowed on, day by day. Ning constantly trained in his transformation techniques, testing himself repeatedly and accruing more and more experience. Finally, after spending a year and three months on the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning mastered all of the ‘seventy-two’ transformations.

“The final transformations truly were difficult. They took so much time! Still, I’ve finally mastered them. Change!”

Ning had been seated in the lotus position next to a creek, but suddenly his figure changed completely. Now, seated next to the creek was a handsome, fan-wielding, white-robed man; Empyrean God Silvermoon. He was identical in both appearance and aura. That incomparably powerful aura, so great as to cause others to tremble in fear…the aura of an Empyrean God…and the unique properties of Silvermoon’s own personal aura…Ning had replicated it all.

“Let me give it a try.”

Ning, appearing as Silvermoon, smiled as he walked through the Tristar Crescent Abode.

“Patriarch.”

“Patriarch.”

“Senior uncle-master.”

“Master.”

As he walked through the Tristar Crescent Abode, Ning heard others address him for the first time as ‘senior uncle-master’. It must be understood that amongst the other personal disciples, Ning was the newest addition, and so most people just addressed him as ‘uncle-master’.

“Haha. These Void-level Fiendgods and Diremonsters…none of them suspect a thing.” Ning was in an extremely good mood. He occasionally even nodded to them.

“Strange. Why isn’t Patriarch Silvermoon at the Divinities Palace?”

“It’s quite rare to see Patriarch Silvermoon out for a walk, isn’t it?”

“It is rather odd.”

After Ning walked away, the disciples of Mount Innerheart quietly speculated amongst themselves. Silvermoon was simply too famous for his ferocity; he was truly a demon-like figure. The amount of sin which swirled around him was utterly inconceivable! Silvermoon had accumulated so much sin that he was no longer covered in the bloody light of sin; rather, covering him were the legendary karmic sinflames!

However, given how unearthly powerful Silvermon was, he didn’t fear the karmic sinflames at all!

Ning quickly arrived at the Divinities Palace. In front of it, as always, were congregated many of the disciples of Mount Innerheart.

“Patriarch.”

“Senior uncle-master.”

They all called out with respect, and even Bluecliff Xiaoyu, who had been chatting with the other disciples, hurriedly rose to her feet and called out respectfully, “Senior uncle-master.”

But Little Qing and Uncle White stared in amazement at Ning.

“Who are you?!” Because of their spiritual connection to Ning, both Little Qing and Uncle White knew that it was him. However, they couldn’t help but feel completely amazed and confused. The terrifying aura of the white-robed man before them…his appearance…clearly, this should be Empyrean God Silvermoon! But their spiritual sense was telling them that this man before them was actuall Ji Ning.

This caused both of them to feel very strange. Previously, Ning had only displayed the ability to transform into a tree in front of them; he had never transformed into a person before.

“Mm.” Ning nodded, then smiled as he walked into the Divinities Palace.

Within the Divinities Palace there was another white-robed man, also holding a fan. Their gazes met. Their appearances and their auras were identical.

“Someone who dares transform into my appearance? Second senior apprentice-brother has better things to do, and Lord Jiang doesn’t have this sort of personality…junior apprentice-brother, it seems you’ve successfully trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]?” Silvermoon immediately guessed that it was Ji Ning.

“Formidable, senior apprentice-brother.” The figure of one of the white-robed men turned blurry, then transformed back into the figure of a fur-clad youth, Ji Ning.

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Chapter 30 – The Power To Roam the Three Realms

Chapter 30 – The Power To Roam the Three Realms

Silvermoon shook his head and laughed. “It’s not that I’m formidable; it’s that there are only a few people at Mount Innerherat who have trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. By process of elimination, I was able to guess that it was you, junior apprentice-brother.”

Ning nodded. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was located in the Three Realms Palace; only personal disciples and those who had received special permission from the Old Patriarch could learn it.

“If you transformed into someone else, I might not have been able to tell that it was you,” Silvermoon said with a laugh. “These ‘seventy-two transformations’ cause a person’s aura to completely change; even the appearance of sin or karmic merit surrounding you changes. This truly is an incredible transformation divine ability.”

Ning nodded. Indeed. For example, when Ning transformed into a rock, he could use the technique to completely retract his three-foot aura of golden karmic light. If he transformed into a viledoer, he could transform to display the bloody light of sin.

“Back in the era of Pangu’s World, there was an ancient Diremonster who relied on these seventy-two transformations to transform into the appearance of a Buddha. He used it to trick people for thousands of years before being discovered,” 1 Silvermoon said with a laugh. “You have now gained a basic level of expertise into the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; your foundation is set. These seventy-two transformations alone will serve as a top-notch escape method or hiding method.”

“However…at this level, it merely remains a deceptive tool, a hiding method. When you are truly in a dire situation, what matters the most is your combat ability,” Silvermoon said. “Junior apprentice-brother, although you’ve reached the early Void stage and are comparable to ordinary Celestial Immortals…I’m afraid that slightly more powerful Celestial Immortals would be able to deal with you or even kill you.”

“I understand.” Ning truly did. Unless he was so lucky as to only encounter extremely weak Celestial Immortals, the amount of power he currently had was only enough to allow him to swagger around in front of those who had yet to overcome their Celestial Tribulation.

“That’s why I’ve come to find you, senior apprentice-brother. I’ve come to ask you for help,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Help?” Silvermoon waved his fan, then said in a leisurely manner, “Speak. What do you need?”

“I’m currently quite weak; forgot about the Thee Realms, even in this Crescent world, any random Celestial Immortal might be able to kill me. Thus, I wish to reach the Third Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] as soon as I can,” Ning said.

Silvermoon stared at him. “The amount of treasures consumed by the training of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] is utterly astonishing; even I had to spend countless ages to be able to train to my current Sixth Cycle! Can it be that you, you little brat, want me to give you my treasures for free to help you train? No way!”

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] used up far too many treasures. To reach the Ninth Cycle? Even Daofathers would feel pain at the cost!

Even a mighty demon like Empyrean God Silvermoon had only trained to the Sixth Cycle; logically speaking, Empyrean Gods should be able to reach the Ninth Cycle, but he simply didn’t have enough treasures.

“Of course I wouldn’t ask you to give them to me for free,” Ning said hurriedly. “During this trip of mine to the outside world, I acquired some Immortal-ranked magic treasures. I wanted to trade them to you for Immortal pills, senior apprentice-brother!”

“Trade for Immortal pills?” Silvermoon nodded lightly. Immortal pills referred to Immortal-ranked spirit-pills, Pure Yang spirit-pills, and Great Firmament spirit-pills.

“That’s acceptable.” Only now did Silvermoon agree. “Bring out your Immortal-ranked magic treasures. I definitely won’t make you suffer a loss, and I won’t profit from this trade with you.”

Ning smiled, then waved his hand. Whoosh. Instantly, one Immortal-ranked magic treasure after another appeared, hovering in the air. These were the spoils he had gained from killing the monster kings and the evil Patriarch on the last journey. In fact, he even took out the low-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword the Grand Xia Emperor had given him.

“Let me take a look.” Silvermoon quickly spread out his divine power to bind each of the magic treasures.

There was no way to use divine power to actually control magic treasures, but upon overcoming the Celestial Tribulation and becoming an Empyrean God, things would change. Empyrean Gods were unfathomable in their power, and their divine power could be applied to all sorts of magic treasures. The Empyrean Gods and True Gods who were birthed from the primordial chaos were born with the ability to easily use magic treasures. Only the weaker Fiendgods, such as those that were born at the Xiantian level, were only able to use Bloodforged weapons.

“Mm.” Silvermoon looked through the weapons, then said, “Three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, nineteen high-grade, twenty one middle-grade, and sixteen low-grade.”

Silvermoon kept his calculations simple and by grade. For example, he counted the six scimitars which the Flamewing King had used as six separate items! That was why the number was so high.

“Junior apprentice-brother…the difference is pretty huge.” Silvermoon looked at Ning, then said helplessly, “The amount of Immortal pills you can trade for with such a small amount of Immortal-ranked magic treasures…there’s no way you can train to the Third Cycle.”

Ning immediately asked, “How far off am I?”

“Even if I’m generous to the point of suffering a loss…I could at most give you sixty of my top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills! But to train to the Third Cycle, if you completely rely on such pills, you would need at least a hundred of them,” Silvermoon said helplessly.

Ning felt resigned as well. He had kept behind a single low-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword for Little Qing, and had kept the Immortal-ranked magic item he had acquired in the underwater estate for Uncle White! He needed to use both the Thousandbull Sword and the Heavenraker swords. He had taken out every other magic treasure he had left. In fact, aside from the Heavenraker swords, he no longer even had three spare Immortal-ranked flying swords for his [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique!

“How about this?” Silvermoon waved his hand, and a piece of parchment appeared. “Write on top of this paper that today, you are borrowing a total of forty top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills from me. You have to repay me a hundred such pills within ten thousand years. If you are unable to do so within ten thousand years, then you’ll have to pay me back with the most valuable treasure you carry!”

Silvermoon waved his fan as he beamed merrily towards Ning.

Ning felt resigned. He had heard from others long ago as to what sort of a person this Silvermoon was; the reason why all of the disciples of Mount Innerheart secretly referred to him as ‘that demon Silvermoon’ was because he, an exalted Empyrean God, would seek opportunities to squeeze and extort even the ordinary disciples.

“Fine.” Ning lowered his head.

“Hurry up and write,” Silvermoon chortled merrily. “Junior apprentice-brother, the sword you used to display your swordplay last time was pretty good; it nearly has the power of a Pure Yang treasure. That sword alone is worth nearly a hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills. I’m sure that within ten thousand years, you’ll have acquired even better treasures.”

Ning immediately began to furiously scribbling on the parchment.

Between fellow disciples, a written acknowledgment of debt was enough; everyone would give each other face.

“Here you go!” Silvermoon waved his hand and a white jade bottle flew towards Ning. “These are top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills that were forged in Doushuai Palace. They contain extremely pure elemental essence and are very well suited for training in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].” 2

Ning had been instantly impoverished…and now owed a hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills to Silvermoon. Still…Ning accepted this. He wasn’t strong enough to leave his master’s tutelage yet; any powerful Celestial Immortal was capable of annihilating him.

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

Ning sat on the netherwater jade bed within the Still Room. Hefting the jade bottle, he poured out a spirit-pill. The spirit-pill was a white-jade color, and it emanated a faint aroma of mouth-watering fragrance.

If an ordinary Zifu Disciple or Wanxiang Adept were to eat this top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pill, they probably wouldn’t even be able to refine it; their Zifus would explode! After all, the purity of the elemental ki within these pills was comparable to that used by Celestial Immortal. These sorts of pills were usually given to reincarnated Immortals, so as to allow them to reach an extremely high level of power in a short period of time.

Alternately, Celestial Immortals who had fought for a long period of time, or who had used up a great deal of energy in binding a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, would use them to instantly replenish their elemental ki.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

One pill after another came pouring out, each comparable to a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure in value.

Ning swallowed them all in one gulp. He then immediately began to activate the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] technique. The purpose of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was to train his body to the point of making it as indestructible as a magic treasure! This required an enormous amount of energy…and top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills were purposefully designed for replenishing energy. As for ordinary liquefied elemental essence? Absorbing them took too much time; there was no way one could use them to activate the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

Rumble…

Ning’s entire body immediately began to transform. His bones, his marrow, his sinews, his flesh, his skin, his hair…every part of his body was now changing. If previously Ning’s flesh and bones could be described as tofu, then after using up the very first spirit-pill, they had reached the consistency of stone.

But of course, in reality, Ning’s divine body had already been extremely powerful. From this, one could imagine how huge the improvement brought by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was!

“The First Cycle is complete!”

Ning could sense how powerful his divine body had become. A single top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pill had allowed him to complete the First Cycle and allowed his body to become incomparably mighty.

Clang! Ning formed his finger into a sword and slashed at his other arm. Sword-light flashed past, but the only thing it left behind was a white smudge.

“My body is already comparable to a Heaven-ranked magic artifact. I can just stand there without doing anything and Loose Immortals will be unable to damage me at all. And this is just the First Cycle!”

“This [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] is far more powerful than whatever divine ability Adept Ninedeaths used back during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Her body was like a magic treasure, but by comparison…her technique could not compare to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].” Ning didn’t spend too much time thinking about it; after all, only a Primal-level Fiendgod could even begin to train in the basics of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

Adept Ninedeaths had only been a Wanxiang Adept; there was no way she could’ve trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], even if someone had given it to her.

“The second pill.” Showing no hesitating at all, Ning began to digest additional pills. The incomparably pure elemental ki of the top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills flowed through Ning’s entire body, being drawn into every part of it. Ning’s body was like a sponge, ravenously drawing in the power of these pills…and then his body began to repeatedly transform, like a sword being reforged time and time again.

“The eleventh pill.” As Ning was digesting and refining the eleventh pill, the Second Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was mastered.

……

One spirit-pill after another was rapidly consumed. Ning’s body was continuously rising in power as well, increasing in both endurance and resilience. Clang, clang clang! As Ning continued to train, rumbling and clanking sounds could be heard coming from within his body as his muscles and flesh clashed against each other. It sounded like two mighty mountains were colliding, and as Ning’s heart beat, it sounded like a sea was trembling.

Ning knew that this was a form of tempering! Magic treasures would be tempered through magic fire and other sources of power, while the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] tempered the body. Every single organ, including even the skins and the hair, would be tempered nonstop by this technique. By now…a single strand of Ning’s hair was so tough that even if a Loose Immortal were to wildly hack at it with full power, he wouldn’t be able to damage it in the slightest.

Rumble…

Another booming sound could be heard from Ning’s body. His muscles rumbled, his bones rumbled, his organs rumbled…the rumbling almost seemed to form into a wondrous sort of music.

Ning’s skin was beginning to shine with a dark light. He seemed to have transformed into a terrifyingly powerful magic-treasure. Only when the dark light faded away did he seem like an ordinary person once more. His skin was very soft and white, seemingly quite tender; one could not tell just by looking at him as to how powerful he had become.

“Hahaha…I’ve finally completed the Third Cycle.” Ning was overjoyed. Waving his hand, he immediately produced the Thousandbull Sword. “Time to test my power.”

WHOOSH! The Thousandbull Sword transformed into a black dragon of sword-light, carrying unearthly power with it as it chopped down against Ning’s left arm…but it didn’t even leave a white smudge behind.

“[Starseizing Hand].” Ning used his full power, launching an even more powerful blow!

BANG!!!!

A thunderous banging sound could be heard within the Still Room…but Ning’s left arm still didn’t have even the slightest hint of a mark at all on it.

“I’ve mastered the Third Cycle. My body is comparable to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure now. When striking myself with full force, I can’t even leave behind a tiny white mark. I imagine that even Celestial Immortals would only be able to stare at me, stupefied, without knowing what to do. This truly is the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level. Primaltwin, Heavenraker Sword Formation – Attack!”

Ning was utterly delighted. In front of him suddenly appeared the black-robed Ning, who immediately controlled the power of the Heavenraker swords, transforming them into nine streaks of sword-light and sending them howling forth as they stabbed towards Ning’s bared upper chest!

1. This is a reference to a story in Journey to the West, where a monster was transformed into the appearance of Buddha in order to trick travelers going on a pilgrimage to visit the real Buddha. He would eventually eat them.

2. Doushuai Palace, in Chinese legends, is the place where Laozi, the founder of philosophical Daoism, resides. In Journey to the West, this is also the place where Laozi concocts pills for heaven, and the place where Sun Wukong stole and ate countless pills of Immortality when he was drunk.

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Chapter 31 – Returning to the Riverfang Mountains

Chapter 31 – Returning to the Riverfang Mountains

Rumble…

Ji Ning’s bare chest was stabbed into repeatedly by the top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, but they were still unable to leave behind any mark at all. Although he was knocked backwards with each collision, he was still able to walk back to his original spot.

“Heavenraker – Blackwater Line!”

The black-robed Ning exploded with maximum power, unleashing the most devastatingly powerful stance of the [Heavenraker]. Whoosh whoosh whoosh! One sword-tear after another slashed through the air in wavy lines so thick that they each seemed to be like a river. The illusory rivers flooded into one location like all the rivers flowing into the sea as they merged into a single torrential black flow!

This torrential black flow represented all nine Heavenraker swords as they stabbed simultaneously towards Ning’s chest.

BANG!

This time, Ning’s true body wasn’t able to stay standing; he was knocked flying away as he slammed into the wall behind him with a banging sound. However, Ning used his palms to push off from the wall, stabilizing himself and landing on the ground.

Ning lowered his head. He still couldn’t see any hint of damage at all on his chest or his skin.

“What a divine ability. What a divine ability!” Ning felt utterly overjoyed. The whole point of leaving the Grand Xia for thirty years was to learn some formidable abilities before returning. And now…he had!

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] truly was the number one divine ability of the Three Realms for those below the True God level. The most powerful leaders of the Three Realms had joined forces in an attempt to develop a divine ability that would result in a body as mighty as that of Pangu’s. Although they hadn’t been able to develop the Twelfth Cycle…the first Nine Cycles were already incredible.

Ning was extremely weak right now, after all; he was still far from becoming an Empyrean God. As for becoming a True God? That was an even greater distance away. Even if this divine ability truly did have a tenth, eleventh, or twelfth cycle, there was no way he would be able to train in it for the foreseeable future.

“I’ve gained expertise in this divine ability. I can now go to the Riverfang Mountains again!” Ning immediately rose to his feet, the furs once more reappearing around him.

……

As Ning walked out of the Immortal estate, he collected it with a wave of his hand.

“Master, where are you going?” Bluecliff Xiaoyu was just about to enter the Immortal estate.

“I’m going down into the world. I should be back in a few days.” Ning instructed, “If your Aunt Qing or Grandpa White ask, that’s what you should tell them.”

“Alright.” Xiaoyu nodded obediently.

Ning left by himself. As he walked past the Divinities Palace…

“Junior apprentice-brother, junior apprentice-brother.” Silvermoon beamed merrily as he walked over, fanning himself with his fan. “Judging from your high spirits, you must’ve just finished the Third Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], right?”

“Precisely so.” Ning nodded.

There were two tough parts to training the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; the first was the initial mastery of the concept of the ‘seventy-two transformations’, which was a bit difficult, and the second was acquiring enough treasures to temper one’s body! Ning had gained a basic level of expertise already; naturally, he had been able to train to the Third Cycle at one go after acquiring enough top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills.

“How many pills did you use up?” Silvermoon asked with curiosity.

“Ninety-nine,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Wow, it was just barely enough.” Silvermoon nodded. “Work hard, junior apprentice-brother, and earn back enough treasures to pay me back.”

“Definitely.” Ning nodded. “I have business to attend to; I’m leaving now.”

“Go, go.” Silvermoon beamed as he watched Ning leave.

After Ning left, Silvermoon shook his head, utterly tickled with himself. “I, Silvermoon, am quite the clever fellow. I gave this junior apprentice-brother of mine a hundred Immortal pills, and in ten thousand short lazy years, he’ll have to pay them back to me! I won’t end up losing a single pill, and I’ll have acquired dozens of Immortal-ranked magic treasures as well, as well as have him owe me a favor.”

Actually, these treasures really meant very little to an exalted Empyrean God like him. However, Silvermoon loved to feel like he had made a clever bargain.

The Crescent world. The Star continent.

Deep within the Riverfang Mountains. Within the lightning zone, there were two figures that were seated on the ground. One of them was the Goldfur Bearking, while the other was a youth dressed in loose Daoist robes and whose eyes were like the stars.

“Elder brother,” the Goldfur Bearking said hurriedly, “The lightning here is too hard to overcome. Even a Celestial Immortal like you has tried eight times without success. Just now, the two of us joined forces but we were still stopped at the 540 meter mark by the lightning bolts, giving us no chance to advance at all. This is our utmost limit. As I see it…we should invite another Celestial Immortal to come.”

“You fool!” The robed youth frowned as he glanced sideways at the Goldfur Bearking. “How can we let word of such a treasure trove spread to others?”

“But…all we can do is sit here and stare. Elder brother, you know as well as I do that the black-robed youth has already passed through the lightning zone into the gorge. The more we delay, the greater the chances that he might acquire the treasures,” the Goldfur Bearking said.

Ning had previously chatted with the black-robed youth, then gritted his teeth and departed. After Ning’s departure, the Goldfur Bearking had mustered all of his power to finally break through the first forbidden zone, but upon encountering the lightning zone…although he was skilled at defense, he was unable to advance a single meter further after reaching the 360 meter mark. The black-robed youth had mocked him as well, and the Goldfur Bearking, worried that the youth might end up taking the treasures, had hurried out of the Riverfang Mountains and invited a good friend of his, Patriarch Limitless.

The two had immediately sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens. Upon acquiring the treasures, they would split them evenly! Patriarch Limitless was a Celestial Immortal and thus a bit stronger, but the Goldfur Bearking was the one who had acquired the information regarding the treasure trove. Thus, they would split things evenly.

“There are already quite a few who know about this treasure trove. If word spreads further…the treasure probably won’t end up in our hands at all.” Patriarch Limitless shook his head. “You big dumb bear. Don’t worry too much. When that black-robed youth said that there is a third forbidden zone here, he should’ve been telling the truth. If there wasn’t, he would’ve left with the treasures long ago. Since he hasn’t…that means that the third zone is very hard to overcome. If that’s the case, then even if we do invite another Celestial Immortal, our chances of success will still remain low…but word will have spread to even more people. It’s better for us to take things slowly.”

“Fine.” The Goldfur Bearking nodded.

“Let us both meditate on how to use a more appropriate formation for overcoming the lightning zone,” Patriarch Limitless said.

“Alright.” The Goldfur Bearking nodded again.

Just two hours after they had begun meditating, a series of rumbling sounds could be heard coming from the invisible pressure region behind them.

“An expert has arrived!” Patriarch Limitless frowned as he heard the rumbles. “The rate of advancement is very fast. Can it be that news has leaked to someone else?”

“It shouldn’t have. You and I have already warned the other two surviving monster kings of us Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows about telling others and even forced them to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens.” The Goldfur Beraking frowned. “As for that Immortal Darknorth, he gave up more than a year ago without coming back.. Can it be…can it be the imperial Qi clan? But they are so puny…”

Right as they were chatting…

Boom! A figure charged forward and landed on the ground. It was a fur-clad youth who was wielding an Immortal sword with an incomparably enormous aura of power.

“Immortal Darknorth?” The Goldfur Bearking was amazed.

“Young fellow,” Patriarch Limitless said with a frown, “Who is your master?”

He had heard from the Goldfur Bearking about Ning; naturally, he had immediately guessed that for this ‘Darknorth’ to be so powerful at the early Void level meant that he most likely had an incredible master behind him. Perhaps this person also came from Mount Innerheart, like he himself did! However…given how many disciples Mount Innerheart had, how could he, an exalted Celestial Immortal, possibly give up this sort of treasure trove to another fellow disciple?

“Goldfur Bearking, this is your helper?” Ning’s gaze flickered towards Patriarch Limitless. This man was an azure-robed youth with an extraordinary aura.

“He is my elder brother, someone far more powerful than me: Celestial Immortal Limitless,” the Goldfur Bearking said smugly.

“A Celestial Immortal?” Ning was startled.

Patriarch Limitless repeated, “Young fellow, I asked you a question. Who is your master?”

Ning chuckled but didn’t respond. He just walked straight into the lightning zone.

Patriarch Limitless couldn’t help but frown. Still, given how calm Ning was, he felt all the more certain that Ning’s background must be incredible, and so he just said coldly, “Young fellow, this is the lightning zone. You need to make it past 540 meters of the zone before you succeeded. Given your power…you are far from being able to do it.”

Ning continued to make his way into the lightning zone.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Instantly, one bolt of lightning after another began to hammer down. Ning remained quite calm, not resisting at all as he allowed the lightning bolts to slam onto his body.

“Even a Fiendgod Body Refiner will only be able to use his body to forcibly withstand the lightning in the lightning zone for the first thirty meters.” Patriarch Limitless shook his head.

Ning continued to walk forward.

Thirty meters. Sixty meters. Ninety meters…

The lightning grew increasingly savage, but Ning continued to stroll forward, one step at a time, allowing the lightning to hit him at will.

“But, but but…” Patriarch Limitless and the Goldfur Bearking were both stupefied.

210 meters. 240 meters. 270 meters…

Ning continued to walk forward in a relaxed manner. The bolts of lightning were now as thick as water barrels, and they came crashing down with utter savagery…but Ning seemed to be simply walking through a mild rainstorm. He felt quite relaxed and content; the clashes against his skin felt like an incomparably comfortable massage.

360 meters. 390 meters. 420 meters…

Ning continued to simply walk forward.

The black-robed youth had appeared once more at the entrance to the gorge. Even he stared in amazement at this sight. “It’s only been a year since I saw this fur-clad youth…how did he suddenly become so powerful?”

480 meters. 510 meters…

“These fur robes of mine were formed from top-grade Heaven-ranked Daoist robes. They are extremely tough, resilient, and good at deflecting attacks; they are comparable to low-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords in endurance.” Flying swords were too thin and sharp, and thus broke apart more easily! In terms of ability to withstand attacks, top-grade Heaven-ranked Daoist robes were indeed comparable to low-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords.

Bathed by countless bolts of lightning, Ning stepped past the 540 meter threshold…and the lightning instantly vanished.

……

Patriarch Limitless and the Goldfur Bearking, on the other side of the lightning zone, were both completely dazed.

“He used his body to endure it all? But, but…at the 540 meter mark, the power of the lightning was comparable to full-force combination attacks from the two of us. That’s most likely equal to a high-class Celestial Immortal.” The Goldfur Bearking was truly amazed. “He’s at the early Void stage, but he didn’t even use a magic treasure…he just used his body to endure it all?! This body is too…”

“His body must be comparable to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.” Patriarch Limitless’ face suddenly changed. He was a disciple of Mount Innerheart, after all; he suddenly thought of a famous divine ability, reputed to be the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level – the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“To have a body of such toughness at this level of power…the only possibility is the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! But only personal disciples of the Old Patriarch can learn the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], or those the Old Patriarch provides special dispensation to. Can it be that he is a disciple of the Old Patriarch?” Patriarch Limitless instantly began to panic as he thought of this possibility. He hurriedly sent a mental message to Ning, “Dare I ask, Immortal Darknorth…do you know Empyrean God Silvermoon?”

Empyrean God Silvermoon was the controller of the Divinities Palace; every single disciple of Mount Innerheart knew him.

“You know senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon?” Ning turned his head to glance at him.

“This junior, Limitless, pays his respects to you, uncle-master!” Patriarch Limitless hurriedly sent a respectful mental message to him. He didn’t suspect Ning of faking it at all, because no one from the outside world could even enter the Crescent world! In addition…there was no faking the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]!

Ning was startled. Still, it made sense; most of those in the Crescent world who overcame the Celestial Tribulation and became Celestial Immortals had been recruited into Mount Innerheart.

“Oh. If we have the chance, let’s chat more back at Mount Innerheart.” Ning turned once more to the gorge, then walked towards it. The black-robed youth at the entrance to the gorge frowned, then turned and walked into the gorge himself.

Soon, Ning entered the fog-shrouded gorge…and he could sense that the terrifying ripples coming from within the gorge were gaining in power.

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Chapter 32 – Fiendgod Corpse

Chapter 32 – Fiendgod Corpse

There were some grass and flowers within the gorge, but after Ji Ning stepped into it, he felt his heart shudder for some reason.

“Die!”

An ancient, primordial howl of rage smashed against Ning’s soul.

A series of ripples of boundless, terrifying killing intent surged towards Ning. Ning hurriedly visualized the image of Maiden Nuwa, and instantly the divine image of Nuwa appeared within his soul, stabilizing it considerably. After having spent so many years at Mount Innerheart, Ning had learned that the [Nuwa Painting] was a visualization technique passed down by Nuwa’s lineage that possessed boundless life-force. Even if the soul was to be badly wounded, through visualizing the [Nuwa Painting] one could quickly recover. This was one of the most awe-inspiringly famous visualization techniques that existed in Pangu’s World.

On the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace, there was a copy of the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique, and it was described as one of the most supreme of nurturing and defensive techniques for the soul.

“This place is…?” Ning quickly came to his senses, and he stared at the scene before him in the gorge.

Because of the mist wreathing this place, Ning was only able to see to a distance of one or two kilometers. From far away, he could see a human-shaped creature that was lying on the ground unmoving. Ning could only make out the rough contors of two legs and an abdomen…but the legs alone were like massive blocks of stone that were over three hundred meters long.

“Given how strong the aura of death is here, it should be dead. It seems as though it was many hundreds of meters tall…given its size, it must have been a Fiendgod,” Ning secretly predicted.

This treasure trove region was extremely mysterious; there was no way to investigate it through divine sense, and so Ning had to make guesses for everything.

“Die…”

“Die…”

Boundless amounts of killing intent surged forth in waves from that enormous Fiendgod corpse, smashing against Ning’s soul. The closer Ning moved towards the corpse, the more powerful the killing intent became, forcing Ning to constantly visualize the image of Maiden Nuwa to resist it.

“For the remnant killing intent left behind in a corpse to be capable of forcing me to use the image of Maiden Nuwa to resist it…if he was still alive, he probably would be able to kill me with ease.” Ning’s soul had been split in two long ago; if one counted the soul within the Primaltwin, he actually had three souls!

One soul was within his Primaltwin.

One soul was within his true body’s Primal Turtle-Snake, which had advanced to the Goldlotus.

Another soul had been completely fused with his true body’s very flesh and bones. Every hint of blood and flesh contained a hint of his soul. It was at this level that Fiendgod Body Refiners were capable of creating an entire body from just a bit of flesh and blood.

Anyone who trained as both a Ki Refiner and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner would have to split his soul at the Primal level. One part of the soul would fuse into the body, while the other would enter the Primal Turtle-Snake.

Ning’s Ki Refiner soul was finding it rather difficult to deal with the waves of killing intent, but his Fiendgod Body didn’t fear it at all, because his soul in his Fiendgod body was connected to every bit of his flesh and blood, making it incredibly stable. Now that Ning had also trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], even if the killing intent was hundreds of times more powerful, it wouldn’t be able to do anything to this Fiendgod body of his.

……

Ning moved forward one step at a time, purposefully taking a circular path around the enormous Fiendgod corpse as he slowly advanced.

Finally…Ning was able to see it clearly. The Fiendgod corpse had ashen gray skin that was stone-like in texture. The corpse had an ordinary, plain face. Its body was covered in wounds, and the black armor it wore had been torn apart in many places. By its side were two fiery arrows, as well as a mighty black greatbow with a shattered bowstring.

“I didn’t expect that you would be able to come to this place. For a weak little early Void-stage fellow to possess such ability…admirable, admirable.” The shrill voice rang out once more.

Ning turned to look towards the source of the sound. From afar, at the corner to the entrance of the gorge, he saw the black-robed youth in a seated position.

“Do you know Empyrean God Silvermoon?” Ning suddenly asked. This black-robed youth was most likely a Celestial Immortal, given that he was able to make it here. Most likely, quite a few of the Celestial Immortals of the Crescent world were disciples of Mount Innerheart. If they were fellow disciples, things would probably proceed more smoothly.”

“Empyrean God Silvermoon? Heh heh, an Empyrean God? Not bad. But I’ve never heard of him.” The black-robed youth sat there, staring at Ning. “Kid…it seems your background is significant, given that you know an Empyrean God. However…here in this treasure region, it doesn’t matter who you know. If you want to acquire the treasures…it’ll all be up to your own abilities.”

Ning quietly came to the conclusion that this black-robed youth was most likely not a member of Mount Innerheart. When Ning had traversed the lightning zone, even the outside Patriarch Limitless had been able to guess that Ning was a member of Mount Innerheart…and yet, this black-robed youth didn’t seem to react to that at all.

“There are still quite a few Celestial Immortals in the Crescent world who have not become disciples of Mount Innerheart…and some don’t even know of it,” Ning mused to himself.

“Kid, you’ve already passed through two of the forbidden zones. This is the last one, but let me warn you…the treasures on that Fiendgod’s corpse aren’t so easily acquired.” The black-robed youth sat there lazily, seemingly waiting to mock Ning when he ‘inevitably failed’.

Ning looked back at the black-robed youth. “I’ve come to take the treasure, but you aren’t going to stop me?”

“How would I do that? Even the lightning zone wasn’t able to damage you at all, you freak. Even if I attacked you, I’d be wasting my energy. If I had trap-type treasures, I might try and trap or bind you…but unfortunately, I don’t.” The black-robed youth spoke in a resigned manner.

Ning knew what the weakness of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was. Training to the Third Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] resulted in an extraordinarily powerful body, but if he encountered restrictive items like magic ropes or monster-sealing pagodas, he might be wrapped up or drawn into the magic treasures. Still…Ning was no fool. He would use his sword to block; to actually trap and bind him would be an extremely difficult matter. And even if he was trapped…he wouldn’t die from that, in and of itself.

“Then I’m going to go take the treasure.” As Ning spoke, he moved closer towards the Fiendgod body.

When Ning reached a distance of roughly three hundred meters from the body, suddenly…

The black greatbow next to the Fiendgod suddenly lit up. The bowstring of the black greatbow was shattered, but an utterly enormous flood of natural energy was gathering around the black greatblow. It actually created a second bowstring that was completely composed of natural energy, as well as a fiery arrow that was similarly composed of natural energy.

Swish! No one was controlling the black greatbow, but it shot the arrow straight out towards Ning.

The arrow shot through the air, moving lightning-fast and almost instantly appearing in front of Ning.

“Block!” Ning waved his arm, allowing the arrow to strike directly on his upper arm.

BOOM. The powerful collisive force sent Ning flying back hundreds of meters, smashing against the distant canyon walls. The canyon walls cracked apart with a rumbling sound as many rocks came crashing down…but with a backflip, Ning emerged from a large crater that had been created in the wall.

“What a treasure.” Ning wasn’t worried; to the contrary, he was delighted.

“You freak, you could even take that?” The distant black-robed youth was amazed.

Ning was incomparably excited. He stared at the black greatbow, surrounded by the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. “For it to be able to gather such natural energy without any elemental ki guiding it…clearly, the spirit of the treasure of this black greatbow has activated it. For it to have such power without even a person controlling it…this is inconceivable.”

Long ago, Xue Hongyi had been able to forcibly subdue the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp. At the Wanxiang level, Ning had been able to use the [Starseizing Hand] to forcibly hold the Thousandbull Sword. And now, Ning’s power was unfathomably greater than it had been before…but he had just been sent flying back by the natural energy gathered by an ownerless treasure!

“The Thousandbull Sword is top-grade amongst top-grade Immortal-ranked artifacts, close to Pure Yang treasures in power. Then this greatbow…it has to at least be a Pure Yang treasure, and if it is, it has to be either a high-grade or even a top-grade Pure Yang treasure. Or it might even be a Protocosmic spirit-treasure!” Ning instantly came to this conclusion.

The magic treasure, without anyone controlling it, already had the offensive power of a Celestial Immortal!

“It makes sense. This Fiendgod must have died countless years ago, but his remnant killing intent is still so terrifyingly strong. Given how powerful he was, how could his bow be poor?” Ning frowned. “However…the bowstring to this black greatbow is broken, and tears have appeared on his armor. I wonder what sort of a battle he must have encountered for even magic treasures on this level to have been damaged. Even the Fiendgod himself perished…and strangest of all, the Fiendgod’s body remained, even after he himself died!”

It must be understood that a Fiendgod’s soul was completely intertwined with his blood and flesh. If so much as a single drop of flesh or blood remained, he could be reborn! Unless…

A supremely mighty power had been able to annihilate every single scrap of the soul that was within the Fiendgod’s flesh and blood! Without any soul left in the body at all, the flesh would be useless.

“How massive a battle was this?” Ning thought back to the great tribulation that had resulted in the destruction of Pangu’s World. That had definitely been an incomparably terrifying battle, one which even Patriarch Subhuti had been afraid to participate in. Daoist Threelives had killed multiple Fiendgod Daofathers in it before even he himself had perished.

“No matter what…although the black greatbow and the armor are both damaged, given how powerful they are without any owner, they must be incredible treasures.”

Ning waved his hand, causing the Thousandbull Sword to appear. Ning then quickly advanced, once more pressing closer.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The black greatblow shot out more fiery arrows towards Ning, both the arrows and the bowstring formed from natural energy.

Ning, however, used his swordplay to block. His sword-light flowed out like water, deflecting the arrows of natural energy to the side. Ning was using one of the sword-arts from the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace known as [Water Filling the Heavens]; this was his most defensively suited sword-art technique.

Swish swish swish…

Suddenly, a large number of arrows shot out; in fact, up to ten arrows were shot out simultaneously, causing tens of arrows to instantly fly out within a short period of time. However, despite the arrows coming faster, the power of each arrow had naturally dropped.

Ning used either the Thousandbull Sword to block or his body to take the blows head on.

“Kid, although your divine body is like a magic treasure, this is just the attacks of a divine bow without a master; it’s not that impressive for you to be able to withstand it. Let me tell you this; once you reach thirty meters of the corpse, you’ll have entered the third forbidden zone. Passing it has nothing to do with the strength of your body, and the fact that it is as unbreakable as a magic treasure won’t help you.” The black-robed youth sat there, watching Ning advance and fight forward.

Ning forced his way forward, charging through the hail of arrows. When he reached a distance of thirty meters from the Fiendgod corpse, the natural energy surrounding the black greatbow dissipated, no longer attacking Ning.

“Whew.” Ning took a deep breath. At such a close distance to the Fiendgod body, the invisible aura of majesty surrounding it caused even his heart to shudder.

“The third forbidden zone?”

“No matter what I have to acquire this treasure.” Ning stared at the treasures on the corpse of the Fiendgod…but what drew his attention most was still that black greatbow.

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Chapter 33 – Rahu Bow

Chapter 33 – Rahu Bow

Ji Ning’s body flickered, then he transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form. He wielded the Thousandbull Sword in his hands, as well as five of the top-grade, Immortal-ranked Skyraker swords.

In the face of this third forbidden zone, Ning didn’t dare to relax in the slightest. Only after fully preparing himself did he step forward towards the Fiendgod corpse, moving past the thirty-meter threshold and entering the field of the third forbidden zone.

Rumble…

“Ning, son, eat some more.”

This was an incomparably familiar hall. The lit candles here were as thick as a child’s arm, and the child-Ning was seated in front of a table. Atop the table there was a flagon of water as well as a plate of meat and pastries.

“This…” The child-Ning stared in front of him. In front of him was a woman, her gaze filled with benevolent love as she looked at him. “Why are you looking at me? Hurry up and eat.”

Ning turned his head to look backwards. Indeed; behind him was seated a handsome young man, Ji Yichuan. However, he only gave Ning a frowning glance, then barked coldly, “What are you looking at? Focus on your food when you are eating!”

“Yes, father.” Tears suddenly streamed out of the child-Ning’s face, but he hurriedly lowered his head, picked up a biscuit, and began to wolf it down.

……

Within the mountain gorge.

The black-robed youth remained seated in the lotus position at the corner of the gorge. He stared towards Ning, who had made it within thirty meters of the Fiendgod corpse, then shook his head. “The third forbidden zone isn’t so easy to overcome. It tests the weakest, softest parts of your soul. It doesn’t matter how powerful your body is, how mighty your divine power is, or how formidable your sword-arts are; all of those are useless.”

……

The days child-Ning spent with his parents were very happy. One day passed after another, and the child-Ning learned both agility techniques and sword techniques.

One night.

The child-Ning arrived outside his parent’s room. There was a female servant yawning sleepily outside. Upon seeing the child-Ning arrive, she couldn’t help but feel surprised. However, she didn’t stop him as he moved to knock on the door.

Creaaaak. The door opened.

It was the fur-clad Ji Yichuan who had opened the door. Upon seeing his son, he frowned and said coldly, “It’s late. Why have you come here instead of sleeping?” Ning’s mother, Yuchi Snow, left her bed and walked over, smiling as she rubbed the child-Ning’s head. “Hurry up and go back to sleep. It’s late.”

“Father. Mother.” The child-Ning suddenly said.

“Eh?” Yichuan and Snow both looked at their son.

“I want to hug you two,” the child-Ning said.

Yichuan was puzzled, but Snow just laughed. “Silly boy.” She immediately pulled Ning into her arms.

In his mother’s arms, Ning stretched one of his own arms to tightly embrace his mother, then the other towards his father.

“Father…” The child-Ning looked at his father.

“You are just…” Yichuan gently shook his head, but he still moved closer, allowing Ning to hold him.

With one arm, he held his father. With the other, he held his mother. Ning pressed against his parents, smelling their scent. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face. He said very softly, “I really want to continue like this, but…my memories are already beginning to grow blurry.”

“Ning? Son?” Snow looked at Ning, and Yichuan look at him as well.

Ning raised his head, his tears blurring his vision. He just stood there and stared at his parents.

“Awaken.”

“Awaken.”

“AWAKEN!”

Ning’s unwilling, angry roar suddenly filled the entire illusory world, shaking it and instantly shattering it like glass. Everything quickly vanished.

One illusory world after another appeared, each one playing on all the deepest desires in a person’s heart. Greed…love…hate…obsessions…

“How can this be?” The black-robed youth, still seated in the corner of the gorge, stared at the scene before him in astonishment. Ning had already spent more than an hour within the third forbidden zone after taking his first step…but after that first hour, each subsequent step needed less than the time needed to boil a kettle of tea. One step at a time, he broke through the illusions until finally, all of them vanished.

The black-robed youth laughed, then said with a soft sigh, “So he is the one.” And then, he disappeared into thin air.

……

Ning arrived at the side of the Fiendgod corpse, having completely awoken. He stared at the enormous figure of the Fiendgod corpse, at the shattered armor it wore and the black greatbow with the snapped bowstring, as well as those two glowing arrows.

“Master…thank you.”

Ning’s gaze was distant and dreamy. He murmured softly, “Although the time I spent in that illusory world was very short…it was the happiest I’ve ever been since I left Swallow Mountain. That experience made me even happier than acquiring these treasures left behind by this Fiendgod.”

Ning knew quite well that this third forbidden zone had been created by Patriarch Subhuti himself. It must be understood that when Pangu’s World was destroyed, it had been Patriarch Subhuti who had personally teleported each remnant onto his Crescent world. Naturally, it had also been Patriarch Subhuti who had set up the forbidden zones. As for which of his disciples would be able to acquire the relics and treasures from the Primordial World, that was up to luck and destiny.

“Young fellow.” Suddenly, the figure of the black-robed youth appeared in the air above the black greatbow. He said delightedly, “I bet you didn’t guess this, did you?”

“You are…” Ning was startled. “…the spirit of the treasure?!”

“Of course! When I told you I was a Celestial Immortal, I was just playing with you. I didn’t expect you to actually pass the third forbidden zone. Based on what Patriarch Subhuti said back in the day, anyone capable of passing the third forbidden zone would have to have an incredibly formidable Dao-heart.” The black-robed youth sighed. “Although you haven’t overcome the Celestial Tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal yet, you aren’t bad at all.”

Ning laughed softly.

“You…don’t seem that excited.” The black-robed youth sat in the lotus position above the black greatbow. He said in amazement, “I bet you don’t know who I am, right? Let me tell you. I am one of the top ten divine bows of the Primordial World, a high-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure!”

“A Protocosmic spirit-treasure? Wonderful.” Ning revealed a smile and said a word of praise.

“But…I don’t feel as though you are that excited.” The black-robed youth frowned.

“That’s only because just a short while ago, I was given something even more precious.” Ning smiled. “Please introduce yourself to me, as well as this ancient Fiendgod.”

The black-robed youth nodded. “In the era of the ancient Primordial World, the major powers once killed an incredibly terrifying creature named ‘Rahu’. 1 They used the various components of Rahu’s corpse, mixed with many other incomparably precious materials, to finally forge a top-grade Pure Yang spirit-treasure. That would be me…and the name given to me was the ‘Rahu Bow’. Over the course of countless ages after my creation, my spirit grew increasingly powerful until I finally evolved to become a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. As soon as I made my breakthrough, I became a high-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure.”

“Oh.” Ning nodded.

“Just ‘oh’?! I’m one of the ten great divine bows of the Primordial Era! Only one bow, the legendary Houyi’s Bow, was ranked as the undisputed number one; the rest of us, such as the Qiankun Bow or the Blacknether Bow are all ranked on par with each other.” The black-robed youth said arrogantly, “In fact, during that great tribulation, all of Master’s Pure Yang treasures were damaged, and even the spirits of those treasures were destroyed. I was the only one left.”

Ning chortled. “But your bowstring is broken.”

“You can just help me get another bowstring, right?” The black-robed youth shook his head. “You need to understand that for divine bows like myself, the bow shaft is what matters; that’s where the increased power comes from. But of course, the bowstring is also very important. In the future, I’ll help guide you to picking or forging a good bowstring.”

“Alright.” Ning asked, “How should I bind you, then?”

“Just use your elemental ki. I’ll give you all the help I can,” the black-robed youth said. “I’ve been here for an eternity. I’ve been bored senseless.”

“Alright.” Ning immediately began to bind it.

Generally speaking, binding Mortal-ranked, Earth-ranked, Heaven-ranked, Immortal-ranked and Pure Yang treasures all had certain requirements in terms of elemental ki. For example, one had to at least be at the Void level to bind Immortal-ranked magic items, or at the Celestial Immortal level to bind Pure Yang treasures.

However, Protocosmic spirit-treasures had the blessings of Heaven and Earth. They were extremely mysterious…and if the spirits of the treasures was willing, they could allow even an ordinary mortal to use them!

If they were unwilling…even Celestial Immortals would be unable to bind them. Perhaps Pure Yang True Immortals could forcibly bind them, but if the spirit of the Protocosmic spirit-treasure were to resist, the binding process would be extremely tiresome. It would have to be done at one go; if one were to pause midway through, the efforts would be for naught, and one would have to start from scratch again.

Thus, binding a Protocosmic spirit-treasure was very troublesome. Fortunately, the Rahu Bow had a good impression of Ning. By overcoming the third forbidden zone, Ning received his acknowledgment.

……

Just a short while later, the binding process was complete.

Ning heft the Rahu Bow in his hands. He could sense the limitless power hidden deep within it; this was a sort of sinister might that also carried a sort of power that was akin to the ripples of water. This power was unfathomably deep and infinitely powerful.

“In you go.” Ning waved his hand, and the Fiendgod corpse next to him was collected as well.

Instantly, all of the ancient restrictive formations that had existed within the Riverfang Mountains were automatically deactivated. Previously, divine sense could not be used to search the region, but now it could.

Ning used his divine sense to sweep the region, locating the Goldfur Bearking and Patriarch Limitless outside the gorge.

“Time to go back.” Ning flew into the skies, then immediately executed a spatial teleportation. Entering the spatial ripples, Ning disappeared into thin air.

……

“Divine sense?” Both the Goldfur Bearking and Patriarch Limitless were stunned. There was no way to use divine sense within this region…but just now, they sensed someone scan them with it.

“The restrictions are gone.”

“The lightning zone is gone as well.” They quickly discovered that even the terrifying ripples that had emanated from deep within had also disappeared. By the time they charged into the gorge…they saw nothing within it at all.

The Riverfang Mountains had become an extremely ordinary mountain range. Although there were some peculiarities to it, it was no longer anything special.

“The treasure was taken away by uncle-master Darknorth.” Patriarch Limitless knew what had happened.

……

Ning returned to Mount Innerheart. He first rested for a day, then went into the mountain forests of Mount Innerheart. A violet greatbow appeared in his hand; this was a Heaven-ranked treasure.

“The test for [Houyi’s Archery] really isn’t easy.” When Ning thought back to the trial mentioned on the abridged version of [Houyi’s Archery], he couldn’t help but feel a headache.

It really was too hard. This was the hardest trial of the Three Realms Palace.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Ning turned his head to look, only to see a hatchet-carrying swarthy-skinned man wearing hempsack clothes, a grass hat, and grass shoes come walking towards him with a smile.

“Eldest apprentice-brother,” Ning hurriedly greeted him. Mount Innerheart was vast; he needed some additional space for training in archery, and so he had left the Tristar Crescent Abode and come to the mountain forests outside of it. He hadn’t expected to run into his eldest apprentice-brother.

“Why have you come here?” The woodcutter asked him.

“I want to train in archery,” Ning replied.

“Oh?” The woodcutter glanced at Ning’s greatbow, then asked, “[Houyi’s Archery]?”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “But only the trial for [Houyi’s Archery] for now.”

“That’s not easy. Train hard.” The woodcutter smiled, nodded, then leisurely sauntered away, hatchet over his shoulders.

1. This is the name of a Hindu demon that swallows the sun.

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Chapter 34 – When The Arrow Flies…

Chapter 34 – When The Arrow Flies…

Ji Ning stood there in an empty field within the mountain forest, holding the bow in front of him as he stared towards the distance.

Ten thousand kilometers away, at another part of Mount Innerheart’s forest, there was a black-robed Ning. He waved his hand, and next to him appeared an archery target.

“I need to hit the archery target dead center from ten thousand kilometers away.” The black-robed Ning shook his head slightly.

This was the trial for [Houyi’s Archery]; without the usage of divine sense and without using elemental ki or divine power to actively control the trajectory of the arrow, using just raw, primal physical force…one had to hit an archery target dead center from ten thousand kilometers away. The center of the target was just one inch in size. One had to hit it ten times in a row!

This was an extremely difficult trial.

Without the usage of divine sense…even most Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals could just barely see ten thousand kilometers away. As for the heart of the archery target? There was no way to see that clearly at all. In addition, because there was a separation of ten thousand kilometers, there would generally be some mist, trees, and other things impeding one’s vision, causing one to be unable to see clearly.

In other words, one of the prerequisites for passing this trial was the possession of a divine ability akin to the [Farseer Eye].

This divine ability, when trained to the peak, could allow one to clearly see past a distance of a million kilometers or even more!

Naturally, Ning had never trained in the [Farseer Eye], but he had trained in the even more formidable [Torch Dragon’s Eye]. Ning had learned the first part of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] in the imperial treasury of the Grand Xia, which was suited for Fiendgods up to the Void-level. Over the course of the many years he had spent here at Mount Innerheart, when Ning was relaxing, he would harvest some of the Polaris light from the Nine Heavens and refine it within his eyes, forming it into the ‘innate torch-light’!

Although the training process was quite difficult, Ning had still managed to reach the second stage of the innate torch-light.

Upon using this divine ability, Ning could use his naked eye to clearly see an ant that was a hundred thousand kilometers away.

“I’ll give it a try.”

Ning stood there within the mountain forest. He executed the [Torch Dragon’s Eye]; instantly, both of Ning’s eyes began to shine with the light of a torch. If an ordinary Immortal cultivator were to exchange glances with Ning right now, while Ning was intentionally releasing his power…that cultivator would first feel as though his vision had just turned completely white, followed by the entire world turning dark and pitch-black.

Temporary blindness…and some weaker individuals would become permanently blind!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh….as Ning executed this divine ability, countless rays of light came from far away, gathering within Ning’s eyes. Countless rays of light reflecting off of countless objects were all being gathered.

The trees, the creek, the pool, the mountain path…everything was within Ning’s vision now.

This included the archery target that was ten thousand kilometers away, as well as the black-robed Primaltwin Ning that stood next to it.

“Can’t use divine power or elemental ki to control the arrow.” Ning waved his hand, and a black arrow appeared in front of him. He nocked it onto his bow, the pulled the bowstring.

Swish!

Ning’s raw physical power was utterly astonishing; he was fully capable of tossing around an entire massive mountain as a toy by now. He instantly pulled this violet Heaven-ranked greatbow to a perfect full draw.

Ning sensed the wind…

The wind was blowing…

For archery, being able to sense the wind was very important. The wind would have a tremendous impact on the arrow. When Ning was a child, he had spent a tremendous amount of effort training in archery. However, after embarking on his Immortal path, he had stopped training in it; after all, his current level of archery was already sufficient, and when truly necessary he could use his elemental ki to control his arrows, causing it to curve and arc in small degrees. That way, even if he missed his shot due to the distance simply being too great, he could adjust the arrow mid-flight!

But now Ning was forbidden from using elemental ki to control the arrow. He couldn’t even use divine power!

“The speed of the wind…its changes…”

“Right about…now…”

“Go.”

Ning’s eyes blazed with innate torch-light as he stared fixedly towards the distance. The fingers of his right hand suddenly relaxed.

Twang!

The arrow instantly transformed into a streak of light, piercing through the heavens.

The trees in its path were pierced through, and the stones in its path were shattered. However, due to these impediments as well as the changes of the wind…these seemingly minor factors caused an astonishing amount of impact over the course of ten thousand kilometers. Swish! The arrow missed the target by nearly three kilometers.

“Uh…” Ning’s eyes were blazing with innate torch-light; he could clearly see what had just happened. He couldn’t help but feel flabbergasted. “I was off by that much?”

Three full kilometers?

This was ridiculous!

“I’ll give it another try.” Ning once more nocked his violet greatbow, then sent out yet another arrow.

Twang!

The sound of the bowshot rang out once more, and the arrow itself transformed into a streak of light that flew into the distance. This time, the arrow missed the target by more than five kilometers.

“Mm.” Ning frowned.

“Let’s do that again.”

One arrow after another flew out. Some were off by three, four, five kilometers. Sometimes, when Ning was lucky, the arrow would make it to one kilometer. One time, when Ning was extremely lucky, the arrow passed the target by a few dozen meters.

Ning shot off more than ten thousand arrows at one go before coming to a halt. For an early Void-level Fiendgod like Ning, whose body was comparable to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, shooting arrows was a very simple matter on a physical level. His mental energy, however, had been used up!

“I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t expect there would be so many problems.” Ning had tried more than ten thousand times, and in doing so discovered many of the problems.

To simply rely on raw physical force in shooting an arrow ten thousand kilometers and hitting the center of a target…

The first problem was that the trees and stones between him and the target served as forms of obstruction. When the arrow passed through them, it would be impacted, albeit by a tiny, minute amount. Although Ning’s raw power was so great that his arrows would only be impacted slightly…all of the accumulated obstructions over ten thousand kilometers would still cause tiny deviation in the flight path. A tiny deviation magnified over ten thousand kilometers would result in a huge deviation.

The second problem was the wind!

Ning had mastered the Dao of the Gale during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, and his heart had long ago become one with the wind. His wind-sense was extremely accurate by now. However…the wind that Ning could sense was only the wind during the instant the arrow was released! In addition, it was only the wind around Ning himself!

As the arrow flew forward, the wind would change!

In addition, the wind around Ning might be very weak, but five thousand kilometers away there might be a storm.

Even though he could still get a vague sense for how the wind was off in the distance, and even though Ning’s arrow was very fast…it would still be affected by it.

……

These were the two major problems that made it so that hitting the target dead center from ten thousand kilometers away was very difficult.

“What should I do? Right…I have the spirit of a Protocosmic spirit-bow. He must have seen divine archers of the Primordial Era train before.” Ning instantly willed the spirit of the Rahu Bow to be summoned forth.

Whoosh. The black-robed youth appeared next to Ning.

“What do you need from me?” The black-robed youth looked at the bow in Ning’s hands. “Oh, training archery?”

“Rahu Bow, I wish to train in [Houyi’s Archery],” Ning said directly. “However, I have to pass a trial before I can do so. This trial forbids the usage of divine sense, and it also forbids me from using divine power or elemental ki to control my arrows. Just by using raw physical strength, I need to hit the center of a target from ten thousand kilometers away. The center is only one inch in size. I have to hit it ten times in a row to succeed.”

“[Houyi’s Archery]?” The black-robed youth called out in amazement, “Master, you have a chance to learn [Houyi’s Archery]?”

Ning nodded. “But, I have to pass this trial first.”

“This trial is pretty hard. Shoot a hundred arrows and let me take a look first,” the black-robed youth said.

“Alright.”

Ning immediately shot out another hundred arrows. Although he knew where the problems lay…there was nothing he could do about it. He failed every time by an enormous margin.

The black-robed youth watched from afar. Through using his invisible senses, he could naturally see the target that was more than ten thousand kilometers away.

“How was it?” Ning looked towards the black-robed youth.

“It seems you have a bit of a foundation. I thought you’d be off by at least a hundred kilometers.” The black-robed youth nodded. “The art of archery…the most important part of it lies in ‘accuracy’. The more formidable an archery technique, the more powerful the arrows it unleashes, but as for accuracy? For powerful archery arts, it is very difficult to use divine power to improve the accuracy of a shot, and so accuracy is extremely important.”

Ning nodded.

“Start from the basics. First shoot from a hundred kilometers,” the black-robed youth said.

……

Under the guidance of the Rahu Bow, Ning once more began to train in archery. Although the Rahu Bow had never trained personally, he had seen many of his successive masters train in archery. Those were the divine archers of the Primordial Era!

First, a hundred kilometers.

Then two hundred. Then three…

Ning spent nearly three years training in accordance with the guidance from the Rahu Bow, but was still only able to hit the center of targets from 1200 kilometers away when using just raw force. 1200 was a limit for him; no matter how hard Ning tried, he was still unable to improve at all.

“What’s going on? Generally speaking, this is how one trains in archery; one needs to master one’s wind-sense and one’s sense of Qiankun. You’ve accomplished both, and the speed of your arrow isn’t bad. But why is it that I keep on feeling as though you are missing something?” The black-robed youth was extremely puzzled.

He had only watched others shoot arrows, after all; he himself wasn’t a divine archer.

Over the past three years, Ning had even gone to the Divinities Palace to pick out some archery techniques from the eighth floor. He had ruminated over them alongside the Rahu Bow, which was why he had improved this much over the past three years.

“What’s going on?” Ning sat down on the ground, feeling perplexed.

“Junior apprentice-brother, still training archery?” A laugh rang out as the woodcutter came walking over, hatchet over one shoulder and firewood over the other.

“Eldest apprentice-brother.” Ning hurriedly rose to his feet, then said with embarrassment, “I’ve trained bitterly for three years, but I’m still unable to pass the trial for [Houyi’s Archery].”

“[Houyi’s Archery] is indeed extremely difficult, and the trial is quite difficult as well. Shoot a few arrows for me to see,” the woodcutter said with a smile.

“Alright.” Ning was instantly overjoyed.

The eldest apprentice-brother was the absolute number one expert amongst the Old Patriarch’s disciples. Even the second apprentice-brother, Crazy Ji, admitted his inferiority, as did all of the other disciples. In fact, when Ning was chatting with Silvermoon, Silvermoon had secretly told him that their eldest apprentice-brother was definitely at the Daofather level of power. Given his incredible power and given how long he had lived here in seclusion, he had almost assuredly analyzed a technique like [Houyi’s Archery], one of the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms.

Although there were quite a few disciples of the Old Patriarch who trained in [Houyi’s Archery], none of them were that formidable in it. Given their eldest apprentice-brother’s power, however…he surely was.

Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!

One arrow after another shot out. Ning used all of his power while attuning to both the wind and to the Qiankun. In this instant, the world and the wind were all one with his heart. It was as though he himself was the master of the entire world, as though he was the master of countless winds. In fact, even some of the distant transformations of the wind were held within his heart, as though his subconscious was whispering to him of what would happen. This state was the state known as the Dao Domain of the Dao of Archery. Given what a high level of comprehension Ning was at, and given that the Dao of Archery was heavily related to both ‘wind’ and ‘Qiankun’, Ning had advanced fairly quickly along this Dao.

One arrow after another flew out, striking towards the distant target, more than ten thousand kilometers away.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Each of the arrows howled past the target by more than ten meters. In fact, purely thanks to luck, one of the arrows actually struck the target. However…it only hit the target, not the center of the target.

“Alright. You can stop now,” the woodcutter said.

“Please guide me, senior apprentice-brother.” After halting, Ning respectfully asked for advice.

The woodcutter laughed. “Your fundamentals are quite solid. However…you are lacking in the most important aspect.”

“The most important aspect?” Ning was puzzled.

“Right.” The woodcutter nodded. “Remember this: When the arrow flies, the heart flies with it. Once you reach this level, you’ll be able to hit the center of the target from ten thousand kilometers away.” After speaking, the woodcutter turned and leisurely departed, still carrying his hatchet and his firewood.

Ning stood there unmoving. He murmured to himself, “When the arrow flies, the heart flies with it?”

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Chapter 35 – …The Heart Flies With It

Chapter 35 – …The Heart Flies With It

As he watched the woodcutter depart, Ji Ning grew increasingly puzzled. “When the arrow flies…this part I understand. But ‘the heart flies with it’…what does that mean?”

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Ning pulled his bow, testing out a few more arrows, growing increasingly puzzled as he did.

“Little master.” The black-robed man appeared once more, face full of excitement. “Your eldest apprentice-brother said, ‘When the arrow flies, the heart flies with it.’ I think I somewhat understand.”

“Oh?” Ning revealed an expectant look on his face.

The black-robed youth immediately explained, “I’ve gone through many masters and watched many of them train in archery, as well as watched them train their successors and descendants in archery. I remember often hearing them say something; ‘You need to put your heart into it. Put your heart into the arrow.’ When I was guiding you, I didn’t think of these words, because I thought they were just casual words of encouragement, but now…it seems those words must have some special meaning.”

Ning was an extremely intelligent person. This guidance from the black-robed youth didn’t clearly point at what was necessary, but Ning now already had his own ideas.

To use the heart?

To put the heart into the arrow?

When the arrow flies? The heart flies with it?

“My guess is that ‘the heart flies with it’ means exactly that; having your heart and mind fly along with the arrow,” the black-robed youth said. “This ‘heart’ is most likely a reference to a sort of invisible force.”

Ning listened to the black-robed youth, thinking to himself at the same time. He had shot out tens of thousands of arrows every day for nearly a year; thus, he was familiar with all the technical tricks to it. Actually, Ning had already vaguely touched upon the level of having the heart fly with the arrow, but no one had been able to guide him to actually breaking through to it.

Ning once more nocked an arrow to his bow.

“The air…”

“The wind…”

In this instant, his heart became one with the Heavens and the Earth…and his will began to fill the arrow.

Soon, Ning managed to brush against the level of ‘forgetting the self’; although his heart had become one with the Heavens and the Earth, everything around him seemed vague and blurry, as his heart and will were focused completely on his arrow.

Twang!

A thunderous twanging sound. The arrow shot through the air, and Ning’s invisible will was fused into it. In fact, he had an extremely strange feeling; he felt as though he himself had transformed into an arrow! As the arrow shot through the skies, as it pierced through the trees, Ning felt as though it was he himself who was shooting through the trees. This sort of feeling, where his mind and heart were one with the arrow, was quite strange and marvelous…

However, after the arrow flew for a hundred kilometers, that sort of invisible connection between his heart and the arrow dissipated; Ning was no longer able to maintain the wondrous feeling of him having transformed into an arrow.

Swish!

The arrow finally plunged deep into the target that was ten thousand kilometers away…but of course, it was still quite a bit off from the heart of the target.

“That’s the feeling! Right. That’s the feeling.” Ning began to laugh loudly out of excitement as he jubilantly lifted the bow up with energy. “Right. When the arrow flies, the heart flies with it. I felt as though I had transformed into an arrow myself…this was a wondrous feeling, and in that state, I felt as though I was able to control the direction of the arrow.”

“I’ll try again.”

Ning once again nocked an arrow and drew his bow. Twang! The arrow shot through the skies, and Ning once more felt as though he were an arrow, with his heart focused upon the arrow.

Change directions! Change directions!

While flying through the air, the arrow suddenly began to change directions. Although the magnitude of the change was very small, as Ning repeatedly strove to influence it, the arrow began to arc outwards and fly even farther, before finally overshooting the target by thousands of kilometers.

“When the arrow flies, the heart flies with it…”

“This is the feeling. However, I’m only able to maintain this state for a hundred kilometers; any farther, and my will dissipates and becomes unable to maintain contact with the arrow.” Ning nodded to himself. This sort of invisible, formless feeling of his will being one with the arrow was a strange, subtle thing. However…there was indeed such a thing as a power forged from heart, from will.

That ancient Fiendgod corpse of the previous owner of the Rahu Bow was proof of it. Despite having died so long ago, the remnant, vestigial will of death and killing still was enough to cause Ning’s heart to quiver.

Strictly speaking, the ancient Fiendgod’s soul had been destroyed long ago…so where did that invisible will and intent come from?

This was what ‘heart’ was all about.

It was an invisible force! The power of the heart! It was different from divine power, elemental ki, and soul power. It was an extremely illusory, difficult-to-detect sort of power, but it did indeed exist. A truly divine archer would have to be able to master this power, the power of heart; only by mastering it could one become one of the formidable divine archers of the three realms. And this was just one of the prerequisites!

“Use the heart.”

“The heart!”

“The heart flies with the arrow!”

Ning began to train.

He knew very well that given how firm his Dao-heart was, the power of his heart should logically be quite formidable. However, he was still only able to keep his heart merged with the arrow for a distance of a hundred kilometers. The reason for this was…his heart was not sincere enough! His heart was supremely sincere towards the Dao of the Sword, but it was not yet sincere enough to the Dao of Archery.

Only with sincerity would the power of the heart grow!

Fortunately, thanks to his three years of painstaking training, Ning had established a solid foundation, and as Ning’s attitude towards the bow had changed and as his feelings towards the Dao of Archery grew increasingly resolute, the power of his heart had grown increasingly strong. In the legends, there were some truly formidable figures who, no matter what they trained in, were able to maintain a supremely loyal heart to whatever they focused on. By doing so, they were able to improve at a truly astonishing rate.

The power of the heart was sometimes even more important than raw talent or comprehension.

A thousand kilometers.

Two thousand kilometers.

Three thousand kilometers.

As the days passed, the connection between Ning’s heart and his arrow became increasingly strong.

“Wow! Little master, when you draw the bow, you now have a certain aura…an aura that only the divine archers of the Primordial Era used to have!” The black-robed man watched excitedly from one side.

When one had a heart that was supremely loyal to the bow, there would be a difference that would be very hard for most to detect, even if the difference was magnified ten thousand-fold. However, that innate charisma really did make an impact. The Rahu Bow, which had passed through the hands of quite a few divine archers, was definitely able to tell the difference.

Twang!

Swish!

The arrow plunged straight into the heart of the target.

Ning, however, maintained his calm as he continued to shoot arrows. Ning was now able to hit the target dead-center every so often, and even when he didn’t, he was still definitely able to hit the target. To be able to occasionally hit the target dead-center from a distance of ten thousand kilometers, with trees and boulders blocking the way, while using nothing but raw physical strength was already a truly astounding feat…but unfortunately, passing the trial required one to accomplish this feat ten times in a row.

Five thousand kilometers. Six thousand kilometers…

Ning’s heart was able to ride with the arrow for increasingly long periods of time. Under this sort of training, Ning’s Dao-heart was actually beginning to grow even more powerful, and his eyes were beginning to grow increasingly bright! When he drew his bow…anything he stared at would feel as though a God of Death was staring at them from afar, causing a sort of inexplicable, nameless terror!

This was the sort of mental, psychological sensation of threat which only a true divine archer was able to impose upon the minds of his foes.

Ning’s own heart was like an arrow, seeking to stab itself into the enemy’s own heart. The enemy would subconsciously sense this and feel terrified!

Eight thousand kilometers. Nine thousand kilometers…

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

An arrow struck straight into the heart of the target. So did a second arrow. A third. A fourth…Ning shot out a hundred arrows, and each and every one of them struck the target dead-center. The inch-thick heart of the target was completely filled with a tight cluster of arrows now.

“Whew.” From ten thousand kilometers away, Ning let out a sigh.

This sort of state, where his heart rode with the arrow, consumed a tremendous amount of mental stamina with each arrow. Shooting out a hundred arrows in a row in this state caused an extremely nauseous feeling of exhaustion! If Ning was simply shooting out arrows without using the power of his heart, he wouldn’t feel the slightest bit tired after shooting out even ten thousand. But it was very, very exhausting to be in the state where ‘when the arrow flies, the heart flies with it!’

However…the power of the arrows in this state was truly tremendous, and the arrows were also much more accurate!

“Little master, you succeeded. You succeeded!” The black-robed youth was very excited.

“Thank you, Rahu Bow.” Ning smiled in gratitude. Over the past three years, although he did study some of the secret archery manuals of the Divinities Palace, what truly made the distance was the guidance of the Rahu Bow! The Rahu Bow had watched many divine archers grow up; although he himself was not a divine archer, he had still been able to provide Ning with a shockingly significant amount of help.

If it hadn’t been for the Rahu Bow, even ten years probably wouldn’t have been enough for Ning to complete this trial.

“Heh heh, little master, only after you become a true divine archer can I, the Rahu Bow, truly show off my own illustriousness.” The black-robed youth was extremely excited. “If you, little master, truly wish to show your gratitude towards me, then just procure a good bowstring for me.”

“Right.” Ning nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

He had a number of poorer-quality bowstrings. After all, he could remove the bowstring from the violet greatbow he was currently using and use it for the Rahu Bow. However…this bow was far too weak. The Rahu Bow was a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure; Ning really did have to procure a good bowstring for it!

Mount Innerheart. The Tristar Crescent Abode. Outside the fairly small Three Divinities Palace. Crazy Ji continued to snore there as he always did.

“Second senior apprentice-brother.” Ning walked over.

Crazy Ji didn’t even open his eyes as he mumbled, “The complete copy of [Houyi’s Archery] is on the table. Go take it yourself.”

“Thank you, second senior apprentice-brother.”

Ning immediately stepped inside. Floating above the abridged versions was a very eye-catching furled bamboo book. It was indeed the complete copy of [Houyi’s Archery]. Ning walked over, immediately filling it with his divine sense.

Rumble…

A large amount of information instantly began to flood into Ning’s soul.

A long, long time later. The sun had both risen and fallen. By the time the dawn was just arriving, as half of the distant Golden Crow could be seen peeking out from the distant horizon, Ning woke up.

“What a powerful archery technique,” Ning murmured to himself.

He was stunned. Truly, completely stunned.

According to the description of [Houyi’s Archery], if it was truly trained to the limit, to the level of the mighty primordial divinity Houyi who had created this divine ability…the power of the arrows would be truly terrifying, to the point of being above even the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]!

If a True God were to reach the peak of this divine ability, then with a single arrow, the True God would be able to heavily injure or even kill other True Gods!

But there was a reason why the complete mastery of [Houyi’s Archery] was so ridiculously powerful.

Number one: The amount of mental energy this supreme archery technique used up was simply enormous. At the level of perfect mastery, even a True God would probably only be able to fire three, four, or five arrows before becoming utterly mentally drained and unable to fire off another arrow. Ning’s [Starseizing Hand], however, could be used continuously without worry of using up any mental power.

Number two: This archery technique had extremely high requirements with regards to both the bow and the arrow. Especially the arrow! It must be understood that at full power, [Houyi’s Archery] was mighty enough to annihilate a True God with a single arrow; to be able to compress this much power into a single arrow, the arrow had to be of tremendous quality, as it would otherwise collapse and break apart.

Thus, in order to execute this technique, one not only needed a good bow, one also needed some specially-prepared arrows that were incredibly powerful!

A superb bow. Superb arrows. And just a few shots before utter exhaustion!

Slightly poorer archery arts could allow for a hundred shots, while even poorer archery arts could easily allow for ten thousand shots. This was a testament to how truly draining this supreme archery technique was when it came to the power of the heart.

“The power of this archery art…although the number of times it can be used in succession is low, it truly is without question one of the top ten divine abilities created since Pangu established the universe!” Ning felt endless admiration towards this divine ability, as well as the number one God of the Bow of the Three Realms, Houyi.

Ning then stepped forward and picked up the abridged copy of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

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Chapter 36 – Leaving the Master’s Tutelage

Chapter 36 – Leaving the Master’s Tutelage

Early dawn.

“Uncle-master.”

“Uncle-master.”

“Patriarch.”

Escorted by a chorus of respectful calls, Ji Ning arrived at the entrance to the Tristar Crescent Abode. Holding a broom in his hands, he began to personally sweep the mountain paths.

Sweep. Sweep. The fallen leaves on the ground were all being swept away.

“That’s odd.”

“The Patriarch is personally sweeping the mountain paths? Isn’t that the trial for the first level of the Divinities Palace?”

“The Patriarch can enter even the ninth level whenever he pleases, to say nothing of the first. He defeats the ninth golem with utter ease.”

“But the Patriarch truly is sweeping the paths personally. Are we seeing things?”

“Maybe…maybe the Patriarch is meditating on something.”

The two Dao-novitiates who were guarding the entrance stared in amazement as they watched Ning personally sweep the mountain roads. They stealthily sent mental messages to each other regarding this. News quickly began to spread, and soon all of the disciples of Mount Innerheart came to know of it.

……

Ning was very calm. He kept his head lowered, focusing on his broom. Each sweep of the broom felt like a cleansing sweep against his soul as well.

He swept each of the mountain steps, one at a time. His sweeping speed wasn’t too fast; he seemed to be enjoying this sweeping process.

He only finished his labors late in the afternoon.

“Oh, I’m done?” Only now did Ning come back to his senses. He straightened his back, then murmured softly to himself, “It seems as though when Master set trials such as sweeping the path and weeding the mountain, he had certain other things in mind as well.”

“Apprentice.” A voice suddenly rang out by Ning’s ears.

Ning was momentarily startled, but then hurriedly responded, “Master!”

Despite having been on the mountain for so many years, Ning had never before received a direct mental message from his master like this.

“After you learn the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], come to my place,” the voice rang out again.

“Yes, master,” Ning replied respectfully.

Ning quickly moved up the mountain, heart filled with questions. Why was his master summoning him? This was extremely rare. Could it be…that he was going to leave his master’s tutelage soon?

……

Ning went to the Three Realms Palace and acquired the full copy of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

To date, the three major techniques which Ning had learned from the Three Realms Palace were the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], and [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

The process of being transmitted the information regarding the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] took a full day. The next day, Ning regained his faculty of mind. Only then did he head towards the Daoist monastery of Patriarch Subhuti.

“Uncle-master.”

The two Dao-novitiates at the entrance to the monastery both called out respectfully. One of the two, Clearwater, also added, “Uncle-master, the Patriarch has sent word that you are to be allowed direct entry.”

Ning nodded, smiled, then passed in.

Within the Daoist monastery.

There was a prayer mat within an open region with a skinny old man dressed in loose Daoist robes seated atop it. The old man’s hair was completely white, but he didn’t seem decrepit at all; rather, Ning felt as though this person had reached the level of infinite eternity. In addition, he also could sense a boundless life-force coming from this person. Ning couldn’t help but feel his own spirit completely calming down, thanks to his master’s simple presence.

“Master.” Ning walked in, then called out respectfully.

“Sit,” the Old Patriarch said.

Ning immediately sat down on a prayer mat in the lotus position, awaiting instruction.

The Old Patriarch looked at Ning, then said slowly, “How long have you spent on Mount Innerheart?”

“It has already been more than thirty years and five…this year shall be the thirty-sixth,” Ning said respectfully.

“Which abilities have you learned?” The Old Patriarch asked.

“Your disciple has learned the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and reached the Third Cycle! I’ve just reached a basic level of skill in [Houyi’s Archery]. I have also trained in the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] and reached the second stage of innate torch-light! In the past thirty-plus years, your disciple has primarily focused on swordplay; I’ve already mastered the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], and have learned other, more powerful sword-arts as well,” Ning said respectfully.

The Old Patriarch nodded. “You have many abilities now; it can be said that you are a completely different person compared to when you first came up the mountain. At your current level…remaining on Mount Innerheart will no longer help you as much as before. What you need to do now is go temper yourself within the real world, so as to prepare for your upcoming Celestial Tribulation. Given your abilities, and given that you have the legacy of brother Threelives…your Celestial Tribulation will surely be extraordinary. It will be very, very difficult.”

“Your disciple shall remember to be cautious.” Ning was enlightened. So indeed, it was as he had expected…it was time for him to leave his master’s tutelage.

“It is time for you to leave now.” The Old Patriarch looked at Ning. “I once said that when you left my tutelage, I would give you two great gifts.”

Ning instantly felt intrigued.

“After you entered my tutelage, I often watched you, appraising your comprehension ability, your talent, your habits…all for the sake of developing a completely unique evasion divine ability for you, known as the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens],” the Old Patriarch said.

Ning was overjoyed. This had been created just for him?!

Ning was badly in need of an evasive ability right now. He had been preparing to ‘settle’ for an evasive technique from the Divinities Palace if he couldn’t find a good one, but unexpectedly his master had been preparing this for him the entire time, developing an evasive divine ability that was completely suited for Ning.

“You are a human, after all; if you are to train in any other evasive abilities, it will be hard for you to reach the peak in them. Even if I gave you the [Wings of the Garuda], from which your Windwing Evasion ability originates, you will never be able to reach the level which the great Roc did,” the Old Patriarch explained. “The ‘best’ skill is the one most-suited to you. This technique, the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], when trained to the utmost peak…although it might not be as good as perfect mastery over [Wings of the Garuda], it isn’t that far off. You will be able to move 90,000 kilometers in a single movement.” 1

“90,000 kilometers in a single movement?” Ning was extremely delighted. 90,000 kilometers…this was an astonishing speed!

“This is the evasive divine ability I prepared for you. In the future, when you have your own insights, perhaps you’ll be able to further perfect it, allowing you to move even faster. That, however, shall be up to you,” the Old Patriarch said.

Ning nodded.

An evasive ability which Patriarch Subhuti had personally developed…most likely it would be hard for Ning to improve on, even after he became an Empyrean God. Improving it…that would be a very, very distant task.

“I can see that in the future, you shall be a Sword Immortal. But any truly formidable Sword Immortal needs a powerful sword-formation,” the Old Patriarch said. “The so-called [Heavenraker] sword formation, in truth, was used by Daofather Heavenrake as something he could teach his disciples. Even I don’t know what his most formidable and profound sword-arts…Daofather Heavenrake keeps them hidden as his secret weapons for keeping himself alive.”

Ning nodded.

“Your [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] relies on using many treasures, relying on superiority of numbers; when combined with an appropriate sword-art, it is indeed capable of unleashing tremendous power. Both the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha have similar types of techniques that rely on overwhelming numbers. Using your [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] as the foundation, I have distilled the essence of the best Daoist and Buddhist techniques of this nature and developed a new sword-formation technique for you. I have given it the name, [Greater Thousand Swords Formation],” the Old Patriarch said. “If you have enough treasures, the power of this [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] will be absolutely astonishing. It can be described as one of the supreme sword-formations of the Three Realms.”

“Thank you, Master!” Ning was both excited and overjoyed. The [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] evasive technique, the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] sword-formation technique…his master had personally designed both for him.

What Ning did not realize…

Was that Patriarch Subhuti was truly very diligent in teaching his students. Despite the passage of countless ages, the total number of students he had taken on was quite low, but he whole-heartedly focused on every single one he took on, especially during the early periods when they had first entered his tutelage. Although it seemed as though Ning hadn’t had the chance to meet with his master many times, in reality Patriarch Subhuti had been constantly monitoring Ning. Then, based on Ning’s own traits and characteristics, the Old Patriarch had tested out and developed these techniques in a completely separate world.

The [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], for example; Patriarch Subhuti had spent hundreds of thousands of years developing it.

By comparison, the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was easier; after all, this sort of formation simply centered around massive numbers of treasures. Patriarch Subhuti had only spent a thousand years to develop it.

In this other world, the flow of time was different. This was why Patriarch was able to bring out these two techniques now.

……

“Step forward,” the Old Patriarch instructed.

Ning hurriedly stepped forward, walking in front of the Old Patriarch. The Old Patriarch tapped Ning on the center of his forehead.

Instantly, a large amount of information flooded into Ning’s brain.

By the time Ning recovered, the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] and the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] had been firmly imprinted into his mind.

“Alright. It is time to leave,” the Old Patriarch said.

“Master,” Ning said respectfully. “Your disiciple also wishes to meditate on the secrets of the lotus. I wish to make a trip to the Divinities Palace and acquire a few manuals on lotus techniques.”

The Old Patriarch waved his hand and a bamboo book appeared within it. He handed it to Ning. “This is a set of lotus techniques I acquired by accident. The mysteries within it are unfathomably profound, and will be more than enough for you to meditate on. You can carry it with you.”

“Thank you, Master.” It was one surprise for Ning after another. Ning hurriedly added, “Your disciple has an apprentice, Bluecliff Xiaoyu, who has just arrived on the mountain and only been here a few years. She is still quite weak; your disciple would like to let her remain here at Mount Innerheart for now…”

The Old Patriarch nodded. “Then let her remain here and train quietly on the mountain. When the day comes that she can defeat the ninth golem, I will let her leave and send her to your Grand Xia world.”

Only now did Ning feel completely relaxed. Everything had been arranged for.

“Alright. Time to leave the mountain,” the Old Patriarch instructed. “Remember this: Without my permission, you are not to say that you are my disciple. Otherwise…do not blame your master for showing you no mercy. Only when I summon you back can you return to Mount Innerheart.”

“Yes,” Ning said respectfully.

“The Three Realms are now filled with secret, turbulent undercurrents. Even I, your master, might perish. You must be careful. You are not to be too rash and cause a disaster for yourself,” the Old Patriarch said.

Ning instantly felt his heart shake. What? The Three Realms were filled with secret, turbulent undercurrents? Even his master might perish? Then how was someone like him, a junior fellow who wasn’t even a Celestial Immortal, supposed to make it?

The Old Patriarch waved his sleeve. “Be it fortune or calamity…you shall bring it to yourself, and have no one else to blame or to thank. Now, go!”

Ning respectfully fell to his knees, pressing his head down to the ground and kowtowing heavily nine times. “Your disciple is leaving now. Master, take care!”

His master had indeed spent considerable effort on his behalf. Both the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] and the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] were truly supreme techniques of the Three Realms. Even Daofathers weren’t capable of casually creating techniques on this level. Although his master hadn’t spelled it out, Ning could imagine how much enormous effort his master must’ve gone into in order to develop these techniques.

Ning would naturally engrave his memory of this kindness into his heart.

In addition, the thirty-plus years he had spent on Mount Innerheart had been the most peaceful years of his life, the years when he had truly, firmly established his foundation. After leaving the mountain, it would be as his master said; given how the Three Realms were filled with dangerous undercurrents, it would probably be hard for him to find such peace again.

……

After Ning left, another person appeared within the Daoist monastery. It was the second apprentice, Crazy Ji.

“Master.” Crazy Ji watched as Ning walked away, then sighed, “This junior apprentice-brother of mine truly is a man of deep emotions.”

“Unfortunately, he was born at the wrong time.” The Old Patriarch shook his head. “When most of you were growing up, I was able to protect you. But he will be growing up in an era when a great tribulation is descending upon the Three Realms. The Three Realms are already filled with many dangerous undercurrents…and this tribulation may prove to be even more terrifying than the one that shattered Pangu’s World.”

“What?!” Crazy Ji’s face instantly changed.

“Nuwa has left long ago, entering the endless primordial chaos. Despite the passages of countless years, she has never returned,” the Old Patriarch said. “When Nuwa was present, the Three Realms were finally settled down and the Six Paths of Reincarnation were established. The Celestial Court was created to manage the Three Realms, and the Daofathers and True Gods all separated into their respective territories. But with Nuwa gone…with the Six Paths of Reincarnation destroyed…with the Celestial Court only a court in name…with the Three Realms filled by dangerous undercurrents…I fear that this tribulation…”

The Old Patriarch shook his head.

Crazy Ji began to worry.

“But in times of tribulation, a person can bring either fortune or calamity upon himself. If it is calamity, only he himself can save himself,” the Old Patriarch said. “Everyone, including you and the others, all need to be careful. I imagine that a large number of True Gods and Daofathers shall die during this tribulation…and if even half of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals survive, they should count their blessings. If you are faced with danger, I may not be able to protect you.”

“Your disciple shall remember and be cautious,” Crazy Ji said respectfully.

……

Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White out of Mount Innerheart.

On the path to Mount Innerheart. Bluecliff Xiaoyu fell to her knees, pressing her forehead against the ground. “Your disciple shall definitely train hard. After I reach the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace, I will immediately head for the world of the Grand Xia to reunite with you, Master.”

Ning nodded and smiled. He then led Little Qing and Uncle White to fly out of Mount Innerheart.

They arrived in the sky-void, and as they did, a void tunnel appeared. This was a void-tunnel which Patriarch Subhuti had personally opened for them.

Ning, Little Qing, and Uncle White flew directly into it.

Swoosh! They all disappeared, and the void-tunnel closed behind them.

“Master!” Xiaoyu knelt there, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. “I will definitely go to the Grand Xia world and meet you there.”

1. Alas, this isn’t quite as fast as Sun Wukong’s ‘somersault cloud’, which allowed him to move 108,000 kilometers in a single somersault.

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Chapter 1 – Homecoming

Chapter 1 – Homecoming

The world of the Grand Xia. Stillwater Commandery.

A spatial ripple appeared in the air above Serpentwing Lake. From within, out strode a plainly dressed youth, a snowy white hound by his side and a little azure serpent around his arm.

“We’re back.”

Ji Ning stared downwards at Serpentwing Lake. He murmured softly, “When I left here, I fled in such a pathetic state. But now…no one should even think about forcing me, Ji Ning, to leave again!”

Ning felt closer to this lake than anything else. If it hadn’t been because the Youngflame clan was so much more powerful than him back then, how could Ning have beared to part from it?

Swoosh. With a single step, Ning arrived within Brightheart Island, at the very center of Serpentwing Lake.

The buildings of Brightheart Island had all been rebuilt. There were quite a few servants and guards present. As Ning strolled forward through the sand, he quietly gazed at everything and everyone. His divine sense had long ago encapsulated the entire island. “When I fled, Brightheart Island had been leveled by the Youngflame clan. I didn’t expect that it would have been rebuilt, and that it would be built to look exactly the way it did in the past. However…it seems as though there is no one here that I recognize.”

“I imagine that elder sister Autumn Leaf is still at the City of Ten Thousand Swords.”

Ning took a walk around Brightheart Island. He visited the place where Autumn Leaf had previously stayed, as well as the place where his father had once lived. The servants and guards didn’t see him at all.

Brightheart Island of Serpentwing Lake was Ning’s home. Coming home was truly a wonderful feeling.

“This time…no one should even think about destroying Brightheart Island again,” Ning murmured softly. “Uncle White. It’ll be up to you.”

The Whitewater Hound behind Ning spoke out. “I’ve analyzed quite a few grand formations at Mount Innerheart, and within some of the secret tomes on formations there were also some hidden formations of supreme power. Although I haven’t thoroughly comprehended them all…simply setting them up in accordance with the instructions will prove simple. In the future, the entire Swallow Mountain region, all hundred thousand kilometers of it, will be surrounded by hundreds of layers of grand formations! Formations within formations within formations; not even Celestial Immortals will dare barge in here.”

“Good.” Ning nodded.

A powerful school or sect would definitely layer many terrifying formations around its headquarters.

In order to lay down a formation, one would first need to procure a formidable formation technique, and then go buy enough treasures to actually set it up. Thus, the formations of major schools were usually built up by successive generations of disciples of the school. The longer a school’s history, the more complicated and powerful its many layered formations would be, to the point of causing any enemy to hesitate!

Although Ning and the Whitewater Hound didn’t have that sort of long history and background, they were the disciples of Mount Innerheart!

Formation tomes generally weren’t valued that much, and so the formation tomes which Uncle White had acquired on the sixth floor of the Divinities Palace were already some of the supreme formations of the entire Three Realms. Naturally, he had learned an enormous number of formidable formations. Some he had thoroughly mastered, while others he had not, but even those he had not mastered, he could still lay them out according to the instructions.

“Uncle White,” Little Qing said, “I heard that some major schools take up hundreds of thousands of kilometers, all of which is completely covered up by formations, some of which are set down by generations of Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals. You need to make sure that our formations aren’t weaker than theirs!”

“We are of Mount Innerheart; our formations are unfathomably more profound than the formations of those so-called major schools,” Uncle White said confidently. “With enough magic treasures…I can turn the entire Swallow Mountain into an unbreakable steel dome.”

“Right. When the time comes, let’s pay a trip to the imperial capital and buy some formations materials. Uncle White, think about what you need and prepare a list,” Ning said.

“I will. I’ll come up with some of the most supreme killing formations that I’ve learned from those formation manuals.”

……

A short while later. Outside the City of Ten Thousand Swords.

The gates to the city were open. Ning led a snowy white hound inside through the city gates. The gateguards couldn’t see them at all; naturally, they wouldn’t bar their way.

“The changes are so significant.” Ning murmured softly, “In the past, the City of Ten Thousand Swords had many ordinary mortals within it, and there were many hawkers lining the streets. Now…everything has changed. There are very few mortals here.”

The many former residences of the City of Ten Thousand Swords had all been demolished, and the entire city had been completely renovated in a beautiful manner!

Within the city, there were now far more soldiers! There were also many more men and women that were dressed in absolutely beautiful clothes.

“Even I can barely recognize this place. I feel as though the City of Ten Thousand Swords has been transformed into an enormous private estate,” Uncle White sighed in amazement.

Whoosh. Ning swept forward with his divine sense.

Within an estate, there were two powerful Immortal Diremonsters who were leisurely sipping wine – Immortal Duohe and Immortal Witchsui. Their faces suddenly changed; they could sense an incomparably powerful, almost crushingly-strong divine sense sweep past them! Just from this divine sense alone…they could tell that the wielder was above ordinary Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals. It was extremely rare for Loose Immortals to have such a terrifying divine sense.

“Not good.” Immortal Duohe and Immortal Witchsui both were shocked. “An enemy!”

“Wait.”

Puzzled looks quickly appeared on their faces. The divine sense seemed rather familiar…

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning?” They shared a glance of disbelief…but indeed, when they carefully checked again, that surge of divine sense did indeed belong to Ji Ning. However, it was even more powerful and graceful than before.

“Immortal Witchsui, Immortal Duohe, we’ll meet at Darknorth Palace in a bit,” Ning sent mentally.

“Alright,” the two Diremonster Immortals assented.

……

Within a secluded courtyard in the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Autumn Leaf was taking care of her flowers. She had lived by herself for the past few decades, quietly focusing on her training. Without planning to, she actually made a breakthrough and reached the early Wanxiang level. Although Ning had previously provided her with some help, and although this was partially due to the fact that the Ji clan now had a prodigious Dao-repository, her own talent clearly was exceptional as well.

“Auntie.” A youth walked in, a look of absolute delight on his face and a look of yearning in his eyes. “Auntie, auntie, my swordplay has reached the ‘one with the world’ level.”

“Oh?” Autumn Leaf turned around, smiling as she looked at the youth. “One with the world?”

“Right right! When I was out adventuring and fighting Diremonsters, I suddenly made a breakthrough and my swordplay reached the ‘one with the world’ level,” the youth said excitedly. “Auntie, you promised me to teach me a powerful sword-art when I reached the ‘one with the world’ level.”

Autumn Leaf smiled. But suddenly…her body trembled. A look of disbelief and delight appeared in her eyes.

The youth was immediately puzzled.

“Little Rocky, hurry up and head back. Auntie has something to do,” Autumn Leaf said.

“But Auntie, you promised to teach me swordplay…” The youth was rather hesitant, unwilling to leave.

“Go back for now,” Autumn Leaf said.

“…fine.” The youth turned and left helplessly.

After the youth left, the courtyard once more became quiet. Autumn Leaf hurriedly stared at the surrounding area with agitation, searching for that familiar figure. And right at this moment, a fur-clad youth suddenly appeared out of nowhere, not too far away in front of her.

“Young master!” A look of excitement was on Autumn Leaf’s face. He looked just the same as he always had; he hadn’t changed at all. “Young master. You came back.”

“Right. I’m back.” Ning nodded slowly.

“Will you be leaving?” Autumn Leaf asked softly.

“Not this time,” Ning said.

Tears appeared in Autumn Leaf’s eyes. She nodded repeatedly. “Autumn Leaf will definitely take good care of you, young master.”

“It wouldn’t feel right if anyone else was to take care of me,” Ning said with a smile. “Let’s go and see Uncle Truekeep and the others.”

“Alright.” Autumn Leaf immediately followed him.

The City of Ten Thousand Swords. Darknorth Palace.

After the complete overhaul of the City of Ten Thousand Swords, the most important palace of the the entire Ji clan became this place, the Darknorth Palace. It was named ‘Darknorth’ after Ning’s own Daoist title, of course! Ever since news had spread of Ning’s victory in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, the entire Ji clan had celebrated with wild abandon. This was a glory which the Ji clan had never before even imagined of in all of its history!

Ji Ning had become the absolute most glorious figure in the Ji clan’s entire history!

“Uncle Truekeep, Granny Shadow, Immortal Duohe, Immortal Witchsui.” Ning walked into Darknorth Palace, then called out to them.

Only four people were present within the palace. Clearly, the news of Ning’s return was too shocking and sudden; none of the other formidable figures of the Ji clan had been notified yet. His return was to be kept a secret for now.

“It’s good that you are back. It’s good that you are back!” Granny Shadow looked at Ning, a hint of excitement and delight in her eyes.

“Where’s the former patriarch and the others?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“Because they reached the end of their lifespans…my big brother and Ah Xing have both passed on,” Granny Shadow sighed. “After they left, I spent all my time by myself within the Dao-repository, waiting for my end to come as well. Who would’ve thought that after being within it for so long, I’d actually end up making an unexpected breakthrough?”

Ning sighed. The former patriarch, Ji Ninefire, as well as the old servant Ah Xing had both died. Of the older generation, only Granny Shadow remained.

“However, before they died, they learned of the fact that you, Ji Ning, became the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny,” Granny Shadow said excitedly. “They were both excited and proud. Our Ji clan actually produced a scion that became one of the most glorious figures of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. This is an incomparable honor for our entire clan! Right…after you became champion, you suddenly disappeared for thirty years. Did you go follow a Celestial Immortal to study the Dao?”

The nearby Immortal Witchsui said with a laugh, “Only a truly peerless genius could become champion of the Conclave. It is quite normal for such a genius to be taken on by a Celestial Immortal; in fact, even Pure Yang True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would consider accepting such disciples.”

Immortal Witchsui was of Celestial Immortal Witchriver’s lineage; naturally, he knew about True Immortals and Empyrean Gods.

“I did indeed leave to go studying,” Ning said with a nod.

Ning had already prepared his explanation for his thirty-plus years of disappearance. The explanation was…he had left to go studying!

Studying with who? Who was his master? That would be a secret! The more mysterious it seemed, the more caution it would inspire in careful-minded folk.

“If my gaze is correct…fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you are now a Void-level Earth Immortal,” Immortal Duohe said with a laugh.

“Not just that; both of fellow Daoist Ji Ning’s spirit-beasts have become Void-level Earth Immortals,” the nearby Immortal Witchsui added.

“What?!” Granny Shadow, Patriarch Ji Truekeep, and Autumn Leaf all stared towards them in astonishment.

Although they were delighted by the fact that Ning had become a Void-level Earth Immortal, this was as they had expected, because they had heard long ago about Ning’s Primaltwin being capable of killing Loose Immortals. Given that Ning had also gone to study the Dao with a powerful figure, what was so strange about him now having reached the Void-level and become an Earth Immortal? But the two spirit-beasts had also become Void-level Earth Immortals?!

“Right.” Ning smiled and nodded, then said, “I can see that the Ji clan has changed quite a bit.”

“Thanks to the help of Princess Xiyue, the squads which the Youngflame clan had stationed in the Ji clan’s territory left long ago.” Truekeep tamped down the curiosity he felt, then explained, “And given the additional fame and glory you won at the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, Ji Ning, who would dare antagonize our Ji clan now? We haven’t expanded; we’ve just continued to stabilize around Swallow Mountain. Over the past few decades, Swallow Mountain’s defenses have become airtight.”

Ning nodded.

“Our Ji clan hasn’t changed that much; by comparison, Stillwater Commandery has changed much more.” Truekeep let out a sigh. “The entire Stillwater Commandery is now vastly different from what it was like when you left. Even the Marquis of Stillwater has changed.”

“The Marquis of Stillwater has changed?” Ning was surprised. “To who?”

The two principal contenders for the position of Marquis of Stillwater had been Northmont Yin and Northmont Blacktiger.

“The current Marquis of Stillwater…is Northmont Yin,” Truekeep said.

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Chapter 2 – Ji Ning Is Back

Chapter 2 – Ji Ning Is Back

“Northmont Yin?” Ning was startled.

“Then what of Northmont Baiwei and his father, Northmont Blacktiger?” Ning hurriedly asked, “Are they doing alright?”

Internicine struggles within ancient clans could be incredibly devastating; generally, the losers would have dire ends.

“I know about the relationship between you and Northmont Baiwei,” Ji Truekeep said, “So I kept abreast of this matter. Northmont Blacktiger and his son continue to live within Stillwater City and continue to reside within the Northmont Blacktiger Estate. Although their power is not as it was before, they aren’t at risk of dying.”

Ning finally let out a sigh of relief. Still…he was quite surprised.

Based on what he understood, the struggle within the Northmont clan of Stillwater for the position of Marquis would be extremely cruel and savage; the loser would be driven out of their estate and perhaps even expelled out from Stillwater City to some other places. In an extremely serious case, they might even be sent to a completely different minor world with the assignment of subjugating it for the clan. There, they might live out the end of their days. Unexpectedly, after Northmont Yin had become the Marquis, his most powerful foe, Northmont Blacktiger, was still able to reside in Stillwater City.

After the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning finished asking his questions and felt a bit more relaxed. He then said, “I’m going to make a trip; I should be back in ten days or half a month or so.”

“Ji Ning,” Granny Shadow said in her gravelly voice, “The outside world is very chaotic right now. You must be careful.”

“Chaotic?” Ning was puzzled. “Why is it chaotic?”

Truekeep explained, “Our Ji clan is permanently stationed here at Swallow Mountain, and so we don’t know too much about the chaos in the outside world. What we do know, however, is that in the past twenty to thirty years, many tribes and clans within Stillwater Commandery have been wiped out! The entire Stillwater Commandery is in a state of enormous upheaval right now. Of course, the annihilated clans and tribes were all fairly weak tribes that had no Immortals…but there were still a number of annihilated clans that were comparable to Snowdragon Mountain back in its heyday.”

“What?!” Ning felt as though something was off. In Stillwater Commandery, powers comparable to Snowdragon Mountain were already fairly strong.

Powers with Immortals guarding them, by contrast, would be considered truly first-rate.

Above them would be the eight supreme powers; the Black-White College, the Skysplitter Sword Sect, the Hundred Flowers Fairyland, the Heavenly Saint Church, the Blood God Church, the Dragonhunter clan, the Eastriver clan, and the Bluewood clan.

The most supreme powers, of course, were the Northmont clan as well as the local Raindragon Guard.

“Powers comparable to Snowdragon Mountain…they all have extremely deep and stable roots; it’s rare for one of them to be wiped out, even in a thousand years. How is it that a number of them have been wiped out in twenty to thirty short years?” Ning said.

“The Ji clan stays here at Swallow Mountain. We’re not too sure,” Truekeep said.

Ning frowned.

When Ning had left Mount Innerheart, his master had warned him of the dangerous undercurrents within the Three Realms, claiming that even he himself might fall. Now, upon returning to Stillwater Commandery, he discovered that local regions were already beginning to turn chaotic…

“A great secret most likely lies behind the chaos in Stillwater Commandery,” Ning mused silently to himself. “It seems I need to be even more careful than I anticipated. If even Master must be extremely careful…this little bit of power I have is nothing.”

“Granny Shadow. Uncle Truekeep.” Ning immediately said, “Given the state of chaos Stillwater Commandery is in, your actions are correct. It is best for our Ji clan to peacefully remain here at Swallow Mountain. Mm…I’m going to make a trip. I’ll be back in ten days or so. Autumn Leaf, no need to follow me; wait here for my return.”

“Alright.” Autumn Leaf nodded.

“Immortal Duohe, Immortal Witchsui…the safety of my Ji clan will depend on your efforts,” Ning said.

“We are only acting as is proper. Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you rescued all of us from the Immortal estate; it is right and proper for us to help out,” Immortal Witchsui said hurriedly.

“The monsters of the Immortal estate are living here at Swallow Mountain as well. We shall prosper together or perish together with the Ji clan.” Immortal Duohe spoke out warmly as well. In the past, for the sake of their clan, they had sworn a thousand year oath…but now that Ning had come back as a Void-level Earth Immortal, as had his two spirit-beasts, their attitudes had changed significantly.

……

In the air a few thousand kilometers outside of Stillwater City. A spatial ripple appeared, then a fur-clad youth walked out, a snowy white hound by his side.

Around Ning’s arm was a little azure snake. The snake raised its little head, staring into the distance, then said excitedly, “We’re finally at Stillwater City. Hahaha, I, Little Qing, have become a Void-level Earth Immortal. I’d be considered an expert even here in Stillwater City now!”

Swoosh!

Ning rode the wind as he flew towards Stillwater City.

“I’m back. I wonder if Master is at the Black-White College.” Ning quickly saw the distant Black-White College; when Ning had left, Immortal Diancai had gone out adventuring to temper himself. Nearly forty years had passed since then; Ning wondered if he was back yet.

Whoosh. Ning flew directly into the Black-White College.

……

Within the marquisate of Stillwater. There were many crystal globes hovering in midair, each being watched over by an Immortal cultivator.

“Someone flew directly into Stillwater city!” A cultivator quickly noticed the scene that just appeared within one of the watched crystal balls. He immediately reported this aloud, and soon had his report verified by someone else.

“A fur-clad youth, an Azure Skysnake, a Whitewater Hound.”

“This person should be the person who became the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny more than thirty years ago, then disappeared without a trace – Adept Darknorth, Ji Ning!”

“Intelligence reports regarding Adept Darknorth are classified as top-priority. Quick, go report this!”

Soon, this intelligence report was transferred to higher-ups.

The Northmont clan of Stillwater kept an extremely tight watch over its enfeoffed territory. In Stillwater City at least, anyone who dared to fly about in the open had to be clearly investigated. In fact… whenever there was an especially powerful ripple of elemental energy anywhere in the entire vast commandery of Stillwater, it would be discovered and investigated!

For example, when Immortal Firedragon made his breakthrough in Swallow Mountain, the Northmont clan of Stillwater immediately discovered it.

“Ji Ning?”

“The Ji Ning that disappeared more than thirty years ago after the Conclave of Immortal Destiny?”

“This information needs to be reported to the Patriarch right away!”

“Right.”

The news continued to climb through the ranks. And soon…the news made its way to Celestial Immortal Hunchmont.

……

A hunchbacked old man with white hair who held a gnarled wooden staff took a single step forward and appeared in midair, then flew towards the direction of the Black-White College.

“I heard that Sword Immortal Evergreen of the Crimsonbright League had intended to take Ji Ning as his disciple…but it seemed as though Ji Ning didn’t take him on as his master, nor did he apprentice himself to any of the other Immortals or Empyrean Gods affiliated with Daofather Crimsonbright. In fact…the Immortals of the Crimsonbright League have no idea where Ji Ning is at all.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont quietly pondered over this.

Ning’s disappearance had briefly caused a stir. It must be understood that even Pure Yang True Immortals like Lu Dongbin had been interested in taking Ning as a disciple…and in fact, Lu Dongbin had been extremely eager to do so. However, the Grand Xia Emperor had resolutely refused to agree, insisting on keeping Ning for the Crimsonbright League.

But in the end…?

Almost everyone who had been in the Skylight Palace for the Conclave had been a Celestial Immortal. The news of this matter had quickly spread. All of those Celestial Immortals were under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command, and so they were all investigating this matter. They all had learned that Sword Immortal Evergreen had sought to take Ning as a disciple, but Ning had refused and disappeared.

However…no matter how they searched, none of the Immortals under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command could find out who had taken Ning on as a disciple. Everyone guessed that Ning had most likely ended up not joining Daofather Crimsonbright’s side.

So where had Ji Ning gone to?

Why didn’t he take Sword Immortal Evergreen as his master?

Who had he taken as his master? Or did he even have a master at all? Was he wandering alone?!

This became a mystery!

“You all seem to be having a happy chat.” The staff-holding Celestial Immortal Hunchmont arrived before the Headmaster’s Hall in the Black-White College. He strode inside, sweeping the people within with his long-browed, deep gaze. There were more than ten Immortals gathered here. Thirty years ago, the Black-White College didn’t have this many Immortals. During the past period of time, however, Stillwater Commandery had simply become too chaotic, and so the Primal Daoists with very deep levels of enlightenment such as Daoist Jadesea, who had previously been taking their time, all decided to make their breakthroughs. They had all reached the Void-level and become Earth Immortals.

“Senior Hunchmont.”

Instantly, all the Immortals of the Black-White College saluted respectfully. Ning saluted as well. “Senior Hunchmont.”

“Ji Ning returned?” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont nodded lightly, his eyes lighting up. “It’s only been thirty years, but both you and your spirit-beasts have reached the Void-level as Earth Immortals. Monsters train much more slowly than we humans do, but your two spirit-beasts have both reached the Void-level…it seems the past thirty-plus years represented a huge stroke of fortune for you.”

The short elder nearby, Immortal Fivecraze, let out an emotional sigh. “We were just discussing this as well. Becoming a Void-level Earth Immortal is no easy task. Ning and both his spirit-beasts…well, our Black-White College now has three more Earth Immortals. Naturally, all of us are extremely happy.”

Celestial Immortal Hunchmont nodded, then said, “Young friend Ji Ning, you disappeared all those years ago, drawing quite a bit of attention. Where did you go for the past period of time?”

Ning smiled. “I went to take on a master and to study.”

“Take on a master?” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was intrigued. He hurriedly asked, “Might I ask who?”

“Forgive me for not being able to tell you,” Ning said.

Celestial Immortal Hunchmont laughed. “I won’t force it, I won’t force it.” But in his heart, he secretly mumbled to himself, “It seems one of the powers of the Three Realms must’ve run off with him, which is why he isn’t willing to say his master’s name; I imagine he doesn’t want to cause trouble. However…for his master to be so daring means that he is most likely a formidable figure.”

The question of who Ning had taken on his master was indeed quite an intriguing one. This was because any power who took on Ning as a disciple would have at least somewhat offended Daofather Crimsonbright’s side!

Still…the Crimsonbright League wouldn’t hold anything against Ning personally. This was because if one was to take on a disciple, the disciple had to be willing! True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, Daofathers…anyone taking on a disciple had to ask if the disciple was willing to accept him as a master! If Ning was unwilling, nobody could force him. For Ning to willingly run off with someone else and take him or her as his master only meant that the Grand Xia Emperor would have to suffer this loss in silence.

“If you are free, young friend Ji Ning, you can pay a visit to the marquisate of Stillwater,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont said with a chortle.

“Definitely,” Ning said.

“Right. I won’t interrupt your reunion with your comrades any longer.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont immediately turned, still-leaning on his gnarled staff, and gracefully departed.

Within the hall.

“Ji Ning, Stillwater Commandery is a bit chaotic right now. You need to be careful. Although our Black-White College stands on the side of the Northmont clan of Stillwater…we can’t just stupidly offer ourselves up and die for them for no reason,” Immortal Fivecraze said in a low voice. All the other Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals present all nodded and looked towards Ning.

Ji Ning and the Sloppy Daoist were the two mighty future pillars of their Black-White College! They didn’t wish for Ning to be taken advantage of.

Ning nodded. “I understand. Right…has my master returned to the Black-White College?”

“Your master came back just a few days ago. He’s in closed-door meditation right now; most likely, he is going to attempt his Celestial Tribulation soon,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Tribulation?” Ning was surprised.

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Chapter 3 – Blood God Church

Chapter 3 – Blood God Church

Soon, Ji Ning met with Immortal Diancai.

Within a quiet, secluded courtyard. There was a gourd of Immortal wine, two wine cups, a master, and a disciple. The two were drinking wine and chatting with each other.

“Master, I didn’t disturb your meditations, did I?” Ning asked.

“I was just engaging in ordinary meditation; I wasn’t in a prajna-state of sudden enlightenment. What’s there to disturb?” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, then nodded with satisfaction. “Ji Ning, you are far more powerful than you were in the past. When you first entered my tutelage, you were a piece of unpolished jade; you were quite young. But now, your divine sense is a bit more powerful than even mine; you truly are the peerless genius who became the champion of the Conclave after having trained for merely thirty or so years.”

“If you keep praising me this much, Master, I’m going to start wiggling with delight,” Ning joked with a laugh.

“You little punk…” Immortal Diancai laughed, then shook his head.

Ning said seriously, “Master, are you truly planning to take on your Celestial Tribulation soon? This is something that you need to be extremely cautious about; you can’t be the slightest bit over-confident in handling it.”

“I know that. Of course I know that. There are countless Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, but it’s rare for the entire Grand Xia world to produce a single Celestial Immortal in a million years.” Immortal Diancai continued, “But times are changing. In the past twenty, thirty years, there were multiple Earth Immortals who successfully overcame their Celestial Tribulation and became Celestial Immortals in the Grand Xia world.”

“Multiple?!” Ning was surprised.

“Right.” Immortal Diancai nodded. “The greater a storm, the more experts are born from within! And during my previous period of training, my subconscious was telling me…that a great storm is coming. If I want to overcome my tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal, I have to do so before this storm comes. Only then will I have a chance. If I delay…I’ll probably die within it.”

Ning was secretly shocked.

An Immortal’s subconscious senses were usually very accurate. In truth, ever since he had returned to the Grand Xia world, Ning himself had subconsciously felt as though a terrifying tempest was about to erupt. However…he didn’t sense that he needed to make his breakthrough before it. Clearly, with his success in training the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning’s chances of survival were much greater than Immortal Diancai’s.

“Master.” Ning suddenly waved his hand, and a man-high pile of books suddenly appeared.

“What’s this?” Immortal Diancai said, puzzled.

“A Dao-Repository,” Ning said. “You can look at these three books, Master.”

Ning pulled out three thick tomes from the pile.

Immortal Diancai immediately accepted the three books, then began to flip through them. These had been acquired by Ning in the Crescent world after killing the monster kings and the evil Patriarch! It must be understood that these powerful figures were generally extremely self-confident; in order to prevent other powers from destroying their Dao-Repositories, they would generally carry a copy with them at all times. When the Flamewing King had destroyed the Qi Empire, he had acquired a portion of the Qi Empire’s Dao-Repository, which Ning now naturally had as well.

“A fine sword-art. A fine sword-art!” Immortal Diancai’s eyes were shining as he flipped through a second book. He said excitedly, “This directly guides one through the Grand Dao!”

Ning laughed.

It must be understood that the Qi Empire needed only a few tens of thousands of years to establish an Empire that spanned a million kilometers. How incredible had its Dao-Repository been? The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows and the evil Patriarch were all comparable to Celestial Immortals; the Dao-Repositories they had built up were similarly astonishing. Although there was no way they could come close to comparing to Mount Innerheart’s, their repositories were ten times superior to the Black-White College’s!

“Ji Ning, these Dao-Repositories…?” Immortal Diancai looked towards Ning.

“Don’t worry, Master. Your disciple acquired them with his own power; they don’t come with any strings attached. I prepared them for you, Master, and for the Black-White College,” Ning said. Because of the rules of the Old Patriarch, the supreme arts of Mount Innerheart were absolutely not to be taught to any outsiders. There were no such restrictions, however, on the techniques Ning had acquired from the monster kings and the evil Patriarch.

The Black-White College had ten-plus Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, all of which were extraordinary. With these Dao-Repositories, their level of power would rise once again.

As for the Ji clan?

Ning had used an ink technique to duplicate copies for the Ji clan. In addition…Ning believed that as he grew increasingly powerful, the Dao-Repositories he would acquire would also become increasingly formidable. For the dreams of his father, for the dreams of the deceased Patriarch Ninefire and the others, and for the sake of himself as a descendant of the Ji clan, he would naturally do everything he could to make the Ji clan flourish.

“Good, good, good. These Dao-Repositories are all quite incredible.” Immortal Diancai was truly excited. “The three sword-arts manuals you picked out are all of great help to me and have given me insight. I need to immediately go into closed-door meditation and ponder on them. My chances of overcoming the tribulation are now a bit greater.”

Ning nodded.

These three sword-arts manuals were all comparable to the complete [Three-Foot Sword]; they were truly superb tomes on the Dao of the Sword! In the current Black-White College, there were only two Sword Immortals at the Void level; Ji Ning and Immortal Diancai. No one would fight with Immortal Diancai over these tomes.

……

“Wonderful.”

All of the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of the Black-White College were now gathered at Immortal Diancai’s place. Upon seeing the piles of Dao-Repositories, they were instantly all overjoyed.

“Divine ability, [Nine Melodies of Virtue].”

“Divine ability, [Bloodshadow Evasion].”

“Secret art, [Thousandstar Soulscour].”

“A Pure Yang-level Ki Refining Technique. Our Black-White College has no Pure Yang-level Ki Refining Techniques!”

“This one is a Pure Yang-level Ki Refining Technique as well.”

“A formation here.”

“Is this a technique for creating constructs?”

All sorts of tomes on the Dao were present. The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals could feel the blood boiling in their veins as they read.

Ning just quietly sighed to himself. At Mount Innerheart, there were quite a few Ki Refining Techniques that were at the Daofather level! There were many sword-arts created by Daofathers, but unfortunately Mount Innerheart techniques could not be taught to others. Thus, he could only give the repositories of the monster kings and the vile Patriarch to his school…and yet, this was already enough to make them go wild with joy.

The Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of the Black-White College were all extraordinary figures.

In the past,they didn’t have a truly top-tier Dao-Repository. Now that Ning had given them one, it was guaranteed that all of them would once more increase in power. Even Immortal Fivecraze was laughing loudly right now. “With this Dao-Repository, the fortunes of our Black-White College have improved tenfold! Back during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, when little Sloppy entered the top six and Ji Ning became champion, I knew that our Black-White College was in for an era of tremendous luck…and today, I’ve finally seen the fruits of that luck. With this Dao-Repository, haha…even I myself can live for at least another ten thousand years.”

Immortal Fivecraze had expected that after roughly nine centuries or so, he would no longer be able to withstand the next trial from the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, but with these new Dao-Repositories, his insights would deepen and his strength would grow; naturally, he would now be able to live longer.

……

Night.

Ji Ning and Immortal Diancai were walking within a path inside the Black-White College.

“Ji Ning, a Dao-Repository is a school’s foundation. With these new ones, the Black-White College will grow more powerful, and will become comparable to some of the supreme schools of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “This is all because of you. The contribution you have made this time is too, too great.”

Some disciples preferred to give powerful Dao-Repositories to their own tribes instead. It was very rare for them to give so much to their school.

“It really was nothing.” Ning shook his head.

“Currently, it isn’t just Stillwater Commandery that is in a state of chaos; there are dangerous undercurrents within the entire Grand Xia world, causing all sorts of trouble. With these Dao-Repositories, the supreme Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of our Black-White College will rise to a new level of power. As a result, more members of the Black-White College will be able to survive this storm.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “The arrival of a Dao-Repository at such a critical moment is worth more than ten Dao-Repositories that come after the storm passes.”

Ning was puzzled. “Master, how exactly is our Stillwater Commandery in a state of chaos?”

“You don’t know?” Immortal Diancai didn’t understand.

“I just returned to the Grand Xia, and I didn’t have a chance to chat too much with old brother Fivecraze before you left your meditations, Master,” Ning said.

Immortal Diancai nodded. “Then I’ll give you a rough idea. Stillwater Commandery…right, roughly ten years ago, that friend of yours named Northmont Baiwei suffered an assassination attempt and nearly died. The assassination attempt was here in Stillwater City!”

“What?!” Ning was shocked. “Within Stillwater City? But…but this is a direct challenge to the Grand Xia Dynasty!”

Violence was forbidden within the commandery cities of the Grand Xia. This was the law! When the likes of the Youngflame clan sent out the likes of Immortal Floatcloud, they were sending out Deathsworn who were willing to die!

“How is Northmont Baiwei doing now?” Ning asked.

“He was lucky enough to survive, and so he’s naturally doing fine,” Immortal Diancai said. “During the past twenty, thirty years…there have been more than a hundred assassination’s within Stillwater Commandery. Although we all suspect that it was the Blood God Church behind them, that’s just our suspicion; we have no proof. Without proof, it isn’t appropriate for the Grand Xia Dynasty to intervene.”

Ning said, puzzled, “The Blood God Church…one of the eight great powers of Stillwater Commandery? They have this sort of audacity?”

More than a hundred assassinations within Stillwater City…this was too crazy.

“Why wouldn’t they? They have more audacity than you can imagine.” Immortal Diancai shook his head. “The Blood God Church has always been an association of madmen…and in recent days, they have exploded forth with astonishing power. They butted heads with the Northmont clan multiple times recently, and it was actually the Northmont clan that was at a disadvantage each time.”

“What?!” Ning could hardly believe it. The Northmont clan of Stillwater held the marquisate for this entire region! The Blood God Church was merely one of the eight strongest powers here. Logically speaking, if the Northmont clan wanted to deal with the Blood God Church, it wouldn’t be too hard for them to completely wipe it out.

“The Blood God Church’s power is far greater than it appeared in the past,” Immortal Diancai said. “The leader of the Blood God Church battled against Celestial Immortal Hunchmont…and even Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was unable to do anything to him. Quite a few bases and cultivator armies of the Northmont clan have been forcibly wiped out and uprooted by the Blood God Church. In battles at the Loose Immortal level or at lower levels, the Northmont clan has never been able to seize the upper hand. All that can be said is that both sides are fighting a tight battle against each other.”

Ning could scarcely believe what he was hearing. An exalted marquisate was actually unable to wipe out just one of eight major powers within its demesnes?

“The leader of the Blood God Church wasn’t this powerful in the past.” Immortal Diancai shook his head. “I even fought with him, the ‘Son of the Blood God’, in the past. In such a short period of time…he’s actually raised his power to the Celestial Immortal level.”

Ning nodded.

“The Northmont clan of Stillwater is feeling some pain now. They want to pull in the other powers to deal with the Blood God Church together,” Immortal Diancai said. “But not just our own Stillwater Commandery is in a state of chaos; the entire Grand Xia Dynasty is in a state of chaos. How could the various tribes and schools dare act rashly?”

“How could things have ended up this way?” Ning frowned.

The entire Grand Xia was in a state of chaos; it seemed as though the previous order had already been torn apart. It was as though there was an incomparably terrifying invisible hand moving behind the scenes, guiding everything.

“The storm sweeping the entire Grand Xia world, the sudden increase in power of the Blood God School…these things have caused us to guess that there should be a tremendous secret behind the rise of the Blood God School. Ji Ning, you must not be a fool and charge blindly forward into it. This is something for the Northmont clan to worry about,” Immortal Diancai instructed. “During a storm, during a tribulation…you need to be extremely careful.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “Master, go rest for now. I’m going to go meet with my fellow disciples.”

“Your fellow disciples? Do you know where your junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson, has gone?” Immortal Diancai asked.

“No idea. We haven’t met for thirty-plus years; I was planning to go see him.” Puzzled, Ning asked, “What, where is he?”

Immortal Diancai shook his head. “More than twenty years ago, Mu Northson and his Dao-companion both disappeared!”

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Chapter 4 – Those Retainers From Back Then

Chapter 4 – Those Retainers From Back Then

“Missing?” Ji Ning’s heart trembled. He hurriedly asked, “Since when did he get a Dao-companion? Who is his Dao-companion? And this ‘disappearing’ that happened twenty-plus years ago; are there no clues about it at all? Can’t we ask the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to help out?”

Upon seeing now nervous Ning was, Immortal Diancai immediately explained, “After you became the champion of the Conclave, some of the disciples of the Black-White College that were outside returned here. Mu Northson returned to Stillwater City as well, spending most of his time training in his art of cconstructs. Occasionally, he would gather with Northmont Baiwei as well as some of the other members of the younger generation here in Stillwater City. During one of these gatherings, he met with a female disciple of the Thousand Rivers School, ‘Adept Yuxia’. Soon after they met, they grew to be quite close and ended up becoming Dao-companions.”

“These two Dao-companions had very deep feelings for each other, and quite a few members of the younger generation here in Stillwater City envied them. They were a celebrated couple.”

“But after a period of time, both he and his Dao-companion vanished. Generally speaking, when disciples of the Black-White College go out adventuring, they will inform people within the College, or leave behind a message of some sort. But neither Mu Northson nor Adept Yuxia left any messages; they just vanished.”

“The Black-White College looked into this matter; we even asked the Northmont clan of Stillwater to help out, as well as the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. However, we were still unable to find any traces of them.”

“They seemed to have completely vanished from this world!”

Hearing his master’s words, Ning grew even more panicked. He said hurriedly, “Can it be that there have been traces of them in the past twenty-plus years?”

“None.” Immortal Diancai shook his head.

Ning was really worried now. It didn’t add up. This made no sense at all. Northson wasn’t the unreliable sort. Northson was a true lifelong friend for Ning, and friends with others besides! If he truly did have to leave because of an important reason, he would’ve left a message for Ning at least.

“During the past twenty-plus years, even the number one intelligence organization in the world, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, wasn’t able to find any trace of him at all,” Immortal Diancai said. “Northson’s parents died long ago; he had no other kin. Adept Yuxia, however, did have a tribe behind her, with both parents and elders; both of her parents are alive, but they don’t have any news of her either.”

“However…don’t panic,” Immortal Diancai said.

“His life-tablet?” Ning immediately asked. Given how long Northson had been missing for, he was very possibly dead.

“Mu Northson’s life-tablet remains intact…but his Dao-companion’s has shattered,” Immortal Diancai said. “Neither of them left behind any messages before disappearing; they should’ve both met an unusual circumstance. However…Northson has remained alive during the past twenty-plus years. He probably won’t die that easily.”

Ning was worried now.

Northson’s Dao-companion had perished! This meant that their disappearance involved a matter of great danger!

“Since he’s alive, my best guess is that he is trapped in a special area that he can’t leave for now,” Immortal Diancai said.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

No matter what, he had to find out a way to investigate.

“Go and rest for now. I’m going back into my closed-door meditation,” Immortal Diancai said. “The three sword-arts manuals you gave me have inspired me significantly; if there’s nothing important, don’t bother me. I’m going to be in seclusion for an extended period of time. Most likely, once this seclusion ends, I will begin my Celestial Tribulation.”

“That fast?” Ning hadn’t expected his master to be in such a rush even after he had given his master those three sword-arts tomes.

“I believe these three sword-arts tomes will be enough to allow my sword techniques to rise to a higher level in a short period of time. However…the reason I can rise to a higher level in such a short time is because of all of my accumulated experiences over the past years! If I want to rise any further, however, I’ll probably need another century, or perhaps even longer…and I have the feeling that I can’t wait that long!” Immortal Diancai said softly, “That sense of pressure and threat which my subconscious can sense…it is telling me that I cannot afford to waste any time.”

Ning nodded solemnly.

……

After separating from his master, Ning returned to the Darknorth Peak, the place within the Black-White College which was reserved for him.

A sumptuous feast had been prepared within a courtyard inside Darknorth Peak.

While Ning had been chatting with Immortal Diancai, he had instructed the Whitewater Hound and Little Qing to go back to Darknorth Peak.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Three figures within the hall bowed reverently. A short little figure fell to his knees. “I pay my respects to you, elder.”

Ning swept them with his gaze.

One of the three was Meng Roch, who looked as honest as always but now seemed even more muscular than before. Next to him was a tall, skinny youth with a deep gaze; this was Cloudship, who was now far calmer and more stable than he had been before. Finally, there was a woman dressed in black gauze, whose gaze remained as charismatic and alluring as before; Cloudjade, who had been so young and fresh. She was holding the hand of a child in her own.

“Eh?” Ning’s gaze fell upon the child.

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, this is my child, Cloudease,” Cloudjade said nervously.

“We haven’t met for a few decades…to think you have a child now!” Ning laughed, then nodded. “Meng Roch, it seems you are quite talented as a Fiendgod Body Refiner; you’ve already trained to the Wanxiang level. Cloudship, you have done well too.”

As he spoke, Ning sat down. “Come, all of you, sit,” Ning said with a laugh. Immediately, all the others sat down as well.

“Years ago, when we heard that you became the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, and that your Primaltwin had killed a Loose Immortal, all of us were filled with veneration and admiration. Now, we’ve finally met you again, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Cloudship laughed.

Ning nodded calmly. “Right. Have you been well, these past years? Weifang, Forgard, Nethersun; where are they?”

He had taken on a total of six retainers. They were Meng Roch, Cloudship, Cloudjade, Weifang, Forgard, and Nethersun.

“Should I…or should…” Cloudship looked towards Roch and Cloudjade.

“Big brother, why don’t you tell him,” Cloudjade said. Roch nodded as well.

Cloudship looked towards Ning, then said, “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you have left Darknorth Peak for nearly forty years. Ever since you left, the six of us trained diligently. Meng Roch is extremely talented as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and so focused on that, rarely leaving the College. Nethersun, Forgard, Weifang, and myself would often go out and adventure.”

“Forgard was originally very powerful, but his potential was limited, and he improved very slowly. Roughly ten years ago, when adventuring, he was killed by another peak Zifu Disciple,” Cloudship said.

Ning immediately sighed.

Forgard…

He had been a loyal guard of Northmont Baiwei. He had appeared quite simple and honest, and Ning originally had high expectations for him. However…after getting to know him, Ning had realized that Forgard had slowly begun to change after entering the Black-White College, causing Ning to feel rather disappointed. And now, unexpectedly, he had ended up dying.

“Weifang was extremely talented, even more so than the rest of us,” Cloudship said. “However…he became Dao-companions with a female cultivator of the Hundred Flowers Fairyland. There ended up being some disputes between him and that female cultivator, and in the end, a senior apprentice-brother of that female cultivator actually killed him.”

“What?!” Ning was shocked.

He had heard long ago that some Dao-companions would grow to hate each other, betray each other, and even fight against each other. But he really didn’t expect that this would happen to one of his six retainers!

“Nethersun?” Ning asked. “Is he dead too?”

“Nethersun left long ago. He went back to his homeland. Based on what he said to us when he left, he probably won’t come back in the future. He will probably stay back at his homeland and protect it,” Cloudship said.

Ning nodded gently.

“Cloudjade became Dao-companions with a young master of the Eastriver clan, Eastriver Bluecloud,” Cloudship said, and as he did, he instantly grew so angry he began to grind his teeth. “Eastriver Bluecloud was a rare genius, and he even became a member of our Black-White College. Because he also likes to train in the sword, others often flattered him as the ‘second Immortal Darknorth’. However, compared to you, senior apprentice-brother, he is unfathomably inferior.”

Ning drank his wine, listening.

“Both I and my little sister misjudged him. He came from a large clan, after all, and was quite young; after he entered the Black-White College, especially after he started hanging around with some of the other young masters of Stillwater City, he changed. He began to buy quite a few female slaves to play with, and he even started to hit and curse at my little sister. Enraged, she separated from him, then brought little Cloudease back to Darknorth Peak. Eastriver Bluecloud even wanted to cause her some trouble, but thanks to your reputation, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, he didn’t dare to act too rashly,” Cloudship said.

Cloudjade sat there, eyes red. She said softly, “I’ve embarrassed myself before you, senior apprentice-brother.”

Ning sighed.

Cloudjade truly was an extremely alluring beauty. When she had first entered the Black-White College, Ning’s own subordinates including Weifang, Nethersun, and Forgard had all pursued and courted her. There were quite a few ordinary disciples within the Black-White College who had courted her, but she had her sights set higher and had taken an interest in none of them.

Who would’ve thought that in the end, she would end up choosing a talented young master of the Eastriver clan, Eastriver Bluecloud, a formal disciple of the Black-White College?

Unfortunately…

In the end…this had been her aftermath.

“Brother Meng Roch has become the most formidable of us,” Cloudship said. “Brother Meng Roch is extremely talented as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and in fact Immortal Fivecraze took a liking to him and took him on as a disciple, making him a formal disciple of the Black-White College. He has his own mountain peak now, but he’s always continued to live here, not moving away.”

“Oh?” Ning looked towards Roch with surprise, then laughed. “You’ve become a formal disciple? Old brother Fivecraze has exceptionally astute judgment; since he’s taken a liking to you, it must mean that your future truly is limitless.”

“If it hadn’t been for you, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, helping me enter the Black-White College so many years ago…I don’t know where I would be right now,” Roch said honestly.

Ning nodded. Roch didn’t show the slightest bit of arrogance; it seemed as though of his six retainers, Roch was the only one who was particularly impressive.

“That’s the other five. As for me…” Cloudship chortled. “Only after training for many years did I discover that I actually like the art of constructs.”

Ning let out a sigh.

Six retainers.

Two died. One returned home. Cloudship was low-key, while the devilishly alluring Cloudjade was now a single mother. Only Roch, who had originally been the weakest of the six, had suddenly soared in status, becoming a formal disciple of the Black-White College.

Ji Ning had returned to the Black-White College. When he was strolling outside with Immortal Diancai, many disciples of the Black-White College saw him. News of this quickly spread, and the Heavenly Treasures Mountain naturally learned of this as well.

“The champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, Ji Ning, has once more returned to the Black-White College after a thirty-year disappearance.”

“Quick.”

“Spread the word.”

More than a thousand Immortal cultivators were sending out intelligence reports.

There were many, many people who were paying attention to Ji Ning in the Grand Xia world. Aside from the likes of Ninelotus, Princess Xiyue, and the Youngflame clan, there were also many hidden powers that had long ago turned their attention to Ji Ning, the champion of the Conclave who had so mysteriously vanished! After all…everyone knew how extraordinary that Conclave had been.

That was a Conclave where two participants had been chosen by Daofathers to become personal disciples! Ji Ning had been the champion of that Conclave, but he hadn’t become a member of Daofather Crimsonbright’s league; instead, he had vanished without a trace.

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Chapter 5 – The Number One Assassin’s Guild of the Grand Xia

Chapter 5 – The Number One Assassin’s Guild of the Grand Xia

At the very peak of a grand mountain, there lay an ancient tower.

A gray-robed figure was advancing towards the toward at high speed, like a streak of light.

The entrance to the tower was guarded by a pair of black-armored guards. These two guards stretched out their arms, barring the entrance. One of them growled, “This is a restricted area. No access permitted.”

“I’ve come per the orders of the clan leader. I have important news to report to the Patriarch.” The gray-robed man respectfully handed forward a hidebound scroll.

“Mm.” One of the guards accepted the scroll, then entered the tower. As for the gray-robed man, he respectfully, quietly departed.

The first floor of the tower. A tall, skinny elder with long, narrow eyes was seated silently in the lotus position; it was Celestial Immortal Arcanum of the Youngflame clan.

“Patriarch.” The black-armored warrior entered, saluted respectfully, then offered the scroll with both hands.

Patriarch Arcanum opened his eyes. Waving his hand, he caused the hidebound scroll to fly to him, then calmly instructed, “Leave me.”

“Yes.” The black-armored guard hurriedly departed, once more taking up silent guard outside the entrance to the tower. He had been standing outside this tower for more than a hundred million years now; ever since he had been created, he had spent the majority of his life guarding this tower.

Whoosh. Patriarch Arcanum unfurled the scroll, calmly looking at its contents.

“Mm?” Patriarch Arcanum frowned. “That brat, Ji Ning, has returned? And not just him; even his spirit-beasts have returned, and both have actually reached the early Void level.”

No one doubted that Ning had the ability to reach the Void level. After all, even before the Conclave had begun, Ning’s Primaltwin, at the peak Primal Daoist level, had been able to kill a Loose Immortal. It was very normal for Ning to become an Earth Immortal after thirty years. But for both his spirit-beasts to reach the Void level and become Earth Immortals…this was very abnormal.

This was because humans had a much higher level of comprehension than monsters. For the two spirit-beasts to both become Void-level Earth Immortals clearly meant that they had already surpassed the level of comprehension necessary of Earth Immortals! Even though Whitewater Hounds and Azure Skysnakes were Godbeasts, logically speaking, they shouldn’t be able to train at such a pace! Monsters were innately slow at training. For them to train so quickly…they must have encountered some sort of unique fortune!

“It seems that during his thirty-year disappearance, this Ji Ning must have had a stroke of luck.” Cold light flashed through Patriarch Arcanum’s long, narrow eyes.

“Everyone.” Patriarch Arcanum suddenly called out, his voice passing through the void and entering another space.

“Everyone!”

“Everyone!”

“Everyone!”

His voice echoed within this other space.

Whoosh!

A black fog door appeared not too far away from Patriarch Arcanum. Four figures emerged from the black fog door. There was a handsome youth, an ancient elder, a big fellow who carried a large clock with one hand, and a wizened, white-haired elder whose eyes were shut.

The four walked over, then sat down in the lotus position.

“Arcanum, why have you called for us?” The handsome youth asked calmly.

“What important matter has occurred, for you to call the four of us over?” The man holding the golden clock said in a low voice.

The other two were silent.

All of them were Celestial Immortal Patriarchs; they were the true pillars of the Youngflame clan! Because of the dangerous undercurrents currently flowing within the world of the Grand Xia, even Celestial Immortals like them were being very cautious. All five of them, Patriarch Arcanum included, were stationed here and guarding this divine tower.

“Everyone, take a look.” Patriarch Arcanum waved his hand, and the hidebound scroll flew out to levitate in midair.

The four Celestial Immortals all took a look, and the wizened elder with closed eyes swept it within his coresense as well.

“Ji Ning?”

“That Ji Ning is back?”

All of them frowned.

Naturally, they all knew Ji Ning’s name. During the previous Conclave of Immortal Destiny, they weren’t yet aware of how special it was, but after its conclusion…the Grand Xia world began to be filled with dangerous undercurrents. In fact, a storm was about to burst upon the entire Three Realms…and so they understood that a great tribulation was about to come to pass.

As they saw it, an enormous storm like this might be easily overcome by True Gods or Daofathers, but things would be dangerous for Celestial Immortals like them. During every single previous storm, large numbers of Celestial Immortals had perished.

“The Three Realms are in a turbulent state. That previous Conclave will most likely have given birth to future major powers of the Three Realms. Two competitors in that Conclave became disciples of Daofathers!” Patriarch Arcanum growled, “And this Ji Ning; he became the champion of that Conclave. He disappeared in a mysterious fashion for thirty years, but didn’t become apprenticed to any of the Immortals or Fiends of the Crimsonbright League. And now, even his two spirit-beasts have both become Void-level Earth Immortals! Without question…during the past thirty years, this Ji Ning has had a tremendous stroke of luck!”

“Mm.”

“Agreed.”

“He probably became apprenticed to one of the major forces of the Three Realms.”

The other four Patriarchs all nodded in agreement.

“He is a survivor of the Yuchi clan. Our Youngflame clan wiped out their entire lineage. His mother was named Yuchi Snow; all of Yuchi Snow’s kinsmen died in the hands of our Youngflame clansmen. This Ji Ning hates our Youngflame clan, without question,” Patriarch Arcanum said. “What’s more, our Youngflame clan even sent a Loose Immortal Deathsworn to assassinate him. It is most likely going to be very hard to resolve this enmity between us!”

“I had originally thought that he would become apprenticed to a True Immortal or Empyrean God under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright, but unexpectedly he did not.” Patriarch Arcanum said excitedly, “If he had become apprenticed to Sword Immortal Evergreen, then for the sake of giving the Sword Immortal face, it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to act. Now, however, we have nothing to worry about. Even if he became apprenticed to an expert of the Three Realms…that expert is not a member of the Crimsonbright League! He has no authority over us!”

“Thus, I feel…that we need to eradicate him as soon as possible! While he is merely a Void-level Earth Immortal, we need to eradicate him!” Patriarch Arcanum was extremely forceful in his words.

“That’s reasonable!”

“Agreed.”

“A pity we don’t know who his master is.”

“Who cares who his master is? As long as he isn’t of our Crimsonbright League, what have we to worry about?”

The various major powers of the Three Realms were like local hegemons that dominated a specific region. It was very sommon for the Fiends and Immortals under their command to fight against and slaught each other…and generally, the major powers wouldn’t intervene, so long as other major powers also didn’t intervene. The major powers would generally all be quite calm in watching those of the younger generation do battle.

Even when disciples died…the only thing that could be said was that their skills were insufficient.

Struggles and battles within the Three Realms were very common! Thus, as Patriarch Arcanum and the others saw it, Ning joining the Crimsonbright League would actually be much more troublesome; after all, that would mean they were all on the same side, and Ning’s master would be able to easily deal with them.

Since Ning had not joined the Crimsonbright League…things had become much easier for Patriarch Arcanum and the others.

“We have nothing to worry about, but it’s best to be cautious. I feel as though we need to figure out who his master is! The Three Realms have a number of madmen who are extremely protective of their disciples, and quite a few have even assaulted the Celestial Court in the past. One of them might just be willing to take revenge upon us for killing his disciple,” the handsome youth said.

“Mmm.”

“Sunfish’s words are reasonable.”

“Ji Ning’s master dared to abscond with him, giving our Crimsonbright League no face. I imagine his master…truly is an extremely audacious fellow.”

Patriarch Arcanum, hearing the words of his peers, couldn’t help but frown. “What are you afraid of? First of all, there’s very few madmen who would be truly willing to assault the territory of our Crimsonbright League; I refuse to believe that one of them just so happens to be his master. Secondly…even if one of them is, given the state of chaos the Three Realms are in, who would dare to act rashly in a time like this, even if they would do so normally?”

“Arcanum’s words are reasonable, but as I see it, we should invite the Bloodcloud Hall to do it,” said the wizened elder whose eyes remained closed this entire time.

Instantly, the room fell silent.

“Ask the Bloodcloud Hall?”

“That’s going to cost quite a price.”

“I imagine the Bloodcloud Hall will ask quite a bit.”

Patriarch Arcanum, on the other hand, actually nodded. “Drywood’s words are correct. Since everyone is worried about the mysterious master behind Ji Ning, then let us have the Bloodcloud Hall act instead. When they take on missions, they swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens not to reveal anything; they won’t let anyone know that it was us who asked them to do it. Spending a bit of treasure to buy some peace of mind…I feel that it is worth it!”

“Fine. I agree.”

“Right. It’s best to invite the Bloodcloud Hall; we can just consider it as us using some treasure to purchase Ji Ning’s life.”

“It’s settled, then.”

“Patriarch, you handle this matter.”

Patriarch Arcanum nodded lightly. Naturally, he wouldn’t decline. That very day, he quietly left this tower and headed to the Bloodcloud Hall.

……

Deep within an enormous mountain that stretched hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

Patriarch Arcanum arrived within a mountain gorge, holding an insignia. The mist within the gorge swirled everywhere, but deep within it, a large, tall teleportation tower could be seen.

“This way, please.” There was a member of the Bloodcloud Hall standing there, looking at Patriarch Arcanum.

With a single step, Patriarch Arcanum entered the grand teleportation array. The teleportation tower then lit up, and swoosh! Patriarch Arcanum disappeared.

……

“Eh?” Patriarch Arcanum stood atop the clouds. Here, atop the clouds, there was another towering teleportation array.

Patriarch Arcanum stared into the distance. He saw a vast, endless sea of blood-colored clouds, and the faint outlines of a building hidden deep within it.

“That’s the Bloodcloud Hall?” Patriarch Arcanum felt startled.

The Bloodcloud Hall…

This was an extremely mysterious power. It had suddenly appeared thirty years ago, and it had handed these insignias to all of the major powers of the Grand Xia world. Only supreme powers of the likes of the Northmont clan of Stillwater or the Youngflame clan were qualified to receive these insignias. As for powers on the level the Black-White College, they weren’t even qualified to know about the Bloodcloud Hall’s existence.

By relying on the insignia, one could go to some mysterious places, then be teleported to a completely different world. Bloodcloud Hall was within this mysterious world.

No one knew there the Bloodcloud Hall was actually located!

“As long as one is willing to pay the price, any Immortal or Fiend in the world of the Grand Xia aside from the Xia Emperor can be assassinated by our Bloodcloud Hall!” These were the bold words issued forth by the Bloodcloud Hall. And indeed, they truly did have tremendous, terrifying power; during the past thirty short years, they had already assassinated more than ten Celestial Immortal Patriarchs!

Bloodcloud Hall had thus become acknowledged by all the supreme powers as the ‘numer one assassin’s guild of the Grand Xia’.

Bloodcloud Hall also protected its customers’ information, to the point of even swearing oaths to the Dao of the Heavens to not leak any of it at all.

Whoosh!

Patriarch Arcanum was quickly led to a quiet flower garden. Although he was led here, Patriarch Arcanum wasn’t sure about the path he had taken. “This Bloodcloud Hall must be an enormous, powerful estate-type magic treasure. Space within it is in a state of flux, and so I cannot determine the true pattern within it.”

Within theflower garden.

A silver-robed maiden was seated opposite of Patriarch Arcanum. Between the two of them lay a stone table, with a scroll placed atop it. The scroll was their contract.

“Kill Ji Ning?” The silver-robed maiden said softly, “He was the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. He disappeared for thirty years; he was most likely taken by a True Immortal or Empyrean God as a disciple. In fact, there’s a sliver of a chance that it was a Daofather who took on a genius like him for a disciple. His Primaltwin was able to defeat a Loose Immortal all those years ago; I imagine his power must be much, much higher now. He might even be comparable to a Loose Immortal who has lived for a million years.”

“Are you taking the mission or not?” Patriarch Arcanum growled.

“We are. Of course we are.” The silver-robed woman laughed calmly. “As long as you are willing to pay the price.”

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Chapter 6 – An Arrival From the Heaven Realm

Chapter 6 – An Arrival From the Heaven Realm

“Price? What sort of price?” Patriarch Arcanum’s long, slender eyes narrowed as he looked at the silver-robed maiden.

The silver-robed maiden responded with a calm smile, “For example…three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic items, or items of equivalent value.”

The corners of Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes instantly twitched.

“Top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures? Three of them?” Patriarch Arcanum had heard that the Bloodcloud Hall charged a high price, but he was still stunned by what they requested.

“This Ji Ning has only trained for around seventy years!” Patriarch Arcanum couldn’t help but growl, “Less than a century! He is currently at most comparable to a Loose Immortal who has lived for five hundred thousand years! The chances of him being comparable to a Loose Immortal who has lived for a million years is virtually negligible. To kill a young fellow like him, you want to charge me three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures?”

“Don’t get angry. This is a business deal; both of us have to be willing to take part in it.” The silver-robed maiden laughed. “Indeed, the chance that Ji Ning has the power of a Loose Immortal who has lived a million years is very low…but the main issue with this mission does not lie with Ji Ning himself; Bloodcloud Hall holds a young fellow like him in no regard at all. The main issue with this mission is the master who stands behind him! He was the champion of the Conclave. His thirty-year disappearance…no one knows who his master is! Perhaps as we assassinate him, he will shatter some sort of talisman and his master will suddenly appear! Bloodcloud Hall estimates his master to be a True Immortal or Empyrean God at the very least; once his master appears, the squad which we sent out will undoubtedly perish! Since we are taking on a major risk, we naturally are going to request a high price!”

A Pure Yang True Immortal or an Empyrean God; either would be considered an expert of the Three Realms. In the world of the Grand Xia, the Xia Emperor was the only Pure Yang True Immortal present!

If the assassins Bloodcloud Hall sent out were to run into True Immortals or Empyrean Gods, they would unquestionably perish.

“Hmph.” Patriarch Arcanum shook his head. “Stop trying to fool me. When experts of the Three Realms train disciples, they all let them go out into the world to experience danger on their own. If their disciples are killed, those disciples can only blame themselves for being less skilled than their foes! How can experts and major powers of the Three Realms so casually intervene? That would be the same as abusing those of a lower status!”

The silver-robed maiden smiled. “Ji Ning’s background is significant. Three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic items, or treasures of an equivalent value. This is what Bloodcloud Hall requires!”

“You…” Patriarch Arcanum gritted his teeth.

“If you are unwilling, then you can leave, Celestial Immortal Arcanum.” The silver-robed maiden continued to smile at him.

“Fine!”

Patriarch Arcanum gritted his teeth, then pulled out some Immortal pills, spirit-ingredients, Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and an enormous amount of liquefied elemental essence. Although he had come prepared…top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures were very important for Celestial Immortals, and the Youngflame clan wouldn’t easily hand them out. They would rather use other treasures to make up for them.

“This should be enough.” A savage light flashed through Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes. His heart was bleeding at the cost.

“It is enough.” The silver-robed maiden nodded. “Celestial Immortal Arcanum, don’t worry; Bloodcloud Hall definitely won’t inform others of this assignment. I can swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens regarding this. As for Ji Ning…Bloodcloud Hall will make careful preparations, so as to ensure our success. Within a year’s time, he will die.”

“Good. I’ll await the good word from you, then.” Patriarch Arcanum nodded.

Three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures. This was a price that was neither high nor low. Celestial Immortals who had lived as long as he had would generally all have several top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures on them. In fact, some truly supreme Celestial Immortal Patriarchs might even have Pure Yang treasures on them! Thus, for the Youngflame clan as a whole, producing three top-grade Immortal-ranked treasures would cause a bit of heartache but not bankrupt them. At a critical time like this, with the Three Realms in a state of turbulence, they were willing to pay this level of price in order to eliminate a threat.

……

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

Ning was standing atop a cloud, flying through the wide streets of the imperial capital. He had spent a day within the Black-White College of Stillwater, then had visited his good friend Northmont Baiwei before heading to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. This was a time of turbulence in the Three Realms, after all; the sooner he could purchase materials for setting up formations, the better.

“King Yan’s Estate.” Ning saw a familiar estate from the distance. After having arrived, he was naturally going to first visit his cousin before going to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

Swoosh. Ning led the Whitewater Hound in flying to the estate, Little Qing wrapped around his arm as always.

“You are young master Ji Ning?” The estate guards recognized him right away, and they revealed looks of surprise on their faces. Thirty years was a fairly short period of time for Immortal cultivators; they had begun their services here well over thirty years ago, and so they naturally recognized him.

“I wish to see the princess,” Ning said.

“Young master Ji Ning, please wait a moment. I’ll go make the report right away.” Instantly, a guard flew into the estate to make the report.

Soon, a group of people came out from the estate, the leader being his cousin, Princess Xiyue.

“Ji Ning.” Princess Xiyue looked at Ning, an expression of excitement instantly covering her face. “I just heard last night from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain that you returned. I was planning to go find you after finishing some affairs here.”

“It should be me who comes to visit you, Princesss.” Ning noticed that next to her was a tall, handsome man with white skin who appeared to be rather close to her. He couldn’t help but laugh. “This is…?”

“Oh.” An awkward expression appeared on Princess Xiyue’s face. She immediately said, “This is young master Feng Yungu from the Windlocked Isles of the Heaven Realm.”

“I’ve long heard of your famous name, brother Ji Ning. Today, I see that you truly are extraordinary.” The tall, handsome young master Yungu spoke in a modest manner.

Ning gave him a glance, then nodded in secret; this Feng Yunge acted quite modestly and put on no airs.

“Hurry on in. Why are you standing here in the doorway?” Princess Xiyue said hurriedly while sending a stealthy mental message to Ning. “Cousin, unless something unexpected happens, this young master Yungu will most likely become my husband.”

“Ah?” Ning was mentally stunned. He hurriedly sent back, “Cousin, the two of you…?”

“He will marry into King Yan’s Estate,” Princess Xiyue sent to him. “In the future, I am going to resurrect the Yuchi clan; thus, I can’t marry out into another clan. As for this young master Yungu…because the Grand Xia Dynasty is allied with the Windlocked Isles of the Heaven Realm, quite a few of the imperial Xia clansmen have become Dao-companions with the disciples of the Windlocked Isles. I could tell that he’s not bad, and he’s also quite obedient; he was even willing to marry into King Yan’s Estate. That’s why I decided to accept him as my Dao-companion.”

Ning now understood.

The Windlocked Isles of the Heaven Realm?

The Grand Xia Dynasty?

“He’s not only willing to marry into her family, he’s also obedient to her wishes…and I can tell that he seems to be the humble sort.” Ning nodded privately. His cousin was completely focused on vengeance; a husband like this would perhaps be good for her.

“Cousin, you don’t need to pay too much attention to young master Yungu; his status in the Windlocked Isles of the Heaven Realm isn’t very high, and his power is ordinary, but he’s an extremely good-natured person,” Princess Xiyue sent. “However…another disciple of the Windlocked Isles is currently present within King Yan’s Estate. He, too, is pursuing me; he wants to marry me and take me back to the Windlocked Isles with him. His name is Feng Yunpeng; his status within the Windlocked Isles is extremely high! He is one of the two sons of the master of the Windlocked Isles, and the Grand Xia Emperor long ago instructed the imperial Xia clansmen are not to cause trouble with him. You need to be careful as well.”

“Oh? Don’t worry,” Ning replied.

……

They entered the estate.

Yuchi Xiyue prepared a welcoming banquet for Ning. The three of them chatted quite happily with each other. Young master Yungu seemed to have a bit of an innately self-abasing character; in front of Ning, at least, he acted very modestly and self-deprecatingly.

“Hahaha, I heard that the champion of the Grand Xia’s Conclave of Immortal Destiny, the peerless genius Ji Ning, had arrived here at King Yan’s Estate. Xiyue, why didn’t you inform me? You were wrong in not doing so.” Accompanying a loud laughter, a youth dressed in gaudy golden Daoist robes came walking in. The youth’s eyes twinkled like the stars, and his aura was quite extraordinary.

Behind him were two powerful servants. One had the aura of a Fiendgod; he was most likely a Void-level Fiendgod! The other was an extremely powerful Loose Immortal.

“Young master Yunpeng, I didn’t want to disturb you,” Princess Xiyue said with a laugh. “Please sit.”

Feng Yungu hurriedly rose to give up his own seat, sitting down in a lower seat. As for young master Yunpeng, he sat down directly after Princess Xiyue, face to face with Ji Ning.

“Ji Ning, this is young master Yunpeng, a genius of the Windlocked Isles of the Heaven Realm. He, too, is an expert who is a Void-level Earth Immortal,” Princess Xiyue said hurriedly.

“Greetings to you, young master Yunpeng,” Ning said, clasping his hands slightly.

Young master Yunpeng gave Ning a clearly rather indifferent glance, but as he did, his face changed slightly. With a laugh, he said, “Oh, so you’ve become a Void-level Earth Immortal, Ji Ning.”

“Just the early-stage Void-level. Compared to you, young master Yunpeng, I’m a bit lacking,” Ning said modestly.

“Hahaha…” Young master Yunpeng laughed smugly. “I hear that you are on very good terms with Xiyue. You have to help me dissuade her! She’s insisting on marrying that useless thing over there; isn’t that an utter desecration of a heavenly treasure?” As he spoke, he gave the nearby Feng Yungu a disdainful look.

No matter how good of a temper Feng Yungu had, he couldn’t prevent his face from changing…but immediately afterwards, he lowered his head slightly.

Young master Yunpeng’s laughter became even more wanton. “Xiyue and I, by contrast, are a perfect match!” As he spoke, he reached his hand out to stroke Princess Xiyue’s. Princess Xiyue moved away slightly, her face sinking. “Young master Yunpeng.”

“Fine, fine, fine. I won’t rush things.” Young master Yunpeng laughed.

After all, Princess Xiyue had a Celestial Immortal, King Yan, behind her. Given that the Windlocked Isles were an ally of the Grand Xia Dynasty, he didn’t want to cause any problems either.

“Young master Yunpeng.” Ning felt an extreme distaste towards this person, but he still changed the subject. “I hear that you come from the Windlocked Isles of the Heaven Realm. I haven’t been to the Heaven Realm yet; why don’t you tell me about of the Heaven Realm and help broaden my horizons?”

Young master Yunpeng frowned. Introduce the Heaven Realm? Him? Who did Ji Ning think he was? Asking him to introduce the Heaven Realm to him?

Still…he gave Princess Xiyue a sidelong glance, then said with a calm snort, “The Heaven Realm is quite large. The eastern part of the Heaven Realm is managed by the Celestial Court, while the western side is managed by the Buddhists of Mount Ling 1. But of course, there are many asuras and devas who live throughout the Heaven Realm, and they have naturally joined together to form powers. Our Windlocked Isles can be considered one of those powers, I suppose.”

“I heard that after you became the champion of the Conclave, Ji Ning, you decided not to take on Sword Immortal Evergreen as your master, and you also didn’t take on any of the Immortals or Fiends of Daofather Crimsonbright’s league as your master. Instead, you vanished…I wonder, where did you go, brother Ji Ning?” Young master Yunpeng’s eyes lit up as he asked this question; clearly, he was quite curious about this.

“Naturally, I went to study with my master,” Ning said calmly.

“Who?” Yunpeng asked. “Where did you study?”

“Master has ordered that I cannot tell others.” Ning shook his head.

Young master Yunpeng couldn’t help but frown.

Ning disliked this young master Yunpeng very much. He immediately said, “Princess Xiyue, I’m going to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to buy some items. I’ll leave now.”

1. In Chinese mythology, Mount Ling is the place where the Buddha and his bodhisattvas reside.

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Chapter 7 – A Single Arrow

Chapter 7 – A Single Arrow

In truth, Princess Xiyue could tell that this young master Yunpeng wasn’t a dcent person. Although Ji Ning had endured it for her sake, in his bones, he remained a proud person; if too much time passed, problems would most likely occur. She immediately agreed, “Alright, Ji Ning, you can go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. We’ll meet some other time.”

“The Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” Young master Yunpeng raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at Ning, then immediately said, “Xiyue, it’s been a long time since we’ve gone to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Since brother Ji Ning is going, let’s go with him. Yungu, would you agree?”

Feng Yungu had been sitting there quietly this entire time. Upon hearing young master Yunpeng speak, he hurriedly nodded. “Sure, sure.”

Ning, seeing this, couldn’t help but frown. This person his cousin wanted to get married to was a bit too craven.

“Xiyue!” Young master Yunpeng looked towards Princess Xiyue, who could only nod. “Fine, let’s go together then.”

……

Ji Ning, Princess Xiyue, young master Yunpeng, and Feng Yungu were naturally accompanied by a host of servants. They all rode aboard an Immortal-ranked flying ship, and in an awe-inspiring manner, they flew out into the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

“This high-grade Immortal-ranked treasure-vessel of mine has been infused with an ‘Azure Polaris Spirit’; in terms of speed alone, it is comparable to a top-grade Immortal-ranked flying ship,” young master Yunpeng said in an extremely smug manner.

Ning glanced sideways at him.

This young master Yunpeng really did have quite a few treasures; to buy an Immortal-ranked flying ship such as this, even five million kilograms would be far from sufficient.

“Little brother, just endure it for now,” Princess Xiyue sent mentally to Ning. “Although this young master Yunpeng is quite talented in cultivation, he is innately arrogant and overbearing. Still…since his Windlocked Isles and our Grand Xia Dynasty are allied, he wouldn’t dare cause too much trouble. Just ignore the crap he is spewing out, little brother.”

“Cousin, given how arrogant and overbearing he is, why are you letting him remain within the King’s estate?” Ning sent back and asked, “I trust that if King Yan asked him to leave, he definitely wouldn’t stay.”

“Although he’s arrogant and overbearing, he’s trying to woo me; naturally, he often buys some gifts for me,” Princess Xiyue said. “In order to rebuild the Yuchi clan in the future, I naturally need to store up some treasures for it.”

“Cousin, you…” Ning was flabbergasted.

“Are you starting to look down on me, cousin?” Princess Xiyue sent back calmly, “I don’t care about these matters; I swore an oath long ago that I would definitely carry out my father’s wishes. I will rebuild the Yuchi clan! For the sake of the Yuchi clan, I am willing to do anything…including give up my life! All I need to do right now is endure this young master Yunpeng’s nonsense and give him a bit of hope, and he’ll continue to often gift me with treasures.”

Ning truly didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let him take any advantage of me whatsoever; the best thing in the world is the thing you cannot get. If I let him take advantage of me, he wouldn’t be pursuing me in such a fervent manner. His treasures? I’ll take them. But him? In the end, he’ll just slink away in disgrace!” Princess Xiyue sent back.

Ning could sense the determination within his cousin’s heart. He couldn’t help but say with worry, “That Feng Yungu…I feel as though the two of you…”

“You feel he isn’t worth of me, right? It is precisely because he is an absolute good-for-nothing coward that I am willing to marry him. Otherwise…how could I be able to completely control him?” Princess Xiyue sent back. “Don’t worry. I have Grandpa’s help; I can take care of small matters like this.”

“Cousin, if there’s anything you need, arrange for a message to be sent to me. Don’t forget that I, too, am of the Yuchi clan,” Ning sent mentally.

“Right. I still have you, little brother,” Princess Xiyue sent back.

The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

Within an extremely tall and luxuriously decorated banquet hall, a feast was in procession. The pillars outside this hall were so tall that someone standing atop the pillars could stare down at the entire imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

“Young master Yunpeng, you brought little sister Xiyue again. It seems as though our Heavenly Treasures Mountain is about to have even more business come our way,” the white-robed Fairy Azurewillow said with a smile.

“Hahaha! It pleases me to do this for Xiyue!” Young master Yunpeng laughed loudly, giving Ning a sidelong glance.

On the way over, Ning and Yuchi Xiyue had constantly been sending mental messages to each other. Young master Yunpeng had noticed…that the relationship between them seemed to be clearly much closer than the relationship two ordinary friends would have! This caused him to feel rather displeased inside. “Hmph, he’s merely the champion of the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Conclave! Today, here at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, I’m going to cause you to lose tremendous face!”

“Brother Ji Ning, what have you come to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to purchase?” Young master Yunpeng said with a laugh.

Ning said calmly, “Just some materials and raw ingredients.”

Right at this moment, the Whitewater Hound by Ning’s side transformed into human form. Uncle White waved his hand and two hidebound scrolls flew from him to Ning. Uncle White sent mentally, “Ning, child, there’s a list of items here for setting down layers formations that are capable of overawing even Celestial Immortals, making them afraid to trespass within.”

“The second list consists of the items necessary to set down three supremely ferocious formations that I found at Mount Innerheart. In addition, these three supremely ferocious formations can even link with each other…they are so powerful that I imagine even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would be wary of them. There is no way True Immortals and Empyrean Gods can force their way through these three formations; only True Immortals and Empyrean Gods who are experts at formations might be able to break them.”

“They are that incredible?!” Ning was shocked.

“However…the treasures needed on the second list are quite precious, even though they aren’t extremely rare,” Uncle White sent. “If you don’t have enough, then just buy the items on the first list; that will be enough.”

……

Ning handed over the two hidebound scrolls to Fairy Azurewillow. “Fairy Azurewillow, take a look at the list of ingredients and materials on these two scrolls. Does your Heavenly Treasures Mountain have them?”

“This is the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; even if Celestial Immortals came here to shop, we’d be able to accommodate them, much less just a few precious materials.” Smiling, Fairy Azurewillow accepted the lists. Upon seeing the first one, however, her face instantly changed. She gave Ning a surprised glance, and then she looked at the second hidebound scroll.

This time, Fairy Azurewillow was truly stunned!

She was just a bit surprised upon seeing the first list, but the second list truly stunned her…because the items requested were simply too shocking!

“I’m not cleared to handle something like this. A moment, please,” Fairy Azurewillow said.

“Fine.” Ning nodded.

“Fairy Azurewillow, even you aren’t cleared?” Young master Yunpeng, watching from the side, smirked. “It’s just a few ingredients and raw materials, not Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Can it be that the items which brother Ji Ning have chosen are extremely strange and rare?”

Whoosh.

A silver-haired man appeared out of nowhere within the hall. The invisible pressure and presence he gave off…everyone present understood that he was a Celestial Immortal!

“Patriarch.” Fairy Azurewillow handed the two hidebound scrolls to him. “These are the lists of ingredients which Ji Ning needs. There are two lists.”

The silver-haired man nodded, accepted the lists, then looked at the first one. He said calmly, “The first list will require 4.3 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!”

Yuchi Xiyue, Feng Yungu, and the others all felt a sense of pressure.

More than four million kilograms?

“Pretty pricy,” the nearby young master Yunpeng said in a nonchalant manner.

The silver-haired man then looked at the second hidebound scroll. When he did, even his face couldn’t help but change. After staring for a long moment, he lifted his head to look at Ning, a complicated look in his eyes. “Young friend Ji Ning…are you sure you aren’t playing a little joke on us?”

“Since I’ve written a list, I naturally wish to buy the items on it,” Ning said calmly.

“How much liquefied elemental essence does the second list cost?” Young master Yunpeng asked. He felt that he was quite wealthy and magnanimous; he would be able to afford even a top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

“Liquefied elemental essence?” The silver-haired man shook his head. “Treasures like this…no amount of liquefied elemental essence is enough for them.”

Young master Yunpeng’s face changed.

Fairy Azurewillow, Princess Xiyue, Feng Yungu, and the others were all stunned. They were all fairly experienced, and so they knew…liquefied elemental essence was fairly useful for those below the Celestial Immortal level, but was of increasingly little use to the true experts of the Three Realms. For example, Ning had to use Immortal pills in order to train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

True Immortals and Daofathers absorbed prodigious amounts of natural elemental ki; thus, ordinary liquefied elemental essence was like water to them; it was extremely common.

True treasures could only be traded for using other treasures!

“How much at least?” Ning asked.

“At least ten top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures,” the silver-haired man said. “Or a low-grade Pure Yang treasure.”

“Pure Yang treasure?”

Everyone present was shocked.

Ning, however, was quite calm. These materials were to be used to set up a series of formations so ferocious that they could block even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods, unless the True Immortals or Empyrean Gods were extremely skilled in the art of formations. To be able to set up formations of such power for the cost of merely a single low-grade Pure Yang magic treasure…that wasn’t bad at all.

“At least ten top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures? Not even ordinary Celestial Immortals have that much. All of my treasures combined would most likely be worth just three or four top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures.” Young master Yunpeng felt an enormous pressure bear down upon him. He was proud of how wealthy he was and how many treasures he had, but he was now completely stunned. “There’s no way he can afford that. No way.” He stared fixedly at Ning.

Everyone was staring at Ning.

“Will this treasure suffice?” Ning waved his hand, and instantly a faint tidal wave of fire burst forth it. Within Ning’s palm there was a fiery arrow!

This arrow was the arrow which Ning had acquired from the gorge within the Riverfang Mountains. The most precious treasures the Fiendgod corpse had on it consisted of the high-grade Protocosmic ‘Rahu Bow’ and the two fiery arrows.

Truly powerful, divine archers all had custom-made arrows, and the price of each arrow was prodigious. Ning had chatted with the Rahu Bow before, and the Rahu Bow had said this: “This type of arrow is known as a ‘Firetruth Arrow’; although they are vastly inferior to me in value, each of them are still comparable to a low-grade Pure Yang treasure in value.”

Ning had sighed in amazement upon hearing this as well.

Every single arrow would cost him the equivalent of a low-grade Pure Yang treasure. How could he not feel heartache at the cost?

Rumble…with the appearance of the flaming arrow came a powerful aura of might.

“This is…?” The silver-haired man’s face changed. He carefully inspected the arrow, even using his coresense on it.

“A single arrow?” Young master Yunpeng actually secretly shook his head.

“Can it be that a single arrow is comparable to ten top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures?” Both Princess Xiyue and Fairy Azurewillow were puzzled. Although they were experienced, they knew very little about the truly powerful divine archers of the Three Realms.

After inspecting the arrow for a long time, the silver-haired man looked towards Ning. He said in a low voice, “It suffices!”

“I also need you to add an extra fifteen million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence into the deal!” Ning said calmly.

Princess Xiyue and the others were all stunned.

The silver-haired man hesitated a moment, then nodded seriously. “Fine. Our Heavenly Treasures Mountain can add another fifteen million kilograms into the mix!”

Young master Yunpeng’s face changed. He couldn’t help but swallow, his earlier arrogance, smugness, and brashness all evaporating. His greatest source of pride was in his wealth, but he suddenly realized that a single arrow from Ning had completely crushed him in this respect. As for backers? Given that Ning had vanished for thirty years, he at least had a True Immortal or Empyrean God as a backer; in this respect as well, Ning was definitely not inferior to him.

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Chapter 8 – Qi, the Primordial Divine Archer

Chapter 8 – Qi, the Primordial Divine Archer

Princess Xiyue, Fairy Azurewillow, Feng Yungu, and the others were watching in amazement. That arrow in Ji Ning’s hand…it was actually worth such a precious amount of money! This was simply inconceivable.

However…Ning had always been a man of mysteries.

When he had first arrived at the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, he had purchased the elemental peacock plumes. Afterwards, he had seized the championship of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny…and then refused to accept Sword Immortal Evergreen as his master, instead disappearing for over thirty years. Upon his return, his power had increased greatly; for him to now produce an arrow of such great value wasn’t too inconceivable, all things considered!

However, this arrow was simply too valuable; the likes of Princess Xiyue could only feel shock and awe, rather than jealousy.

“Damn. Damn!” Young master Yunpeng, however, felt extremely jealous right now. He was the unhappiest of the lot.

“How could the arrow which Ji Ning produced be worth this much?!” Young master Yunpeng knew that his personal strength was perhaps inferior to Ning’s, but he had felt certain that he had far more treasures! This was his greatest source of self-confidence…but a single arrow from Ning had completely crushed him in this regard.

Young master Yunpeng felt unhappy. Deeply unhappy!

“Fine. Then I’ll engage in this trade with the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Ning said.

“I’ll go make the arrangements.” The silver-haired man nodded, then immediately began sending mental messages to make the arrangements.

Ning suddenly turned his head to glance at Princess Xiyue. Smiling, he said, “Princess, when I first entered the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, I was surrounded by danger, but you stretched out your hand to aid me. To this very day, I haven’t had a chance to repay you…if there’s anything you wish to buy today, Princess, then I, Ji Ning, will buy it for you as a gift.”

“Eh?” Princess Xiyue was startled.

“This Ji Ning…” A hint of anger instantly flashed past young master Yunpeng’s eyes. He had been wooing Princess Xiyue this entire time, and had been relying on his wealth to do so! For Ning to suddenly plan to give her gifts as well…if his gifts were more valuable, then that would be the same as crushing him underfoot.

The nearby Feng Yungu raised his head to give Ning a glance as well.

Fairy Azurewillow said, “Young master Ji Ning, Xiyue has been hoping for a mobile Immortal estate that she could carry on her person, but even the cheapest of such estates would cost at least five hundred thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Alas, young master Yunpeng wasn’t quite willing to part with such a sum.”

Young master Yunpeng’s face instantly turned white.

Five hundred thousand kilograms wasn’t a small figure; it was enough to purchase an ordinary low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure! If he were to casually toss out half a million kilograms just to chase after a girl…if this sort of gift-giving became habitual and he ended up failing, he would probably be out five million kilograms or more! Succeeding was one thing, but failure meant it would have all been for nothing! Although young master Yunpeng was the son of the master of the Windlocked Isles, he still had to calculate his expenditures. The most valuable gift he had given Princess Xiyue was worth merely a hundred or two hundred thousand kilograms or so; over the course of the past half year, all of his gifts combined were worth just barely half a million kilograms.

“Azurewillow.” Princess Xiyue was rather unhappy.

“A mobile Immortal estate?” Ning suddenly laughed. “I was once lucky enough to acquire such an estate, but since I already had one, I’ve never used the second one. It’s the perfect present for you, Princess.”

Ning waved his hand, and a small, exquisitely designed Immortal estate appeared within his palm, glowing with golden light.

Everyone present turned to look at it.

“This Immortal estate…?” Everyone was curious. Even young master Yunpeng frowned as he looked at it; none of them could quite tell how valuable it was.

Ning laughed.

After he had successfully overcome the fifth level of the Wargod Hall, he had acquired a set of Heaven-ranked magic treasure, the Waterbreaker Godshark Swords. After becoming champion of the Conclave, he had arrived at Mount Innerheart, and during his thirty-plus years there Ning’s [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had broken through to the thirteenth stage. Since that represented an advance to the Primal Daoist level, he had been permitted to choose another Heaven-ranked magic treasure from the Treasure Hall.

By then, Ning already knew that Heaven-ranked magic treasures weren’t going to be of much use to him in the future; what he needed was Immortal-ranked treasures.

However…Ning couldn’t let this opportunity of choosing a treasure from the Treasure Hall to go to waste. Thus, Ning had chosen an item that was of fairly high value; simply put, he had chosen an item that he could use to sell for a great deal of liquefied elemental essence. Thus, he had chosen a mobile Immortal estate, a ‘Goldlight Immortal Estate’. Ning had been planning to sell it here to trade for Immortal-ranked magic treasures, but he had risen in power more quickly than even he had expected, and had acquired the treasures left behind by that ancient Fiendgod ccorpse. By now, this Goldlight Immortal Estate was nothing to him.

Ning’s set of Waterbreaker Godshark Swords were worth roughly one million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! This Goldlight Immortal Estate, however, was on an even higher level of value!

“What generosity and magnanimity, young friend Ji Ning! Your gift to a beauty is actually an Immortal estate such as this.” The silver-haired man laughed. “This Immortal estate is worth at least four million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!”

“Four million kilograms!?” Fairy Azurewillow, who had intentionally been causing some trouble, was shocked as well.

“That much?” Princess Xiyue felt that this was far too much.

Young master Yunpeng’s face became even more unsightly. “Four million kilograms…how can this Ji Ning be willing to give up an estate like this? How can he?!”

He hadn’t even been willing to buy an Immortal estate that was worth half a million kilograms, but now Ning’s very first gift was worth four million kilograms. How could the ‘wealthy’ young master Yunpeng not feel choked?

“It’s too much. Too much.” Princess Xiyue shook her head hurriedly.

“This is nothing to me,” Ning laughed. “And I’m preparing to stay at King Yan’s Estate for quite some time; how can I stay for so long without bringing a little gift?”

“Quite some time?”

Young master Yunpeng felt even more miserable now.

He was staying at King Yan’s Estate. If Ning stayed here as well, they would repeatedly run into each other. In terms of reputation…Ning surpassed him, as he had become champion of the Conclave. In terms of background…Ning’s backer was probably more formidable. In terms of personal strength…given that Ning’s Primaltwin had been able to kill Loose Immortals when it had been merely at the Primal Daoist level, there was no need to even compare the two of them. And now in terms of wealth…young master Yunpeng’s wealth had been his greatest source of confidence, but even in this regard, he had been crushed in an utterly dominating manner!

More importantly of all…

The princess didn’t like him!

She would rather marry Feng Yungu than marry him. Previously, young master Yunpeng had felt that he was superior to Feng Yungu in every way, which was why he had felt so confident when staying at King Yan’s Estate. But now…Ji Ning had appeared! Ji Ning crushed in him every aspect, and he appeared to be so close to the princess!

“Xiyue,” Young master Yunpeng suddenly said.

“Hm?” Princess Xiyue looked towards him.

Young master Yunpeng smiled. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time here at the Grand Xia Dynasty. It’s time to go back to the Heaven Realm. Help me convey my thanks to King Yan; I won’t be going back to King Yan’s Estate.”

“Let’s go!” Young master Yunpeng immediately led his two servants away.

Just like that…

Young master Yunpeng departed!

Princess Xiyue was startled for a moment, and then she looked towards Ning. She sent mentally, “Little brother, this was your plan all along, right? You wanted to force him to leave?”

“He’s the son of the master of the Windlocked Isles; someone like him is naturally the proud sort. The reason why he was at King Yan’s Estate was because he felt he was superior to Feng Yungu in every way,” Ning sent back. “All I had to do was to make him feel as though he was inferior to me in every single way, as though he would feel miserable every time he saw me. Given that you don’t like him, cousin…of course he would choose to leave on his own, rather than feel angry all the time here!”

“You…” Princess Xiyue sent resignedly, “Fine. Since you’ve chased off that little rich boy, you can put away your mobile Immortal estate. This is a critical point in time for you; you’ll need many treasures for the upcoming storm.”

“Cousin, I gave you this Immortal estate, which means it is yours! A few million kilograms is a minor sum to me now; compared to this arrow of mine, it is worth far, far less. In addition, I’ve received an extra fifteen million kilograms today; there’s no need for you to refuse, cousin,” Ning sent back.

Princess Xiyue looked towards Ning.

“And…I really don’t want you to force yourself to suffer. Even if you are to choose a Dao-companion, you should choose someone you like. Don’t casually choose someone like this Feng Yungu,” Ning sent mentally. “Don’t let yourself suffer any further.”

Princess Xiyue suddenly felt an ache in her heart. She couldn’t prevent the tears from coming to her eyes.

“Treasures, liquefied elemental essence…your little brother has them!”

“If enemies come…your little brother will help you kill them!”

“Take this Immortal estate, elder sister. In the future, when your little brother grows even stronger…forget about Immortal-ranked magic treasures, I’ll even be able to casually gift you with a set of ten Pure Yang treasures,” Ning sent solemnly.

Princess Xiyue looked at Ning. “Alright.”

Ning smiled.

The resurrection of the Yuchi clan!

This wasn’t just his cousin’s wish; this was Ning’s wish as well. Although his mother had never spoken to him of it, Ning could sense that his mother had always been thinking of her Yuchi clan. His mother’s heart was not with the Ji clan; it had always been with her Yuchi clan.

For the sake of his mother…Ning, too, wished to resurrect the Yuchi clan!

Thus, this was a task for not just his cousin, but also himself!

“Xiyue, look at how excited you are. You are so excited that you are crying!” Fairy Azurewillow laughed, “But if someone were to give me a mobile Immortal estate, I’d be extremely excited as well. Young master Ji Ning…” As she spoke, she looked towards Ning.

“I found a Dao-companion long ago,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Oh. I heard about this; the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. She’s Patriarch Lu’s disciple.” Fairy Azurewillow suddenly turned her head as a black-robed elder walked over, respectfully handing over a storage-type bracelet to the silver-haired man.

The silver-haired man handed it straight to Ning. “Young friend Ji Ning, take a look; are these the items from the list that you needed?”

“Uncle White, take a look,” Ning said.

Uncle White nodded. He immediately bound the storage bracelet, then quickly began to scan through the many precious materials within it.

Someone without sufficient skill wouldn’t be able to set up such peerlessly ferocious formations, even if they had all the necessary materials. Even Uncle White merely understood how to set up these three supreme formations; he didn’t truly understand the mysteries within them. This was because they were simply far too complicated; that was why even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would find it hard to break through them.

“Everything’s correct.” Uncle White nodded.

The nearby silver-haired man instantly smiled, then handed Ning a jade bottle. “There are fifteen million kilograms within.”

“Then let this arrow go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.” Ning handed it over to him.

“Precisely speaking…it goes to the Xia Emperor,” the silver-haired man said with a laugh.

Ning was startled for a moment, but then he nodded.

Behind the Heavenly Treasures Mountain stood the Grand Xia Emperor.

“Now that this deal is concluded…young friend Ji Ning, if you acquire any other treasures, our Heavenly Treasures Mountain will always welcome you here to sell them. I, Skyfox, will personally come welcome you.” Only now did the silver-haired man tell them his name.

“Skyfox?” Ning was secretly startled. “So it’s him?”

The Grand Xia Emperor had two spirit-beasts who had become Celestial Immortals. One was a skyfox, and it was this skyfox who had established the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for the Grand Xia Emperor. He was in complete control of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

……

Within the darkness of space.

A blurred figured was seated in the lotus position. Suddenly, a silver-haired man appeared out of nowhere within the void.

“Master, here is the arrow which Ji Ning just traded to our Heavenly Treasures Mountain.” The silver-haired man respectfully offered the arrow. The flaming arrow hovered there in space, emanating ripples of power.

“This arrow…this is a Firetruth Arrow. It is the most famous type of arrow which was created by Divine Archer ‘Qi’ 1 of the Primordial Era. Even I would perish under the power of a single one of these arrows,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said in a low voice.

He was of the lineage of the Primordial Imperial Clan, and had lived through that period of time. Even in the Primordial World of Pangu, there were only a few extremely famous divine archers. All of them had their own specialties, and anyone could recognize their arrows at a single glance.

“When Pangu’s World was shattered, the most powerful treasures were quickly seized away by the various major powers. Since Ji Ning has acquired one of these arrows…then he most likely has a connection to one of those major powers; otherwise, how could he have acquired a treasure like this?! In addition, Ji Ning didn’t apprentice himself to anyone in Daofather Crimsonbright’s league…but Master actually ordered me not to investigate this matter. Ji Ning must have a Daofather behind him.”

“Keep a close eye on Ji Ning. The Three Realms are currently in a state of chaos; Ji Ning can become our friend, but he absolutely must not become our enemy.” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s voice echoed forth within the darkness of the void.

1. Qi was the son of Yu the Great, founding emperor of the the historical Xia Dynasty.

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Chapter 9 – Laying Down the Formations

Chapter 9 – Laying Down the Formations

“Cousin, no need to send me off.”

Ji Ning was bidding Princess Xiyue farewell in midair.

“Didn’t you say earlier that you were going to stay at King Yan’s Estate for an extended period of time? Why are you leaving after shopping at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” Princess Xiyue truly didn’t wish to part with him. Her grandfather, King Yan, had just recently become a Celestial Immortal; thus, he spent much of his time in secluded meditation, and rarely had time to accompany her. In addition, Ji Ning was of a similar age to her; there were many topics she could discuss with him but not her grandfather. Naturally, she wanted him to stay longer by her side.

“Given that the Grand Xia world is now filled with dangerous undercurrents, I need to go back as soon as possible and set up layers of formations around the Ji clan’s Swallow Mountain region,” Ning said. “I will permanently stay in the Swallow Mountain region. If you are free, you can come visit me there.”

“Permanently?” Princess Xiyue was surprised.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

He had acquired many techniques at Mount Innerheart, be it Ki Refining, Fiendgod Body Refining, or sword-arts manuals. All of them provided guidance towards the level of Daofather of the Great Firmament. He also had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], the [Starseizing Hand], [Houyi’s Archery], and the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], some of the most supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms. He needed to spend time on training these techniques.

Given that the Three Realms were about to be engulfed by a storm…Ning did indeed plan to permanently live at Serpentwing Lake as he awaited Yu Wei’s return.

“That’s good. I’ll be able to find you there whenever I want. You need to be careful; my grandfather also told me that the world has been quite chaotic lately. Even multiple Celestial Immortals have perished,” Princess Xiyue said.

“I know. Don’t worry. Others might be able to kill Celestial Immortals, but killing me will be very difficult,” Ning said.

“Oh?” Princess Xiyue revealed a look of surprise.

Ning laughed. “Don’t forget that I just returned after studying with my master. Alright, enough talk; I need to go now.”

And then, Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White in using a spatial teleportation to vanish from the air above the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

“This little brother of mine…it seems as though these thirty-plus years have been extraordinary for him.” Princess Xiyue let out a relieved sigh. The more powerful Ning became, the more relaxed she would be. “However…his words were a bit too much. ‘Others might be able to kill Celestial Immortals, but killing him will be very difficult’? It’s like he’s implying he’s more powerful than Celestial Immortals. I imagine that his master probably bestowed some sort of protective item upon him.”

Swoosh.

Princess Xiyue charged downwards towards her residence, flying back into King Yan’s Estate.

This time, Princess Xiyue’s guess was wrong. In terms of power, Ning truly was on the level of a Celestial Immortal Patriarch by now. Most importantly of all, Ning had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; it would be extremely difficult for others to injure him. And through the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’ the arcane art permitted…if he transformed into the Grand Xia Emperor, even King Yan probably wouldn’t be able to tell any difference at all.

This was why, generally speaking, those who trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] were incredibly talented in staying alive. Ning’s training in the arcane art was the reason why Patriarch Subhuti had permitted Ning to depart from his tutelage.

……

“Master, Ji Ning suddenly left Stillwater City and headed towards the imperial capital.”

“The imperial capital remains the most dangerous place in the Grand Xia world for us. That’s not the place for the assassination. Continue to watch over him.”

“Yes.”

……

Swallow Mountain.

After using a spatial teleport to return here from the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, Ning immediately summoned the high-level Ji clansmen. The latest generation of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples were all clustered together in one hall, including the likes of Ji Mo and the others who had been provided guidance by Ning. Now that the clan had a stable footing, all of their talents received good resources for cultivation; their situation was far better than the situation had been in the past for Ji Ninefire, Ji Truekeep, and the others. Thus Ji Mo, for example, had already become a Wanxiang Adept.

Only upon being summoned here did they learn that Ji Ning had returned! All of them were utterly overcome with joy. The younger generation of Ji clansmen had long ago begun to idolize Ning; after all, becoming the champion of the Conclave was something out of legends! That was an event where the geniuses of the entire world came together in a competition!

“I agree! Of course I agree. Stillwater Commandery is in a chaotic state right now; if Uncle Ji Ning plans to set down layers of mighty formations around Swallow Mountain, then that means that our Ji clan shall have a foundation that will flourish for countless generations!”

“Right. With these grand formations, we will no longer need to fear the Youngflame clan.”

“I agree.”

“I agree as well.”

Not a single Ji clansmen was in opposition. Ning’s words were like music to their ears! Ning had told them that once the formations were established, even Celestial Immortal Patriarchs could forget about barging through them. Only individuals who surpassed the power of Celestial Immortals had a chance of making it through!

It must be understood that in the entire world of the Grand Xia…even for the likes of ancient clans that had existed since the Fiendgod Era, such as the Northmont clan of Stillwater or the Youngflame clan, Celestial Immortals represented the height of their power.

With these grand formations protecting it, Swallow Mountain would become an absolutely secure location; the Ji clan could safely and stably flourish within this place!

A truly powerful clan had to have an extremely safe base. Some of them even hid their headquarters within unknown minor worlds! Naturally, the Ji clan wished for such a secure base as well.

And Ning wasn’t lying when he had told them these things!

The three supremely ferocious formations also included a ‘sealing’ component; this sort of grand sealing formation couldn’t be broken through technique, they had to be destroyed through raw force! Unless one had the power of a True Immortal or Empyrean God, there was no way whatsoever to break through.

……

A snowy white hound was standing in the sky. Behind him, a series of glistening, gem-like rocks appeared out of nowhere. There were a total of 108 such rocks.

The snowy white hound stared far away, towards the peak of a mountain.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Instantly, the stones hovering around him shot out like meteors, piercing deep into various parts of the mountain. Immediately afterwards…the mountain peak itself vanished, and circles of blurry light began to manifest around the mountain peak with the appearance of clouds.

“The final formation-base of the ‘Eighteen Hypnotic Illusions’ has been established.” The snowy white hound let out a relieved sigh.

“Arise!”

As he activated the formation, every part of the Swallow Mountain region, including the mountain peaks, the rivers, the lakes, and the wildernesses all began to summon the elemental power of heaven and earth. At the same time, the various formation-bases began to resonate with each other, joining together into an enormous combination formation. Every single part of the formation came together in a marvelous, perfect manner.

Soon, the entire hundred thousand kilometer region of Swallow Mountain seemed to have been transformed into a truly hypnotic, illusory area. Unless one had a talisman issued by the Ji clan, anyone who entered would immediately become forever lost within.

Rumble…

Serpentwing Lake. Ordinary mosquitoes were flying about, and some would often fly into Brightheart Island.

In wild areas, mosquitoes were extremely common. However, these were very ordinary mosquitoes; they couldn’t even be considered monsters. Even Ning’s divine sense could find nothing strange about them at all. However…the core of this ‘Eighteen Hypnotic Illusions’ formation was Serpentwing Lake. After the formation was activated, although its core location of Serpentwing Lake appeared as ordinary as usual…there was now no way at all for these ordinary mosquitoes to fly towards Brightheart Island.

……

An ordinary commandery city of the Grand Xia. Within an estate.

Swoosh.

A skinny man whose eyes glowed with green light suddenly appeared within the courtyard. In the courtyard, there was a black-robed man who was leisurely sipping tea. The man had long, unbound black hair, and in his forehead there was a vertical slit.

“Master,” the skinny man said respectfully.

“Mm?” The long-haired, black-robed man looked over. “What is it??”

“The entire Swallow Mountain region has become covered by a strange illusory formation. Even my little ones are completely unable to penetrate it; they have become completely lost within it, and they aren’t even able to return.” A hint of resentment was in the green, glowing eyes of the skinny man. Those mosquitoes were indeed extremely ordinary, but they were linked to his mind; this was no easy task!

“Oh?” The long-haired, black-robed man frowned. “An illusory formation? It seems as though Ji Ning has returned to Swallow Mountain to set down formations for it. It is fine; since the Ji clan wishes to establish Swallow Mountain as their foundation for flourishment, they will naturally need to maintain contact with the outside world. That means merchant caravans will be sent to and from it, and the Ji clan will guide them through the formations, ensuring them that they won’t be lost. You no longer have to worry about this matter any further; I will arrange for others to go keep a watch on things. Rest and build up your strength; I imagine that you won’t be able to recover your ‘little ones’.”

After all, even if someone else was sent into Swallow Mountain, they wouldn’t be able to recognize which of the mosquitoes were ‘special’.

“Alright,” the skinny man assented in a low voice, and then he departed.

The long-haired, black-robed man quickly began to give instructions a different subordinate. This seemingly ordinary commandery city of the Grand Xia was, in reality, one of the important bases for Bloodcloud Hall.

……

Time flowed out.

Bloodcloud Hall used all sorts of tools to investigate. Mosquitoes, merchant caravans, scrying arts…even possession arts! They began to use every method they had to infiltrate Swallow Mountain!

But as each of the great formations of the Whitewater Hound began to be erected, especially in the Serpentwing Lake region, it became rare for even the Ji clansmen to encounter Ji Ning. Only Ji Truekeep, Granny Shadow, and a few others could go directly to see him. Even the likes of Ji Mo and the others had to first request a meeting. Thus, it became extremely hard for even Bloodcloud Hall to determine whether or not Ji Ning was actually staying at Serpentwing Lake.

“Master.”

The same ordinary commandery city as before. A white-haired elder said in a lowered voice, “Swallow Mountain is now surrounded by layers of grand formations. One of my clones was accompanying a merchant caravan in investigating the place, and the number of formations that I’ve already uncovered is enough to cause even Celestial Immortals to become lost after entering it. One has to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to flee the place. Now, it seems, Swallow Mountain is completely under Ji Ning’s control. Within this region, Ning can use the formations to his advantage; killing him there is extremely unlikely. Just investigating the various formations, especially the dangerous ones, is essentially suicide. I imagine a large number of Loose Immortals would have to die in the process.”

“Right.” The long-haired, black-robed man nodded. “Since even you feel this way, Elder Chu, then it seems Swallow Mountain truly is not an appropriate place for assassination. Then…let us wait. Wait for Ji Ning to leave Swallow Mountain.”

……

The very same day in which Elder Chu was making a report to Bloodcloud Hall. The skies above Brightheart Island was filled with plumes of snow.

“After tirelessly working day and night for forty-nine days, I’ve finally set up the first of the three supremely lethal formations.” The white-robed Uncle White let out a laugh, but his gaze was filled with exhaustion. “I really didn’t dare to be slightest bit careless. If I was even slightly careless, everything would’ve gone wrong, and most likely some of those ingredients would’ve been imploded and destroyed by elemental energy.”

“Sorry for the trouble, Uncle White.” Ning had an understanding of formations as well; he knew very well that even being able to merely set up these three supreme formations required one to have the ability of a grandmaster of formations. This was because even Ning felt his head grow dizzy when he simply looked at the arcane mysteries contained within the formations, to say nothing of actually laying them down.

“It wasn’t so bad. I’ve already set up one of the three supreme formations; the entire Swallow Mountain region is already stabilized. I can take it a bit slower for the other two,” Uncle White said with a smile.

As they were chatting.

“Ji Ning.” A voice rang out from far away.

Ning immediately arose and turned around; it was the voice of the clan leader, Ji Truekeep.

“Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze of the Black-White College has arrived.” Truekeep walked over, Immortal Fivecraze by his side.

“Big brother Fivecraze.” Ning immediately went forward to welcome him. Because he was now a Void-level Earth Immortal, according to the rules of the Black-White College, the two of them had to refer to each other as they would equals of the same generation.

“Ji Ning, your master has left his secluded meditation. He is preparing to undergo his Celestial Tribulation in nine days!” Immortal Fivecraze said solemnly.

“Nine days?!” Ning was instantly stunned.

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Chapter 10 – The Celestial Tribulation

Chapter 10 – The Celestial Tribulation

“This is your master’s own decision,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

Ji Ning immediately understood. The Celestial Tribulation was the most important event a cultivator would encounter in his life; generally speaking, they would choose to attempt it at a time whispered to them by their subconscious. Since his master had chosen to attempt it nine days hence, then that meant that his master would have the greatest chance of success nine days from now.

But even though that would be the ‘greatest chance’…the chance was still comparatively slim. After all, the Grand Xia world had countless Void-level Earth Immortals, but often more than a million years would pass without a single Celestial immortal arising! Only in a time like this, when the Three Realms were in a state of upheaval, did the Grand Xia see multiple Earth Immortals overcome the tribulation during the past twenty, thirty years. But even then, only a few had succeeded. Spread out across 3600 commanderies and four seas…the chances were still extremely low!”

“Very few people know that your master is attempting the Celestial Tribulation nine days from now. You can’t tell anyone,” Immortal Fivecraze instructed.

“I understand.” Ning looked at the nearby Ji Truekeep. Truekeep nodded. “Don’t worry; I won’t tell anyone. Right…the two of you can chat in private.” Truekeep knew exactly how major a matter this was, and so he immediately departed.

Within the hall, only Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound were left.

“Your master is going to attempt the Celestial Tribulation, but his chances are less than one in ten thousand. The tribulation is simply too hard. Thus…we need to ensure that no one disturbs him,” Immortal Fivecraze said seriously. “That is why your master will definitely need protectors during his tribulation.”

“Protectors?” Ning nodded. “I will naturally serve as a guardian for my master.”

“I discussed this matter with your master already. This time, the only people protecting him shall be you and me; just the two of us,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Two?” Ning was surprised.

“Your master has gained new insights after perusing the Dao-repositories you brought back to the Black-White College. His power has advanced exquisitely!” Immortal Fivecraze said. “I have gained insights as well, and my power is comparable to a Loose Immortal who has lived for six or seven hundred thousand years. The other Loose Immortals of the Black-White College, by comparison, are a bit weaker.”

Ning nodded.

“Your Primaltwin was able to kill Loose Immortals all those years ago, when it was merely a peak Primal Daoist. Given your training speed, I imagine it must now be at the late Void-level; after thirty years, you are probably no weaker than me,” Immortal Fivecraze said with a laugh. “There’s no need to be modest at a time like this; the more powerful you are, the more confident your master will feel during his tribulation.”

Ning nodded. “I should…be no weaker than Immortal Northwalker was in the past!”

Immortal Fivecraze was instantly startled. It must be understood that the Immortal path grew increasingly difficult as one progressed through it, and that the chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal were extremely low. The chances of becoming a True Immortal or Empyrean God? That was even rare, even if one’s vision spanned the entirety of the Three Realms. Every single commandery had Loose Immortals at the five hundred thousand year power level, but there were very few in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty who were at the level of a million year old Loose Immortal. As for Loose Immortals who had lived for millions of years…it was rare for the entire Grand Xia Dynasty to have a single such person!

“You?” Immortal Fivecraze could hardly believe it.

“My child Ning has long ago mastered the full nine stances of the [Three-Foot Sword]. He’s even improved on it,” the nearby Whitewater Hound said.

“Excellent!” A look of wild joy appeared on Immortal Fivecraze’s face. He said jubilantly, “Wonderful, wonderful, absolutely wonderful! Ji Ning, in terms of sword-arts alone, you are probably the most powerful figure our Black-White College has ever seen!”

Immortal Fivecraze sighed in absolute amazement.

This Ji Ning who stood before him…

He himself was like a sword! Swords were objects that were used to charge forward, to cut with incomparable sharpness! Ji Ning was like a sword who chopped through all the bushes and thorns that lay in his path. Years ago, as a youth, he had become the champion of the entire Conclave of Immortal Destiny! After the past thirty-plus years…he had mastered and even perfected the [Three-Foot Sword] of Immortal Northwalker, customizing it for his own use!

What sort of talent was this? After a few more decades or a century, how powerful would he become?

“The sword is my body.”

“The sword is my life.”

“The sword is my path.”

Immortal Fivecraze nodded as he looked at Ning. “When every Sword Immortal embarks on the Dao of the Sword, they will understand their own sword-hearts and these principles. But understanding is easy; action is hard! There are very, very few who can truly reach this level, and in this vast world, countless Sword Immortals have fallen. I can sense, however, the towering sword-intent radiating from you, a sword-heart that is simply inconceivable. You truly were born to be a Sword Immortal.”

In truth, many years ago, the likes of Lu Dongbin had already felt certain that Ning was born to be a peerless Sword Immortal.

The reason for his current success was partially because of his experiences from his past life, but also because of his parents in this life.

His father had given him a sword.

His mother had given him a heart.

……

After chatting for a short while, Ning asked, “Is master in a rush? If he isn’t in a rush, I’ll stay one more day here at Serpentwing Lake; I’ll reunite with all of you at the Black-White College tomorrow.”

“We are planning to leave the Black-White College in three days and head to the chosen tribulation area,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “We have a day to spare. You can make your preparations here at Serpentwing Lake.”

“What will be the tribulation area?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“That is a secret for now,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “Once your master’s enemies learn of it, they will immediately head to that location to attempt to ruin your master’s tribulation. Thus, the tribulation area is something which only your master knows at present. Even I don’t know. After we head arrive there, we shall know.”

Ning laughed. “That’s for the best. If only master himself knows, there’s no fear of it leaking.”

“Alright. Make your preparations; I’m leaving now.” Immortal Fivecraze left right away.

Within the hall.

Soon, Little Qing was called back by Ji Ning. Within the courtyard was Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing.

“Master is about to undergo his Celestial Tribulation. This matter is extremely important; we can’t be reckless in preparing for it,” Ning said with absolute solemnity. “That’s why both I and Uncle White are leaving…and we’ll leave Swallow Mountain in your hands, Little Qing.”

The formations of Swallow Mountain were too numerous and too complicated.

Even those lower-class formations required experts who were at least at the Primal Daoist level to completely control them. But right now, aside from Ning, the most powerful members of the Ji clan were only at the Wanxiang stage! As for the supreme formations…just activating them would require the power of a Void-level Earth Immortal, but there was no way Ning would teach the secrets of these formations to the monsters of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

“Actually, I really want to go as well. The Celestial Tribulation…I’ve never even…” Little Qing stopped midway through her words as Ning gave her a look.

“Master, I know what really matters,” Little Qing hurriedly said with a laugh.

“Uncle White, Little Qing…both of you, hurry up and raise your power to the late Void-level today,” Ning said. “These two jade bottles each contain 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.”

Ning trained in the [Darknorth Sutra], which allowed one to train all the way to the Daofather level, and yet his Primaltwin had only needed 2.5 million kilograms to go from the peak Primal stage to the late Void-level. Uncle White and Little Qing had both already reached the early Void-level; 2.5 million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence would be more than enough to let them reach the late Void-level.”

“Remember, don’t train to the peak of the Void-level, no matter what,” Ning warned.

“Don’t worry. We aren’t anywhere close to being prepared for the Celestial Tribulation.”

……

While Uncle White and Little Qing trained, Ning’s true body entered the Still Room of the underwater estate. For the sake of his master’s tribulation, Ning was going to raise his power to the highest level possible as well! Fortunately, he had acquired 15 million kilograms at the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; although he had spent some of it to purchase a few treasures, he still had more than ten million kilograms left!

The handsome, delicate-looking fur-clad youth seated himself atop the netherwater jade bed.

In front of him was a tiny jade bottle.

“Begin.”

A torrent of liquefied elemental essence flooded out from the jade bottle, forming an awe-inspiring lake within the Still Room. Around Ning, a dark vortex appeared, and the limitless amount of essence began to disappear as it drew near the dark vortex, having been sucked into Ning’s Zifu Region.

Within the Zifu Region.

His golden lotus, after absorbing an enormous amount of essence, began to shudder and grow out from within that scorching sea of Primal Fire. The golden lotus was constantly growing taller, and both its petals and its stem began to quickly increase in thickness. The elemental ki within the golden lotus grew increasingly pure as well, so pure that it would cause one’s heart to tremble. At the same time, that adorable little lotus seedpod at the very top of the golden lotus began to slowly increase in size, and within the heart of the lotus seedpod, an unripe lotus seed took form.

“The late Void level!” Everything came to a halt.

The now-enormous golden lotus swayed within the Primal Fire that blazed atop the back of the continent-sized Turtle-Snake. This golden lotus was now the absolute most dazzling ‘location’ within the entire Zifu region.

Upon reaching the late Void level, the ‘Goldlotus Primal’ was already extremely powerful; it was just a hair away from complete perfection.

The next day.

Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing gathered together for a meal. They had all increased in power to the late Void-level the previous night. After the meal, Little Qing was left behind to protect Serpentwing Lake, while Ning led Uncle White towards the Black-White College.

……

The Black-White College. Immortal Diancai’s abode.

“Ji Ning, you came.” The black-robed Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position atop a jade bed, a calm look on his face. “Sit.”

Next to him was a prayer mat, seated atop which was Immortal Fivecraze.

Ning nodded, then sat down on another prayer mat while the Whitewater Hound lay down behind Ning.

“I heard senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze say that you’ve already mastered the complete nine stances of the [Three-Foot Sword], and that you have perfected it?” Immortal Diancai said with a laugh.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Immortal Diancai smiled. “Good. With you having reached such a level in the sword…even if I fail my tribulation, I’ll still feel satisfied.”

“Master, how can you say such things?” Ning said frantically.

“I’m just making conversation. It seems you aren’t even as calm about this as I am,” Immortal Diancai said.

Ning was silent.

He was indeed nervous; after all, the chances of success were simply far, far too low. If his master were to fail…

Immortal Diancai, seeing this, simply laughed. He understood Ning’s temperament very well; Ning was a passionate man who cared deeply about his feelings and his relationships! For the sake of his relationships, he could even give up his life! It was precisely because he had come to understand Ning’s personality over their many years of knowing each other that Immortal Diancai felt so extremely fond of this disciple of his. That was why he treated him with such sincerity.

“This Whitewater Hound is coming as well?” Immortal Diancai asked.

Ning nodded. “Master, don’t underestimate Uncle White. He is extremely talented in formations, and when I went to study from my master, Uncle White learned some extremely profound formations as well; he can be described as a grandmaster of formations. I wouldn’t dare proclaim him as being the best in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty…but here within Stillwater Commandery at least, he would be one of the top two.”

“Oh?” Both Immortal Diancai and Immortal Fivecraze revealed looks of delight.

Anyone who dared refer to himself as a grandmaster of formations would definitely be an extraordinary person.

Ning laughed confidently. In terms of the Dao of Formations, Uncle White was indeed a grandmaster. In addition, however, Uncle White knew how to set up some extremely rare and exceedingly powerful formations, and so even other grandmasters of formations would lose to him in a competition of formations! That supremely ferocious formation that he had set up around Swallow Mountain, for example; most likely, there were extremely few people in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty who could set up such a powerful formation.

But of course, the Grand Xia Dynasty definitely had individuals who were superior to Uncle White in formations; for example, that formation surrounding the imperial palace of the Grand Xia was something that only a truly major power could set up! It was several levels higher in power than the formations around Swallow Mountain.

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Chapter 11 – Four Great Tribulations

Chapter 11 – Four Great Tribulations

“Since you’ve arrived, Ji Ning, that means we are all present. Let’s head out tonight to the tribulation area, then,” Immortal Diancai said.

Ning and Immortal Fivecraze exchanged a glance, then both nodded. “Fine. We’ll head out tonight.”

This tribulation had to be kept top-secret. Ning and the others didn’t dare be even the slightest bit careless. Even during a normal situation, one would have to be extremely careful in attempting the Celestial Tribulation, but given that the Three Realms were currently in a state of chaos…Ning and the others naturally had to be even more careful than normal.

Late night.

Immortal Diancai, Immortal Fivecraze, Ji Ning, and the Whiteweater Hound stealthily used a spatial teleport to depart from Stillwater City.

……

In the air above an awe-inspiringly vast sea, a spatial ripple suddenly appeared. Three human figures accompanied by a large, snowy white hound appeared from within the ripple.

“Where are we?” Ning looked at the surrounding area. Because it had been his master, Immortal Diancai, who had used the spatial teleport, not even Ning knew where they were exactly.

“The great Darknorth Sea,” Immortal Diancai said. “The location that I’ve chosen for my tribulation is a minor world which I discovered by accident when I was adventuring through the Darknorth Sea as a child. This minor world was extremely well-hidden, and it is extremely well-suited for attempting the tribulation. Follow me!”

Clouds instantly appeared around them as Immortal Diancai used a technique to lead Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound in quickly flying forward. Soon, an island appeared in the distance. The island was scorchingly hot, as there was a live volcano atop it.

“The entrance to that minor world is within the volcano on that island.” Immortal Diancai led the group to fly into the air above the island, then charged straight into the mouth of the volcano.

The region within the volcano was extremely strange. A large amount of lava was bubbling and frothing about.

Immortal Diancai quietly glanced at one corner of it, a complicated look in his eyes. He said softly, “In my youth, I was young and arrogant; I roamed the world in a fearless, untamed manner. And now, I am about to attempt my tribulation…life truly is a marvelous, strange thing.”

Ning and Immortal Fivecraze could both sense that Immortal Diancai’s mood seemed rather off.

“For this tribulation…if I fail, I shall die!” Immortal Diancai said softly. “If I die…then I’ll reunite with you, junior apprentice-sister.”

Deep within his memory…

There was a young, carefree, brilliant genius youth; Immortal Diancai, the number one peerless genius of his generation within the Black-White College.

With him was a reincarnated Immortal maiden who was known as Fairy Drizzlerain, and who had countless admirers and pursuers.

They adventured together, shoulder-to-shoulder, expericing life-and-death events together. They had roamed through countless places, entering mountain ranges and passing through seas. And then, one day, they had encountered an ancient Primal-level Fiendgod of fire. The ancient Fiendgod had emerged from within the lava…and their parting on that day truly became an eternal one. The flames of the Fiendgod caused his junior apprentice-sister’s soul to be shattered…

“Master.” Ning was shocked. His master was actually planning to die if he failed?

It must be understood that the Celestial Tribulation was extremely dangerous; even the Goldlotus Primal would be heavily wounded. Some would realize halfway through the tribulation that they wouldn’t be able to succeed, and so they would give up, choosing to become a Loose Immortal. Because the amount of damage sustained by each person’s Goldlotus Primal was different, the purity of the elemental ki would vary amongst Loose Immortals. Formidable ones were comparable to peak Void-level Earth Immortals, while weaker ones might only have elemental ki comparable to early-stage Void-level Earth Immortals.

Some Earth Immortals, however, would go welcome the tribulation with the intent of rather dying to it than giving up!

This did indeed give someone a significantly higher chance of overcoming the Celestial Tribulation. But at the very end, if they failed…then their souls would be shattered!

“You still haven’t forgotten.” Immortal Fivecraze shook his head.

“Forget? Why should I forget? How could I bear to forget?” Immortal Diancai replied softly.

Ning said, “Master, leave yourself a sliver of a chance, so that you can have a chance at reincarnation. If you fail in this life, you might succeed in the next one.”

“No need to try and dissuade me.” Immortal Diancai shook his head. “My decision is made. Let’s go. Let’s go inside.”

Whoosh!

The lava below them suddenly parted as Immortal Diancai led them deeper downwards. At the very deepest part, a winding tunnel suddenly appeared. Immortal Diancai led them through the tunnel in an extremely familiar manner, and a dark cave soon appeared before them.

“Go in.” Immortal Diancai led Ji Ning and the others to fly into the black cave.

……

This was a world that was filled with an infinite aura of death. Even the mountains had turned black, while the earth itself was a sickly yellow. Not a single hint of green could be seen, and no ordinary grass lived here. This world only had a strange type of vegetation that was pitch-black and covered by spikes.

Whoosh…

The side of a large mountain began to ripple and shake. Immortal Diancai, Immortal Fivecraze, Ji Ning, and the Whitewater Hound flew out from within it.

“Such a strong aura of death?” Immortal Fivecraze frowned as he stared at the surrounding area. “What happened to this minor world? Logically speaking, even if it suffered some sort of disaster, given the power of the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, it should have eventually recovered.”

“This was a world where a Fiendgod of fire hid within,” Immortal Diancai said. “The Fiendgod caused this minor world to become completely filled with lava, causing all the living creatures within it to perish. Although that Fiendgod is now dead, for this minor world to recover…a very long period of time will be needed.”

Ning nodded.

It was easy to ruin a minor world, but in order for it to recover, a million years would be needed or perhaps even longer. Only then would new vegetation arise and new creatures and birds be born.

“This minor world is extremely well-hidden, and it has no living creatures; I don’t have to worry about any ordinary life-forms being killed as collateral damage. It is very well-suited for my tribulation attempt,” Immortal Diancai said. “In a normal situation…chances of being discovered while undergoing a tribulation in such a well-hidden place should be very low. However, now that the entire Grand Xia world is in a state of chaos…I’ve heard that quite a few Void-level Earth Immortals have suffered attacks during their tribulations of late.”

“Right. All Void-level Earth Immortals choose extremely well-hidden places for their tribulations…but they were still discovered and assaulted,” Immortal Fivecraze agreed somberly. “We have to be careful.”

“Don’t worry, Master. Leave everything to me and big brother Fivecraze,” Ning promised solemnly.

“Alright.” Immortal Diancai nodded, then began to fly far away. Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and Uncle White hurriedly flew after him.

After flying for a period of time.

Immortal Diancai descended upon a wide area that had been completely scorched black. He then sat down in the lotus position…and began to wait quietly.

“After eight days, the Celestial Tribulation shall descend. Everything will be up to your master, then.” Immortal Fivecraze was worried.

“He will have to rely on himself.” Ning was worried, too.

When the Celestial Tribulation descended, all outside sources of help were forbidden.

Even Daofathers of the Great Firmament wouldn’t dare to intervene and assist others in their tribulations. If anyone tried to help someone else defeat a Celestial Tribulation…then the tribulation would instantly unleash a divine punishment upon the offender, even if the offender was a Daofather. If the Daofather immediately stopped, that was one thing, but if he tried to continue and resist…even the Daofather would be annihilated by the divine punishment!

Thus, from ancient days till now, no one ever dared to help someone else resist a Celestial Tribulation.

In addition…

Even setting up formations was considered ‘outside help’. If Immortal Diancai himself had been the one to set up the formations, that wouldn’t be as much of an issue! At most, the formation would be destroyed and the power of the Celestial Tribulation would be increased. But if someone else, such as Uncle White or Ji Ning, was in control of the formation…then the two of them would suffer divine punishment!

This was the reason why Ning hadn’t invited his master to go to Swallow Mountain for the tribulation.

There were far too many places in the world with extremely formidable formations. The headquarters of powerful sects all contained exceedingly mighty formations; for example, the formation within the imperial citadel of the Grand Xia was something which a major power had set up. If a Void-level Earth Immortal could temporarily borrow the strength of a formation to fight the Celestial Tribulation, then overcoming it would become far too simple!

Thus…

All sources of outside help were completely forbidden! The Celestial Tribulation was the test which all Immortal cultivators faced on their Immortal path! Even experts in the Dao of Formations such as Uncle White would only be permitted to use magic treasure formations, such as the Fuxi Staff Formation. When the Celestial Tribulation truly descended, they would be allowed to use the Fuxi Staff Formation to defend against it.

The [Heavenraker] and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] were all considered types of sword-formations.

However, formations that were locked onto one location and which were set up using precious ingredients were considered outside sources of help! [Heavenraker], the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], and the Fuxi Staff Formation, however, were all considered part of one’s own strength.

“Master.” Ning suddenly walked over.

“Yes?” Immortal Diancai raised his head to look towards Ji Ning.

“Master, I have five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. If you use them, your chances of overcoming the Celestial Tribulation shall be greater.” Ning willed it, and five pitch-black Immortal swords suddenly appeared out of nowhere to hover next to him. These were the Heavenraker Immortal swords. Ning had already dispersed his elemental ki from within them; they had become ownerless items now.

Immortal Diancai was stunned. “Five top-grade Immortal ranked swords?”

“Top-grade Immortal-ranked…and five of them?” Immortal Fivecraze revealed a look of crazed joy as well. “Wonderful! Ji Ning, you truly have been hiding some incredible secrets.”

Ning laughed.

Items at the level of a top-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword could no longer simply be purchased; they had to be traded for! Five such swords, and all from the same source…they were far more valuable than the combined value of all of the Immortal swords Ning had acquired from killing the monster kings and that vile Patriarch. These were items from the underwater estate’s Treasure Hall; they were naturally exceptional!

“Take them,” Immortal Fivecraze said with a chortle. “Your disciple is telling you to use them; are you going to be wishy-washy about it?”

“Fine.” Immortal Diancai’s aura instantly changed. “With these five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, my chances of overcoming the Celestial Tribulation shall be much greater…at least for the first three tribulations.”

The Celestial Tribulation was divided into a total of four great tribulations.

They were the wind tribulation, the fire tribulation, the thunder tribulation, and the demonheart tribulation!

The first three could be blocked, but they would grow increasingly powerful and terrifying; the vast majority of Void-level Earth Immortals would perish over the course of the first three tribulations. The thunder tribulation in particular…bolts of divine lightning would crash down, completely disintegrating the bodies of many Void-level Earth Immortals. The Goldlotus Primal would be heavily injured by the slamming thunderbolts, and many were so terrified that they would give up and flee, becoming Loose Immortals. In the past, Immortal Juhua had also failed during the thunder tribulation…and it was because he didn’t have any good Immortal-ranked magic treasures!

If he had top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, given Immortal Juhua’s power and Dao-heart, he might’ve become a Celestial Immortal.

“Right. Your chances are now much greater…but you still need to be careful. The Celestial Tribulation…magic treasures are only one part of your power. When iron is being forged, it has to rely on its own innate hardness. The Celestial Tribulation primarily tests one’s personal power,” Immortal Fivecraze said seriously.

“I understand.” Immortal Diancai nodded.

Even many disciples of True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would fail during their tribulation. Generally speaking, disciples of True Immortals or Empyrean Gods all had top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and yet many still failed. Clearly, the Celestial Tribulation was different for each person! The more monstrously talented someone was, the more powerful one was, the more ridiculously terrifying the Celestial Tribulation would be.

……

One day after another went by

Immortal Diancai familiarized himself with the Heavenraker swords, then began to wait quietly. Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound also quietly stood to one side, standing guard for him.

And finally…

Whoosh…

Suddenly, a gentle wind began to blow, rustling Immortal Diancai’s Daoist robes.

Immortal Diancai opened his eyes. “Senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze, Ji Ning, brother White…stand guard for me. My Celestial Tribulation has begun.”

Ning and the others could sense that the nearby wind was beginning to slowly grow increasingly fierce. They couldn’t help but nervously look towards the seated Immortal Diancai.

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Chapter 12 – Celestial Immortal Body

Chapter 12 – Celestial Immortal Body

Whoosh…

The wild wind that had suddenly arose in this world of death came from every direction. All the winds surged towards Immortal Diancai’s direction, and Ji Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound could all sense how powerful this wind was. However, they were able to resist it by using just a bit of elemental ki.

The closer the wind moved towards Immortal Diancai, the more powerful it became. The wind gathered from all corners of the world, slowly merging into an azure windblade. By the time this azure windblade actually flew towards Immortal Diancai, it had turned such a deep azure color that it could almost be described as a black windblade.

Just staring at it caused Ning and the others to feel shocked.

“Open.”

The black-robed Immortal Diancai stood there, the five Heavenraker Immortal swords floating around him, swiveling. It was as though five rainbows were swirling around him. Although the terrifyingly powerful black windblades chopped repeatedly towards him, all the strikes were blocked.

“Junior apprentice-brother Diancai’s sword-arts have already risen to such a level?” Immortal Fivecraze revealed a look of delight. “Ji Ning, I had an idea as to what level your master’s sword-arts had reached…but he is even more powerful than I had expected! Long ago, I came to the conclusion that junior apprentice-brother Diancai had the highest chance amongst us of becoming a Celestial Immortal, and back then his sword-arts were already at an astonishing level. After adventuring for forty years, and after receiving your Dao-repository, his sword-arts…they are not one whit inferior to Immortal Northwalker’s. He truly does have a chance to become a Celestial Immortal!”

“Right.” Ning was filled with eagerness as well.

Everything else aside, the ‘Five Elements Sword-Intent’ which his master had just displayed was enough to let Ning know that his master’s sword-arts were most likely on a level comparable to his own. His master truly lived up to his reputation as the peerless genius of the Black-White College with the highest chances of becoming a Celestial Immortal.

……

The savage black windblades hammered repeatedly against the five rainbows of light, causing even the surrounding space to crack and fracture.

Rumble…

All of the black windblades suddenly vanished. The world actually turned completely calm and tranquil again…but then yet another series of winds began to appear. The winds stabbed like sharp needles…and a series of needle-like spikes began to appear in midair. The thousands of spikes all gleamed with golden light as they stabbed towards the five Immortal swords which were in the form of five rainbows of light.

……

Savage. Insidious. Soft. Icy. Blazing…

All sorts of wind came in an unending flow. In fact, a total of twelve types of skywind appeared as well!

Suddenly, the surrounding area once more turned calm. For a long period of time, no further gusts of wind appeared.

“Not good.” Immortal Fivecraze was startled. “The final part of the wind tribulation has begun.”

Ning was nervous and restless as well. He looked anxiously towards his master, standing there in the distance.

The Celestial Tribulation consisted of four great tribulations; the wind tribulation, the fire tribulation, the thunder tribulation, and the demonheart tribulation. The wind tribulation…it first consisted of ordinary wind, then types of skywind of different power, and then finally the most terrifying of all, the Celestial Immortal Wind. This Celestial Immortal Wind was invisible and formless; it was hard to locate within the Three Realms, and would only appear during the Celestial Tribulation.

No magic treasures were capable of blocking the Celestial Immortal Wind; it would form directly in front of the tribulant’s body, then surge in through the head. Nothing, not even Daoist robes, would be able to block the penetrating power of this wind in the slightest!

After surging in through the head, it would naturally disperse and tear through the vital organs.

What it tested was a person’s Dao-heart. If one’s Dao-heart was weak, then once the Celestial Immortal Wind surged in through the head, their body would most likely instantly melt and transform into dust, allowing only the Goldlotus Primal to survive and flee. More than 99% of Void-level Earth Immortals would be defeated by the Celestial Immortal Wind.

If one’s Dao-heart was strong and stable enough, then the trial of the Celestial Immortal Wind would actually be a transformatative baptism, allowing the tribulant to slowly begin to develop a Celestial Immortal Body.

“Master, you have to hold on,” Ning said, extremely worried.

“Hold on.” Immortal Fivecraze stared at him as well.

Immortal Diancai stood there by himself, surrounded by those five pitch-black Immortal swords. He opened his eyes, revealing a smile as he looked towards Ning and Immortal Fivecraze. “The wind tribulation is over.”

“Good.” Immortal Fivecraze laughed loudly, “I just knew that your Dao-heart had to be strong, junior apprentice-brother! The wind tribulation was unable to do anything to you at all. Hurry up and replenish your elemental ki and prepare for the next tribulation, the fire tribulation!”

Ning let out a sigh of relief as well.

At least the first tribulation had been overcome.

In truth, given the Dao-heart which his master normally displayed, Ning should have felt quite confident in him. However, right before they entered this minor world, his master’s emotions had been disturbed, and he had even spoken of reuniting with his deceased junior apprentice-sister. Ning had been very worried about the effects of this former relationship on his master’s heart. Once one’s Dao-heart became even slightly unstable, then one’s body would quickly be transformed into dust.

The Celestial Tribulation was truly dangerous. One couldn’t make a single error in it; a single error would represent a complete failure!

……

Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and Uncle White kept their divine senses spread as they stood vigilant guard for Immortal Diancai, whom they continued to watch.

Roughly an hour after the wind tribulation ended.

Rumbling red clouds suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the skies; it was as though a cloud created from an enormous ball of flames had appeared.

“The fire tribulation has arrived.” Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both watched nervously.

The fire tribulation wasn’t as insidious as the wind tribulation, but it was even more savage and ferocious! The power of those flames…if a Void-level Earth Immortal slipped for a single instant, then his body would instantly be charred into ash.

The fiery clouds in the skies slowly descended. Instantly, the temperature of the surrounding area began to rise, and the air itself seemed to glow with a blurry red light.

Crackle crackle crackle…

The ground itself began to turn soft. It began to transform into lava and began to bubble and froth.

Immortal Diancai began to levitate into the air. “Go!” Immortal Diancai pointed with his finger, and one of the five Heavenraker swords actually flew out, transforming into a giant serpent of fire that flew through the skies, stabbing straight towards the enormous fiery cloud, slashing through it and causing it to grow chaotic and disordered. However, the Heavenraker sword was quickly knocked flying backwards.

Instantly, the fiery cloud began to drop at an even faster pace. Soon, it completely enveloped Immortal Diancai within it.

Hiss hiss hiss…

The temperature had risen to a terrifying level, and even the lava within the region had been completely incinerated and transformed into nothingness. Even the stones in the distant region where Ning and the others were watching had been transformed into lava. From this, one could tell how terrifying the temperature was.

Rumble…whoosh…crackle…

Streaks of skyfire could vaguely be seen blazing from within the fiery cloud. There was golden skyfire, black skyfire, green skyfire, and even skyfire that seemed to flash like the stars…

“The various types of skyfire have descended.” Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both watched nervously.

Boom!

Suddenly…

The entire fiery cloud began to converge and coalesce around a single central point. Suddenly, a human-shaped figure appeared from within it, protected by five Immortal swords. The fiery cloud had transformed into a blazing light that was completely insubstantial. The light passed through the blocking Immortal swords, flying straight into the human-shaped figure’s body.

For a moment, the entire world turned silent. The surrounding temperature began to drop at a rapid pace. Immortal Diancai, however, emanated a fiery light as he hovered there in the skies. Ning stared at his master; his master was emanating so much fiery light, he seemed to be made out of flames himself.

“The final type of fire within the fire tribulation…the Celestial Immortal Fire,” Immortal Fivecraze said worriedly.

A Celestial Immortal Body had to be tempered by wind, fire, and lightning. Only afterwards could the Celestial Immortal Body be forged. Then, after undergoing the trial of the demonheart tribulation, the Celestial Immortal’s Dao-heart would be formed.

Only after all tribulations were passed would one become a carefree, unbound Celestial Immortal!

“He overcame it.” The distant Ning revealed a look of joy on his face. He saw that the distant Immortal Diancai’s body was beginning to slowly turn a duller color as he slowly returned to normal.

Immortal Diancai landed. He immediately sat down in the lotus position, quietly adjusting his energy levels and recovering his elemental ki.

“The fire tribulation is over. Next comes the most dangerous tribulation, the thunder tribulation!” Immortal Fivecraze murmured softly.

“Right. The thunder tribulation.” Ning’s heart clenched as well.

Of the four great tribulations, the final demonheart tribulation was the strangest tribulation. But the thunder tribulation was the most terrifying one!

The thunder tribulation was the most brutal one of all. Layers of lightning bolts would descend, continuously rising in power. Even past figures like Immortal Juhua and Immortal Northwalker had eventually been destroyed by the power of the continuous, unending thunderbolts, resulting in their Goldlotus Primals being damaged and them fleeing to become Loose Immortals. The thunder tribulation was an absolute nightmare! The vast majority of peerless geniuses would end up perishing in the face of this tribulation. There were absolutely no tricks that could be used to block the thunderbolts; each time a bolt descended, you had to block it head-on. If you couldn’t? You’d be finished!

Simple as that!

“I wonder how many bolts of thunder will fall.” Immortal Fivecraze was worried.

“Master has an extremely high level in sword-arts. His talent is very high, and he has five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. I imagine there will be quite a few,” Ning said worriedly as well.

The thunder tribulation…some Earth Immortals might only encounter nine bolts of thunder. Others, however, might meet with eighteen, twenty-seven, or thirty-six bolts…and according to the stories, the highest number possible was eighty-one bolts!

The power of the skythunder would be linked to many factors; in fact, it was also linked to karmic merit. Still, generally speaking, Ki Refiners would never suffer the legendary ‘eighty-one bolt skythunder tribulation!’ Generally speaking, only Fiendgod Body Refiners would encounter it while undergoing their tribulation. Many monstrously powerful Void-level Fiendgod Body Refiners would be hammered to death by the consecutive lightning bolts!

Ning knew very well that although he had already trained in the third stage of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], if he were to encounter the eighty-one bolts of lightning, he would definitely be crushed into nothingness by the power of those bolts!

“I hope he has less than 36 bolts,” Immortal Fivecraze whispered.

“Right.” Ning nodded gently as well.

Ki Refiners were innately weaker than Fiendgod Body Refiners when it came to withstanding skythunder. Generally speaking, it would be very hard for them to succeed if there were more than 36 bolts.

……

Another hour passed.

Two enormous stormclouds suddenly appeared out of nowhere from within the calm skies. These two stormclouds converged rapidly from different directions, completely blotting out the sun as they drew close to each other. Instantly, electric streaks of lightning began to crackle between the two massive clouds. The awe-inspiring power from within them caused Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and the Whitewater Hound to all feel trepidation.

Slowly, the two massive stormclouds began to merge, and as they combined to form a single supermassive stormcloud, the supermassive stormcloud began to rotate. Soon, it the thunder tribulation stormcloud had transformed into a vortex of lightning and clouds.

“What an enormous thunder tribulation cloud.” Immortal Fivecraze’s face suddenly changed.

“What’s wrong?” Ning asked, worried.

“When I faced my tribulation, it was this thunder tribulation which defeated me. But…the thunder tribulation cloud I faced wasn’t this big,” Immortal Fivecraze said worriedly.

“What?! How many bolts of thunder were you up against during your thunder tribulation?” Ning asked.

“I don’t know. However, the twenty-fifth bolt of skythunder shattered my magic treasures and blew apart my body. I thus chose to give up and flee,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “Junior apprentice-brother Diancai will definitely face far more bolts of skythunder than I did.”

Just as his words came out…

BOOM!

Ning could hear a thunderous noise in his ears as an absolutely dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly streaked down from the lightning-cloud vortex in the skies, slamming directly downwards towards Immortal Diancai.

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Chapter 13 – My Master

Chapter 13 – My Master

Immortal Diancai stood there on the ground. His head raised, he stared at the lightning-cloud vortex, those five pitch-black Heavenraker swords swirling around him. When that first bolt of skythunder fell down from the skies…

“Go!” Immortal Diancai pointed. Instantly, one of the five Heavenraker swords shot out. It seemed to have transformed into an enormous mountain peak, carrying incomparable weight and power behind it as it went forth to welcome the bolt of lightning.

BOOM!

An enormous collision sound. The Heavenraker Immortal sword, as stable as a mountain, just trembled for a moment, whereas the bolt of skythunder was completely dispersed.

“The first bolt of skythunder is the weakest; even the most ordinary of Void-level Earth Immortals can withstand it. Given junior apprentice-brother Diancai’s power and the fact that he has five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords…he will probably only begin to find it taxing when he reaches the twenty-seventh bolt of skythunder,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Mm.” Ning nodded in agreement. Immortal Fivecraze had been defeated by the twenty-fifth bolt; if he had top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords back then, he probably would’ve been able to make it past the twenty-seventh as well.

Skythunder…every nine bolts represented a different level of power.

The first nine bolts were weak. Eighteen bolts were stronger. But twenty-seven bolts, thirty-six bolts…every nine bolts represented an increase in lethality. The legendary eighty-one bolts of skythunder…even the thought of them was enough to terrify.

BOOM! BOOM!

Skythunder exploded forth with wild fury. One bolt after another came crashing down. Immortal Diancai was able to use a single one of his top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords to block all of the first eighteen bolts, causing a hint of joy to appear on his face. Although he knew in theory how powerful theses swords were, only now did he truly understand how tremendously helpful these top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords were during the terrifying thunder tribulation!

BOOM! The nineteenth bolt of thunder was more savage than the last, and it came down even faster. It seemed to carry annihilating power within it; it was clearly on a higher level of power than the previous bolts.

That single Heavenraker sword once more flew up to greet it, still as stable and weighty as a mountain.

BANG!

The illusory mountain around the Heavenraker sword collapsed, and the sword itself was knocked downwards. The remaining force of the skythunder continued to crash down towards Immortal Diancai, but Immortal Diancai didn’t panic in the slightest. He just let out a low growl, and instantly three of the four remaining Immortal swords around him flew upwards, glowing with golden light, watery light, and earthen light.

The three Heavenraker swords formed into a tripartite formation, effortlessly blocking the remaining power of the skythunder.

“Your master has only used his Tripartite Sword Formation,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “Your master was exceedingly gifted, and many years ago he reached the Dao Realm level in three mastered Dao-Paths. He’s also embarked on the path of a Sword Immortal. He originally only used three Immortal swords, and the technique he used the most often was this Tripartite Sword Formation. However, after training for so many more years, he’s gained even more insights and has thus developed the Five Elements Sword.”

Ning nodded slightly. Indeed. After his master switched to using three Immortal swords, his power seemed to increase dramatically. He was able to withstand one bolt of lightning after another, even overcoming the twenty-fifth bolt which had done in Immortal Fivecraze. He was able to persist all the way through the twenty-seventh bolt.

“It’s time for another increase in power,” Immortal Fivecraze said with concern.

Twenty-seven bolts…this represented the end of the first three nine-sets.

Thirty-six would represent the end of the fourth nine-set!

As the twenty-eighth bolt came crashing down, the Tripartite Sword Formation was suddenly pressed downwards…but it was still able to withstand the bolt. But then came the twenty-ninth, the thirtieth bolts…the power of the skythunder was slowly increasing, and the Tripatite Sword Formation was beginning to crumble. By the time of the thirty-sixth bolt of skythunder, Immortal Diancai let out a low growl. Instantly, all five of the Heavenraker swords flew upwards to welcome this bolt.

Rumble…

As the five Heavenraker swords flew upwards, they formed into the illusion of five massive mountains in the sky, each of a different color. The five Immortal swords combined their power, becoming incomparably weighty and solid as they effortless deflected the thirty-sixth bolt of skythunder as well.

“Fine treasures. A fine sword-art!” Immortal Fivecraze said excitedly.

“Even the thirty-sixth bolt was blocked.” Ning revealed a look of excitement as well…but immediately afterwards, his face changed. This was because an even more terrifyingly powerful bolt of lightning was beginning to descend from the vortex of lightning.

“What?! Can it be that your master’s tribulation involves forty-five bolts?!” Immortal Fivecraze felt shocked.

Ning’s face turned solemn as well. Ki Refiners couldn’t be the slightest bit overconfident in facing their tribulations…because even a tiny unblocked fraction of the thunderbolt would be enough to completely blow apart their bodies! Fiendgod Body Refiners, by contrast, would generally be able to use their bodies to withstand a small amount of remnant power from the thunderbolts.

Thus…for many, thirty-six thunderbolts represented a plateau, the conclusion of the fourth nine-set. Ki Refiners generally had a chance to survive the first four sets…but after that, chances would grow dim!

……

The thirty-seventh bolt of skythunder was clearly far more powerful than the previous bolt. Ning could sense the invisible pressure and power of the bolt just by looking nat it. The power of this bolt of skythunder was at the level of a Celestial Immortal already!

Rumble…

From within the five enormous illusory mountains, the five Immortal swords managed to block this bolt of skythunder, but they were pushed down strongly in the process.

“Such power.” Immortal Diancai’s face changed as well, but his expression remained cold and his gaze remained resolute.

He wasn’t going to retreat or flee!

BOOM!

The thirty-eighth bolt of skythunder came crashing down, and Immortal Diancai once more used his five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords to greet the attack, managing to force it aside once more. But this time, the five illusory mountains that represented the five swords were nearly destroyed.

“Not good.” Watching from the distance, Immortal Fivecraze’s face changed dramatically. “It’s very hard to say as to whether or not your master will be able to overcome the forty-fifth bolt of skythunder.”

Ning didn’t say anything; he just watched closely. He could tell this as well!

Given that even the thirty-eighth bolt was already almost powerful enough to cause his master’s sword-arts to crumble…it was very hard to say if his master would be able to make it all the way past the forty-fifth. In the past, Immortal Fivecraze had succumbed to the twenty-fifth bolt, rather than the twenty-seventh bolt.

BOOM!

The lightning-cloud vortex in the skies spat out the thirty-ninth bolt of skythunder, even more ferocious than the previous bolts.

“BLOCK!” Immortal Diancai let out a howl. The five Heavenraker swords were like fish that were swimming against the flow of the river. They carried those five illusory mountains to greet the bolt of skythunder, but when the skythunder came hammering down, all five swords were knocked downwards towards the ground. Still…the bolt of skythunder was almost consumed as well.

“Not enough!” Immortal Fivecraze said frantically.

“Master, Master!” Ning was panicking as well.

“I have to hold.” Immortal Diancai’s face suddenly turned a swollen red color, and his aura increased explosively in power as well. Clearly, he had just used a forbidden technique.

Immortal Fivecraze’s eyes were filled with nervousness. “Your master has used a forbidden technique to compress and squeeze more power out of his Goldlotus Primal. I hope that this technique will be enough to help him withstand the tribulation. It has to be enough. Don’t fail. You can’t fail!” He had seen far too many of his fellow disciples fail during the Celestial Tribulation. He had failed. His master had failed. His brothers had failed…

One after another had been toppled by the Celestial Tribulation.

Immortal Diancai was the most promising one he had seen, and he even had the aid of five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords.

“You have to hold,” Immortal Fivecraze murmured.

“Master…Master…” Ning’s heart was tight as well. He felt even more nervous than when he himself was facing life-and-death. Although he had heard long ago that the Celestial Tribulation was truly frightening, upon seeing the actual bolts of increasingly powerful skythunder come crashing down from the skies, Ning became terrified that one of them would actually strike his master’s body! A single strike…that would be it. He would be finished!

……

The fourtieth bolt. The forty-first bolt. The forty-second bolt…

After using the forbidden technique, the power of Immortal Diancai’s five swords increased dramatically, and they took on multiple bolts in succession.

BOOM!

The forty-fourth bolt of skythunder!

Immortal Diancai’s face was somewhat distorted now, and his eyes were filled with madness. The five Immortal swords once more flew upwards to greet the thunder, and the imposing illusion of the five mountains seemed mighty enough to suppress and seal away this entire minor world. But in the face of the all-annihilating bolt of skythunder…the five illusory mountains were dissipated, and all five Immortal swords were knocked flying backwards.

“He blocked it. Just the last one; the final bolt of skythunder,” Immortal Fivecraze said worriedly.

“Master…” Ning was so frantic, he wanted to charge forward himself to help.

Blood was beginning to appear on the skin of Immortal Diancai’s face. This forbidden technique was drawing out elemental ki in such a berserk, forcible way that even blood was being drawn out.

BOOM!

The forty-fifth bolt!

“Block it again!” Immortal Diancai seemed to have entered a berserk state, and all five Heavenraker swords frantically rose. It seemed as though, in this dire situation, he was able to unleash more power than he ever had before, and the five illusory mountains once more joined together, increasing their power by a little bit compared to the past.

BANG!!!

The bolt of skythunder, representing annihilation, came crashing downwards.

Slash…

The five Immortal swords were knocked backwards, and a small amount of remaining power from the skythunder came crashing down towards Immortal Diancai as well.

“NO!” Ning felt as though his heart was about to split apart. He was so frantic, his eyes turned completely red.

“NO!” Immortal Fivecraze was filled with terror as well.

But Immortal Diancai actually let out an utterly berserk howl as five more Immortal swords suddenly appeared above him. These were the five swords which Immortal Diancai himself had been previously using! He had often used these five swords…and he only had enough time to transform them into five streaks of rainbow light before the remaining power of the lightning crashed down into them.

BANG! The five flying swords were all knocked flying, with one of them actually stabbing through Immortal Diancai’s chest, cutting out a bloody hole. However, the remaining power of the lightning had been completely dispersed.

“Hahaha, hahahaha…” Immortal Diancai began to laugh. Clutching the wound over his chest, he raised his head to the heavens and laughed.

Ning and Immortal Fivecraze were stunned for a moment…but in the next moment, they went berserk with joy.

“He blocked it!”

“Master blocked it!”

This sort of feeling, of victory snached from the jaws of defeat, caused both Ning and Immortal Fivecraze’s emotions to go through a series of turbulent changes.

“But why…” Immortal Fivecraze raised his head, staring at the lightning-cloud vortex. His eyes suddenly became filled with despair and terror. “Why…why hasn’t…”

“Why hasn’t…hasn’t it dispersed?” Ning could feel a cold feeling sweeping through him from head to toe.

The vortex of lightning in the skies was continuing to swivel…and it was gathering an even more terrifying amount of power.

Immortal Diancai, still clutching his chest, was suddenly stunned. He stared blankly at the lightning-cloud vortex in the skies, his eyes filled with rage and despair. He unleashed a savage roar from his soul: “Why, why, WHY ARE THERE STILL MORE?!”

“Six nine-sets…six nine-sets…” Immortal Fivecraze’s eyes were filled with despair. “Six nine-sets of thunder. My junior apprentice-brother isn’t the disciple of a Daofather; he’s not even the disciple of a Celestial Immortal. Why would the sixth nine-set appear…why…”

“F*CK YOU, HEAVENS!” Ning raised his head as well, letting out a grief-stricken, enraged roar. Two streaks of tears began to fall from h is eyes. “Master, master…my master!!!!”

BOOM!

Another enormous bolt of lightning was born from within the lightning-cloud vortex…and it came crashing downwards.

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Chapter 14 – Extermination

Chapter 14 – Extermination

Ji Ning felt as though his heart was being torn apart. This pain filled every part of his body. Ever since his parents had passed away, he truly had very few kinsmen. Although his master Diancai always had a strict look and a cold face, Ning could sense the love and caring his master felt for him from deep within his heart. His master had the exact same sort of disposition which Ning’s own father, Ji Yichuan, had.

“No. No…” Ning’s heart was filled with nothing but despair.

Nobody could rescue his master from the Celestial Tribulation! Even a Daofather of the Great Firmament would only be able to watch from one side…because upon interfering, heaven’s punishment would be triggered, causing even a Daofather who tried to withstand it to perish.

Next…Ning suddenly felt a powerful desire enter his heart.

“I’ve had enough. ENOUGH!!!” Within his own mind, Ning let out a howl of utter despair. “I’ve had ENOUGH of this feeling of powerlessness. I don’t want any more of my loved ones to leave me. I don’t have it. I WON’T HAVE IT!”

His mother had passed away…

His father had passed away…

And now, even his master was going to pass away…

Ning’s heart felt like it was being chopped apart by knives! An incomparably powerful desire filled him; the desire to not let him or his loved ones be toyed with by destiny. A desire to completely control his own destiny, his own fate.

“I need to grow powerful. More powerful. If I can become like Pangu, capable of establishing the heavens and forming the earth, or like Nuwa, capable of repairing the heavens or destroying them…then perhaps the so-called Celestial Tribulation would be nothing more than a joke in my eyes.” For the first time in his life, Ning had the goal to truly stand at the absolute top of the Three Realms, the unquestioned top, beyond all other powers…

…to be at Pangu’s level.

Pangu, he who had established the heavens and formed the earth, creating the Primordial World.

Nuwa, who had mastered 84,000 Daos, and had become heralded as Maiden Nuwa, the ‘Supremely Benevolent, Supremely Holy Pangu-God’. She had reached Pangu’s level, and had also become the undisputed number one figure of the Three Realms!

At their levels…

Even the heavens and the earth would have to submit, much less the Celestial Tribulation, which was nothing more than a mere part of the heavens and the earth!

“Master…” But no matter what Ning currently desired within his heart, he wasn’t able to change anything. All he could do…was watch!

……

Although Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both felt pain and resentment…in this moment, it was the tribulant, Immortal Diancai, who truly felt utter despair.

Immortal Diancai clutched at his chest, head raised. When he saw that the vortex of lightning and clouds was not dispersing, and was instead nurturing an even more powerful bolt of lightning, Immortal Diancai felt despair. “Why are there more coming? Why are there more…”

Despair.

“Junior apprentice-sister, I’m coming.” Immortal Diancai’s face turned calm. He stared at the bolt of lightning forming within the skies, then pointed towards it. “Go!”

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The five Heavenraker swords all soared into the heavens, preparing to welcome that bolt of lightning.

This time, Immortal Diancai used the most beautiful, magnificent, and most powerful sword-art he had ever used since he was born. The five Immortal swords swirled around each other, joining together as they went to welcome annihilation.

……

Back when Immortal Diancai had merely been a third-generation disciple of the Black-White College.

“Young fellow, you should be filled with the vigor and energy of youth. Why are you like this?”

“My junior apprentice-sister is dead. Life holds no meaning for me now. Life holds no meaning!”

“Life holds no meaning? Since you feel as though life has no meaning…this old man actually just so happens to want to kill someone today. Don’t fight back. Just let me kill you.”

Whoosh.

Five unranked flying swords flew together towards the numb, despairing youth…and invisible sword-intent instantly transmitted into the youth’s brain.

One sword-stance after another was desmonstrated…and the sword-art became filled with increasing despair, the utmost despair.

“Five Elements Sword, stance eighteen: Minor Five Elements Extermination!”

Each stance was more complex and inconceivable than the last.

“Five Elements Sword, stance thirty-six: Major Five Elements, All Life!”

“Hahaha…”

“Destiny brought us together, and so I will teach you this set of sword techniques. Meditate well on them, young man. Your future path will be a long one!”

That voice had echoed within his mind.

By the time the young Diancai had woken up, he could no longer find that old man, no matter how hard he searched.

This stroke of karmic fortune caused Immortal Diancai to skyrocket in power in sword-arts. He was acknowledged by all the Loose Immortals of the Black-White College as having the highest chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal! After gaining the assistance of Ning’s Dao-repository and being able to compare the techniques within to his own techniques, he gained new insights and made another breakthrough, reaching Immortal Northwalker’s level. But even up till now, he had only reached the level of the seventeenth stance of the Five Elements Sword!

It must be understood that the first eighteen stances represented the first half of the technique. The next eighteen stances were far more mysterious and profound.

The old man definitely was a formidable figure of the Three Realms, given that he was able to transmit a technique such as this. Clearly, he was just wandering casually through the Three Realms, and happened upon Immortal Diancai by chance. Upon seeing that Immortal Diancai had potential, he had casually taught him this sword technique, then left. This didn’t mean he had taken Diancai on as a disciple! If he had, he would’ve taught him Ki Refining techniques, secret arts, and more; in fact, he would often provide guidance to help Diancai work through anything he found confusing. The reality was, Immortal Diancai had to rely on himself and his own efforts in order to resolve any confusions he had regarding the Five Elements Sword!

“Huh?!”

Immortal Diancai suddenly understood.

It was like the golden light of the sun piercing through the darkness of the skies. The thunder tribulation had completely disrupted his emotions, causing him to rise to triumphant heights, then fall in an abyss of despair. Now that he was preparing to welcome death…his sword-arts broke through to a new level.

He finally comprehended what it truly meant to be reach the limits of despair…and what the true mysteries of the ‘Minor Five Elements, Extermination’ technique truly meant! 1

“Five Elements Sword, stance eighteen: Minor Five Elements, Extermination!” Immortal Diancai continued to clutch at his chest, but suddenly…he smiled.

The five black flying Immortal swords in the skies, joined into the illusion of five massive mountains, had previously each been glowing with a different color of light. The light had circulated from sword to sword, joining them together and supporting each other. But Immortal Diancai suddenly willed them to change…

Rumble…

Space itself seemed to shake.

The five illusory mountains suddenly merged into a single illusion, an enormous five-fingered mountain. The five mountains had become one! There were five peaks jutting out from the top of this mountain like five fingers; each peak was of a different color! The mountain carried with it a feeling of incomparably heavy despair and depression, as though its despair could smother and exterminate anything in the world!

This was the final stance of the first half of the Five Elements Sword, the sword-stance that represented mastery of the first half…Minor Five Elements Extermination!

Rumble…

The forty-sixth bolt of skythunder crashed against the five Heavenraker swords which appeared like a mountain with five fingers stretching out from its peak.

The entire mountain trembled slightly, and the bolt of skythunder was dispersed.

Rumble…

The forty-seventh bolt of lightning came crashing down!

Still holding his chest, Immortal Diancai just smiled as he stared upwards. The five Heavenraker swords went up to greet the lightning, and the mountain peak they formed was incomparably tall and massive, so much so that its peak seemed to encompass this entire minor world. Once more, it blocked the bolt of skythunder.

……

“This…” Immortal Fivecraze and Ning were both stunned. Both of them had been gripped by despair, but now they were stunned.

“Earlier, junior apprentice-brother used a forbidden technique to overcome the first five nine-sets of the thunder tribulation. Why is it that the sixth set has become so simple for him?” Immortal Fivecraze was completely flabbergasted. “A sudden breakthrough? But…but…a breakthrough during the Celestial Tribulation?”

Ning felt dazed as well. Generally speaking, one might make sudden breakthroughs in combat, but the crashing skythunder didn’t carry within it any of the mysteries of the Dao; it was nothing more than raw, primalistic strikes of lightning. Could it be that somehow, it had taught his master something? How did his master’s sword-arts suddenly become this powerful?

Although Ning didn’t know how his master had made a sudden breakthrough, he still felt his heart become filled with the utmost of joy.

“Hahaha…keep blocking. Keep blocking!” Ning watched eagerly.

One thunderbolt after another continued to come crashing down. Each time, Immortal Diancai used the ‘Minor Five Elements Extermination’ to defend against the attack…but starting from the fifty-first bolt, he was clearly beginning to find it a bit difficult! The power of the fifty-second bolt caused his five Immortal swords to be smashed downwards by three hundred meters, and the fifty-third bolt caused the illusory mountain his swords had created to nearly be dispersed!

“The last one…the last one!” Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both stared intently.

BOOM!

The fifty-fourth bolt of skythunder came crashing down! This bolt of skythunder was tinged with a hint of violet light.

“Block!” Immortal Diancai’s aura actually grew even more powerful; his Dao-heart had been baptized by despair and grown even more stronger. The five Heavenraker swords ferociously battled upwards, transforming into an enormous illusory mountain.

BANG!!!!

The skythunder and the mountain crashed against each other. The mountain was completely destroyed and the five Immortal swords were blasted away…but the skythunder was completely dispersed as well.

“HE BLOCKED IT!” Immortal Fivecraze let out an excited howl.

Ning raised his head, staring intently at the lightning-cloud vortex in the skies. Immortal Fivecraze immediately did the same as well. Both were worried that even more skythunder would be coming. However…this time, no more came. The vortex of lightning in the skies began to dissipate towards the four directions, and as they did, a single streak of electricity began to swirl around Immortal Diancai’s body.

When this streak of lightning appeared and descended upon Immortal Diancai, his aura began to subtly change and grow profound; this was an aura that completely surpassed that of Void-level Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals.

“A Celestial Immortal Body.” Ning and Immortal Fivecraze both revealed looks of delight.

“Congratulations, Master.” After the final flickers of electricity disappeared, Ning immediately called out to his master in a loud voice.

“Junior apprentice-brother, that was a thunder tribulation of six nine-sets. It’s utterly unfathomable that a Ki Refiner actually met with six nine-sets…I imagine that generally, only disciples of Daofathers and other legendary figures would be subjected to such a tribulation. But you actually overcame it! Ahaha, I’m in utter awe of you. Junior apprentice-brother, hurry up and rest up; soon, the demonheart tribulation will arrive. You’ve already overcome the most dangerous and most terrifying tribulation, the thunder tribulation; don’t be felled by the demonheart tribulation,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Right.” Immortal Diancai nodded calmly, a smile on his face. He pointed a finger towards Ning, and all five Heavenraker swords immediately flew towards Ning. “I no longer need these five Immortal swords.”

Ning nodded, immediately taking back the five Heavenraker swords.

“The demonheart tribulation will take a minimum of seven days,” Immortal Fivecraze said solemly. “Ji Ning, when my junior apprentice-brother is undergoing his demonheart tribulation…we absolutely cannot allow anyone to disturb him. If there are any enemies preparing to attack, they will most likely do so during this final tribulation. You and I both need to be careful.”

“Right. Understood. No one will be permitted to disturb my master,” Ning said seriously as well.

His true body had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; it was extremely well-suited for close combat. He truly wasn’t worried about anyone in terms of a head-on fight. As for his Primaltwin, it had the [Heavenraker] sword formation, which would be formed from nine Heavenraker Immortal swords. All by himself, he would be able to deal with two Celestial Immortals.

No one would be allowed to interfere! No one at all! Regardless of who they were or who their backer was…they would not be permitted to disturb his master’s tribulation!

……

Within Stillwater Commandery. A ripple appeared in the darkness of the empty skies, and a white-robed female suddenly emerged from the ripple.

She had a slim, pretty face and a reserved aura, but she was on the level of an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal. Her eyes, however, were filled with a natural arrogance, an arrogance that held all those before her in contempt.

“Mm?” The white-robed woman stared at the distant mountains. “Here we are!”

1. This is a wordplay; the word ‘extermination’ here is a two-part word, ‘miejue’ that when taken together means ‘extermination/complete destruction’, but when read separately can be interpreted as destroying despair.

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Chapter 15 – Enemy

Chapter 15 – Enemy

The white-robed woman stood there in the void, staring at the mountain range. She immediately waved her hand, producing a bronze talisman within it. She filled the talisman with her elemental ki.

Rumble…the talisman became scorchingly hot.

This mountain range was, in reality, the headquarters for the Blood God Church; it was known as the Bloodlake Mountains. There were layers of formations protecting this mountain range, causing even the Northmont clan of Stillwater to be unable to do anything to it.

Within the mountains. A towering, large palace.

Above the palace, there was a jade bed that emanated with a hint of azure light. Seated atop the jade bed was a blood-robed man whose eyes glowed with a bloody light. He was the leader of the Blood God Church, the Scion of the Blood God!

“Eh?” The Scion frowned, then immediately waved his hand, producing a bronze talisman of his own. The talisman had become scorchingly hot.

The Scion was startled for a moment…then he immediately disappeared from atop the jade bed. Moments later, he appeared in the air above the mountains. Based on the resonance from the talismans, he turned to look towards the white-robed woman’s direction, then took a single step and arrived before her. He bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Emissary!”

“Yet another Void-level Earth Immortal is undergoing a tribulation within your Stillwater Commandery,” the white-robed woman said calmly. “It is Immortal Diancai of the Black-White College. Here is the detailed intelligence information about him.” As she spoke, she tossed over a leatherbound scroll towards the Scion of the Blood God, who immediately accepted it in a respectful manner.

The white-robed woman gave the Scion a glance, then snorted and departed gracefully, quickly disappearing into the distant horizons.

The Scion stood there in the air, scroll in hand. He watched in a cold, sinister manner as the woman left. “A mere Emissary dares to put on such airs before me? If it wasn’t for the power behind you, I would’ve annihilated you with a wave of my hand.”

Whoosh. The Scion opened the scroll, which had detailed information regarding Immortal Diancai’s tribulation, as well as a map and directions.

“He’s actually in a minor world, with the entrance being in the Darknorth Sea?” The Scion couldn’t help but feel a chill as he read the information. “This mysterious power…they are a bit too all-knowing…how can they even know about such a well-hidden tribulation location?”

He had only interacted with this mysterious power for roughly thirty years…but the more he interacted with them, the more terrifying he found them to be!

They had given him just a slight bit of help, but that had been already enough to make his Blood God Church strong enough to tussel against the Northmont clan of Stillwater. Although their roots weren’t as powerful and as deep as the Northmont clan’s…there was no way for the Northmont clan to wipe out the Blood God Church now.

“They’ve already given me two intelligence reports regarding Earth Immortals undergoing a tribulation. This is the third one.” The Scion frowned. “How on earth did they find out?”

A traitor or a spy?

The Scion of the Blood God didn’t believe it!

Earth Immortals were extremely cautious when undergoing their tribulations; they would only invite protectors that they had absolute faith in! In addition, they would usually personally use a spatial teleport to go to the tribulation location; not even the protectors would know exactly where the tribulation would be attempted. Indeed, Ji Ning and Immortal Fivecraze weren’t told in advance, and they didn’t know exactly where in the Darknorth Sea the island they had been taken to was located!

“How did they find out? This is too incredible. I’ve heard from others that due to the fact that the Three Realms are filled with dangerous undercurrents, fate and destiny have been thrown into a state of chaos, making it virtually impossible for someone to Foretell where a tribulation will occur,” the Scion mused puzzledly. Normally, powerful experts of the Three Realms might be able to Foretell through augury some rather well-hidden mysteries…but fate itself had been thrown into a state of flux. There was no way to do so now!

“No wonder they hold the Grand Xia Dynasty with no regard. No wonder they dare to act against the entire Dynasty,” the Scion mused privately. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to make enemies with them; all I need to do is borrow from their strength to strengthen myself. As long as they can strengthen my Blood God Church, that’s all that matters.”

“Right. This Immortal Diancai is of the Black-White College; the Black-White College is one of the strongest supporters of the Northmont clan of Stillwater. They are one of their most loyal dogs! I need to seize this chance to wound them,” the Scion nodded to himself.

Although the white-robed Emissary had delivered the intelligence report, she hadn’t ordered the Scion to do anything.

To kill or not? This was up to the Scion himself. If he chose not to attack, the mysterious power wouldn’t care.

Whoosh.

The Scion of the Blood God returned to his palace.

“Have the seven Law Protectors come see me right away,” the Scion instructed from atop his jade bed.

“Yes,” an attendant said respectfully.

Soon, seven black-robed Law Protectors hurried over.

“Greetings, sect leader,” the seven black-robed Law Protectors said respectfully.

“Immortal Diancai of the Black-White College is currently undergoing his tribulation. The Black-White College is one of the most loyal dogs of the Northmont clan; we need to seize this chance to eradicate Immortal Diancai,” the Scion said calmly. “The other Immortals of the Black-White College are all within their College; it is very likely that the only guardians with him right now are his disciple Ji Ning as well as Immortal Fivecraze, the most powerful member of the Black-White College.”

“Make a trip with me. Let us eradicate these three members of the Black-White College,” the Scion of the Blood God said. “With these three gone, the Black-White College will be badly wounded; this is akin to breaking one of the Northmont clan’s legs.”

“Sect leader, just the seven of us and yourself? Will it be enough? I heard that this Ji Ning had gone missing for thirty-plus years; he must have taken on an expert of the Three Realms as his master.”

“The Black-White College isn’t easy to deal with; even if the seven of us go along with you, we will still probably suffer some losses even if we win.”

The seven Law Protectors were all hesitating.

The Scion said calmly, “Don’t worry. I have complete confidence; do you think I would let the seven of you take on any serious danger?”

The seven Law Protectors raised their heads to stare at the Sion of the Blood God.

“Hmph.” The Scion let out a cold snort, then waved his hand. A small black ship had appeared within his palm.

“This is…” The eyes of the seven Law Protectors lit up.

“With this treasure in my hands…I trust you are all convinced now?” The Scion said.

“We shall naturally obey your orders, sect leader.” The seven Law Protectors no longer hesitated.

The Scion immediately sent a further mental order: “Three Elders, the seven Law Protectors and I are going out on a trip. The affairs within the Church shall temporarily be managed by you three.”

“Don’t worry, sect leader. Leave it to us,” the three Elders replied.

“Let’s go!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With the Scion in front and the seven Law Protectors behind, the eight flew high into the sky, moving like streaks of light. And then, they quickly used a spatial teleport to disappear.

……

The distant Darknorth Sea. The air above the island with a volcano.

The blood-robed Scion of the Blood God along with the seven black-robed Law Protectors were all standing in the air above the island.

“The entrance to the minor world is there, within that volcano,” the Scion said calmly. “Based on our intelligence report, Immortal Diancai should have spent two days undergoing the tribulation by now. If he failed in overcoming the fire, wind, or thunder tribulations, then he is most likely either dead or a Loose Immortal by now. Even if he survived…he should currently be undergoing the demonheart tribulation.”

“Later, do as I instructed to you previously.” The Scion swept the seven Law Protectors with his gaze.

“Yes, sect leader,” the seven black-robed Law Protectors said respectfully.

“Go in.”

The Scion of the Blood God gave the order. Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!! Eight streaks of light instantly streaked across the sky, entering the mouth of the volcano.

Soon after they disappeared, there was yet another a ripple in space near the entrance to the volcano. Twelve white-robed figures emerged, the leader a figure with a bloody scar on the arm.

“The forces of the Blood God Church of Stillwater Commandery have entered,” a white-robed youth said with a chortle. “Captain, you truly predicted everything in a godlike manner; you knew that they would definitely go.”

“The Black-White College is located right in Stillwater Commandery; over the course of countless ages, they have always walked in lockstep with the Northmont clan of Stillwater! The Northmont clan, in turn, has always protected the Black-White College. Of the eight great powers, the Black-White College is the most loyal one; naturally, the Blood God Church will seize this chance to annihilate Immortal Diancai during his Celestial Tribulation.” The leader, a white-robed man, continued calmly, “By borrowing from their strength, our own assassination attempt will become easier.”

“Is there a need for us to be so cautious in dealing with Ji Ning?”

“Right. Even our superiors simply instructed us to be careful of the school behind Ji Ning; he himself isn’t worthy of such concern. We’ve killed even Celestial Immortals; how powerful can a young fellow who has trained for less than a century possibly, even if he is a Daofather’s disciple?”

They all spoke out. The leader, the scarred white-robed man, laughed. “Ji Ning naturally isn’t worthy of concern, but I’m afraid that if something unexpected happens, his school might intervene. That’s why this assassination must be a quick one! We need to avoid anything unexpected.”

“Right.” Everyone nodded. They were all mainly worried about Ning’s school, worried that a True Immortal or Empyrean God might to suddenly appear and massacre them!

No one knew where Ning had disappeared to during the past thirty-plus years. However, the intelligence reports which the Bloodcloud Hall had received indicated that his disappearance…was almost assuredly linked to an extraordinary twist of fate!

“Execute our assassination plan,” the scarred, white-robed man said solemnly.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!!

The twelve figures instantly disappeared as they too entered the mouth of the volcano.

……

Within the charred minor world that was filled with an aura of death.

Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position. Three thousand meters away from him, an enormous restrictive formation had been set up, and the surface of the formation glowed with light.

Within the formation were only two figures; Immortal Diancai and the Whitewater Hound.

Ji Ning and Immortal Fivecraze were both outside this grand sealing formation!

Earlier, during the wind, fire, and thunder tribulations, Ning’s group hadn’t dared to set down any formations…they didn’t wish to disturb the Celestial Tribulation and incur divine punishment. They would’ve been finished! But now that they were at the final tribulation, the demonheart tribulation, setting up a grand restrictive formation no longer made any difference whatsoever. Ning and Immortal Fivecraze were both worried about enemies would sneak close through using some technique to avoid divine sense scans, and so they had set up this grand sealing formation.

With it present, one would have to either break the formation or use a Greater Teleportation technique in order to reach Immortal Diancai!

“This is master’s second day undergoing the demonheart tribulation.” Ning turned to glance at Immortal Diancai, seated calmly in the lotus position at the center of the grand sealing formation. No one knew what Immortal Diancai’s demonheart tribulation was like; generally speaking, wayward thoughts were easily to withstand, but if one had to withstand them for an extremely long period of time…

It must be understood that at least seven days of time in the real world had to pass, but within the world of the demonheart tribulation, ten thousand years or more might pass. Some would even forget what reality was, and they would be completely submerged within the illusory world until finally they perished!

“Eh?” Ning was suddenly startled as a terrifying premonition of danger swept out from within his subconscious.

“Danger!” Ning sent frantically, “Old brother Fivecraze, Uncle White, be careful. I can sense danger drawing near!” Immortal practitioners generally had extremely accurate subconscious premonitions. However, Ning was quite astonished at the fact that he had such a powerful premonition of danger…because he had already trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! Logically speaking, there should be very few things in the world capable of threatening him.

“Even if enemies came to attack Master…can it be that the amount of power they prepared is enough to threaten me as well?” Ning could barely believe it. “If that’s the case, then we are in for huge trouble.”

Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up with torch-light.

[Torch Dragon’s Eye]!

He immediately scanned in every direction with both his divine sense as well as the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

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Chapter 16 – No Mercy When Striking

Chapter 16 – No Mercy When Striking

“Danger?” Both Immortal Fivecraze and the Whitewater Hound were startled, but neither of them doubted Ji Ning in the slightest. As time passed, they too began to subconsciously sense danger impending.

Immortal Fivecraze, in particular, felt cold fear his heart. He was stunned by this. “What sort of danger is this? Why is it that I feel so threatened? Nothing’s even happened yet, but I already feel somewhat terrified?!”

“Ji Ning?” Immortal Fivecraze looked towards Ning.

“Uncle White, prepare to use your formations; no one is permitted to go close to Master. Old brother Fivecraze, be careful,” Ning instructed. His eyes were blazing with torch-fire as he continued to scan the surrounding area.

All of the light from the distance, including refracted light and bounced light, were all being drawn into Ning’s eyes.

More than sixty thousand kilometers away.

“There they are!” Ning could clearly see a giant black ship that was flying towards them from far away. Atop the giant black ship, there were eight blurry figures standing atop the deck. The leader was a blood-robed man who was filled with an unearthly, baleful aura. Behind him were seven black-robed individuals.

Ning was aware of all of the famous Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals within Stillwater Commandery, and had seen pictures of them in scrolls.

“The leader of the Blood God Church and their seven Law Protectors?” Ning was startled. “How did they find out that my master was undergoing the tribulation here?”

His master had led the three of them into a spatial teleport and directly arrived at this volcano within the Darknorth Sea; neither Ning nor Immortal Fivecraze knew exactly where this volcano was! Could it be that his master had himself revealed it to another? Impossible!

“No wonder so many Earth Immortals have suffered assaults during their tribulation here in the Grand Xia as of late,” Ning mused to himself. “It seems the culprit behind these events must have a special method to clearly sense where a Celestial Tribulation is occurring.”

This caused Ning to feel even more nervous. The power behind these things…what in the world was it?

No wonder even the Old Patriarch had felt fear. The mere fact that this person was able to calculate where Earth Immortals were undergoing their tribulation…this was already something that was entirely inconceivable.

“It seems that things are as Master said; I cannot fight head-on against this sort of power. If I prance about in front if it, most likely my fate can be summarized in one word; death!” Ning could dimly sense that this approaching storm was going to be like a massive tidal wave which no one could possibly block; anyone who tried would be smashed apart. Not even Patriarch Subhuti dared to attempt to block it; if Ning did, he would undoubtedly be crushed to smithereens as well.

“I don’t dare go cause trouble for the mastermind. But little shrimps like the Blood God Church? They are nothing.” This, Ning understood well.

……

“It is the Blood God Church.” Ning immediately sent a mental message to Immortal Fivecraze and Uncle White. “A total of eight have arrived; they are the sect leader and his seven Law Protectors.”

“What? The Blood God Church? No wonder my subconscious was telling me that this threat was so dangerous.” Immortal Fivecraze’s face instantly changed dramatically as he frantically sent mentally to Ning, “Ji Ning, the leader of the Blood God Church’s power has increased dramatically; he is able to compete against Celestial Immortals now. As for his seven Law Protectors, each of them increased dramatically in power as well; each are most likely comparable to me. Given the power of the eight of them…there’s no way I can block them at all. I’d probably die within a single breath’s worth of time!”

The seven Law Protectors of the Blood God Church, thirty years ago, were nothing more than ordinary Loose Immortals! At most, they were perhaps on par with Loose Immortals who had lived for a hundred thousand years.

Now, however, they had all increased in power enormously, at the five hundred thousand year level, very close to Immortal Fivecraze’s own level!

“Understood.” Ning grew solemn as well.

“What should we do? How should we stop them?” Immortal Fivecraze was restless and nervous. “They are too powerful, far more powerful than the three of us. Ji Ning, although you are comparable to senior Northwalker, there are eight of them. So long as a single one of them goes to fight against junior apprentice-brother Diancai, they’ll be able to kill him!”

During the demonheart tribulation, one’s mind would be completely subsumed within the demonheart world. There was no way to fight back in the real world at all. Thus, Ning’s group not only had to overcome the foe, they also had to be able to completely block the eight of them. If a single one managed to slip by…

“Leave it to me.” Ning’s eyes were filled with a sharp light. “Old brother Fivecraze, go into the grand sealing formation right away. Stay close to my master and protect him. As for these eight…leave them to me. If any make it pass me, it’ll be up to you.”

“Fine.” Immortal Fivecraze didn’t hesitate, and the Whitewater Hound immediately let him inside.

Ning’s eyes blazed like torches as he watched the giant black ship slowly draw near. Soon, it reached ten thousand kilometers of Ning. By now, the members of the Blood God Church could see the distant grand sealing formation with their naked eyes.

“A grand sealing formation.” The Scion of the Blood God laughed coldly. “It seems this Immortal Diancai has already overcome the first three tribulations of wind, fire, and thunder. He is engaged in the demonheart tribulation. If we didn’t come…he might very well have succeeded and become a new Celestial Immortal. Alas…this impending Celestial Immortal of the Black-White College is about to die a stillborn death at our hands.”

Rumble…

A powerful divine sense came sweeping outwards in a wave, crushing down towards the eight of them. The divine sense roared angrily, “Scion of the Blood God, seven Law Protectors, I’m asking you to hurry up and leave!”

“Ji Ning! He lives up to his reputation as the number one peerless genius of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny; his divine sense is able to stretch over ten thousand kilometers.” The Scion’s own divine sense interacted with Ning’s. “Ji Ning, your master is undergoing his tribulation, yes? Don’t deny it; we know it all. Heh heh…I can see that your master is only being protected by yourself, Fivecraze, and that Whitewater Hound spirit-beast of yours. Ahaha, that’s too weak. With this amount of power…there’s no way you’ll be able to stop me.”

The Scion felt absolute self-confidence.

“Scion of the Blood Good, if you leave now, then I, Ji Ning, shall remember your kindness in showing mercy on this day,” Ning sent back angrily through divine sense. “But if you attack…then I, Ji Ning, shall begin a death-feud with your Blood God Church!”

The Scion could sense the savagery and madness within Ning’s voice. He couldn’t help but feel briefly startled…but then he snickered, “Death-feud? Not even the Northmont clan of Stillwater was able to do anything to me; I’m supposed to be afraid of you?”

“Seven Law Protectors, leave Ji Ning to me; I’ll handle him. As for Fivecraze and that spirit-beast, I’ll leave them to you. While dealing with Fivecraze…go ahead and kill Immortal Diancai,” the Scion sent. “Up to the task?”

“Don’t worry, sect leader.”

“Just leave it to us, sect leader.”

The seven Law Protectors all felt complete confidence. In truth, they were only wary of Ji Ning; after all, Ji Ning was simply too mysterious. However, they now only had to deal with Immortal Fivecraze and that spirit-beast. They were still quite confident in being able to do so! The seven of them, joined together, were able to completely crush and dominate Fivecraze. As for the Whitewater Hound spirit-beast? According to the intelligence report, it had previously been merely at the Wanxiang level in the past; although it was now at the Void-level, it had risen too fast and most likely did not have a solid foundation. Killing it would be effortless!

“Fine!” The Scion laughed and said, “Then let’s do it!”

BANG!

The black ship suddenly drew near at high speed. Three thousand kilometers. Two thousand. One thousand…

“Attack,” the Scion shouted mentally.

“Let’s go!” The seven Law Protectors came out in a great show of force as the seven of them soared into the skies like seven black shadows. Immediately afterwards, streaks of bloody light began to swirl around them, joining together into a Blood Dragon that was more than three thousand meters long. This Blood Dragon was covered with distinct draconic scales, had long draconic whiskers, and a pair of eyes that were filled with a killing intent.

Since they were reputed as the Seven Law Protectors, they naturally had their own joint formation. Back in the past, when they were weak, they had relied on this formation to roam Stillwater Commandery fearlessly; now that they were powerful, they were close to the level of a Loose Immortal who had survived for a million years.

Whoosh…

The Blood Dragon flew to one side, avoiding Ji Ning. The giant black warship, however, flew straight towards him. Atop the deck stood the Scion of the Blood God, whose eyes were filled with fiendish savagery. His divine sense once more clashed against Ning’s as he sent, “Ji Ning, you can block me, but you can’t block my seven Law Protectors. Your master is definitely going to die. As for you…I actually want to see for myself exactly how powerful the number one genius of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny is!”

“Hmph.” Ning laughed coldly as he stood there…but his heart was clenching!

For the sake of protecting his master, Ning had made many preparations. Although the eight members of the Blood God Church were seemingly powerful…Ning was completely confident in being able to stop them. There was no way the eight of them could pose a mortal threat to him…but his premonitions of danger couldn’t be wrong. Where, then, was the danger hiding?

“All I can do is handle it when it comes,” Ning mused to himself.

……

Immortal Fivecraze stood a few dozen meters away from Immortal Diancai, seven Immortal swords swirling around him. His heart was filled with worry. “Ji Ning said that he’ll block them, and that any that get pass him I am to handle. But the Scion of the Blood God is now dealing with him while the seven Law Protectors are attacking this way. How can I block seven of them? If I, a Loose Immortal who has lived a few hundred thousand years, were to perish, it wouldn’t matter…but junior apprentice-brother was able to overcome even six nine-sets of the thunder tribulation. If he were to be killed by the Blood God Church, that would be too unfair.”

“No matter what…even if I have to give up this old life of mine…I have to protect my junior apprentice-brother.” Immortal Fivecraze gritted his teeth, staring towards the distant Blood Dragon.

The seven Law Protectors, in the form of a Blood Dragon, radiated an unearthly, terrifying aura.

As the Blood Dragon drew close, it suddenly lashed out with its tail. In truth, its tail was actually formed from multiple Immortal-ranked magic treasures, including Immortal swords and ribbons!

Rumble…

The tail slammed down directly upon the grand sealing formation, instantly causing it to crack.

At this moment, the Whitewater Hound, who had previously been lying there silently, rose to his feet. Next to him appeared a black-robed youth; it was Ning’s Primaltwin! Ning could sense that danger was coming, and so he left his true body outside the formation to serve as the first line of defense, while he had his Primaltwin remain within the formation to serve as the second line of defense.

“You want to harm my master?!” A fierce light flashed through the eyes of the black-robed Ning, and suddenly, nine seemingly translucent pitch-black Immortal swords suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to him.

“Nine of them?” Immortal Fivecraze was both surprised and delighted. “So there were actually nine of those top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords…and Ji Ning, that little kid, actually hid his Primaltwin here. This little fellow…he scared the crap out of me. But will his Primaltwin be able to block these seven Law Protectors?”

Immortal Fivecraze knew very well that he himself was not. It would all be up to Ning.

Riiiiiip.

Nine sword-tears in the sky suddenly appeared, like deep furrows that had been raked into it. The nine tears were like an enormous web of swords that swept towards the giant Blood Dragon.

“Break!” The Blood Dragon let out an enraged roar that sounded like the merged voices of all seven Law Protectors, and at the same time it once more slapped its tail towards it.

Riiiiiiip!

Slash!

Whoosh!

Nine sword-tears, each comparable to the strike of an ordinary Celestial Immortal. When combined…the power of this blow surpassed even the power of Ning’s true body! When the attacks collided, the tail of the Blood Dragon, its most powerful part, instantly shattered apart. The Immortal-ranked magic treasures were all knocked flying back…and then the rest of the Blood Dragon was shattered as well. The nine sword-tears then continued forward in beautiful arcs, chopping towards the seven Law Kings.

“Die.” The black-robed Ning’s eyes were filled with nothing but coldness.

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Chapter 17 – Squad Earthnine Makes Their Move

Chapter 17 – Squad Earthnine Makes Their Move

“Quick, let’s go.”

“Sect leader!”

The seven Law Protectors let out shrill cries of terror. Their combination-formation had been instantly shattered; this completely terrified them. They didn’t even think about fighting back. There was only one thing in their mind; fleeing! The magic treasures that had been knocked backwards were all re-controlled by the seven Law Protectors as they instantly began to execute their escaping techniques.

However…

The black-robed Ji Ning was using the [Heavenraker] technique, a sword technique that was extremely well-suited for engaging in group attacks! In addition, this technique involved nine Immortal-ranked flying swords, whereas there were only seven enemies!

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Under Ning’s control, one tear in the sky appeared after another, ripping towards the seven Law Protectors.

Each of the Law Protectors had Immortal-ranked magic treasures of their own, but by the looks of it theirs were quite ordinary. One of them, a silver-haired, hawk-nosed elder, had a total of three flying swords, whereas a youthful-looking one was controlling a large amount of stardust. Each of these two Loose Immortals were being pursued by a pair of Heavenraker swords, while the others were each being pursued by one!

“Block.” The youthful-looking Loose Immortals was the most powerful of the seven. His dazzling, sparkling stardust was furiously attempting to block those two half-illusory Heavenraker swords.

Bang! Bang!

Those two tears in the sky forcefully tore through all his barriers, slicing apart his body and revealing a shattered Goldlotus Primal within it. Moments later…the Primal soul completely dissipated.

Die!

“Sect leader, save me!” A black-robed, sinister-looking female Loose Immortal called out frantically for aid, but she too was slashed and slain by one of the Heavenraker swords!

……

It must be understood that Ning had completed his overhauling of the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] more than five or six years ago. During the past few years, he had been working on the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and learning archery. This, too, was a way of meditating on the Dao! His improvements in wind and in the Grand Dao of Qiankun were especially significant, and thus Ning’s sword-arts had naturally become more exquisite as well!

In terms of sword-arts, Ning was at an extremely high level now. In addition, he had nine top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, whereas the seven Law Protectors mostly had low-grade Immortal-ranked treasures, with just a few middle-grade; in fact, some of them were still using Heaven-ranked treasures.

In addition, Ning was using the [Heavenraker] sword technique, a technique developed by a Daofather which was perfectly matched to his Heavenraker swords. Naturally, the power of his attack was increased many times over.

Each of the nine Heavenraker swords, even when used separately, were able to unleash an attack at the level of an ordinary Celestial Immortal.

Thus…

All seven of the Law Protectors perished!

Whoosh! The nine tears in the sky swept backwards, pulling in all of the now ownerless magic treasures in their wake as they flew back towards the black-robed Ning, who collected them.

“This…this is…too…” Immortal Fivecraze’s eyes were filled with wild joy, and he stared towards the black-robed Ning with a scorchingly excited gaze. “Ji Ning, those were the seven Law Protectors, the seven famous Law Protectors! You actually killed them in a single exchange. Everyone said that when the seven Law Protectors join forces, anyone below the Celestial Immortal level will find it difficult to fight against them, but you, you actually…you aren’t at senior Northwalker’s level, you are even more powerful than he was!”

The black-robed Ning said, “In terms of my insight into the sword, I’m actually not that much better than senior Northwalker was. The most important thing is that I have a set of nine top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, as well as a sword-art which was developed by a Daofather. Thus, even if an actual Celestial Immortal Patriarch came, my Primaltwin would be able to give him a fight!”

……

The Blood God Church’s forces had been divided into two groups. The seven Law Protectors had gone to go after the seemingly-helpless Immortal Fivecraze and Whitewater Hound, whereas the sect leader, the Scion of the Blood God, had went to deal with Ji Ning’s true body.

“Prepare to die.” The Scion stood atop his giant black warship. Long gray awls suddenly appeared behind his body, their tips glowing with bloody light. A total of nine of these gray awls appeared before all of them shot through the skies, forming a vague illusion of a bloody tidal wave as they moved forward!

The nine gray awls came howling forward, carrying the wave of blood with them.

Ning’s true body stood there, staring towards the distant attack.

“Hmph.” Ning waved his hand, and the Thousandbull Sword appeared within it. He filled the Thousandbull Sword with his late-stage Void-level elemental ki, and the power of this sword which was very nearly at the level of a Pure Yang treasure instantly reached a shocking height.

“This Thousandbull Sword truly is very close to the level of a Pure Yang treasure; a magic treasure like this, which was forged by a person, has extremely exacting requirements in terms of elemental ki. Only Celestial Immortals can use Pure Yang treasures, and this Thousandbull Sword is extremely close to that level; amongst Immortal-ranked treasures, it is a top-grade amongst top-grade items. In the past, I used early-stage Void-level elemental ki to activate its power, but I still wasn’t able to fully unleash it. Only after reaching the late-stage am I able to truly stir its power. However…it still isn’t time for me to truly unleash its full power!”

Ning’s subconscious continued to scream danger to him…but he still couldn’t tell where the danger was! This restless feeling caused Ning to continue to hide part of his power, so as to deal with anything unexpected.

“Arise.” Instantly, an enormous Lotusflower Swordland appeared around him. Because the earthfire and dire-ice in his body had yet to be raised to the skyfire or skywater level, the power of his Waterflame Lotus was still inferior to that of the Lotusflower Swordland.

An enormous lotus bloomed around him, filled with layers of petals. Now that he had a higher level of comprehension regarding the Dao, the power of his Lotusflower Swordland had increased as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! One bloody awl after another came slamming forward, tearing through one layer of petals after another.

Ning gripped his Thousandbull Sword. Sword-light suddenly flashed in front of him, blocking each of the sharp awls. Explosive sounds rang out without end, and sword-ki billowed forth in a torrent.

By relying on his Lotusflower Swordland and his Thousandbull Sword, Ning was able to knock each of the awls flying backwards.

“Eh?” The Scion was controlling his magic treasures to attack from afar while also watching his seven Law Protectors. “This Ji Ning actually is quite formidable. Although I’ve only used a third of my power, he hasn’t used his [Three Heads, Six Arms] either. He was able to block while just using a single Immortal sword. It seems that if I don’t fight with full power, it will be hard for me to kill him. He’s so powerful, despite only having trained for a century…it seems people like him, the number one peerless genius and champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, truly are quite special. Mm…after the seven Law Protectors kill Fivecraze, Diancai, and that spirit-beast, we’ll join forces…and kill Ji Ning!”

The Scion had thought things out ‘perfectly’. But he suddenly discovered, to his amazement…

That a black-robed Ning had suddenly appeared within the grand sealing formation.

“A Primaltwin? Ji Ning actually split up with his Primaltwin? Isn’t he afraid of them being divided and conquered? He’s quite suicidal to do this.” The Scion was merely startled; he didn’t actually panic. As he saw it, even if the seven Law Protectors weren’t able to suppress Ning’s Primaltwin when they joined forces, at least they should be on par with him.

“Those are…”

Nine terrifyingly powerful Immortal-ranked magic treasures, of such great might that they caused the heart to tremble. They howled through the air as nine sword-formations, blasting apart and disintegrating the Blood Dragon.

The seven Law Protectors fled in a panic, crying out miserably for rescue…but each of them were caught and killed.

The Scion was completely stunned!

Ning’s Primaltwin was vastly more powerful than he had expected. Even if he himself were to strike with full force, there was no way he would’ve been able to destroy the Blood Dragon with a single blow! It must be understood that when two sides were roughly on par with each other, one side would at most be put in a disadvantageous position. To completely blast apart the enemy…that was generally only possible when there was a fairly significant difference in power! This Ji Ning’s Primaltwin was even more powerful then himself, the sect leader!

“My seven Law Protectors are gone…just like that.” The Scion felt utter pain in his heart. “This Ji Ning is absolutely inhuman. He’s a monster! He’s trained for less than a century, but he’s even more powerful than the secret arts I acquired. I imagine that in the entirety of Stillwater Commandery, only that old bastard, ‘Hunchmont’, is at his level.”

“My seven Law Protectors died…I need to teach him a lesson!” A look of savagery appeared in the eyes of the Scion.

The disciples of the Blood God Church were all famous for their brutal savagery, and the Scion of the Blood God himself was known to be a madman. In addition, he had his precious ship with him; why would he leave so easily?

Swoosh!

The long awls suddenly flew backwards, and the giant black warship began to rapidly shrink. The Scion hid himself into the cabin of the warship, which then completely sealed itself off like a fortress.

“Ji Ning, you killed my seven Law Protectors, but I shall kill your master.” The Scion’s bellowing voice echoed in the skies, but he secretly mused to himself, “My losses today were enormous, but killing Diancai should count as having rendered major merits. I have to get some good treasures out of this.”

……

Ning hadn’t been paying too much attention to the Scion of the Blood God; he had been spending most of his time staying vigilant and prepared for the invisible threat that he continued to sense. He was ready to fight back at any moment.

Upon seeing the Scion suddenly hide into the shrunken black warship, which was now as tightly sealed as any castle, Ning just frowned and sent mentally, “Uncle White, activate your formation and block the Scion of the Blood God. Don’t let him go close to master.”

“Don’t worry, Ning, son.” The Whitewater Hound hadn’t even done anything yet; he was the true, final protector of Immortal Diancai!

“This Scion is at most comparable to a Celestial Immortal; killing him is fairly hard, but suppressing him is doable,” Ning mused to himself. “And that precious ship of his is merely a protective item…it doesn’t actually threaten me. So where is the true danger?”

Ning’s eyes continued to blaze with torch-fire as he stared at his surroundings, and his divine sense continuously scanned the area as well. But he couldn’t find anything!

But suddenly…

Rumble!

A white-robed man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The white-robed man had a strange, bloody scar on his arm…and immediately after he appeared, eleven more white-robed figures appeared out of nowhere, each of them radiating auras of incredible power! The invisible pressure they gave off…it seemed as though each of them were comparable to the Scion of the Blood God! As for the first person who had appeared, the impression he gave Ning…was that he was far more powerful than the Scion!

“A Greater Teleportation Dao-seal!” Ning was shocked upon seeing them suddenly appear. “The surrounding area was spacelocked long ago, preventing any spatial teleportations. The only option is to use Greater Teleportation. There’s no way one of them could be a freakish monster who mastered even the Grand Dao of Qiankun…they had to have simply used a Dao-seal.”

“They were willing to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal, just to catch me off-guard? And those eleven who appeared afterwards…they should’ve been hiding in the Immortal estate of the leader.”

Ning was instantly able to draw these conclusions. In turn, these conclusions caused him to feel even more shocked!

Greater Teleportation Dao-seals were extremely valuable. For them to be willing to use one right away…how terrifying would these foes be?!

“Kill!” A white-robed youth in the group let out a fierce-looking grin, then a complicated pattern of light appeared around him, forming into a runic formation. The strange runes hovered into the air, emanating a dark light.

The other white-robed figures were all doing the same. The runic formation created by the leader involved runes that were even larger and even more complex-looking.

“Form!” Suddenly, an enormous black serpent appeared in the skies. The eyes of this giant serpent were golden, while its body seemed to be filled with a strange power that was able to shake the Heavens and the Earth, as though it had taken command of the surrounding world.

“A Primordial Godbeast…the Ba-Serpent?!” Ning was shocked.

The most supreme Godbeasts of the Three Realms were all born in the Primordial Era. They were all comparable to Fiendgods of Primal Chaos in power…and in fact, some of them actually were Fiendgods of Primal Chaos. For example, Primordial Godbeasts such as the ‘Raindragon’, the ‘Garuda’, and the Torch-Dragon were actually born from the universe out of chaos; thus, they could be classified as Fiendgods. However, because they also served as the original progenitor for many different types of Godbeasts, with countless Godbeasts having some degree of their blood and lineage, they could also be classified as Godbeasts as well, the most supreme and ancient of Godbeasts.

The Blood Dragon created by the seven Law Protectors through their formation could be considered the product of a very ordinary combination-formation.

But a formation that could form a Primordial Godbeast…such formations were all extremely formidable, and when they joined into a Godbeast, they would possess amazing, incredible powers.

……

Although all this took time to describe, it happened in a flash.

The twelve white-robed figures instantly appeared through a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal, then immediately joined into an enormous Ba-Serpent. The Ba-Serpent, capable of shaking the Heavens and the Earth, opened its enormous, bloody maw. The space around its mouth instantly became distorted, as though it was devouring the very world itself. An unearthly, powerful attractive power instantly locked onto Ning’s body. Although Ning was a Fiendgod Body Refiner and immediately worked to resist…he was completely unable to resist the devouring power. Not too long ago, there was a Celestial Immortal Patriarch who had similarly been unable to resist and who had been devoured by this Ba-Serpent, then perished.

Swoosh!

As the distant Immortal Fivecraze and Whitewater Hound watched…the enormous Ba-Serpent devoured Ji Ning with a single bite!

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Chapter 18 – The Ba-Serpent and Ji Ning

Chapter 18 – The Ba-Serpent and Ji Ning

“A Ba-Serpent?”

“Ning, son!”

Immortal Fivecraze and Uncle White were both shocked, especially Uncle White, who knew exactly how powerful Ji Ning had become. And yet, even he had been unable to resist that devouring force, and he had been swallowed by the Ba-Serpent in one gulp!

Although Ning’s Primaltwin was safe, they all knew that in terms of long-term potential, the true body was far superior to the Primaltwin; after all, the Primaltwin was merely a Ki Refiner, and so it was much weaker comparatively.

“What a terrifying Ba-Serpent!” The Scion of the Blood God, located within the cabin of the small black warship, was able to see what was going on outside. The heaven-shaking Ba-Serpent in particularly caused him to feel completely stunned. “The power of this Ba-Serpent…its aura is even more powerful than that of that old bastard Hunchmont. Why has a force suddenly emerged to act against Ji Ning? Is this a force that comes from outside the world of the Grand Xia?”

The Scion knew his own limits; clearly, these twelve white-robed figures that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere were far more powerful than him! That Ba-Serpent alone…it was capable of suppressing Celestial Immortal Patriarchs!

“A peerless genius of this generation, Ji Ning, has most likely just perished,” the Scion murmured to himself. “Hmph. Hmph. It’s for the best. Now, I shall let your master join with you.”

……

As the Scion of the Blood God began to charge towards the grand sealing formation. Within the ‘body’ of the Ba-Serpent.

Whoosh. An incomparably ferocious devouring force, one which Ning was completely unable to fight back against, had drawn Ning into the giant bloody maw of the serpent.

After being swallowed…the entire world turned dark. Ning just felt that he was constantly sinking downwards…

“Transform.” As he began to sink, Ning immediately executed the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability. Six Immortal swords appeared within his hands as well; they were the Thousandbull Sword, three of his Darknorth swords, and two of the Wavebreaker Godshark Swords! This was primarily because Ning no longer had other Immortal-ranked flying swords on him; the Wavebreaker Godshark swords were top-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords he had acquired from the Treasure Hall of the underwater estate, and so they weren’t that much weaker than low-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords.

“Hahaha, Ji Ning, now that you’ve entered the body of the Ba-Serpent, you are dead for certain.” A wild laughter could suddenly be heard.

“Hahaha, you are dead.”

“Stop struggling.”

“Even Celestial Immortals will perish in here.”

Voices rang out from every direction. At the same time, quite close to Ning, a long awl suddenly shot out from a meaty ‘wall’. The awl flashed with a sinister light and moved lightning-fast. It even manifested the faint illusion of an azure hornet as it stabbed towards Ning.

Clang!!!

One of Ning’s six arms which wielded a Darknorth sword knocked the awl flying away.

Immediately afterwards, other types of magic treasures and secret arts attacks began to fly towards Ning from every which way. Because Ning was within the body of the Ba-Serpent, and the attacks were suddenly coming from the fleshly ‘walls’ within the body as well as the bones of the serpent, the attacks came from a very short distance, repeatedly catching him off guard. This caused Ning to find things quite difficult for now.

“Waters of Heaven!” Ning’s six swords struck out simultaneously, and illusions of water streams began to appear, one after another. A large amount of water began to swirl around Ning, causing the world around him to seem to change into a world of water.

This technique also came from the ninth floor of the Divinities Palace, and it was also created by a Daofather. This was a sword-art on par with the [Heavenraker] – the [Waters of Heaven]!

[Heavenraker] was well-suited for group attacks, and also against single-target foes.

[Waters of Heaven] was most suited for defense.

“No, I won’t be able to block this way.” Ning found defense to be incredibly difficult. As the saying went, two fists found it hard to fight against many hands. Although Ning currently had six arms, he was facing twelve opponents right now! The opponents each controlled many magic treasures, and every single attack was quite fearsome. The fact that the attacks were launched from such close range also made it so that Ning had very little reaction time.

“It seems I’ll have to rely on the Thousandbull Sword.”

Ning had been wanting to keep this supreme technique of the Thousandbull Sword hidden, so as to suddenly annihilate all his enemies in a surprise attack. However…these wild, chaotic attacks from his foes were already enough to force him to unleash this attack, an attack which Ning’s true body had only grown capable of unleashing after reaching the late Void-level.

“Primordial Nightriver…emerge!”

Savagery filled Ning’s eyes, and the pure, late Void-level elemental ki within his body flowed into the Thousandbull Sword, completely activate the formation-diagram within the sword! Instantly, the sound of waves could be heard as an enormous, wide river suddenly appeared in the area arounding him. When the river appeared, part of it manifested within the body of the Ba-Serpent, while part of it manifested outside of the body!

This was because the entire Nightriver was fully ten thousand kilometers long!

Activating the Nightriver effect required a very high amount of elemental ki…but its might was similarly powerful to the extreme.

Rumble…

The waves of the river bellowed forth, sweeping across the entire region. The twelve white-robed members that made up squad ‘Earthnine’, hidden deep within the body of the Ba-Serpent, were all shocked. As the waters of the primordial river known as the Nightriver crushed upon them, and as the river water outside the body of the Ba-Serpent ground down upon it, their Ba-Serpent Formation began to creak and crack.

“Don’t panic. This is the power of a formation-diagram of an Immortal sword; it only has the power to constrict and suppress. A single formation-diagram won’t be able to do anything to the Ba-Serpent!” The leading white-haired man immediately sent mentally to the others.

……

The outside world.

The Scion of the Blood God had been trapped within the formation. Although he could see the distant Immortal Diancai and Whitewater Hound, he wasn’t able to draw any closer to them!”

“That whitewater hound is merely using the Fuxi Staff Formation; how is it that his formations are this powerful?! I’ve trained for hundreds of thousands of years, and I have some insight into the art of formations, but I haven’t been able to find a single flaw in this formation at all.” The Scion of the Blood God was completely stymied.

Right at this moment, the sound of massive explosions could be heard from afar.

The Scion turned to look in that direction. He could still see the giant Ba-Serpent in the outside world; he was simply unable to fly over there.

“The Ba-Serpent?”

“A river?”

Uncle White and Immortal Fivecraze turned to look as well.

From afar, a three kilometer Ba-Serpent had been completely swept up into an enormous, awe-inspiring river that was more than ten thousand kilometers long. The waters of the river were furiously churning around the body of the Ba-Serpent.

And then, the massive river began to rapidly shrink, from ten thousand kilometers to a hundred kilometers, then down to ten kilometers.

The ten kilometer river was now roughly comparable in size to the three kilometer Ba-Serpent. The power of the river grew as it shrank, and it continued to coil and churn around the Ba-Serpent. There was even water flowing in and out of the Ba-Serpent’s body, nose, and mouth.

ROAR!!! The Ba-Serpent raised its head, letting out a furious growl as it twisted and turned, struggling to free itself. But the river didn’t budge in the slightest.

……

“Captain, the pressure from the waters of the river is too great, and it has covered every single part of the Ba-Serpent’s body. We’re using up far too much elemental ki in maintaining this Ba-Serpent Formation.”

“Captain, what should we do?”

They were beginning to grow nervous. Normally speaking, once a foe entered the body of the Ba-Serpent, there was no way the foe would be able to find the twelve of them. They could attack as they pleased at a close distance from the ‘flesh’ and ‘bones’ of the Ba-Serpent, with attacks that would be very difficult to defend against. Thus, the enemies would usually be quickly dominated and destroyed! However, despite being trapped within the Ba-Serpent, this Ji Ning actually had a method to deal with the entire creature at once!

“A formation-diagram? A formation-diagram?! Generally speaking, only Pure Yang treasures have formation-diagrams. Even if this Ji Ning does have a Pure Yang treasure…logically speaking, he has to be at the Celestial Immortal level to use it. How could a formation-diagram have appeared?!” The captain was puzzled and frantic as well.

The Nightriver Painting of the past was something which required one to first draw the enemy into painting before being able to use the river to suppress and weaken the enemy.

However, after the countless years of refining by the spirit of the underwater estate, the Nightriver Painting had already become the formation-diagram of the Thousandbull Sword. Once the formation-diagram was activated, the Nightriver would instantly appear.

This was what made formation-diagrams so special! And this was also the reason why the Thousandbull Sword could be described as comparable to a Pure Yang treasure!

“This Ji Ning definitely has some sort of powerful treasure on him. However…following that principle, once we kill him, that treasure will become ours,” the captain sent mentally. “We must kill Ji Ning at all costs. Activate the forbidden technique!”

“The forbidden technique?”

“But…”

“Captain, do we really have to activate it?” These were Immortal cultivators, not Deathsworn; they naturally felt a degree of self-interest.

The captain shouted mentally towards them, “This treasure is capable of allowing a Void-level Earth Immortal to command the power of a formation-diagram, which means that it is no less valuable than a Pure Yang treasure in might! Ji Ning definitely has many treasures on him; once we acquire them, then hmph…all of us will benefit from it. Even if you suffer harm to your foundations, it will be worth it. Don’t hesitate; the more time we waste, the more elemental ki we will have wasted. If you continue to hesitate…don’t blame me for being merciless!”

“Fine. Let’s do this!”

“Kill Ji Ning!”

Upon hearing their captain’s threat, they no longer hesitated. They simultaneously executed the forbidden technique.

The ‘Ba-Serpent Formation’ was an ancient, powerful formation which had been passed down by the Bloodcloud Hall that required twelve Immortals to execute. Aside from normal attacks, it also possessed three levels of forbidden techniques.

These three levels of techniques were extremely complicated; given the insights into the Dao which the members of squad ‘Earthnine’ possessed, only the activation of the first level was possible.

However, this first level already possessed nigh-limitless power.

The twelve white-robed men, hidden within the body of the Ba-Serpent, all used the same forbidden technique simultaneously. The runic formations that had been hovering in the air around them slowly began to turn a bloody color, and additional blood-colored runes began to appear as well. These bloody runes hung there in the air, and once the forbidden technique was activated…

“Ba-Serpent Hell – Godslayer!” The white-robed leader with the bloody scar let out a low growl, his voice echoing within every part of the Ba-Serpent’s body.

All of the bloody light and the bloody runes began to suddenly move about at high speed. They flowed forth from those twelve locations within the Ba-Serpent, moving towards the direction of the Ba-Serpent’s abdomen. Immediately afterwards, within the dark abyss of the abdomen of the Ba-Serpent, a region of blood suddenly appeared. The bloody light and the bloody runes all swirled around each other within this region.

Whoosh.

Ning’s three-headed, six-armed form was gripping a total of six mighty swords as he strove to block the suddenly attacking magic treasures. “I have to come up with a way to flee from the Ba-Serpent’s body. If I’m unable to escape…I’ll be like fish meat on the chopping board.”

“Eh? Why have the attacks stopped?” Ning found out to his amazement that the weapons and arts that had been attacking him had suddenly disappeared.

But suddenly afterwards…the devouring force increased dramatically in power, and with a swoosh, Ning once more sank downwards.

Plonk. Ning fell straight into a bloody lake.

This was a lake of blood located within the abdomen of the Ba-Serpent. Above the lake of blood were bloody runic symbols which hovered and shimmered. Upon falling into the lake, Ning immediately struggled to try and fly out, but the sucking power of the lake was simply too great. Ning was firmly trapped within it, completely unable to escape. At the same time…Ning could sense a powerful corrosive force begin to be applied to every single part of his body.

“Captain, is Ji Ning dead?”

“This forbidden technique, ‘Ba-Serpent Hell’, has very powerful corrosive properties. Even ancient Void-level Fiendgods which are legendary for how powerful their bodies are will be corroded and dissolved, then perish. There’s no way this Ji Ning will be able to survive it.”

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Chapter 19 – A Spatial Tear

Chapter 19 – A Spatial Tear

This time…they were ridiculously wrong!

By relying on this technique, they could indeed corrode and melt away even a Void-level fiendgod, and even ordinary Celestial Immortal Patriarchs would perish to this technique. Unfortunately…the person trapped within the Ba-Serpent Hell was Ji Ning. Ji Ning, who had reached the Third Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! Ji Ning’s flesh was comparable to Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Although their Ba-Serpent Hell technique was very corrosive, there was no way it could corrode Immortal-ranked magic treasures!

“I can’t just let myself remain trapped in here. I have to get out.” Ning executed the [Heavenly Transformations], causing his body to expand enormously. The bloody lake was now only able to reach Ning’s kneecaps.

Six Immortal swords in his hands, Ning began to wildly and wantonly hack away at the stomach-walls of the Ba-Serpent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Ba-Serpent was trembling.

“This guy didn’t die yet?”

“How can this be?”

“How could it be that the Ba-Serpent Hell is unable to kill him?!” The twelve were all stunned. They hurriedly sent out their divine senses to investigate, and as they did, they discovered…that there was an enormous three-headed, six-armed youth who was standing in the middle of the bloody lake, whose fur-clad body was glowing with a hazy golden light. The bloody lakewater was completely unable to harm him at all.

The giant was even wildly hacking away at the stomach-walls of the Ba-Serpent, each strike containing enormous power. Given that the surging waves of the Nightriver filled every part of the Ba-Serpent, crushing down upon it…the twelve white-robed figures were using up elemental ki at an enormously fast rate in order to maintain the Ba-Serpent.

“This kid has trained for less than a century; he’s merely a Void-level Earth Immortal. How is it possible that he can withstand the Ba-Serpent Hell?” None of them could believe it. This was something which they had executed only after paying a heavy price, damaging their Goldlotus Primals. They were confident that this would definitely succeed…but who would’ve expected that the end result would be failure?

“It must be that golden light on his body! That golden light…it must be the aura of a protective magic treasure. It’s precisely because of that magic treasure that he’s able to resist the Ba-Serpent Hell!”

“Right. He’s probably taken on a True Immortal or Empyrean God as his master; he must’ve been given a protective treasure.”

“That must be it.”

“Protective treasures won’t be able to be maintained for too long. After its energy is used up, this Ji Ning shall die for certain.”

Their level of experience was limited, after all; although they knew some of the powerful divine abilities of the Three Realms could allow one’s body to become comparable to magic treasures, Ji Ning was only at the fifteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. They felt that even if Ning trained in protective divine abilities such as the [Pentabolt Vajra], there was no way he could use them to resist their Ba-Serpent Hell.

Thus, they guessed that it must be a protective treasure.

A protective treasure bestowed by a True Immortal or Empyrean God…upon being activated, it could protect the bearer for a time, but once the energy and power within it was used up, it would become useless.

“But we are only going to be able to sustain the Ba-Serpent Hell via our forbidden technique for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea.”

“If the power of Ji Ning’s protective treasure is used up, then we’ll have won. But if the Ba-Serpent Hell is dispersed first…are we supposed to use the forbidden technique again?!”

“Captain, what should we do next?”

The others were all awaiting the captain’s order. None of them wanted to use the forbidden technique again.

“Disciples with backers and sects behind him are always difficult,” the white-robed man muttered back mentally. “There’s nothing we can. Carry out the backup plan.”

“Fine.”

“Let’s do it.”

They all immediately acknowledged the order.

This ‘backup plan’ was to borrow strength from another party…but as a result, the rewards they would get for killing Ji Ning would have to be divided up as well.

……

The Whitewater Hound used the Fuxi Staff Formation to tremendously powerful effect. The Ba-Serpent might be able to forcibly break through and threaten his formations, but the leader of the Blood God Church, the Scion of the Blood God, was hidden within that black warship; he wasn’t willing to go all-out, and so he definitely wasn’t able to break open the formation.

Uncle White and Immortal Fivecraze watched the outside world with worry.

High in the air, a giant river was twisting and coiling around an unfathomably powerful Ba-Serpent. The Ba-Serpent was struggling and roaring with rage.

“Break apart!” The Ba-Serpent spoke out in the human tongue, then let out another enraged roar as its tail struck out hard.

Rumble…

Space itself was torn apart, and on the other side a sea could vaguely be seen.

It must be understood that this minor world was very close to the Grand Xia major world. The entrance to the volcano was a stable corridor between worlds, but some sufficiently powerful experts were absolutely capable of opening a corridor through their own power. For example, Patriarch Arcanum had done just that in ripping a tunnel into the world of the Witchriver Immortal Estate.

This strike by the Ba-Serpent was absolutely comparable to a blow from Patriarch Arcanum.

Swoosh. After ripping apart the fabric of space…although the Ba-Serpent remained entangled within the Nightriver, it charged into the spatial tear and returned to the world of the Grand Xia.

The minor world grew quiet.

“They are gone?”

“They disappeared?”

Uncle White and Immortal Fivecraze were all quite flabbergasted. They hadn’t expected that the enemy would tear open the fabric of space and depart from this minor world. They both looked with concern towards the black-robed Ning, who was fairly close to them. It must be understood that it was Ning’s true body that had just been taken away! His true body was far more important than his Primaltwin.

“Ji Ning,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“No need to worry about me.” The black-robed Ning shook his head, then sat down in the lotus position, quietly protecting his master, Immortal Diancai.

No matter what, he absolutely wouldn’t permit anyone from disturbing his master’s tribulation. His Primaltwin had to stay here and protect his master! As for his true body…his true body had the underwater estate. If he truly did encounter a life-threatening situation, he could go ahead and hide into it, even though that meant revealing the existence of the estate. After all, his true body was very important; only his true body was capable of executing techniques such as the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and the [Starseizing Hand].

The air above the Darknorth Sea.

The vast sea was incomparably quiet. From far away, one could see a ship advancing through the seas, a merchant vessel from a surrounding island.

Rumble…

The air above the sea split apart, and an enormous monstrosity came hurtling through the spatial tear.

It was an enormous serpent that was three thousand meters long. Its body was entangled by a surging river which coiled around it like a rope.

“What’s that?!”

“Good heavens!”

“A Diremonster?!”

The many mortals who were aboard that merchant vessel, as well as a few ‘powerful’ Xiantian experts, all stared in stupefecation. However, with but a single movement, that massive, three kilometer serpent disappeared into the horizon.

……

Ning was able to clearly sense what was going on outside, thanks to the Nightriver which the Thousandbull Sword had created.

“Eh? We’re at the world of the Grand Xia? And this should be the Darknorth Sea,” Ning guessed to himself. At the same time, he continued to wildly brandish his six swords, hacking and slashing at the stomach of the Ba-Serpent. The Ba-Serpent trembled repeatedly as the elemental ki of the twelve white-robed figures was used up at a rapid pace. They were forced to take out some spirit-pills and swallow them to replenish their energy.

Swoosh. The Ba-Serpent easily used a spatial teleportation, arriving at the air above a wide mountain range located within the vast continent of the Grand Xia Dynasty.

“A mountain range? This is the place the Ba-Serpent’s spatial teleportation took it to?” Ning mused to himself, still trapped within the Ba-Serpent’s body.

Instantly, the incomparably imposing waters of the Nightriver began to expand wildly, from ten kilometers to its normal ten thousand kilometer size! The endless amounts of river water instantly filled the mountain range below. However, Ning remained quite careful; he didn’t wish to let the waters of the Nightriver harm any mortals by accident. He mainly wanted to test the surrounding environment.

“Formations!” Ning was shocked by what he discovered. A fog had instantly appeared within the great mountain range, completely ensconcing the Nightriver within it.

“Not good. We’re trapped within a formation. My ten thousand kilometer Nightriver is only able to test a small portion of this formation; clearly, this is an absolutely enormous formation. It seems this mountain range must be a secret base.” Ning realized that this must be a place like his own homeland, Swallow Mountain, which was now protected by layers of grand formations.

Powers such as the Skysplitter Sword Sect, for example, all had many great formations protecting their headquarters. It was the same principle.

The mountain range which this Ba-Serpent had descended into was assuredly a similarly dangerous place.

……

Grand Xia Dynasty. Flamedoor Commandery. The Eastwoods mountain range.

The Eastwoods mountain range was the location of a sect known as the Eastwoods Sect!

“General.” The leader of the Eastwoods Sect spoke with incomparable respect. “A Ba-Serpent has suddenly appeared within the Eastwoods mountain range, and around it is a river that is ten thousand kilometers long. It is extremely powerful. Are these the people from Bloodcloud Hall which you previously mentioned, general?”

At the front of the hall was seated a tall, muscular, handsome, silver-armored youth. The silver-armored youth’s aura was very powerful, at the Celestial Immortal level.

“It seems those useless pieces of crap at Bloodcloud Hall were unable to kill Ji Ning, so they brought him here to my place,” the silver-armored youth laughed disdainfully. “They weren’t even able to kill a kid like Ji Ning, who has trained for less than a century. How embarrassing! Mm…sect leader of the Eastwoods Sect, this is your territory. You go ahead and control the grand formation to help the Ba-Serpent and deal with Ji Ning.”

The sect leader of the Eastwoods Sect said respectfully, “Yes, General.”

In his heart, however, he was sighing. He was the sect leader of a supreme sect, but over the course of a single night thirty years ago, the entire Eastwoods Sect had become completely ‘brainwashed’. Even he himself was sealed with a Reincarnation Seal and forced to become an obedient servant.

“Big Han,” the silver-armored youth suddenly called out.

Whoosh.

A shadow materialized within the darkness; it was a a man with sideburns. He said with tremendous respect, “Master.”

The silver-armored youth said, “Bloodcloud Hall sent people to assassinate Ji Ning. They agreed with me before doing so that if they were unable to do anything to Ji Ning, that they would come here to the Eastwoods mountain range…and just a short while ago, the forces of Bloodcloud Hall used their ‘Ba-Serpent Formation’ to bring Ji Ning here. Accompany the sect leader of the Eastwoods Sect; when the time comes, you can act to help.”

“Yes,” the sideburned middle-aged man said with respect.

“Mm. I’m going to go take a look in the ‘forbidden area’. If there’s nothing critical, don’t bother me,” the silver-armored youth instructed.

“Yes,” the sideburned man repeated once more.

The leader of the Eastwoods Sect assented as well, but in his heart he felt puzzled. Ever since this mysterious power had descended thirty-plus years ago and took over the entire Eastwoods Sect, they had first set down increasingly, terrifyingly powerful formations around the mountains, then had designated one particular region within it as a ‘forbidden region’. The original members of the Eastwoods Sect were completely forbidden from entering the region; if they did, they would definitely die!

Only the silver-armored general and his subordinates were able to enter that place. As for what was within it? Not even the leader of the Eastwoods Sect knew.

Rumble…

The flows of the distant Nightriver were still furiously smashing downwards, crushing some nearby mountains and shattering giant trees. The Ba-Serpent continued to struggle to escape from the confines of the Nightriver.

“Come with me, leader of the Eastwoods Sect.” The face of the sideburned man changed, and he let out a sharp bark as he led the leader of the Eastwoods Sect away to go help the forces of Bloodcloud Hall.

The silver-armored general stared towards the distance, then shook his head. “This Ji Ning is actually this hard to kill…he truly lives up to his reputation as the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny.” He took a single step forward, then vanished. He was going to the forbidden region.

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Chapter 20 – Trapped

Chapter 20 – Trapped

The sideburned man and the leader of the Eastwoods Sect moved as fast as lightning. They soon arrived at the place where the Ba-Serpent was located.

“Uh…”

The sideburned man sighed in amazement at what he saw. The massive, ten thousand kilometer river seemed to be like a living creature. It struck out with wanton abandon; how could the local mountain peaks, gorges, and trees possibly withstand its strikes? They were all instantly shattered and broken apart. As for the Ba-Serpent that was trapped within the massive river, it appeared to be even less restrained; clearly, the river was only able to somewhat bind its power.

“Earthnine, do you need my help?” The sideburned man called out loudly. Filled with elemental ki, his voice echoed within the heavens.

“Activate the formation. Don’t let Ji Ning escape,” the massive Ba-Serpent roared furiously.

“Don’t worry!” The sideburned man chortled merrily, then glanced sideways at the leader of the Eastwoods Sect. “No problem handling a small request like this, right?”

“Rest your mind, milord,” the leader of the Eastwood Sect said respectfully.

The distant Ba-Serpent suddenly opened its giant bloody maw. Rumble…a human-shaped figure was suddenly spat out from within it. It was a three-headed, six-armed youth.

Ji Ning did a somersault in midair, then stood there in the sky, six swords in his six arms. Laughing loudly, he said, “It seems this is all you are capable of. Earlier, you were bragging about how even Celestial Immortal Patriarchs would die when trapped…but didn’t I come out in perfectly fine shape?”

……

As soon as he came out, Ning noticed the formations in the surrounding area. Formations were everywhere, making it difficult for even his divine sense to search the area.

“[Torch-Dragon’s Eye].” Ning’s eyes began to glow with torch-light. He stared at the surrounding area, only to discover that he could still only see to a distance of a thousand kilometers. This was because of the fog in the area blocking much of the light; even the [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] was only able to penetrate to a certain extent through the fog. If he didn’t have this divine ability…he’d probably only be able to see to a distance of one kilometer.

Whoosh…

The Ba-Serpent hung in the air in the distance, its golden eyes focused on Ning. It spoke in the human tongue: “Ji Ning, today you shall most certainly die.”

“You shouldn’t talk so big,” Ning smirked.

“You are trapped within our formations; are you going to be able to escape?” The Ba-Serpent growled, “Even if you have a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal…once we join forces, you can forget about teleporting away.”

Ning stood there in midair, pondering. Dao-seals and magic treasures weren’t absolutely failproof. Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals were precious protective treasures for Xiantian lifeforms and Zifu Disciples, but if combat caused the surrounding space to be disturbed or locked when one attempted to use them, then there would be no way the Lesser Teleportation Dao-seals could be activated.

The same principle applied to Greater Teleportation Dao-seals as well; they, too, had their limits!

Greater Teleportation Dao-seals were indeed powerful, and they even allowed one to teleport from one world to another. However…the process of actually activating the Dao-seal and releasing the power within it involved the person merging with space itself. If one suffered an extremely powerful attack that disrupted the energy of the Dao-seal, then the Greater Teleportation would be disrupted and unable to complete!

A Dao-seal could ignore a weak disruption attempt, such as those from ordinary Primal Daoists or Loose Immortals. Thus, for Primal Daoists and Void-level Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, these Greater Teleportation Dao-seals were extremely valuable protective treasures.

But a powerful disruption attempt would render Greater Teleportation impossible. At the Celestial Immortal level, their attacks were more than enough to disrupt the energy of a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.

As for True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, they were able to completely disintegrate a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal!

Daofathers? Such seals were nothing more than a joke in the face of a Daofather’s might.

……

When Ning had been within the Ba-Serpent, he had been suffering attacks nonstop. And the attacks of these foes were all at the Celestial Immortal level! They were more than enough to disrupt a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.

“If they push me too far, I’ll just go hide inside my Immortal estate. Although the defensive power of the mobile one I carry with me isn’t that strong, it’s still enough to withstand their attacks for a brief moment. That will be more than enough for me to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape! However…that’s as good as throwing away my mobile Immortal estate.” Ning felt his heart ache.

This Immortal estate had been given to him as a gift by the giant yellow bear! It was used to hide his underwater estate. In terms of price, it was on a slightly higher level than even the Goldlight Immortal Estate which he had given his cousin. It was most likely worth five million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence or more!

In order to flee, Ning would have to sacrifice both a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal and his mobile estate. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t choose to do this.

“Old Han, why haven’t you activated the formation to attack Ji Ning yet?” The Ba-Serpent roared angrily. “He has a protective treasure on him, but after its energy is used up…I want to see how much longer he’ll be able to hold on after that!”

“Hahaha, fine.”

Big Han, who had been watching from afar, laughed and assented. He instructed the nearby Eastwoods sect leader, “Go ahead. Bring out everything you have; broaden the horizons of those useless pieces of crap from Bloodcloud Hall.”

“Yes,” the Eastwoods sect leader said respectfully.

This mountain range was the headquarters of the Eastwoods Sect; it naturally was protected by many layers of powerful formations. As the sect leader, he was capable of actively unleashing their power! However, he didn’t know anything about the even more powerful formations which the silver-armored general, that Celestial Immortal, had laid down.

Generally speaking, the original formations of the Eastwoods Sect were more than enough.

“Divine Ashfire!” The Eastwoods sect leader immediately brought out one of the most powerful techniques of his sect.

Instantly, a grand formation that was tens of thousands of kilometers in size began to activate the natural energy of the world. A large amount of fire elemental energy began to gather, circulating through the formation and becoming transformed in midair to dull red tendrils of flame that seemed ready to go out at any moment. The dull red tendrils of flame began to appear everywhere, quickly forming an enormous firebird.

Whoosh!

The three hundred meter tall dull red firebird flew straight towards Ning. “Roaaaar!” The Ba-Serpent charged once more towards Ning as well, howling madly. The power of its tail was quite astonishing, and multiple Immortal-ranked magic treasures came flying out as well as some powerful techniques, all of which were aimed towards Ning.

“Ji Ning, the power of this Divine Ashfire is quite formidable; not even Celestial Immortals dare to take it head-on. Even if you have a protective treasure on you…how long will you be able to hold on for? After its energy is used up, you will die.” The Ba-Serpent continued to attack while spitting out words in the human tongue, seeking to disturb Ning’s concentration.

“Bring everything you have. Do you think this ‘Divine Ashfire’ will be able to do anything to me?” Ning stood there in midair, not caring at all.

When the dull red firebird drew near, a large amount of fire quickly swept forward to envelop Ning.

The Divine Ashfire technique was mainly dangerous for Ki Refiners. It might pose a threat to some Fiendgods that had weak defenses, and might be able to burn apart Earth-ranked magic treasures…but upon encountering Heaven-ranked magic treasures, it would begin to find breaking through to be onerous. At most, it would be able to damage an ordinary low-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasure. As for higher quality Heaven-ranked treasures, they were able to ignore the power of the Ashfire. As for a Fiendgod Body Refiner like Ning?

“Hahaha…” Ning laughed, his body once more emanating with that hazy golden light.

In truth, Ning was intentionally releasing that golden light from his body. He wanted the foe to think that he had some sort of protective treasure on him, so as to conceal the fact that he had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Although it would definitely be revealed at some point as they continued to fight…if the enemy was to misjudge his true strength, then he would have an opportunity to take advantage of that and perhaps wipe them out at one go!

……

The Divine Ashfire blazed against him, and the massive Ba-Serpent struck at him repeatedly. Multiple Immortal-ranked magic treasures came crashing down upon him with the weight of mountains, and techniques in the shape of dragonsnakes, massive trees, and more also came hammering towards him. There was even skyfire and other techniques aimed his way! All of these attacks came flying towards Ning.

Ning caused the waters of the Nightriver to billow in every direction, suppressing and slowing down everything. At the same time, he sent his sword-light flying everywhere, knocking aside each attacking treasure in a truly valiant manner.

“Strange.”

“I’ve nearly exhausted my elemental ki twice, and I’ve eaten quite a few spirit-pills. How is this Ji Ning still able to hold on?”

“How is it that he’s been able to keep his protective treasure active this entire time? The energy of protective treasures generally come from True Immortals or Empyrean Gods filling the treasure with their own power; once the power is gone, the treasure is useless. How is it able to hold on for so long?”

……

Big Han, watching the battle from far away, began to frown. “I believe your Eastwoods Sect has a ‘Seven Supreme Thunders’ formation, yes? Hurry up and activate it.”

The Eastwoods sect leader hurriedly said, “Yes.”

Instantly, a dark cloud appeared in the skies above the grand formation. Lightning appeared within the dark clouds, and bolts of lightning came hammering down, all striking towards Ning.

“Hahaha, these lightning bolts aren’t even enough to tickle me.” The three-headed, six-armed Ning stood there in midair, the waters of the mighty Nightriver surrounding him, the dull red flames blazing against him, bolts of lightning crashing down up him, the Ba-Serpent striking at him, and magic treasures swirling around him…but like Lord Buddha himself, Ning just stood there, his entire body glowing with golden light. His sword-light flashed everywhere, easily deflecting all of the oncoming attacks.

Seeing this, Big Han frowned. “This is trouble.”

“Is that all you have? Aren’t you guys always quite cocky in front of us, in front of Bloodcloud Hall? Why is it that you are completely useless right now?” The distant Ba-Serpent, growing frustrated, shouted angrily in the human tongue.

“Hmph.” Big Han gritted his teeth, then waved his arm. A strange golem appeared next to him, a golem that looked like a cat. Its body was feline, but it had three tails and just a single eye. This golem had a total of four legs, was thirty meters long, and there was actually an opening on its back. The sideburned ‘Big Han’ flew straight into the golem, and then with a clanking sound, the opening on the back became completely sealed.

This construct was similar to a ship, but it could be used to attack as well as defense. It was an incomparably precious golem.

“I refuse to believe a little brat that’s trained for less than a century can really be this tough.” The ‘Threetailed Thundergod’ construct let out a furious roar, then transformed into a streak of lightning that flew straight towards the distant Ning.

……

Ning noticed the jagged bolt of lightning that was flying towards him from afar. His eyes were filled with blazing torch-light, and he instantly could tell that this was a strange construct of some sort. “It seems quite powerful; a construct of such power is rarely seen even in the Black-White College. I didn’t expect to encounter such a formidable construct in a place like this.”

“Still…although it’s powerful, it’s not a match for me.” To ‘greet’ this new opponent, Ning used the most powerful of his six swords, the Thousandbull Sword, to ‘welcome’ it to the fray.

“Die!” The Threetailed Thundergod construct slashed out with its sharp claws, its blow seeming to carry enormous power. Its knife-sharp claws moved lightning-fast as he clawed towards Ning. Where the claws passed, space itself split apart.

A streak of sword-light in the shape of a divine black dragon howled forth to meet the sharp claws.

Rumble…

The Threetailed Thundergod was knocked flying backwards. Only a few moments later did he manage to come to a halt. Then, with an enraged roar, it once more charged forward to attack.

No matter how wildly they all attacked, and despite the fact that Ning had only six arms to counter their tens of hands, resulting in an occasional attack striking him…his Fiendgod body, covered by that blurry golden light, was able to easily withstand all assaults without being damaged in the slightest. This caused the enemies to feel that Ning’s protective treasure was truly something remarkable.

“Big Han, stop fighting so madly. This Ji Ning has plenty of tricks up his sleeve; there’s nothing we can do to him at all. Hurry up and find your master! Let him come up with a solution. If even if he has nothing, then Bloodcloud Hall will be forced to resort to our final option, regardless of whether or not it succeeds,” the scarred white-robed leader within the Ba-Serpent sent mentally.

“Fine. I’ll notify my master,” Big Han immediately sent back.

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Chapter 21 – The Cauldron of Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens

Chapter 21 – The Cauldron of Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens

Ji Ning, protected by the Nightriver, was being attacked from every corner. But suddenly, the ‘Threetailed Thundergod’ construct turned tail and flew away.

“You want to go?” Ning’s eyes blazed with torch-light. He immediately executed the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] divine ability. Although he had acquired it just recently, it was a technique-focused divine ability. In addition, Ning had already thoroughly mastered the Windwing Evasion, and thus he was quick to master part of the mysteries of this [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] technique. It could be said that he had gained a basic level of skill in it.

When this divine ability was executed, a wild wind began to howl around Ning as he chased after the construct.

“Construct, you want to leave?” The six Immortal swords in Ning’s hands repeatedly hacked down towards the fleeing construct.

One ray of sword-light after another came crashing down upon the body of the construct.

BOOM!!!!

The construct was slammed into the ground, and a spiderweb of cracks appeared in the ground beneath it.

“Earthnine, you useless pieces of crap, hurry up and help me stop Ji Ning. If you don’t stop him, I won’t be able to leave. How the hell am I supposed to inform Master?” Big Han sent a frantic mental message while muttering to himself, “This Ji Ning is way too fast. I was quite some distance away from him, but he was able to catch up in a flash.”

Squad Earthnine was also shocked by Ning’s speed. Still, they immediately moved to help. The enormous body of the Ba-Serpent came slithering over, coiling around Ning as multiple magic treasures began to assault him as well. As it did, the Ba-Serpent roared back, “You’re the useless piece of crap! Do you think it’s easy to deal with this Ji Ning? It’s not that we are weak, it’s that he’s too much of a monster. I have no idea what sort of treasure is generating that golden light, but no matter how we attack him, we aren’t able to do anything to him.”

Big Han seized this moment to hurry and flee. In truth, he knew that squad Earthnine wasn’t to blame; he had used his construct to launch attacks earlier, and he knew that Ji Ning truly was a monster.

Ning was like a rock, a hard bone that wouldn’t break or crack. What was one supposed to do to him?

……

Whoosh.

After fleeing far away, Big Han was able to escape the field of battle, thanks to the obscuring fog in the area.

“Milord.” The leader of the Eastwoods sect came to greet him.

“I’m going to go see the general. You watch here. Don’t let Ji Ning escape,” Big Han instructed.

“Alright,” the Eastwoods sect leader said respectfully.

Big Han quickly departed, and the Eastwoods sect leader watched as Big Han disappeared into the distance. Only after he was gone did the sect leader mumble to himself, “So what if I don’t let him leave? None of you were able to do anything to him when attacking him.” He then lifted his head to once more stare at the besieged, three-headed, six-armed Ning. He couldn’t help but feel admiration for him.

This was a monster who had shocked the world more than thirty years ago, seizing the championship of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. And now…he was truly formidable. Even squad Earthnine of Bloodcloud Hall was unable to harm him in the slightest.

The Eastwoods mountain range. The forbidden area.

Within a dark palace.

The silver-armored youth was seated in the host’s position, sampling fine wine. Before him was seated a red-robed elder.

“I’m almost out of patience. Qu Huan, you truly have disappointed me greatly,” the silver-armored youth said, a beastskull goblet of wine in hand. He stared at the wind as he said these words calmly.

“General, don’t be impatient. Don’t be impatient,” the red-robed elder said hurriedly with an ingratiating smile.

“I’m not impatient, but the Master is!” The silver-armored youth said coldly, then raised his head to glance sideways at the red-robed elder. “You should know very well how important your mission is. You’ve spent more than ten years on it…how much longer before you complete it?”

The red-robed elder said hurriedly, “We’re already doing everything we can. If you send some more people to help us out, General, we might be able to go a bit faster.”

“More people?” The silver-armored youth shook his head. “Everyone is tight on personnel right now. The other generals all have their own assignments to carry out as well; where am I supposed to go find more people? The Master has already begun to push me. I’ll give you three more years. If you aren’t able to finish within three years…I won’t kill you myself, but you need to make your preparations for reincarnation.”

The red-robed elder was filled with worry. He hurriedly said, “It’s not enough. How can three years be enough? Given the number of people we have…we will need at least five years.”

“You must finish within three years. If you do not…” The silver-armored youth waved his hand. “Hurry up and beat it.”

“Yes.” The red-robed elder gritted his teeth. “Your subordinate shall definitely do everything possible to finish within three years.” He then left obediently.

The palace hall once more turned quiet.

The silver-armored youth drank some more wine, then shook his head helplessly. “Ever since I came to this major world of the Grand Xia, I’ve been living the life of a mouse. I’m always hiding. How irritating! I wonder when the battle will come. After taking over this major world, I’ll be able to live a carefree life.”

Suddenly…

“Master, Master.” A voice shouted from outside.

The silver-armored youth frowned, then barked, “Have you no sense of propriety? Stop screaming and kicking up a fuss.”

“Master.” Big Han came in, then hurriedly smiled, “Sorry, I was panicking.”

“What is it?” The silver-armored youth said.

“I went along with the Eastwoods sect leader to help out, and we used the protective formations the Eastwoods Sect has. I even personally intervened, but we weren’t able to do anything to that Ji Ning,” Big Han said hurriedly. “Squad Earthnine have no other options left. They are asking for your help, Master. If you are helpless as well, then they’ll prepare for their ‘final option’.”

“Final option?” The silver-armored youth snickered, “Those useless pieces of crap from Bloodcloud Hall. Whenever they fail in their assassination attempt, they’ll use that so-called ‘final option’.”

“But that option has killed quite a few Celestial Immortals,” Big Han couldn’t help but say.

“Those Celestial Immortals died due to stupidity!” The silver-armored youth shook his head. “No matter what…squad Earthnine of Bloodcloud Hall has always been on quite good terms with me. I’ll give them a hand. Go and summon nine of my Fiendguards and prepare to use the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens Cauldron. If they can kill Ji Ning, that will naturally be a joyous affair, but if even this technique fails to kill him…then have squad Earthnine come up with another method. If they want to use their so-called ‘final option’, that’s up to them.”

“Alright,” Big Han said in a low voice, “But Master, aren’t you going to fight?”

“Me? Fight? Do you think it was easy for me to make it past all the tribulations and calamities, eventually becoming a Celestial Immortal? If a Celestial Immortal wants to stay alive for a long period of time, he needs to have a bit of judgment. He needs to clearly understand when to act and when not to act.” The silver-armored youth snickered, “This Ji Ning might have a True Immortal or Empyrean God behind him, or perhaps even a Daofather! If I were to personally intervene, what if the power behind Ji Ning were to come out and instantly crushing me to death. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

“Now, of course, if I was given a good enough offer, I might be willing to risk it…but this mission only involves three piddling top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures. The main Bloodcloud Hall office is keeping one of them, while squad Earthnine is taking part as well. How much can there be for me? They want me to take on such risks for just a tiny reward?”

The silver-armored youth shook his head disdainfully. “Big Han, you and the rest of the old brothers who accompanied me to the world of the Grand Xia for the purpose of enjoying ourselves. Naturally, when we need to fight, we shall…but we need to always consider whether it is worth it or not. As for this assassination mission of Bloodcloud Hall? Its success, its failure…what the hell does it have to do with us?”

“Right, right, right.” Big Han hurriedly said, “Master, you are wise.”

“The Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens Cauldron is the most powerful killing formation which has been set down here at the Eastwoods mountain range. Even amongst Celestial Immortals, only extremely powerful ones can withstand it. The vast majority will be annihilated in one blow,” the silver-armored youth said. “I’m giving them face by having nine of my Fiendguards activate this killing formation. Alright, hurry up and go.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Big Han hurriedly left.

The silver-armored youth immediately stood up and walked outside of the palace hall. Soon, Big Han came back leading nine plainly dressed bronze-armored Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals.

“General,” the nine Fiendguards said respectfully.

“Big Han has told you everything, yes? Hurry up and go control the formation to kill Ji Ning,” the silver-armored youth instructed.

“Yes, General.” The nine Fiendguards assented respectfully, then quickly departed.

“Come, let’s go take a look as well. I want to see if this peerless genius of the Grand Xia world is able to survive within this grand formation of mine, or if he will be burnt to ash.” The silver-armored youth leisurely walked out.

…..

There were three figures atop a mountain peak. They were the silver-armored youth, big Han, and a black-robed youngster.

“Disciple, you came with me, your master, to the world of the Grand Xia,” the silver-armored youth said with a laugh. “Today, Master is going to give you the chance to see…the person known as the number one peerless genius of the world of the Grand Xia. He’s trained for less than a century, roughly the same as you, but he is far more famous than you.”

The black-haired youngster said confidently, “How strong can he be?”

“You’ll know soon enough,” the silver-armored youth said.

Swoosh.

A figure suddenly flew over. It was the Eastwoods sect leader. He said respectfully, “I greet you, General.”

“Disperse the fog,” the silver-armored youth said with a laugh. “Let my disciple have a chance to see how powerful this Ji Ning is.”

“Yes.” The sect leader immediately obeyed the order. Instantly, the distant fog began to dissipate, allowing everything to become clearly visible. Even here, at the distant mountain peak, one could see an enormous three-headed, six-armed giant battling in the distance against the even more massive Ba-Serpent, as well as the surging waters of the Nightriver.

The silver-armored youth laughed. “Disciple, what do you think?”

The black-robed youngster stared intently into the distance. He could sense the terrifying power of the Ba-Serpent, capable of shaking the world itself, as well as the power of those many Immortal-ranked magic treasures. However…the three-headed, six-armed giant youth was able to block all of these attacks.

“So powerful.” The black-robed youngster was somewhat stunned. “He…can it be that he is already a Celestial Immortal?”

“Although he is not a Celestial Immortal, he has a Celestial Immortal’s power,” the silver-armored youth said with a sigh. “At the Wanxiang level or the Primal level, fighting someone of a higher level is fairly common…but the difference between a Void-level Earth Immortal and a Celestial Immortal is absolutely enormous. For him to still be able to fight those at a higher level, despite being an Earth Immortal…is something that is truly rare. More importantly, this Ji Ning has trained for less than a century. Disciple…do you see the difference, now?”

The black-robed youngster gnawed at his lips as he watched.

Right at this moment…

Rumble…suddenly, a mountain peak began to levitate into the skies at the southeastern horizons.

Rumble…suddenly, a second mountain peak began to levitate into the skies of the northwestern horizons.

One mountain after another began to levitate into the air. Fortunately, thanks to the grand formation protecting the entire Eastwoods mountain range, those who were outside the mountain range were completely unable to see this. They had no idea how vicious the battle within the mountains had grown.

Soon, a total of nine mountain peaks were hovering in the air, spread out in every direction. Each mountain peak was covered with swirling, fiery red runes, causing the aura of power emanating from the mountains to slowly grow more and more powerful.

This invisible aura quickly encompassed nearly the entire Eastwoods mountain range.

This was because this was the most powerful killing formation available to the Eastwoods Sect, capable of attacking any place within the mountain ranges. Even this mountain peak, where the black-robed youngster and the silver-armored youth were located, could be assaulted.

“Master, this killing formation…” The black-robed youngster’s face changed as he sensed the threat from this formation. “This formation is going to be used against Ji Ning?”

The aura from the formation alone was enough to cause the black-robed youngster to feel fear in his heart.

He knew exactly how powerful this killing formation was. Just a tiny portion of it was enough to annihilate him.

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Chapter 22 – The Curtain Call?

Chapter 22 – The Curtain Call?

Ji Ning stood there in midair, commanding the flows of his Nightriver.

“Eh?” Ning’s face suddenly changed. He saw mountain peaks begin to levitate into the air in every direction. A total of nine mountains levitated upwards, each one covered with colossal, fiery red runes. Ning’s pupils contracted as he stared at them. “Using mountain peaks as formation-foundations…refining entire mountains into magic treasures…then joining them together into a formation?”

Ning wasn’t completely ignorant of formations. He understood them, and he knew that given how much effort had gone into this formation, this one was definitely an absolutely top-notch formation. Perhaps it was slightly weaker than the supremely ferocious killing formations of Swallow Mountain, but it was still most likely capable of threatening the lives of Celestial Immortals. As to exactly how strong it was…he would only know when he personally experienced it.

“Where did these assassins come from, for them to possess such powerful tools?” Ning still had no idea who exactly was trying to kill him.

He had some suspicions, but he wasn’t completely confident.

Whooooosh.

The nine levitating mountains that lined the horizons were suddenly connected by a streak of runic light. It was as though chain links were joining the mountain peaks together. Soon, the countless fiery runes began to flow together into a cycle, causing the nine mountain peaks to join together into one.

Swoosh.

The Ba-Serpent, which had been battling against Ning this entire time, suddenly retreated and attempted to flee.

“You want to leave?” Ning, who had been battling in close combat against the Ba-Serpent for quite some time now, immediately let out a loud roar. “If I’m going to be attacked by this formation, then you can forget about leaving!” Ning immediately used the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], moving at a much faster speed and instantly catching up to the Ba-Serpent. Ning immediately transformed into a three hundred meter tall giant, then plopped his butt down directly down onto the body of Ba-Serpent while grabbing onto its body.

No matter how the Ba-Serpent tried to struggle, and no matter how it tried to swing its tail, Ning kept a firm lock on it.

“If this grand formation is going to attack me, then I insist on us getting a taste of it together.” Ning roared loudly with arrogant laughter, his hair wild and unbound.

“This is troublesome.”

“Captain, this Ji Ning is too fast; the Ba-Serpent isn’t able to shake him off. He’s now seated firmly atop the Ba-Serpent’s body. When the formation attacks, we’ll probably be hit as well.”

“This killing formation the Eastwoods Sect is using is the ‘Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens Cauldron’; there’s no way we can withstand that.”

“Don’t panic. The general won’t act recklessly; he’ll definitely perfectly control the Cauldron and focus its power on Ji Ning. Just a small amount might end up hitting the Ba-Serpent,” the captain sent back.

Just as the members of Bloodcloud Hall were chatting amongst themselves, a vortex of flame began to appear in the air.

This flame was composed of two different colors. The flames were jade-green in color, but at the center was a violet flame!

Rumble…the flames continuously swirled, and the more they swirled, the more enormous they became. Soon, they reached the maximum size that could be supported by this formation, having become an enormous, mountain-sized conflagration. Crackling sounds could be heard within this conflagration; the sound came from the violet flames in the center, where flashing lightning could be seen.

Ning rode atop the Ba-Serpent, controlling the river while doing so. He raised his head. “So it is the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens…”

He was of the Mount Innerheart League, after all; after having spent so much time on the mountain, he had naturally reviewed all of the publicly available ‘common knowledge’. He knew what the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens was…it was a type of fire that was on the level of ‘truefire’ in terms of power. However…because it was too evil and chaotic, mixing too many different types of energy, there was no way an Immortal could nurture and cultivate this sort of fire within the body.

BOOM!!!!

The mountain-sized conflagration began to crash downwards.

The Ba-Serpent struggled frantically, but Ning rode atop the Ba-Serpent’s back, not letting it escape at all.

Whoosh…

The flames of the conflagration completely enveloped Ning. However, the flames were extremely agile; under the control of the nine Fiendguards, they only surrounded Ning, allowing the Ba-Serpent to escape virtually unscathed. But of course, Ning was striving against the Ba-Serpent, trying to pull it into contact with the flames.

“Hahaha, this Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens is quite hot, quite scorching. It feels just like taking a nice, warm bath in hot water.” Ning, bathed in flames, looked just like a Fiendgod. Roaring with laughter, the Ba-Serpent still in his clutches, he said, “Come, come, come, let’s bathe together!”

“What?!”

“How can this be?!”

“But, but…”

Both the forces of Bloodcloud Hall and the silver-armored general were all completely stupefied.

The silver-armored general was truly stunned. “He is actually using his body to resist it…he didn’t dodge or hide into his Immortal estate?” He had thought that Ning would hide within his Immortal estate; upon Ning doing so, Bloodcloud Hall’s forces would instantly tear apart space, immediately delivering it to a rather ‘dangerous location’. Within the Three Realms, there were naturally some extremely terrifying places; thus, after hiding into a mobile Immortal estate, one had to immediately use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal. Otherwise, once one was shoved into one of the danger zones of the Three Realms, one would almost assuredly perish.

“Not even the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens can harm him?” The nearby black-robed youngster was stunned as well. “How can this be? That’s the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens!”

“Why can’t it be?” The silver-armored youth said in a low voice, “Don’t you see it happening before your very eyes?”

The nearby Big Han and the Eastwoods sect leader were both similarly stunned.

The Eastwoods sect leader gave an envious glance towards Ji Ning, who appeared like one of the invincible Fiendgods of legend. To him, both the Ba-Serpent and the terrifying Venomflame both seemed like naught but toys; they weren’t able to do anything to him.

“Is it a protective treasure? Or a protective divine ability?” The silver-armored youth stared into the flames, towards Ning, who was covered by faint golden light. “It is almost inconceivable for a protective item to be able to last for this long…but then again, perhaps a Daofather has given him a particularly unique treasure. But if he’s using a divine ability…I imagine the only possibility is the legendary [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

“If it’s the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]…the implications are terrifying. Only very, very few True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms possess it…and they will generally only transmit it to their personal disciples.” The silver-armored youth was secretly rather shocked.

Within the Three Realms, the True Gods and Daofathers were all scattered into various regions where they ruled like local hegemons. But even amongst their ranks, only very, very few were in possession of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. The vast majority of True Gods and Daofathers, such as Grand Emperor Xuanwu or Daofather Crimsonbright, simply didn’t have the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], much less teach it to disciples. Thus, very few individuals in the Three Realms were in possession of this divine ability.

Only a personal disciple of a supreme Daofather could possibly possess this divine ability!

“Even if it is ‘just’ a protective treasure…someone capable of giving away a marvelous treasure such as this must have a terrifyingly great background,” the silver-armored youth mused to himself.

“Fiendguards, since you are unable to injure Ji Ning, then go ahead and disperse the Venomflame!” The silver-armored youth immediately sent the mental order.

“Yes.” The nine Fiendguards instantly assented to the order.

Right away, the nine mountains that were hovering in the skies began to call back their runes as they began to sink downwards to their original location.

“Earthnine,” the silver-armored youth sent mentally.

“General,” Earthnine sent back.

“Even this killing formation of mine is unable to do anything to Ji Ning. I’m giving up. As to whatever Bloodcloud Hall plans to do, I can’t be bothered to interfere,” the silver-armored youth sent.

Earthnine immediately sent back, “Understood. This mission is nowhere close to being worth a mere three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures. Even ten wouldn’t be enough. I won’t bother you with this matter anymore, General. I have no other choices left, just the final option.”

“Mm.” The silver-armored youth assented.

……

Ning rode atop the body of the Ba-Serpent, watching as the Divine Venomflames of the Nine Heavens dissipated. He couldn’t help but laugh; he knew long ago how powerful the flames were, and knew that his physical body was absolutely capable of ignoring those flames.

“Tell me, who are you people? Who told you to come assassinate me?” Ning barked. “If you tell me, I’ll release you. Otherwise…I’ll keep messing around with you. Although it’s hard for me to escape this formation, you’ll be trapped here alongside me.”

“Ji Ning, I admit that you are formidable, but…threaten us? Hmph!”

The Ba-Serpent spoke out in the human tongue, then suddenly flew off into the distance.

Ning rode atop the body of the Ba-Serpent, following its movements.

Trapped within this formation, Ning would probably have to rely on a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape. However, if he kept a firm grip on the Ba-Serpent…unless the Ba-Serpent was willing to remain within the formation as well, once it left, Ning would be able to go out with it. This was the reason why Ning kept such a firm grip on the serpent.

Whooosh. The Ba-Serpent flew forward, flying through mountain forests as many formations automatically parted before it.

Suddenly…

BANG!

The massive Ba-Serpent suddenly disappeared into nowhere as the twelve white-robed figures re-appeared. The leader, the white-robed man with a bloody scar, waved his hand to collect all of the other eleven, then immediately flew towards a nearby location in front of him, his movements lightning-fast. On the ground in front of him, there was a pitch-black, fog-covered cave.

Swoosh!

When the Ba-Serpent disappeared, the white-robed man was already quite close to the entrance of the cave, and so he instantly charged into it.

Swoosh. Ning charged after the white-robed man, but a few meters away from the cavern entrance, he came to a sudden halt.

“Eh?” Ning stared at the black, foggy cavern entrance before him.

The entrance wasn’t that large, and it appeared quite ordinary. However…there was no way he could tell exactly what was within the cave. He couldn’t sense the aura of the white-robed man within it at all either.

“It seems…this cave is rather mysterious.” Ning stood in front of the cave, hesitating. Because he couldn’t sense any auras at all from the entrance, he had no idea what was inside.

……

The Ba-Serpent had fled, but Ji Ning had remained atop the Ba-Serpent’s back. After the Ba-Serpent was dispersed, the forces of Bloodcloud Hall had all fled into the black cave. All of these things were seen by the silver-armored youth, the black-robed youngster, Big Han, and the others.

“So the forces of Bloodcloud Hall truly did use their ‘final option’.” The black-robed youngster had used a divine ability, causing spots of starlight to appear within his eyes. He could clearly see to a great distance. “I wonder if this Ji Ning will enter or not. If he enters, then he will definitely die.”

“True Immortals or Empyrean Gods might survive if they go in, but as for this Ji Ning…no matter how powerful his protective treasure is and no matter how formidable he is, he’ll definitely die,” the silver-armored youth said. “Of the Celestial Immortals who were killed by Bloodcloud Hall, quite a few died after they foolishly chased the Bloodcloud Hall assassins all the way into the cave.”

This cave entrance…

Was in reality a portal.

It led to a very mysterious place, a place that was countless times more dangerous than the Eastwoods mountain range.

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Chapter 23 – Celestial Immortal

Chapter 23 – Celestial Immortal

Ji Ning stared at the black, foggy cave entrance in front of him for a moment, hesitating. This clearly was no ordinary cave. Neither his divine sense nor his [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] and other senses were able to discover anything about the cave at all! However…Ning truly wanted to know who it was who was trying to kill him!

“The world of the Grand Xia is currently filled with dangerous undercurrents; it’s best to be cautious. It’s best if I don’t go into unknown places.” The reason why Ning had acted so arrogantly and brashly earlier was because everything was under control…but the depths of this black cave were beyond his understanding.

Whoosh.

Ning instantly departed from this region, but he was still surrounded by layers of formations.

Ning casually chose a mountain peak at random, sitting down in the lotus position atop it, then laughed loudly, “If you have any other abilities, use them to your heart’s content! If you don’t attack me…I’m going to use my Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to leave now.”

His voice echoed within the skies, but no one came to attack him.

“It isn’t the time to leave yet,” Ning mused to himself. “Master is still undergoing his tribulation in that minor world. If the assassins wish to continue to assault me and lose track of me, they’ll probably go back to that minor world. I might as well stay here then!”

……

“Master, he didn’t go in,” the black-robed youngster said.

“Because he’s not an idiot,” the silver-armored youth said, shaking his head. “The Celestial Immortals who went in previously were all overconfident; they felt that their power was more than enough to ensure that they would survive. But how could they have known…that the tunnel leads to one of our true headquarters. Even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would at most be able to escape with their lives from that place.”

Both the black-robed youth and Big Han nodded. They had both been there before; they naturally knew exactly how terrifying that place was. As their headquarters…it was naturally far more dangerous than this Eastwoods mountain range.

“Master, Ji Ning is in our formation. Shall we attack him?” Big Han asked.

“What’s the point of attacking him?” The silver-armored youth looked towards him.

Big Han laughed awkwardly. “There’s no point to us attacking him, but if you were to attack, Master, wouldn’t you be able to easily capture him?”

“Stop flattering me,” the silver-armored youth snickered. “I, your master, know my own limits. This Ji Ning is quite mysterious; his protective abilities alone are enough to ensure that all of you weren’t able to do anything to him with your many frenzied attacks. Even the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens was unable to injure him. Although I dislike Bloodcloud Hall, they aren’t weak…and yet even squad Earthnine in their Ba-Serpent Formation was unable to harm him in the slightest! I’m not able to kill him.”

Big Han just chortled. He knew that his master tended to be very low-key…but that his master was in truth enormously powerful. More than ten Celestial Immortals had died to his master’s hand!

The silver-armored youth quietly stared at the distant Ning, speculating internally, “This Ji Ning’s background must be significant. If he trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]…then his background must be utterly shocking! I wonder whose disciple he is?”

“When divinities battle, mortals suffer. Compared to those major powers…people like me are like mortals, while they are divinities.”

“Low-key. Stay low-key.” The silver-armored youth had lived for a very long time, and had experienced very many things. Thus, he knew very well…

That Celestial Immortals might seem to be very powerful, but in the context of the entire Three Realms, they were actually nothing more than chess pieces. There were many danger zones that could cause Celestial Immortals to perish. Someone like Ji Ning, who had such a terrifying background…

True, if he killed Ji Ning, any Daofather behind Ji Ning most likely wouldn’t lower himself to act against a Celestial Immortal like the silver-armored man. After all, for a Celestial Immortal to kill someone like Ji Ning wouldn’t be considered a strong person bullying a much weaker person. But there were some madmen in the Three Realms who were wholly unreasonable, and who would fly into a rage and seek vengeance for any slain disciples!

“Although there are very few such madmen…perhaps one of Ji Ning’s uncle-masters or fellow apprentices number such a madman amongst them,” the silver-armored youth mumbled to himself. “It wasn’t easy for me to stay alive for so long; I endured countless dangers before becoming a Celestial Immortal. I plan to survive this storm. Careful. Have to be careful; that’s more important than anything else!”

“Master, then are we going to just let Ji Ning stay in the formation? Should we…?” Big Han looked towards the silver-armored youth.

“Just keep him trapped within the formation. If Bloodcloud Hall wishes to continue their assassination, let them. We won’t participate any further,” the silver-armored man said calmly. “If he wants to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to leave, there’s nothing we can do about that! As for attacking him? Forget it. Attacking him is a waste of elemental ki.”

“Yes,” Big Han assented respectfully.

Time passed, one day after the other.

The third day after the failure of the assassination attempt. Patriarch Arcanum was once more invited to Bloodcloud Hall. He was brought to that secluded garden once more, and it was still that same silver-robed maiden who welcomed him.

“How’d it go?” Patriarch Arcanum sat down, looking at the silver-robed youth facing him. “Did you kill Ji Ning?”

“No.” The silver-robed maiden shook her head.

“No?!” Patriarch Arcanum was shocked…and then enraged. “I’ve already given you the treasures, so you should go and kill him. If you weren’t able to kill him in your first wave of attacks, you should send out a second wave. In short…you should do what you promised and ensure that you kill him within the year. As for how you accomplish it? I don’t give a damn. But you need to do what you promised! This was a deal! My Youngflame clan has paid the price; you need to hold up to your end of the bargain.”

The silver-robed maiden nodded. “Your words are correct.”

Patriarch Arcanum was startled.

“Per our contract, if Bloodcloud Hall is unable to accomplish the mission, then we are to return your treasures to you.” The silver-robed maiden produced a storage ring. “This is what you gave to me previously; everything is here. Bloodcloud Hall lost money on this deal, but we’re still giving you everything back.”

“You…you…” Patriarch Arcanum couldn’t believe it.

A contract was a contract. If the assassination couldn’t be carried out, then the treasures would have to be repaid! This was something Bloodcloud Hall prided themselves on…but they rarely actually did this.

“Is Ji Ning very hard to kill?” Patriarch Arcanum frowned.

“If we truly had to kill him, Bloodcloud Hall could indeed do it.” The silver-robed maiden nodded.

“Then why don’t you?!” Patriarch Arcanum asked.

“The price isn’t high enough.” The silver-robed maiden looked towards Patriarch Arcanum.

“What’s the needed price?”

“Twenty top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures,” the silver-robed maiden said. “If you pay this price in treasures, Bloodcloud Hall will go and kill Ji Ning. We erred in our estimation of his power, and so we set too low a price last time.”

Patriarch Arcanum’s face turned completely crimson with rage. “Why don’t you just go ahead and rob me?! You dare to name a price of twenty top-grade Immortal-ranked treasures? That’s equivalent to two Pure Yang treasures! That’s enough to invite even a True Immortal or Empyrean God to come and help out! How dare you name such a price?!” This price was indeed quite excessive; it would pose an enormous burden towards the Youngflame clan.

“Invite a True Immortal or Empyrean God?” The silver-robed maiden chuckled. “Go ahead and give it a try. Let’s see who would be willing to kill Ji Ning for you.”

Patriarch Arcanum gritted his teeth.

He knew very well that the more powerful an expert was, the more cautious they tended to be. Perhaps a Celestial Immortal killing Ji Ning wouldn’t be considered a strong person bullying a much weaker person, but a True Immortal or Empyrean God killing him definitely would be. If there truly was a Daofather standing behind Ji Ning…

If the Daofather was able to discover what was happening and was able to rescue Ji Ning before he died, things wouldn’t be too bad; the Daofather would at most teach the offender a lesson! But if the Daofather didn’t make it in time, or if he found out only after Ji Ning died…in his rage, the Daofather might truly go and slaughter the True Immortal or Empyrean God in question!

How many True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would be willing to risk their lives for the sake of two low-grade Pure Yang treasures?

“There should be some powerful Celestial Immortals that can kill Ji Ning, right?” Patriarch Arcanum growled.

“If you wish to invite Bloodcloud Hall to assassinate Ji Ning, then please hand over twenty top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures, or treasures of an equivalent value. If you aren’t willing, then please leave. Our business is concluded,” the silver-robed maiden said.

Patriarch Arcanum ground his teeth. Twenty…

Suppressing his anger, Patriarch Arcanum asked in a growl, “How powerful is Ji Ning?”

“You want to know?” The silver-robed maiden said, “This is a bit of valuable intelligence. If you are willing to return the storage ring and its contents to me, I can tell you.”

“Hmph!” Angered, Patriarch Arcanum rose to his feet, turned, and left.

What a joke.

An intelligence report worth three top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures?

After watching Patriarch Arcanum leave, the silver-robed maiden shook her head. “You idiotic fool. If you ask Bloodcloud Hall to kill Ji Ning, all you need to do was pay us enough treasures. But if you want to do it yourselves? Even if you were to summon your ancient Patriarch who first arose in the Fiendgod Era, and even if he was able to kill Ji Ning when using all his power…the price you would pay would be a price vastly beyond what your clan is capable of withstanding.”

“Master wouldn’t lie to me. He’s suspected of having learned the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! Not even Master was qualified to learn such a technique.” The silver-robed maiden was stunned by this bit of news.

From the detailed intelligence report they had gained from their assassination attempt, Ji Ning either had an unearthly powerful protective item or had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! Either possibility had tremendous, extraordinary implications.

However…

Bloodcloud Hall specialized in carrying out extraordinary tasks. If the price was high enough, they would still dare to kill Ji Ning!

Time passed, one day after the other.

Within the minor world. The scorched, cracked, barren earth here would cause any who saw it to feel despair towards life.

“Why hasn’t Master woken up yet?” The black-robed Ning stared at the nearby Immortal Diancai.

“The demonheart tribulation will last for at least seven days, but at most…it’s hard to say.” Immortal Fivecraze shook his head. “Your master has only spent ten days in the demonheart tribulation. Don’t be impatient.”

“Right.” The black-robed Ning nodded.

“And how is your true body doing? Is it in any danger?” Immortal Fivecraze asked, worried. The nearby Whitewater Hound looked towards Ning as well.

The black-robed Ning laughed helplessly. “Don’t worry. I really am not in any danger at all.”

But Immortal Fivecraze and Uncle White couldn’t help but worry. If Ning’s true body truly was completely safe, it would’ve already returned to this minor world. And yet, it hadn’t. What they didn’t realize…was that Ning was intentionally keeping his true body in the Eastwoods mountain range, so as to draw the attention of his foes and prevent disaster from befalling his master.

“Let me out. Ji Ning, Fivecraze, just let me out. You won’t be able to kill me; what’s the point of keeping me trapped here?” Trapped within the formation, the Scion of the Blood God, still within his little black ship, was calling out loudly. He truly felt regret for coming here. Although by relying on his ship, he made it impossible for them to harm him…he was trapped within this formation and unable to escape. He had no idea that the enemy included such a formidable formations expert.

The black-robed Ning, Immortal Fivecraze, and Uncle White couldn’t even be bothered to look at the Scion.

They were just going to keep him locked up in here!

If he was permitted to leave, he might stir up more trouble. It was best to keep him trapped here! That way, they wouldn’t worry about him disrupting Immortal Diancai’s tribulation later.

“Eh?” Suddenly, the black-robed Ning, Fivecraze, and Uncle White all turned their heads to stare at Immortal Diancai, still seated in the lotus position.

Immortal Diancai had already opened his eyes. Within them could be seen two things; infinite ancientness, and a hint of tears.

“Master!” The black-robed Ning called out excitedly.

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Chapter 24 – Whither the Immortal Treasure?

Chapter 24 – Whither the Immortal Treasure?

“Junior apprentice-brother!” Immortal Fivecraze looked excitedly towards Immortal Diancai.

All of them just stared with bated breaths.

Immortal Diancai’s eyes were open. He remained seated in the lotus position, but rainbow-colored clouds suddenly began to appear in the skies. These fortuitous clouds descended around Immortal Diancai, and in the ground around him there began to manifest petals of a golden lotus flower. It seemed as though Immortal Diancai was seated atop an enormous golden lotus. Murmurs of what sounded like celestial music could be heard from the world around him. Of course, this wasn’t an actual melody; rather, it was the sound of the Heavens and the Earth. Just listening to it, one would feel as though it was filled with infinite mysteries.

At the same time, a terrifying aura of power began to descend, completely enveloping Immortal Diancai.

“Such terrifying power.” The black-robed Ji Ning and the others all felt their hearts tremble, even though they were barely touched by the power itself.

Whoosh…

An enormous flood of natural power began to gather around Immortal Diancai. His body now began to manifest the ‘aura of an Immortal soul’, something which one would have only after becoming a Celestial Immortal. His energy was transforming on a fundamental level as well.

From the Zifu stage to the Void stage, one merely had ‘elemental ki’.

After becoming a Celestial Immortal, the power of the soul and all other powers would completely merge into one power. The lotus-bud at the top of the Goldlotus Primal would draw in the essence of all the other types of power, fusing them into one and then refining them into a single brilliant golden pellet, a ‘Jindan’. 1

This new power could be described as either dharmic energy or Immortal energy.

“The great path of the Jindan, the great path of the Jindan…once the golden pellet enters my flank, then my destiny shall no longer be subject to the Heavens.” Immortal Diancai laughed softly, “All shall become one, a perfect, flawless whole…from this day forth, there shall be no more Three Calamities, no more Nine Tribulations. I have truly become a carefree Immortal, having escaped the rules of the Three Realms and the binds of the Five Elements.”

“Congratulations, Master. Felicitations, Master!” The black-robed Ning walked over.

“Haha, junior apprentice-brother, oh, junior apprentice-brother…you didn’t let us down! Ahahaha…” Immortal Fivecraze was the most excited person right now. “After countless years…our Black-White College has finally produced a second Celestial Immortal. A Celestial Immortal! True immortality, an infinite lifespan…a Celestial Immortal!!! And one who overcame six nine-sets of the thunder tribulation! Haha, even if this crazy old man was to die right away, it would be worth it!”

There were differences in power amongst Celestial Immortals as well. Ordinary thunder tribulations, such as those with two nine-sets or three nine-sets, wouldn’t be too powerful. By contrast, some extraordinarily powerful Fiendgod experts might be capable of overcoming nine nine-sets and become Empyrean Gods, immediately comparable to Pure Yang True Immortals in power.

“Eh? What’s going on here?” Immortal Diancai was startled. He asked in surprise, “What’s that little black ship inside this formation?”

“Celestial Immortal Diancai, congratulations to you!” A person emerged from within the little black ship; it was the sect leader of the Blood God Church, the Scion of the Blood God. Laughing loudly, he said, “It’s quite rare to be able to see the birth of a Celestial Immortal. Still…you have to thank this fine disciple you have here. He killed seven of my Law Protectors, then trapped me here. If it wasn’t for the fact I wanted to see if you would become a Celestial Immortal, Immortal Diancai, I would’ve left long ago. Alright…no more playing around with you.”

The Scion returned to his ship. Then, with a rumble and a ripple…he disappeared into thin air.

He had been clenching a Dao-seal when he he was speaking.

“Made him waste a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal. Worth it.” Immortal Fivecraze laughed and nodded.

“What’s this he said about killing seven Law Protectors?” Immortal Diancai frowned. “And Ji Ning, this is your Primaltwin, yes? Where’s your true body?”

After having known Ji Ning for so long, Immortal Diancai knew quite well that Ning himself liked to wear furs, while his Primaltwin usually wore black robes.

Ning laughed. “These are all just minor matters.”

“Let me be the one to tell you.” Immortal Fivecraze called out excitedly, “Junior apprentice-brother, you have no idea. When you were undergoing your demonheart tribulation, everything happened just as you predicted; someone came to attack you. First came the Scion of the Blood God; he came in person, commanding his seven mighty Law Protectors to assault you. This precious disciple of yours showed of all his might…”

Immortal Fivecraze was in an absolutely divine mood as he blabbered on and on. Finally, he finished his tail.

Immortal Diancai looked towards Ning, feeling a hint of guilt in his heart. “Disciple, sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s fine. My true body is fine as well. In addition, the second group of assassins, the stronger ones, they came for me, not for you, Master,” Ning said.

Immortal Diancai shook his head. “Because I was undergoing my tribulation, you were distracted and had to worry about me; that’s the reason why they chose this opportunity to assassinate you. In a normal situation where you didn’t have to worry about me…you probably wouldn’t even have had to fight. You could’ve slipped away long ago.”

“Enough, enough! No need for the two of you, master and disciple, to stand on such ceremony,” Immortal Fivecraze laughed loudly. “Our Black-White College now has a Celestial Immortal. This is a joyous event! Come, come, come. Hurry back to the Black-White College and let all of our fellow disciples learn of this and celebrate. You became a Celestial Immortal! That is the dream of every Immortal cultivator.”

“Are we going to just publicize the fact that Master became a Celestial Immortal?” Ning asked.

Immortal Fivecraze laughed. “We would like to keep it a secret, but since even the Scion of the Blood God knows about it, news will quickly spread. Thus, we should still inform the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of the Black-White College. We should also notify Celestial Immortal Hunchmont of the Northmont clan of Stillwater.”

“Celestial Immortal Hunchmont?” Ning was puzzled.

“There is a deeper meaning in this. The reason why our Black-White College is established directly within Stillwater City is because we long ago decided to share weal and woe with the Northmont clan of Stillwater,” Immortal Fivecraze said. “The reason why the Black-White College can recruit all the geniuses we want from throughout the entire Stillwater City and not be impeded in the slightest is because of the Northmont clan; without their permission, how could this be possible?”

Ning now understood.

“Junior apprentice-brother, now that you are a Celestial Immortal, the Northmont clan will definitely want to further deepen the relationship between themselves and our Black-White College,” Immortal Fivecraze laughed. “And of course…our Black-White College has toiled so hard on their behalf. Now that you became a Celestial Immortal, they need to prepare a valuable gift to congratulate you. Junior apprentice-brother, aren’t you lacking in formidable Immortal swords? Now let me think…where should we get such precious treasures? How about…from the Northmont clan of Stillwater?”

Ning nodded. Compared to those ancient clans, Ning was a bit lacking in treasures; after all, his Primaltwin needed all the Heavenraker swords for the [Heavenraker] sword-formation, while his true body needed six Immortal-ranked swords, but didn’t have them! If he wanted to help out his master, he ideally had to offer five formidable Immortal-ranked swords; after all, his master already had five Immortal-ranked swords, just somewhat weak ones.

However, the Northmont clan had existed for countless generations after obtaining the marquisdom for Stillwater Commandery back during the Fiendgod Era. They had given birth to a number of Celestial Immortals, and they definitely had quite a few treasures. The Youngflame clan was capable of bringing out even twenty top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures if necessary; although the Northmont clan was a bit weaker, they still had quite a deep foundation.

“Let’s go. Back to Stillwater City,” Immortal Fivecraze urged.

“Let’s go.”

This time, they didn’t need to so carefully creep into the dimensional corridor; rather, they tore a hole through space and returned straight to the world of the Grand Xia, then immediately used a spatial teleport to return to Stillwater City.

……

The Eastwoods mountain range. One particular mountain, surrounded by layers of formations.

Ning was seated in the lotus position here.

“Master became a Celestial Immortal.” Ning’s face was covered with delight; he felt as though his heart and soul had just become much less burdened. “I want to prepare a valuable gift to congratulate master as well, but alas…all of the Immortal-ranked treasures I obtained from killing those seven Law Protectors were quite ordinary.”

The seven Law Protectors had previously all been ordinary Loose Immortals, after all; it was only thanks to a secret technique that in the past twenty to thirty years, they had increased their levels of power to that of a five hundred thousand year old Loose Immortal. But although their power levels had risen, their magic treasures hadn’t changed much yet.

“Time for me to go back now.”

The reason why Ning had allowed himself to be pummeled like a beanbag without fleeing was because he didn’t want to disrupt his master’s tribulation. Now that the tribulation was over, it was time for him to go back.

Whoosh. Ning rose to his feet, staring at the surrounding area.

“Where exactly am I, and what is this place? Where in the Grand Xia Dynasty is it? Why is such a terrifyingly strong power hidden here?” The twelve white-robed figures who had attacked him…the terrifying killing formation, ‘Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens Cauldron’…that mysterious, foggy black cave entrance…Ning could tell from these things that this place was definitely quite extraordinary!

“I need to investigate. After suffering for so long, I need to at least ensure that I know who it is that caused me so much trouble.”

“In addition…the world of the Grand Xia is in a state of chaos right now. This hidden power is most likely one of the causes of it. Only when one knows both one’s self and one’s foe can one win a hundred battles without fail,” Ning mused to himself. Perhaps investigating this place might bring him some danger, but by relying on the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’ of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], I can infiltrate and investigate this place. Not even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would be able to discover who I truly was, unless they have a special divine ability that can see through the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’…but those are far too rare.”

“Time to go!” Ning immediately activated the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal he had taken out. Swoosh! Ning instantly disappeared.

……

“General,” the Eastwoods sect leader reported, “Ji Ning has already used a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to leave.”

“If he’s gone, he’s gone.” The silver-armored youth didn’t care one whit.

……

A million kilometers east of the Eastwoods mountain range. Ning suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

By relying on his Greater Teleportation Dao-seal, he could’ve teleported straight back to Swallow Mountain or Stillwater City, but Ning had to find out just who it was that had trapped him in that location. Thus, he had only teleported a million kilometers! He refused to believe that the enemy base spanned a million kilometers.

Swoosh. Ning flew towards the air above an ordinary commandery city. Sweeping it with his divine sense, he instantly found the most powerful person within the city; a Zifu Disciple.

Whoosh. Ning used a spatial teleport to appear in the person’s study.

There was an old man in the study, leafing through some books.

“Who are you?” The old man lifted his head, instantly shocked.

“I’m going to ask you some questions,” Ning said, and the old man’s gaze instantly turned lost and dull.

“Which commandery is this?” Ning asked.

“Flamedoor Commandery,” the old man said.

Ning was startled. Flamedoor Commandery; it wasn’t too far away from Stillwater Commandery, just two commanderies away.

“What is the name of this city?” Ning asked.

“Weirflow,” the old man said.

Ning frowned. There were far too many commandery cities, and they often changed names. Once a tribe took over a commandery city, they would often change its name. For example, the first commandery city the Ji clan had taken over, they had renamed to the City of Ten Thousand Swords. Precisely because commandery cities changed names so often, maps generally wouldn’t even have city names written down for most of them.

“Which mountains and rivers are nearby?” Ning asked. “Large-scale ones.”

“More than a hundred thousand kilometers east of the city, there is a vast mountain range that spans tens of thousands of kilometers known as the Goosewine Mountains,” the old man said.

Ning’s eyes immediately lit up. The Goosewine Mountains?

Ning had long ago memorized a map of the entire domain of the Grand Xia Dynasty. He quickly ascertained his current, exact location! Upon doing soon, Ning quickly was able to calculate who was located a million kilometers away from him: “The Eastwoods mountain range…the Eastwoods Sect! So that’s where they were hiding!”

1. Readers of Stellar Transformations may recall that in that novel, the power rankings started off as Houtian, Xiantian, Jindan, etc., with Jindan being the first level of ‘true’ Immortal practitioners.

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Chapter 25 – The Old Patriarch of the Northmont Clan of Stillwater

Chapter 25 – The Old Patriarch of the Northmont Clan of Stillwater

After calculating that the mysterious mountain range had been the Eastwoods mountain range, Ji Ning didn’t immediately go to verify it. Instead, he used a spatial teleportation to return to Stillwater City. His master had just broken through to become a Celestial Immortal, after all; he had to be present for the announcement. If his true body wasn’t, his master and Immortal Fivecraze would probably still feel uneasy.

Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

Although it was noon, and although there had just been a big blizzard, the Headmaster’s Hall of the Black-White College was a place of joy right now.

“I am going to tell everyone a piece of earth-shatteringly good news. Our Black-White College…has given birth to a Celestial Immortal! This is the second Celestial Immortal our Black-White College has had since our founding!” Immortal Fivecraze spoke out loudly from the front of the hall, his voice echoing within it. The entire hall suddenly turned silent, a queer, shocked silence. All of the Void-level Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals were staring at Immortal Fivecraze in disbelief.

“Ten days ago, Ji Ning and I guarded junior apprentice-brother Diancai as he underwent the wind tribulation, the fire tribulation, the thunder tribulation, and the demonheart tribulation. After overcoming these four great tribulations, junior apprentice-brother Diancai has become a Celestial Immortal.” Immortal Fivecraze’s voice continued to echo out within the hall.

“Celestial Immortal?!”

“Junior apprentice-brother Diancai!”

“Senior apprentice-brother Diancai!”

“Ji Ning, has your master truly become a Celestial Immortal?”

“You idiots! Do you think I’d lie to you about something like this?!”

“Everyone, I have indeed become a Celestial Immortal, thanks to the protection of Ji Ning and senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze.”

Instantly, the entire Headmaster’s Hall turned into a storm of joy. Everyone called out in celebration, especially after Immortal Diancai personally released his aura of might. After everyone felt the aura of a Celestial Immortal coming from him, they began to rejoice even more!

To become a Celestial Immortal…the implications were extraordinary.

It must be understood that back in the annals of history, when the Black-White College gave birth to a Celestial Immortal, its status had risen to become equivalent to the Northmont clan of Stillwater and the local branch of the Raindragon Guard. Celestial Immortals were truly unaging. They would live for a very long time, and so long as they were alive, the entire sect would have a firm foundation..

As all the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were celebrating with wild agitation and excitement, Immortal Fivecraze sent Immortal Jadesea to the Northmont clan of Stillwater. He personally went to request a meeting with Celestial Immortal Hunchmont to notify him of this matter.

“Did you just say that Immortal Diancai has become a Celestial Immortal?” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was very stable and solid, but even so he revealed a look of astonishment.

Celestial Immortals were far too rare.

Normally speaking, it was extremely rare for even a single one to appear in a million years within the world of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Even now, with the Three Realms in a state of chaos, they still were very, very rare.

“Senior Hunchmont, I wouldn’t dare lie about something like this,” the former headmaster, Immortal Jadesea, said with a laugh. “When senior apprentice-brother Diancai underwent his tribulation, he had Ji Ning and senior apprentice-brother Fivecraze protecting him.”

“Good, good, good.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont leaned on his wooden staff, laughing as he spoke. “This is good news for the entire Stillwater Commandery. Go back now; I’ll make some preparations, then head to your Black-White College.”

“Yes. I’ll leave now.” Immortal Jadesea bowed respectfully, then immediately departed.

Celestial Immortal Hunchmont hesitated slightly within the room, then quickly departed, moving to a palace that the Northmont clan usually used for discussing major affairs. As he did, he barked, “Shut the palace doors. Everyone, depart.”

“Yes.” The guards all respectfully acknowledged the order.

Rumble…

After the palace door was shut, the enormous palace became shrouded within darkness.

Celestial Immortal Hunchmont waved his hand, and eight enormous candles suddenly began to blaze, lighting up the palace.

“Elder brother,” Hunchmont called out.

Instantly, the eyes of a sculpture of a strange beast that was located above the throne at the front of the hall suddenly lit up. It glanced towards him, and then the beast sculpture’s mouth moved as well. “Hunchmont. What is it?”

“Elder brother, our Stillwater Commandery has given birth to a Celestial Immortal,” Hunchmont said hurriedly.

“Who?” The strange beast sculpture asked.

“Immortal Diancai of the Black-White College,” Hunchmont replied.

The strange beast sculpture said, “The Black-White College has the closest of relationships with our Stillwater Commandery. This has been true for countless years. After becoming a Celestial Immortal, Immortal Diancai will naturally stand on the side of our Northmont clan of Stillwater. Especially during a time like this…the more powerful the Northmont clan’s forces are, the better. This is absolutely wonderful news.”

“Right.” Hunchmont nodded. “That’s what I thought as well. But elder brother, Diancai has just made his breakthrough; what sort of gift should we give him? His sword-arts are based on the Five Elements; he is most suited for using five Immortal swords. Why don’t we give him a gift of five high-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords?”

“Do you remember how, back in the Fiendgod Era,” the strange beast sculpture said, “I battled against Patriarch Fiveghosts at the Yuchang River, then slew him? I acquired a set of five Immortal swords from that battle. I still have them. Give them to this Immortal Diancai.”

“But those are five top-grade Immortal-ranked swords!” Hunchmont was shocked.

“Times are changing,” the strange beast sculpture said. “In a normal era, a gift of five high-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords would already be quite an incredible gift…but you know as well as I do that the entire world of the Grand Xia is shaking right now. Even I can vaguely sense in my subconscious that a storm is coming…and it is very possible that our Northmont clan of Stillwater shall perish within it. Thus, it is important that we not be stingy at a time like this. Only when you are willing to give some things up are you able to gain even more important things!”

“After we give him a set of five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, he will naturally feel grateful towards us…and thus we will have firmly pulled this Celestial Immortal Diancai under the Northmont clan’s war-banners. The Northmont clan of Stillwater currently only has two Celestial Immortals; if we count in Diancai, then we shall have three! That will make the foundations of the clan to be even more secure.”

“Elder brother, your plans are far-sighted,” Hunchmont said respectfully.

This elder brother of his had lived for far longer than he had.

In truth, this ‘elder brother’ was born unfathomably many generations before he had been. However, because both were Celestial Immortals, they considered themselves to be of the same generation in addressing each other. Still…Celestial Immortal Hunchmont revered this person greatly, because this person was the true foundation for the strength and prosperity of the Northmont clan.

“When you bring those five Immortal-ranked flying swords over, invite Celestial Immortal Diancai and that Ji Ning to come. I wish to see them both,” the strange beast sculpture said.

“Elder brother, you wish to see them?” Hunchmont was amazed; even within the Northmont clan, the vast majority of the many generations of marquises had no idea that there was such a powerful Patriarch who was still alive. This was the reason why the generations of marquises were so cautious and reserved, not causing any trouble; they didn’t know exactly how powerful their clan was.

“I certainly have to see Celestial Immortal Diancai; after all, in the future, when the storm truly erupts, he will be fighting alongside us, shoulder-to-shoulder. As for Ji Ning? His background is extraordinary, and in the end, he might prove to be even more important to us than Celestial Immortal Diancai,” the strange beast sculpture said.

……

The Headmaster’s Hall of the Black-White College.

The many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, along with Immortal Diancai, were all gathered here. There was a feast ongoing. Just as the feast was halfway through and as everyone was celebrating, a hunchbacked old man entered the hall, leaning on a wooden staff.

“Senior Hunchmont.”

“Senior Hunchmont.”

Everyone immediately rose to their feet. Even Ning rose.

“Congratulations, fellow Daoist Diancai,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont laughed. “You’ve overcome the four tribulations of wind, fire, thunder, and demonheart; you are now a Celestial Immortal.”

“I’ve only brought one thing with me. I’ve heard, fellow Daoist Diancai, that you are skilled in a Five Elements sword-art. Our Northmont clan just so happened to have a set of five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords in our treasury, and so I brought them to give them to you, fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist Diancai, you absolutely must not decline.”

“Top-grade Immortal-ranked??”

“Five of them?”

“Am I hearing things?”

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the Black-White College began to sent mental messages to each other. They had all guessed that the Northmont clan would bring congratulatory gifts, but they hadn’t expected that the gifts would be so valuable.

Ning was shocked upon hearing this as well. He had guessed that the gift would be five high-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, not top-grade! The Northmont clan truly was generous!

Immortal Diancai was similarly shocked. Naturally, he hurriedly moved to refuse; this gift was far too valuable, bringing great pressure to bear down upon him.

“Diancai, don’t refuse!” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont feigned anger. “If you keep refusing, I’m going to turn and leave!”

Only then did Immortal Diancai accept the gift.

……

The celebratory banquet continued until past midnight, when it finally concluded. Celestial Immortal Hunchmont stealthily sent a mental message to both Ji Ning and Immortal Diancai, and so after the banquet, the two of them both headed towards the Marquisate of Stillwater.

The Marquisate of Stillwater.

Ji Ning, Immortal Diancai, and Celestial Immortal Hunchmont were walking together.

“Senior Hunchmont,” Ning laughed, “We’ve arrived at the Marquisate. Senior, you can tell us what this is about now, right?”

Celestial Immortal Hunchmont laughed. “Patriarch Unity of our Northmont clan wishes to see you two.”

“Patriarch Unity of the Northmont clan?” Ji Ning and Immortal Diancai were both startled; where did this additional Northmont clan Patriarch come from?! When Ning had been weak, he had even thought that perhaps the Northmont clan didn’t have so much as a single Celestial Immortal; it was only later on that he learned of Hunchmont’s existence. He hadn’t expected them to have a second one!

Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. The roots of an ancient clan such as this one truly were extremely deep.

“Can it be…the Supreme Sword Immortal, Celestial Immortal Unity?” Immortal Diancai cried out in shock.

“Right.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont chortled.

“Master, who is this ‘Supreme Sword Immortal’, this ‘Celestial Immortal Unity’?” Ning asked, puzzled. Immortal Diancai explained, “I learned about him by accident. The Northmont clan of Stillwater has had quite a few Celestial Immortals in its history, but over the course of countless ages, most are presumed deceased. The most dazzling one of them all was this Supreme Sword Immortal! He existed back during the Fiendgod Era, and he submitted himself to the Xia Emperor’s rule, battling and fighting on the Xia Emperor’s behalf. Countless Fiendgods and countless Immortals died to his sword, and in the end, he won a marquisdom for the Northmont clan; the marquisdom of Stillwater Commandery. However…according to the legends, he perished during the Milky Way War. How is it that he is still alive?”

Ning, upon hearing this, was stunned. This old fellow had existed as far back as the Fiendgod Era, and had won the marquisdom for the Northmont clan?

“Haha, Patriarch Unity was indeed badly wounded during the Milky Way War, but he didn’t actually die. Still…that battle was a major blow for the Old Patriarch. The Old Patriarch felt so much grief, it was as though he had died. He never showed his face in the world again. Countless years have passed, but there has never been any word regarding the Old Patriarch as far as the outside world has been concerned, and so that’s why everyone believed him to have perished,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont explained.

Immortal Diancai now understood.

“The five Immortal swords gifted to you came from Patriarch Fiveghosts, who Patriarch Unity slew back during the Fiendgod Era.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont laughed. “It was the Old Patriarch who personally instructed for those swords to be given to you.”

Immortal Diancai nodded, then said to Ji Ning, “Ji Ning, when you see senior Unity, you must not behave improperly.”

Ning nodded.

He felt tremendous curiosity towards this Patriarch Unity; this was a truly legendary figure, one who had led his clan to rove the world in the Fiendgod Era, fighting and conquering countless foes before suddenly vanishing for seemingly all eternity. It must be understood that for a person to hide himself so thoroughly as to completely sever all contact with all other Celestial Immortals was quite a painful choice. Not everyone had an ability like Ning’s ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’, after all.

“Here we are. My elder brother is right inside.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont stood outside a seemingly ordinary courtyard.

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Chapter 26 – The State of Affairs

Chapter 26 – The State of Affairs

He pushed open the door to the courtyard. This was a very large courtyard, with grapes, willow trees, apple trees, and other types of trees within it. However, because it was winter, it naturally appeared a bit desolate.

Upon entering, Ji Ning felt as though this was the residence of an ordinary mortal.

Soon, Ning locked his gaze upon a distant gray-robed youth. The gray-robed youth’s head was raised, and he was looking at a willow tree. “It’s been a long time since I’ve returned to the Grand Xia…but this courtyard is still laid out the same way it was in the past. It hasn’t changed at all. Hunchmont…thank you.”

“This is the only place you like to stay in, elder brother. I naturally had to keep it in good shape,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont said.

The gray-robed youth turned his head to look at them.

Ning and Immortal Diancai were both startled. The gaze of this gray-robed youth was as deep and penetrating as the waters of an icy pool. His aura was extremely profound. Although the two knew very little about him, both Ning and Immortal Diancai could feel…that if they were to fight, they probably would be far from being a match for this figure.

“It seems he is a supreme figure amongst Celestial Immortals,” Ning mused to himself. There could be huge differences in power amongst Celestial Immortals, much like how Ning, despite being merely a Void-level Earth Immortals, could effortless sweep groups of Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals with his power.

“Greetings to you, senior Unity,” Ning said.

“Greetings to you, fellow Daoist Unity,” Immortal Diancai said.

Ning was still technically at the Void-level, after all; since he was unwilling to reveal his status as a Daofather’s disciple, he naturally addressed Celestial Immortals the way most ordinary Void-level Earth Immortals would; as ‘senior’.

“Diancai? Ji Ning?” The gray-robed youth looked at the two of them, a hint of a smile on his face. He then casually pointed at nearby wooden chairs. “Sit.” With a gesture from his hand, all the dust disappeared from the chairs.

The gray-robed youth was the first to sit down. He even produced a tea kettle and teacups, pouring each of them a cup. “This is green tea. You can drink it after boiling it; it is a fairly common refreshment in many major worlds. However, it’s a bit rarer in our world of the Grand Xia. Have a taste. I personally planted this tea tree and personally collected the tea leaves.”

Ning and Immortal Diancai were both rather startled. They immediately tasted it.

Ning could sense a thick aroma waft into his mouth and spread throughout his entire body, the flavor limitless. “Good tea.”

“Ji Ning, you like to drink tea as well?” The gray-robed youth asked curiously.

Ning was startled. He hurriedly replied, “I occasionally drink it.”

In truth, just now Ning was unconsciously drawing from his tea-drinking experiences from his past life on Earth.

“Tea is quite flavorful. I took on many masters to study this art, to study various types of tea trees, how to plant tea trees, how to select the right soil, and use the proper type of water…” The gray-robed youth laughed. “Haha, enough of that. I’m happy to talk about this all day, but I imagine that you would be bored senseless by it.”

Immortal Diancai asked curiously, “Fellow Daoist Unity, you’ve taken on many masters?”

“All mortals,” the gray-robed youth laughed.

“Mortals?”

Immortal Diancai and Ji Ning both felt startled; a Celestial Immortal who was willing to take on a mortal as a master? Not just anyone could do something like this!

“I invited the two of you over for a nice chat,” the gray-robed youth said with a laugh. “A storm is about to befall the Three Realms, and the world of the Grand Xia is naturally not going to be able to avoid it. In addition, there are some hidden powers who are making use of this storm to cause waves of their own. In truth…ever since the Milky Way War, I’ve been living the life of an ordinary mortal. I’ve been quite relaxed…but this can no longer continue.”

“The life of an ordinary mortal?” Immortal Diancai frowned.

“If you wish to live a longer live, then you need to avoid being stained by karma,” the gray-robed youth said with a laugh. “What is karma? If you have a friend, and your friend falls into danger, you will naturally go help him; this is karma! If someone like me always hides within a minor world of mortals and doesn’t interact with any Celestial Immortals, with all my friends and enemies believing me to be dead…then they naturally won’t come bother me. This can be considered ‘severing karma’.”

“I live a carefree life. Naturally, I’m able to live a long, long life.” The gray-robed youth looked towards Immortal Diancai, then laughed, “After this storm ends, fellow Daoist Diancai, you should also set up a ‘false death’ then hide yourself in a minor world of mortals. You can live for trillions of years and still probably wouldn’t perish…unless, of course, you encounter yet another storm like this one, which no one will be able to avoid.”

Ning and Immortal Diancai were speechless upon hearing this.

They understood…that this was indeed a fine way to ‘live a long life’. However, not everyone had this sort of willpower, to go live the life of a mortal despite being an exalted Celestial Immortal.

“Senior Unity, you say that no one will be able to avoid this coming storm?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“Perhaps the truly exalted Daofathers will remain safe,” the gray-robed youth said, “But for Celestial Immortals like us, and perhaps even for True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, I wager…it will be hard to avoid this storm. Based on what I know, this storm is about to envelop the entire Three Realms. A small place like our Stillwater Commandery has also been thrown into chaos. For example, the rise of the Blood God Church!”

“Senior, you should be able to eradicate the Blood God Church, right?” Ning asked.

“Eradicating them would naturally be easy. If I made a trip, they would be immediately wiped out. But if I did that, then the Northmont clan of Stillwater will most likely be viewed as a dangerous source of trouble for that hidden power,” the gray-robed youth said. “Thus…we shall simply continue the low-level struggle against them. We’ll slowly play with the Blood God Church. The biggest benefit of going with the flow is that when the true storm comes, we’ll all be able to join together to fight side-by-side.”

Immortal Diancai asked, “A hidden power? Which power?”

“I don’t know either. I imagine you, Diancai, also know that the Grand Xia Dynasty is currently in a state of great chaos. Clearly, the various evil or berserk clans and sects now all have hidden supporters,” the gray-robed youth said. “In fact, I suspect…that some marquises have already thrown their support to the hidden power.”

“The marquises have changed their loyalties?!” Ning and Diancai were both shocked.

“The waters are far too muddy right now. No one knows exactly what is going on. Not even the Xia Emperor dares to truly exert his power right now. Everyone is building up their power, waiting quietly to fight,” the gray-robed youth said. “It is the Xia Emperor’s job to deal with the hidden power; as for us, all we need to do is survive. To allow our clans and sects to survive! Thus, I hope that both of you, Ji Ning and fellow Daoist Diancai, shall stand together alongside myself and Hunchmont. If we join forces…we’ll be able to protect the Black-White College, protect Swallow Mountain, and protect the Northmont clan of Stillwater.”

Ning and Immortal Diancai exchanged a glance.

“Alright.”

“Of course.”

Both of them nodded, agreeing to this alliance.

One chopstick is easily broken. A bundle of chopsticks are hard to break!

…..

Because the Black-White College had a long-standing relationship with the Northmont clan, Ning and his master naturally decided to fight on their side and ally with them!

“I wonder if you two seniors are aware…of any powers within the world of the Grand Xia who are skilled in the Ba-Serpent Formation?” Ning asked.

“Ba-Serpent Formation?” Looks of puzzlement appeared on the faces of the gray-robed youth and Hunchmont.

“There are some powers in the Three Realms that are skilled in the Ba-Serpent Formation, but as for the world of the Grand Xia…I truly haven’t heard of any.” The gray-robed youth shook his head. “Hunchmont, have you heard anything? You are often here at the Grand Xia; you should know more than me.”

“I haven’t heard of anything either. The Ba-Serpent Formation is no ordinary formation.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont shook his head as well.

The next dawn.

Ji Ning arrived at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain of Stillwtaer City. One of the Diremonster Immortals of the Mountain, a Celestial Fox Immortal, personally came to greet him. She was the highest-ranking member of this branch of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, might I ask why you have come to my Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” The Celestial Fox Immortal was astonishingly alluring, and her bewitching body was sinuous and curvaceous beneath the gauze she wore.

Ning said, “I wish to investigate regarding a technique known as the Ba-Serpent Formation.”

“Ba-Serpent Formation?” The Celestial Fox Immortal was startled. “Alright. Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, wait a moment. I’ll go look.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

He ended up waiting nearly a full hour.

Ning stared in astonishment as a silver-haired man suddenly appeared before him.

When he had gone to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia to sell off that arrow, he had encountered this individual, ‘Skyfox’. The reason why many of the branches of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the Grand Xia Dynasty were all managed by Celestial Foxes was precisely because the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain was established by this individual, Patriarch Skyfox – the silver-haired man before him.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, you wish to learn about the Ba-Serpent Formation?” The silver-haired man looked towards Ning.

“Senior Skyfox, why have you come to Stillwater?” Ning asked, surprised.

The silver-haired man laughed. Ever since the Xia Emperor had become convinced that Ning had a huge background, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain had naturally elevated Ning’s status in their eyes to an extremely high level. He was given more latitude than even most Celestial Immortal Patriarchs. When he made an intelligence request, this request was instantly relayed to the main headquarters, and once the main headquarters knew, Patriarch Skyfox had personally hurried to Stillwater.

“I know that you wish to learn of the Ba-Serpent Formation, and so I came,” the silver-haired man said.

“Does this involve something major?” Ning asked, surprised.

“Yes.” The silver-haired man nodded. “Very major. This intelligence report is very precious as well. The Heavenly Treasures Mountain wouldn’t even give this report to most Celestial Immortals…but the Xia Emperor views you with great favor, and so we can give it to you.”

Hearing that the Xia Emperor viewed himself with favor, Ning couldn’t help but say in a rather helpless way, “The Xia Emperor isn’t angry at me for not accepting Sword Immortal Evergreen as my master?”

“Your choice of a master is primarily your own affair. No matter what, you are still a member of the world of the Grand Xia; you are one of our own. How could the Xia Emperor be such a petty person?” The silver-haired man laughed.

Ning instantly felt relieved. He could tell that clearly, the Xia Emperor wished to befriend him.

“The Ba-Serpent Formation…?” Ning looked at him.

“The Ba-Serpent Formation. In the entire world of the Grand Xia, there is only a single power that knows how to execute it: Bloodcloud Hall,” the silver-haired man said.

“Bloodcloud Hall?” Ning was puzzled; he had never heard of it before.

“This is a very secretive assassin’s guild; the number one assassin’s guild of the Grand Xia.” The silver-haired man waved his hand, delivering a thick tome towards Ning. “There are a series of intelligence reports here regarding Bloodcloud Hall, as well as the links between them and some other hidden powers. All of these hidden powers, including Bloodcloud Hall, belong to a single mastermind, the great foe of the Grand Xia.”

Ning was startled.

Almost all of the information regarding the powers serving this enemy mastermind had been recorded down in this book. This sort of intelligence report was indeed priceless; the Xia Emperor was actually willing to let him see it?

“What, don’t you want to read it? This is a detailed report that came at a price of countless lives. Although we aren’t able to completely uncover the face of the enemy mastermind…we can vaguely make him out now.” The silver-haired man continued to hold out that thick tome.

Ning laughed, then stretched his hand out and accepted it.

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Chapter 27 – The Sixteenth Stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]

Chapter 27 – The Sixteenth Stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]

Roughly thirty years ago, mysterious organizations began to appear throughout the entire world of the Grand Xia. It seemed as though they had come from another world.

One of the organizations was known as Bloodcloud Hall.

Bloodcloud Hall was an assassin’s guild. It didn’t participate in any political struggles; whoever gave them treasures, they would help in carrying out assassinations! They would assassinate anyone from puny mortals to mighty Celestial Immortals! They could kill anyone in the entire world of the Grand Xia, aside from the Grand Xia Emperor himself. Ever since Bloodcloud Hall had appeared in the world of the Grand Xia, they had delivered talismans to the various supreme marquises, clans, tribes, and sects. Through the talisman, one could reach out to Bloodcloud Hall and go to the legendary ‘Bloodcloud Hall world’. There, they could offer treasures and sign agreements. Bloodcloud Hall would then go kill their targets.

If the mission failed, Bloodcloud Hall would try again. If Bloodcloud Hall chose to give up the mission, they would return all the treasures taken.

If they succeeded…neither side would owe the other anything.

……

There was another power, one known as the Seamless Gate.

This was a power that was far more mysterious than Bloodcloud Hall. The Seamless Gate had also revealed traces of itself in the world of the Grand Xia roughly thirty years ago. They had furiously stirred up trouble throughout the entire world; for example, here in Stillwater Commandery, they had gifted the Blood God Church, which had always felt hatred towards the Northmont clan of Stillwater, with secret arts and treasures so as to help them grow much stronger.

In the past, the Blood God Church had been weak, and so the Blood God Church had suppressed its hatred for the Northmont clan. Now that they had grown powerful, and with the blandishments of the Seamless Gate…they had instantly begun to launch frenzied attacks.

The Seamless Gate had moved to seduce many powers in many places.

They would bestow treasures and secret arts…and would reward those who killed powerful figures! The more merits their supporters rendered, the more gifts they would bestow.

“What is this Seamless Gate trying to do?” Ning read through the intelligence report. He couldn’t help but feel dazed and tongue-tied. “They are causing so much trouble in the entire world of the Grand Xia…they are causing everyone to kill as many people as possible, and the more one kills, the more treasures and secret arts one would acquire?”

No one knew where the headquarters of the Seamless Gate was located.

In fact, no one had even located a gathering point for the Seamless Gate. The seduced powers all had to wait for the envoys of the Seamless Gate to personally come visit them.

The Seamless Gate was extremely powerful…their white-robed envoys were all Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, while their golden-robed envoys were Celestial Immortals. More than three hundred different Celestial Immortals had already been verified!

“Three hundred?!” A look of utter shock appeared on Ning’s face as he read this figure.

Terrifying. Utterly terrifying!

During the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, just a thousand or so Celestial Immortals had come from throughout the Grand Xia Dynasty to the main hall of the Skylight Palace. Of course, there were even more who had remained at home, declining to participate, such as Celestial Immortals Hunchmont and Unity. The Youngflame clan, in turn, had only sent Patriarch Arcanum.

The entire Grand Xia Dynasty most likely had several thousand Celestial Immortals, perhaps even as many as ten thousand.

But…

They represented the full force available to all the marquises, schools, and sects. They weren’t necessarily part of the imperial clan’s power! There was a limit to how powerful the imperial clan was, and in fact there had even been rebellions led by marquises in the past. Even powers like the Northmont clan of Stillwater were acting in a low-key manner, watching passively as events unfolded. There was no way they would act in an insane manner and go serve as cannon fodder for the imperial clan.

“We have already discovered more than three hundred Celestial Immortals under this single organization, the Seamless Gate. In the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, aside from them, most likely only the imperial clan is this powerful. None of the other clans or tribes are so strong.’ Ning was secretly amazed by this. “No wonder not even the Xia Emperor dares to act rashly; after all, the three hundred-plus so-called ‘golden-robed envoys’ are merely ‘envoys’; they don’t represent the Seamless Gate’s full power.”

……

Bloodcloud Hall was willing to kill anyone for treasures; even the imperial Xia clan could hire them to take on assassination missions.

The Seamless Gate stirred up trouble throughout the world, causing chaos everywhere. But no one knew anything about the true power, headquarters, or gathering points for the Seamless Gate.

……

Aside from these two major powers, there were other hidden powers as well…but they were even more low-key, showing very few traces of themselves. These two major powers were too brash; naturally, there was a bit more information regarding them.

Be it the already-revealed Bloodcloud Hall and Seamless Gate, or those other hidden powers…

They shared a commonality.

They all appeared roughly thirty years ago!

“No wonder the Xia Emperor is being so cautious. Bloodcloud Hall and the Seamless Gate are already terrifyingly powerful…much less the other hidden powers,” Ning mused to himself. By now, he had finished reading the book.

“Don’t worry too much,” the silver-haired man laughed. “The person who controls this world of the Grand Xia is still his Imperial Majesty! These powers that are causing trouble in secret, such as the Seamless Gate…if they truly had the power to shake the imperial clan, they wouldn’t be hiding around furtively, not daring to show their faces, nor would they act in such indirect ways.”

Ning was momentarily startled, but a moment later he nodded. “Right. I understand.”

It made sense. Even the likes of the Northmont clan of Stillwater had secret powers behind them such as Patriarch Unity. As the controller of this entire major world, and as the Grand Xia Emperor who came from the Primordial Imperial Clan…how much power had the Xia Emperor built up over the countless ages? The control the Grand Xia Emperor had over this entire world was extremely deep. Just look at the Raindragon Guard!

Every single commandery city had a Raindragon Guard branch, and every single Raindragon Guard branch was comparable in power to the local marquis.

The Raindragon Guard, as a whole, possessed utterly enormous power!

“His Imperial Majesty was able to bring an end to the era of Fiendgods in this world; he’s not someone that these minor powers are capable of shaking. The storm has yet to truly come; this is nothing but a bit of wind and a few sprinkles of rain.” The silver-haired man smiled as he looked at Ning. “I imagine, Ji Ning, that you now understand things a bit better, and also see clearly the overall state of affairs here in the world of the Grand Xia.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “Thank you, senior Skyfox. Oh…I should be thanking his Imperial Majesty for allowing me to see this intelligence report. If it wasn’t for this report, I would have no idea about what Bloodcloud Hall was, to say nothing of the Seamless Gate.”

“If there’s anything you need, you can go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia and seek me out,” the silver-haired man said with a laugh. “I’ll naturally do my best to help out.”

“Definitely.” Ning nodded, then suddenly asked, “Right, has there been any news of my senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei?”

“After Yu Wei accompanied Patriarch Lu in leaving the world of the Grand Xia more than thirty years ago, she has yet to return. I imagine she is still training,” the silver-haired man said.

……

Ning led Uncle White out of Stillwater City, returning to Swallow Mountain.

On this trip to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, he had gotten the answer he had come for; the Ba-Serpent Formation was a formation often used by the assassins of Bloodcloud Hall. The twelve who had tried to assassinate Ning were then most likely assassins of Bloodcloud Hall. As for who had invited Bloodcloud Hall to do the deed…the first thought Ning had was of the Youngflame clan. Aside from them, Ning could think of no others.

After returning to Swallow Mountain, Uncle White continued to lay down new formations. He had previously only laid down a single one of the supreme killing formations; there were two more that had yet to be laid down. As for Ning, he focused on comprehending the Dao and training. He would alternate between working on his sword-arts and training archery, in accordance with [Houyi’s Archery].

……

Ning was living a peaceful life, but the world of the Grand Xia as a whole wasn’t peaceful at all.

In almost every commandery, and even in the four seas, the Seamless Gate continuously fanned the flames of chaos. Everyone, including the members of the imperial Xia clan as well as the various marquisates, began to grow cautious. This was because they couldn’t tell who their enemy was; in fact, they couldn’t even find out where their enemy was located.

And during this period of time…the Youngflame clan was investigating Ji Ning.

“Even Bloodcloud Hall demanded twenty top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures! Although they went too far in what they asked for, based on how Bloodcloud Hall usually prices their assassination missions, this high request suggests exactly how difficult the target is to deal with. Ji Ning’s power must be even greater than what we believed it to be; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand Bloodcloud Hall’s first attempt.”

“In thirty or so short years, he has increased his power immeasurably, compared to back during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. If he is permitted to continue to develop like this…I’m afraid that in thirty more years, it will be extremely difficult for our Youngflame clan to kill him.”

“He has to be eliminated as soon as possible. Otherwise…he will cause a disaster.”

“Since Bloodcloud Hall has named such a high price…let’s do it ourselves. We have to succeed on our first try.”

“Right. We have to plan this perfectly; we need to treat Ji Ning as we would a supreme Celestial Immortal.”

Everyone within the Youngflame clan acknowledged the threat Ji Ning posed to them. In truth, ever since the Youngflame clan sent people to attempt to wipe out the Ji clan, the hatred between the two sides had increased to a very high level. The assassination attempt in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia caused this feud to become even more difficult to result.

As for this assassination attempt by Bloodcloud Hall, since Ji Ning had no other major enemies in the Grand Xia Dynasty aside from the Youngflame clan, he would probably quickly arrive at the right conclusion…

“Get rid of him.”

“Get rid of him as soon as possible.”

The Youngflame clan began their investigations, but Swallow Mountain was completely impregnable. The terrifying formations surrounding it were even more frightening than the ones surrounding the Youngflame clan’s headquarters.

“There’s no way to assassinate him within Swallow Mountain.”

“Ji Ning is in Swallow Mountain right now. We have to wait.”

“Let’s wait.”

……

Ning’s life in Swallow Mountain wa quite relaxed. No matter how much turmoil there was in the outside world, he just quietly trained at home.

Winter passed. Spring came. Then summer. Then late autumn.

Ning stayed at Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain this entire time!

Actually, this entire time, Ning had wanted to make a trip to the Eastwoods mountain range; after all, he had suffered an attack there, and that was the only base belonging to the mysterious power that he knew about. In addition, based on what he saw, he believed that his opponents shouldn’t be able to do anything to him. He naturally wanted to go back! And by relying on his Seventy-Two Transformations, there was no need for him to worry about his identity being exposed; he could effortlessly penetrate their defenses.

But…

Ning hadn’t gone. This was because he was waiting for something; for his breakthrough in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! He had reached the fifteenth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] more than ten years ago; during recent years, aside from training in sword-arts and archery, he also trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] every single day. Because of the power of his body, energy from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star was filling his body at a truly shocking rate…but at his current level, each new breakthrough required a similarly shocking amount of divine power. However, Ning could feel as though his breakthrough was coming soon.

This was why he had refrained from going to the Eastwoods mountain range; after he made a new breakthrough and his power increased dramatically, he would have a better chance in his investigations!

“Autumn Leaf, I’m going to rest a bit on the lake. I’ll come back at night. Prepare some good food,” Ning said with a grin.

“Right.” Autumn Leaf nodded repeatedly.

Ning was standing by the beach. As he waved his hand, a little boat appeared on the surface of the lake. Ning took a single step forward, stepping into the boat. The little boat then floated away towards the depths of Serpentwing Lake.

Autumn Leaf watched from afar. After watching for quite some time, she saw that Ning had completely disappeared within the distant mist. Only then did she turn and go back home.

……

The boat floated on the lake. Ning lay down within the boat, almost subconsciously beginning to absorb energy from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star.

Suddenly…as if sensing something, Ning opened his eyes. He could sense that the divine power in his body had reached a limit. He was about to make his breakthrough! He immediately rose to his feet, then took a single step forward, leaving the little boat and coming to stand on the waters of the lake.

Rumble…

Rumble…

From infinitely far away, the two Supreme Stars in the void, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, instantly began to transmit their power through the void, all the way down until it reached Ji Ning’s body…

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Chapter 28 – Just a Tenth

Chapter 28 – Just a Tenth

The Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo on Ji Ning’s back began to become even more profound and complicated. They were shining brightly, and in the area around Ning, a golden crow that was surrounded by flames began to fly about in a circling manner. At the same time, a jade rabbit appeared as well, filled with an icy aura as it stared upwards into the void, as though seeing the Lunar Star deep within the depths of infinity.

The distant Solar Star and Lunar Star continued to transmit a large amount of Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire.

Whoooooosh.

Water and fire meshed together like threads being woven into a fabric. Soon, Ning became completely surrounded by them, as though he was within a giant egg. Within the egg, through a mysterious method that Ning couldn’t understand, energy was being transmitted straight into his body, rapidly and frantically changing it. His body once more began a fundamental transformation, a transformation brought on by advancing to a separate level in power. Even his Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo were beginning to transform.

……

Above the calm surface of Serpentwing Lake, a three meter high ‘egg’ was hovering in the air. One could vaguely make out that the egg was bi-colored. Although it emanated an invisible field of terrifying power, it didn’t disturb the surface of the water in the slightest.

Slowly…

The eggshell grew increasingly thin and translucent. In fact, one could even vaguely make out a human figure within it. Finally, the eggshell completely vanished, and a completely naked youth appeared, standing on the surface of the lake. Moments later, his body became covered with an exquisitely sewn set of fur clothes.

“Whew. I’ve finally reached the sixteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].” Ning let out a sigh of relief. “I should now be comparable to an ordinary late Void-level Fiendgod Body Refiner; before my Fiendgod tribulation comes, I can at most train to the seventeenth stage. I’m very close to my maximum level of power possible, prior to my tribulation.”

Once one reached the eighteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the Empyrean Tribulation would quickly descend. Thus, prior to attempting the tribulation, one could at most train to the seventeenth stage.

Today’s breakthrough represented an advance to a major new level. It had thus involved a fundamental transformation.

Previously, Ning could at most train to the Third Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], because his divine body had reached a limit in power; there was no way it could withstand any further strengthening. But now that Ning’s divine body had fundamentally been transformed, he could train all the way up to the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! Alas…the price one would need to pay to reach the Sixth Cycle was more than a thousandfold the price one needed for the Third Cycle!

The Ninth Cycle, in turn, needed roughly a thousand times as many materials as the Sixth Cycle! The price was heart-clenchingly high. Even Ning’s senior apprentice-brother, Empyrean God Silvermoon, had merely trained to the Sixth Cycle. The number of people in the Three Realms who had reached the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] could be counted on one hand; they were even rarer than Daofathers or True Gods!

“For a Fiendgod Body Refiner to advance from the early Void level to the late Void level represents advancing across two small stages.” Ning mused to himself, “I imagine that by now, my close combat power is probably superior to my power as a Ki Refiner.”

Previously, as a Ki Refiner, he could rely on his [Heavenraker] sword formation, which was somewhat more powerful than his close combat abilities. But Ning’s divine body was now far too powerful! It must be understood that Fiendgod Body Refiners were powerful to begin with, and Ning was now comparable to late Void-level Fiendgods…and he also had the [Starseizing Hand]! In terms of raw strength alone, when he went all out, he was even stronger than Celestial Immortals. With the Thousandbull Sword and his various sword-arts…he would now be considered a formidable figure, even amongst Celestial Immortals. He was definitely better now than he was in the past, where he would be considered a fairly low-class Celestial Immortal.

After making his breakthrough, Ning continued to lie there within his little boat, floating across the surface of Serpentwing Lake.

It was like he was ‘showing off’ to his parents after having accomplished something significant, in the hopes of earning a word of praise from them. After increasing his level of power, Ning simply floated there in the waters of Serpentwing Lake. He felt like he was by the side of his parents; he wanted to let them see how strong he had become. The gentle sounds of the waves were like the voices of his mother and father.

“My power has increased greatly after having gone to Mount Innerheart. It is time to take a look into what happened with my parents after they reincarnated,” Ning mused to himself.

After death, reincarnation.

Ning naturally had been thinking about this for quite some time now. He wanted to look into this matter. As for his parents from his previous life? Ning wanted to look into what happened to them as well. However, in the past, Ning was simply too weak; there was no way he could investigate them at all. Now, Ning could be somewhat considered a ‘powerful’ figure. Still…this was not an era of peace. In a peaceful era, everything was under the control of the Netherworld Kingdom, making investigations fairly simple. The Six Cycles of Reincarnation, however, had been destroyed; it would now be far more difficult to investigate anything.

Late night.

Ning returned to Brightmoon Island. After joining Uncle White, Little Qing, and Autumn Leaf in eating some delicacies which Autumn Leaf had personally prepared, Ning once more quietly slipped into his underwater estate.

……

The underwater estate.

The giant yellow bear looked at Ning, then laughed. “Congratulations. You’ve broken through to the sixteenth stage as a Fiendgod Body Refiner; this is a major leap for you. You now have two more chances to attempt the Wargod Hall, and can also choose yet another item from the Treasures Hall. And…I have to say, you’ve grown remarkably patient. You were actually able to wait until nightfall before coming here, after you made a break through.”

Ning just chuckled. He then asked, “Last time, I overcame the eighth floor of the Wargod Hall; the ninth and tenth floor now await me. Senior, how good are my chances for attempting the ninth floor?”

“Ninth floor? Mm…if your true body and your Primaltwin join forces, you’d just barely have a tenth of a chance, I suppose,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Just a tenth?” Ning was surprised.

He felt that he would be considered formidable even amongst Celestial Immortals by now…and he also had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him.

“How good of a chance did you think you’d have? When you overcome the ninth and tenth floors, you’ll receive a Pure Yang treasure,” the giant yellow bear said. “The seventh and eighth floor have Immortal-ranked treasures as their rewards, but these two have Pure Yang treasures; naturally, the difficulty level will have risen exponentially. Based on my estimations…one needs to have the power of a supreme Celestial Immortal to be absolutely sure of overcoming the ninth floor. As for the tenth floor…you’ll need to have close to the level of a Pure Yang True Immortal to overcome it.”

Ning blinked.

The ninth floor…a supreme Celestial Immortal?

The tenth floor…close to a Pure Yang True Immortal?

Ning knew his own limits. It must be understood that there was a huge gap between mastering the [Three-Foot Sword] and mastering the Grand Dao of the Sword. Thus, although in sword-arts Ning would be considered formidable amongst Celestial Immortals and would not be considered weak, he was still quite a ways off from the true peak of power. Most likely, Patriarch Unity had the strength of a supreme Celestial Immortal.

“Fine, I won’t try it for now. After all…I only have two chances before becoming an Empyrean God,” Ning said. “Senior, let’s go. Let’s go to the Treasures Hall; I want to choose my treasure.”

“You should be careful in making this choice. You wouldn’t be able to use a Pure Yang treasure right now, even if I gave one to you…so the most important thing for you right now is a good Immortal-ranked magic treasure. This is your third time choosing one, and so I’ll bring out all the Immortal-ranked magic treasures which Master left behind and let you choose from them.” As the giant yellow bear spoke, he led Ning to the Treasures Hall.

The many magic treasures within the hall were still levitating high up in the air, emanating powerful ripples of majesty.

However…to the current Ning, the ripples of power were virtually negligible. He was now able to forcibly seize even Pure Yang treasures.

“Mm, here is the list for all the Immortal-ranked treasures.” The giant yellow bear gave Ning a thick tome listing many treasures.

Ning immediately lowered his head, beginning to flip through it.

He had already chosen two Immortal-ranked magic treasures; the first time, he had chosen the Tripartite Immortal-Locking Circlet, which was a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure which he had chosen for the express purpose of giving it to Uncle White, which he had done so long ago. The second time, he had chosen those nine top-grade Immortal-ranked swords that could join together into the [Heavenraker] sword-formation; clearly, this was a much finer treasure. As for this third time…all of the Immortal-ranked magic treasures were now available for his perusing.

“Wow.”

“These things are way better than the Heavenraker swords.” Ning was speechless at what he saw.

Although the Heavenraker swords were excellent…compared to the truly top-notch Immortal-ranked items which Daoist Threelives had collected, they were far inferior. After all, those nine swords were template-produced items.

“These are all the very best available; most likely, in the current Three Realms, they would be considered amongst the most exquisite of Immortal-ranked treasures. When leaving them behind, Master elected not to break up any of the sets,” the nearby giant yellow bear said.

Ning’s eyes were shining with glee as he read through the book.

For example, this one!

A Pentabolt Ship of Cosmic Light: A top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure that could move extremely fast, as fast as an Empyrean God or True Immortal! And once one filled it with elemental ki, Pentabolts of Cosmic Light could be used to attack the enemy.

Pentabolts of Cosmic Light were comparable to the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens in power. If one hid within the ship, the enemies would be unable to do anything to you, while you could release Pentabolts of Cosmic Light to strike your opponent at your leisure! Even the vast majority of Celestial Immortals would perish under such a wild assault; after all, there were very few who were like Ning, who had trained in something that was as protective as the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. This item alone was definitely no less valuable than a Pure Yang treasure! This was because there were very few Pure Yang treasures that were capable of unleashing Pentabolts of Cosmic Light.

……

“This one. This is absolutely…” Ning’s eyes were absolutely huge right now.

Tiangang Disha net formation 1 : This was a terrifying, large formation that was formed by 3600 top-grade Immortal-ranked flying knives! Once the enemy was trapped within the formation, the 3600 flying knives would wildly attack from every direction, in such a flurry that they would be almost impossible to block. The flying knives themselves would also be supported by the mysteries of the formation. This set was so powerful that if a Celestial Immortal were to possess it, it would be enough for him to arrogantly roam the realms as he pleased. A grand formation composed of so many top-grade Immortal-ranked flying knives…no one would be so foolish as to accept even a standard Pure Yang treasure in exchange for it!

“Senior, these 3600 top-grade Immortal-ranked flying knives…they are considered ‘one set’?!” Ning couldn’t believe it.

Although the value of a flying knife was generally a bit lower than a flying sword…3600 flying knives were equivalent to hundreds of flying swords. And the Heavenraker swords were merely a set of nine!

“Of course. There are pleeenty of fine treasures here. In short, all of the fine Immortal-ranked treasures which Master ever acquired have been left here. Just keep looking,” the giant yellow bear said.

……

“Myriad Extermination Needles!” Flipping through the book, Ning found the set with the highest number of top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

There was a full myriad of flying needles! Ten thousand flying needles, all contained within a needle-box. The needle-box itself was already an extremely valuable top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure which had a Dao-diagram within it. When battle began, one would open the box, and countless flying needles would come flying out…and the power of the Dao-diagram was truly terrifying as well.

……

“Stellar Revolutions sword-formation? Pretty formidable…but it’d be better if it had more flying swords.”

The Stellar Revolutions sword-formation consisted of 360 top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords that were specially forged in order to unleash the Grand Stellar Revolutions formation. Once activated, every single sword would seem to have transformed into a star as it smashed down towards the foe.

……

Ning was completely intoxicated as he flipped through the supreme Immortal-ranked magic treasures he found within this tome. These were the items which Daoist Threelives had collected for the express purpose of passing them down to his successors; they weren’t meant for any single person, but rather an entire generation of successors. Thus, he naturally had to prepare quite a few items.

1. Tiangang Disha is a very hard term to translate that comes from the legendary Chinese novel, the ‘Water Margin’. There are 36 ‘Tiangang’, which literally translates into ‘celestial stars (of the Big Dipper)’, and 72 ‘Disha’, which literally translates into ‘terrestrial fiends’. In the Water Margin, they were a group of 108 demons that were banished but managed to escape, and were reborn into outlaw heroes that fought for justice. Suikoden’s ‘108 Stars of Destiny’ and Saint Seiya’s ‘108 Specters’ all fundamentally derive from this tale.

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Chapter 29 – Preparing to Head Out

Chapter 29 – Preparing to Head Out

“Choose carefully,” the giant yellow bear said with a smirk. “When you come choose Pure Yang treasures, you’ll have to wait until your third shot before you once more see such an awesome display.”

Ji Ning nodded. He understood this, of course. The first time he had chosen Immortal-ranked magic treasures, he had only been able to choose a high-grade treasure, the Tripartite Immortal-Locking Circlet. Only on the second time had he been given the option of choosing the set of Heavenraker swords. As for the third time…it had been completely different.

The first two times he would have to choose a Pure Yang treasure, he would have to overcome the ninth and tenth levels; the number of treasures would probably be limited. Only after becoming an Empyrean God would he have the third chance to choose Pure Yang treasures; only then would he have the chance to see the most powerful treasures on offer within the entire underwater estate.

But the prerequisite…becoming an Empyrean God!

Empyrean Gods were comparable to Pure Yang True Immortals in power. To become an Empyrean God, one would have to overcome nine nine-sets of the thunder tribulation. In addition, given how extraordinary Ning’s background was, with him being a successor to both Daoist Threelives and Patriarch Subhuti…his Empyrean Tribulation would probably be even more difficult than that of most Fiendgods. Thus, Ning didn’t dare to be the slightest bit overconfident.

“My [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] requires a total of 729 Immortal swords. Most likely, for the foreseeable future, I’ll be using top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords,” Ning mused to himself.

Even after he became a Celestial Immortal, it wasn’t very likely that he would be able to acquire more than seven hundred Pure Yang treasures, even if he was able to acquire a few.

He had to become an Empyrean God. The third chance to choose a Pure Yang treasure from the underwater estate’s Treasure Hall…perhaps there would be a chance. Just a chance! After all, Daoist Threelives had merely left behind some of his stored items; he didn’t necessarily have nearly a thousand Pure Yang flying swords that he could leave behind for use in a formation!

And in addition, becoming an Empyrean God was far too distant a goal!

As Ning planned it, he definitely had to let his Primaltwin undergo its tribulation first; only then would he let his true body undergo the Celestial Tribulation. This was because his Primaltwin was merely a Ki Refiner; its tribulation would be a bit easier. As for his true body, a Fiendgod Body Refiner…its tribulation would be utterly terrifying. Since he knew that, he naturally wasn’t going to let his true body and his Primaltwin undergo tribulations simultaneously. Ning didn’t even dare imagine how terrifying the Celestial Tribulation would be if he did!

In addition, back when he was living on Mount Innerheart, Ning had often chatted with his senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon and the others. His various senior apprentice-brothers had all advised him to have his Primaltwin be the first to undergo the tribulation. That way, it would first enter the Celestial Immortal stage, allowing him to comprehend the Grand Dao of the Sword at a faster rate. Once his level of insight into it became higher…after his preparations were more thorough…only then would his true body undergo the tribulation.

……

“The Three Realms are in a state of chaos. I’ll be relying on this final set of flying swords to protect myself! I’ll also be using them to withstand the Celestial Tribulation!” Ning was extremely cautious and careful as he flipped through the book, reading each page carefully. He saw many formidable sets of powerful top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, but unfortunately there were no sets of nearly a thousand top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords.

But suddenly, his eyes lit up and came to a halt.

“There it is.” Ning revealed a look of delight.

The Yin-Yang Duality Thousand Supremes Formation: A sword-formation formed by a set of five hundred extremely Yin-aligned ‘Sole-Ki Frost Swords’ and five hundred extremely Yang-aligned ‘Qiangang Inferno Swords’. They could combine into the Yin-Yang Duality Thousand Supremes Formation; once formed, Yin and Yang would intersect and fire and water would converge, annihilating all things. All of the swords were top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords; they could be controlled by two different people at the same time, with one controlling the five hundred Sole-Ki Frost Swords and the other controlling the five hundred Qiangang Inferno Swords, with the two working together to set up the formation. However, all thousand swords could be used by a single person to establish the formation as well.

The book had quite a few mysteries recorded within it. In fact, it even recorded one of the major formations that could be used with this Yin-Yang Duality Thousand Supremes Formation.

However, there were some things regarding this formation that were never recorded down. In truth, this sword-formation had originally been controlled by a pair of Celestial Immortal Dao-companions. The female Immortal controlled the Sole-Ki Frost Swords, while the male Immortal had controlled the Qiangang Inferno Swords.

Controlling this many top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords was simply too mentally exhausting; there were very few individuals, even amongst Celestial Immortals, who would be able to control a thousand of these top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords to set up the Yin-Yang Duality Thousand Supremes Formation.

“This formation is far too difficult.” Ning’s face couldn’t help but change as he read through it. “Although this formation uses swords, it actually places a higher burden with regards to understanding the Dao of Formations. These precious Immortal swords are actually merely used as markers to position the formation; what a waste of fine swords!”

There were many Immortals who used swords, but they weren’t necessarily Sword Immortals!

For example, Immortal Fivecraze was a wielder of Immortal swords, while Little Qing’s weapon of choice was also an Immortal sword. Most likely, more than half of the Loose Immortals alive all used Immortal swords as their weapon of choice…but less than one in a thousand of them were Sword Immortals! In this Yin-Yang Duality Formation, every single sword served as a formation-base, allowing the establishing of a truly enormous formation of unearthly power.

“Only in my hands shall you truly be able to unleash the power of a ‘sword’,” Ning murmured to himself.

Ning continued to read.

Soon, he finished reading the entire book. This book had notes on quite a few sets of Immortal swords, but there were only two sets of sword-formations that included more than 729 swords! The swords of the Yin-Yang Duality Thousand Supremes Formation were divided into Yin and Yang; in terms of the Dao of Formations, Ning just so happened to be fairly skilled in harmonizing Yin and Yang, and so he ended up choosing this set.

“This’ll be the one,” Ning said with a smile.

The underwater estate. The Stellar Hall.

Ning was seated in the lotus position within the thatched cottage, holding an Immortal sword that was emanating an icy cold aura. A small, snow-white snake suddenly appeared on the surface of the Immortal sword. “Are you the master of myself and my many sisters?”

“Sisters?” Ning smiled as he gave this snow-white snake a glance.

“All five hundred of us Sole-Ki Frost Swords are dear sisters to each other,” the little white snake said, “While those five hundred Qiangang Inferno Swords are our rowdy brothers.”

Ning laughed. He pointed towards the empty air and elemental ki flew out from his finger, forming into a series of runes. These runes emanated a blurry, dark light as they simply hung there in the air. These had been taught to Ning by his master, Patriarch Subhuti, in transmitting the technique for the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]; the Old Patriarch had used up an enormous amount of energy in developing them.

Moments later, more than ten thousand runes had appeared in midair, forming into a strange, enormous Fiendgod character, ‘thousand’.

“Condense.” Ning activated his elemental ki one more time. Instantly, all of the many runes joined together, transforming into a single rune of incomparable complexity; this was the ‘Greater Thousand Rune’. This, too, was a simple rune-fusing technique which the Old Patriarch had taught him. An expert in runes would be able to instantly generate this Greater Thousand Rune; Ning, by contrast, had to first manifest each of the small runes.

“Combine.” Ning slapped his palm against the Greater Thousand Rune, then slapped the side of the Immortal sword, pressing them together.

The blade of the sword instantly began to manifest a distorted yet complicated pattern of runes on it, and it seemed as though the aura of this Immortal sword had grown sharper as well.

“One down. Another!” Ning continued to create his runes.

One Immortal sword after another was retrofitted by Ning. To the current Ning, the runes of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] could probably be generated with a single thought and within a single breath as he imprinted all the swords with the Lesser Thousand Rune. However, this Greater Thousand Rune that was created based off the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and other exceptional skills that involved many treasures was a far more complicated creature. Just setting up a single Greater Thousand Rune required more than ten thousand smaller runes; every single one of them far more complicated than the Lesser Thousand Rune.

He spent a total of three days before finally imprinting the last of the 729 Immortal swords with the Greater Thousand Rune. As for the remaining 200+ swords, Ning temporarily put them away.

“Arise, my [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]!”

Ning tested time and time again, but he realized that even with the help of the Greater Thousand Runes, and even though the many Immortal swords would resonate together as if they were one…his true body and his Primaltwin, combined, were at most only able to unleash the second level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], controlling 182 top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords! This was a maximum limit, and if his true body needed to also spend some of its attention on close combat…at most, he would be able to unleash the first level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

“What terrifying power.”

The hundred-plus top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, even without using any formations, just chopping wildly, still made for an awe-inspiring sight.

By relying on the power of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], they could merge their power together.

In an instant, Ning’s power as a Ki Refiner once more surpassed his true body’s close combat power as a Fiendgod Refiner!

After making his breakthrough, Ning remained at Swallow Mountain for a few more times, carefully testing his close combat power and his [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. After stabilizing at his latest level of power…Ning finally left Swallow Mountain.

……

Flamedoor Commandery. The air above Weirflow City.

It was dawn. The air above Weirflow was cold and crisp. A faint spatial ripple suddenly appeared, then a fur-clad youth emerged from within it.

This time, Ning had come alone, primarily because he was relying on the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’ for his investigations; it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to bring Uncle White and the others.

“Last time, I fled a million kilometers through teleportation; I ended up arriving here, at Weirflow. My original predictions was the mountain range I was in was the Eastwoods mountain range, but I don’t know if that was a correct guess or not.” Ning smiled. “Time to go test it.”

Swoosh!

Ning flew straight towards the direction he had fled from previously. While flying, he would occasionally do a short ten-kilometer teleportation. Soon, Ning verified that his original hypothesis was indeed correct; that place was indeed the Eastwoods mountain range of the Eastwoods Sect.

“The Eastwoods Sect?”

“How should I get in?”

“Should I change into a bug? But the Eastwoods mountain range is protected by formations; if a mosquito or bug was able to break through it, others would probably notice.” Ning frowned in a pondering manner…then decided to begin the area surrounding the Eastwoods mountain range. “I refuse to believe that not a single disciple of a major school such as this would enter or leave from time to time!”

……

Ning first went to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to buy some reports regarding the experts of the Eastwoods Sect, so that he might be able to recognize their important figures. Ning then set up watch outside the Eastwoods mountain range, often using the [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] to search the surrounding area.

Ning searched for three full days.

“We are venerable Primal Daoists, but we are now in such a sorry state that all we can do is act as messenger dogs and servants. We have to buy Immortal nectar, Immortal fruit, and all sorts of other queer marvels and strange beasts to be butchered and cooked. How sad!” A large warship descended, and two Immortal practitioners walked out from within it, walking side-by-side, chatting mentally to each other. They were so cautious that they used mental messages to carry out their grumblings.

“Even the sect leader is summoned willy nilly by them; what can Primal Daoists like us do about it? Forget it. Just endure it. Didn’t that general himself say that he would definitely leave within a thousand years and give us our freedom back?”

“We’ll probably have died before then.”

The two Primal Daoists were complaining. Tens of thousands of kilometers away from them, there sat a fur-clad youth in the lotus position. His eyes were glowing with torch-light, and as he saw them from afar, a look of delight instantly appeared on his face. “Hey, aren’t those two the Primal Daoists of the Eastwoods Sect? I knew it; an enormous clan that’s taken up a hundred thousand kilometers of space definitely has people entering and leaving it. It seems I need to rely on them to get inside.”

Ning suddenly disappeared as he executed a void blink, stealthily moving closer to them.

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Chapter 30 – Within the Eastwoods Sect

Chapter 30 – Within the Eastwoods Sect

The two Primal Daoists walked forward, shoulder-to-shoulder. Suddenly, a light flashed in front of them, then a fur-clad youth appeared out of nowhere.

“Who are you?” The faces of the two Primal Daoists changed as they shouted simultaneously.

Boom! An incomparably terrifying majesty swept out from Ji Ning’s body, and space within three thousand meters became completely frozen.

The wind halted. The swaying grass froze mid-sway. The hopping grasshoppers paused mid-jump. The flowing waters of the nearby creek stopped in its tracks. Even the beads of water spraying into the air from the creek just hovered there.

The faces of the two Primal Daoists were completely filled with terror and shock…but they, too, were completely unable to move. When that terrifying Dao Domain descended, they were completely unable to resist at all.

Back when he had been in the Crescent world, Ning had been able to use his Dao Domain to easily render a squad of Flamewing Guards completely helpless. By comparison, these two Primal Daoists were actually slightly weaker than the Flamewing Guards.

“In you go.” Ning waved his hand, and an irresistible force drew those two individuals into his mobile Immortal estate.

Ning swept the surrounding region with his gaze; when making his move, he had been extremely cautious. He had kept his Dao Domain to a radius of merely three thousand meters, not affecting the area beyond this region at all.

……

Within his mobile Immortal estate.

The two Primal Daoists stared at their surroundings in terror.

“What is this place?”

“Where are we?! This…can this be a mobile Immortal estate?!” The two Primal Daoists, upon viewing their surroundings, could only think of this one possibility.

“Easthill, who was that youth? How is it that he was able to render us completely helpless merely through using his Dao Domain? Can he be a Celestial Immortal?”

“He most likely is on their level.”

These two Primordial Daoists were filled with terror and worry. The enemy’s power was simply too great; they weren’t able to fight back against him at all. Not even the more powerful Loose Immortals of their Eastwoods Sect was capable of using a simple Dao Domain to render them completely helpless; clearly, this youth’s Dao Domain had surpassed that of virtually every single member of the Eastwoods Sect.

“The two of you.” The black-robed Ning appeared.

“Senior, why have you seized the two of us?” One of the two Primal Daoists, a tall, skinny man, hurriedly spoke out.

“Senior, if there’s anything you need from us, just tell us,” the other Primal Daoist, a man with triangular pupils, said quickly.

The black-robed Ning smiled. “It is simple. I want to soul-scour the two of you.”

“Soul-scour?!” The two instantly revealed looks of terror.

Soul-scouring. If one was lucky, one might be able to maintain their ordinary faculties, at most losing a few of their memories. But if one was unlucky…they might be turned into idiots!

“The two of you should know that killing you is effortless for me,” the black-robed Ning said. “I can forcibly soul-scour you, but as you should know, doing that would be quite damaging to you, possibly resulting in the two of you being turned into idiots. Thus…I hope that the two of you will accept it and won’t fight back. That way…your Primal-level souls should be able to maintain normalcy.”

The two Primal Daoists exchanged a glance.

They felt helpless.

Why were they so damn unlucky?

They knew very well that if they were to resist and be forcibly soul-scoured…then things would be even more disastrous for them.

“We accept. Senior, please spare our lives,” the two said.

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you,” the black-robed Ning said. In truth, based on the intelligence reports which Ning had received from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, these two had done quite a few evil deeds. Given Ning’s usual temperament, he would’ve killed them long ago…but if he did, then the life-tablets of the two within the Eastwoods Sect would shatter, and the Sect would know that they died. Once that happened, his plan would fail.

The two Primal Daoists closed their eyes.

The black-robed Ning stretched out his hand, placing it atop the head of the tall, skinny Primal Daoist. He immediately used the ‘Thousand Stars Soulscour’ technique; this technique was a soulscouring technique which he had acquired in the Crescent world after killing that evil Patriarch.

Moments later…Ning lowered his hands.

A look of joy appeared within the eyes of the tall, skinny Primal Daoist. “I’m fine. I’m fine!”

“I told you. If you don’t resist at all, your soul will find it easier to maintain its normalcy, and in fact very few memories will be lost.” The black-robed Ning looked towards the other person, the triangle-pupiled Primal Daoist. That Primal Daoist closed his eyes as well, accepting the soulscouring. Ning walked over to him, placing his palm atop his head as well.

……

At the base of the Eastwoods mountain range.

“So the two of them were so spineless,” Ning mused to himself. Waving his hand, he produced a sack that was filled with the items that had been purchased.

Roughly thirty years ago, the Eastwoods Sect had suffered a calamity. The majority of its tougher figures were all wiped out, while a few who were able to suppress their anger were able to survive. They all hoped for freedom to come. However…the Eastwoods Sect also had some spineless figures who even helped the mysterious power act against their fellow disciples!

Daoist Easthill and Daoist Eastharm were two such spineless figures! They abused their former ‘fellow disciples’, currying favor with the mysterious figures as if they were dogs!

Naturally, this resulted in the two of them being viewed with favor, and they were even allowed to go out and shop.

However…

Although they did their utmost to please, the mysterious power still viewed them as nothing more but dogs. They were absolutely forbidden from going near the most important ‘forbidden region’; in fact, even the Eastwoods sect leader was forbidden from entering it!

“A mysterious power?”

“The leader is a ‘general’? Supposedly at the Celestial Immortal level?”

“A forbidden region?”

After finishing the soulscouring, Ning immediately began to pay attention to this supposed ‘forbidden region’.

The forbidden region was simply too mysterious. After taking over the Eastwoods mountain range, the mysterious power had designed a certain part of it as a ‘forbidden region’, with many people being sent within it. In fact, even that ‘general’ would often go inside.

“Change!” Ning instantly changed, transforming into the appearance of that tall, skinny Primal Daoist – Daoist Easthill.

Ning immediately headed straight towards the entrance to the Eastwoods Sect.

“Daoist Easthill has returned? Where is Daoist Eastharm?” One of the two gate guards asked.

“It has been a long time since Daoist Eastharm returned to his tribe, so he made a side trip this time. I came back first,” Ning said with a smile. Due to the soulscouring, Ning now knew well that these spineless figures were rather trusted, and so they were often allowed to return to their tribes. That way, the spies of the imperial Xia clan wouldn’t notice anything strange about the Eastwoods Sect.

Otherwise…if all of a sudden, no members of the Eastwoods Sect were returning to their clans…in an era like this, when the Three Realms were in a state of turmoil, the imperial Xia clan would definitely investigate.

Ning smiled as he spoke, then walked in. In a very familiar manner, he walked through the various formations. He knew exactly how to bypass them, because of what he had learned through the soulscouring.

……

Upon ‘returning’ to the Eastwoods Sect and handing over the purchased items, Ning chatted for a while with some of the cultivators of the Eastwoods Sect, then went to the residence of Daoist Easthill.

“Change!”

A mosquito flew out from Daoist Easthill’s residence.

Mosquitos were extremely common; even if one were to wipe out a swathe of them, the next night many more would most likely appear, especially since the Eastwoods Sect was located within a mountain forest. Ning, in the shape of a mosquito, flew closer and closer to the ‘forbidden region’.

The forbidden region was layered with increasingly powerful formations.

The mosquito-Ning was forced to come to a halt outside the formations, landing on the ground.

“Step closely.

“Hurry up. Keep in line! We’re about to enter the formation. If you get out of line, you’ll be trapped within the eighteen great formations. I really don’t want to have to go find those guys and ask them to save you.” A group of black-robed figure was flying towards the formation, with the one in the very rear urging them to move faster.

Whap.

As they walked forward, the foot of one of the black-robed figures was stained with a speck of mud. This mud was the transformed Ning!

Not even Immortal cultivators would constantly use their power to dissipate the dust and mud from their feet with every step; how tiring would that be?! As the group of black-robed figures advanced through the region, carefully passing through all eighteen formations, the bit of ‘mud’ staining one of their feet was also brought through the eighteen formations.

After passing through the formations…they entered the ‘forbidden zone’. There were many roving patrols here.

Rumble…

The mosquito-Ning was flying through the forbidden region.

“This place truly is guarded tightly. What’s going on here?” The mosquito-Ning flew into a gorge with many mosquitos, maintaining the speed of an ordinary mosquito. “The deeper I go into this gorge, the tighter the guard becomes.”

Deep within the gorge, there was a castle.

The castle was covered with a layer of light which not even mosquitos could pass into. The number of black-robed figures patrolling this place was simply astonishing. All of them emanated auras of tremendous power, at least at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level.

“Some of the black-robed figures are merely at the Wanxiang or Primal level…but the ones guarding this castle are all Loose Immortals, and there are more than a hundred of them?” Ning was secretly speechless. More than a hundred Loose Immortals were standing guard outside; the number of true guardians must definitely be even greater.

“This castle…?” The mosquito-Ning landed, staring at the distant castle.

He waited until nightfall, until a group of gray-robed figures came walking out from within the castle.

“Finally, someone came out from the castle. These people have fairly powerful auras; they seem to all be Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals. Heeeey…why are they all…?”

Ning suddenly discovered, to his astonishment, that each of the gray-robed figures had looks of exhaustion on their faces. Their exhaustion was so evident that Ning could sense it from a great distance away.

“They are all Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals; how could they become so tired?” Ning couldn’t believe it; Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals had very strong minds. Only if their mental energy was utterly exhausted would they appear like this.

Mental exhaustion usually wasn’t that important to Immortals. But if it reached a certain level…it could become quite terrifying. For example, if an Immortal, in order to produce a powerful magic treasure, was to work day and night and use up all his blood and effort, he might even perish; this sort of event happened quite often within the Three Realms. Generally speaking, after Immortal cultivators grew tired, they would rest and relax for a time.

“How can they be so exhausted? And it’s not just one or two of them, but an entire group?” Ning was puzzled.

Suddenly…

Ning was stupefied!

Towards the back of that squad of gray-robed figures, there was a fairly small, skinny gray-robed figure who woodenly walked forward.

“Junior…junior apprentice-brother?!” Ning stared in disbelief. That gray-robed figure was Ning’s junior apprentice-brother, a person he was incomparably familiar with…it was Mu Northson, who had been missing for more than twenty years!

Mu Northson!

Years ago, he had found a Dao-compainion and begun to enjoy a happy life. But soon…his Dao-companion perished, and he himself had vanished as well.

The Black-White College had searched for him but was unable to find him!

Ning had never imagined…that here, within the Eastwoods mountain range, he would run into his junior apprentice-brother! Even less did he imagine that his junior apprentice-brother would end up looking like this!

His body, beneath that gray robe, had become even thinner and frailer. He clearly had the aura of a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal…but Ning could not sense any power at all coming from him. All he could sense was that his junior apprentice-brother was like a sputtering candle that could go out at any moment. His lifeforce was extremely weak, and waves of exhaustion flowed out from him.

The frailness was just a minor matter; what really mattered was that Ning couldn’t sense any vigor at all coming from his junior apprentice-brother. It seemed as though the vigorous, lively youth had completely disappeared, transforming into someone who seemed like an old man that was on the verge of death.

His face was ashen, and his hair was a complete mess. In fact, he even had quite a few white hairs.

“Junior apprentice-brother…” Ning felt that the white hairs were particularly painful for him to see.

For an Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal, there was only one reason a person would develop white hairs, unless they intentionally used a technique to change it; utter mental exhaustion. If one was utterly mentally exhausted, one’s hair might even turn completely white within a single night…or even perish.

“What on earth happened?” Ning was truly stunned.

His memories remained so clear and vivid…

“My name is Mu Northson?” That youthful white-robed youngster had been so full of vigor.

“My name is Ji Ning. I’m sixteen this year. How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

That was their first meeting. That bashful, youthful figure…Ning remembered it all as if it was yesterday.

“Senior apprentice-brother, I’ll go with you. Going with you and fleeing together is bound to be an exciting life.” When Ning had killed Youngflame Nong, his junior apprentice-brother had shown no hesitation at all; he had been filled with energy and determination, even in the face of life as a refugee.

“What…what in the world has caused junior apprentice-brother to become like this?”

Ning stared at the gray-robed Mu Northson…at the decrepit, exhausted Mu Northson.

……

The group of gray-robed figures walked past. Mosquitos flew about within the gorge, with one of them flying behind the gray-robed figures.

“You only have two hours to rest,” a black-robed figure barked.

The group of gray-robed figures began to separate, each returning to his own residence. The gray-robed Northson began to move towards his residence, one of the many residences in this area. He pushed open the door, entered, then shut the door.

Within a room in his residence.

Northson sat in front of a wooden desk. He picked up a canteen of water, pouring himself a cup, then began to quietly drink it.

It was quiet. Terrifyingly quiet.

The only sound within the room was that of the quiet gurgling of water. Northson then put the cup down silently, then sat there wordlessly, not saying a single thing. His gaze was straight forward.

Whoosh. Northson suddenly waved his hand, and a blocking formation suddenly appeared within the room. He then waved his hand again, and a wooden figurine appeared. This was the figurine of a woman, and it was very lifelike. Northson stared at th figurine, then placed it on the table. Waving his hand again, he produced another block of wood, then began to carve it with a small knife. He carved in a very slow manner, sending wood chips flying everywhere as the block of wood began to gradually be formed into a woman’s appearance.

Finally, the sculpting was complete.

He placed the wooden sculpture on the desk, then stared at it. Simply stared at it in a daze.

“Junior apprentice-brother!” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

A fur-clad youth appeared within the room.

That familiar voice seemed to summon suppressed memories from deep within the soul of Mu Northson. He raised his head to look…and was suddenly arrested. His entire body became completely frozen. He just stared at the fur-clad youth who was standing there.

Those familiar furs…

That familiar appearance…

That familiar voice…

Those eyes…that gaze…

“Senior, senior apprentice-brother?” A very dry, rusted voice emerged from Northson’s throat, as though it had been a long time since he had spoken.

“Junior apprentice-brother. Junior apprentice-brother!” Ning stared at his junior apprentice-brother, his eyes moist. “What has happened?”

Northson looked at Ning. Stared at him. His tears suddenly came cascading down. He opened his mouth, wanting to cry, but nothing came out. His body just shuddered, his tears continuing to flow.

Ning hurriedly stepped forward, embracing Northson.

“Cry, cry. Let it out. Don’t keep it suppressed in your heart. Let it all come out.” Ning’s own eyes were red as he spoke softly. He could sense the endless pain suppressed within his junior apprentice-brother’s heart. He couldn’t even imagine…he didn’t even want to imagine…what his junior apprentice-brother had experienced over these years. What in the world had caused his junior apprentice-brother, whose Dao-heart had been so strong, to become like this?

Ning could sense his junior apprentice-brother’s body trembling within his arms.

Ning felt as though his own heart was trembling as well!

What had happened?

What had happened!

Why had it ended up this way?

Why?

“Let it all come out. Don’t keep it suppressed in your heart. Cry it all out. Your senior apprentice-brother is here. Now that I’m here, it will all come to an end. It will all end,” Ning said, holding his junior apprentice-brother’s shuddering body in his arms. His junior apprentice-brother’s tears flowed onto his clothes, even onto his neck.

Ning could feel his junior apprentice-brother’s tears.

“AHHHH!!!!” An agonized cry finally ripped through the room.

“AHHH….AHHHHHHH!!!!!” Northson’s cries carried a sound of utter desolation and hoarseness. He sobbed furiously, howled agonizingly.

Ning tightly held his beloved friend in his arm, listening to his cries. He could sense the bottomless, endless depths of pain, misery, grief, and despair explode forth from the cries. Ning tightly held his dear brother, his own heart shaking. He felt as though his own heart was being stabbed by knives.

Pain.

Splitting pain.

What had happened? That young white-robed youth, the one who could ignore even the threat of death and choose to follow Ning in fleeing across the world…what had changed him so?!

“I swear!!!”

“No matter who did it! No matter who they are…all of them…each of them…every last one of them…they will all die. ALL OF THEM WILL DIE!!!” Ning held his sobbing junior apprentice-brother, his own tears falling down as he swore an oath in his mind.

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Chapter 1 – The Full Story

Chapter 1 – The Full Story

The pain and despair that he had suppressed for so many years all came howling out with his cries. Slowly, Mu Northson regained his faculties and let go of Ji Ning. “Senior apprentice-brother, I’m fine now. I wasn’t able to control myself just now; I made a fool of myself in front of you.”

“We’re brothers; why say such things?” Ning looked towards Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother, tell me – what happened?!”

“Nothing.” Northson shook his head. “What was to happen already has.”

Northson looked at Ning. “Senior apprentice-brother, how did you get here? This is a forbidden region that is tightly guarded; not even Celestial Immortals can barge their way inside.”

Ning looked at his tired, downtrodden junior apprentice-brother. He felt pain in his heart; at a time like this, his junior apprentice-brother was actually refusing to say anything. Ning immediately said, “I know this is a forbidden region. I also know…that this is the Flamedoor Commandery’s Eastwoods mountain range. Given my abilities, if I want to enter this place, no one will be able to find out. Junior apprentice-brother, tell me…what has happened?!”

“No need to ask.” Northson shook his head.

“If I was faced with this situation, wouldn’t you ask?” Ning rebutted.

Northson was startled. It was true. They were like brothers; if Ning was in such a dire situation, Northson wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

“Tell me,” Ning said earnestly.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson looked at Ning. “Telling you would be harming you. I’ve already been damned; I don’t want you to be damned as well.”

Ning understood that this must certainly involve an important matter; the number of Loose Immortals around that castle was enough to tell Ning that the amount of power that had been gathered here in the Eastwoods mountain range alone was on the same level as the power available to the Northmont clan of Stillwater; in fact, it might even be greater. As for the great power behind this place…

“Junior apprentice-brother, don’t underestimate me. You know very well that this is a forbidden region which is not easily entered, but I still managed to make it in. I’m no longer the same person I was,” Ning said earnestly. “After the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, I joined a Daofather’s school and became the Daofather’s disciple.”

The Old Patriarch had only forbidden Ning from saying that he was his disciple; so long as Ning didn’t say the words ‘Patriarch Subhuti’, he wouldn’t be violating his master’s orders.

“What?!” Northson was stunned.

“I’ve trained for thirty-plus years and my power has increased greatly. I finally managed to obtain permission from Master to return to the Grand Xia.” Ning looked at Northson. “Even if I truly do encounter any danger, my master will intervene and rescue me. The world of the Grand Xia currently truly is filled with dangerous undercurrents, and there is even a hidden power that is capable of fighting against the Grand Xia Emperor himself. But if my master was to intervene, he would be able to save my life with utter ease…and thus, there is nothing for you to worry about.”

Northson was dazed.

“You don’t believe me? Take a look!” Ning waved his hand. Instantly, one top-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword after another appeared, clustered together in a tight pile. Because they all had to be kept within this room, they were all piled on top of one another.

“These…” Northson could sense the power of these top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords.

“You should be capable of recognizing these for what they are by now,” Ning said.

“Top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords?” Northson guessed.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “There are a thousand here.”

Northson’s throat clenched. Even though he was here in this forbidden region where he had seen a fraction of the true strength of this mysterious power…he was still stunned by Ji Ning! Top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords…every single one of them was extremely valuable. A set of a thousand was utterly inconceivable!

“After I left my master’s tutelage, my master gifted them to me.” Ning looked at Northson. “In addition, I was able to easily enter this forbidden region. Do you believe me now?”

Northson was beginning to be moved.

“Take a look at this.” Ning’s body flickered.

Swish. He transformed into another Mu Northson, dressed in the same gray robes, with the same exhausted complexion and some white hairs on his head.

“But, but…” Northson stared in disbelief at Ning. “Even the aura is absolutely identical…even the amount of karmic virtue is the same! This cannot be!”

“Why can’t it be? Change again!”

Ning then transformed into Immortal Fivecraze, then into the Fiendgod Xiangliu Fang, then into Youngflame Nong, then into Celestial Immortal King Yan…

He quickly transformed into more than ten figures the two both recognized before changing back into his normal appearance.

“Are you still worried about me?” Ning looked at Northson.

“I believe you when you say that you took on a Daofather as your master. I’ve never even heard of a transformation ability like this one.” Northson nodded, then said in a low voice, “I know that you, senior apprentice-brother, definitely wish to understand everything which happened. Fine…I’ll talk.”

Ning let out a sigh of relief.

Northson sat down. “We still have slightly less than an hour…so I’ll start from when I met Yu Xia. Years ago, in Stillwater City, I met Yu Xia. She was a disciple of the Thousand Rivers Sect, but was filled with curiosity towards the Dao of Constructs. But naturally, her ability in the Dao of Constructs was far inferior to mine.”

After the death of his master, Northson could be considered the number one expert in the Dao of Constructs within the Black-White College! This was because there were very few people within the College who trained in this Dao, and also because he truly did have a high amount of talent within this Dao.

“Yu Xia would often ask me for guidance, and I’d give her advice.” A hint of a smile appeared on Northson’s face. “After a long time…the two of us ended up together, becoming Dao-companions. Those were the happiest days of my life; I felt carefree and without any worries. Alongside my Dao-companion, I continued to study the Dao of Formations in a content, relaxed manner.”

“Yu Xia and I lived in an out-of-the-way place, atop a wild prairie. We built a house next to a lake, and we lived a peaceful life there.”

“I wish so deeply…”

“…to have been able to live there forever.”

Northson shut his eyes. “But then…that day came. A group of black-robed men arrived, all of them Loose Immortals, and formidable ones at that. Yu Xia was merely a Wanxiang Adept, while I had just broken through to become a Primal Daoist. The two of us were completely unable to fight back.”

“I was captured. Yu Xia was killed. After she died, her soul wasn’t permitted to be reborn; rather, it was captured as well.”

Ning’s pupils shrank.

Even after Yu Xia died, her soul had still been captured?

“I was brought here,” Northson said. “Brought here, to this forbidden region. The people in this region ordered me to help them build constructs.”

“Build constructs?” Ning instantly understood. “Those other gray-robed figures…they were also brought here because they were skilled in the Dao of Constructs?”

“Right. There are more than one hundred grandmasters of the Dao of Constructs in this area,” Northson said. “They’ve all been brought here. I suspect that the Eastwoods mountain range is a gathering point for the mysterious power behind this place, for more than a hundred nearby commanderies.”

Ning frowned. “One of the gathering points? You know of other gathering points?”

“I have some guesses,” Northson said. “During these years, I’ve seen seven generals come to this place. ‘General’ is a fairly high rank here, and all of them were at the Celestial Immortal level. The Eastwoods mountain range has a general who is permanently stationed here, but on multiple occasions there have been other generals who escorted deliveries of treasures to this place. In total, I’ve seen twelve different generals!”

Ning was secretly startled.

Twelve Celestial Immortals? And this was just the tip of the iceberg!

“They are asking you to create constructs?” Ning asked. “What sort of construct?”

“An extremely large one.” A look of disbelief was in Northson’s eyes. “This power has an extremely deep level of understanding regarding the Dao of Constructs; their understanding, compared to the secret arts recorded down within our Black-White College regarding the Dao of Constructs, must be billions or even trillions of times greater!”

Ning was rather stunned upon hearing this.

Billions? Trillions?! This was too insane.

“Don’t think I’m just talking,” Northson immediately said. “I feel that I am an extremely talented person with regards to the Dao of Constructs, but when I first came, they taught me some construct-creation methods that they felt were fairly low-level. When creating the constructs, I was inspired by the mysteries and profoundness of them, causing my level of insight into the Dao of Constructs to rapidly increase.”

“As my level of insight increased, they began to let me create increasingly more powerful constructs. They also bestowed liquefied elemental essence upon me, allowing me to reach the Void level and become an Earth Immortal.”

“Now, within this forbidden region, I can be ranked amongst the top hundred grandmasters of the Dao of Constructs,” Northson said. “Right now, the other grandmasters and myself are currently working together to forge an incomparably massive construct. It should be the most powerful Fiendgod Golem this forbidden region is producing.”

“Grandmaster of the Dao of Constructs?” Ning could hardly believe it. His junior apprentice-brother had advanced so quickly?

“Senior apprentice-brother…you have no idea what life here has been like,” Northson said. “They squeeze every single drop of usable energy out of you, forcing you to go all out to construct new constructs! But every single powerful construct expands our horizons as well. As for the most powerful Fiendgod Golem we are currently creating…that’s even more terrifying.”

“How terrifying?” Ning asked.

“Below the level of True Immortals or Empyrean Gods…it is all but invincible,” Northson said seriously. “If a Celestial Immortal was controlling it, not even ten or a hundred Celestial Immortals fighting together would be able to stop it.”

Ning was incomparably shocked.

“Don’t be so shocked. The slightly weaker golems which the other grandmasters and myself have been constructing, when controlled by Loose Immortals, all have the combat power of Celestial Immortals.” Northson sighed, “You have no idea what a deep level of understanding of the Dao of Constructs this organization has. Those construct formation-diagrams are incomparably profound; in terms of better understanding the Dao of Constructs, every single diagram is like a supreme treasure to us. And here, I’ve already seen more than a thousand such construct formation-diagrams…”

Ning nodded gently. “So this forbidden region is being used to produce constructs…but can it be that everyone is just willing to work here?”

“How can we be ‘willing’?” Northson said with grief, “Nobody is ‘willing’. Creating these top-tier golems is extremely difficult, and it uses up a tremendous amount of our mental energy. And yet, we are still having the life squeezed out of us; the amount of time for rest we have been given is growing less and less.”

“We all hate them for kidnapping us, and in fact many wish to die. I originally wanted to die as well.”

“But…Yu Xia’s soul is in their hands,” Northson said. “If I diligently work to create golems, I can go visit her once a month and speak with her. But if I dare to commit suicide…once I die, they will torment her soul for thousands on thousands of years, never giving her a chance to be reborn.”

Ning couldn’t help but shiver. Never be given the chance to be reborn?

“I do not dare kill myself.” Northson laughed bitterly. “Their general, however, has voluntarily sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that if we stay here and peacefully build these constructs, within a thousand years we will be granted our freedom, and the soul of our loved one will be released as well.”

Freedom?

A thousand years?

Ning understood now. In one hand, a big stick; in the other hand, a carrot. Although the people here were being tormented and exhausted, they still saw hope, and so they were able to endure.

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Chapter 2 – The Rescue Plan

Chapter 2 – The Rescue Plan

Ji Ning now knew about all the twists and turns that had led to the current situation. He immediately said, “Junior apprentice-brother, I’ll come up with a way to save your Dao-companion’s soul, then lead you away.”

Although his heart was filled with a desire for murder, Ning knew very well that the truly important thing was to rescue his junior apprentice-brother and the soul of Yu Xia.

“It’s useless.” Mu Northson shook his head. “There’s no way I can leave the forbidden region.”

“Why?!” Ning hurriedly asked.

“This mysterious power seems to be worried that we might have a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal hidden within our Zifu region; without killing us, there’s no way they can find out,” Northson said. “To prevent us from escaping, when they caught us, they forced us to swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens that unless they voluntarily grant us freedom, if we are to flee this place and go beyond the confines of the Eastwoods mountain range, we shall have our souls shattered.”

“What?!” Ning was stunned.

This was going to be trouble.

“We only have two paths before us. The first path is the path of death, followed by the souls of our loved ones suffering for countless ages, never to be reborn! The second path is to swear the oath to the Dao of the Heavens, then obediently work hard. Those of us who did not commit suicide…we are all hoping for our final freedom,” Northson said.

Ning nodded lightly.

Aside from the tight watch they maintained, they had also forced Northson and the others to swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens not to flee. Quite cautious indeed!

“You said…‘unless they voluntarily grant you freedom’?” Ning suddenly asked.

“Right,” Northson said. “After all, the general himself also swore an oath to the Dao of the Heavens to free us within a thousand years. If we are to never be given freedom, many people would likely choose suicide instead.”

Ning pondered for a moment, then said, “Right…earlier, you said that you and the other grandmasters are pooling your abilities to create an incomparably terrifying Fiendgod Golem…and that if a Celestial Immortal was to command it, it could be described as invincible against any foes beneath the True Immortal or Empyrean God level! Then the creation of this golem must be very hard, right? The materials are quite precious?”

There were quite a few Celestial Immortals who had Pure Yang treasures. For this Fiendgod Golem to be referred to as ‘invincible against any foes beneath the True Immortal or Empyrean God level’ had to mean that it was vastly more valuable than any ordinary Pure Yang treasure.

“The creation is indeed quite difficult.” Northson nodded. “Although all of us are Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals, and have detailed blueprints, the golem formation-diagrams within…they are simply unfathomably profound. We grandmasters are like a horde of ants, diligently working away at the task. We’ve spent more than twelve years on it, but we’ve managed to finish more than half of the Fiendgod Golem. I trust that in two or three more years, we’ll have finished it.”

“As for the materials? They are naturally of enormous value. This mighty golem has extremely exacting standards when it comes to its materials; weaker materials are completely unable to withstand the power that will be circulated through it via the mighty formation-diagrams. To put it another way…this Fiendgod Golem is the most important task I have been given since I was brought here! All of the grandmasters have joined forces to work on it, while the ordinary golem-masters are merely working on secondary constructs instead.”

Ning nodded lightly. “All the grandmasters have joined forces and have spent twelve years on it? Most of you, when first arriving, must have been at a comparatively low level of skill in the Dao of Constructs. By working on secondary constructs, your skill began to slowly rise to the level of a grandmaster…which is to say, the main purpose this forbidden region has had over the past thirty years was to produce this golem!”

“Right.” Northson nodded in agreement. “As for the precious materials, they are escorted here by other generals. One time, seven generals came together in escorting a shipment.”

Ning nodded.

Of course that was how it had to be. A construct meant for a Celestial Immortal to control, that was invincible against all other Celestial Immortals. A few dozen or a hundred such Fiendgod Golems would probably be enough to completely sweep through the entire world of the Grand Xia! Ning was now a disciple of Patriarch Subhuti and had a certain level of insight into the world…but golems as terrifying as these probably were superior to even top-grade Pure Yang treasures!

They were truly priceless!

“Since you are here working on this golem, then you definitely will come into contact with it,” Ning said.

“Yes.” Northson nodded.

“Good. Then I’ll make a trip with you…and I’ll take away the Fiendgod Golem when the time is right,” Ning said confidently. “I’ll threaten that ‘general’ and force him to release you and Yu Xia’s soul.”

“How would you enter? What will you transform into? That castle is extremely tightly guarded; no living creatures are allowed in, not even mosquitos,” Northson said.

“I’ll change into…” Ning laughed. “…a hair on your head.”

“Hair?”

Northson was speechless.

Ning laughed. Swish! He disappeared into thin air, and then an extra hair appeared on top of Northson’s head.

“What do you think, junior apprentice-brother?” Ning’s voice echoed out.

Northson, amazed, reached out with his hand to stroke this additional strand of hair that had just appeared. “You can do this?!”

This was indeed a flawless plan!

Swish.

Ning reappeared.

“If you transform into my hair…there’s no way I could recognize you. But is it possible that someone within the castle might detect you?” Northson asked, worried.

“Even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods will be unable to detect me,” Ning said confidently. The ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’ was no ordinary divine ability.

“Good.” Northson revealed a look of delight. “The other grandmasters and I are working in a region deep within that castle, where we are forging that Fiendgod Golem. That region is primarily meant for us grandmasters; there are only two guards there. No one else will go there to disturb us. Since there’s no way for us to escape, they aren’t worried about us at all. So long as you go…you’ll be able to easily capture that Fiendgod Golem.”

“But senior apprentice-brother!” Northson said with worry. “Once you seize it, everyone in the castle will know right away. In fact, even that general will immediately be aware of it. If you threaten them, they might just kill you, then take the Fiendgod Golem back.”

“Kill me?” Ning shook his head. “They won’t be able to kill me…so they will have to choose to lower their heads.”

All he had to do was enter his mobile Immortal estate for just a brief moment, then immediately use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.

The enemies would probably truly be forced to lower their heads!

Northson began to grow excited as well. His senior apprentice-brother’s plan was indeed workable. He hurriedly said, “We have to first acquire Yu Xia’s soul. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m terrified of the thought that Yu Xia’s soul will be tormented for countless ages.”

Ning was startled for a moment, then nodded. “Right.”

He could threaten them and force them to submit…but they might just pull out Yu Xia’s soul to counter-threaten him! His junior apprentice-brother would rather die than cause Yu Xia to be eternally unable to be reborn.

“Are you able to acquire Yu Xia’s soul?” Ning asked.

“It’s been a month since I’ve seen Yu Xia,” Northson said hurriedly. “After I enter the castle, I can request to see Yu Xia. Each month, we can see our loved one a single time! They won’t refuse…they’ll take me there, then I’ll see Yu Xia. You, senior apprentice-brother, will immediately strike and seize her soul.”

“However…”

“Seizing Yu Xia’s soul, or seizing the Fiendgod Golem. We have to choose between the two.” Northson began to frown.

Ning laughed. “That’s simple. I’ll first go with you on a trip to the Fiendgod Golem, and then I’ll go to Yu Xia’s place. I’ll acquire her soul, then immediately use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to immediately head to the Fiendgod Golem and seize it as well.”

“A Greater Teleportation Dao-seal?” Northson said, worried, “But once you move to flee the Eastwoods mountain range…will you have another method of escape?”

“I have a few of these seals,” Ning said with a laugh.

He did indeed. He had acquired one from the underwater estate, a second from killing Youngflame Nong, then more than ten from killing the monster kings and the vile Patriarch on the Crescent world. Every one of the monster kings had at least one Greater Teleportation Dao-seal on them; given their statuses, acquiring one wasn’t too hard.

And now, given the number of treasures Ning had and his connection with Patriarch Skyfox of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to buy eight or ten Greater Teleportation Dao-seals.

“First seize Yu Xia’s soul, then Greater Teleport to seize the Fiendgod Golem.” Northson asked, “The seizing of the soul will cause alarms to go off within the castle; I imagine that seizing the Fiendgod Golem will prove troublesome.”

“Don’t worry. As long as we are fast enough, and as long as we immediately Greater Teleport upon acquiring the soul…there will be no one who can stop us,” Ning said. “The only person in the entire Eastwoods mountain range who can threaten me is that general you spoke of. By the time he hears of the soul being stolen, I’ll have already taken the Fiendgod Golem as well.”

The plan had more or less been set. The two of them discussed some of the finer details, then Northson began to give a introduction to the layout of the castle.

Just as the two grew more and more animated in their discussions…

Northson’s face suddenly turned ashen.

“Senior apprentice-brother!” Northson looked towards Ning with worry. “If you steal Yu Xia’s soul, then threaten them to force them to release me…they’ll definitely suspect there is a connection between us. Given that you’ll have to fight when moving to steal the Fiendgod Golem…you’ll probably have to use your skills as a Sword Immortal, at which point they’ll know it is a Sword Immortal they are facing.”

“They would be able to guess right away that the person who rescued me was most likely you, senior apprentice-brother.”

“They’ll be able to tell it from your swords.”

Northson stared at Ning.

Ning sighed mentally to himself.

His junior apprentice-brother had discovered the flaw.

Right…

He had already been trapped within this Eastwoods mountain range once; given the power of that mysterious organization, they probably suspected that he had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

Given that he was then able to enter stealthily, then steal the Fiendgod Golem despite the tight defenses and guard…they would probably grow even more certain that he had used the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’. After all, other methods of entry, such as a Greater Teleportation, would cause spatial ripples and be discovered.

The chances of him being exposed would be very high.

He absolutely could not underestimate this foe. They were far too powerful…Ning knew this all along.

“Junior apprentice-brother,” Ning said. “Don’t worry. Even if I am exposed in the end…all I’m doing is rescuing you. To this mysterious power, a single grandmaster of constructs isn’t that important. You are nothing more than one amongst many such grandmasters. It is the Fiendgod Golem which truly matters. So long as they let you free, I’ll return that to them; they won’t have lost much. They won’t go so far as to make an enemy out of a Daofather’s disciple over this matter.”

Northson shook his head. “Senior apprentice-brother, your words are reasonable, but I can sense how savage and arrogant that organization is…and they truly are powerful. I don’t want them to act against you. I’d rather stay here and endure the thousand years.”

“Will you be able to endure it?” Ning snapped frantically, “Look at yourself right now. You’ll probably die halfway through it!”

“Enough!” Ning said seriously. “If you disagree, then I’ll do it myself, without your help.”

“Senior apprentice-brother…” Northson couldn’t believe it.

“Decide!” Ning said. “Am I going to do this myself, or are we going to do it together?”

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Chapter 3 – Class: Winged Immortal

Chapter 3 – Class: Winged Immortal

Mu Northson stared at Ji Ning. Finally, he nodded. “Fine. We two brothers shall do it together.”

“Hahaha, that’s more like it!” Ning laughed, then slapped him on the shoulder.

Northson looked at Ning, then smiled as well. Deep in his heart, however, he firmly engraved the memory of this kindness into his soul.

……

The two hours of rest time had concluded.

The gray-robed figures all returned from their various residences. Northson returned as well, his hair still disordered.

“Hurry up.”

“All of you, hurry up!”

The black-robed figures were already snapping at them to move faster, but the grandmasters remained calm and silent. They completely ignored the black-robed figures; they were grandmasters of the Dao of Constructs, after all. If they didn’t work hard, they might suffer some consequences or punishments, but taking their two-hour rest was ordinary.

“The black-robed figures have very low statuses in this mysterious organization. Those Wanxiang and Primal level black-robed figures are merely Fiendslaves, while the Loose Immortal and Earth Immortal black-robed figures are Fiendserfs.” Ning had already learned a bit regarding this mysterious organization thanks to Northson’s explanations.

Rumble…

A blurry light flowed across the castle. The gray-robed figures passed through it to enter the castle, and Northson entered as well.

Ning’s field of vision changed. Within the castle gateway, he saw a bronze-armored man whose aura was clearly much more powerful than the individuals he had seen earlier.

“Bronze-armored guards? Fiendguards? I wonder how many Fiendguards this location has,” Ning mused to himself.

Fiendslaves were at the Wanxiang and Primal level.

Fiendserfs were at the Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal level.

Fiendguards were extremely powerful Loose Immortals; as Ning saw it, most likely each of them was roughly at the power of that vile Patriarch he had killed.

Above them…were the Fiendlords!

The Fiendlords were the ‘generals’, all of them at the Celestial Immortal level.

The corridors within the castle were deep and gloomy. The surrounding area was divided up into numerous large regions, each of which had grandmasters of the Dao of Constructs! Northson, however, continued to walk deeper into the castle.

“Here we are.” At the end of the tunnel, a bronze-armored Fiendguard said with a laugh, “Open up!”

“Yes.”

The nearby black-robed Fiendserf quickly pushed the door open. It rumbled open, then the gray-robed figures entered. As for Ning, in the shape of a strand of hair, he followed Northson in as well.

“Whew.” Northson let out a sigh of relief. “Senior apprentice-brother’s transformation abilities truly are formidable; the castle is protected by layers of formations, but it still wasn’t able to detect him.”

After entering through the gate, they were now in an incomparably enormous stand-alone region.

This region was thirty thousand meters in circumference, and the gray-robed figures were all standing atop clouds, walking around an enormous golem. The area around the golem was filled with many materials, and all of the grandmasters immediately began their fabrication efforts.

“That’s huge.” The hair-Ning stared at the enormous golem. “Although I heard junior apprentice-brother speak of it…this golem is truly stunning to behold. So when a Celestial Immortal controls it, it is virtually invincible to anyone below the True Immortal or Empyrean God level.”

Per what his junior apprentice-brother had said, the most important golem within this forbidden region was referred to as the Fiendgod Golem; it was of the ‘Fiendgod’ class.

Its body was more than three thousand meters tall. It was pitch-black, and appeared similar to a crab in appearance. It had eight slender, sharp claws, as well as two enormous pincers. Its torso was filled with countless runes that joined together into a formation-diagram that caused Ning to feel dizzy just looking at it. It was simply too complicated.

“How savage. Just by looking at it, I can tell that it was meant for war.”

The aura alone which emanated from this massive, black, half-finished, crab-shaped Fiendgod Golem was already superior to that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal’s!

“This place has experts in the Dao of Constructs from more than a hundred commanderies,” Ning mused to himself. “And this is just a single gathering point…yet it’s already able to create such terrifying golems. Based on what junior apprentice-brother said…they are able to produce one in roughly ten to twenty years. Then…across the 3600 commanderies and four seas of the Grand Xia Dynasty…how many gathering points are there?! How many of these golems are they able to produce every century?”

Ning understood, naturally, that things couldn’t be calculated in this manner.

After all, the materials required to produce these golems were all extremely expensive. Many grandmasters in the Dao of Constructs alone wouldn’t suffice; materials would also be needed.

“This has merely been thirty years. But in the many years before they even came to the world of the Grand Xia?”

Ning couldn’t help but feel shock in his heart. This power was simply unfathomable ! No wonder even Patriarch Subhuti, he who possessed the [Dream of the Three Realms], felt so worried.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, Northson halted his forging, flying towards one of the entrances to this region. There were two black-robed figures standing at the entrance.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you forging?” One of them barked.

“I wish to see my Dao-companion,” Northson said.

“See your Dao-companion?” The black-robed man frowned.

“I haven’t seen her this month,” Northson said. “I can see her once a month.”

“Fine, fine. What a pain in the ass. Wait a moment, I’ll go inform his lordship,” the black-robed figure said.

Northson just stood there obediently.

Within another region inside the castle. There were a group of gray-robed figures here as well, surrounding an enormous golem. They couldn’t help but stroke the enormous golem in a sad, longing manner. This golem had cost them their blood, sweat, and tears…but now it had been completed, and it was going to be taken away.

Although they wore gray-robes, their statuses were lower than that of Northson and his fellows. They were also more numerous; they were comparatively less skilled in the Dao of Constructs.

“Milord, this ‘Winged Immortal’ class golem has been finished.” There was a red-robed elder standing nearby. One of the black-robed figures made this report respectfully to him.

“Mm.” The red-robed elder revealed a smile. “The forging speed is rather slow. These young fellows from the world of the Grand Xia truly are weak in the Dao of Constructs. It took so many of them so long just to complete a single golem of the ‘Winged Immortal’ class.”

The nearby black-robed figure was secretly speechless.

Slow? You old bastard, you don’t even know how to forge constructs, and you have a low status within the sect as well; the only thing you can do is flatter the general, which is why you were given the job of overseeing the construction of these golems. If any of the formal disciples of the sect who actually trained in the Dao of Constructs was to appear, you’d probably immediately kneel down and lick their toes, you old bastard!

“Out of the way!” The red-robed elder walked forward whiel shouting loudly, and the gray-robed figures quickly retreated.

Smiling merrily, the red-robed elder waved his hand. Instantly, the enormous winged golem, the ‘Winged Immortal class golem’, was stored into his storage bracelet. “We’ve finished yet another Winged Immortal class. Heh heh heh…within the sect, my branch in the forbidden region should be ranked amongst the top ten in producing Winged Immortals. Once the Fiendgod-class is completed…we’ll most likely all be awarded many gifts.”

“Milord, milord.” Suddenly, a voice disturbed the red-robed elder’s ruminations.

The red-robed elder glanced sideways irritably. Seeing the lowly black-robed figure running towards him, he snapped coldly, “You useless piece of trash…can’t you see I’m busy? What’s this about, with all the screaming and shouting?”

“Mu Northson wishes to see his Dao-companion,” the black-robed figure said hurriedly. In his heart, however, he was cursing at the old bastard.

Fiendslaves, Fiendserfs, Fiendguards…

They were ranked according to power.

Strictly speaking, this red-robed elder was merely a Fiendserf. However, he was awarded the red robes as a gift and sent to oversee the creation of constructs in this part of the forbidden region. But in truth, as far as strength went, he was merely on par with the other black-robed figures. Seeing how arrogantly the red-robed elder acted, the black-robed figures naturally felt resentment. All of them hoped for the day when the red-robed elder fell!

“Mu Northson?” The red-robed elder pursed his lips. “What a pain in the ass. Fine, fine, fine. Let’s go see him.”

There were only so many grandmasters within the castle; he naturally memorized the names of every single grandmaster clearly.

……

Soon, the red-robed elder saw Northson.

The hair-Ning saw the red-robed Elder as well. Northson had told him long ago that this red-robed elder was a fairly important figure in the forbidden region; his name was Qu Huan, and he was in charge of overseeing those who were fabricating the golems. As far the souls went…it was this red-robed elder who was in charge of hiding them somewhere within the castle.

Northson immediately said, “I wish to see my Dao-companion.”

“Let’s go,” the red-robed elder said irritably. “You all have a chance to see your family once a month; we’ll definitely make it happen. But you have to work hard in your fabrications; if you don’t work hard, then…hmph. You should know what will happen.”

Northson nodded. “I know, I know.”

The red-robed elder walked in front, passing through a wide hall, then entering a slender passageway. Soon, they arrived within a private room.

“Wait here. I’ll be back shortly,” the red-robed elder said.

“Alright.” Northson sat in the lotus position on a prayer mat. This room was very quiet; the only person present was a black-robed guard who was keeping watch on him from the door.

A short while later.

The red-robed elder appeared once more. He walked into the room, then also sat down in the losut position. Snorting coldly, he said, “You only have as much time as needed for a stick of incense to burn down.” He waved his hand, and a glittering jade sphere flew out. There was a woman’s figure within the jade sphere, her form lithe and slender, carrying a hint of sadness within.

“Little Xia,” Northson immediately said excitedly.

The woman within the jade globe looked towards him, then immediately said with excitement, “Northson.” The voice of the soul, after exiting the jade sphere, actually reverberated within the room, causing the people present to be able to hear it with their ears.

The hair-Ning clucked to himself in surprise.

Generally speaking, souls were unable to speak verbally. It seems that it was the jade sphere that allowed this one to speak…but in turn, Yu Xia’s soul was trapped within it.

“It seems as though Yu Xia and junior apprentice-brother truly do have deep love for each other,” the hair-Ning observed.

“Northson, I know you are very tired.” The woman floated within the jade sphere, saying with worry, “Every time I see you, I feel as though you are even older and more tired than the last time. If you really can’t take it any more…then just stop worrying about me.”

“Hmph.” The nearby red-robed elder snorted coldly. “The two of you really are quite close to each other.”

Northson just looked at the woman in the jade sphere. He said hurriedly, “Little Xia, one day, I will bring you out of here. Definitely.”

“Right. Work hard in the service of the general. Within a thousand years, you shall definitely be set free,” the red-robed elder said.

Northson’s eyes were filled with tears as he looked at the woman within the jade sphere. Suddenly, he used his elemental ki to send a mental message to Ning: “Senior apprentice-brother, kill this Qu Huan and grab the soul.”

“Fine.”

A single hair from Northson’s tousled hair suddenly vanished.

Immediately afterwards, a white-robed man appeared out of nowhere. When the white-robed man appeared, his enormous palm struck out with the full power of the [Starseizing Hand], slamming down on the body of the surprised and terrified red-robed elder.

BOOM.

Instantly, the red-robed elder was instantly transformed into dust. The white-robed figure waved his hand, collecting the jade sphere, the storage bracelet, and magic treasures.

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Chapter 4 – Those Who Bar Me, Die!

Chapter 4 – Those Who Bar Me, Die!

The red-robed elder, Qu Huan, had been instantly slain. The black-robed guard standing at the entrance couldn’t help but feel shocked…but in the next instant, a streak of sword-light instantly slashed past him.

“No…” The black-robed figure felt despair. He didn’t even have a chance to let out a single cry before the sword-light transformed him into dust.

“Let’s go.” Ning pulled Mu Northson into his mobile Immortal estate, then immediately used a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.

Rumble…

Ning disappeared into thin air.

……

“What just happened?!”

“Why was there such a powerful ripple?” The black-robed figures all noticed it. Although Ning had tried to control his power as best he could, he couldn’t completely block it from leaking out; after all, the entire castle was filled with guards who had very acute senses.

And right at this moment…a spatial ripple appeared!

“Teleportation.”

“A Greater Spatial Teleportation!” The black-robed figures and bronze-armored Fiendguards all had changed looks on their faces. Although the defenses here in their castle were extremely tight, there was no way they could block out a Greater Spatial Teleportation. However…outsiders knew nothing of the layout within the castle, and so even if they were to use a Greater Teleportation, it would be hard for them to teleport into the castle.

Deep within the castle, within that giant, stand-alone region. The many gray-robed figures here were like ants that were crawling throughout the areas close to the enormous Fiendgod Golem, constantly forging new parts to further perfect it.

Rumble…

Ripples of a spatial teleportation.

All of the gray-robed grandmasters present were completely absorbed with their forging; the many years they had spent on this task had rendered them numb. They weren’t on their guard at all.

“Who are you?” A gray-robed person noticed the white-robed Ning suddenly appear out of nowhere.

“An invader!”

“An outsider!”

The two black-robed figures that were responsible for overseeing this stand-alone region were all shocked. They let out cries of rage, then charged straight towards Ning.

“Hmph.” Ning let out a cold snort. Waving his hand, he caused the enormous, three thousand meter tall Fiendgod Golem to suddenly vanish into thin air.

“NO!!” The faces of the two attacking black-robed figures completely changed. The invader had actually come for their Fiendgod-class golem! This was the most important golem in the entire castle; if it truly was to be lost…then the outcome would be disastrous for these two black-robed Fiendserfs who were responsible for guarding this place.

Streaks of snowy-white sword-light came sweeping towards them, causing the world to instantly be frozen. The two black-robed figures were also completely frozen, then shattered into dust.

The gray-robed figures in the region all stared in astonishment. Still…all of them were quite uncaring, and so they simply stood there and watched. They were filled with hatred towards the power that controlled this forbidden region; as far as they were concerned, the more black-robed figures died, the better.

“The white-robed figure is quite formidable. He actually launched an attack within the forbidden region…and by the looks of it, he even knows about the Fiendgod Golem. He took it away right away.”

“Mm. He is pretty powerful; the black-robed figures are all at the Loose Immortal level, but they were eradicated with one blow.”

“It’d be nice if all of the black-robed men and the bronze-armored Fiendguards were to die.”

The gray-robed figures just watched and chatted to the side.

The bronze-armored Fiendguard outside the entrance to this region noticed the spatial disturbance inside. He came charging inside, but could only watch as the two black-robed figures were instantly killed. There was no chance to save them at all.

“Do you KNOW where you are? Do you really think this is a place you can just break into?” the Fiendguard let out an angry howl, then produced a longspear in his hands. He threw it viciously towards Ning.

Swooooosh! The longspear flashed with golden light, carrying an aura of tremendous power as it stabbed towards Ning.

“A Void-level Fiendgod?” Ning laughed coldly.

The bronze-armored fiendguards all at least had the power of Loose Immortals who had lived for a million years. This particular bronze-armored Fiendguard was one of the most powerful Fiendguards in this area; he was an ancient Void-level Fiendgod! This was why he had been assigned the duty of watching this region.

“DIE!!!” Ning swept out with his palm.

His palm instantly transformed, becoming more than three hundred meters long. After using the [Starseizing Hand], Ning’s palm carried an unearthly level of power. He slapped downwards, swatting the golden longspear aside. Although Ning’s [Starseizing Hand] had merely reached the Third Cycle, it already had the power of a Pure Yang treasure! The reason why Ning rarely used his hands to attack, preferring to use his Immortal swords, was simply because he was afraid that others would find out about him possessing the [Starseizing Hand].

However, Ning now trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], causing his entire body to become powerful; thus, he could use his hands to attack without fear of the [Starseizing Hand] being exposed.

Sword Immortals didn’t necessarily have to use swords all the time. To a true Sword Immortal, a blade of grass, a stick, a longstaff, a spear, a palm, a leg…all of these could be used to execute swordplay. Ning’s enormous, massive palm…glowed with a blurry golden light, as though it were a giant golden sword.

“How can this be?” The void-level Fiendgod Fiendguard was shocked. Letting out a growling roar, he used one hand to grab his longspear while using the other to block towards Ning.

BANG!

The enormous palm struck him directly on his body.

The powerful Void-level Fiendgod Fiendguard only had enough time to let out an agonized roar before his body was blasted apart. Just as his shattered body began to attempt to heal, a second, similarly enormous palm came slamming towards him. The two palms merged into a single palm which once more splattered the body of the Fiendguard. Bang! Bang! Bang! The two giant palms struck out repeatedly at a lightning-fast speed, each time shattering the body of the Fiendguard into ever-smaller pieces. More and more of the Fiendguard’s divine power was used up, and after just a few more stricks, all of the divine power within his body had been depleted.

In just the blink of an eye, the Void-level Fiendguard had been killed!

“Such power!”

“But, but…”

“He’s too incredible.”

The watching gray-robed figures were all stupefied by what they saw. They knew exactly how powerful that bronze-armored Fiendguard had been. A Void-level Fiendgod! And yet, he had been killed, just like that?

“This is the true [Starseizing Hand]!” This was the first time Ning had truly unleashed the power of the [Starseizing Hand] as much as he pleased. “After I train in the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]…my hands alone will be comparable to supreme Pure Yang treasures, close to middle-grade Protocosmic treasures. By then…the power of my [Starseizing Hand] shall undoubtedly be even greater.”

The Fifth Cycle would make his hands comparable to supreme Protocosmic treasures.

The Sixth Cycle was the level which Daoist Threelives had reached; at this level, he would be able to effortlessly shatter an entire major world with his hands!

BOOM!!!

Ning collected the treasures left behind by the Fiendguard, then charged out of the region like a primordial Fiendgod in full flight.

“Stop him.”

“Kill him.”

All the black-robed men and bronze-armored Fiendguards within the castle were quickly gathering together.

……

Within the Eastwoods Sect of the Eastwoods mountain range. A silver-armored youth was fishing in a leisurely manner.

Suddenly…

A spatial ripple. It was like a stone had fallen into a lake, causing a ripple to spread in every direction. When it reached the silver-armored youth, his face instantly changed as he turned to look towards the forbidden region. “A Greater Spatial Teleportation? Not good!”

Bang!

The silver-armored youth instantly transformed into a streak of light, charging towards the forbidden region. He moved lightning-fast; although the forbidden region was protected by layers of mighty formations, the formations were all under his control! He was able to easily bypass all of them, and he quickly arrived within that massive gorge. He immediately saw that castle up ahead.

Sounds of explosions could be heard from within the castle. Everything was in a state of the utmost chaos.

“THOSE WHO BAR ME, DIE!” An icy voice roared out from within the castle. The faces of the black-robed figures outside the castle were all ashen, and terror could be seen in their eyes.

“It’s only been a few moments, but three of my bronze-armored Fiendguards have died already? Even Bosia died?” When the silver-armored youth sensed what had happened, his face grew even uglier. The Fiendguards were the most powerful warriors under his command; he knew all of them intimately. As he sensed one mighty aura after another be wiped out, he couldn’t help but feel shocked…and realize how terrifying this foe was!

It had taken him very little time to return to the forbidden region, but three bronze-armored Fiendguards had already perished, to say nothing of the black-robed figures.

“Someone dares attack on my territory?”

The next feeling the silver-robed youth had was a feeling of anger and humiliation that he had never felt before. This was a proud man!

“Die!” The silver-robed youth could sense that the powerful figure within the castle had already charged out to the castle gates. The restrictions within the castle were also under the control of the general, and so he could clearly sense everything going on within it…as well as the fact that the Fiendgod Golem had already vanished.

A fiery godbow suddenly appeared in the silver-armored youth’s hands, and a similarly fiery arrow appeared as well.

He pulled the bow!

He fired the arrow!

BANG!

The arrow shot out, instantly transforming into an enormous, divine flaming dragon that surged straight towards the castle gates.

A terrifying sword-light flew out from the castle gates, transforming into a divine black dragon. The divine black dragon and the divine flaming dragon collided against each other in midair, and in that instant, a white-robed youth walked out from the castle gates. The white-robed youth was surrounded with a teeming mass of Immortal swords, each one possessing an unearthly amount of power. They spread out in every direction, as though escorting their emperor forward.

The white-robed youth raised his head, looking upwards. He saw the distant silver-armored youth in the distant skies.

The silver-armored youth lowered his head, looking at the white-robed youth.

Their gazes met in midair, colliding as though they had mass to them.

“Nearly two hundred Immortal swords? And all of them seem to be top-grade Immortal-ranked!”

“A bow? Can it be that he, too, is a master archer?”

Each had their own thoughts.

Rumble…

The terrifying arrow and the light of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] collided head-on. The entire world seemed to go dark for a moment. And then…with a rumbling sound, rippling shockwaves spread out in every direction, with the ripples containing hints of sharp light. When the ripples struck some of the nearby black-robed figures, they were instantly turned into dust.

“Block!”

“Block it!”

More than ten Loose Immortals perished before the rest of the black-robed figures were able to escape from that ripple.

“Fiendserfs, all of you, step back,” the silver-armored youth barked coldly. In a fight on this level…these black-robed Loose Immortals would be nothing more than cannon fodder.

“Yes.” Instantly, all of the black-robed figures hurriedly fled. They normally liked to flaunt their power, and they could kill Wanxiang Adepts and Primal Adepts as easily as killing chickens, but upon encountering this terrifying figure…it was their turn to become the chickens.

“Fleeing? I have not permitted it!” The distant white-robed Ning let out an angry roar. Instantly, a hundred of the top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords around him shot out in every direction, striking towards the fleeing black-robed Loose Immortals. Ning had sworn long ago…that he wouldn’t spare a single one of these figures who had harmed his junior apprentice-brother!

“You are courting death!” The silver-armored youth was enraged. He waved his hand, and instantly a black cloud that covered the skies appeared, spreaing in every direction.

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Chapter 5 – Who Will Give Me My Freedom?

Chapter 5 – Who Will Give Me My Freedom?

The black cloud was filled with a resilient power that covered the entire region below. The hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords were unable to penetrate the black cloud, but…Ji Ning’s attack was simply too fast. Prior to the black cloud appearing, he had killed more than twenty of the black-robed Loose Immortals.

The silver-armored youth’s face grew even grimmer.

“Break.” Ning took back his Immortal swords, then began to condense a streak of sword-light generated from the second stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. This blindingly bright sword-light transformed into a divine black dragon which ripped apart the black clouds, soaring forward with arrogant abandon.

“Hmph.” The silver-armored youth waved his hand, summoning the black cloud back. He glanced downwards, seeing that the black-robed figures had already fled by now.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

One bronze-armored Fiendguard after another began to arrive, coming to gather in the air behind the bronze-armored youth.

“Fiendguards, join into formation and launch a combined attack!” The silver-armored youth pointed downwards, then shouted, “You are not to attack separately.”

“Yes.” Instantly, the Fiendguards began to organize into squads of nine, joining into formations that transformed into Godbeasts that were three hundred meters long. This type of Godbeast appeared to be a tiger, but had even sharper claws and even longer fangs, while its fur was shaggier. Their eyes were filled a cold azure light.

“A Bi’an Godbeast tiger?” Ning was startled. “Last time, I encountered Bloodcloud Hall’s Ba-Serpent Formation; I didn’t expect to encounter a Bi’an Formation this time. This organization really is quite formidable.” 1

Countless ages ago, the Ancestor Dragon was born from the primordial chaos. It was the most ancient of divine dragons, the first to be born from the chaos. It was even older than the Torch-Dragon! As the first dragon, it became known as the Ancestor Dragon.

The Ancestor Dragon had nine sons. 2

Every single one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon possessed tremendous power…and the Bi’an Tiger was one of them.

“Kill!”

“Kill him!”

The three Bi’an Godbeast tigers charged downwards from midair. Ning raised his head, staring up at those three Bi’an Godbeasts. He suddenly sensed the castle behind him beginning to shake. Turning his head, he glanced backwards, only to see another Bi’an Godbeast charging from him from the castle gates as well.

There had also been some bronze-armored Fiendguards within the castle. Because Ning had attacked so unexpectedly, they hadn’t had the chance to join together into a formation yet.

“This white-robed man’s Immortal swords are quite formidable; he should be a powerful Sword Immortal who is a Ki Refiner. Although Ki Refining Sword Immortals are formidable…they hate close combat. If we attack en masse, and if one of our claws land on him…he’s dead.”

“Kill him. Otherwise, both the general and us shall be doomed.”

They all harbored murderous thoughts in their mind.

None of them wanted to let Ning leave alive. This was because the fact that the Eastwoods mountain range was being used to manufacture golems was a matter of the utmost secrecy. Once this location was exposed…the Grand Xia Dynasty would probably begin a frantic investigation. Now that they had a specific target, they’d probably be able to uncover even more gathering spots.

It must be understood…that up till now, not a single one of the gathering points had been exposed yet! Although the Grand Xia Dynasty had discovered that a few places were rather ‘strange’, they weren’t sure what the places were doing, and so the Dynasty hadn’t made any rash decisions yet.

The Eastwoods mountain range gathering point was damnably unlucky. After all…the only person in the entire world of the Grand Xia who trained in the Seventy-Two Transformations was Ji Ning. Only he had the ability to stealthily infiltrate this place! Anyone else would have been completely unable to enter the area and discover the secrets within.

“We can’t let him escape!” The silver-armored youth’s eyes flashed with cold light as he stared down from the skies towards Ning. “If he flees, we’ll be in big trouble. The Master will definitely blame me for this!”

……

The four Bi’an Godbeast tigers all possessed auras of tremendous power and majesty. Every single one of them was comparable to the Ba-Serpent of Bloodcloud Hall which had attempted to assassinate Ji Ning…but this Ji Ning was no longer the Ji Ning of the past. After reaching the sixteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], his power had skyrocketed once more.

“F*ck off.”

An enormous palm, also three hundred meters long, swatted down towards one of the Bi’an Tigers. The Bi’an Godbeast howled and swept out with its sharp paws, making full use of its extremely long and knife-sharp claws.

BANG!!!

The giant palm, covered with golden light, completely knocked this Bi’an Godbeast flying. The other three Bi’an Tigers attacked wildly en masse, but Ning began to brandish his other palm as well. As he did so, this palm also instantly increased to a size of three hundred meters, and it too swatted a Bi’an Godbeast away.

“Three Heads, Six Arms.” Ning transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form. Now, six utterly enormous palms were slapping and swatting in every direction.

His palm-strikes all possessed the power of a Pure Yang treasure; they were far superior to Immortal swords. In addition, using Immortal swords required the use of elemental ki, whereas his [Starseizing Hand]-enhanced hands had been transformed into magic treasures long ago; just like the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], his palms didn’t need to use any divine power at all. However, actively using the [Starseizing Hand] to unleash tremendous strength did require the use of divine power.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Six giant palms, each flashing with a sharp golden light, struck out like a series of sharp swords, either chopping or thrusting or swatting.

The four Bi’an Godbeast tigers had intended on launching a group assault, but they were instead knocked flying backwards, one after the other.

“General!”

“General, this man is a fiendgod! And his divine body is extremely powerful; his body seems to be as unbreakable as a vajra. He’s actually able to block our attacks just using his hands.”

The bronze-armored Fiendguards all sent hurried mental messages to the silver-armored youth.

The silver-armored youth, upon seeing this happen from his position in midair, had an unsightly look on his face. “I didn’t expect that his close combat abilities would be even more formidable than his sword-formation abilities.” In truth, if Ning had to use Immortal swords, his close combat abilities truly would be a bit weaker…but by relying on the power of his palms, he was actually slightly more powerful than the second stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

“Ahahah! ‘General’…do you wish to keep fighting? You aren’t able to do anything to me, while I can leave whenever I want.” Ning’s laughter rang out from below.

“Halt!” The silver-armored youth barked.

Instantly, all four of the Bi’an Godbeast tigers hurriedly retreated, coming to hover in the air to each side of the silver-armored youth. They stared at the distant, white-robed Ning. All of them were rather shocked…the thirty-six of them, all Fiendguards, were actually unable to do anything to this person, even when fighting together. No wonder he had been able to so effortlessly slaughter them in the castle earlier.

“Given your power, you should’ve been able to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to leave long ago, when you were still inside the castle,” the silver-armored man said coldly. “But you didn’t. This was for the sake of Mu Northson, right?”

Ning was startled. He had used the Seventy-Two Transformations to completely change his aura; why was it that this general immediately mentioned Mu Northson?

“Ji Ning.” The silver-armored youth looked downwards. He said coldly, “Did you think I wouldn’t be able to guess that it was you? In the entire world of the Grand Xia, the only ability that could allow someone to so stealthily infiltrate this castle is probably you, after using your Seventy-Two Transformations. When I also noticed that the only grandmaster within the castle who vanished was Mu Northson…the only person I could think of who would come to save him would be you, Ji Ning.”

“Previously, I wasn’t completely certain that you trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], but now…I am.” The silver-armored man let out a cold laugh.

The white-robed youth below let out a loud laugh as well. His body flickered, then transformed into that of the fur-clad Ji Ning.

“Correct. It is indeed me. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that I trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] for too much longer…after all, last time, I ended up trapped in your Eastwoods mountain range for quite some time. I didn’t expect you to be able to guess it right away this time,” Ning said. “I know that this Fiendgod Golem of yours is quite important. I can give it back to you, but you have to release my junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson, and give him back his freedom.”

“I trust that reobtaining a golem like this, comparable to a top-grade Pure Yang treasure, in exchange for just giving me my junior apprentice-brother is actually quite a decent bargain,” Ning said.

“A decent bargain? No. This is nothing more than a half-finished golem; it’s not even finished. It isn’t actually worth that much,” the silver-armored youth said.

“Perhaps not to outsiders, but to you, it is extremely valuable. You can work on it and complete it.” Ning raised his head to stare at the silver-armored youth. “I have only one request. Give my junior apprentice-brother his freedom back.”

“Hahahaha…freedom?!” The silver-armored youth was so enraged, he began to laugh. “If I give Mu Northson his freedom, who will give me my freedom?”

Ning was startled. Who would give him his freedom?

“You’ve discovered this forbidden region, which means its secret has been revealed. If I don’t kill you…how can I escape punishment?” A savage look was on the silver-armored man’s face. “Both you and your junior apprentice-brother can die.”

Ning instantly understood. Given that the mysterious power divided up its forces into ‘Fiendslaves’, ‘Fiendserfs’, ‘Fiendguards’, and ‘Fiendlords’, they undoubtedly held their Fiendlords to very high standards. Ning had barged into this location…once he exposed its secrets, the mysterious power would be put on a very bad position.

“Wait a moment,” Ning said hurriedly. “I’m willing to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that I will not reveal what is happening here within the Eastwoods mountain range to anyone, and I will also return your Fiendgod Golem to you. You, in exchange, will release my junior apprentice-brother.”

“Even if you swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens, I will still be punished. Thus…only if you die will I be safe.” The silver-armored youth let out a lowl growl. “Do you think that just because you’ve trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] that I am unable to do anything to you? Hmph. Hmph! Many Celestial Immortals have perished before me, much less you, a mere Void-level.”

As his words came out, an azure serpent that was more than ten kilometers long suddenly appeared in midair. This azure serpent was extremely slender, and it came coiling towards Ning.

“A rope?” Ning was startled.

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] divine ability feared restrictive magic treasures the most. For example, if he ended up being bound by this rope, there would be no way he could use any Dao-seals or enter his Immortal estate. That would be very bad indeed.

Thus…he absolutely could not let himself be bound.

“All I’m asking is that you let my junior apprentice-brother go free.” Immortal swords clustered around Ning as a sharp golden sword-light began to form in front of him.

“Only if I kill you will I be able to live comfortably,” the silver-armored youth bellowed back.

The golden sword-light collided against the enormous azure serpent in midair. The power of that rope, in the shape of the azure serpent, was truly tremendous. A single collision with it was enough to completely blast apart the divine black dragon which Ning’s golden sword-light had transformed into.

“If you don’t agree…then I’ll beat you until you do!” Ning had grown angry now as well. A black-robed Ning suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to him.

The two Ji Nings stood there, shoulder to shoulder.

A total of 324 top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures appeared in midair. His true body and his Primaltwin each controlled 162 of these Immortal swords! It must be understood that the memories and minds of the two bodies were completely linked and synced, and both of them trained in the [Darknorth Sutra] as Ki Refiners…and in fact, both were ate the late Void level!

The power of the [Darknorth Sutra] filled every single one of the top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. Although his true body and his Primaltwin controlled the swords separately, it was as though a single person was controlling them!

And thus, a total of more than three hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords were able to completely join together in formation!

Ruuuuuuumble…

A golden Immortal sword, carrying a terrifying aura of majesty, manifested before Ning’s true body and Primaltwin.

[Greater Thousand Swords Formation] – Stage Four!

This was Ning’s true maximum combat power as a Ki Refiner! Power that was even greater than his true body’s close combat abilities!

The fur-clad Ning and the black-robed Ning simultaneously let out an enraged roar.

“KILL!!!!”

1. Note; back in Book 2, Chapter 10, Ning encountered and killed a Bi’an Tiger, but that was a ‘normal’ one that was not a Godbeast; it was called an ‘An Beast’, whereas this one is called a ‘Bi’an Godbeast’.

2. This is based on real Chinese mythology, the ‘nine sons of the dragon’ – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_sons_of_the_dragon.

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Chapter 6 – Soultamer Jade

Chapter 6 – Soultamer Jade

Many combination-formations, such as the Ba-Serpent Formation or the Bi’an Formation, relied on different people occupying different parts of the formation. Upon coming together, their strength would increase explosively! What Ji Ning was currently using with his Primaltwin was something similar, something which mimicked a combination-formation. Although this wasn’t intentional, it was even more meticulate and intricate than many true combination-formations.

“ROAAAAR!”

The golden Immortal sword before them transformed into an incomparably massive divine black dragon that was coiled. The divine black dragon let out a draconic roar, and the sound of this roar completely shook the world around them.

This was a majesty that came from more than three hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, after their power had been merged together through the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]!

This power was so great, it eclipsed that of most divine abilities that Fiendgod Body Refiners trained in!

“What?!” The silver-armored youth’s face changed slightly as he stared down from midair. “Block!”

“Hissssss…”

The azure serpent-formed rope in midair let out a hissing sound. The enormous azure serpent slithered forth, moving to collide head on against the divine black dragon.

The divine dragon soared into the skies!

The azure serpent came slithering forth!

BOOM!

The world itself shook tremendously…and then a blast of wild power exploded out in an omnidirectional ripple. When it struck the bodies of those four Bi’an Godbeasts, a series of crackling sounds could be heard…but of course, they were able to withstand this level of energy. As for those weaker black-robed Loose Immortals, they had fled far away long ago.

The gorge around them, however, was in for some pain. It rumbled as the ground began to crack apart, and many nearby boulders were transformed into dust. The cliffs on each side of the gorge began to break apart on a large scale.

Faced with that blast of wild power, the surface of the castle began to flicker with a dark light. It managed to withstand the collisive force.

“Not good.” The silver-armored man’s face changed dramatically; the azure serpent in the air had been completely destroyed, transforming back into its original form of a rope. The divine black dragon, however, was still filled with enormous power. It continued to roar with abandon, wanting to continue to strike against the azure serpent. “This Ji Ning is actually so powerful! He’s not even a Celestial Immortal yet, but the power of his Immortal swords is already so great.”

“You want to capture me? General, you aren’t strong enough yet!” The fur-clad Ning and the black-robed Ning both let out furious roars.

ROAAAAR!

The divine black dragon in the skies let out a draconic roar as well, then continued its upwards charge.

“I don’t believe it. Don’t believe it! I have to capture him.” The silver-armored youth gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to fail; he wasn’t willing to accept the repercussions of failure. His hands joined together to form a seal as he shouted loudly, “ASURA!”

A powerful Immortal power rapidly began to summon the majestic power of the Heavens and the Earth, forming a tall, skinny, hideous, and completely black warrior. This hideous warrior hefted a double-edged blade with three tips and pointed it straight towards Ning, letting out a bellow: “Little thief, die!” And then, the hideous warrior charged straight forward.

“CELESTIAL GUARDIAN DRAGON!” The silver-armored youth’s hand-seals changed once again.

Yet another creature appeared in midair, a coiling divine dragon which was golden in color. The divine golden dragon let out a draconic roar of its own, then charged downwards as well.

“BIND!”

The enormous rope in midair once more transformed into that queer azure serpent. This time, the azure serpent’s tail had a snakehead at the end; it now had a head on each end, and it howled through the air as it charged towards Ning.

Controlling two secret arts and this magic treasure was actually extremely tiring for this silver-armored general as well.

……

“Break. Break. Break!” The fur-clad Ning and the black-robed Ning simultaneously controlled the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], using the more than three hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked magic swords to once more generate that incomparably sharp golden flying sword. The golden flying sword howled through the air, transforming into that divine black dragon. Now, there were two of the divine black dragons in the air.

Simultaneously maintaining two of the fourth-stage [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] sword-lights was a tremendous burden on Ning as well.

“Bind him. I have to bind him.” A look of savagery was on the face of the silver-armored youth. “I was only able to escape after enduring for countless years. I don’t want to be punished again. Absolutely not!”

From high up in the skies, the hideous Asura warrior, the Celestial Guardian Dragon, and the two-headed azure serpent launched simultaneous attacks downwards.

Two divine black dragons flew upwards, greeting the attacks.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

A series of explosions could be heard from within the skies, and the surrounding area was filled with clashing blasts and ripples of power.

“Hahaha…General, this bit of ability isn’t enough,” Ning laughed loudly. The fourth-stage [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] sword-light, in the shape of the two divine dragons, was actually able to blast apart the Asura warrior and the Celestial Guardian Dragon before vanishing.

“Suppression!” The silver-armored youth suddenly waved his hand, and one giant seal after another began to appear in the skies. A total of seven grand seals appeared, each glowing with blurry light. The grand seals were covered with some characters, and they hovered there in the skies like giant mountains. Light flowed from one seal to another, merging them into a single whole.

“Crush him!” The silver-armored youth pointed furiously towards Ning.

The seven grand seals descended in awe-inspiring fashion en masse, rapidly joining together as they descended. They actually transformed into a true, enormous mountain as they smashed towards Ning.

“Break!”

Ning pointed upwards as well. The sword-light of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], in the form of two divine black dragons, soared straight into the heavens like fish that were swimming against the flow.

Boom…

The enormous mountain came crashing down. Both of the divine black dragons were actually blasted apart, causing Ning’s pupils to contract. He immediately executed his divine ability, transforming into a three-headed, six-armed giant that was three hundred meters tall. Ning simultaneously struck out with six mighty palms from his true body, slapping them against the descending mountain.

Rumble…

The world itself seemed to shake. Ning’s true body was actually pushed all the way into the ground, which completely caved in and shattered in every direction.

Ning’s true body was pressed chest-deep into the ground, but with a flicker he once more re-emerged.

“Hahaha, General, what a fine ability!” Ning laughed as he looked at the silver-armored youth.

The silver-armored youth had a gloomy look on his face.

“Damn. Damn!” The silver-armored youth’s heart was filled with resentment. He now knew exactly how strong Ning was. He had to admit, this foe’s sword-formation was incredibly powerful, but in terms of raw strength…Ji Ning was definitely far inferior to him. He was a supreme figure even amongst Celestial Immortals, after all!

But this wasn’t a competition to see who was better; it was a fight where he had to capture his foe using his rope!

If they were simply competing to see who was better, he could wantonly use his seven low-grade Pure Yang treasures, those seven mighty seals, to unleash his most powerful attacks. But what he was trying to do was to trap his foe; thus, he had to divert some of his attention to controlling his rope, and also use quite a great deal of his energy to strengthen the rope. It was no easy feat to capture or trap a Fiendgod who trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]!

Since he had to split his attention up between his rope and the seals, he was naturally unable to use the seals to the full extent of their power.

“You win!” The silver-armored youth gave Ning a dark look. “I can neither kill you nor capture you.”

He was clearly significantly stronger than Ji Ning…but he was simply unable to capture him!

This was what made the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] so formidable. There had to be an utterly enormous difference in power, allowing him to first break apart Ning’s defense before capturing him. Clearly, the difference in power between the general and Ning, while significant, wasn’t ridiculously huge.

The entire gorge had been transformed into rubble. In the air above the rubble, the only figures that could be seen were the silver-armored general, a group of bronze-armored Fiendguards, as well as Ji Ning and Mu Northson.

The silver-armored general had finally bowed his head. He was unable to kill Ji Ning, and would be unable to avoid punishment. All he could do now was try his best to lessen the amount of damage caused and lower the amount of punishment he would receive.

“Good.” Ning smiled and nodded. “That’s wise.”

The nearby Northson immediately had a look of relief appear within his eyes. Right then and there, Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and the silver-armored general all swore oaths to the Dao of the Heavens. Ning’s promise…was that if Mu Northson was given freedom, he absolutely would not reveal the secret of the castle to others. Northson swore the same, that he absolutely wouldn’t reveal this secret to anyone else.

The silver-armored general naturally gave Northson his freedom back after this.

“General, please open your formation and let us leave.” Ning stood there in midair, Northson by his side with a relieved look on his face. He seemed to have suddenly become filled with vitality, as well as hope for the future.

“Not so fast.” The silver-armored general let out a sigh. “Before you leave, I will tell you a bit of bad news.”

Ning and Northson’s faces instantly changed.

Bad news?

“This was a disastrous defeat for me.” The silver-armored general sighed. “The forbidden region was under very tight guard, and even the formations experts which I captured were all forced to swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens not to flee. If they do…they die. Thus, I never thought that someone would be able to sneak in…I suppose I’m just damned unlucky to encounter someone who trains in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

“Enough with the crap. What do you want to say?” Ning barked with a frown.

After the silver-armored general let out another series of sighs, he looked towards Ning and Northson, then said with a cold laugh, “The person in charge of matters within the castle, Qu Huan, is already dead. If my guess is correct…this Mu Northson has already taken his loved one’s soul back.”

Northson barked, “So what if I did?”

“Have you heard of soultamer jade?” The silver-armored general chortled as he spoke. He felt delighted in being able to irritate these two figures.

“Soultamer jade?” Northson and Ning’s faces instantly changed. Ning had learned about quite a few bits of common knowledge regarding the Three Realms while at Mount Innerheart; naturally, he knew of soultamer jade. As for Northson, given he had analyzed the Dao of Constructs quite extensively, he naturally had heard of soultamer jade, one of the legendary materials for the Dao of Constructs.

Soultamer jade: Once a soul was placed into the soultamer jade, it would become one with the jade. There would be no chance of escape! However, the soul would be nourished by the soultamer jade; so long as it didn’t suffer any attacks and wasn’t destroyed, the soul inside could live forever. Generally speaking, golem experts would place soultamer jade into their golems, allowing the soul within the soultamer jade to control the golem, making it sentient.

“Can it be that you can’t tell?” The silver-armored general smiled. “That crystalline globe used to store her soul is soultamer jade!”

“What?!” Northson was shocked and angry.

“It’s finished.” Ning looked towards his nearby junior apprentice-brother; now that Yu Xia’s soul had been placed within that soultamer jade globe, she would never be able to emerge from within it. She would forever have to live within that tiny little space. This was actually quite a painful thing…and she would have forever lost her chance to be reincarnated.

“But perhaps this is a good thing,” Ning mused.

There were two sides to every coin. Yu Xia’s soul had been merged into the soultamer jade, and she would never be able to leave or be reborn; this was indeed quite a painful thing.

And yet…this meant that she would still be able to accompany Northson.

“Mu Northson,” the distant silver-armored general said with a cold laugh, “Your loved one’s soul shall accompany you for eternity. You are quite blessed. But…don’t forget that she’ll be forever trapped within that tiny space. How agonizing must that be? This sort of agony will accompany her for countless ages, until the day comes that she is attacked and her ‘body’ is destroyed. In that moment…her soul shall shatter.”

Northson gritted his teeth. “Little Xia…”

He felt guilt.

Seeing this, Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself. The distant silver-armored general, however, just laughed loudly. “See how nice I am? I even told you this bit of information. Alright…you can scram now.”

“Let’s go.” Ning gave the distant silver-armored general a cold glare, then took Northson into his mobile Immortal estate. He then flew into the skies, the formations not blocking him at all. Ning quickly flew away, then once more used a spatial teleportation technique. He disappeared.

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Chapter 7 – The Cavemaster

Chapter 7 – The Cavemaster

The silver-armored youth raised his head, staring at the sky. It was dusk. He let out a sigh. “My happy days are coming to an end.”

“General.”

The bronze-armored Fiendguards all nervously stared at the silver-armored youth.

After sighing, the silver-armored youth turned and quickly moved through the many layers of restrictive formations around the forbidden region. Outside were gathered many of the black-robed figures, as well as the members of the Eastwoods Sect. The enormous disturbance and the spatial teleportations had attracted attention from many outsiders.

“General.” The Eastwoods sect leader hurriedly went forward to greet him. “What has happened? Is there anything you need our Eastwoods Sect to do?”

“What happened?” The silver-armored general murmured these words, then waved his hand. Instantly, the illusion of an enormous mountain appeared out of nowhere. It smashed straight down on the body of the Eastwoods sect leader. Boom! The Eastwoods sect leader was completely smashed into pulp, then the remnants were transformed into dust that flew away.

The surrounding Loose Immortals, Earth Immortals, Primal Daoists, Wanxiang Adepts, and other disciples of the Eastwoods Sect were all in disbelief.

Some of them, however, revealed looks of joy. “It’s good that he died.”

The Eastwoods sect leader had been a classic case of a spineless figure who had quickly capitulated. This caused some of the disciples who had been unhappy with the current state of affairs to feel disdain for him.

The silver-armored general instructed calmly, “All disciples of the Eastwoods Sect, hear me: If you are willing to be loyal to me and serve me, if you are willing to become slaves under my command…go down on your knees immediately.”

His voice was actually quite soft…but it echoed within the minds of each member of the Eastwoods Sect. Everyone in the sect, whether roaming around, patrolling the mountain, training, or resting in seclusion…was completely stunned.

“You have to a count of ten to decide,” the silver-armored general said calmly.

“Willing! I’m willing!” Instantly, some disciples capitulated and knelt down.

However, quite a few disciples revealed looks of disbelief.

Loyalty? Submission?

This was simple.

But willingly become slaves? This was too ridiculous. They were Immortal cultivators, and many of them had felt unhappy for quite some time now. At first, the silver-armored general had been fairly amiable towards them, but now he actually spoke of them being his slaves? Slaves…that meant giving their lives to him and completely obeying his orders.

“Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven…” The silver-armored general counted slowly. “Six. Five!”

After counting to five, he suddenly stopped counting.

The silver-armored general let out a laugh. With a single step, he moved to stand high up in the air. The world itself began to shudder, and one massive mountain after another began to lift up and hover in the air. This was the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens Cauldron which he had previously used against Ji Ning.

“The Eastwoods Sect has more than thirty-nine thousand disciples.” The silver-armored general’s voice reverberated in the air. “More than twenty thousand have knelt, including twenty-one Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals and three hundred and one Primal Daoists. These three hundred and twenty-two are permitted to remain alive…the rest shall all perish!”

His voice reverberated throughout the entire Eastwoods mountain range.

And then…flames began to erupt throughout the area, moving to fill every single part of the Eastwoods mountain range.

“General, you haven’t finished counting to ten yet!”

“General!”

The hesitating Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, upon seeing this, instantly began to call out frantically. Some of the Primal Daoists, Earth Immortals, and Loose Immortals actually fell to their knees right away.

“Too late,” the silver-armored general laughed.

Streaks of flame were filling the entire region. Those hidden away in secret rooms, those roving the mountains, those fleeing…all of them were turned to ash as soon as they were touched by the flames! The Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens was very dangerous for Celestial Immortals; how could these ordinary disciples of the Eastwoods Sect possibly withstand it?

“No! I submitted! I SUBMITTED! General, I’m willing to be your slave!” A youth cried out miserably, right before he was burnt to ash by the flames.

“A puny Zifu Disciple…just what am I supposed to do with you?” The silver-armored general sneered.

Despair filled every part of the Eastwoods mountain range.

The only ones to survive were the Primal Daoists and Void-level Immortals who had knelt by the count of five. The others disciples…perished to the man. Some of them chose to self-detonate, but their souls were still trapped by the grand formation protecting the Eastwoods Mountain range. Their souls were annihilated; none were spared at all.

Moments later…things turned completely silent.

“Come in.” The silver-armored general waved his hand, and an enormous sack suddenly appeared. The mouth of the sack opened, instantly drawing in the Primal Daoists, Loose Immortals, and Earth Immortals below him.

He made one more trip to the forbidden region, collecting all of the grandmasters of the Dao of Constructs, the castle, and the other things within.

“Time to go.” The silver-armored general led his bronze-armored Fiendguards to the entrance to that black, fog-shrouded cave…then stepped straight into it.

Moments later…the cave entrance itself disappeared.

The entire Eastwoods mountain range had become completely silent. All living creatures, including the animals that had lived here, had been completely wiped out. Even all the formations present, such as the Divine Venomflame of the Nine Heavens Cauldron, had been broken.

The Eastwoods Sect…starting from today, it truly no longer existed!

……

This was an extremely large world.

The commandery city in the center of this world was an incomparably massive fortress. The fortress was so large that even Celestial Immortals would be unable to see it in its entirety.

“We’re back. We’ve finally returned to the Fifth World.”

A black foggy cave entrance appeared in the skies, and the silver-armored youth and his bronze-armored Fiendguards appeared from within it.

Rumble…an invisible surge of power swept across this squad.

“General.” The bronze-armored Fiendguards looked towards the silver-armored youth.

“Go to the headquarters and await further orders,” the silver-armored general said with a sigh. “This time, I shall most probably be sent into exile…and you’ll probably have to suffer with me.”

“It’s not your fault, General. If we have to blame someone, we have to blame that Ji Ning.”

“Right. That Ji Ning actually knew the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. You can’t be blamed at all, General!” The crowd of bronze-armored Fiendguards hurriedly said.

The silver-armored general chuckled. “Alright. I need to go see the Cavemaster. Go ahead and wait for me in the headquarters.”

“Yes,” the bronze-armored Fiendguards said.

The silver-armored youth transformed into a streak of light, soaring down from the skies and into that castle below. A corridor automatically opened, granting him entrance. As for the bronze-armored Fiendguards, they all had to land and walk in through the gates to the city. The general was a Celestial Immortal, after all; his status was much higher than theirs.

……

Within a massive palace.

A man dressed in fiery red robes was seated up high on a royal throne, staring downwards. His terrifying aura was absolutely no weaker than that of the Grand Xia Emperor’s.

The silver-armored youth moved into the palace, then respectfully bowed from the waist. “Greetings, Cavemaster.”

“Buchasi.” The fire-robed man glanced downwards, then frowned slightly. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Flamedoor Commandery of the world of the Grand Xia? Your assignment is to watch over the construction of the constructs there; you can’t let anything go wrong. Why have you left the world of the Grand Xia and returned here without being summoned?”

“Your subordinate’s base in the Eastwoods mountain range of Flamedoor Commandery was infiltrated…” The silver-armored youth honestly told the complete story of what had happened, because he knew exactly how powerful this organization was. Even if he didn’t tell the truth, within a single day, the organization would learn of everything which had happened in the Eastwoods mountain range.”

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]? Ji Ning?” The fire-robed man frowned.

The silver-armored youth was so nervous, sweat emerged from his forehead.

“You truly have disappointed me.” The fire-robed man shook his head and sighed.

“Cavemaster, I…I…” the silver-armored youth felt some unwillingness to accept this. He truly could not be held to blame for what had happened; any base would have found it difficult to deal with the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

“Successes are to be rewarded. Mistakes are to be punished,” the Cavemaster said coldly. “Buchasi, because of you, our invasion of the world of the Grand Xia will become even more difficult. I punish you thusly…take your subordinates and go to the Mount Stele major world. Establish a new base there and continue to manufacture constructs. In addition, within a hundred years, you must slay five Celestial Immortals.”

The silver-armored youth’s heart shook.

The Mount Stele major world?

That world was completely different from the world of the Grand Xia. The Grand Xia world was a unified world, whereas the Mount Stele major world was in a state of tremendous chaos. Thus, battles had swept the world long ago. To go to the world of the Grand Xia was to enjoy life, but to go to the world of Mount Stele was to be forced to prepare for battles at all times…and he also had to kill five Celestial Immortals!

No Celestial Immortal was easy to deal with. They had all lived for countless ages, and no one knew exactly what tricks each had up their sleeves. Perhaps one might have an advantage, but then the enemy’s friends or master would suddenly arrive. Thus…killing Celestial Immortals was an extremely dangerous task. Yes, he had killed more than ten Celestial Immortals, but this was a bodycount that had been accumulated over countless ages, and after experiencing countless dangers.

He had finally been given a chance to enjoy life after being sent to the world of the Grand Xia to manufacture golems; in that place, he hadn’t had any dangerous assignments at all. And now…the good life had to come to an end. A much harder life was to begin…and he might just die there, within the world of Mount Stele!

And this wasn’t as bad as it could have been; if Ji Ning hadn’t needed something for him and had thus sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens not to reveal this secret, his punishment probably would’ve been even heavier!

“Yes,” the silver-armored youth said respectfully..

“You head out immediately. Go.” The Cavemaster waved a hand.

The silver-armored youth immediately retreated, departing from the palace.

The palace became completely quiet.

Whoosh.

An alluring, white-robed woman suddenly appeared behind the Cavemaster. She was utterly ravishing, and her slender waist could just barely be seen under her semi-translucent white clothes. She laughed softly, “Master, Buchashi is one of your most formidable warriors…and hasn’t that Ji Ning sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens already?”

“What do you know?” The Cavemaster said calmly, “Ji Ning has sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens not to reveal the fact that the castle was making constructs, true…but Ji Ning is very close to the Xia Emperor. He can absolutely come up with a way to warn him…and once that happens, our invasion of the world of the Grand Xia shall become even more difficult.”

“Why are so you cautious in dealing with this world, a single major world?” The alluring woman mumbled.

“The world of the Grand Xia is different from ordinary major worlds,” the Cavemaster said. “The Xia Emperor is of the imperial bloodline of Pangu’s World; how deep a foundation do you think he has? No one knows what someone like him, a descendent of the Primordial Imperial Clan, has up his sleeve. In addition, the Xia Emperor and Daofather Raindragon are extremely good friends. When invading the world of the Grand Xia, we have to beware Daofather Raindragon as well. How can I possibly NOT be cautious?”

The alluring woman said with surprise, “Daofather Raindragon? Master, you’ve never spoken of this before.”

“There was no need to. You aren’t even a Celestial Immortal,” the Cavemaster said with resignation.

“Is the Xia Emperor really such close friends with Daofather Raindragon?” The alluring woman was truly curious about this.

“This is a ‘secret’ for you, but all the experts of the Three Realms know about this.” The Cavemaster shook his head. “In fact, the Xia Emperor has done his best to spread the news far and wide. He even made it so that in his major world, ‘Raindragon Mountain’ was even taller than his own ‘Skylight Palace’! Skylight Palace is his imperial palace; it represents himself, the Xia Emperor. For Raindragon Mountain to be slightly taller than it…what did you think it represented? It naturally represented someone even more powerful than him! In the Three Realms, the only person who has a connection to Raindragon Mountain is Daofather Raindragon!”

The alluring woman now understood. “I’ve always wondered about that! Master, all of you are True Immortals or Empyrean Gods, but none of you have ever fought each other.”

“Don’t underestimate the Xia Emperor. Even if Daofather Raindragon doesn’t intervene, invading the world of the Grand Xia will be no easy task. The Primordial Imperial Clan? Hmph…that’s not just a meaningless phrase. Even though he’s merely of one of the side branches of that lineage, he won’t be easy to deal with,” the Cavemaster said.

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Chapter 8 – A Sense of Danger

Chapter 8 – A Sense of Danger

The alluring woman nodded. “Understood. I always thought that the world of the Grand Xia wasn’t that powerful. The world of Mount Stele, for example, has three True Immortals or Empyrean Gods.”

“The world of the Grand Xia is blessed by tremendous luck; in all of the Three Realms, it ranks at the very top. Given that such a major world has been completely unified…how could it be weaker than the likes of the Mount Stele world?” The Cavemaster shook his head. “You have to understand that in order to unify a major world, the unifier has to have either tremendous personal power or an extremely significant background.”

“Oh. Then, Master…that Ji Ning…what should we do to him?” The alluring woman asked.

“He trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], which means that his master is one of the most supreme of Daofathers.” The Cavemaster laughed. “However…it doesn’t matter who his master is, because he definitely isn’t on our side. If Ji Ning is allowed to develop within the world of the Grand Xia, he’ll just end up being a source of serious trouble to us. Ideally, we should kill him right away! Even the Daofather behind him would probably have to seriously consider whether or not it is worth it for him to get involved for the sake of a single disciple.”

“How should we kill him?” The alluring woman asked.

“Our Myriad Demons Cave is responsible for manufacturing golems. Fighting and killing isn’t our field of responsibility. Killing enemies will be rewarded, if we don’t fight, that’s fine as well.” The Cavemaster laughed, “Since even Buchasi was unable to do anything to Ji Ning, he’s definitely going to be a tough nut to crack. Leave it to the Seamless Gate. Disciple, make a trip on my behalf to speak with the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate. Have them kill Ji Ning, this unexpected variable, as soon as possible.”

“Yes.” The alluring woman respectfully assented to the order…and then she left the palace.

This commandery city was enormous, and it was divided into many regions. The insides of the city were tightly guarded. This alluring woman was a beloved disciple of the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave, and her status was comparable to an ordinary Celestial Immortal’s. Thus, she was able to quickly arrive at the closest local headquarters of the Seamless Gate.

The Grand Xia Dynasty had been searching for the headquarters of the Seamless Gate this entire time to no avail.

This was because…the Seamless Gate’s headquarters was located within this world, the Fifth World. This Fifth World was so powerful that even Celestial Immortals who dared to barge in would be instantly slain. If a True Immortal or Empyrean God entered, then immediately moved to flee, they might be able to escape…but if they tried to fight head-on, they would probably perish as well.

Figures could often be seen flying about in the air above the commandery city. Anyone who dared fly within a commandery city of the Fifth World had to be at least at the Celestial Immortal level. There were so many Celestial Immortals here that one could usually see at least ten thousand figures flying about in the skies. The total number of Celestial Immortals present was truly astonishing.

In truth, the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave and the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate were all just a very small part of the full power of the Fifth World.

……

“Silkworm greets you, Gatemaster,” the alluring woman said respectfully.

“What is it?” An azure-robed woman with long, unbound hair was seated in the lotus position, her eyes shut. She was the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate. By her side were two standing maidservants.

The alluring woman said respectfully, “This matter involves someone named Ji Ning…”

She told the entire tale from start to finish with great detail.

“Your master’s assignment is the same as mine; we have been assigned the worlds of the Grand Xia, Mount Stele, and Dreamsong.” The azure-robed woman opened her eyes, then said calmly, “The toughest world to invade is the world of the Grand Xia…but your Myriad Demons Cave has actually made committed an error like this, making this assignment even harder to complete. And now, you want my Seamless Gate to wipe your ass for you and clean this up? Still…since your master has made the request, I’ll accept. Go back and say this…say…‘Old crow, if you can’t even accomplish a task like forging golems, I think you should let someone else take over your job.’”

The alluring woman’s face changed, but she didn’t dare argue back. She said respectfully, “Yes.”

“Go,” the azure-robed woman said calmly.

The alluring woman immediately departed.

The azure-robed woman called out, “Violetgrass.”

“Gatemaster.” One of the two nearby maidens, the one whose face was covered with a violet flowery tattoo, hurriedly called out with respect.

“You heard it all. I’m leaving this matter regarding Ji Ning for you to handle. How to deal with him, what arrangements to make; it is all completely up to you. You’ve followed me for many years, and you are quite familiar with our affairs in the Grand Xia. Although this is a somewhat troublesome assignment, I trust that you will be able to complete it well.” The azure-robed woman’s voice and tone was much kinder than before; clearly, she doted on this servant of hers very much.

“Don’t worry, Master. I know Ji Ning quite well; I have plenty of ways to deal with him,” Violetgrass said respectfully.

“Good. Go make your preparations, then head to the major world of the Grand Xia,” the violet-robed woman instructed.

That very day. The maiden, dressed in a golden robe that was embroidered with images of violet grass and flowers, led nine Celestial Immortals to quietly depart from the Fifth World and go to the world of the Grand Xia.

……

Stillwater Commandery. A desolate area that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Stillwater City. There was a beautiful lake here, with a wooden house next to it.

It was already dusk.

Two figures appeared in the air here, then landed on the ground.

“Little Xia…we’re back.” Mu Northson cupped that soultamer jade globe in his hands as he spoke out softly.

“The grass here had been completely destroyed, but it’s all grown back now.” A woman’s voice came out from the jade globe; she was very happy right now. “Fortunately, that battle didn’t end up damaging our house.”

Northson looked towards the wooden house as well.

He had personally chopped the wood and built that house, using some of his skill in the Dao of Constructs as he did so. Thus, despite the passage of twenty years, the wooden house remained in perfect condition. In fact, weaker individuals wouldn’t even be able to go inside it.

“It wasn’t damaged, but that was because we were too weak back them. Thus, we were captured effortlessly by those black-robed figures,” Northson laughed.

“We’re finally free. We’ve finally escaped. Northson, we won’t have to be so unhappy in the future,” the woman in the jade globe said, her voice filled with joy.

Ning just watched quietly from the side. In his heart, he sighed to himself.

His original plan was to allow the soul of Yu Xia to go and be reborn into his Ji clan. He would help Northson take care of the reincarnated Yu Xia and come up with a way for her to recover her memories! This was something which he was capable of doing; after all, after the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed, all the major powers had begun to set up new paths of reincarnation for their territories.

Every single one of them was like a miniature cycle of reincarnation. The Crescent world, for example, had a miniature cycle of reincarnation within it as well.

“Alas…” Ning mused to himself, “There’s no way to change things now. She’ll forever be trapped within that soultamer jade sphere. Most likely, the only thing sustaining her right now is the love between her and Northson, as well as some things that she still cares for in the mortal world.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson came walking over.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Ning looked at Northson. He could sense that although his junior apprentice-brother felt some regret and pain in his heart, he was clearly once more filled with vigor and energy. He didn’t look as tired and dispirited as he had in the past.

“If it wasn’t for you, I probably would’ve died in that place,” Northson said. “Senior apprentice-brother, no need to worry about me; you can go back now. In the future, if there’s anything you need, you can find me here.”

“The current world of the Grand Xia is filled with dangerous undercurrents, while you are a grandmaster of the Dao of Constructs. How am I suppose to rest my mind, knowing you are here?” Ning said hurriedly.

“There really is no need for you to stay. I’m a Void-level Earth Immortal now, after all; if I’m careful, I’ll be fine,” Northson said.

Ning frowned. Then, with a wave of his hand, he produced a storage magic treasure. One enormous construct after another instantly appeared next to them, such as a Turtle-Snake, a winged bird-man, or an eight-clawed serpent. In total, there were six golems.

“These are the golems I acquired after I killed the bronze-armored Fiendguard called Qu Huan. They feel fairly powerful to me,” Ning said. “Find one that is suited to you and which will allow you to increase your power the most.”

Northson glanced at them, his gaze settling down upon that of the winged golem. He called out in surprise, “A Winged Immortal golem? How can you have one of them? Generally speaking, bronze-armored Fiendguards aren’t qualified to possess golems of the Winged Immortal class.”

“Winged Immortal class?” Ning was curious as well.

“This is the second-ranked golem within the forbidden region,” Northson said. “Look at its wings; its wings can unleash the ‘Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds’, and its speed is extremely fast as well! Even a mere Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal who is in control of a Winged Immortal golem will instantly have the combat power of a Celestial Immortal. However, its main purpose is to unleash the ‘Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds’, then immediately flee. In battle, it should be extremely, extremely valuable.

Northson knew how to make these things, but he didn’t know exactly how much they were worth.

Ning, however, did. Upon hearing his junior apprentice-brother say these things, he could guess that this golem was probably comparable in value to a middle-grade Pure Yang treasure.

“The others are a bit weaker; perhaps all five them added together would be comparable to a single Winged Immortal class,” Northson said.

Ning thus immediately came to the conclusion that the other four were probably comparable to a low-grade Pure Yang treasure.”

“They really do spare no expense, thanks to their wealth. Every single bronze-armored Fiendguard had at least one such golem…this is probably the same amount of wealth as most Celestial Immortals possess,” Ning mused to himself.

But here, Ning was wrong. He valued them as a low-grade Pure Yang treasure, but that was the ‘list price’ here in the Three Realms for someone seeking to purchase them; in truth, to the mysterious power, these items were nothing more than a collection of precious ingredients, and the value of those ingredients was perhaps a tenth of the value of the complete item. For a truly supreme golem…the formation-diagram within it was actually of the greatest value. Without a detailed formation-diagram, no matter how good your ingredients were, you wouldn’t be able to complete the forging.

“Junior apprentice-brother, take this Winged Immortal class,” Ning said.

Northson was greatly shocked. He hurriedly said, ,”Senior apprentice-brother, this Winged Immortal class will be of great use to you. Ji Ning, you saved my life; I, Mu Northson, already feel tremendous gratitude to you fort his. How can I accept this?”

“Haha, junior apprentice-brother, I was able to enter and leave that forbidden region as I pleased; not even that ‘general’ was able to do anything to me. This Winged Immortal golem might be important to others, but it really isn’t that useful for me. All I would do would be to sell it off.” Ning shook his head and laughed; this was nothing more than the truth, after all. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was much better at protecting him than the golem would be.

“But…”

“If you don’t accept it, how could I rest my mind? Enough, stop wasting words; I’m going to leave now.” Ning waved his arm and collected the other golems, then disappeared without another world.

Northson held the soultamer jade in his arms. He murmured softly, “Senior apprentice-brother…”

“Northson, your senior apprentice-brother has helped us so much. Never forget it,” the woman within the jade globe said.

“Right.” Northson nodded.

……

Ning secretly watched as Northson bound the Winged Immortal golem, then took the jade globe to go and sit down at the entrance to the wooden house, where he simply stared at the lake. Every so often, he would say a few things to the jade globe. This sight caused Ning to feel quite heartsick. After watching a time, he finally, truly left.

“It is time to go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.”

“This time, I rescued my junior apprentice-brother, but I offended that mysterious power. I need to acquire Five Elements essence as soon as possible to train my [Starseizing Hand] to the Fourth Cycle.” Ning had a premonition of incoming danger. This sense of danger was compelling him to increase his own power as soon as he could!

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Chapter 9 – A Talk at Night

Chapter 9 – A Talk at Night

It was late at night. Ji Ning used a void blink to arrive within the centermost city of the entire world of the Grand Xia.

Within the Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. Within a residence. Ning was drinking wine by himself, facing the bright moon.

“Eh?” Ning’s ears twitched; he glanced sideways. A white-robed, silver-haired man had just come walking in through the door.

“Senior Skyfox,” Ning laughed, then rose to his feet.

“Since you’ve hurried here so late at night, I’m sure you must have an urgent matter to deal with.” The silver-haired man smiled as he spoke. “Ji Ning, if there’s anything you need, just tell me. His Imperial Majesty has ordered this long ago; I naturally won’t be the slightest bit negligent.”

Ning nodded. “I need to buy some precious items.”

“Precious? How precious?” The silver-haired man asked.

“I need fifteen thousand kilograms of gold-gems from the Heaven Realm, thirty thousand kilograms of azurespirit jade bamboo, forty-five thousand kilograms of arcane elemental Yin-water from the Milky Way, fifteen hundred kilograms of dragonfish spirit-lava, and six hundred kilograms of chaos spirit-earth,” Ning said.

Hearing this, the face of the silver-haired man changed. “That much?”

“At LEAST that much.” Ning nodded.

There were other alternatives, of course…but the items which Ning had reported were already the cheapest items with Five Elements essence that could be used to train in the Fourth Cycle of the [Six Cycles of the Starseizer]. If he had the chance, he would naturally be willing to choose the more expensive items; for example, Five Elements peacock plumes from a peacock Godbeast that was at the Empyrean God level would be more than enough; in fact, there would be a great deal left over!

However, the lineage of a Godbeast at the Empyrean God level would be incomparably pure. Such an item would be far too precious, more valuable than even an ordinary top-grade Pure Yang treasure! And, more importantly, such things were incredibly rare! Since the founding of the universe by Pangu, the total number of peacock Godbeast that had reached the Empyrean God level and which had access to all five of the Five Elements could be counted on one hand. Only two of them had perished, and the Five Elements peacock plumes they had left behind had long ago been acquired by various major powers in order to create even more valuable items. How could Ning possibly buy them somewhere? And even if he could find them, how could he afford it?!

“Your request is too great. These are all precious items of the Three Realms; they represent the essence of the Five Elements. There are many uses for such items, from forging artifacts to refining pills. I’ll help you ask his Imperial Majesty,” the silver-haired man said.

Ning laughed, then nodded.

The silver-haired man sat down, then poured himself some wine. He said with a laugh, “Let’s drink some wine first. His Imperial Majesty will give his answer shortly.”

“Alright.” Ning knew that this person was the Xia Emperor’s spirit-beast; they could communicate spiritually to each other.

“Ji Ning, what do you want these things for? Refining pills? Forging magic treasures? Creating golems?” The silver-haired man asked. “You’ve trained for less than a hundred years. Regardless of what you need it for…the art of refining pills and forging magic treasures is one that takes an enormous amount of time to study. The experts in these fields within the Three Realms are all at elast at the Celestial Immortal level. Because they have limitless lifespans, they can slowly spend their time in analyzing these fields.”

Ning laughed as well. Indeed; the spirit of the underwater estate, for example, had used an utterly terrifying amount of time to upgrade the Thousandbull Sword. From a certain perspective, it could be said that the spirit of the underwater estate was actually fairly weak in this field; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had to spend such an enormous amount of time.

“I have my uses for it,” Ning said.

The [Starseizing Hand] was simply too famous, but no one knew exactly how one trained in it! He didn’t have to worry at all about his [Starseizing Hand] being revealed thanks to him purchasing Five Elements items.

“Hahaha…” The silver-haired man laughed, not pursuing this line of questioning. A short while later, his eyes lit up. “Ji Ning, his Imperial Majesty has informed me that he can provide you with enough gold-gems from the Heaven Realm and arcane elemental Yin-water from the Milky Way, but he’s not able to come up with enough of the other three items.”

“Then let me change them to some different items.” Ning suggested three different alternatives.

……

“Don’t have it.”

“Not enough.”

“Ji Ning, these treasures that you are requesting are all Five Elements treasures that are on the same level.” The silver-haired man shook his head. “His Imperial Majesty says that he is not an expert in forging items or refining pills, and so he hasn’t kept a large amount of these items in his stockpile. If you wish, he can go and find some of his friends and trade treasures with them to come up with enough for you.”

Ning immediately said with gratitude, “I would be utterly grateful if he did.”

“Ji Ning, you should know by now that the more valuable a treasure is, the harder it is to purchase; generally, you have to trade using items of similar value.” The silver-haired man looked towards Ning. “If you want these items, you need to bring out enough treasures to trade for them. Do you have enough?”

“What sort of treasures do I need to bring out for them?” Ning asked.

“One normal high-grade Pure Yang Treasure is enough,” the silver-haired man said with a laugh. “Twenty of those arrows you brought last time is enough.”

Ning sighed in his heart.

Five Elements ingredients and treasures were actually this expensive? But there was nothing for it. The [Starseizing Hand] required increasingly extravagant amounts of ingredients for the later stages. Fortunately, all he had to train was his pair of hands. If he had to train his entire body, like with the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], then the price would be even more ridiculous.

Right now, he had reached the sixteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; he could train his [Starseizing Hand] to the Fourth Cycle now, and train all the way to the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. However, the resources needed for the Art was a thousand times greater than the previous price he had paid…most likely, he would need at least ten top-grade Pure Yang treasures. This caused Ning to feel truly resigned!

Top-grade Pure Yang treasures had power comparable to middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. Many Pure Yang True Immortals and Empyrean Gods used treasures on this level; for even one of them to produce ten such items would prove a serious burden. This was why even Ning’s senior apprentice-brother, Empyrean God Silvermoon, had only trained to the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“For now, I can forget about training further in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. That’s too distant a goal. First, the [Starseizing Hand].”

“Ji Ning, are you able to produce enough treasures?” The silver-haired man looked at Ning, a smile on his face.

“Please ask his Imperial Majesty to prepare enough of the Five Elements items,” Ning said. “Once his Imperial Majesty has prepared them, I’ll naturally bring out enough treasures to trade for them.”

“Alright.” The silver-haired man said, “His Imperial Majesty will personally act to gather these treasures for you. Once he has, I’ll immediately notify you.”

Ning waved his hand, producing a jade talisman. “This is my message talisman. Once you shatter it, I’ll sense it and will hurry back here to the imperial capital.” It was extremely easy to manufacture jade seals of this nature; Ning had actually prepared a large pile of them, handing them out to the Ji clan, Autumn Leaf, his master Immortal Diancai, and others.

“Alright.” The silver-haired man rose to his feet. “Then wait for my news.”

“Might I ask how long it will take?” Ning asked.

He could subconsciously sense danger coming, forcing him to train in the Fourth Cycle as quickly as he could. Upon succeeding, his hands would become comparable to supreme top-grade Pure Yang treasures, equivalent to middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. They would be even more powerful than ordinary top-grade Pure Yang treasures, allowing his own strength to once more rapidly skyrocket to a new level. In addition, by relying on his [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability, he would have six mighty palms, each of which was comparable to a supreme top-grade Pure Yang treasure.

“It won’t take too long; this is just a trade of treasures. A month should suffice.” The silver-haired man intentionally added a bit of extra padding; in truth, just two or three days could be enough, or perhaps ten days at the most.”

“Alright.” Ning immediately rose to his feet.

……

That very night, Ning went to King Yan’s Estate. He was going to live there temporarily, so that he could spend some time with his cousin.

Within an ancient tower.

Five figures were seated in the lotus position, each occupying a different part.

Patriarch Arcanum opened his eyes, glancing at the area. The furrow in his brows grew deeper. Ever since his plan of asking Bloodcloud Hall to assassinate Ji Ning had failed, the Youngflame clan had grown ever-more convinced that Ji Ning was a true danger to them! However…no matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find an opportunity to act against him.

“If this continues, Ji Ning will continue to grow in strength. Once he explodes forth against us…our Youngflame clan will be in a disastrous situation.” Patriarch Arcanum was beginning to worry. “And according to what our intelligence reports have discovered…Ji Ning is someone who cares deeply about filial piety. There’s no way he’ll forget about the grudge his mother bore for us.”

“In fact, he was even able to endure the fact that we attempted to kill him in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.”

“This means he is very capable of suppressing himself and biding his time!”

“The reason he has done so is most likely because he feels he is not strong enough yet. Once he feels he is strong enough…our Youngflame clan will probably be in true danger.” Patriarch Arcanum’s heart was filled with worry.

Originally, all he wanted to do was give vent to his anger. But now…he was beginning to truly worry for his clan. It must be understood that supreme clans and major powers rarely got into true, life-and-death fights against each other! This was because supreme powers generally had Celestial Immortals protecting them. Celestial Immortals possessed truly infinite lifespans; even if one annihilated the enemy’s clan, if the enemy Celestial Immortal was to survive, then what in a million years or ten million years, the enemy Celestial Immortal was to launch a sudden sneak attack! After the sneak attack, the Celestial Immortal could vanish for a long time…then launch another one.

If a Celestial Immortal with an infinite lifespan was to devote that entire life to harm a clan…that would be a truly terrifying thing.

Thus…

The more powerful an organization, the more rare it was for them to fight head-on against another such organization! Each would generally prefer to find a path to compromise!

But once they truly were to fight head-on…then they would use their full power to annihilate the enemy completely, or at least wipe out all of the enemy’s top-tier fighters!

To the Youngflame clan, Ji Ning now posed a major threat. He was a monster who even Bloodcloud Hall had failed to assassinate successfully…

“Eh?” Suddenly, all five of the Celestial Immortals present opened their eyes.

They all pulled out a similar bronze talisman.

“It’s the Seamless Gate,” the white-haired, wizened elder said in a low voice.

“The Seamless Gate wishes to meet with our Youngflame clan?” The handsome youth frowned. “What are they going to do? When they previously tried to pull us into their orbit, we refused them. We aren’t willing to become enemies with the Seamless Gate, but even less are we willing to betray the Xia Emperor.”

“Everyone, I’ll make the trip.” Patriarch Arcanum rose to his feet. “I’m going to go see what this Seamless Gate wants, exactly.”

“Fine.”

“We’ll leave it in your hands, Arcanum.”

“Just delay for now. The Seamless Gate is very powerful; we aren’t capable of resisting them.”

“Right.”

Patriarch Arcanum exited from othat ancient tower, traveling alone.

……

Late night. A bright moon was hanging in the skies, bathing the world below with its glow.

A maiden was quietly waiting atop a solitary mountain peak, staring at the bright moon. Behind her were a total of nine golden-robed Celestial Immortals.

“Brother Arcanum, the Exalted Envoy is right there.” A cloud flew towards them, with two figures atop it. One of them was a tall, skinny, narrow-eyed elder; this was Patriarch Arcanum. The other was a golden-robed and seemingly quite amiable elder.

“Eh?”

Patriarch Arcanum stared into the distance, then his pupils contracted. That maiden actually had a total of nine Celestial Immortals with her?

“The Seamless Gate is unreasonably powerful. A single envoy is actually leading a squad of so many Celestial Immortals. I’m afraid that this squad alone is enough to annihilate most supreme clans.” Patriarch Arcanum couldn’t help but feel a surge of cold fear. Although he was quite arrogant and brash in front of others, in front of the Seamless Gate, he still felt nervous.

Patriarch Arcanum landed on the mountain peak, then immediately said, “Arcanum greets you, Envoy.”

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Chapter 10 – Lying in Wait

Chapter 10 – Lying in Wait

“Mm.” Violetgrass nodded lightly.

Patriarch Arcanum secretly inspected her. This young female envoy before him wore golden clothes that were embroidered with eye-catching violet flowers; clearly, she was an extraordinary figure. The Celestial Immortals behind here were all dressed in more ordinary golden clothes; this clearly reflected their lower status.

“Celestial Immortal Arcanum of the Youngflame clan…do you know why I have come looking for you?” Violetgrass said with a laugh.

“Arcanum is unable to guess at your motives, Envoy.” Patriarch Arcanum’s attitude was quite humble.

Violetgrass laughed. “Hahaha…in recent years, our Seamless Gate has helped your Youngflame clan out quite a few times. I trust that by now, you can sense our sincerity. As for our power…although we’ve only revealed a hint of it, you should have sensed how powerful we are. Our Seamless Gate goes where we please and does as we please within the world of the Grand Xia, and what does the imperial Xiamang clan do about it? Just stare at us and watch.”

“Indeed,” Patriarch Arcanum said.

Given how powerful the Seamless Gate was, they definitely knew how mighty the imperial Xiamang clan was, but they still dared to act with such abandon. Without confidence in themselves, would they dare to act this way? None of the Celestial Immortals under their command were fools; the response, or lack thereof, from the imperial Xia clan reflected how powerful the Seamless Gate truly was.

“I can tell you this. In the world of the Grand Xia, many powers have already thrown their support to our Seamless Gate,” Violetgrass said with a sigh. “Their tribes have only grown more powerful after doing so. I can promise you that so long as your Youngflame clan is willing to throw your support to us as well, your power will instantly increase many times over.”

Patriarch Arcanum simply continued to smile.

What a joke.

The only ones throwing their support were lesser powers like the Eastwoods Sect or the Blood God Church. Most likely, very, very few marquises had turned traitor. After all, upon doing so, that meant one would become true enemies with the imperial Xia clan. Behind the imperial Xia clan was Daofather Raindragon and Daofather Crimsonbright! It wouldn’t be easy to deal with them! The two Daofathers could probably wipe them out with a wave of the hand.

“I trust that you can tell how sincere our Seamless Gate is, given that I’ve come in person,” Violetgrass said, looking at Arcanum.

“Arcanum is indeed grateful that you have come in person, Envoy. However, this is a matter that could involve the annihilation of my clan. Arcanum does not dare to make this decision without consulting others. Upon my return, I shall definitely inform my other clansmen, and we shall discuss this in detail,” Patriarch Arcanum said.

Violetgrass shook her head. “To show our sincerity…I’ll tell you something else.”

“Pray tell.” Patriarch Arcanum’s eyes lit up; the Seamless Gate had indeed helped out the Youngflame clan several times recently.

“I heard that your Youngflame clan has a major headache named Ji Ning,” Violetgrass said.

“Yes.” Patriarch Arcanum admitted it right away. His eyes lit up. “Can it be that you, Envoy, are willing to get rid of Ji Ning for our Youngflame clan? If you get rid of him, we will be endlessly grateful to you.”

“Get rid of Ji Ning? That’s not impossible. If your Youngflame clan is willing to subordinate yourselves to our Seamless Gate, then within a single day, the Seamless Gate will take his life, regardless of who his backer is.” Violetgrass was filled with complete self-confidence. And then, with a half-smile on her face, she said, “If your Youngflame clan isn’t willing to support us…then our Seamless Gate can’t possibly act on your behalf.”

Patriarch Arcanum was laughing coldly in his heart.

Support them?

Ji Ning was a disaster, true.

But supporting the Seamless Gate would run the risk of true annihilation for the entire clan.

“This Ji Ning has several important friends and family members,” Violetgrass said calmly. “If you want to act against him, all you need to do is keep an eye on them; you’ll be able to find him eventually.”

“But his master, Immortal Diancai, is already a Celestial Immortal.” Patriarch Arcanum frowned. “In addition, he’s at Stillwater City. As for the important clansmen of the Ji clan, they are few in number and are all in Swallow Mountain. Our Youngflame clan has no chance at all.”

“No. He has a junior apprentice-brother named Mu Northson,” Violetgrass said. “The two of them are lifelong friends who went through life and death together.”

“But Mu Northson has been missing for twenty-plus year.” Patriarch Arcanum shook his head.

Violetgrass smiled. “Ji Ning’s already rescued him.”

Patriarch Arcanum was startled.

The Youngflame clan had already investigated Ji Ning in detail. They had even investigated the likes of Mu Northson and Immortal Diancai in detail. They knew long ago about Immortal Diancai becoming a Celestial Immortal, but they hadn’t found any information regarding Northson’s return. From this, one could see that the Seamless Gate’s intelligence network was much superior to theirs.

“In addition, Mu Northson isn’t at Swallow Mountain. Nor is he in Stillwater City.” Violetgrass waved her hand, and a leather scroll appeared. She tossed it to Patriarch Arcanum, who hurriedly accepted it.

“Mu Northson’s exact location is here on this map,” Violetgrass said. “As long as you keep an eye on him, within a short period of time you shall probably see Ji Ning going to visit him! In fact, if you are in a hurry…you can even kidnap Mu Northson and force Ji Ning to show himself. It’s entirely up to you how your Youngflame clan wishes to proceed.”

“Thank you, Envoy.” Patriarch Arcanum was overjoyed as he stared at this leather-bound scroll.

“Our Seamless Gate has helped your Youngflame clan once again,” Violetgrass said calmly. “Although our Seamless Gate is patient…our patience has a limit. If you continue to refuse to support us…then we will be forced to view you as loyal to the death to the imperial Xia clan. In the future, when we act against the imperial Xia clan…we might very well strike first against your Youngflame clan.”

Patriarch Arcanum’s face changed. He said hurriedly, “Don’t worry, Envoy. I can sense how sincere the Seamless Gate is. There is a good deal of debate within our Youngflame clan about what to do, but of one thing you can be assured; we are definitely not loyal to the death to the imperial Xia clan. Definitely now.”

“What wonderful words.” Violetgrass waved her hand. “Go.”

Only now did Patriarch Arcanum depart.

Soon, the only figures left on that solitary, icy mountain peak were Violetgrass and the ten Celestial Immortals.

“Milord, to have the Youngflame clan deal with Ji Ning…are they strong enough? He’s trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art],” a golden-robed Celestial Immortal whispered.

“Don’t underestimate the Youngflame clan.” Violetgrass shook her head. “The Youngflame clan has existed since the era of Pangu’s World, eventually migrating here to the world of the Grand Xia. Ancient clan like this all have extremely formidable tools at their disposal. Consider this; in the past, the Kindwater clan fought with the Xiamang clan over the Emperorship of the Grand Xia. The Kindwater clan is a branch of a major clan of Pangu’s World which had a group of True Immortals and Empyrean Gods backing them. And yet, although the Kindwater clan and the Youngflame clan have been struggling against each other for so many years, the Youngflame clan has never been wiped out, even though they’ve suffered a bit. In fact, on the whole, the Youngflame clan has been full of vigor. How can you underestimate the Youngflame clan?”

“Mm.” The many Celestial Immortals all nodded.

“Watch and see,” Violetgrass said calmly. “We’ll let the Youngflame clan use their resources to fight first, while we’ll keep watch from the shadows, learning more about Ji Ning’s powers and tools. If the Youngflame clan truly is unable to wipe out this Ji Ning, then by then we will still have a high level of information regarding him. Naturally, at that point, we can lay a trap for him, then wipe him out with a single lightning-fast strike.”

“If my belief is correct…given that the Youngflame clan is willing to fight against the Kindwater clan to such a degree, they must have an astonishingly formidable background. So long as the Daofather behind Ji Ning doesn’t interfere, it shouldn’t be hard for them to kill him,” Violetgrass said with a laugh.

……

The Youngflame clan began to deliberate in secret, coming up with numerous scenarios for killing Ji Ning, in accordance with the intelligence reports they had received.

“This time…let the four of us join forces. Arcanum, Deadwood, Goldclock, and myself, Infatuation, shall fight together.” The ancient elder swept the others with his gaze. “The three of you shall be under my command.”

“Alright.” Patriarch Arcanum nodded.

“Infatuation, we trust you,” the man who held a large clock in his hand agreed.

“Right.” The white-haired Patriarch Deadwood nodded as well.

Patriarch Infatuation was an ancient man who had a look of hidden grief within his eyes…but his power was truly enormous. Celestial Immortal Infatuation was fairly famous within the Three Realms, and was one of the truly top-tier Celestial Immortals.

“Sunfish, I’ll leave you to protect this tower,” Patriarch Infatuation instructed.

“Fine.” Patriarch Sunfish nodded.

“Let’s go,” Patriarch Infatuation said.

Instantly, Patriarchs Arcanum, Deadwood, and Goldclock followed him in departing.

……

It was nighttime. These four Celestial Immortals stealthily made their way to Stillwater Commandery. All four of them were extremely powerful, with Patriarch Infatuation being the strongest. Patriarch Deadwood possessed powerful spells, while Patriarch Goldclock had a powerful magical item; the two were roughly on par with each other. Patriarch Arcanum was actually ranked as the weakest, but he was still quite an excellent Celestial Immortal.

Within Stillwater Commandery. A wild region. Four figures stealthily appeared in the air above a lake.

“Look. Over there.” Patriarch Arcanum pointed towards the distance, where a wooden house could be seen next to a lake. Outside the wooden house, a white-robed youth with some white hair was seated on the stairs, head raised as he stared at the bright moon. He was holding a jade globe in his hands. “Little Xia, today is the sixteenth, right? The moon is actually even rounder than it was yesterday.”

“It really is round. According to the legends, the Fairy of the Moon Palace, Chang’e, lives upon the Lunar Star which is located outside of the Three Realms.” The maiden in the jade globe spoke with some envy. 1

“Right. In the future, when I grow powerful, I’ll take you, Little Xia, to pay a visit to the Lunar Star. We’ll see for ourselves if there really is a Moon Palace, and if there really is a Chang’e,” the white-robed youth said, nodding his head.

The four distant Celestial Immortals had hidden themselves long ago.

“It really is Mu Northson.”

“The Seamless Gate’s information is accurate.”

“Prepare the formations now. After preparing everything, leave the formations un-activated; after Ji Ning arrives, we’ll activate them,” Patriarch Infatuation immediately ordered.

“Actually, why do we even need formations? Once this greatclock of mine is unleashed, he will perish,” the man holding the greatclock said confidently.

“Although this golden clock of yours was transported to this world of the Grand Xia long ago by our Youngflame clan from Pangu’s World, and although it is extremely powerful and a top-grade Pure Yang treasure…this Ji Ning was was able to escape from even Bloodcloud Hall’s assassination attempt. We absolutely must not be careless. We have to prepare everything perfectly,” Patriarch Infatuation instructed.

And so, the four Celestial Immortals began to prepare their ambush by this lake. Given their abilities, Northson was completely unable to detect them.

Celestial Immortals possessed infinite lifespans, and so they possessed exceptional patience.

……

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. King Yan’s Estate.

The second day after Ning took up residence within King Yan’s Estate. He was accompanying his cousin, Yuchi Xiyue, in strolling about the streets of the estate.

“Leaving? So soon?” Yuchi Xiyue was rather reluctant to let him go. “Didn’t you say that Swallow Mountain is protected by layers of formations, and that it is like an impregnable fortress? Isn’t it very safe?”

“I’m going to go see my junior apprentice-brother. I feel uneasy,” Ning said.

“What do you feel uneasy about?” A voice suddenly rang out.

From around the corner of the stone path, a tall, muscular figure appeared, dressed in loose robes.

“Respectful greetings to you, King Yan,” Ning said hurriedly.

“You came to my place, but you plan to leave without even coming to see me?” King Yan said with a laugh. “Come, let’s take a walk and have a talk.”

Ning and Xiyue both moved to accompany King Yan on the walk, chatting about various important current affairs regarding the Grand Xia as they did. Ning suddenly said, “Senior King Yan, I heard that Daofather Crimsonbright has set up a miniature cycle of reincarnation for his major worlds. Do you know of this matter, senior?” Ning had been wanting to learn more about his parents this entire time.

King Yan was of the imperial clan; he naturally should know about the miniature cycle of reincarnation.

“Of course I do.” King Yan nodded, then suddenly said with a chortle, “Could it be that you have forgotten my nickname?”

“Nickname?” Ning was startled.

King Yan’s nickname was ‘Yama-King’. 2

“After the Daofather rebuilt the cycle of reincarnation, he set it to encompass tens of major worlds and countless minor worlds,” King Yan said with a laugh. “His cycle also has ten Yama-Kings, and I am one of them, the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell.”

1. Chang’e was the wife of the legendary archer, Houyi. Their story is a famous myth in China, with her in most stories (accidentally) betraying her husband by eating/overdosing on the pill of Immortality and thus floating away to the moon, leaving her husband behind.

2. As explained in Book 11, Chapter 22, in Chinese myth, the Ten Yama Hell-Kings ruled over the netherworld and judged the dead, sending them on their way in the cycle of reincarnation.

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Chapter 11 – The Youngflame Clan Strikes

Chapter 11 – The Youngflame Clan Strikes

“Ah?!” Ji Ning revealed a look of joy.

“Grandpa, you are one of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell?” The nearby Yuchi Xiyue was startled as well.

King Yan laughed loudly. “Merely one of the ten that are assigned to this minor cycle of reincarnation; we’re only in charge of this region controlled by Daofather Crimsonbright. There are currently many Yama-Kings in the world; there’s nearly a thousand of us. They are not, however, the ten original ones that governed the Netherworld Kingdom…those ten were all at the True Immortal or Empyrean God level.”

“Grandpa, how did you end up as one of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell?” Yuchi Xiyue asked curiously.

“When the Daofather first re-established the cycle of reincarnation, he needed candidates for the Ten Yama-Kings and for the First Judge of the Dead, and so the various worlds began to propose people. The Grand Xia had to propose a person as well. Because I am of the imperial clan and just became a Celestial Immortal, his Imperial Majesty had me take up the position of Yama-King,” King Yan explained.

Ning understood. Given that he was of the imperial clan and that he had just become a Celestial Immortal, it made sense that he had been chosen to become one of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell.

Positions such as this, within a minor cycle of reincarnation, actually weren’t that exalted in status. But of course, back in the Netherworld Kingdom, the original Ten Yama-Kings of Hell were in control of all living creatures within the entire Three Realms; their power was truly enormous.

“Ji Ning, why are you asking about the minor cycle of reincarnation? Is there something you need?” King Yan looked at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “Senior King Yan, this junior has a matter that I would beseech your assistance with.”

“Speak,” King Yan said.

The imperial clan had always been quite close-knit. Given that the world of the Grand Xia now had several powerful organizations hidden within it, the imperial clan had only become even more close-knit due to the pressure! Since the Xia Emperor had designated Ning as someone that could ‘only be befriended, not be made an enemy’, and since he felt very certain that Ning was most likely the disciple of a Daofather, he had naturally spread the word to all the Celestial Immortals within the imperial clan. King Yan’s attitude towards Ning was now much different compared to the past, prior to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Back then, he treated Ning as he would any other junior, but now he treated Ning as someone on the same level as him.

“I trust you know, senior King Yan, that my father Ji Yichuan and my mother Yuchi Snow have already passed away many years ago,” Ning said. “I dearly desire to learn about how my mother and father are currently doing.”

“What’s the point of investigating this?” King Yan looked towards Ning. “After being reborn, they won’t have any memories of their past life.”

“If they are living good, happy lives after their rebirth, I won’t disturb them,” Ning said. “I just want to see for myself…to see if they are doing well and to see if there’s anything I can do for them.”

“Mm.” King Yan nodded. “Fine. Leave this to me. I expect that in a few months, I’ll have an answer for you.”

“A few months?” Ning was startled.

“Do you feel that is a long time?” King Yan laughed.

Ning nodded.

King Yan asked him, “Do you know how many how many living creatures die every day across these dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds?”

“But I heard that in the Netherworld Kingdom, such investigations are very fast,” Ning said.

“That’s because that place is the Netherworld Kingdom. It was built by Maiden Nuwa herself, and it also holds the treasured Book of Life and Death, which is one with the Dao of the Heavens,” King Yan said. “The Book of Life and Death can duplicate itself into trillions of copies, and so it controlled the reincarnation, karmic merit, history, and life of all living things. But what we have here is merely a minor cycle of reincarnation established by Daofather Crimsonbright. We don’t have a Book of Life and Death! Thus, our minor cycle of reincarnation is actually even busier than the old one.”

“The process of simply recording the countless deaths and rebirths of the world, as well as karmic virtues and demerits, requires enormous amounts of information to be recorded every single day on magic books,” King Yan said. “And we only have roughly a hundred years of information; anything beyond that is completely lost.”

“Completely lost?” Ning was stunned.

“Right. There’s no way for us to investigate the records that existed before the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed. Although we can go to the Netherworld Kingdom to seek out the First Judge of the Dead, Judge Cui, in order to investigate the history of a soul across a thousand lifetimes…the amount of information and history regarding every single person is simply enormous. There’s simply no way for us to record all the history regarding the countless living creatures that exist across countless millions of worlds. And so, we don’t even bother with it,” King Yan explained.

“In fact, nowadays the Judges for the various minor cycles of reincarnation don’t even bother with wasting time on examining the past lives of the souls of the dead. They just look at karma, then based on positive karma or negative sin, decide if a person will be reincarnated as an animal or as a person, and if the person will be reincarnated with wealth or into poverty.”

Ning was speechless.

When he had met Judge Cui, Judge Cui had instantly known everything that had happened to him during his previous life.

But the judges of this minor cycle of reincarnation only looked at karma and sin; they didn’t even look at a person’s life history! Still…this did speed things up considerably.

“I’ll send someone to help investigate on your behalf. Still…to search through the sea-like mass of records to find the specific history-tablets pertaining to your parents will indeed take some time,” King Yan said.

“Thank you, senior,” Ning said hurriedly with gratitude. Only now did he understand the magnitude of his request to search for someone who had been reincarnated.

Several months? So be it.

“Senior, where can one find the First Judge of the Dead of the Netherworld Kingdom, Judge Cui?” Ning asked.

“You want to find Judge Cui? He might be in the Heaven Realm, or he might be in the Netherworld Kingdom, or he might be somewhere else.” King Yan shook his head. “Ever since the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed, Judge Cui no longer had any tasks shackling him to a specific place. Given that the Book of Life and Death protects him, he can go wherever he pleases. If you want to investigate his whereabouts, you’ll need to ask the Immortals of the Heaven Realm or the Netherworld, I imagine.”

It was a dark, gloomy day today. Ning departed from the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, returning to Stillwater Commandery.

“In a few more months, I’ll be able to know what happened to Mother and Father after they were reborn.” Ning’s heart was filled with hope. “I wonder if they are doing well. Are they Immortal cultivators in this life as well? Which world are they living in, in this new life? Is it still the Grand Xia?”

The skies were desolate and bleak.

Ning flew towards a distant lake. From afar, he could see the wooden house that was located next to it, the residence of his junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson.

“Alas.” Ning sighed to himself.

His junior apprentice-brother had no family to begin with…and now, his one and only Dao-companion had been trapped within that jade globe. Every day, Northson hugged that jade globe and talked to it. Ning was very worried for his junior apprentice-brother’s Dao-heart. If this were to continue long-term…eventually, his Dao-heart might crumble, at which point he might go crazy and be unable to control his elemental ki, possibly resulting in self-detonation and death.

……

“He’s coming.”

Within the wild grasses next to the lake, the four Celestial Immortal Patriarchs that were seated in the lotus position all opened their eyes to stare at that figure that had appeared in the distant horizons.

It was a youth who was riding the winds…Ji Ning, the source of trouble which their Youngflame clan had come for!

“He came so quickly. It seems this Ji Ning has a very deep relationship with Mu Northson,” Patriarch Arcanum sneered. “I had thought we’d have to wait for a year or two. The Heavens truly are helping our Youngflame clan!”

“The Heavens are supporting us in eradicating this danger,” Patriarch Deadwood growled as well.

“Our chance has come.” The man holding the greatclock cracked his lips in a grin as well.

As for Patriarch Infatuation, a flash of cold light crossed his eyes.

This was their best-case scenario; after all, Immortal cultivators could go into closed-door meditation sessions and stay in them for extremely long periods of time. They had no idea how long it would be before Ji Ning would come to visit Mu Northson again. If they truly did have to wait for several years or a decade…they would probably end up choosing to capture Northson instead! They’d use him as a hostage, forcing Ji Ning to show himself…but in doing so, Ji Ning would be forewarned and might even bring his friends, such as his fellow disciples from that mysterious school he was from, or the likes of Immortal Diancai. That would render it very difficult for them to kill him.

“He’s completely unprepared right now.” A cold look was in Patriarch Infatuation’s eyes. “This is our best chance.”

“Right.” The other three Patriarchs nodded as well.

“Act according to our plans.” Patriarch Arcanum stared towards the distant Ning as he flew towards the wooden house. “This is the time. Attack!”

Ning was in midair. Through the open wooden door and open windows, he could see Northson within the wooden house. Northson had placed the jade globe on the table in front of him, and was chatting with it while drinking.

“He’s still chatting with Yu Xia’s soul?” Seeing this, Ning couldn’t help but feel even more pain and worry. “If this continues…how can he possibly prevent his Dao-heart from collapsing?”

Mortals were allowed to grow dispirited and depressed…but when Immortal cultivators did so, it would be extremely dangerous. It was one thing for Fiendgod Body Refiners; after all, even if their elemental ki exploded, their bodies would be able to withstand the damage. But his junior apprentice-brother Northson was merely a Ki Refiner; an explosion of elemental ki could be more than enough to cause him to perish.

“Junior apprentice-brother!” Ning called out loudly.

Northson, within the wooden home, picked up the jade globe. He walked to the doorway, raised his head, then smiled and called out, “Senior apprentice-brother!”

Right at this moment…

Ruuuuuuuumble.

A powerful yet mysterious ripple instantly spread out from nearby. Like the rays of the sun, the strange ripple instantly encompassed the entire area, including Northson, the jade globe, and Ning.

Ning felt as though his soul had suffered a powerful blow, but his Dao-heart was incomparably resilient. In addition, his Fiendgod body had become completely fused with his soul, rendering it even more stable; he was naturally able to withstand this collision.

“Not good. My junior apprentice-brother!” Ning was shocked.

He had been able to withstand the blow, yes…but would Northson be able to withstand it? Northson had only recently reached the Void-level and become an Earth Immortal; he could only be considered an extremely ordinary Loose Immortal. Would he be able to hold?

“They…” As Ning turned his gaze towards his junior apprentice-brother, he also saw that far away, in the desolate plains, four figures had suddenly appeared. Given that he had read an intelligence report regarding the Youngflame clan long ago, Ning was shocked. “Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Arcanum, Goldclock, and Deadwood? Four Celestial Immortals?”

This coresense attack had been personally executed by Patriarch Infatuation.

……

In the face of this terrifying coresense attack, the female soul within the jade globe was completely unable to resist. Her soul was, after all, merely the soul of a Wanxiang Adept; it was far too weak.

Like snow melting away under the rays of the sun…she evaporated away into nothingness.

In the instant that she evaporated away, she stared at Mu Northson. Simply stared at him…

……

As Northson suffered the coresense attack, he almost automatically summoned his own power to resist…but before his very eyes, the jade-trapped soul that he loved melted away into nothingness before him.

“NO!!!!!!” Northson’s eyes instantly turned red. Blood vessels could be seen within them, and two bloody tears came falling out. He let out an utterly agonized and inhuman scream, a howl that was akin to the roar of aa dying beast.

……

Faced with the coresense attack of Patriarch Arcanum, Ji Ning was able to withstand it, Yu Xia’s soul was melted away, and Northson was sent into madness.

Northson raised his head, staring at the four incomparably powerful Celestial Immortals in the distance, his eyes filled with madness. “IT WAS YOU! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!!!”

BANG!

An enormous Winged Immortal golem suddenly appeared behind him. Northson instantly merged into the body of the Winged Immortal golem, and its aura instantly exploded with power. As a grandmaster of constructs and one who had even personally made this sort of Winged Immortal golem before…

Under the maddened control of a grandmaster, the Winged Immortal golem became activated. Instantly, a series of wild gusts of wind appeared in the surrounding area. The gale smashed apart everything before it, and within the gale could be seen multiple spots of black light. Just looking at those spots was enough to cause a man to sink into oblivion.

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Chapter 12 – Four Mighty Celestial Immortals

Chapter 12 – Four Mighty Celestial Immortals

“Arise!” The tall, skinny Patriarch Arcanum let out a cold shout.

Instantly, clouds began to gather from thousands of kilometers around. The world turned dark, the Five Elements were thrown into a state of chaos, and space became locked. No matter how violent the battle in the area became, it would be difficult for any spatial ripples to leak out!

“Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds? A puny Void-level Earth Immortal actually has a precious golem like this? What a waste!” Patriarch Arcanum let out a cold laugh. Instantly, a series of starlight began to appear, along with multiple meteors that flew out. A total of 360 meteorites instantly flew high into the air.

These 360 meteorites made up Patriarch Arcanum’s true power. For the sake of killing Ji Ning, he had brought them out right away.

In midair, the illusion of 360 flowing stars could be seen. For countless ages now, the movement of stars in the night sky had been fixed and eternal. When this grand formation appeared…instantly, a layer of thick starlight appeared, completely blocking the wild electric wind.

“All of you, die, die, DIE!!!!” The Winged Immortal golem was in an absolutely berserk state as it released the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds repeatedly…

The Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds were exceedingly powerful; even using all of his power, Patriarch Arcanum was only able to just barely block them. “Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds of such purity…this golem is allowing a mere Void-level Earth Immortal to block me. For such a precious golem to be in the hands of this Northson is truly a waste. If I had it, my power would increase dramatically.”

The power of a golem was directly related to the power of its user.

There naturally would be a difference in power in the Seven Ruinous Winds as activated by Void-level elemental ki or Celestial Immortal-level elemental ki! By relying on the Winged Immortal golem, Northson could reach a Celestial Immortal’s level of power…but in the hands of a true Celestial Immortal, the power would increase by at least two levels!

……

As Patriarch Arcanum struck out, one of the other Patriarchs struck out as well. It was the elderly, white-haired Patriarch Deadwood.

The elderly Patriarch’s hands formed together into a seal, and a series of powerful ripples seemed to merge with the earth itself, becoming one with the nearby grass and trees.

In truth, Patriarch Deadwood was an oddity even amongst Celestial Immortals, because the vast majority of them needed to use magic treasures. Patriarch Deadwood, in his youth, was looked down upon due to his lack of talent, and the clan gave him very few resources; in fact, he couldn’t even procure any decent magic treasures. He was the stubborn sort, and he decided to focus all of his attention on magic spells.

No one would have imagined that he would manage to complete a Dao that was different from all others, one which only grew stronger as he moved further along it. All of the various ‘geniuses’ of his era failed and perished, while he actually overcome his tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal, and an extraordinary one at that. In the Youngflame clan, even Patriarch Goldclock, who had acquired their most precious treasure, was merely on par with him.

“Attack!” A single word came forth from Patriarch Deadwood’s lips.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Instantly, the colors of the world seemed to change. The nearby lake shook, and the wild plains trembled. Enormous, thick, wood-green tendrils erupted forth from the surface of the lake and from the wild plains. A total of nine tendrils erupted forth, each of which was covered with flowing golden light and with ancient runes.

The nine tendrils soared into the heavens, each of them fathomless in length. They simultaneously struck towards the Winged Immortal golem and towards Ji Ning.

This took time to describe, but in reality, Northson’s unleashing of the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds, Patiarch Arcanum’s usage of the Starlight Revolution formation to block, and Patriarch Deadwood’s unleashing of his nine tendrils happened almost simultaneously.

Whoosh. The Winged Immortal golem continued to release the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds while it flew through the air at high speed, avoiding the striking tendrils.

Every single tendril was like one of the pillars of heaven; they were incomparably thick and massive, and they also moved at incomparable speed.

The Winged Immortal golem was dodging at high speed. Just as it had clearly dodged a blow…the incomparably massive tendril suddenly sprouted many branches that were much thinner but extremely numerous. The tight cluster of tendrils erupted forth from the main tendril like a series of serpents, instantly entangling and catching the Winged Immortal golem.

“F*ck off, f*ck off!” The Winged Immortal struggled to resist, continuously releasing the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds, but starlight descended, blocking a good part of it.

Even though some of the smaller branches were destroyed by the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds, new ones quickly sprouted out. The Winged Immortal golem sank into a prison of tendrils…and no matter how it struggled, it was unable to escape.

……

A total of nine tendrils were used to attack. Just a single one of them was used to trap the Winged Immortal golem; the rest were acting against Ning.

Ning was currently filled with both guilt and rage!

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Ning’s heart was filled with the utmost regret; as soon as he had seen the four mighty Celestial Immortals appear, he had understood everything. The four of them had been lying in wait here the entire time, but had only acted after Ning had appeared. Given that they were all of the Youngflame clan…without question, they were here for him. His junior apprentice-brother was simply caught in the crossfire.

His junior apprentice-brother had cared deeply about his Dao-companion’s soul; Ning knew this very well. Upon seeing tears of blood streak down his junior apprentice-brother’s face, Ning’s own heart clenched with pain.

Next came rage!

Incomparable rage!

“YOUNGFLAME CLAN!!!” When Ning saw Patriarch Arcanum and Patriarch Deadwood unleash their abilities, he similarly unleashed his own as well.

Whoosh!

A black-robed Ning appeared by his side. His true body and his Primaltwin now stood shoulder-to-shoulder in midair. Simultaneously, they manifested more than three hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords to appear around them. The guilt-wracked and infuriated Ning instantly unleashed his most powerful killing attack.

[Greater Thousand Swords Formation] – Stage Four!

A large amount of sword-ki coalesced in front of Ning’s chest, transforming into a golden flying sword.

“KILL!!!” His true body and his Primaltwin let out simultaneous, enraged roars.

ROAAAAR!

A divine black dragon appeared, raising its head out and unleashing an angry roar. It was the golden flying sword in draconic form. The divine black dragon, carrying a terrifyingly sharp aura, swept forward…and meeting it was an incomparably thick tendril, which slapped down with power that seemed great enough to shake the heavens and the earth. Even though the divine black dragon was incomparably agile as it moved to try and dodge past so as to help Northson…the tendril was also extremely agile, and it gave birth to many smaller branches that moved to impede the divine black dragon.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

A large amount of smaller branches were chopped apart, and a scar appeared on the body of the thick main tendril as well. And then…crack! It completely snapped apart.

Ning and his Primaltwin manifested a second streak of sword-light. A second divine black dragon flew out! Simultaneously controlling two streaks of sword-light generated from the fourth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]; this was Ning’s current maximum.

ROAAAAR!

The two divine black dragons moved as fast as lightning, slamming against the many tendrils. Thanks to the resistance from the tendrils, one of the divine black dragons was consumed and shattered, but the other one managed to slaughter a path to the Winged Immortal golem, tearing the tendrils apart and saving the golem.

“What?!” The four Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan, upon seeing this, narrowed their eyes. “This Ji Ning is actually as powerful as this? He would be considered an excellent fighter amongst Celestial Immortals.”

“Fortunately, thanks to Bloodcloud Hall’s failed assassination attempt, we’ve known this entire time that he is extremely powerful, and so we came prepared.”

Still, the four Celestial Immortals didn’t panic in the slightest.

“Forest!” Patriarch Deadwood’s eyelids twitched slightly, and a golden light began to flow within his eyes as he once more called out a word.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

From the lake and from the wild plains, a large number of tendrils began to appear. These tendrils were far thinner than the nine great tendrils that had appeared earlier; they were roughly just one percent of the originals in size. However, they were extremely numerous, and each was still at least a hundred kilometers long. The world had suddenly been transformed into a forest of tendrils.

The countless tendrils began to frantically wrap themselves around the nine main tendrils.

Ning’s two divine black dragons, formed through using the fourth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], were only able to strike around the margins. They were blocked repeatedly, and they only had enough strength to fight back, not to advance any further.

Whooooosh. By Ning’s side, Northson repeatedly unleashed the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds, but Patriarch Arcanum’s grand formation of starlight suppressed the wind time and time again.

……

A single person, Patriarch Deadwood, was able to suppress both Ning and Northson; this was the power of a truly formidable Celestial Immortal! The general who had commanded the Eastwoods mountain range was even more formidable than Patriarch Deadwood; he was capable of completely suppressing and even defeating Ning. However, because he was unable to bind Ning, he was forced to negotiate with him.

Although Patriarch Deadwood was comparatively weaker, he was still able to suppress the two of them. With Patriarch Arcanum supporting him, the two made it impossible for Ning to even have a chance to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal.

Bang! A talisman suddenly appeared before Ning. A divine black dragon howled past it, and a thick streak of sword-light instantly shattered it.

Stillwater City.

It was in the afternoon, but the skies were rather dark and dreary.

“Not good!”

“It’s Ji Ning.”

Two figures simultaneously appeared in the skies above Stillwater City. The first was a hunchbacked, staff-wielding elder, Celestial Immortal Hunchmont. The other was the black-haired, black-robed Immortal Diancai. Both had shocked looks on their faces. It must be understood that when Immortal Diancai and Ji Ning agreed to ally with the Northmont clan of Stillwater, they had naturally prepared methods of helping each other out as needed. Everyone had a talisman for everyone else; upon shattering it, the others would be able to sense it right away.

“Ji Ning’s power is formidable; what sort of situation could force him to request help??” Immortal Diancai was greatly shocked.

“It’s within Stillwater Commandery, roughly a few hundred thousand kilometers away,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont sent mentally.

“Let’s hurry over there.” Immortal Diancai had a solemn look on his face.

“Right.” The two didn’t hesitate at all; they immediately used void blink techniques to hurry over.

Although the most powerful member of the Northmont clan of Stillwater was actually that ancient elder, his existence was a tightly-kept secret. Unless something truly critical happened, he wouldn’t reveal himself. Only if even Immortal Hunchmont and Immortal Diancai were unable to rescue Ning would he intervene.

……

The world of the Grand Xia. Upon an island in the western seas.

This was a seemingly barren, unpopulated island. In truth…it was surrounded by layers of formations, causing outsiders to be unable to see the truth of what was within.

Within a mountain on the island. Inside a palace.

A maiden was seated on a royal throne here. In the center of the palace was an enormous mirror, a Pure Yang treasure known as the Divine Earthpiercer Mirror. This enormous mirror was currently displaying the battle that was happening far away, next to the lake.

“The Youngflame clan has made their move.” The maiden revealed a smile. “And even Celestial Immortal Infatuation has gone…and they brought a top-grade Pure Yang divine greatclock…”

There were more than ten gold-robed Celestial Immortals within the palace who were also staring at that giant mirror as they watched the battle within it.

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Chapter 13 – Suppressing the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]

Chapter 13 – Suppressing the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]

As soon as Ji Ning exchanged blows with them, he had a bad feeling. Patriarch Deadwood and Patriarch Arcanum alone were able to completely suppress him and his junior apprentice-brother. “Not even the fourth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] is able to overcome them. If I was also a Celestial Immortal and was able to use Celestial Immortal-level elemental ki in activating the fourth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]…things would probably be different. It’s simply too taxing for Void-level Earth Immortals to battle Celestial Immortals.”

And so, not hesitating at all, Ning shattered the talisman, requesting aid from his master Immortal Diancai and Celestial Immortal Hunchmont.

“A message-talisman.”

“Ji Ning is asking for aid.”

“Quick.”

All four of the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were watching this battle. They naturally noticed how the divine black dragon of sword-light had suddenly shattered a talisman.

“Let me handle it.” The man holding the greatclock in his hand let out an angry roar, then waved the clock-wielding hand. The greatclock instantly soared high into the skies. The many tendrils that were blocking out the sun opened a path for it, and so the greatclock transformed into a rainbow that instantly flew to a location a few kilometers away from Ning.

It hovered there in the air, its surface radiating a blurry golden light.

The man controlling the golden greatclock instantly used his own power to activate this top-grade Pure Yang artifact. This was an artifact which the Youngflame clan had come into possession of back during the era of Pangu’s World; it had been passed down for countless years, and was one of the artifacts that was meant to safeguard the entire clan.

Claaaaang.

The golden clock suddenly emitted a ringing sound. The sound of the clock spread out in a slow manner. The base of the golden greatclock was aimed straight towards Ning, and as the clock rang out, circles of golden ripples that were visible to the naked eye appeared around it.

The circles radiated downwards, while the nearby tendrils quickly retreated, beating out a path for it, with the slower-moving tendrils instantly transformed into dust.

The golden ripples of light moved at an extremely fast speed. By the time Ning saw them, they had already nearly reached him.

“Careful!” Ning called out in shock, quickly willing the nearby black-robed Ning to disappear into thin air.

Claaaaaang.

The golden ripples of light shattered apart one of the divine black dragons, then struck towards Ning’s body, at which point it once more let out a slow, gonging sound. Ning felt as though countless heavy hammers were smashing against his body.

The nearby Mu Northson, who was in control of the Winged Immortal golem, was partially hit by the attack as well. The Winged Immortal golem was instantly knocked flying, spinning out of his control. Right at this moment, two of the nine incomparably massive main tendrils came snaking towards the Winged Immortal golem.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Ning immediately stretched his hand out, his palm increasing to a size of three hundred meters as he grabbed the somersaulting Winged Immortal golem. “Don’t resist.” He immediately brought the Winged Immortal golem back into his own mobile Immortal estate.

……

The appearance of the golden clock forced the Primaltwin to retreat, while the Winged Immortal golem had already been finding it hard enough to deal with the ‘Starlight Revolution’; there was no way it could fight back at all now. Ning’s only choice was to have both his Primaltwin and his junior apprentice-brother retreat for now, leaving his true body to stand there by itself.

“Hahaha…” The man controlling the golden greatclocked roared with laughter. “With my divine clock having emerged…death is the only outcome for you.”

“What terrifying power.” Ning’s heart was filled with shock.

Patriarch Deadwood and Patriarch Goldclock were polar opposites; Patriarch Deadwood focused on control, suppression, and binding, whereas Patriarch Goldclock focused on raw power and straightforward crushing! In truth, as far as Ji Ning was concerned, Patriarch Deadwood was actually a greater threat to him! This was because, once he became bound and restricted by those tendrils, he’d find it very difficult to escape, even though he trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]!

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The golden greatclock rang out in the skies, and the golden ripples of power struck towards Ning repeatedly.

By now, Ning had completely withdrawn all of his three hundred-plus Immortal swords. He had executed his divine ability, [Three Heads, Six Arms], and was relying on his six mighty palms to block.

The golden ripple of light struck out…but Ning was completely unharmed!

“Hmph.” Patriarch Arcanum controlled the Starlight Revolution to attack, but Ning completely ignored it, allowing it to fall against his body as it pleased.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

An enormous number of tendrils came crashing over.

Only now did Ning begin to take things seriously. He executed his divine ability, [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], seeming to have transformed into a gust of wind. He was occasionally drifting and gentle, but occasionally savage and vicious in his movements. He shuttled through the tendrils in an unpredictable manner, while his six arms all used the [Starseizing Hand]. With unearthly power in his hands, comparable to that of Pure Yang treasures, he chopped with his palms in every direction!

Bang! Bang! Bang! The weaker tendrils and vines were blasted apart into dust; only the thicker tendrils were able to resist.

And thanks to his [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], Ning remained extremely agile and dodged about easily.

“How can this be?”

“Impossible!”

Patriarch Arcanum and Patriarch Goldclock were both shocked. Their attacks were actually very weak against Ning?! Patriarch Goldclock was especially shocked; his power was on the same level as Patriarch Deadwood’s, but Ning was able to completely resist the power of his attacks head-on…and was even able to borrow from the momentum of the clock-strikes to increase his speed.

“This golden greatclock of mine is a top-grade Pure Yang treasure with extraordinary power; not even Celestial Immortals would dare to take it on head-on. Even if a Void-level Fiendgod were to encounter it, the only outcome would be death.” Patriarch Goldclock couldn’t believe it.

“He must have some protective treasure?” Patriarch Arcanum said.

“Even if he did, once it suffered an attack from my golden clock, it would instantly have its power used up.” Patriarch Goldclock truly couldn’t believe it.

After Patriarch Goldclock struck, the last of the four mighty Celestial Immortals, Patriarch Infatuation, began to launch a full-strength attack as well. Cold spheres of light began to manifest in the area around Patriarch Infatuation. These cold spheres of light numbered in the thousands as they hung around him, with flowing runes appearing on their surface. The flowing runes joined together, forming into an incomparably profound formation.

Rumble…

The area within three thousand meters of Patriarch Infatuation had been completely transformed into a world of frozen ice.

There was frozen ice everywhere. Patriarch Infatuation stood at the very peak of a tower made of frozen ice, like the only sovereign of this miniature world of ice.

“Chop!” Patriarch Infatuation looked at the distant Ji Ning, who was fleeing from the strikes of the golden greatclock and the giant tendrils. He pointed at him.

Instantly, more than half of the ice within this miniature frozen world began to gather in one location, forming into an enormous chopping sword of frozen ice. This was like the blade of an executioner…but it only had a blade, without a handle. This enormous executioner’s blade of frozen ice instantly slashed through the skies, chopping straight towards Ji Ning.

Ning, currently using the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], raised his head and saw the enormous executioner’s blade of ice crashing down upon him.

Cold!

He felt a heart-piercing cold. Even before the executioner’s blade had fallen upon him, Ning felt a cold pain, misery, and fear fill his heart as he stared at it. This was a sort of fear and pain that one would naturally feel upon seeing that executioner’s blade.

“What a bizarre blade.” Ning felt that something was off. He immediately let out an angry roar: “F*CK OFF!”

Two of Ning’s massive hands punched straight upwards, looking like Pangu pushing up the heavens. 1

The enormous freezing executioner’s blade came crashing down!

BANG!!!

The executioner’s blade collided head-on with Ning’s twin hands!

Ning was blasted downwards by the power of the blow, like a meteor sinking into the ground. Ning had never before suffered an attack of such terrifying power. Even back in the Eastwoods mountain range, he had never received such a disastrously mighty chop.

“What? He didn’t die?” Patriarch Infatuation could hardly believe it. This technique of his, which he had used to roam and dominate the Three Realms, had been unable to kill Ji Ning? This blow was so powerful that even some Heaven-ranked magic treasures would be instantly blown apart.

“There’s no way a protective item could last for so long. Could it be that he’s using his body to block?”

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]!!!” Patriarch Infatuation was suddenly shocked as he thought of this possibility.

Moments later, he became certain that this was correct; there was a very high chance that Ning had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! This was because after Ning had suffered the first assassination attempt from Bloodcloud Hall, Bloodcloud Hall had actually dared to increase the price to an exponential level; this indicated that Ning probably wasn’t just relying on a protective treasure. Only the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] made sense.

“So what if he has the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]? He’s still only at the Void level; he won’t be able to escape from the combined attacks of us four Celestial Immortals.” Patriarch Infatuation instantly sent mentally to the other three, “It is very likely that this Ji Ning has trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Deadwood, focus on binding him. Goldclock, draw him into your golden greatclock and keep him suppressed within it.”

“Alright.”

“Alright.”

……

Ning was sent slamming downwards from the force of that frozen executioner’s blade. Rustle rustle rustle…instantly, the enormous rattan vines came twirling towards him.

“Not good.” The power of that chop had been simply too great; he was about to be trapped and entangled by those thick rattan vines. Ning gritted his teeth.

BOOM!

As Ning landed, his body suddenly separated into two as it was instantly torn apart, diving into two separate bodies. The two Nings slammed their palms into each other, and with a massive boom, borrowed from the momentum of the blow to send each other flying away at high speed, avoiding the many tendrils that were coiling towards them from below.

“He split his body?”

“He’s looking to die.”

Patriarch Deadwood let out a cold laugh.

Although this instantaneous creation of a clone had seemingly allowed him to dodge that trap, both of the clone bodies would now be much weaker; after all, each of the two bodies would only possess half of the soul that had been infused into every cell of the original body, and so the power of any sword-arts would also be dramatically lowered. Even the intricacy and effect of the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] would be lowered! These were all weaknesses.

And once one of the clones was destroyed, the divine power within that particular clone would be completely used up.

BOOM! One of the Nings suddenly blew up.

The power of the other fleeing Ning instantly skyrocketed. A large amount of divine power was returning to him, and his divine soul was rapidly healing as well. Fiendgod Body Refiners…so long as their divine power was not used up, they could regenerate from as little as a single drop of blood.

“Quite decisive.” Patriarch Infatuation, standing atop his tower oef frozen ice within his miniature ice realm, let out a cold laugh. “Let’s see how many times you can self-detonate.”

He pointed once more.

Instantly, that enormous frozen executioner’s blade once more swung over, quickly arriving in the air above Ning.

Ning gritted his teeth.

What was he to do?

Earlier, he had instantly split his body into two clones, then self-detonated one to recover part of his divine power…but this still used up a lot of divine power. That single self-detonation had already consumed twenty or thirty percent of Ning’s total power. This was a far faster rate of depletion than when he had been fighting; after three or four more self-detonations, he would be finished.

“What should I do?” Ning began to grow nervous. Hide within his mobile Immortal estate and use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape?

This was a seemingly good solution, but it was dangerous as well. Would his mobile Immortal estate be able to withstand the attacks of Celestial Immortal Infatuation and the other three?

Although his mobile Immortal estates was described as an ‘Immortal estates’, it wasn’t actually an Immortal-ranked magic treasure; if it had been, Ning wouldn’t have been able to bind it in the past! Treasures of this sort were mobile but did not possess significant defensive power. This one was roughly on par with Heaven-ranked magic treasures. Against Bloodcloud Hall’s Ba-Serpent, Ning had felt that it should be able to resist for a short period of time.

But in the face of the far more powerful Celestial Immortal Infatuation, who was being aided by three more Celestial Immortals…it might instantly be blasted apart.

1. According to Chinese mythology, heaven and earth used to be an indivisible whole in the cosmic egg. In Pangu’s creation of the universe, he literally lifted up the heavens away from the earth, forming the universe.

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Chapter 14 – A Feud As Fathomless as a Sea of Blood

Chapter 14 – A Feud As Fathomless as a Sea of Blood

A spatial ripple suddenly appeared in the skies above the desolate plains. Two figures emerged from the spatial ripple; a staff-wielding Celestial Immortal Hunchmont, and a black-robed, black-haired Immortal Diancai.

“It’s up ahead.”

“But there’s a formation covering that area.”

Celestial Immortal Hunchmont and Immortal Diancai immediately released their coresense, using it to cover an area of tens of thousands of kilometers; they were naturally able to discover that large formation. The formations which the four Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan had set up here weren’t meant to be used to guard their headquarters; naturally, they wouldn’t pay too high of a price for them. These formations were merely meant for trapping enemies by mystifying them, barring spatial ripples, and causing enemies to be unable to use void blink techniques to escape; they were unable to completely block out the coresense of a determined Celestial Immortal.

“Ji Ning!” Both were shocked by what their coresense found.

They saw Ning, with three heads and six arms, suffering repeated attacks from four mighty Celestial Immortals within that grand formation.

Patriarch Arcanum used the Starlight Revolution to negatively impact Ning’s movements time and time again.

Patriarch Goldclock was using his top-grade Pure Yang greatclock in an attempt to trap and suppress Ning within it.

Patriarch Infatuation was continuing to unleash the full power of his miniature frozen world with every blow, beating Ning senseless and giving him no chance to fight back at all; he was a truly supreme Celestial Immortal.

Patriarch Deadwood was controlling countless tendrils and vines in an attempt to bind and constrict Ning.

Although he had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning was being forced to rely on body-separation, followed by self-detonation, something which he wouldn’t be able to sustain for very long.

“Hurry up and break the formation.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was shocked and worried. “Diancai, this great formation is mainly focused inwards and doesn’t have much resistance to outside attacks. If the two of us join together, we can break it open through raw force.”

“Alright.” Immortal Diancai was frantic as well.

“Let’s go.”

Immortal Diancai pointed from far away. Instantly, five Immortal swords appeared out of nowhere, instantly piercing through the skies, transforming into five dazzling rainbows of light. Every single sword manifested the illusion of a giant mountain…and moments later, the five illusory mountains actually joined together, transforming into a single enormous mountain with five peaks! These five peaks were like five fingers of different colors that carried the intent of utter extermination.

Five Elements Sword – Minor Five Elements Extermination!

“Mountainshift!” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont released a low growl as well. A total of nine massive seals appeared out of nowhere, each of which flew out at high speed and transformed into a massive mountain. These nine massive mountains were different in appearance, with some being towering, some being squat, and some being sharp. They were completely different from Immortal Diancai’s swords, as they were not illusory; rather, they were nine true mountain peaks.

In addition, around the nine true mountains, a host of illusory mountains could be seen as well. A total of eighty-one such illusory mountain peaks appeared..

It was like an entire mountain range was crashing down!

The reason why Celestial Immortal Hunchmont’s nickname was ‘Hunchmont’ was precisely because he relied on this supreme ability of his, the [Mountainbringer] technique.

……

The illusory five-peaked mountain of sword-light radiated an aura of extermination, while the nine true mountain peaks carried eighty-one illusory mountain peaks with them as they came crashing down with raw force.

The two joined together…and the formation flags which the Celestial Immortals had spread throughout the region were instantly shattered apart. Even the desolate plains themselves had massive, jagged scars blasted into them.

Both figures were extraordinary in their power.

Immortal Diancai had become a Celestial Immortal after undergoing six nine-sets of thunder tribulation; his sword-art, the ‘Minor Five Elements Extermination’, was on a level that was even higher than Ning’s own sword-arts! In addition, he was using five top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords to execute his technique. Ning’s fourth stage of his [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was probably roughly on par with his master’s techniques in terms of sword-arts, but Immortal Diancai was now a Celestial Immortal…naturally, his power was much greater, due to the fact that he was using Celestial Immortal-level power.

As for Celestial Immortal Hunchmont, he was also on the same level as Patriarch Deadwood and Patriarch Goldclock; he, too, was more powerful than Ning.

And the two of them had just joined forces!

Naturally, they were able to completely smash apart that grand formation.

“Not good.”

“Our formation’s been destroyed.”

“The newcomers are Hunchmont of the Northmont clan and Immortal Diancai of the Black-White College,” Patriarch Arcanum sent frantically.

“Infatuation, what should we do now?” Patriarch Goldclock sent a frantic mental message as well.

“Damn!” Patriarch Infatuation had an ugly look on his face. He stared at the distant Ji Ning, who was frantically dodging past the many tendrils in an attempt to buy as much time as possible. What he saw made him feel all the more unwilling to give up; although Ji Ning had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], his foundation was far too weak. Patriarch Infatuation was now certain that if the four of them were given just a bit more time, they would be able to suppress and trap Ji Ning within the divine greatclock!

Once trapped and suppressed within that top-grade Pure Yang treasure, even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would be unable to escape, to say nothing of Ji Ning.

But of course…a True Immortal or Empyrean God wouldn’t be so stupid as to let themselves be trapped within.

Rumble…

The five-peaked mountain of sword-light carried an incomparably fierce aura.

The nine true mountains carried a host of illusory mountains as they came crashing forward.

There was nothing to stop them.

“Damn, damn, DAMN!!!” Patriarch Infatuation was both frantic and enraged; they were so very close to victory! However, he knew that the appearance of Celestial Immortal Hunchmont and Immortal Diancai meant that they were now unable to suppress Ji Ning. After all, Ji Ning had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; they were unable to kill him, and would only be able to suppress and trap him.

They no longer had the time necessary to do that.

“Leave!” Patriarch Infatuation sent with an angry roar. “Let’s leave.”

“Damnit.” Patriarch Goldclock and Patriarch Deadwood felt similarly unwilling to just give up like this.

“If we had just a few extra moments, Ji Ning would’ve been finished.” Patriarch Arcanum was unbelievably frustrated as well.

“Celestial Immortal Infatuation, this is my territory, Stillwater Commandery. By doing this, your Youngflame clan is truly showing no regard for our Northmont clan.” A sonorous voice, backed by Celestial Immortal-level power, instantly shook every single inch of the surrounding area. The elderly staff-wielding hunch back and the black-robed, black-haired man had already begun moving towards them, side-by-side.

“Hmph.” The four Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan couldn’t even be bothered to talk to them; they each retreated at high speed, disappearing into the distant horizons.

They made quite a clean getaway.

“Ji Ning.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont and Immortal Diancai flew over to him.

“Senior Hunchmont. Master.” Ning went over to welcome them.

“What happened? Four Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan joined forces to attack you?” Immortal Diancai was incomparably worried, while the nearby Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was secretly shocked as well. All four of the Celestial Immortals were exceedingly powerful; logically speaking, a slightly weaker Celestial Immortal should’ve been instantly killed! Ji Ning, however, had been able to hold on until their arrival.

“They have been looking to get rid of me for some time now. This time, they set up a trap here at my junior apprentice-brother Mu Northson’s place, waiting for me.” Ning’s heart was filled with guilt.

Junior apprentice-brother…

The thing most important to his junior apprentice-brother, the soul of his Dao-companion, had been destroyed. Ning didn’t know what his junior apprentice-brother was currently thinking right now; his junior apprentice-brother had completely been collateral damage in this attempt to kill Ning.

“If I had known this would happen, when he refused, I would’ve forcibly abducted him to Swallow Mountain.” Ning was filled with endless regret. Because his junior apprentice-brother was filled with longing and love for this place, he was unwilling to listen to Ning’s suggestions, no matter what Ning said. In addition, since Ning felt that nobody would know that Northson had returned to this place, and given that Northson also had the Winged Immortal golem, he didn’t force his junior apprentice-brother to go back with him.

“My junior apprentice-brother literally just returned. How did the Youngflame clan find out?” Ning mused to himself.

“Ji Ning, you spoke of a junior apprentice-brother?” Immortal Diancai hurriedly asked.

“Yes. Mu Northson.” Ning nodded.

“You found him?” Immortal Diancai was shocked.

“I found him. Let’s go back first; let’s not stay here.” Ning glanced at the surrounding area; even the wooden house which his junior apprentice-brother had built had been utterly annihilated by this battle. That earlier battle had simply been too frenzied.

Ning, Immortal Diancai, and Celestial Immortal Hunchmont first returned to Stillwater City. After discussing a few affairs in detail, even Immortal Diancai agreed, “Based on what you said, Bloodcloud Hall’s attempted assassination of you was very likely done at the request of the Youngflame clan. Now that they have personally attempted to remove you…they probably won’t let matters rest like this.”

“Agreed. Ji Ning, given your current level of power, you aren’t able to withstand the Youngflame clan yet. You have to keep waiting and enduring it. After you become a Celestial Immortal, your chances will be much greater,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont urged as well.

Ning was filled with regret and hate.

Wait and endure?

For how much longer was he supposed to wait and endure?

In the past, his mother had carried the burden of knowing who their mortal enemy was by herself; she had been unwilling to tell him that their enemy was the Youngflame clan, precisely because in her eyes, her son was more important than vengeance. In addition, she was afraid; the Youngflame clan was truly far too powerful. She didn’t even dare imagine her son fighting against an ancient clan like this, one of the top ten clans of the entire world of the Grand Xia.

When the Youngflame clan had been frantically searching for him, and even trapping the Ji clan within Swallow Mountain, Ning had been forced to endure and bide his time!

When they had attempted to assassinate him within the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, Ning had still waited and endured!

He had never taken any reprisal actions against them.

In fact, even upon his return from Mount Innerheart, Ning had continued to wait and bide his time…because he didn’t feel any confidence at all in his ability to deal with the Youngflame clan. The Northmont clan of Stillwater was already so incredibly powerful; what then of the Youngflame clan? The four Celestial Immortals that had appeared today were already incredibly terrifying…and this was probably not the full power the Youngflame clan could bring to bear.

……

Swallow Mountain.

Only after returning to Swallow Mountain did Ning release his junior apprentice-brother.

“Youngflame clan…Youngflame clan…Youngflame clan…”

Within a house, a series of agonized, maddened growls could be heard. The nearby servants and maids who heard the voice felt their hearts shudder. A grand formation had long ago been set up around this house, causing Northson to be completely unable to escape.

Ning stood there on the hallway, listening to the heart-rending growls.

He walked through the grand formation. He walked to the room. He pushed the door open. He entered.

Within the room.

Mu Northson was sitting on his knees like a madman, his hair tousled and even whiter than before. He raised his head to look towards Ning.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson’s face was twisted with agony. His eyes were blood-red, and he said in hoarsely, “I will take revenge. I will take revenge! I will kill the Youngflame clan. Kill them. Kill them all. They took everything from me. I’m going to take everything from them. Annihilate them. Senior apprentice-brother, let me out!”

“This was all my fault.” Ning walked to his junior apprentice-brother’s side, then knelt down as well, taking his junior apprentice-brother’s hand into his own.

His junior apprentice-brother’s hand was trembling nonstop.

Ning was filled with tremendous guilt.

This was all purely because of the feud between him and the Youngflame clan. His junior apprentice-brother had ended up being dragged into it.

“It isn’t your fault, senior apprentice-brother. It was the Youngflame clan,” Northson said hoarsely. “I will take revenge. Kill them. The more I kill, the better. Senior apprentice-brother, why don’t you let me out? Why?”

“Wait. Wait a few more days,” Ning said in a low voice.

“I need to keep waiting?” Northson’s eyes were filled with madness.

“Junior apprentice-brother, do you think I don’t want to wipe out the Youngflame clan?” Ning’s entire body began to tremble slightly as well. “I’ve been biding my time for so many years. I want to take revenge very badly…and not just for myself. This is for my mother…my uncle…my cousin…this is for all of them. I tell you this – Wait a few more days. Once my preparations are complete, I will definitely assault the Youngflame clan’s headquarters.”

“Wait how long?” Northson stared at Ning.

“Soon. Very soon,” Ning said consolingly.

Suddenly, Ning rose to his feet. Turning his head, he stared towards the south. His gaze seemed to pass through the walls of space and penetrate to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia. In this moment, within the imperial palace of the imperial capital, the silver-haired Skyfox had just shattered the talisman which Ning had given him.

Northson, noticing that Ning had suddenly risen to his feet, couldn’t help but turn his head to look at him.

“…Our chance just arrived,” Ning said softly. “I’ll go on a trip to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia first. After that…it will be time for the Youngflame clan to pay their blood debt to us.”

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Chapter 15 – Exalted Immortal Blackheaven

Chapter 15 – Exalted Immortal Blackheaven

“Pay their blood debt to us?” Mu Northson was startled, but then he frantically rose to his feet. “Senior apprentice-brother, this is my personal feud; even if I die, it doesn’t matter. But you…”

“No need to say another word.”

Ning shook his head, his gaze distant. “I’ve been wanting to fight with the Youngflame clan for quite some time now, but I’ve been biding my time and just enduring it for many years…it’s time to resolve this matter.”

“Senior apprentice-brother…” Northson was both frantic and worried. Although his heart was now filled with boundless hatred, he knew exactly how powerful the Youngflame clan was; from their battle against those four Celestial Immortals, Northson learned that there was still a significant difference in power between his senior apprentice-brother and the Youngflame clan. Thus, he didn’t wish for Ning to put himself in mortal danger!

“Wait here for me.” Turning his head, Ning strode out from the room.

Ning’s figure quickly disappeared outside the formation. No matter how frantic Northson was, there was nothing he could do.

……

“Uncle White.” Ning walked to one of the beaches of Brightheart Island, where he saw a Whitewater Hound lying on the ground, staring at the lake.

“Ning, son.” The Whitewater Hound rose to its feet. “The treasures have arrived?”

“Yes,” Ning said softly. “It’s time to go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.”

A hint of a desire to kill appeared in the Whitewater Hound’s eyes as well, a killing intent aimed towards the Youngflame clan. In his heart, he viewed Ji Ning as his nephew. He knew that the Youngflame clan had tried repeatedly to kill Ning…how could he not be angered by this?

“Let’s go.”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ning and the Whitewater Hound soared into the heavens. Moments later, they used a void blink to quickly depart from Swallow Mountain.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

Ning and the Whitewater Hound descended straight downwards from the skies.

“Ji Ning!” A voice echoed in their eyes. Ning turned to look towards a particular residence within the main Heavenly Treasures Mountain, where he saw a silver-haired man. Ning and Uncle White immediately flew towards that residence.

“Senior Skyfox.” Ning walked over.

“Sit,” Skyfox said with a laugh.

Ning immediately sat down, while the Whitewater Hound lay down next to a flower basin within the courtyard.

“Ji Ning, you came quite fast,” Skyfox said with a laugh.

“The treasures are important,” Ning said.

Skyfox said with a loud laugh, “Don’t worry, all of the Five Elements treasures that you wanted have been assembled. Might I ask if you have prepared a high-grade Pure Yang treasure or an equivalent amount of other treasures?” As he spoke, Skyfox waved his hand. Instantly, a large number of enormous golden rocks appeared out of thin air, each of which was incomparably slick and glistening and radiated powerful auras of water. They were also slips of bamboo that were completely formed from jade, fist-sized drops of water, fiery flows of lava, and giant black chunks of a mysterious earthen material.

“Mmm.” Ning was instantly overjoyed upon seeing these things.

“The Xia Emperor truly is a trustworthy man.” Ning waved his hand. Instantly, Immortal swords radiating freezing auras or scorching auras suddenly appeared; these were the Sole-Ki Frost Swords and the Qiangang Inferno Swords.

Skyfox’s eyes lit up when he saw them.

“There are a total of forty-nine Sole-Ki Frost Swords and forty-nine Qiangang Inferno Swords,” Ning said. “They should be comparable to one high-grade Pure Yang treasure, yes?”

“Yes.” Skyfox laughed, then let out a sigh of praise. “Ji Ning, you truly do engage in business with style. These ninety-eight Immortal swords are indeed sufficient.”

Based on how treasures were valued, a single top-grade Pure Yang treasure was comparable to a thousand top-grade Immortal-ranked treasures. This was a rough equivalency, not an absolute one! After all, there were differences amongst top-grade Pure Yang treasures as well.

As for high-grade Pure Yang treasures, they were generally comparable to one or two hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked treasures.

The forty-nine Sole-Ki Frost Swords and forty-nine Qiangang Inferno Swords which Ning had brought out were a set that came from the same source! They were thus more valuable than a miscellaneous collection of top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, and so a total of ninety-eight of them was indeed enough.

As far as Ning was concerned, he had a thousand of these Immortal swords, while he could only use 729 of them at most. The other two hundred-plus were extras.

“Go ahead and inspect them.” Ning waved his hand, and the flying swords all moved towards Skyfox.

Skyfox immediately used his Celestial Immortal power to investigate them. “Yes, they are all excellent top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. Ji Ning, these Five Elements treasures are yours.” The many Five Elements treasures in midair all flew towards Ning, and Ning accepted with a wave of his hand.

Their trade had been completed!

“Ji Ning, if there is anything else you need, feel free to come find me.” Skyfox was in an extremely good mood. It must be understood that the Grand Xia’s control over this world wasn’t very stable right now, while those Five Elements treasures would need time to be refined into magic treasures; it was a fine trade for him to immediately acquire such excellent magic treasures for them.

“In the next two days, I think I will make some more requests of you, senior Skyfox,” Ning said. “However…this isn’t the time just yet.”

Skyfox was intrigued. He nodded lightly.

He then departed from the residence, but also instructed his attendant to wait here and obey Ning’s orders.

……

The black-robed Ning and a white-robed, white-haired man were seated facing each other.

“Let’s drink some wine,” the black-robed Ning said with a smile.

“Alright.” Uncle White was puzzled. Why had Ning suddenly released his Primaltwin? What was his true body doing?

……

The distant western seas, atop the secret island where the Seamless Gate’s forces had been stationed.

“How useless.” Violetgrass was seated atop her royal throne, a hint of anger gathering in her brows. “The exalted Youngflame clan was unable to kill a puny Ji Ning, even when he was completely unprepared. They truly have disappointed me. It seems our Seamless Gate will have to handle this ourselves.”

“Milord, let us attack Ji Ning; he’ll definitely perish.”

“At most, we’ll have to spend a bit of effort on it.”

“Milord, no need to be angry.”

The golden-robed Celestial Immortals before the throne were all eating, drinking, and laughing.

The maiden frowned. “It will indeed require a bit of effort. We’ll have to ask that old geezer to help out.”

Ji Ning had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting his body; her subordinates alone might be able to kill him, but it would still involve an element of risk! For example, the four mighty Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan hadn’t been able to kill him within an extremely short amount of time, resulting in his helpers arriving to rescue him! By this same principle…although her subordinate Celestial Immortals were definitely strong enough to completely dominate Ji Ning, they wouldn’t be able to break through the protection of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

“Exalted Immortal Blackheaven is arriving.” Suddenly, a figure appeared within the palace; it was a black-robed servant, who hurriedly said with respect, “Exalted Immortal Blackheaven has already left the Mount Stele major world and has gone to the Fifth World. He’ll arrive shortly.”

“That old geezer is arriving?” The maiden frowned.

All of the ten-plus golden-robed Celestial Immortals below her, however, all hurriedly rose to their feet. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s fame was widespread; although they were all Celestial Immortals, in the face of Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, they still felt a hint of nervousness.

This was because…

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was an old freak that had power that was almost comparable to that of a Pure Yang True Immortal! He was one of the absolute most supreme of Celestial Immortals.

“Ahahaha, little baby girl Violetgrass.” After a spatial ripple, a loud laugh could be heard that echoed throughout the palace.

“Old bastard.” The maiden pursed her lips.

A figure walked into the palace. He looked like a middle-aged man with long, unbound hair. He walked in barefoot, looking rather unkept and dissolute.

“Exalted Immortal Blackheaven.”

“Lord Blackheaven.”

“Milord.”

The other golden-robed Celestial Immortals all hurriedly called out to him.

Exalted Immortal Blackheaven was someone which even the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate had to give some face to. He was quite famous within the Three Realms. In terms of raw power in a frontal assault, he wasn’t that formidable; at most, he was on the level of Celestial Immortal Infatuation. But he simply was a master of far too many strange, unorthodox techniques.

Fleeing techniques? Trapping techniques? Poison techniques? He had far too many techniques at his disposal; even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would be miserable facing him! He was considered something of a legend in the Three Realms.

“Little baby girl Violetgrass, I didn’t expect that you would end up begging for my help.” Exalted Immortal Blackheaven said smugly, “Ahaha, when I first saw you, you were a little baby girl…and now, you have made something of yourself.”

“You owe me, you old bastard.” The maiden frowned.

“Haha, yes…in the past, I did indeed promise to fulfill three requests of yours. You’ve used up one of them; this will be the second one.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven laughed. “Speak! What do you want me to do?”

The maiden waved her hand, and a book appeared within it. She tossed it straight to the distant Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, who accepted it, read it, then frowned. “Ji Ning?”

“Within this book are all the intelligence reports we have gathered regarding this Ji Ning. Without question, he is not on our side; if he’s given time to grow and develop, he’ll probably end up being trouble for us. Thus, it’s best to get rid of him early on. The Gatemaster has instructed me to handle it, but I want to ensure that things will go exactly as planned, which is why I’ve asked you to help,” the maiden said.

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]?” After reading through the intelligence reports, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s eyes bulged out a bit. He then raised his head head and said unhappily, “Little baby girl Violetgrass, this is a practitioner of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; the only powers in the Three Realms who can teach and transmit the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] are those Daofathers. Those who have this art can be counted on two hands, and each of them are utterly terrifying. This Ji Ning’s master is most likely one of them, and could crush me with a single finger.”

“What are you afraid of? You think his master would dare intervene?” Violetgrass was disdainful.

“Maybe…” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven shook his head. “Too dangerous. This is too dangerous.”

“You old bastard!” The maiden said angrily. She knew this Celestial Immortal Blackheaven quite well; after all, she had followed the Gatemaster and Celestial Immortal Blackheaven when she was very young. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was legendary for his cowardice and caution, as well as being skilled in unorthodox abilities.

“Fine.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said resignedly, “Perhaps the chances of his master intervening are indeed remote…since it is for you, I’ll let one of my clones go deal with Ji Ning.”

“A clone?” The maiden stared.

“Don’t worry. I’ll let my clone carry my ‘Polaris Godlocking Circlet’; once it emerges, he will definitely be locked in place by it, without any chance to resist.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven chortled, “In the blink of an eye, I’ll have captured him. I’ll take him away and let you decide how to handle him.”

The maiden said, puzzled, “Polaris Godlocking Circlet’? What type of a treasure is that? Why haven’t I heard of it?”

“I have rarely fought others, from the Primordial Era to the present era. How much do you think you know? If it wasn’t for the fact that the Three Realms are about to be swept into a storm, I wouldn’t be willing to use any of these treasures of mine.” Celestial Immortal Blackheavens said loudly, “Alright, tell me…where is this Ji Ning? Tell me, and I’ll go collect him.”

The maiden, upon hearing this, laughed. “Our most recent intelligence places him at the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.”

“The imperial capital of the Grand Xia?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven frowned. “That’s not a place I can go to. The Xia Emperor isn’t easy to deal with. After he leaves the imperial capital, I’ll make my move.”

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Chapter 16 – The Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]

Chapter 16 – The Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]

“Fine. As soon as Ji Ning leaves the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, I will immediately notify you.” The maiden nodded.

Celestial Immortal Blackheavens chortled merrily and nodded. “Then before I deal with Ji Ning…come! Let’s have a nice chat and catch up with each other.”

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

The black-robed Ning was seated face to face with Uncle White, while his true body had entered the underwater estate.

The underwater estate. Within the Still Room.

Ning’s true body was seated atop the bed of netherwater jade. Surrounding him were a large amount of Five Elements treasures, ranging from a thousand kilograms to tens of thousands of kilograms in weight. All of them were circling around Ning.

Time flowed on.

Some of the ripples coming from the Five Elements treasures were growing progressively weaker as they quickly began to transform from spirit-items to useless items. One could watch as the pieces of gold-gems from the Heaven Realm began to visibly decay, becoming worthless rocks that were a dull white color. The flows of liquid lava, formingly agile and graceful, swirled in the air, but were quickly being transformed into acidic water.

Ning’s twin hands were glowing with five colors of light. They were skyrocketing in power as they ravenously consumed the Five Elements essence from those spirit-treasures.

This continued for twelve full hours.

The surrounding area was now littered with floating bits of shatter rocks, rock-like strips of bamboo, ordinary and rather disgusting acidic water, as well as a large amount of random dirt.

“Whew.” Ning exhaled, lowering his head to look at his two hands. His hands were glowing with a dull light, and the power within them was truly shocking.

“Success.”

“The Fourth Cycle of my [Starseizing Hand]!”

Ning’s eyes were blazing. However…he could sense that his current hands had reached an absolute limit in power. There would be no way for him to strengthen them any further for now. If he wanted to…he would have to get his hands to qualitatively evolve and transform to a completely new stage, one which required him to first break through to the Empyrean God level.

“The Fourth Cycle of the Starseizer. My twin hands are now comparable to supreme Pure Yang treasures. When using [Three Heads, Six Arms], I’ll have the equivalent of six supreme Pure Yang treasures at my disposal…” Ning could sense how powerful his palms had become.

This feeling of tremendous power really was wonderful.

Magic treasures were extremely important to an Immortal cultivator. Why was it that at the early Wanxiang stage, one would be able to completely dominate a peak Zifu Disciple? The Primal level, the Void level, the Celestial Immortal level…advancing through the major stages caused an enormous increase in power, partially because one’s own elemental ki would change, but also because one’s magic treasures would dramatically improve! Even if one’s insights into the Dao were comparable to one’s foes, there would still be a huge difference in power.

Wanxiang Adepts were able to use Earth-ranked treasures, Primal Daoists were able to use Heaven-ranked magic treasures, Void-level Earth Immortals were able to use Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and Celestial Immortals were able to use Pure Yang treasures.

Magic treasures advanced in power to a truly staggering degree.

For example, Ji Ning! In terms of insights into the Dao, he was actually comparable to Patriarch Goldclock. And thanks to his [Starseizing Hand] divine ability, Ning’s foundation was actually superior to Patriarch Goldclock’s.

Why, then, had he been beaten silly by Patriarch Goldclock, without having any chance to fight back at all?

Why was it that he was clearly weaker than Patriarch Goldclock?

Precisely because Patriarch Goldclock had a top-grade Pure Yang divine greatclock!

For another example, Patriarch Deadwood and Patriarch Goldclock. In terms of insights into the Dao, Patriarch Deadwood was considerably superior to Patriarch Goldclock, but Patriarch Goldclock’s power was comparable to Patriarch Deadwood’s. This was because his magic treasure made up for their disparity in power.

“In the Three Realms, there are some experts who primarily rely on their magic treasures to roam the realms.” Ning had read up on many commonly known facts while at Mount Innerheart, and had learned that some Celestial Immortals relied on extremely powerful Protocosmic spirit-treasures to roam the Three Realms. By relying on some especially unique ones, they might even be able to fight against True Immortals or Empyrean Gods!

“My two palms have just skyrocketed in power, from being just barely at the Pure Yang level to the very pinnacle of the Pure Yang level! They are comparable to supreme middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. My close combat power has most likely increased by an enormous amount as well.”

Ning knew very well that with his [Starseizing Hand] having advanced from the Third Cycle to the Fourth Cycle, the amount of physical strength he would be able to instantly unleash had just risen dramatically.

In addition…his palms were now comparable to supreme Pure Yang treasures (supreme middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures); they were now on par with the Rahu Bow.

With these two factors combined…Ning’s power had just skyrocketed up several levels! Patriarch Goldclock? Ning now held him in no regard at all.

“I am stronger than Patriarch Goldclock in every conceivable way now.” Ning walked down from the netherwater jade bed, allowing all of the rubbish hovering within the room to be reduced to dust by his sword-light.

……

Ning’s true body emerged from the Still Room and went to the main hall of the underwater estate.

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear had a smile on his face. “Mm…you’ve mastered the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]. You can now be considered a decently strong figure of the Three Realms.”

Ning nodded.

Although the [Starseizing Hand] ‘merely’ had a total of six cycles, he had to reach the True God level before he could train in the Sixth Cycle, while the Fifth Cycle required that he become an Empyrean God. To become a True God was simply far, far too difficult. True Gods were comparable to Daofathers in power, and so for the foreseeable future, Ning would probably only have a chance at mastering the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

The Fifth Cycle would render Ning’s palms as powerful as a supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasure. In the Three Realms, this was enough to render many True Immortals and Empyrean Gods jealous of him.

In truth, the Fourth Cycle alone was enough to make Ning’s palms truly precious ‘items’. If someone were to kill Ning and hack off his palms, they would probably be used as magic treasures!

“All my power is thanks to the fact that Master Threelives was able to develop such an incredible divine ability,” Ning said.

“Since Master left his legacy behind, you are the first person to reach such a level of power. Don’t underestimate yourself.” The giant yellow power laughed. “Alright…your power has now increased dramatically. The ninth level of the Wargod Hall…you now have a 99% chance of overcoming it. Wish to give it a try?”

Ning was instantly delighted.

The giant yellow bear was modest of speech, and would generally give very conservative estimates; for even him to use the term ‘99%’ meant that Ning’s success was virtually assured.

“I’m now comparable to a supreme Celestial Immortal?” Ning said in surprise and delight.

“Void-level Fiendgods can be comparable to Celestial Immortals. Since your [Starseizing Hand] has reached the Fourth Cycle, you can now compare to the most supreme of Void-level Fiendgods.” The giant yellow bear laughed, “This naturally means that you are now comparable to the most supreme of Celestial Immortals. Will you challenge the Wargod Hall or not?”

“Yes, of course.” Ning nodded.

……

The ninth level of the Wargod Hall.

This was a completely empty void. Ning suddenly appeared out of nowhere within it.

“This is…?” Ning glanced around himself.

Whoosh. From far away, a drop of golden blood suddenly manifested. This drop of golden blood quickly transformed into a Fiendgod that was wearing a set of golden armor. He was tall and muscular, with blood-red hair and a long black spear in his hands. His eyes were filled with an unearthly killing intent, one strong enough to cause Ning to feel startled.

Ning stared in amazement at the figure that had just appeared.

“So you are Ji Ning?” The red-haired Fiendgod actually revealed a smile, a very gentle and kindly smile, the smile a father would have when looking at his child.

“You are…?” Ning was rather flabbergasted.

Although he had always felt that the Wargod Hall was quite peculiar, and had discovered more and more oddities as he had progressed through its ranks, he had never come to truly understand the secrets behind it. This opponent which he was now encountering here on the ninth level…he was far more powerful than any of the previous figures Ning had encountered. That aura alone…Ning could sense that this person might even be comparable to his senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon.

“My name is Redsnow,” the red-haired Fiendgod said with a smile.

“You are an Empyrean God?” Ning asked.

The red-haired Fiendgod laughed. “Good eye. I am indeed an Empyrean God, but this is just an extremely weak clone of mine, created through a single drop of blood.”

Ning understood the profound mysteries behind the art of clones.

The more divine power one put into a clone, the more power the clone would have. For example, a clone that was created from a single hair would naturally be extremely weak. To a Fiendgod, blood was still quite important. A clone created from the blood of an Empyrean God would most likely be at the Celestial Immortal level. As to how powerful it was, exactly? Hard to say.

“Senior Redsnow, how do you know that I am Ji Ning?” Ning asked. He found this quite peculiar.

“It was the big bear who told me,” the red-haired Fiendgod laughed. “The Godking finally has a successor. All of us have waited far, far too long.”

Ning’s heart shook.

Waited far too long?

“Come, Ji Ning. The Godking chose you as his successor. Let me see exactly how strong you are…and if you are qualified to have your position.” The longspear in the red-haired Fiendgod’s hand trembled.

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Chapter 17 – The Rahu Bow At Full Power

Chapter 17 – The Rahu Bow At Full Power

The red-haired Fiendgod’s power caused Ji Ning to feel shock. He was far too powerful! That longspear…it moved like a ghost or an illusion. No matter how he used his hands to attack, be it with sword-fingers or various sword-arts, the longspear was able to easily break through his techniques. While breaking through, the longspear would also strike out in pierces, thrusts, or sideways swipes!

In short…Ning was at a complete disadvantage!

The longspear moved like a dragon, danced like a spirit through water. It carried inconceivably profound mysteries with it, causing Ning to feel like nothing more than a punching bag.

“No more, no more!” The red-haired Fiendgod finally came to a halt. Shaking his head, he sighed. “I lost.”

“Senior Redsnow, you clearly are far more powerful than…” Halfway through his sentence, Ning suddenly understood.

It was most likely that his opponent’s divine power was almost exhausted!

“Each time your palm clashed against my longspear, the force of the collision consumed a large amount of my divine power.” The red-haired Fiendgod looked at Ning, then said with a sigh, “The [Starseizing Hand] divine ability truly is formidable. This clone of mine has far too little divine power…after clashing against your [Starseizing Hand] ten-plus times, the divine power has almost been used up.”

“If your true body was here, senior, you’d probably wipe me out in one blow,” Ning said. Although his body was extremely powerful, the red-haired Fiendgod’s spear-assaults were even more savage than the strikes of Celestial Immortal Infatuation of the Youngflame clan. Each time Ning’s hands clashed against the tip of the spear, he felt as though his hands were about to be pierced through. In truth…his skin was already covered with countless white spots! If the red-haired Fiendgod’s true body was present, he probably would’ve been able to completely destroy Ning’s physical body! Fortunately, Ning had just trained in the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]; if it had been pre-breakthrough, he probably would’ve been too weak and the red-haired Fiendgod’s divine power would have lasted longer than Ning’s divine power, which would’ve been used up first.

Once his divine power was used up and he was unable to use his divine ability, Ning would end up losing!

“Losing is losing.” The red-haired Fiendgod smilled merrily as he looked at Ning. “I hear that you’ve trained for less than a century?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

In his heart, he was murmuring to himself. Why did the giant yellow bear tell this Empyrean God everything?

“Less than a century…your sword-arts are quite excellent,” the red-haired Fiendgod said in praise.

“Facing you, all I could do was rely on [Three Heads, Six Arms] to increase the size of my palms and use them to block your longspear like miniature bucklers.” Ning shook his head, quite ashamed. He had been forced to use his hands like bucklers, and yet they had been broken past repeatedly; the difference in power was simply too great.

“Haha. Even as far back as the Primordial Era, I had already mastered multiple Grand Daos, to say nothing of my current level. If your sword-arts weren’t so powerful, you probably wouldn’t have been able to deplete my divine power.” The red-haired Fiendgod let out a sigh. “Your sword-arts are quite well-suited for defense.”

Ning laughed. Of course! He had the most insights in the element of Water; ever since he was young, his sword-arts had focused on defense.

“Train hard and become an Empyrean God soon!” The red-haired Fiendgod laughed. “Otherwise…you won’t be able to get those fellows to be loyal and submit to you.” After saying these words, he completely disappeared, melting away into the void.

“Be loyal and submit?” Ning murmured these words to himself.

Ning left, returning to the main hall of the underwater estate.

“Congratulations on overcoming the ninth floor,” the giant yellow bear said, a merry smile on his face.

But Ning had a frown on his own face. “Empyrean God Redsnow. Who is he?”

The giant yellow bear was momentarily startled. He then said calmly, “He was an Empyrean God under Master’s command…but that’s nothing you need to ask about for now. You are still far too weak; even here, in the world of the Grand Xia, just a single one of the three thousand major worlds, you still have to tread carefully. You aren’t qualified to get involved with the major powers that exist within the Three Realms.”

“All I can tell you is this…the Three Realms aren’t as simple as you might believe them to be. Not even Patriarch Subhuti will tell you everything before you become truly powerful. For the weak, the less you know, the better. Too much knowledge will be the death of you. The abilities of the truly major powers of the Three Realms are beyond what you can imagine. Even Master…in the face of the storm that swept the Three Realms long ago, he was nothing special. Even Patriarch Subhuti, who was even more powerful than Master, was afraid to take part in that war. So…how much of a chance do you think you have?”

Ning said softly, “The destruction of Pangu’s World…a major secret is concealed within it? Can it be that everything I learned was wrong?”

“What you and your friends know is merely what the Daofathers wish for you to know. Do not ask anything else; only after you become a True Immortal or an Empyrean God are you qualified to know. As for Celestial Immortals…major powers can kill countless Celestial Immortals with a wave of the hand,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Do you wish to go to the Treasure Hall to choose a treasure? You aren’t an Empyrean God yet; there’s actually no point for you to choose a Pure Yang treasure, you know.”

“I will. Of course I will!” Ning said hurriedly.

“Rahu Bow.”

Ning sent out a spiritual call.

Whoosh.

A black-robed youth instantly appeared next to him.

“I’m about to procure a bowstring for you. Choose what type of bowstring you would like,” Ning said.

“Ahahaha…you are finally going to get a new bowstring for me?” The black-robed youth was instantly delighted. He then turned his head to look towards the giant yellow bear. “Big bear, where’s that scroll I wrote out earlier?”

“Here.” The giant yellow bear waved his hand, and a scroll appeared out of nowhere, hovering in the air.

“Master, this scroll includes the three types of bowstrings that are the best suited for me. Of course…they aren’t cheap. The three of them are of three different levels; naturally, the higher the level, the better,” the black-robed youth said excitedly. “Godbows…the body of the bow and the string of the bow are two separate parts. For a Protocosmic spirit-treasure like myself, a powerful body is the most important part, while bowstrings are easier to create and procure. The most important quality is their tensile strength and ability to store power, allowing the maximum amount of power from the formations engraved into the body of the bow to flow through them.”

Ning accepted the scroll. Opening it, he said in surprise, “All are fire-attribute bowstrings? But your body is water-attribute, right?”

“Fire and water, body and bowstring; that’s what is necessary for the power to be tremendous. Can it be that you have forgotten that when you discovered me within the Crescent world, I used the power of heaven and earth to form arrows of flame? In addition, the two arrows that you discovered; weren’t they also fire-attribute?” The black-robed youth said.

“Understood.” Ning laughed, then nodded. “Don’t worry; I’ll definitely procure a superb bowstring for you.”

The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. High noon.

“Uncle White, have you prepared the list?” Ning looked towards the white-robed, white-haired man before him.

“I prepared it long ago. Since we are going to act against the Youngflame clan, we naturally need to spare no expense.” Uncle White handed Ning a leather scroll.

Ning lowered his head to read through it, nodding slightly.

To deal with the Youngflame clan…

Ning already had a plan for doing this. But of course, plans rarely survived contact with the enemy. Since he wasn’t sure about the trump cards which the Youngflame clan had in their possession, Ning naturally had to make multiple levels of preparations.

“Ji Ning.” A voice rang out.

A silver-haired man, Skyfox, came walking in. Smiling, he said, “Do you have some more good news for me?”

“I do indeed,” Ning said with a laugh. “Let me show you a few things.”

Whoosh.

Ten globes suddenly appeared in the air around Ning. One of the globes was a watery green, while the other nine globes were a fiery red. Every single globe was emanating incomparably terrifying ripples of power.

“These are…” Skyfox’s eyes turned round and huge. “Can these all be…”

“Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls!” Ning nodded as he spoke.

Skyfox cleared his throat, glancing towards Ning in disbelief. These Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls…they were a set of Pure Yang treasures that were quite famous, even back in Pangu’s World. They could transform into nine entire worlds! When a pearl smashed into a foe, it was as though an entire world was smashing into that person. But of course, that was when these Pure Yang treasures were used to their maximum potential.

“I need a set of top-grade Immortal-ranked Fuxi Staff Formation staffs.”

“I need twenty top-grade Pure Yang spirit-pills, or an equivalent amount of low-grade Pure Yang spirit-pills.”

“This list has a bowstring on it, as well as some cheaper alternatives.”

“I also need the objects written on this leather scroll.”

Ning handed over two different leather scrolls.

Ning was unable to use Pure Yang treasures for now. By the time he was able to use them, his power would probably be far greater than his current level of power, and in addition, his palms were already comparable to supreme Pure Yang treasures. Thus…he naturally chose to sell off this treasure, so as to increase his power right away!

“Ji Ning, you really are…” Upon seeing the leather scrolls, Skyfox’s face turned ashen. “Your requests are too excessive.”

“If the Xia Emperor isn’t willing, I won’t force this trade,” Ning said. “I can go seek out my fellow senior disciples.”

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Chapter 18 – Leaving the Heavenly Treasures Mountain

Chapter 18 – Leaving the Heavenly Treasures Mountain

The set of Pure Yang treasures which Ji Ning had just taken out, the Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls, had been chosen by him from the Treasure Hall. They were the most valuable items which Ning could choose from the Pure Yang treasures available to him. None of the formidable Pure Yang treasures which Daoist Threelives had left behind in his Treasure Hall were weak; even the cheapest was at least as valuable as a high-grade Pure Yang treasure.

However…there were too few Pure Yang treasures, after all. Even Daoist Threelives wasn’t able to collect too many of them. After overcoming the ninth level of the Wargod Hall, Ning had only been given a total of eighteen Pure Yang treasures to choose from.

And so…

He had chosen the most valuable item, the Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls. Nine of these pearls were high-grade Pure Yang treasures, while the nuclear pearl that served as the core of the formation was a top-grade Pure Yang treasure! In addition, this was a treasure-set that belonged to the exceedingly expensive ‘world-type’ of magic treasures. One could smash them into foes with the force of a minor world, but could also use their power to suppress and bind a foe, causing them to feel as though they were mired in quickstand. They were far more powerful than the Primordial Nightriver contained within the Thousandbull Sword. This sort of world-type Pure Yang treasure was exceedingly rare and precious to begin with; this set alone was most likely comparable to four or five ordinary top-grade Pure Yang treasures!

“The Fuxi Staff Formation, the items on the first list, and the arrows are minor matters,” Skyfox said helplessly. “Master can also provide you with the twenty top-grade Pure Yang spirit-pills that you have requested. But the bow…your request is too extravagant. Such bowstrings are not so easily procured.”

“The treasures and Pure Yang spirit-pills that I have requested can most likely be procured by any True Immortal or Empyrean God who asks his friends for them. The most important item on the list is that bowstring. If it wasn’t for that bowstring, I wouldn’t even be willing to give up this set of Pure Yang treasures in exchange,” Ning said. “The Xia Emperor is of the Primordial Imperial Clan; ordinary True Immortals and Empyrean Gods might not be able to produce such a bowstring, but I trust the Xia Emperor is.”

After having stayed at Mount Innerheart for some time, Ning knew exactly how powerful the Primordial Imperial Clan was.

Pangu’s World…

Back then, there was no such thing as the three thousand major worlds or trillion minor worlds! There was just a single world; Pangu’s World! And back then, the Primordial Imperial Clan ruled over the entirety of the human race! They had quite a few major powers who were at the Daofather level. Although Pangu’s World ended up shattering, and although the Primordial Imperial Clan was no longer as mighty as it once was, and although the Xia Emperor and the Xiamang clan were merely of a branch of that lineage…the Xia Emperor’s roots were far beyond the likes of an ordinary True Immortal or Empyrean God.

……

Within a dark void.

The black-robed Xia Emperor was seated in the lotus position. He opened his eyes. “Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls? They actually ended up in Ji Ning’s hands! A young fellow like him, who hasn’t even overcome his Celestial Tribulation; how is it that he is able to produce such a set of Pure Yang treasures? And such precious ones at that! Strange, truly strange…”

Strange things like this could be explained with a single, simple word. That word was…luck!

Only an extremely lucky person could have such results!

“The storm is about to descend. Pure Yang treasures like these Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls…they will be greatly desired by many True Immortals and Empyrean Gods.” The black-robed Xia Emperor pondered privately for a time. “A bow…it seems I’ll have to go see Uncle.”

The Xia Emperor had long ago left the Primordial Imperial Clan to set off on his own, establishing his own Xiamang lineage. Thus, he would rarely see the other members of the Primordial Imperial Clan.

……

“Master has sent word.” Skyfox looked towards Ning, who immediately listened carefully.

“He has agreed to all your other requests, save for that bowstring; that will take some time,” Skyfox explained. “Master is currently thinking of a way to try and procure one. You should know that the bowstring you have requested is one of the most supreme bowstrings of the Three Realms.”

Ning nodded lightly. “I’m not in a rush.”

In an ordinary situation, it was hard to say whether he would be able to trade his Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls for the treasures he had requested. However, since a storm was about to descend, and the pearls were items that could be used right away, whereas a bowstring…a bowstring had to be matched with a similarly superb bow! As for the truly supreme master archers of the Three Realms, they each already had their own favored bows. Thus, Ning felt comfortable that at a time like this, the Xia Emperor would be willing to help with this exchange.

“As a member of the Primordial Imperial Clan and as a disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright, and as a supposed life-long friend of Daofather Raindragon…although a bowstring like this is hard to find, the Xia Emperor should be able to succeed.” Ning chose to wait.

Skyfox elected to temporarily withdraw.

Time flowed on.

Four entire hours passed. It was now nightfall. Skyfox once more appeared before him.

“From the look on your face, senior Skyfox, I can guess…that the bowstring has been found,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Master spent up quite a bit of energy, but he finally managed to find a bowstring for you.” Skyfox smiled as he handed Ning a golden gourd. “All the items you desire are within this gourd. Take a close look.” They were within the imperial capital of the Grand Xia; he wasn’t worried that Ning would take the treasures and instantly flee.

Forget about Ji Ning; even the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate and the Myriad Demons Cave wouldn’t dare to challenge the Xia Emperor within the imperial capital of the Grand Xia!

“Such generosity! This gourd is a top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure that holds a small dimension within it,” Ning said with a laugh.

“A gift,” Skyfox said in a very casual manner.

Ning held that golden gourd in his hands, carefully inspecting its contents. Within the golden gourd hovered spirit-pills with powerful auras, each of which contained an astonishing amount of extremely pure elemental ki. They were all Pure Yang-level spirit-pills. There were also a large number of precious objects floating within the gourd, the ones which Uncle White needed to set up his formations. There was also a set of Fuxi Staff Formation staffs which Uncle White needed! The more powerful a set of Fuxi Staff Formation staffs, the greater the power of the formations.

“Bowstring…arrows…” Ning was absolutely satisfied with what he saw.

A pitch-black bowstring hung in the air within the golden globe, and next to it were a total of a hundred fiery arrows. Naturally, these arrows were merely high-grade Immortal-ranked treasures.

Within the underwater estate.

“Ahaha, a bowstring comes!” The nearby black-robed youth was extremely excited. “Master, you truly are amazing. You aren’t even a Celestial Immortal, but were able to procure such a fine bowstring. Although it’s simply a bowstring…it’s even more precious than an ordinary top-grade Pure Yang spirit-treasure.”

Ning smiled, personally affixing the bowstring onto the body of the bow.

After connecting the two together…

Rumble…

The black greatblow instantly flew up to hover in the air. Light cascaded off of its body like a series of waves of black water. The body of the bow was clearly glowing with a black, watery light, but when the light reached the bowstring, it transformed into a fiery light.

“Ahahaha…with this bowstring, I’m now as strong as I was back during the Primordial Era.” The black-robed youth was absolutely excited.

Ning smiled and nodded.

The Rahu Bow was a high-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure; logically speaking, such a treasure couldn’t possibly be damaged under normal situations! However, its bowstring had ended up snapping; this was because the body of the bow and the bowstring…actually had been qualitatively different in power. The bowstring was comparatively more fragile; in fact, there were some True Gods who could break apart the bowstring of a godbow! If they suddenly released their strength and pulled the bowstring with full power, the bowstring might just snap! After doing that, they would replace the snapped bowstring with an even better one! This was why, even when its bowstring was destroyed, the Rahu Bow had been able to use the power of heaven and earth to attack Ning.

“I now have my godbow and my arrows, while my [Starseizing Hand] has reached the Fourth Cycle. Although I only have a basic level of skill in [Houyi’s Archery], it’s enough to unleash tremendous power.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

He was only at a basic level of skill in archery…but that was in comparison to the full [Houyi’s Archery]. Compared to others in the Three Realms, Ning could already be considered an expert archer; after all, he was even able to use heartforce.

Heartforce was mysterious and unfathomable!

Unlike other types of force, it was extremely difficult to sense and touch…but it truly was extraordinarily powerful. The ability to use heartforce was a dividing factor between those who were and were not able to successfully become divine archers of the Three Realms. Ning had clearly already passed through that doorway, and he had also learned some of the knacks of using divine power from [Houyi’s Archery].

Now, it was matched with a high-grade Protocosmic godbow…and his own strength with the [Starseizing Hand]!

“After I reach a more profound level in [Houyi’s Archery], I’ll be able to easily kill any foe within a million kilometers.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

……

And so, Ning once more entered the underwater estate, preparing to train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Previously, when fighting against the Fiendgod Redsnow, Ning had understood that although his body was seemingly impregnable, if he were to run into a True Immortal or Empyrean God, he would probably be destroyed with utter ease. Thus, he had to increase his power as soon as possible. After all, a storm was coming to shake the Three Realms; it was always a good idea to increase his strength when possible.

Since he was about to truly go all-out against the Youngflame clan…how could he not move to improve his odds of survival?

“Glug.” Ning began to swallow down one-spirit pill after another, as quickly as if he were eating peanuts. He began to dissolve them within his body.

To train in the Third Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning had needed to use a total of a hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills.

To train in the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], the cost would be a thousand times as great; a total of a hundred thousand top-grade Immortal-ranked spirit-pills would be needed! This was roughly comparable to a hundred top-grade Pure Yang spirit-pills! If he had to use treasures to trade for them, a single set of Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls would be insufficient; this time, Ning had merely acquired the equivalent of twenty top-grade Pure Yang spirit-pills.

Rumble…

Ning’s body began to rumble without pause. His bones felt as though mountains were smashing into them, and his flesh felt like they were being ground away by two colliding continents. His divine body was being repeatedly enhanced, and it was growing increasingly powerful.

The Fourth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] – Success!

The Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] – Success!

“Whew.” Ning finally came to a halt.

“After using up half the spirit-pills, I’ve finally mastered the Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. The remaining spirit-pills…I should keep them. In a life-and-death battle, elemental ki is used up far too fast; these spirit-pills can be used to replenish my energy. Mmm…my divine body is now comparable to a high-grade Immortal-ranked treasure.” Ning felt as though his kicks and punches now contained incomparably terrifying might.

His divine body was truly like a magic treasure! His speed had also been increased to a truly swift new level.

……

Ning departed from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Although he had only stayed there for a total of two days, his power had skyrocketed in an astonishing manner! He had reached the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] and the Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], as well as fixed his Rahu Bow…and even Uncle White, a master of formations, had increased in power dramatically.

“King Yan’s Estate.”

Ning reached the outside of King Yan’s Estate. This time, he was planning to deal with the Youngflame clan; how could he forget the person who hated the Youngflame clan the most, the one who was willing to sacrifice everything to destroy them…his cousin, Yuchi Xiyue?

He didn’t need to make any requests; he went straight into the King’s estate, and he quickly found Yuchi Xiyue’s.

“Cousin.” Ning and Xiyue were meeting privately within a veranda. With but a though, Ning completely blocked off the surrounding space.

“What is it?” Xiyue, seeing how Ning was acting, couldn’t help but ask this question.

“It is time for the Youngflame clan to pay their debt of blood,” Ning said softly.

Xiyue was completely shocked. She instantly jumped to her feet.

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Chapter 19 – The Sword Pointed at Easthill Commandery

Chapter 19 – The Sword Pointed at Easthill Commandery

Of course Yuchi Xiyue wanted revenge; for the sake of revenge, she would be able to sacrifice everything, even her life! This was because her father, Yuchi Mount, had always dreamed of revenge. She was going to fulfill her father’s dream. For the sake of the Yuchi clan…she would ensure that their blood debt would be repaid!

But she also knew exactly how powerful the Youngflame clan was. Ji Ning had, after all, trained for less than a century; how could he be a match for the Youngflame clan?

“Little brother, don’t go too crazy,” Xiyue said worriedly.

“Cousin, don’t worry; I already have a plan,” Ning said confidently. “Although I’m not confident in being able to kill the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan…I’ll teach them a lesson they’ll never forget.”

Yuchi Xiyue was still very worried. “Are you truly confident?”

“Of course.” Ning nodded.

He already had the power of a supreme Celestial Immortal; he no longer held Patriarch Goldclock and Patriarch Deadwood in any regard. Only Patriarch Infatuation still posed a bit of a threat to him, but despite that, he was now capable of simply standing there and letting Patriarch Infatuation attack as he pleased; his body, now protected by the Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], wouldn’t care about the blows at all.

In addition, this time, he wouldn’t be ambushed; instead, he was going to challenge them, after having made a plethora of preparations!

“Little brother…don’t be in too much of a rush. We really don’t need to rush it,” Xiyue said hurriedly. “We can wait for a while longer; let’s wait until you grow more powerful. I’ve already waited for so many years; there’s no rush. Little brother, I have no other family members left; I truly do not wish to lose you as well.”

“Cousin, am I the rash, impetuous sort?” Ning asked.

Xiyue was startled.

She thought back through her memories…

Although Ning could be quite berserk at times, he handled every matter in quite a competent manner. For example, when he elected to participate in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, many had believed that given he had only trained for thirty years, he should not attend. But in the end? He became the champion of the Conclave!

Last time, he had been ambushed by four mighty Celestial Immortals. He had been completely caught off-guard, which was why he had ended up in such a sorry state! And yet…he still didn’t let the Youngflame clan get what they wanted!

Given that Ning was now making such meticulous plans and preparations, and given that his power had just increased dramatically…he naturally had a fairly high degree of confidence in his plans!

However, there was no such thing as an absolute. Ning wouldn’t dare say that he was 100% confident in his plans. An ancient clan like the Youngflame clan might, for example, suddenly reveal a True Immortal or Empyrean God; at that point, Ning would just stare blankly. Still, based on what Ning knew…the Youngflame clan shouldn’t have any Pure Yang True Immortals or Empyrean Gods.

“You’ve truly decided?” Xiyue looked at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I’ve just come to let you know, cousin, before I actually carry it all out.”

“Little brother, I truly can no longer see through you. Ever since you returned to the world of the Grand Xia…I’ve been unable to see through you. However…Grandfather spoke truly; you are now very powerful.” Xiyue looked at Ning. Gritting her teeth, a hint of fierceness flashed through her eyes as she said, “When you go deal with the Youngflame clan, I shall go with you!”

“You’ll come with me?” Ning was surprised. She was merely a Primal Daoist!

“Little brother, you can go kill the more powerful Immortal cultivators. As for the weaker ones and the mortals…leave all of them to me. In the past, every member of my Yuchi clan, men and women, children and elders, cultivators and mortals…they were all slaughtered. Not a single one of them escaped the butchery.” Xiyue ground her teeth with hatred. “What they did to my Yuchi clan in the past…I’ll repay it unto them!”

“Killing mortals?” Ning shook his head. “No. You are an Immortal cultivator; killing mortals will incur enormous amounts of sin. In addition, the Youngflame clan has simply far too many clansmen. To kill that many mortals…karmic sinflames would instantly descend from the heavens. Given your level of power, the karmic sinflames would instantly roast you to death.”

Those with a low level of sin would be surrounded by a corrosive sin-aura. Those with a high level of sin would be surrounded by the bloody light of sin. For example, eleven of the Twelve Monster-Kings of the Eastern Flows were all surrounded by the bloody light of sin. If one had an even higher level of sin…karmic sinflames would descend! Ordinary Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals would be immediately roasted to death by the descent of karmic sinflames.

Only truly terrifying demons were capable of surviving within karmic sinflames. His cousin was definitely not strong enough to resist karmic sinflames!

“I have many subordinates. I’ll lead them; in fact, I’ll even command a large group of soldiers to come with me.” His cousin gritted her teeth and said, “You kill the strong ones, they can kill the mortals. This was what the Youngflame clan did!”

“Even so…as the commander, a degree of sin will gather around you as well. The Youngflame clan has millions of Immortal cultivators. As for mortals…they number in the hundreds of millions, at least. It’s hard to say exactly how many of them there are. Countless tiny strands of sin will accumulate upon you…and you’ll at least have the bloody light of sin covering your body,” Ning said.

His cousin’s eyes were completely red. “I’m not afraid. I’ve waited far, far too long for this day.”

“There’s no way I can agree.” Ning rose to his feet. “Wait for news from me.”

Swoosh!

Ning soared straight into the air, quickly vanishing from the skies above the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

Xiyue was momentarily startled. She then let out a fierce, frustrated scream. She wanted to go kill!

Swallow Mountain.

Ning led Uncle White back to Swallow Mountain. He also summoned Little Qing to him, and together they went to Mu Northson’s room.

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Northson looked towards Ning, his body shaking, his eyes bloodshot. “Are we going to the Youngflame clan now?”

“Of course. Master has waited for this day for a long, long time,” Little Qing said excitedly. “Master…I wish to go as well.”

Ning frowned. “I thought I told you that you are to stay at Swallow Mountain and guard it.”

“Master, look.”

Little Qing’s body flickered. Instantly, a second white-robed Little Qing appeared next to her. Both of them emanated the aura of a Void-level Earth Immortal.

“I know that you have a Primaltwin…eh? Your Primaltwin has become a Void-level Earth Immortal as well?” Ning said with some surprise. He had many treasures; naturally, he wouldn’t be stingy with them with Little Qing and Uncle White. Uncle White hadn’t created a Primaltwin, because the creation of a Primaltwin required the splitting of one’s soul, causing the power of both souls to start off much lower.

Uncle White knew that Ning was going to deal with the Youngflame clan, and so he wasn’t willing to lower his power. Little Qing, however, was adept at survival to begin with; naturally, she had prepared a Primaltwin long ago. By now, her Primaltwin had also become a Void-level Earth Immortal.

“My Primaltwin can stay here at Swallow Mountain; it’s enough to control the grand formations,” Little Qing said hurriedly. “Master, I’m your spirit-beast. You are going out to do battle; how can I not accompany you? In addition, you don’t need to worry about my safety at all; I’m far faster than you when I use a Greater Spatial Teleportation. You have to use Dao-seals, whereas I can use the technique directly.”

Ning nodded. “Fine! However, you must obey my orders.”

“Of course. You are my master,” Little Qing said with a chortle.

“Mm.” Ning nodded, then looked towards Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother, I need to rest a bit. Tomorrow morning, we’ll head to one of the three commanderies the Youngflame clan controls; Easthill Commandery.”

The Youngflame clan was even more powerful than the Northmont clan; it had three full commanderies. Thus, their headquarters were divided into three parts as well; or at least, that was what the intelligence reports were able to discover. Every single one of the headquarters took up an enormous amount of land, and the number of clansmen numbered in the hundreds of millions! There were more than a million Immortal cultivators in total; this was definitely equivalent to some of the largest clans. Each of the headquarters was comparable in power to the Northmont clan’s headquarters in Stillwater Commandery.

Three great headquarters; Ning was only able to choose one.

“Alright.” A savage light flashed through Northson’s eyes. “Tomorrow. Fine. Tomorrow, then.”

He looked with a bit of worry towards Ning.

“Senior apprentice-brother, if you aren’t confident in carrying it out, don’t go. Don’t go too crazy just because I want to take revenge.” Northson was worried that Ning was being rash.

“My differences with the Youngflame clan are as irreconcilable as water and fire. I was willing to bide my time and endure it, but the Youngflame clan refused to give me time,” Ning said. “In the eyes of the Youngflame clan, I’m a potential threat; they won’t permit me to continue to grow.” The longer Ning lived, the more the Youngflame clan would worry. After all, Ning’s rate of improvement was simply too fast.

“Right.” Northson nodded lightly.

“Take a rest.” Ning laughed, then gently patted Northson on the shoulder. “Get some rest tonight and recover some of your energy. Tomorrow, we’ll truly begin our war against the Youngflame clan. We’ll be facing an ancient clan that has existed for countless years, and all the tricks they have to muster. The number of Immortal cultivators alone is at least more than a million!”

Northson, upon imagining a million cultivators, couldn’t help but feel his heart tremble. Although most likely the vast majority of these cultivators were merely Zifu Disciples…quantity was a quality of its own as well. In addition, this was the headquarters of an entire tribe; it would be surrounded by layers of formations, and even Celestial Immortals who barged in would probably perish. Only Ning, by relying on the Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], would dare to charge straight in!

“Senior apprentice-brother, you have to be careful.” Northson looked at Ning, filled with worry. Although he was going to fight as well…he had already prepared himself mentally for death! In addition, there was an enormous difference in power between himself and those four Celestial Immortals; thus, the high-level fights would primarily depend on Ning’s power.

“Hahaha…” Ning laughed. “Don’t underestimate me, your senior apprentice-brother.”

……

Night. It was as cool as water.

Ning was seated by himself atop the roof, staring dowards the bright moon in the sky.

“Tomorrow, I shall battle against the Youngflame clan.”

“Father. Mother. Just watch and see. One of the ten most powerful clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the Youngflame clan…I’ll rock them from top to bottom,” Ning said softly. He then took a big gulp out of the gourd of wine he was holding in his hands, letting the wine spill out and dribble across his chest. Alas…his father and his mother wouldn’t be able to see any of it.

In the past, his father and his mother hadn’t even wanted for him to go deal with Snowdragon Mountain! Snowdragon Mountain had been destroyed years ago. Nowadays, in Ning’s eyes…it was nothing more than a small local sect. Annihilation of such a sect was simplicity itself.

The Youngflame clan…now that was a truly tough nut to crack!

However, it was nothing more than a tough nut.

Four Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan had acted against him, but hadn’t been able to successfully do anything to him back then…to say nothing of now!

……

The next day. Dawn.

Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Uncle White, and Little Qing all soared into the skies of Swallow Mountain together.

Two youths, a large snowy-white hound, an azure serpent…this was a gathering that looked quite odd, and it was a gathering that was going to venture forth to deal with the ancient Youngflame clan! They were going to charge straight into the headquarters of the Youngflame clan!

“Let’s go.” Ning unleashed his elemental ki, covering everyone with it before performing a void blink.

……

Easthill Commandery. This was an extremely distant commandery that had many mountains and rivers within it. In terms of raw size, it was significantly larger than Stillwater Commandery.

The Oldjade mountain range was the most important mountain range in Easthill Commandery, because this massive mountain range that stretched nearly a million kilometers was one of the three headquarters of the Youngflame clan. There were an unfathomable number of Youngflame clansmen who lived here, with the number of Immortal cultivators numbering over a million. As for the number of formations and restrictions laid down here over the course of countless eons, that was even more unfathomable.

Whoosh.

Four figures suddenly appeared in midair. Two youths, a large snowy-white hound, and an azure serpent.

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Chapter 20 – Old Demon Windraiser

Chapter 20 – Old Demon Windraiser

Ji Ning and the others stared far away at the distant mountain range, which stretched off as far as the eye could see. Although they had yet to enter, they each sensed the waves of power and might emanating from within the mountain range. This was the might of a grand formation that was continuously active, protecting the mountains.

“Senior apprentice-brother, how do we get in?” Mu Northson sent frantically.

Little Qing looked forward, then mumbled to herself, “Countless mortals, over a million Immortal cultivators…who knows how many formations have been set up to protect an ancient headquarters like this one, that has existed for countless eons. The successive generations of Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan have definitely strove to set down many formations. A place like this is like a steel wall. How are we supposed to get inside? What should we do?” Little Qing glanced at the nearby Ning.

“Senior apprentice-brother…” Northson looked towards Ning as well.

In the face of a place like this, they didn’t have any ideas on how to enter.

It was too tightly guarded!

This was a far more tightly guarded place than the Eastwoods mountain range; although this was just one of three bases for the Youngflame clan, it still surpassed the headquarters of the Northmont clan of Stillwater! The Youngflame clan had definitely given birth to a good number of Celestial Immortals, over the passage of countless years from the Fiendgod Era to the present day. The headquarters of such an ancient clan…entering it probably was as dangerous as entering Swallow Mountain, which was guarded by the grand formations of the Mount Innerheart League!

“Of course we can’t force our way in.” Ning shook his head. “It is layered with formations; once we force our way in, we’ll instantly become trapped within the formations.” When Bloodcloud Hall had attempted to assassinate him, Ning had been trapped within the formations of the Eastwoods mountain range; in the end, he had to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal in order to escape.

“Then what should we do?” Northson asked.

“Have you forgotten how I entered the forbidden region?” Ning glanced at Northson.

Northson was startled.

“I’ll use the same method to infiltrate the Oldjade mountain range,” Ning said with a smile. The practitioners of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] were the most mysterious and secretive figures of the entire Three Realms; they were able to use the art to easily slip into Immortal residences or even the Celestial Court.

Just two hours later.

Within Ning’s mobile Immortal estate.

“Spare me, senior. Spare me, senior! If I, Youngflame Blackburn, have offended you in some way, senior, please let me know!” A tall, thin, middle-aged man was staring in terror at the masked, black-robed man before him. He didn’t even think about fighting back…because this person was simply far too powerful.

He had clearly been within a commandery city earlier, but this person had suddenly appeared, completely paralyzing him through just a simple Dao Domain, then drawing him into a mobile Immortal estate.

For his Dao Domain to be so powerful…this person could probably kill him, Youngflame Blackburn, with a single thought.

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead,” the masked, black-robed man said in a gravelly voice.

Blackburn let out a secret sigh of relief. If this mysterious figure truly had killed him right away, that really would’ve been a miserable way to die. He hurriedly said, “Senior, if there’s anything you need, please let me know; this junior shall definitely do everything in my power to accomplish it for you.”

“Oh?” The masked, black-robed figure seemed to chuckle. “I wish to know a few things, so…I wish to examine your memories.”

“Examine my memories?” Blackburn was surprised. He said uneasily, “Senior…”

“I will soulscour you. If you don’t resist, the side effects probably won’t be that bad. If you do, however…I’ll have to use force,” the masked, black-robed man said. “Will you accept it willingly or not?”

Blackburn felt both miserable and helpless. Hesitating for just a fraction of a moment, he gritted his teeth then said, “This junior is willing.”

“Mm.” The masked, black-robed man immediately reached out, pressing his hand against Blackburn’s head, then using the Thousandstar soulscouring technique.

……

In midair.

Ning was standing atop a cloud. He nodded slightly. “The first was a Primal Daoist. Primal Daoists have fairly high statuses within the Youngflame clan and know a decent amount of things. From what I saw…in Easthill Commandery, there is a clear stratification amongst its denizens, as well as many layers of formations. Even a Primal Daoist like Youngflame Blackburn was only permitted to go to some of the regions in the commandery, and he only knew the methods to bypass a few of the formations.”

This soulscouring had only resulted in him learning about part of the grand formations set up in this particular area.

“It seems I need to find more Primal Daoists and do a close investigation.”

Swoosh. Ning immediately used a void blink and disappeared.

……

Ning began to act against a number of Primal Daoists of the Youngflame clan within the Easthill Commandery. Different Primal Daoists had different statuses; some knew many things about the formations protecting their headquarters, while some only knew a little bit! Slowly, Ning began to build a general picture of the formations within the Oldjade mountain range of Easthill Commandery. He conveyed what information he had to Uncle White.

Uncle White was a grandmaster of formations; he would definitely be able to come up with a superior method for breaking in!

……

“Hahaha! You want to soulscour me?” An azure-robed man let out a wild laugh. “As I thought…you are the one the Patriarchs spoke of, yes? Ji Ning!”

“Not good.” The masked, black-robed Primaltwin Ning instantly felt that something was wrong. He immediately willed it…

Whoosh!

A sword-light appeared out of nowhere, piercing straight through the body of the azure-robed man, chopping it in half. The azure-robed man’s Primal Turtle-Snake instantly flew out, but as the sword-light chopped towards it, the Primal Turtle-Snake was shattered as well. The human-shaped soul within began to attempt to leave for reincarnation.

“Do you think that just because you tried to self-detonate, that you would avoid my soulscouring?” Ning held a black jewel in his hand. The black jewel produced a powerful attractive power, drawing the man’s soul inside.

When killing a Primal Daoist and destroying his Primal Turtle-Snake, one would generally destroy the soul as well. However, Ning’s power vastly surpassed his foe’s; he was able to destroy the Primal Turtle-Snake but keep the soul intact. His plan was to collect it then soulscour it.

“Soulscour? Hahaha…” The human-shaped soul of the azure-robed man let out an incomparably wild laugh. His soul began to crack apart…and then it completely shattered and dissipated.

“What?!” A moment later, Ning let out a sigh to himself.

Experts with sufficiently powerful souls were capable of splitting their souls. For example, long ago Ning himself had split his soul to create his Primaltwin…but what this person had just done was to split his soul into multiple pieces, causing it to shatter.

“He actually shattered his own soul.” Ning sighed to himself. “It seems the Youngflame clan does have some extremely loyal clansmen.”

“He was able to guess that I am Ji Ning? He was quite smart.”

Ning didn’t actually feel surprised; this was because he had already soulscoured quite a few Primal Daoists, through which he discovered that the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan had already sent out an order for all members of the Youngflame clan to be extremely careful. They had to keep an eye out for Ji Ning secretly infiltrating their clan!

“Last time, four Celestial Immortals worked together to attack me. Although they failed, they were able to learn that I most likely train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art],” Ning mused to himself. “Practitioners of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] are highly skilled in transformations and subterfuge; it would be strange if the Youngflame clan didn’t take precautions.”

“But so what if they do take precautions? In the Three Realms…practitioners of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] can enter and depart from even places as tightly guarded as the Celestial Court as they so please.”

This was the Dao of a King!

Even though they knew that Ning trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], there was no way they could prevent him from entering the Oldjade mountain range.

But despite that…

Given that the enemy was prepared, it would be harder for him to reach his target.

“The Youngflame is probably already aware of this Primal Daoist’s death. However…he’s just a single person. It shouldn’t be too bad,” Ning mused to himself. The Youngflame clan was an enormous organization; given that this was an era of dangerous undercurrents, the death of a single Primal Daoist shouldn’t be viewed as a major matter. But if two died in a row…this would probably draw attention.

“I’ll leave it at this for now.”

“Uncle white.” The black-robed Ning walked to a hall within his mobile Immortal estate. Within the hall were Uncle White, Mu Northson, and Little Qing.

“How’d it go?” Uncle White looked over.

“Although I carefully compared every person I seized to figures I saw in the intelligence reports of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain…unexpectedly, in the end, I still ran into one that wasn’t afraid of death.” The black-robed Ning shook his head. “That Youngflame Xun committed suicide; I wasn’t even able to forcibly soulscour him.”

“In any large clan, there will always be some who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their clan.” Uncle White nodded.

“In total, I soulscoured eight Primal Daoists. I’ve already acquired quite a bit of information regarding the Easthill Commandery headquarters of the Youngflame clan.” The black-robed Ning said, “As to how we should deal with those formations…that’ll be up to you, Uncle White.”

“Let me think it over.” Uncle White nodded.

The memories of each of the eight Primal Daoists included parts of the formations protecting their clan’s headquarters. Ning recorded everything down onto a jade strip, then handed it to Uncle White.

Uncle White, ruminating through these findings, was able to come to a rough conclusion regarding the formations around the Oldjade mountain range.

……

Within the Oldjade mountain range of the Easthill Commandery.

This mountain range of more than a million kilometers was simply too vast; the mountain range even had some plains, lakes, and a large number of commandery cities within them. There were very, very many commandery cities that took up a hundred or a thousand kilometers, and a large number of ordinary mortals resided within them. Every single city was able to support over ten million people.

Lakes, plains, rivers, mountains…the commandery cities were located everywhere. The Oldjade mountain range was definitely the undisputed terrain of the Youngflame clan!

“Patriarch! Patriarch!” A youth came running towards a palace at high speed. This palace was completely composed of white jade, and it was surrounded by a large number of beautiful maidservants. Each of these maidservants could be described as peerless beauties. Some were so scantily clad, they might as well be naked; one could see their bare bodies through their gauze-like clothes. Some, however, looked like rich noblewomen, while others looked like young maidens…

The youth cleared his throat.

These maids were beauties which the Patriarch had found from throughout the world, then gathered here to serve him and him alone.

This Patriarch…he was a Loose Immortal with a very special status, here in the Oldjade mountain range. He was a Loose Immortal who had lived for more than a million years; Immortal Windraiser. However, outsiders rarely referred to him as ‘Immortal’; most referred to him as that ‘old demon, Windraiser’. He truly was an evil figure.

“What is it?” A black-haired, black-bearded old man was currently cuddling with two beautiful woman, seeming quite pleased and relaxed.

“Patriarch, Third Uncle-Master, Third Uncle-Master, he…he…” The youth hurriedly fell to his knees. He cried out, “Third Uncle-Master died!”

“What?!”

Old Demon Windraiser’s face instantly changed tremendously.

Amongst the Primal Daoists who currently resided within the Youngflame clan’s Easthill Commandery, the apprentice-nephew which Windraiser favored the most was Youngflame Xun. Although Xun wasn’t his disciple, he still viewed him with great favor! In fact, he felt that Youngflame Xun was like a carbon copy of himself when he was young; he stooped to all sorts of vile deeds, but was absolutely and ardently loyal to the Youngflame clan.

In addition, he was also very talented. Thus, Old Demon Windraiser often arranged for Youngflame Xun to handle tasks for him in the outside world; only by experiencing dangers and trials in the outside world could one truly grow, after all. But he didn’t expect that Xun would actually die! As one of the important younger disciples of the clan, he had naturally been given protective treasures…but he had still died…

“Damn. Damn!” Old Demon Windraiser was so angry, he gnashed his teeth.

“Investigate. Investigate!” Old Demon Windraiser bellowed with rage, “Investigate and find out exactly how Youngflame Xun died!”

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Chapter 21 – Kill!

Chapter 21 – Kill!

With the mobile Immortal estate.

Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Uncle White, and Little Qing were gathered together.

“That should more or less be it.” Uncle White nodded lightly after looking once more through at the enormous map placed before him.

“And?” Ning, Northson, and Little Qing were all staring at the enormous map before them, but weren’t able to understand it.

“Their defenses are airtight. There’s no flaws at all.” Uncle White sighed.

“No flaws at all?” Ning was shocked.

“Based on what you found when you did the soulscouring…the Youngflame clan has a total of three headquarters, each of which has more than a hundred Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals.” Uncle White nodded. “This Easthill Commandery alone has more than a hundred Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals scattered around the Oldjade mountain range. They definitely aren’t gathered in one place, where you can destroy them with one blow. They are scattered far apart in different locations, where they protect the countless formations that are present. Thus…it’s extremely difficult to completely destroy the entire Oldjade mountain range!”

Ning frowned. “There’s nothing we can do?”

“No, but…the Easthill mountain range is too big. So, there is something of a weak point,” Uncle White said confidently. “But in truth, it isn’t really much of a weak point.”

Little Qing said impatiently, “Uncle White, what’s the weakness? What have you discovered?”

“The Oldjade mountain range is nearly a million kilometers long. For a giant formation to cover a million kilometers…there’s no way for Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals to activate and sustain a formation of such size,” Uncle White said with a laugh.

Ning’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Are you saying…” Ning revealed a pleased look.

“There’s a limit to the reach of an Immortal’s elemental ki. If they are too far away from the formation-base, they will be completely unable to control it. For example, when we are a million kilometers away from our magic treasures, we are similarly unable to control them,” Uncle White said. “Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, when controlling formations, generally have to be within a hundred thousand kilometers or so; that’s their limit.”

“The Oldjade mountains are so enormous…”

“There’s no way Celestial Immortals can be constantly maintaining a formation; naturally, they would have Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals do it for them! From this, it is very easy to guess that they must have divided the entire Oldjade mountain range into ten or so regions, each of which has around ten or so Immortals that are maintaining the formations,” Uncle White said.

The Oldjade mountains were nearly a million kilometers long, but merely around a hundred thousand kilometers in width.

“There are over a hundred Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals in the Oldjade mountain range, but only a few of them are controlling the formations,” Uncle White said. “What we need to do is find out who is controlling the formations. Once we kill one…for a short period of time, the hundred thousand kilometer region under his control will be temporarily unprotected.”

“However…we’ll need to be fast.”

“That’s because the Celestial Immortals will quickly arrive. I am certain that there are even more powerful formations within the Oldjade mountain range which are controlled by the Celestial Immortals,” Uncle White said. “Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals are only able to cover a fairly small amount of territory, but Celestial Immortals are able to control and protect the entire mountain range!”

Ning, Northson, and Little Qing all nodded.

“According to our intelligence report, the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan generally don’t reside within the headquarters; they are hidden within an unknown area. Once the clan encounters danger, they’ll definitely hurry out to meet it,” Uncle White said. “Thus…as I see it…we should do this…”

Uncle White explained his plain in detail.

Ning originally had a rough plan in mind, but now, based on what they actually faced, it had to change.

Their new plan took form!

“It’ll definitely succeed.” The nearby Little Qing was incomparably excited upon hearing it.

“Let’s make the Youngflame clan feel regret.” Northson’s eyes were filled with savagery.

As for Ning, he laughed and said softly, “Our first target will be the number one figure amongst the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals stationed here in the Oldjade mountain range…that old bastard who has lived for more than a million years…Old Demon Windraiser!”

Dusk.

Ning executed the Seventy-Two Transformations, transforming into a short, pudgy cultivator. This short, pudgy cultivator flew atop a cloud towards the Oldjade mountain range. He carried a talisman on him, causing the formations around the Oldjade mountain range to leave him completely unharmed.

“Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to stealthily and silently kill Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals within the Oldjade mountain range,” Ning mused to himself. “Otherwise…I could ambush them one by one, wiping them all out. Without any Loose Immortals, the entire Oldjade mountain range would be completely defenseless for a period of time.”

“Brother Voidgrace.” As the short, pudgy cultivator flew forward on his cloud, a voice suddenly called to him from afar.

The short, pudgy cultivator turned to look towards the distant. A white-haired elder was flying towards him aboard an Immortal crane. The white-haired elder laughed and said, “Brother voidgrace, long time no see! This old man has wanted to see you quite dearly!”

“You actually want to see my treasure, right?” The short, pudgy cultivator laughed oddly. “Don’t be impatient. This time, I came back on important business. Next time, I’ll definitely bring the treasure.”

“Don’t forget it.” The white-haired elder laughed merrily, then flew away atop his Immortal crane.

The short, pudgy cultivator watched as the white-haired elder departed, then pursed his lips. “Old bastard. I’ll let you live a bit longer…but next time, I’ll wipe you out.”

The short, pudgy cultivator Ning had just transformed into was known as Daoist Voidgrace. He had a belly full of bad designs, and was a sinister, vicious man. Because he was often stationed in the outside world, he was able to procure things that were completely forbidden to be traded in here, such as beautiful women and children, for the cultivators here that wanted them. Daoist Voidgrace would often deliver beauties to his master, Old Demon Windraiser. It was precisely because he was Windraiser’s disciple that Ning chose him to transform into.

Whoosh.

Because he was Old Demon Windraiser’s apprentice, Adept Voidgrace naturally found his path unencumbered and unchallenged as he flew forward.

He soon arrived at that towering palace.

“Adept Voidgrace.”

“Milord.”

The palace was filled with all sorts of peerless beauties. Human beauties, Diremonster beauties…all sorts of beauties. There were barbarian maidens, and there were even noblewomen from the imperial clan…in short, this was an absolute paradise of women! Old Demon Windraiser’s number one vice was lust…and he was extremely long-lived! He had an exceptional status in the entire clan; even the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs viewed him as being extremely important.

“Heh heh…nice…niiiiiice…” While walking over, Daoist Voidgrace chortled merrily.

“Where’s Master?”

“Master is in the Palace of the Spring Sun.”

Although the women all called out to him as he walked past them, after Daoist Voidgrace left, they all revealed looks of disgust.

They all hated this Daoist Voidgrace!

Old Demon Windraiser, at least, could be said to be a towering, dominating figure. This Daoist Voidgrace was nothing more than a petty man! However…Old Demon Windraiser liked this disciple very much.

The Palace of the Spring Sun.

This was a palace that was decorated in an exceedingly lavish manner. Its ceiling was covered with pearls that had been found in the depths of the northern seas. Its corners were decorated with violet bamboo from the southern seas. Well water from the major world of Icesnow flowed throughout the palace, and all sorts of precious treasures could be seen. It was like spring had come, causing all things to bloom. The grass was growing here, next to gurgling creeks.

“Master,” Daoist Voidgrace called out from afar.

“Voidgrace?” At the front of the hall, there was a throne that was so large, it could in truth be described as a giant bed. Old Demon Windraiser was seated atop this bed, with two maids next to him feeding him fruit. When he grew excited, he would pull one of them straight onto the bed and make love to them. He glanced at Daoist Voidgrace, who walked in from afar, then laughed and said, “My dear disciple, why have you come to see your master today?”

Old Demon Windraiser liked this disciple very much. He knew, of course, that Daoist Voidgrace was a petty man…but petty men were easily manipulated and used.

“Your disciple has a major matter to report to you, Master,” Daoist Voidgrace said.

“A major matter?” Old Demon Windraiser laughed. “What major matter?”

Whoosh!

Daoist Voidgrace was standing before the throne. His hands suddenly swelled to more than thirty meters long. A pair of giant palms that were large enough to block out the sun, covered with golden light, slammed straight towards Old Demon Windraiser.

“You…” Old Demon Windraiser was shocked. His body instantly retreated backwards at high speed. At the same time, a series of needles appeared around him. Hundreds of needles appeared, transforming into an enormous circular shield that moved to block. As he retreated backwards…his billowing elemental ki caused both of the beautiful, terrified women to be transformed into meat past.

BOOM!!!!

The two giant golden palms, carrying an aura of unstoppable might, moved as fast as lightning. One of them blasted apart the shield of needles and even shattering many of the actual needles themselves. As for the other giant golden palm, it instantly reached the body of the fleeing Windraiser.

“NO!” Old Demon Windraiser didn’t even have enough time to finish using his Greater Teleportation Dao-seal. A black light had appeared before him, but the golden palm had already reached him.

BOOM.

Everything disintegrated. Even Old Demon Windraiser’s body was instantly reduced to dust. He was deader than dead!

Old Demon Windraiser…had perished!

“Ah?!”

“Flee, quick!”

“Good heavens!”

The other maids in the palace were all completely stunned and terrified. They had never imagined that this Daoist Voidgrace, whom they had always viewed with disdain, would suddenly strike and easily defeat the awe-inspiringly famous legend, Old Demon Windraiser, and slay him.

“Arise!” After instantly killing Old Demon Windraiser, Ning immediately soared into the skies. BOOM! His powerful body was as mighty as a magic treasure; he smashed straight through the ceiling of the Palace of the Spring Sun, reaching the skies.

“DESTROY!”

Ning instantly pulled out an Immortal sword. It was the Thousandbull Sword. “NIGHTRIVER, EMERGE!”

Rumble…

A river that was ten thousand kilometers long instantly covered this wide region, carrying infinite power as it wildly surged forth. It must be understood that under Ning’s control…this Nightriver had even been able to somewhat bind and restrict the Ba-Serpent which Bloodcloud Hall had used to try to assassinate Ning. From this, one could see how powerful it was. Even the slightest bit of power from it could kill an ordinary Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal!

And right now…Ning was activating it and unleashing its full power.

Most importantly of all! The formations around this area had previously been under the control of Old Demon Windraiser; no one had ever dared to cause trouble here, as the area within thousands of kilometers was all part of his territory. Even beyond that range, only Primal Daoists lived in the area. No commoners were qualified to live in this region.

“SWEEP IT ALL AWAY!”

Rumble…

The Nightriver was like a watery dragon, rolling over and over, smashing apart all of the giant mountains and breaking apart the local palaces. In fact, even some of the formation-bases that were hidden deep within the mountains were destroyed.

“BURROW!”

The massive Nightriver dug deep into the ground, causing the earth itself to shudder and tremble. In almost the blink of an eye, the Nightriver had completely overturned the earth within tens of thousands of kilometers around them. All mountains were destroyed, while all plains were rent apart. Every single formation-base here was annihilated…

“I have to do as much damage as I can, in as little time as possible. The Youngflame clan’s counter-attack will arrive soon.” Ning understood this very well. He immediately controlled the massive Nightriver to do more damage. The Nightriver was simply too enormous; it was able to instantly destroy and sweep through a region of ten thousand kilometers, and so it was extremely suited for large-scale destruction.

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Chapter 22 – Karmic Virtue, Karmic Sin

Chapter 22 – Karmic Virtue, Karmic Sin

The Oldjade mountain range was extremely vast, nearly a million kilometers in length; this was comparable to an entire series of minor worlds. For example, the minor world of ‘Earth’ merely had a circumference of around forty thousand kilometers.

Deep within a mountain.

There were three young individuals walking together. One held a longstaff, the second held an greataxe, while the third was carrying a bow.

“During this trial, we definitely must make it into the top ten of Greatape City.” The greataxe-wielding muscular youth was filled with vigor and energy. “Only if we make it into the top ten will we be able to participate in the main competition that spans the entire clan. If we perform well within the main competition, we’ll be able to receive tutelage and assistance from the clan.”

“If we miss a chance like this, we’d have to wait another ten years. We can’t afford to wait.” The skinny youth who was carrying the bow on his back agreed.

“Although we are at the Xiantian level, we are still mortals…only by establishing our Zifu can we be considered true Immortal cultivators.” The black-robed maiden nodded as well.

The Youngflame clan was far too powerful. Its population was simply enormous, and so the internal struggles within the clan were extremely fierce.

“Look, what’s that?” The burly greataxe-wielding youth suddenly raised his head and stared towards the distance with utter astonishment.

“This is…”

“A huge wave…” The skinny youth and the black-robed maiden both stared in astonishment as well.

An enormous wave that seemed to stretch off to infinity was crashing forward. This wave was ten thousand kilometers long; Xiantian lifeforms naturally wouldn’t be able to see its end. Upon seeing this massive wave that was even higher than the entire mountain come crashing towards them, they were completely stupefied!

In the face of such world-breaking power, these three young Xiantian individuals weren’t able to fight back at all.

Boom boom boom boom…

The towering mountain peaks were completely shattered and blown apart by the giant wave.

“No.”

“I can’t accept this. I haven’t even become famous yet.”

“I haven’t avenged my mother yet. I haven’t killed the governor of Greatape City!”

The three of them all had their own dreams and desires.

They had never even left the Oldjade mountain range. For Xiantian lifeforms like them…the furthest they could travel was within a few tens of thousands of kilometers of Greatape City. Naturally…this meant that the ones they had grudges against were also members of the Youngflame clan! Although the top-level Youngflame clansmen, such as the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, were all quite unified, at the low-level there were many internal feuds and grudges.

This was just like China, back during Ning’s previous life on Earth. China was clearly one country, but within that one country, there were countless grudges and debts, loves and hatreds. Thus, once a clan expanded to a certain level, the number of feuds within it would become tremendous.

If a peerless genius was truly produced…then when the peerless genius went to kill his own clansmen for the sake of revenge, the high-level Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of the clan, and perhaps even the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs, would help that peerless genius become famous! This would ensure the genius’ loyalty.

The Youngflame clan had quite a few evildoers within their ranks, but on the surface, at least, the rules of the entire Youngflame clan were that the members of their clan had to be treated kindly. Every single clansmen, including even the most impoverished of them, would receive at least some basic assistance to help them survive. This was to ensure that the clansmen would understand that the clan was good to them; it was only a few enemy clansmen within the clan who treated them poorly!

“No….”

The three youngsters were unwilling to accept this.

Rumble…

The infinitely mighty torrent of water from the Primordial Nightriver swept forward, roaring past them…but a strand of river water actually snaked out in front of it, completely surrounding the three youngsters.

“We…” The three youngsters were completely amazed.

They stared blankly at their surroundings. They were now completely surrounded by that strand of river water; it was as though they were in a little bubble! This bubble of water was protecting the three of them, but outside of it…the infinite Nightriver was wildly smashing and destroying everything, causing mountains to crumble and the earth to shake.

“What sort of power is this? This is our Youngflame clan’s territory. Who? Who is acting against our Youngflame clan?” The three of them knew very well that the headquarters of their clan was an extremely safe place; there was no way a disaster like this could happen. This sort of disaster…perhaps only the terrifying figures spoken of in legends could cause something like this.

“That’s…” The three of them suddenly saw a short, pudgy man who was standing high up in midair. The figure was standing at the very center of the infinite waves, with the aura of a Fiendgod.

The three of them had the feeling that it was this short, pudgy man who was controlling this infinite river.

“If I had this sort of power…” The three of them stared at the surrounding area, where the mountains were crumbling and the earth was breaking apart. This terrifying scene of utter annihilation…although they felt terror in their hearts, they also felt desire.

……

Greatape City. One of the many cities within the Oldjade mountain range.

This was a place where mortals lived. The Youngflame clan was a tightly stratified place; some places were meant for mortals to live in, while other places only Immortal cultivators could venture to. The entire Greatape City had a population of over ten million, including many Xiantian lifeforms, as well as a few dozen Zifu Disciples and a Wanxiang Adept who managed the city.

“Good heavens…”

“Who is doing this?”

“Who dares do this to our Youngflame clan?” On the streets and in the residences of Greatape City, the numerous denizens were staring in utter terror at the enormous wave that was sweeping towards them from the outside. The wave seemed to be as high as the heavens themselves. All of the mountain ranges outside the city were instantly breaking apart, and the earth itself was shuddering and shaking.

The wave instantly swept over this city.

But…a strand of the water of the Nightriver moved to completely cover it, causing the entire city to be protected with a ‘water globe’.

……

If one viewed things from Ning’s standpoint, a city like Greatape City was as unimportant as a toy. Protected by the bubble, it began to sink down into the Nightriver.

Ever since he was young, Ji Ning had been trained by his father to go and kill others. In his youth, he had adventured in the world and engaged in many battles. He naturally wouldn’t show any mercy or soft-heartedness to his enemies in the Youngflame clan. However…those people before him were merely ordinary mortals. When Immortal cultivators killed mortals, they would incur an enormous amount of sin. His Celestial Tribulation would most likely be quite difficult; if he was to kill so many mortals at a time like this, the amount of sin that would swirl around him would most likely reach and utterly terrifying level.

In addition…no matter how much hatred Ning felt, he had his limits.

For example, when he took revenge for Spring Grass all those years ago, Ning had slaughtered River He, but had spared his son.

It was the same principle.

Ning’s pride forbade him slaughtering the countless ordinary mortals of the Youngflame clan.

Will these mortals eventually become Immortal cultivators? Would they become powerful experts, one day?

Let them come! They can come as they please!

If they are able to kill me, Ji Ning, then I have no one to blame but myself! However…once they act against me, I definitely will show no mercy!

……

“A Fiendgod.”

“An Immortal?”

“Good heavens.”

The countless ordinary mortals of the Youngflame clan had escaped this disaster unscathed. They kept their heads raised, watching everything unfold. Upon seeing the short, pudgy man who was commanding the waters of the river, they were filled with the utmost of terror.

After killing Old Demon Windraiser, Ning had immediately begun to destroy the surrounding area, shattering all of the foundation-bases. When he made his move, he had Uncle White, Little Qing, and Mu Northson go to Old Demon Windraiser’s palace. Although the palace had been badly damaged, Uncle White immediately began to lay down formations here. The first thing he did was instantly set up a trapping formation that was ten thousand kilometers in length…and next, he began to add layers of even more formidable formations!

Ning had spared no expense on this trip. He had bought quite a few unique treasures from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, and the expense was no less than the amount he had spent to set up formations for Swallow Mountain.

However, because Uncle White wouldn’t have enough time to set up the formation…Uncle White had chosen formations that could be established in a very short period of time.

Although these formations were inferior to those three supremely savage formations of Swallow Mountain, Uncle White’s scheme still involved setting up ninety-two mighty formations, all of which were within the ten thousand kilometer area. If one didn’t include the three supremely savage formations, not even the formations layout of Swallow Mountain was this insane!

“Quick, flee.”

“Quick!”

Ning didn’t kill the mortals.

However…Ning showed no mercy to the Immortal cultivators. After destroying many of the formation-bases, their side was now able to use void blinks to engage in spatial teleportations! Some Immortal cultivators were fleeing in panic, but most were swept up by the Nightriver. Ning certainly didn’t have the inclination to go and protect those Immortal cultivators.

“Kill, kill, KILL!” Mu Northson was the most savage of all. He was actually the first to charge out of Uncle White’s formations. Commanding the Winged Immortal golem, he unleashed the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds to wildly kill all before him.

Primal Daoists? Wanxiang Adepts? Zifu Disciples?

All members of the Youngflame clan were to die!

Seeing this, Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself…but he didn’t move to stop him. “If Cousin was here, she would also probably act in such a crazed manner. Still…I can’t let junior apprentice-brother kill too many. Sin is already beginning to accumulate around him.” Ning’s divine sense had previously seen that the amount of karmic sin and karmic virtue around Northson was ordinary, but now…a corrosive aura of sin was slowly beginning to manifest.

It must be understood that very, very little sin would accrue from the killing of Immortal cultivators.

However, Northson was simply far too powerful. What he was engaging in was sheer butchery, and so there would still be the accrual of some sin. In addition, given that he was killing so many…the amount of sin surrounding him had increased by quite a bit.

“Junior apprentice-brother is weak. If he accrues too much sin…” Ning willed it, and the waters of the Nightriver became even more ferocious. In fact, they began to intentionally sweep towards the groups of fleeing Immortal cultivators, causing many of them to perish. Ning had always been surrounded by the golden light of karmic virtue, albeit just a little bit. Still, he clearly had reached that level.

Now that Ning was controlling the Nightriver to attack, however…the aura of golden karmic virtue around Ning began to slowly weaken…before eventually transforming into a mere fresh aura of virtue!

The density and range of that fresh aura of virtue was beginning to drop as well.

“Kill, kill, kill…”

Hatred.

Death.

The baleful auras of the slain Immortal cultivators began to swirl around Ning, causing the three Darknorth swords in Ning’s body to absorb them and transform them. When Ning had slaughtered many Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals during his battle at the Eastwoods mountain range, the Darknorth swords had reached a level of power that was comparable to that of top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords. This time, he killed even more Immortal cultivators! However, they were all very weak, and so the amount of baleful aura Ning absorbed from them was even less than the amount he had absorbed from the bronze-armored Fiendguards.

Still…there was a significant drop in Ning’s karmic virtue as he continued to butcher so many Immortal cultivators.

“Where are they? Where’d they go?!” Northson suddenly discovered that there were no more targets near him. Suddenly…he saw a commandery city in the distance, a city which Ning had protected and spared with the Nightriver. A city with many ordinary mortals.

Northson’s eyes were completely bloodshot. He was in a completely berserk mode; he couldn’t even differentiate between mortals and Immortal cultivators right now.

He immediately flew out, planning to continue the slaughter.

“Junior apprentice-brother, those are mortals! Mortals!”

“So what if they are?! Every member of the Youngflame clan deserves to die!” Northson was utterly berserk.

Ning roared back angrily, “If you kill them, karmic sinflames will descend and you will die as well!”

……

When Ning killed Old Demon Windraiser and destroyed the local formation-bases, the many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals in the surrounding areas of the Oldjade mountains had noticed it. They had all activated their own formations, at least ensuring that they could protect their parts of the Oldjade mountain range. The hundred thousand kilometer region that had been controlled by Old Demon Windraiser, however, was completely unprotected. They didn’t have a chance to do anything; the formation-bases had all been destroyed, after all.

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were all hovering in midair within the range of their formations, staring at the distant short, pudgy man who was controlling the Nightriver to destroy the world.

“To act with such madness…it must be Ji Ning. As for that person who is releasing the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds, it must be that ‘Mu Northson’.”

“Attack. Let’s attack!”

“Are we just going to sit here and wait?”

Some of the Loose Immortals were enraged.

“The Patriarchs have already instructed that if Ji Ning comes, we are forbidden from engaging him. We need to protect the clan as best as we can, while everything else will be left to them. I’ve already shattered the talisman; I trust that the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs will soon arrive,” a green-haired Immortal said in a low voice.

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Chapter 23 – The Underground Copper Pillar

Chapter 23 – The Underground Copper Pillar

The western sea. The Seamless Gate’s gathering spot.

Within the grand palace.

The barefoot, loose-haired Celestial Immortal Blackheaven and Celestial Immortal Violetgrass were seated shoulder-to-shoulder at the front of the palace. Many other Celestial Immortals were also seated before them. They were all staring at an enormous mirror within the palace; this mirror was currently reflecting the scenes from the Oldjade mountain range of Easthill Commandery.

“We’ve been searching for a chance to capture this Ji Ning, but who would’ve imagined that he’d go gallivanting off into the Youngflame clan’s base?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven sat there, scratching his foot as he chortled, “It seems as though I won’t be forced to personally handle this puny little Ji Ning after all; the Youngflame clan will be more than enough to deal with him.”

“Will the Youngflame clan be able to get it done? Last time, they were intent on handling him but ended up failing,” the nearby Violetgrass said with a frown.

“The top ten clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty are all extremely powerful.” Blackheaven nodded. “If the Youngflame clan truly was willing to use their full power, going so far as to spare no expenses and even take out their trump card that is meant to only be used when the entire clan is at a critical juncture between life and death…they would definitely be able to suppress a young fellow like him, who isn’t even a Celestial Immortal, despite the fact that he has trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

“Oh?” Violetgrass was surprised.

“Just watch and see.” Blackheaven was extremely confident.

……

Within an ancient tower.

Celestial Immortals Arcanum, Goldclock, Deadwood, Sunfish, and Infatuation were all gathered here.

“There’s something happening at the Easthill Commandery. They’ve asked us for help.” The five Celestial Immortals all sensed it right away.

“At a time like this, the Kindwater clan and the other clans wouldn’t be so foolish as to start a war against us. In addition, the foundation of any clan is their force of Celestial Immortals; killing Immortal cultivators and mortals of our clan makes no difference at all in that regard. Only Ji Ning, who has suffered our assaults and pursuit, would explode forth to take vengeance in this manner.”

“It must be Ji Ning.”

“There’s no question about it.”

Patriarch Arcanum and the others guessed it right away.

Because they had gone to act against Ji Ning, with the intention of not letting him continue to live…Ji Ning himself would definitely reveal his own fangs and launch his own counter-attack.

“We’ve been waiting for him to make his move. For him to attack our territory is equivalent to throwing himself into our hands.”

“Brother Flamefish.”

“Brother Flamefish.”

Celestial Immortal Goldclock and Celestial Immortal Infatuation both called out.

Their voices transmitted to a completely different space. Moments later, a black foggy door appeared next to them, from which flew out a man. It was a man with unkempt red hair and who had some fish scales on his face.

“Brother Flamefish,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation said with a smile, “This time, we’ll have to ask you to maintain control over the grand formation to take care of Ji Ning. The rest of us will coordinate with you.”

“The Three Realms are currently in a state of turmoil, and so Master is busy with important matters,” Celestial Immortal Flamefish said in a low voice. “A puny little Ji Ning has already set back our Youngflame clan multiple times; this is an insult to our Youngflame clan! This time, we must succeed.”

“Right.”

“Of course.”

“We are all aware.”

Each of the others hastened to assent.

Celestial Immortal Flamefish nodded. “Fine. Per our previous discussions…myself, Infatuation, Deadwood, Goldclock, and Sunfish shall join forces. We shall activate and execute the ‘Lesser-Yin Fiendtamer Formation’ to trap Ji Ning. Then, we shall capture him into the divine greatclock and keep him suppressed within it.” 1

“With you taking charge, Brother Flamefish, we shall naturally succeed.”

“Let’s go.”

“Arcanum, you stand guard here.”

Soon, Celestial Immortals Flamefish, Infatuation, Deadwood, Goldclock, and Sunfish all departed via a void blink as they headed towards Easthill Commandery’s Oldjade mountain range.

……

“I’m back.”

In the air above the eastern seas, a spatial rift appeared, followed by the emergence of a white-haired, white-bearded elder.

“I didn’t expect that my true body would be destroyed in a single exchange.” The white-haired, white-bearded elder thought back to what he had seen, to that terrifying palm that had slammed him to death with one blow. “It seems he transformed into Daoist Voidgrace’s appearance to deceive me…it must be that Ji Ning which the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs spoke of.”

This person was Old Demon Windraiser’s Primaltwin!

Old Demon Windraiser was extremely powerful; his true body stood guard over his part of the Oldjade mountain range, enjoying luxury, while his Primaltwin roamed the Three Realms, causing his power to grow even greater.

He had lived for over a million years, yet was still alive. In fact, the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations which he had faced didn’t pose too much of a threat to him.

“Ji Ning, eh?” A fierce light flashed through Old Demon Windraiser’s eyes. “You destroyed my true body…do you think I’ll just let you off?”

Swoosh. Old Demon Windraiser immediately used a void teleport to once more go to the Oldjade mountain range. He was naturally very familiar with the area, and he quickly passed through the layers of formations, arriving at a place where the other Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were congregating.

“Brother Windraiser.”

“Brother Windraiser.”

The other Immortals all addressed him with great courtesy.

Old Demon Windraiser said hurriedly, “I’m ashamed. Ashamed! Ji Ning suddenly attacked, causing my true body to be destroyed in a single clash.”

“It isn’t your fault, brother Windraiser. Ji Ning is extremely powerful; even the Celestial Immortal Patriarchs gave us strict orders against engaging him. For him to be able to kill even someone as strong as you in a single clash…most likely, even if all of us joined forces against him, we would still end up dying. I really wonder what the hell this Ji Ning’s training method is,” a green-haired Immortal said.

“Let him be smug for now. When the Patriarchs arrive…that will be the moment of his demise.”

“The Patriarchs just appeared!”

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals could all sense the spatial ripples. Raising their heads to look, they saw five figures appear in the distance.

“Five Celestial Immortal Patriarchs?”

“Our Youngflame clan actually has five Celestial Immortal Patriarchs?” These Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were incomparably excited. The exact number of Celestial Immortals a clan had was a tightly guarded secret! Prior to this, even the current Godplume Duke, the leader of their clan, only knew of three of them…

“A full five Celestial Immortal Patriarchs are making their move. This Ji Ning is dead for sure.”

All of them waited eagerly.

……

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals only dared to remain in hiding behind the formations. As far as Ning was concerned, they were nothing more than dancing, prancing clowns; he wasn’t worried about them at all. Controlling his massive Nightriver, he continued to cause destruction everywhere. If he was using a magic treasure, he would most likely only be able to destroy around a hundred kilometers or so of land at once, but with the ten thousand kilometer Nightriver at his disposal, he was able to cause devastation on a much wider scale.

“Thankfully, I have the Thousandbull Sword…otherwise, this plan wouldn’t be feasible.” Ning was causing havoc at an extremely fast speed.

Rumble…

Mountains continued to shatter, and the earth continued to break apart.

In addition, some lesser mountain peaks that had been fashioned into formation-bases were pushed away by the Nightriver but did not break apart. The Nightriver was able to discover many formation-bases, all of which Ning retrieved and collected. A grand formation could be destroyed for the lack of a single formation-base. Ning didn’t even know how many formation-bases he collected; most likely, it would be extremely hard for the grand formations to be set up within this hundred thousand kilometer region.

“BOOM!” After a stone disc that was more than three hundred meters long was pulled up…

“Eh? This is…” Ning’s face changed.

Previously, his divine sense had only been able to discover some ordinary rocks and dirt underground. Everything seemed normal. But after that stone disc was pulled away…the scene below the ground completely changed! Clearly, there was a permanent formation stationed underground that could deceive both divine sense and coresense.

Ning’s divine sense could clearly see…

That there was an enormous, fiery red copper pillar buried deep within the earth, nearly three hundred meters thick and much more than a thousand kilometers in length. Because this fiery copper pillar was buried far too deep, Ning’s divine sense was only able to discover a portion of this pillar. The portion that he was able to discover, however, was already more than a thousand kilometers in length!

The fiery copper pillar was covered with an enormous number of runes.

“Now…what’s this?” Ning could sense that this was definitely an extraordinary object. When his divine sense touched it, he couldn’t help but feel his heart clench.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly raised his head.

Five figures suddenly appeared in the air far away.

Ning could no longer spare any time on analyzing the fiery copper pillar. “This fiery copper pillar has been buried underground this entire time, without being taken away. There’s most likely no way to actually take it away! It’s been buried here for who knows how long. There’s no rush for me to investigate it…after I kill these bastards of the Youngflame clan, I’ll come back and secretly investigate the secrets of this fiery copper pillar.”

Whoosh!

As the five Celestial Immortals appeared, Ning immediately ceased causing havoc. He immediately used a void blink to instantly teleport to the location where Old Demon Windraiser’s Palace of the Spring Sun was.

Northson returned to that location as well. The Immortal cultivators were all dead by now. As for the mortals? With Ning blocking him, he finally relented. Next to him was Uncle White and Little Qing.

“Uncle White, how is it?” Ning lowered his head, looking at Uncle White, who was in the shape of a large, snowy-white dog.

“I’ve already finished setting up seventy-one formations,” Uncle White sent spiritually. “Although I haven’t managed to finish setting up all the formations, these seventy-one…should be more than enough.”

“Good.” Ning sent mentally, “Wait for the five Celestial Immortals to enter the formation, then activate it.”

Ning had already transformed into his usual appearance.

The appearance of the Winged Immortal golem guaranteed that there would be no way for him to hide himself this time. In addition, he had already accomplished his goal; he had completely wiped out the entire ‘safe region’ within a hundred thousand kilometers. There was no need at all for him to hide himself anymore.

……

Within the shattered rubble, Ning stood alone. Behind him was the Winged Immortal golem, a large snowy-white hound, and an Azure Skysnake.

“Dogshit Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan!” Ning raised his head, laughing loudly. “Don’t you want to kill me? First you invited Bloodcloud Hall to assassinate me, and then you had four of your Celestial Immortals ambush me. Alas…you are completely useless!”

“What?”

“Four mighty Celestial Immortals ambushed Ji Ning?”

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals who were hidden within the distant formations were all extremely shocked. In their hearts, they viewed their Celestial Immortal Patriarchs as lofty, exalted figures; four of them had ambushed Ji Ning, but had been unable to kill him?

Standing amidst the other Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, Old Demon Windraiser just narrowed his eyes, watching silently.

“Since you desire to kill me so badly…I thought I’d satisfy your desire. I’ve come here, to the territory of your Youngflame clan.” Ning’s voice boomed out, filled with elemental ki as it spread in every direction. Even the countless mortals in the area could hear his voice. “I, Ji Ning, am right now. Dogshit Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan, come and kill me if you can! Ahaha, but you’d best be careful. You want to kill me, but I want to kill you too. Be wary, lest I end up slaughtering all five of you. Ahaha…”

Ning’s laughter rang out, booming in every direction.

“Did he just say, ‘dogshit Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan’?” Countless mortals were completely stunned by what they had just heard.

“Who would dare speak of Celestial Immortals in such a way?”

To mortals, Celestial Immortals were truly unfathomably exalted figures.

It was rare for the entire Grand Xia Dynasty to see the birth of even just a single new Celestial Immortals over the course of a million years. How exalted they were! But this person actually held Celestial Immortals in complete disregard…and even dared to challenge five Celestial Immortals by himself?

‘Be wary, lest I end up slaughtering all five of you!’ These words were far too dominating!

Countless ordinary mortals who heard this felt stunned…and they also felt awe and admiration.

“Will there ever be the day when I, too, would dare speak to Celestial Immortals in such a manner?” The many young men and women of the Youngflame clan knew that this ‘Ji Ning’ was their enemy, their foe…but they still couldn’t help but feel envy.

……

Ning stood there atop the rubble, calling out and cursing with abandon. He was waiting. Waiting for his foes to attack! Ordinary attacks using magic treasures couldn’t possibly be launched from so many thousands of kilometers away. If they wanted to kill him, they’d have to move closer to him! And once they moved into attack range…they would definitely be within the formation region which Uncle White had set up.

The formation region spanned ten thousand kilometers; once it was activated, the entire area within ten thousand kilometers would fall under his control!

Although this was the Youngflame clan’s headquarters…it would also be as if this was Ning’s own fiefdom!

“Come! Come! Attack, you dogshit Celestial Immortals! What, are you afraid of death?” Ning laughed wildly with abandon. And indeed…Fiendgods had extremely loud voices.

1. Shao-Yin here refers to the Lesser Yin of the Four Phases, which are Tai-Yin (Greater Yin, aka the moon), Tai-Yang (Greater Yang, aka the sun), Shao-Yin (lesser Yin), and Shao-Yang (lesser Yang).

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Chapter 24 – The Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation

Chapter 24 – The Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation

High in the air were Celestial Immortals Flamefish, Infatuation, Sunfish, Deadwood, and Goldclock. They stared downwards at the distant youth atop the rubble, each of them filled with rage. This was the headquarters of the Youngflame clan…but now, a region of a hundred thousand kilometers had been completely reduced to rubble.

“The kid is quite brash.” Celestial Immortal Sunfish was so angry, he actually started to laugh.

“Ji Ning…the Netherworld’s gates were barred, but you insisted on barging in!” Celestial Immortal Infatuation’s voice was utterly freezing.

“Kill.”

The five mighty Celestial Immortals were filled with murderous intent. All of them wanted to kill Ning right away! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Their five figures joined together, transforming into a five-colored mountain peak that left behind a scar in the skies as they charged straight for Ning.

Ning, seeing this, felt a surge of joy in his heart.

They really had entered!

Actually, this was something of an obvious ploy, one they were forced to ‘fall’ for.. Ning was standing there in the middle of the ruins of Youngflame clan’s headquarters, calling them out. Were the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan just supposed to stand there and watch? They would probably becoming the laughingstocks of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty! In addition…if they wanted to attack Ning, they had to draw closer to him, into the range of their magical artifact attacks. That meant they had to go within ten thousand kilometers.

“Uncle White, activate the grand formation,” Ning sent mentally.

“Alright.” Uncle White had been waiting this entire time. The five Celestial Immortals, in the form of the five-colored mountain peak, were already less than a thousand kilometers away from Ning.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

At the borders of the region within ten thousand kilometers of Ning, three pillars of light suddenly soared into the heavens. Many other formation-bases began to fire off as well, but they were comparatively smaller in terms of the disturbance caused. In the blink of an eye, the entire region around Ning became completely trapped within a series of giant blurry formations.

“What’s going on?”

“I can’t see anything over there.”

The distant Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals hiding within their formations were startled. Old Demon Windraiser, however, said: “No need to worry. Given the abilities of the five Patriarchs, how can they possibly be concerned with these sorts of puny formations?”

……

Within the formation.

The five Celestial Immortals weren’t worried at all. They had expected all along that Ji Ning had most likely set up formations within the area. Despite that, however…they had still charged in! They didn’t have a choice; there was no way they could continue to let Ji Ning act so wantonly within their headquarters. In addition…they felt certain that any formations he was able to set up within such a short period of time couldn’t be too frightening.

It made sense.

Even though Uncle White was a grandmaster in formations, there was no way he would be able to set up the likes of the three great killing formations of Swallow Mountain within a very short period of time. He had to rely on the fact that they had prepared an enormous amount of precious materials in order to set up many formations that were able to threaten Celestial Immortals. They would win through quantity.

“Coresense is unable to investigate this area.” Celestial Immortal Goldclock swept the area with his gaze while trying to use his coresense to investigate, but still was unable to discover anything.

“It seems that Ji NIng has an extremely formidable formations expert as his assistant.” Celestial Immortal Infatuation was quite calm. “However, all formations have their weak spots. I trust that the formations he was able to set up within such a short period of time couldn’t possibly be too profound. No rush; let’s take it slow, step by step. Let’s just ensure that Ji Ning doesn’t have any chance at all.”

“Infatuation speaks truly.”

The area around the five of them had become transformed into an enormous, five-colored mountain peak. The mountain peak forced the fog away from them, allowing their field of vision to expand to many hundreds of meters.

……

“They are within the formation.” Ning, Northson, Uncle White, and Little Qing were all standing together. Ning had a smile on his face.

“These five Celestial Immortals are currently using the Five Elements Mountainhold Formation,” Uncle White said. “This is a protective formation that is fairly widespread in the Three Realms; five individuals join together, increasing their defensive power by a tremendous amount. If we only rely on the power of this formation…it will be very difficult to do anything to them.”

Ning laughed. “I have no intentions of relying on the formation to kill them. The formation is just meant to help support us! Now that they are trapped inside, they’ll be unable to use their coresense to investigate, while they can only rely on their eyes to see to a distance of hundreds of meters! I can attack when I please and retreat when I please; everything will be under my control. This has already increased my odds of success by quite a few percentage points.”

“Do you need my help?” Northson couldn’t help but ask. He was unable to disguise his desire to kill, and the murderous look in his eyes. It had been Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Goldclock, Arcanum, and Deadwood who had destroyed the soul of his beloved…and three of those four mighty Celestial Immortals were currently present.

“Hide inside the formations; you are not to draw near us. However, you can release the Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds,” Ning said with a laugh. “No need to worry about hitting me; the Thunderwinds are completely incapable of damaging me. They will, however, pose some degree of danger to those five.”

“Alright.” Northson began to wait eagerly.

Ning laughed, then looked towards the five distant Celestial Immortals. “Celestial Immortals, to the Youngflame clan, are their real foundation and source of power, right? If I were to kill a few…the Youngflame clan would definitely feel heartache and regret!”

Whoosh. Ning instantly transformed into a streak of light, charging forward.

The five Celestial Immortals remained quite calm. They continued to maintain their Five Elements Mountainhold Formation while carefully investigating the nearby formations.

“This formation is quite extraordinary.” Celestial Immortal Infatuation began to frown after doing a cursory inspection of the surrounding area. “To defeat it…it isn’t something that we can do in just a day or two.”

“Then what should we do?” Celestial Immortal Goldclock asked impatiently, “The more we delay, the more powers within the Grand Xia Dynasty will know of this matter. Our Youngflame clan will have truly lost face, then!”

“No time to worry about face right now; if we can kill Ji Ning, it will all have been worth it,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation said.

“Don’t be impatient.” Celestial Immortal Flamefish chortled, stroking his long beard. “Ji Ning set down these formations, then acted so brashly towards us, all because he wanted us to enter this region. After we do so…he’ll naturally come to attack us. If not, we could all simply leave by using Greater Teleportation Dao-seals. All we need to do is wait. Ji Ning will quickly come to attack us. By then, we can use our Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation to capture him and suppress him. That’s all there is to it.”

“That makes sense.” Celestial Immortal Sunfish laughed coldly. “The moment he attacks is the moment of his capture. After we capture him, we’ll use Greater Teleportation Dao-seals to leave.”

The five mighty Celestial Immortals continued to fly forward, investigating the surrounding area while waiting for Ji Ning’s arrival.

Suddenly…

A golden hand, fingers formed into the shape of a sword, came chopping out through the mist up ahead. It moved as fast as lightning, instantly arriving before the five Celestial Immortals. The golden sword-fingers were at least three hundred meters long, like the fingers of a true divinity. They carried an unstoppably fierce sword-aura, and with a booming sound stabbed straight into the five-colored mountain peak.

The five-colored mountain peak trembled violently, almost at the point of shattering.

“Careful.”

“Such power.”

“Let’s do it!”

The five mighty Celestial Immortals were all shocked. They didn’t expect that Ning’s very first attack would nearly collapse their defensive formation. All of them immediately began to activate their Immortal energy, quickly stabilizing the five-colored mountain peak.

“You WILL break for me!” A youth suddenly appeared, with three heads and six arms. His six arms chopped through the air, his enormous palms all formed into sword-fingers and being used like swords! These sword-fingers were so powerful, they definitely were not any weaker than the Thousandbull Sword and other Immortal swords of its class.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Six powerful sword-fingers struck towards the five Celestial Immortals in a frenzy.

“Formation!” The scale-faced Celestial Immortal Flamefish let out a loud roar. A black set of chains instantly appeared within his hands. The black chains rapidly grew longer, stretching out to more than three thousand meters. Moments later, the other Celestial Immortals also manifested sets of black chains within their hands as well. There were a total of five black chains, each of which looked absolutely identical…but in truth, the aura of each was completely different.

“FIENDTAMER!” Celestial Immortal Flamefish roared angrily.

Clang clang clang…

The five enormous black chains were like five tentacles that stretched out from some abomination. They covered the skies as they flew forward to entangle Ning. In fact, the five chains even had circles of water that swirled around them.

“What’s this?” Ning was startled. He didn’t dare to be rash, and so he immediately swept out with a palm. The palm rapidly expanded in size to become more than three hundred meters long as it smashed against the thick black chains.

Rumble…

The golden palm collided head-on with the black chains. The powerful collision caused even Ning to be forced three steps back, and each step he took caused the earth beneath him to break apart.

“Capture him!” Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Flamefish, Goldclock, Deadwood, and Sunfish’s eyes were filled with eagerness. The other chains came sweeping towards Ning as well. The chains themselves were magic treasures, and when joined together their power would become even more formidable. In addition, they could twist and turn on themselves, changing their appearance and form. Once one was captured by them, it would be extremely difficult to break free.

During the Fiendgod Era, the Youngflame clan would often use this Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation to capture some particularly powerful Void-level Fiendgods.

Void-level Fiendgods varied in power; some had very high levels of comprehension and were completely comparable to the likes of Celestial Immortal Goldclock or Celestial Immortal Deadwood in power. To capture them, one would have to use an extremely powerful method…and it was this very method that the Youngflame clan was now bringing out once more. This time, to capture Ji Ning! To suppress Ji Ning!

Rumble…

Ning swung his palms, hurriedly knocking back the black chains in succession. His face changed. “What queer chains. When I strike them, they sometimes actually attempt to slip past my hands to try and entangle me. They are magic treasures…but they are quite fast when dodging. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up bound by them.”

“It seems I’ll still have to rely on the power of my magic treasures.”

The Thousandbull Sword suddenly appeared above Ning’s head. Ning let out a loud shout. “NIGHTRIVER, COME FORTH!”

Under Ning’s control, the ten thousand kilometer Nightriver shrank to a size of merely ten kilometers. This ten kilometer Nightriver was like an enormous snake that swirled around him, entangling all things in the surrounding area. Those five black chains naturally were completely entangled by the Nightriver’s waters as well. As the saying goes, when a blade cuts through water, the water will continue to flow; something like the Nightriver was extremely troublesome to deal with.

When Bloodcloud Hall had used the Ba-Serpent Formation in their assassination attempt, they had found the Nightriver’s entanglement to be quite irritating. Although these five chains were somewhat more powerful, they were still entangled and affected, causing their agility and speed to lessen dramatically.

“Ahahaha!” Ning, however, was as unencumbered as a fish in water. The five chains, with their lessened agility, were no match for him at all.

His palms would strike out!

His sword-fingers would blast forth!

The five chains were knocked all over the place, and even the five-colored mountain peak began to tremble. The faces of all of the Celestial Immortals inside began to change.

“Hold.” The five mighty Celestial Immortals instantly began to release an even-greater torrent of their Immortal energy. They began to spend more of their efforts on defense, and a large number of runes began to appear on the surface of the five-colored mountain.

“Why is this Ji Ning so much more powerful than you originally described?” Celestial Immortal Flamefish said with surprise and anger. “How is it that he’s able to so easily resist the Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation? Infatuation, didn’t you say that he was a bit weaker than Goldclock and Deadwood?!”

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Chapter 25 – The Power to Uproot Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 25 – The Power to Uproot Mountains and Rivers

“How should I know?!” Celestial Immortal Infatuation was frantic as well. “The last time we fought with him was just half a month ago. How could I have imagined that his power would suddenly rise by so much?!”

“Last time, he wasn’t even as strong as me.” Celestial Immortal Deadwood nodded. “But this time, he’s able to completely shut down even the Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation. His power has already completely eclipsed that of myself and Goldclock.”

“Yes.” Although Celestial Immortal Goldclock didn’t wish to admit it, the reality of the matter was laid bare before them.

Although their clash had been brief, the five mighty Celestial Immortals had all discovered that Ji Ning’s power was much greater than they had anticipated.

The Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation was indeed very well-suited for capturing foes! Back during the Fiendgod Era, it had been specially designed for capturing Fiendgods; it was indeed quite well-suited for dealing with Ji Ning. But to actually ‘capture’ him…that required the capturing party be able to completely suppress the target in terms of power.

Last time, if these five Celestial Immortals had known that Ji Ning trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], they would’ve invited Celestial Immortal Flamefish to come on that attempt as well. They would’ve succeeded long ago through their usage of the Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation.

But this time…Ning had reached the Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]. His power was clearly on a significantly higher level! He had vaulted from being weaker than Celestial Immortals Deadwood and Goldclock to being more powerful than them! This sudden surge in strength made it so that the Shaoyin Fiendtamer Formation was completely unable to capture Ning.

“Break for me!” Ning was wildly assaulting the five-colored mountain peak. In turn, the five mighty Celestial Immortals were striving to maintain their defensive formation.

“We’re actually being completely held down and beaten upon by him.” Celestial Immortal Goldclock ground his teeth.

“He’s become even more powerful, and he has the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him; he doesn’t even need to defend. All of us are merely Ki Refiners; once he strikes us with his body, we’ll transform into dust,” Celestial Immortal Deadwood said.

“Ugh.” Celestial Immortal Sunfish was enraged as well.

The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was truly a pain in the neck.

Generally speaking, Fiendgods didn’t dare to accept blows from magic treasures head-on. But those who trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] were absolutely able to do so!

“What should we do?” Celestial Immortal Flamefish looked at the other four. “What should we do? Just wait here?”

“How about…let’s leave for now, using a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to depart,” Celestial Immortal Goldclock said. Although they were at a disadvantage, through working together, the five of them were indeed able to flee when they pleased.

“Flee?”

Celestial Immortal Infatuation snorted coldly, “Ji Ning is currently hiding within this great formation; if we want to deal with him, we’ll have to enter it. Since we’ve already entered it…why should we be in a rush to leave it? This time, Ji Ning has attacked the headquarters of our Youngflame clan…and so, the Youngflame clan absolutely must capture Ji Ning. This time, either our Youngflame clan lowers our heads to admit defeat, or Ji Ning admits defeat! From the moment that Ji Ning came to our headquarters, both our sides lost all other options; one side has to admit defeat!”

“We can’t admit defeat,” Celestial Immortal Sunfish said in a low voice. “There is no way our Youngflame clan can admit defeat to Ji Ning.”

“Thus…I am preparing to notify the Ancestor. I will let the Ancestor make the decision,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation sent mentally.

“You are notifying Master?” Celestial Immortal Flamefish was startled…but then he nodded lightly. “Given the current situation, the only option we have is to ask Master to decide.”

“Right.”

“Notify the Ancestor.”

“I concur.”

Celestial Immortals Goldclock, Sunfish, and Deadwood all nodded.

“I’ve already instructed my spirit-beast to go find Arcanum. Arcanum will immediately notify the Ancestor,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation said. Although they were very far away from each other, since he was a Celestial Immortal, he was similarly able to communicate spiritually with his spirit-beast at a tremendous distance.

Ning continued to attack wildly, but was unable to break through the defenses of the five Celestial Immortals. The Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds were wildly attacking as well, and Uncle White even summoned the power of the formation to generate rays of magnetic lances of light to attack…but they were still unable to break the defenses.

“It’s like a turtle-shell.” Ning was forced to temporarily give up, unwilling though he was.

Swoosh.

Ning returned to Uncle White, Little Qing, and Northson’s sides.

“Master, the defenses of these five Celestial Immortals are far too powerful. There’s no way to break through at all. What should we do next?” Little Qing asked with worry.

“What can we do? Wait.” Ning shook his head and sighed. “Celestial Immortals are Celestial Immortals, after all; last time, when they attacked me en masse, I was at a disadvantage. This time, I’ve grown stronger and have the upper hand…but when faced with all five of them, I still find it extremely hard to actually defeat them. To kill a Celestial Immortal is no easy task.”

Ning then laughed. “However, I never believed that I had the power to simply dominate Celestial Immortals.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, you…?” Northson was puzzled.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Ning laughed. “The situation for us, compared to the situation for the Youngflame clan, is completely different. We’ve attacked their headquarters, and have even erected a massive, mighty formation within their headquarters. We’re resting and relaxing here, completely carefree! Given how widespread the intelligence networks of the world of the Grand Xia are, the various major powers will quickly learn of this matter.”

“Every day we spend here is a day where the Youngflame clan will be losing face.”

“If we can spend half a year or a year relaxing here, with the Youngflame clan completely unable to do anything to us, and being forced to just watch us leave at our leisure eventually…the Youngflame clan will turn into a huge joke for the rest of the world!” Ning said, “The Youngflame clan definitely won’t permit this to happen. They’ll definitely come up with a method to deal with me.”

“If they want to continue hiding like a turtle in its shell, there’s nothing I can do about that, of course.”

“But if they want to kill me…they’ll have to take some risks. They’ll have to enter the formation and actively attack me.”

“By attacking me, they’ll be taking risks…and if I can seize the right opportunity, I can kill one of their Celestial Immortals,” Ning said with a laugh. “Once I kill the first one, I’ll have an even better chance of killing the second one.”

“This time…I intend to drag this out with the Youngflame clan as long as I can.”

Battles at the Celestial Immortal level could drag on for many, many years.

Ning had that intention as well; to drag this out as long as possible. If he could drag this out for a year, he would cause the clansmen of the Youngflame clan to all feel nervous and restless. So long as the Youngflame clan made a single misstep, or so long as a single Celestial Immortal overextended himself…then Ning’s chance would come.

……

“Uncle White, every so often, use the formation to assault them. Keep them nervous and force them to keep their formations activated,” Ning suddenly said.

“Ji Ning, you are…?” Uncle White was startled. “Are you planning to take a rest?”

“No.” Ning shook his head and smiled. “I just thought of a big rod.”

“A rod?” They were all puzzled.

“I’m going to leave the formation to take a look. I’ll be back soon,” Ning said with a laugh. “Uncle White, you must be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” Uncle White nodded.

“Master, what sort of a rod are you going to go look at?” Little Qing asked.

“A copper one.” After speaking, Ning quickly departed. He stealthily slipped out of the grand formation, then used a void blink to go deep underground.

Ning knew very well that this battle with the Youngflame clan would most likely be an extremely long once. Since he wouldn’t be able to kill those five Celestial Immortals for now…he might as well make a trip to check out that mysterious underground copper ‘rod’! That enormous copper pillar…immediately after Ning had discovered it, the five mighty Celestial Immortals had arrived, preventing him from investigating it in detail.

Now that the five Celestial Immortals were trapped, there was no one else who could disturb him.

Crackle crackle crackle…

Ning’s divine power agitated the surrounding land, pushing aside the nearby mud and rocks. He stared at the enormous, fiery copper pillar before him. This copper pillar had been here for who-knows how long…but it hadn’t rusted in the slightest. It was covered with runes, and ripples of power were emanating from it.

“Doesn’t seem to be a magic treasure.” Ning came to this private conclusion after investigating it a bit. “Let me try divine sense.”

Ning immediately released his divine sense, attempting to carefully ascertain what the real face of this fiery copper pillar was.

Last time, his divine sense had been unleashed from midair, and so he had only been able to scan a small part of the copper pillar. This time, he was right next to it, deep underground.

“This is…” Ning took a deep breath.

Good heavens!

This fiery copper pillar was nearly three hundred meters wide, but it stretched extremely deep down underground…and at the very bottom of it was an unfathomably massive fire-red stone wall! This fiery stone wall stretched out over ten thousand kilometers in the deep subterranean. There was a limit to how far Ning’s divine sense could stretch. He was only able to scan a portion of this fiery stone wall. As to how large it was exactly…there was no way Ning could find out as well.

As for the giant copper pillar, it was planted firmly into the fiery stone wall!

More than three thousand kilometers of the giant copper pillar jutted out from above the stone wall! As for how deep it was beyond the wall…there was no way to know! This was because Ning’s divine sense was completely unable to penetrate through the fiery stone wall at all.

“This stone wall…” Ning immediately used yet another void blink, teleporting three thousand kilometers downwards. He quickly arrived next to the fiery stone wall.

Ning used his divine power to force aside all the nearby mud, creating an empty region deep underground.

Beneath Ning’s feet was the fiery stone wall. Next to him was the fiery copper pillar.

“What is this thing? Divine sense is unable to see through this fiery stone wall, and elemental ki is unable to bind it.” Ning was completely puzzled. He immediately gave it a hard stomp.

BOOM…

How powerful were Ning’s feet by now? It must be understood that Ning’s hands were comparable to supreme Pure Yang treasures. As for the rest of his body, every other part was comparable to at least a high-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure. The power of his kicks would be able to effortlessly cause mountains to crumble. The enormous, fiery stone wall beneath him, however, just let out a booming sound…and was completely undamaged.

“Weird.” Ning suddenly struck down with a palm as well.

The power of the activated [Starseizing Hand] was incredibly terrifying…but the only result was yet another, deeper booming sound.

“Still nothing?” Ning was truly confused now. “Even Heaven-ranked magic treasures would be completely shattered by my palm blows, yet this fiery stone wall is completely undamaged?”

Ning walked to the enormous copper pillar that was planted firmly into the fiery stone wall.

“So the copper pillar is planted into the stone wall?” Ning carefully made a circle around the giant copper pillar, inspecting it. He pushed aside all of the mud surrounding the three hundred meter thick pillar, only to discover…that this fiery stone wall really did seem to have a three hundred meter opening here. The copper pillar was stuck into the opening and tightly locked to it!

Ning’s divine sense was unable to find the tiniest of seams to penetrate into!

“The copper pillar was planted here…I wonder if it can be pulled out?” Ning mumbled to himself for a moment as he pondered. Screw it. The Youngflame clan hid it here. Ning wasn’t afraid of anything. His body flickered, and with a whoosh, he instantly transformed into a nine hundred meter tall giant.

As a Fiendgod Body Refiner at the Void level, upon using the Heavenly Transformation divine ability, Ning’s maximum size was actually three thousand meters.

As a nine hundred meter tall giant, his two hands were able to effortlessly clasp around the enormous copper pillar.

“Come OUT!” Ning pulled, hard.

How much power did this pull have, coming from a nine hundred meter tall giant?

Alas…it didn’t budge at all!

“[Starseizing Hand]!” Ning stared for a moment, then the divine tattoos of the [Starseizing Hand] began to flow across his hands. His power exploded dramatically, and his pulling strength increased greatly as well. He now had what felt like limitless strength, capable of uprooting mountains and rivers…

Rumble…

Accompanied by a thunderous sound, the enormous copper pillar actually began to rise slightly. When it did, all sorts of grinding sounds could be heard from deep below the stone wall, at the points where the stone wall and the copper pillar were joined together. In fact, a rumbling sound that sounded like the heavens were breaking apart could be heard as well.

……

In a very distant world.

A man-shaped creature with scales on his face, a single horn on his forehead, and a body covered by azure flames suddenly opened his eyes. Boundless rage could be seen in his gaze.

“Who?”

“Who dares…WHO DARES TOUCH MY INFINITY FURNACE?!”

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Chapter 26 – The Deep Gorge

Chapter 26 – The Deep Gorge

In front of the horned, human-shaped creature lay a massive aberration that was like a mountain-island…an armored insect-type aberration.. This bug had a triangular head which glowed with with a bronze light, making it look as though it was metallic. Its sharp fangs were clearly visible within its savage-looking mouth, and it also had sixteen knife-like legs.

This insect aberration had an aura of tremendous power, and surges of a gray aura were constantly wafting off of its body. It was simply too enormous; its body alone was nearly thirty thousand meters in length.

“Good boy.” The horned humanoid immediately opened his mouth.

Whoosh!

The utterly massive, terrifying insect actually began to shrink at a rapid pace, becoming a tiny little dot that flew straight into the mouth of the horned humanoid.

“Ancestor.”

“Master.”

Two figures instantly flew over; one a bald, black-robed man, the other a woman with dazzling golden hair. These two Celestial Immortals were acting extraordinarily subservient; they knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful this horned humanoid before them was! This was the true ancestor and patriarch of the entire Youngflame clan. The reason why the Youngflame clan had refused to bow their heads towards the Kindwater clan and instead fought with them for so many years, despite the fact that the Kindwater clan had an Empyrean God, was precisely because the Youngflame clan had the Ancestor behind them!

“Come. Accompany me on a trip to the Oldjade mountain range.” The horned humanoid had an ugly look on his face. “I want to see who it is that dares touch my things.”

“Yes,” the two Celestial Immortals said respectfully.

……

As Ji Ning was pulling up the fiery copper pillar, Patriarch Arcanum was quietly standing guard within a distant tower. He had been seated in the lotus position, but his face suddenly changed. He opened his eyes wide in terror and shock. “The Infinity Furnace…who dares disturb the Infinity Furnace? Can it be Ji Ning? But, but…”

……

Within the Oldjade mountain range. Within the massive, ten thousand kilometer formation which Uncle White had set up.

The five mighty Celestial Immortals trapped within were originally quite patient, but upon Ning beginning to uproot the fiery copper pillar…

“Not good!”

“The Infinity Furnace!”

“It must be Ji Ning!”

Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Goldclock, Sunfish, Deadwood, and Flamefish all had completely different looks on their faces now.

The copper Infinity Furnace was simply far too important to them. If Celestial Immortals were one of the pillars of the Youngflame clan, the Infinity Furnace would be one of the other pillars! The secrets of the Infinity Furnace…not even Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals knew about them. However, all of the Celestial Immortals within the clan did know, and all of them had left behind their own seals and runes upon it.

So long as anyone began to open the Infinity Furnace, they would immediately know!

“No wonder Ji Ning stopped attacking us. He discovered the Infinity Furnace! He must have found it when he was destroying that earlier area.”

“Quick, let’s go stop him.”

“We can’t let him open the Infinity Furnace.”

The five mighty Celestial Immortals didn’t hesitate at all; Celestial Immortal Infatuation waved his hand, and he instantly collected the other four Celestial Immortals. And then, he disappeared as well, leaving behind only a mobile Immortal estate in midair.

Although Uncle White’s formation-based attacks and Mu Northson’s Seven Ruinous Thunderwinds were all quite formidable, they weren’t able to destroy this mobile Immortal estate.

Rumble…

After the storm of attacks passed…the five mighty Celestial Immortals were gone. The mobile Immortal estate landed on the ground.

“Hmph.” Little Qing blinked forward, appearing before the mobile Immortal estate. Stretching out her hand, she grabbed it and immediately began to forcibly bind it to herself. She called out, “Those five Celestial Immortals slipped away…what should we do?”

“If they slipped away, they slipped away. We are here in the headquarters of the Youngflame clan; they won’t just sit and watch as we relax here. They’ll definitely come again.” Uncle White was quite calm.

Little Qing and Uncle White both immediately sent spiritual messages to Ning, alerting him of this.

……

Deep underground.

The enormous nine hundred meter tall Ji Ning was standing atop the fiery stone cliff while tugging out the giant copper pillar at rapid speed. Rumble…with each pull, the copper tube was lifted up nearly six hundred meters! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning continued to pull upwards rapidly, while more and more of the copper pillar began to emerge. “I want to see how damn long this copper pillar is, and what’s behind this fiery stone wall.”

As Ning saw it, once he pulled out the copper pillar, he would be able to use his divine sense to investigate the enormous hole that would be left behind.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned. He could sense a spatial ripple, an extremely powerful spatial ripple.

“Greater Teleportation.” Ning immediately recognized it.

Just a few dozen kilmeters away from Ning, amidst the earth and rubble, Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Deadwood, Flamefish, and the other two all simultaneously appeared. They were all utterly enraged. Around them circled that enormous five-colored mountain peak, and with a boom, they quickly began to charge towards Ning, the five-colored mountain peak crushing through all obstacles before them.

Just as they got close to Ning…

“Attack!” Celestial Immortal Infatuation gave the order. Whoosh whoosh whoosh…instantly, the five enormous chains shot out like Flood Dragons, tearing through all obstacles as they swept towards Ji Ning, who was still pulling at the fiery copper pillar.

“Hmph.” Ning just smirked. “Three Heads, Six Arms! Thousandbull Sword, let the Nightriver emerge!”

Instantly, two more arms grew out from Ning’s body, to join the two arms that were being used to pull at the copper pillar. The Thousandbull Sword appeared above his head as well, and the awe-inspiring Nightriver also emerged. The Nightriver instantly and completely submerged everything nearby, causing the five dragon-like chains to seem to have become mired in quicksand. At the same time, Ning’s four arms demonstrated tremendous power as he completely suppressed the assaults of the chains.

“Kill him!”

“Stop him!”

The five Celestial Immortals, upon seeing that the Shaoyin Demontamer Formation wasn’t powerful enough, temporarily gave up that idea for now. After all, their current goal wasn’t to trap him; it was to prevent him from pulling out the pillar! Thus, they all used various spells, magic treasures, and other abilities to that effect.

One tendril after another appeared, slithering towards Ning like giant serpents!

An enormous fiery phoenix appeared, charging towards Ning.

A golden greatclock appeared in midair, ringing out and sending waves of power towards Ning.

“Is that all you have?”

Ning completely ignored these attacks; in fact, he actually grew even more excited. “As soon as I started tugging at this copper pillar, those five Celestial Immortals immediately teleported over here. They were clearly trapped within the formation; how did they know that I was here pulling the pillar? This pillar must be covered with various seals, runes, and restrictive spells, causing them to immediately know about this.”

“For them to attack me in such a berserk manner shows that they are truly unwilling for the copper pillar to be uprooted,” Ning guessed to himself.

The more his enemies feared an action, the more insistent he could be on carrying it out!

Many magic spells and treasures flew towards Ning, but Ning allowed all of the attacks to land on his body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The surrounding earth and rocks were all blasted apart as a wave of power spread out towards every direction. Everything within a thousand kilometers was instantly transformed into ash, while the ground within ten thousand kilometers began to crack and shatter. In fact, the cracks spread all the way from the underground area to the surface, forming an enormously deep gorge that was nearly ten thousand kilometers deep! The earth and rocks here were quite ordinary, after all; how could they withstand the frenzied attacks of five mighty Celestial Immortals?

This was the power of Celestial Immortals!

Just the collateral damage from a battle between the five Celestial Immortals and Ji Ning would generate a gorge that was ten thousand kilometers deep!

Ning, however, just let the attacks land; he even allowed those vines to coil around his body. Ning felt nothing but disdain for it all!

His body now had the power of the Fifth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; these attacks did nothing but tickle him! If he wasn’t currently holding onto that copper pillar, then he’d have to spend some of his energy in dealing with the vines and ripping them apart. Even before Ning made his breakthrough, he was capable of breaking apart those vines, to say nothing of now, when his strength had vastly increased.

And since he actually WAS holding onto the copper pillar…if they wanted to pull them away, they’d have to pull the copper pillar away along with him!

“Get in here!” Patriarch Goldclock let out an angry roar. The golden greatclock was giving birth to unearthly ripples of attractive power, attempting to draw Ning inside it.

Ning, however, just tightly clutched the copper pillar, continuing to pull ilt upwards!

You want to pull me away? Then you’ll have to pull out the copper pillar along with me! The attractive power of the golden clock actually just slightly hastened the rate at which the copper pillar was being pulled out.

“I can’t stop him.”

“He’s completely ignoring our attacks. He’s even able to ignore the vines! All of his attention is focused on pulling out the copper pillar.” Celestial Immortal Goldclock sent frantically, “What should we do?!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The copper pillar was still being pulled up at a fast, rhythmic pace. With each pull, another six hundred meters of it was pulled out. Ning’s pulling speed was incredibly fast; in just this short exchange of attacks, Ning had already pulled out another thirty thousand meters. But this pillar was simply too enormously long!

“Don’t attack him,” Celestial Immortal hurriedly ordered mentally. “Let’s bind the pillar. Let’s attack the pillar and use all our might to prevent it from going up any further.”

“Alright.”

“Right, we only need to stop the copper pillar from being pulled out.”

Earlier, the Celestial Immortals had been in a panic; upon seeing Ning rapidly pull out the copper pillar, they had only thought to attack him. They had forgotten that preventing the pillar from coming out would serve the same effect.

The five Celestial Immortals now completely ignored Ning as they hurriedly flew towards the top of the copper pillar. They wanted to use a spatial teleportation to go there faster, but the surrounding area, within the range of Ning’s divine sense, had long ago been completely spacelocked. They had no choice but to fly upwards, but flying didn’t take significantly more time than using a Greater Teleportation.

In that tiny bit of extra time, however…Ning was able to pull out another thirty thousand meters of the pillar. This copper pillar was simply too massive; before he had started to pull, Ning had already seen three thousand kilometers of it!

“STOP!” Celestial Immortal Deadwood unleashed his many vines, which rapidly began to wrap around the copper pillar, generating an astonishing repulsive force.

“STOP!” Celestial Immortal Goldclock controlled his divine greatclock, sending waves of power smashing downwards on the very top of the copper pillar.

“STOP!” Celestial Immortals Flamefish, Infatuation, and Sunfish all wildly launched attacks against the top of the tower, seeking to press it downwards.

“Hahaha…” Although Ning could sense the waves of pressure slamming down from above, he began to laugh even more happily. This was because, now that the five Celestial Immortals were no longer attacking him, all six of Ning’s arms were temporarily freed up to focus on uprooting the copper pillar.

Ning’s physical strength was simply too enormous. With six arms pulling together at the same time…not even the combined efforts of the five Celestial Immortals were able to keep the pillar down.

In the blink of an eye, Ning had pulled out yet another thirty thousand meters.

Thud! Thud! Thud! The fiery stone wall beneath Ning’s feet actually began to rumble and shudder, as though something was slamming against it. At the same time, the countless runes that were covering the fiery stone wall began to flicker and flash.

“Not good. Ji Ning has pulled out too much of the copper pillar; the suppressive runes are beginning to destabilize.” Celestial Immortal Infatuation and the other four Celestial Immortals began to grow frantic.

“This Ji Ning’s strength is too great; the five of us are actually unable to suppress him.”

In terms of raw strength…once the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] was completely unleashed, Ning’s raw physical strength vastly outstretched the strength of the five Celestial Immortals.

In terms of comparing magic treasures…Ning’s six hands were comparable to supreme Pure Yang treasures.

How could the five of them possibly suppress the pillar?

“What should we do? If this continues, there will be a huge problem.” Celestial Immortal Goldclock was beginning to panic.

“Hahaha, I knew something was strange here. The more afraid you are, the more I want to pull this thing out.” Upon seeing the countless runes flashing and flickering atop the enormous fiery stone wall beneath his feet, and upon hearing the series of thudding sounds, Ning grew even more eager to see what would happen.

“Eh?” Suddenly, all five of the Celestial Immortals, as well as the pillar-uprooting Ji Ning, could sense a spatial ripple come from up above them.

It was Greater Teleportation!

“The Ancestor has arrived.” The five Celestial Immortals revealed looks of delight and joy.

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Chapter 27 – The Youngflame Clan’s Founder

Chapter 27 – The Youngflame Clan’s Founder

Four figures appeared in the air above the deep gorge within the Oldjade mountain range. The leader was a golden-robed man with a single horn, whose gaze was as cold as icy water. Behind him stood three other figures; a bald, black-robed man named Celestial Immortal Blackrain, a golden-haired woman named Celestial Immortal Goldcloud, and Celestial Immortal Arcanum.

The three mighty Celestial Immortals were all obediently following behind this individual.

“Who is that horned man?”

“Isn’t that Patriarch Arcanum? Why is Patriarch Arcanum following behind that man so respectfully? The two who are standing next to Patriarch Arcanum are also acting with great respect, and their auras seem to be very great as well; they should also be at the Celestial Immortal level.”

The Loose Immortals of the Youngflame clan, hidden away and watching from within their distant formations, were all rather dazed.

They had just seen five Celestial Immortals appear. And now…they saw four more!

They recognized Patriarch Arcanum; he had an extremely exalted status within the Youngflame clan, and generally speaking they would be able to occasionally interact with him in some manner. Right now, however, Patriarch Arcanum was obediently standing behind the horned man, and the two other Celestial Immortals with him were doing the same. This caused all sorts of speculations to run rampant through their minds.

“Can it be that this horned man is the true, actual supreme power of our Youngflame clan?”

“There were five Celestial Immortals earlier; now, four more have appeared. Can it be that our Youngflame clan actually has nine Celestial Immortals? We’re actually this powerful!? Or perhaps the horned man isn’t a Celestial Immortal; is he one of those legendary Empyrean Gods or True Immortals?”

All sorts of thoughts and speculations flashed through their minds, causing these Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the Youngflame clan who were watching to feel extremely nervous.

……

The horned, golden-robed man and the three Celestial Immortals with him stared downwards. They were able to see that fiery copper pillar located at the bottom of the deep gorge. Next to the pillar were five Celestial Immortals who were assaulting it, trying to slow it down. At the very bottom of the pillar…there was a nine hundred meter tall Ji Ning who was using six arms to tug at the pillar, wildly trying to uproot it.

“Damn him, he’s moving my furnace.” The horned, golden-robed man’s face was sinister. “All of you, attack to suppress and press down the copper pillar.”

“Yes.”

The three Celestial Immortals under his command, Goldcloud, Blackrain, and Arcanum, simultaneously assented and began to fly downwards.

As for the horned, golden-robed man, he opened his mouth.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three tiny black dots flew out, and as they did, they immediately expanded. Instantly, they transformed into a trio of terrifying aberrations that were more than thirty thousand meters long. One of them was the armored insect aberration that had sixteen knife-like legs. A second looked like a gigantic rhinoceros that had unbelievably thick skin…but on its back it had a total of twelve pairs of wings. The final creature was a viper whose body was covered with circles of black tattoos. The tattoos were extremely beautiful, and at the head of the viper, they actually came together to form the tattoo of a crown.

The horned, golden-robed man was seated atop the back of the winged rhinoceros, and he directed the three massive aberrations to move downwards, as fast as lightning.

THUD! THUD! THUD! A series of massive thudding sounds could be heard from deep within the fiery stone wall.

Ning continued to focus all his efforts on pulling up that giant copper pillar. The giant copper pillar rose up rapidly, and the more of it Ning pulled out, the more brilliant became the glow of the countless runes that had appeared on the fiery stone wall beneath Ning’s feet. However, they were also beginning to flicker…and the thudding sounds began to speed up as well.

“Eh?” As Ning pulled upwards, Ning suddenly had the feeling as though deep below this enormous copper pillar, on the other side of the massive fiery stone wall, a power was beginning to awaken and grow stronger. It was as though some sort of terrifying behemoth was struggling to push up the pillar, attempting to shove it higher!

The more Ning pulled out, the more power began to gather in the deepest depths, helping push the pillar upwards nonstop. This made it easier and easier for Ning to pull it out.

“Don’t act against Ji Ning. It’s useless.” Celestial Immortal Infatuation, upon seeing Celestial Immortal Arcanum and the other two arrive, instantly sent a frantic mental message to them. “Ji Ning has the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him; we’re completely unable to wound him. He also has a deathgrip around the copper pillar; we’re completely unable to dislodge him. What we need to do right now is to stop that copper pillar from rising up.”

“Right.” The three Celestial Immortals who had arrived all understood this right away. They all each began to use their own techniques to push downwards at the massive copper pillar.

……

“Eh?” The enormous six-armed Ning, nine hundred meters tall and located more than three thousand kilometers away from those eight Celestial Immortals, raised his head to give them a glance. Ning’s twin eyes were blazing with torch-light, and he was able to see everything with perfect clarity. He saw Celestial Immortal Arcanum and the other two join the fray as well, and also saw those three terrifying aberrations fly downwards, as well as that horned, golden-robed individual seated atop the back of the flying rhinoceros.

“More and more are coming.” Ning cracked his lips wide with a grin. “This Youngflame clan really is quite powerful. An ancient clan that ranks as one of the top ten of the Grand Xia Dynasty…it really is quite extraordinary. It seems I’ve really kicked over the hornet’s nest this time. The Youngflame clan is starting to panic.”

Indeed; to the Youngflame clan, ordinary clansmen would die out and be replaced every few centuries just through aging! To the clan, ordinary clansmen and ordinary cultivators weren’t that important; even if all of the people within the Oldjade mountain range perished, it would at most represent a loss of face for the clan. It wouldn’t actually affect their total power much; after all, they had two other headquarters! They could let the people in those two other headquarters replenish their losses and once more occupy the entire Oldjade mountain range.

In addition, aside from their three main headquarters, the Youngflame clan also was in command of many minor worlds. Their bloodline and their clan was spread extremely wide; there was no need for them to worry about their clan being wiped out.

In truth…the Ancestor probably wouldn’t even be willing to come here, if it was simply a matter of the Oldjade mountain range being destroyed.

But Ji Ning had made a move on the Infinity Furnace! This threatened one of the foundations of the Youngflame clan, and so even the Ancestor could no longer ignore it.

“So what if there are eight Celestial Immortals here? They still can’t stop me.” Ning continued to quickly pull out the copper pillar. In truth, the suppressive power unleashed by the eight Celestial Immortals was extremely strong, but each time Ning pulled out more of the copper pillar, the power pushing upwards from below the pillar grew increasingly strong. In fact, the pushing power was almost comparable to Ning’s pulling power by now!

Thus, Ning actually found it even easier now than he had before, despite the fact that eight Celestial Immortals had just joined forces.

BOOM!

The first of the three aberrations to fly downwards was that enormous armored insect. It completely wrapped its sixteen knife-legs around the fiery copper pillar! To this massive armored insect that was more than thirty thousand meters long, the fiery copper pillar, which was merely three hundred meters thick, was actually quite slender and thin. The terrifying strength of the armored insect caused Ning to actually sense the copper pillar sink down slightly!

“This aberration has tremendous power; if I didn’t use [Three Heads, Six Arms], I would probably actually be weaker than it in terms of strength.” Ning couldn’t help but feel surprised as he looked at the armored insect.

Whoosh!

Next came the thirty thousand meter black serpent. It looped and coiled itself around the fiery copper pillar. Instantly, a second surge of power that was no weaker than that of the power of the armored insect came pressing down, causing Ning to feel that the pillar had grown even heavier.

THUD! THUD! THUD! Ning could sense the thudding sounds coming from deep below the fiery stone wall beneath his feet were beginning to increase even more in pace. The power below the copper pillar was still gaining in power…and by now, its power had completely eclipised Ji Ning’s. With the aid of this power…Ning was still able to continue pulling the copper pillar up!

ROAAAAR! One of the massive hooves of the winged rhinoceros slammed down directly against the very top of the copper pillar, instantly causing the entire copper pillar to grow even heavier.

“That flying rhinoceros aberration…its strength is actually even greater than that of the black snake and the strange insect?” Ning was shocked. “Even when I use the [Starseizing Hand] with six arms, my power would most likely only be on par with that rhinoceros aberration.”

Ning tightly clutched the copper pillar. He could sense the power below the copper pillar growing increasingly savage; in fact, it was almost equal to and achieved a balance with the pressuring force from above that was seeking to push the pillar down. As for Ning…he was the tiebreaker that broke the balance between these two powers.

“Come out!” Ning’s six arms exerted their full power; by himself, he was already comparable to the eight Celestial Immortals above him in strength, and was comparable to the flying rhinoceros, the most physically strong creature on the other side.

“What?!”

The face of the horned, golden-robed man seated on the back of the flying rhinoceros completely changed. The Celestial Immortals under his command were all Ki Refiners; in this sort of competition of raw strength, they were innately at a disadvantage! But the three aberrations he controlled were far more powerful in raw strength; he had thought that with their appearance, the pillar would be effortlessly pushed down.

……

The western sea of the world of the Grand Xia. The headquarters of the Seamless Gate.

“Ahahaha, Immortal Venomfreak is in for some trouble now!” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven roared with laughter, waving his hands and feet about in delight.

“So this is the founding father of the Youngflame clan?” The nearby Violetgrass stared curiously towards the horned, golden-robed man. Although she had heard of the founder before, she knew very little about him.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven laughed, then nodded. “Right. This is the founder of the Youngflame clan. Back in the era of Pangu’s World…there was an extremely powerful clan known as the ‘Godfire’ clan. This was a clan that was protected by a Daofather; this clan was one of the most supreme clans amongst the many clans of the world. A woman of this clan was raped by a Fiendgod, and she gave birth to a child that had the bloodline and lineage of that Fiendgod. This child was born looking like a hideous freak, more monster than man. Thus, he was ostracized by his clan. As a result, he never felt as though he was a member of the Godfire clan. He long ago departed from the clan, establishing his own Youngflame clan!”

“This ugly child was the founder of the Youngflame clan…Youngflame Freak. An eccentric, cautious, sinister, and truly crafty freak.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said in a low voice, “Although he is ‘only’ a Celestial Immortal…even I am unwilling to make an enemy of him.”

Violetgrass nodded lightly.

Naturally, she had heard of some of the legends of Immortal Venomfreak.

Within the Three Realms, there were fairly few Pure Yang True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, after all; the likes of Patriarch Lu, also known as Lu Dongbin, and other similarly formidable members of the Three Realms were people that even Celestial Immortals had to receive with tremendous respect. True Immortals and Empyrean Gods were simply far, far too few in number. By comparison, there were many more Celestial Immortals, and amongst them were some truly monstrous freaks. Although it was extremely hard for a Celestial Immortal to break through to the True Immortal level, these Celestial Immortals had reputations that were not one whit inferior to the reputation of most True Immortals or Empyrean Gods.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was one such figure!

Immortal Venomfreak was another!

“This Venomfreak has many clones. Although every single clone has fairly average power…” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven sighed. “Because of how many clones he has, it is almost completely impossible to kill him. For example, this ‘Venomfreak’ before us…he’s nothing more than a single one of the clones.”

“Venomfreak’s power in battle is ordinary, but his venomous insects are far too dangerous. His abilities in raising venomous insects can be considered amongst the best in the Three Realms. I really wonder where he found this sort of a legacy.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven sighed. “These three insects that we are seeing…each of them has combat power comparable to a supreme Celestial Immortal. In addition, these insects have no fear of death, and so they are even more terrifying than actual Celestial Immortals. Thus…even back during the era of Pangu’s World, Immortal Venomfreak was famous for being extremely difficult to deal with. Killing him would be very difficult, unless a Daofather or comparable power was to seek out and destroy every single one of his clones. A few of his insects have died, but with the passage of time, he’s been able to produce other terrifyingly strong insects as well.”

“Thus…we should ideally try to split Immortal Venomfreak from the Xia Emperor’s side and pull him over to ours,” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said. “He will prove of tremendous use to us.”

……

This eccentric, cautious, sinister, and truly crafty golden-robed figure stared downwards. Upon seeing that his three insects were unable to prevent the copper pillar from being pulled upwards, he began to grow frantic. He immediately sent a message with his coresense: “Ji Ning, brat, if you don’t want to die, then stop right now!”

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Chapter 28 – Charging Out of the Prison

Chapter 28 – Charging Out of the Prison

“Die? From what, those three aberrations of yours?” The nine hundred meter tall giant, Ji Ning, roared with laughter. He continued to furiously pull up the copper pillar, and the force coming from down beneath it continued to strengthen, making Ning’s task easier and easier.

“You…!”

The horned, golden-robed man was filled with utter rage. Because of the caution that had been bred into him during the era of Pangu’s World, he never carried all his aberrations on a particular clone! This particularly clone carried three aberrations, as it was meant to protect the clan; the other clones were secreted throughout the Three Realms, and they naturally had insectoid aberrations of their own. This caused the horned, golden-robed man to feel extremely angry; if all of his aberrations were here, he would probably be able to effortlessly press down the copper pillar.

However…keeping his insectoid aberrations was an ironclad rule he had set for himself! It was the main reason why he had been able to survive through so many countless ages! He would rather pay an enormous price than to violate this ironclad rule.

“Hmph. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].” The horned, golden-robed man sent an angry mental message, roaring, “Although the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], you haven’t even overcome your Celestial Tribulation. If I truly were to act against you…you would definitely die.”

“Come, then. Show me everything you have,” Ning snickered.

A cold light flashed through the eyes of the horned, golden-robed man. He sent mentally, “Fine, then…our Youngflame clan is willing to resolve our differences with you. If you agree to cease uprooting the copper pillar and help us push it back down, we definitely won’t act against you again.”

“You call this ‘resolving our differences’? If you don’t come after me, I’d go after you! Do you think the annihilation of the entire Yuchi clan can be forgiven, as easily as that?” Ning was angry now.

“The annihilation of the Yuchi clan?” The horned, golden-robed man had an incredibly exalted status; he wasn’t even aware of such minor matters as the eradication of the Yuchi clan. He immediately sent mentally, “How about this? Those who gave the orders to deal with the Yuchi clan and everyone who acted against the Yucchi clan…I’ll capture them all and give them to you for you to deal with!”

Minor matters such as the extermination of a small clan were normally decided upon by the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of a clan. To this founder of the Youngflame clan, who could easily spend a million years in a single closed-door meditation session…Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were nothing more than individuals that would die and be replaced every so often. Ordinary Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals would never even be qualified to see the founder a single time in their lives.

The Ancestor wouldn’t even care if all of the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the clan were wiped out, to say nothing of a small portion of them.

“As easy as that?” Ning sent a cold laugh. “Celestial Immortal Arcanum sent people to assassinate me, and even the soul of my lifelong friend’s Dao-companion was destroyed thanks to the attacks of four Celestial Immortals of your Youngflame clan. Am I supposed to just write them off? If you really want to resolve our differences…I can agree. Aside from sending me everyone who had anything to do with the Yuchi clan’s eradication, all five of those Celestial Immortals, including Celestial Immortal Arcanum, must die! If you do that, this matter will be at an end!”

“You are going too far!” The Ancestor was enraged.

“Then don’t talk to me about resolving our differences!” Ning continued to furiously uproot the copper pillar; by now, even without him pulling at it, the copper pillar was rising up of its own volition. Even without Ning helping out, the upwards pushing force already eclipsed the downwards pushing force of the Celestial Immortals and three aberrations above.

“You can kill any Loose Immortals, cultivators, or mortals that you wish. You absolutely cannot kill my Celestial Immortals; not even one!” The Ancestor was utterly infuriated by now.

Every clan had its rules. For the sake of the clan, sacrificing a few Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals meant nothing.

But sacrificing Celestial Immortals?

The other Celestial Immortals would probably be terrified and shaken by such an action. All of the Celestial Immortals of the entire clan would feel nervous and restless. In addition, Celestial Immortals were the true foundation of any clan; there was no way the Ancestor would be willing to sacrifice Celestial Immortals.

“I can use magic treasures to compensate you,” the Ancestor said hurriedly.

“Ten top-grade Pure Yang Treasures. Can you afford it?” Ning asked.

The Ancestor was so choked with anger, he couldn’t speak.

Ten?

What did this Ji Ning kid think Pure Yang treasures were? Despite how powerful the Ancestor was and how long he had lived, even he didn’t have ten top-grade Pure Yang treasures.

“Stop. I SAID STOP!” The Ancestor stared at how far up the copper pillar had risen…and realized that the situation could no longer be reversed. Earlier, if Ji Ning had been willing to help out a bit, they could’ve shoved the copper pillar back down. But now? It had risen so much that even if Ji Ning helped them out, they still probably wouldn’t be able to shove it back.

“Ji Ning.” The sinister eyes of the Ancestor were filled with malice and a savage desire to kill. “I, Venomfreak, swear that I will definitely kill you. I will definitely kill you!!! Not only will I kill you, I’ll also wipe out your clan and all those you care about!”

“Don’t worry. I’m planning on killing you too. Hahaha…” Ning raised his head to stare upwards, his eyes blazing with torch-light. He could clearly see the horned, golden-robed man above him.

Rumble…the copper pillar rose up at an ever-fast pace. The pushing power from below now completely outstripped the power of the forces of the Youngflame clan. With Ning helping out as well, the copper pillar was pulled out faster and faster, with Ning’s six arms turning into blurs as they moved.

“Damn it.” The Youngflame clan’s Ancestor had an extremely ugly look on his face. He immediately sent mentally, “Everyone, halt. Hurry up and establish the Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation!”

“Yes!”

The eight Celestial Immortals Arcanum, Infatuation, Goldclock, Deadwood, Sunfish, Flamefish, Goldcloud, and Blackrain, upon hearing the orders of their incomparably venerated founder, all gave up on their attempts and simultaneously flew high into the sky. Even the three aberrations gave up as well; everyone flew up into the sky.

The eight mighty Celestial Immortals fell into formation, with the horned, golden-robed man standing at the very center and the three aberrations circling around them.

“They’re coming.” The horned, golden-robed man stared downwards coldly.

Clank. The pillar suddenly stopped moving.

Ning, as well, realized that the copper pillar could no longer be budged. More than 4200 kilometers of it was stretching beyond the fiery stone wall.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An enormous sound, as though the sky itself was bursting apart or as if the earth itself was shattering.

Ning felt the countless runes covering the fiery stone wall beneath his feet begin to flicker…and the fiery stone wall itself began to move.

Whoosh! Ning sent out his divine sense to investigate. He could now see that a crack had suddenly appeared across the surface of the vast, fiery stone wall. The crack was rapidly increasing in size, expanding to each side.

It was like a crack appearing on the lid to a cauldron or a furnace.

“WE’RE OUT!”

“WE’RE OUT!”

“WE’RE FINALLY OUT!”

One figure after another came soaring out from the crack. The tight, dense waves of figures came flooding out, and as they did they rapidly began to increase in size. They started off as tiny dots, but they began to transform into Fiendgods that were thousands or tens of thousands of meters tall! They all let out agitated, berserk howls, and the sound of their roars shook the world around them. Just from listening to their agitated roars, one could sense the infinite excitement these Fiendgods were feeling.

Their roars alone could shake one’s soul!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The earth broke apart. Countless Fiendgods came charging out into the sky. Some of the Fiendgods had two horns and flames coming out of their nostrils, some had the appearance of beastmen, and others appeared just like a mass of black fog…

All sorts of Fiendgods had appeared. Tall, muscular ones, sinister and bizarre ones, savage and berserk ones.

Some were large, some were small, but all of them came charging out from the stone wall, and the earth around them was utterly destroyed.

“This…this is…” Ning was completely stunned.

“This many Fiendgods?! And the auras of these Fiendgods…more than half of them are actually Void-level Fiendgods.” Ning instantly understood why the power that had come from below the copper pillar was so enormously powerful.

There were more than nine hundred Fiendgods before him…and more than sixty percent of them were Void-level Fiendgods!

These were true, real Fiendgods, the type that generally had divine abilities of their own. Over the course of countless ages, their comprehension of the Dao had most likely risen to an incredibly high level as well. Every single Void-level Fiendgod was comparable to a Celestial Immortal, and some of them were probably comparable to supreme Celestial Immortals. For so many Fiendgods to unleash their power at once…what an incredible sight that must have been!

“What in the world has the Youngflame clan done? They imprisoned this many Fiendgods!?” Ning was completely stunned.

The faces of the nine midair Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were all ugly to behold.

“Damn.” The Ancestor’s face was ashen.

“If I had known this would happen…I would’ve killed these Fiendgods long ago.”

“Damn this Ji Ning.”

“He actually released the Fiendgods of the Infinity Furnace.”

All of the Celestial Immortals were extremely enraged.

The nine hundred-plus Fiendgods burst out from the ground, all of them enormous in size. The sky itself seemed to have grown dark as they all turned to stare at the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan who were hovering in the air. Their eyes were filled with boundless hatred, so thick and dense the hatred seemed to have taken physical form.

……

“Not good.” The distant Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals within their formations were completely stunned by what they saw. Everyone could sense the hatred these Fiendgods felt for the nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan…and they could also tell that more than half of the Fiendgods were Void-level Fiendgods. So many Void-level Fiendgods…this was utterly terrifying.

Old Demon Windraiser’s reacted the fastest. He immediately roared furiously, “Can’t you tell that those Fiendgods have gone mad? Quick! Evacuate all of our clansmen here within the Oldjade mountain range. QUICK!”

“Right!

“Yes.”

“Hurry up and evacuate them!” The Loose Immortals all began to panic as they carried this out; they still cared quite deeply about their clansmen.

……

“YOUNGFLAME CLAN!”

More than nine hundred Fiendgods were in the air. They stared angrily at the nine great Celestial Immortals, each of them filled with endless amounts of hatred. The leader of them, a humanoid Fiendgod who had nine heads, let out an angry roar. “You have imprisoned us for countless years. Tortured us for countless years! I, along with all of the Fiendgods who were imprisoned within your furnace, hereby swear that we will completely wipe out your entire Youngflame lineage!”

“We shall swear to annihilate the Youngflame lineage!”

“Annihilate the Youngflame lineage!”

“Annihilate!”

“ANNIHILATE!”

Their roars shook the heavens. All of the Youngflame clansmen who were located within the protective formations all had ashen looks on their faces. Unpleasant looks were on the faces of the nine Celestial Immortals as well. They knew very well how much hatred these Fiendgods bore the Youngflame clan; anyone who had been tormented for so many ages would feel boundless hatred!

“Imprisoned and tortured you for countless years?” Of the nine Celestial Immortals, the Ancestor was the calmest. He laughed coldly, “And who is to blame for that? You can only blame yourselves, you fools, for not accepting your reality! If you were willing to serve our Youngflame clan, not only would you have regained your liberty long ago, you would also be allowed to enjoy countless things.”

“Submit? We Fiendgods war against the heavens and war against the earth; we are the true masters of the universe. How could we possibly submit to you?” The nine-headed Fiendgod roared with anger, and the other Fiendgods let out similarly enraged roars as well.

“Hahaha, the masters of the universe? Haven’t dozens of your fellow Fiendgods ended up submitting to me, after suffering my torments?” The Ancestor roared with laughter. “Masters of the universe Hah! I’m dying of laughter. You are nothing more than a pack of fools who were born when this major world was created.”

“The ones who submitted to you were trash; they are an embarrassment to all Fiendgods. We TRUE Fiendgod warriors would never bow our heads to you!” The nine-headed Fiendgod roared angrily, “Youngflame Freak, you’ve caught us one by one and imprisoned all of us for countless years, but your biggest mistake was not killing us. Now that we are all gathered here together in one place…and we will definitely annihilate your entire Youngflame lineage!”

By now, Ning had also arrived on the surface of the ground. He raised his head up, watching as all of the Fiendgods in the sky swore their oath. From listening to the dialogue between the two sides, he was able to guess at quite a bit..

The nine-headed Fiendgod suddenly lowered his head, looking down towards Ning, who had just emerged on the surface of the ground.

“My good brother, tell me your name!” The nine-headed Fiendgod looked towards Ning; earlier, when they had charged out, they had all seen that it was Ning who had been pulling away at the copper pillar. “You gave us our freedom back. The kindness you have shown us is vaster than the heavens and weightier than the earth. We shall never forget it!”

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Chapter 29 – The Tenth Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

Chapter 29 – The Tenth Stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]

“My name is Ji Ning. Pulling out the copper pillar was nothing more than a minor thing,” Ji Ning said.

Ning knew very well that this was no longer the Fiendgod Era; this was the era of the Grand Xia Dynasty, which had unified the world! Struggles between human clans were minor affairs, but any Fiendgod that refused to submit to humans would be pursued and assaulted by all parties! The free Fiendgods would have no choice but to flee in pitiful fashion to the ends of the earth. This was what had happened to that ancient Fiendgod who had been in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains; he was clearly more powerful than Loose Immortals, and would be able to effortless crush them with his hands…but he didn’t dare to fight back at all. He had always been fleeing in a pathetic fashion.

As for submitting?

These nine hundred-plus Fiendgods had been captured and tormented for countless years without being willing to submit to the Youngflame clan; it would most likely be very hard for them to be made to submit to any other human clans.

“We Fiendgods repay benevolence with benevolence, and repay malice with malice,” the nine-headed Fiendgod sent mentally, then turned his head to look at the nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. He let out a heaven-shaking roar and said, “Youngflame clan, you’ve imprisoned and tormented us for countless years. Today, the day of vengeance is at hand! Let us wipe all of them out before the Godslayer Guards of the Xia Emperor arrive!”

“KILL!”

“KILL THEM ALL!”

Murderous roars filled the skies, the roars themselves filled with boundless hatred.

The nine hundred-plus Fiendgods actually formed into a war-formation. Their divine power flowed through them, merging to become a single whole as the blurry illusion of an ancient Fiendgod suddenly appeared in the skies, its entire body wreathed in flames. Its aura was so powerful that even Ning was rather stunned. “So this is a Fiendgod war-formation?” He had only heard of Fiendgod war-formations; this was the first time he had seen one.

Fiendgods were born to be powerful fighters and combatants. They truly did war against the heavens and the earth, preferring to die than to submit.

Daoist Threelives was a classic example; after an enemy ripped out off one of his arms, he actually decided to forever have just a single arm! As many humans saw it, this was utter idiocy…but this was exactly what Daoist Threelives did. This was due to his own pride!

When the ancient tribulation had come, he could’ve hidden away and retreated; given his level of power, he would’ve been able to keep himself alive. But…he didn’t do this. He knew that things would be extremely dangerous, but he still went forward to welcome the danger. Even in death, he had felt no regrets!

Ning raised his head to look at the awe-inspiring horde of Fiendgods in the skies. They all held weapons at the ready as they charged towards the nine Celestial Immortals.

On one side, a Fiendgod war-formation; on the otherside, the Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation of Immortal cultivators!

BOOM!

A powerful collision could be heard, as though the heavens had broken apart and the earth had collapsed.

A series of massive waves swept past the region surrounding the eight Celestial Immortals, causing the power of the enemy collision to be completely negated. This Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation was one of the most supreme defensive formations of the Three Realms; it focused completely on being flawlessly protective! They knew very well how difficult it would be to kill these Fiendgods.

“Hahaha, is that all you have?” The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan laughed coldly, “I urge you to hurry up and leave; I’ve already notified the Xia Emperor, and I trust that he will soon dispatch the Godslayer Guards to come. If you don’t leave now…none of you will be leaving at all!”

“Kill.”

“KILL!”

The Fiendgods didn’t care at all; they continued to charge forward and attack.

BOOM!

The massive, fiery illusion of a Fiendgod that had been formed by their war-formation once more slammed against the Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation. The faces of the Celestial Immortals sustaining the formation all turned ashen.

“Ancestor, what should we do? What are our options?” Celestial Immortal Arcanum sent frantically, “We won’t be able to hold for too long; their Fiendgod war-formation is too powerful.”

“What can we do?” The horned, golden-robed man gave Celestial Immortal Arcanum a cold look. “There are more than nine hundred Fiendgods here, and more than six hundred of them are Void-level Fiendgods. When they work together, they are capable of shaking the world itself; you won’t even be able to use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape. As for hiding into a mobile Immortal estate, then using the Greater Teleportation Dao-seal? The combined strike from so many Fiendgods will reduce any estate to dust in an instant. You want to run? There’s no way to run! There is only one option; buy time! Buy a little bit of time…because once the Godslayer Guards of the Xia Emperor arrive, we’ll be rescued!”

Using a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal required time…and one couldn’t be disrupted in the process!

“Will the Godslayer Guards of the Xia Emperor make it in time?” Celestial Immortal Goldclock asked.

“I’ve already notified the Xia Emperor,” the horned, golden-robed man said.

“What if the Godslayer Guard intentionally delays? What then?” Celestial Immortal Arcanum asked worriedly.

The pupils of the horned, golden-robed man shrank, but he said in a low voice, “That won’t happen. The Xia Emperor, that old bastard, knows very well that I have a treasure that can protect you and take you all away with me. However, that treasure will shatter after a single use. Unless things become critical, I absolutely won’t use it.”

A treasure capable of blocking the combined strikes of over nine hundred Fiendgods was equivalent to a second life for a Celestial Immortal; the Youngflame clan’s Ancestor wasn’t willing to use it if he didn’t have to!

……

“You Fiendgods, you are wasting time. The more time you waste, the more of you shall die later.” The horned, golden-robed man sent a mental message through his elemental ki, and his voice echoed throughout the nearby area. “Once the Godslayer Guards arrive…you know exactly how powerful they are. You will be dead!”

“Even if we die, we’ll annihilate your Youngflame clan as well!” A Fiendgod covered with scales roared this back at him.

“What’s to fear about death? Youngflame clan, all of your Celestial Immortals shall die!”

“Youngflame Freak, I know that you yourself have countless clones, but those eight Celestial Immortals under your command shall all die today!”

The Fiendgods were all roaring as they once more joined their power to charge against the Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation.

“You really are quite bold and daring; you don’t even want to live any longer! But such a pity; you’ve managed to endure for so many years, managed to endure all sorts of torments, refusing to bow your heads for the sake of one day gaining your freedom…but now that you are free, for the sake of taking your so-called ‘revenge’, you are all going to be caught and slaughtered by the Godslayer Guards. What a true pity! If I were you, I would’ve fled to the ends of the world by now…in fact, I would’ve fled from the entire world of the Grand Xia!” The horned, golden-robed man roared with laughter.

Indeed, a portion of the nine hundred-plus Fiendgods hesitated.

It was true.

Freedom!

To no longer be imprisoned; to no longer be tortured! It was hard to understand how precious freedom was to them. They had waited for this day for far too long. Were they going to give it all up for the sake of vengeance?

“If we don’t kill the Youngflame clan, even if we live, we’ll live with regret. Today, we shall kill the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. After we slaughter them all, we’ll joyfully flee!” The nine-headed Fiendgod roared angrily.

“That’s what we want! To live joyfully!”

“Hahaha, Ninehead, I feel as though I’ve returned back to the old days when we warred against the humans. Right! What we want is to live joyfully! What’s so scary about death?”

“Wonderful, wonderful!”

All of them let out heroic roars.

The more powerful a Fiendgod was, the more fearless they would become; the desire to do battle that they were born with caused them to become extraordinarly berserk.

……

Ji Ning, watching from below, was stunned.

“Fiendgods…?” Ning murmured to himself.

Although he, too, trained as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he didn’t have the heart of a true Fiendgod. He was a human, after all.

If he had been imprisoned and tortured for countless eons…upon escaping and seeing a tremendous threat approaching, he probably would’ve chosen to flee. Only later would he prepare for revenge! But Fiendgods were different; they weren’t willing to wait at all. In their rage, they would take vengeance right away, with no fear of death at all. This sort of desire to do battle stemmed from their very bones; they were born for war. It all completely stunned Ning.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

BOOM! Explosions rang out unabated within the skies. The eight Celestial Immortals would occasionally eat a spirit-pill to replenish their elemental ki, striving to defend for as long as they could. The power of the collisions caused even the golden pellet Jindan in their bodies to be damaged. They were only just barely able to hold on, while the Fiendgods were growing increasingly berserk.

Time continued to pass, one second after the other.

None of the Fiendgods, however, departed; they all continued to attack in a berserk manner.

“To be joyful and act as one pleases.”

“For a desire for battle to be so powerful as to fill the skies.”

“To wipe out all foes.”

Ning was mumbling to himself. Suddenly, streaks of sword-ki began to appear around him. Covered by countless streaks of sword-ki, Ning looked like a spirit composed of swords.

Ning closed his eyes.

Threads of enlightenment continuously flowed towards him…

Ever since Ning had truly decided to start his war against the Youngflame clan, his heart had started to become even more clear, and his desire to do battle had grown.

However, upon seeing the Fiendgods who had been imprisoned and tormented for countless years choose to ignore their freedom in favor of a joyful battle against those they hated, the desire to do battle in Ning’s heart began to grow even stronger.

Stronger and stronger, it grew…and his heart became clearer and clearer.

All the insights he had gained in the past began to gather in his mind.

……

In the skies above, those nine hundred-plus Fiendgods continued to frantically assault the nine Celestial Immortals. The nine Celestial Immortals were only trying to buy time. As for the Ancestor, he was gnashing his teeth. He truly didn’t wish to use his supreme protective treasure; in his heart, it was far more important than the lives of one or two of his Celestial Immortals. But if eight Celestial Immortals under his command died…then he truly would become the lone survivor of the clan. He didn’t wish for this to happen.

“Wait a little longer. A little longer.” The Youngflame clan’s Ancestor was frantically encouraging them.

The other eight Celestial Immortals were doing their best to hold on as well. They couldn’t break; they had to stay strong.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a ripple of power appeared.

It was the ripple of a Greater Teleportation.

“Mm?” The nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan simultaneously raised their heads.

The nine hundred-plus Fiendgods raised their heads as well.

High in the sky, an ancient-looking warship that appeared to be formed from waves of blood. This bloodwave warship was manned by warriors who were dressed in blood-red armor, each of whom had utterly astonishing auras of power.

“THE GODSLAYER GUARDS!” The nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were overjoyed.

“Let’s leave now!”

“Flee.”

“Scatter!”

The nine hundred Fiendgods could no longer afford to wait around. With a series of booms, they tore through space, using spatial teleports to rapidly flee in every direction.

“Chase after them!” A tall, muscular general who stood upon the deck of the bloodwave warship gave the nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan a cold look, then immediately gave the order.

Instantly, with many bloody flashes of light, the Godslayer Guards tore holes through space as well as they engaged in pursuit.

The world became peaceful once more.

The Fiendgods had disappeared.

The Godslayer Guards had disappeared as well.

“Whew.” The nine mighty Celestial Immortals all let out sighs of relief.

“Thank goodness. Thank goodness!” The horned, golden-robed man nodded to himself. “Thank goodness I wasn’t in a rush to use my treasure. Otherwise, it would’ve been wasted.”

“…that Ji Ning actually hasn’t fled!” Celestial Immortal Arcanum pointed downwards, laughing coldly, “Although we are heavily injured, with the three insect aberrations present…we are completely capable of suppressing him.”

All the other Celestial Immortals looked downwards as well, the Ancestor included.

Ning was standing in the midst of some rubble. His eyes were closed, and he even had a hint of a smile on his face. This was the feeling of joy he had when he was gaining insights into the Dao.

“Where the Dao is…” Ning opened his eyes, then said softly, “Though ten million soldiers bar my path, I shall relentlessly advance!”

BOOM!!!

The rubble around Ning, including the countless pieces of shattered rocks, broken bits of grass, and even drops of water all began to levitate into the air…and as they did, sword-light began to gather around them. It was as though all things had become a sword! Even the many Immortal swords and Darknorth swords that floated in the empty space within Ning’s Zifu region began to emit sword-hums.

“Although I am very talented, and although my insights into the Dao have long ago surpassed that of senior Northwalker…in terms of my sword-heart, perhaps only today have I just barely reached his level.”

Ning could feel a surge of sword-intent that wished to burst forth from within his heart. This sword-intent was so powerful, so resonant.

“Where the Dao is…”

“Where the Dao is…”

Ning murmured softly to himself, “This new sword-art that I just developed…let it be named the ‘Relentless Advance’, then.”

The tenth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Relentless Advance!

Ning raised his head to look towards the sky. The sky was now devoid of Fiendgods…only the nine Celestial Immortals and the three aberrations were still present.

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Chapter 30 – The Sword Eradicates Celestial Immortals

Chapter 30 – The Sword Eradicates Celestial Immortals

There were some Loose Immortals who were gathering within the protective formations far away.

“Windraiser, I’ve already moved all of the mortals and Immortal cultivators in the area under my control into this Qiankun pearl.” A green-haired Immortal lifted up a black pearl that glowed with soft light. He then waved his hand and put it away. Looking towards the outside, he said with a chortle, “But from the looks of it, I didn’t need to evacuate them at all; the Fiendgods have all left, leaving behind just Ji Ning.”

“Indeed.” Windraiser smiled and nodded as well.

They had been evacuating many of their clansmen because they had been afraid of those nine hundred-plus Fiendgods.

Now that the Fiendgods were being pursued by the Godslayer Guards of the Xia Emperor…the only enemy left was Ji Ning.

……

“Master, Master! Aren’t you going to flee?” Little Qing, within the ten thousand kilometer formation region, was absolutely frantic. “Not even nine hundred-plus Fiendgods were able to break through the defenses of those eight Celestial Immortals. What’s the point of staying there by yourself? Quick, flee!”

“Senior apprentice-brother!” Northson was very worried as well.

“Don’t panic. My boy Ning isn’t the rash sort.” Uncle White stared off into the distance. In the heart, he murmured, “Ning, son, be careful.”

……

The nine Celestial Immortals in the air now felt far more confidence than they had earlier. The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan said, “Earlier, you all suffered attacks from those Fiendgods; your wounds are all significant. It’s best if you join into a formation to provide assistance to me…and leave Ji Ning to me. Just assist me.”

“Alright.”

“Although we are injured, we’re still able to use thirty to forty percent of our power. The power of the eight of us, joined forces, is still significant. Against Ji Ning, there’s no need to use the ‘Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation’. It’s better if we use the ‘Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation’,” Celestial Immortal Goldclock said with great confidence.

“Mm.”

“Alright.”

“The Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation is more than enough to block Ji Ning’s attacks.” Even the most careful of them all, Celestial Infatuation, nodded in agreement.

Different formations naturally had different levels of power.

The Eight Immortals Sea-Subduing Formation was completely focused on defense; it didn’t have any offensive techniques at all, naturally resulting in an extremely powerful defense.

The Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation was fairly balanced; its attacks and defenses were even. After all, the Celestial Immortals now knew how strong Ning was; they didn’t need to waste too much of their energy on unnecessary defense.

Previously, they had faced nine hundred-plus Fiendgods, with roughly six hundred being Void-level Fiendgods. In truth, Void-level Fiendgods were generally on par with the likes of Immortal Northwalker in power; that Void-level Fiendgod which Ning had encountered in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains had once suffered Immortal Northwalker’s wrath. Although Void-level Fiendgods had divine abilities to add to their power, allowing them to become comparable to Celestial Immortals…their ability to comprehend of the Dao was simply too low. Once they reached a bottleneck, they might spend a trillion years at that bottleneck without advancing at all.

Even Mount Innerheart had quite a few Fiendgods who remained unable to beat the ninth golem.

Their inferiority in comprehending the Dao were their greatest weakness!

And so, while there were six hundred Void-level Fiendgods…even Patriarch Arcanum who was the weakest of the eight Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan was far more powerful than the likes of Immortal Northwalker, a Loose Immortal who lived for a million years! As for Celestial Immortals Goldclock, Deadwood, and Flamefish, they were even more powerful. Celestial Immortal Infatuation, in turn, belonged to the supreme tier.

Thus…it took roughly ten or so of the Void-level Fiendgods to match a single one of the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan.

That great gathering of Fiendgods, in turn, was just comparable to thirty or fifty Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan.

When eight Celestial Immortals completely focused on defense, they would generally be able to hold off against a group of thirty to fifty Celestial Immortals for a short period of time. However, those Fiendgods had been too berserk; although the battle had been very brief, they had still managed to heavily injure all eight of the Celestial Immortals, causing even their golden pellet Jindans to be seriously damaged. They would all require many spirit-pills, medicines, and time to slowly repair the damage done. Now that they were going to deal with Ji Ning while heavily injured…the weakest of them, Celestial Immortal Arcanum, was only able to use perhaps ten to twenty percent of his full power, while the mighty Celestial Immortal Infatuation was still able to use fifty to sixty percent. As a whole, the eight Celestial Immortals were at roughly thirty to forty percent of their full power.

Rumble…

The Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation took form.

Instantly, an enormous golden set of eight trigram symbols appeared. The eight mighty Celestial Immortals were the ‘points’ at which the eight trigrams were located. Around them coiled a golden, roving dragon that hovered in midair.

The eight Celestial Immortals all stared downwards.

“Goldclock, once we trap Ji Ning, you’ll absorb him into your golden greatclock,” the horned, golden-robed man sent through his divine power. A smile was on his face, and he was extraordinarily confident right now.

“Yes, Ancestor!” Celestial Immortal Goldclock was extremely excited; they had been under tremendous pressure when facing so many Fiendgods, but against this single person, Ji Ning…in addition, given that they had already battled against Ning within the trapping formation earlier, they knew how strong he was. This just made them even more confident of their chances.

On the ground below.

The sword-intent surging forth from Ning’s heart was continuously growing in strength. Ning raised his head to look towards the sky. There were nine mighty Celestial Immortals in the sky. The ugly, horned, golden-robed figure produced a horsetail whisk, and before him stood three enormous insect aberrations. As for the other eight Celestial Immortals, they were in some sort of Eight Trigrams formation next to him.

“The eight Celestial Immortals came under a wild assault from those nine hundred-plus Fiendgods just now…clearly, they were only just barely able to hold on. They are probably all heavily injured, but they actually aren’t retreating and are facing me. They probably don’t hold my strength in any regard.” After pondering for a moment, Ning immediately knew what his foes were thinking.

However…Ning wasn’t like those Void-level Fiendgods!

His special divine ability was something more powerful than the likes of the other divine abilities which most Empyrean Gods or True Gods of Primal Chaos could come up with. It was the [Starseizing Hand], the supreme divine ability which Daoist Threelives had once used to roam and dominate the Primordial Era. The escaped Void-level Fiendgods had all been born during the creation of this major world of the Grand Xia; by comparison, their divine abilities were much weaker.

Ning’s palms, in turn were akin to supreme Pure Yang treasures.

As for his insights into the Dao…he used to be on par with Patriarch Goldclock, but he had now completely surpassed him, reaching a new, higher level.

……

“Everyone, be careful. This Ji Ning is no ordinary Fiendgod; he is a supremely talented monster with a very high level of sword-arts. He was previously able to crush the five of us, and now, although we eight have joined forces, we are only able to use a portion of our strength. We must be careful. Let the Ancestor serve as our main attacker, while we shall serve merely as support,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation warned.

“Don’t worry, Infatuation. When the five of us previously used the Five Elements Mountainhold Formation, we were able to easily block his attacks. Now that the eight of us have joined into the Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation…even though we are only at thirty or forty percent power, our strength is quite close to the level of power which a full strength Five Elements Mountainhold Formation has. We’ll absolutely be able to block him,” Celestial Immortal Goldclock said confidently.

“Kill!” The horned, golden-robed man immediately gave the order.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Instantly, the three enormous aberrations all charged downwards.

BOOM! Ning, who had originally been standing on the ground, suddenly charged into the skies, moving like a streak of light.

By comparison, Ning was like a tiny little dot that was rising, while the three enormous insectoid aberrations came charging down from above.

“[Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens]!”

Whoosh! A gust of wind blew past. Ning, moving at a speed that rendered the Youngflame clan completely speechless, was actually able to move past all three of the aberrations. This was an evasive divine ability which Patriarch Subhuti had specially designed for Ji Ning. Although it could only be considered a top-class divine ability of the Three Realms, and couldn’t compare to supreme evasive techniques like the [Wings of the Garuda], Ning actually wouldn’t have been as fast when using the [Wings of Garurda]. After all…Ning himself wasn’t a golden-winged Roc; he was a human. It would be impressive for humans to be able to use even thirty to fifty percent of a divine ability designed for birds.

“Too fast.” The horned, golden-robed man was surprised by this.

“Stop him.”

“Everyone, be careful.” The eight Celestial Immortals saw that as Ning used his evasive divine ability, he was making his way towards them.

“Tie him down while I use my insectoid aberrations to attack him,” the horned, golden-robed man said hurriedly. He had to tie down Ning. Otherwise, given Ning’s speed…there was no way those insects could catch up to him at all. Once they actually got into battle, his insectoid aberrations were more than powerful enough to keep Ning completely occupied, making it impossible for him to dodge. They would they draw him into the divine greatclock!

It must be understood that of the three insectoid aberrations, the winged rhinoceros creature alone was, in terms of strength, comparable to Ning at full power. It was precisely due to creatures like this that Immortal Venomfreak was able to become so famous within the Three Realms; these aberrations definitely couldn’t be underestimated.

Whoosh.

The [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] blew forth, and Ning arrived in front of the eight Celestial Immortals.

“Kill!” The eight Celestial Immortals stared towards Ning from afar. The giant golden dragon that had been coiled around them let out an earth-shattering draconic roar and charged straight towards Ning.

Ning’s gaze was as deep and fathomless as the depths of the sea. His six arms instantly appeared, and the fingers of those six enormous hands, glowing with golden light, simultaneously formed into a set of sword-fingers, unleashing techniques that represented the most powerful sword-arts which Ning had created thus far. Although in terms of profoundness, some of the other sword-arts Ning had learned in the past were comparable to this stance he had created…his own stance was the stance that was most appropriate for him. Only the creator of a technique would be able to truly unleash its full, maximum power.

Ning’s sword-fingers all became three hundred meters long!

Enormous sword-fingers…like the fingers of a divinity.

At the same time, in front of the sword-fingers appeared divine black swords that was fully three thousand meters in length!

As far as the eye could see…

There were six entire divine black swords that were over three thousand meters long, gathering the power of heaven and earth within them. One of the divine black swords chopped directly against the body of the golden dragon, causing it to shudder and turn dim. The golden dragon roared as well, furiously striving to resist the sword…but the five of the other enormous swords stabbed straight towards the Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation.

BOOM! The golden Eight Trigrams symbols trembled, and then with a booming sound completely blew apart.

“No!”

“What?!”

The eight Celestial Immortals were all stunned.

“Not good.” The horned, golden-robed man wasn’t too far from them. Shocked, he hurriedly stretched out the horsetail whisk in his hand…but alas, distant water is unable to quench thirst.

Ji Ning’s attack speed was extremely fast!

As Ning’s five sword-fingers, in the form of five divine black swords, stabbed through the Eight Trigrams Roving Dragon Formation, two of the swords turned to pierce towards the closest Celestial Immortal, Goldclock. Goldclock was utterly terrified; he wasn’t able to flee at all, and so all he could do was immediately unleash his most powerful treasure, the top-grade Pure Yang divine greatclock. Ignoring the wounds which his golden pellet Jindan had suffered, he immediately and frantically began to squeeze every last drop out of it, struggling to increase his power as much as he could.

BOOM! The divine greatclock was sent flying from the strike of the first divine black sword. As for the second divine black sword, it slashed across Celestial Immortal Goldclock’s body…which was promptly reduced to ash by what seemed like an endless torrent of sword-ki.

The golden palm that had launched the divine black sword that had sent the golden greatclock flying away swung out, grabbing the now-ownerless greatclock.

BOOM! Two other streaks of black sword-light were flying towards the other nearby Celestial Immortal, Flamefish. Although Celestial Immortal Flamefish also frantically sought to squeeze as much power from his Jindan as he could…Ning, even back when he had first trained in the [Starseizing Hand], was already comparable to Celestial Immortal Infatuation. Now that he had developed an even more powerful sword technique, he was clearly much more powerful than before. In addition, his sword-fingers were akin to a supreme Pure Yang treasure; how could the likes of Celestial Immortal Flamefish possibly withstand him?

The two streaks of sword-light flashed past, and Celestial Immortal Flamefish was reduced to dust as well.

Clang!

Clang!

The other six Celestial Immortals went absolutely all out, finally managing to block the last streak of sword-light Ning had sent out.

This initial strike by Ning had claimed the lives of two out of eight Celestial immortals!

“DAMN HIM!” The distant Ancestor of the Youngflame clan’s eyes turned so wide, his eyelids threatened to split apart. His eyes were now completely bloodshot.

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Chapter 31 – The Evacuated Youngflame Clansmen

Chapter 31 – The Evacuated Youngflame Clansmen

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the Youngflame clan who were hiding behind their formations had previously felt quite relaxed; some of them had already stopped evacuating the mortals in the areas they were responsible for. When they had seen the nine hundred-plus Fiendgods attack, they had been quite worried…but upon seeing only Ji Ning remained, they felt quite relaxed.

But…

“How…how can this be? How could he have broken through a formation of eight Celestial Immortals?”

“Didn’t five of our Celestial Immortals battle Ji Ning within that formation of his? Now that they know exactly how powerful he is…how could they have made a mistake on this level?”

“Good heavens!”

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were completely dazed.

Celestial Immortals had incomparably exalted statuses…and two had just died now, all of a sudden. And they were Celestial Immortals who had belonged to the Youngflame clan!

“Quick, hurry up and re-launch the evacuation process,” Old Demon Windraiser sent mentally with a furious roar. “This Ji Ning has a body as tough as a magic treasure; he doesn’t fear the attacks of Celestial Immortals. If the Celestial Immortals of our Youngflame clan are unable to do anything to him…he might start massacring us soon!”

“Right, right, right!”

“Keep evacuation.”

“Quickly!”

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals who had yet to completely evacuate the mortals and cultivators in their regions once more began to quickly do so.

……

“Woooooooow!” Little Qing’s eyes bulged out. She looked as though she had seen a ghost. “Two Celestial Immortals…Celestial Immortals! Those were Celestial Immortals who had escaped the confines of the Three Realms after overcoming their Celestial Tribulations! They were far, far more precious and venerable than Void-level Fiendgods. Celestial Immortals are so powerful and mighty, but…but two of them just died?!”

Mu Northson was speechless as well.

The nearby Uncle White was even more stunned. A Celestial Immortal! Each served as the foundations for a truly supreme clan. It was rare for a single one to be produced in the Grand Xia Dynasty in a million years…and two of them had just died like that?

……

Ning stared at a distant flying shuttle. The flying shuttle was completely black, and was roughly three hundred meters long. Just now, all six of the surviving Celestial Immortals had flown over and hidden themselves within the flying shuttle; only the horned, golden-robed man remained outside the shuttle, standing atop it and staring towards Ning.

“They ran pretty fast,” Ning mumbled to himself.

He had suddenly killed two Celestial Immortals earlier, causing the remaining six Celestial Immortals to immediately flee into that shuttle. In fact, after they did so, they had completely sealed off all openings to the flying shuttle, giving him no chance to attack them at all.

“How can this be?!” The enraged Ancestor glared coldly at Ning from his position atop the shuttle. He sent an angry mental howl, “Infatuation, didn’t you say earlier that the eight of you combined were more than enough to stop him? Didn’t you say that even though his power suddenly increased significantly after your last ambush, that he’s still just roughly on par with you?”

“We didn’t know either!”

“When we were hiding at Mu Northson’s place and ambushed him…he truly was quite weak, even weaker than Goldclock and Deadwood.”

“Right, right! That really was the case. And just a short while ago…the five of us fought against him within his formations. We were quite surprised at how much his power had increased in merely half a month; he was now close to Infatuation in power. But now, in the blink of an eye, his power has increased even more?! He’s even stronger than Infatuation now!”

“The amount of time that passed since our battle was roughly as much as needed to boil a kettle of tea. How could he have grown so much stronger?!”

“It’s not that we were overconfident; it’s that all of this is simply inconceivable!”

Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Deadwood, and Sunfish all felt quite miserable as well.

They clearly had fought Ning just a short while ago…but after he had released those nine hundred-plus Fiendgods, he had grown even more powerful. This rate of increase in strength was simply too fast! Generally speaking, the higher one’s level was, the slower one would increase in strength. It was one thing for Ning to increase so rapidly in power after being ambushed, but for him to suddenly increase in strength yet again in the blink of an eye?

“Damn, damn!” The horned, golden-robed ground his teeth. Any cultivator who was able to train to the Celestial Immortal level would be extremely cautious; if they couldn’t win a fight, they would flee. But this time, they truly had been overconfident, primarily because they had already fought against Ning and knew exactly how strong he was! This single instance of overconfidence had cost them two lives.

They had gone all out to fight against the nine hundred-plus Fiendgods. They had survived.

Against Ji Ning, they had been overconfident…and ended up losing two of their ranks.

“All of you are wounded; you are not to interfere in this fight against Ji Ning. Leave it all to me,” the horned, golden-robed man sent.

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, Patriarch.”

They all acknowledged the command.

The horned, golden-robed man stared towards the distant Ning, then roared angrily, “Ji Ning, you’ve slain two Celestial Immortals of my Youngflame clan. I shall not live under the same skies with you! I shall kill you. KILL YOU!”

“…Earlier, when I was pulling out the copper pillar, didn’t you already swear an oath that you were going to wipe me out, along with my clan and my friends? You know, you only need to say nasty words like these a single time. I’ve already memorized them quite firmly. Don’t worry…killing two of your Celestial Immortals was just the start. I’m going to wipe out all of the Celestial Immortals of your Youngflame clan, as well as all of your Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals. As for your other cultivators and mortals…I trust I won’t even need to act against them. There will be plenty of other major clans that will come to annihilate you,” Ning said.

As the saying goes, a wall falls when many hands push on it. There were many others who had feuds with the Youngflame clan, such as the Kindwater clan, which was even stronger than the Youngflame clan.

And even for those who didn’t have a feud with the Youngflame clan…given that the Youngflame clan took up three major commanderies, each of which was far larger than Stillwater Commandery…there were naturally many others who were envious of their territory. Once all their Celestial Immortals died, the cultivators and commoners of the Youngflame clan would be doomed! They would be effortlessly sweeped aside.

“All by yourself? I, Youngflame Freak, have roamed the universe since the Primordial Era, but no one has ever dared to claim they can kill me.” A savage light flashed through the eyes of the horned, golden-robed man. “Have a taste of what my children can do, first!”

The three enormous insectoid aberrations flew towards Ning, blotting out the sun with their size. Their auras were extraordinary in power as they came rushing towards Ning.

Ning stood there in midair, a tiny little dot by comparison, but one with three heads and six arms. His arms swept through the air as his golden fingers formed into sword-fingers, transforming into divine black swords that were more than three thousand meters in length…

His terrifying sword-intent radiated outwards. Anyone could sense the resolve contained within it, and just by looking at it, one could feel as though no one could possibly withstand his sword.

Slash! A large wound appeared on the body of the black viper aberration, but the wound quickly began to recover, completely healing in the blink of an eye.

Crunch! The winged rhinoceros-aberration had incomparably tough skin, but Ning was still able to punch a hole through it. Still, the winged rhinoceros kicked Ning’s palm aside, and the hole in its flank quickly regenerated.

The armored insectoid aberration had even more powerful defense, and Ning was just barely able to leave a wound behind on its body.

“What a nasty little pest.” Ning was secretly startled by this first exchange of blows. “All three of these aberrations are this powerful?”

In terms of their comprehension of the Dao, the three insectoid aberrations were vastly inferior to him.

But their physical strength and close combat power was simply too great.

Each of them had extremely durable physical forms; even their thick skin and armored carapaces were comparable to Heaven-ranked magic treasures. The flesh within their body was extremely sturdy as well, and for every inch of flesh Ning penetrated, he felt an extremely powerful force resisting him. And even if he did manage to injure them…they would be able to heal in a very short period of time! They were also enormously strong; the black viper and the armored insect were nearly half as strong as Ning when Ning used the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] and [Three Heads, Six Arms], while the winged rhinoceros was comparable to Ning’s full power!

“Activate!” The distant horned, golden-robed man watched coldly, then let out a soft bark. Instantly, the back of the armored insect began to release large numbers of divine tattoos. These divine tattoos flickered and flashed, causing the armored insect to rapidly shrink in size, while beginning to split apart. By the time it shrank to three thousand meters, it completely split apart to become a pair of the armored insects. By the time it shrank down to three hundred meters, it had split apart to become four armored insects. And by the time it shrank down to thirty meters…there were eight of those armored insects.

“ROAAAAR!” The winged rhinoceros let out a furious roar, its four powerful leg-trunks beginning to merge with its main body. From the center of its body, a single leg-trunk that was even thicker and longer began to rapidly grow out.

The four-legged winged rhinoceros had actually transformed into a single-legged rhinoceros.

“Hissssss.” The black viper’s serpentine head suddenly bit down upon its tail. Instantly, its entire body began to glow with divine tattoos. Its scales were rapidly changing, becoming even finer and longer while also beginning to glow with a golden light.

“Die.” The horned, golden-robed man had just revealed one of his favorite, consummate tricks.

Ning suddenly transformed into the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], surging straight towards the winged rhinoceros.

“KILL!” Ning was charging forward like a brutish Fiendgod, his six massive arms wildly assaulting the winged rhinoceros in close combat!

Clang clang clang…the eight armored insects all struck towards Ning, but Ning completely ignored them. The only result was a series of clanging sounds that could be heard from Ning’s body.

Whoosh! The black viper, now in circular form, swirled towards Ning, seeking to entangle him.

Ning swept out with two of his palms, which struck out like two streaks of sword-light. In terms of the Dao, how could the viper possibly compare to Ning? He was struck head-on and knocked flying away by Ning’s sword-light.

“This brat…” The horned, golden-robed man’s eyes flashed with cold light.

His armored insect had been completely nullified by Ning. He had been hoping that Ning would be too arrogant and allow the viper to coil around him. Once it did…no matter how strong he was, he would find it difficult to escape. But Ning didn’t give the viper any chance at all to draw near him!

“Kill!”

“Die for me!”

Ning and the winged rhinoceros were battling wildly against each other. Ning was completely unwounded, while large amounts of flesh and blood were being sheared off from the winged rhinoceros, under the repeated blows of Ning’s knife-sharp palms. Finally, with a furious roar from Ning, the head of the winged rhinoceros was chopped off.

“What should I do? What should I do? What the hell should I do?” The horned, golden-robed man felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart, as well as…hesitation!

“Should I have other clones come over here as well?”

He had other insectoid aberrations!

If all of the insectoid aberrations he commanded were all to gather here, he would be able to completely overwhelm and crush Ji Ning.

“No. I can’t let all of my clones appear in one place; that will cause me to risk true death.” The horned, golden-robed man knew very well that due to his insidiousness and viciousness, he had many enemies spread throughout the Three Realms. For example, the Empyrean God of the Kindwater clan had a very powerful desire to kill him. However, because his many clones were all scattered throughout the realms, the Empyrean God was hesitant to make a move, and so had not truly acted to launch a war to wipe out the Youngflame clan.

……

Ning, by relying on the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], was even more berserk in his attacks than the three insectoid aberrations. After he forcibly ripped off the head of the winged rhinoceros, the skeleton of the winged rhinoceros flew back towards the horned, golden-robed man. It transformed back into a winged rhinoceros, but one which was only three thousand meters in length, then flew back into the mouth of the horned, golden-robed man.

“TEAR APART!” Ning’s six arms now began to wildly assault the black viper. Two of his arms moved to chop a wound in the body of the black viper, while the other four arms grabbed onto it and gave a vicious tug in two opposite directions.

Riiiiiiiip.

The black viper was forcibly torn apart, its black, foul-smelling bloody spraying everywhere.

Ning was fighting even more savagely than he usually did. The three insectoid aberrations, in the face of his fury, were at a complete disadvantage.

……

“What should we do?”

“Can it be that our Youngflame clan cannot resist this Ji Ning?”

“This Ji Ning is too terrifying!”

The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals who were hiding behind their formations were filled with terror at what they were seeing.

“Windraiser, all of the mortals within the protective formations have been evacuated. Even if Ji Ning breaks the formations, he can forget about harming our clansmen.” The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals viewed Old Demon Windraiser as their leader; in the Oldjade mountain range, Old Demon Windraiser had an extremely high status.

Old Demon Windraiser nodded. “Give me your Qiankun pearls.”

“Alright.” The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals all handed over their Qiankun pearls.

Qiankun pearls were residence-type magic treasures! Generally speaking, Celestial Immortals who had a very solid grasp of the Dao of Qiankun would be able to establish a small dimension within a Qiankun pearl. In truth, these were very common treasures, similar to sacks and bags that had private dimensions within them, except these were used to collect and hold people! The space within a Qiankun pearl wasn’t that small, being over ten thousand kilometers, but there were no resources within them; there was no way life could be supported within them long-term. They could only be used to temporarily hold living creatures.

And so, they were perfectly suited for moving or evacuating populations.

“Right.” Old Demon Windraiser accepted all of the Qiankun pearls.

……

“Damn.” The horned, golden-robed man was utterly enraged by what he saw, but he was unable to do anything to Ning.

Ning wildly assaulted the black viper, but even after ripping it apart, the black viper merely transformed into two smaller vipers. Still…its aura had noticeably weakened, and Ning continued his assault against it.

Suddenly…a spatial ripple appeared. It was Greater Teleportation.

“Eh?!” Ning turned, only to see that Old Demon Windraiser had appeared in the distance.

“Old Demon Windraiser didn’t die?” Ning was startled.

“Windraiser, don’t go crazy!”

“Windraiser, go back!”

Celestial Immortals Arcanum, Infatuation, and the others were using their coresense to watch the battle. Upon seeing Old Demon Windraiser appear, they all hurriedly sent mental messages, calling out to him.

“He killed my disciple and destroyed my true body. I cannot live under the same heavens as him!” Old Demon Windraiser suddenly waved his hand, causing a dense cluster of hundreds of spots of starlight to appear. The air above him was also filled with the enormous illusion of the Solar Star, and all these things flew straight towards Ning.

Ning was cold and uncaring. “You, Old Demon, had a Primaltwin? I didn’t go kill you, but you came to throw your life away.”

How could Ning possibly hold Old Demon Windraiser in any regard? He immediately swept out with his own palm to attack. His golden palm smashed apart everything that came before him. Bang! Bang! Bang! The hundreds of miniature stars were instantly knocked flying away.

Crack!

A very peculiar sound rang out.

It was like…an egg cracking.

But those hundreds of star-grains were a set of Immortal-ranked magic treasures; how could Ning have shattered Immortal-ranked magic treasures with a single palm?

“AHHHHHH!!!”

“NOOO!”

“NOOOOO!”

Countless miserable screams rang out.

Within a special region. Countless mortals and cultivators were all squeezed together. These were the evacuated cultivators and mortals…but this region was beginning to crumble and break apart. Although this was merely a small pocket dimension…with the dimensional walls crumbling, how could mortals possibly survive? All of them were ground apart and killed. Only some of the more powerful cultivators were able to survive.

A few people suddenly appeared in the region before Ning’s giant golden palm. These were the Immortal cultivators who had survived the collapse of that pocket dimension…but the power of Ning’s earlier blow was simply too great. Even the mere aftershock from his blow was enough to cause these newly emerged Immortal cultivators to be instantly blown into dust.

Infinite despair…despair that filled the skies…it all swept towards Ning.

Infinite resentment!

Infinite hate!

“No…I don’t want to die!”

“Oh gods…”

“Who…who…”

“Who killed us?!”

Countless voices rang out in Ning’s mind, assailing his heart.

“Ahahahaha!” The distant Old Demon Windraiser was absolutely berserk in his laughter. “You’ve killed ten billion mortals…what a sinner…what a tremendous sinner!!!”

Rumble…

Rumble…

The skies instantly turned blood red, so red that it was utterly terrifying to behold, so densely red that it caused everyone’s heart to tremble. The terrifying redness appeared out of nowhere, and it appeared simultaneously in the skies above Ji Ning and Old Demon Windraiser. These were the legendary…karmic sinflames!

The two clouds of bloody red karmic sinflames reflected and resonated with each other.

The karmic sinflames…descended!

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Chapter 32 – I’ll Send You On Your Way

Chapter 32 – I’ll Send You On Your Way

The red karmic sinflames were terrifying to behold…but they also had a strange, holy aura about them.

They existed purely for the sake of burning away all sin!

“AHHHH!”

In midair, Ji Ning’s eyes turned completely red. He frantically clutched at his head as he fell down from the skies.

Within the Still Room of the underwater estate.

The black-robed Primaltwin Ning had originally been seated in the lotus position atop the netherwater jade bed, but his body was now blazing with red karmic sinflames as well. The black-robed Primaltwin Ning was now kneeling on the netherwater jade bed, letting out howls of utter agony and misery. He crawled forward in utter pain, falling down from the bed.

“No…no…” The black-robed Primaltwin Ning let out an agonized howl.

……

In the outside world, Ning fell down from the skies. As he fell, he clutched at his head, letting out terrifying, frenzied, throat-tearing howls.

“He didn’t die?” The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan was extremely shocked. The other six Celestial Immortals had joined him outside, atop the flying shuttle. They, too, looked with shock and delight upon this scene. They said in amazement, “He actually didn’t instantly die from burning?”

“Ahahaha…”

The distant Old Demon Windraiser continued to hover in midair. Surrounded by karmic sinflames, he actually let out laughter that caused one’s heart to shudder. His face was utterly contorted, and his eyes were blood-red. Pain wracked every single cell of his body, but he continued to laugh wildly. “It really is…really is…even more fun…than the million-year Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations…ahahaha…ahahahaha!!!”

Old Demon Windraiser was filled with the agony of being burned by karmic sinflames as well.

“Windraiser’s Dao-heart is no weaker than my own,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation said. “For even him to be in such agony…it’s utterly inconceivable for this Ji Ning, who has trained for less than a century, to actually stay alive and not perish instantly from the descent of karmic sinflames.”

“Right. He’s trained for less than a century, but his Dao-heart is actually this strong…”

“When karmic sinflames descend, they shall unleash multiple layers of punishment. This is but the start.” The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan said in a low voice, “I refuse to believe Ji Ning will be able to survive it.”

Karmic sinflames…

They were the holy flames that burned away sin. They represented the umost limits of sin.

These flames were the flames of the void, flames that burned away at the soul, at the heart!

They actually weren’t that harmful to the physical body; after all, the heavens always gave one at least a slight chance for survival. If karmic sinflames were to burn away at the body as well, then Fiendgod sinners would have too much of an unfair advantage compared to Ki Refiner sinners.

But although it didn’t harm the body that much…it was utterly terrifying in turns of the damage it did when burning the soul! Even someone like Ning, who had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], had no advantages whatsoever in facing these karmic sinflames…

When facing karmic sinflames, all cultivators were treated absolutely equally. The only test right now was of one’s Dao-heart. Would one’s Dao-heart be able to survive while being incinerated by karmic sinflames?

Once one’s Dao-heart crumbled, the soul would be unprotected and would be instantly burnt to ashes and dissipated.

Luckily enough, Ning had just come up with the tenth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. His Dao-heart now contained the resolve that was embodied in the lines, ‘Where the Dao is, though ten million soldiers bar my path, I shall relentlessly advance!’ This allowed Ning’s Dao-heart to survive the first round of punishment unleashed by the karmic sinflames; ‘Agony’.

“He actually…hasn’t…hasn’t died…what a monster!” Old Demon Windraiser’s entire body was wracked by pain as he stared downwards at the fallen Ji Ning.

Old Demon Windraiser’s Dao-heart was extremely strong.

He had already lived for a million years. Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations…every three hundred years, a calamity; every nine hundred years, a tribulation. He had endured countless cycles of the Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations over the past million years. Under this sort of constant pressure, his Dao-heart had actually transformed and grown incredibly powerful, with the result being that he had found even the Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations at the million-year mark to be quite easy to overcome.

Clearly, his Dao-heart was far more powerful than Immortal Northwalker’s had been. It was comparable to that of many Celestial Immortals…and even amongst Celestial Immortals, he would probably be ranked at the very top.

Although the first round of punishment brought by karmic sinflames, ‘Agony’, was extremely painful…he was still able to maintain consciousness. He was even able to open his mouth and speak, albeit haltingly; clearly, he was far more powerful than Ning in this regard.

……

“What?!”

Within their ten thousand kilometer formation, the Whitewater Hound, Little Qing, and Mu Northson were completely stunned.

They stared at the blood-red skies, as well as the blood-red karmic sinflames that had appeared around Ning’s body. Upon seeing the karmic sinflames appear…they all immediately were able to guess at what had happened. They watched as Ning had let out an agonized, frenzied scream, then collapse from the skies…and their hearts became filled with despair.

“Karmic sinflames…how could Master have caused karmic sinflames to descend?!” Little Qing was utterly horrified.

“How could…senior apprentice-brother…senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning…” Northson was so frantic, he was shaking. “It’s all because of me…because of me…no…don’t…”

The Whitewater Hound stared at Ning, who had fallen down from the skies. Watching the karmic sinflames roast Ning, Uncle White’s tears instantly began to streak down his face. “Ning, son…son…”

Despair!

They were all Immortal cultivators; they knew how terrifying karmic sinflames were, as well as the fact that when they descended, nobody could help out at all. To survive the descent of karmic sinflames was simply far, far too difficult; only truly powerful figures with incomparably mighty Dao-hearts would be able to survive.

But Ning had only trained for less than a century! Although he was publicly acclaimed for having a firm Dao-heart, having a strong sword-heart, and being a born Sword Immortal…he simply hadn’t trained for long enough.

The punishment brought by karmic sinflames would come in repeated waves that only increased in power and terror.

“Ning, son, you have to endure it…you have to.” The Whitewater Hound stared towards Ning. “I promised Big Brother to take care of you, to always protect you.”

……

Atop the flying shuttle. The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan and his six mighty Celestial Immortals were also watching the fallen Ji Ning.

“He actually didn’t die right away from the descent of karmic sinflames.” Patriarch Arcanum said hurriedly, “Ancestor, the punishment brought by karmic sinflames will grow increasingly powerful…but to prevent a miracle from happening which results in this punk surviving, let’s suppress him right away. He’s completely unable to fight back right now; this is the perfect time to trap and suppress him.”

“Right.” Celestial Immortal Infatuation nodded as well. “Although I don’t believe Ji Ning will survive, if by some miracle he does survive…it’s best to suppress him now.”

“Supress him.”

“It’s a shame that Goldclock died, and his divine greatclock was stolen by Ji Ning as well.”

“I naturally have other suppressive treasures. Although they aren’t comparable to the divine greatclock, one is still a middle-grade Pure Yang treasure; there’s no way he can escape.” The Youngflame Ancestor suddenly waved his hands, producing a pair of copper cymbals. He threw them out, and the pair instantly expanded in size, transforming into copper cymbals that were more than three hundred meters long.

The copper cymbals split apart, one flying to be above Ji Ning while the other flew underneath him. Once the pair of copper cymbals came together once more…there would be no way for him to escape.

Ning’s eyes were completely red, and his face was completely distorted with agony. He couldn’t help but let out roars of agony…

…but his Dao-heart hadn’t dissipated yet!

He still maintained a single thread of consciousness. He could see what was going on in the outside world, but everything he saw was twisted and blurry. This was because his eyes were too bloodshot right now; if they were just a bit more bloodshot, he would probably be completely blind! When these two giant copper cymbals came to surround him, Ning immediately struck out with his two arms. Bang! Bang! He instantly knocked the two copper cymbals flying.

“He’s actually still able to pay attention to the outside world?” The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan was surprised.

“Even if he is…the amount of intellect he’s able to use right now must be very, very low,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation said. “He’s like a beast, right now; all he knows to do is to knock away anything dangerous. He doesn’t even know to flee! He could’ve just used his evasive techniques to dodge, but he didn’t move at all; from this, one can tell that his intellect has dropped to a very, very low level right now.”

“Let’s all act together. Perhaps we can trap him.”

“Let’s give it a shot.”

The six Celestial Immortals all moved.

Black chains flew out. Thousands of tendrils and vines whipped out. The strands of an enormous horsetail flywhisk that was thirty thousand meters long flew forth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Everything in front of Ning was blurry, but he did see many vines swinging towards him. He struggled to wave his arms about, using the [Starseizing Hand] to knock all the magic treasures flying and away from his body. The tendrils all completely snapped apart, unable to even draw near him. After all, these Celestial Immortals were all heavily wounded; when controlling magic treasures from afar, how could their power possibly compare to the power of Ning’s twin arms?

Even if the six Celestial Immortals were to use a formation, given how badly injured they were, they still wouldn’t be able to withstand Ning’s [Starseizing Hand].

“Mmm…he really does seem like a wild beast. Anything that gets close to him, he’ll wildly lash out at and knock away.” The Youngflame Ancestor nodded lightly. “I have an idea…one that will ensure his death.”

“Oh?” They all looked towards the Ancestor, save for Celestial Immortal Infatuation, who suddenly said, “Can it be…the Worldhold Pagoda?”

“Infatuation read my mind.” The Youngflame Ancestor nodded lightly. “Fortunately, when I came out of seclusion this time, Arcanum and the others came over as well. There was no one left to guard the pagoda, and so I brought it over here as well.”

Whoosh.

A small pagoda suddenly appeared within the Youngflame Ancestor’s hands. This was the ancient pagoda which Celestial Immortal Arcanum and the others had been guarding previously. This pagoda…it was truly the most important of all treasures which the Youngflame clan had. To the Youngflame clan, the most important person was naturally the Youngflame Ancestor, Immortal Venomfreak, who had countless clones spread everywhere. Only second to him in importance was this Worldhold Pagoda.

This was a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the greatest treasure which Immortal Venomfreak had acquired over the course of countless ages.

Whoosh. The small pagoda within the Youngflame Ancestor’s hand flew out, transforming into a pagoda that was thirty thousand meters tall. The pagoda hung high in the air, hovering roughly three thousand meters above him. The Youngflame Ancestor and the others had noticed earlier than three thousand meters seemed to be a limit; once one went beyond that range and moved closer to Ji Ning, Ji Ning would instantly begn to strike and knock things flying.

“Ji Ning…I’ll send you on your way,” the Youngflame Patriarch said softly.

Whoosh. The entire surface of the pagoda suddenly lit up, especially at the base where a giant black vortex suddenly formed. The vortex began to quickly spread outwards, soon covering a region of a hundred kilometers. Naturally, this completely covered the area where Ning was located as well.

Everything within the area was completely drawn in by the whirlpool.

Normally, the quick-witted Ning would’ve immediately noticed that something was wrong. He would’ve immediately departed from this region…but Ning was currently clutching his head in utter agony, the karmic sinflames blazing around his body gradually increasing in power. In fact…the second round of punishments was about to descend. The single thought in his mind was to prevent any magic treasures or spells from drawing near his body; how could he possibly have the presence of mind to notice anything else that was amiss?

Rumble…

The pagoda began to glow brighter and brighter.

And then….whoosh!

The very tip of the pagoda suddenly grew blindingly bright. Swish! A streak of light shot from it into the skies, as though piercing through the walls of reality itself…then vanished.

As for the vortex region of a hundred kilometers…it had become completely empty. Ji Ning had completely vanished. He had vanished from the world of the Grand Xia…and in fact, he had even vanished from the Three Realms themselves. He was now outside the Three Realms…

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Chapter 1 – You Did Not Sin

Chapter 1 – You Did Not Sin

“Senior apprentice-brother!”

Mu Northson was watching from within the ten thousand kilometer formation region, wracked by agony and self-hatred for being unable to help Ji Ning. Little Qing and Uncle White’s faces both changed dramatically as well.

Both of them could tell that there had just been a spatial teleportation of some sort!

“I can no longer sense Master’s location,” Little Qing said frantically. “I can’t even get the vaguest sense of the direction he is in. Master is no longer in the world of the Grand Xia; he’s gone to an extremely distant place.”

“I can’t sense him either,” Uncle White said, trying to attentively sense Ning’s location.

“It’s all my fault. It’s all because of me, a useless piece of trash. I shouldn’t have been in such a rush to take revenge. I shouldn’t have…” Northson was filled with utter regret.

It had been Ning who had rescued him and Yu Xia’s soul from the Eastwoods mountain range…but afterwards, when the Youngflame clan’s Celestial Immortals had ambushed Ning, Yu Xia’s sould had been completely destroyed. Although he had felt utter hatred for the Youngflame clan, in truth, Northson did feel a bit of resentment towards Ning as well in his heart.

However…given Ning’s great kindness towards him, and given that they were lifelong friends to begin with, he had buried that resentment deep within his heart.

But in this moment…

When he saw the descent of the karmic sinflames, as well as the agonized look on the face of Ning as he was being burnt by the sinflames…Northson felt incomparable guilt in his heart. “If I hadn’t kept clamoring on and on about revenge, senior apprentice-brother wouldn’t have been in such a rush. He would’ve kept on waiting, waiting until he grew even more powerful…and then, he would’ve completely wiped out the entire Youngflame clan. This is all due to my own impatience.”

“Say no more.” Uncle White growled, “The Youngflame clan’s Celestial Immortals are already flying towards us. Let’s hurry up and leave. Little Qing, we need a Greater Teleportation.”

“Alright.”

Little Qing tamped down the grief and pain she felt, immediately waving her hand and bringing along Uncle White and Northson into a Greater Teleportation.

Whoosh!

They disappeared into thin air, having returned to Swallow Mountain.

……

The seven Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were indeed flying straight towards the formation area. With but a single void blink, they arrived directly outside of the formation. However…as soon as they arrived, Little Qing, Uncle White, and Northson departed. Little Qing and the other two knew quite well that there was no way they could possibly deal with these Celestial Immortals. They were far too weak; they could only suppress their hatred for now. If Ning had truly died…they would train hard so that in the future, they would be able to take revenge for him.

“They ran quite fast,” Celestial Immortal Arcanum sneered.

“They were weak to begin with; they only dared to attack this place because of Ji Ning. Now that he’s dead, why wouldn’t they flee?” Celestial Immortal Blackrain said coldly.

The nearby Infatuation shook his head. “Blackrain, Ji Ning isn’t dead yet.”

“When karmic sinflames descend, they shall bring multiple rounds of punishment. I refuse to believe he won’t die,” Celestial Immortal Blackrain said. “In addition, Master also used his Worldhold Pagoda; he must have sent Ji Ning to one of the danger zones within the void beyond the Three Realms. Some of those danger zones are enough to cause even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods to perish, much less a little brat that hasn’t even overcome his Celestial Tribulation.”

The nearby horned, golden-robed man turned his head to look at the distant Old Demon Windraiser, still wracked by indescribable pain. He spoke out and said, “If Windraiser is able to withstand this tribulation of karmic sinflames…I shall personally escort him to the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell. When he is reborn, he absolutely must be reborn into our Youngflame clan. No expenses will be spared in training him.”

“Right.”

“Of course.”

All of them nodded.

This was no joke. If someone was able to overcome karmic sinflames, they would undergo an utterly astounding transformation, and their Dao-hearts would become truly remarkable in strength. Although they would lose their memories of their former lives upon being reborn…such a soul would still have enormous potential in the new life. Upon regaining one’s previous memories…one would have an extremely good chance of overcoming the Celestial Tribulation.

“Let’s see if he can overcome the karmic sinflames,” the horned, golden-robed man said with a sigh. “Every single person who is capable of overcoming karmic sinflames is an extremely remarkable person. Even amongst Celestial Immortals, such individuals are amongst the very top.”

There were very few, even amongst Celestial Immortals, who could withstand the power of karmic sinflames!

In truth, it was very hard for someone to tell how strong another person’s Dao-heart was. Even someone as powerful as Celestial Immortal Infatuation wouldn’t dare claim for certain that he was able to withstand karmic sinflames! Thus…Celestial Immortals were generally quite cautious. Only if there was no other choice would they allow themselves to act in a way that would cause karmic sinflames to swirl around their bodies. The descent of karmic sinflames was truly terrifying…but once one overcame it, one’s power would generally skyrocket!

In the Three Realms…every single person who overcame karmic sinflames would end up being an incredible figure.

For example, Ning’s senior apprentice-brother, Empyrean God Silvermoon, was a person who had karmic sinflames constantly swirling around him. Silvermoon, however, completely ignored them…proof that he truly was an utter demon.

The world of the Grand Xia. The western seas. The Seamless Gate’s gathering spot.

The enormous mirror had displayed all the scenes of the battle that had just occurred in the Oldjade mountain range. The escape and wild assault of nine hundred-plus Fiendgods…the pursuit of the Godslayer Gods…Ning’s sudden, unexpected explosion of power that had resulted in the slaying of two Celestial Immortals…Old Demon Windraiser, a Loose Immortal of the Youngflame clan, attacking ‘suicidally’…the descent of karmic sinflames…Ning being burnt by karmic sinflames…Ning being teleported away by the Worldhold Pagoda…

“Exciting. How very exciting.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven sighed repeatedly in praise. “That Windraiser…he really is both decisive and vicious. He was able to come up with this plan and settle on it in such a short period of time…and those who died were all his own clansmen! Ten billion of his clansmen died, just like that…his heart truly is vicious and merciless. He truly does have the temperament necessary for a demon.”

“You are actually praising him? You are actually praising such a despicable, contemptible little man?” Violetgrass frowned.

“Violetgrass, little girl, you are wrong; although you are a Celestial Immortal, in terms of Dao-hearts, you are probably inferior to that Windraiser.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven shook his head. “As far as craftiness…you are even more inferior to him. This is one of the reasons why the Gatemaster has never let you truly command your own forces; there are far, far too many things you need to see and experience first.”

“So I’m inferior to him?” Violetgrass was angry.

“How many setbacks have you encountered in life?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven shook his head. “Although we are Celestial Immortals who hold Loose Immortals in contempt, and although indeed 99% of Loose Immortals are not worthy of us paying attention to…amongst the countless Loose Immortals who are alive, there are some who have lived for over a million years. This type of Loose Immortal has suffered repeated assaults from the Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations. Their many experiences with the demonheart tribulation has caused their Dao-hearts to become incomparably mighty.”

“You, by comparison, became a Celestial Immortal early on. Although you’ve lived longer than them…how many actual tribulations have you undergone? Despite your talent and the fact that you have superior comprehension abilities…you’ve suffered far too few setbacks. Your Dao-heart truly might be inferior to theirs. Look – even though he’s being burned by karmic sinflames, he’s still able to maintain enough presence of mind to carry on a conversation with the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. Would you dare make the claim that you could do the same?”

Violetgrass was startled.

Even monsters like Ji Ning were just barely able to maintain a modicum of consciousness when being assaulted by karmic sinflames. Old Demon Windraiser, however, was clear-minded enough to carry on a conversation. He clearly was far superior.

“The lives of ten billion commoners, in exchange for the life of a peerless, monstrous genius like Ji Ning…worth it.” Violetgrass suddenly said, “Old geezer, tell me; can this sort of method be used against Celestial Immortals?”

“Are you suicidal?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven shook his head. “As the person who gave the order…you, the mastermind, will also incur enormous sin. Ten billion mortal lives! If you are lucky, you’ll have a bloody aura of sin that will surround you and stretch out to many hundreds of meters; if you aren’t lucky, you’ll probably see karmic sinflames descend right away as well! As for the person you sent out to actually do it…that person will definitely suffer the descent of karmic sinflames. Such an action is utter suicide.”

“In addition…perhaps ordinary Celestial Immortals are unable to withstand karmic sinflames, but the truly powerful Celestial Immortals are generally able to do so. As for True Immortals or Empyrean Gods…they are the experts of the Three Realms! All of them are capable of withstanding karmic sinflames. Don’t even ask about Daofathers.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven sighed. “Thus…this sort of method really isn’t worth it.”

“Anyhow. This Ji Ning is being burned by karmic sinflames, and has also been teleported by Youngflame Freak to one of the danger zones in the void beyond the Three Realms. There’s nothing for me to do here. Time for me to go.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven rose to his feet, still carrying a gourd of Immortal nectar. Drinking and whistling, he began to walk away.

“Old geezer, this one doesn’t count. You still owe me two favors,” Violetgrass called after him.

“Don’t worry. I’m not as shameless as you.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s voice echoed out within the palace, but he himself had disappeared.

Violetgrass turned to stare back at the mirror, still depicting events within the Oldjade mountain range. She mumbled to herself, “So he was actually sent into a danger zone, just like that. I didn’t even have anything to do with it. Still…that’s a good thing for me.”

……

Within the ancient pagoda tower.

All seven of the Celestial Immortals, including the Youngflame Ancestor, were gathered here. Not too far away was Old Demon Windraiser, who was seated in the lotus position. However, his body was clearly trembling slightly. The karmic sinflames around him were beginning to vanish; clearly, the trials brought by the karmic sinflames were nearing their end.

“This is already the seventh day. Windraiser is still holding on.” Celestial Immortal Arcanum’s narrow eyes were filled with eagerness.

“The longer it goes on, the more dangerous it becomes. The seventh day is the final day. If he is able to withstand this day…he’ll survive. But if he doesn’t…” The Youngflame Ancestor shook his head. Suddenly, however, his face changed as he turned to stare at Old Demon Windraiser.

Old Demon Windraiser’s aura was beginning to gradually weaken.

This was the aura of his soul weakening in strength.

“What’s going on?”

“Why is his aura weakening?”

Everyone was extremely worried.

They knew very little about karmic sinflames; all they knew was that the karmic sinflames brought a tribulation that lasted for seven days, and that the final stages were the most terrifying of all! Once one made it past the seven day mark, the karmic sinflames would vanish; one would only be able to detect them through coresense or divine sense, and not with the naked eye. However…although invisible, the karmic sinflames would always be present. The constant swirl of karmic sinflames on one’s body would feel like being eternally roasted in the pits of hell.

“His heart…his heart is weakening,” the Youngflame Ancestor said. “When his heart weakens, his aura weakens as well. Once his heart dies…then his soul will instantly be burnt to ash. This is why karmic sinflames are so terrifying! The initial ‘Agony’ phase from when the karmic sinflames first descend merely cause brute-force pain. Those with powerful Dao-hearts, however, are often able to overcome this phase. The latter parts have a softer approach which will slowly cause pain and regret to seep into one’s heart…causing the tormented person’s heart to slowly wither and die. It is akin to suicide!”

Old Demon Windraiser’s aura was indeed growing weaker and weaker.

The seven Celestial Immortals watched with incomparable nervousness.

Six more hours passed.

His aura was completely extinguished.

BOOM!

After his aura had completely disappeared for just a few seconds…it suddenly began to increase rapidly in power. Finally, Old Demon Windraiser opened his eyes.

“I survived.”

Old Demon Windraiser said in a low voice, “What terrifying ‘karmic sinflames’ indeed! They were far more powerful than the Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations that one experiences at the million year mark. I actually survived…but I really don’t want to experience that again. I really do not.” A deep, haunted look was in Old Demon Windraiser’s eyes.

“Windraiser,” the Youngflame Ancestor called out.

Windraiser hurriedly came to his senses.

“Ancestor.” Windraiser said hurriedly, “Patriarchs, I, Windraiser, condemned ten billion members of our clan to death. My sin…”

“Enough. You did not sin; in fact, you rendered major merits,” the Youngflame Ancestor said with a loud laugh. “It was just ten billion mortals, after all. We can bring a few billion mortals over from our other two headquarters, and in a few more decades this place shall be flourishing once more. The reason why we were able to deal with Ji Ning this time was you; you ignored your own well-being and willingly endured karmic sinflames to deal him a fierce blow. You did very well!”

Old Demon Windraiser’s voice was still very low. “Ancestor, I’ve incurred far, far too many sins. A storm is coming to the Three Realms. Me being alive will only result in a hugely negative influence upon the Youngflame clan. I’m preparing to kill myself, then head to the Netherworld.”

“Yes.” The Ancestor nodded. “It is for the best. Given how many sins you have incurred…after you die and go to the Netherworld, you will be punished in the deepest depths of hell and tormented in countless unspeakable ways. After you are finally allowed to be reborn…I will definitely bring you back into the Youngflame clan. In the past, dealing with matters in the Netherworld Kingdom might be a bit troublesome, but now that Daofather Crimsonbright has re-established a minor cycle of reincarnation, all ten of his Yama-Kings of Hell will assuredly give me some face. I will arrange everything necessary for you.”

“Yes.” Old Demon Windraiser said respectfully, “Then…I’ll leave now.”

Old Demon Windraiser didn’t hesitate at all.

Whoosh!

His golden lotus spirit voluntarily dissipated, and a human-shaped soul, wreathed by karmic sinflames, flew straight towards the minor cycle of reincarnation.

Swoosh! The Youngflame Ancestor immediately headed towards the minor cycle of reincarnation as well.

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Chapter 2 – Red Dust Tribulations

Chapter 2 – Red Dust Tribulations

[Note – Red dust is an allegorical Buddhist term that refers to worldly affairs, attachments, and desires. It is often said that in order to achieve Buddhahood, one has to be able to ‘see past the red dust’. ‘Women of the red dust’ is also a phrase that is specifically used to refer to courtesans.]

Stillwater Commandery. Swallow Mountain. Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

Uncle White, in human form, was seated within a pavilion, moodily drinking wine by himself. Mu Northson was seated as well, leaning against the pavilion railings with his eyes shut. As for Little Qing, she was hugging her knees, seated quietly within a corner of the pavilion.

They were all completely silent.

A long time later…

“Should we tell Autumn Leaf?” Little Qing suddenly said.

“We should not.” Uncle White sighed. “In Autumn Leaf’s heart, my son Ning is…ugh. She wouldn’t be to take the blow. Let’s wait for now. We can tell her that Ning is in secluded meditation.”

“Are we supposed to just keep hiding this from them?” Little Qing asked.

“We can sense that my son Ning is still alive,” Uncle White said. “As long as he is still alive…let’s keep things hidden from Autumn Leaf, as well as all of the Ji clansmen.”

Little Qing nodded gently as well, then said, “Then about about Ji Ning’s master, Immortal Diancai?”

“Diancai…”

Uncle White hesitated a moment, then said, “Let’s wait. The most terrifying punishment brought by karmic sinflames will arrive on the seventh day. As long as he survives the seventh day, he will have survived the karmic sinflames. If he doesn’t come back after seven days…that means he truly is trapped in some mysterious danger zone located outside the world of the Grand Xia…at which point, we will notify Immortal Diancai.”

“Alright.” Little Qing nodded.

They fell silent once more.

None of them had anything to say. They just waited, quietly.

Seven days…

These seven days posed a huge tribulation for Ning. If he didn’t die within these seven days and withstood the karmic sinflames…he would have overcome this tribulation. However, they didn’t have any idea as to where the Youngflame clan had teleported him to…but given the amount of hatred they felt towards him, they must have sent him to a truly terrifying place.

……

The banks of a vast, roaring river. There was an azure-robed man seated in the lotus position here. He wielded an Immortal sword in his hands, but the Immortal sword actually had a fishing line hanging down from it; clearly, he was using it to fish.

Whoosh.

From high up in the skies, a handsome-looking youth came flying over atop a cloud. He landed on the ground, then bowed respectfully. “My respects to you, Patriarch Lu. Per the Xia Emperor’s orders, this junior has come to send you a message.” A scroll appeared before him, which he respectfully offered with both hands.

“A letter? The Xia Emperor?” Lu Dongbin turned his head to look. He waved his hand, and the scroll flew straight to him. He tapped on it gently, and the scroll unfurled on its own.

Lu Dongbin read through it carefully. His face changed slightly.

“Understood. You can leave now,” Lu Dongbin said calmly.

“Yes.” The handsome youth departed gracefully.

Lu Dongbin, however, began to frown. “Karmic sinflames descended? The Youngflame clan actually used a method like this? Although Ji Ning is indeed talented, he’s trained for less than a century. Will he be able to survive?” Lu Dongbin turned his head to look towards the distance. A golden rune suddenly appeared in his pupils, and instantly his gaze was able to pierce through space, seeing an island that was ten million kilometers away.

At the quiet, secluded island, there was a black-robed maiden seated in the lotus position on a beach.

“This disciple of mine…she keeps her thoughts and secrets guarded quite tightly,” Lu Dongbin mused softly to himself. “That killing intent within her heart…it is even more terrifying than I had predicted it to be. In addition, at the Grand Xia Dynasty, she was hiding her true power the entire time. But…when I went to find Judge Cui to inspect her past lives, everything seemed normal. Although in her previous life, she was a powerful, fiendish figure, a demon whose power was comparable to a Loose Immortal who had lived for a million years…for a person to be powerful in a previous life is a good thing. There’s no need to hide it. When she awakened her memories during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, given how powerful she was in her previous life…she absolutely could’ve made it to the top three, and perhaps she could’ve even become champion.”

Originally, Lu Dongbin had deeply desired to take on Ji Ning as his disciple, because Ji Ning truly was born to be a Sword Immortal. In addition, he had vaguely sensed some of Ning’s other extraordinary attributes.

As for Yu Wei…

Lu Dongbin had originally felt that Yu Wei was hiding even more secrets. However, he wasn’t certain at first; after taking her on as his disciple and interacting with her for a long period of time, he had naturally been able to discover many flaws in Yu Wei’s façade. In the end, Yu Wei had been forced to admit it: “Master, I was indeed hiding my true strength. This was because I don’t wish for others to know about my past life. I don’t want others to know that in my past life, I was such a vile, demonic figure. I’m tired…so tired. I want this life to be a bit more relaxed.”

Yu Wei clearly knew very well that Lu Dongbin, given his status, could easily investigate her past lives. She no longer maintained her façade before him.

“Was it really just because she wishes for this life to be a bit more ordinary and relaxed?” Lu Dongbin was at such a high level of enlightenment that he was extremely close to the level of the Daofathers! He could vaguely make out the tides and portents of destiny…and he always felt that Yu Wei wasn’t as simple a figure as she made herself to be.

However, he had investigated the Book of Life and Death.

Yu Wei hadn’t lied to him.

Could it be that he was wrong?

“Right now, Yu Wei needs to keep her heart steady and calm. When the time is right, the Celestial Tribulation shall come,” Lu Dongbin mused to himself. “The Celestial Tribulation is incomparably dangerous; in her past life, she failed to overcome it. In this life, it shall be extremely dangerous as well! I can sense that her feelings towards Ji Ning are genuine. If he truly is trapped in a danger zone…if I tell her, her demonheart tribulation will probably become even more terrifying.”

“For now, I won’t tell her. After she overcomes her tribulation, I’ll tell her.”

Lu Dongbin continued to ponder pensively.

……

Yu Wei sat there in the lotus position at the beach. The seas and the skies were the same color, giving an impression of a infinitely vast firmament. Her heart was extremely calm right now.

She was nurturing her Dao-heart.

She was quietly preparing…

Based on what Patriarch Lu had said, once she overcame her tribulation and became a Celestial Immortal, she would leave his tutelage.

“Junior apprentice-brother, I’ll undergo my tribulation soon. Afterwards, I’ll go seek you out right away.” A hint of a smile played at the corner of Yu Wei’s mouth. Ji Ning was the warmest memory in her heart; when Ji Ning had returned to the Grand Xia, Patriarch Lu had naturally informed her once he had learned of this. However, Yu Wei didn’t have any idea that Ji Ning was currently trapped in a danger zone.

The term ‘Three Realms’ referred to the Heaven Realm, the Netherworld Kingdom, and the Mortal Realm.

The Heaven Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom were extremely vast, while the three thousand major worlds and trillion minor worlds of the Mortal Realm were as countless as the stars of the Milky Way. And beyond all of these realms…there was the vast, limitless Void, an empty region that was even greater than the Three Realms themselves. Within the Void were two supreme stars, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, as well as many other stars.

Within the infinite Void, there were countless danger zones, including some which would cause even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods to perish. In fact, there were some places which even True Gods and Daofathers would hesitate to venture into, preferring to simply watch them from a distance.

The three thousand major worlds and trillion minor worlds were like tiny little islands or reefs located within the infinite Void. The three thousand major worlds were like large islands, while the trillion minor worlds were reefs. At the very center of the three thousand islands and trillion reefs, there was an enormous ‘continent’ located within the infinite void.

This ‘continent’ was countless times greater than any of the major worlds. There, space and time clashed and twisted against each other…

It truly was a terrifying place. And at the places where the chaotic continent and the empty Void intersected, there were constant waves of void-ripples that spread out.

Rumble…

It was much like how, on a mortal world, where the waters of the ocean met the land, enormous oceanic waves would slam down against the land.

The waves of Void slammed repeatedly against the margins of the vast, chaotic continent…and the constant collisions formed a region of utter annihilation. The Nihilum Zone!

……

The Nihilum Zome.

Rumble…

A streak of white light suddenly flashed by, transporting a youth to this location.

“AAAARGH!”

Pain.

Pain like he had never experienced before. For mortals, once their level of pain reached a certain threshold, they could actually die from it. As for Immortal cultivators…the terrifying agony brought by the first round of punishments from the karmic sinflames was an agony that was applied directly to their souls. There was no escape, nowhere to hide. The pain of it vastly outstripped the pain of one’s soul being torn apart.

There was a limit to how much pain the body and the soul could take.

The amount of pain the heart could suffer, however, was limitless.

Once the Dao-heart collapsed due to agony, the soul would quickly burnt to ash.

“No. No…” Ning was struggling to stay alive. He was able to remain just barely conscious, but that hint of consciousness was simply too weak; he wasn’t even able to pay any attention to his surroundings.

Finally, the increasing amount of pain reached a peak, a plateau.

Instantly…the pain vanished.

Ning was rather stunned. To go from a peak of pain to no pain at all…this, too, caused Ning’s Dao-heart to tremble.

“This place is…” Ning finally managed to look at his surroundings.

Blackness surrounded him.

Aided by the incomparably dim wisps of light sent forth by the distant Solar Star, Ning was able to just barely see that the darkness arounded him seemed to surge and ebb like flows of water. The void waves…they stretched off into infinity, while Ning was nothing more than a tiny little speck in the midst of a vast, endless void sea.

Rumble…a void wave came sweeping over. Ning felt his entire body tremble; the terrifying power of the wave vastly surpassed the combined power of all the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan.

Immediately afterwards…

Ning’s entire world went dark.

……

“Young master.” An utterly ravishing beauty, dressed in thin, gauzy clothes, was looking straight towards Ning. She gently loosened her clothes, allowing them to slide downwards, half-revealing her body. She then gently licked at one of her fingertips, then used that finger to flick at her her shoulders, causing her clothes to slip down even further. Instantly, her clothes slipped all the way down, revealing her completely bare body. She walked over slowly, her large, limpid eyes staring longingly towards Ning. “Young master, I want it…”

This woman’s appearance was a mixture of the best aspects of Cloudjade, Autumn Leaf, Yu Wei, and Ninelotus’ appearances.

However, she was even more alluring and even more enchanting; she completely aroused Ning’s desire.

“F*ck off.”

Ning remained clear-minded; he knew that this was an illusion created by the descent of the karmic sinflames. This was the second tribulation brought by the sinflames; the ‘lust tribulation’ of the ‘red dust tribulations’. Once one became enmeshed into the illusions, one would truly die. He immediately struck out with his arm, intending to smash the woman before him into dust.

However…Ning suddenly realized that his body had become extremely weak. When his palm struck out, it only carried the amount of power an ordinary mortal would have. The nude beauty stretched her own hand out, immediately catching Ning’s arm. She whispered softly, “Are you shy?” She immediately pressed Ning down to the ground…

……

When gripped by the throes of lust, one’s Dao-heart could indeed be shaken. Ning was completely unable to fight back; all he could do was strive to maintain his Dao-heart, strive to resist what was happening.

“It seems this humble one’s services weren’t enough. However…this humble one has six sisters who are even better.” The woman lying across Ning’s chest whispered gently into his ears. Instantly, six more beauties appeared in the distance. Each had their own unique charms; truly, beauties like these were almost impossible to encounter the real world. In addition, each were exactly the type of woman which Ning liked the most, and also the type of woman that stirred his lust the most.

He knew that this was all just part of the ‘lust tribulation’.

But…how could the lust tribulation be so easily overcome? It was much like how, in real life, many people knew that drugs were harmful, but upon having tasted it once, they would never be able to abstain from them ever again. By the same principle…a person might know that his soul would be destroyed if he succumbed to lust, but succumbing to lust was a very basic part of human nature. There was no way for a person to completely rid himself of lust; all a person could do was suppress it. However…when one was unable to resist, one would still be repeatedly enticed and aroused by lust.

“Powdered skeletons. All of them are nothing more than skeletons; they are transformed toads that have pustules on their skin. All of them have intentionally transformed into this appearance to deceive me.” Ning repeatedly mumbled these words to himself, continuously and forcibly suppressing his own desires.

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Chapter 3 – Iceheart

Chapter 3 – Iceheart

Although he did his best to visualize these seven beauties as skeletons, or as transformed toads and other abominations…deep in his heart, Ji Ning knew that they weren’t toads. They were part of the ‘red dust tribulation’ which the karmic sinflames had brought; they were created from his own heart, and they weren’t actually disgusting. This caused Ning to unconsciously be drawn further and further into lust.

“Hold, hold, hold…” Ning was repeatedly suppressing his own lusts.

But as time flowed on, the amount of lust he felt was increasing nonstop.

“Wait.”

Ning suddenly came to his senses. He thought about a legend he had read about on Earth, a legend about Yu the Great taming the floods. “Rather than dam it all up, he spread it out in channels. How can lust possibly be forcibly suppressed? The red dust tribulation…the red dust tribulation…according to the records of Mount Innerheart, in order to overcome a red dust tribulation, one has to both enter the red dust as well as emerge from the red dust.” 1

“But if I allow myself to enter the red dust…if I succumb to it, what then?”

“What should I do?”

All sorts of thoughts began to war with each other in Ning’s heart.

The more one knew, the harder it was to deal with the red dust tribulation. In addition…‘knowing’ was one thing, being able to actually ‘do’ was another thing.

“No matter what…”

“My heart cannot succumb.”

“This is nothing more than my baptism through the red dust.”

Ning didn’t dare to relax his vigilance in the slightest.

Actually…Ning had actually made the correct decision. This was because ordinary cultivators, when being tested by a red dust tribulation, would generally be able to first allow themselves to succumb for a long period of time. Afterwards, when the day came for them to suddenly be enlightened and emerge from the red dust, their Dao-hearts would naturally be strengthened tremendously. Ning’s situation, however, was different! His ‘red dust tribulation’ came from the descent of karmic sinflames; he absolutely couldn’t allow himself to succumb to them at all.

Time flowed on.

Lust. Gluttony. Rage. Avarice. Love. Hate…

Within the red dust tribulation, all the desires one could feel when trapped within the mortal world, the world of red dust, would be amplified to an extreme.

Lust – The most soul-stirringly beautiful women would appear.

Gluttony – Unimaginably delicious delicacies, delicacies that would cause your soul to quiver.

Rage – All sorts of arguments, jealousies, disputes…as well as the joy and jubilation that came after violent conquest.

Love – Parental love, spousal love, romantic love, brotherly love, master-disciple love…the word ‘love’ truly did involve many things that people were willing to die for.

Hate – Towering, earth-shattering hatred and resentment that filled every inch of one’s heart. Hatred that not even the waters of the four seas could wash away…boundless hatred and a desire to kill one’s foes…

……

At first, Ning did his best to suppress all of the desires of the red dust, trying to push them away from him. This, however, caused Ning’s heart to feel increasingly tired. But slowly…Ning began to understand.

“Let these enticements come as they may. My heart abides.”

“This…this is nothing more but a mortal, fleshly coil.”

Ning completely separated the innermost part of his heart from the outside world.

He let his lust soar to the skies. He let himself feel excitement, rage, hatred, joy, disappointment, grief, happiness…Ning no longer suppressed any of it, allowing the feelings to invade every part of his entire body. Ning’s heart, however, transcended it all. It was like a bystander, simply watching everything and keeping an eye on everything.

“One’s true heart…one’s fleshly body…?” Ning slowly began to understand…and he thought of [Houyi’s Archery].

The reason why [Houyi’s Archery] was able to rank amongst the top ten divine abilities of the universe and was considered comparable to the [Starseizing Hand], but the actual application of it was even more complicated. It had higher requirements with regards to skill, it required extremely good bows and arrows…and it only allowed for very, very few shots. However…its power was truly ridiculous as well.

At the peak of its power, [Houyi’s Archery] was even more terrifying than the [Starseizing Hand] at its peak! Even Houyi, a divine archer of the Primordial Era, would only be able to shoot out ten or so arrows at maximum power before growing exhausted. The power of those arrows, however, was truly terrifying.

In addition, the application of divine power was just one part of [Houyi’s Archery]. The true reason why it was dominant throughout the Three Realms and became acknowledged as the number one archery technique was thanks to…heartforce!

Heartforce was a source of power that was invisible, formless, but incomparably mysterious and miraculous.

This was a force that was completely outside the types of power which Immortals and Fiendgods could normally control. Elemental ki, Immortal power, and divine power were all visible to the naked eye…but heartforce was invisible. In fact, unless one was using it to support something like archery, heartforce alone was completely unable to injure anyone.

However, it was precisely this energy, ‘heartforce’, which allowed divine archers to become truly terrifying figures. Houyi was the most powerful of the divine archers, and the [Houyi’s Archery] technique which he developed was able to strengthen the application of heartforce to a truly frightening level. This was why this technique was such an unearthly, powerful one.

Heartforce, invisible and formless…

And yet, it allowed one to reach astonishing levels of power. In the Primordial World, not even True Gods or Daofathers would willingly become enemies with Houyi. He was truly an incomparably terrifying man amongst the True Gods and Daofathers, a legendary divine archer even in an age of legends.

[Houyi’s Archery] clearly differentiated heartforce into multiple levels.

The first level of heartforce could be considered the ‘basic’ level, the level which Ning had currently reached. If one could truly apply heartforce to one’s arrows and cause one’s arrows to be able to strike unerringly at a distance of ten thousand kilometers, one had reached the basic level.

Ning had spent many years training archery painstakingly at Mount Innerheart before reaching the basic level. Generally speaking, upon reaching the basic level, one could already be considered as having entered the ranks of the ‘divine archers’ and be viewed as one of them, having reached a level that was as far above the other archers of the Three Realms as the heavens were above the earth. If one didn’t understand heartforce, one would never be able to become a true ‘divine archer’. Only by understanding heartforce could one’s archery become truly terrifying.

The second level of heartforce was known as ‘iceheart’!

Iceheart…

This meant that one’s inner heart had completely transcended the body. It would no longer be shaken or bedazzled by foreign influences. The waters of one’s inner heart would have frozen into a cube of ice; there would no longer be any ripples within it! Once one’s heart reached this level, one’s ‘heartforce’ would begin to qualitatively evolve and also increase in power tremendously.

……

“So, under the pressure of the sinflames of karma…I had unknowingly reached the level of ‘iceheart’, improving my heartforce.” Ning felt a calm joy in his heart. “It truly is as others have said; so long as one can survive the descent of karmic sinflames, one’s Dao-heart will undergo a qualitative change, and one will increase in power dramatically.”

The descent of karmic sinflames was a portent for three great tribulations, each more powerful than the last.

Ning had just experienced the second round of tribulations, the ‘red dust tribulations’, resulting in him reaching the iceheart level of heartforce. From this, one could see that that although karmic sinflames truly did represent a tremendous tribulation…disaster and fortune came in a pair. If one survived this tribulation, one would reap certain rewards.

However, very few Immortal cultivators would willingly allow karmic sinflames to surround them. After all, once they did, even if one did survive the three rounds of karmic tribulations, in the future, the karmic sinflames would perpetually blaze around their bodies. One would constantly suffer from the agony of being burnt by karmic sinflames! Although the pain wouldn’t be as agonizing as during the three rounds of tribulations, to be constantly burnt alive…unless it was absolutely necessary, who would willingly endure such a thing?

In addition, it was extremely difficult for one to lower one’s level of sin by enough to drop back down to the level of being surrounded by a ‘bloody aura of sin’.

Karmic virtue, karmic sin. It was hard to gain karmic virtue, but karmic sin came with ease!

Killing mortals was a tremendous sin; doing so would allow one to effortlessly accrue an enormous amount of sin…

But it was far, far harder to acquire karmic virtue. For example, after Ning had killed that evil Patriarch and many evil Diremonsters that had been surrounded by the bloody light of sin, and after when he had taken on a disciple who had whole-heartedly devoted herself to him, he had only just barely been able to upgrade his level of karmic virtue to being surrounded by golden karmic light. The range of his aura of golden karmic light had been extremely small as well! To reach the legendary level of karmic virtue where one’s body would be surrounded by a rainbow of light would be unfathomably more difficult!

And in fact…sometimes, one might do evil, even with the best of intentions. Karmic virtue was something which even figures as possible as True Gods or Daofathers were unable to completely understand the rules of. Although saving figures of karmic virtue and killing sinners did seem to be virtuous acts, and although ninety-nine out of a hundred such actions would result in an increase in karmic virtue…there would always be one who would instead be condemned as a sinner.

For one to go from the level of having karmic sinflames to having a bloody aura of sin was comparable in difficulty to increasing from having a golden aura of karmic virtue to a holy rainbow-colored aura.

Thus…once one became bathed in karmic sinflames, it was virtually guaranteed that one would never, ever be able to escape from them.

To be eternally burnt by karmic sinflames…who would be willing to suffer such a thing?

……

“Is there anything else?”

For a time, Ning had transcended everything; it was as though he had been seated upon an imperial throne, as though he had unified the world, as though no one would disobey his orders.

But suddenly…everything in front of him disappeared.

The scene before him transformed. He now saw a very ordinary courtyard, within which was a woman who was carrying an infant. Another woman was next to her, teasing the infant. In the center of the courtyard, there was a muscular man who was slicing animal meat.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly realized that he had become that infant.

“What’s going on?” When Ning realized that he had taken on the role of the infant, he was puzzled; during all of the previous tribulations, he had always remained in his own body.

But as time went on…Ning slowly began to understand.

He had become the infant. The infant slowly grew up, becoming a toddler. All the toddlers received the same type of tutelage within the clan…but given how young he was, how could he possibly not be restless? Only after even more time passed did he slowly begin to study hard. And at eight years of age…his father went out hunting in the mountains, never to return.

He began to grow up, because he was the only man in the family. Under the tutelage of his mother and his second matron, he began to work hard. 2

His mother and his second matron, in order to ensure that he would receive good tutelage within the clan, suffered countless hardships.

He swore an oath to himself…

He would definitely let his mother and his second mother live a good life.

“Luo Jun, at the age of sixteen, you were able to train to the peak of the Houtian level; you have quite a bit of potential. What you need to do now is experience life-and-death dangers. If you can break through to the Xiantian level…then the lives of your mother and your second matron will be much better.” A middle-aged man smiled at him. “At that time…you’ll truly become acknowledged as a member of the Youngflame clan.”

“Right.” The youth’s eyes were filled with desire.

However…Ning, whose soul was riding with the youth, felt increasingly worried and uneasy.

Just as the youth had finished a dangerous adventure and had returned to his city, a green-haired Immortal had suddenly appeared in the skies above the city.

“Everyone in the city is to be evacuated,” the green-haired Immortal ordered, his voice echoing everywhere.

Within the courtyard, the youth and his two mothers both raised their heads to look. They felt puzzled and mystified; evacuated? How?

Whoosh.

Moments later, they could feel space twisting around them…and they then appeared in a different dimension.

“So many people?” The youth felt as though they were surrounded by an endless sea of people.

“Luo Jun, what…what’s going on?” His two mothers were both panicking.

“Don’t worry. This is a technique of Immortals,” the youth said confidently. “There are countless clansmen here; we’ll know what’s going on soon.”

Not too long later…

Whoosh.

They were once more teleported away. This time, even more people were here.

“This time…it must be when Old Demon Windraiser put everyone together?” Ning could vaguely sense what was going to happen, and he felt dread in his heart. After having spent more than ten years alongside the youth, Ning sympathized with him as he would for himself. He knew how honest and good this youth was…and he knew how deep the love was between this youth and his two mothers.

He already knew what was in the youth’s future. He didn’t wish to believe that this future would come true.

Rumble…

The dimension exploded.

1. Yu the Great, Da Yu, was a legendary Emperor and founder of the Xia Dynasty in Chinese history. According to legends, he ‘tamed’ the Yellow River and its constant flooding problems by creating a system of irrigation canals as well as dredging the riverbeds, allowing Chinese civilization to flourish along the Yellow River.

2. Second matron here, as a term, means his father married two different women; polygamy was legal in ancient China, and the children would refer to their father’s wives in order of seniority as ‘first matron’, ‘second matron’, etc., with the birth mother being simply ‘mother’.

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Chapter 4 – The Third Sinflame Tribulation

Chapter 4 – The Third Sinflame Tribulation

The dimension blew apart, reality shattering into tiny little pieces. The more powerful Immortal cultivators within the dimension roared with fury, seeking to charge out from within it.

“What’s going on?”

“Heavens above!”

“Abu!”

Countless mortals were completely dazed and confused. They watched as the world itself shattered…and they were completely unable to resist. The cried out in terror, in pain, in panic.

“Mother, second matron…no…no…” The youth was completely dazed. He watched as the two most important people in his life, his mother and his second matron, be ground apart as the walls of reality itself imploded.

The most important people in his life!

“Mother!”

“Second matron!”

The youth felt unbearable pain. He was filled with hatred and despair…and then, his consciousness went dark.

Ning’s soul was riding with the youth, and the emotions which the youth felt slammed into Ning as well. After riding with the youth for more than ten years, Ning had feelings for the two women as well. He viewed them almost as he would his own mother…and when they died, Ning was filled with boundless anger, regret, and…self-blame! He couldn’t help but blame himself for what had happened.

If…if I hadn’t shattered that Qiankun pearl…how wonderful it would have been…

“That poor child. Those poor mothers…” Ning’s heart had already reached the iceheart level, and so he was able to quickly suppress that thread of self-blame. He quickly and completely escaped from being in the mindset of that youth.

……

“Listen up! A foolish idiot like you isn’t worthy of my little sister.” A muscular, powerful man was standing on the prone body of a youth. The man was roaring angrily, “If you know what’s good for you, stay away in the future. Don’t you dare get close to my little sister again. Otherwise…next time I see you, things won’t end as easily as they have today. There are plenty of monsters in the deep mountains outside the city; if I were to throw you into the mountains, before a single night is over, you’ll have been completely devoured, leaving behind not even a bone.”

The muscular man gave two more kicks before turning and leaving.

Ning felt pain throughout his entire body. He rose to his feet, his face swollen and his forehead busted open.

“Am I now riding with this youth?” Ning mused to himself.

The youth turned, then hobbled with difficulty towards his own residence.

That night.

“Ji.” A maiden stealthily crept in. Upon seeing the appearance of the bedridden youth, she felt such pain that her tears came cascading down. “It’s all my fault. All my fault…”

“Yu Wei?!” Ning couldn’t help but feel shocked when he saw the maiden.

They looked too similar.

Far too similar! In fact, she looked utterly identical to his senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei. But Ning quickly came to his senses; given that there were ten billion mortals within the Oldjade mountain range, it made sense that there was at least one maiden who looked almost identical to Yu Wei. In addition…after he gave her a closer look, he saw that this maiden appeared simpler and more guileless than Yu Wei; she didn’t have the transcendent aura possessed by an Immortal cultivator.

The maiden helped the youth bind his wounds, applying medicine to him. She had even brought over a meat soup for him to drink.

“We need to be even more careful in the future. We can’t let my big brother see us again, or any other members of my family,” the maiden said hurriedly.

“Believe me, Lotus…I’m definitely going to train to the Xiantian level, at which point I will openly woo you and wed you,” the youth said seriously.

“I know.” The maiden nodded gently.

……

“You little punk…why don’t you take a good look at yourself? You really don’t know your own limits. You little bastard, you aren’t even a Xiantian lifeform! My little sister is so beautiful, she’s like an Immortal fairy who has descended to the mortal world; she’s one of the most beautiful women of the entire city of Eastring. Plenty of people wish to wed my little sister.” The muscular man was roaring at him. “And you think you can dream of the same? I warned you last time…so don’t blame me for showing no mercy this time! Servants, tie him up and send him to the mountains. Feed him to the monsters!”

“Yes!” Two servants hurriedly assented.

The youth was pressed down against the ground, and his mouth was gagged with a cloth rag. His hands, arms, and entire body were quickly bound. He let out an unhappy groan, but the muscular man just stared at him coldly.

The youth was sent outside the city, deep into the mountains.

“Leave him here. Soon, he’ll be eaten up.” The two servants tossed him down to the ground.

The bound youth landed on the ground, covered with rocks and stones. One protruding stone stabbed deep into his chest. The youth immediately spat out a mouthful of blood, rolling around in agony on the ground.

“Am I going to die? Die here?”

The youth’s heart was filled with terror.

Time passed on…

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

Sound rang out. The youth’s heart clenched; had a monster just arrived? Forget about monsters; even ordinary animals would be able to effortlessly eat him right now.

“I’m absolutely sure that he’s over here.”

“You led us astray earlier. If you are wrong again, you can go die with that brat.”

“Earlier, I led you the wrong way because it was dark. This time, there’s no mistake at all.”

Alongside the voices…

A muscular man appeared, leading two servants.

“Urrr. Urrr.” The youth’s mouth remained gagged; he was unable to speak, but he stared towards the three with surprise and anger.

The muscular man was so angry, he laughed. “You didn’t die. Your luck really isn’t bad! I really wonder what you did, you little brat, to make my little sister so besotted that she threatened suicide. Bring him back!”

Only later did the youth discover…

Lotus, upon learning that Ji had been sent to the deep mountains to be fed to monsters, had been stunned. And then…this girl who had always been innocent, pure, and obedient…went berserk. She threatened suicide: “If I don’t see Ji before dawn, I’ll go join him.” The girl had pressed a sharp knife towards her heart. In the past, she had always been very obedient towards her peak Xiantian father, but this time, she wasn’t willing to compromise at all. “Father, you might be able to take away my knife and tie me up, but if I want to die…you won’t be able to stop me.”

In the end…her strong, domineering father had bowed his head.

After this, Lotus’ father and elder brother no longer tried to prevent the two from being together. To the contrary, they began to train Ji, providing him with good cultivation techniques. Thanks to the help of Ji’s father-in-law and brother-in-law, he truly did break through to become a Xiantian lifeform.

“What?” The youth used his Xiantian energy to probe Lotus’ stomach. He revealed a look of delight. “This, this is…”

Lotus laughed as well.

“I’m going to be a father. Hahaha, I’m going to be a father. Wonderful! Ahahahaha…”

The youth was wildly overjoyed. Lotus, however, just quietly smiled.

“Lotus, I, Youngflame Ji, swear that I will definitely take good care of you and our son.” The youth said excitedly, “My son, in the future, shall become a truly formidable figure. In fact, he’ll be one of the most formidable figures of our entire Youngflame clan.”

“Right.” Lotus nodded gently as well.

……

Ning’s soul was riding with the youth. He had a very strange feeling in his heart. Lotus looked almost identical to Yu Wei. The excitement which Youngflame Ji had felt when he had discovered that Lotus was pregnant…

Ning had a strange feeling. It was as though he had completely become one with Youngflame Ji, as though he and Yu Wei were about to have a child together.

“I, Youngflame Ji, swear that I will definitely take good care of you and our son.” When Youngflame Ji said these words…Ning felt a powerful sense of responsibility.

A husband’s…a father’s…

Responsibility.

“Can it be that they are also going to…” Ning could vaguely see their future, a future that caused Ning’s heart to feel pain. This girl looked identical to Yu Wei. She was simple and honest, but her heart was whole-heartedly with her man. Ning truly didn’t wish to see Lotus die.

Time passed, one day after another.

Lotus’ belly grew bigger and bigger. The young Youngflame Ji was working hard to acquire all sorts of treasured herbs, which he gave to Lotus to eat. “My child must be born with the best of talent. In the future, he will definitely become an important person.”

Each time Youngflame Ji had that eager, excited look on his face, Lotus would laugh as she looked at her man.

This was bliss.

“Everyone in the city is to be evacuated!” An ancient voice echoed throughout the city. Youngflame Ji, who had been holding his pregnant wife’s hand and accompanying her on a stroll, was startled.

Moments later…

The world around them changed.

Youngflame Ji and Lotus had arrived within a pocket dimension which was filled with countless people.

“Lotus, are you alright?” Youngflame Ji was extremely worried.

“I’m fine. But…but where are we?” Lotus, rather worried as well, clutched at Youngflame Ji’s hand.

“Don’t worry. I’m here.” Youngflame Ji vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

Not too long afterwards…

Whoosh…

A second round of teleportations. This time, they were moved to Old Demon Windraiser’s pearl, and the population became even denser.

“No…” Ning’s heart was filled with regret. He truly didn’t want to see this…this scene of utter despair.

Rumble…

The world broke apart.

Screams of terror…rage…despair…

Countless people began to die within the shattering dimension.

“No, no, no…” The youth was completely dazed. He stared in terror at the surrounding world. He had sworn an oath…he was going to protect his wife! “What should I do? What should I do?!” He was blaming himself over and over; he would rather die than let his beloved wife die! He couldn’t forget how they had met…the countless hardships they had experienced together before they had finally been able to be together…

“Lotus…” The youth looked towards the girl, his tears falling down.

He truly was helpless!

“It’s good that we’re together…our entire family is together…” Lotus tightly clutched her man with one hand while gently touching her stomach with the other.

Whoosh….

The shattering dimension showed no mercy at all. As the cracks in reality swept towards them…the man, the woman, and the child in the woman’s belly all perished.

The dimension was completely destroyed.

Ning even ‘saw’ that giant golden palm appear in the outside world. It was this golden palm that had shattered the Qiankun pearl, causing the three of them to all perish.

And that giant golden palm…was Ning’s palm.

“Why? Why wasn’t I just a bit more careful…why did I have to destroy it?” Upon seeing Lotus die, he couldn’t help but feel as though Yu Wei had just died in front of him. The agony which Youngflame Ji felt was sent straight to Ning’s own heart, causing him to feel pain as well.

“It was my fault.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

“Shouldn’t have.”

Ning had reached the ‘iceheart’ stage. Although he felt regret …in the deepest recesses of his heart, he was still able to maintain his state of cold transcendence. He was still able to completely control the emotions he felt regarding what had happened in the outside world, causing it to be unable to shake his inner heart.

……

One story after another.

Ning’s soul rode with one individual after another. For some, he only spent a few months with them; for others, he spent more than ten years. Each person was the type which Ning absolutely wouldn’t have been willing to kill…and in fact, many of their stories resonated with him. This sort of soul-riding felt almost like a form of rebirth. However, because Ning had reached the ‘iceheart’ level, he was able to separate all those emotions from his inner heart, causing it to remain unshaken.

However…the more Ning saw, the more he felt a certain desire in his heart…

If only I hadn’t shattered that Qiankun pearl, how wonderful things would be!

Although Ning felt this desire…he also understood that there was no way to change things. He couldn’t take it back.

……

This sorts of feelings continuously accumulated within his heart. Suddenly…

“Mother! Second matron!”

“Lotus!”

“Master!”

“Junior apprentice-brother!”

“Why, why?!”

“I don’t want to die!”

“My baby! Aaaaaaaah!”

In that instant…

Ning had experienced all sorts of powerful emotions over the course of riding with a thousand lives. All sorts of resentment, anger, pain, embarrassment, agony…they all suddenly gathered together. Before this, although Ning was deeply impacted by the emotions he felt when riding with one of the victims, the emotions came in a single, sudden rush. This time, however…all of the emotions came crashing upon him at the same time. The self-recrimination he felt came crashing down upon him like a wave, instantly drowning him within its waters.

“It was all because of you. You!”

“Why did you break it? Why?!”

“You should be damned.”

“Damned!”

“Die.”

“If you die, you’ll be free.”

“Free.”

A flood of emotions…countless voices…they completely buried and smothered Ning. In fact, they were even able to breach Ning’s ‘iceheart’ and completely fill every inch of his inner heart.

This was the most difficult tribulation of the three tribulations of the ‘red dust tribulations’…the ‘thousand lives heart-tribulation’!

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Chapter 5 – Ruler

Chapter 5 – Ruler

The most terrifying tribulation of the red dust tribulations was this one, the thousand lives heart-tribulation. It was an experience akin to being reborn a thousand times. If one’s Dao-heart was weak, one would probably be lost forever…

After all, to Immortal cultivators, with the passage of countless lifetimes, one would begin to lose the memories of one’s former lives. With so many personalities and experiences in one place…the original personality and person would be lost.

Experiencing a thousand lives, in and of itself, was enough to cause many Loose Immortals to be lost…at which point, the karmic sinflames would burn their souls to ashes.

The thousand lives heart-tribulation was even worse; it wasn’t as simple as causing someone to be actually reborn a thousand times! Ji Ning was a classic example; with each rebirth, he ‘possessed’ the spirit of someone whose story and personality resonated with his own…and each of their stories caused him to feel self-recrimination and regret. If instead he had been randomly ‘reincarnated’ or ‘possessed’ the body of an evildoer, Ning’s iceheart-level mind probably wouldn’t have been shaken in the slightest.

But every single time, Ning’s soul rode with someone whose life experiences and histories resonated with himself. Slowly…these experiences had penetrated his iceheart and entered his inner heart.

And then…they had all merged together!

A flood of emotions born from a thousand lives suddenly exploded forth, reaching an inconceivable level of intensity. This was the final strike of the thousand lives heart-tribulation…and the most terrifying strike of all! Countless peerless geniuses had perished to this strike.

Rumble…

His ‘iceheart’ had been completely infiltrated and submerged. Ning was no longer able to maintain that state at all.

“Damn you.”

“Your fault.”

“Die, die.”

“Go die.”

“I want you dead!”

“Vengeance for Lotus.”

The figures from a thousand lifetimes swam before his eyes. They were roaring with rage, their faces savage and vicious.

“…It’s all my fault. It’s my fault. My fault. If I hadn’t shattered that Qiankun pearl, all of them would still be alive. They had children…wives…parents…siblings…if it hadn’t been for me, they would still be living happy lives…” Ning had already been completely submerged by the endless waves of emotions that were crashing through him.

“Death is a form of escape…I owe them…I can’t face them…only in death…”

……

Within the Nihilum Zone. Within a vast, seemingly endless black void wave. Ning just drifted about with the waves, sent flying repeatedly in different directions.

His eyes were shut. He simply lay there, amidst the waves.

If Uncle White and Little Qing were present, they would have immediately noticed that Ning’s aura was growing increasingly weak at an utterly alarming rate. This was the exact moment when the final, explosive strike of the thousand lives heart-tribulation had arrived!

……

“The seven days are almost up.”

“It’s almost been seven days…Master will definitely survive. Definitely.”

“Senior apprentice-brother…”

Uncle White, Little Qing, and Mu Northson were quietly waiting at Swallow Mountain. Uncle White was no longer drinking, Northson was no longer repeatedly sighing and blaming himself, while Little Qing was constantly mumbling to herself nonstop.

They were all waiting and hoping…

Seven days ago, the karmic sinflames had descended.

Now, seven days later…Ji Ning would be facing the most dangerous test of all.

“You have to survive.”

……

Within the void waves of the Nihilum Zone. Ning’s aura was rapidly weakening in strength…but when it reached an extremely low level, that tiny strand of will just wouldn’t die out, no matter what. It was as though something was forcibly sustaining Ning’s Dao-heart, causing it to be unable to completely, truly break apart.

Within Ning’s soul.

It was completely dark here.

Under the pressure of that torrent of emotions from a thousand lives, Ning’s Dao-heart had weakened so much that his soul had been thrust into utter darkness, the darkness of utter despair. Logically speaking, Ning should have already succumbed to it…but he had not.

“I want to be carefree and unbound!”

“I want to control my own destiny, and to not be toyed with by fate!”

“I don’t want for those I love to leave me…”

In the moment when his Dao-heart sank down to its lowest depths…a voice rang out in the deepest part of his heart. This was Ji Ning’s own voice, a resolute voice, the voice he used when he was at his most stubborn, his most unyielding.

This was a chant which Ning had shouted to himself, even back in his previous life on Earth.

In this life, after seeing his parents perish one by one at Swallow Mountain…this desire was only reinforced.

When he came to understand his own sword-heart…he realized that his sword-heart sought true freedom, sought mastery over his own destiny!

This was the voice that rang out in the deepest depths of Ning’s soul.

“I…”

“I am Ji Ning.”

“I ask to be carefree and unbound, to control my own destiny, and not to be toyed with by fate.” Ning’s Dao-heart rapidly began to condense and strengthen, and as it did, the aura of the young body that was floating about within the Nihilum Zone began to strengthen as well.

Ning slowly regained consciousness. His mind gradually returned to him.

That faith, that chant…it had come from his very essence, rather than from his mind or consciousness.

Now that his mind had returned, Ning’s Dao-heart began to heal even more rapidly. His Dao-heart was also growing even firmer and more dense. “It was indeed my fault that they died…but they are already dead. All that is in the past. There is no way to reverse the flow of time, and there is no way to change past history. Punishing one’s self for something one can no longer alter…that is nothing more than being made a fool of by fate! The only one who rules over myself…is myself!”

Whoooosh.

The youth floating within the dark void waves of the Nihilum Zone suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes gleamed like the stars, filled with unfathomable profoundness.

“I survived. The karmic sinflames…I endured them,” the youth murmured softly.

The karmic sinflames had already turned invisible. It was difficult to see them with the naked eye; one had to use divine sense or coresense to see them. The invisible karmic sinflames continued to swirl around Ning, but they no longer conjured any more illusions. The likes of the ‘soulkiller tribulation’, the ‘red dust tribulation’, and the ‘thousand lives heart-tribulation’ would no longer appear. The karmic sinflames, however, did continue to burn away at Ning’s soul, causing Ning to feel pain.

This pain could not compare to the pain Ning had felt when undergoing the first tribulation, the ‘soulkiller tribulation’; the soulkiller tribulation brought pain into one’s very essence, and thus could increase without any limit. By contrast, there was a limit to how much pain the current karmic sinflames could bring.

However…the pain one felt when one’s soul was being burnt was far greater than the pain one felt when one’s flesh was being burnt.

Although surviving karmic sinflames was a form of baptism for the spirit, the agony of having one’s soul being burned…this, too, was a form of punishment for sin.

“No wonder everyone says that those who can survive karmic sinflames truly are incomparably demonic figures,” Ning sighed. “If a vile fiend truly did decide to kill countless innocents and cause karmic sinflames to descend, and yet was still able to withstand the thousand lives heart-tribulation…one can imagine what sort of a heart he has!”

“After having survived the karmic sinflames, my heart has reached the ‘iceheart’ level; in fact, I nearly reached the ‘ruler’ level,” Ning sighed to himself.

At the last instant, he had broken free of his shackles and awoken.

This was because within his heart, he had a powerful desire sustaining him…and this desire called him awake, condensed his Dao-heart, and made Ning realize that he had to be the one who was the ruler of his own destiny. Even if he was to die…he should only die if he himself chose to die. As for any others who wished to make him die? They could forget about it!

Still, although he understood this in principle, Ning also realized that he hadn’t truly reached the ‘ruler’ level.

[Houyi’s Archery] broke heartforce out into multiple levels. The first level was the basic level, the second level was the iceheart level, and the third level was the ruler level!

Once one reached the ‘ruler’ level…one would be the absolute master of one’s self! All outside forces could forget about trying to shake one’s heart. If one truly did reach the ‘ruler’ level, neither the red dust tribulation nor the thousand lives heart-tribulation would be able to cause Ning’s aura to weaken in the slightest. This was because Ning would be able to completely ignore all sorts of foreign, outside emotions and feelings.

If the ‘iceheart’ level could be described as completely separating one’s inner heart from the outside world and maintaining utter cold calmness, then the ‘ruler’ level was a form of supremacy and transcendence. It is better to channel than to dam; experts who had reached the ‘ruler’ level in heartforce would no longer act to intentionally suppress their emotions and desires, not even in the innermost depths of their heart.

Let any emotions or feelings come as they may…like Yu the Great taming the floods, no matter what waves or floods come, one would be the master of them all.

“I’m not quite there yet.”

“The final tribulation, the thousand lives heart-tribulation, caused my ‘iceheart’ to be improved, nearing perfection. I’m now very close to the ‘ruler’ level.” Ning knew this…but although he knew and could sense that at the end, when he was in the grips of despair, he even touched what it meant to be at the ‘ruler’ level…actually breaking through to truly reach that level would take a long time.

A breakthrough in the spirit…

This was even more difficult than a breakthrough in training in a Dao.

For Immortal cultivators, the most important thing of all was the Dao-heart. Next came one’s insights into the Dao. Last of all was one’s cultivation base!

If one’s Dao-heart was insufficient…no matter how high your cultivation base was or how many Daos you had comprehended, you would still end up deviating and going berserk. The more powerful you were, the more likely you would die, in fact!

The Dao-heart had to be powerful. Only with a powerful Dao-heart and enough insights into the Dao should a person break through to the next cultivation level. For many peerless geniuses and reincarnated Immortals who had awakened their memories, they had strong enough Dao-hearts and enough insights into the Dao that they could simply use liquefied elemental essence and spirit-pills to increase their cultivation base to the level they wanted it to be at. However, no matter what they did, they wouldn’t raise it to a level which was beyond what their Dao-hearts or cultivation bases could handle.

One could rapidly increase one’s cultivation base, but there was no shortcut to strengthening the Dao-heart or comprehending the Dao.

“Despite all this, I was still unable to reach the ‘ruler’ level. What a pity. If I had reached it…I would have become a truly supreme divine archer of the Three Realms,” Ning sighed.

[Houyi’s Archery] divided heartforce up into five major levels.

The third level was the ‘ruler’ level; at this level, one could be considered one of the supreme divine archers of the Three Realms.

The fourth level was the level which the absolute best divine archers of the current Three Realms had reached.

As for the fifth level…this was Houyi’s level. However, this divine archer of the Primordial Era, Houyi, had disappeared for countless years. Some claimed he was dead, while others said that he had secluded himself somewhere. However…what was undisputed was that he had gone missing for far, far too long. It was very rare for an expert to be patient enough to go into hiding for that long without interacting with any other major powers, and so quite a few suspected him of being dead.

Ning had nearly perfected the second level of heartforce, ‘iceheart’. His heartforce was so powerful that he could now be considered one of the top divine archers of the Three Realms.

Before this, Ning had merely reached the basic level; this had been only enough to let him be ranked amongst the divine archers.

Rumble…

A voidwave swept across Ning, pushing him thousands of kilometers away and bringing him to his senses.

“What a powerful wave. If I hadn’t trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], I would’ve died long ago.” Only now did Ning leave his state of pensiveness and come to his senses. He began to inspect his surroundings. He was within an utterly dark void, and he could vaguely make out voidwaves and voidwinds rage about. “What is this place? Uh…why isn’t there any natural energy here at all?”

Ning discovered to his astonishment that there was no natural energy of Heaven and Earth here. Immortal cultivators needed to absorb and refine natural energy in order to replenish their elemental ki, while Immortals needed it to replenish their Immortal energy.

“And…where is the Dao?”

“The Dao of the Heavens?”

In the past, he could clearly sense the Grand Dao of the Sword, the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, as well as many other Daos…but Ning discovered to his amazement that now none of them seemed to exist. He couldn’t sense them at all. The Dao of the Heavens was missing…which meant that no matter how he infused his swordplay with the profound mysteries of the Dao, he wouldn’t be able to summon any of the power of the natural world at all.

“No natural elemental energy…and not even the Dao of the Heavens exists?” Ning stared into the black, dark void around him in disbelief. “Where…where is this place?!”

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Chapter 6 – Wandering

Chapter 6 – Wandering

“A place like this actually exists? Not even the Dao of the Heavens is present…then, this means that all of the mysteries and intricacies of the Dao are useless here.” Ning waved his hand, instantly producing a Darknorth sword. He immediately waved the sword out. Swish! Sword-light flashed…but nothing else happened. It must be understood that at Ning’s current level, any casual sword blow was capable of summoning the power and majesty of Heaven and Earth; for example, the ninth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] could transform the sword into a divine black dragon!

But right now…no matter how Ning swung his sword and no matter what sword-arts he used, the only thing that accompanied his sword was a flash of sword-light…and the flash came from light reflecting off the Darknorth sword!

“It doesn’t matter how deep my insights into the Dao are?”

“What the hell sort of a place is this?” Ning was mystified…but then he had a thought. “Can this be the legendary…Primordial Ruinworld?”

Ning had heard of the Primordial Ruinworld when he had been at Mount Innerheart. It was the most dangerous place that he knew of, a place that existed within the Void that was beyond the Three Realms.

According to the legends…

After Pangu’s World shattered, the Three Realms were born…but the ‘skeleton’ of Pangu’s World remained. These remnants were known as the Primordial Ruinworld! The Primordial Ruinworld was not a complete world; it was a shattered world, making it even more terrifying. Space and time were in a state of chaos here, and dangers abounded.

Even True Gods and Daofathers risked death by coming here.

“Wait, that’s not right.” Ning shook his head. “The Primordial Ruinworld should be akin to a collection of shattered worlds; why is it that I’m within a region that is surrounded by voidwinds, as though I was within a completely empty area?”

“Senior bear, Rahu Bow,” Ning suddenly called out.

Whoosh! A black-robed youth appeared next to him; it was the Rahu Bow.

“Senior bear?” Ning called out again.

“It’s dangerous in the outside world; I cannot emerge.” The giant yellow bear’s voice rang out within Ning’s mind.

“Dangerous? Aren’t you the spirit of the underwater estate?” Ning was puzzled.

The black-robed youth said, surprised, “Master, don’t you know? Senior bear, through cultivation as the spirit of the underwater estate, has long since transcended being a mere treasure. He is now a true, living being.”

“What?!” Ning was stunned.

“You damned bow…I haven’t even told him yet, and you went and blurted it out,” the giant yellow bear sent mentally.

Ning called out in surprise, “Senior bear, you…you’ve already…” Ning had naturally heard that treasure-spirits could cultivate, and that spirits of Protocosmic spirit-treasures could even become Immortals, completely escaping the confines of their treasure-body and existing on their own!

“I wasn’t in a rush to tell you, but I didn’t expect this Rahu Bow to blurt it out. Yes…Master treated me with tremendous kindness. In the Three Realms, there have always been Protocosmic spirit-treasures who have trained to become Celestial Immortals; in fact, some have even become Daofathers! After forging me, Master taught me cultivation methods suitable for treasure-spirits. Over the passage of countless years, I’ve naturally been slowly training in these methods. I’ve long ago become a true, living creature. However…my level of cultivation isn’t high enough, and I cannot yet completely escape the Starseizing Manor,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Ah?!” Ning was speechless. Suddenly, he thought back to the first time he had met with Patriarch Subhuti. Patriarch Subhuti had said something, back then: “Go back to the Starseizing Manor. You cannot break away from the Starseizing Manor for now.” Back then, Ning had been confused by what the Daofather had meant by these words, and had also been puzzled by why the giant yellow bear was able to shed tears.

So this was the reason behind it all!

“The outside world is dangerous and can cause tremendous damage to me. I cannot go out,” the giant yellow bear sent mentally. “Ji Ning, you have the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting you, while the Rahu Bow has not cultivated and thus has nothing to worry about.”

“Senior bear, Rahu Bow…do you know where we are?” Ning asked.

Both of these figures had existed since the Primordial Era.

“Where we are…?” The giant bear was puzzled.

“I don’t know either…” The Rahu Bow was similarly puzzled.

Ning suddenly remembered that when Pangu’s World had been destroyed, one had been sealed away within the Crescent world while the other had hidden within the world of the Grand Xia. Most likely, they knew very little about the outside worlds.

“I’ve heard that the skeletal remnants of the shattered Primordial World, also known as the Primordial Ruinworld, still exist. Within that place, space and time are in a state of chaos. In some places, not even the Dao of the Heavens exist, and even True Gods or Daofathers who go there might perish,” Ning said. “The Dao of the Heavens does not exist in this place, so my guess is that this is the Primordial Ruinworld. However…the only thing around me is an endless void. I can even sense a voidwind, but there are no continents whatsoever. So what do you two think? Where are we?”

“Who told you that the Primordial Ruinworld consists of the skeletal remnants of Pangu’s World?” The Rahu Bow asked.

“Isn’t this public knowledge?” Ning asked.

Ning did indeed know that the destruction of Pangu’s World involved many secrets…but aside from the skeletal remnants of Pangu’s World, what else could the Primordial Ruinworld be?

“What the public knows is wrong!” The black-robed youth was disdainful.

“It is indeed wrong,” the giant yellow bear sent mentally. “In fact, even I’m not too sure about the true truth behind the birth of the Primordial Ruinworld.”

“Eh?” Ning was startled. “Senior bear, what do you know?”

“Ask your master in the future,” the giant yellow bear said. “The Rahu Bow and I are merely treasures, and Rahu’s master, Qi, was merely an Empyrean God. Although the master I followed was more powerful, Master hid me away long before he went to participate in the final battle, and so I know very little. Your master’s status is even higher than my master’s; he definitely knows far more than me.”

Ning nodded lightly.

“However…I can tell you with certainty that the Primordial Ruinworld isn’t as simple a matter as you have described it to be. If it truly was merely the remnants of Pangu’s World, how could it be such a terrifying place? You need to understand that Pangu’s World was an extremely normal world, whereas the Primordial Ruinworld you have described is far too terrifying. Not even the Dao of the Heavens exists within it…it truly is bizarre!” The giant yellow bear continued, “As for this place where you are right now…I’ve given it some thought, and I believe that it should be the region where the Void meets the Primordial Ruinworld…the Nihilum Zone!”

“Nihilum Zone?” Ning’s eyes instantly lit up.

He naturally knew about nihilum zones.

A major world was like an island that existed within the vast, infinite Void! At the borders where the Void met the island, stormy voidwaves would emerge and crash against the world. This region would commonly be referred to as a nihilum zone. However, because major worlds were ‘tiny’, the voidwaves around them would be very weak, and so the nihilum zones around the likes of the Grand Xia world were quite safe. For people like Ning, at least, they were like tiny little ripples.

“Right. Everyone says that the Primordial Ruinworld is comparable to Pangu’s World in size; it is infinitely vaster than ordinary major worlds,” Ning immediately said. “Then the place where the Primordial Ruinworld meets with the Void will naturally have far more powerful voidstorms.”

“Right!”

“This should indeed be the Nihilum Zone outside the Primordial Ruinworld,” Ning said. “Only a place as mysterious as the Primordial Ruinworld can possibly result in a place where even the Dao of the Heavens cannot be sensed.”

“Ji Ning, no matter what, you absolutely must not enter the Primordial Ruinworld. The Primordial Ruinworld probably still has remnants of dangerous power within it,” the giant yellow bear sent hurriedly. “A huge number of True Gods and Daofathers died in the past within this place; even if it’s no longer as dangerous as it was before, for someone like you to enter might result in instant disintegration.”

“Right, right, right. Don’t go in!” The Rahu Bow hurriedly agreed.

“Of course not. After all, according to the legends…not even True Gods or Daofathers are willing to recklessly enter the Primordial Ruinworld.” Ning nodded.

……

An hour later.

Boom…

The voidwaves were growing increasingly powerful, sending Ning flipping more than ten thousand kilometers away before he was able to come to a halt.

“…That’s way too much power. The harder I press forward, the more powerful the waves become.” Ning felt helpless. “How am I supposed to get out of here?”

“You are so stupid.” The black-robed youth stood next to him, completely ignoring the voidwaves. He roared with laughter, “The voidwaves will naturally weaken once they grow close to a major world…but the farther away they are, the more savage they become, until they reach a certain limit! If this Primordial Ruinworld is comparable to Pangu’s World in size, then most likely only a True God or Daofather will be able to force their way out of the Nihilum Zone. Not even Empyrean Gods or True Immortals will be able to accomplish it. Given your power…there’s no way you can possibly force your way out past the waves.”

“Then am I supposed to just go along with the waves?” Ning asked.

“If you go with the waves, you’ll end up in the Primordial Ruinworld. That’s death,” the Rahu Bow said.

“Then what should I do?” Ning was helpless.

He couldn’t force his way against the waves, but if he went along with them into the Primordial Ruinworld, that would be suicide.

“What else can you do? Try your best to stay alive,” the Rahu Bow said. “Just slowly train within this Nihilum Zone. The power of the Solar Star and Lunar Star cover this place; you can continue to train in divine power.”

“That’s my only choice, I suppose.” Ning couldn’t come up with any ideas, no matter what he did.

So…he might as well as just wander.

He’d slowly drift about on the voidwaves. As long as he didn’t go too close to the Primordial Ruinworld, it didn’t matter where he went.

He would train on his journey.

……

As Ning was drifting about within the Nihilum Zone outside the Primordial Ruinworld. Within the Youngflame clan’s tower.

Whoosh! A streak of light flew into the tower; it was the horned, golden-robed man.

“Ancestor.”

“Master.”

Everyone called out to him.

“I’ve already sent Windraiser to the mini-Netherworld.” The Youngflame Ancestor nodded, then said, “The Ten Yama-Kings of Hell of the mini-Netherworld gave me face, but Windraiser’s sin was simply too deep; he’s currently being tormented and tortured within the endless depths of Hell. After his torture ends and his sin has dissipated, he’ll be reborn into your Youngflame clan. However…that will be more than eight million years from now.”

Celestial Immortals Infatuation, Sunfish, and the others all nodded.

Tremendous sinners who entered the Netherworld would indeed suffer mightily; there was nothing that could be done about this.

“Ji Ning and Windraiser both suffered the descent of karmic sinflames.” The Youngflame Ancestor’s face turned grim and sinister. “Now that more than seven days has passed…he is either dead or alive. Come up with a way to have some of our people go investigate Ji Ning’s school, the Black-White College. If he is dead, his life-tablet within the Black-White College will shatter. Investigate in detail; we absolutely must find out if his life-tablet is intact or not.”

“Alright.” Each of them assented.

“I’ll make the arrangements,” Celestial Immortal Arcanum said. He carried out the most miscellaneous tasks amongst their group; after all, he was the weakest of the Celestial Immortals.

“Fine. Arcanum, you can hanldle it. Remember, you have to investigate this in detail; you have to verify whether or not his life-tablet is intact. You can’t just listen to some wild rumors or speculations.” The Youngflame Ancestor’s eyes narrowed. “Until I know for sure that he is dead…I will find it hard to rest at ease.”

All six of them had solemn looks on their faces.

If Ning didn’t die, they would feel uneasy.

After all…it was incredibly difficult for a Celestial Immortal to be born, but they had lost two of them to Ji Ning! In addition, if Ning truly had managed to survive…that calamitous fiend would most likely cause the Youngflame clan to continue to suffer terrifying losses in the future.

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Chapter 7 – Half A Year Later

Chapter 7 – Half A Year Later

As the Youngflame clan was planning to send people to Stillwater City and come up with a way to verify Ning’s status…the Xia Emperor, within the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, was planning to send out his subordinate, Skyfox.

“Skyfox, pay a visit to the Black-White College. I need to know if Ji Ning is alive or not.”

“Yes, Master,” Skyfox said, accepting the order immediately.

The Xia Emperor cared deeply about whether or not Ning was alive. He had decided long ago that Ning had to be a Daofather’s disciple. Could it be that such a peerless figure had truly perished? Emotionally speaking, the Xia Emperor truly couldn’t believe this…but after hearing the report from Youngflame Freak, he had immediately dispatched his Godslayer Guards to deal with the escaped Fiendgods, then began to use his Mirror of Omniscience to watch what was happening within the Oldjade mountain range. He had personally watched the descent of the karmic sinflames through the Mirror of Omniscience!

“He’s trained for less than a century, after all. Although he is a genius the likes of which the entire major world rarely sees…in the face of the descent of karmic sinflames, he has less than a ten percent chance of surviving.” The Xia Emperor had watched Ning battle with the Youngflame clan through his Mirror of Omniscience. He wanted to be friends with Ning, while the Youngflame clan was his subordinate tribe…it truly wasn’t appropriate for him to intervene, and so all he could do was help neither side.

Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

A white-robed, white-haired man was flying towards Immortal Diancai’s residence.

“What? You want to know if Ji Ning is alive or not?” Immortal Diancai glanced at Immortal Skyfox, utter confusion on his face. “Fellow Daoist Skyfox, why would you ask such a thing?”

“Eh?” Immortal Diancai turned his head to glance outwards. As the master of this place, he had naturally set up a series of simple formations around his mountain. When the white-robed, white-haired Whitewater Hound arrived, Immortal Diancai noticed right away. Frowning, he murmured to himself, “The Whitewater Hound came as well?”

“Whitewater Hound?” Immortal Skyfox smiled. “Since Ji Ning’s spirit-beast is here…it’s best for you to ask the Whitewater Hound abouto Ji Ning, fellow Daoist Diancai. He will definitely know more than I do.”

“Brother White.” Immortal Diancai immediately called out to him.

Although Uncle White wasn’t a formal disciple of the Black-White College, he was the spirit-beast of a formal disciple and was also a Void-level Earth Immortal. His status within the Black-White College was now far higher than it had been, and he was allowed to go to almost anywhere he pleased.

“Immortal Diancai.” Uncle White walked over. Upon seeing the seated Skyfox, he immediately said, “My respects to you, Immortal Skyfox.”

“Sit,” Immortal Diancai immediately urged.

Uncle White sat down. Immortal Diancai immediately asked him, “Fellow Daoist Skyfox came to my place to ask about whether our Ji Ning is alive or not. What has happened to him?”

Uncle White couldn’t help but look towards Skyfox.

Skyfox said, “I have come on orders from the Xia Emperor to investigate this matter.”

“The Xia Emperor sent out the Godslayer Guards; he must know exactly what happened within the Oldjade mountain range. Is there really a need for me to spell everything out?” Uncle White had a rather ugly look on his face; he felt that given that the Xia Emperor had sent out the Godslayer Guards, he should’ve been able to rescue Ning…but he had not.

“The Xia Emperor only sent out the Godslayer Guards after receiving a report from the Youngflame clan that many Fiendgods had escaped into the world,” Skyfox immediately said. “At first, he didn’t know about what had happened with Ji Ning. Only when the Godslayer Guards returned to make their report did he learn that Ji Ning was present as well…and so the Xia Emperor went to query the Youngflame clan, at which point he learned what had happened. However, by then it was far too late!”

Uncle White didn’t say anything.

“What are you talking about?!” Immortal Diancai asked.

“My son Ning has an extremely deep feud with the Youngflame clan,” Uncle White said plainly. “The Youngflame clan wasn’t willing to let things rest either, and so Ning charged straight into the Youngflame clan’s headquarters. They weren’t able to do anything to him, but they played a dirty trick which caused him to kill more than ten billion ordinary mortals. Karmic sinflames instantly descended upon him.”

“He accidentally killed ten billion mortals, causing the descent of karmic sinflames?” Immortal Diancai’s face immediately changed.

He viewed Ji Ning as he might one of his own children. Upon hearing that Ning had accidentally killed ten billion mortals and caused the descent of karmic sinflames, he was instantly stupefied.

“Then where is he now?” Immortal Diancai asked.

“My son Ning was instantly assaulted and burned by karmic sinflames, but the Youngflame clan still wouldn’t let it rest. They used some sort of teleportation technique to send him far beyond the world of the Grand Xia,” Uncle White said, his face ashen.

“How long ago did the karmic sinflames begin to wreath themselves around him?” Immortal Diancai asked.

“Seven days ago,” Uncle White said. “More than seven days have passed, but I can sense that he is still alive. He’s survived the karmic sinflames.”

Immortal Diancai let out a sigh of relief.

Karmic sinflames!

They were utterly terrifying. Even he, Ning’s master, wouldn’t dare claim that he would definitely be able to withstand them. He felt both worried for and proud of his disciple.

“Congratulations, felicitations! He overcame the karmic sinflames tribulations.” The nearby Skyfox laughed, but his heart was still filled with utter amazement. And not just him…even the Xia Emperor had felt that Ji Ning was extremely unlikely to have survived the karmic sinflames.

“He should have finished with the karmic sinflames tribulations roughly three or four hours ago.” Uncle White continued in a low voice, “He naturally has a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal with him…he would’ve teleported back long ago, unless he was trapped within some sort of unescapable danger zone. Since he hasn’t come back…he’s clearly trapped in a place where even a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal does not work.”

Immortal Diancai’s face turned ugly again.

Skyfox nodded gently. “That makes sense. The Youngflame clan has an extremely terrifying clan-protecting treasure, a Protocosmic spirit-treasure that is known as the Worldhold Pagoda. The Worldhold Pagoda has the power to tear open space and teleport people through it. Given how much they hate Ji Ning, they definitely must have sent him into the infinite Void that lies beyond the Three Realms. They absolutely wouldn’t have sent him somewhere where he could simply use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape and return.”

“Then what should we do?” Immortal Diancai immediately asked.

“There’s nothing we can do. Some of the danger zones within the Void are so deadly that not even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods can escape from them.” Skyfox shook his head. “Diancai, although you’ve become a Celestial Immortal…you are unable to help Ji Ning in this matter. In addition, no one knows where he is right now.”

“The Youngflame clan…” A look of boundless rage was within Immortal Diancai’s eyes.

Immortal Diancai knew very well about the feud between Ji Ning and the Youngflame clan.

After all…in the past, Patriarch Arcanum of the Youngflame clan had actually gone to the Black-White College to try and force them to hand him over.

“Also…the Youngflame clan is extremely wary of Ji Ning,” Skyfox said. “Two of the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan died by his hand this time. Most likely, they are going to do everything they can to investigate as to whether or not he was able to survive the karmic sinflames. Thus…they will definitely come to the Black-White College to investigate.”

“He killed two Celestial Immortals?” Immortal Diancai was surprised.

“Yes, that is why the Youngflame clan is wary of him,” Skyfox said. “This disciple of yours truly is formidable.”

Immortal Diancai quickly calmed down. Nodding, he said, “Understood. Don’t worry…the Youngflame clan can forget about learning any information regarding Ji Ning’s status from our Black-White College. Also…fellow Daoist Skyfox, I hope that your side will not leak out any information regarding his status either.”

“Don’t worry. When I return, I will make my report to the Xia Emperor, and him alone. The Xia Emperor wouldn’t act to leak this news to the Youngflame clan,” Skyfox said.

……

That very day, Immortal Diancai issued an order: The Starfire Palace, where all the life-tablets of the disciples of the Black-White College were located, was to be completely sealed and locked down! Nobody was permitted to go anywhere near it! Not even the Loose Immortals of the Black-White College dared to go there now. Immortal Diancai was now a Celestial Immortal; naturally, that meant he had the highest rank and authority within the Black-White College.

In addition, the sealing of a palace that contained life-tablets was a minor matter. No one opposed it.

“Sealed?”

“Completely sealed? Why has the Black-White College suddenly and completely sealed away the Starfire Palace? Can it be that Ji Ning truly has perished?” Celestial Immortals Arcanum, Deadwood, and the others were all puzzled upon hearing this news.

……

Time flowed onwards.

Immortal Diancai personally stood guard over the Starfire Palace.

“Disciple, it has been more than three months…” Immortal Diancai stared at the table in front of him, covered with life-tablets. One of the life-tablets represented Ji Ning. This life-tablet remained unbroken; clearly, Ji Ning remained alive despite being trapped in a distant danger zone.

At first, Immortal Diancai, Uncle White, Mu Northson, and the others all waited hopefully for his return. However, as more and more time passed, they gradually understood that it truly was hard to say when he would return, or if he would return at all. All they could do…was quietly hope.

Within the Nihilum Zone.

Ning was continuing to drift about within the infinite, dark Void. He didn’t dare to allow himself to be swept towards the Primordial Ruinworld by the currents of voidwaves.

His wandering days were filled with boredom.

This was because he could not sense the Grand Dao of the Sword, the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, or any other Daos. There was no way for him to cultivate in the Dao at all; all he could do was occasionally train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. However, there was a limit to how much divine power he could absorb each day and a limit to how much time he could spend in training in it. He couldn’t perpetually train…and so for more than 90% of the time each day, Ning did just one thing:

Train in archery!

Swoosh!

The Rahu Bow was pulled tight. Nint stared at the distant, impending voidwave, his heartforce completely merged into the bow and the arrow. Twang! The arrow shot out through the void.

Whoosh!

The arrow moved with lightning speed as it traversed more than a million kilometers, striking hard against the distant voidwave. In the face of the power of the voidwave, however, the arrow was sent flying straight backwards towards Ning’s direction. When shooting an arrow against the flow of the voidwaves, the arrows would return. But if he shot towards any other direction…

Although these arrows were Immortal-ranked magic treasures which could be controlled through elemental ki, they flew too fast and too far; there was no way Ning would be able to recover them. And so, the only option for him was to shoot straight towards an impending voidwave.

Day after day. Every single day, he trained in archery.

Slowly, Ning began to get a better handle on the intricacies behind how [Houyi’s Archery] utilized divine power, especially now that he had all but reached the peak of the ‘iceheart’ level. With such powerful heartforce filling each arrow, the power of each arrow was now greater than his close combat abilities!

Heartforce…

It was indeed a type of extremely powerful force. It was the reason why the divine archers of the Three Realms were so terrifying.

……

Ning had spent roughly half a year drifting about within the Nirvana Zone. He had no idea exactly how far he had flown.

“Eh? What’s that?” Ning could vaguely make out something in the distance. Because the Nirvana Zone was filled with voidwaves and voidstorms, he normally couldn’t see anything else at all.

“[Torch Dragon’s Eye].”

Ning’s two eyes instantly began to blaze with torch-fire. He stared far into the distance. Instantly, his sight range began to increase rapidly, allowing him to see a few dim strands of light that had appeared far away within the darkness. Before using this divine ability, Ning was only able to see to a few thousand kilometers, but after using it…all the light of the surrounding area began to gather within his corneas.

“That is…a continent!!!!” Ning’s face changed slightly.

That continent was actually tens of millions of kilometers away from Ning. However, because of how utterly vast it was, Ning was still able to just barely make it out with eyes. For example, although the Moon was located very far away from Earth, ordinary mortals on Earth could still see it from afar. Similarly, due to how enormous that continent was, Ning was still able to make it out within the darkness of the void.

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Chapter 8 – First Contact

Chapter 8 – First Contact

“Can that be part of the Primordial Ruinworld?” Ji Ning instantly thought of this possibility. After all, the Primordial Ruinworld wasn’t a perfect sphere or cube; it had peaks and valleys. It would make sense if he was able to see part of it bulging out.

“No matter what, I shouldn’t go near it.”

“The Primordial Ruinworld is incomparably dangerous. Not even True Gods or Daofathers dare to rashly charge into it. It’s best if I stay far away.” Ning knew his own limits; although he had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him, he still didn’t dare to act rashly.

Whoosh!

Ning immediately began to move away from that land, pulling away from it.

Although he was quite curious about the Primordial Ruinworld, Ning knew very well…that curiosity killed the cat!

……

Millions of kilometers away from Ning, within the distant darkness of the Void. A mysterious base was located here, one which was completely invisible to the naked eye.

Within the base.

There were numerous tall, muscular, black-scaled warriors with curved, blood-red horns who were seated on thrones. A total of eighteen thrones were hovering in the air. They each sat there silently, their golden eyes focused upon an image within an enormous mirror that hung within the air. The image displayed within the mirror was of Ji Ning, who was flying forward on his own. Ning had just used the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] and had begun to fly farther away, seeking to pull away from the continent.

“The alien has begun to flee.”

“Can it be that the alien has discovered us investigating him?”

“Shouldn’t have; we’ve never seen this alien before. He doesn’t come from our neighboring ‘Quchang’ world, nor does he come from the Heptagod world.” The eighteen mighty warriors chatted calmly with each other in the Fiendgod tongue as they sat there atop their thrones.

“This part of the Void is the dominion of our world, the Snaphorn world. Even if our neighbors from the Quchang world or the Heptagod world were to send scouts over…they wouldn’t send them flying towards us in such an overt fashion. In addition…he looks very peculiar. His skin actually looks quite soft and tender, and his body is quite tiny.”

“Can it be a scout that has been been sent from an unknown world?”

They were all chatting amongst themselves.

Suddenly, the voice of the highest ranked warrior, the black-caped warrior who was seated at the very end of the eighteen thrones, rang out. “Without question, this newly arrived invader is someone we have never encountered before. He doesn’t belong to any of the neighboring worlds. As to where he comes from…if we capture him, we will know.”

“Lord Protector, I trust you yourself also saw that this alien is capable of surviving within the voidwinds. In addition, he is enduring the voidwinds through his own physical power, without relying on any outside support. Although his skin seems soft and although he is small…none of us have bodies that can compare to his,” a warrior said.

“But we have our wisdom.” The highest ranked black-caped warrior said, “Balo, go and lead a pack of your children to test this alien’s abilities. If you can capture him alive, do so; if you cannot, get a full sense of his strengths and weaknesses. This alien is wandering within the part of the Void under our control; the other bases are undoubtedly watching us. Don’t let them laugh at us.”

“Right.”

The tall warrior named Balo rose to his feet, then immediately walked out of the palace.

Every single one of the massive warriors were more than three thousand meters in size. They were like moving mountains, and in their eyes, Ning was like a tiny little dot. However…they knew quite well that their neighbors in the Quchang world and the Heptagod world were not easy to deal with, and that any alien capable of having traversing such a great distance through the Void was most likely not easy to deal with either.

……

Within the silent, dark void. Ning was continuously flying forward, pulling farther and farther away from that land. He had already moved more than a million kilometers away from it, but he had no idea at all…that just six thousand kilometers away from him, an enormous, invisible spaceship was drawing close to him, a vessel that couldn’t even be seen with divine sense.

This enormous ship was more than a hundred kilometers long. Within it, the blood-red horned, black-scaled warrior ‘Balo’ was seated atop his throne. Below him was a group of similar black-scaled warriors, some of which even had enormous scaly wings. However, these warriors all had blood-red eyes, not golden ones. They all just stood there silently.

“My children,” Balo said.

“Master.” The ten mighty warriors standing below him all acknowledged his call in unison. They looked very similar to Balo, but they had a pair of wings which he did not, while lacking his curved horn.

“Go and capture this alien alive. If you cannot…then retreat and return. Remember…don’t kill him!” Balo rubbed his jaw. “He most likely carries many secrets with him. We have to take him alive. Only then can we discover his secrets.”

“Yes.” The ten blood-eyed warriors all assented respectfully.

“Also…the next voidstorm is still twelve sectors away from us. You have to return before the voidstorm arrives,” Balo instructed. These minions of his wouldn’t dare to try and withstand the voidstorms of this place; they were tens of millions of kilometers away from their land, and the voidstorms here were still quite powerful.

The doors of the ship opened.

The ten blood-eyed warriors immediately flew out from the cabin, almost all of them at least three thousand meters tall. Even the shortest was twenty-four hundred meters tall.

……

“Eh?” Ning, who had been flying through the void, suddenly turned his head. The torch-light blazed within his eyes. When the door to the spaceship opened, it was revealed. One after the other, the tall, muscular, black-armored warriors with giant wings and blood-red eyes came flying out of the ship at an utterly astonishing speed.

“There are living creatures here?” Ning was startled.

In the past half year, he had never encountered any other living creatures within the Nihilum Zone. And now, a large ship had suddenly appeared, as well as ten seemingly mighty figures that looked like Fiendgods.

“There shouldn’t be any living creatures within the Nihilum Zone. Then…” Ning’s heart clenched. “These living creatures must’ve entered the Void through the Primordial Ruinworld.”

The Primordial Ruinworld was extremely large; it was possible that there were some creatures which lived close to its margins. Because they lived at the borders, they were able to enter the infinite Void…but the terrifying voidwaves were simply too powerful. Based on what the Rahu Bow and the giant yellow bear had deduced, most likely only True Gods or Daofathers would be able to fly about within the Nihilum Zone.

“Alien!”

The ten enormous figures flew out, and as they did they sent out their divine sense as well.

“The Fiendgod tongue?” Ning immediately realized noticed this. Although the Fiendgod tongue was complex and hard to learn, Ning had mastered it long ago.

“Can it be that you do not understand us?” The ten massive figures stared at Ning. The large ship was drawing closer as well; it was now only a thousand kilometers away from Ning.

Ning didn’t respond. He just looked back at them.

“Since he doesn’t understand…then let’s just go ahead and capture him first.” Instantly, one of the massive, blood-eyed warriors manifested a giant whip within his hands. He flew straight towards Ning.

“Stay your hands!” Only now did Ning send out his own divine sense, speaking in the Fiendgod tongue.

The massive, blood-eyed warrior instantly came to a halt, a hint of amusement in his blood-red eyes. “So you can understand after all, alien.”

“I merely do not wish to fight you,” Ning said.

“Then why have you trespassed into the space that belongs to our Snaphorn world?” The blood-eyed warrior instantly asked. The other nine blood-eyed warriors simply watched silently. Their assignment was to capture this alien…it was best to first test him and see what his strengths were, and so they were quite willing to spend some time chatting with this alien.

The more they spoke, the more they would learn about him.

“I trespassed by accident,” Ning said. “I do not wish to be enemies with you.”

“Trespassed by accident? If that’s the case, come with us and go see our master,” the blood-eyed warrior said.

“There’s no way I will leave with you.” Ning shook his head.

Was this a joke? There was no way Ning would dare to casually barge into the Primordial Ruinworld. That was a place filled with dangers that could wipe out True Gods or Daofathers.

“If that’s the case…we’ll have to take you back by force.” The ten blood-eyed warriors simultaneously made their move. Five of them were more than three thousand meters tall, while the other five were around twenty-four hundred meters tall. The shorter, weaker-looking warriors simultaneously opened their mouths, emitting a soundless roar.

Rumble…

An invisible ripple spread out, instantly washing over Ning’s entire body. Ning didn’t even have a clue as to how he was supposed to resist this sort of attack.

“Is this some sort of hypnotic ability?” When the ripple reached him, Ning instantly understood. However, he was a Fiendgod as well; his divine soul and the flesh of his divine body had been completely fused together into an incomparably stable whole. In addition, Ning’s Dao-heart had withstood even the karmic sinflames; how could this sort of hypnotic ability possibly control him?

“We’re unable to control him. His spirit is extremely powerful.”

“Take him by force.”

The five shorter warriors all sent out mental messages.

“Fine.”

The five taller warriors all produced long whips in their hands, each whip more than nine thousand meters long.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Their whips cracked out, lashing through the void towards Ning.

A Darknorth sword appeared in Ning’s hand. He didn’t even use the [Starseizing Hand] as he used the sword to block the attacking whips.

Bang bang bang bang bang! A series of concussive sounds; Ning simultaneously blocked all five whips.

“These warriors look like Fiendgods. In terms of strength…they are a bit weaker than me when I’m not using any divine abilities.” Ning nodded to himself. “They should be considered just barely equivalent to Void-level Fiendgods.”

Swoosh!

Ning made his move. The divine power within his body began to activate in accordance with the method contained within the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens]. Although he was unable to borrow any of the power of Heaven and Earth to aid him, his physical speed was already quite fast. In addition, the Darknorth sword in Ning’s hand instantly expanded to become more than nine hundred meters long. Given how large his foes were, if his sword wasn’t long enough, it would be quite hard for him to injure his foes.

Ning instantly flashed past the bodies of the five warriors.

Five streaks of sword-light flashed!

The heads of all five of the three thousand meter tall warriors went flying.

“What tough bodies. They seem to be even tougher than Void-level Fiendgods who haven’t trained in any divine abilities.” Ning could sense that his Darknorth swords met with quite a bit of resistance as it chopped through their heads. Although he didn’t have the power of the natural world to aid him, in terms of his sword techniques, he was at a vastly higher level than his foes. After all, the Dao of the Sword…was all about how to actually use and apply the sword.

“Eh?”

Ning realized, to his amazement, that green blood was pouring out from the necks of the five giant blood-eyed warriors. Their mouths were twitching…and then they simply floated away through the void, their bodies devoid of any auras.

“Dead?” Ning was completely puzzled. “Seems like they aren’t Fiendgods.” Generally speaking, humans and monsters would die when their heads were severed, but killing Fiendgods required much more effort.

……

The horned warrior within the distant spaceship chuckled when he saw this. “Blaze, my children.”

……

Instantly, the five shorter blood-eyed warriors in front of Ning all bellowed, “Damn you, alien!” Their bodies began to glow with blurry green light. Their auras began to explosively increase in power, and within their hands appeared slender silver chains. Twirling the chains, they moved to encircle Ning.

“Their auras seem to have grown more powerful? Can it be that they are going all out?” Ning mused to himself.

Clang!

The chains collided with Ning’s sword.

From this first collision…Ning was knocked flying backwards.

“Without using any divine abilities…I’m actually physically weaker than them.” Ning immediately used the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] to fly past the five blood-eyed warriors, moving away from them. At the same time, five enormous streaks of sword-light flashed past their necks. In terms of sword-arts…Ning was simply at too high a level. With his utterly astonishing speed, they truly were completely unable to stop him.

These five blood-eyed warriors also collapsed, their bodies beginning to float about within the Void, devoid of all life.

……

The horned warrior, Balo, nodded lightly to himself from his position within the spaceship. “His strength is Earth-level, but his speed is astonishing; it can be considered Heaven-level. He uses the sword, and his sword-arts are at an extremely high level; they, too, should be considered Heaven-level. Of course…I can’t exclude the possibility that he has some ability to increase his power dramatically. He’s no cannon fodder; he’s definitely an elite. I wonder which world actually sent him out to explore all by his lonesome? Still…fortunately, he’s not TOO powerful. If he was truly powerful, he would’ve been able to annihilate all ten of them in a single blow. Mmm…time to go back to the base. I lost ten of my minions this time; I need to raise a new crop!”

Rumble…

The spaceship immediately turned invisible, once more flying back to the base at high speed.

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Chapter 9 – Human!

Chapter 9 – Human!

Within the starbase.

Seventeen horned, scaled warriors stared at the mirror and the images within it. They watched as Ji Ning slaughtered his ten opponents.

“Lord Protector.”

Balo suddenly appeared within the midair mirror. He looked through it, then said, “Lord Protector, I’ve finished my tests. This alien’s speed and sword-arts are all Heaven-level, while his power is Earth-level. In addition, he has yet to display any particularly astonishing abilities to increase his power.”

“Good.” The horned, black-caped warrior within the starbase said, “Balo, your mission is over.”

“Everyone.” The horned, black-caped warrior swept the room with his gaze. “I plan to send a report regarding this alien to the Palace of Elders. Any objections?”

“No objections.”

“None.”

They all spoke out.

“Good.” The horned, black-caped warrior nodded lightly.

……

On a continent of the Primordial Ruinworld. Within the world known as the Snaphorn world.

Within an enormous structure that was more than thirty thousand meters high. A series of thrones hovered in the air within it in the shape of an arc. A total of nine thrones were present here.

One after another, horned, gold-caped, gold-eyed warriors with scales began to appear. Their auras were incomparably powerful. After all nine appeared, an enormous mirror appeared in the air above them, and images began to display within the mirror.

“Venerable Elders, I am Protector Qiwa of Area 1292 of the Third Void Sector.” The horned, black-caped warrior spoke with great respect through the mirror. “We have discovered an alien who has entered the Third Void Sector of our Snaphorn world. Just now, we’ve made first contact with him.”

Whoosh.

Instantly, the images of Balo sending his ten subordinates to fight against Ji Ning appeared within the mirror as well. In fact, even the conversation between Ning and the blood-eyed warriors was replayed in its entirety.

“We judge him to have power close to the Heaven-level. He may also have some other hidden abilities,” the horned, black-caped warrior said with great respect.

“Oh, an alien?”

“It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen an alien from beyond the Quchang world or the Heptagod world.”

“Interesting. He actually has two arms and two legs? And his body is so tiny…”

“Tan skin…black eyes…”

The nine Elders watched with amusement.

They had incomparably exalted statuses; most matters wouldn’t be considered important enough to be directly reported to them. However…an alien invader was one of the most important matters possible. The appearance of even a single invader required a report to be made to the Palace of Elders. After all, once a single alien appeared…it meant that a planetary war might soon erupt.

“An alien which we have never seen before. He flies at a fairly ordinary speed…but he’s still able to advance against the voidwaves. This means his body must be quite powerful, at least. Or perhaps he might have a special method to block the voidstorms?” An Elder smiled. “I recommend that we sent out a commando squad from the Third Void Sector to capture the alien. After that, we will dissect and analyze him. An alien that we’ve never met before, and which is able to block the voidwaves despite being so small…he’s worthy of analysis.”

“I recommend…that we completely mobilize the Third Void Sector. We absolutely must ensure that he cannot escape.”

“Complete mobilization? That will use up too much of our strength. This alien isn’t able to fly that fast; the warriors that we send out can easily catch up to him. There’s no need whatsoever for us to completely mobilize the Third Void Sector.”

“But this is a completely unknown alien; we can’t let him escape.”

“Can it be that you think the commando squads of the Third Void Sector are unable to deal with him?”

The Elders debated back and forth.

But right at this moment…

Rumble…

A terrifying presence descended.

The nine mighty Elders all raised their heads to look, only to see an enormous figure appear in the skies. This figure consisted of an enormous golden eye…and this illusory golden eye alone was already more than thirty thousand meters wide.

“Queen Mother.” The nine Elders all rose to their feet, saluting respectfully.

The enormous golden eye stared intently at the image of Ning, a look of excitement and anger appearing within it. A rumbling voice boomed forth…

“Right…there’s no mistaking it! That’s a human! A HUMAN!!!”

“Human?” The nine Elders were completely puzzled.

“Queen Mother, what’s a human?”

“He’s a human?”

They were all completely baffled.

“The powerful humans…the terrifying humans…” The golden eye stared intently at Ning as the voice continued to echo forth within the entire Palace of Elders. “They are the masters of the Three Realms. They are the culprits who pursued us and killed us…the common enemy of our Snaphorn world, the Heptagod world, the Quchang world, and countless other worlds.”

“The masters of the ‘Three Realms’?”

“Where are these ‘Three Realms’?”

“The common enemy of countless worlds?”

The Elders grew more and more confused.

The golden eye stared carefully at Ning, continuing to speak. “Long, long, long ago, there was a great war…a war which truly tore apart even chaos itself, a war which shattered the Void. The final end to that great war resulted in the formation of this shattered, chaotic land. As for the beautiful, stable, all-encompassing Three Realms…they were taken over by another force, a powerful force! As for us, the defeated…our only choice was to come here and live with this unstable, shattered, Infinite Land.”

“What?”

“Our Infinite Land…is a land of the defeated?”

“How, how can this be?”

“Our Snaphorn world is already incomparably powerful, but the Infinite Land has even more powerful presences within it. It even has many ‘Sacred Ancients’ within it; how could it be a land of the defeated?”

The nine Elders couldn’t believe it. They didn’t want to believe it. They had always felt themselves to be extremely powerful, while the combined powers of the Infinite Land were even more powerful…but they were actually still inferior to this so-called ‘Three Realms’?

“Sacred Ancients are known as ‘Daofathers’ or ‘True Gods’ in the Three Realms!” The golden eye continued to speak. “The Three Realms have many True Gods and Daofathers…in fact, they even have powers that are above True Gods and Daofathers…especially that legendary figure known as Nuwa. She was truly too terrifying…even Sacred Ancients were instantly slain before her.”

“What?!” The nine Elders were completely stunned.

Sacred Ancients? Instantly slain?

Nuwa?

Who was this Nuwa?

The nine Elders firmly engraved the name ‘Nuwa’ into their memories.

“There are some extremely powerful Daofathers in the Three Realms who are capable of annihilating our Snaphorn world with but the wave of a hand. When they part their lips, flames will emerge that can engulf the space of the void, causing even space itself to be set alight. When they brandish their swords….they can cause multiple Sacred Ancients to flee without recourse.” A faraway look was in pupil of the golden eye as it continued to speak slowly.

The nine Elders all knew very well that their Queen Mother was the founder and builder of their world, a figure who had existed ever since the days of the most ancient of wars.

What the Queen Mother spoke of, she most likely had personally witnessed.

Too terrifying…

This ‘Three Realms’ was far too terrifying!

“In addition, the Three Realms have many other races within them. The most powerful of those races, however, are the humans. The humans are the masters of the Three Realms,” the golden eye said. “Supposedly, it was Nuwa who created humans, and she doted dearly upon them. In addition…humans have a terrifying rate of growth as well as procreation. They gave birth to many powerful individuals, including many of their ‘Daofathers’. Humans are the most powerful, have the most potential, and are publicly acknowledged as the masters of the Three Realms.”

“And this little invader…he is human!”

The golden eye stared death towards Ning.

“Human?”

The nine Elders stared at Ning as well. Previously, they had looked down upon him as they might look down upon a bug. They felt themselves to be wise and powerful; they hadn’t held this puny little figure in any regard. But now, from what they had just learned…they realized that this puny little fellow, less than a tenth of a percent of their size…was actually one of terrifying masters of the Three Realms, a common enemy to the entire Infinite Land…a human!

“So this is a ‘human’?”

The nine Elders couldn’t help but feel a sense of both dread and respect, because the race behind this alien invader was simply too terrifying.

“However…there is no need to worry about a little fellow like him,” the Queen Mother’s voice rang out. “This is the Infinite Land, not the Three Realms. Those so-called Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and the others…they are useless here. Only the most supreme of Daos, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos, is present here. The Dao of Primordial Chaos is the most exalted of Daos. Both the Infinite Land and the Three Realms were born from the primordial chaos…and anything born from the primordial chaos is subject to the Dao of Primordial Chaos. However…anyone capable of understanding the Dao of Primordial Chaos, even just a tiny part of it, would be considered one of the most supreme figures of the Three Realms. This little fellow shouldn’t be that strong.”

“Right.” The nine Elders all nodded.

The Dao of Primordial Chaos…

They had heard of it before. It was the most exalted of Daos, the most powerful of Daos! If one could summon the limitless power of the Dao of Primordial Chaos, even the killing of Daofathers would be accomplished with ease.

“Hear and obey,” the Queen Mother’s voice rang out, having grown deeper. “Fully activate the entire Third Void Sector. This human absolutely must not escape.”

“Send out all of the commando squads of the Third Void Sector to capture this human.”

“Send out the entire First Army of our border armies. This human must be captured!”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The nine Elders all assented with respect.

……

“The Queen Mother commands the alien to be captured. We shall fully mobilize.” A horned, violet-caped warrior let out a bellow.

“For the Queen Mother!” The dense cluster of a thousand-plus black-caped warriors all called out in unison.

……

“The Queen Mother commands that our First Army fully mobilize at once to capture this alien.” A horned warrior with an extremely powerful aura let out a roar. This horned warrior wore a golden cape which was covered with black tattoos at the base.

“For the Queen Mother!”

The group of horned, violet-caped warriors below him all called out with respect and ardor.

They immediately began to summon their squads and units. Soon, the most powerful army of the border armies, the First Army, flew out from the Infinite Land. They boarded their enormous spaceships and flew into the Void, towards the direction of Ji Ning.

……

Within the darkness of the void.

Three powerful minds were communicating with each other, one of which was the Queen Mother who had just given the order.

“Elder sister, why have you awoken us?”

“It isn’t time for us to wake up yet.” The two other minds each released their own queries.

However, the mind of the Queen Mother said: “In the space around our Snaphorn world, a human has appeared.”

“A human?”

“What? A human?”

The two other terrifying minds instantly trembled. They would never be able to forget that terrifying war. The tremendous power of the human race had been completely engraved into their minds. Even though countless eras had passed since then…they could never forget. That had been a true nightmare. That terrifying entity had countless experts, and the humans were the most powerful of them. Those utterly enormous, so-called ‘formations’…those blazing infernos that had been birthed from the Solar Star…those staves, those trees, those swords, those weapons…they had exterminated countless individuals that the three of them had venerated. They all felt tremendously grateful for having been able to survive that great war.

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Chapter 10 – Grand Space Formation

Chapter 10 – Grand Space Formation

“This human is still very weak, and I’ve already sent out the entire First Army of the border armies after him. Within the First Army, there are at least a few ‘Firstborn’. I’ll be able to see everything they experience and will be able to more closely inspect this human who has arrived,” the Queen Mother’s mind sent.

“Your actions are correct, elder sister.”

“Keep a close eye on this human.”

The Snaphorn world, in truth, was ruled over by these three Queen Mothers. They were the founders of this world; naturally, they vastly outstripped Ji Ning in power. However, they were wary of the humans which Ning represented, and so they didn’t dare to be the slightest bit arrogant.

These three Queen Mothers had, long ago, given birth to a group of children.

Their children had continued to give birth to children of their own…

And so, one generation after another, this continued…

The original source for all of the citizens of the Snaphorn world was this trio of Queen Mothers! Those who had been born from the Queen Mothers were known as the ‘Firstborn’, and they had the greatest potential. The children of the Firstborn were the Secondborn, and their potential was second only to that of the Firstborn. The children of the Secondborn were the Thirdborn, and so on and so forth.

For example, of the nine Elders in the Palace of Elders, eight were Firstborn while one was Thirdborn!

The Queen Mothers who had given birth to the Firstborn were able to know everything they experienced.

……

Within a beautiful world of flowers.

Perhaps fate was indeed meddling in subtle ways, for just as Ji Ning encountered this new danger, the day of Yu Wei’s Celestial Tribulation had begun.

“Disciple, you were very powerful in your past life, and in this life you accepted me as your master…which means that this Celestial Tribulation will be incomparably shocking in power. I’m not able to help you too much in dealing with this tribulation. All I can do is help guard you from outsiders. As for the tribulation itself…it’ll be up to you.” Lu Dongbin, his Immortal sword on his back, looked towards the black-robed Yu Wei.

“Your disciple understands,” Yu Wei said respectfully.

“Go, then.” Lu Dongbin nodded lightly.

Yu Wei immediately flew to the peak of a distant island mountain. As for Lu Dongbin, he continued to watch from his current location atop the peak of a nearby mountain. Lu Dongbin was in complete control of this minor world; it was his personal, secret abode. He had even set down layers of formations, ensuring that even True Gods or Daofathers who wished to barge in would have to spend a significant amount of effort.

The wind tribulation, the fire tribulation, the thunder tribulation, the demonheart tribulation…the four great tribulations of the Celestial Tribulation.

Yu Wei was indeed extremely powerful. She had been very powerful in her past life, and with Patriarch Lu’s guidance in this life, she had reached an extremely high level of insight into the Dao. She was thus able to smoothly sail through the wind tribulation and the fire tribulation.

“Not good.” The distant Lu Dongbin frowned slightly as he looked towards her. “Although the wind tribulation and the fire tribulation have both ended…both were clearly more formidable than the ones which most of the disciples under my command experienced. In fact…they were close in power to the wind tribulation and the fire tribulation which I myself experienced so long ago.”

Lu Dongbin had been Emperor Eastflower in a past life; after he had reincarnated and become Patriarch Lu, his tribulation had definitely not been a simple one!

Although he was a Ki Refiner, in the face of the thunder tribulation of his Celestial Tribulation…he inconceivably encountered nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation! However, Lu Dongbin had the benefit of a solid foundation provided by his past life. How could the soul of Emperor Eastflower be so easily dealt with? In addition, his master was a superb one, one of the truly supreme figures of the entire Three Realms. Thus…despite being a Ki Refiner, he had managed to force his way through the nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation.

By now, he had already reached the absolute peak of power possible for a Pure Yang True Immortal. He was publicly acclaimed within the Three Realms as the True Immortal with the highest chance of becoming a Daofather, and in fact he had already stepped halfway into the realm of becoming a Daofather.

“Judging from that wind tribulation and that fire tribulation…my disciple’s thunder tribulation probably won’t stop at six nine-sets.” Lu Dongbin frowned. “Her experiences in her past life were ordinary, and I’m the only master she’s taken on in this life. Normally speaking, most Ki Refiner disciples of Daofathers will only experience six nine-sets. Why in the world is her Celestial Tribulation this deadly?”

Lu Dongbin had always felt that this disciple of his had been hiding something. However, although he had even sought out Judge Cui and read her past life’s history within the Book of Life and Death, he had still been unable to uncover anything.

Still…his subconscious continued to tell him that something wasn’t quite right.

The power of a Celestial Tribulation was determined by the cosmos themselves; naturally, there had to be a reason behind all of this!

“In an hour, the thunder tribulation shall arrive.” Lu Dongbin no longer dwelled on the question, just watching quietly.

……

The Nihilum Zone, beyond the Primordial Ruinworld. Ning was currently flying forward at high speed, continuing to pull away from that distant land. That earlier, sudden attack had caused him to feel that something was wrong…especially when those foes had claimed to be from the Snaphorn world and that this space region belonged to their Snaphorn world.

Ning instantly understood that these creatures must have come from the Primordial Ruinworld…and that he had been discovered.

Flee!

Flee at top speed!

The Primordial Ruinworld was a place which not even True Gods or Daofathers would dare trespass. Ning naturally wasn’t willing to interact with the Primordial Ruinworld in any way.

Rumble…

Suddenly, layers of light began to appear within the formerly dark emptiness of the Void. It was a golden light. The Third Void Sector of the Nihilum Zone had nearly ten thousand bases within it which were connected to each other like nodes! Every single node was a critical point within an utterly enormous formation…and in an instant, an enormous net that spanned tens of millions of kilometers was instantly formed.

“But, but…” Ning was stunned by the sight before him.

His eyes were already blazing with torch-light. He had immediately used the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] and hurriedly scanned his surroundings, but no matter where he looked, he saw the golden light seemingly stretch off to infinity. If he looked carefully enough, he could see countless patterns and ripples within the golden web, while the nodes were particularly eye-catching and brilliant.

“A grand sealing formation that covers many tens of millions of kilometers?” Ning mumbled to himself, “This is crazy. The entire Stillwater Commandery is only a few million kilometers in size.”

A region of many tens of millions of kilometers in size was comparable to a hundred ordinary commanderies of the Grand Xia world.

An utterly enormous formation like this truly was astonishing.

“It seems the power of this Snaphorn world is far beyond what the likes of myself can handle. What should I do? What should I do?” Ning instantly began to consider his next options. Although he was shocked by this enormous formation, Ning wasn’t an inexperienced bumpkin; for example, in the Crescent world, Patriarch Subhuti had secretly set up many enormous formations, some of which were able to cover an entire continent, which was equivalent to a third of the world of the Grand Xia. Those formations were far larger than the grand sealing formation before him.

And the Celestial Court!

The formations of the Celestial Court covered the entirety of the region they controlled.

There were many formations within the Three Realms that were far, far larger than this grand sealing formation! However…generally speaking, only Daofathers were capable of setting up those titanic formations! Most likely, not even Pure Yang True Immortals would be able to set them up, unless they were Pure Yang True Immortals who were extremely skilled in the art of formations, or supreme True Immortals like Lu Dongbin.

In addition, this enormous space formation was merely one of the defensive formations of this Snaphorn world; it probably didn’t represent the complete, full power of the Snaphorn world.

Still…its appearance was enough to cause Ning unease.

An individual capable of establishing this sort of enormous formation definitely wasn’t someone which the likes of Ning, who hadn’t even undergone the Celestial Tribulation yet, could overcome.

“And…aren’t the Heavenly Daos gone from this place? How, then, can formations be used?” Ning guessed, puzzled, “It seems I truly do know far, far too little about the Primordial Ruinworld.”

Indeed, Ning truly knew too little.

Of the ten Heavenly Daos, Primordial Chaos was the most supreme. Life and Destruction were matched, while Yin and Yang were also matched; these four were preceded only by Primordial Chaos. As for the Five Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, they served as the foundation for the entirety of the Three Realms…but they were on the third tier. Ning had an extremely deep level of insight into the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, which was why he could vaguely sense the existence of the Heavenly Dao of Water, but here within the Nihilum Zone, he was completely unable to sense it…and so he had believed that the Heavenly Daos did not exist here!

In reality, however, only nine of the Heavenly Daos were missing from the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld. The Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos continued to exist; any place which was born from the primordial chaos was a place where the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos would exist.

“No matter what…I need to give it a try.”

Swoosh!

Although Ning knew that it was unlikely that he would be able to break through this terrifying formation, he couldn’t just give up and wait for death. He didn’t want to be captured by the Snaphorn world.

The part of the net of light closest to Ning was merely a few million kilometers away. After using the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], Ning’s movement speed was extremely fast; it was a flying technique, after all, and once one used it to fly, one could rely on momentum and thusly limit the amount of divine power that was consumed. It wasn’t like the [Starseizing Hand] or other divine abilities which consumed an enormous amount of divine power.

“Here I am.” Ning stared at the distant net of light, now only a few tens of thousands of kilometers away. The Rahu Bow appeared within his hands. He immediately nocked it, pulled it to a nearly full circle, circulated his divine power, then utilized [Houyi’s Archery].

“Go!”

Light flashed around him, quickly passing through him to the bow, then condensing within the arrow.

At the same time…Ning filled all of his heartforce, now nearly at the peak of the ‘iceheart’ level, into the arrow.

Twang!

A brilliant, fiery red streak of light pierced through the heavens.

As the arrow flew forward, the light around it grew more and more dazzling, and its power grew greater and greater. In the end, it seemed to have transformed into an enormous, fiery red comet. Generally speaking, thanks to [Houyi’s Archery], the farther the arrow flew, the more powerful it would become, until it reached peak power. Within the Three Realms, the usage of this technique would be even more incredible, because as the arrow flew it would constantly draw in the power of the natural world! Right now, since it was unable to do so, its power wasn’t increasing at too ridiculous a rate.

Still…the power of this arrow had still surpassed that of Ning’s close combat ability.

BOOM!

The fiery red comet struck against the net of light…and the net of light just rippled slightly, then turned calm once more. As for Ning’s arrow, it had been knocked flying away.

“As I thought, I failed.” Ning wasn’t surprised at all. If he truly was able to pierce this terrifying sealing formation that was tens of millions of kilometers in size through using just a single arrow…only then would he be surprised! However…he truly didn’t wish to accept this!

“What should I do?”

“All space within this region has been completely locked. There’s no way for me to flee.” Ning felt frantic inside. “The Youngflame clan really was quite vicious in sending me here.”

The Primordial Ruinworld’s Nihilum Zone was indeed an awe-inspiringly famous danger zone. Not even many Empyrean Gods or True Immortals would be able to escape from it, much less the likes of Ji Ning.

As for the even more deadly Primordial Ruinworld…naturally, the Youngflame clan would’ve liked to send him to that place, but alas, even the Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Worldhold Pagoda, was only able to tear open the fabric of space to send Ning into the Nihilum Zone. It was unable to send him to the Primordial Ruinworld.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly turned his head to look.

From far away, within the distant void of space, an enormous ship had suddenly appeared. This titanic ship was ten thousand kilometers long; it was like one of the continents of Earth! Earlier, it had been completely invisible, but now it had materialized out of nowhere. The entrance to the ship opened, and a series of massive, towering, blood-red horned, golden-eyed, black-caped warriors came flying out. The many warriors all radiated utterly astonishing auras.

“So the army of the Snaphorn world of the Primordial Ruinworld have arrived.” Ning’s pupils contracted.

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Chapter 11 – A Crisis of Divine Power

Chapter 11 – A Crisis of Divine Power

“Wait.” When Ji Ning saw the steady stream of black-caped warriors pour out from the distant ship, he couldn’t help but feel surprised. “The warriors I fought previously had scales, wings, and blood-red eyes. But now, we have some black-caped warriors in front of me…all of which have four arms, golden eyes, and blood-red horns. They look completely different from the earlier enemies; even their auras are far more powerful.”

If the ten foes Ning had previously slaughtered were adorable little kittens, then these black-caped warriors standing before him were like truly savage tigers!

“A total of over a thousand black-caped warriors.” After counting more than a thousand warriors flying out from the distant ship, Ning saw how, after a long moment passed, yet another warrior emerged from the ship. This one was dressed in a violet cape, but in all other respects, he looked identical to the black-caped warriors, save for the fact that there was an enormous difference in their auras of power.

“What a terrifying force.” Ning suddenly felt as though it was hard to breathe.

The violet-caped warrior took just a single step forward. His body blurred, then suddenly appeared before the thousand-plus black-caped warriors. This speed caused Ning’s eyes to twitch; even when he used his [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] divine ability, he still wasn’t as fast as this person.

The invisible aura the person emanated caused Ning to feel even more pressure. “He’s definitely more powerful than any Celestial Immortal I’ve faced to date.”

“Commander.”

The thousand-plus black-caped warriors all looked towards their leader with eagerness.

The violet-caped warrior, however, gave Ning a curious glance. “An alien who looks like this and who is so small…I’ve never seen or even heard of someone like him.”

“What should I do? What should I do? What’s my next course of action?” Ning was feeling extraordinarily nervous right now. The entire region of many tens of kilometers was encompassed by this grand formation; there was nowhere for him to flee, and the army squad which the Snaphorn world had just sent out was terrifyingly strong.

“The voidwaves are being completely blocked out by the Third Void Sector’s defenses; no need to worry, everyone.” The violet-caped warrior smiled. “Release your children and capture this alien.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Instantly, a series of deafening roars rang out, shaking the region of space. At the same time, the thousand-plus black-caped warriors simultaneously opened their mouths. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ten small spheres flew out from each of their mouths, producing a total of more than ten thousand small spheres. These small spheres instantly expanded in size when they entered the space of the Void, and they quickly transformed into a series of scaled, winged, blood-eyed warriors of enormous size.

“They vomited them out?” Ning was completely flabbergasted.

“Children, capture this alien,” the violet-caped warrior ordered.

“Yes!”

The ten thousand-plus blood-eyed warriors all assented in unison…and then half of them, the shorter and smaller ones, all opened their own mouths and emitted soundless roars, causing an invisible ripple of power to instantly sweep towards Ning. Ning knew what was coming this time; he knew that these smaller blood-eyed warriors were skilled in hypnotism. Last time, he had only faced five of them, but this time more than five thousand of them were simultaneously using the technique.

The formless ripples couldn’t be avoided; all he could do was take them head-on!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ning could feel booms ring out from within his soul!

However…with his heartforce at nearly the peak of the iceheart stage, Ning was still able to survive.

“What a powerful soul.” The violet-caped warrior nodded lightly.

“This alien really does have a bit of talent.”

“Yes. Although our children are merely fairly weak cannon fodder meant to be used up during a battle…in large numbers, they are still quite dangerous. I wonder where this alien came from? He’s quite strong.”

The black-caped warriors were stealthily chatting amongst themselves.

……

Since hypnotism had failed…the ten thousand-plus blood-eyed warriors pulled out their weapons, then all charged forward, filling the Void with their massive bodies.

These could be considered as having power that was just barely comparable to Void-level Fiendgods, but they didn’t have Fiendgod-like indestructible bodies. If he used all his abilities, such as the [Starseizing Hand] or [Three Heads, Six Arms], Ning could wipe them all out in a very short period of time! After all, they didn’t have regenerating bodies; killing them would be very easy, very simple. However…Ning didn’t dare to recklessly waste his divine power.

The [Starseizing Hand] used up a vicious amount of divine power; once his divine power was exhausted, he would no longer be able to even fight back.

“I’ll have to rely on swordplay.”

Ning’s two hands each held a Darknorth sword. He made the swords expand to nine hundred meters.

Swoosh!

He used the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens], instantly charging into the very center of that mass of blood-eyed warriors. Ning didn’t use any additional divine abilities after that, relying solely on his sword-arts. Slash, slash, slash! Sword-light flashed everywhere.

Ning’s sword-arts were unfathomably profound, far beyond what these blood-eyed warriors were capable of. The pair of nine hundred meter long Darknorth swords slashed through the air, chopping past the heads of the blood-eyed warriors, sometimes completely bisecting them in half!

All of the blood-eyed warriors died, unable to heal from their wounds, regardless of where the injuries were, head or waist.

“Eh? His sword-arts truly are profound.” The violet-caped warrior was surprised by what he saw.

Ning was born to be a Sword Immortal. Even though he could no longer sense the Dao of the Sword or summon the natural energy of the world…his sword-arts remained unfathomable.

“Blaze, my children,” the violet-caped warrior called out.

“Roaaaaaar!”

“Die!”

“Alien!”

The horde of blood-eyed warriors bellowed as their bodies began to glow with a blurry green light. Instantly, their speed and their strength rose dramatically. They began to assault Ning en masse.

Ning remained very calm. He didn’t use any divine abilities; instead, he relied on his sword-arts to continue to slaughter these blood-eyed warriors. In fact, he even used his own body as a weapon, using it to block the enemy axes and whips head-on. Due to having trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning was able to actually conserve power by using his own body to take on blows as he fought within the mass of blood-eyed warriors!

Ning wasn’t worried about them being able to injure him in the slightest.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning was occasionally sent flying here by an axe or flying there by a whip…

But each time he was sent ‘flying’, his sword-light would flash past in a graceful manner…and many enemy heads would go flying as well.

……

Within the infinite darkness of the Void, three powerful minds were communicating with each other.

“This human’s body is rather strong.”

“Right. It’s like one of those ‘magic treasures’ those humans use.”

“This human is probably at the Celestial Immortal level of power at most…but his body is this powerful…he most likely must have trained in an earth-shatteringly powerful protective divine ability those humans have.”

“Ideally, we shall capture him alive, so that we can analyze his body. If we can gain some insights into some of the profound mysteries behind his divine ability, then use them to make us sisters grow more physically powerful, that would be wonderful.”

……

By relying on the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and his sword-arts, Ning was able to wipe out all of the blood-eyed warriors in the time needed to boil a kettle of tea. However, Ning didn’t feel excited at all…because he saw the amusement on the faces of the distant black-caped warriors, and the calmness of the violet-caped warrior. He understood from this that to the Snaphorn world, the forces he had just killed most likely represented very little.

In truth…

They really did represent almost nothing. They were cannon fodder; in fact, they weren’t even viewed as true members of the same race to which the horned warriors belonged! To produce a true member of the race required an extremely high price to be paid! Producing this sort of cannon fodder, however, was much easier and much cheaper. However, there was a limit to how many of them each horned warrior could control; some would have to perish before they could give birth to more.

“He was able to kill more than ten thousand of our children; he does have a bit of talent.” The violet-caped warrior said, “Hellsong, go and test his abilities.”

“Yes.”

A black-caped warrior nodded, then manifested four shortswords in his four hands.

Ning’s heart clenched.

They had just seen him kill more than ten thousand of those blood-eyed warriors…but still chose to send a single black-caped warrior to fight?

“Hmph.” The black-caped warrior suddenly moved, transforming into a blur as he pounced towards Ning.

“So fast!” Ning was somewhat caught off-guard. Those earlier red-eyed warriors had been far slower than him, but this black-caped warrior was so fast that he was only slightly slower than Ning when using the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens]. He could already be considered as being on Ning’s general level; he was slightly slower, but it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Four icy shortswords came plunging towards him.

Ning’s Darknorth swords struck outwards as well.

Clang clang clang!

Consecutive collisions could be heard. Ning’s advantage lay in the profoundness of his sword-arts, while the enemy’s advantage was having four arms.

However, from that clash…

Ning was sent flying back!

“What great power.” Ning’s face changed, then his body blurred, transforming into his three-headed, six-armed form.

“Three heads and six arms? So is this your true form?” The black-caped warrior was quite surprised, but he then snickered, “Interesting.” He charged forth once more.

Ning now had six divine swords in his six arms. His sword-arts were profound, but he remained unwilling to use the [Starseizing Hand]. The [Starseizing Hand] simply used up far too much divine power, and the strength of this Snaphorn world was immeasurable. It was better to make himself appear weak; if he immediately revealed his trump cards, they would probably prepare even more powerful trump cards to deal with him.

Slash! Ning’s sword-light sliced through the black-caped warrior’s body. The black-caped warrior retreated at high speed, but a gaping wound was still cut through his chest. Green blood spewed outwards, but in the blink of an eye the wound was healed.

“Healed?” Ning was surprised. “So they really are two separate races. Those cannon fodders were completely unable to heal, but the black-caped warriors are capable of self-regeneration.”

Once someone became capable of self-regeneration, killing them would be much harder.

“Eh?” The violet-caped warrior saw what had just happened. “Hellsong’s unit, engage.”

Instantly, nine more black-caped warriors went flying forward.

“Hellsong, can’t you get it done?”

“You can’t even capture a single alien, and you even got injured.”

The nine other black-caped warriors all spoke teasingly, but they showed no mercy in their movements at all. They soon formed a complete circle around Ning, attacking him en masse and giving him nowhere to flee at all.

Boom…

Ning’s body suddenly increased explosively in size, expanding to three thousand meters.

Three thousand meters was Ning’s limit in using the Heavenly Transformation technique.

“What?” Prior to this, those ten black-caped warriors were surrounding and assaulting a tiny little dot, but that tiny little dot had suddenly and explosively increased in size to become comparable to them; this caused them to feel completely flabbergasted.

“So this is how tall you actually are…I imagine this is your true form, right?” Hellsong sighed in amazement, “Three heads, six arms, and as tall as us…this alien is quite strong.”

Ning, however, just felt misery; the more divine abilities he used, the faster his divine power would be used up.

However…while using Heavenly Transformation, his speed and strength would both increase tremendously!

“Every single one of these black-caped warriors are comparable to Celestial Immortal Goldclock or Deadwood; if any more come, I’ll be forced to use the [Starseizing Hand]. Once I use it…my end will come shortly thereafter.” Ning was frantic now; every bit of divine power that he used up was irreplaceable, at least in the short term. However…he still had no idea as to how he was supposed to flee from this place.

He could neither ascend to Heaven nor descend to Hell; there was nowhere to flee!

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Chapter 12 – No Way Out

Chapter 12 – No Way Out

After using the Heavenly Transformations technique and [Three Heads, Six Arms], Ji Ning’s power had increased substantially. He was able to just barely fend off those ten black-caped warriors, but maintaining this state resulted in his divine power being continuously depleted.

“He’s actually still able to hold on?” This caused the distant, violet-caped warrior to frown. He immediately ordered, “The entire squad, go and capture this alien!”

“Yes!”

Accompanied by a series of roars, a total of ninety massive black-caped warriors flew towards Ji Ning’s direction. This caused Ning’s face to instantly change. “They really are giving me no chance at all. A hundred Celestial Immortals…how am I supposed to withstand them?” Although all of these foes focused on close combat, meaning that only a number of them were able to engage with him at any given moment, they clearly had some sort of mysterious combination formation technique; the more warriors that joined, the more powerful each black-caped warrior grew.

“Senior bear, what should I do?” Ning asked frantically, “Are there any options? If I hide in the underwater estate, can I survive this tribulation?”

“It’s useless.” The giant yellow bear was both frantic and helpless. “If you hide inside the underwater estate, it will end up being exposed as well…although Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals are unable to forcibly bind me, some truly powerful figures are still capable of it. I’m only a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, after all; the master of this so-called Snaphorn world has to be at least at the level of a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

Ning felt misery in his heart.

Indeed.

Given that they were able to send out a squad of soldiers like this, as well as set up an enormous space formation that spanned tens of millions of kilometers…it would be bizarre if the Snaphorn world’s strongest experts were not at the Pure Yang True Immortal level! Anyone who reached that level could forcibly bind the Starseizing Manor.

“If I hide, I die…but if I don’t hide, I still die!” Ning had no idea as to what he should do.

“All you can do is hope and pray that your master, Patriarch Subhuti, can find you,” the giant yellow bear said. “Your master possesses the [Dream of the Three Realms]…but this place is outside the Three Realms. In fact, many of the Heavenly Daos don’t exist here; only the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos holds sway here. Your master might not be able to sense things here.”

Ning was stunned.

His only hope was his master, Patriarch Subhuti! The Patriarch’s power was utterly unearthly; at a time like this, only he might be capable of rescuing Ning. But…the giant yellow bear was right. This was the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld; even though Patriarch Subhuti was extremely powerful, if he was unable to find Ning, what could he do?

“Can it be that I, Ji Ning, am going to die here?” Ning felt an unwillingness to accept this within his heart. “Senior apprentice-sister took on Patriarch Lu as her master…and we agreed that we would meet again! Father, mother…I haven’t even had a chance to see if their reincarnations are living happily or not. And Earth…I haven’t gone back to Earth to take a look…”

He didn’t want to accept this.

He truly didn’t!

“If I had known this would happen, I would’ve left my Primaltwin at Swallow Mountain.” Ning was filled with unbearable regret for having brought his Primaltwin with him as he fought the Youngflame clan. He had felt that as long as he had the underwater estate and Greater Teleportation Dao-seals, he would be able to escape without issues. Who would’ve imagined that the descent of karmic sinflames rendered him incapable of escaping, resulting in him being sent into this danger zone?

“Can it be that my life truly is going to end here?”

The ninety black-caped warriors joined the ten earlier black-caped warriors into a formation. Instantly, their auras grew even more powerful as they continued to assault Ning.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After just a few exchanges, the previously indestructible Ning suddenly blew apart! In fact, some of his flesh and blood transformed into dust from the blows of the enemy swords and sabers.

“What just happened?” The hundred attacking black-caped warriors were all amazed.

The distant commander shouted, “The Queen Mother commands you! Even if the alien is transformed into bits of mushmeat, you need to collect every single piece of flesh and blood; you can’t spare even a single bit of dust. He won’t die easily!”

“Yes.”

Instantly, the group of black-caped warriors became filled with eagerness. The Queen Mother had personally given them an order! They felt incomparably honored. They sent their minds sweeping forth through space. They wouldn’t let even a hint of dust escape their senses.

“Damn.”

Whoosh.

Far away, a human rematerialized; it was Ning, his eyes bloodshot. His [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] wasn’t something these Celestial Immortals could breach; just now, he had voluntarily caused his divine body to detonate while focusing all of his divine power within a single piece of flesh. Through the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], he had then transformed that piece of flesh into a speck of dust.

Alas…it seemed as though the enemy knew what abilities he had available. They didn’t want to give him any chance at all.

“He really didn’t die.”

“He was blown up into tiny bits but didn’t die?”

“When our cores are broken, we’ll die…but he was blown into tiny bits and remained alive? This is too terrifying.” The black-caped warriors quietly sent messages to each other; clearly, they were all quite stunned. Whether it was Ning’s unbreakable body or the fact that he stayed alive even after being blown apart…they were truly stunned and uneasy.

What a terrifying race this was!

……

“Senior apprentice-sister, your junior apprentice-brother was unable to live up to his promise!”

“Father, mother…”

“Master…”

One image after another flashed through Ning’s mind.

That senior apprentice-sister of his, who had kept everything hidden with her heart for so long, but who had eventually become his Dao-companion within the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, under the watchful gazes of countless people.

That seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted master of his, Immortal Diancai.

His teacher, Subhuti, who gazed down upon the Three Realms from his lofty, exalted position.

And his ordinary parents…they had done everything for him, and had chosen to forget about revenge, so that their son might have a better chance of living a good life…

His junior apprentice-brother…his sister, Autumn Leaf…Uncle White…Little Qing…

“Farewell!”

In dying here, not even reincarnation would be possible.

“Farewell, my loved ones.” Ning stared at the hundred black-caped warriors charging towards him, as well as the even more numerous foes in the distance. His eyes actually turned calm, a calmness that transcended both blazing rage and freezing coldness. It was a sort of absolute calmness…a perfect mastery of the self.

In this instant…Ning’s heartforce was actually able to leap from the peak of the ‘iceheart’ level all the way to the third level, the ‘ruler’ level. Even amongst the divine archers of the Three Realms, he would now be considered an absolute top-tier expert.

But alas, heartforce was invisible and formless; it wasn’t able to help out Ning at this moment.

“You want me to die?” Ning said softly, “Then I’ll make you all die!” These were words from his homeland; the foes before him were completely unable to understand it.

The six divine swords suddenly vanished.

“His swords vanished?”

“What’s going on?”

The hundred black-caped warriors charging towards Ning all halted. They could tell that Ning was skilled in using the sword, but despite being such a powerful swordsman, he had…actually put away his swords?

Was he giving himself up for capture?

BOOM!

Ning’s fingers formed sword-fingers. They suddenly expanded to be more than nine hundred meters long as the full power of the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] exploded forth. Ning’s power instantly rose to an utterly terrifying level; he was actually able to knock an enemy shuttle aside, then with a slashing sound, pierce straight into the chest of a black-caped warrior. With a simple flick of his sword-fingers, the warrior was cut in half.

“What?” The distant violet-caped warrior’s face completely changed. “How did his power increase this much?!”

Whoosh!

Crunch!

Slash!

Ning ignored all enemy assaults; his body, protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], was completely capable of withstanding any assaults. The only attacks he needed to defend against were the ones that were meant to bind him! In the Three Realms, there were some powerful magic treasures that had powerful binding forces that were hard to defend against, but these warriors of the Snaphorn world were only skilled in close combat; thus, the only tools they had for binding an opponent were simple ones like chains or whips. Ning was less than two meters tall; he was able to dodge with incomparable nimbleness through the many massive black-caped warriors, making it hard for them capture him.

The black-caped warriors seemed strong, but their bodies were still unable to withstand Ning’s sword! Thus, they were easily chopped apart in close combat.

“…He died?” Ning was suddenly startled.

Through cutting, chopping, decapitating, or other strikes, he was able to neutralize twenty-five of the black-caped warriors within a short period of time. However, they all healed quite quickly…but the twenty-sixth actually lost its entire aura. It had completely, truly died.

Ning instantly thought back to what had just happened. “Right. That green sphere.”

All of the black-caped warriors had a green sphere within their bodies. Ning had originally thought that the green spheres were nothing more than organs. They were very small; the warriors were three thousand meters tall, while the green sphere was merely three meters long. He hadn’t damaged the green sphere in killing the first twenty-five warriors, but he had in the last one.

Boom!

Slash!

The black-caped warriors watched as the tiny little Ji Ning’s sword-fingers suddenly expanded to become a thousand meters long. The sword-fingers tore through their bodies, plunging through their chest to snatch at and claw apart their cores. One black-caped warrior after another began to fall, and a large amount of baleful auras began to flood towards Ning, swirling into him.

“Careful, he’s discovered our cores!”

“He knows about the cores!”

“His fingers are extremely terrifying, far more so than his swords.”

“Our weapons are completely unable to block him.”

“His body is completely unbreakable.”

“He’s too tiny; there’s no way we can use our chains to capture him.” The black-caped warriors were actually on the losing side now.

The Celestial Immortals of the Three Realms could’ve joined forces and used various binding techniques to capture Ning from far away…but these aliens were only skilled in close combat! Although they had battle formations that could be used to kill him, the Queen Mother had commanded that they capture this person alive. Thus, they didn’t dare unleash their most powerful killing techniques for fear of killing him.

“Hmph.” The distant violet-caped warrior’s face sank when he saw this. He could tell that there were only two methods for dealing with this tiny little alien.

The first method was to use formation-based killing techniques, like the ones they used in their planetary wars, to forcibly crush the foe. However, if they did that, they might accidentally kill this alien, which would be a violation of the Queen Mother’s command. The Queen Mother’s decree was very important; in comparison, even the destruction of their entire army meant nothing.

The second method was to fight him personally, or perhaps with several supporters! To overcome him with absolute strength, then capture him.

“Out of the way.” The violet-caped warrior transformed into a violet streak of light.

“He’s coming.” This entire time, Ning had kept part of his attention on the violet-caped warrior, who was the person who truly caused Ning to feel threatened. Now that the violet-caped warrior was charging forward at full speed, Ning’s heart instantly clenched. This speed was even faster than the speed which he had displayed earlier; it was absolutely superior to Ning when using the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens].

“Is this my final battle before I die?” Ning didn’t feel any fear; his gaze was incomparably calm as he stared at the violet-caped warrior. “If I die…I’ll drag you down into death with me!”

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Chapter 13 – Our World

Chapter 13 – Our World

As the violet-caped warrior attacked, the many black-caped warriors that had been assaulting Ji Ning all retreated. They were all filled with utter confidence in their commander.

Whoosh!

A silvery-white whip lashed out, more than thirty thousand meters long. It was like a giant, silvery-white serpent that was coiling with elegance and poise as it swept towards Ning. Ning’s sword-fingers struck out like swords, blocking the whip head-on. WHAP! A clear ringing sound rang out. Ning could sense a strange energy be transmitted into his body, including into his organs. Fortunately, the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] refined the entire body, resulting in no weaknesses at all. However, Ning was still knocked flying backwards by several kilometers.

“His speed vastly outstrips mine, and the power of his whip is on a level higher than even me using the [Starseizing Hand] at full power. His whip is used in a way that gives me no way to dodge; it seems he is at an even higher level with his whip than I am with sword-arts. His power, without any question, is at the utmost peak of power possible for a Celestial Immortal,” Ning mused to himself.

Hard to deal with!

The black-caped warriors were merely at the level of Celestial Immortals Deadwood or Goldclock, but this violet-caped warrior was far more powerful than even Celestial Immortal Infatuation! Even the [Starseizing Hand], Ning’s proudest technique, was insufficient in the face of this foe. As for speed and sword-arts, Ning was clearly inferior in these regards as well.

Fortunately, only close combat was possible within the Nihilum Zone, which was why his [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was able to be used to maximum effect. Within the Three Realms, Celestial Immortals on the level of this violet-caped warrior would probably be very close to Pure Yang True Immortals in power…their magic artifacts and formations alone would be enough to make Ning feel hopeless. However, in this place, only close combat was possible; thus, he still had a hint of a chance.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning used both the [Three Heads, Six Arms] and the [Starseizing Hand] simultaneously. As for the violet-caped warrior, his four arms clutched four silver whips which struck out long long serpents, wildly assaulting Ning.

Ning’s six arms strove mightily to defend.

In fact, every so often he would borrow the force of the collision to flee and dodge. Ning had been continuously searching for a way out, for a chance to counter-attack.

“I’m being completely suppressed by him. There’s no way for me to even go close to him. What should I do?” Ning was frantically pondering what to do. The foe’s long silver whip was rendering him incapable of drawing within fifteen thousand meters of the man, much less wound him.

……

“He clearly is using some sort of technique that allows him to increase his strength dramatically.” The violet-caped warrior, by contrast, was much more relaxed; he was in complete control of this fight. “Only his arms are capable of releasing such power; his legs and kicks are far weaker. I trust that there is a price to this ability; he shouldn’t be able to maintain it for too long.”

All things came at a cost.

For a human that was less than two meters tall to become the size of a three thousand meter Fiendgod came at a cost, and so too did having three heads and six arms. The cost of using the [Starseizing Hand] was even higher.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The four long silver whips danced out like dragons, wildly lashing out at Ning again and again. Ning had to completely focus on defending them at all times. If he failed a single time…the whips would probably entangle him and completely bind him.

If the whips attacked quickly, Ning had to block quickly as well.

His six arms strove to defend as best they could. The more times they blocked, however, the more times he had to use the [Starseizing Hand], which meant the more divine power would be used up.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His divine power was frantically depleting. Even though he had reached the sixteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] used up so much divine power than in just a short period of time, more than half of Ning’s divine power had been used up. He hadn’t used up nearly as much in the earlier fight, despite it lasting much longer.

“Less than a third.”

“Less than a sixth.”

He was faced with the whip-strikes which came from every direction. Ning seemed to have become trapped within a net of whip-strikes; he was unable to dodge, and his only option was to block, resulting in his divine power depleting further and further.

When his divine power was completely used up…Ning would be completely subdued and captured.

……

Within the underwater estate. Within an undefined, void-like region.

The giant yellow bear was here. Next to him were seven figures, including a child with a necklace, a bald elder, a beautiful woman…

The seven figures all emanated incomparably powerful auras, and amongst them was the red-haired Fiendgod which Ning had previously battled.

“Big bear, the young master is in a crisis in the outside world. Are we supposed to just wait here and watch?” The beautiful woman, dressed in black leather armor, spoke out with a frown. Her eyebrows were snow-white, while her eyes looked just like a viper’s.

“I watched as this little kid, Ji Ning, grew up step by step. Do you think I care about him less than you lot do?” The giant yellow bear said angrily, “I’m under instructions from Master to find a successor for him. Ji Ning is the best successor yet; I wouldn’t dare be careless!”

“But you are letting him remain trapped in a dire situation!” The black-armored, beautiful woman said angrily.

“Do you seven think that you can protect him?” The giant yellow bear asked angrily. “Do you know who he has run afoul of this time? Foes from the Snaphorn world of the Primordial Ruinworld. The Primordial Ruinworld! They are one of remnant forces left behind from that ancient war! Anyone capable of controlling an entire world has most likely survived from that war, and anyone capable of surviving that war…even if they are weak, they can’t be too weak. They might be at the level of a Daofather or a True God! Even if you all go out to rescue him, do you really think you can block a Daofather or a True God?

The black-armored woman turned silent.

“Snow Scorpion.” The red-haired Fiendgod spoke out, “The big bear is right. Even if we intervene, we might not be able to overcome this Snaphorn world.”

“Big bear, you idiot…why didn’t you notify us when Ji Ning was faced with the descent of karmic sinflames?” The black-armored woman couldn’t help but berate him.

“Am I supposed to have you intervene whenever he encounters danger?” The giant yellow bear said angrily, “Per Master’s orders, until he becomes an Empyrean God, he can’t be truly considered Master’s disciple. No matter what sort of trials he has to endure, they can only be considered tests for him…and if he fails and dies, he has no one to blame but his lack of skills or his bad luck. Although we all like him and view him as having tremendous potential and a very good chance of becoming an Empyrean God…how was I supposed to know that the Youngflame clan had an ability like this, to teleport him straight into the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld? I thought that even if things did turn dangerous, we’d still be able to rescue him, which is why I let him face dangers as needed to temper him…but how can everything in life go as expected?! Ugh!”

“Let’s take Ji Ning into the underwater estate and hide him within our world. Even if the enemy binds the underwater estate, it’ll only be an elementary binding; they probably won’t be able to find our world,” the beautiful woman, Snow Scorpion, said.

“They might not find it…but it’s also possible that they might find it.” The bald elder suddenly spoke out in a hoarse voice.

The underwater estate did indeed have many secrets.

Immortal Juhua had always felt that there were secrets present within it. Ning had also felt that there were parts of the underwater estate that were not under his control…but he wasn’t able to find those parts!

But just because Ning wasn’t able to find them…didn’t mean that the master of the Snaphorn world wouldn’t be able to find out!

The red-haired man said in a gravelly voice, “No matter what…if Ji Ning dies, the Starseizing Manor will fall into the hands of the master of the Snaphorn world. If the master of the Snaphorn world is at the level of a True God or Daofather, he will definitely be able to find our world through the Starseizing Manor…at which point, our only option will be to fight with him. If the Snaphorn world’s master is not yet at the True God or Daofather level, then he won’t be able to defeat the formation which protects our world.”

“Since, no matter what, we will still have to end up fighting with the master of the Snaphorn world…we might as well rescue Ji Ning and bring him into our world. Although the Godking did indeed say that his disciple could only enter our world after becoming an Empyrean God, we are left with no other options.”

“Right.” The giant yellow bear nodded. “Since we can’t escape…we are indeed left with no other options. Make your preparations. Once we bring Ji Ning into our world, we’ll need to be ready for the Snaphorn world’s attack. I hope their master is weak; ideally, he won’t even be able to find our world.”

“Right.”

“Let’s prepare.”

The seven figures all had solemn looks on their faces.

The child, who had remained silent this entire time, suddenly spoke out: “Long ago, Father instructed us to leave him and stay out of that war. We’ve been waiting long enough…and so let’s have a good fight with the Snaphorn world.”

“Let’s have a good fight.”

“Let’s fight!”

Everyone present had flames of war within their eyes.

……

Within the emptiness of the Nihilum Zone. Enormous ships that were ten thousand kilometers long moved like streaks of light, advancing at high speed. The giant spaceships were tightly clustered together…and there seemed to be no end of them. Within the center of those giant ships, there was a golden warship.

Within the golden warship.

Everyone present was standing at solemn attention. Leading them was a horned warrior with a golden cape with black trimmings, and behind him were eight hundred violet-caped warriors. These were the most valiant, most capable commanders of the First Army who often engaged in wars against other worlds.

In front of them hovered an utterly enormous mirror. The images within the mirror were images of the commando squad of the Third Void Sector doing battle against Ji Ning.

“Benair is actually joining the fight in person.” The golden-caped warrior snorted angrily, “How despicable. Since he’s joining the fight in person…doesn’t that mean our First Army has made this trip for nothing?”

“This alien is quite tenacious and strong; he might be able to stay alive until we get there.”

“This is on the orders of the Queen Mother. It should be us, the First Army, who captures this alien.”

The almighty First Army…how could it possibly hold a small squad of the Third Void Sector in any regard?

“Quick, quick, quick!”

The general couldn’t help but urge them to move faster. “It has to be us that captures this alien!” It was rare for the Queen Mother to give an order; they naturally had to work hard to show their talents.

……

Within the void of the underwater estate.

“Ji Ning’s divine power has almost been completely used up. Once it is used up, he’ll fall into enemy hands. Red-hair, you personally intervene and wipe them all out, then return to our world and prepare to deal with the master of the Snaphorn world,” the giant yellow bear said.

“Alright.”

“Agreed.”

They all nodded in concurrence.

They all knew very well that falling into dire straits would truly temper one’s Dao-heart. However…they had no idea that Ning’s heartforce had already advanced from the second level, ‘iceheart’, into the third level, ‘ruler’.

……

Within the empty space of the Nihilum Zone. A tight cluster of black-caped warriors watched from not too far away as their commander, the violet-caped warrior, was completely dominating this alien.

“I’m almost done. I have less than a tenth of my divine power now.” Ning didn’t want to accept this. He truly didn’t. But…the serpentine whips were striking out against him from every direction.

Was he truly out of options?

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Chapter 14 – Heartforce Manifests

Chapter 14 – Heartforce Manifests

“Hmph.” The violet-caped commander could sense the alien growing frantic; he could sense that this was, perhaps, the last throes of his enemy’s resistance. “It seems…he can no longer hold on.”

“Die!”

Ning suddenly let out an enraged roar.

He no longer held back at all on his divine power. Instead, he wildly poured it all into his arms at full force! The Void-level elemental ki in his body, through a secret art, was also immediately pushed into his arms. In this moment, Ning had only a single thought in his mind…no matter the cost, he was going to unleash his power to the maximum possible level.

Actually…even going all-out like this only resulted in a 30% increase in power.

“BREAK!”

Ning’s six arms struck out as six streaks of sword-light.

Ning’s calm eyes glowed with light, the light that came in the final instants of one’s life as it all blazed away. Ning’s heart and soul was completely poured into his swords.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Simultaneous explosions rang out.

Ning’s six sword-fingers stabbed out, four of them striking against the four silver whips. With explosive sounds, the silver whips…were actually knocked flying backwards. Ning’s fingers, however, continued to stab forward!

“What?!” The violet-caped commander’s eyes turned completely round. “How can this be?”

“Impossible!”

The many black-caped warriors watching from far away were amazed at this sight. They could all sense that Ning was inches away from death. Previously, he had been completely suppressed…so how was it that right now, at the very end, he was actually able to unleash power that surpassed the power of their commander, knocking his weapon away?

……

“What…how can this be?” Within the void-like region within the underwater estate, the giant yellow bear, who had been watching the battle outside this entire time, was completely surprised.

The giant yellow bear was most likely the person with the deepest understanding of Ning’s power.

He knew exactly what Ning was capable of. What Ning had displayed earlier represented his utmost limit of power; even if Ning went all out, he would at most be able to increase his power by 20% or 30%; he would still be considerably weaker than that violet-caped commander. How was it, then, that he had suddenly knocked the silver whip away?

“How can this be?”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“It…shouldn’t have happened.” The giant yellow bear couldn’t understand it. “This isn’t the Three Realms. There’s no way to sense the Dao here, so even if he suddenly gained a new insight into the Dao, it wouldn’t help him increase his power in any way. In addition, he is currently in a battle, and he’s used up an enormous amount of divine power. There’s no way he could’ve broken into the seventeenth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] so soon…he just made it to the sixteenth level a short while ago.”

A breakthrough in his divine body? Impossible.

A breakthrough in the Dao? It wouldn’t make any difference.

The [Starseizing Hand] was already at the Fourth Cycle!

“How can this be?” The giant yellow bear didn’t understand.

……

Not too far away, inside the golden warship of the First Army which was ensconced within those countless warships. The commanders of the First Army were staring at the images within the levitating mirror.

“Eh?!”

“Odd.”

“What just happened? What ability did this alien just use?”

None of them understood it.

The golden-caped general, however, just laughed loudly. “Wonderful. The longer he can delay, the better; we’re almost there! Haha…it seems that in the end, it will still be us who captures this alien.”

……

The experts of the Snaphorn world couldn’t understand it. Not even the giant yellow bear understood it. Nobody could think of a reason why this had just happened.

But within the deep, dark reaches of the Void…

Three minds were communicating with each other.

“Second sister…what just happened?”

“Elder sister, what happened?”

The three Queen Mothers had given birth to many children; their children were the Firstborn! More than half of the commanders of the First Army were Firstborn; the three Queen Mothers could see and sense everything the Firstborn could see and sense! Thus, they too saw everything which had just happened.

The commander of the commando squad from the Third Void Sector, Benair, was the child of the second Queen Mother of the three Queen Mothers. When Benair fought with Ning, it was as though the second Queen Mother had personally fought against Ning.

“That was…”

“Heartforce?”

“Yes, heartforce! It was heartforce!” The second Queen Mother’s powerful mind suddenly began to tremble with excitement. “This human’s attack just now was actually filled with heartforce!”

“What? Heartforce?!”

“Heartforce?! He’s actually in control of heartforce?!”

The first and third Queen Mothers were both excited as well.

“Yes. There’s no mistaking it; in fact, just now I completely focused a strand of my mind upon my child Benair.” The second Queen Mother said excitedly, “They just clashed again. There’s no mistaking it; this human’s attacks contain heartforce within them. His control over his heartforce isn’t perfect; it’s clearly quite rough. However, I can still sense the powerful, mysterious, profound heartforce at work.”

“This is our chance!” The second Queen Mother was incomparably excited. “This human is able to focus his heartforce and knows how to apply it! That means he understands a heartforce technique! This is a truly supreme form of power; we can discover and distill the method for producing and applying heartforce from this human!”

“Right. Now we can gain a heartforce technique!”

“Yes, this is our chance!”

The other two Queen Mothers were incomparably excited as well.

They had experienced and survived that calamitous war; as survivors, they knew quite well that ‘heartforce’ was one of the truly supreme forms of power. Upon mastering heartforce, one could truly embark upon a path that would lead to them becoming the most supreme of existences within the primordial chaos! A path that led to surpassing even True Gods and Daofathers!

“This is our chance, but we cannot be rash.” The first Queen Mother’s mind warned the other two minds, “Heartforce techniques are supreme techniques that are absolutely not taught to outsiders, even within the Three Realms. This human youth must have an extraordinary background, which is why he was able to learn a technique like this. Perhaps there is a self-destruction mechanism hidden within his soul.”

“Actually…the simplest method is to hypnotize him, but he is one of those ‘Fiendgod Body Refiner’ humans; his soul and his body are completely merged together and extremely stable. In addition, he’s also a practitioner of heartforce; his mind must be very powerful. To hypnotize him…I imagine it will be quite difficult.”

“We have to try.”

Heartforce was far too alluring to them!

Heartforce…

It was an invisible, formless sort of power. It wasn’t like divine power, elemental ki, or natural energy; those could be seen with the naked eye. Heartforce, however, was incredibly powerful, and it was extremely hard to reach a basic level of skill in it. Back on Mount Innerheart, Ning had already been at a very high level of insight into the Dao, but he still had to train archery painstakingly for three years before finally reaching a basic level of skill.

However, heartforce truly was formidable. That mighty divinity of the Primordial Era, Houyi, had relied the power of his heartforce to become the number one divine archer of the Three Realms, and even Daofathers and True Gods had fallen to his hand.

Even Ning himself was surprised; his sword-finger had actually become so powerful as to suppress the whip of this violet-caped commander?

“Is this…heartforce?” Others might have to guess at it, but Ning himself knew very well that his incredibly berserk attack just now had been launched without any extraneous thoughts. All of his power had been fully merged into that blow…and his heartforce had unconsciously leaked into it as well.

How should heartforce be applied? This was a mystery.

The Three Realms had a set of extremely detailed instructions for applying heartforce through archery; this was the creation of the mighty divinity Houyi! It was precisely because mighty Houyi had systemized the method of using heartforce in archery that the Three Realms had so quickly developed a crop of terrifyingly powerful divine archers…but there were no systemized tools for teaching one how to apply heartforce into other weapons.

How to apply heartforce to the sword?

To the saber?

To the spear?

To the staff?

If heartforce was applied to these weapons, would they increase in power dramatically? Since it worked for archery, it logically should work for these weapons…but mighty Houyi was the foremost expert of heartforce within the Three Realms, and his greatest talent was archery. He had thus created a systemized method for applying it to archery…but as for other weapons? Perhaps some other major powers had discovered ways of applying heartforce to those weapons, but those ways were crude ways, not systemized ways which others could use.

“I actually managed to apply heartforce through my fingers when I used sword-arts?” Ning was completely amazed.

The power of an ordinary arrow was quite ordinary…but when heartforce was applied to it, it would instantly turn into a nightmare for foes! The power of the arrow would instantly rise to a terrifying level.

“However…just now, I was only able to truly apply a very tiny amount of heartforce.” Ning knew this for certain because he had used up only a very small amount of his heartforce; the rest of his heartforce remained untouched! As someone who had reached the third level of heartforce, ‘ruler’, Ning’s heartforce was tremendously powerful. Even just a tiny amount of it was enough to cause the power of his sword-arts to rise to a level where he could actually now suppress this foe.

“Alien, you actually still have more tricks up your sleeve? I want to see how powerful you actually are!” The violet-caped commander let out a loud shout, then lashed out with a whip once more. As for the mind of the second Queen Mother, it had completely descended onto the commander by now.

“Go.” Ning stretched out a single hand as well. His fingers flicked out!

His heartforce once more rode with his fingers, just as it had last time. Ning could sense that a small part of his heartforce had indeed become one with his fingers!

Bang! Ning’s fingers, now many hundreds of meters long, collided with that whip!

The whip was once more knocked flying back.

“Right. That’s the feeling.” Ning was beginning to vaguely make out the basics to it. However, he was still far, far away from being able to apply it as intricately as when he applied it to archery. All Ning could do was ponder the method of applying heartforce to archery, then try and come up with a similar way to strengthen his sword-fingers.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly realized that the distant, violet-caped commander had actually come to a halt.

Rumble…

A powerful ripple spread out. Ning took a look…and saw, far away in the void, one enormous spaceship after another coming flying towards him. There seemed to be no end to the densely clustered spaceships.

“…How many ships just arrived?” Ning was completely shocked.

The entrances to the ships all opened, and countless horned warriors came flooding out from them. Amongst these countless warriors were many black-caped warriors as well!

Ning swept them with his gaze. The number of ordinary horned warriors…they had to at least number in the millions. In addition, at the front of the many ships was a golden warship, from which one violet-caped warrior after another came flying out. At the very end, a gold-caped person came walking out, his aura so powerful and terrifying as to cause Ning to feel despair.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, a series of thoughts descended upon the region.

The three Queen Mothers had sent out hundreds of thought-rays to the many violet-caped warriors, as well as the general.

“Don’t be in a hurry to attack.” The Queen Mother’s voice echoed within the general’s mind.

“Yes, Queen Mother,” the general replied mentally.

……

“Big bear, what’s going on outside? Can it be that the young master’s divine power hasn’t been used up yet? I think we should make our move now. Let’s not waste any time.” Within the underwater estate, the black-haired beauty, ‘Snow Scorpion’, spoke out.

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Chapter 15 – Yu Wei’s Tribulation

Chapter 15 – Yu Wei’s Tribulation

Red-hair, Snow Scorpion, and the others all looked towards the giant yellow bear. Only the big bear was able to clearly sense the outside world and what was going happening there.

“Don’t be impatient.” The big bear shook his head. “A powerful army has been dispatched from the Snaphorn world, but the strange thing is…this powerful army hasn’t acted against Ji Ning yet. In fact…even the violet-caped warrior that had been previously fighting against Ning has stopped fighting as fiercely as he had before. Ji Ning definitely doesn’t have much divine power left; if they fight for just a bit longer, his divine power will have been completely used up, but they actually halted. How odd.”

“Halted?”

The seven mighty warriors left behind by Daoist Threelives were all puzzled.

“In addition…there’s something else odd. Ji Ning’s power had clearly reached a limit…but just now, when he used the [Starseizing Hand], his power actually increased yet again. He was able to knock aside the foe’s weapon…and I don’t understand why, no matter how hard I try,” the giant yellow bear said.

“How can one’s power increase in the Nihilum Zone?” The seven began to ponder.

They were different from the giant yellow bear; the bear was, after all, just the spirit of a magic treasure. Only after the destruction of Pangu’s Primordial World had the giant yellow bear slowly trained to the level of becoming a true living creature. By comparison, he wasn’t that experienced…but the other seven had been quite famous long ago in Pangu’s World. This fame came through their performances in many battles; they had much greater experience and knew far more things.

“Can it be…” The seven suddenly all thought of the same possibility.

……

Ning stared at the distant, awe-inspiring army of millions of horned warriors. He had a feeling…that even the most ordinary of warriors in that army was far more powerful than the red-eyed warriors he had previously battled. Most likely, all of them were comparable to Loose Immortals who had lived for a million years. They could be compared to the weakest of Celestial Immortals; Ning would be able to kill each of them with ease.

But no matter how ordinary they were in terms of strength…a million of them was an utterly terrifying prospect!

“So many warriors…if they have some sort of combination-formation technique, even Empyrean Gods or True Immortals would probably feel despair and choose to flee,” Ning mused to himself. “And this is just part of the total strength of the Snaphorn world of the Primordial Ruinworld. The Primordial Ruinworld…it truly is the most terrifying place of all.”

Ning was actually quite calm now.

The enemy held all the cards in their hands. They were simply too powerful…and more than eight hundred violet-caped warriors had suddenly appeared just now! If they were all comparable in strength to the first violet-caped warrior, that meant they were equivalent to a force of eight hundred supreme Celestial Immortals. And there was that gold-caped bastard…a person which caused Ning to feel completely powerless and unable to fight back when he looked at him.

“However…although I have no way of fighting back, I can still kill myself,” Ning mused to himself. “I definitely won’t let them do anything to me.”

“Alien.”

The general smiled as he moved forward, but even when his black, scale-covered face was smiling, it still looked absolutely savage. “This space belongs to our Snaphorn world. Why have you come to our place?”

“I was wandering through the infinite Void and entered this place by accident,” Ning said. At the same time, he seized this chance to absorb more power from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, converting it into divine power. He had used up far too much divine power earlier. “I truly do not wish to be enemies with you. I would like to ask you to please let me leave; I will be endlessly grateful if you do.”

“Let you leave? That’s not impossible,” the general suddenly said.

“Oh?” Ning looked at his foes. He knew, however, that the cost of activating such an enormous space formation that was tens of millions of kilometers in size was definitely an enormous one. And now, they had sent over so many Snaphorn warriors as well? There was no way they’d let him leave so easily.

“I have a request. If you accept, then I promise to let you leave,” the general said.

“Might I ask what this request is?” Ning asked.

“As long as you allow us to inspect your soul,” the general said, “And let us know your true intentions…if you are not a foe to our Snaphorn world, we shall immediately let you leave.”

“Inspect my soul? Soulscouring?” Ning’s face changed.

He immediately understood what they were plotting.

He was a Fiendgod Body Refiner; his divine soul and his divine body were completely merged together, making his soul extremely stable, far more stable than the souls of many Celestial Immortals! In addition, his heartforce had reached the ‘ruler’ level…

It must be understood that it was difficult for Pure Yang True Immortals to forcibly soulscour even an ordinary Celestial Immortal. Someone like Ning, who had such powerful heartforce, was rare even amongst True Immortals and Empyrean Gods. To forcibly soulscour him was incredibly difficult. Even if a Daofather was to attempt it, Ning would still probably be able to instantly react and commit suicide by shattering his own soul!

So they wanted him to allow them to soulscour him without resisting?

“Not a chance.” Ning shook his head in refusal.

“Don’t be in such a hurry to refuse.” The golden-caped general continued to smile.

Ning, however, knew the truth. Given that his foes had sent out so many warriors and activated such an enormous space formation, they definitely were looking for something important. If he didn’t fight back, they could use some sort of technique to dominate and control his soul, resulting in him becoming a slave. That would truly be a life worse than death. After all, the promises these people were making…weren’t worth a single copper. This place was outside the Three Realms; there were no such things as oaths to the Dao of the Heavens.

“No need to say anything further.” Ning laughed coldly. “If push comes to shove, I’ll die. Soulscour me? In your dreams!”

“Alas.” The gold-caped general let out a sigh.

Whoosh…

Silently and soundless, hundreds of mind-strands simultaneously flew out from the gold-caped general and the hundreds of violet-caped warriors, all assaulting Ning!

Rumble…

Instantly, a sensation of utter exhaustion began to overwhelm Ning.

Tired.

So tired.

He felt like he was a mortal on Earth again, sick and tired and exhausted. He felt a desire to immediately shut his eyes…a sensation that he had never felt in this life after he had embarked onto the path of Immortal cultivation.

“I…am the only ruler of myself.”

The power of heartforce filled his entire body.

Under the command of his heartforce, his soul began to resist fiercely; although he felt extremely tired, he still maintained his clarity of mind.

……

“Alas…”

“We failed.”

“This human’s heartforce is quite strong. Although the mind-strands we attached to the Firstborn represent just part of our full power…even when we joined forces, were were still unable to hypnotize him.”

“It is simply too hard to hypnotize someone with such powerful heartforce.”

The three Queen Mothers were mentally conferring with each other.

They didn’t care about whether Ji Ning died or not; what they cared the most about was his heartforce technique. Even the set of archery-based heartforce taught by [Houyi’s Archery] was of use to them; although they didn’t use bows, this would at least still let them touch upon the nature of heartforce and let them more thoroughly understand it.

As for Ji Ning? If they could soulscour him, they could just kill him afterwards! There was no way they would let Ji Ning go back; if he did manage to return to the Three Realms and informed the most supreme figures of the Three Realms learn that the Snaphorn world had acquired a heartforce technique, those figures would probably personally come pay a visit.

They had been lucky enough to survive that ancient, calamitous war; they knew exactly how powerful the Three Realms were. It must be understood that the entire Primordial Ruinworld had been defeated! A single Snaphorn world would probably be effortlessly annihilated by the supreme powers of the Three Realms. Thus, if they could obtain the heartforce, there was no way they would let Ji Ning live and return to the Three Realms.

“No other options.”

“All we can do is have our Firstborn fight with this human. When they fight, we’ll use our mind-strands to watch closely. His current control over his heartforce is quite weak; we can fully and clearly sense his heartforce ripples. When we personally fight with him time and time again, watching his heartforce be applied hundreds or thousands of times over…I trust that eventually, we’ll discover some of the secrets of heartforce and be able to develop a heartforce technique of our own.”

“This clumsy method is the only one left to us.”

The three Queen Mothers made their decision.

Truly powerful experts generally always had this sort of clumsy method available to them; to first watch, then to hypothesize and draw insights from what they saw. For example, after other major powers personally saw the mighty divine ability [Wings of the Garuda] many times, they were able to develop a similar flying divine ability. Perhaps it was a bit weaker than the [Wings of the Garuda], but it was still able to emulate part of its power.

This was what the three Queen Mothers had settled upon!

……

“No need to capture the alien. Let him feel that there is a chance of surviving. The Firstborn among you…you can go and fight against him one-on-one. When his energy is almost depleted, let him rest. After he finishes resting, continue the attacks. Maintain this battle for as long as possible; if it takes many years, all the better.” The Queen Mother’s order came to them.

This caused the general and the many violet-caped Firstborn to feel puzzled and confused.

They were clearly capable of capturing him. Why didn’t they?

And they were supposed to fight him one-on-one?

However, they didn’t dare violate the orders of the Queen Mother. In fact, there was no way they could; their loyalty to the Queen Mothers sprang from their very blood. If the Queen Mother ordered it, they wouldn’t even hesitate to commit suicide.

“Tonto, you go,” the general instructed.

“Alright.” Instantly, a violet-caped warrior flew out to attack Ning.

Ning’s divine power had only recovered to 10% of maximum. He had been maintaining a careful watch this entire time on that distant, awe-inspiring army. Upon seeing a violet-caped warrior charge towards him, he naturally went forth to fight.

……

Ning was being trapped and assaulted by the Snaphorn world’s army in the Nihilum Zone. As their commanders went forth to fight him one-on-one, beginning a long, drawn-out battle within the infinite void of space…in the distant Three Realms, his Dao-companion, Yu Wei, had reached the most dangerous moment of her cultivation.

This was a beautiful world of flowers, but the skies above it had become filled with a vortex of lightning and clouds.

“Screeeech!”

Yu Wei stood there, head raised, staring towards the skies. Around her swirled a series of white phoenixes and fiery red phoenixes. A total of ninety-nine phoenixes were surrounding her, wildly resisting the crashing bolts of thunder coming from up above. With this collision, almost all of the phoenixes were blasted apart, leaving behind a single white phoenix by her side.

The thunder in the skies finally came to a complete halt.

The supreme Sword Immortal, Patriarch Lu, nodded as he watched from his position atop the nearby mountain peak. “Seven nine-sets of thunder tribulation; essentially what I thought it would be. My disciple is a Ki Refiner…even for a reincarnated Immortal, to encounter seven nine-sets of thunder tribulation is a bit much. It seems my disciple has indeed been hiding a few things.”

“The demonheart tribulation is beginning.”

“I’m afraid that for my disciple, the most dangerous tribulation is this demonheart tribulation,” Patriarch Lu mused to himself.

Yu Wei, in her past life, had been a true asura demon; she had been extremely powerful, and in her past life she had been comparable to Immortal Northwalker. In this life, under the guidance of Patriarch Lu, she had reached an even higher level of insight into the Dao; after executing a forbidden technique, she had been able to overcome the seven nine-sets of thunder tribulation.

But the demonheart tribulation was strange and unfathomable.

“In her past life, due to her tragedies, she transformed into an asura demon,” Patriarch Lu mused to himself. “And in her heart, she is hiding a major secret that she won’t tell anyone, not even me. The deeper one hides secrets within the heart…the more terrifying the demonheart tribulation shall be. In her past life, she failed her Celestial Tribulation; I wonder how she will do in this one.”

Time passed, one day after the other.

Six days. Seven days. Eight days…

Fifteen days. Sixteen days…

Yu Wei still just sat there. Her demonheart tribulation persisted for an extraordinarily long period of time…

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Chapter 16 – Returning to the Grand Xia

Chapter 16 – Returning to the Grand Xia

Yu Wei’s demonheart tribulation persisted for an extremely long period of time. Patriarch Lu, however, just stood there quietly atop the nearby mountain peak, watching in complete calmness.

Suddenly…

A sound rang out in the world, a sound which symbolized Heaven and Earth. It was incomparably profound, majestic, and intoxicating. As this Immortal melody rang out, rainbow-colored clouds began to appear in the sky, and the ground became filled with golden lotus flowers. It seemed as though the very center of the world was this black-robed maiden that sat in the lotus position.

Yu Wei’s eyes were already open. A deep, longing love was in her eyes, but a hint of a smile was on her lips.

A flood of natural energy was gathering around her, and her body was beginning to emanate with an Immortal, spiritual aura.

“Heaven has bestowed propitious clouds, and Earth has given birth to golden lotuses.” The distant Patriarch Lu smiled, then clapped his hands lightly. “From now on, you shall no longer be subject to the Three Calamities or Nine Tribulations. A fine Celestial Immortal…a fine Celestial Immortal!”

As for Yu Wei, she flew towards the distant Patriarch Lu.

“Well done.” Patriarch Lu was very satisfied. “This tribulation is the greatest tribulation an Immortal cultivator shall ever face. After having overcome it…you have now ascended to the skies in a single step. Your life shall now last as long as the heavens themselves.” Of course, although one would no longer be bothered by heavenly tribulations and one had a truly unlimited lifespan, if other, more powerful Immortals or Fiendgods killed you, there was nothing for it.

Even True Gods and Daofathers…even Pangu…would perish.

“If not for your tutelage, Master, your disciple definitely wouldn’t have overcome this Celestial Tribulation.” Yu Wei fell to her knees, respectfully pressing her head downwards and kowtowing in thanks. She had been very strong in her past life, but she hadn’t even been able to withstand six nine-sets of thunder tribulation, much less seven nine-sets. She had advanced at an astonishingly rapid pace while accompanying Patriarch Lu.

Patriarch Lu nodded lightly. After Yu Wei rose to her feet, he finally said, “Yu Wei…”

Yu Wei was startled. Patriarch Lu very rarely referred to her by her name.

“There is something which I have been hiding for you, so as to prevent it from impacting your Celestial Tribulation. And now…it is time to tell you,” Patriarch Lu said.

“Master, what is it?” Yu Wei hurriedly asked. In her heart, however, she had a bad feeling. So as to prevent it from impacting her Celestial Tribulation? Her Dao-heart was incredibly strong; what sort of matter could possibly make Patriarch Lu worry about her Celestial Tribulation being affected? A major matter, for sure…and one which involved something she truly cared about.

“Is it…my junior apprentice-brother, Ji Ning?” Yu Wei looked at Patriarch Lu. Her parents had died long ago; the only person she truly cared about in this world was her Dao-companion, Ji Ning.

“Right. It is Ji Ning.” Patriarch Lu nodded.

Yu Wei’s face changed slightly.

Patriarch Lu continued, “Just as you were preparing for your tribulation, the Xia Emperor of your Grand Xia world informed me of something. He said that Ji Ning fought a battle against nine Celestial Immortals of his hated foes, the Youngflame clan, in their Oldjade mountain range. That battle had severe repercussions; in fact, a number of Fiendgods that had been imprisoned there for countless years were released as well. However…the main event was still the battle between Ji Ning and the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. Two of the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan perished; Celestial Immortal Goldclock and Celestial Immortal Flamefish. Ji Ning had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him, and so the Youngflame clan was completely unable to do anything to him. Thus…they played a trick. They caused Ji Ning to accidentally kill ten billion mortals.”

Yu Wei’s face instantly turned ashen!

She didn’t have any time to feel astonished by the Youngflame clan having nine Celestial Immortals, or to feel stunned by the fact that Ning had killed two of them. She didn’t have any time to feel amazed by the fact that he possessed the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] either. In her mind, a single phrase echoed repeatedly: ‘Accidentally kill ten billion mortals’.

“He accidentally killed ten billion mortals?” Yu Wei mumbled to herself.

The Dao of the Heavens were without compassion.

It judged karmic virtue and karmic sin according to its own rules. Even if one killed by accident, one still had to shoulder an appropriate amount of the karmic blame…and the amount of sin generated by killing that many mortals was utterly terrifying to even think about.

“His sin towered to the skies, causing karmic sinflames to descend,” Patriarch Lu continued. “The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan, Immortal Venomfreak, used the Protocosmic spirit-treasure, ‘Worldhold Pagoda’, to teleport the still-burning Ji Ning outside of the world of the Grand Xia, to an undoubtedly dangerous location. The seven days have long since passed; Ji Ning was able to successfully endure the karmic sinflames, but he still hasn’t returned to the world of the Grand Xia. This means he should be trapped in some extremely dangerous place which he cannot return from.”

Yu Wei’s heart shook, falling and rising and falling again.

Upon hearing that Ning had survived the karmic sinflames, she had let out a sigh of relief…but upon hearing that he had yet to return, she grew nervous again.

“Master…is there anything you can do?” Yu Wei immediately asked.

“Nothing.” Patriarch Lu shook his head. “The Worldhold Pagoda is a Protocosmic spirit-treasure with unfathomable power; it is even capable of sending someone to the infinite Void outside of the Three Realms. The Void outside the Three Realms contains many danger zones, and Greater Teleportation is useless within many of those danger zones. In fact…there are some places where even I would die if I were trapped there. Since Ji Ning has not yet returned, he definitely must be trapped there. The longer he stays there, the more dangerous it will be…and perhaps one day, he shall die.”

Yu Wei’s body shook.

“There’s nothing I can do. There’s nothing you can do either.” Patriarch Lu shook his head. “The danger zones of the infinite Void…most likely, only True Gods or Daofathers would dare to enter those places. However…those danger zones are far too vast! Even if a Daofather was to personally go out and investigate them, some danger zones would take tens of thousands of years, or even millions of years, to search through.”

The Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld, for example, surrounded and covered the entire Primordial Ruinworld. If a Daofather wanted to search it…he would have to spend an extremely long period of time.

“Then…then…” Yu Wei found it hard to accept this.

“You can only wait.” Patriarch Lu continued, “Ji Ning has trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; his master is definitely a Daofather. Only a Daofather has even a hint of a chance of finding him within the infinite Void. However…it’s hard to say how long that would take. I hope that his master will find him while he is still alive.”

Yu Wei bit her lips.

“What are your plans now?” Patriarch Lu looked at Yu Wei.

“I wish to return to the Grand Xia,” Yu Wei said softly.

“Mm.” Patriarch Lu nodded slightly.

……

The world of the Grand Xia. Black clouds filled the skies above Stillwater City. Thunder and lightning were flashing within the dark clouds, occasionally striking downwards. Thunderclaps rang out incessantly, and an enormous amount of rain was falling.

Within the lightning and the rain, a black-robed woman exited from a spatial tear that she had created above Stillwater city.

“Junior apprentice-brother, I’ve returned…so why aren’t you here?” The black-robed woman looked downwards at Stillwater City, but only felt pulses of sadness and worry. In her past life, her heart had been encased in ice; after her parents died in this life, her heart had only grown even colder. The only person she truly cared about in her heart was Ji Ning; for Ning’s sake, she would even be willing to annihilate the heavens themselves without any hesitation.

In fact…when she had faced the demonheart tribulation of the Celestial Tribulation, she had relied on the love and affection she felt for Ning to help her endure that extremely long tribulation. This had caused the love she bore for Ning to grow even deeper. Within the illusions of the demonheart tribulation, she and Ning had experienced three thousand years of life together.

Whoosh.

Yu Wei flew downwards into Stillwater City, into the Black-White College.

She scanned the Black-White College with her coresense.

Rumble…

Another strand of coresense touched hers.

Whoosh.

Immortal Diancai instantly appeared in the air above his residence. Raising his head, he saw the distant black-robed maiden who was flying in his direction. He couldn’t help but call out with surprise and delight, “Yu Wei, you overcame the Celestial Tribulation?”

Immortal Diancai could hardly believe it; he wouldn’t have been surprised by Ning overcome the Celestial Tribulation, but Yu Wei?

Yu Wei had failed at the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, during the trials within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. There was no way her talent compared in any way to Ning’s. It had only been a few short decades; Ning hadn’t undergone his tribulation yet, so how was it that she had overcome hers? Could it be that Yu Wei’s Celestial Tribulation had been extremely weak? Or perhaps that Patriarch Lu was so formidable at teaching disciples that Yu Wei had been successful in overcoming her tribulation?

“Yes.” Yu Wei nodded gently.

Immortal Diancai nodded repeatedly in excitement. “Good. This is a chaotic era; for our Black-White College to now give birth to another Celestial Immortal is wonderful. Wonderful!” But suddenly, Immortal Diancai thought of Ji Ning, and the fact that he had become Dao-companions with Yu Wei. His smile instantly vanished; in fact, a hesitant look appeared on his face.

Should he tell her?

“Uncle-master Diancai…” Yu Wei said.

“No need to call me ‘uncle-master’,” Immortal Diancai immediately said. Given Yu Wei’s current level of power, the two could converse as equals; after all, for Immortal cultivators, age didn’t really matter. For example, Yu Wei had reawakened her former memories, and if one counted her past life, she was much older than Immortal Diancai.

“You are Ji Ning’s master; I naturally need to address you as ‘uncle-master’,” Yu Wei said. “Are you about to tell me about Ji Ning?”

Immortal Diancai was startled. “You…you already know?”

“Before I returned to the Grand Xia, my master informed me,” Yu Wei said.

“Will Patriarch Lu be able to do anything?” Immortal Diancai asked frantically, “Does he know where Ji Ning was exiled to?”

“He doesn’t know.” Yu Wei shook her head.

“Then we should…?” Immortal Diancai had been worrying about Ning this entire time.

“Wait,” Yu Wei replied.

Immortal Diancai suddenly thought of something. He hurriedly instructed, “Ji Ning killed two of the Youngflame clan’s Celestial Immortals; they are utterly enraged by this. Although they’ve exiled Ji NIng, they aren’t going to let it rest! Any members of the Ji clan who dared to leave Swallow Mountain have all been killed by the Youngflame clan. You are Ji Ning’s Dao-companion; once they learn that you are back, they’ll probably act against you. You just became a Celestial Immortal; it’s unwise for you to fight against the Youngflame clan head-on for now.”

“Act against me?” A hint of a cold, murderous look flashed past Yu Wei’s eyes.

……

The Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld.

Ning was knocked flying backwards. After stabilizing himself, he looked at his surroundings, then suddenly began to laugh. His laughter was filled with madness, but it was also filled with a hint of longing and apology; longing for his loved ones, and an apology for leaving them.

“I won’t be able to accompany you any further,” Ning murmured to himself. His divine power had been almost completely used up.

However, the distant violet-caped warrior who had been battling Ning actually retreated.

The group of horned, violet-caped warriors began arguing amongst themselves.

“Tonto finished his contest; let me go next.”

“No, let me go.”

“Why should you be the one to go?”

“It’s rare for us to encounter an alien that can’t be killed, no matter how hard we hit him. This is a perfect chance for some training and tempering. Let’s take it slow. Don’t be in a rush!” The golden-caped general added, “And it looks to me like the alien is pretty much exhausted. Let him rest for a bit. After he recovers, you can go challenge him one-by-one. As long as he doesn’t die, you’ll all have a chance.”

Ning was speechless.

He had thought that he was definitely going to die…but they were going to let him recover?

“The warriors of the Snaphorn world…really like to fight. Are they…are they treating me as a training dummy?” Ning was puzzled.

The general and his violet-caped warriors, however, were quite resigned.

Liked to fight?

Yes, they liked to fight. However, their innate nature was such that they would generally slaughter their foes; why would they let a fight drag on like this? However, this was the order of the Queen Mother, and in fact the Queen Mother’s mind was riding with them, ordering them to fight against Ji Ning one by one. How could they possibly dare to disobey?

“Forget them. Every extra day alive counts.” Ning stood there within the vacuum of space, immediately beginning to attune himself to those two supreme stellar bodies in the deepest reaches of the Void, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star. He began to draw energy from them, converting it into divine power.

Within the underwater estate. A black-robed Ning sat there in the lotus position. Suddenly, the giant yellow bear appeared, then hurriedly said, “Ji Ning, Ji Ning!”

“Senior bear.” The black-robed Ning looked at the giant yellow bear.

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Chapter 17 – The Seventeenth Stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]

Chapter 17 – The Seventeenth Stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]

“What happened just now?” The giant yellow bear immediately asked, “I clearly sensed that you were at your limit, but were still unable to defeat that violet-caped fellow. How is it that suddenly…?”

The black-robed Ji Ning knew what the big bear was asking. He didn’t seek to hide anything from the big bear; after all, there were a good number of individuals in the Three Realms who used heartforce. He immediately replied, “Senior bear, previously, when my divine power was almost used up, I felt as though things were hopeless. Ignoring all else, I poured everything into executing my most powerful sword-arts…but who would’ve thought that the power of my sword-arts would exceed even my own expectations? Only then did I realize that my heartforce had actually flowed into my sword-arts and had been slightly depleted.”

“Heartforce?” The giant yellow bear was surprised. “You were able to use your heartforce through your sword-fingers?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“But but but…” The giant yellow bear didn’t dare believe it.

In truth, the giant yellow bear actually knew less about heartforce than Ning himself did. Ning, after all, had trained in [Houyi’s Archery], and had read a good number of books at Mount Innerheart regarding the Three Realms. As for the giant yellow bear, all he knew, he had learned while accompanying Daoist Threelives.

“You…you were able to use your heartforce through your sword-fingers…but you haven’t even undergone your tribulation, right…?” The giant yellow bear was still in a stunned state. Within the Three Realms, those who could control heartforce were all quite famous; every single one of them was a terrifying force, generally at the True God or Daofather level. Even the weakest of them were generally at least Empyrean Gods or True Immortals.

“It has nothing to do with the tribulation.” The black-robed Ning shook his head. “It has everything to do with your level of insight into heartforce. According to the system which mighty Houyi established, heartforce can be divided into five levels. Thanks to the descent of the karmic sinflames, as well as the experiences I have undergone here in the Nihilum Zone…my heartforce actually ended up reaching the third level, ‘ruler’. Given that I’ve been training in [Houyi’s Archery] almost every day for the past half year while floating about in the Nihilum Zone, my mastery over my heartforce has been improved. Perhaps because I established a foundation through training [Houyi’s Archery], as well as due to my heartforce reaching the third level…I was lucky enough to execute the technique successfully.”

“The third stage?” The giant yellow bear didn’t really understand; he didn’t have any insight into Houyi’s systemized levels for heartforce.

“However…what’s the usage?” The black-robed Ning shook his head. “Even if I do understand how to apply heartforce to my sword-fingers…I still haven’t undergone my tribulation. I’m completely unable to defeat this Snaphorn world of the Primordial Ruinworld, much less escape the Nihilum Zone.”

“Don’t be discouraged,” the giant yellow bear said. “You’ve gained quite a lot, learning how to apply heartforce through your sword-fingers.”

“I’m not depressed.” The black-robed Ning was actually quite calm.

“Right; that massive army of the Snaphorn world has arrived, and they can easily capture you. Why aren’t they attacking? Why are they letting you recover?” The giant yellow bear was puzzled by this.

The black-robed Ning shook his head. “I don’t know the answer either. From the sound of it…they seem to want to use me as a target dummy for training. Perhaps there is another reason as well…but who cares? As long as I have a chance to stay alive, I’ll take it. The longer I can stay alive, the better a chance Master might have to find me. This is a chance to survive…I naturally have to seize it.”

“Right.” The giant yellow bear nodded as well.

……

Within the misty, void-like region within the underwater estate.

The giant yellow bear had just returned here. He looked at the seven powerful experts.

“Well?” The beautiful, black-armored woman asked impatiently.

“Ji Ning says that the reason why the army of the Snaphorn world has only trapped him rather than killed him is because they apparently want to use him as a training dummy to temper and train some of their more powerful warriors.” The giant yellow bear continued, “However…the reason really isn’t worth over-analyzing. What matters is that Ji Ning is currently not in a life-or-death situation. There’s no need for you to reveal your presences for now; let’s just wait patiently. The longer this drags out, the better; if Patriarch Subhuti is able to find Ji Ning, then everything will be well.”

The seven Fiendgods all nodded in agreement.

“There’s one other important matter. Ning said that he’s been able to develop a way for him to apply his heartforce through his fingers,” the giant yellow bear suddenly said. “That’s why his power increased so dramatically.”

“A way for him to apply heartforce?!”

All seven of the Fiendgods simultaneously cried out in shock.

Red-hair said in disbelief, “He…he…you said heartforce…heartforce!!! How could he have developed…”

“Ji Ning trained in [Houyi’s Archery], and so he had a set of heartforce techniques to begin with. Perhaps this helped inspire him? In addition, his heartforce has reached the third level,” the giant yellow bear said. “He said something about the third level of heartforce, with Houyi having divided it up into five levels, but I didn’t really understand it.”

“The third level?”

“What a monster.”

“He’s absolutely…”

The seven of them were all stunned. The giant yellow bear had never needed to participate in any of the battles of Pangu’s World, but the seven of them had followed Daoist Threelives in one battle after another. They naturally knew a great deal of information regarding the most powerful figures of the Three Realms. If you knew yourself well and your foes well, you would live longer; they naturally knew that heartforce was divided into five levels, and that reaching the third level was considered a very high accomplishment, even in Pangu’s World.

“Humans truly live up to their reputation.” Of the seven figures, the child suddenly let out a sigh. “The comprehension ability of humans…they truly are the champion of the myriad races! I wonder how in the world Maiden Nuwa was able to develop a race with such comprehension abilities. Compared to humans, we Fiendgods have an all but non-existent level of comprehension abilities.”

“Humans rose up from a weak starting point to become the masters of Pangu’s Primordial World. Even amongst the ranks of the Daofathers, humans are the most numerous race! In fact, the power of humans as a race is capable of equaling the combined power of all the other myriad races. This young master of ours…he is a peerless monster, even amongst humans. There’s no way we can compare to him. No way!” The elder sighed as well.

All seven of them were true Fiendgods. The youngest of them had been born when Pangu’s World had just been created.

How long had they lived for?

They had watched with their own eyes as humanity became powerful. When the human race had first been created, they were an extremely weak race; most likely, any random, powerful Fiendgod would have been able to annihilate the entire race. But humans had been created by Maiden Nuwa, and after Pangu perished, Nuwa became the most powerful figure of the Primordial Era. Naturally, no one would go and wipe out her human race for no good reason. Humans bred at a very fast rate, had incredible comprehension abilities, and grew up very quickly. They gave birth to Celestial Immortals…Pure Yang True Immortals…and even even Daofathers of the Great Firmament! They grew nonstop, and their status became higher and higher. And now…their single race was capable of withstanding all of the myriad other races combined! Even the Fiendgods of Primordial Chaos had to acknowledge humans and their status.

If anyone dared to act against humanity…the major powers of the human race would wipe them out!

“He lives up to being our young master, the successor to the Godking.” A friendly, amiable-looking youth said with a sigh, “He was actually able to come up with a way to apply heartforce, even though he hasn’t even undergone his Celestial Tribulation. Combined with the [Starseizing Hand]…our young master has most likely become the most powerful figure amongst all Void-level Fiendgods. In fact, he’s extremely close to being as powerful as an Empyrean God!”

“Not just yet, but…still, he does indeed have a chance at becoming nearly as powerful as an Empyrean God.” Snow Scorpion nodded.

There was naturally an enormous difference between Void-level Fiendgods and Empyrean Gods.

Still…how many Empyrean Gods had a monstrously powerful divine ability like the [Starseizing Hand]?

And how many were in control of heartforce?

These two points alone were able to make up for many weaknesses. Still…despite that, it could only be said that Ning stood a a ‘chance at becoming nearly as powerful as an Empyrean God’; one couldn’t actually say that he truly already had the combat power of an Empyrean God. This was because when Fiendgods underwent their Empyrean Tribulation and become an Empyrean God, their divine bodies would undergo an earth-shaking change. In addition, their divine power would also skyrocket in quality and quantity. The difference in divine body and divine power was simply too great! The [Starseizing Hand] alone was not enough to make up for a difference of this magnitude; even if one added heartforce into the mix, it would be hard to say.

And in addition…

Empyrean Gods also had very high levels of insight into the Dao.

Thus, ever since the creation of Pangu’s World, there had never been anyone who, as a Void-level Fiendgod, could be said to have truly reached the power of an Empyrean God. Of course…Ning was a monster the likes of which had never been seen, even in Pangu’s World. First of all, he was the only person who knew the [Starseizing Hand], with the other practitioner, Daoist Threelives, having died long ago. And secondly, although there were a few who knew how to apply heartforce, there were almost none at the Void-level; after all, even Ning had only developed this technique after first training in [Houyi’s Archery], then undergoing karmic sinflames, then suffering in the Void and reaching the third level of heartforce.

To be able to possess both the [Starseizing Hand] and be able to apply heartforce…Ning truly was an absolute monster.

Thus, even these seven Fiendgods who had been alive since the days when Pangu had established the universe had to sigh at the fact that Ning was extremely close to the level of Empyrean Gods.

……

“What is this alien doing?”

“He seems to be training.”

The general and the 801 violet-caped warriors stared at the distant human youth. At this moment, above Ning’s head had appeared two miniature stars; they were a miniature Solar Star and a miniature Lunar Star. Above the miniature Solar Star, flames blazed and a tiny Golden Crow flew about, while above the Lunar Star, an osmanthus tree was growing. Both the miniature Solar Star and the miniature Lunar Star were quite detailed; they seemed to truly be identical to the true Solar Star and Lunar Star, albeit countless times smaller.

His divine power was continuing to recover.

Ning was training quite calmly.

A long time later…

After his divine power had completely recovered, Ning was once more at peak power.

Whoosh. Ning opened his eyes, sweeping the warriors of the Snaphorn world with his gaze.

“He stopped. It seems he’s recovered.” The general smiled. “Baloni, you go.”

“Yes.” A desire for battle blazed in the eyes of a violet-caped warrior. He was so excited, he let out a hiss with his slender little tongue. “Alien brat, I’m not as useless as the likes of Tonto and the others. Ahaha…” His ear-piercing laughter rang out as he transformed into a black streak of light, charging straight for Ning.

……

One massive battle after another.

Each time, a violet-caped warrior would fight against Ning by himself. Some had lower attack power than Ning, but were superior in speed and so could still give him a good fight. The violet-caped warriors also had particularly superb warriors who were superior to Ning in every aspect.

Each time, Ning fought until his divine power was completely exhausted, then would stop fighting and calmly focus on recovering through the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! The aliens, in turn, permitted Ning to recover.

Fight! Train!

Fight! Train!

The aliens came in a steady stream, forcing Ning to squeeze out every bit of potential he had. The three Queen Mothers, through these constant engagements, were able to sense Ning’s heartforce rippling. They, in turn, were working hard to hypothesize how heartforce was to be used.

Time flowed on…and in the blink of an eye, more than twelve years had gone past.

Ning had completely forgotten the flow of time, losing himself in battle. During the past twelve years, he had completely focused all of his attention on the application of heartforce; every single battle was a test for him, and he constantly tried and tested new methods. His method of applying heartforce to his fingers became more and more exquisite; by now, Ning was actually able to use up nearly 3% of his total heartforce through a single sword-finger. This was quite astonishing…but clearly, he hadn’t reached his maximum potential yet.

Rumble…

Rumble…

Two miniature versions of the Solar Star and the Lunar Star were hovering above Ning’s head.

A large amount of divine power was circulating through his body. During the past twelve years, Ning’s divine power had grown nonstop, becoming thicker, denser, and more perfect. And today…Ning had truly reached the peak of power possible for the sixteenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

BOOM!

His divine power finally began to transform.

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Chapter 18 – Eighteen Stormy Years

Chapter 18 – Eighteen Stormy Years

Ji Ning’s breakthrough to the seventeenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] didn’t cause too much of a disturbance; in fact, the nearby soldiers of the First Army of the Snaphorn world didn’t even realize that he had made a breakthrough. This was how the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] worked; only when one made a major breakthrough to a new level would the Solar Star and the Lunar Star transmit Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater. Lesser breakthroughs caused a much smaller disturbance.

Whooooosh. Within Ning’s divine body, the increasingly pure Crimsonbright divine power began to transform into tiny little rivers that flowed through his veins, causing his divine body to grow even stronger.

The seventeenth stage!

This was the limit of power for his true body, before it underwent the Celestial Tribulation; if he dared to raise himself to the eighteenth stage, then the tribulation would descend at a moment’s notice afterwards. Although he now controlled heartforce and felt more confident in his chances…he was still surrounded by karmic sinflames and was a tremendous sinner. Most likely, the power of his Celestial Tribulation would be even more terrifying. If he could survive here and leave this place, the Nihilum Zone…Ning couldn’t even imagine what the scene of his tribulation would be like.

“I’m the sole heir of the [Starseizing Hand], the disciple of Patriarch Subhuti, a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and surrounded by karmic sinflames.” Ning truly couldn’t imagine it.

It was quite common for ordinary Fiendgod Body Refiners to undergo nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation. Upon overcoming the Celestial Tribulation, they would have become Empyrean Gods!

And he…he was no ordinary Fiendgod.

“I heard that some particularly monstrous geniuses amongst Ki Refiners will also encounter nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation,” Ning mused to himself. “I, on the other hand, am a Fiendgod Body Refiner. My Celestial Tribulation…”

To this very day, no one had ever fully understood which elements were taken into account in determining the power of the Celestial Tribulation. However, there were many past precedences; for example, Lu Dongbin was a Ki Refiner who had undergone nine nine-sets as a Ki Refiner.

Ordinary Fiendgods would often have to undergo nine complete nine-sets of thunder tribulation.

As for some truly monstrous geniuses, the most elite of the Fiendgods of the entire Three Realms…their backgrounds were so extraordinary that their tribulations were not like ordinary tribulations. Ning had the feeling…that he would probably be treated as one of the most peerless of Fiendgods of the Three Realms in this regard.

“Forget about that for now…I have so many enemies to battle, and I don’t have to hold anything back as I train in heartforce. I can’t waste this opportunity.” Ning opened his eyes, halting his cultivation.

“It seems he’s recovered. It’s my turn this time!” A muscular, violet-caped warrior roared with laughter, four giant warhammers in his four arms. Leaping through space, he charged towards Ning.

……

Although he was in a dire situation…since there was nowhere to run, Ning didn’t think about anything, completely focusing on battle. As he gained more experience with the application of heartforce, Ning’s power began to rise continuously. The more heartforce his sword-fingers were able to unleash, the more powerful his blows would become. This caused the violet-caped warriors to feel unspeakable misery.

After the twelfth year, which is to say after Ning broke through to the seventeenth stage, more than half the violet-caped warriors were at a disadvantage when fighting Ning.

As his control over heartforce grew increasingly powerful, Ning began to be able to suppress one violet-caped warrior after another. However, the difference in power wasn’t that great; they were more than capable of staying alive.

By the fifteenth year, Ning was confident in being able to kill in battle some of the enemies who matched up poorly against him, but he did not kill them. He was afraid that if he did kill the violet-caped warriors, they would be enraged; that wouldn’t be worth it! The most important thing for him right now was to delay; ideally, he would delay for a few decades or a century. The more time passed, the better the chances that his master, Patriarch Subhuti, would be able to find him.

By the sixteenth year, Ning was able to use up nearly a twentieth of his heartforce in a single blow of his sword-fingers. This was him using full power in a single hand; there was no way he could reach this level when using all six arms.

By the seventeenth year, Ning was able to use up a sixteenth of his heartforce in one stroke.

By the eighteenth year, Ning was able to use up a fifteenth of his heartforce in one stroke! By now, his application of heartforce was perfect, in that not a single bit of his heartforce was wasted or leaked out to the outside world. Ning could no longer come up with any way to further improve it. Although it was still a bit inferior compared to the amount of heartforce he could use when using [Houyi’s Archery]…there naturally were some differences between close combat and archery.

Aside from mastering the application of heartforce, Ning had also grown even more formidable in sword-arts.

Within the Nihilum Zone, there were no Daos to disturb him, allowing Ning to focus even more purely attuning with his sword-arts, causing him to just barely touch upon the true essence of the sword.

Ning had been fighting this entire time within the Nihilum Zone. His life was a very calm one…but within the distant Three Realms, the world of the Grand Xia was no longer calm.

Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

Night.

Within a mountain of the Black-White College, a black-robed maiden was seated opposite a black-haired, black-robed man. Both were quietly, pensively drinking wine.

“The Seamless Gate has grow more and more bold.” Immortal Diancai’s eyes were filled with anger…but he then shook his head and sighed. “However, they are indeed formidable. They were actually able to cause the Northmont clan of Stillwater to fracture internally. So many high-level members of the Northmont clan actually desired to throw their support to the Seamless Gate…but fortunately senior Unity was enraged and moved to slaughter them.”

Just two hours ago, this very day, Celestial Immortal Unity had struck out in rage, wiping out more than half of the Void-level experts of the Northmont clan! All the traitors were killed!

“After senior Unity made his move, the Seamless Gate sent a diplomatic note; if he doesn’t throw his support to the Seamless Gate, then they shall become mortal enemies.” Immortal Diancai looked at Yu Wei. “Yu Wei, what do you think we should do?”

“It doesn’t really matter what we think; the one which the Seamless Gate truly cares about is senior Unity. According to the stories, senior Unity has power comparable to that of a Pure Yang True Immortal,” Yu Wei said. “And this is precisely the reason why the Seamless Gate has spent so much effort on our Stillwater Commandery; they want to pull senior Unity over to their side.”

“The Seamless Gate truly has spent quite a bit of effort on us. The other commanderies might be in a state of chaos, but they aren’t nearly as bad as our Stillwater Commandery is. Still…senior Unity truly is resolute and decisive. The Northmont clan had fractured to the point where nearly half wanted to surrender to the Seamless Gate; even Celestial Immortal Hunchmont ended up being abducted by the Seamless Gate! He actually slaughtered more than half of his Void-level kinsmen. Even if it meant Hunchmont’s death, he still insisted on standing by the side of the Xia Emperor.” Diancai sighed. “Now that the Seamless Gate has sent that diplomatic note…a disaster is about to befall Stillwater Commandery.”

When he thought about this disaster…Immortal Diancai thought of Ji Ning.

That disciple of his who had wrought so many miracles.

That peerless disciple of his who had assaulted the headquarters of the Youngflame clan, slaughtered two mighty Celestial Immortals, and was capable of resisting karmic sinflames.

“I wonder how Ji Ning is doing. It has been eighteen years, but he still hasn’t returned.” A hint of urgency was in Immortal Diancai’s eyes.

“Eighteen years.” Yu Wei looked at the bright moon in the night sky, her heart filled with countless thoughts.

Junior apprentice-brother…

When will you return?

“It’s better for him to return later; he might be able to dodge this storm.” Immortal Diancai was still angry. “The Seamless Gate is acting with such wild abandon, and senior Unity continues to stand by the side of the Xia Emperor, but the Xia Emperor hasn’t even come to help out.”

“The entirety of the Grand Xia is in a state of chaos. Every area is asking for his help. How is he supposed to accomplish it all?” Yu Wei sighed. “In addition..how do you know, uncle-master, that the Xia Emperor hasn’t been helping out in secret?”

……

It had only been eighteen years…but the situation of the Grand Xia was more than a hundred times worse than it had been when Ning was present.

When Ning had been present, although the various commanderies throughout the Grand Xia all saw some disturbances, on the whole things were still fairly calm. But soon after Ning slaughtered the two Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan, a series of Celestial Immortals began to perish throughout the world of the Grand Xia. It was either done by the Seamless Gate, or by the Xia Emperor in his furious reprisals.

All sorts of battles were carried out in secret!

One Celestial Immortal after another perished!

The Grand Xia’s various marquisdoms, supreme clans, and major sects also began to engage in reprisal killings!

The storm was growing more and more violent. Even the number one assassin’s guild of the Grand Xia, ‘Bloodcloud Hall’, had revealed its true face. It struck out time and time again, assaulting and killing some of the tougher foes of the Seamless Gate!

Nine years ago…

A dangerous situation had appeared within one of the headquarters of the Northmont clan; even Loose Immortals who went to investigate would perish. Celestial Immortal Hunchmont and Yu Wei had gone together to investigate; logically speaking, if they joined forces, the two of them should be able to escape from any danger without problems. However…the Seamless Gate had actually paid an enormous price to trap them there. Yu Wei, by using an escape technique which Patriarch Lu had bequeathed unto her, had been lucky enough to escape…but Celestial Immortal Hunchmont had been captured alive!

By the time Sword Immortal Unity learned of this, it was too late; Celestial Immortal Hunchmont had been sent off to the ‘Fifth World.’

In fact, it was the capture of Celestial Immortal Hunchmont that truly caused the Seamless Gate and Stillwater Commandery to begin fighting.

“Everyone in the Three Realms believes me to be dead, but the Seamless Gate actually knew that I am alive.” Sword Immortal Unity had a bad feeling as well; the Seamless Gate was even harder to deal with than he had expected. They used all sorts of methods to try and influence Sword Immortal Unity, be it through tribes, territory, or other methods.

However…given that Sword Immortal Unity had the mental fortitude to hide himself away for so many years, how could the Seamless Gate possibly change his mind so easily as this?

You want to seduce the kinsmen that I favor?

Seduce away the Void-level Earth Immortals that I wanted to teach?

Fine. All traitors…die!

Hunchmont? If you want to kill him, then kill him, Seamless Gate!

Sword Immortal Unity seemed to be without any weaknesses whatsoever. Over the course of nine years, they had engaged in several major battles, and even Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai had encountered grave danger. At the same time…the news that Yu Wei had become a Celestial Immortal finally began to spread out, and her strength became publicly acknowledged. However…when assaulted by the Seamless Gate, Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai received aid from Sword Immortal Unity as well!

Unity was indeed incredibly powerful.

He, all by himself…had forced thirty-six Celestial Immortals of the Seamless Gate to flee in disarray! This was what it meant to have power close to a Pure Yang True Immortal’s!

Ever since Sword Immortal Unity had revealed his sharpness, not even the Youngflame clan had dared to cause trouble in Stillwater Commandery any longer. Although Immortal Venomfreak was also quite famous for his power…his strength lay in his cunning, in subertfuge, and in his many clones. As for Unity, known as the Supreme Sword Immortal, he had truly astonishing close combat power.

……

Within the Nihilum Zone.

“The sword…so it is as simple and pure as this.” Ning was currently battling against one of the violet-caped warriors. His sword-fingers dimly glowed with a sharp, silvery-white shine. Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning’s sword-fingers collided with the foe’s greataxe, but actually knocked it flying back.

His sword-fingers now glowed with that sharp, silvery-white light…

This was the other thing Ning had gained during these eighteen years of battle, aside from learning how to use heartforce!

These eighteen years had resulted in hundreds of more battles than Ning had experienced in all his previous decades of life combined! This was because all of his time was spent either replenishing his divine power or fighting. Repeated battles. Endless battles! And there were no Daos present; in fact, not even the Dao of the Sword was present to influence him. Ning didn’t have to think about what was the best way to summon the most amount of natural energy.

He didn’t have to consider these things; all he had to think about was honing his instincts and using them to apply his sword-arts in battle.

And so…Ning’s sword-arts had become more and more pure.

They guided to the very essence of swordplay itself!

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Chapter 19 – At The Scroll’s End, the Dagger Appears

Chapter 19 – At The Scroll’s End, the Dagger Appears

[Note – This chapter’s title comes from a Chinese idiom which essentially means ‘true intentions revealed in the end’; it comes from a famous historical story where an assassin attempted to assassinate the Qin Emperor by hiding a dagger within a scroll that the Qin Emperor wanted. The Qin Emperor accepted the scroll and and began to unfurl it, and at the the very bottom/end of the scroll, the dagger appeared; the assassin immediately grabbed the dagger and used it to make the assassination attempt. Thus, the saying ‘at the scroll’s end, the dagger appears’ refers to true intentions being revealed]

His swordplay became so pure that one day, the tips of Ji Ning’s sword-fingers began to glow with that sharp, silvery-white aura. This silvery-white aura caused his sword-fingers to become even sharper and fiercer! They were now sharper and more penetrating than even actual swords!

Within the underwater estate.

The black-robed Ning was currenty asking the giant yellow bear some questions. “Senior bear, do you know what the sharp lights surrounding my fingers are?”

“You don’t know?” The giant bear was puzzled. “You know about heartforce, so how can you not know about…oh, right. Most likely, Patriarch Subhuti was worried that you would set your sights too high, and so he didn’t tell you right away.”

“What do you mean?” Ning asked.

The giant bear explained, “For Sword Immortals, fully mastering the Grand Dao of the Sword isn’t the end of the road. After you completely master the entire Grand Dao of the Sword…you’ll begin to focus on understanding the essence of the sword itself. When using sword-arts, your blade will naturally emit this sort of sharp light. This sort of sharp light is also referred to as ‘swordforce’; generally speaking, peerless Sword Immortals who have thoroughly mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword will begin to slowly discover and cultivate this power. You’ve just barely touched upon it; I imagine you are at the lowest, most basic level of swordforce.”

“Swordforce?” Ning now understood. “So that’s how it is. When I was in Mount Innerheart, I saw some books which made note of the fact that when one completely mastered the Grand Dao of Taiji, one would begin to attune to the very essence of the Taiji itself, at which point a strange type of power would slowly be developed; taiji-force! It seems my swordforce is quite similar to this taiji-force in nature.”

“Right.” The giant bear smiled and nodded.

Ning now completely understood.

Taiji-force, swordforce…generally speaking, those who completely mastered the Grand Daos of Taiji or the Sword would be able to slowly work on controlling this type of power. It could be considered an additional supplement, making one a bit more powerful in battle.

“One of the greatest dangers for Immortal cultivators is being overly ambitious.” Ning let out a sigh.

For example, when he first entered the Black-White College, the Primal Daoists, Loose Immortals, and Earth Immortals wouldn’t even tell him that the Dao was divided up into Heavenly Daos, Grand Daos, and ordinary Daos. This was precisely because they were worried about their disciples being excessively ambitious, resulting in them accomplishing nothing whatsoever! The same was true for Patriarch Subhuti; if he had told Ning about swordforce all along, it might’ve caused Ning to deviate when attuning to the Dao of the Sword, which would actually negatively impact his insights.

“I haven’t even fully mastered the Dao of the Sword yet, but I’ve actually begun to be able to use a slight amount of swordforce already.” Ning laughed in a gratified manner.

“The number of battles you have engaged in during the past ten-plus years was far more than the total number of battles you engaged in before you arrived here in the Nihilum Zone. The Dao of the Sword is an attacking Dao to begin with; if the Dao of the Sword or the Heavenly Daos were present here, I imagine that you would’ve advanced quite astonishingly fast in the Dao of the Sword.” The giant bear added, “Since this place does not have the Dao of the Sword, you haven’t been able to advance in the Dao of the Sword at all…which means you accidentally focused on attuning to the essence of the sword and ended up controlling a tiny thread of swordforce. This can be considered an unexpected benefit for you. I trust that in the future, the fact that you have started your quest for the essence of the sword will be of tremendous help to you in comprehending the Dao of the Sword.”

“Right.” Ning nodded lightly.

……

“Monster. A true monster.”

“No wonder Lu Dongbin felt so certain that he was born to be a peerless Sword Immortal, and even Patriarch Subhuti felt that he was extremely talented in this regard. Even before mastering the Dao of the Sword, he’s already taken control of a tiny amount of swordforce. Clearly, he has an incredibly, unbelievably high level of aptitude towards the sword.”

Within the blurry, void-like region within the underwater estate. The giant yellow bear had told them about his conversation, and the seven Fiendgods all signed in amazement.

However…Ning had only mastered the most basic, elementary level of swordforce at present; there was a limit as to how much it could help him. By comparison, his ruler-level heartforce had helped Ning increase his power much more.

Still…that tiny bit of mastery over swordforce was a testament to the fact that Ning truly was an unbelievable talent as a Sword Immortal.

“No matter how talented he is, it won’t matter unless he can escape this Nihilum Zone.” A muscular man whose entire body was red in color let out a sigh. “To date, the Snaphorn world hasn’t truly gone all out against our young master…but if push comes to shove, then we will be forced to intervene. By then, we will have to deal with the master of the Snaphorn world…and we have no idea as to if we can beat him or not.”

“The real question is, has the master of the Snaphorn world reached the Daofather level yet?”

“If not, he won’t pose a threat.”

“But if he is at the Daofather level…we’ll probably be doomed.”

“We have nowhere to run. Even if we don’t move to rescue our young master, the master of the Snaphorn world will eventually discover the Starseizing Manor. After discovering the Starseizing Manor…if he is at the Daofather level, he’ll definitely be able to find our world. By then…we’d still have to fight him.”

Technically speaking, Ning had yet to become an Empyrean God, and per the orders of Daoist Threelives, they weren’t supposed to save him; they were supposed to leave Ning’s fate up to himself, and if he died they were to go find another successor. Alas…they were now trapped within the Nihilum Zone and unable to depart from it, much less find another successor.

This day, Ning engaged in dozens of battles before coming to a halt, acting as though he needed to replenish his divine power. In reality, Ning still had half of it left; after all, now that he had reached the seventeenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], his divine power was much thicker than it had been in the past. For the sake of being prepared for all eventualities, he always came to a halt when he only had half of his divine power left.

In turn, the violet-caped warriors always let him replenish his divine power as needed.

As he replenished his energy…three mighty minds were conversing within the darkness of the Void.

“Ever since this human began fighting against our Firstborn, he’s continuously improved his mastery over his heartforce. Less and less of it leaks out, and the ripples it causes are harder and harder to discern. Recently…he’s leaked out no heartforce in his battles whatsoever. Although we can vaguely sense that he is using it, we are unable to sense any of the heartforce ripples now. This poses no use to us in our attempts to develop a heartforce technique at all.” The first Queen Mother’s thoughts held a hint of resentment.

“Two elder sisters, what should we do?” The third Queen Mother asked.

“During this period of time, tens of thousands of battles have been carried out. We’ve developed a few ideas, while you, little sister, have actually managed to coalesce some heartforce. You’ve developed a basic level of skill in heartforce; this can be described as a merit for this human.” The second Queen Mother continued, “However, our elder sister and I have yet to be able to coalesce heartforce, much less figure out a way to apply it.”

“Although I’ve managed to coalesce heartforce, I still need to slowly work away at a method for applying it.” The third Queen Mother’s thoughts held a hint of resentment as well. “If he continues to leak heartforce…a few more centuries of battle should be enough.”

A hundred years, a thousand years…these were very short periods of time for them.

Alas, Ning had only given them eighteen years of ‘bliss’. By now, Ning had very perfect control over his heartforce. When using his sword-arts, his heartforce didn’t leak outwards at all; the Queen Mothers knew that Ning was using heartforce, but there was no way for them to analyze it. After all, the more that leaked out, the more easy it was to analyze.

“But we aren’t able to hypnotize him…and he’d rather die than let us search his memories. Let’s kill him,” the second Queen Mother said.

The third Queen Mother opposed this. “Let’s capture him alive first, then imprison him within our bodies. Let us slowly torment him, slowly torture him…and perhaps one day we’ll be able to search his memories.”

“Capture him and imprison him within third sister’s body.” The first Queen Mother agreed as well.

“Fine.” The second Queen Mother accepted this outcome.

And so…

They gave the order.

The Nihilum Zone. The golden-caped general and violet-caped warriors of the Snaphorn world were all relaxing and chatting amongst themselves. Although they had always felt that letting this alien stay alive wasn’t really in keeping with their nature, and they truly wanted to slaughter him…how could they dare disobey the orders of their Queen Mothers?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The mind-strands that had been attached to the golden-caped general and the hundreds of violet-caped Firstborn warriors began to transmit orders from the Queen Mother.

“Children, capture this alien right away and send him to our sacred palace.”

Instantly, the bored, golden-caped general and his many violet-caped warriors grew excited, their eyes lighting up.

Perfect.

They were finally going to be allowed to make their act. For the entire First Army to be idle here…the millions of Snaphorn warriors were utterly bored senseless.

“The Queen Mother commands that the alien is to be captured alive and sent to the sacred palace.” The general sent mental messages to each and every one of the violet-caped warriors; after all, the Queen Mothers had only been able to send direct messages to the Firstborn. There were many violet-caped warriors who didn’t know the news yet. “This time…there’s no need for the rest of you to intervene. I’ll handle him myself.”

“Yes.” No one would disobey.

This was because the general hadn’t fought a single time yet!

……

Although Ning was in the middle of replenishing his divine power, with a miniature Solar Star and Lunar Star floating above his head, transmitting energy to him to be converted into divine power…Ning was still keeping a very close watch on his surroundings. However, he didn’t realize that the distant general was about to make his move…but the giant yellow bear did, and immediately warned him: “Ji Ning, that alien general is about to make his move.”

“What?!” Ning was startled awake, instantly opening his eyes.

Torch-light blazed within his eyes.

He immediately saw the golden-caped general charge towards him from ten thousand kilometers away. The golden-caped general had always been Ning’s greatest source of fear…but he had never fought against Ning, not even once. In the past, he had always just watched from far away. In addition, during the past eighteen years, as long as Ning was in the process of replenishing his divine power, the enemy would not act against him.

“General.” Ning sent his divine sense out in a ripple. “After waiting for so many years…it seems you are finally going to make your move.”

“Our warriors have been tempered enough, given how many times they’ve fought you.” The general strode through the void as he spoke. His appearance was identical to that of the other horned warriors, but his eyes were older and wiser, and his invisible aura of power was far more menacing. “Alien…you should forget about resisting. If you do so, you might be able to stay alive.”

“You won’t kill me?” Ning asked.

If he could stay alive somehow, then he would do so, trying to buy as much time as he could.

“Follow me to the Snaphorn world. I won’t kill you,” the general said.

Ning’s heart trembled. To the Snaphorn world? It must be understood that this region of space was simply a part of the Void that was under the control of the Snaphorn world. The true territory of the Snaphorn world was within the Primordial Ruinworld. By comparison, the Nihilum Zone was safer; the Primordial Ruinworld was truly the main headquarters of the enemy. If he entered there…his chances of escape would be even lower. How could Ning possibly go in?

“Impossible.” Ning shook his head, staring at the general.

“Heh heh heh…” The general laughed, but four long whips suddenly appeared in his hands.

“Your resistance is futile.” The general was very calm. His self-confidence came from his overwhelming power. Instantly, his four arms lashed out simultaneously, and the four long black whips lashed out many tens of thousands of meters like four enormous black serpents. They reached Ning in almost an instant.

Ning used two arms to guard in front of him, while the fingers of his other four arms transformed to become three thousand meters long, using sword-arts to block the attacks.

Bang!

Ning was already doing his utmost, siumultaneously using 3% of his heartforce with each strikes of his four sword-fingers. In fact, he was clearly able to block the long black whips…but the whips trembled and somehow arrived in front of Ning’s head.

Although Ning hurriedly moved to block, those four black whips had completely entangled Ning. If the violet-caped warriors could be described as supreme Celestial Immortals, then this golden-caped warrior had already reached the Empyrean God level.

……

Within the misty, void-like region inside the underwater estate.

“That golden-caped general has made his move.” The giant yellow bear had a serious look on his face as he watched what was happening in the outside world. “Ji Ning is fighting back…but he’s already become trapped by the whips.”

“Move.” The red-haired Empyrean God gave the order to their group of seven Fiendgods. “Completely wipe out the entire First Army.”

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Chapter 20 – Seven Mighty Empyrean Gods Emerge

Chapter 20 – Seven Mighty Empyrean Gods Emerge

The black whips snaked out in circles, completely entangling Ji Ning. Ning gritted his teeth and struggled, but was unable to break free. This caused Ning to feel both rage as well as a hint of sorrow.

“I am a practitioner of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], and am incomparably close to the Empyrean God level in power. I don’t even hold those violet-caped warriors, each of which is comparable to a supreme Celestial Immortal, in any regard. Who would’ve thought that in just a single exchange, I would be captured?” Ning gave a cold look towards the golden-caped general and the group of violet-caped warriors.

“Haha, look at the alien! He still seems untamed and unruly.”

“He thought that just because he gave us a good fight, that he could overcome our general?”

“The general has completely transcended the Heaven-level long and has truly reached the Saint-level. In addition, as the general of the First Army, he’s one of the most powerful of Saint-level experts; how could this alien possibly overcome him?”

The violet-caped warriors were all chatting amongst themselves.

The Saint-level; this was equivalent to the Empyrean God level of the Three Realms!

They had extremely high statuses within the Snaphorn world, and were qualified to bear the golden cape. The Elders of the Palace of Elders and the generals of the armies were generally all at this level! In addition, a general who commanded the First Army, the border army that often engaged in wars, was definitely a god of war amongst the Snaphorn world, someone venerated by countless kinsmen!

“Imprison him and take him back to the sacred palace,” the general ordered.

“Yes.” The group of violet-caped warriors all assented. They glanced towards the captured Ning with looks of disdain and pity. After countless ages of war, the only thing the warriors of the Snaphorn world felt towards all aliens was enmity.

“Let’s go back.”

“Our entire First Army has been dawdling here for so long. It’s been boring.” The countless horned warriors were all dancing in joy. These past eighteen years truly had been extremely boring for these warriors.

Rumble…

A golden warship flew over from the distance.

The general was holding a whip with but a single hand, and was dragging the entangled, bound human youth, Ji Ning, behind him. He looked back at Ning. “You are fairly strong; your sword-arts, at least, are close to the Saint-level in power. A pity for you that you met me.”

Ning glanced at the general, then ignored him.

He knew himself that with the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], his ruler-level heartforce supporting him, his swordforce, and his seventeenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], that he should have in theory reached the threshold of Empyrean Gods! However, the mere ‘threshold’ represented a weak Empyrean God…and this golden-caped general was a very strong one!

Suddenly…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Without any warning, four figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere around Ji Ning. Their explosively powerful auras caused Ning’s face to instantly change. He couldn’t help but turn his to look, and when he did, he saw ten figures with utterly astonishing auras. There was a bald elder with narrowed eyes, an amiable-looking youth, a bewitchingly beautiful woman with snow-white eyebrows, and…

“Senior Redsnow?” Ning was amazed.

The seven figures included a tall, muscular man with red hair and golden armor. It was the red-haired Empyrean God who Ning had met in the past!

These seven figures had equally powerful auras; they were all on the same level.

“What?!” The general, who had been pulling Ning behind him with the whip, turned his head and saw those seven figures as well. His face also changed. “Who are you!”

Danger!

The general suddenly felt a powerful sense of danger in his heart. At the same time…he couldn’t figure out how these seven powerful figures could’ve suddenly arrived within the space territory controlled by his Snaphorn world.

“Hahaha…” Of the seven figures that had appeared around Ning, one was the child who was wearing a neck-circlet. The child suddenly let out a laugh as his body began to rapidly grow in size. Just before, he had been smaller than even Ning, but now he transformed to become thirty thousand meters tall, becoming even larger and more muscular than the warriors of the Snaphorn world.

The massive child roared with laughter…and suddenly, a pillar of golden light shot out from his eyes.

“DIVINE GOLDBLAZE LIGHT!”

The child let out a loud shout.

The eye-beams of light swept out in every direction. Whoosh…the pillars of light shot out from his eyes expanded to cover an area of a hundred thousand kilometers. All the horned warriors and black-caped warriors touched by the pillars of light all let out agonized cries. They all began to melt, like snowmen under the sun…with the only difference being that they melted far faster!

“No!”

“It hurts!”

“What is this?!”

Wherever those eye-beams swept past, the horned warriors and black-caped warriors died, melting into death without being able to resist at all.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten thousand Snaphorn warriors had perished.

“But, but, but…” The general was stunned for a moment, but he then immediately gave an order. “Quick, assemble the formation!”

“Yes!” The 801 violet-caped warriors were shocked awake by this order. If they were going to join into a powerful formation, the 801 of them had to take the lead! A small war-formation needed a single black-caped warrior and ten ordinary Snaphorn warriors, while a medium war-formation needed a violet-caped warrior, a hundred black-caped warriors, and a thousand ordinary warriors.

The largest formations, however…required a general, a hundred commanders, ten thousand black-caped warriors, and a hundred thousand ordinary warriors joining forces! Thus, these violet-caped warriors had to lead the way; otherwise, the unorganized masses would be completely unable to resist that terrifying divine light.

……

The gaze-attack of the child had stretched out to a hundred thousand kilometers.

“You want to flee?” The beautiful woman with the snow-white eyebrows transformed into a streak of white light…and then in her stead, an enormous, snowy white scorpion appeared within the Void. This snowy white scorpion was like an enormous island, a full ten thousand kilometers in size. Its face, however, was the face of a human woman, and it also had those strange-looking white eyebrows.

This titanic snow-white scorpion almost instantly charged into the group of those 801 violet-caped warriors.

The snowy white eyebrows of the scorpion were even longer than its tail. They fluttered forward, one of them transforming into countless white strands of silk that wrapped around those violet-caped warriors. Luckily enough, they had been fleeing in many different directions, and so when the snowy white scorpion had appeared, they had already begun pulling away from each other, and so part of them were able to escape.

Of the 801 violet-caped warriors, over six hundred were instantly entangled by those eyebrows!

Ssssssss….

In the same instant that they were entangled by the eyebrows, a layer of frost began to appear on their bodies. And then…like ice cracking, they were completely chopped and broken apart by the white eyebrow-strands. Even their cores were destroyed, causing them all to perish.

……

This took time to describe…but in reality, as soon as the seven figures had appeared, the child and the black-armored beauty had immediately struck with utterly devasting power. This completely enraged the general.

“Damn you, aliens!”

The general no longer paid Ning any mind. He transformed into a streak of light, charging towards the now-titanic child.

The titanic child looked down at the general, letting out a laugh.

Clang!

The child held his neck-circlet in his hands, smashing it downwards towards the general.

The long whips in the general’s four arms expanded to become more than thirty thousand meters long, furiously seeking to entangle the neck-circlet.

“Oh, so you have quite a bit of strength.” The child gave it a tug, but wasn’t able to tug it free.

“Hmph.”

The golden-armored, red-haired Empyrean God watched this all happen. He immediately let out a cold snort, then stabbed forward with the longspear in his hands.

Rumble…

When the spear stabbed out, an enormous whirlpool appeared within the Void, with the center of the whirlpool being the tip of the spear.

“Not good.” The general immediately had a tremendous feeling of danger. He had the feeling that this red-haired fellow…was far more powerful than the child and the scorpion lady. In fact, the red-haired fellow might be strong enough to kill him!

“Flee.” The general no longer thought of fighting back.

That red-haired man alone was enough to make him feel helpless…and the general had six other foes at his level of power to worry about as well!

Swish!

Space suddenly seemed to have been thrown into chaos.

The general was stunned. He lowered his head, looking at his chest…and there was the tip of an enormous spear sticking out it. His core had been completely shattered.

“I…I just died?” The general couldn’t believe it.

But how could he know that this Fiendgod, Redsnow, had been the number one general under the command of Daoist Threelives? He had been awe-inspiringly famous, even back in Pangu’s Primordial World, and was truly one of the most utterly supreme of Empyrean Gods.

“Red-hair, how could that little alien bastard have been a match for you? You didn’t even give us a chance to act!” The gentle-looking youth complained with resignation.

“I was preparing to have a nice, big fight with him, but you killed him right away!” The child complained helplessly as well.

Ning just stared blankly at all this.

Good heavens…

Just now, he had felt utter despair…but these seven figures had suddenly appeared, and they were ridiculously powerful. Was this the power of a true Empyrean God? It was on a completely different level from the Celestial Immortals; most likely hundreds of Celestial Immortals would have to join together into a formation to be able to resist such power.

“Senior Redsnow,” Ning hurriedly called out.

Redsnow glanced at Ning, then smiled.

Because he had a full head of red hair, his closest friends often simply referred to him as ‘red-hair’, but his name was indeed Redsnow. Thus, the spear-art he developed had also been named [Redsnow].

“Hurry up. This isn’t the time to play around,” Empyrean God Redsnow said. “Wipe them out as soon as you can; we need to come up with a way to escape this Nihilum Zone.”

“Alright.”

“Right.”

The leader of these seven was Empyrean God Redsnow.

Redsnow had been very steady and reliable when they had followed Daoist Threelives, and he was also extremely powerful; everyone acknowledged his leadership!

……

The Snaphorn world. The Palace of Elders.

“What?”

“Where did those aliens come from?”

“Impossible.”

The nine mighty Elders who had been lazily watching the mirror were all shocked. The general of the First Army had easily captured that alien…but who would’ve imagined that seven mysterious figures would suddenly arrive? The seven had massacred their warriors with utterly overwhelming power, and even one of the top generals of the Snaphorn world, the general of the First Army, had actually been killed by that red-haired foe in their first exchange of blows.

This caused them to feel enraged…and also horrified!

Although they were Elders and were also at the Saint-level like the general…their responsibilities lay in the governance of the Snaphorn world. By comparison, their combat abilities were inferior. In an actual battle, they probably would be weaker than the general.

……

Within the infinite darkness of the Void, three minds were conversing.

“What?!”

“The Fiendgods of the Three Realms have arrived as well?”

“Damn!”

“That region of space was locked long ago; there’s no way they could’ve gone straight there. There’s only one possibility; those Fiendgods of the Three Realm have been accompanying that human this entire time in some sort of portable dimensional treasure. They hadn’t attacked because they were waiting for us to capture the human; only then could they no longer hold back.”

“These seven Fiendgods should all be at the Empyrean God level…only, that red-haired Empyrean God is a bit too ridiculously strong. Even my child, Habul, was instantly killed. Even in that ancient war, there were very few Empyrean Gods who were so terrifyingly strong.”

“Let us personally intervene to annihilate them.”

“Right.”

All three Queen Mothers began to emit a terrifying, killing intent…

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Chapter 21 – Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 21 – Two Worlds Collide

The Nihilum Zone. Millions of horned warriors were fleeing in terror and despair.

“That enemy with the neck-circlet…all the warriors in the locations he looks at die. He’s too terrifying.”

“The general was killed on one blow.”

They had completely collapsed.

In a short instant, more than six hundred of the eight hundred commanders of the First Army had been wiped out, along with their general. The horned warriors were unable to assume their formations; naturally, they no longer even thought about fighting back. All they felt was utter terror and panic as they frantically fled in every which way.

But right at this moment, the exact same voice rang out from the deepest, innermost parts of every warrior’s heart, a voice that came from their very essence, their bloodline.

“Queen Mother’s Incarnation!”

“Queen Mother’s Incarnation!”

“Queen Mother’s Incarnation!”

The voice echoed repeatedly. The millions of fleeing horned warriors came to a halt at the same moment. The voice that rang out in their heart had been planted there on the day they were born! Every single warrior of the Snaphorn world, in the moment of their birth, was prepared for welcome the Queen Mother’s Incarnation. In fact, it could be said that the ultimate purpose for them being born was to welcome the Queen Mother’s Incarnation. This was the absolute most terrifying ability available to the Snaphorn world when fighting against other worlds!

“The Queen Mother.” The millions of horned warriors all raised their heads upwards, their foreheads splitting open as a streak of green light shot upwards from it.

Millions of streaks of light shot into the sky.

For a moment, a large section of the infinite emptiness of the Void had actually transformed into a field of green.

“What’s going on?”

The seven mighty Empyrean Gods stared at this in amazement.

“This…” Ning felt something was off as well. The millions of horned warriors who had been fleeing in panic had suddenly stopped? What were they doing?

……

The murmurs of the millions of horned warriors could be heard everywhere. Underneath the green light, their bodies began to dissolve, as though they were providing nourishment for the green light. The green light grew even brighter, and just like that…

The millions of horned warriors all completely vanished, leaving behind nothing within the Void save that enormous green glow. Within the green light, countless murmurs could still be heard, the murmurs of the horned warriors…

“Queen Mother.” “Queen Mother.” “Queen Mother.”

This was their most glorious moment.

Their murmurs were filled with pride and veneration. They willingly sacrificed everything for their Queen Mother and welcomed her Incarnation…and so they died.

Whoosh…

The awe-inspiringly enormous green glow in space split apart into three parts. The light of these three enormous green glows began to condense, transforming into three utterly enormous warriors with jade-green armor, curved blood-red horns, and an appearance that was extremely close to that of an ordinary Snaphorn warrior’s. However…their bodies were like mountain ranges in size, and their auras were completely different. Their auras were of chaos and utter savagery.

As the three titanic warriors took form…the seven Empyrean Gods had a bad feeling.

“Attack. Join forces to kill the closest one,” Empyrean God Redsnow ordered.

“Alright.”

“Let’s go.”

The millions of horned warriors had been quite scattered, as some had fled very far away by now. Thus, there was nearly a million kilometers of distance between each of the three enormous horned warriors; the seven had more than enough time to defeat them one by one.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Seven streaks of light charged towards the closest titan warrior.

“Fiendgods of the Three Realms…you seven Empyrean Gods, you actually dare to challenge ME?” The titanic warrior let out a loud laugh, a laugh which caused the Void itself to shudder. This was the Incarnation of the first Queen Mother; it could be considered her clone or avatar! There was an enormous price that had to be paid for the creation of this sort of clone, a price of many hundreds of thousands of horned warriors. In addition, this clone could only be maintained for a short period of time. The Queen Mothers rarely chose this option.

And yet…though the price was high, the combat power was utterly astonishing.

“Die.” The first Queen Mother raised her four arms high. The arms were as thick as the pillars that supported the heavens, and she slammed them down towards the seven mighty Empyrean Gods.

“WAAAAGH!”

An ear-splitting scream suddenly assaulted the first Queen Mother. The bald elder of the seven had transformed into a giant, winged black crow. The crow let out an ear-piercing screech, and the first Queen Mother’s clone movements turned slow.

“GO!” The child let out an angry roar, hurling forth the neck-circlet he had been holding. The neck-circlet transformed into a streak of golden light, expanding at an explosive pace until it became thirty thousand meters thick. It coiled itself around the first Queen Mother’s clone, seeking to bind it.

……

Battle had instantly exploded.

Ning just watched as the enormous black crow attacked and the child threw out his neck-circlet. Next, a seemingly infinite amount of water and fire descended which was no weaker than Solar Truefire or Lunar Truewater. The fire and the water intermingled as they swirled around the first Queen Mother, completely blocking off Ning’s field of vision, making it so that he could no longer see what was happening.

“Such power.”

“So this is the might of an Empyrean God?” Ning was completely stunned by what he saw.

The Void itself was shaking.

The seven Empyrean Gods continued to battle viciously and savagely with the first Queen Mother’s clone. Although Ning could no longer see the battle clearly with his eyes, the powerful ripples that emanated from this battle were enough to cause any and all Celestial Immortals to perish.

“Seven Planets Empyrean God Formation!” Suddenly, an angry roar rang out. Ning could tell that this was senior Redsnow’s voice.

“Assemble the formation.”

“KILL!”

A hoarse voice, a sinister voice, a crisp voice…several voices called out the word ‘kill’ at the same time.

Rumble…

A streak of blinding light appeared in the field of battle in the distant space of the Void. The streak of light instantly pierced through this entire region of space, then slowly dimmed. The fire and water had also completely dissipated, allowing Ning to see what was happening.

There were two enormous figures in the distance.

One was the Queen Mother’s clone, many tens of thousands of meters tall, with jade-green scales and a savage, brutal aura.

The other was also many tens of thousands of meters tall. He was dressed in rainbow-colored armor, and he wielded a spear that was even taller than him. His appearance looked rather similar to Empyrean God Redsnow.

“Seven Planets Empyrean God Formation?” Ning nodded when he saw this.

This formation was an ancient Fiendgod formation that could only be executed when seven Empyrean Gods were joining forces! It merged the full power of all seven Empyrean Gods together into a single Empyrean God who served as the focus, resulting in an ‘Empyrean God of the Seven Planets’. The Seven Planets Empyrean God who wielded the longstaff looked quite similar to Empyrean God Redsnow; clearly, the core of this particular formation was Redsnow, and everything was under his control.

“You are actually able to injure me?” An enormous hole had appeared in the chest of the first Queen Mother’s clone. It had been created by an earlier thrust of the spear. The clone let out a loud laugh. “However…this is nothing more than a clone created by my countless children’s bodies. It’s useless; I have no weaknesses.” The hole in the clone’s body almost completely healed over.

“Big sister, it seems like we have to help out, eh?”

“These Fiendgods of the Three Realms aren’t easy to deal with.”

The other two Queen Mother clones were charging over at high speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Empyrean God of the Seven Planets continued to battle wildly against the first Queen Mother’s clone. Although the clone was injured, the injury was negligible. By now, the other two clones had also arrived, and instantly all three began to assault the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets in unison.

“Redhair, what should we do? The clones of these three we are fighting are already so strong; their true bodies are most likely at the Daofather level.”

“The seven of us joined together to transform into the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets, but we still aren’t able to kill even their clones; in fact, we aren’t even able to hold the upper hand.”

“This is trouble.”

“I’ve never encountered this sort of enemy before.”

The seven Empyrean Gods felt uneasy as well, because they were inexperienced in that they had never encountered foes like this before. Although these foes had appeared in that great, calamitous war all those eons ago, the seven of them had been sent off by Daoist Threelives well in advance, and so they didn’t participate in that war at all. Naturally, this meant that they had no experience in that regard.

……

The three Queen Mother clones jointly assaulted the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets, which used its longspear in unfathomably profound ways to defend. In fact, within the surrounding voice, countless white snowflakes actually began to appear, and even time itself began to grow disordered. Within this region of fractured time, the spear-arts of the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets grew even more terrifyingly powerful as they completely blocked the assaults of the three Queen Mother clones.

“Where did this fellow come from?”

“He’s merely an Empyrean God! Although there are seven of them fighting together…the three of us, joined forces, are unable to kill him?”

“It seems we need to summon even more warriors.”

“Have the Second Army of the border armies come as well.”

The three Queen Mothers were growing frantic as well.

Although their three clones held the upper hand, their advantage wasn’t that huge. In addition, the defensive power of that spear was simply too great; although they were able to suppress their foe, they weren’t able to actually injure him. In fact, it was the first Queen Mother who had initially sustained some injuries!

……

“We can’t kill them.”

“This probably isn’t even the full power of the Snaphorn world. We can’t fight for too long; we have to break out of this grand sealing formation and leave this place immediately.”

After battling for a few moments, the seven Empyrean Gods immediately came to this conclusion.

The rainbow-armored Empyrean God of the Seven Planets suddenly lashed forward with his spear, slamming it against the chest of one of the Queen Mother clones, causing the Queen Mother to be knocked backwards by several hundred meters.

Swoosh!

The Empyrean God of the Seven Planets sought to fly away!

“Fleeing?” One of the other Queen Mother clones stretched out her four arms, transforming them into countless streaks of formless green light that instantly wrapped around the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets, preventing them from taking even a single step further.

“Hahaha, you seven Empyrean Gods, you’ve already arrived at our Snaphorn world’s territory…if we were to let you flee, just like that, how would I, Woeslay, have any face left in the Primordial Ruinworld?” The first Queen Mother clone, which had just trapped the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets, let out a loud laugh.

The two other Queen Mother clones came over to attack as well.

“Hmph.”

The Empyrean God of the Seven Planets spun its spear about to defend. Although it was surrounded by green light, the green light would at most make it slower; it was still more than capable of continuing to defend itself.

“Redhair, these three old bastards of the Snaphorn world are clearly trying to buy time. I trust that they are summoning even more forces from their Snaphorn world so as to deal with us.”

“We can’t waste any more time.”

“We have to leave.”

……

Not just the seven Empyrean Gods; even Ning could tell that these three Queen Mother clones of the Snaphorn world were intentionally trying to delay and buy time. They all knew what was going on…but they were helpless to stop it! The Empyrean God of the Seven Planets was capable of protecting itself, but not of escaping. Ning, in turn, was completely unqualified to participate in a battle of this level.

“Senior bear, where did these seven seniors come from? They are in a dangerous situation right now; do you have any method for saving them?” Ning was frantic; his Primaltwin was currently querying the giant yellow bear, but all the bear did was sigh. What could he possibly do?

But just as Ning was panicking and as the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets was battling against the three Queen Mother clones…

Whoooooosh.

In the distant Void, a grayish-white vortex suddenly appeared, causing Ning to turn his head to look at it. The battling Empyrean Gods and the three Queen Mother clones also couldn’t help but notice the grayish-white vortex which had suddenly appeared.

A figure suddenly emerged from the grayish-white vortex of the Void.

It was an old man with a pristine white beard who was dressed in loose Daoist robes.

“MASTER!” Ning stared, wide-eyed.

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Chapter 22 – Subhuti

Chapter 22 – Subhuti

“Who are you?” The three Queen Mother clones all called out in unison. Looks of vigilance were in their eyes. The way in which the old man dressed in Daoist robes had appeared was simply too frightening! It must be understood that most people would use special methods to tear through space to teleport, but this old man had formed a spatial vortex instead, creating a corridor for himself to easily pass through.

There had been nothing flashy at all about it…this was something which the three Queen Mothers wouldn’t be able to do, no matter how hard they tried.

The Empyrean God of the Seven Planets looked towards the old man, but in its eyes was a look of wild joy.

“Subhuti came.”

“I knew it. With a disciple as monstrously talented as this, Subhuti HAD to come rescue him.”

“Haha, we’re saved!”

Even the calmest of the seven Empyrean Gods, Empyrean God Redsnow, let out a sigh of relief. None of them felt any doubt whatsoever as to whether or not Subhuti was capable of rescuing them. After all…Subhuti stood at the very, very top of the Three Realms, and was the most mysterious of Daofathers. Even Daoist Threelives was quite lacking compared to him!

“This is the territory of our Snaphorn world. We three sisters don’t wish to become enemies with you.” The three Queen Mother clones stared fixedly at the old man in the Daoist robes, paying no attention to the Empyrean Gods next to them.

The old man gave them a glance, then said calmly, “Vile creatures!”

Rumble…

When the two words, ‘vile creatures’ came out, an invisible ripple instantly pierced through the surrounding space, almost instantly arriving at the three Queen Mother clones. In the area where the three Queen Mothers were present, space and time began to twist, curve, and break apart. The three Queen Mother clones let out enraged roars within that field of shattered spacetime, and all the green light from their bodies surged forth, attempting to break out. However…they were completely unable to resist the field of shattered spacetime. Their three mighty clones were completely shattered and destroyed along with the local spacetime itself.

Everything turned silent.

The only ones left in the Void were Patriarch Subhuti, Ji Ning, and the Empyrean God of the Seven Planets.

“But…” Ning couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

“So this is the power of Patriarch Subhuti?” The seven Empyrean Gods were terrified as well. It must be understood that Empyrean God Redsnow stood at the very pinnacle of power amongst Empyrean Gods; in fact, he was extremely close in power to an ordinary Daofather. When the seven of them joined together into their Seven Planets Empyrean God Formation, they could be considered to have just barely reached the Daofather level of power.

Those three Queen Mother clones had been comparable to them in strength…but all that Patriarch Subhuti had done was say the words ‘vile creatures’, and an invisible ripple of power had instantly slaughtered those three clones without damaging the seven Empyrean Gods in the slightest.

An ability like this, finesse like this…they felt utterly amazed.

“Subhuti truly is Subhuti, the most mysterious Daofather of the Three Realms.”

“He really is powerful.”

“Utterly terrifying.”

The seven mighty Empyrean Gods were completely stunned.

Patriarch Subhuti was too mysterious a figure; he rarely showed his power within the Three Realms, and these seven Empyrean Gods had never seen him strike! They had only heard from their former Godking, ‘Daoist Threelives’, that Patriarch Subhuti was very strong, even stronger than Daoist Threelives himself. As for how much stronger…very few in the Three Realms knew the answer to that question. The number one impression which the countless experts of the Three Realms had of Patriarch Subhuti could be summarized in one word; ‘mysterious’!

Just look at the Crescent major world he had created! Without Patriarch Subhuti’s permission, nobody could even find it! This ability alone was utterly inconceivable.

……

In truth, the person who had undergone the greatest emotional turmoil just now was actually Subhuti’s disciple, Ji Ning.

He had felt despair upon being trapped, had quietly waited and fought for eighteen years, felt utter despair again upon being captured alive, felt shocked and overjoyed at the appearance of the seven Empyrean Gods, once more felt despair upon seeing how powerful the three Queen Mother clones were…and now, his master had appeared, said the words ‘vile creatures’, and completely killed all three Queen Mother clones.

In fact…in his heart, Ning felt as though the entire universe had suddenly changed.

The Void remained the Void…but Ning now felt that the Void was a beautiful, beautiful place.

“Respectful greetings to you, Old Patriarch.” The Empyrean God of the Seven Planets broke apart into seven Empyrean Gods, all of whom spoke out respectfully.

“Not bad.” Patriarch Subhuti lightly nodded.

The seven Empyrean Gods felt a joyful feeling in their hearts.

They understood the true meaning behind Patriarch Subhuti saying the words, ‘not bad’. Per Daoist Threelives’ orders, if his heir had not reached the Empyrean God level, the seven of them didn’t have to care about whether or not his heir lived or died. However, as Patriarch Subhuti saw it, Ji Ning was his own disciple as well as Threelives’; thus, Subhuti felt quite pleased that the seven of them had chosen to come out and protect Ning.

“Disciple.” Patriarch Subhuti looked towards Ning. He took a single step forward, displacing himself through space and appearing before Ning.

“Master.” Ning hurriedly called out to him with respect, tears having appeared in his eyes. “Thank you, Master…”

“Hahaha…” Subhuti laughed. “Come. It’s time to go back.”

“Right.” Ning nodded heavily.

“Why haven’t the seven of you returned yet?” Subhuti glanced backwards.

The seven Empyrean Gods hurriedly flew over. They first saluted towards Subhuti respectfully, and then they disappeared into nowhere. Clearly, they had returned to the Starseizing Manor…but the ‘master’ of the manor, Ji Ning, didn’t feel a thing. Clearly…he had yet to fully master this Starseizing Manor.

Ning raised his head, giving the infinite Void a final glance.

This Nihilum Zone…

It had proven to be a testing ground for him. In this place, he had first overcome the karmic sinflames, had reached the ‘ruler’ level in heartforce, had come up with a way to apply heartforce to his sword-fingers, and had mastered a tiny amount of swordforce…

Fortune and disaster often came hand-in-hand.

Whoosh. That spatial vortex once more appeared next to Patriarch Subhuti, looking just like an oceanic whirlpool. Patriarch Subhuti guided Ning into the spatial vortex…and then it all completely disappeared from the Nihilum Zone.

The Primordial Ruinworld. The Snaphorn world.

Within a field of endless darkness.

Three minds were conversing with each other…and their thoughts were full of terror.

“Who was that old man?”

“We’ve never seen him before. We didn’t even see him in that great war, all those years ago.”

“If we had encountered him in that war, we probably would’ve died long ago.”

“By the looks of him, he appears to be one of the humans of the Three Realms. From the fact that he attacked us, we can tell that he should belong to the side of the Three Realms.”

“Logically speaking, it should be impossible to teleport through the space of the Nihilum Zone…but he was able to do it! And in addition, he was able to annihilate our three clones simply through his mastery over spacetime. Abilities like these are utterly inconceivable.”

The three Queen Mothers were all restless and uneasy.

He had been too powerful.

His power had completely eclipsed theirs. In that great war, the three of them had been small-time players; they had only survived due to luck. Any one of the truly powerful figures of that great war could’ve crushed them to death with ease. Clearly, this old man was comparable to one of those truly powerful figures! A supreme power who was capable of impacting the entire course of that war!

“I wonder if that old man of the Three Realms has left or not.”

“I hope he leaves right away.”

“I hope he never comes to our Snaphorn world again.”

The three Queen Mothers conversed hopefully to each other, their courage having been completely shattered by the two words ‘vile creatures’. All they wanted right now was to never encounter that old man again.

“What the…”

“Oh no!”

“He’s here!”

The three Queen Mothers had covered the entire Snaphorn world with their minds long ago. They kept an extremely tight level of control over the world, and so if any powerful figure intruded within it, they would immediately notice.

……

The Snaphorn world was located at the margins of the infinitely vast Primordial Ruinworld. It was a world in its own right and was extremely vast. There were countless horned warriors who lived in this place….but at this moment, all of them could sense their entire world shaking. The ground itself was trembling, and the mountains were beginning to collapse.

“What is going on?”

“What is this?”

The countless horned warriors raised their heads to stare towards the skies. Some of these Snaphorn citizens were merely youths, not yet qualified to join the army; they had to reach at least the most basic level, the Earth-level, before they could become warriors. At this moment, every single person in the entire world, including the Elders of the Palace of Elders as well as every single army squad were staring at the skies with raised heads.

Rumble…

From beyond the Snaphorn world…a single, utterly gigantic palm had appeared.

This palm was nearly half as large as the entire Snaphorn world itself. When it slapped downwards through the Void of space towards the Snaphorn world…

Crackle, crackle, crackle…

The protective formations covering the Snaphorn world began to crack apart, and even spacetime itself was compressed so tightly that it began to shatter. And the strangest thing was…spacetime within the Snaphorn world began to compress into multiple layers of density, and the layers of spacetime came crashing downwards.

As the palm came slamming down, the layers of spacetime began to split apart.

“No!”

“Flee!”

“FLEE!”

Three utterly enormous creatures had suddenly charged out from deep within the Snaphorn world.

They, too, had incomparably massive bodies with pitch-black scales, but compared to the ordinary horned warriors, they were were much, much fatter. At first glance…one would see that their bellies took up nearly half the size of their entire bodies. Their ugly little eyes emitted rays of dark light that attempted to tear a hole through space.

Whoooooosh…

That enormous palm continued to descend, causing spacetime to continue to compress and shatter apart, layer by layer. The spacetime at the very bottom had become incredibly dense, making it so that the three mighty Queen Mothers were completely unable to tear a rift through space and flee, no matter how they tried.

“Spare us.”

“Spare us.”

“Spare us!”

All three Queen Mothers called out loudly, their voices reverberating through the entire Snaphorn world.

But that massive palm continued to coldly, emotionlessly continue its downward smash.

“No…” The countless horned warriors were all completely stunned. They felt terror, a terror that came from their very souls. This was all completely beyond their expectations. That giant palm which they could see with the naked eye…it was a palm of infinite size, a palm that was more than half as large as their entire world itself. Even if Ning were to use his [Torch-Dragon’s Eye], he still would find it hard to see the complete palm.

They could see the massive, canyon-like fingerprints and palm-print of that mighty palm.

BANG! BANG! BANG! An incredible amount of pressure had already been brought down to bear. The countless horned warriors of the Snaphorn world began to explode into green-colored bits of blood and gore. Only a very small number of violet-caped warriors and golden-caped warriors were able to just barely stay alive…but their bodies were also slowly beginning to crack.

“Old bastard…are you trying to start another war?!”

“Damn you, you old bastard!”

“Damn you!”

Asking for mercy was useless. The three Queen Mothers went mad, beginning to curse in utter despair, using every imprecation in the book. They weren’t even able to flee…all they could do was face this terrifying palm as it came down.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The palm had yet to make contact, but the pressured, fractured spacetime that came before it had caused the bodies of even the golden-caped warriors to completely blow apart. The only ones left within the Snaphorn world were those three mighty Queen Mothers. Their hideous bodies began to crack as well. Slowly, the cracks grew larger and larger, and the three Queen Mothers began to curse and scream in an even louder manner.

Finally…it all came to an end.

The three Queen Mothers had been completely blown apart, having transformed into dust.

BOOM!

The giant palm finally came to a halt.

An ancient voice rang out. “Start another war? Nothing more than three little worms!” And then…the enormous palm completely vanished.

Everything turned silent.

The entire Snaphorn world…had become transformed into a massive planetary basin with a giant, palm-shaped impression caved into it.1

1. To get a sense of what this looks like…take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99yqtxKhOCc. Start at the 2 minute mark.

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Chapter 23 – The Return

Chapter 23 – The Return

There were white clouds in the skies. A spatial vortex suddenly appeared within them, followed by an old man in Daoist robes emerging alongside a youth.

Ji Ning looked downwards.

He immediately saw Mount Innerheart…and he was even able to see the many disciples of the Mount Innerheart League, living their peaceful lives there.

“Let’s go.” Subhuti led Ning in flying downwards. They quickly arrived at the most central area of Mount Innerheart – the Tristar Crescent Abode, that seemingly ordinary-looking Daoist monastery. This was the place where Patriarch Subhuti normally trained in; disciples like Ning and the others wouldn’t dare to go disturb him without cause.

Within the Daoist monastery.

Subhuti landed, then took a high seat in the lotus position.

Ning respectfully bowed. “If it hadn’t been for your aid, Master, your disciple would have most likely never been able to return to the Three Realms. Your disciple feels ashamed for having forced you to exert yourself, Master.”

Subhuti laughed. “Sit.”

Ning selected a prayer mat and sat down beneath him.

“How did the karmic sinflames taste?” Subhuti asked.

“I don’t wish to experience them again,” Ning said. “The karmic sinflames are now ever-present around me. Although the burning sensation is agonizing…I can endure it. The descent of the karmic sinflames…although it was a tribulation for me, I gained quite a bit from it.”

“Fortune and calamity ride together,” Subhuti said with a laugh. “What level has your heartforce reached?”

“The third level,” Ning said.

Subhuti nodded and smiled. “I noticed that when you were fighting those aliens, your application of heartforce through your sword-fingers had reached a level where none of it leaked out whatsoever. It seems you’ve also developed an actual technique for applying heartforce through your fingers.”

“I did indeed learn a few things from my eighteen years of battle,” Ning said.

“Do you know why those aliens did not kill you, and instead chose to battle with you for eighteen years?” Subhuti asked.

Ning was startled. He shook his head. “Those aliens said that they were going to use me for target practice to train their warriors, but…I keep on having the feeling that this was perhaps not the actual reason.”

Subhuti nodded gently. “Your feelings were correct. You are in control of heartforce, and also know a way to apply it. Heartforce…it is an extremely mysterious type of power, one which even True Gods and Daofathers ponder on. There are five levels of heartforce. Although it is very weak in the early stages, as you go farther along this path and rise in levels, it will undergo an utterly earth-shaking transformation! The third level of heartforce is already quite astonishing. By using your third level heartforce, you have already reached the minimum threshold of an Empyrean God in power.”

Ning understood this to be true.

The first level was fairly weak; the amount of benefit it brought was almost negligible. The second level represented a clear, explosive increase in power…and the third level allowed one’s previous level of power to skyrocketed. The fourth level was the level of the most powerful divine archers of the Three Realms, and as for the fifth level…it was the level of the long-vanished Houyi.

“Heartforce is very powerful. If you can reach the fifth level, then even as a mere Empyrean God, you would have the combat power of a Daofather or a True God.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “The peak power of heartforce is far greater than your [Starseizing Hand]. You must not be lazy in making use of your talent for heartforce.”

“Your disciple understands.” Ning nodded.

But how could the fifth level of heartforce be so easily accomplished?

The only one who was publicly known within the Three Realms to have reached this level was Houyi. Perhaps some supreme Daofathers or True Gods might have secretly reached this level without telling anyone or using it…but still, one could clearly tell that reaching the fifth level was unbelievably hard.

“The reason why the aliens of the Snaphorn world did not kill you was precisely because the mind and thought-strands of the masters of the Snaphorn world had descended upon the bodies of those warriors. Through battling with you repeatedly, they would be able to sense the ripples of your application of heartforce in detail, and thus be able to develop a heartforce technique,” Subhuti said. “I imagine that the past eighteen years have brought insights to the owner of the Snaphorn world! Heartforce…it is a technique which is unique to our Three Realms. It absolutely cannot be taught to outsiders.”

“They have insights into it? It can’t be taught to outsiders?” Ning was shocked. “I…”

“I’ve already annihilated the entire Snaphorn world, and the masters of the Snaphorn world are dead. Even if they did come up with a bit of information on heartforce, it is of no use now,” Subhuti said.

Ning let out a sigh of relief…and then stared in amazement.

The Snaphorn world had been annihilated?

This entire time, from rescuing him to bringing him back to Mount Innerheart, his master had been by his side. Somehow, without Ning even having the faintest clue about it, he had annihilated the entire Snaphorn world, including even its masters? Ning had been able to tell from the battle between the seven Empyrean Gods and the three Queen Mother clones that the masters of the Snaphorn world had to be very strong.

“My master truly is unfathomable,” Ning secretly mused to himself.

“Right. That Dao-companion of yours, that Yu Wei,” Subhuti said, “She’s already overcome her tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. Did you know about this?”

“Senior apprentice-sister became a Celestial Immortal?” Ning was both delighted and surprised.

He was surprised because his senior apprentice-sister had actually become a Celestial Immortal before him. Before she had left to go accompany Patriarch Lu, her power as displayed within the Conclave of Immortal Destiny hadn’t been particularly eye-catching. Who would’ve thought that in just a few short decades, she would’ve become a Celestial Immortal, even before Ning himself had?

“When is your Primaltwin going to undergo the Celestial Tribulation?” Subhuti asked. The questions which any master cared the most about were naturally the ones related to the disciple’s tribulation. This was the most difficult calamity for any Immortal cultivator to face.

“Very soon,” Ning said.

“You need to ponder on the application of heartforce to your Immortal swords,” Subhuti said. “Your experiences and background are all quite extraordinary. Even though your Primaltwin is a Ki Refiner…the power of this tribulation will definitely be significant. If you can completely apply your heartforce to your Immortal swords, your power shall be greatly improved. I trust that your chances of overcoming your tribulation shall thus be much greater. The technique you’ve developed during the past eighteen years is for applying heartforce to your sword-fingers. There isn’t a huge difference between your sword-fingers and your swords…I trust you can make it work.”

“Yes.” Ning understood that his master was expressing concern and care for him.

And indeed…his Primaltwin could also use heartforce when executing the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], at which point his power would rise by a shocking amount. This would indeed give him a much better chance at overcoming his tribulation.

“Your disciple shall definitely first develop a way to apply heartforce through physical swords before attempting the tribulation,” Ning said.

“As for your true body…ideally, you should only attempt the tribulation to become an Empyrean God after you have completely mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword,” Subhuti added.

“Complete mastery?” Ning was stunned.

Although he was at a very high level in the Dao of the Sword, he was still quite a ways off from completely mastering it. In addition…generally speaking, the closer one was to mastery, the harder it would be to break through the next bottleneck.

“You are capable of wielding swordforce; it can be said that you have already touched upon what the essence of the sword is. You should be completely capable of mastering the Dao of the Sword at the void-level, which will give you a decent chance.” Subhuti looked solemnly at Ning. “I’m not too worried about your Primaltwin’s tribulation. But your true body’s tribulation…you have to be careful, careful, careful!”

Ning felt pressure as well. He nodded lightly. Right…

Upon returning to the Three Realms, Ning’s subconscious premonitions had grown strong once again. Just discussing his true body’s tribulation instantly caused Ning to feel nervousness in his heart. He knew that this was Fate’s way of warning him in secret. The Three Realms occasionally gave birth to truly peerless, monstrous geniuses who were blessed by the distilled virtues of the universe, but the more of a genius one was, the more terrifying one’s Celestial Tribulation would be. If he could overcome it, he would soar to the heavens in a single leap, becoming a mover and shaker of the Three Realms. But…the vast majority would end up perishing to the Celestial Tribulation!

“Little bear!” Subhuti suddenly called out.

Whoosh.

The giant yellow bear suddenly appeared next to Ning. The giant yellow bear respectfully fell to his knees and said, “This little bear greets you, Daofather.”

“Let the other seven come out,” Subhuti instructed.

“Yes.” The giant yellow bear didn’t dare to disobey.

Ning’s heart clenched. Ning was extremely curious about those seven Empyrean Gods; after all, back in the Wargod Hall of the underwater estate, it had been a clone of Empyrean God Redsnow, formed from a drop of Redsnow’s blood, who had served to test Ning. In addition, when he encountered danger just now, it had been the seven of them who had intervened to rescue him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seven figures appeared out of nowhere, all in human form. In truth…they had all changed their appearances; after all, as Fiendgods, their true forms were quite enormous. They all looked quite odd, but Pangu, Nuwa, and many other supreme powers all looked quite humanoid, which was why Fiendgods like to take on the appearance of humans. In fact…in secret, many Fiendgods speculated that the reason why humans had such astonishing potential was because Nuwa had used ‘Pangu’ as the blueprint for creating humanity.

“Greetings to you, Old Patriarch.” All seven Empyrean Gods saluted reverently.

“Thank you, Old Patriarch, for saving our lives.” Empyrean God Redsnow was the first to respectfully offer his thanks.

“Even if I hadn’t gone, you would’ve been able to stay alive,” Subhuti said with a laugh. “You could’ve simply returned to the Starseizing Manor and your own world within it, bringing Ji Ning inside and hiding him within it. In a true battle, you wouldn’t be able to defeat the Snaphorn world, but if you were to rely on the formations protecting your own world, you would’ve been able to withstand them.”

“But the three of them were Daofathers…” Empyrean God Redsnow was amazed. The other six Empyrean Gods were amazed as well.

Returning to the world of Threelives and relying on its formations to resist the foes; this was their final option. However…Daofathers had utterly astonishing levels of power. In addition, there were three of them this time! They didn’t believe they had the power to fight back against such a force.

However…given who Patriarch Subhuti was, if he said they could do it, he definitely had a reason for saying so.

“Three Daofathers? You give too much credit to those three little worms.” Subhuti shook his head. “Those creatures are not of the Three Realms, and you know nothing at all about them; they simply cannot be judged so easily, just by using the power levels of the Three Realms.”

All seven Empyrean Gods were now curious, as was Ji Ning.

“In the Snaphorn world, there were a total of eighteen golden-caped warriors; in your eyes, you viewed them as being eighteen Empyrean Gods, yes?” Patriarch Subhuti explained, “But in reality, all of the horned warriors of that race have a weakness; once the cores in their body are destroyed, they will die.”

“Consider the Immortals of our Three Realms. Although their physical bodies are fairly weak, they can control magic treasures at a long distance. There’s no need for them to fight in close combat as well. As for the Empyrean Gods and True Gods who do fight in close combat…they have no weaknesses at all,” Subhuti said. “These aliens, however, are only capable of close combat, and they all have a weakness; the core.”

“As for those three little worms…their true combat power wasn’t that formidable. They were merely at the peak of the Empyrean God level. Their strength lies in giving birth; their childbearing abilities are quite astonishing.” Subhuti sighed. “During that great, calamitous war…there were more than ten thousand of those little worms. They gave birth to countless warriors, all of whom were able to fuse together into one body…you’d kill one batch and another would come. Under the control of their master, those myriad little worms caused the Three Realms to suffer heavy casualties.”

Ning said, stunned, “More than ten thousand? Master…did you just say they have a ‘master’?”

What in the world had happened during that great war?

“These little worms shared a common master,” Subhuti sighed. “A person who was far more powerful than even myself. Only Maiden Nuwa was able to suppress him. Fortunately…that demon has long since perished.”

“Redsnow…you are just one step away from becoming a True God and having a Daofather’s power. Train hard and reach that level as soon as you can.” Subhuti looked towards Empyrean God Redsnow.

“Redsnow understands,” the Empyrean God said respectfully.

“I imagine you and Ning have some things to say to each other.” Subhuti chuckled. “Alright…you can all go back to the world of the Grand Xia now. If you want to chat, go ahead.”

Subhuti waved his hand, and yet another spatial vortex appeared in front of him.

Ning bowed respectfully, as did the seven Empyrean Gods, and then they all entered the spatial vortex. They departed from Mount Innerheart, heading back to the world of the Grand Xia.

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Chapter 24 – Meeting the Seven Empyrean Gods

Chapter 24 – Meeting the Seven Empyrean Gods

Stillwater Commandery. Swallow Mountain. The air above Serpentwing Lake.

The Golden Crow hung high in the sky, illuminating the world. However, the trees below were covered by a layer of thick snow. If one took a deep breath, one would feel the cold, crispness of the air.

Whoosh!

A youth appeared in the sky, staring at the nearby Brightheart Island.

Swish! Swish! Swish!!!

A depressed-looking gray-robed youth, an azure-robed maiden, and a giant, snowy-white dog all suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Senior apprentice-brother?” The gray-robed youth, Mu northson, stared at the distant Ji Ning in disbelief.

“I told you that Master was back, but you didn’t believe it. I’m Master’s spirit-beast; how could my senses be off?” Little Qing charged towards Ning excitedly, transforming into an azure serpent mid-flight, then wrapping herself around Ning’s arm. The little azure serpentine head nuzzled Ning’s arm in a very friendly manner. “Master, I nearly died of worry for you over these recent years. You finally came back.”

Ning’s right hand gently patted the little azure serpent’s head.

“It’s good that you are back.” Uncle White didn’t say much, but his eyes were filled with joy.

“Senior apprentice-brother, it was all my…” Northson stared at Ning.

In truth, over the past eighteen years, Ning had been deeply worried about Northson’s situation. This was because, prior to Ning’s battle with the Youngflame clan, Northson had been tormented for decades, followed by the loss of his Dao-companion. With Ning himself being exiled to a danger zone while covered by karmic sinflames…he was afraid that his junior apprentice-brother Northson would be filled with self-recrimination. Given his junior apprentice-brother’s current state…Ning was worried about what so many years of self-blame would result in.

Fortunately…

Although his junior apprentice-brother had more white hair than he had in the past, he was still alive.

“It isn’t your fault. If I have to blame someone, I’d blame myself for being too arrogant and underestimating the Youngflame clan.” Ning walked over through the air, gently patting his junior apprentice-brother on the shoulder. “In addition…the feud between myself and the Youngflame clan is a huge one. There’s no need for you to shoulder all the blame in such a narcissistic way.”

Northson couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Master, where have you been? We were worried to death!” Little Qing raised her head, looking towards Ning. Northson and Uncle White looked at him as well.

“That year…I was exiled by the Youngflame clan into a dangerous area in the infinite Void outside of the Three Realms,” Ning said. “I was trapped there for the past eighteen years, and was only able to return today.”

“So you were were just trapped in a danger zone this entire time. I was worried that you must’ve been undergoing countless dangers and trials,” Little Qing said with a sigh.

“Who else have you spoken to about me?” Ning asked.

Uncle White responded, “We’ve only informed Immortal Diancai. However, because all of us live here on Brightheart Island, and because Little Qing and Mu Northson found it hard to hide their grief and the worry they felt for you…Autumn Leaf eventually found out as well. Also…your Dao-companion, Yu Wei; when she came back to the world of the Grand Xia, she was already aware of what had happened to you. It should’ve been her master, Patriarch Lu, who told her.”

Ning frowned. In truth, he hadn’t wanted Autumn Leaf or Yu Wei to know about this affair; after all, if they had found out, they would’ve been extremely worried for him.

“Let me go see Autumn Leaf,” Ning said.

“Go,” Uncle White said. “In recent years, Autumn Leaf will go to your bedroom, your study, and your training room every single day and spend some time there. I can tell that this little girl’s mind is completely preoccupied with you.”

Ning nodded gently. His eyes began to blaze with torch-light as he glanced towards Brightheart Island…and thus he saw Autumn Leaf.

……

Within a study.

Autumn Leaf was carefully wiping the table clean with her hands. Actually, because of a formation present, there was no dust on the table whatsoever. However, whenever she touched the table, she couldn’t help but think back to those scenes from long ago, when she would grind ink for Ning as he wrote calligraphy within this study.

“Young master, when will you come back?” Autumn Leaf’s eyes shimmered with tears. She stared at the chair, the chair which Ning normally sat in.

It had been so long.

She had waited so, so long. Even the young master had disappeared for thirty-plus years last time when he had gone to study the Dao with his master, she hadn’t felt the years as keenly as she did this time. After all, last time she knew in her heart that he had gone to study the Dao. This time, however, she knew that her young master was actually in some sort of danger zone which he could die in at any moment. In this sort of an environment, every day felt as long as a year. It had been very hard to endure this.

As a child, she had been sold off as a slave. In the end, she had entered the Ji clan and became a maidservant that was assigned to wait upon Ji Ning.

Ever since she was young, that tiny little boy had become her everything, her heaven and her earth.

Spring Grass had her father to worry about, but Autumn Leaf had lost her kinsmen long ago. She had only one loved one left…her young master.

She had watched as her young master, that tiny little baby, had grown up step by step. She had followed him in roaming the Eastmount Marsh, had followed him until he had embarked upon the Immortal path and headed to Stillwater City. By then…she no longer had the power to help take care of her young master. If she accompanied him, she would only slow him down. She didn’t complain at all; she willingly stayed here at Brightheart Island, quietly awaiting her young master’s return.

The days when he returned were her happiest days.

The days when he didn’t return, she would wait quietly.

But this time…

Her young master might never again return.

Creaaaak.

Suddenly, the door to the study swung open. Autumn Leaf’s body trembled, and she hurriedly turned her head to look.

There was a youth standing in the doorway. He was still dressed in those furs, and he still had that familiar, warm smile on his face. “Elder sister Autumn Leaf!”

“Young master!” Autumn Leaf charged forward excitedly, but when she reached Ning, she hesitated.

Ning, however, reached out to take her into his arms.

Only after hugging for a long, long moment did Autumn Leaf finally calm down.

“Elder sister Autumn Leaf, the snow is beautiful outside. Let’s go look at the snow,” Ning said. Towards Autumn Leaf…Ning felt very special, unique feelings. She had taken care of him since he was a child, and they had grown up together. In his heart, Autumn Leaf was family, just like his parents or a true sibling.

His parents had perished. The only family he had left was Autumn Leaf and Uncle White.

Autumn Leaf, in his heart, was his older sister, his most beloved older sister.

Uncle White was a senior, a senior who had always quietly watched out for him.

Ning would be reserved with his affections when he was with other women, but with Autumn Leaf…even if they hugged, it was the hug of siblings. It was a warm, wonderful feeling.

“The snow?” Autumn Leaf nodded repeatedly. “Okay. Let’s go look at the snow.”

……

Brightheart Island was Ning’s home. Autumn Leaf had naturally taken wonderful care of it. Brightheart Island was a beautifully scenic place to begin with; now, with so much snow on the ground, it was a place of truly incredible beauty, the likes of which were rarely seen.

In fact, it wasn’t until the sun was starting to go down that Ning finally said, “Elder sister Autumn Leaf, I need to make a trip to Stillwater City. I haven’t told my master that I’m back yet, nor have I told my senior apprentice-sister.”

“Go.” Autumn Leaf smiled. “Your master and your Dao-companion have probably been worried sick about you as well, all these years.”

“Right.” Only now did Ning ascend into the clouds, flying off into the sky.

Autumn Leaf raised her head, watching as Ning left, a look of satisfaction in her eyes.

Her young master was safe. Even if he wasn’t by her side…she still felt at peace.

……

The underwater estate. The main palace.

The black-robed Ning looked at the giant yellow bear and the seven Empyrean Gods before him.

“Senior bear, it’s time to tell me some things, yes?” The black-robed Ning said.

“I imagine you must’ve guessed some of it.” The giant bear nodded. “Let me make some introductions first. These seven…are seven Empyrean Gods that had been under the command of my master, Daoist Threelives.”

Seven Empyrean Gods?

Although Ning had suspected it all along, he still couldn’t help but feel stunned upon hearing it. These weren’t like those many warriors of the Snaphorn world, each of whom had obvious weaknesses; these were true Fiendgods, born of Heaven and Earth, each of whom had utterly astonishing power.

“This is Empyrean God Ninefang.” The giant bear pointed towards the bald elder, who cracked his lips in a smile towards Ning. “Young master.”

“Don’t be deceived by this old bastard; he’s the most sinister of us all,” the white-eyebrowed beauty next to him said.

“Did you just call me an ‘old bastard’? What, are you saying you are younger than me?” The bald elder snapped at her.

The giant bear laughed, then pointed at the woman. “This is Empyrean God Snow Scorpion; she’s the straightforward type.”

“Young master.” Snow Scorpion smiled merrily as she looked at Ning. “Hurry up and train hard. Overcome your tribulation, and become an Empyrean God; by then, we’ll be able to accompany you in roaming the universe.”

Next, the giant bear pointed towards the harmless, amiable-looking youth. “This is Empyrean God Dovesnake.”

“Empyrean God Dovesnake?” Ning was amazed.

Dovesnake was a true Godbeast that had been born in the primordial Pangu’s World. He was a truly venomous Godbeast! For such a venomous Godbeast to actually look so gentle in human form…

“And these two…” The giant bear pointed at the two most muscular men, one savage-looking and red-skinned, the other icy-looking and black-skinned. “Long ago, in Pangu’s World, a pair of Fiendgods were born. These Fiendgods were twins that were born at the same time, one from the blazing truefire of the Sun and one from the dark truewater of the Moon. No matter who they fight against, they always fight together. They are known as Empyrean God Sunblaze and Empyrean God Darkmoon.”

“Young master.” Both looked towards Ning.

Ning secretly sighed to himself.

These Fiendgods had been alive since the Primordial Era. Clearly, they were born in the era of Pangu’s World, and they each had extraordinary backgrounds.

“This one,” the giant bear said, pointing at the child wearing a neck-circlet, “Was the first to accompany Master, back in the most early, desolate days of the primordial Pangu’s World. He is Master’s adopted son, and his name is Empyrean God Primelight.”

“Long ago, I wished to learn the [Starseizing Hand] from Father, but alas…I was born as a Void-level Fiendgod; there was no way for me to learn it.” The child laughed as he looked at Ning. “Father’s [Starseizing Hand] finally has an heir. You need to train hard. Become an Empyrean God as soon as you can!”

The giant bear finally pointed at the last man, Redsnow. “You already know Empyrean God Redsnow. He was the most valiant Empyrean God under Master’s command, and the most powerful of them all. Amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…there are few who are stronger than him.”

“I heard Master say earlier that senior Redsnow is just a single step away from becoming a True God,” Ning said.

“Alas, that step isn’t so easily taken.” Empyrean God Redsnow smiled as he looked at Ning. “However, Ji Ning…last time I saw you, I was worried about whether or not you’d be able to convince everyone to follow you. Don’t be fooled by how courteous they are all behaving; in reality, they are all incredibly proud figures. However, in the Nihilum Zone…you survived karmic sinflames and advanced your heartforce to the third level. You even developed a way to apply heartforce and, despite not reaching mastery in the Dao of the Sword, managed to take control over a sliver of swordforce. Even I have to feel admiration for you. The other six are convinced by you; they are simply waiting for you to become an Empyrean God. You heard it yourself; just now, they all addressed you as ‘young master’.”

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Chapter 25 – A Promise

Chapter 25 – A Promise

“Our young master is a Void-level Fiendgod who is extremely close to the Empyrean God level.” Snow Scorpion let out an emotional sigh. “If the Godking was here and knew that he had a disciple like this…he would probably be very happy.”

“Godking…” Redsnow’s gaze grew distant and dreamy. The others fell silent as well. They were the most loyal followers of Daoist Threelives; if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have waited here silently within the underwater estate despite the passage of countless years.

The black-robed Ning said, puzzled, “Seniors…you said ‘young master’? I don’t really understand. Also…can it be that you’ve been within the underwater estate this entire time, which is why you were able to emerge even when I was in the Nihilum Zone?” Although Ning had been able to guess a bit from their words and knew himself to be Daoist Threelives’ successor, he was still quite mystified about all the rest.

“Let me explain.” A clear voice rang out; it was the child, who looked towards Ning.

“Empyrean God Primelight,” Ning addressed him.

“You can just call me Primelight.” The child laughed, “I know that you have many questions in your heart. Let me explain it all as simply as I can. Father was born a True God of Primordial Chaos, from within the primordial chaos of the universe itself. He was born with tremendous power. After Pangu established the universe, many Fiendgods were born. Fiendgods innately love to fight, and so their wars stretched throughout the entire Primordial World.”

“Supreme powers like Patriarch Subhuti are transcendent. They secluded themselves, rarely taking part in these wars. Father, however, loved to do battle; he naturally collected a large number of Fiendgods into his fold, within the Starseizing Manor. In the primordial Pangu’s World, the Starseizing Manor was quite famous!” The child continued, “The forces held within the Starseizing Manor included many Fiendgods, all of whom submitted to Father’s command. The seven of us also belonged to the Starseizing Manor.”

Ning nodded lightly.

“The primordial Pangu’s World underwent countless storms and many tribulations, but it passed through all of them safely. But that final war…the war that shattered the primordial world…the war in which Father passed away…was completely different from all the ones that came before.” A sharp look was in the child’s eyes, a killing look. He was a Fiendgod who had been born of Heaven and Earth…but Threelives, he had been a True God who had been born from the primordial chaos.

This pair of father and son…they were closer to each other than many biological pairs.

For so many years, he had no idea that Threelives had perished…it wasn’t until the giant yellow bear had received this information from Patriarch Subhuti that these Empyrean Gods had learned of it. For countless years, he had hoped that he would be able to see his father again, alive and well…but word of his father’s death had caused him to feel despair. It had also filled with fiery rage. He wanted to go do battle. He wanted to take revenge! But he realized that for now…he wasn’t strong enough yet!

“We aren’t sure either what exactly happened during that war; after all, we didn’t take part in it. All we know is that Father was firm in his decision to follow Maiden Nuwa, and that he stood by her side in that war,” the child said.

“He followed Maiden Nuwa?” Ning quietly memorized this fact.

Nuwa was the number one figure of the entire Three Realms. She had reached Pangu’s level!

Could it be that this war was a factional war?

Maiden Nuwa was of one faction…were there other factions? Ning knew very well that sometimes a civil war could be far more savage and deadly than a war against an outside invader.

“Maiden Nuwa was unable to protect us. Father followed her lead, and so prior to that battle, Maiden Nuwa helped us plot a path of retreat,” the child said. “Father expended an enormous amount of effort into this estate-treasure that you’ve acquired. In addition, Maiden Nuwa transferred into and established a wide world within this estate. This world, we refer to as the ‘Starseizer’ major world. This is the place where we live.”

“What? The underwater estate has a major world inside it?!” Ning was stunned.

But although he was stunned…he quickly recovered and understood.

It made sense.

Some of the precious Protocosmic spirit-treasures of the Three Realms innately contained a major world within them! As for treasures that were forged to contain a major world within them…most True Gods or Daofathers weren’t capable of creating them, but Maiden Nuwa was. In fact, she had done created more than one! The major worlds that were contained within magic treasures were generally referred to as ‘caveworlds’.

“We all knew that Father was going to search for a successor; he was unwilling to allow his divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], be lost,” the child said. “Father was powerful enough to be able to command all the forces of the Starseizing Manor…but would his successor be able to? Nobody could say, and so Father didn’t force all of those Fiendgods to stay here to accompany the next master. Those who were willing to stay could stay; those who were unwilling could leave.”

“Some of the Fiendgods left, but we continued to stay here at the Starseizer world,” the child said.

“We’ve been waiting. Waiting for Father’s successor. Waiting for the new master of our Starseizing Manor.” The child looked at Ning.

The other Empyrean Gods also looked at Ning.

In their hearts…

Ning was the perfect candidate! The best candidate!

Although Ning’s blood was pumping, he quickly calmed down. “Can you tell me about the Starseizer major world? Can anyone enter it?”

“No.” The nearby Snow Scorpion smiled merrily. “The Starseizer major world was established by Maiden Nuwa, and she was the one to set up the formations around it. Even True Gods or Daofathers would have to resort to brute force to enter it! When we left the Starseizing Manor, we used the formations we controlled to allow us out, but once we left it, we would be unable to locate the Starseizer world again right away; after all, the Starseizer world is inside the Starseizing Manor.”

“Who is in control of the formations?” Ning asked.

“Myself, Primelight, and Snow Scorpion,” Empyrean God Redsnow said. “Primelight was the first to follow the Godking and the Godking’s son; the Godking trusted him! Snow Scorpion and myself, in the past, had followed the Godking in his campaigns throughout the world, and we were two of the most powerful Empyrean Gods under his command; the others would submit to us. Thus, the three of us took control over the formations that protect the entire world.”

Ning nodded.

“I know that my master, Daoist Threelives, had ordered that before I became an Empyrean God, there was no need for you to worry about my life, right?” Ning asked.

“Right.” Empyrean God Redsnow nodded.

“But…you saved me in the Nihilum Zone,” Ning said.

“Even if we didn’t save you, the Starseizing Manor would’ve fallen into the hands of the masters of the Snaphorn world. They probably would’ve been able to forcibly bind it and discover the Starseizer major world, at which point we would still have to fight them. Since that was the case…the seven of us came out,” Redsnow explained. “It wasn’t all because of you.”

Ning laughed. “But since you’ve come out…seniors, the Three Realms are currently on the precipice of a major storm, one which isn’t any weaker than the storm which destroyed the Primordial World. Even my master said that he might perish in this storm; that goes without saying for a young fellow like me as well! Thus, to tell the truth…I really need your help. But of course, if you aren’t willing to help, that’s fine as well.”

“The Three Realms truly are in a state of chaos right now,” Snow Scorpion sent mentally to the others. “Since we’ve come out, we might as well follow the young master for now.”

“Father’s orders remain standing,” the child sent back.

“The Godking gave us instructions, but he still left it up to us as to how to carry them out. The Three Realms are quite chaotic; to experience these storms ourselves will be of benefit to us in increasing our power as well,” the bald elder sent.

“Big brother Redsnow, I’ll follow your lead.”

“I will as well.”

Sunblaze and Darkmoon both looked towards Redsnow.

All of them turned to look towards Redsnow. Redsnow was their true leader. First of all, he was very strong; secondly, the way in which he handled matters was quite convincing.

Redsnow was silent, pondering as he looked at Ning.

Ning looked back at Redsnow.

“Ji Ning,” Empyrean God Redsnow said, “An enormous storm truly is about to sweep the Three Realms. To strictly follow the Godking’s orders to the letter is rather unsuitable for present condition. But if we were to follow you…this wouldn’t be of the slightest bit of help for you in terms of tempering yourself. I’ll give you a promise! Prior to you becoming an Empyrean God, you have one opportunity to ask us to assist you. The seven of us will use all our might to help you out, but…we’ll do it just once! Once you use it up, we definitely won’t help you again. Even if you die, we’ll just simply stand back and watch. If you die, you have only yourself and your own weakness to blame, as well as your poor luck.”

The other six Empyrean Gods looked towards Ning as well.

Ning laughed. “Alright. This promise of assistance from the seven of you is enough, seniors! It is like a protective talisman that will save my life; if I still end up dying before becoming an Empyrean God, then I really will have no one else to blame.”

“Mm.” Empyrean God Redsnow nodded

The child, however, urged Ning, “Ji Ning, hurry up and become an Empyrean God.”

“Don’t make us wait too long,” the beautiful woman added.

“Our Starseizing Manor needs a manor-master.” The amiable-looking youth looked towards Ning as well. Their eyes were all filled with hope.

Whoosh!

All seven of them disappeared.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. In truth, he hadn’t truly expected that these seven Empyrean Gods would agree to follow him around the entire time; this promise of helping out once was already enough. After all, in dangerous times like this…the invisible pressure from the upcoming storm was causing Ning to feel constant pressure and danger. He naturally wanted to use everything he had available to give himself a better chance at surviving it.

He wanted to stay alive within this storm. Even more than that, he wanted his loved ones and his lover to survive.

……

It was dark.

Stillwater City. Within the Black-White College. Yu Wei was currently in her own residence, quietly pondering by herself. A single candle was lit by her side, flickering with light. Yu Wei had a very complicated look in her eyes.

“I need to stop obsessing.”

“I’ll do what I need to do.” Yu Wei walked out of the room by herself, raising her head to stare at theh skies. It was already dark. The crescent moon could vaguely be seen in the darkening sky. She murmured softly, “Junior apprentice-brother, come back…you have to come back…”

Suddenly, Yu Wei felt a strange feeling in her heart.

Whoosh.

She instantly flew into the air like a gust of wind.

There, in the air…

A youth had appeared in the dark skies. He stared at someone far away…the distant Yu Wei. Yu Wei’s eyes were filled with surprise and joy. Her eyes couldn’t help but to fill with tears. She had a strange premonition just now, which was why she had soared into the skies. It was as though Fate had whispered silently to her soul.

Ning just looked at Yu Wei. The look in her eyes instantly caused Ning to think of his big sister, Autumn Leaf.

Both Yu Wei and Autumn Leaf shared a commonality; they both viewed Ji Ning as the most important person in their lives. For Ji Ning’s sake, both of them could even give up their own lives! Ning could sense it from Autumn Leaf…and he could also sense it from Yu Wei. He sensed it all the way back during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. And now…that feeling was even stronger than before. What Ning didn’t realize was that during Yu Wei’s demonheart tribulation, she had lived with him for over three thousand years in the illusory demonheart world…

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning finally called out to her.

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Chapter 1 – Ji Ning Is Still Alive!

Chapter 1 – Ji Ning Is Still Alive!

The Black-White College had many mountain peaks, and the estates of the formal disciples were usually located atop one of them.

On the mountain path of a nameless mountain peak of the Black-White College.

The moon hung high in the sky, and the dreamy moonlight wafted down like gauze upon Ji Ning and Yu Wei. Ning and Yu Wei were currently holding hands together, strolling on the mountain path like mortals.

“This is nice,” Yu Wei said softly.

“Eh?” Ning looked at Yu Wei.

Yu Wei smiled as she glanced at Ning. She had always been as beautiful as an Immortal fairy, a true peerless beauty. This smile of hers, which came from the bottom of her heart, caused Ning to instantly feel intoxicated. Yu Wei said, “In recent years, I haven’t felt at ease for a single moment. I’ve always been worrying about this or that. I’m holding your hand, and I feel so calm right now…I don’t feel worried about anything.”

“It was my rashness.” Ning felt guilt; last time, he had indeed been too arrogant in acting against the Youngflame clan.

“It’s not your fault, junior apprentice-brother. Who would’ve thought that they would have a Protocosmic spirit-treasure like the Worldhold Pagoda? It is far too rare, after all, for Celestial Immortals to be in possession of such spirit-treasures. Even if they do have one…ones that can rip through reality and teleport you elsewhere are even rarer,” Yu Wei said.

Ning laughed. “Enough about that. Senior apprentice-sister, I haven’t congratulated you yet about becoming a Celestial Immortal! You were even faster than me.”

“Even after I became a Celestial Immortal, I’ve still had headaches every day.” Yu Wei gently kicked aside a little stone that was in her path. The stone struck a distant tree, causing a bit of snow to fall down from the trees branches.

“What’s wrong?” Ning asked.

“You’ve been gone for more than eighteen years. Stillwater Commandery, however, has changed dramatically,” Yu Wei said. “For example…the current Marquis of Stillwater is no longer Northmont Yin; it is Northmont Blacktiger.”

“Eh?!” Ning was puzzled. “Northmont Blacktiger?”

In the past, Northmont Blacktiger and Northmont Yin had struggled for the position of Marquis, and in the end Northmont Yin had won.

Even after Ning had returned and joined into an alliance with Celestial Immortals Unity and Hunchmont, the Northmont clan of Stillwater hadn’t changed Northmont Yin’s position. Why was it that during Ning’s disappearance of eighteen years, Northmont Blacktiger would end up having taken the position?

“Northmont Yin died,” Yu Wei said.

“What?! Could it be that Stillwater Commandery was in such a state of chaos that even the Marquis was assassinated?” Ning was shocked.

“It’s even worse than you think,” Yu Wei said. “Northmont Yin wasn’t assassinated. He was executed by Celestial Immortal Unity. The reason why he was executed was because more than half of the high-level members of the Northmont clan wanted to throw their support to the Seamless Gate. When they made this recommendation to Celestial Immortal Unity, all of these traitors, including the ones who had supported Northmont Yin secret, were wiped out. Not one was spared.”

Ning was truly shocked now. “How could this have happened?!”

“It all started with Celestial Immortal Hunchmont being kidnapped.” Yu Wei began to narrate the tale of how she and Celestial Immortal had been ambushed and trapped, and she even gave him a rough overview of the situation in the entire Grand Xia.

At the peak of the mountain.

Ning and Yu Wei were seated by a cliff, looking at the night sky.

“I didn’t imagine that the Seamless Gate would have become this brash and bold.” Ning frowned. “Prior to this, the Grand Xia Dynasty had been keeping them in check, but now…they actually have dared to assassinate this many Celestial Immortals? Are they really trying to start a war?”

“I don’t know.” Yu Wei shook her head.

Eighteen years ago, the Grand Xia Dynasty had been calm on the surface, at least; very, very few Celestial Immortals had perished.

But now, Celestial Immortals were dying right and left, one after the other! The Seamless Gate had even dared to carry out actions like kidnapping Hunchmont to force Unity to surrender; from this, one could see how bold they had become!

“Didn’t they inform the Xia Emperor?” Ning asked. “Since the Seamless Gate cares about Celestial Immortal Unity this much…the Xia Emperor wouldn’t just give up on him that easily, right?”

“Of course we did,” Yu Wei said. “Just this very day, we received word from the Xia Emperor. He sent someone to notify us that many Celestial Immortals throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty are being threatened, and have received final diplomatic notes of warning. Too many are asking for his support; he’s asking us Celestial Immortals to help each other out.”

“The Xia Emperor is just going to let things happen, come what may?” Ning frowned.

“Senior Unity really is quite impressive, though; a while ago, the Seamless Gate sent thirty-six Celestial Immortals to assault him en-masse, but they were still defeated,” Yu Wei said. “To kill Celestial Immortal Unity won’t be easy. By contrast, our Black-White College…well, we aren’t as strong as senior Unity, so we’ve been suffering quite a bit for it.”

Ning now understood what had been worrying Yu Wei.

The Black-White College was standing alongside Unity. When the Seamless Gate went to act against Unity, they’d probably throw the Black-White College into the mix as well; after all, the Black-White College had two Celestial Immortals within their ranks.

Killing Celestial Immortal Unity might be very difficult…but killing the Celestial Immortals of the Black-White College was much easier by comparison. Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai were quite ordinary; they had just recently overcome their tribulations, after all. They were far from being comparable to Celestial Immortal Unity.

“But I’m back now, right?” Ning smiled.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you haven’t overcome your tribulation.” Yu Wei actually shook her head. “The Seamless Gate is far too powerful. We have to be careful.”

……

That very night.

Within Immortal Diancai’s estate.

“Master.” Ning looked at Immortal Diancai.

“It’s good that you are back. It’s good that you are back.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, letting out a long sigh, then smiled. “You unfilial disciple! When you came back, you didn’t come see me; you went to go see your Dao-companion first!”

The nearby Yu Wei was laughing.

“Don’t blame me, Master! I admit to my wrongdoings.” Ning began to laugh as well.

“Sit, first! Later, senior Unity shall arrive,” Immortal Diancai said.

A short time later.

A youth with loose hair and a gray robe came walking in. Ning, Immortal Diancai, and Yu Wei all rose to their feet.

“Ji Ning has returned.” The gray-robed youth smiled and nodded. “I heard that you previously killed two mighty Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. How valiant! You were able to overcome the karmic sinflames and to return to us; I imagine that anyone who hears about this would be filled with admiration for you.”

“You praise me too much, senior. I was just a bit luckier than most; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to come back at all,” Ning said.

“Sit, all of you,” Celestial Immortal Unity said.

The four immediately all sat down.

Unity looked at Ning. “I imagine you know everything now, Ji Ning.”

“I just heard from them. I didn’t imagine that in the past eighteen years, the Grand Xia Dynasty would’ve changed this much. The Seamless Gate has already begun to shed all pretenses of cordiality.” Ning shook his head. “Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was captured. Alas…”

“When the storm comes, who can avoid it?” Unity looked towards Ning. “The Seamless Gate gave us their final warning, and I’ve naturally made my own preparations. This entire city of Stillwater has always been the base for my Northmont clan. One generation after another, we have set down countless formations in this place. I want to ask your Black-White College to help me control the formations of Stillwater City, so that I can focus whole-heartedly on fighting against the Seamless Gate. There’s no need for the Black-White College to exit the formation.”

“Today, the Xia Emperor sent me a messenger. Many are under threat right now, and he’s unable to assist me, which is why I’ve made this decision. I wanted to tell Yu Wei and Diancai tomorrow, but since you came back today, Ji Ning, I came to speak to you all tonight,” Unity said.

Ning, Yu Wei, and Diancai all exchanged a glance.

“Since you’ve made the request, senior Unity…our Black-White College will definitely strive to ensure you are not disappointed by us,” Ning said.

Celestial Immortal Unity had realized something…

The Black-White College had three mighty experts. Yu Wei and Ji Ning were Dao-companions, while Immortal Diancai and Ji Ning were master and disciple! In fact, Ji Ning had once guarded his master during his master’s tribulation and fought with utter ferocity, while Diancai, in turn, had been willing to face off against the Youngflame clan even when he had merely been at the Void-level; from this, one could see how close the two of them were. Clearly, Ji Ning was capable of influencing both Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai, which made him the true leader of the Black-White College.

After chatting for a bit longer, Celestial Immortal Unity departed.

Ning, Yu Wei, and Immortal Diancai, the three mighty experts of the Black-White College, were now discussing amongst themselves.

“Our Black-White College is the weakest side in this fight, regardless of whether we compare ourselves to Celestial Immortal Unity or the Seamless Gate,” Immortal Diancai said. “Senior Unity knows that we are in a tough spot. This is for the best. We shall stay within the formation and provide support. If even the formation is unable to withstand their attacks, then we’ll use Greater Teleportation to leave.”

“Right.”

Yu Wei and Ning both nodded.

Ning didn’t say much. It was true that he had become far more powerful over the course of eighteen years of nonstop battles, and he was probably even superior to Celestial Immortal Unity in terms of power! However, given that the Seamless Gate was a major power that dared to act against the Grand Xia Dynasty in such a brash, arrogant fashion…they might suddenly produce a True Immortal or Empyrean God who would wipe Ning out.

“Ji Ning, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain has stationed someone in our Black-White College,” Immortal Diancai said. “They’ve been waiting for news of you. Now that you are back…should we let the Heavenly Treasures Mountain know?”

“What’s this?” Ning was surprised.

The Heavenly Treasures Mountain had actually permanently stationed someone here, waiting for news regarding him?

It seemed as though the Xia Emperor truly did care quite a bit about his status.

“Go ahead and tell them,” Ning said.

His own master, Patriarch Subhuti, was good friends with Daofather Crimsonbright. The Xia Emperor had treated him fairly well; there was no need to hide this from him.

“Alright.” Immortal Diancai nodded.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. The Skylight Palace.

The black-robed Xia Emperor was seated facing a white-haired elder. They were playing a game of stones.

Click! The Xia Emperor frowned.

“Xiamang, if you bare your fangs too openly, you’ll suffer for it,” the white-haired elder said with a laugh, then pressed his stone onto the board. “It’s better for you to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”

The Xia Emperor, however, didn’t pay him any attention.

Click! Click! Click! The sound of chess stones being pressed onto the board rang out throughout the hall.

“You lose.” The white-haired elder rose to his feet. “Xiamang, spend a little time and think things over. But of course…you remain a descendant of our Primordial Imperial Clan. There’s no way you can let yourself be so casually abused by others. Whether you choose to retreat or to fight, you need to do it in a beautiful manner. If you do need help, come find me.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” The Xia Emperor rose to his feet.

The white-haired elder laughed, then soared into the skies and disappeared.

The Xia Emperor, however, continued to frown.

A short while later, a streak of light flew in; it was Skyfox.

“Master.” Immortal Skyfox strode in.

“What is it?” The Xia Emperor asked.

“Ji Ning has returned,” Immortal Skyfox said in a low voice.

The Xia Emperor was startled. “He came back? Alive?”

“Yes. He came back just last night; we received news just this morning,” Immortal Skyfox said.

“He managed to make it back alive? I even went so far as to speak to Venomfreak about this. Venomfreak said that he had exiled Ji Ning to the Nihilum Zone.” The Xia Emperor frowned. “The Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld…that truly is a boundless, vast place. The voidwaves there are incredibly powerful; in order to leave that place while going against the voidwaves, one has to at least have the power of a True God or Daofather. It must have been that mysterious Daofather master of his who intervened. This Daofather seems to care about his disciples quite a bit; he actually went into the Nihilum Zone to search for him!”

“Then…with regards to Stillwater Commandery…” Immortal Skyfox said in a whispered voice.

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Chapter 2 – King Yan Comes to Visit

Chapter 2 – King Yan Comes to Visit

The Xia Emperor shook his head. “The entire Grand Xia Dynasty is being shaken by this storm. More than sixty percent of my 3600 commanderies are requesting assistance from me! No matter how formidable the Seamless Gate is, there’s no way they can possibly act against that many marquisdoms and clans at once. In addition, according to the intelligence I have, some of those requesting support have actually surrendered to the Seamless Gate long ago.”

The Seamless Gate was indeed formidable; for them to be able to convince more than half of the high-level members of the Northmont clan to join them was a testament to their might. Within the Grand Xia Dynasty, there were indeed quite a few clans who had already joined their side.

“They’ve already joined the Seamless Gate, but they still beg me for assistance.” The Xia Emperor frowned. “Right now…I don’t have a clear picture of the situation. More than sixty percent of the marquisdoms are asking for my assistance, but which ones actually need help, while which ones are faking it?”

“Although the Northmont clan of Stillwater claims Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was captured alive…that was a mere capture. Who knows if that is just part of a plot?” The Xia Emperor said.

“Understood.” Immortal Skyfox nodded.

“Right now, although there are some clashes, my control over the entire Grand Xia is still fairly stable.” The Xia Emperor said softly, “The true war has yet to start. We need to stand firm and not act about in a disorderly fashion. Even though the Seamless Gate has begun to move…let them. The more they move, the more of themselves they reveal to me. For now, let my blade remain in its sheath…because one it comes out, it will stab them in their weak points! The Seamless Gate wishes to take away my world of the Grand Xia? Hmph…let’s see if they can force me to accept it!”

Immortal Skyfox nodded.

“Still…Ji Ning’s potential truly is remarkable. Even before undergoing his Celestial Tribulation, he was able to kill two Celestial Immortals. Despite having trained for less than a century, he was capable of enduring karmic sinflames. I imagine that he will soon be undergoing his tribulation. He…is going to be an important chess piece,” the Xia Emperor said. “And, based on what my master said…Ji Ning is definitely on our side.”

The Xia Emperor viewed Ning with great importance.

After all…Ji Ning’s accomplishments to date had all been simply too unearthly. At the Void-level, he had slaughtered two Celestial Immortals, then withstood karmic sinflames. Once a monster like this broke through to the Celestial Immortal level after overcoming the tribulation…he would most likely become one of the most supreme Celestial Immortals right away, perhaps even possessing the combat power of a Pure Yang True Immortal! Most importantly of all…Ji Ning had an incredible background. To befriend Ji Ning was equivalent to befriending a mysterious Daofather. How could the Xia Emperor not view this as being extremely important?

“Right. Go and tell King Yan that Ji Ning has returned,” the Xia Emperor said.

“Alright,” Immortal Skyfox said respectfully.

……

The imperial capital. King Yan’s Estate.

King Yan had arrived in a flower garden. He stared at Yuchi Xiyue, seated within a distant pavilion. He couldn’t help but secretly shake his head. When Ji Ning had gone to act against the Youngflame clan, he had told Yuchi Xiyue in advance. Xiyue had been filled with both hope as well as worry for Ning…but in the end, Ning had been covered by karmic sinflames and driven out of the world of the Grand Xia. Xiyue had always paid close attention to information regarding Ning, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find out anything regarding his return from that battle. She had gone to ask King Yan, and thus learned what had happened.

Ever since that day she had learned that Ning’s chances of survival were slim…Xiyue had never smiled again.

“Little brother…” Xiyue always felt as though something was missing from her heart. She was incapable of smiling, now.

“Xiyue.” A voice rang out.

Xiyue turned her head, then hurriedly rose her feet to greet the man. “Grandpa.”

“Let me tell you some good news,” King Yan said with a chuckle.

“Good news?” Xiyue was puzzled.

“Ji Ning…has returned.” King Ya laughed.

Xiyue trembled, then revealed a look of wild joy and excitement. She hurriedly grabbed King Yan by the hand. “Grandpa, is this true? My little brother has really come back? He’s returned from that danger zone? You aren’t lying to me, are you?”

“Mm. It was the Xia Emperor who told me…and Ji Ning is currently in the Black-White College of Stillwater City right now,” King Yan said.

“He’s at the Black-White College?” Xiyue felt more alive than she had in a long time. She immediately said, “I’m going to Stillwater City right away!”

“Let’s go together. I want to see Ji Ning as well,” King Yan said.

“Alright. Let’s go right now!” Xiyue didn’t want to wait for even a single moment; she had to see Ning with her own eyes before she would believe it all.

……

Even before the Xia Emperor had learned of Ji Ning’s return…the marvelously capable Seamless Gate had learned of it as well.

Whoooosh.

A cold wind blew. A golden-robed Celestial Immortal was standing at the top of a mountain peak. This golden-robed Celestial Immortal was quite bulky, and in fact was slightly chubby. He had a stubbly beard, and his eyes shone like copper. The golden robes he bore looked just like a set of golden armor. He simply waited there, bored and restless, at the top of that mountain peak.

Swoosh. A streak of light flew towards him from far away, alighting on the mountain peak; it was Celestial Immortal Arcanum.

“Arcanum,” the golden-robed envoy said calmly.

“Envoy.” Celestial Immortal immediately smiled, not showing any of his customary arrogance for fear of offending this envoy. “Might I ask why you wish to speak with our Youngflame clan, Envoy?”

“Our Seamless Gate has never shown your Youngflame clan any malice. We’ve always been helping you…and now, I’m going to help you again.” The golden-robed envoy laughed, but even when laughing, his savage, ferocious face remained terrifying to behold. “A while ago, you had a rather nasty battle with that Ji Ning, right? In fact, two of your Celestial Immortals died, and in the end, you used the Worldhold Pagoda to exile Ji Ning away into the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld, yes?”

“Right, right. That’s exactly right,” Celestial Immortal Arcanum said hurriedly.

Although he had a smile on his face, in his heart Arcanum was cursing loudly.

How had this secret slipped out?

Very, very few people knew that the Youngflame clan had used the Worldhold Pagoda to deal with Ji Ning. Only the Xia Emperor and Ji Ning’s friends knew. However, logically speaking, neither Ji Ning’s friends nor the Xia Emperor would go tell the Seamless Gate about this…and yet, somehow, the Seamless Gate had still found out. They had even come to ask the Youngflame clan about this, at which point the Youngflame clan had been forced to admit that they had indeed exiled Ji Ning to the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld.

In truth, the Youngflame clan wasn’t worried about this being made public knowledge. The Nihilum Zone was incredibly vast, after all; even a True God or Daofather who went there to investigate would have to spend countless years before completely searching the place. In addition, True Gods and Daofathers were generally unwilling to spend much time there; after all, as the saying went, if one often walked by the riverside, one’s shoes would eventually get wet. If they stayed in the Nihilum Zone too long, they might run into some powerful foes from the Primordial Ruinworld.

“The Seamless Gate truly seems to be able to penetrate through any seam,” Arcanum mused silently to himself. “Not even the Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the Xia Emperor comes close to the Seamless Gate in terms of intelligence reports.”

“I’ve come to notify your Youngflame clan…that your hated foe, Ji Ning, is still alive. And…he’s already back.” The golden-robed envoy smiled merrily as he looked at Celestial Immortal Arcanum.

Arcanum’s face instantly changed. “Impossible!!!” He couldn’t help but blurt out these words.

“Impossible?” The golden-robed envoy lifted an eyebrow.

“We sent him to the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld! Not even an Empyrean God could escape from that place; only a True God or Daofather has a chance! Even if an exalted True God or Daofather was to go search for him…how could they be so lucky as to find Ji Ning within the infinitely vast Nihilum Zone in just eighteen short years?” Arcanum shook his head. “Even if he was apprenticed to a True God or a Daofather…I refuse to believe a True God or a Daofather would be willing to commit himself to such a painstaking search, or be able to find him so quickly. There’s no way Ji Ning could be that lucky!”

“Yes, I didn’t believe it either.” The golden-robed envoy shook his head and sighed. “But alas, Ji Ning is within Stillwater City right now. At this very moment, he is flirting and cuddling with that Dao-companion of his, Yu Wei, within the Black-White College.”

“He’s at Stillwater City right now?” Arcanum was now truly stunned.

“Yes.” The golden-robed envoy nodded.

Arcanum had an extremely ugly look on his face right now, and his thoughts were jumbled.

If Ji Ning had returned alive…then things had completely changed.

First of all, for him to return meant that, without question, Ji Ning had a True God or Daofather standing behind him! When the Youngflame clan had fought against Ji Ning, they had been worried that Ji Ning had apprenticed himself to a Daofather, true, but they felt that given the exalted status of a Daofather, Ji Ning shouldn’t have been so lucky as to actually have been apprenticed to one. The chances of that having happened had to be low.

But now…it had indeed been proven to be the case! Ji Ning truly had become the disciple of a True God or a Daofather!

And secondly!

The Youngflame clan knew exactly how powerful Ji Ning was. A young fellow like him who hadn’t even undergone his tribulation had been able to slaughter two mighty Celestial Immortals. Even when battling the eight of them, he hadn’t been at a disadvantage at all. Given his terrifying power…once he overcame his tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal, he could become a calamity for the Youngflame clan.

And this monster…this utter monster had a True God or a Daofather backing him!

This was a nightmare!

“He…really does have a True God or a Daofather as his master. And…he’s back.” Arcanum was completely panicking right now. He knew very well that this would be a disaster for his Youngflame clan…a disaster which the Youngflame would not be able to avoid!

“If…the Youngflame clan was to join our Seamless Gate, then we would be willing to help you deal with Ji Ning,” the golden-robed envoy said with a laugh. “You might be afraid of the Daofather behind him, but we, the Seamless Gate, are not. Alright…you can go back now and spend some time thinking on this.”

Whoosh.

A series of spatial ripples appeared around the golden-robed envoy. Moments later, he disappeared into thin air.

Celestial Immortal Arcanum stood there on the mountain peak, an ugly look on his face. Moments later, he too used a spatial teleport to depart, having headed back to report this information to the Ancestor of the Youngflame clan, Immortal Venomfreak.

……

Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

Ning didn’t realize that both the Seamless Gate and the Youngflame clan had found out right away about his return. However, even if he did realize that they knew…Ning wasn’t afraid. To deal with the current Ji Ning wouldn’t be easy as it was to deal with the Ji Ning of eighteen years ago.

“Ji Ning, King Yan and Princess Xiyue have come to visit,” Immortal Jadesea sent through his divine sense.

“Princess Xiyue? King Yan?” Ji Ning, who had been sipping wine alongside Yu Wei, hastily rose to his feet. Ning had spent the entire night with Yu Wei. The two had whispered sweet nothings to each other, and also had discussed may matters. Yu Wei now knew the real relationship between Ning and Xiyue.

“Come, let’s go greet them,” Ning said hurriedly. “Before I went to fight against the Youngflame clan, I told my cousin about it. I was completely confident in my chances; I thought that everything was under my control. And yet…man proposes, Heaven disposes. In the end, I was exiled for eighteen years. My cousin must have been worrying over me for all eighteen of these years.”

“She came to see you as soon as she learned that you were back. Clearly, she cares about you immensely,” Yu Wei said.

The two flew over, shoulder-to-shoulder, into the skies.

They immediately saw the distant Immortal Jadesea guiding King Yan and Yuchi Xiyue towards them. Xiyue stared towards Ning from far away, and upon seeing him her eyes lit up right away. It was true; her little brother truly had come back!

“Senior apprentice-brother Jadesea, allow me to take care of King Yan and the princess,” Ning said.

Immortal Jadesea knew that these two had come to see Ji Ning, and so he immediately nodded and departed.

Ning and Yu Wei led King Yan and Xiyue down into Yu Wei’s residence. At present, Yu Wei’s residence didn’t have even a single servant in it; all of them had been sent to Darknorth Peak. Clearly, Ning and Yu Wei wanted to be alone and to not be disturbed by anyone.

As they landed together, Xiyue could no longer hold back. “Little brother, you scared me half to death! If you really died…then I really would be the only member of the Yuchi clan left.”

“I’m not gonna die that easily,” Ning said with a laugh.

The two immediately began to chat with each other. Yu Wei added in a few words on the side, but King Yan said almost nothing.

As the conversation began to wind down…finally, King Yan spoke out. “Ji Ning, do you remember the task you handed to me?”

Ning’s face instantly turned slightly red. He hurriedly said, “You’ve found information regarding my parents and their reincarnations?”

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Chapter 3 – His Parent’s Lives, Past and Present

Chapter 3 – His Parent’s Lives, Past and Present

Years ago, Ji Ning had asked King Yan to help him investigate what had happened to his father, Ji Yichuan, and his mother, Yuchi Snow, after they had been reincarnated. However, after he made the request Ning had gone off to battle the Youngflame clan, then been driven into the Nihilum Zone. Thus, King Yan had never had a chance to tell Ning about what he had discovered.

“I’ve found the information.” King Yan nodded.

“Wonderful! This is…this is wonderful!” Ning couldn’t disguise his excitement.

In Ning’s heart…his father, Ji Yichuan, and his mother, Yuchi Snow, had the most important position of all. Not even his Dao-companion, Yu Wei, was as important to him as his parents! In fact, in Ning’s heart, even his parents from his previous life on Earth were slightly inferior in status when compared to Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow. In his past life on Earth, his father had always been busy with his careers, after all; Ning was rarely able to see him. His mother, on the other hand, had always worked very hard to take care of him, and Ning had firmly engraved those memories into his heart.

But in this life…

For the sake of giving birth to him, his mother had been willing to sacrifice her own life-force. For the sake of letting him grow up safely, she hadn’t even been willing to tell Ning about their feud with Snowdragon Mountain, or the truth regarding the enemy that had destroyed the Yuchi clan.

Although his father looked cold on the outside, the amount of care and love he had felt for Ji Ning was definitely every bit as much as Yuchi Snow had felt. He had personally taught Ning to use the sword, and had always worked to protect him. In fact, it wasn’t until he was no longer capable of protecting Ning that he had perished to go reunite with Yuchi Snow.

Ning could never forget them!

Those youthful days…those had been the happiest days of his life.

“These are bamboo scrolls.” King Yan produced a pair of bamboo scrolls within his hands. “In the Netherworld, we record the information about the dead in them. All who are judged by the Judges of the Dead will have records regarding them. This bamboo scroll has a great deal of information, including information regarding your mother, Yuchi Snow. This one, in turn, has information regarding your father, Ji Yichuan.”

Ning took a deep breath before accepting the scrolls.

Ning sent his divine sense into the first scroll. Instantly, an enormous amount of information filled his mind. After Ning had strengthened his heartforce, his control over his divine sense had strengthened noticeably as well. Soon, he was able to sort through the sea of information to find the relevant parts regarding his father, Ji Yichuan.

“Ji Yichuan, of the world of the Grand Xia, Stillwater Commandery, Swallow Mountain. Zifu Disciple. No karmic sin, no karmic merits. Adjudicated to be reborn as a human and be reincarnated in the Wusky world, Flowermont Commandery, Willowriver clan. His name shall be Willowriver Chuan, and he shall live for 182 years.”

Ning was no longer a wide-eyed youth; at Mount Innerheart, he had read some books which had given a basic introduction to the Three Realms. He understood what this Judge’s intentions were. Generally speaking, decisions on where one would be sent to, what one would be named, and how long one would live for would be automatically made by the Dao of the Heavens. The Judges of the Dead had to intentionally intervene in order to change things. This sort of intervention would usually have a minor impact on one’s karmic merits, and so generally speaking only someone who had a sufficient degree of status was capable of causing the likes of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell or the First Judge of the Dead to command their subordinates to make a change to one’s fate.

Long ago, Judge Cui had told Ning that changing one’s lifespan was quite a simple task for him.

But in truth, the ‘lifespan’ was only applicable to mortals. Once one became an Immortal cultivator, one would’ve embarked on a path that went against the will of the Heavens. The Heavens would send down the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, and it would become very difficult to predict how far one would make it down this path. If one remained a mere mortal, one might only live for a century or so, but if one became an Immortal cultivator and became a Zifu Disciple within twenty or so years…it was possible that one might be killed soon after becoming a Zifu Disciple, resulting in a lifespan that was even shorter than that of an ordinary mortal’s!

The decisions of the Judges of the Netherworld with regard to one’s lifespan were only meaningful for mortals.

“The Wusky world? Flowermont Commandery, Willowriver clan…Willowriver Chuan?” Ning quietly memorized this name.

He immediately picked up the other bamboo scroll, sweeping it with his divine sense.

A short while later, he found the information regarding his mother, Yuchi Snow.

“Yuchi Snow, of the world of the Grand Xia, Eastisle Commandery, Yuchi clan. Slightly positive karma. Adjudicated to be reborn as a human and be reincarnated to the Wusky world, Flowermont Commandery, Eastflow clan. Her name shall be Eastflow Snow, and she shall live for 200 years.”

Ning was delighted by what he just saw.

They had both been sent to the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world?

The nearby King Yan said, “The adjudications of the Judges are usually generated naturally in accordance with the Dao of the Heavens. Clearly, your mother and your father have been tied together by karmic love across many lifetimes, and so the Dao of the Heavens invisibly worked to place them together once more.”

“Karmic love across many lifetimes?” Ning nodded gently, then immediately said, “King Yan, senior, are you saying that my parents are together once more?”

“I went and helped you investigate what happened after they were reincarnated. I made a trip all the way to the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world to look into this matter, but…your parents have already died. The information I found is within this book.” King Yan gave Ning a glance, then a book appeared within his hands that he offered to Ning.

Ning was stunned. “Already dead? That means they should be reincarnated again. Why haven’t they…?” But then, Ning suddenly thought of a possibility. His face turned ashen, and he immediately accepted the book and swept it with his divine sense.

“No.”

“No…”

Ning clenched at the book, shaking his head, his eyes filled with shock, anger, and agony. He didn’t want to accept this result.

His parents had indeed been linked by karmic love; although they had experienced some problems in their new life, they had still ended up together. Together, they had embarked upon the path of Immortal cultivation…

“How could…how could this have happened?” Ning shook his head, mumbling as he did, “Why did these things have to happen to them? Why didn’t they happen to me instead? Although they embarked on the Immortal path once more, they were just minor figures. Why did things have to end so bitterly for them…why…”

“I don’t believe it…I don’t believe it!”

“This is all a lie. All a lie!”

Ning’s eyes began to turned crazed. The truth was beyond what his mind could accept; he instinctually refused to believe this, especially when this was nothing more than information record in a book!

“Little brother!”

“Junior apprentice-brother!” Yu Wwei and Princess Xiyue were both worried.

Ning immediately said, “I’m going to go to the miniature Netherworld Kingdom. I’m going right now! Senior apprentice-sister…although Stillwater City is in a dangerous situation right now, I have to go right away. If it really does encounter a crisis, shatter this talisman and I’ll immediately come back through Greater Teleportation.”

“Alright.” Yu Wei immediately nodded. “Let me go with you.” She could sense how frantic Ning was feeling right now.

“No need. I’ll go alone.” Ning turned to look at the nearby King Yan. “King Yan, senior, I’m going to go to the miniature Netherworld Kingdom. I need a temporal inversion to see the scene of the Judge adjudicating my parents’ fates.”

Right now, Ning even doubted the information he had seen within the bamboo scrolls regarding the adjudication of his parents. He had to personally see a temporal inversion, personally see the Judge adjudicate his parents, before he would believe it.

“Alright.” King Yan nodded. He still remembered the Xia Emperor’s instructions to him. The Xia Emperor viewed quite a few people with favor and wanted to befriend them, but the most important amongst them was this Ji Ning, even though he hadn’t even undergone his tribulation. King Yan naturally wouldn’t refuse Ji Ning’s requests.

“Let’s go.” Ning didn’t want to wait at all.

“Let me lead the way.” King Yan immediately led Ning out, flying away from the estate, then undergoing a spatial teleport in midair. Both men immediately vanished.

Yuchi Xiyue and Yu Wei raised their heads, watching as Ning and King Yan left.

“My grandpa actually didn’t tell me any of this…” Xiyue had a somewhat frantic look on her face as well.

“I hope everything is fine,” Yu Wei said softly.

……

A gloomy, deathly aura pervaded this place.

This was an extremely large world. Within it, lines of white-robed figures could be seen walking forward, stretching forth as far as the eye could see. Next to them were many minotaur demon soldiers and other demon soldiers who were striking them with lashes.

Some of the white-robed figures glanced curiously out of the corner of their eyes, paying attention to the two figures who had just appeared in the sky.

The two figures that had appeared were Ji Ning and King Yan.

“This miniature Netherworld isn’t that different from the real Netherworld Kingdom, to be honest. There are plenty of deceased spirits here as well,” King Yan said. Daofather Crimsonbright controlled dozens of major worlds, after all, as well as countless minor worlds, all of which came under this miniature Netherworld’s jurisdiction. It made up for roughly 1% of the entire territory of the Three Realms.

Ning didn’t say a word. He wasn’t in the mood for chit-chat.

King Yan, after saying a few more things, realized Ning wasn’t in the mood. He led Ning directly to a giant city, within which were numerous buildings and many demonic soldiers. King Yan quickly arrived at a courtyard.

“This is the courtyard where your mother was sentenced.” King Yan led Ning straight inside.

The demonic soldiers didn’t dare restrict them from entering.

The judge on his judge’s seat, upon seeing who had entered, was badly shocked. He was just one of countless judges; there was no way he could possibly compare with one of the exalted Yama-Kings.

“Your underling greets you, Yama-King.” The judge hurriedly fell to his knees, and the surrounding demonic soldiers all knelt down as well. As for the ghost who was waiting to be sentenced, he was completely terrified.

“Hurry up and sentence this one,” King Yan instructed.

“Yes, yes!” The judge hurriedly said, “Hurry up and send him to the eighteenth level of Hell.”

Two demonic soldiers immediately dragged the ghost away. The ghost screamed in terror, but was still pulled out of the palace.

“You can leave now. Don’t use this court for anything else today,” King Yan instructed.

“Yes.” Neither the judges nor the demonic soldiers dared say a thing. Although they had many tasks to accomplish, there were many other courts in operation; for one to be paused for a day didn’t mean anything. They gave the youth behind King Yan a curious glance; they could sense that even King Yan wanted to ensure that this youth was taken care of.

This youth most likely had an incredible background! They all obediently retreated.

Soon, only Ning and King Yan were left in the court.

“King Yan, senior, I haven’t overcome my tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal yet. I’ll have to trouble you, senior, to use temporal inversion for me,” Ning said.

“A minor matter,” King Yan said. Although this sort of Immortal technique used up a considerable amount of his energy, in the long run it didn’t matter.

King Yan immediately used the temporal inversion technique.

Whooosh.

The scene before them changed. The departed judges and demonic soldiers quickly returned to the hall, once more beginning to judge the souls of the dead, then the souls before them…

Time continued to flow backwards, faster and faster. In fact, everything turned into a blur. Ning and King Yan just stood there within the court, waiting silently.

The images of the temporal inversion were illusory ones. Even if the figures of the judges or demonic soldiers touched with them, it wouldn’t make any difference at all.

One year. Two years. Three years…

Time continued to flow backwards at high speed.

“This is the day,” King Yan said.

There had been an order to the procession of souls judged that had been recorded within the bamboo scroll. It included information on which judge did the adjudication, when the record was made, and in what order the decision was made. Thus, King Yan knew exactly which court and roughly which day the judgement was made.

The reversed flow of time began to slow down, and the ghosts could be seen clearly once more.

Ning looked carefully at the ghosts; one of them should’ve been his mother.

Suddenly…

King Yan controlled the temporal version, making it come to a sudden halt, because a white-robed woman had just been escorted in by the demonic soldiers…and it was Ning’s mother, Yuchi Snow!

“Mother.” Ning’s eyes stung. He actually wanted to throw himself forward to hug her.

It had been far, far too long…

But Ning knew that these were merely the illusions rendered by a temporal inversion; these were events that had already happened in the past. These were nothing more than illusions; there was no way he could possibly touch his mother.

“Faster, faster!” The two demonic soldiers that brought Yuchi Snow in actually gave her a shove.

Yuchi Snow looked at her surroundings. Not panicking at all, she immediately knelt down. “My respects to you, judge.”

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Chapter 4 – Eastflow Snow, Willowriver Chuan

Chapter 4 – Eastflow Snow, Willowriver Chuan

An aura of light suddenly appeared within the court, and within the light appeared many images. There were images of a little girl playing with her elders, of a young maiden fleeing in terror, of the fully grown Yuchi Snow staring into Ji Yichuan’s eyes, of her adventures in the Darknorth Sea, of her birth of Ji Ning, of her teaching Ji Ning footwork techniques…

One image after another.

“Her past life.” Ning stared at the images.

Although a Protocosmic spirit-treasure had been left behind within this miniature cycle of reincarnation that allowed one to view the past lives of countless ghosts, there was no Book of Life and Death. The judge merely gave the images a glance, then wrote with his pen, “Yuchi Snow, of the world of the Grand Xia, Eastisle Commandery, Yuchi clan. Slightly positive karma. Adjudicated to be…” Some thoughts suddenly appeared in the judge’s mind.

Adjudicated to be reborn as a human and be reincarnated to the Wusky world, Flowermont Commandery, Eastflow clan. Her name shall be Eastflow Snow, and she shall live for 200 years.

These thoughts had been naturally generated by the Dao of the Heavens.

Once one took on the position of judge and moved to support the normal functioning of the Six Paths, it could be said that one had become a part of the Dao of the Heavens. However, the judges were fully capable of changing these written decisions…but in doing so, their own karma would be affected. The more ridiculous the changes were, the more major the impact would be on their karmic standing. In fact, there were some judgements that simply couldn’t be written. For example, if this minor judge was to try to forcibly write that Yuchi Snow’s sentence was to suffer a thousand years of punishment in the eighteenth level of Hell, so much sin would accumulate around the judge that he would probably be immediately deposed from his position, even before he finished writing the sentence!

“…To be reborn as a human and be reincarnated to the Wusky world, Flowermont Commandery, Eastflow clan. Her name shall be Eastflow Snow, and she shall live for 200 years!” This judge naturally followed the will of the Dao of the Heavens. He wouldn’t make any changes at all for an ordinary ghost like this.

……

Watching as his mother was sent off, Ning murmured to himself, “It really was the Eastflow clan of the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world. I wasn’t lied to.”

“Do you wish to also see Ji Yichuan?” The nearby King Yan asked.

“Yes. Of course, yes.” Ning nodded, then said, “King Yan, sorry for the trouble.”

“No trouble at all. If I ran into something like this, I’d probably be frantic as well. Still…unless one becomes a Celestial Immortal, one shall forever struggle within the cycle of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. If one is lucky, one might eventually escape, but less than one in a trillion actually do so. The vast majority shall continue to drown within the cycle until the day comes when their soul is destroyed.” King Yan looked at Ning. “You need to accept this.”

Ning nodded gently.

“Come. Let’s go to another court,” King Yan said, leading the way.

……

Yet another court. The court had been a ceaseless bustle of activity, but it all came to a sudden halt. The judge and the demonic soldiers were terrified into hurriedly departing, leaving behind only Ning and King Yan. King Yan once more used a temporal inversion technique, allowing them to view the scenes of the past. They watched as Ji Yichuan was sentenced by the judge.

“Father.” Ning looked at the white-robed Ji Yichuan while listening to the words of the judge. “So he really was sent to the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world.”

“I wish to make a trip to the Wusky world,” Ning said.

“Alright. I’ll accompany you on this trip. I imagine that you will want the temporal inversion technique to be used again; I’ll have to do it for you.” King Yan nodded, then advised, “But Ji Ning, you have to be careful. The Wusky world is not like the Grand Xia; its foundations are not as stable or deep as ours. Thus, the Seamless Gate has been even more brazen in that world. We can go investigate matters pertaining to your parents’ reincarnation, but it’s best for you not to intervene in those struggles.”

Ning said softly, “I understand. King Yan, don’t worry; I’m no longer that stupid, hot-headed little kid.”

“Mm.” King Yan nodded.

The two immediately left this courtyard, then used a spatial teleport to head straight to the Wusky world.

The Wusky world was one of the dozens of major worlds under Daofather Crimsonbright’s control. In truth, of the worlds under Daofather Crimsonbright, the Grand Xia was actually in fairly good shape; there were many that were in far worse shape than the Grand Xia! For example, the Mount Stele major world was now almost completely controlled by the Seamless Gate.

The Wusky world had descended into the fires of war, filled with battles by Immortals and Fiends.

“This is where the Eastflow clan of the Flowermont Commandery is located.” King Yan looked down from the night sky towards a city, filled with countless Diremonsters.

“The Eastflow clan is gone?” Ning frowned.

“Perhaps a few remnants of them remain somewhere.” King Yan looked downwards. “Right now, the entire Wusky world is in a state of chaos. Major clans and sects might be able to fight back, but many smaller, backwater areas have been utterly massacred. The Seamless Gate doesn’t care too much about discipline; in fact, they delight in causing chaos, the more the merrier.”

Ning nodded.

He had noticed this as well.

When humans took control over a territory, they emphasized order.

But the Seamless Gate, however, encouraged battle and war. It instigated countless problems, hoping for more chaos!

“This city of the Eastflow clan was broken into by monsters. It is now occupied by monsters, while the remnants of the Eastflow clan have fled long ago,” King Yan said. “Let me use the temporal inversion now.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

Ning gave the city below a single glance. Instantly, invisible ripples of power swept out from his soul.

All of the many monsters within the commandery city, as well as a few humans who were still resisting and fight back against the monsters, all felt their bodies go soft before they collapsed to the ground. In this instant…all the humans and monsters within the city were trapped within a deep slumber.

“Temporal inversion.” King Yan looked downwards as he executed his technique.

……

“Waaaaaaa!”

A cry rang out, and an infant was born.

“Haha, let’s call this daughter of mine…Eastflow Snow.” A tall man spoke out in a joyful manner.

Eastflow Snow slowly grew up. She was smart and obedient, learning from her father to become a Ki Refiner and loving to play around with the other children of the same age…

Ning just quietly watched.

“So similar. She looks so similar to mother,” Ning murmured silently to himself. In this life, Eastflow Snow lived a joyful, carefree life. She was filled with vigor and life, whereas in her past life as Yuchi Snow, she had always seemed slightly gloomy and quiet.

Eastflow Snow quickly grew up. After turning sixteen, she went out adventuring with her fellow clansmen.

While adventuring in the outside world…

She encountered another boy, a boy who saved her.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Willowriver Chuan.”

The sixteen year old Eastflow Snow had met with the still-boyish Willowriver Chuan.

“Mother. Father…” Ning and King Yan quietly watched.

The two went out adventuring together. Willowriver Chuan slowly grew taller; although he was a few years younger than Snow, he had a tall, muscular frame. Given that Chuan was also a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he soon grew even taller than Snow. After adventuring together for two years, the two naturally began to grow close together, perhaps because they felt an innate affinity for each other. Chuan and Snow both broke through to become Xiantian lifeforms while adventuring together! However, Chuan broke through as both a Fiendgod Body Refiner and a Ki Refiner, whereas Snow was merely a Ki Refiner.

“Little brother Chuan, Father has already sent people to summon me; I have to go back.”

“Big sister Snow, I’ll find you. I’ll make your father allow you to marry me.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“I’ll definitely come.”

……

“Hahaha, dear Snow, you have quite the eye. This Willowriver Chuan was able to become a Xiantian lifeform; this means that he can be considered a genius of the Willowriver clan. However…their clan is still a small one. It can’t compare with our Eastflow clan.”

“Daddy!” Snow grew worried.

“Ahaha, I’m just teasing you! If you like him, then go ahead and be with him; I won’t stop you.”

……

Months later.

“Chuan, don’t be in such a rush. Father has actually agreed to us already; he’s just testing you.” Snow had stealthily crept over to the guest building where Chuan was residing to tell him this.

“So that’s the case. I was being too impatient.” Chuan rubbed his head. “Big sister Snow, since your father isn’t going to stop us…then I’m going to go back to prepare a betrothal gift. According to clan rules, I need to prepare a gift of nine ding-cauldrons.”

“Alright.” Snow nodded gently, but she blushed a bit with shyness.

…..

A betrothal gift of nine ding-cauldrons was quite a pricey one. However…since Chuan had long ago broken through to the Xiantian level, his status within his clan was quite high. He soon prepared the gift. Although the Eastflow clan was far more powerful, they didn’t move to stop this affair. The two sides soon came to agree on an auspicious day; next spring, the wedding would occur.

Within the Eastflow clan.

“Adept Icebreak, after these three kids join the Flowermont Immortal School, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of them. Here are our gifts for you for taking them on as your disciples; please accept them, Adept.”

“Teaching and guiding one’s disciples is only normal; there’s no need for this gift. I’ve spent quite some time with your Eastflow clan; it’s time for me to go back. Have those three kids come out; I’ll take them back to the Flowermont Immortal School.”

“Yes, Adept.”

The Eastflow clan leader was being very careful to take good care of this Adept Icebreak of the Flowermont Immortal School. The Flowermont Immortal School was the most supreme of the large schools of the Flowermont Commandery. Supposedly, they even had a Celestial Immortal amongst their ranks! In addition, the Flowermont Immortal School was very strict with its disciples; in fact, if any disciples had any sin around them, they would be expelled! From this, one could tell how strict their rules were.

There were naturally many people who wished to join such a mighty, righteous school.

“The Adept forgot this. Please hand this to the Adept.” The Eastflow clan leader secretly handed the gift to one of the Adept’s followers, who accepted it.

Soon, three youths appeared.

“After you go to the Immortal School, you’ll have to work hard.”

“You are the shining stars amongst the younger generation of our Eastflow clan. In the future, our clan will depend on you.”

“Little uncle, remember to come back to visit me.”

“Second brother, take care of yourself.”

The kinsmen of the three youths sent them off…and amongst them was Eastflow Snow.

The distant Adept Icebreak glanced over, his gaze suddenly falling upon Eastflow Snow. He immediately sent mentally, “Eastflow clan leader.”

“Adept,” the Eastflow clan leader hurriedly said.

“That white-robed girl looks nice.” Adept Icebreak sent mentally, “I am in need of a maidservant, and she looks quite obedient and clever; she’s a good fit. Help me speak to her; if she is willing to accompany me, then send her to me. But if she is not willing, then forget it.”

Adept Icebreak then led these three early-stage Zifu Disciple youths into his flying ship, then departed from the Eastflow clan.

The Eastflow clan leader hesitated a moment, then spoke to Snow’s father about this.

“Clan leader, you are going to give Snow to Adept Icebreak? We can’t do that; in another month, she’s going to get married. Can’t you refuse?”

“How can I refuse? Don’t you know what sort of a person this Adept Icebreak is? Although he looks like an upright gentleman, in secret he’s very greedy and very lecherous! It’s precisely because he is greedy that our Eastflow clan was able to send three of our own into the Flowermont Immortal School. If we don’t give him Snow…he’ll probably be embarrassed and angered, which will have a negative impact on Fuqiang and the others. They are the future of our Eastflow clan; for the sake of the clan, if we have to sacrifice a little girl like Snow, then we will do it!”

“But the Willowriver clan…?”

“The Willowriver clan merely has two Zifu Disciples; how would a clan like that dare to offend our Eastflow clan? Ignore them. For the sake of the tribe, even I myself can be sacrificed, much less Snow! I’m just letting you know in advance; later, I’ll go speak to Snow myself. I trust that she knows what truly matters. In addition…from this day forth, you are not to meet with Snow any longer. I’ll handle everything myself, to ensure that there are no slip-ups.”

……

“Clan leader, you…you are telling me…no…no! I want to see Father, I want to see Father!”

“You should know what truly matters. Come, men, go and lock her up! Tomorrow, I’ll send her off myself.”

……

Within a vast wilderness.

“Big sister Snow, why did you break the message-talisman? What has happened?”

“I used a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal to flee. There’s no time! I want you to give up everything and leave this place by my side. In fact, we’re going to leave the entire Flowermont Commandery, but we will be together. Alright?”

Romantic love and familial love warred with each other. In the end…

Willowriver Chuan had knelt down, kowtowing towards the direction of his clan. “Father. Mother. Elder brother and second brother will have to be filial in my stead. Forgive me for being unfilial! In the future, if I have the chance, I will return.”

“Let’s go.”

That very night, Willowriver Chuan and Eastflow Snow had left their homeland, eloping.

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Chapter 5 – Truesoul

Chapter 5 – Truesoul

Ji Ning stood there in the wilderness, watching the scene of Willowriver Chuan and Eastflow Snow fleeing that had been created by the temporal inversion. His heart felt heavy…because up until now, everything which had transpired was identical to events as portrayed within the book King Yan had given him.

“Let’s go to the Ninesongs Sword Sect,” Ning said.

“Alright.”

King Yan knew that until Ning saw everything in person, he wouldn’t give up hope. The two immediately teleported forward to the Ninesongs Sword Sect, located in another commandery.

……

That year, Chuan and Snow had carefully, slowly departed in a drifting manner. They spent a total of eight years before passing out of the vast Flowermont Commandery and arriving at the Ninesongs Sword Sect. Chuan was very skilled in the sword to begin with, and because they had encountered many dangers over the past eight years, he had improved significantly. His had reached the Zifu Disciple level as a Fiendgod Body refiner, and so he was able to easily enter the Ninesongs Sword Sect as a disciple. As for Eastflow Snow, she had entered by his side as his ‘maidservant’.

The second year after their entry into the Ninesongs Sword Sect. Snow, by relying on a spirit-pill which Chuan had acquired from the sect, was able to break through to the Zifu Disciple level. She, too, was accepted as formal disciple of the Ninesongs Sword Sect.

“This is the place where the Ninesongs Sword Sect used to be.” From his position high up in the air, King Yan pointed downwards towards a giant pile of rubble.

Ning stared at the rubble, his heart sinking.

The rubble spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, and there were quite a few monsters in this area.

“Eastflow Snow…Willowriver Chuan. According to the intelligence reports that I collected, they lived here at Waterflow Peak, which should be right over there.” King Yan quickly flew to a part of the destroyed city. Waving his hand, he caused the many monsters and Diremonsters there to all collapse.

“Temporal inversion.” King Yan once more caused a temporal inversion.

The scene here quickly began to reverse. Several decades of time were reversed.

The scenery here was now incomparably beautiful. There were beautiful mountains and rivers. There was dense spiritual energy here, and Immortal cultivators could be seen everywhere.

“Chuan, you always let me win.” Snow and Chuan were competing in swordplay, but in the end, Chuan always ‘lost’ every match.

“No, it’s that your sword-arts have improved yet again, Snow,” Chuan said with a laugh.

Seeing this, Ning felt a warm feeling in his heart.

“There are three more years before that calamity,” the nearby King Yan told Ning. He controlled the flow of time, speeding it up. Snow and Chuan lived happy lives here at the Ninesongs Sword Sect; they had just joined the school, after all, and it wasn’t yet time for them to go out and adventure. Their life here was like life in paradise.

Soon…three years of time passed within the temporal inversion.

This was a bright, sunny day. The scenery was as beautiful as ever. In truth, the Seamless Gate had already infiltrated the Wusky world several years ago, and the outside world was in a state of chaos. Life within the Ninesongs Sword Sect, however, remained as peaceful and calm as ever.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Black sword-light suddenly began to flash.

Willowriver Chuan, wielding twin swords, was currently training in swordplay while comprehending the Dao. Because he was a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he now looked even more handsome and valiant than he had in his past life.

The nearby Eastflow Snow was seated close to him, smiling as she watched. She knew that in her heart, her man continued to long for his homeland, long for his Willowriver clan. However…he had always been worried about Adept Icebreak of the Flowermont Immortal School, and so he continued to wait and endure. He was extremely hard on himself in training sword-arts, becoming one of the best amongst the Zifu Disciples of the Ninesongs Sword Sect. He had long ago reached the level of seeing a hint into the ‘true meaning of the Dao’.

“Chuan, we’ll definitely be able to go back together.” Eastflow Snow missed her father as well.

Suddenly…

A group of black-robed figures appeared in the sky. There were a total of twenty-seven of them, and they almost instantly transformed into three giant black serpents. These three giant black serpents were more than a thousand kilometers long. Their auras filled the skies, and the entire grand formation that protected the Ninesongs Sword Sect was instantly activated, causing light to flare everywhere.

Rumble…

The world seemed to have collapsed. The formation was only able to stay alive for a few moments, and then it crumbled.

“What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

Many of the weaker, ordinary disciples were completely stunned.

Chuan, however, instantly flew to Snow’s side. He hurriedly said, “Snow, let’s…”

Halfway through their words, a ripple of energy swept past this entire mountain. Some the Zifu Disciples who were struck head-on by the ripple were instantly reduced to dust, completely unable to fight back. And then, with a booming sound, the entire mountain peak began to collapse. Countless rocks began to fall down, and both Chuan and Snow hurriedly flew away in an attempt to hide.

“Seamless Gate, our Ninesongs Sword Sect has never offended you. Why do you have to annihilate our school?” Several figures had streaked into the skies; it was the Loose Immortals, Earth Immortals, and Primal Daoists of the Ninesongs Sword Sect. They formed together into a grand formation, each of them furious and frantic.

“Just die in peace!”

One of the three massive black serpents spoke out in the human tongue…and then, not bothering to say anything else, they began to fight brashly.

The surrounding space had been completely locked; there was no way to teleport out of it.

“Kill.”

“Kill!”

Unable to escape, the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals of the Ninesongs Sword Sect led the Primal Daoists to join into a formation. They transformed into a dazzling, titanic sword that did battle against those three giant serpents. However, after clashing just a few times, the titanic sword was completely shattered. More than half of the Loose Immortals, Earth Immortals, and Primal Daoists of the Ninesongs Sword Sect were instantly killed, while the others were all heavily wounded.

“No…”

“Damn!”

The heavily injured Ninesongs Sword Sect experts were all wiped out. The giant black serpents swam about in the skies, utterly destroying the base of the sect, which stretched out more than tens of thousands of kilometers. As for the weaker disciples of the Ninesongs Sword Sect, they were unable to escape and so many of them were butchered without being able to fight back at all.

“Snow…” Willowriver Chuan held Eastflow Snow in his arms, no longer running.

“Chuan…do you regret having left with me?” Tears fell down Eastflow Snow’s face.

“These past twelve years…I’ve truly been very happy. If I had the chance to choose again, I would still choose to come here with you, Snow.” Chuan laughed. “We’ll meet again on the road to the Yellow Springs.”

“Right.” Tears falling down her face, Snow nodded.

Rumble…

A ripple swept out, and the embracing couple of Willowriver Chuan and Eastflow Snow was reduced to dust. Their souls, however, were drawn upwards at high speed by some invisible force. In midair, there was a black gourd that was frantically drawing in all the nearby souls of the slaughtered, including the souls of Chuan and Snow.

Ning just stood there, watching silently.

The nearby King Yan said softly, “The Seamless Gate wanted to tame this commandery, but since they had just arrived, not many joined them. Thus, the Seamless Gate decided to annihilate some smaller schools, so as to frighten the others. While killing countless cultivators, they collected the souls of the slain for usage in forming some evil techniques. If one had millions, ideally hundreds of millions of cultivator souls, one could refine a truly powerful and truly terrifying evil magic treasure, or develop a truly vile divine ability.”

Ning knew this quite well, of course.

“What a pity.” King Yan sighed. “The Seamless Gate is spread throughout the Three Realms, and the power behind them is unfathomably mighty. Even though you have a Daofather as your master…you still probably won’t be able to do anything to them.”

“I’m very calm right now,” Ning said softly.

Although he looked calm…in truth, Ning felt an overpowering desire to kill, one greater than he had ever felt. It was only because he had reached the third level of heartforce, ‘ruler’, that Ning was able to remain calm. However…in his heart, Ning now viewed the Seamless Gate as his most hated of foes. Even the hatred he felt for the Youngflame clan was less than a hundredth of a hundredth of the hatred he felt for the Seamless Gate!

“The. Seamless. Gate.” Ning spoke out three words, enunciating each one.

The nearby King Yan suddenly felt his heart shudder for no reason. He could vaguely sense the killing intent within Ning’s heart…and all he could do was sigh. The Seamless Gate…it was a power that had swept through the entire Three Realms. How could it be so easily dealt with?

“Don’t act foolishly, “King Yan said.

Ning murmured softly to himself, “Even though Father and Mother’s souls have been shattered…in the future, I’m going to train until I become a True God or a Daofather. I’ll find their truesouls in the River of Destiny and bring them back to life.”

King Yan didn’t say anything.

Both of them knew that the true essence of all living creatures came from their truesoul. Even if one’s soul was shattered, their truesouls would return to the mysterious River of Destiny…but it was far too hard to find a truesoul within it. According to the legends, only Maiden Nuwa, who had reached Pangu’s level of power, was capable of this. However…if one became a True God or Daofather then located Maiden Nuwa, they could ask Maiden Nuwa to intervene.

“I wish to make a trip to the Flowermont Immortal School,” Ning said calmly. “I want to pay a visit to that Adept Icebreak.”

“I’ll go with you. I’ve already collected a report regarding this ‘Icebreak’,” King Yan said. “He is now a Primal Daoist. Because the Flowermont Immortal School has a Celestial Immortal protecting it, it still exists. That Celestial Immortal is under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command, and it can be said that the two of us are on friendly terms. All we have to do is seek out Patriarch Flowermont; he won’t care about the life of a puny little Primal Daoist. Patriarch Flowermont can be said to be quite a noble man, righteous and unyielding, which is why the rules of his school are so strict. However, no matter how strict the rules are, it’s hard to avoid a few pests from invading.”

“I understand. I won’t fight with Patriarch Flowermont.” Ning nodded.

For every grievance, there is someone responsible for it; for every debt, there is a debtor.

Ning understood this principle. The reason why King Yan had said those words was because he was worried that Ning was going to go fight with the entire Flowermont Immortal School. It must be understood that Ning had once fought all of the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan by himself, eventually killing two of them. Given his power…there was no way the Flowermont Immortal School would be able to resist him.

……

The Flowermont Immortal School.

This was the number one school of the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world. The founding patriarch was Patriarch Flowermont, who remained alive to this very day. It was due to him that the fame of the Flowermont Immortal School was spread far and wide.

“Master.”

“Master.”

“Master.”

A series of maids called out respectfully as the confident, extraordinarily handsome Adept Icebreak walked past them with a smile. Everyone within the Flowermont Immortal School knew that Daoist Icebreak was a gentleman; his only flaw was that he loved beauties! However, he neither stole them nor seized them from others. For a person to have many maids by his side wasn’t too major a flaw.

“Autumn Water, you and the rest of the seven, attend me,” Daoist Icebreak said.

“Yes.”

Seven of the maids immediately assented respectfully. Their hearts, however, were filled with terror and unease. Outsiders were ignorant of this, but they knew exactly how savage and cruel Daoist Icebreak was. Some of the maids that he tortured and ravaged actually died from it! However, Daoist Icebreak would often send the older maids who were no longer beautiful back to their own clans and arrange for them to live good lives. This caused many of the disciples of the Flowermont Immortal School to praise Adept Icebreak for being a passionate, kind man.

Boom! A figure suddenly descended from the skies.

Daoist Icebreak frowned. Who dared to trespass within his territory? But then…

“Headmaster!” Daoist Icebreak was badly shocked. He hurriedly fell to his knees with respect.

“Follow me.” The Headmaster of the Flowermont Immortal School had a cold look on his face. He grabbed Daoist Icebreak, then dragged him into the skies.

Daoist Icebreak was utterly terrified on the way over…because the Headmaster was actually dragging him to the legendary residence of the Patriarch. Patriarch Flowermont was the founding patriarch of the school, a Celestial Immortal! Daoist Icebreak had never even seen him a single time. Why did the Patriarch wish to see him? He had never offended the Patriarch…could it be that he had just been singled out for his talent and was about to be made a personal disciple of the Patriarch?

Upon arriving, Daoist Icebreak saw a yellow-robed man on his knees, quivering.

“Father!” Daoist Icebreak was shocked to see his father, an Earth Immortal. He had always relied on his father to support him within the sect.

“Why haven’t you knelt yet?!” The yellow-robed man roared.

Adept Icebreak sank to his knees with a thud.

Moments later, the courtyard door in front of them creaked open, and three figures emerged.

“My two fellow Daoists…” A black-bearded man spoke with incomparable warmth.

Only now did the kneeling Daoist Icebreak give these three a glance. Although he had never seen the Patriarch before, there were portraits of the Patriarch within the school, and so he recognized right away that this black-bearded elder was Patriarch Flowermont. However…right now, even their founding Patriarch was treating these two guests with incomparable respect.

“Who are those two? Why is the Patriarch behaving so humbly and modestly towards them?” Daoist Icebreak couldn’t understand it.

Patriarch Flowermont, however, just gave the kneeling Daoist Icebreak a sideways glance. A cold look flashed through his eyes; that damned Daoist Icebreak had actually offended Ji Ning! The Wusky major world was one of Daofather Crimsonbright’s worlds, which meant Patriarch Flowermont was one of Daofather Crimsonbright’s Celestial Immortals. Word had long since spread amongst this group of Celestial Immortals that Ji Ning, all by himself, had fought against nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan, with one of them being Immortal Venomfreak. In the end, Ji Ning had managed to kill two of them, but he had been exiled after a plot caused him to be burned by karmic sinflames.

This news had instantly swept the various worlds, causing the many Celestial Immortals and True Immortals under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command to all feel admiration for Ji Ning.

He had trained for less than a century, and he was a Void-level in power…but he had fought against nine Celestial Immortals and killed two of them?!

“He even managed to come back after being exiled into a danger zone while being surrounded by karmic sinflames. A monster like this…his personal power is far greater than mine, while his background and his potential is even more astonishing.” Patriarch Flowermont naturally was enraged that Daoist Icebreak had caused his school to become enemies with this man.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, I truly feel ashamed that my school has given birth to such a vile miscreant! I’ve already summoned Daoist Icebreak. You choose what to do with him! Whether it is to simply kill him or to torture his soul for millions of years…fellow Daoist Ji Ning, do as you please!” Patriarch Flowermont said.

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Chapter 6 – The Curtains Are Raised

Chapter 6 – The Curtains Are Raised

Daoist Icebreak knelt there. He felt as though freezing icewater had just been poured across his entire body. He felt extremely cold, and his face had turned white. Kill him? Torture him? Torment his soul? Daoist Icebreak repeatedly kowtowed, smashing his forehead against the ground until blood began to pour from it. He screamed frantically, “Patriarch, Patriarch! Two seniors! Spare me, spare me! I’ve definitely never offended this senior, Ji Ning. Someone must have framed me. Framed me!”

Ji Ning just stood there, staring at the terrified, kneeling Daoist Icebreak. He was very calm.

The nearby King Yan, however, did speak out. “If I say you deserve to die, then you deserve to die!”

Daoist Icebreak’s heart trembled.

Right.

Even a Celestial Immortal like Patriarch Flowermont was so respectful of these two. If they wanted to kill him…did they even really need to give a good excuse?

The yellow-robed man knelt there by his side. He loved his son, but he didn’t dare to say a single word. He knew what sort of terrifying situation they were currently facing.

“Even if I have to die…senior, please tell me what I’ve done, exactly!” Daoist Icebreak was still frantically trying to find a way to survive. He suppressed his terror as he raised his head to look towards Ning. He had to find out what this was all about. Only when he understood the reason behind this could he explain and argue back. Otherwise, there was no way for him to even argue about it!

“In recent years…you’ve harmed quite a few mortals, haven’t you.” Ning’s voice was very calm. His eyes were very calm as well.

Daoist Icebreak’s body shook. He immediately collapsed supinely to the ground, a look of utter despair on his face.

Mortals?

Even he himself didn’t know how many woman had fallen into his hands, then been ravaged to death by him. Forget about mortals; even quite a few female cultivators had fallen into his hands. However…he had never left behind any traces.

“Who…who is this youth, that even the Patriarch must be wary of? Which mortal was he connected to? Little Sparrow? Nuan’er? Dongyou?” One figure after another flashed through Daoist Icebreak’s mind. These were images of the woman who had suffered under him that he remembered the most keenly.

“You harmed so many that you can’t even guess?” Ning said softly, “Then think it over, slowly, in Purgatory.”

A strange ripple suddenly reached Daoist Icebreak’s body. Daoist Icebreak’s body trembled. A look of despair and terror appeared in his eyes…and he stopped moving. His soul instantly flew out from his body. What Ning had just done was to hypnotize him, then forcibly rip his soul out of his body. A black bottle appeared in Ning’s hand which instantly sucked Daoist Icebreak’s soul into it. Green flames could vaguely be seen blazing within the bottle.

The kneeling, yellow-robed man stared at the flames in the bottle. His heart instantly shuddered. “Son…your father didn’t discipline you well enough.” He understood what his son’s flaws were, and he often urged his son to do better. Daoist Icebreak was always quite obedient in front of him…but as soon as he turned his head, Icebreak would go back to his old ways. All he did was hide it even better.

In the end, he felt that since his son focused on mortals, it shouldn’t make much of a difference, and so he didn’t reprimand his son too strongly.

“If one often walks by the riverside, one’s shoes will eventually get wet. He did too many evil deeds…one might be able to avoid retribution for a time, but no one can avoid retribution forever.” Only now did the yellow-robed man truly understand this saying. The righteous laws of Heaven applied to all men, and the wheel of karma turned without end; both had their own ways of punishing the wicked.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, this Daoist Icebreak has committed countless vile deeds. The only reason why this vile miscreant was able to live so long was because I didn’t maintain a firm enough grip over my disciples. Daoist Icebreak’s father, ‘Yangfish’, is right here as well. Without his father’s protection, how would this vile miscreant have dared to act so boldly? Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, punish him as you see fit; there’s no need to worry about me!” Patriarch Flowermont said.

A mere Void-level Earth Immortal truly meant very little to a Celestial Immortal.

Ning gave the yellow-robed man a glance.

King Yan had collected intelligence reports regarding both Daoist Icebreak and his father, and Ning had read them all. Daoist Icebreak was a hypocrite and a false gentleman who had done many vile deeds in secret, harming many people. His father, however, could be considered a righteous man. He didn’t do evil deeds and was quite an admirable person, and was also quite talented, which was why he had become a Void-level Earth Immortal. His only personality flaw was that he doted on his son too much.

“Let’s go,” Ning said to King Yan, then turned to look at Patriarch Flowermont. “Fellow Daoist Flowermont, we’ve disturbed you long enough. We’ll go back to the Grand Xia now.”

“Sure, sure.” Patriarch Flowermont smiled. “If you have free time, come and visit our Wusky world again.”

King Yan expressed his thanks as well, then he and Ning flew away on a cloud. They left the Flowermont Immortal School, then used a spatial teleport to leave.

After they left, Patriarch Flowermont’s face sank down as he looked at the yellow-robed man. “Yangfish, you failed as a father. Your son nearly caused our school a huge disaster. As the person who shielded him this entire time, you have to be punished. End your own life and go reincarnate.”

The yellow-robed man trembled. He didn’t dare to argue back; he immediately kowtowed, then his body imploded. Even his goldlotus primal soul dissipated. A wind blew past his body…and it completely dissipated, leaving behind no traces. His soul, escorted by the Dao of the Heavens, was sent to the minor Netherworld right away.

“Patriarch.” Only now did the nearby Flowermont Immortal School’s leader speak out. “Why did you order Yangfish to die? Didn’t senior Ji Ning decide to spare him?”

“The reason why fellow Daoist Ji Ning didn’t act against him was because he didn’t want to act against someone who wasn’t directly responsible.” Patriarch Flowermont shook his head. “However…what if Yangfish was to harbor hatred in his heart and, overestimating his abilities, tried to exact revenge in some form against Ji Ning? That would cause an utter disaster for our Flowermont Immortal School. In addition…although fellow Daoist Ji Ning seemed to have left, who knows if he secretly felt hatred for Yangfish or not? If I didn’t kill him…fellow Daoist Ji Ning might harbor a grudge! Thus, it is better to kill him….that way, fellow Daoist Ji Ning wouldn’t hold a grudge against me.”

The Headmaster now understood how carefully the Patriarch was behaving. He immediately asked, “Patriarch, who in the world is this Ji Ning, that you act so carefully around him? I took a careful look at him earlier, but I didn’t find any Immortal spirit-qi around him; he shouldn’t be a Celestial Immortal.”

The Patriarch gave him a glance. “He is not a Celestial Immortal; he is merely a Void-level Fiendgod. However, he was able to fight against nine mighty Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan in the world of the Grand Xia, and he even killed two of them. In addition…he was able to survive even the descent of karmic sinflames! Despite being merely at the Void-level, it wouldn’t be hard for him to wipe out our entire Flowermont Immortal School…and he is the disciple of a Daofather!”

“The disciple of a Daofather?!” The Headmaster had been feeling stunned by Ning’s power, but upon hearing this, he was truly terrified.

“Now do you understand?” Patriarch Flowermont said calmly, “Be it due to his power, his potential, or his background…I have to be careful around him.”

……

The two had teleported back to the world of the Grand Xia.

The world of the Grand Xia. Stillwater Commandery. The Black-White College. Ji Ning and King Yan both appeared in the skies above the College. They then flew towards Yu Wei’s residence.

It was late in the afternoon, almost nightfall.

“Junior apprentice-brother.”

“Little brother.”

Yu Wei and Yuchi Xiyue were waiting for them in the courtyard.

Ning nodded lightly. He didn’t feel the slightest bit of joy for having killed Daoist Icebreak. All he felt in his heart was pain…and an endless amount of hatred towards the Seamless Gate!

“Senior apprentice-sister…prepare some food. I’m going to eat a bit, then take a rest,” Ning said. “The Seamless Gate already sent their final diplomatic note; their attacks will come very soon. We need to make as many preparations as we can.”

“Alright.” Yu Wei could tell that Ning was in a terrible mood, and so she acceded to his request.

That night, during dinner. Xiyue did her best to bring up interesting topics so as to help improve Ning’s mood. Yu Wei did her best to help out as well. Ning forced out a smile, but his smile caused Xiyue and Yu Wei to both sigh inside. “The only thing we can do is wait for time to heal all wounds.”

Only later that night did Ning say a few things to Yu Wei, a few words from the bottom of his heart.

“This world is filled with injustices, and I’m unable to address them all. The countless cultivators and mortals of the world are all unable to address them all. The only ones who can change the world…are the likes of my master, and the other major powers who stand at the very top of the universe,” Ning said. “Right now, I, Ji Ning, am helpless to change this world…but after I become a True God or a Daofather, I’ll have a chance to change things.”

“I want to stand at the peak, to change everything. I want to protect you…protect our future children….protect the ones I love.” Ning sat there on a dais, Yu Wei in his arms. “I want to stand at the peak!”

“I want to change everything!”

“But first…I have to be strong enough.”

Ning raised his head to stare at the crescent moon in the skies.

Yu Wei looked at Ning. She could sense a terrifying determination within this youth’s heart.

“The more ambitions you have, the more accomplishments you will have.” This was something that she had once heard. It was within a dark region, where countless figures had been prostrating themselves, Yu Wei one of them. The ruler of that black region had spoken these words.

In this moment, as she lay next to Ning, Yu Wei understood the true meaning of those words that had been spoken by that terrifying figure.

A powerful heart…would have the power to change destiny itself.

“Perhaps…junior apprentice-brother truly will become a True God or a Daofather,” Yu Wei said quietly to herself. “By then…will I still be by his side? Will I still be accompanying him?”

……

In the coming days, Celestial Immortal Unity of Stillwater City, Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Ji Ning all began to make their preparations. They familiarized themselves with the formations protecting Stillwater City. Ning’s Primaltwin completely focused on meditating on the Dao, searching for the way to apply heartforce to Immortal swords! Previously, in the Nihilum Zone, Ning had only developed a way to apply heartforce to his sword-fingers.

There were a few differences between using sword-fingers and actual swords. Still…since both involved sword-arts, Ning was able to grasp the essence of it right away. However, he needed some time to reach a perfect level of mastery in it.

Ning felt eager…because once his Primaltwin completely mastered the art of applying heartforce to swords, he would undergo his Celestial Tribulation!

……

The Fifth World. The enormous, castle-like city, filled with countless towering edifices. The most towering edifice was the one where only Empyrean Gods or True Immortals could enter.

Within an enormous palace.

Scorching flames blazed in the very center of the palace. Surrounding the center, there were three massive thrones, with an azure-robed, white-skinned woman seated in the central throne. To her left sat a fire-robed man, while to her right sat a skinny, monkey-like elder.

“The Mount Stele major world has already been occupied. Only a few scattered pockets of resistance remain.” The azure-robed woman’s voice had a magnetic, soul-penetrating quality to it. “We can begin to transfer our forces over and truly begin to act against the world of the Grand Xia.”

“The power of the world of the Grand Xia…Mount Stele can’t begin to compare to it.” The skinny elder said in a low voice, “Our Bloodcloud Hall has infiltrated the Grand Xia, and I’ve even personally investigated it several times. The power of the Grand Xia Dynasty caused even me to feel shocked! Don’t forget that behind him stands Daofather Crimsonbright and Daofather Raindragon, as well as the Primordial Imperial Clan!”

“The human Imperial Clan…would they truly initiate a final battle against us for the sake of one of their branches?” The azure-robed woman shook her head. “They will not.”

“But the human Imperial Clan of the Primordial Era will send reinforcements,” the skinny elder warned. “Although we’ll be able to send over our forces from the Mount Stele world and many other places, I keep on having this feeling…that it is going to be dangerous, very dangerous. The world of the Grand Xia…this is probably the most powerful major world under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright.”

The azure-robed woman looked at the fire-robed man.

The fire-robed man laughed. “Don’t look at me. My Myriad Demons Cave is only responsible for manufacturing golems. The question of how to attack the world of the Grand Xia is the primary responsibility of your Seamless Gate.”

“Do you think I’m unaware of how hard it will be for us to deal with the Grand Xia world?” The azure-robed woman looked sideways at the skinny elder. “This time…we’ll act against more than half of the commandery cities of the Grand Xia as a test. This will be our first test, our first initial clash that comes before the true war. After the test, after we’ve gathered enough information…the final battle between our sides will begin.”

“Mm. And when do you plan to move?” The skinny elder asked.

“Ten days from now! We’ll send out two thousand units to attack in unison!” A cold light flashed through the azure-robed woman’s eyes.

The Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall and the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave both turned solemn. They had a feeling of tremendous pressure.

Finally…

They were finally going to act against the world of the Grand Xia, the toughest nut to crack of them all!

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Chapter 7 – The Grand Army Mobilizes

Chapter 7 – The Grand Army Mobilizes

It was a blazing summer day. The world seemed to have turned into a gigantic furnace; only late at night did things cool down a bit.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were standing at the top of a tower within their mountain peak estate. From this location, they could see nearly half of the entire Stillwater City.

“It’s been half a year since the Seamless Gate sent out that final note, but they still have yet to move. We have to wait carefully every day…I wonder how long they’ll keep us waiting?” Ning said.

“Right now, Stillwater City doesn’t just have Sword Immortal Unity; it also has you, junior apprentice-brother. You were able to fight back against nine mighty Celestial Immortals and slay two of them. Now that eighteen years have gone past, they probably have guessed that your power has risen yet again. How could the Seamless Gate behave rashly? They naturally need to make many preparations. To spend half a year in preparations to fight a Celestial Immortal who nearly has the power of a Pure Yang True Immortal, and who is supported by a peerlessly talented monster…it makes sense.” Yu Wei continued, “In addition, the more time passes…the more powerful their strike shall most likely be.”

Ning nodded. “I understand.”

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei looked at Ning, then said solemnly, “You absolutely must not underestimate the Seamless Gate.”

“Haha. Senior apprentice-sister, don’t worry. Last time, I ended up suffering mightily at the hands of the Youngflame clan. I’ve learned from that. This time…I definitely won’t be overconfident again.” Ning smiled. In recent days, Yu Wei had often reminded him to be careful, to be cautious. It seemed as though the Youngflame clan’s exile of him to the Void had caused her to fear something similar would reoccur.

Ning felt warmed and comforted by this sort of concern.

During the past half year, Ning had more than half-mastered the art of applying heartforce to his Immortal swords. Given a bit more time, he would have fully mastered it. Given that he was experienced in applying heartforce to his sword-fingers, his rate of improvement was quite quick. In addition, Ning also noticed that his rate of improvement in comprehending the Dao of the Sword had been incredibly fast during this past half year. Clearly, his comprehension of the first level of swordforce, which had allowed him to touch upon the innate essence of the sword, had given him a straight path towards fully understanding the Dao of the Sword.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a streak of coresense shot out.

Yu Wei’s face changed slightly.

Seeing this, Ning glanced at the skies. “Is it your turn to stand guard, senior apprentice-sister?”

“Yes.” Yu Wei nodded.

“Sword Immortal Unity truly is cautious; at every moment of every day, he’s using his coresense to cover the entire Stillwater City. Every day, our three Celestial Immortals will rotate in this duty, ensuring there is always perfect coverage.” Ning sighed. “As long as the Seamless Gate dares to draw close…there will be no way they can hide it from us at all.”

“We are in the light, while they are in the dark; we naturally must be cautious,” Yu Wei said. “We are also the weaker side to begin with; if we are overconfident, we’ll be in true danger.”

Ning nodded. “They’ve been preparing for so long. I really wonder what sorts of methods the Seamless Gate is preparing.”

“When they come, they will strike as swiftly as the thunder,” Yu Wei said solemnly.

Ning gave Yu Wei a glance. Of the three Celestial Immortals, Yu Wei was the most pessimistic of the lot. Her attitude had an impact on Ning and the others, causing them to become even more careful. For example, the usage of coresense to keep continual oversight over the city; in truth, this was an extremely tiring thing! Fortunately, their three Celestial Immortals rotated through this duty, which was why they were able to maintain this policy.

While Ji Ning and the forces of Stillwater City were waiting carefully, keeping their coresense spread over the city at all times…on this summer night, the grand army of the Seamless Gate finally began to make their move.

With that black, foggy cave.

Whoosh!

A group of masked, golden-robed figures flew out from the cave, then immediately dispersed into many small squads. They executed a void blink technique and disappeared.

……

A mysterious teleportation array within a gorge…suddenly flashed.

A large group of masked, golden-robed men immediately appeared within the array. They, too, separated into many small squads, then quickly teleported away to various locations.

……

Deep within a region of rippling fog, two golden-robed figures appeared.

……

In almost the same instant, two thousand squads had silently arrived at the world of the Grand Xia. They all dispersed towards their respective targets.

Within a desolate, wild region.

Two golden-robed figures were standing amidst the grass, message talismans in their hands.

“Big brother, thank goodness we joined the Seamless Gate rather than stay with the Xia Emperor. The Seamless Gate really is far too powerful. Their headquarters in the Fifth World…good heavens! We’ve seen over a million Celestial Immortals gathered together in an amazing display of power, but that represented almost all of the Celestial Immortals which Daofather Crimsonbright commands. But the Fifth World…heh heh, it definitely has at least as many Celestial Immortals as Daofather Crimsonbright does! In fact, when we went to go pay our respects to the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate, a True Immortal, he told us that those largest, most towering of edifices were meant for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to reside in. How many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals does that represent?!”

“Haha, third brother, don’t be frightened by the words of the Gatemaster. Yes, the power of the Fifth World is inconceivable…but there were more than a thousand of those towering edifices. I refuse to believe they have more than a thousand Empyrean Gods or True Immortals! In addition, I imagine that the Fifth World has most likely prepared multiple palaces for everyone at the level of the Gatemaster. Some are used for resting, some are used for training and meditation, some are used for receiving guests…and so if you calculate it that way, the number isn’t that terrifying.” The more heavyset golden-robed figure said, “However…that Fifth World truly is one of their headquarters with awesome power. They actually dared to gather so many forces there…that means they are at least capable of withstanding a Daofather. Otherwise, the Daofathers would’ve wiped them out long ago.”

“Right.” The other golden-robed man nodded.

“If the Fifth World used its full power against the world of the Grand Xia, they would probably be able to annihilate it in just a few days. But the Fifth World needs to assault many major worlds; it is the principal responsibility of that Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate to assault our Grand Xia,” the heavyset golden-robed man said.

“Only after we completely surrendered were we trusted enough to be allowed to go to the Fifth World,” the skinnier golden-robed figure said. “Now…this time, the Gatemaster assigned us to deal with the Flamedoor Commandery, and instructed us to fight with that female Immortal of the Flamedoor Commandery. However…it’s only meant to be an act, a mock-fight.”

“No need to even think about it; she’s probably joined the Seamless Gate as well. That’s why we are only going to put on a show of fighting her,” the heavyset golden-robed man said. “What’s true is false; what’s false is true. Only when the waters are muddied can one fish from them in secret. So long as Flamedoor Commandery comes under attack, the Xia Emperor will probably feel much less suspicion towards that female Immortal of the commandery.”

“Right. This time, we’ve been told that two thousand squads numbering more than ten thousand people have been sent out. I wonder how many are Celestial Immortals and how many are Loose Immortals? And how many are joinees like us, while how many were members of the Seamless Gate to begin with?”

“Who cares? That’s not for us to know or worry about.”

“Right. Still…why haven’t the talismans shattered yet?”

Both of them were holding a message talisman. Once the talisman shattered, it meant that the time had come for them to make their move!

They were waiting a few tens of thousands of kilometers outside of Flamedoor City; they’d be able to arrive there with a single void blink. They just needed the order.

Crack!

The talismans shattered.

The faces of both figures instantly changed. No longer in the mood to chat, they immediately void blinked towards Flamedoor City.

Deep within a foggy region outside Flamedoor City. A total of eighteen figures had appeared atop the clouds, each of whom were dressed in golden robes. However, their golden robes were slightly different from ordinary golden robes. Their golden robes were all covered with various decorations such as flowers, Godbeasts, clouds, mountains, and other things.

All of their auras were extraordinary.

“Everyone, per the orders of the Gatemaster, I shall lead you all today,” Celestial Immortal Violetgrass said. “I know that I am lacking in experience, and so I’d like to ask everyone to be patient with me.”

“Little sister Violetgrass, although you haven’t trained for very long, your talent is exceptional. You are now amongst the top-tier Celestial Immortals, comparable to the rest of us; I imagine that in the future, we’ll be asking you to take care of us!”

This was the response from the other Celestial Immortals.

They all knew quite well that Celestial Immortal Violetgrass was heavily doted upon by the Gatemaster, and she was also protected by Celestial Immortal Blackheaven and many other powerful figures. It was guaranteed that in the future, her status would be higher than theirs.

“This time, the Gatemaster has sent out two thousand squads; this shall be the final time we test the enemy’s strength in detail, with the true war against the Grand Xia to begin right afterwards. The purpose of all this is to get a good sense of any powers or abilities the Grand Xia is hiding. The mission of almost every squad is to probe the our foes, with a few squads meant for putting on a show; only very, very few squads are meant to wipe out the foes!” Celestial Immortal Violetgrass swept them with her gaze as she said solemnly, “And our squad…is one of those meant to wipe out our foes!”

“Celestial Immortal Unity is too stubborn; there’s no way he’ll bend the neck for us,” Violetgrass said. “He is incredibly powerful, and he might break through to the Pure Yang True Immortal level at any moment. His ability to wait and endure is also incredible; if we just let him do as he pleases, he’ll most likely become a major impediment to the Seamless Gate’s subjugation of the Grand Xia. Since we can’t recruit him…then we have to eliminate him!”

The Xia Emperor wasn’t sure about the loyalties of many Celestial Immortals; for example, he couldn’t be sure if even the capture of Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was part of an act or not. The Seamless Gate, however, knew everything! They knew that they truly had captured Hunchmont and had used everything they could think of to force Unity to capitulate…but alas, all their efforts had failed.

“At present, Stillwater City has Celestial Immortal Unity, Immortal Diancai, the Rainbowflame Fairy, and Sword Immortal Darknorth, also known as Ji Ning.” Violetgrass said seriously, “Immortal Diancai and the Rainbowflame Fairy are fairly weak; they aren’t worth mentioning. Celestial Immortal Unity and Sword Immortal Darknorth, however, are no ordinary figures. If Celestial Immortal Unity was by himself, there would be no need at all for the eighteen of us to join forces…but now, Sword Immortal Darknorth has emerged.”

The other seventeen all nodded.

They had all received reports regarding Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning. Prior to this, they had been battling across other major worlds. Only after being gathered here had they received Ji Ning’s intelligence report…and after reading it, they had been badly shocked.

Sword Immortal Darknorth…Ji Ning!

The champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, a disciple of one of the most supreme Daofathers of the Three Realms, a practitioner of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], a wielder of astonishing sword-arts, a possesser of incredible divine abilities, and who had been able to fight nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan as a Void-level Earth Immortal…and kill two of them! Although he had trained for less than a century, he was able to survive even the descent of karmic sinflames; he truly was an incomparably astonishing talent.

“Everyone present is a supreme Celestial Immortal, and you are all skilled in using the formation which the Godking created. The eighteen of us are able to somewhat unleash the power of this formation; it should be enough to dominate anyone below the Empyrean God or True Immortal level.” Violetgrass said solemnly, “Everyone already has a copy of the plan; we must act in accordance with it. We have to be careful, to tread lightly. If we are overconfident…then Celestial Immortal Unity and Sword Immortal Darknorth will be able to escape!”

“Of course.”

“If the eighteen of us fail even when fighting together…once word spreads, we would have no face at all.”

They had all reached Celestial Immortal Infatuation’s level of power; in fact, some were even slightly stronger.

The eighteen of them joining forces was a more terrifying prospect than a hundred ordinary Celestial Immortals joining forces! These were the true elites of the Seamless Gate; only when the Seamless Gate encountered a truly thorny foe would it send out these elites.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals waited there within the fog, waited for the final order to come. The two thousand squads had to strike at the same time!

A short while later…

Crack!

The message talismans in the hands of the eighteen Celesteial Immortals simultaneously shattered!

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Chapter 8 – Celestial Immortal Unity

Chapter 8 – Celestial Immortal Unity

“Let’s go.” Upon seeing the message talisman shatter, a cold light flashed through Celestial Immortal Violetgrass’ eyes. She immediately gave the order.

Whoosh!

Eighteen figures flew towards Stillwater City at high speed, riding the clouds. They were hidden fairly close to Stillwater City to begin with. Once they reached a distance of three thousand kilometers away from Stillwater City, their faces all changed.

“Coresense!”

“A Celestial Immortal from Stillwater City is keeping watch with coresense.”

“We’ve been discovered!”

The eighteen Celestial Immortals all had a bad feeling. They had guessed that Celestial Immortal Unity would be very cautious, but they had never expected this! It had been more than half a year since the final note had been sent…could it be that Celestial Immortal Unity had been maintaining his coresense watch for all that time?

In truth, even though Immortal Diancai, the Rainbowflame Fairy, and Celestial Immortal Unity rotated through this duty, it was still exhausting. Thus, they didn’t cover too much area with their coresense, just the entirety of Stillwater City and three thousand kilometers around it!

It must be understood that given how strong Celestial Immortals were, even the weakest of them would be able to easily stretch their coresense out to a hundred thousand kilometers. But of course, that could only be maintained for a short period of time.

“Although Celestial Immortal Unity is being quite cautious…that is as we expected,” Violetgrass sent mentally.

“Right.” The other Celestial Immortals weren’t worried.

“Let’s attack from here. No need to advance any further.” Violetgrass gave the order, and the eighteen Celestial Immortals descended from the skies into the desolate wilderness.

Violetgrass released her own coresense, reaching out to touch the coresense of the Celestial Immortal within Stillwater City. Since they had been discovered, there was no need to hide themselves any further. “Unity, our Seamless Gate has arrived. Hurry up and surrender!”

……

Night.

Stillwater City.

“The Seamless Gate has arrived!” Yu Wei sent this mental message through coresense. Instantly, two other figures flew into the skies and towards her at high speed. One was Celestial Immortal Unity, who flew out from the Marquis Estate; the other was Immortal Diancai. As for Ji Ning…he had been with Yu Wei this entire time.

The entire Stillwater City was merely nine thousand kilometers long, and the Marquis Estate was fairly close to the Black-White College; they were able to instantly assemble.

“They came?” Celestial Immortal Unity landed, his eyes filled with a shocking desire for battle.

“Right. They are three thousand kilometers away from the east gate of Stillwater City,” Yu Wei said. “Once they saw my coresense, they immediately landed. They haven’t advanced any further.”

Celestial Immortal Unity laughed, his laughter filled with a savage killing intent. “Three thousand kilometers? That’s enough! They’ve already entered the range of our formations.”

“Fellow Daoist Unity,” Immortal Diancai said hurriedly, “The actual city of Stillwater City was created by the Grand Xia Dynasty; it innately contains tremendous power, and is also filled with many formations. If they don’t enter the city proper, there’s no way for us to use the innate formations that are built into the city; we can only use the formations which the Northmont clan have laid down. Those formations are significantly weaker; at most, we’ll be able to slow them down a bit.”

“That’s already enough,” Celestial Immortal Unity said with a laugh. “The Seamless Gate is very cautious; there’s no way they’d be so stupid as to rush straight into the city proper. Activate the formations right now and take control over them.”

“Alright.” Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai both nodded.

Both of them were Celestial Immortals; when one used Celestial Immortal-level power to activate a formation, the strength of the formation would increase markedly.

……

Celestial Immortal Violetgrass and the other seventeen Celestial Immortals stood there within the wilderness, quietly staring at that massive city. Although they were three thousand kilometers away, they could still see it with the naked eye.

Rumble…

Suddenly, the world itself seemed to change.

Although it was night…an enormous cloud of fire suddenly appeared in the air above the entire city of Stillwater. Immediately afterwards, the world itself shook. First, an enormous barrier of light appeared, covering the entirety of Stillwater City as well as a region of nearly nine thousand kilometers around it! This grand sealing formation had a diameter of eighteen thousand kilometers!

“A sealing formation?” Celestial Immortal Violetgrass swept it with a glance; this grand formation had trapped the nearby mountains, forests, and wilderness as well. Since they were three thousand kilometers away from the city, they were naturally included within the formation.

Whoooosh.

Fog began to billow out.

Space began to distort.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals, however, remained quite calm. Violetgrass had seen many things and had an extraordinary status, while the other seventeen had engaged in wars of conquest across other major worlds; they had plenty of experience in these things. They could immediately tell that this sort of grand formation would at most be able to slow them down a bit, but wouldn’t be able to have much of an impact. In truth, it wasn’t too likely that clans like the Northmont clan of Stillwater could have excessively powerful formations!

“There’s no need for us to take things head-on for now,” Violetgrass sent mentally. “Given how proud Celestial Immortal Unity is…once he’s trapped us here, he’ll definitely take the initiative to attack us. If he truly is so cowardly as to refuse to come out…then we’ll use our formation to break through his formation with overpowering force.”

“Right.”

“Don’t worry.”

These Celestial Immortals were neither overconfident nor in a rush.

For the sake of killing Celestial Immortal Unity, they had made very detailed preparations. However, at their level…in the end, what mattered the most was power! Thus, the eighteen which the Seamless Gate had gathered here today had more than enough power to slay Celestial Immortal Unity and give him no way to escape.

……

The walls of Stillwater City.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Four figures descended upon them; Celestial Immortal Unity, Immortal Diancai, Ji Ning, and Yu Wei. Through their control over the formation, Ji Ning and the others were able to see through the bewildering fog and find those eighteen distant Celestial Immortals, even though those eighteen themselves couldn’t even tell north from south.

“There’s actually eighteen of them?” Immortal Diancai was startled. He gave Unity a glance. “Fellow Daoist Unity, last time you defeated a combined team of thirty-six Celestial Immortals. This time, even though they know that my disciple Ji Ning has returned, they actually have only sent eighteen? It seems as though these eighteen are definitely extraordinary Celestial Immortals.”

Ning said, “Fellow Daoist Unity, the Seamless Gate has come with ill intentions. The two of us should fight together; I’ll fight in close combat, while you attack from far away. If we join forces…”

“No need.” Unity shook his head.

Years ago, when Ning had first met Unity, he had referred to him as ‘senior’. However, now that Ning was famous for having fought nine Celestial Immortals head-on and killing two of them, Ning clearly had power comparable to that of a supreme Celestial Immortal. When also factoring in the fact that the Black-White College was his principle source of assistance in dealing with this assault from the Seamless Gate…Unity was naturally no longer willing to allow Ning and the others to refer to him as ‘senior’.

However, in their hearts, Ning and Immortal Diancai continued to feel great reverence for this senior of theirs, Unity.

“No need?” Ning was surprised.

“This battle today is primarily the culmination of my feud with the Seamless Gate,” Unity said. “Your Black-White College has already helped me by maintaining a coresense watch for half a year, and you are helping me right now by maintaining this formation. I already feel very grateful for all of this. In this battle with the Seamless Gate…there’s no need for you to intervene! The Seamless Gate has definitely prepared many techniques to deal with me, and they must feel confident in their chances. Then if you were to go…I don’t want to sound rude, but if you go, your chances of death are very high.”

Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei both nodded slowly.

Right.

They knew exactly how formidable Celestial Immortal Unity was; he was almost as strong as a Pure Yang True Immortal! To kill someone like this…the Seamless Gate had to prepare an even more powerful force. If the two of them went, they truly might die if they weren’t careful.

“But isn’t that going to make things even more dangerous for you, fellow Daoist?” Immortal Diancai asked hurriedly.

“Hahaha, they have their tricks…but so do I!” Unity said confidently, “They’ve never forced me to the point of going all out before.”

Immortal Diancai nodded slowly. Right. Unity had hidden himself away for countless eons, and almost everyone in the Three Realms had thought him to be dead. How strong, exactly, had he become over the course of so many years? Aside from Unity himself, most likely no one else knew.

“Fellow Daoist Unity, even a lion fighting against a rabbit should use all his might,” Ning said hurriedly. “The two of them are Ki Refiners, but I am a Fiendgod Body Refiner…”

“No need.” Unity frowned. Upon seeing Ning persevere, he added, “If you go, you’ll actually slow me down.”

Ning blinked.

“Friends of the Black-White College, just watch me butcher them.” Unity immediately transformed into a streak of white light as he flew far away.

“Ji Ning, the reason why senior Unity spoke so rudely was because he doesn’t want you to go,” Immortal Diancai said. “He’s a proud, solitary figure by nature; we’ve already helped him a lot, and he doesn’t want to accept our help any further.”

“I understand. I’m not angry at all.” Ning stared off into the distance. “Let’s watch senior Unity battle the Seamless Gate first. If he really does fall into a dangerous situation, I can intervene then.”

“Junior apprentice-brother, don’t be rash. Watch first.” Yu Wei stared off into the distance as well. “Get a sense for exactly how strong they are. If the Seamless Gate is too powerful…there’s no need for us to throw our lives away.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

……

Violetgrass and the other seventeen Celestial Immortals completely ignored the surrounding fog, as well as the illusory images that appeared around them. Suddenly…Violetgrass frowned slightly.

“Assemble into formation,” Violetgrass sent mentally. “Baxia.”

Instantly, the eighteen Celestial Immortals moved into formation. Six floated in the air while the other twelve remained standing on the ground. At the same time, they began to use their Immortal energy to manifest black tattoo lines. The lines quickly intersected, causing black runes to levitate into the air. Instantly, a blurry light began to cover the eighteen, slowly solidifying into the form of an enormous black Dragonturtle. The Dragonturtle lay there on the ground, raising its head upwards and letting out a ferocious howl.

Roaaaaaar!

The draconic roar echoed throughout the world, causing even the surrounding mist to somewhat disperse.

“Baxia the Dragonturtle, one of the Nine Sons of the Dragon?” A clear voice rang out as the mist part in front of them. Space solidified, and a long-haired man appeared standing in the air. He no longer looked as ordinary and low-key as he usually did; rather, he looked like a sharp, unsheathed sword that had revealed its fierceness. The long-haired man roared with laughter, “The Baxia Dragonturtle Formation, a formation that manifests one of the Primordial Godbeasts…quite a formidable formation, and one that is suited for defense. This is the perfect counter for me.”

“Unity, you still have a chance to join our Seamless Gate,” Violetgrass said coldly.

“Oh?” Unity shook his head. “As a person…I really hate it when others try to force me to do something. I’d rather die standing than live kneeling. Come, then…receive a blow from my sword!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh

Six streaks of sword-light shot out from Celestial Immortal Unity’s head. As they flew through the air, the six streaks began to merge together. Countless runes of light sparkled and flashed as the six Immortal swords completely fused into a single massive broadsword. The broadsword flashed with a white light that caused the hearts of those who saw it to turn cold; this was was the legendary ‘Supreme Immortal Sword’.

“Arise.” Unity had an icy look on his face as he unleashed a sword-art that he had never before used in battle.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, within a hundred kilometers of this area, five pillars of light appeared and soared into the skies. These five pillars of light were gold, green, blue, crimson, and yellow, while above the enormous Supreme Immortal Sword appeared two enormous clouds, one white and one black. These two clouds circled and swirled around each other, looking like an enormous Taiji symbol.

The power of this stance was so great that the faces of Violetgrass and the eighteen Celestial Immortals all changed.

“The intelligence report never mentioned such a powerful sword-art!” One of the Celestial Immortals couldn’t help but sent a frantic mental message to the others.

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Chapter 9 – Ji Ning! Ji Ning!

Chapter 9 – Ji Ning! Ji Ning!

“Our Baxia Dragonturtle Formation can definitely defend against it,” Celestial Immortal Violetgrass sent frantically. “Let’s make our move as well. Fight back! Kill him!”

As Celestial Immortal Unity used his sword-art, the eighteen enemy Celestial Immortals all activated their own magic treasures as well. They had used the Baxia Dragonturtle Formation and had pooled their Immortal energy together, causing their strength to increase. Now, every single one of them was capable of exploding forth with power comparable to Ji Ning’s, back before Ji Ning suffered the descent of karmic sinflames.

All sorts of colors began to flash in the skies as many magic treasures and spells shot out like a meteor shower, slicing through the air and striking towards Unity.

“The Five Elements are the foundation, the Taiji serves as the guide…this is my Supreme Immortal Swordland.” Light flashed in Unity’s eyes, so dense as to seem almost material. His voice rang out loudly, and the enormous Supreme Immortal Sword within the skies began to come crashing downwards. As it pressed downwards…the enormous Taiji cloud above it, as well as the five pillars of light around it, all instantly connected to it.

An enormous sword-world that was a hundred kilometers in size had been created!

The Supreme Immortal Sword pressed downwards at high speed, and the size of the sword-world was rapidly shrinking as well, from a hundred kilometers to ten kilometers, as it clashed against the magic treasures and spells of those eighteen Celestial Immortals.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions could be heard. The Supreme Immortal Swordland trembled, seemingly growing weaker.

However, the distant Unity just pushed a little bit more of his Immortal energy into it. At the same time, those five roving Five Elements light pillars and the Taiji clouds once more filled the Supreme Immortal Swordland with energy, causing its power to once more be restored.

“Even joining forces, we still can’t break it? This supreme ability of Celestial Immortal Unity is actually a sword-world attack on this level. One can’t even flee from it; it truly is enough to cause one to feel despair. No wonder he is known as the Supreme Sword Immortal.” The faces of the eighteen Celestial Immortals changed. Although the power of each of their magic treasures and spells had increased dramatically, their attacks were scattered and not unified; there was no way to merge their attacks together, and so they were all blocked by the Supreme Immortal Swordland.

The Supreme Immortal Sword continued to press downwards!

The entire sword-world continued to rapidly shrink, quickly compressing down to the size of the enormous Baxia Turtledragon beneath it.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals frantically poured in more of their own Immortal energy to further stabilize the Baxia formation; this formation was extremely suited for defense, and the eighteen entrusted all of their hopes to it.

BOOM! An enormous explosion.

The Supreme Immortal Sword had stabbed straight into the shell of the Baxia Turtledragon, while runes flowed across the shell, striving to defend against the sword.

“….Eh?” Unity’s face changed slightly.

“Blocked it. Blocked it!”

“Haha, he’s just a single Celestial Immortal, after all; no matter how formidable his abilities are, he’s just ‘close to’ the power of a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

“Did you really think it would be so easy to break this Baxia Formation?”

The eighteen Celestial Immortals instantly felt complete confidence.

“Descend.” Unity waved his finger, once more executing the Supreme Immortal Swordland. He wanted to launch multiple attacks to break through the enemy’s defensive formation.

…….

The other three watched the battle from far. By using his Supreme Immortal Swordland, Unity had completely crushed the Seamless Gate’s forces; although the Seamless Gate’s forces had a strong defensive formation, their attacks were completely useless against Unity.

“Senior Unity is controlling the entire battle,” Immortal Diancai said with a laugh. “He truly is far too powerful. His sword not only includes the Grand Dao of Taiji, it also includes many of the profound mysteries of the Five Elements. He’s perfectly merged them all together into this sword-stroke…most likely, not even a real Pure Yang True Immortal would necessarily have such a powerful technique.”

Ning nodded.

For a Celestial Immortal to have close to a Pure Yang True Immortal’s power required the Celestial Immortal to be at a very high level of insight into the Dao, and have techniques that were even more powerful than a True Immortal’s. This Supreme Immortal Swordland was most likely the result of a fusion of multiple Grand Daos. Although none of these Grand Daos were fully mastered, this sort of perfect fusion was no weaker than a sword-art derived from the complete mastery of a full Grand Dao.

“Quick, look!” The nearby Yu Wei’s face suddenly changed.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed as well.

The eighteen distant Celestial Immortals who originally formed into the Baxia Dragonturtle Formation had all retrieved their various magic treasures. The area around them began to manifest multiple azure runes. The eighteen Celestial Immortals gritted their teeth, using their full power as they generated countless strings of power to cover the entire Baxia Formation. Soon…from the shell of the Baxia Dragonturtle appeared the head of an enormous azure serpent. A Turtle-Snake had just been formed, and its power was clearly tremendous.

“A Turtle-Snake?”

“Xuanwu!”

The faces of Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, and even Celestial Immortal Unity changed.

The Turtle-Snake had an extremely unique status within the Three Realms. Every single Ki Refiner, upon reaching the Primal-level, would manifest a Primal Turtle-Snake soul. As for Xuanwu the Turtle-Snake…he was a truly powerful figure who had lived since the days of the primordial Pangu’s World, and who was honored by everyone with the awe-inspiring title of Grand Emperor. This Turtle-Snake Formation was unfathomably more profound and complicated than the previous Baxia Formation.

“The Baxia Formation was extremely strong defensively to begin with, while this Turtle-Snake Formation was built atop the Baxia Formation, using it as a base and further perfecting it.” Upon seeing the enormous Turtle-Snake appear, Unity immediately knew what was happening. “This Turtle-Snake formation…it has the defensive power of the Baxia Dragonturtle Formation, but also has an incredibly strong attack.”

Suddenly…

Whoosh!

The titanic azure serpent, previously coiled, suddenly opened its giant, bloody maw. The body of the azure serpent suddenly increased explosively in size as its head transformed to become a hundred kilometers long, seemingly capable of swallowing the universe itself. Unity hurriedly used his Supreme Immortal Sword to block, but the serpent head seemed to be illusory, biting down and swallowing Unity within it. Unity hurriedly controlled the Supreme Immortal Sword to transform back into six streaks of sword-light that returned to his side, protecting him.

“What?!”

“But, but…” Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei were both stunned.

“Heaven Swallower?” Ning frowned. This was an ability which Grand Emperor Xuanwu was born with…and this Turtle-Snake Formation was actually capable of replicating it? Clearly, the creator of this formation had perfected this formation to a level where it was nearly identical to an actual Turtle-Snake.

“In our Turtle-Snake Formation, the turtle focuses on defense while the snake focuses on attack.” Violetgrass and the rest of her Celestial Immortals were quite delighted; this Turtle-Snake Formation had just as strong a defense as the earlier Baxia Formation had. This was indeed quite a flawless formation with astonishing power. However, it was extremely hard to execute; these eighteen supreme Celestial Immortals were only able to just barely set it up with tremendous effort.

“Kill!”

Unity was completely trapped within the body of the azure serpent. He once more executed his Supreme Immortal Swordland from inside the body, but as he did yet another serpent head appeared, beginning to wildly assault him. The serpent head would appear and disappear at random in an unpredictable manner, causing Unity to be an extremely difficult situation. From the looks of it, he wouldn’t be able to hold on for too long.

“Once the Turtle-Snake Formation appears, it dominates anyone below the Empyrean God or True Immortal level.” Violetgrass and the others were all completely confident.

……

“It’s over.”

“Not even Celestial Immortal Unity can break this Turtle-Snake Formation, and the attacks of that azure serpent are unpredictable and unfathomable.” Immortal Diancai, standing at the walls of Stillwater City, revealed a look of despair. Yu Wei’s face was ashen as well. Neither of them were in a position to help. In the face of the power of the Turtle-Snake Formation…they both knew that they were far too weak.

Most likely, only a true Empyrean God or True Immortal would be able to break this formation.

“Damn.” Ning’s face changed when he saw this. He could tell that Unity wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer.

Swoosh!

Ning immediately executed the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] and charged out.

“Ji Ning!” Immortal Diancai’s face instantly changed dramatically. “Ji Ning, don’t go! STOP!”

“JUNIOR APPRENTICE-BROTHER!” Yu Wei began to panick as well. She hurriedly moved to use the formation to impact Ning and prevent him from going out.

However…all three of them, Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and Immortal Diancai, were very familiar with this formation. In fact, each of them had left their own runic imprints upon the core of the formation; any of the four were capable of taking control over it! The formation might be able to block others, but there was no way it could block Ji Ning.

“Junior apprentice-brother, that formation is too powerful. Not even Celestial Immortal Unity is a match for it. Don’t be a fool!” Yu Wei sent frantically with her coresense.

“Disciple, as your master, I order you to come back RIGHT NOW!” Immortal Diancai grew even more frantic.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two were so frantic that they flew out from the city walls, chasing after Ning.

Although they had faith in Ning’s power…they had just personally witnessed the utterly terrifying might of the Turtle-Snake Formation. In terms of defensive strength, not even the most powerful sword attack of Celestial Immortal Unity could break it. In terms of offensive strength, that azure serpent was unfathomable and mysterious in its movements, and it could even seemingly swallow the heavens themselves. Even Unity was at the brink of death! If Ji Ning became trapped in the azure serpent as well…that would mean he, too, would be doomed!

Swoosh! Ning didn’t slow down at all.

“Ji Ning, that Turtle-Snake Formation’s azure serpent is clearly perfect for binding and restricting the movements of foes. Although your body is unbreakable as a magic treasure, this formation is a perfect counter for you. If you go, you’ll die!” Yu Wei frantically flew towards Ning’s direction, but Ning had the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] divine ability; given his speed, how could Yu Wei possibly catch up to him?

And…by now, Ning had already reached the Turtle-Snake Formation.

The eighteen Celestial Immortals of the Seamless Gate were using their full power to have the Turtle-Snake Formation kill Unity. Now, however, they saw Ji Ning flying towards them.

“Ji Ning?”

“He actually dares to come after seeing the power of our Turtle-Snake Formation?” The eighteen Celestial Immortals were shocked.

“Perfect. We’ll first use our full power to have the formation kill Unity, and after Unity dies we will kill Ji Ning! We’ll break them apart one by one, then kill them all! As for Ji Ning…just let the turtle part of the formation block his attacks,” Violetgrass sent mentally.

“Right.” The other seventeen agreed with here.

After all…if they had to simultaneously deal with both Ji Ning and Unity, it would be quite taxing, even for them. Thus, it was better to first ignore Ji Ning and focus on killing Unity, then dealing with Ji Ning next. The defense of the Turtle-Snake Formation was comparable to the Baxia Formation, so he wouldn’t be an issue anyways.

Whoosh!

As Ning appeared, the fingers of his right hand suddenly formed into sword-fingers. Swish! His sword-fingers instantly expanded to become more than three thousand meters long. They were like an enormous sword that filled the entire sky, and at the tip of the sword-fingers there was a silvery-white aura. In this instant, Ning activated the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], and also poured his heartforce into his sword-fingers.

The [Starseizing Hand]…swordforce…and heartforce. All together!

“Junior apprentice-brother!”

“Ji Ning!” Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai, paying attention to nothing else, flew over towards Ning, panicking as they watched this all happen.

Whooooosh.

The utterly enormous sword-fingers descended with unfathomable power.

Only when the sword-fingers actually slammed against the Turtle-Snake Formation did the faces of the eighteen Celestial Immortals suddenly change, and change dramatically at that. However…it was too late. SLASH! The Turtle-Snake Formation was completely unable to withstand this terrifying sword-finger attack of Ning’s. It was instantly ripped apart!

As the three thousand meter long sword-fingers broke through the Turtle-Snake Formation, it sliced sideways as well. The Celestial Immortals all felt as though mountains were slamming against them…and in an instant, six Celestial Immortals died!

“But…” Violetgrass and the other surviving Celestial Immortals were stunned. “Impossible. This Turtle-Snake Formation is invincible against anyone below the Empyrean God or True Immortal level.”

Yes. Normally speaking, this Turtle-Snake Formation they used truly was invincible against anyone below the Empyrean God or True Immortal level.

But Ji Ning…was different.

When he fought against the Youngflame clan, he was already very close to being at the very peak of power possible for a Celestial Immortal. Afterwards, in the Nihilum Zone, had had broken through to the seventeenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; this breakthrough in divine power alone had put him very close to a Pure Yang True Immortal in terms of combat power, comparable to Celestial Immortal Unity!

In addition to that…Ning’s heartforce had reached the third stage, and he had gained swordforce as well.

He was now able to instantly use up a fifteenth of his third-stage heartforce in a single blow. This represented an utterly astonishing amount of power! And now, swordforce was added into the mix as well! Ji Ning, who had already been close to a Pure Yang True Immortal in power, had instantly leapt past that gap. In terms of attack power, he already had truly reached the level of an Empyrean God or True Immortal!

“Can it be that he’s actually an Empyrean God or a True Immortal?!” Violetgrass and the others stared in terror at the distant Ji Ning. All of them began to move to flee, no longer even thinking about fighting back…but Ning let out a savage roar:

“THREE HEADS, SIX ARMS!”

Whooooooosh.

That single set of sword-fingers…had suddenly transformed into six sets of sword-fingers, slashing through the skies towards them.

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Chapter 10 – Great Danger

Chapter 10 – Great Danger

“Impossible. There’s no way he can be an Empyrean God or True Immortal. If he had already overcome his tribulation…there’s no way he could’ve hidden it past us, the Seamless Gate!” Violetgrass and the rest of the twelve surviving Celestial Immortals began to flee in terror. Ji Ning’s tremendous power was great enough for them to feel that he was an Empyrean God or a True Immortal…but that didn’t make sense!

It wasn’t possible!

Ji Ning had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and was capable of masking an Immortal aura, but he still had to undergo the Celestial Tribulation; there was no way something like that could’ve escaped the eyes of the Seamless Gate! In fact…no tribulation of any living creature in the Three Realms could escape the eyes of the Seamless Gate!

“Ahhh!” A fleeing Celestial Immortal with a big bushy beard attempted to use a large gourd to block, but Ning’s sword-finger knocked it flying away, then executed him. He perished and his Dao came to an end.

“How could Ji Ning be this powerful?!” The various Celestial Immortals all let out agonized cries of grief and rage. Sword-fingers criss-crossed the skies with annihilating, slaying power.

“The intelligence reports were wrong. WRONG!”

“What the hell?!”

“I can’t believe this!”

These Celestial Immortals were all elites of the Seamless Gate. They normally only acted after they were given very accurate intelligence reports; as the saying went, only when one knew one’s self and one’s foes could one be the victor in every battle. A major error like this…it had truly never happened before! At their level, once one made a single error of this magnitude, the penalty would be one’s life!

Ning executed [Three Heads, Six Arms]. His six sword-fingers assaulted six different Celestial Immortals…but these six strikes only used the [Starseizing Hand] and swordforce. His seventeenth stage [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] power, combined with the Fourth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], was already comparable to that of supreme Celestial Immortals. If he added swordforce to it as well…his power was definitely no longer than that of Celestial Immortal Unity’s.

In other words…Ning’s six sword-fingers were like six Celestial Immortal Unity’s.

Right now, the enemy formation had already been shattered. They were all fleeing; there was no need for him to add his heartforce into the mix. Heartforce was far too tiring, and each full-strength blow from his sword used up a fifteenth of it. He could only use it for fifteen strikes; naturally, Ning was going to save it for the most critical moments.

“Hmph.” A cold light flashed through through Ning’s eyes. He showed no mercy at all with his killing blows.

His six sword-fingers instantly slaughtered five of the Celestial Immortals. One of them had been aimed towards the woman…and this one failed.

“Eh?” Ning glanced towards the woman in surprise. A thick layer of azure light had appeared around her body. This azure light was protecting her, having blocked Ning’s earlier sword-finger.

……

“Too powerful. Our intelligence reports were completely wrong.” Violetgrass was still terrified. A pair of talismans appeared in her hands, as well as a Dao-seal. The Dao-seal was a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal…however, using it would require time. Given Ning’s attack speed, that period of time would be more than enough for him to launch more than ten attacks.

Crack! Crack!

Shattering the talismans could be done near-instantly. Violetgrass immediately shattered the two talismans belonging to the two powerful experts capable of saving her.

Her status in the Seamless Gate was extremely special, and she was protected by several major figures. Aside from the supreme Celestial Immortals such as Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, there were two True Immortals as well; the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate and her brother-in-law, True Immortal Gaudy.

……

The distant Fifth World.

Within one of the towering edificies, the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate, the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave, and the Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall were staring at many mirrors that were hanging in midair. The mirrors had many different images within them; these were their various gathering spots within the world of the Grand Xia. They were using Pure Yang treasures to keep watch over the battles in those areas and also transmit the images back.

Many of the images would often flicker through various locations. There were ten-plus water mirrors, however, which had stable images within them. This was because these ten-plus water mirrors were keeping watch over missions where the goal was to kill the foes.

“Not good.”

“Something unexpected has just happened at Stillwater city.”

“It’s Ji Ning!”

The faces of three leaders changed dramatically as they turned to focus on one of the water mirrors. The water mirror displayed the image of a youth soaring into the heavens. His sword-finger chopped through the heavens and broke apart the Turtle-Snake Formation. The cold look on the youth’s face, that heart-stoppingly sharp aura and pose, and the sharp silvery-white light at the tip of the sword-fingers all caused them to shudder in amazement.

“This Ji Ning’s aura is far more terrifying than it was eighteen years ago.”

“Is that…swordforce coming from his sword-fingers?”

“Can it be that he’s mastered the Dao of the Sword?”

The three leaders were truly rather stunned. They had guessed long ago that Ji Ning, having survived the descent of the karmic sinflames, would have grown somewhat more powerful but…in the Nihilum Zone, there was no way to sense any of the Grand Daos! Logically speaking, Ji Ning shouldn’t have improved much with regards to the Daos. Given that he had yet to overcome his tribulation…there should’ve been a limit to how much he could’ve grown stronger. However, Ji Ning had just slapped their expectations in the face!

They could never have guessed that Ji Ning would’ve been able to come up with a way to apply heartforce, all on his own!

“Azurefox, what should we do?” The Cavemaster of the Myriad Demon Caves and the Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall both looked towards the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate.

The azure-robed woman said softly, “The results of that battle have already been determined. There’s no way to change things. Still…Violetgrass has True Immortal Gaudy standing behind her. If she’s in any life-threatening danger, she’ll definitely break the talisman which Gaudy gave her. I trust that Gaudy will definitely intervene to save her. If Gaudy goes, that’ll be enough. Right now, the question in my mind is…what are we supposed to do about this Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning…” The fire-robed man and the skinny elder both began to frown.

“I guessed long ago that he would eventually become an impediment to our subjugation of the Grand Xia, but I didn’t expect that he would become so powerful even prior to overcoming his tribulation. If we wait and let him overcome his tribulation and become an Empyrean God…that’s not acceptable!” The azure-robed woman shook her head. “I really wonder who the hell his master is, for him to produce a monster like this…”

For a peerless monster like this to be forged, not only did the ‘raw materials’ have to be superb, the master had to be good as well. They had no idea…that behind Ji Ning stood the most mysterious Daofather of the Three Realms, Patriarch Subhuti, as well as the already-deceased Daoist Threelives, the creator of the [Starseizing Hand], the supreme divine ability that had shaken the Three Realms.

As the saying went, the master could show the way but the student had to walk the path. Still…the master showing the way came first! Ning was indeed born to be a peerless Sword Immortal, but if he didn’t have the [Starseizing Hand] divine ability, there’s no way he could’ve become as monstrous as this. If he hadn’t learned [Houyi’s Archery], he probably wouldn’t have been able to come up with a way to apply heartforce. He would only be a ‘normal’ but powerful Sword Immortal. But of course…a good master and a good student made for a good pair; both were necessary! Several people had the chance to learn the [Starseizing Hand], and quite a few had learned [Houyi’s Archery], but how many of them had ever reached Ning’s level?

……

“Inconceivable.”

Celestial Immortal Unity, having dodged a disaster, was stunned by Ji Ning. For a moment, he had many complicated, strange feelings in his heart.

“Where do you think you are going?” Unity quickly came back to his senses. Letting out an angry roar, he immediately controlled his Supreme Immortal Sword to go slaughter the fleeing Celestial Immortals.

Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai, who had been chasing after Ning from behind, were both stunned as well.

They felt both shock and joy.

Shock…because Ji Ning was this powerful! Too powerful!

Joy…because the more powerful Ji Ning was, the better!

The entire situation had been completely changed. Those eighteen Celestial Immortals had been dominating Unity, but now they were being chased and slaughtered.

“KILL!” Ning showed no mercy whatsoever. Moments ago, he had used a single full-force sword-finger to wipe out six Celestial Immortals. Just now, he had killed five more…leaving only seven survivors.

[Three Heads, Six Arms]! [Starseizing Hand]!

Six sword-fingers once more streaked through the heavens in every direction.

“Die!” Unity also controlled his Supreme Immortal Sword to chase after and slaughter the remaining foes.

“The storm has come. Yesterday, I killed others; today, others shall kill me.” As a skinny Celestial Immortal’s magic treasure was knocked flying away, he shut his eyes. The only thing that had been in his eyes was tranquility. A calamitous storm had swept the entire Three Realms, and even the likes of Ji Ning, Celestial Immortal Unity, Yu Wei, and the others had all mentally prepared themselves for death.

Thus…they had to seize every opportunity that appeared before them. When slaughtering weak foes, no mercy was to be shown.

Kill! Kill! KILL!

One Celestial Immortal after another died. One of Ning’s six sword-fingers once more struck towards the fleeing Celestial Immortal Violetgrass.

BOOM! The azure light around Violetgrass was actually able to endure the blows, but it was now clearly shuddering.

However…this time, Ning’s six sword-fingers only managed to slay three Celestial Immortals. Aside from Violetgrass, two others had managed to survive as well.

“I have to survive. I have to!” A Celestial Immortal with triangular pupils had a twisted look on his face and a terrifying look in his eyes. He manifested an Immortal estate out of nowhere, then disappeared into it.

The other Celestial Immortal had also hidden into an Immortal estate.

“Kill!”

The Supreme Immortal Sword slaughtered another Celestial Immortal.

By now…

Only three of the original eighteen Celestial Immortals were left. They were Celestial Immortal Violetgrass and the two who had hidden themselves within their Immortal estates.

……

“Idiots!” Violetgrass, seeing this, couldn’t help but curse to herself. Their intelligence reports had stated that one of the two Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan which Ji Ning had slain was Celestial Immortal Goldclock. As a result, his divine greatclock had fallen into Ji Ning’s hands. Given that Stillwater City was in a dangerous situation…as long as Ji Ning wasn’t stupid, he would have given it to his Dao-companion or his master. That divine greatclock was capable of suppressing and binding!

……

“Senior apprentice-sister,” Ning roared mentally towards her.

“Get in here.” Yu Wei waved her hand, and the divine greatclock flew out. It quickly expanded in size until it became the size of a small mountain. It hung there in the skies, and the space at the base of the greatclock began to twist and distort. The two Immortal estates were immediately sucked into the greatclock without being able to resist at all…then the divine greatclock once more shrank down and flew back to Yu Wei’s hands.

Ning laughed.

This divine greatclock was one of the most important, clan-protecting treasures of the Youngflame clan. Aside from the Worldhold Pagoda, it was the most important treasure the entire clan had. However, only Celestial Immortals were capable of wielding a Pure Yang treasure. Given that Stillwater City was facing a crisis and that a storm was approaching the Three Realms, how could Ning have been so selfish as to only think of himself? He naturally wanted to come up with ways to help the people he cared about grow more powerful, and so he had given the divine greatclock to Yu Wei.

Those two Celestial Immortals had hidden themselves within their Immortal estates in the hopes of buying themselves some time to use Greater Teleportation Dao-seals. If Ning’s group didn’t have the divine greatclock, they actually might’ve managed to escape; after all, there was no way for them to destroy those Immortal estates. Those Immortal estates were meant to save the lives of those two Celestial Immortals and were quite sturdy.

However, Ning’s group DID have that divine greatclock. The Immortal estates themselves were not capable of resisting such an effect, and so as soon as those two Celestial Immortals had hidden themselves within their estates, their estates had been effortlessly sucked into the divine greatclock. The divine greatclock possessed a completely independent dimension within it; once one was suppressed inside it, there was no way to escape at all.

This was why Violetgrass had called them fools.

However…how could the two not have realized this? They were already faced with certain death, and so they had no choice but to make this gamble. Their gamble was that Ning was a very selfish person who hadn’t been willing to give the divine greatclock to others.

……

“You are the last one left.” Ning’s gaze turned towards Celestial Immortal Violetgrass. All six of his sword-fingers stabbed through the skies towards Violetgrass. Although all of this had taken time to describe, the exchange of attacks had actually happened very quickly, as fast as lightning.

“You can’t kill me!!!” Violetgrass was utterly terrified…but how could she possibly flee faster than the speed of those sword-fingers?

Those six sword-fingers flew through the skies, piercing through space and converging upon the same point.

“STAY YOUR HAND!”

A roar rang out, filled with the power of Pure Yang-level energy.

BOOM!!!!

The grand sealing formation outside was blasted apart, and the enraged roar echoed within the ears of Ning and the others.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!!

The six sword-fingers simultaneously struck Celestial Immortal Violetgrass. The azure barrier was no longer able to endure any longer. It blew apart into tiny pieces…and under the blows of the six massive sword-fingers, Violetgrass’s body was instantly reduced to dust. She perished, her Dao coming to an end!

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Chapter 11 – Shooting A True Immortal

Chapter 11 – Shooting A True Immortal

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. Within a palace hall inside the Skylight Palace that glowed with a dull red light.

The black-robed Xia Emperor was seated atop his throne. Beneath him were a trio of generals, armored in dazzling golden armor. Their auras were incredibly powerful, no weaker than the aura of the Xia Emperor himself; clearly, they were Empyrean Gods or True Immortals! All three of them sat with backs straight, filled with an aura of desolation and slaughter. For the Primordial Imperial Clan…it was quite simple for them to be able to summon and command Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as they would ordinary soldiers.

Whoooosh.

Many images were projected in midair; these were the battles images that were being transmitted from many locations. The Xia Emperor had incredible control over the world of the Grand Xia. Once there were any ripples at the Celestial Immortal level, he would immediately find out.

“Young master Xiamang, it seems this Seamless Gate really holds our Primordial Imperial Clan in high regard; they’ve sent two thousand forces to launch a simple probing attack. There are far too many places with battles…there’s no way for you to find them all, one by one.” One of the three, an old man with a fiery red beard, let out a loud laugh. Flames appeared to be blazing within his eyes as well.

“I don’t have enough Pure Yang treasures to keep an eye on two thousand different battles at once,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said with a smile. There were only a few hundred images in midair; this was his limit with regards to how many places he could keep watch on at once.

One of the hundreds of images, however…was of the battle at Stillwater City!

At all, Stillwater City had an incredibly powerful figure, Celestial Immortal Unity, and the monstrously talented Ji Ning, who had an awe-inspiring backer!

“What formation are those eighteen Celestial Immortals setting up? A Turtle-Snake Formation?”

“Celestial Immortal Unity is in danger!”

All of them instantly noticed what was happening in this battle. After all, part of those two thousand battles were merely play-fights, while most of the rest were probing attacks; only a very small number were assassination attempts. The assassination attempts naturally drew their attention.

“Hmph.” The Xia Emperor’s face sank, but he continued to watch. He gave no orders for now.

The images showed how Celestial Immortal Unity had become trapped within the Turtle-Snake Formation. Suddenly…the faces of the Xia Emperor and his three golden-armored generals all changed, because they saw a youth use a divine ability to charge forward through the skies.

“Ji Ning?” The Xia Emperor frowned. “Is he crazy?”

“Is this person the ‘Ji Ning’ you’ve been paying attention to, young master xiamang?”

“He’s a bit too unwise, isn’t he?”

The three generals all shook their heads slightly…but suddenly, their facial expressions stiffened.

Within the images, Ji Ning’s sword-fingers suddenly expanded to become three thousand meters long. They lashed through the skies like an enormous divine sword, chopping down upon the Turtle-Snake Formation. The tough and incomparably tenacious Turtle-Snake Formation was actually completely shattered by this terrifying sword-finger attack. Caught completely off guard, six of the eighteen Celestial Immortals perished.

“What?!” The Xia Emperor jumped to his feet, a look of amazement in his eyes.

“Impossible.” The three generals had stood up as well. They all stared unblinkingly at the images.

Within the images, Ji Ning had just used [Three Heads, Six Arms] and was chasing after and massacring the fleeing Celestial Immortals. The Xia Emperor, in front of these three generals, didn’t feel any need to maintain his normal aura of dignified majesty. He said incredulously, “What’s going on? I don’t know if Ji Ning’s Primaltwin has undergone the tribulation yet, but his true body definitely has not.”

“If his true body had succeeded in overcoming the Empyrean Tribulation, he would be an Empyrean God by now. His divine abilities, spells, and other abilities would all be far stronger than they are now.”

“He clearly has not yet overcome his tribulation to become an Empyrean God!”

“But if he isn’t an Empyrean God…how could he be this powerful? Is it really possible for a Void-level Fiendgod to be this powerful?” Countless thoughts were rummaging through the Xia Emperor’s mind.

As for the three generals, they were no less stunned than the Xia Emperor was. The most muscular general actually began to frown. “A Void-level Fiendgod…even if he learned some of the most supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms, allowing him to become close to a Pure Yang True Immortal in power…he should only be roughly equivalent to Celestial Immortal Unity. How could he be this much more powerful than Celestial Immortal Unity? The level of power he’s displayed has completely transcended the gap between the Void-level and Empyrean Gods.”

“What a monster.” The Xia Emperor stared at Ning, stared at him as though he was looking at the most precious treasure that existed in the world. A look of actual greed was in his eyes.

“Congratulations, young master Xiamang.”

The three generals simultaneously spoke these words.

The black-robed Xia Emperor chortled as well.

Indeed, this was something worth celebrating!

He was born a member of the Primordial Imperial Clan…and the greatest strength of the clan was that they were extremely unified. The reason why the Imperial Clan able to become the imperial clan of the Primordial Era was precisely because they had a large number of True Gods and Daofathers within their ranks….but clearly, these True Gods and Daofathers couldn’t have all been born into the Imperial Clan. Why, then, did all of them support the Primordial Imperial Clan?

It was precisely because the Primordial Imperial Clan had provided them with nonstop support prior to them becoming truly powerful. Given that the Primordial Imperial Clan had been so benevolent towards them…how could the True Gods and Daofathers not wish to pay back their kindnesses?

It must be understood that the more powerful one was, the more one cared about one’s Dao-heart, and the less willing one would become to feel indebted.

If someone had treated you with great kindness, but you refused to repay it…you would feel discomfort. This would impact your Dao-heart; in fact, in extremely dire cases, it could even cause you to go down a path of madness! Naturally, there was a very small number of True Gods or Daofathers who walked an extremely vile path; no matter how well you treated them, they would still kill you without blinking, which wouldn’t impact their Dao-heart at all. However, these people were quite rare, after all.

“Ji Ning?” The Xia Emperor’s eyes were shining. He now viewed Ning as a monster who would truly be of benefit to him…and one who hadn’t even undergone his tribulation!

He had the feeling…

That so long as Ji Ning didn’t die, it wouldn’t be hard for him to become an Empyrean God or True Immortal. In fact, he might even become one of the most supreme Empyrean Gods or True Immortals! To be able to make someone like this one of his closest allies…the Xia Emperor felt that this was utterly wonderful! And of course, if by some great stroke of luck Ji Ning became a True God or a Daofather, the Xia Emperor would bow down to thank Heaven and Earth.

Why was the Xia Emperor’s status so special? It was because, aside from the fact that his master was a Daofather, his lifelong friend, his brother…was Daofather Raindragon!

In the end, a master was just a teacher; he might provide some guidance to the Xia Emperor and behave benevolently towards him, but if the Xia Emperor truly ran into trouble, Daofather Crimsonbright might or might not actually intervene to help him. In fact, even if Daofather Crimsonbright were to watch the Xia Emperor died, it wouldn’t impact his Dao-heart; after all, the Daofather had many disciples. In addition, it was his disciples who owed him, not the other way around.

Daofather Raindragon, however, was another story. Daofather Raindragon was one of the Xia Emperor’s lifelong friends, his brother; this was a far closer relationship!

Now, the Xia Emperor was going to do everything he could to help Ji Ning and ensure that Ji Ning would remember how kindly the Xia Emperor had treated him. In the future, if the Xia Emperor encountered a crisis and asked Ji Ning to help…how could Ji Ning possibly just sit back and watch with his hands clasped behind his back?

“What a monster. From the Primordial Era to the present day, this is the greatest monster I’ve ever seen.” The black-robed Xia Emperor stared at the image of Ji Ning. Although the Primordial Era had given birth to some true monsters as well, the Xia Emperor hadn’t personally met them…but right here and now, a real, living, breathing monster was standing right in front of him.

……

Outside Stillwater City.

True Immortal Gaudy had a handsome face. He was famous for being a relaxed, graceful man…but his face was twisted right now. This was because he had just saw that little girl Violetgrass, who he had watched grow up, be killed before his very eyes! As soon as he had sensed Violetgrass shattering her talisman, he had immediately used a Greater Teleport to come to this place. He had mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun long ago, and so he no longer needed to use Dao-talismans to perform Greater Teleports.

However, since he had come here from another major world, he wasn’t able to perfectly sense where Violetgrass was; he was only able to get a general idea of where she was located.

His Greater Teleport had taken him outside Stillwater City. By relying on his attunement to Qiankun and Space, he instantly found Violetgrass and understood that she was in danger. He immediately broke apart the grand sealing formation, but because he wasn’t able to make it right away, he hurriedly sent a mental message to call for a halt. Alas…the youth hadn’t hesitated at all. He had used all six arms of his [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique to launch sword-fingers attacks at Violetgrass and slay her.

“Little sister Violetgrass…” True Immortal Gaudy’s control over Qiankun was so great that it was as though he personally watched it happen. It was as though he personally watched Violetgrass be transformed into dust.

“No…”

True Immortal Gaudy’s eyes instantly turned completely bloodshot, and his face began to twist.

“All of you will DIE!” True Immortal Gaudy went completely berserk. An enormous grand seal that was black and white suddenly appeared. This grand seal was primarily black, while the sides of it were white. The grand black-white seal appeared out of nowhere, instantly transforming to be the size of a mountain as it smashed downwards. Although the local protective formations were strong, True Immortal Gaudy had mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun and was skilled in formations. In addition, he was simply too strong, far more so than his foes.

BOOM!

The grand seal completely smashed through the protective formations.

On the other side.

“Ji Ning, be careful!”

“An enemy has arrived!”

“He’s broken the sealing formation; it should be an Empyrean God or a True Immortal.” Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Unity all sent frantic mental messages.

“Hurry up and leave!” Ning immediately understood; he had previously controlled the formation as well, after all. Right as he killed Violetgrass, Ning manifested a black greatbow in front of him. Stretching his hand out, Ning grabbed the black greatbow with one hand. Within his other hand, an arrow appeared, instantly blazing with flames as it did.

In midair, Ning immediately nocked the arrow, drew the Rahu Bow, then filled it with his divine power. All of his power was cycled through it to converge onto the arrow, with Ning’s heartforce included into the mix. The method of applying heartforce through [Houyi’s Archery] was even superior to Ning’s own self-developed methods; with Ning’s current level heartforce, he could only sustain seven arrows at most.

“Go!”

TWANG!

Instantly, the world itself seemed to shake. A dazzling red light instantly tore through the skies, and as it did so it continuously drew in the surrounding natural energy of the world. This was the power of [Houyi’s Archery]; it was a terrifying archery skill that could ravenously draw in the might of Heaven and Earth.

Although both [Houyi’s Archery] and the [Starseizing Hand] were ranked as the top ten divine abilities to be created after Pangu established the universe…in raw power, [Houyi’s Archery] surpassed the [Starseizing Hand]!

Rumble…

The giant black-white seal came crashing down, smashing through everything.

The fiery arrow shot through the skies like a blazing meteor.

BOOM!!!

The two collided. The area around them completely blew apart! The earth below was suddenly caved in; clearly, this was caused by the shockwave of the collision!

“Eh?” Immortal Gaudy’s face changed slightly. Far, far too people in the Three Realms used [Houyi’s Archery]. For example, although there were a number of people under Patriarch Subhuti who did train in it, their primary skills lay in other areas; they normally wouldn’t use [Houyi’s Archery]. Thus, there were very, very few people who were able to truly able to get a taste for how formidable [Houyi’s Archery] was. Even Ji Ning had to first reach the third stage of heartforce and perfect his control over it before he was able to unleash [Houyi’s Archery] to this level of power.

The collision with the arrow caused the giant black-white seal to instantly grow slower.

Twang! Ning once more nocked his arrow, drew his bow, and sent off a shot that blazed through the skies. Once more, this was a full-strength attack. Ning’s heartforce was depleting at a terrifying pace, but he didn’t dare allow the enemy’s attack to draw near him. After all, this was an actual True Immortal. There were very few True Immortals who were merely at the ‘base’ level of power for a True Immortal; most were far more powerful.

Yet another blazing comet shot through the skies.

True Immortal Gaudy once more sent his giant black-white seal to crash downwards onto that arrow.

Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!

Five more consecutive bowshots rang out, the power of the arrows preventing even the utterly enraged True Immortal Gaudy from immediately catching and slaughtering Ji Ning and his friends.

“Let’s see how many more arrows you have!” True Immortal Gaudy had a terrifying look in his eyes. He knew that divine archers were generally only able to launch a very low number of full-power shots. And indeed, after the seventh arrow shot out, there was a pause. Now…there was nothing to block the infuriated True Immortal Gaudy.

The giant black-white seal once more began to crush through the opposing formations, smashing towards Ning and the others.

“Go!”

The whole reason why Ning had unleashed those seven shots was to buy time to allow Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Celestial Immortal Unity to escape. However…when they attempted to use a Greater Teleportation, they realized that this region had been completely dimensionally severed from the surrounding world. There was no way to use any sort of teleportation here at all.

“None of you will be able to escape. All of you will die.” True Immortal Gaudy was filled with a towering killing intent. His giant black-white seal once more came smashing downwards through the skies.

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Chapter 12 – The Xia Emperor’s Attitude

Chapter 12 – The Xia Emperor’s Attitude

“Senior Redsnow, this Pure Yang True Immortal is a master of the Grand Dao of Qiankun; I’d like to ask the seven of you to help out!” Ji Ning’s Primaltwin was frantically asking for succor. After learning that Ning was in danger, Redsnow and the rest of the seven had already left their world and come to the underwater estate. In truth, they hadn’t expected that Ning would need to use up their promise so soon.

In truth, when Ning had shot out seven arrows earlier, he had also used his Void-level energy to activate a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal; the amount of time he had bought himself was more than enough to activate it, but alas the teleport had failed.

There were many Grand Daos in the world…but who would’ve thought that he would just so happen to encounter a foe who had mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun? In the face of someone like this, not even Greater Teleportation would be possible.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei looked towards Ning, worry on her face. Immortal Diancai and Celestial Immortal Unity were panicking as well, but there was nothing they could do.

“Die.” True Immortal Gaudy had a savage look on his face, and his eyes were filled with murder.

But right at this moment…

“Ji Ning, your savior just arrived.” The giant yellow bear’s voice suddenly echoed within Ning’s mind.

Rumble…

In the air between Ji Ning and True Immortal Gaudy, a black tunnel suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The black tunnel tore straight through space, allowing a man in black imperial robes to step out of it.

“The Xia Emperor?”

“His Imperial Majesty?”

Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Celestial Immortal Unity all revealed looks of excitement and delight.

The man who had stepped out of the black tunnel was indeed the black-robed Xia Emperor. As the Xia Emperor walked out, he pointed with a single finger. A golden streak of light flew out, transforming into a golden dragon that knocked the giant black-white seal flying. He then gave the demonically enraged True Immortal Gaudy a cold glance. “Gaudy, you actually dare to come to my Grand Xia to cause trouble?”

Ning let out a sigh of relief.

“Sorry for bothering the seven of you just now.” Within the underwater estate, the black-robed Ning was saluting respectfully.

The nearby giant yellow bear chortled. “Since the Xia Emperor has come out, there’s no need to trouble the seven of you to intervene.”

“…Does this count as us fulfilling our promise?” The beautiful Empyrean God Snow Scorpion asked teasingly.

“No, of course not!” Ning said frantically.

Seeing the look on Ning’s face, the seven Empyrean Gods roared with laughter.

“Ahaha…”

“Relax, we’re not going to quibble with you!”

Still…Empyrean God Redsnow quickly turned solemn. “However, Ji Ning, I have to warn you; previously, while you were in the Primordial Ruinworld region, your master, Patriarch Subhuti, didn’t have to worry too much about personally intervening on your behalf. But now that we are back in the Three Realms…in the face of such a powerful foe, even Patriarch Subhuti might have misgivings. In fact, even if he does intervene, he might not be able to rescue you.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded. He naturally understood that in the face of this storm, even his master was treading on thin ice.

“In addition…your master can’t have the [Dream of the Three Realms] active at all times. Even if you are in danger, he might not know about it,” Redsnow added.

Ning nodded.

It was true.

His master hadn’t given Ning a talisman; even if Ning was in a dangerous situation, there was no way for him to notify his master.

“We promised to help you once…but it really will be only once,” Empyrean God Redsnow said. “Your master, in turn…well, distant waters cannot be used to put out a nearby fire. Just look; you’ve only been back for a short while, but you’ve already encountered such a dangerous situation. You should understand, now…how careful you truly must be in the face of this storm.”

Ning nodded. “Since I was able to survive and return even after being covered by karmic sinflames…the Seamless Gate is undoubtedly paying very close attention to me. They have long ago decided that I am a major foe for them. In the face of this storm…to tell the truth, I came to understand something. Since there’s no longer any way for me to hide my sharpness, then I might as well reveal myself. I’ll make it so that more experts notice me and feel that I am worthy of their help!”

“Although the Seamless Gate is brash, they remain hidden in the darkness; this means that they still have worries of their own. There are many experts on the side of my master as well.” Ning laughed, “As long as enough of us work together, there’s nothing for us to worry about.”

“You’re finally using your head.” Redsnow said with a laugh, “If you have enough helpers, then you won’t even need the seven of us to assist you; you’ll still be able to survive this storm.”

……

Outside the underwater estate.

Once the black-robed Xia Emperor appeared, True Immortal Gaudy grew even angrier. “Xiamang, are you going to stop me? Are you going to become my enemy?”

“By the looks of it, you joined the Seamless Gate long ago. Since we are in different camps…we already are enemies.” The black-robed Xia Emperor said calmly, “As I see it…you need to f*ck off right now. Get the f*ck out of my Grand Xia.” Although he held an absolute advantage in terms of power, the Xia Emperor knew that this foe was a master of the Grand Dao of Qiankun who possessed many powerful escaping techniques.

True Immortal Gaudy took a deep breath. He didn’t want to make an enemy out of the Xia Emperor; after all, the Xia Emperor was an astonishing figure with tremendously powerful backers. The Xia Emperor possessed multiple powerful Protocosmic spirit-treasures and was extremely famous. Just now, he, Gaudy, had clearly severed this region from the surrounding dimension…but the Xia Emperor had forcibly torn through space and come through anyways. This was an ability that was similar to the power of the Worldhold Pagoda. To be able to ignore a spatial severing and forcibly tear a path to this place…clearly, the Xia Emperor had just used one of his Protocosmic spirit-treasures, the ‘Brightheart Lamp of One Thought’.

“All I want to do is kill that you.” True Immortal Gaudy said coldly, “I can spare the other three!”

The Xia Emperor gave him a glance. “Get the f*ck out of my Grand Xia…IMMEDIATELY.”

Was this a joke? The whole reason he had come here was to protect Ji Ning.

“You…!” True Immortal Gaudy was furious. “Xiamang, today, I’m going to see for myself how powerful the descendants of the Primordial Imperial Clan like you are!” Instantly, a series of golden chains appeared around him. A total of nine golden chains appeared in total. One end of the chains seemed to sink off into the void of space, while the other wildly swept towards the Xia Emperor in a frenzied assault.

This was his true battle technique, a quiet, stealthy, insidious assault.

As for that giant black-white seal? It was faster to use the seal in attacking, and it was also more overbearing and dominating. He had wanted to just use it to smash open the protective formation and instantly crush Ning’s group.

“You dare put on a show in front of me with techniques like this?” The black-robed Xia Emperor let out a cold laugh. An enormous snow-white lotus appeared beneath his feet, blooming in every direction. It completely took over the surrounding area, blocking the nine insidious golden chains.

“Annihilate.” The Xia Emperor called this word out softly.

Last time, he had only unleashed a single golden stream of light. This time, three golden streams of light emerged, tearing through space and transforming into three golden roving dragons. These three golden dragons each had different auras; one of them seemed proud and brash, the second seemed sinister and cold, while the third seemed kind and gentle, as though it wasn’t a threat to anyone.

These three golden auras, each bearing a different aura, caused the distant True Immortal Gaudy to reveal a look of rage on his face.

“From life to death, all dreams vanish…everything is nothing but a garish, gaudy show!”

True Immortal Gaudy coldly barked out these words. Instantly, those nine golden chains around him began to weave about and dance. Space itself began to tremble and ripple like water.

Hiss….

The three golden dragons now noticeably found it much harder to fly after entering that region.

“Hmph.” The distant black-robed Xia Emperor’s face turned grim. He waved his hand, and a small clock appeared. As soon as this little black clock appeared…

Doooooong!

A crisp sound rang out.

BOOM!

True Immortal Gaudy immediately vomited out a mouthful of fresh blood. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Excellent. Excellent. Excellent! Xiamang, since you are determined to protect this kid, then from this day forward, we shall be irreconcilable enemies!”

“Just you?” The Xia Emperor smirked in a very disdainful manner.

“Wait and see. This brat will die. He definitely will die!” Savage madness was in True Immortal Gaudy’s eyes.

Whoosh.

True Immortal Gaudy immediately used a fleeing technique. It was simply too hard to block someone who had mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun from fleeing.

Even the Xia Emperor was only able to stand there and watch as he fled.

“Thank you, your Imperial Majesty.” Celestial Immortal Unity, Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Ji Ning both flew over and hurriedly expressed thanks.

The Xia Emperor turned. He glanced at Ning and the other three, then said with a smile, “Good to see you are unharmed. Just now, I was watching the battle here through a magic treasure. When I saw Gaudy appear, I had a bad feeling. I was planning to Greater Teleport here, but who would’ve thought that he’d actually dimensionally sever this region off from the surrounding world? There was no way to teleport in at all! I had to forcibly tear a tunnel through space to come here. Fortunately, I made it in time. If I was just slightly slower…”

Ning and the others Ning now understood why the Xia Emperor had only managed to make it here at the last moment. Things had gotten to the point where Ning had already asked the seven Empyrean Gods to help out!

Thankfully…he hadn’t had to waste that promise.

“Ji Ning, you have to be careful,” the Xia Emperor said. “Although I don’t why True Immortal Gaudy wanted to kill you that badly, I imagine that one of those Celestial Immortals you killed had a very close relationship with him. That’s why True Immortal Gaudy, normally so graceful and refined, went so berserk. If a Pure Yang True Immortal who has mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun wishes to kill you…it’s going to be quite dangerous.”

“I understand,” Ning said solemnly.

“However…the storm is about to hit. Compared to the storm, this level of danger is nothing.” The Xia Emperor continued, “The incoming tempest is growing increasingly terrifying. Here is my talisman; if you encounter any danger, just shatter it. As long as it isn’t a True God or a Daofather, I’m confident in being able to save you.”

The Xia Emperor, in terms of power, was slightly weaker than Lu Dongbin…but he had plenty of protective treasures, and so he would be able to stay alive even in the face of an assault by a True God or Daofather for a period of time.

“Thank you, your Imperial Majesty.” Ning immediately accepted the talisman.

“Make your preparations.” The Xia Emperor raised his head to look at the sky. “After this probing period…I imagine the war that is going to sweep the entire Grand Xia shall finally begin. If you choose to remain here, you won’t be able to avoid it.” After finishing his words, the Xia Emperor took a single step forward, disappearing with a void blink.

Ning looked at the talisman in his hand, revealing a slight smile.

As he had thought.

Although his earlier battle against nine Youngflame clan Celestial Immortals had been fairly impressive, in the eyes of the likes of the Xia Emperor or Daofather Crimsonbright, he was still nothing more than a fairly excellent genius of the Three Realms. This time, however, Ning had truly showed his fierceness. Even in the Primordial Era, he would be considered a true monster amongst the Void-level elites. Although this would cause his enemies to be more wary of him, it also made the Xia Emperor and Daofather Crimsonbright care more about him as well.

And now, he had the Xia Emperor’s talisman in his hands, as well as the Xia Emperor’s promise: “If you encounter any danger, just shatter it. As long as it isn’t a True God or a Daofather, I’m confident in being able to save you.” This had clearly spelled out the Xia Emperor’s attitude towards him. It must be understood that not even Patriarch Subhuti had ever said something like this to Ning!

……

The Fifth World.

Within a towering palace. The Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate, the Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall, and the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave were all present.

“AZUREFOX!”

An enraged bellow could be heard as True Immortal Gaudy charged in.

“Gaudy.” The azure-robed woman looked at him.

“Azurefox, why didn’t you intervene?! Just a moment…just one extra moment! That’s all I needed to save little sister Violetgrass!” True Immortal Gaudy was utterly enraged.

The azure-robed woman just shook her head. “Violetgrass shattered the talismans that you and I gave her. You’ve mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun, but I have not. Even if I did go, I would’ve been slower than you!”

True Immortal Gaudy paused. Right. In his rage, he had forgotten this.

“I’m going to kill that brat.” A terrifying red light was glowing from True Immortal Gaudy’s eyes as he said with rage, “I want him dead!”

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Chapter 13 – Paying Respects To The Godking

Chapter 13 – Paying Respects To The Godking

“Ji Ning killed Violetgrass. I, too, want him dead.” The azure-robed woman said calmly from atop her throne, “I’ll arrange for you to have the chance you need to move against him. By relying on your mastery of Qiankun, I’m sure you’ll be able to kill Ji Ning.”

“Did you really think I’m as stupid as you seem to believe?” True Immortal Gaudy gave the azure-robed woman cold look. “The Xia Emperor moved to protect this brat; in fact, he even chose to ignore my threats. He clearly has made up his mind to protect the brat. This time, you sent many teams to attack many places throughout the entire world of the Grand Xia. Although the Xia Emperor has True Immortals and Celestial Immortals under his command, he had many places to worry about, and so he wasn’t able to summon too much of his power to deal with me. But if I were to make another move…his forces wouldn’t have to worry about defending his various commanderies. They’d probably join forces to trap me, then kill me!”

The Seamless Gate knew all along that the Xia Emperor had other Empyrean Gods or True Immortals by his side!

The Primordial Imperial Clan alone had sent three of them to follow the Xia Emperor. This was one of the reasons why the Xia Emperor’s word was absolute law in the Grand Xia! The likes of Kindwater clan had Empyrean Gods in their ranks, and as a major clan that existed back in the Primordial Era, they too had True Gods or Daofathers backing them! And yet, they still did not dare to struggle with the Xia Emperor for supremacy. This was why!

Even the Youngflame clan had one of the major clans of the Primordial Era behind them. However, the Ancestor of the Youngflame clan, ‘Youngflame Freak’, had fled from his own clab and refused to recognize the connection between his clan and that primordial clan.

The supreme clans of the world of the Grand Xia truly were not easy to deal with. If those countless clans joined together, not even the Xia Emperor would dare to try and suppress them all by force. He had to provide order for and benefits to everybody, sharing the world with them.

As for the Xiamang clan of the Xia Emperor…technically speaking, it was the most powerful clan in the entire world of the Grand Xia! They would be more than capable of annihilating a single True Immortal Gaudy.

“How can you possibly take revenge without taking on some risk?” The azure-robed woman said, “Can it be that you are giving up on vengeance for Violetgrass?”

A cold light flashed through True Immortal Gaudy’s eyes. Of course he wanted to kill Ji Ning!

However…everyone capable of becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal was an extraordinary figure. None of them were fools.

“Violetgrass followed you this entire time. You are in control of the full power of the Seamless Gate. It would be much easier for you to kill Ji Ning than it would be for me,” True Immortal Gaudy said coldly. “If you really do provide a good opportunity for me to act, I won’t mind taking it. But I absolutely have no intentions of trading my life for that brat’s.”

After speaking, True Immortal Gaudy turned and left.

The only figures left within the towering hall were the azure-robed woman and the two other leaders. They all raised their heads, continuing to look at the battle images being transmitted in.

“The Xia Emperor really has begun to send out his forces,” the azure-robed woman laughed.

“He naturally isn’t going to just watch as you kill his people,” the skinny elder said.

Time continued to pass.

The probing attacks of the two thousand teams were carried out lightning-fast. They began this night, and they quickly concluded as well.

The next day. The Golden Crow once more rose into the sky. It was as though nothing had happened.

However, in reality, the previous night the Seamless Gate had lost a total of sixty-nine Celestial Immortals and hundreds of Loose Immortals. The world of the Grand Xia had lost a total of seventy-three Celestial Immortals and dozens of Loose Immortals.

On a superficial level, the losses were equal. And in truth, this type of initial probing attack would always result in the attacker sustaining some casualties.

However, the biggest mistake the Seamless Gate made this time…occurred with Ji Ning! They had completely underestimated Ning’s strength, causing them to lose eighteen supreme Celestial Immortals. This loss alone, in all honesty, was worse than all their other losses combined. After all, there was quite a large difference between an ordinary Celestial Immortal and a supreme Celestial Immortal.

But of course…neither the Xia Emperor nor the Seamless Gate were too concerned about their losses from this exchange.

This was just a probe, after all, an initial clash. Both sides suffered only some superficial losses; neither had sustained an actual injury. Their most powerful forces hadn’t even moved! Only when the real war began would they began to battle against each other. When that happened…Celestial Immortals would be put through a meat grinder, and even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would fall if they were not cautious. This was, after all, the most powerful world under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright!

Within that towering palace in the Fifth World.

The leaders of the Seamless Gate, the Myriad Demons Cave, and Bloodcloud Hall had gathered here once more. After finalizing orders to their subordinates, they turned to the main topic of this meeting…Ji Ning.

“As I see it, Ji Ning has to die.” The man in the fiery red robes spoke in a booming voice. “He’s already a source of trouble for us. Once he overcomes his tribulation and becomes an Empyrean God…he won’t just be a source of trouble. He might cause our entire campaign against the Grand Xia to fail.”

The skinny elder sighed. “This person truly is too monstrous a genius, so monstrous that even I’m a bit frightened by him.”

“I agree that we need to kill him,” the azure-robed woman said. “This Ji Ning is protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; killing him won’t be that easy. Our only choice is to first suppress and capture him, then come up with a way to kill him. But while we move to suppress him…I’m worried that his Daofather master will act.”

“Daofather?”

The faces of the other two leaders changed.

True Gods, Daofathers…the true rulers of the Three Realms. In addition, someone who could teach the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was definitely one of the most supreme of Daofathers. The mere thought of such a figure caused them to shudder.

“If we send Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to kill him, but they end up being killed by the Daofather when he saves Ji Ning…we’d end up having ‘lost both the wife and the soldiers’ 1, the worst of both worlds.” The azure-robed woman sighed. “This is the most critical moment in our campaign against the Grand Xia. It’s not wise for us to act on too large a scale.”

“Azurefox, what do you think we should do?”

The other two both looked at her.

In terms of status, the three were equal. However, generally speaking the ones in charge of the Seamless Gate were more intelligent, which is why the Gatemaster was the one chosen for the subjugation of the major worlds, with the other two acting in a supporting role. If there were any internal squabbles, a report would be made to the higher-ups!

“I think…we should report to this to the Godking!” The azure-robed woman said solemnly.

“The Godking?” The other two hesitated.

The red-robed man said with hesitating, “To bother the Godking for something like this…? To ask the Godking for help?”

“Although we can kill Ji Ning if we are willing to pay a high price…the paying of that price would have an impact on our ability to conduct the war against the Grand Xia.” The azure-robed woman said, “Our only choice is to report this to the Godking.”

“Mm.”

“Fine.”

The other two didn’t oppose this proposal. In truth, Azurefox could’ve made the report on her own; she was just letting them know as a form of respect. That way, the three would work together in greater harmony; the Myriad Demons Cave and the Bloodcloud Hall were extremely powerful as well, after all.

……

Within a silent room.

The azure-robed woman let a stick of incense. Instantly, the fragrance of the incense filled the entire room. The azure-robed woman slowly closed her eyes, sinking into a deep slumber.

Within a dream.

Azurefox appeared within a vast, dark region. At the center of this region, a massive throne that was more than thirty thousand meters long hovered in the air.

“Godking,” Azurefox called out reverently.

Instantly, a towering figure suddenly appeared atop the massive, levitating throne. This figure was dressed in black robes, but his eyes were like a mist that was able to commune with one’s very soul. He stared downwards at Azurefox, and she couldn’t help but shudder.

“What is it?” The figure atop the massive throne lightly tapped the armrest with a finger. A booming sound instantly rang out, reverberating throughout the dark region.

“Godking, your subordinate is on the verge of launching the attack against the Grand Xia. However, a new variable has appeared within the Grand Xia world…” Azurefox explained respectfully, “This variable will have a major impact. If your subordinate was to use the power of the Seamless Gate against it…it might negatively impact our mission of subjugating the Grand Xia. Thus, I’ve come to ask you, Godking, to decide for us.”

“Variable?” The titanic figure once more tapped the armrest.

“It’s Ji Ning,” Azurefox said respectfully.

“Him?” The towering figure hesitated momentarily. “He just killed eighteen of your Celestial Immortals. Mmm…from what happened in that battle, it can be said that this Ji Ning truly is quite a monster. He’s actually become so powerful despite being at the Void-level. There’s no way he could’ve accomplished this just through divine abilities. His sword-fingers…he hasn’t even mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword…which means he must have mastered some sort of supremely powerful energy. Swordforce? From the looks of that battle, he’s only reached the first stage of swordforce. It must be some other type of invisible power…heartforce? Taiji-force? Infiniforce? Spaceforce?”

The towering figure pondered for a moment. “Your warning is a good one. I hadn’t noticed that such a monster had appeared within the Grand Xia. By the looks of it…he has at least a 50% chance of overcoming his tribulation and becoming an Empyrean God! If he becomes an Empyrean God, he’ll immediately become one of the most supreme of Empyrean Gods. In fact, if he’s given a little time, he’ll be able to reach Lu Dongbin’s level. He is indeed a potential source of trouble.”

The supreme powers of the Three Realms had a tacit understanding; if you didn’t intervene, then I won’t either.

This was an unspoken agreement.

Both sides were preparing…preparing to unleash everything at the critical moment of the war, to fully suppress and crush their foes! Prior to this, at most the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would battle against each other. The True Gods and the Daofathers would not casually intervene. Thus…a supremely powerful Empyrean God could have an enormous impact. In addition, such an Empyrean God would have a good chance of making yet another breakthrough to become a True God!

“However…this Ji Ning’s master is that old bastard, Subhuti. He’s not easy to deal with,” the towering figure said.

“Patriarch Subhuti?” Azurefox cried out in shock. Good heavens…

Patriarch Subhuti?!

Although she knew that Ji Ning had to have a very powerful Daofather behind him, given that he had been taught the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]…she had never imagined that it would be that old freak Subhuti.

“Not even I can tell exactly how powerful that old fellow is. During that war that shattered Pangu’s World, he intervened to save some people, but he didn’t truly participate. Still…he definitely is one of the absolute most powerful Daofathers of the Three Realms. And…he has multiple Daofathers amongst his disciples!” The towering figure once more gently tapped at the armrest. Dong! Dong! Dong! Slow, deep thudding sounds echoed throughout the dark region.

Azurefox couldn’t breathe.

Multiple Daofathers?

She knew some secrets, such as the fact that the mysterious ‘senior disciple’ under Patriarch Subhuti’s command was definitely on the level of a True God or Daofather. As for the others, she didn’t know about them. But from what the Godking was saying…Patriarch Subhuti actually had more than one Daofather under him! Still…even though she had learned this, she wouldn’t dare to let this information slip. She was completely devoted to the Godking, while the Godking was all-knowing…

If she dared to betray him in any way at all, the Godking would know right away! For example, that battle against Ji Ning; with but a thought, the Godking immediately had become aware of what had happened during it.

“Still…that old fellow stands on the side of Nuwa!” The towering figure’s misty gaze seemed to be as deep and vast as the infinite Void. “So we might as well take this chance to kill one of his disciples and test his reaction.”

Azurefox listened attentively.

“Activate chess piece…Yu Wei.” The towering figure said, “Have Yu Wei lead Ji Ning in a Greater Teleport to come straight to the Fifth World. The Fifth World is one of our major bases, and I’ll personally station myself within it. In the Fifth World…even if Subhuti comes in person, there will be nothing he can do.”

“Yu Wei?” Azurefox was startled.

They had quite a few chess pieces positioned within the world of the Grand Xia. Prior to this, Yu Wei hadn’t been an important one, but after taking Patriarch Lu as her master and becoming a Celestial Immortal, she had immediately become their most important piece. Logically speaking, she could’ve been used to great effect in the future…but they were now going to use her against Ji Ning. Clearly, in the eyes of the Godking…trading Yu Wei for Ji Ning’s life was worth it!

“Yes,” Azurefox said respectfully. She then vanished into thin air.

Within the darkness, only the massive levitating throne and the towering figure atop it were left. His left hand continued to gently tap against the armrest of the throne. “Subhuti…I haven’t actually fought you yet…I’m really rather looking forward to it…”

1. This idiom comes from a famous story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. A general tried to honeytrap his enemy by offering his sister in marriage…but his sister actually fell in love with the enemy and ran off with him. Furious, the general sent soldiers to chase them back, but the soldiers ended up being ambushed and slaughtered. Thus the phrase, ‘losing both the wife and the soldiers’, became immortalized for describing a situation where you pay enormous, multiple costs without getting what you want.

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Chapter 14 – A Successful Plot

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 14 – A Successful Plot

The Fifth World. Within a quiet room, filled with the fragrance of incense. The azure-robed woman opened her eyes, awakening.

“The Godking is actually willing to use up the ‘Yu Wei’ chess piece.” Azurefox mentally sighed to herself. She immediately tried to reach out, only to frown: “Eh? Yu Wei isn’t sleeping yet?”

The various chess pieces had all been given an order that unless they were in the middle of a life-and-death situation, they had to sleep at least once every three days.

Only when they were asleep could these chess pieces be stealthily contacted! This form of communication was extremely mysterious; not even True Gods or Daofathers were able to detect it. There was a chance for every other form of communication to be detected, and upon being detected, the chess pieces would no longer be able to continue to hide themselves.

“Not sleeping…”

Azurefox pondered for a moment. “No rush. She has to sleep once within these three days. Heh…I imagine that there is no way Ji Ning will be able to defend against a plot by his Dao-companion. If he’s teleported straight to the Fifth World, he’s dead. And hrm…”

Azurefox’s eyes suddenly lit up! “Before Ji Ning dies…there’s a use for him.” Azurefox laughed. “Maybe we can use him to ensure that the Youngflame clan irrevocably throws their support to the Seamless Gate.”

……

That very night.

Within the territory controlled by the Youngflame clan. Patriarch Arcanum was meeting with a golden-robed envoy at the peak of a tall, nameless mountain.

“Greetings to you, Envoy.” Celestial Immortal Arcanum was extremely courteous.

“Give this to your Ancestor.” The golden-robed envoy handed over a scroll.

“This is…?” Arcanum was puzzled.

“This scroll contains a scryer recording within it. Once your Ancestor views it, he’ll understand.” The golden-robed envoy laughed. “Our Seamless Gate is doing this to help your Youngflame clan. Don’t end up being wiped out without even knowing what’s going on.”

After speaking, the golden-robed envoy immediately disappeared through teleportation.

Arcanum held the scroll, a frown on his face. After humming for a moment, he immediately opened it to take a look first. The unfurled scroll revealed an image; it was indeed a scryer recording. Arcanum filled it with his Immortal energy, and the images instantly began to move. It was the scene of the eighteen Celestial Immortals battling Celestial Immortal Unity, as well as the scene of them being slain by Ji Ning.

“Is that…Celestial Immortal Violetgrass?” Arcanum immediately recognized Violetgrass, whom he had spoken with before a few times.

“Those eighteen Celestial Immortals are so powerful. They were actually able to suppress Unity. Unity is going to die.”

“What?!”

Upon seeing Ji Ning strike, Arcanum was instantly, completely stunned.

Good heavens…

But…but…

Ji Ning was far more powerful than he had been during their last battle at the Oldjade mountain range. Most likely, if all of the Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were to join forces, they still wouldn’t be able to withstand Ji Ning again. Arcanum knew exactly how deep the feud was between his clan and Ji Ning. Terrified, he immediately teleported back in a hurry.

……

Within the Worldhold Pagoda.

“What is it?” The Youngflame Ancestor emerged from an illusory space, two other Celestial Immortals following him.

“Ancestor.” The other four Celestial Immortals within the Worldhold Pagoda were incomparably respectful to him.

The seven Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were all gathered together here!

“Ancestor, the Seamless Gate sent this to us. Take a look.” Arcanum handed over the scroll, a serious look on his face.

“The Seamless Gate never comes to our Youngflame clan with good news.” The Youngflame Ancestor, Immortal Venomfreak, let out a cold laugh. He immediately unfurled the scroll, then let out a chuckle. “Oh, a scryer recording. Let me see what they are up to now.”

He filled it with his Immortal energy, and instantly the scenes of that battle began to replay.

Eighteen Celestial Immortals struck out in unison, suppressing Unity. Ji Ning attacked, True Immortal Gaudy appeared, the Xia Emperor appeared and defeated Gaudy…everything was included!

At first, Immortal Venomfreak just watched with a half-smirk on his face, but his face quickly began to change, becoming increasingly ugly to behold.

“So things really have come to this.”

Immortal Venomfreak’s pupils contracted slightly, his face turning as cold as ice.

The other six Celestial Immortals present all looked towards Immortal Venomfreak, awaiting his orders.

“I had thought that the Xia Emperor would only stand behind Ji Ning after he overcame his tribulation to become an Empyrean God. I didn’t imagine…that even before becoming an Empyrean God, he would become such a monster. If I was the Xia Emperor, I would stand behind Ji Ning as well.” Immortal Venomfreak had a dark look on his face.

“Ancestor, what should we do?”

“If Ji Ning comes…we can’t stop him.”

“Ancestor.”

They all looked towards their Ancestor, waiting for his orders.

The Ancestor was someone who had roamed the world back in the era of Pangu’s World, after all. Even many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals felt he was a pain to deal with.

“Ji Ning won’t launch a war against the Youngflame clan in the immediate future.” Immortal Venomfreak continued, “That’s because he was hurt from our last clash. He knows very well that I have many clones, and that if he isn’t able to wipe them all out, I’ll continue to harass him, becoming a nightmare for his clan.” Immortal Venomfreak’s eyes flashed with a savage light.

He was a sinister, insidious figure; he always had been.

“So we’re just going to ignore this?” Patriarch Deadwood frowned.

“You stupid blockhead,” Immortal Venomfreak snapped, “Didn’t you see how astonishingly fast Ji Ning grows in power? He’s already so powerful at the Void-level! I roamed the primordial world and have seen many things…but I’ve never seen a monster like him before! In the Primordial Era, only some of the most legendary of monsters might be comparable to him. A monster like him…if he continues to grow like this, he’ll definitely be given incredible power within the Crimsonbright League. In the end, in the future, even I might be unable to escape his reach…and once I die, the annihilation of the Youngflame clan will be set in stone. We won’t even have a chance to fight back.”

Celestial Immortal Infatuation and the others all nodded.

“Let me think about this. Let me think.” Immortal Venomfreak’s eyes narrowed. “I really didn’t expect it to come to this.”

He was a very cautious man. It was precisely because he was cautious, insidious, and crafty that he had been able to survive for so long despite having offended so many.

The other six Celestial Immortals all waited quietly.

“Make the arrangements right away for all the mortals of our Youngflame clan to be moved into the world within the Worldhold Pagoda.” Suddenly, Immortal Venomfreak began to give orders. “Trees die when uprooted, but people can survive. If push comes to shove…we flee!”

His greatest strength had always been fleeing!

“Evacuate all of them?” The six Celestial Immortals were amazed.

“All of them.” Immortal Venomfreak immediately ordered, “You have to be fast, as fast as possible. I want you to complete this within the time needed to boil a kettle of tea. If you don’t have enough time…it’s fine if you end up missing or discarding some of the mortals.”

“Alright.” The six Celestial Immortals all assented hurriedly.

The Worldhold Pagoda was a Protocosmic spirit-treasure with an entire world within it. Although it wasn’t as vast as the major world within Ning’s Starseizing Manor, it wasn’t small either. It would be easy to contain thirty billion people within it.

……

The Celestial Immortals gave the orders, and the Loose Immortals handled things personally.

Although all those who had lived in the Oldjade mountain range had been wiped out, after Ji Ning had been exiled to the Nihilum Zone, the Youngflame clan had moved billions of more clansmen back to Oldjade.

The Loose Immortals moved with incredible speed. The Youngflame clan had nearly a thousand Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals under their command, and they all moved in unison. Within the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, they really did evacuate all of the clansmen from their three headquarters, moving them into the Worldhold Pagoda.

The seven Celestial Immortals of the Worldhold Pagoda stared at the vast land outside.

This was their fiefdom. They had fought for this land, had bled for it.

“Let’s go. We’ll have greater fiefs in the future, and our Youngflame clan will only grow stronger.” Immortal Venomfreak flew out of the tower. Waving his hand, he collected the Worldhold Pagoda, then disappeared into thin air.

……

That very night.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. The Skylight Palace.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Immortal Venomfreak asks for an audience,” a white-faced elder said respectfully.

The Xia Emperor lifted an eyebrow, a pensive look in his eyes. He then said, “Let him come.”

“Yes.” The white-faced elder immediately departed.

“He came quite quickly…it seems the Seamless Gate is once more trying to seduce him.” The Xia Emperor mused to himself, “When used correctly, Youngflame Freak is a sharp weapon as well. However…when you harm others, you harm yourself as well. He goes berserk too easily.” The Xia Emperor knew very well that madness was bred into the bones of Immortal Venomfreak; this was why the Xia Emperor had used his clan and fiefs to tie Immortal Venomfreak down, giving Venomfreak something to care about and thus a way to use him!

And how, by the look of it…

“Although Immortal Venomfreak is useful…he can’t compare to Ji Ning.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “It seems I’m about to lose one of my sharp weapons.”

An ugly, horned individual walked in from outside.

“Your Imperial Majesty.” The horned man was unusually respectful.

“Venomfreak.” The Xia Emperor smiled.

The horned man said respectfully, “The Seamless Gate has been asking me to join them this entire time, but I never have. Just now, they sent me a scroll with a scryer recording within it, a recording of Ji Ning battling and slaying eighteen Celestial Immortals. After seeing it…I understand that Ji Ning is now extremely powerful. I want to resolve my differences with him, with the two of us swearing oaths to the Dao of the Heavens. Can we do this?”

“Resolve your differences?” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “When Ji Ning was weak, he still wanted to fight against you. Now that he is stronger than you…how could he possibly be willing to accept peace?”

“Your Imperial Majesty…are you going to stand with him?” The horned man said in a low voice.

“If you go to kill him, I won’t stop you. If he goes to kill you, I won’t stop him either,” the Xia Emperor said.

The horned man laughed coldly. “How could I possibly go kill him? Your Imperial Majesty…it seems you’ve already made your choice. I already suspected it before I came here…but I was holding on to a final strand of hope!”

“Venomfreak, you are very intelligent…but I urge you not to join the Seamless Gate. If you join the Seamless Gate…you will have made an enemy out of not just myself and Daofather Crimsonbright, but also my entire Primordial Imperial Clan and many other True Gods and Daofathers.” The Xia Emperor continued, “You can leave now. I hope that you will be able to survive this great storm.”

“I’m untalented in other respects, but I’m skilled in survival.” The horned man chuckled. “By not killing me, your Imperial Majesty, you let me preserve an extra clone.”

And then, chuckling, he departed.

The Xia Emperor watched him leave. This clone of Youngflame Freak definitely wasn’t even carrying a slightly decent treasure on him; he had come prepared to die. The only reason he had come here today was to lay all his cards out on the table…but alas, the Xia Emperor stood immovably by the side of Ji Ning. The Xia Emperor couldn’t even be bothered to try to lie to him about this, because he knew that Immortal Venomfreak was so sly and crafty that there was no way to deceive him.

“The Seamless Gate…they truly are seamless in their actions. There is no seam they won’t penetrate through.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “Just like that, they deprived me of one of my sharp weapons.”

……

Quietly, without any sound or noise, the Youngflame clan vanished from the world of the Grand Xia.

The Fifth World.

Within a towering palace.

“Immortal Venomfreak. I’ve long heard of your illustrious name.” An azure-robed woman was seated on her throne within the palace.

“Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate…the countless marquises within the world of the Great Xia who hear your name all tremble.” The horned man smiled. Although the Xia Emperor had urged him against this, he knew that to survive this storm, one had to be on a team. If he didn’t have one…then he would probably become a target for both sides.

Since that was the case…he might as well join the other side right now, and even assume a position of importance!

“Go get some rest, Immortal Venomfreak. When the time comes for our battle against the Grand Xia, you will have ample opportunity to display your might,” the azure-robed woman laughed.

“Then I’ll await your orders, Gatemaster.” The horned man rose to his feet, then smiled and departed.

The azure-robed woman smiled as well.

She had just acquired a ferocious general!

“Hm.” The azure-robed woman mentally reached out for a moment. “Yu Wei…has finally fallen asleep.” She immediately headed towards her private room, planning to meet Yu Wei in her dreams.

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Chapter 15 – Let’s Have A Baby

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 15 – Let’s Have A Baby

Within a private room.

The azure-robed woman lit a stick of incense. She was in a superb mood due to Youngflame Freak throwing his support to her side, and so it took a while for her to completely fall asleep.

……

Within her dreams.

This was a wide, vast prairie. A black-robed maiden materialized out of nowhere within it.

“Eh? Why have…” Yu Wei’s face changed. She immediately understood that she had been guided to this place. As she swept it with her gaze, she saw the distant azure-robed woman walking towards her.

“My respectful greetings to you, Envoy,” Yu Wei immediately said respectfully.

“Yu Wei, long time no see.” The azure-robed woman smiled. “Your last mission was completed perfectly. We have another mission for you now.”

Yu Wei’s heart clenched.

Her last mission…had been the capture of Celestial Immortal Hunchmont. However, it hadn’t been for her to carry out the actual capturing; all she had to do was help out a bit to make it happen! That had been quite a simple mission; Yu Wei had done only a few things, and there was no chance of her status being revealed.

“Please instruct me, Envoy,” Yu Wei said respectfully.

“The mission is related to your Dao-companion, Ji Ning.” The azure-robed woman carefully scrutinized Yu Wei for her reaction.

Yu Wei’s heart clenched yet again, but she didn’t ask anything.

“The Godking commands,” the azure-robed woman said, “For you to bring Ji Ning straight to the Fifth World through Greater Teleportation.”

“I’ve never been to the Fifth World before,” Yu Wei said hurriedly.

“The Godking has long ago informed you all of the locations of the three thousand major worlds. There’s no need for you to teleport to a specific location; any place within the Fifth World will do,” the azure-robed woman said. “This will be very simple for you.”

Yu Wei was silent.

She could do this, of course; the Godking had given her this order, precisely because it would be very easy for her to accomplish.

But…

She wasn’t willing to do it!

Even if she had to die, she wouldn’t do it!

“What are you going to do?” Yu Wei asked.

“That isn’t for you to worry about,” the azure-robed woman snapped. “Does the Godking need to explain his orders to you?”

“I can’t do it.” Yu Wei shook her head. Her voice was soft, but it was very resolute.

“Why can’t you do it? You are Ji Ning’s Dao-companion; he trusts you absolutely. All you have to do is say to him, ‘I’m going to take you somewhere; once you get there, you’ll understand.’ A very simple phrase; Ji Ning won’t suspect a thing. Lead him in a Greater Teleportation and go to the Fifth World…and your mission will be completed,” the azure-robed woman said.

Yu Wei immediately said, “I’ve become apprenticed to Patriarch Lu. In the future, I’ll have a chance to infiltrate the very core of the Daoist Path. If I take Ji Ning to the Fifth World, I’ll be exposed!”

“Once you are exposed, you won’t have to hide any longer. You can openly and honorably serve the Godking.” The azure-robed woman’s gaze turned cold. “You’ve said a few too many things today. On account of the fact that the target is your Dao-companion, I’ll pardon your impudence this once, but I will not pardon it a second time.”

Yu Wei gritted her teeth.

“He is my Dao-companion.” Yu Wei looked at the azure-robed woman.

“I know.” The azure-robed woman looked back at her.

“He’s the most important person in the world to me.” Yu Wei looked at her steadily. “More important than even my own life.”

The azure-robed woman’s gaze turned solemn. Frowning, she said, “Are you going to refuse?”

Yu Wei immediately knelt down, prostrating herself and pressing her forehead down to the ground with the utmost sincerity. “The Godking gave me a new life, and I am absolutely devoted to the Godking. He can ask me to destroy the Black-White College, to kill anyone in the entire world of the Grand Xia, and I won’t hesitate. But Ji Ning is my Dao-companion. I won’t harm him, not even if I have to die!”

“You actually dare to disobey the commands of the Godking?” The azure-robed woman was stunned. “You…you’ll be sent into the Infinity Hells, never to be reborn again!”

Yu Wei just knelt there, not saying another word.

The azure-robed woman stared at Yu Wei. “You should know what will happen if you disobey the Godking. I’ll give you one last chance…”

“Even if you ask me a hundred times, a thousand times…my answer remains the same.” Yu Wei just knelt there.

“Then…wait to be brought into the Infinity Hells.” The azure-robed woman waved her arm, then disappeared into thin air.

……

Night.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were sleeping together on their bed. Although Immortals had no need for slumber, it felt nice to sleep every so often, and it could release a bit of the stress one felt. Even the most powerful of Immortals would occasionally take a nap, and in fact some Immortals were so relaxed that they might sleep for ten thousand years each time.

Suddenly, Yu Wei’s eyelids twitched slightly. She slowly opened her eyes.

“It’s finally come.”

Pain was in Yu Wei’s eyes.

She had been terrified of this day coming. She had thought that, upon becoming Patriarch Lu’s disciple, that she had become more useful and that the Godking wouldn’t order her to expose herself, allowing her to be together with Ning for a longer period of time. But now, the Godking’s order had come, after she had only spent half a year together with Ning.

Yu Wei gently pressed her head against Ning’s chest, feeling the warmth coming from Ning’s body.

“What is it?” Ning woke up as well. He reached out to put his arm around Yu Wei; he could sense that she seemed to be feeling quite weak and soft right now.

“Nothing. I had a bad dream,” Yu Wei said softly.

Ning nodded gently.

He knew that Yu Wei had a tragic life in her past life, while in this life her parents had died when she was young. She had most likely dreamt of something unpleasant.

“It was just a dream. Life is just going to get better and better for us.” Ning held Yu Wei in his arms.

“Right. Better and better.” Yu Wei smiled.

……

“Senior apprentice-sister, you seem to be in quite a good mood. You’ve been smiling all day long.” Ning released his Darknorth swords. His slaughter of those Celestial Immortals had finally caused his three Darknorth swords to have absorbed enough baleful auras to become low-grade Pure Yang treasures.

Yu Wei put down her platter of spirit-fruit and smiled. “I’m with you, and there’s no one to bother us. We’re living in a lover’s paradise right now; why can’t I smile?”

Ning smiled as well.

Right.

A lover’s paradise.

The only two people within this estate were himself and Yu Wei. Immortal Diancai was quite discrete; he didn’t come bother them unless there was something important. This was a world that belonged to just the two of them; to refer to it as a ‘lover’s paradise’ wasn’t too far off the mark.

“Haha, it would be wonderful if we can always live such a relaxed, happy life. My most cherished dream is of living a peaceful, calm life with my loved ones until the end of time.” A hint of nostalgia appeared in Ning’s eyes. “My father and my mother have both left me. But…I still have you, senior apprentice-sister.”

“Right.” Yu Wei nodded gently. In her heart, however, she silently said to herself: “Junior apprentice-brother, these might be our final days together. I want to leave you with the most perfect of memories. I’m going to smile, to laugh, to be happy.”

……

Within a dark region.

There was a towering, thirty thousand meter throne, and a massive black-robed figure seated upon it. He was gently tapping on his left armrest with his left arm.

Below him was Yu Wei, kneeling. Next to her was the azure-robed woman.

“You’ve disappointed me deeply.” The Godking’s voice echoed within the entire region of darkness.

Yu Wei didn’t dare to say a single word in her own defense.

“However…I know that you feel very deep emotions towards this Ji Ning.” The Godking sighed. “This word, ‘love’…there have been countless who have been driven mad by it, even amongst Immortals and Fiends. I can forgive you this time, and I will no longer give you any missions pertaining to Ji Ning…but if you ever disobey me again, then you shall go burn for all eternity within the Infinity Hells.”

“Thank you, Godking.” Yu Wei revealed an excited look on her face, while the nearby azure-robed woman revealed a look of astonishment.

Yu Wei had never imagined that she was going to survive this disaster. After all, it was simplicity itself for the Godking to slay her. The Godking had imprinted her soul with his seal during her past life; with but a single thought, he could tear her soul out and cast it into the Infinity Hells. The Infinity Hells was an illusory place of damnation which the Godking had constructed; souls cast into it would suffer endless torment which would never come to an end. In fact…with but a single thought, the Godking could shatter her soul and kill her.

And yet, she felt tremendous gratitude towards the Godking. It was the Godking who had bestowed new life upon her.

“Go then.” The Godking waved his hand, and Yu Wei vanished.

“Godking.” The azure-robed woman could no longer stay silent. She had followed the Godking for far too long; this was completely different from how the Godking usually did things.

“Even if we don’t give her any missions related to Ji Ning, we can still use her to unknowingly send him on the road to hell,” the Godking said. “In addition…this chess piece, Yu Wei, remains very useful to us. I’ll pardon her impudence, this once.”

The azure-robed woman’s eyes gleamed. “The Godking is wise.”

……

Within a private room.

Yu Wei opened her eyes, unable to disguise the excitement within them.

“Junior apprentice-brother, junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei immediately charged out of the still room, running towards the wide courtyard outside. Within the courtyard, Ning was training with his Darknorth swords. He wanted to master the Dao of the Sword as quickly as possible! He could sense that he was on the path to full master of the Dao; although his mastery of swordforce had only increased his combat power by a small amount, he was now gaining insight into the Dao of the Sword at a much faster pace.

“Eh?” Ning turned around, then laughed, “Senior apprentice-sister, I’m still training. Is there something you need?”

“Nothing.” Yu Wei sat down, just staring at him.

She quickly recovered from her state of excitement. She also quickly understood that even though she didn’t have to act against Ning, she would still have to carry out other missions against other people. In fact, due to her connection against Patriarch Lu, she would now be sent to deal with even more powerful figures. In short…sooner or later, she would still be revealed.

The day that she was revealed would be the day when she would be forced to leave Ji Ning…and in fact, might be the day of her death.

“That day will come, no matter what…?” After this latest experience, Yu Wei became even more reluctant to part with him.

That very night.

Ning and Yu Wei were together in bed, sharing a pillow.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei was in Ning’s arms.

“Mm?” Ning looked at her.

“Let’s have a baby,” Yu Wei said suddenly.

“Have a baby? Why? The Three Realms are in a state of chaos; how can we possibly take care of a baby right now?” Ning was startled. He was a Fiendgod, while Yu Wei was a Celestial Immortal; it was very difficult for Immortals and Fiendgods to conceive, but much easier for them to prevent conception. All they had to do was use their elemental energy or their divine power to prevent it.

Yu Wei looked at him. “I want one. The Three Realms are in a state of chaos, as you said. This way, even if one of us ends up dying, we’ll at least have a child together.”

“How can you say such things?” Ning said.

“If you die, do you plan to leave me alone in this world?” Yu Wei asked. “You’ve experienced so many dangerous events lately; I’m honestly terrified right now. If you were gone…I wouldn’t be able to stay alive.”

When Ning thought of how he had been exiled to the Nihilum Zone, his heart turned soft. He nodded. “Fine. If you want a baby, we’ll have a baby. But I’m a Fiendgod, while you are a Celestial Immortal; it’s going to be very hard for us to conceive.”

“We still have to give it a try,” Yu Wei said earnestly.

“Theeen…here I come!” Ning chortled, then gently pulled Yu Wei’s gauzy clothes off of her.

It was a dark, dreamy night. Ning felt as though he was intoxicated by bliss…

……

Whether it was due to sheer luck or whether it was because someone was looking out for them…on the third month of their attempts, Yu Wei, a Celestial Immortal, became pregnant by Ji Ning, a Fiendgod.

After becoming pregnant, Yu Wei spent every day just sitting there, stroking her belly, beaming as she watched Ning train with the sword. In truth, there was no swelling whatsoever in Yu Wei’s belly at this point in time, but she still liked to stroke her belly…because she was caressing the child of herself and Ji Ning.

Ning completely immersed himself within swordplay, but whenever he paused, he would turn to beam merrily at Yu Wei.

Every time he did, he would feel very warm, very happy.

It had been so long…

Ever since his parents had passed on…it had been so long since he had felt such warmth. This was an intoxicating warmth, one which filled him with vigor! In the future, after his child was born, the two of them would play with the baby together. Those days would be even more blissful, right?

“Eh?” Ning suddenly ceased his training.

“What is it?” Yu Wei, was had been eating some spirit-fruit, couldn’t help but pause and query him.

“My Primaltwin has perfected its mastery over heartforce.” An excited look was in Ning’s eyes.

“Then…are you going to have your Primaltwin attempt the Celestial Tribulation?” Yu Wei was stunned.

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Chapter 16 – The Enraged Celestial Immortal Blackheaven

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 16 – The Enraged Celestial Immortal Blackheaven

Ji Ning nodded lightly. “It should be time to undergo the tribulation. However, prior to doing so…I want to make a trip back to Swallow Mountain. You can think of this as a way to calm myself prior to the tribulation. Honestly, as I see it…in my Celestial Tribulation, I expect the wind tribulation, fire tribulation, and thunder tribulations to be comparatively easy to deal with, while the demonheart tribulation will be the toughest.”

He had karmic sinflames covering him, after all; the demonheart tribulation would probably be truly terrifying.

“Alright.” Yu Wei was somewhat worried as well.

“Give Master a head’s up. We’re going back to Swallow Mountain today,” Ning said.

“Whatever you say,” Yu Wei said with a smile.

That very day, Ning and Yu Wei returned to Swallow Mountain.

……

Swallow Mountain. Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

“Ah!? Master, you…you are actually having a baby with Rainbowflame? And you didn’t tell me?! You didn’t tell me something as important as this?! You’re breaking my heart! Wowowow!” Little Qing stared at Yu Wei’s belly, utterly excited. “Master, let your child be my disciple, alright?”

“You? Based on what? Don’t even think about leading that poor child astray.” The nearby Uncle White chortled merrily while seated. He was actually the happiest one of them all.

An heir!

Ji Ning had an heir!

If my big brother and my sister-in-law were still alive…I can’t even imagine how happy they would be right now.

“Senior apprentice-brother, I insist on being godfather to your child.” Mu Northson was similarly unable to disguise his joy and eagerness.

“Fine. However, as his godfather, you need to prepare some quality gifts. As a grandmaster of constructs…you absolutely have to bring out some particularly nice things.” Ning laughed. Giving his junior apprentice-brother something to care about was a wonderful thing.

“Stop just chatting. Quick, all of you, sit.”

The door swung open, and Autumn Leaf walked in carrying a platter of sumptuous foods.

Everyone was gathered here together, eating, drinking, and joking around.

Ning’s heart grew increasingly calm, increasingly peaceful.

For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to come back before his Celestial Tribulation. Aside from meeting with these familiar faces…he wanted to see Serpentwing Lake.

……

A boat was drifting about on the surface of Serpentwing Lake. Ji Ning lay within it, sleeping by himself.

Mist gathered in the area around him.

Eventually, Ning sat up. He stretched out with his hand, gently gliding it through the water beneath the boat. He said softly, “Father, Mother…when you were alive, you had always hoped that my name would be known throughout the world. And now…your child has accomplished it! In fact, your child’s name is now known even in other major worlds. And now, in a few days, your child shall undergo the Celestial Tribulation.”

“Your child swears this…I will definitely become a True God and a Daofather. I’ll stand at the very peak of the Three Realms…and at that point in time, I’ll see you again. I’ll tell you all of these things in person. As for this tribulation…it’s be nothing more a small wave before the great storm to come.”

It was as though Ji Ning was engaging in idle banter with his family members. He just glided his hand through the water as he spoke. His voice, however, contained a decisiveness and an ambition that would cause the faces of those who heard it to change.

……

A beautiful gorge, with many palaces built within it, as well as many flowers, trees, and other forms of vegetation. It was as beautiful as paradise.

Two supremely lovely Immortal maidens who were even more astonishingly beautiful than Yu Wei were walking through it, shoulder-by-shoulder.

One of them was dressed in green, while the other was dressed in gray.

The peerless fairy maiden dressed in gray sackcloth clothes was walking barefoot. The gray clothes covering her were completely unable to disguise her beauty; in fact, they gave her a spiritual aura that it seem as though she transcended the mortal world. Countles male Immortals and Fiends would go mad just looking at her. She was the leader of the Seven Female Immortals of the Hundred Tombs Mountain, ‘Fairy Deadgrass’.

The Hundred Tombs Mountain, a place within the Heaven Realm where spiritual energy gathered in abundance. In the Primordial Era, it used to be a place where many of the most powerful deceased Fiendgods would be buried, which was why it was known as the ‘Hundred Tombs Mountain’. However, because so many powerful Fiendgods had been buried there, the place had become even more mysterious. Many flowers and trees had grown in that place, many of which possessed spiritual qualities. In fact, some of them spontaneously trained in cultivation!

It was incredibly difficult for flowers and plants to train in cultivation; since they all came from the Hundred Tombs Mountain, they were naturally an extremely unified group.

After they were able to take human form, they all appeared as women.

The Hundred Tombs Mountain had many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals, as well as six Celestial Immortals and one Pure Yang True Immortal.

Of those maidens…Fairy Deadgrass was the Pure Yang True Immortal! She was originally a blade of grass that looked dry and withered, but that blade of grass was incredibly marvelous; no other flowers or types of vegetation were able to survive at all within a very large region around her. After taking human form as an Earth Immortal, she had been to effortlessly overcome her Celestial Tribulation, becoming the number one Celestial Immortal of the Hundred Tombs Mountain. She was extremely reserved, and the more one interacted with her, the more intoxicated one would feel. In fact, even the Celestial Emperor of the Three Realms had been smitten by her. He had wanted to sneak in to court her, but who would’ve thought that upon entering the Hundred Tombs Mountain, the Celestial Emperor would have been physically kicked out, a single word echoing throughout the entire Heaven Realm:

“SCRAM!”

The Celestial Emperor had slunk away in disgrace.

After that, many in the Three Realms began to hypothesize that Fairy Deadgrass had to have a True God or Daofather behind her. However…given that Fairy Deadgrass was arguably one of the most peerless beauties of the entire Three Realms, it wasn’t strange for her to have attracted the attention of a True God or a Daofather.

“Elder sister.” The green-robed fairy maiden’s eyes glistened with tears. “Little sister Violetgrass died such a miserable death. She was just a little girl, but that ‘Ji Ning’ showed her no mercy at all. My husband went all-out to defend her, and even sent a mental message ordering him to stop…but Ji Ning still killed little sister Violetgrass. Elder sister…you have to take revenge for her!”

A cold light flashed through the eyes of Fairy Deadgrass. She said calmly, “We Seven Female Immortals of the Hundred Tombs Mountain…we aren’t killed so easily. Who is this Ji Ning, and where does he come from? Your husband, True Immortal Gaudy, is quite powerful; could it be that even he was unable to kill him?”

“This Ji Ning is merely a Void-level Fiendgod; he hasn’t even overcome his tribulation,” the green-robed woman said. “However, he is extremely powerful; although he is merely a Void-level Fiendgod, he was able to block my husband for a period of time.”

“He blocked Gaudy?” Fairy Deadgrass was startled.

There was a tremendous difference in power between Celestial Immortals and True Immortals. To block a True Immortal…only the rarest and most monstrously talented Celestial Immortals of the Three Realms were capable of such a thing.

“According to what my husband said, although he wanted to kill Ji Ning very much, Ji Ning’s power has indeed reached the threshold of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals,” the green-robed woman said. “In addition, the Xia Emperor of the Grand Xia insisted on protecting Ji Ning. And…a True God or Daofather master stands behind Ji Ning! Right; I forgot to tell you this, but this Ji Ning has trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] as well.”

Fairy Deadgrass’ body stiffened.

“Understood.” Fairy Deadgrass stood there pensively.

The green-robed fairy maiden stood next to her, waiting impatiently.

She knew very well that her elder sister was capable of many things; naturally, she was hoping that her elder sister would help out.

“Elder sister?” The green-robed fairy maiden called out softly.

“The Seven Female Immortals of the Hundred Tombs Mountain…Violetgrass was the youngest, and she had always followed you. I only met her a few times after she overcame her tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal. Although there isn’t much of a relationship between us…no matter what, she came from our Hundred Tombs Mountain. If memory serves, after she left you, she went to follow Azurefox, right?” Fairy Deadgrass said.

“Right.” The green-robed woman nodded.

“I’ll go meet Azurefox tomorrow,” Fairy Deadgrass said calmly.

There were many female Immortals in the Hundred Tombs Mountain, including a large group of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals. Due to the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, most found it hard to live for more than a million years. Thus, the earliest ones who were born, such as Fairy Deadgrass, didn’t have much of a connection to the latecomers; they only had close connections to the others who were also born early on. Violetgrass was one of the latecomers; she had first followed many powerful figures, but had actually been lucky enough to ecome a Celestial Immortal. If it weren’t for that, Fairy Deadgrass probably wouldn’t even remember who she was.

……

The Fifth World.

Within that towering palace, the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate, ‘Azurefox’, was accompanying her guest, Fairy Deadgrass.

“Little sister Deadgrass, I’ve already told you the full details to this story.” Gatemaster Azurefox shook her head. “To tell you the truth…our Seamless Gate wants to kill Ji Ning more badly than any of you do. If he doesn’t die, then he will become a dangerous variable that will impact our plans to subjugate the Grand Xia. He already has the power to impact the situation right now, much less in the future when he grows more powerful. Thus, the earlier we kill him, the better. However, I haven’t been able to find a good opportunity to do this. After all, he’s very tough to kill, with the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him. And once we fail in killing him…the Immortals that we send to deal with him might end up being killed by the figure standing behind him.”

Fairy Deadgrass frowned.

She was an incredibly proud figure…but there was no way she would blindly rush into danger.

“Azurefox.”

An enraged bellow rang out, and a long-haired man came storming in with a terrifying look in his eyes.

“Blackheaven.” Gatemaster Azurefox and Fairy Deadgrass both watched him enter. He was one of the marvels amongst the countless Celestial Immortals of the Three Realms, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven. From the Primordial Era to the current era, no one had ever been able to determine for sure exactly how powerful Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was. However, what they did find out suggested that he was most likely just as powerful as a supreme Celestial Immortal.

Still…when he engaged in fights, he often used many strange, heterodox techniques that caused even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals problems! For example, when True Immortal Gaudy had gone to kill Ji Ning, Ji Ning had been able to use his archery to block him. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, however…he would’ve been able to rely on his heterodox techniques to escape. Thus, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms treated him as they would an equal.

“Violetgrass DIED?! You, the ‘exalted Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate’…why the hell didn’t you help take care of her? Do you remember the words you told me, back then?!” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was livid. He would never forget that little girl who had just started to take human form, and who had followed him around addressing him as ‘old geezer’. He had always beamed merrily towards that little girl.

“I was unable to do anything. I couldn’t make it in time.” Gatemaster Azurefox shook her head.

“Damn.” A cold light flashed through Blackheaven’s eyes. “The Godking has three hundred Seamless Gates under his command. If you can’t even protect one of your maids, do you really think you are worthy of being one of the Gatemasters?”

“Blackheaven, you go too far!” A dark, cold light flashed through Azurefox’s eyes as well, and her azure hair began to float upwards.

“I go too far? You’re the one who went too far by letting Violetgrass die. I taught her step-by-step, helping her establish her foundation, so that she could quickly become a Celestial Immortal, and a supreme one at that! I never imagined that…damn. You letting her take on missions was one thing, but you actually let her take on such a terrifyingly dangerous mission?” Blackheaven was truly enraged.

“That stupid kid…she didn’t break the talisman I gave her.” A hint of tears could be seen in Blackheaven’s eyes, but the tears quickly vanished.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven felt such regret.

He had roamed the Three Realms for his entire life, living in a carefree manner from the Primordial Era to the present day. He rarely came to truly care for someone, but he ended up treating that silly little girl who thought herself to be supremely clever as one of his own children. Who would’ve thought that they would’ve ended up being parted by death so soon?

In truth, when Violetgrass had been at the verge of death, she had thought of Celestial Immortal Blackheaven.

Long ago, Blackheaven had pounded his own chest and boasted proudly, “If there’s anything you need, come find me! I’ll give you three promises to accomplish three tasks for you. No matter how major the task is, I’ll be able to accomplish it.”

“Keep bragging, old geezer. You are just a Celestial Immortal, and you claim to be able to accomplish anything, no matter how major?”

Blackheaven had just smiled, not taking her seriously.

But he had forgotten…that when Violetgrass was in a truly dangerous situation, such as when she had seen how powerful Ji Ning was, how would she possibly dare to break the talisman he had given her? She was afraid; afraid that Blackheaven would’ve thrown his life away as well. Thus, the two talismans she had shattered belonged to True Immortals.

“Hmph.” Gatemaster Azurefox’s gaze flashed past Celestial Immortal Blackheaven. She let out an angry snort, then said, “I made a mistake. I wasn’t able to protect Violetgrass. This time…I’m not going to quibble with you over this.” Gatemaster Azurefox was one of the most loyal followers of the Godking, and so she knew very well that of the powers on her side, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, a mere Celestial Immortal, was behaving in a far too relaxed and unrestricted manner. This relaxed manner caused Gatemaster Azurefox to feel as though something was off. This was why she swallowed her anger, unwilling to truly make an enemy out of Blackheaven right now.

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Chapter 17 – Ji Ning Requests An Audience

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 17 – Ji Ning Requests An Audience

In all honesty, Gatemaster Azurefox couldn’t be blamed for this matter. All the members of the Seamless Gate were risking their lives in their ventures; when the time came, even the Gatemaster herself would go into battle! This battle against Celestial Immortal Unity wasn’t that dangerous a mission either; Violetgrass had only died due to bad luck. The Three Realms were being rocked by a storm; who would dare say for certain that one person would definitely survive?

However, Gatemaster Azurefox could tell that Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was truly enraged, and so she didn’t bother to explain.

In addition…

Blackheaven was on their side. Logically speaking, as a Celestial Immortal, he should be forced to obey the orders that came from his superiors. Only major powers, those linked to major powers like Fairy Deadgrass, and the most supreme of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were able to left alone to their own devices without being assigned any missions. Blackheaven, however, was also left alone and unburdened. This was truly quite strange, and this caused many of their Celestial Immortals to address him reverently as ‘Exalted Immortal Blackheaven’. This also caused Gatemaster Azurefox to feel some nervousness. For an inexplicable reason, she felt as though if she were to truly go fight against Blackheaven, the results would be…poor.

“Blackheaven, don’t blame Azurefox. She had no idea that Ji Ning was this much of a monster.” The nearby Fairy Deadgrass sighed. “When I learned that Violetgrass had died, I immediately rushed over here. I imagine that you, too, came here for the purpose of getting vengeance for her, Blackheaven. Azurefox, as the Gatemaster of her Seamless Gate, wants to kill Ji Ning more than any of us. We all share a common goal, to kill Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning…of course we have to kill him,” Blackheaven growled.

“Even if only for the sake of our subjugation of the Grand Xia alone, Ji Ning must die.” Gatemaster Azurefox hurriedly agreed.

“How to kill him?” Blackheaven asked, “If he could be easily killed, Gaudy would’ve killed him long ago. He’s currently within the world of the Grand Xia. That’s the territory of the Xia Emperor. Both of you know exactly how deep the Xia Emperor’s roots are…”

In truth, they didn’t care as much about the Daofather behind Ji NIng. If they were truly worried, they wouldn’t even dare to say the word ‘kill’. The reason why they weren’t afraid was because the Three Realms were now divided into two major opposing camps. These two camps had come to a common agreement; the major powers were not to casually intervene, because if they did, the other side would probably release even more and even more powerful major powers.

“The Xia Emperor’s roots go deep. If we don’t go all out against him…there’s no way we’ll have a chance to kill Ji Ning,” Gatemaster Azurefox said. “The price of doing that, however, is too great. The best plan of action right now is to have the marquises of the Grand Xia assault the Xia Emperor first.”

This was what the Seamless Gate usually did.

They would recruit some of the marquises, then use them to assault the other marquises. A full frontal assault…if the Seamless Gate truly had enough of an advantage to carry out such an assault, why would they have worked so furtively all these years? They would’ve forcibly swept through and conquered the Three Realms long ago. However…clearly, the Seamless Gate wasn’t that powerful yet.

……

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, Gatemaster Azurefox, and Fairy Deadgrass couldn’t come up with any ideas for acting against Ning.

Just as Blackheaven was about to turn and leave with a belly full of fire…

“Eh?” Gatemaster Azurefox suddenly rose to her feet.

Puzzled, Blackheaven gave her a glance.

Fairy Deadgrass was puzzled as well.

“Our chance just came.” Azurefox revealed a smile as she looked towards Fairy Deadgrass and Blackheaven. “Our chance to kill Ji Ning just came.”

“What?”

“What’s the chance?” Fairy Deadgrass was puzzled, while Blackheaven immediately went to the point.

Azurefox smiled. “I just received word that Ji Ning is about to undergo his tribulation. It should be his Primaltwin that is going to undergo the Celestial Tribulation.”

“Tribulation?” Fairy Deadgrass and Celestial Immortal Blackheaven were both surprised…and then both revealed looks of delight.

“This is indeed a wonderful opportunity.” Fairy Deadgrass laughed as well. “Once his tribulation begins, especially when the final demonheart tribulation begins…since a Primaltwin shares the same memories and thoughts with the true body, the true body will also be trapped in the demonheart world. Ji Ning will be at his weakest; he won’t be able to fight back at all.”

“Right. He’ll be unable to fight back, and the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] will be useless against the demonheart tribulation.” Blackheaven revealed a look of delight.

……

The azure-robed woman felt quite excited for this stroke of luck.

It was incredibly hard to subjugate a major world. One had to remove multiple impediments, and Ji Ning had become one such impediment that she had to resolve.

That very day, True Immortal Gaudy, Fairy Deadgrass, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, Immortal Venomfreak, and the three leaders of the Seamless Gate, the Myriad Demons Cave, and Bloodcloud Hall gathered together for a meeting.

“We’ll primarily be relying on you this time, Exalted Immortals.” Immortal Venomfreak had a very humble attitude, and his ingratiating smile caused his ugly face to look even more savage. “If there’s anything you need me, Venomfreak, to carry out, just tell me. I’m prepared to give my life up over there if needed.”

“Life?”

The others all chuckled. Immortal Venomfreak’s ‘life’ was spent cheaply; he had already died countless times! There was no value in killing his clones.

“I’ll bring six of my aberrations as well. I’ve been nurturing them since the Primordial Era, and they are amongst the most powerful of my children.” Immortal Venomfreak had a delighted look on his face, and the other Immortals present all nodded and smiled. Immortal Venomfreak had many clones spread throughout the universe, and was quite famous within the Three Realms for his abilities in cultivating venomous bug-aberrations. All of them were thick and muscular, and could be used in many ways.

“When we go to the Grand Xia, we are all risking our lives,” Fairy Deadgrass said. “I’m only going to have one of my incarnations to go.”

“Right. I’ll send an incarnation as well, and it’ll carry some of my powerful magic treasures. It should have a tenth of my full power,” True Immortal Gaudy said.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven let out a cold snort.

However…even though he wanted to take revenge for Violetgrass more than anyone else, he too was merely going to send a clone over. This was because his specialties lay in his varied, heterodox skills; it didn’t make too much of a difference whether he sent his true body or if he sent his clone. However, when True Immortal Gaudy and Fairy Deadgrass sent over their incarnations, those incarnations would most likely only have at most a tenth of their full power, no matter how powerful those clones were.

Their incarnations and clones were created through Celestial Immortal techniques; if they died, it wouldn’t impact their strength that much. Their true bodies, however, could not die; they would truly perish if their true bodies were slain.

Immortal Venomfreak was different. In truth, he didn’t even really have a ‘true body’; he had many clones, each of which could be considered his ‘true body’. Thus, one had to wipe out all of his clones before he would die; otherwise, if so much as a single clone survived, he would be able to quickly recover.

“Our Seamless Gate shall send the clones of two Empyrean Gods as well,” the azure-robed woman said.

“Our Bloodcloud Hall will send out a team of Hellsworn,” the skinny elder said with a smile.

“I will provide a construct to that team of Hellsworn,” the fire-robed man said.

The addition of these three organizations had caused the power of this team to increase significantly.

“Now…the only question is, where is Ji Ning undergoing his tribulation,” Blackheaven mused softly.

“If he ends up running to the Daofather master behind him, there will be nothing we can do. Otherwise…even if though Xia Emperor is protecting him, during the tribulation itself Ji Ning will be helpless. We only need a short period of time to kill him when we attack.” Azurefox said confidently, “Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s ‘Yin-Yang Arcane Ki Bottle’ will be able to kill Ji Ning effortlessly.”

Blackheaven nodded. “I’ll bring the Yin-Yang Arcane Ki Bottle, of course.”

The others couldn’t help but give Blackheaven a glance.

Blackheaven really did have far too many treasures.

Some were Protocosmic spirit-treasures, while others were rather unique treasures with extraordinary powers. Once, Blackheaven had set up a trap that caused an Empyrean God of the Celestial Court to accidentally become ensnared within the Yin-Yang Arcane Ki Bottle. He had nearly died within that battle, and in the end had only survived because their respective major powers had negotiated, resulting in that Empyrean God being released.

……

Night.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. The Skylight Palace.

“Imperial Majesty, Ji Ning requests an audience,” the white-faced elder said respectfully.

“Ji Ning? Let him enter.” The black-robed Xia Emperor, seated in the lotus position atop his jade bed, opened his eyes.

Soon, a youth entered the room.

“Imperial Majesty.” Ning saluted respectfully.

“Ji Ning, why have you come to speak to me in the middle of the night?” The Xia Emperor laughed.

Ji Ning said, “To be honest, there’s something I would ask of you, your Imperial Majesty.”

“Oh?” The Xia Emperor listened.

“Nine days from now, I’m preparing to have my Primaltwin undergo the Celestial Tribulation,” Ning said. “However…I imagine that the Seamless Gate has had their sights set on me for quite some time now, and they seem to have perfect knowledge regarding the location of every Void-level individual’s tribulation. I believe that no matter how careful I am, they will still be able to find out where my tribulation is. During the tribulation, when the demonheart tribulation begins, even my true body will be unable to fight back. I will be at my weakest at this period of time, and the Seamless Gate definitely won’t give up that opportunity. Thus…I’ve come to ask you to help, your Imperial Majesty.”

The Xia Emperor laughed. “Haha, don’t worry about this. Undergoing the Celestial Tribulation is an important matter; I’ll naturally protect you with all my might.”

In truth, Ning felt rather resigned. Unless his master, Patriarch Subhuti, actively reached out to him, there was no way for Ning to contact him, much less return to the world of the Crescent. If that wasn’t the case, he would’ve returned to the Crescent world for his tribulation, which would’ve been much safer. After all, the other major powers were unable to even locate the Crescent world.

The Starseizing world left behind by Daoist Threelives was also very safe, but until he was acknowledged as the true heir, he wouldn’t be able to enter at all.

And so, in the end, he had come to ask the Xia Emperor for help.

One of the reasons why Ji Ning had revealed his sharpness last time was for this.

“However…it probably won’t be enough for me to guard you during your tribulation.” The Xia Emperor frowned. “When you undergo your tribulation, you will be completely defenseless. Although the Seamless Gate won’t be strong enough to defeat me…they still might be capable of some other tricks, such as tearing through space to arrive at your tribulation area, resisting my forces for a short period of time, then killing you.”

Ning nodded.

There were figures within the Three Realms capable of killing him. For example, magic treasures that contained and was able to unleash extremely powerful truefire or truewater would be capable of completely annihilating him. However…under normal circumstances, he would be able to fight back; he wouldn’t be so foolish as to allow himself to be trapped within those treasures.

“How about this…I’ll take you to the ‘seat of awakening’ 1 of my master,” the Xia Emperor said with a laugh. “You definitely won’t encounter any problems while undergoing your tribulation at my master’s place.”

Ning was both surprised and delighted.

The Xia Emperor’s master? Daofather Crimsonbright?

If he could receive protection from a Daofather, his tribulation would become far safer. Having a powerful backer really did make a difference! As for his own master, Patriarch Subhuti…sheesh. He was the ultimate arbiter of whether or not his disciples would even be allowed to return to the Crescent world. By contrast, Daofather Crimsonbright had openly taken control over dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds.

However, it was precisely because of how secretive he was that Patriarch Subhuti had become known as the most mysterious Daofather of the Three Realms.

“But, but…would the Daofather permit me to enter?” Ning hesitated slightly.

“Let me report this matter to my master, first. If his place won’t work, then I’ll take you to my big brother’s place,” the Xia Emperor laughed.

Big brother?

Ji Ning instantly thought of the Xia Emperor’s lifelong friend…Daofather Raindragon! Yet another Daofather!

A seat of awakening, aka Bodhimanda, is the place where a Buddhist or a Daoist gains enlightenment.

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Chapter 18 – Demonheart

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 18 – Demonheart

“Thank you, your Imperial Majesty.” Ji Ning was utterly delighted.

The Xia Emperor nodded. “The Celestial Tribulation is the greatest, most dangerous tribulation any Immortal cultivator will face on his path. One cannot be overconfident in dealing with it. Since you have karmic sinflames around you, your demonheart tribulation will definitely be quite extraordinary…”

Ning nodded.

Right.

Demonheart…

Last time, when the karmic sinflames had unleashed three rounds of tribulations upon him, Ning had realized how terrifying his demonheart tribulation would be. In truth…he didn’t know for certain if he would be able to withstand it this time.

“Then I’ll leave now, your Imperial Majesty,” Ning said.

“Go. I’ll decide upon your tribulation area within the next two days,” the Xia Emperor said.

Ning immediately left.

This trip had been worth it. The Xia Emperor’s promise of assistance…if a Daofather truly was going to protect him, then he would have no outside factors to worry about during his Celestial Tribulation.

……

“Damn.”

The day after Ning had gone to speak to the Xia Emperor. The azure-robed woman had previously been seating calmly in the lotus position atop her jade bed. Now, her face changed. She immediately barked, “Hurry up and invite True Immortal Gaudy, True Immortal Deadgrass, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, Celestial Immortal Venomfreak, Empyrean God Threesuns, and Empyrean God Beastleave. Also invite the leaders of the Myriad Demons Cave and Bloodcloud Hall.”

“Alright.” The maid outside immediately acknowledged the order.

A short while later, everyone had arrived within the palace.

Empyrean God Azurefox, Empyrean God Threesuns, and Empyrean God Beastleave were of the Seamless Gate. True Immortal Gaudy and True Immortal Deadgrass were both Pure Yang True Immortals, while Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was equivalent to them in status. Immortal Venomfreak had the lowest status of the group.

Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were major figures of the Three Realms, after all, and when they took on masters, their masters were usually Daofathers. In fact, within the Three Realms, almost all Empyrean Gods or True Immortals had a Daofather or True God supporting them. Thus, even though Ji Ning might have a Daofather master, they wouldn’t really care that much; the only thing causing them some nervousness was the fact that Ji Ning had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“The situation has changed.” After everyone arrived, the azure-robed woman spoke out in a solemn voice.

“What happened?” They all looked at her.

They knew that she must have invited them all over to discuss matters pertaining to Ji Ning. The faces of Blackheaven and Venomfreak instantly changed; of the people present, these two cared about this matter the most.

The azure-robed woman said solemnly, “I just received word that the location of Ji Ning’s tribulation has been set.”

“Where?” Blackheaven immediately asked.

“He asked the Xia Emperor to protect him. The Xia Emperor, wanting to be cautious, didn’t summon his own forces. Instead, he reported this to Daofather Crimsonbright, asking for Ji Ning to be allowed to undergo his tribulation at Daofather Crimsonbright’s seat of awakening. Daofather Crimsonbright has already given the nod and agreed,” the azure-robed woman said.

This news was actually top-secret. The Xia Emperor hadn’t even told his subordinates about it, and very few people by the side of Daofather Crimsonbright knew about it. The Seamless Gate, however, had found out right away. The accuracy and lethality of their intelligence…it was the best in the Three Realms! It had reached an utterly terrifying level.

However, the people present didn’t have any desire to ponder about such matters. All of them knew exactly how formidable the Seamless Gate’s intelligence network was.

“Daofather Crimsonbright?”

“If it’s at his seat of awakening, then we have no chance at all.”

“Are we going to have to invite a major power?”

They all began to worry.

Forget about their incarnations and their clones; even if they sent their true bodies in to violate a Daofather’s seat of awakening…Daofather Crimsonbright would probably wipe them all out in an instant.

“There’s no way our superiors will start a war against Daofather Crimsonbright for Ji Ning’s sake.” The azure-robed woman shook her head. “Once a battle starts, the other Daofathers and True Gods will jump in as well…the end result might be a massive, chaotic war amongst True Gods and Daofathers. We can’t possibly afford to pay such a price.”

“Right.” They all nodded.

If a huge storm erupted due to personal grudges between True Gods and Daofathers, that was one thing. But if as a result of their report, a huge storm erupted that claimed the lives of two or three of their Daofathers…they wouldn’t be able to bear that sort of responsibility.

“Then what should we do?” Blackheaven frowned and barked.

Everyone was silent.

However, the horned figure that had been silent up till now suddenly laughed. “I have an idea.”

“Oh?” All of them looked over to him.

Immortal Venomfreak laughed, “Exalted Immortals, all of you should know that when Ji Ning battled against my Youngflame clan, he was punished with karmic sinflames.”

“Yes.”

“Right.”

All of their eyes lit up; they were all intelligent people, and only one word was all it took for them to sense what Immortal Venomfreak was saying.

“Due to the karmic sinflames, when he undergoes his Celestial Tribulation, the power of the wind, fire, and thunder tribulations will increase significantl, but those aren’t that important…what really matters is his demonheart tribulation. That’s when the tribulation shall become the most astonishing and the most terrifying.” Immortal Venomfreak laughed. “I already know exactly what sort of a person this Ji Ning is; he cares deeply about filial piety and loyalty to his loved ones and friends. He’s willing to die for his loved ones, and he’s also willing to die for his brothers.”

“Right.” The nearby fire-robed man nodded. “To save his junior apprentice-brother, this Ji Ning once launched a major battle within one of the bases of our Myriad Demons Cave, not worrying about offending us at all.”

“His devotion to his friends is worthy of our admiration; although I, Venomfreak, would never act like him, I still admire him very much.” Immortal Venomfreak chortled. “The greatest strength of a person like him is that his devotion can make his Dao-heart incredibly, terrifyingly strong. But at the same time, his devotion is also his weak spot; once it crumbles, then his Dao-heart will also crumble.”

“Now, since Ji Ning overcame karmic sinflames, it’s not very likely that we will be able to make the devotion he feels for his loved ones crumble. However…it’s possible for us to fill his heart with boundless rage and hate!”

“Kill those who he cares about!”

“Kill that ‘Uncle White’, who he treats as he would a father or a mother! Kill that obedient little spirit-beast of his, that Azure Skysnake!”

“Kill that Autumn Leaf, who he loves as he would a sister.”

“His Dao-companion, Yu Wei.”

“His junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson.”

“Kill them all! Ji Ning will definitely be enraged, and he’ll definitely turn berserk and go mad!” Immortal Venomfreak’s smile began even more brilliant. “Although sometimes madness can increase one’s power…during the demonheart tribulation, going berserk is one of the greatest taboos. There are very, very few berserk demons who are capable of overcoming their Celestial Tribulation, unless they truly have pure Dao-hearts and truly are born demons. However, Ji Ning is not a demon by nature; there’s no way he can have a pure, demonic Dao-heart.”

“Good idea.” The azure-robed woman nodded. “However, Yu Wei cannot be killed.”

“Cannot kill Yu Wei?” Immortal Venomfreak nodded. “Although killing the others would also enrage him…Yu Wei is his Dao-companion. Killing her will have the greatest impact on Ji NIng.”

“No. Yu Wei is Lu Dongbin’s disciple. Our target right now is Ji Ning; I don’t want to pull Lu Dongbin into the mix.” The azure-robed woman swept them with her gaze. “You should all know that if Lu Dongbin gets involved…then our branch of the Seamless Gate probably wouldn’t be able to survive.”

Everyone turned solemn.

The Godking had a total of three hundred Seamless Gates under his command. Although their particular branch was strong, Lu Dongbin himself was incredibly powerful, and his friends spanned the Three Realms. He was only friendly terms with more than ten True Gods and Daofathers. One of them treated Lu Dongbin like a son…and that one was one of the most supremely powerful leaders of the Daoist Path. If Lu Dongbin got into the mix…it could indeed cause a tremendous storm. Even if he just called his friends, such as the Eight Immortals of the High Caves, that would be enough to wipe out their Seamless Gate.

“Fine. We won’t touch Yu Wei.”

“Don’t touch her.”

Everyone agreed.

Immortal Venomfreak secretly smirked. These people only dared to go after the easy targets. It seemed as though in the Seamless Gate…only the most powerful of figures would dare cause trouble for the likes of Lu Dongbin. These Empyrean Gods and True Immortals present today, at least, didn’t have the courage to go up against him.

“Haha, killing the others is enough. That Uncle White, that Autumn Leaf…they are family to Ji NIng.” Immortal Venomfreak laughed. “Gatemaster, when shall we move?”

“There’s no time to waste. Let’s make some quick preparations, then make our move tomorrow morning and assault Serpentwing Lake.” The azure-robed woman added, “If Ji Ning is at Serpentwing Lake as well, then let’s kill him as well. If we can’t kill him, killing those targets will satisfy our objectives.”

“Right.”

They all nodded.

Time flowed on. Soon, the day ended…and the next day arrived.

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Chapter 19 – On Brightheart Island

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 19 – On Brightheart Island

It was at the cusp of summer, with spring coming to an end. The morning was rather cool.

Swallow Mountain, Serpentwing Lake, Brightheart Island. Ji Ning walked out of his room by himself, with Yu Wei still asleep. At the Celestial Immortal level, one usually did not need to rise early or engage in an austere lifestyle. What really mattered was understanding the Dao. Once one reached a sufficiently high level in the Dao, such as mastering of a Grand Dao, then ki would manifest within the chest, causing one to immediately become a Pure Yang True Immortal.

However, the mastery of a Grand Dao was simply far too difficult. Many Celestial Immortals were trapped in front of the final bottleneck before mastery, unable to take that last step no matter how they tried.

Thus, Yu Wei’s life was quite relaxed; she wouldn’t even get out of bed until the Golden Crow had risen high into the sky.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.. As Ning walked towards the waters of the lake, he could make out the rustling sound of the waves of Serpentwing Lake striking against the shore. Even when there was no wind, this massive lake would have three-foot tall waves, and so the sound of the waves striking striking against the shore was heard quite often.

Ning held a Darknorth sword in his hand, resting it over a shoulder as he strode past many buildings.

“Young master.”

“Young master.”

Many of the servants and maids of Brightheart Island called out to him as he walked past.

Ning quickly arrived at the island’s shore.

Snick. Snick. Not too far away, there was a gray-haired old man who was holding a giant pair of shears with both hands, trimming away at the flowers and vegetation. Brightheart Island was kept in pristine condition, like a true paradise, and the efforts of these gardeners were a crucial part. Clearly, this old gardener was completely absorbed in his trimming, as he didn’t even notice that the master of the Brightheart Island, Ji NIng, had arrived.

Ning gave the old gardener a glance. He chuckled, then began to train with his sword.

Sword-light began to flash.

Ning’s sword-arts had become even more pure. They didn’t seem very dazzling, but they seemed to carry a thoroughly penetrating power to them. Anyone who watched would feel as though the tip of the sword was always aimed straight at their eyes. This sort of sharpness, this sort of penetrative power…ordinary Immortal cultivators who saw it would only feel that it was strange. Only when Celestial Immortals saw it would they understand how truly formidable it was.

Slowly…

The Golden Crow rose into the skies. The temperature began to rise. It was no longer cool, and as the rays of the Golden Crow shone down, they brought warmth to the world.

By now, the old gardener had noticed Ning. However, he didn’t dare to disturb him; he just sat down to one side, watching with curiosity. As he watched…he slowly began to feel drowsy, due to how warm and comfortable it was. Bit by bit, he drifted off into sleep.

A short while later.

A tall, willowy, white-robed woman walked over; it was Yu Wei.

She normally always dressed in black clothes, but ever since she became pregnant, she would often change into new outfits.

“Let’s watch your daddy train with the sword.” Yu Wei waved her arm, and a crystalline, jade-like table and chair appeared out of nowhere. With a second wave, she caused some Immortal nectars and spirit-fruit to appear. As she sat down, she noticed the old gardener snoozing off in the distance. She couldn’t help but smile, then turned her head to watch Ning train with the sword.

The waters of the lake washed up against the shore repeatedly. The warm morning sun shone down upon then. The old gardener snoozed contentedly, while her Dao-companion trained with the sword.

Yu Wei stroked her stomach. What a beautiful scene!

“You woke up.”

Ning came to a halt and walked over to her.

“You are about to go for your Celestial Tribulation. Of course I had to come watch you train,” Yu Wei laughed. “How do you feel?”

“Superb.” Ning smiled. “My heart feels very peaceful, and my insights into the Dao of the Sword continue to rise. To be honest…I can sense that I am very close to the final bottleneck in the Dao of the Sword. In perhaps another half year or year, I’ll be able to reach that bottleneck.”

It wasn’t too hard to reach the bottleneck. Breaking through it to gain full mastery of the Dao of the Sword, however, was incredibly hard. Still…Ning had once experienced the [Thousand Year Dream], which his master, Patriarch Subhuti, had provided to him so as to help him get a taste in advance of what it would be like to have full mastery of the Dao of the Sword. Given that he also was in control of a hint of a swordforce…he felt confident that it would be much easier for him to break through this bottleneck than it was for ordinary Celestial Immortals.

However, even though it might be easier, not even Ning knew how long it would be before he would actually make the breakthrough.

Only when he mastered the Dao of the Sword would he have his true body undergo its tribulation. If he succeeded and became an Empyrean God…then his life would have truly changed!

But all of it was dependent upon him mastering the Dao of the Sword.

“Why don’t you train for a bit longer? First reach the bottleneck, then have your Primaltwin undergo the tribulation,” Yu Wei said.

“My Primaltwin is in control of heartforce; it’s more than strong enough by now. Even if I do improve slightly in the Dao of the Sword, it won’t be of that much help to me,” Ning said. Their words were naturally sealed off from the surrounding area, preventing anyone else on the island from listening in.

Ning’s words were correct.

With his full mastery over his third level heartforce…his natural level of power was already that of a supreme Celestial Immortal’s.

Even if a mere Primal Daoist was somehow so monstrously talented as to be able to take perfect control over the third stage of heartforce, that Primal Daoist’s power would also rise to that of a supreme Celestial Immortal’s. Heartforce was an extremely mysterious form of power; generally speaking, only Empyrean Gods and True Immortals could slowly begin to grasp it, while a number of True Gods and Daofathers had some degree of skill in it.

It was far too rare, however, for anyone at the Void-level to have gained insights into it. As for Primal Daoists doing the same, this had never before happened!

Ning’s Primaltwin was now in perfect control of his third-stage heartforce; its power had similarly skyrocketed to the supreme Celestial Immortal level. For a Ki Refiner…this sort of power was absolutely enough to overcome the thunder tribulation, while the wind tribulation and fire tribulation were even less dangerous. Only the most unfathomable tribulation, the demonheart tribulation, remained a threat.

Insights into the Dao of the Sword wouldn’t be of much help to fighting the demonheart tribulation.

“And…my subconscious is whispering to me that the next few days are the best period of time for undergoing my tribulation,” Ning said.

“Oh?” Yu Wei nodded.

……

Just as Ning and Yu Wei, this loving pair of Dao-companions, were chatting together…

In the skies above a location deep within the southern seas of the Grand Xia, a spatial rift suddenly appeared. An awe-inspiring group flew into the world, each member of the group possessing powerful auras. The leaders were True Immortal Gaudy, Fairy Deadgrass, Empyrean God Beastleave, and Empyrean God Threesuns.

Although these were merely their incarnations or clones, in possession of just a tenth of their full power, they were still definitely at the Empyrean God or True Immortal level of power. They were significantly more powerful than Ji Ning, who could be considered to have just barely reached the minimum threshold of that level of power.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven and Immortal Venomfreak were also present, and behind them were a group of black-robed figures. Every single black-robed figure had an astonishing aura that was filled with savagery and brutality. The first time Immortal Venomfreak had seen this group, he couldn’t help but feel nervousness. “The Hellsworn of Bloodcloud Hall…they are legendary Deathsworn who came forth from the Infinity Hells. What are these ‘Infinity Hells’? The eighteen hells of the Netherworld shouldn’t be able to produce terrifying figures.”

Immortal Venomfreak had just recently joined, after all; there were many secrets which he did not know, and he didn’t dare to ask too many questions either.

“We’ve arrived at the Grand Xia.” True Immortal Gaudy said, “Venomfreak, you weren’t confident in being able to teleport from the Fifth World to Serpentwing Lake, but now that we are at the Grand Xia, it shouldn’t be a problem, yes?”

“Yes, it will be easy. Forget about Serpentwing Lake; I can teleport us straight to Brightheart Island.” Immortal Venomfreak smiled, confidence in his eyes. “For the sake of killing Ji Ning, I gained a thorough understanding of Brightheart Island of Serpentwing Lake; I know its layout intimately.”

“Good.” True Immortal Gaudy nodded. “Then use a Greater Teleport.”

A blood-red pearl appeared in the skies.

Whoosh.

Immortal Venomfreak waved his hand again. None of them resisted as they were drawn into that blood-red pearl. This pearl was merely a Heaven-ranked magic treasure that contained a holding space within it; the likes of True Immortal Gaudy and the others could easily destroy it from the inside and emerge as needed. In addition, they could see what was going on in the outside world, so they weren’t worry about Immortal Venomfreak playing any tricks on them. And…if he really did, the Seamless Gate would never spare him. The Seamless Gate was able to keep track of everything they were doing, after all.

“Let’s go.” Pearl in hand, Immortal Venomfreak immediately used a Greater Teleport.

Whoosh.

……

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

This place was as beautiful and paradise-like as ever. Many servants and maids had already risen from bed and started on a few simple tasks.

Ning and Yu Wei were seated together, drinking some warm wine.

“Come here and feel it. Can you feel the movement?” Yu Wei placed Ning’s hand on her stomach.

Ning carefully pressed his palm down, sensing the pulses coming from her belly. The pulses were very minute, very fine.

These little pulsing movements caused Ning to feel a very strange, unique feeling in his heart. This feeling was a powerful, protective urge, the urge an eagle might feel to protect its chicks. Ning was filled with a desire to ensure that nothing would happen to this little soul.

Yu Wei looked at Ning, looked at the expressions on his face.

Rumble…

This was a soundless, formless spatial ripple…but this ripple, the ripple of Greater Teleportation, caused more shock and alarm to Ning and Yu Wei than the collapse of the ground below them.

“Not good. That’s Greater Teleportation!” Ning immediately turned around. “I can’t let them harm senior apprentice-sister.”

When Ning had sensed the pulses, he had immediately understood that even if he had to die, he would ensure the safety of the two of them.

“Senior bear, senior Redsnow, something bad has just happened.” As Ning turned, he immediately called out to the seven Empyrean Gods. As he did…he instantly saw the ugly, horned man who had just appeared far away.

“Youngflame Freak?” Ning instantly recognized this man, the Ancestor of the Youngflame clan.

The horned man grinned savagely, and his hoarse, ear-piercing voice that sounded like a jagged knife sawing through a table instantly rang out throughout Brightheart Island. “Ji Ning. What a coincidence!” His power, filled with a Celestial Immortal’s energy, echoed throughout the island.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

A large number of people suddenly appeared next to Youngflame Freak. The leaders of the group caused Ning’s eyelids to twitch. He instantly recognized True Immortal Gaudy; if it hadn’t been for the Xia Emperor, he probably would’ve been forced to ask senior Redsnow and the others to intervene. And this time…Gaudy wasn’t alone. Next to him were three figures whose auras were no weaker than his!

“Four Empyrean Gods or True Immortals?” Ning felt tremendous shock. “Even if I immediately asked the Xia Emperor for assistance, if he doesn’t bring enough people, it will probably be very hard for him to stop them.”

“Senior Redsnow!” Ning frantically called out to them.

The seven Empyrean Gods had been located within the Starseizing world; they only began to emerge once the giant yellow bear notified them, which naturally needed a bit of time.

“What a perfect opportunity. Kill Ji Ning.”

Fifty-five figures had emerged within the skies. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven immediately let out a furious roar, while the eyes of the four leaders became filled with murderous intents. The wave of murderous intents swept down towards Ning, causing him to feel a greater sense of danger than he had ever felt before. He had the feeling that if he tried to fight back by himself, he would probably die in a single clash!

“I’M…TRYING…TO SLEEP!!!!!” An utterly enraged roar suddenly rang out.

The old gardener who had dozed off nearby suddenly rose to his feet, a frown on his face. He actually coughed twice as he stared at the fifty-five figures in midair. “That damned duck that squawked just now had a horrible-sounding voice! Do you guys want to die?!”

Everyone was stunned.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei stared in shock at the old gardener. Only an instant had passed, but the old gardener had actually slowly risen to his feet, coughed twice, then said a few things. It was as though time was passing at completely different speeds for them and the old gardener.

As for the fifty-five figures in midair, they were even more stunned and amazed.

This was because they suddenly realized something…

“Why can’t we move?!”

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Chapter 20 – The Four Ancestors of the River Source

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 20 – The Four Ancestors of the River Source

True Immortal Gaudy, Fairy Deadgrass, and the others with them in the air were frozen like sculptures. They couldn’t even blink, and the Empyrean God energy or Pure Yang energy in their bodies had been completely frozen, unable to be activated in the slightest. This sort of feeling, of absolute paralysis, caused Gaudy and the others to feel amazement in their hearts.

“A Daofather.”

“It must be a Daofather.”

“But, but…there’s actually a Daofather on Ji Ning’s Brightheart Island?”

None of them had imagined that their assault would result in them kicking into a steel plate like this! Their Greater Teleport had been quite a lucky one; they had teleport straight to Brightheart Island, and because Brightheart Island wasn’t that large, they had arrived very close to Ji Ning! And in fact, even if their teleportation was a bit off, the formations of Serpentwing Lake would not have been able to resist the likes of True Immortal Gaudy, who had completely mastered the Grand Dao of Qiankun.

But now they realized…they weren’t lucky at all. In fact, their luck was terrible to the extreme!

“Senior.” Both Ji Ning and Yu Wei hurriedly called out respectfully to the man.

“Mm.” The old gardener still hold those gardening shears in his hands as he lazily sauntered over. Upon hearing both Ning and Yu Wei addressing him respectfully as ‘senior’, he nodded. “Good, you know how to be respectful to the elderly.”

Ning and Yu Wei instantly felt speechless.

An exalted Daofather…had first pretended to be a gardener, and now was putting on airs as an old man. He had completely destroyed the image which Ji Ning had of Daofathers in his mind.

“You brats that are hanging up there in the air.” The old gardener raised his head, looking at the fifty-five figures frozen in midair. He immediately said, “You woke this old man up with your yammering. Anything you want to say before you die?”

As soon as he said these words, True Immortal Gaudy and the others in midair suddenly felt as though their mouths could now move.

“We offended you by accident, senior,” True Immortal Gaudy said respectfully.

“Senior, please let us leave,” Fairy Deadgrass said a very soft voice.

The forces of the Seamless Gate were all behaving in an extremely humble manner. However, they had quickly recovered from their initial shock. If this was a Daofather, he probably wouldn’t casually act in a way which might start a war. The Daofathers on both sides were still holding back for now; perhaps this Daofather they had run into might mock them for a bit, but let them live.

As far as they were concerned, the death of an incarnation or a clone wasn’t too big a deal; what really mattered was the important treasures they were carrying. In fact, they had multiple top-grade Pure Yang treasures with them! This was the reason why their incarnations and clones were capable of unleashing such tremendous power. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven had been so enraged that his clone had even brought a Protocosmic spirit-treasure!

“It seems we’ve passed through this latest crisis.” Ning and Yu Wei both let out secret sighs of relief. However…Ning knew very well that the Seamless Gate was so powerful that not even his master, Patriarch Subhuti, would casually act against their minor figures. This Daofather who apparently loved to play games probably wouldn’t act too recklessly either.

“Ji Ning, kid,” the old gardener suddenly called out.

“Senior,” Ning hurriedly said.

“Tell me, should I kill these people?” The old gardener smiled merrily at Ning. “If you say I should, then I’ll kill them. If you say I shouldn’t, I’ll release them. How’s that?”

Ning was stunned.

The fifty-five members of the Seamless Gate in midair were stunned as well.

“It is your prerogative to decide whether or not to kill them, senior,” Ning immediately said. He wouldn’t be so truly presumptuous as to instruct a Daofather in what should be done! If this Daofather was merely jesting with him but didn’t actually want to start a battle, and if Ning said the wrong thing…it would be terrible.

“It seems you still feel a bit suspicious.” The old gardener sighed. “If this old man felt the urge, I’d even kill Lu Dongbin, the precious little darling of the Daoist leader, to say nothing of these people!”

Ning was shocked.

In this instant…the faces of True Immortal Gaudy, Fairy Deadgrass, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, Empyrean God Threesuns, Empyrean God Beastleave, and Immortal Venomfreak, all still hovering in midair, changed.

“Old Man Yuan?”

“Old Man Yuan?”

They all realized who this person was.

“Senior, are you Old Man Yuan?” True Immortal Gaudy spoke out. In the Three Realms, the only person who referred to himself as ‘this old man’ and who would dare to kill even Lu Dongbin was the low-key, mysterious Old Man Yuan.

“That I am.” The old gardener chortled merrily as he looked at them. “Now…are there any questions in your heart as to whether or not I would dare kill you?”

The forces of the Seamless Gate were stricken with terror. They were no longer able to remain calm, but in their hearts they were cursing. Exalted Old Man Yuan, if you want to kill us, just kill us. Why are you saying so much to us? It seemed as though the legends regarding this man were true; Old Man Yuan really was a crazy old man.

“Old Man Yuan?” Ning revealed a look of surprise as well.

In turn, Yu Wei had learned of some of the Daofathers of the Three Realms from Lu Dongbin.

Although Ning hadn’t gone out of his way to investigate all the True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms during his time at Mount Innerheart, the disciples of the Mount Innerheart League would often chit-chat about some of the most supreme True Gods and Daofathers when they were bored. This person, Old Man Yuan, was often mentioned.

Old Man Yuan was also one of the True Gods who had been born from the primordial chaos. However, his comprehension abilities were far superior to Daoist Threelives, and his status was far higher as well. He had long ago mastered a Heavenly Dao and become a Daofather of the Great Firmament! After doing so, his power had reached an utterly ridiculous level. He belonged to neither the Daoist Path, nor to the Buddhist Sangha. He had become a power unto himself, and he himself possessed power overwhelming. He was truly one of the most supreme Daofathers of the Three Realms, and he had two other Daofathers under his tutelage! In addition to that…he had three lifelong friends who were also three incredibly powerful Daofathers.

The four of them were referred to within the Three Realms as the ‘Four Ancestors of the River Source’ 1. The Four Ancestors of the River Source were extremely close friends; they always attacked and retreated in unison. All four of them were incredibly powerful Daofathers, and if one also factored in their various disciples and friends…they would be considered an incredibly powerful force of the Three Realms.

As for Old Man Yuan…he was the most powerful member of the Four Ancestors of the River Source. He was their leader!

How powerful was he, exactly?

No one knew for certain. Some said that Old Man Yuan was, logically speaking, weaker than the two leaders of the Buddhist Sangha and the Daoist Path. Others said that Old Man Yuan should be comparable to those two leaders. In short…this was a crazy, yet terrifyingly powerful old man.

“Damn…” True Immortal Gaudy and the others felt misery in their hearts.

The Three Realms were currently divided into two major alliances.

The likes of Patriarch Subhuti had long ago chosen an alliance…but the Four Ancestors of the River Source had remained neutral. In the end, nobody would be able to avoid getting drawn into the war between these two alliances, but for now, before battle had truly begun…both sides were actively courting the Four Ancestors of the River Source. They had to; the four were simply too powerful. These were not four ordinary Daofathers; all four of them had been born as True Gods of Primordial Chaos, and stood at the very top of power amongst Daofathers. Old Man Yuan, in particular, was one of the utmost supreme major powers of the Three Realms.

If Subhuti dared to kill these fifty-five, the major powers behind the Seamless Gate would probably strike back; they were enemies, after all.

But if Old Man Yuan was the one to kill them…the major powers behind the Seamless Gate definitely wouldn’t intervene. They had been working so hard to have the Four Ancestors of the River Source join them; how would they dare to offend this old man now?

“Now you should realize that I wasn’t joking with you, right?” The old gardener beamed merrily as he looked at Ning. “This old man is going to ask you again; should I kill them? If you say yes, then I’ll kill them.”

Ning no longer hesitated at all. He nodded. “You should.”

“Nice.” The old gardener nodded with satisfaction. “That’s more like it.”

“Senior!”

The paralyzed members of the Seamless Gate, still hanging up high in the sky, were filled with terror.

“Begone.” The old gardener casually tossed out his giant gardening shears, sending it flying upwards. This was clearly a pair of ordinary gardening shears; it would probably break apart if one tried to use it to cut an ordinary rock. And yet, it now went flying towards the midair bodies of the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods. Even the clones of such figures would have bodies that were incredibly tough.

Snick!

It was liking cutting through paper. The body of an Empyrean God was bisected…and then his auras vanished. He was deader than dead.

Snick! Snick! Snick!

True Immortal Gaudy, Fairy Deadgrass, and Immortal Venomfreak were utterly terrified. They repeatedly called out ‘senior!’, but snick, snick, snick…they were still cut to death by the gardening shears. In the blink of an eye, all fifty-five members of the Seamless Gate had been slain. Although the metal shears had moved quite slowly, no major powers had appeared to intervene.

Ning’s eyes lit up as he watched.

Wonderful!

Those bastards had actually attacked Ning’s home; it was wonderful to see them killed.

“Oho, although those little minions of the Seamless Gate only sent their clones and incarnations over, they brought a few nice things with them. Three top-grade Pure Yang treasures, and a Protocosmic spirit-treasure.” The old gardener waved his hand, and the items left behind by the deceased members of the Seamless Gate flew forward to levitate in the air before Ji Ning and Yu Wei. “They don’t suit this old man. You take them.”

Ning blinked.

Yu Wei was stunned as well.

Them?

What in the…

After apprenticing himself to Patriarch Subhuti, Ning had been forced to painstakingly adventure through the Crescent world. Thanks to tremendous luck and hard work, he had acquired a single Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Rahu Bow…and the bowstring had been broken, at that! This Old Man Yuan was even generous than his own master!

“What, aren’t you willing to accept them?” Old Man Yuan stared.

“I am, I am, I am!” Ning was so frightened, he repeated himself three times. “How would this junior dare to refuse the gift of a senior?” He immediately waved his hand, accepting the treasures.

“That’s more like it. If you are going to do something, just do it; don’t hem and haw and dawdle about like a girl,” Old Man Yuan said with a laugh. “I’ve already spent several months living here at your Brightheart Island.”

Several months?

Ning was puzzled. This gardener had been here for far longer.

“I’ve just been possessing this old gardener,” Old Man Yuan said with a merry chuckle. “I spent months here before you came back to Brightheart Island, you brat. Mm…I’ve watched you train with the sword several times now. Your sword-arts aren’t bad, but your control over heartforce is even better.”

Watched him several times?

Aside from this time…Ning couldn’t recall a time when the old gardener had been nearby. Oh, right; given Old Man Yuan’s power, he would be easily able to watch Ning train with the sword, even from a tremendous distance.

“Buuuut…” Old Man Yuan said, puzzled, “Why is it that you seem to be so stupid?”

“Stupid?” Ning was puzzled. This was the first time that anyone had called him stupid!

“You completely focus your heartforce into your sword-fingers. Why haven’t you considered applying it to your legs or the rest of your body? That way, when you use your evasive divine abilities, your speed would increase dramatically, right? In the fact of those so-called ‘True Immortals’ and ‘Empyrean Gods’, your escaping speed would improve dramatically; you would no longer be forced to just stand there like an idiot and take them head on,” Old Man Yuan said.

Ning shook his head. “It isn’t that easy to apply heartforce. It took me eighteen years of painstaking training before I was able to apply it to my sword-fingers.”

“The reason it isn’t easy is because you don’t have a good teacher. Your teacher doesn’t know a damn thing about heartforce.” Old Man Yuan chortled. “What do you think of my power?”

“Your power is incredible, of course, senior!” Ning said hurriedly.

“Then hurry up and kowtow to me as your master!” Old Man Yuan puffed his chest up.

1. The name ‘Yuan’ means source.

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Chapter 21 – Master?

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 21 – Master?

Within the towering palace in the Fifth World.

The three leaders of the Seamless Gate, Myriad Demons Cave, and Bloodcloud Hall were all gathered here, along with True Immortal Gaudy, Empyrean God Beastleave, Empyrean God Threesuns, Fairy Deadgrass, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, and Immortal Venomfreak. They had only sent their clones or incarnations to deal with Ji Ning, but they were still watching nervously.

This was because they had brought powerful treasures, such as Empyrean God constructs and Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

“We reached Swallow Mountain.”

“We’re fairly lucky; we actually encountered Ji Ning after a single Greater Teleport.”

“Hurry up and kill Ji Ning.”

They all stared intently at the mirror in the air. The mirror was displaying images from what was happening within Brightheart Island. Fairy Deadgrass was standing close to it, and every so often she would say a few things. Then, suddenly…

“What the hell?!”

Whoosh!

The azure-robed woman and the others all jumped to their feet. They stared intently at the old gardener holding the gardening shears who had just woken up and stood up.

“Who is that?!”

“Our clones and incarnations can’t even move. We can’t even use our elemental energy.”

“He’s terrifying…he must be a Daofather. Otherwise, there’s no way he could be this powerful.” True Immortal Gaudy, Empyrean God Beastleave, and the others all had ugly looks on their faces.

“How can there be a Daofather at Brightheart Island?!?” The azure-robed woman roared furiously.

A short while later, after the old gardener chatted with Ji Ning for a while, his identity was revealed.

“Old Man Yuan, of the Four Ancestors of the River Source?” The azure-robed woman’s face turned ashen. Everyone present was stunned.

“Ugh. I just lost my horsetail whisk.” True Immortal Gaudy had an ugly look on his face; that was a top-grade Pure Yang treasure. Although this wasn’t one of the treasures he liked the most and used the most, the loss of a top-grade Pure Yang treasure still caused him some heartache.

“Don’t say a thing. Blackheaven suffered the worst loss this time.”

They all looked towards Celestial Immortal Blackheaven.

Blackheaven had lost a Protocosmic spirit-treasure!

“Damn.” Blackheaven ground his teeth. “Ji Ning managed to escape again.” In truth, Blackheaven was angrier over having not killed Ji Ning than over his loss of a Protocosmic spirit-treasure.

“He’s acting now.” Immortal Venomfreak and the others watched as the mirror showed images of the giant gardening shears snicking through them. He said hatefully, “This Old Man Yuan really shows no mercy at all.”

“If Old Man Yuan wants to kill you, what can you do?” The fire-robed man shook his head and snickered, “Forget about clones and incarnations…even if he wanted to kill your true body, he’d do so without pause.”

Rumble…

After the mirror finished sending images of everyone being ‘snicked’ and killed by the giant gardening shears, the shears turned towards the sky and made one final ‘snick’. Instantly, no further images appeared in the mirror; they were no longer able to watch what was going on.

“Old Man Yuan won’t let us watch any more,” the azure-robed woman said. “Given his abilities…he must know that we were watching what was happening there. The reason why he let us watch him act was because he wanted to let our superiors, the major powers of the Seamless Gate, realize that he is going to protect Ji Ning.”

“Old Man Yuan isn’t even on our side. Does he really think he can just protect whoever he wants?” Blackheaven growled, “Right now, we’re trying to court him, but once the great storm truly erupts, no one will be able to escape it. He’ll have to make a choice. Ji Ning already has a Daofather as his master, and an enemy one at that; if Old Man Yuan chooses to join us, then in the future he’ll become an enemy to Ji Ning’s master. I refuse to believe he’ll still protect Ji Ning then! And if he doesn’t join our side…then we can completely ignore him when we move to kill Ji Ning.”

Everyone present nodded.

“However…the storm has yet to truly erupt.” The azure-robed woman shook her head. “Old Man Yuan is still standing to one side and watching. He hasn’t truly made a choice yet; it’s not appropriate for us to offend Old Man yuan.”

“You are over-thinking things.” Blackheaven let out a snicker. “Do you think that is something for you to concern yourself with?”

The azure-robed woman’s face sank. Blackheaven was acting far too impudently. Even with so many others present, he still dared to speak in such a manner.

Alas, Blackheaven wasn’t under her command, and she still wasn’t sure of his true power. In addition, the number of treasures he had was completely bizarre. When he had sent his clone to the Grand Xia, he had carried two mighty treasures with him; a top-grade Pure Yang treasure known as the ‘Yin-Yang Arcane Ki Bottle’, and a Protocosmic spirit-treasure known as the ‘Nineleaf Snowlotus’.

“That’s for the Godking and the other major powers to worry about,” Blackheaven said coldly. “I trust that the Godking will quickly send an order as to whether or not we are to kill Ji Ning, so stop worrying your little head over it.”

“Hmph.” The azure-robed woman’s face sank. She no longer said anything.

Blackheaven gave the azure-robed woman a glance, a hint of mockery in his eyes, then turned and left. He felt tremendous distaste for this Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate, Azurefox…because Violetgrass had died on her orders. As for any anger that the Gatemaster might feel towards him? He didn’t care about it at all.

……

The world of the Grand Xia.

Ning couldn’t be bothered to worry about the Seamless Gate right now; it was Old Man Yuan that he was faced with, and he felt a headache coming.

Take him as his master?

He could tell that since Old Man Yuan had come to personally inspect him, the old man had definitely decided that Ning was moldable talent! Today, he had first asked Ning whether or not he should kill the forces of the Seamless Gate, and then immediately killed them upon Ning giving the nod. This caused Ning to feel quite delighted; clearly, Old Man Yuan wanted Ning to feel positively towards him.

And now, the old man had gifted him with the many treasures the Seamless Gate’s forces had left behind; this, too, was to make Ji Ning feel grateful towards him.

Next, the old man had suggested that he work on applying heartforce to his legs or to his entire body; these words had indeed caused Ning to feel a desire to learn such a method.

Finally…he had asked Ning to accept him as his master.

“He’s really put effort into this.” Ning understood this. “It seems this Old Man Yuan really does want to take me as his disciple.”

“This is how the world is. Some people desperately want to become a Daofather’s disciple, yet never will. When I wanted to become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple, he didn’t find me worthy. Even Master Subhuti only accepted me as his disciple because he saw that I was the sole successor to the [Starseizing Hand] of his good friend, Daoist Threelives and a decent cultivator. Back then, although I was a genius, I clearly wasn’t that attractive in the eyes of the Daofathers. Now that my power has increased dramatically, and have reached the Empyrean God level of power as a Void-level cultivator…one of the supreme Daofathers of the Three Realms has come to seek me out on his own accord.

If your potential was truly astonishing, the Daofathers would seek you out on their own accord.

Ning now was qualified for a Daofather to do so.

He truly was an astonishing piece of unpolished jade!

But…

“What should I do? What exactly should I do?” Ning hesitated.

“Is he a friend or a foe of my master, Subhuti? Or do they have no relationship at all?” This was what Ning was worrying about. “This Old Man Yuan killed the forces of the Seamless Gate, but the Seamless Gate didn’t even make a single peep about it; the major powers behind the Seamless Gate haven’t responded or reacted at all. The Three Realms are facing a great storm, and there is no way that the major powers behind the Seamless Gate can possibly be frightened by Old Man Yuan. Clearly, then, Old Man Yuan is on passable terms with the Seamless Gate, while my teacher, Subhuti, is an enemy to them.”

“What if Master Subhuti and Old Man Yuan are enemies?”

“If I were to apprentice myself to Old Man Yuan without getting Master Subhuti’s permission…then in the future, how could I possibly face Master?” This was Ning’s concern.

As the saying goes, the Dao is not to be lightly transmitted.

There was a saying regarding one who taught the Dao: One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father. This meant that one was to revere and honor one’s master as one would one’s father. Subhuti had transmitted complete Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, Ki Refining Techniques, sword-arts manuals, and even supreme divine abilities like the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], and the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] to Ning.

For Ning’s sake, he had even toiled painstakingly to create the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] divine ability and the supreme sword-formation, the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

After Ning had been exiled into the Nihilum Zone, his master had come to search for him.

His master had shown him benevolence in transmitting the Dao to him and in saving his life…no matter what, if he was going to take on a new master, he first had to get the nod from Master Subhuti.

When Ning had expressed the desire to take part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny in the hopes of being able to have a True Immortal or a Daofather as his master, Immortal Diancai was in full agreement; naturally, he hoped that Ning would have even higher accomplishments. Before becoming Subhuti’s apprentice, Ning had first spoken with the giant yellow bear, who had verified that Subhuti and Daoist Threelives had been good friends. If they had been enemies, things would’ve been tricky.

“Why are you hesitating and hemming and hawing?” The nearby Old Man Yuan frowned.

“Senior…” Ning said, “I need to get my master’s permission, first.”

“Your master?”

Old Man Yuan suddenly seemed to have thought of something. Laughing, he waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Immortal Diancai, a winecup in his hands and a befuddled look on his face. Immortal Diancai had been seated atop his mountain, watching the dawn sun rise while drinking some Immortal wine. Who would’ve thought that he’d suddenly be teleported here?

“Disciple?” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, then he looked at Old Man Yuan by Ning’s side. Old Man Yuan’s face changed, and his figure changed as well, becoming a bit thinner.

“MASTER!” Immortal Diancai instantly grew excited upon seeing him. Falling to his knees, he said excitedly, “Master, I’ve finally met you again!”

“Hey hey hey! Don’t overstate our relationship,” Old Man Yuan said hurriedly. “All those years ago, I saw that you were borderline suicidal, and also saw that you were decently talented, and so I took pity on you and casually transmitted a set of sword-arts to you. I have plenty of sword-arts in my possession, and so teaching you one of them didn’t really mean anything. What’s more, your talent is too mediocre and your comprehension abilities are too weak; how could you possibly be qualified to call me ‘Master’? You’d cause this old man to lose all face!”

He had first praised Immortal Diancai as ‘decently talented’, then immediately described him as ‘mediocre’ and ‘weak’.

Still, everyone knew what he meant.

Clearly, Immortal Diancai would be considered decently talented when compared to the countless cultivators of the Three Realms, but he was far from being qualified to become Old Man Yuan’s disciple.

Although these words were rather unpleasant, Immortal Diancai didn’t feel the slightest bit of anger. Kneeling there, he said excitedly, “How could Diancai possibly forget the grace you have shown me by transmitting the Dao to me? I knows that my talent is poor, and that I am not qualified to become your apprentice, but I’ve always viewed you as my master in my heart.”

“You can think whatever you want, I guess. This, uh…this Ji Ning has a very close relationship with you. This old man wants to take him on as a disciple; help me persuade him,” Old Man Yuan said.

“Disciple?” Immortal Diancai instantly revealed a look of great joy. He immediately looked towards Ning. “This senior possesses world-shaking power; even though I am now a Celestial Immortal, the sword-arts he transmitted to me were so unfathomably profound that I can tell I have still only scratched the surface of it. He must be a Daofather. Go ahead and take him on as your master; there are many people in the Three Realms who have multiple masters.”

“Right, right, right! I’m a DAOFATHER!” Old Man Yuan looked at Ning, then stared at him. “I’m taking you on as my disciple! Why haven’t you knelt down already?!”

“Senior, this junior feels unspeakably proud that you wish to take me on as your disciple,” Ning said hurriedly. “But…this junior has already taken on a Daofather as a master, and many people already know this. Without his approval, it isn’t appropriate for this junior to accept you as master as well, senior.”

“Oh, you are quite respectful towards this Daofather master of yours.” Old Man Yuan laughed. “I guessed long ago that your master had to be a Daofather, and he’s probably not too shabby either. Who is your master? Tell me, and I’ll go talk to him about this. This merely the accepting of a new disciple, and I’m not asking you to betray him either. It’s a minor matter. What is the name of your Daofather master?”

The Godking behind the Seamless Gate knew the answer, but Old Man Yuan did not. Indeed…the Seamless Gate’s intelligence mechanisms were truly terrifying.

“Master’s name is taboo; this junior does not dare speak it,” Ning said honestly. Subhuti had ordered long ago that Ning was not permitted to tell others who his master was.

“You dumb cucumber! You can’t even tell me your master’s name? Is your master really that badass? Who the hell is your master, Nuwa?” Old Man Yuan stared at him with bulging eyes.

“I’m his master.”

A calm voice rang out.

The nearby natural energy began to condense, and a skinny, white-bearded old man dressed in Daoist robes appeared out of nowhere.

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Chapter 22 – A Graceful Departure

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 22 – A Graceful Departure

Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai suddenly felt spacetime around them began to change and blur. By the time their surroundings turned solid once more, they were now within a hallway next to Autumn Leaf. Upon seeing Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei suddenly appear, Autumn Leaf was quite startled. She immediately addressed the two: “Madame, Immortal Diancai.”

“It seems they don’t want us to watch,” Immortal Diancai said with a helpless laugh.

“I wonder who junior apprentice-brother’s master is.” Yu Wei was curious as well.

Just now, they had only heard the words, ‘I’m his master’, before they were forcibly teleported away. They hadn’t seen the man at all, much less learn who Ji Ning’s master was.

“What happened?” Autumn Leaf was intrigued. “You said something about the young master’s teacher?”

“Nothing.” Yu Wei shook her head and smiled. “It’s something good, but it’s not something for us to know about.”

“Oh.” Autumn Leaf nodded, asking no further.

……

“Master.” Ning immediately called out with respect and excitement. The skinny, white-bearded elder in the Daoist robes smiled and nodded towards Ning, then looked towards Old Man Yuan.

“YOU!” Old Man Yuan’s eyes bulged. “You cucumber! You friggin’ cucumber! You ended up snatching away such a wonderful disciple!”

“This is the third time, you know.” Patriarch Subhuti sighed. “Why do you always come after the disciples that I take in and teach?”

Ning blinked.

The third time?

It seemed as though Old Man Yuan had gone after two of his fellow disciples as well?

“Ahaha, all I can say is that you are formidable in teaching students, Subhuti.” Old Man Yuan laughed, “Since it’s you, Subhuti…that makes everything easy. We came to an agreement last time, right? Go ahead and tell me whatever it is that you want. This old man has plenty of treasures, and I’m willing to spend them. I’m not afraid of any demands that you might make.”

“Ji Ning, are you willing?” Subhuti looked towards Ning.

“I’ll follow your orders in all things, Master,” Ning said respectfully. If it didn’t make things tough for his master, there would be no issues. More importantly, Master Subhuti had to know more about Old Man Yuan than Ning did; Ning trusted that Master Subhuti wouldn’t steer him wrong in this ddecision.

Subhuti nodded slightly.

“He can be both considered one of your disciples as well as one of mine,” Subhuti said calmly. “I’m only going to ask one thing of you…that you stand with us, on our side.”

“You…” Old Man Yuan’s face became unsightly to behold.

Subhuti frowned. “Are you still unwilling to make your choice?”

“It’s merely a matter of taking on a new a disciple, and I’m not even asking him to switch sides! He’ll be our jointly shared disciple. If you want divine abilities or Protocosmic spirit-treasures, that’s fine…but why are you trying to force me?” Old Man Yuan scratched his head. “Didn’t things work out splendidly when little Peacock became my apprenticed? She addresses both of us as ‘master’!”

Ning was intrigued. Were they referring to senior apprentice-sister Peacock?

“Little Peacock?” Subhuti shook his head. “That was before the storm came, and before I knew it was coming. Now that the storm is already here…of course you have to make your choice. Otherwise, there’s no way I’ll permit my disciple to become apprenticed to you as well.”

“How can you…you are absolutely…you old blockhead!” Old Man Yuan was infuriated.

“Hmph.” Subhuti snorted coldly. “Then let me ask you this; if Ji Ning becomes your apprentice, and you end up joining the Seamless Gate…what is Ji Ning supposed to do? Is he supposed to choose to stand with me, or is he supposed to choose to stand with you? If he stands with the Seamless Gate, then I’ll definitely strike and annihilate such a vile disciple! But if he stands with us, then you’ll move to kill him as well. After all, by then it will be a life-and-death battle; no one will be able to escape it.”

Old Man Yuan’s face grew even uglier to behold now.

Ning, standing to one side, now understood everything.

Right. If he took on two masters who ended up in opposing, enemy camps…then no matter which side Ning was on, he would end up becoming enemies with one of his masters!

“If you want him to become your disciple, then I imagine you don’t want to make things difficult for him; you don’t want him to eventually be killed by one of his masters, right? That’s why you have to stand with us; only by doing so will Ji Ning not suffer such a sad fate,” Subhuti said. “So long as you agree…Ji Ning can take you on as master.”

“You…” Old Man Yuan had a complicated look on his face.

Ning just stood there, watching quietly.

The Four Ancestors of the River Source; they were a formidable power within the Three Realms. Most likely, whichever side Old Man Yuan chose would be the side the Daofathers who followed him would choose.

“Why are you forcing me on this? This isn’t just a personal matter; I have all my friends and disciples and grand-disciples to worry about.” Old Man Yuan was truly upset now.

“There’s nothing to negotiate!” Subhuti shook his head. “Don’t make things difficult for Ji Ning.”

“But didn’t things work out perfectly when I took on little Peacock?” Old Man Yuan snapped back irritably.

“That’s because you haven’t made your choice yet. Once you do make your choice in the future…if you choose to join the Seamless Gate, little Peacock will have to make her choice as well. Will she follow you, or will she follow me?” Subhuti sighed. “I’ve already done wrong by little Peacock; I don’t wish for Ji Ning to face the same tough situation in the future.”

Old Man Yuan suddenly grew angry. “I don’t get it. Why are all of you so damned stubborn?”

“I don’t understand either! All of us were born from the same primordial chaos. We were like brothers! All of us are standing together now…why is it that you are roving about on your own? All four of you Four Ancestors of the River Source act in the exact same manner; you don’t give a damn about your old friends and friendships.” Subhuti was no longer calm either; in fact, he was so angry that his eyebrows were twitching, and as he spoke he pointed angrily at Old Man Yuan.

“The rest of you are in Nuwa’s debt, but we aren’t,” Old Man Yuan replied angrily. “And Pangu’s Primordial World shattered long ago. This is now the era of the Three Realms. That old, undying bastard just wants to take over the Three Realms; let him! Do you Daofathers really care who is in control of the Three Realms? Do you have to risk everyone’s lives over this question? You say that I don’t care about old friends and friendships? If I didn’t, I would’ve joined the Seamless Gate long ago!”

Subhuti was now truly enraged. “How can you be so…”

Their voices suddenly turned silent.

The distant figures of Patriarch Subhuti and Old Man Yuan’s turned blurry as they angrily but silently yelled at, argued with, and cursed at each other.

Ning wasn’t able to hear a single word of it.

“It seems…they don’t want me to hear this.” Ning mumbled to himself, “They said something about an ‘old undying bastard’ who ‘wants to take over the Three Realms’…who? He must be a truly terrifying major power of the Three Realms.”

Ning had no choice but to just stand there silently and watch. As for the two distant Daofathers…both of them were awe-inspiringly famous figures of the Three Realms who stood at the very pinnacle of power amongst Daofathers. Both had multiple Daofathers amongst their disciples, and both also had many Daofathers who were their resolute allies. Both possessed tremendous power in every sense of the word.

In addition, both were born from the primordial chaos of the universe.

And right now, they stood there arguing, each trying to convince the other.

……

A long time passed…

The two Daofathers actually argued for two full hours. Towards the end, Ning noticed that Patriarch Subhuti was growing increasingly imposing as he argued, while Old Man Yuan seemed to become increasingly less self-assured.

Boom! The area around him suddenly trembled. Now, Ning could once more hear the voices of the two Daofathers.

“Ji Ning.”

Old Man Yuan charged over, an ugly look on his face. He snapped angrily, “That master of yours is like a big hunk of wood. You just can’t talk to him! Those who walk different paths can’t make plans together. I really can’t be bothered to talk to him any longer. You are quite talented, kid; although that rotten blockhead is very skilled in some respects, he’s complete crap in heartforce. Since we aren’t destined to become master and disciple…then forget it! This is a technique for applying heartforce which I developed. Although it’s not a complete system, it might be of help to you in some way. I’ll give it to you as a gift!”

As he spoke, he pointed a finger towards Ning.

Instantly, a streak of light shot out from his finger into Ning’s forehead.

An ocean of information instantly filled Ning’s mind.

“Subhuti!” Old Man Yuan turned to point at Subhuti, then cursed, “In terms of fleeing abilities, you are number one in all the Three Realms! You’ll be able to flee and survive, but how many of our other old friends will be able to survive? All those years ago, Threelives and the others all perished. How many more do you want dead?”

“If we retreat, even more will die. In fact, all of us might die!” Subhuti said angrily.

“Fine. Fine. Fine! We’ll wait and see!”

The enraged Old Man Yuan turned and walked away.

After taking two steps away, the now-ordinary old gardener suddenly slumped supinely to the ground as a streak of light shot into the skies, disappearing.

Subhuti waved his hand, and the old gardener was instantly teleported away. He was nothing more than an ordinary old man, after all; prior to this, Old Man Yuan had simply been possessing him.

Subhuti walked towards Ning, who was completely filled and preoccupied with the enormous amount of information regarding the application of heartforce.

……

It was awe-inspiring.

It was unfathomably profound.

When Ning viewed the awe-inspiring collection of information, he couldn’t help but feel veneration towards Old Man Yuan. Incredible! Old Man Yuan’s true power, however, most likely didn’t lie in heartforce; after all, in terms of heartforce, Ning could tell that Old Man Yuan shouldn’t be as powerful as Houyi had been.

Old Man Yuan, however, was different from Houyi.

Houyi was extremely focused on his archery, and he had systemized a way to apply heartforce to archery in a terrifyingly profound and powerful manner.

Old Man Yuan, however, was a jack of all trades. Most likely, he liked analyzing heartforce, and so had come up with multiple different heartforce techniques, some meant for the legs, some meant for the entire body, some meant for the fingers, some meant for the hair, some meant for the sword, some meant for other treasures…there were all sorts of techniques here! However, none of them were truly systemized; from the looks of it, Old Man Yuan had jotted down a few notes whenever inspiration struck him.

His most profound techniques regarding heartforce actually were in applying heartforce to the soul! This allowed the soul to control even more magic treasures. For example, if normally Ning was only able to control the third level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], if he applied heartforce to his soul, he would be able to control the sixth level or even the seventh level. This was a technique which Ning was truly eager to learn.

Heartforce was like a marshal, with the soul being the soldiers; if one used them together properly, the number of magic treasures one could control would instantly explode. In addition, the amount of heartforce that was used up was neglible; after all, it merely served as a commander, without much of it being actually burned away. The increase in power, however, was still astonishing! This was definitely a killer technique for any Ki Refiner.

However…none of it was systemized, which meant that no one could simply ‘learn’ the technique after reading about it.

Still…

Ning wasn’t an uninformed outsider to this art.

He was someone who, after learning how to apply heartforce through [Houyi’s Archery], had first come up with a way to apply heartforce to his sword-fingers, then come up with a way to apply heartforce to his swords! Ning was capable of creating these techniques himself; now, after having seen the more profound techniques of Old Man Yuan, he was of course stimulated by them and had new insights. These insights would absolutely be enough to allow Ning to come up with a suitable method for applying heartforce to his legs or to his entire body, or even to his soul.

Aside from Old Man Yuan’s own techniques, there were also techniques which other major powers had devised for the application of heartforce.

All these non-systemized heartforce techniques…this collection was known as the [Heart Sutra].

“The [Heart Sutra]? With this [Heart Sutra], I’ll be able to grow dramatically more powerful in every aspect, whether it be dodging in close combat, fleeing, or anything else. My Primaltwin will become more powerful as well.” Ning was unspeakably excited right now. Before this, he was only formidable in his attacks; he was quite lacking in other respects. Thus, almost any Empyrean God or True Immortal would probably be able to capture him.

Now, however, Ning would be able to improve himself in every area. He would no longer have any obvious weaknesses, and so capturing him would become far more difficult in the future.

“Wow.” Ning opened his eyes, a look of delight on his face.

As he did so…he saw his master, Patriarch Subhuti, standing not too far away from him. Ning’s face quickly stiffened.

“Master,” Ning immediately called out.

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Chapter 23 – Before The Tribulation

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 23 – Before The Tribulation

Ji Ning’s heart clenched. He could tell that there were some disagreements between his master, Subhuti, and Old Man Yuan. Was his master going to forbid him from training in the [Heart Sutra]?

“What did Old Man Yuan transmit to you?” Subhuti asked.

“The [Heart Sutra].” Ning didn’t dare to hide this. “It contains his many experiences with various heartforce application techniques, as well as a mix of heartforce application techniques from a few other Daofathers. However, they are all un-systemized…but they will still be of great benefit to me, especially the one that applies to using heartforce on the soul. It will be of tremendous help to me in controlling the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] as well as in overcoming the demonheart tribulation.”

Subhuti gave Ning a glance, then revealed a calm smile. “Your master isn’t the pedantic, unflexible sort; since Daofather Yuan has gifted you with this sutra, and since he hasn’t forced you to become his disciple…go ahead and learn from it! If in the future, Daofather Yuan decides to stand with us, you shall naturally repay his kindness. If, however, he stands with the Seamless Gate…then when a war to the death erupts between our two alliances, you’d have to fight against him with all your might. This would be true even if he really was your master, to say nothing of him merely having transmitted a technique!”

Ning’s heart shivered. He immediately said, “Your disciple understands.”

This was a storm!

A storm which no one would be able to avoid.

“I hope senior Old Man Yuan decides to stand with us,” Ning mused secretly to himself. Everyone who he owed a debt of gratitude to, such as the former Lord of Cui Palace who had been the First Judge of the Dead and who had transmitted the [Nuwa Painting] to him, belonged to the side of the Nuwa Alliance. Even the master he had never met, Daoist Threelives, had also been on the side of Nuwa. The same was true for the seven Empyrean Gods of the Starseizing world, to say nothing of Patriarch Subhuti, Daofather Crimsonbright, and the Xia Emperor.

There was also already a feud between himself and the Seamless Gate…and Ning had a true disliking for the way in which the Seamless Gate had acted in seeking to conquer the universe. Once they took over the Three Realms, not only would they pay no attention to maintaining any order, they would instigate countless battles and massacres.

“This Old Man Yuan truly is an extremely formidable figure,” Subhuti said to Ning. “His power is most likely no lower than mine, and he loves to analyze and research many different types of techniques. He’s a master in many areas, and in heartforce he is second only to Houyi. In terms of how many heartforce skills he knows, he’s even superior to Houyi. Spend some effort on this [Heart Sutra], especially in the part that shows you how to apply heartforce to your soul. You must gain insight into it; once you do, your chances of overcoming the Empyrean Tribulation and shall incrase by quite a bit.”

“Your disciple understands.” Ning nodded.

Heartforce as the general, the soul as the soldiers.

Once the general commanded the soldiers to unleash their power in an organized fashion, he would be able to control even more magic treasures while also making it harder for the demonheart tribulation to invade his mind. Against a weak soul, it was easy to create a terrifying demonheart illusion, but against one with a powerful soul, it would be far more difficult. In fact, there were some truly terrifying souls that were so powerful that the demonheart illusions were completely unable to take hold against them.

Once Ning learned the art of applying heartforce to his soul, his soul would instantly become more than ten times steadier. This, in turn, would dramatically lessen the power of the demonheart illusions generated by the ‘demonheart tribulation’ of his Empyrean Tribulation.

“Your disciple has a subconscious feeling…if I am able to master this soul heartforce technique, my Primaltwin will be in virtually no danger during the Celestial Tribulation,” Ning said. “Should your disciple delay the tribulation?”

“No need.” Subhuti shook his head.

Ning looked at his master, puzzled.

“If you wait until you’ve mastered the soul heartforce technique, your Primaltwin’s tribulation will indeed be very easy.” Subhuti nodded. “But…first of all, it’s hard to say how long it would take you to come up with such a technique; after all, there’s a tremendous difference between applying heartforce to the soul and applying heartforce to sword-fingers. Second, although your Primaltwin’s tribulation is indeed a tribulation, it’s also an excellent and rare opportunity to temper yourself.”

“Temper myself?” Ning was intrigued.

“After having withstood the karmic sinflames, your heartforce improved dramatically,” Subhuti said. “By the same principle…your Primaltwin’s demonheart tribulation will be a tempering experience as well that will allow your heartforce to improve in strength and your Dao-heart to grow even more resolute. If you wait until you come up with a soul heartforce technique before you attempt the tribulation, ending up in an excessively easy tribulation, it won’t have any tempering effect on you.”

“Remember this.”

“Your Primaltwin’s tribulation is a minor matter. What really matters for you should be your true body’s tribulation.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “Your true body has trained in many divine abilities, and its potential is far greater than your Primaltwin’s. After all…compared to Fiendgods, Ki Refiners are always at a significant disadvantage. If you look at the Three Realms, all of the most supreme of powers of the Three Realms have powerful divine bodies.”

“Threelives, for example; he clearly didn’t master a Heavenly Dao, but was still able to kill many Daofathers.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “Or for example, you; even if your Primaltwin becomes a Pure Yang True Immortal, it will still most likely be merely an average Pure Yang True Immortal. But once your true body becomes an Empyrean God, you’ll instantly become one of the most supreme Empyrean Gods or True Immortals. If you spend a bit of time training, you’ll probably come extremely close to Lu Dongbin’s level. That’s the advantage which Fiendgods have! Look at the most famous figures of the Three Realms; Houyi, Nuwa, Pangu, Old Man Yuan, and yes, myself; which of them trained solely as Ki Refiners?”

Ning nodded.

“The more monstrously talented you are, the more terrifying your tribulation will be. Even I can’t be certain as to how powerful your Empyrean Tribulation shall be. All I know is that it will definitely be shocking.” Subhuti looked towards Ning. “Thus…the most important thing for you right now is to focus all of your efforts towards preparing for your Empyrean Tribulation.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ning said solemnly. “Three days from now, your disciple’s Primaltwin will undergo the tribulation.”

“Good.” Subhuti nodded with satisfaction. “If you succeed in this tribulation and your Primaltwin becomes a Celestial Immortal, your Dao-heart shall be further strengthened. This would naturally be an ideal outcome. However, even if you fail and lose your Primaltwin…you’ll have at least experienced the demonheart tribulation. If you end up failing it, it’ll have been of even greater help to you in terms of tempering yourself.”

Ning nodded.

Everything was for the sake of his true body!

“Shall I still go to Daofather Crimsonbright’s place for the tribulation?” Ning asked.

“No need.” Subhuti shook his head. “Undergoing the Celestial Tribulation is a major matter; naturally, as your master, I will ensure that you won’t suffer any disturbances during your tribulation. I was always planning to guard you while you underwent your tribulation. I didn’t expect that you’d go seek out that kid Xiamang.”

Not even Subhuti could keep the [Dream of the Three Realms] up at all times. Subhuti only found out about Ning speaking to Xiamang after the fact.

“You can undergo it here at Swallow Mountain,” Subhuti said. “Don’t worry about anything. I won’t show myself, but I definitely won’t let anyone disturb you.”

“Thank you, Master,” Ning immediately said.

“This Celestial Tribulation is nothing more than a tempering experience for you; don’t waste it. Your Empyrean Tribulation is what truly matters,” Subhuti said solemnly.

Upon becoming an Empyrean God, Ning would have become one of the truly formidable figures of the Three Realms.

“Calm yourself and prepare for your Celestial Tribulation. Although this Celestial Tribulation isn’t as important as your true body’s Empyrean Tribulation, it will still be extraordinary.” Subhuti smiled, then vanished into thin air, no longer anywhere to be seen.

……

Ning continued his preparations here at Swallow Mountain. He spent a little bit of time to pay a visit to the Xia Emperor, informing him that his own Daofather master was going to protect him, and so there was no need to trouble Daofather Crimsonbright. The Xia Emperor had nodded; if there was no need to bother his master, all the better.

During these three days prior to his tribulation, Ning paid a visit to West Prefecture City, where he had spent his early childhood days. He visited the Eastmount Marshes he had once adventured through, went to the mountains where he had once killed Bei Zishan…and as he retraced his steps, Ning felt his heart grow calmer and calmer.

This was a day on the cusp between spring and summer. The early dawn was very cool and refreshing.

Within a solitary mountain peak in the Swallow Mountain region, Ning’s true body and his black-robed Primaltwin were seated together in the lotus position, a hint of dew on their bodies. They had sat here all night, their minds and hearts as calm as still water. Far away, on a distant mountain peak, stood Uncle White, Little Qing, Mu Northson, Immortal Diancai, Autumn Leaf, and the pregnant Yu Wei. They all watched nervously…because Ji Ning was about to undergo his Celestial Tribulation.

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Chapter 24 –The Tribulation

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 24 –The Tribulation

Uncle White, Autumn Leaf, Mu Northson, and the others watching from far away were all extremely nervous. Immortal Diancai immediately said consolingly to them, “I was able to successfully overcome my tribulation. This disciple of mine is more powerful than me, even as I am right now, and his Primaltwin is merely a Ki Refiner; I trust his Celestial Tribulation won’t be too powerful. He’ll definitely succeed in overcoming it.”

“Right.” They all nodded, including Yu Wei. However, Yu Wei still felt restlessness in her heart. This was because she had been an apprentice to Patriarch Lu; she knew very well that Patriarch Lu’s tribulation had been one with nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation; clearly, Ki Refiners could also encounter incredibly terrifying Celestial Tribulations.

Whoooosh.

Atop the distant, solitary mountain peak, Ning’s true body which had been seated in the lotus position suddenly vanished. He had entered the underwater estate, leaving behind only the black-robed Primaltwin Ning, who still continued to sit there.

The golden-lotus Primal within the black-robed Ning’s body began to undergo its final breakthrough. It surged to the peak of the Void-level and began to actively call out for the Celestial Tribulation to descend…

Whooooosh. Whoooosh. Whooooosh.

A wind arose.

“It’s begun.”

“The wind tribulation.”

“The Celestial Tribulation has started.” Immortal Diancai and the others all stared nervously.

Everything had been completely calm before this, but suddenly a gale erupted out of nowhere, forming into wind-blades that grew increasingly small in size. The wind-blades changed in color, growing increasingly powerful as they became tiny black knives, each of which was comparable to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.

“The start to the wind tribulation is already this powerful…” The looks on the faces of Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei changed. They had both undergone tribulations and had past experience to rely on; it was obvious to them that the Primaltwin Ning’s Celestial Tribulation was starting off at an excessive level of power. It vastly surpassed theirs, at least!

The seated, black-robed Ning just watched calmly. In a soft voice, he called out, “Nineleaf, come out.”

Instantly, an enormous, snowy-white lotus treasure appeared beneath the seated Ning. If one looked at it carefully, one would see that it had a total of nine snowy-white lotus petals. This was the most powerful magic treasure which Celestial Immortal Blackheaven had prepared for the Seamless Gate’s assault against Brightheart Island…the Protocosmic spirit-treasure, ‘Nineleaf Snowlotus’.

The Nineleaf Snowlotus was incredibly powerful, and it was best-suited for trapping and binding foes! Even if it was ownerless, the Nineleaf Snowlotus could activate the cold elemental energy of the natural world to form tiny snowlotus petals to wildly assault and constrict its foes. And if it did have a master who filled it with elemental ki…its power would be even more astonishing.

Blackheaven had been planning to rely on this Protocosmic spirit-treasure to bind Ning! From this, one could tell how powerful it was.

When Old Man Yuan had wiped out all the forces of the Seamless Gate, he had given Ning all of the treasures the Seamless Gate had left behind. The Pure Yang treasures weren’t as important for now, and Ning was in no rush to parcel them out to Yu Wei or the others; after all, his tribulation was coming soon, and he had his master to protect him, meaning that this period of time would be very safe. The parceling out of the treasures could wait for after the tribulation.

As for the Nineleaf Snowlotus, Ning had bound it to himself.

This sort of treasure was tremendously helpful towards Ning, and binding it could also be quite difficult; it depended on whether or not the Protocosmic spirit-treasure was willing to accept the new master or not. The Nineleaf Snowlotus naturally had a spirit of its own, one which took the form of a white-robed girl. The white-robed girl was persuaded by the Rahu Bow and the giant bear of the underwater estate…and given that Ji Ning was indeed a monstrous talent, and that she had seen a Daofather strike out on behalf of Ning, she quickly accepted and acknowledged Ning as her master. As a result, Ning was able to easily bind this Protocosmic spirit-treasure.

If the Nineleaf Snowlotus had been unwilling, binding her would’ve been a true pain; most likely, only a Pure Yang True Immortal would’ve been able to bind her forcibly, after spending an enormous amount of time.

However, once she became willing, Ning was able to effortlessly bind her.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ning was now enthroned on his Nineleaf Snowlotus. Countless snowflakes appeared around him, each of which had the form of a tiny little snowlotus leaf. In the thousands and tens of thousands, they completely surrounded Ning and protected the area around him. Although they were best-suited for wrapping around and binding a foe en masse, they could also be used to defend. If they had to protect a large space, their defensive power would drop a bit, but since the treasure was as a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, its power was still quite extraordinary.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!!!!

Countless Immortal swords appeared around Ning, hovering in the air around him and ensconcing him within. Although Ning had already activated a Protocosmic spirit-treasure…to be completely safe, he released all of his Immortal swords, preparing to defend if necessary.

Rumble…

First came the roaring gale.

Next came all sorts of terrifying skywinds with astonishing power.

Still…no matter how powerful the assaults were, the Nineleaf Snowlotus Protocosmic spirit-treasure was able to endure them all. Ning wasn’t even needed to use his sword-formations at all.

“The final assault of the wind tribulation has come, the Celestial Immortal Wind.” Immortal Diancai and the other distant spectators all felt their hearts clench.

The Celestial Immortal Wind was formless and invisible; no magic treasures or spells could block it.

Whoosh!

The Celestial Immortal Wind descended, effortlessly bypassing the defending Nineleaf Snowlotus. It passed through Ning’s skin, going straight into the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater within Ning’s Primaltwin. Ordinary people usually had this wind entering through their head, but since Ning’s Primaltwin was created from this Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater. Still…in the face of the Celestial Immortal Wind, it seemed incredibly fragile.

Celestial Immortal Wind would only ever appear during the Celestial Tribulation. It was a manifestation of the Dao that flowed through the Three Realms, and no power or magic treasure could oppose it. If one’s Dao-heart was not strong enough, the Celestial Immortal Wind would incinerate one’s body and reduce it to ash.

Thus…one’s Dao-heart had to be firm.

Ning had managed to overcome the karmic sinflames tribulation; how could his Dao-heart be weak? He could sense the Zifu region within his Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater begin to tremble, then transform. The pearl itself was being transformed. Once he truly became a Celestial Immortal…the pearl would completely vanish, and the true core of his Primaltwin would become a golden pellet, his Jindan.

……

The wind tribulation ended. The fire tribulation came.

The weather changed dramatically as an utterly enormous cloud of fire appeared in the skies, causing the temperature to skyrocket. However, Ning continued to simply sit there above the Nineleaf Snowlotus. Just by using a little bit of his elemental energy, he was able to activate a large amount of energy of the natural world to cause the temperature to cool once more. For a time, the world was divided between a blazing sky high above and a world of snow down below. Truly, this was a case where fire and snow could not coexist.

“The fire tribulation has come. However…since that protective treasure Ning has was able to easily defend against the wind tribulation, I trust it won’t be too hard for it to resist the fire tribulation.” Immortal Diancai smiled.

“The power of the wind tribulation is comparable to the power of the fire tribulation. Given how formidable junior apprentice-brother’s protective treasure is, he should be able to easily overcome it without using up too much energy.” Yu Wei said with concern, “What I’m worried about is the thunder tribulation.”

Indeed.

The power of the Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Nineleaf Snowlotus, was truly astonishing. It didn’t require too much energy to be used up, but alas, Ning didn’t have a way to apply his heartforce through the Nineleaf Snowlotus. If he did, not even his swords might be as powerful as the Nineleaf Snowlotus. This was a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, after all; although Ning had many hundreds of Immortal swords, and although the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was incredibly powerful, they were still ‘merely’ top-grade Immortal swords. But of course…Ning had come up with a way to apply heartforce through his swords of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], and so at present the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] far surpassed the Nineleaf Snowlotus in power.

He had passed the wind tribulation!

He now passed the fire tribulation as well! The Celestial Immortal Fire that came in the end resulted in the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater evolving yet again.

Finally…the time came for the thunder tribulation.

……

There was a fairly long period of time that would pass between the end of the fire tribulation and the start of the thunder tribulation. The Celestial Tribulation gave the tribulant some time to restore their energy…but in truth, in this case Ning had primarily relied on the Nineleaf Snowlotus to defend against the elemental attacks, and had used his Dao-heart to endure the Celestial Immortal Wind and Celestial Immortal Fire. Thus, he had used up very little of his energy.

“I wonder how many sets of thunder tribulation Master will face,” Little Qing said worriedly.

“I underwent six nine-sets,” Immortal Diancai said with concern. “This disciple of mine had far more karmic luck than I did, and he also has karmic sinflames around him; his thunder tribulation shall undoubtedly be astonishing.”

All of them were worried. What none of them realized…

Was that in truth, Ji Ning had received supreme transmissions of the Dao from three Daofather-level figures; Patriarch Subhuti, Daoist Threelives, and Old Man Yuan. Of the three, Old Man Yuan and Patriarch Subhuti both stood at the very pinnacle of power amongst the Daofathers of the Three Realms. While Daoist Threelives had never been able to actually become a Daofather, remaining a True God of Primordial Chaos, the [Starseizing Hand] divine ability was awe-inspiringly powerful and one of the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms.

Ning had acquired so many legacies that even his Ki Refiner tribulation wouldn’t be weak…and he also had mastered heartforce and was covered in karmic sinflames.

An hour passed.

Rumble…

The calm skies suddenly manifested a pair of enormous black clouds. These enormous black clouds covered nearly the entire sky, causing the world to turn pitch-black as they blocked out almost all light.

“What just happened?”

“The sky turned dark?”

The Ji clansmen within Swallow Mountain, as well as the other clansmen and monsters present, all stared towards the sky in confusion.

The entire sky had turned pitch-black. As for the dark clouds…they had now completely covered the entire Swallow Mountain area of nearly a hundred thousand kilometers!

“How could this…” Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, Mu Northson, Uncle White, Little Qing, and Autumn Leaf all raised their heads. They had changed looks on their faces, while Yu Wei’s face was completely bloodless.

The two enormous dark clouds that had blotted out the skies above all of Swallow Mountain slowly began to move towards each other. Because of how enormous they were, these two massive clouds semed to fly at a very slow pace. But as they flew…crack! Crack! A series of cracking sounds could be heard from the skies as one enormous bolt of lightning after another began to snake out from within the two massive dark clouds.

Ning, however, just watched calmly.

He wasn’t surprised at all.

Soon, an enormous vortex of lightning and clouds had formed within the skies. The size of this vortex still covered the entire Swallow Mountain region; from its size alone, one could tell how utterly astonishing its power was.

BOOM!

A streak of lightning lashed out from the lightning-cloud vortex, striking directly down like the sword of the heavens.

Clang!

Ning had already risen to his feet. Hundreds of Immortal swords hovered around him, while the Nineleaf Snowlotus was underneath him. Many hundreds of meters above Ning, an utterly enormous lotus had formed, generated from countless tiny snowlotus petals. The enormous lotus was a barrier to defend against the thunder tribulation. Ning still wanted to use this Protocosmic spirit-treasure; it consumed very little of his elemental ki, after all.

BOOM! The first bolt of lightning wasn’t even able to cause the Protocosmic spirit-treasure to shake in the slightest.

Bolts of lightning continued to crash down.

Soon, they were at the fourth nine-set of thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts continued to crash down.

Five nine-sets. Six nine-sets…

“This is the seventh nine-set.” Autumn Leaf couldn’t help but whisper these words. Brightheart Island now had quite an extensive library of books, many of which Ning had acquired after killing other Immortals. Autumn Leaf had naturally perused them.

“Master is almost at his limit.” Little Qing was worried as well.

This was the sixty-first bolt of thunder.

The enormous lotus flower formed from the Nineleaf Snowlotus was already beginning to collapse.

“[Greater Thousand Swords Formation], go forth!” The black-robed Ning, standing atop the Nineleaf Snowlotus, pointed towards the skies. Instantly, a golden sword that had manifested in front of his chest streaked out into the heavens.

BOOM!

The enormous lotus above him had already vanished into thin air. However, a series of layers of lotus flowers appeared around the black-robed Ning.

This strike of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] contained a hint of his heartforce, allowing him to effortlessly block the celestial thunder.

“The eighth nine-set has arrived.”

Soon, it was time for the eighth nine-set. Immortal Diancai and the other spectators all felt nervous; how was it that a Ki Refiner actually caused an eighth nine-set to appear? Even though Ning had taken on a Daofather as his master, his tribulation shouldn’t be this terrifying, right?

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Chapter 25 – A New Life

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 25 – A New Life

The seventieth bolt of thunder.

A violet streak of lightning crashed down with ice-cold callousness. The black-robed Ji Ning beneath it pointed with his finger, causing the golden sword of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] to once more soar into the skies.

Rumble…

It once more blocked the assault.

“I hope it is merely eight nine-sets. If it grows much stronger…it may put too much stress on my heartforce.” Ning was a bit worried as well. Third-level heartforce was very powerful, and it would be easy to use it against eight nine-sets, but if it became the full nine nine-sets…the power of the thunder would skyrocket to a new level. By then, each blow would most likely require Ning to use up quite a bit of his heartforce. Once it was used up, he would definitely perish.

Ning had never imagined that he would have failed during the thunder tribulation of the Celestial Tribulation, but he was now beginning to worry. The power of the eighth nine-set was already a bit beyond what he had expected.

Boom!

Boom!

The divine thunder grew increasingly powerful. After these two consecutive blows of divine thunder…everyone, be it Ning or the distant group of spectators including Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei, stared upwards nervously.

“This is merely junior apprentice-brother’s Primaltwin. Eight nine-sets should be enough; there shouldn’t be nine nine-sets, right?”

“The legendary nine nine-sets…generally speaking, only Void-level Fiendgods will encounter them.”

They all watched nervously.

Thousands of kilometers away, an old man in Daoist robes was watching from atop a distant mountain peak. When he saw that the tribulation clouds in the sky did not disperse, and instead began to gather an even more terrifying amount of power, his face changed. He murmured softly to himself, “My disciple’s Primaltwin has actually encountered the ninth nine-set?”

“It’s just a Primaltwin. In terms of fortuitous encounters, it probably isn’t even up to Lu Dongbin’s standard…can this be due to the karmic sinflames?” Subhuti began to worry.

Ning was a monster, but that was with regards to his true body.

His Primaltwin, by comparison…although it had control over heartforce, it was far inferior in all other aspects to the Void-level Lu Dongbin of countless years ago. Although heartforce was powerful, it had a glaring weakness: It could only be used to fight for a short period of time. Once one’s heartforce was used up, one’s power would drop dramatically.

For Ning’s Primaltwin to encounter nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation…Subhuti felt that this was too excessive, even though Ning did have karmic sinflames covering him.

“If this is the case…then my disciple’s true body…?” Subhuti began to worry.

If even the Primaltwin had to undergo nine nine-sets, then the Empyrean Tribulation of the true body would be…

“Once he becomes an Empyrean God, he will quickly reach the pinnacle of power amongst Empyrean Gods. In fact, after he undergoes a bit more tempering, he’ll be like Houyi was, capable of rivaling the Daofathers despite merely being at the Empyrean God level.” Subhuti let out a soft sigh. “It seems not even the heavens are willing to casually permit such a monstrous genius like this to exist. The heavens will insist on unleashing a terrifying tribulation…”

From the era of Pangu’s World to the modern day, countless monsters had their souls shattered by their tribulations!

“Forget about the Empyrean Tribulation; even this Celestial Tribulation…” Subhuti stared off into the distance, a frown on his face.

“Nine nine-sets!”

“There’s more?!”

“How can this be?!”

Immortal Diancai, Mu Northson, Autumn Leaf, Uncle White, Little Qing, and Yu Wei all revealed frantic looks on their faces. There was no way they could help Ning; during the Celestial Tribulation, a person could only rely on himself.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you have to succeed.” Yu Wei gently stroked her belly, her eyes filled with hope.

“Ji Ning.”

“Young master.”

They were all filled with hope. Although the fame of the ninth nine-set was terrifying, Ning had overcome the previous eight nine-sets with utter ease, not seeming to be taxed by them at all. Thus…they were still filled with hope.

Boom!

The ninth nine-set of the thunder tribulation. The seventy-third bolt of thunder was a streak of violet lightning that was tinged with a white color. This hint of white caused the thunderbolt to become beautiful, a terrible beauty to behold. It was as though the lord of all creation had just taken a look at his universe with a gaze that of ineffable power. Weaker Void-level Earth Immortals probably wouldn’t even try to fight back against this thunderbolt…but of course, there was no way a weak Void-level Earth Immortal would even be able to make it this far, to the ninth nine-set of the thunder tribulation.

In all the Three Realms, in all of history, every single person who had encountered nine nine-sets was an extraordinary figure. They wouldn’t easily admit defeat; even if they had to die, they would die standing.

“Go.” Ning pointed into the distance, and the golden sword in front of his chest once more flew out. While flying out, Ning manifested yet another golden sword in front of himself.

Clang!

As the first golden sword flew out, it was struck head-on by the violet-white thunderbolt and broken apart.

“It seems I have to use one-fiftieth of my total heartforce in order to completely block these attacks. The power of the divine thunder truly has risen significantly.” Ning hurriedly commanded his second golden sword to fly out, blocking the remaining power of the violet-white thunderbolt. “The power of these thunderbolts are greater than the full-strength blows of the likes of Celestial Immortal Infatuation. How could an ordinary Void-level Earth Immortal possibly withstand them?”

Only by accurately predicting the power of each thunderbolt could Ning ensure that he wasn’t wasting too much of his heartforce with each blow.

“He blocked the seventy-third thunderbolt.”

“He blocked the first bolt of the ninth nine-set!” Immortal Diancai and the others revealed looks of excitement and nervousness in their eyes. There was a huge increasing in power between the last bolt of the eighth nine-set and the first bolt of the ninth nine-set; for him to be able to block this first bolt meant that there was hope for him to block the others.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One bolt of lightning after another came crashing down.

All the thunderbolts were violet-white in color, but towards the end, the white grew more and more dominant, and the power grew increasingly greater. In turn, Ning was forced to use up more and more of his heartforce.

The seventy-ninth bolt!

The eightieth!

“There’s one more left.”

“The last one.”

Yu Wei, Uncle White, and the others felt as though their hearts were hanging in the air. The legendary nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation…finally, the last blow of it was going to reveal its force. Not everyone was lucky enough to witness such a thing. However, their hearts were only filled with a dim, vague fear…because the very sight of the cloud-lightning vortex swirling above them was filling them with inexplicable terror.

“Even if it was me…the current me, who has become a Celestial Immortal long ago…I would probably die beneath this below,” Immortal Diancai mused to himself.

……

Ning stood there at the very peak of the mountain, like a sharp sword unfurled towards the heavens. Beneath his feet was the Nineleaf Snowlotus, and lotus flowers swirled and bloomed all around him. Hundreds of swords levitated around him, all pointed towards the heavens as Ning raised his head, staring at the tribulation clouds.

The final thunderbolt.

The final bolt of the ninth nine-set of the thunder tribulation.

BOOM!!!!

It was a thunderbolt of pure white, filled with holiness and sanctity. It didn’t have even the slightest hint of wildness or savagery; all it held was an exalted, noble aura within it as it came crushing down from the heavens. This was the true face of the very final thunderbolt of the ninth nine-set.

“Go.” Ning pointed a finger.

Swoosh!

The golden sword-light flashed with incomparable brilliance, expanding to become an enormous sword that instantly shot into the heavens, striking towards that pure-white thunderbolt.

“Go.” As fast as Ning could, Ning manifested and unleashed a second golden sword. By now, the first golden sword he had sent towards the white thunderbolt had already been completely blasted apart. The second golden sword quickly soared upwards. BOOM! The remnants of the pure-white thunderbolt trembled, and then completely dispersed.

The enormous golden sword continued on its upwards trajectory, stabbing straight into the heart of the cloud-lightning vortex in the skies, completely dispersing the entire vortex.

One last streak of lightning suddenly appeared out of nowhere, crashing into Ning’s body.

Ning’s body began to emit an Immortal aura.

“Celestial Immortal Body.” The distant spectators, including Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Autumn Leaf, began to call out in excitement.

“Success.”

“Nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation…the legendary nine nine-sets! Master actually withstood it!”

“So the final bolt from the ninth nine-set is actually a bolt of completely white lightning. Why did that white bolt of thunder seem so holy and noble? I felt the urge to bow towards it.”

……

Ning looked at Uncle White, Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, and rest of his distant, celebrating friends. He revealed a smile…but still felt a hint of lingering fear in his heart. “The nine nine-sets were simply too terrifying. I’ve been very stingy with my heartforce, but I still have less than thirty percent of it left. That final thunderbolt in particular…even my full-strength sword-strike was unable to withstand it!”

“If the thunder tribulation is already so frightening…then what of the demonheart tribulation?”

Ning had a bad feeling.

Although this was merely his Primaltwin’s tribulation, the power of the Celestial Tribulation had still exceeded his expectations. The demonheart tribulation coming up would probably also be as powerful as the most terrifying ones in the legends.

……

“It’s a boy! It’s a boy!” A distorted voice suddenly rang out in Ning’s mind, summoning his memories.

Ning opened his eyes.

A giant dressed in white furs was holding him. The white-furred giant ordered, “The rest of you can leave!”

“Father!” The face of the giant caused Ning’s heart to tremble. Ning immediately turned to look towards one side. He immediately saw a body covered with sweat that lay on an enormous, fur-draped bed.

“Mother! I…did I just go back to the moment of my birth?”

Time passed, one day after the another.

Ning once more lived life in West Prefecture City. Under his father’s protection, he began to train. Although Ning had all his memories, he still had to undergo normal training. Still, although the demonheart world had given him a weak body, it was unable to change Ning’s memories or his Dao-heart. Thus…Ning knew very well that this was the demonheart world!

However, even though he knew it, he wasn’t able to do anything about it, because there was no way for him to leave this world at all. He had to wait for the demonheart tribulation to come to an end; only then would this demonheart world come to an end as well.

……

Ning slowly grew up.

Because he did possess all of his memories, Ning was able to train very quickly within this demonheart world. In addition, he had control over his heartforce; third level heartforce was simply too powerful! Thus, although he was a child of less than ten years of age, his power was no weaker than that of a supreme Celestial Immortal’s. Thus…everything was changed. In the demonheart world, he had to train normally as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, but his training speed as a Ki Refiner was incredibly fast. With the assistance of his powerful heartforce, he was naturally able to acquire Immortal spirit-pills. He became a Void-level Earth Immortal by age nine, procuring spirit-pills for his mother, Yuchi Snow, that would allow her to continue to live.

A nine year old Void-level Earth Immortal.

What an utter monster.

Within the demonheart world, Ning continued to hide his control over heartforce. The fact that he was a Void-level Earth Immortal, however, could not be hidden. And so, just like that, a nine year old Void-level Earth Immortal emerged into the world of the Grand Xia. His status was so special that even the Northmont clan of Stillwater sent someone over to recruit him. The Xia Emperor, however, ignored him. This was because the Xia Emperor believed that this Ji Ning had to be the disciple of a major power, which was why he possessed all of his memories immediately after being reincarnated and born again. As someone who had all of his former memories, to become a Void-level Earth Immortal at age nine wasn’t that unheard of.

Still…the entire situation within Stillwater Commandery had changed.

Ning’s status became more and more transcendent. And yet…out of habit, Ning kept the form of a youth.

“Ning, son, a disciple of the Black-White College named Ninelotus has come to pay you a visit.” Yuchi Snow, already a Zifu Disciple herself, smiled as she spoke to her son. Now that Ning’s status within Stillwater Commandery was so transcendent, many people came to pay their respects to him. As for their enemies such as Snowdragon Mountain, Ning had wiped them out long ago.

“Ninelotus?” Ning’s heart trembled. In the demonheart world, he hadn’t even visited the Black-White College yet; why had Ninelotus come?

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Chapter 26 – Another Life, Thirty Millenia

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 26 – Another Life, Thirty Millenia

Within the demonheart world. Out of curiosity, Ninelotus had come to meet Ji Ning. By now, Ninelotus had already grown up to be a slender, elegant beauty. As soon as she saw Ning, for some inexplicable reason, she felt close to him. Ning, however, felt guarded; no matter what, he absolutely could not allow himself to sink down into this demonheart world. ‘Sinking down into it’ meant liking this world and accepting it in his heart.

To like the demonheart world so much that he might abandon the real world…

To allow himself to drown within it, to allow his real self in the real world to perish!

Within this demonheart world, his parents were both alive and well. This was a world without tragedy for him. In truth, in his heart, Ning did like this world…but thankfully, he had reached the third level of heartforce, ‘ruler’. No matter what thoughts, likes, and emotions flashed through his mind, Ning remained the master of himself. He constantly reminded himself that these were all nothing more than the illusions of the demonheart world; these weren’t real.

“The feelings I bear for my parents are already having a tremendous impact on me within the demonheart world. I absolutely cannot allow my feelings for Ninelotus and Yu Wei to be added to the mix as well.” Ning knew in his heart that once he allowed love to enter the fray, this demonheart tribulation would become truly dangerous.

……

However…Ning wasn’t able to control the demonheart world.

As a result of this visit, Ning’s had been firmly engraved into Ninelotus’ mind. Thus, she came back repeatedly to visit him.

“This is my senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei. She’s a true genius of our Black-White College,” Ninelotus said.

“But of course, I cannot compare to Immortal Darknorth.” Yu Wei smiled as well. As soon as Yu Wei had seen Ning, she too had felt an inexplicable attraction towards him.

Within the demonheart world, both Yu Wei and Ninelotus found themselves uncontrollably drawn to Ning.

However…Ning’s heart was filled with misgivings, and so he always moved to prevent a relationship from blossoming between them.

Time flowed on.

Decades passed in the blink of an eye.

Very early on, Ning had acquired the Starseizing Estate. By now, he had already reached the seventeenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens].

Yu Wei and Ninelotus were as close as real sisters, so close that they didn’t differentiate between ‘mine’ and ‘yours’. The two of them settled into a residence within Swallow Mountain, not too far from where Ning lived. The two of them felt certain that one day, their sincerity would move Ji Ning. Unlike in the real world, in this demonheart world, Ninelotus and Yu Wei were both completely devoted to Ji Ning. In fact, both of them threw away everything for his sake, and Ninelotus gave up her clan as well.

Now, in the demonheart world…the storm finally swept through the Three Realms!

Within the demonheart world, Ning allowed his Primaltwin to undergo its tribulation. The tribulation of the demonheart world was completely illusory, and so the demonheart tribulation lasted for but an instant before it ended, resulting in his Primaltwin becoming a Celestial Immortal.

With the entire Three Realms being shaken by this storm, Ning naturally allied with the Northmont clan of Stillwater. Although he didn’t truly enter into a relationship with Yu Wei and Ninelotus, the two of them continued to wholeheartedly pursue him. The Dongyan clan was on very close terms with Ning, and the Dongyan Forefather, Ji Ning, Patriarch Unity, and others all joined together into an alliance to weather this storm.

The war began!

One battle after another began to erupt within the world of the Grand Xia. To protect his tribe, Ning was forced to go into battle as well. As the war progressed, however, he found it harder and harder to gain victory in his battles…and finally, he decided to undergo his Empyrean Tribulation!

There was one major problem with the demonheart world; there was no way to gain insights into the Dao here!

This was an illusory world; every single tribulant knew that in their hearts. As a result, they couldn’t advance in the Dao in the slightest. Although Ning had already spent over a hundred years in the demonheart world, he hadn’t improved in the Dao in the slightest. The only improvement he had was in terms of his Dao-heart; he was tempering his Dao-heart.

He was also able to improve his heartforce within this illusory demonheart world, but alas, Ning remained at the third level, the ‘ruler’ level. Although he did improve slightly, to reach the fourth level of ‘mortal dust’ was far too difficult. Anyone who could reach that level would be considered one of the truly most powerful experts of the Three Realms. The terrifying divine archers of the Three Realms and Old Man Yuan were all at the fourth level.

Within the illusory world, Ning could sense that he was gradually becoming unable to defend his clan from the storm, and so he decided to undergo his Empyrean Tribulation.

The Empyrean Tribulation was simply far too powerful.

The wind tribulation, the fire tribulation…they nearly caused Ning’s death.

The thunder tribulation destroyed Ning’s true body by merely the sixty-second thunderbolt.

He had failed.

His true body had failed its tribulation, and so the Starseizing Estate left him, having gone to search for another successor.

……

Ning only had his Primaltwin left to him. Thus, like many other Celestial Immortals, he became embroiled into and pushed about by the waves of the storm. Yu Wei and Ninelotus both became Celestial Immortals over the course of the storm, but the two continued to follow by Ning’s side. Ning, however, continued to act guarded, not allowing the relationship between him and the two of them to deepen.

The deeper their relationship grew, the easier it would be for Ning to sink into this world.

One battle after another!

Yu Wei and Ninelotus followed Ning at all times, experiencing life-and-death experiences with him. Finally, after eighteen thousand years, the storm came to an end. Ninety percent of the Celestial Immortals of the world of the Grand Xia perished, and even the Xia Emperor had died. As for major powers, no one knew how many had perished. Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and Ninelotus, however, had not died. In fact, even the Ji clan of Swallow Mountain had survived.

With the tribulation having ended, Ning returned once more to Swallow Mountain.

Ninelotus and Yu Wei continued to follow him. They, too, took up residence at Swallow Mountain. As for Yuchi Snow and Ji Yichuan, they successfully overcome their tribulations and become Celestial Immortals towards the end of the storm. They, too, urged Ning to accept and wed Ninelotus and Yu Wei.

Eighteen thousand years!

They had experienced life and death together.

It must be understood that in the real world, Ning had only lived for a mere century. In this demonheart world, however, he had already lived for eighteen thousand years. If his Dao-heart had been slightly weaker, he would’ve long ago confused what was real and what was not. He would’ve willingly accepted that this demonheart world was the true world; after all, he had spent far more time in this world, which was a far more blissful one.

However…Ning, who had ruler-class heartforce, only felt an ever-greater amount of terror.

His father and his mother had actually both become Celestial Immortals? Yu Wei and Ninelotus had both survived the storm? Clearly, the demonheart world was doing everything it could to give him an incredibly blissful life. It had even ensured that Ning failed his Empyrean Tribulation, so as to clip his wings and lessen his ambitions.

Lessened ambitions…a blissful life…emotions…countless shared life-and-death experiences…eighteen thousand years…all of these things were having an impact on Ning.

“Ji Ning…how can you be so heartless? It’s been eighteen thousand years, but you still remain this cold-hearted. Alright…alright…alright. I will never bother you again. I’ll never irritate you again!” Ninelotus looked at Ning, her tears dripping downwards.

“Little sister Ninelotus and I will be leaving now. We’ll never bother you again, you callous, cold-hearted man.” Yu Wei’s eyes were filled with pain as well.

Immortal swords suddenly appeared in both their hands.

“No!”

Ning couldn’t help it; he instinctively knocked those two Immortal swords away.

“You won’t even let us die? Even if you prevent us from dying, we can go to a place where you can’t find us, then end our lives there.” Ninelotus said with agony, “My sister and I no longer have anything worth living for, anyways.”

“Let’s go, little sister.” Yu Wei took Ninelotus by the hand.

Ning just shut his eyes.

Was he supposed to just keep fleeing within this demonheart world? Keep hiding from everything? Was this right, or was this wrong? Why was it that by fleeing…these emotions were only causing him even greater agony?

“Don’t go,” Ning suddenly said.

Yu Wei and Ninelotus had already turned away, but now their bodies both shook. These two peerless beauties, one dressed in white and the other dressed in black, both turned to look at Ning. They had an eager look in their eyes, a look that bespoke of how they had waited for eighteen thousand years…a look that was about to melt Ning’s heart.

“Ji Ning, are you truly…” Ninelotus and Yu Wei both looked at Ning.

“Don’t go.” Ning walked to them. “I don’t want you two to go.” He reached out with his arms, taking Yu Wei and Ninelotus into his embrace.

Yu Wei and Ninelotus each clung to one of Ning’s elbows, gently leaning against him.

Ning, however…could sense that his Dao-heart was wavering and growing blurry.

He understood…

That he had taken yet another step towards sinking into this world.

When he took the finally step and completely sank into it…his soul would be extinguished, and he would die.

……

Ning began to live together with Ninelotus and Yu Wei. They truly were a trio of Immortal lovers. The Three Realms were in a state of peace, and the Ji clan had nine Celestial Immortals within it; Ji Ning, Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Yuchi Snow, Ji Yichuan, Uncle White, Autumn Leaf, Spring Grass, and Little Qing. Everyone Ning cared about was alive…and in fact, all of them had become Celestial Immortals.

His life was peaceful and beautiful. In fact, this was what Ning truly desired in his heart.

To be carefree…to do what he wanted to do…

To be together with his loved ones…to live a simple, happy life…

Both Ninelotus and Yu Wei bore him children. To teach and rear children could be quite frustrating, but it was also quite blissful and happy.

……

Bliss.

Ning had never been so blissful. Not in his previous life, and not in this one. This demonheart world, however, truly was very blissful and very perfect.

“No wonder it is rare for a single new Celestial Immortal to appear within the world of the Grand Xia, even after the passage of a million years. No wonder countless Void-level Earth Immortals have attempted their tribulations but failed.” Ning felt agony in his heart. He knew very well that all of this was a lie…but he had spent more than thirty thousand years here. A hundred years in the real world…thirty thousand years here…even Ning’s Dao-heart was finding it hard to extricate itself from this demonheart world.

In fact…he was beginning to feel slightly unwilling to extricate himself. He didn’t want to let this all be destroyed.

……

The demonheart world.

It was night.

A little boat was drifting about in the waters of Serpentwing Lake. Ning was seated in the lotus position within that boat. He was by himself.

“Am I really…going to sink?” Ning could already sense that his Dao-heart was growing blurrier and blurrier. Clearly, it was becoming increasingly corroded.

Ning stared at the distant Brightheart Island. That island had all the people he loved the most; his father, his mother, Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Uncle White, Little Qing, Autumn Grass, Spring Leaf, and his children. All of those relationships, all of those emotions…they were like chains that had dug their way deep inside him. As more time passed, the chains only dug deeper and deeper. Thirty thousand years of life here…it was incredibly hard for him to shake them off.

“But…”

“But…!”

Ning gritted his teeth, blood becoming to come out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as he forced the words out. “It’s all fake. FAKE!!!”

When Ning said these words, he felt as though a knife was scraping against his heart.

“It’s all fake…”

“Because…”

“I want all of these things to become real. I want all of them to come back to life in the real world!” Ning’s Dao-heart was like a tiny blade of grass that had become completely trapped by countless metal chains…but that blade of grass continued to struggle and grow. Although the chains tried to suffocate it, tried to drag it away, the blade of grass continued to survive and grow.

“I am myself!”

“I AM THE RULER OF MYSELF! Nobody and nothing can shake me; not thirty thousand years, not a hundred thousand years, NOTHING!!!” Ning sat there on his wooden boat, letting out an enraged roar. This was a roar directed against the entire demonheart world.

Just as Ning called these words out…

Rumble…

The colors of the world began to change.

Whooooosh.

Space itself broke apart.

A towering figure appeared within the distant, infinite void that was left. Its aura was incomparably powerful, and it was looking at Ning.

“So you are Ji Ning? You were the previous successor to the Starseizing Estate, yes? The [Starseizing Hand] divine ability is not to be learned by outsiders. I alone can possess it, and so…you can die!” An enormous hand appeared, instantly covering the entire sky. Carrying awe-inspiring power, it came crashing down.

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Chapter 27 – Becoming Immortal

Book 17, Celestial Immortal, Chapter 27 – Becoming Immortal

Ji Ning just closed his eyes.

Kill him?

Go ahead.

This was the demonheart world; killing him here wouldn’t actually have an impact on his Dao-heart. In addition…Ning had a certain feeling. He had spent more than thirty thousand years within this demonheart world. He had allowed himself to sink deeply into this world multiple times before rousing himself once more. This had only resulted in his Dao-heart becoming even stronger. This sudden appearance of a ‘new successor to the Starseizing Estate’ was most likely the last trick the demonheart tribulation had to play.

BOOM! The giant palm suddenly came to a halt directly above Ji Ning. It was mere inches away from Ning. If Ning lifted his head up, he would be able to see the enormous fingerprints of that massive palm.

“Why have you halted…” Ning asked calmly, “…New master of the Starseizing Estate.”

“You aren’t afraid of death?” The towering figure said, slowing pulling back his enormous, sky-covering hand.

“If you want to kill me, kill me,” Ning said coldly.

“I had thought that killing a previous owner of the Starseizing Estate would be quite an interesting affair…but you actually aren’t going to fight back at all? How dull,” the towering figure said. Ning did his best to try and make out what this new master of the Starseizing Estate looked like, but he wasn’t able to see anything.

The towering figure waved his hand.

Whoosh!

One figure after another appeared in the air. There was a pair of white-robed Immortal lovers; Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow. There was also a white-robed, white-haired man who had an aura of calmness and tranquility about him…an azure-robed maiden…the mature Autumn Leaf…the young Spring Grass…Ning’s Dao-companions Yu Wei and Ninelotus…and their three children.

“Ning, son, have you just grown more powerful?”

“Why have you brought us here?” Yuchi Snow and the others all raised their heads to look towards the massive figure in confusion. They didn’t even give Ning a glance.

Ning’s face instantly changed.

“Ji Ning…you understand now, right? Yes…as you have guessed…I just used the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] to transform into your appearance,” the towering figure said. “They believe me to be you! And, thanks to my power…they are completely unable to see you or hear your voice.”

“What are you going to do?” Ning roared.

BOOM!

The towering figure suddenly stretched out with a single finger. He gave a single flick! The flick landed on the body of the white-robed, white-haired man. The man’s eyes were filled with disbelief…and with a boom, he exploded, transforming into dust.

“Uncle White!” Ning called out in shock, feeling pain in his heart.

He bore tremendous love for Uncle White in the real world, and he had also spent thirty thousand years loving Uncle White in the demonheart world. Upon seeing Uncle White be slaughtered…Ning instantly felt utter agony in his heart, agony so great as to affect even his Dao-heart.

“There’s plenty left. Don’t worry,” the towering figure said.

“What are you going to do?!” Ning knew that this was just nothing more than another illusion of the demonheart world…but the emotions he had built up over thirty thousand years wouldn’t be so easily wiped away.

“I’m going to kill them, one by one,” the towering figure said. “But of course…if you accept me as your master and owner, I can spare them.”

“In your dreams,” Ning said through gritted teeth.

Ning was no fool. He knew that the demonheart tribulation was part of the Dao of the Heavens; if he was to swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens in the demonheart world to be a servant, he would truly and forevermore be lost.

“Then I’ll continue to kill.” The towering figure flicked his finger out again.

“Ning, son, what are you doing?”

“Ning, son, stop!”

“Master…you are going to kill me?”

“FATHER!!!”

The voices of his loved ones caused Ning to feel as though his heart was being torn apart. However…he gritted his teeth, just watching as they died, one by one.

“Ning, son…I know that you must be acting under some sort of duress.” Yuchi Snow closed her eyes, dying peacefully.

“Ji Ning! What the hell are you doing!” Ji Yichuan’s eyes were so wide, his eyelids were threatening to tear apart.

“Father. FATHER!” The three children who venerated Ji Ning were all sobbing.

The slaughter continued.

Ninelotus died! Yu Wei died! Little Qing died! One by one…all of his loved ones died.

Those emotional chains, forged and tempered over the course of thirty thousand years, had long ago wrapped themselves firmly around Ning. When he saw them all be killed, one after the other…those chains began to tug at him with greater power than ever before. They were going to pull Ning down, to drag him under.

“Ji Ning…what a callous heart you have.” The towering figure roared with anger. These words pierced deeply into Ning’s inner heart; it was as though his family members were all pointing at him and saying these words. “What a callous heart you have.”

Ning shut his eyes.

Even if all the people of the universe were to point at him in such a manner…he didn’t want for his family to point at him.

Thirty thousand years…

But in the end…it was all fabricated.

All fabricated!

BOOM!!!

The world completely blew apart. Everything blew apart; even that towering figure blew apart.

……

The real world.

“Ji Ning has already spent three full months within the deomnheart tribulation. This…this is simply…I’ve never even heard of something like this!” Immortal Diancai looked nervously at the seated black-robed Ning. “A three month long demonheart tribulation…I really worry as to if Ji Ning can withstand it.” His own demonheart tribulation had been far briefer.

“My master’s demonheart tribulation also lasted for three months.” Yu Wei caressed her belly, a look of worry in her eyes. She still remembered what Lu Dongbin had said to her: “Long ago…I was just a hair away from truly sinking into the dreams. Even now, I would be unwilling to undergo the demonheart tribulation a second time.”

“Hurry and wake up!” Northson was truly worried as well.

They all knew that the longer the demonheart tribulation was, the more terrifying it would be.

Ning’s demonheart tribulation had actually persisted for three months; this was utterly astonishing!

“Why has the Primaltwin’s demonheart tribulation lasted for so long? Is it due to the karmic sinflames?” The distant elder in the Daoist robes was watching quietly as well. All he could do was watch and wait; Ji Ning would have no one to rely on but himself, if he wanted to wake up from the demonheart tribulation.

Suddenly…

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Ji Ning…because the black-robed Ning had just opened his eyes.

“He woke up,” Uncle White said with surprise and joy.

“Master succeeded! Wahahaha, he overcame his tribulation and became a Celestial Immortal!” Little Qing seemed to have gone a bit delirious with joy.

“Junior apprentice-brother!” Yu Wei was extremely excited.

All of them were.

As for the black-robed Ning, he just thought there. His thoughts, his mind…everything was slowly coming back to him from the demonheart world. Only a long moment later did he realize…that his face was covered with tears.

He loved and longed for everything he had within the demonheart world. Everyone he cared about was still alive. It had all been a dream…but that dream had lasted for thirty thousand years, far longer than the mere century he had spent in the real world. He wanted to forget it all, but…how?

“I’m sorry,” Ning said softly.

He knew that those ‘family members’ were all just an illusion…but Ning still said those words.

“No wonder Master also shed tears after he successfully overcame his tribulation,” Ning said softly to himself. “This demonheart tribulation really is…”

Only now, after having escaped the demonheart world, did Ji Ning truly understand how terrifying that illusory world had been. In truth, he had danced at the very edge of truly falling into the abyss and never returning. Things had grown especially dangerous for him after he accepted and reciprocated the love of Yu Wei and Ninelotus! After having accepted their love, he now had even more ties to that world.

However…fortune and disaster rode together! Accepting their love did indeed make him sink even deeper into the dream, but precisely because of that, when he successfully struggled to shake off his chains and take control over himself once more, his Dao-heart had reaped even more rewards.

If he hadn’t sunk into the dream, he wouldn’t have been strengthened by the awakening.

But if he had sunk too deeply into it…he would have died.

Fortunately, his heartforce had reached the peak of the ‘ruler’ stage; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the demonheart tribulation.

……

An Immortal melody rang out as auspicious clouds descended from the heavens and golden lotuses began to bloom throughout the area.

A terrifying presence descended, pouring the energy of the natural world into Ning’s body. The universe itself began to transform Ning’s Primaltwin.

“This is…?”

The black-robed Ning could clearly sense that the energy of the natural world, with the invisible help of the Dao of the Heavens, had begun to compress all of the energy within his body. His soul completely fused with his golden-lotus Primal; in fact, even his Zifu Region began to merge into the golden-lotus Primal, as well as the Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater itself.

Crack!

The lotus seed-head at the top of the golden lotus gave birth to a tiny little golden lotus seed. This was the most important thing for Celestial Immortals, True Immortals, and even Golden Immortals of the Great Firmament…the golden pellet, the Jindan!

As the Jindan flew out, the Zifu Region, the Sole-Ki Pearl, and everything else vanished. In fact, the body of the Primaltwin Ning was changing as well, transforming into a Celestial Immortal’s body, a body that was designed and created through Celestial Immortal energy.

“Jindan?” The black-robed Ning murmured to himself.

This was the very core of his entire life essence…this tiny little golden pellet.

This Jindan possessed utterly inconceivable power. It merged all power into it, melting everything into a dazzling, beautiful golden luster. A perfect Jindan would contain even the soul and the truesoul within it; there would never again be any distinction between them! In fact, the Jindan also contained a dimension within it that held an enormous amount of Celestial Immortal energy. The energy of the natural world was drawn into the Jindan, and even magic treasures could be stored within it.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Ning sensed his body transcending, one breath at a time, as Immortal energy flowed throughout his entire body.

“Ji Ning.”

“Junior apprentice-brother.”

Only now did Immortal Diancai and the others fly over. The black-robed Ning smiled towards them in welcome.

“Ji Ning, congratulations on your Primaltwin overcoming the tribulation. Nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation, and a three month demonheart tribulation…I’ve never even imagined something like this happening.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning. “I, Diancai, actually have a disciple like you…ahahaha, I regret nothing in life, nothing!”

“Master, you are absolutely incredible. I admire you to death!” Little Qing, in the form of a little azure serpent, immediately coiled herself Ning’s arm with incomparable friendliness.

“I’m actually panicking right now,” Ning said with a laugh. “My Primaltwin’s tribulation was already as frightening as this…I can’t even imagine what my true body’s tribulation is going to be like.”

“It’s just another tribulation. Nothing is impossible for you, junior apprentice-brother,” Northson said. “When you went to take part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, how many people tried to convince you not to go? They all said that you didn’t spend enough time training, that you’d be at a disadvantage. But not only did you go, you even became the champion of the Conclave. Afterwards, you only became more and more incredible. And now, you’ve actually overcome nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation and a three month demonheart tribulation. I’m completely convinced that nothing can possibly stop you.”

“Me too.” Yu Wei took Ning by the hand and smiled at him.

Everyone present had watched as Ning had grown up. In their eyes, Ning was an utterly monstrous talent; he had stunned them time and time again. Thus, they were convinced that Ning could do anything! After all, just now, they had personally watched as Ning had overcome nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation and a ridiculously long demonheart tribulation.

“Disciple.” A voice rang out, and the flow of time around them suddenly changed.

Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, and the others simply stood there, maintaining their earlier postures and poses. Ning, however, didn’t feel as though anything had happened at all. He watched as an old man in Daoist robes came walking over towards him.

“Master,” Ning said respectfully.

“I have some things to say to you,” the old man said. “Your Primaltwin was successful, but I trust you noticed that your Celestial Tribulation was incredibly powerful.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

His Primaltwin, logically speaking, should have it much easier than his true body…and yet, it had still been forced to the brink.

“Your true body’s tribulation will undoubtedly be utterly astonishing. There might be some unexpected variables that will cause it to be many times more deadly than this Celestial Tribulation,” Subhuti said. “Thus…I order you to master the Grand Dao of the Sword, master the art of applying heartforce to your soul, and reach the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] before you can attempt it.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ning said respectfully. “Your disciple shall definitely work hard and make plentiful preparations.”

“It is good that you understand.” Subhuti nodded.

“Right…once you master the Grand Dao of the Sword,” Subhuti said, “Because you have already condensed the five types of ki within your chest, you’ll be able to join them together and instantly become a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

Ning nodded.

“Now…the war between your Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate is about to begin. You won’t be able to avoid it. The Seamless Gate will definitely try to come up with another way to kill you,” Subhuti said. “As the saying goes, know thyself and know thy enemy; only then shall you be the victor in every battle. You need to conceal your true power. You absolutely must not let anyone know all of your secrets; once you are exposed, you’ll be in danger.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ning said hurriedly.

“No, you don’t.” Subhuti shook his head. “I am forbidding you from telling anyone in the future about your full power. That includes both myself and your Dao-companion.”

Ning was puzzled. “I can’t even tell you or Yu Wei, Master?”

“You cannot.” Subhuti shook his head. “The intelligence methods the Seamless Gate have available to them are beyond your imagination. If you hide everything in your heart, no one but you will know and the Seamless Gate will not find out either. But if you tell anyone at all…it might be revealed to them. Thus, for the sake of hiding your power, you are not to tell anyone at all about it.”

Ning felt some amazement in his heart.

No wonder…

No wonder the intelligence capabilities of the Seamless Gate were so powerful. So long as he told anyone, there was a chance that it might be leaked to them? This was utterly inconceivable.

“For example…on the day that you become a Pure Yang True Immortal, you are not to tell anyone at all,” Subhuti instructed. “The process of becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal doesn’t cause much of a disturbance; if you don’t tell anyone, no one will know.”

Ning nodded.

It was different from when a Void-level Earth Immortal became a Celestial Immortal; a Celestial Tribulation was involved. There truly wasn’t much of a disturbance caused when a Celestial Immortal became a Pure Yang True Immortal.

“Once I become a Pure Yang True Immortal, I won’t be able to hide my Pure Yang energy,” Ning said.

“I have a magic incantation that you can use to hide your energy signature. So long as you don’t attack someone, they won’t be able to realize your true power.” Subhuti handed over a bamboo scroll.

Ning immediately accepted it.

“The storm has come to the Three Realms.” Subhuti let out a soft sigh. “The more the enemy knows about your capabilities, the faster you will end up dying. Your Grand Xia, for example…it holds multiple individuals who have broken through to become Pure Yang True Immortals, but they’ve been hiding it all along. Some have been hiding it for trillions of years. The abilities of the Seamless Gate…there is far, far too much that you do not know about them.”

Ning felt astonishment in his heart.

So the Grand Xia actually had multiple Pure Yang True Immortals hidden within it? Still, that made sense; on the surface, the Xia Emperor claimed that he was the sole Pure Yang True Immortal present. If that was true, that really was quite pathetically weak.

“I’ve already given you your instructions. Do not forget them. I won’t be able to protect you at all times, during this storm; in fact, not even the seven Empyrean Gods by your side might necessarily be able to emerge from their Starseizer world to rescue you in time.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “If you want to stay alive…you will primarily have to rely on yourself.”

“If my guess is correct…”

Subhuti lifted his head. “Both sides, the Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate, are already secretly preparing to launch the war. I expect that it will explode onto the stage within a month. You have to be careful.”

After finishing his words, Subhuti turned and walked away, departing gracefully.

“Your disciple shall remember your words,” Ning said respectfully.

“What’s wrong, Ji Ning?”

“Junior apprentice-brother?”

Immortal Diancai and the others next to Ning all returned to normal. Just now, the flow of time had been changed for them, and so although Ning and Subhuti had spent some time chatting, Immortal Diancai and the others only felt as though an instant had passed. They didn’t see Patriarch Subhuti at all; naturally, they had no idea as to what had just happened.

“Nothing. My master was helping to protect me; he just left.” Ning laughed. “Let’s go. Let’s go back to Brightheart Island.”

“Right.” They all followed Ning in flying back towards Brightheart Island.

As they flew through the air, they saw the Golden Crow beginning to rise.

“The wind and the rain are coming…” Ning mused silently to himself, “Within one month, eh?”

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Chapter 1 – Evacuation

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 1 – Evacuation

Brightheart Island.

Ji Ning and the others landed onto the ground. Upon seeing him appear, the servants and maids of Brightheart Island all called out in respectful unison, “Young master.”

“Ji Ning, you’ve returned.” A frantic-looking, black-robed Ji Truekeep came walking over.

“Uncle Truekeep.” Ning smiled. “What has you looking so worried?”

“How can I not be worried? If it weren’t for the fact that I knew you were undergoing your tribulation, I would’ve gone looking for you long ago. Thank goodness…thank goodness you are back!” As Truekeep spoke, an armored soldier began to walk towards them from not too far away. Ning immediately recognized this man as a captain of the Imperial Guard of the imperial capital, a Loose Immortal soldier.

Truekeep immediately said, “This general came all the way here from the imperial capital on the Xia Emperor’s orders. He’s been waiting here for you for two months.”

“Two months?” Ning was startled.

“If you didn’t come back in three days…I would’ve gone looking for you, even thought I know you were undergoing your tribulation,” Truekeep said.

The fact that Ning’s Primaltwin was undergoing the Celestial Tribulation wasn’t a secret; both the Xia Emperor and the Seamless Gate knew, and so Ning couldn’t be bothered to hide it from anyone else.

“Does the Xia Emperor need something?” Ning looked towards the Imperial Guard captain.

The captain said respectfully, “Immortal Darknorth, I have come on the orders of the Xia Emperor to deliver this to you in person.” He held up a leather scroll, offering it to Ning.

Ning reached out to accept it.

“I’ll be leaving now.” The captain immediately turned to leave.

“Let me send you off.” Clan leader Ji Truekeep moved to escort the captain.

Ji Ning opened the leather scroll. The nearby Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei were both puzzled; what urgent matter was this?

Upon seeing the contents of the leather scroll, Ning’s face changed slightly.

“Ji Ning, what is it?” Immortal Diancai asked. “Of course, if it’s something that cannot be told to others, you don’t have to tell me.”

“There’s no point to keeping this a secret,” Ning said. By now, Truekeep had returned as well. Truekeep said nervously, “All I know is that the messenger captain said that this is critically urgent news that had to be delivered to you, Ji Ning, before the sixth day of the eighth month. Thankfully, you finally came back with seven days to spare. Right…what is this about?”

Ning swept everyone present with his gaze. Mu Northson, Little Qing, Autumn Leaf, Immortal Diancai, and Yu Wei all looked back at him.

“The Seamless Gate is about to truly launch their war against the Grand Xia,” Ning said.

“War?”

“So it’s finally starting…”

“But…”

They all felt their hearts sink. All of them, however, had mentally prepared themselves for this long ago. Some major worlds of the Three Realms had already descended into war, and some of the weaker ones had already been subjugated. But of course, things happened more slowly with the more powerful major worlds. The Grand Xia was one example; things were just beginning here. The Seamless Gate’s attempted conquest of it wasn’t something that could be resolved in a day or two.

“By now…everyone will have to choose a side,” Ning said. “I trust that soon, the entire Grand Xia will be divided into two sides. One will be the Xia Emperor’s side, which is to say Daofather Crimsonbright’s side. The other will of course be the Seamless Gate’s side. Naturally…I will of course stand with the Xia Emperor.”

“Right.” Everyone present nodded.

They all knew of the feud between Ning and the Seamless Gate. Ning was their leader; they naturally would follow him wherever he led.

In turn, Ning was definitely going to follow Patriarch Subhuti. Subhuti, Daoist Threelives…both of them were on the side of the Nuwa Alliance. Be it for personal reasons or organizational reasons, Ning was definitely going to stand with the Nuwa Alliance as well.

“The evening of the sixth, I am to head to the Skylight Palace of the imperial capital. I imagine many Celestial Immortals will be present, and even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods will appear,” Ning said. “Of the Ji clan, I am the only person required to take part in battle; no one else needs to participate.”

“Then what of the Black-White College?” Immortal Diancai asked.

“I imagine this same information has been sent to the Black-White College already,” Ning said. “I don’t know the details with regards to the College; Master, if you return to the College, you should be able to find out right away.”

“Right. I’ll go back right away to take a look.” Immortal Diancai nodded, then immediately flew away on a cloud, quickly disappearing into the horizons.

Ning continued, “On the sixth day of the eighth month, I am to go to the Skylight Palace. Before the sixth…the Ji clan needs to evacuate.”

“Evacuate?” Autumn Leaf, Ji Truekeep, Uncle White, and the others were all stunned.

“Ji Ning, where are we evacuating to?” Truekeep asked.

“Here is a Pure Yang treasure, a ‘Violetdawn Pearl’.” Ning waved his hand, and a mottled, violet-colored pearl appeared out of nowhere. This pearl was one of the Pure Yang treasures which Ning had acquired when he attacked those eighteen Celestial Immortals of the Seamless Gate. Alas, although those eighteen had a few Pure Yang treasures, none of them had any top-grade treasures!

The Violetdawn Pearl was used to capture and bewilder foes. It contained a minor world within it that was comparable to the Earth of his previous life in size. It would be very simple to have the Ji clansmen move there and live there.

“A Pure Yang treasure?” Truekeep was rather stunned. To many Immortal cultivators, Pure Yang treasures were mere myths. Only Celestial Immortals could even use Pure Yang treasures!

Yu Wei and the others, however, were quite calm; they had far more experience.

“While the war is going on in the Grand Xia, I won’t be able to guarantee the safety of Swallow Mountain. Evacuation is the only option,” Ning said. “Uncle Truekeep, don’t worry; I will definitely protect the Ji clan.”

“Alright. I’ll go give the order right now to have the clansmen make their preparations,” Truekeep said.

“Good. Three days from now, we will begin the evacuation,” Ning said.

……

Night.

Ning, Immortal Diancai, Yu Wei, and Celestial Immortal Unity were meeting at the Black-White College.

“Per the Xia Emperor’s orders…the two Celestial Immortals of the Black-White College, along with all of the Loose Immortals, must arrive at the imperial palace of the Grand Xia by the evening of the sixth,” Immortal Diancai said.

“The Northmont clan of Stillwater received the same order; all the Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals must go.” Unity sighed. “The Xia Emperor is being fairly benevolent; he isn’t forcing us to send our Primal Daoists or Earth Immortals into battle.”

Unity then chuckled. “Right; the Seamless Gate has sent yet another a messenger to me. They are inviting me to go to Whitepole City on the sixth. They said that if I went, I would no longer be an enemy; I would be a friend.”

“They actually dare to send yet another invitation?” Immortal Diancai was shocked.

“Perhaps the Seamless Gate thinks that senior Unity might lose his mind and join them,” Ning laughed.

“From the looks of it, neither the Xia Emperor nor the Seamless Gate is going to hide their conflict any longer. Both of them chose the sixth of the eighth month…” Unity sighed. “However, one meeting is at the imperial palace of the Grand Xia, while the other is at Whitepole City. It seems as though Whitepole City has already joined the Seamless Gate!”

Ji Ning, Immortal Diancai, and the others all had solemn looks on their faces.

Whitepole City…

This was a very low-key city, an incredibly low-key city. It was incredibly rare for people in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia to hear of any news from Whitepole City. However, the Whitepole clan clan was one of the top ten ancient clans of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. They were content to just hold onto a small piece of land, and they had no interest in going to the imperial capital to take up official positions. Instead, they had built up their fief of Whitepole Commandery to the point where it was almost completely invulnerable to attack. The power of this clan was actually greater than that of the brash Youngflame clan’s! Who would’ve thought that they would have silently, wordlessly joined the Seamless Gate? Their city had even ended up as the headquarters for the Seamless Gate’s conference! From this, one could see how much the Seamless Gate trusted the Whitepole clan.

“The reason why the Xia Emperor was able to force the other clans to join him was because he had the Primordial Imperial Clan behind him; this was why he was able to finally unify the world,” Unity said. “In truth, however, there had been many clans that were struggling quite fiercely against the Xiamang clan. The Whitepole clan was one of the clans that struggled with the Xiamang clan for supremacy. However…they didn’t have enough of a foundation, and so in the end they submitted.”

“If the many clans of the world all joined forces, the Xiamang clan would be completely unable to resist them,” Unity continued. “In fact…there have been marquis-led rebellions in the past. Only after that did the Xia Emperor set up the massive commandery cities to further solidify his rule.”

“I wonder…how many marquises have joined the Seamless Gate?” Unity sighed.

Ning nodded as well.

There were differences amongst the various marquises.

The likes of the Xiamang clan and the Kindwater clan were all branches of major clans of the Primordial Era!

The Whitepole clan, however, originally belonged to Celestial Immortal Whitepole, a lone cultivator. After Pangu’s World was destroyed, Celestial Immortal Whitepole had established his clan within the newly created world that was later known as the Grand Xia. Afterwards, he had broken through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal; this naturally resulted in the Whitepole clan flourishing and becoming powerful. Alas…Whitepole didn’t have any powerful backers, as he had created his clan by himself, unlike the Xiamang clan or the Kindwater clan, which had the major clans of the Primordial Era behind them.

“True Immortal Whitepole has always been very low-key. After the Grand Xia was unified, he has never acted against the Grand Xia Dynasty,” Unity said. “In addition, I know of two others at the True Immortal or Empyrean God level; one belongs to the Kindwater clan, the other belongs to the Skyfarmer clan. Neither of them acted against the Grand Xia either; clearly, they aren’t willing to make enemies out of the Xia Emperor.

Ning was surprised.

The Skyfarmer clan?

He knew that the Kindwater clan had an Empyrean God behind it, but this was the first time he had heard that the Skyfarmer clan had such a power behind it as well. Celestial Immortal Unity, who had lived through the Fiendgod Era, truly was a man who knew many mysteries.

……

Ning’s group, without question, stood by the side of the Xia Emperor. However, they couldn’t help but feel worried by how powerful the Seamless Gate’s side was.

Two sides were struggling for supremacy…

Would the Xia Emperor suffer a disastrous defeat, or would the Seamless Gate be sent fleeing in disgrace?

All of this was unknown for now. However, one thing was certain…this was going to be a savage, cruel war! After all, many major worlds had already been conquered, while many others were already burning in the fires of war. The power of the Seamless Gate…it caused everyone in the Three Realms to shudder.

……

Ning’s Primaltwin was able to easily bind the Pure Yang treasure, ‘Violetdawn Pearl’. The evacuation of the Ji clan started. Since there weren’t many Ji clansmen to begin with, the evacuation was fairly simple; in just the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, the evacuation was completedly.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Uncle White, Little Qing, Autumn Leaf, Mu Northson, and Ji Truekeep stood atop the clouds, staring down at the vast world below them.

“Time to leave Swallow Mountain.” Truekeep let out a sigh. This was the land which countless generations of the Ji clan had worked to till and make prosperous.

“We’ll be back,” the black-robed Ning said.

Whoosh.

Ning suddenly waved his hand, releasing his Celestial Immortal energy. Using a worldshaping technique, he manifested an utterly enormous palm out of natural energy, a palm that was many hundreds of kilometers in size. The enormous palm looked misty and blurry, as it was formed by energy and air. Suddenly, the giant palm made a downwards grab!

The entire Serpentwing Lake, along with the centermost Brightheart Island, was caught up by the giant palm. Not even a single drop of water was missed.

“Come in.” Ning used a technique, instantly drawing the entire Serpentwing Lake into the Violetdawn Pearl.

Serpentwing Lake held extraordinary meaning for him. He didn’t want to leave Serpentwing Lake here. If it ended up being destroyed…he would be filled with endless regrets.

If Ning had the energy of a Pure Yang True Immortal, he would’ve been able to move away the entire Swallow Mountain region of a hundred thousand kilometers!

……

The underwater estate.

Ning’s true body emerged from the Wargod Hall. He had just successfully challenged the highest level of the Wargod Hall, the tenth level.

“The war is about to begin. It is time for me to find a suitable Pure Yang treasure for myself.” Ning headed straight for the Treasure Hall.

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Chapter 2 – Ten Thousand Immortals Converge

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 2 – Ten Thousand Immortals Converge

Although the tenth level was seemingly difficult, in truth Ji Ning had already acquired the power to overcome it by the time he had returned from the Nihilum Zone. However, since his Primaltwin had yet to overcome the tribulation, he wouldn’t have been able to put the Pure Yang treasure to any use, and so he hadn’t been in a rush to attempt it. The treasure he had acquired last time, the ‘Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls’, he had traded to the Xia Emperor for many other treasures, so as to repair the Rahu Bow and train in both the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and the [Starseizing Hand].

This time, there was no way Ning would trade the treasure away.

The war was beginning. He needed powerful treasures for it! Although he had acquired quite a few treasures from the Seamless Gate, especially the three top-grade Pure Yang treasures and the Protocosmic spirit-treasure which Old Man Yuan had given him, alas…the only treasure which was of significant use to him was the Nineleaf Snowlotus. The others weren’t very useful to him; in fact, they weren’t even of great use to Yu Wei. Thus, Ning had given one of the Pure Yang treasures to Immortal Diancai, then put the others into storage.

“I hope there are flying swords.” As Ning stepped into the Treasure Hall, he saw the giant yellow bear waiting for him.

“Ji Ning, you can now choose one of the twenty-two Pure Yang treasures we have available.” The giant yellow bear waved his hand, and a book instantly flew towards Ning.

“There are only five more choices than last time?” Ning was surprised.

“These are Pure Yang treasures. How many do you think we have?” The giant yellow bear was irritated.

Last time, Ning had chosen the Sole-Ki Nine Element Pearls out of eighteen available choices, leaving behind seventeen. Now, five more choices appeared for a total of twenty-two. In truth, however…Ning didn’t fancy any of the previous seventeen, and so he would really be choosing from these five.

“Once you become an Empyrean God and become the master of the Starseizing Manor, you’ll be able to acquire better treasures. For now…you’ll have to continue to act in accordance with Master’s rules,” the big bear said.

Ning smiled, then lowered his head to flip through the books.

There had to…

There simply had to be top-grade Pure Yang flying swords here! His Primaltwin’s [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] truly needed flying swords!

“How extraordinary.” Ning could barely breathe.

The Pure Yang treasures which Daoist Threelives had collected truly were not treasures which most Empyrean Gods or True Immortals could hope to touch.

In terms of preciousness…

Of the five Pure Yang treasures, the most precious treasure was a set known as the ‘Nine Invisible Mother-Son Hooks’. This was a treasure set formed by nine top-grade and eighty-one middle grade Pure Yang-level poison hooks. They formed into nine mother-son formation sets that could lock down space itself, preventing foes from using Greater Teleportation! In addition, they were extremely fast and possessed astonishing power.

Alas, Ning needed swords, not poison hooks.

“These two sets of flying swords…” Ning revealed a look of delight. Of the five sets, two were actually sword-sets. It seemed as though the giant yellow bear had really been very thoughtful in bringing these out for him.

The first set of flying swords was known as the Three Pure Ones. These were three top-grade Pure Yang swords that were personally forged by the leader of the Daoist Path, Daoist Three Purities. These three flying swords were extraordinary, even amongst top-grade Pure Yang swords.

In his past life on Earth, Ning had heard of the legends of the Three Pure Ones. However, only after he had embarked upon the path of Immortal cultivation and had become apprenticed to Subhuti had he truly understood that Earth’s myths regarding the Exalted Celestial of Primordial Origins, the Exalted Celestial of the Virtuous Dao, and the Exalted Celestial of the Luminous Treasure were all about the same person. These three, the Three Pure Ones, were merely the three mighty incarnations of Daoist Three Purities!

As the leader of the Daoist Path, Daoist Three Purities was acknowledged without dispute as one of the most powerful figures of the Three Realms. The only person one might dare to proclaim as being more powerful as him would probably be Maiden Nuwa, who had left the Three Realms to enter the endless primordial chaos.

The second set of flying swords were known as the Ananda 1 World-Swords.

Ananda was the attendant and protector of the leader of the Buddhist Sangha. Although he was merely an ‘attendant’, he was also someone who was at the Buddha (Daofather) level of power. His status within the Buddhist Sangha was extremely high, definitely high enough to rank in the top ten.

The Ananda World-Swords were nine top-grade Pure Yang flying swords that had been personally fashioned by Buddha Ananda. They were incomparably sharp, capable of cutting through the miseries of the mortal world.

“I didn’t expect that one of these two sets would have been forged by the leader of the Daoist Path, while the other was created by Buddha Ananda of the Buddhist Sangha.” Ning laughed. He was a disciple of Subhuti; although Subhuti knew both Daoist and Buddhist divine abilities and spells, he belonged to neither camp. Both the Daoist Way and the Buddhist Sangha belonged to Maiden Nuwa’s side; they could be considered allies and friends of Ning.

“Have you made your choice?” The giant yellow bear asked.

“The Ananda World-Swords, I suppose.” Ning smiled. “They are nine top-grade Pure Yang flying swords; they can serve as a formation-base, allowing the power of my [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] to increase dramatically.”

“Alright.”

The giant yellow bear waved his paw.

Whoosh!

Deep from the thronging mass of treasures that hovered in the air above the Treasure Hall, a massively powerful ripple suddenly spread out. Nine flying swords that were completely lacquered came descending downwards, appearing in front of Ji Ning. At the same time, nine little monks that glowed with golden light flew out from the nine swords. The little monks were bald and all dressed yellow robes, and they looked as if they were seven or eight years old.

All nine of these little monks, however, possessed sharp auras that were filled with killing intent.

“So you are our new master?” One of the little monks said.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“Shall you work to sever misery and its bringers from the world, bringing blessings to the countless living beings of the world?” The little monk asked.

Ning smiled. “A storm has arisen, and I shall naturally be forced to kill. I am, however, on the same side as the one who created you, Buddha Ananda.”

The nine little monks immediately folded their hands together into a prayer. “Amitabha.” 2

……

With the nine top-grade Pure Yang swords serving as a formation-base, and the hundreds of top-grade Immortal-ranked swords supporting them…the power of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] instantly increased to become far more greater than that of the Nineleaf Snowlotus, which was a high grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. Top-grade Pure Yang treasures were normally only comparable to middle grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures, but nine of them combined into a large formation naturally resulted in more power.

In addition, the Nineleaf Snowlotus was mainly meant for trapping and binding foes, while Immortal swords were meant for launching attacks.

……

The sixth day of the eighth month. Night was descending.

“Let’s go.”

Celestial Immortal Unity, the black-robed Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, and more than two hundred Loose Immortals all soared into the skies in awe-inspiring fashion, then left through teleportation.

Two hundred Loose Immortals…this represented all of the Loose Immortals of Stillwater Commandery! The various major schools and sects of Stillwater Commandery, such as the Skysplitter Sword Sect, the Hundred Flowers Fairyland, the Dragonhunter clan, and the Eastriver clan actually had even more Loose Immortals than the Black-White College did…and now, all of them were being mobilized. There was no way any of them would dare to violate the Xia Emperor’s orders.

“The war really is starting. All the Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals are being dragged into it.” Upon seeing more than two hundred Loose Immortals gather here, Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself.

…….

The air above the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

One spatial ripple after another appeared, followed by the emergence of squads of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. Every squad had at least a few dozen people, while some had several thousand! If the Youngflame clan hadn’t joined the Seamless Gate, their three commanderies would’ve sent the thousands of Loose Immortals they possessed as well.

This day was simply too stunning.

Countless citizens of the imperial capital raised their heads, staring at the skies. Upon seeing a countless number of Loose Immortals pour in at a steady rate, and even many exalted Celestial Immortals appear, everyone was shocked.

“This many?”

“They have to all be at least Loose Immortals.”

“Good heavens…”

The local citizens were completely dazed.

As for the Immortals, they shot out like an endless stream of meteors, shooting through the skies towards the imperial palace.

Whoosh.

Ning’s group of two hundred or so from Stillwater Commandery arrived as well.

“So many.” As Ning stared at the many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals who had been gathered here, he couldn’t help but feel stunned as well. At the same time, he felt a hint of dread in his heart. “So many Immortals…even Empyrean Gods or True Immortals would be in grave danger if they tried to fight by themselves.

Ning glanced sideways at Yu Wei. Yu Wei’s belly still wasn’t protruding yet; Ning was a Fiendgod, after all, while Yu Wei was a Celestial Immortal. Their child would spend a fairly long period of time gestating in her womb. Ning mused silently to himself, “She’s pregnant; it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to go out into battle. I need to have a chat with the Xia Emperor about this.”

The delegation from Stillwater Commandery flew towards the imperial palace as well.

……

The plaza below the imperial palace. Countless figures had appeared here; it truly was a veritable ocean of people.

The Xia Emperor had given the order long ago that only Celestial Immortals were qualified to go into the Skylight Palace and congregate there. The main reason for this was that there were simply far too many Loose Immortals; there was no way the Skylight Palace could possibly fit that many people aside. Were all the Immortals supposed to be packed in together shoulder-to-shoulder? Even back during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, only a few thousand people had been permitted to sit within the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

“You wait here.” Celestial Immortal Unity gave the order, and the two hundred-plus Loose Immortals all landed, leaving Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, and Unity to continue flying forwards by themselves towards the Skylight Palace.

……

Within the Skylight Palace. Many Celestial Immortals were gathered here, having rushed here from throughout the 3600 commanderies and the four seas. Although the Seamless Gate had worked hard to pull others into their orbit, over the course of countless years, these Celestial Immortals had all become tightly drawn into Daofather Crimsonbright’s alliance. Thus, many of them had still chosen to come here.

“So many.” Ning, Yu Wei, Immortal Diancai, and Celestial Immortal Unity all entered the palace, and as they did they felt breathless for a moment.

“There has to be at least six…seven thousand people here!” Ning swept his gaze forward.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

Ji Ning’s arrival caused quite a few Celestial Immortals to head towards them to chat with him. Of course, they said a few things to Celestial Immortal Unity, Yu Wei, and Immortal Diancai as well, but most of them clearly came over to chat with Ning.

Celestial Immortal Unity had been in seclusion for far, far too long. Immortal Diancai was the least-known of the group, with Yu Wei being slightly better off thanks to her being Patriarch Lu’s disciple. As for Ji Ning, he was a monstrous genius who was capable of resisting nine Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan while being merely at the Void level. He was also the disciple of a Daofather with unfathomable power. Naturally, the various Celestial Immortals wanted to become better acquainted with Ning; that way, if they encountered any problems in the future and they wanted to ask Ning to help out, Ning would at least have met them before.

“So many Celestial Immortals.” Yu Wei couldn’t help but feel stunned as well.

“In the past, many major clans were hiding some of their oldest experts, who lived in seclusion. The exact number of Celestial Immortals each clan had was always a mystery. However, the storm has now swept the Three Realms. The Xia Emperor has personally ordered them to show up, which is equivalent to Daofather Crimsonbright ordering to them to attend. None of them dare to disobey; after all, Daofather Crimsonbright knows exactly how many Celestial Immortals are under his control,” Unity said. “Thus…now that so many of the hidden ones have appeared, the total number is naturally quite high.”

As time flowed on, more and more Celestial Immortals arrived. Soon, the number reached over nine thousand, continuing to climb.

“Why haven’t any Empyrean Gods or True Immortals arrived?” Immortal Diancai was puzzled.

“I imagine the Xia Emperor has invited all the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to meet with him privately,” Celestial Immortal Unity said. “They have higher statuses than we do, after all.”

Another two hours passed.

The Celestial Immortals within the Skylight Palace were all provided arranged seating by the attendants here. They each had tables placed in front of them, allowing the entire hall to just barely fit in all of the ten thousand-plus Celestial Immortals who had arrived.

“His Imperial Majesty has arrived.”

All of the Celestial Immortals turned their heads in unison to look.

The black-robed Xia Emperor was walking in through a side door…and behind him, there were five True Immortals or Empyrean Gods who had auras as powerful as his!

The Xia Emperor sat up high in his throne, gazing down at his subjects.

“We bow in respect to you, Imperial Majesty.” Instantly, the five True Immortals and Empyrean Gods all bowed and called out.

“We bow in respect to you, Imperial Majesty.” The more than ten thousand Celestial Immortals present all rose to their feet, bowing and calling out in unison.

The Xia Emperor sat atop his throne, staring down at his bowing subjects while feeling high-spirited. To have more than ten thousand Celestial Immortals bowing towards him…this was a first for even the Xia Emperor himself!

1. Ananda was the cousin of the Buddha and one of his closest disciple.

2. Amitabha is the name of a Buddha, the most important Buddha of the popular Pure Lands School. It is believed by many Buddhists, even in this very day, that saying his name will bring blessings.

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Chapter 3 – Xingtian, Heaven Punisher

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 3 – Xingtian, Heaven Punisher

When the Grand Xia had been unified, all of the Immortals and Gods had come to pay their respects…but that was after countless years of wars against the Fiendgods, resulting in catastrophic casualties. Very few Celestial Immortals were alive after those wars. Now that the Grand Xia had been at peace for so many eons, the total number of Celestial Immortals within the Grand Xia had reached astonishing heights.

“This is a tribulation like none we have ever faced before. I wonder…how many of them will be alive at its conclusion?” The Xia Emperor stared downwards, sighing privately to himself. “I’m not even sure if I myself will survive…”

“Arise,” the Xia Emperor said aloud. “Take your seats.”

Ji Ning and the others all took their seats. Immortal fruit and nectars were placed in front of them, but none of the Immortals were in the mood for food. They were all waiting to hear the Xia Emperor’s words.

“Junior apprentice-brother, look; it seems as though the Dongyan Forefather is amongst those five True Immortals up there,” Yu Wei suddenly sent.

“The Dongyan Forefather?!” Ning was shocked, immediately looking over.

Indeed.

Amongst the group of five, there was a man dressed in plain blue robes. He looked quite ordinary, but his aura was that of a True Immortal.

The Dongyan Forefather was the pillar that held up the skies for the Dongyan clan! Ninelotus was now the current clan leader for the Dongyan clan, and during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, Ning had personally seen the Dongyan Forefather. However, back then he had merely been a Celestial Immortal. Who would’ve thought that when upon his next appearance, he was a Pure Yang True Immortal?

Ning suddenly thought of what his master, Subhuti, had told him. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself. “The world of the Grand Xia truly is a world of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.”

“My many fellow Immortal…” The Xia Emperor finally spoke out.

Instantly, everyone looked at him. Ning no longer pondered on the Dongyan clan, also focusing on the Xia Emperor’s words.

“I trust all of you, fellow Immortals, know what our current situation is like.” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s voice was very somber. The Seamless Gate has summoned a storm that is sweeping through the entire Grand Xia. By now, hundreds of the weaker major worlds of the Three Realms have already been fully subjugated by them. In addition to those, more than a thousand major worlds have been embroiled by the flames of war…and our Grand Xia has also become embroiled into a war against the Seamless Gate.”

Everyone felt heaviness in their hearts.

Hundreds of major worlds had already been subjugated? They hadn’t know this previously, before the Xia Emperor announced it. It must be understood that the Three Realms only had three thousand major worlds to begin with; as for the trillion minor worlds, they were far, far weaker. Any clan or school could easily take over a minor world, which was why in the short run it didn’t really matter who the minor worlds belonged to. The major worlds were the places where both sides were fighting!

“The Seamless Gate is indeed powerful.” The Xia Emperor nodded. “If we were weak and divided like a pile of loose sound, we would’ve been broken apart and defeated individually by them long ago.”

“However…we are unified!” The Xia Emperor’s eyes flashed with divine light. “The Seamless Gate’s power is unfathomable, but we have the many Daofathers and Buddhas of the Daoist Path and Buddhist Sangha behind us, as well as the many True Gods who were born from the primordial chaos and many other major powers with unbelievable might. Our power is great as well! If the Seamless Gate was capable of completely suppressing us with force, they would’ve swept through and taken over the Three Realms long ago. They wouldn’t have settled upon their current plan of launching sneak attacks everywhere in such a cautious manner.”

Everyone present nodded.

The reason why so many Celestial Immortals had come was because they were all quite confident in their side.

Their own alliance, after all, was an incredibly powerful one as well. They were also under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright, who was under the command of Maiden Nuwa. So many major powers…they made up a force of utterly inconceivably terrifying might.

“In war, there is triage. Some places have to be abandoned, while some places must be protected,” the Xia Emperor said. “Our power, although great, doesn’t allow us to protect every single world of the three thousand major worlds. Thus, we have to abandon a few of those places, allowing us to concentrate our strength to protect the important worlds.”

“And the Grand Xia…is one of the places we have to protect!” The Xia Emperor’s voice carried a terrifying, combative will within it.

Everyone listening, however, felt uneasy.

Most likely, the Empyrean God and True Immortal rulers of the other conquered major worlds had said the same things to their subordinates…that their world ‘had to be protected’. Otherwise, how could they have convinced their Celestial Immortals to fight for them?

The Xia Emperor swept his subjects with his gaze, understanding their concerns. He immediately said, “The karmic luck of our Grand Xia is one of the highest of all the three thousand major worlds of the Three Realms. In the face of a tribulation like this, the war over karmic luck is a critically important component. Even the loss of ten of those weaker major worlds wouldn’t compare to our Grand Xia!”

Everyone below him nodded. This was definitely true!

“Thus…the Grand Xia absolutely not must be lost,” the Xia Emperor said solemnly.

“In addition!”

“Our side already has eleven thousand Celestial Immortals and more than a million Loose Immortals!” The Xia Emperor continued, “I have spoken with multiple True Gods and Daofathers regarding how the Grand Xia shall defend against our foes.”

The many Immortals all felt their hearts clench. Multiple True Gods and Daofathers? They all listened attentively.

Eleven thousand Celestial Immortals, more than a million Loose Immortals…although this figure was stunning, everyone had already guessed at it after seeing the veritable sea of Loose Immortals present.

“We have decided upon our plan,” the Xia Emperor said. “Of the elven thousand Celestial Immortals, two thousand will be under my direct command! The other nine thousand will be divided up into nine major armies, each of which will consist of a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals. Every single army will train in the ‘Heaven Punisher Formation’. During the conference, True God Xingtian 1 personally agreed to transmit this grand formation to me!”

“Xingtian the Heaven Punisher?”

Everyone revealed a look of shock and joy.

True God Xingtian was extremely famous in the Three Realms. He was a figure out of the oldest legends. Long ago, during the era of Pangu’s World, Xingtian had been merely an Empyrean God, one of the mighty generals under the command of humanity’s Primordial Imperial Clan. Early on during the Primordial Era, although humans were a very powerful race and the Human Emperor was acknowledged as a true Emperor, the thousands of other races were all quite powerful as well. The monsters, for example, were only slightly weaker than the humans. Thus, the major powers had all worked together to establish the Celestial Court. As for the Celestial Emperor, his job was to assure peace between the various parties, so as to ensure the safety and stability of the Primordial World.

Back then, the Human Emperor had been a truly dominating force. The Celestial Emperor, by contrast, was merely a mediator.

During that era, Xingtian had a quarrel with the Celestial Emperor, resulting in him launching a direct assault against the Celestial Court. Xingtian was a general of the imperial clan who was extremely skilled in battle. Although the Celestial Emperor had some Empyrean Gods and True Immortals by his side, they were unable to withstand Xingtian. In the end, the Celestial Emperor had been forced to go all-out and also invite other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to assist him before he had been able to suppress Xingtian. In the end, they actually managed to chop off Xingtian’s head.

Now, as a Fiendgod, Xingtian naturally wouldn’t die after having his head severed. However, Xingtian was an excessively proud person. Much like how Daoist Threelives had been unwilling to regrow his severed arm, Xingtian had been unwilling to regrow his head after it was cut off. Instead, he transformed his nipples into eyes and his bellybutton into his mouth.

Who would’ve thought that as a result of that wild battle, Xingtian would actually break through from being an Empyrean God to the True God level? He had instantly executed the Celestial Emperor. 2

The Primordial Imperial Clan of humans had gained yet another True God; they were naturally delighted by this and were completely determined to protect Xingtian. The other major powers didn’t quibble too much; after all, Xingtian had already become a True God, and that was that. They ended up just choosing a new Celestial Emperor.

True God Xingtian, a member of the Primordial Imperial Clan, had bestowed upon the Xia Emperor the ‘Heaven Punisher Formation’; clearly, he was standing alongside the Xia Emperor as well.

The fact that the Xia Emperor had the Primordial Imperial Clan behind him was yet another reason why all of these Celestial Immortals were willing to risk their lives for him. The Primordial Imperial Clan was simply too strong! It had multiple major powers within its ranks, and the most ancient members, the Human Emperors, definitely were some of the most supreme figures of the Three Realms. The Human Emperors included many ancient figures, such as Suiren of the Flame and Shennong the Divine Farmer. 3 Even the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Way worked to befriend the human race; from this, one could tell how powerful the Primordial Imperial Clan of humans was.

“The Heaven Punisher Formation requires a commander, a thousand Celestial Immortals, and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals working in unison,” the Xia Emperor said. “This enormous formation has the power to link into the energy of the natural world. The hundred thousand Loose Immortals serve as a powerful foundation that will pull in natural energy from an area of a million kilometers. The Celestial Immortals will guide them to use that energy to form a Xingtian Divinity which is so powerful that even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals will find hard to damage.”

Ning and the others sighed in amazement upon hearing this.

What an incredible effort the Xia Emperor had made.

If the Loose Immortals all struck out without coordination without guidance, they would be completely and effortlessly slaughtered. However, once a hundred thousand Loose Immortals activated the power of the natural world…they would be able to make a much larger difference. It wasn’t hard for a single Loose Immortal to fully activate the natural energy for an area of ten thousand kilometers. A hundred thousand Loose Immortals could definitely activate all of the energy for an area of a million kilometers. So much natural energy…how terrifying that had to be! Not even Empyrean Gods or True Immortals were at such a ridiculous level of power!

But of course, although the Loose Immortals could activate the energy, they wouldn’t be able to control it. Thus, a thousand Celestial Immortals were needed to provide guidance and to mobilize that energy, serving as the skeleton and spine…and of course, a commander was needed to serve as the head, in charge of everything. Only then could the power of this mighty Heaven Punisher Formation be unleashed.

“I will transmit to all the Loose Immortals the basic fundaments of the Heaven Punisher Formation,” the Xia Emperor said. “But of course, I’ll leave out the most important parts of it.”

“I’ll choose the commanders of the nine armies from the eleven thousand of you.” The Xia Emperor looked downwards, and instantly everyone below him began to murmur. To command a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals…who wouldn’t be willing to accept such an honor? All of them wanted to be commanders, not soldiers. They had thought that the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would take up those positions; who would’ve thought that the Xia Emperor would choose from the Celestial Immortals?

“The most important part of the Heaven Punisher Formation is the activation of natural energy by the Loose Immortals; an Empyrean God or True God leading it wouldn’t actually add that much power to it,” the Xia Emperor said. “Thus, I’m choosing from the Celestial Immortals. As for the True Gods and Empyrean Gods…at critical moments, they’ll help you out and deal heavy blows to the Seamless Gate.”

“I’ll give you all half a month,” the Xia Emperor said. “During this period of time, you are to fully learn and understand the Heaven Punisher Formation, and you’ll have a chance to fight for the opportunity to become a commander.”

“When the time comes, I’ll send out a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals and give every contestant a chance to try to command them in a formation,” the Xia Emperor said. “The nine Celestial Immortals who control the formation with the greatest amount of skill and allow it to unleash the most power will become the nine commanders.”

Upon hearing his words, Ning and the others all felt persuaded.

To let those who were able to unleash the most power from the formation become the commanders was quite fair.

“The nine final commanders shall be taught the most important aspects of the Heaven Punisher Formation,” the Xia Emperor said. “Without those parts, the formation can still be used, but the power will only be comparable to some other ancient formations. With those important parts…the power will be increased tens of times over.”

This formation was a secret of the Primordial Imperial Clan; the important parts to it naturally could not be taught to just anyone and everyone.

……

One bamboo slip after another was delivered to the tables of the Celestial Immortals. The many Celestial Immortals all pored their coresense into the bamboo slips, easily acquiring the Heaven Punisher Formation. But of course, actually learning it would require some time.

“Everyone, you will only have half a month. When the time ends, only those who have already fully learned the Heaven Punisher Formation will have a chance to fight over the commander positions,” the Xia Emperor said. “Alright, everyone…hurry up and learn the Heaven Punisher Formation!”

That night.

A million Loose Immortals were at the plaza below the Skylight Palace, all seated in the lotus position as they focused on learning the basics of the Heaven Punisher Formation.

As for the many Celestial Immortals, they remained at the main hall of the Skylight Palace. They, too, sat in the lotus position as they meditated on the Heaven Punisher Formation. Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Celestial Immortal Unity, Immortal Diancai…all of them quietly sat there, meditating.

1. Xingtian means Heaven Punisher, much like how Xuanwu refers to the Turtle-Snake

2. This entire story is very close to the actual Chinese legend of Xingtian, except in the legends, it was Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor and the forefather of Chinese civilization, who defeated and severed Xingtian’s head. The real story, however, ended at the part with Xingtian regrowing his eyes and mouth.

3. These two figures are extremely ancient Chinese deities/demigods; Suiren is credited for having invented/discovered fire, while Shennong is credited for having taught medicine and farming to humans.

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Chapter 4 – No Seam Left Untouched

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 4 – No Seam Left Untouched

In the blink of an eye, nine days passed.

The more than ten thousand Celestial Immortals remained seated in the lotus position within the main hall of the Skylight Palace. Around each of them hovered bloody runic seals. The same was true for Ji Ning; there were many bloody runes swirling around him, each of which contained a shocking battle-intent. However, it seemed as though those runes were lacking in something. They continuously circled around Ning…and finally, after Ning manifested yet another rune, all of the bloody runes connected to each other, forming a complete whole as their warlike aura skyrocketed in power.

“Success.” Ning opened his eyes, looking at the hovering runes. “This Heaven Punisher Formation is truly mysterious and profound; it actually took me nine full days. However, it truly is a grand formation that is perfectly suited for combination attacks; it truly lives up to its reputation as a formation created by True God Xingtian, known as the Primordial Wargod.”

Xingtian was often referred to as the Primordial Wargod. He delighted in battle. When he made his breakthrough to become a True God, it was when his head had been chopped off and he had transformed his nipples into eyes and his belly button into his mouth, then continued to fight. From this, one could tell how savage and how warlike Xingtian was.

“Eh?”

Ning looked at his surroundings. Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei were both meditating, but Celestial Immortal Unity’s seat was empty.

“Unity has already mastered it?” Ning rose to his feet as well. The Skylight Palace was currently quite silent; everyone was busy meditating. As for the Xia Emperor and the other five True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, they had left for now; the Xia Emperor and the others couldn’t just sit there and do nothing for half a month, after all. Ning moved towards the outside of the main palace, soon seeing the Celestial Immortals floating on the clouds outside, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Ning saw a total of sixty individuals; apparently, these were the ones who had succeeded in learning the technique.

If one had a very high level of comprehension abilities, one would be capable of learning the Heaven Punisher Formation. But of course, if one had a very high level of insight into the Dao or an extremely deep level of insight into formations, one could also learn it in an incredibly short period of time.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth mastered it as well?”

“The reason why we were able to learn it so quickly was because we’ve lived for trillions of years. Fellow Daoist Darknorth’s comprehension abilities are truly staggering,” the other Celestial Immortals laughed and praised.

Ning smiled in acknowledgmenet. These sixty Celestial Immortals were elites; in fact, quite a few were comparable to Celestial Immortal Unity.

“Ji Ning.” Unity walked over as well. “I just finished learning it a short while ago; you were just a hair slower than me. It seems you’ll be one of my major foes when it comes to competing for the commander positions.”

“Don’t praise me, fellow Daoist Unity.” Ning shook his head. “The world of the Grand Xia is filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons; it won’t be easy to rank in the top nine out of more than ten thousand Celestial Immortals. Oh, right; there’s something I need to speak to the Xia Emperor about.”

“Go.” Unity nodded.

Ning immediately walked towards a nearby attendant, asking him to carry a message for him.

“I’ll go notify the Xia Emperor right away. Immortal Darknorth, please wait a moment.” The attendant immediately departed to go report to the Xia Emperor.

……

A side palace.

The Xia Emperor was seated by himself before a table that was covered with a map of the entire Grand Xia. The Xia Emperor was staring intently at the map as the black-robed Ning walked in.

“There you are.” The Xia Emperor raised his head.

“Respectful greetings to you, Imperial Majesty.” Ning bowed.

“No need to stand on such ceremony in private,” the Xia Emperor said with a laugh. “You asked to see me in private; is there something you need?”

Ning immediately said, “Ji Ning has a boon to request, Imperial Majesty.”

“Speak,” the Xia Emperor said.

Ning said, “Ji Ning knows that the Three Realms are currently in a state of chaos, and so all Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals must take part in the battle. However…I would like to ask you, your Imperial Majesty, to help me and allow my Dao-companion, Yu Wei, to refrain from taking part in battle.”

“Refrain from taking part in battle? But…” The Xia Emperor frowned. “Why?”

“My Dao-companion is pregnant,” Ning explained. “If she takes too heavy a blow during a battle…she might be able to recover, as a Celestial Immortal, but the baby in her body might…”

The Xia Emperor instantly laughed. “So the Rainbowflame Fairy is pregnant? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Very few people know about it; after all, it’s just a pregnancy,” Ning said. Ning hadn’t made a big fuss about this, primarily because he was worried that others would take aim at Yu Wei. Thus, only the closest people to them knew about this matter. However, after Ning’s Primaltwin’s tribulation, his master Subhuti had told him that so long as he told a second person about his secrets, there was a chance the Seamless Gate would find out. Thus, Ning understood that most likely the Seamless Gate already knew about Yu Wei’s pregnancy; this naturally made him feel even more cautious.

“Don’t worry. Since she’s pregnant, we naturally won’t ask the Rainbowflame Fairy to take part in battle,” the Xia Emperor said. “However…after she finishes giving birth, she still has to take part in the war. No one can easily escape the flames of war.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

Right at this moment, someone came in from outside.

As though sensing the person, Ning glanced backwards. He immediately said, “Respectful greetings to you, senior Dongyan.” The newcomer was True Immortal Dongyan.

True Immortal Dongyan laughed. “I heard, Ji Ning, that you had woken up from your meditations, and so I wanted to chat with you. I didn’t expect you to be here with his Imperial Majesty.”

“Might I ask what you wish of me, senior?” Ning asked.

“I simply wish to ask you to help me with something,” True Immortal Dongyan said.

“Help you?” Ning was surprised. “Senior, you are far more powerful than me.”

True Immortal Dongyan shook his head. “What use is that? In the face of this great storm, even major powers might fall. I was thinking…in the event of my death, I would like to ask you, Ji Ning, to help me out a little in taking care of and protecting Ninelotus. You don’t have to personally watch over her and protect her, just…help arrange for her protection. All I ask is that she be able to stay alive and safe.”

Ning was startled. Ninelotus?

Ning had severed his relationship with Ninelotus long ago. However…within the demonheart world, the two of them had been together for thirty thousand years. This had a significant impact on Ning.

“If I have the power to protect her, I naturally will. Ninelotus is my senior apprentice-sister, after all,” Ning said.

“All I need are these words from you, Ji Ning.” True Immortal Dongyan sighed.

“Dongyan, you are far too cautious,” the Xia Emperor said. “You became a Pure Yang True Immortal long ago, but always misguided others about it through your Primaltwin. Now that the storm has come and you are unable to avoid it, you’ve already sent all of your clansmen to your master’s place…and yet, you still want to ask Ji Ning to help out as well?”

Ning was instantly surprised by these words. So the real Dongyan Forefather had become a Pure Yang True Immortal long ago. The Celestial Immortal everyone had met…had merely been a Primaltwin?

“If one’s power is revealed, then one will die all the quicker when the storm comes.” True Immortal Dongyan shook his head. “Right, Xiamang. Of the eleven thousand Celestial Immortals…I imagine some are traitors for the Seamless Gate. If a traitor becomes one of the nine commanders…”

Ning nodded, looking towards the Xia Emperor as well.

“Of course there are traitors. That’s obvious…but what can you do about it?” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “The traitors are far too hard to discern; they can even swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens without being punished for breaking them. Many have made it all the way to the sides of our Daofathers. I imagine that the traitors we’ve uncovered only make up a small portion of all the traitors.”

“They’ve made it to the sides of our Daofathers? They won’t be punished for violating oaths to the Dao of the Heavens?” Ning was shocked.

The Xia Emperor looked towards Ning, then nodded. “Right. You are still quite weak; your main goal right now is to train to prepare for the Empyrean Tribulation and become an Empyrean God. Thus, there are many things which your master has probably not informed you about. Once you do become an Empyrean God, you’ll know all these things. The Seamless Gate…their abilities are beyond what you can imagine. The Seamless Gate, the Seamless Gate…in terms of their intelligence abilities and their infiltrating abilities…they truly do leave no seam untouched!”

Ning shivered. Puzzled, he asked, “But why is it that they can violate oaths to the Dao of the Heavens? That makes no sense.”

“Why doesn’t it make sense? Daofathers have all mastered Heavenly Daos and are in control of them; oaths to the Dao of the Heavens are useless when made by them,” the Xia Emperor said. “Since oaths to the Dao of the Heavens are useless when made by Daofathers…naturally, there are others for whom they are useless as well. However, not just anyone is capable of this…but clearly, the Seamless Gate is!”

“They are able to know of every single Celestial Tribulation.”

“They are able to ignore oaths to the Dao of the Heavens.”

“They even number amongst their ranks disciples of the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha!” The Xia Emperor sighed. “The two leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha possess unfathomable abilities; they were able to detect some flaws and identify some traitors. However…those ones they found most likely only make up a tiny fraction of the total number of traitors.”

The Xia Emperor sighed again. “Thus…this is a true ‘tribulation’ for the Three Realms!”

Ning nodded.

Right.

Even people like his master, Subhuti, were behaving with the utmost caution. The Seamless Gate…it was far too mysterious, and its abilities were far too unfathomable. In fact, Ning had the feeling that it was as though the Seamless Gate was in control of the laws of Heaven and Earth! They were able to locate any Celestial Tribulation, and oaths to the Dao of the Heavens was useless to them…

“I will naturally be very, very cautious in choosing the nine commanders,” the Xia Emperor said. “No matter what, I cannot let one of those positions enter the hands of a traitor. However…although there might be a few traitors amongst the eleven thousand, the chances of one of them becoming the top nine are quite low. I’ll be extremely careful in my investigations, and if I detect anything out-of-place at all, I’ll immediately apprehend them.”

……

Soon, the fifteen days given to the Celestial Immortals to meditate on the Heaven Punisher Formation came to an end.

The Skylight Palace. The main hall.

The Xia Emperor was seated high up on his throne, staring down at his subjects. Smiling, he said, “Fellow Immortals, the fifteen days have passed. I trust that you have all mastered at least the ‘advanced scroll’ of the Heaven Punisher Formation.”

All the Celestial Immortals present laughed.

The Heaven Punisher Formation was divided into the ‘basic’ level, the ‘advanced’ level, and the ‘complete’ level.

The basic level was for Loose Immortals to learn. It was very simple, and even Loose Immortals would only need a single day to learn it.

Learning the ‘advanced’ level was a bit tougher, but for Celestial Immortals…even the slowest of them would only need two days to master it.

Mastering the complete Heaven Punisher Formation, however, was thousands of times more difficult.

“Those of you who have mastered the complete Heaven Punisher Formation, come to the center of the palace,” the Xia Emperor said.

One person after another began to rise to their feet.

Ji Ning and Celestial Immortal Unity rose to their feet as well, walking to the center. An entire group of Celestial Immortals now stood at the heart of the palace.

“A total of 359.” The Xia Emperor laughed. “If there was one more, we would have a perfect 360 degree circle. Still…perfection is rare in this world. My 359 fellow Immortals…I’d like to ask you to make your preparations now. In two hours, I will have each of you attempt to command a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals in assuming the Heaven Punisher Formation. I’ll test the power of the Heaven Punisher Formations you command, and the most powerful nine will become the nine commanders.”

……

A short while later.

The imperial plaza below the palace. More than a million Loose Immortals were gathered here; one truly could see no end to them.

By now, the Loose Immortals had all parted, allowing for an empty area with a circumference of a thousand kilometers appear amongst them. At the edges around this empty area, there stood more than eleven thousand Celestial Immortals as well as the Xia Emperor.

“One thousand Celestial Immortals, a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, enter the field!” The Xia Emperor ordered.

The pre-selected Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals flew into the empty field in an awe-inspiring manner.

“Fellow Immortal Northstar shall be the first one,” the Xia Emperor said.

Celestial Immortal Northstar immediately said respectfully, “Yes.” He stepped into the empty region, and as he did, a blurry aura of light instantly covered the field, forming into an enormous grand sealing formation.

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Chapter 5 – Chaos Goldstone

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 5 – Chaos Goldstone

The Xia Emperor and the million Loose Immortals watched from outside the grand sealing formation.

Within the formation, this quite famous Immortal Northstar, dressed in stellar Daoist robes, gave an order to the thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals next to him: “I’ll have to trouble you all, fellow Daoists…assemble the formation!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!! A thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals all flew into the air in unison. When the Xia Emperor had selected them, he had also assigned them each a location within the grand formation. In truth, it was quite simple; each Celestial Immortal controlled a hundred Loose Immortals, who would do whatever the Celestial Immortal ordered. The thousand Celestial Immortals, in turn, followed the lead of Immortal Northstar; thus, the Heaven Punisher Formation was quite stable.

The Immortals all hovered there in midair…and then bloody runes began to emerge from their bodies, causing a shockingly powerful warlike aura to emerge.

BOOM!

A blood-red aura suddenly burst out of the grand sealing formation, but it didn’t damage it in the slightest.

Countless lines of bloody red light began to converge, merging together to form a dark-red giant.

And then…the colors of the world seemed to change!

An enormous whirlpool appeared in the air above the entire imperial capital. It spread more than a million kilometers, ravenously drawing in all of the surrounding natural energy. In almost the blink of an eye, a completely void of a million kilometers was created; all of the energy in that region had been drawn into the sealing formation, into the blurry giant’s body. Instantly, the blurry form of the giant began to stabilize.

The giant was thirty thousand meters tall, and he looked like he had an absolutely enormous head, as well as a pair of muscular arms and powerful legs! However…if one took a careful look, one would see that the massive head was actually the giant’s entire upper torso! The nipples were the eyes, while the belly button was the mouth. The entire upper body was like a giant, savage, snarling face that had a vague resemblance to Celestial Immortal Northstar’s.

“So this is Xingtian, the Heaven Punisher?”

Ning and the others all sighed in amazement.

A thousand and one Celestial Immortals, along with a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, were all located within the body of this Heaven Punisher. The enormous Heaven Punisher, formed from the energy of the surrounding area, had an aura of such power that it surpassed the aura of most Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

“It looks strong, but it’s power is rather hollow,” Celestial Immortal Unity evaluated. “Clearly, the enormous amount of natural energy hasn’t been applied perfectly; a bit is leaking out.”

“To be able to perfectly control such an enormous amount of natural energy is too difficult. Even the most powerful of Celestial Immortals can only do their best.” Ning could see and sense how massive this concentration of power was. If someone was capable of controlling all of this power with absolute perfection…even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would have no choice but to flee in the face of it! Alas, even a Pure Yang True Immortal controlling the formation wouldn’t be able to perfectly control it.

“Fellow Immortal Northstar.”

The Xia Emperor, located outside the formation, spoke out.

Swish.

A white-robed Xia Emperor appeared out of nowhere. The white-robed Xia Emperor walked towards the grand sealing formation, which didn’t impede him in the slightest, allowing him to enter.

“Imperial Majesty.”

The massive Northstar Heaven Punisher called out respectfully to him.

The Heaven Punisher’s entire body was dark-red. He was only clad in furs which covered his waist and his groin. A blood-red aura radiated from his entire massive body; it was the manifestation of his warlike intent, made corporeal.

“First familiarize yourself a bit first,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Yes,” the Northstar Heaven Punisher said respectfully. Natural energy continued to ripple over the body of the massive Heaven Punisher, slowly stabilizing as the Heaven Punisher’s form grew more solid. The aura emanating from it, however, actually shrank considerably…but then, everything came to a halt. Clearly, this Heaven Punisher was unable to strengthen any further.

The white-robed Xia Emperor nodded. “Prepare.” He waved his hand, and an enormous pile of black rocks suddenly appeared, stacked up on each other in neat layers like a small mountain. However, hints of golden light could be seen from within the black rocks, causing them to have a mysterious aura.

“This is chaos goldstone,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said. “There are a total of ten pieces piled up here. Use your full power to chop down upon the stones here with your palm. The more power your Heaven Punisher is able to split open, the more stones you will be able to split open. The other fellow Immortals who command the Heaven Punisher Formation will also be assigned the task of splitting these stones open.”

“Chaos goldstones? But we haven’t been taught the critical components to the Heaven Punisher Formation yet; will we be able to break them open?” Celestial Immortal Unity, located outside the formation, was a bit worried now.

“Hard to say.” Ning wasn’t certain either.

He naturally knew a bit about chaos goldstones. The Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] required many Five Elements treasures, and chaos goldstones could be used to satisfy the ‘metal’ element requirements.

True Gods and Daofathers harvested them from the infinite primordial chaos. They were incredibly tough, and generally speaking only Empyrean Gods or True Immortals were capable of damaging them. For Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the value of chaos goldstones lay in the fact that if one refined them, one would be able to extract chaos gold essence from them. The stones were completely black, but their surface glimmered with faint dots of golden light. These dots of golden light were ‘chaos gold essence’.

These ten enormous pieces of chaos goldstone, nearly three thousand meters long…if one refined and smelted them, the amount of chaos gold essence that would be produced would most likely be the size of a human fingernail.

Chaos gold essence was something which even True Gods and Daofathers would find hard to damage. It could only be used in smelting and forging if one had very special forging equipment and special techniques to melt them. They were truly top-grade ingredients, generally used in the most top-grade of Pure Yang artifacts. If one mixed in just a little chaos gold essence into those artifacts, they would become nigh indestructible.

“Begin,” the white-robed Xia Emperor ordered.

A million Immortals outside the formation watched as the Northstar Heaven Punisher raised his enormous palm. That massive palm was like a giant axe, the edge becoming the axe-blade as it chopped straight downwards! Ripples in space appeared in the area around his palm, pushing out in two opposite directions. However, his power was clearly still being held back; otherwise, space would’ve been torn apart long ago.

BOOM!

The enormous palm hacked straight down against the ten massive pieces of chaos goldstone. Instantly, the entire imperial plaza trembled. However, since this was the most stable and secure location in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, it wasn’t damaged in the slightest.

“How’d he do?”

“He broke it.”

“He broke it!”

“He seems to have broken four pieces!”

The million Immortals stared, all sighing in disbelief.

To be able to shatter four pieces of chaos goldstone, despite how tough they were…it could be said that even without knowing the critical parts to the formation, the Northstar Heaven Punisher was definitely at the power level of an Empyrean God or True Immortal. Ning had to admit; this Heaven Punisher was considerably stronger than his own true body, which had just barely reached the minimum level of power for Empyrean Gods or True Immortals. And this was without knowing the most important parts to the formation!

“Four pieces shattered, some damage to the fifth piece.” The white-robed Xia Emperor nodded. “Alright. Next shall be fellow Immortal Alltruth.”

The grand sealing formation was temporarily dispelled.

The Heaven Punisher Formation disassembled. The hundred thousand Loose Immortals and one thousand and one Celestial Immortals all appeared. Celestial Immortal Northstar first bowed towards the white-robed Xia Emperor, then walked out of the grand sealing formation. As he did, a tall, skinny, ashen-faced elder walked into the formation.

……

Each of the 359 Celestial Immortals had a chance to test themselves.

The first testee, Celestial Immortal Northstar, was actually quite formidable; most of those who came after him were only able to break three pieces.

“Fellow Immortal Unity.” The white-robed Xia Emperor glanced outside.

“I’m going to give it a try.” Unity gave Ning a smile, then walked towards the grand sealing formation.

Ning watched closely.

Unity was the 192nd testee. The most powerful Celestial Immortal to date had, amazingly enough, been able to shatter six pieces of chaos goldstone. She was a female Immortal, Celestial Immortal Rainsoar of the Skyfarmer clan. She was a tremendously famous pill-refining expert, but she wasn’t particularly well-known for her combat abilities. And yet, till now she was the most powerful person to be tested.

“I wonder how Celestial Immortal Unity will do?” Yu Wei wondered.

“Senior Unity’s power is formidable,” Ning said. “I trust his results shall be extraordinary.”

Rumble…

A Heaven Punisher once more took form within the formation.

After familiarizing himself with the technique, the Unity Heaven Punisher was given the nod by the white-robed Xia Emperor. He, too, lifted up his massive right palm, then hacked downwards towards the pile of chaos goldstone.

BOOM! Yet another, now-familiar exploding sound. By now, most likely all of the dwellers within the imperial capital of the grand Xia had gotten used to this sort of explosion…because there had been nearly two hundred of them by now.

Ning took a careful look, only to see that only four pieces of the ten chaos goldstones remained undamaged.

“Six pieces!” Ning called out in delight.

“He truly is formidable. He’s comparable to Celestial Immortal Rainsoar.” Yu Wei was surprised and delighted as well.

“Truly formidable. Impressive!” Immortal Diancai was excited as well. There were so many Celestial Immortals here, quite a few of whom were almost as powerful as Pure Yang True Immortals. However, it truly was hard to say which of them would be able to unleash the most power from the Heaven Punisher Formation.

The million Immortals all sighed in praise as well.

Within the formation, the white-robed Xia Emperor nodded. “Six shattered pieces, with the seventh piece slightly damaged. You are very close to fellow Immortal Rainsoar; you are just a tiny bit weaker. You rank second amongst the 192 fellow Immortals who have tested so far.”

The formation dispersed, allowing Celestial Immortal Unity to fly out. A look of delight was in his eyes.

To rank second amongst 192 Celestial Immortals meant that he had a very good chance of ranking in the top nine of the 359 total Celestial Immortals. But of course, it was also possible that he was just unlucky, and that the later figures would all be incredibly powerful. If that was the case, there was nothing he could do.

One Celestial Immortal after another went forward as the tests continued.

“Why isn’t it your turn yet, junior apprentice-brother?” Yu Wei was getting a bit impatient.

“No rush. There will always be some who come first and some who come later,” Ning said. The Xia Emperor most likely had a very high opinion of Ning, which was why he had put Ning towards the rear, as part of a grand finale.

By now, more than three hundred Celestial Immortals had made their tests. A total of five Celestial Immortals had shattered six pieces of chaos goldstone!

“Fellow Immortal Ji Ning, please step forward,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning is up.”

“Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning? Supposedly, his true body was, at the Void level, capable of resisting nine mighty Celestial Immortals by himself. He’s the disciple of a Daofather…and by the looks of it, his Primaltwin has overcome the tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal.”

“I was actually watching Ji Ning during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. He truly is a monstrously talented genius. However…fellow Doaist Ji Ning has trained for a fairly short period of time. I don’t know if he’s capable of controlling this Heaven Punisher Formation well or not.” The plaza was immediately filled with discussions regarding Ning; after all, Ning was quite well known amongst the ten thousand-plus Celestial Immortals. As they saw it, perhaps Ji Ning wasn’t particularly strong right now, but in the future he would probably surpass them.

……

Within the formation.

“Fellow Daoists, thank you for your help,” Ning said towards the thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals.

“Assemble the formation.”

Ning immediately soared upwards, flying into the air as a thousand Celestial Immortals followed him, scattering all around him. As for the hundred thousand Loose Immortals, they in turn followed their respective Celestial Immortal leaders. An enormous number of bloody runes appeared, all of which began to gather together and form into a blurry, dark-red giant. The surrounding natural energy began to furiously flow towards them. An enormous, thirty thousand meter tall Heaven Punisher quickly took shape, one whose face was rather similar to Ning’s.

“This feeling…such tremendous power…” Ning sighed in amazement.

The flood of power flowing through him was beyond what he could truly control. All he could do was to try and control it as best he could.

“Fellow Immortal Ji Ning, familiarize yourself with it first.” The white-robed Xia Emperor smiled.

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Chapter 6 – Becoming Generals

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 6 – Becoming Generals

Every Loose Immortal was very weak, but the amount of natural energy a hundred thousand Loose Immortals could summon…finally, Ji Ning had a taste of it for himself. Even though a thousand Celestial Immortals were guiding and taming the energy, making it so that it wasn’t too unruly or chaotic, Ning still could sense how tough it would be to control it.

“Controlling the power of the Heaven Punisher Formation is like controlling the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].” Ning sighed.

The [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]…the more Immortal swords one used, the more difficult it was to control the formation.

This was especially true now that Ning used nine top-grade Pure Yang flying swords, the Ananda World-Swords, as the heart of his [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. Although his heartforce was incredibly powerful, which was of use to him in controlling these magic treasures…Ning was still only able to just barely activate the first level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]!

The main reason for this was that those nine Ananda World-Swords were simply far, far too powerful. It must be understood that not even most Pure Yang True Immortals would be lucky enough to acquire such a complete set of top-grade Pure Yang swords. Thus, one could imagine how hard it was to control them! The only reason why Ning was able to do so despite being merely at the Celestial Immortal level was because his heartforce had reached the third stage, ‘ruler’.

Although Ning hadn’t yet learned the way to apply heartforce to his soul, the more powerful one’s heartforce was, the more flying swords one could control. This was similar to an unskilled strongman wielding a sword; the stronger he was, the heavier his sword could be. The application of heartforce to the soul was like a matter of technique; with the proper technique, the strongman would be able to wield even heavier swords, while also allowing the power of his sword-arts to explosively increase.

This was the difference a good technique could make.

Right now, Ning was completely relying on his heartforce to brute-force things for him.

Whoooooosh. A flood of energy circulated throughout the Heaven Punisher as Ning took control over it.

He slowly grew familiar with its power and gained experience wit it.

In truth, it really wasn’t that different from controlling one of his sword-formations.

……

The white-robed Xia Emperor put away the earlier, shattered chaos goldstones, then placed ten more undamaged pieces on the ground. The chaos goldstones all glimmered with golden light, filled with beauty and magnetism.

“You can begin.” After watching Ning familiarize himself for a few moments, the white-robed Xia Emperor gave the order.

Rumble…

The Darknorth Heaven Punisher took a single step forward, lifting up his thick, powerful right arm. The attention of the million-plus Immortals located outside the formation was all focused on this massive arm, many thousands of meters long.

Rumble…

The enormous palm hacked down like a massive greataxe, chopping downwards with irresistible might.

It was like Pangu splitting open the cosmic egg of primordial chaos and establishing the universe. Spatial ripples appeared around the palm, pushing out in two directions like waves.

The enormous, dark-red axe-hand carried awe-inspiring might as it chopped downwards like a hatchet towards the mountain of chaos goldstone.

BOOM!!!

An enormous collision, followed by a shockwave that blasted out in every direction. When the shockwave struck against the grand sealing formation, a series of booming sounds could be heard. When the million-plus Immortals outside the formation heard those sounds, they were all tremendously shocked.

“Such power.”

“This level of power…it’s definitely the strongest thus far.”

“This Ji Ning truly is extraordinary. Monster. What a monster!”

“I wonder how many pieces of chaos goldstone he broke apart?”

The Immortals all sighed in amazement. In their hearts, Ji Ning truly was a peerless monster. They had thought that he wouldn’t necessarily be that impressive in commanding the Heaven Punisher Formation, but who would’ve thought that he had most likely surpassed all of the Celestial Immortals who had come before him?

They all took a careful look.

The shockwaves dispersed. Only now could they see…that the mountain of chaos goldstone was an absolute mess. There were so many shattered pieces of stone that they couldn’t even tell how many were broken.

“Is that…eight pieces?”

“Maybe nine?”

The million-plus Immortals tried their best to discern how many pieces there were, but found it hard because so many shattered bits of rocks were obstructing their view.

The white-robed Xia Emperor waved his hand, and instantly all of the shattered bits flew to one side, revealing a completely undamaged piece of chaos goldstone as well as a second piece that was covered with cracks.

“Eight pieces shattered, the ninth piece nearly completely shattered.” The white-robed Xia Emperor revealed a smile. “Fellow Immortal Ji Ning truly is formidable; you’ve already become number one amongst the 330 Immortals who have tested thus far.”

In his heart, the white-robed Xia Emperor sighed to himself. “Ji Ning truly is incredible. For Celestial Immortals, using the Heaven Punisher Formation to break six pieces of chaos goldstone should be their limit. Only an inconceivable monster like Ji Ning could release such extraordinary power.”

From six pieces to eight pieces…there was ‘only’ an increase of two pieces, true, but the power of the palm-blow was being ablated with each layer. This meant that Ning’s Heaven Punisher’s power was two entire levels above that of the other Heaven Punishers. This…was because of heartforce! His powerful heartforce allowed him to control more of the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. If he had fully mastered heartforce and applied it to his soul, he would’ve been able to control an even more astonishing amount of power.

Rumble…

The Darknorth Heaven Punisher completely vanished, revealing a thousand and one Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals. Ning immediately flew out then said with a smile, “Thank you, fellow Daoists.”

“Ji Ning,” the white-robed Xia Emperor laughed, “Unless something unexpected happens, you’ll be one of the nine generals. But of course…if nine of the remaining twenty-nine are more powerful than you, then there’s nothing for it.”

“If that really is the case, it would be a blessing for our Grand Xia,” Ning said.

The Xia Emperor laughed loudly, then said, “Alright. Next is fellow Immortal Dustfloat.”

……

The person who came after Ning, Immortal Dustfloat, actually startled everyone quite badly…because he was able to just barely succeed in smashing the seventh piece of chaos goldstone. This caused many Immortals to feel shocked; could it be that there really was a group of incredibly powerful Celestial Immortals located at the end, some of whom would surpass Ji Ning?

However…as time passed and the tests proceeded, they quickly saw that although the Xia Emperor had indeed arranged for some of the particularly famous and powerful Celestial Immortals to be placed towards the end, none of them were more powerful than Ji Ning. In fact, none of them were even as powerful as Celestial Immortal Dustfloat.

The trials for the 359 Celestial Immortals took a total of two days, ending by nightfall of the second day.

The ranking was:

1 – Celestial Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning

2 – Celestial Immortal Dustfloat

3 – Celestial Immortal Loachwater

4 – Celestial Immortal Rainsoar

5 – Celestial Immortal Allbeasts

6 – Celestial Immortal Unity

7 – Celestial Immortal Rainbow

8 – Celestial Immortal Thousand Needles

9 – Celestial Immortal Whacko

It was actually quite strange. Ning had shattered eight plates of chaos goldstone, while Celestial Immortal Dustfloat had shattered seven. The rest of the nine had shattered six pieces, while the tenth had shattered five pieces.

“These thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals shall be commanded by fellow Immortal Whacko; they shall be the ‘Whacko Army’.” The Xia Emperor began to assign responsibilities. Upon hearing the name, quite a few of Immortals were unable to control their laughter; this army’s name didn’t have any hint of an Immortal’s aura at all.

“These next thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals shall be commanded by fellow Immortal Thousand Needles; they shall be the Thousand Needles Army.”

……

“These next thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals shall be commanded by fellow Immortal Darknorth; they shall be the Darknorth Army. Alright; the nine armies have been set. The remaining Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals shall be under my command,” the Xia Emperor said. “Nine generals, come with me. All other Immortals, you can go rest with your fellows in the same army.”

The Xia Emperor immediately flew away on a cloud towards the Skylight Palace.

The five True Immortals followed him, as did Ning and the rest of the nine.

Within a graceful hall inside the Skylight Palace.

“Sit, all of you.” The Xia Emperor sat down with a smile. Everyone else sat down as well.

The five True Immortals were naturally seated closest to the Xia Emperor. Next was Ji Ning and the rest of the nine, who seated themselves in accordance with their ranking.

“These are the critical parts to the Heaven Punisher Formation. Hurry up and learn them. Meditate well.” The Xia Emperor waved his hand, and instantly nine dark-red medallions flew towards Ning and the other eight. “True God Xingtian personally forged these, imprinting his technique within them.”

These medallions were the size of a palm. They were dark red, and covered with a savage-looking diagram.

The nine medallions hovered in the air in front of Ning and the rest of the nine. They naturally reached out to grab them, then filled them with their coresense. Soon, they completely memorized all of the information contained within it.

“You can keep the medallions.” The Xia Emperor sighed. “All of you have fearlessly volunteered to command my many Immortals to do battle against the Seamless Gate…if you manage to survive, you can use the medallion to go visit True God Xingtian, and pick a single technique of your choice from his Dao Repository. Alternately, you can choose any Pure Yang treasure or Protocosmic spirit-treasure from his treasury.”

Ning remained quite calm, but the other Celestial Immortals began to feel the fires of desire blaze in their hearts. After all, none of them were a Daofather’s disciple; there were many divine abilities and secret arts which they did not have access to.

“Meditate well,” the Xia Emperor repeated, his gaze dark and gloomy. “I fear that not too long from now, the Seamless Gate will launch the war.”

……

The world of the Grand Xia. Whitepole Commandery was a very remote commandery. Generally speaking, the more remote a feof was, the larger in size it was.

It was nightfall.

An enormous, towering black citadel was hovering in the air above Whitepole City. The levitating black citadel was a full size larger than even Whitepole City itself. It was completely black, and around it hovered a large number of chains. These countless chains filled the space around it, seeming to lock the citadel here as an anchor kept a ship locked in place in the sea.

The walls of the black citadel were filled with many roving black-armored soldiers.

Within the citadel itself, there was a tightly-patrolled military headquarters, as well as some towering palaces.

The largest open area within the black citadel was covered with a veritable sea of Immortals, all seated in the lotus position. These were Loose Immortals, and one could see no end to them.

At the very front of the plaza, there were three enormous, fog-shrouded caverns that were three hundred meters tall. The dark cavern entrances led to a mysterious, terrifying location.

“It’s said that those caves lead to the legendary ‘Fifth World’.”

“The Patriarch said that the Celestial Immortals within the Fifth World are numerous beyond measure. There’s even many True Immortals and Empyrean Gods there. If the Fifth World released its full power, it would effortlessly wipe out the entire Grand Xia.”

“So why don’t they?”

“Supposedly, the Fifth World is battling against many major worlds right now.”

The countless Loose Immortals were all secretly chatting with each other.

……

Within the tallest tower of the levitating black citadel.

Thousands of Celestial Immortals were seated in the lotus position within this palace. Black, watery runes were emanating from their bodies as they quietly, calmly meditated and trained.

At the very front of this palace sat the Gatemaster of the Seamless Gate, Azurefox, as well as the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. There were a total of eight of them! The Seamless Gate alone had four, whereas the Myriad Demons Cavern and Bloodcloud Hall had thus far only produced their respective leaders, their other experts having yet to arrive. True Immortal Whitepole, a white-browed, icy-looking man, was also present, along with a black-robed, black-haired, red-eyed elder.

“After many years of subterfuge and decades of instigations…nearly three thousand Celestial Immortals of the Grand Xia have joined us,” Gatemaster Azurefox said with a smile. “We now have three thousand more, while Xiamang has three thousand left; that means the balance has been shifted by six thousand. Our Seamless Gate is also gathering in some scattered pockets of power located throughout our other major worlds as well. Once these three thousand Celestial Immortals have mastered the ‘True Art of Chaoswater’, it will be time to launch the assault. Senior apprentice-brother Whitepole, we’ll rely on your leadership.”

“I’ve been waiting countless eons for this day,” the white-browed True Immortal Whitepole said in a cold voice.

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Chapter 7 – Crusading Against The Grand Xia

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 7 – Crusading Against The Grand Xia

“In this campaign against the Grand Xia,” True Immortal Whitepole said coldly, “Everyone has tasks to accomplish. If someone makes a mistake…don’t blame me when I report it to Master!”

“Fellow Daoist Whitepole, don’t worry; the conquest of the Grand Xia is the most important mission we have been assigned,” the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave said. “None of us will slack off.”

“Fellow Daoist, don’t worry,” the Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall said with a merry smile as well.

“Senior apprentice-brother, just watch and see what we can do. We absolutely must conquer the Grand Xia!” Gatemaster Azurefox chimed in as well.

True Immortal Whitepole nodded lightly. “Good. Since Master has assigned me to lead the conquest of the Grand Xia…I truly do not wish to lose. I’m going to win this battle, even if it costs me my life.”

The other seven True Immortals/Empyrean Gods all exchanged glances, murmuring to themselves in secret.

True Immortal Whitepole was indeed very powerful…but he was excessively stubborn. The feud he had with the Xia Emperor wasn’t a small one, but it wasn’t a major one either. Generally speaking, Pure Yang True Immortals were broad-minded and would long ago forget about such a feud. True Immortal Whitepole, however, insisted on remembering it, and had even bided his time for so long. As soon as the Godking had whispered to him, he had been so narrow-minded and laser-focused on revenge that he had immediately joined the Godking. He had trained bitterly for countless years, and was now incredibly powerful. Although those in the outside world didn’t know exactly how powerful he was, Gatemaster Azurefox and the others did. In addition, this man had fortified Whitepole City to a nigh-impregnable level, and was also extremely skilled in biding his time; he was indeed an excellent choice as commander.

The conquest of the Grand Xia was incredibly important, and so the Godking had assigned this mission to True Immortal Whitepole, ordering Gatemaster Azurefox, the Cavemaster, and the Hallmaster to act as his assistants.

……

A world of fiery red flames.

Massive, towering figures were striding about on the surface of this world. Some of them were three thousand meters tall, while others were thirty thousand meters tall! Their appearances were all varied and different; some had eight arms, some had three heads, while some looked like beasts. They were all filled with massive, billowing amounts of divine power, using it to block the terrible heat of this world.

“Life really is wonderful these days,” a green-haired cyclopean giant said with a sigh as he sat there on the scorching ground. Although the scorching heat of the ground was causing his skin to crackle, he still had a look of contentment on his face.

“The Xia Emperor has imprisoned us for countless years, and has been torturing us all this time. Why has he stopped recently?” A nearby red-haired giant asked, puzzled.

Although the environment remained a terrible one, things were far better than they had been in the past.

The blazing heat, the lava-like ground…these were all minor matters. It must be understood that a few decades before this, each and every one of them regularly underwent torture that caused their bodies to break apart. Fortunately, however, their Fiendgod bodies were able to heal from it, but even so…it was a life worse than death.

Compared to that, life was currently quite comfortable indeed!

Rumble…

In the air above this world, a massive spatial hole suddenly appeared. From within the spatial hole emerged a muscular, black-robed human figure. It was the Xia Emperor.

Instantly, the countless Fiendgods within this vast area all raised their heads. All their gazes were focused upon the Xia Emperor.

“It’s the Xia Emperor.”

“Damn.”

“Why the hell have you come?”

“Xiamang, have you come to humiliate us some more?”

Countless furious roars rang out from throughout the land.

The black-robed Xia Emperor stood there in the air, staring down at the countless Fiendgods. Long ago, during the Fiendgod Era, the humans had won a great victory. Many ordinary cultivators believed the defeated Fiendgods to have been slain, but in reality, only a small number of them actually had; most had instead been imprisoned.

For example, the Youngflame clan had imprisoned some as well.

Once properly tamed, these Fiendgods would become loyal servants that would live for countless years; they had unlimited lifespans! Who would be willing to so casually kill such potentially useful servants?

The Xia Emperor and the others had relocated here from Pangu’s World, after all; they held enormous advantages over these local Fiendgods. At first, they had slowly and patiently collected and tamed the local Fiendgods, until one day the local Fiendgods had given birth to an Empyrean God. The humans hadn’t dared to be negligent, and so had joined forces to completely suppress the Fiendgods.

A few top-tier clans had been given a few Fiendgods, but 99% of the captured Fiendgods had all been imprisoned by the Xia Emperor.

Countless years of torment had indeed caused a portion of the Fiendgods to submit; the four Void-level Fiendgods that guarded the imperial gates for the Xia Emperor were good examples! The unbowed Fiendgods, however, made up the vast majority…and the Empyrean God was one of them. And so, they had remained imprisoned here by the Xia Emperor for this entire period of time! Logically speaking, an Empyrean God would be considered a powerful expert of the Three Realms, and so Empyrean Gods would generally only be imprisoned for a short period of time; it was quite rare to see one be imprisoned for so long. Fortunately for the Xia Emperor, his status was quite special, and the Empyrean God in question hadn’t had any backers, which was why the Xia Emperor had been able to keep him here for so long.

“XIAMANG!!!” A furious roar rang out.

A towering, mountain-like figure soared into the skies. The figure had long, unbound hair and radiated an aura of infinite cold. His eyes flashed with jade-green light, and his upper body was completely unclad; the only thing he wore was a fur loincloth. He stood there coldly in midair, staring angrily at the Xia Emperor. “Why have you come?”

On on one…not even he was a match for the Xia Emperor.

However, there was a veritable ocean of Fiendgods here, and yet…although logically speaking, their power should’ve been able to completely swamp the Xia Emperor, they were in a prison world that was actually a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. As the master of this treasure, the Xia Emperor didn’t even have to fight against them; all he had to do was activate the might of the treasure, and all of the Fiendgods would suffer pain that would make them wish for death.

“Empyrean God Coldsavage, have you been enjoying life lately?” The black-robed Xia Emperor laughed calmly.

“Hmph.” Empyrean God Coldsavage sneered. “These little fellows have enjoyed a few decades of comfort, and so they are all quite delighted. However, they’ve forgotten that we Fiendgods once flew through the vast world above. That vast world is our true world, our true land. You outsiders, you invaders, you took away our land, you killed our kinsmen, and you captured us and tortured us for the sake of making us become your servants and slaves.”

Empyrean God Coldsavage’s voice rang out throughout this fiery world.

“GWRAAAR!”

“Detestable Xia Emperor!”

“Die!”

Instantly, countless Fiendgods bellowed out in unison.

The Xia Emperor remained placid. Smiling, he shook his head: “You are wrong, ridiculously wrong. This isn’t your land. Countless years ago, the only thing which existed was the primordial chaos. Pangu split it apart, establishing Heaven and Earth, resulting in the creation of the primordial Pangu’s World. Afterwards, Maiden Nuwa created a race using Pangu as the template; that race was us, the humans. We are the heirs to Pangu and Nuwa; naturally, we are meant to flourish! We humans rose to prominence in the Primordial Era, then became the true powers of Pangu’s World! Afterwards, a storm came that caused the primordial world to shatter; only then arose the three thousand major worlds and the trillion minor worlds. And so, to be precise…even the world of the Grand Xia is nothing more than a tiny piece of the shattered Pangu’s World.”

“So you tell me…are humans the owners and masters of the Grand Xia? Or are you Fiendgods?” The black-robed Xia Emperor asked calmly.

“We were born here and we grew up here. Naturally, we are the owners of this place!” Empyrean God Coldsavage roared angrily.

“Ours! Ours!”

“Damnable humans!”

Countless Fiendgods echoed in furious unison.

The black-robed Xia Emperor said calmly, “I can’t be bothered to quibble with you about this. The victor becomes hailed as king, while the defeated are cursed as bandits. You have all been imprisoned here for countless years, never to see the light of day! But now, I’ll give you a chance…if you are willing to serve me and labor on my behalf for a hundred thousand years, then after that period of time, I’ll give you back your freedom!”

His voice rang out, echoing throughout this world.

“Freedom?”

The countless Fiendgods were all stunned.

They deeply desired freedom, but the Xia Emperor had never promised it to them a single time, despite having imprisoned them here for countless ages. Instead, he had always demanded that they become his eternal servants and slaves, which was why they had never assented. And in truth, during an ordinary era of peace, a hundred thousand years was an extremely short period of time; to have so many Fiendgods be servants for a mere hundred thousand years was pointless.

“Xia Emperor, are you deceiving us?” Empyrean God Coldsavage frowned.

“No.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “I can swear an oath to the Dao of the Heavens.”

“I imagine that after a hundred thousand years, you’ll give us our ‘freedom’, then immediately slaughter us,” Empyrean God Coldsavage said angrily. “Even if you don’t…other humans will act against us.”

The Xia Emperor laughed. “I told you, I’ll give you your freedom. In fact, I can even promise that I will give you your own territory from within the land I control, allowing you to live peaceful lives there. So long as you do not revolt and do not act against humans, you’ll be able to live there in peace.”

Instantly, all the Fiendgods grew excited.

They knew exactly how powerful the humans were; after all, they had seen humanity’s ‘fist’ and had tasted its formidableness.

“Just a hundred thousand years?” Empyrean God Coldsavage said.

“I can swear it on an oath to the Dao of the Heavens,” the Xia Emperor said.

“Fine! Then I’ll labor for you for a hundred thousand years.” Coldsavage’s eyes gleamed with light. A mere hundred millennia; they had already been imprisoned in this place for countless hundred millennia. For Fiendgods, such a period of time was indeed very brief. They merely had to temporarily endure being his servants, and then they would gain their eternal freedom. They wouldn’t be so foolish as to refuse.

……

And so, just like that, the Xia Emperor took a massive army of Fiendgods into his command. These were the Fiendgods that countless human clans had joined together to suppress….but of course, this vast army would only serve for a hundred thousand years.

“A hundred thousand years. I wonder how many of them will be alive, after the storm. If they manage to survive…I might as well grant them their freedom and let them live happy lives.” The Xia Emperor sighed to himself. “But I wonder…by then, will I be alive, or will I be dead?”

……

The world of the Grand Xia. The black citadel levitating above Whitepole City.

This black citadel had been personally forged by a Daofather for the express purpose of serving as a headquarters for an army. The Nuwa Alliance referred to it as the ‘Seamless City’.

In the main plaza of the Seamless City.

Countless Loose Immortals were gathered here, before the three massive black fog-shrouded caves that led to the Fifth World. A steady, unbroken stream of black-robed figures flew out from the cave, as well as the occasional blood-robed figure. They all had tremendously powerful auras; some of them were Loose Immortals, while a few had the auras of Celestial Immortals. This awe-inspiringly vast army caused all of the many Loose Immortals present to feel their hearts swell with fervor.

“The Seamless Gate is far too powerful.”

“Even more Immortals are arriving.”

“Joining the Seamless Gate was the right decision.”

Within the most towering palace of the Seamless City.

“Fellow Daoist Whitepole, my forces have already assembled,” the Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall said with a laugh. “Just now, the last of them have reached the Seamless City.”

“Good.”

The sword-shaped white eyebrows of True Immortal Whitepole danced upwards as he smiled. “Excellent. Junior apprentice-sister Azurefox, have all three thousand Celestial Immortals finished learning the first scroll of the True Art of Chaoswater?”

“They all have.” Gatemaster Azurefox nodded.

“Then it is time to mobilize the army and campaign against the Xia.” True Immortal Whitepole rose to his feet. “Assemble the world-notifying formation; I am going to announce it to the world.”

The other seven True Immortals/Empyrean Gods all rose as well.

……

The world-notifying formation was set up. True Immortal Whitepole stood there in its center, staring coldly towards the vast, infinite Void. He immediately said in a sonorous voice, “The Xia Emperor is tyrannical and brutal, without the Dao. In the face of the storm…I, True Immortal Whitepole, now command an army of a million Immortals to follow the will of the Dao of the Heavens in campaigning against the Xia!”

True Immortal Whitepole’s voice reverberated throughout the 3600 commanderies and four seas of the Grand Xia.

Mortals, beasts, Diremonsters, cultivators…

They all could hear this voice.

This was a voice that echoed throughout every inch of the vast Grand Xia!

It represented…that the curtains had been lifted upon a massive war between Immortals within the Grand Xia!

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Chapter 8 – Eight Dragons Cloudcity

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 8 – Eight Dragons Cloudcity

Within a side hall of the Skylight Palace.

The Xia Emperor, the five True Immortals/Empyrean Gods, and Ji Ning and the rest of the nine commanders were all present here. The nine had already learned the critical components to the Heaven Punisher Formation, and had immediately understood the secrets to the entire formation.

“So to unleash the full power of the Heaven Punisher Formation, one actually needs 810,000 Loose Immortals and 9000 Celestial Immortals led by one powerful expert. Only then does it reach maximum power, and will the Heaven Punisher reach its full, perfect power.” Celestial Immortal Allbeasts stroked his thick beard, sighing in amazement. “Nine represents a limit. Nine by nine, eighty one…this truly is a perfect formation.”

“Right.”

“If 810,000 Loose Immortals and 9000 Celestial Immortals were under my command, then the power of this formation would definitely rise dramatically.” Celestial Immortal Whacko revealed an eager look on his face as well.

The Xia Emperor, seated on his throne, just laughed. “Indeed, a perfect Heaven Punisher Formation does involve 810,000 Loose Immortals and 9000 Celestial Immortals under a single commander. A perfect formation would allow your Heaven Punishers to increase in power by one or two levels. However…forget about the perfect Heaven Punisher Formation, even the simplified one that only involves 100,000 Loose Immortals and 1000 Celestial Immortals summons more natural energy than you can handle. In addition, there’s a limit to the number of Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals available to us; our Grand Xia would only be able to produce a single perfect Heaven Punisher, but we can make more than ten of the simple ones!”

Ji Ning and the others all nodded.

Right.

Actually, the difference in power between the simplified and the perfect Heaven Punishers wasn’t that great; at most, the simplified ones would be at a disadvantage in a head-on battle. In a battle where one side was perfectly countered by the other, such as when a Ki Refiner was forced into close combat by a Fiendgod, the result would be a slaughter…but when two Fiendgods fought in close combat, and there was just a minor difference in power between the two, at most one would be able to suppress the other.

A slightly stronger Fiendgod, or ten slightly weaker Fiendgods? In a time of war…the Xia Emperor naturally knew which one to pick.

Suddenly…

A sonorous voice rang out, shaking the world and transmitting straight into the Skylight Palace. Or perhaps it could be said that this voice shook every single inch of this major world.

“The Xia Emperor is tyrannical and brutal, without the Dao. In the face of the storm…I, True Immortal Whitepole, now command an army of a million Immortals to follow the will of the Dao of the Heavens in campaigning against the Xia!”

“Campaigning against the Xia!” “Campaigning against the Xia!” “Campaigning against the Xia!” …

The voice echoed nonstop within the world.

……

The citizens of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia were incredibly proud figures, but during the past half month, they had been consumed with awed discussions regarding the countless Immortals who had entered the imperial palace, as well as the three hundred-plus shocking explosions that they had heard over the course of the past day and night. They had questions…they had suspicions…

But now, everything had been clearly and publicly laid out this day!

“The Xia Emperor is tyrannical and brutal, without the Dao. In the face of the storm…I, True Immortal Whitepole, now command an army of a million Immortals to follow the will of the Dao of the Heavens in campaigning against the Xia!”

A voice rang out from the ends of the world, instantly causing all of the countless denizens of the imperial capital to become stunned. And then…they went berserk.

“Campaign against the Grand Xia?”

“True Immortal Whitepole? Can it be that he is a Pure Yang True Immortal?”

“An army of a million Immortals? Is this real?”

The citizens of the imperial capital were all extraordinary figures; they knew that Pure Yang True Immortals sat above Celestial Immortals in power.

“No wonder countless Immortals gathered at the imperial palace. No wonder! It seems that they are there to deal with the revolt of this True Immortal Whitepole.”

“True Immortal Whitepole is incredible; he’s actually able to command an army of over a million Immortals. Immortals! And more than a million of them? This is just…”

“Can this ‘True Immortal Whitepole’ be the ancestor of the Whitepole clan?”

All sorts of conversations.

The local citizens were shocked and uneasy. However, over the course of countless years, the imperial capital had always been safe. In addition, there had been several marquis-led revolutions in the past, none of which had reached the imperial capital. Thus, the local dwellers were still filled with confident towards the Xia Emperor.

……

“Campaign against the Grand Xia?”

“An army of a million Immortals?”

“Good heavens…”

……

“This voice seems to be ringing out everywhere at the same time.”

“True Immortal Whitepole? What’s a True Immortal? Can it be that there is actually something more powerful than a Celestial Immortal? A million Immortals…our entire sect has only a single Immortal!”

“No wonder our Flamedoor Commandery has been in such a state of chaos. It seems the world is about to change…”

……

Every place in the vast land of the Grand Xia, including the four seas that surrounded it…every human, beast, Diremonster, cultivator…they all heard these words, and they all had their own thoughts. The reference to an ‘army of a million Immortals’ caused particular astonishment and terror. Given that the entire Grand Xia was in a state of chaos to begin with, many mortals with limited experience thought to themselves, “The Grand Xia is probably finished! More than a million legendary Immortals…good heavens!”

Even the more experienced individuals were terror-stricken. “Does the entire Grand Xia even have a million Immortals in it? Hard to say. It is going to be hard for the Grand Xia to win this battle. We might lose.”

Everyone felt restless and uneasy. These simple words had already thrown everyone into a state of confusion and chaos.

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. A side hall in the Skylight Palace.

Upon hearing these words, the Xia Emperor’s face changed, as did the faces of the others with him.

“It’s finally begun,” Ning murmured silently to himself.

“Eh?” The Xia Emperor raised his head, frowning. As the master of the Grand Xia and a man of tremendous power, he could vaguely sense that karma and luck were changing.

“When the hearts of the citizens are with us, luck shall gather here. When their hearts are quaking, luck shall disperse,” the Xia Emperor said softly. The hearts of the citizens could, to a certain extent, have an impact on karmic luck. But of course, this wasn’t absolute; there were many factors which could impact karmic luck; for example, if the Grand Xia suddenly gave birth to ten Empyrean Gods or True Immortals, its karmic luck would immediately increase by an explosive amount.

In the end…what really mattered the most was personal strength.

As for the hearts of the citizens? That was secondary.

In an ordinary world of mortals, it might be important, but this was a world of Immortals and Fiends; power was what truly mattered. But of course, the hearts of the citizens couldn’t be completely neglected; the more karmic luck one had, the better. Karmic luck was simply far too important! It impacted the amount of natural energy one could use and the chances one had of acquiring precious treasures. For example, acquiring Protocosmic spirit-treasures, or perhaps even the legendary Chaos treasures that were born from the primordial chaos itself, required tremendous amounts of luck!

But of course, if your power was on the level of Nuwa, things would be different.

Nuwa was the most powerful figure of the entire Three Realms, and her luck was indisputably the best as well. She was so powerful that she could destroy Heaven and Earth; even if others found treasures, she could take them away by force. Simply put, she was far too powerful…and power made up an enormous component of ‘karmic luck’. When there wasn’t such an enormous different in power, however, other aspects would be more important.

At present, it was clear that neither the Seamless Gate nor the Nuwa Alliance had enough power to wipe their enemies out, and so they naturally would fight over karmic luck.

“I’ll make a short trip,” the Xia Emperor said softly.

Whoosh.

A white-robed Xia Emperor appeared out of nowhere, then immediately left the side hall.

Moments later.

A similarly sonorous, booming voice rang out, seeming to have descended from the very heights of the Nine Heavens, filling every inch of the Grand Xia.

“Whitepole, child, years ago you were nothing more than a hound for a defeated clan; you supinely knelt before me, quivering in abject terror. Now that you have joined with a few other contemptible figures, you dare speak of ‘a million Immortals’ and dare rebel against me? These are my heavens, and this is MY world. No one should even think about taking it away. Whitepole, little boy, can it be that you have forgotten what happened to all of the other marquises who rebelled against me? Every single one who rebelled had their souls shattered. There have never been any exceptions, and there never will.” The Xia Emperor’s dominating voice was filled with a natural, exalted aura that radiated power.

First True Immortal Whitepole’s voice, then the Xia Emperor’s voice; they came one after the other, both shaking the world.

True Immortal Whitepole’s voice was more callous and grim, while the Xia Emperor’s voice carried a natural aura of command that came from his countless years of domination over the Grand Xia, making it even more persuasive.

“That’s the voice of the Xia Emperor?”

“The voice of the master of our Grand Xia?”

“I heard that ever since the Fiendgod Era, there’s only been a single Emperor of the Grand Xia…him, the Xia Emperor.”

The countless citizens of the Grand Xia went wild.

The Xia Emperor was a legend! Even tribes of ordinary humans knew that their land was the land of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Now, upon hearing someone say that ‘these are my heavens, and this is MY world’, they all understood that it had to be the master of the Grand Xia Dynasty who was saying these words.

“So there had been marquises who rebelled in the past?”

“It makes sense. Even our clan has had traitors and rebellions in our history; it’s normal for the Grand Xia to have had rebellions as well.”

The countless mortals of the ordinary tribes all took this to mean that this was nothing more than yet another ‘ordinary’ rebellion.

Their tribes were fairly new, after all; they didn’t really understand what the difference was between this rebellion and past ones. The Xia Emperor had intentionally muddied the waters, and there was no way for True Immortal Whitepole to explain the difference at all. The Xia Emperor’s influence within the Grand Xia was simply too great; he had ruled it for countless ages, and the subjugation his subjects felt towards him was bone-deep.

……

The Xia Emperor could sense the karmic luck of the world once more gathering and stabilizing. This was how swaying the hearts of the citizens worked; you relied on power, and you relied on your mouth. A single mouth could cause the hearts of the citizens to either gather behind you or to leave you behind.

“Let’s go.” The black-robed Xia Emperor gave the order. “It is time for us to battle against the Seamless Gate.”

Whoosh.

The five True Immortals/Empyrean Gods, Ji Ning, and the other eight commanders all followed the Xia Emperor in leaving the side hall, flying out into the air.

The imperial plaza. The eleven thousand Celestial Immortals and million Loose Immortals had already been divided into ten brigades. Ning and the other eight commanders would lead nine of them,, while the Xia Emperor would control the remaining one.

“The Seamless Gate has already declared war.” The black-robed Xia Emperor looked downwards, his voice booming forth. Trying to deceive these Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals was pointless, and so he said straightforwardly, “Only one side can win in this battle. What we need to do…is head out and completely crush them.”

“Fight!”

Instantly, people began to call out from below him.

“Fight.”

“Fight.”

“Fight!”

A million Immortals all called out the word ‘fight’ in unison, each of them filled with powerful will and determination. Their voices rang out together as they called for battle, and it seemed as though the heavens themselves were about to collapse. It was a joint howl that seemed to carry the power to break apart the world, filling each of the Immortals with ardor and eagerness. Who said that Immortals were always calm and had no emotions? In truth, it was that things would rarely excite them to this degree!

“This is a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.” The black-robed Xia Emperor waved his hand, and a palm-sized citadel appeared within his palm. It flew into the skies, then quickly began to expand in size.

This was a completely golden citadel, and it was surrounded by an enormous base of clouds. Eight azure dragons were swimming around it, filled with awe-inspiring power.

“Eight dragons swimming around a city in the clouds?” Ning and the others stared at the eight azure dragons, feeling rather stunned.

“Nine generals!” The black-robed Xia Emperor called out.

“Present!” Ning and the other eight responded.

“Command your Immortals and enter the Eight Dragons Cloudcity,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said.

“Yes!”

Ning and the other eight immediately flew forward, and behind them flew an awe-inspiring horde of Immortals. A thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals were behind each of them!

“All the other Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, follow me. I will be our field marshal in our campaign against the Seamless Gate!” The black-robed Xia Emperor was filled with an awe-inspiring aura of power as he led the five True Immortals/Empyrean Gods and the many remaining Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals into the city.

Now, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity had become a true military headquarters for an Immortal army.

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Chapter 9 – Magic Treasure: Splitter

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 9 – Magic Treasure: Splitter

The eight azure dragons swam around the golden city within the clouds. Space undulated around the city as a spatial tear formed, and the golden city flew straight into the tear, disappearing.

Within the city.

A million Immortals were present. The skies above them were filled with endless clouds; they were completely unable to see the outside world at all. Clearly, they were in a separate space.

“Each of you shall return to your own camps. You are not to act without permission. Any who violate orders shall be executed!” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s voice rang out, echoing throughout the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Yes,” the million Immortals assented in unison.

Instantly, the nine armies and the army commanded by the Xia Emperor all entered their respective camps in an ordinary fashion, none of them daring to leave their camps without permission. Everyone understood that in a time of war, military discipline would be extremely tight. If the Immortals were permitted to act and wander about as they pleased, there would be no way an army could be quickly mobilized.

“It’s quite large.” After entering the Darknorth army camp, the hundred thousand Immortals saw a vast region with countless private rooms, more than enough for all of them to reside in.

“Find your own places and go rest for now. You are not to leave the Darknorth army camp,” Ji Ning ordered.

“Yes, General.” The hundred thousand Immortals answered in an awe-inspiring chorus, their voices shaking the skies.

Sounds from the other army camps could be heard from far away.

“Nine generals, come to the main hall for a meeting,” the Xia Emperor’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Senior apprentice-sister, take a rest first. I’ll be back soon,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Yu Wei nodded. Although she had joined this army, there was no need for her to enter the battle.

Soon, Ning and the rest of the nine generals arrived within the central main hall of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. As for the Xia Emperor and the other five Empyrean Gods/True Immortals, they had arrived long ago.

“In this campaign, I shall serve as the field marshal. I, and I alone, shall be responsible for our movements and our plans,” the Xia Emperor said from his throne on high. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you; rather, the Seamless Gate’s intelligence mechanisms are simply unfathomably great. If I tell you, they will probably find out, and so I am keeping it to myself for now.”

Ning and the rest of the nine nodded.

“Don’t worry, your Imperial Majesty. This is a time of war; we know what is at stake.”

“Since you are our field marshal, then it is natural that you shall be in charge of everything, your Imperial Majesty.”

The Celestial Immortal generals all hurriedly assented.

Ning had been informed by Subhuti as to how powerful the Seamless Gate was. He understood the Xia Emperor’s predicament. As for the others, they might or might not understand, but they accepted the Xia Emperor’s explanation.

“Mm.” The black-robed Xia Emperor nodded lightly, then waved his hand.

Whoosh!

Instantly, eighteen black globes of fur-covered flesh appeared in the air. The black-furred globes also emanated heart-quaking golden light. These eighteen globes all had tremendously powerful auras, causing Ning to feel startled; he felt as though these were on the same level as the Ananda World-Swords.

“These are top-grade Pure Yang treasures,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said. “There are nine pairs in total. They are known as the ‘Splitters’, and each of you shall have a pair.”

“Top-grade Pure Yang treasures?” Everyone present, Ning included, was surprised.

These were incredibly valuable items, even for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. In fact, for many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, all their treasures combined were not worth as much as a pair of ‘Splitters’.

“Why haven’t you accepted them yet?” The black-robed Xia Emperor frowned.

“Yes.” Ning and the others didn’t dare to be slow; they immediately accepted the treasures, filling them with their Immortal energy and easily binding them. Upon doing so, Ning immediately understood how these Pure Yang treasures were meant to be used.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The pair of Pure Yang ‘Splitters’ merged into Ning’s hands, causing them to instantly transform into bestial paws. Thick black fur grew out from the palm and the back of Ning’s hands, and his fingernails became inch-long and knife-sharp. These were the claws of a vicious beast!

“Transform.” Ning willed it, and one of his fingernails instantly began to lengthen at high speed, transforming into a longsword. As for the other dagger-like fingernails, they grew shorter until they disappeared.

“Transform.” The longsword vanished, but a sharp blade appeared at the edge of his palm, making it seem like the edge of a greataxe.

Axe, spear, sword, staff…

All of these could be manifested.

The nine Celestial Immortals couldn’t help but feel delighted with the results of their experiments.

The black-robed Xia Emperor glanced downwards towards them, then smiled. “Enough.”

Ning and the others immediately came to a halt.

“The Heaven Punishers that your formations create possess tremendous power and are skilled in close combat, and so in the war you shall be fighting in melee. These treasures, the ‘Splitters’, shall serve as the weapons for your Heaven Punishers,” the black-robed Xia emperor said. “It doesn’t matter if you are skilled in swords, sabers, or other weapons; the ‘Splitters’ will transform to be of use to you.”

Ning and the others now understood. So these were meant for the Heaven Punisher Formations!

“However, let me warn you,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said, “That although the Heaven Punishers possess enormous strength, they are not very fast or nimble. Your battle tactics have to be adjusted accordingly. Return to your camps and ponder on what is the best way for you to use your Heaven Punishers in battle, so as to allow them to unleash their maximum power.”

“Yes.” Ning and the others immediately withdrew.

……

Within the Darknorth army camp.

Within the largest, centermost private room. This was the commander’s residence, and Yu Wei was present here, along with Ji Ning.

“How should I battle?” Ning was frowning, pondering this question pensively.

He thought back to the feeling he had when he had first taken control over the Heaven Punisher, that feeling of tremendous power. Ning nodded slightly. “Right. The Heaven Punisher is most suited for using greataxes or warhammers; in short, heavy weapons. They should be used to fight in a straightforward, head-on manner, rather than in a nimble, graceful manner.”

In a battle, one had to make use of one’s advantages. If one was clearly weak in terms of agility, and yet still insisted on using flashy, agile sword-arts, one would be courting death.

Fortunately, Ning’s true body was that of a Fiendgod, and so he had many insights with regards to close combat. He also knew multiple sword-arts, and so he was quickly able to come up with a battle method that suited him the most.

“What’s going on? You’ve already come back to rest, but are still here mumbling to yourself,” Yu Wei said with a laugh.

“I’m fine. I’m just thinking about my battle tactics for when I fight against the Seamless Gate,” Ning said with a laugh. “Using the Heaven Punisher is different from using my own Fiendgod body, after all.”

“Mm. Then go ahead and spend some time thinking about it.” Smiling, Yu Wei sat down next to him.

Ning nodded, then immediately began to train.

……

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity was now merely three hundred meters long, and it was hidden within the clouds.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three black-armored figures appeared out of nowhere. Moments later, the black-robed Xia Emperor appeared as well, and he stood next to the city, gazing at the three figures.

“Master,” the three figures called out respectfully.

“Mm. Your mission this time is a critical one; you have to set up the formation perfectly,” the Xia Emperor said. “If you fail…then we’ll have to pay an even larger price.”

“Don’t worry, master,” the three black-armored figures said respectfully.

“Go, then.” The black-robed Xia Emperor nodded.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The three black-armored figures flew off in three separate directions, and then they each used spatial teleports to disappear.

The black-robed Xia Emperor remained there, standing within the clouds, quietly attuning himself to the locations of his three servants.

……

In the air above a wide river, a black-armored figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The figure quietly pondered for a moment, then made a tossing motion. Instantly, a tower-shaped formation-base flew into the river, sinking into it and drilling deep into its depths.

……

A black-armored figure appeared out of nowhere in the air above a massive, towering mountain. A tower-shaped formation-base, covered with countless complicated runes, appeared in his hand as well. He tossed it downwards with incredible power, and it instantly smashed deep into the depths of the mountain.

……

A black-armored figure appeared in the air above a desolate marsh. He, too, tossed down a small tower.

……

In just a few moments, more than nine small towers were set up within Whitepole Commandery, each of which was roughly 500,000 kilometers away from Whitepole City.

……

Within Whitepole Commandery.

The black-robed Xia Emperor stood there quietly amidst the clouds. Upon sensing that the nine little towers had been emplaced, he revealed a smile. “If you start off a step ahead, you’ll remain a step ahead! Does the Seamless Gate really think that I’ll rely on the power of the imperial capital to the point where I shall simply defend there without fighting back?”

He had been building up the imperial capital for countless eras, and it was indeed the most stable location within the Grand Xia. Right now, he had only left behind the ‘white-robed Xia Emperor’ to watch over the capital, but he didn’t worry at all that it might be breached. The Xia Emperor hadn’t chosen to take the easier route of relying on his fortified capital; instead, he had launched an attack!

“Arise!” The Xia Emperor instantly willed it.

Rumble…

……

Within a vast river, the formerly calm flows of water suddenly turned savage and ferocious. The tremors shaking the river grew increasingly powerful until, with a boom, an enormous tower suddenly sprouted out from within it, rising upwards nonstop. The tip of the tower that jutted out from the water was more than thirty thousand meters long, and the entire tower was covered with countless golden runes and lines. Instantly, the world itself began to twist, and spatial ripples that were visible to the naked eye could be seen.

……

A towering, massive mountain began to fall apart…because from the heart of the mountain, an even more massive black tower that was covered with golden runes had appeared.

……

An enormous divine tower was emerging from the marsh as well.

……

A large region of Whitepole Commandery, spanning more than a million kilometers, became completely trapped within the field of divine towers.

Within the black citadel of the Seamless Gate located above Whitepole City.

The main palace of the Seamless Gate.

True Immortal Whitepole was seated up high, and below him were seated the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and a few Celestial Immortals.

“The imperial capital of the Grand Xia isn’t so easily attacked. Our best chances lie in slowly conquering the other territories of the Grand Xia, forcing the Xia Emperor to come out and leave his headquarters,” the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave boomed out.

“I just received word,” Gatemaster Azurefox said, “That the Xia Emperor had produced a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, and then had his entire army move into it. However…none of the Immortals within the city know where it is. It seems that the Xia Emperor is wary of us and doesn’t wish for us to know where he is and what he is doing.”

Rumble…

Suddenly, the local space began to change.

The faces of everyone present changed as well.

“A restrictive formation?” The black-haired, black-robed, red-eyed elder laughed coldly. “Didn’t you say that the Xia Emperor would rely on the strength of his imperial capital? Where did this formation come from?”

“Qiankun has been locked; there’s no way to Greater Teleport or void blink in this area. Not even coresense can be used to investigate outside of it.” Gatemaster Azurefox said softly, “The Xia Emperor is even more confident than we expected; he actually dares to abandon his imperial capital and attack us?”

True Immortal Whitepole’s cold eyes held a hint of eagerness within them. He immediately said in an icy voice, “The more he prances around, the faster he will die. In the end…I shall be the master of the Grand Xia. Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Hummmmm…

A deep sound suddenly rang out, shaking the entire Seamless City. This was the alarm sound.

“The attack’s already begun?” Within the main palace, True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and the others all revealed looks of surprise. This was simply too fast. The enemy formation had just been set down moments ago, and now the attack had already arrived!

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Chapter 10 – Vanguard

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 10 – Vanguard

“Go onto the city walls,” True Immortal Whitepole immediately ordered.

“Let’s go.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, along with several Celestial Immortals, all quickly departed from the main palace and flew towards the city walls.

The Seamless City wasn’t that large, and so they quickly arrived at the wall from which the warning signal had come. As they arrived, the soldiers patrolling this wall all immediately knelt respectfully. There were several Void-level Fiendgods amongst them, and some of them had trained in divine abilities that allowed for distant sight; naturally, they were able to see to a great distance.

“Eh?” True Immortal Whitepole and the others had divine abilities and secret arts of their own, and they all stared off into the distance.

It was currently dawn.

The wild marshes here were surrounded by fog and mist, but the gazes of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were able to pierce through them to see far off into the distance. Roughly thirty thousand kilometers away from the Seamless City, a towering, barefoot Fiendgod that was at least thirty thousand meters tall had appeared. He was dressed in just a fur loincloth, the rest of his body completely nude. He was striding forward at astonishing speed, as though chasing after the stars or the moon.

The barefoot, bounding Fiendgod was headless. Instead, he had an incomparably savage face on his chest, with his eyes being where his nipples should be and his belly button having transformed into his mouth. The face was the face of Celestial Immortal Unity. Clearly, this was the Unity Heaven Punisher which had been formed by the Unity Army of the nine Immortal armies of the Grand Xia.

“Heaven Punisher?”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals atop the walls of the Seamless City couldn’t help but feel startled. Although Gatemaster Azurefox had already told them that the Xia Emperor had produced the Heaven Punisher Formation, actually seeing the headless Fiendgod with their own eyes was different. They couldn’t help but think of True God Xingtian, the legendary wargod whose fame shook the Three Realms.

“Everyone, what do you think we should do?” True Immortal Whitepole asked calmly.

Gatemaster Azurefox said, “Senior apprentice-brother Whitepole, I know all of the nine generals of the Grand Xia. Judging from the face on the chest of this Heaven Punisher…it should be the army led by Celestial Immortal Unity. I know how many pieces of chaos goldstone they each broke during the trials, but that was before they were taught the critical components of the Heaven Punisher Formation. I trust that the power of their Heaven Punishers have increased dramatically. What we need to find out…is how powerful, exactly, the Heaven Punishers have become! Only then will we have a chance of defeating the Grand Xia.”

“It is indeed time for our White-Faced Flood Dragons to test themselves,” Empyrean God Threesuns agreed.

……

While the Seamless Gate was preparing their response, Ji Ning and seven other generals were gathering together at the central, main palace of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Imperial Majesty.”

As they arrived, they all saluted in respect.

“Sit.” The Xia Emperor nodded.

Only then did Ning and the others sit down. As they exchanged gazes…eh? Why isn’t Celestial Immortal Unity here? Why have only eight of our nine generals arrived?

“We’ve already reached Whitepole Commandery,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said. “In addition, I’ve already set down a grand formation that’s locked down the space within a million kilometers of Whitepole City. Within this region, Greater Teleportation is impossible and coresense cannot be used. But of course…as the master of this formation, I can scan this region. However, because there are layers of protections surrounding the Seamless City, my coresense is unable to penetrate into it. Everything else, however, is within my reach.”

Ning and the others were all startled.

Such speed!

None of them were aware of the Xia Emperor’s movements at all.

“When we arrived at Whitepole Commandery, I sent out the army commanded by Celestial Immortal Unity. They’ve already transformed into a Heaven Punisher and are serving as our vanguard in testing the Seamless Gate’s power.” The black-robed Xia Emperor pointed into the air, an image instantly appearing. The image was of a vast, wild land, with a towering, mountain-sized, nearly-unclad Fiendgod with no head who was bounding barefoot through it. The face on the chest of the headless Fiendgod was the face of Celestial Immortal Unity; only, it was more fierce and savage.

“He’s already made a move?” Ning was secretly startled. “It seems the Xia Emperor truly is being cautious; he’s not letting us know about any of his actions at all. Still, that’s for the best; it means our chances of victory against the Seamless Gate will be improved.” Ning had great faith in the Xia Emperor, as his background guaranteed that there was no way he would ever join the Seamless Gate.

He was the scion of the Primordial Imperial Clan.

The Primordial Imperial Clan was the most powerful force on the side of the Nuwa Alliance! One of the dominating powers of the Primordial Era, even more powerful than both the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha! Ning naturally held great trust in the Xia Emperor’s decisiveness.

“This is a Heaven Punisher, a Xingtian Divinity formed through a formation, after all.” A red-bearded elder to the right of the black-robed Xia Emperor laughed. “It isn’t a real Fiendgod, and its power is controlled by Celestial Immortals and guided by Loose Immortals who control the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, forming it into a fleshly body. Thus, this fleshly body contains tremendous power, allowing it to run at great speed. If it was soaring through the air, it would be moving much more slowly…and so, the most suitable way for advancing is by bounding across the land. Due to its great size and great strength, it runs quite quickly.”

Ning glanced at the red-bearded elder.

Ning and the others knew all five of the Empyrean Gods/True Immortals by the side of the Xia Emperor. Three of them were from the Primordial Imperial Clan and were absolute supporters of the Xia Emperor. The other two were True Immortal Dongyan and the founder of the Skyfarmer clan, True Immortal Skyfarmer. Ning had long ago heard that the Kindwater clan had an Empyrean God, but had never seen him before this.

“Firecloud’s words are correct.” The Xia Emperor nodded. “You need to get a better understanding of how to use the power of the Heaven Punishers. Watch this battle carefully; this will be the first time our Grand Xia truly does battle against the Seamless Gate. Remember; no matter what, don’t be overconfident. Your Heaven Punishers each represent a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals. If you are defeated…you won’t be the only ones to die. A thousand Celestial Immortals and a horde of Loose Immortals will perish as well!”

Ning the others instantly felt a heavy feeling in their hearts.

“Unity, you can halt now,” the Xia Emperor suddenly said.

His voice was transmitted straight into the ears of the Unity Heaven Punisher.

The image was currently displaying the Unity Heaven Punisher bounding through a vast lake. This lake was at least a thousand kilometers in size. Although the waters of the lake were deep, they barely reached the Unity Heaven Punisher’s calves. The giant waves were only capable of wetting the hairs on the massive Heaven Punisher’s legs.

“You are only ten thousand kilometers away from the Seamless City,” the Xia Emperor said. “Unity, wait here for now. I trust the Seamless Gate’s attack shall arrive soon.

……

The Unity Heaven Punisher just stood there quietly within the lake, as unmoving as though it had been there since the Primordial Era, as though nothing in the world could possibly shake it. Anyone who looked at it would feel their hearts quake. The aura radiating from him was an aura of power which only the Fiendgods of the Primordial Era possessed. This Heaven Punisher was based off of True God Xingtian, after all; the arrogance and the desire for battle it radiated far surpassed that of most Empyrean Gods.

Suddenly, the waters of the lake began to ripple.

The Unity Heaven Punisher stared towards the distant Seamless City. A little tiny black dot was rapidly drawing closer, and as it was it was expanding in size.

The creature had a white, humanoid face, was covered with black scales, and had two arms and two legs. It was thirty thousand meters tall, but its draconic, serpentine body was ninety thousand meters long.

……

It was dawn. The surface of the vast lake was covered with mist and dew. A massive, thirty thousand meter tall Fiendgod with no head who was dressed in just a fur loincloth was standing within the lake. Far away, a similarly massive white-faced beast of the Primordial Era with the form of a Flood Dragon was charging forward. It soon reached the lake, and its every step caused the entire lake to tremble and ripple, arousing massive, mighty waves.

Everyone within the main palace of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity was able to clearly see this scene clearly.

“A primordial Terrorbeast…the White-Faced Flood Dragon?” True Immortal Dongyan murmured to himself.

“The Seamless Gate should have used a technique similar to ours in creating the White-Faced Flood Dragon.” The Xia Emperor, seated on his throne up high, frowned. “From the looks of it…the White-Faced Flood Dragon has no flaws at all. It looks as though it is real. Clearly, this formation should be quite a perfect one; it definitely is something which only a True God or a Daofather could have come up with. However…I wonder how strong it is?”

“Watching a Xingtian Divinity battle against a primordial Terrorbeast, a White-Faced Flood Dragon…haha, I feel as though I’ve returned to the Primordial Era,” True Immortal Skyfarmer said with a laugh. “Long ago in the Primordial Era, when I was surviving by hiding behind the elders of my clan, I once saw an ancient Fiendgod battle against a primordial Terrorbeast. This spectacle currently before us feels identical.”

“Mm.” The Xia Emperor laughed and nodded. “When we humans first began to flourish and our status was still low, the Primordial Era was dominated by those ancient Fiendgods and Godbeasts. Back then, it was their world.”

Godbeasts and Terrorbeasts could be considered Fiendgods. Fiendgods which had the form of animals were referred to as ‘Godbeasts’, while beasts that had exceptionally violent dispositions who delighted in slaughter and murder were referred to as ‘Terrorbeasts’.

The primordial Terrorbeasts known as the White-Faced Flood Dragons were born with the power of Empyrean Gods. They were awe-inspiringly famous and were perfectly suited for battle.

“A battle between a primordial Fiendgod and a primordial Terrorbeast?” Ning stared at the images in midair. The massive headless Fiendgod and the massive White-Faced Flood Dragon stared at each other from afar, their battle-intents flooding the scene and invoking an image out of antiquity.

“It’s begun. Everyone, watch carefully,” the Xia Emperor suddenly said.

……

Within that still, desolate lake, the towering Heaven Punisher stood face to face with the White-Faced Flood Dragon.

Ssss…

The Terrorbeast’s body undulated with a hissing sound as it stared intently towards the Unity Heaven Punisher.

The Unity Heaven Punisher stared back at its opponent, watching carefully.

The two just stood there, staring at each other for a few moments.

Suddenly…the White-Faced Flood Dragon made its move!

BOOM!

The waters of the lake expoded, causing the entire lake to tremble and even the distant shores to shake. The White-Faced Flood Dragon suddenly shot forward, instantly traversing the hundreds of kilometers between it and its foe. Its two arms lashed out like two incomparably sharp sets of claws, the claws of a Flood Dragon.

The reason why primordial Terrorbeasts were referred to as ‘beasts’ was because they had many bestial characteristics. Their claws and appendages, for example, were often comparable to incredibly powerful magic treasures. As it charged forward, the sharp claws of the Terrorbeast ripped directly towards the Unity Heaven Punisher’s flank, seeking to tear a massive wound within it.

The Unity Heaven Punisher took just a single step back. It raised its right arm, and the edges of its right hand seemed to transform into the edge of a blade. It came chopping down lightning-fast, seeming to carry the power of the true Xingtian himself as it struck.

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Chapter 11 – Frenetic Battle

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 11 – Frenetic Battle

The White-Faced Flood Dragon hurriedly raised one of its hands to block. Its hands were covered with scales and filled with sharp and long claws.

The Unity Heaven Punisher chopped downwards with its hand like a giant axe, striking directly against the left claws of the White-Faced Flood Dragon with such power that the claws were knocked back down towards the White-Faced Flood Dragon’s shoulders. The White-Faced Flood Dragon couldn’t help but slightly stagger, but then it suddenly twisted about and used its massive, ninety thousand meter long tail to lash out lightning-fast towards the Unity Heaven Punisher.

The Unity Heaven Punisher hurriedly raised a hand to block as well.

BANG!

It couldn’t help but be knocked flying backwards, rolling through the waters of the massive lake and kicking up enormous three thousand meters waves. It was as though a mountain had collapsed! However, the waves of the lake didn’t impact the Unity Heaven Punisher at all; it was as though an ordinary mortal had slipped and fallen within a muddy pool. It lifted itself up, causing the lake to once more shudder, then threw itself once more towards the Terrorbeast.

The Xingtian Divinity and the Terrorbeast exchanged multiple attacks, the battle between them extraordinarily savage and violent.

……

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

The Xia Emperor, Ji Ning, and the others all watched the images intently, seeing the Heaven Punisher and the White-Faced Flood Dragon battle within the vast lake.

“The Seamless Gate has used a primordial Terrorbeast, the White-Faced Flood Dragon, as the basis for their formation. The profoundness of this formation and its strength in battle is not one whit inferior to our Heaven Punisher Formations.” The Xia Emperor frowned. “Look; although the Terrorbeasts are slightly weaker than our Heaven Punishers in bodily strength, their tails possess enormous power and are even stronger than our Heaven Punishers.”

Ning and the others nodded.

“Look; they each just wounded the other,” the Xia Emperor said. “However, the power of Heaven and Earth quickly heals those types of wounds. Neither has truly wounded the other. Clearly, both sides have incredibly powerful bodies, and it is hard for each of them to truly damage the other with a single blow.”

“One on one, it will be hard to achieve victory within a short period of time. The only way to win is through strength of numbers; that’s the only way one can kill an opponent quickly,” the Xia Emperor said. “If we can ‘kill’ one of them…if my guess is correct, those Terrorbeasts are formed from at least a thousand Celestial Immortals and countless Loose Immortals. Killing a Terrorbeast will be a tremendous victory.”

Next to the Xia Emperor was a female Empyrean God dressed in armor. “In battle, the key to victory lies in strengthening yourself while whittling away at your foes. Whittle a little away this time, a little more next time…our advantage will continue to grow, and in the end we will annihilate our foes with a final strike. I imagine they can’t have too many of these primordial Terrorbeasts, these White-Faced Flood Dragons.”

As they were chatting amongst each other within the main palace, suddenly…

The battle scene within the midair image changed. The massive lake had been filled with with blurry mists, but suddenly a wind arose, resulting in a massive whirlpool of clouds.

“The energy of Heaven and Earth is filling the place…?” The Xia Emperor’s face changed.

“Eight generals, hurry up and assume the Heaven Punisher Formation!” The Xia Emperor suddenly barked.

“Yes!”

Ning and the rest of the eight felt their hearts clench. They, too, had been stunned by the sight of that enormous vortex. They could all tell that the enemies had to be setting up additional Terrorbeast formations and creating more White-Faced Flood Dragons. Clearly, the Seamless Gate had tried to lull the Xia Emperor into a false sense of complacency by initially sending just a single White-Faced Flood Dragon and using just a little bit of natural energy.

Now, however…they were sending all of the White-Faced Flood Dragons they had!

“Hmph, how vicious. So they are trying to deal me a harsh blow in our first exchange?” The Xia Emperor laughed coldly. From the massive whirlpool above the lake, one could tell that the White-Faced Flood Dragons that were taking form had to be within the region of that lake. Why, then, wasn’t anything visible yet? The only explanation was that they were all hiding with a portable minor world.

Ning and the rest of the eight immediately flew out from the main hall at full speed, sending their coresense to their subordinates. Ning roared mentally, “Darknorth Army, assemble the formation!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A throng of countless Immortals came flying out from the eight military camps. The Immortals moved at incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye they gathered in midair. Ning flew towards his own Darknorth Army, and everyone joined together into the Heaven Punisher Formations as bloody runic lines appeared, along with an overwhelming battle-intent.

Soon, eight towering, mountain-sized barefoot Fiendgods that were clad only in fur loincloths had appeared. The eight Heaven Punishers had all manifested, and their auras towered through the Heavens.

“Hurry and reinforce him,” the Xia Emperor barked mentally. “Protect yourselves and annihilate your foes. The more you can kill, the better!”

“Yes!”

Ning and the others all assented to the order, and then all eight Heaven Punishers vanished.

……

The vast lake.

The Unity Heaven Punisher was still battling against the White-Faced flood Dragon Terrorbeast. Suddenly, an enormous vortex of natural energy took form above it, and as soon as it did, another power began to draw from that vortex, causing it to spin even more rapidly and grow even greater.

“Not good.” The Unity Heaven Punisher could tell that something bad was happening. A moment later, the Xia Emperor’s voice rang out by his ears. “Careful; the Seamless Gate should have other White-Faced Flood Dragons, and they will most likely appear imminently.” These words from the Xia Emperor further solidified the Unity Heaven Punisher’s suspicions.

With a furious roar, he knocked the White-Faced Flood Dragon flying backwards, then pulled away from it.

As suspected!

Three more mountain-sized creatures suddenly appeared out of nowhere, each of which had long, sinuous bodies with white humanoid faces, sharp claws, and black, scale-covered bodies that were more than ninety thousand meters long.

“Kill!”

“Celestial Immortal Unity?”

“Unity, die!”

The White-Faced Flood Dragon that had been knocked away, along with the three new Terrorbeast, simultaneously charged forward to assault the Unity Heaven Punisher, who had immediately moved to flee when he had knocked aside the first Terrorbeast. In but the blink of an eye, he ran across the surface of the vast lake and out into the wilderness, trying to buy as much time as he could. In fact, he didn’t even turn to face the Terrorbeasts at all; in terms of running speed, the Heaven Punishers were slightly slower, after all.

BOOM!

Right at this moment, when the two sides were about to collide!

Next to the Unity Heaven Punisher, eight towering figures suddenly appeared, all massive Fiendgods that were dressed in fur loincloths. All eight of them were Heaven Punishers; the only difference was in the faces on their chests.

……

“So he really did…Xiamang’s being quite cautious.”

Atop the distant city walls of the Seamless City, True Immortal Whitepole and the others were watching the battle that was going on ten thousand kilometers away. Upon seeing the eight additional Heaven Punishers appear, they couldn’t help but feel irritated.

The White-Faced Flood Dragon they had sent out had indeed carried a magic treasure that contained a minor world within it which had many experts hidden inside; naturally, they would be able to unleash their power at a moment’s notice.

However, as soon as they had begun to establish their White-Faced Flood Dragon Formation and activate the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, they could immediately sense…that the Xia Emperor’s forces seemed to be doing the same thing. The Unity Heaven Punisher was most likely carrying a minor world alongside it as well.

In truth, however…their guesses were slightly off.

This was because…what the Unity Heaven Punisher was carrying was the entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity!

……

Four White-Faced Flood Dragon Terrorbeasts facing nine Heaven Punishers. The morale of the nine Heaven Punishers of the Grand Xia’s side swelled dramatically. They were all filled with tremendous confidence, because they currently held an absolute advantage.

“However…we can’t be overconfident. Our every action involves the lives of a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, as well as the overall course of this war.” Although he held an absolute advantage, thanks to the fact that his heartforce had reached the peak of the ‘ruler’ stage, Ning was still able to remain perfectly calm.

“Unity, Loachwater, Dustfloat; the three of you, go slow down the three White-Faced Flood Dragons closest to you! As for the last White-Faced Flood Dragon…Darknorth, you and the other five join forces against it. You have to slay that White-Faced Flood Dragon!” The Xia Emperor gave the orders through coresense.

“Yes.” The Unity Heaven Punisher, the Loachwater Heaven Punisher, and the Dustfloat Heaven Punisher all turned to face the White-Faced Flood Dragons closest to them.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Ning and the other six turned to assault the final White-Faced Flood Dragon.

The four Terrorbeasts of the Seamless Gate were all rather caught offguard by this, especially the final White-Faced Flood Dragon that was being assaulted by the six.

“Hurry up and join forces to support each other!”

“Join together to block them!”

The White-Faced Flood Dragons all sent mental messages to each other and began to rapidly move towards each other. If the four of them could completely join forces, they would be able to defend against the nine Heaven Punishers. They might be at a disadvantage, but they’d be able to hold on for a brief period of time. Given the Seamless Gate’s abilities, they’d have ample time to rescue the four.

Ning and the others expected this as well; their foes weren’t fools, and wouldn’t just fight in a random, foolish manner.

“No matter what…they are in the wilderness right now, quite far away from the Seamless City. We have to kill them here; if we can kill one, we need to!” The Xia Emperor sent mentally.

“Kill.”

“Kill them!”

The Darknorth Heaven Punisher, Allbeasts Heaven Punisher, Thousand Needles Heaven Punisher, and others all charged forward with explosive power.

As the four White-Faced Flood Dragons were moving closer to each other, the Loachwater Heaven Punisher reached its target Terrorbeast, as it was very close to it to begin with. The mouth on the chest of the Loachwater Heaven Punisher grinned, a savage look in its eyes. So long as it could tie down even one of them, the chances of the other three would drop dramatically.

“Come, then.” The Loachwater Heaven Punisher pounced forwards, and as it did it reached an arm up high, taking a stance like Pangu splitting the cosmic egg to establish Heaven and Earth. And then…he swung his arm down in a furious strike!

However, the fleeing White-Faced Flood Dragon suddenly turned about, swiping backwards with a claw to block the furious blow of the Loachwater Heaven Punisher.

BOOM!

With an enormous explosion, something happened that was completely outside the expectations of the Grand Xia’s side. In this head-on collision…it was actually the Heaven Punisher who was knocked backwards! In fact, it rolled over in midair as it went flying backwards; clearly, it wasn’t even able to stabilize its body.

As the White-Faced Flood Dragon knocked the Loachwater Heaven Punisher backwards, it immediately pounced forwards, lashing out with two claws at lightning-fast speed.

Slash! Slash!

The first claw, the Loachwater Heaven Punisher was able to just barely block through using its left arm. However, its body grew even less stable, resulting in an opening appearing before its chest.

The second claw…tore straight through the chest of the Loachwater Heaven Punisher!

In the earlier battle between the Unity Heaven Punisher and the White-Faced Flood Dragon, although both sides had been able to wound the other, the wounds were instantly healed; those were all minor wounds. This time, however…the claw from the White-Faced Flood Dragon actually carried such unstoppable power that with a rip, the chest of the Loachwater Heaven Punisher was completely torn apart! In fact, the many Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals hidden within the body of the Heaven Punisher could be seen. Terror was on the face of all of them!

RIIIIIP!

As the sharp claws of the White-Faced Flood Dragon tore through the chest of the Heaven Punisher, it tore through the bodies of countless Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals, killing them!

The Loachwater Heaven Punisher could no longer be maintained. It instantly crumbled, revealing the countless, puny little Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals that had comprised it.

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Chapter 12 – Countless Casualties

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 12 – Countless Casualties

The countless Immortals of the Loachwater Army…felt nothing but despair!

Although they were fairly strong, without a supreme combination formation like the Heaven Punisher Formation, there was no way they were even remotely qualified to exchange blows with a terrifying primordial Terrorbeast like the White-Faced Flood Dragon! And the White-Faced Flood Dragon before them was even more powerful than the other three Terrorbeasts!

“Sssssss.” The White-Faced Flood Dragon hissed with cold laughter, its enormous claws once more sweeping forward.

“Stop!”

“Vile creature.”

Two furious roars rang out.

Two additional towering Fiendgods suddenly appeared out of nowhere. One was the old man with a fiery red beard, his entire body surging with flames. The other was a rather willowy maiden; although she was an Empyrean God, at this moment she chose to use a magic spell instead. With a rumbling sound, a large amount of black water came pouring out, tying down her foe and pulling away the surviving Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals.

“Hahaha…members of the Primordial Imperial Clan?” The Terrorbeast roared with laughter. Its draconic tail lashed outwards as its claws ripped forward, moving to massacre the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. The survivors all used whatever methods they had available, be it hiding within their Immortal estates or using evasive abilities. In short, they were trying to buy as much time as they could…but alas, compared to the White-Faced Flood Dragon, they were far too weak and slow.

BOOM!

The red-bearded elder, wreathed in blazing flames that soared through the heavens, chopped downwards towards the Terrorbeast with a massive warblade.

The Terrorbeast, in turn, brandished a single claw to block.

The two exchanged a blow that could cause mountain ranges to shake. The red-bearded elder was knocked flying backwards, and at even greater speed than the Loachwater Heaven Punisher had been. The female Empyrean God who had been next to him hurriedly moved forward to take over for him.

……

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

The levitating image was still displaying the results of the battle.

The Xia Emperor, True Immortal Dongyan, True Immortal Skyfarmer, and the extremely muscular Empyrean God all had ugly looks on their faces.

A cold light flashed through the eyes of the Xia Emperor. “That White-Faced Flood Dragon is far more powerful than the other three.” He mused silently to himself, “Can it be that it is formed with even more Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals and the others? Or is the commander of the White-Faced Flood Dragon Formation an Empyrean God or a True Immortal?”

There were many possible explanations as to why the Terrorbeast was so powerful.

The same was true for the Heaven Punishers; if it was comprised of thousands of Celestial Immortals and many hundreds of thousands of Loose Immortals, its power would naturally increase dramatically. If a Pure Yang True Immortal commanded it, it would also grow more powerful…and if a monster like Ji Ning was in command, it would similarly become very mighty.

And yet…

Because of how powerful the physical body of the White-Faced Flood Dragon was, and because it was formed from an ancient formation, coresense couldn’t be used to penetrate through it. There was no way to see inside of it at all, and so no one could be certain as to how many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals it held, or who the commander was. Although the White-Faced Flood Dragons all had difference faces, the Xia Emperor knew too little about the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who battled alongside the Seamless Gate!

The Seamless Gate, however, knew almost everything about the Grand Xia’s side. This disparity in information was one of the reasons that something like this had happened. If the Xia Emperor’s side had arranged for a Pure Yang True Immortal to take charge of a Heaven Punisher Formation, the enemy would’ve been able to find out right away from the chest-face of the Heaven Punisher.

There was no way to disguise or change the faces on the chests, because they were naturally formed by the formation itself.

……

Within the black citadel hovering above Whitepole City. Countless illusory chains continued to fill the area around the black citadel. True Immortal Whitepole and his comrades on top of the walls of the citadel all had smiles on their faces.

“Hahaha…only when you know your enemy and know yourself shall you gain victory in all your battles. The Xia Emperor knows far too little regarding our Seamless Gate. Very few know about Empyrean God Venomsong; they weren’t able to tell from the appearance of that White-Faced Flood Dragon that it was being commanded by an Empyrean God.” The Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall sent mentally, “Azurefox, your idea of having Empyrean God Venomsong personally command a squad was a stroke of brilliance.”

“Something like this can only be used once. Next time, they’ll know and be prepared for Venomsong’s power,” Gatemaster Azurefox sent back. “However…once is enough. We’ve already caused them to suffer a tremendous loss.”

How many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals did each side possess?

Both the Heaven Punishers and the White-Faced Flood Dragons…the ‘death’ of a single one represented an utterly staggering amount of casualties.

Generally speaking, battles amongst Immortals could last for extremely long periods of time. This first clash, however, had already resulted in such major losses for the enemy; it could be considered a tremendous victory. And so, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on the walls of the Seamless City all had smiles on their faces.

“Mm.” True Immortal Whitepole had a smile on his face as well…but suddenly, his face changed.

The faces of the Hallmaster, the Gatemaster, the Cavemaster, and the others all changed as well.

“Not good!”

One of the few Celestial Immortals alongside the True Immortals, Immortal Venomfreak, stared unblinkingly at the distant battle scene.

……

On the field of battle, no one could predict exactly how things would turn out.

This was because sometimes, new variables would appear so suddenly that neither side would be able to react in time. For example, just now the Loachwater Heaven Punisher was suddenly defeated and its body was torn apart, resulting in the entire Immortal army being defeated and in countless casualties. This was simply too sudden, as was the Xia Emperor’s decision to suddenly send out two Empyrean Gods to slow down the enemy!

In truth, in terms of raw strength, both Empyrean Gods were slightly weaker than the Heaven Punishers and the White-Faced Flood Dragons. The Heaven Punishers and the White-Faced Flood Dragons were formed from an enormous amount of natural energy, after all, and so possessed enormous amounts of strength; they could be considered as having reached the very apex of power possible for Empyrean Gods.

However, their fatal flaw was that once their defenses were breached, they would be finished.

By contrast, Empyrean Gods could rapidly heal from even the most devastating of wounds. This was because their physical bodies were the bodies of Fiendgods! In addition, they were also comparatively more nimble. When two joined forces and used magic treasures and magic spells to support each other, they would still be able to fight evenly.

……

As the strongest White-Faced Flood Dragon battled against the Loachwater Heaven Punisher, Ning and the other seven Heaven Punishers were assaulting the other three Terrorbeasts. Of the eight towering Heaven Punishers, it was obvious that the one Ning led was the strongest one. He was able to unleash more power from the Heaven Punisher Formations than the others, and so his speed was naturally the fastest as well. His Heaven Punisher ran forward with great galloping steps, and was the first to reach the White-Faced Flood Dragon, not giving it a chance to join forces with the other two.

“Stop him!”

“Hold on!”

The other two White-Faced Flood Dragons shouted out furiously in the human tongue.

Multiple towering figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They were all black aberrations that were thirty thousand meters tall, but their auras were clearly weaker than the auras of the White-Faced Flood Dragons. These nine Fiendgods appeared out of nowhere next to the other two White-Faced Flood Dragons, because they had previously been hiding within the minor world magic treasure which was being carried by the White-Faced Flood Dragon which the Unity Heaven Punisher had been battling.

“Die!” Ning’s Darknorth Heaven Punisher noticed the nine figures appear, but he still moved with lightning speed as he bounded through the wild landscape. With a flying pounce, he struck out with his right arm, which had taken the form of a sharp longsword, and stabbed towards the head of the White-Faced Flood Dragon in front of him.

The White-Faced Flood Dragon hurriedly retreated while waving its claws to block.

Clang!

It managed to block the sword-attack, but it stumbled several steps backwards upon doing soon. Ning’s Heaven Punisher, however, continued to fly forwards, taking a second leap and once more arriving next to his opponent.

Clang! Clang! The initial clash between Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the enemy caused the enemy to feel shock, because Ning’s attack power was clearly lower. This made no sense at all…the earlier sword-strike from Ning had been incredibly powerful! In addition, they all knew that of the nine Heaven Punishers, the one controlled by Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning, was the most powerful one.

“Fly.” As Ning’s hands collided with the opponent…his right knee suddenly came flying upwards!

There were differences between the Heaven Punishers and actual Empyrean Gods. The Heaven Punishers were stronger, but if commanders were unable to control the full power of the Heaven Punishers, they would be unable to unleash its full might, to say nothing of wielding every part of its body perfectly. The arms of the Heaven Punisher were significantly weaker than its legs. Ning had been pondering on his Heaven Punisher, and he had slowly gained insights on the best ways to use it.

It was very risky to incorporate the legs into his attack patterns; if he was to lose his balance, it would be easy for the opponents to break through his defenses and finish him.

However, the power of his earlier sword-strike was clearly superior to the power of his foe; this meant he could take the risk! Risk-taking could result in major rewards, as the power of his mighty legs was definitely enough to break apart his foe.

BOOM!

Ning’s powerful Heaven Punisher sent its right knee flying upwards, smashing viciously against the face of the White-Faced Flood Dragon!

CRUNCH!

One could hear the sound of ‘bones’ shattering. The pale, humanoid face of the White-Faced Flood Dragon instantly twisted into unrecognizable shape as it stumbled and fell backwards.

A longsword suddenly appeared in each of Ning’s Heaven Punisher’s hands. The two longswords were actually just long, sharp spikes; they had a sharp tips, but no blades!

Ning wielded a longsword in each of his two hands. After his earlier knee-strike, he delivered a pair of blows with the swords towards the head of the fallen White-Faced Flood Dragon!

As the White-Faced Flood Dragon fell, it knew that things were looking dire and so it hurriedly brandished its claws, seeking to block…but it was only able to block one of the longswords.

As for the other longsword…

PIERCE!

The sharp tip of the longsword carried the full, unfathomable power of the Heaven Punisher, and it forcibly punched its way through the twisted, mangled neck of the White-Faced Flood Dragon.

And as it penetrated in…it began to grind away at the innards of the White-Faced Flood Dragon’s body!

“AHH!”

“NO!!!!”

An enormous amount of baleful energy began to flood towards Ning. Clearly, many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals had just died, resulting in the creation of so much baleful energy. As Ning was the commander of the entire formation, the baleful energy naturally ignored everyone else and swirled straight towards Ning, being absorbed by the three Darknorth swords that were located within the Jindan region inside Ning’s body.

The entire White-Faced Flood Dragon instantly collapsed, revealing the countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals inside of it! These Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals all fled in panic, trying to use any idea they could come up with to escape, hide, or flee.

Ning’s Heaven Punisher, however, swung both hands towards them in a savage blow. His hands were like massive stormclouds, covering the entire area where the countless ant-like Immortals were.

BANG! BANG! The cloud-like palms descended, causing countless Immortals to perish!

An even greater flood of baleful energy poured into Ning’s Jindan region, and his three Darknorth swords greedily drank in all of it.

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Chapter 13 – Armies Retreat

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 13 – Armies Retreat

Ji Ning didn’t hesitate to slaughter these Immortals at all. He showed no mercy whatsoever, because showing mercy to his foes was the same as being cruel to those he needed to protect.

Bang! Bang!

The enormous, stormcloud-like palms continued to slam down towards the frantically scurrying Immortals, causing them utter terror and agony. Some of them even began to curse in rage, but they were nothing more than the lowest of ants that would take part in this storm. In truth, in the face of this storm, the Loose Immortals would have even more miserable outcomes than normal mortals would.

“Stop!”

“Halt!”

The two closest White-Faced Flood Dragons and the nine black aberrations came charging towards Ning.

Ning immediately recognized the black aberrations. “Empyrean God golems?”

These newcomers had auras that were slightly weaker than the auras of the massive formation-created Fiendgods; they were Empyrean God golems. The reason why Ning was able to recognize them right away was because when the forces of the Seamless Gate had attempted to assassinate him at Brightheart Island, Old Man Yuan had killed them and given Ning their treasures…and one of the treasures Ning acquired was an Empyrean God golem! It was identical to these nine new Empyrean God golems; black-colored, savage-looking, and horned.

“Darknorth, well done!”

“Excellent.”

“Well-struck!”

“Hahaha…kill them all!”

The other seven Heaven Punishers excitedly moved to join forces with Ning. They couldn’t be blamed for their excitement; the Seamless Gate had just slain the Loachwater Heaven Punisher, while Ning then immediately killed a White-Faced Flood Dragon afterwards. Just now, the other Heaven Punishers had been enraged by the destruction of the Loachwater Heaven Punisher. Upon seeing Ning wipe out an enemy Terrorbeast in bloody fashion, how could they not grow excited?

“Haha, the other nine black Fiendgods are all Empyrean God golems,” Ning sent mentally. “They should all be weaker than the White-Faced Flood Dragons.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three closest Empyrean God golems pounced towards Ning.

Ning willed it, pulling all the treasures left behind by the countless slain Immortals into hisi storage treasure. Of course, quite a few Immortals managed to escape. Given that Immortals fled at high speed, that they were fleeing in every direction, and that some had even hidden themselves within their Immortal estates, there was no way Ning could wipe them all out. Similarly, when the Loachwater Heaven Punisher had been destroyed, quite a few Immortals had managed to survive as well. But of course, those who survived were the fortunate ones; in a battle at this level, surviving after the formation collapsed was purely a matter of luck!

“Hmph.” Ning’s Heaven Punisher took a single side-step, then launched a fierce claw attack towards an attacking Empyrean God golem.

Ning’s normal combat style involved the usage of the [Starseizing Hand], and so he was very experienced in bare-handed combat.

Fists? Claws? Palms? Sword-fingers? His two hands could use all these techniques!

The Empyrean God golem hurriedly raised its arms to block.

BOOM! When contact was made, Ning’s claw-hand attack changed into a fist-strike, and his fist became covered with a series of sharp, protruding spikes. These spikes were formed from the top-grade Pure Yang treasure, the Splitters. The punch landed heavily against the twin arms of the Empyrean God golem, and although the arms managed to block and withstand the strike, the golem itself was still knocked flying backwards. It flew a tremendous distance, then landed deep into the waters of the great lake. It rolled several times before being able to rise to its feet and once more charge forward, but by this time Ning had already engaged in combat with the other two Empyrean God golems.

Ning’s strikes all focused on using overbearing amounts of power!

As for the three Empyrean God golems, they were much as Ning had protected; due to being created from precious materials, they were incredibly tough defensively, but their attacks were clearly on a lower level. However, because the three golems were attacking Ning in unison, Ning didn’t have enough time to fight them and defeat them one-on-one.

“Kill!”

“These Empyrean God golems aren’t that tough.”

“Significantly weaker than the White-Faced Flood Dragons.”

The other Heaven Punishers began to exchange blows with the Empyrean God golems and the White-Faced Flood Dragons.

Battle continued unabated.

To completely tie down Ji Ning required the usage of three Empyrean God golems, but only two were needed to tie down the other Heaven Punishers. The nine Empyrean God golems and the two White-Faced Flood Dragons had joined forces, supporting each other in defending against Ning and the rest of the eight Heaven Punishers. Although they were at a disadvantage, the Seamless Gate’s forces were able to hold.

The Empyrean God golems were incredibly resilient, after all; their bodies were comparable to Pure Yang treasures! But of course, they had their weaknesses as well; once they were captured or bound, they were finished.

……

Empyrean God Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon battled furiously for a time against the two Empyrean Gods of the Grand Xia, but was unable to kill them. Upon seeing the two White-Faced Flood Dragons and the nine Empyrean God golems suffer assaults from the eight Heaven Punishers, he immediately let out a furious roar and began to charge towards them. Although the two Empyrean Gods of the Grand Xia did their best to bar the path, they were unable to stop this mighty White-Faced Flood Dragon.

“This White-Faced Flood Dragon is too powerful,” Empyrean God Firecloud sent mentally.

“My guess is that it has to be an Empyrean God or a True Immortal commanding it,” the female Empyrean God sent back. “Let’s use our spells to assist Ji Ning and the rest of the eight.”

“Right. Right now, it’s best if we use spells,” Empyrean God Firecloud agreed.

The female Empyrean God and Empyrean God Firecloud charged forwards while casting their spells.

Both of them were using binding-type spells! A roaring black river of water and a flood of golden magma began to furiously swirl about and entangle the three enemy White-Faced Flood Dragons and the nine enemy Empyrean God golems.

“Damn.” The Venomsong Terrorbeast was enraged.

“The binding power is nauseating.”

“I’m moving even slower now.”

The other two White-Faced Flood Dragons felt the effects even more strongly. Before this, they had an advantage over the Heaven Punishers in terms of speed, but now they were at a disadvantage. Even their attack power had dropped significantly.

As for the nine Empyrean God golems, they were impacted even more heavily. They were weaker to begin with, and now that they were being slowed down by the spells, their power dropped dramatically. Fortunately, the two Empyrean Gods of the Grand Xia had cast wide area-of-effect spells that weren’t focused on them, which was why they were able to continue battling against the Heaven Punishers.

“Damn.”

The Venomsong Terrorbeast was impacted the least, and he charged forward in berserk fashion.

Ning and the other seven Heaven Punishers instantly felt great danger impending.

“Whacko, Allbeasts, Dustfloat, let’s go deal with it,” Celestial Immortal Unity sent. The four of them were facing the Venomsong Terrorbeast, and were the closest ones to him; thus, it was up to the four of them to receive his attacks.

BOOM! Celestial Immortal Unity was sent flying backwards from the initial collision, but the other three Heaven Punishers immediately moved to block the Venomsong Terrorbeast, giving him no chance to press the assault.

For a time, four Heaven Punishers launched wild joint attacks against the Venomsong Terrorbeast. They rained down their blows in sequence, supporting each other and managing to withstand the terrifying White-Faced Flood Dragon!

As for Ning and the remaining Heaven Punishers, they continued to wildly battle the nine Empyrean God golems and the other two White-Faced Flood Dragons. Ning alone was suffering assaults from six separate Empyrean God golems.

……

Atop the distant walls of the black citadel, the Seamless City. True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and the others were watching from afar.

“I told them long ago to be wary of the one named Ji Ning.” Gatemaster Azurefox had a frown on her face, as well as a hint of anger on it.

“You can’t blame them.” The Hallmaster of the Bloodcloud Hall shook his head. “Things change too quickly on the field of battle. Once you give your enemy an opening, you won’t even have a chance to flee. In addition…that Ji Ning took on a tremendous risk. He actually dared to use jump up and use a knee-strike? True Fiendgods rarely use techniques like that.”

True Immortal Whitepole said coldly, “To do what others dare not do; that’s what made him formidable. For true Fiendgods, their full power is merged together with each strike, and so it is enough to use the arms to attack. The formation commanders of the Heaven Punishers and the White-Faced Flood Dragons are only able to control part of their strength, to say nothing of merging it all together in each blow. The legs of the Heaven Punishers are far more powerful than their arms. If Ji Ning hadn’t used such a risky attack, our side would’ve been able to hold on and the nine Empyrean God golems would’ve been able to make it there in time. But Ji Ning’s risky maneuver…he broke through the defenses of the White-Faced Flood Dragon with a knee, then slaughtered it.”

The others present all needed.

“This Ji Ning truly has become a dangerous variable,” Gatemaster Azurefox said.

The horned Immortal Venomfreak had an even uglier look on his face now, but a mocking look was in his eyes.

Originally, when he was with the Nuwa Alliance, he had been worried that Ning would take revenge on him.

Now that he had joined the Seamless Gate…it became the Seamless Gate who wanted to kill Ning, even more than Venomfreak did.

“This battle can be concluded now,” True Immortal Whitepole said. “The Xia Emperor has other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who have yet to appear, while we haven’t used our full power either. Even if both of us did use our full power, neither of us would be able to sweep away our opponents. This initial clash has been enough; it’s shown us our opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s time for us to ponder on them.”

“Agreed.”

“We definitely do need to ponder on this. It seems…we’ll need to request additional reinforcements from the Fifth World.”

Everyone nodded.

None of them had expected to fully destroy their enemies in this first clash; that would be a gross underestimation of the Xia Emperor. If they were so foolish as to continue to flail about…even if they managed to win, the price they would pay would be catastrophic. What the Seamless Gate wanted to do was to conquer the entire Grand Xia while suffering the least amount of casualties possible. But of course…if there were no other options, they would be willing to pay whatever price was necessary.

“Venomsong.” True Immortal Whitepole looked towards the other Empyrean God of the Seamless Gate. “Halt the battle. Come back.”

The person he was speaking to was, of course, Empyrean God Venomsong, albeit just a clone.

As a Fiendgod, he was able to effortlessly create thousands of clones.

“Fine.” Empyrean God Venomsong narrowed his eyes and nodded. “However…before we retreat, I want to personally test this Ji Ning’s power.”

“Thank, you Venomsong.” The black-robed, black-haired, red-eyed elder suddenly said something for the first time.

“Haha, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy, no need to thank me. I know that you were entrusted with fellow Daoist Blackheaven with the task of killing Ji Ning. I might be helping you out, but I am primarily acting to serve the Seamless Gate’s interests. This Ji Ning truly is an impediment to our conquest of the Grand Xia.” Empyrean God Venomsong nodded.

The red-eyed elder nodded lightly.

He wasn’t under the command of Gatemaster Azurefox at all. He had come on the request of Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, and he had just one mission…to kill Ji Ning!

……

“The Seamless Gate is most likely going to retreat soon. Beware their final attack,” Ji Ning sent mentally. He was the strongest member on their side, and so was able to read the flow of battle better than any of them.

“Right. Everyone, be careful.”

“Not good. The most powerful White-Faced Flood Dragon just ran off. Ah! Ji Ning, be careful!” Celestial Immortal Unity sent mentally.

Ning noticed this as well.

The most powerful White-Faced Flood Dragon moved incredibly fast. Upon disengaging, it shot out in a solitary line and charged towards Ji Ning.

Instantly, the other Heaven Punishers moved closer to Ning, intending to support him.

“Die.”

The Venomsong Terrorbeast charged forward ferociously. Venomsong wanted to test Ning…but of course, if he was able to kill Ning, that would be even better. His claws tore outwards, seeming to carry the power to rend apart the sky itself as he struck straight towards Ning’s Heaven Punisher.

Ning took one step back with his left leg, both knees bending slightly as he used both of his palms to meet the ferocious claw-strikes.

BOOM!!!

This was the most powerful exchange of blows in this initial clash. The shockwaves from the collision caused the ground itself to split apart, with enormous craters appearing in the ground beneath both Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the White-Faced Flood Dragon. Both their bodies sank downwards, their legs plunging knee-deep into the earth. The earth around them rippled outwards like massive waves, and the ripples spread all the way to the distant lake, kicking up absolutely shocking waves.

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Chapter 14 – No Way Out

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 14 – No Way Out

Ji Ning could sense a terrifying power spread out to encompass his entire body. He had bent his knees and assumed a stable stance to build up power to block the blow, but upon actually receiving this terrifying strike from Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon…Ning couldn’t help but stagger back heavily by one step. He almost went down to one knee as his body was pressed downwards before he was able to weather the powerful collision.

Bang! A cold smirk was on Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon as his second claw attack ripped out towards Ning.

He had two sharp claws, after all! Just now, he had only used a single one to tear at Ning.

BOOM!

Ning remained very clear-headed. His right hand manifested another longsword, and his sword-light struck out like water, lashing sideways against the sharp claws of the Venomsong Terrorbeast and knocking it aside. Ning immediately retreated, pulling back. “Hmph. This White-Faced Flood Dragon’s first claw came with all of its power and was tremendously strong. The sudden attack from the second claw, however, was a bit weaker.”

Venomsong didn’t really expect to actually be able to slay Ji Ning with just two claws. He immediately moved to pursue Ning, sending the two claws in another ferocious strike.

Ning was forced back time and time again, but he was still able to hold on.

“Ji Ning.”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

“Hold on!”

The other Heaven Punishers came to assist Ning.

Empyrean God Venomsong could tell that he had lost his chance. All he could do was furiously strike out with his draconic tail.

Bang!

Ning lifted both his arms, blocking the strike from the ninety thousand meter tail, then relied on the counter-force from the blow to retreat backwards. His movements, however, remained perfectly steady.

Empyrean God Venomsong gave Ning a hateful look, then glanced sideways at the other seven Heaven Punishers. He smirked, then barked a mental order, “Retreat!”

“Yes!” Everyone assented to his order.

The other two White-Faced Flood Dragons and the nine Empyrean God golems immediately began to retreat, under the command of Empyrean God Venomsong. They all began to move at full speed, bounding across the wild marshes, traversing tens of kilometers with each movement as they moved rapidly towards the levitating black citadel. Even though Ning and the others remained more than ten thousand kilometers away from the Seamless City, they could still sense how utterly enormous the citadel was!

“No need to chase.” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out by the ears of Ning and the others.

The eight Heaven Punishers and the two Empyrean Gods came to a halt, just staring off into the distance at their fleeing foes. They then turned to look at each other, a complicated look in their eyes.

“It was just a very short exchange, but countless Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals died.” Ning and the others couldn’t help but feel a sort of sympathetic grief. Today, it was the Loachwater Heaven Punisher which had fallen. In the future…it could be them.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Ning and the others disappeared into thin air.

……

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals were gathered here, within the main plaza of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. They stared at the Xia Emperor and the others around him, such as Ning and the rest of the nine generals. Celestial Immortal Loachwater was with them as well. Although the Loachwater Army had suffered castastrophic casualties, there were still many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals who had survived. Celestial Immortal Loachwater had been lucky and had managed to survive as well.

“My fellow Immortals,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said solemnly, “This was the first battle between our Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate. Even I didn’t expect that in our first real battle, we would have suffered such heavy losses. The Loachwater Army suffered heavy casualties, with 436 slain Celestial Immortals and 51,210 slain Loose Immortals.”

Utter silence.

Ning’s own heart sank as well upon hearing this.

436 Celestial Immortals and 51,210 Loose Immortals. What did this represent? Everyone present knew the answer. Prior to the onset of this great storm, the Black-White College had only produced a single Celestial Immortal in its entire history. Even the Youngflame clan, a clan that was ranked as one of the top ten clans of the Grand Xia, had only produced nine Celestial Immortals and around a thousand Loose Immortals.

In other words…the casualties they had suffered today represented a force that was tens of times more powerful than the entire Youngflame clan!

The slain Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals had come from throughout the various commanderies of the Grand Xia; they had come in response to the Xia Emperor’s summons, gathering at the imperial capital. They had come from countless schools, clans, and sects; that was why so many of them had been able to gather in one place.

“This happened as a result of poor command decisions by myself.” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s voice was low. “The Seamless Gate has a formidable intelligence network, while we know very little about them. We didn’t know in advance that one of the White-Faced Flood Dragons was that powerful. Still…we know all along that our war against the Seamless Gate would result in heavy losses.”

The countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals below him were all silent. Their hearts were heavy.

“However!”

“Their losses were even heavier than ours!” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s gaze turned slightly more vicious than before. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning, led his Heaven Punisher to defeat and slay a White-Faced Flood Dragon. He killed more than six hundred Celestial Immortals and nearly seventy thousand Loose Immortals.”

The morale of the Immortals located below him began to lift noticeably.

“They killed our warriors, but we killed theirs as well. In fact…we killed even more of them!”

“This is war!”

“A war of life and death. The Grand Xia, the Seamless Gate…one side has to fall!”

“If we don’t want to die, then we have to kill them. Kill them all!”

The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out, echoing throughout the city.

“Kill them all!” The Xia Emperor roared once again.

“Kill them all!”

“Kill them all!”

The Xia Emperor’s voice, along with the enormous pressure all of the Immortals felt, caused all of the Immortals to let out angry snarls as well.

All of the Immortals present knew that there was no way for anyone to hide from this storm. They had to face it head on. If they wanted to survive…they had to go all out! They had to make their enemies die!

“All of you can go back to your camps to rest. This will be a long war. Today was just the beginning,” the Xia Emperor ordered.

“Yes, Imperial Majesty.”

Instantly, all of the Immortals acknowledged his command, then flew back in a dense mass towards their respective camps.

“Let’s go back to the main palace.” The Xia Emperor swept his nine generals with his gaze, then immediately turned to head towards the main palace.

……

Within the main palace.

The Xia Emperor was seated up high on his throne. His five Empyrean Gods/True Immortals were by his side, while Ning and the rest of the nine remained standing before them.

“Imperial Majesty.” Celestial Immortal Loachwater’s face was completely ashen. He stepped forward, then immediately went down to his knees. “It was because of me. I was hungry for a victory, causing so many of our fellow Immortals to die. Imperial Majesty, please punish me!”

The Xia Emperor gave him a glance. “You were the general for the Loachwater Army, but today you caused so many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to die in battle. Indeed, you cannot escape responsibility for this disaster. However…strictly speaking, I can’t fully blame you. That White-Faced Flood Dragon was indeed more powerful than we had expected. This time, I’ll let the matter rest…but in the future, you must be more cautious. I will arrange for new Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to enter and replenish your Loachwater Army. Do not disappoint me a second time!”

Although he now knew that he would not be punished, Celestial Immortals Loachwater still felt great guilt in his heart. Upon hearing the Xia Emperor promise him new Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to rebuild his Loachwater Army, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. “Imperial Majesty, this…”

“I have faith in you,” the Xia Emperor said calmly. “Enough. You can rise.”

“Loachwater will not disappoint you again, your Imperial Majesty.” Celestial Immortal Loachwater rose to his feet, a fierce look in his eyes.

The Xia Emperor turned his gaze towards the others. “What do you think of this battle?”

“That White-Faced Flood Dragon had to have been commanded by an Empyrean God or a True Immortal,” the nearby red-bearded elder said. “When I fought against him, I saw that although his claw attacks were seemingly simple, they contained full mastery over the Grand Dao of Blackwater. The commander is definitely an Empyrean God or True Immortal. As for how many additional Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals he had under his command…that’s hard to say.”

“Right.” The Xia Emperor nodded. “Ji Ning and the rest of the nine, listen up; in the future, you absolutely must not fight against that White-Faced Flood Dragon by yourself. Even you, Ji Ning, must only attack if you have helpers nearby.”

“I understand,” Ning said. “When I fought against him, I saw that he was superior to me in every aspect, be it strength or speed. I might be able to hold on for a short period of time, but any longer…”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, you might be able to hold on for a short period of time, but the rest of us would probably be defeated in just one or two exchanges,” Celestial Immortal Dustfloat said, shaking his head.

“Thus, when fighting that White-Faced Flood Dragon, you have to have at least two helpers,” the Xia Emperor said. “Also; what are your opinions regarding those Empyrean God golems?”

“Tough to deal with.”

“Very tough to deal with.”

“They get in the way.”

Ning and the others had fought against the golems personally. They all had frowns on their faces.

Ning had already become the unspoken leader of the nine generals. He said, “The attacks of the Empyrean God golems weren’t that strong, but they are manufactured golems with bodies as tough as Pure Yang treasures; it is hard to damage them through direct attacks. The only way to deal with them is to suppress them through overwhelmingly superior power, then capture them. However…if several of them join together, there’s no chance for us to capture them at all.”

“Right. No matter how we attack them, we can’t damage them,” Celestial Immortal Unity and the others agreed.

Ning realized that these Empyrean God golems were much similar to himself, back when he had first learned the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; weak attacks but incredibly powerful defenses. Most likely, there was only two ways to deal with them; constricting and binding them, or suppressing and sealing them!

“Right, your Imperial Majesty,” Ning suddenly said.

“Mm?” The Xia Emperor looked towards Ning.

“I have an Empyrean God golem,” Ning said, “One of the same type that we just fought against.”

“You do?” The Xia Emperor was surprised and delighted.

“I acquired it when the Seamless Gate attacked me,” Ning said. “But I only have one.”

“Good, good, good! In their campaigns against the other major worlds, the Seamless Gate lost several Empyrean God golems to our side. I did everything I could, but only managed to procure three of them. Now that you have another one…excellent!” The Xia Emperor said hurriedly. “These Empyrean God golems are incredibly precious. I won’t force you to give it up for free. Ji Ning, if there is anything you want, I will trade it to you, but you have to give me the golem.”

Ning said, “Since I mentioned it, I naturally have the intentions of giving it to you, your Imperial Majesty. As for what I need…Imperial Majesty, you can just give me some Pure Yang Immortal pills or Great Firmament Immortal pills.”

“I’ve prepared a very large number of these pills.” The Xia Emperor let out a sigh. “I don’t know how long this war will go on for. All of our Immortals will need Immortal pills to replenish their energy at critical moments, and so we need many pills. Haha…I’ll give you an entire bottle of them.”

Ning immediately waved his hand, producing a black, palm-sized horned golem within his hand, one which looked identical to the Empyrean God golems they had previously battled against.

Because this was a manufactured treasure, its size could be changed as necessary.

The Empyrean God golem flew towards the Xia Emperor, and a bottle of pills flew towards Ning. Ning knew very well that this golem required many Celestial Immortals working together to control it. It was useless to him, but it was incredibly useful on the field of battle. As for the pills…he desperately needed powerful pills to train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. At present, he had only reached the fifth stage of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“Everyone.” The Xia Emperor said, “The battle between us and the Seamless Gate is one in which only one size can survive. There’s nowhere for us to retreat to. In addition, we will be fighting against them for a long period of time; after all, if we can tie down more of their forces here, it will mean that they can’t use those forces to attack other major worlds.”

Ning and the others nodded.

The Grand Xia was just one battlefield in this war. If all the major worlds hid their forces without willing to use them, then the Seamless Gate would be able to focus on them one-by-one and defeat them.

Thus…every single major world had to go all out, to fight as if they were mad! If the Seamless Gate wanted to take them over, they would have to pay enough of a blood price!

“Starting from tomorrow, each time the nine Heaven Punishers go out into battle, Ji Ning will be the leader. None of the Heaven Punishers are to stray too far away from him. I will ensure that the Eight Dragons Cloudcity is close to Ji Ning, so that I can reinforce him immediately,” the Xia Emperor said. “The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals will also reinforce you as needed. At appropriate moments, I’ll also send out the four Empyrean God golems to assist you.”

“This war will most likely last for a very long period of time.”

“Now that you have battled against the Seamless Gate, both you and them are more experienced. It is unlikely that either side will be able to gain easy victories in the future. However…you must not grow too complacent. Over the course of many battles, you will have many chances to slain one of the White-Faced Flood Dragons, and each will represent an enormous victory,” the Xia Emperor said. “Succeed several times, and the foe will no longer have any White-Faced Flood Dragons left. The more of them perish, the greater our chances of success shall be.”

“Life will be tough. We’ll be engaged in a long war, and if you slip up, the result will be death,” the Xia Emperor said. “Thus…my nine fellow Immortals, you must be careful.”

“Yes, your Imperial Majesty.”

Ji Ning, Celestial Immortal Unity, Celestial Immortal Loachwater, Fairy Rainsoar, Celestial Immortal Dustfloat, Celestial Immortal Allbeast, Fairy Thousand Needles, Celestial Immortal Whacko, and Celestial Immortal Rainbow all assented solemnly.

The war would be a cruel, vicious one. Perhaps others amongst them would fall, and each time they fell, it would mean that a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals had fallen with them. And yet…none of them felt any fear.

In the face of the war before them, there was no way out for anyone!

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Chapter 15 – Protection

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 15 – Protection

Ji Ning and the other eight commanders all returned to their own military camps, which were quite spacious. Entering the camp, Ning walked towards his own residence.

“General.”

“General.”

When the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals saw Ning, they all called out to him. Ning smiled back to them, even calling out some of their names. “Fellow Daoist Frostlike. Fellow Doist Dong Zixiu…” He could sense the veneration these Immortal soldiers felt towards him. Back when they were in the imperial palace of the Grand Xia, these Immortals only followed Ning because the Xia Emperor had ordered it. Now, however, Ning’s performance in battle had thoroughly convinced them. If they were to follow a powerful leader, they would have a much greater chance of surviving this terrible storm.

The veneration these people showed Ning caused him to feel full of vigor and energy, but it also made him feel pressure.

He soon reached his residence.

Yu Wei, dressed in white clothes, was waiting for him at the door.

“You are back.” Yu Wei smiled. “I heard the other Immortals talking about you just now. Our Darknorth Army has achieved a great victory; supposedly, we killed hundreds of Celestial Immortals and tens of thousands of Loose Immortals.”

“Yes. However, our losses in the Loachwater Army were very heavy.” Ning strode into the residence, then stared in surprise. “Eh?”

This residence was the general’s residence, and so it was fairly large. Prior to this, however, it had been sparsely decorated and plain-looking. Now, however, there were paintings hanging on the ceiling, and there were exquisite pieces of furniture laid out throughout the rooms. In fact, there was now even a special study, with a table that was covered in quills, ink, and paper. There was a brush-holder that had three feather brushes within it. When relaxing, Ning usually liked to write calligraphy and paint paintings. At the innermost part of the residence, there was also a private resting room meant for the two to sleep together.

Some exquisitely made delicacies were currently placed atop the black wooden table.

“Senior apprentice-sister, how’d you do this so quickly?” Ning laughed. “I just went out for a short while, but by the time I returned, our entire home has changed. You’ve even prepared a meal for us.”

“This campaign is most likely going to be a very long one. We are most likely going to be living here for a very long period of time; naturally, I have to decorate it a bit and make it look nice. Just now, when I saw the Xia Emperor summoning the nine of you to the main palace, I took the opportunity to cook a few dishes as well,” Yu Wei said with a smile. “You’ve come back with a resounding victory; we have to celebrate it!”

“Yes, we do.” Ning immediately sat down, picking up his chopsticks and picking up a crystalline piece of meat that looked like pineapple in texture, then eating it. This was indeed personally prepared by Yu Wei; he could tell as soon as he tasted it. When the two had lived together in the Black-White College, Yu Wei had often personally prepared food for him.

“Excellent. It’s delicious,” Ning praised. “You should sit and have some as well.”

Yu Wei sat down next to him, accompanying him in eating.

Ning and Yu Wei ate together and chatted together. Suddenly, Ning felt as though his heart, which had previously still felt excited and restless after that great battle, had turned calm. Back when he had lived by the side of his parents, he felt this sort of inner peace. Now, when he was with Yu Wei, he felt the same thing.

Ning glanced at Yu Wei, who was eating slowly while gently stroking her stomach. He murmured silently to himself, “Even though the storm has come…I, Ji Ning, swear that I will do everything I can to protect you and our unborn child.” The things he needed to protect were also the things he cared the most about.

……

The underwater estate. The Stellar Hall. Before the thatched cottage.

Ning’s true body manifested a seemingly material Immortal sword within his hands, using it to train in sword-play. Sword-light flashed everywhere, and sword-ki flew everywhere.

“I have to master the entire Dao of the Sword as soon as possible, as well as come up the heartforce technique.” Ning came to a halt, a hint of delight in his eyes. “Although my battle against the Seamless Gate was quite short, a life-and-death battle like that was of tremendous help to me in gaining further insights into the Dao of the Sword.”

That battle was a battle in which both sides harbored the intention of killing the other.

There was no mercy to be shown whatsoever!

It was a battle where one completely emptied one’s mind of everything besides the fight. This did indeed allowing for an astonishing improvement in one’s insights into the sword. For example, even back on Earth, if you had one swordsman who had studied for several years in a martial arts school and another swordsman who had fought in just a few life-and-death battles with the goal of surviving, the latter would probably be able to kill the former in just a single exchange of blows.

Life-and-death battles…these things could indeed provide tremendous strength!

“In the future, I’ll be engaged in many battles. I have to work hard to understand more of the Dao of the Sword and master it as soon as I can.” Ning was already very close to the final bottleneck of the Dao of the Sword; after reaching it, he would only need one more step before mastering it.

“I’ve just barely managed to reach the basic level of skill in the application of heartforce to the soul, but to create…” Ning frowned when he thought about heartforce, because it was clearly far harder to advance in it.

It was easy to reach the basic level of skill, because there was a very close relationship between heartforce and the soul to begin with. Even if you didn’t know any special heartforce techniques at all, just possessing powerful heartforce would be of tremendous help in controlling magic treasures. Thus, Ning had quickly reached the most basic level of skill, but to further analyze it and come up with many practical methods for perfecting it and applying it to the soul was of incredible difficulty.

“Time to begin training in my [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

Ning immediately sat down in the lotus position. He sat down within the thatched cottage, pulling out a pill bottle. Pulling out the plug, he glanced inside, then nodded. “The Xia Emperor is indeed generous. Just a portion of this is enough for me to train to the Sixth Cycle.”

He immediately pulled out a sparkling golden pill, a Great Firmament Immortal pill, then tossed it into his mouth. The Great Firmament Immortal pill contained an astonishing amount of energy, but his Fifth Cycle foundation of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was completely capable of absorbing it all.

……

The main plaza of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Nine massive Heaven Punishers stood there, and next to them were four equally towering Empyrean God golems.

“Ji Ning, the nine of you should have a good spar against them. Get them familiar with battles against these types of opponents.” The black-robed Xia Emperor stood to one side, watching as he gave instructions.

“Right.” The nine Heaven Punishers looked at the four golems.

Three of the golems were from the Xia Emperor, while the fourth was originally Ning’s. It must be understood that the Xia Emperor had two thousand Celestial Immortals under his direct command. While he had sent some to replenish the ranks of the Loachwater Army, he had also arranged for others to go utilize the Empyrean God golems. Empyrean God golems needed to be controlled by Celestial Immortals; Loose Immortals were useless for this purpose.

“Be careful,” Ning said.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, go ahead and use your full power!” The four Empyrean God golems were proceeding with caution as well.

Ning and the rest of the nine exchanged a glance, going so far as to grin at each other. Then, with a series of whooshing sounds, they immediately threw themselves towards their foes.

Nine Heaven Punishers against four golems?

Generally speaking, a single Heaven Punisher would be able to easily suppress two of these golems. Ning was able to give all four of them a good fight by himself. When all nine of them joined together…they would naturally be able to dominate these Empyrean God golems with ease.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

They battled so violently, the world itself seemed to turn dark.

Fortunately, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity was a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, far more stable than the outside world. They couldn’t even damage the ground in the slightest. Ning and the others unleashed their full power, using saber-arts, sword-arts, staff-arts, axe-arts, and more, sending the four golems flying again and again. The four Empyrean God golems were incredibly resilient and able to swiftly clamber back to their feet and once more enter the fray. This was, of course, a ‘battle’ to accumulate experience; if they were fighting against the Seamless Gate, they would really be going all out to capture, subdue, and kill.

A short while later…

“You can halt,” the Xia Emperor said.

The nine Heaven Punishers and the four Empyrean God golems immediately came to a halt.

“How did it feel?” The Xia Emperor asked.

“The four of them are roughly as powerful as the Empyrean God golems on the Seamless Gate’s side,” Ning said.

“Not much difference,” Celestial Immortal Unity and the others agreed.

The Xia Emperor nodded. “As I suspected. We’ve tested these Empyrean God golems multiple times, and as a result we’ve discovered that having a hundred and fifty Celestial Immortals controlling them is an optimal number. If you use any more, it won’t increase the power of the golems by much, but if you use any fewer, the amount of power will drop dramatically. A hundred and fifty; that’s the perfect number for using these golems.”

“Just a hundred and fifty?” Ning called out in surprised, “If that’s the case, then they are able to tie me down by using just four golems and six hundred Celestial Immortals.”

Ning knew exactly what a pain these Empyrean God golems were to deal with.

The Xia Emperor shook his head. “The reason why they are so tough is due to the golems themselves. They are incredibly rare; right now, I only have four of them, including the one you gave me. Even the Seamless Gate has a limited number of them. Otherwise, they would just employ a large number of them, at which point we would definitely be defeated.”

Ning and the others all nodded.

“Empyrean God golems are very difficult to create, and they are extremely costly. Our side is completely unable to manufacture them.” The Xia Emperor sighed. “The core formation-diagrams of the Empyrean God golems…our Daofathers and True Gods have tried on multiple occasions to steal some, but they failed every time.”

“The Seamless Gate is that incredible in their golem-forging skills?” Celestial Immortal Unity and the others hadn’t known this.

“Of course. In the Dao of Constructs, they far outstrip us; there’s no need to deny this at all,” the Xia Emperor said.

Ning nodded as well.

Years ago, his junior apprentice-brother Mu Northson had been imprisoned within one of the enemy bases. That place, a mere base, had amply demonstrated that their skills in manufacturing constructs had reached an unfathomable level. Even Northson had been stunned by their prowess! Despite that, the base had most likely been one of the low-level manufacturing facilities for the Seamless Gate.

“The core formation-diagrams for the golems are the most valuable parts,” the Xia Emperor said. “If we can acquire them, then we can manufacture golems of our own. In fact, the Seamless Gate has other golems as well, including some that are even more powerful than Empyrean God golems. Acquiring a set of the core formation-diagrams would be of great benefit to our overall position throughout the entire Three Realms. Gaining a formation-diagram would be even more important than losing the entire Grand Xia major world. But alas…we haven’t been able to acquire one.”

Ning and the others all understood.

Not even the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Way, the Primordial Imperial Clan, and Subhuti of the ‘Dream of the Three Realms’ had been able to procure these diagrams. From this, one could tell how tightly and carefully the Seamless Gate protected them.

“If we could acquire a set…” The Xia Emperor’s eyes were filled with obvious desire.

If he could acquire one, then most likely all of the Daofathers and True Gods of the Nuwa Alliance would thank him. It must be understood that the strongest golems of the Seamless Gate had the power to threaten even True Gods and Daofathers. This was one of the gravest concerns for the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance, and one of the most frightening aspects of the Seamless Gate. In fact, to ensure that golems would be manufactured properly, the leaders had even set up an independent organization, the ‘Myriad Demons Cavern’, to carry out that task. The Nuwa Alliance had attempted to infiltrate the Myriad Demons Cavern to acquire formation-diagrams, but they had failed each time.

“Enough of that.” The Xia Emperor refocused his attention, turning to look towards Ning and the others. “Take a rest. The forces of the Seamless Gate are already taunting us and calling for battle. Prepare to engage them.”

As he spoke, the Xia Emperor waved his hand, producing an illusory image next to him. The illusory image showed four White-Faced Flood Dragons and nine Empyrean God golems; clearly, the destroyed White-Faced Flood Dragon had its ranks replenished. Like the Xia Emperor, the Seamless Gate had quite a few Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals in reserve.

Ning stared at the illusory image.

Killing one would be a major accomplishment!

“Gotta win.”

When Ning looked at the image before him, the picture in his mind was that of Yu Wei caressing her belly. He had to protect them, no matter what.

After resting for a few moments…

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Nine Heaven Punishers vanished from the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, going to the outside world.

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Chapter 16 – Three Years

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 16 – Three Years

The walls of the Seamless City.

True Immortal Whitepole stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the black-haired, black-robed, red-eyed elder. They stared at the distant battle occurring, with nine Heaven Punishers doing battle against four White-Faced Flood Dragons and nine Empyrean God golems.

“Fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy,” True Immortal Whitepole said with a calm laugh, “Fellow Daoist Blackheaven asked you to kill Ji Ning. I wonder…when do you plan to make your move?”

In a head-on battle, True Immortal Whitepole was very confident in his powers. Most likely not even Azurefox was a match for him. In terms of killing someone, however…True Immortal Whitepole didn’t dare to compete against True Immortal Crimsonjoy. Engaging in a head-on fight was completely different from murdering someone. True Immortal Crimsonjoy was extremely skilled in murder; he had many murderous techniques indeed! In the Seamless Gate’s headquarters, True Immortal Crimsonjoy had a very special, transcendent position. Not one of the hundred Seamless Gates under the command of the Godking were qualified to command True Immortal Crimsonjoy. Crimsonjoy reported directly to the Godking himself.

Not even True Immortal Whitepole was able to ask him for help. And so, he truly didn’t understand…how was it that Blackheaven, who was clearly a mere Celestial Immortal, had managed to accomplish this? True Immortal Whitepole always had the feeling that Celestial Immortal Blackheaven had many secrest about him.

“No rush. The time isn’t right yet,” True Immortal Crimsonjoy said calmly.

“Right, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy…fellow Daoist Blackheaven must have paid a significant price to get you to help out, right?” True Immortal Whitepole said.

True Immortal Crimsonjoy glanced at True Immortal Whitepole, then grinned. “You couldn’t possibly guess what the price was.”

“Let me have a guess?” True Immortal Whitepole laughed, intrigued.

“I won’t tell you.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy shook his head. “Still..don’t worry. Since I accepted fellow Daoist Blackheaven’s request, I’ll do everything I can and pay any price to kill Ji Ning.”

True Immortal Whitepole nodded lightly. It wasn’t too likely that he would be able to take such a powerful figure under his command, and so he simply said, “You said that this isn’t the right time yet. When is the right time?”

“Wait patiently.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy stared at the nine distant Heaven Punishers and the most powerful of them all, Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher.

“Wait?” True Immortal Whitepole frowned.

True Immortal Crimsonjoy gave True Immortal Whitepole another glance, then said, “The more overconfident they are, the greater my chances of killing them are. Right now, however, the war has just begun. All of them, the Xia Emperor concluded, are on high alert and are extremely cautious.”

“But…they’ll always be cautious,” True Immortal Whitepole argued.

“That’s different.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy shook his head. “Right now, they are cautious of everything. After multiple battles happen and as time goes on, they’ll slowly grow accustomed to the rhythm of battle, and as that happens…although they’ll still be careful, they’ll naturally become less guarded against those things they feel accustomed to.”

True Immortal Whitepole nodded in seeming understanding.

“Simply put…after they fight for a long time, even though they’ll still be in great danger each day, they’ll grow numb to the danger,” True Immortal Crimsonjoy said. “What I need to do is wait for them to grow numb.”

“Then when the time comes, I’ll be watching to see your abilities, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy. Our Seamless Gate has sought to kill Ji Ning, but we’ve never been able to succeed, even though we’ve spent quite a bit of effort on it,” True Immortal Whitepole said with a laugh.

True Immortal Crimsonjoy shook his head. “The Seamless Gate has many powerful figures; Commander Azurefox alone has many mighty experts under her. If the Godking truly wanted to kill Ji Ning and was willing to pay any price, including risking a battle against the Daofather behind Ji Ning, Ji Ning would’ve died long ago.”

True Immortal Crimsonjoy’s gaze fell once more upon Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher. He let out a soft sigh. “He truly is a peerless genius. A pity…”

True Immortal Crimsonjoy was a very patient man.

He waited for over three years.

Three years later. A misty dawn.

Within an incredibly vast wilderness that was filled with craters. Seven massive Heaven Punishers and five Empyrean God golems were in a frenetic battle against three White-Faced Flood Dragons and eight Empyrean God golems.

The land shook, and the mountains trembled. In fact, many of the distant mountain ranges had already collapsed into piles of rubble.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ning’s Heaven Punisher was wielding a pair of divine swords that would occasionally appear and occasionally vanish. Sword-light flashed everywhere, with the attacks occasionally transforming into heavy punches and insidious claw strikes. He was currently fighting against the Venomsong Terrorbeast, and the nearby Celestial Immortal Unity was occasionally giving him a hand. The two of them, fighting together, were now completely capable of slowing down Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.

“Retreat.” Venomsong gave the order.

Whoooosh! Instantly, the massive forms began to gather together and retreat.

Ning and his comrades just watched as they departed. “Let’s leave.” Ning gave the order as well.

The seven Heaven Punishers and the five Empyrean God golems vanished, returning back to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

The many Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals were allowed to disperse and return back to their own camps. As for the seven generals, they turned to fly towards the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Whoosh!

The seven of them arrived, then sat down atop the city walls.

“Come, let’s try some of my wine today. I acquired this Immortal wine when I took part in the Feast of Peaches 1 back in the Primordial Era. Only a little bit is left now, but…since we have wine today, let’s get drunk today. Come, come, come!” Celestial Immortal Whacko laughed loudly, but a hint of grief remained visible within his eyes.

“Whacko’s wine? That’s good stuff.” Ning immediately accepted and filled his gourd with the wine.

The others smiled and filled their gourds in turn.

They each held their gourds and began to drink from them.

Not long after the war had begun between the Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate, the then-nine generals had agreed that after each battle, the nine of them would get together and reflect on the battle and on what they had learned from it. However, after the battles became increasingly common, it became rare for Ning and the others to learn anything new from them. Their teamwork had become nearly perfect, and so their get-togethers after each battle became drinking sessions. After three years worth of battles, they had become as close to each other as real siblings, and had become accustomed to this sort of get-togethers.

“Loachwater.”

“Thousand Needles.”

Ning silently murmured these two names.

Ning didn’t feel quite as close to Celestial Immortal Loachwater, because Loachwater had died roughly half a year after the start of the war. Although the two were comrades, their relationship hadn’t had the chance to reach an extremely deep level.

But Fairy Thousand Needles…

Everyone present, including Ning, Unity, and Dustfloat all felt great pain in their hearts. Celestial Immortal Whacko felt the most pain of all.

Ning and the others had known all along that Immortals would die as a result of this long war. Over the past three years, four of their Heaven Punishers had been crippled. Loachwater had lost his Heaven Punisher during his very first battle, while Unity had lost his during a battle in the second month. He had managed to survive, and had received Immortal reinforcements.

Roughly half a year after the war had started, however, Loachwater had once again had his Heaven Punisher destroyed. He hadn’t been lucky enough to survive again; this time, he was slain, along with many of the Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals under his command.

Due to the number of Immortals that had been sent to reinforce the Unity Army, there weren’t many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals in reserve. And so, this time the Loachwater Army wasn’t rebuilt, and the nine armies turned into eight armies.

Afterwards, the army of Celestial Immortal Allbeasts was also dealt a heavy blow. Allbeasts himself, however, was lucky enough to survive.

The fourth Heaven Punisher to be destroyed was that of Fairy Thousand Needles.

“Thousand Needles.” Ning sighed to himself. She had just died roughly a month ago. She had been a rather cold and grim Immortal. After battling by her side for three years, all of them had grown very close to Thousand Needles. In fact, they had even learned that Celestial Immortal Whacko had been wooing her for countless eras, albeit with no success.

However, after fighting shoulder-to-shoulder for three years, Celestial Immortal Whacko and Fairy Thousand Needles had slowly grown very close to each other. Ning and the others had often teased them for it.

Who would’ve thought…

That a battle like that would’ve happened!

In that battle, True Immortal Azurefox, Empyrean God Threesuns, and Empyrean God Beastleave had all appeared at the same time. In truth, True Immortals and Empyrean Gods now often appeared during these battles. This, however, was the first time True Immortal Azurefox had personally acted. She was both a True Immortal and an Empyrean God, her body was that of a powerful Godbeast, and she had a very high level of insight into the Dao. This was her first time showing her power, and her power exceeded their expectations, forcing the Xia Emperor to personally intervene as well.

Alas, things happened too quickly in a battle!

The Thousand Needles Heaven Punisher was destroyed, and Fairy Thousand Needles died on the spot.

In that instant, Whacko had gone completely mad. Ning and the rest went berserk as well…but there was nothing they could do. After destroying the Heaven Punisher, their foes immediately retreated.

They felt pain!

That grim, callous woman who had shared life-and-death battles with them…the woman who occasionally revealed a smile in the fact of Whacko’s crazy antics…that astonishing, beautiful woman…she died, just like that.

“Darknorth, you are the youngest of us; you definitely have to be ranked as our ‘Eighth Brother’. Come, address me as ‘Second Sister’.” Fairy Thousand Needles had teased Ning about his age, and the fact that he was accustomed to addressing her by her name. Roughly a year after the start of the war, months after the death of Loachwater, the other eight had grown very close to each other and had sworn oaths of brotherhood with each other.

Ning was naturally the youngest, and so they referred to him as ‘eighth’.

It was very rare for Immortals to swear oaths of brotherhood and sisterhood with each other, but once the relationship between individuals reached a very deep level, it was a natural next step.

“Thousand Needles…” Ning glanced at Whacko.

Whacko and Thousand Needles had become Dao-companions. Thousand Needles’ death had been a huge blow to Whacko. In fact…Whacko no longer acted as whacky as before.

“If Yu Wei died…would I be able to endure that blow?” Ning asked himself. As he did, he realized that he couldn’t even imagine it…because there was no way he could endure it.

“Let’s go. It’s time to go back.” Ning raised his head, draining all of the Immortal wine in his gourd, leaving not a drop behind.

“Right. Let’s go.”

“Get a good night’s rest. We have more battles ahead.”

The three years of war had changed them all dramatically. They now loved to sleep, because sleep could wash away their mental weariness. They no longer had the graceful Immortal auras of old; rather, they now seemed much more vulgar, casual, and relaxed.

……

After parting paths with his seven sworn siblings, Ning returned to his camp.

“General.”

“General.”

All the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals he met on the way back felt deep, heartfelt veneration for Ning. It had been three years, but the Darknorth Army had never suffered a serious blow, and that was because of this peerless figure before them, a man who had trained for less than a century before becoming a Celestial Immortal.

Ning returned to his residence.

Yu Wei had already prepared a meal for him and was waiting for him.

“You reek of alcohol,” Yu Wei said with a laugh.

Ning couldn’t help but glance at Yu Wei’s belly. The swell in her belly was already quite noticeable by now, as it was fairly large. Laughing, he said, “Our child really is the child of an Empyrean God and a Celestial Immortal. He’s still staying in his mom’s belly and isn’t willing to come out.”

“The children of Gods and Immortals can gestate for anywhere from one year to decades,” Yu Wei laughed. “As for those that are born from the natural world itself, from Heaven and Earth, its not uncommon for the process to take trillions of years.”

“There’s no need for our family to wait that long.” Ning moved closer, pressing his ear against Yu Wei’s stomach. He could already hear the little heartbeat from within.

1. In Chinese stories, one of Sun Wukong’s notable misdeeds was his crashing of one of these feasts, stealing and eating all of the large peaches in a fit of anger after not being invited.

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Chapter 17 – Kill Ji Ning

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 17 – Kill Ji Ning

Yu Wei smiled as she looked at Ji Ning press his ear to her belly. “How wonderful it would be if we could always be together like this. Alas…”

An inescapable shadow lurked deep within Yu Wei’s heart.

Her membership in the Seamless Gate had been set in stone during her past life. Her soul had been marked by the Godking, and there was no way she could resist at all. In fact, the soul-seal caused her to view the Godking as she would a father. Although she knew this, it wasn’t possible for her to feel the slightest bit of hatred. Instead, all she felt was veneration…but in her heart, she wasn’t willing to harm Ning either.

“During the past three years of war, Azurefox came to me in my dreams just a single time, back when things first started. Afterwards, there’s been no contact at all.” Yu Wei was worried about this. “I wonder when they will give me another order.”

As the battles continued, the allotted time for her and Ji Ning to be together was drawing to a close as well.

Eventually, there would come the day when she and Ji Ning had to part their ways.

“I hope that day doesn’t come too soon.”

“I hope that our child, at least, will be safely born into the world first.” Yu Wei silently prayed to herself.

……

Noon the next day. The Golden Crow hung high in the sky, filled with blazing heat.

The Seamless City.

The main palace.

Eight Empyrean Gods/True Immortals were seated here.

“My fellow Daoists.” The black-robed, black-haired, red-eyed elder rose to his feet, his calm voice carrying a bone-chilling cold to it. “Today…is the day of Ji Ning’s death! I’ll have to trouble you all for your assistance!”

“Haha, if fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy manages to kill Ji Ning, the Grand Xia will have lost its most powerful Heaven Punisher. The impact will be as significant as the loss of an Empyrean God or a True Immortal.” True Immortal Whitepole laughed loudly, “If you are able to wipe out his true body as well, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy, then you’ll have rendered even greater merits. I’ll definitely inform the Godking of your accomplishments.”

True Immortal Crimsonjoy shook his head and said calmly, “I’m not completely confident in being able to slay his true body. If his true body remains with his Primaltwin, then I’ll be able to kill both at once! But if it is somewhere else…this time, I’ll probably only be able to kill the Primaltwin.”

No one knew where Ji Ning’s true body was hiding. Thus, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven had invited True Immortal Crimsonjoy to kill only the Primaltwin.

The death of the Primaltwin would mean the loss of a life.

Ning had a total of two lives; his true body’s life, and his Primaltwin’s life. Each was incredibly precious to him!

In truth, Ning’s true body was within the underwater estate, and his underwater estate was with his Primaltwin at all times!

“Everyone, let’s head out,” True Immortal Whitepole said, laughing as he rose to his feet. “If we manage to kill him today, we have to put on a huge banquet in celebration.”

“Today, we’ll bear witness to your prowess, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy.”

“I’ve battled against Ji Ning countless times, but I haven’t been able to do anything to him.”

Empyrean God Venomsong and the others all rose to their feet as well. They all walked away from the main hall, summoning their respective armies.

……

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Engage the enemies!” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out throughout the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Instantly, each of the armies began to mobilize.

Within the Darknorth army camp.

“Senior apprentice-sister, prepare some food and wait for my return.” Upon hearing the Xia Emperor’s orders, Ning rose to his feet as well. “Today, I truly wish to eat ‘Roar of the Nine Snow Dragons’.” These were all dishes that Yu Wei had personally named. After becoming a Celestial Immortal, Ning began to prefer vegetables, and this particular dish was a vegetration one.

After speaking, he immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew away, not waiting for Yu Wei’s reply.

Yu Wei walked past the door, watching as Ning appeared with countless figures beside him. “Come back safely.” Every time Ning went out into battle, Yu Wei couldn’t help but feel worried.

……

“Assemble the formation!” As Ning gave the order, the thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals under his command all executed the formation technique. They looked towards Ning with trust in their eyes. Over the past three years, Ning’s prestige had reached a shocking height.

Soon, the thirty thousand meter Fiendgod with no head, the Heaven Punisher, took form.

The seven Heaven Punishers all exchanged glances.

“Come, let’s teach those little bastards of the Seamless Gate a lesson.” The seven Heaven Punishers all laughed, then walked out of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity together.

Moments after the seven Heaven Punishers vanished, the five Empyrean God golems headed out as well.

……

A vast, desolate, region that had been ravaged by war. The great lake here had vanished long ago, and even the majority of the lakewater had been annihilated by the terrifying battles. The only thing left behind was a few rivers and small creeks.

Three White-Faced Flood Dragons and eight Empyrean God golems were here, calling for battle.

Whoosh.

Seven Heaven Punishers appeared out of nowhere.

“Let’s fight.”

“Kill them.”

Led by Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, the forces of the Seamless Gate immediately charged forward.

“Let’s go,” Ning said. Under Ning’s leadership, the seven Heaven Punishers went forward into battle as well, and as they did the five Empyrean God golems of the Grand Xia also emerged.

Boom!

Boom!

Ning’s Heaven Punisher was the first to engage, fighting one-on-one against Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.

They had battled far too many times by now and were far too familiar with each other. Both sides knew exactly what abilities the other had, but Ning’s side still didn’t dare to be overconfident. The main purpose of this long, drawn-out war was to whittle away and lock down the enemy forces. At the same time…although the battles were seemingly pointless and drawn-out, with no one perishing, in reality both sides were like vipers that were silently waiting for an opportunity.

Once that opportunity came…they would reveal their venomous fangs and go for the kill! The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that both sides were hiding would reveal themselves as well, seeking to annihilate part of the enemy forces at one blow.

“A chance.”

“I need a chance.”

As Ning and Unity joined forces to battle against Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, Ning’s mentally watched the entire battlefield with incomparable calmness.

Over the past three years, he had grown much more powerful as well.

He had been dancing for so long at the line separating life and death that it had been of tremendous benefit to him mastering the Dao of the Sword. His Dao of the Sword had already reached the bottleneck, and based on his new insights, Ning had come up with an eleventh stance to the [Three-Foot Sword].

He had made some progress in researching heartforce as well. Although he hadn’t reached the ‘expertise’ level which Old Man Yuan had mentioned in his [Heart Sutra], if Ning was to utilize this technique, he would instantly be able to unleash three times as much power from his Heaven Punisher! Given his much greater power and his improved sword-arts, he was fully capable of reaching a higher level of power.

However…

Ning understood that even if he increased his power by a full level, he still wouldn’t be a match for Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.

“Even if I did unleash my full power, the Seamless Gate would immediately adjust and compensate for it. It wouldn’t affect the overall scheme of things at all,” Ning mused to himself. “I have to find a good opportunity, a perfect opportunity to suddenly unleash my full power and wipe out yet another White-Faced Flood Dragon.”

The death of Thousand Needles had made Ning long for that day even more.

When she had died, Ning had wanted save her…but alas, he had been too far away. Even the Xia Emperor and the others had appeared, but to no avail.

On the field of battle, things happened far too quickly. Life and death could be determined in an instant!

“I have to find a chance.”

……

Within the underwater estate.

The giant yellow bear and the seven Empyrean Gods were seated within the main hall, eating Immortal fruit and drinking Immortal wine.

“Ji Ning is quite the madman. While his Primaltwin does battle outside, his true body trains nonstop within the Stellar Hall.” The kind-looking Empyrean God Dovesnake was holding a cup of wine, smiling merrily as he watched an image of the outside world. This image had been created by the giant yellow bear, who was capable of seeing the world outside. Since the underwater estate was being carried by Ning’s Primaltwin, it was naturally able to see the battle outside.

“The storm has descended upon us. Ji Ning feels pressured, and his child is about to be born into the storm. Of course he wants to protect Yu Wei and his child. It makes sense that he is training so frantically,” Empyrean God Redsnow said with a calm laugh.

The true body and the Primaltwin shared memories with each other, but didn’t disturb or interfere with each other.

Even if the Primaltwin was to completely focus its mind on battle, the true body could still be completely immersed in training.

“Right. Ji Ning’s strength is increasing stably. His Dao of the Sword has reached a bottleneck; once he masters it, the time for him to meet his Empyrean Tribulation will arrive shortly afterwards.” The child-like Empyrean God Primelight said eagerly, “After he becomes an Empyrean God, our Starseizing Manor shall once more appear in the world.”

“It has been a long, long time since the name of the Starseizing Manor has been said in the Three Realms.”

All of the Empyrean Gods were filled with eagerness.

After the war in the Grand Xia had begun, all seven of them had decided to move out from their world into the underwater estate itself. After all, Ji Ning might encounter a dangerous situation during the war. If he did meet with danger and tried to summon them, and they had to first go from the Starseizer major world to the underwater estate, and then go to the outside world, valuable time would be wasted, possibly resulting in Ning’s death.

They weren’t willing to take that risk, and so they permanently relocated to the underwater estate.

“Look, True Immortals have appeared.”

“The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on both sides have appeared. It seems as though today’s battle will be interesting to watch.”

“Agreed. It’s so boring. They just fight, fight, fight. Only when a large number of Celestial Immortals or Loose Immortals die do things grow a bit more interesting,” Empyrean God Sunblaze’s sonorous voice boomed out.

……

The outside world.

The battle had reached a fever pitch. On the Xia Emperor’s side, True Immortal Dongyan and Empyrean God Firecloud had both appeared. As for the Seamless Gate, True Immortal Crimsonjoy and Empyrean God Threesuns had mobilized.

The True Immortals used their magic treasures and spells to control the field of battle, while the Empyrean Gods would alternate between using spells and engaging in close combat.

Once they were added into the mix…the entire field of battle grew very chaotic. In chaos, opportunity could be found.

“A chance. An opportunity…” As Ning battled carefully, he continued to search for a chance to kill an enemy with even greater vigilance.

“Go.” The red-eyed elder, True Immortal Crimsonjoy, pointed a finger from afar. Instantly, countless black flowers and plants began to emerge from the earth. These flowers and plants quickly began to wrap themselves around the feet of the seven Heaven Punishers and the Empyrean God golems. However, both the Heaven Punishers and the Empyrean God golems possessed tremendous power, allowing them to break free from the grip of the plants. Still, their speed was negatively impacted.

“Damnit.” Ning hated this type of restrictive spell the most. True Immortal Crimsonjoy would usually only appear once every ten days or so, and Ning had long since grown accustomed to this sort of plant-based restrictive spell. Despite that, he couldn’t help but be impacted by it.

As for the distant True Immortal Crimsonjoy, he was silently murmuring the words to an incantation in his heart.

A speck of golden light appeared with his palm.

This was a tiny bit of the golden liquid from the golden pellet Jindan that was within his body. It was incredibly precious, and it contained an unbelievably dense amount of Pure Yang energy.

“Birth.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy calmly said this word aloud.

The vast array of black flowers and plants that covered the area suddenly began to wither…but the black flowers and plants that were directly below Ning’s feet began to suddenly grow at a frantic pace. They rose higher and higher into the air as well. Previously, they were only a few thousand meters tall and were only capable of covering the feet of the Heaven Punishers, but now they increased to more than six thousand meters as they climbed their way up Ning’s feet.

In addition, black chains suddenly appeared within the black flowers and plants.

These black chains were very similar to the black chains which anchored the Seamless City here. A total of nine of them were present, and they surged into the skies, many tens of thousand meters long. They wildly twisted out in circles, wrapping themselves around Ning, carrying a sort of power that was somehow related to space. Ning used his sword-arts, but was completely unable to break apart the black chains as they ravenously wrapped themselves around him.

“Ji Ning.”

“Darknorth.”

“Darknorth!”

The other six Heaven Punishers were shocked and frantic. They could sense the terrifying amount of power held within those black chains.

“This spell which Blackheaven taught me really is formidable.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy didn’t hesitate at all, immediately producing a red jade bottle within his hands. He aimed it towards the distant Ji Ning, then roared loudly, “Get in here, now!”

A heaven-shaking attractive power was suddenly applied to the distant Heaven Punisher, currently entangled and bound by those nine black chains.

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Chapter 18 – The Final Battle Suddenly Arrives

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 18 – The Final Battle Suddenly Arrives

The nine black chains wrapped themselves around Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher, which was hacking away with two divine swords against them to no avail, causing just a few spatial ripples.

“Not good.” Ning saw True Immortal Crimsonjoy pull out that red jade bottle from afar. Ning didn’t hesitate at all.

“Come out!” Ning had originally been planning to continue to hide his full power in the hopes of finding an opportunity to deliver the Seamless Gate a vicious less, but he could no longer afford to do that. Although he could call out senior Redsnow and the rest of the seven Empyrean Gods at any time, that was a waste of their tremendous power. Once they joined forces to form the Seven Planets Empyrean God, only True Gods or Daofathers could suppress them. A force like theirs could completely change the entire course of the war for the Grand Xia. Until things were absolutely critical, Ning wasn’t willing to use them.

Swish! Swish!

Two Immortal swords suddenly appeared out of nowhere, manifesting within Ning’s Heaven Punisher’s hands. These were two of the top-grade Pure Yang ‘Ananda World-Swords’. These were true Immortal swords, unlike the ‘Splitter’ artifacts that merely transformed into that shape. As a result, they were somewhat more powerful when one used sword-arts. At the same time, and for the first time, Ning applied his heartforce to his soul.

Rumble…

His heartforce served as the commander, with the power of his soul as its soldiers. In a very harmonious manner, all of the potential power of the soul was summoned and applied, and his control over the Heaven Punisher and the amount of power it could unleash was instantly increased.

Ning’s Heaven Punisher instantly more than tripled in strength…and this was with Ning having yet to even reach the ‘expert’ level in soul heartforce.

“Break! BREAK!” Ning’s Heaven Punisher wielded the two Ananda World-Swords with full power as he chopped downwards with them, transforming them into dazzling streaks of bloody light that transformed into a divine blood dragon. The two Immortal swords, now appearing to be two enormous bloody dragons, wildly assaulted the assaulting black chains.

The eleventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Dragons Warring in the Wild!

This stance encompassed the profound insights Ning had gained into the Dao of the Sword.

This stance encompassed the eighteen years of wild battles he had experienced in the Nihilum Zone.

This stance also encompassed all of the determination and decisiveness Ning had gained over the course of three years of war on the behalf of the Grand Xia.

All these things came together in the eleventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]…Ning’s most powerful sword-art to date! Self-created skills were the best skills for one’s self, because one would fully understand all the intricacies and secrets of those skills, as well as be able to unleash them to an absolutely perfect level. As for sword-arts of others? Even if you mastered them, you wouldn’t be able to reach a truly, absolutely perfect level in them.

True perfection was only possible for the creator!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two Immortal swords chopped down in the form of divine blood dragons, assaulting the attacking chains.

If one watched this scene with the naked eye, it looked as though more than ten blood dragons were fighting against the countless black chains. Prior to this, the black chains had carried an aura of unstoppable power. In the face of that power, Ning had exploded forth with his own full power. Although the chains remained intact and continued to circle around Ning, they were now no longer capable of completely binding him and causing him to be unable to fight back.

“Get in here, now!” The distant True Immortal Crimsonjoy lifted up his red jade bottle, pointing its opening towards Ning.

Rumble…

A powerful sucking force was instantly applied to Ning’s Heaven Punisher.

“Hmph.” Ning just flexed his knees slightly, putting himself into a stabler stance. The total amount of power he controlled had just tripled; how could the jade bottle possibly be able to absorb him away? It couldn’t shake him at all! If he had been completely bound by and rendered helpless by those black chains, then the end result would have been him being sucked away, but this was no longer the case; although the chains remained powerful, he was able to fight back against them.

“What?!” True Immortal Crimsonjoy stared at Ning from afar, his face a mask of shock. “He actually…actually was hiding his own power as well? What a Ji Ning!”

In a life-and-death battle, one of the things to be feared the most was when an enemy was hiding his true power.

Only when you fully knew all of your foe’s secrets could you lay down a good plan for dealing with him! If the foe was much more powerful than anticipated, the plan would be destroyed.

“Whitepole, Azurefox, hurry up and join in,” True Immortal Crimsonjoy sent mentally. “This Ji Ning was hiding his full power. Even after I consumed some of my own Jindan essence, I’m only able to temporarily keep him locked down. I’m unable to suck him away into the bottle. Now, the rest is up to you.”

The Seamless Gate had made a very meticulous plan this time.

If True Immortal Crimsonjoy had succeeded, that would be well.

But if he failed…his abilities would most likely still have caused the Grand Xia’s side to be put at a great disadvantage. This allowed the other members of the Seamless Gate to launch a truly ferocious strike against them! They would seize the opportunity to deal the Grand Xia a heavy blow; in fact, if the blow was heavy enough, the Grand Xia might no longer be able to fight back at all.

“Attack.”

True Immortal Whitepole had been quietly preparing amidst an army of Seamless Gate soldiers within a minor world treasure. He immediately roared out the command.

Boom!

Instantly, the mighty army of the Seamless Gate appeared in the air.

Everyone appeared. The Empyrean Gods, the True Immortals, the likes of Gatemaster Azurefox…even True Immortal Whitepole himself appeared for the first time! At the same time, two types of towering, thirty thousand meter Empyrean God golems appeared as well. The first was the ordinary, often-used Empyrean God golem that was completely black and horned, the one which Ning’s side had as well. As for the second, it was semi-translucent, glowed with a dull bloody light, and was slightly thinner.

Six of the old black Empyrean God golems emerged.

Sixteen of the new blood-colored Empyrean God golems emerged.

“Kill!”

“Wipe them out!”

True Immortal Whitepole’s white eyebrows were fluttering about. His grim face looked even colder than usual, but his eyes were filled with madness. He gave the order coldly, and his voice echoed within the heavens.

“What?!”

“How can this be?!”

“So many Empyrean God golems?!”

The Grand Xia’s side was completely stunned.

Although they had guessed that the Seamless Gate was holding back, they hadn’t expected for the Seamless Gate to be holding back such a terrifying force for so long! Six black Empyrean God golems and sixteen blood-red Empyrean God golems…how terrifying a force was this?

It must be understood that the Xia Emperor himself had just barely been able to procure three such golems, and only of the black variant at that. He hadn’t acquired a single one of the blood-colored golems, which were on a higher level.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning wielded his Ananda World-Swords, still struggling against the black chains.

The most powerful of the seven Heaven Punishers, the Darknorth Heaven Punisher, had been completely locked down!

……

It wasn’t just Ji Ning who was stunned. Celestial Immortal Unity and the other Heaven Punishers…even the Xia Emperor was stunned.

Upon seeing that Ning was in danger, the Xia Emperor had been extremely worried, and so he had immediately sent out his forces to assist. Although all seven Heaven Punishers were important, the one they could least afford to lose was Ji Ning’s. Ji Ning’s sole Heaven Punisher was worth two or three other Heaven Punishers! In addition, once Ning overcame the Empyrean Tribulation, he would possess tremendous influence. A peerless genius who was capable of reaching the Empyrean God level of power as a Void-level Fiendgod…once he made his breakthrough, how powerful would he be?

Thus, the Xia Emperor absolutely would not permit him to be lost. He personally entered the field of battle!

But…

As soon as he appeared, before he even had a chance to help Ji Ning, he saw that Ji Ning had managed to stave off defeat by himself. “So Ji Ning was hiding his power? Excellent.” The Xia Emperor was delighted and surprised.

But right at that moment…

The main army of the Seamless Gate emerged.

“What?!” When the Xia Emperor looked at the awe-inspiring horde of Seamless Gate soldiers, his face couldn’t help but change.

He had guessed all along that the Seamless Gate had to have been hiding many Celestial Immortals, because three of the four White-Faced Flood Dragons had been formed from Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals that had betrayed the Grand Xia! Most likely, only the one which Empyrean God Venomsong commanded consisted of the Seamless Gate’s own forces. Was that all the Seamless Gate had? Impossible!

But not even the Xia Emperor had expected so many Empyrean God golems to emerge.

“It seems they really do view my Grand Xia with great importance. They actually sent out so many of their precious Empyrean God golems. There’s even sixteen of those incredibly difficult-to-deal-with Bloodcloud golems.” The Xia Emperor’s gaze turned cold. “If that’s the case…then let’s fight.”

“Empyrean God Coldsavage, Empyrean God Kindwater, Empyrean God Northwatch, emerge!” The Xia Emperor ordered.

The Xia Emperor had an extremely high status. His Grand Xia could be considered the most powerful major world under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright! He also had the Primordial Imperial Clan and Daofather Raindragon behind him, and was himself quite powerful as well. After having ruled for so many years, how could his own forces possibly be weak? It must be understood that the even likes of the Mount Stele major world, which had been conquered long ago, had three to five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within it.

Even the likes of Empyrean God Kindwater, who had always been rather disrespectful towards the Xia Emperor, had long ago moved to stand by his side.

Empyrean God Coldsavage was the Empyrean God that had arisen amongst the ranks of the native Fiendgods of the Grand Xia. He had signed a pact with the Xia Emperor to serve him in battle for a hundred thousand years.

Empyrean God Northwatch was a transcendent figure. Much like how the Xia Emperor had helped Ji Ning out, the Xia Emperor had also once helped out Empyrean God Northwatch. Now that Northwatch was an Empyrean God, he naturally wanted to repay his debt and show his gratitude. At a critical moment like this, he chose to stand firmly on the side of the Xia Emperor.

Within an extremely vast world.

This was the world of flames where the countless Fiendgods had been imprisoned for many years. However, the world of flames no longer delivered any punishments to them. Over the past period of time, the countless Fiendgods had all been focusing on training in a truly ancient Fiendgod formation…the Pangu War-Formation!

The Pangu War-formation was the most ancient and most complicated of Fiendgod formations.

After Pangu had established the universe and perished, all of the surviving major powers such as Maiden Nuwa had felt utter veneration towards him. Back then, Maiden Nuwa had been far from reaching Pangu’s level. Due to the veneration the Fiendgods felt towards Pangu, as well as the gratitude they felt towards him for his establishment of the universe, many of the war-formations which the Fiendgods used when they engaged in battle ended up being named ‘Pangu War-Formation’.

There were many different Pangu War-Formations, and many other major powers would often work to improve and perfect them.

In the end, Maiden Nuwa had herself broken through to Pangu’s level and further improved a Pangu War-Formation. Only then was it truly perfected! Only the few top-tier major powers knew all of the marvelous secrets of this war-formation, and the total number could be counted with just two hands. Amongst that number were Suiren and Fuxi of the Primordial Imperial Clan, as well as a few of the other extremely ancient Human Emperors.

The version the Xia Emperor had acquired was naturally a simplified version. However, the simplified version was more than enough for this army of mere Void-level Fiendgods and Primal Fiendgods, commanded by a single Empyrean God. They wouldn’t be able to properly use the more profound versions, after all.

The countless Fiendgods were under the command of Empyrean God Coldsavage, Empyrean God Northwatch, and Empyrean God Kindwater!

They could form into three mighty Pangu War-Formations!

“Empyrean Gods Coldsavage, Kindwater, and Northwatch, make your move.” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out within the world of flames.

“Time for us to act.” Empyrean God Coldsavage instantly grew excited. Raising his head, he let out a heroic roar.

“FIGHT!” “FIGHT!” “FIGHT!”

Instantly, countless Fiendgods grew so excited that their eyes turned red.

They were Fiendgods. They were born to battle against Heaven and Earth; the desire to do battle was bred into the bones of each and every one of them. After having been imprisoned for countless ages, they were absolutely thirsting for a fight.

“EMERGE!”

An awe-inspiring flood of Fiendgods began to move, divided up into three armies. In the air above each army began to appear an enormous, seemingly-solid manifestation of a barefoot, loose-haired figure with an utterly enormous greataxe. This was the most ancient of primordial divinities…Pangu!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The countless Fiendgods were all teleported out of this world to the field of battle.

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Chapter 19 – Consecutive Demises

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 19 – Consecutive Demises

Although the army of Fiendgods had quickly assembled into the Pangu War-Formations and then immediately head out, it still took a short period of time. Within that short period of time…the forces that the Seamless Gate had sent out, consisting of True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, the other Empyrean Gods/True Immortals, the sixteen Bloodcloud golems, and the six black Empyrean God golems, all began to act.

“Roaaaar!”

“Kill!”

The six black Empyrean God golems immediately charged towards their allies, moving to unite with the other eight Empyrean God golems and the three White-Faced Flood Dragons.

“The Sea of Blood is boundless…” The skinny Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall immediately executed his spell, causing bloody waves to began to surge forth from the area surrounding him. The seemingly endless waves of blood filled the entire region. The White-Faced Flood Dragons and Empyrean God golems of the Seamless Gate weren’t hampered by it, and were even aided by it. As for the Heaven Punishers and the five Empyrean God golems of the Grand Xia, they felt tremendously impeded by the endless waves.

“Little children…” Gatemaster Azurefox stood there in midair, her robes fluttering. She pointed off into the distance, and instantly a blurred image of an enormous, bushy, azure-colored tail appeared behind her. At the same time, countless azure strands of silk spread out from her tail, covering the skies and coiling towards the Grand Xia’s forces.

……

“One withers, one blooms.” True Immortal Skyfarmer immediately went into battle-mode, a smile still on his face.

Green grass suddenly began to grow throughout the vast, desolate wilderness. The grass was merely ordinary wild grass, but it contained tremendous vitality and life energy. Despite the waves of blood and the azure silk strands that filled the region, the countless strands of wild grass still forcibly grew their way out and began to oscillate wildly in the air. All by himself, True Immortal Skyfarmer had blocked the spells of the Hallmaster and Gatemaster Azurefox.

The frenzied wild grass quickly began to wither at an astonishing rate…but then, they began to regrow just as fast. They withered and they regrew nonstop.

“Drip-drop.” True Immortal Dongyan had a casual smile on his face. Instantly, drops of water began to fall from the heavens. As the raindrops fell upon the earth, they emitted drip-drop sounds. When they landed on the forces of the Grand Xia, they caused no damage at all, but each time a raindrop struck a member of the Seamless Gate, it would carry tremendous smashing power, causing their bodies to visibly tremble.

……

The Pure Yang True Immortals on both sides had executed their spells and incantations, doing their best to impede and slow down their foes while protecting their own forces.

In battle, cooperation was paramount.

If they just stupidly attacked each other blindly…neither the Grand Xia nor the Seamless Gate would be able to unleash their full power and potential. When a Pure Yang True Immortal completely focused his efforts on casting spells, he would be of tremendous benefit to their entire side.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The eighteen skinny, blood-colored Empyrean God golems all moved in utter silence, causing just a few spatial ripples with their movements as they streaked forward like bloody rays of light.

“So fast.”

“Their speed is incredible!”

“Not good.”

“Their speed is at least double ours. How can this be?!” The six Heaven Punishers and the five Empyrean God golems on the side of the Grand Xia had previously been able to maintain their calm as they fought, but now they instantly began to panic.

Twice as fast? What did that represent?

It must be understood that in a life-and-death battle, if your enemy was just slightly faster than you, it meant that it would be very hard for you to escape. Twice as fast? Their foes would be able to toy with them with impunity!

“Don’t panic. Although those Bloodcloud golems are extremely vast, they are very fragile! If two of you join forces to launch a joint strike, you’ll be able to completely destroy a Bloodcloud golem. Even a single Heaven Punisher fighting alone will be able to damage it with an attack,” the Xia Emperor sent mentally.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on the Xia Emperor’s side were all casting spells to the best of their ability, attempting to slow down the Bloodcloud golems. However, although the power of their spells was causing the Bloodcloud golems’ speed to drop, the golems remained 50% faster than the Heaven Punishers!

Right at this moment…

An enormous, dense mass of figures suddenly appeared in the air. Countless Fiendgods had suddenly appeared, forming together like three massive black stormclouds. Above each of the three enormous black stormclouds, there was a massive, barefoot giant who held a titanic greataxe in his hands. Their unearthly auras filled the heavens, instantly causing the entire battlefield to grow still.

“Pangu?”

Everyone present, including the likes of Unity and Ji Ning, who had never before seen Pangu or this formation, felt inexplicably certain in their hearts that the barefoot, greataxe-wielding giants had to be Pangu.

The giant’s radiated a natural, innate aura of majesty, as though everything within Heaven and Earth had to submit before it. Most likely, aside from the legendary Pangu, only Maiden Nuwa was capable of such an aura.

Although the aura of the Pangu that was manifested through the Pangu War-Formation was very weak compared to the real thing, it still possessed a quality of absolute transcendence, an aura which not even Ning’s master, Patriarch Subhuti, possessed.

“Hahaha…” Empyrean God Coldsavage, one of the commanders of the black stormclouds, began to laugh loudly. He stared downwards at the towering figures before him, their powerful auras filling him with a desire to do battle. “Children, we’ve been waiting and enduring for countless years…for far too long! Today, let’s let the Seamless Gate get a taste of how formidable we Fiendgods are!”

“Let them taste our might!”

“Murder them all!”

“Wipe them all out! Eat them all alive!”

“Ahahaha!”

The countless Fiendgods all bellowed furiously.

They had been tormented for countless years, and today they were going to give full vent to their dark desires. Empyrean God Coldsavage’s voice echoed within the ears of each Fiendgod. Although the countless Fiendgods had been divided into three parts, Empyrean God Coldsavage’s influence was unquestionable; he was the true and only leader of the Fiendgods native to the Grand Xia.

“Let’s go.”

“Kill!”

“Charge!”

The three giant black stormclouds instantly began to charge downwards with savage, killing glee.

“They are this powerful?!” The faces of True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and the others all changed dramatically.

The intelligence abilities of the Seamless Gate were truly formidable. Word had already come from above: “The Fiendgods native to the Grand Xia have already submitted to the Xia Emperor.” This single line was all they had been given; True Immortal Whitepole and the others could only do their best to try and guess at what it meant.

They didn’t know exactly how powerful the native Fiendgods were, but they definitely weren’t weak. As for asking their superiors for more information? They didn’t dare to do that. The person who sent them these intelligence reports had an incredibly exalted status; compared to the major power of the Seamless Gate who sent these intelligence reports, even their Godking was on a lower level.

The locations of countless Celestial Tribulations.

Countless other types of intelligence reports.

That mysterious figure…it continually transmitted countless intelligence reports to them in a methodical, almost machine-like way. In terms of intelligence gathering, the Seamless Gate was supreme within the Three Realms, precisely because of that mysterious major power! There was no way that mysterious presence could possibly explain every single report in detail. How to make use of the reports? How to take advantage of them? What actions to take? Gatemaster Azurefox and the others had to make those decisions on their own.

“It seems this war isn’t going to be an easy one to fight,” the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave sent mentally. “With three Empyrean Gods leading them…their power is not at all inferior to Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.”

“We still have to fight, even if it isn’t easy.” True Immortal Whitepole’s eyes flashed with cold light. “We have to take over the Grand Xia. All those that block us must be wiped out.”

“Right.” Gatemaster Azurefox sent in agreement, “We have to take over the Grand Xia. The Xia Emperor really is formidable; he’s one of the three chiefs of the Crimsonbright Realm. I knew long ago that attacking his Grand Xia would be very difficult…but his status makes our conquest of him even more important.”

The Crimsonbright Realm referred to the dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds commanded by Daofather Crimsonbright.

The highest ranking member of the Crimsonbright Realm was naturally Daofather Crimsonbright.

Next came the three chiefs.

Ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were ranked one level below the three.

Why were those three referred to as ‘chiefs’?

The ‘chiefs’ of a realm usually had around ten Empyrean Gods or True Immortals who followed them! Someone who could command ten Empyrean Gods or True Immortals was naturally no ordinary figure. After Ning became an Empyrean God, he would have those seven Empyrean Gods following him, and so he could be considered a chief as well.

But of course, if he was just by himself, his status would naturally be on a lower level.

It must be understood that even someone on Lu Dongbin’s level, when faced with the Seven Planets Empyrean God led by Empyrean God Redsnow, would have no choice but to flee if he was by himself. This was what made the chiefs so powerful! They are absolute hegemons below the True God/Daofather level, and if they took over a major world, their rule over it would be absolute. No Empyrean Gods or True Immortals would dare meddle within it!

Of course, Lu Dongbin was even more powerful than the Xia Emperor; he had the Eight Immortals of the High Caves by his side, as well as other followers.

……

To attack and defeat the world which was governed by one of the three chiefs of the Crimsonbright Realm, the Xia Emperor…of course it was hard. But that made it even more important to succeed!

Swish! Swish! Swish!!!

The sixteen Bloodcloud golems moved at incredible speed. The three Pangu War-Formations, the Heaven Punishers, the other Empyrean God golems…none could match up to them. The Bloodcloud golems moved like streaks of light as they surged towards the six Heaven Punishers. As for Ji Ning? Ning was still locked in place by True Immortal Crimsonjoy, who was in turn occupied with locking him down through the consumption of his Pure Yang energy.

It must be understood that this was a spell that was created by Crimsonjoy consuming some of his own Jindan essence. He wasn’t willing to release the spell without a very good reason, and so he had been maintaining it the entire time. If nothing else, by maintaining the spell, he was locking down the most powerful of the Heaven Punishers, Ji Ning’s; that was enough.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Bloodcloud golems wildly assaulted the six Heaven Punishers.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The terrifying flood of Fiendgods charged into the fray.

Rumble…

In the air above the dark stormcloud of Fiendgods, one of the massive Pangus swung out with an arm. The arm was many tens of thousands of meters long. One of the Bloodcloud golems tried to dodge, but was still struck by it in the end.

BOOM!

The Bloodcloud golem’s body completely blew apart in midair, all of the Celestial Immortals inside having perished from the shockwaves.

However…the Seamless Gate’s forces remained cold and clear-minded. This was the fatal weakness of the Bloodcloud golems; they were too fragile! They possessed terrifying speed, but they were easily destroyed. Each of the three Fiendgod armies were comparable to Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, and so a full-force strike was more than enough to destroy a Bloodcloud golem. Once the golem was destroyed, the hundred Celestial Immortals within it would naturally all perish from the shockwaves.

“Careful, Rainbow!” The Xia Emperor’s face changed dramatically.

The Rainbow Heaven Punisher had just been knocked flying by Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon. Suddenly, four Bloodcloud golems pounced straight towards it!

The Bloodcloud golems were simply too fast.

Although the Xia Emperor and the others were all present, by the time they noticed the danger…

Slash! Slash! Boom!

The massive Fiendgod body of the Heaven Punisher was completely ripped apart, revealing the many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals within.

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Chapter 20 – The Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation

Chapter 20 – The Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation

The Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals fled like mad.

“Hahahaha…”

“Fleeing?”

“Die!”

The four Bloodcloud golems butchered the surviving Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. In the past, when a Heaven Punisher was destroyed by a White-Faced Flood Dragon, only a single one of them would be available to butcher the survivors. Now, however, four Bloodcloud golems were massacring them together! Although the Bloodcloud golems were somewhat weaker than the White-Faced Flood Dragons, they were much faster and possessed more than enough power to effortlessly murder these Celestial Immortals. Given that there were four of them…in but the blink of an eye, all one thousand Celestial Immortals were completely wiped out!

Not one of them escaped!

Even those who hid themselves within Immortal estates were immediately captured by those Bloodcloud golems.

“Damn.” Empyrean God Kindwater let out a furious roar as he led his massive Fiendgod army in an attack.

“Rainbow!”

“Sixth!”

“Sixth brother!”

The eyes of the other Heaven Punishers became bloodshot.

It had all happened too fast.

Previously, when they encountered dangerous situations while battling against the White-Faced Flood Dragons, the Xia Emperor and the others would have enough time to intervene and help out. However, when the Rainbow Heaven Punisher suffered attacks from four Bloodcloud golems, there wasn’t even a chance to rescue them. The Rainbow Heaven Punisher was shattered in the blink of an eye, and in the next blink its Immortals were all massacred. It was far, far too fast.

……

“Sixth brother.” Ning’s eyes were bloodshot as well. It had all happened too fast. No one had been able to intervene.

“Damn.”

Ning brandished the Ananda World-Swords with his two hands, wildly assaulting the black chains around him. The distant True Immortal Crimsonjoy continued to strive to maintain the spell. Grinding his teeth, he thought to himself, “This Ji Ning really is a madman. He knows he can’t break out, but he continues to attack in such wild fashion.” His Pure Yang energy was continuing to deplete, while Ning was using up even more natural energy of Heaven and Earth.

“True Immortal Crimsonjoy.” Ning felt greater and greater hatred.

The power of these black chains was simply tremendous…

Ning truly wanted to ask the seven Empyrean Gods to come out. Given that the Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate were roughly on par, they could strike a decisive blow that would change the entire tempo of this war. However, the seven had only promised to help him out a single time. This was equivalent to providing Ning with a second life, if they were used to save him at a critical moment. In addition, even though Ning was truly enraged, his mastery of heartforce had reached the ruler level, and so he was able to remain completely calm; he wouldn’t act rashly due to his rage. The seven Empyrean Gods would be a tremendously powerful card to play; now was not the time to play them.

This was because the battle between the Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate clearly had not reached the climax yet!

“If…”

“If I were to master the Dao of the Sword…how wonderful that would be?”

“Break apart, damn you!”

Ning continued to use his sword-arts to frenetically assault the black chains, making it so that they were completely unable to coil around him.

……

The three Fiendgod armies were the most savage and most berserk forces on the side of the Grand Xia. The Pangu War-Formations possessed enormous, astonishing power. They were were also utterly gigantic, with their hands alone being greater than the Heaven Punishers in size. Thus, sometimes the Bloodcloud golems found it difficult to avoid the mighty palms and greataxes of the Pangus, even though the golems were very fast.

Whether they were struck by axes or by palms, the Bloodcloud golems would instantly shatter apart, the Celestial Immortals inside perishing.

Boom!

Boom!

Every so often, an enormous explosion would be heard as yet another Bloodcloud golem perished.

True Immortal Whitepole watched from far away, a cold look on his face. Although he had expected that he would lose many of the Bloodcloud golems, the rate at which they were being destroyed in this battle against the Grand Xia was far too fast! This was mainly because the three Pangu War-Formations took up far too much space. Although they were somewhat slower in moving and advancing, they were still extremely fast when striking with their arms and greataxes.

“Hmph.” A cold light flashed through True Immortal Whitepole’s eyes as his gaze locked onto the Fiendgod army led by Empyrean God Coldsavage.

Whooooooosh! Suddenly, thirty-six snow-white Immortal swords appeared behind True Immortal Whitepole. These thirty-six Immortal swords joined together, forming into an enormous circle in midair. Power exploded forth from them, as the thirty-six Immortal swords transformed into an enormous Solar Star, but one that radiated an aura of icy coldness.

A billowing cold. A penetrating, bone-deep cold.

Even the vast wilderness began to quickly freeze as a layer of frost appeared on everything.

“He’s finally making his move.” The Xia Emperor had been keeping an eye on True Immortal Whitepole this entire time. He had been able to sense the threat which Whitepole posed to him; in fact, Whitepole was the only person on the side of the entire Seamless Gate alliance that gave the Xia Emperor a feeling of danger. Thus, the Xia Emperor understood that True Immortal Whitepole, who had always been so low-key, was the most powerful member of the Seamless Gate.

Although the Xia Emperor had cast some supportive spells as well, he had mainly been focusing on True Immortal Whitepole.

Now that True Immortal Whitepole was making his move, his move was sure to be shocking.

“Whitepole’s World!” True Immortal Whitepole was at the very center of this icy sun, as though he was its master. He then pointed at the distant Fiendgod army led by Empyrean God Coldsavage.

Swish!

A freezing lance of light instantly shot through the skies, flying straight towards Empyrean God Coldsavage’s army.

Empyrean God Coldsavage raised his head, letting out a savage bellow.

Instead, the towering Pangu figure above his Fiendgod army also let out a furious roar as it swung its greataxe. BOOM! Although a layer of frost appeared on the surface of the greataxe, the attack was still blocked.

“Hmph.” True Immortal Coldsavage smirked.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Instantly, countless lances of silvery-white light shot through the air, assaulting the Fiendgod army of Empyrean God Coldsavage. The area around the Fiendgod army transformed into an icy hell-trap. Even space itself began to freeze, and a layer of ice appeared on the towering body of Pangu as well. However, all of the Fiendgods roared in response, summoning their divine power to resist.

All of their power had been fully merged together; they were completely fearless.

“RAAAWR!” Empyrean God Coldsavage went berserk. The Pangu above him cleaved downwards with the greataxe, using its terrifying power to block the countless lances of light.

……

For now, this Fiendgod army had been completely stalemated by True Immortal Whitepole.

“Formidable.”

“A single Pure Yang True Immortal, all by himself, is actually able to stalemate a Pangu War-Formation led by an Empyrean God commanding countless Fiendgods.” The forces of the Grand Xia were shocked. It must be understood that nobody on the side of the Grand Xia dared to claim that they could single-handedly stop the White-Faced Flood Dragon led by Venomsong. Even the likes of Empyrean God Firecloud, who had once managed to tie down Venomsong’s Terrorbeast, had been sent flying with each clash.

But True Immortal Whitepole had done it!

“Perfect.” The Xia Emperor’s eyes lit up. “This is the moment.”

Rumble…

The empty space around the black-robed Xia Emperor seemed to implode. With him at the center, an area of three hundred meters around him became covered in absolute darkness. The space within this region began to collapse, twist, and swirl about. And then, from the field of absolute darkness, a black dragon began to crawl outwards. When this black dragon emerged, it blinked its golden eyes and stared at its surroundings.

“ROAAAAR!” An earth-shaking draconic howl.

And then, one black dragon after another came crawling out of the field of absolute darkness.

“Dawn of All Creatures!” The black-robed Xia Emperor growled out, his gaze turning savage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A total of nine black dragons came crawling out from the darkness, filled with auras of tremendous power. They then began to sinuously slither forward, moving at high speed as they assaulted the distant Bloodcloud golems.

This was a secret art that the Primordial Imperial Clan never taught to outsiders. At his current level of power, the Xia Emperor was just barely able to use the first level of this technique. If it were the major powers of the Primordial Imperial Clan who used this art, they would be able to release ten thousand black dragons at once.

“Azurefox, go help those Bloodcloud golems.” Seeing the situation, True Immortal Whitepole immediately sent a mental message. He was quite shocked upon seeing the Xia Emperor use this secret art. It must be understood that his intelligence reports hadn’t included a list of all techniques which the Xia Emperor used. As for this secret art, the ‘Dawn of All Creatures’, it was incredibly difficult to learn, and the Primordial Imperial Clan never taught it to outsiders. He hadn’t expected that the Xia Emperor would actually be able to use the first level.

Those nine black dragons were comparable to nine Empyrean God golems, and incredibly fast ones at that! Once the Bloodcloud golems were tied down, then the two active Fiendgod armies and the various Heaven Punishers would be able to destroy them with ease.

“Alright.” Seeing the situation, Azurefox didn’t dare hesitate; she immediately went all out, transforming into an enormous azure fox.

The azure fox stood there in the air, blue light billowing from its body.

“Transform.”

Her tail suddenly divided from one tail into nine tails. The nine enormous azure fox tails suddenly blasted out in each direction, chasing after those nine black dragons. Gatemaster Azurefox wasn’t actually one of the legendary nine-tailed foxes, the most exalted of all foxes. As an Empyrean God, however, she could temporarily change into a nine-tailed form, although her power was still a bit weaker than that of the true, legendary nine-tailed foxes. Still, she was able to die down the Xia Emperor for a time and give the Bloodcloud golems some breathing space.

If she was a true nine-tailed fox, and an Empyrean God at that, she’d probably be able to rely on her natural abilities alone to give the Xia Emperor a run for his money.

In reality…she wasn’t quite there yet.

……

The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. The main hall of the imperial Skylight Palace.

The white-robed Xia Emperor stood at the highest point of the Skylight Palace, staring down at the vast world.

“Thus far, the Seamless Gate has sent in less than ten thousand Celestial Immortals into battle, including the ones already killed. They’ve mainly been relying on their Empyrean God golems and their Bloodcloud golems, which is why they’ve been able to stalemate my Grand Xia.” The white-robed Xia Emperor murmured softly to himself, “These ten thousand Celestial Immortals…three thousand of them joined them from my Grand Xia. In other words, the total number of Celestial Immortals that originally belonged to the Seamless Gate was actually even less, perhaps only around six or seven thousand. And this can’t be the full power the Seamless Gate possesses. To assault my Grand Xia…the Seamless Gate led by Azurefox must have prepared many Celestial Immortals!”

“Since you aren’t willing to bring them out…I’ll force them out.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor knew quite well that if a dagger remained hidden in the darkness, it might appear at any moment in a lethal strike. Only by forcing the dagger out into the open could he feel at ease.

“Arise.”

The white-robed Xia Emperor reached out with his right hand, spots of glimmering black light appearing with it.

Rumble…

The entire Skylight Palace…in fact, the entire imperial citadel…began to shake. The runes and ley-lines of the plaza that had existed for countless years began to glow, and the Skylight Palace itself began to be covered with dazzling, flowing black light.

……

Stillwater City.

Although the Grand Xia was at war, the ancient city of Stillwater was quite calm. This wasn’t the place where the war was going on.

But suddenly…

The entire Stillwater City began to shake.

Rumble…

The entirety of Stillwater City suddenly began to glow with light. The countless rays of light circulated in the air above Stillwater City as an aura of absolute might soared into the heavens.

……

Flamedoor City saw the same pillar of light surge into the skies.

……

Countless cities throughout the 3600 commanderies of the entire Grand Xia suddenly began to unleash an unearthly amount of power. This power was even beginning to emanate from Whitepole City, which was located directly below the Seamless City.

The Skylight Palace of the imperial citadel as the core, and the 3600 capitals of the various commanderies as the formation-bases. Long ago, Daofather Raindragon had personally crafted the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation…and now, it had been truly activated. This was a formation which the Xia Emperor had asked Daofather Raindragon to create after the marquis-led rebellions. Ever since its creation, no one in the Grand Xia had ever dared to rebel again…until this time, that is.

After countless years of silence, the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation was once more revealing its might.

“Go.” The white-robed Xia Emperor stood guard at the Skylight Palace over the core of the Worldguard Formation, summoning its power and sending it towards the field of battle in Whitepole Commandery.

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Chapter 21 – Pulling Out All The Stops

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 21 – Pulling Out All The Stops

Whitepole Commandery. The vast, wild field of battle.

The battle between the Seamless Gate and the Grand Xia had reached a fever point, with both sides comparable in power.

The Grand Xia’s Darknorth Heaven Punisher and the Seamless Gate’s True Immortal Crimsonjoy had tied each other down.

As for the other five Heaven Punishers and five Empyrean God golems of the Grand Xia, they were being assaulted by the two White-Faced Flood Dragons, six Empyrean God golems, and Bloodcloud golems of the Seamless Gate. Those Bloodcloud golems in particular…they moved in unfathomable, mysterious ways, causing the five Heaven Punishers to suffer greatly. Fortunately, the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were assisting them.

The Xia Emperor, in particular, was able to lock down more than half of the Bloodcloud golems; otherwise, more Heaven Punishers would have fallen by now.

The most powerful force on the side of the Grand Xia was the three Fiendgod armies.

However, one of the armies had been stalemated and locked down by True Immortal Whitepole, while the other was engaged in battle against the White-Faced Flood Dragon. The final one was being assaulted and completely tied down by eight of the Empyrean God golems of the Seamless Gate. Unlike the Bloodcloud golems, the black Empyrean God golems were a bit slow, but were very tough to destroy, and so they managed to render this Fiendgod army unable to do anything to them.

……

For the moment, both sides were battling at a furious stalemate. Neither side was able to destroy the other; both sides needed additional reinforcements to disrupt the balance and wipe out their foes!

Of the six Heaven Punishers, Ji Ning was feeling the most miserable, because he had been completely locked down by True Immortal Crimsonjoy.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly sensed a powerful ripple of natural energy. He couldn’t help but look towards the skies. And not just him; everyone present could sense that terrifyingly powerful ripple of energy, and raised their heads to stare at the skies.

Rumble…

A terrifying power was gathering within the air, manifesting in the form of a dark-red cloud. It was like a tribulation cloud, filled with flickering red light and with power great enough to strike fear into the hearts of the viewers.

“The Worldguard Formation!”

“That’s the Worldguard Formation!”

“The Xia Emperor has activated the Worldguard Formation.”

The Seamless Gate’s forces felt their hearts clench, while the Grand Xia’s side felt excitement.

The fame of the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation was simply too great. Even Ning had heard of it long ago, back when he had taken part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. However, back then he hadn’t been certain as to exactly how strong it was. Afterwards, when his status became higher, he learned some details and particulars of this formation. The Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation was led through the imperial Skylight Palace and supported by the 3600 commandery cities. The power of the 3600 cities would be gathered in one location, but the energy could be used to attack any location within the Grand Xia!

When the tribulation cloud appeared, space would be locked. There wouldn’t even be a way to escape!

As for its power…

Celestial Immortals would definitely perish. As for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, Empyrean Gods with powerful bodies and protective divine abilities might be able to survive, but Pure Yang True Immortals were almost guaranteed to perish! The power of this formation vastly outstripped the Xia Emperor’s own power. It was precisely because the Worldguard Formation was created that the various marquises no longer dared to ever rebel again. So long as they were within the world of the Grand Xia, there would be no way for them to avoid the attacks of the Worldguard Formation.

They were unable to forget…that time when they saw the Worldguard Formation release its power. It had immediately slain the leader of the rebels, a Pure Yang True Immortal known as True Immortal Quhai.

“It’s about time.” True Immortal Whitepole raised his head, watching with a cold smile on his face. In his hands, however, a gray fruit suddenly appeared. He crushed the gray fruit with his hand.

Whoooosh! Suddenly, a large amount of gray gas flew out of the gray fruit. Instantly, the vast flood of gray gas began to soar into the heavens, wrapping itself around the dark-red tribulation clouds in the air!

“Eh?” The Xia Emperor frowned, then smiled coldly and barked, “The power of primordial chaos? Whitepole, do you think that a tiny bit of chaos power, diluted into gaseous state, is capable of withstanding my formation?”

The power of primordial chaos…

You had to begin training in the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos before you could slowly begin to learn to master it. This was truly the most supreme form of power that existed within the Three Realms. Generally speaking, after True Gods or Daofathers mastered a single Heavenly Dao, they would then begin to slowly work on understanding the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. After all, of the ten great Heavenly Daos, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos reigned absolutely supreme. Anyone capable of mastering it would reach the supreme level which Pangu had been at.

Long ago, Pangu had mastered this Heavenly Dao. Maiden Nuwa was even more formidable; of the ten Heavenly Daos, she had mastered nine of them!

There was a saying that there were 108,000 Daos in the universe.

Maiden Nuwa had mastered 44,000 Daos.

From this, one could see how incredible she was!

It wasn’t that Maiden Nuwa couldn’t master the final Heavenly Dao, it was that the Heavenly Daos themselves were flawed and incomplete. There was no way at all to completely and thoroughly understand all of them at the same time. Mastering nine Heavenly Daos was a limit!

“Haha, I admit that your Worldguard Formation is formidable, and this truly is just a sliver of chaos power.” True Immortal Whitepole laughed loudly, a hint of satire in his eyes. “But even though it is just a sliver…it’s a sliver of primordial chaos! How much power will this formation of yours possess, after it is forced to go through it? In addition, given how powerful this Worldguard Formation is, and given that it covers your entire major world and vastly surpasses the level of power a True Immortal should possess…I imagine that each time you activate it, you have to pay a considerable price.”

The Seamless Gate had received intelligence reports about it.

Every century, the Xia Emperor could at most use the Worldguard Formation twice. True Immortal Whitepole had personally asked his master about this, and the Godking had said, “This formation is so vast, it goes beyond the bounds of normal power for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. An attack that can encompass and envelope an entire world…this is something on the level of a True God or a Daofather. The main reason why Raindragon forged this formation was to shock and awe.”

“Since even the intelligence reports say that the Xia Emperor can at most use this formation twice every century, then I imagine that he should normally only be able to use it once. If he’s willing to pay an enormous price, he can probably use it twice. I’ll bestow upon you a fruit of primordial chaos which can weaken the strength of his formation.”

……

“Hmph.” The Xia Emperor stared downwards coldly.

The tribulation cloud of the Worldguard Formation previously held enough power to slaughter any of the True Immortals of the Seamless Gate that were present. The Empyrean Gods might have been able to survive the strike of the tribulation cloud, thanks to their divine bodies and protective divine abilities, but the True Immortals were almost guaranteed to perish. The Xia Emperor had been planning on using this to assault True Immortal Whitepole, but now that the tribulation cloud was covered by the power of primordial chaos…most likely, the strength of the tribulation cloud would be greatly weakened after passing through it!

It was easy to beat back an expert on the level of True Immortal Whitepole, but very hard to kill him.

Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all had very formidable life-preserving techniques.

“I knew that the Seamless Gate had to have prepared something, but I didn’t imagine that the Daofather behind True Immortal Whitepole would actually give him a Dao-fruit of primordial chaos. This Daofather is quite generous.” The Xia Emperor felt tremendous resentment. Fruits of chaos power were also known as Dao-fruits of primordial chaos.

Not all True Gods or Daofathers could easily condense the power of primordial chaos into the form of a fruit. If they really could do that, given that they could easily replenish their own chaos energy, Dao-fruits of primordial chaos would be everywhere.

In reality…to form a Dao-fruit of primordial chaos, the creator had to materialize, then slice off a sliver of his own insights into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. Only then could the Dao-fruit survive on its own. Thus, these fruits contained only an extremely tiny amount of chaos power. A tribulation storm was sweeping the Three Realms. Although the major powers of the Seamless Gate might be willing to sever a portion of their insights into primordial chaos for the sake of increasing their side’s karmic luck, they would only be willing to part with a very, very tiny amount of it. If they severed just a little bit, given enough time they would be able to train back to the same level. But if they severed too many of their insights…it would be incredibly hard to regain them in the future.

A tiny sliver of chaos power was already more than enough to weaken the tribulation clouds.

“Go.” A cold light flashed through the Xia Emperor’s eyes.

The tribulation cloud in the skies suddenly transformed into a rainbow of light that shot downwards.

Crackle…

The gray gas crackled as it blocked part of the energy. It was just the manifestation of a tiny amount of chaos power; although it was qualitatively on a superior level, its power was depleted in the blink of an eye. The rainbow of light, originally more than three hundred meters thick, had been whittled down until it was nearly thirty meters thick. It now only possessed a tenth of its former power, but it moved lightning fast.

Swish!

One of the White-Faced Flood Dragons that was battling against the Heaven Punishers suddenly let out a roar of terror and rage as it raised up its claws to block.

BOOM!

The rainbow of light pierced straight through it, punching a hole in its chest. Quite a few Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals inside the Terrorbeast were slain, and the Terrorbeast itself was instantly destroyed. The Immortals inside were utterly terrified, and they immediately sought to flee.

“Kill!”

The Unity Heaven Punisher that was closest to it naturally moved to massacre the survivors.

The distant True Immortal Whitepole, however, just watched this happen coldly. All of this was within the realm of his expectations. For hundreds of Celestial Immortals to die as a result of the activation of the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation was an excellent bargain. If it hadn’t been for the Dao-fruit of primodial chaos, he himself probably would’ve perished from the attack! The power of that formation was simply far too frightening; it contained power that was close to that of a Daofather’s!

“Xiamang, now that you’ve used even the Worldguard Formation, I imagine you only have the Raindragon Guard left.” True Immortal Whitepole sent a mental laugh to the Xia Emperor. “You are guaranteed to lose this fight.”

“You can all come out now!” True Immortal Whitepole suddenly let out a loud roar.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, four towering figures appeared out of nowhere. Four additional White-Faced Flood Dragons, their auras soaring into the skies! These four White-Faced Flood Dragons appeared uncontrollably savage and utterly ferocious.

“What?!”

“Four more?”

“Four more White-Faced Flood Dragons?”

The Grand Xia’s forces felt their hearts sink.

Good heavens.

A single White-Faced Flood Dragon represented a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals. This meant the Seamless Gate had just sent out four thousand more Celestial Immortals! And it was hard to say how strong these Terrorbeasts were; perhaps some of them were comparable to Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon in power!

“Seamless Gate, you honor me with your caution.” The Xia Emperor let out a cold laugh. “Since you wish for the Seamless Gate to come out…then I’ll grant you your wish.”

Whoosh.

Instantly, an incomparably massive divine dragon appeared in midair. This divine dragon was rather special. Compared to ordinary divine dragons, it differed in that it had a pair of enormous wings. This was the appearance of the legendary Godbeast, the ‘Raindragon’. Daofather Raindragon was a Godbeast, born with tremendous power. After experiencing that great war of the Primordial Era, he had ended up becoming a True God and Daofather.

“ROAAAAR!” The enormous Raindragon instantly charged downwards.

“Haha, come!” One of the White-Faced Flood Dragons let out a frenzied roar as it moved to engage.

BOOM! BOOM!

The Raindragon began to battle against that White-Faced Flood Dragon. Although the Raindragon held the slight advantage, the White-Faced Flood Dragon was still more than enough to tie it down.

“What? That White-Faced Flood Dragon is actually that powerful? It has to be that an Empyrean God or True Immortal is commanding it.” Ji Ning and the others felt their hearts turn cold.

Their Raindragon army was only comparable to a single one of those extra-powerful White-Faced Flood Dragons.

As for the other three…would one of them also be that strong? If that was the case, they would be in huge trouble.

The Xia Emperor coldly watched as this all occurred. He knew very well that this battle against the Seamless Gate would be a hard one, because the Seamless Gate’s intelligence network was simply far too powerful. They knew all the forces the Xia Emperor had, but he knew nothing about the Seamless Gate’s forces. He had already revealed all of the power he had available…but from the looks of it, he was still at a disadvantage.

“Xiamang, your defeat is guaranteed. The Grand Xia shall now be the Grand Xia of me, Whitepole. Wait…it won’t even be called the Grand Xia any longer. It’s name should be changed to the Whitepole major world.” True Immortal Whitepole was filled with an imposing aura, and he had an incomparably arrogant demeanor to him.

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Chapter 22 – Breakthrough

Atop a mountain that hovered within the vast Void outside the Three Realms.

This towering mountain was a million kilometers long. This was the abode of Daofather Crimsonbright.

An old man with long azure hair was seated in the lotus position. Below him stood a large group of powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, a clone of the black-robed Xia Emperor among them.

“That Fiendgod army is finished.” Daofather Crimsonbright let out a soft sigh.

A round mirror of light was hovering in the air, allowing them to view the results of the battle. Daofather Crimsonbright had personally cast this technique.

“It’s finished.”

“One of the three Fiendgod armies is about to be used up.”

“If this continues…”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all incredibly nervous. As for the clone of the black-robed Xia Emperor, he just watched with an icy look on his face.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, our major worlds were all defeated…can it be that your Grand Xia is going to be defeated as well?” A burly Empyrean God who had the head of a bear spoke out anxiously.

“Our side has lost some Fiendgods, true, but Empyrean God Coldsavage is still alive, at least.” The Xia Emperor said coldly, “Our losses aren’t that severe, and the Seamless Gate has lost eight of their Bloodcloud golems.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, no need to be reluctant to admit to the truth,” the nearby Sword Immortal Evergreen said calmly. “By now, I imagine you must be able to see that the Seamless Gate has clearly seized the upper hand. As this battle continues, your side will suffer even heavier losses! Although the Seamless Gate has lost eight Bloodcloud golems, the eight of them caused you to lose a Heaven Punisher and a Fiendgod army. The strong will grow stronger, while the weak will grow weaker; the distance in power between you and the Seamless Gate will continue to grow, until the end comes where your Grand Xia is unable to keep fighting and completely collapses!”

The Xia Emperor frowned.

Sword Immortal Evergreen’s words were unpleasant to hear, but he spoke the truth.

True Immortal Whitepole of the Seamless Gate had been tying down the Fiendgod army led by Empyrean God Coldsavage, and so when the new White-Faced Flood Dragons arrived, Whitepole had immediately ordered them to assault Coldsavage’s Fiendgod army. An entire host of Bloodcloud golems had thrown themselves into the fray as well. They had focused all of their extra power on that single Fiendgod army.

Just a short while later…after suffering the loss of four Bloodcloud golems, making for a total of eight losses in this battle, the Seamless Gate succeeded.

The only thing the Xia Emperor had been able to do was to take out a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, a red gourd, and draw all of the fleeing Fiendgods into his gourd. However, there were still many Fiendgods who ended up being massacred by the Bloodcloud golems.

“Am I going to lose?” The Xia Emperor sighed to himself.

Right now, the only idea he had was to ask his master, Crimsonbright, for help. He could also ask for Daofather Raindragon or the Primordial Imperial Clan to intercede.

However, the entirety of the Three Realms was in quite an ugly state. Would the Daofathers be willing to intercede and send out their own forces? The Xia Emperor didn’t feel certain of the answer. Daofather Crimsonbright and Daofather Raindragon had to know of his needed, but whether or not they would help out…that was their decision.

“If Master, my big brother, and the Primordial Imperial Clan all refuse to intervene, then this war will have been lost.” The Xia Emperor was unwilling to accept this outcome.

He truly was not.

This was a world which he had established. It was the foundation he had built after he had set up his Xiamang clan. Was he now going to be kicked out, like sorry-looking mutt being beaten off by a stick?

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang still has a very important military force on his side.” A muscular, golden-eyed man dressed in dragon robes looked towards the midair mirror of light, pondering to himself. “The most powerful Heaven Punisher, the one Ji Ning leads. All by himself, he can deal with two White-Faced Flood Dragons at the same time. However, he’s been forcibly restrained by True Immortal Crimsonjoy. Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, those black chains trapping Ji Ning…is there no way to break them?”

“There’s no way.” The Xia Emperor shook his head, resigned. “Both sides are battling all out right now; the amount of help we can provide Ji Ning is limited. Unless we can send out an overwhelming amount of power, there’s no way we can break through those black chains.”

“What spell is that? How can it be so powerful?”

“Right, those black chains…I’ve never even seen such a spell.”

“Nor have I.”

“They seem like the black chains that are anchoring the Seamless City in the air, but I always thought that those were just part of that war-city. I didn’t expect that there was a similar sort of spell as well.”

The many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals present had been gathered here from the dozens of major worlds commanded by Daofather Crimsonbright.

They collectively possessed tremendous experience, but none of them had ever seen this.

The Xia Emperor just closed his eyes.

This was agony.

He didn’t want to take another look. His true body was within the field of battle; he knew exactly what was going on. The situation was turning increasingly grim. The enemy was strong, while his side was slightly weaker…which meant that the enemy would reap further and further rewards, causing the disparity in power to grow until one side perished.

“Master…big brother…what are you thinking, right now?” The Xia Emperor groaned mentally to himself.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, this Ji Ning…is he the one you wanted me to take on as an apprentice, all those years ago?” Sword Immortal Evergreen suddenly asked.

The Xia Emperor gave him a glance. “Yes.”

“I completely forgot about that.” Sword Immortal Evergreen laughed, “I just remembered…I heard that this Ji Ning took on a Daofather as his master. As the disciple of a Daofather…although he’s merely a Celestial Immortal and a bit weak, he’s still been an extremely useful general under your command.”

“He might be a Celestial Immortal, but he’s not weak.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “He’s trained for a very short period of time, after all; his potential is truly extraordinary.”

“Potential?” Sword Immortal Evergreen said calmly, “There are many in the Three Realms with tremendous potential who have nonetheless been trapped at the Celestial Immortal stage for countless years. It’s not so easy to become an Empyrean God or a True Immortal!”

The Xia Emperor’s face sank. This junior apprentice-brother of his, Sword Immortal Evergreen…if one wanted to put it nicely, he was a figure who transcended worldly concerns, but if one wanted to put it bluntly, he was incredibly selfish! He didn’t care about the feelings of his fellow disciples at all; he said what he wanted to say, not caring about their face at all. In a normal situation, everyone was magnanimous about it, but this was during a time of war, and the Xia Emperor’s Grand Xia was about to be destroyed.

Although Evergreen’s words were true…why did he have to insist on saying such depressing things? Didn’t he know that the Xia Emperor had a belly full of fire right now?

“Oh?” The Xia Emperor said calmly, “Then junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, when you were merely a hundred years old, had you already become a Celestial Immortal?”

Sword Immortal Evergreen’s face instantly changed, but he then smirked. “What’s the point of putting up a tough verbal façade? Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, it’s time to face reality.”

The Xia Emperor was currently in a terrible mood. He couldn’t be bothered to reply.

“The Grand Xia…”

The Xia Emperor felt miserable in his heart. “Is it really finished?”

……

As Daofather Crimsonbright led his Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in watching the battle from outside the Three Realms, a massive, black-robed figure was also silently watching from a completely different location. The Godking was paying very close attention to this fight.

“We are going to win.”

The Godking gently tapped on his armrest with his left hand. A mirror of mist was in front of him, revealing the battle in its entirety.

……

At this moment, neither the Godking nor Daofather Crimsonbright could see inside the body of Ning’s Heaven Punisher. None of them could see the change in Ji Ning, Immortal Darknorth.

Within the world of the Grand Xia. Whitepole Commandery.

The savage battle had been kicked in overdrive as both sides assaulted each other with abandon. The Seamless Gate’s side was especially eager, while the Grand Xia’s side clearly seemed a bit dispirited. Everyone could tell that from the moment that the Fiendgod army led by Empyrean God Coldsavage was destroyed, the difference in power between the two sides had grown. The Grand Xia was almost unable to hold on any longer.

“Break! Break! Break!”

Ning, trapped by those black chains, felt a frantic feeling in his heart.

His heart was filled with rage as well.

Why…

Why couldn’t he break these damned chains?

His brothers and sisters were fighting for their lives. Ning truly was anxious to join them.

Despite his anxiousness, he was still able to maintain complete control over himself. His icy calmness and his frantic impatience co-existed without any conflicts at all.

Rumble…

Suddenly, Ning’s heart shook.

He was stunned.

And then…he was overjoyed.

He could now completely sense that vast, boundless Grand Dao, the Dao of the Sword. All of the mysteries of the Dao of the Sword were now within Ning’s heart. It was different from the past; when Ning was attuning to the Dao, enormous ripples would manifest. Now, the Dao of the Sword was like an obedient little child, not resisting or hiding anything from Ning.

This was because Ning had completely mastered and was in complete control of it. Naturally, he wouldn’t release even the slightest of Dao-ripples to the outside world unless he chose to.

“So this…is the Dao of the Sword?”

“So the only thing I lacked was a surge of true Sword Immortal ki?” After breaking through the final bottleneck, Ning instantly understood where his problem had lain.

In truth, when one reached a bottleneck in mastering a Grand Dao, one’s insights into that Grand Dao were almost complete and perfect.

The only thing that was lacking was the final merging and fusing of all those insights, to blend them all together into one thing…the entire Dao of the Sword.

This sort of fusion required an insight that was extremely difficult to comprehend. However, Ning had a very pure sword-heart, and had even mastered a strand of swordforce. In addition, he had once had a chance to personally sense the entire Grand Dao of the Sword, thanks to the [Thousand Year Dream]. Thus, the only thing Ning lacked was that final surge of ki, the Sword Immortal ki which every single peerless Sword Immortal possessed.

Every single Sword Immortal had their own special qualities to them.

Lu Dongbin was transcendent and non-interventional.

Sword Immortal Evergreen was supremely self-centered, viewing everything through the cold lens of pragmatism. He didn’t deign to cloak his words in pleasantries when dealing with people of the same level. He knew that his words were unpleasant to hear, but he didn’t care. Perhaps he might be respectful when in the presence of a Daofather, but he couldn’t be bothered to do so for other Empyrean Gods and true Immortals. He knew very well the thing which mattered the most to him was his own strength.

Ji Ning, sword in hand, chopped through all thistles and thorns that sought to bar his path as he walked towards the true peak of power. Although he knew everything, simply put, Ning was missing that final surge of ki.

However, Ning had been tempered and trained through years of battles. In fact, black chains were surrounding and assaulting him right now, giving him tremendous pressure. As a result…the pressure caused a rebound effect, allowing Ning to seize the opportunity to make a breakthrough.

Upon making the breakthrough…

The look in Ning’s eyes changed.

Although his eyes looked similar to how they did in the past, deep within them one could see a sword-intent that was absolutely harrowing.

“The Dao of the Sword is now complete!”

“As for manifesting the five types of ki within my chest…I’ve always been able to do that,” Ning murmured to himself.

What were the five types of ki? Metal, wood, water, fire, earth; the Five Elements! The most important part of a Celestial Immortal becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal lay in the mastery of a Grand Dao. A secondary component was in separately mastering five ordinary Daos of the Five Elements. These Daos of the Five Elements could allow one to link together with the infrastructure of Heaven and Earth, because the Three Realms were themselves formed from the Five Elements.

When manifesting the five types of ki within the body, one would receive a resonance with the essential Five Elements of the universe itself. After the Jindan absorbed an enormous amount of elemental energy, it would then evolve and transform into a Pure Yang Jindan. Only then would it possess Pure Yang power, allowing one to become a true Pure Yang True Immortal.

“We’re in a fight right now. I don’t have the time to slowly absorb elemental energy.” Ning immediately pulled out an enormous amount of Pure Yang Immortal pills, throwing all of them into his mouth. Right now, his Jindan needed to absorb a nigh-infinite amount of elemental energy, and so there was no worry at all about an accidental self-detonation due to excess power.

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Chapter 23 – The Power Of A Pure Yang True Immortal

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 23 – The Power Of A Pure Yang True Immortal

Rumble…

The elemental energy contained with Pure Yang Immortal pills was of incredible purity. It instantly transformed into a tidalwave of elemental energy within Ji Ning’s Jindan region. The energy of each pill was completely released, and the entire Jindan drank it all up thirstily, as though it was starving for energy. It was like a riverbed that was so dry, the ground had cracked; even if a torrent of rain was to fall onto it, the riverbed would be able to easily absorb it all.

In fact, the rate at which the Immortal pills released energy couldn’t even catch up to the rate at which the Jindan was absorbing it.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Within Ning’s chest, five types of semi-transparent ki began to manifest and flow.

These five streams of ki came from the insights Ning had in the five Daos of the Five Elements. They now all gathered together, connecting Ning to the essence of Heaven and Earth itself.

Ning had trained for many years. Aside from the Dao of the Sword, his accomplishments in the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop were the most advanced. He had mastered more than half of it by now. As for ordinary water-related Daos, he had long since mastered sixteen different types. In truth, mastering ordinary Daos was now of very little help to Ning. While working on his Grand Dao, he would occasionally get a flash of insight that would allow him to master a particular ordinary Dao.

Ning was very skilled in fire-related Daos as well.

Metal…Ning was quite skilled in this as well, thanks to his expertise in the sword.

Earth…this was the slowest for Ning to train in, but Ning had still mastered a complete, ordinary earth-related Dao. Even back when Ning had first arrived at the Black-White College, he had begun to train in the Lesser Five Elements sword-art, after all.

“Wonderful.” The five types of ki within his chest were slowly beginning to link together and resonate with the essence of the Five Elements within Heaven and Earth, causing tiny streams of energy to be transmitted into his body.

These streams of energy consisted of the essence of the Five Elements. They were all transmitted straight into Ning’s Jindan.

Whoosh!

Like celestial snow meeting with infernal flame, an explosive transformation erupted. Ning’s Jindan began to completely transform, and its quality was increasing at an incredible rate. The Jindan region within Ning’s body grew even greater, and the energy that created and maintained the Jindan grew more and more pure as it began to rise towards the Pure Yang level. Although an enormous amount of elemental energy was being used up, Ning had plenty of Immortal pills prepared. Ning had acquired a large number of Immortal pills from the Xia Emperor, when he had traded away his Empyrean God golem. Even after mastering the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning had a large number of Immortal pills left over.

Although all of this took time to describe, in reality it happened tremendously fast.

After just two breaths worth of time, Ning’s Jindan had successfully completed its transformation into an even purer, deeper, and somewhat darker golden color! This was a darkness that came from density and depth, and the energy within this Jindan now vastly surpassed the energy contained within the Jindan of a Celestial Immortal. It caused Ning’s Celestial Immortal body to instantly be transformed.

The golden pellet Jindan within Ning’s body was now a Pure Yang Jindan.

It was second only to the Great Firmament Jindan possessed by Daofathers of the Great Firmament. The Pure Yang Jindan continued to absorb the remaining energy from the Immortal pills, causing the power of the Jindan to grow even heavier and denser.

“Eh?” Ning immediately used the spell which his master, Subhuti, had taught to him. He masked his Pure Yang aura, transforming into the aura of a Celestial Immortal.

This was a form of artifice.

In battle…Ning needed to disguise his power.

“What a wonderful feeling. The feeling of being a Pure Yang True Immortal…it truly is powerful! Pleasurable!” Ning could sense the might his body contained as the Pure Yang power flooded his body. “Is this the feeling which Patriarch Lu and the Xia Emperor have?”

Patriarch Lu and the Xia Emperor were both Pure Yang True Immortals.

Celestial Immortals had their energy, Pure Yang True Immortals had their own.

The transformation in their energy alone represented an enormous increase in power. In fact, Ning even had the feeling that right now, if he were to attack by himself without a thousand Celestial Immortals or a hundred thousand Loose Immortals aiding him, he would still be able to give a White-Faced Flood Dragon a good fight. In the past? His Primaltwin, merely a Celestial Immortal, had to rely on the power of the entire army.

“The Darknorth army…” Ning immediately activated his Pure Yang energy, beginning to take control of even more power from the entire Heaven Punisher formation.

His power grew deeper and deeper. The power of the entire Heaven Punisher began to skyrocket. It doubled. Tripled. Quadrupled. Quintuipled.

The power continued to increase. Ten times. Twelve times. Eighteen times. Twenty-one times!

Finally, the power of the Heaven Punisher reached a limit, and the increase came to a halt.

“Eh? Why is it that I have the feeling that I’ve almost brought out all the power this Heaven Punisher has to offer?” Ning had a foundation of Pure Yang energy, and had a soul heartforce technique supporting him; as a result, he was in control of almost 80% of the total maximum theoretical power of a Heaven Punisher! Ning could vaguely sense that he was very close to a hard limit in power.

It must be understood that not even the other Empyrean Gods or True Immortals were able to unleash this much power from a single Heaven Punisher! Not Empyrean God Venomsong, for example, nor the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

Although there were some Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in the Three Realms who had gained insight into heartforce, the overall ratio was low; it could be said that less than one in ten practiced heartforce! For example, in this current battle within the Grand Xia, aside from Ning, there were two others who had gained a basic level of expertise into heartforce.

One was the Xia Emperor, who had reached the second stage in heartforce.

The other was Gatemaster Azurefox, who had also reached the second stage in heartforce.

The most important thing was, even someone who had powerful heartforce had to come up with a way to apply it to the soul as well. Ning was incredibly talented in this regard; previously, all by himself, he had come up with a way to apply it to his sword-fingers, then had come up with a way to apply it to actual Immortal swords. After being transmitted the [Heart Sutra] by Old Man Yuan, he had slowly begun to reach towards a way to apply heartforce to the soul.

……

A Pure Yang True Immortal whose heartforce had reached the peak of the third stage, and who had a basic level of expertise in soul heartforce.

This was the reason why Ning was able to command eighty percent of the maximum power of the Heaven Punisher?

It could be said that Ning was now far, far superior to anyone else on either side in terms of controlling a Heaven Punisher. Even when he was a Celestial Immortal, Ning was capable of giving Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon a good fight; he was just slightly weaker than it, that was all.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s Heaven Punisher brandished the Ananda World-Swords, chopping down against the black chains.

He still used the same amount of power he had in the past, before making his breakthrough.

But Ning now had a feeling…that if he was to unleash his full power, the black chains would be completely unable to stop him.

“Eh?” Ning swept the field of battle with his gaze. “The current situation is extremely unfavorable towards the Grand Xia. From the looks of things, if no one else arrives to help out, the only result will be a defeated retreat.”

“Because my breakthrough was within the Heaven Punisher’s body, most likely no one knows of it.”

“Then…”

Ning stared at the distant True Immortal Crimsonjoy.

True Immortal Crimsonjoy had been maintaining this spell the entire time. This used up a shocking amount of energy, and so he had been constantly using Immortal pills to replenish it.

“Ideally, I should kill True Immortal Crimsonjoy in a single blow,” Ning secretly calculated to himself. “Even though I should currently be the most powerful figure on this battlefield, it’s still quite hard to actually kill a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

The supreme powers on this field of battle were the Fiendgod armies, Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, and the Raindragon army. Of course, the Xia Emperor and True Immortal Whitepole were on this level of power as well.

Both the Xia Emperor and True Immortal Whitepole were very powerful in and of themselves. As for Empyrean God Coldsavage, Empyrean God Kindwater, Empyrean God Venomsong, and the others, they all had to rely on armies in order to release this level of power.

Ning, by himself, was naturally no match for the Xia Emperor or True Immortal Whitepole.

However, he had the Darknorth army, heartforce, and a soul heartforce technique. This made his Heaven Punisher the most powerful force present, vastly stronger than Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.

“Right now, not a single Empyrean God or True Immortal has perished. Not even the Xia Emperor’s usage of the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation was enough to kill one of them.” Ning knew very well that killing one would be very hard, but he had to give it a try.

……

On this battlefield, the Xia Emperor and True Immortal Whitepole were the field marshals for their respective armies.

“Is it all over?”

The Xia Emperor stared at the field of battle. Daofather Raindragon, Daofather Crimsonbright, and the Primordial Imperial Clan…none of them had sent reinforcements. The Xia Emperor felt powerless.

He now understood…

That his master and the others probably had other concerns, precluding them from reinforcing him. The Xia Emperor, however, still found it hard to accept this.

“Retreat,” the Xia Emperor ordered in a hoarse, unwilling shout, one which rang out by the ears of everyone on his side.

Rumble…

The enormous Eight Dragons Cloudcity began to appear as well, pressing downwards.

“Hurry and retreat into the Eight Dragons Cloudcity,” the Xia Emperor ordered.

“Imperial Majesty.’

“Imperial Majesty?”

They all looked towards the Xia Emperor.

The Xia Emperor, however, just shook his head. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could tell that their defeat was guaranteed! There was no way for them to change the situation! If this continued, the Grand Xia’s forces would probably be completely destroyed.

“Forget it…forget it. If I lose, I lose. There’s never been such a thing as an eternal empire within this universe. Even my Primordial Imperial Clan…its current status cannot compare to its status during the Primordial Era.” The Xia Emperor sighed mentally, completely giving up. He would no longer fight. It was time to prepare to flee. If they fled, they would at least stay alive. If they continued to fight head-on, death would be the result.

I, Xiamang, have done all I can…

But alas, I have nothing more to give, now!

He couldn’t forget he had arrived within this world with high spirits, roaming across it and nurturing it, defeating all challengers until he finally unified the entire Grand Xia. He felt deep attachments towards this world of his, but alas…it was now time to leave. This world would now belong to the Seamless Gate.

“Hahaha…don’t let them just escape like that. Kill them all!” True Immortal Whitepole roared with laughter. He felt utter excitement, right now, because he could sense that the Xia Emperor no longer had any plans to fight back and was most likely going to escape.

This world’s name was going to be changed to the Whitepole major world.

He…would be its master!

If Xiamang wishes to flee, he needs to first consider whether or not I, Whitepole, shall permit it!

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” True Immortal Whitepole’s eyes were filled with a shocking desire to kill, and the morale of the Seamless Gate’s forces swelled up to a crescendo.

But suddenly…

BOOM!!!!

A strange explosion.

This explosion came from a part of the battlefield which had been fairly calm and silent this entire time. It was the place where Ning’s Heaven Punisher had been trapped. Although the Xia Emperor wanted to rescue him, it was currently hard for them to even save themselves; how were they supposed to send out even more forces to rescue Ji Ning?

“Eh?” The Xia Emperor, True Immortal Whitepole, and the others all turned their heads to look.

The black-robed, black-haired, red-eyed elder just stood there in a daze. Around him, snow-colored lotus flowers were flying about.

The elder touched his chest.

The Pure Yang Jindan within his body…had been shattered in an instant, under a sudden, sinister assassination strike by Ji Ning.

The red-eyed elder opened his mouth, wanting to say something…but before he could make a single sound, he transformed into flying dust. He had died!

After so many years of battling to claim the Grand Xia…

A True Immortal had finally died! True Immortal Crimsonjoy had perished! The killer was a Heaven Punisher…Ji Ning’s!

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Chapter 24 – Withdrawing The Troops

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 24 – Withdrawing The Troops

The Grand Xia and the Seamless Gate; both forces on that battlefield were stunned.

The Grand Xia had already begun a retreat, while the Seamless Gate was in hot, eager pursuit, planning on carving a few extra pieces of flesh from the Xia Emperor.

But…

True Immortal Crimsonjoy died?

An exalted, powerful Pure Yang True Immortal…had actually died?

“What the hell?”

“How did Ji Ning DO that? He…wasn’t he trapped? Even if he managed to charge out, how could he have killed True Immortal Crimsonjoy in an instant?”

“Just now, I seemed to see snow-white lotus petals floating around True Immortal Crimsonjoy’s body. Could his death be connected to the Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the ‘Nineleaf Snowlotus’?

The Seamless Gate’s forces were completely stunned. They simply couldn’t believe this.

They were clearly on the verge of victory…how did the hell did this suddenly happen?

……

The only person on the battlefield who wasn’t stunned was Ning himself.

“Success.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. Although he had an absolute advantage in power thanks to his Heaven Punisher, he hadn’t been certain that he would be able to kill True Immortal Crimsonjoy.

Just now, he had first activated his Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Nineleaf Snowlotus.

The Nineleaf Snowlotus was best-suited for trapping and binding foes. In the past, Ning was a mere Celestial Immortal; even when he used the power of the Heaven Punisher to activate the Nineleaf Snowlotus, it wouldn’t be excessively powerful. After becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal, however, and after merging his Pure Yang energy with the power of his Heaven Punisher, then using it all to activate the Nineleaf Snowlotus…the power of the countless snowlotuses he could create was truly astonishing.

He had instantly covered the completely unprepared True Immortal Crimsonjoy with them.

As he used the snow-white lotus petals to surround True Immortal Crimsonjoy, Ning unleashed his full power, instantly shattering apart the entangling black chains.

“Not good.” Upon being trapped by the snowlotuses, and upon sensing his spell being destroyed, True Immortal Crimsonjoy immediately knew that something bad was happening. A sudden variable had to have been introduced into the battle, but he couldn’t see what was going on beyond the barrier of snowlotuses, nor could he Greater Teleport. He didn’t dare hide himself within an Immortal estate either; if he did, the enemy would be able to immediately capture it.

Thus, the only thing he could do at the time…was to use his own Pure Yang treasures to protect himself.

BOOM!

A cold, insidious sword attack.

After shattering the black chains, Ning immediately sent out a silent, soundless sword-strike. This was an assassination sword-art which Ning had learned back at Mount Innerheart. He had learned far too many sword-arts at Mount Innerheart, including several that had been devised by Daofathers of the Great Firmament. Usually, it was rare for Ning to use any of those sword-arts, as those were sword-arts that others had developed; although they were very powerful in Ning’s hands, there was no way he could truly reach a level of absolute perfection in them. Ning, however, had never tried to create his own assassination sword-arts. Given the inconceivable power of the Heaven Punisher he led, this sword-art was already powerful enough. And so…

BOOM!

The snow-white lotus petals instantly split apart, allowing Ning’s sword to hack directly against True Immortal Crimsonjoy’s protective magic treasure.

Because True Immortal Crimsonjoy had been trapped by the snow-white lotus flowers, his protective treasure’s defensive field was very, very close to his body. This assassination sword-art Ning employed was a type of vibration-based sword-art. When he chopped down, a very strange yet incredibly powerful form of energy was transformed into a vibration that not even Pure Yang magic treasures could block. The vibration was sent straight into True Immortal Crimsonjoy’s body…and it instantly shattered apart his Pure Yang Jindan.

From this, one could imagine how powerful Ning’s sword-attack had been.

In truth, someone like True Immortal Crimsonjoy would’ve never dared to fight Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, one of the Fiendgod armies, or the Raindragon army head-on. Ning was much more powerful than any of the three; how could Crimsonjoy possibly resist it? And in truth, Ning was lucky to possess the Nineleaf Snowlotus. If it wasn’t for the Snowlotus binding Crimsonjoy, when Ning charged over Crimsonjoy would’ve fled right away.

If Celestial Immortal Blackheaven knew that Ning had used the Nineleaf Snowlotus, a treasure which had previously belonged to Blackheaven himself, to cut off the escape path for True Immortal Crimsonjoy, who Blackheaven had asked to help out…

It really would be hard to describe how Celestial Immortal Blackheaven would feel.

……

“Seize the momentum. Kill!”

While he celebrated his victory, Ning didn’t hesitate in the slightest as he immediately charged straight towards the closest enemies.

There were three White-Faced Flood Dragons of the Seamless gate in that location, as well as a group of Empyrean God golems. They had been assaulting the five Heaven Punishers of the Grand Xia, who per the Xia Emperor’s orders were retreating while supporting each other defensively. At this moment, however, everyone had come to a halt. They were all stunned, and the forces of the Grand Xia felt wild joy in their hearts.

“Not good!”

“Quick, go help out!”

“Go help them!”

On the Seamless Gate’s side, True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox were the first to come back to their senses. They didn’t have any time to be astonished at True Immortal Crimsonjoy’s death; they immediately began to give orders.

True Immortal Whitepole first changed the target of his spell to focus on Ning. The icy Solar Star that was hovering in the skies behind him began to shoot rays of frozen light towards Ning’s charging Heaven Punisher.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Cold light flashed in an unending stream.

“Hmph.” Ning’s Heaven Punisher was bounding barefoot across the land. After having seen True Immortal Whitepole use this spell before, Ning felt no fear at all. He swung out an Ananda World-Sword, his sword-light flowing like water. Ever since Ning was young, he had been particularly adept at using sword-arts to defend. The curtain-like flow of watery sword-light was able to completely block all of the frozen lances of light.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The tremendous power within Ning’s words were able to endure all of the attacks.

“I can’t stop him.” True Immortal Whitepole’s face changed. “Quick! Junior apprentice-sister Azurefox, go help out. The Heaven Punisher which Ji Ning is in command of is far too powerful. I was able to stop even a Fiendgod army, but I can’t stop him!”

“Alright.” Azurefox was anxious as well.

Both of them were fairly distant from Ning. There was no time to charge in and attack him up close; their only options were to use spells, magic treasures, and other long-distance options.

Nine bushy fox-tails lashed through the air, seeming to blot out and darken the skies themselves as they swept towards Ning.

“Just f*ck off.” Ning’s Heaven Punisher continued to bound forward, two swords in his hands. Previously, he had used just a single sword to block True Immortal Whitepole. Now, he used the other sword as well. Boom! Boom! Boom! When his sword struck out, it was as though the heavens had suddenly turned clear and bright again. The nine furry tails were blasted apart, leaving just a small portion of the tails undamaged. Quickly, however, the nine tails once more grew outwards and regenerated.

Ning didn’t slow down at all…and he was far too fast.

The Fiendgod armies, the Heaven Punishers, the White-Faced Flood Dragons, the Raindragon army…none of them were comparable to Ning’s Heaven Punisher in terms of speed! In fact, even the Bloodcloud golems were just barely on par with Ning’s speed right now. From this, one could tell how terrifyingly fast Ning truly was!

“Quick, go save them!”

“Stop that Ji Ning!”

“Quick!”

True Immortal Whitepole frantically issued the orders. Ji Ning’s sudden, explosive increase in power was absolutely capable of changing the outcome of this entire battle. If they weren’t able to slow him down and allowed him to just charge forward as he currently was…no army, Empyrean God, or True Immortal was capable of fighting against Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher without assistance. The forces of the Seamless Gate would most likely be destroyed by Ning, one at a time…resulting in a defeat for this entire battle.

Thus, they had to focus all of their efforts on stopping him!

Whoosh!

Sword-light struck out.

The three White-Faced Flood Dragons were fleeing now, with the five Heaven Punishers in hot pursuit, as well as Ning’s Heaven Punisher. As Ning’s sword-light flew out…the White-Faced Flood Dragon he targeted only had a chance to let out a furious, unwilling roar of defeat. Slash! Ning’s longsword chopped straight through the neck of the White-Faced Flood Dragon, sending the head flying. The body of the dragon immediately broke apart, revealing the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals inside of it, who immediately began to flee.

“Kill! Kill! KILL!” Celestial Immortal Unity, Celestial Immortal Whacko, and the others all led their Heaven Punishers in a massacre of the survivors.

“Go!”

“Stop him!”

BOOM!

Another massive explosion could be heard. A tremendously powerful White-Faced Flood Dragon had managed to force its way in front of Ji Ning. This was Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, which had been nearest to Ning. Venomsong struck out with the sharp, fierce claws of his dragon, while Ning once more swept out with the Ananda World-Sword.

BOOM!

This was the first time these two massive Fiendgod-manifestations had fought head-on.

Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon was actually knocked off its two scaly legs by the force of the collision and sent flying backwards. This result caused a look of utter shock to appear on the face of Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon! He…he was actually… this much weaker than Ji Ning?

“But…” True Immortal Whitepole’s face completely changed.

Previously, upon seeing Ning’s might, he had made a rough estimate of Ning’s power and had expected Ning’s Heaven Punisher to be stronger than Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon. But to actually knock Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon flying like that…this was beyond his expectations. The difference in power was enormous!

“Slow him down.”

He had no time to be astonished. True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox both focused their spells against Ning, and both their spells were extraordinarily powerful. Ning had to use at least one sword at all times to defend against them. With two of them joining forces against him…Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon had more than enough time to recover from that blow, then once more charge forward to engage Ning in battle.

And so, True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon all joined forces to just barely stalemate and tie down Ji Ning. Just barely! Ning was still able to charge forward; he was just somewhat slowed down.

“Retreat!” True Immortal Whitepole had an ugly look on his face as he mentally roared the order to his forces.

They couldn’t allow this fight to continue.

They had already lost True Immortal Crimsonjoy and a White-Faced Flood Dragon. Ji Ning, all by himself, was able to tie down Whitepole, Azurefox, and Venomsong. The Seamless Gate no longer had any advantages whatsoever.

The Seamless Gate’s forces began to retreat.

Before this, the Seamless Gate had a significant tactical. After True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon had joined forces to tie down Ji Ning, their forces were no longer in significant danger, and so they were able to retreat in a very stable, orderly manner.

Soon, this sudden, unexpected ‘final battle’ came to an end.

“Withdraw our troops.” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out as well, once more filled with vigor and willpower.

The war for the Grand Xia…

He hadn’t lost it yet!

The Xia Emperor stared at the distant, awe-inspiring, half-nude Heaven Punisher commanded by Ji Ning. In his heart, he celebrated joyfully, and he even felt a hint of gratitude towards Ji Ning. Ji NIng truly had been the fulcrum upon which the results of this battle had turned.

……

Beyond the Three Realms. The seat of awakening for Daofather Crimsonbright.

Aside from Daofather Crimsonbright himself, a whole host of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were watching the battle scenes depicted within that mirror of light.

“Good!”

“That’s Ji Ning!”

“He just exploded with power.”

“True Immortal Crimsonjoy just died. He actually died, just like that.”

“Look, he’s still charging forward. He’s incredibly ferocious; he’s just smashing straight through them. The Seamless Gate is panicking now. True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox have both used their spells, but they can’t stop him. They can’t stop him at all! The White-Faced Flood Dragons have started to flee. It’s useless! They are too slow. Ji Ning just attacked with his sword…ahaha! One of them died! Ugh, Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon just arrived…this is going to be a bit troubleso-…he was just sent flying?”

The mood had been rather depressed, but now all of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals felt their energy levels rising.

They were all excited.

Some of their homelands and major worlds had already been conquered, after all. Even the ones that weren’t conquered yet felt grief upon seeing the Grand Xia fall into such dire straits. If even the Grand Xia had fallen…how could they hope to survive? Most likely, only extremely selfish individuals like Sword Immortal Evergreen, who didn’t have any major worlds or territories to worry about, would be completely unconcerned with the results of this battle.

“How can Ji Ning be this powerful? Can it be that he’s become a Pure Yang True Immortal?”

“He’s too strong.”

“His aura is simply…”

Everyone was sighing in amazement. Who wouldn’t hope for a brutal, dominating figure like Ning to appear on their side during a battle?

The Xia Emperor’s clone just stood there, smiling. Smiling with great happiness.

He glanced sideways at the nearby Sword Immortal Evergreen, who had a rather unpleasant look on his face. Evergreen had said quite a few things just now, after all.

“Fortunately, junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, you weren’t able to take Ji Ning on as your disciple all those years ago. Otherwise…you really would’ve delayed his progress,” the Xia Emperor sighed ‘emotionally’.

“You…!” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s face sank. He immediately began a retort; he wasn’t the sort to easily admit defeat.

But suddenly, Daofather Crimsonbright, seated above all of them on his throne, let out a loud, clear laugh. “This Ji Ning…good, very good!”

The words which Sword Immortal Evergreen was just about to spew out became stuck in his throat. He wasn’t able to say a single thing.

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Chapter 25 – Requesting Reinforcements

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 25 – Requesting Reinforcements

The many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals below Daofather Crimsonbright looked towards him.

“Years ago, I once had the chance to take on this Ji Ning as my disciple, but of the three choices that were made available to me, I choose Little Woodpass.” Daofather Crimsonbright smiled, seeming to be in an excellent mood. “I felt certain that Little Woodpass would have more potential than Ji Ning, but it seems that my vision has grown blurry with age.”

“Uh…”

All of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were speechless.

To praise Ji Ning was one thing; after all, he had indeed completely changed the situation in that battle at the Grand Xia. But for the Daofather to say that his ‘vision has grown blurry with age’ was a bit exaggerated. What sort of a status did a Daofather have? Even if he truly did wish to satirize himself a bit, for him to satirize himself for Ji Ning’s sake was quite bizarre.

“In the end, it was that old friend of mine who had superior vision.” Daofather Crimsonbright pointed towards the air, and yet another mirror of light appeared out of nowhere. The images of yet another battle appeared on that mirror, one in which more than a hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were participating in, alongside true dragons, Fiendgods, phoenixes, and other mythical beasts. The two sides in the battle were battling with ferocity. Daofather Crimsonbright said calmly, “The final battle between the Winesun Realm and the Seamless Gate has reached the crescendo.”

Everyone below watched the battle carefully.

The Winesun Realm was the dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds ruled over by Daofather Winesun. It was a realm that was not inferior to the Crimsonbright Realm at all.

“The Winesun Realm has actually sent nearly eighty Empyrean Gods and True Immortals into battle?”

“Look; those eighteen True Immortals have joined together into a Ninesongs Formation. They must be close to a Daofather in power.”

“They are going quite berserk.”

“Even the phoenix lineage has descended.”

This was a great battle, one which was far more vicious than the one the Grand Xia had just engaged in.

As the Xia Emperor watched this battle, he suddenly understood everything. Right…as he was feeling misery for the Celestial Immortals and the Loose Immortals who had perished under his command, the exalted Daofathers were watching things on a much higher level. During such a violent tempest as this one which had swept the Three Realms, the deaths of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals simply wouldn’t cause too much of a reaction from the Daofathers. Only the deaths of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would arouse the attention of the True Gods and Daofathers.

In the eyes of the Xia Emperor, his losses had been unsustainably catastrophic. In the eyes of the Daofathers, however…the battle in the Grand Xia had resulted in comparable losses for both the Xia Emperor and the Seamless Gate. Things had yet to reach a truly dire state.

“This great storm is one which has swept the entire Three Realms. In the end, it will cause many True Gods and Daofathers to perish…and to think, I was about to give up so easily? It seems that I’ve been living a comfortable life for far, far too long…just the slightest setback was enough to make me feel despair and a desire to retreat,” the Xia Emperor mused to himself.

“Xiamang.” Suddenly, a voice rang out within the Xia Emperor’s mind.

The Xia Emperor couldn’t help but raise his head to look. The speaker was Daofather Crimsonbright.

“The battle for the Grand Xia has just started,” Daofather Crimsonbright sent mentally. “The Seamless Gate has only sent a small portion of its forces; the assault is mainly being led by the Gatemaster Azurefox’s Seamless Gate. That is why none of us were in a hurry to intervene. If the Seamless Gate lets it go, then we’ll let it go as well. But if they are to summon their forces and attack en masse, then we will assist you.”

The Xia Emperor instantly grew excited.

“But of course, if you aren’t even able to withstand the limited forces which Azurefox has brought out from her branch of the Seamless Gate, then you have no one to blame but yourself,” Daofather Crimsonbright sent mentally. “You can only blame yourself for not working hard enough, for not even being strong enough to force Azurefox’s branch to request reinforcements.”

“Understood.” The Xia Emperor nodded.

When he thought back…

Indeed, he, Xiamang, hadn’t been ruthless enough.

He hadn’t been ruthless enough to his subordinates. He hadn’t been willing to let any of his Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, or Heaven Punishers to perish. But in a real life-and-death war, sacrifices sometimes had to be made. The more you tried to ensure that none of your people died, the more likely it was that you would fail. The Seamless Gate, for example; they had essentially sent many of their Bloodcloud golems into certain death, but the Bloodcloud golems had been very successful. The deaths of just eight of those golems had resulted in them slaying a Heaven Punisher and a Fiendgod army. This sort of mindset, of going all out even at the risk of your own death, could indeed be astonishingly successful.

He hadn’t been ruthless enough to himself either. He hadn’t been willing to use up a large amount of his own Jindan essence in activating the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation a second time, because if he had, his white-robed Primaltwin wouldn’t have been able to recover for a very long period of time.

“The Seamless Gate needs to engage on multiple battlefronts, fanning the flames of war throughout the entire Three Realms,” Daofather Crimsonbright sent mentally. “Their forces are limited. Although their intelligence reports provided them with a rough estimate of the power of your Grand Xia and allow them to make some arrangements, they can’t waste too much of their power either. If it hadn’t been for the fact that three thousand Celestial Immortals of the Grand Xia had been seduced into their service, they actually would’ve been at a disadvantage in manpower compared to you.”

“The highest level members of the Seamless Gate have ordered their subordinates to go all out.”

“You…need to go all out as well.”

“Some Celestial Immortals may die; even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals may die. So what? This is a tribulation, a true storm. If we can kill seven or eight of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate in exchange for just losing four or five of ours, it would be worth it; it would be a great victory.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice caused the Xia Emperor to feel rather stunned.

Killing a thousand foes while losing five hundred allies; this would be considered a tremendous victory.

“In the midst of a storm, you need to be awakened as to how to behave within it. When the Primordial World was destroyed, you were very weak and so did not take part in the battle; you have no idea how terrifying these great storms can be. This is just the beginning…because that old bastard has yet to fully awaken.” Daofather Crimsonbright sent mentally, “Once that old bastard truly awakens, this storm will reach its crescendo. By then, Empyrean Gods and True Immortals will be like ants, and a large number of True Gods and Daofathers will perish.”

“Your disciple erred.” The Xia Emperor now completely understood.

He had to be ruthless.

Ruthless to his subordinates.

Ruthless to himself.

Only then could he survive this storm!

……

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, there was a joyous celebration.

The Fiendgod armies, Raindragon army, and Heaven Punisher armies were all sent back to their quarters.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, it is very rare for me, Floatwater, to admire someone…but I truly admire what you did this day.” After the Raindragon army was dissolved, a willowy maiden dressed in black armor came flying out from it. She was a Pure Yang True Immortal.

“Respectful greetings to you, True Immortal Floatwater,” Ning said. He was still pretending to be a Celestial Immortal.

“No need for such courtesy. In fact, in terms of leading and commanding a thousand Celestial Immortals and all those Loose Immortals, you are actually superior to me.” True Immortal Floatwater gave Ning a close look. “To tell the truth…I even suspect that you’ve already become a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

Ning just chuckled.

“Ji Ning.”

“Darknorth.”

One delighted voice after another rang out. It was Unity, Allbeasts, Whacko, Rainsoar, and Dustfloat.

Ning looked at his four sworn brothers and sworn sister, both joy and grief in his heart. He felt grief because his sixth brother, Rainbow, had already perished.

“Alas…sixth brother didn’t have a chance to see it.”

“Rainbow, he…”

As the six of them reunited, they quickly turned sorrowful.

“There will always be deaths in war.” The black-robed Xia Emperor flew over, a group of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals by his side. It was Empyrean God Kindwater, Empyrean God Coldsavage, Empyrean God Firecloud, True Immortal Skyfarmer, and True Immortal Dongyan.

“Imperial Majesty.” Ning and the rest of the six all hurriedly saluted.

“This time, many Celestial Immortals, Loose Immortals, and even Fiendgods perished. Rainbow was just one of them,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said. “This is just the start of this great storm. We should all understand that even more of us will die.”

Ning and the others all understood this point. Subhuti had spoken to Ning of this as well. These two great alliances were both seeking to destroy the other.

“However…” The black-robed Xia Emperor looked at Ning, revealing a smile. “Hahaha, Ji Ning, you truly gave me a wonderful surprise. Haha, I had even given an order for us to temporarily withdraw…but who would’ve thought that you would bring me such a wonderful surprise? You even killed a Pure Yang True Immortal!”

‘Temporarily withdraw’? It most certainly was not! Back then, the Xia Emperor had wanted to completely flee from the Grand Xia and admit defeat.

“Right now, the advantage lies not with the Seamless Gate; it lies with us, the Grand Xia!”

The Xia Emperor looked at his allies, his laugh loud and clear. “Right now, the biggest headache the Seamless Gate has is addressing the question of how to deal with Ji Ning. True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon had to all work together in order to just slightly slow him down; they aren’t able to completely tie him down. I imagine that they’d have to send out yet another Empyrean God or True Immortal in command of a White-Faced Flood Dragon to accomplish it.”

“Hahaha…”

“That would make things much more relaxed for the rest of us. We can slaughter them.” The Grand Xia also had the Raindragon army, the two Fiendgod armies, as well as five Heaven Punishers and multiple Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

The entire atmosphere within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity became much more relaxed.

Slaying a Pure Yang True Immortal was definitely a great success.

……

The Seamless City.

The atmosphere here was very gloomy.

“Crimsonjoy died.”

“How could this have happened?”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all gathered within the main palace. Everyone, including True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox, had ugly looks on their faces.

Although they had killed a few Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals of the Grand Xia, they had also lost many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals; their losses were actually fairly comparable.

Most importantly of all…

They had lost one of their Pure Yang True Immortals.

“What should we do?”

“The Heaven Punisher under Ji Ning’s command suddenly became incredibly powerful. Just now, Whitepole, Azurefox, and Venomsong’s Heaven Punisher had to join forces against him, but he was still able to charge forward. We no longer have enough power to win this war. If this continues, we’ll be in danger of actually losing it. As I see it…we need to request reinforcements.”

“Right. Request reinforcements.”

“We don’t have enough strength left.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all spoke out in favor.

Gatemaster Azurefox, however, had a dark look on her face. She snapped coldly, “Request reinforcements…do you think it will be that easy? The Godking has a hundred Seamless Gates which have been assigned to conquer many major worlds. Some of them are now permanently stationed on already-conquered major worlds. Every single Seamless Gate is in desperate need of additional forces, of more power. Who doesn’t want reinforcements? But if everyone wants reinforcements…it will be hard for anyone to actually get it.”

Everyone fell silent for a time.

Their alliance’s total military power, compared to the Nuwa Alliance, was still weaker.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have had to use all sorts of enticements and underhanded methods.

Fortunately, they had an absolute advantage in terms of intelligence reports. As the saying goes, only when you know your enemy and know yourself can you be the victor in all your battles. In a war, intelligence was tremendously important. It was thanks to their intelligence reports that the Seamless Gate had been able to create so many problems for the Nuwa alliance. In truth, the Seamless Gate’s power was already stretched very thin. To request reinforcements? It would be difficult.

Last time, the Godking had taken out a Dao-fruit of primordial chaos for them to deal with the Grand Xia’s Worldguard Formation, but had not given them any additional reinforcements.

“Azurefox, things are different now. Ji Ning is a new variable, a major new variable in this equation.”

“Right. Report it to the Godking.”

……

Ning’s display of power had been too great. He had caused the Seamless Gate to sense that if things were to continue, they would probably lose disastrously no matter how hard they fought.

Gatemaster Azurefox fell silent.

True Immortal Whitepole looked towards her as well. Although he had also taken on the Godking as his master, Azurefox was closer to the Godking than Whitepole was, and she was the Gatemaster of this Seamless Gate. True Immortal Whitepole was nothing more than the temporary military commander for this campaign against the Grand Xia.

“Fine. I’ll report it to the Godking,” Azurefox said heavily.

Requesting reinforcements…Azurefox felt very ashamed for being forced to resort to this.

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Chapter 26 – The Godking’s Decision

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 26 – The Godking’s Decision

Within a private room.

A single candle had already been lit. A fragrant smoke was drifting about, filling the entire room. Azurefox was seated in the lotus position, and she slowly closed her eyes, gradually entering the realm of slumber and dreams.

……

Azurefox appeared within the vast world of darkness. At the center of the world of darkness, a towering figure suddenly appeared atop a towering throne that was at least thirty thousand meters tall, a figure that was covered in black robes.

“You lost?” The Godking looked downwards calmly, his voice reverberating within the entire world.

“Forgive me, Godking.” Azurefox immediately fell to her knees. She said hurriedly, “We’ve already done everything we can, and everything unfolded as we expected, but…who would’ve thought that Ji Ning, who clearly was just a Celestial Immortal, would become the most powerful force on the side of the Xia Emperor? It is very taxing for us to withstand just his Heaven Punisher alone. We truly have no other options…”

The Godking just looked at her silently.

Azurefox knelt there, not daring to lift up her head.

“I was watching the battle between you and the Grand Xia this entire time,” the Godking said calmly. “Ji Ning’s rate of improvement truly is quite fast…but in addition to that, each of you were cowardly and feared for your lives. Whitepole, in particular…has truly disappointed me! I bestowed a Dao-fruit of primordial chaos upon him, but he still wasn’t able to gain victory.”

“Forgive us, Godking,” Azurefox said nervously.

The Godking strummed his throne’s armrest with his hand, having fallen silent.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The only sound in the entire world was the sound of him tapping against his armrest, and it echoed nonstop within the darkness.

Azurefox didn’t dare to make a sound. She knew that the Godking was pondering…was deciding.

To reinforce them? Or to not reinforce them?

……

Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

The entire situation had been reversed, and they had gained a major victory. The Xia Emperor had just summoned his Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and Celestial Immortal commanders to the main hall to engage in a discussion.

Within the military camp of the Darknorth army.

“That really felt excellent.”

“I felt so stifled for so long, trapped by those black chains. Immortal Darknorth was truly formidable; he actually led us to break those chains apart and kill that so-called ‘True Immortal Crimsonjoy’. We even killed that White-Faced Flood Dragon and sent the Seamless Gate scurrying.”

“He’s simply incredible. Not even the Heaven Punishers controlled by an Empyrean God or a True Immortal can be this powerful.”

The Celestial Immortals and the countless Loose Immortals within the camp all chatted excitedly amongst themselves. The amount of power their Heaven Punisher had suddenly wielded in the end was incredibly stimulating to them.

“Rainbowflame Fairy.”

“Fairy.”

Upon seeing Yu Wei pass by, all of them were very respectful. They all knew that Yu Wei and Ji Ning were Dao-companions, and the bulge in Yu Wei’s belly was already quite noticeable. Everyone could tell that she was pregnant. The child within Yu Wei’s belly most likely had to be the child of their commander, Immortal Darknorth; naturally, these Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals were extremely careful and respectful of Yu Wei.

Yu Wei smiled and nodded towards them, replying with a few pleasantries before turning and entering her residence to prepare some dishes for Ning.

A short while later, Ning returned.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning entered the room.

Yu Wei was carrying a platter of food outside as he entered. Smiling, she said, “I heard that you achieved a grand victory today. You even killed a True Immortal, a True Immortal Crimsonjoy?”

“You’ve heard already?” Ning sat down, surprised.

“Everyone in the camp is talking about it. How could I not know?” Yu Wei poured some Immortal wine for Ning.

Ning nodded and smiled. “Right. I was fairly lucky. Without planning on it, I ended up killing True Immortal Crimsonjoy in one blow. But alas…I was just a step too slow. If I made my breakthrough slightly earlier, our side probably would’ve lost even fewer forces.” When Ning thought of his sixth brother, Celestial Immortal Rainbow, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of misery. His Dao-heart, however, allowed him to quickly smooth over and settle down his emotions.

“You made a breakthrough?” Yu Wei said, surprised.

“Right.” Ning nodded lightly, then said, “I’ve made a breakthrough in my soul heartforce technique.”

His master, Subhuti, had instructed him long ago that he was not to casually inform others of his breakthrough to the Pure Yang True Immortal level. He was not to tell Yu Wei or Uncle White, who he held complete faith in, about it! If he told a single person, the Seamless Gate would have a chance to find out about it.

“You’ve finally made a breakthrough in your soul heartforce technique?” Yu Wei said joyfully, “Wonderful. A breakthrough in soul heartforce will allow you to control even more power from your Heaven Punisher, making it even mightier. Right now, in the war for the Grand Xia, there’s not many on the side of the Seamless Gate who are a match for you.”

“Haha. For now, at least, there’s no one who can deal with me. True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and the White-Faced Flood Dragon which is under the command of an Empyrean God all had to join forces together against me, and they still weren’t a match.” In front of Yu Wei, Ning did something he rarely did; he bragged a bit.

“I knew you’d be incredible.” Yu Wei was very happy.

The more powerful Ji Ning was, the greater the chances of his survival would be.

Yu Wei and Ji Ning enjoyed this meal very much. Shortly after they finished…

“Eh?” Yu Wei suddenly felt a dizzy spell strike her.

“The Godking?” Yu Wei’s heart clenched as she realized that it was the Godking forcibly summoning her.

The Godking had left his imprint upon her soul. There was no way she could refuse his summons at all. When Azurefox wanted to reach Yu Wei, she had to wait for Yu Wei to fall asleep first…but the Godking could forcibly reach out to her, not needing to wait for her to go sleep.

Yu Wei didn’t dare to hesitate at all. She immediately said, “Junior apprentice-brother, I’m full. I’m a bit tired; I’m going to take a nap.”

“Go ahead and get some rest,” Ning immediately said. She was currently pregnant; he didn’t dare to negligent of her health.

Yu Wei moved into a nearby room, lay down on the bed, then shut her eyes.

……

Within a vast world of darkness.

Yu Wei appeared out of nowhere, and as soon as she did she saw that massive royal throne hovering in the middle of the endless darkness, as well as the towering figure of the Godking seated upon the throne. She also saw Gatemaster Azurefox kneeling before the Godking. Yu Wei immediately knelt down as well. “I prostrate myself before you, Godking.”

“Yu Wei,” the Godking said, “The great battle the Grand Xia Dynasty just fought against our Seamless Gate…are you aware of it?”

Yu Wei was somewhat startled. She immediately nodded. “I do.”

“The Seamless Gate suffered a major loss,” the Godking said. “The Grand Xia won a great victory. Do you know why the Grand Xia won?”

Yu Wei hesitated a moment, then said, “Because of my junior apprentice-brother, Ji Ning.”

She knew very well that the Godking had to be aware of all the details regarding the battle. There was no way any of it could be hidden from him.

“Right. Because of Ji Ning.” The Godking slowly tapped his fingers against his armrest, a hint of doubt in his voice. “How could your Dao-companion, Ji Ning, have increased his power by that much? Did he become a Pure Yang True Immortal? Or is it because he’s mastered the heartforce techniques which Old Man Yuan transmitted to him?”

“Your subordinate doesn’t know,” Yu Wei said respectfully.

“You don’t know?” The Godking gazed downwards towards her.

Yu Wei’s heart shook, but she forced herself to remain calm.

“I believe he must have become a Pure Yang True Immortal,” the Godking said.

Yu Wei was surprised. The Godking already knew the answer?

“There is no way you can lie in my presence,” the Godking said calmly. “I’ve summoned you and asked you simply because I wanted to test you…but in the future, if I ask you for any information regarding the Grand Xia and you dare to hide anything…then I will exile you into the Infinity Hells. When that happens…there will never be a chance for the child of yourself and Ji Ning to enter this world!”

Yu Wei’s heart shook yet again. This was what she feared the most. The thing she wanted above all else was to survive until her child was born.

“Forgive me, Godking,” Yu Wei said hurriedly.

The Godking just gave her a glance.

Whoosh. Yu Wei disappeared into thin air.

“Godking?” Azurefox raised her head to look at the Godking with a belly filled with questions.

“It seems that Ji Ning did not lie to Yu Wei,” the Godking said slowly. “Ji Ning has indeed come up with a soul heartforce technique. If he is allowed to grow unimpeded…I’m afraid that the Nuwa Alliance of the Three Realms shall soon gain yet another hard-to-deal-with Empyrean God or True Immortal.”

Azurefox was even more puzzled.

“Ji Ning told Yu Wei that he made a breakthrough.” The Godking gave his most devoted of servants an explanation. “A breakthrough in a soul heartforce technique! However, before this I was concerned that Ji Ning might have been lying. The best judge of whether or not he was lying would be Yu Wei, his Dao-companion; she knows him better than any others. If he lied, Yu Wei should be able to detect it. I could sense, however, that Yu Wei also believes that Ji Ning has indeed made a breakthrough in his soul heartforce technique.”

Although Yu Wei hadn’t said it, the Godking could completely see through all of Yu Wei’s thoughts.

However…

What the Godking didn’t realize was that Ning hadn’t told anyone at all that he had broken through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal. Ning had indeed lied to Yu Wei. His heartforce was incredibly strong, and so he was able to reveal no flaws at all when lying. In addition, although Yu Wei had some vague guesses in her heart, she still had complete faith in Ning. Ning was the most important person in her life, and so harbored no doubts about his words at all.

After speaking with and querying Yu Wei, in the end the Godking decided that Ji Ning had to have truly made a breakthrough in heartforce.

Azurefox hurriedly said, “That’s good. At least he hasn’t become a Pure Yang True Immortal yet.”

“Good?” The Godking gave Azurefox a sideways glance. “You still don’t understand what it means for him to have made a soul heartforce breakthrough. In the Three Realms, there are many who have become Empyrean Gods or True Immortals, but the number of individuals who have developed soul heartforce techniques can be counted on two hands.”

Azurefox was shocked.

“Old Man Yuan transmitted his teachings to Ji Ning, but I didn’t expect him to have mastered them in just three years.” The fog around the Godking’s black robes seemed to crackle with light. “Ji Ning has long ago mastered a thread of swordforce, and he has a deep level of insight into the Dao of the Sword. There is nothing impeding him from mastering it and becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal; this is just a matter of time.”

“Mastering a soul heartforce technique, however, is extremely difficult.”

“He’s already accomplished the most difficult task before him,” the Godking said. “He’s completely mastered a soul heartforce technique, which means his control over his Heaven Punisher and the amount of power he can command has instantly increased tenfold or twentyfold. Once he also becomes a Pure Yang True Immortal…the power of his Immortal army will explosively increase yet again.”

“When that happens…he will have become incredibly hard to deal with. The Nuwa Alliance will have gained yet another lethal weapon.”

The Godking was hesitant, not sure what to do next.

The battle between the two alliances was a slow, drawn-out battle where each side was fighting for every bit of land!

Each time, they would whittle away a little bit of their enemy’s strength, but over the course of many battles, the accumulated amount of damage they had done would allow them to gain a great advantage! At present, the True Gods and Daofathers on each side were all unwilling to intervene, because they knew that once one side intervened, the casualties would instantly skyrocket. This storm, however, was unavoidable; they had to fight at some point. At the start, however, they were going to conserve their strength as much as they could.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals struggled for karmic luck.

But towards the end…when one side realized that they no longer had any chances at all to improve their karmic luck…they would most likely launch their most frenzied, berserk of assaults!

That would be when the final battle would occur.

Right now, however, both sides felt that they had opportunities to improve their karmic standings, to improve their karmic luck. If they were able to do so, then Heaven and Earth would be on their side.

And in this battle for karmic luck…some extremely special Empyrean Gods or True Immortals could be tremendously effective in this regard, such as Lu Dongbin and his Eight Immortals of the High Caves, or the terrifying divine archers. If Ji Ning was to master a soul heartforce technique and become a Pure Yang True Immortal, the army he commanded would be able to become an important variable that had a major influence on the entire war.

……

Time flowed on.

The Godking’s left hand slowly but continuously tapped against the armrest of his throne. Tap. Tap. Tap. Azurefox felt as though each tap was a tap striking upon her very heart.

Suddenly, the Godking’s left arm came to a halt.

Azurefox lifted up her head. She could feel as though the entire world of darkness had just solidified.

A flash of lightning seemed to have appeared within the Godking’s eyes. He said coldly, “Sooner or later, we will need to fight a decisive final battle against Crimsonbright. Then…let this final battle’s location be the world of the Grand Xia. Make your preparations. I will summon the power of the Fifth World and send them to descend upon the Grand Xia. We’ll prepare for a Realmwar and get rid of Ji Ning at the same time.”

“Realmwar?” Azurefox was shocked.

Sometimes, the war against a major world would explode beyond one’s expectations. The major powers on both sides would constantly reinforce their subordinates, resulting in a massive war which the majority of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within that realm would participate in, along with a truly countless number of the realm’s Celestial Immortals and True Immortals. This sort of war…was known as a Realmwar.

“Hurry up and prepare,” the Godking ordered.

“Yes,” Azurefox said respectfully. She immediately departed from the world of darkness.

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Chapter 27 – Ambush

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 27 – Ambush

The Heaven Realm.

Ever since that ancient, primordial war had resulted in the shattering of the world and the creation of the Three Realms, the Heaven Realm had been the largest remnant-world that had been left behind. The aura of the Heaven Realm was very similar to that of the aura of the ancient world. In this vast realm, the Celestial Court merely held partial sway, commanding the eastern reaches. Mount Ling of the Buddhists was located in the west, and the many Buddhas were all located there, resulting it in having a much higher status than the Court.

When the Celestial Emperor saw the Buddhas, he would have to behave with the utmost of respect.

The Buddhas were all figures comparable to True Gods and Daofathers, after all; at most, they would be superficially courteous to the Celestial Emperor, the nominal leader of the Three Realms.

The Heaven Realm was also filled with sacred grounds of the Daoist Path.

The Daoist Path, the Buddhist Sangha…they were the true powers of the Heaven Realm. Second only to them were the various major powers. Of course, there were many other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals with their own turfs and territories in this realm as well, where their rule held sway. They paid no attention to the Celestial Emperor at all.

……

The Heaven Realm. Mount Tonglian.

“Great King! Great King!” A Void-level mouse-type Diremonster flew forward, calling out loudly. He soon reached a great palace, inside of which were six Diremonsters Gods with difference appearances. These six Diremonster Gods were drinking from cauldrons of wine and eating large chunks of meat with utter relish.

“What is it?” A massively, burly, golden-eyed Diremonster God with long whiskers barked out.

The Void-level Diremonster hurriedly knelt down with a thud. “Great King, True Immortal Songcloud has sent an emissary inviting the six of you go gather at his Cloudsong Mountain half a year from now.”

“True Immortal Songcloud?”

The six Diremonster Gods immediately shook off the effects of the wine, becoming completely sober. They each exchanged a glance.

“Understood. True Immortal Songcloud always wastes time dithering about. Us six brothers, our time is incredibly precious, and we’re not in a mood to go out wandering. Tell the emissary to f*ck off.” A tall, skinny Diremonster God whose face was covered with azure scales barked out at the mouse Diremonster.

“Yes, yes, yes!” The Void-level Diremonster immediately retreated.

“Ugh. I’m feeling a bit woozy from all the wine. I’m going to take a nap.” The golden-eyed Diremonster immediately lay down and began to snore.

“I’m going to nap as well.” Yet another lay down.

“If you won’t drink, I will.”

Some of the six Diremonster Gods went to sleep, while others continued to drink.

But even though they continued to drink…as Empyrean Gods, they were naturally able to easily create lesser clones of themselves. Their clones were all hiding within their respective Immortal estates, and they immediately went to sleep.

……

The Heaven Realm. Cloudmist Creek.

Deep within the flows of Cloudmist Creek, there was an underwater palace. There were all sorts of monsters serving within this underwater palace, including shrimp soldiers and crab commanders. The masters of this underwater estate were the famous Nine Cloudmist Fairies. The Nine Cloudmist Fairies…although they were described as ‘Fairies’, in reality they were Diremonsters who had trained to reach the Empyrean God or True Immortal level. Because they shared deep affection for each other, advancing and retreating in lockstep, they became famously tough to deal with in the Three Realms.

When all nine of them joined forces…unless a True God or a Daofather intervened, there were very few in the Three Realms who could do anything to them.

“Sisters, enough play. It’s time to train. The storm has come, and we can’t waste any time or relax.” The eldest sister of the nine, Fairy Skycloud, spoke out.

“Our eldest sister speaks the truth.” The other beautiful Diremonsters all assented to her words.

They all returned to their still rooms, ostensibly to train…but in reality, they entered the realm of dreams.

……

Within the vast world of darkness.

The massive Godking sat upon his towering, thirty thousand meter throne, his black robes cast around him like a dark mist. He sat there, quietly.

One group of Immortals and Fiendgods after another began to appear before him.

“Why has the Godking summoned us?”

“Eh? This many people?”

“The six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian have arrived. The Nine Cloudmist Fairies have arrived as well? Hey, aren’t those the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater? So they are on our side as well? Last time, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater killed two Bodhisattva’s of the Buddhist Sangha.”

Many Immortals and Fiendgods began to congregate, all at the Empyrean God or True Immortal level.

There were some weaker ones who were ‘ordinary’ Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, but the likes of the six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian, the Nine Cloudmist Fairies, and the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater stood at the very top. Although the Godking had a hundred Seamless Gates, supreme powers like those three reported directly to the Godking himself! The other Seamless Gates were unable to give orders to them.

“We prostrate ourselves before you, Godking.”

“We prostrate ourselves before you, Godking.”

Although they all felt shock in their hearts upon arriving, they all knelt down respectfully.

As time passed, more and more Immortals and Fiendgods arrived, with True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox included amongst them. When the sixty-eighth member arrived, the Godking, seated upon his high throne, finally spoke out.

“The Crimsonbright Realm is under the control of Daofather Crimsonbright.” The Godking’s voice rang out, filling every inch of this vast, dark world as well as the hearts of his subordinates. “If the Seamless Gate is to gain in karmic luck, then we have to take control of many major worlds. Our previous battles against the Crimsonbright Realm were merely small skirmishes, and Daofather Crimsonbright has been holding his own power in reserve as well. Both of our sides have been preparing for a true Realmwar to begin.”

All of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals seated below were startled. They were immediately able to guess at what the Godking had summoned them for.

“If we do not completely destroy them, we won’t be able to stabilize our control over their major worlds. We must gain victory in the Realmwar; we must defeat them completely.” The Godking’s voice turned icy. “If we can defeat them in the Realmwar, then the worlds of the Crimsonbright Realm will become powerless to resist us, allowing us to win them over with ease.”

“If we do not defeat them…then they will be able to push us out from even the major worlds we’ve taken over for now.”

“The Realmwar against the Crimsonbright Realm…shall be located on the world of the Grand Xia!”

The Godking made his announcement.

The Godking had an extremely high status amongst the high-level major powers of the Seamless Gate. In addition…the still-slumbering presence had only taken on a single apprentice; the Godking! This made the Godking’s status quite transcendental; so long as he didn’t commit a major error, the Godking would usually remain in control over the full forces of the Seamless Gates.

“The current master of the Grand Xia is a member of the Primordial Imperial Clan, Xiamang Sun. This Xia Emperor’s power is quite formidable,” the Godking said. “Azurefox commanded her forces to clash against the Xia Emperor numerous times, but at present she is losing!”

“Losing?”

All of the Immortals and Fiendgods looked towards Azurefox. They all knew that Azurefox was completely devoted to the Godking. Amongst the individuals present, some were fanatically loyal while some had been seduced by the great power the Seamless Gate had to offer, which was why they had joined. Even those, however, were afforded tremendous respect by the Seamless Gate, due to their own power.

“The reason why she is losing is because a new variable has emerged on the side of the Grand Xia’s Xia Emperor; a variable named Ji Ning,” the Godking said. “The Heaven Punisher he commands is incredibly powerful. As for exactly how powerful…spend some time chatting with Azurefox, and you’ll all understand.”

“Understood,” they all assented.

“I’ve summoned you here in such a cautious way because…I want you to launch a sneak attack.” The Godking’s eyes flashed with lightning.

“Sneak attack?”

Everyone present began to ponder.

“Right now, the Grand Xia is most likely celebrating their great success. I trust they are planning to completely wipe out Azurefox’s forces,” the Godking said. “After you all assemble at the world of the Grand Xia, stay in hiding; just accompany Azurefox and the others as they fight. When the time comes…all of you are to appear simultaneously. Wipe out all of the forces of the Xia Emperor. Leave no survivors!”

“Yes!” The Immortals and Fiendgods all grew eager.

An ambush?

An unexpected surprise. Given their power, they were indeed overwhelmingly more powerful and would indeed be capable of utterly crushing and slaughtering the Xia Emperor’s forces.

“The most important aspect to this ambush…is to be careful. No matter what, do not let this information leak out,” the Godking said solemnly. “Some of the major powers within the Nuwa Alliance are able to watch the entire Three Realms. That Subhuti in particular…he is Ji Ning’s master, and is most likely keeping an eye on the war for the Grand Xia. He’s also capable of using his [Dream of the Three Realms]…one he finds out, our ambush will fail.”

“So Ji Ning is Subhtui’s disciple.” All of the Immortals and Fiendgods were secretly surprised, and they grew even more wary of him.

This was because Daofather Subhuti was legendary for his ability to teach and train disciples.

“You have to be careful. For now, gather and remain in the Void beyond the Three Realms,” the Godking instructed. “That way, Subhuti will not be able to discover you. Then, go into hiding and have the two Jueming Immortals use their Protocosmic spirit-treasure to tear a hole to the Void, bringing you straight into Azurefox’s Seamless City. That way, even if Subhuti discovers the two of you, he’ll only think that you are there to provide reinforcements.”

Everyone below the throne nodded. Indeed. Right now, Azurefox’s Seamless Gate was losing. If she asked the Godking for reinforcements, and the Godking hadn’t decided to initiate a Realmwar…sending out the two Jueming Immortals as reinforcements was indeed his original plan. Thus, this sort of arrangement made sense and didn’t have any visible flaws.

“Remember. The most important component of this ambush is for it to remain a secret,” the Godking reminded them once again.

“Understood,” they all acknowledged.

All of them were quite eager. They would first wipe out all of the Xia Emperor’s forces, including the one named Ji Ning. Then, they would engage in a battle against the army of Daofather Crimsonbright. If they were able to wipe out the Xia Emperor’s forces, the Realmwar would be easier for them to win.

……

The Xia Emperor’s forces naturally were completely oblivious that the Godking was summoning his forces within the dreamworld.

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

The Xia Emperor was filled with complete confident right now. He stood in midair as he said in a loud voice, “Everyone, we are extremely close to victory. We need to seize this chance to kill more of the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Seamless Gate. We are going to expel them from the Grand Xia and make it so that they never again dare to invade. If they choose to fight to the death…then we will wipe them all out!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The countless gathered Immortals and Fiendgods all roared loudly. Their morale was at an all-time high…and the Xia Emperor was filled with confidence as well.

The entirety of Whitepole Commandery was trapped within his formation. Not even Greater Teleportation would allow anyone to enter this place. The only possibility was if someone forcibly tore a hole through space…but if that was to happen, he would definitely notice! Once he saw any signs that the Seamless Gate was being reinforced, he would ask Daofather Crimsonbright for help. Daofather Crimsonbright had promised the Xia Emperor that if the Xia Emperor was able to force the enemy to call for reinforcements, he would definitely help out.

“Let’s head to the Seamless City!” The Xia Emperor ordered.

Instantly, many grand formations began to take shape within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

One massive, towering Heaven Punisher after another began to take form, as well as the even more massive Pangu War-Formations. Although some Fiendgods had perished, most were still alive. The two remaining Pangu War-Formations had lent the destroyed one some of their forces, and so they were still able to form three of the Pangu War-Formations! That massively powerful Raindragon swam about in the air above them as well…and the Empyrean God golems were all activated.

The most powerful aura of them all, however…belonged to the Heaven Punisher that wielded two massive swords in its hands!

“KILL!” Military morale was at a peak as the mighty, awe-inspiring army suddenly vanished into thin air, having teleported outside the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

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Chapter 28 – Daofather Crimsonbright’s Reinforcements

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 28 – Daofather Crimsonbright’s Reinforcements

A short while later.

Ji Ning and the others returned to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Back already? Didn’t you just go out to fight a short while ago?” They were back in the military camp, and Yu Wei was looking towards Ning in surprise. The Immortals of the Darknorth Army had been sent back to their respective residences. As they returned, they were all chattering about how ‘the Seamless Gate was so cowardly that it was unwilling to even fight,’ and how ‘it seems as though the Seamless Gate recognizes that it is about to lose’.

Ning walked into his room, sitting down by a desk. He poured himself a glass of wine, then said with a smile, “The Seamless Gate is feeling nervous now. We were shouting for them to come fight for a long time, but they refused to come out.”

“If they are going to just hide there…then what should we do?” Yu Wei was worried.

“If they aren’t willing to fight, that’s a good thing.” Ning laughed. “Ideally, they’d never come out to fight again. So long as they don’t fight, the Grand Xia will remain the Xia Emperor’s, and the karmic luck of the Grand Xia will remain on our side.”

Yu Wei nodded gently.

“The Seamless Gate has two paths ahead of it right now,” Ning said. “The first path sees them abandoning their designs on the Grand Xia. The second path is for them to summon even more of their forces to take it by force. I hope they take the first path.”

Although Ning was filled with a desire to do battle, his wife was pregnant; he wanted to calmly and peacefully accompany her and watch his child be born.

“The Seamless Gate probably won’t just admit defeat like that,” Yu Wei said softly, thinking back to the world of darkness and the Godking within it.

Ning nodded. “Right. I’ve only killed True Immortal Crimsonjoy; the Seamless Gate hasn’t really been hurt yet. For them to admit defeat right away? The chances of that are very low.”

Ning reached out to gently stroke Yu Wei’s protruding belly. He couldn’t help but smile.

No matter what storms and tempests awaited him…there were some things he absolutely had to protect.

……

Within the Void beyond the Three Realms, on a shattered, destroyed planet that was covered in countless scars.

The scars had been left behind by a battle between two major powers. Atop this shattered planet, twenty nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had gathered, with more on the way.

“In this Realmwar, we will be following the three Diremonster Gods.”

“I’ve heard long ago of their power. This time, we’ll have a chance to see it for ourselves.”

The various figures began to chat with some of the more powerful Immortals and Fiendgods, paying the most attention to the ‘Three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater’. These three Diremonster gods were shockingly powerful, and were considered by their fellow Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as being nearly invincible. Each of the three were more powerful than the Xia Emperor or True Immortal Whitepole!

Their decision to join the Seamless Gate had utterly enraged the Nuwa Alliance upon the Nuwa Alliance finding out. Alas, there was nothing the Nuwa Alliance could do; both sides were doing their absolute best to recruit the powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms to their respective sides.

In the past, the Three Realms had been at peast. Many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were free and unaffiliated with any organizations. Now, with the storm having come, they had to choose a side. Only the most supreme of powers, such as Old Man Yuan’s faction, were still able to watch and wait.

“Everyone’s here.”

“All of our fellow Daoists have arrived.” Two Immortals who looked very similar to each other laughed. Both had large faces and were fairly chubby. One was dressed in white robes, while the other was dressed in gray robes that were loose enough to reveal his bare chest. These two were the exceptionally famous ‘Twin Jueming Immortals’.

“Fellow Daoists, please enter this gourd first.” The white-robed Immortal took out a gourd, opening its stopper.

This was merely an Immortal-ranked magic treasure; the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals present were more than capable of forcibly breaking their way out of it if needed.

“Alright.”

“Let’s go inside.”

“Let’s go.”

Instantly, one streak of light after another flew towards the mouth of the gourd. Afterwards, the white-robed Immortal plugged the gourd again, then slung it over his shoulders. Smiling, he said, “Elder brother, let’s go to Whitepole Commandery of the Grand Xia.”

“Right.” The gray-robed figure nodded, then immediately used a spatial technique to teleport straight to the world of the Grand Xia.

Next, the gray-robed figure took out a black Protocosmic spirit-treasure that looked like a ruler. He sliced it through the air, carving out a spatial corridor. Through the spatial corridor, one could see that the other side was connected to a location where a massive, towering black citadel lay hanging in the air. This was the Seamless City.

“Let’s go.” The two Jueming Immortals immediately flew into the corridor.

……

Within Whitepole Commandery. The hovering Seamless City. A spatial tear appeared in the air above the levitating city, and two chubby Immortals came out from the spatial tear, flying towards the Seamless City below.

“Our two fellow Daoists have arrived.”

“Fellow Daoist Jue and fellow Daoist Ming.”

Gatemaster Azurefox and True Immortal Whitepole all immediately went forward to greet the two, the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals right behind them. The likes of the Hallmaster, Empyrean God Beastleave, and Empyrean God Venomsong all called out in a very familiar manner. “So it’s the two Jueming Immortals. Now that you two have arrived, fellow Daoists, our side’s chances of gaining victory have increased greatly.”

“With your spells by our side, we’ll no longer have to fear the Grand Xia.”

Azurefox and Whitepole exchanged a few glances with the Twin Jueming Immortals. They didn’t even send any mental messages. All of them were being extremely cautious, for fear that the Nuwa Alliance would find out. If the Nuwa Alliance found out, they would lose their chance to ambush their foes.

……

The walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

The black-robed Xia Emperor was upon the walls, gazing at the vast wilderness outside and the distant Seamless City as he reflected quietly.

Suddenly…

Space trembled. The Xia Emperor’s grand formation had taken complete control over the surrounding million kilometers of space. Upon the Twin Jueming Immortals forcibly tearing a path to the Seamless City, the Xia Emperor immediately noticed.

“Eh?” The Xia Emperor frowned as he looked towards the spatial tear. Upon seeing the two chubby Immortals fly out from the spatial rift, the Xia Emperor immediately understood. “The Twin Jueming Immortals? It’s actually the two of them? The Seamless Gate really views me quite highly. Although these two Immortals cannot compare to Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher, their spells are quite formidable. With their spells supporting an army, the Seamless Gate’s total combat power will have risen by an entire level. If we continue to fight against them…it’s hard to say who would win!”

……

The seat of enlightenment of Daofather Crimsonbright.

The Daofather was seated upon his throne, with dozens of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals standing before him. They were all staring at the battle-scene that was playing out within the round mirror of light in midair. This was the Realmwar that was occurring within the Winesun Realm.

“Realmwars truly are vicious. This is the third time I’ve seen a Realmwar, but I still shudder at what I am seeing.”

“More than twelve of our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals have died within the Winesun Realm. The Seamless Gate has only lost seven!”

“The golems of the Seamless Gate truly are unequaled within the Three Realms. If they didn’t have so many terrifying golems, the Seamless Gate would’ve lost ago. Now, however…it’s Daofather Winesun’s side which is at a disadvantage.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all watching worriedly.

Although this war was going on within the Winesun Realm, Daofather Winesun and Daofather Crimsonbright were in the same alliance, after all. They all hoped that Daofather Winesun’s forces would gain victory; in fact, some of them itched to personally charge into the fray as well. However, they understood that it was up to the Daofathers to decide when they would join a battle.

The Daofathers would at most send a few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as reinforcements. If Daofather Crimsonbright sent all their forces…then once a Realmwar exploded within the Crimsonbright Realm, what were they to do?

The flames of war had spread across the entire Three Realms, after all; the Winesun Realm was merely one part of it.

“Miserable.”

“What a miserable sight.”

All of those who were watching the Realmwar take place felt their hearts shudder. Almost none of them had ever experienced such a catastrophic, miserable war.

“Master,” the Xia Emperor’s clone said respectfully.

“Mm?” Daofather Crimsonbright looked towards the Xia Emperor.

“Your disciple just discovered that the Seamless Gate’s branch in the Grand Xia has just received reinforcements. The Twin Jueming Immortals are now with them,” the Xia Emperor said.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who had been watching the Winesun Realm’s Realmwar all immediately turned their heads. No matter how important that war was, they still cared the most about the events within the Crimsonbright Realm.

“The Twin Jueming Immortals?” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded gently. He pondered a moment, glancing downwards. “Who amongst you is willing to go aid the Grand Xia and your fellow disciple, Xiamang, in defeating the Seamless Gate?”

“I am willing!”

Everyone replied in chorus. In the face of this great tribulation, no one could shirk back at all.

Daofather Crimsonbright smiled as he looked carefully at his host of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Some had their own major worlds to protect, while others had only sent their clones to this place. Soon, Daofather Crimsonbright’s gaze turned towards two solitary figures. “Snowdance, Evergreen, the two of you shall head to the Grand Xia and assist your senior apprentice-brother Xiamang.”

“Yes.”

Sword Immortal Evergreen and Fairy Snowdance naturally wouldn’t dare to disobey, and so they immediately assented to the order.

Both of them were solitary figures who were not attached to any worlds. They could be sent to any place where they were needed.

Suddenly…

Space itself began to grow blurry, especially the space around Daofather Crimsonbright, which became opaque and misty. There was no way at all one could see past the blurred space. This caused the Xia Emperor and the others to feel completely amazed; why would their master, Daofather Crimsonbright, suddenly unleash this sort of a formation?

……

Daofather Crimsonbright stared at his surroundings, puzzled. The space around him had already become completely twisted, and within the twisted, distorted space appeared a bearded old man dressed in Daoist robes. It was Subhuti.

“Subhuti,” Daofather Crimsonbright said in surprise, hurriedly rising to his feet. “Why’ve you come to my place? The last time you sought me out, it was for the sake of your disciple, Ji Ning. This time, you’ve come to speak to me again…is there something you need me to do? However, your disciple is doing well right now. The Heaven Punisher he commands has extraordinary power; he doesn’t need my help.”

“I’m not here to ask for your help; I’m here to help you,” Subhuti said.

“Help me?” Daofather Crimsonbright was puzzled.

Subhuti calmly sat down. Daofather Crimsonbright walked towards him, then waved his hand. A wooden table immediately appeared before them, covered with precious Immortal wines. He personally poured a cup of wine for Subhuti. Subhuti and Crimsonbright were on extremely good terms with each other; they had both been born from the primordial chaos, after all, and both were True Gods of Primordial Chaos. They had supported each other in life-and-death battles for many years, and in truth the relationship between them was no less than the relationship between Subhuti and Threelives had been.

“What is this about, exactly?” Daofather Crimsonbright asked.

“Just now, you were about to send your disciples to the Grand Xia, yes? You were sending them to the deaths.” Subhuti went straight to the heart of the matter: “Not just your two disciples; I imagine that few to none of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under Xiamang will survive. But of course, my disciple will definitely survive.”

With the seven Empyrean Gods protecting Ning…although the seven wouldn’t be able to overcome the ambushing army, they’d still be able to ensure that he could escape.

Daofather Crimsonbright was stunned.

“Don’t just sit there like a fool. The Realmwar for your Crimsonbright Realm is about to begin. All of your disciples and students have to fight for their lives, now.” Subhuti let out a sigh, then raised his head and downed a cup of wine.

“Realmwar?!” Daofather Crimsonbright shot to his feet, knocking aside his winecup, splashing wine all over the table.

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Chapter 29 – Openly And Honorably

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 29 – Openly And Honorably

“Subhuti…” Daofather Crimsonbright stared at Subhuti. He couldn’t resist from saying, “Is this really true?”

“Do you think I’d lie to you about something like this?” Subhuti sat there, calmly drinking his wine. “You shouldn’t be so shocked. We’ve already had multiple Realmwars against the Seamless Gate within the Three Realms. It isn’t odd for one to have begun within your Crimsonbright realm.”

Daofather Crimsonbright nodded slowly. Only now did he sit down, then sigh, “Right. Sooner or later, a Realmwar was going to come to my Crimsonbright Realm. But now that it really is happening…I still feel pained. My disciples…my students…they’ve been by my side for countless ages. They are all like my own children. But now, I’m going to watch them fight within a Realmwar…watch them die, one by one…”

Subhuti nodded slowly.

He, too, had many disciples; he knew exactly how Crimsonbright felt.

They were all born as True Gods of Primordial Chaos, and as such had no actual children. Their cherished disciples were as important to them as actual children were to ordinary mortals. This was amplified by the fact that they would often spend countless ages training and accompanying their disciples, resulting in extremely deep relationships.

Perhaps, as major powers, they would have the mental fortitude to watch one of their disciples die without interfering…but when nearly all of their disciples were facing possible death, of course they would truly feel heartache and panic. How many of them were truly willing to suddenly become alone and bereft of all their loved ones?

“Subhuti.” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded solemnly. “Thank you for your warning. If it wasn’t for you…Xiamang’s side would’ve been doomed.”

Subhuti just chuckled, lifting his cup of wine and continuing to drink in a leisurely fashion.

“Right. Since they plan to ambush Xiamang’s forces,” Crimsonbright suddenly said, “Should I do the same? I can openly send some limited reinforcements, while secretly prepare a vicious little trap for them. Shall we give them a taste of their own medicine?”

“Impossible.” Subhuti shook his head. “You know exactly how formidable the Seamless Gate’s intelligence network is. It is far too difficult for you to mobilize your forces without the Seamless Gate finding out! Even if we really were so lucky as to avoid discovery…do you have any idea as to how many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals the Seamless Gate has actually sent?”

“How many?” Crimsonbright immediately asked.

“Sixty-six,” Subhuti said calmly. “They include the six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian, and the Nine Cloudmist Fairies…”

Crimsonbright’s face instantly became ugly to behold.

“They also number amongst the ranks the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, who recently caused the Buddhists to suffer catastrophic losses,” Subhuti said.

“What? They came as well?” The look on Crimsonbright’s face completely changed. “But…but…this is merely a war against my Crimsonbright Realm. For the Seamless Gate to summon the six from Mount Tonglian and the nine from the Cloudmist Creek is one thing…but they even summoned the three from Mount Dragoneater?”

Unless a Daofather acted against them, it could be said that those three mighty Diremonster Gods were nigh-invincible.

“How should I know?” Subhuti shook hi shead. “No matter what, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater have indeed gone to the Grand Xia.”

What Subhuti didn’t realize…

Was that the reason why the Godking had sent the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater was because he wanted to neatly and cleanly get rid of the troublesome Ji Ning. As the Godking saw it, Ji Ning had already mastered a soul heartforce technique; once he became a Pure Yang True Immortal, his Heaven Punisher would probably be a match for those three Diremonster Gods, all by itself.

In truth, the Godking had guessed wrongly; the number of figures within the Three Realms who had truly mastered a soul heartforce technique could be counted on two hands. No matter how monstrously talented Ji Ning was, and despite him having been taught the [Heart Sutra] of Old Man Yuan, he had only been able to just barely gain a basic level of skill in the technique. He couldn’t even be considered as being an expert in it, much less have mastered it!

However, this decision to get rid of Ji Ning was indeed the right decision for the Seamless Gate. This was because, although Ning had only just reached a basic level of skill, as time went on his skills in the soul heartforce technique would only grow more and more profound, and he would prove to be a greater and greater threat.

“I’ve said everything I came to say,” Subhuti said. “Crimsonbright, deal with this information as you see fit.” After speaking, Subhuti disappeared into thin air, and the distorted field of space once more went back to normal.

Daofather Crimsonbright waved his hand, collecting the table of wine in front of him, then glanced downwards.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals seated below him could now see him again. They were all very puzzled, but none of them dared to ask.

“You’ve all seen the Winesun Realm’s Realmwar,” Daofather Crimsonbright said, pointing towards the round mirror of light.

Everyone present was puzzled.

What of it? Were they about to be sent as reinforcements?

“Your peaceful, relaxed days have come to an end. Our Crimsonbright Realm’s Realmwar has begun!” Daofather Crimsonbright continued calmly, “The major powers of the Seamless Gate have already sent a large group of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to descend upon the Grand Xia. They include the six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian, but we can discuss those details later. All you need to know for now is that their reinforcements include more than just the Twin Jueming Immortals; rather, their reinforcements include a total of sixty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, including the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater!”

Everyone’s faces changed.

Sixty-six?

Including the forces that the Seamless Gate already had within the Grand Xia, such as True Immortal Whitepole and Azurefox…didn’t that mean a total of nearly eighty would take part in the war? Eighty Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…what a terrifying force that was!

Could it be…

“This is now a Realmwar!” Daofather Crimsonbright looked downwards. “No one can escape it. Go and make your preparations for your various worlds. Protect them all securely. Any remaining forces are to be pooled together and sent to the Grand Xia.”

“Yes!” The Immortals and Fiendgods all assented solemnly.

The Xia Emperor’s body was covered in cold sweat. The Twin Jueming Immortals were actually…actually just a façade for the sixty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals? The Xia Emperor felt terrified just thinking about what would’ve happened.

“Those who do not need to go summon their armies or arrange for various logistics should head out immediately.” Daofather Crimsonbright began to give orders. “Head straight to Xiamang’s ‘Eight Dragons Cloudcity’ in an open, aboveboard manner. Put an end to the Seamless Gate’s fantasies of ambushing us!”

“Yes!”

……

Daofather Crimsonbright did have more than a hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under his command, but battles were currently occurring on various other major worlds as well; he had to leave some of them behind to protect his other major worlds. If he left none behind, the Seamless Gate would be able to effortlessly take them over. Thus, the number of individuals which Daofather Crimsonbright could employ was actually limited.

Of course, there were also lone wanderers such as Sword Immortal Evergreen, Fairy Snowdance, True Immortal Riverstar, and Empyrean God Fufang. The figures from the fairly stable major worlds could also be sent to the Grand Xia.

That very day, twenty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were sent to the Grand Xia as part of the first wave.

The Grand Xia. Whitepole Commandery. Outside the Seamless City, the black chains continued to rustle as they anchored the city into the void. Inside was a hubbub of noise.

To prevent the Xia Emperor from growing suspicious, True Immortal Whitepole and the others didn’t launch an immediate attack. Instead, they had done what they would normally do; they first held a welcoming banquet for the Twin Jueming Immortals. The plan was to call out the Xia Emperor’s forces after they finished the banquet! If they were too impatient, they wouldn’t achieve their desired goals. The more critical things were, the steadier one had to be in handling them!

“Come, drink!” True Immortal Whitepole laughed loudly. “Now that the Twin Jueming Immortals have arrived, we’ll be able to suppress the Xia Emperor’s side in terms of supportive spells. The power of our Empyrean God golems and Bloodcloud golems will improve greatly, giving us a chance to win!”

“Right. Spells and enchantments can have a huge impact on golems. We have far more golems than them; we were in desperate need of the Twin Jueming Immortals.”

“We can definitely win this battle.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were laughing and jesting about while drinking. Then, suddenly…

“Eh?”

All of their faces changed. They could clearly sense the enormous ripples that were being generated through a spatial rift being opened. The spatial rift in question was very close to them, after all.

“Let’s go take a look.” True Immortal Whitepole remained quite calm. Winecup still in hand, he chortled as he rose to his feet. He took a single step and appeared outside of the banquet hall.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! One after another, the experts all left the banquet hall and flew into the air above the Seamless City. They stared towards the distance.

And in the distance…

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity had appeared. Eight divine dragons were roving around it, giving it an aura that was even mightier than that of the Seamless City. A spatial rift had already appeared above it, and one Empyrean God and True Immortal after another began to emerge from the rift and fly towards the Eight Dragons Cloudcity below. These Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were chatting and jesting with each other, appearing to be quite relaxed.

“Empyrean Gods and True Immortals?”

“Those are the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under Daofather Crimsonbright.”

“So many…”

“How many have already entered the Eight Dragons Cloudcity? From the looks of it, there must be at least twenty of them. As to how many will arrive…hard to say.” They all had completely different looks on their faces as well.

The two chubby Jueming Immortals, who had been beaming merrily in a very amiable way, now had flat looks on their faces.

Flames of rage blazed in Azurefox’s eyes as well.

As the field marshal…True Immortal Whitepole, who had managed to remain calm up till now, could no longer remain calm.

Crack! The winecup in his hand shattered, breaking apart into tiny dust-like pieces. The wine splashed out, but before the wine even drew close to him, it froze into pieces of ice and fell to the ground.

“Damn! DAMN!!!” True Immortal Whitepole couldn’t refrain from cursing.

As the field marshal, the fact that he had been forced to request reinforcements had already deeply disappointed the Godking.

This ambush was extremely important. In an head-on fight in a Realmwar, killing ten Empyrean Gods and True Immortals was incredibly difficult and required an enormous cost to be paid. Their ambush, however, would’ve allowed them to easily and effortlessly wipe out the Xia Emperor’s forces. But now…they could all tell that their plot had failed.”

“How could it have failed?!” True Immortal Whitepole gritted his teeth. Almost. Almost! He had almost wiped out the Xia Emperor and all his forces.

……

“What’s going on?”

Within the military camps of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, quite a few Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals had emerged from their respective residences to stare up into the sky.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei actually flew out of the entire camp. They stood there in midair, watching.

Celestial Immortals Unity, Dustfloat, Whacko, Rainsoar, and Allbeasts were standing in midair and watching as well.

“This is…?”

An enormous rift had appeared in the skies, and one figure after another was flying out from it, each possessing auras of incredible power.

They had to be Empyrean Gods or True Immortals.

“So many of them?” Ning was somewhat stunned.

“Come to the main palace right away.” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out within the minds of Ji Ning, Celestial Immortal Unity, and the others.

“I need to go to the main palace,” Ning said to Yu Wei.

“Go.” Yu Wei nodded. Ning was a commander; he naturally had to participate in the discussions involving this momentous event.

Moments later…

The main palace. Xiamang was seated atop his throne in the principal position, while more than thirty Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, along with Ning and the rest of the five, were seated before him.

“We actually just gained twenty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. What in the world has happened, for us to suddenly gain so many? If we are to launch an ambush, why didn’t they come secretly? The entire region of a million kilometers around us is under the Xia Emperor’s control; he could’ve had them come in secret, then launch a sneak attack against the Seamless Gate.” Ning’s heart was filled with questions.

The Xia Emperor, seated up high on his throne, explained: “I imagine that none of you know what is going on. The reason why Master has sent so many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to reinforce us…is because the Seamless Gate is about to launch a Realmwar against our Crimsonbright Realm, and the location shall be our Grand Xia.”

“Realmwar?” Ning and the others were all stunned.

“True Immortal Whitepole hasn’t merely invited the Twin Jueming Immortals; he’s actually gained a total of sixty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals,” the Xia Emperor said solemnly. He paused for a moment, giving Ning and the others some time to digest this stunning information, then continued. “However, our side has discovered their plot, and so Master has first sent a vanguard of thirty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, with the main army arriving later.”

“My fellow disciples already knkow about all of you,” the Xia Emperor said with a laugh. “However, I imagine that most of you don’t recognize them.”

Ning and the others all nodded.

“Let me make the introductions. This is my senior apprentice-brother, Hiddenvoid. Senior apprentice-brother Hiddenvoid was the first to follow Master, and the Hiddenvoid Formation he created is quite incredible,” the Xia Emperor said. “This is my junior apprentice-sister Snowdance…”

However, the gazes of these twenty-plus Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were focused on and shifted between Sword Immortal Evergreen and Ji Ning.

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Chapter 30 – The Daofathers Descend

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 30 – The Daofathers Descend

The Xia Emperor made the introductions, one by one. Ji Ning had heard of some of these Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, although he had never met them before. There were also some he had never heard of. Not everyone was as famous as Lu Dongbin, after all…but one’s power couldn’t be judged by one’s fame. Some especially reclusive Empyrean Gods and True Immortals might have power comparable to Lu Dongbin’s.

“This is junior apprentice-brother Evergreen,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said with a laugh as he glanced towards Ji Ning.

Sword Immortal Evergreen?

Ning was startled. He gave Sword Immortal Evergreen a careful look. This was a young man who had a strange-looking face and an outstanding aura of talent. He couldn’t help but muse to himself, “So he is Sword Immortal Evergreen? The Xia Emperor once asked him to accept me as his disciple, and he agreed, transferring a message talisman to me. However…I instead went to Mount Innerheart and didn’t take him on as my teacher.” Ning felt somewhat apologetic towards this Sword Immortal Evergreen; after all, he had gone off to Mount Innerheart without saying a thing. Although Sword Immortal Evergreen’s instructions were that if Ning let ten days pass without shattering the talisman, he would take it as Ning having refused…Ning had slipped out in a rather stealthy fashion, afraid that the Xia Emperor would stop him. To be fair, that wasn’t the most straightforward and honest of actions.

“In the past, Ji Ning nearly became apprenticed to junior apprentice-brother Evergreen,” the Xia Emperor said with a laugh. “Come to think of it, it can be said that there are karmic ties between the two of you.”

“Respectful greetings, senior Evergreen,” Ning immediately said. “Back then, I ignored your good intentions…”

“Back then, I didn’t actually want to take you on as my disciple.” Sword Immortal Evergreen spoke quite calmly. “Because Master instructed it, I agreed to take you on as my disciple. I’ve never been good at teaching disciples; if you had followed me, you probably wouldn’t be as accomplished as you are now. It is good that you have become apprenticed to a Daofather.”

These words contained arrogance within them; it was as though Evergreen was implying that he had never taken notice of Ning, and that Ning should be thankful that he was lucky enough to become apprenticed to a Daofather. His words were as sharp as a sword, and they caused Ning to feel startled.

“This Sword Evergreen Immortal…he really cares nothing about friendship at all,” Fairy Rainsoar mused to herself.

“If I were Ji Ning…just based on his attitude alone, I wouldn’t even bother to speak to this man,” Celestial Immortal Unity mused silently to himself as well.

The Xia Emperor laughed. “Ji Ning, junior apprentice-brother Evergreen is always by himself in seclusion, and is a Sword Immortal; his bones are steeped in pride. Although his words are often unpleasan to the ear, he doesn’t have any ill intentions.”

“Right. My words are indeed unpleasant to hear; I say whatever I wish to say.” Sword Immortal Evergreen looked towards Ning as well.

“Senior, you are a straightforward man.” Ning smiled, not saying anything else.

There were some people whom you simply couldn’t converse peaceably with.

He had previously felt a hint of embarrassment, but this simple interaction made Ning feel certain that it was best for him to keep his distance.

……

The Xia Emperor held a special celebratory banquet for the newcomers. Although Sword Immortal Evergreen was cold and arrogant, there were many other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals present. With so many people there, things naturally became quite lively, and so this Immortal banquet was a joyful one.

While the Xia Emperor was relaxing in a carefree manner, True Immortal Whitepole of the Seamless Gate was having an absolutely miserable time.

Within the vast world of darkness.

True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox, the two fellow disciples, were both on their knees. The towering, black-robed figure seated upon that distant, massive throne caused them to feel dread in their hearts.

“Godking, please pardon us for our crimes,” True Immortal Whitepole said nervously.

Although he was the Godking’s disciple, he still usually referred to him as ‘Godking’ rather than ‘Master’.

The Godking had a heart that was as cold as ice. When he gave instructions to his subordinates, he usually only cared about the results. Their ‘sneak attack’ plan had died in the cradle; they hadn’t even had the chance to initiate it. Although this really had nothing to do with True Immortal Whitepole, in the Godking’s heart…the value and trust he placed in Whitepole had dropped dramatically.

“Daofather Ink Bamboo will descend upon the Grand Xia for this Realmwar. He will take control over everything,” the Godking said.

“A Daofather is descending?” True Immortal Whitepole and Gatemaster Azurefox were both stunned.

Daofather Ink Bamboo was one of the oldest members of the Seamless Gate, who had been alive when it had first been founded. He had experienced the war that resulted in the destruction of the Primordial Era, and had managed to safely survive it. However, since the Godking’s status was very special due to the fact that he was the sole disciple of that slumbering presence, Daofather Ink Bamboo was willing to assist the Godking.

“Whitepole, you have deeply disappointed me. There is no way I can possibly let you manage the Realmwar now,” the Godking said. “Thus, Daofather Ink Bamboo shall personally manage it. But of course, he won’t personally intervene. Once the Daofathers begin to personally intervene, it’s possible that the Endwar will suddenly happen, earlier than we intend.”

If Daofather Ink Bamboo dared to attack, then the Nuwa Alliance’s major powers would strike out as well. The other Daofathers of the Seamless Gate would then help Ink Bamboo…and so the battle would quickly escalate, resulting in the Endwar.

Neither side wished to launch the Endwar in advance, because the results of such a war would be catastrophic. Even the victor would suffer terrible losses.

“Your subordinate understands,” both Whitepole and Azurefox said respectfully.

“I’ll send squads of Immortal armies to reinforce you. Since we cannot ambush them, then let us build up our strength. Once we are fully prepared, we’ll make our move,” the Godking instructed.

“Yes.” Whitepole and Azurefox kowtowed.

Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were very important in Realmwars, but having vast armies of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals was also very important.

In sufficient numbers, they could kill even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods!

The reason why they had ‘only’ sent out sixty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals earlier was for the sake of ambushing their foes; thus, they hadn’t sent out their armies of Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals. The armies would cause too much of a stir; there was no way to hide such a massive mobilization.

……

Time passed, one day after the other.

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity and the Seamless City both remained there in midair, facing each other. Neither side called out the other for battle. A strange peace had arrived…but this sort of peace caused every Immortal and Fiendgod on both sides to feel as though a terrible storm was pressing towards them. What was coming next…was the eruption of a terrifying Realmwar!

“Imperial Majesty.” Ji Ning was meeting the Xia Emperor by himself.

“Ji Ning?” The Xia Emperor was seated atop his throne, flipping through a few books. Smiling, he said, “Sit.”

Ning sat down. He couldn’t help but ask, “Imperial Majesty, the countless Immortals of our six Heaven Punishers are feeling uneasy and nervous. When, exactly, shall we begin our fight against the Seamless Gate? Or shall we have a long-lasting truce? It’s best if we can give a clear answer, so as to calm everyone’s minds.”

Fear of the unknown was one of the greatest of fears.

“Oh. This is my fault.” The Xia Emperor understood. “My clone has been by Master’s side at his seat of enlightenment this entire time, helping to make the arrangements for the various armies. I forgot about the many Immortals within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.”

Ning looked at the Xia Emperor.

“This Realmwar…the twenty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that arrived earlier are all people who don’t have things tying them down, which was why they were in the first wave. There are others who will be coming as well. Most importantly of all, there are many Immortals coming; the number of summoned Celestial Immortals is in excess of three hundred thousand,” the Xia Emperor said.

“Three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals?” Ning called out in shock.

Good heavens!

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. The Grand Xia alone has ten thousand Celestial Immortals,” the Xia Emperor said. “Master is in control over dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds. With so many major worlds embroiled in war, many new Celestial Immortals have been birthed through their experiences. The Crimsonbright world which Master himself created has a particularly high number of Celestial Immortals. The total number of Celestial Immortals under Master’s command has to be over a million.”

“A million Celestial Immortals?” Ning couldn’t breathe.

“However…that’s in the past. Even our Grand Xia has seen three thousand Celestial Immortals turn traitor, thanks to the blandishments of the Seamless Gate. I imagine that in the entire Crimsonbright Realm, at least a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals have been induced to join the Seamless Gate. The total number of Celestial Immortals currently under Master’s command is now probably less than a million,” the Xia Emperor said.

Ning agreed.

Before the Seamless Gate appeared, the likes of the Youngflame clan and True Immortal Whitepole were, on the surface at least, subordinate to Daofather Crimsonbright.

Once the storm arrived…many lines were drawn. Daofather Crimsonbright’s forces had indeed been weakened.

“Because many other major worlds need to be stabilized as well, it was quite hard for three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals to be gathered here,” the Xia Emperor said. “If we squeezed our resources a bit more, we might be able to summon another two hundred thousand Celestial Immortals…but the amount of pressure that would place on the other major worlds of the Crimsonbright Realm is too great.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“More than three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals, and tens of millions of Loose Immortals.” The Xia Emperor continued, “In addition, my elder brother, Daofather Raindragon, has sent some reinforcements as well. Based on what our Daofathers have learned, the Seamless Gate has sent Daofather Ink Bamboo to personally command their forces in this Realmwar…and so Master will accompany his grand army of three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals. He will descend upon the Grand Xia and take personal command of this war.”

Ning’s heart clenched.

How terrifying.

So this was how a war between Immortals was?

Both sides would have Daofather commanders and dozens of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, hundreds of thousands of Celestial Immortals, and tens of millions of Loose Immortals.

“This is a Realmwar!” The Xia Emperor stared at Ning. “Both sides are frantically summoning as many soldiers and generals as they can in an attempt to build up as much power as possible before launching the war. Once the war stars…I truly can’t even imagine how many Immortals are going to die. During this preparatory time period, you need to focus on your training. Ideally, you would become a Pure Yang True Immortal. That way, the Immortals under your command will pose a greater threat to the Seamless Gate.”

Ning nodded slowly.

He did indeed have to start training harder.

Although he had already become a Pure Yang True Immortal, he hadn’t even reached the expert level in his soul heartforce technique. Every day, he had some new insights into the soul heartforce technique; given enough time, his power would continue to increase until the day came for him to reach the level of mastery in it. Upon reaching that level…Ning couldn’t even imagine how powerful his Heaven Punisher would be. One thing was certain; by then, the amount of natural energy absorbed by a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals would definitely be insufficient. He would need more Immortals.

“Calm your mind and enjoy this final period of peace before the great war erupts anew,” the Xia Emperor said, looking at Ning. “Once both sides have finished their preparations…I’m not even sure if I will survive that war. If half of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals survive, that would be an excellent result.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

……

Ning spent the following days with his wife while diligently training in his soul heartforce technique. The full attention of both his true body and his Primaltwin were focused on the soul heartforce technique, because it was this technique that would allow him to reach a high level of power as fast as possible.

All the Immortals within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity knew that these were the final days of peace they would see. The Realmwar was coming. The mood within the city became noticeably heavier.

New Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were constantly descending upon the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, until finally…one day…

BOOM!

The entire world of the Grand Xia seemed to shudder.

Ning had been seated in the lotus position with his eyes closed, focusing on the soul heartforce technique. He immediately charged out and flew into the skies, and right away he saw that in the air above the black Seamless City, an utterly enormous spatial corridor had appeared. A tall, skinny man whose unbound hair seemed to gleam with infinite darkness stepped out from the spatial corridor, entering the Grand Xia.

He looked rather ordinary, but he radiated a halo of infinite darkness. Behind him appeared an enormous, swaying bamboo stalk that was thirty thousand meters tall, causing Ning and the others to feel a sense of oppression.

Ning, a Pure Yang True Immortal, still felt a sense of oppression. One could only imagine the nameless dread which Celestial Immortal Unity and the others felt!

“Daofather!” Ning immediately recognized what this individual had to be.

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Chapter 31 – Military Strength

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 31 – Military Strength

“Daofather Ink Bamboo?”

Upon seeing the titanic, swaying bamboo stalk, Ji Ning instantly guessed at who this was. There were only so many major powers within the Three Realms. If the man hadn’t shown off his trademark, Ning wouldn’t have been able to tell, but since he did, it became an easy guess.

From what he had heard…Daofather Ink Bamboo was famous for being ‘unkillable’. His true body was that of a stalk of inky-green bamboo that was filled with boundless vitality. By relying on his special life techniques, he had managed to survive even the great tribulation that had destroyed the Primordial Era.

“That must be Daofather Ink Bamboo. Just looking at him from afar makes my heart quiver. That halo of darkness around him…I can sense that if I touch it, I’ll definitely die.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a Daofather.”

“A Daofather who controls a Heavenly Dao…I truly wonder how powerful Daofathers really are…”

The entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity was filled with discussions.

Loose Immortals made up the vast majority of the population within the city, after all; when Daofather Crimsonbright had summoned his million Celestial Immortals, the Celestial Immortals of the Crimsonbright Realm had seen him in person, broadening their horizons. The countless Loose Immortals, however…they truly didn’t have a chance to see Daofathers in person. This time, however…they saw Daofather Ink Bamboo.

“I heard that Daofather Crimsonbright will descend as well, for the sake of this Realmwar.”

“I wonder what Daofather Crimsonbright looks like.”

Everyone was filled with eagerness.

……

Three months after Daofather Ink Bamboo descended upon the Grand Xia, Daofather Crimsonbright descended as well.

On that day, the Xia Emperor had summoned Ning and the others to respectfully await his arrival. Even the solitary, arrogant Sword Immortal Evergreen was behaving with complete decorum.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the entire world shook once more.

And then…an unbelievably massive chasm appeared within the skies above them, many tens of thousands of meters long. An azure-haired old man strode out from within it. Taking a single step, he entered the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Master.”

“Daofather.”

The Xia Emperor was the first to call out respectfully. After he did so, Ning and the others all bowed respectfully.

A single glance; that was all it took for Ning to form a deep impression of Daofather Crimsonbright in his mind. Daofather Crimsonbright was a very old, very solemn and silent individual. Looking at him was like looking at an ancient tree that had existed for countless ages.

Daofather Crimsonbright swept the host with his eyes, his gaze falling upon Ning. “Subhuti’s always had a strange disposition. He’s clearly taught an entire host of students, but he doesn’t command them to fight with him, instead letting them remain scattered across the Three Realms. This young apprentice of his, Ji Ning, clearly has tremendous potential, and Subhuti clearly cares about him deeply. And yet…Ji Ning is now following me instead of him.” Sometimes, Daofather Crimsonbright truly didn’t understand this old friend of his.

Subhuti had a very strange disposition. Or perhaps it could be said that he was excessively detached!

He clearly had a large group of extremely powerful disciples. If he gave the order, Subhuti’s many disciples would flock to his banner, immediately resulting in the creation of a force that was as powerful as the Four Ancestors of the River Source. If Subhuti truly put all of his resources into building up such a force, it would probably become even more powerful than the forces of the Four Ancestors of the River Source.

And yet…Subhuti had no intentions of commanding his disciples at all.

Daofather Crimsonbright didn’t understand. None of the major powers of the Three Realms understood. The feeling which Subhuti gave many of the major powers of the Three Realms was that of mysteriousness, and so he was acclaimed as the most mysterious Daofather of the Three Realms.

Rumble…

After Daofather Crimsonbright descended unto the Grand Xia, the massive chasm in the skies above remained open. A throng of Immortals began to flood in through the massive chasm in an awe-inspiring stream. The flood of Immortals seemed endless! They flew out from the chasm, then flew straight towards the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

One great Immortal army after another…

The number of armies was far, far greater than the number which the Grand Xia itself had!

“Wo…wow…”

“This is really…”

“This is too…heavens…”

Even Ning felt breathless. As for the Celestial Immortal and Loose Immortal soldiers of the Grand Xia who were on duty and unable to leave their camps, they watched this sight breathlessly.

There was no limit to them!

It was like a flood! A flood of Immortals and Fiendgods!

“Compared to this…the so-called celestial soldiers and celestial generals of the Celestial Court aren’t worth a damn. I heard that the Celestial Court has several armies with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the weakest of whom are merely at the Primal Daoist level. Celestial Immortals are high-ranking members of the Celestial Court, while the Celestial Emperor himself would frantically try to befriend any Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who appear. If this Immortal army before us went to the Celestial Court, they would wipe it out in the blink of an eye.”

“Right. I can see millions of Immortals.”

“Millions? There has to be at least ten million.”

“Those Fiendgods as well; there is definitely more than ten million of them.”

The soldiers of the Darknorth army camp and the other army camps of the Grand Xia had their horizons broadened today. The Grand Xia, all by itself, was comparable to the Celestial Court in power. The Realmwar before them…Daofather Crimsonbright had summoned all of his usable forces for it. This was the might one of the true hegemons of the Three Realms could summon, might which vastly surpassed that of the Celestial Court.

However, this sort of massive scale mobilizations only occurred during truly great tribulations.

……

Within the dark Seamless City.

The tall, skinny Daofather Ink Bamboo was standing atop the city walls. Behind him was a host of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, and all of them stared towards the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“They have quite a few Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said with a laugh.

“Daofather Crimsonbright is just putting on a show of force for us; the number of Immortal soldiers we have on our side isn’t lower than his.” The three Diremonster Gods who stood closest to Daofather Ink Bamboo were the three who had come from Mount Dragoneater.

Mount Dragoneater had three mighty Diremonster Gods.

The boss was the Great Sage Who Swallows the Mountains.

The second was the Great Sage Who Swallows the Seas.

The third was the Great Sage Who Swallows the Skies.

Each of them had resoundingly shocking titles. When they had first given themselves these nicknames during the Primordial Era, it had been viewed by many as something of a joke. These three had styled themselves in a manner imitating that of the Seven Great Sages, who had been powerful Empyrean Gods during the Primordial Era. By now, the seven were even more unfathomably powerful than they had been. The three from Mount Dragoneater had grown increasingly powerful as well, and by now there was no one who dared to mock them for overestimating their abilities.

The three of them were invincible against anyone weaker than a Daofather.

“Second brother, we do indeed have as many Immortals and Fiendgods as they do, but many have yet to arrive.” The lion-headed Diremonster God Skyswallow rubbed his mouth as he spoke.

“The military strength of the Seamless Gate is still a bit weaker than the Nuwa Alliance’s, making it harder for us to mobilize,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said calmly. “We have to rely on our advantage in intelligence reports in order to effectively use our forces.”

Their intelligence reports were very formidable, allowing them to use just thirty percent of their military power to achieve hundred percent effectiveness.

Fortunately, the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had formidable tools at their disposal as well which also allowed them to discover many things. Otherwise, they would’ve been defeated in this war for karmic luck long ago.

“Although we are weaker, we’re still capable of guarding this city,” Azurefox said with a smile.

“Right.” Daofather Ink Bamboo nodded. “Even if they attack, all we have to do is defend for now. After all of our forces arrive, we’ll give them a real fight. Victory over a single major world usually isn’t that important, but this is a Realmwar. All of you should understand that you have only one path open to you; the path of victory.”

Everyone, including the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, nodded solemnly.

Once they lost, it would be hard for them to flee and escape. Many, many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the defeated side would perish.

Comparatively speaking, the victors would suffer lighter casualties.

This was because the true slaughter would occur once one side was completely routed. That was when the most Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would perish!

Don’t want to be massacred?

Then win!

……

The awe-inspiring Immortal armies and Fiendgod armies had all gathered at the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Fortunately, the city spanned ten thousand kilometers, and could also transform to become even greater in size; naturally, everyone was able to fit inside.

“These tens of millions Fiendgods are enough to form into seventy-eight Pangu War-Formations.” Daofather Crimsonbright was seated high up on his throne, a smile on his face as he gave his orders. “They shall be commanded by Empyrean God Fufang, Empyrean God Kindwater, Empyrean God Willowtemple…”

“These twenty-six Empyrean Gods shall each command three Fiendgod armies.”

“Yes.”

Instantly, the twenty-six Empyrean Gods all assented respectfully.

Not one of them disobeyed the Daofather’s order.

The twenty-six Empyrean Gods all immediately used cloning techniques. Empyrean Gods could easily create multiple clones of themselves. In a real battle, however, the fewer clones one created, the more powerful one would be. When these twenty-six each split into three clones, they sent each clone to command one of their three Fiendgod armies. Although their power was weakened due to the three-way split, resulting in weaker Fiendgod armies, they were still much more powerful than any Void-level Fiendgod commander.

In addition, with one Empyrean God commanding three Fiendgod army squads, each of the three would be able to better reinforce and support the other two.

“The forces that Daofather Raindragon sent…according to what Daofather Raindragon said, you eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals shall continue to command those eighteen Raindragon armies,” Daofather Crisonbright said.

Instantly, eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals stood up to salute.

These were the reinforcements which Daofather Raindragon had sent. In truth, Daofather Raindragon had only sent reinforcements due to the relationship he had with the Xia Emperor, as well as the fact that the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater had been pulled into this war.

“The remaining Immortal armies shall be divided up to form 326 Heaven Punishers,” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a laugh. “The Heaven Punisher Formation is even better suited for battle than the Crimsonbright Formation I previously created. My 326 generals…I am entrusting you with these Immortals.”

“Yes.”

Instantly, twelve Empyrean Gods/True Immortals and 314 Celestial Immortals all rose to their feet, with Ning amongst the ranks of the Celestial Immortals.

“The Empyrean God golems and the other tools shall be left in the hands of Xiamang,” Daofather Crimsonbright said. “Alright…the Seamless Gate is completely focusing on defense for now. I imagine they will need some time to gather all of their forces. I expect that the great war will begin within a year. Previous commanders of the Crimsonbright Formation need to quickly become familiarized with the Heaven Punisher Formation. Now, all of you can leave.”

“Yes.” Everyone rose to their feet, then departed.

Even the Xia Emperor departed. As soon as he left the main palace, he mentally sent to Ning, “Ji Ning, Master gave me a special order; he told me to place an extra two thousand Celestial Immortals and two hundred thousand Loose Immortals under your command.”

“Eh?” Ning was puzzled.

“This way, you’ll have a total of three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals under your command, allowing you to form into an even more powerful Heaven Punisher,” the Xia Emperor said. “You are perfectly suited for your role as the commander of your Heaven Punisher; naturally, you need to be given more Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals.”

The Perfect Heaven Punisher Formation involved a commander, 9000 Celestial Immortals, and 810,000 Loose Immortals.

“Fine.” Ning smiled. If the Xia Emperor hadn’t raised it, Ning was planning to do so himself. This was because Ning had made some additional improvements in his soul heartforce technique during this temporary ceasefire; he was now able to control 100% of the power of a Heaven Punisher formed from merely a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals.

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Chapter 32 – War Erupts

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 32 – War Erupts

“I’ll send the Immortals to your army camp right away. You need to quickly accustomize yourself to commanding three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals. The power of your Heaven Punisher will increase yet again; perhaps, at a critical moment in the war, I’ll have to rely on you to save my life,” the Xia Emperor laughed. “However, you have to be careful. The most outstanding tree within a forest is often the first to be felled. You’ll most likely suffer attacks from many members of the Seamless Gate.”

“Understood.” Ji Ning nodded.

“Ideally, you should keep some power hidden in reserve. If you suddenly unleash it at a critical moment in a battle, you can have a major impact on the course of the war,” the Xia Emperor reminded.

“Right.” Ning smiled and nodded.

He hadn’t even told his master, Subhuti, that he had become a Pure Yang True Immortal. By now, he had already created the twelfth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], a stance which encompassed the entire Dao of the Sword. However, he had never before displayed this technique, nor had he spoken to anyone of his improvements in soul heartforce.

……

Time flowed onwards.

Nine months passed in the blink of an eye.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position within a private room inside his residence.

The Pure Yang Jindan within his body was swollen with golden light, and its luster had become an even denser color.

A series of ripples were currently emanating from his Jindan, ripples caused by the merging of his soul into it. The invisible, untouchable power known as ‘heartforce’ was constantly sending commands to his soul. He was meditating nonstop on the soul heartforce technique. When meditating, he would often meet with many puzzling problems. Ning would either ponder them alone, or compare them to the information he had in the [Heart Sutra] in the hopes that he might be inspired.

There naturally were differences between Ning’s technique and Old Man Yuan’s technique, but they sprang from the same foundation and had certain similarities. This was of assistance to Ning in terms of speeding up his meditations.

“Everyone, the Seamless Gate is prepared for battle.” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out by the ears of the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and commanders.

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity was the Protocosmic spirit-treasure of the Xia Emperor; he was able to send out these messages with ease.

“Prepared for battle?” Startled, Ning immediately came to a halt.

Whoosh.

He pushed open the door to his private room, then walked out. Yu Wei gave Ning a puzzled glance. “Why have you ended your training so quickly?”

“The war is about to start again,” Ning said.

“Right now?” Yu Wei’s face completely changed.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“I had thought that I’d be able to give birth to our child first.” Yu Wei stroked her belly, which was very large by now. One could tell just by looking at her that childbirth was imminent.

She had a very gentle look in her eyes as she stroked her belly, a look that was filled with motherly love. She said softly, “I can feel our baby kicking about in my belly. It’s very likely that I’ll give birth in just another month or two.”

“I, too, was hoping that the war would only start after our child was born. Unfortunately…that’s not up to me,” Ning sighed.

“You have to take care of yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard. We have an absolutely massive Immortal army, while you are just one man.” Yu Wei looked at Ning.

“I know.” Ning nodded.

Forget about him; even if the seven Empyrean Gods all came out, they would most likely only be able to have a small, localized impact on the Realmwar. The three hundred Heaven Punishers alone were comparable to three hundred Empyrean Gods in power!

“Don’t worry about me. I have to go now.” Ning immediately turned and walked towards the outside.

Yu Wei had a look of worry in her eyes as she watched Ning leave.

A Realmwar…

No matter how much faith she had in Ning, she still felt fear in her heart.

“You have to survive,” Yu Wei murmured softly to herself as Ning left.

“DARKNORTH ARMY, ASSEMBLE!” Ning’s voice rang out, shaking the entire Darknorth army camp.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Instantly, the voices of hundreds of thousands of Immortals could be heard as they called out their assent and started to join into formation.

……

Of all the formations that were in the airspace of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, the utterly massive Pangu War-Formations were the most eye-catching. Although there were only seventy-eight Fiendgod armies, their formations took up more than half of the available space. Next to them was a total of 324 Heaven Punishers, each one thirty thousand meters tall and clad in nothing more than fur loincloths.

Around them flew the sinuous Raindragons.

There were also many Empyrean God golems as well as some Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

“The Seamless Gate is no longer focusing exclusively on defense.” Ning stood there in midair, staring at the scene outside. The distant battlefield now held ancient, towering Godbeasts, Fiendgods, and many powerful golems. There were also many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals; they looked small and unremarkable, but they absolutely could not be underestimated. The army outside had already summoned so much natural energy from Heaven and Earth that the distant skies had turned dim, with dark clouds filling the skies.

“The Daofather has arrived.”

“Daofather.”

Ning immediately noticed as Daofather Crimsonbright appeared in the distance. Instantly, the massive armies that were hovering in the air above the Eight Dragons Cloudcity became completely silent.

Daofather Crimsonbright swept his gaze past each and every one of them. “This,” he said calmly, his voice carrying a terrifying desire for battle, “Is the war between my entire Crimsonbright Realm and the Seamless Gate. There is no way to avoid, no way to escape this battle. Our only choice is to face it head-on! If you want to survive, then there is only one path forward…to completely wipe out the Seamless Gate!”

“Either we perish, or the Seamless Gate perishes!” Daofather Crimsonbright now had a terrifying look in his eyes, a look of murder.

Even the elderly-looking Daofather Crimsonbright had a savage side to him, at a time like this!

Only those who had experienced that ancient war of the Primordial Era would truly understand that there really was no way out of a great tribulation like this. Even figures as powerful as the Four Ancestors of the River Source would eventually have to choose an alliance, once the final Endwar came. Anyone who tried to avoid the war would be assailed and killed by both camps. Neither side would allow any True Gods or Daofathers to stand aloof and potentially mop up the survivors!

Two sides!

Only one side could survive!

“Go forth and conquer!” Daofather Crimsonbright finally gave the order. “Kill them all!”

“Kill them all!”

“Kill them all!”

“KILL THEM ALL!”

Countless angry roars shook the skies, causing the ground itself to tremble, as though the world was about to burst apart.

In the past, these Immortals may have been as graceful as the wind and as pure as the clouds. Now, however, they had all become as savage and berserk as demons. In the past, they may have enjoyed limitless lifespans, allowing them to roam about in a leisurely fashion, wandering the Three Realms and making new friends. In the face of this storm, however…the murderous impulses that lurked deep within the bones of the Immortals and Fiendgods would be completely unleashed. This was a great war of two opposing paths, of two opposing Daos; for me to live, you had to die. This was more than just a war; it was a struggle for survival!

Rumble…

The massive armies shot through the skies, flying outside.

As for the Seamless Gate’s forces, they stood in perfect formation, waiting and watching coldly as the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces came forth.

The awesome presence of these armies was enough to cause the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to quiver in terror. In the end, however, they were nothing more than tiny chess pieces, just parts of a greater formation. They had entrusted their commanders with their fates, with Ning holding the lives and destinies of three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals in his hands. Ning’s personal prowess, in turn, made it so that each of his soldiers were extremely respectful towards him.

……

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!!

One Heaven Punisher after another descended, landing on the ground and causing it to tremble violently. The Raindragons flew about around them, while the utterly massive Fiendgod armies emanated the mightiest auras of all.

The two sides faced off against each other, both of their auras equally terrifying.

“Once Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals are gathered in such frightening numbers, even someone like myself would have to give way before them.” Daofather Ink Bamboo stood atop the walls of the Seamless City, a smile on his face. He sighed, “Those Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in particular…the most powerful of them are almost comparable to Daofathers in might.”

The most powerful Empyrean God in the entire history of the Three Realms was Houyi!

Perhaps there were some other monstrously talented Empyrean Gods who were able to give Daofathers a fight and live to tell the tale, but when Houyi was an Empyrean God…he had actually KILLED a Daofather! Of course, Houyi eventually broke through to become a True God himself, at which point his reputation and his power grew to an even more incredible level. He was publicly acknowledged as the number one divine archer of the Three Realms, and he came up with the systemized heartforce archery technique known as [Houyi’s Archery].

This was the one and only heartforce technique that was completely systemized, allowing anyone to train in it. The techniques which Ning had come up with, for example, were only suitable for himself to train in; there was no way he could teach it to someone else, no matter how hard he tried. Old Man Yuan, in turn, had simply provided Ning with the sum of his own personal experiences, allowing Ning to benefit from them in coming up with his own ideas.

Alas, this great divinity Houyi, who had caused the entire Three Realms to quiver in terror during the Primordial Era, had completely vanished.

“Crimsonbright?” Daofather Ink Bamboo stared into the distance.

Daofather Crimsonbright stood there atop the distant walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, staring towards the Seamless City.

These two Daofathers stared at each other from afar. As their gazes met, it was as though a streak of black light had suddenly clashed against a streak of azure light, causing space itself to tremble.

“Crimsonbright, long time no see!” Daofather Ink Bamboo said.

“Indeed, long time no see. Only…it would be better if you died and I never saw you again,” Daofather Crimsonbright said coldly.

Everyone on their side, be it Subhuti or Crimsonbright, felt nothing more than the utmost of enmity towards the Seamless Gate.

This sort of enmity had existed from the eareliest of days.

This was why Subhuti, Crimsonbright, and the others were so utterly enraged that Old Man Yuan was just watching without choosing a side. As Subhuti and the others saw it, he shouldn’t have even hesitated to stand with the Nuwa Alliance.

“Me? Die? Haha…I, Ink Bamboo, specialize in staying alive. During those bygone years, when I followed his Majesty, we nearly wiped you out.” Daofather Ink Bamboo sighed. “Alas…in the end, Nuwa actually broke through to Pangu’s level. Otherwise, you would’ve been doomed. Now, the storm has risen once again…and this time, you won’t be able to escape it. You True Gods, you Daofathers…all of you will die. None of you will survive!”

“Quite arrogant of you. Back then, the Primordial World was shattered, Maiden Nuwa made her breakthrough, the Lord of All Living Things was slain, and even your ‘king’ was forced to merge himself into the Heavenly Daos and transform himself into part of them to survive. Even if he’s awakened…so what? He’s still merely a part of the Heavenly Daos, restricted and bound by them at all times, unable to be truly free.” Daofather Crimsonbright laughed coldly, “He’s no longer the king he once was.”

“His Majesty remains his Majesty.” Daofather Ink Bamboo smirked. “Now that the storm his arisen, I trust that you can subconsciously sense the way in which the river of destiny is flowing…and that you understand that there is no way to avoid this storm. His Majesty will move in concert with the Dao of the Heavens in aiding our Seamless Gate in wiping you all out.”

“Wiping us out is the will of the Dao of the Heavens?” Daofather Crimsonbright laughed coldly. “What a joke. If the Dao of the Heavens wished for us to perish, then why engage in a battle for karmic luck?”

Daofather Ink Bamboo was startled. He then shook his head, no longer saying anything.

In his heart, Daofather Crimsonbright felt regret…

The Seamless Gate was still able to maintain some degree of contact with their ancient king, and so they knew many secrets. Daofather Crimsonbright wished to suss out some of their secrets, but alas, the Seamless Gate was very cautious, only revealing information which the Nuwa Alliance already knew.

One thing was for certain; the Nuwa Alliance was going to fight for every scrap of karmic luck they could! Afterwards, they would wipe out the Seamless Gate in the Endwar.

The ancient, slumbering king of the Seamless Gate was very terrifying, but in the end he was now nothing more than a part of the Dao of the Heavens. All things within the Three Realms were ruled by the Dao of the Heavens; one couldn’t simply do whatever one wished! This was the reason why the Nuwa Alliance felt absolutely certain that it would win. If that old bastard could do as he pleased, the Nuwa Alliance would’ve lost long ago; Maiden Nuwa herself had left the Three Realms, after all, having gone exploring the infinite primordial chaos around it. With her gone, no one was strong enough to face that presence head-on.

“Fight for more karmic luck.”

“Win this war for karmic luck, no matter what the cost. The more karmic luck we have, the more the Dao of the Heavens will support us. That old bastard is being restricted by the Dao of the Heavens, and so the amount of aid he can provide the Seamless Gate will be lessened as well.”

Daofather Crimsonbright swept the vast enemy army with his gaze. These countless Immortals and Fiendgods were all here for the sake of karmic luck. Only by winning this war could the countless geniuses of the world, such as Ji Ning, be able to survive this great storm…because they had chosen to stand with the Nuwa Alliance.

If they lost their karmic luck, and if even the Dao of the Heavens stood on the side of the Seamless Gate…it was likely that they would lose the final Endwar, at which point Ji Ning and the countless Immortals and Fiendgods would all be wiped out and exterminated.

“Attack!” Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice rang out by the ears of Ji Ning and every single commander. Ning and the others all felt their blood begin to surge and boil. Their eyes instantly turned red with battle-lust.

“Attack!”

Instantly, the awe-inspiring armies began to charge forward. More than three hundred Heaven Punishers bound forward on bare feet, charging towards their foes.

As for the great armies of the Seamless Gate, they too let out an earth-shaking howl: “Kill!” They too charged forward.

Fiendgods…Terrorbeasts…awe-inspiringly large armies…the world was filled with them. It was like two giant floods of power had jsust crashed into each other.

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Chapter 33 – Death Is But A Statistic

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 33 – Death Is But A Statistic

The bare feet of Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher pounded against the ground as it charged forward. Ning lead the charge, the other Heaven Punishers by his side. More than three hundred of them were charging forward against the forces of the Seamless Gate, including many Empyrean God golems, White-Faced Flood Dragons, Zhuyan Apes, and other types of Terrorbeasts and Fiendgods.

BOOM!

The two armies collided against each other.

“Kill!”

Despite charging forward, Ning’s Heaven Punisher continued to move at the speed the other Heaven Punishers were moving at. Although there were twelve Empyrean God or True Immortal commanders amongst the 326 Heaven Punishers, neither they nor Ning moved beyond the pack. Once the two armies collided, however, Ning and the twelve all exploded with full power, their speed and their strength increasing dramatically!

“That one is Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher.”

“Careful.”

The forces of the Seamless Gate were naturally able to recognize Ning, but there was no way for them to avoid him on this vast field of battle; the only choice was to take him on! A Zhuyan Ape, completely covered with white fur and with red feet, bellowed and charged forward with a similarly ferocious aura of power, pushing past the other Terrorbeasts and becoming the first to bar Ning’s path.

“If he dares to block me, he must have at least a bit of power behind him. This is most likely a Zhuyan Formation commanded by an Empyrean God or a True Immortal. This is the first clash in the Realmwar, with both sides striking each other head-on; such a chaotic battle is the perfect chance to render military merits!” A savage light flashed through Ning’s eyes, and the top-grade Pure Yang ‘Splitter’ in his hands instantly transformed into an utterly massive shield.

The headless Heaven Punisher held the shield in its two mighty arms and continued to smash forward!

The burly Zhuyan Ape was shocked. “How sly of Ji Ning! I am a Pure Yang True Immortal with many marvelous spells; in skill and technique, I’m naturally vastly superior to him. Although I’ve heard that Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher is very powerful, if he was to use sword-arts, I trust I could tie him down for at least a short period of time. If I can do that, the other members of the Seamless Gate will have arrived to assist me. But he instead chooses to ram forward with a shield; my only option is to take him head-on.”

“Still…even if we are competing in raw strength, I’m in command of 1800 Celestial Immortals and many Loose Immortals. I don’t believe I can’t beat him!”

Zhuyan Apes were incomparably savage and strong as well.

“ROAAAR!” The Zhuyan picked up a shield and also charged straight forward towards Ning.

The two great figures, each holding a giant shield, rammed straight towards each other, their footsteps causing the earth to tremble.

BOOM!!! The two shields collided.

“What?! How can he be so strong? He’s even stronger than Azurefox and Whitefox claimed him to be!” The Zhuyan Ape felt a terrifying, irresistible surge of energy push straight towards him. He was knocked flying away, completely unable to control himself.

The spectators, however, only saw that as soon as Ning and the Zhuyan Ape collided, the Zhuyan was immediately knocked backwards, causing the other Zhuyan Apes behind it to hurriedly clear a path to avoid being hit.

During the year-long ceasefire, Ning had improved greatly in his soul heartforce technique. In this exchange, however, Ning still concealed his true power and true level of improvement. The simple fact that he now had three times as many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals resulted in his Heaven Punisher instantly and automatically becoming much more powerful.

“This isn’t the time for me to unleash my full power yet. I need to find a turning point, a turning point capable of influencing the entire war.” Massive shield in hands, Ning immediately threw himself towards a second Zhuyan Ape after having knocked the first one flying.

“Get over here, quick!”

“Stop him!”

The second Zhuyan Ape was panicking. In truth, a Pure Yang True Immortal was already flying towards them, preparing to cast a spell. A dazzling golden light suddenly appeared in the skies, shining down upon Ning’s Heaven Punisher. This sort of constrictive spell, however, was almost negligible to something as powerful as Ning’s Heaven Punisher. Most likely, only ten Pure Yang True Immortals casting the same type of spell simultaneously would be enough to tie Ning down.

“Let’s fight together!” Five more nearby Zhuyan Apes charged forward in unison.

However…despite being slowed down slightly by the spell, Ning was still able to bound forward far more quickly than the five were. He soon arrived next to the fleeing Zhuyan Ape.

Although the terrified Zhuyan Ape wanted to block, the difference in power between him and Ning was far, far too great.

Ning’s Heaven Punisher leapt forward, his right hand chopping downwards as sword-light flashed.

Swish!

A simian head went flying, and the white-furred Zhuyan Ape completely disintegrated, revealing the utterly terrified Immortals that had been inside of it.

BOOM! A palm-leaf fan appeared within Ning’s hands. Ning swung it towards the many fleeing Immortals, some of whom were using evasive techniques while others were hiding within Immortal estates. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Countless Immortal estates were instantly disintegrated, with only a very small number of extremely powerful Immortal estates being able to safely withstand the power of Ning’s palm-leaf fan.

Alas, the Yin-Yang Arcane Ki Bottle appeared before Ning as well. The bottle began to ravenously devour all of the surving estates, swallowing all of them and the Immortals inside them.

In this war, they had to wipe out all living creatures on the enemy’s side!

If he merely destroyed the Zhuyan Ape and allowed the majority of the Immortals to escape, they would quickly be used to form yet another army.

“Let’s attack!”

“Damn him!”

There were now a total of eight Zhuyan Apes surrounding Ning, as well as two Pure Yang True Immortals.

In truth, in a battle like this, both sides would quickly end up in a deadlocked quagmire. Only at the very beginning would there be a tiny chance to achieve a quick victory, and Ning used that chance to completely destroy that Zhuyan Ape! Only a few dozen Celestial Immortals with exceptionally astonishing evasive techniques had been able to escape.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning, all by himself, wildly assaulted those eight Zhuyan Apes. Even after having joined forces together, the eight were still being utterly dominated and outclassed. Fortunately, they had two Pure Yang True Immortals supporting them, allowing them to just barely hold on.

“Darknorth, we’re coming!”

“Nice kill, Darknorth!”

Instantly, the Heaven Punishers of Celestial Immortal Unity, Celestial Immortal Dustfloat, and a few others came charging from behind to help Ning.

“Kill!” The White-Faced Flood Dragons of the Seamless Gate were drawing near as well.

Soon…

Ning’s combat region became a fairly densely populated battlefield. Almost a tenth of the full power of each side was concentrated within this region.

“So that’s Ji Ning? The Godking seems to pay a great deal of attention to him.” The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater were quite accustomed to battlefields. They had already transformed into their true Diremonster forms. Of the three, the eldest brother known as the ‘Great Sage Who Swallows The Mountains’ was actually a gold-feathered eagle. His wings allowed him to move as fast as a streak of lightning; in terms of speed, this ‘Great Sage Who Swallows The Mountains’ was the fastest one on this field of battle!

The second brother, the Great Sage Who Swallows The Seas, was an ugly dragon that had broken horns and a completely pitch-black body. He swam through the battlefield, his claws striking out with such power that space itself shattered apart.

The third brother, the Great Sage Who Swallows The Skies, was a nine-headed lion that was as massive and majestic as a mountain. Every step he took caused the world to shudder with a strange, inexplicable cadence. Even when the Pangu War-Formations on the side of the Crimsonbright Realm collided head-on against the nine-headed lion, they would be knocked backwards by it.

It must be understood that even True Immortal Whitepole, when going all out, was just barely strong enough to tie down a Pangu War-Formation.

Each of these three Diremonster Gods possessed overwhelming power, so mighty that it could be said that not a single Empyrean God or True Immortal of the Crimsonbright Realm could compare to them on this field of battle. In turn, none of the Empyrean Gods or True Immortals of the Seamless Gate who were taking part in this battle could compare to them either.

Their fame had long since spread throughout the Three Realms.

“Let me give that Ji Ning a test.” The gold-feathered eagle, the Great Sage Who Swallows The Mountains, let out a loud laugh, then gave his wings a flap.

Swish!

With but that one motion, he threw himself straight towards Ning like a streak of light, moving at an utterly astonishing speed.

“Follow him!”

“Don’t let him run off!”

There were a total of six Empyrean Gods/True Immortals on a ship of pure light, with the Xia Emperor one of them. These six were riding on a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Worldspan Lightship. It was only thanks to the speed of this ship that they were able to keep up with the gold-feathered eagle. Of the three Diremonster Gods, the eldest wasn’t actually the strongest, but he was definitely the fastest. If he was allowed to run about as he pleased on the battlefield, with no one tying him down…he would be incredibly deadly.

Thus, the responsibility of the Xia Emperor and the rest of the six was to keep an eye on him and tie him down.

“Chasing me?” The gold-feathered eagle let out a snicker, making sudden and unexpected left and right turns as he moved through the field of battle.

When moving in straight lines, the Worldspan Lightship was actually slightly faster than the gold-feathered eagle…but in terms of agility, it couldn’t compare.

“We’re coming as well.”

“Whoever kills Ji Ning will have won a great victory. His bounty is worth more than the bounty of twenty ordinary Heaven Punishers!” The other two Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater all immediately charged towards Ning as well. When they attacked, certain forces of the Crimsonbright Realm were forced to give chase. Multiple Raindragons and Pangu War-Formations frantically attacked them, but the two were still able to force their way towards Ji Ning’s direction.

……

“Ji Ning.”

The gold-feathered eagle quickly reached Ning’s location, and it charged straight towards him.

Although Ning was currently battling others, he was still keeping an eye on his surroundings. His side had managed to kill some foes, but the Seamless Gate had killed some of them as well. The six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian were particularly deadly; after they joined together into the ‘Six Unities Formation’, the six of them were able to support each other and sweep through their foes with power far greater than each of them could individually muster. The combined strikes of these six Diremonster Gods had slain two Heaven Punishers and destroyed a Pangu War-Formation. In the end, it had taken three full Raindragons to tie them down!

But of course, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on Ning’s side were similarly extraordinary, also gaining many victories.

This initial clash had already resulted in countless casualties for both sides.

While watching the overall battlefield, Ning suddenly saw from the corner of his eyes a flashing golden light.

“Is that…? Ah, the eldest brother of the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater?” When Ning saw the massive, terrifyingly fast gold-feathered eagle fly towards him, he was instantly shocked.

Whoosh! Instantly growing cautious, Ning’s weapons instantly transformed into two shields.

“Die for me, puny human.” The gold-feathered eagle pounced upon Ning, its sharp talons gouging towards him like terrifyingly sharp hooks.

Ning just stood there on the ground, not moving to dodge at all.

In the instant that the attacks of the gold-feathered eagle reached him, Ning brandished the shields in his arms. Boom! They struck head-on against the sharp claws of the gold-feathered eagle. Now that he was commanding three times as many Immortals, his Heaven Punisher was faster than it had been in the past, especially its arms, which were both dexterous and strong. Given that the shields he was using were quite large, he was able to completely block this strange, profound, terrifying claw attack.

BOOM!

The gold-feathered eagle was actually sent spinning backwards through the skies, only coming to a halt a few moments later. This instantly caused the always arrogant and brash Diremonster God, the Great Sage Who Swallows The Mountains, to feel completely humiliated and enraged. “Second brother, third brother, get over here! This Ji Ning guy is tremendously strong!”

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Chapter 34 – Lying Hidden

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 34 – Lying Hidden

“Coming! Big brother, let me give him a try.” The nine-headed lion was like mobile mountain range, smashing straight through all opposition and pushing aside the Pangu War-Formations, Raindragons, and Heaven Punishers in his path.

Although the second brother of the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, that ugly dragon with snapped horns, was actually more agile than the other three, it clearly found it rather difficult to traverse the battlefield. It wasn’t as fast as the clumsy-looking nine-headed lion.

Ji Ning could sense space around him shudder. He glanced sideways, instantly seeing the nine-headed lion charge straight towards him. He couldn’t help but feel shocked: “Him? The most powerful of the three Diremonster Gods…the nine-headed lion?”

Nine-headed lions were Godbeasts.

It was the only one of the three who had a truly exalted bloodline, one which was comparable to that of nine-tailed foxes and Five Elements peacocks.

It was normally quite low-key and unobstrusive, but in actual power it was the strongest of the three. The nine-headed lion was ranked amongst the very top experts in the entire Three Realms, comparable to the likes of Lu Dongbin. But of course, Lu Dongbin was a Ki Refiner, whereas the nine-headed lion was both a Ki Refiner and a Fiendgod Body Refiner, resulting in Lu Dongbin being at an innate disadvantage.

“I heard that his strength is comparable to Patriarch Lu’s.” Ning didn’t dare to be overconfident.

“Perfect timing, third brother!” The airborne gold-feathered eagle was delighted.

The nine-headed lion was bounding across the ground towards Ning, all of the Fiendgods and Terrorbeasts of the Seamless Gate parting before it.

Ning held those two shields in his hands, not dodging in the slightest.

“I want to see how powerful someone who supposedly stands at the very top tier of power amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals is.” Ning’s heart was filled with a desire to do battle. The nine-headed lion…Empyrean God Redsnow…Patriarch Lu…all of them stood at the very peak of power for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Each of them were very close to True Gods and Daofathers in power. However, Ning would never have a chance to test his Heaven Punisher out in power against Patriarch Lu and Empyrean god Redsnow.

Of course, Ning’s true body was within the underwater estate, and had sparred with Empyrean God Redsnow before. However…Redsnow, as the leader of the seven Empyrean Gods, had been praised by even Subhuti himself as someone who was just a hairs-breadth away from the Daofather level of power. When Ning’s true body had dueled Redsnow, Ning had lost catastrophically.

On this field of battle, however, Ning’s Primaltwin had the power of a Pure Yang True Immortal and the power of the Heaven Punisher Formation supporting him. Ning absolutely wasn’t afraid of giving him a fight!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground quivered as the nine-headed lion charged towards Ning, and as Ning leaped forward towards it.

“Hmph.” A savage light flashed through the eyes of the nine-headed lion. It lowered its heads, a layer of golden light emerging from them and covering its entire body.

Ning hunkered downwards, the two shields in his hands as he rammed straight forward.

Both sides were fighting head-on against each other.

Nine-headed lions were Godbeasts that were famous for their strength, and this Great Sage Who Devours the Skies had a particularly deep level of insight into the Dao, making him even more incredible.

Ning’s strength didn’t need to be described; on the battlefield, he had ravaged the many experts of the Seamless Gate.

BOOM!!!!

The nine-headed lion felt an flood of power sweep through it. There was no skill, no tricks to it; it was a surge of absolutely incredible raw power, causing it to stumble backwards uncontrollably. The nine-headed lion had no time to feel stunned; it hurriedly used an evasive technique, causing the surrounding space to become illusory as it retreated by a thousand kilometers in a manner that displayed no openings.

“Such power.” Ning felt a strange, powerful vibration transmitted towards him.

It wasn’t just pure, raw power; it was a type of vibration. The sort of vibration one might feel when an earthquake hit, a vibration that couldn’t simply be blocked or deflected. Ning immediately understood. No wonder all of the armies on their side, be it the Pangu War-Formations, the Raindragons, or the Heaven Punishers, were knocked backwards! In addition, the nine-headed lion’s headlong charge didn’t seem to have consumed much power.

This was actually a type of profound, high level technique!

Although Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher possessed nigh-infinite strength, it still couldn’t help but take three steps back before the vibrating power dissipated.

“He really is strong!” The distant nine-headed lion laughed loudly, his laughter echoing throughout the battlefield. “Come, again!”

“You think I’m afraid of you?” Ning’s Heaven Punisher once more charged forward.

Boom! Boom!

Ning and the nine-headed lion clashed repeatedly on the field of battle. Each time, Ning only took three steps back. While the nine-headed lion had a profound grasp over the Dao, with each step on the ground seeming to cause the ground to twist and space to distort, the difference in raw power was simply too great. Each time, the nine-headed lion would still be forced to dodge backwards by a thousand kilometers..

“Third brother, if the three of us join together to form the Three-Eyed God, would we be able to kill this Ji Ning?” The airborne gold-feathered eagle, still being harried by the Xia Emperor and the others, sent a mental message.

“Third brother, big brother and I are waiting for you to give the word.” The dragon with the shattered horns was flying around the area as well.

The three Diremonster Gods were capable of setting up a formation to form a Three-Eyed God.

The Three-Eyed God was primarily led by the most powerful of the three brothers, the nine-headed lion. It was very similar to the Seven Planets Empyrean God, which was formed by the seven Empyrean Gods of the Starseizing Manor but primarily led by Redsnow. Redsnow and the nine-headed lion had the highest level of insights into the Dao in their respective squads, and they were the strongest in battle as well.

“I’m not certain,” the nine-headed lion sent mentally. “This Ji Ning is very skilled in commanding his Heaven P unisher, and his strength is too incredible. Even if we join forces together into the Three-Eyed God…in a one-on-one fight, we’d naturally able to kill him, but a large number of experts of the Crimsonbright Realm are nearby. They’ll frantically assail us, which means we’ll have a very low chance of killing him, less than thirty percent at most.”

“Mm.” Both the gold-feathered eagle and the broken-horn dragon understood.

It was true. The Crimsonbright Realm had sent a total of six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to tie down the gold-feathered eagle, which was the fastest of the three. There were other experts who had been assigned to deal with the broken-horn dragon and the nine-headed lion. As soon as they joined into the Three-Eyed God, the many experts would naturally join forces with Ji Ning against it, giving it less than a thirty percent chance of killing Ji Ning.

“What a powerful nine-headed lion.” Ning was stunned by their exchange as well. “It’s actually only at a slight disadvantage in a one-on-one fight against me. I’m a Pure Yang True Immortal, and I’m commanding three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals. He’s too powerful! If the intelligence reports are correct and they really can join together into a Three-Eyed God, how powerful would that be?! One-on-one, I’d probably be killed quite quickly.”

Ning glanced sideways.

Because the three Diremonster Gods were here, a large number of experts of the Crimsonbright Realm had hurried here as well. There were five Raindragons and six Heaven Punishers that were commanded by Empyrean Gods or True Immortals.

This was how much of a threat the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater posed to them.

……

Atop the walls of the Seamless City. Daofather Ink Bamboo watched the battle for quite some time. Both sides had suffered significant losses, but they continued to battle wildly. The Daofather gave the order: “Pull back.”

His voice echoed in the minds of every Seamless Gate commander.

“Pull back.”

“Let’s go.”

“We’re done.”

The Seamless Gate quickly joined together to begin an orderly, step-by-step retreat back to their camp.

Daofather Crimsonbright was watching this from atop the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Frowning, he gave the order as well: “Pull back and rest.”

……

Atop the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Ji Ning, how did it go? How were our losses, compared to the losses of the Seamless Gate?” Celestial Immortals Unity, Whacko, Dustfloat, Allbeasts, and Rainsoar had gathered together with Ning. The six had battled together for many years and were very close to each other; they were a tight-knit squad which advanced and retreated in unison on the battlefield.

“Right. On the battlefield, we didn’t have any spare energy to watch the others,” Celestial Immortal Dustfloat added.

Ning sighed. “Both sides suffered sigifnicant losses, roughly ten thousand Celestial Immortals each. I’m not sure of the exact numbers. The Xia Emperor should know.”

“We lost that many?”

“That’s not bad; the Seamless Gate has many more golems than us. For us to match them in casualties isn’t bad.”

“This was just our first engagement. The Realmwar is going to be crazy…”

They all let out sighs.

In the past, this had merely been a war for the Grand Xia. Now, it was a Realmwar. It must be understood that the Xia Emperor had only commanded a total of ten thousand Celestial Immortals, and despite so many years of battle, more than half remained alive. But today…ten thousand had died in a single engagement!

……

Battle. Rest. Battle again a while later. Rest again.

This became the cadence of the Realmwar.

Battling for too long would result in one’s magic energy and divine power being drained. If they were forced to fight nonstop, they would have to eat Immortal pills to replenish their energy, which neither side was particularly willing to do. Thus, after fighting for a while, they would withdraw their forces to rest.

On the surface, each clash was simple and didn’t result in heavy losses.

Both sides, however, were searching for an opportunity…and once they found it, the seemingly morasse of a battle would instantly explode. When that happened, large numbers of Celestial Immortals would perish, and even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would fall. It must be understood that despite having clashed three times, not a single Empyrean God or True Immortal had fallen yet!

Even when a Pangu War-Formation was destroyed, the commanding Empyrean God had easily escaped.

Since neither Empyrean Gods nor True Immortals had perished, the war clearly had yet to reach the critical point yet.

……

Within the vast world of darkness.

The Godking was seated upon his towering throne, levitating high in the air and staring down at the masses from his position in the center of the world.

“Godking.” A figure was kneeling before the throne.

“This Realmwar has seen three clashes thus far. Daofather Ink Bamboo has essentially finished calculating the Crimsonbright Realm’s power, as well as some of their hidden forces. It’s time for a fatal attack.” The Godking looked down towards the kneeling figure. “You’ve been hiding by Daofather Crimsonbright’s side for so long…it’s time for you to unleash your power.”

“Your subordinate has been awaiting this day for a long, long time,” the kneeling figure said respectfully, his voice filled with eagerness.

“After this battle, your status will have been exposed, and you will no longer be able to remain with the Nuwa Alliance. Come straight to the Seamless Gate. You are the key to this battle; don’t disappoint me,” the Godking said.

The kneeling figure said, “Your subordinate has been waiting and hiding for countless years for this moment! Everything I’ve endured…all the lies…it was so that I could explode forth at this moment. Even if I die, I won’t disappoint you, Godking.”

“Good. Of my many minions, you’ve always been the most dazzling one. After you return to the Seamless Gate, I’ll personally accept you as my disciple and give you the three Protocosmic spirit-treasures of the ‘Vacant Sword Formation’,” the Godking said.

Upon hearing the words ‘Vacant Sword Formation’, the kneeling figure instantly grew excited. Raising his head, he said resolutely, “Godking, just watch and see.”

The upraised face…

Was that of Sword Immortal Evergreen!

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Chapter 35 – Evergreen Reveals Himself!

Chapter 35 – Evergreen Reveals Himself!

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity. The main palace.

Daofather Crimsonbright sat on the throne. Below him sat a host of Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and Celestial Immortal commanders, Ji Ning amongst them.

“Both Daofather Ink Bamboo and myself have been keeping an eye on our respective armies.” Daofather Crimsonbright looked downwards upon his subjects. “We are both trying to suss out the true strength of each other’s forces, find a weakness, then launch a fatal attack! The Seamless Gate’s greatest advantage lies in its intelligence network, making it much easier for them to investigate us. Based on the multiple Realmwars which have occurred within the Three Realms…the Seamless Gate often launches a fatal attack first. Thus, I have to warn you…the more battles that occur, the greater the chances that the Seamless Gate will launch an all-out fatal attack on the next one. You have to be vigilant at all times.

“Master.” The Xia Emperor said worriedly, “To always be vigilant isn’t a winning solution…when will we lauch our own all-out attack?”

Daofather Crimsonbright nodded. “I understand what you are saying, of course. However…I can dimly sense that the Seamless Gate has another force that is lying in wait. I have to hold some of my forces in abeyance to deal with it. Otherwise…if we launch our all-out attack, we might end up being tricked and countered by the Seamless Gate, resulting in a great loss.”

Everyone, Ji Ning included, nodded.

There was nothing for it.

Whenever there was a significant disparity in intelligence, the only choice was to allow the enemy to strike first. Perhaps one might suffer a bit for it, but they would still be able to deal with the forces they saw. If they revealed all of their trump cards at once in an attack…their fate would be completely up to luck.

“There’s one thing we can be certain of.” Daofather Crimsonbright looked at Ning. “Ji Ning.”

“Daofather,” Ning replied respectfully.

Daofather Crimsonbright looked at Ning. “You have a talent for commanding Heaven Punishers. Once you breakthrough to become a Pure Yang True Immortal, the power of your Heaven Punisher shall explode to a new level. Thus, the Seamless Gate is definitely going to try and kill you to avoid future problems! The intelligence we’ve obtained regarding them concurs; they’ve wanted to get rid of you this entire time.”

“During each of the past three battles, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater have been in your surrounding area,” Daofather Crimsonbright said. “This has resulted in much of both side’s forces being concentrated around you, roughly 30% or so of the entire battlefield. Minor battles are going on in other places; the only place where both sides are concentrating their forces is the area around you. Once an all-out attack is launched, that place will be the most dangerous place on the entire battlefield…and the first target they will want to eliminate is you, Ji Ning.”

“Xiamang.”

Daofather Crimsonbright looked towards the Xia Emperor. “Stay next to him and assist him. You have to protect Ji Ning; be wary of any sudden changes in the battlefield.”

“Yes, Master,” the Xia Emperor said respectfully.

“The rest of you need to keep an eye out as well. Even if the other minor battlefields take a turn for the worse, casualties will be limited. The region around Ji Ning and Xiamang, however…once there are casualties there, the casualties will be heavy, so heavy as to potentially change the entire dynamic. You need to keep an eye out and be prepared to deal with anything on the fly,” Daofather Crimsonbright instructed.

“Yes, Daofather.”

“Yes, Master.”

Daofather Crimsonbright nodded. “Alright. You can go back and rest now.”

Ning and the hundreds of Immortals and Fiendgods present all walked out of the main palace. Only after exiting did they start to discuss matters in small groups.

“Ji Ning, if you can just keep those three from Mount Dragoneater tied down, you’ll have rendered a major contribution,” the Xia Emperor said, walking alongside Ning. “Don’t be in a rush to try and kill enemies; keep an eye out for those three at all times.”

“Right. Darknorth, if you are defeated, we’ll have lost a powerful military unit. For you right now, not screwing up is already a contribution.” A bald old man in loose robes next to them chuckled while fanning himself with a fan.

“Right now, you are our main defense against those three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater.”

Multiple Empyrean Gods and True Immortals spoke out. They were all responsible for tying down those three Diremonster Gods, and so during the three clashes of this Realmwar, they had been by Ji Ning’s side. To be honest, it was rather strange; those three Diremonster Gods were always close to Ning. The main reason for this was that the Godking viewed Ning as an extremely important target, believing that if Ning suddenly broke through to the Pure Yang True Immortal level, his Heaven Punisher would instantly rise to a level of power where it would be no weaker than the combined power of those three Diremonster Gods.

“To be honest, with Ji Ning around, it makes things easier for us. His Heaven Punisher is so strong, not even those three Diremonster Gods can suppress him.”

“Ji Ning is indeed formidable as a Heaven Punisher commander. If he becomes a Pure Yang True Immortal…how powerful would he become?”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals continued to chat with Ning and amongst themselves.

Suddenly, someone walked past them. It was Sword Immortal Evergreen, who gave them a sideways glance and a cold snort. “All of you are quite smug, aren’t you? Don’t forget…if Ji Ning dies in battle, the entire situation will become quite ugly for us. As I see it…you need to focus on what you will do in the event that Ji Ning dies.”

After finishing his words, Sword Immortal Evergreen walked out.

Ning frowned upon hearing these words. On the surface, Sword Immortal Evergreen was reminding them to be careful…but he kept on saying ‘Ji Ning dies’, ‘Ji Ning dies’…anyone would feel displeased upon hearing someone say such things.

“Ji Ning, don’t mind him.” The Xia Emperor glanced at Sword Immortal Evergreen, frowning at him before turning to smile at Ning. “That’s just how junior apprentice-brother Evergreen is. Still…he’s not wrong to remind us that we need to be careful.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” After Sword Immortal Evergreen walked away, a delicate, white-robed female Immortal who had heard his words walked towards Ning and hurriedly said, “Senior apprentice-brother Evergreen is always like that. Please don’t mind him.”

Ning smiled. “A minor matter, fellow Daoist Snowdance.”

Fairy Snowdance smiled towards Ning, then followed Sword Immortal Evergreen in leaving.

Ning asked the nearby Xia Emperor, “What is the exact relationship between Fairy Snowdance and Sword Immortal Evergreen? I often see them together, and even on the field of battle, they are an inseparable duo.”

“Junior apprentice-sister Snowdance is devoted to junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, but he is excessively solitary and aloof; he’s completely unreceptive to her advances. She, however, continues to quietly watch over him. Although the two haven’t joined together to become Dao-companions, Evergreen is indeed closer to Snowdance than to any of our other fellow disciples. Still…in the end, he always treats her in an icy manner. Junior apprentice-sister Snowdance really is blinded,” a barbaric-looking man said with a sigh.

“Evergreen’s simply too sharp. His heart is like a sword, and he acts like a sword in dealing with both people and business. He’s let her wait for him for so long…alas…”

The various Empyrean Gods and True Immortals chatted amongst themselves for a bit, then all departed.

……

A few days later, the Xia Emperor sent the mental order for his army to assemble.

“Be careful. You said it yourself; the Seamless Gate is trying to kill you if at all possible. Our child is soon to be born; I don’t want our child to never have the chance to meet you,” Yu Wei warned.

“Don’t worry, senior apprentice-sister; the Seamless Gate is far from being able to kill me,” Ning said with a laugh.

Since the start of the Realmwar, before each clash Yu Wei would give Ning many warnings to be careful.

“I’m off.” Ning smiled, then transformed into a streak of light and flew away.

Yu Wei rubbed her stomach, watching as Ning flew away. She could sense that their child was most likely going to enter the world in around half a month…but why was it that she was feeling increasingly nervous?

……

The vast, awe-inspiring army had assembled, then flown out from the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. The wilderness outside the city had long been transformed into a desolate, crater-ridden wasteland. The two opposing armies once more charged against each other, and everything was as it had been in the past.

Soldiers against soldiers. Generals against generals.

Both sides were now experienced with each other. The heaviest casualties had come in the first clash, while the following clashes had seen much fewer deaths. In this clash, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater once more had their sights set on Ji Ning.

“Once the opportunity arises, you have to kill this Ji Ning. The most important mission you have in this Realmwar is to kill Ji Ning.”

These were the instructions which both Daofather Ink Bamboo and the Godking had given them.

…….

Both sides were evenly matched.

“Junior apprentice-sister, those six Heaven Punishers are in danger; let’s go help them.” Sword Immortal Evergreen and Fairy Snowdance were flying through the sky. Sword Immortal Evergreen scanned the field of battle, then sent a mental message to her.

Fairy Snowdance glanced over as well.

Far from from, within the region where Ning and the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater were, six Heaven Punishers were being assaulted by three White-Faced Flood Dragons, with one of them apparently being commanded by an Empyrean God or True Immortal. They were clearly superior to the six Heaven Punishers in power, but the Heaven Punishers weren’t in any real danger yet; by joining forces, they were able to stave off defeat.

Still…Fairy Snowdance didn’t refuse. “Fine, senior apprentice-brother.”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

They immediately flew down to the battlefield, beginning to cast spells and use their magic treasures to support those six Heaven Punishers. With their help, the six instantly found the battle much easier, and in fact they were even able to seize the advantage.

“Senior apprentice-brother, be careful; this region is the most dangerous region in the entire battlefield,” Fairy Snowdance sent mentally. “Both sides have sent more than twenty Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to this place, and we have over fifty Heaven Punishers here, as well as Raindragons and Pangu War-Formations…”

“Don’t worry,” Evergreen said confidently. “We just need to be careful.”

“Right.” Fairy Snowdance was just giving him a reminder; thus far, not a single Empyrean God or True Immortal had died in this Realmwar. As long as there wasn’t a sudden change in events, it wasn’t likely that one of them would die.

Sword Immortal Evergreen continued to cast spells to help the Heaven Punishers below while keeping a careful eye on the battlefield.

The Xia Emperor, one of the six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on his ship of light, noticed that Sword Immortal Evergreen and Fairy Snowdance had arrived as well. It must be understood that the Xia Emperor was controlling the local formation; he naturally saw everything that happened on the battlefield, and he generally would arrange for the disposition of their forces. He immediately sent mentally, “Junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, junior apprentice-sister Snowdance, go and help out those five Heaven Punishers to your left; they are in serious danger.”

“Alright.” Sword Immortal Evergreen and Fairy Snowdance immediately noticed it as well. Those five were indeed suffering a group attack, and there were no other Empyrean Gods or True Immortals nearby, aside from the two of them.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two flew in that direction while casting their spells.

“Go.” Fairy Snowdance pointed, and instantly a snowy-white lance pierced through the skies.

Slash!

Suddenly, a streak of sword-light flashed past her. Blood splattered everywhere, and as the blood splattered on the snowy white lance of light, it was instantly frozen.

Fairy Snowdance stared at her chest uncomprehendingly. A sword had pierced straight through it, cutting quite cleanly through her Pure Yang Jindan. She raised her head to look towards Sword Immortal Evergreen in disbelief. “Senior, senior apprentice-brother…” In her heart, there was one thing she wanted to say: “If you want to join the Seamless Gate, I’m willing to join you…”

Fairy Snowdance revealed a hint of a smile…the smile of release.

Snick. Sword Immortal Evergreen pulled his sword out, and as his sword-ki trembled…her entire body was instantly turned into dust, her treasures left for Sword Immortal Evergreen to pick up.

In his heart, Sword Immortal Evergreen felt a certain dull pain. “If you spend years raising a dog, you’ll feel pain when it dies.” Sword Immortal Evergreen immediately wiped away the tiny bit of pity he felt in his heart, then looked downwards. He charged straight downwards, charging towards those five Heaven Punishers. Not only did not he not support them, he launched an assault that caused those five to feel utterly shocked.

“EVERGREEN!” The distant Xia Emperor saw this happen. Upon seeing Fairy Snowdance’s chest be pierced, his eyes widened so much they threatened to split apart. He let out an utterly enraged roar that caused the heavens themselves to tremble!

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Chapter 36 – The War Changes

Chapter 36 – The War Changes

Sword Immortal Evergreen paid no attention to the Xia Emperor’s furious roar at all. His eyes flashed with red light; clearly, he had gone berserk. “I, Evergreen, have waited for so many years…and this day shall be my most glorious, most dazzling moment.” He fully released all of his hidden power, and the Immortal swords he controlled transformed into three streaks of azure-black sword-light that pierced through the skies.

“No!”

“Sword Immortal Evergreen…”

“Spy!”

“Traitor!”

The five Heaven Punishers felt completely despair.

They were already in a dangerous situation, having suffered a group assault by the forces of the Seamless Gate; that was the reason why the Xia Emperor had sent Sword Immortal Evergreen and Fairy Snowdance to reinforce them. If they hadn’t, the five Heaven Punishers wouldn’t have been able to hold on for much longer. Sword Immortal Evergreen had slain Fairy Snowdance, then unleashed an attack that wasn’t one whit inferior to the attacks of True Immortal Whitepole or the Xia Emperor. This terrifying attack was not meant to reinforce them…it was meant to kill them.

How could the five Heaven Punishers possibly resist?

Slash! Boom! Swish!

Under repeated assaults from Sword Immortal Evergreen, Zhuyan Apes, White-Faced Flood Dragons, and Empyrean God golems…the five Heaven Punishers instantly were shattered into tiny pieces.

The local battlefield, which held 30% of the forces of each side, had just changed dramatically!

……

The walls of the Seamless City.

Daofather Ink Bamboo was watching this entire battle from afar. The Godking had secretly told him long ago that the Seamless Gate had hidden an extremely important chess piece within the forces of the Crimsonbright Realm, a chess piece which, when employed at the right moment, could cause the entire course of the battle to change. As for who that chess piece was, Daofather Ink Bamboo didn’t know. Only the Godking himself knew. Clearly, this was an extremely important secret.

“Eh?” Daofather Ink Bamboo’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t help but feel overjoyed when he saw Sword Immortal Evergreen suddenly kill Fairy Snowdance, then assault the five Heaven Punishers below.

In the blink of an eye…all five Heaven Punishers were destroyed!

The local battlefield had instantly changed. The Crimsonbright Realm had lost two Pure Yang True Immortals and five Heaven Punishers, whereas the Seamless Gate had not only gained the powerful Sword Immortal Evergreen, the forces that had been assaulting the five Heaven Punishers were freed up as well.

“Launch an all-out attack!” Daofather Ink Bamboo knew how rare an opportunity like this was. He immediately sent out the order.

“Launch an all-out attack!”

The Daofather’s voice rang out in the minds of every single commander, Empyrean God, and True Immortal of the Seamless Gate.

“Attack!” The Nine Cloudmist Fairies, who had previously been locked into a stalemate, suddenly exploded with power.

“Attack!” The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, who had been battling separately in the region, all revealed looks of joy. Diremonster God Skyswallower roared loudly, “Assemble into formation!” Instantly, the three Diremonster Gods charged towards each other, joining together into formation. Divine power flowed across them like light, quickly transforming them into a towering, bald, three-eyed Fiendgod.

The Three-Eyed God’s aura was utterly unearthly.

“Attack!”

The various White-Faced Flood Dragons and Zhuyan Apes actually began to crumble.

But as they crumbled…they reformed into multiple Empyrean God golems. Each White-Faced Flood Dragon instantly transformed into ten Empyrean God golems!

…..

The entire battlefield had suddenly changed.

“Evergreen!” Even as the Xia Emperor roared with rage, Ji Ning saw Evergreen make his move as well. He was watching the entire battlefield at all times. He couldn’t help but feel disbelief as he saw it happen. Although he didn’t have any positive feelings towards Sword Immortal Evergreen, he had never suspected that Evergreen was actually a spy for the Seamless Gate. Fairy Snowdance had followed him for so long…how could he have been hard-hearted enough to actually kill her?

“Vile creature!” Ning ground his teeth, rage blazing within his heart.

“Launch an all-out attack!” A heartbeat after Daofather Ink Bamboo gave the order, Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice rang out in the minds of his subordinates as well. “Launch an all-out attack!”

“Time to go all out!”

The Crimsonbright Realm and the Seamless Gate almost simultaneously began to launch their most powerful attacks.

……

Within one of the minor worlds of the Three Realms.

A dirty-looking middle-aged man was displaying his martial prowess, leading a group of beggars at high speed towards a large innhouse.

“Kids, seal that door up!” The dirty-looking beggar called out.

“Yes!”

The group of beggars completely blocked up the doorway, terrifying the guests and customers who had been eating inside it and preventing any outsiders from entering.

“Honorable sir, if there’s something you want, just tell us. Why have you brought so many people to seal off my innhouse?” The innkeeper hurriedly came out, bowing and scraping.

“If the Beggar’s Clan wishes to block your door, we’ll block your door! I’ve never liked you. Today I’ve come to eat something,” the middle-aged beggar barked. “Got a problem?”

“No problems, no problems at all.” The innkeeper felt misery in his hearts; he knew exactly how powerful the Beggar’s Clan was within this city. Fortunately, these people were just here to eat. “If you want something to eat, just tell me.”

“Simple. Gimme…” Halfway through his words, the look on the face of the middle-aged beggar changed.

This was because, right at this moment, a voice rang out within his mind: “Eastbreak, come to the Grand Xia battlefield right away.”

When the Realmwar had first started, he had been told that he would serve as a lethal weapon for the Crimsonbright Realm. To prevent the Seamless Gate from finding out, the only people who were aware of this were two Daofathers and the ‘beggar’ himself. Even the message-delivery system was an extremely secretive one. He had been extremely careful, and indeed, the Seamless Gate hadn’t discovered him.

The beggar raised his head.

A black light flashed.

Boom!

A large rift suddenly appeared in the skies above him. The middle-aged beggar took a single step, soaring into the rift in the skies…and then the massive rift vanished as well.

The guests, beggars, and innkeeper were all completely dazed by what they had just seen.

“Clan…clan leader…?” The beggars stared stupidly.

“The person extorting me was…was actually…” The innkeeper was even more dazed.

“A divinity. A divinity!”

“He must have been an Immortal.”

In fact, the countless mortals in the region all fell to their knees, kowtowing. They had seen this Immortal with their own eyes. The massive rift in the skies…the aura of power and majesty from it…it had filled the deepest parts of their hearts with utter terror and awe. They would never even think of resisting such power.

……

The Grand Xia. The battlefield within Whitepole Commandery.

Boom…

A massive rift appeared, and the middle-aged beggar with tousled hair appeared out of nowhere. He had been roaming a minor mortal world that was located very close to the Grand Xia, and so as soon as the order had come, he had been able to immediately tear a rift through the Void to arrive here.

“Eastbreak.”

“Eastbreak, the divine archer!”

The forces of the Seamless Gate who saw the middle-aged beggar appear were all terrified.

Eastbreak…

Ever since the great divinity Houyi had vanished, the most powerful divine archers of the Three Realms had consisted of Eastbreak and his peers. Empyrean God Eastbreak possessed tremendous power, and his heartforce had reached the peak of the fourth level. His divine arrows…they had more than enough power to cause each and every Empyrean God and True Immortal to feel utter terror.

“So what if Eastbreak has come? We have many allies on the battlefield; two or three Empyrean Gods and True Immortals can combine their power to block his arrows.”

“How can a single Eastbreak possibly have an impact on our great army?”

But just as they were consoling themselves…

The divine archer Eastbreak produced a gray fruit in his hands. He swallowed it, then manifested a silvery-white greatbow as well as a black arrow. He nocked his bow, then drew it, the tip of the arrow covered with a blurry gray energy aura.

“Chaos Daofruit?”

“The power of primordial chaos?”

“Not good.”

The arrow flashed!

It lanced through the skies!

“Argh!!” “No!” Three White-Faced Flood Dragons were pierced by that black streak of light. The three White-Faced Flood Dragons immediately collapsed, revealing the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals inside.

A single arrow had slain three of the White-Faced Flood Dragons.

Eastbreak pulled back his bow yet again.

“Madman. He’s using both the power of primordial chaos and filling his arrows with heartforce. Given his terrifying archery skills…his arrows are almost comparable to a Daofather’s strikes. They even cause spatial compression; we won’t even have a chance to hide into our Immortal estates. But he’s going after the White-Faced Flood Dragons and the Bifang Cranes instead of us?” The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were both furious and frantic…because they knew that Empyrean God Eastbreak was making the right choice.

He was extremely close to the Daofather level to begin with. By relying on the power of the Daofruit of primordial chaos, his full-strength arrow attacks had already reached the level of power a Daofather’s attacks would have. But of course, he paid a heavy price for this; a single chaos Daofruit would most likely only be enough to allow him to shoot two arrows, with each fruit representing a True God or Daofather sacrificing some of their insights into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.

It must be understood that the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on both sides were moving in pairs or triplets; in fact, some of them were moving in groups of seven or eight. If he used his arrows to assault Empyrean Gods or True Immortals, they would be able to stay alive by joining forces to defend. Even if he did manage to kill an Empyrean God or a True Immortal, it wouldn’t have much of an impact on the overall course of the battle.

But by killing White-Faced Flood Dragons, Bifang Cranes, Zhuyan Apes, and such creatures…he was able to slay two or three with each arrow.

……

Daofather Ink Bamboo, atop the walls of the Seamless City, just coldly watched as this all happened. He smiled grimly. “The Nuwa Alliance really is willing to spend its resources. They are actually using Daofruit of primordial chaos to allow a single supreme archer to have an impact on the entire war. But despite that…he’s only on par with the combined power of the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater. Perhaps the three combined are even slightly weaker than Empyrean God Eastbreak…but they can fight for a long period of time, whereas he is using up a Daofruit every two arrows. Let’s see how many arrows he can shoot!

……

On the battlefield.

Some of the White-Faced Flood Dragons, Bifang Cranes, and Zhuyan Apes had been voluntarily disbanded when the all-out attack was initiated, transforming into multiple Empyrean God golems. After all…a thousand Celestial Immortals could command ten of the Empyrean God golems, while three golems were comparable to each White-Faced Flood Dragon in power. Clearly, using the same number of Celestial Immortals to control the Empyrean God golems was more powerful and effective.

However…manufacturing the golems was very difficult. Daofather Ink Bamboo was only able to have 20% of his Celestial Immortals control the golems…but despite that, the Seamless Gate’s forces had just been strengthened dramatically.

To put it another way…although Empyrean God Eastbreak was very valiant, slaying two or three thousand Celestial Immortals with each arrow, his impact merely neutralized the sudden appearance of so many Empyrean God golems.

Right now, the flow of battle within the area where both sides had concentrated 30% of their forces was extremely detrimental to the forces of the Crimsonbright Realm.

“Careful!”

“Hold on!”

“Damn that Evergreen!”

The forces of the Crimsonbright Realm were livid.

The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater’s power was within their realm of expectations, and they had planned for it. Sword Immortal Evergreen’s betrayal, however, caused their situation to turn uglier than they had expected. It must be understood that in mortal wars, there had been cases where a flag-bearing soldier fell, bringing his flag down with him and resulting in the loss of both the battle and his country.

Sword Immortal Evergreen’s slaying of Fairy Snowdance and the five Heaven Punishers, then continued attacks alongside the Seamless Gate against the forces of the Crimsonbright Realm…it had caught them completely offguard. Unable to reinforce each other in time, they lost another Raindragon, two Pangu War-Formations, and six more Heaven Punishers. Only after such heavy losses was Evergreen forced back by the utterly berserk forces of the Crimsonbright Realm, driving him into the protective embrace of the three Diremonster Gods.

But alas, the state of the battle around Ji Ning had turned horribly grim for the Crimsonbright Realm.

The disparity in power between two sides was now enormous.

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Chapter 37 – Seven Seniors, Please Assist

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 37 – Seven Seniors, Please Assist

The city walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Daofather Crimsonbright was watching over the entire battlefield, his heart scorching with worry. He immediately saw how ugly the situation had become in the area where Ji Ning and the Xia Emperor were battling. Sword Immortal Evergreen had launched his traitorous attack there, causing a minor collapse in the battle lines of the Crimsonbright Realm. Fortunately, the Xia Emperor and Ji Ning had gone all out to hold their positions, allowing things to settle down…but the situation was still extremely grim.

“There’s nothing I can do. The many Empyrean God golems that just appeared on the Seamless Gate’s side are spread out throughout the battlefield. Multiple areas need reinforcements.” Daofather Crimsonbright stared at the battlefield. The distant divine archer, Eastbreak, was sending out arrows like needles from the God of Death. Every single arrow slew two or three White-Faced Flood Dragons, Zhuyan Apes, or other types of Terrorbeasts.

“I can only choose to give up Xiamang’s region for now.”

“Have Eastbreak keep his region suppressed.” Daofather Crimsonbright knew that he had to make his choice right away.

If he had Eastbreak suppress the entire battlefield…because of how bad the situation was for Ji Ning and the Xia Emperor’s area, they would still probably be at a disadvantage. As for the other regions…if Eastbreak wasn’t able to help them out enough, they would probably only be able to reach a stalemate.

Now, however…

With Eastbreak going berserk on a few select regions…although Ji Ning’s region was in trouble, the other seven regions temporarily gained the upper hand!

Eastbreak’s arrows were simply too terrifying. However, both Daofather Crimsonbright and Daofather Ink Bamboo knew very well that these terrifying arrows used up Daofruits of primordial chaos, with each Daofruit only sustaining two arrows. He wouldn’t be able to maintain this state for too long…and so he had to kill as many as he could, while he could!

“Xiamang, your region will have to rely on yourselves.” Daofather Crimsonbright hardened his heart. He had experienced the destruction of the Primordial World; he knew that sometimes, sacrifices had to be made for the sake of the bigger picture.

“EVERGREEN!!!”

Daofather Crimsonbright stared at the distant Sword Immortal Evergreen, cold light flaring from his eyes, his face completely ashen!

Humiliation!

He had been catastrophically deceived.

He had trusted Sword Immortal Evergreen too much; he hadn’t suspected him of being a spy at all. The main reason for this was because Evergreen normally didn’t have any friends; in fact, he was an extremely solitary person who focused completely on the Dao. Evergreen had lived in seclusion within that Daoist temple on his minor world for countless years, focusing on the Dao. It might be easy for a person to pretend for a period of time, but to pretend for their entire life…

Evergreen, however, was terrifying in this regard. In the past, Daofather Crimsonbright had rather admired Evergreen for his temperament and his complete dedication to pursuing the Dao. He had believed that of his many disciples, Evergreen had the best chance of becoming a Daofather.

“Evergreen is focused on pursuing the Dao, and his heart has no other desires; I definitely wasn’t wrong about this. When he killed Snowdance, he showed no mercy or hesitancy at all; he didn’t even show the slightest hint of doubt in his eyes. After killing her, he immediately destroyed her corpse. His heart is truly merciless. I wasn’t wrong…he is indeed incredibly dangerous.” Daofather Crimsonbright knew very well that such a decisive, merciless person would likely become an astonishing figure in the future.

One’s level of accomplishments had nothing to do with whether one was virtuous or vile.

The stronger one’s Dao-heart was, the easier it would be for one to travel a long distance on the Immortal path.

For the most vile of individuals, even when they did vile things, they wouldn’t truly believe themselves to be vile. A completely pure Dao-heart could be a terrifyingly powerful thing, even if that pureness was evil; not even demonheart tribulations and other such tribulations would have an effect on it. However, there were very, very few such ‘natural-born devils’. Prior to this, Daofather Crimsonbright hadn’t been able to tell that Evergreen was such a person…

……

The battlefield region where Ning and the Xia Emperor were located.

“Evergreen.” Ning was utterly enraged by what he was seeing.

“All-out attack!” The Daofather’s order came. The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater temporarily paused their attacks, beginning to join together into a formation.

Taking advantage of the lull offered by the three Diremonster Gods pausing, the enraged Ji Ning charged straight towards Sword Immortal Evergreen.

“F*ck off!”

Ning swept out with his two arms. Boom! Boom! Boom! The Empyrean God golems that had been bothering him were all knocked flying backwards. The difference in power was simply too great.

“Quick, stop him!”

“Stop him.”

A Bifang Crane commanded by an Empyrean God golem flew forward towards him.. This particular Terrorbeast looked like an Immortal crane. Its body was completely azure, and it was bathed in fiery flames as its blazing wings flapped. It only had a single claw, but this claw was enormous and pitch-black. As the Bifang Crane flew forward, its claw ripped forward towards Ning.

As for Ning, he reached out with both arms.

Whoosh!

He grabbed that giant claw with his hands. The Bifang Crane suddenly manifested a black wing in front of it, smashing it down towards Ning.

“Die.”

‘Wielding’ the claw with both hands, Ning smashed the Bifang Crane towards a White-Faced Flood Dragon in front of him. As for the black wing…Ning just gritted his teeth and endured the blow. In this moment, he unleashed all of the power of his soul heartforce technique. By now, he had nearly reached the ‘expert’ level in the soul heartforce technique; the increase in power was quite noticeable.

This made it so that he was able to take control over increasingly greater amounts of the flood of natural energy being generated by the Heaven Punisher. His body quickly began even stronger and even more resilient.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The black wing slammed against Ning, but it only left behind a small wound.

“How did his strength just…” The Bifang Crane was shocked.

BOOM!

The Bifang Crane was slammed straight down against a White-Faced Flood Dragon, knocking it flying away. Ning kept one hand around the claw of the Bifang Crane, manifesting an incredibly sharp sword within his other hand. Tightening his grip around the sword, he viciously stabbed it towards Bifang Crane’s body.

Slash! Slash!

Two lightning-fast sword-strikes passed straight through the Bifang Crane’s boddy, causing it to instantly begin to break apart. Many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals began to run, with the Pure Yang True Immortal commander the first to flee in terror.

“Die.” Two massive shields appeared within Ning’s hands, and he smashed them towards each other, with the fleeing Pure Yang True Immortal caught between them!

BOOM!

When the two shields slammed together, countless Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals perished. The True Immortal simultaneously used an evasive technique as well as magic treasures to resist, but Ning had already unleashed his true power. His soul heartforce had nearly reached the expert level, and the amount of power he now unleashed was simply astonishing.

“How could this…” The True Immortal felt a great power sweep through his magic treasures like a sword sweeping through rotted wood. And then…boom! He was completely disintegrated by the collision of the two massive, mountain-like shields.

“Kill him.”

“Kill this Ji Ning!”

Off in the distance, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater had already transformed into the Three-Eyed God.

They were stunned and furious. They hadn’t expected that during the short period of time when they had paused their attacks, Ji Ning would have wiped out one of their Immortal armies. And even more importantly…he had even killed the True Immortal commander! They thought that the deceased True Immortal was to blame for his carelessness; they had no idea that Ji Ning, upon seeing Evergreen turn traitor, had known that the situation was grim and so had finally unleashed his full power.

The power of Ning’s Heaven Punisher had instantly increased several times over.

If the nine-headed lion, the ‘Great Sage Who Devours the Skies’, was to once more fight head-on against Ning…he would lose even more disastrously than last time.

“Kill!” The Three-Eyed God charged towards Ning.

“Block it.”

“Tie it down.”

The True Immortals and Raindragons were all going all-out.

Ning knew that he had no time to continue his slaughter of the fleeing Immortals. He immediately turned and charged straight towards the Three-Eyed God. While charging forward, Ning launched a kick towards a nearby Zhuyan Ape. BOOM! The Zhuyan Ape was not only knocked flying, it also blew apart in midair.

“Die.”

Chains…black dragons…golden light…snow flowers…vines…tendrils…strange runes…all sorts of spells and magic treasures landed on the body of the Three-Eyed God.

However, Three-Eyed God’s aura wasn’t diminished in the slightest. It completely ignored the spells and magic treasures, focusing only on Ji Ning.

“Kill Evergreen.”

“Kill this traitor.”

“Kill him!”

The other Raindragons and Heaven Punishers had gone berserk as well. In fact, they ignored their own safety as they launched all-out assaults of their own.

Sword Immortal Evergreen had taken advantage of the earlier opening to lead the Seamless Gate army in wiping out a Raindragon, two Pangu War-Formations, and six Heaven Punishers. After the situation turned dangerous, he had immediately begun to flee towards the Three-Eyed God.

……

Although Ning and the others were going all-out in their efforts…the Three-Eyed God simply held too enormous of an advantage. The Seamless Gate had also sent out other Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and armies as well. After Sword Immortal Evergreen had caused heavy casualties, more forces of the Seamless Gate had been freed up to assist the Three-Eyed God..

“The Seamless Gate is definitely going to win this battle.”

As Sword Immortal Evergreen flew towards the Three-Eyed God, he actually said aloud, “You should all join our Seamless Gate. You’ll be able to survive if you do.”

“Vile traitor, I swear I’ll kill you!” The Xia Emperor’s eyes were completely bloodshot.

“Despicable creature.”

“Foul thing!”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Crimsonbright Realm were all enraged. They had been stabbed in the back at a critical moment by one of their ‘allies’; how could they not be angry? And their dearly beloved junior apprentice-sister Snowdance had also been killed as well!

BOOM!

Ning’s Heaven Punisher, the mightiest one of them all, finally clashed with the Three-Eyed God for the first time.

BANG!

Ning had been very cautious, choosing to use shields…but he was still knocked flying backwards.

“The difference in strength is too great.” Ning instantly realized this as he flew backwards. “The stories were true; the Three-Eyed God’s power has already reached the Daofather level.”

The three Diremonster Gods already possessed tremendous, overwhelming power. The Three-Eyed God they joined together to form had a qualitatively superior level of strength; it had reached the Daofather threshold. Perhaps Eastbreak, by relying on Daofruit of primordial chaos, was able to unleash arrows that were comparable or even slightly superior in strength…but the Three-Eyed God still definitely had a Daofather’s power. Ning was far from being a match for it.

……

“Hurry up and kill Ji Ning.” Atop the distant walls of the Seamless City, Daofather Ink Bamboo was sending a mental order to the three Diremonster Gods. “Ignore all else for now; get rid of Ji Ning!”

……

“Get rid of Ji Ning.” The Godking’s voice rang out within the minds of the three Diremonster Gods as well.

……

“Don’t worry.” The Three-Eyed God, filled with a terrifying unearthly aura, was staring at Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher with all three of its eyes, watching as it was sent flying backwards. The Three-Eyed God bounded forward with large steps, ignoring all spells and magic treasures. Its charge simply couldn’t be stopped! Right now, the Three-Eyed God had only a single goal…to kill Ji Ning!

……

The underwater estate.

The calm Empyrean God Redsnow. The child-like Empyrean God Primalfire, whose eyes flashed with savage light. Empyrean God Snow Scorpion. Empyrean God Dovesnake. Empyrean God Ninefangs. Empyrean God Sunblaze. Empyrean God Darkmoon.

The six of them were watching the battle outside. The giant yellow bear, through his attunement to the scenes happening outside the estate, was revealing images of the battle in midair.

They saw the Three-Eyed God take form.

They also saw how Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher was instantly knocked flying by the Three-Eyed God.

“Those three little brats of Mount Dragoneater…back then, they were nothing more than jokes. But now, they’ve become this powerful?” A desire for battle could be seen in Empyrean God Redsnow’s eyes.

“We’ve disappeared for far, far too long. Naturally, some powerful figures will have emerged…but the Three Realms have nearly forgotten how formidable our Starseizing Manor was.” The bald old man, Empyrean God Ninefangs, narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashing within them.

As for the nearby fur-clad Ji Ning, he bowed respectfully and said, “I’d like to ask you, seven seniors, to please assist.”

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Chapter 38 – Redsnow’s Name

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 38 – Redsnow’s Name

As soon as Ji Ning spoke out, all seven of the Empyrean Gods, along with the giant yellow bear, simultaneously turned to look towards him.

“You really want us to act?” The lovely Empyrean God Snow Scorpion sent urgently to him.

“Don’t regret it.” The child-like Empyrean God Primalfire sent mentally as well.

“We’ve only promised to assist you once,” the bald Empyrean God Ninefangs looked at Ning as well.

Empyrean God Dovesnake, Empyrean God Sunblaze, Empyrean God Darkmoon, and even the giant yellow bear sent urgent mental queries as well. The reason why they sent mental messages was because the battle outside had reached a fever pitch; they had to communicate in the shortest amount of time possible.

Only Empyrean God Redsnow remained silent. He just looked at Ning, who looked back at him. Their gazes met…and their was no hesitation in either of their eyes.

“Assemble the formation.” This was the only thing Empyrean God Redsnow said.

“Ahahaha…”

The other six Empyrean Gods couldn’t help but begin to laugh. Blazing eagerness appeared within their eyes. They had been in seclusion for far, far too long. Although they had been peaceful for countless years, they remained as hot-blooded as ever, and had always been looking forward to the day when they could once more enjoy a blood-soaked battle. The Realmwar for the Crimsonbright Realm…this was exactly what they were hungering for.

Instantly, there was an explosion of light within the underwater estate as a rainbow of colors appeared…

……

The outside world.

The battlefield where Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor, and the Three-Eyed Demon were located. The battle here between the two sides had truly reached a fever pitch, with the heart of the battle centering around the Three-Eyed Demon.

The Three-Eyed Demon served as the leader for the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, White-Faced Flood Dragons, Bifang Cranes, Zhuyan Apes, and golems of the Seamless Gate.

On the Crimsonbright Realm’s side, the Heaven Punishers, Raindragons, Pangu War-Formations, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals were struggling to hold on. Alas…they were at a clear disadvantage.

Sword Immortal Evergreen had broken the balance between the two sides, and the Three-Eyed Demon had just made things worse for the Crimsonbright Realm. Most importantly of all…even Daofather Crimsonbright had painfully given up on their region for the sake of the bigger picture. Ji Ning’s side was now in extremely dire straits. Fortunately, Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor, and some of the other powerful figures on their side were still able to fight back for now.

“Die, all of you. Just die. What’s the point of struggling?” The Three-Eyed Demon was acting with wanton brashness. At this moment, the Three-Eyed Demon was brandishing two giant warhammers in his hands, smashing them down in every direction. This was the weapon of choice, because the Three-Eyed Demon was being commanded by the nine-headed lion, the ‘Great Sage Who Swallows the Skies’, who was especially skillsed in using giant warhammers.

Whoosh!

A Raindragon that was being assaulted by the forces of the Seamless Gate was knocked flying towards the direction of the Three-Eyed Demon.

Seeing this, the Three-Eyed Demon immediately leapt forward, smashing down the giant warhammer in his hands.

“No!”

“Watch out!”

Although the Raindragon tried to dodge, and although the Xia Emperor and the others wanted to assist…it was too late.

BOOM!!!

A giant warhammer smashed directly on the body of the Raindragon. With a boom, the body blasted apart, revealing the many Immortals inside of it, as well as a terrified, silver-haired Empyrean God who immediately began to flee.

“Fleeing?” The incomparably savage Three-Eyed Giant once more smashed down with his giant warhammer, sending it towards the silver-haired Empyrean God in a vicious blow. Fortunately, the Empyrean God hurriedly split his body in half and began to flee in two different directions. Although one of his bodies was destroyed, the other one managed to escape, allowing him to avoid catastrophe. Despite this, half of his divine power was instantly used up.

“The Three-Eyed Demon has definitely reached the Daofather level of power. I couldn’t block him, no matter how hard I tried,” the silver-haired Empyrean God frantically warned the others mentally while flying away. After moving a good distance away, he cast a few spells and used some magical treasures, then began to battle against the other White-Faced Flood Dragons, no longer daring to fight against the Three-Eyed Demon head-on again.

The only ones who did dare to fight the Three-Eyed Demon head-on were Ji Ning, as well as the Raindragons, Pangu War-Formations, and Heaven Punishers that were commanded by Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. So long as they weren’t caught offguard, and as long as there was at least two or three of them, they were capable of blocking the blows of the Three-Eyed Demon.

Boom!

Ning was once more knocked flying backwards.

During that short period of time, he had already clashed three times against the Three-Eyed Demon. Each time, he had been completely suppressed; if the Three-Eyed Fiendgod had been given just an extra breath’s wortho f time, Ning probably would’ve been killed. Fortunately, many of his allies were helping him, giving him a chance to recover.

“They’re coming.” As Ning flew backwards, a hint of joy actually appeared on his face.

Whoosh!

Directly behind Ji Ning, a towering Empyrean God appeared out of nowhere, dressed in a rainbow-colored armor and wielding a longspear that was thirty thousand meters long. The face of this Empyrean God was fairly handsome; it was the face of Empyrean God Redsnow.

“An Empyrean God?”

“A Fiendgod?”

“Where’d he come from?”

As Ning flew backwards, the Terrorbeasts of the Seamless Gate who had come to try and pin him down were badly shocked. However, moments later, they dismissed the new threat. “Who cares which Fiendgod this is? Just kill him! If he appeared out of nowhere, he had to have come out from a dimensional treasure. He’s just here to provide a bit of help.”

They weren’t really to blame for the fact that they couldn’t tell how powerful the Seven Planets Empyrean God was. Empyrean God Redsnow and the rest of the seven worked together absolutely perfectly, and they had completely retracted their auras of power. In addition, this type of Empyrean God formation was different from the Heaven Punisher Formation; the Heaven Punisher Formation drew out the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, resulting in tremendous power that was hard to control. This type of Empyrean God formation, however, pooled together the divine power of the multiple Empyrean Gods who participated in it, using it to form a physical body that, from the surface, looked absolutely identical to a real body.

“Attack.”

“Kill!”

“Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher is very hard to deal with; most likely, only the Three-Eyed Demon can kill him. Let’s get rid of this new Fiendgod instead.”

“Right. Get rid of him first.”

The Terrorbeasts of the Seamless Gate knew very well that in a fight, it was better to sever a single finger than to damage ten. Thus, quite a few combatants of the Seamless Gate chose to temporarily ‘spare’ Ji Ning, instead focusing their attacks on the Seven Planets Empyrean God.

The Seven Planets Empyrean God stared at them coldly in a manner reminiscent of Empyrean God Redsnow. However, the longspear in its hands swung out in a simple sweeping motion.

Whoosh…

It completed a full circle around.

The thirty thousand meter longspear instantly caused snow to begin to drift down in the surrounding area, with time itself beginning to turn chaotic.

“What’s going on?” A Zhuyan Ape was just about to charge forward, but it suddenly felt an incredibly sick feeling, one generated after suffering from temporal distortion. He felt as though his movements were alternately between speeding up and slowing down dramatically. This sort of temporal distortation made it want to vomit blood.

Boom…

It felt trapped within a nightmare. Before it could wake up…a longspear smashed directly onto its body. BOOM! Its body instantly blew apart. The Immortals within it began to flee in terror, but the drifting flakes of snow instantly froze them solid. Aside from a very small number who managed to hide into their Immortal estates, the rest all perished.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

That simple sweeping motion by the longspear resulted in the destruction of a total of four White-Faced Flood Dragons, two Zhuyan Apes, and three Empyrean God golems in the surrounding area. Even the incredibly resilient golems had been completely destroyed.

One of the four White-Faced Flood Dragons had been commanded by an Empyrean God!

“White snow drifting about…a longspear…can it be him?” The fleeing Empyrean God revealed a look of terror. “If it’s the Seven Planets Empyrean God…I’m finished…”

He instantly split his body into seven parts, beginning to flee in multiple directions.

Swish swish swish swish swish swish swish!

Light reflected off the longspear, creating seven flowery streaks of spear-light that wiped out all seven of the clones of the fleeing Empyrean God. If the Three-Eyed Demon could be described as focusing on ‘overwhelming’ and ‘crushing’ its foes, then the Seven Planets Empyrean God commanded by Redsnow focused on ‘accuracy’ and ‘precision’. His spear-arts were simply perfect. The field of temporal distortion only lasted an instant, but to the enemies trapped within, it felt like an eternity.

In truth, the fleeing Empyrean God already knew that he was doomed. If he divided into too many bodies, each body would be extremely weak; most likely, even the snowflakes would be capable of destroying him. However, if he didn’t create enough bodies, then he probably wouldn’t be able to dodge the spear. Thus, he chose to split into seven and give it a try…but he failed.

And so, he died.

“Ahahaha. How long has it been? Our Seven Planets Empyrean God of the Starseizing Manor has once more appeared in the world!”

“Wonderful, wonderful! Darkmoon, it’s been a long time since we brothers have fought together like this.”

“Kill, kill, kill! Kill them until their blood flows like a river. Fight until the heavens collapse and the earth caves!”

“Hmph. Kill them all!”

All seven Empyrean Gods were filled with a desire to do battle.

While the other six Empyrean Gods called out in delight, the controller of the Seven Planets Empyrean God, Redsnow, sent it charging forward with full power as he displayed the full power of the terrifying spear-arts he had spent countless eras perfecting. It must be understood that when the Seven Planets Empyrean God had battled against the three Queen Mothers, those three had created bodies from an enormous amount of energy, with each body having reached the Daofather level. When faced with the Seven Planets Empyrean God, however, they were still injured. The only issue was that their bodies had no weak spots at all, allowing them to automatically recover from any wounds!

Boom! The longspear swept sideways.

Slash! It stabbed forward.

Bang! It smashed downwards.

The longspear moved like a roving dragon. Wherever the Seven Planets Empyrean God moved past, it left devastation in its wake. It actually slaughtered its foes even faster than the Three-Eyed Demon. Clearly, its unfathomable, ghostlike spear-arts were even harder to defend against than the overwhelmingly powerful warhammers.

……

Atop the city walls of the Seamless City.

Daofather Ink Bamboo had a hint of a smile on his face as he watched the entire battlefield.

“Ink Bamboo, it seems we are going to win.”

“Yes. The stage is already set; Crimsonbright shouldn’t have any cards left to play that can change the course of events. You really are formidable; you were actually able to place a chess piece like Sword Immortal Evergreen by Crimsonbright’s side.”

“Haha…that was-” The Godking’s voice suddenly halted, but not before a hint of shock and rage appeared within it.

Daofather Ink Bamboo and the Godking were conversing through space through usage of coresense. Right now, they both revealed looks of astonishment…because they saw the Seven Planets Empyrean God suddenly appear out of nowhere. When it began to massacre their soldiers, when its longspear began to lay waste to the many Fiendgods and Terrorbeasts of the Seamless Gate, and especially when it slew an Empyrean God…all doubts were erased from their minds.

“White snow drifting about…hair as crimson as blood…can it really be…?”

……

“The three of you, be careful. That’s the number one wargod of the Starseizing Manor, Empyrean God Redsnow. He’s dressed in that rainbow army; this is very likely the former ‘Seven Planets Empyrean God’ of the Starseizing Manor, with Redsnow as the commander.” Daofather Ink Bamboo immediately sent a mental message to the three. He had never personally seen Empyrean God Redsnow before, but as a Daofather, he had long ago seen reports which included Redsnow’s appearance.

On the battlefield.

The Three-Eyed Demon had been engaging in a wild slaughter. Upon hearing this message, they took a look at what was happening…and saw the Seven Planets Empyrean God, which was slaughtering its foes even faster than the Three-Eyed Demon had been.

“The number one wargod of the Starseizing Manor? White snow drifting about, hair crimson as blood…Empyrean God Redsnow, who roamed about during the Primordial Era?” The nine-headed lion was shocked, while the gold-feathered eagle and the broken-horned dragon felt stunned as well.

They had lived through the Primordial Era.

Back then, however, they weren’t very well known. When they had styled themselves as the Great Sages, they had actually be mocked. Back then, however, Empyrean God Redsnow had been an even greater legend than the Seven Great Diremonster Sages. He was a peerless god of war who had been famous long ago, back when the humans had begun to fight with the Fiendgods for control of the world.

Of the Empyrean God spearwielders of the Primordial Era, there were two who were exceptionally famous and exceptionally powerful. The first was the most powerful wargod of the Celestial Court, Yang Jian 1. The second was the ancient Empyrean God Redsnow, who had followed the True God of Primordial Chaos, Daoist Threelives.

In the Primordial Era, the difference between them and Empyrean God Redsnow was simply unfathomable.

Now, however…the three of them stood at the very pinnacle of power amongst Empyrean Gods.

“So what if it’s him? So what if he was strong back then? We’re not the weaklings we used to be.”

“Right. I refuse to believe that we can’t beat those seven cowardly mice who have been hiding all this time. The Starseizing Manor? It might’ve been famous in the Primordial Era, but that was countless years ago.”

“Elder brother, second brother, let’s attack.”

“Attack!”

The Three-Eyed Demon didn’t show any fear at all as it charged forward.

“This is…”

“What a powerful Empyrean God. Where did he come from? Is he here to help our Crimsonbright Realm?”

“He’s too powerful.”

“White snow drifting about…a longspear…? Can this be the number one wargod of the Starseizing Manor of the Primordial Era…?”

“Is that Redsnow?”

“It’s the Seven Planets Empyrean God, with Redsnow as the commander!”

“Redsnow.”

“Right, that’s Empyrean God Redsnow!”

The forces of the Crimsonbright Realm also noticed this terrifying Fiendgod, filled with an unearthly, murderous aura and possessed of a power that had reached the Daofather level. There were quite a few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who had been alive during the Primordial Era, and so they had heard of the legends of Empyrean God Redsnow. Some had even seen him in person. For example…the Xia Emperor himself.

“However, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater possess unstoppable might as well. They stand at the very pinnacle of power amongst Empyrean Gods, and the Three-Eyed Demon they’ve joined together to form has reached the Daofather level of power. Can the Seven Planets Empyrean God which Redsnow is commanding defeat the Three-Eyed Demon?”

“It’ll be dangerous.”

The Crimsonbright Realm’s forces were slightly nervous as well.

“DIE!” Bellowing loudly, the Three-Eyed Demon charged forward towards the Seven Planets Empyrean God with two warhammers at the ready, each step causing a minor earthquake. It no longer paid any attention to Ji Ning; its full focus was on the Seven Planets Empyrean God before it. The Three-Eyed Demon had only one thought in its mind…to completely wipe out this target!

Redsnow?

Hmph, naught but an old bastard who had been hiding like a coward for countless years.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Seven Planets Empyrean God charged towards the Three-Eyed Demon as well, sending the longspear in its hands to sweep forward. It was like pushing through tall grass; the Fiendgods and Terrorbeasts of the Seamless Gate that were unable to dodge in time all exploded. Not even the armies commanded by Empyrean Gods and True Immortals dared to move close to the Seven Planets Empyrean God.

The two of them instantly closed the gap.

In this moment…

Almost everyone on the entire battlefield was focused on their location. Even the divine archer Eastbreak, who had only two Daofruits of primordial chaos left due to his frantic arrow storm assault, was focused on this location. Even the Daofathers on both sides were watching this fight nervously. The Seven Planets Empyrean God…the Three-Eyed Demon…if one of them was defeated, a lethally effective blow would have been dealt to their side.

“Die! Go die! I’m the strongest, now!” The Three-Eyed Demon struck like a giant windmill, hammering down with its two mighty warhammers. The warhammers even carried spatial ripples with them, a sensation of absolute massiveness and weight. It felt as though two unfathomably large continents were smashing towards the Seven Planets Empyrean God.

The Seven Planets Empyrean God didn’t use its marvelous, intricate spear-arts. Instead…it took the blow head-on.

The Seven Planets Empyrean God took a two-handed grip over the longspear. Focusing its strength around its waist, it suddenly unleashed its full power. Time itself seemed to twist as countless snowflakes suddenly began to manifest atop the longspear, forming an utterly enormous and snow-white silhouette.

BOOM!

A collision that seemed to cause the heavens themselves to collapse.

The snow-white longspear silhouette swept sideways against the great warhammer. Although it trembled slightly, it still twisted and struck against the body of the Three-Eyed Demon. The Three-Eyed Demon only had enough time to place a warhammer in a blocking position before its chest, but was still struck so hard that it was knocked off of its feet and sent flying backwards.

1. Also known as Erlang Shen, who once helped to defeat and capture Sun Wukong.

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Chapter 39 – Redsnow the Invincible

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 39 – Redsnow the Invincible

“Die.”

The eyes of the Seven Planets Empyrean God flashed with cold light as it thrust the longspear in its hands forward. Swoosh! The longspear struck out like lightning, and around it swirled an almost ripple-like pattern of spatial distortions, with the tip of the speare gleaming with light. No one would doubt how astonishing the power was of this spear. The Three-Eyed Demon had just been knocked flying, but it didn’t have any time to feel rage or embarrassment. It immediately leapt backwards, causing the space around it to seemingly blur as it used an evasive technique. Its movements were very orderly, and it swept the two warhammers forward to strike at the attacking spear.

“Third brother, Redsnow’s not that special. There’s seven of them but just three of us; it only makes sense that their Seven Planets Empyrean God is slightly more powerful than our Three-Eyed Demon.”

“Right. We’re a bit weaker in terms of the strength of our divine body, but in a real battle, we can still kill them.”

The golden-feathered eagle and the broken-horned dragon sent mental messages to each other.

“Don’t worry. There are no Empyrean Gods who can defeat me.” Flames of rage were blazing within the nine-headed lion’s heart.

He was an extremely proud person.

Although he was ranked third amongst the three brothers, and although he was normally very low-key…his ambitions were far greater than the ambitions of the other two. His actions in his youth, his roaming of the Primordial World, and even his decision to call himself the Great Sage Who Swallows the Skies…all of these were due to his tremendous ambition. His greatest desire was to grow more powerful…and he had indeed become incomparably mighty.

“You were born before me; in fact, you were born when the universe was first established! You were also a follower of a True God of Primordial Chaos. However…no matter how good your luck was, I can still defeat you.” The nine-headed lion had entered a completely berserk state. “Today, during this Realmwar which is being watched by countless Daofathers…I am going to take your life, Empyrean God Redsnow, and use it to prove how mighty I am!”

“Die!”

The great warhammers in the Three-Eyed Demon’s hands no longer were swung with mere brute force; instead, they began to carry a strange, rippling force with them.

The Seven Planets Empyrean God remained icily calm as it stabbed forward with its longspear.

Clang! Boom! Clash!

The sounds of the longspear slamming against the warhammer suddenly became rather odd.

“Mm?”

The Seven Planets Empyrean God was actually unable to overcome the Three-Eyed Demon for a time.

“During the Primordial Era, this little fellow wasn’t very famous. He seems rather similar to that old bull, however…and he’s even a bit more sinister than the old bull.” Empyrean God Redsnow had tremendous experience; he immediately understood what the nine-headed lion’s battle strategy was. He also immediately understood what the best way to defeat the Three-Eyed Demon was.

At the beginning, both the Seven Planets Empyrean God and the Three-Eyed Demon had all relied on using tremendous physical power.

Now, however, the spear-arts of the Seven Planets Empyrean God suddenly changed.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Drifting, unpredictable spear-light began to appear in the air as the longspear seemed to have transformed into an agile serpent, striking about with no apparent pattern.

The Three-Eyed Demon swung about its twin warhammers with tremendous force. Although they still contained that strange, powerful rippling attribute, the Seven Planets Empyrean God’s longspear seemed to be empty and void-like; the ripples of the twin warhammers were completely unable to affect it.

“What sort of devilish spear-art is this?” The nine-headed lion was enraged.

“Calm down, third brother. During the Primordial Era, Empyrean God Redsnow was especially famous for his fusion of the Grand Dao of Time and the Grand Dao of Snow, which he applied in his battle strategies. Given that he had mastered the Grand Dao of Snow, he must certainly have a high level of insight into the Heavenly Dao of Water. Look at his spear-arts; they flow like water in an unbreaking stream, surrounding by temporal fluctuations. You need to be steadier,” the golden-feathered eagle sent mentally. The eldest brother and the second brother were quite formidable as well, and they had been alive for longer than their third brother had been. They were quite observant as well.

“I started to use a Qiankun-based hammer-art, so he began to use this devilish spear-art. When I slow down and fight more stably, he goes berserk on me.” The nine-headed lion was impatient as well.

His previously arcane hammer-arts suddenly became as stable and as weighty as a mountain, with each blow of his warhammer containing incomparably massive force.

Boom.

The Seven Planets Empyrean God used all sorts of techniques, be it ferocious chops, lashing blows, or vicious slashes. The Three-Eyed Demon was repeatedly to retreat repeatedly, having been forced into a losing position.

“Daofather, we can’t hold this area much longer.” The nine-headed lion finally began to grow truly frantic. He truly felt stifled during this battle. Although he possessed tremendous power, his Three-Eyed Demon was innately weaker than the Seven Planets Empyrean God. His supreme battle technique had been completely suppressed as well! Redsnow’s spear-arts were simply unfathomably mysterious and profound.

……

Ji Ning continued to fight, wielding Ananda World-Swords that were many thousands of meters long in each hand. Sword-light flashed about him as the Fiendgods and Terrorbeast about him fell.

“Kill!”

“Die!”

The Xia Emperor and his five allies on his ship of light were casting their spells and using their magic treasures as they wildly assaulted the Seamless Gate.

The other Raindragons, Heaven Punishers, and Pangu-War Formations were assaulting the Seamless Gate’s forces as well.

It must be understood that prior to this, all of these forces had been focusing on the Three-Eyed Demon. Now that the Seven Planets Empyrean God was beating the Three-Eyed Demon backwards, Ji Ning and the others who had been dealing with the Demon were suddenly freed up. They could begin to launch unobstructed assaults against the nearby Fiendgods, Terrorbeasts, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate. All of a sudden, the Crimsonbright Realm held an absolute advantage in this battle region!

“Evergreen, don’t flee!”

“Evergreen, die!”

The Xia Emperor and the others were still utterly furious.

“Hmph.” As soon as Sword Immortal Evergreen saw the Seven Planets Empyrean God emerge, he had a bad feeling. He had immediately begun to flee and only launch spells and magic treasures from a great distance. Whenever the Xia Emperor and the others drew near him, Evergreen would immediately retreat once more. If he retreated any further, he would have left this battlefield region and entered another one.

The Xia Emperor and the others understood…killing Evergreen was important, but winning this battle was more important. Thus, they temporarily gave up their attempt to kill Evergreen, instead turning their energy to slaughtering the other forces of the Seamless Gate.

……

Atop the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Daofather Crimsonbright’s face turned completely ruddy from excitement, and his lips were parted in a huge grin. “Redsnow! Ahahaha, it’s been forever since I’ve seen him! His power seems to have improved a bit compared to before. Is that the Seven Planets Empyrean God of Threelives? With the seven of them…we have a chance to win this war.”

“Alas…we’re out of chaos Daofruits.” Daofather Crimsonbright glanced towards the distant divine archer, Eastbreak.

Eastbreak had shot out a total of sixteen arrows, and he had used up almost all of his heartforce as well as his eight chaos Daofruits. Although he had only destroyed around thirty-plus White-Faced Flood Dragons, Bifang Cranes, and other Terrorbeasts, he had tactically chosen his targets from across the entire field of battle. As a result, the Seamless Gate actually lost nearly a hundred Terrorbeasts in total! However, they still had far, far too many Empyrean God golems.

“Eastbreak is out of arrows.”

“Counterattack!”

“Attack!”

The morale of the Seamless Gate’s forces, previously at a disadvantage, instantly surged as they began a wild counterattack. When they had launced their all-out attack, they had produced many Empyrean God golems. Although Eastbreak had caused them to lose a portion of their forces, their remaining combat power was no lower than the combat power of the Crimsonbright Realm.

……

Daofather Ink Bamboo’s face was ashen. A perfectly superb situation had suddenly ended up like this!

Based on his previous predictions, once Eastbreak ran out of arrows, the other battlefield regions would return to a stalemate, while the Three-Eyed Demon would be able to completely dominate Ji Ning and the Xia Emperor in their region. The Three-Eyed Demon would then lead the Seamless Gate’s forces to reinforce the other battle regions, breaking through the forces of the Crimsonbright Realm and crushing them until their entire line of battle collapsed.

When that happened…they would have won this war.

Even if Daofather Crimsonbright immediately ordered his forces to retreat, the Seamless Gate would have still dealt the Crimsonbright Realm a devastating blow.

But…

“Redsnow? This ‘Redsnow’ character is actually this powerful?” Daofather Ink Bamboo had an ugly look on his face. Gritting his teeth, he sent mentally, “The eighteen of you are to go reinforce the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater right away!”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate who were scattered throughout the battlefield heard and immediately acknowledged the order.

Daofather Ink Bamboo watched coldly as eighteen of his Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were began to move. This resulted in the situation in multiple other battle regions becoming dangerous for the Seamless Gate, but Daofather Ink Bamboo had picked quite carefully; the battle wouldn’t be lost as a result. The Seamless Gate still had many Empyrean God golems, after all, and killing them was very difficult.

“The combined power of eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, as well as the Three-Eyed Demon…I refuse to believe they aren’t enough to suppress the Seven Planets Empyrean God.”

“After defeating you, the Three-Eyed Demon will then lead the eighteen to sweep through and lay waste to the other battle regions.” Daofather Ink Bamboo’s eyes were filled with ice.

……

The battle region where Ning was located.

“Senior Redsnow, be careful.” Ning immediately noticed the streaks of light flying towards them from far away. There were a total of eighteen streaks of light, each of which represented an Empyrean God or a True Immortal. He couldn’t help but feel shocked and sent a mental message to Redsnow.

“Eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.”

“They actually sent eighteen.”

On the Crimsonbright Realm’s side. Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor, and the others were immediately shocked…and then their eyes turned red with bloodlust. “Kill, kill, kill! The more we kill, the easier it will be to deal with the others.”

“Die for me.” A sharp awl appeared atop Ning’s right fist. He launched three heavy, vicious attacks towards the head of an Empyrean God golem. Boom! Boom! Boom! The three lightning-fast punches caused the Empyrean God golem to completely collapse.

“Get in here!” The Xia Emperor and the others cast multiple spells, completely binding an Empyrean God golem then sealing it away within a treasure.

Ning and the others were frantically trying to whittle away the Seamless Gate’s combat power, so that they could go and assist the Seven Planets Empyrean God.

“Attack Redsnow.”

“Annihilate that Seven Planets Empyrean God.”

“Assemble into formation.”

The eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals flying in the air began to launch their attacks. The eighteen of them quickly divided into three groups. Nine of the True Immortals joined together to form a formation, the ‘Nine Precious Godtowers Formation’. Three of the Empyrean Gods joined together to form a second staff-wielding Three-Eyed Demon. The six remaining Empyrean Gods and True Immortals focused on casting spells and using magic treasures to slow down and bind the Seven Planets Empyrean God.

“Just in time.” The original Three-Eyed God, who had been beaten so badly it had been considering fleeing, finally let out a sigh of relief. Then, invigorated, he turned to launch a counter-attack.

“Kill!” The staff-wielding Three-Eyed God bounded forward as well.

“Descend!” The eyes of the nine True Immortals were filled with madness. They pointed into the distance, and instantly a pagoda that glowed with golden light began to descend from the heavens, moving to swallow the Seven Planets Empyrean God within its depths.

“Go.”

“Bind!”

The six remaining Empyrean Gods and True Immortals began to cast spells as well.

Ning and the others wanted to move to assist, but Redsnow’s voice suddenly rang out, shaking the entire battlefield. “Don’t worry about me. Wipe out the other members of the Seamless Gate.”

His longspear flashed like lightning. “BREAK!”

Spacetime itself trembled.

Boom!

The golden pagoda of light that was descending towards the Seven Planets Empyrean God was actually pierced apart by a single spear-strike. It ignored the binding spells, sending its longspear out in dragon-like strikes that caused spacetime itself to twist. Boom! Boom! The unfathomable longspear seemed to somehow simultaneously strike both of the Three-Eyed Gods at once. The one wielding the longstaff was instantly knocked far away, while the one led by the nine-headed lion staggered back multiple steps as well.

Eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, combined with the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater…were actually being completely suppressed!

“What?!” Daofather Ink Bamboo was watching from far away, and his face instantly turned extremely ugly to behold.

“Good!”

“Formidable.”

“Excellent!” All the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces, spread throughout the battlefield, began to roar in jubilation.

……

In a completely different world. Mount Innerheart..

Patriarch Subhuti was seated in the lotus position. Next to him sat a wizened old man who held a fan in his hands; Subhuti’s second disciple, ‘Crazy Ji’. The two of them were both watching this Realmwar.

“Spacetime?” Crazy Ji called out in surprise.

Subhuti’s eyes lit up as he revealed a smile. “This red-haired kid has actually managed to merge the Grand Dao of Space and the Grand Dao of Time into one. He’s begin to truly touch upon the power of spacetime.”

“Congratulations, Master, for having found such another talent,” Crazy Ji said immediately.

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Chapter 40 – Allfiend World

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 40 – Allfiend World

“Don’t overstate things. This red-haired kid has just touched upon spacetime; he can be considered to have just barely gained a basic level of insight into it.” Subhuti sighed. “Still…I’ve finally found a suitable successor to the supreme skills I developed, just as the great tribulation has arrived. It seems the heavens have taken pity on me.”

Crazy Ji nodded as well.

All of Subhuti’s disciples believed that their second brother, Crazy Ji, had become the true heir and successor to their master’s skills. This wasn’t wrong; Crazy Ji had learned all of Subhuti’s Buddhist techniques and Daoist techniques, as well as even the [Dream of the Three Realms]. Naturally, Crazy Ji had long ago reached the Daofather level, and was ranked as the highest authority amongst the countless Arhats of the Buddhist Sangha.

Crazy Ji himself knew very well, however, that the true supreme technique of his master, Patriarch Subhuti…was a supreme spacetime technique.

The reason why Subhuti was able to be so mysterious was precisely because his mastery over spacetime was absolutely astonishing. Other Daofathers couldn’t even locate his ‘Crescent’ major world, thanks to his utterly amazing control over spacetime.

“Master has finally found a successor for his supreme technique. It seems as though the heavens are on our side,” Crazy Ji said.

“The heavens?”

Subhuti raised his head to glance towards the skies. “The Seamless Gate’s ‘king’ ended up merging himself into the Dao of the Heavens. My Crescent world is governed by the Dao of the Heavens as well. The other Daofathers might not be able to find it, but the Seamless Gate’s ‘king’…he might not have been able to find it before fusing with the Dao of the Heavens, but now, by relying on the Dao of the Heavens, he can. This means that the living creatures on this world will not be able to escape this storm either.”

“You are worrying too much, master. That ‘king’…in the end, he’s still just a part of the Dao of the Heavens, now. He cannot simply act as he wishes,” Crazy Ji said.

“Yes…and so we have a chance to win.” Subhuti nodded.

Empyrean God Redsnow wasn’t the only one in the Three Realms to have gained a basic level of skill in spacetime; two other Daofathers had as well. They were members of the Nuwa Alliance, but these two Daofathers had their own paths to follow; there was no way they would divide their attention to focus solely on the path of spacetime. After all, there were many paths of training in the Dao, with the most powerful one still being the path of primordial chaos.

The two who had completed that path were Pangu and Nuwa.

……

The Grand Xia. Whitepole Commandery. The battlefield of the Realmwar.

“Die!”

The Seven Planets Empyrean God brandished its longspear, causing spacetime to fluctuate and change as white snow drifted down. It hammered down upon the forces of the Seamless Gate, including the group of Empyrean Gods/True Immortals and the three Diremonster Gods, to the point where they found it hard to even withstand its blows.

“Too powerful. Empyrean God Redsnow is too powerful.”

“He has no weaknesses at all. His group combat skills and his solo combat skills…all of them are perfect and flawless. No matter how well we coordinate with each other, we still have some flaws and openings. We’re going to lose for sure.”

“We simply can’t stop him.”

The three Diremonster Gods, the Immortals of the Nine Precious Godtowers Formation, and the others all felt completely despair and powerlessness.

“His Dao of combat is completely flawless. It’s as though he was born to fight this sort of war.” The eldest brother of the three, the gold-feathered eagle, let out a shocked sigh.

“Don’t forget that he was born when Heaven and Earth was first created. He experienced the very earliest wars of the universe. Large-scale battles like this…he’s been through countless numberse of them, and his battle style was honed, tempered, and perfected countless times through those countless battles. In the end, we simply didn’t have the chance to experience that era. We haven’t experienced enough of these large-scale battles. Although our third brother is comparable to Empyrean God Redsnow in terms of the Dao, in a real life-and-death battle, especially one on a battlefield like this…he’s still a bit inferior. Now that Empyrean God Redsnow is commanding the Seven Planets Empyrean God…the Three-Eyed Demon which our third brother is commanding is naturally going to be weaker.”

“Third brother, let’s retreat. We can’t stop him.”

“Right. Let’s retreat. Let’s reflect on what we’ve learned, then fight him again in the future.”

“Fine.” The nine-headed lion nodded.

“Let’s go!”

The Three-Eyed Demon sent a mental message that echoed in the minds of all allies present.

Whoosh!

Instantly, the many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that had been battling the Seven Planets Empyrean God immediately began to retreat!

“Attack! Don’t let them escape!”

“Attack!”

Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor, and the other Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, Heaven Punishers, Raindragons, and Pangu War-Formations instantly began a frenzied pursuit upon seeing this.

The most dazzling figure of all was that of the Seven Planets Empyrean God!

His longspear…it was a life-taking instrument of death. Even the Three-Eyed Demons had fled rather than face it; naturally, there was now nothing and no one capable of stopping it at all. Within this battle region, the Seamless Gate’s forces quickly began to collapse.

……

The walls of the Seamless City. Daofather Ink Bamboo was watching over the entire battlefield here. Upon seeing that the eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals he had sent out were still unable to stop the Seven Planets Empyrean God, he knew that this battle was over! As he expected…just a short while later, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater began to lead the others in a frantic retreat.

“Withdraw!” Daofather Ink Bamboo had a dark look on his face. He said just that single word, his voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield.

The forces of the Seamless Gate in every single region on the battlefield were in difficult situations. Upon hearing the order be given, they all let out sighs of relief and began to flee.

“This Empyrean God Redsnow…” Daofather Ink Bamboo stared at the Seven Planets Empyrean God, an ugly look on his face. He knew that there was a limit to the amount of energy it could unleash; the reason why it had been so incredibly powerful was because of the person commanding it. The reason why the Three-Eyed Demon was so powerful as to have reached the Daofather level was because its commander, the nine-headed lion, had an extremely high level of insight into the Dao. The Seven Planets Empyrean God was even more powerful, precisely because its commander, Empyrean God Redsnow, was simply far too formidable.

Redsnow…

In terms of his insights into the Dao, he was actually roughly on par with the nie-headed lion. He had far too many combat techniques, however, resulting in the nine-headed lion feeling complete despair.

“Press the attack!”

“Don’t let them run off!”

“Kill them!”

The forces of the Crimsonbright Realm immediately began to chase after and slaughter their foes.

The Seamless Gate’s entire battle line began to collapse as they began to flee. The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, the six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian, and the other powerful Empyrean Gods were now all fleeing as well. When faced with such an awe-inspiring enemy army…if they let themselves be trapped, they would be doomed.

This sort of large-scale disorderly retreat actually resulted in incredibly heavy casualties. The forces of the Seamless Gate had lost all their desire to fight; the only thing they wanted to do was flee.

The battle right now was a slaughter!

Daofather Ink Bamboo watched silently, not saying a single thing as he saw it all unfold. He had been forced to give the order to withdraw; if he had tried to insist on continuing this battle, even more of his forces would be wiped out. If he didn’t order a retreat right away, he might lose the majority of his forces. The difference in power between the two sides wasn’t that great right now; the losses they were sustaining were acceptable, if painful.

Daofather Ink Bamboo looked towards the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, where Daofather Crimsonbright was.

Daofather Crimsonbright had a smile on his face. A wide smile.

“Hmph.” Daofather Ink Bamboo turned and left the city walls.

……

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Everyone was cheering in celebration. The countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals were incomparably jubilant right now. This had been a simply wonderful battle! That final pursuit in particular…the enemies they managed to catch and trap had all been utterly massacred. The sensation of being able to massacre their foes…it was glorious!

“Redsnow.”

The countless Immortals all looked towards a group of Empyrean Gods who were standing in midair. The most dazzling figure was a red-haired Empyrean God…Redsnow!

All of the Immortals and Fiendgods present knew that the person who had changed the entire outcome of this battle was Empyrean God Redsnow. As a result, they all looked towards him with scorching, excited gazes. He was too strong. He was the most powerful Empyrean God they had ever seen, and the way he had used his spear…it was simply unbelievable.

“Fellow Daoist Redsnow, long time no see.”

“Fellow Daoist Redsnow, you saved the day.”

“Redsnow, why have you come?”

Some of those who had met Empyrean God Redsnow before, such as the Xia Emperor and a few other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, were chatting with him.

“Primelight.” The Xia Emperor was particularly animated when chatting with the foster son of Daoist Threelives, Empyrean God Primelight. They two actually had quite a good relationship in the past.

A short time later, the entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity began a massive celebratory banquet, with the countless Immortals and Fiendgods celebrating together. In the main palace, Daofather Crimsonbright personally feted the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and Celestial Immortal commanders who had risked their lives in battle.

Halfway through the banquet…

“Redsnow.” Daofather Crimsonbright sent a mental message over.

“Daofather.” Empyrean God Redsnow replied mentally as well.

“Your sudden appearance…why is it that I haven’t heard of any Daofathers arranging you to come here?” Daofather Crimsonbright asked.

“We promised Ji Ning to help him once,” Empyrean God Redsnow replied. “After having helped him this time, we’ve finished our assignment.”

“Ah?”

Daofather Crimsonbright was surprised that it was Ji Ning who had caused them to come. Immediately afterward, he grew rather worried. He immediately sent over, “You are only helping out once? You won’t be helping out after this?”

Empyrean God Redsnow nodded gently.

Daofather Crimsonbright sent urgently, “The Seamless Gate has suffered heavy casualties during this Realmwar. It is very possible that they might retreat, which means the Realmwar will be over. But if they aren’t willing to accept this outcome and attack again…without the seven of you standing against the Three-Eyed Demon, we might not be able to win.” He knew exactly how important the Seven Planets Empyrean God was, and how much of an impact it had on the battlefield.

“Last time, you helped Ji Ning. This time, help me,” Daofather Crimsonbright sent mentally. “I’m not insisting that you join me in battle, but if the Seamless Gate refuses to give up and assaults us once again, I’d like you to assist our Crimsonbright Realm.”

Empyrean God Redsnow hesitated momentarily, then began to confer mentally with the nearby Primelight, Dovesnake, Snow Scorpion, and the others.

A Daofather was asking them to help out…

In addition, Daofather Crimsonbright had indeed been on very good terms with Daoist Threelives. Ji Ning was participating in this war as well. Soon, they came to an accord.

“Since you have made the request, Daofather, the seven of us shall do as you ask. If the Seamless Gate once more comes in force, we shall continue battle, only stopping once this Realmwar is completed,” Empyrean God Redsnow sent mentally.

Daofather Crimsonbright instantly let out a sigh of relief.

Wonderful.

These seven Empyrean Gods had been the most elite of generals under Threelives. It was true that Threelives’ death had resulted in the disbanding of his forces, with quite a few of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Starseizing Manor leaving for other pastures. Only Redsnow and the rest of the seven had been unwilling to leave due to the loyalty and devotion they felt towards Threelives. They had continued to hide within the Starseizing Manor and waited…waited for their new leader to arise. Each of the seven were incredibly powerful, and when they joined forces…twenty or thirty ordinary Empyrean Gods or True Immortals wouldn’t necessarily be a match for them.

……

“We lost.” Daofather Ink Bamboo knew that there was a limit to how much strength the Seamless Gate could employ. They had reached that limit for the sake of this Realmwar; it was unlikely that further reinforcements would be made available. Even if there were further reinforcements…it’d be hard to make up for difference in power that now existed. The Seven Planets Empyrean God was simply too powerful.

……

The Three Realms. A mysterious major world.

This major world was known as the Allfiends world. This was the true headquarters of the many Myriad Demons Caves.

There were a hundred Seamless Gates; in turn, there were also a hundred Myriad Demon Caves. They were spread out throughout the Three Realms, frantically collecting precious materials and building golems. The reason why the Seamless Gate was so terrifyingly strong was in large part because their skill in the Dao of Constructs was truly unrivalled in the Three Realms. They were able to produce some truly top-tier golems that the Nuwa Alliance was completely unable to manufacture.

As for how secretive and mysterious the Allfiends world was? Not even the commander of the Seamless Gate, the ‘Godking’, was qualified to interfere with it.

The Allfiends world was under the protection of an even more powerful leader of the Seamless Alliance. The entire Nuwa Alliance had been frantically attempting to find a core formation-diagram for the golems, but alas…they weren’t able to find diagrams for even the Empyrean God golems, to say nothing of the truly top-class golems.

Rumble…

Within a massive, levitating fortress.

This fortress had been completedly sealed off. Inside the sealed fortress, there was an enormous palace that was a hundred thousand kilometers in size. Inside the palace, there was a veritable horde of Celestial Immortals, at least a million of them or more. They were as numerous as ants, scattered throughout the palace as they focused on manufacturing various parts.

At the highest part of the palace, a massive throne was levitating in the air, with two Pure Yang True Immortals standing respectfully before it.

Atop the throne sat a wanton, dissolute-looking man. He slouched against the throne, resting his jaw on his right hand while holding a gourd of wine with his left hand. He stared downwards. “1,080,000 Celestial Immortals. It’s been three full years…but they still haven’t finished this Daofather golem?”

“It’ll be done soon, Grandmaster Blackheaven,” the two True Immortals said hurriedly.

The man seated atop the throne was, amazingly, ‘Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’.

The two True Immortals knew that Grandmaster Blackheaven usually lived a relaxed, carefree life; all he did these days was order his disciples and grand-disciples around in creating various golems. It was now quite rare for him to personally take control over golem production. He was, after all, the most skilled expert in the Allfiends world in the Dao of Constructs. In fact, even this ‘Celestial Immortal body’ of his was actually manufactured through the art of constructs!

Not even True Gods or Daofathers could tell that this body of Blackheaven’s was merely a golem-body. Even if the Nuwa Alliance slew it, they would have merely killed a golem-body.

Grandmaster Blackheaven…supposedly, he himself wasn’t particularly powerful in combat. His skill in golems, however, was unrivaled in the Three Realms. Even the toys he casually created possessed enormous power, and by relying on these little toys Blackheaven was able to roam the Three Realms with ease. It was hard for even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to deal with him, which was why almost everyone in the Three Realms treated Blackheaven as they would a True Immmortal. But none of them knew the truth.

Not even Azurefox or True Immortal Whitepole knew the truth, that Blackheaven was in reality the Seamless Gate’s most skilled expert in the art of constructs. His status in this regard was a tightly held secret. Although quite a few Celestial Immortals and True Immortals in the Allfiends world knew, they weren’t permitted to leave this place at all.

“Eh?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s face sank. Crack! The wine gourd in his hand was crushed into tiny pieces.

“Despite all that, they still weren’t able to kill Ji Ning. Empyrean God Redsnow? Empyrean God Redsnow actually appeared out of nowhere and ruined everything. Fortunately…I didn’t place all of my hopes on those three Diremonster Gods. In the end, it’ll be up to my golems.” Blackheaven had an ugly look on his face as he coldly issued an order: “Issue a decree in my name. The Daofather golem must be completedly within one month. The 1,080,000 Celestial Immortals are merely focusing on these parts, whereas I am managing the manufacturing of the Daofather golem as a whole, but it still isn’t finished…if it isn’t finished within one month, then all Celestial Immortals shall be punished by the seven flames…as will you two!”

Upon hearing the words ‘punished by the seven flames’, the two True Immortals were horrified. They immediately said respectfully, “Yes, Grandmaster. It will definitely be completed within a month.”

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Chapter 41 – Birth

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 41 – Birth

“Go. You don’t need to stay here and serve me,” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven instructed.

“Yes.”

The two True Immortals immediately flew downwards, beginning to make the arrangements for countless Celestial Immortals to refocus on the project. The two began to go all-out to manufacture some parts as well.

Blackheaven just looked downwards at them.

“Blackheaven.” Suddenly, a sonorous voice rang out by Blackheaven’s ears.

Blackheaven was startled. He immediately said respectfully, “Master, your powers are all-encompassing.”

“This type of Daofather golem is too weak. They are just barely at the Daofather level. When the Endwar comes, the truly supreme True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms, like the leaders of the Daoist Path and Buddhist Way, will be able to annihilate these golems with one blow.” The sonorous voice said calmly, “You shouldn’t divide your attention. Focus on manufacturing the ‘Envoy of All Creatures’.”

“Master, this is merely one of my avatars,” Blackheaven said respectfully. “And as you said, master, this sort of Daofather golem is just barely at the Daofather level; it’s fairly simple for me to work on it. It’s just two or three years; it won’t have much of an impact on things. All these years, I’ve roamed the Three Realms in a carefree, relaxed manner. That little girl Violetgrass…I did indeed dote on her. She’s dead, now. There’s no way I can let it go without taking revenge for her.”

“Mm. I never would’ve thought you’d feel affection for someone.” The sonorous voice held a hint of amusement within it. “If that’s the case…then go do what you need to do. However, you should know what truly matters and what does not.”

“Yes. Once this Daofather golem is completed, I’ll immediately send back these 1,080,000 Celestial Immortals and have them continue to work on the Envoy of All Living Things,” Blackheaven said respectfully.

The Seamless Alliance only had so many Celestial Immortals, after all. The number of Celestial Immortals who were skilled in the art of golems was even lower. 1,080,000 Celestial Immortals who were skilled in golems…this represented nearly 20% of the total number available. Sending them to work on this Daofather golem did indeed have a negative impact on the advancement of the Envoy of All Creatures. However, manufacturing that golem was a very arduous, lengthy task; it was true that ‘wasting’ the time of 20% of their Celestial Immortals for just three years wouldn’t make much of a difference.

If that wasn’t the case, Blackheaven wouldn’t have dared to reallocate these Celestial Immortals.

“It’s good that you understand this. We absolutely must win the Endwar. We already lost, once…I don’t wish to lose a second time,” the sonorous voice said.

“Yes,” Blackheaven said respectfully.

The presence departed from his mind. Only now did Blackheaven let out a sigh of relief.

“I have to go see the Godking as well. Otherwise, they might foolishly decide to give up that Realmwar,” Blackheaven mused to himself.

……

The vast world of darkness.

The Godking was seated high up on his towering throne, looking down at the world below him. A figure appeared in the darkness below; it was Celestial Immortal Blackheaven.

“Godking,” Blackheaven said.

“Grandmaster.” The black-robed Godking had a hint of amusement in his voice. “Why have you come to my place, Grandmaster?”

“I’d like to ask you, Godking, to invite Daofather Ink Bamboo as well,” Blackheaven said.

“Fine.” The Godking nodded.

Soon, yet another figure appeared within the world of darkness. It was Daofather Ink Bamboo, who glanced towards Blackheaven and said with surprise, “Grandmaster?”

Only the most top-tier figures of the Seamless Alliance knew who Blackheaven really was. It was precisely because of his status that they treated Blackheaven as they would an equal, and in fact were quite courteous to him. First of all…Blackheaven’s master was, at present, the most powerful figure of the entire Seamless Alliance…the Lord of All Fiends 1!

In addition, Blackheaven was the most skilled grandmaster the Seamless Alliance had in the Dao of Constructs.

Whether it was his own artistry in golems, or his master being the Lord of All Fiends…Blackheaven had a truly transcendental status.

“I’ve created a Daofather golem,” Blackheaven said.

“Daofather golem?” The Godking frowned. “Those golems use up many precious materials, but are fairly weak. Didn’t the Fiendlord give up on them?”

Daofather Ink Bamboo looked towards Blackheaven in puzzlement as well.

These were core members of the Seamless Gate; they knew much about the plans they had to conquer the universe.

The Godking was the leader who commanded the various parties of the Seamless Alliance. But it was the Lord of All Fiends, however, who was the most powerful figure of the Seamless Alliance. It was precisely because the Lord of All Fiends was guarding the Allfiend world that the Nuwa Alliance was completely unable to acquire the core formation-diagrams they so desperately wanted. The most supremely powerful golems were all built within the Allfiend world, and the Lord of All Fiends was reverentially referred to by the Seamless Alliance as the ‘Fiendlord’.

The Lord of All Things didn’t take part in worldly matters, and so it was left to the Godking to command the Seamless Alliance.

It must be understood that even when the former ‘king’ of the Seamless Alliance was alive, the Lord of All Fiends was second only to him! After the king had failed to defeat Mother Nuwa, he had been forced to merge his body into the Dao of the Heavens. That way, at least his soul wouldn’t be destroyed. The Lord of All Fiends, however, had relied on his own techniques to flee from and escape Nuwa. After so many years having passed, the Lord of All Fiends had only grown even more unfathomably powerful.

Even major powers like the Godking or Daofather Ink Bamboo would be extremely respectful when meeting the Lord of All Fiends.

“Master knows of this, of course,” Blackheaven said. “I’ve created this Daofather golem for the purpose of killing someone.”

“Killing someone?”

The Godking and Daofather Ink Bamboo both looked at Blackheaven. The Godking asked, “Ji Ning?”

“Yes. I watched Violetgrass grow up. I absolutely won’t allow her to have died for nothing. I’m going to make Ji Ning pay a price.” Cold light flashed in Blackheaven’s eyes. “He has to die. I know that you encountered the Seven Planets Empyrean God during this Realmwar. Once my Daofather golem appears, the Seven Planets Empyrean God will definitely be defeated.”

“If the Seven Planets Empyrean God is defeated…you should be able to win this battle, yes?” Blackheaven asked.

“If it really is a Daofather golem…then we can win this battle.” Daofather Ink Bamboo nodded.

They knew exactly how powerful Daofather golems were. Even some actual Daofathers such as Daofather Ink Bamboo, the weaker ones, would find it very hard to actually do anything to a Daofather golem.. It was much like how many Empyrean Gods found it hard to do anything to an Empyrean God golem; the principle was the same. Daofather golems had bodies comparable to Protocosmic spirit-treasures. They were very hard to damage!

They also possessed enormous, unearthly amounts of power.

Of course, the truly supreme True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms could easily destroy these golems. But the Seven Planets Empyrean God?

The Seven Planets Empyrean God was merely created through a formation of seven Empyrean Gods; its attack power was just barely at the Daofather level. Its attacks wouldn’t even scratch the body of a Daofather golem. The Daofather golem, however, could launch attacks with impunity. In the entire Crimsonbright Realm…there was nothing and no one that was a match for it. The only option was for many armies to join forces against it.

“This Blackheaven character really is quite the madman. The amount of precious materials needed to forge a Daofather golem is enough to create more than a thousand Pure Yang treasures. We are currently in the process of creating the Envoy of All Creatures, but he’s actually split off so many Immortals and precious materials to manufacture a Daofather golem? I imagine the Fiendlord can’t be too happy about this either.” The Godking and Daofather Ink Bamboo both had the same thoughts about this.

“With Blackheaven’s Daofather golem joining us…naturally, we would win. But if the Nuwa Alliance ends up sending over the Eight Immortals of the High Caves or similarly powerful Empyrean Gods or True Immortals to assist the Seven Planets Empyrean God…they’d absolutely be able to block the Daofather golem.” Daofather Ink Bamboo expressed his concerns.

“If that happens…then forget about the battle. There’s only one target; Ji Ning,” Blackheaven said.

“If it’s just to kill Ji Ning…fine.”

“Agreed.”

Both the Godking and Daofather Ink Bamboo agreed.

They both knew very well that the Crimsonbright Realm had already summoned a significant amount of their forces for this Realmwar. The Nuwa Alliance had to worry about many different theaters of war as well; it wasn’t that likely that they would send some of their supremely powerful forces to take part in the Crimsonbright Realm. If they did, their other regions would be thrown into danger.

Thus…they should be able to win this battle.

“One month. The Daofather golem will be ready in one month. A month from now, go to the Allfiend world and I’ll give it to you,” Blackheaven said, then disappeared into thin air.

The Godking and Daofather Ink Bamboo exchanged a glance.

“This Realmwar in the Crimsonbright Realm is starting to spin out of our control,” the Godking said softly.

“Once the Seven Planets Empyrean God which Daoist Threelives left behind emerged, the entire battlefield was thrown into a state of frenzied chaos,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said. “To be honest…to manufacture a Daofather golem simply for the sake of winning a single Realmwar isn’t really worth it.”

“Still. We’ve already paid a very high price…which makes winning this Realmwar all the more important,” the Godking said heavily.

……

Time passed, one day after another.

“What’s going on? The Seamless Gate isn’t retreating?”

“The Seamless City is still there.”

The walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity were often occupied by Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, as well as the Celestial Immortal commanders. They would stare at the distance Seamless City, and indeed….that towering black citadel was still there, not having budged at all.

“They’ve suffered catastrophic losses, and our Seven Planets Empyrean God is much stronger than their Three-Eyed Demon. Why haven’t they retreated?”

“They fled quite quickly last time. If they dare to fight us again, we’ll completely wipe them out.”

The Crimsonbright Realm’s forces had very high morale right now.

In fact, Daofather Crimsonbright often ordered his armies to go out and call for the Seamless Gate’s forces to come out and fight, but the Seamless Gate’s armies remained inside their city, not budging at all.

……

Soon, half a month passed after the last major battle.

Within a world of pristine mountains and lovely streams.

This was the vast world within the Pure Yang Treasure, ‘Violetdawn Pearl’. Long ago, Ji Ning had relocated all of the Ji clansmen to this place. Uncle White, Mu Northson, Little Qing, and Autumn Leaf were living here as well. A short time ago, Ning had moved Yu Wei to this place as well. His Primaltwin, however, remained within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, prepared to enter combat at a moment’s notice.

Within a quiet courtyard.

Ji Ning, Ji Truekeep, Uncle White, Little Qing, and Mu Northson were all here. Ji Ning was seated on a stool, occasionally glancing towards the closed door of the courtyard residence. His senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei, was currently within that room along with Autumn Leaf.

“Look at him. He’s not saying a thing, and he has a strange little look on his face,” Northson snickered.

“He’s about to become a father. Of course things are going to be different.” The Whitewater Hound lay there to one side as he smiled towards Ning. He felt quite gratified. Ji Ning was finally about to become a father. Finally, he would have a child of his own.”

“Ning, son, don’t be nervous. Wait patiently. You’ve been able to wait for several years; it’s just a little bit longer,” Uncle White said with a laugh.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Yu Wei was a Celestial Immortal; naturally, she would be completely safe in childbirth. But when he thought of how his child was about to enter this world, Ning felt an inexplicable nervousness and uneasiness. Would he be able to take good care of his child? To protect his child?

“Five years, two months in the womb. I wonder what your child will look like, senior apprentice-brother.” Northson let out a sigh.

This made Ning even more nervous.

A while later, suddenly…

“Your child greets you, Mother. Uh, where’s my father?” A clear, crisp, childish voice rang out from within the room, followed by a surprised cry from Autumn Leaf..

Ning had previously been nervous. Now, he was simply stunned.

1. This is a different person from the ‘Lord of All Creatures’ mentioned as being deceased just few chapters ago.

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Chapter 42 – Daughter, Brightmoon

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 42 – Daughter, Brightmoon

“Don’t be in such a rush! Get dressed before you go out!” Yu Wei’s voice could be heard within the room.

“The clothes we prepared…were too small…” Autumn Leaf’’s worried voice rang out as well.

Boom!

The door to the residence was blasted open, and a butt-naked child with tousled hair came flying straight out of it. Ji Ning immediately saw that this child was a little girl. Her skin was so soft and tender, it seemed as though water was about to come out of it. Her eyes were filled with lively intelligence, and she actually had the divine tattoo of a flame in the middle of her forehead.

The area around the little girl was surrounded by flames, as though she was a young fire elemental.

BOOM! The little girl first happily flew out, then gave the wooden door yet another kick, causing it to completely splinter apart. She revealed a look of delight, then turned and swept Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Ji Truekeep, and the Whitewater Hound with her gaze. She said in a clear, crisp voice, “You guys…which one of you is my father?”

Ning, Northson, Uncle White, and the others all stared in amazement.

A long moment passed before they were able to recover.

“Good…heavens.” Northson blinked several times. “This…this is a newborn?”

“According to the legends, the children of Immortals and Fiendgods are quite incredible. This is my first time seeing one. This is too…” Truekeep was somewhat dazed as well.

“So this is the child of my son Ning and Yu Wei?” Uncle White was rather dazed as well. “My son Ning is such an obedient child, while Yu Wei is kind and virtuous. How is it that they’ve given birth to a little girl like this…”

Thanks to his formidable Dao-heart, Ning was the first one to go back to normal. Laughing, he said, “You can’t just run around butt-naked like that. You have to wear clothes in the outside world; otherwise, you’ll be laughed at. Uh…you are the size of a three year old child. They didn’t exactly prepare the appropriately sized clothes for you…but ordinary clothes can’t withstand the flames that you are born with control over.”

Ning pointed towards her. Whoosh! Strands of fire and strands of water began to twist around her body, quickly forming an adorable-looking water-colored undergarment.

“So you are my father?” The girl-child stared at Ning.

Ning felt a very satisfied feeling in his heart as the girl stared at him. The main reason was that this daughter of his was simply too adorable. The heavens must have absolutely doted on her, to have blessed her with such cleverness and cuteness.

“Yes.” Ning smiled and nodded.

“He’s your father.” Yu Wei and Autumn Leaf walked out from the residence. The looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. The look on Yu Wei’s face was particularly complicated. Clearly, the fact that the child was so big, could speak, could run around, and control fire…wasn’t exactly what she had expected. Although it was said that the children of Immortals and Fiendgods would be rather special, most would still be ordinary infants when first born.

“When I was in Mother’s belly, I could hear people chatting outside. I know that my father is named Ji Ning. Is your name Ji Ning?” The girl-child nibbled on her fingers as she stared at Ning.

“Right. I am Ji Ning.” Ji Ning nodded.

“Your child greets you, Father.” With a thudding sound, the girl immediately fell to both knees, kowtowing towards him.

“Father. Mother.” The girl looked at Ji Ning and Yu Wei. Quite excitedly, she asked, “Have you picked a name for me yet?”

Ning and Yu Wei exchanged a glance. This daughter really wasn’t what they had expected…but neither Ning nor Yu Wei were ordinary figures either. Ning laughed. “Senior apprentice-sister, you said that you would pick out a name.”

Yu Wei nodded gently. “Since our child is a daughter…let’s call her Brightmoon.”

“Brightmoon?” Ning was startled.

That year…

Ning had shocked everyone during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. It was within the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Riverse that he and Yu Wei had grown close and become Dao-companions.

“From today forth, you shall be named Ji Brightmoon.” Ning looked at the flame-wreathed girl.

“Ji Brightmoon? Ji Brightmoon? Haha…Ji Brightmoon, Ji Brightmoon…” The girl happily ran around the courtyard, calling her name out repeatedly in excitement.

The nearby Little Qing drew close to Ning. In a low voice, she whispered, “Master, why is it that your daughter seems to be even more energetic and wilder than a boy? She was just born, but she’s already this crazy…I can’t even imagine what she’ll be like in the future.”

Ning laughed and nodded. “Yes, in the future, I’ll have to teach and guide her properly.”

……

His daughter, Brightmoon, truly possessed tremendous innate talent. From the moment of her birth, she possessed a Zifu-level Fiendgod body, and was able to control the power of fire. This was actually quite normal; even the weakest of Fiendgods that were born from the natural world were at least at the Xiantian level of power, while the most powerful ones that were born forth from the primordial chaos were the Empyrean Gods and True Gods of Primordial Chaos!

The nine children of the Ancestor Dragon, for example, were all born at the Empyrean God level.

In the Primordial Era, it was quite common for Immortals and Fiendgods to have children. The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan, Youngflame Freak, for example, was born from the couple of a Youngflame clan member and a Fiendgod, which was why he was so ugly. Many Godbeasts, in turn, were created during the Primordial Era when powerful Fiendgods couple with certain Diremonsters. Their monstrous bodies contained Fiendgod blood in them, and so they were referred to as ‘Godbeasts’; the more pure their bloodline was, the more powerful they would be.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were both humans, and so their child was naturally a human as well.

Since Ji Ning’s bloodline was a bit weaker, his daughter was ‘merely’ born with a Zifu-level Fiendgod body. However, she had no skills as a Ki Refiner at all. In this regard, she would have to train from scratch.

Any and every Fiendgod, even the most supreme of True Gods of Primordial Chaos, would have to train from scratch if they wished to become Ki Refiners. Daofather Crimsonbright, Patriarch Subhuti, and the other True Gods of Primordial Chaos had to slowly train as Ki Refiners as well, eventually reaching the Daofather of the Great Firmament level.

“Father, Father! Piggyback, piggyback!”

“Father’s the best!”

Ning carried his daughter on his back, wandering Brightheart Island. Although it had been moved to the Violetdawn Pearl’s world, it hadn’t changed all that much.

……

“Father, Fiendgod Body Refining is so boring. Let’s train in ki instead!”

“Brightmoon, do you want a taste of your mother’s crop?”

“Bad Father! You are so bad!”

……

When facing his adorable daughter, Ning simply couldn’t put on a show of being the ‘strict father’, no matter how he tried. Yu Wei, however, was hard-hearted enough to carry a riding crop around with her. Whenever her daughter was disobedient, she would use the crop to teach her daughter a lesson and spank her. This caused Brightmoon to be rather nervous around her. In front of Ning, she would be playful and silly, but in front of Yu Wei, she would be respectful and extremely obedient.

“Honestly, you don’t have to be so strict with her.” Ning had discussed this matter with Yu Wei in private before. “Our daughter is still young. You can tell how talented she is. She’s like a scroll of white parchment right now, waiting to be filled up. We have to teach her patiently. There’s no rush.”

“We are in the middle of a great tribulation, right now. We can’t just slack off.” Yu Wei shook her head.

……

“Demonstrate the [Sixteen Stances of the Firecloud Sword] which your father taught you.” Yu Wei held a willow branch in her hands. Although this was just an ordinary willow branch, there was a layer of Celestial Immortal energy protecting it. When Yu Wei grew angry, she’d grab Brightmoon and then whack Brightmoon on her little bottom with it until Brightmoon began to howl.

As a Celestial Immortal, it was easy for her to control her power so that the spanking hurt but didn’t cause her any actual damage.

“Yes.” Brightmoon’s eyes were slightly red. She bit her little lips, as though she was about to start crying.

“Eh?” Yu Wei frowned.

Terrified, Brightmoon immediately picked up a sword and beagn to train in sword-arts. This was a sword-art technique which Ning had created; it was perfectly suited for someone who needed to build up a solid foundation. The sixteen stances were divided into two parts, the first part ‘hard’ and the other part ‘soft’. Both parts, however, fully encompassed the Dao of the Inferno.

Ning stood off to one side, beaming merrily as he watched. Brightmoon gave Ning a sad look, secretly mumbling to herself, “Bad Father! Both of you are bullying me.”

“Her potential truly is exceptional. She’s only trained for three days, but she’s already broken through to the Xiantian level as a Ki Refiner.” Ning sighed with feeling. “And from the many sword-arts that I’ve taught her, it seems as though her talent in fire is particularly high, far higher than in metal, wood, water, or earth. Senior apprentice-sister was referred to as the ‘Rainbowflame Fairy’, but she was quite talented in water as well. I myself am talented in all five of the Five Elements. Why, then, is this daughter of mine so very different?”

Of the five elements, her talent in the other four elements could be considered as ordinary for a cultivator. Her talent in fire, however, was at an absolutely monstrous level.

Still, Ji Ning and Yu Wei didn’t think about it too much. Both of them were very talented. Yu Wei had become a Celestial Immortal; how could she not be? As for Ji Ning, his Primaltwin had become a Pure Yang True Immortal! Thus, for his daughter to be so incredibly talented in the element of fire wasn’t that surprising.

……

Rumble…

A series of thundering sounds rang out unabated as dark clouds covered the earth. The Eight Dragons Cloudcity and the Seamless City, these two massive cities, remained in their original positions, levitating high in the sky.

“Ink Bamboo.” A thought-strand suddenly reached out from across the Void.

“Crimsonbright.” Another thought-strand replied.

“Your Seamless Gate really is quite lavish. You actually created a Daofather golem for this Realmwar. Is it worth it? Even if you win, and even if you take over the entire Crimsonbright Realm…in the future, we’ll still counter-attack and take it back.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s thought-strand was filled with absolute furious.

“Oh? Your Nuwa Alliance intelligence reports are quite timely,” Daofather Ink Bamboo replied. He had just received the Daofather golem moments ago. Who would’ve thought that the Nuwa Alliance would find out right away?

There had been nothing Daofather Ink Bamboo could do. If it wasn’t for the fact that they held absolute advantages over the Nuwa Alliance in terms of intelligence and the Dao of Constructs, they wouldn’t be a match for the Nuwa Alliance at all. The Nuwa Alliance had controlled the Three Realms ever since the Primordial Era, after all! The Daoist Path, the Buddhist Sangha, and even the Primordial Imperial Clan…all of them belonged to the Nuwa Alliance.

In the Nuwa Alliance, experts were as common as the clouds, and they had quite a few top-tier major powers as well. The three most powerful emperors of the Primordial Imperial Clan…the two leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha…some True Gods who had been born from the Primordial Chaos…

Thus, the Nuwa Alliance had formidable tools available to them as well.

In terms of intelligence, they were only inferior because they couldn’t match the Seamless Gate’s ‘king’, who had become one with the Dao of the Heavens itself. However, 1,080,000 Celestial Immortals had been dispatched to work on the creation of the Daofather golem, and an enormous amount of resources had been diverted. This was a huge affair, and the Nuwa Alliance had learned of it long ago. Although they weren’t able to break their way into the Allfiend world, they had never ceased their infiltration attempts or their surveillance.

“Ink Bamboo, you should know that although this Realmwar is important, the struggle for karmic luck has just begun. You are acting rather excessively in your attempts to conquer my Crimsonbright Realm.” Daofather Crimsonbright was extremely dissatisfied.

The Three Realms were incredibly vast. Up till now, there had only been a few Realmwar, and the struggle for karmic luck had just started. For them to start using Daofather golems right away meant that if the Nuwa Alliance wished to win, they would have to use enormous amounts of resources as well. If this was how the game was going to be played each time…even Daofathers and True Gods would feel heartache at the cost. The cost would be utterly ruinous, be more than what either side could endure.

The Three Realms only had so many treasures in them, after all, and the Seamless Gate only had so many manufacturing materials. This was why Blackheaven’s Daofather golem project had resulted in the Lord of All Fiends having made a personal inquiry. The only reason why the Lord of All Fiends didn’t pursue the matter any further was because of Blackheaven’s special status.

“This time, our Seamless Gate is definitely going to win,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said. “Since you know we have a Daofather golem…you should spend some time thinking about how you are going to deal with it.”

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Chapter 43 – Sieging the City

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 43 – Sieging the City

Within the Seamless City.

“Daofather.” Sixty-one Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all called out respectfully in unison. As for the others? They had all died in that great clash when the Seven Planets Empyrean God had appeared. The Seamless Gate had suffered heavy casualties during that battle; if it hadn’t been for Grandmaster Blackheaven intervening, the Godking and Daofather Ink Bamboo probably would have chosen to give up the fight for the Grand Xia.

“Our losses in this Realmwar were very heavy.” Daofather Ink Bamboo stared downwards at his forces. “However…our Seamless Gate isn’t giving up this Realmwar.”

“Not giving up?”

The sixty-one Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all surprised. The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater in particular stared intently at Daofather Ink Bamboo. The three of them had truly been beaten so badly by Redsnow’s Seven Planets Empyrean God that they didn’t have any of their usual bravado remaining.

“Daofather, dare I ask…how are we to deal with the Seven Planets Empyrean God?” The eldest of the three Diremonster Gods, the Great Sage Who Swallows the Mountains, called out in a loud voice.

“Look.” Daofather Ink Bamboo waved his hand.

Whoosh.

An enormous creature suddenly appeared out of nowhere into the air above the palace. It was a red-gold color, dazzling to behold. It had a body similar to that of a spider’s, with a total of eight slender and knife-sharp legs. It crouched there in the air, emanating an aura that caused the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals below to feel shocked.

“A Daofather golem?!” A series of shocked cries rang out.

Daofather Ink Bamboo nodded. “It is indeed a Daofather golem.”

“I need to pick one of you to be the controller of this Daofather golem,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said.

The sixty-one Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all stunned for a moment…and then they grew wildly excited. Even the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater were rather eager. They all knew exactly how powerful a Daofather golem was, how tough its body was. Not even True Gods or Daofathers would find it easy to destroy it. It possessed the strength of a Daofather and was nearly indestructible.

The might of a Daofather golem was definitely above that of the Three-Eyed Demon.

“These are spoils of war which we gained from vanquished members of the Crimsonbright Realms; ‘Splitters’.” Daofather Ink Bamboo willed the ‘Splitter’ to transform into the appearance of the Daofather golem. “Each of you shall take control over a Splitter that has been transformed into the form of a Daofather golem. Use the eight legs to launch your attacks.”

“Spar against each other,” Daofather Ink Bamboo ordered. “The victor shall control the real Daofather golem.”

“Yes!” The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all extremely excited.

……

They began to spar internally against each other. Soon, the more formidable ones were clearly evident, such as True Immortal Whitepole, Sword Immortal Evergreen, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, the Elder Fairy of the Nine Cloudmist Fairies…and then they began to compete against each other as well.

The most dazzling performances were actually rendered by Sword Immortal Evergreen and the nine-headed lion.

In the end, after a long and hard struggle, Sword Immortal Evergreen was actually able to just barely achieve victory over the nine-headed lion.

“Great Sage Who Swallows the Skies, the eight slender legs of this Daofather golem are like eight Immortal swords. I am a Sword Immortal, and specialize in the ‘Eight Trigrams Demonslayer Sword Formation’ that was created by Human Emperor Fuxi. I’m perfectly suited for controlling this Daofather golem, which is why I was able to fight against you for so long and just barely win,” Sword Immortal Evergreen said with a smile. “You, Great Sage, are an Empyrean God; you are best suited for close combat, and so were at a disadvantage when competing with me in this manner. I won, but I was lucky to win.”

Evergreen had a very modest attitude right now. He knew very well when he could afford to be arrogant, and when he had to lower his head.

The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater clearly weren’t people he could afford to offend. Even if he ended up controlling the Daofather golem, that was only in service to the Seamless Gate. The Daofather golem belonged to the Seamless Gate; it hadn’t been gifted to him.

“Hmph.” The nine-headed lion had an ugly look on his face. He had actually lost.

Sword Immortal Evergreen’s face flickered slightly, then quickly returned to normal. In his heart, however, he mused to himself, “It’s rare for me to be so courteous, but he actually gives me no face at all. Once I become a Daofather, you’ll be kneeling before me like an obedient puppy.”

“Evergreen, you shall have temporary control over this Daofather golem,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said.

“Evergreen shall not let you down, Daofather.” Sword Immortal Evergreen was extremely respectful, but his voice was filled with complete confidence.

……

Dark clouds covered the skies, and a savage wind howled through the land. Drops of rain could be seen within the clouds.

The vast army of the Seamless Gate, however, was filled with an utterly indomitable aura. The energy of the natural world flooded through them in a tidalwave, causing even the Golden Crow in the skies to appear distorted. The dark clouds in the skies rammed into each other, causing lightning to crash down chaotically, as though they too were terrified of the Immortal army below it.

“Crimsonbright, come out and fight!”

The grand army was calling for their foes to come out and engage them. They were within just a few thousand kilometers of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, and the sound of their cries filled the heavens themselves.

……

“They actually dare to call us out?”

“They didn’t dare to come out earlier, but now they do?”

“Hmph, it seems as though the Seamless Gate feels that they haven’t lost enough men yet.”

“Let’s teach them a good lesson.”

Instantly, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity became filled with eager cries. The Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and army commanders all flew towards the main palace.

Within the main palace. Daofather Crimsonbright was already seated upon his throne.

Ji Ning and the others entered, their eyes filled with an eagerness to do battle; clearly, they wanted to go out and fight right away.

“You are not to engage.” A hint of worry could be seen on Daofather Crimsonbright’s face as he spoke in a low voice.

“Eh?”

Everyone was stunned. Not to engage?

“Dare I ask, Daofather…why not?” Empyrean God Redsnow asked.

“The Seamless Gate feels a very, very strong desire to take over the Crimsonbright Realm. They’ve actually manufactured a Daofather golem for that purpose.” Daofather Crimsonbright shook his head. “Sending you out right now is tantamount to sending you to your deaths.”

“Daofather golem?” Empyrean Gods Redsnow, Primelight, Snow Scorpion, and the others revealed puzzled looks.

The seven of them had been staying in seclusion on the Starseizer major world for far too long. They knew very little about the outside world.

“Daofather golem?” The Xia Emperor and the others, however, cried out in shock.

Ning was puzzled as well. He didn’t know what this golem was either.

“You should have already seen Empyrean God golems,” Daofather Crimsonbright said. “I trust you are fully aware of how hard they are to deal with.”

“Yes. They’ve just barely reached the Empyrean God level in terms of power, but they are incredibly tough. It is very hard for ordinary True Immortals or Empyrean Gods to damage them.” Empyrean God Redsnow nodded.

“Daofather golems have just barely reached the Daofather level of power. They possess enormous power, and are also incredibly tough. Even I am unable to destroy one.” Daofather Crimsonbright sighed. “There’s no way whatsoever for the rest of you to damage it, while it can damage you. Redsnow…we would probably need a second Seven Planets Empyrean God of equal power to yours in order to tie down that Daofather golem. Otherwise…you by yourselves will be completely dominated to the point of not being able to fight back.”

Everyone present now understood. Their hearts turned icy cold.

For them to have gained the assistance of one Seven Planets Empyrean God was already a stroke of tremendous luck. A second one? How likely was that?

A single Daofather golem was much more powerful than the Seven Planets Empyrean God and Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher combined. There was simply no way to fight such a thing. It must be understood that the enemy also had a Three-Eyed Demon, which was only slightly weaker than the Seven Planets Empyrean God. If they were to truly fight…it really would be a lopsided battle.

……

The mood within the main hall was quite depressing. Everyone felt resentful and unwilling to accept this.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a ripple began to spread out.

Ning and the others couldn’t help but look upwards. Through the gates to the main palace, they saw that in the distant skies above them, a tear in the heavens could be seen. Through that tear, out walked a handsome youth who had a red dot in the center of his forehead. The handsome youth was dressed in Daoist robes, and he gracefully flew towards the main palace of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Cloudust greets you, Daofather,” the youth said with a smile as he bowed.

Daofather Crimsonbright’s eyes lit up.

“On orders of Human Emperor Shennong, I have come here to assist you in winning this battle, Daofather.” The robed youth smiled confidently as he spoke.

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Chapter 44 – The Moment Finally Arrives

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 44 – The Moment Finally Arrives

“Human Emperor Shennong?”

The Immortals and Fiendgods nearby, Ji Ning included, were shocked. Nuwa was the creator of mankind, and mankind had quickly multiplied. During the Primordial Era, however, mankind was still a very weak race amongst a myriad of races. However, the puny race had given birth to three dazzling, brilliant figures. They were Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong.

Under their command, mankind rapidly and steadily began to grow more powerful, rising to prominence amongst the races. Mother Nuwa herself cared deeply about the three of them, and their accomplishments caused the entire Three Realms to feel stunned.

The most powerful figures of the Nuwa Alliance were, without a doubt, the leader of the Buddhist Sangha and the leader of the Daoist Path.

The three Human Emperors, however, were comparable to these two mighty leaders!

The likes of Old Man Yuan and Patriarch Subhuti were ranked below them. But of course, that didn’t mean that Old Man Yuan and Patriarch Subhuti were necessarily weaker than them. After all, after countless ages of training, they might’ve made breakthroughs that allowed them to reach brand new levels of power. Without actually engaging in battle, it’d be hard to say…

But from the power that the three Human Emperors had already displayed, there was no question about their might at all.

It was precisely because the three of them existed that mankind became the masters of the Three Realms!

Although the Primordial Imperial Clan had successive generations of emperors, only the three of them were truly acknowledged as sovereigns by the entire Three Realms. Even major powers had to bow their heads in their presence. There was nothing for it; the Three Emperors were simply too strong.

“Shennong, one of the Three Emperors…he’s actually made his move. He is someone who is a true ruler of the Three Realms.” Ning secretly sighed in amazement. “I wonder…now that one of the Three Emperors has made a move, what sort of a move will it be?”

……

Upon hearing the youth before him say that he came on the orders of Human Emperor Shennong, Daofather Crimsonbright was delighted. He deeply trusted and tremendously respected Shennong…but he couldn’t help but ask in puzzlement, “Does the Human Emperor know what dire straits my Crimsonbright Realm is in? Daofather Ink Bamboo’s army now includes a Daofather golem within it.”

“The Human Emperor already knows,” the youth said.

“Can we win?” Daofather Crimsonbright grew excited.

Both sides had truly fought viciously in this war. Daofather Crimsonbright truly wished to win as well.

“I’m confident we can.” The youth nodded. “However, we still need to plan things out carefully, and I need to speak to you in private, Daofather. I have to keep this private and away from the other Immortals and Fiendgods for now.”

Daofather Crimsonbright nodded. Sweeping his soldiers with his gaze, he laughed. “You can leave for now.”

“Yes, Daofather.”

Ji Ning and the others all assented respectfully, then departed.

……

Outside the main palace. The Immortals and Fiendgods were all chatting animatedly.

“Shennong has actually intervened. He’s one of the Three Emperors of Mankind!”

“We’re definitely going to win.”

“I wonder what sort of method Shennong is going to employ against that Daofather golem.” Everyone was discussing this matter, and everyone was eager to know the answer.

Ning was walking by the side with Redsnow and the rest of the seven.

“Senior Redsnow, do you think we can win?” Ning asked.

“We should…but nothing is guaranteed,” Redsnow said in a low voice. “Shennong is one of the Three Emperors of Mankind. He’s unfathomably more powerful than even Master had been. For him to send people…he must have some degree of confidence. However, our foe is the Seamless Alliance, after all. They have terrifying major powers amongst their ranks as well. You can view it as them competing on a strategic level. It’s hard to say who will win and who will lose.”

Empyrean God Redsnow knew very well how powerful both sides were, because during that war that ended the Primordial Era…

It was so, so close.

Mother Nuwa had been finished. Their side had suffered countless casualties, and even the likes of Daoist Threelives fell during that final battle. Fortunately, Mother Nuwa made a sudden breakthrough and reached Pangu’s level, which was why they had suddenly stormed to victory. Despite that, the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate had managed to merge himself into the Dao of the Heavens to preserve his life. As for the Lord of All Fiends, he had managed to escape, preventing Mother Nuwa from being able to kill him.

“For now, let’s just watch as the two sides compete strategically with each other,” Redsnow said. “For this battle to have reached a state like this…this is crazier than I expected.”

Ning nodded slowly.

It was indeed quite crazy. There had already been several Realmwars, but they had all occurred within fairly weak Realms. In truth, the Crimsonbright Realm could also be considered a fairly weak world; after all, Daofather Crimsonbright himself wasn’t one of the most powerful figures of the Three Realms. None of the previous Realmwars, hwoever, had reached such a crazy level as the Crimsonbright Realm’s Realmwar had.

“All we have to do is wait for our orders. In the midst of this great storm…that’s all we can do.” Ning thought of his newborn daughter, his incomparably adorable and naughty daughter. A powerful desire to grow strong filled Ning’s heart. “I have to become even more powerful. In the midst of this tribulation, only growing in power will allow me to have a chance to protect Brightmoon and senior apprentice-sister…”

What Ning didn’t realize…

A major reason why this Realmwar had escalated to this degree was because of him, Ji Ning. First, Old Man Yuan had transmitted to Ning the [Heart Sutra], resulting in his Heaven Punisher gaining such extraordinary strength that even the Godking viewed him as a threat that had to be eliminated as early as possible. And secondly…Celestial Immortal Blackheaven wished to gain revenge for Violetgrass. Ning asking the Seven Planets Empyrean God to help out was yet another new variable that changed this Realmwar yet again.

But of course, if the Seven Planets Empyrean God hadn’t appeared, the Crimsonbright Realm would’ve lost long ago.

……

The vast world of darkness.

The towering throne levitated in the air at the very center of this world. The Godking sat on his throne, his right hand resting on the throne’s armrest and gently tapping on it.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound echoed throughout the entire world.

“Shennong is intervening as well.” Lightning flashed through the black eyes of the Godking. “It seems our Seamless Gate has pushed too hard, incurring the wrath of the Three Emperors. They want to use this Realmwar as an opportunity to frighten and shake the Seamless Gate.”

“What should I do?”

“What exactly should I do?”

The Godking began to worry.

“True Immortal Cloudust and Daofather Crimsonbright…what exactly are they planning? What is there scheme? Also, Shennong has sent over just one Pure Yang True Immortal…what does he have up his sleeves?” The Godking was extremely worried; these were things which he hadn’t been able to find out yet.

“Master.”

The Godking raised his head to stare at the dark sky. His voice was very low. “What exactly is Shennong doing? What is the Crimsonbright Realm planning? Please help me…”

The Dao of the Heavens was omnipresent in all places…and nothing within the purview of the Dao of the Heavens could be hidden from the ‘king’.

Rumble…

A powerful yet incredibly arcane thought-ripple was sent directly to the Godking.

The Godking was momentarily startled. He instantly revealed a look of delight, then said respectfully, “Thank you, Master.”

During the war that destroyed the Primordial Era, their king had suffered extremely serious injuries. Nuwa had been unwilling to let up on her pursuit of him, resulting in him being forced to merge himself into the Dao of the Heavens. Even now, the largest part of the king’s consciousness remained asleep. But perhaps because he was part of the Dao of the Heavens, that tiny sliver of consciousness was enough to engage in some degree of communications with the Seamless Gate.

“It seems that if we are to win…our opportunity lies with ‘Yu Wei’.” The Godking nodded slightly.

He immediately began to summon Yu Wei.

A short while later.

A white-robed woman appeared on the ground within the vast world of darkness. It was indeed Yu Wei. Her aura had changed slightly; she was quite similar to Yuchi Snow, filled with a warm, motherly aura. After arriving, Yu Wei immediately knelt down. “Respectful greetings to you, Godking.”

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Chapter 45 – Shennong’s Medicine

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 45 – Shennong’s Medicine

The Godking sat atop his throne, staring downwards towards her. “Yu Wei, how have I treated you?”

“The Godking’s benevolence towards Yu Wei has been weightier than a mountain,” Yu Wei responded respectfully from her kneeling position. These words sprang from the bottom of her heart. In her previous life, she had turned into a complete demon, had become as berserk as an Asura. It was the Godking who had guided her out from her berserk state and helped her recover from it, regaining her mind and her sanity. If it hadn’t been for the Godking, she would’ve been lost long ago.

It had also been the Godking who had patiently taught them all, one by one. They were all filled with the utmost of veneration towards the Godking, and were all willing to die for him.

Yu Wei was nothing more than one of countless such individuals. When Yu Wei had become apprenticed to Patriarch Lu, her status amongst the countless spies under the control of the Seamless Gate had instantly skyrocketed. The vast majority of the spies were merely at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level, after all. Less than one in ten thousand would be at the Celestial Immortal level, much less have a connection to an important figure like Patriarch Lu.

And now, Yu Wei was connected to not only Patriarch Lu, but also to Ji Ning. She had become the sole chance the Seamless Gate had at reversing their fortunes during this Realmwar?

“It is now time for you to sacrifice yourself,” the Godking said.

Yu Wei couldn’t help but tremble…then she pressed her forehead to the ground and said respectfully, “Please give me your command, Godking.” Every single spy was waiting for the moment where they would be used. Things weren’t so bad for the likes of Sword Immortal Evergreen; even after being exposed, he could flee back to the Seamless Gate. Yu Wei, however, was merely a Celestial Immortal. There was no way she could possibly escape at all. And, to the Seamless Gate, even though Yu Wei was a Celestial Immortal, once her status was exposed she would instantly become much less valuable to them.

“One of the Three Emperors of Mankind, Shennong, has sent True Immortal Cloudust to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity…” The Godking began to narrate things to order.

Yu Wei listened attentively.

In her heart, Ji Ning and her daughter were who mattered most to her…but the Godking was very important to her as well. This was partially because of gratitude, but was also also because the Godking had left behind his imprint upon her soul. The Godking was capable of influencing her inner heart without her even knowing about it, causing her to trust the him even more and make her feel even more indebted to him for his kindness, to the point where she was willing to give up life itself.

Within the Violetdawn Pearl’s world.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and their daughter Brightmoon were living a blissful life together.

“Kneel!” Ning had a hint of anger on his face.

“Oh.”

His daughter Brightmoon meekly fell to her knees, her little mouth trembling as though she was about to cry.

Ning said angrily, “You need to understand the consequences of your actions. Not everyone is an Immortal cultivator. Your mother and I, as well as your Uncle Mu and your Grandpa White are very powerful, and we aren’t afraid of the power of your flames. Most of the servants and attendants of Brightheart Island, however, are mortals. To you, you were just using flames to prank them, but to them, they were just a heartbeat away from death. If I hadn’t noticed in time, you would’ve burned your maid to death!”

Brightmoon didn’t dare to say a thing.

Her parents…Ji Ning had always been very gentle, whereas Yu Wei was fairly strict. This time, however…Ji Ning had been truly angered, and his anger had completely stunned and terrified Brightmoon.

Ning couldn’t be blamed for his anger. Just two days ago, he had picked a pair of female maids for his daughter. Both were of the same age, roughly eleven or twelve years old. The two had naturally been extremely attentive in taking care of their young mistress, and Brightmoon had liked them very much and had been very happy when playing with them. And then…she started to use her flames to tease and prank the maids, just as she often did with the Whitewater Hound.

That maid had instantly been burned beyond recognition. Fortunately, Ning had reacted very quickly, immediately casting spells on her and providing her with a spirit-pill, allowing her to make a complete recovery.

“I told you how important it was for you to remember that you live in a world of Immortal cultivators. I told you that you can be tremendously dangerous to ordinary commoners. Have you forgotten everything I told you?” Ning roared.

“I…I…” Brightmoon quavered.

“And you are still crying?!” Ning growled, “I want you to stay here on your knees today. You are not allowed to rise until I tell you to.”

“Let’s go.” Ning led Yu Wei away, leaving behind Brightmoon by herself kneeling there pitiably on the ground inside the room.

A while later…

A giant, snowy-white hound padded past.

“Grandpa White!” Brightmoon hurriedly called out.

The snowy-white hound gave her a glance, then continued to pad forward.

After another period of time, an azure-robed woman walked past as well.

“Aunt Qing!” Brightmoon immediately called out.

The azure-robed woman revealed a resigned look on her face as she continued to walk forward.

“Are we being too severe to her?” Yu Wei said worriedly.

“If I don’t give her some punishment this time…in the future, she’ll cause utter chaos,” Ning said angrily. He then looked towards Yu Wei with surprise. Laughing, he said, “Senior apprentice-sister, usually you are even stricter with her than I am. Why are you so soft-hearted today?”

“When I see that sad little look on the kid’s face…” Yu Wei shook her head.

Ning said, “She’s just acting. She knows very well that whenever she puts that look on her face, we’ll feel sorry for her and ease up on her. That’s why she’s acting this way right now. This time, we really do need to teach her a lesson. She’s clearly very talented and innately clever, but she was still born just a short while ago. She’s like a blank sheet of paper. She doesn’t know the consequences of her actions, doesn’t know right from wrong. We have to teach her well.”

“Yes, we do. It seems as though you are even better suited to teaching her than me,” Yu Wei said.

“No, senior apprentice-sister, you are a better teacher.” Ning shook his head. “Mothers are usually more careful and attentive when teaching children.”

Yu Wei nodded blankly, not responding.

“What is it?” Ning could sense that something seemed a bit off. This was his Dao-companion, who had been by his side for many years, after all. He could naturally sense that her mood was off.

“Oh.” Yu Wei seemed to come back to her senses. Shaking her head, she said, “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking about the Realmwar going on outside. Now that my child is born…I’ll probably have to take part in the war soon.”

Ning was startled for a moment, but then he nodded slowly. “Right. All Celestial Immortals must take part in the war. Prior to this, you were pregnant and temporarily exempted…but now, you’ll probably have to participate as well. Still…there’s no rush. As long as the Daofather or the Xia Emperor don’t say anything, for you to delay a while is a minor matter.”

“It’s best not to make things difficult for the Xia Emperor,” Yu Wei said. “I’ll leave behind an incarnation to accompany our daughter. I had best return to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity and prepare to join the war.”

“Alright. That works as well. You can stay in my Darknorth army.” Ning smiled. “Go to war by my side.” Ning would only have peace of mind if she was within his own army.

Yu Wei nodded as well.

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Yu Wei returned to the residence they previously stayed in.

“Don’t be hasty. Right now, both sides are watching and waiting. The Seamless Gate has a Daofather golem, while we should be receiving assistance from Human Emperor Shennong. They should be planning things out now…it isn’t time for anotehr battle just yet,” Ning said.

“This next battle will most likely be the final, decisive battle that will decide this Realmwar,” Yu Wei said with a sigh.

“Yes. Thus, it’s very dangerous. Later on, we’ll work together in the Heaven Punisher Formation. You’ll be right by my side,” Ning said. “If anything unexpected happens, I’ll still be able to protect you.”

Yu Wei looked towards Ning. She could see from Ning’s eyes how much he cared about her. This made her emotions only become even more complicated; she felt both warm and miserable.

“Alright.” Yu Wei nodded gently.

“Ji Ning, come to my place.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice rang out by Ning’s ears.

Ning was startled.

“I’m going to go meet with the Daofather.” Ning rose to his feet, then immediately flew outwards. As he left, Yu Wei quietly gazed at his departing figure, as though she didn’t want to miss any glimpse of him.

Within the main palace.

Upon entering, Ning realized to his amazement that the only figures within the entire main palace were Daofather Crimsonbright and True Immortal Cloudust.

“Respectful greetings to you, Daofather. Respectful greetings to you, True Immortal,” Ning said.

“Sit.” Daofather Crimsonbright smiled towards Ning, as did True Immortal Cloudust.

Ning sat down.

Daofather Crimsonbright said, “I’ve invited you here because I have an important mission to give you.”

“Oh?” Ning immediately began to listen attentively.

“This time, Cloudust has come on Human Emperor Shennong’s orders to bring me two treasures.” Daofather Crimsonbright waved his hand, producing two jade bottles, one completely black and the other completely white. Both immediately caught Ning’s eye; could it be that the treasures within these two bottles were capable of deciding the fate of this Realmwar?

It must be understood that their foes had a Daofather golem. Were these things even more powerful than Daofather golems?

“Within the black jade bottle is a type of Immortal medicine which Shennong just finished creating, having spent enormous amounts of work on it.” Daofather Crimsonbright pointed towards the black bottle. “If you shatter this black bottle, then the medicine within it will quickly spread out and take effect within a field of ten thousand kilometers. All Immortals within the region, including Pure Yang True Immortals, will find their Immortal energy to be completely locked and unusable.” 1

“What?!” Ning called out in shock, “Even True Immortals are affected by this? If they can’t use their Immortal energy, won’t they be like ordinary mortals?”

“Yes.” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded. “This Immortal medicine is newly manufactured. Since the Seamless Gate has never even seen this sort of medicine, they naturally can’t manufacture an antidote for it. This concoction does, however, have a major flaw; it doesn’t different between friends or foes! Within ten thousand kilometers, all Immortals, friendly or enemy, will be affected by it.”

Ning nodded.

This was normal and common for most poisons. Poison wasn’t sentient, after all; it couldn’t differentiate between friend or foe.

“Thus, the white jade bottle has the antidote within it.” Daofather Crimsonbright pointed towards the white jade bottle.

“When you go back, pour out the medicine into this wine gourd.” Daofather Crimsonbright next produced a calabash gourd. “Every single Loose Immortal only needs a single drop. Celestial Immortals need ten, while Pure Yang True Immortals need a hundred. The Darknorth army under your command has three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals. All of them need to drink the medicine.”

“When battle begins, the Seamless Gate will definitely continue to try to kill you; they’ll send their armies to surround and assault you. When the time comes, just shatter the black jade tablet…and instantly, all Immortals within ten thousand meters will collapse. Since your army will have consumed the medicine in advance, you won’t be affected at all…and the only thing you’ll have to do is massacre them,” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a smile.

Ning was overjoyed upon hearing this. How wonderful! The Seamless Gate currently had an absolute advantage in terms of Immortal power, as their many Empyrean God golems were all controlled by Celestial Immortals.

“Is it useless against Empyrean Gods?” Ning asked.

“The influence on the divine power of Empyrean Gods is negligible.” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded.

“Given the Seamless Gate’s intelligence capabilities…I imagine that they will soon know that this thing is in my hands.”

“This concoction of Shennong’s is incredibly valuable. The Emperor of Mankind just recently finished manufacturing it at an extremely high cost. Although we only have a small amount, we have given it to another person as well, in addition to you..” Daofather Crimsonbright laughed, “When the time comes, both of your armies are to simultaneously use the medicine. Even though the Seamless Gate knows about it, there’s nothing they can do.”

“You are very powerful, and the Seamless Gate has a deep urge to kill you. If they surround and assault you, you’ll use Shennong’s concoction. If they don’t surround and assault you, break them down and destroy them one-by-one,” Daofather Crimsonbright said. “This is an obvious ploy, but there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Ning’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

They were definitely going to win!

“Don’t disappoint me.” Daofather Crimsonbright looked towards Ning.

“Don’t worry at all, Daofather.” Ning was filled with confidence.

1. Remember, as noted previously in footnotes, in Chinese mythology, Shennong the Divine Farmer is the demigod who taught agriculture and medicine to the Chinese people.

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Chapter 46 – No Regrets

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 46 – No Regrets

Ji Ning reverently accepted the black jade bottle, the white jade bottle, and the calabash gourd!

“You can go now.” Daofather Crimsonbright smiled and nodded.

Ning left the main hall, now in an absolutely wonderful mood. He returned to the Darknorth army camp, going back to his own residence.

“Back so soon?” Yu Wei was there to welcome Ning back.

“Haha…” Ning just couldn’t stop chortling. “Bring me some wine.”

Yu Wei immediately produced a bottle of Immortal nectar. Even as she was just beginning to bring out the winecups and other drinking implements, Ning immediately grabbed the bottle, raised his head up high, then began to guzzle it down happily. He felt a smooth feeling fill his entire body, surging straight to his head. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “How wonderful!”

“It seems you are in quite a good mood, junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei sat down next to him.

“How can I not be?” Ning laughed. “I’ll have you by my side on the battlefield, senior apprentice-sister, and we now have a daughter. In addition, we are going to achieve a grand victory in this Realmwar. Everything will be just perfect. The heavens are truly kind to me.”

Yu Wei smiled as well. She reached out with her left hand to take Ning’s hand as well.

Ning laughed again.

“Let me mix up the medicine first.” Ning waved his hand, producing the white jade bottle and a gourd. He pulled the stoppers out from the gourd and the jade bottle. The gourd was a magic treasure meant for the express purpose of holding wine. It wasn’t that precious, merely an Immortal-ranked magic treasure; Daofathers were capable of casually manufacturing such items. A suctioning power appeared within the mouth of the gourd, pulling all of the medicine within the jade bottle into it.

“Mix up the medicine?” Yu Wei was puzzled.

“Right. Later, we’ll give this antidote to our three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals to ingest,” Ning said with a laugh. “You need to ingest it as well.”

“Ingest this antidote? Why?” Yu Wei asked.

Ning said, “Can’t you guess? Senior apprentice-sister, Human Emperor Shennong is a master of medicine. In terms of creating Immortal medicines, no one in the entire Three Realms can compare to him. Once this medicine is released, all Immortals within ten thousand kilometers will have their energy completely frozen and unusable. They’ll be like ordinary mortals. Tell me…if this is suddenly used on the battlefield, what will happen to the Seamless Gate?”

“It’s that amazing?” Yu Wei nodded slowly in amazement. “If that happens, the Seamless Gate will lose disastrously. But junior apprentice-brother…the Seamless Gate supposedly has formidable intelligence networks at their fingers. Can it be that they don’t know and aren’t prepared?”

“Given their intelligence networks, they probably already know.” Ning shook his head. “But this is an open scheme, not a hidden one. If they assault me en masse, I’ll release the Immortal medicine and wipe them all out. If they don’t…given the power of my Darknorth army, I can break then down one at a time.”

Yu Wei nodded gently. “This truly is an open scheme. They know you have the Immortal poison, but without the antidote, there’s nothing the Seamless Gate can do.”

“The Human Emperor truly is incredible.” Ning let out a sigh. “He’s actually able to manufacturing such an incredible Immortal medicine as this.”

Slosh, slosh.

Ning picked up the wine-gourd and gave it a good shake, listening to the sound of the wine sloshing around within it.

“The medicine’s been mixed in.” Ning smiled as he looked at Yu Wei. “Want to be the first one to use it?”

“No rush.” Yu Wei said with curiosity, “What does this Immortal medicine look like?”

Ning chuckled. “The antidote? It was in this white jade bottle, while the poison is in this black jade bottle.” Waving his hand, Ning produced the black jade bottle as well.

“Oh?” Yu Wei reached out for it. “Let me take a look.”

Ning was startled. For a brief moment, he wanted to refuse…but it was just a brief moment and a brief thought. He didn’t actually refuse or stop her.

“Careful with it, senior apprentice-sister,” Ning instructed.

“Of course.” Yu Wei held the black jade bottle in her hands.

……

Within the world of the Violetdawn Pearl.

Yu Wei’s incarnation was here, alongside Brightmoon.

“Mother.” Her daughter, Brightmoon, continued to kneel there. She stared wide-eyed at Yu Wei. “I know I was wrong. Can you plead with Father on my behalf? Ask him not to be angry with me. I really know I was wrong.”

Yu Wei’s incarnation walked over to her daughter’s side, kneeling down next to her and gently embracing her.

Brightmoon was startled…and then she happily inhaled deeply, smelling of her mother’s scent. “Mother, you smell so nice. Brightmoon loves it!”

“Brightmoon…”

“Huh?”

“You need to be a good girl. In the future, don’t make your father angry, understood?”

“Oh. I really know that I made a mistake this time!”

“Mm. I know you are a good girl, Brightmoon. The best girl.”

Yu Wei’s incarnation held Brightmoon in her arms. Suddenly…her tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Yu Wei’s incarnation held Brightmoon in her arms, while the confused Brightmoon raised her head to look at her mother puzzledly. Yu Wei just looked back at her, as though wanting to firmly engrave the memory of her daughter into her heart.

And then…

She dissipated like a mist.

“Mother?” Brightmoon hurriedly called out.

……

The world of the Grand Xia. Whitepole Commandery. Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, hovering in midair. Ning’s residence.

Yu Wei’s slender, pale fingers held the black jade bottle as she looked towards Ning.

She still remembered the first time she had met this junior apprentice-brother of hers…it was back when Ning had first entered the Black-White College. During the Dao Debates at the Black-White College, Ning had repeatedly overcome all challengers in an absolutely dazzling fashion, causing Yu Wei to become intrigued. She thus personally challenged Ning to a duel. Perhaps…even as far as back then, she had subconsciously wanted to leave Ning with an impression of her.

That trip to the Witchriver Immortal Estate…she had watched as Ning and Ninelotus had parted ways, watched as Ning had left all by himself…

In the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers…she had experienced life and death by his side. She had protected him, and he had protected her. Their hearts had grown closer, and when she suddenly was faced with life-threatening danger, he had finally charged forward and taken her into his arms. Faced with his embrace, she could no longer hold back. Even though she was a member of the Seamless Alliance, she swore an oath to herself to never, ever hurt him.

Later on, she had returned from her tutelage under Patriarch Lu, and Ning had come back as well.

Finally, they were together.

Be it her past life or her present life…these days were the happiest days she had ever experienced. They had viewed flowers together, watched the moon together, and their two hearts were like one…

She would stroke her belly, watching as her junior apprentice-brother practiced with the sword…

She would prepare delicacies as she waited for her junior apprentice-brother to return…

And finally…finally! Their daughter was safely born into the world. Although the Godking had issued the order soon afterwards, at least the two of them had been given some time together, and at least they now had a child together…

It was enough. These happy days had been the most blissful, joyful days she had ever experienced, in this life or the previous one.

Only…she truly felt sorry towards her junior apprentice-brother, towards their daughter…

Thousands of thoughts, countless emotions…they all flashed through her mind.

Right at this moment, within the Violetdawn Pearl’s world, Yu Wei’s incarnation was tightly holding her daughter in her arms as tears began to cascade from her eyes.

CRACK!

The slender, white, dainty fingers…shattered the black jade bottle.

Ning had been in a superb mood. The sound of the shattering jade bottle was like an explosion that rang out against his very soul. He stared at the already-shattered black jade bottle in disbelief. How…how could…

Whooooosh.

Silently and soundlessly, Shennong’s medicine that had been contained within the black jade bottle began to immediately spread outwards in every direction.

Ning and Yu Wei were the first to be affected by it. The Immortal energy within their bodies was instantly congealed, giving them no way to activate it at all.

“What just happened?”

“This…”

“Heavens…”

Almost instantly, all of the Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals within the Darknorth army camp felt their bodies turn soft. Their Immortal energy became completely unusable, and the light, airy feeling of grace they usually felt was gone as well. They were like completely ordinary mortals.

Shennong’s medicine quickly began to spread out in every direction.

It spread out to cover an area of ten thousand kilometers…and in truth, the entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity was only ten thousand kilometers in size.

“SHIT!!!”

A furious roar rang out, echoing throughout the entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

This was Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice.

Instantly, a surge of powerful energy swept out and encompassed the city, immediately curtailing the spread of Shennong’s medicine and causing it to remain where it was. However…although Daofather Crimsonbright had reacted quite quickly, a terrifying number of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals had been afflicted. The poison had spread far, far beyond the confines of the Darknorth army camp.

Ning just stared disbelievingly at his senior apprentice-sister.

His soul was shaking.

His heart was trembling.

His Dao-heart was strong…but no matter how strong it was, Ning was still thrust into a state of terror and absolute disbelief.

Not even the most terrifying of demonheart tribulations would have been capable of throwing Ning into a state of despair like he currently felt. When the black jade bottle had been shattered, Ning had instantly realized, but…his realization only caused him utter terror.

Yu Wei looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning looked at Yu Wei.

Their gazes met in midair.

This moment…

It became a moment eternal, a memory eternal.

Ning could sense the endless love and affection contained within his senior apprentice-sister’s eyes, could sense how absolutely unwilling she was to part from him. He could sense that her love for him in this moment was so deep, it was etched into her very bones, into her very soul. He could also sense something else in her gaze…

Regret.

“I’m sorry.” Yu Wei said these words softly. She just looked at Ning, as though she wanted to completely memorize his appearance and imprint it into the deepest parts of her soul.

Whoosh…

The wind blows…the sand flies…

Yu Wei’s immediately body began to break apart and collapse, as though it was being transformed into tiny granules of sand. It was like a tiny flame being extinguished. In the instant that she had shattered the black jade bottle, she had unhesitatingly chosen to end her life as well. Her Celestial Immortal Jindan had already completely collapsed.

It was like a wind blew past…and she was like smoke being blown away by the wind, completely vanishing from the world.

Ning reached out with his hands, wanting to catch something…but there was nothing to catch.

He stood there stupidly, arms stretched out.

His inability to use his Immortal energy?

The fact that the destruction of Shennong’s medicine would influence the entire Realmwar?

The fact that they might lose this Realmwar?

None of these thoughts entered Ning’s mind at all…

He just stared blankly at the spot where his senior apprentice-sister had been sitting. Just now, a moment ago, she had been sitting there. She had prepared Immortal wine for him, had smiled merrily at him, just as she had always done whenever he had returned from those many battles.

But…

It was all gone now!

There was no one seated on that chair. It was empty…as though Yu Wei had never been there, had never existed.

“Her soul’s gone?”

“It’s all gone…”

Ning mumbled to himself, “Gone…she’s gone…gone forever…”

“Why is it…”

“Why did it have to be like this…”

“Father and Mother are gone. Now, she’s gone as well.” Ning just sat there woodenly. It was though he had lost his soul. He just stared blankly at the place where she had sat. Just moments ago, she had sat there. She had smiled at him, a smile that had made Ning feel so warm, so blissful.

BOOM!

A figure appeared out of nowhere. It was the utterly enraged Daofather Crimsonbright.

Ning, however, just continued to sit there, staring at the place where she had sat. Staring at the place where she had been…

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Chapter 47 – Shennong and Subhuti

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 47 – Shennong and Subhuti

Daofather Crimsonbright stared at the Immortal wine, drinking instruments, and shattered pieces of black jade that were on the table. He then looked towards the numb, unmoving Ji Ning. The look in Ning’s eyes caused Daofather Crimsonbright to shake his head.

“Ugh!” He flourished his sleeves and left.

“Master.”

Just as Daofather Crimsonbright was leaving the room, the Xia Emperor came in.

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity was the Xia Emperor’s treasure. Thus, he was the second to find out about what had happened.

“Master!” The Xia Emperor called out repeatedly.

“We lost…we lost.” Daofather Crimsonbright shook his head and sighed. “Our Crimsonbright Realm has already suffered heavy casualties during this Realmwar. I had thought that with Human Emperor Shennong’s help, we would be able to win, but…who would’ve thought that Ji Ning’s Dao-companion, Yu Wei, a disciple of Lu Dongbin…was actually a spy for the Seamless Gate as well. All our plans have come to nothing!”

“Don’t we have another bottle of Shennong’s medicine?” The Xia Emperor asked frantically.

“It’s useless.” Daofather Crimsonbright sighed. “Those Empyrean God golems of the Seamless Gate require a hundred Celestial Immortals, but the Daofather golem only requires a single Pure Yang True Immortal. This is because the core formation-diagrams of the Daofather golem can be powered by essence chaostones. The power of the essence chaostones can be converted directly into the power of primordial chaos, giving the Daofather golem endless amounts of power. The Daofather golem, however, is protected by layers of defenses. Even if I were to personally intervene, I wouldn’t be able to penetrate it. Not with a coresense attack, not with any other attacks. Shennong’s medicine is unable to penetrate the Daofather golem as well.”

“Now that Ji Ning’s portion of the medicine is gone, leaving only one portion behind…the Daofather golem of the Seamless Gate will completely focus on the holder of that portion. When it strikes, the rest of us will be completely unable to keep that portion safe.”

Daofather Crimsonbright felt quite resigned.

“Can’t we split up that portion into two smaller portions?” The Xia Emperor asked.

“What do you take it for? It’s a perfect, complete concoction; you can’t just split it up. Its power comes from its perfection and its completeness.” Daofather Crimsonbright shook his head. “If it could be split apart, I would’ve split it into a hundred parts long ago.”

“Is there really nothing left to us?” The Xia Emperor simply couldn’t accept this. He truly could not. The world of the Grand Xia which he had commanded and toiled over for countless years…the homeland of his Xiamang clan…it was now gone, just like that?

“There’s nothing left.” Daofather Crimsonbright shook his head. “Our only choice is to seek out Human Emperor Shennong once more and see if he has any ideas. However, the Human Emperor has already done much for us. Alas…”

“The antidote is with Ji Ning. Go and spread it out to the others. Rescue the Pure Yang True Immortals and Celestial Immortals first.”

“Yes.” The Xia Emperor nodded, then hurriedly said, “Master, don’t take your anger out on Ji Ning. I saw him through the door just now. He’s completely dazed by this blow. His Dao-companion was actually a spy that had been inserted by the Seamless Gate. This has been a tremendous mental blow to him. His most beloved Dao-companion was a spy, an enemy…” The Xia Emperor sighed.

“Of course I won’t take it out on him. Yu Wei was a spy, but Ji Ning is one of our warriors.” Daofather Crimsonbright turned his head to stare through the doorway as well, looking at Ji Ning. “I hope that this won’t do too much lasting damage to him. Snowdance was killed by the person she loved. While Ji Ning didn’t die…I imagine the amount of pain he feels right now isn’t much less than the amount which Snowdance felt. Help out and ensure that others don’t come here to berate him either. He’s only trained for a short period of time, after all.”

“Yes,” the Xia Emperor acknowledged respectfully.

……

“What? Yu Wei was a traitor?”

“She actually harmed so many fellow Immortals.”

“Pity our fellow Daoist Darknorth…his most beloved Dao-companion was actually an enemy spy.”

“This Ji Ning character really is an idiot. This was a critical moment, and Shennong’s medicine was so absolutely precious to us…how could he be so careless?”

Soon, all the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity learned of this matter. They all found it hard to accept this outcome, and some even were furious with Ning. Most of them, however, felt pity for him.

“Everyone, it’s best if you don’t bother Ji Ning.” The Xia Emperor prevented many from going in to speak to Ning. Only those who had extremely close relationships with Ning were allowed to go in.

True Immortal Dongyan came as well. He just stood outside the door, looking at Ning.

“For something like this to happen to him…” True Immortal Dongyan let out a soft sigh. “However…based on what I know, generally speaking when the spies of the Seamless Gate reveal themselves, they will go berserk and show no mercy at all. Yu Wei actually didn’t kill Ji Ning…”

“It doesn’t matter. Yu Wei’s dead now.” The Xia Emperor nodded. “Ji Ning is definitely going to hate the Seamless Gate even more now. The Seamless Gate…they truly are willing to make use of anything and anyone. They truly will stoop to nothing at all. They all deserve to die.”

……

Within the skies of the Grand Xia.

An azure-robed figure with an Immortal sword on his back stood there, gazing at the distant Eight Dragons Cloudcity, his eyes filled with grief and pain. He let out a soft sigh. “Foolish child.”

“She always kept everything hidden away. Although I could tell that she was hiding something, I didn’t imagine that she was actually a spy for the Seamless Gate. But…she’s not a bad person by nature.” Grief and pain were apparent in Lu Dongbin’s eyes. “Given how much trust Ning placed in her over the years, she could’ve slain him long ago. And in the end…she only destroyed the black jade bottle. She didn’t hurt Ji Ning at all.”

“She shattered her own soul?”

“She would rather shatter her own soul than let it return to the Seamless Gate?” Lu Dongbin shook his head.

The Godking of the Seamless Gate was capable of forcibly carrying off the souls of those he had imprinted…but Yu Wei had instead chosen to shatter her own soul than to let that happen.

“The reason why she decided to shatter that black jade bottle was probably to repay the Godking for his ‘benevolence’.”

“I heard long ago that the Seamless Gate has many spies, all of whom are extremely devoted to their Godking and willing to die for him if needed. He truly lives up to his reputation as the disciple of the Lord of the Demonheart…his ability to manipulate the hearts of men is indeed impressive. That foolish child shattered the jade black bottle to repay the Godking. As for suicide…she didn’t want to cause Ji Ning any more problems in the future?”

Lu Dongbin loved to roam the mortal worlds, and had seen many scenes of grief, joy, parting, and gathering. He naturally understood what Yu Wei was thinking.

She…was simply a silly girl.

She had truly believed that the Godking had been extremely kind and benevolent towards her.

“To the Godking, she was nothing more than a slave, a weapon.” Lu Dongbin shook his head. “But Ji Ning…alas…”

Lu Dongbin felt helpless as well.

Ji Ning was indeed a peerless talent. The storm had just barely begun, but he had already started shine and dazzle…but now, the person he cared about the most had died and left him. This blow…there was nothing Lu Dongbin could do to soften it. The only person who could help Ji Ning right now was Ji Ning himself.

……

Outside the Three Realms. At the end of the vast Void, there was the even-vaster primordial chaos.

Within the primordial chaos, all things were possible.

It was the primordial chaos that had given birth to many powerful Fiendgods, to Panlong, to Nuwa, to the Ancestor Dragon, to the Phoenix, to the Torch Dragon, to Daoist Threelives, to Subhuti, to Crimsonbright…to all of them. The most powerful Fiendgod, Pangu, had established Heaven and Earth, creating the utterly massive Pangu’s Primordial World and perishing after his labors.

If yet another Pangu-like presence was born, he would absolutely be capable of establishing yet another world within the primordial chaos.

The primordial chaos was truly infinite and limitless, after all…after Mother Nuwa had entered the primordial chaos, she had never returned from it.

Within an area in the primordial chaos that was very close to the Three Realms.

There was a medicine field within the primordial chaos, and next to it was a thatched cottage. Two people were seated by the side of the cottage. One was the white-bearded Patriarch Subhuti, while the other was dressed in plain clothes and had unkempt hair and a tousled beard. He looked like an old farmer…but his eyes contained eternity within them, an ancientness that brought peace to the hearts of those who saw him.

He…was one of the Three Emperors of Mankind. Shennong!

Of the Three Emperors, Suiren was the most ancient, while Fuxi was always dressed in his Eight Trigram robes. Both had extraordinary appearances. Only Shennong dressed very simply, as though he was naught but an old farmer toiling away in his fields.

“This event is most likely going to cast a shadow over your disciple’s heart.” Shennong personally poured Subhuti a cup of tea. The tea bubbled and hissed, but it emanated a soothing, intoxicating fragrance.

“The Seamless Gate’s subterfuge abilities are indeed unparalleled. There’s no way to investigate them at all.” Subhuti shook his head. “I’ve been thinking carefully about Yu Wei’s past life and present life. I think it must be due to the fact that she suffered too much in her past life. She transformed into a demon and massacred countless people. In the midst of her massacres, she was probably influenced by Demonheart. She was naturally guided towards their side, and in the end became a chess piece for their ‘Godking’.”

“Yes.” Shennong nodded.

Now that they knew for a fact that Yu Wei was a spy, it wasn’t too hard for them to spot the reason as to why she had joined the Seamless Gate.

However, if they didn’t already know this, there was no way to find out. There were far, far too many Immortal cultivators who descended into madness and slaughter, after all. Some might have become truly filled with bloodlust and the desire to kill, while others had been driven crazy by the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. There was no way to tell on the surface, no way at all.

“This time…Crimsonbright is going to lose.” Shennong shook his head. “I just finished creating those two portions of Immortal medicine. Both were created using some unique herbs that I located in the primordial chaos that are incredibly rare. I can grow more of those herbs in my farm…but even if I change the flow of time to make them grow faster, I’ll still need at least another century before I can finish another batch.”

“If Crimsonbright loses, he’ll naturally lead his army away from the Grand Xia. This disciple of yours…what are you planning to do about him?” Shennong asked.

Neither side had reached the point of entering a truly life-and-death struggle against the other yet. Both sides could easily retreat if they chose to. They could simply tear a hole through space and easily leave.

“Ji Ning has the [Starseizing Hand] of Threelives, and he’s quite talented in heartforce as well. I feel, however, that his talent with the sword is even higher.” Subhuti sighed. “He absolutely has the potential to become yet another ‘Houyi’.”

“Houyi?” Shennong gently nodded.

Houyi was someone who, as an Empyrean God, had slain a Daofather! He was an absolute legend.

“But this truly was a heavy blow for him. Still…fortune and disaster ride together. Perhaps this will serve to help him temper his heart.” Patriarch Subhuti shook his head. “Emotional matters like this…he’ll have to rely on himself to overcome it. There’s nothing I can do.”

……

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Ji Ning’s residence.

Ning was finally on his feet. He began to collect the table, the Immortal wine, and the drinking utensils in an extremely careful manner. He even picked up all the shattered pieces of black jade.

“Ji Ning.”

“Eighth brother.”

Celestial Immortals Unity, Allbeasts, Whacko, and the others had all arrived.

“Don’t let yourself hurt too much.” Celestial Immortal Allbeasts patted Ning on the shoulder and said, “Something like this is completely unpredictable. Since Yu Wei was a spy…then you should just forget about her, eighth brother. Don’t let this misery and unhappiness fester away in your heart.”

“Forget her,” Celestial Immortal Whacko exhorted softly as well. “When Thousand Needles died, I felt so much pain that I wanted to die…but what can you do? We have to look forward, move forward. Forget her. It’ll make things easier for you.”

Ning raised his head to look at Whacko. His voice was slightly hoarse. “Seventh brother…have you been able to forget her?”

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Chapter 48 – Ji Ning and the Godking

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 48 – Ji Ning and the Godking

Whacko was stunned. For a moment, he couldn’t say a word.

“All of you can go back now. Let me be by myself for a while,” Ning said, then began to walk towards a nearby private room. This was the private room which Yu Wei had designed for him back when they had first arrived here.

Celestial Immortals Allbeasts, Rainsoar, Unity, and the others all watched as Ning walked away, then exchanged glances with each other. There was nothing they could do. They left the house.

……

The private room was very simple, as were the prayer mats and the incense burners…but Yu Wei had personally laid out this room.

Ning swept the room with his gaze. He felt as though he could see Yu Wei decorating the room.

“Senior apprentice-sister,” Ning murmured softly.

He then sat down in the lotus position by himself, closing his eyes.

His thoughts were a complete mess. The countless scenes of him being together with Yu Wei flooded his mind, and he couldn’t help but repeatedly grimace.

Rumble…

A profound, arcane sort of ripple that came from another level of existence brushed past Ning. Not even Daofather Crimsonbright could detect this ripple. As it brushed past Ning, a powerful desire to sleep quickly filled him.

“Eh?!” Ning was shocked. He was a Pure Yang True Immortal; he wouldn’t be so easily mesmerized.

“I am the Godking of the Seamless Gate. You should know of me.” A voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

“You?” Ning’s mind was filled with boundless hate.

After having fought for so long, Ning had naturally engaged the Xia Emperor and the others in conversation. He knew, of course, that the true supreme commander of the Seamless Gate was the Godking. The Nuwa Alliance had learned long ago that the Godking was able to control the world of dreams, was capable of meeting others in their dreams. The Nuwa Alliance, however, was unable to counter this ability of his; they were completely unable to penetrate the dreamworlds which the Godking created.

“I’m going to guide a strand of your thoughts into my world. Let us converse,” the Godking said.

“Fine.” Ning didn’t refuse. He was within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity; he wouldn’t be in much danger at all. Just a strand of his thoughts…even if that strand was severed, it wouldn’t be much of a loss.

Ning allowed a strand of his mind to be guided downwards, downwards into the abyss…

……

Within a vast world of darkness.

A gigantic throne that was thirty thousand meters high was levitating in midair. The Godking was seated on his throne, and before him appeared the figure of Ji Ning.

Ning raised his head to glance coldly at the black-robed figure in midair. The aura around the black robes caused the Godking to seem exceptionally inscrutable and mysterious. Ning said coldly, “Why has an exalted Daofather such as yourself come to seek me out?” Although his heart was filled with boundless hatred, enough hatred to cause an ordinary mortal to go insane…Ning knew very well that the difference in power between himself and the supreme commander of the Seamless Alliance was too great.

“No need to feel such hatred for me.” The Godking sat up high on his throne as he spoke calmly to Ji Ning. “We are enemies, after all; the actions I took, I took to guarantee that the Seamless Gate would win. I’ve come to you…because I wish for you to join the Seamless Gate.”

“Idiocy.” This was the only word Ning said. He couldn’t even be bothered to say more.

“Do you think…that Yu Wei is dead?” The Godking asked.

Ning was stunned.

“What?” Ning stared at the Godking. “I personally watched as my senior apprentice-sister’s soul was shattered. How could she not be?”

“Yes, her soul was shattered…but she didn’t die.” Amusement could be heard within the Godking’s voice. “After her soul was shattered, her truesoul would’ve headed straight towards the River of Destiny, yes?”

Ning didn’t say anything. This was indeed true. Even if Yu Wei’s soul was shattered…if one could locate Yu Wei’s truesoul within the River of Destiny, the truesoul could be used to bring her back to life once more! However, to find a truesoul within the River of Destiny…based on what Ning knew, the only one in the entire Three Realms capable of this was Mother Nuwa. Mother Nuwa, however, had long ago entered the infinite primordial chaos…

“Yu Wei was one of the many spies I sent to infiltrate the Nuwa Alliance,” the Godking said. “Of the many spies, some were absolutely and unwaveringly loyal to me. They obey all my orders and commands, and are willing to die for me. These true believers…I long ago left behind my imprint upon their souls.”

Ning’s pupils contracted.

“Yu Wei committed suicide, shattering her soul…but thanks to the imprint I left behind on it, I knew right away what she had done,” the Godking said. “Thus, as her soul was shattering, I immediately reached out to latch onto her truesoul, taking it away. Her truesoul isn’t in the River of Destiny at all.”

Ning’s heart began to quiver.

“After taking away her truesoul, I sent it to be reincarnated within a lesser cycle of reincarnation which I set up,” the Godking said. Ning knew that most Daofathers were capable of setting up a lesser cycle of reincarnation; Daofather Crimsonbright himself had done such a thing.

Once a truesoul entered the cycle of reincarnation, it would naturally be reborn.

When Celestial Immortals and True Immortals were reborn, it was generally their truesouls which were reborn.

“After she was reborn, I immediately awakened her memories and captured her young soul. Take…a close look.” The Godking pointed with one finger.

Instantly, roughly a hundred meters to the right of Ji Ning, a black-robed maiden appeared out of thin air. Her appearance…her aura…her eyes…

“Senior apprentice-sister?” Ning couldn’t believe it…but he knew it to be true.

Some things could be imitated, but the look in one’s eyes could not.

“Ji Ning, she cannot hear you or see you. Just stand there and watch,” the Godking’s voice rang out.

“Respectful greetings to you, Godking.” Yu Wei had a somewhat stunned look her face as she fell to her knees.

“Yu Wei…did you think that if you committed suicide, your soul would be destroyed?” The Godking’s voice held a hint of wrath within it. “I told you that once you were prepared to destroy Shennong’s medicine, you were to first touch the imprint I left upon your soul, and I would rescue it right away. Why did you choose to commit suicide? If I was just slightly slower, your truesoul would’ve entered the River of Destiny, never to be found again.”

Yu Wei remained there on her knees. “Godking, please grant me death.”

“Grant you death?” The Godking said coldly, “What, are you afraid that if you remain alive, you’ll bring Ji Ning more trouble?”

The kneeling Yu Wei didn’t move at all.

“You truly are quite loyal to this Ji Ning of yours. Long ago, when I ordered you to take him to the Fifth World, you refused. And now, you would rather die than become a chess piece our Seamless Gate can use to influence him. You truly disappoint me.” The Godking was rather angry now.

Yu Wei remained on her knees, her tears cascading downwards.

She truly was very devoted to the Godking. She couldn’t help but feel miserable upon hearing that the Godking was disappointed in her…but she truly didn’t wish to become a burden to Ji Ning or her daughter.

Whoosh. The Godking blew towards her, and a wind arose that swept her away, causing her to disappear.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning was shocked. That definitely had been his senior apprentice-sister; there was no mistaking it at all. That look in her eyes…there was definitely no mistaking it!

“Don’t panic.” The Godking looked towards Ning. “Your Dao-companion’s soul is fine. Only a sliver of her mind was within this dreamworld of mine. Now that her truesoul has been reborn, her new soul is incredibly weak. She isn’t even capable of committing suicide. Her fate…is now completely in your hands.”

“My hands?” Ning’s face changed.

“Right!” The Godking’s dark, misty eyes seemed to flash with lightning. “Your hands. If you join our Seamless Gate, then I can let you once more reunite with your beloved Dao-companion and live together in bliss. Under the Seamless Gate’s protection…not even your master, Daofather Subhuti, would be able to kill you. In addition, your master most likely wouldn’t be willing to violate our unspoken accord and personally act to kill you. He is a Daofather, after all.”

“Thus…”

“If you join our Seamless Gate, then you, your Dao-companion Yu Wei, and your child…all of you will be able to live together in bliss. You will also receive our protection!”

“But if you do not join us…the soul of your Dao-companion Yu Wei shall suffer endless, inescapable torment within my Infinity Hells. As for you and your child…you shall remain enemies of the Seamless Gate, forever suffering our assaults.”

The Godking looked at Ning. “I trust you know which choice you should make.”

“Take another look.” The Godking pointed sideways.

Whoosh.

A painting appeared out of nowhere.

This was the painting of a vast world, a world of flames, of mountains of blades, of lakes of burning oil, of forests of swords, of implements of torture. Many souls were here, undergoing countless torments and punishments. A black-robed maiden had been teleported here as well. Upon seeing the Infinity Hells, upon seeing the despair and misery of those countless souls…the look on her face couldn’t help but change.

But moments later, Yu Wei calmed down. She had guessed long ago that she would probably be sent to the Godking’s Infinity Hells.

“These are the Infinity Hells, a place I created. It’s an even more painful place than the eighteen layer of Hell of the Netherworld Kingdom.” The Godking looked at Ning. “If you are the enemy of the Seamless Gate…then Yu Wei will no longer be of use to me. Thus, she should prepare herself to suffer endless, infinite torture within the Infinity Hells.”

“She was so loyal to you!” Ning couldn’t help but snap.

“Loyal?” The Godking shook his head. “No. If she was loyal to me…you would’ve died long ago.”

Ning was stunned.

Right.

He himself could sense how badly the Seamless Gate wished to kill him. The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, for example, had always been hovering around him. Before that, the Seamless Gate had actually sent out a squad to assassinate him. Fortunately, Old Man Yuan had intervened. If Yu Wei had wanted him dead…given his absolute faith in her, he would’ve died long ago.

“She violated my orders,” the Godking said. “Given my temper…I should’ve cast her into the Infinity Hells long ago, letting her suffer endless torment. However, she was the disciple of Lu Dongbin and your Dao-companion. It is hard to find someone like her, and so I showed her clemency.”

In truth, when Yu Wei had refused the Godking’s commands all those years ago, she had already mentally prepared herself for death.

That time, the Godking had shown clemency…which was why Yu Wei had wanted to give Ning a child.

“Thus, she should have started to suffer this sort of torture long ago. To violate my orders? The only result can be death.” The Godking looked towards Ning. “But Ji Ning, your talent is truly remarkable; you are qualified to me to reconsider. The Seamless Gate views you as being very important…and so if you can join us, Yu Wei will immediately be spared her eternal torment. She’ll even be allowed to accompany you and your child. The three of you will be able to live together with each other forever.”

The Godking truly wished to be able to pull Ji Ning to his side.

Ji Ning was a tremendous threat, true. But if they could recruit him…the Seamless Gate would’ve gained yet another helper, while the Nuwa Alliance would’ve lost one of their peerless talents. This was a result that was much better than merely killing Ji Ning. As for Yu Wei…she was the tool which the Seamless Gate was relying on to make this happen.

“Join our Seamless Gate. We have treasures, divine abilities, golems…everything. You, your child, and your Dao-companion will be able to join together once more.” The Godking pointed towards the midair images. “I trust you won’t consigned the woman you love into the Infinity Hells.”

Ning was silent.

He just stood there, looking at the image of his senior apprentice-sister, Yu Wei. He just silently stood there.

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Chapter 49 – The Choice

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 49 – The Choice

Ji Ning had never doubted Yu Wei’s love for him. When the two had been together, he had been able to truly sense her heart. His parents had passed away, but she had let him once more feel warmth in his heart. It was something which surpassed simple love; only when love reached a truly deep level would it bring this sort of warmth.

But…

There were others that Ning could never forget.

If it hadn’t been for Daoist Threelives’ legacy, he probably would’ve died long ago when he was weak!

If it wasn’t for the seven mighty Empyrean Gods, he would’ve perished long ago!

If it wasn’t for his master Subhuti, he would’ve lost his life in the Nihilum Zone!

His master, Immortal Diancai…his fellow disciple, Mu Northson…they were filled with endless hatred towards the Seamless Gate.

His father…his mother…their situation was probably even worse than Yu Wei’s. Their truesouls had already entered the River of Destiny…and with Mother Nuwa having disappeared into the primordial chaos, the fact that their souls had been shattered meant that they were essentially dead and gone.

To bring Mother Nuwa back?

To reach Mother Nuwa’s level?

It would be very hard! Even harder than defeating the Seamless Alliance!

……

Fog continued to billow around the Godking’s black robes. He stared downwards at Ji Ning, awaiting his response. He knew very well that this was perhaps his best chance of making Ji Ning join the Seamless Gate…because Yu Wei could be described as the most important person in Ji Ning’s life. Their souls were tied together…and as the Godking had said, Yu Wei had chosen to die rather than be a burden to Ji Ning.

As the disciple of a Daofather, Ji Ning himself wouldn’t be blamed or directly affected by a defeat in this Realmwar.

The entire vast world of darkness was deathly still, terrifyingly still.

Ning just stood there quietly, staring at the image of his senior apprentice-sister. It seemed as though he wanted to permanently engrave her appearance in his mind.

“Make your choice,” the Godking said. “Don’t try to deceive me. You won’t be able to.”

Ning trembled.

He was silent for a moment. Then, Ning broke his silence and said in a soft voice, “Let me look at her for a bit longer.”

The Godking was instantly enraged!

Even the fog that was billowing around the black robes and the massive throne began to roil about. Visible crackles of lightning could be seen within the fog, utterly dazzling to behold. The Godking forced down his rage, then growled, “You have decided to remain enemies with my Seamless Gate? Your most beloved Dao-companion is about to be exiled into the Infinity Hells. You have the power to keep her safe and let her be by your side and your child’s side…but you are now choosing to send her into Hell, never to be reborn!”

The Godking’s every word stabbed like knives against Ning’s heart.

“The choice is yours!” The entire vast world of darkness was shaking. Clearly, the Godking was almost unable to repress his anger.

Deep, boundless pain could be seen within Ning’s eyes…but he just stood there and quietly stared at his senior apprentice-sister.

Suddenly…

Ning turned, looked at the Godking, then with a thudding sound respectfully fell to his knees.

The Godking was instantly delighted. He even left his vast throne and walked downwards towards Ning. “Hahaha, Ji Ning…this is a wise decision you have just…” But Ning suddenly spoke out, interrupting the Godking’s words.

“Godking, you are an exalted Daofather.” Ning remained on his knees. “I know that my senior apprentice-sister experienced great hardship in her past life, and I imagine you must have been benevolent towards her. In turn, she was completely loyal to you, going so far as to destroy Shennong’s medicine. It can be said that she rendered a major contribution to the Seamless Gate. I’d like to ask you, Godking, not to bicker with a poor little girl like her. I wouldn’t dare beg that you send my senior apprentice-sister back to my side, Godking; all I hope is that she can live a simple, peaceful life. If you can do this, I will be endlessly grateful.”

The kneeling Ji Ning’s voice was filled with supplication.

The Godking had already left his throne and landed on the ground. He was momentarily stunned…and then he grew even further enraged. He roared furiously, “Ji Ning!!!! You will be ‘grateful’? ‘Poor little girl’? This is a WAR!!! You only have two options! If you refuse me, then she will definitely be sent to suffer endless torment.”

“Go! Send Yu Wei to her justly deserved torments for all eternity. Let her never be reborn!” The Godking’s furious roar rang out, reverberating within the Infinity Hells.

“Yes.”

Instantly, two black-robed envoys took hold of Yu Wei and sent her to a fiery abyss…

Ning continued to kneel there.

“Godking.” Ning looked towards the Godking.

“You only have two options. Stand by my side…or be my enemy!” The entire world of darkness was filled with wrath and fury.

Ning rose to his feet, quietly staring at the painting and at the images of his senior apprentice-sister suffering fiery torment within it.

And then…

Ning turned around.

Whoosh!

He vanished from this dreamworld.

“Damn!” The Godking roared with fury, causing the entire world of darkness to shake. “Damn, damn, DAMN!!!”

“Your lover will suffer torment…and you, you will soon die as well! You will DIE!” The Godking was truly enraged. He truly had wanted to recruit Ji Ning to his side…but he had actually be refused. He was humiliated, enraged, and filled with a desire to kill. But the Nuwa Alliance was very powerful; to kill Ji Ning would be no easy task.

……

“You are the one who personally consigned her to endless torment within the Infinity Hells! It was you! You personally!!!” The Godking’s furious roars reverberated with Ning’s mind.

BOOM!

Ning’s powerful coresense struck out against that thought-strand, blasting it apart. This undetectable method which the Godking was using…although not even Daofathers could sense it, it didn’t contain much power.

Within the world of the Violetdawn Pearl.

Creaaak. Ning’s true body walked out from his study. Soon, he arrived at the room where his daughter Brightmoon was being punished.

His daughter Brightmoon was still on her knees, her eyes filled with puzzlement and confusion.

“Father.” When Brightmoon saw Ning, she immediately revealed a look of joy. “I was wrong. I really understand that I was wrong. Don’t be angry, Father. I’ll never dare to use fire to play with mortals in the future.”

Ning walked to his daughter’s side, then fell to his knees, quietly taking her into his arms.

Brightmoon couldn’t help but reveal a look of joy as her father took her into his arms. She comfortably snuggled into Ning’s chest. “Father, don’t be angry anymore. Ahaha, Mother came a short while ago to hug me as well…but then she said ‘sorry’. Sorry? I don’t really understand…but then, Mother disappeared. Father, didn’t you say that Mother left her incarnation here? Why did her incarnation suddenly leave?”

Ning trembled.

So…

So she hadn’t just said ‘sorry’ to him. She had said ‘sorry’ to their daughter as well.

“Father?” Brightmoon could sense that something was wrong with Ning.

Ning continued to hold his daughter in his arms. He said in a soft voice, “I’m the one who should be sorry to your mother.” Ning shut his eyes, his tears coming out.

It was true!

He felt so sorry!

Although the Godking had forced him to make a decision…in the end, he had decided to let her be sent to the Infinity Hells. Ning felt as though countless ants were constantly gnawing upon his heart.

He felt utter agony in his heart.

Guilt.

Misery.

Prior to this, Ning hadn’t shed any tears, not even when he had seen her soul be shattered. He had been delighted to discover that she wasn’t dead, then instantly had to face a choice that brought despair. He had to watch as she began to be tortured within the Infinity Hells…but despite all that, Ning hadn’t shed any tears.

Now, however, as he held his daughter in his arms, Ning could no longer resist. Finally, he began to cry.

Hot tears came cascading down his face, landing on Brightmoon’s body. Brightmoon was stunned. Raising her head, she looked towards Ning. She saw that her father…was actually crying.

“What happened? Where’s Mother?” Brightmoon was very clever. She immediately asked this question.

“She died.” Ning held his daughter in his arms as he responded in a soft voice.

“Died?” Brightmoon was stunned. Although she was precocious and intelligent, she was truly stunned. The only thing she could do was just stupidly stand there and hug her father.

“Brightmoon…in the future, it’ll just be you and me.”

Ning continued to hold his daughter in his arms. She had just been born…but her mother had already left.

“Senior apprentice-sister…I’m sorry. I swear…I’ll take good care of our child. I definitely will.” The only thing and the most important thing Ning could for his senior apprentice-sister, for himself, was to take good care of and protect their daughter.

“And the Seamless Gate…”

His tears continued to fall, but deep within his eyes, a desire to kill that was even deeper than the Abyss could be seen.

……

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Ji Ning emerged from his room.

“He came out?” The Xia Emperor looked towards Ning.

“Your Imperial Majesty, you’ve been here this entire time?” Ning was stunned.

“If I wasn’t here…do you think you would’ve had such a peaceful time of it? Countless people have come to speak to you. Some came to console you, but some came to curse you and berate you.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “I can’t blame them. We were on the cusp of winning this Realmwar, after all, but now…alas. Once this Realmwar is lost, the worlds and the foundations that these Empyrean Gods and True Immortals spent countless years cultivating will be taken away by the Seamless Gate. How can they not be enraged? Still, don’t be angry with them. After some time passes, they’ll slowly begin to accept this outcome.”

Ning looked towards the Xia Emperor.

He could sense that these words of the Xia Emperor held a hint of frustration and disappointment within them.

With the war lost, the Xia Emperor would lose his Grand Xia world. That was the foundation of his Xiamang clan, a vast world which he had spent his blood and sweat to build up, ever since he had taken it over during the Fiendgod Era. How could he not be heartbroken? But the Xia Emperor didn’t blame Ji Ning; instead, he had stayed outside and prevented many people from coming in, ensuring that Ji Ning wouldn’t be disturbed. Ning knew very well that the fact that they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory would be very difficult for many of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to accept. They would be utterly enraged and heartbroken.

“Are we really going to lose?” Ning asked.

“We really are.” The Xia Emperor sighed, then nodded his head.

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Chapter 50 – Though I Come From the Mortal Dust, My Heart Still Soars Towards the Heavens

Chapter 50 – Though I Come From the Mortal Dust, My Heart Still Soars Towards the Heavens

“Although there are many people who are unwilling to accept this, the difference in power is too great.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “The Seamless Gate has a Daofather golem on their side, while we were going to rely on Shennong’s medicine to win the battle, but…well, now we shall simply wait for the Daofather to give us our final orders.”

Ji Ning nodded gently.

“It’s my fault,” Ning said calmly.

“This isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have imagined that Yu Wei belongs to the Seamless Gate. There’s no need for you to overthink things. I’ve been outside and have prevented quite a few from coming in to bother you; this was on the Daofather’s personal instructions. The Daofather still views you as being extremely important.” The Xia Emperor looked towards Ji Ning.

The Xia Emperor suddenly remembered something. He immediately said, “Right, you should be unable to use your Immortal energy right now, right? I’ll give you ten drops of the antidote.”

“Give me a hundred,” Ning said.

“A hundred?” The Xia Emperor looked towards Ning with surprise. “You…”

Ning didn’t explain. What would be the point of explaining that he had become a Pure Yang True Immortal? His Heaven Punisher was still at the same level of power that it always was; it wouldn’t be able to change the outcome of the battle at all. It was best not to give them any false hopes.

“Fine. Take it.” The Xia Emperor took out a jade bottle and a large gourd. Drops of liquid flew out from the gourd and into the jade bottle. After a hundred drops were absorbed, he handed it to Ning.

Ning accepted it, then began to go towards the outside.

“Isn’t that Commander Ji Ning?”

“That’s Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning!”

“I heard that his Dao-companion was a spy for the Seamless Gate!”

“Yes, I heard the same. We were at the cusp of victory, but this Ji Ning guy placed too must faith in his Dao-companion, giving her the chance to destroy Shennong’s medicine, and our hopes for victory along with it. We’ve fought for so long…so many of us have died…and it was all for nothing. Immortal Darknorth was far too careless…and he was far too trusting of his Dao-companion!”

“Fellow Daoist Wangxiu, you go too far! A Dao-companion is the most important companion anyone will have on their Immortal path. Both Dao-companions will support each other and assist each other. How many would be suspicious of their Dao-companions? If they were, they wouldn’t have become Dao-companions to begin with!”

“Poor Immortal Darknorth, to be betrayed by his Dao-companion like that.”

“Yeah, poor bastard.”

As Ning walked through the Eight Dragons Cloudcity and passed by the various military camps, the various Immortals within those camps all looked at Ning and whispered amongst themselves. With the story being told and retold, the truth had long since become rather blurred…but the countless Immortals and Fiendgods continued to discuss it, as this was what had caused them to lose this entire Realmwar.”

“I heard that Yu Wei took advantage of Immortal Darknorth’s trust to destroy Shennong’s medicine. Immortal Darknorth was so enraged and hearbroken that he personally wiped out Yu Wei, shattering her very soul.”

“Right, I heard the same, that Immortal Darknorth personally killed that traitor.”

“It’s all that damned traitor’s fault.”

As Ning continued to walk through the city, his ears began to twitch and a hint of grief appeared in his eyes. He knew that once the story began to spread, this would become a popular version. He hadn’t killed his senior apprentice-sister; she had shattered her own soul, because she no longer wanted to be under the control of the Seamless Gate. But now, she was suffering endless torment and torture within the Infinity Hells. Although it was the Godking who was doing this…it was true that Ning had decided to leave her there.

After walking for a long time…

Ning arrived at the city walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. He sat down atop the city walls, all by his lonesome as he quietly stared at the utterly devastated battlefield beyond the walls. He also saw the vast, dark citadel of the Seamless City, hovering in the sky in the distance.

The Seamless City. The Eight Dragons Cloudcity. They continued to face each other. Clearly…this great war hadn’t truly ended yet.

“Ji Ning?” As soon as True Immortal Dongyan walked out from his palace, he could see that that solitary figure seated atop the city walls. He could sense how withered, how haggard Ji Ning was right now. He didn’t have the boundless vitality that he had in the past. In the past, Ji Ning always had a smile on his face, and his eyes were always bright. Right now, however…Ji Ning was like a mountain glacier that had been built up over thousands of years, filled with an infinitely cold and desolate aura.

“Ji Ning is man of deep emotions, and he cares deeply about love.” Someone else walked to Dongyan’s side; it was True Immortal Cloudust, who let out a sigh. “This word, ‘love’…it is absolutely ravaging.”

“Yes.” True Immortal Dongyan nodded. “To be betrayed by his most beloved Dao-companion…a blow like this…ugh, there’s nothing we can do to help him. Right, fellow Daoist Cloudust…is there any chance left for our Crimsonbright Realm to win?”

True Immortal Cloudust was the follower of Human Emperor Shennong; he should have access to detailed intelligence.

True Immortal Cloudust shook his head. “There’s almost no hope. Given the current state of the battle…the only chance we have is if we summon some of the most famous and powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms. But these figures are needed everywhere, either to cow certain enemies or to deal with major threats. If we send them here, it’ll have an impact on our force disposition across the entire Three Realms. In the end, the Crimsonbright Realm is just one of the weaker Realms, after all.”

“It is a bit weak…but we’ve been fighting for years and have suffered countless casualties.” True Immortal Dongyan didn’t want to accept this.

All of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Crimsonbright Realm naturally felt strong ties towards their homeland. Nobody wanted for their homeland to be occupied by the Seamless Gate.

“For now, just wait. The Daofather has already gone to speak with the Human Emperor.” True Immortal Cloudust continued, “Let’s see if the Human Emperor has any ideas…but my feeling is that if the Human Emperor had any ideas, he would’ve reached out long ago.”

True Immortal Dongyan nodded.

“Alas…if Shennong’s medicine hadn’t been destroyed…if Ji Ning hadn’t given it to Yu Wei…” True Immortal Cloudust sighed.

True Immortal Dongyan sighed and shook his head. “Ji Ning trusted his Dao-companion too much.”

Given the current state of the war, almost all of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Grand Xia had lost their hope. Quite a few of them had been so furious with Ji Ning as to curse him aloud, but slowly they all began to calm down. They no longer blamed Ji Ning…because they knew that Ji Ning himself certainly hadn’t hoped for this to happen!

“Where’s Ji Ning?”

“He’s still there atop the walls.”

“It’s been days. He hasn’t even moved from the walls at all. I wonder what he’s looking at?”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were chatting amongst themselves.

“The Human Emperor has already sent word. There’s nothing he can do. That medicine is too difficult to create; even the Human Emperor was only able to send some more of the antidote over to allow our Immortals to recover.”

“The Human Emperor has given up?”

“He’s actually given up…”

“My brothers all died in battle…was it all for nothing?”

“My Skysong clan’s Heaven Punisher was destroyed. We had twelve Celestial Immortals in our ranks, but I was the only one lucky enough to survive. I had thought that after our grand victory, I would spend some time having our clan rest and rebuild. But now…”

Pain. Heartbreak.

The Crimsonbright Realm was their home. Their foundation. The place where countless generations of their clan members had toiled over, shedding blood and sweat. They were willing to die for their homeland; they were even willing to accept the deaths of their brothers, masters, and disciples if it meant winning this battle. It would all be worth it! But…they weren’t going to be able to win. They were going to lose!

……

Ning was by himself atop the city walls.

“Ji Ning.” The red-haired Empyrean God Redsnow had arrived. He gently patted Ning on the shoulders. “Bestir yourself. This is nothing more than one of many pitfalls you shall encounter on your Immortal path.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

“Once you move past it…you will see that the seas and the skies remain as vast as they ever were.” Empyrean God Redsnow looked at Ning, hope in his eyes.

“Just give me a little more time to think things over,” Ning said softly.

“Alright.” Empyrean God Redsnow didn’t try to force things. He knew very well what sort of a person Ji Ning was. That was why he liked Ji Ning so much, supporting him and believing him to be the most suitable successor to the Starseizing Manor! Only a man who cared deeply about relationships would win the trust of his comrades. Selfish individuals like Sword Immortal Evergreen…how many would truly be willing to trust and befriend him?

However, people who cared deeply about relationships would also be deeply wounded by them.

In fact, even some of the major powers of the Three Realms had been deeply wounded in their relationships…and despite the passage of countless eras, they remained unable to truly heal from those wounds.

Empyrean God Redsnow left.

“Move past it?” Ning murmured to himself, “How can I move past it?”

Ning had felt tremendous despair when he saw Yu Wei die.

But now that he knew that Yu Wei wasn’t dead…he was momentarily overjoyed, then forced to make a choice. He had chosen to personally consign Yu Wei to the Infinity Hells. This caused Ning to feel even greater heartbreak.

Although his body remained in the mortal world, his heart had already entered Hell.

Guilt.

Pain.

Ning wanted to force them all down, to suppress them, to move past it all…but how could he possibly suppress them all?

“I confidently viewed myself as a favored son of heaven, as a formidably talented figure. But I was wrong. I was wrong. She’s now suffering endless torment in the Infinity Hells, but there’s nothing I can do. Not a damn thing.” Ning stared at the desolate landscape, which had long ago become utterly ruined and ravaged by the wars between the Immortals and Fiendgods. “I’m just like this landscape here. Like the grass atop the ground. In the face of the Immortals and Fiendgods who do battle…the only thing the grass can do is be trampled upon and destroyed, because it can’t fight back at all.”

“Weak.”

“I’m still puny and weak.”

“Formidably talented? No matter how talented I am, it will be a long, long time before I can possibly be a match for the Godking. In the here and now…I remain very weak. Faced with the Godking’s power, all I could do was to let it all happen. I wasn’t able to stop him, to push back at all.”

The utter despair he felt…what he witnessed first-hand was what caused it to be etched into his bones and imprinted into his soul.

The Godking made Ji Ning choose.

Ji Ning had no choice but to choose!

He could only watch as the Godking sent Yu Wei into the Infinity Hells! The only thing he could do was to kneel down and hope that he could move the Godking with his words…but alas, it was useless.

He was powerless!

Everything was under the Godking’s control. The only thing Ning could do was accept it all.

Ning stared at the wild grass atop the ravaged landscape. He felt like he was the grass; there was nothing he could do but be trampled upon, be broken, be attacked, be destroyed…the only thing he could do was to accept it!

As Ning was staring at the grass vacantly…

Ning’s heart suddenly became completely calm, empty, and ephemeral.

The countless strands of grass…the dust…it seemed to spread into Ning’s very heart, and Ning’s heart itself was expanding as well to accommodate them. In fact, even the skies themselves seemed to extend into Ning’s heart. Slowly, the entirety of Whitepole Commandery was contained within Ning’s heart, which continued to grow and grow…

His heart was endlessly vast. As vast as Heaven and Earth, all of which was contained within his heart.

Ning’s heart had reached out to encompass all 3600 commanderies. In fact, it reached out to cover even the vast and massive seas. The entire world of the Grand Xia, protected by the planar membrane, was like a giant oval spheroid…and the entire vast spheroid had already become one with Ning’s heart.

In fact, his heart was still trying to continue to expand, to stretch out to the vast, vacant Void itself.

It was a powerful, innate desire of his heart.

Ning sat there atop the city walls. He said softly to himself, “Though I come from the mortal dust, my heart still soars towards the heavens.”

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Chapter 51 – Heartforce, Stage Four

Chapter 51 – Heartforce, Stage Four

Ji Ning wiped the tears from his eyes. He understood that these were tears of joy, an uncontrollable joy that had come out upon his heart becoming one with Heaven in Earth.

“So…in the past, I was wrong, ridiculously wrong.”

“No wonder the truly supreme divine archers of the Three Realms are all so low-key.”

Ning finally understood the true nature of the fourth stage of heartforce, ‘mortal dust’.

It was like the grass upon the desolate battlefield…

It had to struggle to emerge from the dirt and grow up. It fought for every ray of sunshine, every drop of rain, because it wanted to grow higher and higher. It might be very low-key and unremarkable…but not even the most exalted major powers of the Three Realms could stop the will and the heart of the grass. The heart was infinite and unlimited; even a beggar could have the heart and ambitions of an emperor.

The power of the heart was invisible and formless…but it was incomparably marvelous.

Even mortals who had sufficiently powerful hearts and wills could create miracles. They would become heroes!

As for Immortal cultivators…

The number in the Three Realms who were able to reach the fourth stage of heartforce, ‘mortal dust’, was incredibly low! The number who managed to reach this fourth stage when at the Empyrean God or True Immortal level could be counted on one hand. Even amongst the exalted True Gods and Daofathers, the fourth stage essentially represented an absolute limit. Only one person had ever broken past this limit…Houyi!

Houyi was the only person to ever reach the fifth stage of heartforce, and he even left behind a systemized technique for training in it. His power was acclaimed at all, but he had long ago disappeared.

From this, one could tell how incredibly difficult it was for one to reach the fourth stage of heartforce.

“I’m like the wild grass. I’m nothing more than an unremarkable blade of grass. In the face of the Godking, in the face of the major powers…I’m unbelievably weak.” Ning had been seated atop the city walls, but he now rose to his feet and stared towards the skies. “But I want to walk further along my path, to make it to greater heights, to become even more powerful than the Godking. In fact, I want to reach Pangu and Nuwa’s level…and then surpass them!”

“No matter how lowly a person might be, his heart is limitless.” Ning felt very moved.

Prajna-states of enlightenment were profound, arcane, and unpredictable.

After experiencing so many setbacks and that agonizing choice…Ning’s heart had indeed been greatly impacted. But only when he felt as downtrodden as he did right now did he truly understand what it meant to be as insignificant as a speck of mortal dust. And so, he slowly began to understand and gain insights into this stage.

Everyone knew the principles of this stage, but to truly understand it and to thoroughly comprehend it was far, far more difficult.

‘Knowing’ what to do is easy; it’s the ‘doing’ that is tricky!

As Ning’s heart had expanded, his heartforce had risen in power as well. When Ning’s heart had reached the point of becoming one with the entire world of the Grand Xia and begun to reach out towards the infinite Void…his heartforce had truly reached an absolutely terrifying level, a level which represented an absolute limit for even True Gods and Daofathers, many of whom had not been able to reach it.

The fourth stage of heartforce!

Ning had broken through!

Aside from the missing Houyi…Ning’s heartforce could be ranked as the highest within the entire Three Realms!

“Always consider yourself as an unremarkable speck of mortal dust. Always reach for greater heights. Not even reaching Pangu’s level is the end of your ambitions.” Ning didn’t know whether or not Pangu’s level represented the endpoint for Immortal cultivation, but there was no endpoint for the heart. His heart could become infinitely vast, infinitely great.

“The difference between the fourth stage and the third stage is simply far too vast.”

Reaching the third stage of heartforce allowed one to have the power of a supreme Celestial Immortal.

The fourth stage of heartforce, however, gave one the power of a supreme Empyrean God or True Immortal!

Every single Empyrean God and True Immortal who had reached the fourth stage of heartforce stood at the very peak of power amongst their peers. The divine archer Eastbreak, for example…after using Daofruits of primordial chaos, he was able to suppress an entire battlefield all by himself! Although the Daofruits were very powerful…if it hadn’t been for Eastbreak’s archery and coreforce, how could the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals have all been completely shut down?

“Although I’ve only reached the expert level in my soul heartforce technique…even reaching the level of perfect mastery would probably increase my power by a mere tenfold, by a single level of so.”

“With my heartforce having increased from the third level to the fourth level…my power has increased by multiple levels.”

Ning himself knew how much he had improved.

“It is time to see the Daofather.” Ning rose to his feet. He felt guilt towards Daofather Crimsonbright. It had been the Daofather who had personally handed him Shennong’s medicine in a show of tremendous faith. Although it was Yu Wei who had turned traitor…in the end, it was his fault!

Ning stared at the vast, desolate wilderness. He also stared at the enormous black levitating citadel, the Seamless City. He quietly murmured to himself, “This battle isn’t over yet.”

Prior to this, his Heaven Punisher was already very powerful. With his heartforce having increased by an entire major level…how powerful would his Heaven Punisher become? Not even Ning himself knew.

This was because only a few Empyrean Gods or True Immortals had ever reached the fourth level of heartforce. Of them, Ning was the only one who had developed a soul heartforce technique! In other words…in the entire Three Realms, there was no Empyrean God or True Immortal whose Heaven Punisher was stronger than Ning’s. His was the most powerful of them all!

“Godking.” Boundless hatred could be seen within Ning’s eyes.

Whoosh.

Ning walked down from the city walls, then towards the distant main palace of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

If the Godking knew that his decision to force Ji Ning to make such an agonizing decision had resulted in Ning’s heartforce advancing from the third stage to the fourth stage…it’s hard to imagine how much regret he would feel. This was an advancement that was even more terrifying than perfecting the soul heartforce technique! And now…he had personally created a freak who knew the soul heartforce technique and had fourth stage heartforce.

The Godking’s original goal had merely been to make Ji Ning join the Seamless Gate.

Ji Ning was walking towards the main palace of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“It’s Ji Ning.”

“Why is Ji Ning going towards the main hall?”

“He spent a few days sitting blankly atop the city walls. I wonder what he was thinking about? This must have been an enormous blow to him, and he also caused us to lose this Realmwar…I hope he’s not blaming himself so much that his thoughts are in a complete mess, causing him to go seek out the Daofather.

“Alas…he truly is a peerless monster, the likes of which are rarely seen. I hope he hasn’t been ruined by his Dao-companion…”

The Immortals who saw Ning walking towards the main hall all chatted amongst themselves.

Love…it was a single word, but because of this word, countless lives had been destroyed and countless paths had been severed. This happened far, far too often within the Three Realms. However…those who were able to persevere after suffering such blows, who were able to continue to advance…they all became awe-inspiring figures of the Three Realms. They were no longer referred to as ‘monstrous geniuses’; they were known as the true experts of the Three Realms!

“Ji Ning?” The Xia Emperor walked out from the main palace. He said in surprise, “Why have you come?”

“I wish to see the Daofather,” Ning said.

“The Daofather is not in a good mood. It’s best if you don’t go,” the Xia Emperor said hurriedly.

“Not in a good mood?” Ning was startled.

“Right.” The Xia Emperor nodded. “Human Emperor Shennong is out of ideas, but the Daofather is still unwilling to give up. He’s spent countless years building his Crimsonbright Realm up, after all. Thus, the Daofather went out to meet with other major powers, including the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha, as well as others, but…alas…”

Ning nodded. “I understand.”

The Xia Emperor looked towards Ning. “Do you still wish to see the Daofather, then?”

Ning nodded.

Whoosh.

Ning’s aura suddenly transformed from that of a Celestial Immortal to that of a Pure Yang True Immortal.

“Pure…Pure Yang?!” The Xia Emperor’s eyes instantly turned round and huge. Overjoyed, he said, “Ji Ning, you made a breakthrough?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Since he’d already decided that he was going to win this Realmwar…he had remain careful of the Seamless Gate’s intelligence network. Thus, Ning only revealed the fact that he had the power of a Pure Yang True Immortal, intending to force the Seamless Gate into a series of miscalculations. As for reaching the fourth level of heartforce…for now, he had to hide this. He would only reveal his power at a critical moment, allowing them to win this war in one blow.

But if he wanted to hide it from them…

He had to hide it from everyone! Only when he alone knew this secret would it truly be a secret. If he told anyone else at all, the Seamless Gate would have a chance to find out.

“Fantastic. This…this is absolutely fantastic.” The Xia Emperor was extremely excited. “Your breakthrough to the Pure Yang level means that your Heaven Punisher will increase dramatically in power. If you join forces with the Seven Planets Empyrean God, you might be able to completely tie down the Daofather golem. During the last battle, the Seamless Gate managed to escape with some of its forces, preventing us from wiping them out. They still suffered castastrophic losses, however. If you and the Seven Planets Empyrean God can tie down the Daofather golem…leave the others, including the Three-Eyed Demon, to us.”

“Let’s go! Let’s go see the Daofather.” The Xia Emperor was incomparably excited.

“Alright.” Ning followed the Xia Emperor into the main palace.

“The Daofather’s in a side hall.” The Xia Emperor led Ning forward in a very familiar manner. Soon, Ning saw a quiet, secluded side hall with Daofather Crimsonbright seated in the lotus position within it.

However…as soon as Ning saw the Daofather, he could sense the deathly, melancholy aura surrounding him.

This was a sort of melancholic aura which would naturally emerge once one felt completely powerless.

“Master.” The Xia Emperor spoke out.

“Daofather.” Ning called out respectfully as well.

Daofather Crimsonbright opened his eyes. Upon seeing Ning, he nodded gently. “It seems you’ve managed to bestir yourself a bit, Ji Ning. Our loss in this Realmwar cannot be blamed upon you. You couldn’t have imagined any of those things happening. If we lose, we lose. There’s always a victor and a loser in any war. Later, I shall summon the other Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and army commanders and issue an order to retreat. You should roam the Three Realms a bit and relax. Both your master and myself have great expectations of you. Our war with the Seamless Gate shall continue. Although we’ve lost here, we’ll still need you to go fight in other places in the future.”

The Daofather was a Daofather, after all. Although he felt grief at completely losing his territory and his foundation, his gaze was still focused on the Three Realms as a whole. He naturally didn’t wish to see Ji Ning sink into endless despair; in fact, he didn’t even want to blame Ji Ning at all.

“Master…Ji Ning broke through to the Pure Yang True Immortal level,” the Xia Emperor said hurriedly.

Daofather Crimsonbright was briefly stunned…and then his eyes lit up!

His melancholic aura completely vanished. He once more became full of vigor and energy. He stared at Ning, then said with a laugh, “I really have grown old. I was so dispirited by this Realmwar that I’ve become as blind as a bat. I didn’t realize you made a breakthrough, even though you are standing right in front of me. Haha…Pure Yang True Immortal…you’ve broke through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal…then doesn’t that mean your Heaven Punisher shall dramatically increase in power? If you join forces with the Seven Planets Empyrean God commanded by Redsnow, you should be able to tie down the Daofather golem, right?”

“Daofather, please give me 9000 Celestial Immortals and 810,000 Loose Immortals so that I may create a maximum-power Heaven Punisher,” Ning said respectfully.

“Superb.”

Upon seeing how confident Ji Ning was, Daofather Crimsonbright couldn’t help but call out the word ‘superb’. Ji Ning had previously already commanded 3000 Celestial Immortals; all they had to do now was merge six more Heaven Punisher armies into his army. Six ordinary Heaven Punishers wouldn’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

“I’ll give the orders right away. Prepare for a final battle against the Seamless Gate!” Daofather Crimsonbright’s eyes gleamed with light. His aura filled the heavens, and his voice boomed forth.

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Chapter 52 – The Confident Evergreen

Chapter 52 – The Confident Evergreen

Just a short while later.

Per Daofather Crimsonbright’s orders, all the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and army commanders assembled at the main hall.

“What?”

“We’re going to go fight?”

“The Seamless Gate now has a Daofather golem. How are we supposed to beat that?” Once Daofather Crimsonbright said that he was going to launch a true, final battle against the Seamless Gate, everyone was completely speechless. They weren’t afraid of death, but no one would be willing to throw their lives away in a situation where they had no chance of winning at all.

Daofather Crimsonbright looked down at his subordinates, then turned his head to look towards a side door. “Ji Ning, come out.”

The Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and army commanders all felt puzzled.

Ji Ning?

“Let Ji Ning come out? After experiencing his Dao-companion’s betrayal…I imagine that he couldn’t have fully recovered yet.”

“I don’t understand what the Daofather is planning.”

“Are we supposed to entrust everything to Ji Ning, who is at the brink of absolute collapse?”

“He can’t be joking with us, can he?”

Some felt anger towards Ning, while others felt sympathy and pity. All of them, however, felt certain that this peerless genius must have been delivered a blow from which he would need time to recover.

Footsteps rang out.

“Eh?” Upon seeing Ji Ning walk out, virtually everyone was stunned.

“He…he…”

“Pure Yang?”

“Impossible!”

Almost all of the Immortals and Fiendgods within the main hall were stupefied. They knew exactly how heavy a blow Ji Ning had just suffered. In their private conversations, most of them secretly opined that Ji Ning would probably wallow in his misery as a result of this blow. None of them had imagined that Ji Ning would actually break through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal at such a critical point in time!

To break through into the Pure Yang level was no easy feat. To completely and thoroughly master a Grand Dao was no easy task. Given the blow he had suffered and the mental anguish he was in…it would have been incredibly, incredibly difficult for him to make a breakthrough in the Dao of the Sword.

But…

The truth was right before them. The dense Pure Yang aura surrounding Ji Ning was unmistakeably real!

“Ji Ning has broken through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal. His Heaven Punisher can now command much greater power.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice boomed down from his high throne. “I will put 9000 Celestial Immortals and 810,000 Loose Immortals under his command, allowing him to form and command a perfect Heaven Punisher! Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher, when working in concert with Redsnow’s Seven Planets Empyrean God, will handle the Daofather golem.”

Daofather Crimsonbright continued, “All of you are to immediately summon your soldiers and prepare for the final battle! In this final battle, our goal is to completely shatter the forces of the Seamless Gate and to protect our Realm!”

“Yes!” All of the Immortals and Fiendgods awoke from their stupor. They were all incomparably delighted, and their eyes glowed with excitement.

Prior to this, they all seemed to have lost their souls. They had no morale to speak of…and even Daofather Crimsonbright himself had been surrounded by a melancholic aura. But now, upon seeing a chance to gain victory, all of them became filled with a desire to do battle. They were so excited that their hearts once more began to boil with hot blood.

“Formidable.”

“He was actually able to make a breakthrough to the Pure Yang level after suffering such a blow.”

“Incredible.”

“This Ji Ning truly is incredible!”

Previously, quite a few of them had felt resentment towards Ji Ning, but all of that dissipated like smoke. All they felt towards him was amazement and admiration! To be able to make a breakthrough and completely change the course of the war at such a critical moment…how could they not feel admiration?

The grand army began to mobilize.

Sinuous Raindragons and towering Pangu War-Formations once more took form, along with many Heaven Punishers.

The most astonishingly powerful aura, however, came from Ji Ning’s ‘Darknorth Army’.

At present, the Darknorth Army had a total of 9000 Celestial Immortals and 810,000 Loose Immortals! This was the most perfect form possible for the [Heaven Punisher Formation]. The amount of natural energy which this sea of Immortals could summon…it was at an absolutely incomprehensible level. However, even Xingtian himself had only created a ‘perfect’ version of his formation just for the sake of completeness; he himself felt that it was a waste for an Empyrean God or True Immortal to use it, as there was simply no way for them to use all that energy.

“Assemble the formation.” Ning gave the order.

The 9000 Celestial Immortals were spread out around Ning, protecting him like a hive of hornets protecting their queen.

As for the 810,000 Loose Immortals, they were like countless stars or grains of sand that were spread out throughout the formation. As the incomparably marvelous formation began to be activated, an absolutely shocking whirlpool of energy was formed around the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. This was the very first time the Crimsonbright Realm had truly, completely unleashed the full power of a Heaven Punisher. Once the number of Immortals had reached the target number, the amount of natural energy they could command was similarly astonishing.

Rumble…

The natural energy had become completely solidified, seeming to have transformed into enormous pillars of water that surged towards Ning.

The massive water pillars, many tens of thousands of meters in length, swirled around Ning’s army before rapidly condensing around it. Slowly…the bones, the flesh, and the skin began to take form as an unprecedently enormous Heaven Punisher appeared.

“What a powerful aura.”

“This is too powerful.”

“I feel as though…he’s roughly on the same level as True Gods or Daofathers.”

When the perfect Heaven Punisher appeared, all of the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Crimsonbright Realm were stunned. However…they also all knew that if the commander of the formation was unable to command and control all of that massive power, the power would completely go to waste! Even amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, there were many who couldn’t fully control 100% of the power of the simplest types of Heaven Punishers, much less the perfect ones!

“Whew.” Ning felt absolutely inconceivable power coming from the perfect Heaven Punisher he commanded.

“Arise.” Ning began to take control over the power of the Heaven Punisher. He applied heartforce to his soul, then used his Pure Yang energy to go all-out in taking control over the energy within the formation! More and more power began to enter the Heaven Punisher through the formation. Ten percent. Twenty percent. Thirty percent. An absolutely unbelievable amount of energy was coming under Ning’s command.

Only the energy that he could control was ‘his’; anything he could not control would be just wasted energy.

Finally, Ning reached his limit.

“Ninety percent! I can vaguely sense that I’m controlling ninety percent of the power of this perfect Heaven Punisher.” Ning felt stunned as well…because he could sense that just ten percent of the power of the perfect Heaven Punisher was already vastly more powerful than the full power of his old Heaven Punisher, which had merely been powered by three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals.

Fortunately, his heartforce had reached the fourth stage. Otherwise…with just third-stage heartforce, even if he used his soul heartforce technique he would probably only be able to just barely command a tenth of the power of this perfect Heaven Punisher.

No one could tell from the surface as to how much control Ning had over the Heaven Punisher Formation. Not even the primordial wargod who created this great formation, Xingtian, would dare to believe that a mere Empyrean God or True Immortal would be able to take almost complete control over a perfect Heaven Punisher.

“Excellent.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice boomed out, his eyes filled with a desire to battle. “It’s time for the final battle. Let’s completely wipe out the Seamless Gate!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The countless Immortals and Fiendgods turned frenzied with their desire to kill.

“Head out!” Daofather Crimsonbright pointed towards the distant Seamless City.

Instantly, a series of booms could be heard as the entire grand army charged towards the distant Seamless City, blotting out the very skies themselves as they moved.

……

Within the vast world of darkness.

“What?!”

The Godking, seated upon his massive throne, was stunned and enraged. “He actually broke through? Broke through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal?”

“He suffered such a mental blow, then actually made a breakthrough?”

“His soul heartforce technique had already reached the stage of mastery. Now that he’s become a Pure Yang True Immortal and has a perfect Heaven Punisher under his command…I imagine that his Heaven Punisher, all by itself, is comparable to the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater. I predicted that he would be would become a threat, but I was always just one step too slow. One step!” The Godking felt furious, stunned, and regretful.

……

The Seamless City. Daofather Ink Bamboo convened all the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and army commanders to meet with him.

Daofather Ink Bamboo stared down at his soldiers, his voice low. “I trust you can see that the Crimsonbright Realm’s army is calling us out to do battle! The reason why they have dared to emerge is because their ‘Ji Ning’…has already broken through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal.”

“Pure Yang True Immortal?”

“He’s reached the Pure Yang level? Wasn’t his Dao-companion Yu Wei one of us? He was betrayed by his Dao-companion…but was actually able to break through to become a True Immortal?”

The Immortals and Fiendgods of the Seamless Gate were all stunned and baffled.

The Great Sage Who Swallows the Mountains narrowed his eyes, then said, “Ji Ning is extremely skilled in commanding Heaven Punishers. Even before this, he was extraordinarily powerful. Now that he’s broken through, I’m afraid that his Heaven Punisher, just by itself…will be on par with our Three-Eyed Demon.”

“Right.” The seventh fairy of the Nine Cloudmist Fairies frowned. “Last time, our army collapsed and fled due to the appearance of that Seven Planets Empyrean God. Quite a few of us were slaughtered. If it wasn’t for the Daofather golem, we would be at a decided disadvantage against them in forces. If Ji Ning and Redsnow use their Heaven Punisher and Seven Planets Empyrean God to tie down our Daofather golem…we are probably going to lose!”

“Right.”

Daofather Ink Bamboo, seated above them, nodded. “Yes. The main issue in this battle revolves around the question of whether or not Ji Ning and Redsnow, when fighting together, can tie down our Daofather golem.”

“If they can tie it down…they also have another portion of Shennong’s medicine! They outnumber us as well. Although we have the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater…we will probably still lose.” Daofather Ink Bamboo looked towards Sword Immortal Evergreen. “Evergreen, we’ll be counting on you in this battle.”

“Don’t worry, Daofather.” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s eyes flashed with fierce light, and his voice was icy but confident. “The Daofather golem possesses inconceivable power. Even if a true Daofather comes, it will still probably remain undamaged. Under my command, the Daofather golem will be exceptionally nimble and agile. The two probably won’t be able to join forces against me; instead, I’ll break them down one by one.”

“Right. The Daofather golem won’t be so easily dealt with.”

“They definitely won’t be able to stop it.”

The Seamless Alliance wouldn’t easily admit defeat either.

The Daofather golem…

Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher and Redsnow’s Seven Planets Empyrean God…

Which would be more powerful?

Neither side could be completely certain.

“Evergreen, your mission in this upcoming battle will be the most important one.” Daofather Ink Bamboo looked towards Sword Immortal Evergreen. “No matter what, don’t disappoint me or the Godking.”

“Daofather, don’t worry at all. I’ll definitely bring back the heads of Ji Ning and Redsnow and offer them to you and the Godking.” A sharp, sword-like aura could be seen within Evergreen’s eyes. He was completely confident in himself.

“Alright.”

Daofather Ink Bamboo swept the main hall with his gaze. He growled, “Then…let us go out and fight! This will be the final battle. Break apart the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces and sweep them out like trash!”

“Yes!” The Immortals and Fiendgods all acknowledged to the order.

Soon, the air above the Seamless City became filled with White-Faced Flood Dragons, Bifang Cranes, Zhuyan Apes, and other Terrorbeasts, as well as many Empyrean God golems and other powerful figures such as the Three-Eyed Demon. The most dazzling of all figures…was the titanic, crimson-gold figure that hovered in the skies. It looked just like an enormous spider…and it emanated an aura that was no weaker than the aura of a True God or Daofather!

The two massive armies stared against each other from afar.

“KILL!” Following an earth-shattering roar, the army of the Seamless Gate charged through the skies, blotting out the sun as they swept towards the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces.

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Chapter 53 – Cleaving Heaven and Earth

Chapter 53 – Cleaving Heaven and Earth

“Hmph.” Sword Immortal Evergreen could sense that he had become one with the Daofather golem…and the tremendous power which the Daofather golem contained.

“The aura of that perfect Heaven Punisher is quite strong as well. It lives up to its reputation as a grand formation formed from 9000 Celestial Immortals and 810,000 Loose Immortals. The aura alone is no weaker than the aura of my Daofather golem.” Sword Immortal Evergreen, however, wasn’t worried in the slightest. In fact, he was rather disdainful. “It’s all show and no substance. What’s the use of just having an aura of power? Although it is very strong, taking control over all that power is harder than ascending to the heavens! Even the simplest version of the Heaven Punisher is difficult for many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to command, much less the perfect version.”

The Heaven Punishers could be divided into three tiers.

The simplest version had 1000 Celestial Immortals and 100,000 Loose Immortals.

The expert version had 3000 Celestial Immortals and 300,000 Loose Immortals.

Only when 9000 Celestial Immortals and 810,000 Loose Immortals were used, however, was the Heaven Punisher ‘perfect’, allowing it to reach an inconceivable level of power. If Ning, as a Pure Yang True Immortal, merely had third-stage heartforce and mastery over the soul heartforce technique…he’d be able to command at most a tenth of the Heaven Punisher’s full power. From this, one could imagine how truly difficult it was for one to take command over the perfect Heaven Punisher’s power.

“I’m different from him!”

“I have a Daofather golem, and I have complete control over all of its power. Ji Ning isn’t much of a threat; to the contrary, it’s the Seven Planets Empyrean God, which seems to have a weaker aura than mine, which is dangerous. It is formed from seven Empyrean Gods, and Redsnow has complete control over all of its power as well.”

Under Evergreen’s control, the Daofather golem was extremely fast.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Distorted light could be seen in the skies. The Daofather golem looked like a spider crawling upon the vast web of heaven as it charged forward, the first to attack the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces.

This battle wasn’t just being watched by Daofather Crimsonbright, the Godking, and Daofather Ink Bamboo. In truth, more than 90% of the Daofathers of the Three Realms were watching this battle.

……

The Celestial Realm.

Mount Ling, in the western region.

Lord Buddha was seated up high on his honored throne, radiating a boundless aura of light. The light surrounding him was dazzling to behold, and if one looked at it carefully, one would be able to vaguely make out the colors of the Five Elements. Beneath him was seated Amitabha, Kshitigarbha, Maitreya, and other major powers of the Buddhist Sangha. 1

Lord Buddha, also known as Tathagata, was the highest-level Buddhist leader of the Three Realms. His power was inconceivable, and the divine abilities he had devised, such as the [Vairocana Guardian Halo] and the [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm] were some of the most supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms. Only Mother Nuwa was more powerful than him.

The Buddhas seated below him were all extraordinarily formidable as well.

Amitabha, for example, had created ten million clones of himself. In both the Primordial Era and the modern day, his many clones were constantly spreading the teachings of Buddhism. It could be said that many of the most formidable figures of Buddhism had received some degree of tutelage from Amitabha. There was a widespread saying; more than half of the arhats and bodhisattvas of the Three Realms had been taught by Amitabha and thus succeeded in their cultivation. 2

The countless bodhisattvas and arhats thus naturally felt tremendous gratitude towards the Buddha Amitabha. Thus, Buddha Amitabha had a very special status amongst the ranks of the Buddhist Sangha. He was often referred to the ‘Teacher Buddha’, or as the ‘Welcomer Buddha’, which referred to his actions in welcoming his many adherents to his pure land of Sukhavati, the Western Paradise. 3 The holy light radiating from Buddha Amitabha was a light of infinite kindness and gentleness. Anyone who saw it would feel inner peace, and they would uncontrollably wish to kneel down and listen to his teachings.

“Multiple Realmwars have occurred within the Three Realms. All the major powers are tiring themselves out for the sake of this great war.” The gaze of Lord Tathagata pierced through the vast Void, allowing him to see the battle within the Crimsonbright Realm. “For the sake of his Realm, Crimsonbright has done everything he can. This Realmwar is a far greater one than the ones which have come before. Welcomer, do you think they can win?”

Buddha Amitabha’s gaze was kind and benevolent. Clasping his hands together, he said, “The key issue in this battle revolves around the battle between the Daofather golem, which shall battle Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher and Redsnow’s Seven Planets Empyrean God.”

The other major Buddhist powers were watching as well.

It was only natural that they cared.

It was a minor matter for a Celestial Emperor to be changed, but a Realmwar would have a major impact on karmic luck! The two sides were currently engaged in a war for karmic luck, with the Endwar only coming once both sides were convinced that no further gains could be made. That was when all of the major Buddhist powers would have to go all out as well.

“I wonder how many of us shall be at Mount Ling, after the great storm passes.” Lord Tathagata stared downwards, sighing to himself. He could never forget how much blood had been shed when the Primordial Era was brought to an end. Even he had very nearly perished before the might of the Lord of All Creatures. Fortunately, by relying on his [Golden Nirmana Body], he was able to survive and keep the Lord of All Creatures tied down.

That had been a calamitous war.

The majority of the Buddhas of the Buddhist Sangha had died in battle. Fortunately, Mother Nuwa had made a breakthrough in the end, allowing for a reversal in the war!

……

The Celestial Realm.

The Dao Palace, in the eastern regions.

Daoist Three Purities was seated high up upon his throne. Unlike Lord Buddha, Daoist Three Purities had a much more reserved aura. And yet, when one looked at Daoist Three Purities…one would occasionally feel as though one was seeing a terrifying illusion of the destruction of the entire Three Realms.

Beneath him were seated the major powers of the Daoist Path.

“We are about to see a result to this Realmwar,” Daoist Three Purities said softly. “Zixiu, who do you think will win?”

An old man with a long beard who was dressed in loose robes said softly, “Fifty-fifty.”

This old man was Daofather Carefree. He was also known as Zhuang Zhou…Zhuang Zixiu! 4

Long ago, two True Gods were born from the primordial chaos and became extremely good friends.

One was Yuanshi Tianzun, the Exalted Celestial of Genesis. The second was Xiaoyao Tianzun, the Carefree Exalted Celestial.

The two had trained painstakingly, with Yuanshi Tianzun having mastered the Heavenly Dao of Yang and the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. Of the ten Heavenly Daos, however, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos was the most exalted of Daos. The Heavenly Dao of Life was mated with the Heavenly Dao of Destruction, while the Heavenly Dao of Yin was mated with the Heavenly Dao of Yang. Last came the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. If one wanted to make a qualitative breakthrough, one would have to gain insights into matching sets of Heavenly Daos…which was incredibly hard. For example, if you gained insights into the Heavenly Dao of Life, then the Heavenly Dao of Life itself would interfere with your efforts to gain insights into the Heavenly Dao of Destruction, preventing you from calmly training in it.

Or, for example, the Five Elements.

If one managed to master metal, wood, water, and fire…then when one began to work on water, one would suffer many interferences. Thus, it was incredibly difficult to master the full set of Five Elements, the duality of Life and Destruction, or the duality of Yin and Yang.

Lord Tathagatha had managed to master the entire Five Elements of the Heavenly Daos, which was why he was able to become the leader of the Buddhist Sangha!

Yuanshi Tianzun had tremendous willpower and determination. During the Primordial Era, he placed a seal on his own truesoul, one which locked away his memories and prevented him from reawakening them unless he fully mastered the Heavenly Dao of Yin. He then sent himself into the Six Paths of Reincarnation and committed suicide, sending his truesoul into the cycle of reincarnation.

He was reborn multiple times. On his ninth life, he was reborn as Laozi 5! In this life, he finally embarked on a path of nonstop breakthroughs, culminating in him mastering the Heavenly Dao of Yin and becoming a Daofather. At this moment, his memories were completely reawakened…and with Yin and Yang joined together, his power instantly skyrocketed, resulting in him standing at the very pinnacle of the Three Realms! Back then, of course, Mother Nuwa hadn’t reached the Pangu level yet.

He devised a technique which allowed him to transform in the Three Pure Ones; Shangqing the Supreme Pure One, Yuqing the Jade Pure One, and Taiqing the Grand Pure One. His three incarnations all had their separate strengths, and they were each very suited to their respective Heavenly Daos.

Daoist Yuqing was his former, true body; known as Yuanshi Tianzun, it controlled the Heavenly Dao of Yang.

Daoist Shangqing was known as Lingbao Tianzun, the Exalted Celestial of the Holy Treasure. He controlled the Heavenly Dao of Destruction.

Daoist Taiqing was the reincarnated Laozi, the master of the Heavenly Dao of Yin.

When Daoist Three Purities had devised this technique to create the Three Pure Ones, his three incarnations were capable of joining together to reach an unfathomable level of power. He had even been able to battle the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate for a long period of time.

Committing suicide and sending the truesoul to be reincarnated was incredibly dangerous. For example, if in a reincarnated life he had become a Celestial Immortal, then suddenly was killed and had his soul shattered, his truesoul would’ve been sent into the River of Destiny. He would’ve truly been dead, then! What he did was a dangerous gamble…but Yuanshi Tianzun possessed astonishing willpower and determination, which was why he dared to act in such a way.

The Carefree Exalted Celestial, however, didn’t possess that sort of determination. He did, however, create an incarnation which he sent to be reborn and experience new lives. In this new lives, however, he was naturally unable to gain any insights into the corresponding Heavenly Dao. Still, he didn’t care about this at all, because his power was still considered one of the top five of the Daoist Path.

Lu Dongbin had taken on two true teachers. One was Daoist Three Purities, while the other was the Carefree Exalted Celestial.

……

The imperial palace of the Primordial Imperial Clan, and other regions within the primordial chaos, such as Shennong’s residence or the residence of the ancient Suiren. These ancient figures, some of whom were legendary recluses of the Three Realms, were all watching this battle. Perhaps they might’ve been reclusive in the past, but now that the storm had come, there was no way for them to avoid it. They would have to fight as well.

Similarly…

Some of the ancient, major powers of the Seamless Alliance, scattered throughout the Three Realms, were watching as well. This was the time for the war for karmic luck, which was why they permitted the Godking to be in charge of the Seamless Gate! When the end came, however…these ancient figures would emerge. Long ago, they had followed behind their king…and compared to them, this ‘Godking’ was actually one of their juniors.

“This battle hinges on the performance of those three.” All the major powers understood this.

……

On the battlefield.

The Daofather golem was the fastest on its side, while the Seven Planets Empyrean God and perfect Heaven Punisher were the fastest on the Crimsonbright Realm’s side.

The three of them were like the tips of the spear for their respective armies, and they headed straight towards each other.

Whoosh!

As the titanic spider flew forward, it suddenly lashed out with two of its slender, knife-legs, sending two blurry streaks of light flying towards the Crimsonbright Realm’s army.

“Block it! Careful!”

The distant units immediately pooled its power to defend against the strike.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Although three Heaven Punishers and a Raindragon joined forces to block the strike, one of the Heaven Punishers was completely shattered. Fortunately, the Daofather golem had launched an attack from very far away, and so very few Immortals within the Heaven Punisher were slain.

“What incredible power. Ji Ning, let me test him first,” Empyrean God Redsnow sent mentally.

Swish!

The Seven Planets Empyrean God brandished its spear. Snow began to fall in the area around it as spacetime began to twist and distort. Its power increased dramatically as it charged straight towards the Daofather golem.

If Ji Ning was to explode forth with the full power of the perfect Heaven Punisher, his speed wouldn’t be slower than that of the Seven Planets Empyrean God at all. However…Ning understood that once he unleashed his full power, the controller of the Daofather golem would become cautious! Thus, the best plan was to wait for them to actually clash. If he could catch his foe offguard at the point of collision, it would result in a major advantage for him.

“Redsnow, you dare to take my Daofather golem head-on with that little bit of power you have? Die!” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s voice rang out from within the Daofather golem, echoing throughout the battlefield.

“Damn that Evergreen.”

“It’s Evergreen.”

The Xia Emperor and the others ground their teeth as they watched carefully.

“Break!” The Seven Planets Empyrean God flung its longspear forward with such incredible power that even the shaft of the longspear began to twist in mid-flight.

The Daofather golem immediately swept out with two of its front spider-legs, blocking the oncoming spear.

BOOM!!!!

A terrifying shockwave blasted outwards, forcing the Seven Planets Empyrean God backwards. Time began to twist and distort around it, allowing it to instantly retreat by several hundred kilometers, thus dodging the four retaliatory leg-strikes of the pursuing Daofather golem.

“Don’t be so cocky!” As the Seven Planets Empyrean God retreated, Ji Ning advanced.

“You’re the one I really want to kill!” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s morale soared. He had been able to easily beat back even the Seven Planets Empyrean God; was he going to be worried about Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher? Yes, the perfect Heaven Punisher had an incredible aura, but how much power would Ji Ning actually control?

Ning’s Heaven Punisher ran forward on its bare feet, wielding a pair of enormous Ananda World-Swords in its hands.

“CHOP!”

An Ananda World-Sword was raised high into the air in a stance reminiscent of Pangu splitting apart Heaven and Earth to establish the universe. It chopped straight downwards! This was a stance which Ning had created after he thoroughly mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword…the twelfth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. However, because he had been hiding his status as a Pure Yang True Immortal in the past, he had never used this technique before. Now…it was finally time for him to unleash it!

[Three-Foot Sword], twelfth stance – Cleaving Heaven and Earth!

With this stance, the entire [Three-Foot Sword] was finally perfected. These twelve stances covered the entirety of the Grand Dao of the Sword, from the basics to full mastery of it. The reason why Ning had chosen such a mighty name, ‘Cleaving Heaven and Earth’, was because he had been in an excellent mood and because his heartforce had been at the dominating ‘ruler’ stage.

“F*ck off.” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s Daofather golem laughed wickedly, once more using its two front spider-legs to block with the intention of sending Ning flying back as well.

BOOM!

The longsword slammed down upon the two spider-legs.

“Don’t take it head-on!”

“Careful!”

Although this took time to describe, it actually all happened as fast as lightning. Just after the Seven Planets Empyrean God retreated, Ji Ning’s swords came chopping down. This greatly shocked Empyrean God Redsnow and the others. He knew that Ji Ning had to have seen the astonishing power of the Daofather golem from its clash against the Seven Planets Empyrean God; how could Ji Ning be so foolish as to fight it head-on?

“Time to go d-…what the hell!!!”

Just as Sword Immortal Evergreen’s morale was soaring, he suddenly sensed a surge of inconceivable power pass into the golem from the longsword. The power of the blow was so great…that even his Daofather golem felt somewhat unable to withstand it.

It was powerful.

Far too powerful!

BOOM! As Ning’s barefoot Heaven Punisher leapt forward, its angry sword-blow smote the Daofather golem down into the ground, causing the earth beneath it to cave in!

“What?!”

“The Daofather golem is actually weaker?”

“This…this isn’t possible.”

Everyone on the battlefield was stunned. The Seamless Gate’s forces had been very confident in the power of the Daofather golem; Evergreen was able to fully unleash all of its power, after all. Although the perfect Heaven Punisher possessed an aura of tremendous might which was comparable to that of an actual True God or Daofather…how much of that power could Ji Ning control? How could he possibly be able to suppress the Daofather golem?

“Impossible!!!” Sword Immortal Evergreen was utterly enraged. He used all his power to push upwards while sending two more of his spider-legs upwards to block Ning’s longsword. Four legs supporting it on the ground, four legs pressing upwards to defend; he was already using as much power as he could from the Daofather golem.

“You shall KNEEL before me!” Ning’s other longsword came slamming down as well.

The same stance; Cleaving Heaven and Earth! When staring at it, one could almost see Pangu within the primordial chaos, brandishing his greataxe to chop downwards.

BOOM!!!!

The Daofather golem was using four of its spider-legs to block, giving it only four other spider-legs to stand on. In the face of this mountain of pressure that slammed down upon it…the four spider-legs it was standing on went limp as it was pressed down onto its knee-joints.

Silence.

The two armies had been charging towards each other, but had yet to actually join battle. Both instantly fell completely silent. The Crimsonbright Realm’s forces, the Seamless Gate’s forces…they all just stared in disbelief at this sight!

1. These are all important Buddhas in religious Buddhism. Lord Buddha usually refers to Siddhartha/Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha. Amitabha is the main Buddha of the extremely popular Pure Lands sect of Buddhism. Kshitigarbha is the bodhisattva of hell-beings, as he swore an oath to free everyone who was tormented in hell. Maitreya is the future Buddha who will come to Earth in the future, the successor to Siddhartha/Sakyamuni.

2. In terms of enlightenment, in religious Buddhism, it basically goes arhat > bodhisattva > Buddha.

3. One of the most important beliefs in the Pure Lands sect of Buddhism is that if you call out Amitabha’s name at least ten times in your life, he will guarantee that you will be reborn into Sukhavati, a ‘pure land’ he created of pure bliss.

4. Zhuang Zhou is an actual historical figure from the 4th century BC who wrote one of the most important philosophical Daoist books, the ‘Zhuangzi’.

5. Also known as Lao-Tzu, Laozi is the historical author of Tao Te Ching and the historical founder of Daoism, much like how Shakyamuni/Siddartha is credited as the founder of Buddhism.

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Chapter 54 – Release

Chapter 54 – Release

The utterly indomitable Daofather golem…had actually been suppressed in power by a Heaven Punisher!

Those two swords had struck down as if they possessed the power to cleave apart Heaven and Earth. The Daofather golem was completely unable to endure their power, resulting it in being knocked into a kneeling crouch.

“How can this be?! Just him by himself?” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s heart was filled with both rage and panic. “How can I possibly be unable to overcome Ji Ning? I should be able to beat him and Redsnow combined. How can I possibly be defeated by him alone?!” Sword Immortal Evergreen had already made many boasts before the Daofather and his fellow Immortals…and his victory was necessary and critical for the entire Realmwar to be won!

If he was to lose…how could he face the Seamless Gate afterwards?

He had already betrayed the Nuwa Alliance. He needed to have a firm footing within the Seamless Alliance now.

This battle was incredibly important to him!

“You imbecile! Why are you competing with him in strength? Since he has incredible power, hurry up and use your speed and agility!” Daofather Ink Bamboo’s mental voice carried urgency and panic within it as well. “Quick, quick, quick! The two armies have already begun to fight against each other. You have to win. If you lose, our army will lose all of its morale and collapse!”

“Yes, Daofather. I was merely testing his strength, just now,” Sword Immortal Evergreen immediately responded.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The Daofather spider-golem’s thin legs began to move quickly, tearing apart the ground as it scuttled backwards like a streak of twisted light, retreating into the distance.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The armies of the Crimsonbright Realm and the Seamless Gate were quite fast as well. They had already begun to battle against each other. The soldiers of each side started to slaughter each other, and many Immortals and Fiendgods began to perish.

The Seamless Gate had suffered castastrophic losses last time. Although the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater led their allies, they were still at a marked disadvantage.

……

The skies themselves seemed to turn dark as chaotic whirlpools of natural energy could be seen everywhere.

Ning’s towering Heaven Punisher wielded two enormous Ananda World-Swords as he bound forward on bare feet, chasing after the Daofather golem.

“Hurry up and get rid of that Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets Empyrean God,” Daofather Ink Bamboo sent frantically. “Kill them as fast as you can. If you let them tie you down, we’re going to lose!”

“Yes, Daofather.”

Sword Immortal Evergreen ground his teeth, madness visible within his eyes.

“He’s very strong; I can’t fight against him head-on. But my Daofather golem is incredible fast and agile; I refuse to believe you can overcome me.” The Daofather spider-golem’s enormous body was actually so nimble that it left behind a series of twisted streaks of light in the skies as it charged towards Ning. Clearly, Sword Immortal Evergreen wasn’t willing to lose by Ning’s hands.

“Die.” Four of the slender, knife-like spider-legs of the Daofather-golem pierced straight towards Ning’s Heaven Punisher.

“F*ck off!” Ning’s Heaven Punisher lashed out with its right hand, and the Ananda World-Sword within its right hand left behind a wave of light in the skies. It was like a waterfall of sword-light…and with a thundering collision, the four attacking spider-legs of the Daofather golem were completely blocked by this single sword-stroke.

“Entangle.” Ning’s other sword lashed out as well, transforming into a stream of sword-light of incredible speed and density. It struck down, pierced forward, slashed sideways…sword-light flowed past in so many different ways that it was as though a flood of sword-light was entangling the Daofather golem.

Whoosh.

At this moment, snowflakes began to drift in from far away. The spear-wielding Seven Planets Empyrean God had arrived as well, and as soon as it came, its longspear struck out like a swimming dragon against the Daofather golem.

Boom! Bang! Crash!

Consecutive assaults from Ning’s Heaven Punisher and Redsnow’s Seven Planets Empyrean God landed upon the body of the Daofather golem. The Daofather golem was completely undamaged, but due to the repeated assaults from the two of them, it had been temporarily tied down.

“Damn. Damn! How is this happening!?” Sword Immortal Evergreen was truly growing frantic.

“Senior Redsnow, leave this Daofather golem to me. Hurry up and help our army destroy the Seamless Gate’s forces as fast as possible,” Ning sent mentally.

“Ji Ning, are you sure you can handle it?” Empyrean God Redsnow sent mentally.

“I’m sure,” Ning replied.

“Alright.”

Empyrean God Redsnow trusted Ning; he knew Ning very well, after all, and understood his temperament. In addition, it was true that while the Seamless Gate’s forces were at a disadvantage on the battlefield, the Seamless Gate simply had far too many of those Empyrean God golems. Killing them was far more difficult than killing the other Immortals and Fiendgods and Terrorbeasts. The counter-attacks led by the Seamless Gate’s Three-Eyed Demon were also quite savage. If the fight continued like this…even if they ended up winning, they’d suffer heavy losses.

Swoosh! The snow continued to fall as spacetime began to twist and distort. The Seven Planets Empyrean God, longspear in hand, moved at an absolutely incredible speed as he charged straight towards the army of the Seamless Gate.

“What?! The Seven Planets Empyrean God is attacking!”

“Not good! Stop him, quick!”

“We’re in trouble now.”

The Seamless Gate’s army instantly began to panic. They knew exactly how terrifying this Seven Planets Empyrean God was. During the last battle, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater and multiple other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had to join forces against it, but were still unable to defeat it.

Daofather Ink Bamboo was watching from atop the distant city walls of the levitating Seamless City. His face instantly changed, and he roared mentally, “Evergreen, quick! The Seven Planets Empyrean God has already left your region and is charging towards the main army! My army is completely unable to defend against it. The more time passes, the more of them will be slaughtered. The only person you are faced with is Ji Ning! Hurry up and get rid of him, then go support the army!”

“He’s by himself. I HAVE to be able to kill him.” Sword Immortal Evergreen had gone completely berserk…but in truth, in his heart, he didn’t feel any confidence.

This was because the power which Ji Ning had revealed was far greater than what he had expected. However, he also knew that for the sake of this entire battle, he had to kill Ji Ning no matter what, and quickly! The more this dragged on, the greater a massacre the Seven Planets Empyrean God would wreak upon the Seamless Gate’s army.

Per the original estimations of Sword Immortal Evergreen, Daofather Ink Bamboo, the Godking, and the other major powers of the Seamless Gate, Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher and Redsnow’s Seven Planets Empyrean God would perhaps be able to just barely hold their own against the Daofather golem. If the Seven Planets Empyrean God was to attack the army, then Ji Ning would be quickly killed, allowing the Daofather golem to then fight the Seven Planets Empyrean God by itself and kill it. Thus…per their original expectations, for the Seven Planets Empyrean God to abandon Ji Ning and instead attack the main army would be absolutely wonderful.

But though man proposes, Heaven disposes!

Yes, on the field of battle, the Seven Planets Empyrean God had chosen to attack the great army…and Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher truly was facing the Daofather golem by itself. But…could the Daofather golem kill it?

……

“Die, die, DIE!” The titanic Daofather spider-golem had transformed into a series of twisted light-streaks, assaulting Ning’s Heaven Punisher time and time again.

Boom! Boom!

Brandishing the two enormous Ananda World-Swords in his hands, Ning’s aura seemed equivalent to Xingtian’s own aura! Evergreen’s Daofather golem was at a marked disadvantage, and Ning’s sword-arts were extremely well-suited for defense. No matter how the Daofather golem assaulted Ning, it wasn’t able to wound Ning in the slightest.

“Excellent!” Daofather Crimsonbright, watching from the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, was instantly delighted.

On the walls of the Seamless City, however, Daofather Ink Bamboo’s face was ashen.

They had lost.

Once he saw the Daofather golem go all-out but still be unable to kill Ji Ning, he knew that they had lost!

In truth, if the Seven Planets Empyrean God and Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher were able to block the Daofather golem, then the Seamless Gate would lose…much less Ji Ning being able to do it by himself.

“Since you can’t kill him, forget about him.” A deep, low voice boomed out within Sword Immortal Evergreen’s mind.

“The Godking.” Sword Immortal Evergreen was shocked.

He understood that upon seeing that this war was about to be lost, the Godking was no longer able to remain calm. The Godking was now personally giving orders.

“Hurry up and charge towards the Crimsonbright Realm’s army. If you attack them, you’ll at least be able to buy some time for our army to retreat.” The Godking was suppressing his anger as he gave the orders. “Attack with all your power. Do everything you can. The more Immortals and Fiendgods you can tie down, the more of our forces will be able to retreat safely.”

“Yes.” Sword Immortal Evergreen acknowledged the order.

The enormous Daofather spider-golem turned and immediately began to leave, intending to charge towards the Crimsonbright Realm’s army.

“You want to leave?” Ning ran forward, his tremendous power granting him incredible speed! Perhaps his Heaven Punisher was a bit weaker in terms of agility, but in terms of running speed alone he wasn’t slower than the Daofather golem at all; he was in control of 90% of the power of this perfect Heaven Punisher!

In terms of strength, he was noticeably and significantly stronger than the Daofather golem.

In terms of speed, he wasn’t any weaker than the Daofather golem either.

Whoosh. Ning took eight giant steps forward, then launched a blow of sword-light towards the retreating Daofather golem.

“What?!” Sword Immortal Evergreen was absolutely shocked.

He hurriedly shot forward like a streak of twisted light, seeking to dodge…but the massive Heaven Punisher, clad only in a fur loincloth, took yet another great leap forward. It caught up with just a step and once more launched a sword-light assault of incredible power.

……

“Ahahah, the Daofather golem has been completely tied down. It can’t even slow down our army’s assaults. Kill them, kill them all!” Daofather Crimsonbright was absolutely beside himself with joy.

“Kill them all!” The Xia Emperor and the others finally let loose all of the repressed anger they had felt.

The Raindragons, the massive Pangu War-Formations, and the countless Heaven Punishers…they began a wild slaughter of the enemy forces. Some of the Empyrean God golems were suppressed so thoroughly that they were even sucked away into magic treasures.

The Seven Planets Empyrean God in particular…its longspear was an absolute slaughterer!

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Fresh blood flew everywhere!

Countless Immortals and Fiends perished!

A massacre, led by the Seven Planets Empyrean God. It was an absolute massacre. The Seamless Gate’s forces began to show signs of collapse.

Nobody could stop the Seven Planets Empyrean God. The only one that could, the Daofather golem…had been tied down by the inconceivably powerful perfect Heaven Punisher of Ji Ning.

“How could this have happened? How?!” Sword Immortal Evergreen, the commander of the Daofather golem, was now completely dazed and stunned. He was supposed to become the most dazzling figure to take part in this final battle…but instead, this had turned into an unexpected nightmare.

Right. A nightmare.

This terrifying Heaven Punisher in front of him…it was merely a Heaven Punisher, merely a formation composed of some Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. How could it possibly be able to tie down his incomparably powerful Daofather golem, which had been created from incredibly precious materials?

“How can he be so powerful? The Three Realms holds several formations like the ‘Heaven Punisher Formation’ or the ‘White-Faced Flood Dragon Formation’…why is it that the one Ji Ning is commanding is so powerful? It should’ve been…it should’ve been my chance to dominate the battlefield…my chance to massacre them…”

Sword Immortal Evergreen was truly panicking now. He couldn’t even imagine how he was supposed to face the other members of the Seamless Gate.

As for Ning, he remained completely focused on shutting down the Daofather golem, making it so that it was able to advance only at a very slow speed. There was no way he would be able to make it to the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces. The Crimsonbright Realm’s forces were thus able to utterly massacre their foes.

“Ji Ning, stay your hand! Stay your hand!” The Godking’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

“Godking?” Ning replied calmly, “This is war.”

BOOM!

Ning launched yet another sword-blow, once more forcing the Daofather spider-golem to its knees.

“Stay your hand immediately. Otherwise…don’t blame me if I kill your Dao-companion, Yu Wei! I’ll let her truly perish!” The Godking went straight to threatening Ning.

Ning’s eyes remained as cold as ice. “If you want to kill her, then kill her.”

The Godking was instantly stunned.

“She’s suffering endless torment within your Infinity Hells. If you kill her…it’ll be a form of release for her.” Ning’s reply was very calm, but it filled the Godking’s heart with utter ice.

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Chapter 55 – Curtain Call

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 55 – Curtain Call

“Let us withdraw!” The Godking sent mentally to Daofather Ink Bamboo.

“A straight withdrawal? Without the Daofather golem protecting them, their losses will be castastrophic. The majority will probably die. Weren’t you going to use Yu Wei to threaten Ji Ning? Was it useless? If he just stays his hand slightly, the Daofather golem will be able to escape and help guard our retreat,” Daofather Ink Bamboo sent back.

If they were to begin a haphazard, unguarded retreat, there would be no one to protect them from the pursuing forces of the Seamless Gate. It would be an absolute massacre! And this time, it would be even worse than last time. Last time, both forces were roughly equal in power, but the Seamless Gate still had suffered heavy losses. This time…the difference in power was significant.

“There’s nothing I can do,” the Godking sent mentally. “Withdraw. The sooner we withdraw, the more of our forces will survive.”

“Fine.” Daofather Ink Bamboo had an ugly look on his face.

“WITHDRAW!” Daofather Ink Bamboo’s instantly rang out in the minds of every single commander of the Seamless Gate.

“Withdraw.”

“Withdraw right away.”

This had already been an unbearably miserable battle for them. In fact, parts of the Seamless Gate’s army were already showing signs of collapse prior to this. Now…like floodwaters bursting through a dam, they began to collapse and flee.

“It’s finished.” The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater transformed into streaks of light, moving lightning-fast as they fled.

For the three of them at least, fleeing and staying alive was effortless.

“The Daofather golem isn’t even guarding our retreat.” The three of them were the fastest, and so they soon arrived within the Seamless City. They then turned to stare and sigh at the massacre occurring behind them.

“What a slaughter.”

“I wonder how many will survive.”

The three Diremonster Gods could only stand there and watch from the walls of the Seamless City. They didn’t dare to re-enter the fray again at all.

They were able to escape due to how fast they were, but if they had been encircled and surrounded by layers of soldiers, they would end up dying as well!

“Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher is a bit excessively powerful.” The three stared towards the distance. Ji Ning’s Heaven Punisher wasn’t weaker than Sword Immortal Evergreen’s Daofather golem at all; it was able to completely tie the golem down.

“With Ji Ning tying down the Daofather golem, the Seven Planets Empyrean God is now invincible on the battlefield.”

“A massacre. A simple massacre.”

The three of them shook their heads. Even figures as hard-hearted as them felt an ache in their hearts as they watched. It was a miserable scene!

“No!”

“Save me!”

“Rescue me!”

The terrified army of the Seamless Gate fled frantically…but how many would actually escape? Some were killed as soon as they turned to flee. Some were surrounded and slaughtered shortly after running! As for the Empyrean God golems…given how terrible the Seamless Gate’s position was, some powerful figures joined forces to completely suppress them and seal them away into treasures.

Flee, flee, flee!

The Seamless Gate’s forces were completely focused on fleeing.

“They kept on telling us how powerful that Daofather golem was, but a single Heaven Punisher was able to suppress it. They’ve doomed us all!”

“That Sword Immortal Evergreen is a useless piece of garbage!”

“Evergreen doomed us all.”

“Ahhhh!”

The slaughtered Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were filled with towering amounts of resentment. In the face of such an overwhelming disparity of power, even they were being slaughtered, with only a few managing to escape. Most were surrounded and killed! The Crimsonbright Realm’s army was actively focusing on them, after all.

……

The Celestial Realm. Mount Ling, in the western regions.

Lord Buddha sat upon his throne, gazing through the Void and watching the battle within the Grand Xia.

“Victory.” Lord Buddha revealed a smile.

“This Ji Ning truly is formidable…and Subhuti truly is incredible in teaching disciples.” Amitabha nodded as well. “The rate at which this Ji Ning is improving isn’t the slightest bit slower than the rate at which that monkey improved at.” 1

“That monkey is different from him. The monkey was born from the five-colored rainbow stone which Mother Nuwa used to repair the heavens. It absorbed and distilled the essence of Heaven and Earth, and so after taking on Subhuti as his master, he quickly became an Empyrean God. It is hard, however, for someone’s natural disposition to be changed. We suppressed him and tempered him for many years before he slowly gained enlightenment. After going into seclusion for a long period of time, he finally managed to truly evolve and reach the True God level.” Lord Buddha nodded.

The Primordial Era had given birth to some awe-inspiringly famous monsters, such as Erlang Shen, also known as Yang Jie, or Sun Wukong of Flower-Fruit Mountain. Although they were born in the early Primordial Era rather than when the universe was first established, they still possessed astonishing levels of talent. After experiencing the destruction of the Primordial Era, quite a few had reached the True God or Daofather level. But of course, the vast majority of those monstrous talents hadn’t been able to make a breakthrough.

There were only so many major powers within the Three Realms, after all.

……

The Celestial Realm. The Dao Palace, in the eastern regions.

“This Ji Ning…from the looks of it, his heartforce has reached the fourth stage.” Daoist Three Purities nodded in approval.

“Yes. If his heartforce hadn’t reached the fourth stage, there’s no way his Heaven Punisher could be this powerful.”

“He truly is formidable.. His heartforce has reached the fourth stage, and he’s also learned a soul heartforce technique. Amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, Ji Ning truly is number one when it comes to commanding formations like the Heaven Punisher Formation.”

The major powers seated below Daoist Three Purities all nodded as well.

Prior to this, they might’ve believed that Ji Ning had only reached the third stage of heartforce, but upon watching this battle…well, none of the major powers were fools.

No matter how formidable a third-stage heartforce cultivator was, he wouldn’t be this formidable.

The fourth stage, however…

With it, Ji Ning could already be considered one of the most supreme Pure Yang True Immortals, even if he didn’t have many other Immortals supporting him in formation; he was comparable to the other supreme divine archers in strength. With the other Immortals supporting him, and with his soul heartforce technique…he definitely had the power of a Daofather or a True God!

……

The primordial chaos. Outside a thatched cottage.

Shennong and Patriarch Subhuti were also watching the battle for the Grand Xia through the Void.

“Subhuti, you’ve produced an excellent disciple. Our side has gained yet another formidable general.” Shennongn laughed while praising Subhuti.

“A teacher can show the way, but cultivation relies on one’s self! It can only be said that I helped to guide him to his current accomplishments. But for him to reach the fourth stage of heartforce in such a short period of time…I truly did not expect this. I always thought that his talent in sword-arts was superior to his talent in heartforce,” Subhuti said. “That’s why I was actually hoping that he would spend more of his time and efforts on the sword. After all, when swordforce is trained to a sufficiently high level, it is no weaker than heartforce!”

“All that can be said is that this disciple of yours has tremendous potential in both swordforce and heartforce,” Shennong said with a laugh.

……

As the many major powers of the Nuwa Alliance were all celebrating their side having gained yet another powerful general, the Seamless Alliance’s major powers were filled with frustration and resentment.

They had lost this Realmwar!

In addition, the Nuwa Alliance had gained a valiant general in the form of Ji Ning. Ji Ning, all by himself, was probably an even greater threat than the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater. Most likely, only the truly supreme Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamlesss Gate, the ones who were protecting the Seamless Gate’s most important worlds within the Three Realms, would be a match for him.

Empyrean Gods or True Immortals who were absolutely superior to Ji Ning? There were none!

But of course, there had been some in the past.

The most powerful Empyrean God in history, Houyi…one-on-one, at the Empyrean God level, he had slain a Daofather! The current Ji Ning, even while leading a million Immortals, would find it difficult to survive a battle against an actual True God or Daofather. Thus, he was still far from having reached the level of the legendary Houyi. However, in the current Three Realms, no monster like Houyi existed.

“They actually lost. Even with a Daofather golem, they actually lost.” The Allfiend world. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was watching the battle for the Grand Xia be displayed within a mirror in front of him.

“My Daofather golem…wasn’t able to defeat Ji Ning? He’s only trained for a hundred years or so.”

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was enraged. “Imbecile. Idiot. Garbage!” He gritted his teeth. “That Sword Immortal Evergreen…he’s a useless piece of garbage! Although he’s skilled in sword-arts, he’s only reached the second stage of swordforce. If he had reached the fourth stage of swordforce, how could he fail to kill Ji Ning? Ji Ning’s only trained for a few years, but he’s actually reached the fourth stage of heartforce.”

“What should I do? What can I do?” Blackheaven was filled with frustration as he suddenly realized…killing Ji Ning would be far more difficult than he had anticipated.

“No matter what, I can’t let Sword Immortal Evergreen take control over my Daofather golem again. He’s just a useless piece of garbage.” The enraged Celestial Immortal Blackheaven took out all his frustrations upon Sword Immortal Evergreen.

…….

The Daofather golem continued to focus on fleeing. Although Ning continuously moved to stop it, resulting in it moving a bit slower, in the end it was still able to escape into the Seamless City.

This Daofather golem was truly unbreakable, after all; there was no way for Ning to damage it at all.

“Victory.”

“Victory.”

“Victory.”

Earth-shaking cries of victory echoed throughout the entire battlefield. Countless Immortals and Fiendgods were roaring together, and an endless flood of Immortal blood had bathed the land, staining it an indelible red.

The towering figures of the Ning’s Heaven Punisher stood alongside the Seven Planets Empyrean God. Together, they stared towards the distant, dark Seamless City.

“It’s over,” the Seven Planets Empyrean God sent mentally. “The Seamless Gate’s losses were catastrophic; less than twenty percent managed to escape! This Realmwar has truly ended.

“Yes.” Ning’s Heaven Punisher nodded.

“Ji Ning…given your current breakthrough in power, you should be able to attempt the Empyrean Tribulation, I imagine?” The Seven Planets Empyrean God sent towards Ning.

1. This monkey is clearly Sun Wukong

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Chapter 56 – Departure

Book 18, Pure Yang, Chapter 56 – Departure

“Yes. Once the Realmwar ends, I shall prepare for my Empyrean Tribulation,” Ji Ning sent back. His original plan had been to wait until his soul heartforce technique had been perfected before attempting the tribulation, as that would give him a better chance. However, things never happen quite according to plan. His heartforce had advanced from the third level to the fourth level; this was a qualitative change.

The stronger his heartforce, the greater his chances were of overcoming the demonheart tribulation of the Empyrean Tribulation.

By this point…there was no point in delaying any further.

“If my guess is correct, you haven’t merely become a Pure Yang True Immortal; you made a breakthrough in heartforce as well,” the Seven Planets Empyrean God sent.

“Yes.” Ning admitted to it.

When he unleashed his full power and tied down a Daofather golem with just his Heaven Punisher, he knew that any of the truly experienced experts of the Three Realms would most likely be able to guess at what had happened. For the sake of achieving victory in the Realmwar, and for the sake of wiping out as much of the Seamless Gate’s forces as he could, Ning didn’t mind revealing his true power.

The only thing that mattered was making sure that the outcome of his reveal was worth it.

And now…

This was an outcome that was completely worth it!

“So many of the Seamless Gate have died.” The Seven Planets Empyrean God stood next to him, staring at the rivers of Immortal and Fiendgod blood that stained the vast wilderness. Countless corpses and magic treasures littered the ground. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Not enough,” Ning replied calmly. He watched as the armies of the Crimsonbright Realm tidied up the battlefield, collecting the many spoils of war. When their foes had fled, the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces had naturally been completely focused on pursuing them, hoping to make their victory even more overwhelming. They hadn’t had a chance to pick up the magic treasures that had been left behind by the slaughtered Immortals.

“Withdraw!” After a long period of time, Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice rang out, echoing throughout the battlefield.

“Ahahaha…”

“Time to go back.”

“Let’s go back.”

“That was excellent.”

Filled with laughter and joy, the forces of the Crimsonbright Realm rejoiced as the entire army escorted Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets Empyrean God back to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

……

While the Crimsonbright Realm’s forces were jubilant, the Seamless City was filled with a deathly silence. The aura here was both heavy and incredibly oppressive.

Too many of them had died.

“Alas.”

“This really was…”

All three of the Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater were perfectly fine, but four of the six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian had been slain. As for the Nine Cloudmist Fairies, only the youngest Ninth Fairy had survived; the other eight had all died. Even True Immortal Whitepole, Empyrean God Threesuns, Empyrean God Beastleave, the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave, and the Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall had perished on the battlefield. Only Gatemaster Azurefox, who was skilled in escape techniques, had been lucky enough to survive.

Including Sword Immortal Evergreen, the total number of surviving Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on their side…was merely eleven!

“Disastrous.”

“Disastrous.”

The few lucky survivors felt only two emotions; joy for having survived, and grief for their losses.

The main hall of the Seamless City. The surviving Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all gathered here. All of them were silent.

Daofather Ink Bamboo stared downwards towards them. His gaze lingered on Sword Immortal Evergreen for a moment, a cold light flashing through his eyes, before he said in a calm voice, “We have lost this Realmwar!”

The mood of the room became even heavier than before.

“However…there are always victories and defeats in war. There have been multiple previous Realmwars. We’ve won some of them, and we’ve also completely shattered their forces and massacred them.” Daofather Ink Bamboo continued calmly, “This was merely one war in one of the many areas of the Three Realms. Since you all survived, you all have your own special abilities. In the future, our Seamless Gate shall continue to battle against the Nuwa Alliance. We’ll need you to continue to go to war for us.”

“Yes!” Sword Immortal Evergreen was the first to assent to this, and he did so hurriedly.

The other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals assented as well…and as they did, they couldn’t help but glance sideways in a disdainful manner towards him.

“Evergreen.” Daofather Ink Bamboo looked towards Sword Immortal Evergreen. He said coldly, “This time…you have truly disappointed me. Forget about ‘defeating both Ji Ning and Redsnow’; Ji Ning by himself was enough to stun you.”

Sweat appeared on Sword Immortal Evergreen’s forehead. He understood that their losses in this Realmwar had been utterly catastrophic. He naturally had to shoulder blame for it. He immediately fell to his knees, then said respectfully, “Evergreen disappointed you, Daofather. Ji Ning’s power truly was far beyond my expectations, which is why I ended up in such dire straits. Don’t worry, Daofather; Evergreen shall definitely work hard to gain further insights and grow in strength, so as to be able to better unleash the power of the Daofather golem. Next time, I shall definitely slay Ji Ning.”

“No need.” Daofather Ink Bamboo shook his head. “The major powers have already issued an order. You are no longer required to control the Daofather golem.”

Sword Immortal Evergreen’s face instantly turned white. His control over the Daofather golem gave him a status which was slightly higher than that of even the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater. Without it, he was much weaker than them. In addition, if he had the Daofather golem with him throughout this great storm, his chances of survival would be thousands of times greater. After all, unless a Daofather personally intervened, it was almost impossible to kill him when he was hiding within the Daofather golem.

Thus, Sword Immortal Evergreen cared tremendously about this Daofather golem. Ever since he had been assigned it, he had made up his mind to keep perpetual control over it.

Sword Immortal Evergreen was unwilling to just give up. He said frantically, “Daofather, I simply didn’t have enough time. If you give me some more time, I’ll definitely be able to unleash more power from the-”

“Enough!” Daofather Ink Bamboo snapped.

Sword Immortal Evergreen shut his eyes. He respectfully kowtowed, pressing his forehead down to the ground and saying nothing else.

“Quietly focus on your training and your meditations. The Godking and I both view you with great favor. If you can become a Daofather, you shall command far more power than you would with the Daofather golem,” Daofather Ink Bamboo said.

“Understood,” Sword Immortal Evergreen said respectfully.

Daofather Ink Bamboo nodded, then turned to look towards the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater. In a noticeably more pleasant manner, he said, “Skyswallower, the three of you should make the arrangements for this Seamless City to leave the Grand Xia and return to the Fifth World.”

“Understood,” the three Diremonster Gods said respectfully.

Sword Immortal Evergreen, seeing this, couldn’t help but secretly feel regret and hatred.

In the midst of a great tribulation like this, the more powerful one was, the higher one’s status would be. Even the Daofathers were not immune to this.

“It’s all due to that damnable Ji Ning. If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve slaughtered that Seven Planets Empyrean God, then led the army of the Seamless Gate in eradicating the army of the Crimsonbright Realm.” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s heart was filled with endless hatred. “Just wait. I, Evergreen, will definitely train to become even more powerful, until the day comes when I kill you. And you three of Mount Dragoneater…I’ll make you all kneel down to lick at my feet. Daofather Ink Bamboo? Hmph…you are nothing more than an extremely ordinary Daofather. Once I become a Daofather, even you shall have to bow your head before me!”

Evergreen had extremely great ambitions. He was completely different from Yu Wei.

Yu Wei and many others had become loyal followers of the Godking long ago, then had been seeded across the various major worlds of the Three Realms in an unorganized manner. They were allowed to develop without interference, and so the Nuwa Alliance had naturally found it very hard to identify them.

Evergreen, however, had long ago become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright. He truly did belong to the Nuwa Alliance. However, despite his painstaking efforts at training, he found it difficult to advance any further. Daofather Crimsonbright’s abilities as a teacher were comparatively limited, but Evergreen truly desired to grow more powerful…and this desire caused him to become seduced by the seamless Gate. The Godking was the sole disciple of the most powerful member of the Seamless Gate, their ‘king’. The ‘king’, even after having become merged into the Heavenly Daos, had continued to teach the Godking; naturally, his tutelage was extraordinary.

The Godking had used the exact same method to teach his own disciples as well, and so he was quite formidable in this regard.

Evergreen had been seduced by him. The Godking had transmitted some formidable techniques to him in the dreamworld, and had even personally expounded on the Dao to him. But of course, Evergreen had to pay a price as well. The price was…to leave the Nuwa Alliance and join the Seamless Gate!

“Nuwa Alliance? Who gives a damn about alliances? My personal power is what really matters!” Evergreen hadn’t even hesitated before immediately joining the Godking.

His focus on the Dao truly was quite frenzied.

Even Daofather Crimsonbright had noticed how single-minded he was in pursuing the Dao. Daofather Crimsonbright had even believed that Evergreen was his subordinate with the highest chance of becoming a Daofather! But what Crimsonbright didn’t understand…waat s Evergreen’s ambitions were simply too wild and untamed. He had an almost fanatical, demon-like obsession towards advancing in the Dao, and it was this obsession which led to him joining the Seamless Gate.

As far as Evergreen was concerned, neither the Nuwa Alliance nor the Seamless Gate mattered.

He himself was the only person that mattered. His heart was filled with an extremely strong desire…that one day, he would become like Mother Nuwa, the most powerful figure of the Three Realms.

“By then…the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate will be like nothing more than dogshit before me. I, and I alone, shall reign supreme.” However, Sword Immortal Evergreen kept his great ambitions hidden within his heart because they were simply too wild. Still…he continue to pursue them, never questioning or abandoning them.

……

An enormous rift appeared within the skies, and the now-miniaturized Seamless City flew straight into the giant rift, disappearing from the world.

“They left.”

Ning was alone atop the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Turning his head, he looked towards the lively Crimsonbright camps. Because of their great victory, the tens of millions of Immortals and Fiendgods within the city were all celebrating.

“Ji Ning.” A figure walked towards him from afar. It was the black-robed Xia Emperor.

“Imperial Majesty,” Ning replied.

“You can just call me Xiamang,” the Xia Emperor said with a smile. “In terms of status and influence, you aren’t much lower than me. I might be thick-skinned enough to accept you addressing me as ‘Imperial Majesty’, but the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals will undoubtedly curse me as being shameless.”

Ning nodded gently.

“Everyone is very happy. The war is over. They’ve survived…and they’ve killed countless Immortals and Fiendgods of the Seamless Gate. You should go celebrate with them,” the Xia Emperor said.

“No need.” Ning gently shook his head.

The Xia Emperor didn’t try to persuade him. He could sense that ever since Yu Wei’s betrayal, Ji Ning’s temperament and personality had changed. The Xia Emperor understood that her betrayal truly had been a huge blow to Ji Ning.

“Right. With the Realmwar over, the soldiers shall begin to return to their respective major worlds. The Immortals of our Grand Xia shall return with me to the imperial capital,” the Xia Emperor said. “All of our Immortals and Fiendgods shall remain in the imperial capital. That way, they can easily join together to fight against the Seamless Gate as needed. I imagine that after Azurefox’s Seamless Gate suffered such heavy losses, they probably won’t be able to infiltrate us that easily again.”

“What about you? Come to the imperial capital with us,” the Xia Emperor said.

Of course he wanted Ji Ning to be in the imperial capital. The Seven Planets Empyrean God moved in lockstep with Ji Ning, which meant that Ji Ning represented a combat force consisting of a perfect Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets Empyrean God. This was equivalent to nearly half the total combat power of the entire Crimsonbright Realm!

“No, I need to undergo my Empyrean Tribulation.” Ning shook his head. “Other places are not going to be safe. The Seamless Gate will undoubtedly attempt to disrupt my tribulation, no matter where I go. The only place for me is my master’s place.”

“Undergo the Empyrean Tribulation?” The Xia Emperor laughed and said, “Haha, yes, it is indeed time for it.”

The Xia Emperor was in quite the celebratory mood.

He felt quite fortunate that he had chosen to treat Ji Ning so kindly all this time, especially in the dispute between him and the Youngflame clan. He had stood by Ji Ning’s side the entire time, and had even personally intervened to rescue Ji Ning. These were all debts of gratitude that Ji Ning owed him! They were in the midst of a deadly storm. If he was to ask Ji Ning to help at a critical moment, how could Ji Ning possibly just watch with hands folded behind his back?

……

“Ji Ning, in this war, you, Redsnow, and the rest of the seven have rendered tremendous military merits, and we killed countless members of the Seamless Gate at the end when they fled.” Daofather Crimsonbright was giving a personal audience to Ji Ning, Redsnow, and the rest of the seven Empyrean Gods. He urged them, “We’ve acquired so many treasures, and you deserve them. Why don’t you want them?”

Ning shook his head. “I don’t need them.”

He truly didn’t need them. He had already acquired enough from this war…and after he became the true master of the Starseizing Manor, he really wouldn’t care about such a petty amount of treasures.

“Haha…I know that you are going to undergo your Empyrean Tribulation soon.” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a laugh, “After you become an Empyrean God, you’ll be able to train the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] to the Ninth Cycle. I imagine you’ll need quite a few Daofather-level Immortal pills! Forget about the treasures, then; I guarantee that I’ll cover all of the pills you’ll need to train to the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. However, I’ll need a bit of time to prepare it all. After you complete your Empyrean Tribulation, I’ll send them over.”

“But…” Ning was stunned.

This was a tremendous gift. Although they had gained many treasures from this war, the value of all of them combined probably still wouldn’t be enough for him to train to the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“Just accept it, disciple. You’ve helped out Crimsonbright quite a bit this time. You can accept it with a calm mind.” An old man with a white beard suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Master.” Upon seeing him, Ning immediately called out to him respectfully.

“Even your master agrees. Just accept this small gift of mine.” Daofather Crimsonbright did indeed feel grateful towards Ji Ning. He had also learned from Subhuti that Ji Ning was the successor to Daoist Threelives’ legacy, and that the seven Empyrean Gods would follow Ji Ning. If it hadn’t been for Ji Ning and the seven of them, he would’ve lost this war long ago.

If he lost the war…his losses would be catastrophic and agonizing. Compared to that? Although some Great Firmament Immortal pills were precious and rare, as a True God who had been born from the primordial chaos itself, he was still capable of giving them to Ning.

“Alright.” Ning no longer refused.

“You’ve finished your arrangements, I imagine.” Subhuti looked towards Ning. “If you have, then come back with me to Mount Innerheart and prepare for the Empyrean Tribulation.”

“I’ve made all my arrangements. I can leave at any moment,” Ning said respectfully.

He had already bid farewell to his master, Immortal Diancai, and had also bid farewell to his dear friends such as Unity and Allbeasts. Immortal Diancai, Unity, Allbeasts, Whacko…they cared deeply about Ji Ning and didn’t want him to leave, but they understood that the safest place for his tribulation would be Mount Innerheart. That was a place which even other Daofathers would find difficult to enter.

Ning didn’t have the authority to invite Unity and the others to Mount Innerheart. His only choice was to bid them farewell. Immortal Diancai and the others all followed the Xia Emperor back to the imperial capital, where they would be stationed! It wouldn’t be too hard to meet with them in the future.

“Since you’ve completed your preparations, let us go. Crimsonbright, hurry up and prepare those Great Firmament Immortal pills. Once you’ve collected them, just let me know and I’ll come pick them up.” As Subhuti spoke, he waved his hand.

Whoosh.

A dark gray spatial whirlpool suddenly appeared within the palace. Subhuti led Ji Ning and the seven Empyrean Gods straight into the spatial whirlpool.

“It seems he is about to undergo the Empyrean Tribulation right away. I need to start gathering the pills right away as well.” Daofather Crimsonbright hurriedly began to stroke his beard as he pondered this issue. Since he’d already boasted that he would cover all the pills, he had to be able to back it up. “I need to pay a visit to Daoist Three Purities. He has the most Immortal pills. I’ll go trade some treasures for them.”

Daofather Crimsonbright continued to stroke his beard. He was in an utterly delightful mood. This Realmwar…he had won it!

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Chapter 1 – The Secret History of the Three Realms (1)

Chapter 1 – The Secret History of the Three Realms (1)

The spatial whirlpool led directly to the air above Mount Innerheart.

“Ji Ning, Redsnow, come with me,” Subhuti instructed in midair.

“Yes.” Ji Ning and Empyrean God Redsnow both obediently followed behind him. As for Snow Scorpion, Primelight, and the other Empyrean Gods, the six of them temporarily entered the underwater estate for now.

Within that Daoist monastery inside Mount Innerheart.

Subhuti gracefully landed on the ground, then sat down in the lotus position.

Ning and Redsnow both stood obediently by his side.

“Redsnow.” Subhuti looked towards Redsnow. Smiling, he said, “Last time, when I saw you fight in the Nihilum Zone, it didn’t seem as though you had yet touched upon the essence of spacetime.”

“It was due to that battle, especially when I saw you attack, Patriarch, that I gained some insights. I was able to join the power of time and the power of space together, and thus able to seek out the gateway that leads to spacetime,” Redsnow said reverently.

Subhuti now understood. When he had struck, his attack had naturally contained the countless mysteries of spacetime within it.

Redsnow had been training for countless eras; he had been just a single step away from entering the realm of spacetime. After that life-and-death battle, and after seeing Subhuti attack…it wasn’t strange for him to have been inspired by it.

“Do you know which person in the Three Realms has the highest level of insight into spacetime?” Subhuti beamed merrily as he looked at Redsnow.

“I once heard my Manorlord say,” Redsnow said respectfully, “That you, Patriarch, have the greatest command over spacetime in the entire Three Realms. This is the reason why you can move about without a trace, and why you were able to establish your Crescent world on a completely different dimensional level.”

Subhuti let out a sigh. “Threelives did indeed value you highly. He was willing to tell you anything. Yes…my Crescent world is on a completely different dimensional level than the rest of the Three Realms, which is why those other Daofathers are unable to find it.”

“Master…what do you mean, ‘different dimensional level’?” Ning asked.

Both Subhuti and Redsnow were cultivators in spacetime. As for Ji Ning? He hadn’t even gained insights into the Grand Dao of Space or the Grand Dao of Time, to say nothing of spacetime.

“Have you ever seen a layer cake?” Subhuti smiled as he looked at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“The other worlds of the Three Realms all exist on the uppermost layer of a ‘layer cake’,” Subhuti said with a laugh. “My Crescent world, however, is in one of the other layers. Ordinary movement techniques and Greater Teleportation techniques only allow you to move across the uppermost surface of the layer cake…thus, no matter what you do, you are unable to enter my Crescent world.”

Ning was speechless. “So space can actually be divided into a series of layers…”

“Heaven and Earth are naturally filled with endless mysteries and marvels.” Subhuti nodded.

“If that’s the case…doesn’t that mean the Crescent world is the safest place of all? Aside from you, Master, no other Daofathers can enter here. Doesn’t this mean that you can completely avoid this great storm?” Ning hurriedly asked.

“No.” Subhuti shook his head. “I cannot avoid it. I suppose I can temporarily avoid it for now…but later on, I won’t be able to.”

“Why is that? They clearly have no way of entering this place. Why can’t you avoid it?” Ning asked.

Subhuti pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, “I can’t answer your question for now. There are many things which even I do not understand. However, I can subconsciously sense fate working behind the scenes to guarantee that no living creature within the Three Realms will be able to avoid this tribulation. Ji Ning…since you have already become a Pure Yang True Immortal, I will naturally tell you many of the secrets of the Three Realms. But those that even I don’t know, I naturally cannot tell you. Remember this; this vast universe is far too mysterious. Even Mother Nuwa eventually made the decision to enter the infinite primordial chaos in search of answers.”

Ning nodded.

“Redsnow.” Subhuti looked towards Redsnow. “All of my other supreme techniques have successors…but I have yet to find any suitable successors to my most valuable skills, my supreme space-time arts. Are you willing to accept me as your master?”

Redsnow was shocked…then overjoyed. He hurriedly fell to his knees. “Your disciple greets you, Master!”

“Hahaha…” Subhuti laughed as well. “You may rise.”

“Your junior apprentice-brother greets you, senior apprentice-brother.” After rising, Redsnow immediately bowed towards Ning.

Ning was instantly rendered speechless. Redsnow had been born during the earliest days of the universe, and so Ning had always respectfully addressed him as ‘senior’.

“For you to address me as senior apprentice-brother…sounds really awkward,” Ning said.

“The two of you can address each other as you please.” Subhuti smiled as he looked at his two disciples. He was in an excellent mood today. Ji Ning’s rate of advancement was absolutelyastounding, and Redsnow was going to be the heir to Subhuti’s most powerful arts.

Subhuti laughed, “Ji Ning has been my disciple for quite a few years, now…but I imagine that he doesn’t even know how powerful his other fellow disciples are.”

“I truly do not know,” Ning admitted respectfully.

He knew that his master had a total of nineteen disciples. If Redsnow was included, then the total was twenty.

Ning knew of the names of every single fellow disciple, starting from their eldest apprentice-brother, but he didn’t know exactly how strong each of them were.

“Ji Ning, you have grown in power. As for Redsnow, he’s just a step away from becoming a Daofather. I continue to feel as though this great storm is hiding many mysteries within it; you fellow disciples will need to help each other and support each other,” Subhuti said. “Of my many disciples, a total of four have reached the True God or Daofather level.”

“Four?” Ning and Redsnow were both shocked.

“The first is my eldest disciple,” Subhuti said, “Which is to say, the wood-chopping ‘Woodcutter’ who lives in the mountains out back. If you ever have any questions regarding cultivation, you can go ask him about them. Without any question, he is the most powerful figure amongst my disciples.”

“The second is my second disciple, the guardian of the Three Realms Palace, the one who is always napping; Crazy Ji.” Subhuti continued, “Crazy Ji can be considered the disciple who has truly inherited my many techniques and is most like myself. Buddhist techniques, Daoist techniques…he’s learned them all. If you have any questions, you can also ask him about them.”

“The third is my sixth disciple, the one who created and is the master of the Flower-Fruit Mountain world, Sun Wukong,” Subhuti said. “He once was provided guidance by Mother Nuwa, and he is extremely skilled in combat.”

“The final one is my twelfth disciple, Blacktiger. He loves to roam about the Three Realms. He has not established a major world of his own, has few subordinates, and is the weakest of the four…but he’s still at the True God/Daofather level. He has such a lazy, slothful disposition that I only accepted him as my disciple due to ties of karmic destiny that existed between us…but who would’ve thought that he’d reach the Daofather level as well?”

Subhuti introduced all four Daofathers under his tutelage in one breath.

Ning was shocked.

Blacktiger?

Twelfth apprentice-brother Blacktiger referred to himself as ‘Great King Blacktiger’. When Ning had been studying and training at Mount Innerheart, Blacktiger had actually come to visit him and had even sparred with him. Ning had never imagined or had any inkling at all as to how powerful this man really was! The feeling that Blacktiger had given him was that he wasn’t even as powerful as Silvermoon. Who would’ve thought that was all just a show…that he was at the True God/Daofather level!

“The other disciples, including Ji Ning, are all at the Empyrean God/True Immortal level,” Subhuti said. “The two of you must not be lazy. The great storm has descended upon us; if you can train to the True God/Daofather level, you’ll have a greater chance of surviving it.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ji Ning and Redsnow said respectfully.

“Good.” Subhuti nodded, then smiled. “You now know how powerful your fellow disciples are. As for some of the secrets of the Three Realms…Redsnow may know a few, but because Ji Ning was previously weak, I hadn’t spoken to him about them. Let me narrate some of them in detail. I will tell you what happened during the destruction of the Primordial Era. I trust that after you listen to me, you’ll fully understand what the Seamless Gate truly is.”

Ning and Redsnow both listened attentively. Not even Redsnow knew much about the war which destroyed the Primordial Era.

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Chapter 2 – The Secret History of the Three Realms (2)

Chapter 2 – The Secret History of the Three Realms (2)

A reminiscent look was in Subhuti’s eyes. He said softly, “Let us start the tale from the dawn of the primordial chaos. Long ago, before the Primordial Era began, our ‘Three Realms’ was located in a region of complete primordial chaos. The primordial chaos, in and of itself, is an incomparably marvelous thing. It began to give birth to Elder Gods, True Gods, and Empyrean Gods. Due to them having been birthed within the primordial chaos, they styled themselves the same way, calling themselves the ‘Elder Gods of Primordial Chaos’ and so on.”

“Elder Gods?” Ji Ning was instantly stunned by his master’s words.

“The Daos contained within this region consisted of ten Heavenly Daos, eighty-one Grand Daos, and 108,000 lesser Daos.” Subhuti continued, “The ten great Elder Gods were born with control over a Heavenly Dao.”

“Pangu, born with control over the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.”

“Nuwa, born with control over the Heavenly Dao of Life.”

“Fuxi, born with control over the Heavenly Dao of Destruction.”

“The Phoenix, born with control over the Heavenly Dao of Yin.” 1

“The Ancestor Dragon, born with control over the Heavenly Dao of Yang.”

“As for the Heavenly Daos of the Five Elements, they were controlled by Firegod Zhurong, Watergod Gonggong, Metalgod Rushou, Woodgod Jumang, and Earthgod Houtu.”

“These ten were all born with innate control over the Heavenly Daos. Pangu was the greatest of them!” 2

Subhuti looked towards Ji Ning. “Disciple, you seem to have many questions for me.”

“Yes. Elder Gods…your disciples has never heard of such a thing.” Ning was stunned. “Your disciple always believed that the True God level represented a limit.”

“Very few in the Three Realms know of them, and I’ll explain the reason for that later. Pangu, Nuwa, and the others are not like us. They were born with control over the Heavenly Daos, and they are innately more powerful than us,” Subhuti said. “In addition to them, the primordial chaos also gave birth to powerful True Gods who were born with control over a Grand Dao! I was one of them, as were Threelives, Crimsonbright, Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, and the Welcomer Buddha. All of them are True Gods.”

“On a still lower level were the 108,000 Empyrean Gods who were born with control over an ordinary Dao.”

Subhuti continued, “These are the Elder Gods, True Gods, and Empyrean Gods who were born from the primordial chaos.”

“The most exalted and most powerful of the gods was Pangu, born with control over the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. Although Pangu was extremely powerful…the invisible hands and machinations of fate worked through him.” Subhuti let out a sigh. “He was born with the destiny of establishing our world. He was the last to be born, and when he emerged from the primordial chaos, he came out with his great Pangu Axe in hand. He cleaved apart the primordial chaos itself, separating Heaven from Earth, burning up his very lifeforce and dying in the process. As a result…the utterly enormous Primordial Pangu’s World was created.”

“After being established…the Primordial Pangu’s World began to give birth to many different lifeforms, all of whom were born from Heaven and Earth. The strongest were born at the Empyrean God level, while the weakest were at least at the Xiantian level.”

Ning listened carefully.

“Heaven and Earth gave birth to so many incomparably exquisite things. Those of us who emerged from the primordial chaos were filled with curiosity towards this new world.” Subhuti sighed. “Some of us took over territories for our own use, while others went into seclusion. As Pangu’s World gave birth to more and more living creatures, the world itself became an increasingly exciting place to be in. People like Threelives began to create their own kingdoms, as did several of the Elder Gods…and thus war began to erupt, with many being slain.

Ning nodded.

It was very common for wars to erupt due to conflicting ambitions.

“The various major powers even created Ki Refining techniques for the countless living creatures of Pangu’s World,” Subhuti said. “In fact, Tathagata even created a completely separate system called ‘Buddhism’, which in reality can be considered a variation on the Ki Refining system. The various True Gods such as myself and Tathagata then were able to train to become Daofathers, using the Ki Refining techniques we developed.”

“Mother Nuwa was the first to break through,” Subhuti said. “Mother Nuwa possessed tremendous willpower and wisdom. After gaining insights into the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, her power instantly increased explosively, and she then created the human race. Only then did all the major powers of the Primordial Era understand that one’s power could increase to a higher level once one comprehended a set of Heavenly Daos.”

“And so, the major powers of Pangu’s World all began to focus on training…but they then discovered that once you mastered a particular Heavenly Dao, mastering the opposite Heavenly Dao would be incredibly difficult. For example, if someone who had already mastered the Heavenly Dao of Life wished to then meditate on its opposite, the Heavenly Dao of Destruction, the Heavenly Dao of Life itself would forcefully disturb him. There was simply no way to gain insights at all.”

“For a very long period of time, no one aside from Mother Nuwa was capable of gaining insights into a matching set of Heavenly Daos.”

“But then…Daoist Three Purities appeared.”

“Daoist Three Purities was born a True God of Primordial Chaos; his original name was Yuanshi! He was extremely talented, managing to first master the Heavenly Dao of Yang, then the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. However, he was never able to succeed in mastering the Heavenly Dao of Yin or the Heavenly Dao of Life, the complimentary Daos to what he already had. And so…he steeled his mind and made a major decision.”

“He killed himself.”

“Killed himself?!” Ning was stunned.

The nearby Redsnow, however, simply smiled. Although this was a secret, Redsnow had been born when Pangu’s World had been created, and had followed Daoist Threelives for many years. He knew many things, including this story.

“Daoist Three Purities set down a seal upon his own truesoul, a seal that would lock away his former memories unless he mastered either the Heavenly Dao of Yin or the Heavenly Dao of Life,” Subhuti said. “And then, Daoist Three Purities entered the paths of reincarnation, then killed himself. Because he died within the paths of reincarnation, his truesoul was naturally sent straight into the cycle of reincarnation.”

“This was a huge gamble.”

“If Daoist Three Purities’ soul was shattered in his next life, then his truesoul would be sent to the River of Destiny. He would be finished,” Subhuti said.

Ning nodded.

To seal away one’s memories unless one mastered either the Heavenly Dao of Yin or the Heavenly Dao of Life. In other words…unless he became a Daofather once more, there would be no way for him to reawaken his memories from the past. But how incredibly difficult would it have to be for one to become a Daofather once more, without any past memories at all? Even though one might be incredibly talented due to the quality of one’s truesoul, the path of cultivation was an incredibly dangerous one.

Once one was killed and one’s soul was shattered, everything would be oever.

“He failed numerous times. He was reincarnated a total of nine times,” Subhuti said. “Of his nine reincarnations, six of them were as ordinary mortals who didn’t even embark on the patho f cultivation. Thus, upon dying he was naturally sent to be reincarnated once more. In two other lives, he died at the Zifu level and was once more sent to be reincarnated. Finally, during his ninth life, he was reborn as a member of the primordial human clan…Laozi!”

In this life, he was an absolutely dazzling figure. He advanced at an absolutely breakneck pace, and because his memories of his past life were unable to disturb him, he was able to train all the way to become a Daofather through mastering the Heavenly Dao of Yin. Only then did were his former memories awakened…and both the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang were now under his control. His power instantly exploded!”

“He then devised the Three Pure Ones technique, becoming so powerful that even Mother Nuwa might not have been a match for him at that point in time. He essentially became the number one leader of the entire Primordial Era. Because Yuanshi had devised the Three Pure Ones technique, he gave himself the title ‘Daoist Three Purities’. He then established the Daoist Path, passing down many Daoist techniques and becoming the leader of the Daoist Path.”

Ning was stunned by what he heard.

“Because his memories were masked during the reincarnation process, he was able to gain insights into a complimentary Heavenly Dao without being impacted by his original Heavenly Dao. But this was a gamble. If his soul was shattered, he would have truly perished.” Subhuti sighed. “Because of Daoist Three Purities, there were a total of six Daofathers who also committed suicide after setting down seals upon their truesouls.”

“But…there has never been any word of them since. From the Primordial Era to the modern day, there has never been any traces of them,” Subhuti said. “Perhaps they have died…or perhaps they are continuing to pass through the endless cycle of reincarnation.”

Ning sighed to himself.

Nonstop reincarnation?

Those Daofathers who committed suicide all had extraordinary truesouls; their talent had to be extraordinary as well. As long as they had a chance to embark on the Immortal path, they undoubtedly would…but the Immortal path was an extremely deadly one. One might be slain by an enemy, resulting in one’s soul being shattered and dispersed! An extremely long period of time had passed since the Primordial Era. Those six Daofathers were most likely long deceased, their souls having entered the endless River of Destiny.

“After the six of them disappeared, a very long period of time passed with no other major powers deciding to reincarnate themselves. However…all the major powers had hearts that were focused on the Dao, and all of them wished to grow more powerful.” Subhuti sighed. “And so, Buddha Tathagata, then an ordinary figure amongst major powers, sent himself into the paths of reincarnation, killing himself and being reincarnated anew. Back then, Tathagata had already mastered four of the Heavenly Daos of the Five Elements. All he needed to do was master the Heavenly Dao of Earth, but he could not; whenever he tried, the other four Heavenly Daos would disturb him.”

“A crazy man can get crazy results.” Subhuti shook his head and sighed. “On Tathagata’s third reincarnation, he became the prince of a small human kingdom. His name was Sakyamuni. He was naturally a brilliant, dazzling figure…and in the end, he mastered the Heavenly Dao of Earth and became a Daofather. His former memories were awakened, and the Buddhists, previously just one of many organizations within Pangu’s World, instantly skyrocketed in power. Tathagata thus became the leader of the Buddhist Sangha.”

“You have now heard the tales of how the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha rose to power. What do you think?” Subhuti looked towards Ning.

“Incredible determination. Incredible willpower.” Ning sighed in amazement.

Those two had already been Daofathers to begin with. They could live eternal, careless lives of freedom…but both of them had hearts that were extremely focused upon the Dao. For the sake of gaining a higher level of enlightenment, they were willing to wager their eternal lives!

They had won their bets…but many other Daofathers had lost.

To train in the Dao to a higher level…it was far, far too difficult.

“Back then, the Primordial Era was an era of nonstop war,” Subhuti said. “The most powerful actors were the kingdoms that were controlled by a few of the Elder Gods.”

“Once, a war erupted between the kingdoms led by the Elder God of Water, Gonggong, and the Elder God of Fire, Zhurong. These two Elder Gods began to battle with reckless abandon atop Pangu’s World. Gonggong, seeing that his forces were about to be defeated, went completely berserk. The crazed Gongong, in his madness and fury, actually rammed against and shattered Mount Buzhou, which Pangu had used as a pillar to hold up the heavens.”

“As a result…the heavens themselves were shattered. The very foundation of Pangu’s World was in danger.”

“Heaven and Earth began to tremble, as though the end times had come.”

“Both Gonggong and Zhurong panicked. All the major powers of the Primordial Era gathered together, wanting to stop the destruction of the world, but none of them had any solutions. In the end, it was Mother Nuwa who saved us. At such a critical moment, she actually made yet another a breakthrough, resulting in her gaining complete mastery over the Heavenly Daos of the Five Elements. She gathered together the essence of the Five Elements from Heaven and Earth, then created a divine five-colored stone which she used to repair the hole in the skies. Only after she did so did Heaven and Earth slowly return to normal. Since she was now a master of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, she became the indisputably most powerful figure of the Primordial Era. Because Nuwa healed the heavens and saved the world, everyone in the Primordial Era would respectfully refer to her as ‘Mother’.”

“Mother Nuwa was extremely close to Elder God Fuxi, who was like a brother to her. He disliked battle, but he saw Mother Nuwa making constant breakthroughs while his own power barely budged. As a result…he committed suicide and threw himself into the cycle of reincarnation. He sealed away his memories, which would only be awakened once he mastered the Heavenly Dao of Life.” Subhuti shook his head. “He was reborn as a human, and he became one of the Three Emperors of Mankind of the Primordial Era, Fuxi. But to this very day, he has yet to awaken his former memories.”

1. Readers may be surprised that the phoenix has control over ‘Yin’, when it is normally considered a creature of fire. The answer is that in traditional Chinese culture, the phoenix is the ultimate symbol of feminity, with the dragon being the ultimate symbol of masculinity.

2. Every single one of the deities listed here come from actual Chinese myths and legends.

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Chapter 3 – The Secret History of the Three Realms (3)

Chapter 3 – The Secret History of the Three Realms (3)

“After Fuxi was reincarnated as a human, he ended up mastering the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, gaining inconceivable amounts of insight into the art of formations. To this very day, he remains the most skilled formations expert of the entire Three Realms,” Subhuti said. “However…although his power has reached an incomparably frightening level, he’s never been able to regain his memories, because he still has yet to comprehend the Heavenly Dao of Life.”

Ji Ning let out a sigh. The man had already mastered two Heavenly Daos, but he still wasn’t able to awaken his memories? The will of Heaven truly did toy with men and Immortals alike.

“In truth…since, he was once an Elder God with an incomparably powerful body, his current level of power is most likely roughly on par with his former level of power as an Elder God.” Subhuti said. “This reincarnation…I don’t know if it was a good thing for Fuxi or not.”

“In any event, the Primordial Era persisted for a very long period of time. Some focused on the Dao, while others focused on warfare and killing. The human race rose to sudden prominence, then began to face one war after another. Many major powers died, and even more Empyrean Gods died.” Subhuti shook his head and sighed, a look of sadness and pity in his eyes. “Because of ambition…multiple Elder Gods died as well. Even the most powerful force of the Primordial Era, the dragon race, fell into darkness due to the death of the Ancestor Dragon.”

“The Ancestor Dragon is dead?” Ning cried out in shock. The Ancestor Dragon was one of the ten great Elder Gods!

From what his master was saying, Elder Gods all had incomparably mighty bodies and were similar to the Human Emperors and the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism in power.

“Not just the Ancestor Dragon. The Elder God of Metal, Rushou, was killed in battle as well!” Subhuti shook his head. “That’s the nature of war…and when there are no outside threats, internal wars will become particularly vicious.”

“Internal wars?” Ning was startled. “Master, are you saying…?”

“Internal wars?” The nearby Empyrean God Redsnow, who had been listening quietly this entire time, was startled as well.

If the many battles that went on during this period of time were ‘internal wars’, then…

“During the Primordial Era, when Shennong wandered the primordial chaos in search of precious materials, he ended up discovering an alien lifeform within it,” Subhuti said solemnly.

“Alien lifeform?” Ning and Redsnow were both shocked.

“The primordial chaos is vast and infinite. You must understand that all the Elder Gods themselves were born from it…which means that it naturally is capable of giving birth to other creatures as well.” Subhuti let out a sigh. “The alien accidentally discovered us…but fortunately, Shennong discovered it as well and ensured it wouldn’t be able to infiltrate us.”

“The alien was incomparably vicious and frenzied in its assaults. It immediately launched a war against our primordial world,” Subhuti said. “I imagine both of you have heard of this alien’s name before. His name…was Rahu! He was the first Outsider who came to us from the primordial chaos.”

“The first?” Ning and Redsnow instantly understood. Most likely, more Outsiders had come from the primordial chaos as well.

“Rahu was absolutely berserk. He boasted to us, ‘I, Rahu, have roamed the primordial chaos for eons. Do you think I will fear the puny denizens of a backwaters chaosworld?’” Subhuti shook his head. “We instantly understood that there had to be other powerful creatures living within the primordial chaos as well. Rahu was just one of them. Rahu didn’t really get a full picture of our world’s power before launching a war against us. Thus, even though he was completely berserk, he was still defeated.”

“Back then…with but the wave of his hand, Rahu was able to manifest a vast, massive army.”

“He himself was a bit more powerful than even the likes of the Human Emperors or the Buddhist and Daoist leaders. Only Mother Nuwa was a match for him! However, we managed to win through sheer numbers, grinding him down and killing him,” Subhuti said. “After Rahu died, we used his shattered body as ingredients for forging many treasures. Your Rahu Bow, Ji Ning, was one of those treasures. Although most of them were initially just top-grade Pure Yang treasures when first created, more than 90% have evolved to become Protocosmic spirit-treasures by now.”

“Rahu’s arrival caused the entire primordial world to be shocked into wakefulness.”

“We thought to ourselves, ‘So, aside from us…there actually are other living creatures within the primordial chaos as well, some of whom possess tremendous power.’”

“Thus…the Primordial Era began to stabilize. The many frenzied wars began to come to an end, and in fact we began to feel regret for what we did. So many major powers had been killed in our internal wars, all for the sake of foolish ambition. Because the human race had their three Emperors of Mankind, and because the various other races no longer wished to engage in internal squabbling…mankind ended up becoming the leader of the races.”

“Time flowed on, and countless eras went by.”

“Finally…yet another storm arrived.” Subhuti said solemnly, “Countless major powers, including both Mother Nuwa and myself, sensed an incomparably powerful force drawing close to our primordial world. Thus…we went into the primordial chaos, moving towards that force to investigate it.”

“After travelling through the primordial chaos for more than half a month…we finally discovered what that force was!” A hint of grief and pain could be seen in Subhuti’s eyes.

Ning and Redsnow both continued to listen carefully.

“It was an absolutely massive, ellipsoid world…a chaosworld that was almost the same as our Pangu’s World!” Subhuti said heavily.

“What?!”

“A chaosworld, just like Pangu’s World?!”

Ning and Redsnow both called out in shock.

Subhuti looked at the two of them. “Since Pangu was able to cleave apart the primordial chaos to establish Heaven and Earth in creating his Pangu’s World…why wouldn’t there be others within the infinite primordial chaos that could do the same?”

Ning and Redsnow were instantly rendered speechless.

“That other world also had its Elder Gods! However, in order to differentiate them from us, we referred to them as Fiends. We called them Elder Fiends, True Fiends, and Empyrean Fiends!” Subhuti said heavily, “As for that world itself..we referred to it as the Seamless Chaosworld.”

“Seamless Chaosworld?” Both Ning and Redsnow were stunned.

Seamless?

Seamless Gate?

“Right. The modern ‘Seamless Gate’ originated from the Seamless Chaosworld.” Subhuti nodded. “The Seamless Chaosworld and our Pangu’s Chaosworld…these two chaosworlds were continuing to move through the primordial chaos, drawing closer and closer to each other. There would come a day in which the two chaosworlds would smash into each other.”

“In fact, as our two worlds drew closer…the major powers of both sides could subconsciously sense that the hands of fate were working to fuse the two worlds together into a single, massive chaosworld.”

“The Seamless Chaosworld was different from our world,” Subhuti said. “In our Pangu’s Chaosworld…because Mother Nuwa was a transcendent figure who rarely got involved in worldly matters, we ended up having many internal wars and many casualties. The most powerful member of the Seamless Chaosworld, however, was the Elder Fiend of the Heart, Demonheart. This demon possessed tremendous ambition, and he had long ago taken over the entire Seamless Chaosworld with his unmatchable power.”

“Back then, they had five Elder Fiends of Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, and Heart! They also had two other Daofather-level figures who were as powerful as the likes of Daoist Three Purities! Patriarch Demonheart in particular…he was very close to Pangu’s level of power. Not even Mother Nuwa was a match for him.”

“Our side had suffered heavy losses due to our years of internal struggles.”

“They actually had even more True Gods than us. Too many of ours had died in our internal wars.”

“In truth, they were more powerful than us! Given Patriarch Demonheart’s ambitions…he naturally wanted to take control over the fused chaosworld, but those of us from Pangu’s Chaosworld naturally wouldn’t agree! And so…war began!”

“Pangu’s Chaosworld against the Seamless Chaosworld…a war that shattered the heavens!”

“However, right at this critical moment, a terrifying figure appeared…the Lord of All Things!” Subhuti was deathly serious now. “The Lord of All Things was and remains the most terrifyingly powerful Outsider from the primordial chaos that Pangu’s Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld have ever encountered. In fact, the reason why our two chaosworlds were slowly moving closer to each other was because of his secret machinations.”

Ning and Redsnow felt their hearts clench.

“After both chaosworlds had suffered tremendous casualties during the war…the grand army of the Lord of All Things appeared.” Subhuti continued, “The reason why he was known as the ‘Lord of All Things’ was precisely because he had reached an unfathomable level of expertise in making use of the various materials of the universe. In fact, the entire Dao of Constructs originally stemmed from him!”

“The Lord of All Things had an enormous number of golems under his command, many of which were at the Daofather level of power.”

“In addition, he also had a large number of Queen Mothers under his command. These were the same as the creatures you encountered within the Nihilum Zone, capable of giving birth to countless powerful soldiers. When all of the soldiers joined together into armies, each of them had the combat power of a Daofather.”

“His personal power, however, was actually just on par with the likes of Daoist Three Purities or Tathagata. However, the Lord of All Things had even altered his own body. It was quite unique, because it was simply unbreakable!”

“The sudden arrival of the Lord of All Things, along with his grand army that was comparable to the total power of either chaosworld…it was a calamity.”

“However, right at that critical moment, Mother Nuwa made her breakthrough.”

“A qualitative breakthrough!”

“She broke through to Pangu’s level, and she instantly began to massacre our enemies. The Lord of All Things was slain, while Patriarch Demonheart was forced to hide by merging his body into the Heavenly Daos. The Seamless Gate had already suffered enormous casualties during the war, and the survivors were absolutely butchered by Mother Nuwa. The only one who managed to escape from her hands was Patriarch Windfiend, who was second in power only to Patriarch Demonheart. He even managed to rescue many of the major powers of the Seamless Gate as well. Fortunately, the first person Mother Nuwa acted against was Patriarch Demonheart; otherwise, Patriarch Windfiend probably would’ve been able to rescue him and save him as well. His fleeing abilities truly were incredible.”

“Patriarch Windfiend?” Ning and Redsnow both memorized this name.

Anyone who could flee from Mother Nuwa and save so many other major powers as well was worth of them memorizing.

“Patriarch Windfiend is now respectfully referred to by the Seamless Gate as the Lord of All Fiends. His power is truly unfathomable!” Subhuti exclaimed.

“That apocalyptic war…it caused the two chaosworlds that were about to fuse together to instead completely shatter apart. The largest remnant piece is now known as the ‘Primordial Ruinworld’, while the other pieces became the Celestial Realm, the Netherworld Kingdom, the three thousand major worlds, and the trillion minor worlds,” Subhuti said. “As for the soldiers and the army left behind by the Outsider, the Lord of All Things…some of them were slain by Mother Nuwa, but most of them ended up being driven into the Primordial Ruinworld.”

“The remnants of his army didn’t pose a major threat to us. Rather than get rid of them, we left them there as a warning and a reminder,” Subhuti said solemnly. “We were to never forget that the primordial chaos still contains other living creatures. We simply can’t afford to engage in internal wars of attrition any longer.”

“The Three Realms were formed.”

“Later on, for an extremely urgent reason, Mother Nuwa left us and entered the primordial chaos, never to return.”

“After Mother Nuwa left…Patriarch Windfiend came back, bringing the many major powers of the Seamless Chaosworld with him.” Subhuti shook his head. “He was simply too difficult to deal with, and his forces weren’t weak. Since we were worried about the threat which Outsiders posed, and since Patriarch Windfiend wasn’t confident that he could defeat us…our two sides came to an accord.”

“Ever since then, we have had no further quarrels with the Seamless.”

“There are many living creatures within the Three Realms which have the blood of gods in them, while others have the blood of fiends within them. In truth, since both our world and the Seamless world were both chaosworlds, there wasn’t that much of a difference between us. Thus, we simply referred to these creatures as ‘Fiendgods’.”

“As for those who were born from Primordial Chaos? They were jointly referred to as Fiendgods of Primordial Chaos.”

“Strictly speaking, though…those of us from Pangu’s World should be referred to as Empyrean Gods and True Gods of Primordial Chaos, while those of the Seamless Gate should be referred to as Empyrean Fiends and True Fiends of Primordial Chaos.”

Subhuti continued, “Countless years passed. The Three Realms gave birth to many more major powers, and the Three Realms once more began to flourish and grow. However…not too long ago, all the major powers began to subconsciously sense that an unavoidable war was going to erupt between our side and the Seamless side.”

“All major powers possess fairly formidable subconscious senses towards fate, as you know. We could sense that if we tried to avoid the war…the result would be death!”

Ning and Redsnow now completely understood.

So the Seamless Gate had originated from a separate chaosworld.

“The whispers of fate and destiny are never wrong.” Subhuti shook his head. “Although all of us have many suspicions…we can clearly sense that the Nuwa Alliance will only be able to survive if we annihilate the Seamless Gate.”

“Master.” Ning couldn’t but interject, “The Nuwa Alliance belongs to Pangu’s Chaosworld, while the Seamless Alliance comes from a separate one. Why, then, are people like Old Man Yuan hesitant?”

“Hmph.”

Suhbuti said coldly, “They are a pack of fools! Both of our sides have shared the Three Realms for countless years now, and many of the major powers on both sides have become very close friends with each other. There are countless ‘Fiendgods’ amongst the many races. In truth, both sides all but merged together long ago…and so Old Man Yuan and his ilk still wish for both sides to peacefully coexist. They view the Seamless as being brothers and are unwilling to become enemies to them.”

“But the whispers of fate definitely can’t be wrong.”

“I am absolutely certain that we can only survive if we wipe out the Seamless Gate. In turn, the Seamless Gate is also absolutely certain that they can only survive if they wipe us out. Although there are many things we do not understand with regards to this great tribulation…fate always points and guides us towards the correct path.”

Subhuti looked at the two men before him. “Ji Ning. Redsnow. The two of you are still weak; you need to continue training for now. After all…even if we manage to survive this storm, it’s very possible than yet another Outsider like the Lord of All Things will appear, causing yet another tribulation to descend.”

“Understood.” Both Ning and Redsnow were very solemn.

Outsiders from the primordial chaos?

Other chaosworlds?

Why had Mother Nuwa entered the primordial chaos, never to return?

These questions caused Ning and Redsnow to understand that in the past, they had been like frogs within a well, unable to see the greater world outside. In truth…the heavens were far vaster than they had imagined them to be!

Having concluded his tale of the secret history of the Three Realms, Subhuti let out a smile. “Right. Ji Ning, I understand you have a daughter with you. Show her to me.”

“Yes, Master.” When Ning thought of his daughter, his heart instantly turned warm. He immediately willed for his daughter Brightmoon to emerge from the world of the Violetdawn Pearl.

“Eh?!”

The barefoot Brightmoon nibbled on her fingers as she curiously stared at her surroundings.

“Father.” Brightmoon instantly wrapped her arms around Ning’s thigh.

“Brightmoon, come here. Kowtow and show your respects to the Old Patriarch,” Ning instructed.

Brightmoon’s eyes instantly turned huge. She stared carefully at the ruddy-faced, white-bearded old man, then obediently fell to her knees and kowtowed. “Brightmoon greets you, Old Patriarch.”

“Hahaha…” Subhuti was greatly pleased by what he saw. Laughing, he said, “Your father is my disciple, and so you can be considered a member of Mount Innerheart as well. Thus, I shall transmit Fiendgod Body Refining techniques and Ki Refining techniques to you.”

He pointed towards her. Swish! Instantly, a streak of light flew straight into Brightmoon’s forehead.

“Thank you, Master!” Ning was overjoyed. At present, there were very few things capable of making Ning happy, and the person he cared most about was this precious daughter of his. Mount Innerheart’s rules were very strict, so Ning didn’t dare to casually teach her any of the techniques he had learned here, but the other techniques he had weren’t particularly elite.

“If your daughter can overcome her tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal or Empyrean God, I’ll give her another give. Alright, you can leave now.” Subhuti waved his arm. “Redsnow, you stay for now.”

“Yes.” Both Ning and Redsnow assented.

Ning immediately picked up his daughter, who had fallen into a dazed, sleep-like state. Subhuti had transmitted a veritable ocean of techniques to her, and there was a limit to how much she could process.

In the following days, they remained at Mount Innerheart. Ning lived a peaceful life here, along with his daughter. Only when he was with his daughter would the pain in his heart be slightly alleviated. Slowly, Ning’s heart grew calmer and calmer. He was quietly preparing, because he could sense that the day of his tribulation was drawing closer and closer.

“Father.” Brightmoon came running towards him.

“Brightmoon.” Ning smiled at her.

“Father, I heard you are about to undergo your Empyrean Tribulation?” Brightmoon raised her head to look at the nearby Uncle White. “Grandpa White, my father is going to undergo his Empyrean Tribulation?”

“Who told you?!” Ning asked.

“Everyone in Mount Innerheart knows about it,” Brightmoon immediately said.

“My fellow disciples really are blabbermouths.” Ning shook his head helplessly, then looked at Brightmoon and nodded. “Yes. Tomorrow, I shall undergo the Empyrean Tribulation.”

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Chapter 4 – Empyrean God Tribulation

Chapter 4 – Empyrean God Tribulation

“I heard that the Empyrean Tribulation is very dangerous.” Brightmoon was very worried. Her two hands were clenched tightly in front of her chest.

Ji Ning bent downwards, gently taking his daughter into his arms. He looked at her face, then smiled. “Brightmoon, don’t worry. The Empyrean Tribulation might be dangerous to others, but to me, your father…it’s really nothing.”

“Really?” Brightmoon hesitated.

“Really. You have to trust Father,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Brightmoon reached out with her little hands to hug Ning’s head. “Father, Mother’s gone. I don’t want you to leave me too.”

Ning felt his heart ache.

Brightmoon was still very young. Yu Wei’s death had an enormous impact on her.

“Father will never, ever leave you, Brightmoon.” Ning held his daughter in his arms, then whispered to her, “Father will always protect you.”

This was Ning’s promise to his daughter!

That night, Brightmoon slept by Ning’s side. She was afraid that Ning was leave her and go take on the Empyrean Tribulation by himself, and she insisted on personally watching him undergo it. Only then would she feel at ease.

“Time to get up.” Ning tweaked his slumbering daughter’s little nose.

“Ungh…” Brightmoon struggled to opeher eyes, then gazed blankly at her surroundings for a moment. Clearly, she hadn’t fully woken up yet, but upon seeing Ning she couldn’t help but reach out to hug him.

“Time to get up. It’s already bright outside.” Ning gave his daughter a little kiss on the face.

“Oh.” Brightmoon rubbed her eyes, then sat up and looked towards the outside. It was early dawn right now, and the skies were slowly brightening. “Ah?! Father, you are going to undergo your Empyrean Tribulation today.”

“Right…so hurry up and get up.”

Outside the room.

The Whitewater Hound and Little Qing had been waiting here for some time now. Upon hearing the playful voices coming from within the room, they couldn’t help but reveal smiles.

“These days, Master only ever laughs when he’s with little Brightmoon,” Little Qing said.

“He’s redirected all the love he felt towards Yu Wei and his parents to that little girl.” The Whitewater Hound let out a sigh. “Fortunately, Yu Wei gave birth before it all happened. Otherwise…I really can’t imagine what my son Ning would be like right now, after suffering such heavy blows.”

Creaaaak.

The door to the room swung open.

A handsome, slender white-robed youth walked out, leading an adorable little girl by the hand. The handsome youth looked young, but his calm, sea-deep eyes seemed to hold infinity within them. Everyone understood that he was no longer young. His heart, in particularly…would no longer be young again.

“Let’s go,” Ning said.

“Right.” Uncle White and Little Qing followed behind Ning. Right after they emerged from the courtyard, they saw Bluecliff Xiaoyu waiting outside.

“Master,” Xiaoyu called out respectfully.

Holding his daughter Brightmoon’s hand, Ning led Uncle White, Little Qing, and Xiaoyu out of Mount Innerheart. He then used a spatial teleportation to arrive at a vast, desolate area within the Crescent world.

A large group of people had already gathered in this location.

“Junior apprentice-brother.”

“Ji Ning.”

“Young master.”

Redsnow and the rest of the seven Empyrean Gods, Silvermoon, Lord Jiang, Crazy Ji, and the others had all arrived. They had even brought their disciples and grand-disciples with them.

After landing, Ning waved his hand. Autumn Leaf, Mu Northson, and several others suddenly appeared next to him.

“Junior apprentice-brother, you have to be careful. Although the Empyrean Tribulation won’t be too hard for you, it’s still good to be careful,” Crazy Ji instructed.

“Don’t worry at all, second apprentice-brother.” Ning nodded, then walked by himself to a nearby location. He only took three steps, but moved a total of three thousand meters away.

Then…he just silently stood there.

Boom!

His [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] energy had been forcibly barred at the seventeenth stage for a long time now. It was ready to break through at any moment…and now, it broke through the final bottleneck to enter the eighteenth stage! At the same time, Ning’s true body also broke through to the peak of the Void level as a Ki Refiner!

As he simultaneously broke through in both aspects, the Heavenly Daos immediately began to activate and take effect.

A short while later…a wind began to arise around him.

“His tribulation has started.”

“Master really is quite straightforward. As soon as he arrived, he immediately initiated his tribulation.”

“Junior apprentice-brother is formidable and has experienced extraordinary things. His Empyrean Tribulation will most likely be similarly extraordinary.”

The crowd watched from far away with nervousness, especially Brightmoon. Her two little hands were so tightly clenched that her nails were white. She chewed on her lips as she stared at Ning. She was afraid…afraid that her father would disappear as well.

Far away, in the distant wilderness, stood an old man and a woodcutter.

Nobody was able to detect their presence. Not even Crazy Ji noticed them.

“Tell me…do you think your junior apprentice-brother will succeed?” Subhuti asked.

“The Empyrean Tribulation? No question about it. The only question in my mind is, during his nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation, will the ‘Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder’ appear?” The woodcutter chuckled.

“Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder? Hrm…it has indeed been a long, long time since it last appeared. From the Primordial Era to the modern day, the number of times it has appeared has been pitifully low. If it does appear…although it will pose a major threat, it’ll also allow your junior apprentice-brother to possess an even more perfect Empyrean God body,” Subhuti said.

Wind. Fire. Thunder. These three tribulations served to temper the body!

Ki Refiners generally would gain a Celestial Immortal body when they succeeded.

As for Fiendgod Body Refiners, their Empyrean Tribulations would generally be much more powerful than the ones the Ki Refiners faced. When they succeeded, however, they would gain the body of an Empyrean God!

The more powerful the Empyrean Tribulation, the more perfect an Empyrean God body one would possess.

There were differences in power amongst Empyrean Gods as well, after all. For some weak Empyrean Gods, countless eons would needed for their bodies to train to the peak of power. The quality of an Empyrean God body was one of the factors that determined if one would be able to become a True God or not.

Rumble…

A wild wind began to howl as countless wind-blades swirled together into an enormous vortex, with Ji Ning standing at the very heart of it.

“Terrifying.”

“The wind tribulation alone is even more terrifying than the nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation which his Primaltwin endured.” The distant viewers had strange looks on their faces. The power of this wind was simply too terrifying.

Even for Ning, his Ki Refiner techniques were useless right now. He was completely relying on the Sixth Cycle of his [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] to defend.

He stood there in the the center of the wind vortex, staring at the skies in a very calm manner.

Whoosh…

The final burst of invisible Empyrean God Wind arrived, entering through his head and spreading out throughout his body, causing every single part of it to shudder. His heart, however, was as calm as water. He wasn’t moved even slightly. While shuddering and trembling, Ning’s divine body began to soundlessly evolve. This evolution wasn’t particularly noteworthy, however; only when the thunder tribulation ended would his body truly undergo a qualitative change.

“The wind tribulation is over.” Ning raised his head to look at the sky as he murmured softly to himself.

An enormous, scorchingly hot cloud had appeared in the air above him. This spinning cloud was covered with a layer of golden flame that was visible to the naked eye. As the cloud descended, the temperature in the surrounding area began to drastically rise.

“Activate.” The distant Crazy Ji immediately waved the ragged fan he was holding, and a blurry azure light arose to surround the spectators, protecting all of them.

Everything in the wilderness around Ning, however, was instantly charred. In fact, everything began to transform into dust as the cloud of fire continued to descend. The ground itself began to disappear beneath Ning, who simply stood there in the air, staring at the cloud.

Whoosh…the flames descended upon Ning, who still didn’t do anything to fight back.

All tribulations started weak and grew progressively more powerful; the same was true for the fire tribulation. If the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was unable to endure the tribulation, Ning would then move to fight back. The fire tribulation, however…Ning felt confident that it wasn’t capable of forcing him to defend himself.

The flames blazed about him, quickly reaching to the truefire level. One type of truefire after another appeared, including even Solar Truefire. But Ning simply continued to stand there, not caring at all.

Finally, the cloud of fire dispersed.

BOOM!

Ning suddenly seemed to transform into a burning man as a fiery light suddenly engulfed his entire body.

“Ah!” Brightmoon, watching from far away, was so terrified that her face turned ashen.

“It’s fine. This is Empyrean God Fire. There’s no way to block it; all you can do is endure it. Although it’s far, far more powerful than Celestial Immortal Fire,” the nearby Little Qing explained, “Your father’s Dao-heart is formidable. He isn’t afraid of this fire.”

Indeed, Ning quickly returned to normal.

Time flowed on. Soon, the skies themselves began to gather power within them.

Empyrean God Redsnow, Silvermoon, and the other distant spectators all turned solemn. The wind tribulation and fire tribulation had been extremely easy for Ning. Given that his heartforce had reached the fourth stage, even the demonheart tribulation would most likely be quite easy. Fourth stage heartforce made him an incredible figure of the Three Realms; there was no way he would succumb to the demonheart tribulation.

The only potential threat to him was actually the thunder tribulation…which would also serve as the most important part of the tempering of his Empyrean God body!

“I wonder how powerful the first bolt of junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s nine nine-sets will be.”

They all watched nervously. It was absolutely guaranteed that Ji Ning would undergo the full nine nine-sets. The more powerful the first thunderbolt was, the more terrifying the final, eighty-first thunderbolt would be.

“The sky went dark!” Brightmoon suddenly called out nervously.

Everyone, Ji Ning included, raised their heads to stare at the sky.

Right.

The entire sky had turned pitch-black, as far as the naked eye could see. The seemingly infinitely large stormclouds had covered this entire region, and their overwhelming power was simply shocking to behold. As for Ning…he still just stared calmly towards the skies. Now, however, a pair of divine swords had appeared within his hands.

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Chapter 5 – Empyrean God Ji Ning

Chapter 5 – Empyrean God Ji Ning

“What a shocking aura!”

Crazy Ji twirled his fan, narrowing his eyes. Empyrean God Redsnow just watched solemnly. All of them were extremely experienced and had seen many things; they knew very well that normally, the clouds of the thunder tribulation would consist of two dark clouds that would draw close to each other and merge together. This was true even for most nine nine-sets of thunder tribulation. Only when the thunder tribulation underwent a qualitative change would something like this happen.

The vast heavens were filled with a tribulation cloud of seemingly infinite size.

Rumble…

At the very center of the infinite tribulation cloud, countless streaks of violet light could be seen dancing about. The violet light began to swirl about and gather in number until they filled nearly the entire cloud. By now, one could see violet streaks of light stretching off as far as the naked eye could see.

Slowly, a storm whirlpool began to form in the air above Ji Ning. The whirlpool began to spin in a very sluggish, arduous manner, but as it spun, it continuously drew in and devoured the violet light around it. Even the tribulation cloud itself was being sucked into this maelstrom.

Whoooooosh. The edges of the tribulation cloud could now be seen. It continued to shrink and flow into the maelstrom, as did the endless streaks of violet light.

Within the center of the maelstrom was a region of utter chaos.

A short while later, the only thing left in the skies was this terrifying chaos maelstrom. The tribulation cloud had completely vanished. Not even any hint of its former aura of might had been left behind.

“Why do I feel so nervous right now…” Mu Northson mumbled softly.

“I’ve never seen any records regarding a thunder tribulation like this in any of the books of Mount Innerheart.” Little Qing was worried as well.

Bolts of lightning began to materialize within the chaos maelstrom. These lightning bolts were almost completely violet, with a few streaks of white mixed into them.

Whoosh!

The violet-white thunderbolt came crashing down from the vortex in the skies. It didn’t possess a savage, dominating aura; instead, it possessed a terrifying aura of imperial majesty, making viewers feel as though it was an emperor that they had to bow their heads before.

“Eh?” Ning frowned slightly. “When my Primaltwin underwent its tribulation, this sort of beautiful, violet-white thunderbolt only appeared starting from the seventy-third bolt. I didn’t expect that the very first bolt my true body would encounter would be on this level.”

Ning had a feeling that this thunder tribulation of his wouldn’t be so easily overcome.

BOOM!

Ning just stood there in midair, allowing the thunderbolt to crash upon his body and allowing sparks of electricity to dance across him. A divine body on the level of a Pure Yang treasure wouldn’t be easily damaged.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One thunderbolt after another came crashing downwards!

The power of the thunderbolts continued to rise. By the ninth bolt, the thunderbolts had turned completely white, a dazzling, pure, sacred white that contained an ineffable nobility and majesty to it. The white bolts crashed down upon Ning’s white-robed body, but Ning simply stood there, head raised as he watched them slam down towards him.

“The thunder tribulation’s not that bad.” The distant Brightmoon watched as her white-clothed father was bathed in the radiance of the white thunderbolts. A look of veneration was in her eyes as she said excitedly, “Father hasn’t even done anything, but he’s still able to easily endure them.”

“Little Brightmoon, the fact that your father is easily able to resist these thunderbolts doesn’t mean that his thunder tribulation isn’t a terrifying one. Before you were born, your father’s Primaltwin underwent the Celestial Tribulation. When that happened, only the very final thunderbolt of his nine nine-sets was this dazzling white color.” The nearby Uncle White explained, “Your father has trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and has a formidable divine body, which is why he can take it head-on.”

“The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] is that powerful?” Brightmoon’s eyes sparkled. “I want to learn it too!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The bolts of lightning continued to crash downwards.

The noble, dazzling white color began to be intermixed with streaks of gold, causing the thunderbolts to have an aura of supremacy and exaltedness. It was as though Ning was facing the Dao of the Heavens itself.

As the thunderbolts crashed down upon him, bathing him in electricity, Ning felt as though he was being washed in water. His entire divine body felt quite comfortable, and it was slowly beginning to change in very minor ways.

The thirty-sixth bolt…the forty-ninth bolt…the fifty-fourth bolt…

The power of the thunderbolts continued to rise.

“The Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] truly is incredible.” Empyrean God Redsnow sighed softly. “All those years ago, when I faced the final thunderbolt of my Empyrean Tribulation, I had to go all-out in order to survive it…but it was only as powerful as this fifty-fourth thunderbolt of Ji Ning’s. But Ji Ning hasn’t even been forced to fight back; his divine body is completely capable of enduring this level of power.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Redsnow, you were born when Heaven and Earth had first been established. Back then, the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] didn’t even exist,” Crazy Ji said with a laugh. “From the looks of junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s thunder tribulation…there is a high chance that the Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder will appear.”

“Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder?” Empyrean God Redsnow grew slightly worried. “If that’s the case…I’m afraid that the Sixth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] won’t be able to withstand it.”

Crazy Ji lightly twirled his fan. Chuckling, he said, “Just watch.”

Bathed in electricity, Ning could clearly sense the power of the thunder tribulation continuing to grow.

The seventy-second bolt. The seventy-third bolt.

The lightning bolts had turned almost completely golden, with just a little bit of white remaining within them. The power of the thunderbolts was so great that Ning’s body was beginning to shudder. Tiny wounds had begun to appear across his body, but his divine power automatically and instantly healed them.

“They’re actually striking me so hard that my divine body is almost unable to endure it any longer.” Ning still just stared at the skies, allowing the thunderbolts to come crashing down as he watched them carefully.

The seventy-eighth bolt. The seventh-ninth bolt. The eightieth bolt.

The final bolt.

“Come out.” The white-robed Ning’s body momentarily blurred as he assumed the [Three Heads, Six Arms] form. Six of the Ananda World-Swords appeared within his hands.

“BREAK!” The six Ananda World-Swords in his hands, Ning charged upwards towards the skies, charging straight towards the chaos maelstrom within them. A streak of completely pure gold had appeared within the chaos maelstrom as well. This lightning bolt didn’t have any other colors within it whatsoever. The pure gold thunderbolt carried a supremely Yang, supremely aggressive aura, and supremely sharp aura. Just looking at it would make one’s heart shudder.

“How terrifying.” Brightmoon’s heart trembled.

“Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder!” Redsnow was shocked.

“Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder.” Crazy Ji finally stopped fanning himself as well.

Patriarch Subhuti and the woodcutter watched from afar as this happened. Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder…it would only appear during these tribulations. Normally, there was no way for Immortals or Fiendgods to train to a level where they could manifest this Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder. The power of this thunderbolt was too shockingly great, and it contained boundless mysteries within it.

Ning, using [Three Heads, Six Arms] and his six Ananda World-Swords, charged straight against the heavens!

The supremely Yang and supremely aggressive Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder came smashing down towards him!

CRASH!!!!!

Six dazzling streaks of sword-light lit up.

Every single streak of sword-light was filled with Ning’s powerful heartforce. His fourth level heartforce had been completely poured into his swords.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM! The six powerful streaks of sword-light smashed head-on against the thunderbolt. The bolt of Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder was completely blasted apart with a violet explosion, but shattered bits of golden electricity still came crashing down upon Ning’s body. However, they were only enough to cause Ning’s divine body to tremble slightly. They were unable to leave behind any actual wounds.

Whoooosh. The chaos maelstrom in the skies rapidly began to shrink, condensing into a final streak of lightning.

Swish!

The streak of lightning landed upon Ning’s body, having moved so incredibly fast that there was no way to block it at all.

Crackle…pop…rumble…

Ning could sense all of his bones crackling and popping. Thanks to this profound, arcane streak of lightning, his body was quickly changing and transforming, becoming even tougher and even more powerful. At the same time, his internal organs and his muscles were rumbling as they transformed as well.

“According to the legends…if one endures the Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder, then after one becomes an Empyrean God, one will have a perfect divine body.” Ning understood what was happening.

If an Empyrean God wished to break through to become a True God, a prerequisite was that the Empyrean God’s body had to first be perfected. A perfect divine body meant that in terms of speed, divine power, or physical strength, one had to reach the utter peak of power possible for Empyrean Gods. If there was no Pure Yang Goldlight Thunder, he would have to slowly train for an extremely, extremely long period of time.

……

Ning sat down in the lotus position within the desolate wilderness.

The demonheart tribulation had come.

“The demonheart tribulation is of no threat to Ji Ning.” Patriarch Subhuti smiled merrily towards his distant disciple, then nodded and said, “We can consider his Empyrean Tribulation to have been a success.” Patriarch Subhuti then vanished into thin air.

The woodcutter nodded slightly as well. In a soft voice, he said, “I wonder if this junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning of mine will be able to break through to become a True God or Daofather before the final Endwar.” And then, the woodcutter vanished as well.

As the two vanished, the only one of the spectators who seemed to vaguely sense something was Crazy Ji. Crazy Ji turned his head, scanning behind him with a frown on his face. “What did I just sense? Was that Master and eldest apprentice-brother?” In all of Mount Innerheart, the only ones who were capable of acting in such mysterious, inscrutable ways were his master and the eldest apprentice-brother, the most formidable figure amongst all of the disciples.

……

Ning’s heartforce was far too powerful. Although the demonheart tribulation that descended upon him was extremely terrifying, Ning’s heartforce was able to easily resist it. Ning only had to spend roughly a month within the demonheart world before he completely awakened from it.

“I’ve always known that she would be the shadow cast over my heart.”

“I even tried to force myself to believe that she really was my senior apprentice-sister.”

“Alas…I could still sense, no matter how hard I tried, that it was nothing more than a lie. An illusion.”

Ning sat there in the lotus position. He slowly opened his eyes, filled with unshed tears. However, his tears quickly dissipated and vanished.

His heartforce had reached the fourth stage. It was far, far too powerful.

He had wanted to spend some extra time with ‘Yu Wei’ in the world of the demonheart tribulation, but alas…he found out, to his agony, that his heartforce was so powerful that he couldn’t help but see through all of the lies. The Yu Wei of the demonheart world was fake. An illusion.

At the same time, Ning understood that if his heartforce had only been at the third level, he might been completely unable to tell that the Yu Wei of the demonheart world was an illusion…and that he might’ve truly, forever become trapped within that world, never to escape again.

“Nothing more than foolish hopes and dreams…” Ning shut his eyes.

BOOM!

Heaven and Earth seemed to change in color as beautiful, auspicious clouds of light filled the skies and golden lotuses filled the ground.

Rumble…

Enormous copies of the Solar Star and Lunar Star appeared in the air above Ning. An utterly torrid flow of power from the Solar Star and Lunar Star was transmitted directly into Ning’s body, as did an enormous amount of natural energy from Heaven and Earth.

Ning, seated atop a field of golden lotuses, had become the heart of this seemingly-infinite storm of energy.

Light swirled across his entire body…and within it, a golden pellet Jindan took form.

At the same time, his divine body began to ravenously devour the power of the Solar Star and the Lunar star. By the time everything came to an end and the world turned normal again, Ning’s divine body was already beginning to emanate a natural aura of majesty and power, an aura that belonged exclusively to the most supreme of Empyrean Gods…because Ning’s divine body had already reached the perfect level.

“Father.” Brightmoon ran straight towards him.

Ning, still seated in the lotus position, laughed as he hugged his daughter.

“Father, you are too incredible!” In her father’s arms, Brightmoon raised her head to look at him. Light was shining from her eyes. She would never, ever forget the sight of her father being bathed in lightning, nor would she ever forget the sight of the enormous Solar Star and Lunar Star appearing above her father’s head as he sat there atop a bed of golden lotuses.

A heartbeat later, Empyrean Gods Redsnow, Primelight, Snow Scorpion, Dovesnake, Ninefangs, Sunblaze, and Darkmoon all moved in unison towards Ji Ning. Looks of utter excitement were in their eyes, and the giant yellow bear appeared as well. The eight of them looked towards Ning, faces full of joy and anticipation.

And then…they all knelt down respectfully on one knee. “Respectful greetings to you, Manorlord!”

The Starseizing Manor…was finally going to once more appear within the Three Realms!

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Chapter 6 – The Starseizer World

Chapter 6 – The Starseizer World

His daughter still in his arms, Ji Ning hurriedly rose to his feet. “Everyone, please rise!”

Only then did the seven Empyrean Gods and the giant yellow bear rise to their feet, their eyes still filled with excitement.

“In the future, don’t kneel before me.” Ning shook his head, his daughter still in his arms. “I am nothing more than the heir to my master, Daoist Threelives, which is why I was fortunate enough to become the Manorlord of the Starseizing Manor. In terms of cultivation, all of you have been training for far, far longer than I have. In terms of power, I am just like the rest of you, a mere Empyrean God.”

“The Manorlord is the Manorlord.” The dazzlingly beautiful white-browed woman, Snow Scorpion, revealed a smile. “The Manorlord commands the Starseizing Manor. We are your subordinates. We have to follow the rules.”

“That’s right, Manorlord.” The bald old man, Ninefangs, let out a laugh. “Long ago, countless Fiendgods would prostrate when our Godking gave an order. Ahaha…just thinking about those days makes my blood boil. Back then, I hadn’t even become an Empyrean God.”

“Manorlord, don’t…” Dovesnake was about to say something as well, but Ning swept them all with his gaze. “My rule is…you are not to kneel before me.”

Redsnow and the rest of the seven exchanged glances. They could sense Ning’s resolve, and so they no longer argued against him. They respectfully assented, “Yes.”

At his current level, Ning’s Dao-heart was incomparably pure. He liked what he liked, and he disliked what he disliked! There was no way Ning would allow the old rules of the Starseizing Manor to bind himself. Ji Ning was different from the former Godking, Daoist Threelives; Daoist Threelives liked to dominate and liked to fight for supremacy in the world, but Ning did not. He preferred to focused on increasing his personal power.

If one was powerful enough, one would naturally be able to dominate all those in one’s path.

Mother Nuwa was a good example. She had been the paragon of the Three Realms.

Ning’s goal was to reach Pangu and Nuwa’s level…and then to surpass them! But of course, that was assuming Pangu’s level wasn’t the final stage possible in cultivation.

“Junior apprentice-brother…”

“Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning…”

The many distant spectators were all completely stunned. Amongst the many disciples of Mount Innerheart, the vast majority of them, aside from the likes of Patriarch Subhuti and Crazy Ji, knew of the connection between Ji Ning and Daoist Threelives!

Not even Mu Northson or Autumn Leaf knew about it!

“Daoist Threelives? He was a True God who was born from the vast, infinite primordial chaos. According to the legends, the divine ability he created, the [Starseizing Hand], is no less terrifying than [Houyi’s Archery].”

“So senior apprentice-brother is actually the successor to Daoist Threelives?”

All of them were completely stunned.

After Empyrean God Redsnow and the rest of the seven had intervened during the Realmwar, word had long since spread that these were the former followers of Daoist Threelives. This resulted in his name once more being discussed by the many Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms. The likes of Mu Northson and Uncle White had naturally heard of the story of Daoist Threelives as well.

“Right.”

Ning swept the familiar faces of his kinsmen and his fellow disciples with his gaze, then nodded. “Daoist Threelives is my master as well. When I was young, I was fortuitous enough to receive his legacy. From today forward…I shall also be considered a member of the Starseizing Manor. Redsnow and the rest of the seven are also Empyrean Gods of the Starseizing Manor.”

Mount Innerheart was composed of members of many different organizations. For example, it included the Flower-Fruit Mountain lineage, one of the most powerful of Diremonster lineages. Ning had now become the commander of the Starseizing Manor lineage.

“Then does that mean I’m also considered as belonging to the Starseizing Manor lineage?” Northson laughed.

“I guess you could just barely qualify as a member,” Little Qing chortled. “I’m Master’s spirit-beast; I definitely qualify as a member.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you have suddenly risen to the exalted rank of Manorlord of the Starseizing Manor. In the future, I imagine that there will be many favors I will need to ask of you,” Silvermoon said with a laugh.

“Right now, my Starseizing Manor is still a bit weak. Senior apprentice-brother, why don’t you join our lineage?” Ning said with a laugh.

Subhuti had a total of twenty personal disciples.

The eldest was the woodcutter, while the second was Crazy Ji. Both of them were Daofathers.

The third disciple, Zen-Master Goldlight, had been a Golden Crow that was born from within the Solar Star. He had incredible talent and shocking levels of power, but he roamed the Three Realms and was difficult to locate.

The fourth disciple was Lord Northriver. He had originally belonged to the primordial human clan, but he was now the hegemon of a celestial river located within the Celestial Realm, the ‘Northriver’. He had established the Northriver clan there, and had more than ten Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under his command.

The fifth disciple was Silvermoon. Silvermoon had been born a Terrorbeast, and truly was a demonic figure. He had unleashed a storm of blood and murder during the Primordial Era, but then had calmed down. He had stayed in seclusion in Mount Innerheart ever since, willing to be the guardian of Mount Innerheart’s ‘Divinities Palace’.

The sixth disciple was the leader of the Diremonsters of Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong. Long ago, when Mother Nuwa had repaired the damage to the Heavens, she had used five-colored rainbow stones that were created through distilling the essence of the Five Elements. One of the leftover pieces, after having absorbed spiritual energy from Heaven and Earth over the course of countless years, had then given birth to Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong was truly a born genius who had trained even more quickly than Ji Ning himself, almost instantly becoming an Empyrean God! By now, he had even broken through to become a True God, and was an extremely famous figure amongst the Diremonsters.

The first six disciples of Subhuti were all extraordinary, to say nothing of the fact that he had fourteen more!

“Join your Starseizing Manor?” Silvermoon twirled his fan, a hint of indecision on his face. “Y’know, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon, if you were to join us, then the two of us would each become the commander of a Three-Eyed God,” Redsnow said with a laugh.

Although Redsnow was very confident in his power, he didn’t dare claim that he was necessarily more powerful than Silvermoon.

“My two junior apprentice-brothers…” After pausing for a moment, Silvermoon smiled as he looked at Ning. “I wasn’t joking just now. The storm has arrived, and my peaceful days are about to come to an end. I’m in no rush right now, but once I decide to rejoin the rest of the world…then I shall do so as a member of your Starseizing Manor.”

Ning and Redsnow were overjoyed! Both of them had just made casual invitations, but they hadn’t actually expected Silvermoon to accept.

……

The space around Ji Ning and the seven Empyrean Gods turned blurry.

“We’ve already entered the Starseizer world.” Redsnow pointed downwards, the eight of them standing in midair. “The vast world beneath is us the Starseizer world, the foundation of our Starseizing Manor.”

“Right.” Ning willed it his coresense to spread out, and it rapidly expanded to cover the entire Starseizer world.

“Our Manorlord has incredibly powerful coresense; he’s actually able to encompass the entire Starseizer world with it.” The beautiful Snow Scorpion gasped in astonishment.

“Completely cover it?” Ninefangs was absolutely shocked as well. “The Manorlord has only trained for a century, but his coresense has actually reached a level like this?”

Coresense’s power came from the soul!

The more powerful one was, the more rapidly one’s soul would gain in power. For example, the Primal level was beneficial to the soul, but the Void level was even more beneficial. Upon becoming a Celestial Immortal, the Jindan would be formed and the soul would be completely merged into it, allowing it to improve at an even more shockingly fast pace. As for the Pure Yang Jindan of a Pure Yang True Immortal, its effects on the soul were even more astonishing.

No matter what though, nurturing the soul was something that required time. Ning’s true body had just become a Pure Yang True Immortal moments ago, after all! If he had been given a thousand years, his soul would naturally be nourished by his Pure Yang Jindan to an extremely powerful level. In that situation, none of them would be shocked by the power of his coresense.

But Ning had literally just overcome his tribulation, and he had trained for merely a century or so!

“Don’t forget that Manorlord’s heartforce has reached the fourth stage,” Redsnow reminded.

Ning didn’t say anything to them. In truth, he was capable of encompassing the entire world with his heartforce alone. If he was to use his coresense through his heartforce, he would be able to encompass a much, much greater area. However, that wasn’t particularly impressive; it must be understood that the maximum coresense of a Daofather was capable of encompassing the entire Three Realms. But of course, that would only be possible for a short period of time, as it was incredibly taxing to the soul.

“Eh?” Ning nodded slightly. “The Starseizer world has a total of roughly 16,000 Celestial Immortals, 1,500,000 Loose Immortals, and more than 100,000 Void-level Fiendgods…it really is comparable to the Grand Xia.”

“Those Void-level Fiendgods have all existed since the Primordial Era.” Redsnow shook his years. “In the countless years which have passed since then, the only one who managed to break through was Ninefangs. None of the others have made any breakthroughs. As for the sixteen thousand Celestial Immortals…not a single Pure Yang True Immortal has appeared amongst their ranks.”

Ning said in surprise, “Why is that?”

“Because the world was severed from the rest of the Three Realms,” Primelight said solemnly. “There’s no way for them to undergo any true tempering and testing. Without enough pressure, without enough experience…it is incredibly difficult for any of them to make any breakthroughs. The Celestial Immortals of the Grand Xia are able to roam the entire Three Realms and fight against some of the experts of the three thousand major worlds and the Celestial Realm; naturally, a few will make breakthroughs every so often.”

“The Starseizer world, however, has always remained completely sealed off.” Primelight shook his head.

“We’ve been waiting this entire time for our new Manorlord to be born. If no Manorlord arises, then our Starseizer world would never reappear,” Redsnow agreed.

Ning felt tremendous admiration for Redsnow and the rest of the seven.

Back then, nobody had known if Daoist Threelives was still alive or not, and Threelives hadn’t forced them or required them to remain loyal to him. Many of his subordinates had left, but the seven of them had resolutely clung to their duty to stand guard here.

“Although our Starseizer world doesn’t have that many Celestial Immortals or Loose Immortals, we have more than enough to form a perfect Heaven Punisher Formation.” Redsnow suddenly glanced sideways towards the empty space next to him. The giant yellow bear suddenly appeared, who stared in a pitiable manner towards Ning.

“Big bear.” Ning was stunned.

A look of expectation could be seen in the giant yellow bear’s eyes. “The treasures which Master stored within the Treasure Hall were meant for his various successors to use. Master didn’t know how many successors there would be before an Empyrean God would emerge amongst them and become the new Manorlord of the Starseizing Manor. Ji Ning…now that you have become the Manorlord, you can go collect the three items which Master left behind for you. There is a space which only the new Manorlord can enter; not even I can enter it. For countless eons, I’ve been wondering what the three treasures which Master left behind are. I’ve been absolutely itching to find out! Hurry up and go collect them and let me take a look at them. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

The giant yellow bear looked eagerly towards Ning.

“Three treasures?” Ning said in surprise, “Didn’t my master, Daoist Threelives, simply leave behind a few Pure Yang treasures for me?”

“Those were all for the various successors, not the new Manorlord. Now that you have become the Manorlord, all the treasures of the manor are yours, along with the most important treasures; those three,” the giant yellow bear hurriedly explained.

“I’ve heard of this. The Godking once spoke to me about this as well.” Redsnow looked towards Ning. “The Godking had already reached the Sixth Cycle of his [Starseizing Hand]; his hands were far more powerful than any Protocosmic spirit-treasures. They had already reached the legendary Chaos treasure level! Thus, the Godking traded away the most precious treasures he had to the other True Gods and Daofathers in order to prepare these three treasures for you. You can say that he did this to help our Starseizing Manor prepare to once more rise to prominence…”

“Manorlord, hurry up and go collect them. My foster father didn’t tell us what the treasures were either. All of us are also quite curious,” Primelight said hurriedly.

“Alright.”

Ning was also quite curious about what Daoist Threelives had left behind. He immediately looked towards the giant yellow bear. “Big bear, lead the way.”

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Chapter 7 – Please Help Me, Master

Chapter 7 – Please Help Me, Master

“Right on!” The giant yellow bear excitedly spun around, instantly causing them to teleport elsewhere in the estate.

Within the Starseizing Manor.

Ji Ning, the giant yellow bear, Redsnow, Primelight, Snow Scorpion, and the others all appeared within the main hall.

“The rest of you can wait here.” The giant yellow bear turned to look towards Redsnow and the others. “The secret treasure vault is only accessible to the new Manorlord.”

“Alright.” Redsnow nodded.

“Unlike you, you big bear, the rest of us are quite patient. Look at how eager you are!” Primelight shook his head and snickered.

The giant bear stared at him. “Are things the same for you and me? I’ve been guarding this place for countless eons now. It wasn’t so bad before, but now that I know that Ji Ning has made his breakthrough and become the new Manorlord, of course I’m going to be unable to control my curiosity. I’m not to blame.”

“Enough, big bear. Lead the way,” Ning said.

“Come with me.” The giant yellow bear led the way, and Ning followed him.

The bear and the man walked through the hallways of the underwater estate. In truth, the estate was quite vast; this was the place where Daoist Threelives and his countless Fiendgod minions had lived, after all.

“Ji Ning, you have now become an Empyrean God and a True Immortal, you can completely bind the Starseizing Manor,” the giant bear said.

“Right. Later, I’ll bind it completely.” Ning nodded. He was in no rush. The Starseizing Manor was an estate-type treasure which held the Starseizer world within it. Now that he had become an Empyrean God, all he had to do was wait for Daofather Crimsonbright to send the necessary Immortal pills to him. He would soon be able to reach the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], at which point in time his body would be comparable to a top-grade Pure Yang treasure. Even if he encountered any danger, there would be no need for him to hide within the estate.

Even if he did need to hide…Ning had collected Protocosmic spirit-treasures during the Realmwar. The underwater estate was now much less important to him than it had been in the past. However, it still held unique importance for him; when he had been very young, it had been extremely helpful to him in his growth.

Whooosh.

They flew past a curtain of water and arrived at a blurry spatial corridor. Ning and the giant bear walked through the corridor, moving towards a place which Ning had never been before.

“Eh?” Ning saw that at the end of this spatial corridor, there was a blurry barrier of flowing light.

“This is the protective formation which Master left behind,” the giant yellow bear said, pointing at the barrier. “Long ago, Master said that only the new Manorlord would be able to open it.”

“Oh?” As Ning walked forward, he sent his coresense forward to investigate it. Although he wasn’t exactly an elite formations expert, he still knew a good amount regarding the art of formations.

“Open up.” After analyzing it for a moment, Ning suddenly reached out with his palm. The divine Starseizing Tattoo appeared within it, and he slapped his palm down against the barrier. Light flowed atop the barrier as a rune that was extremely similar to the Starseizing Tattoo appeared atop it.

Ning’s palm transformed to become three hundred meters in size as he slammed it down upon the barrier…but the only result was that the shockwave forced him back three steps.

“It didn’t open?” The giant yellow bear was puzzled.

“Not right now.” Ning stared at the light barrier, then shook his head. “Let’s go back for now.”

“Why can’t you open it? Master said that the new Manorlord would be able to open it,” the giant yellow bear said frantically.

Ning laughed. “I discovered just now that this barrier comes from the exact type of energy as the Starseizing Tattoo. The only thing that can open it is the Starseizing Tattoo, but when I tried just now, I discovered that because my own tattoo isn’t complete enough or strong enough. I imagine that only after reaching the Fifth Cycle can one open this barrier. But of course, there’s another method; to rely on overwhelming power to force it open! Although my master Daoist Threelives was quite formidable, countless eons have passed since he set up the formation. If I rammed against the formation he left behind ten or so times, I’d probably be able to break through it, but if I did that…the treasures which Master left behind might be teleported away through some other mechanism.”

“Right. You can’t brute force it.” The giant yellow bar nodded hurriedly.

This was no joke. It was entirely possible that there was a secondary mechanism within that would teleport the treasures away into the Void of space or into some extremely dangerous regions once the formation was broken through by brute force. How hard would it be to locate the treasures once they were lost?

In fact, counter-attack formations might appear as well.

“Let’s go.” Ning turned and left. “I need to first train my [Starseizing Hand] to the Fifth Cycle.”

Ning first went to the main hall of the Starseizing Manor to meet with Redsnow, Primelight, and the rest. They were all eager to find out what relics Daoist Threelives had left behind…but alas, Ning had been unable to actually break through the formation for now. The seven of them had no choice but to return to the Starseizer world for now.

Within the Treasures Hall.

“All of the treasures of the Treasures Hall are here.” The giant yellow bear pointed towards the ceiling as he handed Ning a book. “This book has a record of all the Immortal-ranked and Pure Yang treasures.”

Ning nodded and accepted the book.

“There’s actually a total of twenty-eight Pure Yang treasures.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “And that’s in addition to the Sole-Ki Nine Elements Pearls and the Ananda World-Swords. All of the Pure Yang treasures that Master left behind are fine specimens.”

Amongst the best Pure Yang treasures, there were a few that were especially powerful. All of them were set treasures, and the very best ones had their own specialties; it was hard to say which was the definitive best.

The ‘Eight Fires Qiankun World’, for example, had been forged by Elder God Zhurong, who had already fallen during the war that ended the Primordial Era. It had been forged with incomparably precious treasures into the form of eight lotus petals. When the eight lotus petals completely bloomed, they could unleash eight powerful streaks of truefire! It must be understood that the entire Three Realms only contained nine types of truefire, but this Eight Fires Qiankun World included eight of them!

In addition, Elder God Zhurong had fused some marvelous formations into this treasure of his. Once all eight types of truefire were merged together into one, they would possess utterly earth-shattering destructive power.

Pure Yang True Immortals would most likely only be able to flee in the face of this power. Only Empyrean Gods with powerful divine bodies would dare to fight it head-on. Most importantly of all…this was an large-scale area attack that was the size of a world. It could absolutely destroy everything within its range! Thus, the Eight Fires Qiankun World, despite ‘merely’ being a single top-grade Pure Yang treasure, was worth more than a hundred ‘ordinary’ top-grade Pure Yang treasures!

There was also the ‘Grand Bloodshadow Formation of the Heavens’. It was composed of a total of ninety-nine top-grade Pure Yang treasures, and once they joined together to form ninety-nine bloodshadow clones, they would have similarly astonishingly might.

“Alas, there are no sword-formations, which is what I need.” Ning shook his head. Although there were flying swords amongst the treasures, Ning need a total of more than seven hundred Pure Yang flying swords. The vault which Daoist Threelives had left behind simply didn’t include that many items.

The finest sets of top-grade Pure Yang treasures which Daoist Threelives had stored in his vault were some of the finest treasures of the Three Realms, capable of allowing any Empyrean God or True Immortal to instantly become far more powerful. Unfortunately…Ji Ning was no ordinary Empyrean God or True Immortal. He had reached the fourth stage of heartforce already. Once he mastered the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] and the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], he was already a supreme figure amongst his peers. The amount of benefit these treasures would bring him was very limited.

He was simply too powerful already. He didn’t need too much outside support.

Or, to put it a different way…

The outside support he needed had to be of a tremendously powerful level.

Ning would naturally be willing to risk his very life to acquire a Chaos treasure, but those were far too precious and rare. Not even most Daofathers or True Gods were in possession of one! One of the reasons why Daoist Threelives had been so powerful was precisely because once his [Starseizing Hand] reached the Sixth Cycle, his hands had become as powerful as Chaos treasures!

Chaos treasures…only the primordial chaos could give birth to treasures of such astonishing, heaven-shaking power.

……

Ning left the Starseizing Manor to visit his master, Subhuti.

Within Subhuti’s Daoist monastery.

“Master,” Ning called out respectfully.

“What is it?” Subhuti looked towards Ning.

“Your disciple wishes to train in the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], but needs some materials to do so. These materials are very hard to gather. Your disciple is willing to exchange treasures for them with you, Master,” Ji Ning said. The Xia Emperor had once wanted to come up with enough treasures for Ning to train to the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], but…not even most True Gods or Daofathers were in possession of those treasures. Most likely, they would have to seek out friends and gather the items from many places.

But of course, Ji Ning naturally had sufficient treasures to engage in the necessary trading.

During the Realmwar alone, Ning had acquired multiple Pure Yang treasures and two Protocosmic spirit-treasures. However, those Pure Yang treasures were not part of a set. Daoist Threelives had collected multiple sets of top-grade treasures, which was exceedingly rare. The total number of treasures, however, was enough to trade for the necessary materials for him to reach the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

As for the likes of the Eight Fires Qiankun World or the Grand Bloodshadow Formation of the Heavens? Any single one of those sets would be enough to trade for the necessary materials.

“As your master, I have yet to give you any gifts for your breakthrough into the Empyrean God level.” Subhuti shook his head. “You can consider the materials needed to reach the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] as a gift from me. However, although I’m able to give you the materials needed for the Fifth Cycle…I’m not able to give you the materials you will need for the Sixth Cycle.”

“Your disciple understands.” Ning nodded.

Almost all the items that could be used for him to cultivate his hands to the Chaos treasure level were only locatable within the primordial chaos, and extremely rare as well.

In the past, Daoist Threelives had been lucky enough to encounter a piece of golden starstone in the primordial chaos. After analyzing the starstone for countless years, he came up with a way to use the starstone, along with many other materials he had located within the primordial chaos, to develop the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]. Treasures like that golden starstone, however, were incredibly rare. Per what Daoist Threelives had said back then, Daoist Three Purities had also encountered a piece of golden starstone, and had eventually used it to create the Immortal Slaying Sword’s sword-diagram.

“Tell which materials you need,” Subhuti said.

“Yes.” Ning began to list them out one by one.

Subhuti raised an eyebrow. Smiling, he said, “This is actually rather difficult. I’ll need to go find some of my old friends to acquire them. Wait a bit.” Subhuti closed his eyes and sat there quietly for a few moments. A short while later, a spatial vortex appeared next to him and an old man dressed in Daoist robes appeared within it. The old man handed Subhuti a brocade sack, then disappeared.

Ning understood that the ‘old man’ was actually a created incarnation of his master.

“It’s all here.” A brocade sack and a gourd appeared within Subhuti’s hands. “This sack has the materials you need, while the gourd contains the Great Firmament Immortal pills from Daofather Crimsonbright. There are more than enough pills for you to train to the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].”

As he spoke he waved his hand, causing the brocade sack and the gourd to float towards Ji Ning.

Ning accepted the items. “Thank you, Master.” His heart was filled with delight.

After training to reach the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], he would be able to acquire the relics left behind by Daoist Threelives. And, even more importantly, his hands would become comparable to top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures in might! Top-grade Protocosmic treasures…they were second only to Chaos treasures. In addition, once Ning used [Three Heads, Six Arms], he would essentially have access to the equivalent of six top-grade Protocosmic weapons.

Protocosmic spirit-treasures weren’t rare, as Ning had quite a few, as did the Xia Emperor. But top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures…Ning hadn’t even acquired a single one thus far!

“What are you planning to do next?” Subhuti said, looking at Ning.

Ning replied respectfully, “Your disciple intends to roam the Three Realms, tempering my Dao-heart in the mortal dust and meditating on my sword-arts.”

If his heartforce could make yet another breakthrough to the fifth stage…

Although thus far, Houyi had been the only one capable of it, making his own chances quite low…if he really did succeed, then he would become supremely powerful even amongst True Gods and Daofathers. Ning had a feeling that the fifth stage of heartforce could only be found within the red dust of the mortal world.

This was one of the reasons why Eastbreak and many of the others who had reached the fourth stage of heartforce often spent most of their time roaming the Three Realms.

Heartforce wasn’t something that could be forced. Thus, Ning would still spend most of his time tempering his sword-arts.

“Also, I’d like to ask you for some help, Master,” Ning said respectfully.

“Help?” Subhuti looked at Ning.

Ning nodded. “The storm is now upon us, and the wars between us and the Seamless Gate are unceasing. I want to ask you, Master, to help me seek out opportunities to fight them. Alternately, give me targets to attack. I’ll wipe some of the Seamless Gate’s headquarters and lairs.”

“Targets to attack?” Subhuti was surprised. “That’ll make the Seamless Gate go berserk.”

The Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance were like two massive armies that were facing each other.

The Nuwa Alliance had its major worlds, while the Seamless Gate has major worlds of its own. Both sides would assault each other while defending against enemy assaults.

There were some extremely formidable Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in the Three Realms, but they would at most appear during a Realmwar. Outside of a Realmwar, they wouldn’t dare launch an assault against a headquarters of the Seamless Gate.

“If you launch a direct assault against one of their headquarters…although I can’t sense any danger at present, once you attack they might send their full force against you,” Subhuti said worriedly. “This is going to be extremely risky. To launch sneak attacks without an army supporting you…it will be very, very risky. Even if you succeed, you’ll only succeed once or twice. Those successes will enrage the Seamless Gate, and they will come up with ways to set traps for you. If you repeatedly attack them and ambush them, you’ll probably end up being trapped and ambushed by them instead.”

Ning nodded. “I understand. That’s exactly what I want, for them to be enraged, for them to go berserk. The more berserk they become, the more I will attack them and the more of them I will kill.”

“Do you have to do this?” Subhuti looked at Ning. He didn’t understand. The more powerful one was, the more one would understand how important it was to protect one’s self during a war.

Launching sneak attacks…yes, the chances of success would be very high, but without an army supporting you, if you failed, you would become easily entrapped and perhaps even lose your life. Even if you succeeded, you would become a top-priority target of the Seamless Gate!

“I have to.” Ning nodded.

“You are now quite formidable, and you are capable of commanding a Heaven Punisher. The Seamless Gate will have to pay an enormous price to deal with you. Thus, they’ll treat you exactly the way they do the likes of Lu Dongbin. They won’t actively act against you, as you have already reached a high level of power. The reason why they wanted to kill you earlier was because you were weak, because you hadn’t grown up yet,” Subhuti said.

You had to nip potential threats in the bud. Once they actually became serious threats, however…by then, the Seamless Gate wouldn’t really be willing to pay the enormous price necessary to get rid of them.

“Please help me, Master,” Ning said respectfully. Where were the headquarters of the Seamless Gate? Which ones were the best to assault? Which ones should be left untouched? Patriarch Subhuti would be thousands of times better than him in making these decisions.

“Can you tell me the reason?” Subhuti looked at Ning.

“I am going to rescue Yu Wei,” Ning said.

“Rescue? She’s not dead?” Subhuti was shocked. “She isn’t dead…how do you know this?”

Ning nodded. “She’s not dead. Her soul is currently suffering unspeakable torments at the hands of the Godking within his Infinity Hells. The reason I know this is because prior to this, the Godking tried to force me to join him. He told me that if I didn’t join him, he would have her suffer endless torment.”

Subhuti instantly understood.

He couldn’t help but look carefully at this disciple of his. He could completely imagine how agonizing this choice had to be for him. And yet…despite feeling such despair, his disciple had actually been able to break through in power and reverse the course of an entire Realmwar.

“I am going to rescue her, and this is the only method available to me,” Ning said. “I’m going to kill them. Kill, kill, kill them! Kill them until they are enraged. If they send one person to deal with me, I’ll kill one; if they send ten, I’ll kill the entire group. I’ll kill them until they rage turns to fear, until their fear turns to regret, until they finally come to make peace with me! But I’ll only stop my slaughter once they release her.”

“I have to slaughter them until they truly regret it. Only then would they be willing to release her.” Ning looked at Subhuti. “This is the only way I can rescue her. Please help me, Master.”

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Chapter 8 – The Relics of Threelives

Chapter 8 – The Relics of Threelives

Subhuti looked at Ji Ning. He was silent for a few moments, then said slowly, “You are taking a tremendous risk. You are trying to force the Seamless Gate’s hand…but to force them to make peace with you…to make the proud, exalted Seamless Gate sue for peace…that is going to be incredibly hard. You should understand what sort of a path you have decided on.”

“Your disciple understand.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all.

This was a path filled with danger and death!

Even though Daofathers wouldn’t personally intervene, the Seamless Gate still had other methods at their disposal for dealing with Ning. For example, using human wave tactics! They could hide a Realmwar’s worth of Immortals and Fiendgods into an estate-type magic treasure an attack Ning, or produce multiple Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on Lu Dongbin’s level and have them surround Ning! Sufficiently high numbers of Immortals and Fiendgods could threaten even Daofathers, to say nothing of Ning.

Ning would be walking on a tightrope! The path forward led to success…but falling off on either side would lead to death!

“Alright,” Subhuti said softly. “If you push yourself far enough, sometimes a miracle will happen. The only thing I can do is help you locate appropriate targets amongst the headquarters of the Seamless Gate. Everything else will be up to you.”

“Thank you, Master.” Ning was overjoyed.

“You have to be as careful as possible,” Subhuti instructed. He himself had only learned just now that this disciple of his had made the choice to thrust Yu Wei into the Infinity Hells. Subhuti couldn’t help but sigh, yet remained powerless to change things.

“Go.” Subhuti nodded, then closed his eyes.

Ning bowed respectfully, then turned and left the Daoist monastery.

After leaving, Ning returned back to his own residence, then entered the Still Room of the Starseizing Manor.

He seated himself atop the netherwater jade bed, then took out the brocade sack and the gourd.

“First, the [Starseizing Hand].”

Instantly, five streaks of light flew out from the brocade sack and swirled around him in the air in a pentagon. They shone brilliantly with dazzling golden light, warm blue light, vigorous azure light, fierce red light, and ponderous yellow light. They contained such deep concentrations of Five Elements essence that one could sense them clearly, even without engaging in training.

Those crystals that were glowing with a watery blue light, for example…the tiny pile of crystals gave off a sensation akin to a vast, endless sea.

Whooooosh.

Ning shut his eyes as the surrounding Five Elements essences began to surge towards him.

Training in the [Starseizing Hand] and the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was quite fast; both techniques were techniques that involved training the physical body to become as powerful as magic treasures. Thus, the only requirements were fully understanding how the techniques worked and having enough materials. It was the same as actually forging a treasure.

A day later.

Ning walked out from the Still Room and arrived in the main hall. He immediately saw the giant yellow bear, Redsnow, and the rest of the seven.

“Congratulations.” The giant yellow bear clasped his furry paws together and bowed. “You’ve mastered the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], and your starseizing hands are now comparable to Protocosmic spirit-treasures. Ji Ning, these two mighty divine abilities alone are enough to allow you to roam the Three Realms without fear.”

“With your arcane art having reached the Ninth Cycle, you are now almost invulnerable. Congratulations,” Redsnow said as well.

“It would be wonderful if I could also become apprenticed to Patriarch Subhuti and learn the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art],” the child-sized Primelight said, shaking his head and sighing. “The Manorlord and elder brother Redsnow have both become apprenticed to Subhuti. Redsnow in particular…he’s absolutely ancient, but he’s shameless enough to force his way into becoming our Manorlord’s ‘junior apprentice-brother’. And he chose to start learning the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] shortly after he joined their school!”

“I want to learn it as well.” The alluring Snow Scorpion looked towards Ning.

“Which Empyrean God wouldn’t?” Ninefangs mumbled to himself, “Back when I was just a minor soldier under the command of the Godking, all I was qualified to do was to listen to him lecture. Even now, I can’t actually learn his techniques.”

Everyone else began to grumble and grouse. As for Ning and Redsnow, they just listened, not daring to say a thing.

In truth, this was something which virtually every single Empyrean God of the Three Realms felt jealous over. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] had long been revered as the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True Immortal level! However, training in this divine ability was simply too insanely expensive, especially for the Ninth Cycle; the price for that was far greater than the price for reaching the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

Even Daofathers would feel heartache upon paying such a price.

Ning and the seven Empyrean Gods had rendered major merits during the Realmwar without taking any share of the spoils, which was why Daofather Crimsonbright, a True God and Daofather who had been born from the primordial chaos, had been able to swallow the painful price necessary to provide Ning with that gourd of Immortal pills.

“Look at the sour looks on each of your faces. Enough, enough!” The giant yellow bear hurriedly urged, “Hurry up and have Ji Ning go and break apart the seals which Master left behind. Let’s go see those three treasures.”

“Right! Those three treasures.”

“I wonder what those three treasures are?”

“Manorlord, hurry up and go take a look.”

“Come straight back and tell us right away.”

The eyes of Primelight, Snow Scorpion, and the others all lit up. They no longer grumbled or spoke words of jealousy, and instead urged Ning to go take a look right away.

“I’m quite curious as well. Wait for me here. I’ll come back shortly and inform you all.” Ning immediately left behind the main hall.

Soon, the giant yellow bear and Ji Ning arrived at that spatial corridor, as well as the glowing formation that lay at the end of the corridor.

“Break.” Ning slapped out with a palm, transforming it and making it three hundred meters in size. His palm carried a terrifying aura of power with it; it was like the heavens themselves were smashing downwards. The power of his palms was noticeably greater than it had been before. When Ning’s palm slapped down against the protective formation, a layer of light flowed across its surface as a rune that looked similar to the Starseizing Tattoo appeared on it.

Ning’s Starseizing Tattoo and the rune merged together.

Whoosh! The formation simply disappeared, as though having been blown away by a gust of wind. Ning immediately saw the wooden door in front of him.

He walked forward, immediately pushing it open. Creaaaaak. The door swung open.

“Big bear, let’s go in together.” Ning turned to look at the giant yellow bear.

“No, no. Master’s orders were explicit; only the new Manorlord is allowed to enter.” The giant bear shook his head. “Those treasures aren’t for me anyhow. After you come out, just tell me what they are and let me take a look at them. I’ll be satisfied with that.”

Ning nodded, then stepped inside the room without any further attempts at persuasion. As he entered…his surroundings changed.

“Eh?” Ning was stunned. This was a very ordinary little room. Within the room was a prayer mat, and atop the prayer mat sat a bald, one-armed man who was dressed in fur clothes. He looked towards Ning with a hooded gaze. Ning could immediately recognize this man; it was Daoist Threelives. When Ning had been taught the [Starseizing Hand] divine ability, he had personally seen Daoist Threelives’ appearance.

“You have arrived.” The man spoke.

Ning instantly understood that this was nothing more than part of the spell left behind by his teacher. These words had been spoken by Daoist Threelives long ago.

“For you to enter this place means that you have already mastered the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]. I, Threelives, finally have a successor.” A calm, distant look was in Daoist Threelives’ eyes. “When I was alive, I wasn’t able to find a good successor. For me to find one after I die…it is enough. I don’t have any requests to make of you. I only ask that you treat with kindness those who have decided to continue to protect the Starseizing Estate. I suspect that Redsnow will stay behind, but I am uncertain about the rest. The heart is hard to fathom, after all. When I was alive, they were loyal to me…but after I die, it’s hard to say. As for the guardians…I hope that you will treat them kindly. If there are any Pure Yang treasures within the Treasures Hall which suit them, please give them to them.”

“As for you…I have prepared these three top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures for you. I hope that you will survive to make yet another breakthrough, becoming a True God and a Daofather. Let my [Starseizing Hand] truly become renowned throughout the Three Realms.”

“I was able to develop the [Starseizing Hand] due to a series of lucky karmic encounters. Alas, although I am a True God, I was unable to master a Heavenly Dao and become a Daofather. Otherwise, my [Starseizing Hand] would become even more powerful.” Daoist Threelives shook his head. “But of course, that’s nothing more than a bit of empty pride. As for the path you shall take in the future, that will be entirely up to you. Even if you want to dissolve the Starseizing Manor and let everyone go their separate ways, that’s fine. I only ask that you treat the guardians of the Starseizing Manor with kindness.”

“Redsnow, Eastbreak, Primelight, Dragonsong…how many of them are willing to stay behind, I wonder?”

Daoist Threeelives then shook his head and chuckled. “Forget it, forget it.”

Whoosh.

His figure disappeared into thin air.

Ning was stunned for a moment…then he hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed heavily. He kowtowed in thanks for Daoist Threelives having shown him such kindness in transmitting the Dao to him. If it hadn’t been for the legacy of Daoist Threelives, Ning probably wouldn’t have been able to become as accomplished as he now was.

“Although many of the Immortals and Fiendgods under your command have left, there were still some who resolutely stood guard over the Starseizing Manor. Don’t worry about the seven of them. I will definitely treat them well,” Ning said solemnly. This was a solemn oath. No one had been around to force the seven of them to wait there patiently for so long. None of them had any idea as to how long they would have to wait, but they had been willing to do so. In truth, Ning himself felt tremendous admiration and respect for those seven Empyrean Gods.

Ning rose to his feet.

He waved his finger. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The lids atop the three boxes in front of the prayer mat all opened.

Within the box on the left was a large amount of beads, each of which emanated an utterly shocking aura.

The second box in the middle contained a small, seemingly-ragged wooden boat that was the size of his palm.

The third box on the right contained a small golden pagoda.

“So you are the new Manorlord of the Starseizing Manor?” A small bald monk dressed in golden robes emerged from the surface of the small golden pagoda. “You’ve finally come. We’ve been trapped here forever. I’ve gotten sick of this place long ago.”

“What’s the rush? Take things slow.” An old man dressed in simple clothes appeared from the small wooden boat. He looked like an old farmer.

“Finally.” A slender, handsome-looking child appeared in the air above the countless beads, seated in the lotus position. His gaze, however, was the fiercest and sharpest of the three.

“Go ahead and introduce yourselves, the three of you,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Old man, you speak first,” the handsome child said.

The simple old man nodded. “This old man is the spirit of this raggedy old boat. This boat is known as the Voidboat. Long ago, when Heaven and Earth were established, a bead of pure energy was formed from the essence of Heaven and Earth. After 84,000 years, this bead gave birth to the boat. It can shatter the Void itself. It moves so fast that in terms of speed, it was ranked as one of the top five treasures of the Primordial Era.”

“The Voidboat is very fast,” the handsome child said calmly. “During the Primordial Era, there were only two Chaos treasures that were suited for high-speed movements. One was in Mother Nuwa’s hands, while the other is in Daoist Three Purities’ hands. In the entire Primordial Era, only those two treasures surpassed the Voidboat. Based on what Threelives’ said, he prepared the Voidboat for you as a life-saving treasure.”

“I am meant for use in fleeing as well.” The small bald monk standing atop the small golden pagoda laughed merrily. “This little pagoda was formed from some unique treasures of the primordial chaos. It is extraordinarily profound and arcane, and was titled by Threelives as the ‘Nine Lives Pagoda’. Once you bind the this little tower to yourself, you can tap into the profound energy within the tower to create nine incarnations of yourself. These nine incarnations will all have power equal to your own. They can use fleeing divine abilities to flee at high speed, but when they do, they’ll use up the energy inside of them. Once the energy is all used up, the incarnations will dissipate.”

“Not even True Gods or Daofathers will be able to tell any of the nine incarnations apart from each other. However…you absolutely cannot allow these incarnations to actually fight people. Once they do, then the enemy will realize that the incarnation is not using divine power or Immortal energy and instantly realize that it isn’t ‘real’.”

“The nine incarnations are principally meant to allow you to flee and to distract the enemy, not for you to use them in combat. Their value lies in the fact that if they don’t engage in battle, there’s simply no way to tell which is real and which is not. Not even Mother Nuwa was able to tell them apart.” The bald little monk said confidently, “Daoist Threelives had been wondering as to whether or not to bring me into the war, but he heard from Nuwa that there would be extremely terrifying figures in this battle, and that the Nine Lives Pagoda wouldn’t be of much use within it. Thus, he left it behind.”

Ning was stunned. So both the Voidboat and the Nine Lives Tower were meant for fleeing?

During the war that destroyed the Primordial World, some of the major powers like Subhuti hid themselves, only occasionally intervening to rescue a few people. Threelives had known that the enemy was incredibly powerful, second only to Pangu. Even the Nine Lives Pagoda would be of limited use…but Threelives had still decided to go and face their foes head-on. He truly was a bold, valiant man.

“And you?” Ning looked towards the handsome child seated atop the beads.

The handsome child looked back at Ning. “Both of them are meant for fleeing. I, however…am meant for killing your foes.”

“He’s the supreme killing treasure,” the old man above the Voidboat agreed.

“He’s quite savage,” the small bald monk nodded.

The handsome child swept the two with a cold glance. Both of them beamed back at him in a rather silly manner. The handsome child then looked back towards Ning. “All three of us are top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures, but controlling them is fairly easy. I, however…I’m not something which ordinary Empyrean Gods or True Immortals can control. I am a supreme killing treasure. If you can’t control me, I urge you to hurry up and relinquish me to Daoist Three Purities and have him give you a more appropriate treasure in exchange.”

“Can’t control?” Ning was startled briefly, then laughed. “You haven’t even told me your name.”

“Bind me first,” the handsome child said coldly. “If you can control me…then I’ll tell you my name.”

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Chapter 9 – The Thirty-Six Heavens

“Alright.”

Ji Ning instantly willed the pile of beads to fly into the air. They spread out like a dazzling river of stars, filling the entire room.

“3600 beads,” Ning mused softly to himself, then chuckled. “Bind.”

His Pure Yang energy spread out in 3600 streaks, covering each and one of the beads with his power. He bound them in but an instant, leaving behind his soul imprint upon them. Protocosmic spirit-treasures were the easiest of all treasures to bind; as long as the spirit of the treasure didn’t resist, then even mortals would be able to bind them by dripping a drop of blood onto them, which would create the necessary soul imprint within the spirit-treasure.

Upon binding the beads, Ning instantly could sense everything that was held within the 3600 beads. He instantly sucked in a cold breath. “This restrictive spell…”

It was so profound as to be illegible and incomprehensible. It was vast, profound, arcane, and utterly unfathomable.

“Hmph. I imagine you’ve just discovered the seals?” The handsome child said with cold arrogance, “The primordial chaos is filled with countless stars. Once a star dies, its essence will be crystallized into a crystal core. When Pangu established Heaven and Earth, some of these crystal cores entered Pangu’s World by happenstance. These 3600 crystal cores were nourished by the energy of Pangu’s newly formed world, resulting in them transforming into the stargold beads. Every single stargold bead is a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, and is capable of transforming into almost anything, including swords and sabers. These 3600 beads resonate with each other, forming a perfect whole. They definitely are the most supreme of Protocosmic spirit-treasures.”

“Eventually, Daoist Three Purities acquired me. Daoist Three Purities, after mastering Yin and Yang, began to rove the primordial chaos. Thanks to a stroke of great karmic luck, he ended up discovering a set of nine chaos seals. He could sense that these nine chaos seals were unspeakably profound, and so he decided to erase the many previous seals that he had placed within me, replacing them with the nine chaos seals.”

“As a result, the power of these beads increased dramatically.”

“However, these chaos seals were simply too unfathomable and mysterious.” The handsome child looked towards Ning, then said proudly, “Even in the Primordial Era, there was not a single person who was capable of fully binding and controlling the nine chaos seals.”

“No one at all?” Ning was shocked.

“These are chaos seals! They appeared within the primordial chaos and contain utterly unfathomable mysteries,” the handsome child said confidently. “Back then, Daoist Three Purities had invited Mother Nuwa herself to try to bind them, but even she had been only capable of binding the eighth chaos seal. But of course, Mother Nuwa only spent three years trying; if she spent a few trillion more years, she probably would’ve been able to completely master bind them all.”

Ning was truly stunned now.

Mother Nuwa had been incredibly powerful, but it had taken even her a full three years to master the eighth chaos seal.

It made sense.

Daoist Threelives had placed the treasures in this place prior to the war that destroyed the Primordial Era. Thus, back then Mother Nuwa hadn’t mastered the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos and hadn’t reached Pangu’s level.

“Daoist Three Purities kept me by his side for countless years, but was only able to bind the seventh chaos seal.” The handsome child said confidently, “The chaos seals were immaculately born by the primordial chaos itself. How could mere human power compare to it?”

“The Nine Chaos Seals might be formidable, but during that great war, Mother Nuwa ended up breaking through to reach Pangu’s level.” Ning chuckled, “If Mother Nuwa was to try again, I’d imagine she’d be able to succeed this time.”

“Pangu’s level?” The handsome child was surprised.

“What? Mother Nuwa reached Pangu’s level?” The old man above the wooden ship was shocked as well.

“Simply incredible.” The small bald monk’s face was filled with veneration.

“It’d be wonderful if I ended up in Mother Nuwa’s hands! Only then could I be used to my full potential.” A look of desire was in the handsome child’s eyes.

Ning laughed and ‘berated’ him, “You brat, not even Daoist Three Purities used you, to say nothing of Mother Nuwa.”

“Daoist Three Purities has Chaos treasures.” The handsome child’s voice was filled with some degree of resentment. “Every single Chaos treasure was born from the primordial chaos. They are born with chaos seals within them that are perfectly joined together, and thus they possess tremendous power. Although I have chaos seals within me as well, they were added in later. Naturally, that makes them a bit inferior.”

The small bald monk teased, “The main issue is that you are too hard to bind and control. In the end, not a single one of the major disciples of Daoist Three Purities was willing to use you.”

“That’s because they have no vision.” The handsome child shook his head disdainfully.

Daoist Three Purities was the leader of the Daoist Path. He had many treasures, and was a master at refining pills and forging artifacts. He was thus able to infuse the nine chaos seals he found into the stargold beads, but it had still been extremely hard to do! He had many treasures but only a few disciples. He had given each of his most favored disciples, including Lu Dongbin a chance to acquire the stargold beads, but in the end they had each decided to forgo the beads and had chosen other treasures.

Ning laughed, “Perhaps after one masters all nine of the chaos seals, your power will be simply extraordinary…but even Daoist Three Purities was only able to master seven of the seals. His disciples naturally understood that treasures that suited them would be better choices.”

“But I’m the supreme killing treasure!” The handsome child stared at Ning in an extremely prideful manner. “Do you know? Daoist Three Purities used me as the master blueprint for his creation of the sword-diagram for his Immortal Slaying Swords.”

“Oh?” Ning was surprised.

“The Immortal Slaying Swords’ sword-diagrams were modeled after my nine chaos seals. Daoist Three Purities joined four mighty Chaos swords together, then infused them with seven layers of seals of his own devising. That’s the reason why it has such extraordinary power, and why the Immortal Slaying Swords were reputed to be the number one killing treasure of the Primordial Era. But in terms of the profoundness of the seals? The seven seals which Daoist Three Purities devised simply cannot compare to the nine chaos seals inside me.” The handsome child looked at Ning. “Daoist Three Purities said himself that even though I am ‘only’ a supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasure, anyone capable of mastering and controlling all nine chaos seals would be able to unleash a level of power that was no lower than that of his Immortal Slaying Sword Formation. That’s why I’m the supreme killing treasure!”

“Honestly, he’s the only one who calls himself that.” The old man on the boat snickered.

“More like the meanest killing treasure,” the small bald monk agreed.

“Anyone capable of binding all nine seals would probably be on Pangu’s level. By then, every single casual punch or kick would be comparable to the power of the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation,” Ning laughed.

“You guys…!” The handsome child was frantic with rage.

“Enough, enough. You are pretty formidable.” Ning laughed. “Let me give those nine chaos seals a test first.”

“You have to be able to bind at least one of the chaos seals if you want to be able to control me at all. Otherwise…the only way you’ll be able to use me is as little balls to throw at people. It’d be a complete waste of my status as the supreme killing treasure.” The handsome child said arrogantly, “Very, very few Empyrean Gods or True Immortals can master even the first chaos seal. Generally speaking, it’s impressive for even Daofathers to be able to master three of the chaos seals. Daoist Three Purities had to spend countless years in order to master seven of them.”

Ning just sat down in the lotus position, completely focusing his heart and mind on binding the chaos seals.

Rumble…

The 3600 stargold beads levitated in the air above Ning, glowing with light as dark golden runes flowed over them, transforming as they did so. No matter how long one stared at them, the divine runes would constantly change and appear different from the ones that came before.

These were the chaos seals!

They would constantly change, never remaining constant and forever transforming. It was like the circular ratio, ‘pi’, of the human world, a number that stretched off into infinity with no pattern. The chaos seals were similarly without any pattern or end. The only way to master them was to master the fundamental essence that lay beneath them. When Daoist Three Purities had found the nine chaos seals, he had been stunned and shocked by them. He had spent a total of 120,000 years in the primordial chaos meditating on them. After sensing that he had gained a basic understanding of them, he had chosen to infuse the nine chaos seals into the 3600 stargold beads.

But alas…he had only been able to completely copy and infuse the nine chaos seals into the beads! As to comprehending and mastering them? He was far from it!

“Simply inconceivable. So the chaos seals are actually this arcane and profound.” Ning’s mind was completely focused on the seals. He felt like an ordinary mortal on Earth who was staring at the vast, seemingly infinite stars of the Milky Way. He wasn’t capable of knowing what was on a single one of those stars…and yet, before him lay the entire Milky Way…

This caused Ning to feel a sense of despair that halted him in his very tracks.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Simply stunning.

This was definitely the most profound, the most stunning seal which Ning had ever seen! Not even the mysteries of the Heavenly Daos could even come close to comparing to these nine chaos seals.

“Let me focus on the first chaos seal for now.”

Ning focused all of his efforts into understanding the most basic, the most simple, and most rudimentary chaos seal; the first seal. By now, Ning was applying the full force of his powerful heartforce in analyzing the chaos seals. This was extremely taxing on his heartforce and extremely exhausting. However, thanks to the fact that his heartforce had reached the fourth stage, Ning was able to force his way into completely binding and mastering the first chaos seal in one try.

The first of the nine chaos seals began to wriggle about like a tiny tadpole…then completely disappeared, having fallen under Ning’s control.

Ning opened his eyes. His eyes were filled with strange divine runes which flowed through them.

“No wonder my master, Daoist Threelives, procured this treasure for me.” After mastering the first chaos seal, Ning instantly understood. “The disciples of Daoist Three Purities are most likely all extremely close to the Daofather level. I, however…I’ve only mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword. I haven’t even mastered the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, to say nothing of the Heavenly Dao of Water.”

Although he was extremely powerful, his power came from his heartforce and his divine abilities. As for the Dao? Ning was very, very far away from being able to comprehend the Heavenly Dao of Water. The likes of Patriarch Lu, Silvermoon, and Redsnow had long ago mastered multiple Grand Daos. They were extremely close to mastering a Heavenly Dao; in fact, some of them had reached the final bottlenecks. Upon breaking through the final bottlenecks, they would become Daofathers! Ning, however, hadn’t even mastered the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop. He was very, very far from their level.

“So the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop was this simple.” Ning could clearly sense that his insights into the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop was rising at a simply monstrous rate.

After having encountered the incomparably profound and exalted chaos seals, he could sense that mastering the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop would become far simpler.

“This treasure is tremendously beneficial to me in comprehending the Dao and in improving my sword-arts. Compared to those seals…my sword-arts are simply too crude.” Ning had already found the right direction for himself.

“Condense.” Ning willed it, and whoosh! The 3600 stargold beads actually began to merge together. Every ten beads joined into one, resulting in a total of 360 larger goldstar beads. Ning, however, felt great pressure when he did this.

“Condense!” Light flashed in Ning’s eyes. He was forced to employ his heartforce. With heartforce guiding his Immortal energy, he was able to cause the 360 goldstar beads to once more merge together to form a total of 36 goldstar beads. Every single goldstar bead emanated an utterly shocking amount of power. By now, controlling them was just as hard as controlling a perfect Heaven Punisher; he had to employ his heartforce in order to succeed.

“What?! You are able to condense me into the Thirty-Six Heavens?” The handsome child levitating next to Ning cried out in shock.

“How can that be?!”

“Just controlling those 3600 beads is incredibly difficult. Only a fraction of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the universe are even able to bind and control them. As for controlling the supreme Thirty-Six Heavens, there are no Empyrean Gods or True Immortals who can do such a thing. This is something which only Daofathers can do!” The small bald monk was shocked as well. He turned to look towards the handsome child. “Were you just bragging in the past and spouting hot air in front of us?”

“It is true that only Daofathers can perfectly bind the beads into forming the Thirty-Six Heavens.” The handsome child repeatedly shook his head. “Daoist Three Purities had his most formidable disciples all give it a try, but none of them were able to succeed. If they were, there’s no way they would’ve been willing to give me up.”

He stared towards Ning in disbelief.

Ning, however, was completely occupied by the sensation of unearthly might that came from the Thirty-Six Heavens.

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Chapter 10 – Leaving the Mountain

Chapter 10 – Leaving the Mountain

“What a treasure.” Ji Ning stared at the thirty-six hovering stargold beads. After the thousands of beads had condensed into thirty-six, every single bead contained utterly enormous amounts of power. In addition, every single bead contained a heavenly world within it, with each one being comparable in size to the Grand Xia! However, these Thirty-Six Heavens were only capable of persisting for a short period of time.

Only when the 3600 beads were compressed into 36 beads would they transform into the Thirty-Six Heavens. Once Ning withdrew his heartforce and his energy, the Thirty-Six Heavens would once more disperse back into a cluster of thousands of tiny stars.

“The Thirty-Six Heavens. Each one of them is comparable to a major world. Even I you just smashed people with them, they would still possess enormous power. However, controlling them is quite onerous, at least as onerous as commanding a perfect Heaven Punisher.” Ning realized that keeping these beads in the Thirty-Six Heavens form was extremely difficult and tiring. The reason why he could do it was because he had powerful heartforce and a soul heartforce technique. There really weren’t many Empyrean Gods or True Immortals who could do what he did.

“Transform.” Ning willed it, and the Thirty-Six Heavens hovering in the air instantly began to transform in shape, first transforming into thirty-six flying spears, then into thirty-six battle standards, and then into thirty-six hoops.

“Master, these stargold beads can transform into a myriad of things,” the handsome child said.

“Eh?” Ning came to a halt. Glancing at the handsome child, he said with a calm smile, “Am I hearing things? Did you just call me ‘Master’?”

The palm-sized child stood there in midair. He said solemnly, “Master, you were able to bind and control the frst of the nine chaos seals. You were even able to condense the 3600 stargold beads into the Thirty-Six Heavens. I imagine that there are very few Empyrean Gods or True Immortals in the entire Three Realms who can compare to you, Master. To be able to follow you is my good fortune.”

“Whaaaa?” The old man atop the wooden boat stared wide-eyed.

“You were so mean-looking earlier. Now, all of a sudden, you’ve become so meek?” The small bald monk mumbled to himself as well.

“Master is very formidable.” The handsome child swept them with his gaze, then said icily, “You are fortunate to be able to follow him. I will naturally follow him with complete willingness. In the future…I might have some karmic luck of my own as well.”

The handsome child then looked towards Ning, a scorching heat in his gaze. “Long ago, Daoist Three Purities had his most powerful disciples test me out, but not a single one of them was capable of immediately mastering the Thirty-Six Heavens. In fact, Daoist Three Purities once said that this was something which only True Gods and Daofathers would be able to do. But you, Master…you did it!”

This little fellow’s flattery skills were quite extraordinary.

“I have a question,” Ning said. “What is the name of this treasure?”

“The Stargold Beads of the Heavens,” the handsome child said. “When I was first born, before the nine chaos seals were fused into me, I was already capable of transforming into the Thirty-Six Heavens! Although shifting me into that form is very difficult, once one can do so, it’ll be like one can strike against foes with the combined power of thirty-six major worlds! But of course…the amount of power you’ll actually be able to control will be up to your abilities, Master.”

“The Stargold Beads of the Heavens?” Ning nodded. “Is the transformation into the Thirty-Six Heavens the ultimate form? But why is it that I have a strange feeling that it shouldn’t be?”

“Master, you’ve noticed it as well?” The handsome child was surprised.

Ning looked at him.

“Daoist Three Purities and Mother Nuwa discovered it as well,” the handsome child said hurriedly. “The form with the 3600 beads is the first and most ordinary form. The second form has 360 beads, while the third form has the 36 beads that comprise the Thirty-Six Heavens. This should be the ultimate form, but…both Daoist Three Purities and Mother Nuwa had the feeling that there should be way to merge all 3600 beads into one. Upon doing so…they can transform into an actual star, like the Solar Star or the Lunar Star. However, neither Mother Nuwa nor Daoist Three Purities were able to come up with such a way.”

Ning now understood. To combine them all into one? It seems his senses weren’t off. However, if neither Mother Nuwa nor Daoist Three Purities had been able to accomplish it…this would clearly be a very, very difficult path to tread.

As for what would happen when they all fused into one…if it would be able to transform into a star like the Solar Star or Lunar Star…that was just the conjecture of Mother Nuwa and Daoist Three Purities.

“This treasure is extremely hard to control. It’s not very suitable for others, but it’s perfectly suited for me. In all the Three Realms…I am the number one Empyrean God and True Immortal when it comes to ‘control’.” Ning felt quite delighted with himself. Although his divine abilities were formidable those were only of use in close combat. A straight application of heartforce in combat used it up at an astonishing rate.

Divine archers, for example, would use up all of their heartforce in just ten or so arrows.

Thus, treasures that could be used to attack at long range were very important. This was especially true because his soul heartforce technique, in and of itself, used up very little heartforce.

After binding the three Protocosmic spirit-treasures, Ning walked out of the room and returned to the main hall, where Redsnow and the others were frantic with impatience.

……

“Wow.”

“Incredible.”

Ning only disclosed the existence of the Voidboat and the Stargold Beads of the Heavens. As for the Nine Lives Pagoda, he kept that a secret. The other two items he would use quite often, and so there was no need to hide them. As for the pagoda, however, the more mysterious it was the better.

“I’ve already acquired the most powerful Pure Yang treasures which Master Threelives left behind,” Ning said. “Master left word and instructed me to be kind to the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who have stayed behind to guard the Starseizing Manor. If you need any treasures, just tell me. All of the Pure Yang treasures are listed within this book.”

Ning handed over the book which the giant yellow bear had given him. “All of you, take a look,” Ning immediately urged. These Pure Yang treasures were of limited help to him, and none of his family members such as Brightmoon, Autumn Leaf, Uncle White, or Mu Northson were Celestial Immortals. The only Celestial Immortal he was close to was his master, Diancai, but Ning had already prepared an even more suitable treasure for Immortal Diancai.

Immortal Diancai was a newly ascended Celestial Immortal, after all. If he acquired an excessively powerful treasure such as the Eight Fires Qiankun World…that would actually prove to be a calamity for him, not a blessing.

“Let me take a look.” Redsnow was the first to peruse the book.

“Me too.” Primelight craned his neck over to take a peek.

“Nice treasures.”

“The Pure Yang treasures which the Godking left behind are all quite nice.” They all praised the Godking’s treasures.

Redsnow looked towards Ning. “Ji Ning, Sunblaze and Darkmoon have been with the Godking for a long period of time, and so the Godking gave them suitable treasures long ago. Primelight was the Godking’s son, so he goes without saying. As for myself and Snow Scorpion…we were two of his commanders, and so the Godking gifted us with appropriate treasures long ago as well.”

“These treasures aren’t particularly important to us, but I believe Dovesnake needs a treasure. So does Ninefangs; back then, he was merely a Void-level Fiendgod. He only made his breakthrough to become an Empyrean God after much time passed.”

Dovesnake and Ninefangs both hesitated…but in the end, both nodded.

Dovesnake chose the Pure Yang treasure, ‘Yin-Yang Twin Poles Disc’. This could only be considered an above-average treasure amongst the many Pure Yang treasures Ning had, but Redsnow and the others all nodded in agreement. Clearly, the Yin-Yang Twin Poles Disc was extremely well-suited to Dovesnake. The ‘best treasure’ for a person wasn’t necessarily the most powerful treasure, it was the most suitable treasure.

Back when Dovesnake had followed the Godking, he hadn’t been particularly favored. This was because Dovesnake was a venomous Godbeast that looked docile but was actually savage. Threelives didn’t really like his personality that much! He preferred those who were open and aboveboard. Even if a subordinate was vicious and crafty, he preferred it when they were obvious about it.

As for Ninefangs, he ended up choosing an extremely powerful top-grade Pure Yang treasure, the Grand Bloodshadow Formation of the Heavens.

Ninefangs’ true form was that of a bat. The Grand Bloodshadow Formation of the Heavens was indeed very well-suited to Ninefangs. However, because this set was one of the best treasures which Ning had, Ninefangs had been extremely hesitant to choose it. Only after Redsnow and the other had encouraged him had he decided upon it. This caused Ninefangs to feel tremendous gratitude to Ning, and it further solidified his loyalty to Ning. After all, although Ning had said that this was on Threelives’ orders, Threelives’ had died long ago. It was completely up to Ning as to whether or not he was willing to hand these items over.

Ning himself honestly didn’t mind. There was no point in him having that many unused Pure Yang treasures by his side. If the Empyrean Gods under his command all had formidable treasures, that would increase the power of his strike force. That was a good thing.

……

“Master.” After having handled the above matters, Ning went by himself to meet with Patriarch Subhuti.

“Mm?” Subhuti was seated in the lotus position. He opened his eyes.

Ning said respectfully, “Your disciple is preparing to leave the mountain and to leave the Crescent world.”

“Have you finished your arrangements?” Subhuti asked.

“I’ve finished them.” Ning said respectfully, “Your disciple’s Primaltwin is going to stay with Brightmoon, Uncle White, Little Qing, Bluecliff Xiaoyu, and junior apprentice-brother Northson here at the Crescent world. The Crescent world is, at present, a rare oasis of peace within the Three Realms. I don’t wish for Brightmoon to be in danger, and so I’ll have my Primaltwin stay with her as she roams the Crescent world, allowing her to experience more things and grow up.”

Subhuti nodded. “Right. The army of Immortals that belongs to your Starseizer world…what formation do you plan on using with it? The Heaven Punisher Formation? True God Xingtian has nodded and permitted you to continue using it. I have other formations that you can use, but they are only on par with the Heaven Punisher Formation. Do you want to switch?”

“No need.” Ning shook his head. “Your disciple is already quite familiar with the Heaven Punisher. There’s one more thing I would ask of you, Master.”

“Speak.” Subhuti looked at Ning.

“Your disciple is going to act against the Seamless Gate, but first I want to deal with Youngflame Freak and Evergreen,” Ning said respectfully.

“Those two? Alright. Once an opportunity arises, I’ll notify you.” Subhuti nodded. “After you leave the Crescent world, you have to be careful.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded respectfully, then asked, “Should I have Redsnow stay here?”

“No need. I’ve already taught him what needs to be taught, and he’s already learned what he needs to learn. The rest is up to him,” Subhuti said.

Ning nodded. He was going to take the entire Starseizer world with him when he left. The seven Empyrean Gods would also follow his lead; he was the Manorlord, after all.

“Then I’ll go summon Redsnow and the others. After we are all gathered, please send us away, Master. Your disciple bids you farewell,” Ning said respectfully.

“Go.” Subhuti closed his eyes, and Ning respectfully began to walk away.

“You must be careful.” Subhuti’s voice once more rang out within Ning’s mind.

“Yes.” Ning was momentarily startled, then assented as he left.

……

The black-robed Ning led his daughter Brightmoon, Autumn Leaf, Uncle White, Little Qing, Mu Northson, and Bluecliff Xiaoyu down into the Crescent world, beginning their adventures through it.

“My daughter’s left the mountain.” Ning, Redsnow, and the others all stood there atop Mount Innerheart, watching from afar.

Whoosh.

A twisted spatial vortex suddenly appeared above the grasslands in front of them, leading to an unknown destination.

“Time to leave,” Ning said.

And so, Ning led his seven Empyrean Gods into the spatial vortex, leaving this garden world. What was awaiting Ning on the other side of the spatial vortex?

Naturally, a storm of blood!

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Chapter 11 – The Number One Sword Immortal of the Three Realms

Chapter 11 – The Number One Sword Immortal of the Three Realms

“The Grand Xia?”

Ji Ning and the seven Empyrean Gods appeared in midair. They immediately saw the imperial capital of the Grand Xia located directly beneath them.

“Master actually sent me to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia? Eh, might as well go pay a visit to my master, Diancai.” Ning turned and looked towards the seven nearby Empyrean Gods, then said, “I’m going to roam the Three Realms and temper myself in the red dust of the mortal world. Unless something comes up, there’s no need for you seven to always be following me. As I see it, you can go back to the Starseizer world for now. If there’s anything important, I’ll send a mental message to you.”

“That’s not acceptable”

“How can you have no subordinates by your side, Manorlord?”

Instantly, everyone began to argue against him.

“You are the new Manorlord of the Starseizing Manor. You aren’t a rogue cultivator!” Redsnow immediately argued, “If you don’t want all of us to follow you…then how about this? Let’s just have Ninefangs follow you and serve you.”

Ning was startled. He glanced towards Ninefangs.

Ninefangs was the last of the seven to break through to the Empyrean God level; when Daoist Threelives had been alive, he had merely been a Void-level Fiendgod. However, he physically looked the oldest. Upon hearing Redsnow’s words, Ninefangs hurriedly said, “Manorlord, when roaming the Three Realms, there will always be some minor, trifling matters to handle. We can’t let you be forced to personally deal with everything, can we?”

Having just acquired the Grand Bloodshadow Formation of the Heavens, Ninefangs was quite eager to show his gratitude.

“Fine, fine.” Ning nodded.

“Then the rest of us will return to the Starseizer world.” Redsnow and the rest of the six immediately departed, returning to the Starseizer world.

As for Ning, he first paid a visit to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia to visit Immortal Diancai, the Xia Emperor, and his cousin Yuchi Xiyue. Ning had originally planned on having his master Immortal Diancai accompany him, but Immortal Diancai declined. But of course, he didn’t decline the Pure Yang treasures which Ning gifted to him. He chatted with Ning for a long while, giving him some advice.

“Time to go.” Early next morning, the white-robed Ning walked out of his room, followed by the bald elder, Empyrean God Ninefangs. The two of them teleported straight out of the Grand Xia, heading towards a minor world.

The Three Realms had a trillion minor worlds. There were simply too many of them, and every so often old minor worlds would be destroyed and new minor worlds would be born. Thus, only a tiny number of these minor worlds were actually named!

The minor world which Ning and Ninefangs had headed towards, however, did have a name. It’s name was ‘East Phoenix’.

……

“East Phoenix world.” Ning stood at the peak of a mountain, the bald elder Ninefangs by his side.

“This is one of the Twenty-Seven Worlds of Fuju.” Ning swept it with his gaze, able to see to the very end of the East Phoenix world. “It lives up to its reputation as one of the places where Daofather Fuju once lived. East Phoenix world has countless different landscapes and far more cultivators than ordinary minor worlds. It even has a Celestial Immortal standing guard over it! It seems as though the three disciples of Daofather Fuju are quite cautious.”

“The exalted number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms…he actually perished, his soul lost forever.” Ninefangs shook his head and sighed.

Ning nodded slowly, sighing as well.

One of the reasons why Ning was voyaging across the Three Realms was in order to search for a way to allow his heartforce to break through once more. A second reason was to meditate on his sword-arts! If he couldn’t find the first, he would spend his time cultivating the second.

Naturally, Ning would pay a visit to the ‘Twenty-Seven Worlds of Daofather Fuju’!

Daofather Fuju…

He was born a human and trained as a Ki Refiner. He had become a Daofather of the Great Firmament during the Primordial Era, and became famous due to his sword. He had managed to train his swordforce all the way to the fifth level!

Swordforce was just like heartforce; it could also be divided into five levels.

If one reached the fifth stage of swordforce, one would be considered supreme even amongst True Gods and Daofathers. This Daofather Fuju became publicly acknowledged as the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms because, back when the Primordial Era had ended and the Three Realms Era began, he had created a supreme sword-art which had stunned the Three Realms…the [Five Treasures] sword-art. By relying on this sword-art, Daofather Fuju had become the indisputed number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms.

“According to the legends, Daofather Fuju’s sword was indescribably fast,” Ning sighed. “So fast that it surpassed the limits of speed established by the Dao of the Heavens. When ordinary True Gods or Daofathers fought against him, they wouldn’t even be able to block his sword. In power, he was very close to the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha. I imagine that he is on par with my master himself. But alas, such a peerless figure ended up dying within the primordial chaos.”

“We don’t even know how he died.” Ninefangs shook his head as well. There were records of the many events which had occurred after the Primordial Era ended. Primelight, Ninefangs, Snow Scorpion, and the others had been in seclusion for far too long; it was only after they emerged and began to read these records that they began to learn of these things.

During the Primordial Era, many major powers perished, including even Elder Gods.

During the Three Realms Era, there were naturally major powers who had perished as well!

One of the affairs that had particularly shocked the Three Realms was the death of Daofather Fuju. The only information that was known was that he had died in the primordial chaos. As for how he died or who killed him? Nothing was known. Someone who was publicly acknowledged as the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms, a figure who was comparable to Patriarch Subhuti and Old Man Yuan, and was extremely close to the Three Emperors of Mankind, Daoist Three Purities, and Lord Buddha in power…had died, just like that. Many were thoroughly stunned by this news. Subhuti and the others had searched for the reasons behind his death, but they hadn’t found anything.

After Fuju died…

The Twenty-Seven Worlds of Fuju became incredibly popular!

This was because when Daofather Fuju had trained in the sword, he would sometimes leave behind some of his sword-arts on the mountains or in underground caves when the mood struck him. These remnants of his sword-arts contained unfathomable power which not even Empyrean Gods or True Immortals would dare touch. When Daofather Fuju had been alive, his disciples would often go to these twenty-seven worlds to analyze the sword-arts he had left behind.

As for the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms? They generally wouldn’t have a chance to do so. But then, Daofather Fuju died. His disciples were merely Empyrean Gods and True Immortals; they naturally wouldn’t dare to keep these twenty-seven worlds for themselves.

Thus…they opened the worlds up to the public!

All Immortals or Fiendgods of the Three Realms could come here to meditate on the remnant sword-arts left behind. The only restriction was that no one was permitted to cause any damage; if anyone did, that person would become the common enemy of countless Immortals and Fiendgods! And in truth, given that the remnants contained the might of the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms…how many would be so suicidal as to attempt to destroy them?

Each of the twenty-seven worlds had remnants of his sword-arts left behind on them. Some had more, some had less.

The most exalted world was Sword Immortal world, because it contained the complete set of the [Five Treasures] sword-art within it.

As for the other twenty-six worlds, they just contained some scattered, incomplete remnants.

Thus, after travelling through all of the worlds, the various Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would generally choose to gather upon Sword Immortal world. Very few of them would remain on the other twenty-six worlds. During normal, peaceful times, there would perhaps be more than a thousand of them on Sword Immortal world. Sometimes they would spend a million years or a hundred million years cultivating on that world! However, since the Three Realms was gripped by a great storm, most of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had joined the armies of their respective realms.

There were now very few of them left on Sword Immortal world, to say nothing of the other twenty-six.

“Daofather Fuju was acknowledged by all as the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms. I naturally have to go and analyze his sword-arts,” Ning said. “Ninefangs, let us first wander East Phoenix world and the rest of the twenty-six. We’ll save Sword Immortal world for last.”

“Yes,” Ninefangs said respectfully.

“Let’s go,” Ning said.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ning and Ninefangs flew through the air, moving towards a giant, towering mountain. Because East Phoenix world was merely a minor world, it had a circumference of just a hundred thousand kilometers; it was actually smaller than Swallow Mountain! It took them only a very short amount of time to fly to their destination.

“Quite a few people here.” Ning glanced downwards. There were mountain peaks below them, and at the base of the mountain peaks sat many Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters. They were in the lotus position, quietly meditating and training.

“However, even the most powerful are merely at the Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal level,” Ninefangs said.

“Normally, Sword Immortal world would have plenty of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. East Phoenix world would have a good number of Celestial Immortals…but given the current status of the Three Realms, the Celestial Immortals have all been ordered to join their respective armies. Naturally, the strongest remaining figures are at the Loose Immortal level.” Ning swept the mountains below with his gaze. There really were many cultivators seated there.

The vast majority were actually Zifu Disciples and Wanxiang Adepts. They were all seated on prayer mats which had been left behind by the Empyrean God and True Immortal disciples of Daofather Fuju. This was to provide them with organized seating for their meditations. Otherwise, if all of them just haphazardly squeezed together, how could anyone calm down and concentrate?

“Manorlord, I’ll move them away,” Ninefangs said.

“No need. Look; that little Diremonster is planning to give us a seat.” Ning chuckled as he pointed towards a skinny, horned Diremonster who sat in the very first row of seats. The Diremonster stared unblinkingly at the mountain cliffs, but his eyes were bloodshot. Blood was beginning to leak from his mouth; clearly, he was beginning to succumb and go insane.

The sword-arts left here were simply unfathomably profound. They had been left by a Daofather! If you gave up when you couldn’t understand, you would be fine, but if you tried to force your way through…you’d easily go insane.

“Go.” Ning willed it, and whoosh! The Diremonster instantly disappeared into thin air, with Ning then appearing onto that prayer mat. The Immortal cultivators around him were all focused on their meditations. Although two or three of them noticed Ning appear, they didn’t pay too much attention to him. Ning and Ninefangs were both keeping their auras reserved as they wandered the Three Realms. Otherwise, if they were to release their Empyrean God auras, they would’ve terrified all of the Immortals and Fiendgods present to the point of quivering.

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Chapter 12 – Meditating

Chapter 12 – Meditating

“I’ll meditate here. Ninefangs, you can either meditate as well, or go find some other things to do,” Ji Ning sent mentally.

“Understood,” Ninefangs said respectfully. He then flew to a distant winehouse. He was going to stand guard in the surrounding area, ready to carry Ning’s orders whenever necessary.

……

The skinny little Diremonster who had vomited blood stared around blankly. “What…why am I here.” The area around him was filled with the waters of a flowing river. This was not the meditation area.

“Wasn’t I on Mount Dashcloud? Right…I went too far just now. I almost went crazy. Some expert must’ve intervened and rescued me.” The little monster felt fear for what had almost happened. In Ning’s eyes, he was nothing more than a ‘little monster’, but in truth he was a Primal-level Diremonster. His heart had been filled with hatred, and he had deeply desired to gain insight into a profound sword-art to take revenge. However, he had been too forceful in his attempts to cultivate and so had fallen into madness.

In truth, it was very risky for anyone below the Celestial Immortal level to meditate on the sword-arts of a Daofather. The path of Immortal cultivation, however, was a path filled with many pitfalls. There were many, many stories of those who had developed powerful sword-arts after having gazed upon the sword-arts of a Daofather. It was very common for one to gain sudden insight on Mount Dashcloud, resulting in them establishing a school of their own.

Thus, there were often many weak cultivators who would come here to meditate.

……

Ning sat there in the lotus position, staring at the sword-arts that had been left behind upon the mountain walls. The mountain walls were protected by layers of formations, none of which were particularly special; they had most likely been left behind by Daofather Fuju’s Empyrean God and True Immortal disciples.

The sword-intent which radiated towards him, however, truly stunned him. He felt as though it was stabbing into his very heart.

“What powerful sword-intent. The scars on the mountain wall that were created by casual blows from his sword-arts…countless years have passed, but they are still this terrifying.” Ning stared at the scars carefully. These had been left behind by a supreme Sword Immortal that was on Subhuti’s level!

“Eh? That’s odd.” Ning immediately had a strange feeling as he stared at the scars. “There seems to be a fundamental difference between these sword-arts and the other Daofather-created sword-arts I studied at Mount Innerheart.”

“The style is completely different…as though they belong to two completely different schools of thought.” Ning frowned. “But what exactly is different…?”

He was searching for the answer. Ning was now an Empyrean God and a True Immortal. He was a master of the sword, and was extremely talented in this regard. He could immediately sense that something was different. It was a very indistinct, blurry feeling…and Ning wasn’t immediately able to pinpoint what exactly was causing it.

“I have it.” Ning had a sudden thought. He waved his hand, and a stargold bead appeared within it.

Ning had already bound all of the stargold beads. As a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, it could be controlled by Ning to reveal no presence or aura whatsoever. It was like a completely ordinary item right now.

Every single one of the 3600 stargold beads had been infused with the nine chaos seals.

“The chaos seals.” Ning stared at the constantly changing runes that flowed over the surface of the stargold bead. The runes were changing ceaselessly, never repeating in any discernable pattern.

“Right. The sword-arts of Daofather Fuju remind me of the nine chaos seals. They feel very similar.” Ning immediately realized what the difference was.

“The sword-arts created by Daofathers are generally bound by the mysteries of the Dao of the Heavens.”

“But Daofather Fuju’s sword-arts, as well as these nine chaos seals…they seem to have surpassed the Dao of the Heavens,” Ning mused to himself. “The nine chaos seals were discovered by Daoist Three Purities when he roamed the primordial chaos. It makes sense for them to have surpassed the Heavenly Daos, as they sprung forth from the primordial chaos. But Daofather Fuju’s sword-arts have surpassed the Heavenly Daos as well?”

The Dao of the Heavens was the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms! They were the laws that governed the functioning of the Three Realms. Outside the Three Realms…the Heavenly Daos were without effect.

For example, in the primordial chaos, only the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos would function. The other nine Heavenly Daos were useless!

“According to the stories, Daofather Fuju’s sword was shockingly fast, surpassing the limits of the Dao of the Heavens,” Ning mused. “Perhaps this is the reason why Daofather Fuju’s sword-arts were so terrifying.”

“I need to carefully meditate on this.”

Upon noting the similarities between the nine chaos seals and Daofather Fuju’s sword-arts, Ning immediately began to meditate.

Every so often, he would switch over to meditating on the nine chaos seals. Whenever he reached a roadblock, he would then switch to meditating on his sword-arts. He would compare and contrast the two.

Unexpectedly, Ning began to discover that the previous bottlenecks he had encountered when training in the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop and the Grand Dao of Qiankun were actually easy to break through. Clearly, the insights he had gained into the nine chaos seals and Daofather Fuju’s sword-arts were of tremendous benefit towards him in training in other Grand Daos.

Time slowly passed.

Ninefangs had once more come to the distant winehouse to drink wine. The winekeeper had long ago grown accustomed to this bald old man, because he had often come here to drink during the past month…and always chose to drink the extremely venomous ‘Five Immortals wine’. Another name for this wine was the ‘Five Venoms wine’, because it was created through matching and mixing nine different venoms together. It was truly toxic, but it was also incomparably delicious. A Zifu Disciple would die upon having a single sip; one had to at least be a Primal Daoist in order to be able to savor this wine without perishing.

“Here is some of our finest Five Immortals wine. Please enjoy, honored guest.” The winekeeper personally delivered the wine and two appetizers to Ninefangs, who leisurely poured himself a cup.

Gurgle. He raised his head and drank the wine. A twin sensation of fire and ice simultaneously flooded his entire body, causing him to feel extremely comfortable. Ninefangs laughed and nodded.

“Eh?” Ninefangs suddenly had a strange feeling. He immediately turned his head to look towards the distant Mount Dashcloud. He gazed towards the white-robed youth that was seated amongst many other figures at the base of Mount Dashcloud.

“Grand Dao?” Ninefangs was surprised. He then hurriedly sent mentally, “Congratulations, Manorlord, for having mastered the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop.”

“Aren’t you the sensitive one? I was just testing things out, and you immediately sensed it,” Ning sent back.

Ning was in an excellent mood. He had always had a high degree of affinity towards the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop. This past month of analyzing the nine chaos seals and the Daofather’s sword-arts had been extremely taxing, and his progress had been rather limited…but he actually ended up breaking through all bottlenecks and completely comprehending the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop.

Now, he had mastered two complete Grand Daos. The Grand Dao of the Sword and the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop.

“The sword-arts here on Mount Dashcloud were left behind by casual strikes from Daofather Fuju; they aren’t that profound. The next month or two here won’t be of much help to me.” Ning didn’t hold too many hopes towards the rest of the twenty-six worlds either; the most important world was the final one, Sword Immortal world. Still, Ning was going to be very cautious and deliberate in his cultivation. He would first take a look at all of the twenty-six worlds; perhaps they might be of help to him in meditating on the complete [Five Treasures] sword-art.

The second month after Ning’s arrival at East Phoenix world.

The Golden Crow hung high in the sky.

A large ship came sailing in through the heavens. There were many soldiers atop the desk of the ship, as well as many beautiful women who were surrounding a youth that was drinking wine merrily. He’d give a pinch here and a caress there, filling the ship with shrieks and giggles.

“Your Highness, Mount Dashcloud is right up ahead,” a pale-faced, beardless man said respectfully in a low voice.

“We arrived?” The beautifully dressed youth rose to his feet. The beautiful woman in his arms followed his gaze as he stared at the distant Mount Dashcloud.

“My beauties, be good and have a nice rest. I’m going to go meditate on sword-arts for a while,” the youth chortled. The beautiful women all said a few flattering words, causing the youth to feel absolutely tickled. Still…this youth was qualified to act this arrogantly. He was the third prince of the East Phoenix Dynasty of this planet, and the most talented of all the princes. His status was quite special.

“Let’s go.”

Soon, the prince led his pale-faced attendant and a host of guards to the base of Mount Dashcloud. The weakest of his guards were at the Wanxiang Adept level, with the two commanders being Primal Daoists. As for the prince, he himself was a Primal Daoist as well.

“So many people? So many monsters as well.” The prince frowned. “According to what Master told me, the Three Realms is in the midst of a storm…which has resulted in our minor world becoming more peaceful than ever before. Still, there are now almost no Celestial Immortals who come to our world. The most powerful cultivators here are merely on the Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal level. Longxiu, hurry up and shoo away one of the people at the front.”

“Your Highness, you must not be rash. Although the strongest figures at Mount Dashcloud are merely Loose Immortals and Earth Immrotals, some might have powerful backgrounds,” the pale-faced attendant hurriedly cautioned. “In addition, you yourself are merely a Primal Daoist, your Highness, and your two guards are merely Primal Daoists as well. Don’t anger those Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals. You might end up suffering because of it.”

The prince nodded slowly. “Fair enough.” Although he didn’t really actually care about those Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals…right now, at least, he wouldn’t be able to beat them in a fight.

“Then pick one of the weak ones.” The prince swept the people present with his gaze. “There should be some weaklings amongst the twenty-seven prayer mats in front, right?”

“Nobody who can sit in the front would be truly weak. Let me take a look.” The attendant hurriedly took a good look. “Twenty-one of the prayer mats in the front are occupied by Loose Immortals or Earth Immortals; they give me a sense of tremendous pressure. The other six give me much less pressure; they should merely be at the Primal Daoist level. Your Highness, which of the six do you think I should pick?”

“Six?”

The prince took a careful look. “Four are monsters. Monsters who have reached the Primal level are generally much more powerful than humans of the same level. That leaves two…that white-robed youth, and that grim-looking man. The grim-looking man has a terrifying, baleful look in his eyes; I imagine his sword-arts must be quite formidable. That white-robed youth looks fairly unremarkable, though. I imagine he’s just an ordinary Primal Daoist.”

There were differences in power amongst Primal Daoists. Some were monsters who could challenge Void-level experts. The baleful aura around the grim-looking man was definitely proof that he was no ordinary Primal Daoists.

“Let’s go with that white-robed kid,” the prince said. “Hurry up and shoo him away.”

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Chapter 13 – Sword School

Chapter 13 – Sword School

“Your humble servant will go right now.” The attendant chortled, then walked forward.

Mount Dashcloud was extremely large, and there were many regions from which one could view all of the remnant sword-scars left behind. The first row only had twenty-seven seats, but there was a distance of more than thirty meters between each seat. This way, everyone could train calmly.

The attendant walked straight towards Ning. “Fellow Dao-” the attendant began to say in a shrill voice, reaching out to pat Ning on the shoulders.

When training, Ning had his heartforce spread out to cover this entire minor world. He was completely focused on his meditations and on the sword-scars left behind by Daofather Fuju. He was mentally deducing and inferring one type of sword-art after another! He had already visualized thousands of different types, more than ten of which were more powerful than the [Three-Foot Sword].

Every so often, he would gain an insight from the visualized sword-arts. This would allow Ning to walk farther and farther along the path of swordforce.

At this moment, Ning was completely focusing on deducing yet another powerful sword-art.

Pat!

Someone patted him on the shoulder.

Ning was instantly startled awake…and all of the effort he had put into analyzing this sword-art went completely to waste.

“My heartforce has covered this entire minor world. If any Empyrean God or True Immortal arrives, I should have found out long ago. Who the hell just disturbed me?” Ning was rather displeased. One of the greatest taboos was disturbing others when they were meditating. Ning immediately turned his head to look towards the pale-faced attendant.

Ning could immediately tell that this person was merely a Primal Daoist.

“Fellow Daoist,” the attendant said, pointing at the prayer mat beneath Ning. “My prince wishes to meditate on sword-arts and needs a spot. He’s taken a fancy to your spot.”

Ning frowned, then looked backwards. He saw the beautifully dressed youth ensconced by many guards. The youth gave Ning a sideways glance, seemingly quite disdainful.

“You should know what to do.” A look of arrogance was in the attendant’s eyes. As he saw it, once this white-robed youth saw that there were three Primal Daoists accompanying the prince, he should be able to guess that the prince had an extraordinary background. Immortal cultivators generally understood the principle of courting fortune and avoiding misfortune.

“Don’t bother me when I’m meditating on the Dao.” Ning gave the attendant a cold glance, then shut his eyes and continued to meditate.

“You…” The attendant pointed at Ning, rendered momentarily speechless.

“Fellow Daoist, don’t make trouble for yourself!” He barked.

Ning completely ignored him. Given his power and his status, these little fellows were as weak as ants in the face of his might. Ning wouldn’t care too much if a few ants bellowed at him; he simply couldn’t be bothered to. In addition, this was Mount Dashcloud, a place for meditating on the sword-arts of a Daofather. Generally, very few would dare to actually attack someone here.

Ning believed that this person would just yell at him a bit, then leave helplessly.

“Your Highness.” The attendant ran back to the prince’s side.

“What’s going on?” The prince was rather irritated.

“That white-robed kid is like a stone. He’s quite tough. He completely ignored me,” the attendant said helplessly.

“He’s courting death.” The prince’s face sank. “Attack. Kick him out of here.”

“No!” The attendant said hurriedly, “This is Mount Dashcloud, a place for meditating on the Daofather’s sword-arts. Any disturbances will interfere with the meditations of countless Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters. All of them will be furious with us. It’s one thing for us to irritate one of them, but we can’t irritate all of them!”

“We’re not going to kill him, we’re just going to kick him out.” The prince said with a frown, “Those who are truly focused on their meditations won’t be startled awake by some fights in the outside world. The ones that will wake up are the ones who aren’t in a true meditative state yet. Also, set up a small formation around him when you attack. That way, you won’t disturb the people around him, right?”

“The three of you, go!” The prince gave the orders.

The attendant and the two commanders shared a glance, then acknowledged the order. “Yes.”

The three of them immediately walked towards Ning.

Rumble…

A crystalline globe of fire appeared before the attendant’s chest. Instantly, a barrier of flames appeared around them, surrounding Ning.

“Fellow Daoist!” The attendant barked loudly, his voice exploding by Ning’s ears like thunder.

Ning opened his eyes. He gave the three a look.

“Hurry up and leave. Give up your seat. Otherwise…don’t blame us for showing no mercy,” the attendant barked. The two nearby commanders became filled with auras of power as well. The Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters who were nearby all halted their meditations, focusing their attention on the area around Ning with curiosity.

“Amusing.”

“It’s quite rare for people to fight at Mount Dashcloud.”

“These three are a bit too brash. If the fellow wants to give up the seat, that’s one thing, but they actually intend to force him from it? Even if they really want to give him a drubbing, they should wait until he leaves Mount Dashcloud. Why rush?” The surrounding Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters all chatted amongst themselves.

It was very common for Immortal cultivators to get into fights over minor matters, but it was rare for something like this to happen at Mount Dashcloud.

Unwilling to give up your seat? Fine. Once you leave Mount Dashcloud, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!

In the face of a threat like this, most weaker cultivators would obediently give up their seats.

“Hurry up and leave.”

“F*ck off!”

The two commanders barked out as well. They both had extraordinary backgrounds; they wouldn’t care about an ordinary Primal Daoist.

“Insolence.” A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes.

Rumble…an invisible wave surged out, striking against the bodies of the three Primal Daoists. The attendant and the two guard commanders were just about to attack, but they suddenly sensed a wave of unearthly power crash over them. They were knocked backwards, and the commander who had told Ning to ‘f*ck off’ began to scream in agony as soon as he landed on the ground.

“AHH! AHHHHH! M-m-my Zifu…my Zifu…” The commander’s voice was filled with agony and terror.

The other, chubbier commander fell on the ground alongside the attendant. The two of them clambered to their feet, staring at their comrade.

“H-his Zifu was destroyed.”

“Destroyed.”

Both of them were filled with utter terror. The three of them had been knocked flying in a single clash, with one of them having his Zifu destroyed…although they all had extraordinary backgrounds, this was exactly why they had been unwilling to offend any of the Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals. Although they had extraordinary backgrounds, it would take time for reinforcements to arrive. If they were crippled in the interim, that would be a miserable outcome, and so they had sought out the white-robed kid, who had appeared to be the easiest to bully.

“We just rammed into a steel plate,” the chubbier commander muttered. “A steel plate with nails.”

“Bullshit!” The prince roared. The chubbier commander instantly no longer dared to say a word. In secret, however, he celebrated the fact that it was his comrade who was the one to speak rudely, as was usually the case. This time, his comrade had really suffered for it.

“Your Highness,” the attendant said hurriedly. “This person is very powerful.”

“How dare you cripple my man?” The prince had a terrifying look in his eyes as he stared daggers at the distant Ning.

The worst part of the situation was that more than half of the Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters seated below Mount Dashcloud were watching this event with curiosity. They weren’t like Ning, after all, who could easily go into a months-long meditative state. They were far weaker than him, and the Daofather’s sword-arts were far too profound. They had to stop extremely frequently, after just meditating on the sword-arts for a short period of time.

For so many cultivators to stare at him…the prince felt even more embarrassed and angry, and he shifted all of it towards Ning.

“Fellow Daoist.” The prince strode forward, his attendant and the chubbier commander hurriedly following behind him.

The prince’s voice was clear, but it carried anger in it. “Your actions are quite vicious.”

Ning just shut his eyes again, completely ignoring him. The prince didn’t dare to actually act against Ning himself; he had seen Ning attack earlier. The prince was a mere early-stage Primal Daoist; how could he be a match for Ning?

“My five junior apprentice-brothers!” The prince called out loudly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Instantly, five figures descended from the top of Mount Dashcloud. Each of them had powerful auras. They were all at the Loose Immortal level.

“Five Loose Immortals.”

“The five Loose Immortals who stand guard over Mount Dashcloud for the Sword School.”

“This youth actually addresses the five of them as ‘junior apprentice-brother’? Can it be that he is also a member of the Sword School? However…judging from his age, I would’ve thought those five Loose Immortals should be much older than him.”

“Do you really need to ask? If he dares to address the five of them as ‘junior apprentice-brother’, then he must be a true, formal disciple of the Sword School.”

“I recognize him. He’s the third prince of the East Phoenix Dynasty. He has been accepted by Celestial Immortal Triscorpion as his disciple.”

“So that’s the case. Seems like the white-robed man is doomed. He’s offended a formal disciple of the Sword School…”

“The white-robed man really doesn’t know his limits. He should know that his opponents must have powerful backgrounds, for them to dare act in such a brash manner here at Mount Dashcloud. He should’ve been more cautious. Look at him now. He’s pissed off a major foe.”

Instantly, everyone began to discuss this matter.

The five Loose Immortals all landed, the cultivators and monsters around them making way before them. None of them dared to offend the Sword School. The five Loose Immortals all bowed courteously towards the prince.

“Senior apprentice-brother Eastluck.”

“Greetings, senior apprentice-brother Eastluck.”

These five Loose Immortals had all been alive for more than a hundred thousand years, but they all spoke out with great courtesy. They were disciples of the Sword School, but they were merely outer disciples, not core disciples, which is why they had been sent here to maintain order. Their task was to ensure that the beautiful surroundings of Mount Dashcloud were not damaged…or, to put it another way, they were gate guards. The prince before them, however, was a true disciple!

“So he really is a disciple of the Sword School.”

“A formal disciple.”

“Look at that gold medallion.”

“I heard that the Sword School is actually a very powerful school of the Three Realms. The founder was Daofather Fuju himself!”

Instantly, yet another storm of discussion arose. The Sword School had been founded by Daofather Fuju, and in the past its status had been equivalent to that of Mount Innerheart! However, Daofather Fuju had died. When trees fall, the monkeys that lived in it would scatter. In addition, Daofather Fuju was fairly mediocre in teaching disciples; he hadn’t been able to produce a single Daofather. Thus, only three Empyrean Gods and True Immortals continued to remain within the Sword School. The current Sword School wasn’t even as strong as the Starseizing Manor.

But despite that, it was still a school with three Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, and with many friends spread throughout the Three Realms. Thus, it could be considered one of the top-tier schools of the Three Realms. A formal disciple had a status that was far higher than the status of an ordinary Void-level Earth Immortal.

“This man actually dared to be disrespectful to our Sword School.”

“Seize him.”

“Seize him!”

The five Loose Immortals flew towards Ning like streaks of light.

Ning opened his eyes again. He gave them a glance.

Boom!

His gaze struck against their bodies as though it had taken solid form. The five of them once more transformed into streaks of light, but this time they flew backwards…and they flew so far away that they could no longer be seen with the naked eye.

Ning turned to look towards the prince.

“No…” The prince was so terrified that he hurriedly stumbled backwards. In his terror, he fell backwards and tumbled to the ground in a sitting position. This was too terrifying. He hadn’t even seen what technique this man had used! It seemed as though the man had merely used his gaze to send those five Loose Immortals flying. The guards behind him were utterly terrified as well. None of them even dared to breathe.

Whoosh. A streak of light flashed, and a bald old man appeared next to Ning. He hurriedly said respectfully, “Manorlord, your subordinate came late.”

Ning laughed calmly. “A minor matter.”

In truth, Ninefangs was utterly enraged right now. He had been taking a sweet nap just now, right next to the winehouse. As he was an Empyrean God, his senses were naturally still spread out to cover the surrounding area. If any slightly powerful figures such as Celestial Immortals came over, he would’ve immediately noticed. But the prince and the others were mere Primal Daoists; Ninefangs simply didn’t pay them any attention at all. It wasn’t until Ning had released his power with that look that Ninefangs had been shocked awake…only to discover that someone had actually come to make trouble for his Manorlord.

“You dare to offend my Manorlord? Are you looking to die?” Ninefangs glared furiously at the prince.

Still seated on the ground, by now the prince understood that this white-robed youth had to have a truly extraordinary background as well.

“I’m a disciple of the Sword School.” The prince hurriedly pulled out a golden insignia, clutching it as if it was his last hope. “I’m a formal disciple of the Sword School. My master is a Celestial Immortal Patriarch. Master is standing guard here at East Phoenix world! My grand-master is Patriarch Daoless!”

“Ninefangs, we’re here to analyze Daofather Fuju’s sword-arts, after all; let’s be courteous about this,” Ning said with a laugh.

The prince instantly felt relieved. He laughed coldly to himself; it seemed as though the man was still afraid of the Sword School. However, on the surface he still didn’t dare to act too arrogantly. No matter how powerful the Sword School was, it wouldn’t be able to rescue him immediately.

“You’ve offended my Manorlord. You-” Ninefangs started to say, but Ning interrupted him. “Don’t even bother. Right…the kid said his master is the Celestial Immortal that is protecting the East Phoenix world. Bring him over here,” Ning said.

“Yes.” Ninefangs nodded, then reached out with his right hand.

Whooooooosh.

His right hand instantly pierced through the heavens as he sent it traveling more than ten thousand kilometers as he made a grabbing motion towards the Celestial Immortal Patriarch who was within the imperial palace of the East Phoenix Dynasty.

……

Within the imperial palace. Celestial Immortal Triscorpion was enjoying life right now, drinking some wine as he watched beautiful women dancing in front of him. He was born a monster, but he had entered the Sword School and eventually been assigned by his own master to stand guard over East Phoenix world. The main task he had was to protect Mount Dashcloud.

“What a wonderful life. I really am blessed, for Master to have sent me here. My other fellow disciples are preparing to fight against the Seamless Gate.” Celestial Immortal Triscorpion felt quite delighted with himself. It was his great fortune to be assigned this task. “And my luck really isn’t half-bad. After I came to this East Phoenix world, I actually found a promising young talent. Eastluck’s comprehension abilities really are quite high.”

“I don’t need to take part in the war, and I even found a good disciples. Excellent, excellent.” Celestial Immortal Triscorpion beamed merrily as he stared at the beautiful women before him.

BOOM!

Celestial Immortal Triscorpion turned his head, only to see a massive, pitch-black hand smash through his rooftop and grab him.

“AHHH!!” Triscorpion only had enough time to let out a scream before he was grabbed and pulled away.

The dancing beauties stared blankly at the empty throne, then stared at the massive, gaping hole in the palace ceiling. They could still visualize that massive hand of black light.

“The Patriarch’s been seized.”

“The Patriarch’s been captured.”

All sorts of terrified cries rang out.

“But…”

“Oh my…”

“This is just…”

……

All of the Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters at Mount Dashcloud stared blankly, heads raised, at the massive arm that stretched far off into the horizons. How could an arm stretch that long?! What they didn’t know was that Ninefangs’ true form was that of a bat. If he was to transform back into his true form, it would be more than ten thousand kilometers long. The same was true of Snow Scorpion as well.

If he wanted to, he could stretch his arm out to a length of a hundred thousand kilometers. And if he was to reach the True God or Daofather level…well, Daoist Threelives was capable of smashing a major world with his palms.

Whoosh!

The impossibly long arm was retracted. The bald old man had seized an Immortal by the collar with his right hand, and was holding him as easily as he would a chicken.

“Hey kid. This your master?” Ninefangs pointed at the captured Triscorpion.

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Chapter 14 – One Year

Chapter 14 – One Year

“M-mas…I…I…” Prince Eastluck’s eyes bulged out as he began to stammer.

“Eastluck?” The captured Celestial Immortal Triscorpion instantly understood when he saw the prince. A look of stunned rage appeared in his eyes, then he hurriedly said, “Senior, senior, this junior is only responsible for protecting the East Phoenix world. I did not intend to offend the two of you at all. My master is True Immortal Daoless. Please spare me, seniors.”

“Manorlord.” Ninefangs looked towards Ji Ning.

“Release him.” Ning nodded.

Only then was Triscorpion allowed to land on the ground. He hurriedly rushed two steps forward, then delivered a vicious slap against Prince Eastluck’s face as he roared furiously, “Do you think Mount Dashcloud is a place for you to cause trouble? Do you think these two seniors are people you can afford to offend?”

He slapped the prince two more times, then hurriedly turned and smiled ingratiatingly towards Ning and Ninefangs. “Seniors, when you grabbed me just now, I was so terrified that I shattered a message talisman. I’m afraid that my master is going to arrive soon.” He had thought that he was in mortal danger, but now it seemed as though these two weren’t planning to act viciously towards him.

“Your master?” Ning said.

“This junior’s master is True Immortal Daoless,” Triscorpion said hurriedly.

Ning nodded slowly. “I’ve heard of True Immortal Daoless’s great fame, but I’ve never met him. It seems I’ll have a chance to meet him today.”

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly appeared in the distance…and with it came a loud, clear laugh. “This must be the one who slew Immortals and Fiendgods with his sword as he invincibly dominated the Realmwar…fellow Daoist Darknorth, yes? How can this junior be worthy of you personally dealing with him, fellow Daoist Darknorth? You are giving him far too much face.” This laughter echoed throughout the wild mountains.

“Invincibly dominated the Realmwar?” Both Triscorpion and Eastluck were rather dazed. As for the other cultivators, they were simply puzzled, because they had no idea what a ‘Realmwar’ even was.

Ning glanced towards the newcomer. This was a sloppy-looking youth with a big beard who was flying towards him atop a cloud. His beard was extremely long, but his face looked very young; it made for an odd contrast.

“Everyone says that True Immortal Daoless is uninhibited and unconventional, but in possession of an absolutely merciless tongue. Today, I’ve seen it for myself. I admit that I am at fault; I gave a minor punishment to your disciple,” Ning said with a calm laugh. He had heard long ago that True Immortal Daoless was a man who said whatever he thought, and that sometimes his words would offend others. But in turn, his straightforward, genuine nature made it so that he made some truly good friends. He was a rather famous figure of the Three Realms.

“Hey, hey, hey, that’s not what I meant!” True Immortal Daoless flew over, his sleeves fluttering. “For a kid like this to be so brazen and foolish as to offend you? Of course you can kill him if you want! That’s completely up to you. What I’m saying is, there’s no need for you to dirty your hands. Just say the word and I’ll do it for you. Just consider it as me keeping my school clean.”

Ning was speechless.

True Immortal Daoless reputedly was uninhibited and sloppy, said what he felt, and was absolutely shameless. It seemed all the stories about him were true. There really weren’t many Empyrean Gods or True Immortals who would say such things in front of their own disciples.

“Doomed. I’m doomed.”

Prince Eastluck just sat there, completely dazed.

“Invincibly dominated the Realmwar? Is he referring to the ‘Realmwars’ which Master told me about, the ones where countless millions of Immortals will gather together in a titanic clash? The Realmwars which large numbers of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals are dying in? This…this white-robed…he…he was able to invincibly dominate a Realmwar?” Eastluck was truly dazed now. He couldn’t even comprehend what he had done.

“Even Patriarch Daoless is so humble before him. Clearly, he’s far more powerful than Patriarch Daoless…and his subordinate…his subordinate was able to stretch his arm out for thousands of kilometers to capture a Celestial Immortal…who is this person?! Why did I have to run into him? Why am I so damned unlucky?”

Prince Eastluck was filled with terror and regret. But alas…if you often walk by the riverside, how can you avoid getting your shoes wet? He had grown accustomed to acting arrogantly, thanks to his status…and today, he really had rammed into a steel plate. No; a plate of divine chaos-steel!

“Finished. I’m finished. I’m dead for sure. Dead for sure.” Prince Eastluck had gotten used to seeing heads rolling within the imperial palace upon an important figure being angered. This person before him had a status that was far, far beyond his own. It would be simplicity itself for the white-robed youth to crush him to death.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, Ji Ning, Ninefangs, and True Immortal Daoless all soared into the skies, departing from East Phoenix world.

Only now did Prince Eastluck regain his senses.

“They…they left?” Eastluck blinked. “I…didn’t die?”

“Master!” Prince Eastluck hurriedly looked towards the nearby Celestial Immortal Triscorpion.

Triscorpion glared daggers at him. “Hmph. If we did as my master Daoless suggested, I would wipe you out right now.”

“Wipe me out?” Prince Eastluck was horrified.

“Fortunately, senior Darknorth interceded on your behalf. He said that you didn’t have any intentions to kill him. That’s the only reason why you’ve survived this,” Triscorpion snapped. “But although you shall be spared the death penalty, that doesn’t mean you’ll go unpunished.”

“It’s true that I didn’t intend to kill him,” Prince Eastluck said hurriedly. “I just wanted to shoo him away. After he crippled my subordinate, I was furious with him and planned to lock him up and punish him.” Prince Eastluck wasn’t an evil person by nature. However, because he had been born into the imperial clan and because of his talent in cultivation, he had been flattered by others all his life and became accustomed to acting in an arrogant, high-handed manner. And after he became a disciple of the Sword School, his status had only risen even further.

Simply put, he had gotten used to bullying others, which is why he had been so stunned and furious when Ning had crippled his subordinate. How long had it been since someone else had bullied him?

After Ning had revealed his true power, Eastluck had instantly been so terrified that he couldn’t stop sweating. Fortunately for him, he hadn’t planned to kill Ning. If he had, how could Ning possibly not have noticed? If that was the case, Ning wouldn’t have interceded on his behalf at all.

“My master, Daoless, had been planning on expelling you from the school, but senior Darknorth instead suggested that you be sent to the mortal world instead. You are to serve as a junior servant in a winehouse for three hundred years. During these three hundred years, you are not to fight back when struck, nor are you to argue when cursed at.” Triscorpion laughed coldly. “If you disobey, then you will immediately be expelled from the Sword School.”

Prince Eastluck finally let out a sigh of relief. He immediately fell to his knees, then kowtowed towards the skies. “Thank you, senior Darknorth!”

It would indeed be difficult for him to serve for three centuries as a servant in a winehouse, and one who could not fight back when struck or argue when cursed at. But if he was to be expelled from the Sword School…in the past, he had offended many with his arrogance. If it wasn’t for his status as a disciple of the Sword School, he probably would’ve died without a burial spot long ago. No matter what, he was still a disciple of the Sword School; all he had to do was be tempered within the red dust of the mortal world for three centuries.

“Your disciple swears to obey. May the Dao of the Heavens bear witness.” Prince Eastluck instantly swore an oath.

“Go. From this day forth, you are no longer a prince; you were nothing more than an ordinary mortal servant.” Celestial Immortal Triscorpion flicked his sleeves. “Come see me in three hundred years.”

“Yes, Master.” Eastluck immediately left respectfully, then transformed into a streak of light and flew into the skies by himself.

Triscorpion couldn’t even be bothered to take a second look at this disciple of his.

He was a Diremonster by birth, and possessed of a strange temperament. In the past, he absolutely doted on Eastluck, but now that Eastluck had caused such a disaster, resulting in him being captured…Triscorpion focused all of his resentment on Eastluck. He no longer felt any positive feelings towards Eastluck at all. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Ji Ning and Daoless had come to an agreement on Eastluck’s fate, Triscorpion would’ve expelled that little bastard from the school already.

“Three centuries. Hmph.” Triscorpion immediately teleported away and disappeared.

Even after three centuries, when this disciple came back to see him, he wouldn’t be in the mood to teach him sincerely. This was because he now detested this disciple of his. This disciple might be talented, which is why Triscorpion had previously favored him, but now…he felt repulsed by him! So what if the kid was talented? How many ‘talented’ figures would be able to overcome the Celestial Tribulation?

However…no one would’ve thought that after this arrogant, wayward Prince Eastluck spent three centuries as a servant in the mortal world, he would become modest, low-key, humble, and courteous. He was like a piece of rough jade that had been carved and polished until it shone with brilliance. He would overcome his tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal, then be accepted into the Buddhist Sangha. In fact, during the final Endwar, he would become a general of the Nuwa Alliance who would fight shoulder-to-shoulder with Ji Ning.

Ji Ning himself would never have imagined this happening, of course. He crippled the first guard because he could sense that the guard had planned to kill him. The prince, however, wasn’t beyond saving. Thus, he devised a path that he thought would be able to grind away the prince’s arrogance and pride. That was the extent of his considerations. By now, Ning’s attention was focused towards his sword-arts and his struggle against the Seamless Gate.

He had planned to stay on East Phoenix world and train there for three or four months, but True Immortal Daoless had explained to him that the other twenty-six worlds only had remnants of the [Five Treasures] sword-arts, whereas Sword Immortal world had the complete version. In other words, all of the remnants could be found within Sword Immortal world; there was no point in wasting time on the other worlds.

Ning still felt that the other worlds were worth spending some time on, but he decided that ten days per world was enough.

And so…he began to wander through one minor world after another.

Some worlds had sword-arts left behind on mountain walls. Others had sword-scars left behind on the wild landscape, in the form of rivers and creeks. Still others had sword-scars that carved out valleys and gorges within the forests. These had all been left behind in a casual manner by Daofather Fuju. Stargold beads in hand, and with Empyrean God Ninefangs by his side, Ning walked and meditated his way through all of the minor worlds.

Ning often made progress by comparing the nine chaos seals to the sword-arts. He spent at least three or four days in each world, up to a maximum of two months at most.

After he finished wandering the twenty-sixth world, a full year had passed. Finally, Ning arrived at the last of the Twenty-Seven Worlds of Fuju. The most important world…Sword Immortal world.

Sword Immortal world.

There wasn’t a single mortal within this minor world. At the very center of this minor world, there were five mountain peaks, each one taller than the last. The strange thing was, the first peak was a thousand kilometers tall, the second was two thousand kilometers tall…the pattern continued all the way to the fifth, which was five thousand kilometers tall.

For a minor world to have such tall mountains was simply inconceivable! The mountain peaks stabbed high up into the uppermost layer of clouds.

“The Five Treasure Peaks!”

Ning and Ninefangs appeared in the air amidst them. They stared at the five towering mountain peaks. The majestic aura of might and pressure that swept out towards them from the mountain peaks caused Ning to feel startled. Ninefang’s face even turned pale for a moment before he was able to steady himself.

“What a powerful aura. I was caught off-guard and felt a bit nauseous just now.” Ninefangs said with surprise, “Ordinary Celestial Immortals probably wouldn’t be able to endure it.”

“How could the mountain peaks that hold the legendary [Five Treasures] sword-art not be extraordinary? The [Five Treasures] sword-art is the number one sword-art of the Three Realms,” Ning said with a laugh. “Auras are invisible and formless; whether or not you can endure an aura is up to the strength of your Dao-heart. Ninefangs, although Empyrean Gods don’t have to worry about going insane, the Dao-heart is still important. You need to work on yours.”

Ninefangs nodded. “Yes, Manorlord.”

Of the seven Empyrean Gods under Ning’s command, Ninefangs had the weakest foundation. The others had accompanied Daoist Threelives in countless battles during the Primordial Era, after all. Back then, Ninefangs had merely been a Void-level Fiendgod. He only made his breakthrough within the Starseizer world, and he hadn’t experienced many actual battles afterwards. Given that he also didn’t have a good master to teach him, he was lacking in many areas.

“The number one sword-art of the Three Realms. I heard that it is incomparably marvelous.” Ning had heard many legends of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Each legend was more fanciful than the last. The more legends he heard, the more curious Ning became.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ning and Ninefangs went flying towards the Five Treasure Peaks.

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Chapter 15 – Swordforce

Chapter 15 – Swordforce

Three streaks of light suddenly flew towards the direction of Ji Ning and Ninefangs.

“Eh?” Ning took a careful look, instantly recognizing that one of the three was True Immortal Daoless. He had never seen the other two before.

“Is this fellow Daoist Ji Ning?” A rather ugly-looking man called out.

“I heard long ago from junior apprentice-brother Daoless tha fellow Daoist Ji Ning was going to come here. We’ve been waiting here a long time, but we were unable to find you. My heart was burning with impatience.” A handsome youth smiled merrily as he spoke.

Ning laughed, “I’ve made the three of you wait so long, fellow Daoists. I’m ashamed, quite ashamed.”

“We live right here on Sword Immortal world. We’d still be here even if we weren’t waiting for you,” the youth laughed.

Ning laughed as well. “I’ve already met fellow Daoist Daoless. The muscular fellow must be Empyrean God Hiddenwillow, while this one must be the ‘Sword Immortal of the Outer Heavens’, fellow Daoist Jimin. I’ve long heard of fellow Daoist Jimin’s illustrious reputation. Today, I finally have the chance to meet you.”

After Daofather Fuju had perished, many of his followers had scattered. These days, the Sword School only had three Empyrean Gods and True Immortals left.

They were True Immortal Daoless, Empyrean God Hiddenwillow, and True Immortal Jimin.

True Immortal Jimin had been the first to join the school. Empyrean God Hiddenwillow had come later, while True Immortal Daoless had been the last. True Immortal Jimin possessed truly extraordinary power. There were only two individuals in the Three Realms who had mastered the entire [Five Treasures] sword-art; one was a Daofather, while the other was True Immortal Jimin. After he mastered it, he instantly rose in power to become one of the most supreme of True Immortals, on par with the likes of Lu Dongbin, and so he was reverently titled the ‘Sword Immortal of the Outer Heavens’.

“So this is fellow Daoist Ji Ning?”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth actually arrived as well.”

“I heard of fellow Daoist Darknorth’s exploits in the Crimsonbright Realmwar. He used his sword to suppress a Daofather golem…”

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning!”

Suddenly, one voice after another began to ring out as more streaks of light flew towards them.

True Immortal Daoless hurriedly explained, “These are the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who are at Sword Immortal world to study the [Five Treasures] sword-art. They naturally are on our side as well. Prior to the storm arriving, Sword Immortal world usually saw thousands of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals gathering here, with the occasional Daofather as well. However, now that the storm has arrived, and given that many of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms have already visited this place, there are now very few people here. Aside from the three of us and the two of you, fellow Daoist Ji Ning, there are thirty-nine other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals currently present.”

These individuals all belonged to the Nuwa Alliance, and they all knew of Ning. Naturally, they held Ning in high esteem. There were very, very few people who could have an impact on a Realmwar the way Ning did, after all. Even the likes of Redsnow had to join forces with the rest of the seven Empyrean Gods in order to possess such tremendous power. Given that Ning was able to match a Daofather golem in might just by commanding a million Immortals…which Empyrean God or True Immortal would dare treat him with discourtesy?

Even supreme Sword Immortals like True Immortal Jimin, who had mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art, treated Ning with great courtesy.

After chatting for some time, everyone went their separate ways. They were all here to train in sword-arts, after all; this was what truly mattered.

“There are some other fellow Daoists who you haven’t met yet; they should still be busy with their meditations,” True Immortal Jimin said with a laugh. The three leaders of the Sword School accompanied Ji Ning and Ninefangs as they flew forward on a cloud.

“Right.” Ning nodded. “I can already see them.”

He was able to see the five towering peaks in the distance. The peaks, the valleys, the distant mountain lakes…there were Empyrean Gods and True Immortals seated in the lotus position throughout the five peaks. All of them were rather casually spread out, and normally none of them would bother each other.

“That one over there is fellow Daoist Jadesky,” True Immortal Jimin said as he pointed to the first mountain peak, where a black-robed man was seated atop a giant boulder.

“That one over there is fellow Daoist Icefeather.” He pointed to a barely-visible white-robed youth that was seated in the lotus position deep within a mountain cave.

All of them were seated in the lotus position, as unmoving as boulders. It was hard to tell how long they had been there.

“The two of them have given up everything to focus on the [Five Treasures] sword-art,” True Immortal Jimin said with a sigh. “The others are at most observing and studying. They’ll occasionally gain an insight, but they aren’t truly training.”

“Given up everything?” Ning was surprised. “Can it be that the [Five Treasures] sword-art really is as terrifying as the legends say?”

The nearby True Immortal Daoless chuckled. “Some legends are exaggerated, but other legends don’t go far enough.”

“Oh?” Both Ning and Ninefangs listened attentively. The legends regarding the [Five Treasures] sword-art were quite fanciful. Supposedly, not even Daofathers would dare to casually train in it.

“The [Five Treasures] sword-art is indeed incomparably marvelous and mysterious,” True Immortal Daoless laughed. “It is completely different from any other sword-art of the Three Realms.”

Ning nodded. He had noticed this as well.

“Other sword-arts are founded upon the Heavenly Daos, but the [Five Treasures] sword-art walks a different path,” True Immortal Daoless said. “If you just train as though you are dipping a toe into the water to test the temperature…you’ll at most gain an occasional bit of insight. If, however, you start your training from the very first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art…then some of the things described in the legends will occur.”

Ning’s face changed.

True Immortal Daoless said softly, “All the other Daos you have gained insight into…Heavenly Daos, Grand Daos, ordinary Daos…you will slowly begin to forget them. They will completely vanish from your memories.”

“The more you train in the [Five Treasures] sword-art, the more of the other Daos you will forget.”

“Once you beginning training in the third chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art, aside from the Dao of the Sword, you will forget all other Daos!” True Immortal Jimin looked towards Ning.

Ning nodded slowly. “So that’s how it is.”

The nearby True Immortal Jimin said, “The [Five Treasures] sword-art has four chapters. The first chapter is recorded on the walls of the first mountain. The second chapter is on the second mountain, and the third chapter is on the third mountain. The final, fourth chapter is naturally on the fourth mountain. As for the fifth mountain…my master, Daofather Fuju, used to live there when he was alive. It holds a minor cavern-estate within it.”

“Once you begin training in the first chapter, your insights into all other Daos shall be affected; slowly, they’ll begin to recede. The deeper your insights into the [Five Treasures] sword-art becomes, the more insights into the other Daos you shall lose.”

“After you finish the third chapter, all other Daos shall be lost. The only path remaining is the Dao of the Sword!”

“The fourth chapter is the most difficult chapter of all. The most terrifying outcome…is that you will master the third chapter, but be unable to master the fourth.”

“Once you master the fourth chapter, you’ll have mastered the entire [Five Treasures] sword-art, and you’ll truly understand how marvelous and divine this sword-art is.” True Immortal Jimin sighed with feeling.

Ning was puzzled. “Training in the [Five Treasures] sword-art will cause your insights into the other Daos to be lost? Is it possible to retrain and regain them after losing them?”

“It’s possible, but…” True Immortal shook his head. “When you begin training in the other Daos, you’ll begin to gradually lose your insights into the [Five Treasures] sword-arts.”

“What?!” Ning was shocked.

“Thus, you have a choice; either train in the various other Daos or only train in the [Five Treasures] sword-art.” True Immortal Jimin chuckled. “But of course, if you completely master the entire [Five Treasures] sword-art, it’ll be completely memorized as a perfect whole within your mind. You can begin to train in other Daos once more, and by then you will no longer be impacted.”

The nearby Empyrean God Hiddenwillow interjected, “But the fourth chapter is far too difficult. To master the first chapter, you have to have at least reached the first stage of swordforce. As for the second chapter, you’ll need to have reached the second stage of swordforce. In turn, mastering the fourth chapte requires you to have at least reached the fourth stage of swordforce…and that’s just a prerequisite! Even if you have reached that level, you still might be unable to succeed.”

Ning nodded. He had heard these stories before.

But the [Five Treasures] sword-art truly was too powerful. After mastering it, the speed of one’s sword would exceed the limitations of the Heavenly Daos themselves! True Immortal Jimin, for example, was one of the most supreme True Immortals of the Three Realms. Once he broke through to become a Daofather, he would immediately become a supreme one thanks to his [Five Treasures] sword-art, even though his other insights were comparatively inferior to those of the other Daofathers.

This was because the speed of his sword would be faster than anything else.

This was the reason why the [Five Treasures] sword-art was so alluring.

“Once you master the entire [Five Treasures] sword-art, you’ll be able to enter the cavern-estate in the fifth peak which Master left behind.” True Immortal Jimin pointed towards the distant, tallest peak. “Master died in the primordial chaos, but before he entered it, he gave us certain instructions. He said that if something unexpected happened to him, we were to make the [Five Treasures] sword-art available to the public. Any Fiendgod Body Refiner who has mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art can enter his cavern-estate and receive his most important legacy.”

“Oh?” Ning was startled.

“In the countless years that have passed since Master died, unfathomable numbers of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals have come here to meditate. Even True Gods and Daofathers have come here! However, very, very few are willing to give up all their insights into the other Daos and focus solely on the Dao of the Sword! This is especially true for Ki Refiners. Once they lose their insights into the Dao, they’ll be unable to control the Immortal energy within their bodies. They’ll begin to go insane and die from the deviant energies.”

Ning nodded.

“Ki Refiner Daofathers, for example; they are Daofathers because they have mastered a Heavenly Dao. But what if they forgot that Heavenly Dao? Given how utterly enormous the Great Firmament energy in their bodies are, once they forgot their Daos, they would be completely unable to control that energy. It would deviate and possibly even detonate, causing their souls to be shattered and destroyed.”

“Thus, amongst Ki Refiners, only Sword Immortals can train in this sword-art, and they have to at least be at the Pure Yang True Immortal level.”

“As for Fiendgods? It’s true that they can train in it without having to worry about their energy deviating. But the exalted True Gods…most of them have trained for countless years and have extremely deep insights into the Dao. How many of them are willing to give up all of their insights? From the Primordial Era to the modern era, there have been only a total of three True Gods who have truly come here to train in the [Five Treasures] sword-art.”

“However, Fiendgods by nature are weaker when it comes to comprehension abilities. Those three True Gods in particularly were not exceptionally talented with regards to the Dao of the Sword. It is hard to force your way into getting insights, and so in the end they all gave up,” True Immortal Jimin said.

In truth, those three True Gods were some of the weakest amongst their peers, which was why they had been willing to discard everything to train in this art! They had thought that if they gained this astonishing sword-art which allowed the speed of their swords to surpass the limits of the Dao of the Heavens, they would instantly become some of the most powerful True Gods alive. But alas, they had no talent in this field, and so it was too difficult for them to succeed.

Take Ji Ning as an example. He was able to advance very rapidly in the Dao of the Sword, but if he trained to train in the Grand Dao of Time? He would most likely progress at an unbearably slow rate.

“The two who truly succeeded in mastering it were both Ki Refiners. I am one of them. The other is Daofather Holyflame. Because both of us are Ki Refiners, neither of us were able to receive Master’s legacy. However, Daofather Holyflame can now be considered the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms,” True Immortal Jimin said with a laugh.

Ning nodded.

Daofather Holyflame had grown up in a peculiar way. His mother had been a Celestial Immortal known as Princess Iron Fan, while his father had been an Empyrean God known as the Bull Demon King, one of the Seven Great Diremonster Saints of the Primordial Era. Daofather Holyflame had been born with tremendous talent in fire, and had thus been known as the ‘Red Boy’. Thanks to his incredible talent, he had smoothly sailed through his cultivation to become a Celestial Immortal, and the samadhi truefire he nourished in his body was especially powerful.

In the end, he became apprenticed to the Buddhist Guanyin and had become her follower. 1

Eventually, the Primordial Era ended and the Three Realms were born. He ended up breaking through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal. After Daofather Fuju died, he came to meditate on the [Five Treasures] sword-art, and he was absolutely crazy in his training. Buddhism? His parents? He discarded and forgot about all such things…and he actually managed to succeed in one go! After he mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art, his power and status instantly skyrocketed. He then spent centuries to painstakingly regain the Grand Daos which he had forgotten.

More than thirty thousand years after he mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art, he mastered the Heavenly Dao of Fire and became a Daofather. After that, he became known by the exalted title of Daofather Holyflame!

He personally welcomed his mother Iron Fan back home, but he didn’t pay much attention to the Bull Demon King. 2

In addition, his sword had become the fastest sword of all the Three Realms! Many Immortals and Fiendgods believed him to be the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms. However, Daofather Holyflame’s foundation was a bit weak, as he had only mastered a single Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao of Fire! Even his swordforce was merely at the fourth stage, and he had yet to reach the fifth stage. Thus, not everyone agreed that he was the number one Sword Immortal!

Clearly, however, he was one of the most supreme Daofathers around.

Those who were more powerful than him during the Primordial Era now had to treat him with reverence. This was one of the marvels of time. Perhaps, in the future…a young fellow who was currently weak would end up becoming so powerful that Holyflame himself would have to treat him with reverence.

“You now know about all the pros and cons of the [Five Elements] sword-art.” True Immortal Jimin looked towards Ning. “It’s up to you whether you wish to train in it or not.”

Ning nodded.

He had heard these legends long ago; the only difference today made was that he now knew a bit more than he had in the past. In truth, the year he had spent on the other worlds was a testament to Ning’s decision! He was going to embark on the path of the Sword Immortal, and that path alone! For the sake of the [Five Treasures] sword-art, Ning had long ago decided to give up his insights into the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop and the other Daos. Right now, the reason he was powerful was because of his heartforce and his divine abilities, such as the [Starseizing Hand] and the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]! He wouldn’t forget any of them.

The only things he would forget were his insights into the Dao!

“We won’t disturb you any further.” True Immortal Jimin and the other two immediately left.

“Ninefangs, I’m going to go take a look at the [Five Treasures] sword-art. If there’s nothing urgent, don’t interrupt me,” Ning said. Ninefangs hurriedly assented.

Ning flew far into the distance, heading towards the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

1. This is a story straight out of Journey to the West. The story of Princess Iron Fan, the Bull Demon King, and Red Boy is one of the more famous encounters that Sun Wukong had to face.

2. In the stories, Red Boy lived with his mother, who was estranged from her husband Bull Demon King because the latter was a terrible playboy and adulterer who cheated on her all the time.

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Chapter 16 – Training in Solitude

Chapter 16 – Training in Solitude

The Five Treasure Peaks were ancient beyond belief. A complete version of the number one sword-art of the Three Realms, the [Five Treasures] sword-art, had been left behind on them, giving them an aura of being even more exalted than the Dao of the Heavens.

Solitude.

Stillness.

The aura and presence emanating from the Five Treasure Peaks was enough to ensure that neither birds nor bugs could survive here. The only living creatures here were the forty-plus Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, but given how vast the Five Treasure Peaks were, the cultivators weren’t particularly eye-catching.

“It really is rare to find such a quiet place.” Ji Ning landed, then stood there upon the wilderness, head raised as he stared at the criss-crossing sword stances that had been left atop the distant mountain cliffs.

“Whew.” Ning’s heart clenched as a series of sword techniques began to flood into his brain. This sword-art was ancient, profound, and beyond the Heavenly Daos themselves.

“Truly inconceivable. How could such a divine sword-art exist in the world?” Ning was only able to recover after a long period of time had passed. A cloud appeared beneath his feet as he began to slowly fly upwards. The first peak was a thousand kilometers high, and so it naturally pierced far up into the clouds. As for the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art, it covered more than half of the mountain walls of the first peak.

Ning continued to view the sword-art as he flew upwards, and various sword stances began to flash past his eyes. Ning viewed them very slowly, taking a full hour before finishing his viewing of the first chapter.

“The first chapter is truly as vast as an ocean.” Ning sighed in amazement. This was definitely the most complicated sword-art he had ever seen; just the first chapter alone contained a total of 3729 different stances, each one incomparably marvelous.

“Mm.” Ning transformed into a streak of light, charging back downwards. As he landed on the ground, he pointed off into the distance. Instantly, the power of Heaven and Earth began to activate, quickly causing an ordinary thatched cottage to take form. Ning stepped into it, then sat down into the lotus position. He faced the Five Treasure Peaks, then closed his eyes and began to think back to what he had seen.

The sword stances began to replay through his mind as he began to attempt to fathom them.

Ning knew what his advantages were and what his disadvantages were!

He had been tremendously lucky, as he had the chance to learn divine abilities like the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and the [Starseizing Hand]; these two divine abilities were already enough to allow him to stand at the very peak of power for Empyrean Gods! But his goal wasn’t to be a powerful Empyrean God…it was to become a True God and a Daofather! During the final Endwar, one had to have the power of a True God or a Daofather in order to be of use.

In addition, he had to become a supremely powerful True God and Daofather. In fact, he wanted to try to work hard to reach the level of the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha…or even the level of Nuwa and Pangu!

But how was he supposed to reach this level?

Ning knew very well that compared to the other major powers, his greatest weakness was that he hadn’t trained for very low. This was a tremendous disadvantage. The storm had already begun to press down upon them, and the final, terrifying explosion wouldn’t be too far off. He didn’t actually have that much time. If he wanted to take things step-by-step, first mastering the various Grand Daos and then slowly work on the Heavenly Dao of Water, then the rest of the Five Elements so as to reach the level of Lord Buddha or Daoist Three Purities…without question, it would take an unfathomable amount of time.

He didn’t have enough time.

What could he do?

His only choice was to make a lateral thrust, to make an unconventional gambit!

His greatest talent currently lay in heartforce. The heart was an invisible, formless thing, but it was possible to make great breakthroughs in it. Right now, Ning had already reached the fourth stage in heartforce! If he was to reach the fifth stage, he would instantly be comparable to the most supreme of Daofathers. Long ago, Houyi had reached the fifth stage of heartforce as an Empyrean God and thus became capable of killing True Gods and Daofathers!

Master Subhuti believed that Ning’s talent with the sword was even greater than his talent in heartforce. Supposedly, if swordforce reached the fifth stage, it would be no weaker than heartforce of the fifth stage. But how was he to reach such a level?

The best choice was to train in the number one sword-art of the Three Realms, the [Five Treasures] sword-art! The [Five Treasures] sword-art was even capable of allowing the speed of his sword to exceed the limitations of the Heavenly Daos; it would definitely allow him to be the most powerful figure amongst his peers. Even if his peers also mastered fifth stage swordforce, if he mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art, he would still be far more powerful than them.

“I’ll walk these two paths simultaneously. So long as one of them succeeds…I, Ji Ning, will stand at the very peak of the Three Realms!”

Ning knew very well that both paths were extremely difficult paths to walk…but if you wanted to stand at the top, how could you avoid taking a difficult path? Others wouldn’t even have the chance to make an attempt like this. Ning had both the chance and the necessarily talent…of course he had to go all-out!

Not just for himself; it was also for his family, for his loved ones. If he didn’t have enough power, not only would he be doomed, even Brightmoon and the others would find it hard to survive.

Ning completely subsumed himself into his training. Every so often, he would leave the thatched cottage to take another look at the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Although he had already memorized it all, the sword stances on the cliff had been personally left behind by Daofather Fuju, and it contained Fuju’s sword-intent. Ning was able to memorize the stances, but he wasn’ta ble to memorize the sword-intent.

This was the reason why, in times of peace, thousands of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would come here to cultivate, with each cultivation session often lasting a million years or even longer.

Time passed, one day after the other.

The entire Five Treasure Peaks were completely silent. All of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were as silent as deadwood, completely focused on the sword!

“The Dao…is slipping away…”

Ning opened his eyes.

The Dao was vanishing from his mind, one strand at a time. No matter how hard Ning tried to recollect those memories, he was unable to do so. They had truly been lost.

“Continue.” Ning shut his eyes, continuing his meditations.

If he lost his other Daos, he lost them. For the sake of the sword…it would all be worth it.

Losing the other Daos represented that Ning was continuously progressing in his understanding of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Ning also had the nine chaos seals to meditate over as well. As time passed and as his insights deepened, Ning began to realize that the nine chaos seals were even more profound and even more difficult to fathom. By comparison, the 3729 sword stances of the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art were simply meant to familiarize Ning with a system that was different from all other sword-arts, a system that transcended the Heavenly Daos themselves.

The [Five Treasures] sword-art was more detailed, but its power was also a bit weaker.

It made sense, truth be told. The nine chaos seals…not even Daoist Three Purities or Mother Nuwa (prior to the destruction of the Primordial Era) had been able to completely master them. The [Five Treasures] sword-art, however, had been created by Daofather Fuju.

Just by comparing them, it was clear which one was superior. However, both transcended the Dao of the Heavens, and so they could be compared to each other.

“Finally…I’ve lost the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop.” Midway through his training, Ning suddenly could sense that his Grand Dao of the Waterdrop was no longer perfect and complete. He paused for a moment…but then he once more began to calmly continue his meditations.

The Dao continued to leak away from him in tiny strands…but his understanding of the [Five Treasures] sword-art grew increasingly refined.

“Five treasures…five treasures…” Ning rose to his feet, walking out of the thatched cottage. He raised his head to stare at the distant first peak, then sighed softly to himself. “It truly is a treasure. Only when you truly begin to train in it will you understand how vast and marvelous it is. I really have no idea how Daofather Fuju could’ve developed such an unfathomably powerful sword-art in the past. How could a major power like him have perished in such a silent, noiseless manner?”

Daofather Fuju’s death was a mystery. He was so formidable…how could he have perished?

Why was it that before he went into the primordial chaos, he intentionally left behind his legacy within the fifth peak? It was as though he knew that there was a chance he would die.

“Did he encounter Outsiders in the primordial chaos who killed him? Or did he encounter a mysterious, dangerous area within the infinite primordial chaos which he had to enter despite the danger?” Ning was unable to come up with the answer, and so he stopped guessing. The primordial chaos was simply too vast and mysterious. The nine chaos seals themselves had come from the primordial chaos.

“Training in the first chapter alone has made my sword far faster than it was in the past.” Ning had already mastered the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

The first chapter wasn’t that difficult; the majority of those who were truly determined to train in it would succeed in their efforts. But of course, one had to have at least reached the first stage of swordforce to succeed.

“Come out.”

A Darknorth sword emerged, appearing in Ning’s hands. He began to execute the sword-art.

He didn’t use any of his Immortal energy or his divine power. He was like an ordinary mortal training with the sword.

Chopping…piercing…slashing…deflecting…these were the most basic of sword stances, but in Ning’s hands they seemed to flow together like water. As Ning continued with his swordplay, a layer of white-gold light began to appear atop his sword. The dazzling, white-gold halo caused his sword to possess inconceivable might.

It made his sword faster. Sharper. Even space itself began to crackle and tear.

This was the second stage of swordforce…the ‘Dazzling Sun’ stage.

The first stage of swordforce was known as the ‘Silver Moon’ stage, because at this stage a layer of silvery-white light would appear atop the sword.

“So, without even realizing it, I’ve already reached the second stage of swordforce.” Ning laughed.

……

Mount Innerheart.

Within the Daoist monastery.

Subhuti sat there with his eyes closed. In truth, he was watching over the entire Three Realms. The Three Realms were currently in a state of chaos; as the most accomplished expert of the Three Realms in the art of spacetime, Subhuti would naturally keep an eye on all places.

“Eh?” Subhuti opened his eyes, a trace of a smile within them. “This disciple of mine has actually reached the second stage of swordforce. Mmm…I imagine that he’s probably calmed down by now. It’s time to let him exchange blows with the Seamless Gate.”

Given Subhuti’s abilities, he had long ago found some suitable headquarters of the Seamless Gate for Ji Ning to act against.

However…if he always let Ji Ning attack so furiously, Ji Ning would probably die in his fury. Thus, Subhuti wanted to ensure that he was in control of the general tempo of things. He wouldn’t let Ji Ning get involved in an excessive slaughter, but he had to allow Ji Ning to reach his goal of forcing the Seamless Gate to bow its head. Thus…Subhuti needed to handle things with precision.

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Chapter 17 – The Five Monarchs

Book 19, Empyrean God, Chapter 17 – The Five Monarchs

The towering Five Treasures Peaks.

Ji Ning was staring at the sword stances engraved upon the mountainside of the first peak, sensing the sword-intent radiating from it. Suddenly, the space around him turned blurry as an old man in Daoist robes suddenly manifested.

“Master.” Ning immediately called out respectfully upon seeing him.

“Work hard to learn the [Five Treasures] sword-art. If you master it, you’ll have a greater chance to survive this storm,” Subhuti said with a laugh. “Now…prior to this, you said you wish to act against the Seamless Gate, I believe?”

Ning’s eyes lit up. He nodded repeatedly. “Yes.”

“The Seamless Gate is spread across the Three Realms. Some worlds have more experts, some worlds have fewer.” Subhuti continued, “Realms such as the one Crimsonbright ruled over are comparatively weak. Your homeland, the Grand Xia, for example; prior to the Seamless Gate’s actions, there were almost no Empyrean Gods or True Immortals within it.”

Ning nodded repeatedly. “Master, I want to go to the major worlds of supreme powers. Killing Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals won’t affect the Seamless Gate that much, unless I kill an absolutely enormous amount of them. I’m going to be launching sneak attacks; there’s not going to be enough time for me to kill that many of them. That’s why I want to primarily focus on Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.”

Only the deaths of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would cause heartache for the Seamless Gate.

“In the Three Realms…the strongest force on our side is that of the human race,” Subhuti said. “The human race is led by the Three Emperors of Mankind: Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong. The three of them are on the same level as the leaders of the Daoist Path and Buddhist Sangha.”

“Second to them are the Five Monarchs. These five Monarchs were all former rulers of the human race. The final one, Xia Yu, completely unified all humans under his rule; only then did they all become true rulers. Ever since then, the Primordial Imperial Clan which rules the human race has been led by the Xia clan.” 1

Ning nodded.

He knew that during the Primordial Era, Xia Yu had tamed the floods with his divine abilities, blessing the lands with kindness and benevolence. Even the Three Emperors acknowledged him and supported him, causing his rule to become even more stable and firm. And of course, Xia Yu himself possessed tremendous power. How could someone be considered a ‘Monarch’ of the human race be weak? Even Ning’s own senior apprentice-brother, Sun Wukong, had acquired the golden staff he used from Xia Yu, who had made it for him. 2”

“Thus, in terms of major worlds…the major worlds which are controlled by the Primordial Imperial Clan are all extremely powerful. The Seamless Gate has stationed many troops in those worlds, and the battles between the experts there are all incredibly savage. If you attack, the Seamless Gate will immediately send their vast armies to tie you down. I recommend that you do not go there,” Subhuti said.

Ning understood. The battlegrounds between the Primordial Imperial Clan and the Seamless Gate were some of the most terrifying places of the entire Three Realms. Both sides had concentrated enormous amounts of power there.

“The realms ruled over by the other four Monarchs, however, are comparatively much weaker. But of course, they are still much stronger than the Crimsonbright Realm,” Subhuti said. “Which of the realms ruled over by the other four Monarchs would you like to go to?”

“Which one? Any one of them works,” Ning said hurriedly. He just wanted to kill the Seamless Gate’s people. The location didn’t really matter.

“One of the major worlds under Monarch Zhuanxu, the Winterherald world, holds Youngflame Freak within it. He has a total of eighteen clones spread throughout the Three Realms, with sixteen of them being within the Winterherald world,” Subhuti said. Although Youngflame Freak’s life-preserving methods were formidable, they were nothing to Subhuti.

Ning’s eyes lit up. “Does the Winterherald world have many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within it?”

“Although war has yet to come to the Winterherald world, the Seamless Gate has a total of nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals already stationed there,” Subhuti said.

Ning sighed in amazement.

Monarch Zhuanxu was one of the Five Monarchs who had once ruled over the human race. Naturally, he had many powerful human experts following him. He himself was also exceedingly powerful, and in truth, the ‘Kindwater’ 3 clan was a branch of Zhuanxu’s clan. But of course, the Kindwater clan was on a lower level than the Xiamang clan, much like how Monarch Zhuanxu was on a lower level than Monarch Xia Yu.

“Nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…fine. I choose this world.” Ning nodded.

“This is a map of the forces of the Seamless Gate that are spread throughout the entire Zhuanxu Realm.” Subhuti handed over a furled scroll to Ning, then instructed, “But you must not tarry overlong in each battle!”

“Your disciple understands.” Ning nodded.

“Hurry up and look at it, then destroy it,” Subhuti instructed. Ning immediately opened up and began to memorize the contents of the scroll.

The scroll had very detailed notes regarding the disposition of forces of both sides across the thirty-nine major worlds of the Zhuanxu Realm. The locations of the sixteen clones of Youngflame Freak were all marked out as well.

Whoosh. Ning flared the divine power in his hands, reducing the scroll to dust.

“Good.” Subhuti nodded, then disappeared into thin air.

A hint of a killing intent flashed past Ning’s eyes. “The time has finally come.”

“Ninefangs.” Ning’s form blurred momentarily, then he appeared next to Ninefangs, who was napping next to a nearby thatched cottage.

“Manorlord.” Ninefangs hurriedly woke up and rose to his feet.

“Go back to the Starseizer world for now,” Ning instructed, “And carry out the plan as we previously discussed.”

Ninefangs instantly understood what Ning was planning.

“Yes,” Ninefangs said respectfully. He then allowed Ning to pull him directly into the Starseizer world. By now, after Ning had completely mastered and bound the Starseizing Manor, Ning realized that the Starseizer world was actually hidden within a special region of the Starseizing Manor. Mother Nuwa had actually created the Starseizer world in that region.

He was now completely capable of drawing others straight into the Starseizer world or teleporting people out from it. There was no need to go through the Starseizing Manor first, though of course this was only possible because he had already fully bound it.

……

The Zhuanxu Realm. The Winterherald major world.

Winterherald was the world where the great army which Monarch Zhuanxu had once used to unify the human race, the Winterherald Army, was stationed. The various matters of the Winterherald world were all decided upon by the general and the deputy general of the army. Normally, this was quite a peaceful world, but ever since the Seamless Gate had begun to infiltrate it, a large number of minor clashes had begun to erupt, causing the Winterherald world to become rather chaotic.

But of course…

These were all small-scale battles. They were still far away from launching the campaign against this major world, to say nothing of launching a Realmwar. A war against Monarch Zhuanxu, one of the Five Monarchs of the Primordial Imperial Clan, would definitely come towards the very end of the campaign against the three thousand major worlds. The only thing the Seamless Gate was doing right now was tying down his forces, preventing him from being able to easily reinforce the other Daofathers.

“This really is a different place.” Ning stood atop a mountain peak, staring at the vast world. His heartforce had spread out to cover it long ago.

Heartforce, ephemeral and invisible…one had to reach the fourth stage to be able to cover an entire world with it. Most importantly of all, there was almost no way to sense someone else’s heartforce, as it was completely traceless; the only possible way was to possess heartforce on the same level. For example, when Ning had made his breakthrough on the Grand Xia, he had unconsciously spread his heartforce out to cover the entire Grand Xia without Daofather Ink Bamboo or Daofather Crimsonbright noticing it. This was because, although they were born as a True God and a True Fiend of tremendous power, they weren’t particularly strong in heartforce. Neither had reached the fourth level.

Old Man Yuan and some of the supreme major powers, in turn, had only reached the fourth stage of heartforce.

Only Houyi had ever reached the fifth stage.

Of course, the Godking of the Seamless Gate would’ve been able to notice that Ning had spread his heartforce out, but the Godking had been in the Fifth World, not the Grand Xia. He was able to watch the battle and mentally converse with Daofather Ink Bamboo through sending his coresense out through the Void and into the Grand Xia, but coresense alone wouldn’t be able to discover heartforce.

“The Winterherald world is actually very tightly governed and ruled. The Celestial Immortals and Fiendgods are all arranged into armies,” Ning sighed internally. “The Grand Xia only formed Immortal armies when forced to do so, but the army of Monarch Zhuanxu has existed since the Primordial Era. I imagine that their teamwork is far superior as well.”

“Right. First, I’ll go wipe out the sixteen clones of Youngflame Freak.”

“Youngflame Freak truly is a cautious fellow. On the surface, he appears to be accompanying Azurefox in the Crimsonbright Realm, but his other bodies were squirreled away here at the Zhuanxu Realm.” Ning’s body transformed as he used the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], instantly becoming a bit taller. He now had the aura of a Celestial Immortal.

Swoosh.

Ning disappeared into thin air.

……

The Winterherald world. The Seamless Gate had three headquarters here, each of which had three Empyrean Gods and True Immortals guarding over them, along with many Immortals and layers of formations. Even if the experts of the Winterherald world assaulted them, they would be able to hold on.

Aside from these three headquarters, there were also 182 bases spread throughout the world. These bases could be withdrawn or abandoned at a moment’s notice, or be used to launch sneak attacks when needed. They were more than enough to create chaos throughout the Winterherald world. To the Winterherald world, however, these bases were like ants that would occasionally give them a bite. But if they were to actually attack those bases…given the Seamless Gate’s intelligence abilities, the bases would be instantly evacuated. And, most importantly of all, those bases were so weak that they weren’t really worth annihilating.

“Hmph. Yeah, yeah. Keep on killing. So many of us died during the Crimsonbright Realmwar, and now you want us to go kill others?” An ugly old man was eating some meat, a cold light in his eyes. “Still, I don’t really mind. Even if I lose another one of my clone, I’ll still have my sixteen clones hiding here safe and sound.”

“The Zhuanxu Realm…I imagine that the war will only come here at the very end. That’s going to be quite some time from now. When it comes, I’ll slink off to a different Realm.”

The two alliances were battling each other, and there was nowhere for the Celestial Immortals to run. He had to have a ‘legal’ status somewhere. The Crimsonbright Realm was very far away from the Zhuanxu Realm. Given that Youngflame Freak had been very low-key in the Grand Xia, there had only been a very low number of Celestial Immortals who had ever seen him. His clones in the Winterherald world were similarly low-key, and the number of Celestial Immortals who encountered him was similarly low.

Only someone who had previously met him in person before would be able to tell that these were his clones! But clearly, Youngflame Freak hadn’t been that unlucky thus far.

He had been hidden for countless years with the false identity of ‘Immortal Bloodfiend’. This was a publicly acknowledged persona, and no one suspected that there was a connection between ‘Immortal Bloodfiend’ and ‘Youngflame Freak’. Now that he had joined the Seamless Gate and had been inserted here, he was quite low-key.

Youngflame Freak was very famous, but only had two clones; one public, one hidden.

Immortal Bloodfiend was almost unknown. He had one public clone and fifteen hidden ones for a total of sixteen.

“This storm is supposedly going to be a very dangerous one, but perhaps I’ll be able to survive yet again. Hmph, of what use is power? Staying alive is what matters. Ji Ning? I can’t be bothered to deal with you. You have already displayed your brilliance and your sharpness…now, let’s see if you’ll be able to survive the storm.” Youngflame Freak munched on his meat and guzzled his wine in a very relaxed manner.

“I’m not going to go too crazy in defending this base. Some of the other bases are much more brash than me; the Winterherald world will go after them first, not me. However, my base isn’t a weak one either; the Seamless Gate will have no grounds to blame me. How pleasant.” When he thought about how the other Immortals and Fiendgods were risking their lives, and how many had died in the Realmwar, Youngflame Freak felt even more self-satisfied at how clever he was!

“Staying alive is what really matt-” Youngflame Freak’s face suddenly changed. “An enemy’s attacking? Wait, that doesn’t make sense. There shouldn’t be any attacks against me.” Youngflame Freak immediately flew out, having no time to worry about anything else.

1. Yu the Great is a quasi-historical Chinese figure who founded the historical Xia Dynasty, considered to be the very first Chinese dynasty.

2. This is the legendary Ruyi Jingu Bang which Sun Wukong used in Journey to the West.

3. In Chinese, ‘Kindwater’ was ‘Zhuanshui’

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Chapter 18 – Executing Youngflame Freak

Chapter 18 – Executing Youngflame Freak

This was a fairly small base, with just a single Celestial Immortal protecting it – Youngflame Freak. It was similar to the Myriad Demons Cavern base which Ning had rescued Mu Northson out of; that place also had just a single Celestial Immortal within it.

This was on purpose. The relative weakness of each base made it easier for them to relocate as necessary, without paying much of a price.

“Who is it?”

There were groups of roving guards within the base, as well as some black-robed figures in the distance. The black-robed figures all had auras at the Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal level. For ordinary Immortal cultivators, a place like this was an absolute devil’s den…but to Ji Ning, this place normally wouldn’t be worth his time at all.

His target was the guardian of this base…Youngflame Freak!

“An enemy has barged in!”

“Attack!”

“It’s a Celestial Immortal.”

“Surround and attack him!”

The base was tightly guarded, and as soon as Ning used a Greater Teleportation to bypass the formations, he was instantly discovered.

“Attack!” The group of black-robed figures instantly set up a great formation, beginning to attack Ning en masse. All of them were Loose Immortals, and some of them were comparable in power to Loose Immortals who had survived for a million years. If they joined forces, they were absolutely capable of battling a Celestial Immortal.

“Unfortunately for you, I’m not a Celestial Immortal,” Ning sighed to himself.

Whoosh. A giant flag appeared in Ning’s hands, brimming with menace. This flag was a transformation of one of the Thirty-Six Heavens created by the 3600 stargold beads. This Protocosmic spirit-treasure could change form at well, and it possessed tremendous power; Ning enjoyed using it very much.

“Attack!”

“Tie him down! Once Immortal Bloodfiend arrives, he’ll be dead!”

“Right. Immortal Bloodfiend is incredibly powerful; no ordinary Celestial Immortal can match him. Tie him down!” The black-robed figures were all valiant and fearless. They formed together into an enormous black dragon, attempting to tie Ning down for now.

Ning held up the giant flag, pointing the tip of the flagpole towards them.

“Such hollow, meaningless attacks.” Ning stood there in the air, moving lightning-fast as he charged into the base. The flag in his hands swept outwards like an Immortal sword, causing golden light to appear in the skies. As for the black-robed figures who were in formation? Every single one of their chests was pierced straight through.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As Ning advanced, the flag in his hands stabbed through the chests of nine of the black-robed figures. They were crushed like ants, all nine of them dying on the spot. The great formation was instantly dispersed.

“Who dares to barge into the forbidden grounds?!” An ugly old man charged out with a hideous roar, surrounded by the stench of blood.

“Milord.”

“Milord.”

The surrounding guards felt as though their savior had come. They all called out hurriedly towards him. They had been utterly terrified just now; the only reason they had dared to battle Ning was because they had a formation, but even the formation was useless against him. Faced with such a supremely powerful ‘Celestial Immortal’, they no longer dared to fight back at all.

“Name yourself!” The ugly old man said coldly.

Ning stood there in midair, staring at the ugly old man. He recognized him as Youngflame Freak right away; he had personally seen Youngflame Freak before, after all. Ning laughed coldly, then said angrily, “The Seamless Gate killed my loved ones. Now that my power has increased, I’m going to wipe you all out! If I find one, I’ll kill one; if I find two, I’ll kill a pair. I’ll make the Seamless Gate regret what it did!”

“All by yourself?” The ugly old man snickered. “The Seamless Gate isn’t something the likes of you can offend. I urge you to leave right away. Otherwise…don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

“Leave? In your dreams!” Ning charged straight towards Youngflame Freak.

In his heart, Youngflame Freak was cursing to himself. “What horrible luck. I actually ran into a madman who wants revenge. The Seamless Gate has harmed countless people throughout the Three Realms; there are far, far too many people with grudges against it. This is a Celestial Immortal who I’ve never even seen before. He must’ve been harmed by the Seamless Gate in the past. Now that he’s broken through to become a Celestial Immortal, he’s gone mad for revenge. There are so many bases in the Winterherald world…why the hell did he have to choose mine? What horrible luck!”

He felt extremely unhappy, but since his foe was already attacking, Youngflame Freak didn’t dare to take him lightly. He produced a blood-colored horsetail whisk in his hand, then swept the whisk forward, transforming it into three thousand blood serpents that surged towards Ning.

Whoosh! The giant flag in Ning’s hands fluttered. The flagpole was still merely as thick as a palm, but suddenly it expanded to become three thousand meters long. It struck out lightning-fast, stabbing straight into Youngflame Freak’s chest with a piercing sound! As for those three thousand blood serpents…how could they possibly stop the might of this ‘Banner of the Heavens’?

“You…you…” Youngflame Freak’s eyes bulged out as he stared towards Ning in disbelief. His heart was filled with utter rage. “He’s close to a Pure Yang True Immortal in power? He absolutely is extremely close to that level. Why is my luck so horrible! A random attacking Celestial Immortal ends up having close to the power of a Pure Yang True Immortal. His treasure is an extraordinary one as well; it has to be a Protocosmic spirit-treasure.”

“What horrible luck.”

“Thank goodness I have many other clones. He shouldn’t be able to find the place where my other clones are hidden.”

Youngflame Freak gave Ning a cold glare, then died.

“Milord!”

“Quick, flee!”

“His lordship is dead!”

Everyone began to panic.

The giant flag in Ning’s hands swept forward. Boom! The Flag of the Heavens contained a world within it, and he immediately dragged all of the servants of the Seamless Gate’s base inside that world. In fact, he even absorbed some of the local palaces and structures into the Flag of the Heavens.

Within the world inside the flag.

“What is this place?”

“Where are we?”

This was an empty world. The Immortal cultivators and Fiendgods of the Seamless Gate were all terrified.

Rumble…

Two vigorous streams of power surged through the skies, forming a pair of enormous millstones above and below them. These two giant millstones began to grind down towards the people between them!

As the spatial millstones began to crush down…

Splat! Splat! Splat!

The servants all perished. Even the Fiendgods were completely slain and destroyed…and one of the bracelets worn by one of the Fiendgods was completely smashed apart. That Fiendgod’s other treasures, however, were left unharmed.

“What’s going on?!”

One old man after another began to appear. Each of them had different appearances, but their auras were all identical to Youngflame Freak’s aura. There was a total of fourteen of them.

Youngflame Freak’s fourteen clones stared at their surroundings. Instantly, the looks on their faces changed.

“My fourteen clones have been captured.” Youngflame Freak instantly understood…then began to panic. “How is this possible? That Fiendgod was just an ordinary Fiendgod, and his bracelet was just an ordinary Heaven-ranked storage treasure. Generally speaking, powerful Immortals wouldn’t deign to act against such puny Fiendgods. Even if they did, they wouldn’t go so far as to destroy a Heaven-ranked treasure.”

But of course, he had no idea…that Ning knew exactly where he was. Patriarch Subhuti had told Ning long ago. Thus, there was no chance for Youngflame Freak to escape at all.

Boom! The millstones once more came smashing down…and so the fourteen Celestial Immortal clones were all crushed within this supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasure. It must be understood that Ning was using his True Immortal energy in controlling these treasures; even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would perish if they were trapped within this stargold bead, to say nothing of Youngflame Freak!

The internal crushing power of the Stargold Beads of the Heavens was no lower than the power of the Eight Fires Qiankun World. Most importantly of all, once you entered it, there was no way out. Empyrean Gods might be able to endure the crushing power for a period of time, but they wouldn’t be able to endure it forever.

……

The Winterherald world. Within Ironsoldier Hall, one of the three major headquarters of the Seamless Gate.

This was a massive, towering edifice that was completely built using enormous swords, sabers, staffs, and other weapons. It had the appearance of a countless number of weapons plunged deep into the earth, but in reality all of the ‘weapons’ were parts of a single titanic formation. They were shaped as weapons for cosmetic purposes only.

“Eh?”

“Immortal Bloodfiend suffered an attack.”

Within the main hall of Ironsoldier Hall. This was a grand hall that was shaped like an enormous axe. A middle-aged man was solemnly staring at a midair mirror as two other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals hastened over.

“Immortal Bloodfiend suffered an attack. These are the scenes from just now. Take a look.” The leader of Ironsoldier Hall, ‘True Immortal Ironsoldier’, spoke out. His power was significantly stronger than the power of the other two, so he naturally became the temporary leader of the group. However, each headquarters only had a total of three Empyrean Gods or True Immortals, and so there really wasn’t much of a difference in status.

“Oh?” The other two consisted of a male golden-armored Empyrean God and a female pink-robed True Immortal. The two appeared to be quite intimate with each other; clearly, they were a couple. They were known as the ‘Goldred Couple’, and they had a bit of a reputation in the Three Realms. They were fairly average in terms of power, but had a bit of a reputation for a rather unsavory reason. Empyrean God Goldspear had thousands of concubines, while True Immortal Redflower had more than ten thousand male lovers. The two of them really were a perfect pair for each other.

The Goldred Couple stared towards the midair mirror, which was replaying the scenes from earlier.

“The Seamless Gate killed my loved ones. Now that my power has increased, I’m going to wipe you all out! If I find one, I’ll kill one; if I find two, I’ll kill a pair. I’ll make the Seamless Gate regret what it did!” The mirror-Ning’s eyes were filled with madness…and then he immediately attacked Youngflame Freak.

It took only one stance…and Youngflame Freak was wiped out.

He then completely uprooted and destroyed the entire base.

“I’ve never seen this Celestial Immortal before, but he’s quite handsome.” True Immortal Redflower nibbled her lips, an interested look in her eyes.

“Yes, he’s new. He must’ve come out from some backwater place. Most likely, he just broke through from being a Void-level Earth Immortal…but for him to have such power means that he must’ve had some special encounters. That flagpole is particularly powerful; it may well be a Protocosmic spirit-treasure,” Empyrean God Goldspear evaluated. “In short, this is just a person who deeply hates our Seamless Gate, and who was lucky enough to break through to become a Celestial Immortal. He doesn’t really matter. Immortal Bloodfiend can only curse his own terrible luck, for him to have been chosen by this Celestial Immortal.”

“He has close to the power of a Pure Yang True Immortal. Can’t be too overconfident in dealing with him,” True Immortal Ironsoldier said.

“Agreed. Want me to go capture him?” True Immortal Redflower had a greedy look in eyes. She stared at the image of Ning as though she wanted to devour him.

“He’s already left that base. For now, his whereabouts are unknown,” True Immortal Ironsoldier said. “If I use coresense to search for him, I’ll probably disturb the Winterherald Army! Let’s just watch for now. Now that we are on guard, if we notice this Celestial Immortal attacking any of our other bases…Goldspear, you are an Empyrean God. Teleport straight to him and execute him.”

“It’ll only take me a single spear-strike to kill him.” Empyrean God Goldspear laughed in a disdainful manner.

True Immortal Ironsoldier felt resigned. It was his bad luck to have been assigned into a team with these two. Still…this was what his superiors had arranged. There was nothing he could do.

……

“How did you find me?!” Youngflame Freak stared in terror at the Celestial Immortal in front of him. Just now, his other fifteen clones had been slaughtered by this Celestial Immortal. He had a total of sixteen clones within this world, with only Immortal Bloodfiend being a public figure; the other fifteen had all been hidden. The fourteen hidden within the magic treasure were all dead…and now, even the last one had been located.”

“Youngflame Freak…you are the reason I am here.” A cold voice rang out.

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Chapter 19 – Shocking the Three Realms

Chapter 19 – Shocking the Three Realms

“Who…who are you?!” Youngflame Freak stared towards the man before him in disbelief.

“It seems you’ve offended many, many people. You aren’t even able to guess at who I am.” Ji Ning stood there, his face and his aura beginning to completely change back to normal. The reason why he had used the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was so that he wouldn’t rattle the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate, giving him the chance to first execute the sixteen clones of Youngflame Freak!

If he hadn’t hidden his true identity and had gone straight for Youngflame Freak, the Seamless Gate would’ve grown cautious and their Empyrean Gods and True Immortals might have immediately slipped away. If he had gone for them first instead, the Daofathers behind the Seamless Alliance would’ve been alerted, at which point Ning wouldn’t have the time needed to deal with Youngflame Freak.

“Ji…Ji Ning?!” Youngflame Freak couldn’t believe it. He hurriedly said in terror, “Spare me, spare my life!”

He had a total of eighteen clones. Sixteen were hidden here, while the other two were in the Crimsonbright Realm.

The Zhuanxu Realm was fairly safe, but the Seamless Gate had already lost the war for the Crimsonbright Realm. The two clones he had hidden there were in grave danger, but he didn’t dare disobey the Seamless Gate’s orders. As for creating new clones? It must be understood that every single clone of his was an extraordinary one, comparable to his ‘true body’. So long as one survived, he would remain alive.

But in turn, the creation of these clones required a very long period of time. The storm had already descended; he simply didn’t have enough time at all. Thus, once these sixteen were destroyed, only the final two would be remaining. If they died as well, then he would be truly dead.

“So long as you spare me, I can give all of the bugs that I’ve been raising to you. All of them!” Youngflame Freak said frantically. “And Protocosmic spirit-treasures; I can give them to you as well.”

“Just die.” Ning coldly stabbed out with the flagpole in his hands, and it pierced straight through Youngflame Freak’s chest. The difference in power between the two was simply too great; Youngflame Freak wasn’t able to resist at all.

“No!” Youngflame Freak was filled with terror and rage.

“When you die, your treasures will become mine regardless.” Ning casually ripped the flagpole out of Youngflame Freak’s body…and the soul in that body dispersed.

“Wiping out the sixteen clones of Youngflame Freak is just the appetizer. Soon, I will start preparing for the main course.” Ning’s gaze was cold as he turned to look at the other clones.

His true targets were the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals! They were what really mattered in this war for karmic luck. They were able to command armies of Immortals and Fiendgods, and were able to use incredibly powerful spells and magic treasures. Only when they were the commanders would the armies of Immortals and Fiendgods possess truly shocking levels of power. Without them at the head, those armies would be much weaker. The Three Realms only had so many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals; every single loss would be noticed and felt by the Seamless Gate. If ten were to die…that would be more than enough to cause heartache for the Seamless Gate.

……

The Starseizer world. A vast, desolate wilderness.

Ning appeared out of nowhere in midair.

“Respectful greetings to you, Manorlord.” An awe-inspiring sea of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals all fell to their knees upon seeing Ning.

“Manorlord.” Empyrean God Redsnow and the rest of the seven all bowed as well.

The reason why Ning had sent Ninefangs back to the Starseizer world was naturally to have the people here get ready for battle. They had made their preparations for war long ago.

“My Starseizing Manor has been hidden for many years now. The Three Realms have long since forgotten our might and our name. As for you…you have lived here within the Starseizing world for countless years. Now…it is time for you to show the Three Realms your fangs!” Ning spoke in an icy voice as he stared at the horde of Immortals.

“Fight!”

“FIGHT!” A heaven-shaking roar rang out from the mouths of the countless Immortals. Their eyes were all blazing with eager fire. They had always known that the Three Realms were just outside, but never had the chance to actually go out. They had been sealed in here for far, far too long. The other Immortals of the Three Realms could rove about, making friends everywhere, but they had to stay here.

Now that Ji Ning had bound the Starseizing Manor, they could leave, yes…but this was a time of war. Which Celestial Immortal would dare to travel about by himself to visit friends? The entire Three Realms had been swept up into a storm of blood, and many of the Immortals had all gathered together into armies.

These Immortals had all been feeling very stifled. But now…they would have the chance to show their power in the Three Realms.

“Assemble the formation!” Ning ordered.

Instantly, with a series of rumbling sounds, the countless Immortals began to fly into the skies. In a very orderly manner, they began to surround the midair Ji Ning. A flood of natural energy surged towards them, quickly coalescing into the form of an enormous Fiendgod. The Starseizing world was a major world, after all, and the amount of natural energy it contained was extremely vast. It was extremely simple for a perfect Heaven Punisher to be formed.

Soon, a Heaven Punisher took shape, with a Seven Planets God next to it. Both were thirty thousand meters tall.

“Redsnow, you go to the second headquarters. I’ll go to the first one,” Ning said. “We’ll handle the third one together.”

“Alright.” The Seven Planets God nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets God simultaneously left the Starseizer world.

They were simply too fast. Both of them used a spatial teleport to move towards their destination.

……

Ironsoldier Hall, one of the three headquarters.

“Come, drink.”

True Immortal Ironsoldier and the Goldred Couple were sipping wine and relaxing within a palace. There were maintaining a constant vigil, however; once they found that crazy Celestial Immortal, Empyrean God Goldspear would immediately attack.

“Come here, my pretty.” Goldspear pulled one of the dancing, singing women into his arms, and the woman laughed as she picked up a cup of wine. “Milord.”

“Come, let’s drink together.” Goldspear drank a cup, then lowered his mouth to kiss the woman, passing the wine into her mouth from his. As for his hands, both of them were already kneading and playing with the woman’s chest. The nearby female Immortal, Redflower, didn’t care at all….because she had two of her male playthings by her side, attending to her needs. Ironsoldier felt rather uncomfortable with this, but since he was a True Immortal, he was able to calmly ignore it all.

They had no idea that Ji Ning had already killed the sixteen clones of Venomflame Freak. Those fifteen hidden clones really had been hidden too well.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a massive explosion could be heard from outside. The entire Ironsoldier Hall shook violently, and even the palace itself was trembling. Winecups shattered and wine spilled everywhere as the dancers all cried out in shock.

“Not good.”

True Immortal Ironsoldier, Empyrean God Goldspear, and True Immortal Redflower all transformed into streaks of light, charging into the skies above the palace. But upon reaching the outside, they became dazed…because a massive, towering, thirty thousand meter Fiendgod had appeared before them. This Fiendgod had no head, was barefoot, and wielded a pair of massive swords in its hands. The formations in front of him were all gleaming with golden light, but they were all visibly shuddering as well.

“Xingtian the Heaven Punisher?”

“Look at the face on its chest; that’s Ji Ning! Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning!” The three of them were now stunned. Ji Ning had commanded a Heaven Punisher in the Crimsonbright Realmwar and displayed godlike valor; this story had long ago spread throughout the Three Realms. Ji Ning definitely stood at the very peak of power amongst the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms. Although the three of them had been assigned to the Zhuanxu Realm, they had read very detailed intelligence reports regarding Ji Ning.

BOOM!

Ning’s Heaven Punisher slashed out with the giant twinswords, and with a boom, the entire formation completely broke apart.

“What?! How can this be!”

“The formation was destroyed?”

All three of them felt terror in their hearts.

“Flee!”

The formation had been meant to protect their headquarters; it would be able to hold out for a period of time even if twenty Empyrean Gods and True Immortals jointly assaulted it. However, Ning’s Heaven Punisher was far more powerful than twenty Empyrean Gods. It was at the Daofather level of power…and in truth, even a Daofather golem had been suppressed by Ning’s might.

All Ning had been forced to do was deliver nine successive sword-blows in a short period of time and the formation was completely chopped apart. As soon as the three Seamless Gate experts had charged out and recognized Ning, Ning had finished the job and charged straight towards them.

“Run, run, RUN!” All three of them were completely terrified.

“TOO LATE!” A flood of sword-light swept towards them, many tens of thousands of meters in size, covering the skies and blotting out the sun. In fact, this strike was even more terrifying than the strikes Ning delivered during the Realmwar, because his sword-arts had clearly grown even more exquisite and even faster. The slowest of the three, True Immortal Redflower, saw the sword-light sweep past her body…and her body was instantly transformed into ash. The only thing left behind was the final echoes of an unwilling scream.

“No.” True Immortal Ironsoldier hurriedly used an evasive technique, but how could he compare in speed to Ning’s weapons? He was slain as well.

At such close range, and faced with such a fast attack…there was no time to use a spatial teleportation technique at all, much less use Greater Teleportation. As for hiding within an estate-treasure? The only result would be that Ning would collect it; it represented certain death. Thus, if they wanted to escape, their only chance lay in fleeing at high speed! When true experts of the Three Realms engaged in battle against each other, they would generally rely on their evasive techniques. Thus, everyone possessed some formidable evasive skills. If they didn’t, possessing Protocosmic spirit-treasures that were highly suited for fleeing also worked.

The Xia Emperor, for example, had once commanded a lightship that allowed him to match the extremely fast speed of the Great Sage Who Swallows the Skies, of the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater.

But alas, True Immortal Ironsoldier’s evasive techniques were poor, and he didn’t have any top-quality Protocosmic spirit-treasures meant for fleeing. Naturally…the only result was death.

“Spare me. Spare me!” Empyrean God Goldspear was utterly terrified. As he begged for mercy, he immediately transformed into nine clones that fled in nine different directions. Although every single clone was fairly weak, if he didn’t do this he wouldn’t have any chance to escape at all.

Rumble…

The sword-light spun around, causing the tens of thousands of meters around it to become a region of death.

All nine of Empyrean God Goldspear’s clones were slain!

Ning swept the area below with his gaze. Instantly, the world itself seemed to shatter as the terrifying, fleeing Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals were blown into dust.

“Next.” Ning’s Heaven Punisher turned and used a teleportation technique to head towards the third headquarters.

His own Realmwar had ended more than two years ago. Ning’s soul heartforce technique had made some further, minor improvements. Now…he was able to control a hundred percent of the perfect Heaven Punisher’s power! He was already very close to reaching maximum power in the past, and now that he had perfect control over it, no energy leaked out of it at all. Thus, he was now able to use the Heaven Punisher to teleport with him, as though it was part of him.

If he didn’t have full control over it, there would be no way to teleport with it. He’d have to rely on treasures like the Voidboat in order to travel.

But now…there was no need!

Sneak attacks had to be carried out quickly, with overwhelming force. Thus, Ning immediately used the Heaven Punisher upon attacking!

The first headquarters had been wiped out with incredible speed. The news of its destruction had yet to even reach the third headquarters before Ning arrived. The massive, towering Heaven Punisher stood barefoot upon the desolate wilderness. Raising its twinswords up high, it furiously chopped down upon the palace that was built atop the towering mountain peak. The light of a formation began to flicker and flash as three Empyrean Gods and True Immortals charged out from the palace.

“FLEE!” A voice rang out in the minds of the three.

“It’s the Daofather.” The three instantly understood. The Seamless Gate’s Daofather had finally noticed and was frantically trying to warn them…but alas, it was too late!

BOOOM!!

The formation collapsed. Ning’s overwhelming powerful Heaven Punisher, two giant swords in its hands, began its massacre of the three Seamless Gate experts. The Empyrean God managed to have one of his clones escape, but alas, the other seven clones he created were all destroyed, and the parts of his soul in them were obliterated. He had lost too much of his soul; the remnants of his soul in the seventh clone were unable to survive on their own, and so his soul shattered and he died.

This was a weakness of Empyrean Gods. Although their divine bodies were formidable, once you destroyed their souls, they would die. For example, when Ning acquired the Rahu Bow in the Crescent world, he had encountered the corpse of Empyrean God Qi. Although Qi’s divine body was in perfect shape, his soul had been destroyed.

When one’s soul suffered too much damage, the remaining parts would crumble as well.

“Ji Ning, I’ve wiped out the second headquarters. They almost managed to escape. You moved much faster than me.” The space around Ning turned blurry for a moment as a voice rang out in his mind, then a towering, spear-wielding Fiendgod appeared. It was the Seven Planets God.

“Redsnow, let’s go,” Ning sent back.

As they spoke, a large boat that was three hundred meters long appeared. This was the Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Voidboat. Ning currently had three top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures; this was one meant for escape.

Whoosh! Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets God both flew into the Voidboat. Although the Voidboat looked like it was only three hundred meters long, it was like a tiny speck of sand that was capable of holding an entire world within it. It was actually extremely spacious inside; naturally, Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets God were able to enter it.

Swish!

They tore a hole through space, and the Voidboat departed from the Winterherald world…heading towards a different majorworld of the Zhuanxu Realm.

Ning wasn’t going to let up so easily!

Nine dead Empyrean Gods and True Immortals? Not enough!

……

“What’s going on?”

“What’s this all about?”

The Winterherald Army on Winterherald planet had immediately noticed the ripples of power. Their Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all gathered together, watching the scenes being displayed within the mirror. By the time they noticed it, however, Ning had already started to wipe out the third headquarters.

They saw a massive, nearly naked Fiendgod who was dressed only in a fur loincloth and who wielded two giant swords in his hands. The Fiendgod chopped down against the formations, then completely swept through the headquarters, not letting a single one of the three survive.

“Quick, look at the other two locations,” an Empyrean God said.

The images in the mirror quickly transformed to display the other two headquarters of the Seamless Gate.

Utter annihilation!

Utter devastation!

Both headquarters had been completely destroyed.

“Wiped out?” The commanders of the Winterherald Army stared at each other, stunned. The three headquarters of the Seamless Gate held a total of nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, all of whom were hidden behind the protective embrace of formations. They were all wiped out? They had battled these nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals for countless years!

……

The major powers of the Three Realms all possessed remarkable abilities. As soon as Ning wiped out the first headquarters, some of them began to take notice.

“What a formidable man, Ji Ning!”

“He really is quite bold.”

“This Ji Ning actually dares to launch sneak attacks by himself, outside of a Realmwar? He really is going all-out against the Seamless Gate.” These major powers all sighed in amazement. They knew very well that launching this sort of merciless sneak attack against the Seamless Gate would utterly incense it!

……

Within a different major world. This vast world was filled with an endless aura of cold. This was one of the true, major headquarters of the Seamless Gate…the Third World!

The wars against Crimsonbright Realm and certain other realms were conducted by the Fifth World of the Seamless Gate.

As for the Zhuanxu Realm, the even more powerful Third World was responsible for attacking it.

Within the Third World.

“Ji Ning?” At the very peak of a towering mountain that emanated an aura of infinite cold, there was a palace with a man seated in the lotus position within it. The man had long, jade-green hair and jade-green eyebrows. His eyes were open, and they were filled with ice. His coresense had spread out to cover the entire Zhuanxu World. Nine of his Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had perished in such a short period of time…he was now completely enraged and stunned.

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Chapter 20 – Kill, Kill, Kill!

Chapter 20 – Kill, Kill, Kill!

“He’s courting death!” The skinny, jade-haired elder seated atop the cloud of beds was absolutely stunned and enraged.

Whoosh.

Black energy swirled in the air beneath his cloud, coalescing into the form of a black-robed man. The black-robed man raised his head to look at the skinny elder. “Uncle-master Helljade.”

“Godking.” Daofather Helljade glanced at the black-robed figure below him. He addressed him respectfully as ‘Godking’, as this man was still the nominal leader of the Seamless Gate. Although in power, Daofather Helljade was a bit more powerful than the ‘Godking’, the Godking was the sole heir to their true ‘king’, who every single True Fiend and Daofather of the Seamless Gate venerated.

Naturally, this veneration extended to the ‘Godking’ as well. Normally, Daofather Helljade stood guard over the Third World, but it was still the Godking who was usually in charge of deployments and army movements. In fact, all of the Seamless Gate’s matters throughout the Three Realms were the responsibility of the Godking.

The Fifth World, for example; there was actually a different Daofather who stood guard over it, but at important moments the ‘Godking’ would make the arrangements and deployments. He had learned the techniques of the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate, the Lord of the Demonheart, allowing him to silently and soundlessly communicate in secret with any living creature of the Three Realms. This made it so that the Nuwa Alliance found it very hard to uncover the deployments and schemes of the Godking.

“Don’t panic. My true body is already beginning to summon our generals.” The Godking chuckled, but his eyes were filled with ice. “No matter what, we aren’t going to let Ji Ning escape again.”

“Right. We absolutely cannot let him escape again,” Daofather Helljade said angrily. “He killed nine of our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals just now. We’ve fought with the Zhuanxu Realm for so long, but we had only lost a single True Immortal to date. Now, all of sudden, we’ve lost this many! This Ji Ning is simply far too brash and wild. He actually dares to sneak attack us? He’s looking to die! We have to wipe him out. He cannot be allowed to escape!”

“Agreed.” The Godking nodded as well. He, too, felt pain in his heart at what had happened.

They had already lost dozens of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals during their defeat at the Crimsonbright Realmwar. Now, Ji Ning had suddenly struck out of nowhere and wiped out nine more. How could he not feel pain? How could he not feel anger?

“Don’t worry. The army is already assembling. Just give me a bit of time, and he’ll definitely die.” The Godking’s voice was filled with a murderous intent.

……

“Quick, assemble.”

“Assemble!”

“Quick!”

The Fifth World held a truly shocking number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Once they received the Godking’s order, they immediately began to assemble together.

……

The Skylands major world of the Zhuanxu Realm. There was a towering golden structure in this world within a region surrounded by mountain peaks. It was quite dazzling and eye-catching. This was one of the two major bases of the Seamless Gate on the Skylands world, and it held a total of four Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within it.

“Quick, let’s go.”

“Withdraw.”

The four of them had been relaxing, but upon receiving their orders they began to panic. One had been training quietly, one had been teaching disciples, and the others had been eating as the Godking’s orders had suddenly come.

Space shattered apart, and a three hundred meter boat crashed in through the Void, appearing outside this towering edifice. Two massive Fiendgods appeared simultaneously. The Seven Planets God simply willed it, and the surrounding space became completely sealed and locked. Ning’s Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets God simultaneously struck out with their weapons.

An explosive collision could be heard, as though the heavens themselves had been shattered. In the blink of an eye, the extremely tough and tenacious formations surrounding the structure had been shattered.

Ning and the Seven Planets God simultaneously charged forward.

“Quick, flee!”

“Let’s go!”

If they were one step ahead, they would survive. If they were one step behind, their souls would die.

The four Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had received the order to withdraw…but alas, only one of them was able to just barely escape. The other three were slaughtered by Ning and the Seven Planets God.

“Manorlord.” The Seven Planets God looked towards Ning.

Ning stared at the rubble before him. His coresense had long ago spread out to cover the entire Skylands world, and he sent mentally to Redsnow, “We’re not going to have any more opportunities. We were incredibly fast, tearing straight through the Void to travel from Winterherald to this place, but were just barely able to kill three of them. The other headquarters here on Skylands has already been evacuated. I imagine the other major worlds have been evacuated as well.”

“They’ve spread multiple headquarters across many major worlds. I refuse to believe they’d be willing to withdraw from all of them,” the Seven Planets God sent mentally.

“Let’s go to the other major worlds and take a look. Even if we can’t kill many of them, we can destroy their bases.”

It wasn’t easy to build up a headquarters like this. Ning had paid a significant price to set up the grand formations around Swallow Mountain, and the formations that were protecting these Seamless Gate headquarters were powerful enough to receive nine successive strikes from Ning’s Heaven Punisher, which had the power of a Daofather. Every single headquarters had been very expensive to build up.

Whoosh.

The Voidboat flew out from the Skylands world, once more tearing through the Void and hastening to another major world.

……

“Withdraw.”

“Withdraw.”

“Withdraw.”

The Godking’s true body was sending the orders and redeploying his soldiers. “The six of you, stand guard over Divine Goldlight Mountain. The eight of you, stand guard over the Seamless City…”

Various individuals were being ordered to withdraw, but the Godking was also sending some Empyrean Gods and True Immortals out to gather together at some special locations, such as the Seamless City or some other citadels. Once ten of them hid inside these war-citadels and joined together…even Ji Ning would find it difficult to breach their defenses.

Of course, if they didn’t have any war-forts protecting them, Ji Ning would find it much easier to deal with them. But those war-forts were very hard to breach.

This was why, during the Realmwar against the Crimsonbright Realm, once one side retreated into its war-citadel, the other side would halt its attacks. Both sides understood that unless there was an enormous disparity in power, it would be very hard to breach the defenses of a war-citadel.

“You guys, go draw Ji Ning’s attention and tie him down.”

“Go draw his attention.”

“Buy some time.”

The Godking’s orders came in rapid succession.

……

Whoosh!

The Voidboat tore through the Void, arriving at yet another major world.

“There are eight Empyrean Gods and True Immortals hiding within the Seamless City here.” Ning’s heartforce instantly discovered the black, levitating Seamless City. He immediately sent a mental message to the nearby Seven Planets God.

“Hiding inside a Seamless City? Hmph. If they are hiding inside a war-citadel…even if we attack, it’ll be hard for us to break through,” the Seven Planets God sent mentally. “If there were eighteen of them standing guard within a Seamless City, we’d have no chance at all…but there are only eight of them. If we join together, we still have a chance. The Seamless Gate is intentionally giving us false hopes; they want us to attack and waste time here. I imagine that they are currently deploying their armies against us. Soon, their armies will arrive.”

“Agreed.” Ning understood this as well.

“Next world.”

Boom! The Voidboat once more departed, heading towards yet another major world.

In fact, Ning actually decided to leave the entire Zhuanxu Realm and head to a different realm, the Xingtian Realm. Wargod Xingtian, the Heaven Punisher, was a tremendously powerful figure. How could anyone who was proclaimed as a ‘God of War’ during the Primordial Era be weak? And given that he was a member of the Primordial Imperial Clan, the realm under his control was definitely not weaker than the Zhuanxu Realm at all.

“Damn.”

“Withdraw!”

Ning’s sudden assault against a completely different realm resulted in him reaping the rewards he wanted.

…….

In one realm after another, the forces of the Seamless Gate fell into chaos.

These were all supreme, top-tier realms…and so the entire Seamless Alliance was filled with commotion.

“He’s just running around randomly.”

“Ji Ning really moves quite quickly.”

“Damn him.”

The True Gods and Daofathers of the Seamless Gate were so angry, their teeth hurt. In fact, all of them wanted to personally intervene…but they could sense coresenses of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance clashing against their own coresenses. The Nuwa Alliance was watching all this happen as well. The major powers of the Seamless Gate could sense the coresenses of terrifying figures such as Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, Subhuti, Fuxi, Suiren, and others. Instantly, they all calmed down.

All they could do was watch and do their best to redeploy their soldiers.

……

The Third World.

A total of 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had all been gathered here.

The black-robed Godking and Daofather Helljade stared downwards at the group of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. The Third World was meant to deal with the Zhuanxu Realm and other top-tier Realms. Monarch Zhuanxu alone had more than six hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under his command, to say nothing of the rest of the Five Monarchs and the other realms. He controlled several times as many experts as Daofather Crimsonbright. This was the difference between a powerful realm and a weak realm.

Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all preferred to follow experts, after all. If you could become a disciple to Daofather Three Purities, why would you choose to become a disciple to Daofather Crimsonbright instead? The strong would naturally grow stronger and the weak would naturally grow weaker. The likes of Lord Buddha, for example, had an entire pile of Daofathers under his command.

The Zhuanxu Realm alone had so many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. The Third World had to simultaneously deal with the Zhuanxu Realm and multiple other realms; naturally, it had a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Thus, it didn’t take too much time for it to summon 289 of them.

“Join together into the Seamless Infinity Formation. You have to slay Ji Ning,” the black-robed Godking ordered.

“Yes,” the 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals acknowledged in unison.

“Head out!” The Godking gave the order, and the battalion of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all flew into a black shuttle, then disappeared into the skies.

The Seamless Infinity Formation, when formed by more than two hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, was unfathomably more powerful than the Three Eyed Demon that had been formed by the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater. It had the power to battle against even real True Gods or Daofathers! It would indeed be quite easy for it to slay Ning’s Heaven Punisher. One or two Empyrean Gods or True Immortals might not be a match for it, but a large number of them would prove to be a terrifying threat.

In any war, a single person by himself was a puny, unremarkable force.

Unless, of course, you had reached Nuwa’s level. Even the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha had a chance of dying in the war, which was why Subhuti hadn’t joined in the first one.

……

A Voidboat continued to frantically travel from one major world to the next. Ning knew that he was taking on tremendous risks, but his decision to incense and incite the Seamless Gate was always a dangerous one. So he would kill, kill, kill! Kill as many as he could! His heartforce was spread around him in a giant bubble; as soon as something happened, he would immediately flee.

After killing those nine on Winterherald, he had killed six more in his dangerous lightning strikes. Ning, however, wanted to kill even more.

“Hurry, Ji Ning! The Seamless Gate’s army has arrived. You need to flee! Subhuti’s voice suddenly blasted out within Ning’s mind.

“What?!” Ning was shocked.

BOOM!

Far off in the distance, space itself blew apart as a black shuttle suddenly appeared.

When the 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had assembled on the Fifth World, the Godking had personally cast a spell to completely prevent any outside force from scrying on it! Subhuti’s [Dream of the Three Worlds] was formidable, but the Godking had been personally been taught by the Lord of the Demonheart, and so his abilities were incredible as well. If he focused on blocking any scrying, he was still capable of preventing Subhuti from detecting what he didn’t want them to detect.

Only after the group of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals left the Third World aboard the black shuttle did Subhuti discover them.

He immediately notified Ning…just as the grand army was about to arrive.

BOOM! Subhuti’s voice transmission caused Ning to feel shocked, but he immediately tore into the Void to flee. Thus, just as the Seamless Gate’s army appeared, Ning began to flee.

“Chase him!”

BOOM! BOOM! As soon as the Voidboat tore into the Void to escape, the black shuttle also pierced into the Void. They were able to trace the spatial ripples to find out exactly which region Ning’s Voidboat was headed towards.

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Chapter 21 – All For Nothing

Chapter 21 – All For Nothing

This was a world filled with fire, a vast, endless world. In fact, it was a bit vaster than even the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld Kingdom! This world was comparable to a hundred Grand Xia’s in size.

This place was a holy land for the human race!

This was a world created by the most powerful and oldest human alive…Suiren.

When Mother Nuwa had created the human race, it had started off very weak. Suiren was alive during those earliest of days. Despite his weakness, he not only learned how to control fire and taugh it to his fellows, he also unified the weak human race under his rule and led the humans to a path that permitted their survival during the ancient era where Fiendgods ruled. Suiren was tremendously talented and tremendously steadfast, and he managed to create an inconceivable path for himself and his race.

He was the most exalted, most revered, most supreme emperor of the entire human race…the leader of the Three Emperors!

Suiren was low-key and a down-to-earth person. He often roamed in the primordial chaos, and even cut a canal through it, creating a vast major world in the canal. This world was the Kindlefire major world, and it became a truly sacred land for the human race. One could use the size of a created world to judge the power of its creator, and Suiren’s Kindlefire world was second only to Nuwa’s world in size.

In terms of power…

Suiren’s power was unfathomable. During the Primordial Era, even the Elder God of Fire, Zhurong, a god who lived for battle, admitted that he was not a match for Suiren after sparring against him. Fuxi and Shennong often appeared in the Three Realms, but Suiren always kept to himself in seclusion. His very existence, however, was a mighty sword hanging over the necks of any who dared to cause the human race harm. He was the oldest and most powerful member of the human race. Even if he didn’t actually emerge from seclusion, no one in the Three Realms would dare to forget about him.

Even the Seamless Gate felt great dread towards this almighty human expert. Some powerful Outsiders had run into Suiren in the primordial chaos, and Suiren had slaughtered them all! That scene had stunned the entire Three Realms, and had made the Seamless Gate even more nervous regarding his power.

It was his power that ensured that the human race remained the unquestioned leader of the myriad races. Not even the True Gods of Primordial Chaos would argue against him.

At the very top of a towering, divine mountain of fire, a man was seated in the lotus position, nearly naked and clad only in a fur loincloth. His black hair was spread casually over his shoulders, with every single strand of hair having an aura of inconceivable might, as though they were the horns of a dragon. His face was covered with a thick beard, and his eyes seemed capable of seeing into the future. Although he simply sat there atop the mountain…in truth, his gaze was spread throughout the Three Realms.

He was a transcendental figure that cared about little…but now that the storm had arrived, he was watching over everything.

“Guo Zi.” Suiren’s voice was vigorous and powerful. It was transmitted more than three hundred thousand kilometers away, straight into the ears of a woman who was amongst a crowd of thousands who were quietly training in front of a massive image of a god.

“Father.” The human woman, face covered with divine tattoos, rose to her feet. The tattoos on her face was a relic from back when humans tried out many different types of cultivation methods. Guo Zi was one of the humans who had been willing to try anything, no matter the risk, and Suiren had eventually accepted her as his foster daughter.

“Lead your brigade to go rescue Ji Ning,” Suiren order.

“Yes,” Guo Zi said respectfully.

Suiren, as the oldest Human Emperor, had many, many experts following him. In the Kindlefire world alone, he had more than ten Daofather subordinates and more than ten thousand Empyrean God and True Immortal subordinates! The number of Celestial Immortals under his command was even more astonishing. This place, a holy land for the human race, could be described as the most powerful of the major worlds. The Seamless Gate didn’t even dare to attempt to infiltrate it.

……

The Voidboat was hurtling forward through the infinite Void. Every so often, it would tear through the Void to travel to another world, then once more begin to fly at high speed.

Aboard the Voidboat.

Ning and the Seven Planets God didn’t dare to be the slightest bit overconfident.

“The Seamless Gate’s army is very powerful. If we end up trapped, we’ll definitely die,” the Seven Planets God sent mentally. But suddenly…

“Ji Ning, hold on for just a while longer. Human Emperor Suiren has already sent Empyrean Goddess Guo Zi in command of 365 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to reinforce you.” Subhuti’s voice rang out within Ning’s mind.

“Good.” Ning let out a sigh of relief, then turned to glance backwards. The long black shuttle behind him was still chasing at high speed.

“Damn. We were just a fraction too slow.” There were nearly three hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals gathered aboard the black shuttle. The leader was a tall, skeletal-looking Fiendgod whose flaming eyes stared intently towards the distant Voidboat. “If Ji Ning was just slightly slower just now…our Seamless Infinity Formation would’ve been able to lock the surrounding space and prevent him from fleeing. It was so close! But now, we can’t catch up to him no matter how we try. Damn. Damn!”

“The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance truly are formidable as well. We were quite fast; we tore straight through the Void and into the Three Realms, but they were still able to discover us and notify Ji Ning. Ji Ning ran quite quickly as well.” A man holding a scimitar in his arms gave his solemn opinion.

“Yes. What a pity.”

“Just one step behind.”

The other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals felt resentful as well.

Fortunately for Ning, Subhuti had warned him, and so he had chosen to enter the Voidboat and flee without hesitating at all! He had been just half a step ahead of them. If it wasn’t for that half-step, his foes would’ve been able to activate their Seamless Infinity Formation and completely lock down the surrounding area for ten thousand kilometers. The power of that formation was enough to ensure that even the Voidboat would find it difficult to tear a path to the Void.

Alas…Ning had been able to escape before their all-encompassing net had been set up.

“Keep chasing.”

“Chase him down, no matter what. If Ji Ning makes even the slightest mistake, we’ll be able to catch and trap him,” the skeletal Fiendgod growled. If Ning made some mistakes due to being panicked by this life-threatening situation, he would be caught.

One continued to flee, the other continued to chase.

Through the infinite Void, through the major worlds, through the minor worlds…the pursuit continued. Ning was riding aboard the Voidboat, while his foes were also riding a supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the ‘Heavenwitch shuttle’. Both were extremely well-suited for high-speed maneuvers through the Void, and for a time the two were equally matched.

“Not good.” The face of the skeletal Fiendgod aboard the Heavenwitch shuttle changed, along with the faces of his fellows.

A blazing mountain had appeared, hanging in the skies above the vast, sea-like heavens. The blazing mountain had multiple figures standing on it, each possessing an aura of ancientness. These were all experts who had been alive since the Primordial Era, and the leader was Empyrean Goddess Guo Zi, whose murderous aura filled the heavens. A total of 365 Empyrean gods and True Immortals were by her side.

As for the Voidboat, it flew straight next to the blazing mountain, and as it did two towering Fiendgods came walking out from it.

The two armies stared at each other from afar.

Both consisted of the elites of their respective camps. One side was skilled in the the ‘Seamless Infinity Formation’ which the Seamless Gate’s king had created, while the Nuwa Alliance had its own incredibly powerful ‘Sidereal Stargod Formation’. During the Primordial Era, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who used this grand formation were similarly able to fight against True Gods and Daofathers.

“Do you wish to battle?” Empyrean Goddess Guo Zi stared at them coldly. Her voice was like ice, but it shook Heaven and Earth.

“Darknorth.” The skeletal Fiendgod pointed towards Ning, then said coldly, “Consider yourself lucky this time. You managed to escape by a hair. But your actions…well, you are looking to die.”

“Looking to die? Then come here and kill me.”

Ning looked back at him, his voice similarly icy. “If you have the ability to kill me, come and do so. I’m right here. What’s the point of just making empty threats?”

The skeletal Fiendgod ground his teeth.

Two flames blazed within his eyes as he swept his gaze over the powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals standing atop the fiery mountain. All he could do, however, was swallow his resentment. Although Ji Ning was rather reckless in what he did…by holding on for a period of time, he had been able to receive reinforcements from the Nuwa Alliance. The Seamless Gate had not decided to launch the Endwar yet. For now, they were helpless when faced with such a powerful enemy army.

“Withdraw.” The Godking’s voice rang out within the mind of the skeletal Fiendgod.

“Let’s go.” The skeletal Fiendgod had no choice but to give this resentful order.

Boom! The Heavenwitch shuttle tore a hole into the Void, departing from this world.

……

The Third World. Both the Godking and Daofather Helljade were standing in midair, watching as this unfolded.

“Damn.” The Godking’s eyes flashed with cold light.

“What a pity. We were just one step behind.” Daofather Helljade said in a cold voice, “But that one step meant that we were unable to catch him. This Ji Ning fellow actually has a supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the Voidboat. This Voidboat is a treasure that existed long ago, even before our Seamless Chaosworld had engaged in the first war against the Pangu Chaosworld. It originally belonged to Daoist Threelives. Threelives…he truly was a valiant, courageous warrior. He was extraordinarily brave, and quite willing to be vicious to himself when needed.

“Agreed.” The Godking nodded as well. He, too, remembered the valiant, powerful Daoist Threelives. Although Threelives had never mastered a Heavenly Dao, he was able to rely on his powerful True God body and his utterly terrifying divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], to slay multiple True Fiends and Daofathers of the Seamless Gate. The power of his [Starseizing Hand] was simply too great.

“Ji Ning has the Voidboat. The only way to kill him is to first seal off spacetime in the area around him or set up a trap for him. The second way is to use an even better flying treasure, but the only ones better than the Voidboat are all Chaos treasures.” The Godking frowned. “Our side only has a single Chaos treasure meant for high-speed flying, but it’s with Daomother Devilhand! Daomother Devilhand is a very solitary figure. She wouldn’t necessarily be willing to hand such an incomparably important Chaos treasure over to a few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.”

“Yes. Given Devilhand’s temperament, it’ll be hard to make her agree.” Daofather Helljade nodded.

Daomother Devilhand…

She was a truly terrifying fiend who had once unleashed a storm of blood and murder across the Seamless Chaosworld. The countless experts of the Seamless Chaosworld had all been terrified whenever they had heard her name. Her power also came from her hands, but she was different from Daoist Threelives. The reason why Daomother Devilhand’s hands were so powerful was because she had acquired a set of glove-type Chaos treasures in the primordial chaos. She had created a divine ability to go with the gloves, a supreme technique known as the ‘Extinction Devilhands’. Perhaps in terms of fleeing abilities, she was inferior to the Lord of All Fiends, but she wasn’t the slightest bit weaker than him in terms of actual combat power. It had been the Lord of the Demonheart, and him alone, who had been able to subdue this demon amongst demons.

“Ji Ning really is courting death.” The more the Godking thought about what had just happened, the angrier he became. Ji Ning’s slaying of those fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals didn’t have much of an impact on his total combat force, but it had grave implications for his disposition of forces across the entire Three Realms.

If he continued to lay down forces in a spread-out manner as he currently did, Ji Ning would once more succeed in his ambushes. But if he was to change his force layout, then he would have to do so throughout the entire Three Realms. The price of such a change would be enormous!

……

Ji Ning was currently expressing his thanks to Empyrean Goddess Guo Zi.

“Thankfully, you and your friends came in the nick of time, fellow Daoist Guo Zi. Otherwise, I would’ve been in grave danger.” Ning had already dispersed the Heaven Punisher and allowed his million-plus Immortals to teleport back into the Starseizer world. By his side stood only Redsnow and the rest of the seven.

“I came to rescue you on orders of Human Emperor Suiren. If you want to thank someone, thank the Human Emperor.” Empyrean Goddess Guo Zi smiled and nodded towards Ning, and the ancient Empyrean Gods and True Immortals behind her nodded towards him as well. They all treated Ning in quite a friendly manner, because Ning himself was of the human race. These Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had been born in an era when the human race was still young and weak, and so they placed even more importance on solidarity with their fellow humans.

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Chapter 22 – Negotiations

Chapter 22 – Negotiations

“However…Ji Ning, your actions are far too risky,” Empyrean Goddess Guo Zi said. “Right now, our two sides are only engaging in small-scale skirmishes against each other. Both sides are still holding back, as no one is willing to expand the scale of the war just yet. Both sides are searching for weaknesses and openings, so as to win the war for karmic luck. Not only are we trying to win, we are also trying to ensure that our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals will survive. The Seamless Gate is trying to do the same thing.”

“Even if we win the war for karmic luck, if all of our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals end up bdying, along with the majority of our True Gods and Daofathers…what’s the point?” Guo Zi looked towards Ning. “Until the final moment arrives, neither side is willing to launch a frenzied, all-out assault. When that final Endwar comes, it will be a massacre on both sides.”

“There is an invisible line which neither side is willing to cross. But you…you’ve crossed that line.” Guo Zi gazed towards Ning. “But of course, that’s just you, and so the Seamless Gate will only act against you and you alone. The further across that line you dare step, the more effort they will put into getting rid of you.”

Ning nodded.

“Still…don’t worry too much. If they begin to deploy their Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in large numbers, we’ll immediately move to stop them, because any actions involving nearly three hundred such experts is an act of war.” Guo Zi continued to look at Ning. “But if they just send small numbers of their most top-tier Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to kill you, there’s no way we can send an army to stop them.”

“You are very powerful, but the Seamless Gate also has some truly astonishing Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on their side.”

Ning nodded. “Fellow Daoist Guo Zi, I understand these things. But since I’ve already chosen to embark on this path, I naturally am prepared for the consequences.”

Guo Zi no longer tried to dissuade him. She knew that Ning was a powerful Empyrean God and a True Immortal, not a fool. And so she bid farewell and left, along with her forces.

As for Ning, he rode his Voidboat back to Sword Immortal world.

……

Sword Immortal world. The mountain peaks of the Five Treasure Peaks still pierced high into the clouds, and things were as quiet as ever.

Ning and the seven Empyrean Gods landed atop the mountains.

“Ji Ning, you can’t ignore what Guo Zi said just now,” Empyrean God Redsnow said worriedly. “Although you are powerful, our Nuwa Alliance alone has multiple figures who are on your level, such as the various divine archers. If any of them are given Daofruit of primordial chaos, they’ll probably be a bit more powerful than even you with your perfect Heaven Punisher. The Seamless Gate has powerful figure as well, and none of them are easy to deal with.”

“If I encounter an army, there’s nothing I can do, but if I encounter just one person, I can still fight back,” Ning said.

“Don’t disregard what she said. There are those who are more powerful than us when they use Chaos treasures or Daofruit,” Redsnow said. Primelight and the rest of the seven looked towards Ning as well.

Ning understood. In truth, both sides had a tacit understanding with each other.

If you are fighting by yourself, then I’ll send a single person to deal with you. Whoever ends up dying can only blame himself for being too weak.

But now, a madman appeared on your side who is ambushing and murdering my subordinates? He’s going too far. I’m going to send my army after him! If this madman halts his actions, I’ll naturally no longer have an excuse to send out an army; only if you employ an army will we do the same.

This came without any negotiations or public declarations, but this was indeed how both sides acted. This was a rule of their war!

If there were no rules at all, then it would be easy for things to rapidly escalate until a point was reached where the Endwar would begin prematurely. Clearly, neither side wished for the Endwar to begin just yet.

……

Within the thatched cottage. Ning was seated in the lotus position, waiting patiently.

He had risked his life today. Why? To incite the Seamless Gate.

Rumble…suddenly, a thought-strand descended upon Ning.

“Ji Ning.” An icy voice rang out.

“Finally.” Ning allowed the thought-strand to guide him into the dreamworld. This was exactly what he wanted; to negotiate with the Seamless Gate.

Within the dreamworld of darkness. The towering throne was still hovering within the center of this world, and the black-robed Godking sat upon it, staring down at the figure which had just appeared.

“Ji Ning.” The Godking roared with absolute fury, “You actually dare to rely on your personal power to assault some of the bases of my Seamless Gate? You are the first person in the Nuwa Alliance who dares to do such a thing!”

In truth, there were quite a few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals with deep-seated hatred towards the Seamless Gate. However, Ji Ning was the only one who was actually willing to risk his life in such a manner, and who had the power to carry it out! The formations around those bases were generally capable of withstanding the combined attacks of more than twenty Empyrean Gods and True Immortals for a period of time, after all.

“What do you want?” Ning raised his head to look at the Godking.

The Godking paused, then growled out, “Fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals have died by your hand. If you let matters rest, I can let bygones be bygones.”

The Godking, in the end, had chosen to swallow his rage. He had to take into consideration his disposition of forces across the entire Three Realms, and he couldn’t perpetually be on alert against Ji Ning’s ambushes. His only option would be to change his force disposition throughout the entire Three Realms, but that would come at a price. For example, if he withdrew all the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals from the bases and headquarters, there were a number of major worlds that would become impossible to penetrate and infiltrate.

“Let bygones be bygones?” Ning looked at the Godking. “I can let matters rest…but I have a request.”

The Godking was utterly enraged. This child actually dared to make a request? But the Godking still suppressed his anger and said, “Speak!”

“Give senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei back to me,” Ning said.

“Yu Wei?”

The Godking was stunned…and then he began to roar with laughter. His laughter, tinged with fury, shook the entire world of darkness. “So the reason why you’ve gone so crazy is for Yu Wei. It seems that woman is quite important to you, for you to risk your life in such a way.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I can risk my life for her sake. If you hand her to me, I’ll immediately halt. If you don’t…I’ll keep killing!”

“So you are doing this to extort us, to force our hand?” The Godking’s voice was like ice. “Ji Ning, you value yourself too highly. I’m just trying to avoid a bit of unnecessary trouble, which is why I gave you a chance to calm things down with us. But you actually dare to threaten us, the Seamless Gate? You truly are too arrogant. Do you think that just because you succeeded with your first ambush, you’ll succeed in a second or a third ambush? Do you really think that our Seamless Gate is unable to deal with a stripling like you?”

Who was the Godking? He was, nominally speaking, the leader of the entire Seamless Gate. He could converse as equals with even the Three Emperors of Mankind or the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism.

Just now, the Godking had been putting on a charitable, magnanimous air; if Ning halted, he would spare Ning. But now, Ning dared to make requests of him? Fine, then; if the request wasn’t excessive, the Godking would agree to it. But Ning had actually carried out these actions to threaten the Seamless Gate, to force them to do something they didn’t want to do? That was courting death!

“I only hope for you to return her to me, Godking.” Ning looked at the Godking.

“Impossible.” The Godking stared back at Ning. “You only have two options before you. To halt and be spared, or to continue and perish. As for Yu Wei…you can forget about her.”

Ning stared at the Godking.

The Godking stared back at Ning.

Whoosh. Ning disappeared into thin air.

“He really is courting death.” The Godking felt even angrier now. “An Empyrean God actually dares to try to threaten and extort the Seamless Gate? What a joke. A joke!”

The Seamless Gate’s original incarnation was that of the Seamless Chaosworld, a world on par with the Pangu Chaosworld. How could a power like this allow itself to be extorted?

……

Ning sat there by himself within the thatched cottage. He sat there for a long, long time.

“Senior apprentice-sister.”

“Although the chances are very slim…I will still go and kill them. Kill them until they can no longer bear it.” A breathtaking determination could be seen in Ning’s eyes. This was a dangerous path, a path which involved repeatedly risking his life…but that was the nature of his decision.

Ning cast the matter to the back of his mind, sending his mind into the Starseizing Manor.

Within the main palace of the manor was a large pile of treasures. These were the treasures he had acquired during his earlier ambushes. Ning quickly began to bind them to himself. These treasures might not be too useful to him, but they’d be plenty of help to other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. If he could increase the power of his forces, their chances of success in the future would be slightly greater.

“Pure Yang treasure.”

“Pure Yang.”

“A Protocosmic spirit-treasure…but it’s just a low-grade one of ordinary power. Still, quite interesting.”

“Quite a few Pure Yang Immortal pills. Great Firmanent Immortal pills. Poison?” Ning quickly finished sorting through all of the treasures of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

And then, Ning began to bind all of the various treasures left behind by the many slain Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. This happened quite quickly, as these were the treasures dropped by the low-level figures he had casually mopped up after killing the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Their items weren’t particularly valuable, with most being at the Immortal-rank at best. Every so often, he would be lucky and encounter a Pure Yang treasure.

“These are the treasures left behind by Youngflame Freak. Hrm…where’s the Worldhold Pagoda?”

“Pity. The Worldhold Pagoda isn’t with these sixteen clones.” Ning still remembered how the Worldhold Pagoda had sent him to the Nihilum Zone. Still, after searching through all the items, he still hadn’t been able to find it. Instead, he encountered some bugs and aberrations.

Ning paid no notice to most of Youngflame Freak’s treasures, but one treasure did attract his attention.

“What’s this?” Ning was startled.

An enormous, pitch-black stone stele was hanging there in midair. The stone stele was emanating a faint aura of might. Although the aura was very weak, it had an exalted quality about it, far more exalted than even the aura which Patriarch Subhuti had.

Whoosh.

Although Ning’s true body remained within the thatched cottage, he quickly sent out a strand of divine power to form a body which manifested within the Starseizing Manor. He took a personal, close look at the levitating black stone stele.

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Chapter 23 – Stone Stele

Chapter 23 – Stone Stele

The enormous black stone stele was 299 meters tall, and it emanated an aura of majesty that was so faint, it could only be sensed from less than 300 meters away. The aura, however, had an exalted quality about it. Ji Ning only saw two enormous, strange characters carved into the face of the stone stele facing him, while the other side was filled with countless strange characters that were clustered as densely as ants.

“These characters…?” Ning examined them carefully. “I’ve never seen these characters before. It seems as though the Three Realms doesn’t have a language like this.”

Ning had never seen them before, but was certain that these were characters from a language, because they were actually quite similar to the characters of the human race. The two enormous characters on the front, in particular…Ning could almost sense what they meant.

“Let me try with coresense first.” Ning willed his coresense to surge forward.

“This…?” Ning stared at the stone stele in surprise. “How can this be? Impossible. Why is it that my coresense sees nothing at all? It’s as though nothing is there.”

“Can it be that this stone stele is covered with a restrictive spell that blocks out coresense?” Ning pondered for a moment. “Let me try with heartforce.”

Heartforce was invisible, undetectable, and extremely formidable.

Instantly, his true body in the outside world sent its powerful heartforce into the underwater estate to cover the stone stele. This caused Ning’s face to truly change, because he discovered…that all his heartforce found nothing whatsoever. It was as though the stone stele didn’t even exist.

“But, but…” Ning stretched his hand out to touch the stone stele. The stone was icy cold, and its surface was very rough. “This stone stele is clearly right in front of me. How can it be that not even heartforce can detect it?”

“This is an extraordinary item. In fact…it isn’t even of the Three Realms.”

This thought instantly flashed past Ning’s mind.

The two enormous characters engraved on the stone stele…the countless tiny characters on the back of the stele…the unique runes engraved on other parts of it…clearly, someone had created this item! The stone stele’s aura was so powerful that the creator had to at least be on the level of the Buddhist and Daoist leaders. In fact, he might be even more powerful.

For heartforce to be unable to discover the stone stele when one could see it with the naked eye and touch it with the hand…Ning had never, ever heard of such a strange item. Such an item shouldn’t be able to exist within the Three Realms.

Then…

It had to have come from the primordial chaos outside the Three Realms! Ever since the most ancient of days, the unique items found within the primordial chaos were generally referred to as Chaos treasures. They were either used as ingredients for forging treasures, or used as treasures themselves. When used as treasures, they would become far more powerful than Protocosmic spirit-treasures, and so they would be titled ‘Chaos treasures’.

Where and how were Chaos treasures born? Hard to say. The primordial chaos did indeed give birth to Chaos treasures, but the terrifying golems that the ‘Lord of All Things’ had created were definitely no weaker than any Chaos treasure. Thus, the Three Realms had suspected for some time now that some of the more powerful Outsiders were perhaps capable of creating artifacts that rivaled Chaos treasures in might.

“Can this be a Chaos treasure?” A thought flashed through Ning’s mind.

Whoosh!

Instantly, a figure appeared. Ning’s true body descended upon the clone, merging into it. As for the outside world…Ning left a small amount of his divine power there, in the form of yet another clone.

“Neither coresense not heartforce can detect it. That leaves just divine power and Immortal energy” Ning picked up the stone stele, then gently placed it down within the very center of the hall. Previously, he had thought this to simply be a treasure which Youngflame Freak had acquired by luck; he didn’t think it could possibly be particularly powerful. But now, it seemed, this stone stele had a weighty background to it.

Not even coresense or heartforce could detect it. Most likely, the other major powers of the Three Realms didn’t even know that it existed.

“Youngflame Freak. Oh, Youngflame Freak. For a Celestial Immortal like you to have been in possession of a treasure like this…if it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted to gain revenge for my mother and for junior apprentice-brother Northson, I probably wouldn’t have been able to acquire something like this. This should be an item from the primordial chaos…I wonder if it is a Chaos treasure?” Ning felt a certain itchiness in his heart. If this really was a Chaos treasure, this would be a tremendous stroke of luck for him.

But of course, not all items from the primordial chaos were particularly valuable. For example, when first testing out the Heaven Punisher, Ning had been able to shatter apart ‘chaos goldstone’. Shennong located many different medicinal herbs within the primordial chaos, but their value was far, far lower than that of a Chaos treasure.

“Let me try to bind it first.” Ning sat down in the lotus position, placing his hand atop the giant stone stele. The stone stele was nearly 300 meters tall and nearly 30 meters thick. The divine power within Ning’s body instantly flooded into the stone stele.

“Eh? Not a Chaos treasure?” As soon as Ning sent his divine power into it, he realized something was wrong. There was no way to bind this treasure. Ning knew exactly how it felt to bind a treasure, even a Protocosmic one, but when his divine power flooded into this treasure, he found the insides to be empty. There was nothing at all for him to bind.

However, when his divine power flooded into the two massive characters at the front of the stone stele, a ripple of information was transmitted straight into Ning’s mind.

“Seventeen.” Ning instantly understood what the enormous characters meant.

“Those two words mean ‘seventeen’. What does that mean? Can it mean that there are many of these stone steles, and that this is the seventeenth?” Ning guessed. “Right; there are many other characters at the back.”

Swoosh!

Ning’s body blurred, then he appeared in the lotus position to one side of the stone stele. He began to pour a large amount of divine power into the stele. As his divine power flooded into it, it quickly began to interact with the countless characters on the other side of the stone stele. As it did, Ning could sense a tremendous, invisible force resisting his own power; clearly, to forcibly scan and understand the information contained within those countless characters was beyond what his capabilities.

“Wait.” Ning came to a halt. “The front side only has two characters, whereas the back side has at least a million. Two characters didn’t give me much pressure, and I was able to understand them right away, but a million is far more than what I can handle.”

The stone stele was nearly three hundred meters tall, and its rear was filled with those tiny, worm-like scribbles. As best as Ning could tell, there was roughly 1.2 million of them.

“Let’s start from the top and proceed slowly.”

Ning immediately began to attempt to fill up a few characters with his divine power.

“This is so slow.” Ning immediately found the process to be quite taxing. Despite that, a good amount of information began to fill Ning’s mind.

“[Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]…” An extremely ancient technique immediately began to be transmitted into Ning’s mind. As Ning’s divine power filled each character, more and more information regarding this technique entered his mind. Soon, he completely memorized this entire technique.

“It…it’s actually a cultivation technique.” Ning stared at the stone stele in astonishment. “And this is just a small part of the top.”

The characters on the stone stele were divided into seven major regions. The first region had this technique, the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].

“What a powerful technique. It actually allows you to divide into eighteen different bodies.” Ning let out a sigh. “Although Fiendgods can divide into many different clones, once the clone dies, the part of the soul within it will die as well. This will result in the soul fragmenting, and when too much of the soul is destroyed, you will die.”

“But this technique…upon mastering the first level, you’ll be able to perfectly divide the soul into eighteen different spawns. Although each spawn will have less than a tenth of the power of the original body, they are all capable of surviving on their own. In addition, if the other seventeen are destroyed, the final spawn will slowly be able to recreate the other spawns.”

“Once you reach the second level of this technique, the eighteen spawns will all have the same level of power as the original body.”

“If you master the third level…the eighteen spawns can merge back into the original body at any point in time, and the original body can also divide into those eighteen spawns. When they merge into the original body, the power of the original body will explosively increase.” Ning sighed in amazement.

If he mastered this technique, it would be as though there were eighteen Ji Ning’s. Even if he chose to use his original body to fight by itself, his power would still exponentially increase.

How monstrous a technique was this?!

“It seems that this is the technique which Youngflame Freak used, and that he was only able to train to the first level of this technique.” Ning immediately understood. “I had thought that he trained in a secret art like the Bloodshadow Incarnation…but it seems he’s actually training in this unfathomably profound technique.”

The Three Realms had powerful techniques of its own. The Bloodshadow Incarnation, for example, guaranteed that so long a single incarnation remained alive, the others would come back to life as well. However, true experts would rarely use this technique, because the power of each incarnation would drop dramatically; it was better to keep the true body at maximum power instead! Everyone believed that Youngflame Freak had trained in this technique because he was a coward who feared death, but who would’ve thought that he actually was in possession of a technique like this [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]? The relative weakness of his bodies was only due to the fact that he had merely trained to the first level.

“Where did this technique come from?” Ning let out a sigh of amazement. “Still…it will be very hard to truly master this technique.”

There were detailed notes regarding this technique. It was easy to gain a basic level of skill in the technique and master the first stage, but the second stage was thousands of times more difficult. As for the third stage? It would be easier to ascend to the heavens than to master it. It required both talent and luck.

It must be understood that even Daoist Three Purities was only capable of dividing himself into the Three Pure Ones. As for the Lord Buddha, he only had his five major clones! The second level of this technique immediately allowed for the creation of eighteen clones that were as strong as the original. This…this was absolutely unearthly.

“Let’s see what the second technique holds.”

Ning once more filled the stele with his divine power. Instantly, the information pertaining to the second technique began to leak into his mind.

The second technique was named the [Nine Bug Solutions].

This was an extremely mysterious and marvelous method for cultivating bug-type beasts. Ning now understood why Youngflame Freak had been able to cultivate and rear such powerful bugs. Everyone in the Three Realms thought that Youngflame Freak had received a particular expert’s legacy, as there were quite a number of experts who specialized in rearing powerful bug-type beasts. Since Youngflame Freak’s skills in raising bugs wasn’t excessively amazing, no one paid much attention to him.

But what the outside world didn’t know was that the issue was that Youngflame Freak was too weak and didn’t have access to enough treasures and materials, which was why he didn’t have the chance to rear any powerful bugs at all.

“This technique needs an enormous amount of time and effort. It doesn’t suit me.” Ning immediately gave up on the technique.

“Time for the third technique.” Ning slowly began to notice that the further down he read, the more taxing it became, as the resistive force which filled the stele seemed to grow in power. What Ning didn’t realize was that Youngflame Freak himself had only been able to acquire parts of the first technique and second technique. He had been completely unable to gain access to any of the other parts.

He was merely a Celestial Immortal, after all.

Youngflame Freak treated this stone stele as his most valued treasure. He cared about it far more than the Worldhold Pagoda, and was extremely careful about it. The reason he had kept it hidden with him in the Winterherald world was because it was a ‘safe’ place where he was extremely low-key. By contrast, he was still willing to keep the Worldhold Pagoda in the Grand Xia…but who would’ve thought that Ji Ning would end up acquiring it?

“Every single technique is marvelous.” Ning could sense that his divine power was finding it harder and harder to ‘read’ the meaning of the characters. By the time he reached the fifth technique, he was completely unable to make any more progress.

“Let me try with my Pure Yang energy.” Unwilling to give up, Ning immediately tested out his Pure Yang energy, flooding the stone stele with it.

Whoooooosh!

Ning discovered, to his utter amazement, that the Pure Yang energy was clearly much more effective in reading the characters on the stone stele.

“I might just be able to acquire all seven of these techniques.” Ning instantly felt a certain eagerness in his heart. In fact, he had a feeling…that once he learned all seven techniques, he would perhaps know where this stone stele came from.

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Chapter 24 – The Seven Mighty Techniques

Chapter 24 – The Seven Mighty Techniques

Pure Yang energy was clearly better suited to penetrating these characters on the stone stele. Ji Ning received the complete fifth technique, the sixth technique…the seventh technique…!

Ning’s eyes began to turn bloodshot. He was pouring all of his energy and effort into acquiring these techniques, which had completely stunned him. They were simply far too incredible.

Some of these were comparable to the most supreme of techniques the Three Realms had. As for some of the others…they surpassed any techniques of the Three Realms.

The first technique, [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], had already caused Ning to feel extremely excited.

The second technique, [Nine Bug Solutions], contained unlimited potential. However, since the storm had already arrived, Ning didn’t have enough time to meditate on them.

The third technique, [Sin Armaments], was a technique that was very similar to the Fiendgod Rites of Bloodforging. This was a technique that absorbed the hatred and resentment left behind by slain enemies, using them to forge weapons. These weapons were truly terrifying armaments that possessed tremendous power. By comparison, the Rites of Bloodforging was excessively simple and crude in the manner through which it absorbed the negative energy. [Sin Armaments] was thousands of times more profound than the Rites of Bloodforging. It allowed weapons to rise in power far more quickly, and in a more perfect manner. Weapons created through [Sin Armaments] had much greater potential, and could even become Chaos weapons!

The fourth technique, [Jewel Talisman], was a technique to create Dao-talismans. It was extremely complicated. Although Ning had memorized it, he didn’t understand it whatsoever; clearly, it was incredibly profound.

The fifth technique, [Inverse Qiankun Gestalt-Formation], was a formation that worked together perfectly with the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique, because this was a technique that required eighteen cultivators whose minds were as one. If one mastered the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique then set down this grand formation, an entire Heaven would be created that could be used to trap one’s foes. It would be as though they were trapped someone else’s a major world! This was a technique that was perfectly suited for defense and for trapping, rather than attacking. However, due to how profound and abstruse it was, it would probably take a very long period of time to master.

The sixth technique, [God of Ghosts], was a technique meant for cultivating and raising ghosts. The soul was the foundation of all life, and the ghosts that were left behind after one died held limitless potential within them. The [God of Ghosts] technique allowed one to constantly strengthen ghosts all the way to the True God level. In fact, there was even a chance to raise ghosts to have the power of an Elder God!

The seventh technique, [Indestructible Body], was a technique that was similar to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

However, compared to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], this divine ability was even more incredible. The [Indestructible Body] had a total of six stages; Empyrean Gods could only train in the first three, while only True Gods could train in the final three. According to the description of this divine ability, the first three stages alone were comparable to the complete [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], while the final three stages, based on what Ning could tell, would allow the divine body to become comparable to a supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasure.

During the Primordial Era, the various major powers had joined together to develop the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], with the goal of developing a total of twelve cycles. Alas, in the end they were only able to complete nine of them.

This [Indestructible Body] technique, however, had achieved what those major powers had aspired to. But of course, it required an enormous amount of magic treasures. The Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] required an astonishing amount of Great Firmament Immortal pills. As for the [Indestructible Body]? There were few even amongst True Immortals and Daofathers who could absorb the necessary cost.

Seven mighty techniques, each of which was astonishing. [Sin Armaments] and [Indestructible Body] were specially prepared for Fiendgod Body Refiners; the sinblades would generally be used in close combat, after all.

[Nine Bug Solutions] and [Jewel Talisman] were meant for Ki Refiners to use.

As for the remaining three techniques, both Ki Refiners and Fiendgod Body Refiners could execute them.

“I’ve finally finished.”

Finally, with great difficult, Ning finished reading the characters of the seventh technique. All seven of them were now memorized in his heart.

“What a tremendous stroke of karmic luck. These definitely are not techniques that were created by the major powers of the Three Realms. Many of the described materials don’t even exist in the Three Realms. For example, the [God of Ghosts] is probably completely unusable. The [Indestructible Body] will also be hard to train to a high level, because the treasures described are not present here.” And yet, Ning understood…“Despite all that, these techniques are still incredible.”

“The alien Outsiders in the primordial chaos…they truly are incredible.” Ning let out a sigh.

The alien Outsiders who had arrived in the Three Realms, such as the terrifying Lord of All Things, were capable of doing things like secretly manipulating the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld into a collision course. In addition, the Lord of All Things had been able to create golems and Queen Mother armies that were comparable to the full might of the entire Pangu Chaosworld. From this, one could tell how terrifying the alien Outsiders could be.

“Eh?” Ning’s gaze landed upon the divine runes engraved on the edges of the stone stele. “Just now, I only focused on the characters. I wonder what these divine runes hold within them?”

Ning felt a certain excitement in his heart. He had the feeling that the power and aura of the stone stele primarily came from the divine runes. The characters didn’t hold any power in them, but the divine runes held tremendous auras of might.

“Go.” Ning willed the stone stele to be sent to a side hall within the Starseizing Manor, then sent his Pure Yang energy into it from afar. That way, even if something dangerous happened…given that the Starseizing Manor was a nigh-unbreakable Protocosmic spirit-treasure, he should be able to stay safe.

“It really is hard to fill.” His Pure Yang energy slowly filling the divine runes, Ning instantly began to sense a connection to that exalted aura of supremacy, as well as how hard the runes were to penetrate.

“Keep going. Keep going. Just a little more. Just a liiiiittle more…”

Finally…all of the divine runes on the stone stele were completely filled with Ning’s Pure Yang energy. Although the characters had been rather tiring, by comparison they weren’t that hard. These divine runes had actually caused Ning’s vision to go dim; he had used up almost all of his heartforce before just barely being able to succeed.

In the instant when he successfully finished pouring his energy into the runes…

BOOM!

An inconceivable aura of power exploded forth from the stone stele. The divine runes lit up with dazzling golden light, carrying an aura that was so exalted, it was even superior to that of the Dao of the Heavens. As it exploded outwards, it followed the path of Ning’s unleashed Pure Yang energy to instantly arrive at Ning himself.

Ning had a feeling that this exalted, mighty aura was something which no one in the Three Realms aside from the legendary Mother Nuwa and Pangu were capable of matching. They, too, were supposedly superior to the Heavenly Daos themselves.

The exalted aura completely surrounded Ning. In the face of its might, Ning was like an infant, completely unable to fight bac.k

Swoosh!

The aura of power rapidly flew back into the stone stele, and the golden light covering the countless divine runes slowly dimmed and faded to a normal color. It just stood there like an ordinary stone stele…except Ji Ning had already disappeared from the underwater estate.

“Master!” The giant yellow bear appeared, absolutely frantic.

All he knew was that Ji Ning had been analyzing that stone stele. As for what mysteries the stone stele contained? The bear had no idea. However, upon sensing his master disappear, he had naturally panicked.

“I’m fine.” Ning’s voice rang out within the giant yellow bear’s mind. Now that he had completely bound the manor, he had a true master-servant connection to the giant yellow bear.

……

A blurry region of chaos, merely a few hundred meters in size.

Ning appeared out of nowhere within this region.

“Where am I?” Ning was extremely puzzled. He could, however, still sense the panicking giant yellow bear outside, and so he hurriedly consoled the bear.

“What’s that…?” Ning saw two figures fly towards him from far way, each of whom had auras of tremendous power. They had swarthy black skin and were many meters tall. Ning immediately grew guarded as he saw them approach.

After arriving, the two figures…simultaneously fell to their knees, then prostrated themselves on the ground. “Respectful greetings to you, Overseer!”

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Chapter 25 – Tremendous Fortune

Chapter 25 – Tremendous Fortune

Ji Ning looked at the two prostrating figures, his heart clenching. “It seems my blunder has resulted in them believing me to be the ‘Overseer’. I have to be very careful. The first thing I should do is get a sense as to what an ‘Overseer’ does. I can’t let them see through me; that’ll put me in grave danger.” That exalted aura he had sensed earlier told him that he was a very weak figure, compared to the power of the stone stele.

“It seems they are very respectful to me; their status should be lower than mine.” Ning pondered for a moment, then said, “The two of you, report your names.”

“This humble one is Eastcricket.” The taller man was the first to respond respectfully. His voice was low and deep, and seemed quite honest.

“This humble one is Westbat,” the pudgier one said. “The two of us have been awaiting you, Lord Overseer, for three full chaos cycles. Ever since we were created, we’ve been diligently working here at Prisonworld 17. Without you here, Lord Overseer, we’ve been quite nervous and restless. We were worried that something unexpected had happened to this prisonworld.”

Ning’s heart clenched. Three chaos cycles? A ‘chaos cycle’ had to be a unit of time…and from the sound of it, it was a very long period of time.

After being created? Were not they living creatures?

Prisonworld 17? As the ‘Overseer’…was he supposed to be in charge of this prison?

“Has anything unexpected happened in this Prisonworld?” Ning casually followed their line of conversation. He needed to ask as many questions as he could and learn more information from them.

“We were blessed by your good fortune, and so nothing has happened during the past three chaos cycles. It won’t be so easy for the imprisoned criminals to cause any problems!” The pudgy Westbat hurriedly added, “I knew that you have to be busy, milord. The various duties of the Prisonworld can be left to the two of us for handling. If there really is a major event, we’ll immediately notify you. All you need to do is then report it to His Majesty. You can spend your time touring the Prisonworld, or you can quietly train by yourself. If there’s anything you need, just inform us.”

“Right. Report it to His Majesty…” Ning nodded slowly.

His Majesty?

Of which kingdom? Could it be that this stone stele belonged to a particular nation?

“Tell me about the various matters, great and small, that have occurred during the past three chaos cycles,” Ning said.

The tall Eastcricket blinked at Ning, them mused to himself, “How long would it take to describe all the events that occurred over the course of three chaos cycles? How bored is he?”

In contrast, chubby Westbat grew excited. “Milord, allow me. Uh…shall I start from the time when the last Lord Overseer left, or…?”

“Tell me a bit about the previous Lord Overseer, then speak about the past three chaos cycles.” Ning wanted to learn more, but he was afraid of exposing himself. Thus, he was very careful with his words. These two jailors seemed to be very respectful to him, but Ning still had a strange feeling about them.

In truth, ever since his Pure Yang energy filled the divine runes, he had gained a strange sort of control over this chaotic region. In fact, he could easily leave it if he chose. And yet…he didn’t have any direct control over these two jailors. Clearly, they had to have been produced by this mysterious ‘Dominion’ and only answered to the dictates of the Dominion. If they were to discover that Ning was a foe, they would probably attack him.

“Ah…well, the previous Lord Overseer would chat with us when he was bored. Now, it could just be that he was bragging for the sake of bragging, but he claimed to be the son of an Elder God, and that the only reason he had been punished to serve as an Overseer for a chaos cycle was because he had run afoul of the law.” Westbat mused to himself, “I don’t know if he was just bragging or not, but based on my own judgment, I think he was telling the truth.”

“Generally speaking, Overseers are all core members of our Pangaea chaos-kingdom. After all, even though being forced to stay here in solitude for a full chaos cycle is technically a form of punishment, it also allows the offender to learn those seven supreme techniques. In addition, the offender is even allowed to enjoy one of the bottles of chaos nectar which Prisonworld 17 is able to refine from the primordial chaos around us. This is actually a great benefit! Ordinary Immortals would be willing to spend a full chaos cycle in solitude to gain a bottle of chaos nectar or to learn the seven supreme techniques, but they wouldn’t even have a chance!”

“Chaos nectar?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

[Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] was divided into three stages. The first stage was very easy to learn, but the second stage was thousands of times more difficult, because it required one to be able to transform into eighteen mighty clones, each of which was as powerful as the original body. Even the soul had to be identical in power. It was easy to train in divine power or Immortal energy, but to duplicate the soul eighteen times while maintaining the same level of power was incredibly difficult. It required the assistance of precious supportive treasures.

Chaos nectar was incomparably precious. If he had chaos nectar, he would be able to master the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].

“Right. Chaos nectar.” Jailor Westbad said hurriedly, “A bottle of chaos nectar, based on the experiences of the past Lord Overseers, is generally enough to allow mastery of the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].”

“Where is the chaos nectar?” Ning asked.

“The previous Lord Overseer took the chaos nectar back with him to offer it to His Majesty. However, during the past three chaos cycles, Prison-World 17 has continued to distill primordial chaos, accumulating quite a bit. The two of us have been working hard on this task. Given that it’s been three chaos cycles since we’ve been contacted…we have a total of eighteen bottles. The nineteenth bottle isn’t full yet; we still need to spend some time and fill it up,” Westbat said.

“Give them to me,” Ning instructed.

The chubby Jailor Westbat was startled. He hesitated momentarily, then waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Instantly, a total of eighteen black bottles appeared before him, hovering in the air. The ancient surfaces of the bottles were covered with divine runes. They were clearly extraordinary items.

“Milord,” Westbat said hurriedly, “Milord, you’ll be here for at least a full chaos cycle. You are only permitted to use a single bottle; no matter what, don’t use more than that. His Majesty knows exactly how much we are able to harvest. If you use too much, you’ll probably run into trouble. Chaos nectar is extremely valuable…generally, we only give it to the Lord Overseer when he finishes his tour of duty.”

“Relax. I’m not suicidal,” Ning chuckled. He waved his arm, collecting the eighteen bottles.

Westbat hurriedly laughed ingratiatingly. “Right, right, right. You have an exalted status, milord; naturally, you won’t act rashly.”

“Eheh. Are there any other treasures here in Prisonworld 17?” Ning’s eyes seemed to be shining right now.

“Nothing.” The chubby Jailor Westbat shook his head repeatedly. He had served quite a few Overseers, and he knew that all of them had special statuses. All of them were core members of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, which was why they were sent to such an important location as this. Although it was nominally a punishment, it was also a great boon. There were many of them who acquired chaos nectar, then greedily desired other things as well.

“There really is nothing else. This is just a Prisonworld with many prisoners,” the chubby jailor said. “If you are talented enough to get something out of the prisoners, that’s entirely your business. However, all of the prisoners are filled with hatred, and many of them are incredibly powerful; I imagine that not only will they not give you anything, they’ll try to kill you. If you really want to interact with the prisoners, milord, I urge you to hurry up and master the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. That way, with eighteen clones, you at least won’t be at any risk of death.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Prisoners?

“Continue telling me about Overseer duties, as well as the various events that have occurred during the past three chaos cycles. I’m actually quite bored right now. Ugh…a full chaos cycle! It’ll feel like forever,” Ning sighed.

“Please permit me to elaborate,” the chubby Jailor Westbat said excitedly. He loved to talk, but Eastcricket was a stuffy gourd who was always silent. This caused Westbat quite a bit of irritation, and he would often go chatting with some of the prisoners. Many of the prisoners wanted to kill him, but fortunately for him he always stayed outside of the protective formations, preventing them from injuring him.

More than half of the prisoners of Prisonworld 17 absolutely hated this chattering, prattering jailor.

“The last Lord Overseer had a rather foul attitude. In my opinion, he had indeed been spoiled rotten by an Elder God. As soon as he arrived…” The chubby Jailor Westbat began to narrate nonstop.

As for Ning, he just smiled and listened in a very ‘relaxed’ way.

Relaxed? He wasn’t relaxed at all! But he knew very well that his acquisition of the stone stele was a stroke of tremendous karmic fortune. The greater a stroke of karmic fortune, the more careful one had to be. Otherwise, one might end up with nothing, or worse!

As Ning continued to listen, he began to understand more and more. An entire world had indeed been placed within this stone stele, and from the sound of it the world was extremely vast! This was a place where many of the criminals of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom were located.

The Pangaea chaos-kingdom was an extremely powerful kingdom. The most powerful figure was the King of Pangaea, an exceptionally formidable and powerful figure. The stone stele which held this prisonworld had been created by the King of Pangaea, and there were a total of thirty-six of them. The thirty-six stone stele prisonworlds would naturally join together into the shockingly powerful ‘Nine-Layered Heaven Chaining Formation’, making it incredibly hard for enemies to enter. Only members of their own kingdom could enter.

Each of the thirty-six stone steles had seven mighty techniques engraved upon them, for a total of 252 techniques. These techniques had all been left behind by the King of Pangaea. Although these weren’t the supreme techniques which the King of Pangaea had used to dominate his opponents, they were still some of the best techniques he had to offer. Every single Overseer would have the opportunity to learn the seven techniques on their respective stone steles, but they wouldn’t be permitted to learn from any of the others.

“Hmm…hmm…Pangaea chaos-kingdom? From its name, it has to be a kingdom located within the primordial chaos,” Ning mused to himself. “The primordial chaos truly is an absolutely amazing place. In the past, there have been quite a few incursions by alien Outsiders into our Three Realms. The primordial chaos is vast and infinite, capable of giving birth to many True Gods, Elder Gods, and even figures like Pangu. It makes sense that a nation like the Pangaea chaos-kingdom would exist.”

“However…judging from what these jailors said, the ‘Nine-Layered Heaven Chaining Formation’ which these thirty-six stone steles are a part of is nothing more than a joke.”

“This stone stele ended up in Youngflame Freak’s hands during the Primordial Era, and now it is in my hands. Its always been by itself for these countless years. I imagine that the formation was long ago destroyed, resulting in the stone steles being scattered apart. I wonder what this stone stele experienced, for it to have ended up here in the Three Realms.”

Although Ning was surprised and delighted, he was still cautious. The Three Realms had often battled against alien Outsiders such as Rahu or the even-more-powerful Lord of All Things, but had killed all of them. Most likely, many in the Three Realms hac acquired some of the treasures or supreme techniques of the alien Outsiders. Ning had merely acquired a single such treasure…albeit, his seemed to be quite impressive.

Ning continued to listen ‘relaxedly’ for some time, then said with a laugh, “Alright, you can stop for now.”

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Chapter 26 – Training in the Chaos Region

Chapter 26 – Training in the Chaos Region

“The two of you can go patrol the prisonworld,” Ji Ning instructed.

“Understood.” The two jailors respectfully assented to the order, then began to fly back the way they came. Far away, there was a blurry spatial door. Upon entering it, the two disappeared from Ning’s senses.

The only person left in this region was Ning.

Ning sat down in the lotus position. Below him was the ‘edges’ of this chaos region. Although it was invisible, it was enough to support Ning.

“Chaos nectar? Distilled from primordial chaos? I’ve never even heard of such a thing in the Three Realms.” Ning waved his hand, producing a black bottle. “A single bottle of chaos nectar is enough to train the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]? But from the sound of it, this chaos nectar is incredibly valuable. Generally speaking, in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, only Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals are allowed to enjoy this nectar. Aside from them, only some people with special statuses will be occasionally bestowed a bit of it.”

‘Ancestral Immortals’ was a term of power from the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. As far as Ning could tell, it referred to ‘Daofathers’.

The language of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom was incredibly similar to that of the human language of the Three Realms. The words were very similar to each other, and even the pronunciation was similar. Previously, when the torrent of information regarding the seven mighty techniques had entered Ning’s mind, he could hear echoes of a great Dao, allowing him to easily understand their language. In truth, it could even be treated as a mere human dialect of the Three Realms.

“A person assigned to be an Overseer would have to have a high level of status in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. They would be ‘punished’ to stand guard for a chaos cycle, but would then acquire a bottle.”

Ning now knew exactly how long a chaos cycle was.

The chatty Westbat had spoken for three days and three nights. He had provided much information, allowing Ning to hypothesize even more.

Chaos cycles…

They referred to the natural cycles every chaosworld would go through. Its birth, the slow passage of time, its eventual aging, and then its final destruction. This extremely long period of time was known as a ‘chaos cycle’! But of course, there were some chaosworlds which were attacked and destroyed by outside forces during their prime.

For example, the primordial world of Pangu was a chaosworld that had collided with the Seamless Chaosworld, then experienced a battle that caused its destruction. Still, in the end, the destruction of the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld had resulted in the birth of the new world, the ‘Three Realms’.

“Prisonworld 17?” Ning glanced at the distant spatial doorway.

He now knew that once he left this region, he would enter Prisonworld 17. This was one of the thirty-six great prisonworlds that were used to hold the prisoners of the ancient Pangaea chaos-kingdom.

“Chaos nectar is extremely valuable and rare; it’s hard to say if it even exists anywhere else in the Three Realms. I absolutely cannot waste such a precious treasure.” Ning pondered on what to do next. As for the jailor’s instructions for him to only use a single bottle, Ning didn’t give a damn. Who knew in what corner of the primordial chaos the Pangaea chaos-kingdom was even located? In fact, it might’ve been destroyed long ago! And of course, Ning himself was merely feigning allegiance to it.

All eighteen bottles would naturally belong to himself!

“According to what the jailor said, all of the Overseers would choose to use their bottle of chaos nectar to train in the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].” Ning nodded. “The Overseers were all core members of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. They should have known exactly how valuable chaos nectar was. If they chose to use it for this technique, then it should be worth it.”

“That’ll be my choice as well. First, I’ll train in [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].”

Ning’s primary issue was that he knew far too little about chaos nectar. Chaos nectar was gathered by the vast prisonworlds, which had created incomparably complicated formations to harvest it from the primordial chaos. Every single chaos cycle, only a total of six bottles would be harvested! In addition, there wasn’t necessarily anyone in the entire Three Realms who was capable of setting up such a complicated formation. Most likely, only Mother Nuwa, who had established her own Nuwa world, would be able to do so. No matter how Ning looked at it, it seemed as though acquiring more chaos nectar would be extremely difficult.

The chaos nectar of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom would generally go to the King of Pangaea, who would occasionally bestow a bit to his subordinates.

Every single bottle used would represent an irrecovable expenditure. He had to be judicious and sparing in its use. Perhaps in the future, he might discover an important effect or use for it! But of course, the second stage of [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] was absolutely shocking in power. Ning deeply desired to train in it, and so he started to do so immediately.

The blurry chaos region was only a few hundred meters wide.

“Although this region of primordial chaos is very small, it’s extraordinary marvelous.” Ning stared at his surroundings. “Earlier, when I was outside, I couldn’t find anything when I sent my divine power into the stone stele. The stone stele holds this chaos region within it, as well as the prisonworld. I had to activate the divine runes before I was drawn inside.”

“The strangest thing is…”

“It seems as though this place is not under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Daos.”

By now, Ning was at a formidable level of power. He could vaguely sense how the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms functioned.

To surpass the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Daos was possible if one went into the vast Void. Although a Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos was present there, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos of the Void was different from that of the Three Realms, even though the ‘rules’ were the same, as they belonged to different regions. Similarly, the primordial chaos itself held a Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos, as did this stone stele, but the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms did not have any sway outside the Three Realms or inside the stone stele.

“The stone stele is clearly inside my Starseizing Manor, but it isn’t subject to the dicates of the Three Realms. It seems that the major power who created this stone stele is also a figure who has surpassed the Heavenly Daos.”

After coming to this conclusion, Ning no longer thought any further on the matter. Whoosh! A green jade bottle appeared within his hands, with some Pure Yang Immortal pills located inside of it.

“The first stage of [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] is very easy. All I need to do is use up some Pure Yang Immortal pills.” Ning opened the stopper to the green jade bottle, then placed it to one side as he began to train.

Criss-crossing lines of gold began to appear all over Ning’s body. Slowly, golden runes began to take form. As more time passed, the golden runes became more and more numerous. In the blink of an eye, a golden rune-covered kasaya seemed to have appeared over Ning’s body! A certain aura began to emanate from it.

Rumble…

The many golden runes began to connect to each other in an organized way, linking together into lines that began to ripple and flow. The lines of golden runes thus began to merge into each other in an extremely marvelous way.

A strange, nameless aura began to drift out.

Boom! As time flowed out, the lines of golden runes finally completed their fusion, having transformed into a single, enormous divine rune. This enormous divine rune had completely covered Ning’s body…and then, with a swoosh, it went straight inside Ning.

Slowly, a miracle began to happen…

“My truesoul…”

Ning felt a sensation akin to intoxication. Everything felt blurry, but he could still sense that his truesoul was slowly being divided into halves…thirds…quarters…

His soul was beginning to split apart as well. As he felt his body grow low on energy, Ning immediately began to consume some Pure Yang Immortal pills.

This dream-like state persisted for a period of time. Then…whoosh. Seventeen rays of light suddenly shot out from Ning, each of which then transformed into a white-robed youth.

The eighteen white-robed youths all sat there in the lotus position within the chaos region. Their auras were absolutely identical, and their power was the same as well.

“They actually became independent, self-sustaining bodies. Every single one of them has a perfect truesoul and soul. They even have Pure Yang Jindan’s within their body.” Ning was absolutely delighted and shocked. The eighteen clones shared memories together, as they were fundamentally the same person. However, the death of one wouldn’t have any impact on the other seventeen at all.

In addition, thanks to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], a slain clone could be remade. However, the cost to remake another soul and another Pure Yang Jindan would be quite large.

This time, Ning hadn’t paid much of a price to train to the first stage. This was because Ning’s true body had essentially had its power divided by eighteen to create those seventeen additional bodies.

“Absolutely identical. Even the divine tattoos are identical.”

The eighteen Ji Ning’s simultaneously stared at their respective palms; each of them had Starseizing Tattoos on their hands.

When Empyrean Gods created clones, their power would only be slightly affected, and they would still have their divine abilities. The fatal flaw of those clones, however, was that their souls weren’t stand-alone. If too many clones died, the soul would be tattered and break apart. Ning, however, didn’t have to face this danger…but his power did decrease.

“Time to train the second stage.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately pulling out a bottle of chaos nectar.

The eighteen white-robed youths all sat down in the lotus position, forming into an enormous circle with the chaos nectar at the center of the circle.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Droplets of chaos nectar flew out from the black bottle. Although each dropped looked translucent, it was as though they held entire worlds within them. Tiny little bubbles occasionally appeared within each drop, occasionally breaking apart and popping. The little ‘worlds’ within those bubbles were similarly being born and destroyed.

An inconceivably powerful aura of life emanated from those chaos droplets.

In raw power alone, each drop was perhaps only comparable to a Great Firmament Immortal pill, but the chaos nectar seemed to hold everything within them. Truesoul, soul, heartforce, Immortal energy, divine power…all types of energy seemed to be hidden within them.

The primordial chaos could give birth to worlds. It could create countless living creatures.

Chaos nectar was distilled and extracted from the primordial chaos. It was incomparably marvelous and incomparably valuable.

One drop of chaos nectar after another flew out, moving towards the eighteen white-robed youths. When the chaos nectar entered Ning’s body, Ning felt an unprecedented cold sensation fill it. Even his soul itself felt chilled. However, this icy feeling was quite comfortable, and he felt more refreshed and awake than he ever had before. Every part of his body, from his muscles and his flesh to his soul, felt alive and refreshed, as though he had just been bathed.

Ning immediately began to apply the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique in guiding the chaos nectar to take affect in the necessary manner.

First the soul, then the Pure Yang Jindan…

They immediately began to grow at high speed, like a sapling growing into a tree. Even Ning’s divine power was rapidly increasing…

The auras of all eighteen white-robed youths were strengthening at a shockingly fast pace.

In truth, the first stage of this powerful technique was easy to learn precisely because it involved dividing the power of the true body into eighteen different bodies. The reason why the second stage was thousands of times harder was precisely because it involved using different types of extremely rare items to rebuild the lost power…but finding items that could replenish the soul and heartforce was incredibly difficult.

The third stage not only had high material requirements, it also required a certain level of insight, making it even harder to train. But once one succeeded, the eighteen clones would be able to once more merge together, resulting in a simply shocking increase in power. In truth, there had been many in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom who had acquired this technique, but aside from the King of Pangaea himself, no one had ever been able to train to the third stage.

……

The chaos region was completely silent.

The bottle of chaos nectar had long ago been used up. At the very bottom of the black bottle, a little bit of remaning chaos nectar could be seen.

“Success.” The eighteen white-robed youths simultaneously opened their eyes.

“From this day forth…I finally have the strength I need to truly battle against the Seamless Gate.” Ning could finally sense that the terrifying pressure the Seamless Gate had brought him had begun to lessen. Finally, he had a true chance to rescue his senior apprentice-sister.

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Chapter 27 – Prisonworld

Chapter 27 – Prisonworld

In terms of value, the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] was comparable to the other six techniques. However, thanks to this bottle of chaos nectar, Ji Ning had been able to train to the second level of the technique, causing his body to undergo a fundamental change in quality.

“There’s actually a bit left over.” Ning waved his hand, causing the black bottle to fly into it. The drops of chaos nectar were clearly visible at the base of the bottle. “Each bottle holds a total of ninety-nine drops. There are actually twenty-two left. According to what Jailor Westbat said, the previous Overseers would all use up nearly an entire battle. It seems as though my strength is slightly lacking, compared to the previous Overseers.”

The more powerful one was, the more chaos nectar would be needed to train to the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].

The price of training the first stage and creating eighteen clones was having one’s strength lowered. The price of training the second stage lay in consuming chaos nectar to quickly return back to one’s original level of power. Thus, the more powerful one was, the more chaos nectar would be needed. For example, the Jindan and the soul which True Gods and Daofathers possessed were far more powerful than Ning’s, and so they would need far more chaos nectar as well. This, too, had been recorded within the details of the technique.

The generations of Overseers were only permitted to assume their position after showing that they were capable of ‘reading’ the entire stone stele. Ning had just barely succeeded, but had still successfully become an Overseer. This meant his level of power was still quite close to that of the previous Overseers. Clearly, the previous Overseers hadn’t reached the True God or Daofather level.

“Prisonworld…?”

The other seventeen clones remained seated, pondering the remaining six techniques. One of them, however, arose and walked out towards the spatial gateway.

Whoosh.

Upon passing through the gateway, the world seemed to change.

He was now in a wide, vast world. At the very peak of a ten thousand kilometer mountain, a white-robed youth appeared out of nowhere.

“So this is a prisonworld…?” Ning saw that this vast world was dark and blurry. There were no stars, no sun, no moon. Countless divine runes could be seen swimming through the skies like dragons. These golden divine runes caused the skies to glitter, perpetually casting the vast earth in dim light.

“Spread out.” Standing atop the peak of the towering mountain, Ning willed his heartforce to emerge.

Boom! His heartforce instead spread out in every direction. Ning did not dare to release his coresense in this region, where so many prisoners were located, for fear of suffering an attack! Comparatively speaking, using heartforce was much safer.

In an instant, his heartforce spread out to cover an area that was at least three times the size of the Grand Xia.

……

“Eh?”

Far away, there was a filthy-looking old man who was leaning against a stone cliff. His legs were shackled together, and the shackles emanated strange, mysterious ripples of power. It was precisely because of these shackles that he had been imprisoned here for more than ten chaos cycles.

“Heartforce…? It seems that the new Overseer has arrived. The Overseers are all young fellows. This one has fairly strong heartforce, at least.” The filthy-looking old man raised his head, a green light emanating from his eyes. Instantly, a surge of powerful heartforce swept out to cover an area of a thousand kilometers. As for the heartforce which Ning had sent into the region, it was completely surrounded and smothered by this second surge of heartforce.

……

Off in the distance, there was a wild dog who was lying on the ground. The wild dog’s fur and skin was damaged so badly that his black bones could be seen in some places. The wild dog blinked. “This kid really doesn’t know his own limits. That old bastard, Pangaea, is increasingly lax when sending out his Overseers. Doesn’t he warn these kids? Still…his heartforce is much stronger than that of the previous Overseer.”

Everything within a thousand kilometers suddenly turned dark. Even the surrounding space trembled slightly.

……

Still atop the distant mountain peak, Ning’s face suddenly turned ashen. He gritted his teeth. “Break!”

Instantly, Ning forcibly severed off part of the heartforce which he had sent out. He treated it as though he had shot out an arrow with heartforce, completely severing it from himself.

“How terrifying…b-b-but…”

Only after breaking the connection did the fear hit Ning.

“The region my heartforce was able to cover had to be just a tiny portion of this prisonworld. The most terrifying figures within this region were that old man and that wild dog.” Ning swallowed, hard. “That old man had to be at the Daofather level, while the wild dog should be at the Elder God level. That old man’s heartforce is merely at the fourth stage as well, but he’s far more powerful than me in using techniques to apply it. He was actually able to instantly trap me in an illusion. Fortunately, both of us are at the fourth stage of heartforce, which is why I was able to forcibly sever the connection.”

“As for that wild dog…his divine ability is simply incredible. He was able to devour my heartforce in the blink of an eye.” 1

Ning instantly understood that those two figures were definitely not people he could mess with.

“The area I scanned also contained eighteen True Gods, thirty-three Pure Yang True Immortals, seventy-one Empyrean Gods, and ninety-six Celestial Immortals.” Ning did some quick calculations.

The auras of the True Gods were as powerful as expected. The Pure Yang True Immortals also gave Ning a sense of tremendous danger.

“The Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals shouldn’t be too dangerous.” Ning pondered for another moment. “Right. I’ll choose a Celestial Immortal as my first contact. Celestial Immortals are the weakest. I should be able to discover quite a few secrets from them.”

The two jailors were nothing more than constructs; they didn’t understand any cultivation techniques at all. The prisoners here, however, did.

Whoosh.

Ning sat down within his Voidboat. The Voidboat transformed into a streak of light, rapidly advancing through the dark prisonworld. Ning intentionally kept more than a thousand kilometers away from the prisoners, because every single prisoner was surrounded by complicated formations that were a thousand kilometers around them. These formations were meant to subdue the prisoners and prevent their techniques from going outside.

There was no way to tear through the space in the prisonworld, nor was there any way to engage in spatial teleportation. The only choice was to slowly fly forward.

It usually took the two jailors more than 120,000 years to complete a full inspection of all the prisoners in the prisonworld. From this, one could tell how vast this world truly was. But of course, this was also a testament to how slow the jailors were. As constructs, they were able to absorb enough energy from the world to stay alive, but their flying speed was ridiculously slow. If they had a Voidboat like Ning did, they would be much, much faster.

Ning flew for half a day.

“Here it is.” Ning put away the Voidboat, then landed within a valley.

“That Celestial Immortal is right up ahead.”

As he walked through the valley, Ning moved hundreds of kilometers with each step. He quickly arrived at the margins of the formation.

The blurry formation barrier covered the region like a giant dome. The prisoner was completely unable to step past the formation barrier. However, the barrier was only effective against the prisoner; Ning and the two jailors could enter and exit as they pleased.

Whoosh. Ning took a single step forward. The barrier didn’t harm Ning at all.

Ning once more sent out his heartforce, using it to encompass this region.

……

Far away, there was a youth dressed in tattered clothes who was seated in the lotus position. The youth had a pair of black shackles around his feet. The chains attached to the black shackles stretched off into the distance, disappearing into an empty region as though they had emerged from it. The black shackles were absolutely terrifying; once they were attached, there was no way to remove them at all. Not even Elder Gods could do it.

Although the black shackles looked like they were attached to the legs, in truth they bound the soul and the truesoul.

Suddenly, faint footsteps could be heard off in the distance.

“Eh?” The youth dressed in tattered clothes blurrily opened his eyes.

It had been far too long. He had been here far, far too long, so long that even the magic treasure clothes he wore had been reduced to a tattered state. In truth, all he had to do was use a bit of energy and he would be able to instantly repair them, but there was no way to absorb any energy whatsoever within the prisonworld. All any of them could do was rely on the original amount they had to sustain themselves.

He had committed a grave crime, so great that not even his school could save him. His master had given him many spirit-pills, so that he might live longer within this prisonworld. His master had said to him, “Goodhill, I’m unable to save you. Be sparing with these spirit-pills. You’ll only be able to survive within the prisonworld by relying on your own Immortal energy, but once it is used up, once the spirit-pills are used up, you will die! Only if you manage to stay alive will you be able to escape. I’ll definitely help you and come up with a way to save you, so you have to hold on. No matter what, don’t kill yourself. Hold on!”

“Someone’s finally come. It’s been far, far too long.” A look of hope was in the youth’s eyes. “Am I going to be released?”

It was this hope which had sustained him for three chaos cycles, which kept him going even now. He had been extremely sparing with every drop of energy, and fortunately his master had provided him with many spirit-pills. However, by now he had already used up the majority of them; most likely, he would only be able to hold on for another chaos cycle, at which point he would succumb.

“Eh?” The youth looked at the white-robed figure. “His aura…True Immortal? Wait…why is he…so weak?”

……

Ning stared at the skeletal-looking youth. This youth had a human-like appearance, but he was too skinny. Still, Ning’s heartforce had discovered that every single prisoner seemed to be extremely gaunt, as though they were ordinary mortals that were starved to the brink of death. No…not even starving mortals would be as ridiculously gaunt as them.

The Elder God in the shape of a wild dog, for example…he had been starved so badly that his very skin had broken apart, revealing his black bones.

“You must be the new Overseer.” The youth looked at him. “I am a Celestial Immortal, but an Overseer has actually come to visit me…are you going to release me?”

“Release you?” Ning was startled.

“Why didn’t you bring the talisman of command? Without it, you won’t be able to open these shackles.” The youth shook his head.

Ning shook his own head as well. “I don’t have it. I have no way to release you.” Not even Elder Gods could break these shackles, to say nothing of Ning.

The youth was stunned. He stared at Ning in amazement. “Y-you…you aren’t of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom! Who are you? How did you enter this prisonworld? What happened to the Pangaea chaos-kingdom?”

“I’m the Overseer which His Majesty sent,” Ning said, looking at the youth.

“Don’t deny it.” The youth shook his head. “If you came from our Pangaea chaos-kingdom, if you were sent by His Majesty, then you would definitely know that His Majesty would personally send an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal to open the shackles. Even if you did have the command talisman, you still wouldn’t be able to open the shackles. But just now, when I asked you about opening the shackles with the command talisman, you didn’t express any puzzlement at all.”

Ning was stunned.

He hadn’t revealed anything in front of those two golems…but as soon as he interacted with an actual intelligent being, a Celestial Immortal, he had immediately revealed himself.

Still, Ning didn’t panic at all. When he had first entered, he had been worried about his true identity being revealed, but after chatting with Westbat for so long, Ning realized that this stone stele was a very special treasure, much like his Starseizing Manor. It contained many formations and restrictions within it, but he now truly was the master of the stone stele. As for the two golems, they were nothing more than laborers. Perhaps they weren’t weak, but they would never, ever be able to leave the stone stele.

Ning, however, could leave the stone stele world whenever he so chose. And so, he was no longer worried about any danger.

“Why did you suspect my identity? Why did you test me?” Ning asked.

“Tell me, what has happened to the Pangaea chaos-kingdom?!” The youth asked frantically.

1. This wild dog is likely modeled after the ‘tiangou’, the Heavenly Dog which eats/swallows the sun during an eclipse. The Japanese ‘tengu’ was derived from the Chinese ‘tiangou’.

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Chapter 28 – Celestial Immortal Goodhill

Chapter 28 – Celestial Immortal Goodhill

The youth stared at Ji Ning, his eyes filled with hope.

“It was destroyed,” Ning replied. Even if it wasn’t destroyed, the thirty-six stone steles had been split up. Given how long this one had been within the Three Realms, there was likely no way the Pangaea chaos-kingdom would ever find it again.

“Destroyed? Destroyed. But…how…? Princess…Master…n-no…” The youth finally broke down. He had resolutely stood firm for three full chaos cycles because of that unyielding desire in his heart. Three full chaos cycles! There had been many True Gods who had felt despair due to solitude and killed themselves, but he, a mere Celestial Immortal, had been able to persevere for so many years.

“It was your people. You wiped out our Pangaea chaos-kingdom…you destroyed everything…took everything from me…n-no…” The youth went crazy.

“Go DIEEEEEEE!” Hundreds of streaks of light suddenly exploded forth from the youth’s body. The streaks of light swirled around him, and then an enormous, jade-green sword-shadow suddenly appeared, chopping down towards Ning.

Ning had been fairly calm, because all of this was as he had expected, and the person before him was merely a Celestial Immortal. Upon seeing the attack, however, Ning was truly stunned. The enormous jade-green sword-shadow carried so much power that his heart clenched. This wasn’t an attack which Celestial Immortals were capable of. In fact, not even every Pure Yang True Immortal was as powerful as this!

“Impossible! [Starseizing Hand]!!!”

Ning didn’t dare to hesitate at all. He immediately executed the [Starseizing Hand] ability.

Whoosh!

An enormous palm, glowing with blurry light, smashed downwards towards the giant jade-green sword-shadow.

BOOM! The two collided. Shockwaves spread outwards from the collision, causing the earth to tremble and crack.

Ning couldn’t help but be knocked several steps backwards by the collision. As for the youth, he still stood there, eyes completely bloodshot as he stared crazily at Ning.

“How can this be? You are merely a Celestial Immortal. How can you be this powerful? This is impossible.” Ning was completely stunned. This outcome had completely turned his world upside-down. After using the [Starseizing Hand], he could be considered a supreme Empyrean God. Why, then, was he put at a disadvantage when colliding against that sword?

“Die, die, DIE! GO DIE!!!” The youth had gone completely mad.

“It seems I’ll have to suppress him in order to understand what is going on.” Ning unleashed his full power. “[Starseizing Hand]!”

The same technique, the [Starseizing Hand]…but this time, Ning’s powerful fourth-stage heartforce was completely activated at full power. The power of the [Starseizing Hand] instantly increased once more. Most likely, it was comparable to a full-strength arrow from the divine archers of the Three Realms.

Rumble…

The enormous palm smashed downwards with unearthly powerful. It was markedly and visibly far more powerful than before. When the Celestial Immortal’s enormous jade-green sword-shadow chopped against it, there was a sudden explosion, followed by the sword-shadow instantly breaking apart. The giant palm, however, continued to chop downwards. The y outh wanted to dodge, but the giant palm made a sudden grabbing motion.

Whoosh! It seized the youth, capturing the youth within itself.

“Fourth stage heartforce?” The youth stared at Ning, laughing like a madman, his laughter tinged with desolate grief. “So what if your heartforce is at the fourth stage? You are such a weak True Immortal.”

“Speak! How could a Celestial Immortal like you be so powerful?” Ning stared at him.

“Ahahaha…I’m not powerful, you are just puny!” The youth stared at Ning. “I would never have thought that the Pangaea chaos-world would be destroyed and that this prisonworld would end up in the hands of someone as weak as you.”

“Answer me!” Ning’s giant palm clenched around the youth as he said coldly, “How can a Celestial Immortal be as strong as you? Why did you say I am weak?”

“It’s too late…too late. Even if you found out, it’s still too late.” The youth truly seemed gripped by madness as he giggled, “But I still refuse to tell you. Not gonna tell you! Ahahaha…”

Ning frowned. He could sense that this youth truly seemed to have gone crazy.

“If you tell me, not only will I spare you, I can give you what you want,” Ning said.

“What I want? I want to go back to the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. I want to leave this place. I want to see the princess. I want to see Master. Can you do these things? Can you accomplish even one of them?” The youth stared at Ning, madness apparent in his eyes. “Someone as weak as you couldn’t possibly accomplish any of them. You can’t do it!”

Ning was stunned. He didn’t even know where the Pangaea chaos-kingdom was. As for letting the man leave? He didn’t have the ability to do so!

“It’s true that I can’t do it,” Ning said. “However, I can make it so that your life is a bit more comfortable. I can let things be more pleasant for you.”

“Ahahaha…comfortable…ahahahaha! It’s over…over…all over. Master…Princess…I’ve waited bitterly for three full chaos cycles…but this is the result? This is my destiny? Ahahaha…” The insane youth couldn’t stop laughing. “Master…Princess…Goodhill is on his way now…”

BOOM!

The youth in Ning’s giant palm suddenly blew apart, his soul completely shattering.

“Suicide?” Ning shook his head.

The man had stewed here for three full chaos cycles by himself. It would indeed be hard to persuade such a person with just a few simple words.

……

Ning stood there, staring at a large pile of items. These were the relics which the young prisoner had left behind.

“I hope I can find something that will tell me about the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, something that can explain why the youth was so powerful.” Ning carefully looked through the items. The first things he noticed were those jade-green flying swords. He saw a total of 360 of them, each of them emanating an invisible aura of sword-intent.

“B-but…” Ning was instantly stunned as he inspected them more carefully. “Top-grade Pure Yang flying swords? All of them are top-grade…and there are 360 of them.” Ning knew very well that the youth had controlled these 360 Pure Yang flying swords to form that jade-green sword-light to fight earlier. “How could he, a Celestial Immortal, possibly be able to simultaneously control so many top-grade Pure Yang swords?”

It was extremely hard to control such powerful treasures. Even most True Immortals would be unable to control so many top-grade Pure Yang swords.

“And inside this…” Ning instantly began to bind some of the storage treasures and investigate their contents. He began to discover one item after another.

The deceased ‘Goodhill’ could be considered a core member of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. Otherwise, as a Celestial Immortal, there was no way he would even be qualified to be imprisoned here; he would’ve simply been executed, rather than locked in here for countless years. Clearly, the King of Pangaea had certain concerns of his own; most likely, he didn’t want to so directly offend the school behind Goodhill.

And so, Goodhill naturally had quite a few treasures.

“He actually has a second set of 360…” Ning was shocked and delighted. Aside from the first set of 360 jade-green Immortal swords, there was also a second set of 360 fiery-red Immortal swords.

Both sets were of top-grade Pure Yang swords!

These two sets, combined, were better than any of the Pure Yang treasure sets which Daoist Threelives had left behind. But of course, they were still far from being a match for the 3600 goldstar beads, which were supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures. Every single bead was more valuable than a top-grade Pure Yang sword, and there were 3600 of them. That set was something which Daoist Three Purities had acquired!

“For a Celestial Immortal to have so many treasures…his wealth is far more staggering than that of the vast majority of the True Immortals of our Three Realms. Most likely, only supreme Empyrean Gods and True Immortals like me or Patriarch Lu would be able to compare to him,” Ning mused to himself.

He continued to carefully inspect the other items.

Most of the treasures being carried by the youth were Pure Yang treasures. All the items were on the Pure Yang level. It was as though to this youth, Pure Yang treasures were just common items. However, the strange thing was, the youth didn’t have so much as a single Protocosmic spirit-treasure on him. It must be understood that even people like the Xia Emperor had multiple Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

“He destroyed all his spirit-pills and Immortal herbs?” Ning looked at some shattered bits and pieces of items, then shook his head. Before dying, the youth had destroyed everything he could. However, he had been unable to destroy the Pure Yang artifacts, and so Ning had acquired them.

“He really didn’t want to leave anything nice for me at all. Still, in the end these Immortal swords became mine. Two sets of flying swords, 360 in each set.” Ning sighed to himself.

What Ning didn’t know was that one of the two sets was the set which Goodhill normally used, while the other set was a backup set.

Aside from the weapons, the other treasures were quite ordinary. For example, the treasures meant for fleeing were all merely at the Pure Yang level; they were far from being a match for the likes of the Voidboat.

……

After going through Goodhill’s possessions, Ning was unable to find a single cultivation technique or any records of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom.

“It makes sense. Generally speaking, techniques are directly transmitted into the mind. Secret manuals are rarely carried around.” Ning nodded. After he had learned techniques from the Black-White College and the Tristar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart, he had either put the secret manuals back where they belonged or destroyed them. There was no way he would just carry them around with him.

This was why it was virtually impossible to acquire techniques like the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], the full [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], or [Houyi’s Archery] through killing enemies. Ning, for example, simply wouldn’t be carrying those techniques on him. He had memorized them all within his mind.

“Ah, right. All that aside, Celestial Immortals and even Empyrean Gods probably have low status within the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. There’s no way they would be allowed to carry complete techniques around. And generally, when a master teaches an art, various soul-oaths will be employed as well,” Ning mused to himself. The more important a technique was, the more a school would work to ensure it wouldn’t be leaked out. In fact, even soulscouring usually wouldn’t be effective in acquiring a complete technique.

“Still, things might be different for someone with high status.”

“High status individuals might have the ability to acquire some special techniques, including ones that can be taught to those who are of a different school,” Ning mused to himself.

In the Three Realms, True Gods and Daofathers could choose to teach some techniques to outsiders, if they so desired. In the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, the Elder Gods and Daofathers could probably do the same.

“Earlier, when I used my heartforce to scan the region, I found an Elder God and a Daofather.” Ning nodded slowly. “The Elder God should be more powerful, and he looks like a wild dog. Perhaps it’ll be easier to persuade him.”

Right now, Ning desperately wanted to know why a Celestial Immortal could be so powerful.

……

After Ning left Goodhill’s prison ‘cell’, he sat back into his Voidboat and fly towards the Elder God that looked like a wild dog.

In truth, Pure Yang treasures were now of limited benefit to Ning, and they were also useless to Daofathers and True Gods. Daofathers and True Gods generally used Protocosmic spirit-treasures or Chaos treasures! Ning’s most powerful treasure set right now was the Stargold Beads of the Heavens, but these two top-grade Pure Yang swords could be used in setting up the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. If he gave it to his Primaltwin, his Primaltwin would also have a powerful treasure to use.

The Voidboat carefully flew forward, avoiding the many ‘prison cells’ in the region.

Divine runes continued to flow densely through the dark skies of the world. Their power and aura made it so that Ning’s flying speed was much slower here than it was in the Three Realms.

After flying for more than three days, he finally arrived at the location where the wild dog Elder God was located.

“Senior.” Ning stood outside the formation, but sent a strand of his divine power inside of it in the form of a clone. The clone carried a wooden platter with it, covered with two flagons of wine and fine delicacies. A fragrance of saliva-inducing meat wafted out from the plate.

“Senior,” Ning’s clone called out, carrying the platter forward into the formation towards the direction of the wild dog Elder God.

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Chapter 29 – Meeting the Elder God

Chapter 29 – Meeting the Elder God

Even though they were hundreds of kilometers apart, Ji Ning’s clone could still see the distant form of the utterly emaciated wild dog lying on the ground. He immediately grew even more courteous and respectful. His heartforce had shown him how formidable this seemingly-unremarkable wild dog was. It had been able to devour even the invisible, formless power of heartforce; how could Ning possibly be a match for it?

“Senior, this junior is the newly-arrived Overseer. There’s something I would ask of you, senior,” Ning’s clone said.

Sniff. Sniff. The wild dog’s nostrils flared a few times, and then its eyes opened, revealing a pair of ancient-looking dark-yellow pupils. It opened its mouth.

Rumble…

Everything within a thousand kilometers began to change.

The platter which Ning’s clone was holding actually flew into the air and towards that mouth. The fine wine and delicacies on the platter flew with especial speed!

“Eh?” Ning’s clone was completely unable to resist this power. “What a formidable divine ability.”

As the wine and food reached the wild dog’s mouth, they began to shrink in size, then flew straight into it. Even Ning’s clone was about to be sucked in!

“Senior! Senior!” Ning’s clone called out repeatedly, but the wild dog completely ignored him.

Whoosh.

Ning’s clone could sense that he was shrinking in size, while the wild dog before him was growing larger and larger, seemingly as large as the heavens themselves. It flew helplessly into the mouth of the wild dog, then dispersed.

Outside the formation.

“Thank goodness I only sent a clone; all I lost was a bit of my divine power.” Ning stood outside the formation, calling out, “Senior, there’s something I need to ask of you.”

But the wild dog, a few hundred kilometers away, just continued to lie there as though he was asleep.

“And of course, if there is anything you need, senior, I’ll do my best to satisfy you,” Ning said.

“Lucky kid, are you able to release me? Let me out of here?” Finally, an ancient voice rang out by Ning’s ears. The eyelids of the distant wild dog lifted upwards as he glanced at Ning.

“Uh…” Ning immediately asked, “Might I ask, what do I need to do to release you?”

“There are two methods,” the ancient voice said. “The first method is to have an Elder God or an Ancestral Immortal with a talisman of command from the King of Pangaea come here, then activate the talisman to unlock the prison chains. At that point, you as the Overseer can bring me out of this prisonworld, and I will regain my freedom. The second method is to have a mighty individual who has reached the World-level to forcibly shatter these shackles.”

“World-class?” Ning was stunned. “What’s the ‘World-level’?”

The wild dog glanced at Ning, a hint of disappointment in its eyes. Still, it answered Ning’s question. “They are the ones who have ascended beyond the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. You look as though you live in a chaosworld. You should have heard rumors that your chaosworld was originally formed from the primordial chaos by a mighty Fiendgod, yes?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Those who are capable of creating a chaosworld are at the World-level of power. However, those Fiendgods who are born from the primordial chaos at the World-level will all perish upon creating their chaosworld. They were born for the sole purpose of establishing a world, and there is no way for them to continue living afterwards. As for other Gods or Immortals who manage to train to the World-level after countless years and experiences, they are even more powerful than those Fiendgods who were born at the World-level. Those individuals are capable of destroying these shackles outright. In fact, given enough time, they are even capable of destroying this entire prisonworld.”

Ning now understood.

Pangu!

The World-level was Pangu’s level! Mother Nuwa had reached Pangu’s level as well. No wonder Mother Nuwa had been able to effortlessly dominate the Lord of All Things as soon as she broke through to Pangu’s level! The Lord of All Things had been powerful, and the Seamless Chaosworld had been quite formidable, but Mother Nuwa had immediately slaughtered the Lord of All Things, then frightened the Lord of the Demonheart into merging himself into the Heavenly Daos. As for the Lord of All Fiends, his escaping abilities were quite impressive; he had been able to escape while bringing along many of the shattered remnants of the Seamless Gate’s forces. They had hidden themselves in the primordial chaos, not daring to return until Mother Nuwa left the Three Realms.

Once anyone reached her level, they would be able to effortlessly dominate all comers. The difference in power was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.

“So above the Elder God and Ancestral Immortals are the World-class experts? Then what level has the King of Pangaea reached?” Ning asked.

“He’s also a World-class expert.” The wild dog looked towards Ning. “However, he’s an extremely powerful World-class expert. The Pangaea chaos-kingdom has a total of three World-class experts, which is why it is so powerful. You must understand that it is very, very rare for a chaosworld to give birth to even a single World-class expert.”

Ning nodded.

The Seamless Chaosworld, for instance, hadn’t produced a single one. As for the Pangu Chaosworld, only Mother Nuwa had reached that level. Apparently, this was a level of tremendous power, even within the endless primordial chaos.

“Your master, your elders…are any of the experts you know at the World-class?” The wild dog looked at Ning. “They can be World Gods of the Fiendgod path or Chaos Immortals of the Immortal cultivation path; so long as they have reached the World-class, they can forcibly break apart these shackles.”

“I know of one.” Ning nodded.

“Truly?” The wild dog’s eyes lit up with eagerness. Given his incredible level of power, he was completely capable of telling if Ning was telling the truth or not.

“However, I haven’t personally met this person yet.” Ning looked back at the wild dog.

“I can sense that you aren’t lying to me.” The wild dog’s attitude instantly became noticeably better. Previously, he had been rather indifferent towards Ning, because his experience was that it was incredibly rare for a World-class expert to appear within the primordial chaos. However…now that he knew that Ning’s side had a World-class expert behind it, and given that he himself knew that Ning’s side wasn’t an enemy…suddenly, he saw the light of hope.

Freedom.

He desperately craved it.

The many prisoners jailed here all craved their freedom.

“Senior, tell me more about these ‘World-class’ experts. My master has met that mighty individual before, but I have not. I know nothing about them. Please tell me a bit more, senior,” Ning said. And indeed, Subhuti had met Nuwa before. Ning was telling the truth.

“Your master met this person?” The wild dog’s attitude became even better. “Mm. The paths of cultivation are divided into three. The first path is the Fiendgod path. The primordial chaos will give birth to some living creatures that will title themselves ‘Gods’, and they will subconsciously choose to call their enemies ‘Fiends’. The Fiendgod cultivation path is generally created by these Fiendgods who were born from the primordial chaos, which is why it is named that.”

“The second path is the Ki Refining path, which allows ordinary commoners born from the mortal dust to constantly improve themselves and break through to higher levels.”

“Finally, there is the invisible, formless path of the heart.”

“These three paths are the three major paths of cultivation.”

“The Fiendgod path can be divided in the ‘mortal’, ‘Empyrean God’, ‘True God’, ‘Elder God’, and ‘World God’ levels. Supposedly, there are even higher levels of power in the primordial chaos, as well as figures who are even more powerful than the King of Pangaea. However, in my sixteen chaos cycles of life, I’ve never encountered such a powerful figure.”

“The Ki Refining path can be divided into the ‘mortal’, ‘Celestial Immorta’, ‘True Immortal’, ‘Ancestral Immortal’, and ‘Chaos Immortal’ levels.”

“As for the path of the heart…even I do not understand it.”

The wild dog continued, “The core of any Ki Refiner lies in the Jindan golden pellet within the body. This is their heart, which contains all of their ineffable might. At the World-class, however, the cultivator shall completely destroy the Jindan region, letting it return to the primordial chaos it sprang from. When that happens, a chaosworld will emerge within the Jindan.”

Ning was surprised. The region within the Jindan was extremely vast; all of Ning’s magic treasures were placed within it, as was his sea of Immortal energy. To destroy it all and let it return to the primordial chaos, then give birth to a chaosworld…?”

“When that happens, the Chaos Immortal shall have a chaosworld located inside his very body. Naturally, his power will be utterly indomitable,” the wild god said. “As for the ‘Daos’ which young fellows like you inside the chaosworld train in, these ‘Daos’ are nothing more than the rules by which the chaosworld operates. The ‘natural energy of Heaven and Earth’ which you cultivate is the energy of the chaosworld itself. All you are doing is temporarily borrowing it for your own use.”

“However, to reach the World-level, you’ll have to establish a chaosworld of your own, inside your body. Although the chaosworld within your Jindan wouldn’t be as vast as a real chaosworld in the outside world, you will be the ruler and absolute master of it. Naturally, your power will become enormous. It would be very easy for you to destroy an actual chaosworld.”

Ning nodded. Mother Nuwa did indeed have the power to destroy the Three Realms.

“Because Immortal cultivators at the World-level have established a world region of primordial chaos within their Jindans, they are known as Chaos Immortals.”

“As for Fiendgods, their path involves continually increasing the power of their divine bodies. With each improvement in their body, their power will increase greatly. World Gods possess almost limitless power, and they are capable of establishing chaosworlds of their own. Thus, they are referred to as World Gods.”

“These two paths are equal in power,” the wild dog said.

“Equal?” Ning was suddenly startled. “Senior, are you saying that Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals should be equals? True Gods and True Immortals should be equals? Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals are equals?”

“Of course. Although these are two different paths of cultivation, the two paths are indeed equal in power.” The wild dog nodded.

Ning was stunned. How could the two paths be equal?

True Gods were clearly comparable in power to Daofathers, while Empyrean Gods were on the same level as True Immortals.

“The Ki Refining path is a path that has been slowly developed and tested over countless years, a path that allows ordinary mortals to cultivate and rise in power. Thus, there are many different methods of Ki Refining.” The wild dog stared at the distant Ning. “However, there are three primary methods through which a person can overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. These three different methods will result in Jindans of different qualities.”

“As for you…you’ve trained the worst method.” The wild dog shook his head. “Your Jindan is incredibly puny. Even though you are now a ‘True Immortal’, powerful Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals are probably on par with you.”

“Right, right, right! Earlier, I fought against a Celestial Immortal in here. We were indeed on par with each other,” Ning immediately said.

The wild dog shook his head. “The Ki Refining path you people train in is too weak. If your world had a Chaos Immortal within it, things wouldn’t be this bad. I believe the person on your side who broke through to the World-level had to have made the breakthrough as a Fiendgod cultivator. This person must be a World God.”

Ning didn’t deny it. Nuwa had followed in Pangu’s path. She had indeed walked the Fiendgod path.

“There are three different paths for Ki Refiners. Breaking through to become a Celestial Immortal is the most important checkpoint in all of cultivation. The Jindan formed during the breakthrough will determine the power and potential the cultivator will have in the future,” the wild dog said. “The weakest type of Jindan is formed when the cultivator has to laboriously draw in the natural energy, condensing it into a Jindan.”

“A higher level method is to rely on many precious treasures in forming the Jindan, guiding the essence of those treasures to come together through your own personal power. These Jindans are much more powerful.”

“The best method of all is a method which imitates the birth of Fiendgods from the primordial chaos. The bodies of those Fiendgods are formed from the power of chaos itself. To create the most supreme of Celestial Immortal Jindan’s, you have to use an entire vast world as your furnace. This world needs to be extremely large, at least on par with this prisonworld. What you need to do is to summon all the limitless power of that vast world, then condense it into a Jindan. This is the best-possible Jindan, and it will contain tremendous power of incredible purity.”

“Of the three methods, the best method is to use the energy of an entire world in order to cultivate the Jindan. The second method is to rely on precious items to help you increase your power. The third method primarily relies on you relying on your own power to draw more in.”

“But of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything. The best method requires you to use an entire vast world as your furnace, which is only possible with the assistance of a Chaos Immortal. In addition, when undergoing your tribulation, the power of the Celestial Tribulation will be a bit more powerful than even an Empyrean Tribulation.” The wild dog looked at Ning. “In the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, only a very small percentage of the core members are capable of using the best method to produce a Jindan.”

“As for you…it’s too late. You are already a True Immortal. Your path is set. There’s no way to change it.” The wild dog shook his head.

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Chapter 30 – Upgrading the Jindan

Chapter 30 – Upgrading the Jindan

“My path is set?” Ji Ning refused to accept this. He immediately asked, “I’m a True Immortal right now! My Jindan is still fairly weak. Is there really no way to upgrade it by even a single tier?”

According to the cultivation techniques of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, True Immortals and True Gods should be on the same level of power! That meant he would be equivalent to a Daofather in the Three Realms!

“It’s useless. Your Jindan is already formed. No matter how much you struggle, your path is already set.” The wild dog’s dark-yellow eyes stared at Ning. “You have the weakest type of Jindan possible. Even though you are a True Immortal, some of the most powerful Celestial Immortals will be stronger than you. Even if you become an Ancestral Immortal, top-tier True Immortals will be comparable to you in strength. You will always be a step behind them.”

Ning gritted his teeth. In the Three Realms, things were different. True Immortals were comparable to Empyrean Gods, while Daofathers were comparable to True Gods.

“But the heavens always leave behind at least a sliver of a chance. There has to be some way!” Ning said.

“Oh, technically there is,” the wild dog said. “However, the Jindan is formed after the tribulation. To upgrade it later…this will be far, far more difficult than even the Celestial Tribulation itself.”

“What method?” Ning immediately asked.

“Special treasures from the primordial chaos,” the wild dog said. “The primordial chaos has given birth to many marvelous things. Certain treasures, when mixed together, can allow the Jindan to be upgraded in quality. However, very few know this method for upgrading the Jindan, and even fewer are able to locate these incredibly rare chaos ingredients. It’ll be almost impossible for you to upgrade your Jindan.”

“And…even if you do manage to scrounge up the necessary chaos ingredients as well as the upgrade method, you’ll at most be able to upgrade your Jindan to the second tier. That’s the absolute limit,” the wild dog said.

“The second tier?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“The first tier is the tier where True Immortals become equal to True Gods. The second tier will only allow for True Immortals to be comparable to the weakest of True Gods. As for the third tier, your tier…any True God would completely massacre you,” the wild dog said.

Ning said delightedly, “The second tier is perfectly fine.” To have a foundation comparable to that of a weak True God was enough.

“Perfectly fine? First of all, very few know the Jindan upgrade method. To acquire the necessary chaos ingredients is even more difficult.” The wild dog looked at Ning.

“Senior, I wonder if…?” Ning eagerly awaited the response.

“I do indeed know a method for upgrading the Jindan.” The wild dog shook his head. “However…I couldn’t possibly teach it to you for no reason at all. But of course, if you were able to bring that World-level expert here, I would immediately teach you the Jindan upgrade method.”

Ning hurriedly said, “Senior, the stronger I am, the higher my status will be. Only then will I have a chance of meeting that individual.”

“I’ve said everything I need to say. Bring the World-level expert here. If that person doesn’t come, then you can forget about bringing anyone else, such as your Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. There’s no point in them coming.” The wild dog closed his eyes.

“Senior. Senior..!” Ning repeatedly called out to the wild dog for a long period of time, but the wild dog completely ignored him, acting as though he was asleep.

Ning understood. The wild dog wasn’t going to act without an incentive; as the saying went, ‘you don’t release the hunting hawk until you’ve seen the hare’.

The only reason this ancient Elder God was even willing to tell Ning so much was because of Mother Nuwa’s existence. The Elder God, however, wasn’t willing to actually help out Ning at all, unless he was given an incentive to do so.

Half a day later.

“Senior.” Ning’s clone once more was carrying a wooden platter of food and wine, but this time he was walking towards the filthy-looking old man.

Only now did Ning understand that in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, Daofathers and Elder Gods were considered to be on the same level. This filthy-looking elder was equal to the wild dog in power…and most importantly of all, he walked the Ki Refiner path! Ning naturally felt tremendous hope.

Thanks to his experiences in conversing with the Elder God, Ning was very careful in his actions. The filthy-looking old man also wanted to leave this place, and he was also capable of telling that Ning was not lying to him. Thus, he told Ning many things. This old man also knew a method for upgrading the Jindan, and he even had two of the chaos ingredients needed to carry it out, although he didn’t have all of them.

However…he wasn’t willing to give Ning anything at all.

“Senior, would you like for some fine wine or delicacies?”

“Senior, do you need any slaves or servants? Some people to accompany you, serve you, and amuse you?”

Ning knew that there was no way to force it out of him, and so he tried a softer tactic.

“Kid, stop wasting your energy. I have an estate-treasure with me, and inside the estate are a large number of servants and slaves. All sorts of wonderful wine and food are inside the estate, just waiting for when I feel hungry.” The filthy-looking old man gave Ning a glance. “I’m an Ancestral Immortal. I’m capable of drawing on the power of primordial chaos to replenish the energy of my treasures. Although this prisonworld has set up a grand formation to harvest chaos nectar, I’m still able to pull in enough energy to keep myself and my estate-treasure in perfect shape!”

Ning was speechless. The man was carrying servants and slaves with him?

“Don’t bother with any other tricks. None of them are able to beguile an Elder God or an Ancestral Immortal. I’ll only be willing to help you once you bring that World-level expert over and release me from my captivity,” the filthy-looking old man said. And then, he shut his eyes as well, paying no more attention to Ning.

“They really respond to nothing whatsoever. He’s just like the wild dog. He won’t act without an incentive.” Ning sat there on his Voidboat, grinding his teeth in a very discontented fashion. “If I was able to meet with Mother Nuwa, why would I be here? If Mother Nuwa was around, the Seamless Gate wouldn’t dare to cause trouble. In fact, the Lord of All Fiends and his Seamless Gate army wouldn’t even have dared to return from the primordial chaos.”

“Ugh.”

This prisonworld had imprisoned quite a few Daofathers and Elder Gods. All of them were shockingly powerful, but none of them were able to do anything to their shackles. Only if their power increased to Pangu’s level, the World-level, would they be able to forcibly shatter them.

“What should I do? These experts at the Daofather or Elder God level all have some degree of insight into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. All of them are able to withdraw energy from the primordial chaos.” Ning pondered on what to do. The Celestial Immortals present here all had to rely on consuming spirit-pills to stay alive, but the Daofathers did not; the filthy-looking old man, for example, was able to sustain even his estate-treasure!

Most likely, every single Elder God and Ancestral Immortal was still at peak combat power.

“The reason the King of Pangaea keeps Overseers in his prisonworlds is to keep a watch on them. Once an Overseer sees that an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal is breaking through to the World-level and shattering the manacles, the Overseer is to immediately notify the King.” Ning understood this. Not even the King of Pangaea was able to prevent these Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals from meditating on the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.

The Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos was everywhere, after all. But of course, becoming a World-level expert was far too difficult.

Generally speaking, those capable of succeeding would do so within a single chaos cycle. Mother Nuwa, for example, had done so long ago. In truth, these Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who had already been alive for multiple chaos cycles had almost no chance of succeeding. However, they were very long-lived and very powerful. Even if Ning asked his master Subhuti to come here to help out, Subhuti would have no chance of breaking the manacles…and if Subhuti attempted to kill these people to steal their treasures, he might end up suffering a backlash from it.

“I should take things slow. If things look grim for us when the Endwar begins to approach, I’ll tell Master and the others about this prisonworld.” Ning wasn’t a completely selfless person; this prisonworld was equivalent to an enormous treasury. It was up to him to figure out a method to unlock it and access the treasures within.

The treasures and techniques these Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals possessed were all definitely extraordinary.

However, for now Ning had no ways to access any of them. Even if he summoned Subhuti, Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, Suiren, and the others to join forces, they would still be taking on an enormous risk. Once these ancient prisoners began to go berserk…

There was no way for Ning to assess exactly how powerful these prisoners. He was, however, certain of one thing; the Pangaea chaos-kingdom was far more powerful than the Three Realms.

……

Ning rode the Voidboat at high speed for more than four hours before lowering it to the ground.

He slowly walked forward across the desolate landscape. More than a thousand kilometers from him was a woman, seated in the lotus position.

“Hrm?” The woman’s eyelids twitched, then slowly opened.

“Finally…finally…a living being approaches.” The woman’s eyes lit up. She was far too lonely. It was hard for her to even stay alive here, much less sustain an estate-treasure. Generally speaking, only the Daofather and Elder God prisoners within this prisonworld were able to waste energy on such a thing.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an Overseer.” The woman looked at the distant Ning…but upon seeing him, her face instantly changed.

“A True Immortal?”

“He’s clearly a True Immortal, but…such a weak True Immortal…? The Overseers of Pangaea are all core members of the kingdom. Any True Immortal Overseer should be a supreme, top-tier True Immortal.” Suddenly, a thought entered the woman’s mind. She instantly felt completely stunned.

The white-robed youth walked over, then said in a calm voice, “As you suspected, the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea has been wiped out. You only have two paths before you…to serve me, or to die.”

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Chapter 31 – Soulscour

Chapter 31 – Soulscour

The seated woman didn’t panic at all. Instead, she began to laugh loudly as she rose to her feet. As she did, her formerly-emaciated figure began to transform. She became full-figured, and her skin became soft and tender. In the time it took for her to rise to her feet, she transformed from a starving beggar to a truly peerless beauty.

“Lilisoft greets you, True Immortal.” The woman smiled merrily. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an outsider, and three chaos cycles since I’ve seen an Overseer. I truly feel delighted by your appearance. Most delightful of all is the news that Pangaea has actually been wiped out. Wonderful…ahaha…wonderful!”

Ji Ning stared at the woman. She wasn’t going to panic at all?

“Might Lilisoft learn your name or sobriquet, True Immortal?” The woman asked.

“Darknorth.” Ning looked at her.

“Darknorth?” The woman nodded slowly. “If you are able to release me, True Immortal, I will submit to you. I’d even be willing to become your servant.”

“I’m unable to release you,” Ning said.

The woman was slightly startled, but she then nodded. “Right. It is too difficult to open these shackles. Only a Chaos Immortal or a World God can open these shackles without a talisman of command from the King of Pangaea. However…True Immortal, I don’t wish to die. Thus, I’m willing to submit to you. I would like to ask, however, that you not place a soul-imprint upon my soul.”

Ning actually chuckled. “You agreed quite quickly.”

“When the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea existed, the King of Pangaea wouldn’t kill me, as he had to worry about other factions and factors. Now that it is destroyed, however…in your eyes, True Immortal, all of us are nothing more than alien prisoners. In a case like this, the only outcomes are either death or servitude. I don’t want to die, so I have to serve,” the woman said with a smile.

Ning nodded.

This was much like how things were in the mortal world. Humans and monsters were born enemies. Humans would kill wild beasts and cook them, while wild beasts would attempt to eat humans when possible. Of course, powerful Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters wouldn’t fight that much against each other.

In the eyes of those of the Three Realms, no mercy at all could be shown to any alien Outsiders. If they released one, that person might return with other alien Outsiders and wipe out the entire Three Realms! Thus, all of them had to die…unless they could be forced to pledge fealty!

“The soul-imprint…?” The woman looked at Ning. A soul imprint would have a slight impact on her ability to comprehend the Dao, making it even harder for her to progress on her Immortal path.

“There’s no need for a soul-imprint.” Ning shook his head. “However…I am going to use a soulscour technique on you. You are not to resist.” Since there was nowhere for these people to go, there really was no need for him to soul-imprint them.

“Soulscour?” The woman hesitated for a moment. This was equivalent to revealing everything about herself to this man.

“If you are unwilling to comply, then you are of no use to me,” Ning said.

The woman gritted her teeth. “Fine. Lilisoft will comply, True Immortal.”

Although the True Immortal in front of her was of the weakest tier…if they ended up actually fighting, even if the True Immortal was unable to kill her, he would be able to force her to use up her Immortal energy. Once it was all used up, she’d be finished. By contrast, the True Immortal in front of her was the Overseer; his own energy would be constantly replenished from the side world.

“Excellent.” Ning nodded.

Ning felt no pity at all for these alien Outsiders from the primordial chaos. For the sake of his own race…for the sake of his wife and daughter…Ning would show them no mercy, no matter how many he had to kill.

Ning walked into the ‘cell’.

Lilisoft shut her eyes. She sighed to herself. “I used an innate beauty spell, but it had no effect on him at all. Alas…” Just now, she had used up her Immortal energy to restore her appearance, then cast an innate beauty spell that enhanced her natural charm. This sort of natural, innate charm and beauty was even more effective than ordinary, coarse ‘charm’ spells.

But alas, Ning’s heartforce was shockingly powerful, having reached the fourth level. It wasn’t something which the beauty of a Celestial Immortal like her could possibly shake. In truth…Ning hadn’t even noticed that this woman had cast a spell; all he had felt was that this woman truly was surpassingly beautiful. However, ever since he had sent his wife, Yu Wei, into the Infinity Hells…to him, external beauty was nothing more than rouge applied to a skeleton.

Ning reached out, placing his hand upon the top of Lilisoft’s head, immediately using a soulscouring technique.

Within her body was a dazzling, enormous golden Jindan. Above the Jindan, there were images of heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, and other things. The aura of the Jindan was incredibly powerful.

“First-tier Jindans truly are formidable. She clearly is just a Celestial Immortal, but her Jindan isn’t weaker than my True Immortal Jindan at all.” Ning felt absolutely stunned as he sent his coresense into the Jindan. However, he immediately cast that aside as he began his soulscouring.

Her soul had merged into her Jindan, becoming one with it. However, invisible strands of soul energy began to infiltrate her Jindan like dots of starlight, teasing their way into her soul. Fairy Lilisoft would’ve been able to effortless fight back, as she was actually Ning’s equal in power; there was no way for Ning to forcibly soulscour her. However, Fairy Lilisoft had already given her. She suppressed her instinctive desire to fight back, not daring to resist at all, allowing Ning to investigate as he pleased.

Instantly, Ning began to flip through a large amount of memories.

The many things Fairy Lilisoft had experienced after being born…

The vastness and the might of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom…

Everything was laid bare before Ning.

“Oh, these are the cultivation techniques.” Ning finally located information regarding Ki Refining techniques within Fairy Lilisoft’s memories.

“Eh?”

These memories were sealed like bubbles. Ning wanted to go inside them, but the surface of these ‘bubbles’ was covered with many mysterious runes. No matter what Ning tried, he was unable to look inside these memories. All he was able to do was see a few odds bits and pieces from the outside.

“In our Three Realms, people usually swear oaths to the Dao of the Heavens or swear Demonheart Oaths that they will not divulge or reveal the secrets behind certain important techniques. Even if an enemy attempts to soulscour them, the Dao of the Heavens will intervene to prevent it. This technique the Pangaea chaos-kingdom uses, however, is even tighter than that.” There was nothing Ning could do.

The mysterious runes covering these memories were incomparably marvelous and profound. No Celestial Immortal could’ve possibly devised these runes; it had to have been her seniors within her school who had created them.

Ning’s only choice was to give up and to continue viewing her other memories.

He spent a full twelve hours doing so before he finally moved his hand away from Fairy Lilisoft’s hair. She simply had far too many memories, and Ning had wanted to get a detailed understanding of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, which was why he had spent such a long period of time.

“So that’s how things are.” A smile appeared on Ning’s face. “What an unexpected surprise.” After fully reviewing Fairy Lilisoft’s memories, he understood quite a bit about the Pangaea chaos-kingdom.

Fairy Lilisoft had a very special status. Her grandfather…was the King of Pangaea! The King of Pangaea had three sons, and Fairy Lilisoft’s father was the second. When wandering the world, the second prince had ravished a sacred maiden of a local school, then went on his merry way, completely forgetting about her. Generally speaking, the more powerful one was, the harder it would be for one to conceive. The King of Pangaea, for example, had all three of his children prior to reaching the World-level, and none after.

The second prince had never imagined that this casual rape of his would result in the birth of a daughter. For a ‘sacred maiden’ to grow pregnant and give birth…instantly, countless people cursed her as shameless, and her life became very difficult. Fairy Lilisoft had grown up by her mother’s side. She had watched as her mother was tormented, beaten, and cursed at until her mother finally committed suicide.

This caused Fairy Lilisoft to feel boundless hatred towards this father she had never met.

Some time after this, the King of Pangaea had cast a spell that alerted him to the fact that there was actually a member of his bloodline outside the palace. He found this granddaughter of his, then brought her back.

Fairy Lilisoft’s status had instantly skyrocketed, and she was able to effortlessly destroy the school that had become a nightmarish hell for her mother.

However, she actually felt even more hatred towards her father, the second prince. She had lain in wait like a viper, waiting for her chance. Finally, her chance came, and she sent the completely unprepared prince into the ‘Sea of Infinite Suffering’. Although the King of Pangaea quickly arrived to rescue the second prince, he had still spent a full hour inside the Sea of Infinite Suffering…and as a result, he had gone insane.

The King of Pangaea had been utterly enraged by this. There were very few members in the imperial clan, however…and so instead of killing her, he had imprisoned her within a prisonworld!

“The King of Pangaea truly is incredible. He was actually able to conquer a total of twelve chaosworlds. In fact, he has actually killed at least three World-level experts!” Ning was secretly amazed.

After a chaosworld was born, it would slowly grow old with the passage of time, then perish. After its destruction, however, a new Fiendgod would be born who would establish a new chaosworld. Thus, the Pangaea chaos-kingdom had actually been commanding a very large region for a very long period of time.

“He was able to kill someone at the level of Pangu and Mother Nuwa. The King of Pangaea is both a Fiendgod and a Ki Refiner. He truly is incredible.” Ning sighed.

In terms of power…the Pangaea chaos-kingdom was far more powerful than the Three Realms.

“However, I didn’t expect that the [Five Treasures] sword-art is actually this incredible.” Ning’s eyes lit up. “There definitely was no way that Daofather Fuju came up with this sword-art. He must’ve found it somewhere.”

Only after searching Fairy Lilisoft’s memories did Ning realize that only those who had reached the World-level could create a technique that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, with emphasis on the word ‘could’! Not every Chaos Immortal or World God was capable of creating such a technique. Not even Mother Nuwa had been able to do so.

Even the Pangaea chaos-kingdom only had three techniques that surpassed the Heavenly Daos in some way.

The Pangaea chaos-kingdom had a total of three World-level experts, with the King of Pangaea being the most powerful of them. The other two World-level experts, however, hadn’t been able to create any techniques that surpassed the Heavenly Daos. Two of the three had been created by the King of Pangaea, with the third having come from a chaosworld which they had conquered in the past.

Techniques that surpassed the Heavenly Daos…even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom had to render major merits to the kingdom before they would be bestowed and taught one of the techniques. Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods weren’t even qualified to learn them at all. As for True Gods and True Immortals? They had to have astonishing talent, have extremely high statuses, and have rendered many contributions to the kingdom before they would be taught one.

Those who were taught one of the three techniques would have to swear ‘life-oaths’ that they would not teach it to any others.

In the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, the only one with the power to transmit these three major techniques to others was the King of Pangaea himself. All the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had sworn life-oaths upon acquiring them.

“In other words…there’s no way I could possibly acquire any techniques that surpass the Heavenly Daos in this prisonworld.” Ning felt truly stunned. “Daofather Fuju of our Three Realms, however, actually possessed such a technique…something which only a tremendously wise person who was on Mother Nuwa’s level of power could devise.”

Ning suddenly thought of the fact that before Daofather Fuju had died in the primordial chaos, he had actually arranged for this legacy to be taught to others. It was as though he had known that he would be in great danger.

“Daofather Fuju must’ve acquired the [Five Treasures] sword-art from somewhere else. However, he didn’t want to divulge the location, which is why he claimed he created it,” Ning mused to himself.

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Chapter 32 – Dominating True Gods and True Immortals

Chapter 32 – Dominating True Gods and True Immortals

Lilisoft stood there, not daring to say a word. She knew that the ‘Overseer’ before her was thinking.

Finally, Ji Ning looked towards her. “Excellent. I know that you are running out of spirit-pills. This bottle of spirit-pills should be enough for you to stay alive for a period of time.” As he spoke, he produce a jade bottle in his hand, filled with Pure Yang spirit-pills. These pills instantly caused Lilisoft’s eyes to light up.

“Thank you, True Immortal.” Lilisoft was extremely respectful. This was exactly what she needed right now. In truth, Celestial Immortals used up very, very little energy if they focused on staying alive and didn’t fight against others. However…they simply couldn’t deal with the obscene amount of time they had been imprisoned here. A chaos cycle was an incredibly long period of time, and total the amount of Immortal energy they used up each chaos cycle was quite shocking.

“There’s something I would ask you,” Ning said.

“Pray tell, True Immortal.” Lilisoft was puzzled. The man knew all of her memories; why did he need to ‘ask’ her anything?

“I trust you can tell that my Jindan is the weakest type of Jindan,” Ning said. “I’ve heard that there are ways to use chaos ingredients and special techniques to transform and upgrade the Jindan to the second tier. This prisonworld currently holds many prisoners. What should I do in order to acquire what I need from them and upgrade my Jindan?”

Although he had seen her memories, her thoughts and her ideas remained her own.

“Do you have any assistants, True Immortal?” Lilisoft looked at Ning.

“I’m by myself,” Ning said.

“If that’s the case…” Lilisoft pondered for a moment. “The weakest prisoners here are Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. The higher level figures are True Gods and True Immortals, while the highest are Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. The last two are able to draw upon the energy of primordial chaos and are very powerful; I imagine, True Immortal, that you won’t be a match for them.”

“As for the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals…they were fairly weak members of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. No matter how ‘special’ they were, and even if they do know of methods to upgrade the Jindan, they would’ve been forced to swear life-oaths to never teach these methods to others. In addition, it’s virtually impossible that they might have valuable chaos ingredients on them.”

“Thus, only the True Gods and True Immortals are left.” Lilisoft looked at Ning. “Only from them might you find the materials that you need, Lord Darknorth.”

“Those True Gods and True Immortals generally haven’t reached the level of being able to draw upon the energy of primordial chaos, and so they are also forced to rely on using spirit-pills to survive. It’s one thing to use spirit-pills to preserve their lifeforce, but quite another to fight in battle.” Lilisoft smiled merrily at Ning. “If you continuously attack the True Gods and True Immortals, forcing them to use up their divine power or Immortal energy…no matter how many spirit-pills they have, they won’t be able to keep fighting for too long. In the end, they’ll end up running out of energy and dying.”

“Milord, you can force them to submit to you! Alternately, you can kill them and take their treasures for yourself.”

“The treasures which True Gods and True Immortals have are all far superior to the treasures which Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals have.” Lilisoft looked at Ning. “The prisonworld is a vast place, and there are many True God and True Immortal prisoners here. Kill them or force them into servitude. If you completely sweep through all of them…I trust, Lord Darknorth, that you’ll be able to find what you need.”

Ning gave Lilisoft a glance.

What a vicious mind she had. She was merciless, even to members of her fellow race. Although Ning had access to her memories, he truly hadn’t come up with an idea like this before.

“Milord, all you need to do is stay outside the formation. You can attack them, but they won’t be able to attack you.” Lilisoft smiled at Ning. “The only outcome will be their defeat. Either they submit…or they perish.”

“I’m far from being a match for True Immortals and True Gods.” Ning let out a sigh.

To kill a True God? Or a True Immortal who was equivalent to a Three Realms Daofather?

In the outside world…Ning wouldn’t even dare imagine such a thing, given his current level of power. But it would indeed be possible, here within the prisonworld.

“Milord, all you need is patience. Each of the True Gods and True Immortals will be defeated by you, one by one. You’ll dominate them and sweep through them, aside from any who might be able to draw upon the energy of primordial chaos,” Lilisoft said. “Perhaps there are some with that power in this prisonworld, but they are definitely in the tiniest of minorities, less than one in a hundred.”

Ning chuckled. “Very good.” He then turned and left.

Time flowed one.

Ning continued to sweep through the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, going through six more of them. Two of them, upon learning that the Pangaea chaos-kingdom had fallen, went berserk and tried to kill Ning. However, Ning was protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; he wasn’t someone they could kill. Those two naturally ended up dying. As for the other four, they were actually delighted by this news, and they willingly allowed Ning to soulscour them.

Their choice, after all, was to serve or to die. They knew what to choose.

Ning had scoured the memories of a total of five Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, Lilisoft included. He instantly knew far more regarding the Pangaea chaos-kingdom.

“It seems I really do have to turn towards those True Gods and True Immortals.” Ning sat there within the Voidboat. “The idea which Celestial Immortal Lilisoft came up with is the only possible solution.”

True Gods and True Immortals were far more exalted figures than Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. Just like in the Three Realms, the difference in status was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.

Status…power…treasures…they were on a completely different level. In fact, in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, some powerful True Gods and True Immortals of certain schools were permitted to transmit the Dao on their own accord, and so they actually carried certain techniques with them.

Whoosh. The Voidboat flew into the air above a lake. The lake was dotted with tiny little islands, one of which had a True Immortal prisoner on it.

Atop the island.

True Immortal Winterpeak was seated in the lotus position, completely absorbed in his own thoughts. Suddenly, he sensed ripples from the outside world and was startled into wakefulness.

“Someone’s coming?” True Immortal Winterpeak opened his eyes. He instantly saw the white-robed figure who was a few hundred kilometers away. He was quite surprised. “A…True Immortal? With such a puny aura? This is a True Immortal of the weakest variety possible.”

For the denizens of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, True Immortals had a much higher status than Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, who were considered equal to each other. Ning’s true body was both a Fiendgod and a Ki Refiner, and Winterpeak could sense the Fiendgod aura emanating from Ning’s body, but he paid much more attention to Ning’s Pure Yang aura. Except…the Pure Yang aura around Ning was ridiculously weak.

“You are the new Overseer?” The look on True Immortal Winterpeak’s face suddenly changed. “What happened to Pangaea? How could it have sent you here?”

“I imagine you have guessed it already. The Pangaea chaos-kingdom is no more.” Ning stood there in midair as he spoke. “This prisonworld has now fallen into my hands. The previous Overseers probably wouldn’t have dared to assault and kill the prisoners with no cause, but…I dare.”

True Immortal Winterpeak scoffed. “You?”

Naturally, he felt quite arrogant. This sort of puny True Immortal was too weak; Winterpeak would be able to effortlessly dominate him.

“I’ll give you two options.” Ning could sense the aura of danger emanating from the man before him. The aura was so terrifying, it dwarfed even the combined auras of the nearly three hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals the Seamless Gate had sent to kill him. This True Immortal of Pangaea definitely was on par with the True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms.

“The first choice is to submit to me,” Ning said.

“The second choice is to resist me. I’ll continuously assault you from outside the formation, while you will be unable to attack me at all. Your power is incredible, and you are much more powerful than me…but when you fight against me, you’ll use up your Immortal energy. Once it is all used up, you’ll die.”

“Choose,” Ning said calmly.

True Immortal Winterpeak’s eyes flashed with cold light. In the era of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, this sort of puny True Immortal would be terrified and quiver in his presence.

“You overestimate your abilities, you crawling insect,” True Immortal Winterpeak said coldly. “None of the trillions of living creatures under my domain would have dared to disobey my commands. An inferior True Immortal like you who was born to a lowly caste…I can stand here and allow you to attack me, and you still won’t be able to injure me.”

His pride and his arrogance, as well as the status he had enjoyed for so long, prevented him from lowering his head before such a weak True Immortal.

It must be understood that even though he had committed a major offense, the exalted King of Pangaea had only elected to imprison him here.

“Is that so? Then permit a lowly, crawling insect such as myself to see your power.” Ning waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Instantly, a total of 729 Pure Yang flying swords appeared around him. 720 of them had come from the slain Goodhill. All of them were imprinted with the runes of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. With Ning’s fourth-stage heartforce aiding his soul, he was able to activate and command all 729 flying swords at the same time.

Ning’s current soul was capable of controlling even the perfect Heaven Punisher, to say nothing of a few flying swords.

Instantly, a jade sword took form in front of Ning.

[Greater Thousand Swords Formation], level nine!

“Oh, so you have a bit of ability.” True Immortal Winterpeak sat there in the lotus position, a cold smile on his face. This crawling vermin…if it wasn’t for this formation, Winterpeak would be able to easily annihilate him.

Swish.

A streak of light appeared in the skies as the jade sword stabbed straight towards True Immortal Winterpeak.

“Hmph.” Winterpeak just let out a cold snort. A streak of golden light shot out from his eyes, and with a boom, the jade sword formed by Ning’s ninth-level [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was instantly blasted apart. It was as though Ning’s sword-light was an egg smashing against a rock. Naturally, it had been a completely one-sided ‘fight’.

The difference in power was too great.

“He really does have the power of a True God or Daofather of the Three Realms.” Ning began to feel even more desire for the chance to upgrade his Jindan, even if it was ‘only’ to the second tier. At least the difference in power wouldn’t be this ridiculously huge.

“Go, go, go!” Ning formed one jade sword after another in front of him. The light of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] flashed repeatedly as the swords chopped towards True Immortal Winterpeak.

True Immortal Winterpeak blocked three successive attacks. Finally, he began to frown.

“I’m using up my energy too quickly. If this continues…” True Immortal Winterpeak didn’t want to admit it, but the truth was that controlling magic treasures to fight in this manner used up his energy far too quickly, even though it was simple.

“Go!” A look of anger and embarrassment appeared on his face as he let out this angry roar.

Instantly, a thirty meter tall bowl-shaped treasure appeared. It covered the area where True Immortal Winterpeak was located, protecting him.

For Winterpeak, cowering like a turtle in this fashion was a source of humiliation. But by hiding under a magic treasure, he was able to use up much less of his energy.

Boom! Boom! Boom! One flash of sword-light after another came chopping down upon the bowl-shaped magic treasure, but they were unable to break through.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. “The [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] uses up energy too quickly. If I rely on just absorbing natural energy from the outside world, it’ll take me forever to kill him. If I use spirit-pills to replenish my energy…I’ll end up using too many pills. It seems I have to come up with a low-energy tactic. Ah…right!”

Ning suddenly was struck by a thought. He was reminded of a treasure he had…the Eight Fires Qiankun World! The Eight Fires Qiankun World held eight different types of truefire within it, and their blazing power was quite terrifying. All Ning had to do was use a bit of his own energy to activate and maintain the Eight Fires Qiankun World. In addition, his foe was trapped within a region of a thousand kilometers; he wouldn’t be able to attack the Eight Fires Qiankun World at all. His only option would be to sit there and be roasted.

This was indeed a perfect method. The burning power of the Eight Fires Qiankun World wasn’t one whit weaker than Ning’s sword-chops with the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], but it used up far less energy.

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Chapter 33 – Roaming the Primordial Chaos

Chapter 33 – Roaming the Primordial Chaos

“Eh?” True Immortal Winterpeak, hiding under the bowl-shaped treasure, discovered to his astonishment that Ji Ning had halted his attacks.

“He stopped?” With but a thought, Winterpeak dismissed his bowl-shaped treasure. The mere act of keeping a treasure active required him to use up Immortal energy. There were many prisoners here who wouldn’t even use their energy on maintaining their clothes, causing them to corrode and decay over the course of time. Although it was very hard for magic treasures to be damaged, if enough chaos cycles passed, they would still end up destroyed.

Winterpeak raised his head, staring at the white-robed youth in the skies. He smirked. “I urge you to give up. A puny True Immortal like you must be forced to consume an enormous amount of energy to release sword-light of such power. Soon, your energy will be used up, and you’ll have to leave the prisonworld to replenish it, which will take time. It will take a very, very long amount of time for you to wipe out my energy using such a method.”

“Are you afraid?” Ning suddenly asked.

Winterpeak twitched. “Hmph.” After a cold snort, he fell silent.

It was true. He had no way to replenish his Immortal energy, while the Overseer was able to constantly regain it. With enough time, his Immortal energy would be used up in the end.

“Let’s see just how patient you are,” Winterpeak mused to himself.

……

Ning had placed the Eight Fires Qiankun World within the Starseizing Manor. He had just sent one of his clones to leave the stone stele and bring it back. Because there was a bit of distance to travel, it took him a full day of flying before he returned.

“Eh?” Winterpeak frowned. He could see yet another white-robed figure flying towards him from afar. “[Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]?” He instantly was able to guess at the technique.

“Do you really think it’ll take me a lot of energy to attack you?” The white-robed youth waved his hand, and a lotus of fire quickly soared into the skies, moving to a location that was directly above Winterpeak. The flaming lotus faced the ground and began to swivel. At the same time, it quickly expanded to become a thousand kilometers in size as all the petals of the lotus flower began to open.

A total of eight lotus petals completely unfurled, and streams of truefire began to surge towards the ground.

“SHIT!” Winterpeak’s face instantly changed, and the bowl-shaped magic treasure once more appeared around him.

As the sea of flames surged towards him, every single inch of the bowl-shaped treasure was bathed in fire. The ground around him was charred into ash. Winterpeak just stood there in midair, protected by that giant bowl as eight different types of truefire frantically assaulted him from every direction.

“Hmph. This is much easier.” Ning just stood there in midair, watching. The Eight Fires Qiankun World created an independent world of its own, filling it with flame to assault its foes. However, it wasn’t invincible; once the enemy fled outside the world created by the treasure, the enemy would no longer have to fear the assaults of those eight streams of truefire. But alas, these prisoners were completely unable to leave the region they were in.

All the could do was endure the eight punishing streams of truefire.

This was a treasure that had been personally forged by Zhurong, Elder God of Fire. The combined power of these eight types of truefire was truly astonishing. However…since the treasure itself contained and nourished these eight types of truefire, the only attack it really had was truefire. All Ning had to do was to keep the treasure active, then occasionally replenish a little bit of energy.

“Shit, shit, SHIT!” Winterpeak was truly beginning to panicking. “This blazing treasure relies on internal flames to attack. It won’t use up much of his energy; he can keep it active indefinitely. I, however, have to continuously use my treasure to defend against it. If this continues…”

“…Where the hell did he find a treasure like this?!”

Winterpeak was both furious and frantic.

The Eight Fires Qiankun World held eight types of truefire in it. This treasure, by itself, was worth more than a hundred top-grade Pure Yang treasures. Although Ning had killed three Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods within the prisonworld, he hadn’t acquired a treasure like this from them.

……

Within the Starseizing Manor.

A stone stele was placed within a hall.

Swoosh.

Ning appeared out of nowhere. He glanced at the stone stele, then willed it to transform into a streak of light that flew into Ning’s forehead.

“Come out.” Ning glanced sideways, then fifteen more figures appeared out of nowhere. All of them had the auras of Celestial Immortals, and they all had different appearances. These fifteen were fifteen of the eighteen bodies Ning now had, transformed using the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

“When they are using the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] to disguise themselves, not even True Gods or Daofathers will be able to see through them, unless those Daofathers see them in person and use special ocular techniques to test them. Not even the major powers who have the ability to view the entire Three Realms and see into Protocosmic spirit-treasures like the Starseizing Manor should be able to tell from far away that these fifteen are all my clones,” Ning mused to himself.

It was very difficult to infiltrate Protocosmic spirit-treasures and see inside of them. The number of people in the Three Realms who could do such a thing could be counted on two hands. After activating the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and transforming…there was definitely no way someone would be able to see through the technique when it was used within the Starseizing Manor.

“Only when no one knows how many clones I have will the clones be safe and effective,” Ning mused to himself.

Ning emerged from the Starseizing Manor, going back to his little thatched cottage. He dispersed the minor clone he had left there, then raised his head and looked towards the Five Treasured Peaks. “Ninefangs,” Ning sent mentally.

Instantly, a streak of light shot towards him. The bald old man, Empyrean God Ninefangs, immediately said respectfully, “Manorlord.”

“Return to the Starseizer world for now. There’s something I need to do,” Ning said.

“Acknowledged,” Ninefangs said.

And then, Ning left by himself aboard the Voidboat, departing from Sword Immortal world.

……

The infinite, vast Void held many enormous stars within it. The most dazzling of all stars were the Solar Star and the Lunar Star. In terms of size, even Nuwa’s world or Suiren’s Kindlefire world were much smaller than the Solar Star and the Lunar Star. The light that emanated from these two supreme celestial bodies shone down upon the entire Three Realms.

These were stars that were formed from the primordial chaos as well.

When Pangu had established Heaven and Earth, he had used up an enormous amount of primordial chaos, so much so that a massive area around him became empty and devoid of all matter. This was where the seemingly-infinite Void came from. With all the primordial chaos sucked away, the stars that had been hidden within them now emerged.

Swoosh. A Voidboat was travelling at high speed through the Void, passing through one star after another. Soon, it reached the end of the Void. Although the Void was often described as ‘infinite’, there was an end to it…and at the end of the Void was the primordial chaos itself! The Voidboat plunged into the primordial chaos, continuing to fly forward.

“Eh?” Within a world of darkness. The Godking, seated upon his massive, levitating throne, mused pensively to himself, “Why has Ji Ning entered the primordial chaos?”

The Nuwa Alliance had yet to notice Ning’s abrupt departure from Sword Immortal world and entry into the primordial chaos, but the Seamless Gate had. This was because the Seamless Gate was worried that Ning was preparing to ambush them once more, and so they had people watching him at all times.

“What’s he doing in the primordial chaos?” The Godking was puzzled. “Unfortunately, there’s no way for us to investigate.”

The Godking possessed formidable divine abilities, and his invisible power could infiltrate and investigate even the Void itself; there was nothing in the Void that could block it, after all. But there was far too much energy and matter in the primordial chaos; there was no way for him to scan it at all.

……

The primordial chaos was vast and truly endless, filled with limitless amounts of gray fog that contained marvelous types of energy and power. If one was able to comprehend the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos, one would be able to extract chaos energy from these chaos clouds. Ning, however, clearly was not capable of this. He was unable to replenish his energy from the primordial chaos, and so his only choice was to use up his spirit-pills to do so.

But of course, this was fine for a short journey into the primordial chaos. If he spent too much time within it, the end result would be that his energy would be depleted and he would die trapped.

“So many stars.”

He often encountered stars within the primordial chaos. The smallest were perhaps just a million kilometers in size, while the largest were far larger than even a major world.

Although these stars were located within the primordial chaos, they were so close to the Three Realms that the major powers of the Three Realms had already thoroughly searched and investigated them, marking them out in maps. Ning had acquired these maps from Mount Innerheart, and so he travelled the quickest route possible past the various stars.

“I’ll choose this star.”

The star which the Voidboat had reached was a star that was completely formed from unyielding ice. In terms of size, it was probably comparable to the Grand Xia. The entire star emanated an aura of absolute ice, and the surface of the star was dotted with enormous crevices that looked like gorges, as well as bulges that looked like mountain peaks. A wild wind blew through this star, but there were no living creatures on it at all.

Not even Fiendgods or Immortals would be willing to live within such an icy, harsh environment.

“Go.” Ning willed it, and the stone stele instantly flew out from his forehead. As it flew out, it flew straight towards the deep abyss located in front of Ning. Soon, the gusts of wind blew it deep into the bottom of the abyss. Ning used his coresense to watch as the stone stele landed at the bottom. Very soon, a layer of icy frost appeared atop it, causing it to completely freeze within the abyss.

Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to use coresense to locate it. Ning, however, was the master of the stone stele; he was naturally able to sense it, wherever it was.

“There is no way for anyone to locate the stone stele here,” Ning mused to himself. “Not even major powers should be able to scan and locate it from far away within the Void. Even if some of them are so incredibly powerful that they can reach this place with coresense…the stone stele is an incredibly mysterious object. Others have to see it with their actual eyes.”

Even if a major power knew that Ning had the stone stele and had hidden it within this star, the major power would have to visually and physically search through every single inch of the star.

To search through every inch of a star that was the size of the Grand Xia? Hah!

And of course, no one even knew that Ning had placed the stone stele here.

“This place shall be my base for a last stand. If I end up being destroyed, at least the two clones that I will keep within the stone stele will be able to continue to cultivate, eventually restoring all the other clones as well,” Ning mused to himself.

Swoosh.

The Voidboat then continued its journey forward, going past several of the other stars in the primordial chaos before Ning departed from it, returning to the great Void. At his current level of power, he only dared to voyage through the portions of primordial chaos that were very close to the Three Realms and had already been fully investigated by others. He didn’t dare to delve any deeper into the chaos.

No one knew that on this voyage into the primordial chaos, Ning had hidden a stone stele with two clones inside of a star. Those two clones would use the Eight Fires Qiankun World and other Pure Yang treasures that could unleash elemental attacks to assault the True Immortal and True God prisoners inside the prisonworld.

Ning returned to the Void, then passed through it to enter the Grand Xia.

Standing in midair, Ning produced a talisman in his hand, filling it with his energy.

“Disciple.” Subhuti’s voice rang out in Ning’s ears.

Ning said, “Your disciple wishes to return to the Crescent world. In addition…there’s something I need to speak to you regarding, Master.”

Whoosh.

Instantly, a whirlpool appeared in the air next to Ning. Ning stepped into it, then began to head towards the Crescent world.

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Chapter 34 – A Surprise for Subhuti

Chapter 34 – A Surprise for Subhuti

Ji Ning passed through the spatial vortex. A massive, levitating mountain suddenly appeared before his eyes – Mount Innerheart.

“Uncle-master.”

“Uncle-master.”

“Grand uncle-master.”

Ning occasionally exchanged a few words with familiar faces as he walked up Mount Innerheart. Eventually, he reached Subhuti’s Daoist temple. The two novices at the entrance, Clearwater and Whiteriver, didn’t move to stop him. Clearly, they had already received instructions from the Old Patriarch.

Ning entered the Daoist monastery, then saw his master Subhuti seated in the lotus position in the distance.

“Master.” Ning bowed respectfully.

“What is it?” Subhuti looked towards Ning.

“I ambushed the Seamless Gate’s forces multiple times and killed more than ten Empyrean Gods and True Immortals,” Ning said. “I wanted to force the Seamless Gate to release my senior apprentice-sister, but they still refuse to agree. What I didn’t expect…was that I gained a surprising spoil of war.”

Subhuti chuckled. “And why have you come in person to tell me, your master?”

“The treasures of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals weren’t that special. My greatest spoils came from the death of a Celestial Immortal, ‘Youngflame Freak’,” Ning said. “Amongst Youngflame Freak’s relics, I found a unique item that contained seven great techniques. These seven techniques are all unfathomably profound, and I had to struggle quite hard in order to learn them. After I learned them, the unique item actually shattered apart and dissolved into nothingness.”

Ning had pondered for a long time before deciding on explaining things thusly.

He could choose to keep these seven techniques a secret from his master, but given that both alliances were at war with each other, and that most of these techniques were useless to him, it was better for him to report it to his superiors.

He wasn’t afraid of the Seamless Gate acting against him; rather, he was more afraid of someone from his own alliance acting against him! For example, if a major power who was on par with Subhuti suspected that Ning had acquired formidable treasures from alien Outsiders, then killed Ning, Subhuti might be enraged…but it would be too late for Ning.

“Oh?” Subhuti smiled and nodded. “It may have been a legacy left behind by a major power.”

It was fairly common for a legacy-teaching item to automatically shatter once the legacy was taught. This was done to prevent the legacy leaking and becoming too widespread.

“These are the seven techniques your disciple has memorized.” Ning produced a bamboo scroll. “Your disciple has already copied them down in their entirety. Master, please take a look.”

Subhuti accepted the scroll, then sent his coresense into it to read.

A full hour passed. Subhuti was completely occupied by his reading, while Ning simply stood there to one side, waiting quietly.

“Ji Ning.” Finally, Subhuti raised his head, a look of surprise and delight on his face. “You’ve just done a great deed.”

Ning felt a relaxed feeling in his heart. It would be good if this could help his alliance. His personal power was limited, and of the seven techniques, the only ones that were of benefit to him were the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and [Armaments of Sin]. [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] could only be trained to the second level if one had some extraordinarily precious ‘chaos nectar’. As for the other techniques, for now it was difficult for him to advance in them.

“These seven techniques are definitely techniques left behind by alien Outsiders.” Subhuti let out a shocked sigh. “I didn’t expect that this weak little Celestial Immortal was actually holding techniques like this. It seems that a slain alien Outsider must have left his relics and treasures behind somewhere in the Three Realms, with Youngflame Freak discovering them.”

“I know quite a few alien Outsider techniques, but these seven techniques are definitely top-tier ones. The [Jewel Talisman] is the most useful one of all!” Subhuti’s face was covered with excitement.

“You have quite a few alien Outsider techniques?” Ning looked at his master.

“Of course.” Subhuti laughed. “We’ve killed quite a few alien Outsiders in the years since the Primordial Era. Some were as powerful as Rahu, and the Lord of All Things was particularly powerful. He had a mighty army under his command, but we wiped them out. Naturally, we ended up with the relics they left behind. The seven techniques you gained must have similarly been left behind in the Three Realms by a slain alien Outsider.”

Ning nodded.

“However…while some alien Outsider techniques are very useful, some are…” Subhuti shook his head. “Some require treasures that exist in the worlds where they were from, but don’t exist in the Three Realms at all; those techniques are naturally useless. For example, the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]; an enormous amount of treasures are needed to train to the second level, some of which I’ve never even heard of.”

“We’ve previously acquired two types of ‘clone body’ techniques from the alien Outsiders. These two are the [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] and the [Thousand Bodies Sutra]. The [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] technique is very similar to this technique of yours, but it allows for the creation of only twelve bodies, and it’s a bit easier to train as well. There are a few experts amongst the major powers who train in it. As for the [Thousand Bodies Sutra], it’s extremely formidable; when mastered, one can use it to transform into a thousand clones, each of which is as powerful as the original body. Once they merge together, the true body’s power will explosively increase. But alas, just gaining a basic level of skill in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] requires a treasure known as a ‘Worldheart’. Where are we supposed to find treasures like that?”

“Thousand Bodies Sutra?” Ning was shocked. To be able to transform into a thousand clones? That was too terrifying!

“A ‘Worldhearts’ is created after countless years pass in a chaosworld and the chaosworld begins to grow old. When the chaosworld dies, it’ll transform into an extremely small gemstone which is the source of energy for many new Fiendgods to eventually be born and establish a new chaosworld. This gemstone is known as a ‘Worldheart’.” Subhuti chuckled. “The [Thousand Bodies Sutra] requires a Worldheart. We only have a single chaosworld, the ‘Three Realms’; where are we supposed to find a Worldheart?”

Ning had searched the memories of several Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods of the Pangaea chaos-kigndom. He knew of Worldhearts.

Worldhearts were treasures that were even more valuable and rare than chaos nectar!

The Pangaea chaos-kingdom might have acquired some in the past, but without question they were in the hands of the King of Pangaea or the other two World-level experts. The Ancestral Immortals and Elder Gods could forget about acquiring them!

“Of the seven techniques you acquired, the [Jewel Talisman] is the most useful technique of all. [Armaments of Sin] will also be of some use in an era like ours; I trust that it will give birth to some new Protocosmic spirit-treasures,” Subhuti said. “However…to rely on slaughter alone to give birth to Chaos treasures is far too difficult. I can’t even imagine how many people you would have to kill to give birth to one.”

The leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, the Three Emperors, the Five Monarchs, Subhuti, and many other mighty major powers had access to Chaos treasures. Thus, they wouldn’t care too much about [Armaments of Sin].

“But of course, this [Armaments of Sin] technique will be of use to you.” Subhuti chuckled. “Still…the [Jewel Talisman] technique allows for the creation of Dao-seals. Every single Dao-seal creation technique is tightly guarded. You can create Dao-seals in advance, then use a large number of them in battle to overwhelm and slay your foe.”

“Naturally, that’s only possible if we can find an expert in Dao-seals who can understand the mysteries of this [Jewel Talisman]. In the Three Realms, the most powerful expert in the art of formations and talismans would be Human Emperor Fuxi,” Subhuti said with a smile. “Even I feel delighted upon having reviewed the [Jewel Talisman], and I’ll be able to produce some new Dao-seals. When Fuxi sees it…he might be able to learn everything within it.”

Ning was speechless.

The [Jewel Talisman] was simply unfathomably profound; when he read it, he felt like he was reading gibberish. To Human Emperor Fuxi, however, this would indeed be shockingly useful.

“Right. You said that Youngflame Freak was in possession of that item; did he learn these seven techniques?” Subhuti’s face suddenly changed.

Ning hurriedly explained, “Master, I had to use all my power to learn these seven techniques. Given that Youngflame Freak was a Celestial Immortal, I expect that he was probably just barely able to learn the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and part of the [Nine Bug Solutions]. He wouldn’t have the ability needed to learn the rest.”

“That’s what I hoped to hear.” Subhuti chuckled. “The [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and [Nine Bug Solutions] aren’t that dangerous. In the past, when there was peace between us and the Seamless Gate, many of us were friends with each other. In fact, some of us became lifelong, bosom friends, and we exchanged many techniques. They have many of ours and we have many of theirs. They have the [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] and the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] as well. As for the [Nine Bug Solutions]…given that a very long period of time is needed to breed these bugs, and that the process is a very expensive one, neither side has the luxury of time and resources that would be needed.”

Ning nodded.

“Still…just to ensure that nothing unexpected happens, Youngflame Freak needs to be gotten rid of,” Subhuti said.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Ning had first bound the treasures left behind by the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, then began to work on the many other relics he had acquired. Only at the very end did he discover the stone stele hidden away amongst the miscellaneous items. Binding so many treasures had taken him a full day. If Youngflame Freak was going to reveal it to anyone, he would’ve done so long ago, and so Ning hadn’t been in a rush to kill his final few clones, pulling up grass by the roots.

……

Indeed…

Youngflame Freak was hoping to be lucky enough to survive.

“Of those seven techniques, I was only able to learn the first technique and part of the second technique.” Youngflame Freak was sitting within a palace, drinking wine. “I could tell, however, that these were all inconceivably profound techniques. And the aura that stone stele emanated…it was even more terrifyingly powerful than the Heavenly Daos! If I was to report this loss to the Seamless Gate…in order to ensure that none of the techniques are leaked, they’ll probably kill me to silence me, once they acquire the technique from Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning will probably hide those seven techniques for his own use. He won’t be willing to tell others ab out them.”

“Right. It has to be that way.”

Youngflame Freak himself had kept those seven techniques hidden without telling anyone else at all. He believed that Ji Ning would do the same.

In addition, he didn’t even dare to make a report. If he gave such a powerful technique to the Seamless Gate, he might be silenced and killed instead of rewarded. Youngflame Freak knew exactly how the Seamless Gate acted…they were absolutely savage and brutal.

“Uhh…” Youngflame Freak suddenly felt his head turn dizzy.

“W-what’s going…”

……

“Die…”

“I…might as well die…”

Youngflame Freak’s eyes turned dim…and then his soul dispersed and shattered. He died…and the same happened to his other clone.

……

Mount Innerheart.

Subhuti closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. He looked at Ning. “The other two bodies of Youngflame Freak have now died. All eighteen bodies have perished now.”

Ning let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Youngflame Freak didn’t possess a treasure like the Voidboat; he didn’t dare to journey out within the primordial chaos, and so he kept all his clones within the Three Realms. Subhuti was thus able to effortlessly kill him. Much like how Ning would be able to effortlessly hypnotize weaker cultivators, Subhuti was able to effortlessly cause a Celestial Immortal to commit suicide.

Of course, the Seamless Gate would’ve deeply desired to cause Ning to commit suicide in such a manner as well. However, Ning’s heartforce had reached the fourth level, the same level as that of many Daofathers; there was no way the Seamless Gate could force Ning to commit suicide.

“Let’s go. Accompany me on a visit to Human Emperor Fuxi,” Subhuti said with a laugh. “When he sees this [Jewel Talisman], he’s going to be delirious with joy. A top-tier seal-creation technique like this…this is something he dreams of.”

Whoosh. A spatial vortex appeared before them.

Subhuti took Ning by the arm and led him straight into the spatial vortex.

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Chapter 35 – Meeting Fuxi

Chapter 35 – Meeting Fuxi

They emerged from the spatial vortex. In front of them, as far as the eye could see, were endless flows of primordial chaos. A short while ago, Ji Ning had journeyed by himself into the primordial chaos, but of course he had only toured the region that was very close to the Three Realms.

“Fuxi is currently within the primordial chaos, working on various formations,” Subhuti said. “Of the Three Emperors of Mankind, Shennong and Fuxi spend most of their time in the primordial chaos, with Suiren usually staying at the Kindlefire world.”

As he spoke, he led Ning forward at high speed.

Space and time constantly shifted about them, causing them to move incredibly fast.

“Is that…” Due to the speed at which they were moving, the flows of primordial chaos around them became blurry and hard to see. However, Ning suddenly saw an enormous blazing fire appear in the distance.

“There we are.” Subhuti’s voice rang out as their speed suddenly and dramatically lessened.

Ning was quickly led by his master towards those towering flames. The flames roared and hissed in a veritable sea of conflagration. It was hard to see where the sea of flames ended.

“Water?” Ning suddenly discovered to his astonishment that there seemed to be dark, barely-visible waves that were rippling above the sea of flames. Only when he stared at them carefully did he recognize them for what they were…countless waves of black water.

Below was an endless sea of flames, while above were endless waves of black water. The two seemed to be part of a whole, and the space between the flames and the waves seemed to be continuously destroyed.

“Fuxi,” Subhuti called out.

Whoosh!

Instantly, a corridor appeared within the sea of flames in front of them. The flames on each side of the corridor couldn’t enter it in the slightest.

“Come, let’s go inside,” Subhuti said.

Ning followed behind Subhuti, the two of them flying inside.

“Is this a formation which the Human Emperor set up?” Ning couldn’t help but ask. “These flames…I can’t even tell what type of flames they are.”

The most famous flames in the Three Realms were the nine types of truefire.

“This is the ‘Eternal Kindlefire’ which Human Emperor Suiren developed,” Subhuti said. “These flames surpass the nine types of truefire in power. As for the waves of water above them, they were formed by extracting the essence of Arcane Moonwater from the Lunar Star. The Kindlefire was established with the help of Suiren, which is why the flames are so numerous. The essence of the Lunar Star, however, has to be extracted by Fuxi himself, which is why there is a bit less of the water. This is a formation that Fuxi has been working on for some time, and it isn’t perfected yet.”

Ning was stunned. Eternal Kindlefire? Arcane Lunar Water?

Most weaker cultivators, including Ning himself, had no idea that there were any flames more powerful than the nine types of truefire. Ning himself only found out now.

Solar Truefire was commonly seen on the surface of the Solar Star; there was an enormous amount of it there. However, Golden Solarfire came from the very core of the Solar Star, and its power was far greater than that of Solar Truefire. Golden Solarfire…even True Gods and Daofathers had to be careful around it. If they weren’t carefully, they’d be burnt to death.

Golden Solarfire came from nature itself. However, the Zhurong Godfire which Elder God of Fire Zhurong created was also a type of fire that surpassed the nine mighty types of truefire. Alas…Elder God Zhurong himself had perished long ago.

Human Emperor Suiren had developed the Eternal Kindlefire, which was another type of fire that surpassed the nine types of truefire.

The Three Realms also had nine types of truewater. Above them in power were two types of water; Arcane Moonwater from the Lunar Star, and the Gonggong Godwater from Elder God of Water Gonggong. Alas, Elder God Gonggong had also died long ago.

The ten exalted Elder Gods had fought amongst themselves during the Primordial Era, and several of them had died in their struggles for supremacy.

In truth, Pangu wasn’t really an ‘Elder God’, he was a World God. However, back then the various Fiendgods didn’t know what ‘World Gods’ even were. Because Pangu was simply far too overwhelmingly powerful, the ten Elder Gods considered Pangu to be in a class of his own, the ‘Pangu level’, a level which surpassed all Immortals, Buddhas, Fiends, and Gods.

Pangu established Heaven and Earth, then died from his labors.

Mother Nuwa entered the primordial chaos, never to return.

Elder God Fuxi had been reborn as a human, becoming Human Emperor Fuxi.

Multiple Elder Gods had died during the struggles for supremacy of the Primordial Era.

The war against the Seamless Chaosworld and the Lord of All Things that destroyed the Primordial Era had resulted in the deaths of even more Elder Gods.

Thus, the likes of Human Emperor Fuxi were now forced to laboriously extract Arcane Moonwater from the Lunar Star. Fortunately, Fuxi was a master of the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, which was why he was able to draw upon the supremely Yin-aligned Arcane Moonwater. However, clearly his skill in controlling water was not a match for Suiren’s skill in controlling fire.

“Fuxi has focused his efforts on the art of formations. If he was to focus his efforts on water…given his power and his insights into the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, he probably would’ve long ago been able to develop a form of arcane water that surpassed the nine types of truewater,” Subhuti said with a sigh.

“In his past life, he was an Elder God that was a master of the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. In this life, he is a Human Emperor, but he has decided to focus on formations.” Ning felt extremely curious regarding Fuxi.

Fuxi was someone who stood at the very peak of the Three Realms, in both this life and the previous one.

Whoosh.

After they passed through the flame corridor, they saw an island that was a few hundred meters long hover there in the midst of the primordial chaos. Atop the island was a tall, muscular man dressed in Daoist robes who was seated in the lotus position. His robes were covered with many Taiji diagrams, Eight Trigrams diagrams, stellar diagrams, and other types of formation-diagrams. The area surrounding him was filled with countless swirling runes. Fuxi was staring at the countless runes, occasionally changing them and occasionally moving them around.

“Don’t be impatient. Wait a bit,” Subhuti instructed.

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

After the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, the distant Fuxi finally came to a halt, allowing all the runes around him to disappear.

Smiling, Fuxi looked towards Subhuti and Ning. “Subhuti, why have you brought your treasured disciple here? Come, sit.”

He waved his hand, producing a pair of prayer mats in front of him. In front of each prayer mat was a table covered with wine.

Subhuti led Ning forward. The two seated themselves.

“Naturally, I come bearing good news.” Subhuti handed the scroll Ning had given him to Fuxi. “Take a look.”

“Oh?” Fuxi accepted the scroll, then immediately sent his coresense into it to examine it. Upon doing so, he instantly became completely transfixed.

“Don’t be impatient,” Subhuti said to Ning. “This is just how Fuxi is. Let’s just wait here for now. Come, taste the wine. This is wine which Fuxi personally created using his insights into the art of formations. There’s no other place with wine like this.”

Ning lifted up his winecup, taking a sip. Instantly, an incredibly comfortable feeling spread throughout his body. Even his soul felt more relaxed.

“It really is fine wine.” Ning sighed in amazement.

“No one else can make it,” Subhuti agreed.

These two, master and disciple, began to chat and drink the wine. The tables were covered with what appeared to be small flagons of wine, but in truth every single flagon contained an enormous lake of Immortal wine within it. The two drank to their hearts content for more than a full day before Human Emperor Fuxi finally withdrew his coresense from the bamboo scroll.

“Good. Good. Good!” Fuxi was so excited, he said the word ‘good’ three times in a row.

“What do you think?” Subhuti looked at him. “The [Jewel Talisman] is nice, eh?”

“The Dao-seals recorded within the [Jewel Talisman] are all incredibly marvelous. I had to spend six hours to completely comprehend all of them. Once I acquire all the necessary materials, I’ll be able to construct quite a few powerful Dao-seals.” Fuxi chuckled, “Thanks to these Dao-seals, our Nuwa Alliance will have an extra tool to rely on. Although the benefits will be minor…when many minor effects are added together, they’ll be able to influence the overall course of events.”

Upon hearing the words ‘benefits will be minor’, Ning instantly understood that the Nuwa Alliance had an extremely deep foundation, many of which he had no idea about.

The Seamless Gate had formidable abilities, but the Nuwa Alliance did as well.

“At this point in time, there are very few things that can increase the power of our Nuwa Alliance as a whole. This [Jewel Talisman], however, is one of them.” Fuxi shook his head and sighed. “However, as far as I’m concerned, the most beneficial technique of the seven was the [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation]. The reason I spent so much time just now was primarily because of that formation.”

“What? The [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation]? It helped you significantly?” Subhuti was puzzled. “This formation requires eighteen individuals to set up, and it also requires them to be of completely one mind. How could it have been of assistance to you?”

“Ah, this is where you are wrong.” Fuxi shook his head. “Although this is an excellent formation, the formation that I’m developing is even more astonishingly powerful. I naturally won’t turn towards setting up the [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation]. However…the mysteries and secrets this formation contains are completely different from those used to set up formations in the Three Realms. In addition, it is especially powerful in the ‘Qiankun Reversal’ aspect.”

Fuxi sighed. “All these years, I’ve been slowly working on my Waterflame Apocalypse Formation and coming up with ideas on how to better combine these two types of supreme fire and water. The ‘Qiankun Reversal’ in the gestalt-formation gave me many new ideas. Although the [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation] isn’t that powerful, the person who developed it is most likely much more powerful than even myself in the Dao of Formations.”

At Fuxi’s level, when he looked at a formation, Fuxi looked at how the formation was constructed. He was able to completely ‘disassemble’ it into its component parts. Clearly, Fuxi had gained what he had needed from this formation.

And it was true; this [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation] had indeed been created by a major power within the primordial chaos, expressly for those who trained in the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. However…when Fuxi said that this person was superior to him in the Dao of Formations, Fuxi had been wrong. The major power that had created this formation had lived in a completely different environment, which was why there were naturally many differences in the mysteries this formation contained. This was the reason why Fuxi had gained so many new ideas upon seeing this formation. In terms of actual insight into the Dao of Formations, however, the creator of the [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation] was just barely on par with Fuxi.

“Can it help you perfect the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation?” Subhuti was surprised and delighted.

Eternal Kindlefire, Arcane Moonwater; either of the two were tremendously powerful on their own. But if Fuxi was to successfully and perfectly combine the two of them…the results would be utterly astonishing. It would be extremely useful during the final Endwar, and it would give them better chances of winning it.

“It was indeed of use.” Fuxi nodded. “However, I’m still far, far away from being able to completely perfect this technique. I still need to spend some more time analyzing this gestalt-formation in detail. Mm. These seven techniques…all of them are excellent. They clearly do not belong to the Three Realms; they should have come from alien Outsiders. Since you brought your disciple over…was it Ji Ning who discovered these seven techniques?”

“Yes.” Subhuti nodded.

Suiren looked towards Ning, then sighed in a gratified manner. “All people are selfish. Petty selfishness is focused on the self; nobler selfishness is focused on one’s family, one’s clan, one’s nation, one’s race, and even one’s entire world. You are merely an Empyrean God and a True Immortal. For you to be willing to hand over these seven precious techniques…this really is quite rare and admirable.”

Ning felt ashamed upon hearing this. He had indeed given the seven techniques to his master for the sake of the Nuwa Alliance, but he had kept the stone stele for himself. He had hidden it away without telling anyone, partially because he was worried about the Seamless Gate’s formidable intelligence mechanisms, but also because he wanted to keep something in reserve for himself. It was very possible that he might die as a result of this storm that was sweeping the Three Realms. He wasn’t afraid of dying, but if he died, who would protect his daughter?

“Of the seven techniques you provided, the [Jewel Talisman] will be of benefit to the entire Nuwa Alliance, while the [Qiankun Reversing Gestalt-Formation] is of considerable benefit to me. Mm…I can’t just take these things from you without giving anything back,” Fuxi said.

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Chapter 36 – Skyrocketing Cultivation

Chapter 36 – Skyrocketing Cultivation

Fuxi pondered for a moment, then said, “Ji Ning, how much of the perfect Heaven Punisher’s power can you control?”

“I can already control all of it,” Ji Ning said respectfully.

“Oh…”

Fuxi revealed a small smile. “This type of grand formation that involves commanding countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals is extremely taxing on both heartforce and Immortal energy, and it also requires a powerful soul heartforce technique. Of all the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms, you are the one who is best-suited to commanding these formations. Prior to this, there was no one as skilled as you in this regard, which is why the likes of the perfect Heaven Punisher Formation were viewed as the apex.”

Ning nodded. There were several formations comparable to the Heaven Punisher Formation, and his own master Subhuti had access to some of them. Since their power was on par with that of the Heaven Punisher Formation, Ning hadn’t asked for them.

“Fourth level heartforce, and a soul heartforce technique…yes, you really are a perfect fit for these formations.” Fuxi chuckled. “Give me a bit of time, I’ll gift you with a formation that will allow you to control even more Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. Naturally, the maximum power of the formation will greatly increase as well! However, controlling it will also be considerably more difficult.”

“Thank you, Human Emperor.” Ning was overjoyed. In truth, he wasn’t interested in any treasures the Human Emperor could give him, because Ning already had access to Protocosmic spirit-treasures. In addition, two of Ning’s clones were within the prisonworld and were assaulting the various True Gods and True Immortals; he would definitely have plenty of powerful treasures in the future! A Chaos treasure would be excellent, but what were the chances that Fuxi would give him one? Many major powers didn’t even have access to such treasures!

A formation that was more powerful than the Heaven Punisher Formation was something which Ning was in desperate need of. This was because Ning’s most powerful battle-mode was the Heaven Punisher mode. However, he had already completely utilized all the power available to the perfect Heaven Punisher; there was no way to increase his level of power at all. But alas, there were no superior formations of this type in all the Three Realms, and there were very few individuals who were capable of creating one.

Fuxi, however, was definitely the most powerful expert in the Three Realms in the Dao of Formations.

“This won’t be too difficult for me. All I have to do is spend a bit of effort on it when I’m not working on the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation. I imagine I should be able to complete it within ten years,” Fuxi said.

“Disciple.” The nearby Subhuti looked towards Ning. “You can count on one hand the number of times Fuxi has custom-designed a formation for someone. This is incredibly rare. Fuxi, Ning and I won’t disturb you any further.”

“Alright.” Fuxi smiled and nodded. “I’ll have to trouble you to leave my formation first.”

Whoosh.

A corridor appeared in the endless sea of flames in front of them.

Subhuti immediately led Ning out through the corridor. Within this Waterflame Apocalypse Formation, not even Subhuti was able to engage in teleportation. He had to first leave the formation area, then teleport. This was a formation that Fuxi had spent countless eons perfecting; its power was truly terrifying.

They returned to Mount Innerheart.

“Master,” Ning said respectfully, “I wonder if I can teach this [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique to Uncle White and the others.”

Subhuti said, “This is a technique that you acquired; by all rights, I shouldn’t stop you from teaching it to others. However, it’s best if you do not. Your spirit-beasts are all too weak, after all. It’s impossible for the Seamless Gate to stealthily steal this technique from your mind, but your spirit-beasts haven’t even undergone the Celestial Tribulation. That ‘Godking’ would probably be able to steal away those techniques from them in their dreams.”

“How about this? If you want to teach them something, teach them the [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] technique. There are others in the Three Realms who have mastered it and are able to transform into twelve bodies that each have the power of the original.”

“Understood,” Ning said. “I’ll go pay them a visit, then I’ll leave the Crescent world.”

“Go.” Subhuti nodded.

First, Ning carefully read through the entire [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] technique. This technique was very similar to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]; both were divided into three levels.

The first level allowed the true body to divide into twelve clones, with each clone being much weaker in power than the original. This state was actually not a very good one; the only benefit was that it allowed the user to have a much better chance at staying alive.

The second level allowed for all twelve bodies to rise in power, returning to the level which the original body had been at.

The third level allowed for all twelve bodies to merge back together into a single true body once more, with the true body instantly and explosively increasing in power.

This was almost identical to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] formation. However, it was noticeably easier to train in, and it required less materials. In fact, all of the ingredients needed to train to the second level could be located within the Three Realms! But of course, all of those ingredients were still quite rare and expensive. In addition, the more powerful one was, the more of the ingredients would be needed, as the cost of training would increase.

After soulscouring the prisoners of the prisonworld, Ning had learned quite a bit. Fairy Lilisoft, for example, had been the King of Pangaea’s daughter. The other Empyrean God and Celestial Immortal prisoners were similarly extraordinary figures who also knew many things.

For example, Ning had learned from them that to train to the second level of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], a Celestial Immortal of the first tier would generally need a full bottle of chaos nectar!

Ning had roughly used up a full bottle as well, but a little was left over. This was because Ning was the lowest-tier True Immortal. In terms of the quality of his Immortal energy, he was merely on par with the highest-tier Celestial Immortals. But in terms of how much energy he had, he actually had much less. This was because first-tier Celestial Immortals formed their Jindans through absorbing the energy of an entire vast world. Their Jindan regions were quite shocking, and the amount of Immortal energy they contained was huge.

First-tier True Immortals would generally need a hundred bottles of chaos nectar to succeed! In every aspect, be it the Jindan or the soul, first-tier True Immortals were far more powerful than first-tier Celestial Immortals.

First-tier True Immortals…their coresense was enough to cover an entire chaosworld! In the Three Realms, only True Gods and Daofathers had this sort of power. One could judge the power of one’s soul from the strength of one’s coresense. To split such a powerful soul into eighteen parts, then have all of them return to the power level of the original soul…the amount of chaos nectar that would be consumed was enormous.

If a first-tier Ancestral Immortal was to train in the technique, the price would increase a hundredfold!

The more powerful one was, the greater the price one would have to pay to acquire eighteen clones of tremendous power. Thus, even the King of Pangaea had only been able to train to the second stage as a True Immortal. After becoming an Ancestral Immortal, he had wandered through the primordial chaos and experienced many hardships before being lucky enough to acquire the resources to master the third stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. His power level had instantly exploded, making him an absolute hegemon amongst Ancestral Immortals. After he broke through to the World-level, he was thus able to build up an extremely powerful nation and slay other World-level experts, with two such experts electing to follow him.

In the entire Pangaea chaos-kingdom, only the King of Pangaea had fully mastered this technique.

……

Within a quiet little city.

A black-robed Ning was seated within a winehouse, staring far away while holding a winecup in his hands. He watched as a woman was leading a girl forward through the distant streets.

The woman was Autumn Leaf.

The girl was Brightmoon.

“Junior apprentice-brother. Uncle White.” Ning looked towards Mu Northson and Uncle White. “Wait here for now. I’m going to make a short trip, but I’ll be back soon.”

“Alright, senior apprentice-brother. Go ahead. We’ll keep an eye on things here,” Northson said with a laugh.

“Don’t worry, son,” Uncle White said.

They had spent the past period of time wandering the Crescent world alongside the childlike Brightmoon. Everyone had been quite relaxed, and this caused both Northson and Uncle White to both become more amiable and gentler.

The black-robed Ning nodded, then disappeared without a trace. Although some people in the winehouse were watching, none of them thought that anything was amiss.

Outside the little city, there was a seemingly ordinary-looking Immortal estate. This was a Pure Yang treasure which Ning’s Primaltwin was controlling, their temporary home. Because he wanted to give his daughter Brightmoon a good upbringing, he naturally couldn’t just let her wander about the Crescent world willy-nilly. She had to have a permanent place to call home.

The black-robed Ning flew into the Immortal estate. A white-robed Ning was already inside, having come here to deliver a bottle of chaos nectar.

Just half a day later, within a private room inside the Immortal estate. Eighteen black-robed Ji Nings were seated in the lotus position. All of their auras were completely suppressed, and they seemed to be ordinary mortals. All of them opened their eyes, smiling at each other.

“The second level is complete.”

After handing them the copy of the [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] technique, Ning’s true body had immediately left. The Primaltwin had used up a bottle of chaos nectar to master the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique. However, all eighteen clones had completely suppressed their auras. When Ning had broken through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal, none of the other major powers of the Three Realms had been able to find out, because of this aura-suppressing technique which Patriarch Subhuti had taught him.

Ning continued to keep his aura suppressed. So long as Ning didn’t voluntarily activate these eighteen clones, no one would be able to find out how powerful Ning’s eighteen Primaltwin clones were.

……

Sword Immortal world. The Five Treasured Peaks.

Ning had returned.

“All the arrangements have been made.” Ning stood there in front of his thatched cottage, staring at the distant, towering Five Treasured Peaks. The five peaks continuated to emanate that shocking, breathtaking aura of majesty. “The stone stele has already been hidden away. I now have a better chance of surviving this great storm. My Primaltwin has now successfully manifested eighteen clones as well. Only…I only have slightly more than sixteen bottles of chaos nectar left.”

Swoosh. Ning flew towards the second mountain of the Five Treasured Peaks, beginning to read the second chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art and meditate on it.

……

Within the Starseizing Manor. Those fifteen clones of his true body were all seated in the lotus position, completely focused on meditating on the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

……

Within the stone stele. The two clones of his true body were using some of their energy to maintain the Eight Fires Qiankun World, but they didn’t have to spend much attention on it, and so they were also meditating on the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

……

Within the Crescent world. Seventeen clones of his Primaltwin were all meditating on the [Five Treasures] sword-art, with the final clone spending all of its time and energy on taking care of Brightmoon.

……

It could be said that right now, thirty-five Ji Nings spread across his ‘true bodies’ and ‘Primaltwins’ were simultaneously meditating on the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Or, to put it another way…compared to before Ning had started to train in the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], Ning’s training speed was now thirty-five times faster.

“This sword-art is incomparably arcane and unfathomable…”

The thirty-five clones all shared the same mind and memories. When one gained an insight, all of them gained the insight, and so a nonstop flow of insights was entering his mind.

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Chapter 37 – Roaming the Three Realms

Chapter 37 – Roaming the Three Realms

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

Next to a towering, cloud-piercing mountain peaks. Ji Ning stood atop a cloud, staring upwards towards the sword-art left behind on the mountain wall.

“The [Five Treasures] sword-art truly is a sword-art that has surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. I’m just a tiny bit away, but…I’m unable to completely master the second chapter.” Ning frowned. During this past half year, he had almost completely mastered the entire second chapter at one go, but the final bottleneck had stymied him.

Bottlenecks were terrifying things for cultivators to face. There were many who would be stuck at a bottleneck for countless years without being able to advance! Time alone wouldn’t necessarily suffice for a cultivator to break through a bottleneck; if one could constantly improve, then logically speaking all Celestial Immortals should eventually become True Immortals. Clearly, however, this wasn’t the case. The reason why Ning had been able to break through the final bottleneck and master the complete Dao of the Sword was because he had battled in the Nihilum Zone for eighteen years, and had mastered first level swordforce. This was why things proceeded so smoothly for him.

“This next breakthrough won’t be so easy. What should I do?” Ning frowned. At this point, not even his many clones could help him.

“Standing here like an idiot won’t be of any use. Breakthroughs require luck and destiny.” Ning immediately sent a mental message. “Ninefangs.”

Swoosh! A streak of light flew over, landing atop the cloud. It was the bald old man, Ninefangs. Empyrean God Ninefangs immediately said respectfully, “Manorlord.”

“I wish to travel through the Three Realms,” Ning said.

“Travel through the Three Realms?” Ninefangs was startled. He gave Ning a close look. He had thought that Ning wanted to once more ambush the Seamless Gate…but now, it seemed, that wasn’t the case.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately led Ninefangs away from Sword Immortal world.

……

Within a vast world of darkness. The Godking, seated upon his great, levitating throne, immediately received word of Ning’s departure.

“Ji Ning has left Sword Immortal world.” The Godking immediately released his powerful coresense to investigate Ning’s whereabouts. “He’s already gone to…Tigerfang major world.”

After having suffered such severe losses last time, the Seamless Gate would naturally be prepared for a reoccurrence. They wouldn’t succumb to the same trick twice.

……

The Tigerfang world.

A wooden ship was drifting through a wide river. Atop the wooden ship was a white-robed youth who was drinking wine by himself. Next to him stood an old, respectful, bald-headed servant.

“This Tigerfang world belongs to the mighty Immortal Tigerfang. He rose to sudden prominence during the Primordial Era, and even took part in the war that ended that era. However, he likes to travel alone and does as he pleases, and so he dislikes taking apprentices. There are still two Empyrean Gods who are willing to follow him, and he is quite a powerful figure of the Three Realms.

The Xia Emperor had relied on his experts and his background to unify the Grand Xia. Mighty Immortal Tigerfang, however, had completely relied on his own personal power.

“if I didn’t rely on the Heaven Punisher Formation, I probably wouldn’t be a match for him either,” Ning chuckled. The Three Realms had many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the most supreme of which all had formations of their own that were comparable to the Heaven Punisher Formation. In this regard, none of them were able to overcome Ning. But in a purely one-on-one fight…there indeed quite a few who were stronger than Ning. In fact, in his very own school, Mount Innerheart, there were a number of fellow disciples who were superior to him.

Redsnow, Patriarch Lu, Immortal Tigerfang…they were at the very precicipe of becoming True Gods or Daofathers. In terms of the Dao or in terms of techniques, they were significantly superior to Ning. Ning had to admit to their superiority in these areas. He simply hadn’t spent enough time cultivating, and his mind had been focused on cultivating his swordforce and heartforce. After all, he simply didn’t have enough time slowly meditate on many Daos in the midst of this great storm.

“Manorlord, be wary of the Seamless Gate,” Ninefangs cautioned mentally.

“Don’t worry,” Ning said. Once they entered the Tigerfang, Ning had immediately sent his heartforce out to cover the entire world.

“The Seamless Gate is currently quite cautious. When I was in Sword Immortal world, there was someone using his coresense to watch over me at all times. They probably knew the moment I left the world. Although Tigerfang world has quite a few bases of the Seamless Gate, only one of them has Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. That base has a total of nineteen. They should’ve just hurried over there a short while ago. If nineteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals hide behind protective formations…there’s no way for me to breach their defenses at all.” Ning shook his head.

In his heart, however, Ning sighed. He had succeeded in his first ambush, but it would now be far more difficult for him to give the Seamless Gate a few more vicious cuts.

“Come, try again.”

“Tired already? Is this all you have?”

“Come on!”

Voices could be heard from far away.

Ning turned to sweep towards that area with his gaze. Far away, there was a village located next to the side of the river. The villagers relied on the river to make their living. Within the village, there was a tall, muscular, fur-clad man who was training a youth in using the sword. The muscular man was calling out repeatedly, “Come on! Hit harder! Hit smarter! Your sword-arts need to be more direct and forceful. All those fancy flourishes are useless!”

Boom! The youth’s sword came chopping down, but he instantly was knocked flying. He landed on the ground, then quickly and grimly clambered to his feet and charged forward again.

Each time they collided, he was knocked flying. Each time he was knocked flying, he rose to his feet. And each time, the tall man continued to berate him.

Ning watched this scene from afar, aboard his boat. He could tell that the man and the youth looked similar; most likely, they were father and son. This scene caused Ning to think of how his own father, Ji Yichuan, had taught him how to use the sword all those years ago. Compared to the tall man, however, Ning’s father’s sword-arts were slightly superior.

Still…in terms of actual power, this man wasn’t any weaker than Ning’s father had been. This was because this man had already reached the Zifu level. His only weakness was that his sword-arts weren’t a bit weaker than Yichuan’s had been.

“This is quite an ordinary little village, but this man is a Zifu Disciple. It seems he’s brought his son here to live in seclusion,” Ning mused.

“If…”

“If Father was still alive…if I could still train in the sword alongside Father…how wonderful it would be.”

Suddenly, Ning rose to his feet.

“Manorlord!” Ninefangs immediately called out.

Ning took a single step forward.

Whoosh.

He instantly appeared next to the tall man and the youth.

……

Bu Feng stared in astonishment at the white-robed youth who had suddenly appeared. Although he had been training with his son, as a Zifu Disciple he had kept a continuous watch on the surrounding area. He had seen long ago that a wooden boat had appeared a few kilometers away, drifting about on the river, and he had also noticed the white-robed youth who was seated on the boat, drinking wine, but…that youth had suddenly appeared before him in the blink of an eye.

“No spatial ripples. It wasn’t teleportation.” Although Bu Feng was merely a Zifu Disciple, he had come from a major school. “He relied simply on pure speed to instantly arrive here…and the wind around us is still very calm and gentle. Skill like this…not even Primal Daoists can accomplish it.”

“Who are you?” The mud-splattered youth looked towards Ning.

“Yun’er!” Bu Feng barked. The youth was instantly terrified, no longer daring to make a sound.

Ning, however, simply smiled towards the tall man. “Don’t panic. I’ve just come to compete with you in sword-arts.”

“Compete?” Bu Feng was completely flabbergasted. Was this a joke?

“Just come on,” Ning said.

Bu Feng didn’t dare to disobey. This person could probably wipe him out with a single finger! He immediately suppressed all of his other thoughts, focusing entirely on the sword.

“Be careful, then!” A heavy sword suddenly appeared in front of Bu Feng.

Ning reached out with his two hands, and a pair of longswords suddenly manifested in front of him. These longswords had been formed by Ning out of natural energy; at his level, any swords he casually created would be far tougher than Mortal-ranked swords.

Upon seeing this, Bu Feng felt even more stunned and terrified. “What the hell is this senior playing at?” But he didn’t dare to hesitate at all. He immediately activated his Zifu-level ki, sending his heavy sword howling forward like a streak of light as he stabbed towards Ning.

Clang!

Ning’s twin swords instantly seemed to transform into flowing water as the heavy sword came stabbing towards him. He blocked multiple times in succession, but was still knocked flying backwards. In fact, after he landed on the ground, he actually staggered back a few steps.

“Father seems to be very afraid of this white-robed man, but why is it that he seems so weak?” The mud-splattered youth was puzzled.

“How can this be?!” Bu Feng, however, couldn’t even believed it.

As for Ning, he softly mused to himself, “It seems as though when using Houtian-level strength to execute my sword-arts…even I will find it very difficult to resist the magic treasures of a Zifu Disciple.” He hadn’t used any spells of silence, and so Zifu Disciple Bu Feng was able to hear what he said. Bu Feng couldn’t help but feel speechless; the man had merely used Houtian-level strength to resist the treasures of a Zifu Disciple?

Houtian, Xiantian, Zifu.

The gap between each level was enormous.

“Continue,” Ning instructed.

Bu Feng didn’t dare to disobey. He immediately launched yet another attack. His heavy sword, controlled by his Zifu-level ki, attacked with absolutely savagery. However, although Ning’s sword-arts seemed simple, they went straight to the essence of the sword. In truth, Ning would be able to manifest swordforce from his longswords with but a thought, but if he did that, there was no way this fight could continue. Thus, Ning forcibly kept all of his power suppressed, ensuring that his strength would be no more than that of a Houtian-level expert. This naturally meant that his even the speed of his sword had dropped drastically.

His sword was slow and weak; he had to completely rely on his sword-arts in order to block.

Fortunately, his foe was merely a Zifu Disciple, and Ning’s own understanding of the sword was far greater than his foe’s.

“I didn’t expect that this sudden whim of mine would have actually…” Ning had never experienced something like this before. He kept himself at a Houtian’s strength, with his foe’s heavy sword completely eclipsing Ning’s swords in both speed and power. The end result was that Ning was forced to use every single scrap of skill and talent he had in order to defend.

He had a feeling…that he was improving.

He had found the right path! Through this path, he might be able to break through this bottleneck and reach an even higher level of sword-arts.

“How powerful. How can sword-arts be this marvelous, this miraculous? T-this…this is impossible.” Bu Feng frantically unleashed all the most powerful sword-arts he had, and in fact he even began to use some of the rare, unique flying sword techniques he had learned. That way, the mysterious white-robed youth in front of him would reveal even more sword-arts for him to see.

The sword-arts of this white-robed youth had completely broadened his horizons. It was as though an entire new universe had appeared before him. He discovered, for the first time…that the sword could be used in manners like this!

It was precisely because Ning continued to use a mere Houtian’s speed and strength that a Zifu Disciple like Bu Feng was able to see all these things clearly. However, although he was able to see it clearly, he still felt that it was all unspeakably arcane. Even the simplest of sword-stances caused Bu Feng to feel befuddled, no matter how hard he worked to comprehend it as he continued to unleash more attacks.

And yet, despite that…he could sense that his own insights into the sword were rising nonstop.

“Karmic luck. A tremendous stroke of karmic luck.”

“I, Bu Feng, was forced to flee with my son…but I actually ended up stumbling into such a tremendous stroke of karmic luck. The Dao of the Sword…I can embark upon the Dao of the Sword. I can reach a higher level of understanding, and I’ll be able to quickly become a Wanxiang Adept or even a Primal Daoist. By then, I’ll be able to go back. I’ll rescue my woman. I’ll…” Bu Feng’s heart was filled with wild joy…but he then immediately suppressed all other thoughts.

He focused all of his efforts on attacking Ning, while also doing his very best to memorize some of Ning’s sword-stances. Although these were all techniques which Ning casually came up with and displayed on the spot, to Bu Feng these stances were like a pegasus soaring through the skies in a bold, unconstrained manner. Every single technique was incomparably exquisite.

Ning was a peerless genius of the Dao of the Sword who had long ago mastered it. Right now, his foundation was the [Five Treasures] sword-art, a sword-art which surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos themselves. For someone who was studying the art of the sword, even the tiniest part of Ning’s insight was enough to give that person limitless benefits.

“Perhaps…perhaps this is the true essence of the sword. Forget about heartforce…forget about swordforce…forget about all outside sources of power and strength…only then can you truly find what the essence of the sword truly is. The [Five Treasures] sword-art is something which truly guides one towards the very essence of the sword itself. Yes…from today onwards, I shall roam the Three Realms, competing against countless people with the sword.” As a ray of clarity suddenly shone down upon Ning, Ning immediately came to his decision.

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Chapter 38 – Sword-Training Throughout the Realms

Chapter 38 – Sword-Training Throughout the Realms

Bu Feng and Ji Ning battled for a full day and night. Empyrean God Ninefangs used a technique to completely separate this area from the outside world, ensuring that the commoners in the village wouldn’t be able to see the battle. The only ones that could see were Ninefangs and the mud-splattered youth.

Huff. Huff. Huff. Bu Feng’s face was turning pale as he panted.

He had been working hard to unleash as much power as he could. The ki in his Zifu region had long ago been used up, and so he had been using spirit-pills to replenish it. Finally, the last of his spirit-pills was gone, causing him to mentally panic. He knew very well that spirit-pills weren’t worth a damn, compared to this chance to spar against this mysterious figure. This was a tremendous opportunity for him, and he wanted to make use of it to fight for a bit longer.

“Alright. You can stop now,” Ning said. He could sense that his opponent’s attacks had grown quite weak; the man was clearly out of ki.

Bu Feng had no choice but to stop.

“Here are some spirit-pills for you to replenish your ki with.” Ning tossed a bottle of spirit-pills to him. Bu Feng hurriedly accepted the bottle, and as he took a look inside, he was instantly shocked and overjoyed.

Good heavens…not even Primal Daoists would be able to produce as many pills as this! What he didn’t realize was that this was something Ning had acquired when he had slaughtered countless Immortals and Fiendgods during the Realmwar. Back then, every single White-Faced Flood Dragon he had slain contained a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, each of who had been carrying a large amount of Immortal pills with them as they fought. Ning had simply pulled out a random bottle, one which belonged to a Loose Immortal. To a puny Zifu Disciple like Bu Feng, however, this was something that utterly shocked and overwhelmed him with joy.

“Senior, I can keep fighting,” Bu Feng said hurriedly.

“I’ve had enough,” Ning said with a laugh. “Ninefangs, let’s go.”

“Yes, Manorlord,” Ninefangs said respectfully.

Whoosh. The white-robed youth and the bald old servant disappeared into thin air.

“B-but…” Bu Feng was incredibly agitated. This bottle of pills was probably comparable in value to the entire fortune of an average Primal Daoist. This would give him the resources he needed, and the mysterious, profound sword-stances had had managed to memorize would serve as lamp-posts that would guide him on his Immortal path! He would be able to able to walk much farther along his path, and would be able to make his dreams a reality.

“Father?” The mud-splattered youth looked at Bu Feng.

“Let’s go home, right away!” Bu Feng said hurriedly. He immediately pulled his son back into their home within the village. He wanted to immediately and fully memorize and record the many sword-arts he had seen during the battle, for fear that he might forget them.

In the days to come, Bu Feng continued to teach his son sword-play. Eventually, he would manage to gain a basic level of insight into the Grand Dao of the Sword. Sixteen years later, when Bu Feng returned to his former school, he was already an expert of the Dao of the Sword.

Atop a wooden boat within the river.

“Manorlord, the techniques you put on display came from the [Five Treasures] sword-art, a technique that surpasses the Heavenly Daos which was created by the number one Sword Immortal in the history of the Three Realms. Learning even the tiniest little morsel of that sword-art represents a tremendous stroke of karmic luck for that Zifu Disciple,” Ninefangs said. He had personally witnessed the mighty power of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Generally speaking, not even Celestial Immortals could endure seeing the power and majesty contained within the full sword-art. As for a few scattered techniques and stances…even if they saw it, they wouldn’t be able to understand it.

Ning had personally put the sword-art on display, and had sparred with Bu Feng for a long period of time, which was why Bu Feng had managed to understand how truly formidable these sword-stances truly were. Naturally, it had been much easier for him to understand them than others.

“I gained some insights of my own,” Ning chuckled.

In truth, after spending just an hour sparring against Bu Feng, Ning had already been able to completely understand and defeat all of Bu Feng’s stances. The reason why Ning had spent a full day and night fighting against him was because he was testing new ideas and gaining new insights.

“Three thousand kilometers from here, there’s a Zifu Disciple who is quite skilled in longsword techniques. Come.” Ning’s heartforce had already discovered a Zifu Disciple three thousand kilometers away who was training in quite an extraordinary flying sword technique.

……

Atop a distant mountain peak. A scarred, gray-robed woman was standing here, controlling a flying sword from afar.

Suddenly, a white-robed youth and an old, bald servant appeared next to her out of thin air.

“Eh?” The scarred woman was badly shocked, but she hurriedly said respectfully, “Respectful greetings to you, senior.”

“Use your flying sword to attack me at full force,” the white-robed youth said.

“Uh?” The scarred woman was stunned. This mysterious figure was very strange! Still, she didn’t dare to refuse, and so she immediately began to attack.

……

Time flowed on, day after day.

The Seamless Gate’s Godking continued to maintain a close watch over Ning, taking a look at him every so often. After half a month of doing so, the Godking finally ran out of patience. To him, Ji Ning wasn’t a true threat, after all, just a troublemaker. The truly dangerous figures in the Three Realms were the True Gods and Daofathers of the Nuwa Alliance, as well as the many preparations they were making in secret for the Endwar.

“Ji Ning is actually dueling some laughably weak cultivators in order to train in the sword? What a joke. Even if he gains any insights, how strong could they be?” The Godking could no longer be bothered to pay any more attention.

Day after day. Month after month. Year after year…

Ning roamed the Three Realms. Although low-level Zifu Disciples and Wanxiang Adepts were weak, different places had different battle styles. In the trillion minor worlds in particular, the differences in combat styles were particularly noticeable. In fact, there were certain sword-art techniques which caused even Ning to feel tongue-tied and speechless.

Ning sparred against countless combatants and against countless styles. He never used any of his Immortal energy, his heartforce, his swordforce, or anything else. He simply relied on his Houtian-level strength to battle against the Zifu Disciples, and on Xiantian-level strength to battle against the Wanxiang Adepts.

This caused Ning to gain quite a few more insights into the [Five Treasures] sword-art. His many clones were all focused on meditating and visualizing new techniques, extracting the essence of his insights from battle.

Nine years later.

Ning was within a beautifully scenic minor world. This minor world was in a very remote region, but occasionally Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms would pass by here, as did Ning. However, this was a place with many people; in terms of population size, it was comparable to Ning’s previous home of ‘Earth’. Here, experts were divided into several different ranks; Mortal-rank, Earth-rank, Heaven-rank, and the Legend-rank. In truth, this was essentially equivalent to the Houtian, Xiantian, Zifu, and Wanxiang levels.

The energy cultivation methods in this world were extremely coarse. Anyone who was able to reach the ‘Legend’ level was actually comparable to the Primal Daoists of the Grand Xia in terms of their insights into the Dao. In fact, some Legends had even mastered a complete Dao. It was precisely because they had such deep insights into the Dao that they were able to forcibly train their way into the Wanxiang level, despite having such terrible energy cultivation methods.

Swordforge Mountain Villa. This was viewed as a sacred place within this minor world.

The lord of the Swordforge Mountain Villa was given the exalted title of Sword Saint! He was a Legend, and the entire world only held three Legends. Sword Saint, however, was publicly acknowledged as the most powerful of the three.

“Master.”

Thirteen disciples were standing there respectfully. In front of them was a middle-aged man dressed in simple clothes who was seated in the lotus position. This middle-aged man was Sword Saint! The number one expert of the world!

These thirteen disciples were thirteen of the ‘Fifteen Celestial Swords’ of Sword Saint’s school.

“Number six, you first,” Sword Saint said.

“Yes, Master,” the sixth disciple said respectfully.

Right at this moment…

Whoosh.

A white-robed youth and an old, bald man suddenly appeared next to them. Because Sword Saint was seated facing them, he was the first to see them appear out of nowhere. His face instantly changed. “How could they have suddenly appeared here without me detecting them?”

Upon seeing the look on Sword Saint’s face, the thirteen disciples all followed his gaze. They also saw the youth and the old servant, and they too were startled. However, although they were startled, they didn’t panic. This was because everyone knew that Sword Saint was the undisputed number one expert in the world. Still, it was true that there were some people who were especially skilled in stealth.

The sixth disciple instantly barked, “This is a restricted area of the Swordforge Mountain Village. Who are you two! Report your names!”

The white-robed youth, however, just looked towards Sword Saint. “I heard that you are the strongest person in this world, and that your sword-arts are the best. Use your sword and display your strongest sword-arts.”

“Didn’t you hea-” The thirteen disciples all grew angry…but Ninefangs just glanced at them, then said softly, “Sleep.”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The thirteen disciples all collapsed, having fallen asleep.

This scene completely stunned Sword Saint. The majority of his thirteen disciples were all at the Heaven-rank, but they were all actually sent into a deep slumber in an instant? An ability like this was utterly inconceivable.

“Ugh. If this was a major world, things wouldn’t be such a pain.” Ning shook his head, then released his aura. Instantly, Sword Saint felt as though he was nothing more than an ant drowning within a sea that was vaster than the heavens themselves. In fact, he could sense that his body couldn’t even move in the presence of this boundless aura of might.

Moments later, Ning finally retracted his aura.

If he didn’t reveal a bit of his power, most likely this ‘Sword Saint’, who had long ago become accustomed to being the ‘number one in the world’, wouldn’t be able to realize what the situation was in a short period of time. If they were in a major world, the man most likely would’ve immediately begin to respectfully address Ning as ‘senior’.

“Attack,” Ning commanded.

“Senior, your power is truly tremendous. I, Woodclear, have roamed the world for a hundred years. I thought that I was the number one expert in existence, but now I see that I was nothing more than a frog in a well gazing towards the heavens.” Sword Saint looked towards Ning. “Over the course of my many years, I have developed a technique known as the Ninety-Nine Swordforged Swords. Please have a look.”

Although he knew the difference in power between them, his many years of pride at being the ‘best in the world’ compelled him to want to prove himself through his sword-arts.

A short while later.

“How can this be…”

“But…”

He was completely stunned and speechless.

“He’s able to block my sword-arts while merely using Earth-ranked strength and speed?” Sword Saint was truly dazed. He was proudest of his accomplishments in sword-arts, but compared with the youth before him…this youth used seemingly-simple stances, but no matter how hard Sword Saint tried, he simply couldn’t understand or comprehend any of them. Still, he was unconsciously inspired in many ways by this battle, and in the short period of time they sparred, he had already come up with several different sword-arts in his mind, all of which were far more powerful than the ‘Ninety-Nine Swordforged Swords’ he had spent so many years working on.”

“Although this ‘Sword Saint’ is from a minor world, he’s really quite strong. He’s mastered an ordinary Dao, and he’s even gained a basic level of insight into the Grand Dao of the Sword.”

“Of the Wanxiang Adepts I’ve dueled, this is the one with the best sword-arts thus far.”

Ning was very cautious. He continued to use Xiantian-level strength against Wanxiang Adepts, but he naturally was beginning to choose increasingly powerful Wanxiang Adepts to fight against. This was the first time that he had fought against a Wanxiang Adept who had already gained insight into a Grand Dao.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Ning’s sword-arts were like a black hole, devouring any and all attacks which Sword Saint attempted to unleash, no matter how berserk they were.

“Finally…my defensive sword-art is beginning to take embryonic form.” Ning felt joy in his heart. Over the past few years of dueling, he had gained an even deeper understanding of the sword. In fact, he began to have a vague idea of the path that he would take in the future, and the outlines of a sword-art had begun to take shape in his heart. Ning could sense that this sword-art would have a total of five different stances.

But of course, he hadn’t developed any of the five senses yet. Today, however, as he dueled against this ‘Sword Saint’, Ning finally began to gain an idea of how one of the five stances should be shaped.

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Chapter 39 – Soleheart

Chapter 39 – Soleheart

The Three Realms. The Celestial Realm. The Dao Palace in the eastern regions was extraordinarily lively on this day.

Many major powers had gathered here. Even Buddhas Tathagata and Amitabha had arrived to celebrate, along with many others.

“Congratulations, fellow Daoist.”

“Eastflower, you’ve finally made your breakthrough.”

“Congratulations!”

“Haha, Eastflower, you finally broke through. I’ve been waiting for this day since the Primordial Era.”

The Dao Palace was bustling with activity. The man of honor for this occasion was not Daoist Three Purities. Rather, it was someone who the Daoist Path had placed great expectations in…Patriarch Lu, Lu Dongbin. For some time now, Lu Dongbin had been journeying through the primordial chaos. Upon returning…everyone discovered that he had already broken through to reach the Daofather level. Thus, upon his return almost all the major powers had learned of Lu Dongbin’s breakthrough.

“Fuxi!”

“Fuxi, long time no see!”

The major powers all chatted amongst themselves in small groups. Some had come in person, while others had sent their clones or incarnations.

“Subhuti.”

“Fuxi.”

Subhuti and Fuxi ran into each other in the Dao Palace. Subhuti had come in person, while Fuxi had merely sent over a clone.

“Eastflower caused quite a stir when he returned from the primordial chaos. It seems he encountered quite the stroke of karmic luck,” Fuxi said with a laugh. “And from what I saw…it seems as though Eastflower should have mastered the fifth level of taiji-force as well. Amazing, truly amazing.”

“He wished to merge the teachings of Buddhism and Daoism together…Eastflower truly is an ambitious man.” Subhuti sighed with emotion. “However…it was precisely because his ambitions were too great that, despite possessing deep insights in both his previous life as ‘Eastflower’ and his current life as ‘Lu Dongbin’, he remained unable to make the final breakthrough. This time, thanks to a lucky encounter in the primordial chaos, he was able to make a fortuitous breakthrough, merging Buddhism and Daoism into one, with the Taiji supporting him. Upon making this breakthrough…he has now become one of the top-tier Daofathers of the Three Realms. No wonder Three Purities, Carefree, and the others all viewed him with such favor.”

Fuxi nodded as well. Everyone felt quite moved.

True Gods and Daofathers could roughly be divided into three levels of power.

The first level of power was the level which ordinary True Gods and Daofathers were at. Most True Gods and Daofathers were on this level, and unless they made a qualitative, transformative breakthrough, they would find it very difficult to improve any further.

The second level was the level often described as the ‘top-tier’ level. The Five Monarchs of the human race, Daofather Carefree, Wargod Xingtian, and other extraordinarily powerful figures were considered to be on this level.

The third level was the ‘overlord’ level. This was the level the two leaders of Buddhism and Daoism were on, along with the three mighty Human Emperors.

In truth, it was certain that the likes of Subhuti, Old Man Yuan, and Houyi were significantly more powerful than the likes of Wargod Xingtian. Most people usually viewed them as being very close to the ‘overlord’ level, but because their exact power level was a mystery, it was hard to say if they had reached the ‘overlord’ level or not.

Lu Dongbin had managed to combine his cultivation in both Buddhism and Daoism, and his taiji-force had reached the fifth level. He definitely had reached the top-tier Daofather level of power!

There had been others who had made such powerful breakthroughs in the past. Xingtian was another example, as was Houyi, whose breakthrough was even more ridiculous. Youdu was another example. As an Empyrean God, he had trained in the [Twelve Heavens Fiendgod] and reached the second level, and so he had twelve clones that were all equal in strength to his true body. After he broke through to become a True God, he had combined his twelve bodies and also become a top-tier Daofather.

But of course, what the Nuwa Alliance had, the Seamless Alliance also had.

“That disciple of yours has formidable heartforce,” Fuxi said. “If he can break through to the fifth stage of heartforce, he’ll instantly have the power of a top-tier Daofather as well.”

“It’s not that easy. Eastflower only succeeded because he’s been building up a foundation for countless years. Honestly, if it wasn’t because he was simultaneously training in so many things at once, he probably would’ve become a Daofather long ago. Eastflower is simply too ambitious, which is why it took him this long to make his breakthrough.” Subhuti shook his head. “As for Ji Ning, he hasn’t trained for long enough. It’s far too difficult for anyone to reach the fifth stage of heartforce. To be honest, I’ve always felt that his talent lay more in the sword than in anything else. To this very day, I feel that way. Compared to the Dao of the Sword, heartforce is too ephemeral and formless a path.”

Fuxi nodded in agreement. “How’s he doing in his Dao of the Sword?”

“He’s still building up his experiences,” Subhuti said.

“Oh, right. Here’s the formation I promised Ji Ning.” Fuxi waved his hand, producing a bamboo scroll. “I brought it along with me to give to you.”

……

The Seamless Gate was naturally aware of Lu Dongbin’s breakthrough. All they could do, however, was gnash their teeth in silence.

The Nuwa Alliance had gained yet another powerful ally! In truth, they had wanted to get rid of Lu Dongbin long ago, but he was the True Immortal which the Daoist Path cared about the most. Everyone knew that given Lu Dongbin’s cultivation path, he would become incredible as soon as he made that final breakthrough, and so the Daoist Path had treated them as a precious treasure. In addition, Lu Dongbin hadn’t been as suicidal as Ning, and so the Seamless Gate had never had the chance to do anything to him.

“For him to make his breakthrough just as the storm arrives…Lu Dongbin is going to be a threat. Still…in the end, victory will be decided in the Endwar.” The Godking was absolutely furious, but on the whole was still calm and level-headed about it.

In this war between the two alliances, the addition of a single top-tier Daofather was something they could still handle. If, however, an overlord-level Daofather was to appear within the Daoist Path…he really would go crazy with shock and rage.

As for Ji Ning?

The Godking had all but forgotten about Ji Ning by now. Based on Ji Ning’s current actions, it seemed as though Ning was completely focused on training in swordplay and was no longer going to ambush the Seamless Gate. “Ji Ning has finally wised up.”

……

The news that a new Daofather had been born was mainly circulated amongst the major powers themselves. Very, very few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals knew of this matter. Because Ning was completely focused on his training with the sword, Subhuti didn’t tell him about this matter. In fact, he wasn’t even in a rush to give Fuxi’s formation to Ning. “It’ll be easy for him to learn this formation. This disciple of mine is currently wandering the Three Realms, training in the sword like a madman. It’s best if I don’t bother him for now. After he’s completed his training, I’ll give it to him.”

Subhuti’s judgment was quite accurate.

Ning had indeed entered a berserk state. When he had mastered the Dao of the Sword, he had just reached the first stage of swordforce. Upon reaching the second stage of swordforce, a new world had opened up before his eyes. And so, Ning wandered the Three Realms, constantly training and competing against others in swordplay. He began to gain an increasingly clear picture of the path he had to take. As for all the insights he gained, he merged all of them into those five stances he had visualized.

As Ning saw it…

“The essence of all sword-stances in the world, including those of the [Five Treasures], can be merged into these five stances.”

“This sword-art that I, Ji Ning, will create…let it be called the [Brightmoon] sword-art. In the many years to come, I will spend much of my time constantly improving and perfecting these five stances.”

This was what Ning’s idea, for these five sword-stances to encompass all the mysteries of swordplay which the Three Realms contained.

In truth, sword-arts were quite simple when broken down. The most fundamental sword-stances were to chop, pierce, scrape, sweep, break, tap, cleave, support, intercept, twist, lift, draw, and sheath. Although they were seemingly simple…like the Dao itself, these simple concepts gave birth to countless different things, and were capable of transforming into infinitely powerful sword-arts.

Based on his own experiences, Ning had come up with five all-encompassing stances. Strictly speaking, these five stances represented five different types of sword-intent; what mattered the most was the intent, not the actual technique.

The fifteenth year of Ning’s training with the sword.

“Careful!” A Primal-level Fiendgod roared as he charged towards Ning.

Ning was using Zifu-level strength to fight back with a sword in each hand. When his sword struck out, it was like a black hole had been created, draining and weakening his opponent’s massive strength. No matter how fast the opponent attacked, he remained unable to escape.

Bang!

In fact, the Fiendgod’s own power was beginning to work against him. He couldn’t help but stagger back by two steps.

“The five stances of the bright moon…I didn’t expect that the first one to take form would be this one. I shall call it ‘Soleheart’.” Ning nodded slowly.

The [Brightmoon] sword-art.

He had named it after his daughter. His decision to do so reflected the fact that to Ning, she was that which he had to protect above all others!

The ‘Soleheart stance’ of the five stances of the bright moon was a sword-art that was meant for defending in a one-on-one battle. It represented the most profound insights Ning had gained in defensive sword-arts. When his sword struck out, it was as though a black hole had formed that would absorb and trap the enemy’s strength. But of course, this sword-art was still very crude and unfinished…but it was still the most powerful sword-art which Ning currently possessed.

In this moment…

Ning silently and soundlessly reached the third stage of swordforce. However, Ning actually didn’t care too much about that. The only thing in his heart right now was his [Brightmoon] sword-art. This sword-art represented the crystallization of all his blood, sweat, and effort. This would be the true foundation of his sword-arts in the future.

Only after creating all five sword-stances would Ning rest.

“Eh? I’ve finally subdued that True Immortal Winterpeak.” Ning suddenly cracked a smile.

……

Within an ice-locked stone stele that was located deep within a gorge of an icy star that was within the infinite primordial chaos.

Prisonworld 17.

Eight lotus petals were high in the sky, facing the ground as they continued to unleash eight streams of truefire. The streams of truefire completely filled the ground beneath the lotus petals, blazing away at a bowl-shaped treasure.

A white-robed youth was located outside the restrictive formation, eyes closed as he continued to meditate on his sword-arts. Every so often, he would add in a little bit more energy to keep the treasure active.

Although his opponent was ‘only’ a Pure Yang True Immortal, this sort of top-tier True Immortal was comparable to the Daofathers of the Three Realms! Once he hide himself under the bowl-shaped magic treasure and began to fill it with his energy to defend against the eight blazing streams of truefire…he had been able to hold on for fifteen full years.

“I-I…admit defeat.” The embarrassed, enraged, and resentful voice of True Immortal Winterpeak finally rang out from underneath the bowl-shaped treasure. His energy and his pills had all been used up. He would at most be able to endure for another three days.

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Chapter 40 – Raking It In

Chapter 40 – Raking It In

Ji Ning waved his hand, and the eight downward-facing petals instantly withdrew their streams of truefire. The eight petals then shrank in size and flew back into Ning’s hands.

“Heh, as the saying goes, it looks like you ‘wouldn’t shed tears until you saw your coffin’. You knew that you were eventually going to die if you fought against me, but you still just had to fight against me until now.” Still, Ning had to sigh at how strong his foe was. Ning had eight types of truefire to rely on, while the enemy had to actively control a magic treasure to defend; this True Immortal was using up far more energy than him, but thanks to his Daofather-equivalent level of power, he had been able to survive for fifteen years!

From this, one could see how vast a gulf in power there lay between Ning and a Daofather. If it wasn’t for the fact that this person was imprisoned, there was no way Ning could’ve forced him to bow his head.

Whoosh. The bowl-shaped magic treasure disappeared, and True Immortal Winterpeak reappeared. A hint of anger and humiliation was in his eyes as he stared at Ning. “I admit defeat. I…I’m willing…to serve…”

Anger.

Humiliation.

All sorts of complicated emotions filled his mind. For him to prostrate himself before Ji Ning was like having Ji Ning prostrate himself before a Celestial Immortal! Experts had their own pride and arrogance. Fortunately, he had been imprisoned here for many chaos cycles, which had whittled it away a bit; otherwise, he would probably would’ve chosen to die rather than to bow his head. Even the current-him had spent fifteen years resisting before submitting after realizing that he had already reached the end of the line.

“There’s no need to feel so upset,” Ning said. “I’m unable to allow you to leave your prison cell, and so you’ll continue to live here as before.”

Winterpeak knew that Ning was trying to ‘console’ him and make him more pliable and less resistant. He said calmly, “What do you wish for me to do? Do you want magic treasures? Or to ask me certain questions? I can give you any treasures you desire; imprisoned here, they are of no use to me anyways.”

“I need you to not resist me whatsoever. Open up your soul to me. Let me see your memories,” Ning said.

“You…” Winterpeak’s face completely changed. “Overseer, don’t go too far.”

“It’s a mere memory search,” Ning said.

Winterpeak ground his teeth as he stared at Ning. “Impossible! I can give you all of my magic treasures, but a soulscouring…impossible!”

To completely open up his soul meant that this person would know everything about him. He wouldn’t be able to fight back against a Chaos Immortal or World God who wished to do this to him, but this person was far weaker than he was. To completely expose himself in such a manner to a weakling? An expert like Winterpeak truly couldn’t accept it.

“To you, I’m nothing more than an outsider,” Ning said. “Those private memories of yours are useless to me.”

Winterpeak shut his eyes. Memories and scenes began to flash through his mind.

“Junior apprentice-brother.”

“Grandfather.”

“Disciple.”

He would never be able to forget these people. These were the most important people in his life.

Perhaps the Pangaea chaos-kingdom had truly been destroyed, but even so, perhaps some of the important people in his life were still alive. He wanted to go see them, go search for them.

“Fine.” Winterpeak opened his eyes. He looked coldly at Ning. “I accept…but I imagine you wouldn’t dare to come inside and soulscour me.”

“Haha…” Ning chuckled, then immediately stretched out his arm.

Whoosh! His arm instantly expanded to become hundreds of kilometers long, stretching out to land on Winterpeak’s head.

“Coward,” Winterpeak sneered. “Even after training in the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], you are still so cowardly.”

“If a prisoner like you was to suddenly wipe out one of my clones in a desperation attack…that really wouldn’t be worth it for me.” Ning stood there outside the formation, but his incredibly long arm had reached Winterpeak.

Even if his foe wanted to suddenly counter-attack, Ning could instantly and voluntarily separate that arm. The severing of an arm would only result in the loss of some divine power, and in fact some of the divine power from the arm would make it back to him.

“Come, then.” Winterpeak shut his eyes, still seated in the lotus position.

Ning’s hand was pressed against the top of Winterpeak’s head. He began to invade the man’s soul…and Winterpeak didn’t fight back at all.

Instantly, magnificent scenes of an expert’s rise to power began to appear before Ning. As a top-tier True Immortal, Winterpeak’s life experiences had been far more exciting than those of the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, and his status had been much higher as well.

A full day and a night passed before Ning withdrew his hand. He closed his eyes in thought.

“It seems…there really is no hope of gaining a top-tier Jindan.” Ning sighed to himself.

Although he had expected this, after searching through Winterpeak’s memories Ning became certain of it. To form a first-class Jindan, one of the prerequisites was that a Chaos Immortal had to be by your side, assisting you. In addition, in Pangaea the technique of forming a first-class Jindan was only known to the three World-level experts! Not even Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals were qualified to learn this technique.

Second-class Jindans…there were quite a few who knew the technique for this, including True Gods and True Immortals. Winterpeak, however, was not one of them.

This made sense. The Jindan-creation techniques were only needed by mortals who wanted to train to become Celestial Immortals! Ji Ning, for example, had long ago become a Pure Yang True Immortal; these techniques really were of no use to him. The reason why Ning had searched for more information about them was so that he would be able to transmit them to Brightmoon and the others, assuming they all survived this great storm.

“And there truly are very few ways of upgrading a True Immortal’s Jindan.” Ning shook his head. A Jindan upgrade method was what Ning truly want. However…

In truth, these upgrade methods were also fairly valuable as well. This was because there were some Immortals in backwater regions who were incredibly talented, but who had already become Celestial Immortals or True Immortals using inferior methods. The various powers in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom would often recruit them, then work with them to upgrade their Jindans. Still, since even the best techniques only allowed them to upgrade the Jindans to the second tier, they weren’t THAT valuable.

Almost all the True Gods and True Immortals imprisoned here possessed the most elite level of power at their rank. They had incredibly high statuses, and so there was a chance that some of them knew these techniques. The chances that an Elder God or an Ancestral Immortal knew these techniques were even higher, but alas there was nothing Ning could do to any of them.

“Let’s take it slow. If I can’t find it from one True Immortal, I’ll go find a second True God or True Immortal. Ten…a hundred…I’ll just keep searching. Eventually, I’ll definitely succeed.” Ning then looked towards Winterpeak.

“Did you find what you wanted?” Winterpeak looked at Ning.

“Give me your ‘Flashing Skystars’,” Ning said.

Winterpeak ground his teeth. “You’ve already soulscoured me. Now, you want my Protocosmic spirit-treasure?”

“Hand it over,” Ning said.

“Hmph.” Winterpeak truly didn’t want to give it up, but he waved his hand. Instantly, a large amount of eight-cornered, deep-blue stars appeared in midair. There were a total of ninety-nine of them, and each of them seemed to contain the vast skies within them. This was the most important treasure which Winterpeak possessed, a Protocosmic spirit-treasure set.

“Take it.” Winterpeak dispersed his soul imprint on the treasure set, then tossed it towards Ning.

Ning’s hand expanded to become three hundred meters in size as he caught the various treasures.

“Here is a bottle of Immortal pills and a message talisman. The pills should be enough for you to stay alive for a period of time. If there’s anything urgent, you can shatter the talisman to summon me.” Ning waved his hand, tossing our these two items. Winterpeak immediately accepted them. He had completely used up his spirit-pills; this was exactly what he needed right now.

“Hmph.” Winterpeak gave the items a look, then snorted.

Ning knew that this person was feeling rather frustrated after having been soulscoured, then forced to hand over his most powerful treasure. Thus, Ning didn’t quibble about his attitude, instead transforming into a streak of light and departing.

“Judging from True Immortal Winterpeak’s memories, hierarchical stratification is extremely strict in Pangaea.” Ning flew forward atop a cloud, thinking to himself. “True Gods and True Immortals all generally use Protocosmic spirit-treasures, but only first-class True Immortals like Winterpeak are allowed to use entire sets of Protocosmic treasures, such as these ninety-nine stars.”

“Most importantly of all, Pangaea actually has methods of producing even higher-class treasures.” Ning sighed in amazement.

In truth, it was actually quite simple to upgrade the power of a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. The method was to add more seals into the treasure itself!

His own Goldstar Beads of the Heavens, for example, had the nine chaos seals infused into them. This was a method strengthening spirit-treasures…but of course, you had to be capable of binding and infusing the necessary seals! Or, for another example, Daoist Three Purities had devised his Immortal Slaying Swords’ sword-diagrams using a total of seven seals. The more profound the seals were, the more powerful they would be.

This set of ‘Flashing Skystars’ also contained seals within them, and their power was extraordinary.

“However…this set of treasures isn’t a good fit for me,” Ning murmured softly to himself. “Still, the more treasures my side has, the stronger my side will become. I have to take away all the Protocosmic spirit-treasures these True Gods and True Immortals have.”

In the Three Realms, only some of the major powers had access to Chaos treasures…and the majority of them weren’t meant for combat! Thus, the absolute vast majority of major powers still used Protocosmic spirit-treasures in battle. Treasures like the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens were actually rather useless to most major powers. For Ning, of course, the beads were quite suitable, thanks to his powerful heartforce. To the others, however, treasures like the Flashing Skystars were more valuable, and the seals they contained inside them would delight quite a few major powers.

“I can trade this to the Emperors of Mankind for other treasures,” Ning mused. “Once I acquire a few more treasures, I’ll go and do a trade.”

The Emperors of Mankind, the Daoist Path, and the Buddhist Sangha all had vast treasuries. If he went with treasures of his own, he could trade the ones he didn’t need for ones which he could. But of course, the value had to be equivalent.

Now that the storm had descended, all of the various headquarters of the Nuwa Alliance had placed the various items they didn’t need within those treasuries, including many precious materials, Chaos ingredients, Immortal pills, and other things. That way, members of their alliance could trade for what they needed, making the alliance as a whole grow more powerful!

“I succeeded against a True Immortal. Now…let me see if I can deal with a True God.” Ning’s cloud flew straight towards a large mountain.

Atop the mountain, there was an emaciated, green-haired man seated in the lotus position. As soon as Ning landed, the man opened his eyes.

“What a True God!” Ning felt a bit breathless. The True Gods of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom were comparable to the True Gods of the Three Realms.

“Overseer?” The green-haired man’s eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s as he carefully scrutinized Ning. “What happened to Pangaea? Why have they sent you?”

“The chaos-kingdom of Pangaea has already been destroyed.” Ning stood there atop the mountain as he spoke. “I am now in control of the entire prisonworld. You have two choices before you. The first is to resist me. The second is to submit to me. Just now, True Immortal Winterpeak submitted to me, and I have already acquired his Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the ‘Flashing Skystars’.”

Ning revealed the ninety-nine deep-blue eight-sided stars that were hovering above his hands.

The green-haired man narrowed his eyes. “Winterpeak, that useless piece of…he actually submitted to you?”

“Will you?” Ning looked at him calmly.

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Chapter 41 – Initial Successes in the Sword

Chapter 41 – Initial Successes in the Sword

The green-haired man let out a snort, then shut his eyes. He just sat there at the mountain top, not moving at all, as though he couldn’t even be bothered to pay any attention to Ji Ning.

“If that’s the case…I have no choice but to attack.” Ning shook his head, then waved his hand. A streak of sword-light instantly slashed across the skies, leaving behind an enduring scar in the heavens. This sword-strike looked simple, but Ning had filled it with his fourth-stage heartforce.

It instantly traversed hundreds of kilometers and stabbed directly against the green-haired man.

Clang!

It was as though it had stabbed into a magic treasure. A ringing sound could be heard, but the green-haired man didn’t even budge. He opened his eyes, glancing sideways at Ning, then smirked. “Is that all you have? I can just sit here, and you won’t be able to harm me at all. Hurry up and beat it.”

“Oh?” Ning shook his head and laughed. “Although the power of that sword-attack wasn’t great, if you didn’t resist its power at all, you would’ve been knocked flying. Don’t tell me you didn’t use up any of your divine power at all in order to ensure that you were able to sit there without budging an inch.”

He knew exactly how powerful his sword-attack had been. A minor world like Earth probably would’ve been smashed into dust by it! Even if his enemy’s body was as tough and unbreakable as a magic treasure, once a blow of such power landed it should’ve been knocked flying, just as a magic treasure would have been.

“Hmph. I have the body of a True God. You can’t possibly damage it at all,” the green-haired man said calmly. “I simply care about my image and my face. If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t use up any divine power at all, no matter how you strike me.”

“None? What a joke! Any expert, no matter how formidable, has to use up divine power or Immortal energy to stay alive.” Ning smirked. “Ki Refiners use up their ki energy, while you need to use up your divine power. Why are you so emaciated? Isn’t it precisely because you are trying to converse your divine power? Even if I don’t act against you…in a few chaos cycles, your divine power will be used up and you’ll still die.”

The green-haired man’s face turned ugly.

All living creatures had to use up energy to stay alive! The reason why Gods and Immortals could stay alive was because they were able to absorb the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. If, for example, they were trapped in primordial chaos without being able to draw upon either the energy of chaos or natural energy, they would die after their Immortal pills were all used up!

“If you want to stay alive, you have to continue to use up your divine power. Every attack I launch against you will speed that process up. Let’s see how long you can hang on for.” Ning stretched out his right hand. A lotus flower appeared within it, and then the eight petals of the flower quickly flew into the air above the mountain peak. They transformed to become three thousand meters in size, then began to swivel facing the ground. The petals bloomed open, releasing streaks of flame that roared downwards like divine dragons, completely covering the area where the green-haired man was.

The eight streams of truefire blazed around the green-haired man, but he was able to easily resist their power.

“Stop wasting your time and effort,” the green-haired man growled. “These flames can’t hurt me.”

“No rush. I have plenty of time.” Ning responded coldly, “Your divine power will be consumed quite quickly by my Eight Fires Qiankun World.”

The green-haired man had an ugly look on his face. His divine body was comparable to a Pure Yang artifact; in hardness, it was comparable to Ning’s own body, after he had mastered the complete [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Although this True God had access to an even better protective ability, that divine ability required even greater resources, and so he hadn’t been able to master it yet. Thus, his body was like a magic treasure, but even untouched magic treasures would eventually decay and break apart after the passage of multiple chaos cycles. This was why many of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals here had damaged-looking clothes. They only needed to use up a little bit of energy to repair them, but they weren’t willing to do so.

Nothing could truly exist perpetually. Even chaosworlds would eventually decay and perish.

When Ning battled, he allowed people to strike his body with impunity, and it could be described as ‘not using up divine power’. But in truth, everything used up energy and power. Even speaking used up power! However, the amount of power consumed was very tiny. At Ning’s level, the enormous amount of energy he could draw from the natural world with a single breath was more than enough to render irrelevant the amount which he had lost!

“Shit. Shit!” The green-haired man’s face was ugly. He had been imprisoned here for a long time. He had slowed down the rate at which he used up his divine power, allowing him to stay alive for a long period of time. However, the Eight Fires Qiankun World was capable of burning Empyrean Gods to death. Although True Gods wouldn’t die, the amount of divine power they would be forced to consume to defend against it was very significant! By comparison, he was now using using up his divine power at an explosively greater speed than before.

If he was in the outside world, he would be able to replenish his lost energy tenfold with but a single breath. But alas…here, there was no source of energy at all.

“Submit to me and you’ll have a chance to leave this place in the future,” Ning said calmly. “Continue to resist…hmph. Your only exit will be death.”

“Damn. This treasure with fire inside it…” The green-haired man was both frustrated and nervous. “This Overseer can rely on these eight types of fire to attack me while using up very little energy, and he can go to the outside world whenever he needs to in order to replenish his power. I, however, am stuck here. Who the hell came up with this treasure, anyhow? These eight types of fire are clearly quite weak, but when they are combined they actually become as powerful as this.”

Seeing that the green-haired man wasn’t responding to him, Ning fell silent as well.

This was yet another who ‘wouldn’t shed tears until he saw his coffin’!

……

“Hurry up and submit!”

Yet another clone of Ji Ning, in another part of the prisonworld, was standing in midair, surrounded by a bottle, a gourd, a bracelet, and three other types of magic treasures. These six magic treasures were releasing truefire, godwind, truewater, and other types of attacks. The world was filled with fire and water, and a dark wind howled forth. All of the attacks were aimed at a female True Immortal who was hiding behind the protection of a magic treasure.

“True Immortal Winterpeak has already surrendered. If you continue to waste my time like this…don’t blame me for being merciless!” Ning barked.

The woman just gave Ning a cold glare.

As for Ning, he could only sigh to himself. He had two clones here; one was controlling the Eight Fires Qiankun World, while the other was carrying many other types of magic treasures. Clearly, the second clone’s treasures couldn’t compare to the Eight Fires Qiankun World, which was indeed a perfect treasure to use against these prisoners. It primarily relied on the truefire it contained, after all; there was very little need for Ning to use his own energy.

This process of sweeping through the people in the prisonworld was guaranteed to be a slow one. These True Gods and True Immortals were all comparable to the Daofathers of the Three Realms. Ning would have to use up an enormous amount of effort to deal with each and every one of them.

Still, dealing with these prisoners didn’t use up too much of his mental energy, and so his clones were all mainly focused on meditating on sword-arts.

……

The thirty-second year of Ning roaming the Three Realms.

“Be careful, senior!” A Primal-level Fiendgod was wielding two massive warhammers in his hands. He bound through a forested region as he charged towards Ning, the trees around him all blasted apart and knocked down by his might. In fact, some were immediately reduced into dust!

The white-robed youth, Ji Ning, held two swords in his hand, and he moved at the speed of a Zifu-level Fiendgod. His sword-light was like a black hole, drawing a warhammer aside. And then, with another flash, the sword-light stabbed towards the Fiendgod.

Clang! A warhammer was able to block in time.

“That was close!” The Fiendgod was badly terrified. “This senior clearly isn’t using much power, and his blows seem weak. But that sword just now…why was it so bizarrely fast? I was almost unable to block in time.”

Ning, however, frowned. He then continued to battle against the Fiendgod.

Every so often, he’d launch that stab once more.

Ning’s stabbing attack had far, far exceeded the mysteries that were contained in an ordinary mastery of the Dao of the Sword. This was a sword-art that contained some of the mysteries of the [Five Treasures] sword-art, which itself had exceeded the Heavenly Daos. Even when using Zifu-level strength, the power of the stab was enough to cause the Primal-level Fiendgod to feel uneasy and nervous.

SLASH!

Finally, a terrifyingly fast sword managed to lash out with enough speed that it stabbed straight through the forehead of the Fiendgod.

The terrifyingly fast speed brought a shocking penetrative power with it as well.

“Right. That’s the feeling!” Ning revealed a hint of a smile.

“Senior!” The Primal-level Fiendgod was completely stupefied. “This junior admits to being vastly inferior. Senior, your sword-arts are simply inconceivable. This junior has never even heard of such powerful sword-arts before.”

“Continue,” Ning instructed.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Poor Fiendgod. He was repeatedly lacerated and stabbed over and over!

“This sword-stance…of the five stances, it looks the simplest, but it is the fastest and most direct sword-stance. It is the second stance to take form.” Ning nodded. “This sword-stance…let me be known as ‘Blood Drop’.”

The Blood Drop stance…the fastest, most savage, most penetrating sword-stance of the five.

……

The thirty-sixth year of Ning training in the sword. Within a minor world.

“Go! Go! Go!” A violet-robed maiden was controlling a pair of azure and violet flying swords from afar, sending them streaking towards Ning as streaks of light.

Boom! Boom!

Ning had two swords in each hand. These two swords were both shockingly heavy. When Ning wielded it, he felt as though he was striking out with a hammer or a mace. When his two swords collided against the flying swords, two deep booming sounds could be heard as he smashed the flying swords back, knocking them far away.

“How can this be?! This senior clearly isn’t that strong; his power is merely at the Zifu-level. I’m a Primal Daoist. How could he have smashed back my flying swords with raw force?” The violet-robed maiden was completely stunned.

“This third sword has finally taken form as well.” Ning revealed a smile. “This sword-stance shall be the ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance of my five stances.”

All magic treasures could change in weight. Even the most ordinary of Mortal-ranked or Earth-ranked treasures could, through the usage of certain seals, transform to weight ten thousand kilograms or become as light as a feather. As for Protocosmic spirit-treasures like the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens…they could be as heavy as a small star or as light as a bubble.

Of course, not even Ji Ning would be able to control the 3600 beads if he made all of them weigh as much as a small star. Thus, a weight that was a good fit would be the ‘best’ weight.

The Heavenbreaker stance involved changing the sword to make it heavier, then using that weight to strike! If a sword was ridiculously heavy, it would become very slow…but if a sword was too light, there would be limits on how fast it could be. To reach the fastest speed possible, one had to find the perfect weight for a particular cultivator, based on his or her actual strength.

The Heavenbreaker stance was very fast, but it also contained tremendous force. It was capable of splitting apart Heaven and Earth.

……

The forty-third year of Ning training in the sword.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless divine needles, more than ten thousand in total, had completely surrounded Ning.

Ning was holding those two twin swords in his hands.

Two streaks of sword-light lit up. Instantly, two vortexes of water that were spinning in completely opposite directions appeared in midair. When the ten thousand-plus needles struck, they were completely blocked by these two curtains of water that were spinning in opposite directions.

“This stance shall be called Yin-Yang.” Ning nodded.

Yin-Yang stance…a defensive sword-stance to be used when faced with countless simultaneously attacks.

…….

The fifty-first year of Ning training in the sword.

“…What’s up with this senior? His strength and speed are both quite low, merely at the Zifu-level, but he’s able to simultaneously fight with us thirteen brothers at the same time.”

“He really is odd.”

“But he’s quite formidable. In close combat or in ranged combat, we are completely unable to harm him.”

Thirteen Primal Diremonsters had joined forces against Ning, each of them Fiendgod Body Refiners.

Ning still held those two swords in his hands.

Occasionally, the swords would transform into black holes; at other times, they would transform into vortexes of water that surrounded him. All attacks were blocked, and at the same time he continued to battle against the three Primal-level Diremonsters closest to him.

This attack went on for a full day and two full nights.

“Still not quite there yet.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Ning could sense that he was close to the critical component, and so he hadn’t stopped.

Suddenly…

Three strange sword-flashes suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

All three of the nearby Diremonsters had their heads severed apart. Although those heads quickly flew back and reconnected to their bodies, the thirteen Diremonsters were completely stunned. They had surrounded and attacked this man, but he was still able to sever the heads of three of them, all Primal-level Diremonsters?

“Mmm. Finally. That’s more like it.” Ning grinned. “This sword-stance…let it be known as Shadowless.”

Shadowless stance…the strangest stance, and a very fast one. Its speed was second only to the Blood Drop stance, and it completely surpassed the speed of the other three. The Blood Drop stance, by comparison, was honorable and open, whereas this Shadowless stance was strange and unpredictable.

……

A wooden boat was drifting about within a river.

Ning was seated within the boat, meditating. His old bald servant, Empyrean God Ninefangs, was quietly standing guard next to him.

“I’ve been training for fifty-one years with the sword. I used the [Five Treasures] as the foundation, coming up with five stances of my own, based on my insights into the Dao of the Sword. Finally, these five stances have all taken form.” Ning felt a joyful feeling in his heart. Years ago, a vast, broad world of the sword had opened up before him. Only today had he finally managed to truly separate that world into five major parts.

All sword-arts could be divided up as belonging to one of his five stances.

The [Five Treasures] sword-art had been infused by Ning into these five stances as well. As a result, all five of these sword-stances were incredibly fast!

“The five sword-stances of the [Brightmoon] sword-art…Soleheart, Yin-Yang, Blood Drop, Heavenbreaker, Shadowless.” Ning had a feeling that any of the five sword-stances, when trained to the utmost limit, would far surpass all other types of sword-art that existed in the Three Realms.

But of course, that would only happen if he was able to continuously improve upon them and perfect them. They were nothing more than rough outlines, right now.

“Disciple.” A spatial vortex suddenly appeared within the wooden boat, with Patriarch Subhuti emerging from within it.

Ning hurriedly rose to his feet. “Master.”

“Patriarch.” Empyrean God Ninefangs was shocked as well, and he immediately bowed with respect.

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Chapter 42 – The Humanworld of Yu the Great

Chapter 42 – The Humanworld of Yu the Great

“You succeeded?” Subhuti sat down in the lotus position, facing Ji Ning. “Sit.”

Ning sat down in the lotus position as well. Nodding, he said, “Still, it’s just an outline for now.”

“What’s the name of this sword-art?” Subhuti asked.

“The [Brightmoon] sword-art,” Ning replied.

Subhuti nodded. “The sword-art you created isn’t bad. It has a certain quality about it, as though a school can be founded around it. Although its still quite new and young, its future potential is limitless. Haha…the method you used to come up with this sword-art was quite amusing. You actually suppressed your own power to go spar against Zifu Disciples, Wanxiang Adepts, and Primal Daoists…and you actually succeeded in developing a set of sword-arts. Before you, all we would ever see was major powers of the Three Realms occasionally providing some guidance to young cultivators through sparring. There has never been anyone who actually sparred against them in earnest and thus developed a peerless sword-art.”

“I’m a bit embarrassed,” Ning said.

“I thought about it carefully, actually. Weak cultivators do indeed have slow, weak swords. When you suppressed yourself to make yourself even weaker to spar with them, you were forced to constantly ponder ways to improve your sword-arts, given the disparity in strength and speed.” Subhuti nodded. “However…in the end, you won’t be able to accomplish great things solely by sparring against weaklings. Your future opponents won’t be as weak as them.”

Ning said, “Your disciple understands. I only competed against them for the sake of creating a rough outline for my sword-arts.”

When two experts competed, it was easier for both sides to see what their strengths and weaknesses were. Ning had discarded swordforce, heartforce, Immortal energy, and all other sources of power in his quest to find a sword-art that belonged to him. Now that the rough outlines of the sword-art had taken shape, in the future he would compete against true experts. That would be how he would perfect his sword-arts.

“Haha, I have to say, you were quite patient.” Subhuti nodded. “Mm. It’s good that you understand this principle. Now, I’ve come here today because of Fuxi.”

Ning instantly felt a surge of joy. Fuxi? When he had offered up those seven mighty techniques, Fuxi had promised to create a special formation just for him. However, he had said that it would be done within ten years.

“You’ve been meditating on the sword all this time, and so I didn’t wish to disturb you.” Subhuti pulled out a bamboo scroll. “This was created just for you. It’s a formation that is very suited to you. Study it carefully.”

“Yes.” Ning reverently accepted the scroll, then sent his coresense into it. All the information regarding the formation was rapidly transmitted into his mind.

This was a formation that was far more complicated and profound than the Heaven Punisher Formation. It was based on some of the mysteries behind the divine body of the deceased alien invader, Rahu. When executed, the formation would allow for the creation of a Rahu-body! And so, this formation was known as the Rahu Formation.

The Rahu Formation had a total of three levels.

The first level allowed one to command 6000 Celestial Immortals and 360,000 Loose Immortals. This level alone was already comparable to the perfect Heaven Punisher; the wielder would have just barely reached the Daofather level.

The second level allowed one to command 30,000 Celestial Immortals and 2.1 million Loose Immortals. At this level, the Rahu’s strength and divine body would be comparable to that of an actual True God or Daofather.

The third level allowed one to command 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals. At this level, the Rahu would actually be a bit stronger than most True Gods and Daofathers. But of course, Ning himself had a lower level of insight into the Dao than True Gods and Daofathers had. Thus, if Ning was in command, the strengths of the formation would counteract Ning’s weaknesses in the Dao…and in turn, that meant that Ning would be able to battle against actual True Gods and Daofathers without being at any disadvantage.

But of course, that was only if he could command and control the power of 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals!

This was incredibly difficult, a hundred times more difficult than controlling the perfect Heaven Punisher! Even amongst True Gods and Daofathers, there weren’t many who could succeed.

“So many Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals…” Ning was rather dazed. “I-I…how am I supposed to command so many?”

“Take it slow,” Subhuti advised. “Oh, right. At present, you don’t even have that many Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals under your command.”

Ning nodded.

“As Fuxi developed this formation for you, he also arranged for an Immortal army to be placed under your command,” Subhuti said. “You can head to the Humanworld of Yu the Great and go speak with Daofather Hasbear. Fuxi has already notified Daofather Hasbear; if you go see him, you will be given an Immortal army of 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals.”

“Aaaaa?!” Ning was shocked and delighted. Fuxi’s gifts truly were extraordinary…but it made sense. Even Daofather Crimsonbright had nearly 1 million Celestial Immortals and countless Loose Immortals under his command, and he was considered one of the weaker Daofathers. The likes of the Five Monarchs had far, far more soldiers under their command.

As for the Humanworld of Yu the Great…that was the central headquarters of the Primordial Imperial Clan! Yu the Great was also known as Xia Yu; he was the founder and ancestor of the Xia clan, also known as the imperial clan of the human race! His world was thus the place where the Primordial Imperial Clan was based in. This world, the Humanworld of Yu the Great, was essentially an enormous military base for the Primordial Imperial Clan, and so it possessed tremendous power.

To the Primordial Imperial Clan, Fuxi giving Ning an army of this size was like him giving away a single strand of hair from a yoke of nine oxen!

“Right…you still wish to act against the Seamless Gate, yes?” Subhuti looked at Ning. “Why haven’t you done anything for so long?”

“After I ambushed them last time, the Seamless Gate became incredibly careful. While I was roaming the Three Realms, they kept a continuous watch on me through coresense. Even if I did try to ambush them again, it would be hard for me to succeed,” Ning said.

Of course Ning wanted to attack them again! In truth, he felt very impatient…but he knew that being impatient would do him no good. If he made a single misstep, he would pay a calamitous price.

“Mm.” Subhuti nodded. “It seems you are still cool-headed. Good. Take it slow. To force the Seamless Gate to bow its head before you won’t be an easy task. Work hard on your sword-arts, especially the [Five Treasures] sword-art. If you can completely master the entire [Five Treasures], then you’ll be able to receive Fuju’s legacy. Fuju was always a secretive, mysterious man. I have no idea what he left behind. Both our side and the Seamless Gate has tried to find out, but we weren’t able to reach it at all. It seems that the only method really is for a Fiendgod Body Refiner to master the [Five Treasures] sword-art.”

Ning nodded. He, too, was curious as to what Daofather Fuju had left behind. Daofather Fuju’s death made no sense, after all…and it was as though he had actually arranged for everything to be taken care of perfectly.

A while later, Subhuti left. As for Ning, he first had Empyrean God Ninefangs return to the Starseizer world, then travelled by himself to the main headquarters of the Primordial Imperial Clan…the Humanworld of Yu the Great.

Whoosh. Seated upon his Voidboat, Ning traversed through the void, heading towards the Humanworld.

By now, Ning wouldn’t even be able to teleport if it wasn’t for the Voidboat. This was because he had already completely forgotten everything he had learned regarding the Grand Dao of Qiankun, due to the effects of training in the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

“What an imposing aura it has.” Standing atop his Voidboat, Ning stared at the distant, vast world.

As far as the eye could see, there were interconnected cities that were spread out throughout the world. Some of the cities were even levitating in midair! All of the cities were drawing in enormous amounts of natural energy, so much so that one could see with the naked eye a vortex of energy swirling around each city. Clearly, the number of Immortals within those cities was simply massive, resulting in a storm of energy that testified as to the stupendous level of consumption of natural enegy here.

“After the Primordial Era ended, the Primordial Imperial Clan moved to this place. Now that the storm has arrived, this has become an enormous military camp.” Ning sighed with emotion.

“So it’s fellow Daoist Darknorth.” A distant figure suddenly appeared via teleportation, then flew towards Ning’s direction. It was a muscular, fur-clad man who had a bare chest. This particular expert of the Primordial Imperial Clan had gotten used to dressed in animal furs when he was young, and so even after he became a divinity, he continued to dress in this manner.

“Empyrean God Fuqu,” Ning called out to him. This was the headquarters of the Primordial Imperial Clan; he didn’t dare act rashly here. After appearing here, Ning had been waiting for someone to welcome him. Whenever anyone entered this world, the Primordial Imperial Clan would immediately know.

“I’ve already received Daofather Hasbear’s command. Fellow Daoist Darknorth, come. Let’s go meet Daofather Hasbear,” Empyrean God Fuqu said.

Ning nodded.

Daofather Hasbear…

He had quite a high level of status amongst the human race. Although he rarely engaged in battle, he was one of the truly ancient figures of the Primordial Imperial Clan. When Mother Nuwa had created the human race, Daofather Hasbear was one of the first humans who she had personally created. He had been born in an area which had wild bears, and so he was given the name ‘Hasbear’. In that era, the human race had been incredibly weak and primitive, and so they had chosen names for themselves in a very casual manner. 1

Back then, Daofather Hasbear was an ordinary mortal, but he still founded a small tribe of his own, the Hasbear tribe. In fact, an incredible figure actually ended up emerging from Daofather Hasbear’s tribe…Huangdi the Yellow Emperor, one of the Five Monarchs of the human race. The Yellow Emperor came from the Hasbear tribe, and after his rose to prominence, he actually unified the human race for a time. Hasbear thus supported the Yellow Emperor, allowing him to stabilize the world. 2

Whoooooosh. A wild wind howled, and the distant army banners fluttered in the wind.

There were citadels scattered everywhere, each of which had armies of Immortals and Fiendgods stationed within them. Some of these armies had existed since the Primordial Era, while some had recently been moved here from other major worlds.

The Humanworld of Yu the Great didn’t just have many Immortal and Fiendgod soldiers; it also more than twenty True Gods and Daofathers who were permanently stationed here, with Daofather Hasbear being one of them.

“This is Daofather Hasbear’s territory. These armies are all under Daofather Hasbear’s command,” Fuqu said with a chuckle. “Daofather Hasbear himself is located inside the largest city over there.”

1. This comes from actual Chinese quasi-history; there was once a tribe named Youxiong, ‘Has Bears’, because the tribe was located in a region that had bears. This was the tribe that gave birth to a very, very important figure in Chinese history…

2. The Yellow Emperor is arguably one of the most important figures in Chinese history/mythology. There are many stories about him, but in short, he is regarded as the founder of Chinese civilization and the ancestor of all Chinese people. To this very day, Chinese people waxing poetic will refer to themselves as the ‘descendants of Yan and Huang’, with Yan being another famous Emperor.

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Chapter 43 – Years of Seclusion

Chapter 43 – Years of Seclusion

Guided by Empyrean God Fuqu, Ji Ning was led before an ancient figure of the human race, Daofather Hasbear. Although Daofather Hasbear was as old as Suiren and also had very high status, he was even more low-key than Suiren. There were many stories in the Three Realms of the power of the Five Monarchs, but there were many Celestial Immortals who had never even heard of Daofather Hasbear.

“Daofather, Ji Ning has arrived,” Fuqu said respectfully.

“Ji Ning pays his respects to you, Daofather,” Ning said respectfully.

They were within an enormous, plainly adorned palace.

A muscular old man was seated on a prayer mat in the lotus position, dressed in simple animal furs. His beard and hair looked as hard and tough as iron, and he had the face of someone with an explosive temper. When he opened his eyes, however, a look of eternity could be seen within them. In fact, the ancient aura that emanated from him caused Ning to unconsciously calm down and feel peaceful.

As Daofather Hasbear looked towards Ning, a loving look slowly but naturally took form with his gaze.

“Good.” Daofather Hasbear smiled.

Mother Nuwa had created the human race. Hasbear was one of the first humans to be created, and he had watched as the human race had struggled, survived, and thrived. In his heart, he naturally felt very loving and protective towards every single dazzling human descendant he saw.

Although this was Ning’s first time meeting Daofather Hasbear, he couldn’t help but feel a natural veneration towards him.

“Fuxi has already spoken to me. This is a minor matter, and I’ve already made the arrangements.” Daofather Hasbear smiled as he looked at Ning. “It’s rare for our human race to produce someone so talented in heartforce. You were able to reach the fourth stage of heartforce despite having trained for less than a century; I want you to make sure you make something of yourself. Before the Endwar comes, I want you to make a breakthrough to the fifth stage. Let the myriad races of the Three Realms know that our human race is capable of giving birth to a heartforce expert of the fifth stage!”

“I shall do my utmost,” Ning couldn’t help but say.

“Good. That’s the attitude I like to see. Defeat isn’t frightening; what’s frightening is not even having the courage to try.” Daofather Hasbear smiled and nodded. “Seize every moment to train. If you can become a True God or Daofather before the Endwar comes, our side will be all the stronger for it.”

“Yes.” Ning didn’t speak any modest words at all. In his heart, he truly desired to become a True God and a Daofather.

The Three Realms had far, far too many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

It must be understood that the primordial chaos had given birth to ten great Elder Gods, eighty-one mighty True Gods, and 108,000 Empyrean Gods! 108,000! Although many died during the countless wars of the Primordial Era, as well as in the war which destroyed Pangu’s Chaosworld, many others eventually trained to reach the Empyrean God and True Immortal level. The Seamless Alliance itself also had many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within their ranks.

Thus, there were currently many at this level of power in the Three Realms. The addition of Ning, by himself, had almost no affect on the overall balance of power as a whole.

In the face of a massive army, a single person’s power wasn’t even worth talking about.

Only when one became a True God or a Daofather would one have the ability to have an impact on the Endwar!

“Master.” A short, muscular man with a greataxe on his back walked into the palace.

“Luozou,” Daofather Hasbear said, “Give it to Ji Ning.”

The short, muscular man looked towards Ning, then produced a palm-sized city within his hands. He handed the miniature city towards Ning, then said, “Darknorth, I heard that you are skilled in commanding soldiers in a formation. Don’t let these Immortals down.”

“Don’t worry, Empyrean God Luozou,” Ning said.

During the Primordial Era, when the human race was still young and primitive, its cultivation methods were imperfect and flawed. They learned many of their techniques from Fiendgods, which was why many humans from the earliest days of the Primordial Era trained as Fiendgod Body Refiners. Later on, after Ki Refining techniques became better, more Celestial Immortals and True Immortals began to slowly appear.

“Go.” Daofather Hasbear looked towards Ning, a look of eagerness in his eyes.

Ning bowed respectfully, then departed.

The city had a total of 100,000 Celestial Immortals and 10 million Loose Immortals inside of it! Ning sent all of these Immortals into his own Starseizer world and made arrangements for them, then transmitted the basic components of the Rahu Formation to them. Most likely, the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals would only need half a yaer to master it, at which point they would be able to set up the formation.

Sword Immortal world. Five Treasured Peaks.

The five towering peaks pierced high into the clouds as always. Ning was floating atop a cloud, standing in front of the stone walls of the third mountain peak and reading the third chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. During his previous fifty-one years of cultivation, Ning’s swordforce had reached and surpass the third level, and he had also long ago mastered the complete second chapter.

In truth, when he had gone to meet Daofather Hasbear, he had done so with a sense of pressure weighing down upon him.

“We have to win the Endwar. We can’t lose. If we lose, the entire Nuwa Alliance will be annihilated, as will the entire human race.” Ning didn’t even dare think about what would happen if they lost. Discarding those thoughts for now, he turned to carefully read through the third chapter of the [Five Treasures].

The [Five Treasures] sword-art was extraordinarily profound. This third chapter…it caused Ning to sigh in amazement. In fact, he couldn’t help but unconsciously begin to include some of the essence of the third chapter into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.

……

Within a vast world of darkness.

The Godking, seated atop his towering throne, gently strummed the fingers of his left hand against the armrest. Tap. Tap. Tap. The tapping sounds echoed throughout the entire dark world.

“I didn’t expect that Ji Ning would end up making a play like this. He actually gave up alien Outsider techniques to Fuxi, who developed a formation just for him and gave him 100,000 Celestial Immortals and 10 million Loose Immortals.” The Godking pondered silently to himself. “What sort of techniques did he hand over? And what sort of a formation did Fuxi give him?”

Although their intelligence methods were formidable, there was no way it could be detailed to such a level. They weren’t even able to find out the details of the formation Fuxi had created.

“And it seems Ji Ning has finished developing his own sword-art.”

“Mmm…Swordfather Darklight evaluates it as being extraordinary. Third-stage swordforce? This kid, Ji Ning…through sparring with those puny little cultivators, he actually ended up reaching the third stage of swordforce. Sheesh…” The Godking shook his head. He himself didn’t know much regarding the Dao of the Sword. Swordfather Darklight, however, was a terrifyingly powerful member of the Seamless Alliance who, in the Seamless Chaosworld, had been their number one expert in the Dao of the Sword.

However, the Seamless Chaosworld and the Pangu Chaosworld were both destroyed, resulting in the birth of the Three Realms…and by then, everyone acknowledged that he was a bit inferior to Daofather Fuju!

“I knew that Ji Ning was formidable in heartforce, but he’s actually this impressive in swordforce as well? Still, he’s merely at the third stage; that’s nothing.” The Godking shook his head. “Not much of a threat.”

And then, the Godking cast Ji Ning to the back of his mind, turning his attention to other matters.

He was responsible for the entire Seamless Gate, and compared to his many other concerns, Ji Ning truly was a minor figure.

……

The stone stele. The prisonworld.

The prisonworld held two of Ning’s bodies. One was dealing with a True God, while the other was dealing with the female True Immortal.

“Eh?” Ji Ning opened his eyes, ceasing his meditations on his sword-art. He looked downwards.

The bottle, gourd, bracelet, and other magic treasures around him continued to unleash torrents of fire, water, and wind against the foe below. The enemy’s magic treasure was shuddering, and its defensive force was beginning to weaken.

“Fifty-six years. Finally, she’s unable to hold on any longer.” Ning felt a hint of eagerness in his heart. Perhaps this female True Immortal would be able to help him by providing him with extremely powerful techniques or magic treasures.

Ning willed it, and whoosh! Instantly, the fire, water, and wind all returned to their respective treasures. Everything returned to normal. Ning definitely didn’t want to accidentally roast the woman to death!

“Submit.” Ning looked at the female True Immortal.

The female True Immortal dispersed her own magic treasure as well. She gave Ning a cold look.

Ning could sense how resolute she was. He couldn’t help but sigh and say, “Why must you be like this? You are going to be imprisoned here for countless ages, no matter what; so what if you choose to serve me? All I need are some of your magic treasures and some of the techniques you hold in your memories. I won’t harm you or lower your own personal power at all. In the future, you’ll have a chance to escape this place.”

“Stop dreaming.” The female True Immortal continued to look at Ning coldly. “You lowly, crawling insect…forget about making me, Shui Jin, submit!”

“Empress Jin?” Ning was stunned.

When he had scoured True Immortal Winterpeak’s memories, he had learned of some of the more famous True Gods and True Immortals of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. The woman before him was extremely emaciated, and her aura was unfamiliar to Ning. This was why, prior to this moment, Ning had no idea as to who she was. She was an extremely domineering True Immortal who was even more powerful than Winterpeak, and so she was referred to by others as ‘Empress Jin’.

“Empress Jin…” A reminiscent look appeared in the female True Immortal’s eyes. “That’s all in the past now. All in the past. Pangaea is gone. Everything is gone.”

“You want me, Shui Jin, to submit? Submit to someone as weak as you? Hahaha…ahahaha…” She began to laugh loudly, laugh wildly, laugh in a dreary, desolate way…

Whoosh.

She suddenly vanished, her soul dispersing. The only thing left behind was the echoes of her desolate laughter, which reverberated in the empty world.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh upon seeing this. Upon learning that she was Empress Jin, Ning had realized right away that it was highly unlikely that she would submit. In truth, every single top-tier True Immortal possessed incredible pride and self-confidence. The only reason why there was even a chance for them to submit to Ning was because their souls had been tormented by their chaos cycles of imprisonment within this prisonworld. Some, however, would still rather die than submit!

But despite this, Ning didn’t waver in his decision.

He needed to acquire more power from this prisonworld. He wanted to survive this tribulation, to survive the Endwar. He wanted to rescue his wave, to ensure that his daughter Brightmoon would be able to live a long and happy life. He wanted to ensure that his master and his other loved ones would survive as well. Thus…Ning would only give these alien Outsiders a single chance to survive: Submit to him! If they refused to choose to submit, then…they could all go die!

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Chapter 44 – Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals

Chapter 44 – Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals

After the female True Immortal known as ‘Empress Jin’ perished, Ji Ning carefully went through the relics that she had left behind. Although his gains were significant, he didn’t find any important techniques or chaos items which he was in desperate need of. Clearly, prior to coming to this prisonworld, she had exchanged items that she couldn’t use for large amounts of spirit pills and Immortal pills. Here in this prisonworld, those were what really mattered.

“Although I used six types of treasures at the same time to unleash fire, water, and wind against her…clearly, the power was vastly inferior to that of the Eight Fires Qiankun World.” Ning shook his head. “I’ll let my other clone deal with the True Gods and True Immortals. I should have this one deal with the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. Although their treasures are much less valuable, and although the chances that they are in possession of a powerful technique are very low, at least I can kill them or force them to submit in a much shorter period of time. I can also use them to train and temper my [Brightmoon] sword-art.”

Ning had already comprehended 90% of the third chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. The remaining parts were becoming increasingly difficult to understand. He would need to rely on repeated, actual battles so as to gain the insights he needed to better understand the [Five Treasures].

In addition, he created the [Brightmoon] sword-art through dueling weak Immortal cultivators. Only by battling against experts on his level in actual, life-and-death duels would he be able to further perfect this sword-art!

Obviously, outside the prisonworld it would be hard for him to find so many experts on his level to spar against. The prisonworld, however, had many.

“Overseer?” A skinny, weak-looking youth sat there, head raised as he stared at the distant Ning. “A True Immortal…but with such a weak aura? Strange. Logically speaking, a position as important as ‘Overseer’ should be given to core members of Pangaea. How could a core member be a True Immortal of the weakest possible level? Can it be that the prisonworld has fallen into enemy hands?”

“DIE!” Ning let out a loud roar, and his twin swords howled through the skies towards the youth.

Upon seeing Ning attack him without even speaking to him, the skinny youth was shocked…and then a mad look appeared in his eyes. “So it really is an enemy. You want me to die? Puny True Immortal, you go die first!”

The skinny youth let out a low growl as the muscles on his tiny frame suddenly began to bulge out. His rune-covered skin became pure-white as he instantly transformed from a skinny, beggar-like youth to a figure that looked like a god of war. His body went blurry for a moment, then four different faces appeared on him, as well as a total of eight arms, each of which was wielding a strange, black, staff-like weapon. He growled, then pounced towards Ning. “Outsider, die!”

Ning viewed these people as alien Outsiders. They, too, viewed Ning as an alien Outsider!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sword-light flashed everywhere, as did dancing staff-shadows.

Ning was knocked flying backwards in their very first clash. He smashed hard against the ground, creating a deep ditch within it. Ning’s body then blurred momentarily before he, too, gained three heads and six arms, with a sword in each hand. “Master’s words were wise. If I wish to truly perfect [Brightmoon], I have to fight against more experts.” A blazing light was in Ning’s hands as he once more charged forward.

The two battled nonstop. It seemed as though the skies would collapse and the earth would shatter. The fight was absolutely frenetic.

This prisoner had four faces and eight arms, and his staff-techniques were extremely profound. Imprisoned here for countless eras, the only thing he had to do was to meditate and cultivate, resulting in his staff-techniques become even more formidable, far more so than Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-art. Ning was at a complete disadvantage in their battle. Fortunately, however, Ning was protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], and so even when he was struck he wouldn’t be injured at all.

Ning didn’t use the [Starseizing Hand] or his heartforce; the [Starseizing Hand] used up too much divine power, while heartforce was quickly depleted in a battle. In addition, what Ning really cared about right now was to further perfect his sword-arts. By relying on the protection of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning was able to continue the fight, even though he was being completely outclassed.

“Damn. What the hell type of protective ability is this? As a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he’s clearly just an Empyrean God. How the hell is his divine body this tough?!” The youth was beginning to panic.

Even in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, protective divine abilities were extremely precious. It was incredibly difficult for someone at the Empyrean God level to be able to train his body to become comparable to a top-grade Pure Yang treasure. For example, the True God which Ning’s other clone was dealing with only had a body that was on Ning’s level as well! In truth, the only reason why Ning himself was able to completely master the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was because of his accomplishments in the Realmwar in the Grand Xia. Daofather Crimsonbright wished to express his thanks, which was why he had gifted Ning with the many Great Firmament pills Ning needed.

“If this continues…my divine power continue to be depleted. Once it is all used up, I’ll die.” The youth was both furious and frantic. “But even if I die, I’m not going to let this alien Outsider off.”

“Outsider…DIE!” The youth’s entire body suddenly began to glow with red light. Clearly, he had used some sort of divine ability that allowed his power to increase by an explosive amount.

However, Ning was extremely skilled in defensive techniques, and his [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] continued to render his opponent’s attacks ineffective. He was still able to endure the blows and continue fighting.

After battling for another hour, Ning had become completely familiar with this foe’s techniques. The youth had begun to repeat them over and over, and they were of no further use to Ning in terms of perfecting his sword-arts.

“[Starseizing Hand]!”

“Heartforce!”

“Shadowless!”

Ning’s swords suddenly became blurry. Whoosh! The youth’s four-faced head was instantly severed and sent flying into the air. The severed head’s eyes were filled with a look of shock. He had clearly been dominating his foe…how was it that his foe had suddenly exploded with power that far surpassed his own? He had no idea that when Ning used both the [Starseizing Hand] and his fourth-stage heartforce, Ning’s power was vastly superior to his own.

When he had overpowered Ning, he had struck Ning more than a hundred times without being able to breach Ning’s [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] in the slightest.

When Ning had overpowered him…a single sword had lopped his head off!

This made it obvious how important a protective divine ability was. Alas, the [Indestructible Body] technique which Ning had learned from the stone stele required an incredible price to be paid for mastery. Even the likes of Fuxi and Subhuti, upon seeing the price, had instantly discarded the notion of training in it. This was because they hadn’t even heard of some of the chaos materials necessary to master it.

Swoosh. The severed head came flying back, reattaching itself to the body.

“Eh?” The youth frowned in puzzlement as he stared at Ning. “Outsider, why didn’t you kill me?” Given that Ning was able to sever his head with a blow, Ning clearly was capable of completely crushing and destroying his body…and yet, Ning had not, allowing his head to fly back and reattach to it.

“Ahahaha…I’ve long heard that the Immortals and Gods of Pangaea are incredibly formidable. My hands were a bit itchy, so I wanted to see it for myself,” Ning said with a laugh.

“See it for yourself?” The youth was speechless. “Y-y-you…aren’t you afraid of me killing you?”

“Are you able to?” Ning rebutted.

The youth was stunned. Yes…given how formidable the man’s protective divine ability was, it would be impossible for anyone on his same level to overpower and kill him. The only solution would be to keep him suppressed!

“Right. Even if I suppressed you with my power…eventually, my divine power would be used up and I would still die.” The youth shook his head. What he didn’t know was that Ning actually had another body here. Even if the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals of Pangaea were powerful enough to suppress him, the other clone could come and, by relying on the Eight Fires Qiankun World, slowly roast to death any and every Empyrean God or Celestial Immortal.

To roast the energy out of a True God or True Immortal might take dozens of years, but to do the same to an Empyrean God or Celestial Immortal would be far quicker.

“What exactly has happened to Pangaea? And…what exactly do you want?” The youth looked at Ning.

A short while later, the youth succumbed to Ning’s combination of threats and blandishments, electing to serve Ning. Ning was more powerful than him, which naturally made it so that he didn’t feel as opposed to serving Ning as more powerful figures might.

“If you really just wanted to spar against me…you could’ve first recruited me, then fought me. Both of us could’ve simply lowered the amount of energy we used to keep things safe. Wouldn’t that be easier?” The youth still felt a bit of resentment; that battle just now had used up an enormous amount of his divine power.

“If I had first recruited you, would you have been willing to go all-out against me?” Ning shook his head. If the youth hadn’t had the desire to go all-out and try to kill Ning, the battle would’ve been completely different.

After recruiting the youth, Ning searched his memories, then went to the field of primordial chaos to replenish his divine power. The chaos region inside the stone stele was just a few hundred meters in size, but it was completely split apart from the prisonworld itself. This was because this chaos region was meant for Overseers to use. Because the chaos region had been created by the King of Pangaea, it naturally converted the primordial chaos within it into elemental energy.

The previous Overseers would occasionally wander the prisonworld, but they generally spent most of their time in the chaos region.

After replenishing his divine power, Ning spent a bit of time pondering the [Five Treasures], then improved his [Brightmoon] sword-art before once more seeking out that youth for more sparring.

Only after a full month did Ning leave to go deal with the next Empyrean God or Celestial Immortal.

And so, just like that, Ning began a voyage through the prisonworld in which he would sweep through all the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. Although the prisonworld was vast, it actually didn’t have that many Empyrean Gods or Celestial Immortals. There weren’t many, after all, at that level of power who would be qualified to be locked up in a place like this. Ning took every single battle very seriously, and after each battle he would gain many new ideas for further perfecting his sword-arts.

The [Brightmoon] sword-art continued to improve, and its power grew greater and greater.

In the blink of an eye, another forty-plus years had passed.

Ning had swept his way through more than four hundred Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. It must be understood that the entire Prisonworld 17 only held a bit more than a thousand individuals at that level of power. These four hundred-plus Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals ‘offered’ Ning many treasures, and he even acquired a pair of Protocosmic spirit-treasures! As for the number of Pure Yang treasures he acquired, the number was ridiculously high. Ning couldn’t help but sigh at how different the Pangaea chaos-kingdom was from the Three Realms.

In the Three Realms, these Pure Yang treasures would be considered quite rare and valuable. Powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would generally all have Protocosmic spirit-treasures on them.

In the Pangaea chaos-kingdom, however, Protocosmic spirit-treasures were very rare…but extremely powerful Pure Yang treasures were very common. Judging from the memories Ning had sifted through, Pangaea had far superior methods for manufacturing and producing magic treasures, which was why there were so many top-class Pure Yang treasures.

……

Boom! Boom! Boom! Eight streaks of truefire dragons continued to blaze away at the green-haired man.

It had been eighty-two years!

Ning had used the Eight Fires Qiankun World to burn away at the green-haired man for eighty-two years. As far as this True God was concerned, every one of these years had been more difficult to endure than a trillion ‘ordinary’ years. His divine power continued to deplete without any replenishment at all.

“Stop it.” Finally, the green-haired man called out.

Ning’s clone had been analyzing some sword-arts. The past eighty-two years had been quite boring; all he did was occasionally add a bit of ki into the treasure while spending most of his energy on his sword-arts. Upon hearing the green-haired man’s call, Ning immediately woke from his meditative trance.

Upon seeing the green-haired man looking towards him, Ning smiled.

If the man intended to commit suicide, he probably wouldn’t have called out to Ning. He would’ve rather been burnt to death than speak.

Since had had spoken out…he was most likely about to submit.

Prior to him, Ning had dealed with two True Immortals. This would be the first True God who would submit to him. Perhaps there might be an unexpected surprise.

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Chapter 45 – Great Fortune! Great Fortune!

Chapter 45 – Great Fortune! Great Fortune!

The green-haired man’s eyes were like those of a starving hawk’s as he glared at Ji Ning. He said hoarsely, “If I submit to you…what do you wish of me?”

Ning laughed. Clearly, the man was considering submitting. However, he was also a True God; if Ning went too far in humiliating him, he’d probably rather die than submit. Ning explained, “I need the treasures that you have on you. Here in this prison, your treasures are of no use to you anyhow. You might as well give them to me. Also – I need to search your memories…”

“Memories?” The green-haired man’s face changed.

“To you, I’m an alien. To me, you are an alien.” Ning smiled. “Your personal secrets might be very important to you, but they are completely meaningless to me. Don’t worry; I won’t tell anyone about them.”

The green-haired man stared at Ning.

“I guarantee,” Ning said, “That these two requests are all I want! If you accept, you continue living a peaceful life here. In addition, I’ll provide you with spirit-pills to ensure that you’ll be able to continue to survive. If you stay alive, you’ll have a chance to leave the prisonworld in the future.”

“Fine!” The green-haired man said hoarsely, “I accept.”

Ning was pleasantly surprised by how forthright the man was in accepting.

The green-haired man shut his eyes, continuing to sit there within the formation. Ning reached out with his right hand from outside the formation, his arm instantly expanding to become hundreds of kilometers long. His palm pressed down against the top of the green-haired man’s head as he sent his soul energy forward, beginning to execute the soulscouring technique. The green-haired man didn’t attempt to fight back at all. If he did, there was no way Ning would be able to accomplish the soulscouring.

This True God had an awe-inspiringly large number of memories. Countless thought-bubbles filled his mindspace, each of which represented major memories. Some of the bubbles were covered with complicated seals, none of which Ning was able to see through. Empyrean Gods, Celestial Immortals, True Gods, and True Immortals all had to swear life-oaths after learning powerful spells and techniques. Even if they wanted to teach them to others, they wouldn’t be able to.

“No wonder he was willing to submit…”

“So he harbors such tremendous enmity in his heart…and his foes are all Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Even if Pangaea really was destroyed, some of those Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals must have been able to successfully flee.” After searching through the memories, Ning understood who this True God was and the hatred this True God harbored.

This man wanted to leave, to find his foes, to kill them all! Even if Pangaea was destroyed, he would still search its ruins to find his foes. He wouldn’t feel satisfied until he was certain they were all dead.

Ning didn’t pay too much attention to the exact details of this feud. He discarded that information, focusing his attention in a different direction…

Whoosh.

After Ning’s soul energy entered a particularly thought-bubble, a profound technique suddenly entered his mind.

……

Sword Immortal world. The Five Treasured Peaks.

A white-robed Ning was seated within the thatched cottage, meditating on sword-arts. He was suddenly startled awake as the information pertaining to that technique entered his mind.

……

“Master, Brightmoon is causing trouble again. She saw injustice occurring and insisted on intervening, resulting in her offending several Immortal cultivators. After she beat them up, their elders came. She just went ‘kill, kill, kill’ and ended up slaughtering quite a few of them. She’s in real trouble now; the Patriarch of their clan is a Celestial Immortal. I’m not worried about his flunkies, but if he personally appears we’re going to be in serious trouble. Neither I nor Autumn Leaf have undergone our tribulations!” Little Qing frantically reported the above to the black-robed Ji Ning.

“Oh? It’s fine. Don’t worry.” The black-robed Ning nodded. “Brightmoon has a kind heart. It’s good to let her experience more of the world. Still…keep a close eye on her. Don’t let her embark upon the path of evil.”

“Don’t worry, Autumn Leaf and I are keeping a close watch on her.” Little Qing nodded repeatedly. “Alright, I’m going to go back now.”

Swoosh. She disappeared into thin air, teleporting away.

The black-robed Ning just chuckled. After so many years, Brightmoon had become much more mature than before. In fact, she didn’t like to roam about in her natural childlike form, and so changed her appearance into that of a young woman. In addition, she had been blessed with talent by her parents. Given that Patriarch Subhuti doted on her as well, she had long ago reached the Void-level. However, due to her extraordinary background, it was guaranteed that her Celestial Tribulation would be an extraordinary one. Thus, she was still building up power in preparing for it. Ning allowed Brightmoon to roam the outside world, only asking that she keep Little Qing and Autumn Leaf by her side.

In truth, there was something which none of the three realized…

Ning’s Primaltwin had been split into eighteen clones, and one of them was hidden within an ordinary-looking jade talisman which Brightmoon was carrying. In reality, this jade talisman was a Pure Yang treasure, one which Ning had gone to Mount Innerheart to ask his senior apprentice-brother Lord Jiang to forge. Lord Jiang had set up seals atop this jade talisman, making it look like an ordinary item that was completely unremarkable.

After binding the jade talisman to himself, Ning had gifted it to his daughter. It was very rare for Ning to give her gifts, and so Brightmoon loved this one and carried it with her at all times. What she didn’t realize was that this ‘ordinary’ jade talisman was actually a Pure Yang treasure which contained a pocket dimension inside it. Within that pocket dimension was a clone of Ji Ning which primarily focused on meditating and training in sword-arts while being prepared to protect his daughter at all times.

However, Ning didn’t want his daughter to know that he was with her. Once she knew, this adventure would no longer be much of a ‘tempering’ for her, and she would probably be angry with him as well.

“Brightmoon is really…sheesh.” Whenever he thought of his daughter, he couldn’t help but smile…but then the look on his face froze.

A profound technique had suddenly filled his mind.

……

Eighteen clones of his true body. Eighteen clones of his Primaltwin.

Every single clone learned this technique at the same instant…and all of them were stunned. Ning had spent more than ninety years sweeping through the prisonworld, dealing with more than eight hundred Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, as well as three True Gods and True Immortals. Upon soulscouring this True God…finally, Ning gained something of true value.

……

Within the prisonworld.

After completely learning and memorizing the entire technique, Ning suppressed his excitement and continued to search through the rest of the True God’s memories. Only after finishing his search did he stop the soulscouring.

A look of delight and joy was in Ning’s eyes. His body was actually quivering slightly, and he murmured to himself, “Great fortune…a great fortune…”

“The heavens are helping me.”

“The heavens are helping me!!!” Ning’s eyes were filled with blazing excitement.

Ning had always believed the Pangaea chaos-kingdom to be even more formidable than the Three Realms, which meant that it had to have some truly powerful divine abilities and spells. The Three Realms had the [Starseizing Hand], the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], and other techniques. Logically speaking, Pangaea should have techniques which were even more powerful. And it was true; Pangaea did indeed have formidable divine abilities at its disposal, but the ones which Ning had discovered thus far had all been sealed away with life-oaths, preventing him from ‘reading’ them.

This time, however, Ning had finally acquired a technique…and it was a technique which he deeply desired.

“The [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique,” Ning murmured softly to himself. “Within the primordial chaos, there are seas of lightning, and within those lightning seas there are spirit-snakes with nine horns on their heads…”

“I can train in this.”

“I can absolutely train in this. This is something that can be used in the Three Realms.” Ning hadn’t expected that he would encounter such a tremendous stroke of fortune.

In the Three Realms, evasion techniques were extremely important. The more formidable an evasion technique, the faster one would be able to move. The most famous techniques in the Three Realms included the [Somersault Cloud] of his senior apprentice-brother, Sun Wukong, as well as the [Wings of the Garuda] of the great golden-winged Roc. These were some of the most supreme evasion techniques of the Three Realms. When one reached the apex of the [Somersault Coud] or [Wings of the Garuda], one would be able to move a hundred and fifty thousand kilometers in a single instant! This was a level of speed which even many True Gods and Daofathers found difficult to reach.

Ning, however, knew the truth…that the truly supreme, number one evasion technique of the Three Realms was a legendary technique known as the [Golden Sunstreak]!

The most supreme of stars, the Solar Star, would give birth to a type of Godbeast known as the Golden Crow! Only Golden Crows which were completely born from the energy of the Solar Star were considered true, perfect Golden Crows. As for lesser Golden Crows that had mixed heritage or which were born after true Golden Crows copulated with other living creatures, there was no way their bloodlined could ever reach the level of perfect purity.

During the Primordial Era, the Solar Star had once given birth to ten Golden Crows at the same time. These ten Golden Crows all possessed incredible power. By relying on their innate divine abilities, they were able to roam the Primordial World without fear. One of them actually reached the True God level, and was given the respectful title of ‘Emperor of Monsters’. The ten Golden Crows all radiated infinite amounts of blazing heat. They were like ten suns that baked the Primordial World, causing the entire world endless amounts of anguish.

In addition, all ten of them had an incredibly powerful evasion technique…the [Golden Sunstreak]! The power of a True God, combined with the [Golden Sunstreak] divine ability…not even Mother Nuwa and the other Elder Gods had been able to catch them.

And then…Houyi had acted.

Houyi was just as terrifyingly talented as the Golden Crows, and he possessed a level of power that was enough to stun and shake the Primordial Era. His arrows were the fastest in the world, and they possessed enough power to cause even major powers to feel fear. Of course…not even Houyi was certain that he would be strong enough to slay the Golden Crow that had been titled the ‘Emperor of Monsters’. Thus, Houyi had spent quite a long period of time producing ten arrows of incredible power…and then, Houyi had struck! It was as though spacetime was completely incapable of impeding his arrows. Even the ‘Emperor of Monsters’ had been unable to escape and had perished to his first arrow. As for the remaining nine? Although they were ridiculously fast, there was no way they could escape Houyi’s arrows. Houyi slew eight of them. In the end, Mother Nuwa interceded, resulting in the last one being spared. 1

However…the fact that they died didn’t mean that the [Golden Sunstreak] was a weak divine ability!

The [Golden Sunstreak], in truth, simply converted the user into a streak of light! Its speed was the speed of light itself! Once one merged one’s body into the [Golden Sunstreak], the body would go wherever that streak of light went. As for the speed of this technique…it allowed the user to travel three hundred thousand kilometers in an instant! This was the absolute limit in terms of raw speed. Not even major powers were able to surpass the speed of the [Golden Sunstreak]. Their only options were to use their control over spacetime or certain treasures and spells to slow down the Golden Crows, causing them to fly slower; only then would they be able to catch up.

None of them, however, were capable of catching up to the Golden Crow that had reached the True God level. Not even Houyi! Houyi had to produce special arrows of terrifying power in order to catch them and kill them with his shots.

[Golden Sunstreak]…the speed of light!

This was definitely a technique that allowed one to move faster than any other living creature of the Three Realms. Ning’s third apprentice-brother was a Golden Crow that had been birthed from the Solar Star during the era of the Three Realms, and he was a master of this divine ability.

Many majors powers deeply desired to train in it, but…only Golden Crows that were born from the Solar Star could do so!

“[Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]?” Ning was incredibly excited.

This technique was an evasive divine ability that was on the same level as the [Golden Sunstreak].

The [Golden Sunstreak] involved a streak of blazing light that only Golden Crows could control.

The [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], in turn, involved a bolt of living lightning!

It was incredibly difficult to train in, and in fact it could be said that cultivators had a 90% chance of dying when attempting to train in it. Upon mastering it, however, one would be able to enter the lightning serpent and move far away in a single lightning bolt. The speed of this lightning bolt was just as fast as the speed of light; both had reached the utter limit of speed possible.

“If I was to master this technique, I’d be able to roam the Three Realms and attack the Seamless Gate’s bases as I pleased. They wouldn’t be able to catch me!” Ning knew that this evasion technique was extremely difficult to train in, but he instantly decided that he was going to master it, no matter the cost!

1. The legend of Houyi shooting down nine of the ten suns is one of the more famous Chinese legends, and is in fact the principle legend of Houyi and the reason why he is a legendary Chinese archer.

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Chapter 46 – [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]

Chapter 46 – [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]

After a period of excitement, Ji Ning began to ponder as to how he should train in this technique.

The [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique was definitely a first-class technique even in the Pangaea chaos-kingdom. It had already reached the utmost apex of speed. An incredible technique like this…the price one would have to pay to get even a basic level of skill in it would be similarly shocking.

The first requirement, for example, was to transform the divine body, making it so that the lightning serpent could swim about within it without harming it at all.

This, however, was incredibly difficult…

The [Golden Sunstreak], for example, consisted of Golden Solarfire that had gained sentience. Golden Solarfire was a type of fire that surpassed the nine mighty types of truefire; not even True Gods or Daofathers would dare to use their bodies to take it head-on. Even if they tried to use spells or artifacts to block it, they might still be roasted to death! The Golden Crow, however, was born within the deepest depths of the Solar Star. Ordinary mortals would drown when they fell into the sea, but fish would swim within it with ease. In a similar manner, Golden Crows would be able to bathe in Golden Solarfire as though they were at home. They were naturally gifted with the ability to be completely unharmed by it, which is why they were able to master the [Golden Sunstreak] technique.

The wild and untamable Ninehorn Lightning Serpents held the same level of power as Golden Solarfire!

Even though Ning had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him, he would still be instantly reduced to dust by the power of the lightning serpent! Thus, he had to first transform his divine body…but the transformation process was the most dangerous part of training in this technique, with a 90% chance of death. If he made just the slightest mistake, his divine body would be reduced by the lightning serpent into ash!

The second requirement…

Once the lightning serpent became able to roam within the divine body without harming it, the cultivator could begin to nourish and create the divine tattoo of a ‘lightning serpent egg’. This would give the lightning serpent a ‘home’, as it would be able to coil up within that ‘egg’. In addition, the divine tattoo of the egg would slowly transform the lightning serpent, making it evolve and change in a qualitative manner. It would be as though the lightning serpent was a blade that had been put in a scabbard, no longer capable of causing any damage.

Otherwise…given how wild and violent these lightning serpents were, there would be no way to control them at all. The lightning serpent had to be tamed and rendered harmless. Only then would it be docile, at which point it could be used to execute the evasion technique!

The same was true of the [Golden Sunstreak] technique which the Golden Crows used. After being tamed by the Golden Crow, the streak of sentient sunlight would no longer have its inherent, terrifying offensive power. It would become very docile and gentle, under the complete control of the Golden Crow. It would allow the Golden Crow to go wherever it wanted to go.

But of course, taming and transforming something like the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent was an incredibly dangerous process. This was because during the taming and transforming process, the lightning serpent would be incredibly violent. An external source of power would be needed to help subdue it, and within the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique there was a record of methods involving ‘Myriad Thunders Godgems’, ‘Thousandrot Godfruits’, or ‘chaos nectar’.

Thousandrot Godtrees…when they reached the end of their lifespan, they would begin to rot away and decay, but after they completely rotted away a brand new sapling would emerge from within and begin to grow. This new tree would become even taller and greater than the previous one, but eventually it too would begin to rot away…

Each rotting would lead to the next tree growing ever larger and filled with ever more vitality and energy. Finally, after a thousand rottings and rebirths, the godtree would reach the maximum limit of power, at which point in time it would bear fruit. This sort of fruit was known as the ‘Thousandrot Godfruit’. The total time needed for the fruit to be created was a full chaos cycle. After ripening, it would instantly fall down from the tree. However, as soon as it landed and touched anything besides primordial chaos, it would instantly transform into dust. Thus, one had to wait there in advance and prepare to catch the godfruit.

After the fruit ripened and fell, the Thousandrot Godtree would once more decay and rot away, beginning a completely new cycle.

Thousandrot Godfruit possessed incredible, unfathomable, miraculous power. In the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, it was something which only the three World-level powers were permitted to possess.

Myriad Thunders Godgems, by comparison, were even rarer than Thousandrot Godfruits.

Within the infinite primordial chaos, seas of lightning would appear on occasion. In this regions, large amounts of lightning would come together, resulting in the emergence of lightning sea serpents of tremendous power; these things were on the same level of power as Golden Solarfire. If the lightning sea serpents gained sentience, they would grow nine horns on their heads, at which point they would be known as Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. Only the sentient lightning serpents with nine horns were tamable.

If the sea of lightning was vast enough, and there were enough Ninehorn Lightning Serpents present…sometimes, Myriad Thunders Godgems would be crystallized. Ninehorn Lightning Serpents love to swim around these godgems. Thus if one acquired one such godgem, one would be able to easily tame a lightning serpent.

Alas…

The primordial chaos was infinitely vast, and seas of lightning would only be encountered every so often. Seas of lightning that contained Myriad Thunders Godgems were even rarer, and whenever they were discovered, the major powers who found out would immediately think up ways to seize them for themselves!

Chaos nectar was also incredibly mysterious. One had to establish a vast world, then use it as the foundation for a grand formation meant to extract essence from the primordial chaos. Each chaos cycle, only six bottles of chaos nectar could be harvested! In addition, since chaos nectar possessed no elemental qualities of its own, it was usable in many different ways. The primordial chaos gave birth to all things, after all! Thus, chaos nectar could also be used to tame a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent.

To tame a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, one would normally need either nine Thousandrot Godfruits, a single Myriad Thunders Godgem, or six bottles of chaos nectar.

“In the Three Realms, I’ve never even heard of this godfruit or this godgem. I do, however, have chaos nectar.” Ning pondered to himself. “No matter what, I’ll need a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent; first to transform my body, then to tame it for ‘riding’. The Three Realms does, however, have a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent within it.”

“Time to pay a visit to Exalted Celestial Thundergod,” Ning mused to himself.

In the Three Realms, there was a major power who was capable of controlling Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. He was Exalted Celestial Thundergod!

This was an incredibly mighty major power who perpetually kept to himself in seclusion. Even to this day, with the Three Realms gripped by a storm, he rarely intervened. In truth, there were many major powers like him, who kept to themselves in seclusion. They were all preparing quietly, waiting for the Endwar to come before they would erupt with their full power and slay their foes.

……

Sword Immortal world. The Five Treasured Peaks.

Ning was seated within the thatched cottage. Rising to his feet, he called out, “Ninefangs.”

A streak of light flew towards the cottage from far away, landing in front of it. It was Ninefangs.

“Accompany me to the Thundergod major world,” Ning instructed.

“Yes,” Ninefangs acknowledged.

The two entered the Voidboat, then exited Sword Immortal world via the Void, hastening towards the Thundergod world.

Long ago, in the distant past, before the Primordial Era had even begun, the primordial chaos had given birth to ten mighty Elder Gods and eighty-one True Gods.

The eighty-one True Gods were all born with mastery over a Grand Dao. One of them was Exalted Celestial Thundergod, who was born with control over the Grand Dao of Lightning. He naturally possessed tremendous talent in thunder and lightning. However, although his divine body was capable of withstanding many lightning bolts, it was unable to withstand the power of the lightning sea serpents or the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents of the primordial chaos. He only had a True God’s body, after all.

Elder God of Fire Zhurong, for example, was able to withstand the Golden Solarfire and Golden Sunstreaks. Alas, Elder God Zhurong did not have any methods at his disposal for actually taming any of those streaks of fiery light.

The Golden Crow’s ability to do so was an innate one.

……

BOOM!

A vast world, filled with countless bolts of lightning that were thundering down from up high. One could see with the naked eye a thousand lightning bolts at any given moment.

The Voidboat was currently in the skies of this world. Although lightning bolts continuously hammered against it, they were unable to damage it at all.

“Let me take a look first.” Ning spread out his heartforce.

“Exalted Celestial Thundergod is over there. Let’s go,” Ning said. Although Thundergod possessed tremendous power and was one of the top-tier Daofathers, his skill in heartforce was inferior to Ning’s.

Swoosh.

The Voidboat flew through the skies, quickly arriving before a levitating mountain. The peak of this levitating mountain was surrounded by a large amount of electricity, and there were armored soldiers guarding the peak as well.

“Who goes there!” A Celestial Immortal soldier barked out.

“I am Ji Ning. I wish to pay my respects to Exalted Celestial Thundergod,” Ning said respectfully.

“Ji Ning?” The group of soldiers was quite surprised. They had all naturally heard of the famous Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning. The soldier immediately replied, “Sword Immortal Darknorth, please wait a moment. I’ll go make a report right away.” Instantly, the soldier quickly departed to relay the message. As for Ning and Ninefangs, a cloud appeared beneath their feet. They stood atop the cloud and waited patiently. This was the territory of a top-tier Daofather; they didn’t dare to be the slightest bit discourteous.

A short while later, the Celestial Immortal flew back.

“The Exalted Celestial has instructed for you to go see him, Sword Immortal Darknorth.”

“Ninefangs, waited for me here,” Ning instructed. Ning then flew by himself towards the top of the mountain peak, where the Celestial Immortal was waiting for him. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, please follow me.”

As Ning was led forward, he secretly sighed to himself. Generally speaking, most major powers would beautify their residences. The Dao Palace of the East, Mount Ling of the West, Mount Innerheart, the Celestial Court…these were all beautiful places. Exalted Celestial Thundergod, however, had chosen a place that was nearly pitch-black. This levitating mountain didn’t even have a single speck of vegetation.

“The Exalted Celestial is over there,” the soldier said hurriedly.

Ning took a look. He saw a tall, towering figure seated in the distance. The figure had to be at least thirty thousand meters tall.

True Gods were born with bodies of this size; it could be considered a ‘normal’ height.

“Good.” Ning smiled and nodded, then walked towards the figure. He soon arrived at the dais before the figure, then said respectfully, “Ji Ning pays his respects to you, Exalted Celestial Thundergod.”

The towering, muscular figure, dressed in pitch-black armor, opened his eyes. Sparks of lightning could be seen within them as he gazed down at the miniscule Ning. “Ji Ning. I’ve heard of you before. Suhbuti is indeed talented in teaching his disciples. Go ahead and speak. Why have you come to my place?”

Ning secretly let out a sigh of relief. From the sound of it, this person would most likely be willing to give Ning’s master, Patriarch Subhuti, some face.

“This junior is in desperate need of a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent,” Ning said respectfully. “Of the major powers of the Three Realms, only you, Exalted Celestial Thundergod, are in possession of these lightning serpents. This junior would like to beg you, Exalted Celestial, to bestow one such serpent. I am willing to use Protocosmic spirit-treasures to trade for it.”

The towering Thundergod just closed his eyes. He said in a calm voice, “Leave. Immediately.”

Ning was stunned.

Exalted Celestial Thundergod wasn’t even going to discuss this, and instead had ordered Ning to leave immediately? What was he supposed to do?

“Exalted Celestial, this junior is willing to use treasures to trade for it. Please consi-…” Ning said frantically.

Exalted Celestial Thundergod opened his eyes. His gaze was like ice. “If you don’t leave…don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”

For a moment, Ning didn’t know what to do.

“SCRAM!” Exalted Celestial Thundergod glared coldly towards Ning as he roared at him.

Ning’s face turned ashen. He immediately bowed, turned, and left.

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Chapter 47 – No Other Options

Chapter 47 – No Other Options

Empyrean God Ninefangs was waiting outside the levitating mountain atop his cloud. Suddenly, he saw his Manorlord, Ji Ning, appear from within the distant mountain peaks. Ning was hurriedly walking in his direction. Ninefangs couldn’t help but feel surprised: “Why has the Manorlord returned so quickly from his meeting with Exalted Celestial Thundergod?”

Swoosh.

With a single step, Ning moved to Ninefangs’ cloud.

“Manorlord?” Ninefangs whispered softly.

“Let’s leave.” Ning didn’t waste time explaining. He immediately released his Voidboat, entered it alongside Ninefangs, then departed through the Void.

……

A Voidboat suddenly appeared amidst the clouds of the major world known as the ‘Hu Kingdom’.

“When Exalted Celestial Thundergod first saw me, he was clearly quite courteous. But as soon as I mentioned the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, he immediately turned hostile.” Ning carefully pondered what had just happened. Given that the Three Realms had been swept into a storm, most of the major powers in their alliance were fairly friendly towards the younger fellows. Ning had already met with figures like Daofather Crimsonbright, Fuxi, and others. All of them were very friendly to him. Although Exalted Celestial Thundergod was famous for his explosive temper, he had also been quite friendly at first as well.

“Why did he turn so hostile when I mentioned the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent? I was willing to use treasures to trade for it, but he wasn’t even willing to consider it.” Ning frowned in thought. “What should I do? The only major power in the Three Realms that possesses Ninehorn Lightning Serpents is Exalted Celestial Thundergod. If I can’t acquire one from him, then I’ll have no choice but to go to a lightning sea if I want to train in this technique…”

Capturing Ninehorn Lightning Serpents was incredibly difficult. Not even the major powers who were skilled in capturing creatures were generally willing to spend the effort necessary, as the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were of no use to them. The only one who was willing to spend so many years on this task was Exalted Celestial Thundergod, who had captured quite a few of them over the countless eons.

“Manorlord?” Ninefangs asked, puzzled, “Why have we come to the Hu Kingdom?”

“To visit True Immortal Hu Yu, of course,” Ning said.

The Hu clan was a clan that was subordinate to the Primordial Imperial Clan of humanity. Although it was quite flourishing, it had never given birth to a True God or a Daofather. After the Primordial World was destroyed and the Three Realms were born, the Hu clan had moved here to this major world, taking it over! Given the Hu clan’s power, conquering a major world was very easy.

Even back during the Primordial Era, the Hu clan had more than eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals amongst their ranks. By now, they had more than thirty!

“True Immortal Hu Yu?” Ninefangs was puzzled. He didn’t understand why Ning wished to meet with True Immortal Hu Yu.

Whoosh. Ning spread out his coresense to encompass the entire major world, quickly discovering True Immortal Hu Yu’s location.

……

Within a secluded mountain valley. There were a few thatched cottages scattered throughout the valley. A few women could be seen teasing each other, some of them playing around within the waters of a creek.

“Fellow Daoist Hu Yu.” A voice suddenly rang out within the valley.

“Mm?” One of the women playing around within the water, a green-robed woman, unleashed her coresense. She immediately located the white-robed youth and the bald elder located outside the formation protecting this valley.

“Ji Ning?” The green-robed woman immediately recognized him. “That bald old man by his side should be Empyrean God Ninefangs, one of the seven Empyrean Gods led by Empyrean God Redsnow who appeared within the Realmwar for the Crimsonbright Realm.”

“Big sister, what is it?”

“Big sister.”

The other women all emerged from the creek and from their respective houses, gathering around her. In truth, women were all Celestial Immortals who were under the tutelage of True Immortal Hu Yu. However, True Immortal Hu Yu disliked referring to others as ‘disciple’ or being referred to as ‘master’, and so these women usually referred to her as ‘big sister’.

“No more playing around,” True Immortal Hu Yu instructed. Instantly, the female Celestial Immortals all fell silent, no longer daring to run around. However, they were all curious…who was this visitor?

True Immortal Hu Yu waved her hand.

Whoosh.

An opening suddenly appeared at the end of the gorge. This gorge had been covered by a protective barrier which wasn’t easy to penetrate. From the opening emerged two men, a white-robed youth and a bald old servant.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” True Immortal Hu Yu smiled merrily.

“Fellow Daoist Hu Yu. I’ve come with a request,” Ning said.

“Oh? Come inside and speak. If there’s anything I can help you with, fellow Daoist, I definitely won’t just stand by idle.” True Immortal Hu Yu was extremely curious. What did this famous Sword Immortal Darknorth wish of her? She immediately guided Ning into a thatched cottage.

The interior of the thatched cottage was decorated in a very refined manner. Ning and Hu Yu both sat down facing each other, with Hu Yu pouring some Immortal wine for Ning.

“Before I came to your place, fellow Daoist, I paid a visit to your master; Exalted Celestial Thundergod,” Ning said. “I visited him with the intention of trading him some treasures for a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent…but I didn’t expect that he immediately ordered me to leave without even letting me finish my words. I was out of options, so I came here to meet with you, fellow Daoist, in the hopes that you might have an idea.”

Hu Yu was the disciple which Thundergod doted on the most.

Exalted Celestial Thundergod was born from the primordial chaos with control over the Grand Dao of Thunder. His temper was equally explosive as his Dao; although there were some disciples he doted upon, there were others he was extremely strict with. The one he doted on the most was his one and only female disciple, True Immortal Hu Yu. This was why Ning had come to meet with Hu Yu, in the hopes that she might have an idea.

“You want a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent?” Hu Yu was surprised.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“That’s…going to be hard.” Hu Yu shook her head. “It’s true that the only person in the Three Realms who possesses these serpents is my master…but to Master, these serpents are incredibly important. Once, long ago, Daoist Three Purities asked for Master to provide him with a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent for use in forging a certain magic treasure. Master was extremely unwilling. In the end, Daoist Three Purities gave my master multiple Chaos ingredients that he needed before my master accepted. However, that was a long, long time ago. Now that the storm has decided…there’s no way even Daoist Three Purities would be able to acquire another serpent from him, to say nothing of you.”

“Oh?” Ning was surprised.

“Don’t you know that Master’s most important treasure is the ‘Hammer of Punishment Thunder’?” Hu Yu asked.

“I do know.” Ning nodded. “Exalted Celestial Thundergod wields the Hammer of Punishment Thunder, releasing lightning to punish wicked Immortals and Fiends alike.” Ning was puzzled. “But what does that have to do with the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents?”

“Where do you think the lightning of the hammer comes from?” Hu Yu shook her head and smiled. “Master can simply summon some of the weaker types of lightning from the natural world, but he has to work hard to extract the more powerful types of lightning from lightning seas in the primordial chaos. This is especially true for the supreme type of lightning, the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. After extracting them, he has to refine them before he can smelt them into his Hammer of Punishment Thunder. This allows him to release them at a critical moment to assault his foes, then draw them back after the attack is finished.”

Ning was startled.

It was true that of the various types of thunder, the most powerful types were the lightning sea serpents and Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. The lightning sea serpents were not sentient, while the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were. Thus, comparatively speaking the horned serpents were easier to refine and smelt, as the mindless lightning sea serpents were completely uncontrollable.

This was why even the likes of Elder God Zhurong was unable to take control over Golden Solarfire, forcing him to devise his own ‘Zhurong Godfire’. Suiren had similarly been unable to control Golden Solarfire, which was why he had to devise his own Eternal Kindlefire, which was equally powerful.

The reason why they couldn’t control it…was because it was simply too explosive and wild!

Golden Solarfire didn’t possess any sentience. Thus, it was too explosive and wild! Even Fuxi, the number one formations expert of the Three Realms, was merely able to ‘guide’ the Golden Solarfire into his formation, and the guiding process was still extraordinarily tiresome. He had completely mastered and fused the Heavenly Daos of both Yin and Yang, and his skill in formations was tremendous…but that was still all he was capable of.

Lightning sea serpents were just like Golden Solarfire; they were both too wild and untamable.

Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were sentient, which was why one could bind them. However, they were extremely rare; only a tiny percentage of the already-rare lightning sea serpents would gain sentience and transform into Ninehorn Lightning Serpents.

“As far as Master is concerned, these serpents are part of his killer weapon, his most powerful attack. Master has spent an enormous amount of blood and sweat binding every single serpent and infusing them into his hammer.” Hu Yu continued, “If it wasn’t for this great tribulation, there might be a tiny chance that Master would be willing to give up one of them…but the tribulation has arrived, and he might very well die in the Endwar. There’s absolutely no way he would give up any of them at all.”

“This is something that will have an impact on his chances of his survival. Given Master’s temperament…it’s useless for anyone to try to convince him.” Hu Yu gave Ning a look. “I’m just his disciple; there’s nothing I can do at all.”

Ning nodded. “So that’s why. I was rash and foolish.”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, I urge you to give up your hopes of acquiring the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents,” Hu Yu said. “Aside from Master’s serpents, the only way you can find them is by going to the lightning seas within the primordial chaos. However, those lightning seas contain many lightning sea serpents, with a small number of Ninehorn Lightning Serpents intermingled within. Not even major powers would dare to go too deep within. Master has the body of a thundergod, and thus he is most likely the number one figure in the Three Realms in terms of catching these serpents. Despite that, it took him a long time and much work before he was able to catch a few.”

“I know.” Ning nodded slowly. “Sorry to have troubled you, fellow Daoist Hu Yu. I’ll leave now.”

……

Ning ordered Ninefangs to temporarily return to the Starseizer major world, then went by himself via Voidboat into the primordial chaos.

Chaos mist billowed everywhere around him.

If he went too far and too deep into the primordial chaos, it was entirely possible that he would become lost. Thankfully, Ning had some maps regarding the chaos regions around the Three Realms. Two lightning seas were marked down on the maps, and so Ning naturally headed towards the closest one. However…this still took him much deeper into the primordial chaos than he went last time. Thus, he advanced very carefully, for fear of becoming lost.

He advanced continuously through the primordial chaos in his Voidboat, tearing through space and using the various stars as his signposts. He advanced for twelve full hours, and the amount of space he travelled past in the Voidboat was most likely several times larger than the Three Realms themselves.

“Here I am.”

Ning stood up within the Voidboat, staring into the distance.

A vast, endless sea…

A sea of lightning and thunder…

As far as he could see, there were countless streaks of jagged white lightning that came together to form an endless sea of electricity. The deeper one went into the sea, the darker it became. At the deepest parts, one could even see black flashes of lightning. These black flashes of lightning were all shaped like giant serpents. These were the ‘lightning sea serpents’, living lightning-beings that even major powers feared.

A single lightning sea serpent was one thing, but the depths of the lightning sea held countless black streaks of lightning within them. The lightning sea serpents there were simply uncountably numerous. Even the mightiest of major powers would have to go all-out in order to go deep into the lightning sea. However, Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were incredibly rare, with less than one in ten million lightning sea serpents giving birth to one such sentient serpent. From this, one could tell how difficult it was to find and catch them!

“I have no other choice.”

“I’ll have to take the risk.” Ning stood atop the Voidboat, gazing deep into the endless lightning sea.

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Chapter 48 – Deep Within the Lightning Sea

Chapter 48 – Deep Within the Lightning Sea

“I have to enter the lightning sea in order to train this divine ability.” Ji Ning had no other options.

Ning had fifteen other clones of his true body by his side, hidden within the Starseizing Manor. One of them emerged from the manor, then flew towards the endless sea of lightning.

After flying for a short while, the clone reached the borders of the lightning sea.

“Whew.” Staring at the countless flashes of white lightning before him, Ning couldn’t help but feel his heart shudder.

“Time to go in.” With a boom, Ning charged forward into the endless flashing streaks of lightning. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless lightning bolts surged around him. Ning had long ago put away his magic robes, leaving him completely nude within the sea of lightning. He allowed the white lightning bolts to crash down upon his body repeatedly, and almost instantly close to a thousand lightning bolts came hammering down against him.

These lightning bolts were countless times more powerful than the lightning bolts Ning had encountered during the ninth nine-set of his Empyrean Tribulation. Fortunately, Ning had already mastered the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and so was able to take them with ease.

“Time to begin training in the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] and transform my divine body.” Ning allowed his nude body to bathe in the lightning, shutting his eyes and focusing on activating the divine ability. Instantly, a series of divine golden tattoos began to appear on the surface of his body. As the divine tattoos continued to appear, the white lightning around Ning that had been attacking him seemed to become more gentle.

Slowly, Ning’s entire body became covered in countless golden tattoos. These golden tattoos were all linked together, and one could vaguely make out a single massive character…the character for lightning in the script of the Pangaea chaos-kingdom.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Once the barrier of golden tattoo-light was formed, the surrounding white lightning all began to swirl around it. Slowly, a vortex of lightning was formed, and at the center of this vortex was what looked like a cocoon of lightning, with Ning located within the cocoon.

Inside the lightning cocoon.

The muscles and skin of Ning’s naked body were all twitching and shuddering as strands of white lightning continuously flowed into them.

Previously, Ning’s body had been capable of easily withstanding the white bolts of lightning thanks to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], which completely blocked all the lightning. But to transform his divine body, he had to allow the lightning to enter every single part of it. Only then would his divine body undergo a qualitative change. Right now, his body wasn’t truly ‘defending’ against the lightning; it was just lowering the power of the lightning dramatically. One slip-up, however, and the body would instantly be reduced to dust.

This was just the beginning. The body’s elemental composition had to be complete changed.

All bodies had elemental affinities and natures. Some, for example, were born with bodies of water, while others were born with bodies of fire. Generally speaking, at Ning’s level, the nature of the body didn’t really matter. For example, even Exalted Celestial Thundergod, who was born with control over the Grand Dao of Thunder, didn’t have a body that could allow lightning sea serpents or Ninehorn Lightning Serpents to roam within it without causing damage. What Ning had to do was to change his body to become a perfect lightning vessel, capable of allowing lightning sea serpents and Ninehorn Lightning Serpents to roam about it with impunity.

Perhaps in terms of power, there was no way he could match Exalted Celestial Thundergod, but his affinity towards lightning would become closer than even the Thundergod’s.

In truth, this alone was testament to how difficult it was to transform one’s divine body. The major power who developed this evasion technique was definitely an extraordinary individual. The only reason why the True God which Ning had acquired this technique from even had access this technique was because he had been extremely lucky when adventuring in a dangerous area.

“Argh.” Ning could sense his entire body being wracked by pain.

The divine body had to be transformed in a procedural manner.

The first step was to use weak lightning bolts to transform it. Next, he would slowly upgrade the power of the lightning, allowing his divine body to become even more perfectly affiliated with lightning, until finally it was suitable for Ninehorn Lightning Serpents to reside within!

The other types of lightning were easily encountered. Ninehorn Lightning Serpents, however, were incredibly rare and precious. Ning had been planning to slowly train within the Three Realms, but he was now forced to enter the lightning seas. The power of the lightning within the lightning seas would increase the further he went in, making it quite a suitable place for him. However, what awaited Ning within the heart of the lightning sea wasn’t the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents; it was the even wilder race of mindless lightning sea serpents.

As for the final step of perfecting his divine body…

Ning had planned to use the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent to do this. The lightning sea serpents were simply too wild; clearly, using them to transform the body would be much more dangerous. However…since he didn’t have a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, he had no choice but to accept the dangerous alternative.

Time slowly passed on. His divine body transformed at a very slow pace, and every so often a small part of his body would break apart. Ning would hurriedly use his divine power to repair the damage, then continue with his efforts. He spent more than a month within the white cocoon of lightning. Still completely naked, he allowed the white lightning to roam across his body and even inside his body, suffering no damage at all.

“Continue.” Ning soon began to advance towards the deeper parts of the lightning sea.

Slowly, the color of the lightning began to turn darker and darker, and they began to increase in power as well.

Ning came to a halt, then once more began his cultivation. He guided the dull white lightning bolts into his body, allowing them to transform it. He spent merely half a year before succeeding, then once more headed deeper into the sea…

Once Ning reached an area where all the lightning was gray, he came to a halt. He began to use the gray lightning to transform his divine body. This time, he succeeded after just a few days.

“The final step is before me.” Ning stared forward. Past this region of gray lightning was the region of black lightning.

The black lightning serpents swam everywhere. Once they moved at full speed, they would be moving at the speed of light, giving them extraordinary power and savagery.

No matter where Ning looked, he could only see these lightning sea serpents; he was unable to see any Ninehorn Lightning Serpents at all.

“Using lightning sea serpents to transform my body is very dangerous…” Ning stared forward, sensing a certain pressure that made it hard for him to breathe. His [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was completely incapable of withstanding such terrifying lightning bolts. Even major powers would fear them; Ning was nothing by comparison.

“If I had a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, my chances would be comparatively greater. Well…there’s nothing for it.” Ning once more activated the body transformation technique. Once more, the golden tattoos appeared atop his skin, quickly forming together into a cocoon of golden light, causing the lightning around Ning to begin to swirl towards him.

Ning continued to advance forward, moving towards the region where the black lightning intersected with the gray lightning.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Crackle.

The lightning sea serpents were wild and unbridled. They were in the shape of serpents but possessed no sentience. In truth, they were nothing more than peculiarly-shaped bolts of lightning.

Finally, a lightning sea serpent at the border region brushed past Ning’s body. The black lightning was instantly attracted towards the golden barrier formed by the divine tattoos, resulting in a cocoon of black electric light surrounding Ning, who immediately retreated back into the region of gray lightning.

“Time to begin.” Black electricity crackled within the cocoon. Ning carefully guided a strand of black lightning from the cocoon into his own divine body, allowing it to invade.

Lightning sea serpents and Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were both types of lightning; the only difference was that Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were sentient. If he was able to succeed in transforming his body via lightning sea serpents, it would also become suitable for Ninehorn Lightning Serpents.

BOOM!

The nude Ning’s arm instantly blew apart…and then the cocoon of black lightning collapsed as well. When the vestiges of black lightning brushed past Ning’s body, it instantly collapsed and transformed into dust, leaving nothing else behind.

“Failure.” Outside the sea of lightning. Ning was still seated atop his Voidboat, and his face turned pale. The pain his clone had felt as it was destroyed filled Ning with utter agony. The lightning sea snakes were simply too terrifying; even the portion of truesoul within the clone had been reduced to nothing. “Damn. The lightning sea snakes are far too wild. I just guided a tiny part of their energy into my body, but wasn’t even able to succeed in transforming one of my arms.”

“Let’s do it again.” Ning once more sent a clone forth.

Although he had sent just a single clone into the lightning sea, all of his other clones had shared in the experience. They had all begun to ponder on how to increase his chances of succeeding in transforming his body. Although the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique had very detailed notes, once the time came to actually apply the technique, experience made a tremendous difference.

This death had given Ning experience in using a lightning sea serpent to transform his body. Next time, he would avoid certain mistakes and do better.

After three months…the second clone died as well.

“Again.”

The other bodies were all pondering carefully on what to do. His true body’s clones continued to enter the lightning sea, testing and trying new techniques, but this was indeed the most dangerous part of training in this divine ability. The technique’s notes didn’t exaggerate at all; the stated 90% chance of death wasn’t just talk! This was even more true for Ning, who was using the extremely dangerous method of using lightning sea serpents to transform his body.

In the blink of an eye, more than four years had gone by. Ning remained within the Voidboat, staring at the distant, vast sea of lightning.

“It’s been more than four years.”

“My other fifteen clones have all died, but I still haven’t succeeded. I was just a tiny, tiny bit off.” Ning gritted his teeth.

His true body’s clones had all died. Only one of them remained alive, and that one would be able to slowly grow out new clones. This was a process that allowed for the rebirth of the truesoul, the soul, and the divine body. However, a fairly long period of time was required. To completely recover all fifteen bodies would take countless years. This was the reason why Youngflame Freak had felt such despair when he lost his sixteen clones.

There was one other method that could be used to quickly replenish the clones; to use the incomparably marvelous ‘chaos nectar’. Ning was able to use chaos nectar to break through from the first level of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] to the second level; to use it to merely rebuild his clones was a waste of precious resources.

But the great storm had already descended…Ning simply didn’t have the time he needed to allow his clones to recover.

“I’ll have to use chaos nectar.”

Swoosh.

Ning spent a full hour travelling towards an enormous star within the primordial chaos. He located a mountain estate, then temporarily secluded himself within it. He then entered the Starseizing Manor, beginning his training.

“Chaos nectar can be used to train in the second level of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. I, however, am wasting it in replenishing my divine body…” Ning himself felt heartache at the waste. However, this was all for the sake of learning the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]. This was an evasion technique that would make even major powers grow red-eyed with envy, an absolutely first-class evasion technique that would allow him to always have the initiative.

When those ten Golden Crows had devastated the Primordial Era, not even Mother Nuwa had been able to do anything about them, precisely because the [Golden Sunstreak] was simply too powerful.

Ning pulled out the stopper to a black bottle. Pop! The stopper came out, and Ning stopped worrying about the cost. Closing his eyes, he began to employ the regenerative technique included in the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. Instantly, one drop of chaos nectar after another began to fly out of the black bottle. Every single drop contained countless bubble that were like worlds unto themselves. The bubbles would appear and disappear in a marvelous, unending cycle of creation and destruction.

Ning slowly absorbed the chaos nectar into his body.

Whoosh.

An illusory figure flew out from within Ning’s body, then solidified. Instantly, a second Ning appeared.

As more time passed on, additional bodies were restored and rebuilt. In the end, a total of sixteen Ji Nings appeared within the Starseizing Manor. This was the limit; there was no way he could regain any more.

“The amount of chaos nectar needed to replenish my clones is actually the same as needed to break through to the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods].” Ning truly felt heartache at the cost.

“Again.”

“I refuse to believe that I’ll fail this time as well.”

Ning left the cave, then rode the Voidboat back into the primordial chaos, heading once more towards the sea of lightning.

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Chapter 49 – Success

Chapter 49 – Success

The Voidboat once more came to a halt at the borders of the lightning sea. Yet another clone flew out into the countless streaks of lightning, beginning to slowly transform its divine body.

In truth, Ji Ning could’ve transformed one clone to the level of being able to withstand the gray lightning, then halted the transformation process and used it as the ‘base template’ for restoring his other clones. That way, all of the recreated clones would start with enough affinity for lightning to immediately go and try to be transformed by using the black lightning sea serpents. That would allow for more time to be saved. Ning, however, didn’t do this; he continued to have every single clone go through the slow transformation process.

That way, with each attempt Ning would continue to accumulate more experience.

At present, the reason why Ning was able to endure the gray lightning was thanks to his divine body having trained in the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], rather than due to him being experienced in lightning. He only succeeded due to his incredibly tough body. By testing things out time and time again, he was accumulating experience. He would rather spend an extra three months gaining experience than potentially waste a tiny bit of chaos nectar.

“Mm.” Atop the Voidboat, Ning frowned. He once more sensed the agony of his soul being destroyed.

Yet another failure.

“Again.”

Swoosh.

Another streak of light flew out and entered the sea of lightning.

Clones of Ning’s original body continued to advance, each of them being felled in turn by the lightning sea serpents. Clearly, using them to transform his body was incredibly difficult. However, as he continued to gain experience and perfect his technique, each time he was able to endure the lightning sea serpents for increasingly long periods of time.

“Nine dead.”

“Ten dead.”

Ning felt tremendous heartache as well. Every single clone represented some of his chaos nectar.

“I just need to hold on for a while longer. Just now, if I was slightly luckier, I might’ve succeeded.” Ning did his best to maintain complete calmness as he continued his attempts.

Within the region of gray lightning, there was a cocoon of black lightning. Within the cocoon, Ji Ning’s nude body was covered with dim flickerings of black lightning. His skin and his muscles would occasionally be destroyed, but they would almost instantly recover and heal. Ning’s eyes were closed, and all of his heartforce was focused on guiding the strands of black lightning. The power of the lightning sea serpents was simply too terrifying; he wasn’t able to forcibly command even the tiniest part of it, just guide it.

Clearly, Ning had gained increasing amounts of experience in this technique, at the cost of paying with his life over and over.

Starting with his hands, his entire body began to transform. His torso…his four limbs…his head.

Whoosh.

Ning’s eyes suddenly opened.

Swish! Swish! Black lightning shot out from his eyes, not damaging them in the slightest.

“I finally succeeded.” Ning willed the barrier of golden tattoo-light to disappear. Instantly, the cocoon of black lightning collapsed as well. The black lightning sea snake lashed out chaotically, some of it sweeping past Ning’s body as well. However, the lightning simply shot through Ning’s body without damaging it. Ning continued to stand there, completely unharmed. In fact, some of the black lightning even swirled around inside of his body.

“I finally succeeded!” Ning excitedly clenched his fists. After having been completely stonewalled by Exalted Celestial Thundergod, his only hope was to risk the sea of lightning. At first, he had failed multiple times, causing him to begin to worry. What if he died dozens of times without succeeding? Was he supposed to use up all of his chaos nectar on this single technique?

Fortunately, as his experience increased, he was able to withstand the transformation process of the lightning sea serpent for increasingly long period of times. Ning felt more confident in himself upon seeing that he was improving…and today, he had finally succeeded.

“The remaining steps will no longer be dangerous.” Ning let out a relaxed chuckle. “The next step will be to tame a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. I don’t have Thousandrot Godfruits or a Myriad Thunders Godgem, but I do have chaos nectar. Clearly, the only issue before me is actually finding one of them.”

“Time to go.”

This time, Ning headed straight towards the field of endless black lightning in a fearless manner. The black lightning bolts were all in the shape of serpents, and they flew about with wild abandon with utterly heaven-wrecking power. However…no sea wave, no matter how vast, could drown a fish. This region of lightning sea snakes could be described as an lethally dangerous zone for others, but it was no longer of any danger to Ning. Still, upon actually entering the region, Ning still slowed down his advance and advanced cautiously.

One lightning sea serpent after another flashed past Ning, some brushing against him. Ning, however, simply felt a warm, gentle feeling throughout his body.

“Ha.” He let out a chuckle, then flew all the way into the region.

“Time to search for a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent.”

As Ning flew through the region of black lightning, he continuously released his heartforce to search the region. Heartforce was inherently formless, and so not even the lightning sea serpents were capable of damaging it. Given how far Ning’s coresense stretched, he was quickly able to locate a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent located deep within the sea of lightning. Not hesitating at all, Ning immediately flew in that direction, boring deep into the heart of the lightning sea.

Prior to this, Ning was still able to see the primordial chaos if he raised his head. Now, however, the only thing he could see anywhere were those flashes of black lightning.

After flying for a full hour, a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent drew close to Ning’s direction.

“Perfect.” Ning had long ago formed a ‘serpent egg’ of divine tattoos within his body. So long as a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent touched his body, it would immediately be drawn inside.

Swoosh! Ning did everything he could to move closer to that Ninehorn Lightning Serpent.

Whoosh! The giant black serpent had nine horns on its head and was incredibly agile. It was happily swimming about within the sea of lightning, sometimes flying fast, sometimes flying slow. What caused Ning the most despair was that it had suddenly begun to fly towards a different direction. Given how fast it was, Ning wasn’t even able to catch a glimpse of it, to say nothing of catch it.

“Ugh. Failed.” Once the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent began to move away from him, given how fast its speed was, there was no way Ning could possibly catch up to it. Thus, actually encountering and acquiring one had an element of luck to it, especially in the encountering part.

“I’ll keep going in deeper.” Ning continued to advance into the depths of the lightning sea. The entire lightning sea did have a coremost region. In a lightning sea of sufficiently vast size, Myriad Thunders Godgems would crystallize within these core regions. However, this one had been discovered by the Three Realms long ago. Given how able the likes of Suiren and Daoist Three Purities were, if there were any godgems within it, they would’ve been able and willing to pay the price necessary to enter the core regions to harvest the godgems. Mother Nuwa in particular was completely capable of easily traversing the sea.

Thus, Ning didn’t believe that he would encounter a Myriad Thunders Godgem within the core.

He continued to fly deeper and deeper into towards core…

He flew fairly slowly within the lightning sea. Given that the lightning sea was also quite vast, he flew for two full months. Although he encountered more than a hundred Ninehorn Lightning Serpents, not a single one of them touched him. One of them was so close that Ning was able to see it with the naked eye, but alas…with a swish, it flew past Ning without touching him. Ning frantically expanded his body to become ten thousand kilometers in size, but was still unable to touch it.

The serpent was simply too fast.

After flying for more than two months, Ning finally arrived at the core region of the lightning sea.

He spread out his heartsense. He was able to sense that a series of terrifyingly powerful ripples were emanating from the core; clearly, this was the wellspring of power for the lightning sea. There was a large number of Ninehorn Lightning Serpents around the wellspring as well. In this place, Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were far more common than in any other place. This was the reason why Ning had come here.

“As expected, there are no Myriad Thunders Godgems here.” However, Ning only felt excitement. “Now that I’ve finally arrived here, I can see that there are plenty of Ninehorn Lightning Serpents here. I should be able to touch one.”

Whap!

Suddenly, an enormous serpentine tail brushed past Ning. It touched the divine tattoo of a snake egg within Ning’s body…and then, the entire enormous Ninehorn Lightning Serpent was completely drawn towards it. Its sentience caused it to choose to burrow straight inside Ning’s body. The titanic, massive serpent had actually completely burrowed itself within the divine body of the human-sized Ji Ning, entering the divine tattoo of a lightning serpent egg.

It was as though that divine tattoo had become its home.

Ning used his coresense to investigate the tattoo, only to see that the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent had lazily coiled around itself within the tattoo, seemingly asleep.

“I really wonder how the person who devised this technique was able to come up with this lightning serpent egg tattoo. Its capable of making Ninehorn Lightning Serpents behave like ordinary little serpents that are still asleep within the egg in such a docile manner.” Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart. He had accomplished his task; he had finally managed to capture a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. However…Ning knew very well that it was the tattoo that kept the serpent docile and slumbering. He himself was completely unable to control it as of now.

If he wanted to control it, he’d have to tame it and transform it on a fundamental level. Only then would it truly become part of his evasion technique.

“Time to go.” Ning slowly began to fly towards the outside.

After spending three full months in flight, he finally flew out of the depths of the lightning sea, past the borders, and onto the Voidboat.

Within the Starseizing Manor.

Ning was seated in the lotus position within the main hall. Before him were seven black bottles. According to the records, taming a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent should only require six bottles, but Ning was worried about running out mid-way. Thus, he added an extra bottle.

“Ouch. Still…this divine ability will be worth it. Even the most supreme of existences in the Three Realms would want to acquire it. To trade six bottles of chaos nectar for it…worth it!” Ning closed his eyes, beginning to tame the serpent in accordance with the notes recorded regarding the technique.

Whoosh.

Drops of chaos nectar began to fly out, each filled with extraordinary power. The drops burrowed their way into Ning’s body. Under Ning’s guidance, they flew straight towards the divine tattoo of a lightning serpent egg, then penetrated into the body of the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. Once the chaos nectar entered its body, the serpent felt an incredibly comfortable sensation.

As this happened, a golden tattoo suddenly appeared as well. Ning had manifested it, and he sent the tattoo flying forward, imprinting it onto the serpent’s body.

One golden tattoo after another began to appear, landing on the serpent’s body nonstop. At the same time, drops of chaos nectar continued to flow into the serpent’s body. Because of the chaos nectar, the serpent felt incredibly relaxed and comfortable. Thus, it didn’t fight back at all. Otherwise…it would’ve been shocked and immediately fled the lightning serpent egg, at which point Ning would only be able to stare blankly.

Time flowed on.

Ning’s chaos nectar continued to be used up, and more and more divine golden tattoos appeared on the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent’s body. It slowly began to transform, becoming friendly towards Ning. In fact, Ning’s soul could vaguely sense its presence. It was a sensation akin to sensing his own spirit-beast. However, the sensation was still very weak as of now.

One bottle of chaos nectar after another continued to be used up…

The serpent grew increasingly gentle, and its violent, offensive power began to disappear.

……

“Whew.” Ning opened his eyes, revealing a smile.

He could sense the spiritual conection between himself and the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent that lay coiled within the lightning serpent egg inside his body. However, although the little serpent was sentient, its intelligence level was too low; all it had was a vague sense that Ning was the most important thing in the world to it.

“I really did use up six bottles of chaos nectar.” Ning took a look and did a tally. “In fact, a little bit of the sixth bottle is still left.”

Ning stood up within the empty region outside the lightning sea. With but a thought, he instantly caused the black lightning serpent to appear and swirl around his body. In fact, the little serpent even used its head to brush against Ning’s face in a very friendly manner.

“Let’s move.”

Ning willed it, and swish! A streak of black light flashed, and Ning suddenly appeared far away. Then, with another flash of black light, Ning reappeared at his original position.

“With this divine ability…” Ning had a look of anticipation in his eyes. “Senior apprentice-sister, I’ll definitely force the Seamless Gate to let you come back.” Prior to this, his chances of successfully forcing the Seamless Gate to lower its head were quite low; all he could do was try his best for her sake. Now, however…Ning truly felt confident.

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Chapter 50 – Stunned

Chapter 50 – Stunned

Seated aboard the Voidboat, Ji Ning shuttled through the primordial chaos, quickly arriving at the icy star which contained the stone stele for the prisonworld.

Swoosh.

A black lightning serpent suddenly appeared, covering the Voidboat around it. In a flash, it moved millions of kilometers to reach a desolate plain which was covered with pristine, untouched ice. Ning put away his Voidboat, landed atop the plain, then laughed as he looked at the ground. “Come out.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three streaks of light shot out from the icy ground, then flew towards Ning. It was a trio of divine swords.

“Master.”

“Greetings, Master.”

“Master, are you going to take us into battle now?”

Three black-robed children appeared atop the three swords. They looked to be four or five years of age. Each of them was very handsome, with adorable faces that were just asking to be pinched. However, the black robes they wore gave them a cold, severe aura…and yet, their words were filled with excitement and liveliness.

Ning grinned.

These three swords were the Darknorth swords! Ning had kept the Darknorth swords within the prisonworld this entire time. Quite a few alien Outsiders had died by Ning’s hand within the prisonworld, and even a first-tier True Immortal who was equivalent to a Daofather of the Three Realms had been slain. The amount of baleful energy generated by their deaths was enormous. The [Armaments of Sin] technique had been applied to the Darknorth swords, and all three of them had broken through the apex of the Pure Yang level to become Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

Once top-grade Pure Yang treasures advanced to become Protocosmic spirit-treasures, they would immediately become high-grade Protocosmic treasures.

The three Darknorth swords were now all high-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. However, Ning could sense that they were very close to becoming supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures. The amount of baleful energy generated by the death of that female True Immortal within the prisonworld had been truly enormous. Ning was going to deal with the Seamless Gate again, but he didn’t have any particularly powerful swords with him, which was why he had sent one of his incarnations to go and bring out his three Darknorth swords.

Ning had to be very careful during this extremely dangerous period of time. There was no way that he would go to the stone stele’s location without a very good reason. It was entirely possible that one of these days, a major power might be following him or spying on him. If he was followed when pulling out treasures from the stone stele, resulting in the stone stele being discovered, he would be in serious trouble! Thus, he had already secreted his treasures in the surrounding area. That way, even if someone followed him to this star, they wouldn’t know about the stone stele.

But of course…given that Ning had fourth-level heartforce, it would be extremely, extremely difficult to follow him without him noticing. The Seamless Gate did have some individuals who were capable of it, but for now at least Ning wasn’t important enough for those figures to lower themselves to sneak after him.

“Of course I’m talking you battle. Number One, Number Two, Number Three…this time, we’re going to let the Seamless Gate get a good taste of your power!” Ning laughed.

“Those Seamless Gate imbeciles…they are so dead.”

“We definitely have got to let them know our power!”

“Right on.”

The three little fellows were all extremely excited. The process of gaining a soul via the [Armaments of Sin] upgrade was a fairly slow one, and the Darknorth swords hadn’t been with Ning for that long to begin with. Sufficiently old Pure Yang treasures would be able to gain souls even without any special techniques. Now that these three had all broken through to become Protocosmic treasures, they all gained spirits of their own.

In truth, Protocosmic spirit-treasures could be considered living creatures. They could exist on their own, and they could even engage in cultivation.

The big bear of the Starseizing Manor, for example. Ning had seen it cry, which had made him feel as though the bear was an actual, living being. And it was true; thanks to his extreme age, the giant yellow bear had long ago broken through and had begun to cultivate on his own. After Ning had barged into the ‘underwater estate’ and become the heir to Daoist Threelives, the giant yellow bear had naturally wanted to take care of him. Prior to Ning becoming an Empyrean God, though, the giant yellow bear refused to let him completely bind the estate.

This was the reason why, when Ning had taken on Subhuti as his master, Subhuti had said that it was not yet the right time for the giant yellow bear to leave the manor. It was because once the bear escaped the manor and lived on his own, there would be no way for Ning to control it.

Now, Ning had complete control over the manor. But since they were in dangerous, stormy times, the giant yellow bear was willing to remain as the spirit of the treasure, accepting Ning as his continued master. If he was to venture out alone, his chances of dying would be too high.

“Let’s go.” Three Darknorth swords in hand, Ning headed out.

Upon returning to the Three Realms, Ning immediately used his talisman to contact his master. He then returned to the Crescent major world.

Mount Innerheart. The Daoist monastery.

“Master,” Ning said respectfully.

Subhuti looked at Ning.

“Master, please take a look.” Ning handed a furled scroll over to his master.

“Can it be yet another technique?” Patriarch Subhuti chuckled upon seeing this. Still, he accepted the scroll with a smile. He immediately sent his coresense into the scroll…and then he fell silent.

Ning just stood there quietly, waiting.

Finally, Patriarch Subhuti couldn’t help but let out a surprised sigh. Scroll in hand, he said, “A fine divine ability. A fine divine ability! Even I want to train in it after reading it. Alas, the requirements of this divine ability are extremely hard to meet. Transforming the divine body, then taming a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent…all of this is extremely difficult.”

“Right. Disciple, I heard that you paid a visit to Exalted Celestial Thundergod. I was wondering why you went to seek him out…but upon seeing this technique, I imagine that you must’ve sought him out for the sake of acquiring a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, yes?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Ugh. To Thundergod, those serpents are as important as his life.” Patriarch Subhuti shook his head. “Thundergod has a foul temper. During the Primordial Realm, when all the powers were struggling for domination, Thundergod became legendary for his temper and for being a solitary figure. He offended quite a few major powers. The only reason why he was able to survive was because he was extremely powerful and didn’t take part in any of those wars. That temper of his…even if the Human Emperors, Tathagata, and Daoist Three Purities visited him, it’d be useless.”

Ning laughed. He had personally witnessed the legendary temper of Exalted Celestial Thundergod! In truth, if Thundergod was a good-natured person, he could’ve simply spent a few extra moments explaining the situation to Ning, and Ning naturally would not have pressed him further. However, Thundergod had instead turned immediately hostile, shouting for Ning to leave. Clearly, Thundergod really did have an arrogant, foul disposition that made it so that he didn’t even wish to waste time explaining.

“This divine ability really is excellent.” Subhuti couldn’t help but praise it again. “Right now, in the Three Realms, the fastest person is the Lord of All Fiends of the Seamless Alliance. Daofather Goldcrow is on our side and he is ranked second.”

Ning knew this quite well. Daofather Goldcrow was the sole Golden Crow that had survived Houyi’s slaughter of the ten. Mother Nuwa had saved the Golden Crow from Houyi. Back then, he had merely been an Empyrean God, but by now he had become a Daofather. By relying on his Golden Sunstreak divine ability, he was tremendously powerful and fast. However…the Lord of All Fiends was even more formidable.

At the end of the war that destroyed the Primordial Era, Mother Nuwa had broken through to Pangu’s level and slaughtered the Lord of All Things, then forced the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate into merging himself into the Heavenly Daos in order to survive. The Lord of All Fiends, however, had rescued and led away many of the powerful experts of the Seamless Gate. They had fled without a trace! To be able to escape the clutches of a Pangu-level deity…from this, one could see how formidable the Lord of All Fiends was.

“The major powers of the Three Realms have tried to come up with an ability like this long ago, but none of them were successful. Only the Golden Crows are born with this sort of innate ability. These alien Outsiders…they truly are formidable figures. Although the body transformation process of this divine ability is quite difficult, there should be some major powers in the Three Realm who are capable of succeeding in it. However, taming Ninehorn Lightning Serpents is another matter. Thousandrot Godfruit, Myriad Thunders Godgem, chaos nectar…I’ve heard of all three of them, but the Three Realms doesn’t have any of them at all.”

“If some of the most top-tier major powers on our side were to master this technique, they might become comparable to the Lord of All Fiends in speed.” Subhuti let out a long sigh.

Although Daofather Goldcrow had the assistance of his Golden Sunstreak divine ability, in many other areas such as the Heavenly Daos he was far inferior to the Lord of All Fiends.

“A pity. A pity.” Subhuti shook his head and sighed.

Ning, however, handed Subhuti six little black bottles.

“Eh?” Subhuti was startled. Ning just looked at his master, not saying a word.

A thought suddenly entered Subhuti’s mind. A stunned look appeared in his eyes, and he hurriedly accepted those six black bottles and sent his coresense into them. The black bottles all contained drops of chaos nectar that seemed to contain countless tiny worlds within them. Although he had never seen chaos nectar before, since the various powers of the Three Realms had slain and soulscoured many alien Outsiders, they had acquired books and records that taught them how to identify it.

Upon his coresense sensing how unfathomably profound and mysterious the liquid was, and how it contained the aura of chaos…Subhuti instantly knew that it had to be chaos nectar.

“You…” Subhuti looked at Ning, feeling shocked and stunned. He had a very complicated feeling in his heart.

A supreme treasure like this…this was something the major powers of the Three Realms weren’t able to acquire, no matter how hard they tried, because they simply weren’t able to produce it. To harvest chaos nectar required setting up enormous formation. Even the King of Pangaea had to work laboriously in order to acquire and set up this formation…and then, extremely long periods of time had to pass for the nectar to be harvested. The Three Realms neither had the formation, nor had a person to set up the formation, and of course it didn’t have enough time.

Chaos nectar could transform into almost anything. For example, the bodies of the second-stage [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] were all formed through the power of chaos nectar. It was also usable for taming Ninehorn Lightning Serpents and many other things as well.

A treasure like this…Ji Ning had actually given it up, just like that?

If he hadn’t, no one would’ve known that he was in possession of such a treasure.

It must be understood that the path of Immortal cultivation was inherently a path that was against the will of Heaven. Only by seizing enough essence and power from the world could one walk farther along this path. Although Subhuti cared deeply Ning highly, that was only because he cared deeply about every single one of his disciples. He didn’t expect that Ning would offer up such a huge gift! This was a gift that would have an enormous impact on the entire Nuwa Alliance.

If the supreme figures of the Three Realms such as Suiren were to master this divine ability, then when the Endwar finally arrived, Suiren would be able to attack and withdraw as he pleased. This would have an enormous impact on the entire war.

This divine ability, all by itself, was more important to the Nuwa Alliance than the birth of one or two new True Gods or Daofathers. But of course, this would only be true if it were the likes of Suiren and Daoist Three Purities who ended up training in this divine ability. If a weaker cultivator was to train in it, the benefit of the technique would become much lower to the alliance.

“From this day forth…” Subhuti looked at Ning, sending him a mental message. “As far as everyone is concerned, it was I, your master, who discovered this treasure of yours. Understood?”

Ning was startled.

“Foolish child!” Subhuti looked at Ning. “If everyone knows that you discovered this treasure…once the word spreads, even some of the major powers of our own Nuwa Alliance might begin to have evil designs upon you. They might have the idea of trying to get even more treasures out of you.”

“Although we are all in the same alliance…during the Primordial Era, we still killed each other. Think about what sort of personality Thundergod has. And he’s not even that bad! Our alliance has some truly demonic figures and some truly vile miscreants. The only reason why we are ‘allies’ is because we are fighting on the same side in the war.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “You absolutely can’t let people know about any treasures that you have. Now, I’m just telling you this out of an abundance of caution. In reality, it should be fine as I’ll only speak to the likes of the Three Emperors of Mankind and Daoist Three Purities about this treasure. All of us will sit down and discuss this, then decide jointly as to who should be the one to cultivate this divine ability. All of them have excellent temperaments and they won’t act against a junior like you.”

Subhuti looked at Ning. He was beginning to like the kid more and more.

This contribution Ning had just rendered to their alliance was truly an enormous one.

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Chapter 51 – Six Major Powers

Chapter 51 – Six Major Powers

Ji Ning sent mentally, “Master, will the Seamless Gate notice our conversation?”

“Hard to say.” Subhuti sent back, “In terms of mastery over spacetime, I am the number one expert of the Three Realms. I’ve folded space in multiple layers around Mount Innerheart, making it impossible for any of the other major powers of the Three Realms to find it. The only one who can do it is the Seamless Gate’s Lord of the Demonheart, who has merged himself into the Heavenly Daos. I’m not sure if he would be able to notice our conversations here or not.”

“However, the chances that he would be able to listen on an exchange of mental messages should be comparatively lower,” Subhuti said.

Ning nodded. They really did have no better options.

Ever since he had decided on giving six bottles of chaos nectar and the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique to his master, Ning had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of the Seamless Gate finding out! The reason why Ning had offered them up wasn’t purely out of selflessness; right now, his main goal was to ensure that his wife and his daughter would be able to stay alive. Although those six bottles of chaos nectar would be able to help him in increasing his power a bit further, the benefits of keeping them were vastly outweighed by the benefits of handing them over.

If he gave them to one of the supreme major powers on their side, that person would grow far more powerful. It might even have a major impact on the final Endwar.

Although rescuing his wife was important…victory in the Endwar was even more important!

Even if he was discovered, the worst-case scenario would be that he would be killed. However, he would be able to rely on the other two bodies he had hidden within the stone stele to bring himself back to full power eventually!

“Have you mastered this technique?” Subhuti suddenly asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Good.” Subhuti smiled and nodded. “To all outsiders, I’ll simply say that I bestowed this technique upon you and gave you the treasures needed to train in them. If any major powers on our side ask you, that’s what you will tell them.”

“On our side?” Ning pondered for a moment.

“The major powers of the Seamless Gate wouldn’t dare act against you,” Subhuti sent. “They wouldn’t dare to cause a great battle between the True Gods and the Daofathers. You have my talisman with you, so if you encounter any danger, you can immediately activate it. I’ll know right away and assist. The major powers on our side, by contrast…might be more unpredictable. You have to be careful and vigilant.”

“Understood,” Ning said.

“Do you have any other treasures that can be used to train in this divine ability?” Subhuti couldn’t help but ask this question. “It’s not that I’m trying to be greedy, it’s simply that this divine ability is going to be tremendously helpful to our side. And of course, I guarantee that I won’t let you suffer a loss by handing them over. Three Purities and the others all have fine treasures that were left behind by alien Outsiders and even Mother Nuwa herself.”

“I have three or four bottles left,” Ning sent back. “Master, if you need them, I can give them to you.”

Ning had been planning on keeping the remaining bottles for replenishing his clones as necessary, and he had also been planning to give a bottle to the most powerful Fiendgod under his command, Redsnow. He also wished to leave a bit behind for his daughter…

“Three or four bottles?” Subhuti could tell that Ning wasn’t lying. He sent mentally, “No need. If there’s not enough, it’s not worth it.”

Chaos nectar was only useful when consumed in sufficient quantities. Daofathers and True Gods, for example, would need at least a hundred bottles of chaos nectar in order to master the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. For an extremely powerful True God or Daofather such as Lord Tathagata the Buddha or Daoist Three Purities to suddenly gain eighteen clones would have a shockingly tremendous impact on the course of this war…but alas, they didn’t have enough chaos nectar.

Taming Ninehorn Lightning Serpents also required six bottles.

One or two bottles? That was only enough to help out Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. They wouldn’t be of much use to True Gods or Daofathers.

Even in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, the core members who were important enough to be assigned the position of Prisonworld Overseer were only given a single bottle for their service. From this, one could tell that even the King of Pangaea only bestowed chaos nectar in extremely small portions. The vast majority of the chaos nectar remained under the King of Pangaea’s tight personal control, as at his level the amount of chaos nectar needed would be absolutely enormous.

……

Deep in the primordial chaos there was a field of medicinal herbs. Next to the field was a thatched cottage.

Multiple figures had congregated here in front of the thatched cottage. They included the elderly, robed Subhuti, the farmer-like Shennong, the heavily bearded, wild-haired, fur-clad, barbarian-looking Suiren, the distinguished-looking Fuxi, the calm and upright Daoist Three Purities, the smiling Lord Tathagata the Buddha, and a stooped figure who was dressed in tattered gray robes and who wore a savage mask on his face.

“All of you have reviewed this technique.” Subhuti swept them with his gaze.

The figures before him were the true top-level figures of the entire Nuwa Alliance. They all ruled over mighty domains of their own.

“This technique is quite excellent, but what’s the use when it’s untrainable?” Fuxi laughed as he looked towards Subhuti. “Subhuti, what are you scheming? Spill it.”

Subhuti waved his hand, causing six black bottles to appear before him.

“These are…”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

None of them were fools. They had all reviewed the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, and recorded in the technique was the information that the lightning serpents could be tamed using six bottles of chaos nectar. For Subhuti to suddenly produce six such bottles…they naturally were able to understand what it meant.

“Here are six bottles of chaos nectar,” Subhuti said.

“But…”

“Where did this chaos nectar come from?”

These supreme figures of the Nuwa Alliance all began to grow rather excited. This was something that would have an impact on the entire war. With their side strengthened, their chances of victory would be greater…but alas, at their current level of power it was extremely difficult to grow even more powerful.

Subhuti explained, “It was my disciple, Ji Ning, who offered them up. Don’t tell anyone about this; if you do, you’ll only invite disaster upon my disciple.”

“Ji Ning?” The stooped figure with the savage-looking mask suddenly spoke out in a hoarse voice. These two words were the only words which the stooped figure had said thus far during this gathering, and he said nothing else afterwards.

Subhuti gave the stooped figure a glance. In his heart, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“He himself has already trained in this divine ability. He then gave me remaining chaos nectar as well as the instructions to the divine ability,” Subhuti said.

Daoist Three Purities sighed softly. “For an Empyrean God and True Immortal to encounter such a tremendous stroke of karmic luck, but still be willing to part with it…rare, quite rare.” None of them were the slightest bit surprised that Ning himself had trained in this technique; after all, any of them would’ve done the same in Ning’s situation. Actually handing over such a priceless treasure, however, wasn’t something that just anybody could do.

“He has gained tremendous virtue.” Lord Tathagata smiled.

“Alright. Let’s decide who should train in it.” Subhuti swept them with his gaze.

“Your disciple was the one to offer it up. Aren’t you going to train in it?” Shennong chuckled.

“In terms of raw speed, I might not be as fast as the Lord of All Fiends or Goldcrow, but in terms of fleeing and staying alive, I’m every bit their equal,” Subhuti said. “No one in the Three Realms is a match for me in my mastery of spacetime. Although this divine ability would also be useful to me, it wouldn’t be of THAT much use. Don’t be shy or modest; hurry up and decide who should be the one to train in it.”

The other six present all fell silent for a moment.

“Let Suiren have it,” Daoist Three Purities said.

“Yes, my elder brother is the most suitable figure.” Shennong nodded as well.

None of the others argued against this decision.

“Very well. I shall train in this divine ability, then.” Suiren noded. This man, the oldest and most powerful member of the human race, didn’t decline at all.

“I owe your disciple.” Suiren looked towards Subhuti.

“You can decide for yourself as to how you wish to pay him back.” Subhuti smiled.

Suiren nodded.

Suiren was tremendously powerful. In fact, there were many within the Seamless Alliance who believed that Suiren was actually the most powerful individual within the Nuwa Alliance! The invisible aura which Suiren gave off in particular…it was extremely, extremely similar to the aura which Pangu had when he established Heaven and Earth. Suiren was extremely powerful in head-on combat, but he was a bit lacking in terms of speed.

If he was to train in the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique…it truly would be liking putting wings on a tiger. He would instantly grow far more powerful.

Whoosh.

The stooped figure in the tattered gray robes suddenly disappeared into thin air, having departed.

“It’s been so many years, but he’s still unable to get over it…” Fuxi shook his head.

“No one has been able to convince him. Not even Mother Nuwa was able to convince him. What can you do?” Subhuti sighed. “That chasm in his heart…only he himself has the power to leap past it.”

……

Sword Immortal World. Five Treasured Peaks.

Ning was seated within his thatched cottage, quietly meditating.

Whoosh.

Ning entered the Starseizer world, leaving an incarnation behind within the thatched cottage.

The Starseizer world.

“Manorlord.”

An awe-inspiring horde of Immortal soldiers all bowed before him. Ning stood there in midair, staring down at the people before him. There were more than a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals and far more Loose Immortals. Most of them came from the army which Daofather Hasbear had given him, with the rest being the Immortals of the Starseizer world itself.

“Rahu Formation!” Ning gave the order.

Swish! Swish! Swish! It was like a horde of locusts taking flight. A dense throng of countless Immortals soared into the skies. As soon as Ning had acquired the [Rahu Formation] and the army, he had moved them all into the Starseizer world and had them begin to train in it. The arrangements had been made long ago.

The 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals had been waiting for a long period of time. The others were simply there as backup.

With Ning at the center, the 90,000 Celestial Immortals formed into 90,000 veins and arteries, joining together and connecting with all 8 million Loose Immortals.

This was an incredibly complicated formation. Even Daofathers who tried to analyze it would find it headache-inducingly complicated. Fortunately, every single individual only had to be responsible for his or her specific assignment. Ning didn’t need to worry about the other parts of the formation; he was the core, the mind, the commander they needed!

Rumble…

An endless flood of natural energy from Heaven and Earth began to wildly flood towards them.

It was as though the skies themselves were about to collapse.

The multicolored streaks of natural energy quickly solidified and condensed into physical form, and a Fiendgod of absolutely terrifying strength began to be born. First came his legs, his powerful, pitch-black legs. Slowly, the rest of his torso took form as well. His entire body was pitch-black in color, but by the sides of his waist appeared sleek, silver-colored fur.

His arms appeared as well. One arm after another began to take form, until a total of six mighty, muscular arms had appeared.

Finally, his head was created. His eyes brimmed with a murderous aura…but his face appeared to be similar to that of Ji Ning’s.

“GWAAAAAARRR!”

Ning’s Rahu God let out a furious, Heaven-shaking roar.

“I’m…actually somewhat unable to control my temper now?!” Ning was in control of the Rahu God. The legendary Rahu had four faces and six arms; this wasn’t from a divine ability, it was how he was born. The formation which Fuxi had devised, however, only had a single, normal face, although it did keep all six of Rahu’s arms.

“90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals…the amount of natural energy they have summoned is simply incredible.” Even for Ning, controlling this much power was incredibly taxing. He was actually only able to command a very small part of the total power of this Fiendgod, but despite that his power now vastly, vastly surpassed that of the perfect Heaven Punisher.

Although Ning had other clones, there was no way he could mix them into the formation. This was because the 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals were mixed together in perfect harmony and balance. If Pure Yang True Immortals were to join into the formation in lieu of Celestial Immortals, it would actually cause an imbalance that would result in the formation becoming even harder to control.

“Let’s go.”

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ning’s Rahu God drew out six swords, one with each arm. Three of them were the Darknorth swords, while the other three were Ananda World-Swords.

“Seamless Gate.” The Rahu-Ning murmured to himself, his voice filled with wrath and malice. Then, six swords in his hands, he teleported out of the Starseizer world.

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Chapter 52 – The Fiendish Ji Ning

Chapter 52 – The Fiendish Ji Ning

A Voidboat suddenly departed from Sword Immortal world.

“Ji Ning has left Sword Immortal world.” The Seamless Gate’s watcher responsible for this world immediately made the report to his superiors. The exalted Godking naturally knew right away that Ji Ning had left, but he didn’t feel too concerned. During this recent period of time, Ji Ning had often left Sword Immortal world. Given that he had been quite low-key during the past century or so, without attempting a single attack, the Godking wasn’t too worried about this departure.

Soon…he would suffer for his negligence.

The Fuyi majorworld. Outside the world-membrane, a Voidboat suddenly appeared. The Rahu-Ning was located within the Voidboat, reaching out with his coresense to scan this major world with it. He quickly encompassed the entire world with his heartforce. He was much more careful this time, as it would be extremely easy for others to notice once he entered a major world.

“The Fuyi world really lives up to its reputation. The Seamless Gate has three headquarters here, one of which has five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.” A dim red light flashed through the Rahu-Ning’s eyes. “Excellent.”

Swish.

The Voidboat passed straight through the Void, entering the Fuyi major world.

Fuyi world. Sacred Mountain Eastrise.

The peaks of Sacred Mountain Eastrise pierced high up into the clouds. Every day, Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals would come visit this place.

……

“I’ve finally managed to enter the Sacred Mountain. I’ll no longer have to feel worried about the Fuyi Dao-Palace continuing their pursuit of me. We monsters were born to eat people. After we became Void-level Diremonsters, all we did was eat a single city’s worth of people, but the Fuyi Dao-Palace became dead-set on hunting us down. Thank goodness Sacred Mountain Eastrise is here.”

“Elder brother, Sacred Mountain Eastrise rose to sudden prominence just a hundred years ago. Is it really capable of resisting the power of the Fuyi Dao-Palace?”

“Don’t worry. The Fuyi Dao-Palace once tried to assault it, but they weren’t able to succeed. Listen, behind Sacred Mountain Eastrise stands the legendary Seamless Gate. I’ve heard that the Seamless Gate is already strong enough to battle against the other major powers of the Three Realms and is currently struggling for supremacy over the Three Realms without showing any signs of weakness. How could they possibly fear the Fuyi Dao-Palace?”

“Right, right.”

Two Loose Immortal Diremonsters were chatting amongst themselves, feeling quite delighted.

The Fuyi Dao-Palace had unified and taken over the Fuyi world long ago. Naturally, it had lain down rules of its own! This caused many Diremonsters and Fiendgods to feel disgrungled. Although some Diremonster cultivators were able to calmly abstain from a diet of meat, many had delighted in eating human flesh since they were young. Normally, they had to be extremely careful due to the suppressive power of the Fuyi Dao-Palace, and they would only dare to furtively eat a few people here and there. Whenever they were caught, they would immediately be faced with the pursuit of the Dao-Palace.

……

“I heard that Sacred Mountain Eastrise has Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within it.”

“If we were to become apprenticed to one of them…that really would be a tremendous stroke of fortune.” The two loose-haired, savage-looking men walked forward, shoulder to shoulder. These two were humans, but given how humanity had flourished throughout the Three Realms, the race had naturally given birth to a number of viledoers and miscreants. Clearly, the Seamless Gate was quite an alluring option for these vile fiends.

……

Suddenly…

An enormous boat appeared outside of Sacred Mountain Eastrise. The boat was many tens of thousands of meters long, and atop the boat stood a peerless six-armed Fiendgod. The baleful aura emanating from him caused the entire world to seemingly turn gray. The natural world was itself affected, and countless gray stormclouds began to appear.

“What’s that?!”

“Th-that’s…”

“G-god…”

The many Fiendgods and Immortals atop Sacred Mountain Eastrise were all completely stupefied. Just staring at that peerless Fiendgod caused them to shiver and feel their hearts fill with fear. In fact, they felt as though they couldn’t even move their fingers. The invisible presence and pressure emanating from this titanic Fiendgod caused even their very thoughts to turn sluggish. They weren’t even able to think normally. This was terror that sprung from their very lifeforce itself!

The body of this Fiendgod was formed by Ji Ning commanding 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals, after all. Its presence alone was far more terrifying than that of even many True Gods and Daofathers. But of course, Ning was only able to actually make use of a very small amount of this Fiendgod’s body.

“BREAK!”

One of the Rahu-Ning’s Darknorth swords flashed outwards, leaving behind a terrifying scar in the skies as it stabbed towards a barrier of golden light covering Sacred Mountain Eastrise. The enormous golden barrier covered the entire mountain and was a protective formation. When the Fuyi Dao-Palace had attacked, they had been unable to break through this protective formation.

Brightmoon sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

A sword shot out, seeming to bore a hole through reality itself. The enormous barrier of golden light trembled for a moment, and then it quickly began to collapse as the enormous sword bored a hole through it as well.

“Run!”

“Oh my…”

“He shattered the formation protecting Sacred Mountain Eastrise with one stance.” Many Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals were barely able think properly right now, thanks to the sluggishness of their mind. The Celestial Immortals and higher-ranking cultivators, however, were still able to maintain their calm. The five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in particular, although absolutely terrified out of their mind, weren’t particularly affected by the awesome presence of the Fiendgod.

“Flee!”

“Flee right away!”

“We’re doomed.”

The five of them were both frantic and furious as they tried to come up with ways to escape.

Whoosh!

The Rahu-Ning took just a single step forward, trampling down upon the mountains and causing the entire mountain range to tremble. Six streaks of sword-light shot downwards, seeming to cover the entire sky with their might. The five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals did their best to flee, but they were all reduced to dust by the sword-light.

“Five!” The Rahu-Ning took a single step backwards and re-entered the Voidboat. Swoosh! The Voidboat immediately tore through space and departed.

……

“What?!” Within the vast world of darkness. The Godking was stunned and enraged. “Ji Ning is attacking again? He actually dares to attack yet again?”

The Godking was absolutely beside himself with rage. He had felt that he had given Ji Ning quite a bit of face by not attacking Sword Immortal world or sending anyone to assassinate Ji Ning during the past century. He had thought that Ji Ning had learned his proper place, as Ji Ning had been quite peaceful and calm during this past period of time. By now, the Godking had almost completely forgotten about Ji Ning!

Who would’ve thought…

Who would’ve thought that Ji Ning would attack yet again! “You are courting death.” This time, the Godking was truly furious. He was an exalted, revered figure; for Ji Ning to challenge him once was one thing, but a second time?!

“Do you really think that there is nothing our Seamless Gate can do to you?” The true body of the Godking immediately departed towards one of the main headquarters of the Seamless Gate, the First World.

……

The Rahu-Ning moved with incredible speed, and his power was far greater than it had been when he was in control of the perfect Heaven Punisher. This was due to multiple reasons.

First of all, more than a century had passed since he had become an Empyrean God and True Immortal. His soul had been nourished by both his Pure Yang Jindan as well as his Empyrean God body, resulting in it growing until it had reached the limit of power possible. The increased strength of his soul resulted in him being able to control an increased amount of the power of the Rahu God.

Secondly, over the course of the past century, Ning’s soul heartforce technique had also improved significantly.

Third, the Rahu Formation contained a total of 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals, and it was a more powerful formation to begin with.

Thus, in short, Rahu-Ning’s power was two levels higher than the perfect Heaven Punisher’s power. Even if he encountered an actual True God or Daofather, he’d be able to withstand at least a few blows. Of course, due to the huge difference in their respective mastery of the Dao, in the end he would still be defeated. The Rahu-Ning’s raw power, however, was unquestionable.

Within the Fuyi major world, Ning destroyed two of the headquarters in succession, killing a total of nine Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. The enemies in the third headquarters all escaped, as Ning was just a bit too slow.

Aboard the Voidboat, the Rahu-Ning travelled to another major world. Ning’s heartforce spread out to encompass this world, discovering just two Seamless Gate headquarters here. However, one of the headquarters was empty, with the other holding a total of fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

“They all gathered together. Are they planning to rely on their formation to stop me?” The Rahu-Ning smirked coldly.

Swoosh.

The Voidboat quickly arrived at the Seamless Gate headquarters. This was a citadel built atop a desert, surrounded by layers of protective formations of tremendous power. A total of fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had joined forces within it, maintaining the formation and ensuring that it was kept at maximum power.

“Fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals joining forces to maintain a formation. Last time, Redsnow and I would’ve immediately left upon seeing this. But this time…things will be different.” The Rahu-Ning felt quite confident. Previously, when he commanded the perfect Heaven Punisher, a formation being supported by three or four Empyrean Gods and True Immortals couldn’t stand against him. Not even fifteen of them, however, would necessarily be able to withstand the current Rahu-Ning.

As for whether or not he would actually be able to breach their defenses…the only way to find out was to give it a try!

“Careful.”

“He’s coming.”

The fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals defended with all their power, filling the formation with their energy. To build up a headquarters was no small task; they weren’t willing to give it up so easily. If every headquarters had to be abandoned as soon as Ji Ning appeared, their disposition of forces throughout the entire Three Realms would be thrown into disarray. The Seamless Gate had paid a significant price in order to infiltrate all of the worlds of the Three Realms; they couldn’t just change their entire strategy because of Ji Ning. If they did, the sacrifice would be enormous.

“BREAK!” The towering, peerless Rahu-Ning struck out with his six divine swords. One streak of sword-light after another descended from the heavens.

Brightmoon sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

The six streaks of sword-light pierced down towards the layers of protective formations. With shattering sounds, they pierced through three of the layers, but this citadel was protected by a total of five layers.

“Again!” But by the time Ning was about to strike a second time, the three shattered layers had already been repaired by an influx of energy.

“Eh?” Ning frowned.

“Samsara…Heavenbreaker!”

The Rahu-Ning let out a fierce howl as he brandished his six divine swords. Each sword seemed to have transformed into a giant warhammer as all six smashed downwards towards the barrier formations. Under Ning’s control, each sword suddenly seemed to increase dramatically in weight, becoming even heavier than a titanic mountain range of ten thousand kilometers. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dull, deep thudding sounds could be heard as the six swords consecutively slammed down upon the protective barrier as the Rahu-Ning’s six arms swung around him like the spokes of an enormous windmill.

The six divine swords chopped down in an unbroken, never-ending cycle.

This was a variation of the ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ of the Brightmoon sword-art that was used in combination with the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability.

Samsara Heavenbreaker!

In the blink of an eye, the Rahu-Ning launched a total of thirty-six chops against the protective barriers.

BOOM! All five barriers were completely destroyed…and the Rahu-Ning charged inside.

However…the fifteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals simply laughed, laughed in a very odd manner. At the same time, their bodies began to change. Prior to this, their auras had been completely different, but now their auras became completely identical, as did their appearances. All of them were dressed in bloody robes, and their skin became ashen pale.

The fifteen blood-robed figures smiled oddly as they looked at Ning. “I’ll give you these fifteen clones of mine for the killing…but you are going to die as well.”

BOOM!!!

The Rahu-Ning’s sword light flashed out with apocalyptic power, sweeping forth and destroying all fifteen clones.

“A trap?” The Rahu-Ning had kept his coresense active, and he had noticed that two ripples of power had begun to tear through the fabric of space and descend upon this major world. “So their plan was to use fifteen of the bodies of Empyrean God Bloodriver to buy time and keep me here as their armies assembled to trap me. A pity for them that those fifteen all died for nothing.”

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Chapter 53 – The Keeper of the Everwood

Chapter 53 – The Keeper of the Everwood

“Time to go!” The Rahu-Ning entered his Voidboat. Just as he was about to tear through space and depart, he suddenly saw lines of golden silk appear within the blurriness of the Void. These golden strands of silk made it so that tearing through space was going to be incredibly difficult.

“Not good. They’ve altered the Void in this area. It’s now incredibly difficult to tear through it. It was fairly easy when I came to this major world…it seems that they made their move when I attacked this city.” Ji Ning instantly understood what had happened.

Although all of this took time to describe, in truth it happened in an instant. And, right at this moment, the space behind and in front of Ning was easily torn open, resulting in two large boats appearing.

……

The First World.

The Seamless Alliance had originiated from the Seamless Chaosworld. Their roots were very deep, and they had spread out across a total of ten worlds. These ten mighty worlds were ten utterly enormous military bases, each of which had Daofathers protecting them. Immortal and Fiendgod armies could be rapidly dispatched from them to engage in wars of conquest against the other major worlds.

These ten worlds were ranked from ‘tenth’ to ‘first’, and the higher the ranking, the more powerful the world.

The First World was the true heart and core of the entire Seamless Alliance. Even the Allfiend world, protected by the Lord of All Fiends, was at most on par with the First World. After discovering Ji Ning’s attack, the Godking had headed straight towards the First World.

“Uncle-master.” The Godking was standing beside a violet-robed man in a rather respectful manner.

This violet-robed man was carrying a deep-violet wooden ruler on his back. His face was very calm, and he seemed to carry an aura of warmth and amusement about him. He was in charge of protecting the First World, an individual who had a truly transcendent status amongst the major powers of the Seamless Alliance. In fact, prior to the end of the Primordial Era, he had been second only to the Lord of the Demonheart. Back then, his status had been a bit higher than that of even the Lord of All Fiends.

He…was Keeper Everwood.

He was an extremely charismatic figure who many of the major powers of the Seamless Gate admired and were willing to follow and serve.

Back during the time of the Seamless Chaosworld, the Lord of the Demonheart and Keeper Everwood had been two diametrically different types of people.

The Lord of the Demonheart loved in battle, delighted in slaughter, and enjoyed playing with the hearts of others.

Keeper Everwood was gentle and kind. He delighted in collecting various types of wood, which was a very strange hobby for a major power to have. The reason why he gave himself the name of ‘Everwood’ was because the type of wood he was the most infatuated with was a type of wood known as Everwood. This was a form of naturally-occurring wood within the Seamless Chaosworld. Keeper Everwood found and collected every single specimen of this type of world, then titled himself the ‘Keeper of the Everwood’.

He spent some time dabbling in formations and was a master of them, but that was just for fun. His true passion was still his Everwood.

He disliked battle, and he never quarreled with others. Whenever anyone asked him for advice, he would give them guidance. This, many major powers viewed themselves as being in his debt. When the Seamless Chaosworld still existed, his reputation within that world was exceedingly high. If he wanted to struggle with others over control of the world, the Lord of the Demonheart would’ve most likely found it extremely difficult to truly unify it under his command. Fortunately, Keeper Everwood didn’t desire power, and so he ended up swearing an oath of brotherhood with the Lord of the Demonheart, becoming the number-two figure of the entire Seamless Chaosworld.

His power was truly unfathomable!

He was extremely skilled in formations, spells, and divine abilities. Most terrifying of all was that wooden ruler he carried on his back; his true power lay in close combat!

However, during the war which ended the Primordial Era, Mother Nuwa had made a breakthrough and become a god like Pangu, completely dominating all her foes. Not even Keeper Everwood had been able to withstand her.

Keeper Everwood would have fallen, but fortunately the Lord of All Fiends had been so talented in his escaping skills that he had managed to save the Keeper, as well as many of the other experts of the Seamless Gate. This actions made it so that all the survivors owed him a debt. In addition, given that he was actually able to escape from the wrath of the Pangu-level Mother Nuwa, the Lord of All Fiend’s status amongst the Seamless Chaosworld’s forces instantly skyrocketed, and he became the number one figure of the modern-day Seamless Alliance.

However, Keeper Evergreen’s power remained unquestioned, and so he guarded over the First World.

In truth, prior to these two alliances turning hostile, Keeper Evergreen had many friends from the Nuwa Alliance. Even the likes of Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, and Subhuti had been good friends of him. They were so close to each other than when the storm had descended, Three Purities had told Keeper Evergreen, “Fellow Daoist Evergreen, there’s no need for you to get involved in this war between our two alliances. It doesn’t matter if the Seamless Gate is destroyed or if the Nuwa Alliance is destroyed; I trust that no matter who the victors are, they won’t make any trouble for you.”

Logically speaking, no one should be capable of transcending beyond the bounds of this war. Old Man Yuan, for example, tried to maintain a balance between the two sides as he was unwilling to fight, but in the end both sides would force him to make a choice.

Keeper Evergreen, however…

The Nuwa Alliance would’ve permitted him not to take part in this war, promising not to touch him. The Seamless Alliance didn’t try to force him either. However, in the end Keeper Evergreen decided to stand along with the Seamless Alliance and his fellows who had come from the chaosworld of his birth. Still, the fact that he was given a choice was testament to his charisma.

“This young fellow named Ji Ning is nothing more than a minor nuisance. You are being too serious about this,” Keeper Evergreen said with a chuckle. “You even had Bloodriver sacrifice fifteen of his clones. With my ‘Brightvoid Worldlock Formation’, his Voidboat shall become much less effective. He’ll be like a fish caught in the nets. It will be very hard for him to escape.”

“For you to come up with this Brightvoid Worldlock Formation just to deal with him…he should feel honored as he dies,” the Godking said.

“He’s Subhuti’s disciple, yes?” Keeper Evergreen shook his head slowly. He truly didn’t wish to act against the beloved disciple of a former friend. However, both alliances were currently warring against each other. If he showed mercy to his foes, it would be the same as showing cruelty to his own allies!

“Uncle-master, this is merely Ji Ning’s true body; he still has a Primaltwin,” the Godking immediately said. “After his true body is slain, his power will drop dramatically, and he’ll also lose his treasures such as the Voidboat. He’ll no longer have the power needed to ambush us. This will be good for both him and us.”

Although this was what the Godking said on the surface, in his heart he still felt resentment. He venerated his master, the Lord of All Fiends, for his mercilessness and his willingness to pull up grass by the roots! But of course, he had to coax this uncle-master of his with the appropriate words.

“I’m not as soft-hearted as you think. Even if I truly kill this disciple of Subhuti, it doesn’t really matter. This is just the beginning. When the Endwar comes…” When he thought of the impending Endwar, Keeper Evergreen felt helpless and resigned. However, if he had to make a choice, he would still choose these ancient, true brothers and friends he had met back when they had all been born from the primordial chaos.

Daoist Three Purities…Subhuti…either they would die, or his own friends and brothers would die. One side had to perish. Thus, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and choose to send Daoist Three Purities and the others on their way to death.

The Godking and Keeper Evergreen watched the battle begin from far away. In truth, others aside from them were watching as well, such as many of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance.

“Bright.”

“Void.”

These were two enormous formations that had been laid out by a pair of Protocosmic spirit-treasure boats, each filled with 320 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Like the Taiji diagram, one was Yang-aligned while the other was Yin-aligned. They came together into a perfect whole, forming the enormous Brightvoid Worldlock Formation. This enormous formation covered this entire major world, and it was something which only True Gods and Daofathers could normally accomplish.

Once the formation was successfully laid out, the planetary membrance became merged into the formation itself. To tear through the planetary membrane and enter the Void would thus become extremely difficult and require an extremely long period of time.

But of course, as the controllers of this formation, the parties on the two boats were able to easily enter this major world.

“Kill Ji Ning.”

“This entire major world has been locked away. He won’t have the time needed to slowly tear through into the Void, nor will he be able to teleport away and escape. He’s dead.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals atop the two ships of the Seamless Gate were both extremely confident.

After Ning’s previous assaults, the Godking had been enraged. Worried that Ning might try to cause trouble again, he had asked Keeper Evergreen to come up with this technique. In truth, this sort of world-locking formation wasn’t of much use in normal situations! This was because this sort of seal that had been created by merely a group of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals was rather meaningless to True Gods and Daofathers, who would be able to easily tear through it!

It was meaningless in a war…but it was very useful to catch and kill Ning, like a loach in the net. Given Keeper Evergreen’s skill in the art of formations, he was able to come up with this technique after spending just three years.

And now…after all these years, Ning finally encountered it.

As soon as the two boats appeared…

“Time to go.” The Rahu-Ning didn’t hesitate at all. With but a thought, an enormous black lightning serpent suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It wrapped itself over the Voidboat…then disappeared with a flash.

“W-what…”

“I…can’t see where he went.”

“Too fast…I can’t even see his movements…”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals aboard the two boats were both dazed. This was a completely different level of speed.

With Ning having reached the speed of light, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals aboard the two Seamless Gate ships all stared at the streak of black lightning that had been left in the skies. After the streak of black lightning disappeared, they could no longer see any trace of Ji Ning.

“How are we supposed to chase him?”

“H-how are we…”

“He instantly disappeared.”

They all exchanged glances.

The Rahu-Ning quickly moved far, far away from the two enemy warships. Only then did he forcibly tear a hole through the Void and move to escape. The golden threads of light sought to impede him, making the tearing process very difficult, but because the enemy warships were too far away they weren’t able to catch up to him at all. Riiiip! The planetary membrane was finally torn apart and the Voidboat disappeared.

Soon…it reappeared within another world.

“Ah, so these actually haven’t fled yet?” The Rahu-Ning rode the Voidboat forward, assaulting the headquarters of the Seamless Gate on this world.

“Ahh! That’s…!”

“Look at his face! That’s Ji Ning. Ji Ning!”

“Why didn’t the Godking warn us?”

“The Godking just warned us to leave right away.”

“He only warned us NOW?! It’s too late!!!”

BOOM!

The Rahu-Ning smashed straight through this headquarters with overwhelming power. The Godking had been so completely certain that there was no way Ji Ning would be able to escape that he hadn’t arranged for the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in the nearby major worlds to flee. Thus…they once more suffered for it.

……

The First World.

“Impossible. This is impossible.” The Godking couldn’t believe it, and a look of madness was in his eyes. “How could Ji Ning have acquired a divine ability like this? This speed…it’s at the limit of speed possible under the Heavenly Daos. Wasn’t Goldcrow supposed to be the only person in the Nuwa Alliance who is this fast? How could Ji Ning be this fast as well? He’s only human!”

“A perfect evasion technique.” Keeper Everwood murmured to himself, “For a human to be able to execute it…he couldn’t have been born with it. Did the Nuwa Alliance come up with this divine ability?”

“What should I do? What should I do? How should I stop him and kill him?” The Godking began to panic. “If he’s just allowed to continue like this, he’ll sweep through one major world after another. Our strategy throughout the Three Realms…are we going to have to upend it and give up all our effort just because of him? No. No way!”

The Godking was panicking, but no matter what idea he came up with, he couldn’t come up with anything that could be used to stop Ning.

“Uncle-master.” The Godking looked at the nearby Keeper Everwood.

“Mm?” Keeper Everwood looked back at the Godking.

“Uncle-master, please advise me,” the Godking said frantically.

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Chapter 54 – Berserk

Book 19, Empyrean God, Chapter 54 – Berserk

Keeper Everwood looked towards the Godking, then chuckled. “I have two surefire methods for success.”

“Two?” The Godking’s eyes lit up. He didn’t even have one.

“Ordinary methods are useless against someone like Ji Ning, whose speed has reached the limits set by the Heavenly Daos. Not even major powers can catch up to him in speed, much less other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.” Keeper Everwood continued, “At a time like this, the only choice you have is to compensate through raw numbers. Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in sufficiently large quantities can kill even True Gods and Daofathers.”

“Since he is extremely fast, then send out large groups of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to form a truly massive formation that he cannot escape from,” Keeper Everwood said. “However…the number you will need to truly trap and lock in Ji Ning is enormous.”

“How many would be needed?” The Godking immediately asked.

“At least five thousand,” Keeper Everwood replied.

The Godking’s heart instantly clenched.

Still, it made sense.

The ‘Seamless Infinity Formation was formed using 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, but it was only able to completely lock down a region of ten thousand kilometers, preventing Ji Ning from escaping from it. The ‘Brightvoid Worldlock Formation was able to cover an entire major world, but it just made travel more difficult. Given a bit of extra time, Ji Ning would still be able to tear through the barrier and escape into the Void.

To create a formation that Ji Ning was unable to escape from that was as vast as a major world…the number of True Immortals and Empyrean Gods needed would be staggeringly large.

The Brightvoid Worldlock Formation itself required 640 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to set up. If they really wanted to set up a formation that Ji Ning was guaranteed to be unable to escape from…yes, more than five thousand would be needed.

“That many…” The Godking frowned. “It will be very difficult for our Seamless Gate to send our more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all at once. The two hundred I sent last time came from the Third World. This time I had to come and speak with you, uncle-master, before I could send out six hundred. Uncle-master, your First World has many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, so sending six hundred won’t destabilize it much. But to send out more than five thousand…even with you here, things will grow very dangerous.”

Keeper Everwood nodded. “I have more than ten thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals here! If we were to send out more than five thousand, it’s very possible that the Nuwa Alliance would immediately send out their own army of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to assault the First World. With all the True Gods and Daofathers both sides standing on the sidelines…there’s no way the First World would be able to survive.”

“Right.” The Godking nodded. In terms of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the Seamless Gate had far fewer than the Nuwa Alliance. In fact, their total combat power was lower as well! This was why they had to rely on their intelligence reports and their golems to match the Nuwa Alliance. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance were all hiding within the First World, Second World, Third World, and other bases. By relying on the protective formations that covered these worlds, they would be able to withstand any attacks from the Nuwa Alliance.

But if any of the ten mighty bases, even the mightiest First World, was to send out more than five thousand of their experts…they would drop so dramatically in power that they would be in danger!

“If we had all ten worlds mobilize together…” The Godking hesitated. “If they immediately mobilized, headed out, instantly killed Ji Ning, then immediately returned, it’s possible that the Nuwa Alliance wouldn’t be able to launch an attack in time.”

But he himself knew that this would only be true in the most ideal of situations. In reality…given had berserk Ji Ning was, and how the major powers of the Nuwa

Alliance were all paying attention to him, once the Seamless Gate began any large-scale mobilizations the Nuwa Alliance would immediately react accordingly.

“If we’re fast enough…it’s still possible.” The Godking gritted his teeth.

This solution was a gamble. He would be gambling on if his side would be able to take care of things fast enough. If they weren’t…things would become extremely dangerous. Once thousands of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were sent out, the Nuwa Alliance might waylay and ambush them…or they might launch a massive attack on the ten Seamless Alliance worlds!

“The choice is yours.” Keeper Everwood looked at the Godking.

“What’s the second method?” The Godking immediately asked.

“Just have a True God or Daofather kill him,” Keeper Everwood said calmly.

“A Daofather?!” The Godking was boggled. “B-but…”

Although Ji Ning had trained in an extremely powerful evasion technique, an extremely powerful True God or Daofather would still be able to kill him. Even though the Daofather would be inferior in raw speed, he would still be able to use spells and other abilities such as restrictive formations to slow down and bind Ji Ning, making it impossible for him to even move.

For example, if Lord Tathagata the Buddha was to attack, he would be able to lock Heaven and Earth with a wave of his hands, placing a Five Elements seal that would render Ning completely immobile.

They might not be able to match up to that young fellow in speed, but they could suppress him so that he wouldn’t be able to use that speed!

The reason why the ten Golden Crows were so powerful was primarily because of their leader, the Emperor of Monsters. He himself had the power of a True God and Daofather, as well as the [Golden Sunstreak] technique; this was why the other major powers were unable to catch him. In the end, it had been Houyi’s specially-manufactured arrows which had slain the Emperor of Monsters. As for those other nine…they instantly became much less dangerous.

Still…

Right now, both alliances had a tacit understanding; neither side wanted to prematurely spark off the Endwar of major powers. Both sides understood that given the current balance of power, the Endwar would most likely result in devastating casualties for both sides, with the Seamless Gate having a higher chance of being wiped out. However, even if the Nuwa Alliance was to win, the survivors would be very few in number.

Keeper Everwood said calmly, “If you do that, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that once the Daofather slays Ji Ning and violates our unspoken accords, the Nuwa Alliance will be so enraged that they will immediately launch the Endwar. The second possible outcome is that after Ji Ning is slain, the Nuwa Alliance will be extremely angry but still be unwilling to launch the Endwar right away. If we make some sacrifices and concessions, we’ll be able to turn the page on the matter. I judge the second possible outcome as being more likely.”

The Godking nodded slowly.

This was a war between two alliances. Their enemies had to consider the bigger picture as well. It was indeed unlikely that they would actually launch the Endwar just because of Ji Ning.

“But this is still a gamble.” Keeper Everwood looked towards the Godking. “All you can do is first kill Ji Ning, then wait to see what the Nuwa Alliance’s reaction is.”

“This…” The Godking’s head hurt.

Two options lay before him.

The first was to send out more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. This was virtually equivalent to the army that would be sent out for a Realmwar in one of the top-tier realms. Even ordinary True Gods and Daofathers would be surrounded and killed by such an army.

The second was to have a top-tier True God or Daofather attack and instantly kill Ji Ning.

Two gambles.

As the nominal leader of the Seamless Alliance…the Godking’s head hurt.

“Are there really no other options available?” The Godking asked worriedly.

“The two options I mentioned just now are all sure-fire ways of killing Ji Ning. There are other methods, but there is no guarantee of success,” Keeper Everwood said.

“Uncle-master, pray tell,” the Godking said hurriedly. Even methods that weren’t guaranteed to succeed would at least have a chance of killing Ji Ning. He wasn’t willing to use either of those two methods; both methods would be throwing the entire Seamless Gate into a bet.

Keeper Everwood said, “Have you noticed? When Ji Ning uses that [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, he first enters the Voidboat, then executes the technique.”

“Right.” The Godking nodded.

“The reason for that is because the mysteries of this technique primarily lay within the serpent itself,” Keeper Deadwood said. “If he simply was going to use it on himself, he naturally wouldn’t need to rely on the Voidboat; he’d be able to instantly flee. But he is currently carrying a large number of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals with him, in a formation that is shaped like an enormous Rahu God. He isn’t in perfect control of the Rahu God’s power. Thus, if he was to use the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent to cover up the entire Rahu God, it would place an enormous burden on the serpent, preventing it from flying too far.”

The Godking nodded, his eyes lighting up. “Right. The same was true for Goldcrow; he’s ridiculously fast when he flies by himself, but when he carries other experts along with him, he’ll become slower. The only option is for Goldcrow to put those people inside a magic treasure first.”

“Exactly.” Keeper Everwood nodded. “Thus, if the Rahu-Ning first enters the Voidboat, he can allow the Voidboat to complete cover and envelope his own energy, ensuring that the leakage doesn’t disturb the lightning serpent. Only then does he use the serpent to envelop the Voidboat, which is why he is able to move with such speed.”

“Whenever he attacks a region, he’ll immediately enter his Voidboat and then flee after he encounters any danger. Entering the Voidboat is a prerequisite…which gives us a very short window of time,” Keeper Everwood said. “Your only chance to defeat him lies in this short window.”

The more powerful one was, the more important the minor details would be in an important battle. In that tiny window of time, it was entirely possible that they might be able to take Ji Ning’s life.

“I understand.” The Godking nodded.

Still…no wonder Keeper Everwood had said that this wasn’t a surefire method. A True God or Daofather would naturally be able to seize that window to launch an attack, but if the attacks were merely Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…it would be far more difficult to exploit that window of opportunity. Ji Ning himself was quite powerful, after all.

……

“Run! Run! RUN!”

“Let’s go.”

“We poured our blood and sweat into this place and paid an enormous price to build it up. Are we really going to give it up just like that?”

“Forget about it! If we don’t go, we’re going to die.”

The Seamless Gate’s bases all began to evacuate. The major powers of the Seamless Alliance all had their coresenses locked onto Ning, and as soon as he drew near a major world the local Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate would instantly flee.

“Running?” The Rahu-Ning used his six swords to execute the Heavenbreaker stance. With heaven-destroying power, he blasted the formations around the base into pulp. Mountains collapsed, palaces imploded, and everything was destroyed.

“If I can’t kill you, then I’ll wipe out all of your bases throughout the entire Three Realms. I’ll destroy all the bases of the Seamless Gate!”

“Building them up was hard, but destroying them will be simple. I refuse to believe that you won’t bow your heads!”

The Rahu-Ning completely changed plans. Given that he was being watched, it was unlikely that he would be able to kill many more Empyrean Gods or True Immortals. Then…he would simply cause destruction. He would constantly destroy the bases they had worked so hard to build up. It was thanks to these bases that the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate were able to infiltrate the major worlds; it was these bases that allowed them to withstand the attacks of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who owned those worlds.

But now…Ning began to wreck them all!

This sight caused the major powers of the Seamless Gate to all feel heartache and worry. In fact, they all began to send mental messages to the Godking. “Godking, you have to stop Ji Ning.”

“Godking, hurry up and come up with some ideas.”

These major powers truly wanted to personally intervene and kill Ji Ning. However, all of them understood that many of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had to be watching Ji Ning as well. If one of them truly was to strike out against him, the Nuwa Alliance would instantly counterattack. In fact, the ensuing fight might result in True Gods and Daofathers dying.

Their guesses were correct. Human Emperor Suiren, who had just incurred an enormous debt to Ning thanks to the gift of six bottles of chaos nectar and the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique, was paying extremely close attention right now. He absolutely would not permit any enemy True Gods or Daofathers to intervene.

Any fights had to be between Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. This was the rule!

……

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The massive, towering Rahu-Ning swept out with his swords, causing everything in their path to blow apart. The mountains collapsed and the rivers and seas were overturned. No one could stop him!

“Eh?” The Rahu-Ning suddenly frowned. His heartforce had been active this entire time, and it now discovered that the space next to him had suddenly been torn apart. He couldn’t help but turn to look, only to see a golden-armored man standing next to the tear in space. The tall, muscular, golden-armored man was wielding an enormous greatbow in his hands, and he had already shot out an arrow. The tearing in the planetary membrane was caused by that arrow.

Swish!

The arrow carried a terrifying amount of power within it. It was like a shooting star, leaving behind a dull red scar in the skies as it shot towards Ning. As for the Rahu-Ning, he hadn’t returned to the Voidboat yet; he really wasn’t going to be able to escape in time.

“What a powerful arrow. He must’ve eaten a Daofruit of primordial chaos first!” The Rahu-Ning didn’t panic at all. The sword in his hand transformed into a black hole as it swept forward to greet the arrow.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The most perfected stance of Ning’s Brightmoon sword-art was the defensive stance, the ‘Soleheart’ stance.

This was the very first of the five stances Ning had come up with. It must be understood that when Ning had created this sword-art, he had suppressed his power to make it weaker than his foes; this stance was perfect for constantly whittling away at an enemy’s power.

BOOM! The arrow that fell into the black hole did indeed contain the power of primordial chaos within it. It just barely managed to escape the pull of the black hole, but the arrow itself became warped and crooked. The warped arrow landed against the arm of the Rahu-Ning. Although Ning was only able to use a tiny portion of the full power of the Rahu God, its body was still incredibly powerful, far more so than that of an ordinary True God.

Even the full-strength arrow probably would’ve only been able to injure Ning, much less this weakened, warped arrow which had struck Ning on the arm. The powerful collision did cause the Rahu-Ning’s arm to go momentarily numb, but it quickly recovered.

“This divine archer, Empyrean God Swansong, fled quite quickly.” The Rahu-Ning stared into the Void outside the planetary membrane. The tear in space had already begun to heal, while the golden-armored man that had stood outside the world had fled long ago.

Empyrean God Swansong knew very well that if his arrow failed, it was entirely possible that Ji Ning would be able to kill him, given how fast the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent was. Thus, as soon as he unleashed his arrow, he had immediately fled without even waiting to see what the result was.

“SEAMLESS GATE!” The Rahu-Ning raised his head, bellowing with rage. “You’ve condemned my wife to the torment of the Infinity Hells, and so I’m going to destroy ALL of your bases! I will kill…kill…KILL! Kill until there is nothing left!”

“KILL!”

His powerful killing intent meshed perfectly with the nature of the Rahu Formation. In fact, Ning even felt as though he was able to control slightly more power now.

Whosh.

He entered the Voidboat, then roamed forward, beginning a wild spree of destruction through the Three Realms.

……

“Failure.”

The First World.

The black-robed Godking had an ugly look on his face. “Given the strength of Ji Ning’s heartforce, the only option we have is to attack from far away. There’s no way to get close to him at all. But the only suitable attack method we can use from that distance is archery. But he’s actually able to take head-on an attack from a supreme divine archer like Empyrean God Swansong, even when a Daofruit of chaos has been used. What should I do? What exactly should I do?” The black-robed Godking was truly becoming frazzled.

Did he really have no other options aside from watching Ning destroy everything like this?

“Godking, what’s this all about? Ji Ning was raving about his wife having been sent into the Infinity Hells?”

“Godking, is Ji Ning acting so wildly because his wife is trapped in the Infinity Hells?”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate all began to query the Godking with their coresense.

Although some of the major powers of the Seamless Gate knew that it was their spy, Yu Wei, who had destroyed Shennong’s medicine during the Crimsonbright Realmwar, very few knew that Yu Wei had ended up imprisoned within the Infinity Hells.

As for Keeper Everwood, who still stood next to the Godking, he was even more puzzled. “Ji Ning’s wife? Who? And what’s this about her being imprisoned inside the Infinity Hells?” Given his exalted status, he naturally hadn’t paid any attention to the Crimsonbright Realmwar.”

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Chapter 55 – Bowing Their Heads

Chapter 55 – Bowing Their Heads

The Godking hurriedly explained to Keeper Everwood, “Ji Ning’s wife is named Yu Wei. She was one of the countless spies we inserted into the Nuwa Alliance. The two of them had extremely deep feelings for each other. I once ordered Yu Wei to kill Ji Ning, but she actually disobeyed! Right then and there, I wanted to kill her, but given that the storm had descended and that capable people are rare, I decided to spare her.”

“During the Crimsonbright Realmwar, it can be said that Yu Wei rendered some accomplishments. I brought her soul back to us. During that war, Ji Ning’s heartforce reached the fourth level, and so he was able to completely reverse the course of the Crimsonbright Realmwar. I saw how shocking his talent was, and how deep his affection for Yu Wei was, and so I forced him to make a choice. If he joined the Seamless Gate, I would allow the two of them to reunite, and I promised that we would protect his family and his home. We would even bestow gifts and divine abilities upon him. If, however, he decided to stay with the Nuwa Alliance, I would send Yu Wei into the Infinity Hells.”

“Ji Ning…ended up choosing the Nuwa Alliance,” the Godking said.

Keeper Everwood nodded.

The war between the two alliances was a war for survival. It wasn’t appropriate for him to really criticize the Godking for his decisions, as the Godking was, nominally speaking, the leader of the entire Seamless Gate. He had the authority to make this sort of decision on his own.

While explaining to Everwood, the Godking also used his coresense to speak to the other major powers of his alliance, giving them a basic explanation. Given his status, no one really criticized him for his decision to handle things as he did.

“It seems you weren’t wrong in your judgment of Ji Ning; he really is quite formidable. And, just as you said, the feelings between him and Yu Were were quite deep.” Keeper Everwood continued, “Now that he’s learned this evasion technique…although he’s still just a young fellow, he’s also become a big problem. You need to think hard on how you want to handle this problem.”

The Godking nodded, a hint of gloom in his eyes. In truth, he felt tremendous fury in his heart at how Ji Ning was pressuring him. But no matter how angry he was, he still didn’t dare to directly against him. In terms of raw power, he wasn’t one of the truly supreme figures of the Three Realms. His side had the likes of Keeper Everwood and the Lord of All Fiends, while the Three Realms had Suiren, Shennong, Daoist Three Purities. All of these figures were unquestionably superior to him.

……

An azure-robed man was seated atop the roof of a palace, holding a gourd of wine and drinking from it. He seemed both tipsy and sober as he stared far off into the distance. He sighed softly. “That young fellow who took part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny in the Grand Xia…he’s already grown up, and has reached such a level of power.”

“He’s now able to cause a stir throughout the entire Three Realms, causing headaches for even the Seamless Gate, which is helpless against him. All those years ago, I felt certain that he had the potential to become a powerful Sword Immortal…but who would’ve thought he’d end up becoming much more powerful than I predicted?”

During the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, the only person which Lu Dongbin had taken a fancy to was Ji Ning, no others. In fact, he had personally requested that the Xia Emperor allow him to take on Ji Ning as his disciple.

In the end, he hadn’t been able to take Ji Ning on. However…because he felt something was off, he decided to take on Ji Ning’s Dao-companion, Yu Wei, instead.

“A pity that my disciple was a girl with terrible luck. In the end, I wasn’t able to change her destiny.” Lu Dongbin shook his head. “The Godking of the Seamless Gate is the disciple of the Lord of the Demonheart; he’s incredibly skilled in beguiling and charming others. He was able to make my disciple so very loyal to him. Alas…from what I just heard, it seems as though she ended up being imprisoned within the Infinity Hells.”

“Still…”

“If Yu Wei was to know that for her sake, Ji Ning was actually willing to war against the Seamless Gate across the Three Realms…”

Lu Dongbin shook his head and sighed.

He always felt tremendous sympathy for lovers. As he roamed the Three Realms, he was often referred to as a ‘Moon Elder’ 1 because he enjoyed manipulating events to help lovers come together in the end. As for Ji Ning and Yu Wei? One was a Sword Immortal who he viewed with tremendous favor, the other was his own beloved disciple. But alas…their destiny wasn’t something that he, Lu Dongbin, could change.

“A war against the massive Seamless Gate…I hope you will achieve what you desire.” Lu Dongbin raised his head, drinking more wine.

……

Within a feasting hall inside the imperial palace of a minor world.

There was an old, coughing eunuch seated at the front, legs outstretched. Next to him was a younger eunuch who was helping to massage his legs.

“Try some of this cake.” Not too far away was the eunuch responsible for managing the feasting hall. He was even more solicitous than the younger eunuch, and he delivered a platter of food to the old eunuch.

“Mm. Not bad.” The old eunuch nodded in praise. But suddenly, he frowned.

“All of you, get out. Let me be by myself for a bit,” he suddenly instructed.

“Yes, yes!” Instantly, all the surrounding eunuchs bowed respectfully and left, leaving him by himself.

The old eunuch’s gaze pierced through the Void, falling upon the massive Rahu-Ning who was within a distant major world, destroying a base of the Seamless Gate. The old eunuch murmured softly to himself, “When I gave the kid a copy of my [Heart Sutra], I didn’t expect that he would grow this quickly. It seems that as of now, aside from True Gods and Daofathers, no one can do anything to him.”

“What a freak. A freak!”

“From the looks of it…he might really become a True God and Daofather,” the old eunuch murmured to himself. “And that evasion technique. Tsk. I wonder where it came from?”

……

The Thundergod major world.

Atop the levitating mountain peak, the towering Exalted Celestial Thundergod opened his eyes. His coresense reached out through the Void to observe the enraged Rahu-Ning.

“Ninehorn Lightning Serpent?” Thundergod frowned.

“He actually has a divine ability like this. Last time, he came to beg me for a lightning serpent…could it be that it was for this ability?” Thundergod naturally felt tremendous desire for this divine ability. He wanted to learn it as well. With the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique and his current level of power, his chances of surviving the tribulation would increase a hundredfold.

For example, even though Ning had the Rahu Formation, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate were still capable of killing him! But now that he had the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, his survival ability instantly skyrocketed. The Seamless Gate would have to send out more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to deal with him. How could such a force be so easily deployed?!

This evasion technique, mated with fourth-stage heartforce, a soul heartforce technique, and the Rahu Formation produced an utter monster in the form of Ji Ning!

“This evasion-type divine ability…” Exalted Celestial Thundergod truly wanted to learn it as well.

Both the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance as well as the major powers of the Seamless Alliance all had to admit that the current Ji Ning was incredibly hard to deal with! His power was absolutely enough to force the Seamless Gate to change its entire strategy and disposition of forces throughout the Three Realms. They would have to give up the product of their blood, sweat, and tears!

……

“Heavenbreaker stance!”

The Rahu-Ning’s swords suddenly increased to become many tens of thousands of meters long. They slammed downwards with such power that the very pillars of Heaven would quake.

BOOM!!!!

The towering pagoda before Ning was cracked open. Ning’s other five swords chopped down in succession, and in a total of six strikes the towering pagoda had been completely reduced to rubble. All the protective barriers and formations had been completely destroyed! It had been very hard to build them up, but wrecking them had been quite easy.

“Next one.” The Rahu-Ning once more boarded his Voidboat and began to advance towards his next target.

“The Seamless Gate still refuses to bow their head. They still refuse to speak to me. Good. Very good. I’ve only destroyed their bases on a hundred major worlds. There’s still plenty to come. I’ll take it slow. All of the bases on all the worlds…I’m going to destroy them all!” The Rahu-Ning had no thoughts in his mind save one – to destroy until the Seamless Gate lowered its head.

……

Ning’s continuous rampage of destruction brought the Godking tremendous pressure. With each wasted moment, Ji Ning was advancing to yet another base on a major world and destroying it. The Godking’s face grew uglier and uglier. He was frantically pondering and weighing his options.

The venerable Seamless Gate represented the former Seamless Chaosworld itself. Were they really going to be forced by Ji Ning to lower their heads? But what of the Seamless Gate’s face?

If, however, they did not lower their heads…were they really going to give up their infiltration networks throughout the entire Three Realms? If they had to completely change their strategy, the backup strategy wouldn’t be as effective as the current one.

The storm had already arrived, and the Seamless Gate’s fate would be decided by it. At a time like this…face actually wasn’t as important as it normally might be.

Whoosh.

Juts as the black-robed Godking was pondering, another figure suddenly appeared next to him.

Keeper Everwood glanced at the red-robed, azure-haired man who had just arrived. Grinning, he said, “Windfiend.”

“Everwood.” The red-robed, azure-haired man nodded slightly to him as well.

“Fiendlord.” The Godking hurriedly called out respectfully to the man.

This man was dressed in red robes, had unbound azure hair, a thick beard, and eyes that were filled with azure light. He was the undisputed most powerful figure of the entire Seamless Alliance, and also its most revered figure. He was the savior of the Seamless Gate…the Lord of All Fiends!

He was born from the primordial chaos, and like the Lord of the Demonheart, he was born an Elder God. The Lord of All Fiends was born with control over a Heavenly Dao…the Heavenly Dao of Wind!

The Heavenly Daos of the Seamless Chaosworld had been Primordial Chaos, Heart, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind.

As an Elder Fiend of the Seamless Chaosworld, he naturally had a very high status. However, he had always been quite low-key. It was only during the battle that ended the Primordial Era that he had suddenly displayed his incredible abilities! Nuwa had become a Pangu-level deity when the Lord of All Fiends had suddenly exploded with power, saving many of the major powers of the Seamless Gate, along with many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. He had fled with them by his side, and not even Mother Nuwa had been able to catch up to them.

His sudden display of power had caused the Nuwa Alliance to feel certain that he, the Lord of All Fiends, had been hiding his power all along. His power was truly unfathomable, and everyone decided that he had to be the most powerful figure within the Seamless Gate.

And indeed, it was true. The Lord of All Fiends sat guard over the Allfiend world, with held many of Seamless Gate secrets pertaining to the art of golems. The Nuwa Alliance had tried their best to infiltrate it, but they had been unable to succeed.

The only reason the Godking was the nominal leader was because the Lord of All Fiends wasn’t willing to dirty his hands with all the miscellaneous tasks that were involved in leadership. He, however, was the figure who truly had the highest level of status within the Seamless Alliance.

“Successfully enduring this storm is what matters. We have to survive.” The Lord of All Fiends looked at the Godking, then gave his instructions.

“Understood,” the Godking said respectfully.

The Lord of All Fiends nodded, then disappeared into thin air. He had merely sent one of his incarnations here; his true body remained on guard within the Allfiend world.

The Godking no longer hesitated. The words of the Lord of All Fiends caused him to make up his mind.

“Hmph.” The Godking suddenly sneered coldly. “The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance have already started to assemble. It seems as though they are waiting for us to mobilize against Ji Ning. Once I send out a few thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the Nuwa Alliance will most likely launch an immediate attack. Everyone really is fighting to seize every advantage possible to survive this storm.”

……

The Rahu-Ning was seated aboard his Voidboat. He continued to advance through the various major worlds, and the Seamless Gate didn’t move to stop him. Clearly, they knew very well that a few hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals simply weren’t capable of catching up to Ji Ning. As for mobilizing larger numbers…they didn’t dare to do it.

A vast lake. The island at the center of the lake had already been reduced to rubble, and the Rahu-Ning was standing in the middle of the rubble.

“Ji Ning.”

The natural energy of Heaven and Earth began to coalesce around Ning. It condensed into a figure that was dressed in black-robes. The Rahu-Ning glanced towards the figure, then froze. His gaze became completely glued to the figure. He naturally was able to recognize the figure; this was the Godking of the Seamless Gate. However, this was merely an incarnation of the Godking; it didn’t pose any threat at all.

“You win!” The black-robed Godking spoke out.

1. As noted in an earlier chapter, the ‘Moon Elder’ is a Chinese deity responsible for love.

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Chapter 1 – Lake Undermoon

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 1 – Undermoon Lake

You win?!

Ji Ning instantly grew excited. When he first came up with this idea to butcher the Seamless Gate’s forces until they lowered their heads, it had been a seemingly crazy, suicidal idea. Even Ning himself knew how dangerous his plan was, and how low the chances of success would be. However, he had no other options left to him; this was the only plan that was possible. Fortunately, thanks to the prisonworld, he had acquired the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasive divine ability, which was why he had finally been able to render the Seamless Gate helpless before him.

“Release my wife.” The Rahu-Ning stared intently at the black-robed Godking.

“Don’t be impatient.” The black-robed Godking looked back at Ning. “Let’s have a chat first.

“Chat?” The Rahu-Ning said coldly, “No need to chat. So long as you release my wife, I’ll immediately withdraw. Otherwise, I’ll keep killing.”

“Oh?” The black-robed Godking’s voice turned cold. “You want to bring your wife back without paying any price at all? You are absolutely dreaming. So if I release Yu Wei, you’ll stop acting against the Seamless Gate?”

The Rahu-Ning replied, “At least I won’t continue attacking in this manner.”

“Hah! Easily said, but once Yu Wei returns to your side, the Seamless Gate will have nothing to threaten you with. And, in the end, you are a member of the Nuwa Alliance. Our alliances are engaged in a war for survival, and both sides are struggling to seize any advantage possible. If your master Subhuti and the other supreme powers on your side ask you to act against us, would you really be able to refuse them?”

The black-robed Godking laughed coldly, “You’ve become powerful, which is why I said ‘you win’; you’ve won a chance to negotiate with us. In the past, my decision was that I would only allow you and Yu Wei to reunite if you joined us. Now, I’ll no longer try to force you to join us. But you want to get her back without paying any price at all? Ahahaha…and once you and Yu Wei reunite and you launch more attacks against us, wouldn’t the Seamless Gate become the laughing stock of the Three Realms?”

“I can swear an oath,” Ning growled.

“Oath?” The black-robed Godking snickered. “True Gods and Daofathers can ignore oaths to the Dao of the Heavens. Given your current level of power, so long as your master is willing to assist you, you can withstand the punishment levied by the Heavenly Daos for violating an oath to them. Those oaths are meaningless.”

Ning was silent.

It was true. Oaths to the Dao of the Heavens were useless against True Gods and Daofathers. The main reason for this was that there was a limit to the punishing power of the Heavenly Daos; the power behind it wasn’t truly limitless.

“Either you pay a price to reunite with your wife, or we keep fighting like this. If worse comes to worse, I’ll simply have all our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals withdraw, then come up with a different method to infiltrate the Three Realms.” The Godking laughed coldly, “Although we spent quite a bit of blood, sweat, and effort building up those bases, we can still afford to lose them.”

“Choose.” The Godking looked at Ji Ning coldly.

Ji Ning looked back at the black-robed Godking. He was silent.

“It seems you aren’t willing to pay any price at all. Very well.” The black-robed Godking’s voice turned even colder.

“Speak.” Finally, Ning responded.

The Godking laughed. “That’s more like it. Everything has to be fair. You were able to force the Seamless Gate to negotiate with you…you should feel proud. But for you to think that you’ll get what you want without paying any price at all is a bit delusional.”

“The Seamless Gate won’t ask too much of you. The evasion technique that you’ve acquire is quite formidable. The Seamless Gate will only ask one thing; that you hand this divine ability over to us. In addition, you have to guarantee that at least one of our major powers is capable of successfully training in it.”

“Impossible.” Ning laughed coldly. “You are dreaming.”

Was this a joke?

Subhuti had become incredibly excited when Ning had offered the Nuwa Alliance the evasion technique and the six bottles of chaos nectar. Clearly, this was something that would have a major impact on the war, far more so than the emergence of a new True God or Daofather. The Godking really was quite greedy; he actually dared to ask for a divine ability like this? In addition, the Godking had to know that training in this sort of divine ability had to be incredibly difficult, and so he insisted that Ning ensure at least one of their major powers could train in it.

“My request is very simple, but you won’t accept…” The Godking shook his head.

“It’s not that I won’t accept. It’s that I don’t have the ability to accept.” Ning shook his head and snarled, “It was my master who discovered this technique and bestowed it upon me. I’m forbidden from teaching it others. I cannot violate Master’s orders; if I do, he’d definitely kill me. What’s the difference between this ultimatum and your previous ultimatum of having me join the Seamless Gate?”

“Don’t even think about it. This divine ability is a supreme technique that belongs to the Nuwa Alliance, and it is extremely hard to train in. Although Master acquired it, not even he has been able to master it; to date, I’m the only one who has succeeded.” Ning laughed coldly. “As for you, you can forget about it. Even if you obtain it, you wouldn’t be able to train in it…and there’s no way you’ll obtain it.”

“You are the only one who has learned it?” The Godking asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

After Subhuti had given the six bottles of chaos nectar to Suiren, he had once more informed Ning that Suiren training in the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] was a major secret that absolutely could not be revealed. Given Suiren’s power, he would only begin to truly fight during the Endwar. When he suddenly revealed the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] during the Endwar, he would catch the Seamless Gate offguard. By then, the Seamless Gate would realize that Ji NIng was lying…but it would be too late!

This wasn’t just the story they decided to tell the Seamless Gate. They would tell the same story to the other major powers of the Nuwa Alliance. The only ones who actually knew the truth, that Suiren had trained in the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, were Subhuti, Daoist Three Purities, Shennong, and the other overlord-level Daofathers.

The Godking felt rather suspicious. Could it be that Ji Ning truly was the only one who had mastered it? Still, he also knew that it was true that a divine ability like this had to be extremely hard to train in. The number of people who could learn it in the entire Three Realms could probably be counted on one hand. It was possible that what Ji Ning said was the truth. The Godking still clung on to a sliver of hope…but he also knew that it was very likely that there was no hope for him to acquire this technique from the Nuwa Alliance.

In truth, his request for the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] was a bargaining tactic; he had never expected it to succeed.

“Fine. I won’t try to force things with the evasion technique.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning. “I need three treasures.”

“Speak.” Ning looked at him.

“The first treasure is known as the ‘Seven Treasures Azure Sunfiend’. I don’t need too much of it, just five kilograms!” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning. “The second treasure is known as the ‘Bloodflower Pith’; I only need five kilograms of this as well.”

Ning just listened silently.

Three treasures?

Although these two treasures were rare and costly, the Nuwa Alliance had them. He could use treasures to trade for them. Although ten kilograms of each would be quite costly, it wouldn’t be too burdensome to Ning. However, based on what Ning knew of the Seamless Gate’s Godking, he knew that matters wouldn’t be that simple.

“The third treasure…is an Iceheart Leaf.” The black-robed Godking stared intently at Ning.

“Iceheart Leaf?” The Rahu-Ning growled, “Are you referring to the Iceheart Leaves of Undermoon Lake?”

“Yes.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning.

The Rahu-Ning bellowed, “Are you trying to get me to commit suicide?”

The vast, infinite primordial chaos contained many unexplored, marvelous places.

In previous eras, when everything was peaceful, the major powers loved to wander through the primordial chaos and explore it. Many treasures and ingredients could only be found within the primordial chaos, and it also contained some truly lethal areas. Daofather Fuju had silently, soundlessly died within the primordial chaos, while Daoist Three Purities had discovered the nine chaos seals. In short, the primordial chaos was filled with both great danger and great opportunity.

As for ‘Undermoon Lake’, this was an extremely dangerous location.

Undermoon Lake was a deep lake that existed within the primordial chaos. It was adjacent to an enormous star, and the surface of the lake just so happened to face the star. The star was reflected off the lake, much like the image of a moon being reflected in water. It was extraordinarily beautiful, and thus it was named Undermoon Lake. However, Undermoon Lake was an incredibly mysterious place. Only Empyrean Gods could enter it! During the Primordial Era, Empyrean Gods would often enter it, as they felt certain that there had to be a tremendous karmic fortune waiting for them within it. For the sake of acquiring that fortune, the Empyrean Gods were willing to take the rest. But…upon entering, none of them ever returned.

It wasn’t until the era of the Three Realms that an Empyrean God known as Bodhisattva Jueming managed to return alive. He had entered during the Primordial Era, but only managed to leave during the era of the Three Realms.

After he came out, his only explanation was that the lake contained tremendous danger, as well as many precious chaos items. He returned with a total of three treasures, one of them being the Iceheart Leaf. He had always been tremendously powerful, and when he returned to the Three Realms he had already been at the peak of power possible for an Empyrean God. By now, after so many years of cultivation, he had broken through to become one of the Buddhas of the Buddhist Sangha.

“I only need a single Iceheart Leaf.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning. “Jueming brought back a total of twelve of those leaves.”

“But Buddha Jueming has been the only one to return in countless years,” Ning said angrily. “An enormous number of Empyrean Gods have entered, including quite a few who belong to your Seamless Gate. Which one has ever come out again? If I was to die inside, you would be quite happy, wouldn’t you? Alternately, if I was to be trapped inside for countless years before emerging, this entire storm might have already passed, right?”

“Right.” The Godking stared steadily at Ning. “You are quite clever. I know you have a Primaltwin. When your true body goes into the lake, your Primaltwin can continue to remain in the Three Realms, and so you won’t truly die. In addition, it’s always possible that you’ll successfully leave from Undermoon Lake. In terms of power, you are after all far stronger than Jueming was at the time.”

“I’m only asking you to send your true body inside, and there’s a chance you’ll be able to come back. This, in exchange for Yu Wei being returned to you. You should feel satisfied.” The Godking looked towards Ning. “The Seamless Gate insists on acquiring these three treasures.”

Ning looked back at the Godking. In his heart, however, he was laughing coldly.

The Seamless Gate’s scheme was really something. If his true body entered Undermoon Lake, the Seamless Gate would no longer be worried about Ning launching more ambushes. What the Seamless Gate didn’t realize…was that Ning had a total of eighteen ‘true bodies’!

“The Buddhist Sangha has long ago used up those twelve Iceheart Leaves.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning. “You’ll only be able to acquire more within Undermoon Lake. If you accept, I’ll immediately release Yu Wei from the Infinity Hells, and I’ll even let you meet with her. Once you bring me all three treasures, you can take your wife back.”

Ning was silent for a moment. Finally, he answered. “Fine.”

The Godking laughed.

Given how much Ji Ning cared for Yu Wei, the Godking knew that he would accept. He was only asking Ji Ning to take on some danger, after all, not to join their side. Even when Ji Ning had been weak, he had been willing to risk his life to ambush and attack the Seamless Gate; clearly, he was willing to take on risks for Yu Wei’s sake.

And it was true that the Seamless Gate was in urgent need of these three treasures. They would either be able to acquire the treasures or perpetually trap Ji Ning within Undermoon Lake.

“Hahaha…I’ll immediately make the arrangements for you to meet with your wife.” The Godking laughed.

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Chapter 2 – Long Time No See

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 2 – Long Time No See

The Voidboat floated downwards past the turbid waters of a river.

A white-robed youth was seated alone atop the boat. As for the 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals he commanded, he had sent them all back into the Starseizer world. So long as he was in the Rahu-Ning mode, the Godking of the Seamless Gate would be unable to draw him into the dreamworld.

Whoosh.

A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere atop the Voidboat.

“Master.” Ning hurriedly rose to his feet.

“How did it go?” Subhuti looked at Ning. He was very concerned about this disciple of his. Ning had risked utter calamity when he had first launched these dangerous attacks against the Seamless Gate. From the very start, Subhuti understood how important Yu Wei was to him, and was worried that the Seamless Gate would make use of that to set a trap for him.

“What did the Godking of the Seamless Gate say to you?” Subhuti immediately asked. The Godking had used a technique to ensure that no one was able to spy upon his conversation with Ning. “Given my understanding of his devious disposition, there’s no way he would simply hand Yu Wei over to you. He must have listed certain preconditions…and those preconditions may very well be deadly traps!”

Subhuti was very worried about him.

“You are right,” Ning replied. “The Godking did indeed list certain preconditions. He wants me to give him three treasures in exchange for her.”

“Three treasures? Which three?” Subhuti immediately asked.

“Five kilograms of ‘Seven Treasures Azure Sunfiend’, five kilograms of ‘Bloodflower Pith’, and a single Iceheart Leaf.”

A murderous look appeared in Subhuti’s eyes. “The first two aren’t that hard to acquire; they are ingredients used to produce Great Firmament pills. I have plenty of them, and I can easily bring out five hundred kilograms. I myself can handle the first two requests. But Iceheart Leaf…it no longer exists within the Three Realms. The twelve leaves that were originally acquired were used up long ago. They want to force you into Undermoon Lake!”

Great Firmament pills were the very best Immortal pills, capable of replenishing power for Daofathers.

In the Endwar, all the Daofathers would use up enormous amounts of energy in battle, and so both sides needed to store up large amounts of Great Firmament pills! Ning was merely an Empyrean God and True Immortal, after all, and so the Seamless Gate didn’t request an excessively exorbitant amount of materials for making them.

“These three treasures are indeed somewhat useful for the Seamless Gate, but even if you gave them these items it wouldn’t have much of an impact on the overall situation.” Subhuti laughed coldly. “Their goal is to force you into Undermoon Lake! The ideal outcome for them is you dying inside that place. Even if you don’t die, you might be trapped there for countless years. Even if you manage to leave, the war would have long since ended, with you having caused no impact on the Endwar at all.”

“Ever since the Primordial Era, the only one who has ever survived to return was Buddha Jueming, but he was trapped there for countless years as well. What a fine plan. What a fine ploy!” Subhuti looked at Ning. “You have to be careful. I know you wish to rescue your wife, but your own life is even more important. Don’t forget that you have a daughter to take care of.”

“Yes,” Ning assented respectfully.

Subhuti just sighed to himself.

Some cultivators would go so far as to kill their own parents or spouse so as to strengthen their Dao-hearts! They would place their own cultivation in a position of paramount importance; everything else could be discarded. In the Three Realms, there were quite a few such figures who were completely focused on the Dao and were willing to sacrifice everything else. However, his disciple Ji Ning was a person who viewed relationships as being tremendously important.

“Houyi, all those years ago, was just like how Ji Ning is. Both of them care deeply about relationships. Can it be that this is necessary in order for one to be accomplished in heartforce?” Subhuti still felt fairly unconcerned, relatively speaking. “The Seamless Gate’s calculations are off. They want to use Undermoon Lake to trap or kill Ji Ning, but they don’t know that he has a total of 18 bodies. Even if one dies within Undermoon Lake, it won’t have much of an impact on him.”

“Hmph. Today, they are using love to manipulate my disciple. In the future…” A murderous intent began to rise within Subhuti’s heart.

……

After his master left, Ning continued to sit there in the lotus position within his Voidboat. He allowed the Godking’s invisible energy to infiltrate his mind, guiding his senses downwards. He remained conscious, but part of his mind had been drawn into the dreamworld.

Within the vast, dark dreamworld.

The Godking, seated atop his towering throne, stared downwards at the newly-appeared Ji Ning.

“Right after our negotiations concluded, your master sought you out. It seems he really does care about you quite a bit.” The Godking looked at Ning, then laughed coldly. “Have you changed your mind? If you’ve changed your mind, we can keep fighting. But of course, your senior apprentice-sister will continue to suffer endless torment within the Infinity Hells…”

To force Ji Ning to enter Undermoon Lake was the best idea the Godking had come up with. Ideally, Ji Ning would die, but even if he didn’t die he would still be trapped there.

His only worry was that Subhuti would dissuade Ning, causing him to change his mind.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go to Undermoon Lake.” Ning looked at the Godking. “Hurry up and release her.”

“Hahaha.” The Godking let out a secret sigh of relief. “Don’t worry. I’ll release Yu Wei right now.”

Whoosh.

Ning suddenly sensed a ripple next to him. Turning his head, he saw that upon a distant meadow the figure of an incredibly beautiful black-robed maiden had appeared. This peerless beauty had a rather glazed look in her eyes; clearly, the torment she had endured in the Infinity Hells had nearly broken her. Fortunately, the Godking had been in control of things; otherwise, her soul would’ve shattered long ago.

But upon seeing her in such a state, Ning still felt pain in his heart.

“This wife of yours has only spent a mere century in the flame hell,” the Godking said calmly. “According to my original plans, I was going to to have her spend a thousand years in each of the hells. Your wife has only gotten a taste of the first hell…but alas, you’ve forced us to compromise with you. I have to say, I feel some admiration for you.”

Ning didn’t respond to the Godking. ‘Flame hell’? He still remembered how, when he made the choice all those years ago during the Realmwar, he had watched as Yu Wei was sent to suffer an agonizing set of torture by fire. So during the past century…she had been continuously suffering that agony.

Yu Wei slowly came back to her senses. After suffering a century within the Infinity Hells, she had already somewhat lost control of her senses. Her soul was simply too weak. Only after her torment had finally halted did she slowly come back to her senses. In front of her, off in the distance, stood a white-robed youth. A white-robed youth who seemed to have unshed tears glimmering in his eyes…

“Junior apprentice-brother.” This was the first time Yu Wei had spoken in a century.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning’s body blurred, then reappeared next to her. He took Yu Wei by the hand.

Their gazes met.

Ning held Yu Wei in his arms. He could sense the warmth, her warmth, emanating from her body. “Senior apprentice-sister. I’m sorry.” It had been his choice that had consigned her into the Infinity Hells.

“It was I who wronged you.” Yu Wei smiled into Ning’s embrace. “When I destroyed Shennong’s medicine, I knew that it would be impossible for me to make up for the harm I caused you. I couldn’t even face you. I thought that perhaps death would be the best outcome.”

“It wasn’t your fault. Wasn’t your fault.” Ning said, “The Godking is the disciple of the Lord of the Demonheart; he’s skilled in mesmerizing the hearts of others. In your past life, you suffered too much and so the demon in your heart became incredibly powerful, giving him a chance to bewilder you…”

Yu Wei nodded gently.

She had become completely clear-minded now. When she had shattered Shennong’s medicine, her soul had been shattered as well. The Godking had hurried after her, dragging her truesoul back, then sending it to be reborn into a new, weak soul. That weak soul, however, no longer had any soul-imprints on it, and the Godking no longer spent any effort in mesmerizing her a second time. After all, there was no point to doing so when she was going to be in the Infinity Hells.

With the soul imprint gone, the century of burning agony she had experienced caused her to see things even more clearly.

“I’m actually quite content. Ordinary mortals only live for a single century. I’ve lived a very, very long life in my previous life and in this life, and I even met you. We even had a daughter together, Brightmoon. It’s enough.” Yu Wei said consolingly, “I did wrong by you, junior apprentice-brother.”

“Hahaha…”

The Godking, seated upon his massive throne, laughed as he stared downwards towards them. “What a fine pair of Immortal lovers. Even I feel a bit moved by you two. Yu Wei, do you know? For your sake, this Dao-companion of yours used his own strength to cause major disturbances to my Seamless Gate’s disposition of forces throughout the entire Three Realms. He forced me, the exalted Godking, to bow my head and to negotiate with him. Haha…from this day forth, Yu Wei, you will no longer need to enter the Infinity Hells. You can live a peaceful, joyful life. Once your Dao-companion, Ji Ning, returns with those three treasures I’ve asked for, you’ll regain your freedom. You will be allowed to reunite with Ji Ning and your daughter.”

The two distant embracing figures suddenly let go of each other. Yu Wei stared at Ji Ning. She asked hurriedly, “Junior apprentice-brother, three treasures? Don’t trust the Godking. He’s skilled in manipulation and lies. There has to be a plot behind it.” After having recovered from her own beguiling, Yu Wei knew very well how terrifying the Godking could be.

“I know exactly what the Godking is scheming.” Ning looked at Yu Wei. “Don’t worry. Have faith in me.”

“Yes, Yu Wei, you should have faith in this junior apprentice-brother of yours. He’s become quite a noteworthy character in the Three Realms. Perhaps, towards the end of this great storm, he’ll break through to become a True God or Daofather and end up fighting against me during the Endwar. These three treasures won’t pose much of a threat to him.” The Godking looked down upon her as he spoke.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei looked at Ning, extremely worried. “Brightmoon. You have to take care of Brightmoon and protect her. It’s not worth it to risk yourself for me.”

Ning just held Yu Wei in his arms. “Enough. Don’t say anything else. I’ve already made up my mind.” His voice was very soft, but it was very determined.

His wife in his arms, he felt extremely calm, peaceful, and warm inside.

This sort of feeling…it had been so long!

If he was to remain alive but be like an emotionless walking zombie, life would be worse than death.

For the sake of this sort of warmth…even death would be worth it.

……

Seated atop the Voidboat, Ning opened his eyes. When he thought of how his family would be reunited once he emerged from Undermoon Lake, he felt filled with strength and resolve! Yu Wei had already been placed by the Godking into a minor world-estate; she was no longer suffering any torment and was going to live a blissful, peaceful life.

Ning felt much better now. During the past century, he had spent almost every day training in sword-arts as well as frantically trying to search for treasures within the prisonworld to help him grow stronger, eventually acquiring the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]. Despite that…deep in his heart, he felt a pain that would never go away. This was because he knew that his wife was suffering torment within the Infinity Hells.

After acquiring the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, he had been absolutely ecstatic. This was because…he finally saw hope. Hope of rescuing her.

“Soon, senior apprentice-sister…soon, we’ll be reunited for good. I’ll definitely return from Undermoon Lake.” Ning immediately boarded the Voidboat, leaving this major world.

Within the endless Void.

As soon as the Voidboat appeared within the Void, a terrifying ripple of power suddenly descended. Shocked, Ning immediately used the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique to flee at high speed, but a voice suddenly spoke out within Ning’s mind. “Don’t panic, my young friend Ji Ning.”

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Chapter 3 – Demanding the Technique

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 3 – Demanding the Technique

However, Ji Ning didn’t slow down in the slightest. With a swish, he moved hundreds of thousands of kilometers away while spreading out his heartforce, taking a close look at the major power who had just arrived.

“No need to panic.” A warm, gentle laugh rang out.

As Ning dodged past the man, his heartforce completed the scan. The newcomer was dressed in Daoist robes; it was a very authentic-looking white-bearded Daoist.

“Him?” Ning was secretly surprised. “I knew that my display of the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] would arouse the attention of some major powers. I’m not worried about the Seamless Gate; it’s the ones on our side that are more troublesome. So the first one to appear is Daoist Yu Qiu. His nickname ‘Ascetic’ is quite fitting; he really is quite shameless.”

Some True Gods and Daofathers were vile, vicious demons. Others were crafty, unscrupulous, petty figures.

Daoist Yu Qiu was one of the most classic examples of the latter.

His avariciousness and craftiness was legendary, and so the major powers of the Three Realms all referred to him as the ‘Ascetic’; clearly, this was a title given to mock him! However, given that he had become a Daofather, his Dao-heart wouldn’t possibly be shaken by a bit of mere mockery, and he continued to act as he pleased.

Many of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had been intrigued after Ning had displayed his [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], with the evil ones becoming especially greedy for it. However, because so many people were watching, and because Ning was a member of their alliance, everyone continued to hesitate. No one wanted to be the first to act.

And so, Daoist Yu Qiu became the first.

“Greetings, senior Yu Qiu,” Ning said respectfully.

“No need for such courtesy. I have quite a close relationship with your master, Subhuti. As for your other master, Daoist Threelives, we were lifelong bosom friends. We were like brothers,” Daoist Yu Qiu said with a merry laugh.

Ning instantly became speechless.

Subhuti held Daoist Yu Qiu in disdain; the number of times they had met could probably be counted on one hand. To stretch that into a so-called ‘close relationship’? Fine. As for Daoist Threelives, over the course of his battles for supremacy during the Primordial Era, he had made friends with many of the other major powers. He had merely been on courteous terms with Daoist Yu Qiu. For that sort of lukewarm relationship to be described as ‘lifelong bosom friends’ and ‘like brothers’ by Daoist Yu Qiu was…

“I heard that old Threelives finally found a successor. I’m delighted for him. Alas…” Daoist Yu Qiu let out a sigh. “A pity that in that battle, my old brother Threelives ended up dying in the fight. I still regret it to this very day.”

“Fortunately, he has a disciple like you now.” Daoist Yu Qiu laughed and nodded. “Just now, I saw you use an evasion technique that involved riding a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. Now that the storm has descended upon us, if the major powers of our alliance were to learn this technique, we would have a much better chance of surviving. Ji Ning, would you be willing to let me take a look at this evasion technique?”

Ning had been given orders by his master Subhuti long ago. He immediately said, “Senior, this evasion technique was accidentally acquired by my master, Subhuti. Although he’s transmitted it to me, he’s strictly ordered me not to teach it to any others. As his disciple, I wouldn’t dare to disobey my master’s orders. If you wish to learn this evasion technique, senior, you can go and speak to my master about it.”

Daoist Yu Qiu frowned slightly. Seek out Subhuti?

Subhuti’s status was close to that of the likes of the Human Emperors and the leaders of the Daoist Path and the Buddhist Sangha. His mastery over spacetime was number one in the Three Realms. If he wanted to avoid someone, that person would never be able to find him.

“It’s just an evasion technique.” Daoist Yu Qiu’s face sank. “This matter involves all the major powers of our side, as well as the storm that we are facing. Can it be that Subhuti is trying to hoard it for himself?”

Whoosh!

Yet another aura of power and majesty descended, and the Void began to crackle with bolts of lightning. This aura was a familiar one. Ning’s heart clenched. This familiar aura…it belonged to Exalted Celestial Thundergod, who he had once paid a visit to.

The Void split apart, and a muscular, black-armored man came walking out from it. His eyes brimmed with sparks of lightning, and as he walked forward Ning felt as though the entire Void itself was rendered breathless. If Daoist Yu Qiu was merely an ordinary Daofather, Exalted Celestial Thundergod was a top-tier Daofather.

“Thundergod.” Daoist Yu Qiu smiled at him.

For once, Thundergod gave him a nod, showing him some face. This time, they were standing on the same side, after all.

“Ji Ning.” Thundergod’s face was as cold as ever. “Daoist Yu Qiu’s words are correct. This matter has an impact on the war and involves the lives of countless living creatures on our side. You had best hurry up and hand this divine ability over.”

“Master’s orders are…”

As soon as Ning spoke, Thundergod frowned and barked, “If your master has given you orders and you aren’t qualified to decide on your own, then have your master come out! You are his disciple; you definitely must have a method that you can use to notify him. Go summon your master right now. Have him come over here.”

It was true. Subhuti had indeed given Ning a message-talisman. As for the other major powers? Aside from the few who were on very close terms with Subhuti, they weren’t able to simply go meet with him when they wanted to.

Whoosh.

A vortex suddenly appeared in the Void, with a robed elder walking out from it.

Daofather Subhuti had been paying close attention the entire time. He knew very well that sooner or later, a major power would jump out to speak to Ning. He had been quite calm when Daoist Yu Qiu had emerged, but once Exalted Celestial Thundergod also emerged, Subhuti knew that things had become a bit troublesome. This was because Daoist Yu Qiu was weak; he wouldn’t really dare to offend Subhuti. Thundergod, however, was an extremely powerful person with an incredibly violent and stubborn temper. He often wouldn’t even give face to the two leaders of the Buddhist Sangha and the Daoist Path. He was also the most highly skilled lightning expert in the Three Realms; he definitely would feel deep desire towards the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique.

“Thundergod.” Subhuti appeared before them.

“Respectful greetings, Subhuti,” the smiling Daoist Yu Qiu hurriedly said.

Thundergod looked at Subhuti. He growled, “Subhuti. This evasion technique…I think you had best hand it over.”

“Hmph.” Subhuti normally had a calm smile on his face, but his face was calm and cold right now. “I worked hard to acquire that technique. It’s my decision as to who I wish to teach it to. What, do you want to try and force it out of me? Is there now a new rule that all the major powers have to offer up all of the techniques they have at their disposal? Why haven’t I heard about this rule?”

Thundergod was momentarily speechless. The supreme techniques which each major power used to roam the Three Realms were generally not taught to outsiders. For example, there was no way Daoist Three Purities would teach anyone else his ‘Immortal Slaying Sword Formation’. And, in truth, even if he was willing to teach it to someone else, no one else would be able to successfully learn it, as they wouldn’t have the four Chaos-level swords.

However, even though no one else could master the technique, once others completely understood it, it would be much easier for them to deal with it.

Similarly, Subhuti’s special skills involving spacetime would only be taught to Redsnow. No major powers would say anything about it, nor would they try to force the spacetime technique out of Subhuti or the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation out of Daoist Three Purities. This was because every major power had their own path of Immortal cultivation; they couldn’t split their attention and focus on something else. Thus, they didn’t feel too much desire for other top-tier techniques.

However, Ji Ning’s [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique was different. It was a divine ability; anybody could use it upon learning it!

“This divine ability will be of tremendous use to the other major powers on our side,” Thundergod said angrily. “This is a matter which has implications for the lives of countless people on our side. Don’t you think you should hand it over?”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to. Of course I care about this war! That’s why I offered it up long ago.” Subhuti suddenly let out a sigh. “The Buddhist Sangha, the Daoist Path, and the Emperors of Mankind have already acquired copies of this technique. Fuxi, Shennong, Suiren, and the two leaders of Buddhism and Daoism each have a copy, but none of them have been able to master it yet.”

“What?!”

Daoist Yu Qiu, Exalted Celestial Thundergod, and the many major powers who had sent their coresense to watch this location were all shocked.

There were many major powers who were paying attention to this place. Most of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had sent their corense to keep watch here, covering the entire region! In fact, they were all prepared to appear at any moment. As for the major powers of the Seamless Gate…they wanted to scan this place as well, but Subhuti, Daoist Three Purities, and the others had long ago joined together to completely seal the area off from the Seamless Gate’s forces, preventing their coresenses from entering it.

This seal allowed their allies in but completely blocked their enemies out.

“If such an unearthly divine ability could be easily learned by all major powers, our side would be guaranteed to win.” Subhuti shook his head and sighed. “Tell me, do you really think that this divine ability is an easy one to learn?”

Thundergod muttered, “Why don’t you transmit copies of it to all the major powers on our side? Perhaps one of us will be able to master it.”

“There’s no rush.” Subhuti shook his head. “It isn’t as though you don’t know how terrifying the spy network of the Seamless Gate is. Over the years, we’ve found quite a few Seamless Gate spies amongst our ranks; in fact, even one of the major powers on our side was revealed to be a spy. It is entirely possible that there are other spies amongst the major powers as well. We have to be careful, be cautious. Otherwise…once the spy procures this technique, the Seamless Gate will have access to it. If the supreme powers on their side learn it, that would be disastrous.”

Thundergod was stunned yet again. Indeed, the Seamless Gate’s network of spies was very formidable. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would never be discovered until they themselves chose to reveal themselves. The only reason why the Nuwa Alliance found out about the likes of Sword Immortal Evergreen was when they suddenly engaged in acts of betrayal at a crucial moment.

Suddenly…

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One figure after another began to materialize out of nowhere. Some were tall and muscular, some were as ephemeral as the clouds, some were filled with murderous auras, some seemed to be as cold as glaciers. Incarnations of one True God or Daofather after another began to form.

After this group manifested, more and more True Gods and Daofathers began to send their incarnations to this place. Clearly, everyone wanted to discuss this manner.

From Subhuti’s words, they understood that their most supreme leaders such as Suiren and Daoist Three Purities were hesitating on what to do, due to their concerns over potential spies.

“Good heavens…” Ning could barely breathe. To see so many True Gods and Daofathers together was an incredibly rare occurrence.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five supremely powerful auras suddenly descended together.

Shennong. Fuxi. Suiren. Lord Tathagata the Buddha. Daoist Three Purities. They, too, only sent incarnations over.

“Eighty-two True Gods and Daofathers.” Ning was secretly shocked. “However…not everyone has arrived. My eldest apprentice-brother and second apprentice-brother have yet to arrive.”

“I feel that Subhuti’s words are correct.” A distant, headless Fiendgod, Xing Tian, spoke out. “This divine ability was discovered by fellow Daoist Subhuti. It is completely his choice as to whether or not he should offer it up, and he’s already chosen to act on all of our behalfs. The Three Emperors of Mankind and the two leaders of Daoism and Buddhism cannot possibly be spies. As for other major powers…it is best to be a bit more cautious. Training in a divine ability like this must be incredibly difficult. I don’t wish to see all of us fail in learning it, only for it to be acquired by the Seamless Gate and someone on their side mastering it. That would be a nightmare.”

“Agreed. We can’t be hasty,” Lu Dongbin concurred.

There were actually many major powers who were supportive of Subhuti’s decision. This was primarily because the five mighty overlords were all standing alongside Subhuti. Their influence and power was simply tremendous.

Thundergod began to grow frantic. Although many of the major powers here wanted this divine ability, mots of them would follow the lead of the five mighty overlords. In addition, the chance that they would be able to actually succeed in mastering this divine ability was miniscule. Ninehorn Lightning Serpents weren’t so easily tamed, after all. Thundergod, however, felt that he had a much better chance than the rest of them.

“I was born from the primordial chaos as one of the eighty-one original True Gods.” Thundergod could no longer hold himself back, and he immediately spoke out in a thunderous voice that echoed within the Void. “There’s no way that I could possibly be willing to become a spy for the Seamless Gate. In addition, in terms of control over lightning, I am the number one expert in the entire Three Realms. I’m also extremely familiar with Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. There’s a very high chance that I will be able to master this divine ability. Emperors of Mankind, Tathagata, Three Purities…can it be that all of you believe that I, Thundergod, am not able to learn this divine ability?”

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Chapter 4 – Icefire Jindan Smelting

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 4 – Icefire Jindan Smelting

Daoist Three Purities’ eyes had been shut this entire time. Suddenly, they opened up slightly, his sword-like gaze landing upon Exalted Celestial Thundergod. “Thundergod, this isn’t just about you. This will have an impact on the lives of countless living beings on ours die. How can we be so blasé about handing out this divine ability? If we make just a single misstep and the Seamless Gate acquires it…we might very well end up losing this entire war. We’ll never be able to recover!”

“I know that…but do you really think that I’m a spy?!” Thundergod was still unwilling to bow his head.

Daoist Three Purities said calmly, “I know that you badly desire to learn this technique, and that you think you have a good chance of succeeding.”

“Of course! Even Ji Ning was able to learn it. My mastery over lightning is second to none in the Three Realms. Why wouldn’t I be able to?” Thundergod glanced at Ning, who was standing next to Subhuti. A lofty, self-confident look was in his eyes. “I know more about Ninehorn Lightning Serpents than anyone else. All I need is a tiny hint about this technique and I might very well master it at one go.”

“Such arrogance.” A deep, sonorous voice suddenly rang out.

Thundergod immediately turned his head to look. He discovered that the speaker was the fur-clad Suiren. Suiren’s beard flowed like the whiskers of a dragon, and his gaze caused even Thundergod to feel his heart clench. This was the most ancient, most powerful member of the human race. Long ago, he had caused even Elder God Zhurong to bow his head and admit inferiority. In the past, for the sake of protecting the human race, Suiren had challenged all comers to display his power. He had actually beaten Thundergod senseless.

“Most of the major powers present understand that the big picture is what matters. They know what matters and what doesn’t.” Suiren gave Thundergod a look, then swept his gaze towards the others. “However…I imagine that all of you are quite curious regarding this evasion divine ability. I’ll let you all take a look.”

“No!”

“Human Emperor, you must not.”

“You absolutely must not.”

Instantly, quite a few major powers began to cry out in disagreement.

“If we really do have a spy amongst our ranks, that would be disastrous.” Exalted Celestial Carefree argued frantically against it.

As for Thundergod, his eyes lit up. If he was able to acquire this technique, it would be a wonderful thing.

“There’s no need to worry,” Suiren said. “I’ll only reveal a very small part of this evasion divine ability. This part is just one of the many difficulties that are inherent in cultivating this technique. I trust that after seeing this part…everyone will understand how difficult it is to learn this technique.”

After he spoke, one flame after another began to appear within the Void around him. Every single flame twisted into the form of a character, resulting in a dense cluster of characters appearing within the Void. This was a record of part of this technique. Instantly, all the major powers looked towards it.

“Eh?” The nearby Ning hurriedly turned to look as well. “That’s really the Ninehorn Lightning Serp-…”

“Wait. They changed it a bit.”

Ning quickly finished reading through it. He continued to stand there quite calmly, not saying a word…but in his heart, he sighed with utter amazement.

The part of the technique which Suiren had just made public pertained to the taming of the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. Originally, the technique had described three items which one could use to tame the serpents; chaos nectar, Myriad Thunders Godgems, and Thousandrot Godfruits. One of them had to be used! The version which Suiren had publicized, however, had a fourth, additional option…

To ‘use heartforce to commune with the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, then tame it’.

“Everyone, you can see it for yourself.” Suiren’s sonorous voice boomed out, reverberating within the Void. “This is the final part of the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, the part which involves the taming of the serpent itself. You can succeed by using either chaos nectar, Myriad Thunders Godgems, or Thousandrot Godfruits. But do any of you have any? Do they exist anywhere within the Three Realms?”

Dead silence.

Everyone was thinking on this matter.

Some of these major powers had previous slain alien Outsiders and had acquired techniques from them, and thus had heard of those three items. Even in the infinite primordial chaos, those three treasures were incredibly rare and precious. They didn’t exist in the Three Realms at all!

“Without those three treasures, the only option remaining is the fourth option, the most clumsy option,” Suiren said. “To use heartforce to commune with a lightning serpent and tame it. Ninehorn Lightning Serpents are sentient, which is why they can be tamed, but to use heartforce to do so is incredibly difficult, and the chances for success are incredibly low. All of us have tried to use heartforce to tame the serpents, but all of us failed.”

Daoist Three Purities shook his head. “I can be considered as quite learned in the art of heartforce, but I was still unable to tame a serpent.”

No one present knew what to say. All five of them, with Subhuti being the sixth, had failed?

It must be understood that almost all of them had reached the fourth stage of heartforce. Daoist Three Purities in particular was particularly skilled in the application of heartforce; his breadth of knowledge in heartforce was not one whit inferior to that of Old Man Yuan’s.

“In the end, it was my young friend Ji Ning who succeeded. He is extremely talented in the application of heartforce.” Suiren looked towards Ning, letting out an approving sigh. “He was able to come up with a heartforce sword technique years ago, after just a few decades of cultivation. Then, during the Realmwar, he came up with his own soul heartforce technique. Now, he’s successfully mastered the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique. I feel tremendous admiration for him.”

Ning could sense that Human Emperor Suiren was looking towards him with a very gentle, loving look in his eyes. Suiren’s repeated praises to all these other major powers made Ning feel quite embarrassed, as in reality Ning had relied on chaos nectar to succeed.

What he didn’t understand was that Suiren, being the oldest human major power, viewed all the talented humans who came after him as he would his own grandchildren. He was extremely protective of humanity. Nuwa had initially only created a few humans, after all; the race had only proliferated after countless generations of procreation. It was actually entirely possible that Ning held the blood of Suiren’s lineage within his veins.

In addition, it was Suiren who ended up being the overlord who trained in the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique. Thus, Suiren felt as though he owed Ning.

“Training in this technique involves multiple difficulties. I’ve merely described one of them to you.” Suiren stared at Thundergod. “Thundergod, do you still believe that you can master it? As I recall…you’ve only reached the second stage of heartforce.”

Thundergod was silent, not saying a thing.

He was unwilling to accept this! But he also knew full well that if not even Daoist Three Purities was able to use heartforce to tame the serpents, the chances of him succeeding would be even more remote.

“Thus, Thundergod…” Subhuti said calmly, “Don’t think that just because Ji Ning was able to learn this technique, that you would be able to learn it as well. To learn this sort of supreme evasion technique…you need strength, skill, and luck. You can’t be lacking in any of the criteria!”

“Why would you even compare me to a puny little Empyrean God?” Thundergod snapped, somewhat embarrassed and irritated.

“Houyi was once a ‘mere’ Empyrean God as well,” Subhuti said calmly.

“You…!” Thundergod was infuriated.

“If you continue to have such a poor temper, you’ll probably never be able to break through in heartforce.” After saying this, Subhuti couldn’t be bothered to say anything else.

Exalted Celestial Thundergod and the rest of his fellows were all born at the True God level of power from the primordial chaos! However, there’s a flip side to all things. They didn’t have the experience of starting weak and slowly growing powerful. They didn’t undergo enough mental toughtening, and so almost all of these True Gods and Elder Gods of Primordial Chaos had poor talent for heartforce. Even the likes of Daoist Three Purities and Lord Tathagata, who had been iron-willed enough to repeatedly commit suicide and throw themselves into the cycle of reincarnation, had only been able to reach the fourth level of heartforce. As for those who merely had their clones go reincarnate, their heartforce was even weaker.

Thundergod was clearly a classic example. He was born with incredible power and arrogance. Because of his great power, he was naturally able to hold great sway over the lives and deaths of others, resulting in his terrible temper growing even worse.

Deep in his heart, he viewed those weaker than him with disdain.

Those creatures were nothing more than crawling worms! He was a True God of Primordial Chaos. Those weak little fellows were nothing compared to him.

“You can all leave. The six of us will discuss the matter of how to transmit this technique to others without giving the Seamless Gate any chance to steal it,” Daoist Three Purities said.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

Instantly, the various incarnations all began to vanish. Daoist Yu Qiu tore a hole through the Void and left as well. As for Thundergod, he gave Ning a hard look, then turned and left. Clearly, in his heart Thundergod had already transferred to Ning all the resentment he felt for having lost so much face in front of so many major powers today. All of this was because of Ji Ning…a puny Empyrean God and True Immortal!

“Disciple, no need to quibble with Thundergod.” Subhuti looked at Ning, then chuckled. “He was born a True God, but that was just a matter of luck. That Dao-heart of his…he’s essentially reached his limit. He can forget about improving even one whit.”

“I wouldn’t dare be angry with him,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Mm.” Subhuti nodded. “You can leave now.”

……

The vast prisonworld. The endless ‘skies’ of this world were covered with countless divine runes. They were part of the large, marvelous formation that extracted the essence the primordial chaos, refining it into chaos nectar.

Even as Ning had been negotiating with the Godking and meeting with the True Gods and Daofathers, his two clones within this world continued to sweep through it.

Where did the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique come from? The prisonworld!

Ning knew very well that this prisonworld was a tremendous source of karmic luck for him.

He had to make good use of it!

“I, True God Skysplitter, dominated the land for multiple chaos cycles. I’ve killed more than a hundred puny True Immortals like you…who would’ve thought that I’d end up dying in the hands of an ant? What a joke. A joke!” A shackled True God dressed in tattered clothes raised his head, roaring with fury.

BOOM!!!!!

His entire body blasted apart, causing the entire area inside the formation to shudder.

As for the white-robed Ji Ning who was outside the formation, keeping the ‘Eight Fires Qiankun World’ active, he could sense the three divine swords within his body absorb an enormous amount of baleful energy, causing them to rapidly grow. There was no way he was going to let all of this baleful energy go to waste. With the Darknorth swords gone, he had procured three other exquisite swords to use. He had also named them ‘Darknorth swords’, and so he now had a total of six ‘Darknorth swords’. “This time, my luck wasn’t bad. I met a True God who only had a little bit of divine power left. I managed to finish him off after just a few years. Alas, everyone imprisoned here had extraordinarily high status back in their world. All of them are simply too proud.”

Whoosh.

After briefly inspecting and collecting the relics left behind by True God Skysplitter, Ning flew away.

Just one hour later, he arrived at a vast prairie. A True Immortal dressed in beautiful golden robes was imprisoned here, his shackles stretching off into an empty Void.

“Odd. Most people imprisoned here are conserving their energy, but this True Immortal has kept his clothes in perfect shape.” The white-robed Ning flew towards him through the skies.

“He is…True Immortal Sevenwind?” Ning immediately recognized the person upon seeing his face. Ning had engaged in multiple soulscours, and thus now knew quite a bit regarding the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea. The True Immortal in front of him had maintained his original appearance instead of allowing himself to turn skeletally thin like the others, making him easy to recognize.

Ning quickly flew forward, then descended outside the formation.

“Overseer?” The beautifully dressed True Immortal looked at Ning, then suddenly frowned. “You…”

“The chaos-kingdom of Pangaea has already been destroyed.” Ning chuckled. “This prisonworld has fallen into my hands. I can’t just sit outside such a treasure vault without entering and making use of it, right? Thus, you have two choices right now. One, let me soulscour you and take away your treasures. Two…die. Prior to this, I’ve already encountered and dealt with four True Gods and True Immortals. Here are their treasures.”

Whoosh. One Protocosmic spirit-treasure after another began to appear in front of Ning, hovering in the air and emanating auras of shocking power.

“Empress Jin? Skysplitter…” The formerly tranquil True Immortal Sevenwind’s face instantly changed. Everyone imprisoned here was an influential member of society in Pangaea. The True Immortals that Ning had encountered were all first-tier True Immortals; he hadn’t encountered a single one of the second-tier ones thus far. True Immortal Sevenwind naturally knew how formidable the four slain ones were.”

“Hah.” True Immortal Sevenwind laughed as he looked at Ning. “I’m nothing more than a prisoner now. What’s the point of resisting? In the future, would you be willing to release me?”

“If I have gain the power I need to release you, I will,” Ning said.

True Immortal Sevenwind nodded, then shut his eyes.

Ning was absolutely delighted. This was the fifth True God/True Immortal he had encountered. The previous four had required quite a bit of time and effort on his power to deal with, but this one had been willing to submit right away. Ning immediately stretched out with his hand. His arm stretched out hundreds of kilometers, landing atop True Immortal Sevenwind’s head as Ning began the soulscour.

Time continued to flow onwards, one minute after the next.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly halted.

“[Icefire Jindan Smelting]?”

In True Immortal Sevenwind’s memories, Ning discovered a particular thought-bubble that was unprotected by any life-oaths which contained something called the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique. Ning’s soul quickly began to memorize the contents of the thought-bubble.

Ning’s long arm rapidly began to shrink as he returned to normal. He just stood there, dazed.

“[Icefire Jindan Smelting]…”

“Ninefire Lava…Iceheart Pith…” Ning mumbled to himself.

“Is this…destiny?”

Earlier, when Exalted Celestial Thundergod had shown Ning disdain, Ning hadn’t grown angry. His heartforce had reached the fourth level; he knew very well that he was indeed just an Empyrean God and True Immortal. Although he had a formidable evasion technique, he was still far, far away from the power level of a top-tier Daofather like Thundergod. Thundergod would be able to kill him ease.

There was no one to blame for it from himself for being weak.

If Ning wanted to prove himself to the Daofathers, he had to train to a level where he was equal in power to them! However, he truly didn’t expect that in such a short period of time after the gathering of Daofathers, he would discover a Jindan upgrade method within his prisonworld.

“Upgrading the Jindan requires outside sources of energy and materials. Chaos ingredients are necessary.” Ning sighed softly to himself, “I had thought that even if I was to obtain such a technique, actually upgrading my Jindan would be incredibly difficult. I’d have to find many Chaos ingredients, and it’s quite possible that I would never find many of them.”

“But…”

“This [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique requires just two types of Chaos ingredients; Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith. Although it’ll be hard, it’s still possible for me.”

Ninefire Lava…

Ning had heard of it long ago. It existed in the Three Realms! The Three Realms was born from the collision of two large chaosworlds, after all, and it had many major powers who often roamed the primordial chaos, collecting quite a few Chaos ingredients. Right at this very moment, the treasure vaults of the Emperors of Mankind held Ninefire Lava within it. He absolutely could trade for it using his own treasures!

Thus, the ‘Ninefire Lava’ would be easily acquired. It wasn’t viewed as particularly precious in the Three Realms, because to date the Three Realms had discovered no use for it, aside from using it to forge treasures! For now, the Three Realms had discovered no other uses.

As for Iceheart Pith, it didn’t exist in the Three Realms. But…

“Iceheart Pith can be found in Undermoon Lake!”

Undermoon Lake had Iceheart Leaves…and Iceheart Leaves grew out of Iceheart Pith.

“The Seamless Gate’s Godking is forcing me into Undermoon Lake. Now that I have this Jindan upgrade method, I’m in desperate need of Iceheart Pith. And I just so happen to be heading towards Undermoon Lake…” Ning suddenly felt that fate truly worked in mysterious ways.

“No matter what…I absolutely have to acquire Iceheart Pith! So long as I acquire those two Chaos ingredients, I’ll be able to use this [Icefire Jindan Smelting]] method. By then, I’ll be a second-tier True Immortal; I’ll have half-stepped into the Daofather level.” Ning finally began to have the feeling that he was beginning to gain the power he needed to fight back in this war.

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Chapter 5 – The Treasury

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 5 – The Treasury

Sword Immortal world. The towering Five Treasured Peaks.

Ji Ning stood atop a cloud in front of the stone cliffs of the fourth peak, staring intently at the fourth chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Ning hadn’t been in a hurry to immediately go to Undermoon Lake after the meeting with the Nuwa Alliance’s major powers. He first headed to the Five Treasured Peaks to carefully read through chapter four.

It had been years, but despite all his hard work Ning remained unable to master the third chapter! It was obvious that for him to read through the fourth chapter before mastering the third was a bit too impatient. The reason he was doing this was because he was about to enter Undermoon Lake.

Undermoon Lake was an incredibly mysterious place. Once he entered, he would be completely shut off from the outside world. Not even his Primaltwin or his other clones would be able to communicate with the clone that had entered Undermoon Lake! Ever since the Primordial Era, thousands of Empyrean Gods had entered Undermoon Lake, many of whom had Primlatwins or other clones living in the Three Realms. This was the reason why despite that, no one knew exactly what was inside Undermoon Lake.

To this very day, Buddha Jueming was the only person to leave the place after having entered it. He had come back with three treasures, but had only said that the place contained many treasures within it. He had carefully described these three treasures to others, but with regards to the dangers and events which occurred within Undermoon Lake, he was completely close-mouthed.

The only person who had ever left the place was unwilling to say anything about it at all. Undermoon Lake was a complete mystery!

Buddha Jueming had entered when he was merely an Empyrean God. After he became a Buddha, many Empyrean Gods in the Three Realms felt certain that Undermoon Lake must be a place of fortune and tempering. Thus, there were still many who were willing to enter the lake and risk their lives. Alas…no one else had ever left.

“My true body’s clones shall immediately lose contact with the outside world upon entering Undermoon Lake. I’m afraid I’ll spend quite a bit of time within it. If that’s the case, the clone that enters Undermoon Lake will work hard on the [Five Treasures] sword-art with the primary goal of perfecting the ‘Shadowless’ stance of my [Brightmoon] sword-art. As for my other clones and my Primaltwin clones in the Three Realms, they’ll meditate on the [Five Treasures] to improve the other four stances of [Brightmoon].”

There was no way to link the memories together when separated by Undermoon Lake. There was no point in duplicating his efforts in Undermoon Lake and the Three Realms; that would be a waste of time.

The Shadowless stance was the most mysterious stance, and an incredibly fast one. For a single clone to train in it was quite suitable.

After returning from Undermoon Lake, his memories would merge together again. Because they had been training in completely different things, once all those memories merged, his insights might very well increase dramatically.

“[Icefire Jindan Smelting]?” The Ning who was carefully reading the fourth chapter, attempting to get a clearer picture of it, was suddenly stunned.

This was the moment that his clone within the prisonworld had discovered the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique.

“I had been planning to closely read through the [Five Treasures], then head straight to Undermoon Lake. Now, it seems, I need to pay a visit to the Humanworld of Yu the Great first,” Ning mused to himself.

A day later.

After having memorized the [Five Treasures] multiple times, Ning boarded his Voidboat and flew towards the headquarters of the Primordial Imperial Clan, the Humanworld of Yu the Great.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” A voice rang out as a muscular, fur-clad man appeared out of nowhere.

“Empyrean God Fuqu.” Ning smiled. Last time, it had been Fuqu who had welcomed him as well. This was primarily because one of Fuqu’s primary responsibilities in the Primordial Imperial Clan was to welcome guests.

Fuqu looked at Ning with a gaze that was a bit different than before. This was because, just a day ago, Ning had shown off his [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique and roamed through the Three Realms, slaughtering the Seamless Gate’s forces until the Seamless Gate had bowed their heads. News of this had quickly spread out, and even the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance were often discussing this matter. They all tsked and sighed appreciatively, “Ji Ning truly is talented in heartforce.”

All of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance truly believed that Ning had relied on heartforce alone to tame a serpent.

In truth, after Suiren had carefully analyzed and researched the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique, he had the feeling that there was a tiny chance one could indeed use heartforce to tame a serpent, which was why he inserted the part about heartforce into the technique’s description. This also served the dual purpose of hiding the fact that they had the necessary chaos nectar. Only by deceiving their own would they also be able to deceive the Seamless Gate.

“Might I ask why you have come again, fellow Daoist Ji Ning?” Empyrean God Fuqu asked.

“I wish to pay a visit to the treasury and trade for some treasures,” Ning said.

“Oh. Quite a few fellow Daoists of the Three Realms have come to visit the treasury, but this is your first trip, fellow Daoist Ji Ning. I had thought that our treasures didn’t match up to your expectations.” Fuqu chortled. “Come, come. Follow me in.”

Moments later, two streaks of light shot past the winding clouds that were outside a grouping of ancient palaces. They flew straight into one of the palaces.

“The Primordial Imperial Clan truly is extraordinary.” As Ning flew forward, he paid close attention to his surroundings, and he couldn’t help but feel stunned.

The nominal managing power of the Three Realms, the Celestial Court, was extremely beautiful and filled with lofty jade buildings.

The imperial palace of the Grand Xia had the Skylight Palace, an absolutely dominating fixture that was not one whit inferior to the Celestial Court.

But…

The Palaces of Mankind of the Primordial Imperial Clan was quite simple and plain. And yet, every single palace gave Ning a sensation of tremendous pressure.

“Our human race spent countless years during the Primordial Era to build them,” Fuqu said proudly. “We produced a total of thirty-six top-grade Pure Yang-level magic treasures which could be used as palaces. Over the course of time, they’ve grown more powerful and all of them have become Protocosmic spirit-treasures. These thirty-six supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures match perfectly with a formation-diagram which Human Emperor Fuxi has created, and their joint power is equal to that of a Chaos treasure.”

“All those years ago, during the war that destroyed the Primordial Era, the Palaces of Mankind played a major role and rendered many merits,” Fuqu said proudly.

Nind nodded, sighing in amazement. The Palaces of Mankind were indeed like an impregnable fort!

“This is the Palace of the Numerous Heavens.” Fuqu led Ning into a large gray palace. “The treasury is right inside. There are a few Immortals inside right now as well. Pick what you want. As long as you have enough treasure, you’ll be allowed to trade for it. I still have other tasks to attend to, so I won’t stay here with you any longer.”

“Thank you, Empyrean God Fuqu,” Ning said with a smile. Fuqu transformed into a streak of light and departed, leaving Ning here. Ning turned and stepped inside the treasury.

Many of the major powers and experts of the Nuwa Palace had placed the treasures they didn’t need into this place. It made for an utterly astonishing sight!

There were piles of powerful Protocosmic spirit-treasures, and the weakest treasures here were at least at the Pure Yang level. There were many Chaos ingredients and materials as well. Virtually everywhere could be found here!

During normal times, the various major powers would probably hide their treasures in other locations, making these items almost impossible to locate and trade for. Now that the storm had descended, everyone took out everything they didn’t need.

“What fine treasures.” Ning knew, however, that only treasures which were a good fit for him were truly ‘good’ treasures.

He first procured five kilograms of the two other types of materials the Seamless Gate had requested. In truth, the Seamless Gate had underestimated Ji Ning. As they saw it, he was still just an Empyrean God and True Immortal; if they demanded too many valuable treasures, there would be no way Ji Ning could produce them. Thus, two of the three treasures the Godking had requested were fairly common.

If they knew that Ning had acquired a prisonworld of the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, giving him thousands of times as many treasures as they had expected, they would probably feel quite regretful.

“How much of this Ninefire Lava do you have?” Ning asked.

“Senior Darknorth.” Instantly, a Celestial Immortal walked over and said respectfully, “We have quite a bit of this Ninefire Lava, more than a million kilograms. All of it was discovered in the past by Human Emperor Suiren in the primordial chaos. If you need more, senior Darknorth, the Human Emperor should be able to provide you with it.”

Ning nodded. “Give me half a million kilograms of it.”

Chaos materials could differ greatly in value. Chaos goldstone, for example, was available in almost limitless supply. Some of the medicinal herbs that could be found in the primordial chaos were extremely rare and valuable, while others could be produced in enormous batches.

Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith were fairly average items as Chaos materials went. Whenever they appeared, they would appear in large quantities. The Iceheart Leaves of Undermoon Lake grew out of large quantities of Iceheart Pith; although the pith was valuable, it was naturally on a lower level of value compared to the leaves.

[Icefire Jindan Smelting]…

There were different levels to the technique. This was much like how the higher levels of Ning’s [Starseizing Hand] required increasingly large amounts and increasingly expensive types of Five Elements treasures!’

When smelting a treasure, the more valuable the ingredients you used, the more powerful the flames would have to be to smelt it! In turn, the higher-level the Jindan in the body was, the more materials the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique would require.

A Celestial Immortal’s Jindan needed one level of items, while a True Immortal’s Jindan would require a high level’s worth of items. As for an Ancestral Immortal/Daofather’s Jindan…those were simply far too powerful. To transform them would require even more treasures, none of which would be so easily acquired.

“According to my records, to advance a True Immortal’s Jindan from the third-tier to the second-tier will require 5000 kilograms of Ninefire Lava and 5000 kilograms of Iceheart Pith. I have more than thirty clones; I’ll need more than 150,000 kilograms of each. Alright…the Ninefire Lava was the easy part. Iceheart Pith…I wonder how much of it exists in Undermoon Lake.” Ning boarded the Voidboat, then left the Palaces of Mankind.

Ning only had to hand over six Protocosmic spirit-treasures and three sets of top-grade Pure Yang treasures. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate which Ning had slain had provided Ning with dozens of Protocosmic spirit-treasures. It was normal for ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to have several Protocosmic spirit-treasures with them, after all.

“Time to go to Undermoon Lake.”

The Voidboat quickly traversed through the great Void, speeding towards and entering the infinite primordial chaos.

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Chapter 6 – The World of Undermoon Lake

Chapter 6 – The World of Undermoon Lake

Prisonworld 17.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A series of white-robed figures flew through the region of primordial chaos, entering the vast prisonworld. A total of sixteen white-robed figures levitated in midair. All eighteen of Ning’s clones had entered the prisonworld now.

“Before I go to Undermoon Lake, I need to complete certain careful preparations.” Fifteen of the sixteen white-robed youths instantly vanished, leaving behind only the one with the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent.

Whoosh. An enormous black lightning serpent streaked through the skies, rapidly flying off into the distance.

Although Ning had acquired quite a few treasures thanks to his many battles against the Seamless Gate, that amount couldn’t come close to comparing to the things he had gained from this prisonworld. Even the prisonworld’s Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals had carried extremely rare and valuable treasures with him, thanks to the fact that all of them had extraordinary backgrounds. As for the True Gods and True Immortals, they were equivalent to the Daofathers of the Three Realms, and so their treasures were even more shocking.

“Undermoon Lake is too mysterious a place. To this very day, only Buddha Jueming managed to survive it and emerge from it. It’s very possible that this clone of mine will die inside. I need to bring some good treasures with me, but I can’t take the very best ones,” Ning mused to himself.

Thus far, Ning had already disposed of Empress Jin, True God Skysplitter, and three other True Gods and True Immortals. These were all figures that were comparable to Daofathers! Every single one of them possessed treasures that were far better than Ning’s Voidboat and Darknorth swords. Although most weren’t a good fit for Ning, there were some that were.

True God Skysplitter, for example. After he self-detonated and died, he had left behind a total of nine divine swords. Each of them were Protocosmic spirit-treasures, and they formed a complete set! This set of swords alone was enough to make the True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms turn glaze-eyed with lust.

There was no way Ning would be willing to take them into Undermoon Lake. Even in the prisonworld, only a few True Gods and True Immortals specialized in the sword. It was entirely possible that after sweeping through the entire prisonworld, he still wouldn’t be able to find a better set of swords.

“My true body has eighteen clones. I’ll send two of them into Undermoon Lake; sending an extra clone will give me an extra chance for success.” Ning made up his mind.

The two clone he had sent naturally didn’t include the clone that possessed the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent.

Of the eighteen clones, just a single one was in possession of a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. These serpents were far too hard to come by; if he ended up losing it within Undermoon Lake, he would feel endless regret.

“I’ll take these treasures with me.” Ning finished selecting his treasures.

First, he chose a set of 729 top-grade Pure Yang flying swords which he would use for the [Greater Thousand Swords] formation. He had acquired 720 of these swords from the first Celestial Immortal he had met in the prisonworld, Liangqiu. There weren’t many Empyrean Gods or True Immortals in the Three Realms who could afford to be spend so much on swords. This set would allow him to launch distant attacks.

Next, he chose a set of twelve swords that were well-suited for close combat. All of them were also top-grade Pure Yang swords.

After that, he selected a Protocosmic spirit-treasure meant for fleeing, the ‘Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle’ 1. Ning actually had several Protocosmic treasures of this type, having acquired three from the True Gods and True Immortals of the prisonworld and a few from the Seamless Gate.

Naturally, h,e also brought along some Ninefire Lava and other necessary treasures such as spirit pills. No one knew how long he would be trapped there, after all.

Ning brought along fifty thousand kilograms of Ninefire Lava. Supposedly, Undermoon Lake had Iceheart Pith inside; he would absolutely be able to refine and upgrade his golden pellet Jindan with Undermoon Lake.

After completing his preparations, the white-robed Ning boarded his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle and began to travel towards Undermoon Lake.

……

The Three Realms. Sword Immortal world. The thatched cottage in front of the Five Treasured Peaks.

The black-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position within the cottage. Since his true bodies were going to hide for now, it was time for the Primaltwin Ning to take the lead. It was now the Primaltwin which carried the Starseizing Manor with it. Given how strong the Primaltwin was, it was also capable of joining together into the Rahu Formation as it pleased.

……

An enormous star hung there in the primordial chaos, emanating a gentle aura of light that shone down upon the chaos around it.

This star was very similar to the Lunar Star. Because the Lunar Star was located in the Void outside the Three Realms, there was no chaos blocking its light, allowing it to shine down upon the entire Three Realms. Although the star in front of Ning was very similar to the Lunar Star, it wasn’t particularly famous. The countless ordinary denizens of the Three Realms, at least, had no idea of its existence.

“Undermoon Lake!”

Seated within his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle, the white-robed youth stared off into the distance.

An utterly titanic lake of water hung there in the middle of the primordial chaos. It was so vast, even Ning’s heartforce couldn’t cover it all. The surface of this endless lake of water was extremely calm and tranquil, making it as flat and smooth as a mirror. It reflected the image of the enormous nearby star, which appeared within it like the reflection of the moon. It truly was absolutely mesmerizing.

“Undermoon Lake truly is an odd place. One has to be an Empyrean God to enter it; anyone else, including True Gods and Daofathesr, are completely unable to pass through it. If they try to force their way into the lake, the waters of the lake will squeeze and compress around them, preventing them from entering the world within.”

Ning didn’t hesitate. “Time to go in.”

Whoosh.

Ning’s Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle swooped into the water. Plop! Water sprayed upwards from the point of impact as Ning and the shuttle both completely disappeared.

……

In the instant that he entered Undermoon Lake, Ning felt a strange ripple of energy surround him. And then, spacetime distorted and changed. This was a subtle transformation that was filled with the faint aura of primordial chaos. Given Ning’s heartforce abilities, even when Patriarch Subhuti used a spacetime-distorting technique he would still be able to see and potentially evade it, but this spacetime distortion came naturally, not revealing any flaws or traces at all.

Whoosh.

Ning fell down from the skies. As soon as he landed, he saw that he was standing upon a piece of scorched rock that was three hundred meters long.

“This place is…?” Ning put away the shuttle, scanning his surroundings.

He was surrounded by a seemingly endless sea. Its waves continuously washed across the scorched stone.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, its cold and clear moonlight shining down upon the entire sea.

“This…” Ning stared at this in astonishment. Ahead of him was a floating wooden bridge. At one end of the bridge was this scorched stone he was standing upon, while the other end stretched far off into the horizon, where sea met sky. Not even Ning could see to the end of the bridge with his eyes alone.

“How long is this floating bridge?” Ning was speechless. He immediately sent out his heartforce to take a look. Ning had already grown accustomed to using heartforce in dangerous areas, because it was even more unfathomable and mysterious than coresense. True Gods and Daofathers who were weaker than him in heartforce wouldn’t even notice him scanning them. But of course, they in turn would be able to scan him with coresense without him noticing.

“Eh? My heartforce…?” Ning’s heart clenched. He had clearly spread out his heartforce, but he wasn’t able to find anything at all.

“Coresense.” Ning immediately sent out his coresense to investigate as well, but as he had expected, even coresense was unable to detect a thing.

Ning’s face changed. Very, very few in the Three Realms were capable of blocking out coresense and heartforce.

“That bright moon in the skies…where is that moon from?” Ning raised his head to stare at the moon. “Can it be the star outside this world?”

Swoosh! Ning soared into the skies, flying higher and higher. He flew for hundreds of thousands of kilometers before, with a thud, he rammed into an invisible barrier. A series of concentric ripples spread out from the part of the barrier which Ning struck. As for the bright moon, it was still far, far above him in the depths of the sky. There was no way to move any closer to it at all.

Ning pondered carefully for a moment, then elected to once more return to that floating wooden bridge. He advanced rapidly, because he had the feeling that the reason why this bridge existed was to serve as a guide for people to know where to go.

“Thousands of Empyrean Gods have entered Undermoon Lake since ancient times. Why haven’t I encountered any of them?”

Ning stood there atop his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle. The shuttle followed the floating wooden bridge forward, advancing at a rapid pace. It flew for millions of kilometers, but still the only thing to be seen was the endless sea and that lonely little bridge. The only sound that could be heard was that of the water slapping against the sides of the bridge.

This made Ning even more wary.

“Although Buddha Jueming successfully escaped this place, he refused to say anything about it. Even when other major powers asked him, he still refused to say a thing. As for the thousands of other Empyrean Gods…” Ning frowned. “Are all of them dead?”

The thought of how thousands of Empyrean Gods might have perished here made Ning even more nervous.

Whoooosh. He continued to fly forward, the shuttle advancing at an astonishing pace. He had flown for more than a hundred million kilometers, but there was still nothing besides the endless bridge.

Suddenly, far off in the distance, an ugly green head suddenly popped out from beneath the surface of the sea. The head stared at the distant white-robed youth aboard the shuttle. Because Ning was only able to see with his eyes, he wasn’t able to discover the appearance of this creature.

“Here comes another one,” the jade-green head mused softly, eyes filled with an excited gleam of bloodlust.

1. Ruyi is a very difficult to translate term which basically means, ‘as one wills’; it suggests that it can transform free in size and shape, or that it will allow him to go where he desires.

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Chapter 7 – Yaksha

Chapter 7 – Yaksha

The Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle followed the floating bridge forward, flying at high speed. Ji Ning, however, maintained a vigilant watch. He continued to have the feeling that the seemingly-peaceful world of Undermoon Lake was hiding a terrifyingly lethal danger within it.

Deep within the depths of the sea.

A completely jade-green human-shaped figure, steel warfork in hand, was drawing close to Ning at high speed. Every so often, he would vanish and reappear more than a hundred thousand kilometers away. Soon, he stealthily arrived in an area located in front of Ning. His dark-red gaze pierced through the water, seeing the distant shuttle fly forward at high speed along the bridge’s path. His long tongue licked his lower jaw as he murmured to himself, “It’s rare for new prey to come. I hope this one is strong. Otherwise, it’ll be quite boring.”

“Ah, here he comes. Attack!”

The jade-green humanoid suddenly burst out from the surface of the sea, transforming into a green blur that streaked towards Ning.

“Eh?” Although he had been flying for a long period of time, he hadn’t relaxed at all. Ning was rather shocked. “He was able to get so close to me without me noticing at all.”

Ning’s pupils were filled with torchlight, and he used the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] to see his foe clearly.

This was an oceanic creature that looked rather like a yaksha-demon. The yaksha had a pair of dark-red eyes that were filled with a baleful, murderous aura, and it was wielding a steel warfork that it stabbed straight towards Ning.

“I need to capture him and take a good look.” Ning stretched out with his arm, and it instantly expanded, transforming and becoming enormous enough to cover the skies themselves as his fingers reached out to the jade yaksha. This was Ning’s [Starseizing Hand] divine ability. The yaksha sensed a tremendous amount of danger from this attack, and it immediately roared in a shrill voice, “BREAK!”

“Eh? This jade yaksha speaks in the language of Pangaea?” Ning murmured to himself. However, he showed no mercy at all.

BOOM!

Although the steel warfork stabbed into his palm, the enormous star-seizing hand still wrapped itself around the jade yaksha, capturing it. No matter how it struggled, it was unable to escape.

“Tell me, what exactly is going on in this world? And what happened to the thousands of Empyrean Gods who came before?” Ning barked coldly, his hand still wrapped firmly around the creature.

“Heh heh, so you have a bit of talent after all. How unexpected.” The captured yaksha actually let out a shrill laugh, dark-red eyes staring weighingly at Ning. “Interesting, quite interesting. It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered a formidable opponent. You were able to capture my clone in just a single exchange…this will be fun. Fun!”

“Clone?” Ning was stunned.

“Kid…this was just the start.” The green-haired yaksha laughed savagely, then suddenly transformed into a stream of liquid that quickly flew out from Ning’s palm.

“Transformed into water?” Ning barked coldly, “Even if you transform into a damn ghost, you still won’t escape!”

Boom! Yet another enormous palm came sweeping over.

Ning’s left and right hands seemed to have transformed into two enormous black stormclouds. They viciously clapped against each other. BOOM!!!! The stream of water that was caught between those two enormous hands was instantly and completely destroyed, leaving behind only a shrill voice reverberating in the empty skies: “Ahahaha…how intriguing…how intriguing!”

After slaying the yaksha, Ning once returned to stand within his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle. The sea wind blew past him, causing his white robes to flutter.

“Judging from what that jade yaksha said, just now I merely battled one of his clones? And he tried to kill me without negotiating or speaking to me at all. I haven’t encountered any Empyrean Gods yet….is it because all of them have been killed?” Ning couldn’t help but shiver. Thousands of Empyrean Gods…perhaps the vast majority were ordinary in power, but some were truly top-tier experts. A few might be even more powerful than Ning!

If Ning didn’t use the Rahu Formation, on Mount Innerheart alone the likes of Redsnow, Silvermoon, and Goldcrow were figures that Ning was no match for. In an actual battle, there were too many deficiencies in Ning’s understanding of the Dao. Only if Ning’s swordforce reached the fourth stage would he become equal to the likes of Redsnow in a frontal battle.

“I have to be even more careful.”

The Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle continued to fly forward.

“Intriguing. He was actually able to wipe out one of my clones.”

“Ahaha…it’s rare for me to encounter a tough enemy.”

“But the tough ones are fun.”

“Ahahaha.”

“Time to kill.”

One jade yaksha after another began to emerge from the depths of the sea in front of Ning, hastening towards him at high speed. At the same time, their shrill voices echoed within the world. After the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning heard their shrill voices echoing in the skies. Shrill voices and strange laughter seemed to come forth from every corner of the seas. Clearly, there were an enormous number of these creatures.

“Are they all gathering together?” Ning’s eyes blazed with torch-light as he stared at his surroundings. He was able to see past the water and locate the many jade yakshas that had appeared.

“So many?!” Ning was rather stunned. His [Torch Dragon’s Eye] alone was able to see more than a hundred of those yakshas. Although he had slain the first yaksha in a seemingly simple manner, in truth the yaksha had essentially likely reached the Empyrean God level of power. If there were enough of them, they would be able to overwhelm him with raw numbers.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions could be heard throughout the sea. One jade yaksha after another burst through the surface of the sea, standing on the water and completely surrounding Ning. All of them stared at Ning, filled with maliciousness and avarice.

With a thought, Ning put away the shuttle. He had noticed earlier that the speed of the shuttle was actually inferior to that of the jade yakshas. Thus, there was no choice but to fight; escape was not an option.

“519 clones.” A pair of blood-colored swords appeared in Ning’s hands. By now, he had no choice but to rely on his sword-arts.

“I don’t wish to be your enemy.” Ning’s gaze swept past every single one of the many jade yakshas surrounding him.

“Ahaha…but I want to kill you, kid.” The 519 jade yakshas simultaneously spoke out, saying the same words. When their voices merged together, they actually had the power to shake one’s Dao-heart. “Be careful, now. If you end up dying in my hands, don’t claim that I tricked you or plotted against you. I’m battling against you openly and fairly.

Ning, swords in hands, grew even more wary.

“Let’s go.”

Instantly…swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! ….

Ten of the jade yakshas simultaneously circled around and attacked Ning with their steel warforks.

A killing intent suddenly flashed in the eyes of the white-robed Ning. The blood-colored swords in his hands suddenly transformed into blurs.

Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash…

The bodies of the jade yakshas were each bisected. In a single clash, ten of them had been cut in half.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Shadowless stance!

The Shadowless stance: This was a very fast stance that was the strangest stance of all. It was meant to attack from an unpredictable angle and chop the enemy in half. Clearly, these jade yakshas were unable to block Ning’s sword-art.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed slightly. The bodies of the bisected yakshas first transformed into water, then reformed to become ten more jade yakshas. And then…frenzied, bloodlusted looks appeared in the eyes of the 519 jade yakshas.

And then, the 500-plus jade yakshas all simultaneously charged towards Ning.

“[Three Heads, Six Arms]!” Ning’s body blurred, then reformed with three heads and six arms. He now wielded six swords as well. Faced with the utterly relentless horde of enemies, Ning didn’t dare to use the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] against them.

Ning’s six blood-red swords transformed into bloody blurs. They were simply too fast! The bloody blurs swirled around around Ning, completely blocking and halting all of the assaulting jade yakshas. In fact, many of their bodies were chopped apart and knocked flying, but moments later they would reform unharmed.

Although the ‘slain’ yakshas were able to reform after being bisected, Ning had the feeling that after doing so they would become noticeably weaker.

Still, Ning felt a sense of pressure and danger. The enemies were simply too numerous, and all of them could be said to have reached the Empyrean God level of power. Even against Ning’s sword-arts, the yakshas managed to land the occasional blow against his body. However, Ning’s body had reached the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; it wouldn’t be easy to damage. If this continued, in the end it was more likely that the enemy would be the first to lose this war of attrition. At present, Ning had only used [Three Heads, Six Arms] after all; this divine ability used up very little divine power. In addition, at the Empyrean God level the body was further perfected, easily capable of battling for months on end. If Ning used the [Starseizing Hand], the amount of time he’d be able to battle would be decreased a hundredfold.

“DAMN!!!!” A furious bellow suddenly shook the heavens.

The 519 jade yakshas simultaneously retreated backwards, levitating up into midair. All of them appeared utterly furious. Then, all of them began to ram against each other, completely merging into each other with each collision. The number of jade yakshas in the skies began to decrease as more and more of them began to fuse together.

The more yakshas fused together, the darker a green they became. Soon, their color became as black as night…but then, they became a dark-gold color. When the two final dark-gold yakshas rammed against each other, they transformed into a golden yaksha that held such power as to cause even Ning amazement.

This golden yaksha was thirty meters tall, and his aura was extremely close to that of a True God’s.

“To force me to use my true body in battle…you aren’t bad. Over the course of all these years, more than a thousand Empyrean Gods died without even seeing my true body,” the golden yaksha growled.

“What?! More than a thousand?!” Ning’s heart shook. Most of the thousands of Empyrean Gods who had entered this place belonged to the Nuwa Alliance. Many had entered back during the Primordial Era, after all, and almost all of those belonged to the Nuwa Alliance. Ning had been hoping that he would be able to come up with a way to rescue the thousands of Empyrean Gods trapped here, but…

Apparently, an enormous number had died by the hands of this yaksha. Indeed…surrounded by more than five hundred yakshas, very few would be able to survive.

“However…the number of Empyrean Gods that died to my true body is in excess of two thousand.” The golden yaksha stared at Ning. Light suddenly flashed within his hands, and a steel warfork that looked ancient suddenly appeared within it. The steel warfork looked very plain and simple, but it clearly had an aura of incredible power.

“You should rejoice in the fact that you will die to my true body,” the golden yaksha laughed savagely. “All of you want to acquire the relics which my master left behind…did you really think it would be that easy?”

Ning’s eyes narrowed. Master?

In truth, as soon as he had entered Undermoon Lake, Ning had the feeling that this was a place that was artificially created by a major power of the ancient days. The floating wooden bridge spanned countless kilometers, and neither coresense nor heartforce could be used to scan this place. It all suggested that this was part of a deliberate design by a major power; it didn’t seem like something that would naturally emerge from the primordial chaos.

“If you want the treasures…use your life to trade for them!” The golden yaksha laughed strangely, and then, steel warfork in his hands…suddenly vanished. He left behind just a golden streak of light in the air as he suddenly appeared before Ning. He was simply too fast; Ning only had barely enough time to use his sword to block.

Boom!

Ning transformed into a shooting star as he was knocked flying backwards. From this initial clash, Ning understood that the foe’s power was very close to that of a True God’s. “No wonder more than three thousand Empyrean Gods died to by hands.”

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Chapter 8 – A Surviving Empyrean God

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 8 – A Surviving Empyrean God

“You are too weak. Too weak!” The golden yaksha’s frenzied voice echoed throughout the heavens as he once more transformed into a streak of golden light, chasing after Ji Ning and assaulting him repeatedly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning was knocked flying backwards repeatedly, sometimes being driven into the sea, sometimes somersaulting backwards in rather pathetic fashion. He was at a definite, absolute disadvantage.

“You are really weak…but your body’s pretty tough. My [Seagod Yaksha] is incredibly strong, but you are able to easily absorb this type of punishment.” The golden yaksha continued to attack as he spoke, laughing wildly.

His words were correct; any ordinary Empyrean God body that wasn’t protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] would’ve long ago been destroyed by now.

But if he didn’t have the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning wouldn’t have dared to choose this style of fighting either!

“He’s very strong and incredibly fast, but his agility is average. His combat techniques are all quite ordinary.” Over the course of this battle, Ning quickly deduced his foe’s strengths and weaknesses. “When fighting against him, I can’t just take him head on. I have to use the intricacies of my sword-arts to deal with him.”

Whoosh.

Ning suddenly burst forth from the surface of the sea, as did the golden yaksha which was in hot pursuit of him.

“Come.” Two swords in his hands, a fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes. It was time to counterattack.

Instantly, a total of 729 swords appeared out of nowhere. These swords all undulated in different manners as they levitated in the air. In front of Ning’s chest, a jade sword began to take form. The power of this jade sword was terrifyingly great. The only reason why Ning was able to use the ninth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was entirely because he had fourth-level heartforce and a soul heartforce technique.

This jade sword that was manifested by merging the power of 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords. It’s power was definitely not weaker than Ning’s when using the [Starseizing Hand]!

“Go.” Ning pointed towards the distant Yaksha.

“Ahahaha, he’s actually using an Immortal technique.” The golden yaksha laughed wildly, continuing to crush forward. He didn’t care if Ning was going to use close combat or long-range attacks; with his absolute advantage in power, he was crush Ning with overwhelming force.

Swish.

The jade sword struck out towards the golden yaksha, seeking to avoid the yakshas defenses, but the yaksha was simply too strong. A brandishing block with the steel warfork was able to block in time. With a ‘bang’ sound, the jade sword was instantly destroyed, while the golden yaksha merely paused for a moment in midair.

“Even the ninth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] is only able to cause him to pause slightly? It seems I’ll have to use heartforce.” A second jade sword materialized in front of Ji Ning’s body, and his invisible heartforce surged into it. The power of the second jade sword instantly rose, transforming it on a qualitative level.

Fourth stage heartforce, in and of itself, was far more powerful than the ninth-stage [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

When using fourth stage heartforce, Ning would be able to reach the apex of power possible for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals for a short period of time. The only difference was that the likes of Redsnow would be able to fight at that level for a sustained period of time, whereas Ning would only be able to do so briefly.

“It’s useless. That tiny bit of power you have is usel-…” The golden yaksha was roaring with savage laughter as he pounced towards Ning.

The jade sword transformed into a blur. It seemed identical to the first sword, but once the golden yaksha actually reached jade sword, the speed of the jade sword suddenly increased dramatically. The heartforce within it exploded forth with full power!

The upgraded jade sword became nothing more than a vague blur in front of the golden yaksha. The golden yaksha tried to block it, but his combat techniques were simply too weak.

SLASH!

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Shadowless stance!

The jade sword sliced through the golden yaksha’s body in a bizarre, unpredictable manner. Although this body was very close to that of a True God, it actually wasn’t enhanced by any body-protecting divine ability at all. Assaulted by the incredibly sharp jade sword…it was instantly chopped in half.

Ning, however, remained wary and vigilant. He knew very well that the golden yaksha was able to easily dissolve and coalesce his body, or even to completely transform it into liquid. He probably wouldn’t die that easily. In addition, Ning could sense that his foe’s aura remained incredibly powerful.

The two halves of the bisected golden yaksha’s body suddenly transformed into a flood of water. The enormous flood of water spun in midair, then completely detonated, blasting napart into countless smaller streams of water that flew everywhere. Once they touched the surface of the sea, the streams once more transformed into many jade yakshas, a total of 519 of them.

“You were actually able to injure my true body. You are qualified to pass through this section that I guard.” The 519 jade yakshas stood atop the sea, staring towards Ning and speaking together in a strange voice. “However, I am merely the weakest of the guardians which Master left behind. Those ancient fellows are all more powerful than me. If you want to survive them and acquire the treasures which Master left behind…I judge that you are lacking in power. Hahaha…”

Laughing in a shrill, ear-piercing manner, the 519 jade yakshas all flew in different directions, quickly disappearing from Ning’s field of vision.

Ning just silently stood there in midair for a moment.

“Come back.” The 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords all returned to his body.

“Just the weakest guardian, with more to come?” Ning frowned, murmuring softly to himself. He was slowly beginning to understand things here.

“Even the sole person to leave this place, Buddha Jueming, entered during the Primordial Era and was only able to emerge during the era of the Three Realms. It took him countless years,” Ning mused to himself. “Clearly, Undermoon Lake isn’t so easily traversed. The very first opponent I encountered was able to force me to use heartforce to beat him. The rest will be even harder.”

Swoosh!

Ning once more boarded the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle and continued to advance along the path of the floating wooden bridge.

After flying for more than half a day, Ning was vaguely able to make out an extremely beautiful island far off in the distance. The wooden bridge was leading towards this island as well.

“What a lovely island.” Ning quickly arrived at the island and took a close look at it. The natural energy surrounding the island had all been manipulated and controlled, causing this island to be perpetually blanketed in falling snow. The island itself was very beautiful as well, and at the center of it was a beautiful palace that was at least three thousand meters high.

Atop the palace, he could see the statues of three strange beasts that were seated in the lotus position.

“A palace? Why has a palace been built here?” Ning was secretly puzzled. He immediately landed and walked through the island, scanning his surroundings as he moved towards the palace.

Ning stood outside the palace, staring towards the insides. His eyes were filled with torch-light as he did so. He had the feeling that there was a reason this palace was here.

“Eh?” Ning’s [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] suddenly discovered a body flickering about within the deepest parts of the palace.

“It’s coming.”

“It hasn’t been a thousand years yet. Why has it come again?”

“Then let’s fight. Let’s fight!”

The figures within the darkest reaches of the palace had eyes filled with frenzy.

As for Ning, still standing outside the palace, he frowned. “I wasn’t seeing things. There really are living beings inside this place.”

Whoosh. After hesitating for a moment, Ning stepped into the palace. Here at Undermoon Lake, neither coresense nor heartforce could be used to search. Thus, the only choice was for him to investigate in person! Since the wooden bridge led to this place, this eye-catching palace definitely served a specific purpose.

This was the front palace. Two corridors connected to it led deeper into the palace. Ning chose one of them. He walked through it, leading to an enormous courtyard that was filled with many pavilions.

Whoosh! The wind suddenly moved.

Ning was still walking through the corridor. His faced changed, and a sword in his hands instantly chopped backwards. Here in the palace, Ning had naturally kept his swords in his hands.

Clang! A ringing sound could be heard, followed by a figure flashing past him.

“Stay your hands!” Ning’s face changed, and he hurriedly called out, “Stop this! I’m not an enemy!”

Slash! Yet another gust of wind as yet another blurred form appeared.

“Empyrean God Roughpeak, I’m from the Three Realms as well!” Ning said hurriedly. His voice, filled with divine power, echoed outwards as he used his swords to block as he dodged.

“Eh?” The distant blur came to a halt, revealing an ashen-faced youth who was wielding a pair of bladewheels in his hands. He stared at Ning with a berserk look in his eyes. His eyes were vaguely bloodshot; clearly, he wasn’t disguising his murderous intent at all.

“Three Realms?” The ashen-faced youth snickered coldly, then growled, “Snowfiend, we’ve fought countless times by now, and you’ve also disguised yourself as an Empyrean God of the Three Realms on multiple occasions. Do you really think you’ll be able to fool me again?”

“Empyrean God Roughpeak,” Ning said hurriedly, “I really am from the Three Realms. I’m not this ‘Snowfiend’ person. Your master is Exalted Celestial Carefree of the Daoist Path, am I right?”

Ning was naturally able to recognize this person at a single glance.

The Three Realms only had so many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to begin with, and Ning had actually spent time memorizing all of the thousands who had entered Undermoon Lake. Undermoon Lake’s world was filled with natural energy, and it also contained within it multiple types of stellar energy. Both divine power and ki could be replenished here. Although the density of the energy here couldn’t compare to that of the Three Realms, it was still more than enough to maintain life.

Thus, Empyrean God Roughpeak’s appearance hadn’t changed. His aura, however, had changed dramatically.

Roughpeak: A relaxed, carefree Empyrean God who always had a smile on his face. That’s what the report about him said. But the person Ning saw had an ashen face, bloodshot eyes, and was filled with a surging killing intent. Clearly, he had reached the point where his Dao-heart was unable to control his murderous impulses.

“Master?” The youth stared at Ning, frowning. “And who are you? I’ve never even met you.”

“I only began my training long after you entered Undermoon Lake, Empyrean God Roughpeak,” Ning said. “I am the disciple of Daofather Subhuti.”

Many people in the Three Realms now knew that Ning was Subhuti’s disciple, and so Subhuti no longer forbade Ning from telling it to others.

“Subhuti?” The youth laughed coldly, “I imagine you overheard a few things from many of the other Empyrean Gods who entered this place. Do you really think you’ll be able to fool me so easily?” But despite his words, the youth still didn’t move.

“My master resides within the Crescent world, within the Triscar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart,” Ning said hurriedly.

The youth frowned. Although many Empyrean Gods had indeed entered this place, it was true that few of them would have cause to discuss the Tristar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart.

“Your master is the Exalted Celestial Carefree. Exalted Celestial Carefree, back when you were still in the outside world, had a total of seventy-three disciples. These days, he has a total of seventy-six,” Ning said. “The eldest disciple of Exalted Celestial Carefree died during the Primordial Era. His name was True Immortal Riverloss. Exalted Celestial Carefree’s second disciple…”

Ning continued to speak, and the face of the youth quickly changed. His body actually began to tremble, and tears began to appear in his eyes.

“Ha…hahaha….” Tears flowed down the youth’s face as he laughed. “Hahaha…hahahaha…”

Ning slowly came to a halt. He stared quietly as Empyrean God Roughpeak cried and laughed at the same time. He could sense that Roughpeak had endured many things; this wild laughter was nothing more than a way to release some of his feelings.

“What is your name, junior apprentice-brother?” The youth finally came to a halt, and he now looked towards Ning with a warm look in his eyes. Generally speaking, disciples of major powers that all belonged to the Daoist Path would sometimes refer to each other as ‘senior apprentice-brother’ or ‘junior apprentice-brother’; this was a fairly friendly way of referring to each other.

However, although Daofather Subhuti trained in both Buddhism and Daoism, he couldn’t really be considered a member of the Daoist Path. Clearly, Roughpeak felt extremely friendly towards this newcomer Empyrean God from the Three Realms, which is why he referred to Ning as ‘junior apprentice-brother’.

“My name is Darknorth. Respectful greetings to you, senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak,” Ning said.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.” The youth smiled, the tears having vanished from his eyes.

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Chapter 9 – Wall Carvings

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 9 – Wall Carvings

Empyrean God Roughpeak said hurriedly, “I really am ashamed. Just now, I actually took you to be Snowfiend and immediately attacked you! Fortunately, you are very powerful, which is why I didn’t injure you. If I was to have slain you…by the time I felt regret, it would be too late. Alas…I never would have thought that I, Roughpeak, would end up in a state where I would launch killing blows without even trying to ascertain the situation clearly.” A hint of grief flickered in his eyes.

“You cannot be blamed, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning smiled.

“But it truly is my fault. Forget it, enough of that for now.” Roughpeak frowned as he looked at Ning. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, you should know how dangerous Undermoon Lake is. Many Empyrean Gods have entered since the Primordial Era, but the only one to actually leave was Buddha Jueming. Why were you so foolish as to enter this place? Back then, I personally watched as Reverend Jueming ascended to become a Buddha. I was so incredibly bored that I ended up deciding to enter Undermoon Lake to try my luck. Countless years have passed since then. At first, other Empyrean Gods would enter this place, but it has been a long, long time since any have made the attempt. Why have you…”

“I am indeed the only one to enter in ten million years. As for the reason why I entered…that’s a long and complicated story.” Ning sighed. “I came because I was forced to by circumstances outside my control. I had to come here to procure a certain treasure.”

Roughpeak nodded, then hurriedly asked, “Right, what’s the situation in the Three Realms? Did you say that my master took on new disciples?”

“The Three Realms…” Ning hesitated for a moment. “…Has already been swept into a new storm!” Ning’s voice was heavy, but he still forced the words out.

“Storm?” Roughpeak was surprised.

“One which might be even more brutal than the war which ended the Primordial Era.” Ning nodded.

“How can that be possible? So many people died in the war that ended the Primordial Era…” Roughpeak was shocked and stunned.

“That time, Mother Nuwa broke through to the Pangu level, which is why we managed to avoid disaster. This time…well, listen to me explain in detail.” Ning didn’t hold anything back from this disciple of Exalted Celestial Carefree. If they all managed to survive, they would be on the same side, and so Ning told him almost everything about the storm that had embroiled the Three Realms.

The telling of this tale took a full hour.

Roughpeak stood there in a daze. He muttered to himself, “How could this have happened? After the Seamless Gate re-entered the Three Realms, everything was peaceful. Why is it that all of a sudden…” He paused. “This time, Mother Nuwa isn’t around to keep the peace. Nobody in our Nuwa Alliance is capable of countering the abilities of the Lord of All Fiends. However, the Seamless Gate will find it difficult to counter our leaders as well. The only result would be heavy losses on both sides. In the end, how many of us will possibly survive?”

When he had been in the Three Realms, the Three Realms had been in a state of peace. But now, the storm had descended upon it.

“Either the Seamless Gate dies or we die,” Ning said calmly. “There are no other choices. Although I am weak, I can still sense my subconscious whispering to me that one of our two sides has to be wiped out.”

“Even you can sense it?” Roughpeak was surprised.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Why…why is destiny forcing a tribulation like this?” Roughpeak simply didn’t understand.

Tribulations and storms didn’t descend without a reason. The war that ended the Primordial Era, for example, was caused by two chaosworlds moving towards each other and colliding together. The Lord of the Demonheart wished to take over both worlds, but the Pangu Chaosworld resisted him. Thus, a great war erupted. In addition to that, the Lord of All Things was manipulating things in secret.

The secret workings of fate would only reveal the results. The results in this case were that one side would definitely be wiped out. Only if one side was wiped out would the other side survive.

As for the reason for the storm? That was all left up to conjecture.

The Nuwa Alliance’s guess was that it was very possible that this was all caused by the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate. That ‘king’ had been very close to the Pangu level. He had merged himself into the Heavenly Daos, but since then he had slowly begun to awaken. Part of his consciousness was already awake. Through its partial control over the Heavenly Daos, it was providing intelligence reports to the Seamless Gate, giving them the power to fight back against the Nuwa Alliance.

This inevitably caused the Three Emperors and the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism to question if the Lord of the Demonheart had managed to escape the restrictions of the Heavenly Daos. Was he seeking to cause yet another storm?

Or was there perhaps yet another alien Outsider causing trouble from the shadows?

Or was there another, even more inscrutable reason?

It was hard to say.

The Lord of the Demonheart, who had merged himself into the Heavenly Daos, most likely knew the most…and his order had been to have the Seamless Gate assault the Nuwa Alliance!

“People on our level can’t possibly learn the real reasons why this storm descended,” Ning said. “In short…the Seamless Gate has already infiltrated the Three Realms and has begun to attack us. We can’t let ourselves just be defeated without fighting back!”

“Right.” Roughpeak nodded as well, a murderous look flashing through his eyes. “The Seamless Gate…only after Mother Nuwa left the Three Realms did the Lord of All Fiends sneak back. The only reason we let them join our Three Realms was because we didn’t want to cause unnecessary death. Who would’ve thought that…ugh. It’s been so many years, but you just can’t teach a dog not to eat shit.”

Upon learning that both sides had begun a war of annihilation, Roughpeak naturally was going to stand on the side of the Nuwa Alliance.

“However, we’re all trapped here at Undermoon Lake. There’s no point in talking endlessly about these things.” Roughpeak shook his head. He then turned his head towards the corridor and began to walk towards it. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, follow me.”

The two advanced through the corridor. A short while later, they arrived at the innermost courtyard to this palace. It was extremely quiet, as no sounds could be heard at all. Light reflected off the accumulated snow, making every inch of it easily visible.

“All these years, I’ve been living here.” Roughpeak stepped into the courtyard.

Ning followed behind him. This courtyard was very plain and simple…but almost immediately, Ning’s gaze was drawn to the walls of the courtyard.

“What’s this?” Ning walked over, astonished. He couldn’t help but stare at the diagrams and characters engraved onto the walls.

The diagrams were of close-combat techniques, while the characters were detailed descriptions and in the language of the Three Realms.

“These have been left behind since the Primordial Era by bored, trapped, and despairing Empyrean Gods.” Roughpeak sat down on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, do you have any wine?”

“I do.” Ning waved his hand, producing a gourd of wine and tossing it over.

“Excellent.” Roughpeak’s eyes lit up. He caught the gourd of wine, pulled open the stopper, then raised his head and began to guzzle it down. Only after finishing a barrel’s worth all did he let out a long sigh of contentment. He then laughed loudly, “Wonderful. What a wonderful feeling. It’s been forever since I’ve had wine. I’ve been trapped here for so long without seeing even the shadow of another person, and I always have to be vigilant of that Snowfiend’s attacks. Life really has been worse than death here.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, don’t waste your time looking at that. There’s no point.” Roughpeak called out to Ning upon seeing Ning stare unblinkingly at the wall carvings. “They were all left behind by the Empyrean Gods that came to this place. In terms of quality, they naturally can’t compare to that of the techniques which True Gods and Daofathers pass down. These were all left behind by Empyrean Gods who knew that they were going to die here, and so they left behind a few techniques so that future arrivals would see them and know that they had once lived here.”

“Ugh, you just won’t listen.” Roughpeak, seeing that Ning continued to stare at the wall, no longer said anything. He just raised his head and continued to drink.

To be able to drink wine was already a tremendous blessing.

As for Ning, he just stared quietly at the many carvings on the wall.

“Snowleaf, subordinate of Buddha Maitreya, leaves behind his last words.”

“Swordback, subordinate of the Lord of the Everwood, leaves behind his last words.”

“Windbrother, subordinate of Wargod Xingtian, leaves behind his last words.”

Some of these Empyrean Gods were quite famous, while others were low-key recluses. They had all come here, to the world of Undermoon Lake. Although they had managed to survive the yaksha, they were no unable to advance a single step past this place. They knew that their chances of surviving this palace were very low, and so they had left behind some words on this wall, telling future arrivals that they had once been here!

The techniques they had left behind naturally weren’t that impressive, and of course Ning found them useless.

At the Empyrean God level, one would mainly rely on self-developed techniques. Ning, for example, had developed the [Brightmoon] sword-art, and they were quite formidable in his hands. But if he was to leave the [Brightmoon] sword-art on the wall carving, other Empyrean Gods wouldn’t really care to learn it, as it was a technique developed by Ning for Ning; it wouldn’t be very useful for others.

Even techniques created by True Gods and Daofathers wouldn’t be that useful to them, unless the techniques were truly monstrous, unearthly techniques like the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

The reason why Ning was staring at the wall carvings was because he had the feeling that every single stroke and dotted line, every single character, represented a type of entrustment! These were all left behind by powerful Empyrean Gods prior to their deaths. This sort of faith and spiritual entrustment caused Ning’s soul to quiver. He could sense that none of these Empyrean Gods wished to die. All of them wished to live! But alas…they didn’t have the power to do so.

“I do not wish to leave behind any carvings.” At some point in time, Roughpeak had walked to Ning’s side, wine gourd in hand. He said calmly, “If I die, I die. I’ve had enough of this life.”

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Chapter 10 – Snowfiend

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 10 – Snowfiend

“What’s wrong?” Ji Ning immediately asked.

Immortals and Fiendgods would generally be able to withstand the loneliness of solitude. The prisoners of Prisonworld 17, for example, had been trapped for multiple chaos cycles with only a small number committing suicide in desspair. Empyrean God Roughpeak, by comparison, had been trapped here a far shorter period of time.

“Didn’t I tell you how I mistook you for ‘Snowfiend’ earlier?” Roughpeak said.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Undermoon Lake is an exceptionally deadly place. Many years ago, I made my way past the sea yaksha and arrived here at this snowy island. When I first arrived, there were no other Empyrean Gods, and so I continued to advance,” Roughpeak said. “On the other side of this island, there is another floating wooden bridge. If you proceed past it, you’ll encounter Snowfiend.”

“I was unable to defeat Snowfiend. Fortunately, by relying on my agility techniques, I managed to escape and flee back to this snowy island,” Roughpeak said. “Snowfiend pursued me all the way back to this location, but once I fled into the island itself, Snowfiend immediately halted the pursuit.”

“Each time I fought against Snowfiend, I was unable to win. Thus, I have no choice but to remain here on this island.”

“I thought that I would be safe here, but I didn’t expect that after being here for a thousand years, one of Snowfiend’s clones actually attacked the island.” Roughpeak shook his head and sighed. “Every since that day, roughly every thousand years, a clone of Snowfiend would come to the island to attack me. Each time, its power is a little bit greater than it was before. After a million years, the clones will be close to its true body in power.”

Ning asked, puzzled, “Once every thousand years, with a gradual increase in power…is he doing this just to temper you, senior apprentice-brother?”

“This is indeed a form of tempering.” Roughpeak nodded. “At first, the Snowfiend clones were fairly weak, and I was completely capable of withstanding them. After a million years, my agility techniques reached an extremely formidable level; even the clone that was comparable to Snowfiend at full power is unable to kill me.”

“He’s not able to kill me, but I’m not able to go past him either.”

“And so, I’ve been trapped here on this island the entire time. Over the course of many years, other Empyrean Gods have come to this island. Some of them died to Snowfiend, while others made it to the next island. Some were like me, trapped here for long periods of time…but because the Snowfiend clones grew increasingly powerful, they were unable to keep up and ended up dying.”

“I’m the only one left!”

Empyrean God Roughpeak shook his head and laughed. “In terms of power, many of them were actually my equal…but my forte lies in agility. Thanks to Snowfiend’s pressure, I’ve reached a level that I would never have dared imagined I would reach.”

“But what of it? Snowfiend continues to disturb me time and time again. He uses illusions, ambushes, assassination attempts…he continues to try to kill me.” Roughpeak let out a sigh. “I’m here, all by myself, and I’m unable to improve any further at all. I’m also unable to make it past Snowfiend…and I have to be wary of his attacks.”

“Even if I’m not killed, I’ll eventually suffer a mental collapse,” Roughpeak said.

Ning nodded slowly.

“Senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak,” Ning said solemnly, “I feel that Undermoon Lake is quite a strange place. Based on what I’ve seen, it should be a world that was created by an ancient major power. After we enter, we will be beset by a number of trials. If we are unable to endure the trials, we will die. If we can endure them, we will be allowed to proceed, eventually acquiring treasures and even being allowed to leave.”

“Is it possible that the major power who created Undermoon Lake did so in order to help cultivate juniors, giving us treasures then letting us leave?” Ning was puzzled.

“He’s not as nice as you think.” Roughpeak shook his head. “The major power who created Undermoon Lake definitely had schemes of his own.”

“Agreed. Nobody is as selfless as that.” Ning agreed as well.

To help train Empyrean Gods, producing top-tier ones that would be gifted with treasures and allowed to leave…that was an act of utter selflessness. Ning didn’t think that anybody would be that selfless. There had to be a reason behind it all!

“Can it be that Buddha Jueming has never said anything at all, despite so many years having passed?” Roughpeak asked.

“Nothing.” Ning shook his head. “I asked my master, and my master also told me that Buddha Jueming sealed his lips, saying nothing about this place. It doesn’t matter who asks. Even Lord Tathagata the Buddha was unable to convince Buddha Jueming to divulge any information about Undermoon Lake.”

Roughpeak frowned. “How odd. Why is Buddha Jueming so completely closemouthed about this place?”

Buddha Jueming refused to speak, but he also refused to prevent other Empyrean Gods from entering this place. Still…no one could force him to speak.

“Snowfiend’s continuously attempted to kill me. In fact, he’s even chatted with me several times. That’s why I’ve learned that there is only one method of surviving Undermoon Lake and leaving with treasures,” Roughpeak said.

Ning immediately listened carefully.

“The method is…to continuously advance through the floating bridges, defeating all guardians. The journey will see you go past a total of five islands. Once you reach the fifth island, you’ll be able to depart in peace. However, to date only Buddha Jueming has succeeded,” Roughpeak said.

“Five islands?” Ning was stunned.

The snow-covered island the two of them were on was merely the very first island. To reach the fifth island would be no easy feat.

“Upon reaching the fifth island, you’d most likely learn what the creator of Undermoon Lake has been scheming,” Roughpeak said.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

In truth, Ning didn’t really care as to what that ancient major power was scheming. What he cared about was Iceheart Pith and Iceheart Leaf.

“Junior apprentice-brother, I’ve battled against Snowfiend for countless years, and I’ve also chatted with him many times.” Roughpeak looked at Ning. “He told me that there’s one other way to survive and leave.”

“Oh?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“To hide within an extremely powerful Empyrean God’s magic treasure.” Roughpeak continued, “For example…if someone felt tremendous faith in Buddha Jueming, they could’ve chosen to secrete themselves in his treasures, assuming he was willing to let them do so. Upon him successfully leaving the place, they would be able to leave along his side.”

“However, there’s one bad part about hiding; you won’t be able to acquire any treasures at all. In addition, your own life will no longer be yours to control.” Roughpeak continued, “For example, if Buddha Jueming was to die, then the Empyrean Gods hiding within his treasures would all die as well. After all, they would all emerge upon his death, and anyone capable of killing Buddha Jueming would also be capable of killing them.”

Ning nodded.

“Right now, I’m trying to decide…if I should follow you.” Roughpeak looked towards Ning.

Ning was startled. “Follow me?”

“Follow you. I’ll go wherever you go, as far as you go. If you manage to escape, I will as well. However, I feel that your chances of making it out alive are quite low.” Roughpeak chuckled. “Still, I want to at least take a look at the other islands. Even making it to just the second island would be enough. I’ve been here all by myself for so long…I’ve had enough of it.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, if you truly were to trust me in such a way, I would definitely do my utmost,” Ning said.

“But I’m worried about something…” Roughpeak said.

“What’s that?”

“I’m worried about whether you are strong enough to go past Snowfiend,” Roughpeak laughed. “If you fail and die, I’ll probably be unable to escape as I’ll be trapped in your treasures. I’ll end up being killed by Snowfiend. If that happens, I won’t be able to see the next island. I’ve been quite curious as to what the rest of the five islands are like, and how terrifying the upcoming dangers are, for so many Empyrean Gods to have failed here.”

Ning hesitated momentarily. “I…can’t make any promises.”

“I don’t need any promises. Follow me.” Roughpeak led Ning forward.

The snowy island was quite large, but the two of them moved with incredible speed. Soon, they arrived at the other end of the island, where they saw a floating wooden bridge.

“Eh?” Ning took a good look. This wooden bridge stretched off into the distant horizon, but the endless sea to each side of it was completely frozen.

Countless petals of snow continued to fall down from the skies.

“All you need to do is step on the wooden bridge.” Roughpeak gestured towards the bridge. “Once you step onto it, Snowfiend will sense it. There’s no need for you to even advance; you can just wait here for him. A short while later, Snowfiend will arrive! The first ‘Snowfiend’ you encounter will merely be a clone. Fight it. If you can kill it with just a single blow, I’ll take the gamble and hide inside your treasures, following you forward.”

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Roughpeak bowed deeply towards Ning.

“Senior apprentice-brother, don’t act like this!” Ning hurriedly moved to stop the bow.

“I’m asking you to help me advance, but I’m first insisting on testing out your power. I honestly am ashamed of my actions,” Roughpeak said.

“This is just normal behavior,” Ning said hurriedly. “If I can’t even dispose of one of Snowfiend’s clones, for you to follow me would be suicidal.”

Roughpeak no longer said anything else to Ning. He just stared at the vast sea, at the distant horizons. He murmured softly to himself, “I really wonder what the next island is like. I wonder if there are any other surviving Empyrean Gods on that island. I really want to know what’s there. Once I see it…even if I die, I’d be happy.”

As for Ning, he moved forward, stepping onto the wooden bridge.

Whoosh! As soon as he stepped onto the wooden bridge, the amount of snow falling from the heavens grew noticeably greater.

A pair of blood-red swords appeared in Ning’s hands as he began to wait quietly.

……

Far away in the distant skies, a large amount of snow began to rapidly condense, transforming into a white-furred ape. The ape held a snow-white staff in his hands, and he stood there in midair, his gaze passing through the endless snowfall and falling upon the distant Ji Ning and Roughpeak.

“Yet another youngster has arrived.” The ape-like Snowfiend murmured softly to himself, “Judging from their words…that kid Roughpeak is no longer able to endure the solitude of being trapped here for so many words. He plans to take a chance on following the white-robed kid?”

“It’s rare for someone to accompany for so long. If it wasn’t for Master’s orders, I’d be fine with letting you leave. But alas…although Master has left, his orders remain. I must follow them.” The simian Snowfiend shook his head.

Whoosh. Snowfiend disappeared.

……

Ning’s face changed slightly as he looked towards the front. A large amount of snow had begun to rapidly condense in front of him.

“Be careful, junior apprentice-brother. Snowfiend’s clone has arrived,” Roughpeak warned him from behind.

Ning just watched calmly. As the snow began to condense, a large amount of natural energy began to condense as well. Soon, a white-furred ape wielding a snow-white staff appeared before him. The ape’s eyes were filled with an innate killing intent; it was born for the sole purpose of slaughter.

“Heh heh heh. That kid Roughpeak has quite the agility technique; he’s been able to slip through my hands time and time again. However, nearly a thousand other Empyrean Gods have died by my hands.” The simian Snowfiend stared at Ning, seeming to weigh Ning with his eyes as a predator would its prey.

Ning didn’t dare to be too reckless. All of the Empyrean Gods capable of making it past the sea yaksha were extraordinary figures, but a thousand of them still ended up dying by Snowfiend’s hands. Although Ning had sparred for only a brief moment with Roughpeak, he could still tell that in terms of agility, he was far from being Roughpeak’s match.

“Don’t disappoint me.” The ape-like Snowfiend let out a strange, chortling laugh that reverberated in the skies, then charged straight towards Ning with a ‘swoosh’, both hands clutched onto that snow-white staff.

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Chapter 11 –Taiji-force

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 11 –Taiji-force

As the staff came smashing down, countless snowflakes swirled around it, causing its power to increase explosively!

Ji Ning just stood there quietly as Snowfiend’s blow descended towards him.

Empyrean God Roughpeak had said it himself; this was merely one of Snowfiend’s clones. If Ning could destroy this clone in one blow, Roughpeak would follow him. In his heart, Ning wished to help out this ‘senior apprentice-brother’ of his. His wife’s master, Patriarch Lu Dongbin, could actually be considered a fellow disciple of Roughpeak’s.

Lu Dongbin had once apprenticed himself to two of the major powers of the Daoist Path. One was Daoist Three Purities; the other was Exalted Celestial Carefree.

For the sake of his connection to Lu Dongbin alone, Ning would’ve been willing to give Roughpeak a hand. But of course, Roughpeak’s status was far lower than Lu Dongbin’s. Even as far back as the Primordial Era, Lu Dongbin was viewed as one of the most peerless of geniuses. But alas, his ambitions in dual-cultivating in Buddhism and Taoism were too great. It wasn’t until the Three Realms was swept into this current storm that he was finally able to make his breakthrough, but upon doing so he instantly became a top-tier Daofather.

Whoosh. The staff came smashing downwards.

Swish! Ning’s sword-light flashed. As soon as he used his sword, he executed the [Starseizing Hand], causing his sword to be filled with tremendous power. “This Snowfiend clone is far too slow.” The strange, unfathomable sword-light flashed, and it was about to land against Snowfiend, except…Snowfiend’s longstaff suddenly spun around, moving to block Ning’s sword.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed slightly, and he sent the longsword forward in a stabbing motion, following the momentum of the blow.

Stab! The tip of the sword pierced straight through the skull of Snowfiend’s clone.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Blood Drop stance.

Whoosh. Snowfiend’s clone completely dispersed, transforming back into the snow that filled the skies. At the same time, Snowfiend’s voice echoed forth throughout the region. “If that’s all the power you have…you aren’t even close to being strong enough to pass. Haha…I’ll be waiting for you on the path ahead.”

Empyrean God Roughpeak walked to Ning. “What do you think?”

“I underestimated him,” Ning said. “His clone only had an ordinary amount of power and speed; I thought I’d be able to easily kill him with one blow of my sword. Who would’ve thought that his staff-techniques would be so formidable? I had to spend a little bit of effort on him after all.”

Roughpeak nodded. “The clones of the sea yaksha that were all very weak; they could be effortlessly killed. But the clones of Snowfiend are far harder to deal with. As for his true form, it’s even more powerful. His greatest strength is that he has almost no weaknesses at all. Or perhaps he does have weaknesses…but I wasn’t able to discover any.”

“Almost no weaknesses?” Ning frowned.

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to actually defeat him; so long as you have reached a certain level of power, he’ll voluntarily withdraw and let you pass.” Roughpeak chuckled, “Just now, you were able to kill Snowfiend’s clone in one exchange, and your sword-art appeared quite impressive. I’ll follow you.”

Ning nodded.

In truth, strictly speaking Ning didn’t really just use a single technique; he had first used the ‘Shadowless’ stance, then transformed it into the ‘Blood Drop’ stance. The reason why Roughpeak described it all as being ‘one exchange’ was because he truly could no longer endure the loneliness of being trapped in this place.

“Let’s go.” Ning waved his hand. Roughpeak didn’t resist, allowing himself to be drawn into Ning’s Immortal estate.

Ning himself was carrying a Pure Yang Immortal estate that held his other body within it. But of course, as the master of the estate, Ning was able to separate it into many different ‘sections’. For now, he didn’t wish to let Roughpeak know of his second body’s existence. There were very few in the Three Realms who knew this secret.

Whoosh.

Ning boarded the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle, then continued to advance along the path set by the wooden bridge.

Snowflakes drifted downwards, seeming to cover the entire world.

“What a beautiful scene.” Ning smiled.

He continuously advanced. After two full hours, the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle came to a sudden halt, and Ning’s face changed slightly as he stared up ahead. Far off in the distance, a golden-furred ape was seated atop the bridge. In front of the golden-furred ape was placed a long staff that emanated a tremendous aura of power as well. Clearly, this was an extremely formidable treasure. At present, the golden-furred ape was seated in the lotus position, resting his jaw against his arms, waiting for Ning in an extremely bored-looking manner.

“You finally came. I waited forever for you.” The golden-furred ape rose to his feet, stretching slightly. “That flying treasure of yours is far too slow.”

With but a thought, Ning dismissed his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle, landing atop the wooden bridge. A pair of blood-red swords in his hands, he stared at the distant form of Snowfiend. “Although Snowfiend’s true aura is far more powerful than his clone’s aura, it feels as though his aura isn’t even as strong as the aura of the true body of the sea yaksha.”

“Heh heh heh…what’s wrong? Are you wondering why my aura seems fairly weak?” Snowfiend laughed mockingly. “Don’t compare that sea yaksha to me; that idiot isn’t even able to fully control all of his power. All he has is brute force. I, however, am in complete control of every shred of my power. Once I withdraw my aura, I can change my aura, change my appearance, change everything.”

“Transform!”

Snowfiend’s appearance suddenly transformed into that of Roughpeak’s.

“Again!” This time he transformed into Ning. The aura was completely identical.

Ning, seeing this, was quite startled. This was equivalent to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]!

“Thus, kid…you should understand that true experts can’t be judged based on their looks,” Snowfiend said with a laugh. “The more powerful one is, the more they will generally choose to restrain their auas. In fact, they might appear like an ordinary person, giving off no aura of danger at all.”

Ning couldn’t help but nod.

It was true. For example, when he had encountered Old Man Yuan, Old Man Yuan had transformed himself into an ordinary-looking old gardener. Ning truly had thought him to be nothing more than an ordinary mortal, and he truly had sensed no aura around him at all.

“Come. Let’s see what you’ve got. Show me what you have,” Snowfiend called out.

“Come out.” A fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes, and a total of 729 Pure Yang swords appeared around him, hovering in the air. A large amount of Immortal energy had been pumped into them, and the energy was cycled through them, transforming into an incomparably sharp jade sword that materialized in front of Ning.

“Oh, it seems you have some skill after all.” Snowfiend hefted his golden staff, chortling merrily.

Ning’s eyelids twitched.

Swish!

The jade sword instantly pierced through the skies, leaving behind a streak of light as it chopped towards Snowfiend in an unfathomable, unpredictable manner.

Boom! Snowfiend gently flicked out his golden staff, smashing it against the jade sword. The jade sword instantly shattered.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed. “Go, go, go!” One jade sword after another materialized and soared off.

Snowfiend just lazily advanced, his golden staff casually trembling with each blow. The staff transformed into a layer of concentric circles, effortlessly smashing apart each seemingly ‘unfathomable’ jade sword. Boom! Boom! Boom! All three were broken apart in succession.

“Is this the only technique you know?!” Snowfiend stared wide-eyed, seemingly befuddled. “Then this is going to be really boring.”

After speaking, Snowfiend’s golden staff suddenly flew into the air, transforming into a golden streak of light.

“My ‘Shadowless’ stance is inscrutable and mysterious, and it was backed by the power of the ninth-stage [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. And yet, he was able to effortless deflect it. It seems I’ll have to use heartforce.” Ning didn’t expect that he would immediately be forced to use haertforce. Yet another jade sword appeared in front of him, and yet another streak of light flashed out, chopping towards Snowfiend.

Snowfiend leapt forward, and the jade sword stabbed through the air.

The two collided.

“Die!” Ning willed it, and the heartforce within the jade sword instantly burst forth, causing the speed and power of the jade sword to increase dramatically, making it even faster and more unpredictable as it chopped towards Snowfiend.

“Eh?” For the first time, Snowfiend revealed a solemn look on his face. Prior to this, he had been holding the staff with one hand, but now he instantly switched to a two-handed grip.

Whoosh! The staff trembled, causing circles to instantly appear in the skies. Two calm streams of black energy and white energy appeared on the surface of the staff.

Boom!

The staff once more smashed against Ning’s jade sword…and despite adding fourth-stage heartforce to the mix, the sword was still completely shattered.

“Interesting.” Snowfiend’s eyes lit up. “Ahahaha, let’s do it again! Agai!”

Snowfiend’s body bounded forward at high speed. As he ran forward, his movements became strange and unfathomable. He occasionally moved left and occasionally moved right, advancing nonstop in a zig-zag pattern.

Clearly, Snowfiend was taking things seriously now.

“He was able to stop even fourth-stage heartforce?” Ning felt a hint of surprise. Every time he applied heartforce, he used up a good amount of his energy. He would only be able to unleash a total of ten such swords.

“Go, go, go!” Ning gritted his teeth. Once more, he shot out three jade swords. This time, only one of them was filled with fourth-stage heartforce as he mixed ‘real’ attacks with ‘fake’ attacks.

“Ahahaha…” Snowfiend roared with laughter.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

Three consecutive explosions. Although one of the jade swords suddenly increased dramatically in power, it was still completely smashed apart.

“What?!” Ning could instantly tell that this would be tough.

By now, Snowfiend had already closed in on Ning. With no time for anything else, Ning immediately put away his Pure Yang swords while manifesting his three-headed, six-armed form. Six swords in his hands, he charged forward to meet Snowfiend in combat.

Clang!!!

The staff was filled with tremendous power. As soon as their attacks clashed, Ning was knocked flying backwards.

“What tremendous strength.” Ning flew backwards, his back smashing directly against the frozen sea. With a boom, the frozen sea trembled from the collision, but it remained completely undamaged. As for Ning, he rolled backwards a considerable distance before once more flying forward.

“If I don’t use the [Starseizing Hand], I probably can’t compete against him in raw strength.” Ning could feel a headache coming.

The [Starseizing Hand] used up divine power at a tremendous rate. [Three Heads, Six Arms] allowed him to increase his power significantly; given that he had six swords against the enemy’s single golden staff, he thought that he would at least be able to give the ape a run for his money, perhaps even winning. Who would’ve thought that he would be smashed backwards in their first exchange?

“Although he’s not as strong as the true form of the sea yaksha, he’s still much stronger than me. His staff-technique is also unfathomably profound, and his movement techniques are shockingly brilliant as well. He truly is virtually flawless. Senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak was actually able to escape Snowfiend through his evasion techniques…that’s quite impressive.” Only now did Ning truly understand how impressive Empyrean God Roughpeak’s evasive techniques were.

“I have to make use of my advantages.”

Ning had no choice but to engage in a bit of scheming now.

“Haha!” Snowfiend roared with laughter, charging forward onto the floating bridge and ramming straight towards Ning, who was still standing atop the frozen sea.

Ning continued to wield six swords in his three-headed, six-armed form. Once Snowfiend reached him, he moved.

Ning completely ignored the oncoming blow, sending all six of his swords smashing downwards towards Snowfiend’s body. You want to hit me? Hit all you like. Thanks to my [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], I can completely ignore your attacks. As long as my swords can chop you to death, I’ll win.

For the sake of success, Ning even used the [Starseizing Hand], allowing all six of his arms to explode with terrifying power.

“Ahahaha…”

The staff in Snowfiend’s hands suddenly twisted about, and the two streams of black energy and white energy once more appeared, forming an enormous vortex that trapped all six of Ning’s swords. And then, Snowfiend’s staff came smashing viciously towards Ning!

BOOM! The staff smashed away the six swords, then smashed down upon Ning’s body. Ning was once more knocked flying backwards, and he once more struck the frozen sea. This time, with a series of shattering sounds, a large number of cracks appeared on the icy surface.

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Chapter 12 – Swordforce, Stage Four

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 12 – Swordforce, Stage Four

“How can he be so fast? My sword-arts are already quite fast, and I used six swords to launch six simultaneous attacks…but he was able to block them all.” After slamming into the frozen sea, Ji Ning quickly flew back into the air, his eyes filled with disbelief. Just now, he had used the [Starseizing Hand] with all six of his arms, but he was still easily smashed away by his foe.

The difference in power between the two made Ning feel quite miserable.

“Heartforce. In the end, it’s still an ephemeral, invisible form of energy.”

“In close combat, strength is just one aspect; combat techniques matters even more.” Ning sighed in his heart. He was able to see long ago that this Snowfiend was in control of taiji-force, and his battle-techniques were also incomparably profound. Ning’s own swordforce had merely reached the third stage; clearly, his [Brightmoon] sword-art, in terms of technique, was completely outmatched by his enemy’s staff-arts.

The difference in combat skill was simply too great. Even with three heads and six arms, Ning was still at a complete disadvantage.

“Ahahaha, come, come, come! Again!” Snowfiend was growing excited, and he twirled the golden staff in his hands, sending it howling forth once more.

As for Ning, he charged forward as well, once more entering the fray.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two battled wildly over the frozen sea. Every so often, Ning would be bashed backwards, but thanks to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] he was able to continue exchanging blows with his foe. He had to keep the [Starseizing Hand] maintained the entire time, as otherwise his swords would instantly be knocked flying upon contact with the enemy. The difference in raw strength was simply too great; only by using the [Starseizing Hand] was he able to maintain parity.

Every so often, Ning would let his heartforce explode forth as well! This would cause Snowfiend’s body to suffer some wounds as well, but Snowfiend’s body was capable of transforming into countless flakes of snow, then reforming; those light wounds were completely useless.

“Interesting. You are actually capable of suddenly exploding forth with great power in a way which even I cannot detect. Is this the legendary, invisible, formless power of heartforce?” Snowfiend continued his attacks while chatting with Ning, who just gritted his teeth and fought back.

This was the first time that he had found himself completely outclassed by someone who was on his own level of power. In strength, in agility, in technique…he was at a disadvantage in every single aspect.

“Faster. Faster!”

“The [Five Treasures] manual was correct when it said that upon reaching an unstoppable level of speed, one’s attacks will become completely unstoppable.”

“When the Golden Crow ‘Emperor of Monsters’ reached maximum speed, none of the major powers of the Primordial Era were able to do anything to him; in the end, Houyi had to use a special arrow to slay him. If I can make my sword fast enough, he’ll be unable to stop me!” Ning attacked frantically, completely ignore defense and focusing solely on offense. The two stances he used were ‘Shadowless’ and ‘Blood Drop’.

Although there were three attacking stances in the [Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker primarily relied on crushing with weight and power. The difference in strength between Ning and Snowfiend was simply too great; Snowfiend’s own primary skill revolved around using overwhelming power in each staff-smash! For Ning to use the Heavenbreaker stance to fight head-on would be a foolish choice; he would be using his weakness to combat the enemy’s strength. He would lose disastrously if he did this.

Shadowless stance. Blood Drop stance.

His attacks were occasionally drifting and bizarre, occasionally rapid and savage. With three heads and six arms, he wildly launched attacks, attacks, and even more attacks!

Faster, fasater, faster!

Snowfiend himself continued to twirl that golden staff, the two streams of black and white energy flowing around it in a series of circles that completely shut down all of Ning’s attacks.

“I’m still not fast enough.”

Ning’s six swords emanated a natural, blurry golden light. This light was truly breathtaking and dominating, but no matter how valiantly and savagely Ning fought his attacks continued to be dispersed by the seemingly-ordinary staff techniques.

After fighting for a long period of time, Ning’s divine power was close to being depleted.

“It seems you still aren’t good enough.” Snowfiend chuckled to himself, his staff completely suppressing Ning.

As for Ning, he continued to launch attacks at a frenetic pace. Suddenly…one of the six swords exploded forth with shocking amounts of power.

“Heartforce yet again?” Snowfiend didn’t feel any concern at all. Although this sword-strike of Ning’s was even stranger and more unfathomable than before, and although his sword had managed to draw close to Snowfiend’s body due to the sudden increase in power, Snowfiend was still able to clip the side of Ning’s sword with his staff, knocking it aside. Ning was only able to leave a slash on Snowfiend’s flank.

However, right at this moment, one of Ning’s hands suddenly released a sword. The hand suddenly increased in size as it clawed towards Snowfiend.

This attack was simply too sudden. The heartforce-filled sword had been nothing more than a decoy; Ning’s true goal was to ensure that this hand of his would be able to close in on the enemy! In the same instant that the sword’s attack ‘failed’, Ning released the sword and let his hand become his true weapon.

“Eh?” Shocked, Snowfiend hurriedly moved backwards. His movement techniques were quite marvelous as well, and Ning’s clawing attack was only able to latch onto one of Snowfiend’s arms.

“Sever!” Snowfiend let out an uncaring chortle. He was formed from snow, and his body could manifest or dissipate as he willed it. The loss of an arm was nothing to him.

One of his arms had been seized by Ning, but the other sword continued to wield the long staff and battle against Ning’s other five swords.

BOOM!

A bloody sword-tip suddenly pierced out of Snowfiend’s forehead.

Snowfiend revealed a look of shock. He…he had actually been stabbed in the head?

Whoosh.

Moments later, Snowfiend’s body completely dissipated, reforming off to the side a few moments later. He stared in disbelief at the direction from which he had been attacked; a second Ji Ning was standing there!

“Two?” Snowfiend stared at the two white-robed Ji Nings.

“Just now, when you released your sword and grabbed me, it was all for the sake of giving your other clone a chance?” Snowfiend looked at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “You are indeed strong enough to outmatch me; I’m not your equal at all. Thus, I had to play a small trick on you.”

“First, you filled your sword with heartforcce, then you released the sword to attack me with your hand. That hand of yours is no weaker than your sword,” Snowfiend said.

“Correct. To be precise, my hand is actually a bit more powerful,” Ning said.

Ning’s [Starseizing Hand] had made his hands comparable to supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures. Although they weren’t sword-shaped, they were still comparable in might to high-grade Protocosmic swords. Naturally, his hands would be a bit more powerful than the swords he was using.

“Although my palms are a bit more powerful, and although my attack came quite suddenly, your agility techniques are simply too impressive; I was only able to grab onto your arm.” Ning shook his head.

“You released the sword so that you could attack with your hand, but even if the hand succeeded, you would still have the option of using your second body, which is just as strong as your first body.” Snowfiend shook his head. “I was tied down by you for a moment; that sudden attack caught me offguard, rendering me unable to dodge. I am thoroughly convinced by my defeat.”

“I wasn’t strong enough, so I had no choice but to use trickery,” Ning said.

If he had started the battle with two clones, the ape would’ve been prepared for it. Given how overwhelmingly powerful Snowfiend was, if that happened the outcome could be summarized in one word: LOSE.

Thus, Ning’s second clone would only appear at a critical moment, unleashing a sudden attack that would gain him victory.

“It was because you have other clones.” Snowfiend shook his head. “You actually have two true bodies, and both are Empyrean God bodies. It seems that you must’ve trained in some sort of special divine ability. Generally speaking, this sort of divine ability should allow you to create quite a few clones, correct?”

Ning chuckled. Indeed; [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] allowed for a total of eighteen clones.

“You win.” Snowfiend hefted the golden staff onto his shoulders, then turned and left. Snow fluttered around him, and he quickly disappeared into the snow.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. “Good heavens.” Ning felt a spike of fear for what had almost happened.

“Although I knew that Snowfiend had to be powerful…he was way too powerful! I threw everything I had at him, and my first clone used up almost all of its divine power and heartforce. If my final ploy had failed, my only option would’ve been to try and flee back to the island.”

The reason why Ning had battled ineffectively for so long as to make the ape ‘accustomed’ too him. Everything lay in that final attack.

First the sword, then the hand, then the second clone! If he failed, he would’ve fled back to the island. Just like Roughpeak, he would train for a few more years before making any further attempts.

“Success! Finally, I succeeded.”

Although Ning celebrated his victory, he still felt a sense of pressure. This journey involved a total of five islands; his defeat of Snowfiend only allowed him access to the second island. This battle, however, had already forced him to reveal his trump card and use all the tricks he had available. Would he be able to overcome the upcoming challenges?

Whoosh.

The Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle followed the floating wooden bridge, rapidly advancing towards the horizon.

While flying, Ning pondered the previous battle nonstop. Just now, when he had been battling so frantically, he had a vague feeling that he was about to completing the third chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art, which he was still a hairs-breadth away from mastering. However, because he was in a life-and-death battle, he didn’t have any time to think about the sword-art.

Now, Ning began to think back to the previous battle and carefully analyze it.

After flying for half a day, another island appeared before Ning. This island had a massive volcano in the center of it. Boom! Boom! Boom! The volcano constantly belched forth lava and ash, sending them flying into the skies and turning the entire island red.

“A volcano island?” Ning no longer pondered his sword-arts. Instead, he rapidly flew forward and landed atop the volcano island.

This was the second of the five islands.

“Eh?”

At the end of the wooden bridge, Ning sat a giant, vertical stone stele, with the stone stele covered by an enormous diagram of a bellowing ape. This ape looked rather similar to Snowfiend, and he was roaring at the heavens.

As soon as Ning saw it, his mind was drawn into the diagram’s depths.

He saw the illusion of an ape, twirling a longstaff in its hands as it trained in a staff technique. The ape started with the simplest techniques, then proceeded to the advanced ones, his staffwork growing increasingly marvelous. A short while ago, Ning had battled against Snowfiend for a long period of time. Now that he was able to carefully see each of the illusory ape’s separate techniques in detail, he instantly felt enlightened regarding his previous experiences. Only after a long period of time did the display of techniques come to an end.

“Eh?” Ning’s consciousness returned to his body.

“What a marvelous staff technique. A pity that my path is the Dao of the Sword.” But suddenly, Ning’s entire body turned stiff as he just stood there blankly.

He had been trapped at a bottleneck in the [Five Treasures] for some time now. Upon viewing that complete staff technique, it was as though a ray of sunlight had suddenly pierced through a covering of dark stormclouds, illuminating a world that had previously been cast in shadow.

Ning stood there silently and unmovingly. Both him and his second clone were completely absorbed in the [Five Treasures] sword-art. They were gaining continuous insights into the third chapter, and in the end the bottleneck was no longer able to impede Ning’s progress. The bottleneck shattered, and all of his insights became completely linked together, merging to form a perfect whole. The entire third chapter was completely mastered…and Ning’s swordforce silently advanced to the fourth stage as well.

Swordforce, stage one – Silver Moon.

Swordforce, stage two – Dazzling Sun.

Swordforce, stage three – Imperial Ruler.

Swordforce, stage four – Sword Heart.

“Sword Heart…” Ning murmured to himself, then flicked out with his finger in a slow arc. A black streak of sword-light appeared, swirling around it.

When he had created the very first stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, Ning had already reached the third stage of swordforce. Nearly a century had passed, and over the course of this period of time Ning had completed the [Brightmoon] sword-art, battled against many Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals in the prisonworld, and even sparred against True Gods and True Immortals there. However, he had been unable to make that final breakthrough. Only after sparring against Snowfiend and after his consciousness was drawn into the stone stele did he finally break through the last bottleneck and reach the fourth stage of swordforce.

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Chapter 13 – Volcano Island

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 13 – Volcano Island

“The Dao of the Sword…” Ji Ning shut his eyes.

Slowly, an invisible surge of power began to manifest in the area around Ning. It formed into the blurry image of a black sword which covered Ning and swirled around him.

Normally, those who mastered the Dao of the Sword would be referred to as Sword Immortals…but this was actually just the beginning of the Sword Immortal path! Only by comprehending swordforce would one be able to pursue the true essence of the sword itself.

“It is alive.” Ning opened his eyes, staring at the blurry, illusory black sword around him. This manifestation of fourth-stage swordforce allowed Ning to clearly sense the childish playfulness of the illusory sword. It was like a little child that absolutely loved to stick closely to Ning, causing Ning’s own heart to be filled with joy.

Sentience. Life.

The first three stages of swordforce only involved the rigid application of power, but the fourth stage of swordforce actually gained both life and sentience. Although the level of intelligence was very low, it was still enough to truly stun Ning.

Prior to this, before his heartforce had actually reached the fourth stage, Ning had never sensed this from his swordforce. As for heartforce, it came from himself; it was the power of his own heart. Swordforce, however, came from an arcane, inexplicable, unfathomable essence of the sword itself. The path that Ning was pursuing was the path of finding the original essence of the sword.

Whoosh.

Ning rose to his feet. He waved his hand, and the black swordforce responded accordingly.

“Such tremendous power. Prior to this, I was a bit weaker than senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon and Redsnow, due to me not having trained for long enough. Although my heartforce is formidable, it’s consumed far too quickly in battle. When I want to beat down on those weaker than me, it’ll allow me to gain victory in just one or two blows, but when fighting against experts of the same level, it simply won’t last. Swordforce, however, doesn’t use up any divine power, and it comes in a steady, unbroken stream.” Ning was absolutely delighted.

Upon truly comprehending swordforce, even a mortal commoner would be able to infuse his punches and kicks with fourth-stage swordforce.

“I can vaguely sense that the power of this swordforce is roughly equal to 80% of the power unleashed when I use my heartforce to maximum ffect.” Ning sighed in amazement. Although it was ‘only’ 80%, it could be used in every single strike and blow; in a protracted battle, it would be far more useful to Ning than heartforce would be.

“From this day forth, in a one-on-one battle, I am now the equal of senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon and Redsnow.”

After calming himself, Ning took a look at the volcanic island. This island had a towering volcano in the center that was occasionally belching forth plumes of lava. However, because the sea around the volcanic island was completely frozen with countless snowflakes falling all around it, the borders of the volcanic island were at a perfect temperature, with only the volcano itself being blazingly hot.

Whoosh. Ning willed it, and a second person appeared next to him. It was Empyrean God Roughpeak.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.” Roughpeak immediately smiled and called out to Ning upon stepping out…but upon seeing his surroundings, he was instantly stunned.

The volcano belching fire…

It was a sight completely different from that of the snowy island.

“Th-this place is…” Roughpeak stuttered.

“This is the second island. I call it ‘Volcano Island’,” Ning said.

“You actually su-succeeded. Ahahaha…wonderful! Wonderful!” Roughpeak turned his head to look at Ning with eyes full of excitement. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, to tell you the truth, I didn’t really think you’d be able to succeed. In fact, after spending a few days in your Immortal estate, I was truly afraid that you had already failed. But you actually succeeded! Wonderful, simply wonderful.”

Roughpeak truly didn’t have that much faith in Ning. He had watched as Ning killed the Snowfiend clone on the snowy island, and had seen that Ning’s sword-arts were only at the level of third-stage swordforce. However, Ning’s sword was quite shockingly fast, which was why he thought that there might be a chance that he would be acknowledged by Snowfiend! It wasn’t necessary to actually defeat Snowfiend in order to go past him; if one fought him for long enough and was acknowledged by him, one would be allowed past.

Ning had spent a long period of time analyzing the stone stele. Although Ning had felt that only a brief moment had passed, in truth he had spent more than two days on it.

After waiting for so long within the Immortal estate, Roughpeak felt that the reason why Snowfiend had let Ning pass was because the two had fought for so long that Snowfiend had acknowledged Ning’s power.

Ning chuckled. “Luck was part of it.”

“Being able to pass Snowfiend proves your power.” Roughpeak sighed. “No matter what…we’ve finally left the island of snow. I’ve had more than enough of that place.”

“The island was actually quite pretty,” Ning said.

“When you’ve spent countless terrified years by yourself in one place, it’ll turn into hell for you, no matter how ‘pretty’ it is.” Roughpeak said hurriedly, “Let’s go! Let’s not chat here; let’s take a look at what’s up ahead! Let’s see if there are any other Empyrean Gods on this island. The further along we go, the stronger any surviving Empyrean Gods must be. Even if they aren’t able to make it to the next island, they should be able to stay alive for quite some time.”

“Yes, let’s take a look.” Ning nodded.

Ning and Roughpeak walked through the volcanic island, taking in the sights. A short while later, they found a winding series of spiky palaces.

“Over there. If there are any surviving Empyrean Gods, they should be living there.” Roughpeak hurriedly pointed towards the palaces.

As soon as his words came out…whoosh! A fur-clad, muscular, bronze-eyed man appeared at the entrance to one of the palaces, glancing outside. He instantly saw both Ning and Roughpeak.

“Eldest brother! Second brother! Third brother! Fourth brother! Fifth brother! Seventh sister!” The muscular man instantly called out in a loud voice.

Swish! Swish! Swish! One figure after another began to charge out from the other palaces. They all congregated together, staring towards the two newcomers.

Six were men, one was a woman. All of them were dressed in furs.

“Is that my young friend Roughpeak?” Suddenly, a wrinkle-faced man called out to the two.

“Seven Dragon Gods…all of you are still alive?” Roughpeak began to roar in laughter.

“The Seven Dragon Gods of the Primordial Era?” Ning was truly shocked as well.

Before coming to this place, he had naturally read up on the Empyrean Gods who had entered Undermoon Lake. The Seven Dragon Gods had entered Undermoon Lake during the Primordial Era! Countless years had passed since then, and during his conversation with Roughpeak, Ning had learned that the island of snow had suffered attacks every thousand years. The same was most likely true for the other islands as well.

To be able to live for even a hundred million years in Undermoon Lake was a marvel. To be able to survive from the Primordial Era to the modern day?!

“Young friend Roughpeak, why have you come to this damned hellhole? We should never have come to this damned place.” The oldest-looking man spoke out as Ning and Roughpeak walked towards the seven.

“Too late for regrets. I’m already here.” Roughpeak let out a sigh. “I was trapped on the snowy island for more than a hundred million years, but the seven of you entered during the Primordial Era. I’m in complete awe of you; you were actually able to survive for so long!”

“Ahahaha…and who is this new friend?” A fiery-haired man looked towards Ning, a friendly look in his eyes. “Although I don’t recognize him, I can sense that he’s one of my brothers, a human.”

“Let me make the introductions.”

Roughpeak smiled as he looked towards Ning. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, I trust that you must have guessed by now, but these seven are the Seven Dragon Gods who once followed Human Emperor Suiren in his campaigns across the world. In the past, as our human race just began its rise to prominence, we were still testing out many different cultivation paths. Human Emperor Suiren once harvested draconic blood from a True God and used it to qualitatively change a human’s body and allow them to train in superior Fiendgod techniques. However, he discovered later that this sort of forced transformation had an impact on both the body and the soul, resulting in most being unable to progress past the Empyrean God level.”

“Why do you have to talk about these things?”

“At least we became Empyrean Gods!”

The Seven Dragon Gods all laughed.

“These are the Seven Dragon Gods. The eldest is Empyrean God Witherdragon. This is the second, Empyrean God Fiercedragon. This is the third, Empyrean God Blackdragon. This is the fourth, Empyrean God Dragoncaller. This is the fifth, Empyrean God Owldragon. This is the sixth, Empyrean God Tyranodragon. And this one, the most beautiful of the seven, would naturally be Empyrean God Voidragon.” Smiling, Roughpeak made the introductions.

As for Ning, he felt true admiration for these seven.

Ning had always felt true admiration for the earliest human experts. They had established a foundation for all their human descendants, and they had even used their own bodies to test out new cultivation methods. It wasn’t just these seven who had attempted to use draconic blood to transform their bodies; many others had died on the spot, their bodies instantly blasting apart.

Not just anyone could withstand the blood of a draconic True God, after all. The seven of them were seven of Suiren’s early test subjects, and they became known as the Seven Dragon Gods. Although they weren’t true siblings, they were even closer to each other than true siblings!

“Hurry up and introduce this young friend of yours.” The only woman present was dressed in fur clothes that couldn’t disguise her beauty. Her voice was clear and crisp, but as heroic and valiant as any of the others.

“He is junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, one of the disciples under the tutelage of Daofather Subhuti,” Roughpeak said with a sigh.

“Darknorth?”

“My young friend Darknorth, it’s been a long time since we’ve encountered other humans. The seven of us have nearly died of loneliness here. Ahahaha…come, come, come! Taste some of this wine which our seventh sister created through harvesting elemental energy.” The tall, muscular, bronze-eyed man who had been the first to see Ning and Roughpeak immediately stepped forward, slapping his arm around Ning’s shoulders and pulling him towards his palace.

The Seven Dragon Gods of the Primordial Era, Empyrean God Roughpeak, and Ji Ning. These nine humans all seated themselves in a casual manner, beginning to drink wine in large gulps while chatting.

“I trust that the seven of you know by now that the outside world is now in the era of the Three Realms,” Roughpeak suddenly said.

“Yes, we’ve heard of this.”

“Some Empyrean Gods who passed by mentioned this to us.” They all nodded.

Roughpeak nodded as well. “But I imagine that those Empyrean Gods didn’t know that the Three Realms have fallen into a state of crisis. A tribulation has descended.”

“Tribulation?” The faces of the Seven Dragon Gods all changed.

“One which is as deadly as the tribulation which destroyed the Primordial Era,” Roughpeak said somberly.

“What?!”

The Seven Dragon Gods had entered Undermoon Lake during the Primordial Era, and so they didn’t experience the war that destroyed it. However, the Empyrean Gods that had come past them since then had described the war to them. They knew exactly how calamitous that war had been. Even major powers had died, as well as Elder Gods! The Pangu Chaosworld itself had been shattered!

“It was junior apprentice-brother Darknorth who told me this.” Roughpeak looked towards Ning.

“Let me explain.” Ning began to narrate the details of this tribulation to the seven. Upon hearing the story, their faces all changed.

“If I knew this…I would’ve slaughtered all of the Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate that came here in the past!” Empyrean God Tyranodragon bellowed.

“Damn. Damn! They really are like a pack of wild mongrels that just can’t be tamed. They should die. Every last one of them should die!”

The Seven Dragon Gods were all utterly furious. They could imagine how disastrous and calamitous this new storm would be. The more they imagined it, the angrier they grew.

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Chapter 14 – The Predicament

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 14 – The Predicament

After chatting for a long period of time and finishing all the wine, everyone prepared to retire to their own residences. Ji Ning hurriedly advised Empyrean God Roughpeak, “Senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak, there’s a stone stele located right at the entrance to Volcano Island. The stone stele contains the representation of Snowfiend displaying the intricacies of his staff-technique in detail. You can go take a look.”

“Oh?” Roughpeak’s eyes lit up.

“Roughpeak, you haven’t taken a look yet?”

“Hurry up and take a look. That stone stele really is quite interesting.”

“Yes, hurry up and take a look!”

The Dragon Gods all laughed and urged him to go take a look.

“Fine. I’ll go take a look right now.” Roughpeak immediately headed out towards the stone stele by himself.

“My friend Darknorth, there are plenty of palaces here. Just pick one as you see fit. Since you’ve just arrived, it’s guaranteed that you won’t suffer any attacks for the next thousand years,” Empyrean God Witherdragon said.

“Alright.” Ning nodded, then casually chose a palace to temporarily reside in.

Two days later.

Roughpeak returned from his trip to the stone stele, once more reuniting with the Seven Dragon Gods.

“How did it go? That stone stele is quite nice, right?” Empyrean God Owldragon laughed.

“It really is quite something, but my path isn’t the Dao of Taiji. Alas…I was trapped on the snowy island for more than a hundred million y ears because my attacks are too weak.” Roughpeak let out a sigh. “My agility techniques ensured that not even Snowfiend could kill me, but what of it? My attacks are too weak; Snowfiend completely refused to acknowledge me. He wouldn’t let me pass him no matter what! It was all thanks to junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

“And where is our friend Darknorth?” Witherdragon asked.

“He’s still training,” Voidragon replied. “I saw him meditating so I didn’t disturb him.”

“Darknorth truly is hard-working.” Blackdragon asked, “Roughpeak, how strong is our friend Darknorth? The seven of us have been trapped here for far, far too long. We’ve been here since the Primordial Era and really can’t take it any longer. If Darknorth is strong enough, we’d be willing to ask him to help lead us out of here. We no longer harbor any false illusions regarding the treasures of Undermoon Lake.”

“How strong is he?” Roughpeak shook his head. “I’ve seen him fight. He’s skilled in swordplay and quite formidable, but he’s only reached the third stage of swordforce. His divine abilities should be quite powerful, though. He spent several days travelling from the snowy island to Volcano Island. I imagine that he must’ve fought against Snowfiend for a long period of time, resulting in Snowfiend acknowledging his power and letting him pass.”

“Third-stage swordforce?” Witherdragon shook his head. “A pity. Although he can be considered an expert of the Dao of the Sword, it won’t be enough against the Purgatory God.”

“A pity.”

“Well, let’s keep waiting.”

All of them were rather disappointed.

“I’m already satisfied at having been able to make it out of the first island to Volcano Island. In truth, my decision to follow junior apprentice-brother Darknorth was a gamble. When I saw him fight, I didn’t have much faith in him…but in the end, my gamble paid off. Honestly, there’s no need to be depressed; perhaps after million years or so, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth will suddenly advance in strength and we’ll be able to make yet another gamble,” Roughpeak said.

“Hopefully.” The Seven Dragon Gods all sighed.

They had been hoping that someone would be able to come here and help them out, but Roughpeak had actually been carried here by Ning; there was no hope to be found from him at all. As for Ning himself…he had been just barely able to make it into Volcano Island. The chance that he would be able to progress further was quite remote.

……

Within a quiet, secluded palace. Ning was seated in the lotus position here, completely silent. His other clone was within his Immortal estate, and both of them were meditating on the [Five Treasures].

His earlier breakthrough had allowed him to completely master the third chapter of the [Five Treasures], and so he was now able to begin training in the final, fourth chapter of the [Five Treasures]. This final chapter caused Ning to feel even more amazed and how unfathomably marvelous the [Five Treasures] sword-art was.

Ning knew very well that Undermoon Lake would not be an easy place to conquer. He had only been able to reach Volcano Island; how incredibly difficult would the next few islands be? Thus, he had to do everything he could to grow stronger.

Time slowly flowed on.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had gone past. During this past half-year, Ning’s two clones finished nearly half of the fourth chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Now, however, they found it difficult to advance any further whatsoever. Thus, Ning decided to completely halt his meditations on it and turn his attention towards perfecting his [Brightmoon] sword-art. He had yet to improve the [Brightmoon] sword-art after reaching the fourth stage of swordforce.

Perfecting [Brightmoon] was, by comparison, an easier task than mastering the fourth chapter of the [Five Treasures]. In fact, over the course of perfecting it, Ning occasionally gained insights that allowed him to once more ruminate on the fourth chapter.

After one year and three months had passed since Ning’s arrival at Volcano Island…Ning finally opened his eyes.

“My [Brightmoon] sword-art has reached the apex of perfection possible for me at present.” Ning rose to his feet, a smile on his face. “If I was to meet Snowfiend again, I’d probably be able to easily defeat him with just a single body.”

Swordforce was highly well-suited for combat to begin with.

Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-art had been based off of the essence of the [Five Treasures] sword-art, a technique which surpassed the limits set by the Heavenly Daos. Its power was naturally staggering, and in attack power it was now completely capable of suppressing Snowfiend. Once Ning used [Three Heads, Six Arms] and fought against Snowfiend’s two arms with six arms…he would absolutely be able to dominate and defeat Snowfiend.

“It’s been quite some time since I’ve spoken to Roughpeak and the Seven Dragon Gods.” Ning felt rather embarrassed. During this year, he had spent all of his time in meditating. He immediately left his palace to go meet with the Seven Dragon Gods.

A short while later, the Seven Dragon Gods, Roughpeak, and Ning all gathered together once more.

“It’s very unlikely that the eight of us will be able to advance any further, and so we often gather together. But you, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth…you end up going into seclusion for a full year in one training session! You remind of me myself when I first entered Undermoon Lake,” Roughpeak said with a laugh.

“I’m embarrassed,” Ning said.

“Oh, right.” Ning looked at the other eight. “I’m preparing to go test the next guardian and see if I can reach the next island?”

“You?”

The Seven Dragon Gods and Roughpeak all glanced at each other.

Witherdragon said, “Brother Darknorth, do you know that there are treasures on the third island? If you can make it there, you can acquire treasures.”

“Treasures?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“The sea yaksha, Snowfiend, and Purgatory God – these are three of the guardians which the creator of Undermoon Lake left behind. If you can make it past the three of them, you’ll be able to acquire treasures. And of course, the fourth and fifth islands all have treasures as well.” Witherdragon looked at Ning. “But…do you think those treasures are so easily acquired? You can probably guess at how powerful the Purgatory God is.”

Ning immediately began to listen carefully. Only by understanding both one’s self and one’s enemies would one be able to win all battles.

“On the other side of Volcano Island, you’ll be able to see yet another floating wooden bridge. This floating wooden bridge will pass through an endless sea of fire…and within the sea of fire lives a Fiendgod known as the Purgatory God.” Witherdragon continued, “The Purgatory God is formed by countless flames that gather together. He wields a pair of halberds, and he is incredibly powerful, close to a True God in might. Although he flies quite slowly, his twin halberds attack at an utterly incredible speed. His infiniforce has even reached the fourth stage! Compared to Snowfiend, he’s stronger, has faster attacks, and is even more skilled. When those twin halberds of his start to chop about…he’s an utter nightmare.”

Ning was secretly shocked by what he heard. Even stronger and even faster than Snowfiend? This meant that this Purgatory God’s underlying foundation was superior to Snowfiend’s!

“The seven of us know exactly how powerful he is. Honestly, we hope for your success, as that way we’d be able to follow you through, but…” Witherdragon shook his head. “He’s far too powerful. If you aren’t strong enough, you will likely die.”

“The seven of you entered long ago during the Primordial Era.” Puzzled, Ning said, “If you wanted to follow a powerful Empyrean God to the next island, you probably could’ve done so long ago. You should’ve run into quite a few by now.”

“Right.” Voidragon, the only female of the seven, nodded. She said in a clear voice, “Your words are correct. From the Primordial Era to the present day, we’ve encountered more than ten who we were absolutely certain had the power to pass through. However, all of them came a long, long time ago. When the seven of us work together, even when the Purgatory God attacks the island he is unable to do anything to us. We were patient enough to keep waiting and training, hoping that we’d be able to break through by relying on our own power.”

“However…roughly thirty million years ago, the Purgatory God told us that we have almost spent an entire chaos cycle in Undermoon Lake. After a hundred million years, he would use his full power to wipe us all out.” Voidragon’s gaze turned dim. “Only then did we realize that there was a limit to the amount of time which Undermoon Lake gave us.”

“If the Purgatory God really was to attack at full-power and press us nonstop…our divine power would rapidly deplete, and when we use it all up, we’ll die. We’ve never heard of the term ‘chaos cycle’ before, but we understand that it has to be a period of time which the major power that created this world uses.”

“A chaos cycle?” Ning was startled. A chaos cycle had already passed since the Primordial Era?

Ning had felt all along that Undermoon Lake was a place that was meant to cultivate Empyrean Gods through particularly ruthless methods. However, a chaos cycle was enough; if one wasn’t able to make any real breakthroughs in an entire chaos cycle, they generally wouldn’t be able to make any more breakthroughs at all.

“We only have seventy million years left.” Tyranodragon’s deep, sonorous voice boomed out. “We absolutely aren’t willing to just admit defeat. We want to keep living, so our only hope right now is to find a powerful Empyrean God who can bring us along with him. But alas, no such figure has appeared recently.”

Ning nodded. During the past ten million years, he had been the only person to even enter.

“Although we truly wish to leave this place and aren’t willing to just die here…Ji Ning, you really are not yet strong enough.” Tyranodragon continued, “Please don’t blame me for saying something unpleasant, but the Purgatory God truly is incredibly powerful. Your third-stage swordforce…it’s far from being enough. You don’t have much of a chance to make it past him. To make it past him, you generally have to reach the fourth stage of thunderforce, taiji-force, infiniforce, heartforce, etc.; you have to reach the fourth stage to have any hope of succeeding.”

“And of course, if you are particularly skilled in a battle-type force, such as swordforce or saberforce, you’ll be completely capable of succeeding.”

Tyranodragon looked at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, you should wait until you have at least a decent chance before making the attempt. Otherwise…you’ll be gambling with your life. If you are lucky, you might escape, but if you aren’t, you’ll die there.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, it’s best if you wait patiently for some time. You aren’t like us; a long path still lies ahead of you,” Roughpeak said. “Honestly, I’m already quite content with being able to see Volcano Island.”

Ning was speechless.

Third-stage swordforce?

Why did they believe him to be at the third stage of swordforce?

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Chapter 15 – Iceheart Pith

Chapter 15 – Iceheart Pith

“Stop!” Ji Ning hurriedly called out.

The Seven Dragon Gods and Empyrean God Roughpeak paused their protestations, looking at Ning. Truthfully speaking, they didn’t really want to say these words either, but they also didn’t wish to see Ning die in the hands of the Purgatory God.

“You, uh…who told you that my swordforce is at the third stage?” Ning laughed.

“Eh?” The other eight were all startled. Judging from Ji Ning’s words…it seemed as though he wasn’t at that stage?

“I did.” Roughpeak looked at Ning, puzzled. “Was my guess wrong?”

“Oh!” Ning now understood. Laughing, he explained, “When I first encountered you, senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak, I was indeed just at the third stage of swordforce.”

These words instantly caused the eight to reveal looks of surprised delight.

“You broke through?”

“You made a breakthrough when fighting Snowfiend?”

“Have you reached the fourth stage of heartforce?” All of them looked eagerly and excitedly towards Ning.

Ning smiled, then nodded. At the same time, he waved a finger, causing a loop of extremely sharp black sword-light to circle around it.

Upon seeing the black, sword-shaped swordforce, the Seven Dragon Gods and Roughpeak felt extremely excited, but they also didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Roughpeak finally said, “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, I…uh…”

“I understand,” Ning said hurriedly. “Senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak, you believed that I had fought against Snowfiend for an extremely long period of time, and so you naturally came to certain conclusions based on that. It’s my fault for not having explained it to you.”

“How can it be your fault? Who would be so foolish as to blurt out exactly how strong they are?” The nearby Empyrean God Tyranodragon boomed with laughter. “Excellent. It seems as though the seven of us aren’t destined to die just yet. Given how powerful you are, brother Darknorth, it should be easy for you to overcome the Purgatory God. Come, come, come! Let’s make haste towards the next island. Our chances of leaving will be greater as well.”

“We’ve been in Undermoon Lake for countless years. Oh – according to what the Purgatory God said, we’ve been here for nearly a ‘chaos cycle’. I wonder what the next island is like?”

“I’m rather curious.”

“I hear that after defeating the Purgatory God, you’ll be able to acquire treasures.”

“Fourth brother, why are YOU getting excited? You won’t be the one to get the treasures!”

“My excitement is no business of yours!”

They all celebrated and joked about. Clearly, the chance to leave this Volcano Island had put them all in quite a good mood.

An hour later, Ning and the others arrived at the other end of Volcano Island.

“Here we are. All you need to do is advance past the floating wooden bridge.” Witherdragon pointed towards the wooden bridge up ahead. In front of them was an endless sea of flames that stretched off into the horizon, with the wooden bridge being the only thing within it.

“It’s really hot.” Ning turned his head and grinned. “Everyone, come into my Immortal estate for a few days.”

“After you.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“C’mere, lemme see what your Immortal estate is like!” They all laughed and jested. Their relaxation was primarily due to the fact that they knew how strong Ning was and that he was certain of victory. Roughpeak, when he had first joined Ning, had done so in a much more nervous, restless manner.

Ning waved his hand. None of the eight Empyrean Gods resisted, allowing him to draw them into his Immortal estate.

“Let’s go.” Ning seated himself within his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle, then began to rapidly advance via the wooden bridge into the sea of flames. Although the flames were incredibly hot, Empyrean Gods would generally find it easily to endure them, to say nothing of someone like Ning who was protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

After flyinig for just a single hour…

“Eh?” Ning came to a sudden halt, staring in front of himself. Up ahead, a massive red figure that was more than ten meters tall had appeared on the bridge. The figure was bald, had red eyebrows, a red beard, and was extremely muscular. He wielded a pair of short halberds in his hands, and his dark-red eyes were fixed upon Ning.

“The invisible pressure he gives off truly is stronger than Snowfiend’s,” Ning murmured to himself. The only reason Ning was able to sense this was because his foe had prepared his full power, not disguising his aura at all.

Ning put away the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle, then landed on the bridge. A pair of swords appeared in his hands.

He wasn’t even willing to use [Three Heads, Six Arms]. Now that his swordforce had reached a new level, and his [Brightmoon] sword-art had been further perfected…he wanted to give himself a good challenge.

“I can sense…that the volcanic island no longer has any Empyrean Gods on it.” The Purgatory God’s dark-red eyes held a hint of madness within them. “It seems you are quite confident.”

“Please come,” Ning said politely.

“Alright.”

The Purgatory God didn’t hesitate. He immediately bound forward, his body moving at incredible speed. He instantly arrived before Ning, who charged forward as well, sending two streaks of black sword-light towards the Purgatory God.

Boom! Boom!

Ning couldn’t help but take several steps back, while the Purgatory God was knocked back by one step as well.

“What tremendous power.” Ning was secretly surprised. “In strength alone, he’s nearly at the True God level. Fortunately, my swordforce reached the fourth level.” After swordforce reached the fourth level, Ning was able to unleash power equivalent to 80% of a full-force heartforce blow with each ordinary strike. This level of power was absolutely enough for him to do battle head-on against his foe. All Ning had to do was reserve enough divine power to allow him to move about at high speed. There wasn’t even a need for him to use the [Starseizing Hand] or [Three Heads, Six Arms]. In fact, he didn’t even really need to fight with full power.

Ning was completely capable of replenishing the amount of divine power which he was using up through absorbing natural elemental energy from Heaven and Earth.

“Stage-four swordforce?” The Purgatory God instantly grew even frenzied.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The twin halberds hacked downwards, screaming through the air like devils.

The two short halberds were like the Taiji itself; one was Yin while the other was Yang, and both joined together into a perfect whole that completely embodied the essence of of what Wuji, Infinity, was all about. Although Ning also wielded a pair of twin swords, in terms of making his swords work together in harmony he was vastly inferior to the Purgatory God. Anyone who had embarked on the path of Wuji would be extremely skilled in making multiple weapons work together.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning’s sword-light remained as fast and bizarre as ever.

In Undermoon Lake, Ning had spent most of his time and effort on the Shadowless stance, and this stane was the most unpredictable stance of them all.

The two exchanged blows for a long while. For a period of time, Ning was at a slight disadvantage; although his attacks were more powerful, his two weapons didn’t work together as seamlessly as his enemy’s did, resulting in him being at an overall disadvantage. In truth, if Ning used the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique, he would be able to quickly suppress his opponent, but Ning was in no hurry to do so. Finding such a perfect opponent wasn’t an easy task!

The power of his sword-arts primarily came from his black swordforce. Very little of Ning’s divine power was being used up, and it was actually being replenished faster than it was being consumed. He’d easily be able to battle like this for a thousand years without any problems.

This battle went on for more than half a month. Ning had just broken through to the fourth stage of swordforce a short while ago; now that he was able to fight against such a perfectly matched foe for so long, his sword-arts grew increasingly refined and perfected. Although he had spent more thana year meditating on his sword-arts on Volcano Island, he hadn’t had an actual opponent to test himself against. Only upon encountering a formidable opponent would he realize that his ‘perfected’ sword-arts were still lacking in many areas. As a result of his continued improvement, his sword-arts grew increasingly powerful.

“You win.” The Purgatory God suddenly retreated.

Ning laughed. During the past half-month, he had went from being at a slight disadvantage to holding a slight advantage! The Dao of the Sword was simply too well-suited for launching offensive attacks.

The Purgatory God looked at Ning, his lips cracking apart into an ugly grin. “I’ll be waiting for you at Myriad Mountains Island.” His body then vanished, leaving behind countless flames that quickly dissipated.

“Myriad Mountains Island?” Ning murmured softly to himself, “Can it be that the third island is Myriad Mountains Island?”

Swish. Ning boarded his Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle, then continued to advance.

After flying for around an hour, an enormous, gourd-shaped island appeared before him. This gourd-shaped island looked as though it was a small island and a large island joined together.

As for the wooden bridge, it led to the small island. At the end of the wooden bridge stood the bald, red-browed Purgatory God.

“So this is Myriad Mountains Island?” Ning landed with a laugh.

“To be precise, the small island is a treasure island.” The Purgatory God pointed towards the distant, larger island. “That large island over there is the actual Myriad Mountains Island. As for this small island…it has quite a few treasures. You can choose three of them. After doing so, you have to enter the large island. You won’t be allowed to come here again.”

Undermoon Lake was a place where you could only advance, not retreat. Ning understood this.

Upon reaching Volcano Island, for example, there would be no way back to the snowy island.

After entering Myriad Mountains Island, there would be no way back to Volcano Island. The only options were to die or to successfully pass through the remaining islands and return to the Three Realms.

“Three?” Ning said with surprise, “I hear that the fourth and fifth islands all have treasures as well.”

“Yes.” The Purgatory God nodded. “The third, fourth, and fifth islands all have treasures within them. In each place, you can choose three items. Thus, there’s a total of nine items you can acquire. Once you reach the fifth island, you’ll be allowed to leave Undermoon Lake. But of course, in this chaos cycle, the only one who survived was the man called ‘Jueming’.”

Ning instantly became filled with questions. The legends of the Three Realms stated that Buddha Jueming left Undermoon Lake with three treasures…but the Purgatory God now said that he left with nine?

“It seems there are six treasures which Buddha Jueming did not make public,” Ning mused to himself.

“Follow me.”

They walked through the smaller island, nearly a million kilometers in circumference. It took them only a short while to travel hundreds of thousands of kilometers and arrive at a lake. Compared to the endless amount of distance the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle had traversed over the oceans here, this island really was just a small island.

The island lake was covered by a hazy mist that prevented others from seeing it clearly.

“Disperse.” The Purgatory God waved his hand, causing all the mist to dissipate and the lake to appear. The lake was actually separated into nine distinct regions! One region was filled with incredibly hot Ninefire Lava, with a dark-red snow lotus growing atop it. Another region was filled with slowly flowing rivers of icy Iceheart Pith, and atop the pith grew a clump of jewel-like Iceheart Leaf. There was also a region filled with many types of precious medicinal herbs, all filled with life energy. These precious herbs had given birth to a jade-green fruit that appeared to levitate above them…

Nine regions of fire, of ice, of darkness, of life, of death…

A single invisible formation joined these nine regions together in a perfect manner.

“Eh? Iceheart Pith? Ninefire Lava? This place actually has both of them?” Ning’s heartrate instantly sped up. He grew excited now; he didn’t expect that he would discover Iceheart Pith, which he badly desired, right here within the third island.

“The treasures which Buddha Jueming made public are actually all here.” Ning instantly guessed at the reason behind this. “It seems that Buddha Jueming didn’t make public any of the treasures he acquired on the fourth and fifth islands.” Anyone could tell that the treasures on the later islands would be even more valuable and useful.

“Choose.” The Purgatory God, upon seeing Ning go into a daze, urged Ning to hurry up. “There are nine types of treasures here. You can choose three of them.”

“Nine types of treasure?” Ning was startled. There were nine regions in total. The Iceheart Pith region had a single Iceheart Leaf growing atop it. Although Iceheart Leaf was valuable, the large amount of flowing Iceheart Pith was something which Ning desperately desired as well.

“Can I choose the Iceheart Pith?” Ning suddenly asked.

“Iceheart Pith?” The Purgatory God frowned as he looked at Ning. “Iceheart Leafs crystallize above the Iceheart Pith. You should choose the leaf; the leaf is the crystallized essence of the pith. All nine regions have crystallized essences of certain things; you should choose them.”

“But I want the Iceheart Pith. Can I have it?” Ning asked. He definitely had to choose the Iceheart Leaf, but what of the Iceheart Pith?

The Purgatory God frowned. “The Iceheart Pith is the foundation; because it exists, Iceheart Leaf can grow. After an Iceheart Leaf is harvested, more will grow after a long period of time. You can choose Iceheart Leaf, but the underlying Iceheart Pith…how could I possibly give it to you?”

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Chapter 16 – Icefire Formation

Chapter 16 – Icefire Formation

Ji Ning instantly felt his heart clench. Iceheart Pith was the foundation of the leaf?

“With the pith gone, there will be no more leaves in the future.” The Purgatory God looked at Ning. “Many other Empyrean Gods will enter the Myriad Mountains Island. I can’t just let one of the treasures disappear due to you.”

“But I heard that the person who left, Jueming, was given more than just a single Iceheart Leaf,” Ning suddenly said.

“Uh…”

The Purgatory God’s face changed slightly. He cursed softly, “Damn that Jueming. Why did he have to blabber about the treasures?”

“Yes, your words are correct.” The Purgatory God looked towards Ning. “Jueming entered Undermoon Lake long, long ago. He was able to make it all the way to Myriad Mountains Island in one try, and was only the second person to make it here. Back then, there were many Iceheart Leafs, and so giving him twelve didn’t make much of a difference. But as time flowed on, the Empyrean Gods who entered this place were all tempered and strengthened. More of them entered Myriad Mountains Island…and as a result, the amount of treasures stored here began to run low. That’s why the reward was changed to be a single leaf.”

“Since you also made it all the way here on your first try…if you want twelve leaves, I’ll give them to you.”

The Purgatory God waved his hand. Whoosh. Instantly, the Iceheart Pith region began to ripple, as though some sort of restrictive spell had just been dissipated. One platter after another began to appear, each holding an Iceheart Leaf. There had to be at least ten thousand of the leaves within the great Iceheart Pith region.

“That many?” Ning was shocked.

“Is it? If every single Empyrean God takes away twelve leaves, then a thousand of them would take over more than ten thousand, yes?” The Purgatory God snorted. “I have to be sparing with these treasures. The only reason why I’m willing to offer you twelve is because you made it here on your first trip without failure. Twelve of the leaves wouldn’t be a problem, but the Iceheart Pith…that’s the foundation. Forget about it.”

Ning understood. These Iceheart Leaves all came from the Iceheart Pith before him; to acquire the pith was highly unlikely.

“Actually…” Ning suddenly said, “I only need a small amount of Iceheart Pith. Let’s say…a few dozen square meters of it?”

“A few dozen square meters?” The Purgatory God stared. “You call that a ‘small amount’?”

Ning felt a surge of delight in his heart. Judging from the Purgatory God’s attitude, there was clearly some bargaining room here.

“There are several square kilometers of Iceheart Pith here. A few dozen square meters is nothing,” Ning said hurriedly. Seeing the look on the Purgatory God’s face, Ning knew that he was rather unlikely to agree. Ning immediately said, “Just thirty square meters!”

“Do you know how deep the Iceheart Pith goes?” The Purgatory God explained, “They are nearly ninety meters deep. You want nearly 2700 cubic meters of it? Completely impossible.”

“Just nine meters deep and nine meters long,” Ning said hurriedly. “That’s all I want…”

The Purgatory God frowned.

“Just a tiny bit of Iceheart Pith and a single Iceheart Leaf.” Ning looked at the Purgatory God. “I won’t take any of the other treasures. Earlier, you said that I can take three of my choosing. All I want is a bit of Iceheart Pith and a single Iceheart Leaf.”

“Nine meters…” The Purgatory God looked at Ning, hesitating.

Ning looked back at him.

“Fine.” The Purgatory God nodded. “Since you made it all the way here on your first try…and since nine meters won’t have an impact on the foundation as a whole. Earlier, I told you that you can choose three treasures; now, you’ll only be allowed to pick a single Iceheart Leaf and some of the Iceheart Pith.”

Ning was overjoyed.

“Do you have any treasures to hold it?” The Purgatory God looked at Ning. Ning quickly took out a green-jade bottle. The Purgatory God nodded, then waved his hand. An invisible hand seemed to scrape out a small ‘crater’ in the Iceheart Pith, carving out a spherical portion that was nine meters long and nine meters deep. The Iceheart Pith floated straight towards Ning.

“Come here.” Ning willed it, and the Iceheart Pith instantly flew into the green-jade bottle. He plugged it with a stopper, then waved his hand and collected the Iceheart Pith flying towards him as well. Only then did Ning let out a sigh of relief.

He had finally succeeded. In truth, the other treasures here were of little interest to Ning. He was neither an artifact forger, nor was he a pill refiner, and he had no other skills that could make use of these things.

What he needed were treasures and techniques that would increase his own strength.

The Purgatory God muttered to himself, “I really got ripped off this time. I’m usually able to shoo away Empyrean Gods just by giving them three Iceheart Leafs or equivalent treasures, but I ran into yet another person who knew that Jueming acquired twelve. Jueming…what a troublemaker.”

“Shoo, shoo! Off with you!” The Purgatory God stared at Ning. “Are you waiting for me to show you off?”

Ning laughed, then immediately left.

Within the Immortal estate he was carrying. The second Ji Ning was within a meditative room inside the estate.

“I’ve acquired the Iceheart Pith.” Ning held the green-jade bottle in his hands, a look of delight on his face. “Fortunately, the Purgatory God was rather easygoing and easy to negotiate with. He wasn’t too stubborn. Otherwise, things would be quite troublesome.”

In truth, as soon as Ning saw that the Purgatory God had only been willing to give him a single Iceheart Leaf when Buddha Jueming had acquired twelve, Ning had immediately sensed that the Purgatory God was tampering with things a bit. This was because there was definitely no way that all of the other Empyrean Gods had merely received just a single leaf when they entered Myriad Mountains Island. The Purgatory God definitely had a certain amount of discretionary power.

Perhaps he wouldn’t be allowed to give an Empyrean God too much, but he could definitely choose to give them a bit less if he chose. And so, Ning decided to give negotiation a try…and he succeeded.

“Nine meters long, nine meters deep. Iceheart Pith is a bit ligher than I expected,” Ning mused to himself. “This amount of Iceheart Pith weighs roughly 300,000 kilograms or so.”

Iceheart Pith could float atop water. However, this amount sufficed for his needs.

“My thirty-six clones need a total of 180,000 kilograms. This is enough.”

After acquiring the necessary treasures, Ning no longer hesitated. He immediately took out a different, red-jade bottle. The red-jade bottle contained Ninefire Lava within it. Ning had prepared 50,000 kilograms of it for his journey to Undermoon Lake.

“Time to begin.”

Ning pulled open the stopper to the green-jade bottle and the red-jade bottle. He placed them atop the floor, then sat down in the lotus position.

Whoosh. Ning floated up into the air by roughly thirty meters, then the True Immortal energy within his body began to activate. Slowly, a formation-diagram created from an enormous amount of energy began to form below Ning. As the energy surged, the diagram began to shine with golden light. The formation of golden light formed a sphere of nearly three hundred meters that was like an enormous screen.

A large amount of runes flowed atop it as Ning’s energy flowed through it in an incomparably marvelous manner.

After a full hour, Ning finally finished manifesting the formation.

“The fire formation has finally manifested.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. He took out a Great Firmament pill to replenish his energy, then once more began to manifest a second formation. In the air above Ning’s head, a second formation of similar size began to slowly manifest. As Ning continued to materialize it, the formation slowly began to glow with black light. The formation continued to improve in power, until it became like black jade in appearance.

Three hundred meters of golden light below him.

Three hundred meters of black light above him.

“Now that the Icefire Formation has formed…it is time to refine the Jindan.” Ning opened his eyes and stared towards the two distant bottles. The red-jade bottle and the green-jade bottle began to release the Ninefire Lava and the Iceheart Pith within them.

A total of 7,500 kilograms flew out from each. Ning was worried that he would run out, and so he brought out a bit more than he needed.

The streams of Ninefire Lava and the Iceheart Pith transformed into two spheres that hovered before Ning. One was a sphere of Ninefire Lava, while the other was a sphere of Iceheart Pith. Within the two spheres, Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith slowly bubbled and frothed.

Whoooosh. The essence within the Ninefire Lava sphere began to automatically and slowly be drawn downwards, being absorbed into the golden light diagram. As for the sphere of Iceheart Pith, its essence was similarly being drawn up into the black light diagram above Ning.

After absorbing the essence of these two treasures, both diagrams dramatically increased in power. They now contained an unfathomable, mysterious power that began to flow into Ning’s body, mingling within the Pure Yang Jindan inside of Ning.

The two diametrically opposed types of energy, fire from Ninefire Lava and ice from Iceheart Pith, both came from treasures that were created by the primordial chaos. They held tremendous, marvelous power within them.

“What a comfortable feeling.”

Ning could sense that the Pure Yang Jindan within his body was being baptized and transformed by the unspeakably marvelous power of ice and fire. This was an extremely comfortable feeling, and the Jindan was slowly beginning to transform. Despite how slow the process was, Ning could clearly sense every single part of the change.

Despite being slow, after two or three days, the transformation would be quite shocking.

“According to the records I read of the Icefire Jindan Smelting method, it will take roughly a month to upgrade my Jindan to the second tier. This is a slow process of nourishing and transforming the Jindan that cannot be rushed.” Ning tamped down the eagerness and excitement he felt, allowing the two giant formations to slowly extract energy from the two types of items to smelt his Jindan.

He believed that a month from now, his Pure Yang Jindan would reach the second tier. He would be a half-step into the Daofather level of power. This was a qualitative transformation, a fundamental transformation. Once his Jindan transformed, the soul within the Jindan would also be empowered at a rapid pace.

“I’ll wait for a month.”

One clone trained in the Icefire Jindan Smelting method, while the other left the smaller island and reached the larger island; Myriad Mountains Island.

The entrance to Myriad Mountains Island also had a black stone stele before it. This one was covered with a diagram of flames.

“The stone stele in front of Volcano Island contained the staff-arts of Snowfiend. I imagine that this stone stele contains the the halberd-arts of the Purgatory God.” Ning was still quite intrigued; although he had battled against the Purgatory God for a long period of time, that was a wild fight that made it difficult for him to truly understand the true essence and nature of his opponent’s techniques.

Ning stood before the black stone stele, staring at the flame diagram. Soon, his mind was drawn into it.

Within a blurry region, a human-shaped creature was brandishing two halberds. The creature started with elementary stances, but slowly began to advance through the many deeper variations on the twin halberds technique. It started simple and became complicated; started slow and became fast. In the end, it formed into the most terrifying stance which the Purgatory God had.

A long time later, Ning’s mind escaped the stone stele. He revealed a look of approval on his face. “I gained quite a bit from viewing the entire technique, from start to finish. My twin swords are still a bit inferior by comparison.” Ning had gained certain insights that would allow him to perfect the [Brightmoon] sword-art further.

“First, Myriad Mountains Island.” Ning swept it with his gaze.

This vast island was filled with mountains. Some pierced high into the clouds, some were as slender and sharp as knives, some were short, some were strange-looking. There were at least ten thousand mountains here, and none of the mountains were linked together. To see more than ten thousand solitary mountains…this truly was a strange sight.

“I wonder which Empyrean Gods are on this island.” Ning immediately walked towards the depths of the island.

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Chapter 17 –Relentless Until Dead

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 17 –Relentless Until Dead

“According to what the Purgatory God said, this island is named ‘Myriad Mountains Island’.” Ji Ning smiled, the Seven Dragon Gods and Empyrean God Roughpeak by his side.

“Myriad Mountains Island? Not bad, not bad.” Empyrean God Tyranodragon stared with his large bronze eyes towards the surrounding area. “These mountains are like spears that are jabbing towards the heavens. Interesting, interesting. Myriad Mountains Island…a fine name!”

Roughpeak had returned to his normal, relaxed, graceful demeanor. Looking at his surroundings, he said with delight, “I didn’t expect that I’d be able to see the third island so soon. I had thought that I would be satisfied with just seeing the second island. Haha…perhaps, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, you’ll be able to make it all the way out in one try.”

“He just might.”

“Brother Darknorth, we believe in you.”

They all chortled with laughter.

Ning, however, didn’t dare to make any boasts. The nine of them walked forward together. Although the island was quite large, they were able to advance through it at tremendous speed, thanks to spatial compression techniques they used. After walking for just a short while, they had already travelled millions of kilometers. They could vaguely make out the sound of laughter and jesting in the distance.

This caused Ning and the rest of the nine to exchange curious looks.

“It seems as though there are quite a few people here.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

They immediately headed towards the direction of the voices, and as they drew nearer the voices became clearer.

“Excellent, excellent! Big brother Feiyou, your song was excellent. Let me sing as well!”

“Undermoon Lake, how truly carefree,

Drinking fine wine, how truly sublime,

No worries at all, no worries at all,

A nap I’ll take, and I’ll sleep till I wake!”

The coarse, rough voice boomed out like thunder, carrying a certain cadence and tempo to it. Upon hearing this, Ning couldn’t help but blink. This was ‘singing’? What a perfectly awful song!

Soon, Ning and the rest of the nine reached the region where the voices were coming from. They saw a bonfire blazing in the midst of a desolate, wild area, and skinned haunches of animal meat were currently being roasted above the bonfire. A large amount of glistening oil dripped down from the meat, falling into the flames and emitting crackling sounds. The fragrance of the meat had long ago wafted out to the nine.

Dozens of animals were being roasted in unison, and around the bonfire there were men and women who were either sitting or standing and singing. Most of them were dressed in furs, and they all looked quite relaxed and content. There were also some dressed in robes, but they looked similarly casual and relaxed. They were all either holding wine gourds or wine bottles in their arms as they gulped down wine and chomped away at their meat, laughing and shouting with abandon.

“Ahaha, you guys truly do have it sublime. You even have meat to eat!” Empyrean God Witherdragon laughed loudly and charged towards them.

“I knew that it had to be big brother Feiyou over there. All of you who followed big brother Feiyou have had meat to eat and wine to drink. I, on the other hand, have been starving!” Empyrean God Tyranodragon charged over as well.

All of the Seven Dragon Gods ran over, with Ning and Roughpeak following behind them.

“Why are there so many Empyrean Gods here?” Ning was secretly shocked. He saw nearly a hundred Empyrean Gods present!

“The Seven Dragon Gods? You’ve all finally arrived!”

“The seven of you insisted on waiting at Volcano Island for so long, saying that you were going to rely on yourselves to make it here. What, have you finally succeeded?”

“Ahahaha, brother Witherdragon! Come, eat!”

The lively Empyrean Gods joyfully welcomed the seven. The Seven Dragon Gods had been on Volcano Island for a very long period of time, nearly an entire chaos cycle. Thus, all of the Empyrean Gods present knew the seven of them! More than half recognized Empyrean God Roughpeak as well. As for Ji Ning…none here knew him!

“Let me make the introductions,” Witherdragon said in a loud voice. “This is my good friend, Darknorth! I’m quite ashamed to say this, but we relied on brother Darknorth to make it here from Volcano Island. As soon as he entered Undermoon Lake, he charged straight through all impediments to make it to this location, battling through all three guardians.”

“Oh?”

“Come, brother Darknorth! Let me toast you!”

“You were able to battle your way to Myriad Mountains Island in one try? Admirable!” Instantly, the many Empyrean Gods all turned to look towards Ning. They all had a different look in their eyes, and each of them voluntarily offered Ning a toast.

Ning began to drink and chat with these Empyrean Gods. Slowly, he began to understand what was going on here. Aside from the nine of them who had just entered, there had been a total of ninety-eight Empyrean God present. However, the vast majority of them had followed other Empyrean Gods to this location. They had all given up their hopes of making it through Undermoon Lake on their own, which was why they had chosen to follow others.

Only nine of the ninety-eight had truly relied on their own power to make it to this place.

These nine were ‘Skyriver’, ‘Oddwitch’, ‘Cloudscar’, ‘Feiyou’, ‘Eastvoid’, ‘Seasonstep’, ‘Coppersong’, ‘Zhenbu’, and ‘Autumnwing’. These nine Empyrean Gods had all mastered the likes of taiji-force, infiniforce, thunderforce, sharpforce, and other forces to the fourth level. They were powerful enough to make it past the Purgatory God, which was why quite a few Empyrean Gods were willing to follow them.

“This is my old friend Feiyou.” Witherdragon led Ning over to meet with Feiyou.

“Brother Darknorth, you truly are formidable. You actually made it here on your very first try. This is incredibly rare! Even I had to spend tens of thousands of years on Volcano Island before I made a breakthrough that allowed me to reach this place,” Feiyou said with a laugh.

“Brother Darknorth,” Witherdragon said with a laugh, “This old friend of mine, Feiyou, can’t live without meat or wine. Thus, he always carries an estate-world treasure with him that he fills up with many wild beasts to feast upon. Wine can be distilled from the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, but meat can only come from rearing livestock. Thus, the Empyrean Gods around my old friend Feiyou will always have quite the comfortable life. Just look at them. All of them are drinking wine and eating meat. I can’t even describe how content they look! By contrast, I don’t even remember when was the last time the seven of us tasted meat on Volcano Island.”

Ning laughed as well. This Feiyou truly was a remarkable figure. The Empyrean Gods had all come to Undermoon Lake to adventure, and all of them were filled with heroic aspirations. Thus, even if they were to bring some wine and meat, they would only bring a little bit, as it would all eventually spoil and rot away. There was no way to keep meat from spoiling over the course of ten million years. Thus, after spending enough time in Undermoon Lake, the only way to find meat to eat was to do what Feiyou did; prepare an entire minor world full of livestock and wild beasts to eat. Only then would there be a steady source of meat.

“Brother Darknorth, don’t laugh at me, I beg,” Feiyou said with a laugh. “My willpower is weak, and I delight in wine and meat. I can endure being unable to make any progress in my cultivation, but I simply can’t be without wine and meat. Nothing to eat, nothing to drink…what’s the point of Immortality if that’s the case?!”

“Even in the Three Realms, I’ve heard of your famous name, big brother Feiyou. In fact…you have a nickname these days: ‘Relentless Until Dead’,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Relentless Until Dead?” Feiyou stared, then began to roar with laughter.

“Right, Relentless Until Dead.” The nearby Witherdragon nodded. “This kid did indeed say that he would only stop drinking wine and eating meat when he died. This is why he was nicknamed ‘Relentless Until Dead’.”

After drinking and eating for quite some time, the Empyrean Gods ended up splitting off into two groups. One group was formed from the ten who had made it here on their own power, Ji Ning included, and the second group was formed of all the rest.

Ning looked at the nine before him. Of the nine, seven belonged to the Nuwa Alliance, while the other two most likely were of the Seamless Gate.

Everyone who entered during the Primordial Era belonged to the Nuwa Alliance. It wasn’t until later on during the era of the Three Realms, when the Lord of All Fiends came back after Mother Nuwa departed, that the Seamless Gate’s Immortals and Fiends began to enter this place as well. Thus, there were naturally far fewer Seamless Gate members in Undermoon Lake.

“They all seem to be extremely good friends with each other.” Ning mused to himself, “If they knew of the storm going on outside…there would probably be no way for them to remain as friendly as they are now. They treat each other as brothers, holding nothing back at all.”

Because of how friendly the Nuwa Alliance members and Seamless Gate members on the third island were to each other, Ning, Roughpeak, and the Seven Dragon Gods decided to temporarily withhold information regarding the war outside. None of the others knew of the war, and here in Undermoon Lake, there was no need for them to be made aware of it right away.

“Brother Darknorth.” The winged Empyrean God Autumnwing said, “The nine of us sought you out because we need to tell you something.”

“Eh?” Ning was puzzled. He immediately began to listen carefully.

“The path to the next island is incredibly dangerous, and it is filled with terrors. Myriad Mountains Island, however, is much safer, and there’s no ‘millenial invasions’ like on the first two islands.” Autumnwing looked at Ning. “But Undermoon Lake won’t let us just live here forever in peace and relaxation. Undermoon Lake isn’t meant to serve as a place for rearing useless people, after all.”

Ning nodded.

“Normally, Myriad Mountains Island is completely safe; it’s rare for a single dangerous event to happen in even a hundred million years. But…whenever a new Empyrean God enters the island…” Autumnwing looked at Ning. “Then a terrifying calamity will descend upon Undermoon Lake.”

“A calamity?” Ning was puzzled.

The nearby Empyrean God Oddwitch narrowed his eyes. He said in a gravelly voice, “Right. A calamity! Whenever a new Empyrean God arrives, the calamity will soon come as well. A short period of time from now, an army of demons will descend upon Undermoon Lake. When that happens, the only choice will be for the ten of us to meet them in battle. As for the other Empyrean Gods, they aren’t qualified to take part because we brought them here. If they take part in battle, they will enrage Undermoon Lake…and they will all die.”

Ning nodded, then asked curiously, “An army of demons?”

“Prior this this, you encountered a yaksha and Snowfiend; they are all considered ‘demons’. What we will encounter, however, is an entire army composed of such demons.” Oddwitch continued, “An army will attack, and only the ten of us are permitted to defend. It will be a truly life-threatening battle, and in the past, there have generally been deaths amongst our ranks. In fact, on one occasion four Empyrean Gods ended up dying! There’s only been a single time where none of us died.”

“Thus…if things unfold as they normally do, one or two of the ten of us will die.” Feiyou looked towards Ning. “We’re telling you this now so that you will mentally prepare yourself.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“In truth, the invading army is Undermoon Lake’s way of forcing us to remain vigilant and not be too lazy and relaxed here on Myriad Mountains Island. We must often go visit the wooden bridge and temper ourselves.” Empyrean God Cloudscar sighed. “Only by constantly tempering ourselves and constantly growing stronger will we have a chance to survive once new Empyrean Gods arrive and bring calamity with them.”

Cloudscar looked at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, because all ten of us have to work together to fight against our many foes, teamwork is absolutely critical. Before we can work together, we need to understand how strong you are and what you are skilled in. Only then can we come up with a good strategy.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“The most powerful of us nine is big brother Feiyou. We’ll let him spar with you first. You don’t need to hold back at all. Only by understanding what areas you are strong in and what areas you are weak in will we be able to work together,” Cloudscar said.

“Hahaha…I’m not really the strongest. Cloudscar is the most agile, while Zhenbu is the most ferocious. I simply have the most stable frontal attacks.” Feiyou let out a laugh. “Brother Darknorth, are you ready? Once you are ready, I’m going to attack.”

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Chapter 18 – Wuji Births Taiji

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 18 – Wuji Births Taiji

Atop the vast wilderness, the white-robed Ji Ning stood facing the fur-clad Empyrean God Feiyou. Off in the distance, more than a hundred Empyrean Gods were watching them.

“Although Myriad Mountains Island doesn’t suffer from the ‘millenial invasion’, it suffers from an even more terrifying calamity whenever a new Empyrean God arrives. The Empyrean Gods who can make it to this place are all tremendously powerful…and yet, almost every single time, some will die when the calamity arrives.” Empyrean God Roughpeak shook his head and sighed.

“Only a deadly threat like this can stir us into becoming more powerful. The stronger you become, the greater your chances will be of making it to the next island,” Empyrean God Witherdragon said solemnly.

This was the third island. The fourth island was next. As for the fifth island, there were no dangers there; upon reaching it, one would be permitted to leave. Thus, all of the Empyrean Gods who had made it to the third island were extremely powerful. As for the ones on the fourth island, they were just one step away from leaving this place.

The tribulations on the third island weren’t meant for the Empyrean Gods who had given up to face; they were meant for the stronger Empyrean Gods who had made it here under their own power.

“Be careful, brother Darknorth.” A pair of short black halberds appeared in Feiyou’s hands.

“Short halberds?” Ning was startled.

According to the reports he had read, during the Primordial Era, Empyrean God Feiyou didn’t use short halberds as his weapons.

“Here in Undermoon Lake, when watching the Purgatory God, I ended up discovering weapons that suited me even better than my old ones.” Feiyou looked at Ning. “Although the Purgatory God and I both use twin halberds…I’m much more formidable than him.”

“After you.” A pair of blood-red swords appeared in Ning’s hands.

The hundred-plus spectating Empyrean Gods all held their breaths. Through this fight, they would be able to find out exactly how powerful this newly-arrived Empyrean God Darknorth was! If he was truly powerful, they would all stand a better chance of surviving once the calamity came.

Of course, the calamity posed no danger to the Empyrean Gods who had given up, but it was deadly to the other Empyrean Gods who had brought them here. They had watched many of their benefactors die over the years, and they hoped that less would die this time.

Swoosh. Feiyou transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Ning. Ning also transformed into a streak of light, going forward to engage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The twin swords collided against the twin halberds in midair. Upon exchanging blows, Ning was shocked: “Eh? Empyrean God Feiyou’s short halberd technique is identical to the Purgatory God’s?” Thanks to his earlier experience battling against the Purgatory God, it was fairly easy for Ning to deal with Feiyou’s attacks. In turn, Ning put his sword-arts on full display. This spar was mainly meant so that the other nine Empyrean Gods would have a good understanding of Ning’s abilities, allowing them to cooperate better once the calamity came.

Swish.

A queer, unpredictable sword-light lashed out, flashing towards Feiyou’s neck. Fortunately, the short halberd managed to block in time.

Swish.

Yet another bizarre streak of sword-light, this one black. It scraped upwards towards Feiyou’s body, but Feiyou managed to once more block it with a clever twist of his halberd.

“This Darknorth fellow…what a strange, fast sword-art he has.”

“His sword-art is both fast and unpredictable. The Dao of the Sword really is well-suited to launching attacks.”

“Formidable.”

“Yes, quite formidable. This sword-art alone is enough to allow him to overcome the Purgatory God.”

Cloudscar, Eastvoid, Seasonstep, and the others all sighed in amazement. Although they had all made it past the Purgatory God as well, none of them walked upon the Dao of the Sword! From Ning’s sword-arts, they were able to get a sense of how deadly and dangerous an expert of the Dao of the Sword could be.

As for Roughpeak and the Seven Dragon Gods, their eyes shone as they watched. Although Ning had brought them to this place, they had never truly seen Ning fight with full power as he was right now.

Boom!

The two clashed together then separated, landing on the ground.

Feiyou said excitedly, “Brother Darknorth, although I was at a disadvantage, that was just the warmup. We were just getting a bit familiar with each other. Now…I’m going to fight for real.” After speaking, Feiyou’s aura changed in a subtle manner. Transforming into a streak of light, he once more charged towards Ning, and as soon as they exchanged attacks, Ning could sense that Feiyou’s short halberd techniques had changed…

It was no longer the technique the Purgatory God had used. It was an even more exquisite technique.

Although Ning was skilled in attacking, for a time Ning was unable to seize the upper hand again. Clearly, the amount of time Feiyou had spent on this island had resulted in him perfecting his short halberd technique to a level that was far superior to Ning’s sword-arts.

“Formidable, formidable.” After battling for a short while, Ning laughed. “Big brother Feiyou, I’m wondering how strong your protective divine abilities are?”

After speaking, Ning no longer moved to dodge. He allowed his opponent’s halberds to land on him as he sent his own swords howling towards Feiyou. Feiyou was so terrified that even the look on his face changed. He hurriedly pulled back his halberds to block Ning’s attacks instead.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Feiyou was repeatedly knocked backwards. He called out in a loud voice, “Is this the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]?!”

“The Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art],” Ning chortled.

“That’s CHEATING!” Feiyou was furious. If Ning was a bit weaker than him, then he would’ve still been able to suppress Ning, even though Ning had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] guarding his body. But since the two were equal in power…for Ning to be able to focus solely on offense meant that he had an enormous advantage.

“Who is your master?” Feiyou roared. “He actually let you train in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], and you even reached the Ninth Cycle!”

“My master? Daofather Subhuti.” Ning chortled happily. “Jealous? Envious?”

“Daofather Subhuti? You have such bullshit luck!” The more Feiyou fought, the angrier he became as he was being beaten into an increasingly sorry state. “Enough, enough! I already know that you have a powerful protective divine ability. Stop abusing it, alright?”

Seeing that the point had been made, Ning stopped ‘cheating’. He began to fight normally, no longer relying on the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] to protect him and instead using his swords to block the enemy’s attacking halberds.

This sort of fight was much more interesting, anyways.

“I didn’t know that brother Darknorth had actually reached the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. This is going to be wonderful.” Oddwitch chortled merrily, “When the demon army comes, brother Coppersong, we won’t need you soak up all the damage all by yourself like a target dummy, like we normally would. This time, brother Darknorth can work together with you to take them on.”

In the face of an army of demons, they would indeed need Fiendgods with incredibly tough bodies to withstand the front-line blows for them.

The muscular Coppersong, his entire body shimmering with an ancient copper aura, said in a low voice, “The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] which brother Darknorth has trained in is the number one divine ability below the True God level. Although I’ve had some fortuitous encounters, my divine body isn’t a match for brother Darknorth’s. This time, brother Darknorth will have to serve as the vanguard for taking on the enemy’s attacks.”

“My word! Coppersong, you big dumb lunk…you’ve learned how to take advantage of others?”

“He actually understands the principle of letting someone else charge in front of him!”

The others all laughed.

Coppersong stared at them. “I had to do that because none of you have tough enough divine bodies. In the past, I served as the vanguard because I had no other choice, and was just barely up to the task. However, Ji Ning’s divine body is even tougher than mine. That’s the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] we are talking about! His body is akin to a supreme Pure Yang Treasure. Even a True God or Daofather would find it difficult to destroy such a body.”

“In both the Primordial Era and the era of the Three Realms, very few have been able to reach the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Every single person who succeeded was not only tremendously talented but also doted upon heavily by a True God or Daofather. There’s no need for someone like that to enter Undermoon Lake, right?”

“That’s true.”

“There really is no need for someone who a Daofather holds in such favor to enter Undermoon Lake.”

All of them were quite puzzled.

Generally speaking, the people who entered Undermoon Lake during the Primordial Era and the era of the Three Realms were people who felt that they had no chance of becoming a True God or Daofather. This was why they were willing to risk everything here in Undermoon Lake. In addition, not even emerging from Undermoon Lake was a guarantee that one would succeed. Buddha Jueming, for example; a long time passed after his departure from Undermoon Lake before he became a Buddha.

Thus, Undermoon Lake really didn’t make much of a difference! Everyone who came in was just gambling with their lives. As for the truly supreme geniuses like Lu Dongbin, Redsnow, and Sun Wukong, none of them would actually enter such a place.

But of course, although the likes of Feiyou, Oddwitch, and the others had been fairly ordinary in strength when they had entered, thanks to Undermoon Lake, they had been trained to the point where they all verily gleamed with talent and power. The nine of them had all reached the fourth level of forces such as taiji-force. In the Three Realms, they would be viewed with great importance by the True Gods and Daofathers. From this, one could see how effective Undermoon Lake’s training regime was.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a colossal explosion could be heard. The shockwave caused the earth to crack like the shell of a turtle, and the nearest mountain began to tremble as well, causing many boulders to fall down.

The power of this collision caused all the distant spectators to be badly shocked.

“How fierce!” Feiyou retreated a long distance, staring towards Ning in shock.

“You blocked it?!” Ning was shocked as well.

“What happened just now? Y-you…how did you suddenly make your sword-arts increase in power by that much?” Feiyou was shocked.

“Just now, I filled my sword with fourth-stage heartforce,” Ning explained. “With heartforce supporting my attack, the strength naturally increased dramatically.”

Buyou was stunned. “Fourth-stage heartforce? You’ve not only reached the fourth stage of swordforce, but also the fourth stage of heartforce? And…but…even if you have reached the fourth stage of heartforce, how could you pour it into your sword? Did you come up with a heartforce sword-technique?”

Heartforce was an invisible, ephemeral thing. Even major powers were often bedeviled by the question of how to apply it.

“And you?” Ning was puzzled as well. “Just now, your halberd techniques…” He clearly had released a maximum-strength blow; he had unleashed swordforce, heartforce, and even the [Starseizing Hand]. Although he had knocked Feiyou backwards, Feiyou had still successfully blocked the attack. Ning had seen the blurry image of a taiji diagram appear before Feiyou, and it felt as though his attack had been trapped into an endless vortex.

“That’s a new technique that I just came up with,” Feiyou said with a laugh. “My infiniforce has reached the fourth stage, while my taiji-force has only reached the second stage. However…the infinite Wuji gives birth to the supreme Taiji. Infiniforce and taiji-force can be joined together, and so I came up with this technique that does just that, which is why it is so defensively powerful.” 1

Ning couldn’t help but sigh in awe. Impressive.

He naturally knew that some of the supreme types of force could be merged together. For example, timeforce and spaceforce could join together. Redsnow had managed to join them together into spacetime-force, which was why Subhuti was so delighted with him and had taken him on as his disciple.

However, only certain matching, suitable forces could be joined together.

For example, there would be no way to join swordforce together with saberforce. They simply didn’t have anything to do with each other; there was no way to forcibly join them together.

Wuji gave birth to Taiji, and so the two could join together perfectly. Even though Feiyou had only reached the second stage of taiji-force, upon joining these two types of force together the results were quite shocking.

“That’s why I said that I was the stablest and most unshakable of the nine. I can withstand even the attacks of Empyrean God Zhenbu, who has the most ferocious attacks of us all.” Feiyou looked at Ning, then let out an amazed sigh. “But in terms of ferociousness, you are a bit superior to even Zhenbu. Impressive, quite impressive.”

Ning said hurriedly, “Heartforce is different from other types of energy. There’s no way to sustainably attack using heartforce; if I attacked repeatedly with it, I would only be able to launch a bit over ten attacks.”

“Oh…” Feiyou now understood. He shook his head. “A pity…”

“Still, your power surpasses my expectations. We need to make some careful arrangements…and then, the only thing for us to do is wait. Roughly ten days or so from now, the demon army of Undermoon Lake will attack.” Feiyou let out a laugh. “When the time comes, then ten of us shall work together to engage our foes!”

1. This phrase, ‘Wuji births Taiji’, is one of the most famous phrases in Daoism, and you can find out more in the ‘basic primer to Daoism’ on Wuxiaworld. Wuji means ‘infinity’ or ‘limitless’, while Taiji means ‘the supreme’. The full saying is, Wuji gives birth to Taiji, which gives birth to (the duality of) Liangyi. The duality is known as Yin and Yang, and the transformations of Yin and Yang are known as the (four phenomenon) Sixiang, which are reflected within the world as the (eight trigrams) Bagua. You can think of it as 0 => 1 => 2 => 4 => 8

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Chapter 19 – An Army of Demons

Chapter 19 – An Army of Demons

The sparring match Ji Ning engaged in after arriving at Myriad Mountains Island resulted in Oddwitch, Zhenbu, and the others being filled with joy. Although all of them looked quite relaxed and carefree, the truth was that they all knew a calamity was about to arrive…and it was almost guaranteed that at least one of them would die. They all felt an invisible form of pressure in their hearts.

At a time like this, the stronger Ning proved himself to be, the happier they would be!

Time flowed on, one day at a time.

The ten Empyrean Gods all prepared quietly for the battle.

Ning and the nine Empyrean Gods were currently discussing battle strategies within a palace.

“What? We aren’t allowed to use formations?” Ning was shocked.

“Of course not.” Oddwitch said calmly, “If you use formations, the demon army will use formations as well. They vastly outnumber us, which means we’ll be at a major disadvantage! This is hard-earned experience, taught to us by those who came before us. If we don’t use formations, the demon armies won’t use formations either.”

“How strange.” Ning was puzzled. Why was it that if they didn’t use formations, the demons wouldn’t use formations either?

“Why is this?” Ning didn’t understand.

“Put yourself in the position of the creator of Undermoon Lake and you will understand.” Zhenbu laughed. “The creator of Undermoon Lake wished to temper us, making us become more powerful. If we rely on formations, such as the Seven Planets God, then in truth only a single Empyrean God will actually be fighting, with the other six just responsible for pumping enough divine power. This is against the goals of the creator of Undermoon Lake, and so he naturally would not be willing to allow us to rely on formations. He wants us to rely on our own power to battle against our foes, using these struggles to temper ourselves.”

Ning instantly understood. Laughing, he said, “Come to think of it, I really wonder why the creator of Undermoon Lake spent all this effort in building this place up.”

“We’re quite curious as well.”

“Yes, why did he do this?”

“I imagine that only Jueming, who managed to escape, knows the answer. Darknorth, you’ve just recently entered from the outside world; has Jueming ever spoken of what the creator of Undermoon Lake wants?”

The nine Empyrean Gods were all puzzled.

Ning shook his head. “Buddha Jueming has completely sealed his lips regarding the affairs of Undermoon Lake.”

“He became a Buddha?” Seasonstep called out in surprise.

“The Seven Dragon Gods mentioned it earlier. Didn’t you hear them?”

“I was daydreaming.”

“You? An exalted Empyrean God? Daydreaming?”

“The calamity’s drawing near, you know…I can’t help but think about the demon army attacking. What, I’m not allowed to daydream?”

No formations would be allowed. They would have to risk their lives individually. The main thing they had to be careful about was staying close to each other, so that once one of them fell into a dangerous situation the others could immediately help out. Only by supporting each other would they be able to fight against the demon army invasion.

In the blink of an eye, twenty-one days had passed after Ning’s arrival at Myriad Mountains Island.

Ever since the tenth day, the ten Empyrean Gods had begun to live together, prepared to do battle at all times. On this day, a cold wind blew through the skies, which remained as blurry as always. The bright moon could still be seen hanging up in the heavens. And finally…

“AWOOOOOOO!!!!” A distant, earth-shaking howl could be heard coming from the west side of Myriad Mountains Lake.

“Eh?”

Ten figures simultaneously flew out of the palace like streaks of light, arriving at the peak of the nearest mountain. The ten of them were like the gods of this place as they turned their gazes in unison towards the distance.

“They’ve come,” Feiyou said in a low voice.

“They’ve finally come.” Zhenbu licked his lips.

“Remember, Darknorth.” Oddwitch looked at the nearby Ning. “Don’t charge too far up ahead. Although you have the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and can charge into their ranks…once you are all by yourself and surrounded by their army, with no one to help you out and the demon king assaulting you…you’ll die shortly afterwards.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

The demon army had many demons that were comparable to ordinary Empyrean Gods in power. They also had demon commanders who were equivalent to the ten of them in power…and a demon king who was even mightier than all of them!

The more Empyrean Gods took part in battle, the more demons and demon commanders would take part as well.

Because ten Empyrean Gods would take part in this battle, ten demon commanders would take part as well!

“You have to be beware the demon commanders. Each of the ten are comparable to us in power. Those countless damnable minor demons are particularly irritating. Although they are weak in sole combat, they can tie you down and have a major impact on how much power you can unleash. We have to stay close to each other and support each other. No matter what, we can’t let the demons split us apart.” Coppersong couldn’t help but remind Ning yet again.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

He understood. Everyone had told him this repeatedly, as the nine of them had all experienced this calamity before. It was precisely because they had experienced this before that all of them were so worried that Ning would mess up! During a critical, life-and-death moment like this…a single error would result in certain doom!

Thud! Thud! Thud!!!

The ground was trembling.

The ten Empyrean Gods stared off into the distance. They saw a terrifying, awe-inspiring horde of demons appear off in the distance. These demons had completely dark-green skins, and they wielded sabers, spears, warforks, and other types of weapons. Some of the demons were the particularly muscular commanders who were each many meters tall. The demon commanders had skin that was a dark-red color.

“Those big ones are the demon commanders.”

“Look; that one over there with the long horns? That’s the demon king.” Feiyou and the others provided guidance to Ning. In truth, Ning had more or less come to the same conclusion on his own, as the two horns were nearly three meters long, and the creature had the most powerful aura of all.

“AROOOO!!!” The the demon king was carrying a golden gourd around his waist and wielded a black longstaff in his hands. Raising his head, he let out a fierce roar.

“ARROOO ARROOO!!!!” The horde of demons roared as well.

The ten Empyrean Gods all watched with solemn expressions.

Far off in the distance, the Seven Dragon Gods, Roughpeak, and the rest of the Empyrean Gods watched nervously.

“The calamity has come yet again.”

“I hope all of them will survive this one.”

Their hands were tied. If they were to take part in the battle, the only result would be that even more demons would appear. Thus, their only choice was to stay on the sidelines and watch. The only reason they were even able to come to Myriad Mountains Island was because they had followed more powerful Empyrean Gods here…but in almost every single calamity, at least one of them would die! To them, these dead Empyrean Gods were their benefactors!

In a similar manner, the Seven Dragon Gods and Roughpeak didn’t wish for Ning to die. None of them wanted for any of the ten to die.

“I hope brother Darknorth and the others will all live,” Witherdragon said.

“Let’s go.”

Upon their leader Feiyou issuing the order, the ten Empyrean Gods who stood at the peak of the mountain all transformed into streaks of light. They flew tens of thousands of kilometers towards another, rather strange-looking mountain. The reason why this place was known as ‘Myriad Mountains Island’ was because there truly was a myriad of different mountain peaks that stabbed high up into the skies!

The mountain that Ning and the rest of the ten had chosen was one which was a perfect fit for them.

They weren’t able to set up formations, but at least they would be able to select the terrain of their choosing! A well-chosen region could help to ensure that the demon armies wouldn’t be able to join together and completely surround them, which would make the battle even more difficult.

“My brothers!” Feiyou roared loudly, “Let’s survive to drink together again!”

“Survive to drink together again!”

“Survive to drink together again!”

The other nine, Ning included, all howled furiously as they stared at the distant, impending demon army. Their hearts were all filled with a desire to slaughter! They had no choice; they had to kill. If they didn’t, they would die.

The demon army drew closer…ever closer!

A million kilometers. Six hundred thousand kilometers. Three hundred thousand kilometers!

Even the weakest demon was comparable to an ordinary Empyrean God. They moved with astonishing speed, quickly charging forward towards the ten.

“AROOOO!!! Slaughter them all, my children!” The demon king bellowed in a loud voice.

Instantly, all the demons grew even more excited.

“Kill!” Feiyou let out an explosive shout of his own.

“KILL!” The nine Empyrean Gods had all drawn their weapons long ago.

BOOOM!!!!!

It was like a tidalwave smashing into dry rocks. The ten Empyrean Gods, their backs to the mountain walls, were instantly flooded by wild attacks from the countless demons.

Ning instantly began to use the [Brightmoon] sword-art with his twin swords, deflecting the oncoming spears, warforks, machetes, and other weapons.

Sword-light flew forward in a strange, unpredictable manner.

Slash!

A demon’s head went flying.

Clang! The sword-light scraped down the side of a machete, chopping a pudgy demon in half.

Every so often, Ning would also execute the ‘Soleheart’ stance and the ‘Yin-Yang’ stance, his two defensive stances. When suffering attacks from so many demons, maintaining a strong defense was clearly quite important. Otherwise, once the demons managed to close in on him, he wouldn’t even have enough room to use his sword-arts. He would be finished if that happened.

“According to what big brother Feiyou and the others said, we have to wipe out these ordinary demons as fast as possible. The faster, the better! Although they are weak, it’ll be these little demons who end up sending us into hell at critical moments.” Ning didn’t dare to be overconfident. Although he had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him…if he was to be completely surrounded and bound, then the demon king would be able to easily suppress him and draw him into that golden gourd.

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Chapter 20 – Half-Step Daofather

Chapter 20 – Half-Step Daofather

The demon king wielded a long black staff in his hands. Surrounding him were the ten dark-red demon commanders! They simply watched from afar, allowing the many demons under their commands to surround and assault the ten Empyrean Gods.

Ji Ning and the others knew that each time, the leaders of the demon army would allow the ordinary demons to attack first for a time. Only later would the demon commanders and demon king attack. Thus, the initial period of time when only the ordinary demon soldiers were attacking was extremely critical; they had to seize that period of time to wipe out as many of the ordinary demons as they could.

It was a wild, berserk battle.

Boom! Every so often, Ning would ram forwards, relying on his tough divine body to smash into the demons and knock them asunder. At other times, he would use a sword-art that would transform his swords into a black hole, guiding the demons off to one side. In short, he used every method he could think of to ensure that the demons would not be able to completely surround and restrain him.

“Intriguing.” The demon king pointed towards the distant Ning with a slender, knife-like claw. “Look at that new Empyrean God. His sword-arts are quite powerful, and he’s killing the fastest.”

“This divine body is quite tough. Our children’s weapons and attacks are negligible to him.”

“His sword-arts are quite odd.”

The demon king and the dark-red demon commanders chatted amongst themselves.

“According to what Purgatory said, this new Empyrean God is named Darknorth.” The demon king chuckled. “Number three, go and play with him a bit.”

“Alright.” Instantly, a muscular demon commander who was wielding a shield in each of his two hands charged forward towards Ning. The ordinary demons all parted before this demon commander, clearing a path for him. Soon, he closed in on Ji Ning.

“Ji Ning, be careful.”

“Brother Darknoth, be careful.”

“It’s the twinshield commander!”

The other nine Empyrean Gods hurriedly sent mental messages over to Ning. Ning felt a sense of shock in his heart as well. Because Feiyou and the other Empyrean Gods had experienced multiple battles against the demon king and his commanders, they had naturally memorized the appearances of quite a few of them. Each of the commanders had their own unique traits, and this one, the ‘twinshield commander’, possessed enormous strength and was extremely skilled in defense.

“Of the demon king’s commanders, the twinshield commander is probably the best counter to me.” This thought flashed through Ning’s mind as the dark-red twinshield commander came charging towards him.

“Die!” Twin shields in hand, the demon commander rammed towards Ning. These two shields protected almost every single inch of his body. No matter how formidable Ning’s sword-arts were, there was no way for him to touch this foe.

“Heavenbreaker stance!” Ning charged forward as well, his twin swords becoming as heavy as mountains. He sent them smashing downwards with an aura of power like Pangu cleaving apart Heaven and Earth.

BOOM!

The two swords smote down upon the shields, but the demon commander was still able to maintain his charge towards Ning with shields raised. Clearly, Ning didn’t have any advantages in terms of strength. The many ordinary demons around him also joined in the fight, wildly assaulting Ning and causing his movements to turn chaotic. Now, he truly understood why the demons he had so easily killed were said to be truly deadly.

While Ning was forced to concentrate on the demon commander, the ordinary demons continued to launch stabbing strikes against him, making his life miserable.

“Three heads, six arms!” Ning’s body momentarily blurred as he executed the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability. Instantly, six streaks of sword-light began to fly about, sweeping the area around him clear of lesser demons while completely stalemating the twin bucklers.

“Number four, you go as well,” the distant demon king instructed.

“Yes.”

The dark-red demon commander referred to as ‘number four’ also had six arms. Each of his six arms held a whip, and he let out a howl as he charged towards Ning. His arrival instantly put Ning into an even more dangerous situation.

If Ning was just fighting against this ‘number four’ by himself, he would be able to easily defend against him. In fact, he would even hold the advantage. But right now, the twin shields were the primary threat, while the six whips of ‘number four’ coiled about his swords, making it difficult for Ning to execute his sword-arts. At the same time, the lesser demons continuously charged forward, trying to trap and constrict Ning.

“ARUUUUUUU!” The two demon commanders and many lesser demon furiously assaulted Ning like a wave that was about to drown him.

“Not good.”

“I’ll go!”

The person nearest to Ning was the most muscular of the ten Empyrean Gods, Empyrean God Zhenbu. Letting out a mighty roar, he slaughtered a path through his opponents and charged straight towards the twinshield demon commander. The twinshield commander had been in the middle of launching an attack against Ning, and so was only able to use a single shield to defend against the valiant Zhenbu.

“F*ck off!” Zhenbu’s longspear pierced out, and a mighty whirlpool appeared at the tip of it. It latched onto the bottom of the shield, tugging it straight into the heart of the whirlpool. Zhenbu then gave the spear a mighty tug.

This attack contained a strange force that was both upwards and downwards. Even the twinshield commander was unable to withstand it, and he was sent flying into the air.

“Perfect.”

Sword-light flashed.

[Starseizing Hand]!

Swordforce

Heartforce!

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

This was Ning’s fastest sword of all. As the twinshield commander flew into the air, an opening was revealed in his defenses. Ning saw it and immediately stabbed his sword into the demon commander’s chest. “Arghh!” The twinshield commander glared furiously at Ning, then vanished into thin air. Even his shield vanished with him.

“Well struck!”

“Excellent!”

“One down.”

The other nine Empyrean Gods instantly celebrated. They had never imagined that Ning, forced into such dire straits, would actually be able to slay the twinshield commander.

In truth, as soon as he been forced into that dire situation, Ning had immediately prepared to unleash his full power. However, in a situation like that, he would at most be able to force the enemy back a bit. Fortunately, Zhenbu had also charged over, forcing the twinshield commander to reveal a flaw in his defenses and giving Ning the chance to launch a full-strength attack to kill him.

“Beautiful.” Zhenbu looked towards Ning, laughing loudly, “Even if I didn’t intervene, a puny demon like that wouldn’t have been able to do anything to you, brother Darknorth.”

Ning, however, felt a complicated feeling in his heart.

In truth, ever since he had arrived at Myriad Mountains Island, Ning had felt lumps in his throat whenever he looked at these nine Empyrean Gods, especially Zhenbu and Autumnwing, who belonged to the Seamless Gate. This was because he knew very well that their two alliances had already entered a deadly war in the outside world! But here in Undermoon Lake, none of the Empyrean Gods knew of the war. These nine Empyrean Gods in particular had undergone many calamities together; they had long ago begun to view each other as brothers for life.

“It doesn’t matter. They might be of the Seamless Gate, but they are both my brothers,” Ning mused to himself as he stared at the heroic Zhenbu, who had been so concerned about him.

After the twinshield commander was slain, the six-armed demon commander hurriedly retreated.

The distant demon king frowned upon seeing this happen.

“Hm?” The demon king ordered with a frown, “Attack.”

The eight demon commanders instantly grew excited. The demon king gently stroked the golden gourd by his waist, then hoisted his black longstaff with a cold smile and strode towards Ning. “The rest of you can deal with the other nine. Leave this Empyrean God Darknorth to me.”

“Understood.”

“Empyrean God Darknorth is doomed.”

“Doomed.”

The demon commanders all charged towards their respective targets. Aside from Ning, whom they weren’t familiar with, they knew the Empyrean Gods quite well. They were able to choose whichever target suited them the most, but the Empyrean Gods didn’t have that luxury; they were being surrounded and attacked by too many demons! They were also far slower than the demon commanders in movement speed.

“Careful. They are all coming.” Feiyou let out a loud roar. This was the critical moment; when the demon commanders all attacked in unison, the Empyrean Gods would easily be at risk of death or injury!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The demon commanders battled furiously against their respective Empyrean God opponents, with crowds of lesser demons assisting them!

As for Ning, however…he was under the attack of the most terrifying demon of them all. The demon king.

“You actually killed number three.” The demon king wielded the long black staff in his hands, filled with an overpowering aura that caused even Ning to feel pressure. The demon king strode forward with wide steps, causing the earth to shake. “I want to see exactly how strong you are. All of you, step aside.”

Whoosh. The surrounding demons all gave way.

The demon king suddenly leapt into the air, soaring straight towards Ning with both hands around his staff, delivering a mighty, smashing blow towards Ning’s head.

Clang. The three-headed, six-armed Ning sent all six of his swords into an upwards block.

BOOOOOOM!!

A deep hole appeared in the ground, with Ning having been smashed straight underground.

As for the demon king, he held the long black staff in a single-handed grip as he charged towards that hole with an aura of astonishing power!

Boom! A streak of sword-light flew out from the ground, with Ning ensconced within it.

“What an incredible aura.” Ning’s heart was shaking. This demon king was far too powerful, much stronger than Ning himself. Ning had used all six swords in order to block a single strike from the enemy, and one of the swords had been reinforced by heartforce. But it was useless! He had still been smashed underground. Clearly, the difference in power between them was enormous.

The demon king leapt high into the sky, soaring through the air as he chased after the fleeing Ning. In terms of power or speed, the demon king was definitely superior to Ning.

Boom!

Bang!

Ning was knocked everywhere; high, low, left, right…but thanks to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him, the demon king remained unable to harm Ning. What Ning had to do was to use every tool available to him to ensure that his foe wouldn’t be able to trap or bind him. Ning’s sword-arts were still quite formidable, and thanks to his six arms the lesser demons were unable to even move close to him. This made it so that the demon king didn’t have a chance to use the golden gourd to absorb Ning.

“Being dominated and trampled like this pisses me off. This demon king is way too strong.” Suddenly, Ning’s face changed.

“Attack.”

“Shit!”

Faced with attacks from nine demon commanders and many lesser demons, Feiyou, Zhenbu, and the rest of the nine were trapped in a quagmire. Even Ning, when facing off against two demon commanders and many lesser demons, had been in a dangerous situation. Although the demon king seemed powerful, he was simply very fast and very strong; as long as one was able to withstand his attacks, one would only be knocked flying; there was no risk of dying to him.

During the last calamity, it had been Feiyou who had withstood the demon king’s attacks. In terms of defensive techniques, he was actually far superior to Ning, and so he was able to withstand even the demon king.

During this calamity…the demon king had sought out Ning. Clearly, he didn’t want to deal with the troublesome Empyrean God Feiyou, whose defenses were airtight.

As time passed, the positions of the other nine Empyrean Gods grew increasingly dire. Being at a constant disadvantage would, sooner or later, lead to catastrophe. Based on their past experiences, only after one of the Empyrean Gods died would these demons relax a bit with their attacks.

The ten Empyrean Gods each had their own abilities.

Empyrean God Cloudscar had amazing agility techniques that vastly surpassed the techniques of Ning and the rest of the other nine. Surrounded by an army of demons, he was still like an unpredictable cloud that manifested and dissipated at will. He moved about constantly, continuously launching attacks.

Empyrean God Feiyou’s forte was defense. Not even the demon king was able to do anything to him, and he was naturally in quite a stable position right now as well. However, his attacks were weak. When surrounded and trapped, it was difficult for him to assist the others.

After battling for a long period of time…Empyrean Gods Eastvoid and Zhenbu fell into danger! Although the other Empyrean Gods had helped them out two or three times, there was no way they could be there every time.

“Shit!” Zhenbu let out a furious roar.

“These damned demons.” Eastvoid was growing frantic as well. Both of them specialized in attacking, and so they were in similar, incredibly dire straits right now. Many scars had already appeared on both of their bodies.

“Eastvoid and Zhenbu are almost done for,” Feiyou said through a frantic mental roar as he did his best to charge towards them.

“Feiyou? Don’t even think about going over there.” A demon commander who wielded clanking chains let out a bizarre laugh as he sent his chains lashing outwards, forcibly preventing Feiyou from moving past him.

“Darknorth!” Oddwitch sent out a frantic mental shout as well.

Boom!

The demon king sent out yet another smashing staff blow, knocking Ning aside. Ning grew frantic as well. “There’s no way for me to move close to them.” He was barely able to keep himself safe from the demon king as it was.

Slash! A blade scraped past Eastvoid’s waist. A gaping wound instantly appeared, and fresh blood came spurting out from it. Moments later, a wave of divine power flowed over the wound and quickly healed it.

“My divine power is almost depleted,” Eastvoid sent mentally. Each time his body was injured, a large amount of divine power would be used up to heal it.

“Eastvoid.”

“Brother Eastvoid.”

The other Empyrean Gods were all frantic. Once his divine power was used up…no one would be able to help him.

……

Within the quiet Still Room.

Down below, there was a golden light formation of three hundred meters.

Up above, there was a black light formation of three hundred meters.

Ning was seated in the meditative position between the two. Spheres of Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith were floating in front of him, and a large amount of the essence of the two was flowing into the two diagrams. The two spheres had already shrank significantly.

“I’ll have to halt for now.”

Ning willed it, and both great formations slowly vanished into thin air. As for the two spheres of Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith, they flew back into their respective jade bottles.

As for Ning, he landed on the ground.

“Although my Pure Yang Jindan still needs upgrading…I have no choice but to halt for now. After the battle, I’ll continue the upgrade process.” Ning took a look inside his body. The gleaming, spinning golden pellet Jindan within his body had an aura that was already tens of times more powerful than it had been previously. The Jindan region inside his body had also dramatically expanded, and a torrent of powerful and pristine Pure Yang energy was flowing through it.

The Icefire Jindan Smelting technique was a process that was extremely slow and extremely gentle. As the Pure Yang Jindan absorbed more and more of the icefire essence, it would constantly improve and evolve. But of course, it could be halted at any time as this was a very gentle, slow type of transformation.

The difference between a Daofather’s Jindan and a True Immortal’s Jindan was like the difference between Heaven and Earth!

A Daofather’s Jindan was on the same level as one of Pangaea’s first-tier True Immortal’s Jindan. If Ning was able to upgrade to a second-tier Jindan, he would be half a step into the Daofather level of power. After having worked on it for more than twenty days, he was actually quite close to completing the upgrade process; it could already be considered a second-tier Jindan. But of course, only after a few more days of refining would it truly reach its maximum potential.

“Let’s take a look and see how powerful this second-tier Jindan is.” Ning willed it, and he instantly vanished from the Immortal estate, appearing within Myriad Mountains Island in the world outside.

……

Myriad Mountains Island.

The battle between the Empyrean Gods and the demons had reached a fevered state. Ning had just been knocked flying away…and suddenly, a second Ning appeared out of nowhere. The sudden appearance of a second Ning caused all of the Empyrean Gods present, as well as the many Empyrean Gods watching from far away, to gawk in amazement.

“Two Empyrean God Darknorths?!”

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Chapter 21 – That Sword!

Chapter 21 – That Sword!

When the two Ji Nings appeared in midair, the only one who wasn’t surprised was the demon king. He had learned from Snowfiend long ago that Ning had two clones, and this was actually the reason why he had given Ning the ‘special treatment’.

“Your clone has finally appeared.” The demon king laughed loudly. “I’ve been waiting quite a while.”

Whoosh! He charged straight towards Ning.

One of the Nings flew straight towards him with [Three Heads, Six Arms] activated. Six streaks of sword-light lashed out as this Ning engaged the demon king in close combat. As for the other Ning, the Ning who had just appeared…a total of 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords appeared around him, slowly undulating up and down. His Pure Yang energy, far more pure and powerful than the energy of the True Immortals of the Three Realms, flowed outwards through his body, filling each and every one of those Immortal swords.

Ning’s energy was simply too pure. The solidified energy sword that was created by the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was thus improved dramatically as well. All of the energy from the many swords levitating around Ning flowed towards his chest, merging into a single jade sword that appeared before him.

“Eh?” The demon king, who had just knocked aside the other Ning, suddenly felt a feeling of shock in his heart. He turned to take a look and saw the jade sword. He immediately sensed an invisible aura of menace coming from that sword, causing him to feel stunned. “That flying sword actually makes me feel as though I’m in danger. How can this be? How can he be so powerful?”

“That flying sword…”

“The power of that sword-formation…”

The lesser demons, the demon generals, Feiyou and the rest of the Empyrean Gods…everyone last one of them was stunned. There was no way to suppress or retract the aura of a sword-formation, and the jade sword was the crystallized essence of sword-ki itself; waves of power emanated outwards from it! This caused all of the demons and Empyrean Gods to feel a nameless fear.

Ji Ning…had already reached a qualitatively higher level of existence than they had.

“Go!” Ning pointed. Whoosh! The jade sword left behind a solitary, arcing scar in the skies. It transformed into a crescent streak, and the jade sword, covered by black sword-light, turned to strike at the demon king. All of the demons and Empyrean Gods present could sense the solitary, desolate beauty of the crescent streak…and could also sense the terror that it brought.

Ning had both fourth-stage swordforce and fourth-stage heartforce, and both gave him power comparable to the most supreme of Empyrean Gods. Ning’s [Starseizing Hand] also gave him power that was close to that of a supreme Empyrean God by itself. And prior to his Jindan evolving, when Ning used 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords in the ninth-level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] formation, he similarly was capable of unleashing power that could only be matched by the most supreme of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

Fourth-stage swordforce, fourth-stage heartforce, the [Starseizing Hand], and the ninth level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]; all of them were on the same level. Although the [Starseizing Hand] and the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] were slightly weaker by comparison, they were still on the same general level as the other two.

But now…!

Now that Ning’s Jindan had begun to evolve, his Pure Yang energy had become tens of times purer than before. Without any question, the jade sword formed through the crystallization of this pure energy via the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was now tens of times more powerful than before as well! It had already surpassed the apex of power possible Empyrean Gods; it had stepped into the Daofather level! In fact, in power and presence alone, it was a bit more powerful than Redsnow’s ‘Seven Planets God’ or even Sword Immortal Evergreen’s Daofather golem! It was comparable to Ning using the perfect Heaven Punisher!

“Fast!” The demon king’s face changed dramatically.

The jade sword shot towards him at incredible speed. After Ning’s energy had been upgraded and purified, his jade sword’s speed had been greatly enhanced as well. The demon king hurriedly brandished his longstaff, seeking to block…but the jade sword covered by black sword-light was quite bizarre. It slashed out in a strange, ghostly manner, arcing past the longstaff and scraping through the demon king’s body.

Swish.

The demon king, longstaff in hand, just stood there blankly. And then, his body began to fall apart. He had already been bisected by that sword attack.

“I lost.”

The demon king’s bisected body quickly reformed, but he still stared blankly at Ning. In fact, the entire battlefield turned completely silent. Those frantically attacking lesser demons and demon commanders had come to a halt as well. They all raised their heads, staring at their demon king in disbelief. They also stared at the white-robed youth who was surrounded by a countless cluster of levitating swords.

The nine Empyrean Gods raised their heads to stare at Ning as well.

“Darknorth…” They all felt stunned.

The Seven Dragon Gods and the many other Empyrean Gods off in the distance were all completely dazed as well. They were only able to watch, not fight…and they all stared at the white-robed youth.

“We lost. I lost.” The demon king looked at the two Ji Nings. One of them vanished, leaving behind the other one.

The attack of the demon army could indeed be described as a calamity or as a tribulation. To survive it, there were two options. The first was to endure for long enough and wait for the demon king to order the retreat. The second was to slay the demon king; in this case as well, the demon army would disperse.

However, during all of the previous tribulations, they had relied on the first method to succeed. They had supported each other and had managed to endure the deadly calamity with difficulty. Normally, one or two Empyrean Gods would die. This was because so long as a single one died, the demon army would slowly begin to lower the pace and power of its assaults. The creator of Undermoon Lake’s goal was to temper Empyrean Gods, after all, not to wipe all of them out.

In the past, they had relied on the first method…but this time, Ning had slain the demon king!

“Empyrean God Darknorth. Ji Ning.” The demon king looked at Ning. “After entering Undermoon Lake, you made it all the way here in one try…and, from what I can tell, even the countless demons under my command who guard the ‘Demon Icepass’ won’t be able to hold you off for long. You should already have the power to make it to the fourth island. After you make it there, the only one you have to worry about is the final guardian. Your talent and your power is far superior to Jueming’s; there is a very high chance that you will be able to survive and depart from Undermoon Lake.”

“Work hard, young man.” The demon king looked at Ning, a deep, long smile on his face. “When you reach the fifth island…you’ll find a surprise in store for you.”

“Children, let’s go!” The demon king turned and left. The demon commanders and lesser demons all whistled through the air after him, but as they left quite a few gave Ning curious glances.

The demon army had come like a tidalwave. Now, they receded like the waves as well.

Eastvoid and Zhenbu let out sighs of relief, but they were still frightened as they thought back to what had nearly happened. The other Empyrean Gods all landed on the ground as well.

“Darknorth.” Eastvoid walked over, a smile on his face. “Thank you. You saved my life.”

“And mine as well.” Zhenbu also grinned, then patted Ning on the shoulders.

“Admirable.”

“Darknorth, I am in complete awe of you now.”

The nine Empyrean Gods had previously viewed Ning as someone on their level, but now they were filled with the utmost of admiration towards Ning. It must be understood that Redsnow’s ‘Seven Planets God’ or Ning’s ‘Rahu God’ and ‘Heaven Punisher’ all primarily relied on the power of a formation, on the combined energy of many other Immortals and Fiendgods. Only then were they capable of getting close to the Daofather level of power.

Ever since Pangu established Heaven and Earth, there were extremely, extremely few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who were able to reach that level of power on their own. They could be counted on one hand! Every single one was truly a favored son of the heavens. But of course, the only Empyrean God who had ever actually slain a True God or Daofather had been Houyi.

However, aside from the unequalled Houyi, Ning now stood at the absolute pinnacle amongst the countless Empyrean Gods of the Three Realms!

……

Within the private room inside the Immortal estate. A white-robed Ning appeared out of nowhere, immediately levitating into midair to continue training in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique. Slowly, the giant formation of golden light appeared below him, as did the formation of black light above him. The red-jade gourd and the green-jade gourd once more released Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith, and Ning once more began to slowly refine his Jindan.

His Pure Yang Jindan had yet to be upgraded to the limit.

……

After this battle, Myriad Mountains Island once more became calm and tranquil. Both of Ning’s bodies focused on upgrading their Pure Yang Jindans to the second tier. By the time both of them had reached their maximum potential, more than a month and a half had passed since the demon army’s attack.

“I plan to head to the fourth island,” Ning said. “Prior to this, the demon king spoke of the ‘countless demons guarding Demon Icepass’. What’s this all about?”

Upon hearing his words, the other nine Empyrean Gods all laughed.

“So you are finally heading out?”

“Given your power, Ji Ning, it is indeed true that you have a chance of traversing Demon Icepass.”

“We’ve been waiting for you to say these words for a long time now.”

All of them laughed as they spoke. Feiyou hefted his gourd of wine, then said, “On the other side of Myriad Mountains Island is yet another floating wooden bridge. This floating wooden bridge passes through an endless chasm of ice, which has countless demons hidden within it. The number of demons in that place are far more than the number you saw in the demon army that attacked. What you need to do is continuously fight your way through them, to do your best to wipe them all out. You have to fight for a hundred years. After doing so, the demon king will decide whether or not you are qualified to enter the fourth island, based on how many demons you have slain.”

“Fight for a hundred years?” Ning was surprised. The last three times, he merely had to defeat the respective guardians. But this challenge, the fourth challenge, actually required him to battle for a hundred years?”

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Chapter 22 – I Don’t Regret It

Chapter 22 – I Don’t Regret It

“Right.” Empyrean God Oddwitch said in his hoarse voice, “Because you need to constantly battle, there’s no way you can just use up all your divine power as you please; you need to conserve it and use it sparingly. Darknorth, when you challenge the pass, you’ll have to rely on your swordforce when you fight. Swordforce comes from the very essence of the sword itself, and so it is endless and inexhaustible.”

Ji Ning nodded. If he truly did have to fight for a century, then most of his Ki Refining techniques would be useless. This was because the amount of energy consumed by the ninth-level [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was quite high. Although his second-tier Jindan gave him far more Pure Yang energy than he had before, far more than any ‘ordinary’ True Immortal had, it still wasn’t possible for him to inexhaustibly release jade swords. He would only be able to unleash them for half a day at most, much less a century.

To battle for extended periods of time, he would have to rely on swordforce! As for divine abilities…Ning wouldn’t even dare to use [Three Heads, Six Arms], much less the [Starseizing Hand]; that would use up divine power at far too fast a rate.

The only way Ning would be able to fight for a century would be if he was able to ensure that the amount of divine power he used up was no more than the amount he was able to naturally replenish.

“So challenging Demon Icepass means overcoming an endless swarm of lesser demons?” Ning asked.

“Almost all of them will be lesser demons,” Empyrean God Autumnwing said. “A demon commander will only spawn on occasion, and the demon king will appear once towards the end. However, when the commanders or the king appears, they will appear by themselves! The lesser demons, however, will come in an endless horde; there simply is no way you can possibly massacre them all. No matter how many you kill, more will be reformed and manifested.”

Ning nodded.

“Actually, aside from battling for a century, there’s one more method,” Eastvoid said with a laugh. “The demon king once told us that if you can fight your way all the the way to the end of Demon Icepass and step onto the other island, that would of course be considered success as well.”

“Yeah, but how?”

“Right, that’s simply impossible. With so many demons attacking you, you wouldn’t be able to make it there in even a thousand years, to say nothing of a hundred.”

They all chimed in with their opinions.

Ning agreed with their opinions as well. Each of the islands was separated from the others by an enormous amount of distance. Even the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle would have to fly for a long period of time when unimpeded. When battling countless demons, one would only be able to advance at a very slow pace. A thousand years? Not even ten thousand years would necessarily be enough.

“Ji Ning,” Feiyou said with a laugh, “Battling for a hundred years is actually quite beneficial to us. I’ve undergone more than a thousand of those hundred-year battles, but each time I didn’t kill enough to proceed…but those wild battles caused me to continuously improve and perfect my short halberd techniques. In fact, I was even able to develop my technique, ‘Wuji Births Taiji’ and merge those two types of force together. I trust when my taiji-force reaches the third stage, I’ll be able to make it past.”

Feiyou’s infiniforce had reached the fourth stage, whereas his taiji-force was only at the second stage.

“Right. It is of tremendous benefit.”

“The first hundred-year battle is particularly helpful. The later ones become less and less helpful.”

“You’ll know when you give it a try.”

After chatting with the nine for a period of time, Ning learned quite a few things about challenging Demon Icepass. After making it past the gorge, only one step would remain before he could leave.

“Darknorth.” Empyrean God Eastvoid suddenly spoke out.

“Eh?” Ning looked towards him. He could sense that Eastvoid seemed to be hesitating. “What is it?”

Eastvoid hesitated for a while, then finally said, “I very nearly died during this demon invasion. I now see the truth of things. My talent and my abilities were fairly ordinary for Empyrean Gods of the Primordial Era. Even though my time in Undermoon Lake has increased my power dramatically, I’m still at risk of dying during every single demon invasion. As for Demon Icepass, I have no hope of making it past it. My current level of power is a limit for me. Just now, the demon king himself said, and I myself believe, that you are the first person after Jueming to have an extremely high chance of making it out of this place. I want you to help me out…and take me out with you.”

“You are going to give up?” Ning was surprised. Everyone who made it to Myriad Mountains Island had been allowed to choose a treasure. But anyone who gave up would have to give up the treasure as well! And since they were indeed quite close to being able to leave, there weren’t many who were willing to give up at this point.

“I’ve seen through to the truth of things, past the allure of treasures. If Undermoon Lake wishes to retake those treasures, let it. I really want to leave. I want to see my master, my fellow disciples, my own apprentices.” A reminiscent look appeared within Eastvoid’s eyes. In the past, when he lived surrounded by all his loved ones, he didn’t realize what a pricelessly wonderful life he had. But now, after spending countless years here in Undermoon Lake, he deeply missed his master and the others.

“Darknorth…help me out.” Eastvoid looked at Ning.

“If you’ve made up your mind, Eastvoid, then I’ll naturally agree to your request. It won’t cost me anything at all,” Ning said.

“I’ll leave as well,” Empyrean God Cloudscar said. “I can understand how Eastvoid is feeling. Like him, I’ve been trapped here for far too long. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve improved in power at all. Although my agility techniques are good, my attacks are indeed fairly weak; I’m far from reaching the level of power necessary to go through Demon Icepass, much less the final guardian. Darknorth, you have a good chance of escaping this place. I’m willing to follow you.”

“My dear, old brothers…all of you want to leave this place?” Feiyou was rather saddened.

“Big brother Feiyou.”

“We…simply see no hope for us at all.”

Of the nine Empyrean Gods present, there were actually five who were willing to follow Ning.

They were Eastvoid, Cloudscar, Oddwitch, Skyriver, and Zhenbu. They no longer saw any hope for success for themselves. Given that even the demon king had said that Ning had an extremely high chance of leaving this place, and with the jade sword attack Ning had revealed filling them with trust in him…they truly wished to follow Ning and escape this place, reuniting once more with the loved ones that they hadn’t seen in so long.

But of course, the nine all felt a bit saddened as well. As they began to make their farewells, Ning suddenly fell silent.

The nine didn’t notice at first, but eventually they began to realize that something was off with him.

“Darknorth, what’s wrong?” Feiyou asked, “Although I am saddened by my five brothers leaving, I can understand their feelings. Why is it that you have suddenly…”

“Zhenbu.” Ning suddenly spoke out.

“Eh?” Zhenbu looked towards Ning.

“I cannot take you with me,” Ning said.

Zhenbu was stunned, as were the other eight Empyrean Gods present.

“What about the other four?” Zhenbu looked at Ning.

“I can take them. I can’t take you.” Ning gritted his teeth, forcing the words out.

“But why?” Zhenbu wasn’t angry, only puzzled.

“Darknorth, what the hell are you saying?” Coppersong had the worst temper of the nine, and he immediately grew angry. “When you found yourself in a dangerous situation during the demon army invasion, big brother Zhenbu risked his own life to go save you. Although you were powerful enough that it didn’t make a difference, for you to help him out costs you nothing at all!”

“Enough!” Feiyou snapped at Coppersong, then looked at Ning in a solemn manner. “Darknorth, I can sense that you have secret troubles of your own. What is it?”

Ning took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll tell. I’m going to talk, and none of you are going to interrupt me.”

“Alright.” The nine Empyrean Gods all nodded. They could all sense that Ning was about to tell them something important.

“I’ll need to start my story from the war that destroyed the Primordial Era.” Ning began to speak, starting his tale from the Lord of All Thing’s plot to have the two chaosworlds ram into each other. He continued his tale all the way to the present, where the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance had once more become locked into a life-and-death battle.

As the nine Empyrean Gods listened, their eyes bulged out so far that they very nearly popped out. On multiple occasions, they wanted to ask Ning questions, but in the end they didn’t interrupt.

“…And now, you understand.”

Ning let out a sigh. “Zhenbu battled by my side, and he was even willing to save me at the risk of his own life. I truly view him as a beloved brother of mine. But…although the Empyrean Gods of the two alliances are brothers here in Undermoon Lake, in the outside world the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate are embroiled into a war of annihilation. All of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, and in fact even all of the Celestial Immortals, will be forced to make a choice; they will be forced to choose an alliance.”

“This is a war of annihilation, a war for survival.”

“Although there are many secrets involved, the workings of fate have already revealed to us that only one side can survive; either the Seamless Gate, or the Nuwa Alliance.” Ning continued, “Even the True Gods and Daofathers must pick a side. As for the Four Ancestors of the River Source, who have yet to choose…they are only able to stay on the sidelines for now. When the final Endwar comes, they’ll have to make a choice as well. The two alliances absolutely won’t allow any powers to remain on the sidelines and potentially wipe out the exhausted victor.”

“All of you are Empyrean Gods. If we were to return to the Three Realms…do you think you’ll be able to escape this war?” Ning swept the nine with his gaze.

“Zhenbu…if you were to return to the Three Realms, which side would you choose?” Ning looked at him.

Zhenbu opened and closed his mouth several times. Finally, he said in a low voice, “My master, my brothers, my friends…all of them are with the Seamless Gate. Of course I would choose the Seamless Gate.”

“Why…why does it have to be like this…why has this storm descended…” The nearby Autumnwing found this hard to believe. “Everything was perfectly peaceful…”

“None of us have ever been able to control the destiny of the Three Realms. When the war that ended the Primordial Era occurred, it wasn’t a long period of time had passed that we realized the Lord of All Things, an alien Outsider, had been the one to instigate it. There are definitely secrets behind this castastrophe as well…but they aren’t for the likes of us to understand.” Oddwitch let out a sigh.

Feiyou suddenly said in a low voice, “Darknorth, I’ll leave with you.”

“Big brother Feiyou?” Ning was shocked. “All you need to do is make a breakthrough in taiji-force and you’ll be able to make it past Demon Icepass. In fact, you even stand a good chance of leaving Undermoon Lake on your own.”

“Now that a storm has swept the Three Realms, no one can simply act selfishly for themselves. Yes, if we hide in Undermoon Lake, we’ll be able to avoid this storm,” Feiyou said, a look of agony on his face, “But many of my fellow disciples already died during the war that ended the Primordial Era. I avoided one storm already. This time…I can’t keep hiding. I’m going to face this storm alongside my brothers and my fellow disciples.”

“I’ll go back as well.”

“And I.”

“The storm has descended. Every little bit of extra power counts.”

Of the nine Empyrean Gods, seven belonged to the Nuwa Alliance. Feiyou, Jibu, and Coppersong had been planning on staying, but now they decided to return as well.

News of the storm quickly spread throughout Myriad Mountains Island…and the Empyrean Gods who viewed each other like brothers had to make their choice.

Three days later, every single Empyrean God of the Nuwa Alliance elected to follow Ning. As for the twelve who belonged to the Seamless Gate, all of them remained on Myriad Mountains Island.

“I don’t wish to one day be forced to kill them in the outside world.” Ning stood before the floating wooden bridge. He murmured softly, “I’d rather have them stay here at Undermoon Lake and wait for this storm to pass. No matter which side wins, they wouldn’t go so far as to act ruthlessly against such a small number of survivors.”

“Let’s go.”

Although Ning felt quite miserable in his heart, he had already made his decision. He had no regrets.

He stepped onto the floating wooden bridge.

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Chapter 23 – A Hundred Years

Chapter 23 – A Hundred Years

Demon Icepass was unfathomably long…and with each step Ji Ning took, an unbelievable number of demons fell before him.

At every moment in time, Ning was striking out with his swords using his full power. He would only succeed if he killed enough demons within the allotted timespan. Empyrean God Feiyou had managed to battle for a hundred years, but he wasn’t able to kill enough of the demons. Now that the Three Realms had been embroiled in war, it was hard to say when the Endwar would begin. Thus, Ning had to move quickly! Experiencing a hundred-year battle once was enough; he didn’t want to fail and have to try a second time or a third time!

In addition, Ning didn’t dare to slacken off for even an instant. Every single one of these countless demons had the power of an Empyrean God. Fortunately, they didn’t use any formations, and so at any given moment Ning only had to deal with the dozens of demons closest to him.

Time slowly flowed on. In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred years of frenzied battling had gone past.

Within a gorge that had been completely frozen solid by ice, a white-robed youth was battling frenetically with a pair of twin swords in his hands. His sword-light flickered around as fast and unpredictably as lightning.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sword-light flashed, and a demon was cleft in twain from the waist.

Sword-light stabbed forward, and a demon’s head instantly exploded.

Sword-light curved outwards, causing three nearby demons to collapse.

“His sword-arts are becoming increasingly fast. Of all the Empyrean Gods I’ve witnessed since the creation of Undermoon Lake, his sword is the fastest.” The demon king stood atop one of the two icy canyon walls above the gorge. He stared downwards at the thronging, ant-like horde of demons that were surrounding and attacking Ning.

This sort of battle had already gone on for a century.

“Right. When he first entered the icepass, his sword wasn’t this quick.” The Purgatory God, body wreathed in flames, spoke out. “He’s advancing almost nonstop, and his sword-arts are becoming increasingly powerful. If I were to fight him again, I would probably be effortlessly defeated.”

“His sword truly is fast. How did it become so fast? From what I can tell, it must have reached the speed of light, right?” The hideous sea yaksha spoke out as well.

“Yes, very nearly. Even if it isn’t at lightspeed, it’s not too far from it.” Snowfiend agreed.

The guardians of Undermoon Lake spent most of their time together, albeit the Purgatory God, Snowfiend, and the sea yaksha merely kept clones of themselves here at Demon Icepass. They were all quite curious about Ning, and so they naturally wanted to watch him battle through Demon Icepass.”

“His sword’s speed is very close to the limit set by the Heavenly Daos.” The demon king nodded. “My guess is that he must have learned a particularly powerful sword-art. Otherwise, there’s no way he would be able to advance in such a fashion without embarking on any wrong paths of cultivation at all. Normal Empyrean Gods, no matter how powerful they are and no matter what weapons they wield, are quite far from the limits of the Heavenly Daos.”

“Agreed.” Snowfiend, the Purgatory God, and the sea yaksha all nodded in agreement.

The [Golden Sunstreak] and the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] had both reached the limits of the Heavenly Daos, allowing Ning to move 300,000 kilometers in an instant! Normally, even major powers were much slower than this.

However, experts were naturally capable of wielding weapons much more quickly than they moved. Generally speaking, their goal was to do their best to close in on the limits of the Heavenly Daos!

Ning’s sword speed, however, had already come very close to those limits!

But of course…it was also possible to go faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos! Those who mastered the [Five Treasures], for example, would be able to strike with their swords at a speed that was faster than the speed of light. The missing deity Houyi, as well; his arrows were the fastest in the Three Realms, capable of killing that Golden Crow ‘Emperor of Monsters’.

“It’s about time.” The demon king nodded, then shouted loudly, “Withdraw!”

His shout echoed within the frozen gorge. All of the demons heard it, and with a series of whooshing sounds, they all withdrew in unison like the tides. They all parted in two directions, entering the frozen mountain walls.

“Eh?” Ning was a bit surprised. They withdrew?

He had been battling for a hundred years. This was the first time the demons had withdrawn, and he wasn’t quite ready for it.

Whoosh. A figure flew down from the skies. It was the demon king, that golden gourd still on his waist. The demon king landed on the floating wooden bridge. He shook his head, the two enormous curved horns shaking as well.

“Demon king.” Ning looked at the demon king.

“The century has concluded.” The demon king rested his long black staff over his shoulders and said lazily, “You’ve really killed quite a few demons.”

“Am I permitted to pass through Demon Icepass? Can I go to the next island?” Ning asked.

The demon king looked at Ning. Chortling, he said, “Although I really would like to play with you a bit longer…you really have killed quite a few demons. Your sword is too fast.”

Ning blinked, then laughed.

His sword was fast? This entire time, he was worried that the number of demons he killed wasn’t enough, and so as he fought he repeatedly told himself, ‘faster, faster, faster!’ The faster his sword was, the more he would be able to kill! And given that Ning was training in the [Five Treasures] sword-art, a sword-art that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, he had made numerous breakthroughs during the past century of slaughter. He had gained repeated insights, and thus he had gained a deep understanding of the extremely esoteric fourth chapter of the [Five Treasures]. As Ning learned more, his sword became faster and faster.

“You may pass through Demon Icepass and reach the fourth island; Kilostar Island,” the demon king said. “But before you do so, I’ll lead you to a place to choose a treasure.”

Ning nodded. Upon reaching the third, fourth, and fifth islands, there would be a chance to choose a treasure.

“And those Empyrean Gods you are carrying with you; since they are going to give up, have them hand their treasures over to me,” the demon king said calmly. “Empyrean Gods who give up are not qualified to obtain any treasures.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. He knew this all along, and Feiyou, Oddwitch, and the others had long ago handed their treasures over to Ning, letting him hand it over on their behalf.

A day later.

Kilostar Island was also divided into two islands, a small island and a larger island. The small island was the place where the treasures were placed, while the larger island was the place where the Empyrean Gods lived.

“Go ahead. Your talent and your sword-art are both quite impressive; the only thing standing between you and freedom is the final challenge.” The demon king smiled as he looked at Ning. “It’s been countless years, but Jueming was the only one to leave. I hope you will become the second.”

Ning nodded, then turned and walked onto the floating wooden bridge towards the larger island.

Just now, Ning had chosen three treasures and, thanks to his strenuous negotiating, acquired eight of each! However, these three treasures were not of much use to Ning, at least for now. For example, if Ning hadn’t acquired the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique, he wouldn’t have known how to use Iceheart Pith and Ninefire Lava. Right now, he didn’t know any techniques that could make use of these three treasures.

“Kilostar Island.”

Ning walked towards the larger island, unable to hide the excitement he felt. This was already the fourth island; he was very close to reaching the exit! Once he reached the fifth island, he would be able to leave.

“Senior apprentice-sister…wait for me.” Ning felt a deep desire to be reunited with her swell up in his heart.

Ning immediately calmed himself down, then proceeded into the island. He chose a random boulder at the borders of the island, then sat down in the lotus position. He began to go through his memories and insights from the hundred years of battle. During that century, he had been constantly fighting; although he had gained some insights into the [Five Treasures], he hadn’t had a chance to systematically examine these insights in depth.

It must be understood that prior to entering Demon Icepass, Ning had only trained for a total of roughly two hundred years! Prior to the war for the Grand Xia, Ning had actually been focused on establishing a foundation for himself. The Black-White College, Mount Innerheart’s Tristar Crescent Abode…those places had all served to help him lay down a formation by teaching him many techniques.

The Nihilum Zone, the war for the Grand Xia, the Realmwar, roaming the Three Realms and challenging swordsmen…it was only during this period of time that he was truly improving on his foundation.

During this century, Ning had advanced at an incredible pace. Soon after entering Undermoon Lake, his swordforce had reached the fourth stage.

This time, however, he had spent a full century battling in Demon Icepass, and every single moment of that century was spent in nonstop combat. For someone like Ji Ning who was skilled in martial combat to begin with, this was a form of tempering that he had never before encountered. In truth, even the likes of Feiyou and the other Empyrean Gods who had lived for countless years all felt that Demon Icepass was tremendously beneficial to them, to say nothing of Ji Ning.

Ning closed his eyes. The [Five Treasures] sword-art constantly flickered through his mind as many different scattered insights began to join together, allowing him to understand it better and better. The [Brightmoon] sword-art was continuously improving as well.

……

Kilostar Island.

A gray-robed man was walking alone through the island. He murmured to himself, “When shall I be able to leave this prison? Even if I give up and return those treasures, they still won’t let me leave. I have to follow some other Empyrean God, but if that person dies, I’ll die as well. Only if that Empyrean God succeeds will I be able to leave.”

“But after all these years, Jueming remains the only one who has succeeded. And before Jueming made the attempt, who felt completely confident that he would succeed?”

“Ugh…”

“Dawn. The moon is rising.” A powerful desire to leave could be seen in the gray-robed man’s eyes. Suddenly, he blinked and turned to stare off into the distance. Far away, atop a boulder covered with gouges and marks, was a white-robed youth seated in the lotus position.

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Chapter 24 – Kilostar Island

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 24 – Kilostar Island

The gray-robed figure instantly felt puzzled. “Who is he? I know all the Empyrean Gods on Kilostar Island. Hell, I know most of the Empyrean Gods of the entire Three Realms. But this white-robed youth…” Although quite puzzled, he knew that here in Undermoon Lake, there were only two possible reasons for Empyrean Gods to be here.

The first was they had fought a path through the challenges. The second was that they had followed someone who did.

“He’s new. Does this mean…he just made it through Demon Icepass?” The gray-robed man felt shock in his heart. He watched as Ji Ning sat there meditatively, not daring to disturb him.

He waited for a total of twelve days.

Finally, Ning opened his eyes. All of the scattered insights he had gained over the course of a century had been unified, and his understanding of the sword had risen once more. In fact, Ning was able to vaguely sense a bit of what complete mastery of the [Five Treasures] should look like. However, he always felt as though he was a bit off, as though he was searching for flowers within a great fog. He was unable to truly understand and fully master the entire [Five Treasures].

“I’m still a bit off.” Ning sighed to himself. “If I could advance a bit more and fully understand the [Five Treasures], thus gaining full mastery over a sword-art that surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Daos…I’d probably be able to leave Undermoon Lake.”

The complete [Five Treasures] was something which even True Gods and Daofathers would find desirable. But alas, the price of learning this consummate sword-art was simply too high; learning it meant forgetting all insights into all other Daos. Very, very few major powers were willing to pay such a price…and few of the ones who might be willing had true talent for the Dao of the Sword.

Ning’s talent for the sword, however, was indeed quite high. Lu Dongbin and Daofather Subhuti had judged him correctly when they had named him a born Sword Immortal.

“Chunyi greets you, fellow Daoist.” The gray-robed man appeared next to him with a smile.

“Empyrean God Chunyi?” Ning laughed. “I am Darknorth. I’ve heard of your illustrious reputation long ago.”

Empyrean God Chunyi’s real name was Li Chunyi. He, too, was an Empyrean God who had risen to prominence during the era of the Three Realms. However, he eventually vanished, with no one knowing where he had gone. Ning had memorized all of the ‘missing’ Empyrean Gods like him, and in his visit to Undermoon Lake he had already seen five of the Empyrean Gods who had gone ‘missing’ from the Three Realms.

Not every Empyrean God would announce their entry into Undermoon Lake, after all.

“Empyrean God Darknorth,” Li Chunyi said, “I’ve never seen you on Kilostar Island before. Can it be that you just made it past Demon Icepass?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Admirable, admirable!” Li Chunyi’s eyes shone, and he immediately seemed much friendlier. “You need to battle for a hundred years to make it past Demon Icepass, an extremely dangerous affair, especially when that demon king assaults you alongside countless lesser demons. The slightest bit of carelessness can lead to instant death. Even if one is strong enough to survive for a hundred years, it’s still hard to gain the demon king’s approval. Kilostar Island…over the course of countless years, only a total of nine Empyrean Gods have been able to make it here on their own power, and that’s including you, Empyrean God Darknorth.”

“Just nine in total?” Ning asked, “How many of them are currently on the island?”

“Previously, there were three. With your arrival, fellow Daoist Darknoth, there are now four,” Li Chunyi said. “It’s been countless years, but only Reverend Jueming was able to leave this island. Four of them have died as well.”

Upon saying the word ‘died’, Li Chunyi hesitated a moment, then said, “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, there’s something I should tell you. Of the four Empyrean Gods who died, three of them died when attempting to advance through the wooden bridge, as they were too weak to succeed. One, however…died here on the island itself.”

“Died on Kilostar Island?” Ning was puzzled. “Prior to this, I chatted with the demon king for a bit. I heard that the forces of Undermoon Lake won’t launch any attacks on Kilostar Island. How could someone have died?”

“…Empyrean God Greatdream was the killer,” Li Chunyi said in a low voice.

“Empyrean God Greatdream?” Ning’s eyes narrowed.

Empyrean God Greatdream. Of course Ning had heard of this person. One of the Empyrean Gods who had gone ‘missing’ but actually entered Undermoon Lake was Greatdream. The reason why Greatdream had given himself the sobriquet of ‘Greatdream’ was because he was the personal disciple of the Seamless Gate’s Godking! The Godking was extremely harsh and cruel when training disciples, and Greatdream was filled with tremendous ambitions. Upon hearing that Jueming had become a Buddha, he had made up his mind to enter Undermoon Lake.

“Right now, the ones on the island who made it here under their own power are Empyrean God Greatdream, Empyrean God Sealthroat, and Empyrean God Sin,” Li Chunyi said solemnly.

“Empyrean God Greatdream belongs to the Seamless Gate, while Empyrean Gods Sealthroat and Sin belong to our Pangu Chaosworld. Logically speaking, since the Seamless Gate has joined the Three Realms long ago, they should be peaceful to us. And indeed, after Empyrean God Greatdream entered Undermoon Lake, he’s worked to befriend all of the Empyrean Gods here. He constantly worked hard to improve himself, spending ten million years to make it to Kilostar Island.”

Li Chunyi said solemnly, “Back then, there were four who made it to Kilostar Island on their own; Empyrean God Greatdream, Empyrean God Sealthroat, Empyrean God Sin, and Empyrean God Ninedawn. The others here had all given up and been carried here.”

“Empyrean God Greatdream continued to befriend everyone, and he became particularly friendly with Empyrean God Ninedawn. But who would’ve thought that Empyrean God Greatdream was actually such an insidious person…”

“He caught Empyrean God Ninedawn completely offguard with a sudden attack and killed him.”

Li Chunyi shook his head and sighed. “Back then, Empyrean God Ninedawn was actually the strongest of the four, and he had the best chance of making it out. But just like that, he died by the hands of a despicable, petty man like Empyrean God Greatdream. The sneak-attack caused a huge disturbance and we all immediately hastened towards the two, but we were too late…just one step too late. Both Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat were utterly enraged and they sought to slay Empyrean God Greatdream, but he continually hides within his Immortal palace. In addition, a large number of Empyrean Gods are following and protecting him.”

“He actually attacked his own friend?” Ning found this unbelievable. “But why? Did Empyrean God Ninedawn do something to him?”

Ning was beginning to feel fury in his heart as well…because Empyrean God Ninedawn was actually one of the primordial humans!

The primordial humans numbered a tribe known as the ‘Dawnsun clan’ amongst their ranks. The nine most powerful Empyrean Gods of this clan were named based on age as Onedawn, Twodawn, Threedawn…all the way through Ninedawn. These were humans who had followed Suiren in his earliest campaigns, and Ning had always felt tremendous admiration for these primordial human Empyrean Gods.

Who would’ve thought that one would die to Empyrean God Greatdream of the Seamless Gate…and due to a sneak attack at that!

“Others are still willing to follow Empyrean God Greatdream despite what he did?” Ning asked.

“His followers are all members of the Seamless Gate,” Li Chunyi said. “He publicly proclaimed that during the war that destroyed the Primordial Era, many of his beloved friends and brothers had been slain by Ninedawn, and so his heart has always been filled with endless amounts of hatred and rage. Although some of the the other members of the Seamless Gate didn’t approve of his actions, they belong to the same side, after all. When Empyrean Gods Sealthroat and Sin led their armies to attack Empyrean God Greatdream, the Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate still chose to stand on Greatdream’s side. They couldn’t just stand there and watch him be killed.”

Ning nodded.

“Come. Let me guide you to meet Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat,” Li Chunyi said.

Soon, they arrived at a palace where many Empyrean Gods were gathered. Surrounding this palace was a number of Immortal estates as well.

“Ahaha, it’s quite lively here!”

“So many Empyrean Gods!”

“Seven Dragon Gods! You made it!”

“Elder brother Feiyou.”

More than a hundred Empyrean Gods came out to welcome Ning and his followers. Ning was accompanied by an amazing number of followers, and when Li Chunyi saw all of them emerge, he was badly shocked as well. He had guessed that Ning must’ve brought some followers with him, but he never would’ve thought that Ning would bring this many. Since everyone Ning brought was of the Nuwa Alliance, they were naturally quite welcome in this place, and in fact many of the people in the palace all knew the newcomers. Some were extremely close friends!

A long while later.

At the top of a mountain peak, three figures sat down to drink wine and chat. These three were three of the four primary Empyrean Gods of Kilostar Island…Empyrean God Darknorth, Empyrean God Sealthroat, and Empyrean God Sin.

“Those are all magic treasures the various Empyrean Gods brought with them.” Empyrean God Sealthroat was a callous-looking silver-haired youth, and he pointed at the distant Immortal estates around the palace. “That vile miscreant Greatdream’s murder of Ninedawn caused an enormous outcry throughout all of Kilostar Island. Everyone was worried about being ambushed, and so when they cultivate they will normally retreat into their own Immortal estates. Within those estates, others can’t easily enter, and so things are much safer.”

“Damn that Greatdream.” Empyrean God Sin clenched his winecup, a murderous look in his eyes.

“Darknorth, you must be careful.” Empyrean God Sin said in a low voice, “Sealthroat and I have tussled with Greatdream quite a few times in recent years, and we understand him quite well. Greatdream publicly proclaims that he killed Ninedawn out of hatred, but based on what Sealthroat and I have discovered…he’s simply an incredibly self-centered, narrowminded person. Ninedawn had the best chance of us all of leaving Undermoon Lake, which is why he befriended then murdered him.”

“He’ll kill whoever has a good chance of leaving,” Empyrean God Sealthroat said solemnly. “In fact, he even tried to kill me.”

“That’s because you are a fool.” Empyrean God Sin snickered. “He murdered Ninedawn, but you wanted to give him a second chance?”

“I just wanted to get a clear look at his true nature,” Empyrean God Sealthroat said with a sigh.

“And I imagine you did.” Empyrean God Sin snickered again.

“Darknorth, the demon king said that of those who have come after Reverend Jueming, you stand the highest chance of leaving Undermoon Lake, correct?” Empyrean God Sealthroat looked at Ning.

Ning nodded. When he had ‘released’ the many Empyrean Gods he had been carrying, some of them naturally began to talk about him to their old friends. Feiyou and the others had actually asked Ning for permission to talk about him, and Ning had given it as he had felt that there was nothing to hide. Thus, Feiyou and the others had naturally bragged and boasted quite a bit about Ning, allowing the other Empyrean Gods here to learn a bit more about him.

“You stand a high chance of leaving, and so it is very likely that Greatdream will act against you,” Empyrean God Sealthroat said. “Although he doesn’t know exactly how powerful you are yet, I imagine that he’ll hear of you in time. In fact, as more time passes, he’ll probably get a clear sense of how formidable you.”

“You have to be wary of him. He’s quite insidious and very powerful. He was very close to Ninedawn in power, and is a bit stronger than the two of us. Over the course of all these years, he’s continued to improve in power. Perhaps in the future, it’ll be possible for him to escape Undermoon Lake as well. You have to be on your guard against him,” Empyrean God Sealthroat warned repeatedly.

“Oh?” Ning’s eyes narrowed. “There’s something I haven’t told you yet.”

“What is it?” The two both looked towards Ning.

“A storm has already descended upon the Three Realms…” Ning told the tale to the two Empyrean Gods, and upon hearing it the two became both furious and frantic.

“I knew that the Seamless Gate was a pack of untamable savages. They all deserve to die!” Empyrean God Sin roared angrily.

“Is the situation outside really so grim?” Empyrean God Sealthroat was worried as well.

Ning said calmly, “Empyrean God Greatdream has slain senior Ninedawn, and there’s a chance that he might be able to escape Undermoon Lake. Once he does, he’ll become a threat to our side. In the future, he might make a breakthrough to become a Daofather.”

The other two nodded.

“I imagine you two also wish him dead, right?” Ning asked.

“I want him dead. Even in my dreams, I want him dead. Ninedawn was my dear brother; we battled together amongst the other primordial humans as our race rose to power. For him to die so unfairly…!” Empyrean God Sin ground his teeth. “But it’s useless. I know that you want to help us, Darknorth, but Empyrean God Greatdream is extremely cautious, and he has a large number of Empyrean Gods by his side as he hides himself within his Immortal estate. How are we supposed to kill him?”

“It’s true. Although you’ve brought a group of new Empyrean Gods, giving us an absolute advantage in numbers, they are hiding within their Immortal estate and relying on it to defend against us.” Empyrean God Sealthroat shook his head.

“How will we know if we don’t try?” Ning said calmly.

“You have an idea?” The other two grew excited. They had long ago been filled with the desire to kill the despicable Greatdream, but they didn’t have the chance.

“I’ll give it a try,” Ning said. “We can’t force things, though; we’ll have to use a softer method.”

“Darknorth, Greatdream isn’t easy to deal with. Don’t try to use a ‘soft’ method and end up losing your life to him,” Empyrean God Sin warned nervously. He was afraid that Ning would deliver himself up for slaughter.

“Don’t worry,” Ning said.

Prior to this conversation, Ning felt detestation towards Greatdream and would’ve killed him without hesitation if the opportunity came. However, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to hunt Greatdream down! But upon hearing that Greatdream was very powerful and stood a good chance of escaping Undermoon Lake, a killing intent entered Ning’s heart. If Greatdream left and broke through to become a Daofather, he would become yet another powerful general for the Seamless Gate. Although it wasn’t guaranteed that he would become a Daofather after escaping, Ning wasn’t willing to take the risk.

The people trapped within Undermoon Lake were outside the confines of the Three Realms and so couldn’t sense the Heavenly Daos. Thus, their only choice was to work on other types of force, mastering the likes of taiji-force, infiniforce, thunderforce, and more.

However, upon leaving Undermoon Lake they would be able to once more sense the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms. There truly was a good chance of breaking through to become a Daofather. Jueming, the only person to escape, had succeeded. Ning wasn’t willing to see the Seamless Gate gain a new major power, a ‘Daofather Greatdream’.

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Chapter 25 – Infiltration

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 25 – Infiltration

Half a day later.

A white-robed youth was walking by himself atop a lonely path that was surrounded by a few flowers.

“Eh?” Suddenly, a muscular, golden-armored man appeared. The man said with a laugh, “My name is Dong’e. Who are you?” He was quite curious, as he knew all the Empyrean Gods on Kilostar Island.

“Empyrean God Dong’e?” Ji Ning laughed. “My name is Darknorth. I just arrived at Kilostar Island.”

“Just arrived? I was wondering! I know all the other Empyrean Gods on Kilostar Island.” Empyrean God Dong’e laughed loudly. “I know almost all the Empyrean Gods of the Three Realms as well, but I’ve never heard of you. It seems you must’ve broken through in the past few ten million years or so. You are here alone; did you succeed in challenging Demon Icepass?”

“Precisely.” Ning nodded.

“Come, come! Let me take you to meet Empyrean God Greatdream.” Dong’e was quite excited.

“Empyrean God Greatdream?” Ning was puzzled.

Dong’e laughed, “Greatdream is someone else who relied on his own power to overcome Demon Icepass and make it to this place. He’s quite powerful…” He continued to chat with Ning as they walked, while Ning put on a show of knowing nothing at all.

There was a black Immortal estate located halfway up a mountain. A black-robed man emerged from it, staring downwards. A second Empyrean God Dong’e appeared next to him as well. Dong’e had many different clones that were on watch in many areas in order to prevent Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat from launching a sneak attack.

“What is it?” The black-robed man said with a laugh.

“Greatdream,” Empyrean God Dong’e said hurriedly, “I ran into an Empyrean God that I’ve never seen before and do not recognize. After chatting with him, I learned that he just recently became an Empyrean God in the Three Realms. He relied on his own power to pass through Demon Icepass and make it to Kilostar Island. Now, there will be four powerful Empyrean Gods on this island. Most importantly of all, this Empyrean God is a human. We can pull him over to our side…and in fact, he might be an Empyrean God of the Seamless Gate to begin with!”

“Oh?” The black-robed man nodded and said happily, “If we can gain another supporter, that would be a good thing. Bring him over here, I’ll prepare an appropriate welcome!”

“Good.” Dong’e nodded and immediately left.

The black-robed man grew pensive. Humans…the strongest race of the Three Realms. Monsters were a close second. When the Lord of All Fiends brought the many experts of the Seamless Gate back to the Three Realms, the two sides had made peace and had even joined together to become one big family. There were many experts of the Seamless Gate who roamed the Three Realms, copulating with humans and monsters and leaving behind their lineage.

This was why many humans and monsters had ‘Fiendgod blood’ in them. God blood represented the lineage of the Gods of the Pangu Chaosworld, while Fiend blood represented the mighty Fiends of the Seamless Gate.

Fiendgod blood was in the veins of many humans and monsters because of so many years of interbreeding. In truth, it was impossible for the humans of Ji Ning’s era to not have at least some of the blood of the major powers of the Seamless Gate in their veins. But of course, humans had closer blood ties to the major powers of the Pangu Chaosworld.

Given that the Three Emperors of Mankind were firmly on the Nuwa Alliance’s side, humans were generally members of the Nuwa Alliance as well. However, humans were incredibly numerous. With so many of them also having the blood of the Seamless Gate in their veins, most humans didn’t view the Seamless Gate with much enmity, and so many ended up being recruited into the Seamless Gate. In the Grand Xia, for example, quite a few Celestial Immortals had been drawn into their orbit.

Humans…monsters…many of both races had been recruited. This was why Dong’e thought that it was entirely possible for them to recruit Ji Ning. In fact, it was even possible that Ji Ning was already a member of the Seamless Gate!

“Hmph.” A cold look flashed through the black-robed man’s eyes. “I don’t care if you are a member of the Seamless Gate or not. Anyone who poses a threat to me must be killed. Undermoon Lake…I’m the only person that needs to be able to survive it. As for the others? Hmph. The ideal outcome is for you all to die.”

When Empyrean God Greatdream had entered Undermoon Lake, the storm had yet to begin within the Three Realms. The Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance hadn’t yet separated into enemy camps, and many on both sides were close to one another. Keeper Everwood, for example, was on extremely good terms with Patriarch Subhuti and Daoist Three Purities.

This was why Empyrean God Greatdream actually didn’t care too much about whether or not Ning was a member of the Seamless Gate.

All he needed right now was an excuse!

When he killed Empyrean God Ninedawn, he had to come up with the excuse of ‘taking revenge for his slain brothers and friends’. Otherwise, even if the Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate still chose to stand with him, they wouldn’t put their hearts into it.

An hour later, Ning reached Greatdream.

“Very, very few Empyrean Gods can make it to Kilostar Island under their own power. Over the course of endless years, only nine of us have succeeded.” Empyrean God Greatdream acted in a very friendly manner, taking Ning by the hand. “Come, come! Let’s have a good chat!”

Ning laughed and nodded. As they walked together, shoulder-to-shoulder, the other Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate all behaved towards Ning in a very friendly manner.

“Sit.” Empyrean God Greatdream laughed.

Ning and Greatdream sat down in the lotus position next to a main pillar on the second floor of the palace. The two had a jade table between them, covered with winecups and two canteens of Immortal wine.

“It’s been so long since any new Empyrean Gods have arrived,” Greatdream said with a sigh. “Life in Undermoon Lake is far too lonely. For a new Empyrean God to arrive is one of the happiest things in my life here.”

“I wonder how many people here on Kilostar Island made it through their own power?” Ning lifted up a winecup as he spoke.

“Before you came, three.” Greatdream laughed, “I’m one, Sin is another, and Sealthroat is the third. Those two belong to the Pangu Chaosworld, while we belong to the Seamless Gate. That’s why we generally don’t live together in the same place.”

Ning said with surprise, “Why’s that? The Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld were both destroyed long ago. This is now the era of the Three Realms, and both sides are members of the Three Realms. Why must there be a need for conflict?”

“There are blood feuds, I suppose.” Greatdream shook his head. “Both sides have seen many loved ones die during the war that destroyed the Primordial Era. The hatred between us…it’s ensured that neither side has truly been able or willing to view the other as part of the same family. The experts of the Primordial Era in particular; many of them harbor hatred in their heart. The only reason there is peace is because both sides are very powerful. If one side was to weaken, the other side would soon move to destroy them.”

Ning nodded. Greatdream’s words made some sense.

“Don’t be fooled by the long peace. The number of major powers on both sides who have truly become close friends, lifelong friends, can be counted on one hand. Only the likes of the Keeper of the Everwood is capable of becoming extremely good friends with the major powers of the Pangu Chaosworld.” Greatdream shook his head. “A gulf continues to remain amongst most of the major powers.”

“Things aren’t so bad for you. You made your breakthrough in recent years, after all. Both the Seamless Gate and the Pangu Chaosworld would view you as their progeny,” Greatdream said with a laugh.

In the eyes of the Nuwa Alliance, the denizens of the Three Realms were the progeny of the Pangu Chaosworld.

But in the eyes of the Seamless Gate, the denizens of the Three Realms were also the progeny of the Seamless Chaosworld.

Both sides felt themselves to be the masters of the Three Realms!

And in truth, neither side was wrong per sé. The Three Realms had been created, after all, when the two mighty chaosworlds had collided and clashed against each other!

“There are some grudges between myself, Sin, and Sealthroat. There’s no need for you to get mixed into it.” Greatdream chatted with Ning for quite some time.

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh.

No wonder…

No wonder Empyrean God Sealthroat had intentionally given Greatdream a chance to attack him, so as to authenticate Greatdream’s true nature. Greatdream truly was far too formidable; even though Ning had come to kill him, after chatting with him for so long, Ning couldn’t help but feel that he really was quite a decent person and someone worth befriending.

“He lives up to his reputation as the personal disciple of the Godking. His powers over the human heart are quite formidable,” Ning mused silently to himself.

After chatting for a long while, Greatdream suddenly let out a laugh. “Haha, we’ve chatted for quite some time. It seems the two of us really are born friends! Still, I imagine you need some rest. Have you brought any Immortal estates with you?”

“I have.” Ning nodded.

“You can set it up within the surrounding area, then rest inside,” Greatdream said. “It’ll be safer inside.”

“Inside the Immortal estate? Are there hidden dangers within Kilostar Island?” Ning was surprised.

“Ugh. The hatred stemming from the Primordial Era…but enough of that. Enough of that. Just be careful.” Greatdream smiled, then led Ning out from the palace. Just as they reached the palace stairway…suddenly, and without any warning signs, he sent a streak of light to stab towards Ning’s waist, seeking to slay Ning by chopping him in half.

Empyrean God Greatdream no longer appeared friendly or amiable. The only thing within his eyes was an icy, murderous intent.

“Anyone capable of posing a threat to me must die!” The murderous intent he had kept suppressed in his heart exploded forth.

Screeech. When the blade slashed across Ning’s chest, it screeched as though it was scraping against a magic treasure. In fact, some sparks flew outward…but ning wasn’t harmed at all.

Ning turned his head to look at Greatdream. Ning’s eyes had turned cold as well, and his right hand transformed into a blurry streak of sword-light that chopped towards the man.

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Chapter 26 – Destruction

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 26 – Destruction

It was true that Ji Ning had made this trip with the intent of killing Empyrean God Greatdream, but in his heart he didn’t have absolute faith in what Empyrean Gods Sin and Sealthroat had told him. Based on the reports he had seen prior to entering Undermoon Lake, those two were unlikely to be petty, vindictive liars, but Undermoon Lake had a way of changing people. In addition, Ning had become extremely to Empyrean God Zhenbu and other Seamless Gate members on Myriad Mountains Island, and so he wouldn’t act against the Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate in a casual manner.

This was why he gave Greatdream a chance to sneak attack him!

He wanted to see for himself exactly what type of a person Greatdream was. Perhaps ordinary Empyrean Gods wouldn’t dare to allow others to sneak attack them, but Ning had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him; he held no fear of Greatdream at all.

And in the end…Greatdream really had launched a sneak attack!

Whoooosh. Ning used the [Starseizing Hand], using his fingers as swords and filling them fourth-stage swordforce, causing a blurry black light to appear at his fingertips. In almost the same instant that Greatdream attacked him, Ning launched a counter-attack. They were very close to each other…and this attack of Ning’s was simply far too fast!

It was a sword-strike that had absolutely reached the speed of light! In addition, to save time, Ning didn’t even pull out any magic treasures, instead simply striking with his sword-fingers. This was because he wanted to strike as fast as possible!

“Not good.” Greatdream hurriedly tried to dodge, but the distance between them was too short, and this sword was too fast.

Slash!

A huge, gaping wound appeared on Greatdream’s flank. Blood poured out of the wound, but Greatdream transformed into a bloody streak of light and began to flee, having no desire to fight whatsoever. “This Empyrean God Darknorth…I gave him a full-power strike, but I wasn’t able to harm his body at all. What sort of protective divine ability has he trained in? Could it be the legendary [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]?”

Attempting a sneak attack against an Empyrean God practitioner of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]…poor bastard!

There were very few practitioners of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] in the Three Realms to begin with. The number of Empyrean Gods that had reached the Ninth Cycle were even fewer and could be counted on one hand…but Ning was one of them!

Whoosh. Ning’s right hand explosively increased in size to become many hundreds of meters long as he chased after Greatdream.

Greatdream’s evasion abilities, however, were quite astonishing. He managed to escape Ning’s attack. Although Ning’s sword was very fast, the rate at which his right hand could increase in size was, comparatively speaking, much slower. With a boom, Greatdream evaded Ning’s attack as Ning’s sword-fingers slashed past the pillars and walls of the palace. Instantly, a pillar collapsed, the walls shattered, and half of the entire palace began to collapse.

“What’s going on?!” A group of Seamless Gate members were outside the palace in small groups. All of them turned their heads to stare.

They saw Empyrean God Greatdream fleeing from the palace, soaked in blood. Filling his voice with divine power, he shouted out frantically, “Darknorth ambushed me! He came to kill me! Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat sent him here to kill me!” He had decided to first shift the blame to Ning, then worry about the rest later.

“Ambush? Kill?”

These Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate all knew that their side had been tussling against the other side for quite some time now. The enemy side had always wanted to slay Greatdream, and so none of them questioned his claims now.

And in truth, technically speaking, Greatdream’s words were true. Ji Ning really had come to kill him! Except…it was Greatdream who ambushed Ning first.

“Assemble the formation.”

“Kill Darknorth.”

Instantly, the twenty-plus Empyrean Gods began to join together into formations, joining together to form a trio of Seven Planets Gods and a single Three-Eyed Demon.

The white-robed Ning stared at the three Seven Planets Gods and the Three-Eyed Demon before him.

“Darknorth, you actually came to ambush Empyrean God Greatdream?”

“You really are seeking out your own death.”

“Damn you.”

They all glared at Ning.

Ning said calmly, “If I said that it was Greatdream who ambushed me, would you believe it?”

“If I ambushed you, why is it that you are completely unharmed while I am deeply injured?” One of the Seven Planets Gods roared furiously. This one had a face quite similar to that of Greatdream’s. “You actually swindled your way into our ranks to ambush me. Quite bold! Everyone, attack! Wipe him out and let Sin and the others know that anyone who dares to attack us will be killed. If one comes, one will die; if ten come, ten will fall!”

Because these Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate stood alongside Greatdream, they had been fighting against the forces of Sin and Sealthroat for many years now. They had always been at a disadvantage due to their lower numbers and thus nursed deep grudges.

“If you were to join together and hide within the Immortal estate…I might not be able to do anything to you.” Ning mentally shook his head.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Instantly, more than seven hundred Pure Yang swords appeared around him. The pure energy from Ning’s Jindan flowed into the swords, then was transformed and manifested as an incomparably sharp jade sword that appeared before him. Ning just glancd at the three Seven Planets Gods and the Three-Eyed Demon before him, and the jade sword instantly launched an attack.

“Kill.”

“Kill!” The enemy forces came charging straight towards Ning.

In terms of raw power, none of the Seven Planets Gods were comparable to the one which Redsnow commanded.

As for the Three-Eyed Demon, it was the weakest of the four, and by a wide margin at that.

It must be understood that during the Crimsonbright Realmwar, Evergreen’s Daofather golem had been able to suppress the Seven Planets God…but Ning’s perfect Heaven Punisher had been able to suppress the Daofather golem! Now that Ning had a Pure Yang Jindan that was similar to that of a weak Daofather’s, his sword was incredibly powerful when using the most terrifying stances of the [Brightmoon] sword-art. The past hundred years of battle had only caused his sword-arts to become even deadlier.

The power of this sword-strike he had just launched was actually much more powerful than that of even the perfect Heaven Punisher he once commanded.

“Die!” The Seven Planets God that Greatdream commanded let out a furious roar. He wielded a pair of enormous scimitars in his hands, and he sent them chopping downwards towards Ning.

The jade sword arced through the skies in a solitary, beautiful line.

Swish.

Although Greatdream sought to block it, the jade sword was simply too fast, and he was just a bit too slow. It must be understood that the demon king was just as fast and strong as the Seven Planets God, but even he was unable to block Ning’s jade sword. And after a century of battle, the current Ji Ning had improved tremendously compared to the Ji Ning of the past.

Slash. The jade sword slashed downwards across the body of the Seven Planets God.

“Go, go!” Ning stared coldly.

The many Immortal swords around him undulated, allowing his energy to flow through and coalesce into two more jade swords that immediately flew towards the enemy.

“How can this be?”

“Good heavens.”

“How can he be this powerful?! How can an Empyrean God be this strong?!”

In almost the blink of an eye, the three Seven Planets Gods and the Three-Eyed Demon were all destroyed. The Empyrean Gods that had been within the formations were terrified. Greatdream, in particular, found this all impossible to believe; how could this person be so powerful? This was a level of power that caused him to feel despair.

“Spare us!” Greatdream called out hurriedly.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

One of the jade swords was spent, but the other two continued to fly forwards. All the Empyrean Gods they flew past were chopped apart into multiple pieces. These Empyrean Gods immediately began to heal themselves and flee in terror…but alas, they were quickly ground up into tiny slices of meat.

“Die.” Ning stretched out with his two hands, which instantly swelled in size. They seemed to become two enormous black clouds that slammed towards the remnants of the Empyrean Gods.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning’s two gigantic cloud-sized hands clapped together multiple times, with all of the Empyrean Gods trapped within them. He clapped them into dust. Just a few claps later, their divine power was completely used up and they all perished.

More than twenty Empyrean Gods…had died, just like that!

In truth, if all of them had hidden themselves within their Immortal estate and relied on the formations of the estate to protect themselves, there would’ve been nothing that Ning could’ve done. Perhaps Ning’s Rahu Formation was capable of breaching the combined defenses of more than twenty Empyrean Gods who were jointly resisting him within a formation, but Ning didn’t have any other Immortals following and assisting him at present. All he had was the Pure Yang Jindan within his body, and so Ning was ‘only’ as strong as a perfect Heaven Punisher, with his sword-arts being more profound than before.

But they had instead chosen to exchange attacks with Ning?

That was suicide…and so they really had died.

“The person who kill you was me…Ji Ning,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

At his level of heartforce, Ning knew exactly when to kill and when not to kill. He had already made the decision in his mind.

After killing Greatdream and the others, Ning only let out a sigh and shook his head. He remained as calm and collected as ever as he began to return to the others.

……

“Eh?”

“That’s Empyrean God Darknorth over there!”

“Isn’t Darknorth supposed to be with Sin and the others?” Quite a few of the Empyrean Gods were confused. Ning had only informed Sin and Sealthroat of his decision to attack.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Soon, two more figures appeared. They were Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat.

“It’s good to see you back.” The two of them both felt relieved upon seeing him.

“I told you I’d be fine,” Ning said. He had the power to defeat all of the enemy’s Empyrean Gods at the same time; of course he would’ve been fine.

“How’d it go?” Sealthroat immediately asked.

“Dead,” Ning said.

Sealthroat and Sin both revealed looks of wild joy on their faces. Sin mumbled to himself, “Wonderful. No matter what we tried, we weren’t able to do anything to him. He was simply too crafty…but now, he’s dead. Wonderful, wonderful!”

“All dead,” Ning elaborated.

“All…dead?” Sin and Sealthroat revealed looks of disbelief on their faces.

They really couldn’t believe what they had just heard. In fact, that very day the two of them paid a personal visit to the place where the Seamless Gate’s forces had gathered. They stared at the collapsed palace, at the shattered ground, at the scars of battle…but there wasn’t a single enemy Empyrean God in sight. Only then did they truly believe that Ning had done what he said he had done.

“More than twenty Empyrean Gods. All dead. How?!” Sin was filled with confusion. “There were so many of them. Most were comparatively weak, but they had the absolute advantage in raw numbers. Even if they just joined together into simple Seven Planets Gods, they would become incredibly powerful.”

“If you can’t understand it, don’t bother trying to. Darknorth had his own methods for succeeding. All we know and need to know is that he is very powerful. No wonder the demon king said that he is very likely to succeed in leaving Undermoon Lake.” Sealthroat couldn’t help but sigh and smile in amazement while praising Ning. “This is perfect. If Greatdream was the only one to die, the other Empyrean Gods of the Seamless Gate would’ve posed a headache as well, forcing us to constantly be on our guard. Now, however, we have nothing to fear.”

“Agreed.” Sin nodded as well.

Greatdream had already become a person of the past. What Ji Ning cared about the most right now was the final challenge! He was just one step away from leaving Undermoon Lake.

The third day since his arrival on Kilostar Island.

The dawn moon had risen into the skies.

On the other side of Kilostar Island, Ning was standing with the other two, staring off into the distance.

Sin pointed towards the distance. “Look, over there! That’s the Path of Blades. It is the final challenge. If you are able to walk the Path of Blades, you’ll make it to the fifth island and be able to leave.”

“The Path of Blades?” Ning stared at the distant wooden bridge. The wooden bridge led to a place that was filled with countless enormous knifes, swords, and spears that stood upright and erect.

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Chapter 27 – The Final Challenge: The Path of Blades

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 27 – The Final Challenge: The Path of Blades

“How strong is the guardian of this ‘Path of Blades’? Anything special to watch out for?” Ji Ning asked.

This was the final challenge. Ning understood that the guardian definitely had to be a terrifyingly strong figure.

Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat exchanged a glance, then they both laughed. Sin then turned to Ning. “The foe you will encounter on the Path of Blades…is yourself!”

“Myself?” Ning was flabbergasted.

“Right.” Sin explained, “When you challenge the Path of Blades, the enemy that appears will look exactly like you and have the exact same divine body, the exact same divine abilities, the exact same Immortal energy…the exact same everything. In fact, if you use sword-arts, he’ll choose to use sword-arts as well. The only difference is…the sword-arts that he uses will be the sword-arts of Undermoon Lake.”

Ning felt shocked. His greatest advantage was that his Pure Yang Jindan had reached the second tier…but on the Path of Blades, this would give him no advantage at all!

“On the Path of Blades, you will strictly be competing in pure combat techniques,” Sealthroat explained with a sigh. “I would compete in spear-arts, while you will be competing in sword-arts! Only if your sword-arts are sufficiently profound will you be able to defeat your foes. In addition, on the Path of Blades, there will be a total of ten such opponents. All of them will have the same divine body and same abilities as you, but the sword-arts they use will be different. The later guardians will have increasingly profound sword-arts.”

“The Path of Blades…it has ten guardians that are akin to ten of you. Only by defeating these ten copies of yourself will you be able to reach the fifth island and leave Undermoon Lake,” Empyrean God Sealthroat said.

Ning nodded slowly. Defeat himself? Ten increasingly powerful versions of himself?

He now understood how difficult it would be to traverse the Path of Blades. Ning no longer felt that confident in his ability to defeat it. The reason why he was much more powerful than the other Empyrean Gods was thanks to his Jindan and his [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], but now both advantages had been stripped for him. If this was purely a competition of sword-arts…

Fortunately, the hundred years he had spent battling in Demon Icepass had resulted in his sword-arts improving dramatically! And after reaching Kilostar Island, he had trained for another ten-plus days, resulting in him getting the vague sense that he was closing in on complete mastery of the [Five Treasures], with his sword-arts reaching the speed of light.

“What level of sword-arts will be necessary to overcome the Path of Blades?” Ning no longer felt confident.

“Brother Darknorth, you are the one who the demon king said has the highest chances of surviving and leaving Undermoon Lake. All of us will be watching you with hope,” Empyrean God Tyranodragon said with a laugh.

“If you can leave, we’ll be able to leave as well.”

“If brother Darknorth wishes to leave, it won’t prove to be too difficult a task!”

More than two hundred Empyrean Gods were here, gathered around a campfire that was currently being used to roast skinned animals. They all looked towards Ning with scorching gazes, because in their heart, this ‘Empyrean God Darknorth’ stood the highest chances of succeeding out of them all. All of them had been trapped here for far, far too long; in their innermost hearts, they deeply desired to be able to leave this place.

“Alright, alright! Don’t give Darknorth too much pressure.” Empyrean God Feiyou boomed out, “Do you really think Undermoon Lake is so easily escaped from? Let Darknorth take things slowly.”

“Right. We won’t rush him. We’ve been waiting for so long already; another ten thousand years or even another million years is nothing.”

“I’m personally in no rush, but the outside world is in a state of chaos. The earlier we can leave, the better. If we take too long, the war might have ended already. If we go out early, at least we’ll be able to help out a bit.”

The commotion continued unabated. As for Sealthroat and Sin, the two Empyrean Gods had reached Ning’s side. Sealthroat said softly, “Darknorth, to tell you the truth, this Path of Blades…Sin and I have been challenging it for many, many years. No matter how hard I try, I’m unable to overcome the seventh opponent, while Sin has been stymied by the sixth opponent. Each of the ten guardians is more powerful than the last, and I have four more remaining before I can leave, while Sin has five! Our chances of improving are quite minute…”

“It’s true.” Sin let out a sigh as well. “I’ve only defeated half of the ten guardians; five more are left! I truly have no confidence in myself anymore. In truth, Ninedawn stood a very good chance. He had already reached the eighth guardian, with only two more to go after beating that one. But alas, he ended up dying in the hands of Greatdream. Greatdream was more formidable than the two of us as well; he had already reached the eighth of the guardians as well.”

Ning nodded. He could sense that Sin and Sealthroat no longer had enough faith in themselves.

“I don’t know how long it would take for the two of us to leave on our own.” Sealthroat looked at Ning. “These two hundred Empyrean Gods have entrusted their hopes to us, but the two of us can’t do it. It’s all up to you.”

“Darknorth, it really is up to you.” Sin looked at Ning as well.

“I can only promise to do my best. I’m not certain that I can succeed either,” Ning said.

“Oh, right…” Sealthroat advised, “Remember, if you are able to defeat the ninth guardian, immediately withdraw and come back to Kilostar Island.”

“Why?” Ning was stunned.

“Because if you can defeat all ten guardians in one go, you’ll immediately be sent towards the fifth island,” Sealthroat said hurriedly. “But what of the two hundred Empyrean Gods over here? They are all waiting for you to lead them out of this place. If you can defeat the ninth guardian, you should take them all with you when you go challenge the tenth guardian.”

“Right, right, right! It’s said that Jueming gained a sudden insight when challenging the Path of Blades, and so made it all the way past the final three guardians without giving anyone advance notice. He immediately left without being able to take a single Empyrean God with him.” Sin said angrily, “Jueming was too selfish!”

“Perhaps it wasn’t his fault,” Sealthroat said. “It’s possible that he was so excited by his sudden insight that he lost track of how many guardians he had defeated. He just continued to fight until they were all gone…and by then, there was no way back for him!”

“Hmph.” Sin just let out a contemptuous snort. Clearly, he nursed quite the grudge against Jueming.

“There’s no point in saying all these things.” Sealthroat smiled as he looked towards Ning. “Darknorth, the two of us can’t do it. It really is up to you.”

“Tomorrow, give it a good shot. But of course, don’t actually go through all ten stages at once. Hold back a little,” Sin said with a laugh.

“If I can defeat nine of the guardians, I would return and celebrate.” Ning shook his head. He didn’t feel confident.

The next day. More than two hundred Empyrean Gods ushered Ning towards the edge of Kilostar Island.

“Darknorth, be careful.”

“Come back after beaing nine of them.”

“Darknorth, staying alive is wha really matters. Don’t end up losing your life!”

The Empyrean Gods all gave him their various instructions and exhortations. In the past, there truly had been a number of Empyrean Gods who had died on the Path of Blades. Ning, however, wasn’t worried. The Empyrean Gods would encounter guardians that were identical to them, which meant that when they fought against their doppelgangers, a single successful blow on either side might destroy the other. Things were different for Ning.

When he faced off against a guardian, both of them would be protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. This meant that neither of them would be capable of killing the other. This meant that the Path of Blades was actually the safest challenge of all for him. However, although it was safe, to actually defeat all ten guardians…this would be a very, very hard task.

“I’ll go now.” Ning waved at them, then stepped onto the floating wooden bridge by himself.

More than two hundred Empyrean Gods watched as Ning walked through the wooden bridge and vanished into the distant Path of Blades.

“The Three Realms have been swept into a storm. I really want to get out as soon as possible.”

“It’s all up to Darknorth.”

The Empyrean Gods all began to grow nervous. Prior to this, they had all been joking around loudly with each other, but that was just for the sake of keeping the mood relaxed. Now that Ning had actually gone forward to challenge the Path of Blades, all the Empyrean Gods felt the pressure.

If…

If Ji Ning was only capable of defeating five or six of the guardians, then it would probably be difficult for him to succeed within the next ten million years.

“Darknorth…”

The eyes of the Empyrean Gods were filled with hope, desire, nervousness, and uneasiness.

They weren’t afraid of death, but they simply couldn’t stand knowing that their masters, brothers, loved ones, and family members were facing a terrible war while they were living safe lives here at Kilostar Island. They wanted to leave. They truly wanted to leave!

……

The long wooden bridge led directly towards the Path of Blades.

The Path of Blades was filled with enormous upright swords, spears, sabres, and other edged weapons. They were planted into the ground and pointed upwards towards the heavens.

A white-robed youth suddenly came to a halt midway through the path…because in front of him had just appeared a golden-robed youth that looked just like him.

“Is that me?” Ning was slightly startled.

“I’m the first guardian. Take a look at that sword over there.” The golden-robed youth pointed towards a nearby sword that was at least thirty thousand meters tall. Phantom illusions actually began to appear on the surface of the sword, illusions of a humanoid that was executing a complete set of profound sword-arts, going from simple to profound, from start to finish.

“The sword-arts that appeared on that sword are the sword-arts that I will use.” The golden-robed youth looked at Ning. “You can view these sword-arts three times. After doing so, the sword-arts will vanish and we shall fight.”

“Oh?” Ning felt delight. This really was an unexpected surprise. He was actually being given a chance to view the opponent’s sword-arts? Sin and Sealthroat hadn’t told him of this. Most likely, the two had wanted to give him a pleasant surprise. There was no point telling him in advance, after all, and letting him find out on the spot would bring a bit of joy.

Ning carefully stared at the enormous sword that had been plunged into the endless ice around them. The sword-arts appearing on the sword were continuously being displayed. Three sessions took nearly twelve full hours, at which point in time it all came to a halt.

“What a curious sword-art.” Although Ning sighed in approval, he didn’t panic in the slightest, because this first guardian’s sword-art posed no threat to him at all.

“Done?” The golden-robed youth asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Then receive my attacks.” The golden-robed youth’s body suddenly blurred, manifesting a total of three heads and six arms. Six swords appeared in his hands as well as he pounced towards Ning.

A strange feeling was in Ning’s heart, because this sort of battle tactic was quite similar to his own, and this person looked identical to him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! His sword-art moved at the speed of light, and it was overwhelming superior. Although Ning’s opponent had increased his power with the [Starseizing Hand], his sword was still knocked flying by Ning’s sword-light chop. However, thanks to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], the doppelganger’s body was completely unharmed.

“Your sword-art is far superior to mine.” The golden-robed youth landed on the wooden bridge and nodded. “I am thoroughly convinced by my defeat.”

Whoosh. The golden-robed youth disappeared into thin air.

Ning continued to advance forwards, making his way deeper into the Path of Blades. Each time he encountered a new guardian, a nearby sword would begin to display a set of sword-arts for him to view. Each time after he viewed the sword-arts, Ning would feel somewhat inspired, and he was able to further perfect his [Brightmoon] sword-art. However, his [Brightmoon] sword-art was already incredibly powerful, as it had incorporated the essence of the [Five Treasures] within it. Sword-light that struck at light speed was incredibly formidable. The word ‘fast’, all by itself, could be superior to countless tricks and techniques.

Ning was able to battle all the way to the eighth guardian on his first try.

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Chapter 28 – The Mournful Sword

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 28 – The Mournful Sword

The golden-robed youth standing before Ji Ning had very gentle eyes.. He looked towards Ning in a very affectionate way, as though he was looking his most beloved lover.

“Eh?”

For some reason, Ning felt vaguely threatened as the eighth guardian stared at him. Still, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned to look at the enormous sword that was next to him. Sword-arts had already begun to appear on its surface. As he had battled his way past the guardians, the sword-arts he had encountered had become increasingly formidable and had provided more and more insights to Ning.

In fact, Ning could sense that all of these sets of sword-arts were guiding him towards the limits of the Heavenly Daos, as if they were teaching him how to reach and surpass those limits. Although there were many types of sword-arts in the Three Realms, aside from the [Five Treasures] which had surpassed the Heavenly Daos, no sword-arts had inspired him and helped him as much as these ones had.

“The major power who created Undermoon Lake definitely had an extraordinary background. The sword-arts he has left behind have been tremendously beneficial to me, but he’s also done the same for the other Empyrean Gods, some of whom use spears, staves, scimitars, and other weapons. No matter what weapon is used, the Path of Blades will produce a different, matching guardian.” Ning was stunned by the implications.

This further reinforced the truth to Ning that the primordial chaos truly was filled with all possibilities. The Three Realms was nothing more than a single little chaosworld within the infinite primordial chaos.

To sit at the bottom of a well and stare at the tiny portion of sky that was visible and believe it to be the entirety of the heavens…that would truly be a joke.

Since he was weak, he had to work hard and train hard to make himself become strong. Ning celebrated the fact that he had been able to come to Undermoon Lake and become more powerful.

“This sword-art is quite marvelous, quite special…” As Ning watched, a look of veneration appeared in his eyes. “Lingering affection? Longing? The name of this sword-art should be the ‘Longing Sword’.”

The sword-arts were displayed on the sword three times, then vanished.

Whoosh.

Two swords appeared in the hands of the golden-robed youth. He lowered his head to look at the swords, his gaze very gentle. In a soft voice, he said, “It’s time to fight.”

“Right.” Ning nodded, a pair of swords appearing in his own hands as well.

The golden-robed youth smiled slightly, a beautiful, intoxicating smile. He then transformed into a gentle breeze, and his sword-light was like a gentle breeze as well. It seemed incomparably soft and harmless, but Ning could sense a tremendous threat emanating from it.

If he hadn’t had the chance to view the complete sword-art three times from start to finish, he probably would’ve been at a huge disadvantage. However, Ning now knew this sword-art, the ‘Longing Sword’, with incomparable clarity, giving him a much better chance of dealing with it. Twin swords in his hands, he sent his own sword-light howling forth at the speed of light, using the ghostly and unpredictable ‘Shadowless’ stance to launch a frenetic series of attacks!

Sometimes, his swords would be tremendously ferocious that they would actually move a bit slower. The fact that his swords alternated being fast and slow made them even more unpredictable.

Clearly, Ning’s sword-arts were far deadlier than they had been when he had first embarked upon the Path of Blades. And indeed, Ning had reaped much from his battles against the seven previous guardians.

“Blood Drop stance.”

His sword-art suddenly transformed into the fastest attack of all, the Blood Drop stance.

However, the enemy’s sword-art was like an endless, bottomless web that completely trapped and tied down Ning’s two swords.

“Longing…” Ning was gaining more and more insights into this set of sword-arts. At the beginning, he had only been able to rely on what he had seen on the giant sword. Now, upon actually fighting against a person identical to himself in all respects who used this sword-art, his insights were different. Ning gained an even better understanding of how some of the killer blows of this sword-art truly worked.

“Compared to it, my [Brightmoon] sword-art isn’t fluid enough.” Ning’s sword-art began to change as well, becoming even more unpredictable and ephemeral.

Shadowless stance, Blood Drop stance. The two joined together into a more perfect whole, and fewer and fewer flaws appeared when he attacked and withdrew.

“Eh?” The golden-robed youth frowned. Instantly, his body blurred for a moment before he manifested three heads and six arms, beginning to assault Ning with six swords.

Ning immediately used [Three Heads, Six Arms] to engage as well.

Slash!

A streak of sword-light landed upon the golden-robed youth’s neck, knocking his sword aside and forcing him back five steps before he was able to stabilize himself.

The golden-robed youth stared at Ning, then said in a low voice, “Your sword is faster than mine, but the intrinsic essence of your sword-art…it’s a bit inferior to mine. You have passed my challenge, but the ninth guardian’s sword has also reached the limits of the Heavenly Daos, while the essence of his sword-art is also superior to yours.”

“Really? Being stronger than me is a good thing.” Ning grinned.

“Be careful.” The golden-robed youth disappeared into thin air.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. He had finally succeeded.

Not hesitating at all, Ning continued to advance. A short while later, he saw the ninth guardian. Upon seeing him, Ning could sense the essence of utter despair surging towards him.

“That invisible essence and aura is only growing more and more powerful.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. “I hear that at the fifth stage of swordforce, ‘Sword God’, one doesn’t even have to attack; the invisible sword-intent radiating out from you will be more than enough to force enemies to feel utter despair. The Path of Blades…not only is it guiding me towards a path that surpasses the Heavenly Daos, it’s also guiding me towards the fifth stage of swordforce.”

The eight guardian’s ‘Longing Sword’ already had a hint of that quality to it.

The ninth guardian, just by standing there, was already radiating a strong aura of despair. Clearly, he was even more formidable.

However, compared to someone who had truly reached the fifth stage of swordforce, ‘Sword God’, the ninth guardian was still far, far inferior.

He was nothing more than a guidepost! His mission was to plant a seed in Ning’s heart, a seed which perhaps would eventually take root and grow in the future.

“Look at the sword-art.” The ninth guardian said these words very calmly.

Ning smiled, then looked at the sword-arts on display upon the giant sword nearby. As he watched, his face slowly began to change. Every single stance, every single stroke…it all caught Ning’s full attention, tugging on the deepest, innermost thoughts in his heart. The more he analyzed this sword-art, the more powerfully Ning was affected by it.

“Why?”

In his past life, Ning was tormented by illness. His heart had been filled with resentment. In this life, after being reborn, his father Ji Yichuan and his mother Yuchi Snow had filled Ning’s heart with love, warming it.

“Father. Mother.”

Serpentwingn Lake. Ning was lying atop that wooden boat, floating atop the lake.

“No…”

That instant when Yu Wei had died. He had felt such despair that he himself had nearly died as well. His parents were gone. Even Yu Wei was gone.

It was thanks to his experiences that this sword-art resonated so deeply with him.

This sword-art caused Ning’s heart to be filled with a dark, dreary feeling. Deep in his heart, he was filled with the utmost of despair!

“Senior apprentice-sister isn’t dead yet.”

“Once I leave this place, I’ll be able to save her. Our family can be reunited.” Ning mumbled these words to himself.

The sword-arts had already finished their display on the sword. As for the ninth guardian, he stared at Ning in astonishment, because he could sense the intent radiating from Ning.

“What is the name of this sword-art?” Ning asked.

This was the ninth guardian he had encountered, but this was the first time that Ning had asked for the proper name of a sword-art.

“Mourning,” the ninth guardian said.

“Mourning…mourning…” Ning suddenly let out a laugh. “How appropriate. I’ve mourned in the past…but here and now, I’m filled with hope.” After finishing his words, Ning turned and walked away.

“You aren’t going to fight?” The ninth guardian called out after him in surprise.

“I’m not a match for you right now. Next time I come, I’ll defeat you.” Ning’s figure quickly disappeared into the distant wooden bridge, causing the ninth guardian to gawk in amazement. Still, he didn’t chase after Ning, because the two of them had identical bodies and abilities; if Ning was intent on leaving, there was no way he could even catch up.

“He actually didn’t even fight.” The ninth guardian was completely puzzled. “And just by viewing the sword-art, he felt certain that he was no amtch for me. For him to make that claim means that he should’ve mastered more than half of that sword-art and discovered the truly formidable aspects to it. But despite all that, he shouldn’t have chosen to completely avoid fighting me…”

“Unless…there’s only one possibility! After viewing the sword-art, his heart was inspired and so he wanted to go back to calm himself down and meditate on his insights.” This was the ninth guardian’s guess.

He knew very well that given how formidable Ning’s protective divine ability was, even if Ning lost the fight he wouldn’t have been in danger of dying. This meant that the only reason Ning would refuse to fight would be if he simply didn’t want to! Why wouldn’t he want to fight? The only explanation was that he was worried that a battle would disrupt his insights!

The guardian’s guess was correct.

This set of sword-arts, the [Mourning] sword-art, had indeed resonated with Ning. In fact, after viewing it three times, Ning had learned most of it! His own heart had been filled with many new insights, and Ning was worried that if the battle became too frenzied, he would lose some of those insights. Thus, he instead decided to give up the fight.

While flying back, Ning continuously reflected on that sword-art.

This was the first set of sword-arts on the Path of Blades that had truly resonated with him. This was because the feelings and emotions the sword-art embodied were feelings that he himself had experienced. He knew those feelings very well, and so he almost instantly understood the nature and the truth of this sword-art! This was a set of sword-arts that was even more perfect than his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.

Kilostar Island. The end of the wooden bridge.

More than two hundred Empyrean Gods were standing there, craning their necks to stare at the bridge while waiting nervously.

“I wonder how many guardians Darknorth made it past.”

“If he’s able to go through nine of them in one try, or even all ten, that would be wonderful.”

“Please don’t let him be so impatient as to beat all ten. As soon as he beats nine, he needs to come back and take us all with him as he challenges the tenth. That’s the ideal.”

All the Empyrean Gods waited eagerly.

Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat’s chances of succeeding were too low. Right now, their only hope was Ji Ning. All of them chatted amongst themselves about how formidable Ji Ning was and how certain he was to succeed. Right now, their greatest fear was that Ji Ning would only be able to defeat five or six guardians. If that happened, it would be a long, long time before he would be able to successfully challenge the Path of Blades.

“Look!” Suddenly, Empyrean God Roughpeak pointed towards the distance. He had been seated by himself the entire time, quietly staring off into the distance. He had been alone on the snowy island for so long that he had gotten used to being by himself. He still, however, deeply desired to leave this place and so he had been staring unblinkingly towards the bridge. As soon as Ning’s figure had appeared off in the distance, he had been the first to notice.

“He’s coming.”

“It’s Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning’s coming back.”

All of them grew excited.

As the distant white-robed youth flew across the wooden bridge, all of the Empyrean Gods rose to their feet to welcome him.

Ning landed. Upon seeing the eager looks on the faces of the many Empyrean Gods, he felt an enormous, invisible pressure.

“How did it go?” Empyrean God Sin asked.

“I beat eight of the guardians. For now, I’m not a match for the ninth guardian,” Ning said. He knew very well that every single guardian was capable of perfectly executing their respective sword-arts. Since the ninth guardian was able to perfectly control [Mourning], at present Ning truly wasn’t a match for him.

“You beat eight of them?”

“Two more remain?”

All of the Empyrean Gods present were dazed.

To tell the truth, deep in their hearts, the Empyrean Gods all felt at least slightly disappointed. Beating eight meant that there were still two more to go! Those final two guardians were like a pair of tigers that blocked the road; Ji Ning would probably need quite a bit of time in order to overcome them.

Although they were slightly disappointed, they were still fairly calm. In fact, they all secretly let out sighs of relief. Thank goodness that Ning was more powerful than Greatdream and Ninedawn, at least. Ning’s utter domination of the twenty-plus Empyrean Gods of the Sealmess Gate had stirred all of their imaginations, causing them to fantasize a bit too much about his strength.

“You beat eight of them? Not bad, not bad. Greatdream and Ninedawn only defeated seven of them.”

“Only two left. Soon, you’ll be able to make it out.”

All of the Empyrean Gods said words of encouragement.

Ning naturally knew what all of the Empyrean Gods were hoping for. He immediately explained, “I need some time to meditate and train for a period of time. I’m going to head off now.” After speaking, he immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew away at high speed. He returned to his living region, set down his Immortal estate, then entered it and began to meditate.

He needed time. Time to meditate and go over his insights.

A large number of ideas began to swell like a mental tidalwave. The insights he had gained on the Path had truly excited him. He didn’t have any time at all to waste on chatting with those other Empyrean Gods; what he needed was to meditate and absorb all of these new ideas, nonstop!

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Chapter 29 – Understanding the Sword

Chapter 29 – Understanding the Sword

Empyrean God Sin and Empyrean God Sealthroat walked forward shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the beautiful Immortal estate located on the distant mountain peak.

“Darknorth was only able to defeat eight guardians this time, and the last two are even more powerful…I’m afraid that it will be many, many years before we’ll be able to leave.” Sealthroat let out a sigh. He had challenged the Path of Blades many times, and so he knew very well that although it seemed as though ‘only’ two were left, a person could easily end up spending a million or ten million years on each of the final two.

For example, Greatdream had defeated five guardians upon reaching Kilostar Island. Countless years had passed, but he was only able to defeat two more during that period of time! As for the final two guardians Ji Ning would be facing…they would be the most powerful guardians of all.

As for Sealthroat and Sin, they had been here for even longer periods of time, but the amount of improvement they were able to make was miniscule. They were only able to defeat one more guardian now compared to when they had first reached Kilostar Island.

“That’s not necessarily so.” Sin shook his head. “We’ve been on Kilostar Island for a long period of time and we’ve only improved a bit, but that’s because spent far too much time on the previous islands. Almost all of our potential was already squeezed out of us, and we’ve pretty much increased as much as we can in power. Of course we would find it very hard to improve any further! Darknorth, however, made it all the way here in one try after entering Undermoon Lake. He still has much potential left, and his potential was always much greater than ours to begin with. Don’t forget, Reverend Jueming managed to suddenly defeat the last three guardians all at once, thanks to a sudden insight.”

Sealthroat was briefly startled. He nodded. “Your words make sense. Our potential has been squeezed dry and we are almost at our limit, but Darknorth is different.”

“Honestly, I’ve been puzzled this entire time,” Sin said with a sigh. “He was able to fight his way to Kilostar Island in one try. This sort of talent and ability…in the Three Realms, he definitely would have been one of the most supreme of Empyrean Gods. In fact, the True Gods and Daofathers should view him as being very important, as he stands a very good chance of joining their ranks. Why is it that he was willing to risk Undermoon Lake?”

“Right.” Sealthroat sighed as well. “I was also puzzled.”

Ning’s talent had been acknowledged even as far back as the Conclave of Immortal Destiny by the likes of Lu Dongbin and Subhuti.

They were both able to tell that Ning was born with tremendous talent for the Dao of the Sword! And indeed, Ning didn’t disappoint Subhuti with his rapid rise in power. He had improved at a tremendously fast rate, and the fact that he had reached the fourth stage of heartforce was an unexpected surprise to Subhuti. By now, the top-tier major powers of the Nuwa Alliance viewed Ning in the exact same way as they had viewed Lu Dongbin during the Primordial Era.

However…the difference was that Lu Dongbin had the luxury of time to slowly build up a powerful foundation, then make his breakthrough to instantly become a top-tier Daofather.

Ji Ning?

In his case, the storm had already descended, and the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of both sides had already begun battling each other. The battles were becoming larger and larger, and once the final battles for karmic luck were concluded, the Endwar that would determine the destiny of the entire Three Realms would commence. The amount of time Ji Ning had was simply too little. This was one of the greatest regrets which Subhuti and the others had.

Despite their regrest, however, they also felt that there was a chance that Ji Ning would gain a sudden flash of insight during one of the many conflicts in this storm and perhaps break through to become a True God or Daofather! Thus, if Ning hadn’t trained in the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], Subhuti would not have permitted Ji Ning to enter Undermoon Lake.

However, thanks to the dangers of Undermoon Lake, Ning had gained more and more experience, growing and improving so rapidly that he was now just a step away from complete mastery of the [Five Treasures].

“No matter what the reason is for it, Darknorth’s entry into this place was a blessing for us.” Sin sighed with emotion as he looked at the distant Immortal estate. “We now have a chance of leaving.”

“Right. When Darknorth returned from the Path of Blades, he barely said anything to us. He immediately went into seclusion. As I see it…he probably gained quite a few insights,” Sealthroat said.

“Even I reaped great gains from my first attempt at the Path of Blades, to say nothing of Darknorth.”

“Right. Hopefully, he’ll be able to improve enough that he can complete the Path of Blades.”

“Wait and see.”

The two Empyrean Gods were both filled with hope.

They truly had no faith in their ability to overcome the Path of Blades. After countless years, they remained trapped at the midway point. They were still far from being able to escape.

……

“Brother Darknorth is in secluded meditation.”

“I hope he’ll be able to improve dramatically as a result.”

The Seven Dragon Gods stared at the distant Immortal estate as they chatted amongst themselves.

All the Empyrean Gods on Kilostar Island were focused on that Immortal estate and the person meditating within it. These Empyrean Gods had all given up long ago; even Sin and Sealthroat, who were qualified to attempt the Path of Blades, were far from being able to succeed.

All their hopes rested with Ning. They did not, however, dare to give Ning too much overt pressure…and so they simply hoped silently.

They dreamed of returning to the Three Realms and once more seeing those colorful, varied worlds.

They dreamed of seeing and reuniting with their loved ones.

Even though returning meant that they would be in danger of dying…

They felt no fear!

This was because there was something they feared even more than dying; living without hope. To these Empyrean Gods who had given up, life in Undermoon Lake was almost zombie-like; there was no hope at all.

……

The beautiful Immortal estate was quite spacious inside. Ning’s sword-training pavilion was many kilometers in circumference, and the pavilion was studded with many lustrious gems that gathered in the light and energy of Heaven and Earth, making it dazzling to behold.

The white-robed youth, Ji Ning, was wielding a sword in his hand and executing sword-arts with it.

Whooooosh!

His sword-light drifted forward gracefully in an ephemeral, unpredictable manner.

As a sword-art that had reached the speed of light, the sword-light created by the art was nothing more than after-images; the sword itself was in front of those blurs.

Although Ning had reached an astonishing level in his sword-arts, his power was extremely measured and reserved. Ning’s sword-light scraped past a gourd of wine placed on a nearby table, missing it only by a single inch, but the gourd didn’t move in the slightest.

Even an ordinary Houtian-level human who was skilled in the sword would knock the gourd flying at such a close distance with the wind generated by his sword. But the power of Ning’s sword was so reserved that it did not!

It must be understood that when Loose Immortals, Earth Immortals, and even Celestial Immortals struck out with their swords, the power of Heaven and Earth would be unleashed, causing a great disturbance. Even for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, being able to infuse their sword with tremendous destructive power while keeping it so reserved that it wouldn’t injure anything an inch beyond the target was incredibly rare!

Ji Ning, however, had succeeded! His sword-arts had clearly reached the ‘grandmaster’ level in the Three Realms.

Whooosh.

Sword-light howled forth, filling the area with an aura of melancholy and despair. Ning was currently using [Mourning].

As far as despair went, his greatest moment of despair was when Yu Wei had shattered the bottle of Shennong’s medicine, then shattered her own soul and committed suicide! This was because the moment before she had done this, Ning had been filled with joy, delight, and hope. However, disaster had suddenly struck. Yu Wei’s actions, followed by her suicide, had completely struck Ning dumb.

His parents had left. Yu Wei had then left as well. In that moment…Ning’s heart had indeed been filled with utter despair.

As far as sadness and pain went…

His saddest, most agonizing moment was when he had personally consigned Yu Wei into the Infinity Hells due to his decision. That was the most painful moment of Ning’s life.

Ning was a man of deep, powerful emotions. Thus, just by viewing the sword-art he was able to understand more than half of it. Upon actually using it and practicing with it, he gained many new insights and made nonstop breakthroughs, the profound secrets of the sword-arts continuously filling his mind.

Nine days after his attempt at the Path of Blades.

“Mourning…”

“Although it’s despair, it’s not utter despair,” Ning murmured to himself within the courtyard. His heartforce had reached the fourth stage, and so although he entered a mournful, saddened state whenever he executed this sword-art, he was able to immediately go back to normal upon halting in his training. There was no way he would allow a sword-art to control him and his emotions. But of course, someone whose mental will wasn’t strong enough might actually go mad if he trained too excessively in this technique.

“The aura of being mournful…it perfect this sword-art. Although in terms of profoundness, this sword-art actually is inferior to the [Five Treasures], the ‘mournful’ essence it contains seems to give it a spirit of its own that is linked to it. The sword-art and the essence aura are a perfect whole, as though they were meant to be together.” Ning quickly came to this evaluation.

The [Five Treasures] surpassed the Heavenly Daos themselves; in terms of technique, it was naturally far superior.

Although Ning was tremendously talented in the Dao of the Sword, the real reason why he was able to make his sword attack at the speed of light was because he had the mental strength to be willing to sacrifice all other insights for the [Five Treasures], making it the foundation of his techniques. Ning’s own sword-art, the [Brightmoon] sword-art, didn’t actually have a particularly powerful ‘essence’ or ‘aura’ about it, but it was still quite powerful; clearly, this was because it had surpassed the [Mourning] sword-art in many ways, in terms of skill and technique.

However, [Mourning] had its own strengths as well.

It had an essence, an intent of its own that was one with the actual techniques. In fact, the intent of the technique reinforced every single stance, giving it marvelous power. For example, it was clearly inferior to Ning’s sword-arts in terms of technique, and yet it too was capable of reaching the speed of light! In fact, in many areas it was superior!

As for intent…if the intent of this sword-art could be further strengthened, it was completely capable of gaining a true ‘soul’ of its own.

Ordinary humans had three types of energy within them; their ‘vital energy’, their ‘ki’, and their ‘soul’. For a sword-art to merely have an ‘intent’ wasn’t that impressive; when a sword-art gained a true ‘soul’, it would truly rise to a new level…the fifth level of swordforce. Upon reaching that level, even without actually drawing the sword, one would be able to cause major powers to feel despair in their hearts and perhaps even flee.

But of course, actually reaching the fifth stage of heartforce was far too difficult. In the entire Three Realms, the number of experts in either camp who had reached this level could be counted on one hand.

“The [Mourning] sword-art…I’ve mastered it,” Ning mused to himself. “If I were to challenge the Path of Blades again, I trust I would be able to defeat the ninth guardian. But the tenth? I’m probably not strong enough yet!”

“The best solution is to merge [Mourning] and [Brightmoon] together, giving my [Brightmoon] sword-art an intent of its own as well,” Ning mused to himself.

The [Brightmoon] sword-art was derived from the essence of the [Five Treasures]; even though it didn’t have a will or an intent of its own, it was still on the same level as [Mourning]. Once it truly gained an intent of its own, it would vault to a completely new level.

“By then, I’ll be able to effortlessly defeat the ninth guardian. As for the tenth guardian…I’ll have a chance as well.” Ning nodded slowly. “Then let me first perfect [Brightmoon].”

[Brightmoon] was something that Ning had created himself and had been constantly perfecting. Now that he had mastered [Mourning], he was going to infuse the intent and will of [Mourning] into [Brightmoon]. Although this was going to be difficult, it was something he would be able to do.

If [Brightmoon] was a technique which someone else had created, it would have been impossible for Ning to do this.

This was just another example of how creating one’s own sword-technique could make a huge difference.

“My heart is in mourning.”

“My will is in my sword.”

“Let them both become one.”

Ning completely understood the profound mysteries of [Mourning]. Using it as his blueprint, Ning began to infuse its intent into [Brightmoon]. Even though he encountered some problematic issues, given enough time he would be able to break through them.

After a year and three months in seclusion, Ji Ning finally walked out of his Immortal estate.

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Chapter 30 – Sword-Art Mastered

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 30 – Sword-Art Mastered

One year and three months. More than two hundred Empyrean Gods had been watching Ji Ning’s Immortal estate during this period of time, but Ning had remained in seclusion, not emerging. None of them dared to enter and disturb him, but every day there were many Empyrean Gods who were watching his estate. To these Empyrean Gods who had lost almost all hope, Ning was the only hope remaining.

“He came out.”

“Darknorth came out”

As soon as Ning emerged from his estate, other Empyrean Gods immediately noticed it.

Ning first waved his hand to collect his Immortal estate, then walked towards the group of Empyrean Gods and used his divine power to say mentally, “Fellow Empyrean Gods, there is something I would discuss with all of you.” Instantly, Empyrean God Sin, Empyrean God Sealthroat, and the others all emerged from their own Immortal estates. Soon, all of the Empyrean Gods were gathered here.

“My fellow Empyrean Gods, I gained certain insights during this meditation session and improved significantly,” Ning said.

Instantly, all of the two hundred-plus Empyrean Gods grew excited. In fact, some even began to softly mumble to themselves. To them…escaping this place was more important than life and death.

“I am completely confident of being able to defeat the ninth guardian. However…I can’t make the same claim when it comes to the tenth guardian,” Ning said. “However…I will definitely make it to the tenth guardian on this attempt through the Path of Blades. Are you all willing to join me on this trip?”

“Of course we are.”

“Willing, willing!”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, you truly are formidable. It’s only been a year, but you’ve improved so dramatically.”

“We’re all willing.”

The Empyrean Gods all hurriedly assented in unison with excitement.

Ning wasn’t surprised that all the other Empyrean Gods were going to accompany him. They had chosen to give up long ago, after all! But when Sin and Sealthroat actually spoke out as well, Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Sin, Sealthroat, are the two of you sure you want to follow me? You’ve already made it this far in Kilostar Island; you are only one step away from freedom.”

“That step is simply too long a step to take.” Sealthroat shook his head.

“Right. Both of us gave up long ago,” Sin said with a laugh. “We couldn’t even match up to Ninedawn and Greatdream, and it’s been a long, long time since we’ve improved at all. Based on our experiences during the Primordial Era, for us not to improve at all despite the passage of so many years means that we’ve probably reached our limit. There’s no way for us to improve any further. If we don’t go with you, we will probably be trapped here forever, unable to escape.”

Sealthroat nodded as well. “Darknorth, you said it yourself; nowadays, fewer and fewer people will be willing to enter Undermoon Lake, and the number that can reach Kilostar Island will be smaller still. If we don’t go with you, we probably won’t see another new Empyrean God here at Kilostar Island for the next trillion years.”

Ning nodded, understanding their feelings. “Alright. If that’s the case, then let’s have everyone follow me. I don’t dare to claim complete confidence, but I’ll definitely work hard.”

These Empyrean Gods hadn’t imagined that their opportunity would come so quickly. After initially experiencing excitement and nervousness, they quickly collected their Immortal estates and allowed Ning to collect them without fighting back.

In midair. Ning stared down at Kilostar Island. Previously, it had been extremely bustling and lively, but now it was completely silent. All the Empyrean Gods had departed.

“My [Brightmoon] has advanced by yet another level. This is the perfect time to find someone to test it against.” Ning transformed into a streak of light, flying far off towards the horizon. He soon arrived at the borders of Kilostar Island, then flew forward while following the floating wooden bridge.

He advanced forward, through the Path of Blades. He reached the place he retreated from last time, then stared at the ninth guardian who was seated in the lotus position.

“You came.” The golden-robed youth looked at Ning, his eyes filled with an aura of despair. “I’ve waited quite some time. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

After speaking, the golden-robed youth rose to his feet, a pair of swords appearing in his hands. He said calmly, “You already had a chance to view the sword-art last time. This time, let’s just fight.”

Ning also knew that each person was only given a single chance to view each sword-art. If you failed at the Path of Blades, you would be allowed to try again, but you would never be able to view the sword-art again.

“Alright.” A pair of twin swords appeared in Ning’s hands as well.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

The two quickly charged towards each other, and sword-light began to howl through the air. The golden-robed youth’s sword-arts were incredibly fast. Although they seemed to be filled with endless mourning and despair, they were also incredibly deadly and vicious. As for the two streaks of sword-light in Ning’s hands, they transformed into a pair of black holes that completely blocked out the golden-robed youth’s attacks. Every so often, Ning was even able to launch a counter-attack or two.

“Is defense the only thing you can do?” While attacking, the golden-robed youth barked at Ning.

“First break through my defense, then talk.” Ning was very calm.

To him, the ninth guardian was merely someone he was going to gain further experience from. Ning wanted to see what the differences were between his own mastered [Mourning] and [Mourning] as wielded by the ninth guardian.

This battle went on for a full hour.

The ninth guardian revealed all of his abilities for Ning to see, and as a result Ning was able to discover a few imperfections in his own mastery of [Mourning]. When cultivating in a type of sword-arts, every person would put their own distinctive twists on it, after all.

“Time to finish it.”

Ning’s sword-light suddenly changed as he went from defending to attacking.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sword-light howled forth with incredible, extraordinary speed, seeming to cover the skies with its might. The ninth guardian was so startled he immediately used [Three Heads, Six Arms]. Ning, however, did the same. An infinite amount of sword-light seemed to blast forward like an inexhaustible, seamless flow of water, carrying an aura and intent of mournfulness within it. In but a single breath’s worth of time, the ninth guardian was knocked flying backwards. He fell onto the ground, rolling over several times before managing to clamber back to his feet.

“You win.” The ninth guardian grinned. “Darknorth, the only one standing between you and escape is the final guardian, the tenth guardian. Be careful.” After speaking, he vanished into thin air.

Ning grinned as well. When he used full power, his opponent had only been able to just barely hold on for a breath’s worth of time. Ning was quite satisfied with this result.

Swoosh! He advanced deeper into the Path of Blades at incredible speed!

The sky was completely dark in this part of the path. The countless titanic spears, blades, and swords that were jutting out from the ice on each side of the wooden bridge were glowing with dim light. Without their light, it would probably be completely pitch-black here.

“How odd,” Ning mused to himself.

Soon, a black-robed youth appeared in the distance. He was seated in the lotus position, and when Ning arrived he opened his eyes to look towards Ning.

Those eyes…

They contained a deathly silence within them. They seemed to have no life within them at all, just utter despair, enough to freeze one’s heart.

“View the sword-art,” the black-robed youth said calmly.

Ning turned his head to look at the sword-art which had appeared on the nearby giant sword. As with before, the entire sword-art was displayed from start to finish, from simple to complex. As Ning watched, he began to feel stunned. Even after watching three times, Ning didn’t recover from his dazed state.

“Enough.” The black-robed youth rose to his feet, a pair of swords appearing in his hands.

Ning came back to his senses.

“What is this sword-art?” Ning immediately asked.

“The name of this sword-art is Seversoul!” The black-robed youth replied.

“Seversoul? Seversoul…? The name is just like the sword-art itself…it really does sever the soul.” Utter agony filled Ning’s heart when he just visualized that sword-art. He knew, however, that there was no way for him to truly master this sword-art, because the essence and intent of this sword-art was the ruination of the soul that would come when one experienced true, absolute, eternal despair.

Ning, however, had no way of forcing himself to feel this sort of absolute despair! The techniques of this sword-art were also far superior to that of the [Mourning] sword-art; in fact, it was no weaker than Ning’s own [Brightmoon] sword-art. It was only surpassed by the [Five Treasures] sword-art itself.”

“Come,” the black-robed youth said calmly.

Ning nodded, swords appearing in his hands as well.

Swish! Swish!

Their two figures became blurred as they started to fight.

Two mighty sword-arts. One was filled with the intent of mourning, its sword-light flowing out in a consecutive stream. It had been created by distilling the essence of [Five Treasures], [Mourning], and many other techniques.

The other was filled with the essence of a ruined soul and utter despair. Its profoundness and marvelousness came from the creator of Undermoon Lake, who had intended it. Although it was different from the [Five Treasures], it was also quite shocking and brilliant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two continuously battled, advancing and retreating.

They actually fought to a complete standstill. Both sword-arts had their own strengths; both could be described as having reached the apex of skill possible for the fourth stage of swordforce. If their swords moved any faster, they would have surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. If the intent of their swords was any deeper and stronger, they would have reached the Sword God stage.

“So the sword can actually be used in a way like this.” Ning had viewed this sword-art three times prior to this. Upon seeing how the tenth guardian actually wielded this sword-art, he instantly gained a much deeper understanding of some of its mysteries. New insights regarding the [Seversoul] sword-art began to fill his mind.

There was an intrinsic difference between Ning and the tenth guardian.

The tenth guardian was only capable of unleashing this single sword-art.

Ning, however, was capable of learning from the tenth guardian and fusing what he learned into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art. Although the learning process resulted in him occasionally being put at a disadvantage, Ning’s overall level of power was slowly, steadily beginning to rise. His sword-art became even more unpredictable and ephemeral, and it became faster and more powerful as well.

The battle continued for a day…two days…three days…

Neither side used any divine abilities. They were solely competing in sword-arts.

The insights Ning had gained into this sword-art were merging together nonstop in his mind, then inspiring him further. This sort of feeling, the feeling of of nonstop improvement, was quite intoxicating…but he had still essentially reached the limit possible for him at his current level of sword-arts. Any improvements he was now able to make would be minute. He would at most be able to put the tenth guardian at a disadvantage, but the tenth guardian would still be able to launch occasional counterattacks as well.

“Eh?”

Ning was suddenly stunned, and his sword-light turned sluggish for a moment.

Boom! A streak of sword-light crashed against his body, knocking him flying.

“Why did you stop?” The tenth guardian stood there, a frown on his face. Ning’s sword-art was clearly on a slightly higher level than his. If they continued to fight without Ning making any improvements at all, he would’ve permitted Ning to go into the fifth island. However, he could sense that Ning was still slowly improving, and his sword-arts were slowly transforming. Thus, he didn’t stop the fight and instead continued to battle against Ning.

This was because the purpose of Path of Blades was to temper and train Empyrean Gods. If Ji Ning was still improving, then of course the guardian wasn’t going to halt.

But Ning had suddenly come to a halt…this puzzled the tenth guardian.

Ning stood there atop the wooden bridge, a dazed look in his eyes. In his mind, however…there was a disturbance that felt like Pangu cleaving apart Heaven and Earth.

BOOM!!!!

The [Seversoul] sword-art worked in a way that was completely different from the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Ning’s [Brightmoon] was derived from the essence of the [Five Treasures], and so as Ning gained more and more insight into [Seversoul] and began to fuse it with the essence of the [Five Treasures] within [Brightmoon]…with a boom, he suddenly understood. He blew through the last bottleneck preventing him from mastering the [Five Treasures].

Prior to this, it was as though a thin curtain of mist had been preventing him from seeing the final parts of it clearly. But now…Ning broke straight through that final barrier.

Boom…..

“The [Five Treasures]…” Ning shut his eyes, the many profound mysteries within his mind rapidly beginning to join together. All of the insights he had gained into the [Five Treasures] were merging into a perfect whole at high speed.

He had mastered the entire [Five Treasures]!

There was no doubt about it, no questions left in his mind.

“So this…this is what it means to surpass the Heavenly Daos.” Ning opened his eyes to stare at the dark skies surrounding him. He lightly flicked out with a finger, and it seemed to create a ripple as though it had touched something.

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Chapter 31 – The Fifth Island

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 31 – The Fifth Island

In the past, Ji Ning always believed the Heavenly Daos to be the rules by which the Three Realms operated. To surpass the Heavenly Daos would therefore mean breaking through of the control and functioning of the Three Realms!

But now, upon making the actual breakthrough and fully comprehending the [Five Treasures], Ning truly understand what it really meant to surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos.

The Heavenly Daos…

They weren’t just the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms. They were the Heavenly Daos that existed in all places!

The Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld all had Heavenly Daos that belonged to them. Every single chaosworld had Heavenly Daos that differed from each other! Even within the endless primordial chaos itself, the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos was omnipresent, including places such as Undermoon Lake, Prisonworld 17, or the Void.

An invisible layer of laws permeated and covered the primordial chaos and everything within it.

These laws laid out many restrictions; for example, the fastest speed possible was the speed of light! Time could only go forward, not backwards! The so-called ‘temporal inveresion’ spell was nothing more than a way to view the past; it didn’t actually cause time itself to reverse! There were also restrictions on how powerful thunder, fire, wind, water, and other things could be.

These were laws. They were shackles that had been placed on every single creature and being. It was thanks to these shackles that the various chaosworlds could function in a stable, coherent manner. Without them, the likes of the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld may well have exploded and been destroyed long before colliding into each other.

But of course…

There were countless living creatures in the universe, and some of the most dazzling figures were capable of shattering these shackles and reaching a higher level.

Now…Ji Ning’s sword had broken through the shackle on speed.

“Invisible laws. Invisible shackles. They exist everywhere.” When Ning flicked out with his finger, it actually moved faster than the speed of light, resulting in an interaction with those invisible shackles of law. If he hadn’t truly broken through, he wouldn’t even be able to sense those shackles at all.

“Even the major powers are under the control of the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms. Only people like Mother Nuwa have truly ascended beyond the Heavenly Daos.” Ning sighed to himself.

Chaos Immortals and World Gods had all used raw, overwhelming power to burst through those shackles and ascend to a new level.

Ning was very far from that level for now; he was only able to transcend in terms of the speed of his sword.

“In terms of sword speed…I stand at the pinnacle of the entire Three Realms!” Ning mused to himself, “And in sword-arts…I should be ranked amongst the top three.”

Who was the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms?

This was a matter that had always been under contention.

Daofather Fuju had been publicly acknowledged by everyone in the Three Realms as the number one Sword Immortal, but he had died. Right now, many venerated Daofather Holyflame. Daofather Holyflame was actually just like Ning; he had only reached the fourth stage of swordforce, but had mastered the [Five Treasures]!

There were still a few other major powers in the Three Realms who had reached the fifth stage of swordforce. However, although fifth-stage swordforce was capable of unleashing astonishing power and dazzling skill, it was still constrained in speed by the Heavenly Daos to be merely as fast as the speed of light.

If the difference in speed was too great, all the technique in the world would be useless.

Daofather Holyflame clearly had ‘just’ fourth-stage swordforce, but there were still many experts who believed him to be the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms. It was simply that there were some who would still dispute it. As for the likes of incredibly powerful figures such as Swordfather Darklight of the Three Realms, they had reached the fifth level of swordforce, but none would say that he was the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms.

The essence of the sword lay in the word ‘speed’, after all.

Take the simplest possible motion; a direct stab. If it was launched faster than the speed of light, its power would become ridiculously great. Enemies would find it hard to even block such attack. Speed was where the true essence of the sword lay!

Lu Dongbin had felt that Ning was a born Sword Immortal, while Patriarch Subhuti viewed Ning with tremendous favor, but neither of the two would have ever imagined that in just three hundred short years, Ning’s sword-arts would rise to such a level.

The reason why Ning could advance so rapidly was primarily due to the tempering effect of being within Undermoon Lake. Ning’s other clones in the Three Realms were also working on the [Five Treasures], but they were incredibly far off from being able to master it! Clearly, this special environment and these life-and-death challenges brought results that were completely different from one quietly training on one’s own. In the Three Realms, there were no sword-arts like [Mourning] or [Seversoul] to help guide the way.

“If I can reach the fifth stage of swordforce, I would become the undisputed number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms.” Ning’s heart was filled with excitement, but he also knew that reaching the fifth stage of swordforce would probably not be much easier than reaching the fifth stage of heartforce.

The tenth guardian stared at Ji Ning making a gesture with his finger. His face couldn’t help but change as he murmured softly to himself, “…Surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos?”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Ning smiled as he walked over. He was in an excellent mood.

He had increased in power dramatically, which meant that he would be able to better steer his own destiny within this great storm. In addition, he would be bringing out more than two hundred Empyrean Gods with him, and Ning knew exactly how badly they all wanted to leave this place.

“Let’s see how powerful you’ve become.” With a swoosh, the tenth guardian transformed into a streak of light and attacked Ning.

Ning continued to amble forward slowly, seeming to feel that he had matters under perfect control. No matter how marvelous his foe’s sword-art was, its speed was still constrained by the Heavenly Daos. When the enemy’s streak of sword-light closed in on him, Ning simply reached out with his right sword, sending it forward in a viperous strike. This was an extremely simple but incredibly fast stab.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

The tenth guardian attempted to block, but Ning’s sword-light still managed to scrape past the defending sword and stab the tenth guardian’s forehead. The tenth guardian’s head was pushed backwards as he was knocked into the air before stabilizing himself and once more landing on the ground. A very complicated look was on the tenth guardian’s face, and he mumbled to himself, “He surpassed the limits. He has indeed surpassed the limits. A sword as fast as this…how are you supposed to block it? There’s no way to block it at all.”

Once one’s swordforce reached the fifth stage, one’s sword-arts would also become incredibly marvelous…and yet, compared to fourth-stage swordforce combined with the [Five Treasures], it was still inferior.

This was due to a single word: Speed!

This word was enough to cause countless experts to feel despair, enough to cause even major powers to be willing to abandon all their other Daos to train in the [Five Treasures].

“You’ve won.” The tenth guardian looked at Ning, a hint of anticipation in his dead eyes. “This sword-art…is it the [Five Treasures] of your Three Realms?”

“You’ve heard of the [Five Treasures] as well?” Ning was surprised.

“Those Empyrean Gods in Undermoon Lake often spoke of it.” The tenth guardian looked at Ning.

“Yes, it’s the [Five Treasures].” Ning nodded.

The tenth guardian had a very complicated look on his face. Sighing, he said, “I guard the Path of Blades and am a master of many sword-arts, spear-arts, saber-arts, and other combat arts. But not one of them has surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. To lose to you…I willingly acknowledge my defeat.”

“You are the guardian for all of the weapons?” Ning was surprised.

“Of course. The other nine guardians you encountered were actually all me as well.” The tenth guardian laughed. “However, each time I’ll only use a single type of sword-art. Enough…you’ve won. You can now go to the fifth island. Once you go there, you’ll be allowed to leave Undermoon Lake.”

“Go.” The tenth guardian smiled, then disappeared without a trace.

The surrounding darkness vanished as well, allowing the bright moon to once more appear in the skies.

As for Ning, he transformed into a streak of light and advanced forward.

After flying for roughly an hour, he was vaguely able to make out an enormous, beautiful island up ahead. This island was studded with miniature lakes that were dazzling to behold. Some of the lakes seemed to be formed from flames, some were filled with golden light, some were filled with red light, and some were jade-green.

All sorts of lights sparkled and flashed, making it truly look like an Immortal realm.

At the end of the wooden bridge stood a gray-robed, silver-haired man who was smiling at Ning.

“Eh?” Upon seeing the distant silver-haired man, Ning was quite puzzled. “He…doesn’t seem to be a living creature.”

“This is the final lake in Undermoon Lake, ‘Moonfall’.” The silver-haired man smiled as he looked at Ning. “Empyrean God Darknorth, you are the second Empyrean God to overcome the Path of Blades and reach this location…and your power is even greater than Jueming’s was. But enough of that…come, follow me. I’ll take you to the treasures. This will be the last place where you can choose a treasure.”

Ning nodded. He was allowed to choose three items from each of the final three islands.

Just a short while later, he finished making his choice.

Ning had already searched the memories of the prisoners of Pangaea, and he knew the value of the treasures before him. He knew which treasures the major powers of the Three Realms would drool over. Ning had no need of them, but he would be able to give them to allied major powers.

“Hand over the treasures of Empyrean Gods Sin and Sealthroat,” the silver-haired man said.

“Here, take.” Ning had already prepared them. He handed them over, then said in a puzzled manner, “Is there no need to hand over the treasures of Empyrean Gods Greatdream and Ninedawn?”

Greatdream had killed Ninedawn, while Ning himself had killed Greatdream. All the treasures were thus in his hands.

“The treasures of those you killed belong to you, of course.” The silver-haired man continued, “Follow me to a place. Afterwards, you’ll be able to leave Undermoon Lake.”

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Chapter 32 – Lifeblood Oath

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 32 – Lifeblood Oath

Ji Ning secretly sighed to himself. So the items of those he killed belonged to him? Clearly, Undermoon Lake didn’t forbid internecine warfare. Perhaps this sort of internal struggle was an even more grueling and cruel form of tempering for the survivors. In truth, the sea yaksha alone had slain thousands of Empyrean Gods. From this, one could tell that Undermoon Lake’s process of selection was innately brutal to begin with.

Ning followed the silver-haired man forward through the fifth island, Moonfall Island.

Moonfall Island emanated an aura of shockingly great age.

The other four islands were all quite ordinary, but Ning had the sense that this island was different. It seemed as though this island contained an inconceivable type of power within it that was easily capable of obliterating him.

“The major power who created Undermoon Lake…he went through tremendous effort to select and train Empyrean Gods. Why?” Ning mused to himself, “Does he merely want to temper us, then release us? Not very likely. There has to be an important reason behind it all. Mmm…let me go to the final area first. I’ll be able to leave afterwards, which means that this final area will make everything clear.”

Moments later, Ning and the silver-haired man winded their way through a mountain path, arriving at the mountain peak. At the very top of this peak was a palace that was built from seemingly ordinary-looking rocks.

“This is Moonfall Shrine.” The silver-haired man pointed towards the shrine before them. It looked ordinary; in fact, it looked rather old, ragged, and in bad shape. However, despite it’s seemingly poor condition, it was actually the heart of the entire Moonfall Island.

In front of the shrine, there was a stone tablet that shone with golden light.

“Move all of the Empyrean Gods you brought with you to this place,” the silver-haired man instructed.

“Alright.” Ning nodded, then willed it. Instantly, a large group of figures appeared around him. It was the two hundred-plus Empyrean Gods. Sin, Sealthroat, the Seven Dragon Gods, and the rest all stared curiously around them. Quite a few of them revealed looks of surprise and joy.

“This isn’t Kilostar Island.”

“This is a new island.”

“This has to be the fifth island. We are going to leave! We’ll be able to leave!”

The Empyrean Gods instantly grew excited. They also noticed Darknorth and the silver-haired man.

“Darknorth, this is the fifth island, right?” One of the Empyrean Gods called out to him, and the others all looked towards him as well.

Ning smiled and nodded. “This is the fifth island, Moonfall Island.”

“Hahaha!”

“Darknorth, in the future, if there’s anything you need, just say the word. Even if it costs me my life, I won’t shy back!”

“Darknorth, some thanks cannot be expressed with words.”

The Empyrean Gods were all quite excited. Some of them were actually crying. To them, it was as though Ning had given them a second life. All of them were Empyrean Gods…they would naturally remember the debts they owed others. If Ning asked them to help in the future and they refused, it would negatively impact their Dao-hearts. Only a small number of truly demonic, fiendish figures were capable of ignoring the debts they owed others without having their Dao-hearts being affected at all.

“Enough,” the silver-haired man said calmly.

Rumble…

A surge of invisible power swept out from the shrine. It was like an invisible palm that slapped down upon the bodies of the Empyrean Gods. All of them were flattened into the ground, with only Ning being unaffected.

Ning stared at this scene, stupefied. The Empyrean Gods were completely scared senseless as well. This was two terrifying! There were more than two hundred of them, but they had been smacked into the ground without being able to resist at all…and this was not simply a forceful strike of raw power.

If it was a forceful strike of raw power, the Empyrean Gods would have been drilled into the ground like nails, leaving behind deep holes. But instead, all of them were knocked prone, face-down into the ground. Clearly, in that moment, they were as weak as mortals against this sort of power.

“The major power who created Undermoon Lake truly was formidable. His abilities are beyond what I can imagine,” Ning mused to himself.

“The only reason you are able to leave is because you followed Darknorth,” the silver-haired man said calmly. “Now…each of you shall go one-by-one and place your palms atop the golden stone tablet.”

“Yes.” “Yes.” “Yes…”

Moments ago, the Empyrean Gods had all been extremely excited. But now, they were all incredibly nervous and cautious, not daring to act rashly for fear of losing their lives.

Empyrean God Sin was at the very front, and so he was the first to step forward and press his hand against the golden stone tablet. In the instant that he did so, his body completely froze and became unmoving. This sight caused all the Empyrean Gods to grow nervous. Ning, upon seeing this, became nervous as well…but worrying was of no use. The aura emitting from the shrine alone was enough to effortlessly murder him.

The silver-haired man gave Ning a glance. He could sense Ning’s worry, and so he said calmly, “Don’t worry. He’s fine.”

After roughly ten breaths worth of time, Sin finally regained consciousness. He retracted his palm, a look of disbelief flashing over his face as he stared at the golden stone tablet.

“Beat it!” The silver-haired man snapped.

Sin finally came back to his senses and hurriedly stepped back.

“Next!” The silver-haired man instructed.

Although the other Empyrean Gods were quite uneasy, they had no choice but to go forward. Sin said to them, “It’s fine. There’s no danger.” Only then did the Empyrean Gods feel slightly less nervous.

Every single Empyrean God went forward in turn, pressing their hands on the stone tablet. Each of them froze for ten seconds before regaining consciousness.

After a long period of time passed, all of the Empyrean Gods finished touching the golden stone tablet.

“Put them all away.” The silver-haired man looked towards Ning. Upon hearing his words, Sin and the others let out sighs of relief. Ning waved his hand, once more drawing the Empyrean Gods into his Immortal estate.

“Darknorth, you go as well. Place your hand atop the tablet,” the silver-haired man said.

Ning walked forward, gently resting his hand against the golden stone tablet.

BOOM!

A surge of invisible power filled his mind and his soul.

“I swear on my very life itself…” No longer under his control, Ning’s soul began to swear an oath on its own. However, Ning remained fully aware of what was happening.

This…this was a lifeblood oath!

Life oaths were very complicated. Not just anyone could simply speak a life oath. For example, in the Three Realms, there were no major powers who could force themselves to swear lifeblood oaths! Generally speaking, only Chaos Immortals and World Gods would perhaps be capable of voluntarily making themselves swear lifeblood oaths. Aside from them, all others would need to rely on special objects.

In the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, the largest clans and sects would generally have a treasure similar to this golden stone tablet, which would be used to force the sect disciples to involuntarily swear lifeblood oaths.

Once a lifeblood oath was sworn, there would be no way for the oath-swearer to divulge any secrets that he was sworn to secrecy about.

For example, when Ning tried to soulscour some of them, he discovered that some of their thought-bubbles with divine abilities and techniques within them were covered by countless complicated runes. There was simply no way to see inside those memories.

There was no way to violate a lifeblood oath whatsoever!

Ning came back to his senses, then stared at the golden stone tablet. He said softly, “No wonder Buddha Jueming only gave a bit of information regarding some of the treasures, but was completely silent regarding Undermoon Lake. So it was due to this lifeblood oath.”

Lifeblood oaths could be used to strictly restrict any and all information from being spread about something.

As for items like Iceheart Leafs, they weren’t unique to Undermoon Lake. They existed in the outside world as well, which was why it was permitted to discuss them.

“After you leave, you won’t be able to discuss most things pertaining to Undermoon Lake, but you will be permitted to recommend that more Empyrean Gods enter,” the silver-haired man said.

“More enter?” Ning secretly shook his head. Impossible. The chances of surviving Undermoon Lake were far too low. This sort of ‘training’ and ‘tempering’ was utterly terrifying, despite its effectiveness. Ning had indeed made it out alive, but he didn’t feel confident that others would be able to similarly survive it. In addition, the Three Realms were facing a major calamity; hundreds of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, when joined together into a formation, were as strong as a Daofather! At a time like this, there was no way he would possibly work to convince more Empyrean Gods to enter this place.

“Alright. Enter the shrine,” the silver-haired man said with a smile. “After you leave it, I’ll deliver you away from Undermoon Lake.”

“Alright.” Ning immediately walked towards it.

The shrine was ancient and tattered, but the aura of power it had emanated earlier had made Ning understand that it wasn’t as simple as it looked.

He stepped through the doorway.

“Eh?” Upon entering, Ning swept the place with his gaze. This shrine truly was too simple and plain. It was completely empty, with almost nothing inside it. There were stone pillars and stone walls, but no decorations or furnishings of any kind. The shrine was just a few hundred meters long, and he was able to see every corner of it clearly.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a blurry, deep azure light emerged from every part of the shrine. Every single rock emanated this aura of deep azure light, and the countless rays of light swirled around Ning’s body. Soon, a ‘cocoon’ of deep azure light had appeared within the shrine.

The silver-haired man watched quietly from outside. A hint of a smile appeared on his face as he murmured softly to himself, “I hope you won’t disappoint Master.”

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Chapter 33 – Transmission

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 33 – Transmission

Wrapped within that cocoon of deep azure light, Ji Ning shut his eyes. It was as though he was asleep. A surge of enormous power was currently being transmitted straight into his soul.

“I swear on my very life itself that within a thousand years of becoming an Elder God, I must leave the Three Realms. I must reach ‘Vastheaven Palace’ within a chaos cycle and inform a Welcomer of Vastheaven Palace that World God Northrest was slain by the three Wujiao Godbeasts.” Ning’s soul was no longer his control as he was forced to swear yet another lifeblood oath.

This caused Ning to feel quite irritated. This sort of sensation, of being forced to swear a lifeblood oath, was extremely unpleasant.

However, Ning instantly realized the real purpose behind the creation of Undermoon Lake.

“World God?” Ning mused to himself, “The creator of Undermoon Lake was actually a World God. However…he seems to have died.”

“This lifeblood oath isn’t that bad. I have to leave within a thousand years of becoming an Elder God, but I’m a long way off from that level. And I have a full chaos cycle to reach Vastheaven Palace. However…where exactly is it? What type of a place is it?” Ning was quite puzzled.

Although he had soulscoured the memories of the prisoners inside Prisonworld 17, he had never before heard of this ‘Vastheaven Palace’.

However, judging from the lifeblood oath he had just been forced to swear, World God Northrest had to be a member of Vastheaven Palace! He was killed but wanted to find someone to send a message, which meant that Vastheaven Palace should be powerful enough to take revenge for him! But of course, this was just logical reasoning; it was also possible that other stories were hidden within this seemingly-simple message.

Boom!

Just as Ning was pondering this question, an enormous amount of information began to flood into Ning’s soul. Ning was instantly sent into a half-dazed state, as the enormous flood of information made it almost impossible for him to think.

After six full hours, Ning finally regained his consciousness.

Whoosh.

Ning, still within that tattered-looking shrine, finally regained his freedom and mobility. The cocoon of azure light that had wrapped around him had completely vanished. Ning just stood there blankly, not moving at all.

“First the stick, then the carrot?” Ning muttered to himself.

He had first been forced to swear a lifeblood oath, but then he was given the real reward. Two major techniques now existed within Ning’s memories.

The first was a Fiendgod Body Refining technique, [Forlorn World God]. The second was a divine ability, [Nine Elements Annihilation]. Both were for Fiendgod Body Refiners to train in.

In truth, the creator of Undermoon Lake, World God Northrest, was himself a Fiendgod Body Refiner. This naturally meant that he was more skilled in this respect, which was why he only permitted Empyrean Gods to enter this place. Empyrean Gods were more moldable; those who had relied on other techniques to become True Gods would be much less moldable.

[Forlorn World God] was a technique that was unfathomably superior to the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. It was an extremely detailed and exquisite technique that could guide someone all the way to becoming a World God!

But of course, just having the technique wasn’t enough; actually training in it was the key part. For example, even though Ning had the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], he had yet to break through to become a True God. But no matter what…this unfathomably profound Fiendgod Body Refining technique pointed out with tremendous clarity a path for Ning to walk. There was simply an enormous difference between a profound technique and a simple technique.

For example, a person who perhaps only had a 1% chance of becoming a True God when training in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] might have a 10% chance of reaching that level when training in [Forlorn World God].

“Empyrean God. True God. Elder God. World God.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

As for the other technique, it was a divine ability. [Nine Elements Annihilation].

This was an extremely old divine ability that was spread throughout the primordial chaos. Meant for Fiendgods to train in, one could say that it’s power was quite ordinary…but one could also say that its power was almost limitless!

The reason for this was because the [Nine Elements Annihilation] involved a total of nine fundamental, basic elemental runes.

These elemental runes were very simple, like the basic strokes in Chinese characters; a dot, a slash, a vertical line, etc. But those simple strokes could came together to form the words for a word, the words could come together to form a language, and the language could give birth to profound idioms, poems, songs, and novels.

The same was true for this divine ability, the [Nine Elements Annihilation].

These nine elemental runes could join together in countless ways, forming increasingly complicated and increasingly perfect divine tattoos!

For example, the foundation of the [Starseizing Hand] was its Starseizing Tattoos. As for these nine elemental runes, their potential for growth was nearly limitless, as they could be joined together in increasingly complicated, profound, and powerful divine tattoos, which would be used to unleash divine power to execute divine abilities. Theoretically, the power of these runes could allow this divine ability to surpass the [Starseizing Hand] and countless other divine abilities.

However…

This ‘unlimited power’ was only in theory. For example, there were countless people throughout human history who had learned Chinese characters, but almost none had been able to master it to the level of writing poems and stories that would be passed down for generations. The same principle was true for the [Nine Elements Annihilation]; it was extremely widespread amongst the powerful experts of the primordial chaos, but very, very few were actually able to develop truly outstanding divine tattoos based on it.

“Although it will be hard, based on the description that I saw, quite a few World Gods within the primordial chaos use and train in this technique,” Ning mused to himself. “This is a key. A key that will allow me to potentially unlock and develop a truly dazzling divine ability.”

“World God Northrest truly went to great lengths.”

“The refining technique is one that can allow my power to rise nonstop, while the divine ability theoretically has no limit to its maximum combat power. The more talented one is, the more powerful this divine ability will become.” Ning was extremely moved.

The silver-haired man was still standing outside the shrine. When Ning walked outside, the silver-haired man said with a smile, “Now that you have these two techniques, you are different from all other living creatures within the Three Realms.”

“You knew?” Ning frowned.

“Master died, leaving all the matters within Moonfall Island to me to control. Of course I know,” the silver-haired man said with a smile.

“Then I ask you…where is Vastheaven Palace?” Ning asked.

“I don’t know.” The silver-haired man shook his head.

“You don’t know?” Ning was puzzled. “Was your master World God Northrest? Was he the creator of Undermoon Lake? Was he from Vastheaven Palace?”

The silver-haired man nodded. “My master was indeed World God Northrest, and he was one of the top-tier World Gods within the primordial chaos. If it hadn’t been due to the three Wujiao Godbeasts joining together and trapping him, how could he have died? He was caught in a trap and surrounded, nearly dying in body and soul. Just a tiny bit of his soul managed to escape, and he plunged through one dangerous region after another, eventually ending up here. Because of all the dangerous regions he went through as he fled, not even he himself knew the path back to his original sect. This the reason why Master gave you a full chaos cycle in the lifeblood oath for you to find Vastheaven Palace. That’s a tremendous amount of time! If you aren’t able to find it in a full chaos cycle and end up being devoured by your oath, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Ning was quite calm.”

A full chaos cycle!

That was the amount of time needed for an ordinary chaosworld to be born and then perish. It was countless trillions of years! He had only lived for a bit more than three hundred years. He felt no pressure at all.

“After Master reached this place, he used the remainder of his strength to build Undermoon Lake,” the silver-haired man said with a cold laugh. “You should be able to tell how powerful my master had been. Even the small amount of power he had left was equal to the amount of power an ordinary World God would have.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

He understood now. World God Northrest came from Vastheaven Palace and was a figure of incredible power…but disaster struck and he fled with heavy injuries. Unwilling to just die like that, he had created Undermoon Lake as a place to choose a suitable Empyrean God to send a message to his comrades for him.

“Fortunately, World God Northrest didn’t force me to swear an oath to take revenge for him,” Ning chuckled.

“You?” The silver-haired man shook his head and sneered, “The three Wujiao Godbeasts are three Godbeasts that were born from the primordial chaos with the power of Elder Gods. Later on, thanks to many fortuitous experiences over their countless years of roaming through the primordial chaos, they all reached the World God level. When they join together, they are a match for even my master; how could someone like you possibly kill them? All you need to do is deliver the message. When you do that, my master’s many friends will take revenge for him.”

Ning nodded. Fine, then. Northrest, the three Wujiao Godbeasts…all of that was very distant from him.

“Is Vastheaven Palace very powerful?” Ning asked curiously.

“It…should be.” The silver-haired man was slightly hesitant. “Master created me here, so I don’t know much of Vastheaven Palace. I trust that after you leave the Three Realms and begin to roam the endless primordial chaos, you should be able to find information regarding Vastheaven Palace.”

“Why is it that the written language of Undermoon Lake seems to be a bit different from the written language of the Three Realms?” Ning asked. He had noticed long ago that the language here was absolutely identical to the written language used by the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea.

“This is a common language that is used throughout the primordial chaos,” the silver-haired man explained.

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Chapter 34 – Departure? The Void Stairway

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 34 – Departure? The Void Stairway

Ji Ning instantly understood. The chaos-kingdom of Pangaea was far more powerful than the Three Realms, and it also had much closer connections to the rest of the primordial chaos. It made sense that the language it used was the same language as was used throughout the rest of the primordial chaos. The Three Realms, by contrast, was rather segregated from the rest of the primordial chaos. It was only when the odd alien Outsider invaded that the Three Realms would gain some more information about the greater primordial chaos.

“Eh, forget it. Vastheaven Palace, Pangaea, World God Northrest, three Wujiao Godbeasts…all of that is way beyond my level for now. Even the lifeblood oath I swore only takes effect once I become an Elder God; only then would I have to leave the Three Realms.” Ning was quite calm.

In the end, he had gained great benefits from Undermoon Lake. The Three Realms was in the midst of a war, and Ning’s home, along with those he cared about, were all in the Three Realms. Nothing else mattered.

Becoming an Elder God was no easy feat either. Even becoming a True God would be very difficult, to say nothing of becoming an Elder God; all of that would definitely take an extremely long period of time.

“It has been countless years. Only two people have acquired these two techniques from Undermoon Lake; one was Jueming, and the other is you.” The silver-haired man looked at Ning. “Don’t disappoint Master.”

“For my own sake as well, I wouldn’t dare,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Let’s go. I send you away from Undermoon Lake.”

The silver-haired man immediately led the way forward. Ning let out a sigh of relief; he was afraid that the already-deceased World God Northrest had other schemes for him as well. In truth, Northrest was far too powerful, and his abilities were simply unfathomable. Most likely, even Mother Nuwa, back when she had first broken through to become a World God, wouldn’t necessarily have been a match for him. Ning naturally was like an ant compared to the man, to be used or abused as needed. Fortunately, everything was going to be fine.

And of course, Mother Nuwa had entered the endless primordial chaos long ago to go adventuring; it was entirely possible that she had reached a shocking level of power.

Moonfall Island was truly beautiful. The silver-haired man led Ning through it until they arrived at the center of a grassy region. The center of the grassy region had a calm, curvy lake within it. The surface of the lake was so smooth that it looked like a giant piece of jade. When Ning and the silver-haired landed next to it, their landing caused a bit of wind which stirred up tiny, rippling waves on the surface of the lake, making it look even more mesmerizingly beautiful.

“Once you enter that little lake, you’ll leave Undermoon Lake,” the silver-haired man instructed.

“I’ll go in, then appear outside?” Ning pointed at the lake. When he had first arrived, he had smashed headfirst into the waters of Undermoon Lake, then appeared within the world of Undermoon Lake.

“Right. When you emerge, you’ll appear above the lake of water that is below the enormous moon.” The silver-haired man nodded, his gaze locked onto Ning. “Don’t forget your lifeblood oath.”

“Of course.” Ning chuckled and nodded.

Ning stared at the curved lake, his heart filled with joy. Finally…he was finally going to leave!

Senior apprentice-sister!

Wait for me!

Plop. Ning dove into beautiful pond, causing a series of ripples and waves to appear. Spacetime began to twist, teleporting Ning to a different place.

Ning could sense spacetime fluctuating around him as his surroundings became blurry to behold. Clearly, he was being transferred somewhere at high speed. Suddenly, the area around him began to tremble slightly, causing Ning to feel rather puzzled. When he had been transferred to Undermoon Lake, the process had been very smooth and had lasted only a moment.

When his surroundings began to stabilize, Ning took a look around and was able to clearly see the environment.

“Eh?” He was completely surrounded the Void. Within the Void, there were a series of steps that seemed to be endless, leading him deeper up.

“W-where is this?” Ning was completely dazed. According to what the silver-haired man had said, he should’ve been brought back in the air above the waters of Undermoon Lake…but there wasn’t even a drop of the waters of Undermoon Lake here. All it had was the infinite Void and those seemingly endless stairs.

“Where exactly am I? Where have I been transferred to?” Ning was extremely cautious. It was easy to die of carelessness in a strange and unfamiliar place. “That silver-haired man didn’t lie to me, and I wasn’t able to fight back against him in Undermoon Lake; if he wanted me dead, it would’ve been easy for him to kill me.”

“If this was his doing, he could’ve simply said that he was going to send me to a special place. I wouldn’t have been able to fight back at all; there’s no need to lie to me.”

“In other words…that silver-haired man probably didn’t expect this either.”

Ning felt his heart lurch. “Is it…that World God Northrest died so long ago that holes appeared in his transmission tunnel, causing an error in my teleportation?”

Nothing in the world was truly eternal. Even chaosworlds would eventually wither and day, and even World Gods like Northrest would one day be killed. It wasn’t impossible for his teleportation matrix to develop problems.

“Wasn’t I supposed to go back? Where have I been sent to?” Ning calmed himself down, then first used heartforce followed by coresense to investigate this place. But it was all useless!!

“Those stairs…? If there’s a set of stairs here, this should be a specific, constructed location.” Ning carefully advanced up the stairs, following them upwards.

Ning moved incredibly quickly. Just a short while later, he saw an enormous stone tablet levitating atop the stairs ahead of him. The stone tablet was covered with countless carvings of sword-stances, and the sword-intent surging forth from each and every carving caused Ning’s heart to turn cold. The power of this sword-intent surpassed even the [Five Treasures].

“What terrifying sword-intent…there’s no way a True God or Daofather could’ve devised this. Could it be a World God? Was it World God Northrest?” Ning mused to himself.

Ning was in no rush to advance. He slowed down to take a careful look at the nameless sword-art before him.

If he was to leave now, who knew if he would ever be allowed back? He had to seize the opportunity to carefully inspect this sword-art. He had mastered the [Five Treasures] and stood at the very peak of skill in the Three Realms, but the Dao contained within this sword-art was simply too unfathomably powerful. Most likely, it was something that only a Chaos Immortal or World God could develop.

Ning ended up spending more than three months pondering that stone tablet.

“Urgh.” Ning’s face turned ashen, blood beginning to leak down his nostrils. The blood inside his body was bubbling and roiling about.

“I can’t keep studying it. It’s beyond my limits.” Ning was secretly shocked. “I wonder who left behind this sword-art? Was it World God Northrest? No matter who it was, this sword-art…it definitely surpasses any other sword-art of the Three Realms.”

In truth, the only World God the Three Realms had ever seen was Mother Nuwa. She didn’t use the sword, and so there was naturally no way that the Three Realms would have any techniques that could compare to this one.

“Time to go.” Since he could no longer study it, Ning had no choice but to continue to advance upwards through the staircase through the Void. Just a short while later, he encountered yet another stone tablet. This one was also covered with sword-stances, and it also did not have a name to it. However, this sword-art was diametrically different from the previous one…and yet, its power wasn’t one whit weaker.

Ning spent another three months carefully analyzing this technique, resulting his understanding of the sword rising even more.

“As the saying goes, beyond the heavens there is always an even greater Heaven.”

“Anyone who believes the major powers of the Three Realms to be the most powerful figures in the universe is as narrow-sighted as a frog within a well. The endless primordial chaos has far, far too many powerful experts within it.” Ning’s skill in the sword was continuing to grow, but he was beginning to grow increasingly humble. He understood that there were many who were far more powerful than him. The creator of the sword-art on this tablet would be able to slay him with a single blow of the sword.

The staircase through the Void seemed endless.

Ning continued his path through the staircase. He actually encountered a total of ninety-eight stone tablets, each of which possessed a sword-art that was so unfathomable and profound that Ning’s horizons were continually broadened. His skill in the sword had skyrocketed, and Ning had even gained some insights and ideas about reaching the fifth stage of swordforce.

The fifth stage of swordforce, Sword God. Ning had previously believed that it represented an unfathomably dense essence of emotions, and so when one reached this level, one’s sword-art would gain a soul of its own. This was what Ning believed, and it was also what most of the major powers of the Three Realms believed.

But now, after viewing the ninety-eight profound sword-arts left behind by this alien major power, Ning understood the truth.

Having emotions in one’s sword-art was of secondary importance! For example, Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-art had originally possessed no emotional aura, but Ning had still been able to reach the fourth stage of swordforce, right?

The emotions simply aided the swordsman in becoming further intoxicated by the sword, allowing him to unleash even more of its potential.

In the end, what really mattered the most was understanding the sword and the essence of the sword! Of course strong emotions would be needed to upgrade one’s swordforce from being ‘sentient’ to having an actual ‘soul’, giving it extraordinary power, but that was just a side effect. What really mattered was truly understanding the sword; upgrading one’s understanding was the true foundation that needed to be laid.

“If I completely focused on infusing deep emotions into my sword-arts, I would’ve embarked on a wrong path.” Cold sweat covered Ning’s forehead. Only now, after seeing so many profound sword-arts, did he understand what his own path would be.

It was clear and obvious that the ninety-eight sword-arts atop the stone tablet had surpassed the fifth level of swordforce and reached an even higher and more unfathomable level.

“I’ve finally reached the end.”

After viewing the ninety-eighth stone tablet, Ning saw an end to the stairway through the Void. At the end of the stairway lay an ancient shrine that looked like it had been completely formed from green jade. The shrine emanated an invisible aura of power and majesty.

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Chapter 35 – The End of the Road for World God Northrest

Chapter 35 – The End of the Road for World God Northrest

Ji Ning understood that the person who left behind this sort of sword-arts was powerful enough to, even in death, have complete control over whether or not Ning would live or die here. Thus, Ning didn’t hesitate. He walked straight towards the jade shrine at the end of the stairways through the Void.

The jade shrine was as beautiful as beautiful could be.

The shrine’s walls were made out of jade, possessing a semi-translucent quality about them. Just drawing near the walls of the jade shrine made Ning feel peaceful at heart.

“This shrine…” Ning swept it with his gaze as he entered. The shrine had almost nothing inside it, much like the last one.

At the very center of the shrine, there hovered a prayer mat that glowed with golden light. Far in front of the prayer mat lay an ancient, unadorned stone dais that had a slender sword atop it. The sword was three feet long but just one inch wide. This sword was completely blood-red in color, and its surface was covered with many cracks and scars. The cracks and scars covered every inch of the surface of the sword, making it look as though the sword might completely shatter at any moment. In fact, there were three particularly noticeable chunks missing from the edge of the sword.

This was a sword that was so badly damaged, it looked as though it was going to fall apart at any moment. But the sword…the sword was the source of the aura that filled the entire shrine! When Ning looked at the sword, he felt even more pressure than he did when he gazed upon Human Emperor Fuxi. Without any question, this was a sword that vastly surpassed any Protocosmic spirit-treasure.

“A Chaos treasure?” Ning momentarily became quite excited, but moments later he frowned. “Even if it is a Chaos treasure, this sword…it’s been damaged to an incredible extent.”

After inspecting the place for a long time, Ning noticed that the prayer mat of golden light was woven from a Chaos ingredient known as winterheart grass. Similar types of prayer mats existed in the Three Realms, and those who sat upon it would feel their hearts becalmed. But in terms of price, it was merely comparable to a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. To someone like Ning, who had all the treasures of Prisonworld 17 in his hands, it really wasn’t that important.

“This is a mysterious place. It has a long staircase leading through the Void with a shrine at the end of it, and the shrine seems built to house and venerate a sword that’s almost been destroyed.” Ning was secretly puzzled.

The only items in the entire shrine were the prayer mat, the stone dais, and the divine sword. Neither the prayer mat nor the stone dais were particular special. Although the sword had an utterly shocking aura, it was unspeakably damaged.

As Ning was still pondering how to further investigate this shrine with care, a ripple of power suddenly flew out from the sword, landed on the ground, and transformed into a golden-armored female general. The golden armor was covered with many blood-colored patterns.

“Empyrean God Darknorth…Ji Ning?” The golden-armored warlady looked at Ning and spoke out.

“You are…?” Ning instantly understood. Since this person knew his name, she was probably the one who arranged for him to come here.

“I am the sword-spirit of ‘Violetjewel’, the divine sword that was wielded by World God Northrest.” The golden-armored warlady pointed at the tattered-looking sword. “That’s Violetjewel right there. You may address me as ‘sword-spirit’.”

This golden-armored woman was just the spirit of the treasure.

“You should have been sent out of Undermoon Lake, but I arranged for you to be led here instead,” the warlady said.

“What is this place?” Ning asked.

“This is still Undermoon Lake,” the golden-armored warlady said. “However, it is an independent, stand-alone dimension within Undermoon Lake. Before you entered, no one aside from myself knew that it existed.”

Ning was puzzled. “Are you saying that Reverend Jueming wasn’t allowed in here either?”

“Right. You are the only living person who has entered since Master died,” the warlady said.

“Then why did you bring me in here?” Ning was growing increasingly puzzled.

“Because of the [Five Treasures] sword-art,” the warlady said.

“The [Five Treasures]?” Ning was startled. “Are you keeping a constant watch on the actions of the Empyrean Gods within Undermoon Lake? Is that how you learned of the [Five Treasures]?”

The golden-armored warlady revealed a hint of a smile. This caused Ning to feel surprised and even a bit dazzled. Previously, she had maintained an emotionless look on her face. Her smile, however, was like the blooming of a flower.

“It was my master who created the [Five Treasures]. How could I not know of it?” The smile on the warlady’s face had a hint of pride to it.

“Your master created it?” Ning was stunned. Right. Although Daofather Fuju had claimed to others in the Three Realms that he was the one to create it, after soulscouring the memories of the prisoners of Prisonworld 17, Ning had come to understand how truly impressive it was for a sword-art to exceed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. It definitely wasn’t something that the likes of a Daofather such as Fuju would’ve been able to create. So…it had actually been created by World God Northrest.

However, Ning was puzzled as well. “Even prior to ‘developing’ the [Five Treasures], Daofather Fuju had been a top-tier Daofather. Given his power and ability, why would he need to lie? Did he lie to keep some sort of secret hidden?”

“Do you know Daofather Fuju?” Ning asked.

Daofather Fuju’s death was a mystery. Countless major powers in the Three Realms had wished to investigate it and understand it, but none had been able to discover anything.

“Daofather Fuju?” The golden-armored warlady blinked. She then looked at Ning with a smile on her face that wasn’t really a smile. “Of course. After you listen to what I say, you’ll understand.”

“Speak.” Ning nodded.

“Many years ago, the shattered remnants of my master’s soul borrowed from the power of Violetjewel in order to frantically flee, eventually arriving within your Three Realms. Upon reaching this place, he was no longer able to flee any further. Oh; back then, your ‘Three Realms’ didn’t exist. It was still the Primordial Era, so the world was the Pangu Chaosworld back then,” the warlady said.

“Fortunately, Master had fled so frantically that those three Wujiao Godbeasts were unable to catch up to him. Upon arriving, Master could sense that there was an Elder God in the Three Realms who could potentially pose a threat to him…the person you all refer to as Mother Nuwa! Although back then she was still just an Elder God, she had already reached the very peak of power possible for an Elder God. She was far more powerful than the other Elder Gods back during the Primordial Era, so powerful that even Master felt a faint sense of danger emanating from her. If they really were to go all-out in a fight…it’s hard to say if he would’ve been able to slay Nuwa, but he himself definitely would’ve died.”

Ning continued to listen with curiosity.

“If Master was at full power, he wouldn’t have worried about Nuwa at all, of course. But back then, he had only a tiny shred of his soul left! Although he would still be able to unleash the power of a World God, he wouldn’t be able to sustain it for long; naturally, he didn’t wish to take the risk of battling Nuwa. Thus, Master created this world, Undermoon Lake, within the vast primordial chaos.”

The golden-armored warlady continued, “Master’s injuries were simply too heavy. His divine body had completely crumbled apart, and he had only a shred of his soul left. Even his truesoul was beginning to break apart. The only thing Master could do was to slow the rate at which his truesoul was disintegrating, because once it completely broke apart he would’ve died.”

“Master established Undermoon Lake for the purpose of enticing Empyrean Gods to come to this place. He didn’t want to let those three Godbeasts continue to live carefree lives, to let them get away with what they had done. Thus, he wanted to arrange for someone to go deliver a message to Vastheaven Palace.”

“Master wasn’t going to be able to live long enough to deliver the message himself. He had to train someone else, an Empyrean God, to do it for him.”

“Eventually, one day…Daofather Fuju wandered into the primordial chaos and was discovered by my master. And so…my master took possession of his body,” the golden-armored warlady said.

Ning’s eyes widened as he stared at her.

“P-possessed?” He was completely stunned.

“Right.” The golden-armored warlady nodded. “After establishing Undermoon Lake, Master’s top priority was slowing the speed at which his truesoul decayed, or perhaps even stop and reverse the process! Master still wanted to live, after all, and so he came up with a method to use the physical body to nourish the truesoul. Upon wandering the primordial chaos, he just so happened to run into Daofather Fuju.”

“Master wouldn’t have been confident in his chances of possessing Nuwa, but Daofather Fuju…he was nothing more than an ordinary Daofather. Master was naturally able to possess him with ease.”

“After possessing him, Master entered the Pangu Chaosworld. He revealed just a bit of his power, showing off fifth-stage swordforce, resulting in his status within the Pangu Chaosworld skyrocketing,” the golden-armored warlady explained.

Ning felt a twinge of fear. So even back during the Primordial Era, Daofather Fuju had been possessed.

“Master had no desire to teach any students; all he cared about was coming up with a way that would halt the collapse of his truesoul, and perhaps even heal it. But…no matter what he tried, no matter how much effort he expended, he was unable to stop his truesoul from crumbling. He was only able to rely on the energy of his fleshly body to slow the rate of decay. Thus, during the war that destroyed the Primordial Era, Master didn’t really try all that hard, precisely because he didn’t want to get into a serious fight with tough experts like the Lord of All Things, the Lord of the Demonheart, or the Lord of All Fiends. If he did, he would’ve died even faster.”

Finally, Ning understood.

No wonder. No wonder Daofather Fuju was the undisputed number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms, but was quite ineffective in teaching disciples, producing not even a single powerful student. By contrast, the likes of Old Man Yuan and Daofather Subhuti had multiple students who became Daofathers. So it was all because World God Northrest had no real interest in teaching disciples at all.

“The Primordial Era ended. The Three Realms were born.” The golden-armored warlady continued. “Master finally gave up. He understood that there was no way he could prevent his truesoul from disintegrating. And so, prior to his death, he made the final arrangements.”

“He left behind five mountain peaks within Sword Immortal world, then left behind the complete [Five Treasures] within those mountain peaks, all for the sake of training a successor, someone who could go and send a message to Vastheaven Palace for him, or perhaps even take revenge on his behalf,” the golden-armored warlady said. “Master was a Fiendgod refiner, and so he required that his successor be a Fiendgod refiner as well. Back then, Master didn’t really care if his successor was an Empyrean God or a True God. Any Fiendgod refiner who mastered the [Five Treasures] would be allowed into the fifth mountain…and in truth, the so-called ‘legacy’ within the fifth mountain was actually a spatial corridor that led to this place.”

Ning was stunned. So the fifth mountain led to this place?

“Master understood that few-to-no Empyrean Gods who were truly, outstandingly talented would elect to enter Undermoon Lake, which was why he left behind the fifth mountain and allowed all of the geniuses of the Three Realms to view it,” the golden-armored warlady said. “Master wished to find a good successor.”

“He left behind the [Five Treasures] and the five mountains, then left. All by himself, he entered the primordial chaos to wait for death to come to him. His truesoul completed its disintegration…and Master died a true death.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh upon hearing this. An almighty World God had struggled and fled, unwilling to give up…but in the end, there had been nothing he could do. And so, he had left behind the [Five Treasures] and other things, then peacefully went to wait for death to descend.

“No wonder Daofather Fuju’s body was discovered in the primordial chaos, but it was impossible to tell how or why he had died.” Ning sighed. Such a powerful figure had died, just like that…and Fuju himself had been possessed during the Primordial Era.

This was indeed a mystery that was impossible for the Three Realms to solve.

If this golden-armored warlady hadn’t exposed it all, who would’ve found out? Not even Mother Nuwa would’ve been able to find out.

“And so, after countless years…you’ve arrived.” The golden-armored warlady looked at Ning.

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Chapter 36 – Heartseep Technique

Chapter 36 – Heartseep Technique

Ji Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart.

World God Northrest had spent a tremendous amount of effort to train a proper successor. The things he had prepared for this successor would no doubt be much better than the items he had left behind on Moonfall Island.

“The most precious item within all of Undermoon Lake is the item which master was able to rely upon in order to escape, despite being surrounded, assaulted, and wounded so badly that only a shred of his soul remained. It is this sword.” The golden-armored warlady pointed at the slender, terribly damaged blood-colored sword. Ning was stunned; this was it? This broken-looking sword?

Even if it was powerful in the past, it was completely ruined now.

“Don’t underestimate it. Don’t be deceived by its bad condition.” The golden-armored warlady sneered, “Not all the treasures in your Three Realms combined would be as valuable as this ‘badly damaged sword’ in front of you.”

Ning was shocked. Not even all the treasures in the Three Realms combined?

“The most precious thing within your Three Realms is its ‘Worldcore’, which will only manifest after the Three Realms is destroyed. But even the Worldcore is vastly inferior in value to this sword.” The golden-armored warlady let out a sigh. “Even in as bad condition as it currently is, it’s far beyond the limits of your imagination.”

“It’s that powerful?” Ning was shocked.

“Powerful?” The warlady laughed coldly, “World Gods and Chaos Immortals are all extremely powerful. They rove throughout the primordial chaos, and to them, it’s not that hard to use a technique to hasten the destruction of a chaosworld and then extract the Worldcore from it.”

Ning nodded.

World Gods and Chaos Immortals did indeed have the power to destroy a chaosworld. For example, the great war of the Primordial Era had been instigated by the Lord of All Things, but if it had been instigated by a World God, Mother Nuwa probably wouldn’t have even had the chance to make a breakthrough. Everyone would’ve been effortlessly dominated.

“Although Worldcores are valuable treasures to Chaos Immortals and World Gods, they can acquire them with a bit of effort. But this sword…” The golden-armored warlady let out a sigh. “It’s enough to drive any World God mad with lust, to the point of risking their own lives for it. Master had to rely on the help of many friends from Vastheaven Palace, combined with his own personal power, in order to acquire it. For the sake of this sword, Master paid an indescribable price…but it was all worth it, because in the end he acquired this sword, Violetjewel.”

“It’s that precious?” Ning stared at the badly damaged sword, extremely puzzled. “What is the story behind it? You should know, right?”

“I do not.” The golden-armored warlady shook her head, a bit embarassed. “When Violetjewel carried Master’s soul-sliver with it as it fled, it was so badly damaged that even its original sword-spirit was destroyed. Master ended up placing Violetjewel within Undermoon Lake. Once the sword was given some time to settle down and stabilize, it was able to slowly give birth to a new spirit – me.”

Ning now understood. It made sense. For example, the master of a treasure could wipe out its treasure-spirit and then allow a new treasure-spirit to be born.

“However, before he died, Master told me everything that he could. All the necessary arrangements were made.” The golden-armored warlady looked at Ning.

“Judging from what you are saying…this sword should be even more powerful than a Chaos treasure?” Ning asked.

“Powerful?” The golden-armored warlady said, “The so-called ‘Chaos treasures’ of your Three Realms are generally meant for Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. World Gods could fight barehanded and have power equivalent to that of a Chaos treasure! They use far more powerful weapons. As for this sword…even amongst the weapons used by World Gods and Chaos Immortals, it is one of the absolute best of weapons.”

Ning frowned. “If that’s the case, would I even be capable of binding it?”

After soulscouring the memories of the prisoners of Pangaea, Ning had learned a few things. In Pangaea, True Gods and True Immortals would generally use Protocosmic spirit-treasures, while Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals used Chaos treasures. As for the King of Pangaea, he supposedly used an even more terrifyingly powerful treasure which could only be bound by someone who was at least at the Elder God or Ancestral Immortal level of power.

As for this tattered-looking sword…if it was one of the absolute best weapons that could be used by World Gods and Chaos Immortals, how could a mere Empyrean God/True Immortal like Ning possibly bind it?

“Generally speaking, one has to have the power of a World God to bind this weapon.” The golden-armored woman warlady at Ning. “However, since Master left this sword for you, he must have done it for a reason. In Vastheaven Palace, there is a certain unique and secret binding technique that is recorded within the [Eight Directions Secret Scroll]. Although the records were casually written down, they described something that is extraordinarily marvelous. This technique is known as the ‘Heartseep’ technique. Through using the ‘Heartseep’ technique, you can bind this sword. Once you do, you’ll be able to retract its aura and change its appearance and coloration. Otherwise, everyone would be able to tell at a glance how extraordinary this weapon is.”

Ning nodded. The aura of this badly damaged sword was even more terrifying than Human Emperor Fuxi’s aura. Its power would indeed be obvious to anyone.

Ordinary Pure Yang treasures and Protocosmic spirit-treasures had auras of their own, but after they were bound the auras could be suppressed, making them seem like normal weapons.

“This is the Heartseep technique.” The golden-armored warlady waved her hand, causing a bamboo scroll to appear in midair before her.

“That’s like how we do it in the Three Realms.” Ning chuckled. The Pangaea chaos-kingdom and the Three Realms recorded down techniques in differing manners. After World God Northrest had possessed Daofather Fuju, he had chosen to do as they did in the Three Realms and recorded techniques down within bamboo scrolls.

Ning accepted it in a very practiced manner, then sent his coresense into it.

A large amount of information began to flood into his mind, but after just two breaths worth of time, it came to an end. This was a fairly simple technique, but despite its simplicity, it would be hard for even World Gods or Chaos Immortals to intentionally devise an idea like it. This technique…the principles behind it were quite interesting.

When royal figures died on Earth during the early ages, they would have jade treasures buried with them. Because those treasures would be covered in dirt and mud for hundreds or thousands of years, once they were excavated they would still be imprinted with some dirt or mud which would have seeped into the jade itself.

It wouldn’t be very practical to come up with an idea to actively ‘seep’ dirt and mud into jade on Earth unless one used extremely high-tech methods, akin to how World Gods and Chaos Immortals would be able to use their tremendous power to forcibly bind this sword. However, given a long enough period of time, just keeping jade in constant contact with mud would eventually cause the mud to ‘seep’ into the jade. This was the essence of the ‘Heartseep’ technique.

“What?” Ning’s face changed. “It needs that long? A thousand years?”

“Is a thousand years really that long?” The golden-armored warlady looked towards Ning, puzzled. “For you, an Empyrean God and a True Immortal, to spend a mere thousand years binding a priceless treasure like this and complain about how long it takes…? This technique is already quite formidable, and the amount of time is already quite short.”

Ning grew frantic. He didn’t have the time needed to slowly bind the treasure. The outside world had already descended into a state of calamity, and he had already spent more than a century in Undermoon Lake. He naturally wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“Can I take this sword back with me? Can I slowly bind it in the outside world?” Ning asked.

The golden-armored warlady shook her head. “You can try. If you can move it, go ahead.”

“Oh?” Puzzled, Ning immediately walked forward and reached out to grab the terribly damaged sword. Since the warlady wasn’t going to stop him, this shouldn’t prove dangerous.

Boom!

As soon as Ning’s palm descended upon the sword, an invisible burst of power blasted out, knocking Ning backwards and sending him flying away like a meteor.

A short while later, he flew back.

“B-but…” As Ning once more walked into the jade shrine, he stared in astonishment at the badly damaged sword. It clearly was in terrible shape, but it still possessed incredible power.

“If you take it out without binding it, once the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the Three Realms notice it you’ll be doomed.” The golden-armored warlady shook her head. “I heard you say in Undermoon Lake that the Three Realms has entered a state of war between two main allied camps? If you go out and end up losing that treasure to the major powers of the Seamless Gate, you’ll become a sinner in the eyes of all your allies.”

Ning understood what she was saying…but was he really going to be trapped here for a thousand years?

“You only have two clones here.” The golden-armored warlady chuckled. “Two absolutely identical clones. Techniques like these always produce more than just two, right? I imagine you have other clones in the outside world at all. If that’s really the case, then they should be able to deal with any emergent situations in the outside world.”

Indeed. In the outside world, Ning had sixteen ‘true bodies’ and eighteen Primaltwin bodies.

“In addition…this sword has suffered tremendous damage. Just look at it; it’s almost fallen apart. Only its energy source remains undamaged. It shouldn’t be that hard to bind it; five hundred years if you are fast, a thousand years if you are slow.” The golden-armored warlady explained, “Oh, right; aside from this treasure, Master has left behind other techniques for you to receive. He spent tremendous effort recording them all down for you.”

As she spoke, the warlady waved her hand. Instantly, one bamboo scroll after another began to materialize in the air, coming together to form a small mountain of scrolls!

“Some of his techniques could not be transmitted, due to the rules of Vastheaven Palace. The others, the ones that he was permitted to teach, are all here.” The golden-armored warlady pointed towards the small mountain of bamboo scrolls.

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Chapter 37 – The Sole True Body

Book 20, Jindan Upgrade, Chapter 37 – The Sole True Body

“One of your clones can focus on using the Heartseep technique to bind the sword while the other can begin the slow process of memorizing all these techniques,” the golden-armored warlady suggested.

Ji Ning nodded.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Two white-robed youths appeared within the jade shrine. One stood silently in front of the mountain of bamboo scrolls, with every single scroll emanating ripples of power. The other walked next to the divine sword, moved the prayer mat closer to it, then sat down by himself and quietly began to use the Heartseep technique.

Using the Heartseep technique was quite simple, but there was one prerequisite; one had to have a basic understanding of heartforce!

World God Northrest knew for certain that his chosen successor would have a basic understanding of heartforce. It must be understood that most of the True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms had reached the second or third stages of heartforce. Truly powerful experts all generally had at least some mastery of heartforce. Anyone capable of mastering the [Five Treasures] would definitely have some level of understanding of heartforce.

As noted by the instructions included with the Heartseep technique, heartforce was ephemeral and formless, yet extraordinarily marvelous and effective. The Heartseep technique, in and of itself, was a special way of applying heartforce.

Ning’s heartforce had reached the fourth level. Based on his calculations, he would need a thousand years to bind the sword. If his heartforce had only been on the first or second level, the amount of time needed would’ve been even greater.

Ning’s invisible heartforce seeped into the body of the Violetjewel sword. It entered the sword effortlessly.

Ning’s heartforce could sense that within Violetjewel, there was a blurry region that was filled with countless cracks and scars. Clearly, Violetjewel had been damaged tremendously. Within the blurry region, there was a complex, octahedral crystalline structure. Every single face of the octahedral crystal was covered with extremely complicated runes. The runes were far, far more complicated than anything Ning had ever encountered, even the nine chaos seals.

The surface of the octahedral crystal was covered with a layer of flowing light that prevented Ning’s heartforce from penetrating through it in the slightest, but he was still able to sense the unearthly power that lay hidden within it.

This was the power source of the Violetjewel sword! The most central core of it!

So long as the core remained intact, even if the entire physical sword was destroyed, it could one day be repaired.

“Time to begin.” Ning’s heartforce was like an invisible hand within the sword. It began to form countless dots of starlight, all of which joined together to form slender threads. The many starlight threads swirled around the octahedral crystal, beginning to ‘seep’ into it as instructed by the Heartseep technique.

Two white-robed youths; one seated atop a prayer mat next to the sword on the stone dais, the other standing in front of a mountain of bamboo scrolls.

Time flowed on nonstop. In the blink of an eye, four months passed.

“I’ve finally finished memorizing them all.” Ning was finally able to relax. Although these powerful techniques included the ninety-eight sword arts on the stone tablets, other powerful sword-arts, Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, Ki Refining techniques, special secret arts, and powerful divine abilities…Ning was still somewhat disappointed.

These techniques would all be of some use to him after he became very powerful, upon reaching the Elder God or even World God levels. But as for right now? They were of no use at all in improving his current level of power.

He had been hoping that he would be able to find a way to upgrade his second-tier Jindan into a first-tier Jindan. But alas…he had hoped in vain. There was nothing.

“Disappointed?” The golden-armored warlady smirked at him.

Ning couldn’t be bothered to lie to a treasure-spirit. He nodded. “A bit. The Three Realms are in a state of war right now, after all. If it wasn’t for the war, I wouldn’t be in a rush to increase my level of power, but the war has already arrived. None of these techniques can help me increase my power within a short period of time. I was hoping that I would be able to improve slightly.”

“I knew you’d be in a rush.” The golden-armored warlady revealed a slightly smug look on her face. “When I saw that look on your face when you heard how long it would take to bind the sword, I understood how frantic you were to leave. Thus…I played a little joke on you.”

“Joke?” Ning was stunned.

“The three most important techniques aren’t actually in any of those bamboo scrolls.” The golden-armored warlady pointed at the mountain of scrolls. Ning’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Look.” She pointed at the nearby walls of the jade shrine. Instantly, the semi-translucent walls became filled with various diagrams as countless images of sword-stances appeared. With the restrictive spell removed, the aura of the sword-intent within the stances came surging outwards, causing Ning to shudder uncontrollably.

“Master was a World God of the sword. This is the most powerful technique Master acquired while wandering the endless primordial chaos, a nameless sword-art that has utterly Heaven-shaking power. The reason why Master stood amongst the most top-tier of World Gods was primarily due to this sword-art,” the golden-armored warlady said. “Master wrote down everything he had memorized about the sword-art here.”

Ning nodded.

“The ninety-eight sword-arts on the stone tablets outside were developed by Master after he gained insight into this nameless sword-art. After you master them, you can begin to study the nameless sword-art,” the warlady said.

“Now look at this.” Another stone tablet suddenly appeared in her hands.

“This is the ‘talisman of welcome’ which Master personally forged.” The golden-armored warlady looked at Ning. “After you bind it, it will become part of you. Once you die, the talisman will shatter.”

“Talisman of welcome?” Ning was puzzled.

“Right. In the endless primordial chaos, there are countless Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, and even World Gods who would desperately desire to acquire this talisman,” the golden-armored warlady said. “According to what Master said, Vastheaven Palace is a very powerful organization within the primordial chaos, and all of the experts within it refer to each other as brothers; there’s no such thing as ‘masters’ or ‘disciples’ in their ranks. Any and every member of Vastheaven Palace is a brother to the others.”

“If you want to join Vastheaven Palace, you have to be welcomed in by a formal member of Vastheaven Palace.” The golden-armored warlady explained, “At Vastheaven Palace, there is a ‘Welcomer’ who is perennially responsible for welcoming new members. If any outsiders wish to join Vastheaven Palace, they have to pass the many tests which the Welcomer gives, at which point they will be welcomed into Vastheaven Palace.”

“Aside from this option!”

“Every formal member of Vastheaven Palace is permitted to welcome a single new member into their ranks.” The golden-armored warlady continued, “World God Northrest never welcomed any other experts into the palace. Before dying, he fashioned this ‘talisman of welcome’ for your sake, which means that so long as you can reach the Elder God or Ancestral Immortal level, you will be qualified to join Vastheaven Palace.”

Upon hearing this, Ning remained quite calm, although he did of course feel anticipation.

Vastheaven Palace?

World God Northrest had fled so frantically that even he himself didn’t know the way back. Thus, he had given Ning a full chaos cycle to locate Vastheaven Palace. Who knew where the place even was?

“The nameless sword-art and the talisman of welcome are both extremely important.” The golden-armored warlady looked at Ning. “There was a scroll within that pile over there that would be quite useful for you, but I intentionally took it out and kept it from you.”

“Ah?!” Ning was stunned.

“Take a look.” The golden-armored warlady waved her hand, producing yet another bamboo scroll. “I know that you have a body-duplicating technique, so I felt certain that this bamboo scroll would be very useful to you. Heh heh…I intentionally made sure it was the last one you see.”

Ning quickly accepted the scroll.

The nameless sword-art? He would have to master the other ninety-eight sword-arts before he could study in it. That was not going to happen for a long, long time.

The talisman of welcome from Vastheaven Palace? That wouldn’t matter for an even longer period of time.

“This is the last scroll.” Ning accepted it, then immediately sent his coresense into it. Instantly, information began to flood towards him as a technique entered his mind.

“The ‘One True Body’ technique?” Ning murmured to himself.

This was a secret art!

By relying on the [One True Body] technique, bodies that all came from the same source could be merged together into one! The underlying principle of this technique was based off the rationale that, since all bodies and clones stemmed from the same source, they all had hidden connections that could be used to join them together again. Thus, a major power in the primordial chaos ended up creating this technique, the [One True Body].

The third stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] allowed for its eighteen clones to merge into one, but also allowed it to split apart again.

As for the [One True Body] secret art, it could merge together separate clones to form a ‘true body’, but upon doing so it would no longer be able to split the clones apart again!

This, compared to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], was its weakness; its inability to split up again. However, [One True Body] could be used without any material requirements.

“It is useful to you, yes?” The golden-armored warlady laughed as she spoke. In the future, she would follow Ning, and so she naturally felt intrinsically friendly towards him.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

After his bodies merged together, they wouldn’t be able to split apart again…but why would he even need to split them apart? It was enough for his power to increase by an explosive amount!

When all his clones merged together, the power of his soul, his ki, his divine power, his heartforce, and his divine body would all skyrocket. If him possessing a second-tier Jindan made him a ‘half-step Daofather’, once he merged all of his clones together he would become equivalent to an actual Daofather.

This wasn’t just useful; this was exactly what he needed!

……

Life in this standalone dimension was quite peaceful. One of Ning’s bodies focused on binding the extraordinarily powerful sword, while the other spent every single day meditating on the sword-arts recorded on the ninety-eight stone tablets. The sword-arts recorded into the bamboo scrolls were nothing more than images, after all, whereas the sword-arts left behind on the stone tablets had been personally carved into them by World God Northrest. They were filled with his boundless intent, making it so that meditating on them was many tens of times easier.

One year passed. Ten years. A hundred years…

Ning’s sword-arts and cultivation base began to silently rise. For someone like Ning who had already mastered the [Five Treasures], it was entirely possible to meditate on these sword-arts left behind by a powerful World God. Although he wouldn’t be able to forcibly master all of them, he was still able to meditate on them one part at a time. And as time went on, he began to understand more and more.

This was one of the things which Ning would rely on in the future to truly roam the Three Realms with his sword-arts.

But as Ning lived this peaceful, fulfilling life of cultivation in this standalone region, the Three Realms…had been thrust into a state of complete and utter turmoil!

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Chapter 1 – The Mortal World

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 1 – The Mortal World

Within the Three Realms.

Clatter, clatter, clatter.

The sound of many hooves clattering against the ground could be heard as what looked like a river of black steel flooded through the streets. Atop the large, armor-clad horses were the black-armored knights, all of which had frozen looks in their eyes. They looked as though they had come back from Hell itself as they galloped towards the majestic, towering castle at the end of the path.

The guards at the top of the castle walls were rather drowsy, as things here had been peaceful for far, far too long. Given the influence and power of Tianxun Castle, how many would dare to cause trouble here?

“Eh?”

The vibrations caused by the distant, galloping horses caused one of the guards to take a closer look off towards the distance. Torches were lit all around the castle, and their light was dimly reflected off the armor of the distant knights.

“Not good.” The guard was shocked. Taking a closer look, he was able to tell that there had to be at least a few hundred knights headed their way. His face turned ashen with fear as he hurriedly picked up his warning horn, then lifted it up high and blew it loudly.

WUUUUUUUU!

The deep, echoing sounds of the horn instantly filled the entire castle. The castle instantly turned into a hubbub of commotion as many armored warriors charged out from within it. Quite a few women and children were awakened as well.

Soon, the walls became filled with many armored warriors, all of whom had solemn looks on their cases. Many of them were filled with savage, murderous auras as well; clearly, these were valiant figures that had seen and spilled blood before.

“Someone blew the warning horn? It’s been a long, long time since our Tianxun Castle has used the warning horn.” A gray-robed, white-bearded old man ascended the castle walls as well, escorted by a group of people.

There were three levels of alerts that could be used to notify Tianxun Castle of danger. Blowing the warning horn represented the highest level of danger!

“Someone would dare to cause trouble for our Tianxun Castle? Hmph.” Next to him was a muscular, scar-faced man. The scar-faced man sneered, “I want to see for myself who could be so audacious.”

“Come, fifth brother. Let’s take a look.”

A group of men escorted a white-bearded old man to the walls, all of them staring far off into the distance. And as they did…their faces all began to change. The mounted knights were now much closer than before, and the lead knights were actually beginning to slow down as they were within three hundred meters of the walls. The appearances of the knights could be seen clearly.

“Mystice Knights?” The white-bearded old man narrowed his eyes. He murmured to himself softly, “Why have Mystice Knights come here?”

“Mystice Knights.”

“There are a total of thirty thousand Mystice Knights, and around three thousand of them have come before us. Only one of their commanders has the authority to lead so many Mystice Knights.”

“Father, what should we do?”

The group of men all looked at the white-bearded old man, who was the lord of this castle. The white-bearded old man frowned, then said in a low voice, “Our Tianxun Castle might be capable of defeating these Mystice Knights if we fought with all our might, but our casualties would be utterly devastating…and we would anger the one who created the Mystice Knights as well…”

“Father, then we…?”

“Our only choice is to come up with a way to have them voluntarily depart.”

Rumble…

The thundering hoofsteps of the three thousand Mystice Knights continued to ring out as they began to gather in front of Castle Tianxun. Soon, all of the knights came to a halt. The leader was a commander dressed in silver armor who had a gray mask on his face. Only his eyes could be seen, and he stared at the white-bearded old man atop the walls as he said calmly, “Li Tianxun, the day of your death has come.”

“Death?” The faces of those atop the walls of Castle Tianxun became quite unsightly. These words showed that clearly, this matter wouldn’t be so easily resolved.

“Commander, might I ask how I offended you?” The white-bearded old man chuckled as he spoke, his voice echoing forth throughout the world. He was a peak Xiantian expert, after all. “My sworn brother’s eldest disciple, ‘Immortal Omniscient’, is currently residing within my castle. I would suggest that you leave this place. If you disturb Immortal Omniscient, you would have committed a grave sin.”

“Immortal Omniscient? I’m supposed to believe he is here, just because you say he is?” The silver-armored knight said coldly.

The white-bearded old man immediately called out, “Immortal Omniscient!”

“Uncle, you can just address me as Omniscient. There’s no need to address me as ‘Immortal’.” A streak of light flew out from the city walls. It was an azure-robed man standing atop a flying sword. A cold wind blew past, rustling his robes. He stood there atop the sword, drifting downwards from the skies, causing all the guards atop Castle Tianxun to grow excited.

“Mystice Knights.” The azure-robed man looked downwards, then said calmly, “There’s no real disputes between my Transheaven Palace and the Mystice Knights. I think it would be best if you leave.”

“He really is here…” the silver-armored knight growled softly.

“We of Castle Tianxun do not know how we offended the Mystice Knights. Later, I will definitely send people to deliver gifts in recompense.” The white-bearded old man still had that yielding, accommodating smile on his face. Neither the Mystice Knights nor Transheaven Palace were powers he could afford to offend!

“The general’s guess was right on.” The silver-armored commander continued in a low voice, “Elders, sorry to trouble you.”

“Leave that kid Omniscient to us.”

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Two streaks of light flew out from within the ranks of the Mystice Knights. It was two of the armored knights, but their auras suddenly exploded with power that was greater than even Immortal Omniscient’s.

“Elders of the Mystice Knights?” The azure-robed man had been flying forward calmly atop his sword, but his face now instantly changed. It was known that the Mystice Knights had a total of ten commanders, each of which could control three thousand knights…but the truth was a bit more complicated than that. Strictly speaking, these thirty thousand knights were nothing more than the disciples under the general’s tutelage, with the better ones being promoted to become lieutenants, captains, and commanders. Commanders were generally all at the peak Xiantian level.

If however they were able to break through again and reach the Zifu level, they would no longer be required to serve as military commanders. They would become elders.

Every single Elder was, in truth, a former commander. The most terrifying figures of the Mystice Knights were its elders and its general.

“Transheaven Palace and the Mystice Knights…” Immortal Omniscient began frantically. All of the Zifu Disciples of the Mystice Knights had risen to power through countless battles. Each and every one of them was terrifying.

“Transheaven Palace…no longer exists.” Both of the elders spoke out as they flew into the air.

“What?!” Immortal Omniscient’s face completely changed.

“Go join them in the tomb.” Accompanying these words was an attack, as one of the elders sent a a streak of curved, bloody moonlight towards Immortal Omniscient. The battle instantly erupted.

“KILL!” The silver-armored knight immediately gave the order.

Castle Tianxun had already begun to panic. Two Immortals had suddenly emerged from within the ranks of the Mystice Knights, causing them to lose all of their courage. With a single boom, the gates to the city were blasted open. Given the power of the Mystice Knights, breaking through the gate of a castle was far too easy.

The slaughter instantly began.

The Mystice Knights had made their preparations long ago. The terrified guards of Castle Tianxun were far from being a match for them.

“Ahhhh!” A terrified, fleeing woman was chopped to death by one blow of a saber.

“Mother! Mother!”

“I’m gonna kill you!”

One by one, the children were wiped out as well.

Castle Tianxun was transformed into a river of blood.

The white-bearded old man had gone completely berserk, but he was unable to prevent it from happening. He roared angrily, “Even if the Mystice Knights have launched a war against Transheaven Palace, why do act you against Castle Tianxun as well? How has Castle Tianxun we offended you?!”

“Why? Tianxun, you old wretch, do you still remember me?” The silver-armored commander, who had fought with the greatest degree of savagery, removed his mask, revealing a hideous, scar-covered face.

“Who are you?” The white-bearded old man didn’t recognize him.

“It seems you’ve done so many evil deeds that you’ve forgotten. Do you remember that night, thirty-nine years ago, when you left behind one wound after another on the face of a child?” The silver-armored knight’s voice was filled with boundless hate.

“Y-you…didn’t you die?!” The white-bearded man was a peak Xiantian expert, after all; he naturally was able to quickly remember the events of that night, and he couldn’t help but stare in disbelief.

“Yes…it would’ve been best for you if I died. But I did not. Although I lost a great deal of blood, I didn’t die. I’m not the type to die as easily as that. I crawled out, alive, from that pile of corpses…and when I woke up, I found that I was the only survivor out of our tribe of thirty thousand. I survived…but my life was a life worse than death. That day, I swore an oath that I would one day destroy Castle Tianxun. I changed my name to ‘Bloodfeud’. Step by solitary step, I advanced through life…and now, I’ve become the general’s personal disciple.”

“Y-you…” The white-bearded old man’s heart shook as he stared at this man, whose face covered with savage scars.

Given the power of the Mystice Knights, they could’ve easily fixed this commander’s face long ago. However, he had chosen not to; clearly, it was due to him nursing this hatred.

“You actually managed to tie yourself to Transheaven Palace…but alas for you, after seeing the hatred festering in my heart for so long, one day Master finally asked me about it, and so I told him. Master’s response was… “Then we might as well wipe out Transheaven Palace. The death of the Lord of Transheaven Palace will be a good thing for the world.” The silver-armored knight continued to fight, drawing closer and closer to the white-bearded old man.

“It’s over.”

The white-bearded old man had never imagined that he was actually the reason why the general of the Mystice Knights had attacked Transheaven Palace. All of the knights of the Mystice Knights were madmen, and the general who had founded their order was the number one madman in the world. No one dared to antagonize him. Even Transheaven Palace was doomed to be destroyed, now that they had.

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Chapter 2 – Understanding the Heart

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 2 – Understanding the Heart

In truth, the general of the Mystice Knights had taken a dislike towards Transheaven Palace for quite some time now. This was nothing more than a final, motivating spark. The general really did like his disciple, ‘Bloodfeud’; he felt that Bloodfeud was his perfect successor. Bloodfeud was extremely talented, but had been held back by his hatred. Once he gained his vengeance, Bloodfeud would probably undergo a true transformation, rising like a phoenix from a pile of ashes. Thus, he decided to wipe out Transheaven Palace at one blow.

“Flee! Flee!”

“So long as I survive, the Li clan will remain.” Upon seeing what was happening, the white-bearded old man no longer had any more will to fight, and he immediately began to flee.

The silver-armored knight, in turn, slaughtered through all who attempted to oppose him, doing his very best to close the range. Morale began to plummet as the guardians of Castle Tianxun saw their lord begin to flee, and they began to flee as well.

The Mystice Knights began an absolute massacre of the survivors. Bloodfeud’s order was for them to kill everyone here, leaving none behind.

“Li Tianxun, stop fighting.” An ancient voice rang out.

Two streaks of light flew towards him from far away. It was the two elders…and behind them, the corpse of Immortal Omniscient fell towards the ground.

“No…”

The white-bearded old man stared in despair at the two armored elders who had appeared in the air in front of him.

“Bloodfeud, he’s yours,” one of the elders said.

“Thank you, Elder.” The silver-armored knight walked forward, filled with a murderous aura.

But right at this moment…

The world suddenly turned silent.

All the cries, the shouts, the screams, the begs for mercy, the sobs…they all vanished. It was completely silent now.

The Mystice Knight stabbing a spear through the air…the mother crouched in front of her child, blocking sabers and swords for him…the silver-armored knight whose eyes were filled with hatred…the two calm elders in the air…all of them had looks of utter shock in their eyes.

They realized…that they were completely unable to move.

Not even the two elders in midair could move.

“Alas.” A single sigh echoed within the world.

A black-robed youth suddenly appeared in the distance. He had been watching from far away, but with a single step he arrived in the air above Castle Tianxun.

Everyone present was utterly terrified, including the silver-armored knight and the two elders. Not even their general, who was said to be one of the top three experts of the entire world, was even close to being as terrifying as this black-robed youth. The black-robed youth stood there, and it seemed as though he had become the center of this entire world. The world itself seemed to shudder at his presence, as though he could effortlessly destroy it.

“You are the leader of these knights?” The black-robed Ji Ning stood in front of the white-bearded old man and the silver-armored knight, aiming his question at the knight.

The knight suddenly realized that he could now speak. He nodded. “Yes.”

“You are the leader of this castle?” Ning looked at the white-bearded old man.

The white-bearded old man also realized that he could now speak. He immediately said, “Senior, the Mystice Knights destroyed my clan and murdered countless innocents. Please give me justice, senior!”

Ning looked towards the silver-armored knight.

“Him? He wants ‘justice’? The entirety of Castle Tianxun is a den of devils. All of them deserve to die.” The silver-armored knight’s eyes were filled with hatred.

Ning did a quick scan of their souls, quickly sorting through the memories of the silver-armored knight and the white-bearded old man. He now completely understood the istuation, as well as how much hatred this silver-armored knight held in his heart.

“Our Castle Tianxun has brought blessings to many. Although we are many in number, resulting in the occasional evildoer appearing, you can ask anyone you like about our reputation, senior.” The white-bearded old man knew that this youth before him was his only hope for survival, and tears began to flow out of his eyes. “Damn these Mystice Knights. They didn’t even spare the children.”

“There’s no need to discuss your ‘reputation’.” Ning glanced at the white-bearded old man, his gaze very calm. “Lord of Castle Tianxun…leader of Blackwind Cave.”

The white-bearded old man’s face turned ashen.

It was true. Blackwind Cave was indeed a secret identity of Castle Tianxun. Every single male child would be trained, and in fact from the age of three they would be taught to kill. However, as the saying goes, a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass around his hole. It was true that in the surrounding area, Castle Tianxun’s reputation was sterling, and they had indeed done many good deeds. But in other places…they were the utterly vile and rapacious Blackwind Cave! They had robbed and murdered countless people, which was why Castle Tianxun was so wealthy.

But very few knew this secret!

The only reason Bloodfeud knew the secret was because he was one of their victims. After he became a Mystice Knight, he learned the full truth.

“All of them deserve to die. All of them!” The silver-armored knight said demonically.

“But the children? The women who have never killed a single soul? Those infants who are still dressed in swaddling clothes?” Ning looked at him.

“Pull up grass by the roots.” The silver-armored knight looked at Ning. “I know you are strong, senior. I’ve already taken my revenge. If you wish to kill me or punish me, that’s entirely up to you. I only ask that the others not be implicated as a result. My brothers in the Mystice Knights only attacked because of my orders. I’ve been gripped by hatred for countless years. Now that I’ve taken revenge…I’m satisfied.” The silver-armored knight stood there resolutely.

Ning shook his head.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, and all of the children and women within Castle Tianxun were drawn into a minor world estate-treasure which Ning kept with him.

And then, Ning himself vanished as well.

“Eh?” Everyone sensed that they were now able to move again.

“He didn’t kill me?” The silver-armored knight was momentarily stunned, but he then fell to his knees and kowtowed solemnly thrice.

As for the white-bearded old man, he was completely and truly stunned.

The two elders had solemn looks on their faces. They hurriedly urged the silver-armored knight, “Bloodfeud, hurry up and deal with Li Tianxun. We need to leave this place right away and report today’s events to the general.”

“Right.” The silver-armored knight nodded, then immediately strode forward. The white-bearded old man closed his eyes.

Sssssshnk. The spear stabbed forward, piercing through the white-bearded old man’s chest, then retracted. As it did, blood spurted out. The white-bearded old man opened his eyes as his body fell powerlessly to the ground…and then he began to laugh wildly. Moments later…all signs of life fled his body.

A short while later, the three thousand Mystice Knights immediately departed from this place under cover of night.

“The amount of hatred and evil within the Three Realms is becoming greater and greater.”

As Ning wandered this world, he could sense that this entire world was filled with hatred and vileness.

His two clones had already spent more than 160 years in Undermoon Lake. He had no way of finding out or sensing what had happened within Undermoon Lake, but he was still certain that they were alive. If one died, the other clones would immediately sense it and be able to recreate it.

“Ji Ning, your priority is rescuing your wife. There’s no need for you to take part in the Realmwars for now.”

“Master, my wife is my wife, while the war is the war. These are two separate things.”

“Don’t worry. When the final war for karmic luck begins, we’ll have you take part. As for now? You won’t have much of an impact on the overall situation, so you should focus on your training. Fuxi, Suiren, and the others all view you with great favor. If you can become a True God or Daofather before the Endwar, you’ll be of true assistance.”

“Alright.”

These were the words which Subhuti had said to Ning. Ever since then, Ning had roamed the Three Realms. He had seen many things in his travels. The Realmwars came one after the other, and the Seamless Gate grew increasingly berserk in his actions. Due to their increasing degree of influence, even the mortals were greatly impacted as all sorts of murders, feuds, and unjust acts grew increasingly common.

Ning had seen too many things. He understood that in truth, all of this was due to the provocations of the Seamless Gate, which sought to transform the previous days of peace into utter chaos.

The Seamless Gate delighted in chaos. But in a time of chaos, the lives of ordinary mortals were like grass to be trampled upon!

In addition, Ning had always felt that children were innocent. When he had been young, he had tortured to death a member of the Riverside clan for the sake of avenging Spring Grass, but he had spared the man’s child, ‘Riverside Cai’. Want revenge? Grow powerful and come after me! But in the end, that child Cai had only been able to become a Zifu Disciple…and then, Cai had died in the chaos the Seamless Gate had created.

He saw mortals in all their states. He saw through their small kindnesses and their petty feuds, their grudges and their gratefulness.

Ning couldn’t explain how it made him feel, but he could sense that his heart was slowly transforming.

Night.

The black-robed Ning was seate din the lotus position atop a stone that was located at the very peak of an ordinary mountain. In front of him hovered a Goldstar Bead of the Heavens, divine runes flickering atop its surface. Ning spent most of his time analyzing the [Five Treasures] and the Nine Chaos Seals. By comparing and contrasting the two, he was able to gain insights faster. In order to study the Nine Chaos Seals, he had to view the goldstar beads.

“Eh?” Suddenly, Ning sensed something.

“Come out.”

Instantly, a dazzling horde of stars seemed to appear in the air as all 3600 goldstar beads emerged. As Ning sent out his Immortal energy, they began to glow brightly, the divine runes on their surface changing nonstop. Slowly, arcane auras began to manifest above each of the goldstar beads, causing them to emit auras of incredible profundity.

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Chapter 3 – The Mirrors of the Heavens

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 3 – The Mirrors of the Heavens

Every single goldstar bead’s aura was now far more powerful than before. It was as though they had evolved somehow…and the reason was because Ji Ning had just mastered the second of the Nine Chaos Seals.

“How truly extraordinary. It supports and reinforces the [Five Treasures] sword-art, and is even more profound.” After mastering the second chaos seal, Ning could immediately sense how extraordinary these nine seals truly were. “If I had those two clones each bring a goldstar bead into Undermoon Lake and meditate on it, it most likely would’ve been beneficial to them in their quest.”

It was extremely difficult to completely memorize all nine of the Nine Chaos Seals. Daoist Three Purities had spent an enormous amount of effort before succeeding, and had only been able to master seven of the seals. Prior to becoming a World God, Mother Nuwa had only been able to master eight of the seals. There was simply no way that Ning could possibly memorize these incredibly profound and arcane chaos seals; he had to keep the goldstar beads by his side in order to train in them. The reason why he hadn’t taken them into Undermoon Lake was because he was afraid that if he died in Undermoon Lake, the beads would be lost as well.

Even if just a single one of the 3600 beads was lost, the set would become incomplete and there would be no way for them to join together into the Thirty-Six Heavens in the future.

“Form.” The black-robed Ning willed it, and the 3600 dazzling goldstar beads in the skies joined together, rapidly merging into 360 stars, then further merging together into the Thirty-Six Heavens.

The Thirty-Six Heavens hoverered around Ning, and Ning could vaguely sense that were somehow connecting to the workings of fate. Ning had a sudden thought, and he immediately barked out, “Change!”

Whoosh. The thirty-six dazzling, glowing globes suddenly transformed into a series of ancient, unadorned mirrors. These mirrors all had bronze borders to them. Some of the mirrors had stellar diagrams of the sun and the moon on the bronze, while others had diagrams of fish, bugs, birds, and other beasts on them. Others were covered with flowers, trees, and other vegetation…

Every single mirror seemed quite extraordinary.

“Eh?” Ning stared carefully at these thirty-six levitating bronze mirrors with curiosity.

The Thirty-Six Heavens could transform into anything. The reason why they had changed into mirrors just now was because Ning had mastered the second chaos seal. Upon doing so, Ning felt a vague, hidden connection between them and the hidden workings of fate, and so he allowed them to go with the flow and transform as they pleased…and they became mirrors. Their current appearance was the most suitable appearance for unleashing the power of the Thirty-Six Heavens when using the second chaos seal.

Ning’s Immortal energy quickly filled into them.

“So that’s how it works. They are actually able to scry the workings of fate itself,” Ning murmured to himself. “They can view the past, the present…and the future?”

There weren’t many treasures in the Three Realms that were capable of touching upon the workings of fate, but there were a few. The number one such treasure was the Book of Life and Death!

The Book of Life and Death was one of the most mysterious, arcane treasures that existed. It recorded the details of the past and present lives of countless living creatures. It was capable of recording hundreds or even thousands of lives for each person. The Book of Life and Death was so powerful that just by scribbling a few extra markings onto it, a person who was destined to live just thirty years could instead be given a lifespan of three hundred years! It could be used to effortlessly change the workings of fate. It truly was an utterly heaven-defying treasure.

The Celestial Court, Buddhist Sangha, Daoist Path, and the Three Emperors all had treasures of their own that could also scry on the workings of fate. They had also developed various fate-scrying methods and techniques as well.

Another example was the ‘Stone of Three Lives’ that lay by the side of the River of Forgetfulness. The Stone of Three Lives was similarly capable of illuminating the past, present, and future lives of a person.

“My Thirty-Six Heavens are quite similar to the Stone of Three Lives.” Ning nodded slowly. “If that’s the case…then since it has the appearance of mirrors, let them be known as the Mirrors of the Heavens.”

There were only so many fate-scrying treasures in the Three Realms, and each of them had been created by major powers. This was the first time that an Empyrean God/True Immortal like Ji Ning had acquired a treasure like this. But of course, Ning hadn’t created it on his own; he didn’t have that ability! He had relied on on the power of the Nine Chaos Seals, unconsciously applying them through the goldstar beads and transforming them into the Mirrors of the Heavens.

“They are capable of scanning one’s past, present, and future. In addition, these thirty-six mirrors are shaped like rectangles; they are perfect for defense. In fact, it should even be possible to use them to reflect an enemy’s attacks.” Ning carefully expected his treasures, quickly coming to this conclusion regarding their uniqueness.

In the past, the goldstar beads had mainly been useful because of their extremely high quality, which was why Ning would use them in the form of various weapons. But now, thanks to the chaos seals, they had gained certain special powers as well.

After mastering the second chaos seal, Ning continued to wander the Three Realms as he had before. He watched many mortals, seeing their joys, their sorrows, their farewells, their reunions, their love, their hate, their debts, their grudges.

Love…love was the hardest one to truly fathom.

No expert, no matter how powerful, would be able to claim that he had truly transcended beyond this word, ‘love’. Ning couldn’t, despite having mastered the fourth stage of heartforce. Not even Houyi, who had mastered the fifth stage of heartforce, could make that claim.

One year passed after the other. Ning continued to wander the vast world…

……

Rumble…

A towering palace began to collapse as a flood of hatred, malevolence, and death energy soared into the heavens.

Two armies of Immortal cultivators were battling each other, as were many mortals.

“Is this what things have come to on the eve of apocalypse?” The midair Ning stared downwards at the slaughter proceeding. He shook his head. He couldn’t, wouldn’t get involved. This sight was incredibly common these days in the Three Realms.

“Who can compare to the Seamless Gate when it comes to manipulating the hearts of men?”

“Why must they cause the entire Three Realms to be thrown into such a state of turmoil?” Ning felt quite powerless. Not even the major powers could stop this, to say nothing of him.

Even if he stopped this particular battle, as soon as he left the war would continue. During his journey across the Three Realms, Ning had long ago discovered that all of these disputes were caused by the secret machinations of the Seamless Gate. Aside from the more mundane methods of incitement they used, the Seamless Gate had a particularly powerful tool at their disposal…the Heavenly Dao of Heart!

The Seamless Chaosworld had originally had six Heavenly Daos; the Heavenly Daos of Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Heart, and Primordial Chaos.

The Pangu Chaosworld had ten Heavenly Daos; the Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, Yang, Destruction, Life, and Primordial Chaos.

But then, the Primordial Era had come to an end. Under the guidance of Mother Nuwa, the Three Realms was founded using the Pangu Chaosworld and its Daos as the foundation. The Heaven Realm, for example, had originally been one of the largest surviving pieces of the Pangu chaosworld. The Pangu Chaosworld had served as the core, while the Seamless Chaosworld had been used as a support structure. Thus, the Heavenly Daos remained those of the Pangu Chaosworld!

As a result there was no way to, for example, truly understand and master the Heavenly Dao of Wind. The Three Realms had a flawed Heavenly Dao of Wind that had been divided up into many different Grand Daos.

The Heavenly Dao of Heart similarly no longer existed in the Three Realms.

However, of the major powers of the Seamless Chaosworld who had been alive during the old days, such as the Godking, quite a few had very high levels of attainment in the Heavenly Dao of Heart. They were tremendously skilled in manipulating the hearts of men. With but a single gaze, they could cause some ordinary Immortal cultivators to immediately fall to their knees and willingly become slaves.

The Seamless Gate had many who had gained insight into the Heavenly Dao of Heart early on, including many who were Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. They used their many clones to cause trouble throughout the Three Realms, and there was nothing the Nuwa Alliance could do about it.

Time continued to flow on.

Ten years. A hundred years. Three hundred years…

The situation in the Three Realms had become increasingly dire. The chaos in the mortal worlds was just a minor matter; the real problems lay in the repeated Realmwars between the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance! In the beginning, Realmwars only occurred every so often, but now they became increasingly frequent and increasingly deadly as both sides grew more and more berserk.

More and more Empyrean Gods and True Immortals began to perish!

Six hundred years had passed since the two clones had entered Undermoon Lake.

“Darknorth.”

“Darknorth.”

A shout could be heard echoing from far away.

Ning was seated atop a wooden boat, allowing it to be carried forward by the waters of the river.

Upon hearing the shout, Ning raised his to look. A long-haired man dressed in loose robes was walking through the air towards him from far away. He had been far away just a moment ago, but in the next instant he appeared before Ning’s wooden boat.

“Fellow Daoist Luoshui.” Ning pulled out a flask of wine.

“Why didn’t you let me know that you came to my place?” The long-haired man laughed as he sat down. This was True Immortal Luoshui, the controller of this world, the Luoshui major world. He was the disciple of Exalted Celestial Carefree, a True Immortal who had found his Dao during the Primordial Era.

“Quite a few old friends have died. I really wasn’t in the mood to pay a call.” Ning shook his head.

Upon hearing this, True Immortal Luoshui couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh as well. “True. Especially during the past three centuries. More and more Empyrean Gods and True Immortals have died. Quite a few old drinking buddies of mine have died.”

Ning nodded.

Based on what he knew, during the past six centuries since his two clones had entered Undermoon Lake, the Nuwa Alliance had lost more than 1300 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals! As for the Seamless Gate, they had lost more than 1000 as well! The number of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals who had died…that number was truly incalculable. Although the casualties in each Realmwar weren’t that great, there had been many, many Realmwars by now!

“Damn the Seamless Gate.” True Immortal Luoshui ground his teeth. “They are simply too despicable.”

“Indeed.” Ning’s face sank as well.

The Seamless Gate’s actions were simply contemptible! They actually acted in merciless fashion against the family members and loved ones of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms! For example, if they discovered that a True Immortal had a child, the Seamless Gate would send people to assassinate that child! An Empyrean God had just two disciples? The Seamless Gate would assassinate them!

“The Seamless Gate seeks to drive our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals mad. Ideally, they would go completely insane and die in their madness.” True Immortal Luoshui said furiously, “Even if they don’t go insane, they can be driven so berserk that they will seek out vengeance in such a way that leads to their deaths.”

Ning nodded.

For ordinary True Immortals and Empyrean Gods, to act alone in seeking vengeance upon the Seamless Gate was akin to committing suicide. Not everyone had as many powerful tools as Ning did! Only by staying calm and relying on the support of an army of other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals a Realmwar would they have a chance to win. The angrier they became, the easier it would be for them to die.

For the sake of achieving victory, the Seamless Gate would stoop to anything.

Fortunately, Ning had placed his daughter Brightmoon within the Crescent major world. Otherwise, she probably would’ve suffered an attack as well. These large-scale assassination programs the Seamless Gate had initiated had driven the Nuwa Alliance utterly furious. This was one of the reasons why the Realmwars were occurring nonstop now!

“All those years ago, when the Lord of All Fiends brought back the Seamless Gate survivors, we should’ve refused to let them in.” True Immortal Luoshui ground his teeth. “Better to have fought then than to have allowed them back into the Three Realms. Now, they rooted themselves firmly here, growing increasingly powerful…and they have used that power to deliver us a vicious bite.”

“But who could’ve imagined all this?” Ning shook his head.

“True. No one was ready for any of this. We actually addressed many of the Seamless Gate as ‘brother’, and some were lifelong friends of mine. We even traded many of our techniques for theirs, resulting in them learning quite a few of our powerful techniques.” True Immortal Luoshui shook his head. “We didn’t try to prevent them from recruiting apprentices from our ranks either, resulting in them gaining large numbers of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.”

“It’s far too late to be saying these things now. All we can do is prepare for the war. Let all of this be decided on the field of battle,” Ning said.

“Right. The wars are becoming increasingly larger in size and scope. In a hundred years, or perhaps a thousand years at most, the final war for karmic luck will most likely begin,” True Immortal Luoshui said.

Ning nodded.

The final war for karmic luck…

That would be one of the last great battles before the end. All the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would enter this final battle that would truly decide the war for karmic luck. In fact, if the losing side felt that things were going worse than expected, they might immediately launch the Endwar, resulting in all the major powers attacking! All the surviving major powers would then engage the final, true Endwar.

Indeed, from the looks of things, this final battle would happen anywhere from a hundred to a thousand years from now.

“Right. Yesterday, True Immortal Dongyan of your Grand Xia died in battle.” True Immortal Luoshui looked at Ning. “Did you hear this news?”

“True Immortal Dongyan?” Ning was stunned.

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Chapter 4 – Yellow Emperor Realm

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 4 – Yellow Emperor Realm

Ninelotus belonged to the Dongyan clan. During the Crimsonbright Realmwar, True Immortal Dongyan had battled alongside Ji Ning for many years. Ning and True Immortal Dongyan naturally became quite close friends, and in his heart, Ning felt tremendous admiration and respect for True Immortal Dongyan, due to the way Dongyan acted and treated others. Dongyan was a truly honorable, just, and upright man, a true hero. However, Ning could tell that True Immortal Dongyan always seemed to have a hidden sorrow buried within his heart. Most likely, something that happened long ago which True Immortal Dongyan had never been able to fully recover from.

“True Immortal Dongyan of your Grand Xia was quite an admirable person,” True Immortal Luoshui said with a sigh. “The Crimsonbright Realmwar ended long ago, which meant that the Seamless Gate had far fewer clashes against the Crimsonbright Realm. However, battles would still occasionally break out, and True Immortal Dongyan fought at the very front of almost every single battle. He was extraordinarily powerful, resulting in him killing two Empyrean Gods/True Immortals of the Seamless Gate. However, this time he was unlucky…he was surrounded by three Empyrean Gods/True Immortals of the Seamless Gate, and he wasn’t able to escape…”

Ning nodded slowly.

It had been six hundred years. Early on, when Ning had heard of the deaths of his friends, he felt pain in his heart. Later on, however, as more and more of them died, Ning was able to stay calm despite his grief. This was because he knew that this was a war that no one would be able to avoid or escape from…and in war, there would always be casualties.

To prevent people from dying, there was only one solution — Win the war!

“Ji Ning.” A voice suddenly rang out in Ning’s mind.

“Master.” Ning was startled.

“Come to Mount Innerheart right away.”

A spatial whirlpool suddenly appeared directly in front of the wooden boat. True Immortal Luoshui, still on the boat, was a bit puzzled upon seeing this. Ning immediately explained, “Master has summoned me. I need to leave immediately. Please pardon the abruptness, fellow Daoist Luoshui.”

“Hurry up and go, go! Don’t mind me,” True Immortal Dongshui said hurriedly. Ning was now powerful enough that his status as a disciple of Subhuti had long ago become widespread. The reason why Subhuti had forbidden Ning from telling others in the past was because he was concerned that when other experts knew of Ning’s true status, they would all do their best to curry favor with Ning and befriend him for the sake of giving Subhuti face. That would make it so that it would be very difficult for Ning to be truly tempered and tested while wandering the Three Realms.

This was Subhuti’s standard plan for training disciples. In the beginning, Subhuti would not permit them to say that he was their master, unless he gave explicit permission. Only when they became powerful experts of the Three Realms would they be allowed to make it public.

Whoosh. Ning immediately flew into the spatial whirlpool. He didn’t spend too much time traversing through it before arriving at the air above Mount Innerheart.

Ning immediately landed before the Daoist monastery.

“Uncle-master.” The two guards at the entrance, Clearwater and Whiteriver, both smiled as they welcomed Ning.

Ning nodded, then stepped into the Daoist monastery.

After entering, Ning was quite surprised to see that far off into the distance, not only was the white-haired Subhuti seated in the lotus position, more than ten of his disciples were seated below him as well. All of them were at the Empyrean God/True Immortal level. His third apprentice-brother, Goldcrow, had made a rare appearance. Silvermoon and Lord Jiang, who he was quite familiar with, were here as well. Other members included senior apprentice-sister Empyrean Phoenix and senior apprentice-brother Fiveking, who he had met just a few times.

Ning hurriedly walked over, choosing a place to sit down.

“Ji Ning, have Redsnow come out,” Subhuti instructed.

“Yes, Master.” Ning nodded, immediately notifying Empyrean God Redsnow, who was in the Starseizer world, to come out. A short while later, Redsnow appeared as well.

“Everyone is here now.” Subhuti looked downwards at his disciples, then said calmly, “You should all know that ever since the assassinations the Seamless Gate carried out three centuries ago, battles have continuously raged between us and the Seamless Gate.”

Everyone present nodded.

Everyone, Ning included, was enraged at the mension. Even mortals knew the principle of not getting family members involved, but the Seamless Gate had shown no scruples at all; they had launched a massive, Three Realms-wide assassination program! The Seamless Gate knew very well that this sort of assassination program could only be carried out once; after the first time, the Nuwa Alliance would be on their guard and give them no further chances. Thus, they made the program en enormous one. Although the Nuwa Alliance had many experts, they had been caught off-guard and so many had suffered catastrophic losses.

The family members, friends, and beloved disciples of many experts of the Nuwa Alliance had died miserable deaths.

In fact, twelve Pure Yang True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance had been so enraged by what had happened that they had gone completely insane, resulting in them losing control of their power and thus losing their lives as well.

Every single member of the Nuwa Alliance had been enraged by this. The Three Emperors of Mankind and the two leaders of Daoism and Buddhism knew that there was no way they could suppress the rage of their followers…and so war had erupted on a massive scale. The number of wars that had occurred during these three centuries was more than ten times as many as the wars that had occurred in the previous three centuries! Almost all of the Realms had experienced Realmwars by now.

“The vast majority of the Realms in the Three Realms have experienced Realmwars now. Only a very small number of truly top-tier Realms have been able to just barely keep the peace,” Subhuti said. “And now, the place where the next Realmwar shall erupt…is the Yellow Emperor Realm!”

“Yellow Emperor Realm?”

“The Yellow Emperor of the Five Emperors?”

All of them were shocked.

The Realms of most True Gods and Daofathers were fairly ordinary in strength, with a realm that possessed a hundred Empyrean Gods/True Immortals to be a fairly powerful one. Ning and the others all understood that the scale of the wars was increasing in size, and they weren’t surprised that this Realmwar would be occurring within a Realm belonging to someone on the level of the Five Emperors. They had expected a war like this to occur for quite some time now.

But…they didn’t expect that it would be the Realm of the Yellow Emperor!

The Yellow Emperor was someone who held an extremely exalted status in human history. The human race was first unified by the Three Emperors: Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong. The next to rise to power was the first of the Five Emperors, Xuan Yuan the Yellow Emperor! In fact, long ago Shennong, then known as the Flame Emperor, had battled against the Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan for an extremely long period of time. Although Shennong was very powerful, he primarily focused his efforts on alchemy rather than leading his armies. Thus…in the end, he was actually defeated! It was the Yellow Emperor who won!

Even in the Primordial Era, the human race would thus refer to themselves as the ‘scions of the flame and the yellow.’ 1

It can be said that in terms of his influence on the human race, the Yellow Emperor was supreme amongst the Five Emperors. Although in the end, it was Yu the Great who established and solidified the imperial clan of humanity which had persisted to this very day, in terms of personal charisma and military prowess, Yu the Great was actually inferior to the Yellow Emperor.

“Yu the Great is the leader of the Primordial Imperial Clan. When the Primordial Imperial Clan gives the order, all the clans of the human race shall join together under their banner. They will definitely be saved for the final war for karmic luck.” Empyrean Phoenix was puzzled. “But of the four remaining monarchs, Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, Zhuanxu, and the Yellow Emperor…Xuan Yuan the Yellow Emperor is definitely the most powerful of the four. More than a thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals are by his side at all times. His Realm is considerably more powerful than the Realms of Emperor Zhuanxu, Emperor Yao, and Emperor Shun. Why has war broken out in his Realm instead? 2

Ning and the others all knew that the likes of Emperor Zhuanxu only had six hundred or so Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under their command. Emperors Yao and Shun had perhaps a bit more, but they didn’t have more than a thousand. Xuan Yuan, however, had roughly 1500 of them under his command.

It must be understood that the Five Emperors ‘merely’ had the power of top-tier True Gods/Daofathers. If one truly wished to become as powerful as possible, one would generally choose to become a follower of the Three Sovereigns instead! Suiren’s Kindlefire world, for example, had more than ten thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within it. There were many secret whispers that Suiren was actually the most powerful individual in the Three Realms, and so he naturally had many followers.

The Primordial Imperial Clan was the master of the entire human race. Many Daofathers were at its command, to say nothing of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

For Xuan Yuan, who had long ago given up his title as leader of the human race, to still command more than 1500 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals was actually quite incredible.

Subhuti gazed downwards. He said calmly, “Since we are going to fight, then let us have a good one. This Realmwar is going to be different from the previous ones. In all the previous Realmwars combined, we lost around a thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. But this time…Xuan Yuan has more than 1500 under his command. Factoring in all the reinforcements he will receive, he will have more than 2000 under his command. ‘Ordinary’ casualties would be in the hundreds, but if the fighting becomes especially fierce, it’s entirely possible that more than a thousand will be killed. In other words…this Realmwar will see as many casualties as all the other Realmwars thus far combined!”

Everyone below him could feel the silent pressure.

Their side would have more than two thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals? The enemies would most likely have a similar number of experts.

A battle like this…even most Daofathers would run the risk of being surrounded and annihilated.

“Which of you would like to join?” Subhuti looked at Ning and the others. “If you wish to join, you will of course be allowed to command a formation comprised of other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

Each and every one of Subhuti’s disciples was extraordinary. Even the latecomers like Ji Ning and Redsnow were quite impressive.

“Me.” A voice rang out.

Ning and the others all turned to look.

The speaker was Empyrean God Silvermoon. Silvermoon no longer looked as relaxed and carefree as he had in the past. His body was covered with a baleful aura that had come from centuries of battle and slaughter. Long ago, Silvermoon had expressed a willingness to accompany Ning in battle, but for the sake of rescuing his wife, Ning had temporarily put aside his plans to enter the war. Silvermoon was unwilling to wait, and so he had gone out by himself to take part in quite a few wars.

1. This comes from actual Chinese quasi-mythological history. The Flame Emperor ‘Yandi’ (who many believe to be Shennong or a descendant of Shennong) was defeated by the Yellow Emperor ‘Huangdi’, who merged their two tribes together into the ‘Yanhuang’ (flame-yellow) tribe that is viewed as the tribe that eventually became the Chinese people.

2. Yao and Shun are two famous Chinese Emperors who were legendary for their benevolence. The ‘Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors’ are part of actual Chinese quasi-history.

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Chapter 5 – Daomother Devilhand

Chapter 5 – Daomother Devilhand

Of the disciples under Subhuti’s tutelage, Silvermoon’s battles against the Seamless Gate were the most savage of them all.

At first, Ji Ning didn’t understand why. Later, he learned that Silvermoon had once had a Dao-companion. However, during the war that destroyed the Primordial Era, his Dao-companion had died…and it was as though Silvermoon had lost his soul.

Later on, the Lord of All Fiends had brought back the survivors of the Seamless Gate to the Three Realms, and the Nuwa Alliance had been unable to do anything to him. Thus, the two sides had made peace, resulting in the Seamless Gate being allowed back into the Three Realms.

But Silvermoon had attacked. He started a wild massacre of the Seamless Gate’s forces. He was even willing to kill Celestial Immortals! As for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals? Nearly twenty of them died by Silvermoon’s hands! He had fought in such a berserk fashion that he had accidentally killed many weak cultivators as well. He had fought like a man possessed, causing the True Gods and the Daofathers of the Seamless Gate to be both shocked and enraged.

Back then, the Seamless Gate wanted to live a peaceful life in the Three Realms. Because Silvermoon was the disciple of Subhuti, they didn’t kill him; instead, they negotiated this matter with the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance. In the end, Silvermoon’s master had forcibly ordered him back to Mount Innerheart, where he was given the low-key position of overseeing the Divinities Palace.

He had slaughtered and murdered so many that he, too, suffered the effects of karmic sinflames. Back at Mount Innerheart, he talked and laughed as though nothing had ever happened, and his life within the Divinities Palace was a relaxed, leisurely one. No one knew, however, that the hatred and fury in his heart had never subsided. When the storm had descended, he had been willing to follow Ji Ning and kill alongside him, as he could see that Ji Ning was as berserk as he was. However, who would’ve thought that Ji Ning would suddenly stop fighting? He had thus ventured out on his own to fight alone. He didn’t blame Ji Ning at all. He knew very well that if it was his Dao-companion, he probably would’ve made the same choice as Ji Ning had.

“Alright.” Subhuti nodded. “Who else?”

“Me.”

“I’ll go.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve fought in a war.”

The many disciples actually all began to call out. Of the many disciples present, the only two not to speak out were actually Ji Ning and Redsnow. Ning hesitated a moment, then said, “Master, let me go. This Realmwar is different from the others.”

“There’s no need for you to go.” Subhuti shook his head. “A Realmwar on this level…your participation won’t have much of an effect.”

Ning was stunned.

His master’s words were correct. A grand formation created by just 200-300 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would be comparable to a true Daofather in power! His own Rahu God was actually probably a bit weaker than those formations. In this war, each side was mobilizing 2000-3000 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, who would be using some truly powerful formations. Even ordinary Daofathers would die if they intervened. Whether Ning participated or not really wouldn’t make much of a difference.

In a war like this, massed power was what really made the difference.

“Redsnow? How about you?” Subhuti looked towards Redsnow. Redsnow had been the follower of Daoist Threelives, and was legendary for his warmaking abilities.

“I won’t go.” Redsnow shook his head. “Your disciple has gained some insights lately and is at a critical moment.”

“Oh?” Subhuti’s eyes lit up. He didn’t believe Redsnow was lying about this.

Ning wasn’t surprised. Ever since he had given a bottle of chaos nectar to Redsnow, allowing Redsnow to train to the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], Redsnow had entered secluded meditation for some reason! The only reason Ning had reached out to him was due to Subhuti’s summons; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered Redsnow.

“If that’s the case, focus on your training. It would be wonderful if you can break through to become a Daofather before the Endwar,” Subhuti said with a smile. He knew that Ning had given a bottle of chaos nectar to Redsnow, as Ning had actually discussed this with him before doing so.

To Subhuti, a single bottle of chaos nectar wasn’t enough. Any True God or Daofather would need at least a hundred such bottles in order to train to the second level of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. A single bottle? It would only be of use when given to Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

Two days later, Subhuti led his disciples to the Deerchaser major world of the Yellow Emperor Realm. The Deerchaser major world was the world where the Yellow Emperor, Xuan Yuan, lived.

Within the imperial palace of the Deerchaser world.

Subhuti and Xuan Yuan were both seated, with Ji Ning and the rest of the disciples all standing to one side. Ning carefully inspected this legendary figure, this Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan who had once defeated even Shennong in their battle for dominance over the world. In terms of appearance, Xuan Yuan was an immaculately handsome man. His gaze seemed to bring an aura of the spring wind with it, causing others to unconsciously feel well-disposed towards them.

It must be understood that when they fought long ago, Xuan Yuan was merely a top-tier Daofather. Although it was true that Shennong’s mind wasn’t really focused on leading his armies, he was still someone on the same level of power as the leaders of the Daoism and Buddhism. For Xuan Yuan to be able to achieve victory was testament to his military prowess.

In all the Three Realms, Xuan Yuan was most likely the number one military mastermind.

“Aside from Ji Ning, all of these disciples will take part in the battle,” Subhuti said with a smile.

“Ah?!” Xuan Yuan was overjoyed. He immediately said, “That’s wonderful! I was worrying about this just before you came. The more powerful a formation, the more requirements are placed upon the centers of the formation. Before Mother Nuwa departed, she left us with three mighty formations meant to protect our entire race. Logically speaking, we should have Daofathers assume central command, but since neither side has deployed Daofathers yet, we are forced to use Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…and the more powerful, the better! I was worrying about not having enough powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Subhuti, you came just in the nick of time. This is like delivering warm coals to a freezing man in the midst of winter!”

“This war will be different from the previous ones. The previous Realmwars were all small-scale battles; this one is going to be far greater,” Subhuti said seriously. “After this Realmwar ends, the other large-scale Realmwars shall begin as well. The Realmwar for your Yellow Emperor Realm will be the very first of the large-scale battles; we have to make sure that the outcome is a beautiful one. Let’s deal the Seamless Gate a heavy blow!”

“Right.” Xuan Yuan nodded. “If we can seize the advantage, we’ll be able to keep the advantage. This war will indeed be very important.”

As the saying went, a thousand-kilometer canal could be collapsed by a single errant anthole!

This battle would be a critical one. If they were to lose, the upcoming battles would become more difficult as well.

Time flowed on.

Aside from Subhuti’s forces, the other major powers of the Three Realms sent reinforcements of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as well. In fact, quite a few came by themselves! Within the span of a single short month, the number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who had gathered here within the Deerchaser world numbered more than 2800. All of them were focused on learning the foundational parts of these mighty formations.

Nine Empyrean Gods/True Immortals including Goldcrow and Empyrean Phoenix, who were ranked amongst the most powerful of experts and were also indisputably loyal, were permitted to learn the core techniques to these ancient, powerful formations.

Rumble…

Suddely, one day, the entire Deerchaser world trembled. Ning hurriedly emerged from his residence, raising his head to stare towards the outside, his eyes blazing with torch-light. He was able to clearly see the sky split apart tens of millions of kilometers away, as a castle that was radiating limitless amounts of bloody light came flying out from within that giant crack in the skies. The aura that emanated from the castle quickly swept through the entire Deerchaser world.

The castle was ten thousand kilometers long. It slowly descended, then came to a halt in midair. Above the castle was a glowing streak of bloody light that rose high into the heavens.

“Daomother Devilhand.” Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, and Suiren stood shoulder to shoulder, staring towards the distance. Subhuti frowned as he made this statement.

“Devilhand actually came? And she came in person, in her true form.” Suiren frowned as well. He had merely sent one of his clones here, while Subhuti and Xuan Yuan were both here in person.

The Lord of All Fiends was the most mysterious figure within the Seamless Gate, and he had incredible escaping techniques. Not even Mother Nuwa had been able to do anything to him when he had chosen to flee.

The Lord of the Everwood was someone that the Nuwa Alliance did not wish to make an enemy out of. He was skilled in countless techniques and spells.

Daomother Devilhand was the most berserk member of the Seamless Gate, and her power was absolutely astonishing. She was so berserk that during the war that ended the Primordial Era, she had actually dared to duel Mother Nuwa one-on-one for a long period of time. In fact, she had even dared to go battle the two leaders of Buddhism and Daoism all by herself! In the end, she had been heavily wounded by Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Sword Formation’.

She was an absolute madwoman. When gripped by bloodlust, she wouldn’t even care about her own life. However, no one dared to deny that she was powerful. Even during the war that ended the Primordial Era, the only ones who could be described as unquestionably more powerful than her were Mother Nuwa and the Lord of the Demonheart. No others!

“It seems the Seamless Gate really wishes to win this battle,” Subhuti said. “They actually sent Daomother Devilhand to guard their forces.”

“We want to win, but so do they,” Xuan Yuan said. “In the end…victory will be determined on the field of battle.”

“Have all our preparations been made?” Suiren asked.

“Yes.” Xuan Yuan nodded.

Everyone in the Deerchaser world was jittery right now.

Two mighty castles, one surrounded by bloody light, the other surrounded by golden light. Both hung there in midair, facing each other from several hundred thousand kilometers away.

Both armies were gathering within their respective castles, prepared to launch the war at any moment.

“This war…it’ll be the largest war that we will fight before the final battle for karmic luck.” Silvermoon stood alongside Ning atop the city walls, staring at the distant Seamless City as it glowed with bloody light. “The total number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on our side for this war number nearly three thousand. The Realmwars that come after this one in the Realms of the various top-tier Daofathers will generally involve just a few hundred, maybe a thousand at most.”

“There are many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. As for Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, it feels as though there is an infinite number of them,” Ning said with a soft sigh.

In his heart, he felt a bit of regret.

Regret that he wouldn’t be able to take part.

Keep waiting. Bide your time.

Even if he took part in this battle…given how vast it was, he really wouldn’t make much of a difference. He really wondered…

How much longer were those two clones of his going to remain within Undermoon Lake?

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Chapter 6 – The War Begins

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 6 – The War Begins

The two castles hung in the air, facing each other from afar.

As for the army of the Seamless Alliance, it had been dispatched already. They covered the wilderness, calling out the Nuwa Alliance for battle.

The first time they called out for battle, the Nuwa Alliance completely ignored them, not responding at all. The second time the Seamless Gate did this…the Nuwa Alliance still ignored them.

It must be understood that when calling out the enemy for battle, the insults would be absolutely atrocious to hear. The worse the insult, the better! This was true amongst mortals, and it was similarly true amongst these Immortals and Fiendgods, who were quite boorish and foul-mouthed in their catcalls.

The third time. Still nothing.

“Master, the Seamless Gate is calling us out again,” a white-robed youth said respectfully.

Xuan Yuan sat in front of a desk, leisurely flipping through a book in his hands. Hearing his disciple’s report, he laughed softly. “Daomother Devilhand lives up to her reputation. Had the Seamless Gate sent over any other Daofather, that person probably wouldn’t be so quick to bare the fangs in such a manner.”

Know thy enemy and know thyself; only then would you be the victor in all your battles.

Due to the long years of peace that had previously existed between the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance, the Nuwa Alliance had learned much of the history of Daomother Devilhand when she lived within the Seamless Chaosworld. Although she was a madwoman, she was extremely adept at leading soldiers in battle. All of her disciples were females, and all of them were just as crazy as she was.

She led her madwomen in a conquest across the chaosworld, sweeping through it like a storm. In the end, it had been the Lord of the Demonheart himself who had to be the one to stop her.

In terms of frontal attacks, not even Lord Demonheart was a match for Daomother Devilhand. But of course, in terms of manipulating the mind and understanding the demons that lay in every heart, who could possibly match up to Lord Demonheart? Conquering the world wasn’t merely a matter of warfare! And so, in the end it had been Lord Demonheart who had unified the Seamless Chaosworld.

“Mm.” Xuan Yuan put down his scroll, then said with a smile, “Give the order. Assemble for battle!”

“Uh huh…” For a second, the yellow-robed youth was as calm as ever…but suddenly, he stared wide-eyed towards Xuan Yuan.

“Why are you still here?” Xuan Yuan turned to look at him.

“R-right. Your disciple shall go immediately.” The yellow-robed youth hurriedly flew out, beginning to summon the various parties.

Xuan Yuan walked outside of the room. Standing by the rails, he stared at his vast citadel. As the order was given, a sea of soldiers came flooding out from throughout the citadel, quickly assembling together. Xuan Yuan nodded lightly. “This is the fourth time they are calling for battle. It’s about time. This war is critical; if we win it, we’ll be halfway to winning the war for karmic luck.”

“We have to win.” An awe-inspiring light flashed through Xuan Yuan’s eyes.

Atop the city walls.

Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, and Suiren were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the two armies facing off against each other on the desolate wilderness.

Ning, the yellow-robed youth, and a number of other disciples were following behind them. None of them dared to so much as breathe too loudly. They all knew exactly how important this war was going to be.

Boom!

Whoosh!

Thud!

Both of the two distant armies had begun to assemble into mighty formations.

The Seamless Gate had the Seamless Infinity Formation, the ‘Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons’ 1, and the Infinity Fiendgod Formation. These were their three primary formations, and each of these terrifying formations needed two to three hundred Empyrean Gods/True Immortals in order to be formed. There were also some golems which Ning couldn’t even name, each of which was on an even higher level of power than the Daofather golem Ning had previously encountered. The golems glistened with violet light, emanating a heart-shaking aura of terror.

There were a total of three formations of Calamity Dragons. Above these three formations swam a countless number of black dragons, each of which was as powerful as an ordinary Empyrean God. The important thing was…there was an absolutely incredible number of them!

There were a total of two Seamless Infinity Formations.

There were also two Infinity Fiendgod Formations. They had come together to form a pair of towering, white-haired, red-eyed Fiendgod.

The Nuwa Alliance also had three primary formations. They were the Sidereal Star Formation, the Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation, and the Pangu Genesis Formation. There were three of Sidereal Star Formations, five of the Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation, but only one Pangu Genesis Formation!

Aside from them, there were also more than a hundred Seven Planets Gods who were scattered everywhere, moving with great agility.

As for golems? The Nuwa Alliance didn’t have a single golem on their side. Clearly, a battle at this level meant that only golems of a certain power level could be used. The Nuwa Alliance obviously didn’t have any golems of such power.

“In terms of formations, the Seamless Gate is far inferior to us,” Subhuti said calmly from his position atop the walls. “The Seamless Infinity Formation was created by Lord Demonheart. As for the Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons, the Seamless Gate stole it from us. Back then, we didn’t expect that a day like this would come, and so we were willing to teach them formations of this level. As for the Infinity Fiendgod Formation…it should’ve been devised by Everwood. It’s actually the most powerful of the three…but alas, it’s still vastly inferior to our Pangu Genesis Formation.”

“After Mother Nuwa broke through to the Pangu level, she spent a tremendous amount of research and effort in order to devise the Pangu Genesis Formation. Before she left the Three Realms, she imparted it to us as a formation for protecting our entire race,” Xuan Yuan said with a laugh. “How could their formations possibly match up to it?”

“Fortunately, Mother Nuwa had misgivings early on. She warned us sternly long ago that these three guardian formations were absolutely not to be taught to others. This is why we now have the power to keep them suppressed in formation power.” Subhuti let out a sigh.

Suiren nodded slowly. “Fortunately, we have those three protective formations.”

Ning and the others secretly nodded upon hearing this. They had heard the stories as well.

If it could be said that the Nuwa Alliance was deeply envious of the Seamless Gate’s mastery over the art of golems, then the Seamless Gate was similarly envious of the three mighty guardian formations of the Nuwa Alliance. All three of these formations had been left behind by Mother Nuwa after she had broken through to become a World God. She had spent tremendous blood, sweat, and effort on these formations, precisely because she was afraid that once she left, other powerful alien Outsiders like the Lord of All Things would appear. She was afraid that the Three Realms would not be strong enough to withstand another such Outsider, and so she created and imparted these three formations.

These three formations would generally have a True God or Daofather at the center, with many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals acting as support. Their power was utterly shocking!

But of course, a simplified version could be used which allowed for an Empyrean God/True Immortal to server as the center. The power of the formation would drop dramatically, of course, but despite that it still wasn’t something the Seamless Gate could compete against.

“The Pangu Genesis Formation.” Ning stared off into the distance.

The Pangu Genesis Formation had, at its center, the disciple of Daofather Fuju – True Immortal Jimin, the ‘Sword Immortal of the Outer Heavens’. 580 Empyrean Gods were supporting him, joining together into this utterly astonishing formation! This formation was so powerful that it was as strong as a top-tier Daofather! Most importantly of all, True Immortal Jimin was the person controlling this formation. True Immortal Jimin was the only Empyrean God or True Immortal in the Three Realms who had mastered the [Five Treasures]. His sword-art surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, allowing him to unleash truly astonishing levels of power from this Pangu Genesis Formation.

“I still remember my arrival into the Netherworld Kingdom after I died in my previous life. Back then, I encountered this Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The terrifying, world-shattering formation that had destroyed even the Sixth Paths of Reincarnation had once more appeared before him. Back then, in the Netherworld Kingdom, Ning had been nothing more than a puny human ghost.

Even the slightest aftershock ripple from an attack by a Calamity Dragon would have completely destroyed his soul.

“It’s begun.”

Everyone on the walls were nervous.

Subhuti, Suiren, and Xuan Yuan stared intently at the battle below, especially Xuan Yuan. Xuan Yuan’s coresense filled every part of the battlefield, and he was constantly rearranging the military deployments, arranging for the various Seven Planets Gods to better harmonize with the major formations.

The Nuwa Alliance had nine mighty formations, each of which had nine central figures.

Three of Subhuti’s disciples were in command of three mighty formations; they were Empyrean Phoenix, Goldcrow, and Junwu.

Senior apprentice-brother Goldcrow was in command of a Sidereal Star Formation. 2

Senior apprentice-sister Empyrean Phoenix and senior apprentice-brother Junwu were each in charge of a Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation.

“Go.”

Each of the towering, massive Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation were composed of a hundred True Immortals, a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals, and more than a hundred million Loose Immortals. Together, they were capable of summoning an utterly enormous amount of natural energy.

An enormous figure of a giant appeared in the air above the formation. It was senior apprentice-brother Junwu, his white robes fluttering gracefully. He raised up his painting brush, casually swiping towards the heavens with it. Instantly, countless weapons appeared in the skies that shot towards the distant forces of the Seamless Gate. With another stroke of the brush, he manifested countless divine soldiers and divine generals and sent them to attack as well.

“Senior apprentice-brother Junwu.” Ning felt eager when watching this. Junwu was the young child who loved to paint which Subhuti had accepted as his disciple long ago. Upon meeting, Subhuti had given him a single line of guidance…and overnight the child had completely mastered a Dao-Path, the Dao of Inkwater. It could be said that he was the most talented disciple Subhuti had ever accepted.

Battling against Junwu was an extremely headache-inducing decision, because his techniques were simply too complex. His flicks of the brush were capable of virtually drawing anything in the world…but precisely due to the complexity of his Dao, Junwu had yet to break through to become a Daofather.

1. This was the formation that appeared during the destruction of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, all the way back in Book 1, Chapter 2!

2. Raws said he was in command of a Seamless Infinity formation, but this is clearly an author error.

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Chapter 7 – The Envoy of All Things

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 7 – The Envoy of All Things

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The heavens trembled. The ground shook.

A Pangu God, clad in a fur loincloth, had just engaged in battle with an armored Infinity Fiendgod.

The Nuwa Alliance’s ‘Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation’ was exchanging long-distance attacks with the Seamless Gate’s ‘Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons’, disrupting the entire battlefield with their attacks.

Long-distance attacks, protective stances, rapid response reinforcements…the Seven Planets Gods and the golems were quite nimble, and they served to cause chaos throughout the battlefield.

The desolate wilderness was utterly annihilated, so much so that the empty Void could be occasionally seen in multiple places as space was torn apart, then reformed.

“Once Empyrean Gods and True Immortals are massed in numbers, they truly do become quite terrifying.” Ning was nervous as he watched the war. “If either side reveals a single weakness, it’s entirely possible that there will be a large-scale collapse.”

“The marshals on both sides are quite powerful as well. Under Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s guidance, the major formations and the hundred-plus Seven Planets Gods seem to work together like a perfect whole, leaving behind no flaws or openings to exploit. Daomother Devilhand’s attacks, however, are absolutely fiendish. In fact, she nearly destroyed a Seven Planets God just now.”

Indeed. Despite having battled for quite some time, the Nuwa Alliance had yet to lose even a single Seven Planets God! This was testament to how flawless and how formidable Xuan Yuan was in commanding his troops.

“Withdraw.” Xuan Yuan gave the order.

Rumble…

Under Xuan Yuan’s guidance, the great army of the Nuwa Alliance began to retreat in an orderly fashion, not giving their enemies even a single chance to attack.

And so, the first exchange of blows had come to an end.

Even a madwoman like Daomother Devilhand was extremely calm and collected when commanding a battle of this level. This was because even the slightest of mistakes could result in the entire war being lost. In truth, wars like this weren’t won, they were lost when one side made too many errors! Although Daomother Devilhand was legendary for her ferocious attacks, she actually made very few mistakes when commanding troops. It was simply that she believed in the adage that ‘the best defense is a good offense’.

Her assaults had caused the Seamless Gate to put Xuan Yuan under tremendous pressure. However…Xuan Yuan was clearly even more talented and skilled than her, and his force deployments were even better. He moved his troops about like the floating clouds and the flowing water, showing no flaws at all.

In the blink of an eye, three engagements had occurred and more than a month had passed.

“Aunt-master, if this continues, it won’t be good for us. With each clash, we have lost more than our foes. It won’t be apparent in the short run, but if this sort of battle persist for two or three years, our weakness will become apparent.” The black-robed Godking stood off to one side, looking at the slender, violet-robed woman seated before him. In his heart, he felt rather nervous.

The violet-robed woman’s eyes seemed to be like two endless seas of blood. In terms of slaughter, she was the undisputed number one of the Seamless Gate, a demon amongst demons.

“Mm?” The violet-robed woman looked at the black-robed Godking.

“I’m just concerned,” the Godking said hastily.

“You are right.” The violet-robed woman lightly tapped on her armrest, a white crystalline bracelet around her arm. “I fought countless battles in the war for the Seamless Chaosworld, but I never met someone as formidable as him in leading armies. Battles on this level happen at incredible speed, and multiple variables are introduced every moment…and yet, he’s actually able to factor them all in while deploying his forces in an utterly perfect manner. No wonder this Xuan Yuan fellow was able to defeat Shennong during the Primordial Era.”

“Then what should we do?” The Godking said hurriedly. In the Seamless Gate, the only ones capable of making the Godking act in such an obedient manner were the Lord of All Fiends, the Keeper of the Everwood, and Daomother Devilhand.

“We have to win this war.” The violet-robed woman continued, “If we lose this war, the wars that come later will be much, much harder to win. We’ll need to spend even more effort, but we still might not be able to achieve victory in the final war for karmic luck.”

The Godking mumbled mentally to himself. No shit. Everyone knows this.

“Arrange for an Envoy of All Things to come,” the violet-robed woman ordered.

“An Envoy of All Things?” The black-robed Godking was shocked. He couldn’t help but ask, “We’re going to have an Envoy of All Things come? Now? B-but…we were preparing to use them in the final battle for karmic luck.”

“Make the arrangements. Otherwise, we won’t be able to win,” the violet-robed woman said calmly.

“Alright. However…we’ll need the Lord of All Fiends to concur in this matter,” the black-robed Godking said hurriedly.

“Hurry up and go.” The violet-robed woman frowned, a dangerous glint of anger appearing in her eyes. The black-robed Godking was instantly so terrified that his heart quailed. He had grown up in the Seamless Chaosworld, after all. Even though he was now a Daofather, he still felt dread when facing Daomother Devilhand. She was a madwoman! Others would perhaps give him face as the nominal leader of the Seamless Gate and as the disciple of Lord Demonheart, but this madwoman would even dare to assault Lord Demonheart himself, to say nothing of the ‘Godking’.

The Allfiend world.

At the top of a solitary mountain.

A red-robed, azure-haired man was seated here, staring into the boundless Void. His gaze had long ago pierced through the dimensional barriers separating worlds, allowing him to see through the space beyond them.

Whoosh. A figure suddenly materialized next to him. It was the black-robed Godking.

“Fiendlord,” the Godking said respectfully.

“What is it?” The Lord of All Fiends glanced at him.

“Aunt-master believes that our chances of victory are low. If things continue, we may very well lose. She instructed me to come here to request an Envoy of All Things,” the Godking said.

The Lord of All Fiends frowned. “If that’s the case…go speak to Blackheaven. Take an Envoy back and give it to Devilhand.”

“Yes.” The Godking respectfully departed.

The Lord of All Fiends once more stared into the Void. He murmured softly, “I truly wish I could go back to the old days, when I could hide myself behind Demonheart and Everwood…but alas, I’ve been forced to stand forward. They even address me as the ‘Lord of All Fiends’, as Fiendlord. It was far better when I was simply ‘Windfiend’; life as Windfiend was far more relaxed and carefree than life as the ‘Fiendlord’. I really wonder what this war will end up like. Although Mother Nuwa has already departed, she left these three mighty formations behind. It’s hard to say exactly how powerful those three protective formations are.”

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll try to save as many as I can, then leave the Three Realms.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head.

He had no taste for power.

During the era of the Seamless Chaosworld, he had been a very low-key figure. Back then, the most dazzling figures had been the Lord of the Demonheart, the Keeper of the Everwood, and Daomother Devilhand. No one had paid much attention to Windfiend, even though he was also born an Elder Fiend like the rest of them. In fact, there were many major powers in the Seamless Chaosworld who believed that Windfiend’s power came solely due to his good fortune in being born as an Elder Fiend, as it didn’t seem as though he had improved much at all since being born.

They only showed him respect because he was an Elder Fiend as well.

Windfiend didn’t really care. He enjoyed being carefree and unbound…but the war that ended the Primordial Era had simply been too devastating. So many of his old friends, his brothers, had ended up dying in battle. The Lord of All Things had been very vicious; he had wanted to wipe out everyone in both chaosworlds! As for Mother Nuwa, she was an even more terrifying figure; she had actually broken through to a brand new level, dominating all comers and slaying even the horrifying Lord of All Things.

Windfiend’s only choice was to reveal his full power…and faced with death, he had actually made a breakthrough of his own, making it so that not even Mother Nuwa was able to catch him as he fled.

After spending a long period of time wandering the primordial chaos in solitude, he had returned.

“In truth, all I wanted was a safe place to call home.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head. The survivors of the Seamless Gate had insisted on venerating him as the ‘Fiendlord’, making him the true, undisputed leader of the Seamless Gate.

“What exactly is the cause of this tribulation? That old fellow, Demonheart, is plotting something…but it feels as though there’s more to it than that…” The Lord of All Fiends frowned.

Ever since he had made his breakthrough while fleeing from Mother Nuwa, his ability to sense the tides of fate had most likely become number one in all the Three Realms. He could vaguely sense how terrifying this tribulation truly was.

……

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven stood in front of him, pointing towards a titanic, ape-shaped golem that was completely dark-red in color and wreathed in tongues of flame. “Take it away, I suppose.”

The black-robed Godking swept the surrounding area with his gaze. Upon seeing all the other Envoys of All Things in the area, he couldn’t help but feel his heart itch.

“Remember, let the most powerful Empyrean God you have command it,” Blackheaven instructed. “Logically speaking, it should be reserved for a Daofather to command, but despite that, this Envoy of All Things should be able to unleash power comparable to that of a top-tier Daofather.”

“Understood.” The black-robed Godking nodded hurriedly.

All those years ago, the Lord of All Things had led an army of such Envoys, each of which had reached a level of power that was fully capable of launching attacks against the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism. They were utterly terrifying on the field of battle.

Even with Empyrean Gods in command of them, they were comparable to top-tier Daofathers.

“Also, make sure Devilhand knows that no matter what, we can’t let the Nuwa Alliance capture this Envoy of All Things.” Blackheaven laughed coldly, “My worry is that the Nuwa Alliance will act in an utterly shameless way, having experts like the Three Sovereigns or the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism to suddenly attack and capture the Envoy.”

‘Don’t worry. Masters Devilhand and Everwood, as well as the Fiendlord, are paying close attention to this battle. The True Gods and Daofathers of the Nuwa Alliance won’t be given any chance at all,” the black-robed Godking said.

“Right. Is Ji Ning taking part in the battle?” Blackheaven suddenly asked.

“No.” The Godking shook his head.

“A pity.” Blackheaven felt resentment.

He truly, truly wanted to kill Ning. Although almost all of his efforts were centered on these golems, he still felt hatred for Ning. It was rare for him to feel affection for someone…and that little girl had died, just like that. Although Ning had merely killed her in his counter-attack when they had attempted to assassinate him, Blackheaven really didn’t give a damn about the particulars.

“Don’t worry. If Ji Ning dares to enter the field of battle, I’ll make sure to ask aunt-master Devilhand to give him some special attention,” the black-robed Godking laughed. “I’ll take my leave, Grandmaster.”

“Go, go.” Blackheaven nodded.

The Godking waved his hand, collecting the Envoy of All Things, then left the Allfiend world, heading towards the Deerchaser world once more.

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Chapter 8 – Descent

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 8 – Descent

Daomother Devilhand stood atop the castle walls, the black-robed Godking next to her.

They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the distant wilderness. The army of the Seamless Gate was there, calling out for battle.

“Are you sure that they haven’t found out that you brought an Envoy of All Things?” Daomother Devilhand asked.

“Don’t worry, aunt-master,” the black-robed Godking said hurriedly. “I personally went to collect the Envoy of All Things. How could I possibly allow the Nuwa Alliance to find out about it? In addition, the Envoy only requires a single Empyrean God/True Immortal in control. While I was in the Allfiend world, I also brought along Empyrean God Bloodwave. This, too, was kept a secret. Empyrean God Bloodwave is extremely skilled in close combat; he was our number one choice for controlling an Envoy during the final war for karmic luck. With him in control, the Envoy will be able to unleash more than enough power and be capable of rivaling top-tier Daofathers.”

“Although their Pangu Genesis Formation is quite powerful, it’s one of the three protective formations left behind by Nuwa! All three of them have tremendous power, but in order to unleash it they need a True God or Daofather to serve as the core of the formation. They have True Immortal Jimin, who mastered the [Five Treasures], serving as their core, which means that the size, scale, and power of the formation is much weaker now. It is just barely a match for top-tier Daofathers; there is still a significant gap in power between it and our Envoy of All Things.”

“The sudden appearance of the Envoy of All Things will immediately disrupt the balance of the battlefield. Don’t be fooled by how seamless Xuan Yuan appears to be in moving around his forces; once a collapse starts, it will be complete and total.” The black-robed Godking was quite confident.

“Mm.” Daomother Devilhand nodded. “I hope this Envoy of All Things truly is as formidable as you say.”

The Envoys which the Lord of All Things had created were indeed quite powerful; they had proven their strength during the war that ended the Primordial Era. But the Envoys created by the Seamless Gate were developed by Grandmaster Blackheaven. Grandmaster Blackheaven was a peerless talent in the Dao of Golems who the Lord of All Things had found in some unknown place. He was actually also capable of creating these Envoys, and the power of his Envoys seemed to be equivalent to those which the Lord of All Things had made.

“They are coming out.” The black-robed Godking’s eyes lit up.

“They finally came out. Xuan Yuan…” A hint of a cold light flickered through Daomother Devilhand’s eyes. “This time, I’m going to make you crumble.”

Boom! Boom!

Both armies once more charged towards the other.

The Nuwa Alliance’s army had a slight edge to begin with. With Xuan Yuan’s truly superb military skills, the Nuwa Alliance’s advantage was even more apparent. Although Daomother Devilhand was also skilled in commanding her troops, occasional setbacks still occurred for her forces.

It was just like all their previous clashes. Each time, the Seamless Gate’s forces would be whittled away slightly.

“Hmph.” Atop the castle walls, Daomother Devilhand sent a mental order. “Release the Envoy of All Things.”

……

On the field of battle, the Pangu God and the two Infinity Fiendgods battled with the most ferocity.

The Pangu God formed by the Pangu Genesis Formation held an utterly enormous sword in its hands, executing sword-arts that all exceeded the limits of the Heavenly Daos. It naturally possessed nigh limitless power. As for the two white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods, they were quite powerful as well. The Infinity Fiendgod Formation had been developed by Keeper Everwood, after all, and he had poured endless amounts of blood and sweat into it. Both Infinity Fiendgods were dressed in incomparably precious Protocosmic spirit-armors, which they relied on to defend against the Pangu God’s terrifying sword-arts. Both Infinity Fiendgods supported each other at all times, and so although they were at a disadvantage, they were still able to hold on against their foe.

“Kill.” The Jimin-Pangu was extremely calm. He was waiting…waiting for his foes to make a mistake!

No matter how well those two Infinity Fiendgods fought together, they were still commanded by two different people, not one. In a frenetic, high-powered battle, it was inevitable that they would eventually commit mistakes. Once they made a mistake, he would seize the opportunity to wipe out one of them. Once one was destroyed, the other would not be of any concern at all.

“What’s that?!” The Jimin-Pangu was shocked to discover that behind the two Infinity Fiendgods, an ape-shaped figure had suddenly appeared out of thin air without any warning. This creature’s entire body was wreathed in flames, and its aura was so powerful as to instantly stun the Jimin-Pangu. In fact, the subconscious sense of danger emanating from this creature was so strong that he couldn’t help but mentally shiver.

“Jimin, be careful! That’s an Envoy of All Things.” Xuan Yuan’s voice immediately rang out. “Ignore those two Infinity Fiendgods; I’ll send people to help you block them. Focus on defending against the Envoy!”

“Alright!” The Jimin-Pangu instantly understood. He had heard of these Envoys long ago, but he had never seen one of them in person before.

……

As soon as the Envoy appeared, Xuan Yuan’s face instantly changed. However, he remained cool and collected as he quickly began to redeploy his forces, squeezing out every drop of power he could to relieve the pressure on the Jimin-Pangu, so as to let him fight against the Envoy without worrying about anything else. That way, the Jimin-Pangu would have at least a sliver of a chance of defending against the Envoy of All Things.

However, if the white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods were allowed to join forces with the Envoy, then the Jimin-Pangu would definitely suffer a swift defeat. And once he collapsed…the entire field of battle would collapse.

“Stop them.”

“The five of you, go block the Seamless Infinity Formation closest to you.”

“The two of you, retreat and stop that group of golems!”

Xuan Yuan was processing many things in parallel, sending simultaneous orders to all the major formations as well as the Seven Planets Gods.

The entire battlefield suddenly transformed in a chaotic, disastrous way.

Atop the city walls. Xuan Yuan was watching over the entire battlefield here, quickly redeploying his forces. Next to him were Subhuti and Suiren, and their faces had turned grave.

Ji Ning and the other disciples standing behind them were even more frantic than the three.

“Not good.” Ning instantly saw the situation turn grim for their side. “In order to allow the Jimin-Pangu to safely focus on dealing with the Envoy of All Things, he’s sending the Sidereal Star Formations and Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formations to keep the Infinity Fiendgods tied down. Although this will make things a bit easier for the Jimin-Pangu, that means everyone else will now be under much greater pressure.”

Their strongest asset on the battlefield was the Jimin-Pangu. Before the appearance of the Envoy, the strongest assets the enemy had were those two Infinity Fiendgods! Defending against the two of them put enormous pressure on the rest of the army.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The distant Jimin-Pangu was exchanging blows with the Envoy of All Things.

“AWUUUU!!!!” The fiery, ape-like Envoy of All Things raised its head, bellowing with utter madness as it lashed out with its long claws.

Clang!

The Jimin-Pangu landed a piercing blow on the Envoy with a streak of sword-light, but the only result was a clear, ringing sound. The blow didn’t manage to penetrate through at all! The Envoy, however, became even more savage, its sharp claws filling the skies with endless attacks, with the lashing whip-strikes from its simian tail also possessing astonishing power. The Jimin-Pangu was at a complete disadvantage in this battle.

“They are beginning to retreat.” Ning, watching from far away, was immediately able to notice that their entire army was moving backwards, receding slowly as a whole, like the receding ties of the sea.

“What an incredible figure Xuan Yuan is.” Ning couldn’t help but feel admiration for him. If an ordinary commander was in charge, once their side was unable to withstand the enemy attacks, they would begin to crumble and break apart; it would be extremely hard for the army to retreat intact. But despite the adverse battlefield situation, Xuan Yuan was able to silently, perfectly coordinate a wholesale withdrawal. Although the Seamless Gate realized this, there was nothing they could do; they were already fighting with all their strength.

Boom! Ning’s face suddenly changed. He stared towards the distance, where a distant Seven Planets God just crumbled. A chain reaction began to occur, with the five Seven Planets Gods next to him being thrown into grave danger as well.

As the withdrawal continued, more and more Seven Planets Gods began to suffer damage.

Xuan Yuan was still quite calm as he continued with his arrangements. Clearly, in the eyes of Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan…the loss of twenty-seven Seven Planets Gods wasn’t too heavy a price to pay. If any of their nine major formations were destroyed, their losses would be devastated. As he saw it, to suffer some casualties during a retreat was unavoidable. All he could do was minimize their losses as much as he could.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Some of the Seven Planets Gods were especially dazzling. One of them, a Seven Planets God who wielded a pair of scimitars, was particularly outstanding. It was the Seven Planets God commanded by Ning’s senior apprentice-brother, Empyrean God Silvermoon.

Silvermoon had exploded forth with truly astonishing combat power. The missions which Xuan Yuan had given him were all quite complicated, but he still carried them out to perfection. He was as effective as three Seven Planets Gods, all by himself.

The withdrawal continued, and their side continued to suffer losses.

Boom! Finally, a Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation suffered a collapse from all the attacks it had sustained.

A hundred True Immortals, a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals, and more than a hundred million Loose Immortals instantly began to be massacred. Faced with the terrifying, horde-like army of the Seamless Gate, they weren’t able to fight back at all. Even their formation had been destroyed; how could they possibly withstand these attacks?

Xuan Yuan’s face slowly turned ashen.

“Not good.” Ning suddenly discovered that Silvermoon’s dazzling, berserk Seven Planets God was in a dangerous situation. His earlier performance had been simply too showstopping; clearly, he had drawn the attention of the Seamless Gate’s army, which viewed him as a tough-to-chew bone that they had to get rid of as soon as possible. Thus, the True Immortal controlling the nearby Life and Death Twin Realms Calamity Dragons Formation suddenly pointed towards him.

Rumble…

The black dragons in the sky began to streak downwards, flocking towards Silvermoon’s Seven Planets God.

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Chapter 9 – Confluence

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 9 – Confluence

“Hahahaha…come, come! The two of you, go! Leave this golem to me!” Silvermoon’s Seven Planets God roared like a frenzied devil, charging forward to block a violet-light golem on his own. This was the first time the Seamless Gate had deployed these golems in a battle, and they were fairly rare. Each of them was a bit more powerful than a Daofather golem.

There was no way a single Seven Planets God could withstand it…but Silvermoon’s Seven Planets God charged forward to fight it solo, as though he had gone mad.

Black dragons continued to descend from the heavens, assaulting Silvermoon as he fought against the Daofather golem. Even the golem was affected by collateral damage from their attacks; this was simply unavoidable.

Boom!

Silvermoon’s Seven Planets God finally collapsed.

The savage, violet-light golem was about to massacre the Immortals within, but right at this moment, a towering, handsome, white-robed man suddenly appeared before him. It was Empyrean God Silvermoon! Silvermoon transformed to become three hundred thousand meters tall, with each palm thirty thousand meters long. He stretched out his massive hands, simultaneously grabbing onto two of the closest violet-light golems next to him.

“Ahahaha….” The handsome, white-robed man roared with laughter, but held onto those two golems with a death-clutch.

Although both golems did their best to fight back, and although they were still able to move forward, their were clearly slowed down dramatically by Silvermoon’s deathgrip on them. There was no way they could possibly chase after other members of the Nuwa Alliance. There were only so many of them to begin with, and now two of them had been suddenly bogged down at the same time.

“Send two more. Trap him into a magic treasure and seal him away.” Daomother Devilhand, atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel, frowned as she sent the mental order.

“I’ve mastered the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], precisely because I want to keep fighting without pause on this field of battle!” The white-robed Silvermoon allowed the enemies to freely assault him. The Seven Planets God was merely a formation, but his body itself had reached the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; it was nearly indestructible!

“Senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon.” Ning watched the seemingly berserk Silvermoon fight on the battlefield. Due to how recklessly and madly Silvermoon had fought each time on the battlefield, Subhuti had decided to give Silvermoon many Great Firmament Immortal pills, enough to ensure that he could master the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. Subhuti had warned Silvermoon, “Mastery of this art will only give you a higher chance of survival. If you insist on acting in a suicidal manner, no one and nothing will save you.”

On the battlefield, Silvermoon could see two more of the golems charging towards him. His divine body suddenly split apart into thirty, each of which fled towards one of three directions.

“Silvermoon, you’ve done enough! Hurry up and flee back here!” Xuan Yuan immediately sent mentally.

All by himself, Silvermoon had tied down four of the enemy golems, allowing the pressure to ease up considerably on the other Seven Planets Gods.

A short while later, the grand army of the Nuwa Alliance completed its withdrawal, leaving behind only the army of the Seamless Gate, which continued to call out mockingly towards them.

“Damn that Empyrean God Silvermoon.” A baleful aura was in Daomother Devilhand’s eyes.

Silvermoon’s sudden actions had indeed impacted the situation across the entire battlefield. If it hadn’t been for him, with a bit of luck the Seamless Gate might’ve been able to cause the entire army of the Nuwa Alliance to collapse. Even if there was no collapse, their losses definitely would’ve been much heavier.

“His divine body is quite powerful. He must’ve trained in the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art],” the black-robed Godking said. “He was willing to risk it all in using his own body to tie down our forces. This did indeed have an impact on our pursuit. But…aunt-master, Silvermoon split up into multiple bodies and fled in many different directions, and we killed many of them. His life essence has definitely been badly damaged. It’s entirely possible that it will be a thousand years before he can fully recover.”

“Perhaps.” Daomother Devilhand nodded, a cold smile on her lips. “It took multiple clashes for Xuan Yuan to kill a small portion of my forces. I managed to cause him painful losses in just one.”

“In this battle, he must have lost nearly six hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…and that’s because they were lucky. Next time, they won’t be so lucky.” The black-robed Godking was filled with confident as well.

“You need to remain on your guard.” Daomother Devilhand instructed, “And ask for your master to help out. We have to get a clear sense of what the Nuwa Alliance is planning.”

“Yes.” The Godking smiled and nodded.

……

The Nuwa Alliance.

Within the levitating citadel.

The mood here was quite depressed. Those who were allowed to wander about freely within the castle were all Empyrean Gods or True Immortals. As for the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, they were all required to remain within their respective camps. That way, they would be able to assemble more quickly.

“Senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon, you were too rash. You nearly died just now!” Ning looked at Silvermoon, whose aura was noticeably much weaker than before. Those destroyed clones had all contained part of Silvermoon’s soul. He had lost more than half his soul this time. Although his Dao-heart was powerful enough for him to remain clear-minded and have his soul dissipate, he was still at the very brink of it happening. After fleeing, he had to eat a spirit-pill Subhuti had given him before he was able to stabilize his soul. Right now, Silvermoon’s power was perhaps just barely on the level of an ordinary Celestial Immortal’s.

“If I didn’t try something crazy, even more Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would have died,” Silvermoon said softly. “To be honest…perhaps a death on the battlefield is the most suitable refuge for me. I was able to allow more of my friends to survive than would’ve otherwise. It was worth it.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Silvermoon. Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.” A distant voice rang out.

Ning and Silvermoon both turned to look. It was their golden-haired, golden-robed senior apprentice-brother Goldcrow who was walking towards them.

“Senior apprentice-brother Goldcrow.” The two of them called out to him.

“Silvermoon, you truly rendered major merits to our cause this time. Just now, Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan said that if it wasn’t for you, the situation would’ve been even uglier for us,” Goldcrow said.

“Senior apprentice-brother Goldcrow, after you took control of a Sidereal Star Formation, you rescued the Jimin-Pangu and its hundreds of Empyrean Gods on multiple occasions. You are the one who has truly done great things,” Silvermoon said. This was the truth as well; because the Jimin-Pangu had to hold off the Envoy of All Things, it had to be the last to flee. Since Goldcrow had the ‘Golden Sunstreak’ divine ability, he had indeed assisted the army in escaping, ensuring that the Seamless Gate was unable to catch up.

“No need for us to talk about who did more. We were defeated this time, and disastrously so.” Goldcrow shook his head.

“Yes. This was disastrous.” Silvermoon nodded. “Many of my good friends died in battle.”

“Yes.” Ning’s heart sunk as well.

Nearly six hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had died!

Good heavens!

It must be understood that the Realms of the rest of the Five Emperors, such as Emperor Zhuanxu, held just barely six hundred Empyrean Gods/True Immortals in total. For so many to die in a single battle…for every five that took part in the battle, one had died! How many friends, brothers, disciples had perished?

Subhuti’s disciples were all quite powerful, and they had all been quite lucky; all of them had actually survived. But most of them had just barely been able to escape, and even Silvermoon, who had mastered the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], had very nearly perished.

This time, they had survived.

Next time?

The entire citadel was filled with agony, resentment, and an unwillingness to accept this result. Their casualties had been horrendous, primarily because they had lost a Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation as well as a Sidereal Star Formation.

Ning had wandered the Three Realms for six centuries. He had visited every single major world, and he had made many friends such as True Immortal Luoshui. And this time…of the nearly six hundred slain Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…there were 129 friends who had drank, chatted, and laughed by Ning’s side. Some had even sparred with him before!

Ning’s heart was filled with misery.

“Master.”

Ning had gone to visit Subhuti by himself.

“Eh?” Subhuti was seated in the lotus position. He looked at Ning.

“Let me join the battle,” Ning pleaded. “My Rahu God is comparable to those violet-light golems. If I send eighteen of my clones, that’ll represent a force capable of matching eighteen violet-light golems.”

Subhuti sighed and shook his head. “I understand how you feel right now…but right now, the main problem isn’t the golems. It is the Envoy of All Things! No matter how many low-level forces we have, if we can’t use them together in an effective manner, there’s no way we’ll be able to overcome the higher-level forces. The Envoy of All Things is simply too strong. Even the Pangu Genesis Formation was at an absolute disadvantage when facing it. It would be able to survive a short clash, but if they fought for a long period of time, the only result would be destruction.

“Tell me.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “Would Seven Planet Gods, even a hundred of them, be able to deal with a single Envoy of All Things?”

Ning shook his head.

A thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals trying to mob a Daofather would be massacred, unless they were capable of some sort of formation that allowed them to join their power together!

“The Envoy of All Things has the power of a top-tier Daofather,” Subhuti said. “Your Rahu God is much weaker than it, and its body is merely composed of divine power. It will crumble as soon as its defenses are breached.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“We have methods for dealing with the other golems and formations. The real problem is this Envoy of All Things. If we can’t find a way to deal with it, there’s no way we can win this war.” An expression suddenly flickered across Subhuti’s face. “Leave me for now. Other major powers have arrived. I need to go meet with them as well.”

“Alright.” Ning respectfully withdrew, departing from Subhuti’s residence. Upon stepping out, he suddenly raised his head to stare off into the distance. Far away, one major power after another was descending, each of them surrounded by auras of incredible power. All of these major powers descended directly into Xuan Yuan’s palace.

“Now that an Envoy of All Things has appeared, things have become problematic for us. Not even the Pangu Genesis Formation can withstand it.” A graceful, poised woman was next to Ning, also staring towards the skies with her head raised. It was senior apprentice-sister Empyrean Phoenix. “The Pangu Genesis Formation was left behind by Mother Nuwa. It is extremely powerful, but it really needs a Daofather commanding it in order to unleash its true power.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

“Who can stand against an Envoy of All Things?” Empyrean Phoenix shook her head. “The major powers have all come here to discuss this very question, no doubt. For so many major powers to be forced to convene…this is testament to how problematic this Envoy is.”

Ning could sense the weight of the invisible pressure brought by the Envoy as well.

So many of his friends had died in battle…was it all for nothing? Were they going to lose?

Suddenly, Ning’s body trembled.

Rumble…

A flood of memories began to surge into his mind from far away.

……

At a blazing, fiery star within the primordial chaos.

Whoosh.

Spacetime twisted and a white-robed youth emerged from within.

“So the exit is actually located here. It’s quite well-hidden. After six hundred years…finally, I’m out.” The white-robed youth’s body suddenly trembled.

A flood of memories surged towards him from the distant Deerchaser world of the Three Realms.

A confluence of memories!

His two clones had been completely separated from the rest after they had entered Undermoon Lake, and so there was no way for their memories to join together. Upon exiting Undermoon Lake…instantly, the memories of the two clones once more connected together with the memories of all the other clones, joining together into a confluence.

Part of the memories were formed from his six hundred years in Undermoon Lake and his time spent studying World God Northrest’s many sword-arts, which allowed Ning to understand and master the number one sword-art of the Three Realms.

The other part of his memories were formed from his experiences of roaming the Three Realms, watching many events happen and gradually learning to understand the human heart. They also included his experiences and battles in Prisonworld 17.

The two different memories began to collide against each other, merging into one whole.

Different insights into the sword.

Different insights into the heart.

They continued to collide, merge, and fuse together…

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Chapter 10 – The Return

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 10 – The Return

Although the core of the blazing star was incredibly hot, the flames on its surface were at most capable of harming Void-level Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals.

The white-robed youth stood there, not moving at all. Six hundred years worth of memories were fusing together nonstop.

It could be said that in Undermoon Lake, Ji Ning was completely and utterly infatuated with and devoted to the sword. All of his efforts had been spent on it, and his heart had barely changed at all. But in the outside world, Ning’s heart had changed on a fundamental level. He had spent six hundred years dominating and soulscouring the prisoners of the prisonworld and had seen so many memories. Memories of darkness, of madness, of love, of betrayal…

Every time he soulscoured someone, the memories he saw would affect him slightly. If an ordinary person was to see someone else’s memories, it was entirely possible that the memories would all bleed into each other and intermingle. Of course, this wouldn’t happen for someone on Ning’s level, but generally speaking it wasn’t uncommon for shadows to be cast over one’s mind. If one could endure it, however, it would serve as a form of tempering.

For someone like Ning, the backlash caused by soulscouring really wasn’t worth mentioning. However, his heart had still slowly evolved, becoming as bottomless as an endless abyss, capable of holding anything within its depths.

As for the time he spent wandering the Three Realms and meditating on the Nine Chaos Seals, it had continuously tempered and refined Ning’s heart even further.

One side had reached an astonishing level in the sword.

The other had seen a transformation of the heart.

Even mortals had the saying, ‘put your heart into it’. Two experts might be at the exact same level of sword-arts, but they would be able to produce completely different results based on the level of their heart.

“My sword was always a bit too excessively sharp; it wasn’t quite stable and steady enough. In Undermoon Lake, I was never quite able to make a breakthrough in this regard,” the white-robed youth mumbled. He suddenly pointed forward with his finger. At the tip of his finger suddenly appeared a swirling whirlpool that was formed from diametrically opposed types of power. Swish! The Void itself was pierced through.

“Now…I’ve finally made a bit of a breakthrough.” Ning nodded slowly.

During the past six hundred years in Undermoon Lake, Ning had almost completely focused on the sword. This became even more the case after he had viewed the ninety-eight stone steles which World God Northrest had left behind. They revealed a brand new path for Ning. Ning had wanted to reach the fifth level of swordforce very much, but going from the fourth level to the fifth level was as hard as ascending to the heavens. It was much like how only the great divinity Houyi had ever managed to reach the fifth level of heartforce; the number of fifth-level swordforce experts in the Three Realms could be counted on one hand.

To break through and reach the fifth stage of swordforce with just a few short centuries of training was simply far too difficult. Ning had always worked very hard, and although he hadn’t made a breakthrough in swordforce, he had learned much and actually been able to embark upon a different path. He had slowly gained insight into yinforce and yangforce, and had even been able to join them together into infiniforce. Ning was able to infuse many of his insights regarding World God Northrest’s sword-arts into his infiniforce technique.

World God Northrest’s sword-arts actually contained many different types of force, including swordforce, infiniforce, spacetime-force…

But clearly, when training with the sword, Ning had gained more insights into Yin and Yang, resulting in him comprehending the essence of infiniforce. In truth, during his early years at Swallow Mountain, Ning had simultaneously trained in two mighty sword techniques, one of fire, the other of ice. When he trained in using ice and fire at the same time, he was unconsciously training in the basics of Yin and Yang as well. However, Ning had only spent so many years training, and most of those years had been focused on the Dao of the Sword and the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop. He was completely unwilling to divide his attention towards other Daos.

In Undermoon Lake, Ning didn’t train in any other Daos at all, only training in the sword.

And so…in the end, had gained insight into infiniforce.

After three years, he had gained a basic level of insight into infiniforce. Srictly speaking, in the outside world it could be said that he had already gained insight into the Grand Dao of Infinity.

After twenty years, his infiniforce had reached the second level.

After less than a century, it had reached the third level.

And yet…he had yet to be able to reach the fourth level.

However, upon leaving Undermoon Lake and reconnecting with the memories from the outside world, his heart began to change. He drew upon the many insights regarding the sword he had gained during six centuries of roaming the Three Realms…and so, naturally and unconsciously, Ning reached the fourth level of infiniforce as well. But most importantly of all, because Ning’s insights were derived from World God Northrest’s sword-arts, his infiniforce and his swordforce began to join together into a perfect, flawless whole.

“The fifth stage of swordforce…” Ning could sense it much more clearly now than before.

“It seems the experiences of my predecessors were correct.” Ning nodded mentally to himself.

World God Northrest had left behind many bamboo scrolls. Aside from containing techniques, some contained knowledge and guidance for training in general, as well as information regarding the endless primordial chaos. Alas, World God Northrest had fled in a blind panic, and so even he wasn’t certain how many different regions and dimensions of spacetime he had traversed before reaching the Three Realms. Thus, the few maps he had regarding the primordial chaos were all useless to Ning.

The knowledge and guidance for training in general, however, was very useful.

According to what World God Northrest had said, if one wished to reach the fifth stage of swordforce, one would ideally come up with ways of infusing other types of force into one’s sword-arts, producing sword-arts of greater power. The more powerful one’s sword-arts were, the closer one would be to the fifth stage of swordforce. To reach the sixth stage of swordforce would be to reach the stage known as the true ‘World of the Sword’. This was the stage of World Gods, a stage that completely eclipsed the Heavenly Daos. The best way to reach this level was to train in sword-arts that surpassed the Heavenly Daos!

This was because the World God level, in and of itself, surpassed the Heavenly Daos. Thus, training in sword-arts that surpassed the Heavenly Daos, even in just one aspect such as the [Five Treasures] and speed, would still help tear a small ‘crack’ in the barrier the Heavenly Daos presented. This would allow Ning to move closer to that level.

“Following the guidance of my predecessors is akin to standing on their shoulders.” Ning wouldn’t be so arrogant as to disregard their guidance.

What he needed to do was constantly improve himself until he reached a point where he surpassed even his predecessors.

When he had been forced to personally consign Yu Wei into the Infinity Hells, Ning had suddenly comprehended many things. He had murmured to himself: ‘Though I come from the mortal dust, my heart still soars towards the heavens.’

“Eh? I just mastered the Dao of Rainwater.”

The white-robed youth stood there on the surface of the blazing star, stunned.

Because of his mastery over the [Five Treasures], he was finally able to comprehend other Daos again. Within just a few breaths of time, he completely mastered the Dao of Rainwater!

This was primarily because Ning was at simply far too high a level of understanding right now. When his ninth apprentice-brother, Junwu, was still just a mortal child, a single word of guidance from Subhuti had caused him to suddenly master an entire Dao overnight. What level of enlightenment had Ning reached? His sword-arts had surpassed the Heavenly Daos, and his swordforce and infiniforce had joined together perfectly. He had also absorbed the essence of the elite sword-arts left behind by World God Northrest, and his self-created [Brightmoon] sword-art was already definitely the number one sword-art of the Three Realms.

He possessed a incredibly high level of insight, and also possessed an incredibly high level of heartforce.

Comprehending the various Daos he already had an affinity towards? It was just a matter of time.

“Time to pay the prisonworld a visit.” The white-robed youth entered a boat-type treasure, shuttling through the Void.

Upon reaching the icy star and entering the prisonworld…

“Eh? I just mastered the Dao of the Thunderclap?” As soon as Ning entered the prisonworld, he was shocked by this revelation. He was surprised because prior to training in the [Five Treasures], he had no talent for lightning-affinity Daos at all. But now, he had suddenly mastered it with tremendous speed. It was second only to the Dao of Rainwater; he hadn’t even regained his other previous Daos, such as the Dao of the Inferno. Instead, it was the Dao of the Thunderclap which had come first.

Still, it made sense.

His divine body had long ago become baptized by lightning, becoming a lightning-attribute divine body. In terms of his body’s affinity for lightning, he was actually on an even higher level than Exalted Celestial Thundergod, who had been born out of the primordial chaos itself. His body was able to completely become one with the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, just as perfectly as a Golden Crow would be able to become one with the flames of the sun.

In truth, at this point in time, Ning’s affinity for and talent in lightning actually surpassed even his talent for water! However, he had focused on the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop in the past. Even though his memories of it were lost, he would instinctively gain insights into it much faster than in other Daos, allowing him to quickly master the Dao of Rainwater.

And then…

The Dao of the Inferno and the Dao of the Gale all revealed themselves as well. He even began to gain insights into the Dao of Space once more.

“The more solid a foundation, the more one shall comprehend.” Ning was quite calm.

According to what World God Northrest had said, different chaosworlds all had different Heavenly Daos! For example, the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld both had Heavenly Daos of Earth, but although they were extremely similar, there were still a number of differences. 1

For true experts, however, what really mattered was a solid foundation of fundamental forces such as swordforce, infiniforce, taiji-force, or chaosforce. Once one reached a sufficiently high level of insight into these fundamental forces, then no matter what chaosworld one entered, one would be able to rapidly gain insights into the many local Daos. By now…Ning had gained a very stable foundation.

“The prisonworld.”

“In the past, my vision was far too limited. Or perhaps it would be more fair to say that the True Gods and True Immortals of Pangaea had limited vision.” Ning was quite moved.

……

A series of white-robed youths stood there atop a grassy area within the prisonworld. There were a total of eighteen of them, and they were scattered throughout the region. In front of them was placed a large amount of Protocosmic spirit-treasures and unique treasures. The most powerful aura came from a sword…a Darknorth sword.

After six centuries of sweeping through the prisonworld, more than twenty True Gods and True Immortals had died by his hands! All the baleful aura released by those deaths had allowed one of Ning’s six Darknorth swords to finally break through and evolve to become a Chaos treasure, thanks to the ‘Armaments of Sin’ technique.

“Thankfully, World God Northrest left behind certain techniques to me, allowing me to recognize how these treasures are meant to be used.”

1. In the original Chinese, the character for ‘Earth’ used in Pangu and Seamless were different.

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Chapter 11 – Meeting the Godking

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 11 – Meeting the Godking

While roaming the vast primordial chaos, one had to be able to recognize treasures for what they were. If you saw one without recognizing one and passed it by, how laughable would that be? World God Northrest had naturally left behind many records, allowing Ji Ning to identify the treasures he was currently in most desperate need of.

“Come.” Ning willed it, and a dirty-looking cauldron flew towards him.

Ning had acquired this cauldron from an imprisoned Empyrean God. That Empyrean God had spent quite some time analyzing the cauldron after acquiring it, but wasn’t sure exactly how it was to be used. In fact, not even the seniors of his sect that he asked knew the answer.

“A Five Elements Cauldron.” Ning nodded slowly. “I had thought that after leaving Undermoon Lake, I would need to spend time and effort scrounging up the materials I would need to forge one of these things. Now, I realize that I actually already have one…and this one is at the level of a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. Although it’s nothing in the eyes of someone like World God Northrest, I probably wouldn’t be able to make one as good.”

Five Elements Cauldrons were used to destroy magic treasures.

Right. Destroy them!

Precious items and minerals, along with magic items, damaged or undamaged, could be thrown into these cauldrons. They would be completely destroyed, and then reformed into five types of Five Elements essences; Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. Virtually every single treasure born from the primordial chaos could be melted down into essences of the Five Elements.

Even the primordial chaos itself could be converted into the Five Elements!

The extracted essences could be used to forge new magic treasures, as treasures that were infused with them would undergo certain transformations.

The reason why Ning was in desperate need of such a cauldron was for the sake of that damaged sword, the most important treasure World God Northrest had left him.

“Violetjewel…although its core essence is intact, the sword itself is so heavily damaged that it is close to the brink of breaking apart. The sword is damaged so heavily that there is no way it can be used in battle at all. I have to use Five Elements essence in order to repair it!”

If given sufficient Five Elements essence, Violetjewel’s physical structure could be repaired enough to allow it to be once more used in battle. By then, it would definitely be far more powerful than a mere Chaos weapon.

Given even more Five Elements essence, Violetjewel could be completely repaired, allowing it to regain all of its former power.

To spend some Five Elements essence in exchange for acquiring a weapon that surpassed Chaos treasures? Of course Ning was willing!

All those years ago, World God Northrest’s efforts were completely focused on finding a way to halt the decay of his truesoul. He was focused on trying to stay alive, and so had no desire to waste time on creating a Five Elements Cauldron, much less collecting the many treasures that would be needed to refine a sufficient amount of Five Elements essences. As far as World God Northrest was concerned, repairing the treasure would be of no use to him. Staying alive was what really matter.

“Arise.”

Ning naturally possessed the techniques needed to use a Five Elements Cauldron. He was even capable of creating one anew, much less merely using one.

However, the Empyrean God of Pangaea who had formerly owned the cauldron did not know these techniques. In fact, his clan had never even heard of it. Generally speaking, only the major powers of the primordial chaos would have access to Five Elements Cauldrons, as only truly powerful figures would be willing to throw so many precious treasures into a cauldron and destroy them. The only reason why Ning himself had so many treasures was because he had the prisonworld.

Rumble…

The dirty-looking Five Elements Cauldron had been silent for countless years. And now, it finally had a chance to reveal its brilliance. Five streaks of light shot out from its five handles, shooting towards the skies.

“Go.” Ning pointed towards the cauldron, and ten top-grade Pure Yang treasures were instantly flung into it. Ning had already completely swept through all the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals of the prisonworld, and he had a simply enormous amount of top-grade Pure Yang treasures. Every single Empyrean God and Celestial Immortal had quite a few; Celestial Immortal Liangqiu, for example, had possessed more than seven hundred flying swords. One of the prisoners had more than ten thousand top-grade Pure Yang treasures!

Ning just threw in ten to test it out.

Hissssssss.

Like snow being thrown into a furnace, a series of hissing, crackling sounds could be heard as all ten Pure Yang treasures were completely annihilated, leaving behind just a few tiny bits of debris. The essence of the Five Elements flowed into the holding region for the Five Elements located within the cauldron.

“How savage.” Ning pointed, and with a series of whooshes, a dense cluster of at least ten thousand flying shuttles all flew into the Five Elements Cauldron.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! All the Pure Yang treasures started to splinter.

“Uh oh.” Ning could sense that his energy was depleting at a rapid pace. He hurriedly pulled out a Pure Yang Immortal pill and tossed it into his mouth. “World God Northrest actually neglected to notify me that using the Five Elements Cauldron to destroy treasures and refine them into essence is a process that uses up an enormous amount of energy.” But what he had forgotten was that the clone he was using to control the cauldron merely had a third-tier Pure Yang Jindan, after all.

World God Northrest was a World God. The amount of energy used up by the cauldron was utterly negligible for him.

“Time to go.”

Ning left behind one clone to refine the treasures into essence for repairing Violetjewel. As for the other seventeen clones, he had all of them leave the prisonworld. The ninety-eight stone steles and jade shrine which World God Northrest had left behind had all been placed into the prisonworld as well. Ning had brought them back, as the pocket dimension Ning had been in collapsed as soon as he left it.

The core of that pocket dimension was the sword Violetjewel. Once Ning took it away, the pocket dimension would naturally crumble, leaving behind no traces of its passing.

A white-robed youth appeared once more on the surface of that frozen star. His other sixteen bodies were located within the estate-treasure he carried alongside him, with fifteen of them focusing on training in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique.

As Ning saw it, of his eighteen clones of his main body, he would have seventeen upgrade their Jindans. The reason he was going to leave one behind was because he was going to leave it in the prisonworld and let it focus on operating the cauldron. That one would remain un-upgraded, in case that Ning’s other bodies were all destroyed in the war in the Three Realms.

Once they were destroyed, the remaining body could use chaos nectar to quickly rebuild the other seventeen! Ning would then be able to simply use more Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith to re-upgrade their Jindans.

But if he was to upgrade his Jindan to the second-tier, allowing him to become a half-step Daofather, then the cost of remaking seventeen clones would become considerably higher, perhaps requiring ten times the amount of chaos nectar. Ning had very little chaos nectar left; there was simply no way he could afford that.

“160,000 kilograms of Ninefire Lava, 160,000 kilograms of Iceheart Pith. That’ll be enough for fifteen clones of my true body and seventeen clones of my Primaltwin.” Ning nodded. As for the remaining amount, he left it all behind within the prisonworld.

Ning was going to leave behind a ‘seed’ of both his true body and his Primaltwin, just to be safe. No one could predict what was going to happen within this tribulation. Even though he was now much more powerful, Ning was still going to be cautious.

“Time to meet the Godking.”

Whoosh.

Ning flew out from the frozen star.

Right now, the war for the Deerchaser world was a pivotal moment in the war for karmic luck!

Many of his friends and brothers had died in battle, causing Ning to wish to participate as well. And indeed, he now had the power to make a difference. The so-called ‘Envoy of All Things’? Ning was confident in being able to deal with it! But before doing so, he had to first rescue Yu Wei. Otherwise, once he revealed his full power on the Deerchaser world, the Godking would most likely have second thoughts and once more use Yu Wei to blackmail him.

Thus…

He had to first rescue his wife.

Only then could he return to the Deerchaser world!

……

Whoosh.

A white-robed youth appeared out of nowhere within the northern seas of the Grand Xia.

Although the Seamless Gate had been defeated in the war for the Grand Xia, they had still launched repeated, minor incursions against the world. True Immortal Dongyan had died in one such clash.

“Eh?” Ning spread out his heartforce, quickly discovering one of the Seamless Gate’s bases in the northern seas.

“I am Darknorth. I wish to speak to the Godking of your Seamless Gate. Make the report right away,” Ning sent mentally.

The base was only staffed by a Celestial Immortal. Upon hearing Ning’s mental message, he was badly frightened. He was of the Grand Xia; naturally, he knew of the legendary power of Ji Ning, Empyrean God Darknorth. Darknorth was someone who had roamed the Three Realms and slaughtered many members of the Seamless Gate.

The Celestial Immortal put everything else aside and immediately made a report to his master.

……

The Deerchaser major world.

The black-robed Godking and Daomother Devilhand were both standing atop the castle walls, staring at the vast wilderness in front of them. The great army of the Seamless Gate filled the wilderness, and they were calling for the enemies to come engage them in battle.

“They remain behind their fortifications, not daring to come out and fight.” The black-robed Godking laughed.

“Yesterday, quite a few True Gods and Daofathers of the Nuwa Alliance descended upon the castle. It seems they are discussing what to do about this war.” Daomother Devilhand laughed coldly, “Hmph. What sort of ideas can these major powers possibly come up with? The Envoys of All Things were devised by the Lord of All Things. What, does the Nuwa Alliance think that they can also create a golem of this level?”

“How could they? The Lord of All Things was someone capable of bringing disaster to two chaosworlds and nearly destroying them both.” The black-robed Godking laughed. “Not even the protective formations which Mother Nuwa left behind are able to withstand the Envoys. They are definitely going to lose-…eh?”

Daomother Devilhand looked towards the Godking, puzzled.

The black-robed Godking laughed. “It’s fine. A young fellow wishes to meet with me.”

“A young fellow?” Daomother Devilhand was puzzled. “Who?”

“That Ji Ning kid, who once forced me to bow my head before him…” The black-robed Godking laughed softly.

“Ji Ning?” Daomother Devilhand nodded. “A mere Empyrean God/True Immortal. Hurry up and deal with this minor matter. This war before us is the critical pivot on which our chances of winning the war for karmic luck shall turn. This is what truly matters.”

“Yes, aunt-master,” the black-robed Godking assented.

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Chapter 12 – Wishful Thinking

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 12 – Wishful Thinking

The world of the Grand Xia. An island atop the great Darknorth Sea.

Ji Ning was viewing the scenery before him. Although it was winter, the innate heat within this island kept it in perpetual spring. The island blossomed with flowers and was quite beautiful to behold.

“Senior apprentice-sister.”

“We’re going to meet again soon. Our family will be reunited.” Ning still remembered how she looked, all those years ago, when she stroked her belly as she watched him train in the sword. That warm, loving environment…ever since the destruction of Shennong’s medicine and the shattering her soul, it had completely disappeared. For the sake of getting it back, Ning had risked his life and had done everything he could possibly do. Thankfully, he had been lucky enough to acquire the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, had been lucky enough to possess powerful heartforce, and had been lucky enough that senior Fuxi had created the Rahu Formation for him. This was the reason why he had been able to force the Seamless Gate to bow its head.

Finally…he and his daughter was going to be reunited with his wife. The three of them would be reunited once more, as a family.

Rumble…

A ripple of power descended. Startled, Ning turned his head to look.

A black-robed man was standing at the end of an upraised path in the distance. The black-robed man sauntered towards him, a smile on his face. “This island isn’t bad. It’s quite beautiful. Your Primaltwin remains on the Deerchaser world, but your true body has appeared. It seems you have emerged from Undermoon Lake.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Formidable, formidable.” The black-robed Godking nodded, letting out a sigh of praise. “To tell you the truth, Ji Ning…although the two of us are on enemy sides, I admit I’m quite shocked and impressed that you were able to emerge from Undermoon Lake in just six hundred short years. Jueming entered during the Primordial Era and was only able to escape during the Three Realms era.”

Ning said, “I’ve emerged. Isn’t it time for you to hold to your promise?”

“Did you bring the treasures I asked for?” The black-robed Godking laughed, “Per what I originally said, I would only release Yu Wei’s soul to you once you gave the treasures to me.”

“I brought them.” Ning’s heartrate began to speed up uncontrollably, but he was able to remain calm.

“I trust that you have the other two treasures…but what of the Iceheart Leaf?” The black-robed Godking laughed.

Ning waved his hand. A semi-transparent, crystalline Iceheart Leaf suddenly appeared, levitating above his hands.

“It really is an Iceheart Leaf.” The black-robed Godking inspected it carefully, a slightly intoxicated look in his eyes. “It really is quite beautiful, just as the legends said it to be. This is my first time to see an Iceheart Leaf in person. Mmm…alright. You can destroy it now.”

“Destroy it?” Ning’s heart sank. What was the meaning of this? Why was he being told to bring, then destroy the Iceheart Leaf?

“Now that I’ve seen it, it’s of no further use to me.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning. “I just wanted the chance to look at it, that’s all.”

“I brought you the treasures that you asked for. Please give my senior apprentice-sister’s soul back to me,” Ning immediately said.

“Ahaha….” The black-robed Godking let out an ear-piercing laugh, an uproarious laugh, a crazy laugh. He laughed so hard, tears nearly came out of his eyes. His entire body trembled from laughter as he pointed a quavering hand at Ning. “Oh, Ji Ning, Ji Ning…and to think that you are a ‘peerless genius of this age’. Haven’t you understood yet? When I told you to get me Iceheart Leaf, I simply wanted to force you into Undermoon Lake. The leaf, the other treasures…although they are of some use to me as a Daofather, they are meaningless to the Seamless Gate as a whole. Did you really think I would care about those three treasures?”

“All I wanted was for you to enter Undermoon Lake!”

“Although you managed to emerge after six hundred years…it was enough. It was enough. Our ‘Three Realms infiltration phase’ is complete. Our Seamless Gate is battling gainst your Nuwa Alliance on the Deerchaser world, and soon the entire war for karmic luck will be at an end. The infiltration phase is over. It no longer matters.” The black-robed Godking roared with laughter. “If you came out after just one or two centuries, I’d probably have to come up with something else, but six hundred years? You are no longer a threat.”

“No threat at all.”

“Nowadays, our Seamless Gate’s forces are sent out in massive armies. You, a mere True Immortal with that feeble Rahu-something formation…what can you possibly do?” The black-robed Godking continued to roar with ear-piercing laughter like a madman.

Years ago, the Godking had been forced by Ning to bow his head. The Godking had been enraged to the point of wanting to kill Ning, but it wasn’t appropriate for him to personally act. However, the chance to see Ning enraged, see Ning feel despair…that would be even more delightful than simply killing him.

As the black-robed Godking laughed with abandon, he kept a careful watch over Ning, noting every single change in expression. He wanted to see Ning’s face become filled with panic and despair. Only then would the demon in his heart be satisfied! Other Immortal cultivators might be afraid of their dark side, but the Godking was a cultivator of Lord Demonheart’s arts. He himself was the veritable incarnation of a mental devil, while his master was the Lord of the Demonheart.

But…he was disappointed.

Ning just stood there. Stood there, not reacting at all.

Crack. Something suddenly seemed to shatter.

That woman who had quietly, blissfully watched with a smile on her face as Ning had trained in the sword…she was never coming back.

Pain!

Ning felt agonizing pain in his heart. Pain that made him feel nauseous. Pain that was about to drive him insane. He wanted to laugh…he wanted to roar…but he couldn’t make any sound at all. For many years now, the karmic sinflames had been constantly burning against his body, but Ning had never cared about the pain they brought. In this moment, however…the pain he felt was ten thousand times greater than the pain from the karmic sinflames.

“Ha…haha…”

Suddenly, a dry laugh rattled out from Ning’s mouth.

He sounded almost like a toddler who had just learned how to speak.

“Aha…ahaha…ahahaha….” Ning began to laugh wildly. He finally began to laugh, and his tears finally began to fall as well.

Upon seeing this, the black-robed Godking finally let out a satisfied smile. This was more like it. This was the reaction he had expected. For a brief moment, just now, the man hadn’t been reacting at all.

“Ahahaha…I knew all along that you weren’t worthy of my trust…” Ning’s eyes were completely bloodshot now. He laughed wildly, “I knew it all along. You, ‘Godking’, you toy with the hearts of men, causing chaos throughout the Three Realms. How could your promises be worth believing? But I still chose to believe, and I even entered Undermoon Lake, doing everything I could to return as soon as possible.”

“I even impatiently ran over here to hand those three treasures over to you. I knew that your promises were as worthless as dogshit…but I still came. I held onto hope. A tiny shred of hope…hope…hope that she would be able to come back.”

“I hoped that she would be able to come back.”

“Brightmoon and I…we miss her. I want our family to be together again. That’s all I want. My family to be together.”

“But you…finally…you have finally destroyed my last bit of hope. You destroyed it.” Ning laughed so madly, he was shaking. “Ahaha…it was all just wishful thinking…I was just dreaming. I was lying to myself this entire time. Lying to myself. Telling myself that we could still be together. What a joke. I am such a joke. A joke!”

The black-robed Godking could sense how the heart of the youth before him had shattered. Could sense his agony. His despair. The destruction of that last shred of hope.

The Godking…was satisfied.

Was pleased.

This was more like it. This was true agony. This was true heartbreak.

The Godking looked at Ning. “It is time for you to wake up. You need to understand that at this current stage of the war, a single Empyrean God like you cannot have any impact at all. By now, only a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals joined together will have any effect. Still…I’m a man who appreciates talent.”

“I’ll once more invite you to join the Seamless Gate. So long as you are willing to join us, you’ll immediately be able to reunite with your wife. Don’t you wish to be with her? Don’t you wish for your daughter to reunite with her mother? If you join the Seamless Gate, it will all happen. As a member of the Seamless Gate, you’ll be one of us…and I’ll naturally stop plotting against you. In fact, I’ll be quite good to you. You are a true expert amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, after all. Although you won’t be able to change the course of the entire war for karmic luck, you’ll still be of some use.”

“If you join the Seamless Gate now, you’ll be able to reunite with your wife. But if you refuse…well. She’ll be of no further use to me. I’ll kill her. I’ll shatter her soul. Ahahaha…”

“You have no other choices.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning.

Ning…was still bent over with laughter. “Joke. I’m a joke.”

“Thank you.” Ning straightened his back, raising his head to stare unblinkingly at the black-robed Godking.

The black-robed Godking’s heart skipped a beat.

What sort of a look was that? Such powerful heartforce…such a terrible gaze. If this was the gaze of an ordinary mortal, the Godking wouldn’t care at all, but this was Ji Ning, who had reached the fourth stage of heartforce. The black-robed Godking could sense that behind that gaze, there was an endless, blazing, burning hatred that not all the waters of the Three Realms would suffice to quench.

A desire to kill that had seeped into his spirit…his very truesoul itself.

“Thank you for destroying my hopes. Thank you for bringing my wishful thoughts to an end. Thank you…for freeing me from all my doubts.”

“Let’s take it slow, you and I. The day is still young. Soon…I will make sure to properly thank you for all you have done.”

After speaking, Ning turned and left, transforming into a streak of light.

“If you refuse, your wife will be useless to me. I will kill her,” the black-robed Godking immediately howled after him.

“My wife is already dead. I killed her!” Ning’s voice echoed in the air, but he himself had already departed from the Grand Xia.

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Chapter 13 – A Month From Now

Chapter 13 – A Month From Now

The black-robed Godking stood there at the island, staring into the skies. Ji Ning had already departed from this place.

“Hmph.” The black-robed Godking laughed coldly. “He cares deeply about love, and yet is able to sever it. Quite an impressive figure. During ordinary times, I might need to be concerned about you…but now? The war is in full swing. Soon, even the major powers shall begin to die in large swathes. A single Empyrean God…nothing more than a minor character.”

Whoosh. The black-robed Godking left behind as well. The only thing left behind was that beautiful island, where countless flowers continued to bloom.

……

The Deerchaser world.

Atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel. Daomother Devilhand and the black-robed Godking continued to stare at their army, spread throughout the vast wilderness. Their army was calling out for battle, but the Nuwa Alliance refused to come out and fight.

“That little kid.” The black-robed Godking suddenly let out a low, cold chuckle.

“Eh?” Daomother Devilhand looked towards him.

“Ji Ning.” The black-robed Godking laughed, “Just now, I sent one of my incarnations to go meet with him. I toyed with him for a bit.”

Daomother Devilhand said calmly, “Given how far the war for karmic luck has advanced, a single Empyrean God like him is no longer a threat to us.”

“I know. That’s why there’s no way I would possibly give Yu Wei’s soul back to him. Even if it’s useless to me, Ji Ning can forget about getting it,” the black-robed Godking said with a calm laugh. “Don’t worry, aunt-master. I won’t spend too much of my time on that kid. The big picture is what really matters, and the issue before us is the war for karmic luck. As for that Ji Ning? If an opportunity arises, I’ll use it to dispose of him. If no opportunity comes, then I won’t bother with him. Spending time and effort on him is a waste of my energy.”

“Mm. It’s good that you know what matters.” Daomother Devilhand nodded calmly.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Their army flew through the air in an awe-inspiring horde that covered the skies as they returned to the Seamless Citadel.

“Eh?” The black-robed Godking raised his head. He saw a distant black bolt of lightning flash in the skies, followed by a streak of light flying into the distant, hovering citadel of the Nuwa Alliance. The Godking cracked his lips into a grin. “It’s Ji Ning.”

……

The Deerchaser world. The hanging citadel of the Nuwa Alliance.

Ji Ning’s residence.

Whoosh. The white-robed Ning waved his hand, and the black-robed Ning in front of him was drawn into the portable estate-world.

The world inside the treasure was an entire world of its own, with mountain peaks soaring into the skies. There were a total of 319 mountain peaks, which served as the ‘foundational pillars’ of this world, ensuring its stability.

A number of white-robed youths were all seated on their respective mountain peaks, training in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique.

Whoosh.

Seventeen black-robed Ning’s appeared as well. As with his true bodies, Ning had only brought seventeen of his Primaltwin clones here. He had left one behind to accompany his daughter, Brightmoon.

Whoooooooosh. Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith began to fly out.

The seventeen black-robed Ning’s separated from each other, each occupying a mountain peak of their own. They then began to train in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique as well.

The ‘original’ white-robed Ning remained standing within that distant courtyard. He waved his hand, and instantly a large horde of people appeared within it.

“Brother Darknorth.”

“Where is this place?”

“Brother Darknorth, we’ve been waiting for centuries. You’ve finally let us out.”

“Eh? Where are we?”

The throng of Empyrean Gods that had just appeared were Empyrean Gods Sin and Sealthroat, the Seven Dragon Gods, Empyrean God Feiyou, Empyrean God Cloudscar, and the rest of the two hundred-plus Empyrean Gods of Undermoon Lake. Each of them was extraordinarily powerful.

“Is this…the Deerchaser major world?” Empyrean God Roughpeak suddenly said, stunned.

“Deerchaser?”

“The Three Realms.”

“We’ve returned.”

The Empyrean Gods quickly grew excited by this revelation. They each began to spread out their coresense, causing the already-present Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance to notice them…and realize to their astonishment that these coresenses seemed to be of old friends and brothers that they had not seen for a long, long time.

Soon, quite a few Empyrean Gods hastened to Ning’s place.

“Ah!? Oddwitch, it really is you! I thought my senses were fooling me.”

“S-senior apprentice-brother! Y-you…are still alive!?”

Ning’s residence quickly became quite a lively place…and in the commotion, no one noticed that Ning had quietly departed.

Traveling alone, Ning headed towards the palace where Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan resided.

There were guards outside the palace.

“Empyrean God Darknorth, there are many major powers who are convening inside right now. They must not be disturbed,” a golden-armored guard said.

“Help me relay a message. Tell them that I have extremely important information for my master,” Ning said.

The golden-armored guard was slightly startled. If Ning had insisted on seeing Xuan Yuan, he would’ve stopped him, but since Ning just wanted to meet with his own master…it wasn’t really appropriate for him to stand in the way. He immediately nodded. “Empyrean God Darknorth, just wait a moment. I’ll send the word right now.”

Ning nodded. He stood there quietly, waiting.

His master, Xuan Yuan, Suiren, and other major powers were all gathered here. If Ning wished to meet them, he naturally would have to act in a proper manner and pay his respects accordingly. He couldn’t just sweep out his heartforce or send a mental message to them from afar; that would be far too brash!

A short while later, the golden-armored guard returned. He gave Ning a curious look. “His Imperial Majesty said to let you in.”

When he had made the report, Xuan Yuan, Daoist Three Purities, and the others all said the same thing: ‘Let Ji Ning come in.’ This caused this guard, who was merely a Celestial Immortal, to be extremely puzzled.

Ning nodded, then stepped forward onto the stairs.

He walked through the corridor, passing into an extremely wide plaza as he walked towards a great hall. Even before entering, Ning was able to make out the seated figures within the great hall. All of them were major powers of the Three Realms. There weren’t that many of them here. This was mainly because all of the major powers had hastened here after the appearance of the Envoy of All Things. After their day of initial discussions, some of the major powers had left.

“Come in.” Xuan Yuan’s voice rang out, and Ning entered the palace.

There really weren’t that many True Gods/Daofathers inside, just eighteen in total. However, the most puissant powers were all present. Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Shennong, Fuxi, and Suiren were all present. Subhuti was seated there as well, and he nodded towards Ning. He was responsible for keeping watch over the Seamless Gate’s actions, and so he already knew of Ning’s meeting with the Godking and knew what had happened.

He couldn’t help but sigh. He knew that his disciple’s path was a hard one, but one which only his disciple himself could walk.

“Ji Ning.” Xuan Yuan smiled. “We learned just a moment ago that you brought more than two hundred Empyrean Gods back from Undermoon Lake. And…I can sense that all of them have extremely powerful auras. All of them are top-tier Empyrean Gods, and some of them are quite shockingly powerful. To gain the allegiance of such a group of Empyrean Gods during the war for karmic luck is helpful for our side.”

“You came out after six centuries. You were much faster than Jueming,” Lord Tathagata said with a smile.

“Disciple.” Subhuti spoke out. “Why have you sought me?”

All the major powers were watching Ning. Even the weakest of these eighteen were top-tier Daofathers! Before Ning had arrived, they were pondering the question of how to deal with the Envoy of All Things.

Ning had just brought them two hundred more Empyrean Gods, which was quite a pleasing bit of news to them, as many of these Empyrean Gods were their disciples. But this was just an emotional bit of pleasure. They knew very well that the addition of these Empyrean Gods would have very little impact on the big picture. In the last battle alone, they had lost nearly six hundred!

As for the Envoy, using Empyrean Gods and True Immortals against it was useless. Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had to rely on formations in order to unleash sufficient amounts of power. True Immortal Jimin, commanding a Pangu Genesis Formation, had already reached what they believed to be the theoretical maximum level of power that could be unleashed by an Empyrean God or True Immortal when wielding a formation. They couldn’t come up with any better ideas at all.

“The Envoy of All Things,” Ning said.

“The Envoy?” Subhuti was startled. All the major powers were startled. The only reason why they had been willing to meet with Ning was to thank him for having rescued so many Empyrean Gods…but now, all of them instantly turned quite serious.

“Can the Seamless Gate eavesdrop or spy on this location…?” Ning asked.

“Don’t worry. The many major powers of the Three Realms are all gathered here, and we have each employed our own methods to block out spying. Even the Heavenly Daos themselves have been blocked off,” Subhuti said.

Ning was startled. A moment later, he realized that this was true. He couldn’t even sense the Heavenly Daos in this place. This was testament to how agitated he was, that he hadn’t even noticed this.

“Speak.” Subhuti looked at his disciple.

“The Envoy of All Things is quite formidable. However, your disciple’s clones have departed Undermoon Lake after six hundred years, and all memories have been joined together once more. Your disciple has a way to deal with the Envoy of All Things,” Ning said solemnly.

“You have a way?” Exalted Celestial Thundregod, seated nearby, frowned. Although he didn’t like Ji Ning, this was something that had to do with the survival of their alliance. He wholeheartedly wanted to come up with a solution for dealing with the Envoy, but none of the major powers present had come up with any ideas. For Ji Ning to suddenly claim that he had a solution caused Thundergod to frown. “Are you aware that the Envoy of All Things is comparable to a top-tier Daofather in power? You, an Empyrean God, have a method of dealing with it?”

“When the Envoy of All Things appeared, I was by Master’s side on the city walls,” Ning said respectfully. The meaning of this was clear; he knew exactly how powerful the Envoy was.

“You really have an idea?” Yu the Great, the founder of the Primordial Imperial Clan, was seated close by. He couldn’t help but ask this question.

Ning nodded, his eyes filled with unprecedented self-confidence and determination. “Elders, please give me just a month. A month from now, I, Ji Ning…shall go and deal with the Envoy of All Things.”

“War is not a joking matter. This will have implications for the lives of countless Immortals and Fiendgods.” The commander of their army, Xuan Yuan, spoke out in a solemn voice.

“This junior wouldn’t dare to make such a joke.” Ning spoke out in an equally solemn manner.

“Fine.” Xuan Yuan nodded. “I trust that you know that in war, one cannot make idle promises. Since you’ve promised it, a month from now I will order our army to once more battle the Seamless Gate.”

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Chapter 14 – True Body

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 14 – True Body

Ji Ning departed respectfully.

The supreme figures of the Nuwa Alliance within the hall watched as Ning departed. They then exchanged glances. Clearly, they all had their doubts and concerns.

“Everyone…do you believe that Darknorth truly has a solution?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod couldn’t but say, “It’s not that I look down on him; rather, we all know exactly how powerful the Envoy is. When the Lord of All Things led his army of Envoys, he nearly wiped out both the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld. Fortunately, Mother Nuwa made her breakthrough and swept through all challengers. Although this Envoy before us is merely under the command of an Empyrean God, it still definitely has the power of a top-tier Daofather. Ji Ning…I really can’t imagine how he can come up with any solution.”

“Mm.”

“I can’t imagine it either. What could he possibly do?”

“Can it be that his swordforce or his heartforce has reached the fifth stage?” Emperor Zhuanxu frowned.

“The fifth stage isn’t that easy to reach. Swordforce and heartforce increase exponentially in difficulty with each stage. The fifth stage is harder to reach than becoming a True God or Daofather.” Xuan Yuan slowly shook his head. “He’s just returned from Undermoon Lake. My best guess is that he must’ve acquired some sort of treasure in Undermoon Lake. Something which allows him, an Empyrean God and True Immortal, to be able to unleash the power of a top-tier Daofather.”

“Can such a treasure truly exist?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod was puzzled.

“They do. For example…” Xuan Yuan said softly, “The Envoy of All Things! If Ji Ning also had an Envoy, given the power he displayed in overcoming Undermoon Lake, he could probably defeat the enemy.”

Everyone present blinked.

“Everyone, we’ve been guessing all along that Undermoon Lake was created by an ancient major power, yes?” Xuan Yuan chuckled. “That major power must have been shockingly powerful; it’s not impossible that he might’ve left behind a golem comparable to an Envoy of All Things. But of course, that’s just a guess. The possibility is that Ji Ning is so infuriated that he’s completely overestimated himself.”

“Ji Ning is an Empyrean God and True Immortal; there’s no way he would be that unreliable.” Shennong frowned as he spoke in a calm voice.

“The person who knows Ji Ning best is his master.” Fuxi looked towards Subhuti.

Everyone present looked towards Subhuti. Quite a few people had spoken, but thus far Subhuti had yet to say a thing.

Subhuti frowned, then said slowly, “Xuan Yuan…it’s best if you still make preparations in the event of defeat.”

“Oh?” Xuan Yuan was startled.

The hearts of everyone present sunk.

Subhuti said nothing else. He didn’t want to reveal all of Ning’s secrets to everyone! Still, in Subhuti’s heart, he was indeed a bit nervous. He knew that throughout the course of history, from the Primordial Era to the present day, the word ‘love’ had caused quite a few major powers to be driven mad. Even Houyi, whose heartforce had reached the fifth stage, was unable to escape from this word, ‘love’.

Subhuti himself wasn’t sure as to how heavy a mental blow Ning had been delivered by what had just happened.

“Fine. I’ll make complete preparations.” Xuan Yuan nodded.

……

News of the return of more than two hundred Empyrean Gods quickly spread throughout the Three Realms. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms all heard that the return of all these people was thanks to Ji Ning.

Far away, in the Celestial Realm. Mount Ling, in the eastern lands.

Buddha Jueming’s palace was a simple, plain, unadorned one. There were only two novice monks here, guarding the entrance. He only became truly famous in the Three Realms after returning from Undermoon Lake, then training to become a True God and Daofather. Ever since then, he had never caused much of a stir, as he had lived here in seclusion by himself.

“Mm?” Buddha Jueming was seated in the lotus position. Slowly, he opened his eyes. “Undermoon Lake? Empyrean God Darknorth overcame Undermoon Lake?”

“Has Darknorth also acquired [Forlorn World God] and [Nine Elements Annihilation]?” Buddha Jueming mused to himself. The [Forlorn World God]…it was indeed the best Fiendgod Body Refiner technique that World God Northrest had access to which could be taught to others. Right now, Ning was indeed training in the [Forlorn World God].

The key to this technique lay in the word ‘Forlorn’.

One would have to search through endless solitude and dullness in order to find the secrets regarding the divine body, then make the breakthrough.

Thus, in order to train in this technique, what one truly needed was silence and calm. Sometimes, a single ‘forlorn’ meditation session could span ten thousand years or a million years. Buddha Jueming himself was perpetually seated in the meditative posture, and thus he naturally understood the profound secrets to this art. Long ago, it was this art which he used to break through to become a True God.

“So, there is now yet another cultivator of the [Nine Elements Annihilation] and the [Forlorn World God],” Buddha Jueming mused to himself. “The power of this divine ability is truly endless; the only thing one really needs is a long period of time to meditate on it. Unfortunately, Darknorth hasn’t spent enough time cultivating. Otherwise, he would be of tremendous benefit in this war.”

The longer one cultivated, the more powerful he realized the [Forlorn World God] and the [Nine Elements Annihilation] to be. These two techniques alone were enough to allow one to become an unparalleled expert amongst Elder Gods, and perhaps even break through to the World God stage.

News that Ji Ning was about to enter the fray was kept completely secret. Even the other major powers of the Nuwa Alliance such as Buddha Jueming were not informed.

The only ones who knew were the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism, the Three Emperors, and around ten-plus other major powers. Although they were worried that Ning would fail, they still felt a hint of hope. Naturally, they would keep this a tight secret.

Time passed, one day at a time. In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

Within the world of the estate-world.

This was a world of towering mountain peaks. Ning’s seventeen true body clones and seventeen Primaltwin clones had all gathered here, at the very top of one of the mountain peaks.

“The Jindan smelting process is complete.”

“Time to train in the [One True Body] technique.”

The seventeen white-robed youths all sat down in the lotus position together. Slowly, the bodies of two of them began to emit a hazy white light. Their bodies, their Jindans, and their souls were all emanating this hazy white light which was filled with arcane, abstruse divine runes. Ning was completely, slavishly imitating the technique and runes as it had been written down. This technique had been created by a major power of the primordial chaos, and its runes were incredibly profound and mysterious. There was no way Ning could understand these runes at all; all he had to do was memorize them and then replicate them.

Rumble…

The two white-robed youths began to slowly draw closer to each other. One of them actually ended up flying into the body of the other, causing the aura of white light to dramatically expand.

It was an extremely slow and very relaxed, comfortable process.

It was like a baby bird sleeping inside the egg shell.

It was like a baby child sleeping within the mother’s womb.

The ball of white light completely surrounded the blurry figure. In this moment, all thought was impossible. Clearly, the Jindan, soul, and bodies had all begun to merge together. Only things that had come from the same source could merge together in such a manner. The divine bodies, Jindans, and souls of these clones were all absolutely identical. There were no differences whatsoever!

If there was even the slightest bit of difference, the merger would become impossible.

For example, Ning’s Primaltwin had been formed through a Sole-Ki Pearl of Primalwater. Thus, there were a major differences between it and Ning’s true body. And so, there was no way whatsoever for the Primaltwin and the true body to merge together! But of course, the eighteen Primaltwin clones could all merge into each other.

Whoosh.

The blurry white light completely faded away, withdrawing into the remaining clone’s body. The white-robed figure emerged once more, and it once more became capable of thought. As Ning regained his senses, he could immediately sense how his body had changed. “My divine power has transformed in some way. The Pure Yang energy in my Jindan has become more pure, and the Jindan region has expanded in size by a bit. My soul has become more powerful as well…even my heartforce has grown considerably stronger.”

When two completely identical souls fused together, the resultant soul would of course be much stronger. This sort of fusion would result in an upgrade in every single aspect and area.

Long ago, when the King of Pangaea had been an Elder God, he had relied on mastering the complete [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] to join his clones together, allowing him to surpass other Elder Gods in every single aspect. It had given him overwhelmingly superior power.

“Continue.”

Whoosh.

Yet another white-robed youth was drawn into the first one’s body. The first clone’s body continued to rise in power, and the soul, divine power, heartforce, and Pure Yang energy all continued to evolve.

One clone after another was absorbed into the first one.

The [One True Body] technique relied on the fact that all the clones originated from the same source. This was the reason why the technique could work. The more clones were absorbed, the more powerful one would become. If Ning had been able to train in the even more ridiculous [Thousand Bodies Sutra], he would’ve been able to fuse a thousand clones together. The increase in power would be even more ridiculous, in that case, allowing an Empyrean God to become the equivalent of a True God, and a True God to become the equivalent of an Elder God. An Elder God would become the equivalent of a World God!

This was what made the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] to be such an unearthly, almighty technique! But alas, the price of training in this technique was simply too great. For even a weak Empyrean God to train in it would require a Worldheart to be consumed. The price that would need to be paid for someone more powerful would be truly incalculable. Which World God would be willing to part with a Worldheart, giving it away to an Empyrean God for cultivation? Even if the Empyrean God was to succeed, that person would still be tremendously weak and unable to help the World God at all. It would only make a difference if the Empyrean God was able to train all the way to become an Elder God…but in the path of Immortal cultivation, advancing through every single major stage saw tremendous difficulties. Far, far too many cultivators were washed out at each stage.

Whoosh.

With each merger, Ning continued to transform.

Finally, all seventeen white-robed youths had merged into one. Into one true body.

“What a strange sensation.” Ning looked at his surroundings. His soul was now far more powerful than it had been before, and even the rate at which he gained insights into the Dao was now far faster. Even though he previously was able to simultaneously train with thirty-six different bodies, the speed at which he gained insights was less than his current speed, after his one true body had been formed.

“This…is this the level of Daofathers?” Ning murmured softly to himself.

Seventeen clones, each of which had second-tier Jindans. Now that they had merged together into one true body, the power of the Jindan inside his body was comparable to first-tier Jindans! True Immortals of Pangaea with first-tier Jindans were indeed on the same level of power as the Daofathers of the Three Realms, and in fact they actually had deeper reservoirs of energy.

“My energy is on the level of a Daofather’s.”

“My divine body has surpassed the limits of an Empyrean God; it can be considered a half-step into the True God level.”

“My soul…it should have thirty to forty percent of the might of an ordinary Daofather’s soul. In order for my soul to reach the level of a true Daofather, I’ll need to spend another century nourishing it. Of my seventeen clones, two had long ago gained second-tier Jindans, and so their souls had been nourished significantly. The other fifteen had only just recently upgraded to second-tier Jindans. Their souls didn’t have enough time to evolve.”

Ning understood this principle. Still…it was enough.

His true body’s soul was already more than a hundred times stronger than that of an ordinary True Immortal’s. Daofathers could easily cover the Three Realms with the coresense, while Ning could perhaps just barely do the same, if he went all out. As for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals? They generally were only capable of covering a major world with their coresense. From this, one could easily see the difference in soul power!

“Compared to Daofather Holyflame…let’s see. We have equivalent levels of energy. I have more technically profound sword-arts, but his have been infused with the Heavenly Dao of Fire. However…I have a Darknorth sword that is a Chaos weapon.” Ning nodded to himself. “In terms of power…my true body should be comparable to Daofather Holyflame.”

“If I were to use the Rahu Formation…”

“I would be given a divine body that was comparable to that of a top-tier Daofather. In that case, my total power would surpass Daofather Holyflame’s.”

“Defeating the Envoy of All Things will be simplicity itself!”

Ning willed his aura to be retracted into his body. Instantly, the incredible aura of power surrounding him, an aura comparable to a Daofather’s, was completely retracted inside of him. This wasn’t the aura-hiding technique which Subhuti had taught him; it was one of the many techniques which World God Northrest had left behind for him. While wandering the primordial chaos, one would easily perish if one’s power was revealed for all others to know.

The estate-world treasure which Ning was within was something which he had acquired from a True God of the prisonworld. Not even Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals would be able to spy on it.

Whoosh.

Ning turned to look towards the side. Next to him were the black-robed Ning’s, and they were in the process of fusing together as well. Soon, they transformed into a single black-robed Ning. This Ning also had the power of a top-tier Daofather.

“There’s not much of a difference between fusing eighteen clones and fusing seventeen clones. It’s best to leave one behind as a ‘seed’. If I’m going to war against the Seamless Gate…best to remain cautious.” Ning willed it, and with a swoosh he disappeared from the estate-world.

……

The Starseizer major world. A large shrine.

“We pay our respects to you, Manorlord!”

Empyrean God Ninefangs and Empyrean God Snow Scorpion, upon seeing Ning suddenly appear, hastily bowed towards him.

“Ninefangs, summon the army immediately,” Ning instructed.

“Yes.” Ninefangs immediately went to make the arrangements.

“Has Redsnow left seclusion?” Ning looked towards Snow Scorpion, who shook her head and laughed. “Redsnow is still in seclusion. I really have no idea when he will emerge.”

“No rush.” Ning nodded, then immediately walked outside. Ninefangs remained the weakest of the seven, and was also the last to become an Empyrean God. Thus, he was also the most industrious of the seven, and many of the miscellaneous tasks were left for him to handle.

Soon, the plaza before the shrine became filled with a teeming horde of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals.

Whoosh.

A white-robed youth emerged from the divine hall. Instantly, the throng of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals turned their gazes towards him, Ji Ning. They all called out respectfully, “Manorlord.”

“Assemble the formation,” Ning commanded.

Instantly, the countless Immortals all flew into the air together. Ning flew to the very center of the host of Immortals, and the energy of Heaven and Earth began to flow into him in such a flow that it was affecting the entire Starseizer world. An utterly ferocious, titanic Fiendgod began to emerge. His body was pitch-black, but his lower black was covered with extremely fine strands of silver fur. Six burly, thick arms grew out from the body. Then, a head that was rather similar to Ning’s own head grew out and emerged as well.

The Rahu God had manifested.

“This body is far more powerful than a True God’s body.” Ning’s six hands clenched tightly into fists. Boom! Space itself was trembling.

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Chapter 15 – To Battle

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 15 – To Battle

“Excellent. Using Daofather-level energy to command the Rahu Formation is indeed much easier. I’m able to control all of the natural energy which has been summoned by these 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals.” Ji Ning could sense the full power of the Rahu God.

The difference between his current Daofather-level energy and his former True Immortal-level energy was simply enormous. For a True Immortal to command this mighty formation was like forcing a child to lift up a large boulder. A Daofather doing the same was like letting a strongman do the same. With Ning’s fundamentals changed, the difficulty he faced in controlling formation naturally changed as well.

Given that his soul was now much more powerful as well…he was able to effortlessly command the full force of the Rahu Formation!

“Seamless Gate.” A hint of a murderous look flashed through the Rahu-Ning’s eyes.

……

Within the levitating castle.

A black-robed Ning had appeared out of nowhere within Ning’s residence. The black-robed Ning raised his head, staring into the skies. Large plumes of snow had begun to drift downwards.

“It’s snowing,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

When he had met with the Godking in the Grand Xia, it was in the heart of winter as well, but back then Ning’s heart had been blazing with eagerness. But now…it had become nothing short of an iceberg.

“It is time to meet with senior Xuan Yuan.” The black-robed Ning walked out of his own residence and towards Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s palace. While walking over, he noted that the mood was quite gloomy. The Seamless Gate had called for battle on numerous occasions, but the Nuwa Alliance had yet to respond at all. This caused all of the Immortals and Fiendgods on their side to worry…did they really have no response at all for the Envoy of All Things? Although Ning chatted a bit with the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals he met on the way, he could sense the tremendous pressure his friends were under.

This war was one in which the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would risk their lives, after all.

A short while later, the black-robed Ning reached Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s palace.

“Empyrean God Darknorth.” The golden-armored guard in front of the palace called out to him, stopping him.

“Please send the word to his Imperial Majesty, the Yellow Emperor. Simply say that Ji Ning is now prepared,” the black-robed Ning said.

“Alright.” The golden-armored guard nodded.

Ning turned and left.

Within the palace.

The three mighty Sovereigns of Mankind were seated, as were the incarnations of the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism and the true bodies of Xuan Yuan and Subhuti.

“Ji Ning is now prepared.” Xuan Yuan smiled as he looked towards Subhuti. “And…what a powerful desire to kill he is radiating!”

“Mm. It is quite intense.” Subhuti murmured softly, “Although he is keeping it suppressed deep in his heart…that’s what makes the intensity of it so shocking. That’s why I told you to make preparations for being defeated, just in case. Although I’ve always been very confident in this disciple of mine, and although he’s never allowed his personal emotions to get in the way of the big picture…we really cannot afford to lose this fight.”

“Yes. We cannot afford to lose.” Shennong let out a sigh. “We have no other options for dealing with the Envoy of All Things. We just don’t have enough power. We have to rely on raw numbers to overwhelm it.”

“This is our best chance.” Suiren, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, and the others all nodded.

“If Ji Ning is unsuccessful, we’ll carry out the plan we originally settled upon,” Xuan Yuan said softly. That plan was a calamitous one. Xuan Yuan stilled his emotions, then said, “I’ll assemble the army now.”

“Alright.” Everyone present nodded.

Xuan Yuan immediately instructed two of his disciples, “Give the order to assemble. Prepare to enter combat.”

The order was given. The entire castle instantly exploded into motion as a veritable ocean of Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, Celestial Immortals, and Loose Immortals quickly began to gather together, assembling into great formations.

“The Seamless Gate isn’t even calling out for battle right now. For us to take the initiative to attack…can it be that the major powers have already come up with a way to deal with that ape-shaped monstrosity?”

“If we’re taking the initiative to attack…the major powers might really have a solution.”

“Right.”

“If we don’t deal with that ape-shaped aberration, it will be very hard to win. It’s utterly impenetrable to weapons. Not even fellow Daoist Jimin’s Pangu Genesis Formation was able to harm it in the slightest. If that ape-shaped monstrosity is allowed to go wild…we are going to suffer greatly for it.”

“They surely have a solution.”

The various Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who were the commanders of the formation were all chatting amongst themselves.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The Three Sovereigns, the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, Subhuti, and Xuan Yuan all appeared. They flew through the air as Xuan Yuan called out in a commanding voice, “Exit the citadel!”

Rumble…

The vast, awe-inspiring army flew into the air as well, flying out of the floating citadel and towards the distant wilderness.

Xuan Yuan and the rest of the seven major powers stood atop the city walls, watching from afar. Their disciples, Ning included, quickly assembled behind them atop the walls.

“The disciples under my command do not know that you are going to join the battle. Just now, when I ordered the army to assemble, you weren’t notified.” Xuan Yuan turned to look at the black-robed Ning. “You can go now.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Boom.

An enormous, thirty thousand meter tall Rahu God suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Its face was Ji Ning’s face, and it held a pair of Darknorth swords in its hands, one of which was the one which had become a Chaos treasure.

The Rahu-Ning instantly soared into the skies, heading towards the main army.

“Rahu Formation?”

“Is Ji Ning simply going to use the Rahu Formation?” The faces of Xuan Yuan, Subhuti, the Three Sovereigns, and the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism all changed.

They knew exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of the Rahu Formation were, which made them all the more nervous.

“Ji Ning…has he really lost sight of the big picture?” The reason why Subhuti had previously advised the other major powers to prepare for defeat was simply because this battle was too important; they truly couldn’t afford to lose this war. But upon seeing that Ning’s ‘special ability’ seemingly just consisted of using the Rahu Formation, Subhuti’s heart truly turned cold.

“The Rahu Formation…” Fuxi spoke out. “I created this formation. It is an extremely difficult one, and there aren’t even many Daofathers who are capable of unleashing the full power of this formation. Only a Daofather who has extremely strong heartforce and a soul heartforce technique can truly unleash its power. Ji Ning has not become a Daofather yet. If his meditations into the Dao began to resonate with the Heavenly Daos, we would’ve sensed it long ago.”

“Right.” Everyone present nodded. Mastering a Heavenly Dao would cause a resonance with the Heavenly Daos. It was something that was extremely difficult to hide.

“Ji Ning is not a Daofather, and he’s only capable of unleashing a small part of the full power of the Rahu Formation. Even if his sword-arts are extraordinary, he would at most be capable of matching an ordinary Daofather.” Fuxi shook his head. “Even one of the Seamless Infinity Formations would be able to completely suppress him. As for the Envoy of All Things…that has the power of a top-tier Daofather.”

“Is it possible that Ji Ning has something else planned?” Xuan Yuan couldn’t help but ask this question. He still held hope in the words which Ning had said a month ago.

“Let’s watch for now.” Suiren was frowning as well.

“Have the other Pangu Genesis Formation be prepared,” Daoist Three Purities advised.

“Yes.” Xuan Yuan nodded slowly.

Subhuti didn’t say anything else. He just watched from far away as the Rahu-Ning flew towards the great army of the Nuwa Alliance, his eyes filled with worry.

The walls of the Seamless Citadel. Daomother Devilhand and the black-robed Godking had both appeared.

“The Nuwa Alliance actually dares to call us out for battle?” The Godking laughed.

“We’ve called them out so many times, but they refused to join battle. For them to actively seek battle this time…they are simply trying to boost their own morale,” Daomother Devilhand said calmly.

The black-robed Godking nodded. “Master and I are fully aware of all their capabilities. They’ve sent yet another five hundred Empyrean Gods and are most likely prepared to form yet another Pangu Genesis Formation. Since they can’t defeat the Envoy one-on-one, they’ve decided to try a two-on-one. They should be planning to have the two Pangu Gods fight against our Envoy.”

“I guessed they would do this.” Daomother Devilhand nodded. “It is much like how we previously were using two Infinity Fiendgods to deal with the Jimin-Pangu. However, there’s a fatal flaw to this plan; simply put, they can’t fight for too long. No matter how well the two work together, as the battle progresses, they will eventually make a mistake.”

“Right.” The black-robed Godking nodded.

If the two Pangu Gods worked well together when fighting against the Envoy of All Things, they’d be able to withstand it. But if their teamwork was poor…they would be in a dangerous situation! The Envoy was utterly unbreakable; not even the leaders of Buddhism or Daoism were capable of actually destroying those terrifying golems.

“Look…” Daomother Devilhand suddenly pointed towards a distant corner. Amongst a group of many Seven Planets Gods, a six-armed Fiendgod had just appeared.

“Is that…?” The black-robed Godking was stunned for a moment…and then he began to laugh. “Ji Ning in a Fiendgod formation? Haha, that’s Ji Ning using his Rahu Formation. Haha! Years ago, he relied on the Rahu Formation to force me to bow my head and accede to his requests. He hasn’t taken part in any of the fights of the past six centuries, because he has been hoping that he would be able to rescue his senior apprentice-sister from my clutches. Now that he’s given up, he’s joining the fray. Right…the Grandmaster has instructed that if we have the chance, we are to get rid of Ji Ning.”

“Mm.” Daomother Devilhand nodded. “The big picture is what truly matters, but if we have the chance, I’ll have the army pay Ji Ning some special attention.”

Rumble…

The army of the Seamless Gate soared outwards, flying towards the distant wilderness as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One formation after another began to assemble, and one golem after another began to land, causing the earth to shake. The army of the Seamless Gate was filled with extremely high morale, and in front of them led the ape-shaped Envoy of All Things, its body wreathed with dark-red flames. Behind him were two of the white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods.

The grand armies of the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance faced each other.

The major powers on both sides watched nervously.

This was the first time the Nuwa Alliance had come out to fight after retreating into their citadel all those days ago! To both sides, this was a battle that they could not afford to lose.

“Darknorth, you have to be careful.”

“Darknorth, don’t fight against those formations head-on.”

“Darknorth, those two white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods have close to a top-tier Daofather’s power. The Envoy of All Things is even more terrifying. No matter what, don’t go close to it.” The Seven Planets Gods near Ning all sent mental messages to him. Due to him rescuing the two hundred-plus Empyrean Gods, there were many who were now much friendly towards him than before. Many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals felt gratitude towards Ning for him saving their fellow disciples and lifelong friends.

Ning just nodded. “I won’t be rash.”

If he was to tell them that he was going to deal with the Envoy of All Things, it would probably cause a major disturbance. This was a critical battle; it was best for these Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to be able to remain calm.

Rumble…

Suddenly, the entire Nuwa Alliance army began to charge forward.

Under the guidance of Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan, all of them headed towards their respective targets.

“Ji Ning, you are free to act as you see fit.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s orders came.

Boom.

The Rahu-Ning suddenly moved. He moved with extraordinary speed as he blazed through the vast wilderness, going far past all the surrounding Seven Planets Gods. The body of his Rahu God had the power of a top-tier Daofather, giving him terrifying speed and strength. As he bound forward, he actually became the vanguard of the entire army, charging in front of everyone else and moving far beyond his allies.

“He’s that fast?!” The seven major powers on the city walls were all surprised.

“Eh?!” The black-robed Godking stared in shock as the Rahu-Ning charged straight to the forefront.

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Chapter 16 – The Number One Sword-Art of the Three Realms

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 16 – The Number One Sword-Art of the Three Realms

As the black-robed Godking was standing on the city walls, staring as the Rahu-Ning charged forward at the very front of the army of the Nuwa Alliance, Ji Ning also raised his head to stare towards him.

Their gazes collided…and the black-robed Godking’s heart clenched momentarily.

“Interesting. He seems to have improved a bit in power.” The black-robed Godking laughed coldly. “Unfortunately, hatred seems to have fogged up his mind. Doesn’t he know that in a war, you need to rely on the power of your allies? To charge all by yourself towards the enemy is the same as throwing yourself into a deadly trap. Who do you think you are? An Envoy of All Things? Do you really think you can dominate all comers?”

By now, everyone on both armies had noticed that the Rahu-Ning had charged to the very forefront of battle.

“Has he gone mad?”

“That must be Ji Ning, right? In years past, he roamed the Three Realms and slaughtered quite a few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of our Seamless Gate. How dare he act so brashly on the field of battle as well? Let’s surround him and kill him. Dealing with him will be effortless.”

“He really is seeking out death.”

When the great army of the Seamless Gate saw the Rahu-Ning charge towards them, they all believed that this quite well-known Empyrean God Darknorth had gone mad. Every so often, there were some people who would go absolutely berserk on the battlefield; Empyrean God Silvermoon, for example, had done just the same during the last fight.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, you must not advance so hastily!”

“Slow it down.”

“Don’t let yourself be surrounded by the enemies!”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance who were behind Ning all called out to him in worry…but alas, Ning was far too fast, and there was no way for them to catch up at all.

Whoosh.

Wind howled past his ear, and space itself was rippling before him. Twin swords in hands, the Rahu-Ning bound forward through the desolate wilderness.

“The two of you, go slow him down.”

“Infinity Fiendgod, go and kill Ji Ning.”

Daomother Devilhand almost instantly gave her orders. Ning had charged to the very forefront of the battle, and so Daomother Devilhand could easily arrange for her forces to intercept and kill him.

Boom! Boom!

Instantly, the two closest violet-light golems charged towards Ning, their heavy footsteps causing the ground to tremble. One of the golems bellowed furiously, “Darknorth, you are courting death!”

“Imbeciles.” The Rahu-Ning howled through the air, meeting them in battle.

Sword-light flashed!

Both Darknorth swords struck out simultaneously. Once they did…the faces of the major powers on both sides of the battle completely changed. Daomother Devilhand, the black-robed Godking, Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, Daoist Three Purities, Shennong…the faces of each and every one of them changed. They were all incredibly experienced figures, and they naturally were able to tell at one glance how terrifying Ji Ning’s sword-arts were.

“What a terrifying sword-art.” The black-robed Godking was stunned.

“This sword-art…”

Rumble…

The two streaks of sword-light were like two bolts of endless lightning as they tore through spac, carrying an unstoppable amount of force.

The two controllers of the violet-light golems had previously been quite confident, as these golems were as tough as magic treasures and thus perfectly suited to tying down foes. Even if a Daofather attacked, it would be difficult for the Daofather to injure them. These golems had bodies that were just as tough as a body of one who had reached the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

But when those two streaks of sword-light lit up…the two True Immortals commanding the golems were completely stunned. Their hearts began to quiver.

“Good heav-”

BOOM! BOOM!

They sought to block, but the two streaks of sword-light landed on their bodies. The two violet-light golems were knocked flying backwards, almost instantly being sent back into the ranks of the Seamless Gate’s armies. But they didn’t stop there; they continued to flip backwards uncontrollably at high speed. Soon, they were far behind the main army.

Utter silence! Deathly stillness!

The entire battlefield instantly ground to halt.

Everyone else was stunned and silenced…but Ning acted as though he had simply kicked away two little pebbles. Showing no emotions at all, he continued to charge towards the Seamless Gate’s army at a terrifying level of speed.

“Not good.” Atop the city walls, Daomother Devilhand had an ugly look on her face. “He is very powerful. Extremely powerful. He’s probably close to a top-tier Daofather in strength! The ‘Life and Death Formations of the Twin Realm Calamity Dragons’ are comparatively weak, defensively speaking. If he’s allowed to charge into the army and into those formations, he’ll probably be able to break through them. As for the Infinity Fiendgod, it’s still some distance away from him.”

She had instructed those two golems to tie down Ning, so as to allow one of the white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods enough time to get there.

The Infinity Fiendgods were located at the very center of the entire army, alongside the Envoy of All Things. Thus, they were fairly far away from Ning.

“Seamless Infinity Formation! Hurry up and stop Ji Ning. Tie him down and work with the Infinity Fiendgod to kill him!” Daomother Devilhand immediately gave the order.

“Yes.” The Seamless Infinity Formation nearest Ning immediately flew towards him.

Boom!

The vast, awe-inspiring Seamless Infinity Formation was surrounded by a region of primordial chaos, and a layer of endless black clouds radiated from them as well. They all surged straight towards Ning. The Seamless Infinity Formation would be able to fight against even actual True Gods and Daofathers without fear.

Each Seamless Infinity Formation was formed from 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. It was the ‘king’ of the Seamless Chaosworld who had created this technique, and he did so with the purpose of allowing Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to be able to fight back against True Gods and Daofathers. Its strength lay in trapping powerful foes!

“He really is crazy. He’s actually charging straight for the formation.” Atop the city walls, the black-robed Godking shook his head at what he was seeing.

The vast, awe-inspiring Seamless Infinity Formation came crashing towards Ning. Ning’s six arms now each wielded a sword, and he ran forward like a streak of light, charging straight towards it.

The main army of the Nuwa Alliance was still far behind him, frantically trying to catch up. The main army of the Seamless Gate was watching from afar as well.

Both armies were staring at this sight. They were staring as the Rahu-Ning was about to collide with the Seamless Infinity Formation.

“You wish to block me?” The towering Rahu-Ning watched as the endless black clouds moved closer and closer to him. The outlines of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within the black cloud could be vaguely seen, and all of them were staring icily towards Ning.

Ning once more struck out with a sword.

Just one strike from a single sword.

The sword was the Chaos-level Darknorth sword.

Whoosh.

It was like a bolt of lightning had suddenly filled Heaven and Earth! No…it was even faster than a lightning bolt! The ‘indestructible’ Seamless Infinity Formation that was ‘perfect for trapping foes’…in the face of this strike, it was like a black air bubble that was instantly pierced straight through and popped! One of the Empyrean Gods struck by the sword-light was instantly disintegrated, and the entire Seamless Infinity Formation completely broke apart.

Boom! The black air bubble completely shattered.

This sword-art was the fastest, most penetrating sword technique Ning had…the Blood Drop stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art!

“How can this be?!” Empyrean God Tongxun, the leader of the formation, was suffering a complete mental breakdown. “The Seamless Infinity Formation was broken apart with a single sword-strike? T-this is impossible..”

“Good heavens…”

“Save us! Save us!”

“Flee!”

The 288 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all mentally shattered by this attack. If even the Seamless Infinity Formation couldn’t withstand that sword…now that the formation was gone, they would be like easily slaughtered ants. Right now, their greatest regret was the fact that the Rahu-Ning actually had six arms!

Those six arms swept out with a sword in each hand. Sword-light flashed everywhere, massacring them at an incredible speed. The Rahu-Ning slaughtered his way from one end of the formation to the other, and more than 180 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals perished on the spot! The only reason there were any survivors at all was because Ning wasn’t trying to wipe them all out…because his attention was fully focused on the white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgod that was charging towards him.

“Good!”

Atop the city walls, Daofather Subhuti let out an exclamation as he saw that distant, utterly dazzling sword-strike that was far more terrifying than a mere thunderbolt. He was so excited that he actually pounded the stone railings in front of him.

“What a formidable sword-art. What a fast and terrifying sword-art!” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s face had completely changed. “A sword that surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Daos. No; that’s not all. His sword-art carried a strange vortex with it, making it move even faster and have even more penetrative power. Such a terrifying sword-art actually exists in the three Realms?”

“A fine sword-art.”

“Did he master the [Five Treasures]?”

“That sword-strike alone is proof that Ning has power comparable to that of a top-tier Daofather. He’s absolutely capable of being a match for the Envoy of All Things.”

Ever since the battle had begun, the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had been feeling quite nervous. Now, all of them began to let out surprised exclamations. Perhaps ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals couldn’t tell, but they could; Ji Ning’s sword-arts hadn’t ‘simply’ surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, they also innately contained profound mysteries that were incomparably exalted. A sword-art like this could absolutely be described as the number one sword-art of the Three Realms.

“The number one sword-art of the Three Realms.” Suiren’s voice was deep and gravelly, but his eyes contained a look of delight.

“Agreed.”

“This sword-art is indeed the best in the Three Realms.”

The Three Sovereigns all concurred on this. Even Lord Buddha and Daoist Three Purities nodded in agreement.

As for the nearby Daofather Subhuti, when he heard his old friends praise his disciple in such a way, he couldn’t help but reveal a grin.

At the same time, atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel, the black-robed Godking and Daomother Devilhand were just as astonished. When the black-robed Godking saw that dazzling, absolutely terrifying sword-stroke, his heart had instantly sunk. This was going to be trouble!”

“We’re in trouble.” The black-robed Godking began to panic.

Daomother Devilhand’s face was utterly ashen, but she quickly sent a mental message to the Infinity Fiendgod. “Fight him with care and focus on defense. Tie him down. The Envoy will reinforce you right away.”

The white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgod had close to the power of a top-tier Daofather as well. In the previous battles, two of them combined were able to resist the power of True Immortal Jimin’s Pangu God, which was a testament to their great power.

“Yes, Daomother.”

……

The six-armed Rahu-Ning and the white-haired, re-eyed Infinity Fiendgod were both in front of their respective armies. They charged towards each other, and as they closed in, the Darknorth sword in Ning’s hand moved.

Slash!

A strange, unfathomable streak of sword-light suddenly flickered.

Swish!

A white-haired head went flying into the air.

This was the most unpredictable, the most unfathomable sword-stance Ning had…the Shadowless stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art!

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Chapter 17 – Battling the Envoy of All Things

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 17 – Battling the Envoy of All Things

The white-haired Infinity Fiendgod’s head went flying!

The headless body instantly began to break repart, revealing the many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that had been inside of it in the Infinity Fiendgod Formation. These Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were completely terrified. They didn’t even think of fighting back. All of them fled every which way, seeking to move as far as they could from the terrifying Rahu-Ning.

Whooooooooosh. Streaks of sword-light flashed out with the power of a vortex, transforming into six gigantic black holes that devoured all of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Soleheart stance!

This was a stance meant for defense, but Ji Ning was far, far more powerful than his opponents right now. The difference in power was so great the vortexes created by the Soleheart stance had the power to break apart his foes, and so this technique that was meant for continuous defense was actually converted into a tool of slaughter. It was a terrifying killer move, as these ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, compared to Ning, were simply far too weak. They were all swept into the black holes, and the ablative, swirling power that was meant to weaken enemy attacks were instead used to effortlessly grind them to dust.

“No!”

“How can this be happening?”

“How can he be so strong?!” The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were gripped by despair. They did their utmost, but remained unable to break free and escape from the terrifying black holes. They were all drawn inside, and all were ground apart and slain.

In but an instant, more than five hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals perished! Not one was spared!

This scene caused the face of Daomother Devilhand, who was watching on the walls of the Seamless Citadel, to turn absolutely bone-white. The black-robed Godking’s entire body was trembling slightly as well. It must be understood that the sudden appearance of the Envoy of All Things on the field of battle had only caused roughly five hundred casualties amongst the ranks of the Nuwa Alliance.

By comparison, Ji Ning’s sudden explosion of power had resulted in the destruction of a Seamless Infinity Formation and an Infinity Fiendgod formation. The number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals he had slain already exceeded seven hundred.

“How is his sword that bizarre and that powerful?” The black-robed Godking shook his head, unable to accept what he was seeing.

The Shadowless stance had always been the most unpredictable sword-stance Ning had. After spending centuries learning the many terrifying sword-arts left behind by World God Northrest, Ning had distilled their essence and infused it into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art, causing the Shadowless stance to become even more bizarre. If a sword-attack was both unpredictable and ridiculously fast, it would become terrifying to fight against. In fact, if it was sufficiently fast, it could be completely unblockable.

This was what had happened to the Infinity Fiendgod. It had been completely unable to block against this sword-stance! A single blow had severed its head!

“Even I wouldn’t be able to block that sword at all.” The black-robed Godking’s heart was quaking. Previously, Ning had displayed the terrifyingly fast and penetrating Blood Drop stance, but at least it wasn’t unpredictable; it was a sword that was straight and aboveboard. The Godking felt that he should at least be able to block it. But the Shadowless stance…even he didn’t feel any confidence in being able to block it.

Ji Ning had actually caused him, the exalted, nominal leader of the Seamless Gate…to feel a faint sense of fear?

He truly didn’t want to believe this.

“How could he be this powerful? It makes no sense. This simply isn’t possible at all.” The black-robed Godking shook his head. Prior to this, he had held Ji Ning in no regard at all. How could a single weak Empyrean God have an impact on the overall situation? But now, this Empyrean God had unleashed the power of a top-tier Daofather. “Although Ji Ning’s sword-art is formidable, judging from the light surrounding his sword, he should have only reached the fourth stage of swordforce. The reason why Houyi was so formidable was because he, as an Empyrean God, broke through to reach the fifth stage of heartforce. That was why he had such terrifying power.”

“Ji Ning’s swordforce is only at the fourth stage. It makes no sense for him to be so powerful.”

“It makes no sense…”

The black-robed Godking felt a mixture of urgency and anger. No matter what the result of this battle was…the painful losses they had just suffered was enough to cause his heart to feel as though it was being roasted by flames.

The black-robed Godking simply couldn’t accept this…but the countless Immortals and Fiendgods of the Nuwa Alliance who saw this all felt their blood boil with excitement. Some of the Seven Planets Gods actually let out excited, heroic roars! The last fight had been a miserable one, but this time Ji Ning showed far, far too much power! In the past, Ji Ning had been able to use the Rahu God to force the Seamless Gate to bow its head, but back then he had barely been at the Daofather level of power. He was probably a bit weaker than even a Seamless Infinity Formation! But now, he was able to slay with a single-sword strike an Infinity Fiendgod that was close to a top-tier Daofather in power.

“Formidable.” Xuan Yuan exclaimed with surprise, “Compared to the incredibly fast sword-strike he used at first, the strike he used to slay the Infinity Fiendgod was even more dazzling.”

“Strange and unfathomable. The profound mysteries within his sword-art have already reached the apex. Without question, this is the number-one sword-art of the Three Realms.” Fuxi smiled as he spoke out in praise.

“He truly is formidable.” Lord Tathagata the Buddha revealed a smile as well.

“We can win this war.” Daoist Three Purities was laughing as well.

Only now did the seven major powers all begin to laugh and smile in a joyful way. From Ning using a single sword-strike to slay an Infinity Fiendgod that was close to a top-tier Daofather in power, they were able to tell that he definitely had the power to stalemate the Envoy of All Things. Given how many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals he had slain, their side definitely held the upper hand once more.

“Subhuti, it seems you underestimated your disciple.” Suiren glanced at the nearby Subhuti, who was smiling as well.

“Wonderful. Wonderful. You didn’t let your hatred blind you. Although you were filled with rage and the desire to kill, you were able to remain calm.” Subhuti casually said a few words of praise for his disciple. In truth, he was the happiest of the seven.

“Stop putting on a show of being calm. All I have to do is look at your twitching beard and I can tell how happy you are right now,” Shennong teased.

“What, can’t I be happy?” Subhuti stroked his beard and smiled. “If you have a problem with it, go and produce a similarly talented disciple of your own.”

“Enough with the chit-chat. Look, the Envoy has charged out, and Ning’s charging towards it as well,” Suiren said.

The seven major powers began to watch closely once more.

After Ning had dealt with the Infinity Fiendgod, he had charged straight towards the army of the Seamless Gate.

Whoosh! The Rahu-Ning’s footsteps were simply too fast, causing Daomother Devilhand, atop the distant city walls of the Seamless Citadel, to begin to worry. Although she was extremely skilled in commanding armies, there was no solution she could use in the face of such an absolutely superiority in speed and power. Even if she had her army immediately flee, there was no way that it would be able to escape from Ji Ning, given how quickly he ran.

As for blocking him? Even the Infinity Fiendgod, which had close to the power of a top-tier Daofather, had been slain in one blow, while the incredibly tough and resilient Seamless Infinity Formation had also been pierced through with one strike. No matter how many reinforcements she sent, they would simply be going to their deaths. Ji Ning was about to reach their army. Once he made it in, it would be an utter slaughter.

“Envoy, stop Ji Ning.” Daomother Devilhand immediately gave the order.

“The rest of the army, begin to withdraw.” Daomother Devilhand gave yet another order.

Although their side had yet to be completely defeated, the situation on the battlefield was quite apparent. Ji Ning was probably strong enough to withstand the Envoy. No matter what, retreating for now was the best option. If they let their army fight without being confident that they would win, it would be akin to sending them into a massacre.

But alas…

Quite a long period of time had passed between Ning’s two clashes, resulting in both armies now being quite close to each other.

“Darknorth!” The Envoy bellowed as it charged straight towards Ning, who moved to intercept.

The first was an ape-shaped Envoy of All Things, wreathed in dark-red flames. It had been invented by an alien Outsider, the Lord of All Things, and Grandmaster Blackheaven had been responsible for forging it.

The second was a Fiendgod that had been created based on the alien Outsider, Rahu, who had been used as the template.

Both of them were filled with unearthly amounts of power. They were evenly matched.

BOOM!

Sword-light flashed in an unpredictable, unfathomable manner, causing the heart of Empyrean God Bloodwave, the controller of the Envoy, to quiver. It was too bizarre and too fast! He hurriedly moved to block. The Envoy of All Things possessed absolutely astonishing power, and if a Daofather was in command of it, it would be able to unleash even greater levels of power. Three to five of them joining together would be a match for an overlord-level Daofather, like the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism. However, the current controller was ‘merely’ Empyrean God Bloodwave, and there was a limit to how strong an Empyrean God could be.

An enormous explosion rang out!

The Envoy stumbled two steps back before steadying itself…and then a hint of a smile appeared on its face.

“I really am a fool. I was scared silly by that terrifying sword-blow of his.” Empyrean God Bloodwave regained his composure. “His sword-arts are the most terrifying sword-arts I have ever seen…but so what? Not even the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism would be able to damage the Envoy in the slightest. Ji Ning can’t hurt me at all. There’s no need for me to even defend against his sword-arts; all I need to do is continuously attach. If I can manage to grab him, I’ll be able to tear that Rahu God body of his apart.”

Whoosh.

The Envoy pounced forward in a savage manner, striking out with twin claws at lightning speed towards Ning.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sword-light flew everywhere.

Ning’s sword-arts were completely superior to his foe’s techniques. Sword-arts that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos…there was no way his foe could block his attacks. In an instant, Ning unleashed more than a hundred ‘Shadowless’ strikes, hacking down repeatedly upon his foe, but he wasn’t even able to leave a tiny mark on the golem. Ning actually had to be more careful than before, as his own body was simply formed from the energy of Heaven and Earth. Once it was damaged, it would completely break apart. Fortunately, Ning’s sword-arts were at such a high level that he was able to completely block every single strike of the Envoy.

“No wonder the Envoy of All Things had such a fearsome reputation during the war that ended the Primordial Era. If a Daofather was in command, even I probably wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Fortunately, the one before me is merely commanded by an Empyrean God,” Ning mused to himself.

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Chapter 18 – Stay Your Hand Immediately!

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 18 – Stay Your Hand Immediately!

As Ji Ning exchanged blows with the Envoy, the situation for the Seamless Gate’s forces on the battlefield had turned very grim.

In the instant that Ning had slain the Infinity Fiendgod, the military genius Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan had immediately given an order: “Jimin, Wood Child, launch an all-out attack.” At the same time, Daomother Devilhand had commanded her troops, “All forces, withdraw!”

Clearly, both of the commanders were able to see how the situation on the battlefield had changed.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The Pangu-Jimin instantly exploded with speed, throwing the rest of the army far, far behind him.

At the same time, next to the Pangu-Jimin yet another Pangu God emerged. This one had a face that was quite young and fresh; it was Wood Child, the commander of the second Pangu Genesis Formation! Clearly, the Seamless Gate’s suspicions had been correct; Xuan Yuan and the others had been able to come up with no other ideas at all, and so were planning on compensating by increasing their total forces.

He had been preparing to use two Pangu Gods, having them join forces to fight against the Envoy of All Things. Wood Child was one of the five mighty Children that had once accompanied Mother Nuwa herself. The Pangu God he commanded was currently wielding the ‘Godsteel Staff of Aeons’, and it ran alongside the Jimin-Pangu at the same level of speed.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two Pangu Gods quickly charged into the Seamless Gate’s army. They were like tigers let loose amongst a flock of sheep. Most likely, the only thing within the Seamless Gate’s army that could match them for speed was the Envoy, with all the other formations and golems, including even the Infinity Fiendgods, being no match for them at all. What’s more, the Seamless Gate’s army had been greatly weakened.

Their most powerful asset, the Envoy of All Things, had been tied down by Ji Ning.

There was only one Infinity Fiendgod left! It must be understood that it had previously taken two of them to just barely be a match for a single Pangu God.

Even one of the Seamless Infinity Formations had been destroyed!

These two Pangu Gods could just barely be considered top-tier Daofathers. Naturally, they absolutely dominated and devastated their foes.

“Damn.” Daomother Devilhand ground her teeth upon seeing this. She hurriedly deployed golems and formations to try and tie down those two Pangu Gods.

The two Pangu Gods were simply far too powerful. If the many formations and golems on their side joined forces, they’d be able to tie down the Pangu Gods for a time…but as more time passed, the rest of the Nuwa Alliance’s army would arrive as well!

“It’s all because of that Darknorth.” Daomother Devilhand looked at the distant, battling forms of the Envoy and the Rahu-Ning. “He’s completely tied down the Envoy.”

“What are we to do?!” The black-robed Godking was even more frantic than her. For even Daomother Devilhand, who loved a good fight, to become panicked…the Godking felt as though this entire battlefield was crumbling before him.

“Ji Ning.” The black-robed Godking stared at the distant Rahu-Ning. “Ji Ning is the cause of all of this. He’s wrecked our battle lines and has even tied down the Envoy.”

As Ning fought against the Envoy, there was no one at all from either army who dared to approach the two of them.

Their arena was the most terrifying region in this entire battlefield.

“Mm. The Envoy does have some weaknesses.” As Ning fought, he also kept a careful eye on his opponent, searching for an opening that would allow him to seize victory. “Although the Envoy’s body is quite tough, as it is a golem, the person who commands it…well, that person is merely an Empyrean God and True Immortal. Thus, the attack speed and techniques used are comparatively low-level.”

Ning was a peerless Sword Immortal, after all. He was a master of technique, and his sword-art had been proclaimed by Fuxi, Suiren, and the others as the number one sword-art of the entire Three Realms.

In his eyes, the close-combat techniques being used by the Envoy golem were indeed quite ordinary.

“The weakness of the Envoy lies with the Empyrean God controlling it. If I want to deal with it…I’ll need to put my techniques on full display.”

As their battle continued, multiple battle strategies quickly flashed through Ning’s mind. Any battle would entail using your strengths to attack the enemy’s weaknesses.

Suddenly…

“Ji Ning! Stay your hand immediately!” The black-robed Godking sent mentally to him.

“Godking?” Ning’s gaze turned towards the black-robed Godking standing atop the distant walls of the Seamless Citadel. Their gazes met…and Ning just smiled coldly.

“If you continue like this, I’ll immediately kill your senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei and shatter her soul. In fact, I’ll even destroy her truesoul.” The black-robed Godking’s mental voice was furious. Destroying a truesoul was extremely difficult, but a Daofather was indeed capable of it.

“Eh?” The Envoy battling against Ji Ning could sense that Ji Ning’s killing intent had suddenly skyrocketed for no apparent reason.

“I know that this is a battlefield, and that you are a member of the Nuwa Alliance. There’s no way you can just give up the fight, as those major powers of the Nuwa Alliance would definitely blame you. All I want you to do is to keep fighting for a while, then reveal an opening and allow the Envoy to injure you, forcing you to ‘unwillingly’ quit the battlefield,” the black-robed Godking sent mentally.

Have Ning reveal an opening?

Intentionally allow the Envoy to wound him?

That was no easy task. If he wasn’t careful, the Rahu Formation might completely crumble..

“Your sword-art vastly surpasses his in technique. You’ll definitely be able to control the degree to which he injures you.” The black-robed Godking sent mentally, “Hurry up. I want you to it right now. I don’t care what method you use, I want you to immediately leave this field of battle. Otherwise, Yu Wei will die immediately! Her soul will be shattered and her truesoul extinguished.”

“You…really are quite shameless.” For the first time, Ning replied to him.

“Shameless? For the sake of achieving victory, I don’t care if I’m forced to act in such a way. I walk the path of the demonheart to begin with. I’m a demon, Ji Ning. Your side already has a huge advantage in this battle because of you, and you’ve already slaughtered enough of our Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. You should be satisfied. So long as you retreat, I’ll immediately return your senior apprentice-sister to you. I absolutely guarantee that I’ll give her to you. But you need to leave this battlefield. Right now!” The black-robed Godking frantically urged him.

Every moment that was being wasted, the two Pangu Gods were massacring more and more members of the Seamless Gate. Although many formations and golems were being used to tie them down, the great army of the Nuwa Alliance was drawing closer and closer. Without the assistance of the Envoy of All Things, their losses would be utterly devastating.”

“Quick. Quick! Quick!!” The Godking was frantic. He watched with nervousness and eagerness from atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel. He was like a terminally ill man who, in his desperation, would consult with any doctor who claimed to have a cure. He knew that after he had toyed with Ji Ning last time, the chances of Ji Ning trusting him a second time were virtually nil. However…the Godking truly had no other options left to him. In addition, he could sense that Ji Ning truly did have extremely deep feelings for Yu Wei.

Once one’s truesoul was extinguished, there would no longer even be a way for one to recover it from the River of Destiny. He believed that Ji Ning absolutely would not be willing to allow Yu Wei’s truesoul to be extinguished.

Whoosh.

“He’s moving.” The black-robed Godking’s eyes lit up. The distant Ji Ning had suddenly exploded with power, his six arms wielding six divine swords in a wild, frenetic assault upon the Envoy of All Things.

The Envoy had just a set of two claws, while Ning had six arms. Ning’s sword-arts were far too terrifying, and so for a time the Envoy was covered, surrounded, and completely suppressed by countless sword-shadows.

“Why have his attacks only grown more berserk?” At first, the Godking was angered, but he then turned calm, as though he had thought of something.

“This Ji Ning really is clever.” The Godking’s eyes lit up again. “He’s using his six arms to furiously attack, which means his defense is naturally weaker now. No matter how powerful his attacks are, there is no way he can wound the Envoy…but his lowered defense means that there is a chance that the Envoy might wound him. So long as he is wounded, Ji Ning would naturally have an excuse to quit the field of battle. He would be able to excuse his failure to the rest of the Nuwa Alliance as caused by his desire to gain a quick victory, which was why the Envoy had a chance to wound him.

“He really is clever.” The black-robed Godking waited eagerly.

“Still…his attacks are a bit too berserk. He’s completely suppressed the Envoy. Even the Envoy’s attacks are being shut down.” The Godking frowned, then immediately sent another mental message. “Ji Ning, you have to give the Envoy a chance.”

And right at this moment…

A sudden boom could be heard from the Envoy of All Things, which had been completely surrounded and bombarded by those countless sword-shadows. Ning was wielding six Darknorth swords, and the one that had reached the Chaos treasure level had just unleashed a sword-stance that was filled with seemingly infinite power. This could be described as the most fierce and most dominating attack he possessed, and it was the stance that he had origally used to send those two violet-light golems flying far backwards, past the entire army of the Seamless Gate.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker stance!

BOOM!!!!

An incomparably savage stroke. The sword smashed down upon the back of the right knee of the Envoy. Its power was like that of the divine axe which Pangu had used to cleave apart Heaven from Earth. A thunderous boom could be heard as the Envoy was knocked off balance and fell to the ground.

To knock down the Envoy was actually extremely difficult, because its two legs were extremely powerful and stable. Even if it was knocked flying, it would be very hard to make it actually fall down onto the ground. Experts at this level of skill all were extremely good at keeping their balance and remaining stable. To cause someone to lose his balance was far, far too hard. The many sword-strikes which Ning had blanketed the Envoy in seemed useless, but in truth they were meant to keep the Envoy off its balance.

By relying on his absolute advantage in technique, he had managed to destabilize the Envoy…and then he had sent the Heavenbreaker stance to smash at the back of the knee. And with a boom! The Envoy had fallen to the ground.

“No!” The Envoy’s controller began to panic…but what greeted his protestation was a fierce, sharp streak of sword-light that smashed away at the Envoy’s twin claws, giving them no chance to resist.

Whooooosh! Four of the six arms of the Rahu-Ning were currently wielding swords. The other two arms were holding onto a rope that glowed with black light. The rope quickly wrapped itself around the Envoy’s body. The Envoy had been knocked to the ground and its arms had been completely suppressed by Ning’s nonstop attacks. The rope instantly and completely wrapped itself in circles around the Envoy.

Any golem, no matter powerful, would be able to do nothing once it had been completely bound. Although the Envoy roared furiously and tried to struggle, it still wasn’t able to break free from the Protocosmic spirit-rope.

Everyone across the entire battlefield turned silent.

Even the two battling Pangu Gods. Even the seven smiling major powers of the Nuwa Alliance. Even the panicking black-robed Godking. Even the ashen-faced Daomother Devilhand. All of them fell silent. All of them were stunned.

They just stared blankly at what had just happened.

The Envoy of All Things…had been tightly bound by a Protocosmic spirit-rope. It was like a zongzi 1 that had fallen to the ground. It was completely unable to break free whatsoever.

The Rahu-Ning raised his head, staring towards the Seamless Citadel. Staring towards the black-robed Godking standing atop the citadel walls.

“Y-you…” The black-robed Godking was dazed.

Daomother Devilhand was rather dazed as well.

All the Immortals and Fiendgods on the entire battlefield were dazed.

Even the seven major powers of the Nuwa Alliance were dazed.

Captured?

The Envoy of All Things…had been captured?

This was an incredibly valuable and precious military asset. If a Daofather was in command of it, it would instantly possess utterly earth-shaking levels of power. The Seamless Gate had paid an incalculably vast price to create each of the Envoys. The only reason they had even sent one of them to take part in this Realmwar was because this one was an incredibly important one!

Right at this moment…

An azure-skinned gourd suddenly appeared in the Rahu-Ning’s hands. The stopper was pulled open.

“Come in.”

Ning gently murmured these words…and with a whoosh, the tightly bound Envoy that lay on the ground was transformed to a tiny size, then sucked straight into the mouth of the gourd.

Then…

Ning gently plugged the gourd with the stopper once more.

1. This is a type of Chinese sticky rice cake that is usually wrapped up in banana leaves, then tied with string.

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Chapter 19 – Defeated In Battle

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 19 – Defeated In Battle

The Allfiend world.

At the peak of a solitary mountain.

The red-robed, azure-haired Lord of All Fiends was seated in the lotus position. He stared through the infinite Void, his gaze focused on the battle that was occurring within the Deerchaser major world.

“Ji Ning?” The Lord of All Fiends murmured softly to himself. For the first time, he paid close attention to this minor figure who he had never cared about before.

“We lost.”

“This critical battle…has been lost. We even lost an Envoy of All Things.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head.

Suddenly, a figure appeared next to his side. It was Grandmaster Blackheaven, and he had an absolutely frantic look on his face.

“Master,” Blackheaven said frantically, “We have to take the Envoy back! We spend enormous amounts of effort to create them, and now one of them has been stolen! We now have one less, while the Nuwa Alliance has one more. This is going to have a huge impact on the war.”

“Take it back…how?” The Lord of All Fiends stared at Blackheaven.

Blackheaven was stunned.

“There’s no way to take it back. We lost it in battle during a Realmwar…and everyone in the Three Realms is watching this battle. All of the major powers, on our side or in the Nuwa Alliance, are watching this battle. If I make a move, most likely all of the other major powers will make a move as well. There’s no way the Nuwa Alliance will give us any chance whatsoever.” The Lord of All Fiends was quite calm.

“But…but…” Blackheaven was absolutely besides himself.

“If we lost, we lost…and we should admit that they won cleanly.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head. “During the Primordial Era, the Nuwa Alliance was able to produce Houyi. Now, it has given birth to Darknorth. This is destiny.”

“Doesn’t the Godking have the soul of Ji Ning’s Dao-companion, Yu Wei? Can’t we use it to trade with Ji Ning for the Envoy?” Blackheaven immediately asked.

“Impossible.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head. “The ownership of the Envoy is something that has a significant impact on the war as a whole. It isn’t something which Ji Ning can decide on his own. Even if Ji Ning was willing to give it to us, his master Subhuti, Suiren, Shennong, Daoist Three Purities, and the rest absolutely would not permit it. The loss and gain of an Envoy of All Things is something of enormous impact.”

“Right.” Blackheaven nodded helplessly.

He had to admit it. All personal feelings and emotions would have to be discarded when the stakes impacted one side’s chances of winning the war. There really was no way the Nuwa Alliance would permit Ji Ning to give it up.

“Windfiend…” Suddenly, a dreamy, ghostly voice rang out.

The Lord of All Fiends was startled.

The mist around him began to coalesce, slowly forming into a human-shaped figure that was dressed in a simple gray robe.

“You remain as distant and detached as always.” The gray-robed figure’s voice was insubstantial and ephemeral. “Fighting a war…the key lies in the word ‘fight’. Fight for every scrap of opportunity. Only then will you have a chance to be the final victor.”

The Lord of All Fiends stared at the figure before him…at the king who had once unified the entire Seamless Chaosworld. The one who had been a match for Mother Nuwa in power, and who had only been just one step away from becoming a World God himself.

“Long time no see…Demonheart,” the Lord of All Fiends said softly.

……

The Deerchaser world.

After Ning took out the gourd and sucked away the Envoy of All Things, the entire battlefield became deathly still. The Seamless Gate’s forces no longer had any desire to fight whatsoever!

“We lost.” Daomother Devilhand had a look of regret in her eyes.

“How could this have happened? How could…this Ji Ning…” The black-robed Godking ground his teeth. “This was the critical battle…and we actually lost it because of Ji Ning.”

The black-robed Godking truly couldn’t accept this outcome. He was the one to plan out all the wars, and he was also the titular head of the entire Seamless Gate! Ji Ning was nothing more than a pawn that he had never truly cared about.

“Withdraw.”

“Withdraw immediately.”

“Don’t try to keep fighting.”

Daomother Devilhand immediately sent mental orders to all of her forces, ordering the remnants of her army to immediately retreat.

The outcome of this battle had clearly been determined.

The Envoy of All Things had been captured by Ji Ning. Even if Ji Ning no longer participated in this battle, those two Pangu Gods alone, when reinforced by the great army of the Nuwa Alliance, would be powerful enough to utterly decimate the surviving soldiers of the Seamless Gate.

“We lost.” The black-robed Godking closed his eyes, murmuring to himself.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. His eyes were as cold as ice as he stared downwards at the Rahu-Ning…and Ji Ning just so happened to be staring back at him.

“Hmph.” The black-robed Godking let out a cold laugh, then waved his hand, causing a semi-translucent figure appeared within it. It was Yu Wei’s soul. The black-robed maiden, Yu Wei, stared at her surroundings in puzzlement.

Ning’s body trembled. He stared blankly at the semi-translucent figure atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel. This was the person he had been thinking about, day and night.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” The towering, valiant Fiendgod just stood there, murmuring to himself.

Yu Wei saw Ning as well. She opened her mouth to speak towards him, and although no sounds came out, Ning was able to read her lips.

Junior apprentice-brother. Yu Wei was looking at Ning.

“I told you that if you disobeyed me, I would kill her. I told you that I would shatter her soul and extinguish her truesoul.” The black-robed Godking clenched his enormous hand around the semi-translucent Yu Wei, and his voice echoed within the heavens. “Didn’t you say…that she’s already dead, and that you killed her? Haha…then, let me let her truly die.”

“No-”

Ning stretched his hand out, as though he was about to say something…but the black-robed Godking tightly clenched his fist. As he did so, the semi-translucent shadow of Yu Wei stared at Ning, her lips moving one final time. Take care of…Brightmoon…”

BOOM!

Her soul vanished…and her truesoul flickered with one final gleam of light before it too was disintegrated, melting away into nothingness.

Ning stood there blankly, his hand outstretched.

Pain.

Heart-rending pain instantly filled his entire body. It was as though an endless wave had instantly swallowed him, drowning him within its tide.

His wife.

She was dead. She was truly dead.

“You’ve hidden your daughter quite well. You keep her within the Crescent major world. If she was in any other place, I would’ve killed your daughter as well. Ahaha…it seems that I am destined to forever be the demon that lurks in your heart, the demon that haunts your nightmares. Ahahaha…our war has just begun! Are you truly prepared for it? Your daughter will die in the future as well. She’ll also die…ahahaha…” The black-robed Godking cackled with utter madness.

Ning just stood there, not moving at all.

The army of the Nuwa Alliance pursued their foes, but everyone was also paying attention to Ning. He stood there, surrounded by an aura of power that seemed to fill the entirety of the heavens…and yet, he also seemed to have become a bit fragile and frail.

Atop the walls of the Nuwa Alliance’s citadel.

Subhuti, Shennong, Xuan Yuan, and the rest of the seven major powers all had ugly looks on their faces as they witnessed this. However…there was nothing they could do. Even if they did try to intervene, there was no way for them to rescue Yu Wei, because Yu Wei’s fragile, weak soul had been effortlessly wiped out by the Godking in an instant.

“Ji Ning.” Subhuti turned his head, staring towards the other, black-robed Ning who stood behind him. He said softly, “This is war. On the field of battle, many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, many disciples of True Gods and Daofathers, many family members and loved ones, will perish. And this is just the start. In the future…if our side loses the war, all of us ‘major powers’ will be wiped out, to say nothing of the rest.”

“This is the nature of war.” Xuan Yuan spoke in a consoling voice as well.

There was nothing else they could say.

This truly was the nature of war. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Blood for blood. Neither side would show any mercy or care about their former friendships; they would use any tools they could to weaken their foes. Ji Ning deeply cared about love, and so to shatter Yu Wei’s soul and destroy her truesoul was an act that would forever plant a thorn into his heart. It was entirely possible that in the future, the thorn would result in a devastating, breathtaking outcome.

The black-robed Ning just stood there, his eyes bloodshot. Tears flowed down his face from his bloodshot eyes.

“Ahahaha…” The black-robed Ning raised his head and laughed loudly, the tears in his eyes instantly vanishing.

“Ahahaha…” The distant, towering figure of the Rahu-Ning also raised his head to laugh.

His laughter shook the heavens. His laughter caused the earth to tremble.

His laughter caused one’s heart to freeze.

Everyone could hear the agony and the frenzied hatred contained within his laughter…the limitless, infinite amount of hate. But the black-robed Godking, standing atop the distant walls of the Seamless Citadel, didn’t care at all. He just smield coldly. “The more you hate, the better. The more you hate, the more it will affect your Dao-heart…and if the effect is strong enough, it’ll make it hard for you to make any more breakthroughs.”

The laughter continued to ring out…and then it suddenly stopped.

The Rahu-Ning lowered his head. He clenched the swords in his hands, then murmured to himself in a low voice. “Senior apprentice-sister…I’m sorry. Brightmoon…I’ll take care of her…”

The Rahu-Ning raised his head to stare at the walls of the Seamless Citadel and the Godking. He murmured to himself, “And that Godking…I’ll kill him personally and sacrifice his soul to you…”

Every member of the Nuwa Alliance on the battlefield, especially the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who were close to Ning and viewed him as a brother, was staring at him with worry. Subhuti was staring at him with worry as well.

The Rahu-Ning’s laughter had come to a halt…and then, he moved.

“KILL!!!” A black serpent of lightning suddenly flashed, streaking towards the fleeing army of the Seamless Gate.

The Seamless Gate’s forces had been engaged in a tactical retreat, staving off the two Pangu Gods while continuing to flee. And now…a black lightning serpent had suddenly entered their midst.

Whooooosh.

Sword-light flashed.

Blood sprayed.

Immortals and Fiendgods died in countless numbers.

“What?! His Rahu God can also use the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique?” The black-robed Godking’s face completely changed. To be able to use the Rahu God in performing the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique meant that Ji Ning was in complete control of the Rahu God’s power, not allowing any of it at all to leak out. This meant that Ji Ning was able to control all of the Rahu God’s potential power.

Daomother Devilhand’s face changed as well, and she immediately issued a frantic mental order. “Retreat at will!”

Retreat at will.

What this meant was…no need to worry about anything else or about others. Everyone was to flee for their own lives, using any methods and means available to them. There was no need to cooperate, no need to work with others.

There was no way at all that they would be able to sustain an organized retreat in the face of Rahu-Ning, who was massacring them at light-speed with his [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique.

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Chapter 20 – The Curtain Falls

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 20 – The Curtain Falls

“Flee.”

“Let’s go. Flee, quick!”

“Separate and flee in different directions.”

As Daomother Devilhand gave the order, the entire army of the Seamless Gate completely broke apart into countless individual figures. Even the Infinity God, the Seamless Infinity Formations, and the ‘Life and Death Formations of the Twin Realm Calamity Dragons’ all voluntarily dispersed into their component individuals. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals drew the other Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals into their personal estate-treasures, then frantically began to flee in every possible direction.

The entire battlefield was filled with countless dense clusters of Immortals and Fiendgods. There were far, far too many fleeing Immortals and Fiendgods, and so the Nuwa Alliance didn’t dare to voluntarily disperse their own formations as well.

“Haha…the damnable Seamless Gate has been utterly terrified. Feiyou, let’s have a little competition and see which of us can kill more Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.”

“Fine, let’s!”

The many Seven Planets Gods charged in every direction, and they slaughtered all who stood before them. As for the distant Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formations, they began to launch a constant stream of long-distance attacks. They originally had been meant to play a supporting role on the battlefield, but when used against Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, they were veritable engines of slaughter.

Every single blow from them had the power of a Daofather, after all!

Boom! Bang! The entire battlefield was filled with the sound of explosions. The army of the Nuwa Alliance began a frenzied massacre, going all out to kill as many as they could. The more they killed today, the fewer they would face in the future, after all.

And without question, the most terrifying figure on this field of question was the Rahu-Ning, who moved about in the form of a black serpent of lightning.

The Rahu-Ning’s sword had expanded to become more than three million meters long. His six massive swords swept outwards in every direction, and every single region he passed through resulted in an utter wipeout of the enemy forces there, causing utter terror to race through the hearts of the Seamless Gate’s soldiers.

“Haha, Darknorth, your Dao-companion is sharing the same death-site as us. Worth it!”

“Darknorth, we’ll embark on the next step of our journey…and you won’t live for much longer either.”

The slaughtered Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all cursed furiously as they were slaughtered. The Rahu-Ning, however, just killed them in icy cold silence.

He didn’t feel much hatred towards these ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate. However…this was war, and they were on the wrong side. If he didn’t wipe them out, they would wipe out the Nuwa Alliance. There were no other choices for him to choose! If he wanted more people on his side to live, his only option was to kill as many as he could, to massacre as many as possible.

……

When the army of the Seamless Gate had completely split apart into its component soldiers, there were so many of them on the battlefield that invariably some of them were able to escape and reach the Seamless Citadel.

Atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel.

The black-robed Godking and Daomother Devilhand both had ugly looks on their faces as they watched a few Empyrean Gods and True Immortals flee into the citadel, the vast majority of the others being slaughtered in the desolate wilderness.

Disastrous!

This defeat was utterly disastrous!

This was an utter massacre!

When the Envoy had appeared for the first time, its attacks had caused Xuan Yuan to order his army to retreat as well, but it was still an orderly, organized retreat. But this time, the Seamless Gate’s entire army had completely collapsed, forcing Daomother Devilhand to issue an order for them to retreat at will.

“It’s all because of Ji Ning,” Daomother Devilhand said hoarsely.

It was Ji Ning who had instantly shattered the Seamless Infinity Formation, slain an Infinity God, and then captured the Seamless Gate’s ‘killer weapon’, the Envoy of All Things. And then, the Rahu-Ning had actually been able to use the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique while in Rahu form. Given the power of this technique, the speed at which he pursued and killed his foes was simply too terrifying.

“Damn.” The black-robed Godking’s eyes flashed with cold light.

Time seemed to flow as slowly as sand in an hourglass, one grain falling down at a time.

Large numbers of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were massacred on the battlefield, with only the occasional fleeing straggler making it back into the Seamless Citadel.

Then, finally…the battlefield turned quiet once more.

There were no longer any surviving Empyrean Gods or True Immortals of the Seamless Gate on the battlefield at all.

Below the walls of the Seamless Citadel, the towering, bloodlusted Rahu-Ning stared upwards towards the black-robed Godking. His eyes were filled with a bone-chilling murderous intent. Ji Ning truly wanted to attack the Seamless Citadel and battle the Godking…but he saw that Daomother Devilhand was next to the Godking’s side. Daomother Devilhand was a terrifying figure who had actually been able to battle Mother Nuwa herself for a period of time during the war that ended the Primordial Era. If he truly was to attack, Daomother Devilhand would probably have enough of an excuse to attack and most likely kill him with a single palm blow.

He still didn’t have enough power to fight against the most truly supreme figures of the Three Realms yet.

……

The forces of the Seamless Citadel were filled with agony and rage…but the Nuwa Alliance’s castle was filled with the sound of rejoicing.

The seven major powers atop the walls were all laughing.

“We won.” For once, Daoist Three Purities had a broad smile on his face as he stroked his beard.

“When Darknorth said to give him a month, he really did have the power to back up what he said. He wasn’t just spouting rubbish.” Lord Tathagata the Buddha chortled, “He was actually able to unleash such astounding power through the Rahu Formation. I saw that he was able to command his Rahu God while using the [Ninehorn Lightning Formation]. It seems that he must have mastered all of its power, preventing any of it from leaking outwards.”

“Yes.” Fuxi nodded, then chuckled curiously. “I really wonder how Ji Ning accomplished it. Perhaps it really does have something to do with Undermoon Lake.”

“Undermoon Lake?” Lord Tathagata nodded as well. “After Jueming returned from Undermoon Lake, he’s been almost perpetually in secluded, solitary meditation. He rarely comes out, but is so powerful that even I am uncertain of his true strength. Like him, Ji Ning left from Undermoon Lake under his own power. He must have gained some special rewards.”

“Most likely.”

“Must be it.”

The major powers chatted amongst themselves for a time. Undermoon Lake was quite a mysterious place in their heart, and they had once tried everything they could to enter, only to fail.

Because the black-robed Ning was next to them, not too far away, he was able to clearly hear the conversation going on amongst the major powers. In fact, some of the major powers actually sneaked peeks at Ning’s face. Clearly, however, Ji Ning was not in the mood to discuss anything. He was finding it extremely difficult to recover from the state of frenzied agony and rage that he had fallen into upon Yu Wei’s death.

“Withdraw our troops.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan gave the order.

……

The Seamless Citadel.

“It’s over.” Daomother Devilhand’s face was rather pallid and wan. This was the first time in her life that she had suffered such a disastrous defeat. “More than two thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…in the end, less than two hundred survived.”

The black-robed Godking was silent for a long moment. He then couldn’t help but ask, “Aunt-master, how could Ji Ning be this powerful? I simply don’t understand. Is it possible that he’s actually already a Daofather, but has been keeping his aura hidden and thus has been pretending to be an Empyrean God? If he is a Daofather, he shouldn’t even be allowed to take part in the war for karmic luck.”

“If he’s a Daofather, he would have to have already mastered a Heavenly Dao.” Daomother Devilhand said softly, “But I saw quite clearly that although Darknorth’s sword-arts were incomparably transcendent, perhaps the best in all the Three Realms, that was simply because he has trained in and mastered the [Five Treasures]. His sword can surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos, and he’s reached a wondrous level of technique, which is why he is so powerful. However, I can’t find any traces of the Heavenly Daos in his sword-arts.”

“His movement techniques, his combat methods…I can find no trace of the mysteries of the Heavenly Daos in them at all.”

“In addition…”

“If he truly had gained insight into a Heavenly Dao, then Demonheart definitely would’ve found out. He is part of the Heavenly Daos, after all.” Daomother Devilhand looked towards the Godking. “Demonheart is your master.”

The black-robed Godking was stunned. Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded his head. It was true. If Ji Ning had mastered a Heavenly Dao and caused a resonance with the Heavenly Daos, how could it have escaped the notice of the Lord of the Demonheart?

“Then is it possible that he became a True God?” The black-robed Godking couldn’t help but ask.

Daomother Devilhand frowned as she glanced at the black-robed Godking. “The Rahu Formation uses Immortal energy to control countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, using their power to summon and control the vast nature energy of Heaven and Earth. Even if he was a True God, if all he had was his powerful divine power, it would be useless in the formation. Not even a True God would be capable of unleashing such power from the Rahu Formation. Don’t you even understand something as basic as this?”

Rebuked, the black-robed Godking lowered his head. He just couldn’t accept this. He really couldn’t.

A pawn that he had held in no regard had ended up ruining their entire plan for the war!

“Then what should we do?” The black-robed Godking said, “The Envoy has been seized. Ji Ning has a true body and a Primaltwin; he can have his true body command the Rahu Formation while having his Primaltwin command the Envoy. If his terrifying sword-arts are paired up with the power of an Envoy, the power of his Primaltwin in the Envoy would probably be comparable to yet another Rahu God.”

The Godking’s guess was wrong.

He didn’t know that in truth. Ji Ning had the Immortal energy of a Daofather. If he was to use his Daofather-level energy to command an Envoy of All Things and use it to unleash his terrifying sword-arts…he would be able to unleash the full power of the Envoy, a level of power comparable to that of the Envoys under the control of the Lord of All Things all those years ago. Those Envoys were close to the overlord-level, and if three to five of them joined forces, they were absolutely a match for the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism.

Clearly, Ning’s energy and sword-arts were all at a high enough level for him to command the Envoy effectively, allowing it to unleash a level of power close to that of the overlord-level Daofathers! His power would vastly outstrip the power of a Rahu God; he would essentially be equal in power to figures like Subhuti and Old Man Yuan.

“A true body and a Primaltwin…” Daomother Devilhand frowned as well. “Troublesome. Very troublesome. Very well…we need to go back and think on how we are going to deal with this new issue. Ask your master and the others to ponder on this as well. What should we do with this Ji Ning?”

Prior to this, the Nuwa Alliance had a headache over the question of how to deal with the Envoy.

Now, it was the Seamless Gate’s turn to have a headache, this one over Ji Ning.

“It is now time for us to leave the Deerchaser world,” Daomother Devilhand said in a low voice.

This war had been lost. It was time to leave.

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Chapter 21 – Secret Discussions

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 21 – Secret Discussions

They had won.

Critical wars like this would generally continue for many years before ending, but an unexpected variable had appeared in the form of Ji Ning.

In truth, both sides essentially knew what the other had up their sleeves. The Nuwa Alliance knew that their foes had an Envoy of All Things, and so they were still prepared to continue battling against it. At most, they would be at a disadvantage and the war would become difficult to win. However, Ning’s sudden appearance out of nowhere had caught the Seamless Gate completely offguard.

His sudden appearance and his explosion of terrifying power had instantly smacked the army of the Seamless Gate senseless. They had completely and irrevocably collapsed, and so the result was that this battle, the most critical battle in the Three Realms in the war for karmic luck, had ended after just a few short months.

……

The Deerchaser major world. Within the imperial palace.

Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan had hosted a huge celebratory feast, and had invited many major powers and the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who had fought in the battle to take part. Although Ning took part in the banquet as well, he left very early on.

He was seated within a gazebo.

Flakes of snow drifted about around him. Ning sat there by himself, a flagon of wine and a wineglass in front of him.

He quietly sipped his wine. As it flowed into his throat, it brought a stream of warmth with it.

“Senior apprentice-sister…according to what World God Northrest told me, all things are possible within the endless primordial chaos.” A distant gaze was in Ning’s eyes. “Even Vastheaven Palace itself has figures that were far more powerful than World God Northrest. In the primordial chaos, there are figures that vastly, vastly outstrip World Gods like him in might…”

“The World God stage isn’t the end.”

“Once one reaches the World God stage, one can find a truesoul within the River of Destiny.”

“Your truesoul has been destroyed. Not even World Gods can save you. But if in the future, I can surpass the World God stage and reach an even higher level, perhaps I will be able to save you.” This was what Ning was quietly saying to himself.

World God Northrest had accepted Ning as his successor. He had thus left behind many techniques, as well as many records on some of the nearby powers and much knowledge regarding the primordial chaos.

This was why Ning knew very well that the most precious item which World God Northrest had, the divine sword ‘Violetjewel’, was something that was far beyond the capabilities of World Gods and Chaos Immortals to create. Ning knew for a fact that in the primordial chaos, there existed figures more powerful than even World Gods and Chaos Immortals.

Prior to this, Ning didn’t have much ambition; he had felt that being able to survive this tribulation and live a peaceful life afterwards in the Three Realms would be enough. Even though in the future, his lifeblood oath would force him to go search for Vastheaven Palace, that would be something that would only happen in the distant future.

But now…

Ning was filled with ambition.

He wanted to walk further down the path!

“After the war ends, I’ll leave behind my Primaltwin to take care of my daughter, then go do what my lifeblood oath requires me to do. I’ll enter the primordial chaos and search for Vastheaven Palace. I’ll climb up ever-higher mountains and move higher and higher…because so long as the path of Immortal cultivation is truly endless, there will come the day that I will rescue you,” Ning silently promised.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” A voice rang out.

Ning turned his head. Someone had just entered the courtyard. It was senior apprentice-brother Silvermoon.

Silvermoon looked at Ning. He could sense Ning’s hidden loneliness, and he couldn’t help but sigh to himself. When Silvermoon’s Dao-companion had just perished, he had been just as Ning was now. Much time had to pass before he was able to control his emotions and laugh gaily once more….but in truth, he was doing nothing more than suppressing those feelings in his heart. He had never forgotten them, and when the chance to give vent to them had come, he had let them explode forth.

When he looked at Ning, he felt as though he was looking at his past self.

“Senior apprentice-brother,” Ning said.

Silvermoon walked over, then seated himself in front of Ning. He stared at the winecup on the table. “Just one cup?”

“Since you’ve come, there will naturally be one more.” Ning waved his hand, and yet another winecup appeared on the table. Ning picked up the flagon of wine and poured a cup for his senior apprentice-brother.

Gurgle gurgle. Silvermoon tasted the wine, then raised his head and downed it all.

“The wine’s pretty strong.” Silvermoon chuckled. “I came to see you because I was worried that you’d let yourself grow depressed and dispirited, or that you’d be completely consumed by your hatred. But now, it seems, you are quite calm.”

“Of course I’m calm. I still have my daughter, Brightmoon. I also have Uncle White, Little Qing, and the others, along with my mother and father,” Ning said calmly. Although his parents had perished, if he was able to become a World God he would be able to locate their souls in the River of Destiny.

“Yes. There are many things left in the world for us to cherish.” Silvermoon nodded, but his eyes were filled with a murderous look. “But the Seamless Gate really will stoop to anything. They actually launched assassinations on a massive scale against the family members and loved ones of many Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and Daofathers. So many have perished!”

“Yes.” Ning couldn’t hide the murderous look in his own eyes either.

When he thought of how the Godking had stood there atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel, crushing the soul of his wife in his fingers and disintegrating her truesoul…Ning’s hatred began to rise.

Ning had to kill him.

He had to kill this ‘Godking’!

……

The Allfiend world.

At the top of that solitary mountain peak, the Lord of All Fiends was meeting with the Lord of the Demonheart. Blackheaven stood respectfully to one side, not saying a word.

“That was quite a miserable loss,” the gray-robed figure said softly, a hint of amusement in his words. “A pity. A pity.”

“Aren’t you the one who forced this great tribulation upon us?” The Lord of All Fiends said calmly.

“Windfiend, your words are in error. It wasn’t that I forced this tribulation to occur; rather, if I didn’t take action, we would be completely wiped out.” The gray-robed figure chuckled, “Thus, our only choice is to fight. Only if the Nuwa Alliance is completely annihilated shall we be able to survive.”

“Then what is the true source of this calamitous war?” The Lord of All Fiends frowned.

“Even I do not know. I am part of the Heavenly Daos, but they are not all mine.” The gray-robed figure shook his head. “No matter what…I still hope that the Seamless Gate will be the one to win. Although I have become part of the Heavenly Daos…in the past, I was the king of the Seamless Chaosworld, after all. I truly don’t wish to see the Seamless Gate be completely wiped out, or perhaps see you lead a tiny band of survivors in fleeing from the Three Realms. In the end, my hope is simply that the living beings who shall prosper and thrive within the Three Realms shall be the living beings of the Seamless Chaosworld.”

The Lord of All Fiends stared at him.

The gray-robed figure continued, “As for the war for karmic luck…the battle for the Deerchaser major world was the critical battle. Unfortunately, we lost. We lost due to a completely unexpected variable. He is neither a Daofather nor a True God, and he hasn’t even reached the fifth stage of heartforce or swordforce. However…he was still able to unleash the full, complete power of the Rahu Formation. Now that he has acquired the Envoy, he has become the greatest impediment to our side winning the war for karmic luck.”

“He has indeed.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Do you have any ideas for dealing with him? Given his power, he can have his true body control the Rahu Formation while his Primaltwin controls the Envoy. Even if I sent four or five Envoys against him, they wouldn’t really be able to do anything to him. Don’t forget that the army of the Nuwa Alliance is incredibly powerful as well. Without the Envoys, there’s no way that we can possibly overcome them.”

“Ji Ning has become the sharpest fang of all in the maws of the Nuwa Alliance.” The gray-robed figure chuckled calmly. “The best way to deal with such a fang…is to pull it out.”

“Pull it out?” The Lord of All Fiends was stunned.

“Yes.” The gray-robed figure nodded.

“How?” The Lord of All Fiends’ face changed. He could vaguely sense at what Lord Demonheart was proposing.

“Have True Gods and Daofathers act. Attack and kill Ji Ning.” This was the gray-robed figure’s response.

The Lord of All Fiends instantly frowned. It was exactly as he has suspected. He immediately said unhappily, “There is reason why neither we nor the Nuwa Alliance have been willing to allow True Gods or Daofathers to get involved and launch the Endwar, and are instead competing to win the war for karmic luck first. That reason is because both of our sides are very close to each other in power. If we really were to launch the Endwar, our casualties would be catastrophic. If we were to have a True God or Daofather strike, the Nuwa Alliance would be enraged and probably send their major powers to intervene. If this happens, it’s very possible that the Endwar will immediately begin as a result.”

“Perhaps it will. But perhaps it won’t.” The gray-robed figure said calmly, “With this new variable, Ji Ning, entering into the mix, our chances for winning the war for karmic luck have become very low. If that’s the case…we might as well start the Endwar right away.”

“What’s more…”

“These so-called ‘unspoken rules’ were meant to be broken. True Gods and Daofathers are forbidden from intervening? When things really come to a head, why care about such foolish rules? The only thing that matters is killing Ji Ning! If the Nuwa Alliance goes crazy, then let’s fight! They’ll be caught completely unprepared…and given that they are currently winning the war for karmic luck, they probably wouldn’t be willing to launch the Endwar just yet.”

“Thus, even if we actually kill Ji Ning and cause the Endwar, we would be the side with the upper hand as we would already be prepared for it. If the Endwar doesn’t begin? That’s even better. In short…no matter what the result is, it won’t be that bad for us,” the gray-robed figure said calmly.

The Lord of All Fiends seemed to be intrigued by his words.

“But if we just let things develop…we are on track to lose the war for karmic luck for certain,” the gray-robed figure said calmly.

The Lord of All Fiends was silent for a long moment.

The gray-robed figure just watched him. He had become part of the Heavenly Daos, after all; the one who truly was in control of the Seamless Gate and made the decisions for it was now the Lord of All Fiends! To violate the unspoken accords of the major powers and to have True Gods and Daofathers act to assassinate Ji Ning…this was a decision which only the Lord of All Fiends could make.

“True. No matter what the end result is, it won’t be that bad for us. I’ve never wanted to actually see the Endwar descend upon us…but it is no longer avoidable.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head. “Since that’s the case…then let us anoint our war-banner with Ji Ning’s blood.”

The gray-robed figure laughed.

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Chapter 22 – A Deadly Crisis

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 22 – A Deadly Crisis

The remnants of the Seamless Gate’s army departed from the Deerchaser world, the scene of the Seamless Gate’s most catastrophic defeat.

“Eh?”

As they were leading their shattered forces away, their hearts filled with misery, the black-robed Godking and Daomother Devilhand were both stunned.

“The Fiendlord is summoning us?” The Godking was puzzled.

“Why is Windfiend summoning us? He never gets involved in these things.” Daomother Devilhand was puzzled as well. Neither of them, however, hesitated at all. They immediately sent their coresense to the Allfiend world, using it to manifest an incarnation that descended upon it.

The Allfiend world. Windfiend Palace. At the very tip of the palace, clouds and mist could be seen swirling about four figures who had gathered here. These four could be considered the true leaders of the Seamless Gate.

They were the Lord of All Fiends, the Keeper of the Everwood, Daomother Devilhand, and the black-robed Godking.

“Uncle-master, why have you summoned all of us here?” The black-robed Godking had the lowest status of the four, and so he spoke in an extremely respectful manner.

Keeper Everwood and Daomother Devilhand looked towards him as well.

The Lord of All Fiends said solemnly, “Just now, Demonheart showed himself. He had a chat with me.”

Instantly, everyone’s hearts clenched.

Demonheart….

The undisputed king of the Seamless Chaosworld. Everywhere he went, he brought warfare with him. There were no enemies that could stand against him, and no one could surpass him in his mastery of strategy and in his mastery of the heart. He had led the Seamless Chaosworld in its war against the Pangu Chaosworld, and had inflicted repeated, disastrous defeats upon the Pangu Chaosworld.

But at the critical moment, the alien Outsider known as the Lord of All Things who had been manipulating the conflict behind the scenes made his appearance. Then, Mother Nuwa had suddenly made a breakthrough to become a Pangu-level God as well, allowing her to absolutely dominate all her enemies. Only then did Demonheart suffer such a humiliating defeat. However, no one doubted Demonheart’s power.

“He appeared?” Keeper Everwood frowned. “He’s already merged himself into the Heavenly Daos. Even if he did appear, it would’ve been nothing more than a clone that was manifested from the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. He was the one who started the first war. What is he scheming now?” Keeper Everwood was the most peace-loving member of the Seamless Gate. He was extremely unhappy with how Demonheart had caused this new war.

However, the secret whispers of fate had also indicated to him that if they didn’t fight, the only result would be utter annihilation. Thus, there was no way for him to oppose it.

“Everwood.” The Lord of All Fiends looked towards him. “I know what type of a person you are…but you need to understand that at a time like this, we simply cannot be merciful and soft-hearted. To be merciful to them is the same as being merciless to our brothers, elders, and younglings of the Seamless Chaosworld! Now that things have reached the life-and-death stage, we need to be even more merciless than before!”

Keeper Everwood nodded, his aura becoming a bit more vicious. “Don’t worry. When the time comes…I won’t show mercy.”

“We have already lost the war for the Deerchaser world.” The Lord of All Fiends continued, “This was because a major new variable appeared. Ji Ning.”

“Ji Ning is clearly just an Empyrean God and True Immortal, but he was able to wield his Rahu Formation to great effect, unleashing a level of power that was comparable to that of a top-tier Daofather’s. In fact, he was able to completely suppress the Envoy of All Things in might. Now that Ji Ning also has the Envoy in his hands…he is like a tiger that has gained wings. If Ji Ning is to appear on any battlefield during the rest of the war for karmic luck, the advantage we have from our Envoys would be completely nullified.”

Everyone present nodded.

“Right. He’s too formidable.” The black-robed Godking couldn’t help but agree.

“We have always left the decision of how to handle Ji Ning up to you.” Daomother Devilhand said coldly, “And now, that young fellow has grown up to become such a dangerous threat. Hmph.”

The black-robed Godking’s face changed slightly, but he forced down the rage he felt in his heart. Daomother Devilhand was the easily agitated sort. In the past, there were times when she wouldn’t even give Demonheart any face, to say nothing of a junior like him.

“I was wrong.” The black-robed Godking lowered his head.

“Enough.” The Lord of All Fiends continued, “In the war for karmic luck, the Nuwa Alliance has its three major formations while we have our Envoys. We’re able to give them a good run for their money. But now that Ji Ning has appeared, and now that we’ve lost the most critical battle…our chances of winning the war for karmic luck are quite slim.”

All of them felt heaviness in their hearts.

“Thus, Demonheart suggested to me…that we should simply go kill Ji Ning,” the Lord of All Fiends said solemnly.

“Go kill him?”

“But…”

“This could very well cause the Endwar.”

All three of the others were shocked.

The Lord of All Fiends said, “At first, I didn’t agree with him either. However, when I thought it over carefully, I realized that Demonheart was right. If we kill Ji Ning, we’ll be able to take back the Envoy. Even if the Endwar begins, we’ll be prepared for it while they won’t be. And of course, if the Nuwa Alliance isn’t willing to start the Endwar, that’ll be even better.”

The Lord of All Fiends swept the other three with his gaze. “To tell the truth, we can all subconsciously sense the enormous danger that hangs over our heads. This danger is the danger of annihilation, and it has made all of us nervous. However, there’s no way to escape the Endwar. Sooner or later, it will come. When it does come, I want the three of you to stay close to me. If the situation turns grim, or if an unexpected variable appears like another alien Outsider, I’ll immediately lead you all in fleeing from the Three Realms. As long as we are able to survive, hope remains.”

“Agreed.” Everyone present nodded.

Before planning for victory, first plan for defeat. With the Lord of All Fiends on their side, the Seamless Gate’s chances of escape would clearly be quite good.

“Make your preparations for the Endwar,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “Although I predict that the chances of the Nuwa Alliance actually launching it are quite low, we still need to prepare for it. Inform that ally of ours as well. As soon as we make our move, his entire army has to move as well.”

“Of course. There’s no way we can let him just sit there and mop up the survivors,” Keeper Everwood said calmly.

“Agreed.” They all nodded.

“Our strike against Ji Ning has to be successful,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “The Nuwa Alliance has just won a great victory, and their army is currently celebrating. Ji Ning is currently within Xuan Yuan’s imperial palace. If we are going to attack, let’s attack Xuan Yuan’s palace and slay Ji Ning on the spot.”

“Attack him inside the imperial palace?”

“Aren’t we going to wait for Ji Ning to come out? If he comes out by himself, things will be much easier for us.”

“Windfiend is correct. Right now, the Nuwa Alliance is probably feeling fairly confident and relaxed, as Ji Ning is inside the imperial palace. But once he leaves, it’s possible that Daofather Subhuti will travel alongside him. Even if we were to attack, Subhuti would be able to instantly protect Ji Ning or collect him into a treasure, giving us no chance to attack at all.” Keeper Everwood agreed with the Lord of All Fiends.

The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Although the palace is a dangerous place, at least he is by himself. When we make our move, there won’t be enough time for Subhuti and Xuan Yuan to intervene. But of course, striking within the palace will be quite difficult, as Xuan Yuan’s surrounded his home with many formations.” As he spoke, he turned to look at Keeper Everwood.

“Everwood, you have many tricks up your sleeve. You should be able to temporarily tie down the Three Sovereigns by yourself for a short period of time, so you have to be involved in this. Help us tie down the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance,” the Lord of All Fiends instructed.

Keeper Everwood nodded and sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ve sparred against those old friends of mine countless times. Even if all three of them come against me at the same time, I’ll be able to hold them off for a short period of time.”

“We’ll also have to invite Darklight and Shadowless,” the Lord of All Fiends said.

The supreme figures of the Seamless Gate began to make their plans against Ji Ning, carefully plotting his death in detail.

They even came up with two contingency plans. If the first plan failed, they would use the contingency plan. If the contingency plan failed, they’d use the second contingency plan. In short, they were determined to make this mission a success. They also had to take back the Envoy of All Things! However, slaying Ji Ning was the most important part of this mission, with taking back the Envoy being a secondary goal.

The Nuwa Alliance, however, knew nothing of the Seamless Gate’s secret plotting. This was because very few members of the Seamless Gate were involved in it; less than fifteen in total! The vast majority of the major powers of the Seamless Gate were kept in the dark, with only their most supreme leaders and some of the most loyal, top-tier Daofathers knowing that they were to make their preparations for the Endwar. Each of these figures had multiple Daofathers under their command; once the Endwar actually began, they would be able to give the order and ensure that all of the major powers of the Seamless Gate would respond in an orderly fashion.

So long as the major powers weren’t caught off-guard, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under them wouldn’t be caught off-guard either.

The imperial palace of the Deerchaser world.

Ji Ning’s residence.

The white-robed Ning was seated silently in the lotus position, training in the [Solitary World God] technique. If he was able to break through and become a True God prior to the Endwar erupting, he would become much more powerful than he was now. The [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique and the [One True Body] technique had given him the power of a half-step True God already. If he was able to make a true breakthrough, he would be equivalent to a half-step Elder God.

Still, he was very far away from becoming a Daofather of the Great Firmament, because he had to first master a Heavenly Dao. In contrast, it was possible for one to become a True God after mastering one of the Heavenly Daos.

However, it was merely ‘possible’; more than eighty percent of Empyrean Gods had mastered a Grand Dao, but how many of them were able to become True Gods?

Ji Ning had already mastered a Grand Dao as well! The Grand Dao of Lightning!

When he had left Undermoon Lake, Ning had quickly mastered the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Thunderclap. During the month that he had spent training in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique, he had silently and soundlessly mastered the Grand Dao of Lightning! Surprisingly, it was actually the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, which he had once mastered in the past, which remained incomplete. He would most likely need another ten days or so to re-master it.

His foundation was simply far too profound. His sword-arts were at such a high level that he was able to understand these Daos at an absolutely astonishing level of speed.

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Chapter 23 – Binding the Envoy of All Things

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 23 – Binding the Envoy of All Things

After he had mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art, comprehending other Daos became a much faster process. However, if a major power was to train the [Five Treasures] but be unable to master it and instead be trapped at a bottleneck while being unable to master any other Daos…that would be utterly disastrous. The only reason why Ji Ning was willing to risk it was because he hadn’t possessed that high a level of attainment in other Daos to begin with.

Within Ning’s estate-treasure.

The black-robed Ji Ning waved his hand and a gourd appeared by his side. Staring at the gourd, Ning said to himself in a soft voice, “It’s time to bind the Envoy.”

Pop. He pulled the stopper out of the gourd, then pulled out the flame-wreathed, ape-shaped Envoy of All Things. It collapsed to the ground, still bound up by that Protocosmic spirit-rope.

The Envoy opened its eyes, glaring angrily at Ning. “You captured me…but you can forget about getting the Envoy.”

“Is that so?” The black-robed Ning replied coldly.

“So what if you have me all tied up? You have no way of coming in.” The Envoy growled, “Nor can you deal any damage at all to this golem. Forget about you; even the most powerful figures of the Three Realms wouldn’t be able to damage it!”

Ning shook his head. “I simply can forcibly bind the Envoy, right?”

“Forcibly bind it? A Daofather, maybe. You?” The Envoy’s controller snorted angrily. “Come and try!”

In truth, the Envoy was essentially a magic treasure, and the owner of this magic treasure was Empyrean God Bloodwave, located in the heart of it! Bloodwave believed that since Ji Ning was also just an Empyrean God/True Immortal, their divine power and Immortal energy should be on the same level. There was no way Ji Ning would be able to bind the Envoy by force, because he would be constantly using his own energy to resist and counter Ji Ning’s binding efforts.

“Let’s try and see.” The black-robed Ning waved a finger. Instantly, a torrid flood of energy flowed into the Envoy. As soon as this happened, Ning could instantly sense the control which Bloodwave had over the Envoy. Bloodwave was already the master of the Envoy, and so he had the advantage of incumbency. There was no way that someone on a similar level of power to Bloodwave could possibly seize the golem from under his control. However…Daofather-level energy was clearly vastly beyond the ability of Bloodwave to counteract, and it began to seep into the golem.

Crackle, crackle, crackle. The energy continued to flow into the golem, taking over more and more parts of it.

“How can this be?” Bloodwave was stunned. “How could this Immortal energy be this powerful? How could…” He could clearly sense how powerful and pure the invading energy was. It was vastly beyond the Pure Yang True Immortal level.

“Y-y-you’ve become a Daofather?” Bloodwave didn’t dare believe it. “Impossible. If you became a Daofather, you would’ve had to first master a Heavenly Dao. If that had happened, there would’ve been no way to hide it at all.”

Ning just chuckled calmly.

Indeed, there was no way to hide gaining mastery over a Heavenly Dao. The resonance effect this would create with the Heavenly Daos would instantly be discovered by the Lord of the Demonheart, who was himself a part of the Heavenly Daos. However, Ning was ‘only’ a True Immortal who had a Jindan that was comparable to a first-tier Jindan. If his Jindan had actually been a real first-tier Jindan, then when he used the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and [One True Body] techniques, he would’ve become even more powerful than actual first-tier True Immortals.

Alas, the only way to gain such a Jindan was to manifest it during the Celestial Tribulation.

“Impossible. You must be a Daofather. How could you have become a Daofather?” Bloodwave simply couldn’t understand it, no matter how hard he tried. Suddenly, he thought of the fact that not even the major powers on his side knew that Ji Ning had become a Daofather. This definitely had to be an important secret.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a surge of coresense burst forth from the Envoy’s body, charging outwards and seeking to escape the estate-treasure.

“You wish to reveal my secret?” Ning laughed calmly. “Don’t even try it. There’s no way your coresense can make it out of this estate-treasure.”

Not even the coresenses of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would be able to penetrate and scan this estate-treasure, to say nothing of Empyrean God Bloodwave’s coresense. So long as Ning did not permit it, there was no way his coresense would be able to escape to the outside world.

Ning wasn’t worried about Bloodwave revealing his secret.

Empyrean God Bloodwave…didn’t have a Primaltwin! And if did have incarnations in the outside world, it wouldn’t matter.

What was an ‘incarnation’? Even Void-level Fiendgods were capable of transforming a plucked bit of hair or a single drop of blood into an incarnation. At the Daofather level, incarnations could be manifested with but a thought. However, incarnations were only capable of surviving so long as the true body was alive. In fact, for Void-level Fiendgods, incarnations had to stay within a certain distance of the true body, as they would otherwise automatically dissipate.

Even Daofathers had to maintain a continuous connection to their incarnations to maintain them. This was because it was this hidden connection to and support from the true body that gave the incarnation a mind, a will, and the ability to speak and chat with others.

It must be understood that when one lost a large part of one’s soul, roughly seventy or eighty percent, the surviving portion would eventually crumble apart and die. If the loss was even more significant, one could die on the spot. The incarnation of a Daofather didn’t have any part of the Daofather’s soul within it at all. Why, then, was it able to ‘live’? Precisely because it relied on the true body for its survival.

And now, Bloodwave was trapped within the estate-world. This estate-world treasure was one which Ning had specially chosen out of the many estate-world treasures he had acquired from the prisoners of Pangaea. It was the most mysterious of all estate-worlds, capable of refusing even the senses of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. It was capable of severing all contact between its insides and the outside world!

Once the connection was severed, any incarnations that Bloodwave might’ve had in the outside world would dissipated due to its inability to connect to the true body.

No matter how angry and resentful Bloodwave was, all he could do was stare as Ning continued the binding process. And after spending roughly an hour, Ning finally succeeded.

“Come out.” This was the only thing Ning commanded.

Whoosh.

Bloodwave was forcibly teleported out. Eyes completely bloodshot, he charged towards Ji Ning in a berserk manner.

“Hmph.” The black-robed Ning’s gaze turned cold. The Thirty-Six Heavens instantly appeared around him in the form of flags, and they linked together to instantly and complete surround Bloodwave. Slash! Slash! Slash! Bloodwave cried out miserably and furiously as he was ground to death.

The difference between a Daofather and an Empyrean God was simply far too great. Unless there was some incredibly special circumstances involved, it would be extremely hard to overcome such a vast gulf in power.

“The Envoy of All Things.” The black-robed Ning first willed the Thirty-Six Heavens to disappear, and then he blinked inside of the ‘body’ of the Envoy.

“What a marvelous, intricate golem.” As Ning entered, he continued to explore the Envoy with his senses. Even he, the controller, was not capable of discovering a way to damage the golem in the slightest.

“Fortunately, this golem is in perfect shape.” Ning secretly rejoiced to himself.

During the war that ended the Primordial Era, the Lord of All Things had commanded an entire host of Envoys. When he had died, the critical mechanisms inside the Envoys had actually initiated self-destruct sequences. Although Mother Nuwa had defeated him and won his Envoys, they were in reality nothing more than completely useless, shattered bits of metal.

What Ning didn’t understand was that the Envoys which the Lord of All Things used were completely different from the Envoys which Grandmaster Blackheaven had created.

The Lord of All Things had used cruel, brutal methods to capture souls of Daofathers, then smelt them into the Envoys, ensuring that every single Envoy was absolutely loyal to him. An unwaveringly loyal army was what the Lord of All Things required, and as soon as he died his loyal Envoys self-destructed, ensuring that their enemies would never have a chance to acquire them. Grandmaster Blackheaven certainly didn’t have the ability to capture a Daofather’s soul or smelt it into an Envoy; all he was able to do was have a living Daofather command it.

“What a powerful golem…and is this part here the core? These five chaos jewels?” Ning discovered the energy source of the Envoy.

Empyrean Gods were able to use the Envoy to unleash the power of a top-tier Daofather. The energy source of an Envoy, however, was of course not the Empyrean God himself. Its power came from these five chaos jewels, which each contained unique attributes stemming from the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Joined together, they were able to unleash absolutely shocking amounts of power. There was simply no way for an Empyrean God to completely control such power. A Daofather, however, would be able to do so, and a Daofather in control would result in the Envoy having even more power.

“I feel powerful, even more powerful than when I am in control of a Rahu God. No wonder it is capable of unleashing a level of power close to that of the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism.” Ning was truly stunned. Mostly likely, ten of his Rahu Gods would be needed to match up with this Envoy.

The difference in power between a Empyrean God controlling it and a Daofather controlling it was simply enormous.

……

The enormous imperial palace. Ji Ning’s residence.

“Brother Darknorth.”

“Only now did I have a chance to meet with you, Darknorth. I’m quite embarrassed.” Empyrean God Owldragon and a host of other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had come to visit.

The white-robed Ning received them with a smile on his face. He could sense the gratitude, respect, and excitement these visiting Empyrean Gods and True Immortals felt. All of them understood that Ning had been the greatest contributor to their victory in the battle for the Deerchaser world! The greatest hero of them all! In addition, given the power which Ning had put on display today, he would definitely be able to unleash utterly astonishing levels of power during the upcoming final battles in the war for karmic luck.

Ji Ning’s formidableness meant that their side would have a better chance of winning.

Of course these Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would feel excited and grateful!

“They’ve entrusted me with their hopes…but in truth, it doesn’t change anything. Seamless Gate…no matter what, I will use all my strength to fight against it.” After sending these Empyrean Gods and True Immortals away, Ning walked by himself along the railing, staring at the endless, starry skies. “And the Godking.”

“I’m definitely going to kill him.”

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Chapter 24 – Killing Ji Ning

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 24 – Killing Ji Ning

The distant Allfiend world.

“Everything needs to be carried out according to the plan.” The Lord of All Fiends sat by himself at the peak of the mountain, staring into the endless Void. His voice passed through the Void, reaching the minds of the major powers spread throughout the other worlds. “In this mission to kill Ji Ning and take back the Envoy, as long as we move quickly enough we should be able to succeed fairly easily. However, there is a chance that the Endwar will begin as a result. Everyone, make your preprations.”

“Yes, Fiendlord.”

“Don’t worry, Windfiend.”

“We’ve all made our preparations.”

The ten-plus most powerful figures of the entire Seamless Gate all understood that this night was likely to be the most important night they had experienced in countless eons. This was a night where the major powers of both alliances would battle, a night which could well cause the Endwar to erupt. The last Endwar had caused the destruction of two chaosworlds; from this, one could tell how devastating a battle between major powers could be.

……

“So we are about to fight soon…” A violet-robed woman was seated in the lotus position atop a jade bed. Her arms were sparkling white and crystalline, while a faint hint of eagerness could be seen within her eyes.

Of the supreme powers of the Seamless Gate, she was the one who loved battle the most.

……

“We absolutely cannot afford to lose this battle.” A man dressed in similar violet robes who had a wooden ruler on his back was seated within an ordinary wooden room. He waved his hand, and the wooden ruler on his back fell into his grasp. The Keeper of the Everwood gently stroked the wooden ruler with his hand as he stared at it. He said in a soft voice, “Old friend, we are going to go into battle together once more. The last time we fought together was during the war that ended the Primordial Era.”

Thrum…the wooden ruler vibrated slightly.

Keeper Everwood’s face turned solemn and his eyes turned cold. Although he disliked battle, when the time came for them to fight he absolutely would not show mercy.

……

“The Fiendlord is a bit too cautious. He prepared a total of three plans for us, and we’re attacking from ambush. There’s no way Ji Ning will even be able to assemble the Rahu Formation in time. Killing him will be as easy as killing a chicken. The primary plan is more than enough. In fact, there’s no need for us to even involve Shadowless in this. I by myself am more than enough.”

An icy look flashed through the eyes of this skinny old man who had a hideous, centipede-like scar across his face. This man was Swordfather Darklight.

He had reached the fifth stage of swordforce, and he could be considered the Seamless Gate’s number one expert in the art of assassinations. His sword was known as the Darklight Sword, and it was named that because enemies were unable to see his sword.

……

The first plan the Seamless Gate initiated only involved a tiny number of major powers. It was kept extraordinarily secret, and so no one in the Nuwa Alliance noticed anything at all.

The Deerchaser world. The imperial palace.

The white-robed Ning was seated facing Silvermoon. Both were staring at the countless stars in the skies.

“Peaceful days are the best.” Silvermoon stared at the starry skies, then said softly, “But I wonder how long this peace will last.”

“Once the war is over, everything will be right again.” Ning stared at the stars as well. “The tree wishes to be still, but the wind continues to blow. Although we wish to live peaceful lives, there’s a reason for this war. Only when we sever the hand that is manipulating things behind the scenes and slay the major powers who are focused on causing trouble and chaos throughout the Three Realms will peace return.”

“Haha.” Silvermoon chuckled. “Fortunately, we have you on our side. I really wonder what you experienced in Undermoon Lake, junior apprentice-brother. You are merely an Empyrean God, but you are able to unleash such incredible levels of power.”

Ning smiled but didn’t reply.

Everyone who had emerged from Undermoon Lake, including all of the two hundred-plus Empyrean Gods, had been completely silent about their experiences there. Everyone including Silvermoon knew that it wasn’t that they were unwilling to speak, it had to be that they were unable to speak, and so no one tried to force the story out of them.

“Eh? We’ve finished the wine.” Silvermoon lifted up the canteen, giving it a few shakes before laughing and rising to his feet. “Alright. Now that the wine’s all gone, it’s time for me to leave. No need to send me off.” As he spoke, he took a step forward and flew downwards, then lazily sauntered off into the distance. As he left, he called out in a loud voice, “Just make sure you help me kill a few more of those Seamless Gate bastards.”

“No problem,” Ning called back.

In the previous battle, Silvermoon’s capabilities had been tremendously degraded. He had lost more than half of his soul, resulting in him now being extremely weak. There was no way he could take part in battle at all. In truth, Ning could’ve let him quickly recover his soul by giving him just a tiny bit of chaos nectar, but Ning knew that given Silvermoon’s temperament, he would immediately choose to rejoin the war once more upon being healed.

It was best to let him stay in the back safely for now.

“And these Nine Chaos Seals are truly unspeakably marvelous.” Ning waved his hand, producing one of the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens. The more insight he gained into the Nine Chaos Seals which each goldstar bead contained, the more marvelous he felt them to be. Meditating on them allowed Ning to more easily understand and master the sword-arts left behind by World God Northrest, and it even made it a bit easier for him to comprehend the Dao.

Ning had originally thought them to be fairly ordinary chaos seals that had been found in the primordial chaos, but after learning the many techniques transmitted to him by World God Northrest, Ning felt all the more convinced of how extraordinary these Nine Chaos Seals were.

“Perhaps in the future, when I find Vastheaven Palace in the primordial chaos, I’ll be able to learn the history behind the creation of the Nine Chaos Seals.”

He continued to hold the goldstar beads in his hands, meditating on them.

After spending two hours in meditation, it was now very late at night.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly, inexplicably felt his heartrate quicken, and a shiver flashed through his soul. In fact, his subconscious was now screaming that an utterly terrifying danger was descending upon him, so unfathomably vast and deadly that Ning’s heart was naturally filled with an aura of despair.

“Not good.” Ning was shocked. Ever since he had mastered the second of the Nine Chaos Seals and became capable of transforming the goldstar beads in the Mirrors of the Heavens, Ning’s subconscious connection to the whispers of fate had become much stronger than before. But this time, things had happened without any warning whatsoever. Only when the danger had already descended upon him did the warning come, filling him with utter terror. Clearly, his foe’s mastery over fate and destiny was far superior to Ning’s, allowing him to even muffle the whispers of fate, which was why Ning didn’t sense anything until the very end.

And by now…it was too late.

“Flee.” Faced with such danger, Ning’s only thought was of flight.

Suddenly…

Rumble…

Like a peacock spreading his tail feathers, streaks of black light instantly swished towards Ning in a fan-like manner.

They were completely silent but incredibly fast.

By the time Ning noticed the fan-shaped streaks of black light, they had already reached him. The only thing that Ning could do was use the [Starseizing Hand] to block.

Whooooooosh. The fan-shaped streaks of black light instantly and completely penetrated through Ning’s body. Although Ning’s body was protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], it was still unable to defend against the black streaks of light. The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was completely shattered, and even his divine body was unable to withstand this attack. The golden pellet Jindan in his body, along with his soul, wasn’t able to withstand it either…and both were instantly annihilated.

The white-robed youth that had been sitting there was instantly reduced to nothingness.

“Hmph. So what if he is powerful? So what if he has the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]? So what if he has the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]?” A skinny old man appeared in the air above the palace. It was Swordfather Darklight of the Seamless Gate.

This mission was extremely critical, and Ning possessed the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique. If he was given any time to escape, he would definitely be able to do so. Thus, the Seamless Gate had invited their most skilled assassin, Swordfather Darklight, to engage. His sword was both secretive enough and powerful enough to instantly wipe out Ji Ning!

If Swordfather Darklight had failed, allowing Ji Ning to flee with his [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], then the next to strike would be the Lord of All Fiends, who had the most terrifyingly fast movement technique in all of the Three Realms. The Lord of All Fiends would personally strike! His evasion technique was far superior to Ji Ning’s; not even the Golden Crow ‘King of Monsters’ of the ancient days could match up to the Lord of All Fiends in speed.

However…

Ning had been too relaxed and unguarded here in the imperial palace of Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan. He had placed too much faith in Subhuti and Xuan Yuan, and had too much confidence in himself. And so…he had instantly been killed. He didn’t even have the chance to use the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] to escape, and so there was no need for the Lord of All Fiends to intervene.

Two powerful aura instantly burst forth from within the imperial palace.

“DARKLIGHT!!!”

An enraged roar instantly shook the entire world. This white-bearded, robed old man normally always had a calm, merry smile on his face…but now, he was filled with a towering desire to kill. His senses were quite acute and quite quick, but by the time he sensed what was happening, Ji Ning’s true body had already been slain, completely unable to fight back whatsoever.

“Subhuti, don’t be hasty.” A second, calm voice rang out within the imperial palace.

A violet-robed man appeared in the air above the imperial palace. He held a wooden ruler in his hands, and he pointed it at the distant Patriarch Subhuti. Instantly, a blurry violet light instantly sprang up to surround Patriarch Subhuti. Even the stunned and enraged Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan was completely surrounded by the blurry violet light. Upon being trapped by it, Patriarch Subhuti and Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan actually found that they were temporarily unable to break free from it.

“Shatter!” Patriarch Subhuti waved his finger. Whoosh…the spacetime around him began to splinter apart.

“It’s useless.” The violet-robed figure stood there calmly in the air. Although spacetime around him was shattering apart in layers, the boundless violet light was able to once more forcibly recompress and seal those layers together. In terms of pure defensive capabilities, Keeper Everwood was the most formidable individual in the Seamless Gate. Even if all three of the Three Sovereigns came, he would still be able to hold them off by himself, much less a mere Subhuti and Xuan Yuan.

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Chapter 25 – The Summoning Call

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 25 – The Summoning Call

Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan was utterly besides himself with rage. This was his imperial palace. The Seamless Gate dared to launch a frontal attack against it? As soon as he found out that he was unable to immediately break through the barrier of violet light, he manifested a divine sword that glowed with dazzling golden light. This was the legendary Xuanyuan sword! As the sword struck out, the entire imperial palace began to glow with countless formations. The natural energy of Heaven and Earth began to furiously gather here, causing the skies to turn dark.

“Everwood…f*ck off!” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan exploded forth with an utterly astonishing aura. Seemingly limitless amounts of power were being concentrated within the Xuanyuan sword in his hands, and he delivered a downwards chop!

Rumble…

The violet light parted before the blow like the waves of the sea…but then it came together to trap and crush the sword-light, repeatedly grinding away at it. If you strike at water with a blade, the water will continue to flow. Although the sword-light was able to temporarily split the violet light apart, more of the violet light would come forth and merge together anew.

“Xuan Yuan, although you are formidable in commanding armies, in a true one-on-one fight, you are still far from being a match for me,” Keeper Everwood said calmly. His gaze was actually focused on the distant form of Subhuti…because he would sense that Daofather Subhuti was transforming.

“You’ve hidden yourself away for countless years. Subhuti…I’m quite curious to see how strong you are.” Keeper Everwood’s voice rang out next by Subhuti’s ears.

Subhuti was incredibly mysterious. Even during the war that ended the Primordial Era, he had only intervened a few times to save people. He hadn’t truly taken part in the war. He possessed the most formidable fleeing abilities within the Nuwa Alliance, and he was absolutely, unswervingly loyal to them. Why was it that such a steadfast major power had refused to take part in the war? The Seamless Gate’s guess…was that Subhuti was most likely meant to be the escape path for the Nuwa Alliance!

If the Pangu Chaosworld had lost the war and was in true danger of annihilation, Subhuti probably would’ve intervened to lead them all away.

The Lord of All Fiends was the escape path for the Seamless Gate.

Subhuti was quite likely to be the escape path for the Nuwa Alliance.

Thus, the major powers of the Seamless Gate had never dared to underestimate Subhuti. No one knew exactly how strong he was.

“Ji Ning…is my disciple.” Subhuti’s beard fluttered in the wind, his entire body emanating a heart-stopping aura of might. His ancient hands suddenly increased explosively in size, becoming like two massive stormclouds as he clawed forward with them.

Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap!

Even before his heaven-covering palms actually struck the dense violet light, the violet light began to split apart. The palms wildly smashed downwards towards Keeper Everwood, and the closer they moved towards him, the more powerfully the violet light resisted. However, Subhuti’s hands were completely covered with dark black light, and they were incomparably sharp. They tore through all obstacles as they grabbed towards the midair Keeper Everwood.

“I knew that you’d be able to break through this protective light of mine.” Keeper Everwood’s unearthly aura of violet light was nothing more than a divine protective light that surrounded him. Xuan Yuan had used his full power, but had still been unable to break through the barrier of light. In terms of defense, Keeper Everwood was the undisputed number one expert of the Seamless Gate, after all. Most likely, on the side of the Nuwa Alliance, only Lord Tathagata the Buddha could compare with him in terms of defensive strength.

Lord Buddha focused on a few exquisite skills. Keeper Everwood, by contrast, dabbled a bit in everything. He was skilled in almost everything! In formations, he was probably close to being a match for even Fuxi. In close combat, he was top-notch. In golem-making and pill-forging, he was quite the expert as well. Although he wasn’t the best in the Three Realms, he was definitely in the top three! This made Keeper Everwood extremely difficult to deal with.

“Careful, Subhuti.” Keeper Everwood stretched out the wooden ruler in his hand and pointed.

Whoosh. The wooden ruler instantly expanded to become thirty thousand meters long, and it smashed downwards towards the pair of massive, heaven-covering hands.

Rumble….Heaven and Earth both began to tremble.

“You live up to the stories. Show me all of your power, Subhuti.” Keeper Everwood looked towards Subhuti.

“The Seamless Gate has truly used its full power to try and kill my disciple.” Subhuti was frantic. He had immediately used one of his killer attacks, but was still unable to do anything to his foes.

“Suiren!”

“Tathagata!”

“Three Purities!”

“Hurry up and come here!” Subhuti’s will covered the entire Three Realms as he urged them to make haste.

……

Within the distant Mount Innerheart of the Crescent major world.

Snooooore. Snooooore. Snoooore. A skinny old man was snoring contentedly as he slept, a fan placed against his chest.

“Crazy Ji, hurry up and come to the Deerchaser world to save your junior apprentice-brother!”

A voice suddenly echoed within the old man’s mind.

The skinny elder was stunned. “The Deerchaser world is the base of Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan. Master is there as well…but he’s actually been forced to call for reinforcements?” Crazy Ji no longer looked as relaxed as he normally did. His face was now solemn, and a spatial whirlpool appeared in front of him. Crazy Ji took a single step forward, entering the spatial whirlpool.

……

On other side of Mount Innerheart.

“Whew! Down you go.”

A woodcutter, dressed in cloth robes and straw shoes, was striking with his hatchet against a large tree, slowly hacking away at it.

“Woodcutter, your junior apprentice-brother is in danger at the Deerchaser major world. The Seamless Gate has attacked, and even I cannot stop them. You can decide for yourself whether or not you wish to come.” Subhuti’s voice rang out in the woodcutter’s mind.

Whoooosh. A large spatial whirlpool appeared before the woodcutter as well.

The woodcutter no longer seemed as laid back as he normally was. Instead, he hefted his hatchet over his shoulders, staring calmly at the spatial whirlpool tunnel before him. He was the most low-key figure of all of Mount Innerheart. In fact, he remained at the base of the mountain, never going to meet with Subhuti. However, he was indisputably the most powerful disciple of Mount Innerheart.

No one knew what his story was. In fact, no one even knew his real name. The only thing Ning and the others knew…was that their senior brother was known as the ‘woodcutter’.

“Should I go or not? Ji Ning, that little kid who learned archery from me all those years ago?” The woodcutter hefted his hatchet, a hint of amusement playing at the corners of his lips. “They want to kill my junior apprentice-brother…but they haven’t asked me if that’s acceptable.”

Whoosh. Hatchet over his shoulders, the woodcutter stepped into the spatial whirlpool tunnel.

……

The major world of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Flower-Fruit Mountain was an awe-inspiringly famous place back during the Primordial Era. Surprisingly, in the Three Realms era it had become quite a low-key locale. However, the leader of the monsters of Flower-Fruit Mountain was a legendary figure.

He was born from a divine stone which Mother Nuwa had used to repair the heavens, and he emerged from it filled with endless battle-lust!

He battled against Heaven and battled against Earth. He was born to do battle!

Subhuti had taught him, while the Buddhists had tempered him. This truly changed him. Once, a single displeasing word could cause this absolutely savage king to lift up his staff and deliver a ferocious beatdown, but now he had become very low-key. Every day, he spent his time on Flower-Fruit Mountain with his minions, happily eating Immortal peaches and drinking fine wine. When he wanted to sleep, he would use the natural world as his bed and fall asleep on the spot.

He was like a piece of jade that had originally been filled with imperfections but had now been perfectly carved and polished, revealing all of its glorious luster.

“Wukong, your junior apprentice-brother has encountered grave danger in the Deerchaser world. The Seamless Gate seeks to kill him, and I, your master, am unable to withstand them,” Subhuti sent to him.

“Master.”

The hairy monkey had previously been slouched casually upon a rock, watching as a pair of ants battled. When Subhuti’s voice rang out in his mind, he was momentarily startled.

“They want to kill my junior apprentice-brother?” The hairy monkey rose to his feet, his entire body instantly becoming covered with a dazzling, sparkling golden armor. A long staff appeared in his hands as well.

“Kiddos, your king is going to make a short trip.” His voice echoed in the air above Flower-Fruit Mountain. As for the monkey king himself, he had already pierced through the Void to move towards the Deerchaser world.

Subhuti had instantly summoned the various major powers of the Nuwa Alliance. The Daofathers of Mount Innerheart rarely joined forces, but this time Subhuti summoned all of them.

……

The imperial palace of the Deerchaser world.

As Subhuti and Xuan Yuan battled against Keeper Everwood, Ji Ning’s Primaltwin suddenly appeared.

“Eh?” Swordfather Darklight landed on the ground. As he did, he suddenly saw that a black lightning serpent suddenly flew from the slain true body of Ji Ning into a large seal.

“An estate-world treasure?” Swordfather Darklight instantly recognized what that large seal was. Right at this moment, a figure suddenly emerged from the large seal. It was the ape-shaped Envoy of All Things, its entire body blazing with dark red flames. The Envoy’s face, however, had changed. It now had Ji Ning’s face, and Ji Ning’s eyes were filled with murder as he stared at the skinny old man.

“I was overconfident.”

“I was overconfident, and I trusted too much in Master and the others. I forgot that my situation is no longer the same as it was before. In the past, when I was by Master’s side, he could completely shield me from all dangers, blocking out the wind and the rain. There was no need for me to worry about anything. However, I now have the power of a top-tier Daofather, and when I control the Envoy I’m actually even more powerful. I’m probably very close to even Master I power. At a time like this, anyone capable of posing a threat to me is someone that not even Master would necessarily be able to save me from.” Ning had become completely clear-minded now.

“You’ve actually managed to bind the Envoy already? Quite fast. Hmph.” Swordfather Darklight laughed coldly, “A pity that it’s useless.”

Swordfather Darkklight stood there in the distance, staring towards Ning.

Bang!

Suddenly, that mysterious, unfathomable streak of black light once more appeared. If last time, the black light was in the shape of a fan and possessed incomparably dominating power that completely tore Ning’s divine body apart, this time the black light was like an unending flow of water. It was extremely gentle as it swept towards Ning, seeking to swirl around him and bind him. So long as it could bind him, then it would be able to capture him, much like how Ning himself had bound and captured the Envoy of All Things.

“Presumptuous.” Ning’s Envoy wielded a pair of divine swords in its hands, and its right hand suddenly moved.

Whoosh!

Sword-light lit up.

Ning was using his Daofather-level energy to control the strength of the Envoy of All Things. He used its terrifying, tremendous power to unleash his fastest sword-strike. Sword-light lit up, and it was as though a bolt of lightning had appeared in the black skies! His sword struck even faster than thunder, and the powerful, penetrative force of this blow pierced straight into the flowing, watery-like stream of black sword-light.

Clangclangclangclangclang…

An extremely fast series of consecutive clanging sounds could be heard with over a thousand sounds ringing out in an instant.

Countless thin sword-shaped streams of light had appeared in the skies.

Swordfather Darklight’s sword-light was formed from countless finger-sized swords, each of which was covered with a flowing layer of black light. The countless slender swords, in the face of Ning’s single dazzling sword-strike, were actually blasted apart by the force of the collision.

This sword-stance was the Blood Drop stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art!

“How can this be?!” Swordfather Darklight was shocked. Even amongst top-tier Daofathers, he was ranked quite highly. He probably wasn’t much weaker than Patriarch Subhuti. As he saw it, an Empyrean God in command of the Envoy could perhaps just barely be a match for an ordinary top-tier Daofather. Ji Ning should be no match for him at all.

But in reality…he was actually at a disadvantage in this fight!

“He’s actually suppressed me.” Swordfather Darklight was shocked. However, he knew how important this mission was and so he didn’t waste any time marveling at what had just happened. He immediately sent a mental shout, “Shadowless, hurry up and attack! Are you just going to watch as Ji Ning escapes?”

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Chapter 26 – No Harming My Junior Apprentice-Brother!

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 26 – No Harming My Junior Apprentice-Brother!

As soon as the black-robed Ji Ning had attacked through his Envoy, he had immediately suppressed Darklight. The power he had just displayed stunned everyone. This definitely wasn’t the power of an ordinary top-tier Daofather; it was a level of power that was extremely close to that of the Three Sovereigns or the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism. As for Daofather Shadowless? He was hidden in the shadows, but had no time to think about this question.

“We have to get rid of him.” Daofather Shadowless launched his attack.

“Eh?” As the Envoy-Ning struck out with his sword, suppressing Swordfather Darklight, he immediately saw a pitch-black figure appear in front of him. This pitch-black figure instantly split apart into six figures, each of who wielded a bladed whip that could be used like a flexible sword.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The six black figures lashed out with their whips, filling the skies with them and completely sealing off the area around Ning. They were like vipers, coiling around Ning and prepared to strike at any moment.

“Daofather Shadowless.” Ning could immediately guess at who this was. “The Seamless Gate really thinks quite highly of me. They actually sent their two best assassins to deal with me. The first was Swordfather Darklight, who is skilled in long-distance attacks; the second is Daofather Shadowless, who is skilled in close-range attacks. When the two of them join forces, there aren’t many in the Three Realms who can escape them.”

Daofather Shadowless was a dual refiner, both a Daofather and a True God. He was far more powerful than Daoist Threelives had been, and was a terrifying figure who was every bit a match for the likes of Subhuti and Old Man Yuan.

There were many differences between Swordfather Darklight and Daofather Shadowless. Swordfather Darklight used long-range treasures to attack, allowing him to deliver an instant, death-dealing sword-stroke that was able to unleash explosive power. However, in sustained battle, he was a bit weaker.

Daofather Shadowless, however, was a master of close combat! He trained in an extremely bizarre divine ability that was known as the [Shadowless Fiend Sutra]. Only a few of the absolute most top-tier major powers of the Seamless Gate knew this technique, but the only one who had been able to truly master it was Daofather Shadowless! This divine ability was similar to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], but of course there were differences between them.

When one used this divine ability, one would be able to instantly manifest six mighty clones! Each of the six clones would have the same level of power as the original body, and they were like shadows. There was no way to kill a shadow! When Daofather Shadowless activated this technique, the six clones created would all look like mere shadows, with just one of them containing his true body within it!

However, distinguishing the true body from the five false ones was incredibly difficult, and Daofather Shadowless was also able to easily alternate amongst his six mighty clones.

This divine ability allowed his power to increase dramatically, and also made him virtually unkillable! Given that Daofather Shadowless had the power of a top-tier Daofather to begin with, after he had mastered this technique he had naturally become comparable to Subhuti and Old Man Yuan.

“Break, break, break!” Ji Ning was a peerless Sword Immortal, and his Envoy lashed out with a pair of divine swords with frenzied abandon.

Even though Daofather Shadowless was occasionally struck, each time it turned out that it was only one of his ‘shadows’ that was hit. Daofather Shadowless continued to strike with his frenzied whip-blocks, forcing Ning to keep an extremely tight defense. If Ning made the slightest of mistakes, the whips would most likely be able to wrap themselves around him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Riiiiiip!

The Envoy-Ning battled against Daofather Shadowless in close combat, the two furious exchanging blows.

One was completely invulnerable to weapons and reputed to be the number one sword-user of the Three Realms.

The other had six indestructible bodies that could attack simultaneously, and also had the long-distance support of Swordfather Darklight. The two could be said to make a perfect pairing.

Ning had been completely shut down.

“What should I do? My attacks are useless against Daofather Shadowless, but his whip strikes have completely tied me down here, restricting my movements. And that damnable Swordfather Darklight…he keeps on interfering with me as well. There’s nothing I can do; my only choice is to try to buy time. The more time passes, the more major powers of the Nuwa Alliance will get here,” Ning mused to himself.

Although all this took time to describe, these major powers actually exchanged blows lightning-fast against each other.

Moments after Ning’s true body had been ambushed and assassinated, his Primaltwin had emerged with the Envoy of All Things and launched an attack, resulting in Swordfather Darklight and Daofather Shadowless joining forces.

“Right at this moment…”

“EVERWOOD!!” An enraged roar rang out.

A towering figure clad in just a fur loincloth had appeared in the skies, and the space around him had been completely torn apart. Utterly terrifying waves of flames were swirling around him, emanating an utterly horrifying aura of power. But if one was able to stare deep into the flames…one would unconsciously feel warmth in the heart, as though hope could be seen living within the flames.

This was Suiren’s ‘Eternal Kindlefire’.

“It’s Suiren.” Ji Ning, battered by Swordfather Darklight and Daofather Shadowless, instantly felt hope in his heart.

“Suiren’s come.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan was overjoyed as well.

Suiren was secretly acknowledged by many as the number one expert of the Nuwa Alliance. But of course, it was also possible that Lord Tathagata the Buddha and Daoist Three Purities had made breakthroughs in recent years which allowed them to surpass him! Still, for now at least, the level of power that Suiren had made public was enough to let him stand at the very peak of the Three Realms.

The mid-air Suiren was wielding a long black staff in his hands. He brandished the stave, unleashing an aura of endless power that struek out like a falling star, smashing through all impediments. The violet light was instantly shattered.

“Just in time.” Keeper Everwood struck out with his wooden ruler as well.

Both weapons had transformed to become three million meters long.

Wooden staff against wooden ruler. The two collided, and the heavens themselves trembled.

Keeper Everwood was knocked two steps backwards. He had to twirl the wooden ruler in an arc before him in order to deflect the remainder of the shockwave.

“I’m still a bit weaker than you in close combat.” Keeper Everwood laughed softly, but his eyes were as cold as ice. “Alas for you, there’s no need for me to actually fight you.”

“Transform.”

Keeper Everwood’s body blurred as he used [Three Heads, Six Arms]. Each of his six arms now wielded a wooden ruler.

“Everwood. I really don’t want to kill you.” A sigh suddenly rang out in the heavens as a enormous, dazzling, shining golden palm suddenly ripped through the skies, smashing downwards.

“Tathagata.” Two of Keeper Everwood’s hands increased in size as well, and he sent his massive palms and wooden rulers to block against this attack.

Almost as soon as Subhuti had called out to them, Suiren, Tathagata, and Daoist Three Purities had arrived.

Suiren’s wooden staff was as heavy as the Solar Star or the Lunar Star, and each blow from it knocked Keeper Everwood stumbling backwards.

Tathagata’s palm contained an entire vast major world inside of it, and those two hands had long ago reached the level of Chaos treasures.

Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immrotal Slaying Sword Formation’ was the most offensively terrifying attack of them all, and Keeper Everwood spent nearly half of his efforts on defending against it.

“A pity that Shennong and Fuxi are both within the primordial chaos. It will take them time to get here.” Suhbuti was frantic. “If it was the Lord of All Fiends or Daomother Devilhand attacking, there’s no way they could possibly tie down Three Purities, Tathagata, and Suiren at the same time. Only Everwood is capable of such a deed.”

Subhuti’s heart was burning with anxiety. His power primarily lay in his escaping techniques. Although he was close to the overlord-level in close combat, he was still considerably weaker than the likes of Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others.

As for Keeper Everwood, he was an utter freak. He knew far too many techniques, and when he put them all on display he was able to simultaneously tie down Three Purities, Tathagata, and Suiren for a brief period of time. The very sight of such a feat was terrifying!

“Devilhand, go ahead and strike. Remember, keep the strike surgical. If we can avoid starting the Endwar, we need to try and do so,” the Lord of All Fiends instructed mentally.

“You should’ve let me attack long ago.”

A violet-robed woman appeared in the air above the imperial palace.

She was adorably short and slender, with beautiful features, but the strength of her killing intent was enough to cause the entire Deerchaser world itself to shudder. Dark stormclouds began to gather, and when Subhuti, Daoist Three Purities, and Tathagata saw the violet-robed woman, their faces all changed.

A true fiend amongst fiends! A true mass-murdering maniac! A devil that had caused even the Seamless Chaosworld to tremble in terror!

Daomother Devilhand!

“I didn’t expect that even when Shadowless and Darklight joined forces together, they still wouldn’t be able to do anything to Ji Ning. I have no choice but to let Devilhand to engage as well. I hope that she won’t expand the scope of things too much.” The Lord of All Fiends felt some worry in his heart. Ji Ning, when in command of the Envoy of All Things, truly was much more powerful than they had expected. They had to send out their overlord-level experts, as otherwise it would be extremely difficult to capture him.

The Lord of All Fiends had no choice. He had to send out Daomother Devilhand.

As soon as the violet-robed woman had appeared, she stretched out her slender, ivory-white arms. Her palms sliced through the air, clawing towards the Envoy-Ning, who was still engaged in a furious battle against Swordfather Darklight and Daofather Shadowless.

As for Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, Three Purities, Suiren, and Tathagata? For now, they had all been completely tied down by Keeper Everwood alone! Although this was incredibly difficult and taxing for Keeper Everwood, he was able to endure them for now. Lord Tathagata the Buddha was able to rely on the formidable power of his golden body to endure a hit while striking solemnly towards Daomother Devilhand, but she just used one of her own palms to defend while sending the second clawing towards Ji Ning.

“NO HARMIN’ MY JUNIOR APPRENTICE-BROTHER!”

Heaven and Earth suddenly echoed with this furious bellow, and a murderous aura that was just as savage as Devilhand’s soared towards the skies. A monkey-shaped figure had appeared on the distant horizons, and he delivered a furious, double-handed blow with the staff in his hands. The enormous staff, glowing with dazzling golden light, smashed downwards like a thunderbolt from the heavens towards Daomother Devilhand.

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Chapter 27 – Eldest Disciple

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 27 – Eldest Disciple

“Unruly monkey!” Daomother Devilhand glanced sideways at him. She didn’t hold the King of Flower-Fruit Mountain in any regard, but she still halted her assault on Ji Ning and instead waved her hand towards the Monkey King, intending to deal with him first.

Daomother Devilhand stood there in midair, one palm clashing with the oncoming blow from Lord Tathagata the Buddha, the other smashing towards the Monkey King.

THUD!

A deep, dull sound rang out. It was the sound of the gleaming golden staff colliding with Daomother Devilhand’s ivory-white hand. Daomother Devilhand’s hand actually came to a halt. It was actually forced to a halt by that staff!

“Eh?” Daomother Devilhand’s face changed as she stared at the distant Monkey King.

“My junior apprentice-brother has only trained for a few short centuries, but he’s reached an incredible level of power. Did you think that I, ol’ Sun, wouldn’t have made some improvements of my own in the countless years since the war that ended the Primordial Era?” The Monkey King sped through the air, closing in on her with his staff in his hands, filled with an unearthly aura of battle.

“The monkey has reached such a level of power as well…our Seamless Gate has been hiding some of our forces, and now it seems the Nuwa Alliance has hidden quite a few of theirs as well.” The Lord of All Fiends secretly sighed to himself.

The war that ended the Primordial Era had occurred far, far too many years ago, after all. It had been more than half a chaos cycle.

After so many years, it was entirely possible that a formerly ordinary True God or Daofather could suddenly reveal the power of a top-tier Daofather, or perhaps even an overlord-class Daofather. Both sides would only reveal their final trump cards in the final instant, at the critical moment which would determine victory or defeat, life or death. Trump cards that were left hidden were the most dangerous cards of all.

During the Endwar, a single slip-up or a single unexpected power-up by a major power could have a huge impact on the outcome of the war. Thus, both sides were hiding their true power. Even when they were forced to fight, they would only reveal the powers that the other side already knew about.

“Back then, although the monkey was favored by Nuwa, he was still merely a top-tier Daofather. But now, he’s close to being an overlord-class Daofather,” the Lord of All Fiends mused to himself.

Sun Wukong, the King of Flower-Fruit Mountain. The shadow of Mother Nuwa could be seen behind him on his path to power.

He had been born from the only piece of stone that Mother Nuwa had used to repair the heavens. How could she possibly not pay attention to him?

He won his treasures from the Dragon Palace, apprenticed himself to Subhuti, was tempered by the Buddhist Sangha, and in the end was provided with the personal tutelage of Mother Nuwa herself. It could be said that Mother Nuwa focused more on training this monkey than she had on anyone else. During the war that ended the Primordial Era, the Seamless Gate had been quite wary of this monkey, as they were afraid that he might possess a terrifying amount of power. However, the reality was that although the monkey was extremely skilled in battle and had many magical treasures on him, he was fairly weak with regards to his insights into the Dao, and so was just barely at the level of top-tier Daofathers in strength.

Now, half a chaos cycle had gone past. The Monkey King had truly transformed, and this was one of the reasons why Subhuti had summoned him.

Subhuti had summoned three of his main disciples. The eldest disciple, the woodcutter; the second disciple, Crazy Ji; the sixth disciple, Sun Wukong. In truth, Subhuti actually had another Daofather under his command; his twelth disciple. However, his twelfth disciple was merely an ordinary Daofather who wasn’t strong enough to get involved in battles at this level, and so Subhuti did not summon him.

“This monkey is quite hard to deal with.” Daomother Devilhand immediately gnashed her teeth after their initial clash. “Before Nuwa left the Three Realms, she definitely provided this monkey with some assistance.”

Although Devilhand was skilled in battle, she was different from Everwood; Keeper Everwood was able to simultaneously tie down multiple overlord-class experts thanks to his defensive prowess, while she was focused on attacks! If she spent enough time and effort, she’d be able to wipe out the monkey, but time was a rare and limited commodity right now. The more time passed, the more major powers would make it to this place.

Their target for this mission was Ji Ning!

Although the monkey was formidable, he had long ago become a True God and Daofather; there was no way he could get involved in the war for karmic luck. Ji Ning was clearly just an Empyrean God and True Immortal, but he was able to unleash an utterly unearthly level of power. Now that he had an Envoy of All Things, he was actually able to unleash a level of power that was close to that of an overlord-class Daofather. A monster like this…no matter what, they could not permit him to live.

“Darklight, Shadowless, stop this monkey for me. Leave Ji Ning to me.” Daomother Devilhand instantly sent mental instructions to the other two. She didn’t want to allow the monkey to be able to distract her.

“Alright.” Swordfather Darklight had been airborne this entire time. With but a thought, he caused the black, sword-shaped stream of light under his control to switch directions, striking towards the Monkey King that was charging towards them from afar. The Monkey King had no choice but to use his power to defend against the sword-light. No one would dare to be overconfident when faced with Swordfather Darklight’s sword.

Swish. Daofather Shadowless quickly withdrew as well, turning to charge towards the distant Monkey King.

“Ji Ning. Die.” Daomother Devilhand was still using one hand to clash against Lord Tathagata. With her other, she struck out from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away towards Ning.

“Daomother Devilhand.” Ning felt breathless upon seeing this palm crash down towards him.

If he was in the Rahu Formation, he would probably be instantly annihilated. However, using the Envoy made him much more powerful; more than ten Rahu Formations would be needed to match its power.

“Soleheart stance.” Ning’s twin swords simultaneously unleashed his most powerful supreme defensive technique. A pair of sword-light black holes appeared before Ning. When the terrifying, ivory-white palm lashed out towards him, it was blocked by the black holes. Daomother Devilhand could clearly sense that her hand was being repelled by multiple layers of strange energy that were furiously ablating the power of her strike.

“Eh?” Daomother Devilhand frowned. “Leafseizer.”

Her ivory-white hand suddenly changed, unleashing an even more intricate and terrifying palm-art. Her forefinger, index finger, and thumb drew close to each other, as though she was holding a leaf between them.

Whap!

The five fingers of her palm danced their way into Ning’s sword-light black holes. And then, following a series of exploding sounds, the black hole vanished, with the fingers latching onto Ning’s Darknorth swords.

“Impossible.” Ning stared in disbelief, his heart filled with shock and dread. Daomother Devilhand’s seizing technique had been simply too dazzling and beautiful. It was a technique that was so complicated as to cause one to feel almost uncontrollably intoxicated upon seeing it. In fact, the technique was even more complicated than Ning’s sword-arts, which was why it had been able to break through it.

Perhaps Ji Ning was the number one expert of the sword in the Three Realms…but in palm-arts, Daomother Devilhand was number one. Even Lord Tathagata, who also specialized in palm arts, was slightly weaker than her.

Whoosh.

Daomother Devilhand’s dainty white hands went through multiple different variations; the ‘Leafseizer’ stance, the ‘Flowerpicker’ stance, the ‘Wilted’ stance, and more. These stances all had graceful, refined names, and Daomother Devilhand’s movements were quite beautiful as well. However, the power of these techniques caused Ning to feel despair. He was wielding a pair of swords, but one of them had already been seized. Twelve stances later, the Envoy-Ning was struck on the waist by the palm, causing him to uncontrollably fall down to the ground.

“Come in.” Daomother Devilhand suddenly produced a Protocosmic spirit-robe in her hands, and she quickly tossed it around the Envoy of All Things.

Trapped inside the Envoy, Ning just felt a sense of powerlessness and reluctance. Although he had already fought as hard as he could, he was still a bit weaker than Daomother Devilhand, a fiend amongst fiends who had once battled Mother Nuwa to a standstill for a short time during the war that ended the Primordial Era. She had only been using one hand, but had been able to capture him after just ten or so stances.

“If I was able to reach the fifth stage of heartforce, my sword-arts would become even more intricate. Combined with my weapon speed surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Daos…perhaps in that situation, Daomother Devilhand wouldn’t be able to capture me,” Ning sighed to himself.

For the sake of seizing Ning as quickly as possible, Daomother Devilhand had showed no mercy whatsoever. She had unleashed more than ten absolutely dazzling palm-arts with her hand, causing all of the major powers present to feel shocked. “Daomother Devilhand’s techniques truly have become even more exquisite since the Primordial Era.”

Ji Ning had been captured.

Although he was unwilling to accept this, there was nothing he could say. He had been simply too careless, and he was simply not strong enough. Fortunately, he had kept clones outside; even if he died here today, he would have the chance to return to his full level of power in the future. Alas, his Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, Darknorth swords, and other treasures would be lost.

“Daomother Devilhand, please release my junior apprentice-brother.” A chuckling voice rang out as a skinny old man dressed in tattered clothes emerged from a spatial whirlpool. He stretched out his hand, and it glittered with golden light. This was the [Golden Body] technique of the Buddhists, and his shining golden hand struck out towards Daomother Devilhand, seeking to stop her.

“You think to stop me, you crazy monk?” Daomother Devilhand stretched out her own mmassive hand, many hundreds of thousands of meters in length, and seized the Envoy of All Things, completely ignoring Crazy Ji’s attack.

Clank!

Her ivory-white hand and Crazy Ji’s golden hand, which looked as skinny as a chicken claw, collided against each other.

Crazy Ji’s face changed, while Daomother Devilhand revealed a disparaging smile. However, right at this moment, Daomother Devilhand’s face changed, becoming ugly to behold. She stared in disbelief at the figure that had just appeared in midair. From that very same spatial vortex, a woodcutter who wore straw shoes and carried a hatchet over his shoulders had appeared. He had come here at the same time as Crazy Ji.

Crazy Ji had been the first to strike, but he had failed.

Only then did the woodcutter brandish his hatchet, and as soon as he did so, Daomother Devilhand’s face turned terrible to behold.

“No!” Daomother Devilhand actually voluntarily released Ji Ning, sending her ivory-white hand upwards to block the hatchet with full force.

“Let it be severed.” The woodcutter spoke in a calm, soft voice.

Swish.

His hatchet seemed extremely ordinary, but Daomother Devilhand’s incomparably marvelous palm-arts were actually unable to block it. The hatchet swished past her defenses, landing on her arm. Slash! Daomother Devilhand’s arm was immediately severed.

Whoosh. After chopping through Devilhand’s ivory-white arm, it suddenly accelerated past the speed of light and chopped towards Swordfather Darklight, who had been controlling his magic treasures to attack from afar.

“Flee.” Swordfather Darklight had no idea that this disaster would suddenly descend upon him from out of nowhere. Although he had noticed the woodcutter appear, he had been quite confident in Daomother Devilhand’s power. He hadn’t expected that a single blow from the hatchet would sever her arm while still carrying enough power to continue to chop towards him. As for the speed of the hatchet…it was even more terrifying that Ning’s sword.

He wanted to flee. But…how could he possibly escape that terrifying hatchet?

Slash. Swordfather Darklight’s body was immediately bisected by the hatchet. His soul and his Jindan were both annihilated, and the two halves of his corpse fell down from the skies, landing on the ground and splattering blood everywhere.

A Daofather who had reached the fifth stage of swordforce and who was skilled in assassinations..had died, just like that.

The entire battlefield had turned silent.

Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, and Suiren had come to a halt as well. Keeper Everwood had also come to a halt.

Everyone’s gaze was turned towards the hatchet-wielding woodcutter. The woodcutter looked very ordinary, and he was dressed very plainly and simply…but just now, that ‘ordinary’ hatchet had delivered a blow that had stunned all of the overlord-class major powers present.

Long, long ago, there had been another figure who had similarly stunned them with his attacks.

It was Houyi with his arrows!

And today, this woodcutter had stunned them with his hatchet.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Crazy Ji was rescuing the Envoy of All Things.

Daomother Devilhand retracted her treasures, her arm once more growing out and healing. She stared intently at the woodcutter, completely ignoring Ji Ning. She did not even think about trying to capture him again.

“Houyi. Is that you?” Daomother Devilhand’s voice was crisp and pleasing to the ear.

“It’s me.” The woodcutter’s reply was very calm.

The entire imperial palace had turned deathly silent. After a long period of silence…

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The skies above the imperial palace repeatedly exploded as more and more major powers descended. It was the other major powers of the Nuwa Alliance, who had all hastened here to help out. They included Exalted Celestial Thundergod, Exalted Celestial Carefree, Buddha Amitabha, Buddha Maitreya, and more.

Although this fight took time to describe, it had actually occurred at high speed. Only brief moments had passed between Ji Ning’s true body being killed, his Primaltwin appearing within the Envoy, the Envoy being captured, and Crazy Ji and the woodcutter intervening.

A very short period of time had passed…but now, all the major powers were completely focused on the woodcutter rather than Ji Ning.

“It’s been so many years. Sorry for the trouble, Master.” The woodcutter looked towards Subhuti.

“Haha…I imagine Three Purities, Tathagata, and the othesr would’ve fought over the chance to accept Houyi as a disciple.” Subhuti laughed merrily. “Wonderful. You’ve finally decided to come out. I had thought that you wouldn’t come out this time.”

“My junior apprentice-brother was very nearly killed. How much longer could I possibly wait?” The woodcutter looked at the distant, unnerved figures of Daomother Devilhand and Keeper Everwood. “As I see it…right now, our priority should be having a nice discussion with you of the Seamless Gate.”

“It is indeed time for a chat.” A red-robed, azure-haired figure appeared in the air.

“Windfiend.” The woodcutter looked towards the man.

A large number of major powers had appeared in the air above the imperial palace, but none of them dared to make a sound; all of them were strictly conversing through quiet mental messages to each other.

As for Ning, still within the Envoy of All Things, he raised his head to stare at the midair woodcutter, astonishment in his heart. “Eldest disciple? Woodcutter? Houyi?”

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Chapter 28 – Negotiations

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 28 – Negotiations

The eldest disciple of their league, the low-key woodcutter who always spent his time chopping down trees at Mount Innerheart…was actually Houyi?

When Ji Ning had first started to train in [Houyi’s Archery], the woodcutter had walked past him a few times, hatchet over his shoulders. He had even given Ning a few critical words of enlightenment when Ning was at a bottleneck. Ning hadn’t thought much of it back then, as he thought it was normal for someone as powerful as the eldest apprentice-brother to be able to provide him with some guidance. Who would’ve thought that the man was actually the creator of [Houyi’s Archery], Houyi himself!

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Crazy Ji fanned himself, smiling as he called out.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” A streak of light flew towards him from far away, landing on the ground next to him. It was the Monkey King, dressed in dazzling golden armor.

“Second apprentice-brother. Sixth apprentice-brother.” Ning hurriedly called out to the two of them. As he did so, he couldn’t help but take a close look at his sixth apprentice-brother. There were many legends of the Primordial Era that circulated amongst the nations of Earth. Although some of them weren’t quite accurate, his sixth apprentice-brother Sun Wukong was a tremendously famous figure on Earth. But of course, by now Ning had met with many major powers.

Lu Dongbin, Daoist Three Purities, Patriarch Subhuti, Lord Tathagata the Buddha…he had met them all. Thus, Ning was quite calm when meeting with his sixth apprentice-brother for the first time. He was just a bit curious about the man.

“Heh heh…I didn’t expect my eldest apprentice-brother to actually be Houyi.” Sun Wukong chortled merrily. “When I first went to apprentice myself to Master, he actually gave me directions. I had thought him to be an ordinary woodcutter. Only later did I realize that he was actually our eldest apprentice-brother! Even back then, I mumbled to ourself that he was really good at hiding his abilities…but only today do I know he is actually the great divinity Houyi of the Primordial Era. His level of subterfuge is quite extraordinary!”

Houyi had become famous very, very early on. When he had slain the Golden Crows, Sun Wukong hadn’t even been born into the world!

“I became apprenticed to Master very early on, but even I didn’t know of his true history.” Crazy Ji chortled merrily, “When I became apprenticed to Master, our eldest apprentice-brother was already there by his side. However, even back then he spent his days as a woodcutter chopping trees. Honestly, I was quite puzzled back then; he was clearly Master’s disciple, but why was it that I never saw him asking Master for guidance? But Master told me that our eldest apprentice-brother already had the power of a True God and Daofather, and that there was no way to ‘teach’ him; he needed to gain his own insights. Thus, I didn’t think too much on it.”

“I heard that long ago, because of Chang’e, our eldest apprentice-brother actually slaughtered a path to the Lunar Star, planning to chop down the osmanthus tree on the Lunar Star. However, whenever he struck at the tree, it would immediately reheal. No matter what he did, he couldn’t chop the tree down. At Mount Innerheart, our eldest apprentice-brother spends all his days chopping down trees…is it because he plans to once more pay a visit to the Moon Palace of the Lunar Star?” The Monkey King lowered his voice and even went so far as to block out sound from the surrounding area.

“Damned monkey, do you think that our eldest apprentice-brother’s affairs are something for you to pry into?” Crazy Ji hurriedly reprimanded him. “You can’t talk about this matter.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother can’t hear me. I’d only ever discuss it behind his back.” Sun Wukong blinked a few times.

Even Ji Ning knew that the affair between Houyi and Chang’e had been a scarring one for Houyi! Picking at another’s scars and scabs was not a good idea.

“Let’s go. Buddha, Three Purities, and the others are negotiating with those of the Seamless Chaosworld. Let’s take a break for now.” Crazy Ji gave Sun Wukong a hard stare. “Don’t cause trouble, you monkey. If you piss off our eldest apprentice-brother, none of us would be able to save you.”

“Right.” The Monkey King shivered slightly, nodding repeatedly. “During the Primordial Era, he roamed the world with his archery skills. Now, even his hatchet skills have become so incredibly powerful. Daomother Devilhand is an awe-inspiringly famous figure on the level of the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, but our eldest apprentice-brother was actually able to sever her arm with a single blow of his hatchet.”

“That was because Daomother Devilhand was too proud and overconfident,” Crazy Ji said. “Our eldest apprentice-brother was incredibly powerful even during the Primordial Era; even the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism were forced to use all their might when facing him. For Daomother Devilhand to actually try to face him with a single arm…hmph, it would’ve been shocking if she didn’t suffer for it.”

Ning laughed. He was about to put away the Envoy of All Things, but he suddenly then thought of how Daomother Devilhand had struck him with a blow, causing him to uncontrollably fall to the ground. Ning took a careful look at the Envoy.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed. “What’s this?” Ning immediately noticed that the energy core of the Envoy, located at its waist, had actually cracked open.

Ning hurriedly tried to use the Envoy’s power, only to discover that it was now completely inoperable. It was as though the cracks here had severed the Envoy’s ability to send energy around its body. The Envoy had suddenly become useless.

“It’s been made useless? How?!” Ning was stunned.

The Envoy of All Things.

B-but…this was the most powerful tool he had at his disposal! When using it, he would be able to unleash a level of power close to that of the overlord Daofathers, on the same level as Subhuti and Daofather Shadowless. Just like that, the Envoy had suddenly been rendered useless?! It must be understood that even full-force blows from the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism would barely be able to damage the thing!

Daomother Devilhand had landed a gentle blow on the Envoy’s waist…and just like that, the Envoy had been ruined? Still, it had been quite strange; a single blow had been all it took to cause the Envoy-Ning to collapse.

“Second apprentice-brother, sixth apprentice-brother.” Ning said in a low voice, “The Envoy of All Things has been ruined.”

“What?” Crazy Ji and the Monkey King were both shocked.

Ning nodded solemnly. “It should’ve been ruined by Daomother Devilhand. I don’t know how she accomplished it.”

The Monkey King gnashed his teeth. As for Crazy Ji, he frowned and said in a soft voice, “Mm…this Envoy golem was created by the Seamless Gate. They probably put in certain mechanisms to prevent us from being able to take them over, such as a self-destruct mechanism that would cripple it. However, activating such mechanisms probably isn’t easy. During the war for karmic luck, your opponents have all been Empyrean Gods and True Immortals; they wouldn’t have the ability to ruin your Envoy. Daomother Devilhand, however, is an overlord-class major power. Given that she knows exactly how the Envoy is structurally composed and where its weaknesses are, it makes sense that she would be able to easily destroy it.”

“Right. I heard that when the Lord of All Things died, all of his Envoys were rendered completely inoperable as well.” The Monkey King nodded in agreement.

“In contrast, the Envoys of the Seamless Gate can only be destroyed by the personal touch of someone like Daomother Devilhand. Comparatively speaking, they still aren’t a match for the Envoys of the Lord of All Things,” Crazy Ji said.

Crazy Ji suddenly added, “Report this to Master right away.”

“Right, tell Master right away,” the Monkey King agreed.

Only the most supreme figures took part in the negotiations between the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate.

Time slowly trickled forward.

The other major powers continued to wait quietly at the Deerchaser world for the results of their negotiations. Ji Ning, Crazy Ji, the Monkey King, and the other members of the Mount Innerheart League all waited patiently as well.

A long amount of time passed. The skies were slowly beginning to turn bright. Only now did the major powers of the Seamless Gate leave the Deerchaser world.

“Master. Eldest apprentice-brother.”

Ji Ning, Crazy Ji, and the Monkey King had been seated, but now all three of them hurriedly rose to their feet. Patriarch Subhuti and Houyi were walking shoulder-to-shoulder towards their residence from afar.

“How did it go, Master?” The Monkey King asked hurriedly.

“Your junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning suffered a heavy loss. Our Nuwa Alliance as a whole didn’t do that badly,” Patriarch Subhuti said.

“For me to suffer a loss is nothing. Our side gaining an advantage in this war is what really matters,” Ning said.

Subhuti looked at Ning. “Myself, Houyi, and the other major powers discussed this in secret. Our main concern is that for the Seamless Gate to suddenly act against you in such a manner, they must have made many careful preparations for the possible consequences. They are prepared, but we are not…and we currently hold the upper hand in the war for karmic luck. Thus, although we were infuriated, we still would not choose to rashly launch the Endwar right away.”

Houyi nodded as well. “But of course, if the Seamless Gate insists on starting the Endwar, then so be it.”

“Clearly, your eldest apprentice-brother’s sudden appearance and power has caught them rather off-guard,” Subhuti said. “The negotiations ended up being fairly beneficial for our Nuwa Alliance.”

“What were the results?” The Monkey King asked hurriedly.

“The Seamless Gate had only one request. Ji Ning is not permitted to take part in the war for karmic luck,” Subhuti said.

Ning’s face changed.

“WHAT?! But that’s…!” The Monkey King was instantly enraged.

Subhuti continued to talk. “We accepted. Our request…was that not a single one of the Seamless Gate’s Envoys are to be permitted to take part in the war for karmic luck either. Although the Seamless Gate has lost one of them, they still have nine more! If all of them were activated, even my disciple Ji Ning would have to clone himself several times over to deal with them.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. It was true. He needed time to deal with even a single Envoy, to first destabilize it and then knock it to the ground. If there were two Envoys working together, there would be nothing Ning could do against him. The other seven Envoys would be free to fight and kill as they pleased.

“Ji Ning suffered a heavy loss, after all; they had to pay a price for what they did. As for Swordfather Darklight, he died for nothing; his death wasn’t taken into account.” Subhuti looked towards Ning. “Disciple, there’s no way you can take part in the rest of the war for karmic luck, but none of their Envoys will be allowed to take part as well. You really have accomplished something tremendous for our side. If there’s anything you need, just tell me.”

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Chapter 29 – Three Great Secret Manuals

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 29 – Three Great Secret Manuals

“No need.” Ji Ning shook his head.

“Whatever you need, whatever you are lacking for…just speak.” Subhuti continued, “Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others all feel that we owe you.”

Ning shook his head again.

He had gained many legacies from World God Northrest, and he had also acquired the treasures of the many prisoners of Prisonworld 17. He really didn’t need to ask these major powers for anything.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Houyi looked at Ning.

Ning looked back at this plainly dressed man, the legendary Houyi. The great divinity still looked as though he was nothing but an ordinary mortal, but Ning felt true admiration towards him. Long ago, Houyi had dominated the Three Realms through archery! But today, he had actually been able to injure Daomother Devilhand when using his hatchet. How powerful would he be when using his arrows? How truly unfathomable! Houyi’s sudden appearance and intervention had stunned everyone. They weren’t just stunned at the fact that he was Houyi; they were mainly stunned that the number one divine archer of the Three Realms, Houyi, was actually so terrifying when wielding a hatchet.

“In the end, the war for karmic luck will only have a certain degree of effect on the final Endwar,” Houyi said. “In the end, winning the Endwar will primarily be dependent on the respective major powers on each side! The more powerful one is, the more of an impact one will make on the battlefield. The gain or loss of an overlord-class Daofather will have an enormous impact on the battlefield…and of course, if a Pangu-level expert appears, that person will be able to completely dominate all comers. In that scenario, a war for karmic luck would be completely useless.”

Ning nodded.

“Thus…focus calmly on your training.” Houyi looked at Ning. “Train hard. If there’s no need for you to take part in the war for karmic luck, then you might as well focus on your training. In the end, the most important affair of all is the Endwar.”

“Right.” Ning agreed with this analysis.

Ning wasn’t opposed to not being able to take part in the Endwar. What he truly wished for was the destruction of the Seamless Gate, and his deepest desire was to personally kill the Godking!

……

The Allfiend world.

“Windfiend, I really am not happy that the Envoys are not going to be able to take part in the world for karmic luck.” Daomother Devilhand’s slender face was as cold as ice, and her eyes were filled with murder.

“It might be a good thing that the Envoys will not take part.” The nearby Keeper Everwood explained, “Although Ji Ning’s true body has been destroyed, he still has his Primaltwin. If he uses his Primaltwin to control the Rahu Formation, he has the power to kidnap yet another Envoy. He’ll be strong enough to be close to matching overlord-class major powers. That’ll make him equivalent to a host of Envoys.”

“Letting him capture an Envoy is one thing. Would we really let him capture a second?” Daomother Devilhand laughed coldly.

“Ji Ning isn’t alone; he has the entire army of the Nuwa Alliance supporting him. There are no absolute certainties in war.” Keeper Everwood shook his head. “And this time, our side was in the wrong to begin with. The furious Nuwa Alliance might very well have actually launched the Endwar. You saw Houyi’s power for yourself.”

“I was overconfident. I had no idea he was Houyi. If I knew he was Houyi, do you think I would’ve fought against him with just one hand?” Daomother Devilhand shook her head. “If we both fought at full strength, it’s not certain who would win and who would lose.”

Thus far, the Lord of All Fiends had remained silent. Now, however, he made a calm comment: “But Houyi was using a hatchet. What if he was using his Houyi Godbow?”

Daomother Devilhand was stunned.

“Houyi is clearly far more powerful than he was during the Primordial Era; even I can vaguely sense danger emanating from him.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head. “The true purpose of building the Envoys is to have Daofathers command them and use them against the enemy overlord-class powers. If they can’t be used in the war for the karmic luck, then that is that. It’s almost worth it just to ensure that Ji Ning cannot participate either.”

“Right; did you ruin that Envoy he had?” The Lord of All Fiends asked.

“I did.” Daomother Devilhand nodded.

There had been multiple layers to their plans. Ruining the Envoy was one of them. If one of them was to destroy a critical part of the golem, Grandmaster Blackheaven would be able to easily fix the damage once they brought it back. But since the Nuwa Alliance lacked the critical formation-diagram, there was no way whatsoever for them to repair it.

“Good.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Ji Ning cannot participate in the war for karmic luck; he’ll only be able to participate in the Endwar. Without the Envoy, he’s now much less of a threat.”

“When the Endwar comes, Ji Ning won’t amount to much,” Daomother Devilhand agreed calmly.

“His true body has been destroyed, while his Primaltwin is only a Ki Refiner,” Keeper Everwood said. “There is no way a pure Ki Refiner can reach the overlord class of power.”

It was true. In all the Three Realms, be it in the Nuwa Alliance or the Seamless Gate, the most supreme figures were not merely Ki Refiners.

Three Purities, Tathagata, Fuxi; they were born True Gods of Primordial Chaos, but gave up their bodies when they sent themselves into the cycles of reincarnation. However, even in their later lives they were dual refiners, training as Fiendgods and as Ki Refiners! Shennong and Suiren both had incredibly powerful divine bodies, while even Subhuti and Old Man Yuan were born as True Gods of Primordial Chaos! As for the Seamless Gate’s side, Daomother Devilhand, the Lord of All Fiends, and Keeper Everwood all specialized in close combat; all three of them trained as both Ki Refiners and as Fiendgod Body Refiners!

Theoretically, a pure Ki Refiner could also reach the overlord level if they reached a sufficiently high level of insight into the Dao. However, to date the Three Realms had never produced anyone who could reach such heights as a pure Ki Refiner. Moreover, attempting to reach that level of power purely through cultivating in the Dao would take time. Ji Ning had yet to master even a single Heavenly Dao; he was far, far away from becoming an overlord.

Thus, the Seamless Gate believed Ning to be much less of a threat with his true body gone. This made quite logical sense.

“If he only has a Primaltwin, he’s much less dangerous now. He’s only been training for so many years; his weakness is quite apparent.” Keeper Everwood shook his head. “This Ji Ning truly is a monstrously talented figure. If he was given another hundred thousand years, he probably would become an extremely dangerous figure. Unfortunately for him, he won’t have enough time to train…”

“Right.”

“I still feel as though giving up our plans to have Envoys take part in the war for karmic luck will have an excessively large impact.” Daomother Devilhand frowned.

“There’s no need to discuss this matter any longer,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “Right – Everwood, how are your negotiations with Old Man Yuan coming along?”

“He wants access to our Seamless Gate’s three great secret manuals.” Keeper Everwood let out a sigh. “He wants all three, not a single one less. Only if we give him all three would he be willing to join us.”

“The three great secret manuals? And all three of them?” Daomother Devilhand let out a cold laugh. “Old Man Yuan really is quite ambitious. Even I have merely studied two of them.”

Long, long ago, when the Seamless Chaosworld was still intact, when the Lord of the Demonheart had been roving the primordial chaos he had accidentally discovered three incomparably profound secret manuals. These manuals were the [Seven Hearts], [Coiling River], and [Shadowless]. These became the most important and most profound techniques techniques which the Lord of the Demonheart used, and they were one of the most important reasons why he was able to unify the entire Seamless Chaosworld in such a short period of time.

In order to draw more allies to his side, Lord Demonheart would occasionally bestow the techniques upon others.

Originally, [Seven Hearts] was something which Lord Demonheart kept for himself; he was only willing to teach the [Coiling River] and [Shadowless] to the others. However, after the Lord of All Fiends rescued the entire Seamless Gate after they lost the war, Lord Demonheart had decided to bestow [Seven Hearts] upon the Lord of All Fiends, even though Lord Demonheart himself had already become one with the Heavenly Daos.

In other words, the only people in the entire Seamless Gate who had studied all three of those secret manuals were Lord Demonheart and the Lord of All Fiends.

“The [Seven Hearts] is a heartforce technique,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “Truthfully speaking, most major powers can’t even make use of it. One has to reach the fifth level of heartforce before one can master this technique. In truth, it’s not impossible for us to impart it to Old Man Yuan. His faction has quite a few major powers, after all, and they are quite powerful.”

“Right.” Keeper Everwood and Daomother Devilhand both nodded.

The most powerful members of Old Man Yuan’s faction were known as the Four Ancestors of the River Source! They also had other major powers within their faction as well. Although Old Man Yuan himself had already revealed himself to be close to the overlord level of power, who knew if he was hiding his true strength?

Thus, both sides wished to draw this incredibly powerful faction into their ranks.

“My worry is that once we give him the three secret manuals, he’ll then decide to join the Nuwa Alliance and hand them over,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “I heard that alien Outsiders have a way to set down something known as a ‘lifeblood oath’, but none of us have any idea as to how that is done.”

“I’ll go speak with him a bit further.” Keeper Everwood frowned. “We have to draw Old Man Yuan into our orbit. If he joins us, the Nuwa Alliance will have lost one of its original members. This will represent a significant shift in the balance of power. We have to recruit him. Also – Windfiend, I’ll leave the other matters in your hands.”

“Yes, leave the matters in the primordial chaos to me.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “It has been more than half a chaos cycle since the war that ended the Primordial Era. Although we’ve hidden much of our power, the Nuwa Alliance is not to be underestimated. Don’t forget that Nuwa had reached the World God level of power. It’s hard to predict what she left behind her for her alliance.”

Both sides were extremely cautious. The war for karmic luck was just one element out of many that would impact the Endwar. However, both sides were doing everything they could to increase their chances of winning…because when the Endwar erupted, either your side would die or my side would die.

……

Within the endless primordial chaos. Inside a frozen star.

This star was fairly unremarkable, and it didn’t even have a name assigned to it. It was, however, the place where Ning had placed Prisonworld 17.

Ji Ning had already been forgotten by the Seamless Gate, having been deemed to no longer be a threat. And yet, at this moment, he quietly emerged from the prisonworld.

The black-robed Ning stood there within the deep crevice, staring at the endless glacial ice before him. “In the coming days, unless something major happens, I’ll just calmly spend my time in the prisonworld, working on improving my power as best as I can.”

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Chapter 30 – Recovering

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 30 – Recovering

Ji Ning was all by himself within the deep crevice, but his heartforce had been spread out to cover the entire frozen star. It was like a star-sized lake, and layers of ripples emanated out from it, sweeping through every part of the star.

This was a little trick for using heartforce to scout, and it was one of the many techniques World God Northrest had left behind. Although it was just a little trick, this heartforce scouting technique ensured that none of the major powers of the Three Realms would be able to follow him without him sensing it.

When roaming the primordial chaos, it was important to know many auxiliary techniques, such as aura-suppressing techniques, heartforce scouting techniques, disguising techniques, heartforce soul-locking techniques…these minor auxiliary techniques wouldn’t allow him to grow more powerful, but they greatly increased his survivability. Without them, it would be easy to fall and perish when wandering the primordial chaos.

These auxiliary techniques seemed unremarkable, but in truth they were amongst the most important and most elite of techniques which World God Northrest had left behind. Not even the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea would have the chance to learn these techniques.

“I had thought that after I revealed such incredible power, the Seamless Gate would be even more wary of me and perhaps even trail me. I actually took an incredibly roundabout way to get her…but now, it seems, they no longer view me as being a threat at all.” The black-robed Ning let out a mental sigh.

Prior to visiting this frozen star, he had paid a visit to the Crescent world, so as to impede the Seamless Gate from following him. But alas, it was pointless; the Seamless Gate hadn’t even been tracking him at all.

“It makes sense. Since I can no longer take part in the war for karmic luck, I am now much less of a threat to them than I was before. As far as the major powers are concerned, without the Envoy I am far too weak for them to be worried about!” The black-robed Ning shook his head, then disappeared into thin air.

Within the prisonworld.

A white-robed youth was seated in the lotus position, and in front of him was a great cauldron that glowed with faint light.

This was the Five Elements Cauldron. The Five Elements Cauldron no longer looked as dirty and ragged as it had before; clearly, it was now revealing its true luster.

“There he is.” The white-robed youth raised his head to look over as the black-robed Ning flew towards him from far away. When the black-robed Ning landed, a black lightning serpent instantly appeared out of nowhere, quickly scurrying into the white-robed youth’s body.

Ning’s true bodies were all lightning-attribute bodies, which was why they were all capable of controlling the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent with ease. The Primaltwin was very powerful but had no way of controlling the serpent.

“I used up a veritable sea of treasures, melting down almost all the items I acquired from this prisonworld for Five Elements essence. Who would’ve thought that I would be unable to repair even the surface appearance of Violetjewel?” The black-robed Ning looked at the ancient stone platform. Atop the stone platform was the completely blood-colored sword Violetjewel, the body of the sword still covered with countless cracks.

Once Violetjewel absorbed enough Five Elements essence for its surface layer to be repaired, it would be possible for Ning to carry it into battle, and it would be far more powerful than a Chaos weapon. If Ning was able to acquire enough essence to completely and truly repair it, it would possess enough power to intoxicate even Chaos Immortals and World Gods.

“I feel as though only a fifth of the surface layer has been repaired.” Ning secretly shook his head.

There had been more than a thousand Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals in the prisonworld, and Ning had already extorted all of them!

He had also acquired quite a few treasures from True Gods and True Immortals as well. Aside from a tiny number of treasures that he kept for himself, he had melted down all the rest.

“And this isn’t to forge or reforge Violetjewel, it’s just to repair the superficial, surface damage. For even the surface layer to require so much Five Elements essence…if I had instead used the essence to upgrade my Goldstar Beads of the Heavens, some of them probably would’ve been upgraded to Chaos treasures by now,” Ning mused to himself.

Five Elements essence was primarily used to repair treasures, but they would also be used to enhance and upgrade certain special treasures. Some treasures had excellent foundations and were thus able to absorb Five Elements essence and be upgraded by it.

The Goldstar Beads of the Heavens were no ordinary treasures.

They weren’t like the Protocosmic spirit-treasures which were naturally born from Heaven and Earth after Pangu established the world. Instead, they were formed in the primordial chaos from the leftover essence of enormous chaos stars that had reached the ends of their lives, with the essence having condensed into gems. They had just so happened to be floating the area when Pangu had established the world, and thus had accidentally been drawn into the world and become transformed into Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

Gems like them were actually icredibly valuable! When smaller chaos stars died they generally didn’t have enough leftover essence for gems to be crystallized. Only larger chaos stars were able to give birth to these gems. Every single gem could be used as a valuable ingredient and would generally be used to forge a Chaos treasure. Because they ended up floating into the newly-established Pangu Chaosworld, they ended up being titled the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens and used to smash people.

But this was truly a waste!

Those Protocosmic spirit-treasures that were born from the Pangu Chaosworld itself didn’t have much potential, but the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens had tremendous potential. They were capable of withstanding reinforcement from Five Treasures essence and being upgraded to become Chaos treasures. Alas, the amount of essence needed to upgrade all of those 3600 beads to become Chaos treasures…Ning knew it to be nothing more than a pipe dream.

“A set of 3600 Chaos treasures?” Ning secretly shook his head. Not all the treasures of the entire prisonworld combined might be enough.

The Five Elements Cauldron was placed right next to the white-robed Ning, who remained seated in the lotus position, a bottle of chaos nectar before him.

Whoosh.

One drop of precious Chaos nectar after another was absorbed into the white-robed youth’s body, and then a series of phantom, ghostly figures flew out of him. When each phantom landed on the ground, it solidified into yet another white-robed youth.

Time slowly flowed on, and one white-robed youth after another was materialized. Ning’s bodies were still at merely the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]; he had relied on the [One True Body] technique to merge seventeen of those bodies together. Now, he once more replicated his seventeen destroyed bodies by using the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] to absorb chaos nectar.

“Now, [Icefire Jindan Smelting].”

Each of the seventeen white-robed youths had a globe of Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith floating before them.

The black-robed Ning stood off to one side, staring at the Ninefire Lava and the Iceheart Pith. He secretly sighed to himself, “I still have quite a bit of Ninefire Lava, but there’s not much Iceheart Pith left. After this, I’ll only have around fifty thousand kilograms of Iceheart Pith left.”

His main body had been destroyed. Thanks to chaos nectar, Iceheart Pith, and Ninefire Lava, he was able to completely heal himself in a single short month! However, if the main body was destroyed yet again…he didn’t have enough Iceheart Pith, nor did he have much chaos nectar left. If he wanted to recover from it a second time, he would probably need an extremely long period of time to do so. The same had been true of Youngflame Freak in the past; if too many of his bodies died, he would need an extremely long period of time to recover.

A month later. The seventeen white-robed youths had all seen their golden pellet Jindans upgraded, and they now once more used the [One True Body] technique to merge together.

“I’m back to full power.”

A hint of a murderous look flashed through the white-robed Ning’s eyes.

He would never forget the sight of the Godking annihilating Yu Wei’s soul. That sight would probably haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Godking. I’m not strong enough yet, so just keep waiting for now. I’ll be back.” Ning’s heart was filled with the utmost resolve.

“Let’s go.” Swoosh. The white-robed youth collected the black-robed Ning, then flew outwards, leaving behind just a single clone to continue using the Five Elements Cauldron. Ning would use this clone to as he had in the past, to serve as a base template for slowly rebuilding his other bodies if his main body was destroyed. Thus, Ning absolutely would not permit this body to be merged with the others through the [One True Body] technique. If he did that and then died, his death would be a true death.

After flying for a while, the white-robed Ning’s speed began to lessen. A series of stone steles lay in the grasslands before him, like monoliths that jutted out from the plains. These stone steles surrounded an unspeakably beautiful jade palace.

“I was gravely wounded, which was a disaster, but the chance to fight against Swordfather Darklight, Daofather Shadowless, and Daomother Devilhand was a blessing,” Ning mused to himself. Although he was able to battle against True Gods and True Immortals in the prisonworld, the ones that were imprisoned here generally had yet to master any of the Heavenly Daos.

If they did, they would become Ancestral Immortals!

It was precisely because they hadn’t been able to master a Heavenly Dao that these True Gods and True Immortals, in terms of raw power, were generally just comparable to ordinary Daofathers. Occcasionally, a few possessed divine abilities that allowed them to release the power of a top-tier Daofather, but the likes of Swordfather Darklight and Daofather Shadowless were experts even amongst their top-tier Daofather peers. As for Daomother Devilhand, she was an overlord-class figure!

Although the Daofathers of the Three Realms had relatively weaker foundations than the denizens of Pangaea, in terms of insights into the Dao, they were far superior. In terms of insights into the Dao, only a minority of the Ancestral Immortals and Elder Gods who were imprisoned in Prisonworld 17 were a match for the likes of Daomother Devilhand.

Daomother Devilhand’s palm-arts were reputed to be number one in all the Three Realms, superior to even that of Lord Tathagata the Buddha.

When Ning fought against her, he had naturally been considerably enlightened and stimulated.

“I need to carefully think over what I saw and quietly ponder it all. Perhaps I’ll be able to make use of this setback to reach the fifth stage of swordforce.” After Ning entered the jade shrine, he sat down on a prayer mat woven from a type of Chaos treasure known as Winterheart Grass. His heart and soul quickly grew calm, and he began to engage in silent meditation and reflection. He thought back through all the things he had seen when battling against Swordfather Darklight, Daofather Shadowless, and Daomother Devilhand.

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Chapter 31 – Fighting, Killing

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 31 – Fighting, Killing

Daofather Shadowless, in terms of power, was slightly superior to Swordfather Darklight, but that was primarily because of his divine abilities. In terms of raw technique and skill, Swordfather Darklight was actually superior.

His sword-arts were the strongest sword-arts the Seamless Gate had, and his assassination techniques were second to none. Alas…he had died under Houyi’s hatchet.

Ji Ning pondered over Swordfather Darklight’s sword-arts in close detail, replaying every single sword-stroke in his mind and learning much from them. Daomother Devilhand’s palm-arts…although there was no way for Ning to understand them, he had been able to see some of the underlying mysteries behind them. As quietly reflected on them now, he was able to discover more and more of their secrets.

By the time Ning opened his eyes, nine days had gone past.

The white-robed Ning left the jade shrine. With a wave of his finger, he materialized a longsword before him.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword-light flickered in a light, graceful manner. It was occasionally sharp and valiant, occasionally strange and mysterious, and occasionally brutal and dominating.

“I can clearly sense that I’m just a tiny step away…but why is it that I’m just not able to break through?” Ning shook his head, murmuring to himself. He had thought that the insights he had gained from this fight would allow him to reach the fifth stage of swordforce. Daomother Devilhand was an overlord-class expert, after all, and she had mastered four of the Heavenly Daos of the Seamless Chaosworld: Earth, Fire, Water, Wind. A chance to face her in a life-and-death battle was a rare opportunity indeed.

When Ning had been meditating, he could sense that his improvements had been quite remarkable. And yet, he was still unable to reach the fifth stage of swordforce.

“To advance from the fourth stage of swordforce to the fifth stage really is extraordinarily difficult.” Ning had a sudden thought, and he immediately waved his hand. Boom! Boom! Boom! One enormous goldstar bead after another came crashing down upon the flat plains, falling down around the scattered stone steles. After all 3600 goldstar beads landed, the Nine Chaos Seals began to manifest atop them.

Ning stood there, carefully staring at the giant goldstar beads and the stone steles covered in sword-arts.

The stone steles had been left behind by World God Northrest for his successors. As for the Nine Chaos Seals of the goldstar beads, they were even more arcane.

He spent half a day staring at them. Then, Ning shook his head. “Come back.” He waved his hand, instantly causing the jade shrine, the ninety-eight stone steles, and 3600 goldstar beads to all be collected.

“In the end, life-and-death battles are what truly matter.”

Swoosh. The white-robed Ning instantly transformed into a lightning serpent, speeding off into the distance at high speed.

A short while later…

“Eh?” A skinny, short man with horns on his forehead was seated in the lotus position in the desert. He raised his golden eyes, staring intently at Ning. He laughed coldly, “Overseer, why have you come again? Last time, you used a pile of Protocosmic spirit-treasures to threaten me. What are you planning to do this time? Try everything you have. You want me to submit to you, a trifling True Immortal? You are absolutely dreaming! You-…eh? This time, you’ve completely suppressed and withdrawn your aura to the point where even I cannot sense it. Did the other True Gods and True Immortals berate you so much that you ended up deciding to hide that puny little aura of yours?”

The white-robed Ning stared at the skinny, short man.

For the sake of conducting more soulscours and acquiring more Protocosmic spirit-treasures, Ning had taken all of his spoils of war and used them to threaten all of the True Gods and True Immortals of the prisonworld, one at a time. All of those True Gods and True Immortals understood that if they continued to fight against Ning, they would eventually die. When they saw how many Protocosmic spirit-treasures Ning had, they knew that it was true that some True Gods and True Immortals had eventually lowered their heads.

However, only about twenty True Gods and True Immortals in the entire prisonworld had been willing to surrender without even fighting back. The others would not lower their heads so easily! Only when they truly sensed death impending would they be willing to bow their heads towards Jindan, a puny True Immortal with a third-tier Jindan.

“Puny?” Ning’s aura suddenly soared to the heavens, so powerful as to cause the smirking man’s face to instantly change.

“Y-you…” The skinny man stared at Ning in shock.

Ning’s current aura was no weaker than his.

“Have a fight with me.” Ning wielded a Darknorth sword in each hand, and with a swish he transformed into a streak of light that flew towards the skinny man.

“He actually dares to fight me in close combat?” The skinny man licked his lips. “Although he’s grown much more powerful, that’s only in terms of the Immortal energy in his body. His divine body shouldn’t be as strong as mine yet. Since he dares to fight me in close combat…fine. To be able to kill an Overseer before dying will be worth it.”

The skinny man’s heart was filled with a desire to do battle. A pair of enormous axes appeared in his hands, and his body rapidly began to increase in size as well. He had been incredibly skinny, all skin and bones, but now his muscles rapidly began to grow out. His emaciated body instantly became tall and strong, and his golden eyes became filled with a dominating, savage aura.

Twin axes in his hands, he let out a wild laugh. “Since you seek death, let me send you on your way!”

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two instantly collided.

Clang! The True God actually stumbled two steps back. Clutching at his axes, he stared in absolute shock at Ning, who had been knocked flying backwards as well. He said disbelievingly, “You’ve surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos? Y-your sword arts…where did you learn them from?”

Every single technique that surpassed the Heavenly Daos in some way was incomparably priceless. Even he hadn’t had the chance to learn one of them.

Just now, he had very nearly been chopped in half by Ning’s sword-strike. Fortunately, his reaction speed was fast and his axe was large, allowing him to use it almost like a shield. This was the reason why he had been able to block that strange, bizarre sword-art.

“That’s not something for the likes of you to find out about.” Ning narrowed his eyes, staring at his foe. How formidable! Although his foe’s axe-arts were ordinary, he was still a True God. Ning was just a half-step True God! In power, speed, and every other aspect, he was on a slightly lower level. The only reason why he could even pose a threat was because he had the number one sword-arts of the Three Realms.

However…that’s what made it fun!

Only when he was under enough pressure in a true life-and-death battle would he be able to truly temper his sword-arts. Although battling against the prisoners of the prisonworld did carry some degree of risk, the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique ensured that he’d have a very good chance of successfully escaping any dangerous situation.

By comparison, in similar a battle in the outside world, he would be in much more danger than he was here.

“Be careful. Don’t end up letting yourself be killed by me,” Ning said.

“Hmph. You? Even though you have a sword-art that surpasses the Heavenly Daos, you aren’t a match for me.” This True God prisoner was quite proud and arrogant. His foe was clearly not a True God. How could he possibly lose?

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two clashed against each other repeatedly in close combat.

This sort of close combat was far more dangerous than a fight in which both sides used magic treasures to attack from afar. In addition, after having being put at a disadvantage in their first clash, the True God prisoner had become much more wary of Ning’s sword-arts.

Ning’s sword showed absolutely no mercy at all.

The True God prisoner wanted to seize this opportunity to annihilate Ji Ning, the current Overseer. Perhaps in Ning’s relics, he would be able to find the technique which had allowed Ning to surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos.

This sort of battle…it was exactly what Ning needed right now.

Clang! Swish! Slash! Ning’s sword-light and the True God’s axe clashed again and again against each other.

Their battle grew longer and longer. One hour. Two hours. What truly astonished the True God prisoners was…he could vaguely sense that this Overseer’s sword-arts were actually slowly rising in power. What he didn’t realize was that ever since Ning had left Undermoon Lake, he had had very few chances to engage in true life-and-death battles; the only real fight he had thus far was against Daomother Devilhand and the others.

As for his capture of the Envoy, that was an act of utter domination.

This fight against the True God prisoner was the first time Ning had truly been able to go all-out in a sustained battle. The insights he had gained over the course of six hundred years in Undermoon Lake, combined with the new ideas he had gained while battling Daomother Devilheart, were all being brought to the surface. In fact, as they continued to fight, he began to suddenly gain insight into some of the intricacies of the sword-arts left behind by World God Northrest that he previously didn’t understand.

Swish! Sword-light flashed.

The True God prisoner’s body was split in half.

Ning put away his sword, standing quietly to one side and watching as the prisoner’s divine body merged together and healed.

The True God stared at Ning, a complicated look on his face. From the way in which Ning had continuously increased the power of his sword-arts, he could sense that Ning was far more talented and gifted than he was. In truth, every single person who was successfully in mastering a technique that surpassed the Heavenly Daos in some way was an absolutely peerless genius.

The True God prisoner said in a low voice, “I lost.”

Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart.

Some of the mysteries of the sword couldn’t be understood simply through meditation. Only true life-and-death battles would allow one to truly understand how those mysteries were to be used and applied.

“A pity that this True God’s axe-arts aren’t strong enough. It would’ve been better if he was stronger,” Ning mused to himself. “A single life-and-death battle like this is worth more than a year’s worth of meditation. Mm. Time to go seek out the next True God.”

Of course, prior to finding the next True God, he would have to take away this prisoner’s treasures. His Violetjewel sword was in desperate need of Five Elements essence.

In the past, he had to use some Protocosmic spirit-treasures to slowly grind away at the energy reserves of a True God or True Immortal in order to beat them. He would then tell them, ‘So-and-so has already submitted to me. All those who resist me will die.’ He would use words to threaten them and bully them. Although he was occasionally successful, those successes made up just a tiny portion of the total number of True Gods and True Immortals in the prisonworld. The more powerful one was, the less likely they would be willing to lower their heads.

To rely on slowly exhausting his foes required him to spend decades for each True God and True Immortal.

But now, he could fight them head-on! Things would be much faster than before.

“Are you willing to submit?” Ning looked at the True God prisoner.

The True God prisoner returned to his emaciated, skinny form. Lowering his head, he gritted out the words, “I am willing.”

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Chapter 32 – An Unexpected Surprise

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 32 – An Unexpected Surprise

Ji Ning first soulscoured him, then took away his treasures. Of course…he gave the True God some spirit-pills as well. Due to their length battle, this True God had used up quite a bit of his divine power; if he wasn’t given enough spirit-pills, his life probably wouldn’t last for much longer. Although there was no way to replenish his divine power, replenishing his Immortal energy would also suffice for him to sustain his life.

There were relatively few Ki Refiners who also trained as Fiendgod Refiners, but almost every single Fiendgod Body Refiner was also a Ki Refiner; the only question was how talented they were in that respect. Subhuti, Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, and many others were all born as True Gods, and they eventually trained to become Daofathers of the Great Firmament as Ki Refiners.

Through the use of spirit-pills, these prisoners would be able to live a very, very long time. Right now, they only used up energy to keep themselves alive, after all; their energy expenditures were quite low.

“It seems that it is unlikely that I’ll find what I need from the memories of these prisoners,” Ning mused to himself. “Still, it makes sense. I’ve already acquired many techniques from World God Northrest. Given what I already have, it is quite unlikely that a prisoner of Pangaea will be able to provide me with a nice surprise. Still, I won’t give up hope, no matter how faint it is.”

Different chaosworlds would give birth to different civilizations. Perhaps some of them would produce unique techniques of their own. With the Endwar nigh, Ning naturally wanted to seize every chance he could find to grow more powerful.

One had to remember that the prisonworld itself had been located in the hands of someone as weak as Youngflame Freak. The prisoners of Pangaea were far more powerful than Youngflame Freak; perhaps one of them might’ve had a great stroke of fortune in the past and acquired certain special treasures or unique abilities.

Whoosh. Ning landed atop an island within a placid lake. With a wave of his hand, he caused the jade shrine to descend upon the island as well as many stone steles. Finally, the enormous goldstar beads plummeted like meteors to land on the island as well.

Ning stepped into the jade shrine, then sat down in the lotus position atop the prayer mat. He stilled his mind, beginning to mentally go through his recent battles and experiences.

Every single battle had to be analyzed with great care. He had to pull the experience he needed out of them and use it to improve himself.

There were only so many True Gods and True Immortals in the prisonworld; after fighting all of them, Ning would no longer be able to find any new opponents. Thus, he had to value every battle and opponent.

Ning spent more than ten days meditating on his insights, supported by the goldstar beads and the stone sword-steles. After ten days, he had gained all that he could, and so Ning put away the treasures and once more transformed ino a streak of black lightning, flying towards the next True God.

Battle. Meditation. Battle. Meditation…

It became a regular pattern!

Ning gained experience from every single battle, allowing him to further perfect his sword-arts. However, upon encountering the fifth True God prisoner, Ning suffered a sudden, unexpected loss.

“Die.”

The tall, ugly, skinny old man’s six arms all rapidly expanded in length as he sent his six claws tearing towards Ning from multiple directions. His claw-arts were unfathomably strange, and Ning’s body was covered with blood. Just now, he had been able to withstand the first wave of attacks but his body had been ripped open. In the face of this terrifying opponent, it seemed that the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] wasn’t going to be very useful.

“Mirrors of the Heavens!” The battered Ning immediately willed it, and the skies above him became filled with ancient copper mirrors. The 3600 mirrors hung in the air, blocking the impending claw attacks and buying Ning just a tiny bit of time.

Swoosh!

Ning hurriedly used the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique to dodge more than a thousand kilometers away, leaving the jail ‘cell’ region.

“What a terrifying True God Ultrafish. It seems that the information I gained from soulscouring the other True Gods and True Immortals wasn’t completely correct.” Ning stood outside the restrictive formation, filled with terror at the close call. This foe’s claw-arts were absolutely terrifying; Ning had been badly injured in their very first clash, and the only reason he had been able to survive was because his own sword-arts were formidable as well. Otherwise, he would’ve instantly been ripped apart into tiny pieces.

Ning didn’t just pick foes randomly; there was a plan behind it. He had soulscoured many prisoners and thus he knew a fair amount of information regarding the many True Gods and True Immortals of Pangaea.

Ning had mentally divided these True Gods and True Immortals into three different types.

The first type was comparable to an ordinary Daofather of the Three Realms.

The second type was comparable to a top-tier Daofather of the Three Realms.

The most powerful type was close to overlord-class Daofathers in power.

Most of these True God and True Immortal prisoners were at a fairly low level of insight into the Dao, with very few having gained insight into the Heavenly Daos. This was why most of them were merely comparable to ordinary Daofathers! Some, by relying on powerful divine abilities that were as dominating as Ning’s own [Starseizing Hand], were able to unleash the power of a top-tier Daofather. And some were like True God Ultrafish.

“True God Ultrafish…in the memories of the other True Gods and True Immortals, he was supposedly quite an ordinary True God with very ordinary divine abilities.” Ning mused to himself, “I didn’t expect that he would’ve reached the fifth stage in abyssforce; in terms of power, he should be comparable to a top-tier Daofather now.”

Abyssforce wasn’t that powerful in attacking, relatively speaking. If Ultrafish had reached the fifth stage in an offensively oriented type of power like swordforce, Ning probably would’ve been completely destroyed in their first exchange.

It really was true that True God Ultrafish’s life experiences and luck had been average, resulting in him not being able to acquire any particularly powerful divine abilities. Otherwise, if he was able to use them in concert with his fifth-stage abyssforce, he would absolutely be close to an overlord-class Daofather in power.

“I need to be more careful,” Ning mused to himself. “Although I do have the intelligence I gained from soulscouring those prisoners, they’ve all been trapped here for a very long period of time; it isn’t strange that some of them may have made breakthroughs. Mm…in the future, each time I fight someone, I need to first use [Three Heads, Six Arms]; just now, if I had used that technique, I wouldn’t have suffered so badly.”

Ning had been so caught off-guard by the suddenly, unexpected danger that he didn’t even have the time to activate the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique, to say nothing of [Three Heads, Six Arms].

[Three Heads, Six Arms] allowed him to manifest two more heads and four more arms with his divine power. This meant it needed time to activate, albeit just a tiny bit of time. By comparison, activating the [Starseizing Hand] was so fast as to be nearly instantaneous, requiring just a thought.

“Ahahaha…kid, is that all you have? And you want to make me submit?” The tall, skinny old man laughed in an ugly manner. “You ran pretty fast just now, and your mirrors are quite bizarre as well. Otherwise, you would’ve lost your little life. You should feel lucky that you managed to witness my claw-arts and survive to tell the tale.”

“True God Ultrafish.” Ning actually chuckled. “Very good. Yet another powerful opponent for me.”

“Opponent?” The skinny old man laughed coldly, “You want to use me as a way to train yourself? Hmph. Careful that you don’t die from it.”

“I’ll be back.” Ning turned, transforming into a black lightning streak that quickly flew away.

“Hmph.” The tall, skinny old man watched coldly as Ning left. After Ning departed, he finally frowned “This Overseer has a pretty Immortal energy aura, but his divine power’s aura is clearly weaker than mine. Just now, I actually wasn’t able to kill him in one blow, and his sword-arts really were quite fast, even faster than my claw-arts. Was that a sword-art that has surpassed the Heavenly Daos? Where did he learn such a thing?”

……

Ning felt happy whenever he encountered a powerful opponent. He could sense that he was continuously improving, and that he was gaining more and more insights into the sword-arts left behind by World God Northrest.

Ning continued his voyage through the prisonworld, battling True Gods all the way. Some True Gods, Ning could defeat. Some, Ning could just barely fight to a standstill. Whenever Ning encountered foes like these, he would immediately leave after a short battle. He would come back for them later.

There were also some who could completely suppress Ning in strength. In fact, there were some like True God Ultrafish who could very nearly kill Ning.

As for the most absolutely, monstrously talented True Gods who were comparable to Elders Gods or overlord-class Daofathers in strength…Ning didn’t even dare to touch them. He didn’t have an Envoy on him right now; fighting such an opponent would be like courting death.

Of course, if he chose to focus on long-range attacks using his Daofather-level energy with his [Brightmoon] sword-art, he would definitely be able to match a top-tier Daofather in power. But Ning’s goal here was to temper his sword-arts, which was why he focused on close combat, which his weakness right now.

Whoosh.

The True God’s body was split in half and knocked flying away. Far off in the distance, the two halves joined together into a new whole.

“I lost.” Yet another True God bent the knee to Ji Ning.

Ning reached out with his hand, placing it atop the True God’s head. The True God did not try to fight back.

Ning quickly flipped through this person’s memories, discarding all the useless ones in search of something that would benefit him. Although none of the previous soulscours had proved fruitful, Ning had never given up. So long as there was even a hint of a chance, he would continue in his current path.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly saw a seemingly ordinary memory, but was instantly stunned by it. Then…he revealed a look of joy.

“A Heavengazer Tower of Radiance?” Ning murmured to himself. “A treasure like this actually exists? How marvelous. The chaos-kingdom of Pangaea truly does have a much more powerful foundation than that of the Three Realms.” Ning’s pulserate began to quicken.

Heavengazer Towers were a type of Chaos treasure…and the type which Ning desperately needed right now. In truth, while soulscouring his defeated opponents, Ning had discovered quite a few treasures which he desired, but none of them existed within the prisonworld.

The Heavengazer Tower’s owner, however…was imprisoned right here inside the prisonworld!

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Chapter 33 – Five Years Later

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 33 – Five Years Later

What did Ji Ning need the most right now?

He was in desperate need of more time!

His talent was beyond dispute. Even as a youth, Patriarch Lu and Subhuti had favored him. After experiencing so many things, he had only become an even more outstanding figure. An Immortal cultivator’s talent wasn’t something that was set in stone; it could change and transform as he grew up and experienced all sorts of events. Some might regress, while others might soar to the heavens and become increasingly dazzling.

Clearly, Ning was the type to become more and more dazzling…but even the most monstrous of geniuses needed time to grow!

Treasures that could change the rate at which time flowed…yes, they existed in the Three Realms. The Grand Xia Emperor, for example, had been able to use the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers to change the flow of time within it! But this sort of temporal change used up an enormous amount of energy, even though the magic treasure itself was helping to facilitate it. Although the Xia Emperor was a Pure Yang True Immortal, he was only able to allow some weak Wanxiang-level children to experience a different rate of time. He wasn’t capable of doing the same for Celestial Immortals.

Ning was an Empyrean God and True Immortal. To change the rate of time for him…even Subhuti and Daoist Three Purities would feel a headache if they had to come up with such an idea.

If Mother Nuwa was still around, she would be able to do it.

Mother Nuwa had created the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Time flowed at a much, much faster rate than normal in the region around the Bridge of Despair and the Six Paths of Reincarnation! Countless souls flowed into the place, but time continued to flow through the area at a terrifying pace without the need for any Immortals or Fiendgods to use up their energy to maintain it. This was because the Six Paths of Reincarnation were made perfectly; they used up very little energy, and the amount of energy they absorbed from the outside world was more than enough to sustain themselves.

But the Six Paths of Reincarnation were a formation!

The Heavengazer Tower of Radiance was a magic treasure!

Inside the Heavengazer Tower, time was stably maintained at a rate that was ten times faster than that of the outside world. Ten years would pass inside for every year that passed outside. This was an extremely stable mechanism, and there was no need for any outside sources of energy. The treasure itself was a stable spacetime dimension of its own. Even True Gods, Daofathers, and World Gods could go inside it, and time would still flow at ten times the normal right.

In addition…

This magic treasure could also be used to accelerate the speed of time even further! However, if one wanted to go beyond the ‘base’ of ten times normal speed, one would have to use up some Immortal energy. In addition, the more powerful the user, the more energy would be used up in speeding up time for cultivation.

“A stable spacetime treasure,” Ning marveled. “My master Subhuti was able to establish the Crescent world in a different fold of spacetime, but not even he would be able to forge such a stable spacetime treasure such as this.”

Stable spacetime treasures were far too difficult to make. This was the only one Ning had ever heard of, and it was a Chaos treasure.

More than anything else, Ning needed time. The Heavengazer Tower was able to speed up time by a factor of ten, and if Ning was willing to use up some of his energy, it would be able to speed up time even faster. Most importantly of all…this treasure existed within the prisonworld. A True God was carrying it!

“True God Shiyu?” Ning frowned.

The possessor of the Heavengazer Tower was True God Shiyu.

This True God, however, could be said to be the most terrifyingly powerful True God in the entire prisonworld. Almost all of the True Gods and True Immortals imprisoned here knew of him, but very few knew that he was in possession of the Heavengazer Tower. Ning had soulscoured many True Gods and True Immortals, but he had only learned this bit of information now because the True God which Ning had just soulscoured had been one of True God Shiyu’s subordinates.

“He’s very hard to deal with. He’s clearly just a True God, but he once battled against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. If you factor in the Heavengazer Tower, he has a total of three Chaos treasures,” Ning mused to himself. “Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals…in the Three Realms, they would be considered overlords. In other words, he’s at a level of power which is close to that of an overlord-class expert.”

“Exhausting his energy reserves? That won’t work either. He’s at a very high level of enlightenment; he’s one of the tiny handful of True Gods and True Immortals in the prisonworld who is able to draw energy from the primordial chaos,” Ning mused to himself.

One had to have a certain degree of insights into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos in order to be able to extract energy from it, but once this became possible, one would no longer have to worry about one’s energy being used up.

All Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were capable of this, but only a tiny number of True Gods and True Immortals were. True God Shiyu, however, was obviously one of them.

“What should I do? How should I deal with him?” Ning pondered to himself. “I put the Starseizing Manor in the Crescent world…but even if I went back there to gather the people I need for the Rahu Formation, I’ll still be significantly weaker than someone of the overlord level of power.”

Ning had fought against an overlord-class expert before. Daomother Devilhand, using just one hand, had been able to defeat Ning while he was in command of an Envoy. But of course, her attacks were considered extremely formidable even amongst other overlord-class Daofathers.

As for True God Shiyu, he was only able to stay alive in the face of attacks from Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals; in terms of raw power, he probably wasn’t much stronger than Ning had been when controlling the Envoy.

“Perhaps, when my swordforce reaches the fifth stage, I’ll have a chance of beating him,” Ning mused to himself.

……

Ning continued to battle his way through the prisonworld. He no longer solely fought against True Gods; he even began to act against the True Immortals as well.

He was constantly gaining insights into the mysteries behind the sword-arts left behind by World God Northrest in the hopes of reaching the fifth stage of heartforce as soon as possible.

However…

Although he was slowly improving nonstop, he still felt as though he was just a hairsbreadth away from reaching that stage. This sort of feeling was absolutely maddening. However, Ning was able to remain quite calm. He knew that so long as he continued to advance like this, sooner or later he would make his breakthrough.

……

Time continued to flow on, day by day, month by month.

In the Three Realms.

Yet another great Realmwar was taking place now, this time on the Kingshill major world of the Zhuanxu Realm.

This was the second Realmwar to occur after the one in the Yellow Emperor Realm. In terms of size, it was considerably smaller than the Yellow Emperor Realmwar, but it was still far larger than many of the Realmwars that had come before it, such as the Crimsonbright Realmwar.

On the Nuwa Alliance’s side, there was a total of more than eight hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

On the Seamless Gate’s side, there were six hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, along with a supporting army of golems.

“It’s hard to say who will win this Realmwar.” Daofather Netherjade was standing atop a wall, staring off into the distance.

The black-robed Godking chuckled. “That’s normal. The war for karmic luck inherently involves an element of luck as well. All we can ask for is for no more monsters like Ji Ning to appear out of nowhere.”

“The Primordial Era gave birth to Houyi, while the Three Realms gave birth to Ji Ning. Enough already. If the Nuwa Alliance was to produce a third such monster, we should just go ahead and give the damn war up.” Daofather Netherjade shook his head.

“Agreed. Houyi truly is terrifying.” The black-robed Godking sighed. “I never heard anything about his axe-skills. Didn’t he always use arrows in the past? Archery is a long-range form of combat, while axes are used in close combat. The difference between the two is enormous. How could he have become so powerful with a hatchet?”

“I heard that long ago, Houyi tried to chop down the divine osmanthus tree of the Lunar Star.” Daofather Netherjade chuckled. “That osmanthus tree isn’t so easily chopped down. Anyone capable of chopping it down would probably be capable of annihilating the entire Lunar Star. I’ve always heard that Subhuti’s eldest disciple spent all of his days chopping down trees as a woodcutter. Now, it seems, it was because Houyi has never given up on chopping down that osmanthus tree.”

“But I’m worried…” Daofather Netherjade frowned. “Houyi’s greatest talent always lay in his arrows. If he’s that powerful with the hatchet…how powerful have his arrows become?”

“Exactly. He’s going to be trouble. If his archery skills are too formidable, when the Endwar erupts, most likely only uncle-master Everwood or the Fiendlord would be able to withstand him,” the black-robed Godking sighed.

“Right.” Daofather Netherjade nodded, then sighed again. “Even though it is true that the Endwar is rapidly approaching…I have to admit, Ji Ning is every bit the monster that Houyi was. In fact, he’s grown at an even more astonishing level of speed. In just a few short centuries, he’s mastered a sword-art that surpasses the Heavenly Daos. A peerless, monstrous Sword Immortal like him…if he’s given a few thousand years, it’s hard to imagine how powerful he will become. He would probably become another Houyi.”

The black-robed Godking nodded.

In the past, he had never truly cared about Ji Ning, but the battle at the Deerchaser world and the sight of Ji Ning clashing against Daomother Devilhand had truly caused the Godking to feel nervous. He had to admit…Ji Ning’s potential was downright horrifying.

……

Within Prisonworld 17, located inside the stone stele that had been placed inside the gorge of that frozen star in the primordial chaos.

Five years had passed in the blink of an eye.

It had been five years since his ‘assassination’. Ning had come to this world, determined to temper himself through battle, and he had.

Atop a beautiful grassland, there was an absolutely dazzling shrine that seemed to have been carved out of pure jade. Inside the jade shrine, a white-robed youth was seated in the lotus position, his eyes closed.

Rumble…

A surge of power, birthed from the essence of the sword and located in the deepest recesses of the primordial chaos, began to flow to this location.

An indescribably arcane and profound aura began to swirl in the area around Ning, a terrifying, heart-stopping aura that belonged to the essence of the sword.

Slowly, Ning’s very body began to emanate with dazzling, rainbow-colored sword-light. It was as though Ning himself had become transformed into an utterlying terrifying sword.

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Chapter 34 – Swordforce, Stage Five

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 34 – Swordforce, Stage Five

Ji Ning’s eyes were closed.

The many insights he had gained into the sword were continuously merging together. It was like mist being condensed. Finally, with a boom, the mist completely condensed into a ‘seed’, a seed surrounded by a faint aura of sword-ki. This sword-ki seed was the complete crystallization of all of Ning’s insights into the essence of the sword. It was something which he could sense in his heart.

It wasn’t something that could be seen with the naked it. It was something that could only be seen and sensed by the heart.

This sword-seed had been planted within Ning’s heart.

“Whew.” Ning let out a soft breath, then opened his eyes.

The jade shrine had become quiet and peaceful once more. The rainbow-colored sword-light surrounding Ning had vanished as well, and Ning now looked as ordinary as ever. However, his eyes dimly shone with a sharpness that struck fear in the hearts of others.

“When one’s insights into the sword crystallize into a seed, it will naturally gain a soul of its own,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

Thanks to the guidance of World God Northrest, Ning knew exactly what a Sword Immortal’s path would be like.

The fifth stage of swordforce, ‘Sword God’. When one’s insights into the essence of the sword reached an extremely high level, after one broke the final bottleneck a Dao-seed would naturally be formed. Plant seeds would have to sprout before they could grow, and the same was true for this Dao-seed, which naturally had the aura of the true essence of the sword. In fact, Ning’s every punch and kick would now contain the tremendous power of fifth-stage swordforce, which was the dazzling, rainbow-colored light that had surrounded him earlier.

“I’ve finally reached the Sword God stage.” Ning stretched out his middle finger, thrusting it forward as he could a sword. Rumble…instantly, rainbow-colored sword-light emerged from his finger and swirled around it.

The rainbow sword-light was incomparably agile, filled with a transcendent aura of sharpness.

It felt as though it could cut through all things ase easily as rotten wood!

It was utterly unshakable and unbreakable.

This…this was the sword!

“No wonder it is this difficult to reach the fifth stage of swordforce. If it wasn’t for the Nine Chaos Seals, the assistance of the stone steles, and all those True God and True Immortal sparring partners, I can’t even imagine how long it would’ve taken for me to break through.” Only after making the breakthrough did he truly sense and understand how different the Sword God stage was.

In this moment, Ning understood that the path of the sword was a far longer one than he had imagined. Even World God Northrest was merely a traveler on that path.

“Good. The more powerful the path is, the better. If there was a limit to it, it would be boring.” Ning rose to his feet, walking out of the jade shrine and staring at the stone sword-steles outside. “I’ve just barely reached the Sword God stage; I need to carefully stabilize myself at this new level of power. Next, I’ll once more ponder on the sword-arts which World God Northrest left behind, so as to incorporate them into my [Brightmoon].”

……

It had instantly become much easier for Ning to meditate on the stone sword-steles. Many things which had previously puzzled him had become clear, and his understanding of the sword continued to rise.

He was fusing all of these insights into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art! The [Brightmoon] sword-art was the representation of all of Ning’s insights into the sword, and he had infused it with everything he knew.

This meditation session ended up lasting for three months.

Whoosh. Ning was wielding a Darknorth sword in his hands, gently twirling it around.

Rainbow sword-light flowed over its surface, making it seem so dreamlike that it looked as though it was a series of illusions, making it hard to discern with clarity. This was the new ‘Shadowless’ stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art.

“It’ll be hard for me to improve any further in a short amount of time,” Ning mused to himself. “True God Shiyu possesses the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance; no matter what, I have to acquire that treasure. Given enough time, I’ll be able to grow even more powerful. However, prior to battling against him…I should first use other experts to further temper my sword-arts.”

Sword-arts could only be truly perfected through combat, through trial by battle.

If one completely focused on meditating, perhaps one might reach a high level of insight, but one’s actual combat ability would be flawed.

“Who should I choose to test my sword out? Mm…” Ning suddenly smiled. “Him.”

……

A wizened old man was seated in the lotus position atop a desolate grassland.

“Eh?” He suddenly raised his head, glancing at the white-robed youth that had just appeared in the skies far above him. The white-robed youth was charging down towards him.

“The Overseer?” The skinny old man revealed a hint of cold amusement. “He actually dares to return to my place?”

Swoosh.

The white-robed youth landed on the ground, just a few hundred meters away from the skinny old man. He was now located deep within the restrictive formation, and the skinny old man would be able to attack him at any time.

“Long time no see.” Ning looked at him.

“It’s only been five years. I’ve barely had enough time to shut my eyes, but you’ve come back again.” The skinny old man shook his head. “Your Immortal energy truly is astoundingly vast, and you would be able to withstand my power if you controlled magic treasures to fight from afar. You wouldn’t be able to actually do anything to me, but it would be equally hard for me to kill you. I think you should leave. I don’t want to waste more of my divine power.”

This old man was True God Ultrafish, the one who had nearly killed Ning five years ago.

Whoosh. Whoosh. A pair of swords appeared in Ning’s hands.

“Eh?” The skinny old man’s face changed. He smirked. “You want to fight me in close combat again? You?”

“Yes. Me.” As soon as Ning’s words came out, he immediately charged forward.

The skinny old man was instantly enraged. He was a prisoner here, after all, and so he was extremely sparing in his use of energy. Every time he used up a bit of energy, his lifespan in the prisonworld was reduced correspondingly. He could tell that this Overseer would be quite powerful in controlling magic treasures, and so he really didn’t even wish to fight. However, this Overseer was so wildly arrogant as to actually engage him in close combat again?

“Since he wishes to die, I’ll send him on the path to oblivion.” Although the old man could guess that the Overseer had probably made some sort of a breakthrough, he felt that the breakthrough couldn’t amount to much. It had only been five years. How big of a breakthrough could it be?

Boom! Boom!

The two instantly began to clash against each other.

“That’s all the power you have? How dare you come back again!” The skinny old man bellowed.

Their two shadows flickered as fast as lightning as sword-light clashed against claw-light.

“You really have improved a bit…but it is useless. Although your sword is fast, your power is too weak. If you were to become a True God, you might have a chance of beating me, but for now? You are far from that level.” The skinny old man assaulted Ning with both his words and his attacks, but he remained unable to defeat Ning.

Ning was extremely calm.

He had completely suppressed and withdrawn his rainbow sword-light! Its power was simply too great; he’d be able to easily defeat his foe, which wasn’t the result he wished for. He had come here to further temper his sword-arts, allowing them to grow and be improved. Naturally, Ning had chosen to suppress his rainbow sword-light, completely relying on the intricacies of the [Brightmoon] sword-art and his divine power as a half-step True God to fight this foe.

Even though he didn’t use the rainbow sword-light, his [Brightmoon] sword-art was now far more profound than before, and so he was able to stave off this foe.

“Break, break, break!” The skinny old man fought with utterly wild abandon, and his fifth-stage abyssforce was extraordinarily powerful, but he remained unable to break apart Ning’s sword-arts.

“His sword is too fast, faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Now, it has become even more mysterious and unpredictable than before, and his techniques have become even more skillful. Although I have the upper hand, I’m actually unable to defeat him.” The skinny old man grew frantic. “If this continues, my divine power will be depleted soon. Although I have Immortal energy as well, I merely have a second-tier Jindan as a Ki Refiner; I’ll be much weaker than I am now in close combat.”

The two continued to battle furiously. As more time passed, the old man grew increasingly frantic.

“It’s about time.” Ning could no longer see anything new coming from the old man’s claw-arts, making this fight no longer useful to him. The Darknorth sword in his hands instantly flashed with the colors of the rainbow.

“The Sword God stage?” The skinny old man called out in shock.

Ning’s sword, covered with a layer of rainbow swordforce, instantly increased in power by a tremendous amount, becoming even more powerful than the old man’s claw-arts!

Slash!

The sword-light drifted outwards, knocking aside the old man’s claws and slicing out in a solitary, ghostly arc through the old man’s body. The old man’s body fell apart into two pieces, then rapidly reformed once more. The old man stared in blank shock at Ning.

“True God Ultrafish…are you willing to submit?” Ning looked at him.

True God Ultrafish stared blankly at him for a long moment, then lowered his head. “I submit.”

True God Ultrafish was never the arrogant, prideful type as he had a very ordinary status in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea. It was only because he had been imprisoned here for a very long period of time that he had managed to break through to reach the fifth stage of abyssforce, resulting in his power increasing dramatically. However, he had long ago grown accustomed to bowing his head before greater powers. He was accustomed to submitting.

“I defeated a True God who reached the fifth stage of abyssforce, just like that.” Ning’s face was calm, but he felt great excitement in his heart.

This was absolutely the power of a top-tier Daofather.

He hadn’t used any formations, nor had he used an Envoy. He had merely used his own close combat skills to defeat his opponent.

The term Sword God, in and of itself, represented a group of utterly terrifying figures. The former number one assassin of the Seamless Gate, the deceased Swordfather Darklight, had also reached the fifth stage of swordforce. The awe-inspiringly famous Daofather Fuju, who had been possessed by World God Northrest, had also reached the fifth stage of swordforce. And now, Ji Ning had reached the fifth stage of swordforce as well, and he had also mastered the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

Fifth-stage swordforce, paired with techniques that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos…this was undoubtedly the most terrifyingly powerful sword-art that existed in the Three Realms.

His sword-arts were now even more terrifying than Swordfather Darklight’s had been!

If the current Ji Ning was once more ambushed as he had been a few years ago, Ning could’ve blocked Swordfather Darklight’s ambushing attack head-on!

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Chapter 35 – True God Shiyu

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 35 – True God Shiyu

“Although I’ve grown much more powerful, compared to the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, I’m still rather lacking. The Endwar is coming. The more powerful I become, the better. The Heavengazer Tower of Radiance…I have to acquire it.” Although Ji Ning desperately desired this treasure, he first still carefully meditated on the insights he had gained from his fight with True God Ultrafish, reflecting on what had happened in that fight.

Three days after his battle against True God Ultrafish, Ning finally set off for True God Shiyu’s region.

……

A beautiful mountain gorge, filled with flowers and grass. A silver-haired man was here, attending to the flowers.

Whoosh.

A black lightning serpent flew towards him from far away, instantly arriving in the air above him.

“Eh?” The silver-haired man raised his head, giving it a glance. He saw a white-robed youth descending towards him from the heavens.

“So you are the new Overseer?” The silver-haired man looked puzzledly at Ning.

“True God Shiyu, you actually have the energy and presence of mind to be a gardener?” Ning said, “Almost all of the primordial chaos energy in this prisonworld is being refined and distilled into chaos nectar. All of the Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, and supreme True Gods and True Immortals are doing their best to absorb energy from what little primordial chaos remains. You only have access to a small amount of it, and yet you actually use it to take care of these flowers.”

The environment in the prisonworld was rather stark and grim. It was a world of perpetual dusk. Here in True God Shiyu’s gorge, however, there were fragrant flowers located everywhere. It was completely different from the region outside the thousand kilometer restrictive formation keeping him here. Clearly, it was True God Shiyu who was taking care of these flowers.

“If my guess is correct, those Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals are all using the energy they absorb from the primordial chaos to maintain their estate-world treasures. Their estate-world treasures contain a world inside of them with many living creatures, and so the Ancestral Immortals and Elder Gods have sent their minds and their incarnations into those worlds, roaming through them and experiencing the vicissitudes of life.” True God Shiyu laughed softly. “But…that’s the behavior of a weakling.”

Ning was startled.

“Now that they’ve been imprisoned here, they’ve lost all their motivation and willpower; all they care about is enjoying life.” True God Shiyu laughed coldly.

“Their actions aren’t exactly wrong.” Ning shook his head. “They have been imprisoned here for countless years. How many would be willing to endure such loneliness for so long? If they can’t endure it, why shouldn’t they go and enjoy life in another world?”

“Weaklings.” True God Shiyu let out a cold laugh. “They have completely given up on escaping this place.”

“Oh? You haven’t given up?” Ning looked at him.

“I’ve never given up. I train in infiniforce and taiji-force; I only need to break through to the sixth stage in one of them and I’ll be able to break these shackles. In fact, I’ll be able to break apart this entire prisonworld as I regain my freedom.” True God Shiyu didn’t try to hide it at all. All of the Immortals and Fiendgods imprisoned here, Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals included, hoped to make a critical breakthrough and shatter their fetters, then break apart the prisonworld and leave.

“If you were to reach the sixth stage, you would be at the World-class of power.” Ning nodded. “That would indeed be possible. But…you’ve been imprisoned here for a very long period of time.”

“Nearly five chaos cycles.” True God Shiyu nodded, staring at Ning. “I know what you are going to say. You are going to say, if a person is unable to break through to the World-level within one chaos cycle, it will be forever impossible for them to make that breakthrough. Am I right?”

Ning looked at him. This was common knowledge.

After searching through many memories of the prisoners of Pangaea, he had learned many things. Ning had also learned many bits of common knowledge from the information imparted to him by World God Northrest. If a person wasn’t able to reach the World-level within a single chaos cycle, it was virtually impossible for him to succeed for the rest of his life.

“But there are no absolutes in life. There’s always a chance.” True God Shiyu gritted his teeth as he stared at Ning.

Ning nodded. It was true. There really were no absolutes!

For example, perhaps someone only didn’t make that breakthrough because his cultivation techniques were too poor, or because he didn’t have a good teacher. He might spend multiple chaos cycles of painstaking work to become a ‘mere’ Elder God. However, once he gained detailed information regarding a top-tier cultivation technique or guidance from a World-class expert, he might quickly break through to the next stage and become a World God himself.

Or perhaps an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal might experience an unexpected event that would allow a breakthrough to be made.

In short…there was always a chance of a lucky stroke of fate!

None of the major powers of the Three Realms had access to truly top-notch cultivation techniques, and none of them had been guided by particularly powerful figures. Houyi was a good example. Although he had been alive for more than a chaos cycle, he had trained painstakingly on his own and developed his heartforce technique all by himself, as well as his archery techniques. If he was given truly top-tier techniques or had the guidance of Vastheaven Palace, however, it was entirely possible that he would’ve broken through to become a World God by now.

“Here in the prisonworld, True God Shiyu has no one to provide him with tutelage, and he won’t have any lucky encounters either. It has been nearly five chaos cycles, but he still wishes to reach the World-level? It really is almost impossible.” Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself.

“I’ve come here for just one reason.” Ning looked at him.

“Speak.” True God Shiyu looked at Ning calmly. He didn’t hold this Overseer in any regard at all.

“Your Heavengazer Tower of Radiance,” Ning said.

True God Shiyu’s face changed. He stared at Ning, then let out a cold laugh. “You actually know about the Heavengazer Tower, eh? What, you want me to give you a Chaos treasure? You? A trifling Overseer? Your only job is to watch over this prisonworld. You should just f*ck off and stop bothering me.” He couldn’t even be bothered to waste words with Ning. How could he hand over such a precious treasure to someone else?

“If that’s the case, I’ll have no choice but to fight you.” A pair of swords appeared in Ning’s hands.

“You’d actually dare to assault me?” True God Shiyu was shocked. “Y-you…you aren’t a member of Pangaea?”

The chaos-kingdom of Pangaea would generally send Celestial Immortals with first-tier Jindans to be Overseers. How would a Celestial Immortal possibly dare to attack him?

“Pangaea has been destroyed.” Ning held his swords in his hands. “This prisonworld is now under my control, and you are my prisoner. I don’t wish to kill you, but you WILL hand over the Heavengazer Tower to me.”

“In your dreams.” True God Shiyu snapped back in a frozen voice.

“Then we’ll simply have to fight it out.”

Swoosh.

Ning’s words still echoed in the gorge, but his lightning-fast streak of sword-light had already reached True God Shiyu. It was the fastest stance of Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-art: Blood Drop stance!

“What a fast sword!” True God Shiyu was shocked. He no longer dared to be brash, and he produced a pair of short cudgels in his hands as well. The cudgel glowed with golden light, and the head of the cudgel had a triangular shape to it that seemed incredibly sharp.

Clang!

True God Shiyu’s twin cudgels had manifested the faint outline of an enormous Taiji diagram before him, blocking Ning’s sword-attack. After doing so, he suddenly spun his twin cudgels, transforming the Taiji diagram into an orb of black light and sending it smashing towards Ning with frenzied might.

Boom! Ning’s own sword-light transformed into a pair of black holes as he used the Soleheart stance to block. He could sense an incomparably savage and bizarre surge of energy smash against him, and he couldn’t help but be knocked flying backwards.

“What tremendous power.” Ning landed on the ground, stunned. He immediately understood that True God Shiyu had to have trained in some sort of special divine ability that was akin to Ning’s own [Starseizing Hand], an ability that allowed him to explosively increase his power. In fact, it was possible that his divine ability was even more powerful than the [Starseizing Hand]; otherwise, there was no way the twin cudgels could have produced such enormous power.

The distant True God Shiyu had a solemn look on his face as well. He stared at Ning, not daring to be overconfident. He said softly, “What a fast sword. It has surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos? A pity that it won’t be of use.”

“Is that so?” Ning’s body blurred momentarily, then two more heads and four more arms grew out of him, allowing him to wield a total of six swords.

“Hmph.” In response, True God Shiyu manifested a total of six arms as well. He now wielded six cudgels, but four of them had noticeably weaker auras than the original two.

The two once more began to clash against each other at full power. As they did so, True God Shiyu felt even more shocked, because this time Ning used the Blood Drop stance, Shadowless stance, and Heavenbreaker stance in succession. The most dangerous attack for True God Shiyu was the Shadowless stance, as it was both fast and incredibly unpredictable, making it extremely difficult for him to block.

Those six swords worked together in harmony, unleashing those three mighty sword stances in a series of berserk attacks. Although True God Shiyu’s divine ability was formidable, he still had to fight in an extremely cautious manner.

The two continued to fight for quite a long period of time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flowers and the grass in the area around the gorge had long ago been reduced to dust, but True God Shiyu couldn’t spare the attention to worry about them. Although he had spent considerable time on these flowers, they were nothing more than a way for him to relieve the loneliness in his heart. He wasn’t willing to waste the energy needed to maintain an entire world, and so he used a comparatively much lower amount of energy to maintain a garden.

“It’s useless. Your sword-arts are indeed powerful; in fact, I admit that they are extremely powerful. I roamed the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea for countless years, and I’ve met more True Gods and True Immortals than I can count. However, I’ve see no one with sword-arts which can compare to yours. Sword God stage sword-arts which are faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos…and yet, your divine body is far too weak, and your divine abilities are too ordinary.” True God Shiyu’s voice echoed within the gorge.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two collided once more, with both being knocked flying backwards.

Ning came to a halt. Staring at True God Shiyu, he said in a low voice, “It seems I’ll still have to rely on long-range attacks.”

“Long-range attacks?” True God Shiyu was stunned.

Thirty-six Swords of the Heavens suddenly appeared around Ning, and an enormous torrent of Daofather-level energy began to flow through them.

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Chapter 36 – Two Methods

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 36 – Two Methods

The swords were filled with Ji Ning’s Daofather-level energy, causing each of them to emanate auras of blinding might. This caused True God Shiyu’s face to change as he became even more solemn. “It seems this Overseer’s abilities as a Ki Refiner are even better than his abilities in close combat.”

“Go.”

The distant midair Ji Ning waved his finger.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The Swords of the Heavens instantly soared out like streaks of light, striking towards True God Shiyu from every direction. They didn’t move that fast, not even surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Daos; their speed was something which True God Shiyu could handle. However, as soon as the thirty six Swords of the Heavens closed in on True God Shiyu, they suddenly sped up dramatically, accelerating past the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Each of them moved in bewildering, mysterious ways as well, as all of them were using the Shadowless stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art.

The [Brightmoon] sword-art which Ning created had a total of five stances, each of which had its own will and intent. Ning designed them to have unlimited potential; so long as Ning himself could grow stronger, they could continue to be perfected.

Swish swish swish! True God Shiyu was in a three-headed, six-armed form, and the six cudgels in his hands swept out in streaks of light. True God Shiyu seemed to have become an enormous Taiji diagram, capable of blocking all assaults.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. His long-range attacks were somewhat more powerful than his close-range attacks, yet he still remained unable to injure his foe.

“I refuse to believe you can keep blocking my attacks.” Controlled by Ning’s soul heartforce technique, the thirty-six Swords of the Heavens attacked even more frenetically as he put all sorts of dazzling, arcane sword-arts on display. When they struck in unison, they seemed to encompass all types of sword-arts…but True God Shiyu just focused completely on defense, his six cudgels forming a simply flawless, impregnable defense.

“Hahaha…”

True God Shiyu continued to block while roaring with laughter. “Overseer, have you heard? In the past, I battled multiple times against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, but they were unable to do anything to me. Compared to them, you are even weaker.”

“When we first started to fight, your sword-arts really did give me a bad scare! Hah! But although your sword is rather fast, it’s still within the realm of what I can handle. Even if I just used two arms, I’d be able to defend against you, to say nothing of using six.” As True God Shiyu spoke, he actually dispelled four of his arms, returning to his normal appearance and wielding just two cudgels.

The two cudgels worked together in a truly flawless manner, like Yin and Yang coming together. His defense was completely airtight, and the faint image of an enormous Taiji diagram completely covered him.

Ning had an ugly look on his face. “How come…”

“I was quite cautious when we first started to fight. But now, it seems, you haven’t reached a level of power comparable to Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals yet. If I simply focus on defense, I don’t even need to use my full power.” True God Shiyu said calmly, “I don’t need to use any divine abilities at all. We can just keep fighting like this, and I’ll keep absorbing energy from the primordial chaos here. I can fight like this very a long, long time.”

Ning knew this as well. If he could force the man to use divine abilities, the man wouldn’t be able to keep it up for too long. Ning would be able to use his long-range attacks and spirit-pills to slowly exhaust the man…but now, it seemed, True God Shiyu’s defense was utterly unshakable. If he didn’t attack and instead focused solely on defense, he would be able to defend against Ning’s attacks without using any divine abilities at all.

“Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals have better abilities than you and greater power as well.” True God Shiyu said calmly, “But my taiji-force and infiniforce have both reached the fifth stage, and I’ve merged them together into a perfect whole. I can survive attacks from Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals and escape to tell the tale. You? You aren’t even close.”

Elder Gods had divine bodies that were far more powerful than the bodies of True Gods. Their bodies alone ensured that they would have close to the power of an overlord-class expert.

Ancestral Immortals with first-tier Jindans were far more powerful than the Daofathers of the Three Realms. They were equivalent to Elder Gods, and the weakest of them would be close to the overlord level as well.

The overlord level…

This was a clear, dividing line within the Three Realms.

To be at the overlord level meant that one had to have reached the Elder God level of power. Elder Gods were generally born at this level of power, with Mother Nuwa being an example. She had also been born with mastery over the Heavenly Dao of Life. She had then mastered the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, then the Heavenly Daos of the Five Elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. This ensured that even amongst Elder Gods, she was at the absolute peak of power.

This was why Mother Nuwa had been the number one figure of the Primordial Era, superior to the other Elder Gods and the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism!

In the Seamless Gate, the only one who was a match for her had been the Lord of the Demonheart. Although Daomother Devilhand had been able to fight Mother Nuwa one-on-one, that was just in a short clash. She was still considerably weaker than Mother Nuwa.

The Lord of All Fiends was also born an Elder God, but his fleeing skills were superior to that of a World God’s! From this, one could see how formidable he was.

True God Shiyu, in turn, was able to escape the clutches of a number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. From this, one could see how terrifyingly perfect his fusion of taiji-force infiniforce was. And of course, True God Shiyu had other divine abilities which could allow him to unleash incredibly mighty amounts of power. When matched with his taiji-force and infiniforce, it allowed him to withstand even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals for a brief period of time.

“Hmph.” Ning assaulted him furiously for a short while longer, then unwillingly came to a halt.

“It seems that although I can suppress him in power and force him to focus on defense, I’m still just ‘close’ to the overlord level of power. True God Shiyu specializes in defense. Beating him will be very difficult.” Ning pondered to himself. “But I still have to acquire the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance as quickly as possible. If too much time passes, the Endwar might begin. By then, acquiring the Heavengazer Tower will be pointless.”

The whole reason why he desperately needed the tower was because the Endwar was coming soon.

“To grow much more powerful in a short period of time…” Ning pondered to himself. “There are two methods.”

“The first method is to become a True God. Once I become a True God…given the power of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and the [One True Body] techniques, I’ll essentially be half a step into the Elder God realm of power. Although I’ll still be physically weaker than actual Elder Gods, my sword-arts should ensure that I’m no weaker than an ordinary Elder God. By then, I should be at the overlord level of power. Although True God Shiyu was able to defend against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, that was just for a short period of time before he fled. He’s trapped here in the prisonworld with nowhere to run. If we really were to get into a fight…once I am at the overlord level of power, he would definitely lose.”

“But…”

“To actually become a True God…” Ning frowned.

Technically speaking, he should’ve already fulfilled all the necessary requirements for breaking through to become a True God long ago.

The first requirement was to have a perfect divine body, and his body had reached that level long ago. The second was to have mastered a Grand Dao, and Ning had mastered three of them already; the Grand Dao of Lightning, the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, and the Grand Dao of the Sword.

“According to the [Solitary World God], I’ll need to find a spark of inspiration from within the midst of endless solitude. Once I find it, I’ll be able to make my breakthrough.”

“That…sounds incredibly opaque and mysterious. Ugh…the most important thing needed for the [Solitary World God] is time. The thing I lack the most is also time.” Ning shook his head.

The critical part of training in this technique lay in the word ‘solitary’. Once one actually began to cultivate in it, one would sit there without moving whatsoever, just like a solitary, withered tree. Only then would one be able to find that necessary spark of insight. This technique generally needed a great deal of time.

“The second method is to use Violetjewel,” Ning mused to himself. “Violetjewel was the most important weapon owned by World God Northrest, and it is powerful enough that it would cause Chaos Immortals and World Gods to go crazy over it. According to what World God Northrest said, so long as I can repair even just the surface layer of the weapon, its power will vastly surpass that of any Chaos treasures. If I can use this weapon, my power will dramatically increase as well.”

“By comparison…my chances of repairing Violetjewel in time are probably better.” Ning nodded to himself.

He had already repaired the surface of Violetjewel by roughly 20%. Now, he had reached the fifth stage of swordforce. Although he was unable to defeat True God Shiyu, Shiyu was known to be one of the most powerful and most troublesome Gods of the entire prisonworld. The other True Gods should be much easier to deal with.

He could sweep through all of them, acquire their treasures, and then use them to repair Violetjewel’s surface layer.

“Then let’s begin.”

After pondering for a moment, Ning flew out of the gorge in the form of a black lightning serpent, disappearing into the horizon.

True God Shiyu watched as Ning left, a cold look in his eyes. “He wants to take my treasures? I have three Chaos treasures on me. If I didn’t have a few tricks up my sleeves, others would’ve taken those treasures from me long ago. Ugh…damn the fact that I’m imprisoned here and have nowhere to run.” Aside from being skilled in defense, he was also skilled in fleeing…but alas, he was now shackled and had nowhere to run.

As for Ning, he began to act against the True Gods and True Immortals of the prisonworld on a large scale. There were far fewer True Gods and True Immortals here than there were Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. Thus, Ning prized every one of them. After every battle, he would immediately meditate on any new insights he felt he had gained, so as to gain the most benefit possible from these battles.

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Chapter 37 – The Bloodlotus Blooms

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 37 – The Bloodlotus Blooms

Some True Gods and True Immortals were much weaker than Ji Ning. They only had the power of an ordinary Daofather, and so Ji Ning was able to easily defeat them. He didn’t even gain many insights from battling them, only spending a few hours in meditation afterwards.

After battling the more powerful ones or the ones who had some special abilities, Ning might spend seven or eight days carefully reflecting on their battle.

Twelve months after Ning began his sweep through the prisonworld. He was within a region filled with dark fog where a True Immortal was kept prisoner. Boom! Boom! Boom! The sounds of a major battle could be heard booming out from within the fog, causing the fog itself to roil and roll about.

Within the fog.

“Go!” The seemingly berserk violet-eyed woman pointed towards Ning, causing a sky filled with black light to shoot towards Ning

Ning held his twin swords in his hands, slowly stepping through the air and advancing.

He was in no rush to attack his opponent. He just slowly advanced through the air, giving his opponent plenty of time to attack him.

Although collecting enough treasures to repair Violetjewel was important, his own personal skill and power was his true foundation of strength. He had to treat every battle against these True Gods and True Immortals seriously.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning’s sword-light fluctuated in an unpredictable manner. He even used his attacking stance, ‘Shadowless’, to defend against all the enemy’s attacks. From this, one could tell how transcendent his sword-arts had become and how vastly superior he was compared to his foe.

“Is that your ultimate attack?” Ning continued to stroll forward as he spoke.

The violet-eyed woman’s face was ashen. She growled out, “Come back.”

Whoosh. Instantly, the countless streaks of black light flew back to her and entered her body. Only then did her face recover a bit of color.

“You are far more powerful than me. If you want me to submit, I’ll submit.” The violet-eyed woman came to this decision in a straightforward manner.

“A hundred and ninety-two.” Ning nodded and murmured softly to himself.

The violet-eyed woman was stunned. What did the Overseer mean by mumbling that number?

“Alright.” Ning pondered for a moment. “I’ve swept through a hundred and ninety-two of the True Gods and True Immortals of the prisonworld. That’s more than half of them. That should be enough treasures to repair the surface layer of Violetjewel.”

All the treasures he had acquired from the Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods here, combined with a few treasures from True Gods and True Immortals, had only been able to repair a fifth of the surface damage to Violetjewel.

This time, he had collected far more treasures. It was most likely enough.

“Time to give it a try.” Ning immediately made the decision to temporarily stop his campaign and instead go give repairing Violetjewel a try.

But of course, before he went to repair Violetjewel, he still had to finish what he came here to do.

Ning reached out with his hand, letting it rest upon the head of the violet-eyed woman. Ning was going to search through the memories of every single True God and True Immortal. Perhaps he might some information which might be of some help to him.

……

Next to a beautiful lake.

The white-robed youth, Ji Ning, landed on the ground next to it. With a wave of his hand, he caused the jade shrine to appear on the grassy banks of the lake. The enormous stone sword-steles landed next, followed by the 3600 enormous Goldstar Beads of the Heavens that surrounded everything.

Ning then stepped into the jade shrine, seated himself on the prayer mat, then began his meditations.

After each battle, he would carefully reflect on every single thing he had seen.

Although he had decided to go repair Violetjewel after this battle, he still chose to first calmly meditate on the battle he had just experienced.

Time slowly flowed on…

Ning just sat there quietly in the lotus position. A full day later, he opened his eyes, rose to his feet, then walked outside the shrine.

He was in quite a good mood right now. In the past year or so, his sword-arts had continued to slowly improve a bit, and he had now acquired enough treasures to be able to repair Violetjewel. With Violetjewel in hand, he would probably be at the overlord level of power. Even though he might a bit lacking compared to those elder figures who had long ago reached this level of power, the difference wouldn’t be as great as it had been in the past.

“The Nine chaos Seals.” Ning’s gaze fell upon the nearby goldstar beads, each roughly ten meters tall right now. The goldstar beads were covered with the complicated flowing runes of the Nine Chaos Seals, which continued to change and transform with every moment in a pattern which was never repeated.

Ning had a smile on his face, and he continued to look at the beads in quite a fine mood.

“Eh?” Suddenly…

Ning felt a tremor in his heart. He stared closely at the constantly changing runes.

He stared unblinkingly at the runes for a full hour…and then he sat down on the grass and immediately shut his eyes.

After sitting there meditating on the grass for nearly a day, Ning opened his eyes.

“Arise.” Ning willed it.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The 3600 goldstar beads all rose into the air in a massive, dazzling, dense array. They hung high in the air like the stars in the sky. Ning’s powerful Immortal energy quickly filled every single goldstar bead. Then, he imposed his will upon them, causing them to rapidly transform. The aura of every single goldstar bead began to grow in power. In fact, every single goldstar bead seemed to grow to become more powerful than top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures before the strengthening process ceased.

“I’ve finally completely mastered the third chaos seal,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

“Eh?”

His subconscious had suddenly connected to a place that was infinitely distant from Ning. It was beyond space, beyond time, beyond distance itself. In the past, Ning had never sensed this place before. Now that he had mastered the third chaos seal, his powerful heartforce, assisted by the chaos seals, was allowing him to vaguely sense it.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

This was a place that was filled with an aura of boundless murder and death. It was infinitely far away from him, but just sensing the place caused Ning’s heart to shudder…and at the same time, the aura seemed to stir that killing intent that Ning had buried deep in his own heart, the killing aura that stemmed from his hatred of the Seamless Gate and his desire to kill the Godking.

Ning’s eyes turned completely red upon being struck by this surge of killing intent. His veins began to protrude out from his body, which was trembling. Even with Ning’s skill in heartforce, it took a long time for him to calm down.

What he didn’t know was that different people would experience different things upon mastering the third chaos seal. For example, when Ning had been roaming the mortal world, he had mastered the second chaos seal and gained insight into the workings of fate, causing him to become much more attumed to it. Now, his heart had become filled with a desire to kill, and his heartforce was also extremely strong, which was why he became attuned to the essence of slaughter.

“Huff. Huff.” Ning panted as he slowly calmed down…but as he did, he became even calmer than before.

He stared at the 3600 goldstar beads hovering in the air. At present, the goldstar beads…had already transformed into many closed blood-colored lotus buds.

The thirty-six hundred blood-colored lotus buds hung there in the air, so beautiful as to inspire terror.

“Condense.” Ning willed it. Instantly, the 3600 lotuses began to merge together, soon transforming into a total of thirty-six enormous blood-colored lotus buds.

“Bloom,” Ning ordered.

The thirty-six beautiful blood-colored lotus buds slowly began to bloom. Previously, they were absolutely beautiful, but once they bloomed…a boundless aura of murder and slaughter instantly spread out ine very direction.

“The bloodlotus blooms only for the sake of slaughter.” Ning could sense how tremendously powerful the goldstar beads would be in the form of these bloodlotus flowers. The Goldstar Beads of the Heavens now had three ideal forms they could assume. The first was the ‘bead’ form which was the most ordinary and well-rounded. The second was the ‘mirror’ form which was well-suited for defense. The third was this ‘bloodlotus’ form which was perfectly suited for slaughter.

The way in which the bloodlotus slaughtered was different from that of ordinary weapons.

“These goldstar beads…although they were formed from valuable materials, the crystals that form from the energy left over after stars perish, it is the Nine Chaos Seals which gives them their true power and makes them truly valuable.” Ning understood this. The reason why he became more attuned to fate and could even sense that distant place of endless slaughter was because of these Nine Chaos Seals.

“Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Sword Formation’ was derived from the seventh chaos seal. No wonder it is known as the number one killing formation of the Three Realms.”

Ning stared at the bloodlotus flowers. His heart was filled with bellowing rage and murder, but he also felt strange, unnatural calm that he had never felt before.

“Hm?” As he was absorbed in the special mental state that came with controlling the bloodlotus flowers, Ning could suddenly sense something special happening within his divine body. His divine body was absolutely perfect and flawless, with every single cell in his body being completely without blemishes. However…right now, Ning could vaguely sense that every single part of his body was filled with desire. An extremely powerful desire.

It was…as though his body was starving.

This sensation was very vague, and Ning could just barely feel it. But suddenly, a thought entered Ning’s mind. He murmured softly, “It is said in the [Solitary World God] that one needs to find a spark of inspiration from your own body in the midst of solitude. If you find it, you’ll be able to step into the True God level.”

“It seems that my body was ready long ago. It has been starving…but in the past, I simply couldn’t sense it. I had no idea as to what I should do.”

“But now…I’ve found it.”

“I’ve found that spark.”

Ning revealed a smile as he softly said these words to himself.

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Chapter 1 – Becoming a True God

Book 22, True God, Chapter 1 – Becoming a True God

Ji Ning opened his eyes and looked at the beautiful bloodlotus flowers hovering in the air around him. Although their baleful aura filled the entire region, the aura was unable to disguise their beauty. Ning almost felt as though he could see a dazzlingly beautiful woman surrounded by that sea of blood. The woman’s face was the face of the woman he wished to see the most. She silently stood there, amidst the bloodlotus flowers, smiling at him.

“Senior apprentice-sister…”

Ning gently murmured these words to himself. He was silent for a moment, then waved his hand and took back the bloodlotus flowers.

Then, Ning sat down in the lotus position and began to train in the [Solitary World God].

Stillness.

His heartrate began to slow down; in fact, it very nearly stopped. His blood flow began to stop as well. Ning just sat there, seeming to have become a solitary, withered tree. However, his senses were more acute than ever before.

“My divine body…” Ning traced the sensations of starvation back to its source, finding the sense of hunger that permeated his entire body.

“There we go.”

“Time to begin.”

Ning immediately initiated the technique for making the breakthrough.

“Let the Dao of the Sword serve as the core.” Instantly, the divine power that permeated every single cell in Ning’s body began to change, transforming into countless tiny swords. Every single drip of divine power was in the shape of a sword, making it as though Ning’s entire body was composed of countless tiny swords. Every single tiny sword embodied the essence of a Grand Dao, the Dao of the Sword.

When breaking through to become a True God, an Elder God, or a World God, there was one thing in common that was needed: A specific Dao had to be used as the core.

Two identical sets of rocks. If one’s construction techniques were poor, they would result in a flimsy, easily destroyed building. But if one’s construction techniques were good, they would result in a building that would last for thousands of year.

The principle was the same. If one wished to build a powerful divine body, one needed to use absolutely brilliant techniques. The trick here lay in the Dao that was used for the core.

Take Ning, for example; as an Empyrean God, his divine body had reached the level of perfection long ago. He wasn’t able to make any further improvements whatsoever. However, to step into the higher realm of True Gods, he first had to have sufficiently pure divine power. His divine power had to more than a hundred times more pure than that of an ordinary Empyrean God, which meant that he would have to change even the core Dao which was the source of his divine power. When Ning had become an Empyrean God, his core Dao had been the Dao of Rainwater. Now, for the sake of breaking through to become a True God, Ning chose to use the Dao of the Sword as his core.

In in the Three Realms, it was believed that there actually weren’t any ‘taboo’ Daos that could not be used as the core. Upon mastering a specific Heavenly Dao, one would generally use that Heavenly Dao as the core for becoming a Daofather.

However…

The techniques passed down by World God Northrest included many details notes within them.

With each breakthrough to a new realm, the divine body would be remade anew and perfected. The core Daos used each time should not be contradictory ones! For example, if he had become an Empyrean God through using the Dao of the Inferno as his core, then when he became a True God he shouldn’t use the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop. If he did, the two Daos would interfere with each other. He would still be able to become a True God, but he would never have any chance of becoming an Elder God again.

In the Three Realms, becoming a True God through cultivation was considered the apex of power; they naturally wouldn’t care about such a thing.

However, some of the high-level cultivators within the endless primordial chaos had set their sights on greater heights. They learned from the wisdom of their elders, and so also set down rules of their own to ensure their successors would know which choices were taboo. For example, the Daos that you chose for making your breakthrough absolutely could not be Daos that repelled each other! Once that happened, the divine body would have an unstable foundation and it wouldn’t be able to advance much further.

The element of water and the Dao of the Sword, however…one was an elemental Dao, while the other was an attacking Dao; there were no contradictions at all. Thus, there wouldn’t be any issues caused by choosing the two.

If both Daos were elemental Daos, such as the Daos of Fire, Water, Metal, Earth, and Wood, there would be contradictions. The only question would be how serious the contradictions were.

If both Daos were attacking Daos, such as the Daos of the Sword, the Saber, etc., there would also be contradictions.

If the contradictions were minor, one would still eventually be able to become an Elder God, but becoming a World God would be much more difficult.

If the contradictions were major, with the Daos being opposite-aligned, then even becoming an Elder God would be extremely difficult. As for becoming a World God, there would be no hope of that at all.

In the primordial chaos, this was considered to be secret information. Only people with exalted statuses would be in possession of this knowledge. World God Northrest, for example, knew these things because Vastheaven Palace had an excellent repository of legacies. Ordinary cultivators weren’t in possession of this information. Ning wished to tell his master and the others, but when World God Northrest had transmitted these legacies to Ning, Ning had long ago been forced to swear a lifeblood oath that unless he became a World God, he was not permitted to teach anyone the things which World God Northrest had taught him.

Boom!

Ning activated the technique for making a breakthrough.

Instantly, his divine body gave birth to an incredibly powerful sucking effect that filled the prisonworld. The prisonworld had an enormous formation that was meant to distill the primordial chaos within it into chaos nectar, but as Ning made his breakthrough, his body began to ravenously draw energy from the primordial chaos. This caused the formerly calm primordial chaos within the prisonworld to suddenly become turbulent.

Rumble…

More and more chaos energy was drawn into Ning’s body and converted into divine power.

The Dao of the Sword served as his core, and it transformed the chaos energy into divine power that was far purer than the divine power he had as an Empyrean God. It was the divine power of a True God.

As more and more divine power built up inside Ning’s body, it slowly began to evolve and transform. Every single bit of divine power in his body was transforming.

……

“What’s going on?”

“Why can’t I draw any more divine power? The prisonworld’s formation is constantly leeching energy from the primordial chaos, taking away more than 90% of it, but we should still be able to draw power from the remaining amount. But now, I can’t draw any power from it at all.”

“What happened to the primordial chaos? Why did it become so frenzied and turbulent?”

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals imprisoned within the prisonworld, alongside exceptional True Gods and True Immortals who were able to tap the power of primordial chaos such as True God Shiyu, all became puzzled.

“A breakthrough?”

“A Fiendgod Body Refiner has made a breakthrough. By the looks of it, it is at least a breakthrough to the True God level. In fact, it could very well be a breakthrough to the Elder God level.” Upon sensing how frenzied the primordial chaos had become, the prisoners quickly understood what was happening. However, they were quite puzzled. Generally speaking, those with enough potential to make a breakthrough would’ve done so long ago in the outside world. There was no way to even sense the Daos in this world. In the past three chaos cycles, not a single prisoner had made a large breakthrough like this. Who had just broken through?!

Some prisoners quickly thought of the newly arrived Overseer.

“Could it be the Overseer?” True God Shiyu, who had replanted his flower garden within the gorge, couldn’t help but frown.

The Fiendgod Body Refining techniques of the Three Realms generally drew on the power of outside stars. The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], for example, drew from the energy of the Solar Star and the Lunar Star. The other techniques would draw from the Seven Big Dipper Stars or from other star systems and constellations.

Where did the energy of stars come from?

The primordial chaos gave birth to many stars. The energy given off by stars, ‘stellar energy’, was essentially the energy of primordial chaos that had already been converted. This sort of pre-converted energy was naturally easier to absorb. The [Solitary World God], however, was even more profound; when breaking through, one could draw energy straight from the primordial chaos itself.

However, only in the exact moment of the breakthrough would this be possible. It was much like how the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] allowed for the energy of Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire to descend upon its practitioners in the moment of breakthrough. During normal cultivation, however, one needed to slowly, steadily draw upon stellar energy.

The [Solitary World God] was able to absorb all types of stellar energy. It could even absorb energy from the frozen star on which Ning was currently located.

If Ning had some insights into the Dao of Primordial Chaos, then even during normal cultivation he would be able to draw energy from the primordial chaos.

……

A grassy area.

Ning was seated in the lotus position, surrounded by an crater. It was as though he was an enormous meteor that had smashed on the ground and created a crater, but in reality it had been created by the enormous flow of chaos energy that had surged here earlier.

“Whew.”

Ning opened his eyes.

“I’ve changed.” Ning could sense how powerful his body had become. Previously, he was a mere Empyrean God, but thanks to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and the [One True Body] technique he was equivalent to a half-step True God! Now that he had broken through to become an actual True God, he could be considered half a step into the Elder God realm of power.

“In all the Three Realms…”

“The likes of Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha…the likes of Suiren, Shennong, and Fuxi…and even the likes of Daomother Devilhand and Keeper Everwood of the Seamless Gate…they are nothing more than True Gods,” Ning murmured to himself. “I am a True God as well, and I can be considered a half-step Elder God. Finally…I finally have the power I need to change the course of the entire war for the Three Realms.”

The major powers of the three Realms were primarily composed of Daofathers and True Gods.

Three Purities, Tathagata, Suiren, Shennong, Fuxi, Subhuti, Houyi, Daomother Devilhand, Keeper Everwood…all of them were True Gods! True Gods and Daofathers!

The reason why they were able to unleash the overlord level of power and be comparable to Elder Gods in might was primarily because their insights into the Dao were far, far too profound.

Tathagata, for example, had thoroughly mastered all five of the Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. These five Heavenly Daos formed a complementary set known as the Five Elements, joining together to unleash a truly dominating level of force. His insights into the Dao of Primordial Chaos had also reached an inconceivable level! By relying on his insights into the Daos, he was able to unleash a level of power that was comparable to that of Elder Gods.

The same was true for the likes of Fuxi, Shennong, and Suiren; they all had exceedingly high levels of insights into the Daos!

Mastery of the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, mastery of the Heavenly Daos of the Five Elements…all of them had extremely profound levels of insight into the Dao, which was why they were comparable to Elder Gods!

Daofathers could be divided into three levels of power.

Ordinary Daofathers were quite ordinary indeed; they would usually have mastery over one or two of the Heavenly Daos.

Top-tier Daofathers generally held mastery over fifth-stage taiji-force, infiniforce, swordforce, or other types of force.

Overlord-class Daofathers were equivalent to Elder Gods! Firegod Zhurong, Watergod Gonggong, the Ancestor Dragon, the Phoenix, and the other Elder Gods were born with mastery over one Heavenly Dao, and their insights into the Daos were significantly inferior to that of Tathagata and Three Purities. However, thanks to the great power of their divine bodies, they still were overlord-class powers. Alas, some died in the wars for supremacy during the Primordial Era, while others died in the war that ended the Primordial Era.

Nuwa had eventually left.

Fuxi had chosen to reincarnate. He had become a human, but to this very day he had yet to awaken his memories from his past life. He was just a True God and a Daofather, not an Elder God.

A number of the Elder Gods of the Seamless Gate had also died in battle, with the Lord of the Demonheart having fused himself into the Heavenly Daos.

In all the Three Realms…the only true Elder God was the Lord of All Fiends. Him and him alone! The second could be considered Ji Ning…a half-step Elder God!

“My insights into the Dao, compared to the other overlords, are rather lacking. However, my path is the path of swordforce. By relying on my fifth-stage swordforce and my sword-arts which surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos, as well as my half-step Elder God divine body, I should have the power of an overlord Daofather.” Ning had battled against Daomother Devilhand, and so he knew exactly where he ranked in terms of power.

“Seamless Gate. Godking!” Ning’s eyes were filled with a strong, murderous intent. Now that he had become more powerful, his murderous intent had only strengthened even further.

“I’ve changed.”

“The world…shall change as well.”

Ning murmured these words softly to himself, his voice filled with a thick desire to kill.

In the past, he had to wait. Had to endure.

That was only because back then, he wasn’t strong enough yet. But now…he was!

“I won’t rush things. First, I’ll repair the surface layer of Violetjewel. By then, I’ll be even more powerful.” Ning waved his hand, putting away the stone sword-steles and the jade shrine. He then transformed into a black lightning serpent, disappearing into the horizons with a flash as he flew towards the location of the Five Elements Cauldron.

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Chapter 2 – Divine Sword, Violetjewel

Book 22, True God, Chapter 2 – Divine Sword, Violetjewel

Ji Ning descended from the skies, landing next to the Five Elements Cauldron. He turned to look at the ancient stone platform next to it, as well as the the blood-colored sword placed atop it. The sword’s body was still filled with cracks.

“Violetjewel…” Ning stared at the sword for a moment, then waved his hand. Whoosh! A large amount of treasures came flying out of nowhere, every single one emanating astonishingly powerful auras. The treasures almost instantly formed a small mountain in size. These were virtually all of the Protocosmic spirit-treasures Ning had acquired from the hundred-plus True Gods and True Immortals.

And after sweeping through so many True Gods and True Immortals, Ning had also acquired a Chaos treasure. The Chaos treasure was a great warhammer that sparked with countless flickers of lightning.

“So many Protocosmic spirit-treasures…well, no point to having too many of them.” Ning pointed to the distant Five Elements Cauldron. “Activate.”

Rumble…

The Five Elements Cauldron instantly began to emanate an aura of power and might as its handles radiated with five blinding colors of light.

“In you go.” Ning released a thin sliver of sword-attribute divine power that immediately swept all those Protocosmic spirit-treasures up. The sabers, swords, axes, beads…the various Protocosmic spirit-treasures continuously flew into the mouth of the Five Elements Cauldron, which furiously ground them apart and extracted the Five Elements essence from within them. In just ten seconds, Ning had thrown nearly thirty Protocosmic spirit-treasures into the cauldron, transforming them into tiny bits of debris. The amount of Five Elements essence inside the cauldron’s storage region had increased by quite a bit as a result.

The many Protocosmic spirit-treasures flew in, batch by batch.

Any major power of the Three Realms would’ve been terrified by this sight. Ning himself felt pain in his heart as well, but for the sake of repairing Violetjewel…it would all be worth it.

Crackle…hiss…pop…

Sounds of treasures being broken down rang out continuously from within the Five Elements Cauldron. The mountain-sized pile of treasures that had been next to it was shrinking rapidly, at a pace that could be detected with the naked eye. Soon, almost all of the treasures were completely used up.

“So much essence?” Ning looked at the Five Elements Cauldron. The storage region within it now contained an enormous amount of Five Elements essence.

A large amount of debris and rubble flew out from within the mouth of the cauldron. As it flew out, it was merely the size of a sphere that was roughly a few meters in radius, but once it completely exited the cauldron it quickly expanded to become a massive mountain of debris that was thirty thousand meters high. Ning ‘pincered’ the rubbish with his divine power, then gave them a casual toss. Swoosh! The massive pile of debris flew hundreds of kilometers away, and where it landed a giant mountain was born.

“Let’s see if it works, this time. Based on my previous experiences…this amount of essence should be enough.” Ning turned to look at the blood-colored sword atop the stone dais. Swoosh! The sword instantly flew into the air and came to hover in front of Ning.

“Emerge.” Ning pointed at the sword.

Five streams of colored energy surged out from the Five Elements Cauldron; the gold of Metal, the blue of Water, the green of Wood, the crimson of Fire, and the black of Earth. They swirled around the blood-colored sword in circles, and Violetjewel instantly began to shudder. It was like a starving beggar who had suddenly encountered a scrumptious feast. It instantly began to furiously devour the ‘food’ surrounding it. The five streams of energy completely surrounded it, but one could still vaguely see that the surface of the blood-colored sword was slowly beginning to heal. Some cracks were visibly growing smaller and smaller before disappearing entirely.

Time slowly passed.

More and more of the energy streams flowed out of the cauldron and into Violetjewel. The speed at which the sword was being repaired at was noticeably much faster now than when Ning had been using Pure Yang treasures.

It spend more than two hours swallowing the energy of the Five Elements essence before the cauldron finally ran empty.

“Eh?!” Ning stared at the beautiful blood-colored sword hovering in the air, a slight frown on his face. The sword was breathtakingly, terrifyingly beautiful, but two tiny cracks could still be seen on the body of this beautiful sword. These two were the two final cracks that remained.

“It actually isn’t repaired yet.” Ning frowned. “What should I do? I’ve used up almost all the Pure Yang treasures and Protocosmic spirit-treasures. I only have a single Chaos treasure that I don’t need, but there’s a limit to how strong this cauldron is. It wouldn’t necessarily be able to destroy a Chaos treasure,” Ning mused to himself.

The Five Elements Cauldron was just a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. It would be extremely difficult for the cauldron to destroy a Chaos treasure and extract essence from it.

“Oh, right.” Ning suddenly thought of another treasure. With but a thought, he instantly caused an ape-shaped golem to appear in the air. It was the Envoy of All Things.

“The critical components to this Envoy are all destroyed. There’s no point keeping it around. The Seamless Gate paid an enormous price to create each of these Envoys; when a Daofather is in command of them, they are all capable of unleashing power close to that of an overlord-class figure. This treasure is far more useful than a Chaos treasure, and it is made from more valuable materials as well.” Ning secretly nodded to himself. “It has to have a great deal of Five Elements essence within it.”

Although the Envoy was powerful, the physical makeup of the Envoy itself was merely comparable to top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. For such an enormous, powerful golem to reach the Chaos treasure level in its entirety was far too difficult.

“Go.” Not hesitating at all, Ning threw the Envoy into the Five Elements Cauldron as well.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The Envoy instantly began to be ground apart. It was extremely hard to forcibly break apart a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure, but the Five Elements Cauldron was able to accomplish it easily. It operated on the basis of principles that were completely antithetical to the existence of treasures such as the Envoy! After a long while, the entire Envoy had been completely harvested. Nothing was left but some debris, with a large amount of Five Elements essence having been extracted.

“A single Envoy contains far more essence than a hundred Protocosmic spirit-treasures. No wonder the Seamless Gate, despite all of its vast resources, was only able to produce a few of them.” Ning’s eyes lit up. He immediately guided the extracted Five Elements essence outwards, sending those five streaks of energy to once more swirl around Violetjewel.

Rumble!

Violetjewel began to emit a ringing soon as it quickly absorbed the Five Elements essence. Ning carefully stared at those two small cracks, watching as they quickly shrank in size and depth, then completely disappeared. Next, some of the shattered rune-lines on the inside of Violetjewel began to be repaired as well. However, repairing the internal structure of Violetjewel was far more difficult.

A short while later, all of the Five Elements essence was used up. The amount of internal damage that had been repaired, however, was almost negligible.

“World God Northrest’s words were correct.” Ning sighed softly. “Repairing the surface layer is easy, but repairing the internal damage…it’ll be thousands of times more difficult.”

“Fortunately, the most critical and precious part of the sword, its core, remains perfectly intact. Even though my sacrifice of the Envoy and all those treasures only allowed me to repair the surface layer, the sword can still once more unleash some of its true power.” Ning stretched his hand out and the blood-colored sword fell into his hands.

As soon as the blood-colored sword entered Ning’s hands, he could sense the inconceivable power held within it.

However, because the internal structure of the sword was badly damaged, only a portion of its full power could be unleashed at present.

“What a terrifying sword.”

Ning gently swung the sword.

Whoosh.

The space in front of him split apart, creating a tear in space that stretched out to ten thousand kilometers.

“Although only part of its power is usable, it’s still terrifyingly strong. Thanks to this sword, in all the Three Realms my offensive attack power is most likely number one. Only Keeper Everwood, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, and a few others who are extremely skilled in defense would be able to withstand a head-on blow from me,” Ning murmured softly to himself. The existence of this sword made a huge difference to him in terms of power.

Without this sword, Ning was still an overlord-class figure, comparable to an Elder God…but with it, he stood at the very peak of power, even amongst overlords! As for exactly who was stronger and who was weaker, that was a question that could only be settled through actual combat. It had been a long time since the war that had ended the Primordial Era, after all; no one knew exactly how much stronger the major powers on each side had become. Perhaps there were other figures who were hiding their true power as well.

For example, Buddha Jueming of the Buddhist Sangha. He had also trained in the [Solitary World God], and also had the [Nine Elements Destruction]. Ning believed that after so many years of training in it, Buddha Jueming had to have become an extraordinary figure as well. However, Buddha Jueming remained very low-key in the Three Realms, which was why most major powers viewed him as being just an ordinary True God or Daofather.

“It is important to be cautious at a time like this.”

“It’s best if I avoid using Violetjewel, but if I’m forced to use it, I’ll need to ensure that it has a tremendous effect.” Ning knew very well that unleashing his trump card in a sudden, explosive manner would make it extraordinarily effective. If Violetjewel was to make an appearance, he wanted to make sure that the major powers of the Seamless Gate would lose their lives as a result.

“Come here.” Ning willed it, and the blood-colored sword immediately flew into his body, resting itself within the Jindan region inside of him.

“Now, it’s time to go deal with True God Shiyu.” Ning wanted to acquire the Heavengazer Tower very badly. The thing he needed the most right now was time. If he was able to master a Heavenly Dao, he would have a chance of becoming an Ancestral Immortal or Elder God!

Swish. A Darknorth sword appeared in Ning’s hands.

There were a total of six Darknorth swords. During his recent battles, he had encountered some True Gods and True Immortals who would rather die than bend the knee to him. Ning had shown them no mercy at all and slain them, allowing all six of his Darknorth swords to be upgraded to the Chaos treasure level. However, according to how World God Northrest ranked things, Ning’s six Darknorth swords could only be considered standard-grade Chaos treasures.

Chaos treasures, according to the records which World God Northrest had given Ning, could be divided into standard-grade, high-grade, and top-grade treasures.

“Against True God Shiyu, the Darknorth swords will be enough.” Darknorth sword in hand, Ning transformed into a black lightning serpent that disappeared into the horizons.

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Chapter 3 – A Single Sword

Book 22, True God, Chapter 3 – A Single Sword

Within the mountain gorge.

A silver-haired man was standing amidst a garden of flowers. He gently plucked a flower, lowering his head to smell its fragrance. His face, however, remained a bit gloomy and downcast.

“Overseer…” The silver-haired man murmured these words to himself. “Is it him?”

The earlier turbulence in the primordial chaos…True God Shiyu had also come to the conclusion that it had most likely been someone breaking through to become a True God or perhaps Elder God! The prisoners, however, had been trapped in the prisonworld for far too long; if they had any breakthroughs to make, they would’ve made them long ago. The chances for one of the prisoners to make a breakthrough was far, far too low. Thus, the most likely answer was that it was the alien Overseer who had been lucky enough to stumble across the prisonworld who had made the breakthrough.

“That alien is extraordinarily powerful. If he really did make a breakthrough…things will be rather troublesome.” The silver-haired man’s face was troubled. “He’s the Overseer, after all; he surely has many treasures on him. Although my defensive skills are formidable, I won’t be able to outlast him in a battle of stamina.”

His only option was to slowly draw energy from the primordial chaos inside the prisonworld. The prisonworld had an enormous formation in it that was monopolizing the vast majority of the primordial chaos, distilling it into chaos nectar. Thus, the amount which he could make use of was quite miniscule. The Overseer, however, was able to replenish his strength from the outside world. This alone guaranteed that he wouldn’t be able to match the Overseer in a battle of stamina.

“Eh?” True God Shiyu suddenly turned his head.

A black lightning serpent had appeared in the distance. With a flash, it appeared in the air above the gorge. It was that white-robed youth, and he was wielding a black sword in his hand. The white-robed youth descended from the skies, landing on the ground. His aura was extremely ordinary, almost like that of a mortal’s, but True God Shiyu’s face turned solemn as he looked at the youth. True God Shiyu then let out a cold laugh. “It hasn’t been that long since our last fight, but you’ve come again. It seems that it really was you who made the breakthrough just now.”

“It was.” Ning walked towards him, Darknorth sword in hand.

“So what if you did? Last time, I was able to easily defend against you without using any divine abilities at all. Even if an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal came, I’d still be able to hold out, much less against you.” True God Shiyu stared coldly at Ning. He remained quite prideful. Back when he had lived in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, he had been able to survive multiple fights against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals and escape unscathed.

“You being strong…that’s what makes it fun.” Ning smiled as he stepped forward, a single sword in hand.

True God Shiyu manifested a cudgel in each of his two hands, staring solemnly at Ning as he approached. Suddenly, Ning transformed into a streak of light, his aura increasing by an explosive amount. When he struck out with his sword, it was as though he was Pangu cleaving apart Heaven and Earth. His massive black sword seemed to cause the world itself to begin to crumble as it went smashing towards True God Shiyu with irresistible power.

“Hmph.” True God Shiyu’s twin cudgels spun in two distinct lines, coming together to vaguely form a gigantic Taiji diagram which he used to defend against that terrifying sword-blow.

BOOM!!!!

Ning’s sword was like Pangu’s axe, chopping down against the two crossed cudgels. True God Shiyu was immediately smashed flying backwards, and even the ground beneath his feet was shattered. A massive gouge appeared in the ground, and the nearby flowers were all instantly crushed into dust by the shockwave. Even the distant mountains began to tremble and crack apart.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker stance!

“Your sword-art has improved, compared to last time.” True God Shiyu stood within that massive crater, looking back at Ning. “It’s only been a short while, but not only has your divine body become far more powerful, even your sword-arts have improved.”

What he didn’t know was that Ning had spent six hundred years training in Undermoon Lake, engaged in multiple life-and-death battles in the outside world, then even more battles in the prisonworld. These battles had been like a whetstone that had continuously served to polish and sharpen Ji Ning’s skills. It was only natural that his sword-arts continued to improve at a dramatic rate.

“And your cudgel-arts remain as mysterious and profound as ever.” Ning stood in front of him, still wielding just a single sword. With a flicker, he charged towards True God Shiyu once more, causing a dazzling crescent moon of sword-light to suddenly flash.

Faced with this beautiful crescent of sword-light, True God Shiyu’s face turned even more solemn. Twin cudgels in his hands, he hurriedly strove to block against this dazzling strike.

Thud!

In the end, the sword-strike was dodged. True God Shiyu, however, didn’t dare to relax in the slightest, because Ning’s next sword-strike was now arriving. Sword-light flashed again, and it was as though the dazzling sun in the skies had suddenly been covered by dark stormclouds, casting the world in shadow. True God Shiyu felt as though this terrifying strike had cast him into a nightmarish world.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Every single attack Ning now used was the ‘Shadowless’ stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art. It had always been unpredictable and fast, but now that it was being unleashed by someone who was a half-step Elder God, it became even faster and even more astonishingly powerful. It was already a sword-art that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Thus now, although it was just slightly faster than before, it instantly became much more difficult to block than it had been in the past.

“I hate this type of sword-art the most.” True God Shiyu hurriedly blocked three sword-strikes before he was forced to use a divine ability to manifest four more arms. Each of his six arms now held a cudgel as he hurriedly strove to block.

Ning continued to merely use a single sword. This single sword, however, was incredibly taxing for True God Shiyu to defend against! “Where the hell did he learn a sword-art like this that surpasses the Heavenly Daos?” True God Shiyu ground his teeth. “He has such a powerful body, and his sword-arts are absolutely marvelous. How the hell did he luck out into learning something that surpasses the Heavenly Daos?!” If this sword-art hadn’t surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, it would have been much easier for True God Shiyu to defend against them. Instead, True God Shiyu now found it hard to defend against Ning’s single sword, even when he was using six cudgels to fight back.

The Shadowless stance…it was ephemeral and unpredictable, and it moved faster than lightning.

In terms of raw, overwhelming power, the most formidable strike was the ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance.

In terms of an assassin’s strike that focused on instant, sudden speed, the most formidable strike was the ‘Blood Drop’ stance.

Ning’s sword-arts continuously fluctuated between forms, with his Shadowless stance continuing to shock and unnerve True God Shiyu, putting him in a bad position. His sword-art were simply far too unpredictable and strange. The ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance relied on raw power, and each time Ning used it he was able to send True God Shiyu flying away. The Blood Drop stance was an assassin’s strike that was the most penetrative attack of all; each time Ning unleashed it, True God Shiyu could feel his entire body turning cold.

Last time, it had been fairly easy for him to defend against the Blood Drop stance, since it was a straightforward attack with few transformations to it; it focused mostly on speed. Now, however, Ning’s speed had become so incredibly fast that even though it was straightforward, it was still so hard to block as to cause True God Shiyu’s heart to tremble. If it was just a hair faster, he probably wouldn’t be able to block at all; the sword would go straight through his head and kill him.

“I admit defeat.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Ning was stunned.

True God Shiyu retreated backwards by a considerable distance. He stared at Ning, a look of helplessness and resentment in his eyes.

“Admit defeat?” Ning was a bit speechless. Although his main goal was to acquire the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance, True God Shiyu was an excellently skilled foe. Such a foe was not easy to find! He had actually been able to resist more than ten sword-strikes from Ning, who had been using the three main attacking stances of [Brightmoon]. This was truly incredible, as even Ning believed himself to have reached the overlord level of power.

Ning truly treasured the chance to fight against such a formidable foe. After all, at present Ning didn’t have any plans to fight against Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals.

The entire prisonworld only had a total of sixteen imprisoned Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals! All sixteen of them had foundations that were superior to his, and they surely had far greater insights into the Dao as well. The True Gods and True Immortals here couldn’t be compared to them. Most likely, Ning wouldn’t necessarily be a match for them even when simply comparing offensive attacks.

For example, although Ning had fifth-stage swordforce and attack speed that surpassed the Heavenly Daos, True God Shiyu had mastered and merged fifth-stage taiji-force and infiniforce. Although True God Shiyu’s body was a bit weaker, he was still able to hold out against Ning for quite a long period of time.

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would most likely have an even higher level of attainment in the Dao.

They had a stronger foundation and more insights into the Dao. The only advantage Ning had was Violetjewel, which gave him some degree of confidence in being able to retreat safely. However, it was also quite possible that the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had some special tricks up their sleeves as well. Their bodies and Jindans were all equivalent to that of the Lord of All Fiends, after all! Individuals at this level of power couldn’t be judged according to common standards. Even in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, they were second only to those three World Gods.

The techniques of Pangaea were somewhat more advanced than the techniques of the Three Realms as well. What abilities did these sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had? Nint wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t confident in fighting them. If his true body was killed in battle, rebuilding it would be no easy task. This was because Ning’s ‘spare’ clone had also become a True God as well.

When one clone advanced to a new stage, all other clones would make the same breakthrough. This was one of the hidden laws which governed the world. When the breakthrough was made, the primordial chaos would be agitated as it voluntarily sent its power into the bodies of the clones. Thus, the ‘spare’ clone was also filled with the power of primordial chaos, and also became a True God.

To remake seventeen True God bodies would require an exceedingly long period of time.

“Yes. I admit defeat. Last time, I was easily able to defend against you, even when you were in your three-headed, six-armed form.” True God Shiyu shook his head. “Now, I’m using six arms of my own, but you are able to push me back so easily with just a single sword. I’m exhausted. I can sense that if you send a few more sword-strikes my way, I will definitely lose. You’ve improved your sword-arts so quickly, and its speed surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Daos. I’m thoroughly convinced by my defeat and of your superiority. I can give you my three Chaos treasures…but I hope in the future you will give me my freedom when you have the power to do so.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

In the future, he would have to follow his lifeblood oath and leave the Three Realms, as Mother Nuwa had done before him. He would enter the primordial chaos and search for Vastheaven Palace. If he had the power to release the prisoners of the prisonworld by then, he would do so.

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Chapter 4 – The Crescent World

Book 22, True God, Chapter 4 – The Crescent World

True God Shiyu was highly skilled in defensive techniques and fleeing maneuvers, precisely because he was someone who valued his own life dearly. He obediently bent the knee and submitted.

Ji Ning soulscoured him, took his three Chaos treasures, then left.

“He was so astonishingly powerful and dazzling, even amongst True Gods and True Immortals. As expected, there were some marvelous reasons for that.” After soulscouring him, Ning had learned that True God Shiyu had once acquired the legacy of a deceased World God along with four Chaos treasures. The Heavengazer Tower of Radiance was one of the four. True God Shiyu had traded two of the other Chaos treasures for a ‘Darkwind Skysplitter Cudgel’. His possession of this cudgel was an important part of the reason why he was able to fight back against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals despite being a mere True Immortal.

True God Shiyu had learned powerful divine abilities from that legacy, but alas, all of those divine abilities were sealed with a lifeblood oath. Not even soulscouring him had allowed Ning to acquire them.

Ning had searched through the memories of many True Gods and True Immortals by now. Each of them had experienced special encounters which had allowed them to reach this level of power.

Whoosh. Ning landed atop a mountain. He waved his hand, producing a small tower before him.

The tower was completely silvery-white in color, and it was covered with a faint aura of golden light. The tower was shaped just like a pyramid. Ning held the small tower up with one hand, sending his senses inside of it. He could sense that spacetime within the tower was rather chaotic. Normally, spacetime should be extremely stable and hard to disrupt. Daofather Subhuti was capable of affecting spacetime, and this little tower was also capable of it.

“Bind.” Ning immediately sent his divine power into the tower, binding this Chaos treasure. As he bound it, he immediately made it suppress its aura. It became quite unremarkable to behold, no longer emitting any golden light at all.

Before being bound, a treasure would generally emit an aura of power. After being bound, everything was up to the desire of the treasure’s owner. It would be very easy to change its appearance.

“In I go.” Ning willed himself inside. He disappeared from the mountain. The only thing left was the pyramid-shaped tower, levitating in the air at the peak.

“Eh?” Ning looked at his surroundings. This was a region that merely had a perimeter of three hundred meters. The region was pyramid-shaped and seemed extremely stable, but the flow of time was clearly quite different inside here.

“How strange.” Ning raised his head to look at the pyramid-shaped region he was in. At the very tip of the pyramid, circles of dim light could be seen where spacetime was rippling faintly. These dim circles of light could be also be seen at each of the four corners of the pyramid. Ning’s divine power filled the entire tower, and thus he could use it to ‘see’ the many divine runes that were constantly flowing through the insides of the tower.

“It has changed spacetime, and in an extremely stable manner.” Ning sighed softly in amazement. “Although Mother Nuwa was able to do this, that was only with a grand formation. In addition, it was only possible in a set location that couldn’t be moved. This Chaos treasure, however…the person who created the Heavengazer Tower was most likely even more formidable than Mother Nuwa, the creator of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. But of course, Mother Nuwa entered the primordial chaos long ago. I imagine she’s even more formidable now than she was in the past.”

“Ten times.”

Ning’s thoughts and memories were linked to his clones in the outside world. He could thus naturally sense how much more quickly time was progressing within the tower. The difference was quite obvious.

“Time to speed up the flow of time.” Ning immediately began to test out the process of further speeding up time. His Immortal energy began to rapidly deplete, and the flow of time began to speed up as well, going from ten times to twenty times, then thirty times. His energy began to deplete more and more rapidly as the tower’s energy consumption began to skyrocket.

“At twenty times the normal rate of time, I use up energy at the same rate as I replenish it.”

“Thirty times the normal rate of time starts to take a bit of effort.”

“Forty times…I can still handle it.”

“Fifty times…getting difficult!”

Ning came to a halt after increasing the flow of speed to fifty times that of the outside world. He smiled. “My true body and my Primaltwin are both inside the tower; this places a major burden on it. However, when my true body is outside battling, I can have my Primaltwin calmly spend its time meditating in the tower. That’ll be ideal.”

The white-robed Ning immediately left the Heavengazer Tower, leaving behind only the black-robed Ning.

“Maintaining fifty times the normal flow of time…I’m still using up a lot of energy, but it’s much easier now than before.”

“Sixty times…the energy usage is getting fast again.”

“Seventy times…”

“A hundred times…this is getting difficult.”

“Two hundred times…energy is being used up way too fast.”

“Three hundred times…the amount of energy being used up is astonishing.”

For the sake of getting a better sense of how much energy would be used, Ning continued to furiously increase the flow of time.

Four hundred times! Five hundred times! Six hundred times! A thousand times!

At a thousand times the normal flow of time, half of his energy was consumed in an instant. Shocked, Ning finally came to a halt.

“There’s a limit to how much the Heavengazer Tower can speed up the flow of time.” Thanks to his control over this treasure, Ning could tell that there was a limit to its power. He nodded to himself. “According to what I just sensed…a thousand times should be that limit. However, I can only maintain that speed for two seconds. Training requires time. I need to at least be able to train for a hundred years worth of time in the outside world. A hundred years of time in the outside world translates into thousands or tens of thousands of years within the tower. If I use up energy too quickly, no amount of spirit-pills will suffice.”

He spent a few moments calculating and pondering. In the end, given that the Endwar was looming, Ning decided to take the risk of maintaining a flow of time that was a hundred times that of the outside world’s!

“I’ll need to prepare some extra Great Firmament Immortal pills to stay at this speed for an extended period of time. It’s now time to return to the Three Realms.” The white-robed Ning put the tower away, then left the prisonworld.

The Primaltwin remained inside the tower. It needed to spend time meditating on the Dao!

Ning’s goal was to master an entire Heavenly Dao! He could only do this upon returning to the Three Realms. There was no way to meditate on other Daos when within the endless primordial chaos. Upon mastering a Heavenly Dao, Ning would have a chance of becoming an Ancestral Immortal or an Elder God. His power would definitely surpass that of an overlord-class Daofather by then!

However, Ning didn’t dare to feel too confident. The Lord of All Fiends was an Elder God himself! He had been able to escape from the clutches of Mother Nuwa, who had broken through to become a World God, and he was the person who worried Ning the most. In addition, more than half a chaos cycle had gone by since the end of the Primordial Era. That was enough time for a minor figure to become a mighty one! How powerful were the two alliances? Hard to say. Things would only be made clear when the Endwar came.

And…what was the cause of this great war?

It was still a mystery!

Although he already stood at the very peak of power in the Three Realms, Ning still wished to reach even higher heights.

Within the endless Void.

Ning appeared out of nowhere. He stared at the distant Solar Star, blazing with seemingly infinite heat, then gave the icy Lunar Star a glance as well.

“The Three Realms.” Ning murmured softly to himself, then took out a message talisman and filled it with his Immortal energy, notifying his master of his arrival.

“Disciple.” Subhuti’s voice echoed within the empty space around him.

“Master, I wish to return to the Crescent world,” Ning said.

“Very well.” Instantly, a spatial whirlpool appeared in the empty space around him. Ning gave the spatial whirlpool a hard look. He could now vaguely sense that aside from changing space, this whirlpool also made slight alterations to time. The Crescent world didn’t exist in the same temporal dimension as the rest of the major worlds of the Three Realms, which was why the other major powers had no way of finding it at all.

Ning stepped into the spatial vortex and disappeared from the Void.

Blue skies and white clouds greeted his arrival.

Ning appeared in the middle of the air. “Eh?” Ning glanced downwards with surprise, seeing a beautiful island off in the distance.

“Master actually led me here?” Ning was quite surprised, as he thought that the whirlpool would’ve led straight to Mount Innerheart.

“Eh? Uncle White. Little Qing. And…my daughter Brightmoon? All of them are on the island?” Ning became even more surprised. His ‘spare’ Primaltwin clone was still by his daughter’s side, albeit quietly hidden. It wouldn’t make an appearance unless his daughter was in grave danger. Upon arriving, Ning could sense that his Primaltwin was right at that island. Clearly, his daughter, Little Qing, and Uncle White were there as well.

“She’s already a Celestial Immortal. Why is she staying on this island?”

“In the past, Master always brought me directly to Mount Innerheart. Why has he brought me here, this time?” Ning felt quite curious, but he still flew downwards. As he moved closer to the island, he could sense his heart clench involuntarily. Ning gave the beautiful island a closer look, and as he did his face blanched as though he had seen something terrifying.

“This formation…it’s so mysterious, but even the tiny bit of it that I can sense is utterly terrifying.” Ning felt dread in his heart. He was already an overlord-class figure, but he could still feel a vague sense of danger emanating from this island.

“Disciple, come in.” Subhuti’s voice suddenly rang out.

“Yes.” Ning quickly landed. Although this island held a terrifying formation within it, the formation didn’t act to impede him at all. Ning was able to easily and safely land on the sandy beaches, and as he did he immediately saw a distant group of Immortals flying around in the skies above the island. He also saw a number of linked palaces that radiated mighty auras.

“Isn’t that the Carefree Immortal Palace of Exalted Celestial Carefree? That’s a top-grade Protocosmic estate-treasure.”

“And…that’s the Three Realms Dragonrover Ark of Daofather Snowdragon?”

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Chapter 5 – A Change in the Three Realms

Book 22, True God, Chapter 5 – A Change in the Three Realms

As a half-step Elder God, Ji Ning possessed incredibly sharp vision. When he swept the island with his gaze, he saw many Immortal palaces, flying arks, and mazes that were extremely famous in the Three Realms. Many were treasures belonging to True Gods and Daofathers, and all of them possessed extremely powerful defenses.

“Junior apprentice-sister, look, that’s Sword Immortal Darknorth.”

“So he is Ji Ning?”

“I heard Father say that Sword Immortal Darknorth’s sword-arts are absolutely astonishing. In fact, his sword-arts are the best sword-arts of the Three Realms, and he’s just as powerful as Father is.”

“Best in the Three Realms? That’s a bit exaggerated, isn’t it? He’s simply mastered the [Five Treasures]; his swordforce is still merely at the fourth stage. His true body has been wiped out by the Seamless Gate as well. When he was using the Envoy, he was perhaps comparable to Master, but I heard that the Envoy’s been ruined. With his true body lost as well…he surely is much weaker than Master now. He was born at the wrong time. If he was given another ten thousand years, he would probably be far more powerful than he is now.”

“Look. That’s Ji Ning over there.”

“Sword Immortal Darknorth?”

“Such a pity. I heard that he was ambushed by the Seamless Gate.”

“The killer was Swordfather Darklight…supposedly, he was killed by Houyi afterwards. Houyi truly is incredible. He didn’t even use his arrows; he just used a single blow from his hatchet to kill Swordfather Darklight.”

“My senior apprentice-sister told me that Ji Ning’s talent is absolutely incredible. He’s no less talented than Houyi.”

“Perhaps. But for now, there’s no way that Ji Ning can be compared to Houyi; the difference in power is simply too great. If his true body was still alive, then after a few million years he would perhaps be a match for Houyi. Now, however…there’s no hope of it happening.”

“A pity.”

The island wasn’t that large, just a few hundred thousand kilometers in size. Given how many Immortals were present, quite a few noticed as soon as Ning arrived on the island. All of them felt pity for Ning. They all felt that Ning had been born at the wrong time! He was born with utterly astonishing talent, but alas he had been born just a little too late.

“What’s going on? So many treasures have appeared here, and the secret formation protecting this island is utterly terrifying…” Ning’s heart was filled with questions. “And these Immortals…there are even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals here, many of whom are the descendants and progency of major powers.”

“Come over here.” A mental message was sent to him.

Ning turned to look in towards the direction from which the message had come. His eyes were filled with torch-light, and he was able to see a seemingly ordinary Daoist monastery looked far off in the distance.

“Master?” Ning was truly stunned now. This was the monastery which Patriarch Subhuti lived in. It had been located on Mount Innerheart for countless years. Why did it now appear atop this island?

Swoosh. Ning immediately flew a hundred thousand kilometers before landing before the monastery.

“Uncle-master.” Standing at the entrance of the monastery were the two Dao-novices, Clearwater and Whiteriver. Both of them called out quite respectfully, and their eyes were filled with curiosity and admiration as they stared at Ning.

Ning relaxed slightly upon seeing these two ‘children’. Their presence meant that everything should be fine. Ning immediately strode into the monastery.

Soon, he saw the white-haired Patriarch Subhuti seated on the ground in the distance.

“Master.” Ning immediately walked towards him, then respectfully knelt on the ground.

“Sit.” Subhuti smiled as he looked at Ning.

Ning sat down in the lotus position as he looked at his master.

“Aren’t you curious?” Subhuti looked at Ning.

“Of course I am.” Ning nodded. “The Crescent world…in the past, this island didn’t exist. Now, it suddenly has appeared out of nowhere, and has such a terrifying formation protecting it! The estate-treasures, palaces, and flying arks of many major powers are here as well, as well as many of their disciples and progeny. And you, Master…you actually moved your own monastery here as well!”

“Master, can it be that the major powers of the Three Realms are using this place as their refuge?” Ning frowned.

Subhuti nodded. “This place has indeed become a place of refuge.”

Ning felt an uneasy feeling in his heart.

“Master, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, the Primordial Imperial Clan…they each have their own abilities. It shouldn’t be hard for them to protect their disciples and progeny. Why is it that they’ve all been moved over to the Crescent world?” Ning hurriedly asked, “Has the war taken a turn for the worse?”

“It has indeed, but we are doing this just to prepare for the worst,” Subhuti said.

“It really has taken a turn for the worse?” Ning was shocked. He had only spent six years in the prisonworld. How could such drastic changes have occurred in the outside world?

“What’s going on?” Ning immediately asked.

“Listen to me carefully,” Subhuti said. “When the Seamless Gate ambushed you, we negotiated with them and agreed that they were no longer to use Envoys in the war for karmic luck, while you were not to participate either. After the negotiations, the Realmwars began once more, and everything proceeded as we expected. However, half a year ago…”

Ning was secretly shocked. Something unexpected had happened half a year ago?”

“Half a year ago, Daoist Three Purities could sense that given how ferocious the war for karmic luck had become, as soon as it ended the Endwar would immediately begin! Aside from our two sides, there are two other forces that we have to reckon with. If they aren’t dealt with, then it is very possible that those two forces will take advantage of our conflict to become the final winner.”

“Two other forces?” Ning was stunned.

“The first is Old Man Yuan’s forces,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “The Four Ancestors of the River Source aren’t that powerful; before the Endwar begins, they will have to choose to join one side or another. In truth, they aren’t powerful enough to try and take advantage of the war to become the final victor.”

“The second, however…is the Primordial Ruinworld!” Patriarch Subhuti had a solemn look on his face.

Ning was suddenly jolted.

The Primordial Ruinworld?

Right.

The Primordial Ruinworld! He had been so focused on the Seamless Gate that he had nearly forgotten the Primordial Ruinworld. When he had been exiled into the Nihilum Zone, he had suffered attacks from the Snaphorn world of the Primordial Ruinworld. In the end, it had been his master Subhuti who had intervened to rescue him and wipe out those three Queen Mothers. The Snaphorn world was just a weak power in the Primordial Ruinworld; if the entire Ruinworld rose up together, they would constitute a terrifyingly powerful force! Not even True Gods or Daofathers would dare to casually enter the Primordial Ruinworld; they could very well die if they did!

“The Primordial Ruinworld is far more powerful than the Four Ancestors of the River Source,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “After the war that ended the Primordial Era, Mother Nuwa drove all of those alien Outsiders into the harsh environment of the Primordial Ruinworld.”

Ning nodded. The Primordial Ruinworld’s environment was indeed harsh and inhospitable. Both space and time were scrambled there. The environment itself was quite deadly; ordinary True Gods and Daofathers could easily die if they encountered a shattered region of spacetime.

“When Mother Nuwa became a Pangu-level divinity,” Subhuti explained, “She invincibly dominated all her opponents. The reason why she didn’t wipe out the alien Outsiders was because she wanted to leave them behind for us as ‘neighbors’, constantly reminding us of the importance of being vigilant. We were to never again engage in internal civil wars. In fact, their very existence was a way of subtling ensuring that we would continue to train and grow more powerful.”

“Mother Nuwa’s actions were quite correct, and we agreed with them back then. During the Primordial Era there were no outside invaders and so we constantly engaged in internal wars, causing many major powers to perish.”

“Ever since Mother Nuwa left them behind, we have never again engaged in large-scale civil wars,” Subhuti said. “In fact, experts from the Three Realms will often enter the Primordial Ruinworld region to test and temper themselves. This has resulted in the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Nuwa Alliance to constantly grow more powerful, resulting in quite a few new True Gods and Daofathers being born.”

Ning nodded. An outside threat was a good way to ensure internal unity.

“Daoist Three Purities decided that before we were to begin the Endwar against the Seamless Gate, we should first deal with the Primordial Ruinworld,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “Those alien Outsiders have been forced to live in the deadly Ruinworlds, and they have always wished to enter our Three Realms. Once both the Seamless Gate and our Nuwa Alliance are both exhausted by the Endwar, they will definitely seize this opportunity to invade from the Primordial Ruinworld.”

“Right.” Ning agreed with this.

“And so, we raised this mater with the Seamless Gate. Since there’s no way to avoid the Endwar, it would be best if both sides join together to deal with this future threat first.” Patriarch Subhuti shook his head. “But the Seamless Gate was completely disinterested in fighting against the Primordial Ruinworld.”

“They weren’t interested?” Ning was puzzled. “Why is that? Do they want to leave it up to us to handle? They want the Nuwa Alliance to waste its own power? But…but they aren’t fools. They should understand that if we don’t get rid of the Primordial Ruinworld, neither side can fight the Endwar with confidence.”

“It’s not as simple as you think.” Subhuti shook his head. “Several other major powers and I have been investigating in secret. We’ve discovered…that the Primordial Ruinworld is now filled with many, many terrifyingly powerful formations. Fuxi has looked at these formations, and he can recognize them as being the work of Keeper Everwood.”

“Master…” Ning was shocked. “Did you just say that the Primordial Ruinworld is filled with many formations that were laid down by Keeper Everwood?”

“Yes.” Subhuti nodded. “We can say with a 90% certainty that the Primordial Ruinworld allied in secret with the Seamless Gate a long time ago.”

A cold look was in Subhuti’s eyes. “The Seamless Gate…we permitted them to remain in the Three Realms and live amongst us, but now, for the sake of winning the Endwar, they actually dare to ally with those alien Outsiders? Have they forgotten? The great war between the two chaosworlds was instigated by those alien Outsiders to begin with! Hmph. Hmph! Enough of that. As far as those of us from the Pangu Chaosworld are concerned, the Seamless Gate is also an organization of alien Outsiders.”

“Then what should we do?” Ning quickly asked.

“You saw it for yourself. The Crescent world has become a place of refuge.” Subhuti said coldly. “We have already sent a strike force of major powers deep into the Primordial Ruinworld. We are going to wipe out all of the alien Outsiders within the Ruinworld!”

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Chapter 6 – Those We Protect

Book 22, True God, Chapter 6 – Those We Protect

“Wipe out all the alien Outsiders in the Primordial Ruinworld?” Ji Ning was rather worried. “Is that really doable?”

“Now that they’ve joined forces with the Seamless Gate, it’s uncertain,” Subhuti said. “However, the major powers that we sent out are led by Fuxi and Tathagata.”

“Fuxi is a master of formations and skilled in tying down foes, while Buddha Tathagata possesses incredible defenses and is skilled in dealing with dangerous situations. With them leading the strike force, even if unexpected circumstances arose they would be able to hold out for a period of time, more than enough time for reinforcements to make it to their side.”

Ning relaxed slightly.

Fuxi was the number one formations expert of the Three Realms.

Tathagata could be said to have the most durable divine body of all major powers.

“They are leading a total of nineteen Daofathers with them on this strike mission, including both elite Daofathers and ordinary Daofathers,” Subhuti said. “They will work in unison, but they’ll split up into four squads to do so. All four squads will simultaneously attack a single world together.”

“A single world?” Ning was puzzled.

“Right. The Primordial Ruinworld has many worlds within it,” Subhuti said. “The Snaphorn world you encountered in the past was just an ordinary, unremarkable, small part of the Ruinworld. We’re not sure about exactly what the Ruinworld holds either, or what alien Outsider major powers are hiding where. The only choice we have is to crush all their worlds, one by one! They’ll simultaneously attack the same world together.”

“The reason why they have split up into four squads is because they are worried that they might fall into an enemy trap or formation,” Subhuti explained. “By splitting up into four squads as they attack each world, they can ensure that even if one squad does fall into a trap formation, the other three squads would immediately become aware of it and will thus be on their guard, and can also go reinforce them and rescue them. That way, even if the Seamless Gate or the Primordial Ruinworld have set up traps, they won’t be able to get all of us at once.”

Ning nodded. He was silent for a moment, then said solemnly, “Master, I wish to go to the Primordial Ruinworld.”

“You wish to take part in the battle?” Subhuti was stunned.

“Yes.” Ning nodded seriously.

Subhuti was silent for a moment, then looked at Ning. “In the Primordial Ruinworld, both space and time are in a state of chaos. They are located in an extremely dangerous part of the Ruinworld right now. If you were to enter, you would first need to join together with them, but we don’t have a clear sense of where they are exactly. This is because the Primordial Ruinworld is simply too chaotic. I would only be able to tell you the general region they are in. It would be very dangerous for you to try and join together with those squads.”

Subhuti said these words in the hope that Ning would change his mind. He knew, after all, that Ning’s Envoy had already been ruined!

“I’m confident in my abilities.” Ning looked at his master, and as he did his eyes flashed with hidden sword-light.

“You…” Upon seeing that seven-colored sword-light flash in his disciple’s eyes, Patriarch Subhuti felt stunned.

B-but…

Lu Dongbin had mastered fifth-stage taiji-force, which was already quite impressive. But now, Ji Ning had mastered fifth-stage swordforce, which possessed even more powerful offensive abilities! It must be understood that the reason why Swordfather Darklight was so powerful as an assassin, powerful enough to kill Ji Ning’s true body with a single sword-strike, was because of how powerful his swordforce was! Ji Ning, however, was different from Swordfather Darklight; his sword had surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos in terms of speed.

His sword-arts alone would ensure that he would be extremely close to the overlord level of power!

“I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, you would’ve reached such a level of power.” Patriarch Subhuti laughed. “It seems I was worrying over nothing. You might as well go. You have a self-cloning technique; for you to adventure through the Primordial Ruinworld won’t be too great an issue.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “Your disciple wishes to first visit with his daughter.”

“Your daughter, Brightmoon, has been worried about you all this time. It is indeed time for you to visit her,” Subhuti said.

“Worried…” Ning was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently. He immediately left.

Subhuti stroked his beard and smiled as he watched Ning leave. “This old Daoist judged correctly, all those years ago. Ji Ning’s talent for the sword truly is superior to his talent for heartforce. In less than a thousand years, he’s upgraded his sword-arts to such an incredible level. His sword-arts alone shall ensure that he can stare down upon the entire Three Realms from his lofty perch.”

……

By the side of a lake.

A black-robed maiden was quietly seated by the lakeside, staring at the waters of the lake.

“Brightmoon.” Autumn Leaf walked to her side and called out to her.

The black-robed maiden turned her head to glance at her, then turned to stare at the lake once more. She stared at the lake silently.

“What’s wrong? Why are you unhappy?” Autumn Leaf asked.

“I’m fine, Aunt.” The black-robed maiden shook her head.

“Worried about your father?” Autumn Leaf sat down next to her.

The black-robed maiden hesitated a moment, then nodded slowly. “A little. Father’s been completely devoted to his cultivation, and he was the only figure ever since the Primordial Era who was comparable to Houyi. But Aunt…you must have heard it as well. Those people were saying that Father’s true body was slain by the Seamless Gate. They said that Father’s golem was destroyed as well. I didn’t believe it, so I went to ask Patriarch Subhuti…and the Old Patriarch didn’t deny it…”

“Stop worrying.” Autumn Leaf stretched her arms out to gently take Brightmoon into her embrace. “I watched your father grow up. Your father will ignore all setbacks and continue to grow more and more powerful. He definitely won’t despair. He will never give up. You need to have faith in your father.”

“Can you tell me some more stories about Father?” Brightmoon looked at Autumn Leaf.

“Alright.” Autumn Leaf laughed and nodded.

……

Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Little Qing were watching the two from afar.

“The Nuwa Alliance’s major powers have all moved their progency and disciples here. Thus, Ji Ning, there was no way for us to continue hiding from Brightmoon what had happened to you on the Deerchaser world,” Uncle White said. “Brightmoon didn’t believe it at first and she even argued with them. Afterwards, she paid a personal visit to Patriarch Subhuti…only then did she truly believe the stories about what had happened on the Deerchaser world. She’s been worried about you for months now.”

“Mm.” Ning looked at his daughter, a warm feeling in his heart.

“Go. When she sees you, she’ll definitely be very happy,” Uncle White said.

“Alright.” Ning walked towards her.

Autumn Leaf was speaking to Brightmoon in a soft voice, telling her of her father’s stories. Brightmoon was listening intently. No matter how often she heard these stories, she never got tired of them. She always hoped to hear more.

Ning secretly felt a sense of guilt. He really was a failure of a father, having made his daughter worry so much about him. Although one of his clones had been quietly protecting his daughter this entire time, that clone had always kept in hiding, not even paying attention to the affairs of the outside world. Only when his daughter was in danger would certain restrictive seals be dispelled, allowing the clone to take a look at what was happening outside.

It had been many years, but the clone had never been activated. Thus, Ning didn’t know anything at all about what had happened in the Crescent world.

“My clone’s been staying in hiding all this time. Although this helps to temper her…perhaps sometimes, love is more important than training?” Ning quietly pondered to himself. “Was I wrong?”

“Father!” Brightmoon had turned her head, as though she had sensed his presence. When she saw Ning standing behind her, she immediately clambered to her feet in surprise and delight, then charged straight towards Ning.

“Father. You finally came back! I’ve been waiting forever and ever for you. You’ve been gone for way, way, way too long.” Brightmoon clutched at Ning, babbling nonstop.

Ning gently stroked his daughter’s hair. Ever since she had become a Celestial Immortal and manifested her body, she had chosen this appearance for herself. She looked very similar to her mother, Yu Wei. In fact, she also liked to wear black clothes. When Ning looked at his daughter, he sometimes felt as though his wife was by his side. However, his wife’s gaze was soft and steadier, while his daughter’s gaze was filled with veneration and love.

His wife was a bit colder.

His daughter was a bit more playful and hyper.

“Father, the Immortals and Fiendgods on the island are all saying that your true body was destroyed. They said you…” Brightmoon looked at Ning, her hands tightly wrapped around Ning’s arm. She said softly, “Can you stop fighting against the Seamless Gate?”

“The elders and teachers of those Immortals and Fiendgods on the island…are any of them shirking in their duties?” Ning shook his head. “I cannot simply run and hide. You should understand, Brightmoon.”

“But Father, you’ve already sacrificed enough. Your true body was destroyed and you’ve been drastically weakened. What more do they want from you? Father, you are now just a True Immortal. Even if you have powerful heartforce and can use it to command the Rahu Formation, you still aren’t a True God or a Daofather. There are many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on the island who aren’t taking part in the war. You’ve already done much more than them, Father.” Brightmoon looked at Ning, at the verge of tears. “I’m so afraid. I’m afraid that your Primaltwin will also be killed. I’ve already lost Mother. I can’t lose you too!”

Ning’s heart shook.

“Promise me.” Brightmoon looked at Ning. “Just stay with me. Alright?”

“I’ll stay with you.” Ning’s heart ached when he saw that look in his daughter’s eyes. He nodded gently. “I’ll always stay with you. From today onwards, my Primaltwin will stay with you here.”

“Primaltwin?” Brightmoon was puzzled.

“Don’t you know? I only wear white robes with my true body.” Ning patted Brightmoon on the head.

“I thought…I thought…” A look of joy appeared in Brightmoon’s eyes.

“Others might underestimate your father, but you really should not.” Ning laughed. “My true body and my Primaltwin are both fine. In fact, I’m even more powerful than before.” Ning stretched his hand out, and his hand glowed dimly with a seven-colored sword-light. The dazzling, brilliant rainbow sword-light possessed an aura of utterly terrifying power.

Brightmoon stared at the rainbow sword-light in shock.

She was Ji Ning’s daughter, and a disciple of Mount Innerheart. She naturally knew many things. Given that Ji Ning walked the path of the Sword Immortal, Brightmoon had learned long ago what fifth-stage swordforce was like. Thus, she recognized it right away.

“Father, y-you…” Brightmoon was filled with both joy and pride. Fifth-stage swordforce, and speed which surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos? This was her father! Those Immortals and Fiendgods had all been prattling on and on, but her father had actually become far more powerful than before.

“Father, you said you were going to have your Primaltwin stay by my side. Then…your true body…?” Brightmoon suddenly realized what this meant.

Ning laughed. “Will go out and fight, of course. Your father can’t just hide.”

“B-but…” Brightmoon chewed on her lips, then said softly, “I, I really don’t want you to go to war any longer, Father.”

“The Endwar is nigh. We have to step forward to face it,” Ning said it with a smile.

“When the skies collapse, let the big guys handle it,” Brightmoon argued.

“Your father is now one of the big guys,” Ning laughed. “Enough. You are a Celestial Immortal now, you know. You are acting like a little girl.”

His daughter was by his side once more. Ning could sense a surge of strength and energy come from his heart in an unbroken stream. It came from an absolutely indomitable determination that was etched into his very bones.

“I have to protect my daughter.”

“Even if it costs me my life.”

……

The white-robed Ning turned his head, giving the black-robed maiden who was standing at the side of the lake a final glance. Then, he cast aside all his doubt. “Master, send me away,” Ning sent mentally.

“Be careful in the Primordial Ruinworld.” Subhuti’s voice rang out by Ning’s ears as well.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

A spatial vortex appeared in front of Ning. Ning stepped into it.

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Chapter 7 – Darkstill World

Book 22, True God, Chapter 7 – Darkstill World

The Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld. The waves of the Void continuously came crashing through this region.

Whoosh. A spatial whirlpool appeared within the Void, and from it emerged a white-robed youth. He stood there in the Void, staring towards the infinitely vast realm that was before him.

“According to what Master said, right now Fuxi and Tathagata’s squads are around the Darkstill world.” Ning’s eyes were blazing with torch-light, allowing him to clearly see the enormous, distant realm of the Primordial Ruinworld. He was quickly able to identify the region that was known as the Darkstill world.

The Primordial Ruinworld had been divided up into many parts by various alien Outsider organizations into many different ‘worlds’. The closer these worlds were to the core, the more powerful they were.

The ‘Snaphorn’ world was one of the outermost border worlds of the Primordial Ruinworld. Comparatively speaking, it was fairly weak. The most powerful members of the Snaphorn world were those three Queen Mothers, and strictly speaking they weren’t really at the level of True Gods or Daofathers! Empyrean God Redsnow, when commanding a Seven Planets God, had been able to battle against all three of them for a long period of time. Patriarch Subhuti had been able to easily annihilate all of them with a single palm. From this, one could see how weak the Snaphorn world had been.

The Darkstill world was far more powerful than the Snaphorn world.

……

The Primordial Ruinworld. The Darkstill world.

Riiiiiip.

Space was forcibly torn apart, allowing a white-robed youth to fly to this location atop a boat.

“The Darkstill world…it really is a dark, silent place.” Ning swept the area with his gaze. Even the skies were grey and dark. Everything seemed to be covered by a hazy layer of gray fog, and it was completely silent here.

“I wonder where Fuxi, Tathagata, and the other Daofathers are.”

Ning’s Primaltwin was still in the Crescent world. Ning had made a special Primaltwin incarnation to accompany Brightmoon, with the incarnation being able to converse with Patriarch Subhuti whenever necessary. According to what he had heard, Fuxi, Tathagata, and their squads were currently located at the Darkstill world, but it would be hard to find their exact locations without being there.

The main reason was because spacetime was in a state of chaotic flux here. One could set clear target coordinates for teleportation, but upon actually arriving one might be ridiculously far off from the original target!

This was why Subhuti had sent Ning to the Nihilum Zone, then told Ning to board his Voidship and fly from the Nihilum Zone to the Darkstill world.

“Let me search for them.” Ning immediately sent out his heartforce. Whoosh! His heartforce rippled out like the waters of a lake, spreading out in every single direction. This was a little trick which World God Northrest had taught him. With this technique activated, no one in either the Three Realms or the Primordial Ruinworld would be able to escape his detection.

His heartforce quickly spread out to encompass an enormous region. It spread out past tall mountains, deep lakes, and quite a few alien Outsiders. Those alien Outsiders were all quite weak. They weren’t even close to becoming Celestial Immortals.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned. There were some regions where both space and time were both so badly shattered that not even Ning’s heartforce could see past them.

“I’m only able to scan a region of a few hundred thousand kilometers. There’s no way to scan any further.” This was Ning’s first trip into the actual Primordial Ruinworld itself, and it was the fairly stable Darkstill world. He immediately understood why this place was known as the ‘Ruinworld’! Such a dire, inhospitable environment simply wasn’t suitable for life to flourish on a large scale.

“I wasn’t able to find Fuxi and the others…however, towards the east I can see some signs of a battle.”

Swish. Ning immediately transformed into a black lightning serpent, instantly flying more than two hundred thousand kilometers east towards the region which had been scarred by battle.

By ‘east’, Ning was referring to the direction from which the Solar Star would rise. Thus, in the Three Realms and in the Primordial Ruinworld, east meant a different direction for different worlds.

“Here?” Ning stood there in midair, staring down at the vast basin below him. The basin was shaped like an enormous palm print that was more than a thousand kilometers wide, and the ground below it was completely scorched black. “A palm? Could it be that Tathagata launched a strike?”

“Reverse.” Ning immediately willed a temporal inversion to begin.

In places like the Primordial Ruinworld where the Heavenly Daos did not exist it was extremely difficult to use temporal inversion techniques. However, as Ning had slowly gained more insight into the Nine Chaos Seals, he was instantly able to see into the past history of most mortals. He had gained the ability to easily seeing into the past, which was really the fundamental essence of how the ‘temporal inversion’ technique worked.

Thus, Ning was able to easily accomplish the temporal inversion.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Many images of the past began to flash past Ning. Soon, time had ‘inverted’ back to a point where four major powers had appeared in this place.

Those four major powers were led by the smiling yellow-robed Lord Buddha, Tathagata. By his side were three other Buddhas, each of which glowed with boundless holy light.

“Darkstill, you think to stop us with small tricks such as these?” Tathagata flew forward atop an auspicious cloud, a smile on his face as he spoke. “Hurry up and show yourself. Otherwise…your Darkstill world won’t exist for much longer.” As he spoke, he stretched out his hand. Shining with golden light, his hand descended from the heavens and smashed downwards towards the land.

The ground trembled violently as a massive palm-sized basin was imprinted deep into the earth.

“Tathagata!” An ear-piercing screech rang out, but it was quickly silenced.

“Thearch Darkstill is one of the most famous major powers of the Primordial Ruinworld. We’re destroying the various formation bases located throughout his world, but he still refuses to show himself? He must be scheming something big,” Tathagata said.

“Lord Buddha, there’s no need to worry about his plots and schemes. Let us continue to destroy their worlds, one by one.”

“Let’s go.” Tathagata nodded, then led his three mighty Buddhas to continue forward to their next destination, flying off on that auspicious cloud.

A short while later.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. One gray-skinned, gray-cloaked alien Outsider after another descended from the heavens. They landed within the basin, then exchanged glances with each other, their eyes filled with cold rage. They then flew off as well, heading in the same direction which Tathagata and the others had just gone.

……

After Ning finished viewing what had happened here roughly two hours ago, he nodded slightly. “The leader of the Buddhist Sangha and Human Sovereign Fuxi became overlord-level figures during the Primordial Era. Even though they haven’t broken through to become Elder Gods, their techniques have surely become much better. With them in command, and with their forces split up into four squads…no single world in the Primordial Ruinworld can possibly withstand all of them at once.”

Swoosh. Ning also flew towards the direction where the others had gone.

……

Although the Darkstill world was located in a region of relatively stable spacetime, there were still many regions in it where spacetime was distorted. The alien Outsiders who lived here were used to these regions and knew them well. There were some regions where only they dared traverse, and they were only able to do so because generations of predecessors had sacrificed their lives to help their race accumulate experience.

“Someone’s coming.”

“A white-robed youth.”

“He’s hesitating a bit. Oh, he’s actually come inside.”

Three alien Outsiders were gathered together within a region of distorted spacetime, staring past a restrictive formation at the white-robed youth who had just flown in from the outside world.

“Captain, the Buddhist leader of the Three Realms, Tathagata, has led three of his Daofathers to attack this world. Why has this white-robed youth appeared?” These three alien Outsiders had pale white skin, handsome faces, and were dressed in gray cloaks. All of them were top-tier Empyrean Gods in power, and they were skilled in fleeing through space.

“Judging from his appearance…it should be Sword Immortal Darknorth of the Three Realms, Ji Ning.” The alien captain frowned. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning…his sword-arts are extremely profound, said to be the best in the entire Three Realms. However, he himself is just a True Immortal, and his true body has already been destroyed by the Seamless Gate. The one who just appeared should be his Primaltwin. Judging from his aura, he should still be just a True Immortal. But I’m puzzled…why would a True Immotal dare to brave our Primordial Ruinworld by himself? Is he planning to just rely on his Rahu Formation? The Heavenly Daos do not exist in the Primordial Ruinworld; there’s not much natural energy for the Rahu Formation to make use of. It won’t be nearly as powerful as it was in the Three Realms.”

“Captain, he’s advancing quite quickly. He’ll be past our observation range soon,” one of the alien Outsiders quickly reminded.

It was extremely hard to set up an observation formation within a field of distorted spacetime. There was no way to make it have an extremely long detection range.

“Let’s go test him out.” Beneath his gray cloak, the alien captain had a cold look on his face. “Let’s see how powerful this Pure Yang True Immortal is.”

The three of them quickly flew out in pursuit.

……

A few moments later, all three of them were dead.

Ning stood quietly within the Void, giving each of their corpses a glance. “Chase me?” He was a half-step Elder God. How acute were his senses? As soon as those three alien Outsiders had gotten slightly closer to him, he had immediately discovered them. These three puny Empyrean God pawns…Ning had easily killed two of them, then heavily wounded the third one. He had planned to soulscour the third one, but alas the alien had voluntarily destroyed his own soul.

……

Deep within the Primordial Ruinworld, within a round castle that glowed with dark golden light.

An alien major power was seated atop a throne here. He had a long green tail, a bald head, and handsome features. He was resting his head on his one hand, contemplating as he tapped the armrest of the throne with his free hand. Six golden-armored figures stood solemnly at attention before him, each of which radiated auras that were far superior to the auras of ordinary Daofathers.

“These aboriginals really are quite something.” The alien Outsider seated atop the throne let out a congratulatory chuckle. “They actually destroyed twelve of my worlds. The Seamless Gate really is useless. They created all those formations, but not a single one of the True Gods or Daofathers of the Three Realms have died to them. It seems we can’t simply rely on those fools after all. In the end, it’ll be up to us.”

“Master, this chaosworld has given birth to a World God. We cannot be overconfident.” One of the golden-armored figures standing below him gave a respectful reminder.

“The ‘Lord of All Things’…it’s all his fault for being an idiot!” The seated alien Outsider laughed coldly. “He spent quite a bit of time roving about the primordial chaos and has seen quite a few chaosworlds. Back then, when Nuwa had yet to become a World God, he should’ve immediately attacked. Instead, he set up a stupid scheme to have the two chaosworlds fight against each other? How bored was he? Why didn’t he just destroy one chaosworld, then destroy the other? Instead, he started a war that caused these primitives to give birth to a World God. Before she left, she definitely left behind some techniques for her allies.”

“A chaosworld that had given birth to a World God is not so easily conquered. That’s the reason why I’ve acted so carefully and waited for the perfect opportunity.”

“Master…how about we just go back for now? Let’s build up our forces before we return. We know exactly where this place is now. When we are more powerful, we can return!” A skinny golden-armored figure suggested.

Whap!

The seated alien Outsider’s long green tail suddenly swept out and knocked the golden-armored figure flying.

The seated alien Outsider pointed at the golden-armored figure and cursed, “You fool! We barely survived the trip here; you really want us to risk the trip back? Unless we make a major breakthrough in strength, if we go back the same way we came in, we are almost guaranteed to die. It’s better for us to join forces with the Seamless Gate and slowly grind down the Nuwa alliance.”

“Master! Almighty Master!” A voice suddenly called out from outside.

“Darkstill?” The alien Outsider chortled merrily. “Let him in.”

Instantly, a gray-skinned, golden-robed man strode in, emanating an aura of great power. It was the master of the Darkstill world, ‘Thearch Darkstill’. He respectfully fell to his knees. “Almighty Master, my minions just discovered that yet another invader with the power of a Daofather has entered the Darkstill world.”

“Another enemy Daofather has come?” The seated alien outsider frowned. “Who?”

“He belongs to the Nuwa Alliance of the Three Realms,” Thearch Darkstill said respectfully. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning!”

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Chapter 8 – Godfiend Witherspike

Book 22, True God, Chapter 8 – Godfiend Witherspike

“Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning? Sounds familiar.” The alien Outsider leaned back against his throne, resting his head against his palm and muttering to himself. Moments later, his eyes lit up. “I remember now. I believe he’s one of the fastest-rising stars of the Three Realms, supposedly as talented as Houyi was. If memory serves, the Seamless Gate’s intelligence report stated that his true body was destroyed by them. Only his Primaltwin survives.”

“Primaltwins…I can’t help but feel jealous just thinking about them. Those mortal creatures who slowly rise to power have the chance to form a Primaltwin. We Fiendgods who are born from the primordial chaos don’t even have the chance to do that.” The alien Outsider shook his head and sighed.

“How can those mortal creatures be compared to you, Master?” One of the six golden-armored figures, a red-bearded elder, immediately spoke out in protest.

“Ahaha…” The seated alien Outsider laughed loudly, his laughter echoing within the room.

After he stopped laughing, he looked downwards at the still-kneeling Thearch Darkstill. “Darkstill, you said that he has the power of a True God and Daofather? Isn’t he just a third-tier True Immortal? Low-class True Immortals like him are numerous beyond count in the primordial chaos.”

“Three of my minions were slain by this Ji Ning. One of them, prior to dying, sent the scenes of his death back to our race,” Thearch Darkstill said respectfully.

“The scenes of his death?” The seated alien Outsider was intrigued. “Let me take a look.”

“Yes!” Thearch Darkstill assented respectfully, then pointed towards an empty space nearby. Instantly, moving images began to appear there. The scene displayed the three gray-robed aliens moving forward. Suddenly, a black streak of lightning flashed past them, instantly piercing through their bodies. The black lightning serpent was simply far too fast; although the three of them could sense how dangerous it was and had wanted to flee, they simply weren’t able to escape.

With a single flash, the black lightning serpent slew two of the three gray-robed figures and heavily injured the third. The scene then switched to that of a white-robed youth reaching his out with his hand, intending to soulscour the survivor. However, the gray-robed survivor instantly committed suicide.

“Quite fast.” The seated alien Outsider’s eyes lit up. He laughed merrily, “Those fools of the Seamless Gate…they claimed that Ji Ning’s true body was killed. Just now, he used the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, something which only a Fiendgod can use. Clearly, his true body isn’t dead after all. The exalted Seamless Gate…it couldn’t even handle something as simple as this.”

“Right. He’s not dead.” One of the gold-armored figures who had just one arm frowned as he spoke. “And for him to be able to use it while slaying three Empyrean Gods in an instant…and he wasn’t even using a sword. Just now, he used his fingers to execute sword-arts. This set of sword-arts…incredible, simply incredible.”

Thearch Darkstill agreed. “Venerable Saber speaks the truth. In the Three Realms, Ji Ning has been acknowledged as possessing the most profound sword-arts. It is said that he wields fourth-stage swordforce, with the speed of his sword exceeding the limits of the Heavenly Daos.”

The seated alien Outsider had six retainers, but the only one which Thearch Darkstill truly admired was the single-armed man.

“No.” The single-armed man shook his head. “He was able to display his sword-arts so easily while using the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]…this level of perfection in the sword isn’t something which someone merely at the fourth stage of swordforce can accomplish. If my guess is correct…he has quite possibly reached the fifth stage of swordforce.”

“What?”

“The fifth stage of swordforce?”

“How is that possible?”

The golden-armored figures next to him all called out in surprise. Even Thearch Darkstill was stunned.

The seated alien Outsider frowned as he looked at the one-armed man. “Saber, are you sure?”

“This is just my conjecture. His sword-arts were too fast, after all, and he used them while executing the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]. I wasn’t able to see it too clearly, so I’m just making an educated guess.” After speaking, the one-armed man no longer said a word.

The seated alien Outsider pondered for a moment.

He had collected these six retainers while roaming through the endless primordial chaos. Of the six, ‘Saber’ had voluntarily decided to join him in order to repay a debt of gratitude and voluntarily decided to call him ‘Master’. Saber was also the only retainer who this figure truly respected. As for the other five? He hit them and berated them as he pleased.

Ever since he had arrived at the Primordial Ruinworld, he had easily subjugated and taken control over all of the alien Outsiders here, including the most powerful ones such as Thearch Darkstill.

“Since Saber is willing to make the claim…it probably really is true,” he murmured to himself.

There were some similarities between the usage of a sword and the usage of a saber. Both were weapons meant for attacking.

“If he has fifth-stage swordforce…?” The seated alien Outsider stared into the looping scenes, peering at those three gray-robed figures as they died again and again. “He’s reached such a level despite having trained for less than a thousand years. He really is terrifying. But of course, it’s also possible that Saber’s conjecture is wrong. Still, no matter what, for him to be able to kill those three in such a short period of time means that he definitely has the power of a Daofather.”

“Intriguing.” The seated alien Outsider chuckled.

“Blackheaven.” He sent a mental call directly out to Blackheaven. “Come here.”

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was relaxing and drinking wine in another part of the castle. This time, he was the one responsible for delivering messages on behalf of the Seamless Gate! This was a golem-body he was using, and so even if it was destroyed he wouldn’t care in the slightest. He naturally was quite relaxed and content.

“Coming.” Blackheaven picked up the jug of wine and headed off. No one barred his path, and a short while later he arrived at the place where the alien Outsiders were located.

“My respectful greetings to you, great Godfiend Witherspike.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven chortled merrily as he bowed.

“Each time I see you, I feel happy.” The seated alien Outsider smiled merrily back at him. “That idiot, ‘All Things’…whenever I saw him, he used to put on such stupid airs. I would’ve wiped that idiot out out long ago, if he didn’t have so many subordinates or that pack of utterly unbreakable Envoys. I didn’t have the chance to personally see him die, but whenever I see you, his former treasure-spirit, I feel happy all the same.”

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven continued to chortle merrily, seemingly not bothered in the slightest.

He had been enslaved by the Seamless Gate, becoming the personal retainer of the Lord of All Fiends. Why would he be bothered by a bit of jesting from the great Godfiend?

“You used to be the treasure-spirit for the Blackheaven Cauldron. That idiot had to have used the Blackheaven Cauldron to create the cores of those golems, yes? And you ended up learning those techniques…but now, you’ve been enslaved by the Seamless Gate. What’s the point? I think it’d be better for you if you joined me instead,” the alien Outsider said with a laugh.

“You?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said in a very uncaring manner, “It doesn’t really matter to me. If you can defeat my master, the Lord of All Fiends, I’d be more than willing to join you.”

“The Lord of All Fiends?” The alien Outsider frowned.

A monster.

The Three Realms really was a place that could give birth to monsters. One of these primitives, Nuwa, had actually been able to force her way into becoming a World God. This was quite a monstrous accomplishment. And the Lord of All Fiends…he had actually been able to flee with a group of experts while being pursued and attacked by a World God. The World God, Nuwa, hadn’t even been able to catch up to him. This was an even more monstrous accomplishment!

It must be understood that World Gods all completely surpassed the limitations of the Heavenly Daos in every way, be it speed or power or other areas. But Nuwa had still been unable to catch up to the Lord of All Fiends! Most likely, the experts of the Three Realms didn’t truly understand what a terrifying accomplishment this was. Mighty Godfiend Witherspike, however, had wandered the endless primordial chaos for many years. He understood quite well.

Advancing to become a World God represented a fundamental change in every single aspect. The difference between an Elder God and a World God was simply unfathomably vast. To make it so that even a World God couldn’t catch up…it meant that the Lord of All Fiend’s insights into the Dao must have reached an even more unfathomable level.

The Three Realms was now divided up into two major alliances.

The Nuwa Alliance…when Mother Nuwa left, she must have left some treasures and techniques behind for them. These things made this alien Outsider quite nervous.

The Seamless Gate…the person who worried him the most was the Lord of All Fiends.

He was wary of both sides, which was why he had never tried to attack the Three Realms. In fact, he had chosen to ally with the Seamless Gate instead.

“Well, enough of that.” The alien Outsider pointed towards the constantly looping images in midair. “See for yourself.”

Only now did Blackheaven turn his head to take a look, and when he did his face completely changed. That flashing black serpent of lightning, that white-robed youth who attempted to perform a soulscour…wasn’t that Ji Ning?

“Ji Ning.” Blackheaven no longer had any trace of a smile on his face. Instead, it was ashen. “The [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]? His true body isn’t dead?”

“Oh, you noticed?” The alien Outsider chuckled. “Didn’t the Seamless Gate claim that Ji Ning’s true body was destroyed? And if I recall correctly, I think the Lord of All Fiends, Daomother Devilhand, and quite a few others joined forces to ensure it…but now, he’s reappeared in the Darkstill world, seemingly with his true body.”

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven stared at the continuously looping images in the air. He forced down the rage and hatred he felt, then growled out, “Great Godfiend Witherspike, this was indeed our Seamless Gate’s mistake. I’ve already reported this to my superiors…and I trust that Master will soon deliver an order to me.”

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Chapter 9 – All Slain in Battle

Book 22, True God, Chapter 9 – All Slain in Battle

Celestial Blackheaven had many golem bodies that he could use. He was able to immediately send a message to the Lord of All Fiends, and the news was then quickly spread to Daomother Devilhand, the Godking, and the other high-level members of the Seamless Gate.

“What? He’s not dead?” The black-robed Godking was the most stunned of them all. He simply couldn’t accept this.

“Some sort of clone technique?” Keeper Everwood had been using a knife to whittle away at a piece of wood. When he heard the news, he frowned and began to mumble to himself.

……

Deep within the Primordial Ruinworld, inside that vast castle.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said respectfully, “My Master said that this Ji Ning is a scourge. He hopes that when you deal with Tathagata and Fuxi, great Godfiend Witherspike, you will also deal with this Ji Ning as well.

“Oh?” The alien Outsider chuckled. “But now, it seems, this Ji Ning has a special cloning technique.”

Blackheaven said hurriedly, “Even if he does, each time he restores his body he most assuredly has to pay an enormous price. Last time, when we destroyed his true body, Houyi ended up taking away his black lightning serpent as well as his other treasures. This time, if you can kill him, he’ll lose all of those things. Without them, he will be dramatically weakened even if he does manage to rebuild his body once more.”

“Why is it that I have the feeling that you particularly want Ji Ning to be killed?” The alien Outsider looked at Blackheaven, then let out a merry chuckle. “Blackheaven, how about this? If I kill him for you, why don’t you teach me the technique for creating Envoys?”

“My old master made me swear a lifeblood oath long ago to teach it to no others,” Blackheaven said.

He was a treasure-spirit, much like the giant yellow bear of the Starseizing Manor. He had long ago trained to the level of being able to live independently from the treasure which had housed him, and could be considered a true living creature now. Strictly speaking, he had actually learned the art of golems before the Lord of All Things did. The Lord of All Things had been lucky enough to acquire the Blackheaven Cauldron, which was why he also gained access to the ancient golem crafting arts contained within it. This caused his power to instantly skyrocket, resulting in him being an extremely famous figure even amongst Elder Gods. But alas, he had fallen during his campaign against the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld.

“Damn that man.” The alien Outsider said coldly, “Tell your current master that Ji Ning has quite possibly reached the fifth stage of swordforce.”

“The fifth stage of swordforce? How is that even possible? He’s only trained for a few centuries!” Blackheaven was visibly shocked.

Ning’s mastery of the [Five Treasures] could be ascribed to his peerless talent, but to reach the fifth stage of swordforce one had to have significant insights into the essence of the sword itself. This was something that required time, as well as many life-and-death battles against powerful experts. Only after seeing enough sword-arts and gaining enough experience would one even have a chance of reaching the fifth stage of swordforce.

“He’s attacked my Primordial Ruinworld, so I really should kill him. However, I’m also doing the Seamless Gate’s dirty work for them. We have borne all the casualties in the battles to date. We agreed on a price for me to deal with Tathagata and Fuxi, but if you want me to deal with Ji Ning…I’ll need twelve chaos jewels.”

“Twelve?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven hesitated momentarily. The energy source for each Envoy consisted of five chaos jewels, which allowed them to be able to fight for a very long period of time. The other nine Envoys probably would consume less than a hundred chaos jewels during the entire Endwar.

“Master has responded. If Ji Ning truly has reached the fifth stage of swordforce, he will deliver twelve chaos jewels after you slay his true body,” Blackheaven said.

“Good. It’s always a pleasure doing business with Allfiend.”

The alien Outisder looked downwards at Thearch Darkstill. “Darkstill, send your surbordinates to try and kill Ji Ning. If they cannot, make sure they at least verify whether or not he has reached the fifth stage of swordforce. Then move to guide him into a danger zone.”

“Yes, almighty Master,” Thearch Darkstill said respectfully, then departed.

“Damn.” In private, Thearch Darkstill now had an ugly look on his face. He had once been an important general of the Lord of All Things. Later, he had become one of the four mighty Thearchs that dominated the Primordial Ruinworld. He had the power of an elite Daofather! He wasn’t one whit weaker than those six retainers of Godfiend Witherspike. The only one he felt respect and admiration for was the one-armed man. As for the other five? Thearch Darkstill didn’t fear them in the slightest.

But…

Those retainers had followed Godfiend Witherspike for a very long period of time, and he held more faith in them. He was much more ruthless and brutal in the way he treated the four Thearchs, who had only submitted to him relatively recently.

“Sword Immortal Darknorth. Ji Ning. He clearly has the power of a True God and Daofather, but I’m still supposed to go ‘verify’ if he has reached the fifth stage of swordforce or not.” Thearch Darkstill frowned. “If I want to force Ji Ning to reveal his swordforce, I’ll need to send some of my more powerful subordinates. Ugh. Whenever there is a dangerous mission, he always has the four of us send our subordinates.”

Still, Thearch Darkstill understood the reason why. When mighty Godfiend Witherspike had fled to this place, he had only arrived with those six retainers in tow. He had no other subordinates at all, and so whenever there was a need for cannon fodder to be sent out he would naturally choose to send out the original inhabitants of the Primordial Ruinworld.

……

The Darkstill world.

A large force of alien experts were flying through the air, each of whom had the power of an Empyrean God. There had to be nearly three hundred of the creatures flying forward.

“Elder brother, when your group goes to fight against Sword Immortal Darknorth, you have to be careful. The Thearch said that Ji Ning may very well have reached the fifth stage of swordforce.” The two leaders of this force looked fairly similar. Both were dressed in silver robes, and they were mentally chatting to each other.

“Although my team has been assigned to kill Ji Ning, if he really has reached the fifth stage of swordforce all we have to do is flee. We don’t have to force a fight against him. If he really has reached that stage of power…it’ll be up to your team to guide him into the Forest of Dreams,” the taller silver-robed man sent back.

The Forest of Dreams was an extremely bizarre part of the Darkstill world.

Once you entered it, you would be trapped in multiple layers of illusions. You would feel as though you were dreaming! The illusions would come endlessly, and even True Gods or Daofathers would find it hard to extricate themselves. They would often be eternally trapped within the Forest of Dreams until finally the illusions killed them.

The most terrifying thing was…not even the denizens of the Darkstill world could be certain as to exactly where the Forest of Dreams was located. This was because the Forest’s location was constantly changing. It was entirely possible that the seemingly ordinary-looking forest in front of you was actually the terrifying Forest of Dreams. However, since Thearch Darkstill was in command of this entire terrifying world, he naturally had his own ways of determining the exact location of the Forest.

……

“Fuxi. Tathagata. Where are they?”

Ning stood there in midair. Spacetime was so chaotic that even his sense of directions had become scrambled.

He could no longer find any traces of Tathagata’s passing, and in a place of such chaotic spacetime there was no way he could even use a temporal inversion spell.

“Master is telling me that Lord Buddha and the others should still be in the region of the Darkstill world. Screw it. I’ll just choose a random direction and just keep flying forward.” Ning immediately began to fly forwards, although he didn’t dare fly too fast for fear of running into an enemy trap.

Shortly after he had entered the Primordial Ruinworld, Ning came to understand that the hardest part of conquering this region wasn’t defeating the alien Outsiders here; rather, it lay in dealing with the terribly environment! No wonder all the aliens who lived here desired to invade the Three Realms. None of the aliens wanted to live in such terrifying, inhospitable environments.

“Eh?” Ning’s pulse picked up slightly. He could sense an aura approaching.

After becoming a half-step Elder God, his soul had become far more powerful! His soul heartforce technique had only made his senses even more acute. Even when Daofathers moved towards Ning he would be able to sense their approach, much less the approach of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

……

“Sword Immortal Darknorth should be somewhere in that region up ahead.” A towering, eight-armed Fiendgod was carefully flying forwards. This eight-armed Fiendgod was the culmination of 199 alien Empyrean Gods joining together in the ‘Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation’. It was one of the formations that had been left behind by the Lord of All Fiends. Truth be told, when Thearch Darkstill was forced to send out this many Empyrean God subordinates, he felt quite distressed.

This sort of formation was quite similar in nature to the Seven Planets God. However, the Seven Planets God only needed seven Empyrean Gods to execute, while this one was used by a total of 199 Empyrean Gods. It could unleash a degree of power close to that of an elite True God’s. This could be considered a ‘secret technique’, and the wielders who learned the core parts of the formation were all forced to swear lifeblood oaths not to teach it to any others. The person who was currently the ‘core’ of this particular formation was one of the warriors who had followed the Lord of All Things.

“I see him.” The eight-armed Fiendgod had been searching for Ning. Suddenly, he saw in the distance a white-robed youth who was calmly standing in the air.

“You’ve arrived.” The white-robed youth produced a sword in his hand. “Since you’ve come, there’s no need for you to leave.”

“Attack!” The eight-armed Fiendgod’s aura surged explosively.

Ning, however, just sauntered forward lazily as though he was taking a stroll through a courtyard.

……

“Thearch, all 199 of our warriors have died in battle.” A look of grief was on the face of a golden-robed elder.

“None of them escaped?” Thearch Darkstill was incredulous. He barked out, “Show me the scenes of the battle!”

“They weren’t able to send back any scenes in time,” the golden-robed elder said.

“What?!” The Thearch was truly stunned now. How fast had Ji Ning killed them all, for not a single one of them to be able to send back a scene of their death?

“However, one of them trained in a special clone technique. His other clone is currently on assignment in a different region. I suggest ordering him to return immediately so that he can tell us what happened when they fought against Ji Ning,” the yellow-robed elder said hurriedly. “We have to move quickly. If he somehow loses his clone as well, then we’ll have no way of finding any information about that battle.”

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Chapter 10 – Bugbeasts

Book 22, True God, Chapter 10 – Bugbeasts

Thearch Darkstill immediately gave the order for that soldier’s clone to return.

A short while later.

“Thearch, Fuyou was stomped to death by Kuafu as he was trying to lure Kuafu away.” A report quickly came from his subordinates.

“What?” Thearch Darkstill’s face turned ugly.

For a number of Empyrean Gods to die during a time of war was nothing, but this particularly one was the only one who knew what had happened during the fight against Ji Ning. And now…he was dead. This meant that the 199 Empyrean Gods who had died in the battle against Ji Ning had died for nothing at all. No intelligence had been gained whatsoever.

“Kuafu!” Thearch Darkstill’s face was black with rage.

“Where are those four squads currently located?” Thearch Darkstill asked.

The nearby golden-robed elder immediately waved his hand, causing an image to appear in midair. This was an enormous map of the Darkstill world. There were four specks of light on the map, and the golden-robed elder pointed towards one of the specks of light that was close to the edge. “This is the squad which Kuafu is leading. Kuafu, an ancient divinity of the Three Realms, possesses truly enormous power. I heard that when those ten Golden Crows wreaked havoc upon the ancient Pangu Chaosworld, Kuafu chased after them so furiously that all ten of them were terrified by him. None of them dared to turn back and fight against him. From our fights against Kuafu’s squad, I can say for certain that Kuafu is indeed astonishingly powerful and is quite close to an Elder God in strength.” 1

“Agreed.” Thearch Darkstill nodded.

Houyi and Kuafu were once equally famous during the Primordial Era. By now, Houyi was publicly acknowledged to be unfathomably strong and being at least at the overlord level of power. As for Kuafu, he was a bit weaker but was still quite close to the overlord level of power as well, and he was an extremely valiant warrior who was extremely skilled in combat.

“This squad here is the squad led by Human Sovereign Fuxi. This is the toughest squad to deal with. Fuxi has been able to easily see through our traps and formations, and even when he enters them he can easily break them apart from within.” The golden-robed elder continued, “That’s why we are temporarily focusing on the other three squads right now.”

“Here.” The golden-robed elder pointed at yet another speck of light. “This is the squad led by the leader of the Buddhist Sangha, Tathagata. It is just as dangerous as Fuxi’s squad is.”

“And here. This final squad is led by Daoist Jade Cauldron of the Daoist Path. Daoist Jade Cauldron possessed formidable divine abilities and has reached the fifth stage of swordforce. He definitely isn’t an easy person to deal with either.” The golden-robed figure pointed at the final speck of light as he spoke.

Thearch Darkstill frowned as he heard this. Two of the squads sent out by the Three Realms were led by overlords Tathagata and Fuxi. The other two were led by Kuafu and Daoist Jade Cauldron, who were close to the overlord level of power as well. There were multiple elite Daofathers in their teams, as well as a few ordinary Daofathers who knew certain special techniques.

Daoist Jade Cauldron was a fairly low-key figure, but he was still viewed as one of the top two figures under the command of Daoist Three Purities. He also had an extremely famous disciple of his own, the number one general of the Celestial Court during the Primordial Era…Erlang Shen, also known as Yang Jian. 2

“And where is Ji Ning?” Thearch Darkstill asked.

“Sword Immortal Darknorth is here.” The golden-robed elder pointed to a corner of the map where another speck of light had appeared. “He is closest to Kuafu’s squad.”

“Oh?” Thearch Darkstill nodded.

“Thearch!” A gray-robed subordinate charged into the room, then said frantically, “Our clansman Floatstone’s squad attempted to lure Ji Ning into the Forest of Dreams, but his senses were simply too keen. As soon as the squad drew close to him, he immediately discovered them and then killed them. There’s no way to lure him away from far away, but whenever our people get close he kills them!”

Thearch Darkstill frowned. “The terrain is to our advantage, but we still aren’t able to lure him into the places we want him to go? Are his senses really that keen?”

But of course, he had no idea that Ning was now a half-step Elder God. His soul was incredibly powerful and acute!

“Have them stay away from Ji Ning for now,” Thearch Darkstill instructed. “Go.”

“Yes.” The subordinate hurriedly departed.

“Thearch.” The golden-robed elder looked towards Thearch Darkstill. “Ji Ning is not an easy person to deal with. Even our ‘Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation’ was effortlessly annihilated by him. He is at least as powerful as an elite Daofather. We can tell from this alone that he has reached the fifth stage of swordforce.”

“No.” Sovereign Thearch shook his head. “There’s many possible reasons why he was able to destroy their formation. For example, it’s possible that he’s broken through to become a True God. It’s also possible that he’s travelling with allies, that he’s brought other major powers of the Nuwa Alliance with him; it could’ve been those allies that destroyed the formation. We can’t speculate wildly before even seeing the records of that battle.”

“But not even the Eight-Armed Warfiend was able to send back any information…” The golden-robed elder felt sorrowful for their losses. “Godfiend Witherspike is commanding many different forces to deal with Tathagata, Fuxi, Kuafu, and Daoist Jade Cauldron, but we are forced to deal with Ji Ning by ourselves. Far too many members of our race have died.”

“I will go test out Ji Ning’s skills in person.” An icy gray light flashed through the eyes of Thearch Darkstill.

“Thearch, you must not!” The golden-robed elder cried out hurriedly.

“I’ll personally test him out, but I’ll do it via sending my mind to directly descend upon one of my children,” Thearch Darkstill said calmly. “Don’t worry. I won’t risk myself without a good reason.”

The golden-robed elder let out a sigh of relief.

Thearch Darkstill waved his hand. Instantly, nine mountain-sized freaks suddenly appeared in the hall next to him. There was a stone giant, an eight-legged beetle, a two-headed serpent…all of them had powerful auras on the level of a Daofather.

“I’ve spent countless years in order to rear these bugbeasts and make them become as powerful as a True God. I didn’t expect that a Sword Immortal who has trained for less than a thousand years would be capable of forcing me to use them.” Thearch Darkstill looked at the bugbeasts, and then let out friendly keening calls in response. It was as though they viewed Thearch Darkstill as their parent.

There were actually quite a few techniques in the primordial chaos that were meant for rearing bugbeasts. Strictly speaking, the [Nine Bug Solutions] which Youngflame Freak had acquired and used was actually even more profound than the technique which Thearch Darkstill used. However, Youngflame Freak was just far too weak. He was only able to make use of a tiny part of the true technique.

“When these nine children of mine fight against Ji Ning, I’ll send my mind and soul with them. Whatever they experience, I’ll experience as well. I’ll be able to get a clear sense of what Ji Ning’s skills are,” Thearch Darkstill said.

“You are going to send out all nine bugbeasts?” The golden-robed elder felt a bit of heartache. “Three should be enough, right?”

“Best to be cautious. We’ve already failed once. We cannot fail again.” Thearch Darkstill sent out his will, causing the nine bugbeasts to once more screech in response. They then soared into the air, quickly disappearing into the emptiness of space towards Ji Ning’s direction.

……

The distorted, scrambled spacetime in this area was of no threat to injure Ning. His soul was so powerful that he could sense which places posed a threat to him and which places were safe.

Swoosh. As he flew forward, his eyes suddenly lit up. A dazzling beautiful lake had just appeared before him, and there was a little island in the center of the lake which was filled with wild grass.

“I didn’t expect such a beautiful place to exist within a region of such chaotic spacetime.” Ning’s heartforce had spread out to cover an area of tens of thousands of kilometers, and it was rippling out in waves to scan every single inch of the region. He verified that it wasn’t a trap, then flew straight down to the island and sat down. He pulled out a flagon of wine, then leaned back and took a sip for himself.

He looked rather relaxed, but in truth Ning was trying to decide what his next step should be.

“Ever since I entered the Darkstill world, I’ve been attacked by alien Outsiders every so often. They keep on challenging me, and they are very familiar with the local environment. They seem to know exactly where I am as well.” Ning frowned. This was quite an uncomfortable feeling, to not know where the enemy was but have the enemy know exactly where he was.

There was nothing for it. The reason why the Three Realms had never launched an actual assault against the Primordial Ruinworld was in large part due to how inhospitable the environment here was. This place was very hard to invade.

“The Darkstill world isn’t even that big. So long as I visit enough places, sooner or later I’ll sense some energy ripples and be able to locate one of the other four squads.” Ning suddenly frowned and turned to look towards the distance.

“Eh?”

“Here as well?”

“And there as well?”

Ning looked towards all eight directions from his position on the island. He could sense multiple auras approaching at high speed from different directions. He hurriedly rose to his feet, producing a Darknorth sword in his hand.

“Grwaaaar!” Accompanied by a growl, an azure beetle that had a pair of wings on its back suddenly appeared from a distorted region of spacetime that was more than ten thousand kilometers away. Its golden eyes stared fixedly towards Ning.

“Hissssss.” A giant, two-headed black serpent emerged from another part of the skies.

One bugbeast after another appeared, each of which had the aura of a True God.

Ning murmured softly to himself, “Bugbeasts?” Ning had learned multiple bugbeast-rearing techniques, both from stone steles of the prisonworld as well as from the techniques passed down by World God Northrest. There were many major powers in the primordial chaos who trained in these types of techniques. This was because major powers tended to live for a very long period of time. When they reached a bottleneck and were unable to grow stronger, they would divert a bit of their attention towards rearing powerful bugbeasts. These bugbeasts would be absolutely loyal and devoted towards them, and there was no chance of betrayal at all. They could be used to scout dangerous areas, or even block a critical blow meant for their master. There were many, many uses for such creatures.

1. Kuafu was mentioned long ago in the story via the mention of the divine ability, ‘Kuafu Sunchaser’.

2. As mentioned before, this is a famous figure from Journey to the West, someone who fought Sun Wukong to a standstill when he assaulted the Celestial Court.

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Chapter 11 – Sword Peacock

Book 22, True God, Chapter 11 – Sword Peacock

If you were lucky, you might end up rearing a bugbeast that was even more powerful than you!

Bugbeasts possessed low levels of intelligence, and they were far inferior to cultivators in terms of their insights into the Dao. However, this was precisely why it was fairly easy to upgrade them. Their most powerful weapons were their massive, powerful bodies.

“Grwaaaaar!” The nine bugbeasts were attacking from nine different directions. They were tens of thousands of kilometers away from Ji Ning, and they all shrieked, roared, and screeched as they stared at him.

Ning stood atop the island. He swept them with his gaze, then chuckled loudly. “I wonder which ‘major power’ is so terrified that he doesn’t dare to come in person and instead sends a few bugs over.”

Thearch Darkstill, whose mind and soul was riding with these nine bugbeasts, became rather angry upon hearing this.

“My children are more than enough to kill you.” The bugbeast shaped like a stone giant roared angrily. Deep under the cracked parts of its stony exterior, flesh and blood could be seen.

“Oh? Is that so?” Ning made his move.

Swish! A black lightning serpent flashed through the skies. A distance of just ten or twenty thousand kilometers was no distance at all to Ning; for him, travelling such a distance was as easy as taking a single step was for an ordinary mortal. He immediately appeared before the stone giant, and as he arrived an icy-cold streak of sword-light descended as well.

“Damn you.” The stone giant brandished his enormous club-like hands, smashing at Ning with them and completely ignoring Ning’s attack.

“Attack!” The other eight bugbeasts flew towards him as well. But suddenly…

Snick. Snick. Snick.

The sword-light flashed back to Ning’s side. Ning stood there calmly in front of the stone giant. The stone giant’s fists were just about to land upon Ning, but suddenly it froze. It stood there blankly for a moment, and then…its neck, chest, and flank all split apart. Its body was chopped apart into four evenly sized pieces, and the four pieces all began to fall downwards. Ning’s sword-light had completely snuffed out the stone giant’s life. In fact, Ning didn’t even use the rainbow-colored swordforce; against a foe of this level, there was no need to use it at all.

“What? He’s this powerful, even without using any swordforce at all? This sword-art definitely is something that only an expert who has mastered fifth-stage swordforce can come up with. There’s no mistaking it.” Thearch Darkstill instantly became certain of this. Ji Ning hadn’t used rainbow-colored swordforce, but this was precisely why he was terrifying.

“Flee.” The eight bugbeasts that had been charging towards Ning hurriedly began to scatter every which way.

“You want to run?” Ning’s gaze turned cold. Although he possessed the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique, these eight bugbeasts were all fleeing in a different direction, and they would soon disappear into a field of chaotic spacetime.

“Arise.” Ning pointed a finger up towards the skies.

Rumble….

The skies suddenly turned dark. Streaks of of rainbow-colored sword-light began to manifest in the area, and in just an instant the entire region seemed to have transformed into a world of rainbow-colored swordlight. This was a world of the sword.

The eight bugbeasts stared as the heavens and the earth around them suddenly transformed into a world of rainbow-colored sword-light. All of them were terrified. Thearch Darkstill, whose spirit was riding with them, immediately urged them to flee! Thearch Darkstill had already guessed that Ji Ning had reached the fifth stage of swordforce, which was why he wasn’t surprised at all. “Hmph. So what if he can manifest a world of the sword? This is a large-scale technique, yes, but that means that the technique will be fairly weak. Every single streak of sword-light is quite feeble; there’s no way it will be able to harm my children.”

“Sword Peacock!” Ning murmured these words softly, but his voice was like the voice of Heaven and Earth. When he spoke, his words resonated throughout this region as though an edict had just been proclaimed.

The brilliant rainbow-colored swordlight filling the area instantly began to merge together, forming a sight that looked like flower buds blooming or like a peacock displaying its feathers.

Whooooooosh.

The sword-light radiated an arcane intent as it swept forward, and the countless streaks of rainbow sword-light solidified into a total of 1001 peacock feathers, so dazzling and beautiful that one couldn’t help but feel intoxicated by them.

The eight fleeing bugbeasts didn’t have any chance to escape at all. The terrifying sword-light passed right through them…and then their bodies completely crumbled apart, all life extinguished.

All nine of the bugbeasts had been slain!

“The seven sword-stances of [Sword-Heaven-Earth] truly are extraordinarily powerful.” Ning nodded slightly.

This technique was not a technique he had created himself.

His own original creation was the [Brightmoon] sword-art, a sword-art which was meant for battling against foes in close combat. All of its techniques, including ‘Heavenbreaker’, ‘Blood Drop’, and ‘Shadowless’ were meant for dueling.

The seven sword-stances of [Sword-Heaven-Earth], however, were techniques that were meant for massacring weaker foes on a vast scale. They involved using a large amount of swordforce in order to massacre the enemies! This sort of technique was extremely effective against numerous weaker foes, but it was much less effective against someone who was comparable in strength to you. For that situation, the [Brightmoon] sword-art was still better.

Sometimes, sufficiently large quantities of cannon fodder could have an impact on the overall flow of a battle. Using a sword-art like [Sword-Heaven-Earth] against them could be quite effective. Ning had no desire to come up with such a butcher’s technique on his own, but he had discovered [Sword-Heaven-Earth] amongst the ninety-eight sword techniques inscribed on those stone steles left behind by World God Northrest.

Just now, Ning used the second stance of [Sword-Heaven-Earth], ‘Sword Peacock’.

“Daofather-level bugbeasts like them…” Ning shook his head, then took a single step forward and flew into the skies. He once more disappeared into space, advancing forward in the hopes of joining together with the other squads.

……

The ancestral grounds of the Darkstill world.

“What a terrifying sword-art.” Thearch Darkstill was still engrossed in pondering the dazzling sword-art he had just seen, the one which had looked like a peacock spreading its feathers. He was an elite Daofather, after all, and so he was able to see exactly how terrifying that beautiful sword-art was.

It must be understood that even when Daofathers used magic treasures, they had to send those magic treasures flying off into the distance to assault their foes. This sword-art, however, used rainbow-colored swordforce as its underlying power source. With a thought, the wielder was able to fill an extremely wide swathe of land with the swordforce while maintaining a terrifying level of power.

“Dazzling.”

“Arcane.

“Shockingly sharp.”

Thearch Darkstill was completely stunned. “When I followed the Lord of All Things, I went to quite a few places within the primordial chaos…but this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a dazzling, beautiful sword-art. This sword-art alone is profound enough to be proclaimed the number one sword-art of the Three Realms. Terrifying. This sword-art is utterly terrifying.”

Of course, he had no idea that this was something which World God Northrest, someone who stood at the very peak of power amongst World Gods, had come up with after meditating on the nameless sword-art he had acquired. Even other World Gods would be amazed by this technique, to say nothing of a mere True God such as Thearch Darkstill.

“It won’t be easy to deceive an expert like this. To lure him into the Forest of Dreams will be far too difficult. In addition…the Forest might not be able to hold him.” Thearch Darkstill had personally witnessed that last sword-art, after all. He now had a much higher opinion of Ji Ning than before. In his heart, Ji Ning was now considered an even more terrifying figure than Daoist Jade Cauldron.

“How could he have come up with a sword-art like this?” Thearch Darkstill couldn’t help but ask himself this question. “Well…I need to go see Godfiend Witherspike right away.”

……

Deep within the Primordial Ruinworld. Within the dark golden castle.

Witherspike remained seated atop his throne, relaxing as he stared at four different scenes that were playing out in the air before him. These scenes were of Kuafu, Daoist Jade Cauldron, Tathagata, and Fuxi as they fought in combat.

“The Nuwa Alliance really is powerful…and this should just be part of their total strength.” He couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“The bulk of their forces remain in the Three Realm, unwilling to leave their headquarters. If they did, our Seamless Gate would absolutely wreck their worlds and their headquarters.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven let out a chuckle.

“Anyone who is skilled in formations is a monster as far as I am concerned. This Fuxi fellow, and that Keeper Everwood of your Seamless Gate…ugh. I really don’t understand. How did they end up developing such troublesome and complicated formations?” The alien Outsider couldn’t help but let out another sigh. “I don’t have any interest in developing formations myself. Personal power is what matters the most, as far as I am concerned.”

“Almighty Master.” A voice rang out from outside.

The alien Outsider was startled, but Celestial Immortal Blackheaven let out a laugh. “Thearch Darkstill has arrived. It seems we are going to hear some good news.”

“Darkstill is quite reliable when taking on missions.” The alien Outsider glanced calmly towards the outside. Soon, Thearch Darkstill arrived before him, hurriedly falling to his knees with respect. “Master, as you ordered I did my best to either slay Ji Ning or lure him into the Forest of Dreams. However…Ji Ning is simply far too powerful. Your subordinate is truly incapable of this.”

“Too powerful?” The nearby Celestial Immortal Blackheaven frowned. “He’s a young fellow who has trained for less than a thousand years. How powerful could he possibly be?”

“Your subordinate sent the ‘Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation’ to deal with Ji Ning, but all 199 Empyrean Gods of the formation perished in battle without even being able to send any information back,” Thearch Darkstill said. “Ji Ning is extremely cautious. There’s no way for any of my minions to get close to him or to lure him anywhere.”

The seated alien Outsider frowned. “Has he reached the fifth stage of swordforce?”

“Master, your subordinate sent nine bugbeasts to deal with Ji Ning. Would you like to see the results of that battle?” Thearch Darkstill asked.

“Yes.” The alien Outsider nodded.

Thearch Darkstill immediately pointed towards the empty air next to him. Scenes of the battle instantly appeared and began to play in empty air. This was what Thearch Darkstill had personally witnessed just now.

The entire hall was completely silent. Everyone was focused on the battle.

The nine bugbeasts appeared. Ji Ning rose to his feet and drew his sword.

His sword struck out, and a bugbeast was split apart into four pieces. The alien Outsider nodded and pronounced his judgment. “This sword-art is indeed proof that he has reached the fifth stage of swordforce.”

The eight bugbeasts began to flee in different directions. Ji Ning pointed towards the heavens, causing a boundless amount of swordforce to descend and forming an entire world of swordforce. Then, he used a horrifying sword-art to massacre the bugbeasts…‘Sword Peacock’!

It was like a peacock spreading its feathers. It was a dazzlingly beautiful scene, and one which caused all the powerful figures in the hall to turn completely silent.

Only a long moment later did the seated alien Outsider let out a soft sigh. “How beautiful. What a beautiful sword. It has been a long time since I’ve seen such a beautiful sword-art. The last time I did see such a sword-art was when I was at the city of Hillfall, where I saw distant Chaos Immortals battling in the sky. That was the only time I’ve ever seen such beautiful sword-arts. He truly is the number one Sword Immortal of your Three Realms. This reputation…it is completely deserved!”

All the figures present nodded. This sword-art was a technique for committing butchery, but it was also an intoxicatingly beautiful technique.

“How could it be this powerful? How did he become even more powerful than he was back when he was in the Deerchaser world?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven found this all quite hard to accept. “Back then, he still had to rely on the Envoy. Now, all by himself and when using just a single sword, he is able to unleash such tremendous power.”

“Master, I have something to report.” Thearch Darkstill’s face suddenly changed.

“What is it?” The alien Outsider frowned. He had been entranced by the beauty of that sword-art; naturally, he was quite unhappy to be roused from his reverie.

Thearch Darkstill said hurriedly, “After Ji Ning slew my nine bugbeasts, he continued to advance. He’s now sensed ripples emanating from a battle which Kuafu’s squad is engaged in. He’s moving towards Kuafu’s squad at high speed and is going to join with them soon.”

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Chapter 12 – Joining Together

Book 22, True God, Chapter 12 – Joining Together

“He’s about to join together with Kuafu’s squad?” The alien Outsider drummed on the throne’s armrest with his fingers, then smiled as he looked at Celestial Immortal Blackheaven. “Blackheaven, Ji Ning truly is the undisputed number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms. This sword-art alone ensures that there’s no way those useless minions of mine can deal with him. Even by himself, he’s very hard to deal with. Once he joins together with Kuafu, it’ll be even harder to deal with him. There’s nothing I can do. If the Seamless Gate wishes to stop him, I suggest you hurry.”

Blackheaven said hurriedly, “The strategy we agreed upon with you, Godfiend, was that we would make use of the inhospital environment of the Primordial Ruinworld to kill as many of the True Gods and Daofathers of the Three Realms as possible. It isn’t time for the Seamless Gate to attack yet. Once we do, the Endwar shall immediately begin.”

“Hmph. Then we are out of options,” the alien Outsider said calmly.

……

The Three Realms. Within a palace in the Allfiend world.

Sixteen True Gods and Daofathers were here, including the Lord of All Fiends, Keeper Everwood, Daomother Devilhand, the black-robed Godking, Daofather Netherjade, and others. Some had sent their true bodies, with others manifesting incarnations. The weakest figure present was still an elite Daofather.

“Master.” A voice rang out from outside.

“Blackheaven. Come in,” the Lord of All Fiends said.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven entered, then said respectfully, “We just received a new intelligence report from the Primordial Ruinworlds.”

The seated True Gods and Daofathers all looked towards Blackheaven. The Lord of All Fiends said, “Speak.”

“Master, please take a look.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven pointed towards an empty space nearby. Instantly, scenes of a battle began to be displayed. It was the battle between Ji Ning and those nine bugbeasts. After watching the scene, Blackheaven was naturally able to reproduce it for the benefit of others.

“Ji Ning?”

“Ji Ning’s fighting against nine bugbeasts. From the looks of them, those bugbeasts should be quite powerful, at the level of True Gods.”

The major powers were paying close to attention to this fight. When they saw Ning easily slay a bugbeast with just a single sword-strike, they simply frowned. But when ‘Sword Peacock’ was displayed, all the major powers in the hall were stunned. In fact, looks of absolute rapture could be seen in the eyes of Daomother Devilhand and a few other Daofathers as she saw the beautiful technique.

“What a beautiful sword-art.” Daomother Devilhand let out a soft sigh. “It really is beautiful.”

“What a terrifying sword-art.” Keeper Everwood nodded as well.

“This is just a area-of-effect sword-art Ji Ning uses to attack a host of weaker foes. His close-combat skills are undoubtedly even more terrifying. He was able to easily kill that bugbeast without even using his rainbow swordforce; this means that strike just revealed a tiny portion of his true power.” The Lord of All Fiend became even more solemn. “Sword Immortal Darknorth of the Nuwa Alliance has now become one of our major foes. He’s no weaker than Daofather Fuju was!”

“He’s trained for a shorter period of time than Daofather Fuju had,” Keeper Everwood said. “He’s trained for less than a thousand years, but has reached such a level of power.”

“The efforts of our ‘Godking’ really were quite indispensable in helping Ji Ning to train so quickly,” Daomother Devilhand said mockingly as she glanced sideways at the ashen-faced Godking.

The black-robed Godking was filled with sullen resentment. When he saw that lovely sword-strike, even he felt uncontrollably mesmerized by it. It was simply too beautiful.

The next moment, however, he remember that the person who had displayed that sword-strike was Ji Ning. Ji Ning was once a minor figure who he held in complete contempt, so much so that the Godking didn’t even care that much about using Yu Wei as a chess piece. Who would’ve thought that this minor figure would have become even more powerful than him! Although he didn’t want to admit it, he knew quite well that Ji Ning no longer needed to use any formations to fight with him. That sword-strike alone was proof that Ji Ning had vastly surpassed him. This sword-art alone ensured that Ji Ning was very close to the overlord level of power!

“No one could’ve imagined that Ji Ning would advance so rapidly. The actions the Godking took against him, such as the destruction of Yu Wei’s soul…normally speaking, those actions should’ve cast a shadow over his heart and perhaps even thrown him into an eternal stupor, never to advance any further. The Godking’s actions weren’t wrong. Ji Ning…Ji Ning is simply too much of a monster,” Daofather Augur said with a laugh.

“A shadow over his heart?” Daomother Devilhand shook her head. “I heard that during the Crimsonbright Realmwar, this dear Godking of ours tried to force Ji Ning to choose to join us. Instead, he broke through to the fourth stage of heartforce in the blink of an eye. This time, our Godking went straight to killing Yu Wei’s soul…and in yet another blink of an eye, Ji Ning’s nearly become an overlord-class figure. Last time in the Deerchaser world, Ji Ning had to rely on the Rahu Formation and his Envoy in order to reach this level of power. This time, he no longer has to rely on any external sources of help.”

“Godking.” Daomother Devilhand turned and smiled at him. “Some people are irrepressible. You simply can’t beat them down. The more you pressure you place upon them, the more dazzling their performance shall be. Ji Ning is one such person.”

“Thank you for your lesson, aunt-master.” The black-robed Godking bowed towards her.

“Ji Ning has already turned into a serious problem for us.” The Lord of All Fiends looked at the others, then instructed, “Blackheaven, keep a close eye on him in the Primordial Ruinworld. If you can find a chance to kill him there, do so.”

“Yes,” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven assented respectfully.

……

The Primordial Ruinworld. The Darkstill world.

A titanic foot that was tens of thousands of kilometers in size pierced through the skies, slamming downwards towards the land. Mountains and rivers alike were completely crushed and flattened by this foot as an enormous footprint was gouged into the earth.

The giant foot then quickly shrank in size, and a bare-chested, muscular man who was dressed in a fur loincloth appeared. The laughed loudly, “Ahaha, these dogshit formations sure are a pain in the ass. They seem so mysterious and profound, but when I put my foot down even the earth itself is blasted apart. Doesn’t that wreck those formations perfectly?”

“The ones you can destroy are all the weaker ones.” A golden-robed woman with draconic horns on her head laughed as she walked towards him.

“That was a bit anticlimactic. I wanted to spend a bit more time studying the mysteries of this formation.” A handsome, silver-haired, fan-wielding youth shook his head.

“Kuafu took advantage of the fact that he runs faster than me. Otherwise, I would’ve split that formation apart with a blow of my axe.” A massive headless Fiendgod walked next to them as well. This headless Fiendgod was bare-chested as well, but he had eyes where his nipples should have been and a mouth where his belly button should have been. His belly-mouth was speaking rather unhappily.

“Xingtian, I didn’t ‘run’ per se. I just stretched my leg out and stepped on that dogshit formation.” The muscular man holding a wooden staff in his hands was Kuafu. Kuafu laughed smugly, and he even twiddled his toes a bit.

The six Fiendgods chatted and joked amongst themselves as they continued to cause destruction. Deadly formations? Screw’m. They’d first give them a chop of the axe or a good hard stomping.

When the six of them worked together, their actions were straightforward and brutal.

“Eh?” The handsome, fan-wielding youth’s face changed slightly as he turned to look off into the distance. “Something’s happening?”

The other five Fiendgods, upon hearing his words, all grew careful as they turned over as well. They knew very well that although their good friend ‘Windfate’ was an ordinary Daofather, his senses were incredibly acute. He could use the wind to sense many things which others could not sense. In fact, he was also very skilled at scrying on the workings of fate itself, which was why he was known as Daofather Windfate. In this squad, he was the best detector of danger; without him, these brutish figures would’ve easily been drawn into dangerous, trap-filled regions.

Swoosh. A black lightning serpent was flying towards them from afar.

“A Ninehorn Lightning Serpent?” Upon seeing the black serpent, all of them relaxed slightly.

“It’s Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning.” Xingtian laughed. “The only person who can use this [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique in the Three Realms should be Ji Ning. But…it’s a bit odd. Wasn’t his true body destroyed by the Seamless Gate?”

“Patriarch Subhuti told me that Ji Ning would come, but I didn’t expect him to come using the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent],” a soft, gentle-looking maiden said.

Ning’s figure appeared in midair above them, then began to descend.

“Ji Ning.”

“Darknorth.”

The six Fiendgods walked towards him in a very friendly manner.

“Respectful greetings to you,” Ning said hurriedly. He had something of a friendship with Xingtian the Heaven Punisher long ago, thanks to the latter permitting him to use the ‘Heaven Punisher Formation’. As for the other five, he had met four of them before. It was back when Exalted Celestial Thundergod and some other major powers had sought to learn the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique from him; back then, a large group of major powers had congregated around him.

True God Xingtian laughed. “Ji Ning, let me make the introductions. This fellow here is Kuafu, a barbarian who has warts for brains.”

“You make it sound like you are very refined and gentile,” Kuafu said with a laugh.

“Kuafu actually knows the word ‘gentile’? How unexpected.” The fan-wielding Daofather Windfate chortled.

“Ji Ning, Subhuti told me that you’d be coming. Not bad, not bad…it seems your true body is in perfect shape.” Kuafu reached out with his hand and patted Ning on the shoulders.

Xingtian continued with the introductions. “This is Daofather Windfate.”

Daofather Windfate folded his fan, then nodded and smiled at Ning.

“This is Empress Xi.” Kuafu pointed at the dragon-horned woman dressed in golden robes.

Ning nodded. Empress Xi was also a Fiendgod. She was actually the grand-daughter of the Ancestor Dragon. The Ancestor Dragon had nine sons. One of them, the Bi’an Tiger, had a daughter who he named Xi. No one expected that Xi would actually prove to be even more formidable than her father, and she eventually became an elite Daofather.

“This is Luwu.” Xingtian pointed at the honest-looking man.

“True God Luwu.” Ning greeted him.

Luwu smiled. He looked like the honest, straightforward man he was. He had become an Empyrean God long ago, and he had served as a guard for quite a few different major powers. In fact, he had once been a guard and general for the Celestial Emperor which Xingtian had slain. When Xingtian had assaulted the Celestial Court, Luwu had attempted to stop him, only to fail.

After that great battle, Xingtian had finally made his breakthrough to become a True God. A few years later, however, the low-key Luwu had also silently, soundlessly broken through to become a True God.

“This is Graceful Peacock.” Xingtian pointed at the gentle-looking maiden. “She has four clones, and one of them is in each squad. This makes it easier for our squads to communicate with each other.”

“Greetings to you, Daomother Graceful Peacock,” Ning said.

Graceful Peacock had an extremely formidable elder brother, Mahamayuri of the Buddhist Sangha. During the Primordial Era, he had become a figure who was close to the overlord level of power. His savage reputation was known throughout the Primordial Era, but in this day and age he rarely showed himself. 1

Both Graceful Peacock and Mahamayuri were the children of the deceased Elder God known as the ‘Phoenix’.

Although Graceful Peacock was merely an ordinary Daomother, she had been able to cultivate her five peacock feathers into five separate clones, each of which had bodies like top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures that were completely unbreakable. She usually sent those clones out to adventure, while her true body was kept safe in the legendary Phoenix Palace.

“We’ve sent a total of four squads to destroy the Primordial Ruinworlds,” Kuafu said with a loud laugh. “Our squad completely consists of Fiendgods – Myself, Empress Xi, Windfate, Graceful Peacock, and Luwu. Lord Tathagata the Buddha is commanding a squad that is completely composed of Buddhas of the Buddhist Sangha; their squad has four total! Fuxi’s squad also has four members, each of whom is a major power of the human race. The final squad is led by Daoist Jade Cauldron, which consists of seven True Gods and Daofathers of the Daoist Path.”

“Now that you’ve joined us…hm. We’ve already decided upon a joint combination formation that we are using. I’m not exactly sure how we should work you into it.” Kuafu pondered on this matter.

These Daofather squads all came equipped with formations, so as to be able to unleash tremendous power in battle.

“How about this?” Xingtian said. “Ji Ning, just follow us. If you encounter anything dangerous, just stay inside our formation for now. We don’t have enough time to alter the formation for you right now.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

In truth, Xingtian and Kuafu were speaking in quite a delicate, tactful manner. Because all six of them were True Gods, when they unleashed their formation they were able to do in a very perfect manner. But now, Ji Ning had suddenly appeared. As they saw it, he was just an Empyrean God. He might have some special techniques, but if everyone else in the formation had True God divine power while Ning only had Empyrean God divine power, an imbalance would occur.

Ning had his own concerns as well. Xingtian and the others all had True God power, while he himself was a half-step Elder God. His divine power was even purer than theirs. If he joined their formation, it truly would cause an imbalance. It probably was indeed better for him to act independently for now.

“Be careful and stay close to us. The Primordial Ruinworld isn’t easy to deal with,” Kuafu advised. He actually cared quite deeply about Ji Ning, as Ji Ning had rendered tremendous merits to the Nuwa Alliance. However, Kuafu was quite puzzled as well…why had Ji Ning even come? Didn’t he know that he would just be slowing them down? Still, this question really wasn’t very appropriate to actually voice.

“I won’t cause any trouble.” Ning nodded.

“Alright. Let’s head out.” Kuafu gave the order, and the group of seven began to advance once more, smashing through all impediments that sought to bar their path.

1. Mahamayuri is also known as the Peacock Wisdom King, and is often shown as being or riding a peacock.

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Chapter 13 – A Dangerous Zone

Book 22, True God, Chapter 13 – A Dangerous Zone

Whoosh! The squad continued to fly forwards, smashing through all obstacles. Even if they did encounter any problems, Kuafu would stretch out his massive leg across tens of thousands of kilometers and flatten anything in front of them.

When Ji Ning had been travelling alone, he had suffered occasional attacks from the likes of the nine bugbeasts and the Fiendgod formation, but now that he was alongside Kuafu and the rest of the True Gods things were much simpler.

“Does this feel easy?” Xingtian and Ning were flying shoulder-to-shoulder atop a cloud, and he smiled as he asked Ning this question.

Ning glanced at Xingtian’s belly-mouth. He was quite calm; he himself had once commanded a Heaven Punisher Formation before, after all. Laughing, Ning replied, “Yes. I haven’t even had a chance to fight.”

“Kuafu is the fastest person here. None of us can overtake him.” Xingtian chuckled. “And you should know that the alien Outsiders of the Primordial Ruinworld are weaker than the experts of the Three Realms to begin with. This is why they simply don’t dare to fight against us head-on when we attack. Their only recourse is to use some of the more dangerous features of the local terrain to deal with us. The Darkstill world, however, is one of the top-ranked worlds of the Primordial Ruinworld. Worlds like the Darkstill world that were taken over by powerful races are actually the least dangerous worlds of all.”

Ning nodded. It made sense. The powerful races would want to take over the best places to live. The truly deadly places weren’t suitable for life to flourish. The Three Realms, for example, was a wonderful place to live, but it had been taken over by the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate.

“That’s why we can be fairly relaxed here at the Darkstill world. Once we reach some truly dangerous worlds, however, things will become much tenser.” Xingtian instructed, “When the time comes, you’ll need to be very careful. There are some extremely dangerous regions which will spell guaranteed doom for even overlord-class Daofathers who are trapped within them.”

“Understood,” Ning replied solemnly.

It was very true that there were some places which would spell certain doom for even overlords!

The Primordial Ruinworld had ten famous danger zones, and the ‘Voidsea’ was ranked first and foremost amongst the ten.

The ‘waters’ of the Voidsea consisted of countless shattered pieces of voidspace. The pieces of voidspace all clashed against each other, generating terrifying levels of destructive power. Even top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures would be ground to dust by them! Only Chaos treasures would withstand their destructive force.

To this day, no one had ever dared to enter the Voidsea and face that terrifying destructive force. Not even Mother Nuwa had ever given it a try. Perhaps she gained the power to survive it after becoming a World God, but why would she be willing to take on such an unnecessary risk?

The squad continued to advance. Two days later.

“Eh?” Ning stared downwards. There was an enormous city of buildings beneath them. There were even some dazzlingly beautiful palaces amongst the strange alien edifices, but all of them were in wretched condition. Many of those buildings had clearly been chopped or blasted apart.

Kuafu glanced downwards, then let out a loud laugh. “Judging from those sword-scars, Daoist Jade Cauldron must have come here. He’s quite fast.”

“It was indeed Daoist Jade Cauldron’s squad which destroyed this ancestral homeland of the Darkstill race,” Graceful Peacock said. One of her clones was in each squad, and so she knew exactly what was going on where.

“The ancestral homeland of the Darkstill race…” Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh. This was a war for survival. For the sake of the Nuwa Alliance’s survival, their only options were to force their enemies to flee, to surrender…or to be completely wiped out. There were no other options.

“Come. We’ve spent five days here at the Darkstill world and have completely scoured it clean. Time to go to the next world,” Kuafu said. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.” Ning and the others immediately continued on their journey.

This journey was quite an uneventful one. Even when they did encounter some minor problems, Kuafu and the others would deal with them. There was no need for Ning to intervene at all, and Ning was in no rush to do so. He had come to the Primordial Ruinworld to help fight and help them win. When they truly needed him, he would make his move. In fact, if they could win the entire war without him revealing his true power, that would be even better.

Ning had always been quite calm. Now that he had reached the overlord level of power, he had become even calmer and more self-assured than before.

“Those words I heard in the past were true. Only when one has become truly powerful does one have the right to be relaxed and self-assured in dealing with all things,” Ning murmured to himself.

……

The Three Realms. Allclans Palace, the imperial palace of the Primordial Imperial Clan, also known as the imperial palace of the Yu the Great’s clan.

During the Primordial Era, the human clans had summoned all of their major powers to come here. When the human clans had reached the true zenith of their power, they had been the rulers of the entire Primordial World. Many Fiendgods such as Xingtian or the Raindragon had long ago opted to stand alongside the human race.

Inside the palace were the Three Sovereigns of Mankind, the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism, Patriarch Subhuti, great divinity Houyi, various elite Daofathers of the Daoist Path and Buddhist Sangha, and a number of unaffiliated Daofathers. They had gathered here more than half a year ago. Ever since the war against the Primordial Ruinworld had started, they had gathered here.

But of course, most only sent incarnations or clones! The reason they were gathered here was to ensure that they could all mobilize together at a moment’s notice.

“Fuxi’s squad has already entered the extremely dangerous ‘Thousand Mountains’ world,” Suiren said. “This is the most dangerous world they have encountered since they launched their assault against the Primordial Ruinworld!”

“Those alien Outsiders are quite crafty.” Daoist Three Purities nodded. “They’ve been unwilling to fight head-on, and we haven’t been able to find any of their true headquarters. We’ve already finished destroying the easy targets, those safer worlds. Now, our only option is to assault the extremely dangerous ones.”

“As I see it!” Suddenly, a muscular, black-armored figure seated below him boomed out in a deep voice. “Ji Ning’s sudden addition to the strike team of Daofathers is going to be a problem. Things were fine in the first few months because they were only dealing with the safe worlds; in fact, he didn’t even need to help out, as my old brother Kuafu and the others dealt with everything! But now they are entering the Thousand Mountains world, and that is a dangerous place indeed. When something dangerous happens, Kuafu and the others might not even be able to protect themselves, to say nothing of Ji Ning. When that happens, Ji Ning will end up slowing them down and exposing them!”

“Although I dislike Thundergod’s personality,” a skinny old man with an extraordinary demeanor said, “His words aren’t unreasonable. We sent out those squads after careful discussion, and every member of the squad can join together into a combination formation. But with Ji Ning thrown into the mix…no matter which squad he joins, he won’t be able to work with their combination formations. At this point in time, he really could easily become a burden to them. I’m worried that he’s going to make things harder for Kuafu and Xingtian’s team.”

The major powers seated below all began to speak their thoughts.

A few months ago, when Ji Ning had first entered the Primordial Ruinworld, they had discussed this matter. However, things weren’t quite so dangerous back then as the squads hadn’t encountered any of the more dangerous worlds. None of them opposed Ji Ning’s presence; his master was Subhuti, after all, while his senior apprentice-brother was Houyi. They had to give these two figures some face.

“Subhuti.” After being silent for a long moment, Daoist Three Purities turned his head to look at Patriarch Subhuti.

Shennong turned to look at him as well.

Although they all liked Ji Ning very much, this was an extremely important undertaking. Personal feelings could not be allowed to interfere with their decisions. They had to make the best decisions possible for the alliance.

“Haha…” Subhuti began to laugh.

The major powers present all looked towards Subhuti in confusion.

“Subhuti, what are you laughing at?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod frowned.

Subhuti glanced sideways at Thundergod, then said, “Ji Ning definitely won’t become a burden.”

“Oh?”

Shennong, Daoist Three Purities, Suiren, and the others all revealed curious looks on their faces. The major powers seated below them began to whispers amongst themselves as well.

Subhuti chuckled again but said nothing else.

“As inscrutable and mysterious as ever.” Daoist Three Purities shook his head.

“When the time comes, you will know.” Subhuti raised a white eyebrow at the group. Houyi, seated next to him, revealed a hint of a smile. He had known Subhuti for far, far too long. He knew exactly what type of a personality his master had.

The major powers continued to chat and jest with each other. For people as long-lived as them, a conversation or a debate about the Dao could easily last for thousands of years. In the past, before the war had begun, two of them might spent a century on a single game of chess.

Just half a day later.

“Not good.” Graceful Peacock was seated below them, and in this moment her beautiful, gentle face changed dramatically. “Everyone!”

Instantly, all the major powers turned their heads to look at Graceful Peacock. Four of her clones were with the four squads while the fifth one was here at the Allclans Palace. She was responsible for sending and delivering messages.

Upon seeing the heavy look on her face, all the major powers felt their hearts clench.

“Just now, Kuafu’s team was trapped inside a danger zone, the ‘Earthmoan Mountain’.”

“Earthmoan Mountain?” All of the major powers were shocked. Earthmoan Mountain was an extremely famous danger zone. Long ago, when the Daofathers of the Three Realms had entered the Primordial Ruinworld to test themselves, some had died there!

“Earthmoan Mountain is extremely dangerous.” Daoist Three Purities immediately said, “I’ve been there before, and I ended up being trapped for more than three thousand years. Have Tathagata go to them right away. Tathagata has the best chance of them all for overcoming Earthmoan Mountain.”

“Alright.” Graceful Peacock nodded frantically. “I’ve already informed Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha and the other three are heading there right now.”

……

The Primordial Ruinworld. The Thousand Mountains world.

Ning had spent more than three months here in the Primordial Ruinworld. He had followed Kuafu’s team this entire time and had experienced no real danger thus far at al.

“This is the Thousand Mountains world. We have to be careful,” Graceful Peacock warned.

“Ahahaha, if any danger appears, I’ll smush it with my foot!” Kuafu hoisted up his wooden staff as he laughed loudly, but after laughing he still said to Daofather Windfate, “Windfate, keep a close watch on things.”

“Right.” Daofather Windfate nodded.

The seven of them were flying atop a cloud, and the land around them was filled with countless mighty mountains.

“Why do I suddenly have the feeling that we just went past this mountain a while ago?” Ning suddenly pointed towards the front.

“Eh?!” Kuafu stared at him, then took a close look as well. He then nodded repeatedly. “Right. We just went past this place.”

“Not good.” Daofather Windfate concentrated for a moment, then the look on his face completely changed. “This is a formation that uses mountain ranges as the base. This is an extremely large formation, and it is extremely hard to detect. They must’ve switched just a few of the nearby mountains. Even I didn’t notice anything at all earlier.”

“We are already trapped inside a formation?” Xingtian was surprised.

“We are already inside.” Daofather Windfate nodded.

“What should we do?” Kuafu hurriedly asked.

“Two options,” Daofather Windfate said. “One, we forcibly destroy the formation by wrecking all those mountain peaks. If we do that, we’ll be able to leave. But this should be a formation that was set up by Keeper Everwood, and he’s extremely skilled in the usage of plants and rocks. If he was the one to make this formation…judging from how large it is, we probably won’t be able to break it apart. The second option is to solve and break the formation itself, but we can’t do that either. Perhaps only Fuxi would be able to do that.”

As soon as his words came out…

Thump. It was like a heartbeat that rang out from deep within the ground.

Thump. Thump. Thump. One deep heartbeat after another rang out, echoing throughout the area. The ‘mountain ranges’ around them suddenly disappeared, transforming into endless amounts of foul water that flowed out in rivers and creeks.

The cloud which Ning’s group was on had actually been completely surrounded by the reeking water.

“T-this…this is Earthmoan Mountain.” Daofather Windfate’s face instantly turned completely ashen. “Too late. It’s all too late.”

“We actually ended up being drawn into Earthmoan Mountain without even knowing it.” Luwu’s face had changed as well.

All of them felt their heartrates quicken.

“What a profound formation.” Ning said softly, “We didn’t notice anything at all earlier…and by the time we did, we had already been lured into Earthmoan Mountain.”

“Lord Buddha has already been notified. He’s on his way right now,” Graceful Peacock said hurriedly.

“Be careful, everyone. No matter what, don’t let yourself get separated.” Kuafu growled savagely, “This is the most dangerous place we have encountered since entering the Primordial Ruinworld. Even if Lord Buddha comes, he’ll still need time to break apart Earthmoan Mountain! We need to hang on and endure until he manages to break us free. If we cannot…then we will die in here.”

“Right.” Ning and the rest of the six all nodded. They now all had solemn looks on their faces. At a time like this, no one dared to be overconfident.

“The cries of the earth have already begun,” Graceful Peacock said. “When the cries of the earth reach a crescendo, deadly danger shall descend upon us.”

Thump! Yet another earthen heartbeat rang out, this one even louder than the previous ones. Even the endless flows of foul water around them seemed to shudder.

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Chapter 14 – Earthmoan Mountain

Book 22, True God, Chapter 14 – Earthmoan Mountain

Lord Tathagata the Buddha and his three companions were flying through the air like an enormous streak of golden light as they rapidly advanced towards Earthmoan Mountain.

“Graceful Peacock, can they keep holding?” Tathagata sent mentally.

There were countless beings living in Tathagata’s [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm], with one of Graceful Peacock’s clones being there as well.

“The heartbeat sounds are rapidly becoming stronger and louder. When the sounds reach a crescendo, the attacks will begin. Right now all of us are waiting carefully, but we have yet to be attacked,” Graceful Peacock replied from within the Buddha-realm.

“You have to be careful.” Tathagata said a few more words, then turned to the three Buddhas by his side. “You should also enter my Buddha-realm for now as well. I’ll be able to travel more quickly that way.”

“Yes, Lord Buddha,” the other three Buddhas replied. Tathagata was the undisputed leader of the Buddist community.

Tathagata waved his hand and collected those three Buddhas. Immediately after doing so, the midair golden streak of light surrounding him became even quicker as it flew towards Earthmoan Mountain.

……

Within the castle located deep inside the Primordial Ruinworld.

“Master, success! Kuafu’s squad has already been lured into Earthmoan Mountain,” the skinny elder said jubilantly.

Godfiend Witherspike, seated atop his throne, let out a soft chuckle. “When we make a move, we have to make a big one! We let these bumpkins from the Three Realms have too easy a time of it earlier. Now, it’s time to give them a hard hit.”

“The Thousand Mountains world is a world which both we and the Seamless Gate have spent enormous time, effort, and resources building up. The entire world is a huge trap. The Nuwa Alliance obviously knows that, but they still have to charge straight inside.” The red-bearded elder let out a laugh. “They can’t locate us. All they can do is wreck the entire Primordial Ruinworld in their hunt. They have to assault and destroy every single world. It’s very possible that we’ll be able to wipe out two or three of their squads here at Thousand Mountains world.”

“Kuafu’s squad should be done for, at least.” Godfiend Witherspike nodded slowly. “As for the other three…let’s see how talented they are.”

“Ji Ning.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven remained standing on his feet, staring at the scene being played out in midair. It was a scene showing Earthmoan Mountain, with Kuafu’s squad having already been trapped inside of it. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven let out a cold laugh. “Now that you’ve entered Earthmoan Mountain, I want to see just how you’ll survive this one!”

“Master, Buddha Tathagata is advancing rapidly towards Earthmoan Mountain,” the towering, muscular, golden-armored figure suddenly said.

“Hmph. Keeper Everwood personally set up the formations around Earthmoan Mountain, and the formations are already activated and constantly transforming. Once Tathagata charges into the formation, he’ll virtually have no chance of locating Earthmoan Mountain unless he actually destroys the formation itself. Given his power, he might actually be able to do that…but he’ll need time. By the time he succeeds, Kuafu’s squad would’ve died long ago.” Godfiend Witherspike smiled, licking his lower lips with his bright red tongue.

He, the exalted Godfiend, had been biding his time for far too long. This title, ‘Godfiend’…it was a title that had been won through countless seas of blood and mountains of severed flesh!

……

Within Earthmoan Mountain.

THUMP!

An extremely loud heartbeat rang out from under the ground, and the sound seemed to smash against the hearts of Ji Ning and the others. The entire team floated in midair, carefully watching their surroundings.

“Ji Ning, the six of us have set up a formation; we can work together to defend against any sneak attacks. You, however, don’t have anything protecting you. I think you should enter an estate-treasure for now. After we escape from Earthmoan Mountain, you can come out once more.” Kuafu’s group of six had already joined together into an enormous formation, and they were sharing their divine power with each other. All of them were surrounded by rings of golden light.

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

Kuafu frowned slightly upon seeing this. “This is a critical situation. You can’t be headstrong, Ji Ning.”

“No need to worry about me, fellow Daoist Kuafu. When my true body was destroyed by the Seamless Gate, I still ended up surviving, right?” Ning looked at Kuafu.

Kuafu was briefly startled, then nodded. “If you aren’t willing to hide, fine. How about this? Stay inside of our formation. If there any attacks come your way, the formation will be able to help you block a few blows. This formation protects against external attacks but not internal attacks. You’ll still be able to fight back from inside the formation.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded in acceptance.

Kuafu, Xingtian, Empress Xi, Windfate, Graceful Peacock, Luwu. These six True Gods were sharing their divine power with each other. Rings of golden light were surrounding them, helping to defend against any dangers, and Ning was located within the formation itself.

The six True Gods exchanged glances with each other, feeling quite resigned. As they saw it, this Sword Immortal Darknorth was being far too rash and arrogant. Earthmoan Mountain was such an incredibly dangerous place that even the six of them had to be extremely careful. In fact, they had even asked Lord Buddha to come rescue them. Ji Ning, however, insisted on staying outside…ugh! This overconfidence stemmed from the fact that he simply hadn’t trained for long enough!

Thump! Thump! Thump! Suddenly, the ‘pulse’ began to quicken.

The illusions around them began to change as well. Previously, they had been surrounded by endless tides of foul water. Now, it suddenly changed to a dense thicket of trees. Ning and the six were all standing within the thicket.

“Hurry up and leave. Fly out of the thicket,” Kuafu said hurriedly.

Swoosh! All seven of them strove to fly out, but no matter how hard or how quickly they flew, they remained trapped within the thicket.

“We won’t be able to fly out. Without being able to see through the illusions of Earthmoan Mountain, there’s no way we can leave it at all.” Daofather Windfate shook his head after taking another look. “When Daoist Three Purities was trapped here, he was able to rely on his incredible power to survive against the dangers present. Despite that, he was still trapped here for more than three thousand years before he was able to see the true face of Earthmoan Mountain and leave it.”

“These are all illusions.” Graceful Peacock was worried as well.

“We aren’t able to see through them and see the true face of Earthmoan Mountain,” Xingtian said with concern.

Ning carefully inspected the surrounding area as well.

Earthmoan Mountain was extremely famous. Once you entered it, you would face countless changing illusions and be perpetually trapped by them. Major powers might try to fly out with all their might, but they would remain within Earthmoan Mountain, unable to escape.

There were only two methods for leaving this place. The first was to rely on overwhelming raw power to annihilate the entire Earthmoan Mountain! However, not even Daoist Three Purities had been able to destroy this bizarre place. Most likely, only World Gods like Mother Nuwa would be able to accomplish it. There was no chance whatsoever that Ning’s group would be able to do it.

The second method was to do what Daoist Three Purities did; to see through the illusions and see the truth of Earthmoan Mountain. It would then be possible to fly out!

Lord Tathagata the Buddha was extremely skilled in seeing through illusions. The Buddhists were all quite skilled in illusions to begin with.

Bang! Suddenly, a terrifying attack descended, stabbing straight towards True God Luwu. The layers of golden light protecting True God Luwu were instantly pierced through! Judging from the way in which the piercing occurred, it appeared as the attack came from an awl-shaped object.

True God Luwu was so frightened that he immediately lashed out with his whip to block while frantically dodging.

Slash!

True God Luwu’s flank was sliced open. A large bloody wound appeared on his side, but his divine power quickly healed it.

“Everyone, be careful. Earthmoan Mountain’s attacks are very powerful,” True God Luwu said hurriedly. “The formation is unable to completely block it. However, the formation is still able to whittle away at its power a bit. If it wasn’t for the formation, I wouldn’t have merely lost a chunk of flesh; I would’ve been ripped in half.”

“Be careful,” Daofather Windfate said solemnly. “It looks like we are surrounded by a thicket of trees, but all of that is illusory. The true scene is that of those strange objects flying towards us and attacking us.”

Ning frowned as well.

Despite being weakened by their protective formation, that strange object was still able to easily wound a True God. This was simply far too terrifying. The worst part of it was…they had no idea where it had come from. By the time they were able to notice it, its attack would have already arrived as well.

“What should I do?” Ning carefully scanned his surroundings, his eyes blazing with torch-light. He used the [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] to carefully scan the area, but the only result was that the trees and the leaves around them became even sharper and more in-focus. He could now even see the leafy veins! But alas, he couldn’t find any traces of an illusion at all.

“To see through the illusions and see the truth…”

“How am I supposed to do that? When Daoist Three Purities was trapped here, he was also unable to leave until he saw through the illusions and saw the truth.” Ning frowned. “But how?”

Ning was carefully inspecting his surroundings with his physical vision, his coresense, and even his heartforce. All his senses, however, were ‘seeing’ exactly the same things his eyes were seeing. It was as though the trees and the thicket around them actually were real. In truth, it made sense; even Daoist Three Purities had been trapped here for three thousand years before being able to escape. Seeing through the illusions would be no easy feet!

Rumble…

Ning’s heartforce rippled out from him in a series of waves as Ning used the heartforce scrying technique which World God Northrest had transmitted to him, causing his heartforce scanned through every inch of space around him. This scanning technique could be said to be the most detailed such technique in the Three Realms. It truly surpassed all other similar techniques; Ning had searched the memories of the Fiendgods and Immortals of the Pangaea prisoners but was still unable to find any heartforce scrying technique that could compare to his.

Suddenly, his rippling heartforce seemed to detect a slight wave of motion.

Bang!

An invisible object once more stabbed straight through the layers of golden light and pierced towards Empress Xi.

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Chapter 15 – That Tiny Wave

Book 22, True God, Chapter 15 – That Tiny Wave

Empress Xi only noticed the attack after the strange object had torn through all those layers of protection. Her face instantly changed. “Not good!” She hurriedly dodged while brandishing her sleeves to block. Clang! The sharp object struck against her sleeves, then flew off towards another direction.

“Be careful, everyone.” Empress Xi said hurriedly, “It is too fast; you can’t let yourself be caught offguard!”

“Xingtian, do you have any more shield-type treasures?” True God Luwu asked hurriedly.

“I do.” Xingtian produced a small buckler in his hand, then sent it flying towards True God Luwu. It rapidly increased in size, becoming nearly half his height. True God Luwu grabbed the buckler with one hand, using his other to continue holding onto his metal whip.

Xingtian was similarly holding a buckler in one hand and his Heaven Punisher Axe in the other. He hurriedly asked, “Anyone else need a buckler?” As he spoke his gaze couldn’t help but turn towards Ning, located in the center of the formation.

Of the seven, Kuafu was the strongest. Xingtian and Empress Xi were next, but Xingtian already had a buckler while Empress xi was skilled in using her sleeves.

Next came Graceful Peacock, Windfate, and Luwu. Luwu had already acquired a buckler, while Daofather Windfate used his fan. The fan could also be used as a shield, and Daofather Windfate would actually be able to unleash more power with his fan than with a buckler. As for Graceful Peacock, her ‘body’ had been forged from a peacock feather that was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. She was actually safer than any of them.

As Xingtian saw it, Ji Ning was a wielder of the sword. The sword was an offensive weapon; defensively speaking, it was comparatively lacking. He felt that Ji Ning would most likely need a buckler.

“I don’t need one just yet.” Ning smiled and shook his head.

“Be careful,” Xingtian warned, then fell silent.

Attacks continued to rain down upon them from those invisible objects. The six True Gods all guarded carefully against the attacks, and they even decided to shrink the perimeter of their formation so as to better protect Ji Ning within it.

The six Fiendgods worked together to defend against nineteen waves of attacks. Ji Ning, by contrast, had things easy; protected in the center of the formation, he didn’t suffer any attacks at all.

“Eh? It seems to have ended,” Graceful Peacock said softly.

“The cries of the earth are growing softer,” Kuafu agreed.

Thump. Thump.

The heartbeat ringing out from deep underground had indeed grown quieter.

“After a period of time, the sound will grow louder again and the attacks will start anew,” Kuafu said. “Let’s rest for now and prepare to deal with the next wave of attacks.”

“Right.” The Fiendgods all had rather ugly looks on their faces.

The invisible attacks were simply too powerful, and they were also extraordinarily unpredictable. During the nineteen waves of attacks, True God Luwu had been injured three times, Daofather Windfate had been injured twice, Empress Xi and Xingtian had each been injured once, while Kuafu, Ning, and Graceful Peacock were uninjured. Each time they suffered an injury, they had to use a large amount of divine power to heal it.

Using divine power to heal one’s body was extremely taxing. As more time passed the divine power would be used up, at which point they wouldn’t even be able to maintain the formation! The reason why they had been able to survive the nineteen waves of attacks was because the formation served to weaken the power of those attacks. If they were to face those attacks head on, even Kuafu would be in danger of dying.

Everyone could sense death impending. The atmosphere naturally turned quite grim.

“This guy Ji Ning…all of us are so nervous, but he’s actually daydreaming?!” True God Luwu gave Ning, still located at the center of the formation, a hard look. Ning stood in the center, eyes completely blank. Clearly, his mind was elsewhere and he was completely preoccupied.

“Ugh.” True God Luwu was an amiable and honest fellow. He didn’t say anything. “We’ll do our best. If we can protect Ji Ning, we will. If we end up dying, there will be nothing more that we can do. He’s just too young.”

Ning continued to stand there, pondering to himself. “Each time there is an attack, especially when the attack draws close, I can dimly sense a hint of a ripple spread out. Clearly, the power of the attacks is so great that at a close distance, there’s no way for it to completely avoid my senses. However, I can just sense a tiny wave each time. There’s no way for me to completely verify the exact location the strange object is coming from.”

Those ripples were perhaps coming from the strange objects, but when those invisible things attacked they instantly arrived before their target, giving the defenders no time to spare.

“I need to verify and track the direction from which each attack is going to come.”

“Given how powerful these attacks are, they have to cause at least a tiny bit of spatial disruption.” Ning stared at the thickets around them. “Still…the illusions around us are simply too realistic, and the area around us is filled with multiple ripples that mask the ones coming from those strange objects.”

“What I need to do is to separate the ripples caused by the illusions from the ripples caused by the strange objects.”

Ning had been watching closely during the last ten-plus attacks, but he was still unable to ascertain exactly where each attack was going to come from.

Thump! The heartbeat coming from deep beneath the earth suddenly began to grow stronger once more.

Thump! Thump! Thump! The heartbeats began to quicken and strengthen.

“Be careful, everyone. The next wave of attacks from Earthmoan Mountain is about to begin,” Kuafu barked.

“Right.” The other five True Gods hurriedly acknowledged him. They pumped more energy into their formation, staying on maximum alert.

As for Ning, his eyes were lidded as he circulated his soul heartforce technique, using it to attune himself to all the many varied ripples that that were occurring around them. There were ripples caused by the wind, by light, by spatial movement, by scent…Ning was able to separate out the spatial ripples, but what he needed to do right now was to identify the specific spatial ripples being generated by those strange objects.

Even for a major power like Ning, this was incredibly difficult!

Even Daoist Three Purities had ended up spending more than three thousand years before accomplishing this. Ning’s advantage lay in the formidable techniques taught to him by World God Northrest!

Whoosh!

Swish!

Slash!

The invisible attacks began to descend upon them once more.

Kuafu, Xingtian, and the rest all did their best to defend against the attacks, using all of their power.

“That seems…to be a spatial ripple caused by those strange objects…” Ning remained inside the formation, eyes half-lidded as he continued to carefully attune to the surrounding area.

“Ji Ning, I really think you should enter an estate-treasure,” Xingtian bellowed. He was fairly close to Ji Ning on a personal level. Ning, however, didn’t respond to him, instead continuing to sweep the area with his senses.

……

The Three Realms, the Allclans Palace of the Primordial Imperial Clan. Many major powers were gathered in this place.

“Hurry.” Graceful Peacock frantically rose to her feet and said, “This is the third time Earthmoan Mountain is attacking us. True God Luwu has been gravely injured, and his divine power is almost used up. Once he’s completely dry, there will be no way for them to maintain the formation. Kuafu and the others are about to die in Earthmoan Mountain!”

“Tathagata.” Daoist Three Purities looked towards him.

“I’m working on breaking the formation,” Lord Buddha said hurriedly. “This should be a formation which Keeper Everwood spent enormous amounts of effort on. He’s used the countless mountains in the area to serve as his formation-bases. Although I’m breaking it apart as fast as I can, I still need more time.”

“There are no other options.” Tathagata shook his head. “Even if all of you head there right away, you’ll first have to reach their location. By the time you get there, I would’ve broken through the formation long ago.”

Daoist Three Purities nodded. It was true. Thousand Mountains world was a place filled with countless dangers. There was no way to teleport through the Void to arrive at at that place. Ji Ning, Tathagata, Fuxi, and the others had all been forced to slowly fly their way there.

“Fuxi is the best at defeating formations, but he’s been tied down by those alien Outsiders of the Primordial Ruinworld,” Graceful Peacock said hurriedly. “There’s no way for him to get there in time either.”

“Everwood…” The seated Daofather Subhuti had an ugly look on his face.

In war, one of the most terrifying possibilities was fighting in an arena of your enemy’s choosing.

Their enemies had already made complete preparations in the Primordial Ruinworld. The Nuwa Alliance knew that…but no matter what, they wouldn’t be willing to give the Primordial Ruinworld the chance to ambush the victors of the Endwar. If for no other reason than to uproot an ally of the Seamless Gate, they had to wipe out the Primordial Ruinworld! However, they were indeed worried about the deadly environment and illusions located within the Primordial Ruinworld, which was why they had only sent two of their overlord-class figures in this campaign. The other major powers would all remain on guard in the Three Realms. If something unexpected happened, they would be able to handle it.

“I’ve already unleashed all of my dharma-bodies. I’ll be able to break the formation soon,” Tathagata said with a solemn look on his face.

……

Lord Buddha’s squad truly had gone all out.

The other three Buddhas who had come with him had assembled into a formation. Their holy light spread out in every direction as they launched all sorts of attacks against the land, each strike filled with the power to shatter the heavens and wreck the earth.

As for Lord Buddha, he had switched into a different form, unleashing all three of his bodies.

These three bodies were his Sakyamuni body, his Great Sun Buddha body 1, and his Medicine Buddha body 2. The three of them sent their mighty Buddha-palms smashing down from the skies, shattering apart one mountain range after another with each blow. However, each time some of the mountain ranges would once more be reborn from the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. This was clearly the power of the formation at work.

Tathagata had been born a True God of Primordial Chaos.

During the Primordial Era, he had shattered his own soul, leaving behind just a tendril of his truesoul to be reincarnated into the human race. He had become Sakyamuni, and as a result had been truly reborn. He finally was able to reach the pinnacle of power, fully mastering the five Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. This allowed him to manifest five mighty dharma-bodies! However, actually using these five dharma-bodies consumed a terrifying amount of energy. He would only activate them all when he was truly going all-out.

He had brought three of his five dharma-bodies in this campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld, leaving behind two of them to guard the Three Realms.

Daoist Three Purities had his ‘Three Pure Ones’ technique. Tathagata, in term, had five dharma-bodies, with the most powerful naturally being his true Sakyamuni body.

……

“Tathagata’s quite powerful.” Godfiend Witherspike let out a sigh as he saw the scene playing out of Tathagata breaking apart the formation with utterly ruinous power. “These aboriginals only have inferior Ki Refining techniques; they are clearly Ancestral Immortals, but only third-tier ones! And yet, despite that, the most monstrously talented amongst them have gained incredible insights into the Dao.”

“Fuxi’s been tied down for now as well.”

“Keeper Everwood’s formations are quite formidable. Even if other major powers were to make their way over, they would still need to spend a considerable amount of time to break through the formation. After doing so, they would then need to actually enter Earthmoan Mountain! Earthmoan Mountain is filled with countless illusions; to actually locate Kuafu’s squad will require time as well. I estimate that Kuafu’s squad should already be at the verge of breaking down,” Godfiend Witherspike mused softly to himself.

“Given how furious and frantic Tathagata is in trying to break through the formation as quickly as possible, Kuafu’s squad should be close to being done for,” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said with a laugh.

All of them were just guessing, of course. Earthmoan Mountain was one of the most hazardous of regions that had been naturally created from the Primordial Ruinworld. Even the alien Outsiders were unable to scry inside of it to see what was happening.

……

The situation inside Earthmoan Mountain truly had turned grim. True God Luwu and Daofather Windfate had ashen looks on their faces, and their bodies were covered with bloody wounds. They no longer had enough divine power to repair and heal their bodies.

Swish! Yet another ruthless, cruel attack by an invisible object.

Ning’s eyes had been lidded this entire time, but now they suddenly opened. His eyes sparkled like the stars as he murmured softly to himself, “I finally found it.”

1. The Sanskrit name is ‘Vairocana’

2. The Sanskrit name is Bhaisajyaguru

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Chapter 16 – Wokejade Realm

Book 22, True God, Chapter 16 – Wokejade Realm

“Luwu, Windfate, give up for now. I’ll take you into my estate-treasure,” Kuafu shouted.

“No!” Although True God Luwu was usually an amiable and honest fellow, he was currently quite resolute and unyielding. “Kuafu, you know very well how dangerous Earthmoan Mountain is. The only reason we are still alive is because of the formation. Once we enter the estate-treasure, the two of us will be able to live for a bit longer, true. But the rest of you will no longer have the formation protecting you. You won’t be able to hold on for much longer.”

“Every single cell of my body is formed from divine power. Although I’m out of actual power, I can still convert my body into divine power. I can still hold,” True God Luwu growled.

“We’ll keep holding.” Daofather Windfate nodded, his eyes filled with cold resolve. “Kuafu, don’t go soft on us. There’s no way out for the six of us. This campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld is actually the final precursor to the Endwar. There will always be casualties in war. It is now my time to die, and I won’t shirk back.”

Kuafu, Empress Xi, Xingtian, and Graceful Peacock all felt quite torn. However, they understood that this was indeed the best decision when keeping the big picture in perspective. The bodies of True God Luwu and True God Windfate were indeed manifested from large amounts of divine power. They absolutely were capable of continuing to hold on, but only at a price…the price being that they could die at any moment from an attack!

“Keep holding,” Kuafu growled.

“Protect Luwu and Windfate!” Xingtian let out a howl, then turned to look towards Ji Ning. “Ji Ning, do your best to help Windfate and Luwu.”

Xingtian had always felt very well-disposed towards Ji Ning. It was one thing for Ji Ning not to help out when they were travelling around, but things were now different; they were trapped here in the deadly environs of Earthmoan Mountain. Ji Ning was quite safe at the center of the formation, but he hadn’t even helped out a single time! This caused Xingtian to feel quite displeased.

Swish!

Ning suddenly made his move.

In a single instant, he stepped out of the center of the formation. He actually stabbed out with his sword, and a dazzling rainbow aura of swordforce sparkled around the tip of the sword.

Kuafu, Xingtian, and the rest of the six True Gods were instantly dumbfounded.

Ji Ning had actually left the formation? Kuafu and the others were about to immediately rebuke him for doing so.

But he had then struck out with his sword? Why did he do that?

Rainbow-colored sword-light? T-that was…

Ning’s sudden actions had caused the six True Gods to be instantly and completely stupefied.

Clang! A clanking sound rang out.

Ning’s sword-tip seemed to have stabbed onto something. An incredibly loud collision could be heard as space around the sword-tip began to ripple violently.

“Get over here.” Ning’s sword spun about, transforming into a black hole that possessed astonishing absorptive power. It was able to forcibly entangle and entrap the invisible object.

The sword-light completely surrounded the invisible object, forcing it to finally reveal its true form. A strange object that was shaped like the horn of an ox had appeared. It was completely black in color, but it was also covered with strands of violet-colored vein lines. It was sharp at one end and blunt at the other.

“Mm?” Ning reached out and grabbed the object.

“Heavy wokejade?” Ning mused to himself. If one was to voyage through the endless primordial chaos, one naturally had to first become familiar with many of the strange objects within it. World God Northrest had transmitted a great deal of this information to Ning, who was able to recognize this object at a glance. “It’s actually heavy wokejade? This is quite a valuable mineral. However, no one in the Three Realms is capable of smelting it.”

Heavy wokejade was incomparably resilient. Even prior to smelting and forging, it was as tough and resilient as a Chaos treasure. This truly was an extremely precious mineral.

“In the future, I’ll enter the primordial chaos and travel to Vastheaven Palace. Perhaps it will be of use to me at some point.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the item and pulling it into his estate-treasure.

Ning then turned his head to look behind him.

The six True Gods were staring at him, rather dazed. Empress Xi’s mouth was open, as though she wanted to say something, but no words could come out.

“Ji Ning.” In the end, it was the straightforward and blunt Kuafu who spoke out. “Your swordforce reached the fifth stage?”

“Yeah.” Ning nodded.

“…Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Kuafu asked.

“Well, we didn’t run into any danger that you couldn’t easily deal with, Kuafu. There was no real need for me to get involved,” Ning said with a laugh.

The nearby Xingtian said hurriedly, “Ji Ning, are you able to see through the illusions of Earthmoan Mountain?” If he was, they’d be able to leave this place.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Luwu, Windfate, and the others all felt relieved. Although they had mentally prepared themselves for death, staying alive was naturally much preferred.

“Follow me,” Ning said.

“Follow Ji Ning, everyone!” Kuafu said hurriedly, “Do what he says.”

“Right.” The six True Gods all immediately followed behind Ning, who advanced with sword in hand.

“Another one is coming.” Ning once more struck out with his sword. His sword-arts flashed out in an unpredictable, ephemeral manner. It instantly struck against yet another invisible attacking object. Ning’s sword-art once more transformed into a black hole, trapping the second invisible object as well.

“Earthmoan Mountain should be a ‘Wokejade Realm’.” Ning once more reached out with his hand to grab the piece of heavy wokejade. He glanced at it, then tossed it into his estate-treasure. “In all the Three Realms, I’d wager that no one knows as much as me about Earthmoan Mountain.”

The endless primordial chaos was filled with countless dangers, and World God Northrest had recorded details regarding many of them. If you were to foolishly adventure through the primordial chaos without knowing about some of the dangerous types of regions within it, you truly would be courting death. No one would be able to save such a fool.

Wokejade Realms were a type of danger zone which World God Northrest had written about. Based on the information Ning had, he was able to quickly ascertain that Earthmoan Mountain was a type of Wokejade Realm.

“Ji Ning, how long before we can leave?” Empress Xi looked at Ji Ning in a different way now. Fifth-stage swordforce, and sword-arts that surpassed the Heavenly Daos; these two points alone ensured that Ji Ning had to be very close to the overlord level of power! His single-target attacks would be even more terrifying than Kuafu’s!

“Don’t worry,” Ning said. “Earthmoan Mountain is essentially a world unto itself; if you don’t see through its illusions, there’s no way to escape it at all. When we talk about ‘seeing the truth’, we aren’t talking about literally seeing through all the illusions. Rather, what I can do is just barely get a sense of where those strange objects are going to attack from. Through them, I can get a rough sense of direction.”

“Through those strange objects?” Windfate, Graceful Peacock, Luwu, and the others were all puzzled.

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“Those things that are attacking us are formed deep underneath the ground. They are expelled with astonishing power through Earthmoan Mountain’s eruptions,” Ning said. “The closer we are to the core of Earthmoan Mountain, the more powerful those objects will be. The farther away we are, the weaker they will be.”

“I heard Daoist Three Purities say the same.” Empress Xi nodded. “However, that’ll only allow you to get a very crude sense of direction. In addition, Earthmoan Mountain’s dangers aren’t just limited to those invisible objects.”

“Right…I heard that Earthmoan Mountain can also give birth to terrifyingly powerful attractive forces that can devour even major powers,” Graceful Peacock said hurriedly.

Ning nodded. “That is indeed the case.”

Wokejade Realms were usually in the ‘eruption’ phase, but they occasionally had a ‘devouring’ phase as well! Each time there was a ‘devouring’ phase, the closer you were to the core the more powerful the attractive force would be. Once you were actually swallowed inside…it was virtually guaranteed that you would perish, even if you were an Ancestral Immortal or an Elder God. It would take some truly impressive and extraordinary measures for you to survive. If you were able to safely enter the deep recesses of the realm, you would be able to acquire an enormous amount of heavy wokejade. The heavy wokejade itself was formed through countless eruption cycles and devouring cycles, resulting in the swallowed objects being refined into priceless treasures.

The pieces of heavy wokejade that ‘attacked’ Ning’s group with each eruption was just a tiny fraction of the enormous hoard of heavy wokejade that existed deep underneath Earthmoan Mountain.

“That’s why we have to move quickly. It is currently in the ‘eruption’ phase. Once the ‘devouring’ phase begins, things will become even more dangerous.” Ning still felt quite confident, and in truth only the core regions of Earthmoan Mountain would pose a threat to him. The ordinary regions were of no threat to him at all; he himself already had the power of an overlord-class figure, after all.

Ning led the way quite quickly. They only walked forward for a brief period of time before suddenly, the world turned bright. The thicket of forests around them vanished, transforming into an awe-inspiring sight of chained mountain ranges. Far off in the distance, mountains were continuously toppling and falling apart. They could vaguely make out three mighty figures that glowed with boundless golden light. The three figures were furiously striking out with Buddha-palms, and each palm contained utterly ruinous power that was being used to annihilate the surrounding mountains.

“That’s Tathagata,” Kuafu said delightedly.

“TATHAGATA!” Xingtian called out to him in a loud voice.

Ning laughed as well. “We made it out.”

“So these are Tathagata’s dharma-bodies?” Ning stared at Tathagata’s three mighty dharma-bodies, paying especial attention to the Sakyamuni body. “He’s merely a True God and third-tier Ancestral Immortal, but his insights into the Dao are so profound that he is still able to unleash the power of an Elder God.”

The distant Lord Buddha noticed the seven tiny figures appear as well.

“Wonderful.” Finally, a smile blossomed on Tathagata’s face. His two other dharma-bodies merged into his true body, and the three Buddhas behind him flew forward towards him as well.

Tathagata’s squad of four Buddhas all flew towards Ning, and Ning’s group of seven rode a cloud towards them as well.

“You ended up escaping on your own.” Tathagata laughed. “I wonder how you did it?”

“It was Darknorth.” Graceful Peacock spoke out from within Ning’s group.

“Darknorth?” Tathagata looked towards Ning with surprise.

Kuafu agreed. “Right. Ji Ning is extremely powerful. I’m afraid that even I wouldn’t necessarily be a match for him. Three Purities was trapped here for more than three thousand years, but Ji Ning managed to lead us out after just a short period of time. Ahahaha! Once that old Daoist hears about this, I wonder what sort of an expression he will have on his face?”

And at this exact moment back in the Three Realms, Graceful Peacock was narrating everything which had just happened to the concerned major powers of the Nuwa Alliance.

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Chapter 17 – Subhuti and Old Man Yuan

Book 22, True God, Chapter 17 – Subhuti and Old Man Yuan

The Three Realms. Allclans Palace.

Graceful Peacock was narrating the entire story to the major powers present. “We were trapped in Earthmoan Mountain, and both Luwu and Windfate were heavily wounded. We were just about finished, but Darknorth…fellow Daoist Darknorth had been carefully scrutinizing everything from inside our formation, and he finally was able to see through the illusions of Earthmoan Mountain and see the truth. He walked out of our formation, then blocked several invisible attacks of Earthmoan Mountain as he led us to safety.”

“He blocked those attacks?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod asked, “Graceful Peacock, didn’t you say that the attacks of Earthmoan Mountain are extremely powerful? Empress Xi was just barely able to defend against those attacks, thanks to the protective formation, but she was still wounded. Ji Ning walked out of the formation, and THEN blocked those attacks?”

“Right.” Graceful Peacock nodded, her eyes sparkling as she smiled. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth is one of the most peerless figures to ever exist, ever since Pangu established Heaven and Earth. He has already reached the fifth stage of swordforce.”

“The fifth stage?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod was incredulous. “How is that possible?”

The entire palace became a hubbub of commotion.

Fifth-stage swordforce?

Anyone and everyone who could reach the fifth stage of swordforce would become one of the most elite Daofathers alive. Someone like Ji Ning, who also knew the [Five Treasures] sword-art, would be even more terrifying.

“Is that true?”

“He hasn’t even trained for a thousand years, right?” The major powers were all discussing this in hushed voices.

Lord Tathagata the Buddha, seated on high, spoke out. “It is indeed so.”

Exalted Celestial Thundergod was now truly dazed. He could no longer say a word.

“Ahahaha!” Daofather Subhuti, also seated on high, started to laugh.

Next to him was Daoist Three Purities, who laughed as well. “Subhuti, you knew all along?”

Subhuti just smugly stroked his beard.

“My junior apprentice-brother truly is formidable.” Houyi laughed as well. “We have gained yet another mighty general for the Endwar.”

Exalted Celestial Thundergod was filled with many mixed emotions. He was an aloof, arrogant figure, and he originally had not held Ji Ning in any regard. Ji Ning’s performance at the Deerchaser world, though…it had caused Thundergod to feel rather upset. Still, he was able to console himself that the kid had relied on the Rahu Formation and the Envoy of All Things. The kid’s true power was still quite weak.

But now, the ‘kid’ had fifth-stage swordforce and sword-arts that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. This meant that Ji Ning was now, indisputably, the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms!

“Subhuti.” Finally, Thundergod spoke out. “Congratulations.”

Subhuti looked at Thundergod and chortled. “This old Daoist loves to put on airs and keep people guessing. I hope you aren’t too angry with me, Thundergod.”

“How could I be? Our Nuwa Alliance has gained yet another powerful general. I couldn’t be happier!” Thundergod replied honestly.

Subhuti nodded.

Although Thundergod was a stubborn, solitary, and arrogant figure, his loyalty to the Nuwa Alliance was absolutely beyond reproach. In the end…it had been Subhuti’s dear old friend, Old Man Yuan, a figure far more powerful than Thundergod, who had ended up vacillating between the two sides. To this very day, he still had yet to join the Nuwa Alliance.

“My old friend…I truly don’t wish to end up in a fight to the death against you,” Subhuti murmured to himself.

……

This was a damaged, badly ravaged planet, but there were two major powers present here.

An old man with a red nose was seated in the lotus position in front of a thatched cottage. Before him was a small table, and across from him sat the white-bearded Subhuti. This was one of Subhuti’s incarnations.

“Congratulations. Your disciple actually reached the fifth stage of swordforce.” The red-nosed elder sighed with emotion. “A pity, such a pity. I knew all along that Ji Ning’s potential was extraordinarily. I really wanted to take him on as my disciple, but you refused to accept.”

“I didn’t actually refuse you,” Subhuti said. “I told you; so long as you joined our side, you could immediately take on Ji Ning as your disciple. But you refused to accept.”

“I still cannot accept.” Old Man Yuan shook his head.

“Hmph.”

Subhuti let out a cold laugh. “We’ve been fighting against the Seamless Gate for so long now. You should be able to tell that our differences are completely irreconcilable. At a time like this…you continue to waver! You said all those pompous things about ‘not wanting to see all your old friends die, one by one’…but your actions now are causing even more of our old friends to die! Your words are complete bullshit!”

“Yes.” Old Man Yuan nodded, a distant look in his eyes. “I admit that I said those things for the sake of saving face. All of those things I said were lies.”

Subhuti just looked at him.

He felt pain in his heart.

They had all emerged together from the primordial chaos as ignorant, wide-eyed newborns. They had all supported each other, discussed the Dao together, advanced together on the path of cultivation. They were so close to each other that they were like actual brothers. Some of them had ended up dying in the chaotic wars of the Primordial Era, while others had died in the war that had ended that era. Daoist Threelives, for example, had already perished.

Not many were still alive…but this old friend of his, ‘Old Man Yuan’, had actually refused to stand alongside them at such a critical hour.

“You finally admit to it,” Subhuti said icily.

“Yes.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “Ever since the Primordial Era, we have suffered incursions from alien Outsiders. When we killed them, we gained some of their techniques and some of their records regarding the infinite primordial chaos. I came to understand that this place of ours is nothing more than a single chaosworld. The primordial chaos is a far vaster universe. When I learned this, I became filled with the desire to travel far away, to see more things.”

“We ‘True Gods’ who were born from the primordial chaos were nothing more than local bumpkins who were born to this region. How can we be considered ‘major powers’? We simply relied on the power we gained at birth.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “In the endless primordial chaos, the true ‘major powers’ are the World Gods and Chaos Immortals. They are capable of easily wiping out our entire world.”

“Nuwa saw the truth long ago. The Three Realms was too small a place to contain her, and so she left to enter the vaster world outside of it.”

“I want to journey through that vast world as well.” Old Man Yuan’s eyes were filled with desire. “But I’m not strong enough yet. Those alien Outsiders, the Lord of All Things…I learned that even someone as formidable as the Lord of All Things was nothing more than a minor figure in the primordial chaos. There are many who are far more powerful than him. As for Rahu, he was an even more irrelevant figure.”

“I have to become more powerful.”

“A war for the Three Realms? A struggle between the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate? I’ve never cared about such things. Your visions are far too narrow…your gazes are focused on the Three Realms, but my gaze is focused on the endless primordial chaos.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “I’ve never even considered risking my life in some squabble here in the Three Realms.”

“I want to leave this place. I want to become even more powerful.”

“Because I was born into the Three Realms, I wasn’t able to acquire any good techniques. I had no opportunities. Once I leave, I might be able to become a World God or a Chaos Immortal,” Old Man Yuan said eagerly. “That’s what I truly want. That’s what I truly desire!”

Subhuti continued to stare at him coldly. “Selfish! True, compared to the vast primordial chaos, the Three Realms is a very small place, and we are indeed nothing more than local bumpkins…but this is our home! The Three Realms is our home. All of us were born here, and we were all like brothers. They are now in mortal danger, but you are just going to stand by and watch? For the sake of becoming a so-called World God or Chaos Immortal, you are just going to watch as your old friends go off to fight? Go off to die?”

“I never thought that my old friend Yuan would end up like this.” Subhuti shook his head.

“Ahahaha…” Old Man Yuan actually began to laugh, laugh so hard that his beard shook. He then looked towards Subhuti with a dagger-sharp gaze. “Yes, I am selfish. The path of cultivation is a selfish path to begin with. If I’m going to walk this path, of course I need to treasure my own life. Of course I have to seize every opportunity I can find to become more powerful. Am I supposed to foolishly stand alongside the rest of you and risk everything?”

“You don’t possess any transcendental qualities. Neither we nor the Seamless Gate will permit you to remain unaligned.” Although Subhuti felt sorrow in his heart, he still tried to dissuade Old Man Yuan.

“I’ll do everything I can to get as much as I can from the Seamless Gate,” Old Man Yuan said calmly. “Don’t worry. Before the Endwar begins, I’ll leave the Three Realms and enter the endless primordial chaos. I’ll take my old friends with me, and together we shall adventure through it. As for what happens to you and the Seamless Gate? I won’t get involved.”

“Leave?” Subhuti was surprised.

“Right.” Old Man Yuan laughed coldly. “What, did you actually think that I would really fight on behalf of the Seamless Gate? No; neither your side nor the Seamless Gate is worth me risking my life for.”

“Good. Very good indeed.” Subhuti laughed hard, as though he had heard an incredibly funny joke. “During my [Dream of the Three Realms], I can see countless mortals change…but now, I see that the hearts of Fiendgods can change as well. You’ve changed. You’ve changed far, far too much compared to the Yuan who was born alongside me from within the primordial chaos.”

“Back then, I was just a newborn. I was born with mastery over a Grand Dao, but aside from that I knew nothing at all. Back then, we were too simple and naïve.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “As far as I’m concerned, my brothers and friends are of secondary importance. My path of cultivation is of paramount importance.”

Subhuti gave Old Man Yuan a long, deep look, then disappeared into thin air.

As for Old Man Yuan, he just continued to sit there quietly. He lifted up one of the wine cups and took a small sip from it. “Once I become a World God and look back, all of this will be nothing more than a memory.”

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Chapter 18 – Nineteen Years

Book 22, True God, Chapter 18 – Nineteen Years

Within that castle located deep inside the Primordial Ruinworld.

Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes were flashing with dangerous light. The entire hall was completely silent, and none of his six subordinates dared to make a sound. Not even the powerful one-armed man dared to say a thing. Although Godfiend Witherspike rather respected him because they were on the same general level of power, the one-armed man knew just how what a terrifyingly demonic figure the Godfiend actually was.

“I was overconfident!” Godfiend Witherspike growled gutterally to himself. “I didn’t expect this Ji Ning would actually be able to solve the riddle of Earthmoan Mountain. That place is a Wokejade Realm! Not even Ancestral Immortals or Elder Gods should be able to escape it so quickly. How did a bumpkin like him solve it? He’s trained for less than a thousand years!”

“If I knew this would happen, I would’ve gone to Earthmoan Mountain in person and waited for them there.”

Godfiend Witherspike was feeling rather frustrated right now. He had very nearly wiped out the entire squad of Fiendgods! If he had personally gone to Earthmoan Mountain and set up an ambush there, he probably would’ve been able to wipe out Kuafu’s entire squad. However, his arrogance and pride was bred deep. Those figures were mere True Gods and third-tier Ancestral Immortals, while he was an exalted Elder God! He had also roamed the primordial chaos for many years and experienced many things. He held no respect for these locals whatsoever. Personally set up an ambush for them? He felt it was beneath him!

In all the Three Realms, there were only two things he was leery of. The first was whatever Mother Nuwa left behind to her successors before departing. The second was the Lord of All Fiends.

Mother Nuwa was a World God, after all. The ancestral homeland of a World God was never an easy place to invade, even if that World God had departed.

As for the Lord of All Fiends, he was an even more freakish figure who had actually been able to escape from a World God!

Aside from these two concerns, Godfiend Witherspike really wasn’t worried about anything or anyone else. He had felt that Kuafu’s squad would definitely die. He had not imagined that Ji Ning was this formidable.

Still, he couldn’t be blamed for this oversight. Logically speaking, there was no way someone like Ji Ning should’ve been able to escape Earthmoan Mountain in such a short period of time. Alas, Ji Ning had the legacy of World God Northrest. The techniques he had were all far superior to the ones which Godfiend Witherspike knew!

“Very well, then. Your squads wish to ruin my territory, but it won’t be that easy…”

“This was just the first trap. You were lucky enough to escape…but next time, I won’t be so careless.”

Godfiend Witherspike gently tightened the grip of his slender fingers around his right armrest. Crack! The armrest instantly disintegrated, but moments later its fragments automatically reformed.

Everyone was completely silent. Not even Celestial Immortal Blackheaven dared to say a thing. When Blackheaven had served the Lord of All Things, he had met Godfiend Witherspike quite a few times. Witherspike was definitely a figure who was just as terrifying as the Lord of All Things had been.

……

The Thousand Mountains world.

Ji Ning’s group was travelling alongside Lord Tathagata’s group.

“Darknorth.” Lord Tathagata the Buddha smiled as he looked at Ning. “Which of the four squads do you plan to accompany? You are a human. Technically, you should follow the squad which the human race sent.”

“But he joined us a long time ago!” Kuafu immediately protested.

“We’ve been working together for quite some time now. We’re used to each other,” Xingtian rebutted as well.

Empress Xi, Luwu, and the others all immediately voiced their opposition as well.

Was this a joke? Given how powerful Ji Ning was, how could they possibly be willing to let him be taken away by another squad?

“I’ve always been on good terms with Kuafu, Xingtian, and the others. There’s no need to go to the trouble of switching,” Ning laughed.

“Exactly so!” Kuafu reached out with his big hand, loping it around Ning’s shoulders.

“Fine.” Lord Buddha nodded. “You might as well. Still, don’t get overconfident. The trap you fell into was just one of many dangers we will encounter in our campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld. Even more and even greater dangers await us. You have to be careful. I can dimly sense that things in the Primordial Ruinworld aren’t as simple as we thought them to be.”

“We understand,” Kuafu said hurriedly.

Lord Buddha glanced carefully at their surroundings, then said, “I imagine that Fuxi and Jade Cauldron will arrive here soon as well. This really was a close call. If it wasn’t for Ji Ning, your entire squad probably would’ve been wiped out.”

A short time later, all four squads had gathered together.

This close call had woken them all up to the reality of the situation. During their previous efforts, they had encountered some dangerous situations as well, but none of them were truly deadly! This situation, however, had descended out of nowhere and had been absolutely terrifying.

After gathering together, the four squads started to travel in closer proximity to each other. They advanced more slowly and more cautiously.

Time continued to flow on. In the blink of an eye, nineteen years went by.

Ning and the others had already covered nearly 90% of the territory of the Primordial Ruinworld, and they had caused utter devastation to it.

During the past nineteen years, Tathagata, Fuxi, Jade Cauldron, Ning, and the others had all been extremely cautious. Ning’s display of his sword-arts had thoroughly convinced Kuafu’s squad of his prowess. He had faster evasion techniques! More powerful group attacks! More powerful close combat techniques! A better sense for danger than Daofather Windfate!

They had encountered numerous dangerous situations during the past nineteen years, and Ning’s dazzling displays of power had firmly cemented his status.

Because they were incredibly cautious, not a single member of the four squads had died during the past nineteen years.

“Darknorth, catch.” Kuafu flung a wine gourd over.

Ning was seated atop a distant boulder. He reached out to catch the gourd, then raised his head and took a gulp.

“We’ve been advancing fairly quickly. Jade Cauldron and the others have been a bit slower than us. Let’s take a rest and wait a while,” Graceful Peacock said.

“Haha, we’ve already wrecked more than ninety percent of the Primordial Ruinworld.” Luwu couldn’t help but laugh. “Although the final places are rather dangerous, as long as we are careful we should be able to finish this campaign in another ten or so years.”

The golden-robed Empress Xi stood with regal dignity. She said solemnly, “Both Fuxi and Tathagata have discussed this matter. On the way over, we’ve encountered multiple dangers. Although none of them were as terrifying as Earthmoan Mountain, they were still able to see a few hints of the truth. The Primordial Ruinworld’s true power is nothing like that we expected.”

“Darknorth, what do you think?” Xingtian looked towards Ning.

Seated on the boulder, Ning just smiled. “No matter what, we have to keep attacking and advancing. Let’s just be more careful.”

Ninteen years…

During these nineteen years, his Primaltwin had remained within the Crescent world, training inside the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance. The Heavengazer Tower had been set to internally advance time at a hundred times normal speed, which meant that he had actually been training for the equivalent of two thousand years. His sword-arts had become even more marvelous, and he was slowly becoming even more powerful.

……

Within the castle deep inside the Primordial Ruinworld.

“They’ve had it too easy the past few years. None of the bumpkins ended up dying.” Godfiend Witherspike sat atop his throne, staring down coldly. “Very well, then. They’ve already entered the Goldriver world. This time, I shall slay Fuxi and Tathagata in that world!”

The six golden-armored figures beneath him were all startled.

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said hurriedly, “Mighty Godfiend Witherspike, although the Goldriver world is a world which we spent tremendous amounts of effort over, the Human Emperor and the Lord Buddha are extraordinarily powerful figures. To slay even one of them will be very hard. To kill two? I think it might be better to focus on them one at a time.”

“I let Kuafu’s squad escape last time.” Godfiend Witherspike swept his cold gaze towards Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, causing Blackheaven’s heart to shudder. “I no longer have much faith in your so-called ‘formations’.”

“It will indeed be necessary to use them to kill Fuxi and Tathagata, but in the end…it will be up to me to personally deal with them.” A bloody light flickered deep within Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes.

“Personally?” Blackheaven was startled.

He had thought that the Godfiend would wait until the Endwar before fighting.

“Right. Personally.” Godfiend Witherspike swept his subordinates with his gaze. “Saber, when the time comes, I might need you to get involved as well.”

“Yes, Master.” The single-armed man bowed with respect.

Blackheaven felt his heart shudder. Good heavens. Both Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were going to strike? Given the formations they had set up around the Goldriver world…it really was possible that they might be able to slay Fuxi and Tathagata, a pair of overlord-class figures.

“You can inform the Seamless Gate.” Godfiend Witherspike glanced at Blackheaven. “However…ideally, the less they know the better. Don’t give the Nuwa Alliance any chance of finding out about this. This attack of mine should be able to catch them completely offguard, because they don’t even know that I exist. But if this attack ends in failure, it’ll be quite difficult to find another such chance.”

“How could you possibly fail, mighty Godfiend?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said hurriedly.

“They will be caught completely offguard, and they are also weaker than us. We’ve also made meticulate preparations around the Goldriver world.” The red-bearded elder hurriedly agreed. “We will definitely win.”

“If we are to make a move, we must ensure it kills them.” Godfiend Witherspike said calmly, “Head out.”

Whoosh.

The castle instantly flew into the air and began to move towards the Goldriver world at high speed.

The figures within the castle remained quite calm. Godfiend Witherspike and his six golden-armored generals had experienced many, many dangers in the past. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, however, was quite excited. “If we are able to kill Fuxi and Tathagata…”

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Chapter 19 – Critical Danger

Book 22, True God, Chapter 19 – Critical Danger

The leaders of the Seamless Gate were all excited upon hearing that Godfiend Witherspike was making his move. They were waiting eagerly for Witherspike to slay Fuxi and Tathagata.

The Goldriver world.

Ji Ning and the rest of the seven were resting at a beautifully scenic place. Their squad included the incredibly fast Kuafu and the shockingly fierce Ji Ning. They ended up being the squad that fought forward at the fastest pace.

“We have to wait a full day. I’m going to take a nap here.” Luwu chortled as he lay down onto the grassy ground.

“You lazy fellow.” The nearby Xingtian shook his head.

“With Kuafu and Darknorth in our squad, what have I to worry about?” Luwu felt quite relaxed.

Xingtian glanced at Kuafu, who was drinking some wine as well, as well as the distant Ji Ning. Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop his boulder, holding a gourd of wine in one hand while experimenting with a few sword-stances with his other. Ning’s fingers moved like a blur, but if one paid careful attention to them, one would sense a sword-intent that was absolutely terrifying. Even Xingtian couldn’t help but feel his heart shudder.

“I’ve been praised as being a ‘god of war’, but Ji Ning has the number one sword-arts of the Three Realms, and he improves so incredibly fast.” Xingtian was secretly amazed. “I really can’t compare to him.”

But of course, he had no idea that Ning’s Primaltwin was located in the Heavengazer Tower. A day in the outside world meant a hundred days had passed inside the tower. How could Ning’s sword-arts NOT improve quickly?

Actually, Ning spent more than seventy percent of his time in the Heavengazer Tower meditating on the Dao!

However, completely focusing on just one thing wouldn’t necessarily be ideal. Thus, Ning would occasionally train in his sword-arts as well as various divine abilities. He tried to balance his training regime, but even so his improvement in the sword remained quite astonishing.

“That nameless sword-art really is unfathomably profound.” Ning sighed mentally to himself.

World God Northrest stood at the very peak of power, even amongst World Gods. This was primarily thanks to the nameless sword-art! He had actually only acquired Violetjewel later on.

The nameless sword-art was truly unfathomable. After mastering it, World God Northrest had developed ninety-eight sword-arts which he had placed on those ninety-eight stone steles! Ning could now train in these techniques without any problems at all, but every time he tried to train in the nameless sword-art, he found it to be incredibly taxing and difficult to understand.

From this, Ning could tell that the sword-spirit of Violetjewel was correct; he had to master all ninety-eight sword-arts before he could truly begin to train in the nameless sword-art!

However, Ning still did gain a few minor insights over the course of nearly two thousand years in the tower as he occasionally meditated on the nameless sword-art. Those minor insights were enough to allow Ning’s sword-arts to grow dramatically more powerful.

“Violetjewel is nothing more than a weapon,” Ning mused to himself. “Compared to Violetjewel, the most important gifts left to me by World God Northrest were those ninety-eight stone sword-steles and the nameless sword-art within the jade shrine.”

He continued to take a few gulps of wine while practicing his sword-stances.

The surrounding area was quite beautiful. The area around them was filled with lovely grass, but farther away there was only violently shaking regions of shattered space.

The Primordial Ruinworld had many regions of distorted spacetime and shattered space, or strange seas of blood. These things were extremely rare in the Three Realms, but extremely common here in the Ruinworld. Not even the creatures who lived here dared to move too close to those regions. If they were drawn into them, they would quickly die unless they were strong enough.

“Not good.” Graceful Peacock suddenly called out.

Swish! Swish! Swish! All of them turned to look. True God Luwu, who had appeared asleep, instantly rose to his feet as well.

“What’s wrong?” Kuafu immediately asked.

Graceful Peacock said hurriedly, “This Goldriver world is fairly dangerous. The squad led by Lord Buddha has been trapped into a danger zone.”

“Oh?” Kuafu let out a sigh of relief, then laughed. “Given how powerful Lord Buddha is, I trust he’ll be able to handle it himself.”

Daofather Windfate smiled as well, twirling his fan. “Lord Buddha is incredibly powerful. He’s generally able to easily deal with any dangerous situations he might encounter. If even he cannot resolve the situation, the rest of us would be of no use either.”

“Lord Buddha said that he can deal with it, but he’ll need some time.” Graceful Peacock nodded. “Lord Buddha’s been trapped in a complicated formation. There’s no way to destroy it through raw power; the only option is to slowly solve the formation and deconstruct it. Fuxi’s squad is moving towards him at high speed to assist him.”

“Fuxi’s heading there as well?” Empress Xi nodded.

Everyone felt relaxed.

Tathagata was the leader of the Buddhist Sangha and incredibly skilled in defense. Even if three or four other overlord-class figures were to simultaneously assault him, he would be able to hold on for a period of time.

As for Fuxi, he was the number one formations expert of the Three Realms. He was the ideal candidate for helping Tathagata solve the formation.

“Let’s head over there as well and take a look at what the formation is all about,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Yes, let’s go take a look.”

“Although we won’t be of much help, we can still take a good look. It’s boring and pointless just to sit here and wait.”

Ning and the rest of the seven True Gods were quite relaxed. They immediately soared onto a cloud and flew towards Tathagata.

No one felt much concern over the fact that Tathagata’s squad was trapped!

Not even the major powers located inside the Allclans Palace of the Nuwa Alliance were concerned. Lord Tathagata himself wasn’t too worried either. In the past twenty years, they had encountered numerous dangerous situations in the Primordial Ruinworld. On multiple different occasions, they had been trapped within a dangerous region for a brief period of time. In each case, they were able to resolve the situation quite quickly.

After being trapped, Tathagata had put it this way: “The formation is just a bit complicated. Once Fuxi arrives, he’ll soon be able to defeat it.”

They had experienced so many situations like this that they no longer considered it a big deal.

Graceful Peacock laughed. “Fuxi’s already arrived.”

“How long does the Human Sovereign need in order to break the formation?” Kuafu asked.

“Fuxi is still inspecting the formation. Umm…the formation’s a bit complex, but Fuxi said that he should be able to break it in under an hour.” Graceful Peacock smiled.

“An hour? We might as well slow down a bit. By the time we get there, the Human Sovereign and Lord Buddha will probably have just escaped the formation.” Daofather Windfate laughed. “There’s no point in getting there early and just waiting.”

“Let’s keep flying at our normal speed,” Ning said.

Graceful Peacock’s face suddenly changed. This immediately captured the attention of Ji Ning, Windfate, Kuafu, Empress Xi, Luwu, and Xingtian.

“What’s wrong?” Ning immediately asked quietly.

“There’s a bit of a problem.” Graceful Peacock frowned. “Something’s wrong.”

Two of her clones were accompanying Lord Buddha’s squad and Fuxi’s squad, and so she knew exactly what was happening in each squad.

“Not good!” Graceful Peacock called out in shock. “The formation’s completely changed! Another formation has also appeared outside of the first formation, and it’s completely trapped Fuxi’s squad inside of it. Three golden-armored major powers just appeared! We’ve never encountered these three before.”

“Three major powers we’ve never encountered before? Are they the Four Thearchs?” Xingtian asked frantically.

“No, they aren’t the Four Thearchs.” Graceful Peacock’s face turned even uglier. “Tathagata’s squad is under attack as well, and other alien Outsiders have also appeared. A large group of alien Daofathers have appeared…dozens of them! All of the Daofathers of the Primordial Ruinworld have appeared and are assaulting them! Fuxi’s been locked down by those three golden-armored Outsiders. Those three are incredibly powerful; they’ve completely tied him down.”

“Let’s move!” Kuafu immediately bellowed.

“The rest of you should enter my estate-treasure. Let me lead the way,” Ning barked right away.

“Alright.” None of them hesitated at all. Ning waved his hand, collecting all six of the True Gods into his estate-treasure. Ning then transformed into a black lightning serpent, moving at maximum speed towards the place where Tathagata had been trapped.

……

Daoist Jade Cauldron’s squad, which had similarly been relaxing, was notified as well.

“What? Almost all of the alien True Gods and Daofathers of the Primordial Ruinworld have appeared? They are surrounding and attacking Tathagata? The Human Sovereign’s actually been tied down and won’t be able to reinforce him?” Daoist Jade Cauldron immediately understood how ugly the situation had turned.

“Right.” Graceful Peacock’s faced was covered with worry.

“Let’s go!” Daoist Jade Cauldron immediately bellowed.

The seven major powers of the Daoist Path immediately boarded a boat-type Chaos treasure and moved at high speed towards the place where Tathagata was trapped.

……

Although both Ning’s squad and Jade Cauldron’s squad were worried, the most worried figures of all were within the Allclans Palace in the Three Realms.

Upon hearing this news, the major powers there immediately knew that things were dire.

“All of the True Gods and Daofathers of the Primordial Ruinworld have appeared…and three golden-armored figures that we’ve never seen before have appeared and are capable of tying down Fuxi.” Daoist Three Purities hurriedly shouted, “The Primordial Ruinworld really was hiding its true power, but its true power is far more terrifying than what we expected! Houyi, Suiren, immediately lead squads of True Gods and Daofathers to go rescue Fuxi and Tathagata!”

“Alright.” Houyi and Suiren both nodded.

Suiren was believed by many to be the most powerful figure in the Nuwa Alliance, while Houyi’s true power unknown and unfathomable. The two immediately took command over a group of thirty-six True Gods and Daofathers, then departed from the Allclans Palace at high speed.

“Graceful Peacock, after Houyi and Suiren reach the Primordial Ruinworld, it’ll take them some time to fly over to Tathagata’s location. Have Jade Cauldron, Kuafu, and Darknorth do their best to try and help Fuxi defeat those three golden-armored figures,” Daoist Three Purities hurriedly instructed.

“Yes,” Graceful Peacock immediately acknowledged.

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Chapter 20 – Reinforcements

Book 22, True God, Chapter 20 – Reinforcements

The Allclans Palace. Everyone was in a state of panic.

“These three golden-armored Outsiders that we’ve never seen before have actually managed to stop Fuxi in his tracks.” Daofather Subhuti frowned. “Where did such powerful enemies come from?”

Fuxi was a Human Sovereign, and he had True Gods and Daofathers in his squad. And yet, they had all been completely stymied by these three alien Outsiders.

“Such powerful individuals shouldn’t be completely unknown figures.” Tathagata laughed calmly. “No need to panic. Although I’m being attacked by many, my true body is present; although these alien Outsiders are formidable, they won’t be able to do anything to me.”

“Right.” Daoist Three Purities nodded. “I feel slightly better that you are the one trapped there.”

“Hm?” Tathagata’s face suddenly changed.

“What’s wrong?” All the major powers in the hall looked towards Tathagata.

“My Great Sun Buddha body has been injured.” Tathagata said in a low voice, and his customary smile was no longer on his face. Instead, he looked as calm and tranquil as the deep seas. “I sensed long ago that things in the Primordial Ruinworld wouldn’t be as simple as we thought them to be, but…the one-armed golden-armored figure who injured me just now is definitely no weaker than I am.”

“No weaker than you?” All the major powers in the hall were stunned.

Tathagata had reached the overlord level of power back in the Primordial Era, and his defensive prowess was number one in all the Three Realms.

“Yes. He’s extremely powerful,” Tathagata said softly. “He’s definitely an overlord. My only option is to focus entirely on defense for now.”

“Hold on as long as you can,” Daoist Three Purities said hurriedly. “Houyi and Suiren are on the way. Once they get there, this crisis will be resolved.”

“Buddha Leafswirl’s true body has just been destroyed.” Tathagata’s face suddenly changed yet again.

“Buddha Leafswirl’s true body has been destroyed?”

Everyone cried out in shock as they turned to look at a woman located in the corner.

Buddha Leafswirl was an incredible figure of the Buddhist Sangha. She was born a True God, and when Tathagata became an overlord-class figure and established the Buddhist Sangha during the Primordial Era, she had joined him! When she had seen how much suffering there was amongst the common people of the Primordial World of Pangu, she had decided to truly become a mortal herself and join them. She would start as a mortal and train to become a Buddha from scratch so that she might truly experience and understood the sufferings of mortals. That way, she would also be able to better understand the profound mysteries of Buddhism.

She had shattered her own soul and sent her truesoul to be reincarnated. She had experienced countless tribulations, but her truesoul was that of a True God, after all; she had incredibly high talent, and she actually ended up establishing her own Buddhist school, the ‘Leafswirl Sect’. She now had the power of an elite Daofather, and she had both a true body and a Primaltwin. It was her true body that had ventured into the Primordial Ruinworld for this campaign.

“Our foe is very powerful. With a single claw-strike, he was able to break through our protective formation and slay me,” Buddha Leafswirl said.

The atmosphere in the palace instantly grew heavy.

Lord Tathagata said slowly, “Two terrifyingly powerful Outsiders have appeared. Both are overlord-class experts. I’ve already stowed Maitreya and the others into my [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm], and I’m now fighting off all of these fiends by myself. Given how strong my golden body is, they won’t be able to do anything to me within a short period of time.

Lord Tathagata’s golden body was so formidable that it could be said to be number one in all the Three Realms.

“Be careful,” Daoist Three Purities urged nonetheless. The two of them were the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism. Upon seeing Tathagata fall into such dire straits, Daoist Three Purities couldn’t help but feel frantic as well.

However, he had already sent out Suiren and Houyi. The remaining forces they could use to protect the Three Realms were now clearly weaker than before. No matter what, they had to conserve enough power so that they could deal with the Seamless Gate. If all of them left the Three Realms, the Seamless Gate would probably seize the opportunity to completely destroy the Nuwa Alliance’s foundation and truly take over the Three Realms.

When that happened, the war for karmic luck would definitely be completely lost.

“We’ve done what we can. I hope Houyi and Suiren will be able to make it in time.” Daoist Three Lives let out a soft sigh.

“As long as they can make it, there won’t be any problems at all,” Shennong agreed quietly.

“Two overlord-class experts. The Primordial Ruinworld actually has a pair of overlord-class experts…” Daofather Subhuti shook his head. “And extremely powerful ones at that.”

……

The Primordial Ruinworld.

The Sakyamuni body of Lord Buddha was seated in the lotus position, golden light radiating from his body. He had actually manifested a total of eighteen arms, and those eighteen dazzling golden arms were striking out in every single direction.

For now, the many alien Outsiders assaulting him were unable to do anything to him.

“This weak little aboriginal has actually managed to train a protective divine ability to such a level.” The distant Godfiend Witherspike was watching from afar, his tail slowly swaying in the air.

“His protective divine ability is extremely formidable, and his divine body is definitely comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit treasure.” The one-armed man next to him spoke out in agreement. “And his palm-arts are also quite formidable. They fill the skies and leave no openings whatsoever! I’m able to occasionally land a saber-blow on him, but it’s still very hard to injure him. If he completely focuses on defense…all we can do is exhaust his store of divine power. Once he is out of divine power, he’ll die.”

“I really hate those with strong protective divine abilities like this.” Godfiend Witherspike frowned.

“Are the T’ya brothers able to hold on?” Godfiend Witherspike suddenly asked.

“They are skilled in defense, and the three of them fight as if they were one. When they join together in their formation, they are easily capable of holding down Fuxi’s group. Fuxi’s skill mainly lies in formations; he’s a bit weaker in actual combat,” the one-armed man said calmly.

“Master, Daoist Jade Cauldron is about to arrive.” The red-nose elder flew over and bowed respectfully as he spoke.

“Oh?” Godfiend Witherspike nodded. “I almost forgot about Jade Cauldron’s squad and Darknorth’s squad. Let the Four Thearchs take control over twelve True Gods and bar their path! Stop Jade Cauldron and Darknorth’s squads.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Soon, a number of True Gods and Daofathers who had been assaulting Tathagata retreated, the Four Thearchs amongst them. They headed off to stop Daoist Jade Cauldron and Ji Ning.

“The Nuwa Alliance sent out two overlord-class experts. One is Tathagata, and his defensive skills are formidable. The other is Fuxi, who is even more formidable in the art of formations. Both are extremely skilled in dealing with large groups of attackers.” Godfiend Witherspike gritted his teeth. If it had been Daoist Three Purities or Suiren, things would actually have been much easier. Experts skilled in defense caused quite the headache.

“Saber, come up with a method to defeat his palm-arts.” Godfiend Witherspike looked at the one-armed man. “Let’s join forces to suppress him, then deal with him.”

“Alright.” The one-armed man nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Godfiend Witherspike and the one-armed man instantly charged towards Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha continued to sit there calmly, his eighteen golden arms blocking attacks frome very direction. He completely focused on defense. His goal was not to win; it was only to avoid making any mistakes.

As for Ji Ning, he was advancing at high speed through the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique. However, his squad had been the farthest up ahead; the entire reason why they had been planning to wait for a day was to give the other three squads enough time to catch up.

Thus, Daoist Jade Cauldron and his Chaos boat was the first to arrive at Tathagata’s location.

“Jade Cauldron’s squad has already arrived.” Graceful Peacock spoke out to Ning from with his estate-treasure.

“Not good. The Four Thearchs have all appeared, as well as twelve other alien True Gods. They are able to easily block Jade Cauldron’s path. In fact, they are actually suppressing him.”

Ning frowned upon hearing this, but there was nothing he could do aside from continuing to advance at high speed while using the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent].

The Four Thearchs were all elite Daofathers. They also had twelve other alien True Gods supporting them, while Daoist Jade Cauldron’s team consisted of just seven individuals! The Four Thearchs would indeed have the power needed to suppress Daoist Jade Cauldron’s squad.

“Darknorth, the Four Thearchs have a total of sixteen in their squad! Jade Cauldron only has seven, while we only have seven as well. The Four Thearchs have more than enough power to completely tie our two squads down,” Xingtian sent mentally. “I think we should move to avoid the Four Thearchs and instead go assist Fuxi.”

“No. Jade Cauldron’s been surrounded as well; if too much time passes, his squad will also be in danger of losing their lives.”

Kuafu and the others had become rather frantic as well. The Primordial Ruinworld’s forces now held the absolute upper hand. Tathagata was in danger, Fuxi had been tied down, and Jade Cauldron had been surrounded!

“They hid their true power quite well. They forebore from striking for a long time, but as soon as they did they immediately knocked us off-balance.” Ning mused to himself, “Fortunately, Three Purities and the others were worried about something like this happening, which is why they sent Fuxi and Tathagata. Those two are very skilled in defense.”

Tathagata relied on his powerful body to defend.

Fuxi relied on his formations to defend.

Both were very skilled in delaying and buying time for themselves.

“According to what Graceful Peacock is telling us, two new overlord-class figures have appeared in the Primordial Ruinworld?” Ning’s eyes flashed with sharp light. “Weren’t the most powerful figures here supposed to be those Four Thearchs? Where did these two overlords come from? Such powerful figures can’t possibly be nameless and unknown…but no one has any idea as to who they are. They must have come from the primordial chaos, then.”

Alien Outsiders from the primordial chaos…

Multiple such figures had invaded during the Primordial Era, but the Three Realms era had been much more peaceful. Although there had been a few invasions, those figures had all possessed low levels of strength. They weren’t as terrifying as Rahu or the Lord of All Things had been. So in truth, powerful alien Outsiders had arrived long ago! They had simply chosen to hide within the Primordial Ruinworld instead.

“It seems this divine sword of mine is going to see blood soon.”

Swoosh!

The black lightning serpent streaked through the skies, moving towards the direction of a major battle. It was a battle between Daoist Jade Cauldron’s group and the alien Outsiders commanded by the Four Thearchs.

“It is Darknorth. Darknorth has arrived. The six of you, follow me. We’ll stop Darknorth!” Instantly, two of the Thearchs and six True Gods turned to charge towards Ning.

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Chapter 21 – Overlord

Book 22, True God, Chapter 21 – Overlord

Thearch Fusha had handsome features, a large frame, and a natural aura of dominance. Thearch Vileye, by contrast, was incomparably ugly. His body was covered with a layer of thick jade skin, and his body was filled with countless bulges and bumps. On his forehead, there was a particularly large bump that had an eye inside of it, and that eye was filled with endless malevolence. Weaker Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would probably be instantly dominated by a single glance of that eye.

“Come with me, but be wary of Darknorth and Kuafu. Be wary of Darknorth in particular; his sword-arts are extremely powerful,” Thearch Fusha instructed.

“Yes.” The six figures immediately followed directly behind them.

Ji Ning was flying through the air, surrounded by his black lightning serpent. He swept the battlefield with his gaze. In his heart, he was most worried about Lord Tathagata the Buddha. Based on what Graceful Peacock had told him, Tathagata was currentingly being assaulted by two overlord-class figures! Even worse, these were figures that no one had ever encountered before.

Two overlord-class figures…it was entirely possible that the two of them were both Elder Gods! If they truly did come from the vast primordial chaos, there was no way for Ji Ning to predict how powerful they might be. If things went on for too long, Lord Buddha might very well be slain!

The Seamless Gate’s alliance with the Primordial Ruinworld meant that they had gained two more overlord-class figures on their side. Ning’s side, the Nuwa Alliance, could not afford any more losses!

“F*ck off.” Ning pointed from afar.

Instantly, rainbow-colored sword-light began to descend upon the world around him in an utterly dazzling fashion. Next, the countless rays of sword-light began to spin together, condensing into a total of nine rainbow swords. They struck down towards Thearch Fusha and six of the True Gods like nine rainbow lighting bolts! This scene stunned all of the major powers present.

[Sword-Heaven-Earth], third of seven stances: Heavenly Swords Descend!

BOOM! Layers of black light appeared around Thearch Fusha and the rest of the eight. The layers of black light whittled away at the power of the rainbow-colored swords, in the end forcibly halting Ning’s strike.

“Darknorth, these aliens of the Primordial Ruinworld have learned some powerful combination formations. Be careful!” The distant Daoist Jade Cauldron sent a hurried mental message.

“Everyone, be careful. All we need to do is keep Darknorth tied down.” Thearch Fusha and the rest of the eight were all badly frightened as well. They hadn’t even engaged Ji Ning in close combat yet. They never would’ve imagined that those nine long-distance strikes would contain such incredible power! Fortunately, they had been taught certain things by the Godfiend, and so were able to jointly resist those attacks.

“Sword Immortal Darknorth is too arrogant. He actually dares to fight against us by himself. If he had worked together with Kuafu just now, we might’ve been in a bit of trouble.” Thearch Vileye snickered coldly. “Now that we have this formation which Master taught us…hmph. Sword Immortal Darknorth won’t be able to do anything to us.”

Whoosh.

Ning came to a halt in midair, frowning as he glanced at the alien Outsiders in front of him.

Time was very precious right now!

They were in a hurry to go reinforce Fuxi and rescue Tathagata! But now, Daoist Jade Cauldron had been trapped here. Thanks to the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], Ning would indeed be able to move at high speed and circle around this region, but that would mean Daoist Jade Cauldron’s squad would be in serious trouble. If more time passed, they might very well die here. Thus…Ning decided that he might as well spend a bit more effort here.

“Die!” Ning transformed into a streak of light and charged forward.

“He still isn’t having Kuafu and the others come out?” Thearch Vileye and Thearch Fusha were both startled. “Ji Ning is underestimating us a bit too much. The only reason he is formidable is because of his swordforce. It’s not as though he is an Elder God.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning’s two arms dramatically increased in size, expanding to become more than three thousand meters long as the tips of his fingers shone with rainbow-colored sword-light.

“Fall down!” The vile-looking vertical pupil in Thearch Vileye’s forehead was staring fixedly at Ning, and an invisible wave of force struck out towards him.

Ning, however, just stared back coldly at these alien Outsiders. He was completely unaffected. His soul had been nurtured by the power of his half-step Elder God body. His soul was so powerful that it would probably rank within the top three of the entire Three Realms! His heartforce was at the fourth stage as well! In fact, Ning had also learned a heartforce soul-locking technique from World God Northrest. How could an innate domination technique like this possibly shake his soul? Even if it was a hundred times more powerful, it wouldn’t be able to do anything to Ning.

Those two elongated arms were like a pair of extremely long spears!

Bang! Bang!

Ning’s palms pierced straight through the layers of black light surrounding the two Thearchs and the other six! The Thearchs had felt as though Ning’s palms were quite far away, but in the next instant the two palms had already pierced through the protective black light. The attack was simply too fast; it had completely surpassed the speed of light.

Ning had distilled the best aspects of many different sword-arts to create the most penetrative stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art: Blood Drop Stance!

Given Ning’s power as a half-step Elder God and his terrifying sword-arts, the power of this blow was so great that it arguably had reached the apex of power in the Three Realms! Although Ning’s palms had merely been trained to the Fifth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], it was still more than enough when dealing with these alien Outsiders of the Primordial Ruinworld!

“How can this be?!”

“No!”

The two Thearchs and the six True Gods were completely scared silly. Their first reaction…was to flee!

This was an instinctive desire, separate from all conscious thought!

Whoosh!

The two massive palms that had pierced through their formation were like a pair of metal hammers smashing together! They were like a pair of enormous stormclouds that were joining together in a tremendous clap, capturing the terrified Thearchs and the True Gods between them. Agonized, terrified cries rang out as the ten tried to flee…but alas, how could they possibly move as fast as Ning’s palms?

BOOM!!!!

The two massive palms clapped together violently in midair.

The True Gods and Daofathers were completely destroyed, their bodies transformed into dust and their truesouls destroyed.

“B-b-but…” The distant Daoist Jade Cauldron and his squad were dazed by what they had just seen.

They had battled against these alien Outsiders for quite some time now, and they knew exactly how tough and durable that formation was. They had yet to find a way to penetrate the formation, but Ji Ning had managed to shatter it through just his hands? In fact, he had clapped to death those eight True Gods in an instant! Thearch Fusha and Thearch Vileye, two incredibly tough foes, were amongst their ranks as well!

“Flee!”

“Flee right away!”

“He’s an overlord!”

“He’s an Elder God!”

“Quick, flee!”

The other alien True Gods and Daofathers who had been battling Daoist Jade Cauldron were completely scared senseless. Thearch Darkstill and the other Thearch no longer had their usual composure; their only thing on their face was utter terror.

“Flee?” Ning, who had just wiped out those eight True Gods, turned his head to look towards them. Swoosh! He transformed into a black lightning serpent and charged towards them.

“Flee in different directions.”

“Split up!”

They didn’t hesitate at all. They didn’t even dare to think of using their formation to defend against Ji Ning’s attacks. They immediately split apart, fleeing in different directions. Their formation naturally dissipated as well.

Swoosh!

Ning came to a halt. He stood there in midair, staring at the eight True Gods that were fleeing in every which way.

“Arise.” Ning pointed his finger towards the heavens.

The skies turned dark, and streams of rainbow-colored sword-light began to appear in the area around them. The entire region became a world of rainbow sword-light. This caused the fleeing Thearchs and True Gods to reveal looks of horror on their faces, especially Thearch Darkstill. He had sent his nine bugbeasts against Ning, and they had all been wiped out by this technique.

The dazzling rainbow sword-light unfolded like the blooming of a flower, shooting out in every direction.

It was beautiful and dazzling.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! ……

Sword Peacock, a stance meant for slaughter. Six of the eight alien Daofathers were instantly slain. The two Thearchs managed to resist for a brief moment, but in the end even they found it difficult to resist the consecutive strikes of rainbow sword-light from Sword Peacock. One was disintegrated, while the other, Thearch Darkstill, was able to survive thanks to his defensive skills. However, he was still heavily injured.

Slash! The black lightning serpent flashed past him, and as it did his head went flying, eyes still filled with a look of celebration at having ‘survived’ Sword Peacock.

The entire world turned silent.

The sixteen alien True Gods had all been slain! The distant Daoist Jade Cauldron, Chijingzi, Holy Mother Turtlesoul, and others all stared blankly. Sixteen True Gods and Daofathers…they had all been wiped out in such a short period of time, and in such a completely overwhelming fashion. This sort of power…there was only one explanation.

“He’s an overlord?” Old man Chijingzi murmured to himself.

The six Daofathers by his side all shivered.

Overlord?

They stared at the distant white-robed youth, the ordinary-looking kid. He was an overlord?

“Sword Immortal Darknorth? He’s reached the overlord level?” Daoist Jade Cauldron still couldn’t believe it. None of the seven really could.

In their hearts…Ji Ning was just a lovesick man who was exceedingly talented. In truth, they felt quite a bit of pity towards Ji Ning. They knew of his history, and they also knew that his wife ‘Yu Wei’ had been a spy for the Seamless Gate. In fact, Yu Wei’s betrayal during the Crimsonbright Realmwar had very nearly caused them to lose that Realmwar.

Almost everyone in the Three Realms knew that during the battle in the Deerchaser world, the black-robed Godking had personally crushed Yu Wei’s truesoul! None of them could forget the agonized howl of rage which Ji Ning had unleashed…

In their hearts, whenever they thought of Ji Ning, they would at most sigh to themselves and say, “What a pitiable man. He is a genius, but alas the war arrived too soon for him.”

This was what many believed, including many of the major powers.

In fact, even Ning’s own master, Subhtui, often mused to himself that it truly was a pity that Ji Ning had been born so late. If he had been born just a few years earlier, he might’ve stood a good chance of reaching Houyi’s level.

A pitiable man with a pitiable life!

These feelings of commiseration and pity were what most major powers felt when they faced Ning.

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Chapter 22 – The Apex of the Three Realms

Book 22, True God, Chapter 22 – The Apex of the Three Realms

None of them ever would have imagined that this poor youth who had suffered so many setbacks would have climbed up to the apex of the Three Realms.

Right.

The apex of the Three Realms!

The peak of power amongst all the cultivators of the entire Three Realms!

A position which only the likes of Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, Human Sovereign Suiren, Human Sovereign Fuxi, Human Sovereign Shennong, and the inconceivably talented Houyi had reached. But now, yet another figure had appeared by their side…this ordinary-looking white-robed youth who stood before them!

Sword Immortal Darknorth! Ji Ning!

“The world just changed,” Holy Mother Turtlesoul said softly.

“Yes, it has changed. Yet another overlord-class figure has appeared in the Three Realms.” Daoist Jade Cauldron said softly, “And he’s trained for less than a thousand years. He’s an absolute legend, a legend which surpasses even that of Houyi’s.”

The seven Daofathers present all felt a bit dizzy.

They had just watched a legend be born.

A youth had trained for less than a thousand years to journey from the ranks of mortals to the very apex of the Three Realms! He ranked above all other cultivators and stood side-by-side with Daoist Three Purities, Lord Buddha, and the Three Sovereigns of Mankind.

“Let’s go.” Ning looked at them and said quickly, “Lord Tathagata is in a perilous situation right now. We have to go reinforce Fuxi right away and come up with a way to rescue Lord Tathagata. Let me draw you into my estate-treasure for now…”

“Alright.” Daoist Jade Cauldron and the others couldn’t help but comply. When facing an overlord, they unconsciously assumed the role of followers.

Ning nodded. With a wave of his hand, he drew Daoist Jade Cauldron and the others into his estate-treasure, then transformed into a black lightning serpent and flew at high speed towards Fuxi.

……

Inside the formation trapping Tathagata.

The incomparably ugly, green-skinned Thearch Vileye was sending frantic mental message. “Master, almighty Master, we’re in trouble! In trouble!”

“Eh?” Godfiend Witherspike was currently working alongside Saber to deal with Lord Buddha. Upon hearing these words, he immediately turned his head to glance backwards.

“Dead! All dead!” Thearch Vileye said frantically, “I’m the only one who survived because I was born with two bodies. I lost one of my lives! Darkstill and the others, all of them are dead!”

“What? How? Fuxi has been tied down by the T’ya brothers, while Tathagata is in front of us. Who killed them?!” Godfiend Witherspike was quite unhappy.

He had trapped Tathagata in one of the most dangerous parts of the Goldriver world. Anyone from outside the Primordial Ruinworld would need to spend a considerable amount of time flying before arriving at this place! The reinforcements from the Nuwa Alliance wouldn’t be arriving any time soon. The only possible reinforcements would be the squads of Darknorth and Daoist Jade Cauldron, but the strongest members of those squads were merely close to the overlord level. There was no way they could possibly kill the group of True Gods commanded by the Four Thearchs.

“It was Darknorth.” Thearch Vileye said hurriedly, “It was Sword Immortal Darknorth. He’s terrifyingly powerful. In the face of his power, our combination formation was far too weak. His hands easily pierced through our formation, then slaughtered all eight of us. The eight led by Darkstill are all dead as well. They must’ve died to Ji Ning as well.”

“WHAT?!” Godfiend Witherspike’s face instantly changed. He was no fool. He immediately knew what this meant.

“Yet another individual with the power of an Elder God has appeared?” Godfiend Witherspike frowned deeply. “These aboriginals don’t have any good cultivation techniques. This Ji Ning should merely have trained to the True God level! He’s merely a True God, yet he is able to unleash the power of an Elder God, and he’s trained for less than a thousand years…even in the endless primordial chaos, it’s hard to find a genius like this. This is trouble. Yet another problematic figure has arisen.”

“Alright, understood!” Godfiend Witherspike barked.

“Y-y-yes!” Thearch Vileye hurriedly slunk back.

Godfiend Witherspike waved his hand, causing Celestial Immortal Blackheaven to appear next to him.

“Mighty Godfiend, have you slain Tathagata?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven asked eagerly.

“I have some very bad news for you,” Godfiend Witherspike said. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning…he already has the power of an Elder God.”

“W-what did you just say?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s mind went blank.

“Did I stutter?” Godfiend Witherspike said angrily, “Ji Ning. The Ji Ning your people kept on toying with? He already has the power of an Elder God. Or, to put it in words you people might understand, he has the power of an overlord! Those idiots in your Seamless Gate…don’t they know that there are some geniuses that you can’t simply beat down? You need to avoid causing trouble for them! Yes, some will end up being destroyed, but others…the more you beat them down, the more terrifyingly powerful they will become. You utter imbeciles! You absolute imbeciles!”

“This Ji Ning has trained for less than a thousand years. If you had completely ignored him and paid him no mind, if you had simply let him live a happy life with his wife, how could he possibly have become so powerful so soon? He’s now on the same level of power as I am! Another enemy of such power…I don’t give a damn about who wins this war between you and the Nuwa Alliance, but you are causing problems for me now! This bone is getting harder and harder to chew by the day. The Seamless Gate is a pack of fools. Idiots. Imbeciles! MORONS!”

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was still mumbling to himself in a daze. “Ji Ning? Overlord?”

“You aren’t lying to me, right?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven suddenly asked.

When things were in perfect balance, a tiny change could have an enormous impact, like the proverbial last straw that broke the camel’s back!

For a new overlord to suddenly appear at a time like this…the impact this would have on the war would be simply enormous. It was ten times more important than the outcome of the battle for the Deerchaser world!

“You think I’d lie to you?” Godfiend Witherspike laughed coldly. “All four of the Thearchs under my command, aside from Thearch Vileye who was born with two bodies, have been wiped out. It was Ji Ning who killed them.”

“Have the Seamless Gate hurry up and come up with an idea!” Godfiend Witherspike waved his hand and put away the still-dazed Celestial Immortal Blackheaven. After doing so, he once more turned his attention to Lord Tathagata the Buddha.

Lord Buddha was using all his power to defend against the one-armed man. The two seemed to be on equal footing; the one-armed man’s saber-light carried utterly ruinous power, while Lord Buddha’s defense was completely airtight and seamless.

“Darknorth has become an overlord?” Lord Tathagata the Buddha began to laugh. “Ahahaha…the Heavens truly favor our side!”

“Heavens my ass. A chaosworld is nothing more than the manifestations of the Worldheart that lies in its center. ‘Heavens’? Heavens my ass. Stupid bumpkins.” Godfiend Witherspike sneered coldly. “It doesn’t mater. A new overlord might have appeared, but he is definitely inexperienced and new to this level of power. If I can wipe out your Sakyamuni body, it’ll be enough to make up for the danger which Ji Ning poses.”

After speaking, Godfiend Witherspike once more attacked.

Lord Buddha had been able to fight on fairly even footing against the one-armed man, but now Witherspike joined in once more. The fight instantly became uneven, and Lord Buddha had to use all of the divine abilities and techniques he had in order to defend against the assaults of these two alien Outsiders.

“I have to fight at full power in order to withstand these two, but in doing so my divine power is going to be depleted far too quickly. Almost half of it is already gone. It seems that I really am going to die here. Still, for Ji Ning to actually make a breakthrough is cause for celebration.” Lord Tathagata remained quite calm.

……

As Godfiend Witherspike was cursing at Blackheaven, Ji Ning had already reached Fuxi’s location while riding his black lightning serpent.

“Eh?” Ning came to a halt and stared downwards.

Off in the distance, he could see an enormous hemispherical formation that covered an area of several million kilometers. Within the sealed area, one could see Fuxi’s group battling against three muscular golden-armored figures.

Ning stretched out his hand. A Darknorth sword appeared within it.

Swoosh!

He immediately charged downwards, transforming into a streak of light as he attacked the sealing formation. His sword stabbed straight through it. Boom! The entire sealing formation was immediately pierced through, allowing Ning to charge inside. As he did so, the hole he had just created closed up behind him.

Within the formation.

Fuxi was commanding three human experts in a wild battle against the three muscular golden-armored figures. However, the three were protected by layers of watery light that were actually capable of repulsing all attacks. Even though they were occasionally wounded, the wounds would quickly close.

“Darknorth?” When Fuxi’s group of four saw Ji Ning appear, they couldn’t help but reveal looks of excitement.

“Careful,” Fuxi instructed. “These three alien Outsiders have a special combination formation. There are three of them, but it is as though they are a single unit! And they are simply unkillable.”

Ning took a look, then instantly understood.

“The Waterian race?” Ning murmured to himself. World God Northrest had transmitted a great deal of information regarding the primordial chaos to Ning. He immediately recognized that these three alien Outsiders belonged to the Waterian race. Waterians were notoriously difficult to deal with, and in fact they were often described as having indestructible bodies! They were clearly just a trio of True Gods, but they still managed to completely tie down Fuxi’s group.

“Have Kuafu and the others arrived as well?” Fuxi said hurriedly, “Have your squad help out right away. Help me tie down these three alien Outsiders so that I can focus on solving this formation. Tathagata’s situation is quite grim; if too much time passes, he probably won’t be able to hold on for much longer. Remember, all you need to do is tie them down; they are very tough to kill.”

“Yes, they came. Leave these three to me.” Ning waved his hand and a group of figures appeared next to him. Aside from Kuafu’s squad, there was also Daoist Jade Cauldron’s squad.

“Jade Cauldron arrived as well?” Fuxi instantly smiled. “Wonderful. If the two of you join forces, you’ll be more than strong enough to deal with those three alien Outsiders.”

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Chapter 23 – Fire

Book 22, True God, Chapter 23 – Fire

“Human Sovereign,” Ji Ning sent mentally, “I know where these three alien Outsiders come from.”

“Oh?” Fuxi looked towards Ning.

“Aren’t you skilled in using fire, Human Sovereign?” Ning sent mentally, “So long as you use your Eternal Kindlefire against them, they will immediately retreat.”

Ning’s words were correct. The Waterians were creatures formed from water. They had incredibly durable bodies; even if you cut them apart, they would just reform like water without using up my divine power. This was why they were described as having ‘indestructible bodies’. However, this sort of innate ability came with its own drawbacks as well. There were three ways by which one could deal with Waterians.

The first was to use overwhelming power. A World God could easily blast them apart and grind them into dust, leaving nothing behind at all! However, Ji Ning and the others clearly couldn’t use this method right now.

The second method was to repeatedly attack and injure them. If you injured them heavily enough and often enough, they would still eventually use up all of their energy. At some point, the three Waterians would no longer be able to hold on. However, this method required a very long period of time, and time was exactly what Ning and the others did not have. Lord Tathagata the Buddha wouldn’t be able to hold out for much longer.

Thus…the only method remaining was the third method.

Waterians were completely water-aligned lifeforms. One could use fire to counter them! They were terrified of fire. However, the more powerful a Waterian, the more resistant the Waterian would be to fire. True God Waterians were generally immune to ordinary skyfire or truefire; one would have to use something on the level of Golden Solarfire. Suiren’s ‘Eternal Kindlefire’ was another type of fire that would work.

“Eternal Kindlefire is useful against them?” Fuxi wasn’t that skilled in using this type of fire. His ‘Waterflame Apocalypse Formation’ used ‘Eternal Kindlefire’ alongside ‘Arcane Moonwater’. Suiren provided the Eternal Kindlefire while Fuxi was able to harvest Arcane Moonwater himself. Thanks to his mastery over the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, he was able to control both the Kindlefire and the Moonwater, but this formation was mainly used for extremely wide-area attacks; it wasn’t that useful against individual opponents, which was why he hadn’t used it yet.

Although puzzled, Fuxi trusted Ning.

“Come out.”

Fuxi and his Daofathers actually held the upper hand in this fight; the issue was just that they couldn’t force the three golden-armored Outsiders into submission. Fuxi suddenly let out a low growl, and as he did a massive formation suddenly appeared that was hundreds of kilometers across. The Arcane Moonwater was placed off one side and the Eternal Kindlefire was placed directly before their foes. The flames looked warm and inviting, almost like ordinary flames; they didn’t look as dominating or savage as Golden Solarfire. They were flames that brought warmth to one’s heart.

As soon as the flames appeared, the faces of the three alien Outsiders instantly changed. When the flames touched one of them, he let out a shocked cry. “Elderfire! Quick, flee.”

“Flee.”

The three golden-armored Outsiders no longer dared to tarry. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! They immediately transformed into three streaks of watery light that disappeared into the distance. Fuxi and the others wished to stop them, but the watery streams were formless, shapeless, and moved at incredible speed. They instantly scurried back into large formation off in the distance.

“If I knew how afraid of fire they were, I would’ve used Eternal Kindlefire long ago.” Fuxi willed the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation to disperse. This was a formation which he had prepared for the war; he would use it to attack large groups of opponents. When activated, it would blanket an entire major world with enough power to cause even elite Daofathers to feel grave danger. But of course, against overlord Daofathers it would just prove to be a bit troublesome.

“They aren’t afraid of ordinary flames,” Ning said.

In the primordial chaos, flames were divided into three levels of power: Skyfire, truefire, and elderfire.

Elderfire consisted of some of the most ancient types of fire! Golden Solarfire and Eternal Kindlefire were both on this level. The term ‘elderfire’ didn’t really exist in the Three Realms as practitioners in the Three Realms only knew of three types of fire on that level; Eternal Kindlefire, Golden Solarfire, and Zhurong Godfire.

In truth, since there were many ways to cultivate and understand the Dao, there were many different ways to produce elderfire. If every person gave their own elderfire a special name, there would be an endless number of them. In the Three Realms, these three types of elderfire all had unique names, but in the endless primordial chaos they were all simply referred to as ‘elderfire’!

Advancing beyond elderfire meant making a truly fundamental change. The flames would return to their original, purest form: chaosfire. Generally speaking, only World Gods and Chaos Immortals were capable of controlling chaosfire. A few incredibly talented Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals would be capable of controlling it, but by far the vast majority were not. To find such a monstrous genius would be a thousand times more difficult than finding Vastheaven Palace.

“You…” Fuxi suddenly stared.

Ning looked back at him.

“You’ve reached the overlord level of power?” Fuxi stared at Ning in shock and delight.

…….

The Allclans Palace of the Three Realms.

The Nuwa Alliance had become a hubbub of commotion.

“Graceful Peacock, don’t make jokes like that!” The seated Patriarch Subhuti was badly shocked.

“Right, Graceful Peacock. That’s not something you can just randomly claim. To be ‘close to the overlord level’ and to be ‘at the overlord level’ are two completely different concepts. Ji Ning is extraordinarily powerful, but don’t mistake that for him actually being an overlord-level figure.” Exalted Celestial Carefree no longer looked as laidback and carefree as usual. Instead, he looked excited as he nagged at Graceful Peacock.

All of the major powers in the Allclans Palace were staring at Graceful Peacock.

“Graceful Peacock’s words are correct.” Close to her was Daofather Chijingzi. “I, Jade Cauldron, and the rest of our group all saw it for ourselves. Ji Ning is definitely much more powerful than all seven of us combined. Two Thearchs and six True Gods joined together into a formation, and the seven of us were unable to break the formation apart. Darknorth, however, was able to pierce it with his bare hands and kill all eight of them.”

“He killed eight True Gods?” All the major powers were stunned.

“Not just that. When the other eight True Gods who were attacking us saw what had happened, they immediately tried to flee…but Darknorth still killed them all.” Chijingzi shook his head. “Sixteen True Gods, with the Four Thearchs amongst their ranks. In a brief period of time, Darknorth slaughtered them all with ease. From this day forth…the Four Thearchs of the Primordial Ruinworld will be nothing more than an old legend. Oh, wait; I heard that Thearch Vileye has a second body.”

The entire palace was silent for a moment as the major powers all exchanged glances. Then, yet another storm of noise erupted as quite a few major powers spoke out to ask more questions.

“Enough.” A voice rang out, and all the major powers turned to look. It was Lord Tathagata the Buddha, who sat at the very highest position.

“Ji Ning is indeed at the overlord level of power.” Lord Buddha nodded. “I can still hear that alien Outsider leader screaming and raving about it!”

“Congratulations.” Lord Buddha looked towards Subhuti. “You’ve gained yet another overlord-class figure under your tutelage.”

“Hahaha…”

Subhuti laughed delightedly.

Houyi had already been extremely powerful when he had joined Subhuti. Although they framed it as him taking on Subhuti as his master, in truth he was just hiding himself within Mount Innerheart.

It was Ji Ning who had been truly trained by Subhuti. Subhuti had always held Ji Ning’s talent for the sword in high regard. Although Ji Ning had advanced considerably in heartforce, Subhuti had always felt that Ji Ning was still more talented in the sword. And indeed…Ji Ning had reached the fifth stage of swordforce, then became an overlord-level figure.

“If he was able to tear apart that formation with his bare hands, he’s probably become a True God.” Daoist Three Purities laughed.

“Right. If he’s become a Daofather, there would’ve been a resonance with the Heavenly Daos. He must have become a True God.” Subhuti laughed as well.

“He trained less than a thousand years, advancing from being an ordinary mortal to become an overlord. Incredible, simply incredible.” Shennong sighed in amazement as well.

All the major powers seated below them revealed looks of amazement and joy. Their side had just gained yet another overlord; how could they not be delighted?

But they were stunned as well.

Only a few figures had ever stood at the very peak of power in the Three Realms. In the Nuwa Alliance, the only figures had been the two leaders of Daoism and Buddhism, the Three Sovereigns of Mankind, and great divinity Houyi. But now, yet another person had arisen to stand by their side…a Sword Immortal!

Ever since Pangu had established Heaven and Earth, there had never been a Sword Immortal who could reach such heights.

Daofather Fuju was very famous and was once acknowledged as the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms, but he only held the same level of status as Subhuti. World God Northrest had been focused on keeping himself alive, after all, and he truly was quite weak compared to his true level of power; he wouldn’t even dare to fight against Mother Nuwa.

Swordfather Darklight, Daofather Holyflame, and the other Sword Immortals were even weaker than Daofather Fuju!

The Pangu Chaosworld, the Seamless Chaosworld, the Three Realms…none of them had ever produced a Sword Immortal which stood at the very apex of power!

But now!

A Sword Immortal had risen up to stand at the very peak of the Three Realms!

Sword Immortal Darknorth! Ji Ning!

“Sword Immortal Darknorth.”

“Sword Immortal Darknorth.” Many of the major powers in the palace were all murmuring softly to themselves. A sense of dread and respect arose in their hearts, a natural dread that one would feel towards those that were more powerful than one’s self!

Many of the major powers would casually refer to Ning as ‘Ji Ning’. Now, however, they no longer dared to do so. They would now respectfully refer to him by his Daoist title of ‘Darknorth’. Only those who were very close to Ning, such as Subhuti, or those who were extremely powerful, such as Daoist Three Purities and Tathagata, would continue to address Ning by his given name.

From this day forth!

Ji Ning stood at the same lofty heights as Three Purities, Suiren, Tathagata, and the other overlords!

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Chapter 24 – Ripping Open the Formation

Book 22, True God, Chapter 24 – Ripping Open the Formation

The Allfiends World.

“What?! Overlord level?” The black-robed Godking couldn’t believe it at all.

“Didn’t you say last time that he was just ‘close’ to the overlord level, thanks to his fifth-stage swordforce? It’s only been a few years. How did he suddenly reach the overlord level?” The black-robed Godking felt as though a ball of fire was raging in his stomach, making him feel quite miserable. He barked, “Blackheaven, are you sure about this? Are you sure you weren’t just seeing things?”

Celestial Immortal Blackheaven couldn’t even be bothered to look at the black-robed Godking. Instead, he said solemnly and respectfully towards the Lord of All Fiends, “Master, Godfiend Witherspike is quite angry. Ji Ning is indisputably at the overlord level of power already. Master, what should we do?”

“Indisputably?” The black-robed Godking ground his teeth when he heard this.

Damn.

How…how…how did this kid who had trained for less than a thousand years suddenly rise to the very apex of the Three Realms? Even he, the exalted disciple of the Lord of the Demonheart and the nominal leader of the Seamless Gate, had yet to reach that level!

“You imbecile.” Daomother Devilhand glanced sideways at the black-robed Godking, smiling coldly.

Upon hearing the words ‘you imbecile’, the black-robed Godking snapped out of his daze. He had always played with the hearts of others, but this time he had played himself. He had watched as Ji Ning grew powerful, and he had personally acted to deliver one setback after another to Ji Ning. Now, Ji Ning had advanced to the very apex of the Three Realms…and indeed, the Godking’s role in this could not be overstated. How could the Godking not feel miserable and stifled? However, he was an extraordinary figure as well. He quickly recovered from his momentary fugue state.

“Fiendlord, Darknorth has already become an overlord-class power. He trains much too quickly. We have to get rid of him right away,” the black-robed Godking said.

“I know.” The Lord of All Fiends frowned. “I heard that Houyi, Suiren, and a group of True Gods and Daofathers have already headed out. Even if we want to intervene, we would have to first travel to the Goldriver world, then slowly fly to the battle site. We probably won’t be able to to catch up to Houyi’s group. We won’t be able to help. Blackheaven…tell Godfiend Witherspike that we won’t be able to make it in time. There’s nothing we can do. It will all be up to him.”

“Alright.” Blackheaven nodded.

“Tell him this as well,” the Lord of All Fiends instructed, “Kill as many as he can. He should still do his best to kill Tathagata as soon as possible.”

“Alright,” Blackheaven said respectfully.

The Lord of All Fiends was silent for a moment, then said softly, “The roots of the Nuwa Alliance truly are deep…we haven’t been able to force them to reveal their full power, but we ended up creating a Ji Ning for them. Godfiend Witherspike…hmph. This alien Outsider has a belly full of bad plans. Let him fight it out with the Nuwa Alliance.”

……

The Goldriver world. Outside the grand formation.

Fuxi stared at Ning in delight. He immediately said, “No time to chat about that for now. For you to make your breakthrough at a time like this is proof that Heaven is on our side. Tathagata’s used up too much of his divine power; he won’t be able to hold on for much longer. We have to immediately break into the formation and rescue him.”

“This formation is quite complicated.” Ning stared at the formation before him.

“Yes.” Fuxi nodded. “If we slowly take our time to analyze it and deconstruct it, we’ll need roughly an hour. By then, Tathagata would be long dead.” Fuxi continued, “Tathagata is an extremely important member of our alliance. If his true body is destroyed, we’re going to be in trouble during the Endwar. No matter what, we have to save him.”

“What do you need me to do?” Ning immediately asked. Although he knew a bit regarding formations, compared to Fuxi he was like a completely ignorant child.

“In order for a formation to remain intact, it has to remain stable,” Fuxi said. “If a formation is destabilized, it can easily collapse. It is reliant on outside power, after all.”

Ning nodded. He understood this principle.

“Over there.” Fuxi pointed towards the distance. Instantly, a strand of divine power flew out towards that part of the formation. “That’s one of the critical parts of the formation. I need you to do your best to tear the formation open at that point. Tear it open as widely as you can, using your full power. This will place an enormous amount of stress on the formation, making it much easier for me to deconstruct it.”

“Alright.” Ning understood.

Ning immediately flew towards that location.

Whoosh!

His body instantly expanded in size, transforming from an ordinary white-robed youth to a massive giant that was thirty thousand meters tall. At the same time, Ning manifested his [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique. His six arms simultaneously stretched out, causing six sharp swords to appear within them. He then stabbed forward violently, using the ‘Blood Drop Stance’ of the [Brightmoon] sword-art. His swords stabbed out towards the formation faster than the speed of light.

The formation was incredibly tough. When Ning’s six arms struck out, he could sense a powerful repulsive force pushing him back. This was a formation which Godfiend Witherspike had designed to trap Tathagata and kill him. To forcibly break it open…there was no one in the Three Realms capable of it.

Fortunately, Fuxi didn’t ask for Ning to do that. All he asked Ning to do was disturb and disrupt it! Once the formation grew unstable, it would be much easier for Fuxi to deconstruct it…but despite that, only an overlord-level figure would be capable of ‘merely’ disrupting the formation.

“All of you, go assist Darknorth,” Fuxi hurriedly barked. “Attack the same part of the formation which Darknorth is attacking.”

“Yes.” “Alright.” “Attack!”

Kuafu’s squad and Daoist Jade Cauldron’s squad immediately joined together into their respective formations and began to launch waves of attacks against the formation. The three humans under Fuxi’s command also began to help out with attacks as well. However, they remained close to Fuxi, protecting him as he focused his complete attention on the formation.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly felt that things had become a bit easier. Gritting his teeth, he let out a low snarl.

Whoooooosh.

His six swords tore at the formation, ripping a small tear into the formation.

The tear was large enough for a person to enter, but there was no point in doing so. The formation was filled with many layers of dangers; one had to destroy the entire thing before entering.

Fuxi ignored all else and completely focused on breaking the formation.

Inside the formation.

Tathagata was on the verge of collapse, with less than a tenth of his divine power left.

“Where did these two Outsider overlords come from? They are incredibly powerful. This truly is a tribulation…and the true face of the tribulation is gradually beginning to show itself. I expect that we’ll only understand the cause of it at the very end,” Tathagata mused to himself, sighing silently. Only at the end of the war which ended the Primordial Era had they learned that it was the Lord of All Things who had instigated everything.

This time…things were still early, but two alien Outsiders who were overlord-class figures had already appeared. This caused Tathagata to feel truly worried.

His defensive skills were formidable. In the Three Realms, he was capable of withstanding attacks from three overlords at the same time! Right now, he was currently facing just two Outsider overlords, but he was at the verge of being defeated. Clearly, these two alien Outsiders had incredibly powerful attacks, far more so than the overlords of the Three Realms.

“Eh?” Godfiend Witherspike suddenly frowned. “Why is the formation beginning to fail…?” He was in control of the formation. He could clearly sense that one of the critical parts of the formation was rapidly beginning to fail. If this continued, it would soon completely collapse.

“Master! Master!” The three golden-armored Waterians suddenly appeared. One of them said hurriedly, “That human, ‘Darknorth’, has transformed to become thirty thousand meters tall. He’s tearing at the formation to help Fuxi deconstruct our formation.”

“Tearing at the formation?” Godfiend Witherspike instantly understood. It was much easier to deconstruct a destabilized formation. He immediately said, “Saber, hurry up and go stop Ji Ning from disrupting the formation. Without Ji Ning helping him out, it’ll take Fuxi a long period of time before he can solve the formation. Leave Tathagata to me; given how fast his divine power is being used up, I imagine he should run dry soon.”

“Alright.” The one-armed man didn’t hesitate. He merely nodded.

Swoosh! He immediately flew away at high speed, charging towards Ji Ning.

Godfiend Witherspike turned his head to stare at Tathagata, still seated in the lotus position. He let out a cold laugh. “Tathagata, your human race has gained a new overlord, ‘Darknorth’, but it is useless. Saber has gone to deal with Ji Ning. Without Ji Ning’s help, Fuxi won’t be able to break the formation in time. By the time he does, you will be long dead.”

Lord Buddha continued to use all of his divine abilities, striving to resist Godfiend Witherspike’s attacks.

Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were both extremely powerful. Both were Elder Gods, after all! Lord Buddha was only a True God; he was only able to resist them when using many divine abilities, secret arts, and ultimate attacks. Now that Saber had left, things were a bit easier for Tathagata. Still…with only a tenth of his divine power left, he was still going to die soon.

……

“Haaargh!” The titanic Ji Ning once more struck out with his six arms, his hands covered with rainbow light as he furiously tore at the opening he had created.

“Careful, Darknorth. Tathagata said that a saber-wielding Outsider is heading your way,” Graceful Peacock sent hurriedly.

Just moments after Graceful Peacock’s message, Ning saw a one-armed golden-armored figure appear. The one-armed man quickly grew in size, also becoming thirty thousand meters tall. This was a grim-looking man that looked just like a human. He held a saber in his hand as he stared at Ning. Taking a single step forward, he appeared in front of Ning then chopped down with the saber in his hand. His saber flashed fiercely, carrying an aura of irresistible power as it hacked down towards Ning.

Ning had two choices.

The first was to continue tearing at the formation. The second was to give up on that and instead focus on blocking the saber.

“Darknorth!” Kuafu, Graceful Peacock, Jade Cauldron, and the others who were helping out from afar all called out in shock. This was because when the saber-light reached Ning’s body, he continued to focus on tearing at the formation, completely ignoring the saber.

CLANG!

When the sharp blade chopped down upon his Ning’s divine body, it tore his white robes apart. Sparks flew from the surface of Ning’s skin, and a hint of a white impression could be seen…but the saber hadn’t even been able to penetrate Ning’s skin.

All Ning did was to give the one-armed man a cold look.

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Chapter 25 – Golden Statue

Book 22, True God, Chapter 25 – Golden Statue

The saber was merely able to leave a white mark on Ji Ning’s chest, but the amount of power it contained was quite shocking. It caused Ji Ning to be knocked backwards, but because he was holding onto the tear in the formation, he was able to borrow from the power of the blow. Riiiiiip. The tear in the formation actually grew larger!

“H-h-how is this even possible?” The one-armed man was dazed. “Didn’t they say that he’s been training for less than a thousand years? Didn’t he just recently break through to become a True God? How could his divine body be comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure?”

A body that was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure…there no was no way the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] could accomplish this.

In all the Three Realms…the only person to ever accomplish this was Lord Tathagata the Buddha. Tathagata’s golden body was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure, which was why when Saber and Godfiend Witherspike occasionally managed to land a blow on him, they weren’t able to injure him at all! This was why their plan had been to suppress him, then seal him away!

But now, Ji Ning’s divine body had also reached the same level?

“He’s just a local aboriginal. He actually…actually…” The one-armed man’s heart was quivering.

Kuafu, Jade Cauldron, Fuxi, and the others watching from afar were all shocked as well. “When that Outsider overlord landed a saber-blow against Darknorth, he only managed to leave a small white mark on his body?” All of the spectators had incredible vision. When they saw the one-armed man attack, they could sense how terrifyingly powerful the strike was.

Tathagata himself had said long ago that the Primordial Ruinworld had two overlords in it. One was a one-armed saber wielder, while the other had a tail.

Ning himself was quite calm.

If he had just recently broken through to become a True God, of course he would not have been able to withstand that blow. However…for him, nearly two thousand years had gone past!

World God Northrest himself was a Fiendgod Body Refiner. He was also a member of the incredibly powerful Vastheaven Palace. In terms of personal strength, he stood at the very peak of power amongst World Gods as well! There was an enormous difference in power between the weakest World Gods and the most powerful World Gods, much like how there was an enormous difference in power between third-tier True Immortals and first-tier True Immortals. As an ancient expert who had received many teachings from his powerful sect, and as a figure who was capable of acquiring things like Violetjewel and terrifying sword-arts such as the nameless sword-art, World God Northrest naturally had left behind many incredible techniques for Ning. Although some of the techniques he gave Ning weren’t as good as the ones he himself used, they were still techniques that not even most ordinary World Gods would not have access to.

Protective divine abilities!

Evasion divine abilities!

Forbidden skills!

He had passed down many such abilities. Ning had long ago mastered the heartforce scrying technique and the heartforce soul-lock technique, but he had also mastered a protective divine ability. World God Northrest had transmitted to Ji Ning a divine ability known as the [Golden Statue].

The [Golden Statue] divine ability was an ability which World God Northrest himself trained in!

It wasn’t a technique which he had acquired from Vastheaven Palace. Although he had learned some techniques from Vastheaven Palace, while adventuring through the endless primordial chaos he had undergone many trials before finally acquiring the upper section and middle section of the [Golden Statue] divine ability!

After acquiring this divine ability, World God Northrest hadn’t hesitated at all; he had immediately given up his previous protective divine ability to completely focus on this one.

The [Golden Statue] divine ability had an extraordinary history to it.

In the endless primordial chaos there was an extremely large world, a world far vaster than the entire Three Realms. It was a world that could last forever, unlike the ephemeral chaosworlds. Ten, a hundred, a thousand chaos cycles could go past, but this world would continue to remain. At the center of this vast world there was an enormous levitating island, and hovering directly above the island was a towering golden statue.

The golden statue was 54,000 meters tall, and it emanated an aura of boundless might and majesty. This aura made it so that not even World Gods would be able to step foot onto that levitating island.

Then one day, an absolute genius who had viewed the golden statue for countless years finally managed to gain insight into it and devised the [Golden Statue] divine ability. This instantly became one of the most top-notch divine abilities in existence! It was divided into three sections; the upper section, the middle section, and the lower section.

The upper section of the [Golden Statue] was the introductory section. When one mastered it, one’s body would become comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure. True Gods could train in this section.

The middle section of the [Golden Statue] could be used to train one’s body to become comparable to a top-grade Chaos treasure. Elder Gods could train in it.

World God Northrest had only acquired the upper section and middle section to this divine ability, but it was so profound and high-class that he had still chosen to use it. It was also comparatively easy to train in and so he quickly mastered these two sections, upgrading his body to become comparable to a top-grade Chaos treasure.

Although he wasn’t able to acquire the lower section, it didn’t make much of a difference; even if he did acquire it, actually mastering it would be incredibly difficult.

“Fortunately, I had a foundation via the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].” When Ning had begun to train in this divine ability, he couldn’t help but sigh.

The [Golden Statue] divine ability didn’t require any special items; it only required energy.

Divine power, Immortal energy, chaos energy, spirit-pills…all sorts of energy could be converted and absorbed! This was what made this such a formidable, high-class technique. Because Ning himself had already reached the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], when he trained in the [Golden Statue] he was able to start by using up the pre-existing energy in his body. Thus, it only took him twelve years before his body became equivalent to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure.

The [Golden Statue] was a divine ability that had to be slowly cultivated.

The cycles of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] could be mastered right away, but this came at the cost of enormous energy requirements as well as a heavy burden being placed on the body. This was why it was completely impossible to continue to devise a way to make the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] usable for True Gods. To upgrade the body of a True God in such a way would result in such tremendous stress being placed on the body that there was simply no way it could endure it. The only option was to slowly work on the body, and that was exactly what the [Golden Statue] did. Since Ning had a solid foundation thanks to the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], he only needed roughly ten or so years to master the [Golden Statue], and it hadn’t even been necessary for him to use any Great Firmament pills.

If he had, he probably would’ve been able to complete the process in three years. However, his Primaltwin was already using up an enormous amount of Great Firmament pills due to training in the Heavengazer Tower. Ten years wasn’t that long, and so Ning had been willing to take it slow.

“I didn’t expect that this war against the Primordial Ruinworld would end up forcing me to reveal my [Golden Statue] ability.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

Cultivation techniques, protective divine abilities, heartforce scanning techniques…these were all techniques Ning possessed which didn’t exist in the Three Realms.

“Sword Immortal Darknorth. It seems everyone in the Three realms completely underestimated you.” The one-armed man said coldly, “You actually managed to train a protective divine ability to such an incredibly high level without anyone being the wiser.” He had no idea that this particular divine ability was something which even World Gods would go wild over. World God Northrest himself had trained in this divine ability!

As his voice echoed in Ning’s ears, he waved his hand and sent a rope flying towards Ning.

“Damn.” Ning frowned. Those with powerful bodies would mainly be worried about being bound or being contained inside an item! The one-armed man could launch as many saber-blows as he liked without it affecting Ning, and indeed it would even hasten the formation-tearing process. This rope, however, was another issue.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ning immediately released the rip with two of his hands. His other four hands continued to strive to widen the rip, but the two now-freed hands now gripped a pair of Darknorth swords.

Sword-light flashed, spinning into black holes that drew the rope towards them.

“Hmph.” The one-armed man charged forward, continuing to manipulate the rope while launching another blow with his saber.

Ning completely focused on defense.

The one-armed man actually had his own techniques that were similar to the [Three Heads, Six Arms] ability, but he chose to keep just one arm. His saber, however, truly was powerful! By comparison, even Ning’s swords were a level lower in raw power.

Still, when Ning used two swords to defend at the same time, he was actually still able to defend against Saber’s rope and saber combination.

“Darknorth, just hold on for a while longer. I’ve almost solved the formation,” Fuxi sent hurriedly towards Ning.

“Right.” Ning’s titanic body continued to tear at the formation with four arms while defending himself with two.

“Why is it that I feel like this Darknorth fellow is even tougher to deal with than Tathagata? He’s just a local bumpkin; he should at most be a True God.” After battling for a short period of time, Saber began to feel as though Ning was unreasonably tough. But of course, he had no idea that Ning was actually a half-step Elder God! Ning also had a sword-art that surpassed the heavenly Daos, and he had spent nearly two thousand years training within the Heavengazer Tower. This made it so that his sword-arts had become even more well-rounded than before.

“Saber, why is the formation still breaking apart?” Godfiend Witherspike sent mentally.

“Master, Darknorth has a formidable protective divine ability that is as good as Tathagata’s! His sword-arts are incredible as well. I can’t stop him!” Saber sent mentally.

“Are you seeing things?!” Godfiend Witherspike grew frantic.

“When I landed a saber-blow on him, I was only able to leave behind a white mark,” Saber replied.

Godfiend Witherspike continued to launch a furious barrage of attacks against Tathagata, but he felt tremendous frustration in his heart.

“What the hell is going on in the Three Realms? I, an exalted Elder God, had to work incredibly hard in order to toughen my body and make it equivalent to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. But these natives…they clearly are mere True Gods. For Tathagata to be able to accomplish this is one thing, but Darknorth’s trained for less than a thousand years. How it is that his body is this powerful as well?!” Godfiend Witherspike felt incredibly unhappy right now.

Protective divine abilities were extremely rare and difficult to train in. This was why World God Northrest had immediately discarded his previous technique and instead trained solely in the [Golden Statue] once he acquired it.

“Those with protective divine abilities are always a pain to deal with. Bind him? Tathagata’s palm-arts are too powerful as well. There’s no way I’ll be able to succeed in doing so. My only option is to continue exhausting his store of divine power.” Godfiend Witherspike felt helpless.

Only after exhausting Tathagata would he be able to capture him!

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Chapter 26 – Battling Godfiend Witherspike

Book 22, True God, Chapter 26 – Battling Godfiend Witherspike

“Can this all be due to Nuwa? Are these techniques that she left behind?” Godfiend Witherspike muttered to himself, “This all came out of nowhere. Now that another troublesome individual like Darknorth has appeared…it seems that taking over the Three Realms and taking away its Worldheart will be even harder than I thought.”

The thing which Godfiend Witherspike desired the most was the Worldheart.

In fact, the Three Realms was formed from the collision of the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld. That meant that its Worldheart was most likely the combined Worldhearts of those two chaosworlds. If so, would be even more valuable!

“Those who bar my path shall die.” A savage light flickered in Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes as he suppressed all extraneous thoughts.

……

“Keep holding on for just a little while longer,” Fuxi sent hurriedly. “I’m about to break the formation apart!”

“Alright.” The towering Ji Ning continued to tear at the formation with four arms while defending against Saber with his other two.

“Hmph.” Saber frowned. Seeing that he couldn’t stop Ning, Saber suddenly turned and walked away, disappearing from Ning’s field of vision.

“He actually retreated?” Ning couldn’t be bothered to over-analyze the matter. He immediately used all six of his hands to tear at the great formation.

Rumble…

Ji Ning suddenly sensed the strength of the formation begin to dramatically weaken, then vanish entirely. He had been pulling at the rip with all his power; now, all of a sudden, he ripped it completely apart by accident. BOOM! The surrounding area completely exploded, causing many spatial cracks and tears that quickly healed.

“The formation has been breached!” Fuxi said hurriedly.

“Quick, go save Lord Buddha,” Ning barked back. As the formation broke apart, the surrounding area returned to its normal appearance. Ning could now actually see the golden figure of Lord Buddha seated in the lotus position off in the distance. A Fiendgod with a long tail, loose hair, and an aura of incomparable savagery was furiously assaulting the seated figure, with many of the alien Outsiders of the Primordial Chaosworld helping him out.

“Hurry.” Instantly, Fuxi, Kuafu, Daoist Jade Cauldron, and the others all transformed into streaks of light and flew forward.

“So that’s the other Outsider overlord?” Ning immediately noticed the jade-tailed alien Outsider. The man was completely bald and looked rather handsome. He had completely suppressed Lord Buddha in power. In the face of his assaults, Lord Buddha was only able to completely focus on defense.

“Outsiders!” Upon seeing his old friend in such dire straits, Fuxi immediately let out an angry roar. “Die!”

BOOM!

Instantly, the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation descended. The surrounding area for a million kilometers became filled with Arcane Moonwater and Eternal Kindlefire.

There were dozens of major powers from the Primordial Ruinworld. For a situation like this, a large formation that could launch area attacks was the ideal tool.

“Careful.” None of the alien True Gods or Daofathers dared to continue with their attacks against Tathagata. Instead, they focused completely on protecting themselves.

“This elderfire…” The three Waterians frowned as well as they hid themselves within the formation.

Once this formation appeared, the power of the Primordial Ruinworld arrayed against Lord Buddha instantly lessened.

Swoosh!

A black lightning serpent flashed through the skies, launching an initial strike against the alien Outsiders.

Ning gripped a sword in each of his six arms. Five were Darknorth swords while the sixth was Violetjewel. Things were quite critical and Ning could tell that Lord Buddha wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer; he could very well perish any moment now. At a time like this, he had to fight with full power.

“Master, I’ll stop him.” The red-bearded elder let out a low growl, his red beard instantly expanding dramatically in size as it struck out towards Ning.

Of the six retainers who followed Godfiend Witherspike, Saber was the most powerful. Next in power was the red-bearded elder! As for the three Waterians, they could just barely reach the Elder God level of power after joining together in a formation, but they were only really skilled in defense.

“Hmph.” Ning struck out with his six swords.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Six dazzling streaks of sword-light instantly sliced across the skies. The skies had been completely covered by the endless strands of red beard, but all the strands were instantly shattered apart. The red-bearded elder’s face turned paled with shock, and he hurriedly retereated to hide behind the formation that had been set up by those dozens of alien True Gods. He sent mentally in panic, “Master, Sword Immortal Darknorth is shockingly strong. I’m unable to stop him.”

After shattering the old man’s red beard, Ning charged straight towards Lord Tathagata in an attempt to rescue him.

“Saber, you go deal with Fuxi. Leave Ji Ning to me.” Godfiend Witherspike knew that, given how Saber and Ji Ning specialized in attacks and how tough Ji Ning’s body was, it was unlikely that Saber would be able to succeed in doing anything to Ji Ning. Fuxi wasn’t that offensively powerful; it would actually be a bit tougher for him to face Saber.”

“Alright.” Saber nodded.

Swoosh! Godfiend Witherspike flew towards Ji Ning.

Rumble…

A streak of light suddenly curved towards Ning without any warning at all. Ning was badly startled, but fortunately he had been using his heartforce to constantly scan the area.

“Fast! So this Outsider overlord’s tail has actually surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos!” Ning was truly surprised.

Godfiend Witherspike was able to attack with his tail at incredible speed. Ning immediately chopped out with his sword.

Clang! Sparks appeared as the sword clashed with the tail. Godfiend Witherspike’s body was tremendously durable as well.

“He actually managed to block with ease?” Godfiend Witherspike frowned as he manifested a total of six arms, continuing his attacks against Ning.

The two instantly began to battle against each other in midair, six arms against six arms.

As the battle began, Ning realized that although Godfiend Witherspike was very strong, only his tail had surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos; his arms had not!

“Go!”

Suddenly, Ning unleashed Violetjewel. Prior to this, he had been hiding Violetjewel’s full power, keeping it weak and in line with the other five Darknorth swords. Now, however, Ning suddenly slammed Violetjewel down as he used the ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ of th [Brightmoon] sword-art.

BOOOM!

Violetjewel crashed down like the thunder, slamming down against Godfiend Witherspike’s pale white arm. Godfiend Witherspike’s face instantly changed dramatically as he was knocked backwards.

“What?!” All the major powers of the Primordial Ruinworld were shocked. It had seemed as though the Godfiend had held the upper hand in his fight against Sword Immortal Darknorth. How was it that he was suddenly sent flying backwards?

“You were actually hiding your true power?” Godfiend Witherspike let out a bellow, then charged forward once more.

“Even when I use Violetjewel, I don’t have much of an advantage over him.” Ning also frownedas he charged forward as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two exchanged lightning-fast attacks as they battled furiously.

Ning had the advantage of Violetjewel.

Witherspike had the advantage of being a true Elder God.

The two actually battled to a complete standstill! This sight caused both the powers of the Nuwa Alliance and the powers of the Primordial Ruinworld to feel shocked.

“The alien Outsider is actually this powerful?”

“Sword Immortal Darknorth is actually this powerful?”

Both sides were stunned.

The Nuwa Alliance was stunned at Witherspike’s power. The Primordial Ruinworld was stunned at Ji Ning’s power! Even though Ji Ning was an overlord-class figure, they had thought that since Ji Ning had trained for less than a thousand years, he was still inexperienced. Moments ago, Ji Ning had revealed a truly shockingly powerful protective divine ability…and now, he had revealed that his attacks were every bit as powerful as those of this Outsider overlord!

More than half a chaos cycle had gone past since the war that ended the Primordial Era. There were some major powers who were hiding their improvements; it was entirely possible, for example, that Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Formation’ was even more powerful than Ji Ning’s attacks.

But…

In terms of speed, Ji Ning had the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique.

In terms of defense, he had the [Golden Statue] technique.

In terms of attack, he stood at the very peak of the Three Realms.

Ji Ning had no apparent weaknesses at all. This made him even more dangerous, as he could deal with all types of situations. Any major power, Godfiend Witherspike included, would feel a headache coming when they had to fight against Ji NIng.

“Inexperienced? Inexperience my ass! Those Seamless Gate idiots! They kept on toying and toying and toying with him…and now, those imbeciles have ended up creating a freak of an enemy.” Godfiend Witherspike ground his teeth. “There’s no point to fighting against him like this. He’s too powerful; there’s no way I can kill him. I should focus on killing Tathagata instead.”

“Hmph. Sword Immortal Darknorth…I paid quite the price to acquire this formation. I wouldn’t be willing to use it against just anybody,” Godfiend Witherspike mused to himself.

Boom!

In the same instant that the two exchanged blows yet again, Godfiend Witherspike suddenly waved his hand.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Six utterly enormous stone pillars suddenly appeared out of nowhere, descending from the heavens to cover an area of tens of thousands of kilometers. The stone pillars instantly began to radiate with blurry light, completely sealing off the outside world and causing space itself to turn blurry.

“Darknorth!” Fuxi and the others were shocked as they saw this enormous blurry formation descend and trap Darknorth within it.

“Fuxi, correct?” Godfiend Witherspike turned his head to smile coldly at Fuxi. “I heard that your skill in formations is the best amongst the locals. Go ahead and try to break this one if you can, ahaha…”

Fuxi’s heart had turned cold as he soon as he saw those six stone pillars. The stone pillars were covered with extremely arcane runes. These runes contained incredibly profound mysteries of space within them, and Fuxi’s head turned dizzy as soon as he looked at them. He instantly understood that this was definitely a formation that vastly, vastly outstripped any formation he had ever made. There was no way he would ever be able to possibly break it.

His guess was correct. This was a formation that had been created by a Chaos Immortal who was skilled in the art of formations. It was one of the trump cards which Godfiend Witherspike used when he adventured in the primordial chaos to trap tough foes.

If you wanted to survive adventuring through the primordial chaos, you needed to have some trump cards up your sleeve.

The Waterians under his command were another set of trump cards; when he encountered great danger, he would force those three servants of his to go block for him. However, they were only one of his ‘ordinary’ trump cards. This formation was one of his most important ones. Once unleashed, any foe trapped within would need to spend a long period of time before being able to overcome it. By then, he would’ve fled long ago.

I might not be able to kill you, but I can trap you!

Godfiend Witherspike had paid quite a heavy price to acquire this item. If it wasn’t for the fact that Ji Ning was incredibly powerful, he wouldn’t have been willing to use this treasure at all. If a foe spent enough time figuring out how the formation worked, he would be able to break through it and render it completely useless in the future. This sort of formation was generally a single-use item; Witherspike certainly didn’t have the ability to remake it or repair it!

“First, I’ll kill Tathagata. Then, if I have enough time, I’ll kill Fuxi as well,” Godfiend Witherspike mused to himself.

……

Ning had started to battle against Godfiend Witherspike again. Just as he had been knocked backwards a few steps, he saw six stone pillars descend out of nowhere. Immediately afterwards, the area around him turned blurry.

Neither heartforce nor coresense could see past the haze, and he was only able to physically see to a distance of three hundred meters.

“A formation?” Ning stared at the blurry area around him. “I’ve been trapped in a formation?”

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Chapter 27 – Fighting Back

Book 22, True God, Chapter 27 – Fighting Back

Ji Ning brandished Violetjewel, causing it to explosively increase in size to become many tens of thousands of meters long.

“Break!” Faced with this blurry region, Ning let out a roar as he raised the enormous sword high into the air, then chopped downwards.

Whoosh!

He struck out with the ‘Heavenbreaker stance’. In terms of intent and will, it wasn’t too far from the will which Pangu had possessed when he had cleaved Heaven from Earth and established the world. Pangu had been born with mastery over the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos, but his establishment of the world was part of his innate purpose for existing; he was the weakest type of World God possible. For those who had actually trained to become a World God, the establishment of a chaosworld would not result in their deaths.

Rumble…

The sword struck out, causing thunder to boom out around it.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. “Although there were some vibrations, the formation is still quite stable. In fact, it is far more stable than the formation we dealt with earlier.”

It would not be possible for him to break through this formation with raw force. What should he do?

Whoosh. Ning began to move, quickly flying forward through the formation. The situation outside was most assuredly quite grim, and Lord Tathagata was in grave danger, but Ning put away all his other considerations as he completely focused on how to break through this formation as soon as he could.

After flying for just a second, Ning came to a halt.

“There is no danger here whatsoever…”

“I flew a few hundred thousand kilometers in that second, but I encountered no danger whatsoever, nor where there any illusions. All I see is this perpetual blur and haze.” Ning was stunned. “Can it be…is this an ‘Endless Road’?”

“Those six stone pillars…right. Damn! This is an ‘Endless Road’ formation!” Ning’s face instantly turned unsightly to behold.

World God Northrest had transmitted much information to Ning, including a great deal of knowledge regarding common yet troublesome formations. One such formation was known as the ‘Endless Road’.”

In the endless primordial chaos, there were worlds that were far larger than the Three Realms which held many major powers. All of them needed to train, and so it was quite common for them to exchange techniques and items with each other! One particularly powerful type of formation which many Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quite willing to purchase was this, the ‘Endless Road’.

The principles behind the ‘Endless Road’ were quite simple. It made use of the principles of the Dao of Space to transform a region that was originally just ten thousand kilometers in size to become a hundred million kilometers in size! The target would be trapped at the very center of the formation. If you wanted to escape it, the only option you had would be to physically fly out of it.

There was no way to teleport from within the formation. Thus, you had to spend a considerable amount of time flying from the center of the formation to the outside. That period of time would be more than enough for the formation-user to either flee or do something else! This made this particular formation a very popular item in the endless primordial chaos, and each time someone offered one for sale it would be immediately snapped up.

Of course, it was also theoretically possible to break the formation through raw force! The problem was that although the formation was seemingly simple, the arcane mysteries of the Dao of Space inside it were unfathomably profound. Even World Gods or Chaos Immortals would need a bit of time to break the formation. As for Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals? There was no chance of it at all.

“All I can do is keep flying!” Although Ning felt incredibly frantic, there was nothing else he could do.

Swish! Ning transformed into a black lightning serpent, chose a direction, then immediately began to flee at high speed.

……

“Save Tathagata!”

Outside the formation, the battle had reached a crescendo.

Fuxi was leading Kuafu and Jade Cauldron’s squads in a furious assault against the one-armed man, ‘Saber’. Saber had transformed to become thirty thousand meters tall, and he sent his saber flashing out in streaks of cold, savage light, preventing Fuxi and the others from moving past him. Fuxi was still just a True God, after all; although he had extremely profound insights into the Dao, he had primarily focused on the art of formations. While using formations he was able to just barely be a match for Saber, but he was still at a significant disadvantage.

Only someone like Ji Ning, a half-step Elder God who had a powerful divine body and a sword like Violetjewel, could truly cause Saber trouble. Even Godfiend Witherspike had been unable to do anything to Ning and had been forced to use his precious Endless Roads formation to trap Ning.

“Damn.”

“Attack.”

“Attack!”

Kuafu, Jade Cauldron, and the others had all joined together into formations and were launching attacks from far away, but Saber was able to easily block the attacks.

As for the other golden-armored retainers of Godfiend Witherspike, they were in command of the True Gods and Daofathers of the Primordial Chaosworld, having organized them into formations to resist the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation. Every so often, they’d launch a few attacks as well.

For now, Fuxi’s entire squad had been completely blocked off by Saber and the enemy major powers.

“This one-armed Outsider is far too powerful.” Fuxi gritted his teeth. Per the plans of the Nuwa Alliance, Fuxi’s role was generally to focus on using formations to control and influence the overall battlefield, not fight against powerful ones in one-on-one combat!

“Tathagata, you have to hold.” Fuxi willed it, and instantly the Arcane Moonwater and Eternal Kindlefire close to Godfiend Witherspike transformed into a pair of enormous dragons, one of water and one of fire. The two dragons furiously coiled around the mighty Godfiend!

This was the ‘true’ way to use the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation. Because Fuxi had to spend much of his attention on dealing with Saber, he was only able to activate the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation within that fairly small region. Clearly, he was planning to use it to tie down Godfiend Witherspike.

Clang! Clang! The dragons of fire and water coiled around Godfiend Witherspike, but his body was so durable that he was able to completely ignore them.

“A technique that joins elderfire and elderwater together? This technique is so profound that it can actually slow down my movements.” Godfiend Witherspike quickly realized how tough this formation was to deal with, but he still let out a sneer. “A pity for them that Tathagata is almost done for.”

Although he was being constricted by the dragons of water and fire, he continued to furiously rain down attacks against Lord Buddha.

After the formation had been broken apart, Lord Buddha had risen to his feet, intending to flee. But…

Godfiend Witherspike moved even more quickly than he did. No matter how he tried, Tathagata was unable to escape.

“My divine power is almost exhausted.” Lord Buddha let out a soft sigh.

Whoosh.

A kind-looking Buddha dressed in a kasaya frock suddenly emerged from Lord Tathagata’s body. Light blazed around his body as he struck out with full power, assaulting Godfiend Witherspike.

“Ahaha, is this your final attempt to fight back? You are going to sacrifice your dharma-bodies now?” Godfiend Witherspike laughed wildly. Boom! Boom! Boom! After three brief clashes, the blazing figure completely broke apart and vanished.

“That was his Medicine Buddha body.” The distant Fuxi felt pain in his heart upon seeing this.

The Sakyamuni body was Lord Buddha’s true body, and he had four mighty dharma-bodies as well. This time, Lord Buddha had brought his Sakyamuni body along with two of his dharma-bodies, but over the course of this battle they had exhausted all of their energy. Lord Buddha’s only choice was to try and preserve his Sakyamuni body while sending out his dharma-bodies to die in the hopes of buying some more time.

These dharma-bodies had all been painstakingly cultivated…and today, in a single day, they would be destroyed.

Still, the true body was what mattered the most. So long as the true body remained alive, the dharma-bodies could slowly be remade once more.

“Go.” Lord Buddha continued to flee as he sent yet another dharma-body flying out from inside of him. This dharma-body blazed with blinding fire, as though it was the sun itself. This was the Great Sun Buddha body, and its attacks were even more powerful than the attacks of the Medicine Buddha body.

But…

In terms of technique and power, it was still a bit weaker than the true body. If even the true body was unable to withstand Witherspike’s attacks, how could the Great Sun Buddha possibly do so?

“Still struggling?” Godfiend Witherspike felt quite irritated. He continued his furious assaults, and a few short clashes later the Great Sun Buddha body also dissipated into specks of light.

Swoosh! Godfiend Witherspike continued to chase after Lord Buddha.

“You want to join together with Fuxi?” Godfiend Witherspike’s tail suddenly lashed out. Whoosh! It struck out faster than the speed of light towards Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha immediately moved to block. Boom! Lord Buddha was sent staggering backwards.

Lord Buddha’s eyes were dim but peaceful. He folded his hands together in prayer, looking calmly at the approaching Godfiend Witherspike.

“TATHAGATA!” Fuxi cried out in agony.

“Killing you really wasn’t easy.” Godfiend Witherspike finally relaxed slightly. ‘Lord Buddha’ apparently no longer had any divine power left. He had long ago converted all of flesh and blood inside of him into divine power, leaving behind only the outside layer of his golden body. His golden body technique was quite special; he became incredibly powerful after mastering it, but there was no way to reconvert his golden body into divine power. After he died, he would only leave his golden body behind.

There were many Bodhisattvas and Buddhas who would leave behind golden bodies after dying. But of course, Tathagata had trained his golden body technique to the highest possible level.

“So I have become the first to fall before the great tribulation.” Lord Buddha looked at Godfiend Witherspike calmly.

“It seems he’s preparing to give me one final blow before he dies?” Godfiend Witherspike didn’t dare to be over-confident. Killing Tathagata was no easy feat, and he had paid quite a heavy price to accomplish it. He had lost all four of his Thearchs, and he had even been forced to take out his ‘Endless Roads’ formation to trap Sword Immortal Darknorth. He certainly didn’t want to mess up at the very end!

BOOM!!!

An sudden explosion could be heard. Off in the distance, the six stone pillars surrounding the blurry formation were suddenly revealed, along with another figure…that of the sword-wielding Ji Ning.

“Sword Immortal Darknorth?” Godfiend Witherspike’s face immediately changed, but his expressions then turned savage as he charged unhesitatingly towards Tathagata. “DIE!” His sharp claws struck directly towards Tathagata, giving the distant Ji Ning no time to intervene at all.

When Lord Buddha saw Ji Ning emerge, a smile appeared on his formerly calm face. He let out a low growl, then struck out with both his palms. Boom! His giant hands struck out towards Godfiend Witherspike like a pair of massive worlds.

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Chapter 28 – Elite Elder God

Book 22, True God, Chapter 28 – Elite Elder God

These two palms were like worlds unto themselves, and they angered Godfiend Witherfiend so much that he ground his teeth. “So he really was preparing to deliver one final blow to me before dying.”

Lord Tathagata the Buddha was a True God. Although he was able to unleash the power of an Elder God, in terms of raw power he was indeed a bit inferior to Godfiend Witherspike. However, the intricacies of his palm-arts far surpassed Witherspike’s techniques. There was no way Godfiend Witherspike could avoid this final desperation attack; his only choice was to face it head-on.

BOOM!!!

The two attacks collided.

Lord Tathagata borrowed from the force of the collision to fly backwards.

“Outsider!” Ji Ning let out a loud roar, transforming into a black lightning serpent as he charged towards Godfiend Witherspike.

“Damn.” After exchanging blows with Tathagata, Godfiend Witherspike was sent staggering backwards as well. By the time he recovered, Ji Ning was already attacking. Godfiend Witherspike could only cast a hateful, resentful glance towards Lord Tathagata as the latter flew far away. “I spent all that effort and paid such a heavy price, but I actually wasn’t able to kill even one of these ‘overlord’ level bumpkins. I really don’t want to accept this.”

Ning’s sword-light descended!

It was dazzling to behold, and it seemed to contain enough power to split the skies apart.

Whap! Godfiend Witherspike’s tail lashed out, transforming into a similarly dazzling streak of light that collided against the sword-light.

Godfiend Witherspike was knocked flying backwards. He gave Ning a cold look, watching as Ning transformed into a black streak of lightning that flew next to Lord Tathagata. With a wave of his hand, he pulled Lord Tathagata into his own estate-treasure.

“Master!” The distant one-armed man sent a mental message to him.

“Let’s leave!” Godfiend Witherspike said angrily.

This word, ‘leave’, came from his lips with the utmost of reluctance. Godfiend Witherspike waved his hand, causing those six stone pillars to disappear. Although the ‘Endless Road’ had been somewhat damaged by Ning’s escape, a skilled formations expert would still be able to repair it. The price of repairing it would be much lower than the price of buying a new one.

“Leave.” The one-armed man waved his hand, collecting the alien True Gods as well as the three Waterians, the red-bearded elder, and the skinny elder. He then immediately flew over to Godfiend Witherspike’s side.

“Count yourself lucky.” Godfiend Witherspike smiled coldly towards Ning and the others. “The Primordial Ruinworld is a large place. We’ll take things slowly.”

Swoosh!

Godfiend Witherspike and the one-armed man disappeared, a dark-golden castle appearing where they were. The dark-golden castle immediately flew away and departed.

Within the castle.

Godfiend Witherspike was once more seated on his throne. Below him were his six retainers.

“Master, Sword Immortal Darknorth was trapped inside the the Endless Road formation. How did he end up emerging from it so quickly?” The red-bearded elder couldn’t help but ask this question. “It was too fast. He was only trapped inside for a brief period of time.”

“It was quite brief.” The one-armed man frowned as well. “These locals…they are fairly ignorant and ill-informed. They shouldn’t have been able to recognize the formation as an Endless Road formation. Someone who has never seen this formation…upon being trapped inside it, he should’ve spent a long period of time trying to figure out what to do. The formation is so vast that flying out would take a good long while.”

“Agreed.” Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes flashed with cold light as he nodded slowly.

They were right. Someone trapped in a formation he had never seen before would generally spend some time carefully testing it out. It would usually take them quite some time before emerging from the Endless Road formation. Ji Ning, however, had come out a short period of time after being trapped inside.

“There’s only one explanation. As soon as he was trapped inside the formation, he immediately knew what it was and how to escape.” Godfiend Witherspike said coldly, “He immediately used his [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique to fly out of it at top speed. That sounds about right.”

“How could he possibly have immediately recognized the formation?” The one-armed man frowned. “Can it be that he’s seen it before?”

“The Three Realms have encountered figures like ‘All Things’ before,” Godfiend Witherspike said. “Sword Immortal Darknorth must have acquired some records pertaining to the ‘Endless Road’ formation from some alien Outsider who wandered into this place. Hmph. He can count himself lucky.”

“Master, if you truly wished to kill Tathagata…I feel that you could have accomplished it.” The one-armed man looked towards Godfiend Witherspike.

There were differences in power amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Ordinary Elder Gods, those who were born at that level of power, were close in strength to Three Purities, Fuxi, Tathagata, and the others.

The Lord of All Things and Godfiend Witherspike could be described as elite Elder Gods. The Lord of All Things reached that level of power thanks to his mastery over golems and bugbeasts, while Godfiend Witherspike rose to power thanks to extremely bloody and violent techniques. This was why he was known as a ‘Godfiend’.

In the endless Primordial Chaos, people titled ‘Godfiend’ were generally people who possessed and used exceptionally bloody and terrifying techniques. But even if he didn’t use those secret techniques, Godfiend Witherspike would still be considered an elite Elder God, albeit just barely.

The only reason why Ji Ning was able to battle Witherspike to a standstill was because he had terrifying sword-arts and a half-step Elder God body, which allowed him to reach the power level of an ordinary Elder God. With the addition of Violetjewel, he could also be considered to have just barely reached the level of an elite Elder God!

“Right.” Godfiend Witherspike slowly shook his head. “Ever since I mastered that secret art, I’ve only used it a total of three times. Each time I use it…I will suffer severe repercussions, and it’ll be another ten thousand years before I can use it again. The Endwar will be arriving soon, in a few more centuries at most. We can’t be hasty! We’ve killed two of Tathagata’s dharma-bodies, and I’ve sacrificed both the Four Thearchs as well as my Endless Road formation. We’ve done enough. The rest is up to the Seamless Gate. Their ‘Lord of All Fiends’ is extraordinarily powerful; the only person in the Three Realms who worries me is him.”

“Agreed.” The one-armed man nodded. “For an Elder God to be able to escape from the clutches of a World God and flee so quickly that the World God can’t even catch up…this is unheard of. I’ve voyaged through the endless primordial chaos for quite a long period of time and have met over ten thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, but I’ve never met such a formidable figure. Such figures only exist in legends. I never would’ve thought that an Elder God located in such a backwater chaosworld would be so powerful.”

“Right…but we’ve only just begun to play,” Godfiend Witherspike said softly. “These two alliances haven’t really begun the final fight to the death yet. We would be a laughingstock if we revealed all of our cards now.”

“That Darknorth fellow…” Godfiend Witherspike suddenly frowned. “He has six swords. When he strikes with the blood-colored one, he is actually able to just barely reach the level of an elite Elder God in power. Is it due to the sword? Or is it because he is already an Elder God?”

……

Ji Ning was standing alongside Fuxi. Behind him was Kuafu, Daoist Jade Cauldron, and the other members of their group.

They watched as the dark-golden castle quickly disappeared into the distance. Only then did Ning let Tathagata emerge once more.

“What a terrifying group of alien Outsiders,” Fuxi murmured softly.

“Thankfully, Ji Ning was with us.” Tathagata smiled as he looked at Ning.

Fuxi looked at Tathagata, then let out a sigh. “It’s all my fault. I was too weak.”

“No, those alien Outsiders were simply too strong.” Tathagata shook his head.

Fuxi couldn’t help but nod. He said solemnly, “Yes. They were too powerful, especially that one with a tail. Those two alien Outsiders…they should have the power of elite Elder Gods. Fortunately, Ji Ning was able to stop him.” Fuxi then turned to look towards Ning, his eyes filled with surprise. “Darknorth, you were actually able to stop them…”

“They still had the upper hand when we fought,” Ning said. “I was only able to fight on par thanks to this sword.” When he had used the blood-colored Violetjewel, his blows had become noticeably more powerful. The alien Outsider had seen it, as had Fuxi and the others. They probably had already guessed the truth for themselves.

In terms of raw power…no one in the Three Realms, those two alien Outsiders included, would dare claim that they were certain of defeating Ji Ning in a fight! Given how strong he was, there really was nothing for Ji Ning to fear any longer. Still, he couldn’t tell everyone that he had only unlocked a fraction of Violetjewel’s true power. Fully repairing Violetjewel…that would be a task for the distant future.

“No wonder. It seems that you’ve had quite a few fortuitous encounters, Ji Ning.” Fuxi smiled and nodded. “Ji Ning, you might not fully understand what an ‘elite Elder God’ is! Myself, Nuwa, Zhurong, the Ancestor Dragon…we were all born as Elder Gods, which means we were born at that level of power. Three Purities, Tathagata, Shennong…they are True Gods and Daofathers, but thanks to their tremendously profound insights into the Dao they too are comparable to ordinary Elder Gods. In the Three Realms, we describe this level of power as that of the ‘overlords’.”

Ning nodded.

“An Elder God who has sufficient insights into the Dao, such as having mastered the Five Elements of the Heavenly Daos, will be described as an ‘elite Elder God’. Mother Nuwa, for example; even before the war that ended the Primordial Era, she had mastered the Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, Yang, and Life. Eight Heavenly Daos! She was so powerful that she was even superior to so-called ‘elite Elder Gods’. She was far more powerful than the two alien Outsiders we encountered today. Only Demonheart, the lord of the Seamless Chaosworld, was comparable to her.”

Ning nodded. Nuwa truly was a monster. She was an Elder God who had mastered eight of the Heavenly Daos…and then, in the final battle, she had broken through to master the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos and become a World God!

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Chapter 29 – Devastation

Book 22, True God, Chapter 29 – Devastation

“Unfortunately, Nuwa left.”

“Demonheart merged into the Heavenly Daos.”

Fuxi shook his head. “I was born an Elder God with power over the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. I sent myself into reincarnation, never to regain my former memories or powers until I master the Heavenly Dao of Life.” Fuxi sighed, then said self-deprecatingly, “I’ve now mastered two additional Heavenly Daos, the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, but I’ve been unable to master the Heavenly Dao of Life. That’s why I remain merely a True God.”

“In all the Three Realms, the only known Elder God still around is the Seamless Gate’s ‘Lord of All Fiends’.”

“Now, Darknorth, you have acquired a protective divine ability that is on par with Tathagata’s.” Fuxi looked at Ji Ning. “Your sword-arts are so formidable that you were able to fight that alien Outsider to a standstill. Given your power, I imagine that there is no longer anyone in all the Three Realms who you would need to fear. For us to gain a new, powerful ally like you at such a critical moment in history is truly a blessing for our side.”

Tathagata smiled as well as he looked at Ji Ning. Although he had lost two of his dharma-bodies, he still felt joy upon seeing how powerful Ji Ning was.

The group was in no hurry to continue the campaign. They just continued to wait without moving. After enough time passed for a kettle of tea to be boiled, Houyi and Suiren’s group of True Gods and Daofathers arrived as well.

There weren’t too many major powers left to protect the Nuwa Alliance in the Three Realms, and so a short while later Lord Buddha and Suiren departed, taking those True Gods and Daofathers back with them.

Sword Immortal Darknorth, Human Sovereign Fuxi, and Houyi commanded a total of twenty-nine True Gods and Daofathers as they continued their campaign through the Primordial Ruinworld! Every remaining part of the Primordial Ruinworld was located in extremely dangerous regions. After their latest experience, Ning and the others advanced with even greater caution and moved even slower than before.

This time, they were divided into just three squads. The three squads were led by Ji Ning, Fuxi, and Houyi!

Their three squads maintained a distance of three million kilometers from each other. They advanced in lockstep and they kept in continuous contact with each other.

The reason why they hadn’t been willing to join together into a single group was precisely because they were worried about everyone ending up trapped within a single formation. Last time, if Fuxi and Ji Ning had both been trapped inside the formation with Tathagata, it would’ve been much harder for Fuxi to break apart the formation. Ji Ning wouldn’t have been able to assist him by tearing at the formation from outside! Thus, although separating into three squads created new risk, at least it would ensure that they wouldn’t all be caught in one trap.

Three million kilometers was a fairly short distance. Given Ning’s speed with the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], he’d be able to travel that distance in a second. All the squads would be able to quickly reinforce each other.

Time passed, one day at a time. The three squads continued to destroy every single world and region they travelled through!

Godfiend Witherspike and the Seamless Gate continued to set down traps and formations to deal with them, but the extremely cautious experts of the Nuwa Alliance would never encounter such a terrifyingly dangerous situation again. They slowly and laboriously dealt with every single danger as they destroyed one world after another.

Destroying the Primordial Ruinworld represented destroying the territory and homeland of the alien Outsiders.

“The Endwar is about to sweep through the Three Realms. If these Outsiders are permitted to survive, they would most likely come and invade the Three Realms.” None of them showed any mercy. For the sake of the survival of their races, no mercy could be shown.

Godfiend Witherspike did have some estate-treasures which allowed him to hold some living creatures, but how many could it possibly hold? It could hold less than 0.01% of the creatures who lived in the Primordial Ruinworld. All the others would die!

As Ning, Houyi, and Fuxi continued to work together and support each other, they grew much closer to each other as well.

Thirty-nine years had passed since the launching of the campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld. Nineteen years had passed since Tathagata had fallen into danger.

Outside the Primordial Ruinworld.

A hatchet-carrying woodcutter, a sword-wielding white-robed youth, and a tall man dressed in Daoist robes stood together in the Void, a large group of major powers behind them. Everyone was staring at the Primordial Ruinworld.

Rumble…

They could see a massive realm teetering at the brink of collapse. The breaking process slowly hastened…and then, all of a sudden, the badly damaged Primordial Ruinworld began to completely break apart.

With a thunderous boom, countless shattered spatial shards appeared in that area. The entire Primordial Ruinworld was completely imploding, and as it did the increasingly powerful spatial shards began to destroy everything.

Elsewhere in the Void.

A dark-golden castle was hanging here in midair, the space around it rippling with formation runes. However, there was no way to locate this ship with the naked eye, and even coresense was completely blocked off.

Inside the castle.

“Quite a view.” Godfiend Witherspike’s gaze passed through the walls of the castle, seeing through the endless void of space as he stared at the distant Primordial Ruinworld. The Primordial Ruinworld looked like an enormous fireworks display as countless spatial shards were sent flying in every direction.

“The Three Realms.” The alien True Gods standing before him gnashed their teeth in range.

This was their home that had just been destroyed!

They had been the followers of the Lord of All Things, but he was defeated in battle. Mother Nuwa hadn’t wiped them out; instead, she had driven them into the Primordial Ruinworld, a place where survival itself was incredibly difficult. It was hard for them to truly flourish in the Primordial Ruinworld, and they had always dreamed of one day counter-attacking and taking over the Three Realms. They would then live in luxury and ease in that beautiful, safe world. They would no longer suffer from random spatial distortions, temporal storms, and more.

They rather hated how deadly and inhospitable the Primordial Ruinworld was…but it was still their home!

Now, even their final refuge had been torn asunder.

The alien True Gods all had estate-treasures with them, and they were able to bring some of their kinsmen with them inside. However, the total amount of kinsmen they could carry was just a tiny fraction of the total population of the Primordial Ruinworld. Those who were left behind all perished.

“The Three Realms. Fuxi. Houyi. Tathagata.” The alien True Gods firmly engraved these hated names into their memories.

Ning and the others neither knew nor cared about their hatred. In fact, if they had the chance they would probably move to completely wipe out all of the alien True Gods. These alien Outsiders were invaders who had always been the enemies of the Three Realms. The more of them the Nuwa Alliance was able to kill, the better!

“Master.” The red-bearded elder suddenly said, “What should we do next?”

“Next?” Godfiend Witherspike said softly, “We’ve sacrificed enough already, and even our territory has been completely destroyed. Fuxi, Darknorth, and Houyi are simply too powerful when they join forces. There’s nothing I can do. The Seamless Gate cannot blame me. It’ll be up to them now.”

“Get some rest, everyone. We will keep waiting. Soon…the Endwar will come soon…” Godfiend Witherspike let out a chuckle. “That’s our true battlefield. Ahaha…it’s been a long time since I’ve truly engaged in such an exciting battle. The last time was back when we were in that mountain gorge. These natives…they don’t have any formidable formations or treasures at all. The only thing they can do in war is to stake their lives. When the Endwar comes, they shall all become delicacies for me to eat…” He licked the corner of his lips with his long tongue.

“The Endwar…” The one-armed man nodded slowly as well.

They had roamed the primordial chaos together, and they had staked their own lives multiple times when doing so.

Godfiend Witherspike was going to acquire the Worldheart of the Three Realms, no matter what the risk or the cost. After Saber finished repaying his debt to the man, he would depart and continue forward on his own path of cultivation.

The other five retainers were true slaves. He had only become a retainer in order to repay a debt. He could be considered a servant, but he was no slave.

……

The Primordial Ruinworld was simply far too vast. Its collapse and annihilation took three full months to complete.

Houyi, Ji Ning, Fuxi, and the True Gods and Daofathers who followed them simply watched for three full months. After everything came to a halt Fuxi gave the remnants a final look, then nodded. “All of the worlds of the Primordial Ruinworld have been destroyed. The only thing left in the Primordial Ruinworld are those unique danger zones such as ‘Earthmoan Mountain’ or the ‘Endless Sea’. Those places are too stable; even the destruction of the Primordial Ruinworld wouldn’t damage them.”

Ning saw roughly ten or so places as well when he scanned the ruins. All of them were extremely stable and dangerous locations!

“The Primordial Ruinworld is finished. Those alien Outsiders are now like a well that has run dry,” Houyi said calmly. “They will be unable to propagate and flourish. If they appear during the Endwar, we’ll deal with them then.”

“Right.” Fuxi nodded.

The Nuwa Alliance had actually been quite worried about the Primordial Ruinworld. If the Seamless Gate was defeated but its survivors chose to hide within the inhospitable environment of the Primordial Ruinworld, they would always be hungrily eyeing the Three Realms from there. If that happened…the Three Realms would never know a day of peace!

Now they had destroyed the Primordial Ruinworld. The Lord of All Fiends was formidable and he might be able to flee with the survivors of the Seamless Gate, but if they didn’t have a place to live then as a race they would never be able to grow powerful again. They would slowly wither away while the Nuwa Alliance would continue to flourish in the Three Realms, producing more and more experts.

“Ji Ning.” Fuxi suddenly sent a mental message to Ning.

Ning was startled. Everyone around them was on their side; why did Fuxi elect to send a private mental message?

“What is it?” Ning asked.

“You now stand at the highest level of power in the Three Realms. In fact, you can be considered one of the most powerful individuals on either side. The Nuwa Alliance has many secrets which you do not know about…but now, it is time to tell you. Perhaps you’ll be able to grow a bit more powerful.” Fuxi looked towards Ning.

“The secrets of the Nuwa Alliance?” Ning felt his heartrate quicken.

“Let us return to the Allclans Palace first. Just follow me later,” Fuxi said.

Fuxi had originally been an Elder God. He was extremely close to Nuwa, and he naturally knew all of the secrets of the Nuwa Alliance.

“Alright,” Ning replied.

Fuxi smiled. “Everyone. Our campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld has lasted for thirty-nine years, but we have finally finished destroying the enemy’s lair! Now, we can set our minds at ease as we turn towards our true foes. We’ve never feared fighting any in a straight-up battle! Come. Let us return to the Allclans Palace!”

“Return to the Allclans Palace.”

The major powers immediately tore a hole through the Void and traversed it back to the Allclans Palace of the Three Realms.

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Chapter 1 – Nuwa Immortal Realm

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 1 – Nuwa Immortal Realm

Ji Ning, Houyi, Fuxi, and their squad of major powers appeared in the air above the Humanworld of Yu the Great. They immediately saw the many figures awaiting them before the Allclans Palace, including Daoist Three Purities, Shennong, Suiren, and the others.

“Come, let’s go over to them,” Fuxi said.

“Alright.” Ning and the others all quickly flew over towards the Allclans Palace, then landed in front of it.

“My fellow Daoists, please accept our thanks.” Daoist Three Purities was the first to bow.

Shennong, Suiren, Patriarch Subhuti, and the other major powers all bowed together.

They were all bowing in order to express their thanks towards Ji Ning, Fuxi, Houyi, Kuafu, Jade Cauldron, and the others for risking their lives for many years in this campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld. Although they had suffered several setbacks, with Lord Tathagata the Buddha losing two of his dharma-bodies, overall their losses hadn’t been too heavy. In the end, they had accomplished the goals they had set out.

Within the palace. Everyone returned to their seats. Ning sat down as well, but he chose to sit next to Subhuti and Houyi.

“My fellow Daoists,” Daoist Three Purities said, “Our warriors went out on campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld. The Primordial Ruinworld was more powerful than we expected, and they encountered some dangers on the way. Two extremely formidable alien Outsider overlords ended up appearing out of nowhere. Fortunately for us, Darknorth has become dramatically more powerful. He was able to hold down our losses and keep them manageable. In the end, Tathagata lost the most.”

The nearby Lord Buddha smiled as he looked towards Ning. “There were losses, but there were also gains.”

“Haha…” Daoist Three Purities laughed. “The Primordial Ruinworld has been destroyed. The Seamless Gate can forget about allying with those alien Outsiders and hiding in the Primordial Ruinworld in the future. If we can win the Endwar, we will have nothing else to worry about.”

“Darknorth has become an overlord.” Suiren spoke out. “We haven’t held a celebratory banquet for him yet.”

“No need to go to all that trouble,” Ning said hurriedly.

Generally speaking, when a new True God or Daofather was born a celebratory banquet would be held. However, since Ning had made his breakthrough while he was in the primordial chaos, no one had known about it. Since he had been warring for years, there hadn’t been a chance to hold a banquet for him yet.

“The Endwar is coming soon. I agree that it isn’t appropriate for us to hold a celebratory banquet at a time like this.” Subhuti nodded. “So many of us are gathered here in the Allclans Palace. Let us simply offer him our well-wishes.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, congratulations.” Houyi was the first to offer a toast.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, congratulations.” Lu Dongbin, seated below the overlords, also raised a toast as he smiled at Ning.

“Sword Immortal Darknorth, congratulations.”

“True God Darknorth, congratulations…”

Various forms of address could be heard as the major powers laughed and cheered. They all behaved fairly casually. Normally, there were so few major powers in the Three Realms that the ascension of every single one of them was a major event. Generally speaking, large-scale celebrations would be held for the new major power. However, times were different now, which was why Ning’s ‘banquet’ became a much simpler affair. Still, although the major powers behaved fairly casually, they still had to maintain at least a bit of decorum; Ji Ning was now an overlord-class figure, after all!

Half a day later.

Ning, Subhuti, and Fuxi were seated shoulder-to-shoulder within a wooden boat which was flying through the endless Void. They had left their incarnations within the Allclans Palace. In fact, most of the major powers ‘present’ within the Allclans Palace had actually only sent their incarnations as well, with their true bodies standing guard over various locations. By keeping their incarnations there, they would be able to maintain constant contact and mobilize together at a moment’s notice.

“Nuwa Immortal Realm?” Ning was surprised.

“Right. The Nuwa Immortal Realm.” Subhuti let out a laugh. “Before Mother Nuwa left the Three Realms, she created a special estate-world of absolute beauty. However, the number of people in the Three Realms aware of its existence can be counted on two hands. Most of the other major powers don’t know about it, but it is one of the most important realms belonging to the Nuwa Alliance.”

“Oh?” Ning was quite curious.

When Fuxi and Subhuti had led him out of the Allclans Palace, they had told him that they were going to tell him all their secrets. They had also told him that they would first have to go to the ‘Nuwa Immortal Realm’.

“Let’s go.” Subhuti waved his finger, causing a spatial whirlpool to appear in the air in front of them.

Swoosh.

The wooden boat flew into the spatial whirlpool, then quickly disappeared.

……

Rumble…

A moment later, a ripple of power swept past the place they had just left.

“Damn. What were Subhuti and Fuxi saying to Ji Ning? Where have they gone? Subhuti’s control over spacetime is simply too formidable. No one in the Three Realms surpasses him in this regard. There’s simply no way to follow him.” The ripple of power quickly dissipated.

……

After passing through the spatial whirlpool, the three saw an absolutely beautiful world appear before them. Flowers and trees covered the entire world, and it was filled with all sorts of fragrant scents. Wild animals were running around happily, and lovely creeks, roaring rivers, and massive thundering waterfalls could all be seen in the world below them. The rivers could be seen winding through the mountains before flowing into the sea.

The only creatures which existed in this world were ordinary birds and beasts which possessed low levels of intelligence. There were no other intelligent beings here.

Subhuti waved his hand, putting away the wooden boat.

“You have to use this treasure if you wish to enter the Nuwa Immortal Realm,” Subhuti said with a smile. “Mother Nuwa once created a total of three of these boats. If you don’t have one of them, there’s no way to enter this place at all. I have tremendous control over spacetime and can locate this mysterious, hidden world on my own, but not even I am capable of entering it without this boat.”

“At least you can find it. The rest of us can’t even find the Nuwa Immortal Realm!” Fuxi laughed. “Nuwa truly was amazing. She was skilled in so many Daos, including even the Dao of Spacetime.”

Ning couldn’t help but silently sigh to himself.

The Nuwa Immortal Realm truly was a mysterious place. One could only enter it when making use of the flying boats which Nuwa had left behind? It seemed that this really was one of the secret mysteries of the Three Realms.

“Come.” Subhuti and Fuxi flew in front with Ji Ning following from behind.

Soon, they arrived within a beautiful peach garden. The area around them was surrounded by beautiful peach trees, and inside the peach garden was an ordinary-looking wooden cabin.

“Come in.” Subhuti was the first to enter the wooden cabin.

Ning followed behind and entered as well. Upon doing so, he found that the insides of the cabin were quite plain and unadorned as well. The only thing it held was bookshelves, and the bookshelves were filled with jade scrolls and slips. Subhuti pointed at some of the jade slips. “These wooden cabins are all filled with many jade slips, as well as some storage-type treasures. These jade slips over here contain all of the powerful techniques, spells, and divine abilities which the Nuwa Alliance has acquired! These aren’t just our own original techniques; the techniques of the alien Outsiders are included here as well.”

“All?” Ning was shocked. The various major powers would generally keep their own secret killing techniques hidden from others.

“All the major powers were willing to hand over their supreme techniques?” Ning was quite curious. “If they wanted to keep them hidden, I imagine that Mother Nuwa wouldn’t have been able to discover them.”

“After Mother Nuwa became a Pangu-level God, she was at an incredibly high level of insight and power. In front of Mother Nuwa…there was no way for any of the major powers to keep anything hidden whatsoever.” Subhuti shook his head. “You’ve never met Mother Nuwa. If you did, you would understand. There’s no way you can even lie in front of her. It was Mother Nuwa herself who created the number one fate-type treasure of the Three Realms, the Book of Life and Death.”

Ning nodded.

The Book of Life and Death truly was an unearthly item. It recorded the lives of all of the countless living beings of the Three Realms, and it was capable of changing their fates, their very destinies.

“In addition, Mother Nuwa would often provide guidance to the other major powers,” Subhuti said. “These techniques actually won’t be of much use to you. What really will be of use are the techniques which Mother Nuwa herself left behind.”

“Oh?” Ning was startled.

Subhuti pointed towards a wall of the wooden house. Whoosh.

A technique suddenly appeared as countless characters manifested on the wooden walls.

“This is the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] scroll,” Subhuti said as he pointed towards the walls. “When Mother Nuwa became a Pangu-level God, she became what is known as a ‘World God’ in the primordial chaos. After becoming a World God, she spent time meditating on the mysteries of her divine body, spending an enormous amount of effort in developing this [Unbound Elder God Visualization] scroll. If you use this technique, you will have a chance of becoming an Elder God.”

“Although we’ve killed a number of alien Outsiders, techniques that allow one to become an Elder God are all secret techniques; they were all forced to swear lifeblood oaths, making it so that we were not able to acquire any of them.”

“Ji Ning, you have become a True God; this technique should be of use to you,” Subhuti said.

Ning gave it a careful read. He never would’ve thought that the Nuwa Alliance actually had a technique that could allow one to become an Elder God! This was a very, very rare thing.

“This technique is exceedingly important to us, as the birth of any new Elder God is a momentous affair for the entire Three Realms,” Subhuti said. “This is why, even in the Nuwa Alliance, only True Gods of incredible talent and absolutely unswerving loyalty would be given a chance to acquire this technique. If we aren’t absolutely convinced of their loyalty, we absolutely won’t divulge this technique.”

Ning was quite surprised by what he saw.

The [Solitary World God] was an extremely formidable technique that could allow one to train all the way to the World God level. It was an extremely high-class technique, and the underlying principles of the technique lay in spending tremendous time in solitude in order to find a spark of insight within one’s own divine body.

This [Unbound Elder God Visualization] scroll, however, was more like a visualization technique; it was about taking something illusory and making it real, then refining and mastering it. Its principles were completely different from that of the [Solitary World God].

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Chapter 2 – The Lord of Cui Palace

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 2 – The Lord of Cui Palace

Theoretically speaking, the principles of the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] technique seemed to be on a higher level. However, the [Solitary World God] was more detailed and more highly refined; it was, after all, a technique which countless experts had trained in and improved, giving it a higher success rate for mastery. Although the underlying principles of the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] technique were incredibly profound, Mother Nuwa had created it as a new and inexperienced World God. In addition, since the [Solitary World God] allowed one to train all the way up to the World God level, its creator was clearly far more powerful than Mother Nuwa had been.

Still, from the creation of this technique alone Ji Ning could sense how incredibly talented Mother Nuwa had been. Even in a fairly ‘backwards’ chaosworld like the Three Realms, she had been able to train to such incredible heights. What level of power must she have reached once she entered the far vaster world of the endless primordial chaos? This truly was a difficult question to answer.

“Master,” Ning suddenly said, “Since we have this technique…do we have any Elder Gods on our side?”

Previously, Ning had always believed that the Three Realms only had a single Elder God; the Lord of All Fiends. This was what even Fuxi and Tathagata had told him.

Fuxi and Subhuti exchanged a glance, then laughed.

“We do,” Fuxi said. “The reason why we previously didn’t tell you was because we needed to keep it secret.”

“We do?” Ning was surprised and delighted. “Who?”

Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others were all quite formidable, but they were still ‘just’ True Gods and third-tier Ancestral Immortals. They had to work hard on their insights into the Dao to become comparable to ordinary Elder Gods. True Elder Gods, however, all had that level of power, even if their techniques were comparatively low-class. If they had superior techniques and insights into the Dao, they would be elite Elder Gods.

“One of our Elder Gods of Primordial Chaos is actually still alive,” Subhuti said with a sigh.

“Who?” Ning was quite curious.

The Ancestral Dragon and the Phoenix had both died. Nuwa had left, Fuxi had been reincarnated, while Zhurong and Rushou had all perished. Who was still alive?

“The Elder God of Water, Gonggong!” Subhuti said.

“Gonggong? The one who broke Mount Buzhou?” Ning immediately knew who Subhuti was speaking of.

“Right.” Subhuti let out a sigh. “That’s the one.”

“Then why has he never shown himself?” Ning was puzzled.

“During the war that ended the Primordial Era, Zhurong ended up dying to save Gonggong,” Subhuti said. “Zhurong died, while Gonggong lived…all these years, Gonggong has felt survivor’s guilt over this matter. He’s always felt ashamed, that he owed Zhurong. He’s never been able to get over it. Still, no need to worry about him. He will definitely appear during the Endwar.”

“Alright.” Ning felt a surge of delight. Gonggong was born an Elder God; after having lived for a full chaos cycle, he must’ve improved in power at least a little. He was undoubtedly very strong.

“Anyone else? Has anyone successfully mastered the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] scroll?” Ning asked.

“Yes.” Subhuti laughed.

“Suiren.” Fuxi nodded.

Ning was surprised. “Suiren? H-he…he’s an Elder God? But…but why he wasn’t able to suppress Keeper Everwood when I was assassinated by the Seamless Gate?”

“Even though you lost one of your bodies, we had to keep the fact that Suiren is an Elder God a secret.” Subhuti looked at Ning. “We were in the midst of the war for karmic luck, and all of our efforts were directed towards winning it. No matter how much we wished to save you, we couldn’t reveal Suiren’s true power. Even if you only had a single body and were at risk of true death, we still would’ve made the same decision.”

Ning nodded. He understood this principle.

“This is the reason why we took the chaos nectar you gave us and gave it all to Suiren,” Subhuti said with a smile. “Suiren was always a tremendously talented figure; even as a True God, he was comparable to Elder Gods in power. But now that he is a true Elder God…he definitely is an elite Elder God in power! Now that he also has the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique? When the Endwar comes, he’ll give the Seamless Gate a nice little surprise.”

“Right.” Ning felt excited upon hearing this. “Any other Elder Gods?”

“Uncertain.” Subhuti shook his head. “As far as we know, the only one who successfully became an Elder God thanks to the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] technique was Suiren! It’s possible that no one else has mastered it, but it’s also possible that some of the True Gods are hiding their true power.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. In the end, most major powers only truly trusted themselves. Only a secret that was shared with none was guaranteed ot be a true secret!

For example, given that Buddha Jueming had acquired techniques from Undermoon Lake, he certainly had to be an extraordinarily powerful figure. Most people in the Three Realms, however, viewed him as just being an ordinary Daofather. Ning felt certain that other True Gods and Daofathers on his side were hiding their power as well. It had been more than half a chaos cycle since the end of the Primordial Era, after all.

Half a chaos cycle…such a long period of time was enough for virtually anything to happen.

But by the same principle, it was also hard for them to ascertain the true power of the Seamless Gate!

“We can’t be over-confident,” Subhuti said. “When the Lord of All Fiends took the survivors of the Seamless Gate and fled with them into the endless primordial chaos, they journeyed through it for a considerable period of time. What happened during those years? What did the Lord of All Fiends experience? None of us knows the answer. In fact, not even Everwood knows the answer. Only the Lord of All Fiends himself knows the truth.”

“In addition…the Seamless Gate flourished for many years in the Three Realms. On the surface though they still only have three overlord-class experts; the Lord of All Fiends, the Keeper of the Everwood, and Daomother Devilhand. I refuse to believe that they haven’t produced a single new overlord in all these years.” Subhuti shook his head. “Some of our major powers have been hiding their true might, but the same is true for the Seamless Gate.”

“In the end…everything will only be made clear once the Endwar begins.”

Ning nodded.

“Before planning for victory, first plan for defeat,” Subhuti said. “As with before, I shall not take part in the Endwar. If our side sees no chance of victory, then I’ll lead our survivors in fleeing from the Three Realms.”

“Fleeing?” Ning looked at Subhuti.

“Yes. This was the arrangement which Mother Nuwa made all the way back during the Primordial Era,” Subhuti said. “This is why I’ve been focusing so much on my mastery of spacetime. I want to ensure that when I lead our survivors away, there will be no way anyone can follow us. Although the Lord of All Fiends is incredibly fast, his skill lies in the Dao of Space alone! He can’t match me in spacetime.”

Subhuti held absolute confidence in his mastery of spacetime.

As Ning, Subhuti, and Fuxi continued to chat inside the wooden cabin, footsteps suddenly rang out from outside.

“Eh?” Ning turned his head to look, only to see an azure-robed middle-aged man walk in.

“You…” Ning was shocked.

“Ji Ning. Long time no see.” The azure-robed man smiled as he looked at Ning.

“The Lord of Cui Palace.” Ning was filled with disbelief. “You live here? All these years…I’ve never been able to find you.”

During the six hundred years his clones had been in Undermoon Lake, Ning had journeyed through the Three Realms but had been unable to find Lord Cui. It was as though the man had suddenly disappeared.

“I’m the treasure-spirit of the Book of Life and Death. To tell the truth, Nuwa handed over the Nuwa Immortal Realm to me for managing. After the Netherworld Kingdom was destroyed, I naturally chose to come here,” Lord Cui said with a laugh.

“Ji Ning.” Subhuti smiled as well. “The relationship between Lord Cui and Mother Nuwa is much like the relationship between your giant yellow bear Daoist Threelives. Understand?”

Ning nodded.

The Book of Life and Death…this was the most famous treasure which Mother Nuwa had ever created, and it contained inconceivable power over the workings of fate and destiny. Mother Nuwa must have poured all of her blood, sweat, and tears into the creation of this treasure, and she must have carried it by her side for a very long period of time as well. It was only natural for the treasure-spirit to become very close to Mother Nuwa. In truth, many major powers held more faith in their treasure-spirits than in any other beings.

This was because there was no way a treasure-spirit would ever disobey his or her master. They were absolutely loyal and devoted servants.

“Long ago, I managed to shed off the trappings of the Book of Life and Death and became an independent life form, capable of training on my own.” Lord Cui looked at Ning. “I ended up creating a clone and sent it into the path of reincarnation, and that clone ended up entering your own homeworld of ‘Earth’. That’s why I said that we came from the same hometown.”

When Ning was weak, he had been quite puzzled by this; if Lord Cui had originally been a cultivator from the Tang Dynasty of Earth, then he should have only recently become the First Judge of the Dead. And yet, the records of the Three Realms indicated that Lord Cui’s great reputation had existed for countless years already.

Only now did he realize that Lord Cui had long ago become the First Judge of the Dead, and that it was just one of his clones which he had sent to be reborn in Earth.

“How truly marvelous.” Lord Cui smiled as he looked at Ning. “I still remember what a weak, gentle youth you were. Back on Earth, you were just a bedridden patient…but now, you stand at the very peak of the Three Realms.”

“I have to thank you, Lord Cui, for bestowing the ‘Nuwa Painting’ visualization technique upon me,” Ning said. “Without it, I would never have been able to accomplish what I did.”

The ‘Nuwa Painting’ visualization technique no longer meant anything to him, but it was the reason why he had been able to survive and acquire the legacy of the ‘underwater estate’. Only then did he become able to join the Black-White College, become the champion of the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, and become the disciple of Subhuti. Without the benefit of starting off with the Nuwa Painting…he might’ve still been successful, but it was unlikely that he would become as successful as he was now.

“I actually bestowed the Nuwa Painting upon quite a few people, but none of them were as impressive as you.” Lord Cui laughed. “When I first saw you, I had the feeling that there was a certain toughness and resilience about you, that you would never collapse no matter what setbacks or pressures you faced. Earth is a place where there is no such thing as cultivation, but even there you were able to change your own destiny, living for two years longer than you had originally been scheduled to live for. I had the feeling that, given a bit of help, you would be able to make a miracle happen. That is why I bestowed the Nuwa Painting upon you.”

“Lord Cui, you…” Ning was shocked.

“Precisely. I already had the sense that the Seamless Gate was up to no good, which was why I began bestowing the Nuwa Painting upon certain promising prospects which I encountered! This would make it easier for them to cultivate…but of course, this was just one of many small plans I put in place. It’s quite unlikely for something as minor as the Nuwa Painting to result in the birth of a Daofather or True God; in fact, less than ten people I helped out were even able to become Celestial Immortals!” Lord Cui shook his head, laughing as he looked at Ning. “Thank goodness for you.”

“Lord Cui, you really accomplished a great deed for us,” Subhuti laughed.

“Ahaha…” Lord Cui laughed as well.

“Lord Cui, I tried to search for my old home of ‘Earth’, but I’ve never been able to find it,” Ning immediately said.

The Lord of Cui Palace shook his head. “Of course not. It’s much like how the Crescent world is located in an entirely different space-time continuum. Some of the trillions of minor worlds of the Three Realms are also hidden in their own pocket space-time continuums. After Mother Nuwa became a World God, she worked hard to set up these many minor worlds in their own little pockets, and your home planet of Earth was one of them.”

“No matter what troubles the Three Realms go through, these minor worlds will remain blessed places,” Lord Cui explained. “Only when the entire Three Realms is destroyed will these worlds be destroyed as well.”

Ning asked in a soft voice, “I wonder how my parents of my past life are doing…” The relationship between himself and his parents in his past life wasn’t as unshakably close as his relationship to his parents in this life, but he had never forgotten about them. He had never forgotten about how his mother had taken care of him. Although his father had been more focused on his career, Ning’s feelings towards his father were quite complicated as well.”

“They live in a blessed land. Naturally, they have nothing to worry about,” Lord Cui said.

“Can you explain in detail?” Ning relaxed slightly as he asked this question.

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Chapter 3 – Stars

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 3 – Stars

Lord Cui said, “When you became apprenticed to Subhuti, your previous parents were still alive. I helped them change their fate, allowing them to live to be a hundred years old before passing away peacefully. They then were reincarnated into another blessed world; naturally, their lives were calm and smooth.”

Ji Ning nodded slowly.

To be able to live a century in peace was a good thing.

“Reincarnated into another blessed world?” Ning was puzzled about this.

“Mother Nuwa set up many minor worlds in separate pockets of spacetime. All of them are blessed lands,” Lord Cui explained. “Even after the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed, the process of reincarnation in those blessed lands was not disrupted in the slightest. Those who die in a blessed world shall be reborn into another blessed world. It might be Earth or it might be a different blessed world.”

“But didn’t I end up being sent to the Netherworld Kingdom?” Ning asked.

“That’s because I chose you,” Lord Cui said. “All those blessed worlds are linked together, but I selected you as a person who was suitable for Immortal cultivation. However, those worlds are all too small; they aren’t really suitable for an Immortal to grow in. That was why I teleported your soul directly to the Netherworld Kingdom.”

Now, Ning finally understood.

No wonder!

No wonder he had never met a single person who had been reincarnated from Earth. So it was because Earth was a ‘blessed world’; unless something special happened, no one from Earth would ever be reincarnated into the various major worlds.

“I wonder if the blessed worlds will be able to survive after this tribulation.” Lord Cui slowly shook his head. “Oh, right. I heard that you slew the Four Thearchs of the Primordial Ruinworld?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“You should have acquired their treasures, yes? Take a look and see if they had any star maps,” Lord Cui said. “Star maps are maps that record the various paths that exist through the primordial chaos. We’ve killed quite a few alien Outsiders since the Primordial Era. The more powerful ones such as Rahu or the Lord of All Things, as well as their True God and Daofather subordinates. We’ve acquired quite a few star maps from them, but the more star maps the better.”

Ning was startled for a moment, then chuckled. “I haven’t sorted through them yet. Please wait a moment, Lord Cui.”

Star maps…

The primordial chaos was vast and endless, filled with opportunity and danger. Even a small place like the Three Realms had dangerous places such as Earthmoan Mountain or the Endless Sea. The primordial chaos naturally held far more terrifying dangers within it.

Even a World God could get lost if he or she just flew around blindly, and it was even possible for them to die in a particularly dangerous area. That was why one had to have star maps to journey by. Mortals needed sea charts when navigating the seas, and Fiendgods needed star maps to navigate the primordial chaos. The reason why they were called ‘star maps’ was because the primary method for long-distance transportation in the primordial chaos was through spacetime transfer arrays!

The primordial chaos was simply too vast; to slowly fly or teleport through it would take far too much time. Spacetime transfer arrays, however, were ancient constructs that had existed in the primordial chaos since time antiquity. They used stars and planets as their foundation, with the stellar bodies being forged together to form spacetime transfer arrays! One could instantly travel from one spacetime transfer array to a different, distant array.

Through repeated array transfers, one would be able to quickly reach the desired location!

However, since the spacetime transfer arrays used giant stars and planets as parts of the array, the maps that showed the various paths and connections between them were known as ‘star maps’.

“Some Immortals or Fiendgods memorize then destroy every star map they see,” Subhuti said. “Others keep them intact and trade them to others. This is why we managed to acquire a few star maps from the alien Outsiders we have slain. However, we’ve generally found that the more powerful an Outsider is, the better the star maps in their possession are.”

“Found one.” Ning suddenly revealed a look of delight. He waved his hand, producing a metallic scroll. He unfurled the metallic scroll, allowing it to sparkle with spots of light.

“Every single spot of light represents a spacetime transfer array.” Subhuti pointed at the star map, clearly quite familiar with these things. “These unremarkable little dots here represent chaosworlds.”

“Three spacetime transfer arrays, seven hundred and twenty-one chaosworlds,” Ning said softly.

“How crude.” Fuxi shook his head.

“It is pretty crude. It seems the person who owned this star map was fairly low in rank.” Lord Cui shook his head as well. This was the star map which had been in the possession of Thearch Darkstill. When he had first joined the Lord of All Things, he had been quite weak; at the time, it was quite impressive for him to be able to acquire even a crude star map.

“Follow me, Ji Ning.” Lord Cui looked at him. “I’ve acquired quite a few star maps since the Primordial Era. I’ve put them all together into a single large star map. Let me take you to it.”

“Oh?” Intrigued, Ning hurriedly followed behind him.

He had once sworn a lifeblood oath to seek out and locate Vastheaven Palace. Although World God Northrest had left behind a very large and detailed star map for him, it was of no use! World God Northrest had been fleeing for his life, and so he ran about randomly, jumping through every array he found. He fled so quickly that even he himself wouldn’t be able to find his way back. Thus, the large and detailed star map he left behind represented a place that was extremely far away, very deep within the primordial chaos. For now, it would be of no help to Ning.

“So they compiled all the maps into a single giant star map? I hope there are a few places which connect to the places marked down in World God Northrest’s star map. That will make traveling to Vastheaven Palace much easier,” Ning mused to himself. Still, he knew this was unlikely. World God Northrest had arrived in the Primordial Era and had stayed in the Three Realms for a long period of time, yet had been unable to find his way back home. It was likely that there were no known intersections after all.

A short while later, Ji Ning, Fuxi, Subhuti, and Lord Cui arrived in front of a different graceful wooden house.

Lord Cui waved his hand, causing a metallic scroll to immediately fly out from inside the wooden house. The metallic scroll unfurled on its own while rapidly expanding in size. It hung in the air like an enormous painting, more than three hundred meters long. It was filled with countless tiny specks of light, and in the very center of those countless specks of light there was an enormous, blindingly brilliant sun-like dot.

“This is the star map we compiled.” Lord Cui pointed towards the giant star map and smiled. “It holds all the information from the star maps we acquired from generations of Outsider invaders. During the Primordial Era, when Mother Nuwa adventured through the primordial chaos, she encountered an alien Outsider who called himself Chissa. She slew him and acquired his extremely detailed star map. Most of the information in the star map we compiled came from this ‘Chissa’.”

Ning was surprised by what he saw. This was an extremely detailed star map!

“This star map records a total of twenty-one spacetime transfer arrays, as well as 86,112 chaosworlds.” Lord Cui sighed in amazement. “When I first found out how many chaosworlds the endless primordial chaos contained, I was shocked as well.”

“More than eighty thousand chaosworlds…and our Three Realms is merely one of the more remote ones.” Subhuti sighed as well.

Ning, however, was just surprised at how detailed the star map was. He wasn’t surprised at the number of chaosworlds, because he had received a similarly detailed star map from World God Northrest long ago.

“This star map has a total of twenty-one spacetime arrays and more than eighty thousand star maps. It covers a very large amount of space…but the star map which World God Northrest gave me doesn’t have any overlapping stars at all.” Ning mused to himself, “It seems that finding Vastheaven Palace really will be difficult. Fortunately, I have an entire chaos cycle to make the attempt.”

“Look.” Lord Cui pointed at an unremarkable speck of gray light located at the very northernmost part of the map. “That little speck right there represents our Three Realms.”

“That’s where the Three Realms are?” Ning was surprised. “Then it should be easy for us to travel to the other chaosworlds.”

“No.” Subhuti shook his head.

“It won’t be that easy.” Fuxi shook his head as well, pointing towards that section of the star map. “Magnify.”

Lord Cui nodded, causing the star map to be magnified a hundredfold. It became thirty thousand meters long, and the area including the Three Realms was now much more easily visible.

“This place holds the Three Realms.” Fuxi pointed at that gray speck of light. “Ever since the Primordial Era, the alien Outsiders have only invade from one direction. All of them came through this ‘spatial vortex’ located right here in order to come to our Three Realms.”

“The Three Realms is actually located in an extremely dangerous and inhospitable region. The only way one can reach it is by going through this spatial vortex here.” Fuxi pointed at another location.

Ning took a carefully look while memorizing everything.

When journeying through the primordial chaos, finding a safe route by which one could travel was extremely important.

“Still, the fact that we are surrounded by danger has helped to protect us. It has made it difficult for alien Outsiders to reach us; they have to risk their very lives just going through the spatial vortex before they can reach the Three Realms,” Fuxi said. “This is why we’ve encountered so very few alien Outsiders since the Primordial Era.”

“Spatial vortex?” Ning was puzzled. “Did Mother Nuwa leave via this spatial vortex?”

“Yes.” Fuxi nodded. “To reach the Three Realms, you must go through the spatial vortex. To leave the Three Realms, you also have to travel through the spatial vortex. If you are able to safely reach the other side, it’ll be easy for you to travel to the other chaosworlds.”

“And what’s this enormous, sun-like spot located in the center?” Ning pointed at the enormous spot of light located in the center of the star map.

Fuxi, Subhuti, and Lord Cui all stared at the enormous spot of light, their eyes blazing with excitement.

“That? That’s known as the Badlands Everworld,” Lord Cui said softly.

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Chapter 4 – A Meeting

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 4 – A Meeting

“The Badlands Everworld?” Ji Ning was secretly surprised.

Others in the Three Realms might not know what the phrase ‘everworld’ truly represented, but Ning did. World God Northrest’s own ‘Vastheaven Palace’ resided in an everworld. Every single everworld was a place which the cultivators of the primordial chaos would be willing to fight for in an utterly berserk manner.

“Ji Ning.” Lord Cui waved his hand again, causing yet another jade slip to fly out from the wooden room. He handed it straight to Ning. “This holds everything we know about the outside world.”

Ning quickly accepted it, sweeping it with his coresense.

“My oh my.” Ning took a deep breath.

Things were pretty much as he had guessed.

Vastheaven Palace was in control of the Vastheaven Everworld, while the Badlands Court was in control of the Badlands Everworld.

Based on the detailed information in the jade slip, Ning was able to estimate roughly how powerful this force in control of the Badlands Everworld was.

“I didn’t expect for it to be a force comparable to Vastheaven Palace,” Ning mused to himself. “In this vast region, at least, the Badlands Everworld is the center of the universe. Right…in the future, I’ll definitely have to pay a visit to the Badlands Everworld. I trust that the powerful experts of the Badlands Everworld, such as its World Gods or Chaos Immortals, must have journeyed to distant lands. They might know where Vastheaven Palace is.”

The only Outsiders the Nuwa Alliance had ever slain were at most at the Elder God or Ancestral Immortal level of power.

The more powerful one was, the more one would know!

Perhaps there were some within the Badlands Everworld who knew of Vastheaven Palace.

“Finished reading?” Lord Cui let out a sigh. “According to the information in that slip, it is very likely that this region contains many World Gods and Chaos Immortals. Compared to them…those of us in the Three Realms truly are puny, backwards figures.”

Ning nodded slowly.

Generally speaking, every ten chaosworlds would give birth to just one World God! This was fairly normal. From the vast size of this territory, one could imagine how many Chaos Immortals and World Gods it held. Still, precisely because of how vast this territory was, there was no way to fly or teleport across it. One had to use spacetime transfer arrays in order to reach certain places.

Because of how vast the territory was and how many dangerous areas it contained, the various World Gods and Chaos Immortals were all scattered into many different regions, causing the territory as a whole to become quite chaotic.

In comparison, the Three Realms could be considered something of a paradise.

To Godfiend Witherspike and the Lord of All Fiends, the Three Realms was merely a chaosworld that was not part of the territory of any World God or Chaos Immortal. To them, it was like manna from the heavens; of course they had to do their best to try and take it over! The price of a Worldheart was far greater than the price of their very lives!

“The primordial chaos truly is endlessly vast.”

“Vastheaven Palace is in a different, distant corner of it, but the Badlands Court reigns supreme here. I wonder how long it will be before I can reach Vastheaven Palace?” Ning mused silently to himself. “Forget it. No point worrying about it now. Let’s see if we can even win the Endwar and if I can even survive it.”

They all boarded the wooden ship and departed from the Nuwa Immortal Realm. As they did, Ning continued to ponder to himself.

Upon learning that their side had two Elder Gods, Suiren and Gonggong, Ning had originally grown excited. Now, however, he began to worry a bit. The Nuwa Alliance was so powerful…how powerful, then, was the Seamless Gate? It was the Seamless Gate who had instigated the war, after all! They had launched an attack on the Six Paths of Reincarnation, causing the Three Realms to be thrown into a state of chaos.

For them to dare do such a thing…could it be that they didn’t have their own reasons for feeling confident?

“It doesn’t matter. If soldiers attack, let the generals deal with them; if a flood comes, build earthen ramparts to stop it!” A hint of fierceness flashed through Ning’s eyes. “We can’t afford to lose this war! If we lose…even if my daughter and my loved ones survive, they’ll be chased and attacked and forced into the primordial chaos.”

If they lost the war, Subhuti would lead the survivors in fleeing! However, Ning knew exactly how dangerous the primordial chaos was. Even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals could easily lose their lives wandering through it. His daughter, Brightmoon, was still too weak. There was no way he could protect her at all.

“We can’t lose.”

This was a war between two great alliances. A war for survival itself.

“Before the Endwar begins, I have to master the Heavenly Dao of Water,” Ning mused to himself.

“Ji Ning, where shall you go to next?” Subhuti looked towards Ning. “Back to the Crescent world, or…?”

“For now, I won’t return to the Crescent world.” Ning shook his head. “I wish to wander through the Three Realms a bit. I want to see more of the world, more of Heaven and Earth. I hope to be able to master a Heavenly Dao before the Endwar begins.”

“Right.” Subhuti smiled and nodded. “Your talent in swordforce is impressive, but if you wish to become an Elder God or a Daofather you have to first master a Heavenly Dao.”

Ning nodded, then parted from Fuxi and Subhuti for now.

Ning’s true body began to journey through the Three Realms.

Sometimes, he would sit on a boat and just watch the waters of the river flow past him.

Sometimes, he would stand on the peak of a mountain, head raised as he stared at the dark stormclouds in the skies, presaging the arrival of a rainstorm.

Sometimes, he would rest within an ancient monastery, watching as storms of rain descended upon the world outside.

Sometimes, he would soar atop the clouds, watching the waves roll and spin about through the ocean.

Water…it could sometimes be gentle, like a mother’s caress.

Water…it could be as cold as ice, capable of chilling you to the bone.

Water…it could be utterly devastating, capable of shattering Heaven and Earth.

Water…it could be joyful, dancing and drifting about the skies.

The Primaltwin remained within the Heavengazer Tower, constantly focusing on the Dao. The true body continued to voyage through the Three Realms, seeing water in all of its many forms.

Mist, waves, glaciers…all of them were water.

“Eh?”

A white-robed youth was relaxing by the side of a river, holding a fishing rod in his hands. He suddenly revealed a hint of a smile as he tugged at the fishing rod. Plop! A large fish flew up from the surface of the water, landing next to him by the side of the river. The white-robed youth immediately grabbed the fish, then tossed it into the fish bucket next to him. The bucket already contained six fish inside of it.

“Some fish stew would be nice.” The white-robed youth rebaited his hook, then flung it back into the waters of the river.

While acting like an ordinary mortal, fishing and swimming and boating, Ning was able to discover a different side to water. For ordinary mortals, water was necessary to life. However, it was also filled with great danger. Living the life of an ordinary mortal and experiencing water as they experienced it had caused Ning to gain many more insights….and so Ning had chosen to live life as an ordinary mortal for a time.

Splash, splash. A distant ferry was slowly crossing from the other side of the river. This river was very wide, so wide that there were large waves even when there was no wind. There was a small wind today, and it caused the waves of the river to grow greater and greater, resulting in the raft beginning to rock violently.

“Ahhh!”

“Help!”

A series of cries could be heard. The captain of the ferry did his best to keep the boat on an even keel, but as it continued to rock a young child who was seated on the ferry fell into the water. Instantly, a nearby middle-aged man cried out in shock and dove into the water.

Ning was seated at the banks of the river. Upon hearing the distant cries, he raised his head to take a look. Upon seeing the situation, he let out a soft sigh and waved his hand.

Whooooosh.

It was like a giant, invisible hand had suddenly lifted the ferry up. Even the middle-aged man and the child, both of whom were in the water, were lifted up into the air. The ferry, the child, and the middle-aged man all flew through the air. They couldn’t help but stare at each other, then stare at their surroundings in shock and terror.

The ferry, the child, and the middle-aged man all landed on the other side of the distant riverbanks.

“Thank you, Dragon King!”

“Thank you for your great mercy, Dragon King!”

The ordinary mortals hurriedly kowtowed towards the water, believing that some great sea deity had just saved them.

Far off in the distance, Ning continued to sit there and fish. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but sigh a little. Life was so fragile and weak. If he hadn’t just happened to be here, it was likely that many of the passengers on that ferry would have died.

Suddenly, the waters of the river surged and parted, creating a corridor. A distant wooden boat sailed through the watery corridor, a red-nosed elder rowing the boat forward. In a very relaxed fashion, he rowed the boat all the way over to Ning.

“Ji Ning, long time no see.” The red-nosed elder chortled as he spoke.

Ji Ning revealed a hint of delight as well as he hurriedly rose to his feet. “I had the feeling all day long that my luck was pretty good. I managed to catch six big fish! That’s a lot more than I usually catch. I was wondering if something was going to happen today, given my luck…but I didn’t expect to run into you, Old Man Yuan.”

Old Man Yuan had graced him with kindness in the past. Not only had he saved Ning, he had also bequeathed unto Ning the [Heart Sutra].

Still…the war between the two alliances had begun, and Old Man Yuan still had yet to choose a side. Ning couldn’t help but feel a sliver of unhappiness when seeing the man.

“Would you be willing to board this old man’s boat and chat a bit?” Old Man Yuan asked with a smile.

“Can I bring my fish?” Ning laughed.

“Of course.” Old Man Yuan nodded.

Ji Ning hoisted up his fish bucket and his fishing rod, then stepped onto Old Man Yuan’s boat. Old Man Yuan looked at Ji Ning. Ji Ning moved as though he was an ordinary mortal, but with every movement he radiated a hidden, reserved power. Old Man Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. “He truly is extraordinary.”

Thunk. Ning set the fish bucket down at the prow of the boat, then sat down in the lotus position facing Old Man Yuan. In front of them was a wooden table, and on the wooden table was a flask of wine and two winecups.

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Chapter 5 – Ji Ning and Old Man Yuan

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 5 – Ji Ning and Old Man Yuan

“If you deem this old man worthy, just call me ‘fellow Daoist’,” Old Man Yuan said with a smile.

“Fellow Daoist Yuan.” Ji Ning nodded.

The mood between the two was quite subtle and difficult to explain.

The campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld had already concluded. The Three Realms was in the midst of the war for karmic luck, and this war was almost over; the Endwar was going to arrive soon! And yet, Old Man Yuan still had not chosen to stand alongside the Nuwa Alliance. To tell the truth…even Ji Ning felt that Old Man Yuan was being a bit too selfish.

“First, have a bit of this wine this old man brought.” As Old Man Yuan spoke, he reached out with his hand, intending to grasp the wine flask. Ning, however, grabbed it first and smiled at him. “Let me pour.”

Splash. Splash.

Ning poured two full cups of wine. Old Man Yuan lifted up his cup, taking a small sip. “I still remember how young and inexperienced you were. I never would’ve thought that in less than a thousand years, you would’ve reached your current level of power. The Seamless Gate truly views you as one of their major headaches, but they don’t have any method of getting rid of you.”

“The Seamless Gate isn’t that powerful.” Ning looked at Old Man Yuan. “In fact…from the surface, it would seem as though they are weaker than our side. If that’s true…fellow Daoist Yuan, why are you still unwilling to join our side? My master Subhuti as well as many other major powers in the Nuwa Alliance were born alongside you from the primordial chaos, fellow Daoist Yuan. They are your brothers, and all of you roamed the Pangu Chaosworld together.”

“Yes, they were and are my lifelong friends.” Old Man Yuan nodded slowly. “But for the sake of my greater Dao, I’m willing to sacrifice all I have.”

“Your ‘greater Dao’?” Ning looked at him.

“My greater Dao exists in the vast expanse of space outside of this place.” Old Man Yuan smiled. “The Three Realms is just merely a single small chaosworld; the outside world holds many more chaosworlds. World Gods and Chaos Immortals? The vast expanse outside the Three Realms holds many of them. That is the world which I truly belong to. To risk my life in a civil war in such a fashion is too pointless.”

“So you are just going to watch as your old friends die one by one?” Ning asked.

“So what if I do?” Old Man Yuan was quite calm.

Ning immediately understood that other major powers such as Patriarch Subhuti had most likely tried to persuade Old Man Yuan using the same words. Old Man Yuan remained unpersuaded; clearly, to convince him would be no easy feat.

“In my homeland, we have a saying: ‘Houses of silver and gold aren’t as good as a doghouse of your own.’” Ning laughed. “Although this phrase is quite crude, its meaning is quite simple. It might be true that the world outside holds more major powers, karmic legacies, techniques, and divine abilities. The alien Outsiders that invaded the Three Realms might have been been nothing more than minor figures. But…”

“But no matter how we weak we are in the Three Realms, this is our doghouse. This is our home!”

“If we can’t protect our home.”

“If we can’t protect our friends and brothers.”

“What’s the point of even cultivating?” Ning shook his head.

Old Man Yuan looked at Ning. “Your words are somewhat reasonable, but as far as I’m concerned, reaching new heights is what truly matters. When mortals embark on the Immortal path, some will end up slaying their parents or their loved ones in under to better understand their own heart! If I was a mortal who was training to become an Immortal cultivator, I might very well do the same. Do you understand?”

Ning sighed in his heart.

To kill one’s father, mother, wife, and children to understand one’s own Dao-heart…in Ning’s eyes, this was a path of evil. If one was without love and feelings, wouldn’t that just be the same as being a zombie?

“Those who travel on different paths cannot make plans together.” Ning lifted up his cup of wine. “Years ago, fellow Daoist Yuan, you bestowed the [Heart Sutra] upon me. I have nothing which I can use to repay you. All I can do is offer you this toast.”

“A toast from Sword Immortal Darknorth? I certainly have to accept it!” Old Man Yuan raised his own cup as well.

The two both drank.

After putting down his wine cup, Ji Ning looked at Old Man Yuan. Old Man Yuan couldn’t help but sigh to himself upon sensing that faint, sharp aura surrounding Ji Ning. He could sense the tremendous threat which Ji Ning posed him.

“Might I ask why you have sought me out, fellow Daoist Yuan?” Ning asked.

“Does there have to be a reason? Can’t we just share some wine and enjoy a chat about the old days?” Old Man Yuan laughed.

“Chat about the old days? Well, we’ve drank our wine and had our chat. I need to go back and and cook some fish soup.” Ning rose to his feet as he spoke, reaching towards the fish bucket and the fishing pole which had been placed at the helm of the boat.

“I actually do have something to discuss with you,” Old Man Yuan said.

Ning came to a halt and was about to turn around, but suddenly…

A strange, unfathomable ripple of power instantly invaded Ning’s body, surging towards his soul in a massive wave.

“Heartforce.” Ning instantly understood.

There was no way his own heartforce could defend against that tremendous wave of invading heartforce power. They were on completely different levels.

“Fifth stage heartforce! Old Man Yuan has reached the fifth stage of heartforce. He just launched a sneak attack against me.” Ning was tremendously shocked. In the Three Realms, it was common knowledge that the only person who had reached the fifth stage of heartforce was Houyi. However, this clearly was not the case. Old Man Yuan was extremely accomplished in heartforce; the [Heart Sutra] he had bestowed unto Ning had thoroughly convinced Ning of his formidable prowess in this field. Only today, however, did he realize that Old Man Yuan had actually reached the fifth stage of heartforce!

Old Man Yuan’s heartforce flooded through Ning’s body!

Ning’s own heartforce couldn’t defend against it at all, resulting in the invading heartforce delving straight towards Ning’s soul!

“Heartforce soul-lock!” Ning had been maintaining this secret art the entire time.

Heartforce soul-lock was a type of defensive technique that joined one’s soul and one’s heartforce together. It was like a series of extremely complicated ‘chains’ that locked them together, making it difficult for an outside force to break through them!

When adventuring through the primordial chaos, one would often encounter natural illusions and evil spells that were aimed at the soul. Possessing a secret art that could protect the soul was extremely important. Thus, World God Northrest had imparted the ‘heartforce soul-lock’ technique unto Ning! Ning’s soul was nourished by his half-step Elder God body, resulting in it becoming tremendously powerful. Now that his soul had been joined together with his fourth-stage heartforce into a series of complicated interlocking chains, it was incredibly durable and nearly impregnable.

Boom! The valiant power of Old Man Yuan’s fifth-stage heartforce collided violently against the heartforce soul-lock technique.

Outside Ning’s body.

Space in the surrounding area had come to a sudden halt. The waters of the river had calmed, with not even the tiniest ripple or wave being visible. It was as though everything had frozen solid. Even the fish within the fish bucket at the front of the boat had frozen.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The wooden boat suddenly blew apart. The wooden bucket blew apart, with the fish inside the bucket being completely disintegrated into dust. In fact, even the surrounding waters of the river were instantly vaporized…

Although heartforce was ephemeral and invisible, fifth-stage heartforce was simply too terrifyingly powerful. However, it was as though Old Man Yuan’s heartforce had rammed into a steel board! The defensive prowess of the heartforce soul-lock technique was simply too formidable, and it completely defended against Old Man Yuan’s attack. The resulting spiritual collision actually manifested as an enormous shockwave in the ‘real’ world, causing everything within ninety meters to be utterly vaporized. Outside this range, however, nothing was damaged whatsoever.

“How is this possible?!” Old Man Yuan revealed a look of shock. This was the technique which he was the most confident in, but it had failed spectacularly from the very start.

Ning just turned his head to look at him, a hint of pain in his eyes.

“Fellow Daoist Yuan, you truly disappoint me.”

His voice echoed by Old Man Yuan’s ears.

Whoosh!

A dazzling streak of sword-light suddenly descended. Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately pulling out and striking down with Violetjewel while using the most inscrutable, mysterious stance he knew: Shadowless.

“Go.” A horsetail whisk appeared in Old Man Yuan’s hands. He flicked it outwards, causing countless strands of hair to swirl around the sword-light, blocking it as he hurriedly retreated.

“You hid your true power quite well.” As soon as they exchanged blows, Ning discovered that Old Man Yuan definitely had the power of an overlord-class figure.

Everyone believed him to merely be ‘close’ to the overlord level, but that was something which had been established a long, long time ago. In his attack against Ning, Old Man Yuan had first revealed his fifth-stage heartforce, then managed to block Ning’s sword-light with his own horsetail whisk. Although a soft weapon like this was a natural counter to Ning’s fierce sword-strikes, Old Man Yuan had still unquestionably shown himself to be an overlord-class figure.

Whoosh. A figure suddenly flashed into existence next to Old Man Yuan. It was an azure-haired, red-robed man.

“The Lord of All Fiends!”

Ning was completely shocked by the Lord of All Fiend’s speed. He had actually appeared without any warning whatsoever!

“Don’t even think about leaving!” Ning thrust out with his sword, striking like a thunderclap. This was the fastest stance he had, the Blood Drop Stance. He stabbed directly towards Old Man Yuan, but the azure-haired, red-robed Lord of All Fiends gracefully flew forward at the same time. As he did, every inch of space around him began to change and blur.

Ning’s sword-arts had exceeded the limits of the Heavenly Daos, and he was using the fastest stance he had, the Blood Drop Stance. And yet…

Ning stared, wide-eyed, as he realized that his sword couldn’t keep up with the Lord of All Fiend’s flying speed!

Whoosh.

The Lord of All Fiends and Old Man Yuan disappeared from Ning’s field of vision.

……

The Allfiend world.

The Lord of All Fiends appeared within a palace with Old Man Yuan in tow. Within the hall were Keeper Everwood, Daomother Devilhand, and the black-robed Godking. All three turned to look at him.

“I failed.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “He just became a True God; logically speaking, he would need to spend a long period of time allowing his soul to be strengthened by his new body. I had thought that his soul would be fairly weak, making him an easy target. I was hoping to capture him and use him as proof of my loyalty, but…ugh. I suppose I really have grown old.”

“Ji Ning is already an established power. It won’t be that easy to deal with him. In truth, there was no need for you to bring some ‘proof of your loyalty’. I believe you.” The Lord of All Fiends looked at Old Man Yuan.

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Chapter 6 – Buddha Jueming

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 6 – Buddha Jueming

The waters of the river began to flow once more.

Ji Ning stood there in midair, a look of anger and pain in his eyes.

“Old Man Yuan has actually, truly joined the Seamless Gate. Didn’t he say that he doesn’t wish to get involved in the struggles of the Three realms?” Ning had felt gratitude towards Old Man Yuan. Although Ning felt some astonishment at the power which Old Man Yuan had revealed, his primary feeling right now was anguish at the betrayal. His master Subhuti had been very close to Old Man Yuan; most likely, Subhuti would be heartbroken as well.

Whoosh.

Three figures suddenly appeared in quick succession next to Ning. First was Subhuti, who emerged from a spatial vortex. Next was Daoist Three Purities. Last was Exalted Celestial Carefree.

“Elder brother Yuan actually…” Exalted Celestial Carefree was trembling, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

“You still address him as ‘elder brother’?” A fierce, cold light was flickering in the eyes of Daoist Three Purities. “I truly never imagined that a traitor would emerge amongst our gang of brothers! If he left the Three Realms, that would be one thing…but he’s actually joined the Seamless Gate? Fine. Fine! Subhuti, Zixiu, mark my words well. From this day forth, Daoist Yuan is our enemy, not our friend!”

“Agreed.” Exalted Celestial Carefree nodded slowly.

“Traitor.” Subhuti clenched his jaw, pain visible in his eyes. “I didn’t imagine this. I never would have imagined this. He told me face-to-face that he was going to leave the Three Realms…and then he immediately attacked Ji Ning! Despicable, vile, traitorous wretch!”

Daoist Three Purities looked towards Subhuti.

Subhuti and Old Man Yuan had originally been extremely close to each other. They were like true brothers. Daoist Yuan’s betrayal…it probably hurt Subhuti more than anyone else in the Nuwa Alliance.

“There’s always a few black sheep in every flock.” Daoist Three Purities let out a sigh. “Subhuti, don’t grieve too much for his sake.”

“Grieve? No. I won’t grieve.” Subhuti laughed coldly. “I hope he dies.”

Ning could tell that although his master was putting on a stiff upper lift, he was so angry that his entire body was visibly trembling. Ning understood just how heavy a blow this had been to his master and so he hurriedly changed the topic. “Just now, when Daoist Yuan assaulted me, he used a heartforce technique…which is why I now know that he has actually reached the fifth stage of heartforce.”

“The fifth stage of heartforce?” Three Purities, Subhuti, and Carefree were all shocked.

Although they had sensed the battle which had just occurred, they weren’t able to notice the heartforce attack from such a great distance.

“Yes, the fifth stage.” Ning nodded, frowning. “He’s different from senior apprentice-brother Houyi. Senior apprentice-brother Houyi focuses his heartforce on his archery, giving his arrows utterly inconceivable power. Daoist Yuan, however…he uses heartforce in a more mysterious manner. He was able to weaponize it and use it to directly attack my soul. Fortunately, my soul was strong enough to resist it.”

“Directly attack the soul?”

“That spells trouble.”

Subhuti, Three Purities, and Carefree all understood that this was going to be quite troublesome.

“That wretch must’ve been planning to take advantage of the fact that you just recently became a True God, Ji Ning.” Subhuti said coldly, “His guess was that your soul would be fairly weak, as it hadn’t had much time to be nurtured and strengthened by your True God body. That’s why he attempted this ambush.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. He had actually become a True God even before the campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld, and was a half-step Elder God at that. His divine body was significantly more powerful than the divine bodies of most True Gods. Given that he also had the heartforce soul-lock technique…this time, Daoist Yuan really had rammed into a steel plate!

“Daoist Yuan…he was able to defend against Ji Ning’s sword, and his heartforce has reached the fifth stage.” Daoist Three Purities said in a low voice, “And he’s also joined the Seamless Gate…his ambitions must be enormous! Tremendously powerful and incredibly ambitious…we have to be very wary of him.”

“Agreed.” Everyone present felt heaviness in their hearts.

They felt furious disappointment in the man as well as a deep sense of wariness.

……

Old Man Yuan had finally made his choice. He led the Four Ancestors of the River Source and all of their allies in joining the Seamless Gate. The Four Ancestors of the River Source and their allies were all completely loyal to Old Man Yuan. When he had been wavering between the two sides, the other experts had all chosen to wait for his decision…and now, they all followed him in joining the Seamless Gate.

This was a testament to how unified a force the Four Ancestors were.

“From this day forth, Daoist Yuan is an enemy of the Nuwa Alliance. He is no longer a friend. Once the Endwar begins, we’ll have to seize every opportunity possible to kill him.” Daoist Three Purities was speaking within the Allclans Palace, his words filled with a killing intent. All of the major powers present fully agreed with his words.

Daoist Yuan’s betrayal had truly enraged them!

Time continued to flow on.

The Realmwars continued to proceed unabated within the Three Realms, and the size and scope of each Realmwar grew larger and larger. A hundred and ten years had passed after the end of the campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld, and with each Realmwar both sides would field more than three thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

Both alliances could sense that the end was nigh! The Endwar was about to start at any moment!

They didn’t have to necessarily wait for the war for karmic luck to end…once one side could sense that there was no longer any hope of winning the war for karmic luck, it was entirely possible that they would launch the Endwar early.

The mood in both alliances was quite depressed as a result! Everyone was preparing for the final battle.

The Celestial Realm. Mount Ling in the eastern lands.

There were a pair of Buddhist novitiates standing guard before an ordinary-looking hall here. Within the hall was Buddha Jueming, who was seated there completely unmoving like a statue. He was in complete solitude, without any sign of life about him at all. It was as though he was a corpse.

Whoosh.

The statue-like Buddha Jueming suddenly opened his eyes in a very, very slow manner.

“The Realmwar over the Shennong major world has begun?” Buddha Jueming murmured softly to himself, “The flames of war have filled the entire Three Realms. Even the Shennong major world has been embroiled into war. It has only been a hundred and fifty years since the war against the Primordial Ruinworld. Things are progressing too quickly. If this continues…the end to the war for karmic luck shall arrive in a few scant decades.”

The final battle for karmic luck would result in all of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in both alliances engaging in one final clash.

When this happened, all of the powerful Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms aside from the True Gods and Daofathers would be dragged into the battle. If one side felt that things were going poorly, the True Gods and Daofathers might directly intervene, resulting in the Endwar beginning.

“Within fifty years…” Buddha Jueming slowly rose to his feet.

Fifty years was a fairly loose estimate. If things progressed quickly within the Shennong major world, for example, it was entirely possible that the final battle for karmic luck would conclude in ten or twenty years.

“The lifeblood oath I swore was to leave the Three Realms within a thousand years of becoming an Elder God and go search for Vastheaven Palace.” Buddha Jueming murmured to himself, “The Endwar could break out at any moment now…and I need time to break through from the True God level to the Elder God level. If I wait for the Endwar to actually begin before making my breakthrough, I’ll just be delaying the inevitable. Mmm…let it begin now.”

Whoosh.

Buddha Jueming disappeared from the hall, with the two Buddhist novitiates being none the wiser.

……

Atop a black star located deep in the endless primordial chaos.

An enormous Buddhist lotus flower had descended upon the surface of this star, and seated in the lotus position atop it was Buddha Jueming.

Rumble…

The primordial chaos around the area suddenly began to writhe. Even the stellar energy of the black star was being ravenously devoured as everything in the area began to swirl around Buddha Jueming. Enormous amounts of energy were being frantically pulled towards him, forming an enormous swirling maelstrom of primordial chaos! As for Buddha Jueming, every single speck of divine power in his body began to transform and be remade anew.

A short while later, the vortex of primordial chaos dissipated. Everything became calm again, and the black star once more regained its normal aura of grandeur.

A hint of sadness could be seen in the eyes of Buddha Jueming.

“I’ve become an Elder God.”

“A thousand years from now, I must leave the Three Realms.” Buddha Jueming was filled with a deep reluctance to part with the Three Realms. He had started as a weak mortal and had slowly risen to power here. He had made miracles happen in Undermoon Lake and as a result had been awarded the [Solitary World God]. After so many years of training in it, he had long ago found the necessary spark of insight within his divine body. He was able to break through from being a True God to being an Elder God whenever he chose.

However, he truly didn’t wish to leave. He had a gentle disposition and was innately suited for the Buddhist Sangha. He had no great desires or ambitions; he was quite satisfied with living a peaceful life in the Three Realms.

However, now that the Endwar was arriving, he had to stand up and step forward.

Only by becoming an Elder God would he be strong enough to have an impact on the outcome of the war. However…becoming an Elder God meant he would have to leave the Three Realms within a thousand years. If he did not, his lifeblood oath would rebound against him and destroy his soul.

“To be able to do battle alongside Master and my old friends against a common enemy…it is enough that I can do this before leaving.” Buddha Jueming sat down on his lotus flower, once more disappearing.

No one knew of his breakthrough in the endless primordial chaos, and he quietly slipped back into his own hall.

The only people present in his hall were those two Buddhist novitiates. He was a low-key figure who never left his palace. Much like Suiren, he used a technique which withdrew and suppressed his aura. Even if someone came to visit him, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell that he had changed. Given how tense the situation was with the Endwar ready to erupt at any moment, no one would come pay a visit, especially since Buddha Jueming was so low-key and spent all of his time in solitary meditation after becoming a True God.

No one in the Three Realms knew that a new Elder God had just been born.

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Chapter 7 – Starseizing Hand

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 7 – Starseizing Hand

Within a quiet little mountain village. This village was a peaceful, calm place. There was an ordinary bamboo house located in the middle of it, and there was a white-robed youth who lived within this house.

The other villagers were all actually quite curious about this youth.

Most of the people in this village were ordinary mortal refugees who had fled to the depths of this mountain and built homes here. Thus, very few people knew each other. The white-robed youth had travelled alongside them and established a residence here as well. They had thought that the white-robed youth was a refugee like them…but then the white-robed youth had lived with them for five full years. During these five years, they noticed that the white-robed youth spent almost every day fishing.

He didn’t chase after pretty lasses, nor did he worry about starting a family, nor did he tend to any fields.

All he did was fish. He relied on fishing to make his living.

“This kid really doesn’t know what’s good for him. I tried to propose a wife for him, but he refused to hear of it. Old Li’s daughter is so pretty, and her family is a fine one! She’s one of the top two eligible maidens in our village. It’s rare for anyone to catch her fancy like he did, but all he did was smile and refuse…” The matchmaker granny grumbled as she walked out of the bamboo house. She even gave the bamboo door a hard kick as she left.

If this old granny knew that she had just kicked at the door of one of the most supreme Fiendgods of the entire Three Realms…what would her reaction be?

As for Ning, he just chuckled as he stood there next to the bamboo door, then grabbed his fishing pole and once more headed out to go fishing.

In previous years, he had wandered the Three Realms. Recently, however, he had chosen to merge into the ranks of commoners and live life alongside them. This actually resulted in Ning slowly gaining insights into a different aspect of the nature of water. In the mortal world, there was a saying that ‘water was life’. Water could lift up a boat, but it could also capsize it. Ning could vaguely sense a profound truth pertaining to the vast Heavenly Dao of Water…

“Eh?” Just as Ning picked up the fishing pole, he came to a halt.

“I’ve finally finished refitting my divine ability.” Ning revealed a hint of delight.

“Let’s take a look.”

Whoosh.

Ning soared into the skies, instantly disappearing into the horizons. However, none of the villagers were able to see this. They only saw the white-robed youth pick up his fishing pole and head off to go fishing. They had no idea that only an incarnation had been left behind.

……

Ning appeared out of nowhere atop a tattered, damaged star located deep in the Void of the Three Realms. As he descended upon the star, some dust was kicked up and sent flying into the endless Void.

“I’ll train in the [Starseizing Hand] here.”

Ning nodded, then waved his hand. The dust on the ground was all swept up together, then solidified into a stone boulder than landed next to Ning.

Ning sat down in the lotus position atop the stone boulder. Waving his hand, he produced a gourd. This gourd was filled with Five Elements essence, the essence that he had acquired from breaking down Pure Yang treasures and Protocosmic spirit-treasures in the Prisonworld through his Five Elements Cauldron. Ning needed to use the Five Elements essence to train the [Starseizing Hand] to the Sixth Cycle!

The Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] was incredibly hard to train in.

Daoist Threelives had been lucky eough to acquire a piece of golden starstone which held certain divine runes within it. After spending a long period of time analyzing it, he had used the golden starstone as well as many other supplementary materials to master the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]. The only other person who had ever acquired golden starstone aside from Daoist Threelives was Daoist Three Purities!

However, Daoist Three Purities had used the piece he acquired as a component of his Immortal Slaying Swords!

The Immortal Slaying Swords were based off of his insights into the Nine Chaos Seals. Countless precious materials had been consumed in their creation, and the four Chaos-level swords were like a single weapon that could be joined together to unleash utterly terrifying devastation!

“Golden starstone…this should have been the ‘Starheart’ item which World God Northrest’s records mentioned. It’s quite impressive that the denizens of the Three Realms managed to find two such items.” Ning shook his head. Without golden starstone, there was no way he could master the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

And so…

Ning had begun to focus on researching and analyzing this technique. To Ning, upgrading his hands to become Chaos-level treasures wasn’t that important, because he already had real Chaos-level treasures. In fact, Violetjewel was far more powerful than Chaos treasures! The real reason why Ning cared about the [Starseizing Hand] was because when it unleashed its full power, he would be able to deliver blows of utterly tremendous power that vastly surpassed his ordinary level of strength!

Daoist Threelives wasn’t that talented in comprehending the Dao; he hadn’t even mastered a single Heavenly Dao. However, thanks to the [Starseizing Hand], he had been able to valiantly slay multiple alien True Gods and Daofathers in the war that had ended the Primordial Era!

The [Starseizing Hand] was ranked by Three Purities as one of the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms, on par with [Houyi’s Archery]. This was precisely because it could unleash utterly shocking levels of power! Unfortunately, Daoist Threelives himself wasn’t that innately powerful; if he was a half-step Elder God like Ji Ning, he definitely would’ve been able to reach the overlord level of power with just the [Starseizing Hand]! Ning was in bad need of a technique which would allow him to explosively increase his level of power. Although he had the [Nine Elements Annihilation], he would need a long period of time before being able to develop a powerful divine ability of his own from it.

World God Northrest naturally possessed formidable techniques that allowed for an explosive increase in power, but all of them had come from Vastheaven Palace and could not be taught to outsiders! Over the course of his many years of adventure, he had acquired a few similar techniques, but alas all of them were fairly mediocre. Although he had passed them on to Ning, none of them could match the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

“The Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] was developed by Daoist Threelives after he meditated on a piece of golden starstone.”

“However…the way in which he caused his divine power to explode out was excessively violent! My palms would first have to first be refined to become Chaos treasures; otherwise, there’s no way they would be able to withstand such tremendous power,” Ning mused to himself.

The [Starseizing Hand] allowed for an incredibly forceful increase in power. This meant that the palms had to be made incredibly sturdy; only then would they be able to endure this level of power!

“It has been a hundred and seventy-two years since I became a True God. My Primaltwin has spent a total of more than seventeen thousand years in the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance,” Ning mused to himself. “Although I’ve mainly focused on comprehending the Dao and only occasionally spent time on my sword-arts and divine abilities, I was still able to finish retrofitting the [Starseizing Hand].”

Using the [Nine Elements Annihilation] as his foundation, he had carefully restructure and remade the [Starseizing Hand].

The mysteries of the [Starseizing Hand] actually came from some of the profound secrets contained within that piece of golden starstone. The construction of the [Starseizing Hand] technique itself wasn’t that complicated. With the [Nine Elements Annihilation] serving as a reference guide, Ning was able to completely deconstruct it, then slowly rebuild and postulate a new Sixth Cycle.

This process took more than seventeen thousand years…but now, the Primaltwin had finally mastered it!

This new technique allowed for the use of Five Elements essence to replace golden starstone and the other precious materials needed to refine the hands and make them into Chaos treasures. The fundamental underpinnings of the [Starseizing Hand] was to use Five Elements treasures to refine the hands, after all.

Ning sat there in the lotus together, a gourd placed next to him which was filled with Five Elements essence.

Whoooosh…

Under Ning’s guidance, the Five Elements essence soared towards his twin palms. The divine Starseizing Tattoos appeared on his hands, and they quickly began to grow more and more complicated. Finally, the tattoos reached a new peak of power, causing Ning to feel as though they were bursting with power. His hands began to emanate an aura of limitless might. However, Ning had long ago set up a barrier of heartforce around the area, preventing anyone from investigating it.

The Seamless Gate knew that Ji Ning was on this star, but they had no way of looking into what Ji Ning was doing here.

“Success.” Ning willed the absolutely dominating aura of power radiating from his hands to be suppressed.

“My hands are now comparable to Chaos treasures. They are now strong enough to withstand an explosion of divine power.” Ning willed the divine ability active as he struck out towards the Void with his palm.

Boom!

An enormous, semi-translucent palm smashed through the Void, causing space itself to shudder and ripple. An enormous Voidwave that was a hundred million kilometers in size blasted forward, heading off to who-knows where.

“What tremendous power.” Ning nodded, revealing a look of delight. This sort of explosive power, when combined with Violetjewel, would become even more formidable.

“My divine ability has been completed!”

“Now, the only thing I am lacking…is in my insights into the Dao! I hope that before the Endwar begins, I’ll be able to master a Heavenly Dao.” Ning felt a hint of worry. He had left one of his incarnations in Allclans Palace, which was why he knew exactly what the situation was like in the Three Realms. Things were truly at the tipping point now; the Endwar could start at a moment’s notice.

Even the Endwar occurred only after the war for karmic luck ended, that meant it was only a few decades away.

Sometimes, the more you try to force something to happen, the harder it will be for you to succeed.

Ning understood this principle very well. He deeply desired to master a Heavenly Dao, and he had made tremendous progress during the past seventeen thousand years in understanding the Heavenly Dao of Water, but he knew that the more impatient he felt the more it would hinder him in actually mastering the Dao. Thus, Ning remained very calm. He acted the same as he always had, and he would also take rests to go meditate on his sword-arts and other techniques.

Although he hadn’t mastered a Heavenly Dao during the past period of time, he had upgraded the [Starseizing Hand] and had improved tremendously in sword-arts as well.

“I’ve already mastered ninety-six of the ninety-eight techniques on those stone sword-steles. Only two more techniques remain. I need just a little more time. Once I master them, I can begin to meditate on the [Nameless] sword-art.” Within the Heavengazer Tower, the black-robed Ning was staring at the two final stone steles in front of him.

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Chapter 8 – Nameless Sword-Art, ‘Heartsword Stance’

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 8 – Nameless Sword-Art, ‘Heartsword Stance’

The black-robed Ji Ning stretched out a finger. A rainbow-colored sword materialized out of nowhere, which he then began to use to execute sword-arts.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

His sword-shadows flowed through the air, as illusory as dreams. It was as though rainwater had appeared throughout the area, with an occasional hint of sharpness appearing.

At first, Ning had a puzzled look on his face as he began training. However, a look of delight slowly began to appear on his face. In fact, he began to let out cries of delight and amazed sighs.

Swoosh.

The sword-light flashed one final time before disappearing into the void.

“What a fine [Hidden Edge] technique.” Ning came to a halt, unable to disguise the excitement in his eyes. “World God Northrest truly went all out in his efforts to guide me forward on my path. Each of these ninety-eight stone steles have led me forward, step by step, to gain more and more insights into the sword. I am becoming an increasingly suitable candidate for training in the [Nameless] sword-art.”

“Both of these stone steles focused on hiding one’s sharpness. I’ve now thoroughly mastered them.”

“The ninety-eight stone steles…I’ve mastered them all!”

Ning waved his hand, and the jade shrine instantly appeared next to him. He entered the jade shrine, and as he did he looked at the countless sword-diagrams that were drawn onto the walls of the shrine. These diagrams recorded the most important technique which World God Northrest had ever possessed…the [Nameless] sword-art. Even someone like World God Northrest had only been capable of merely memorizing all of the techniques; he was only able to actually master a portion of them.

Being able to memorize something didn’t mean that you could truly understand and master it.

Daoist Three Purities, for example, had been able to memorize all nine of the Nine Chaos Seals. However, when he fashioned the Immortal Slaying Swords, he had only been able to understand seven of them!

“This [Nameless] sword-art is completely focused on the true essence of the sword,” Ning said softly. “According to what World God Northrest said…someone who masters this technique has a chance of mastering the sixth stage of swordforce.”

The sixth stage of swordforce was the ‘Sword World’ stage. This was a stage of true perfection.

If a Fiendgod could truly reach this stage of power, then one could use the ‘Sword World’ to serve as the core of the body and remake it to become a World God!

If a Ki Refiner was to reach this stage of power, the ‘Sword World’ could be used as the nucleus for causing the Jindan region inside the body to be remade into primordial chaos anew, allowing him to step into the Chaos Immortal level!

The ‘Sword World’ realm was a level of mastery that was on the same level as the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos!

The Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos was one of the most commonly seen Heavenly Daos. According to what World God Northrest said, more than 99% of World Gods and Chaos Immortals had reached that level through mastering the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos! This was because the primordial chaos itself existed in all things. It didn’t matter what Heavenly Dao you meditated on; once you started training in any Heavenly Dao, such as the Heavenly Dao of Water you would also be able to begin training in the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.

The primordial chaos could be divided into the duality of Yin and Yang. It could also be divided into the essence of life and the essence of destruction, or the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire, earth.

If you trained in any of the other nine Heavenly Daos you trained it, you were also training in the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos! This was why only Daofathers were able to draw upon the energy of primordial chaos and able to train in that Dao. As a result, World Gods and Chaos Immortals who reached that level through understanding the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos were extremely, extremely common.

As for reaching that level through understanding the true essence of the Sword and reaching the ‘Sword World’ stage? Very, very few World Gods and Chaos Immortals had ever done so.

However, every single World God and Chaos Immortal who had reached that level through mastery of the ‘Sword World’ stage was an incredibly powerful figure with shocking offensive capabilities! Ordinary Chaos Immortals and World Gods simply couldn’t compete with them.

But…

Each stage of swordforce was a hundred times more difficult to master than the last.

To advance from the first stage to the second stage was fairly easy, and to reach the third stage wasn’t that hard either. The fourth stage, however, was extremely difficult.

As for reaching the fifth stage of ‘Sword God’, the number of people in the Three Realms who had ever succeeded in doing so could be counted on one hand. More people had become ‘overlords’ than reach the Sword God stage!

As for advancing to the sixth stage of ‘Sword World’…this would be even more difficult, far more so than ‘merely’ becoming a World God or Chaos Immortal!

“The [Nameless] sword-art, however, is a technique that guides me straight to the essence of the sword itself, a peerless sword-art that can allow the user to reach the ‘Sword World’ stage.” Ning stared at the sword-stances recorded on the walls of the jade shrine.

The [Nameless] sword-art as recorded before him had a total of seven stances! This was, of course, just part of the real technique; it was so incomplete that World God Northrest himself didn’t even know the actual name of this sword-art.

World God Northrest himself had only mastered five stances! However, so long as one could master the third stance, one would be able to reach the ‘Sword World’ stage.

“Forget about three stances. This first stance alone…if I can master it, my chances in the Endwar will become much greater.” Ning stared at the walls of the shrine.

If Ning could master even just the first stance, then in terms of pure sword-arts it would be almost impossible for him to find an equal who was not a World God or Chaos Immortal. Far less than one in ten thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would possess an equal level of skill in the sword.

The black-robed Ning carefully inspected the jade shrine, meditating on the first stance.

Those ninety-eight stone sword-steles existed for the purpose of molding him to become a good candidate for training in the first stance. Without those ninety-eight sword-arts, just glancing at the first stance would probably result in Ning suffering injuries and vomiting up blood. However, now that he had mastered the ninety-eight sword-arts, Ning…still found it incredibly hard to understand the first stance of the [Nameless] sword-art.

“The Heartsword stance…b-but…how can the very first stance of the [Nameless] sword-art be so ephemeral, arcane, and unfathomably profound?” Ning simply couldn’t understand the countless sword-stances that had been engraved on the walls of the shrine, and in truth they were just samples for Ning to inspect.

The Heartsword stance…

It had no stances. It was a sword of the heart.

In all his years of training, Ning had always used the sword in his hand to do battle! The [Brightmoon] sword-art’s ‘Soleheart’ stance, ‘Blood Drop’ stance, ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance, ‘Shadowless’ stance, and ‘Yin-Yang’ stance were all stances that could be seen with the naked eye. The ‘Heartsword’ stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, however, didn’t have any actual stances to it at all. This made it incredibly hard for Ning to comprehend it.

He could catch vague glimpses of the nature of this sword-art, but actually training in it remained incredibly hard.

Still…he could sense that one he mastered it, he would have reached a completely different realm of using the sword.

After training in it for roughly five years, Ning came to a halt and instead once more turned to mastering the Heavenly Dao of Water.

Training in the sword. Meditating on the Dao.

He alternated between the two. Although the flames of the Endwar were growing increasingly visible, Ning remained calm as he trained in solitude.

The Three Realms was in a state of complete chaos now. Both sides had finished their preparations and were ready for the Endwar.

Buddha Jueming and others like him who had been hiding their true power had finished their preparations as well.

……

The Allfiend world.

“The Realmwar going on in the Shennong world went on for nine years. In the end, we still lost.” The seated Daofather Ink Bamboo’s voice was filled with worry. “Fiendlord, didn’t you say that we have a grand army of bugbeasts? Why is it that our bugbeast army never made an appearance during the Shennong Realmwar?”

The Lord of All Fiends was seated in the highest position. He smiled as he looked at Daofather Ink Bamboo. “Ink Bamboo, no need to be impatient. We need to keep our eye on the bigger picture. If we lost, we lost. It doesn’t matter. We’ve still been able to preserve the bulk of our forces, ensuring that our losses weren’t too heavy. As for the bugbeast army…of course we still have it. However, we can have it make its appearance during the very end of the war for karmic luck.”

“Windfiend, do we actually have a bugbeast army?” The nearby Daomother Devilhand immediately asked.

“We do.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded.

“Why is it that none of us have ever heard about it? You’ve only mentioned it a short while ago.” Daomother Devilhand was quite dubious.

“I was just keeping it a secret from everyone.” The Lord of All Fiends swept the group with his gaze. “Today, a major power of the Seamless Gate has returned to us. Just wait a short while and you will understand.”

“A major power has returned?” Everyone present was puzzled.

“Aren’t all of our major powers already here in the Three Realms?” The black-robed Godking was the most puzzled of them all. All of their formidable Elder Gods had perished during the war that ended the Primordial Era; the powerful figures who survived, such as Daomother Devilhand or Keeper Everwood, were all in the Three Realms. How could a major power have ‘made a return’?”

“You’ll know shortly.” The Lord of All Fiends had a smile on his face. Although they had been defeated in the Shennong Realmwar, he was still in quite a good mood.

The other ten-plus major powers present had no choice but to wait.

Roughly an hour later, a figure suddenly appeared before the palace then stepped inside it. This man was half bald, and his eyes seemed naturally and perpetually filled with malice and viciousness. As he walked in, he immediately and excitedly knelt down with respect. “Your disciple greets you, Master.”

“No need for this.” The Lord of All Fiends reached out with his hand, sending out a surge of divine power and pressing upwards at the man’s knee, making him rise. “Disciple, you’ve had to toil away all by yourself for so many years. Master should be the one expressing gratitude to you. In addition, you are now as strong as an Elder God yourself. There’s no need for you to kneel.”

“Without you, Master, I would’ve died long ago when I was an ordinary mortal.” The savage balding man said respectfully, “No matter what happens, you shall always be my master.”

The Lord of All Fiends smiled.

This was his favorite disciple, and the disciple he trusted the most.

“Stoneswan!?!” The black-robed Godking rose to his feet, staring at the man in disbelief. “Y-you…didn’t die?!”

“You haven’t died either, Clothred. How could I?” The man laughed coldly.

“Windfiend, did you just say that Bloodswan has become comparable to an Elder God? He’s an overlord?” Daomother Devilhand was astonished.

The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Yes.”

“Hahaha…” Keeper Everwood began to laugh. “When you saved us all, Windfiend, you journeyed by yourself through the endless primordial chaos for a long time, only releasing us when you returned to the Three Realms. You told us that your disciple, Daofather Bloodswan, ended up dying in the primordial chaos. So that was just a lie you told us.”

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Chapter 9 – Immortal Ascent

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 9 – Immortal Ascent

“When I fled from the Three Realms,” the Lord of All Fiends said with a sigh, “I found myself lost within the vast primordial chaos. I had no idea where I was supposed to go, so I randomly chose a direction and started to move.”

Back then, the Lord of All Fiends didn’t have any detailed star maps; he had no idea that a spatial vortex tunnel existed which led out of the Three Realms.

“The endless primordial chaos is filled with countless dangers.”

“I was very lucky in that I am skilled in staying alive, and I was also quite careful. That’s the only reason I was able to survive for so long. Otherwise, I would’ve died there long ago.” As the Lord of All Fiends spoke, the other major powers all listened to him. In the past, he had never been willing to divulge anything pertaining to his experiences wandering the primordial chaos.

“Afterwards, I was lucky enough to encounter an estate that should have been left behind by some ancient, powerful figure.” The Lord of All Fiends continued, “I even discovered an entire major world there. I imagine that only World Gods and Chaos Immortals are capable of establishing a major world within the primordial chaos.”

The Daofathers of the Three Realms were generally capable of establishing major worlds, but that was only within the Three Realms!

Those created major worlds depended on the Worldheart of the Three Realms to exist. Without the Worldheart, the entire Three Realms would collapse and fall apart. The Crimsonbright world, the Xuanwu world, the Crescent world…none of them could survive on their own. The ruinous power of the primordial chaos would destroy everything! To build a major world within the primordial chaos was incredibly difficult. Some particularly formidable Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals might be capable of it, but less than one in ten thousand would have that ability.

Daofather Fuju, for example, was strong enough to do so, but that was only because he had been possessed by World God Northrest, who stood at the very highest peak of power amongst World Gods. That was why he had been able to establish Undermoon Lake with ease.

“Although it was a major world, it was still just a few tens of millions of kilometers around; hardly enough for all of us to survive and flourish,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “When I adventured through the primordial chaos, Bloodswan travelled by my side as we risked our lives together. He took a liking to that estate world, preferring it to the Three Realms. Thus, he decided to take up residence there.”

“I decided to stay there with him. Every so often, I’d go back to take a look at the Three Realms. When I did, I did it in a way that ensured that Nuwa wouldn’t notice.”

“Finally, the day came when Nuwa left the Three Realms. I waited a fairly long period of time after she left before returning to the Three Realms with all of you in tow. By then the Nuwa Alliance clearly no longer wished to battle with us, and so they let us back inside.” The Lord of All Fiends laughed. “Afterwards, we ended up finding Blackheaven! I acquired his golem-making skills as well as certain techniques that could be used for rearing bugbeasts.”

“The art of golem-making requires many skilled artificers, but the art of rearing bugbeasts does not. The only thing you need is time; given enough time, the bugbeasts will naturally grow and evolve.” The Lord of All Fiends laughed. “And so, I let Bloodswan help me out. For all these countless years, Bloodswan has been training in that estate-world in the primordial chaos. In doing so, he also kept an eye on my bugbeasts. Last time, when I paid him a visit, I realized that he reached the overlord level.”

“I always felt that Bloodswan was a determined and decisive man.” Keeper Everwood nodded. “When I heard that you lost your life while adventuring in the primordial chaos alongside your master, I felt saddened for a long period of time. Now that I know that you are still alive, I’m absolutely delighted.”

“Bloodswan, congratulations.” Daomother Devilhand looked at him as well.

Devilhand was known by all as a devil amongst devils. Of the mortal geniuses who had risen to prominence in the Seamless Chaosworld, the one she had favored the most was Bloodswan! Bloodswan was a true devil as well. However, he was an excessively solitary figure who hated the company of others. During the era of the Seamless Chaosworld, the black-robed Godking and Bloodswan had been considered equals amongst the younger generation of cultivators. The Godking had became apprenticed to Demonheart, whereas Bloodswan had decided to join the equally solitary Windfiend.

“Damn.” The Godking felt aggrieved and stifled.

Keeper Everwood and Daomother Devilhand had long ago stood at the very peak of power in the Seamless Chaosworld. Bloodswan, however, had grown up at the same time that the Godking had. He had always treated Bloodswan as a rival, but a rival who he had always been superior to! But now, Bloodswan had actually become an overlord? This caused him to feel extremely unhappy. Bloodswan’s original name was Stoneswan, and he had been on fairly good terms with the Godking.

However, eventually they parted ways due to their different temperaments.

Both were devils! The former delighted in toying with the hearts of others, while the other was an extremely solitary who abstained from the rest of the world, holding all in contempt.

“Master,” Daofather Bloodswan said respectfully, “I’ve returned before the Endwar as promised. However, after this war concludes, I intend to head towards that spatial vortex tunnel.”

The Seamless Gate had also acquired a number of star maps and thus knew about the existence of the spatial vortex tunnel.

“I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep you forever.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Indeed, only by passing through that tunnel shall you be able to enter the vaster world outside.”

“Right.” Daofather Bloodswan nodded.

The black-robed Godking now felt even more unhappy. This solitary idiot was now putting on airs of ‘wanting to visit the greater world’? He, the Godking, was planning to become the leader of the Three Realms!

“Stoneswan.” The black-robed Godking forced out a laugh, managing to make it sound very genuine and loud. “Now that you’ve become an overlord, our side has gained yet another powerful combatant. However, I need to warn you that your information might be a bit out of date. The Nuwa Alliance has gained another extremely formidable combatant as well…Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji NIng. He has trained for less than a thousand years but has already become an overlord.”

“Oh?” Bloodswan’s eyes lit up. “He’s that incredible? The chance to face an opponent like him is truly exciting.” His eyes were actually turning slightly bloodshot with excitement.

……

The Shennong world’s Realmwar had come to an end!

Both sides began to mobilize their armies in their various major worlds and Realms as they gathered their forces….

Ever since the battle for the Deerchaser major world, the Nuwa Alliance’s morale had been sky-high. They won most of the remaining Realmwars, and they had also won the recently-concluded Shennong Realmwar!

…….

The Humanworld of Yu the Great. The Allclans Palace.

The various major powers had all gathered together here.

“The Seamless Gate has begun to mobilize their forces spread throughout their worlds.” Daoist Three Purities was seated up high as he spoke in an icy voice. “Clearly, their many defeats have caused them to grow anxious. They wish to gather their remaining forces and launch the final battle for karmic luck.”

All the major powers seated below him felt their hearts clench.

Had the day finally arrived?

“If they wish to fight, then let us fight. Fight them to the death. Fight them to their deaths!” Exalted Celestial Thundergod crushed the winecup in his hands as he bellowed loudly.

“Even though they have allied with the Primordial Ruinworld, they still are not a match for us.” Houyi, also seated in one of the high seats, spoke in a calm voice.

“Either they die or we die. There are no other choices. We have only one option before us: To completely wipe them all out!” Kuafu bellowed in an even louder voice than Thundergod.

All of the more irascible Fiendgods present felt their blood begin to boil. Ning’s own eyes flashed with sharp light as well.

Nothing in the world would ever proceed exactly as planned or desired! Still…it didn’t matter. He had already mastered his [Starseizing Hand] and had dramatically improved his sword-arts. It was more than enough for him to go to the field of battle and slaughter his foes.

“By my decree,” Daoist Three Purities boomed out, “All major powers shall mobilize their armies of Immortals and Fiendgods and send them to the Humanworld of Yu the Great. Prepare for the final battle!”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“Fight!”

Killing light flashed through the eyes of all the major powers. This was total war. Personal survival no longer mattered. They knew that even if they were able to win this war, it was very likely that many of them would perish in the process. It was likely that many of their old friends would perish before everything was said and done. Perhaps they themselves would also pass away. And so…their only choice was to kill! To kill as many of the foes as they could so that more of their friends would be able to survive.

……

“By my word, everyone is to immediately assemble at the Crimsonbright major world.” In the Grand Xia, the Xia Emperor was giving an order to the many Immortals and Fiends who had assembled before him.

“Let’s go.”

The skies above the Grand Xia Palace split asunder, revealing an enormous passageway. The many Immortals and Fiendgods all entered the passageway, heading towards the Crimsonbright world.

All of the armies under the command of the Crimsonbright Realm were mobilizing.

After assembling at the Crimsonbright world, they would head together to the Humanworld of Yu the Great.

The Three Realms shuddered as the flames of war burned ever brighter.

As for Ji Ning, his true body remained within that mountain village of mortals. The village remained as calm as ever.

“They probably have no idea.” Ning was seated by the side of a pond, fishing rod in hand. He turned his head to stare at the chimney smoke coming from the distant mountain village, then let out a sigh. “A great battle is about to begin…and this battle may well impact every single major world.”

This was the final, life-and-death struggle between the two major alliances. Both sides would hold back and do their best not to wreck the Three Realms, but some collateral damage was unavoidable. It was also possible that when one side saw no hope of victory, it might decide to wreck the Three Realms out of spite.

“Water flows on in a turbulent stream, capable of supporting a boat but also capable of capsizing it. But if the boat is too big…the water can only endure…” Ning was murmuring to himself, but he suddenly came to a halt as a light flashed in his mind.

BOOM!

The skies above Ning suddenly began to shudder as the aura of the Heavenly Daos descended. It descended upon the village pond, causing all of the denizens of the village to stare in utter terror. Faced with the terrifying aura of the Heavenly Daos, they all uncontrollably fell to their knees. Right at this moment, they saw the white-robed youth suddenly soar into the skies.

Laughing loudly, Ji Ning tossed the fishing rod aside and soared into the skies.

“An Immortal!!!” The village dwellers all repeatedly pressed their heads against the ground.

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Chapter 10 – The Prisoners of the Prison World

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 10 – The Prisoners of the Prison World

The white-robed Ji Ning descended upon a tattered star located deep within the primordial chaos. He sat down in the lotus position.

Rumble…

The primordial chaos manifested above him, forming into an enormous whirlpool of energy that completely surrounded Ning, furiously surging into his body.

When one broke through to become a Celestial Immortal or Pure Yang True Immortal, one would absorb elemental energy or energy from Immortal pills! However, now that Ning had mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water, he also gained partial insight into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. The former was part of the latter, after all. Thus, Ning was now naturally capable of drawing energy from the primordial chaos, resulting in a seemingly endless flood of energy flooding into his body.

His Pure Yang Jindan began a new evolution, and the Immortal energy within his body began to transform on a fundamental level.

With the Heavenly Dao of Water serving as the core of his Dao, he began to absorb more and more chaos energy while converting it for his own use.

……

The Crescent world, atop an island.

The black-robed Ning walked out of his Immortal estate. Uncle White, located outside the estate, glanced at Ning and smiled at him. “Ning, son, you’ve come out.”

“I need to make a trip.” Ning smiled back at him.

Swoosh.

The black-robed Ning immediately soared into the skies. A moment later, yet another streak of light flew towards him. This was the Primaltwin which had been protecting his daughter the entire time. The Primaltwin immediately flew into the black-robed Ning’s estate-treasure.

This time, the backup Primaltwin clone was going to make the breakthrough as well.

The black-robed Ning sat down in the lotus position atop a distant, desolate island, then began to draw upon the energy of the primordial chaos. Instantly, a vortex of chaos energy began to appear in the air above the barren island.

His true body, his backup true body clone, his Primaltwin, his backup Primaltwin clone…all of them began to make their breakthroughs.

His backup true body clone made its breakthrough within the prisonworld. It too chose to use the Heavenly Dao of Water to serve as its core as it began to draw upon the energy of primordial chaos.

As Ning mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water, a resonance was suddenly formed with the Heavenly Daos.

“Yet another major power has mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water.”

“Who mastered it?”

The other major powers of the Three Realms who had also mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water were the first to react. Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Suiren, and the others who had mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water could also sense the resonance with the Heavenly Daos. Soon, they discovered that the person who had caused this major disturbance through his breakthrough was Ji Ning.

“It’s Sword Immortal Darknorth.”

“Haha…Darknorth has finally mastered a Heavenly Dao.”

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance all laughed and rejoiced. None of them were surprised at all, because Ji Ning’s attainments in the sword were simply far, far too exemplary.

It was true that the Heavenly Daos were vast and profound. Normally speaking, mastering a Heavenly Dao would take an incredibly long period of time; for someone like Ji Ning who had trained for a bit over a thousand years to succeed in doing so was a ridiculous concept.

However, Ji Ning was someone who had spent less than a thousand years to become an overlord! They weren’t surprised at all that he was now able to master a Heavenly Dao as well. But of course, they had no idea that Ji Ning had actually used roughly twenty thousand years in order to master a Heavenly Dao. Still…to master a Heavenly Dao in twenty thousand years was almost inconceivably fast, something which was rarely seen even in the Primordial Era.

……

Within the main palace of the Allfiend world.”

“It was Sword Immortal Darknorth who made the breakthrough.” Daofather Ink Bamboo frowned.

“So he really didn’t master the Heavenly Dao of Water before this.” Daomother Devilhand frowned as well. “It seems that before this, he was completely focused on the path of the sword! Just by relying on his skills with the sword and his True God body, he was able to unleash the power of an overlord. In fact, he was able to fight Godfiend Witherspike to a standstill. Even his body is comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. What the hell type of cultivation path has Ji Ning been walking?”

“He’s mastered a Heavenly Dao, but his insights into the Heavenly Dao of Water are far inferior to his insights into the sword,” Keeper Everwood said. “He’s always been weaker as a Ki Refiner. He might be a Daofather now, but it won’t make much of a difference.”

“Agreed.”

“Sword Immortal Darknorth’s power lies in his close combat ability.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Ning’s divine body was terrifyingly strong; he had long ago acquired the power of a True God in close combat! For him to become a Daofather as well really was nothing more than adding a bit of icing onto the cake; it wouldn’t be of significant benefit to him in terms of power.

……

Atop a barren island within the Crescent world.

The black-robed Ning could sense a flood of Immortal energy coursing through him. Although he was a second-tier Ancestral Immortal, thanks to the [One True Body] and [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] techniques, his Immortal energy was absolutely comparable to that of an Ancestral Immortal’s.

“A first-tier Ancestral Immortal…”

“The power flowing through me truly is incredibly thick and pure. It’s a pity that my Primaltwin doesn’t have any good weapons.” The black-robed Ning couldn’t help but frown. In the Three Realms, virtually all overlord-class powers used Chaos treasures as their weapons! Daoist Three Purities even had an entire set of Chaos treasures, as well as the Immortal Slayiing Swords which he himself had devised!

“My true body has Violetjewel, but my Primaltwin has no suitable weapons. It seems I need to pay the prisonworld another visit.” Ning came to this conclusion.

Whoosh.

A second figure suddenly appeared next to Ning. It was Subhuti.

“Ji Ning.” Subhuti had a smile on his face. “You’ve mastered a Heavenly Dao and become a Daofather. Congratulations.”

“Fortunately, I was able to make the breakthrough before the Endwar begins. Master, I need to leave the Crescent world for a time,” Ning said. Although he was at an extremely high level of power and was the undisputed number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms, he was still very weak in terms of his mastery over spacetime. In this regard, he was far from being a match for Daofather Subhuti.

“Alright.” Subhuti pointed towards the air next to Ning, causing a whirlpool to immediately appear.

A second black-robed Ning suddenly appeared next to the first one.

Although one Ning was going to enter the spatial whirlpool, the other one was going to remain on the Crescent world.

……

The icy star located deep within the endless primordial chaos.

A figure appeared in midair. Walking quickly, the figure soon reached a deep gorge, then entered the prisonworld hidden deep inside of it.

Inside the prisonworld.

The white-robed Ji Ning and the black-robed Ji Ning advanced through it, shoulder-to-shoulder, emanating auras of tremendous power.

“Eh?” The skinny, emaciated, bone-chewing wild dog suddenly rose to his feet, staring towards Ning’s direction. His dark yellow eyes stared fixedly at Ning as he spoke out. “Not bad, kid. You actually upgraded your Jindan from the third tier to the second tier…and you also learned a powerful divine ability that allows you to have the power of a first tier Jindan.”

The two Ji Nings simultaneously glanced towards him and chuckled.

“I have to thank you for your advice all those years ago.” The white-robed Ning spoke out, then the two quickly flew away.

“Coward.” The wild dog sneered.

When he had first met Ji Ning, he had discovered that Ji Ning had a third-tier Jindan. Now, however, Ji Ning had the aura of a first-tier Ancestral Immortal…and he certainly wasn’t a weak Chaos Immortal. The aura of pressure and might which a Chaos Immortal had was completely different from that of any Ancestral Immortal’s. Even someone with a third-tier Jindan who broke through to become a Chaos Immortal would be an absolutely terrifying figure.

This meant that Ji Ning must have become an Ancestral Immortal. How, then, could an Ancestral Immortal with a third-tier Jindan suddenly have the aura of a first-tier Ancestral Immortal?

There was only one possibility!

First, upgrade the Jindan…but the Jindan could only be upgraded to the second tier at most! The second step would be to rely on certain secret arts to cause his power to vault all the way to that of a first-tier Ancestral Immortal’s.

“In the future, I’ll definitely pay you a more in-depth visit.” Ning’s voice rang out from far away.

“In the future?” A bitter look instantly appeared on the wild dog’s face. “This damnable Overseer…”

The white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning continued to fly forward through the prisonworld.

“The prisonworld has a total of sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals,” Ning calculated silently to himself. “Anyone who not only has the courage to offend a World God but also ends up being imprisoned here instead of being slain or enslaved is definitely either extremely powerful or has an important background.”

“When I swept through all of the True Gods and True Immortals, I learned quite a bit from soulscouring them.”

“These sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals…that wild dog is one of the three most formidable ones,” Ning mused to himself. “Doesn’t matter. He’s not one of my targets for this campaign.”

The wild dog Elder God was extremely famous in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea as well. He was born an Elder God, and over the course of countless years he had come up with just a single divine ability…‘Eat’! The wild dog Elder God loved to eat. He ate living creatures, delicacies, mountains, rivers, the skies, the earth…he was an utter madman! He gave the terrifying divine ability he had created an equally bizarre name: ‘Eat’.

Using just this single divine ability, he had taken the lives of more than thirty Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals with his mouth! The King of Pangaea favored him for his talent, and so even though he had disobeyed the King’s will, the King had merely chosen to imprison him. The goal was to tame his unruly temperament, then release him in the future and allow him to once more fight on the kingdom’s behalf.

The wild dog Elder God could be described as amongst the most deadly of the sixteen Ancestral Immortals and Elder Gods. Only two of the others could match him for savagery and power.

“If the wild dog Elder God was free, he would pose a far greater danger than Godfiend Witherspike,” Ning murmured to himself.

“The Endwar is about to erupt. I can’t let myself go too crazy with these Elder God and Ancestral Immortal prisoners.” Still, Ning felt a certain itchiness in his chest. He wanted to have a good fight with these Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. After all, even if his true body was slain in combat, he would be able to slowly rebuild it. That, however, would most likely require more than ten thousand years. Ning didn’t have the time to waste for now.

“Fortunately, my target is Swordfather Triult,” Ning mused to himself.

Swordfather Triult was one of the sixteen imprisoned Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. He was a Ki Refiner who possessed a set of three supreme Chaos swords, and so he styled himself ‘Triult’. His attacks were extremely powerful, but Ning was actually very confident in his ability to deal with his type of powerful attacks. His protective divine ability was a perfect counter!

However, Ning’s only knowledge of Swordfather Triult’s power came from those True Gods and True Immortals. Thus, it was entirely possible that Swordfather Triult had certain secret techniques that they didn’t know about. Ning didn’t dare to be over-confident in fighting him…but for the sake of acquiring that set of three Chaos swords, he still decided to take the risk.

“Here I am.”

The white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning quickly arrived at a place in the desolate wilderness. A black-haired elder was seated in the lotus position here, emanating an aura of boundless cold. The black-haired elder opened his eyes, frowning as he looked at Ning. After becoming the Overseer, Ning had never come here to bother Swordfather Triult. Thus, the man didn’t recognize Ning.

“Who are you?” The black-haired elder frowned. “Judging from your aura, you should be a first-tier Ancestral Immortal. The Overseer of a prisonworld shouldn’t be someone as powerful as you.”

“But I do just so happen to be the Overseer of this prisonworld.” The black-robed Ning and the white-robed Ning landed at the same time, both radiating auras of incredible power.

The black-haired elder could sense the threat which Ning posed him.

“You are the Overseer?” The black-haired elder said in a low voice, “For the prisonworld to fall into your hands…it must mean that Pangaea is already destroyed. Speak. Why have you sought me out?”

“Hand over those three ultimate swords of yours,” Ning said calmly.

“Hmph.” The black-haired elder’s eyes flashed with cold light. “Quite a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals have died to my swords.” Although he had been imprisoned here, he was still able to unleash his full power within an area of a thousand kilometers around him. He naturally wouldn’t be willing to lower his head to other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals unless he had to. He had risen to power through blood and slaughter, and quite a few powerful figures had died to his Triult swords.

“It seems we have no choice but to fight.” Ning was quite cautious as well. This was his first time battling against an Ancestral Immortal.

Many Elder Gods were only at that level of power because they were born with it. Ancestral Immortals, however, had all definitely risen to their level of power through cultivation!

However, this was a battle he had to win. He desperately needed a good Chaos sword for the Endwar which was about to erupt.

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Chapter 11 – Retainer

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 11 – Retainer

The white-robed Ji Ning and the black-robed Ji Ning walked forward, shoulder-to-shoulder. The two exchanged glances with the old man located in the center of the distant wilderness.

Waves of murderous intent billowed from both sides.

Since negotiations had failed…it was time to fight!

“Come forth!” The black-robed Ning let out a cold shout. The air around him instantly became filled with a dense cluster of goldstar beads. The Goldstar Beads of the Heavens quickly began to merge together, transforming into the Thirty-Six Heavens. He filled them with his powerful Ancestral Immortal energy, causing each of them to transform into a beautiful frozen lotus. Each frozen lotus was like the core and essence of an entire world, and when the thirty-six frozen lotuses appeared, a stream of freezing energy filled the entire area around them. The wilderness around them began to freeze and crack apart, with space itself seeming to have been frozen solid.

“Go.” The black-robed Ning pointed in front of him, causing the thirty-six frozen lotuses streaking forward through the skies and swiveling around the black-haired elder like thirty-six streaks of frozen energy.

Over the past twenty thousand years, Ning had improved dramatically both with the sword as well as in the Dao! He would also spend quite a bit of time meditating on the Nine Chaos Seals. Due to his tremendous level of insight into the Dao, he had already mastered six of the chaos seals. The sixth chaos seal allowed Ning to closely resonate with the ‘original essence of water’, something which was located infinitely far away. As a result he was now able to manifest these frozen lotuses, which could be used to emanate streams of unfathomably cold energy to bind and trap foes.

After activating the sixth chaos seal, Ning’s Thirty-Six Heavens were comparable to ordinary Chaos treasures in power. Alas, in this form they could only really be used to constrict and bind foes!

“You want to bind me?” The black-haired elder let out a cold laugh. “I am an Immortal cultivator, not a Fiendgod. I don’t even need to fight you in close combat. What can this technique of yours possibly do?”

“If you won’t come fight me in close combat, I’ll come fight you in close combat.” The white-robed Ning’s body momentarily blurred as he manifested the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique, holding five Darknorth swords and Violetjewel in his six arms.

Whoosh.

The white-robed Ning immediately surged forward like a streak of light, flying towards the black-haired elder.

“Eh?” The black-haired elder’s face changed. Ki Refiners hated fighting in close combat. He immediately let out a cold snort, causing two streams of energy to emerge from his nostrils. These two streams of energy crystallized like ice, forming a pair of divine swords.

“Just two of them? Pull out all three of your swords,” Ning roared as he charged forward.

“Against you?” The black-haired elder sneered coldly, “Two swords is enough.”

The two crystalline swords sliced out in two streaks of light, causing the air itself to glimmer with frozen energy as they struck straight towards the white-robed Ning.

Clang!

The two attacks collided against each other.

The white-robed Ning was knocked backwards, his face changing slightly. “Damn.” As soon as they exchanged blows, he realized that this Ancestral Immortal definitely had the power of an elite Elder God! He was even more difficult to deal with than Godfiend Witherspike had been. Fortunately, Ning had mastered the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]; otherwise, Ning wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

“That little bit of power you possess won’t be enough to allow you to even get near me,” the black-haired man sneered.

“Is that so?” The white-robed Ning charged forward once again, striking out with all six swords. This time, he applied the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] to each hand! His mighty divine power instantly burst forth, causing six streaks of sword-light to tear through the skies, carrying an aura of inexorable might.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker stance!

The two flashing crystalline swords that were striking out towards Ning were instantly struck by thise blow.

Boom!

The two crystalline swords were actually smashed flying backwards. On Ning’s side, the flashing strike from the blood-colored Violetjewel continued to streak forwards, striking out more than a thousand kilometers as it hacked towards the distant black-haired elder.

“His divine ability is pretty powerful.” The black-haired elder frowned slightly. A third sword that was golden in color flew straight out from his forehead, quickly expanding in size to become more than three hundred meters long. It swept forward in a straight line, carrying an aura of utmost forceful Yang energy as it struck against Ning’s Violetjewel.

BOOM!!!

Ning felt his hand go numb as Violetjewel was knocked backwards, but the golden sword was also knocked backwards.

“Again.” Ning once more charged forward, six swords in six arms.

“Damn.” The black-haired elder frowned as he glanced at the icy lotuses surrounding him. The icy lotuses were emanating streams of energy that furiously coiled around him, constricting his movements. Although he wasn’t fighting in close combat, his three swords were still somewhat impacted.

“Triult Sword, First Stance!” The black-haired elder’s eyes flashed with cold light.

The two crystal swords and the golden sword came together in midair to form a triangle, with the surface of the triangle flowing with runic light. Soon, the light solidified to form an shockingly sharp sword that was golden-white in color. When the sword appeared, an aura of infinite sharpness instantly appeared, slicing apart the energy streams surrounding him.

Ning’s face changed dramatically as he saw this. “Such power. They really do form a perfect set of Chaos swords. These three Chaos swords are at least high-grade Chaos treasures; in fact, they could well be top-grade Chaos treasures. When the seals inside of them combine together to unleash their full power, they are almost as powerful as my own Violetjewel.”

Daoist Three Purities of the Three Realms had something similar. He had those four Chaos swords, which he was able to link together with the Immortal Slaying Sword-Diagram. By Ning’s estimation, that set was also close to Violetjewel in power. This was how powerful a complete set of Chaos treasures could be.

“Smash!” The distant black-robed figure let out an angry roar.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The thirty-six frozen lotuses that had merely been hanging in the air around him all suddenly rushed towards him like meteors, smashing against the white-gold sword. Every single Frozen Lotus of the Heavens moved with incredible speed, far beyond the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Although this was just a simple smashing movement, it was based off of the ‘Shadowless’ stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The Frozen Lotuses of the Heavens smashed down one after another.

“Kill!” The three-headed, six-armed, white-robed Ning once more charged forward with his six swords at the ready.

The gold-white sword blasted away all the attacks; the Frozen Lotuses of the Heavens were primarily meant to be used to constrict the foe through the release of freezing energy, after all. They were rather similar to the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation in that regard. If they were used to smash…they would at most be comparable to top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. They were simply too weak in this regard, whereas the gold-white sword was almost as powerful as Violetjewel itself. When they were joined together, they had very nearly surpassed the limits of power possible for Chaos treasures.

Boom.

Violetjewel transformed into a black hole, moving to defend against the gold-white sword as the other five swords struck out. The black hole of sword-light was actually able to completely defend against the gold-white sword.

“What?!” The black-haired elder’s face completely changed. “This sword-art…” He himself was a sword-wielder; he could immediately sense how terrifying that sword-light was!

The black hole of sword-light seemed eternal and inexhaustible, with no end and no beginning.

Ning just smiled coldly.

The first stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, ‘Heartsword’ stance, was simply far too profound. Ning simply wasn’t able to master it. However, the main purpose of the ninety-eight stone steles which World God Northrest had left behind was to teach the principle of the ‘hidden blade’. The ‘Heartsword’ stance actually also represented a profound offensive and defensive technique. After analyzing the ‘Heartsword’ stance, then focusing on the principles of the ‘hidden blade’, Ning felt that there were many similarities with his own ‘Soleheart’ stance. Thus, he fused all of his insights into his ‘Soleheart’ stance, causing it to now be the most profound of the five stances he had developed.

“Kill!”

While blocking with one sword, Ning continued to charge forward and attack with the others.

“Triult Sword, Second Stance!” The black-haired elder had an ugly look on his face. He had only come up with two stances thus far.

Rumble…

The gold-white sword suddenly began to spin.

Ning’s black hole of sword-light instantly began to tremble. It was only able to resist for a brief period of time before breaking apart, and the white-gold sword immediately stabbed Ning on the chest, knocking him one step backwards. However, it was only able to leave behind a white spot on his skin.

“A protective divine ability?” The black-haired elder was shocked.

Fiendgods were skilled in close combat, causing Ki Refiners endless headaches. Fiendgods who had exceptionally powerful protective divine abilities caused even more headaches!

“Go.” The frozen lotuses in the air suddenly began to smash towards the black-haired elder once more. A black chain instantly flew out from the black-haired elder’s body, coiling around him and blocking all the strikes from the frozen lotuses.

“Kill.” The white-robed Ning once more charged forward, and the black-haired elder’s face instantly turned extremely grim.

A short while later…

“I lost.” The black-haired elder gave up.

The white-robed Ning’s clothes were riddled with holes, but those holes were soon repaired.

“If I wasn’t trapped here and forced to endure your assaults without being able to flee, you wouldn’t be able to do anything to me.” The black-haired elder stared coldly at Ning.

Ning had to admit that this was true. His protective divine ability, combined with his superlative sword-arts, made it so that although the black-haired man worked hard to keep his distance from Ning, in the end he was still caught. The moment that Ning caught up to him was the moment that he lost.

“I can give you the Triult Swords.” The black-haired elder looked at Ning.

Ning stood in front of the black-haired elder, his murderous intent billowing forwards. “Previously, I merely wanted the Triult Swords. Now, your life itself is in my hands. You had best be obedient and submit.”

“Submit?” The black-haired elder’s face changed, but then he let out a snicker. “Even if I was willing to submit and be your retainer, there’s no way for me to leave this place and battle by your side, unless you are capable of releasing me from the prisonworld.”

“I have no way of releasing you. Not now, at least,” Ning said.

“Then why even speak of ‘submission’?” The black-haired elder shook his head disdainfully.

“I need to search your memories,” Ning said.

An Ancestral Immortal would definitely know many things. He might learn something of use to him for the war.

“Impossible!” The black-haired elder’s face changed, and he roared angrily, “I’m willing to submit to you, to be your retainer and to fight to the death in your service! However, don’t even think about shaming me in such a way. I would rather die than let you search my memories!”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

It really was going to be quite difficult, as expected.

After gaining the teachings of World God Northrest, Ning understood that when voyaging through the endless primordial chaos, there was a certain custom known as ‘taking on retainers’. Certain extremely powerful cultivators would often have retainers who served them and followed them. True Gods and True Immortals were considered weaklings without power, and so they were often simply captured and enslaved. Of the six servants of Godfiend Witherspike, five had been enslaved in such a manner!

However, there were also retainers such as ‘Saber’ who chose to follow someone in order to repay a debt! They could be described as servants, but they were no slaves.

The black-haired elder was willing to be Ning’s retainer, but he absolutely was not willing to allow Ning to search his memories.

In the endless primordial chaos, Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals generally were figures who were respected and honored.

“Then I have no choice but to do this.” Ning stared at the black-haired elder, his eyes brimming with killing intent. However, he didn’t take action right away, wanting to instead try and pressure the old man one last time.

“I can make one final concession.” The black-haired elder gritted his teeth. “I can swear a lifeblood oath that I will never lie to you. You can ask me any question you desire. So long as your questions do not impinge on certain personal matters that I cannot discuss with outsiders, I will answer them to the best of my ability.”

“A lifeblood oath?” Ning’s eyes lit up. “You have an oathstone?”

Generally speaking, only World Gods and Chaos Immortals could swear lifeblood oaths. Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, and weaker cultivators would generally only be able to swear lifeblood oaths if they made use of an oathstone.

“I was preparing to set up my own school. Of course I prepared an oathstone long in advance!” The black-haired elder waved his hand, causing a jade globe to appear within it. Runes swirled over the surface of the jade globe. “This is an oathstone which was personally forged by a Chaos Immorta. It cost me ninety-nine drops of chaos nectar to purchase it.”

Upon hearing the words ‘chaos nectar’, Ning felt delighted. Ancestral Immortals really were different from lower-ranking cultivators. They had far higher statuses, and they had far better treasures! The only reason why he was able to force this person to bow his head was because he was trapped here, unable to move more than a thousand kilometers away! In the outside world, this Ancestral Immortal would’ve fled long ago.

“It is now an ownerless item. You can bind it.” The black-haired elder offered the jade globe to Ning.

“An oathstone.” Ning waved his hand, causing it to fly over to him. He immediately began to bind it, then activated the lifeblood oath ability.

“Swear your lifeblood oath.” Ning looked at the black-haired elder.

The black-haired elder let out a soft sigh. Retainer? This Overseer was, at best, on par with him in power. If they were in the outside world, he absolutely wouldn’t be willing to be this man’s retainer at all! Still…in the face of death, he chose to bow his head.

The black-haired elder stretched out with his hand, placing it against the oathstone. He could sense the lifeblood oath that had been activated. He didn’t try to fight it; instead, he borrowed from its power, causing his soul to begin swearing an oath. “I swear on my very life itself that I shall forever follow…”

As the master of the oathstone, Ning was able to sense the man’s soul making this lifeblood oath.

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Chapter 12 – Triult Swords

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 12 – Triult Swords

“Master,” the black-haired elder said respectfully.

Ji Ning sighed silently to himself. Ning knew himself to merely be a newly ascended Ancestral Immortal; it wasn’t very likely that he would be able to force other Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals to become his retainers, but he had succeeded in doing so. If he was in the primordial chaos, even if had managed to take on a retainer, it would have been his responsibility to provide his retainers with treasures and weapons. This was an extremely fair relationship; if the retainer was to risk his life for the master, then the master had to provide the retainer with cultivation techniques and treasures. This was the reason why powerful cultivators generally found it fairly easy to acquire retainers.

Ning, on the other hand, ended up extorting his retainers for THEIR treasures…

Still, the black-haired elder was going to remain locked up in here. Only a World God or Chaos Immortal would be strong enough to break his chains! Thus, even though he had pledged his allegiance, there was no way he could really serve on Ning’s behalf.

“Let me ask you a question.” Ning looked at the black-haired elder. “Do you have an ‘Elder God Formation’?”

“Elder God Formation?” The black-haired elder was flabbergasted. “Master, are you perhaps thinking a bit too highly of me?”

“Even a small one would do,” Ning said hurriedly. “Or perhaps the other fifteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals imprisoned here…would any of them have an ‘Elder God Formation’?”

“Fifteen?” The black-haired elder was surprised. “Which fifteen?”

He was kept separate from the others. The only Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals he knew of were the ones who had been imprisoned here before him.

“They include Ancestral Immortal Jadetide…” Ning listed all fifteen of the other names.

“So that madman was imprisoned here as well? Good, good, good!” The black-haired elder was in quite a good mood upon hearing these names…but he then looked at Ning and shook his head. “Master, forget about acquiring an Elder God Formation. Although all the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who have been imprisoned here are extraordinary, formations like that aren’t for meant the likes of us. None of the Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals of Pangaea would be able to acquire any Elder God Formation, even one that is only meant for four or five Elder Gods. Generally speaking, only World Gods and Chaos Immortals will be able to acquire them.”

Elder God Formations could be meant for many experts or just a few.

Some, for example, could be used by as few as six Elder Gods! The six Elder Gods would take bind different parts of the formation stone, allowing them to naturally join together in a large formation. They would be able to seamlessly share their divine power together, with their attacks dramatically increasing in strength.

An Elder God Formation that could use up to a hundred Elder Gods would be able to give even a World God a good fight!

Even small-scale Elder God Formations could be used to dominate other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals with ease.

This was something which Ning badly wanted to acquire. Ever since he had heard of them from World God Northrest’s legacy, he had wanted to acquire one! If the Elder Gods of the Nuwa Alliance could join together in an Elder God Formation, they would definitely be able to effortlessly dominate the Seamless Gate with ease. Even if they didn’t have enough Elder Gods, they would be able to use certain True Gods to temporarily fill in positions!

“Even small-scale Elder God Formations would require five hundred bottles of chaos nectar in trade.” The black-haired elder shook his head. “Five hundred bottles! The King of Pangaea spent unbelievable amounts of resources and hard work in order to construct those thirty-six chaos nectar refinery formations. Although those thirty-six formations are known as ‘prisons’, in the eyes of the King of Pangaea their true value lies in their ability to distill chaos nectar.”

“The prisonworlds can be said to be the most important treasures of Pangaea. For even a prisonworld to fall into your hands…it means that the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea might have truly been annihilated.”

“Thirty-six prisonworlds…each chaos cycle, they can only produce roughly two hundred bottles of chaos nectar.” The black-haired elder looked at Ning. “An entire chaos cycle! But small-scale Elder God Formations will require at least five hundred bottles of chaos nectar. World Gods and Chaos Immortals might be able to afford such a price, but Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals generally would not, unless they are ridiculously powerful or had absolutely incredible luck. Those of us who lived in Pangaea would rarely go out to adventure and risk our lives. Of course we wouldn’t have enough treasures!”

Ning nodded.

Elder Gods could generally be divided into two different types. The first type consisted of Elder Gods like Gonggong, Suiren, or Swordfather Triult; they spent their entire life in just a single chaosworld, rarely going out to adventure.

The second type consisted of the likes of the Lord of All Things or Godfiend Witherspike. They often went out adventuring. They acted carefully for fear of losing their lives, but if they were successful they could reap fantastic rewards!

“How much chaos nectar or chaos gems do you have?” Ning asked.

“I have two bottles of chaos nectar and just a hundred or so chaos gems,” the black-haired elder said.

Ning shook his head. How disappointing!

Still, this was the average networth for an ordinary Ancestral Immortal. Most of his resources would have been spent in acquiring those valuable Chaos treasures, after all! That black chain, for example; it would be worth quite a few bottles of chaos nectar. As for the Triult Swords? They were worth dozens of bottles of chaos nectar, and Swordfather Triult had only acquired them after spending countless years building up his resources.

Chaos nectar was something of a common currency in the endless primordial chaos!

It was the extracted essence of chaos energy and could be used to replenish the soul, divine power, Immortal energy, heartforce, all physical wounds.

After asking the black-haired elder a few more questions, Ning finally gave up on acquiring an Elder God Formation, a World Castle, or any other incredibly powerful treasures. It really just wasn’t realistic. Only the most monstrously powerful Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals had access to such treasures, such as the ones who were able to battle against even World Gods and Chaos Immortals.

“Go ahead and give me your Chaos treasures,” Ning said.

“Ugh.” The black-haired elder revealed a hint of pain in his eyes, but he still waved his hand, causing the two crystalline swords and the golden sword to join together and fly over towards Ning. The black chains appeared as well, spinning around him.

“You only have two?” Ning asked.

“How much more do you want?” The black-haired elder said angrily, “I nearly lost my life in acquiring the Triult Swords. Go ahead and see how many of the other fifteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals here have treasures superior to the Triult Swords!”

Ning laughed, then waved his hand and accepted the two treasures, sending out his Immortal energy to quickly bind them.

“Eh?” A look flashed past Ning’s eyes.

“How many levels of the Triult Swords and the Darkcloud Chains have you mastered?” Ning asked.

“I’ve mastered the third level of the Triult Swords and the second level of the Chaincloud Chains,” the black-haired elder said.

“Oh, right. Take out all your other treasures and let me choose from them,” Ning said.

“You…!” The black-haired elder was instantly rendered speechless.

This was worse than a robbery!

What sort of a person extorted his own retainers like this?!

Ning didn’t pay any attention to the man as he picked through the treasures. These treasures weren’t very useful to him, and the two bottles of chaos nectar wouldn’t make much of a difference, but…when he left the Three Realms in the future, he would have to make sure that he had enough good things to leave behind for his daughter Brightmoon.

After cleaning out the black-haired elder, Ning immediately left. He wasn’t willing to face the old man’s glowering, resentful glare.

He located a nearby mountain, then landed atop it.

Ning waved his hand, causing the three Chaos swords to appear in the air before him as well as the large, serpent-like black chains.

“Blackcloud Chains. It has three levels of power, and can just barely be considered a high-grade Chaos treasure.”

“The Triult Swords…ehehe. They actually have six levels of power, and all three are top-grade Chaos treasures. Upon being joined together, they actually exceed the entire Chaos-level of power.” Ning nodded silently to himself, then began to test out binding the treasures.

First, he bound the Blackcloud Chains.

The Blackcloud Chains could be used to bind and trap enemies, or it could be used to circle around the user and deflect enemy attacks! Ning’s true body didn’t need this sort of protective treasure, as he had an extremely strong protective divine ability, but his Primaltwin was only an Ancestral Immortal. His Primaltwin’s body wouldn’t be able to resist enemy attacks in the same way, making the Blackcloud Chains quite a useful item for it.

“The first level is fairly simple.”

“The second level…done.”

After spending a bit more than two hours, Ning finished mastering the first two levels of the Blackcloud Chains. The aura of the Blackcloud Chains increased dramatically in strength, and the chains themselves seemed to move more agilely as well.

Ning’s sword-arts truly were at an incredibly profound level. As a result, he had now mastered six of the Nine Chaos Seals, even though he only spent part of his time analyzing them. Even Daoist Three Purities had only mastered seven of the chaos seals back during the Primordial Era. Thus, he was able to easily master the first two levels of the Blackcloud Chains.

“The third level is too difficult…I won’t be able to unlock it in a short period of time.” Ning spent six more hours working on the chains before giving up. “I’ll focus on the Triult Swords first.”

“Violetjewel’s still the best. There are no restrictions or levels that I need to bind and unlock,” Ning said with a sigh. “It’s a divine sword that has a core quintessence within it, after all.”

Chaos weapons were considered fairly high-level weapons. Above Chaos weapons were Dao weapons. World Gods and Chaos Immortals generally would use Dao weapons.

Violetjewel, however, was something that surpassed even Dao weapons! It even had a core quintessence within it. Ning had merely repaired the surface layer of the sword, but that was still enough to allow it to have more power than any Chaos weapon!

But of course, Violetjewel was a weapon which even World Gods and Chaos Immortals would go berserk for. When World God Northrest had fled all those years ago, he had sent his truesoul riding on the sword. All his other treasures had been lost, and even his very body itself had been lost. The only things left to him were his truesoul and his precious sword.

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Chapter 13 – The Battle Begins

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 13 – The Battle Begins

“I really wonder what sort of damnable places World God Northrest entered when he fled. Even something as tough and precious as Violetjewel was damaged to such a degree!” Ji Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Those three Wujiao Godbeasts who had chased after World God Northrest were very famous amongst World Gods as well. When they attacked him, they did so with the goal of annihilating his truesoul.

If World God Northrest managed to send a message back to Vastheaven Palace, the three of them would be doomed! Thus, when World God Northrest had frantically fled, the three of them had chased just as frantically! All World God Northrest had left had been the remnants of his soul and his sword. For the sake of fleeing, he had fled into every dangerous area he encountered, including areas that were known to be utterly deadly even for World Gods! As for the three Wujiao Godbeasts, they had entered those places as well!

Cultivators, by their very nature, would often enter dangerous regions. The only places which the three Wujiao Godbeasts would not dare to enter were those places where death was absolutely guaranteed.

Teleporting through space, blinking through time, diving into danger zones…in the end, even Violetjewel had been badly damaged. Finally, he had managed to escape into the Three Realms, but he was no longer able to flee any further. As for Violetjewel, the only part of it that remained intact and undamaged was its core quintessence, which remained very stable.

Ning sat there quietly, meditating as he bound the swords.

The seals within the Triult Swords were clearly much more complicated. He was only able to bind and unlock both the first and the second levels of it.

“Excellent.” Ning was secretly delighted.

After unlocking the first level, he found that each sword could be used as he pleased. After unlocking the second level, he found that the three swords could be combined into one!

After another two days, he finally managed to bind and unlock the third level as well.

“I’m at the same level which Swordfather Triult was at.” Ning continued to proceed to the fourth level. The more levels he could unlock, the more powerful the swords would become! Swordfather Triult was a fairly powerful Ancestral Immortal of Pangaea, but when viewed in the context of the vast primordial chaos, he was nothing more than an average figure. Even the likes of the Lord of All Things was nothing more than a minor figure amongst the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the universe.

“The fourth level is quite difficult. Still, I should be able to master it, given time.” After working on it for half a day, Ning began to frown. He expected that it would take several years for him to master it.

“Best to finish the process in the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance.”

……

The Crescent world.

The black-robed Ning was fishing alongside his daughter Brightmoon.

His main true body and his main Primaltwin were both located in the prisonworld. Only his backup Primaltwin remained here in the Crescent world.

“The young master hs already caught twelve. Brightmoon, you haven’t even caught a single one.” Autumn Leaf looked into the fish buckets, then smiled as she teased Brightmoon.

“How should I know what’s going on?” Brightmoon glared at her nearby father. “Father, are you cheating?”

Ning looked back at Brightmoon.

Brightmoon looked quite similar to Yu Wei, and she also liked to dress in black, just like her mother. Each time he saw his daughter, he couldn’t help but think of his senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei.

“Senior apprentice-sister…” Ning murmured to himself, “After the war, I’ll leave the Three Realms. The Three Realms is a small place, after all. There are no techniques here I can use to save you…but perhaps in the outside world there is.”

One reason he was going to leave the Three Realms was in order to find Vastheaven Palace. The other reason was because Ning still clung onto a thin strand of hope that he might one day find a way to rescue his wife. Saving his parents would be much easier, comparatively speaking; all he had to do was become a World God or Chaos Immortal. Rescuing his wife, however, would be incredibly difficult.

“Brightmoon, you’ve been watching me like a hawk. If I cheated, you would know, right?” Ning laughed as he spoke.

“You’ve mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water, Father. If you were cheating, how would a little girl like me be able to find out?” Brightmoon muttered.

“Ahaha…” Ning laughed. Whenever he was with his laughter, he couldn’t help but smile and laugh.

“Ji Ning, the final battle for karmic luck is about to again. Come to the Allclans Palace right away.” Subhuti’s voice suddenly rang out by Ning’s ears.

Next to Brightmoon, Ning suddenly froze mid-laughter.

“So…it has finally begun.” Ning’s breathing turned a bit ragged.

“Father?” Brightmoon looked towards Ning. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Let’s keep fishing,” Ning said with a smile.

……

The icy star located deep in the primordial chaos.

Whoosh. A white-robed Ning suddenly appeared in the skies above the icy star.

“It has finally begun.” Ning quickly flew teleported through the void and disappeared.

……

The Allclans Palace.

Swoosh.

A white-robed Ji Ning suddenly appeared at the gates of the Allclans Palace. As he appeared, all the major powers inside the palace turned to look at him. Because both his true body and his Primaltwin had entered the prisonworld and were completely separated from the outside world, there was no way for Ning to keep an incarnation present in the Allclans Palace.

“Ji Ning has arrived.” Daoist Three Purities rose to his feet. “Let us go. The Seamless Gate has already mobilized their army; let us mobilize ours.”

“Right.”

All the major powers had sent their true bodies, because they all knew that once the final battle for karmic luck began, the Endwar would definitely be nigh. Thus everyone, Fuxi and Shennong included, had all hastened back from the primordial chaos. In fact, even that stooped, masked figure dressed in gray robes had made his appearance.

Ning glanced at the masked, gray-robed figure. He mused to himself, “He should be Gonggong.”

Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, Houyi, Ji Ning, and the gray-robed figure walked at the head of the pack. Behind them walked Subhuti and the rest of the major powers.

The awe-inspiring group of major powers flew out of the Allclans Palace and into the air.

Ning stared downwards. He immediately saw that the Humanworld of Yu the Great was filled with teeming masses of Immortal armies. The armies stretched off into the horizon, like so many countless dragons that lay coiled throughout the world.

“All of the Immortal armies and Fiendgod armies of the Nuwa Alliance in the Three Realms have been summoned.” Daoist Three Purities let out a soft sigh. “Xuan Yuan, give the order.”

“Yes.”

Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan had been standing behind him. He immediately sent the mental order. “Mobilize.”

Rumble…

Utterly titanic tears in the sky began to appear in front of them. One Immortal army after another began to flood forward and soar towards the tears in the sky. The battlefield for this final battle for karmic luck would be the vast Void itself!

During the previous Realmwars, the various major powers had acted to keep the major worlds stable, making it possible for them to endure the earth-shaking devastation wrought by each side.

This final battle for karmic luck, however, involved simply far too many Immortals and Fiendgods. This represented nearly all of the Immortals and Fiendgods that existed in the entire Three Realms. If they were to battle on a single major world, that major world would most likely be instantly annihilated.

The distant Solar Star could be seen glowing with light, illuminating the darkness of the Void. However, the Void still remained a dark, gray place. It was simply too far from the Solar Star, making it seem rather dim.

The armies of the Seamless Gate were beginning to appear in the distant parts of the Void, joining together into multiple giant formations that were spread out throughout the area.

The Immortal armies of the Nuwa Alliance continued to flood out through their spatial rifts, moving into formation as had been previous ordained. Both sides stared at their enemies, separated from them by tens of millions of kilometers.

Behind each side’s armies were their major powers.

Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, Suiren, Shennong, Fuxi, Houyi, the masked figure, and the rest of the major powers were all standing behind their armies, staring at the enemy forces ahead of them.

“We’ve flourished for countless years.” Fuxi murmured softly, “In terms of major powers, Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and even Celestial Immortals…far more exist in this era of the Three Realms than existed during the Primordial Era.”

“This war is also far larger in scale than the war which ended the Primordial Era.” Daoist Three Purities nodded slowly as well.

“Xuan Yuan. It is now up to you.” Lord Buddha looked towards the nearby Yellow Emperor.

“Alright.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan nodded.

It was the Yellow Emperor’s responsibility for directing their armies in this battle.

As for Ning, he stared at their vast allied armies. As he scanned through their ranks, he saw so many faces he recognized. They included his fellow apprentices, such as senior apprentice-sister Empyrean Phoenix, Junwu, and Goldcrow. They also included Ning’s own subordinates, such as Ninefangs, Primelight, and Sunblaze. He also saw the Xia Emperor as well as the Empyrean Gods he had rescued from Undermoon Lake, such as the Seven Dragon Gods, Oddwitch, Eastvoid, Buyou, and Sin…

Ning’s eyes blazed with torch-light as he turned to stare at the vast army of the Seamless Gate.

He immediately saw Sword Immortal Evergreen…the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater…Fairy Deadgrass…True Immortal Gaudy…

“Darknorth, do you still remember him?” Lord Tathagata suddenly spoke out to Ning while pointing towards a distant figure.

Ning followed Tathagata’s finger and saw one of their formation commanders. This was a barefoot Bodhisattva who was dressed in yellow robes and whose face was pale and handsome.

“He is…?” Ning immediately felt that this person looked quite familiar.

“Bodhisattva Eastluck,” Lord Buddha said with a laugh.

“Eastluck?” Ning immediately remembered the man. No wonder he had looked familiar! When Ning had first gone to learn the [Five Treasures] sword-art which Daofather Fuju had left behind, he had encountered this spoiled prince, Eastluck. Ning had ordered Prince Eastluck to become a servant at an innhouse for three hundred years, and had commanded that he allow others to hit him and berate him without fighting back or talking back.

“Right. You sent him to work as a servant in the mortal world for three hundred years with the goal of tempering his arrogance. Instead, he came to truly understand his own heart! He ended up understanding the Dao and becoming a Celestial Immortal, then joined my Buddhist Sangha. His rate of advancement was simply astonishing…” Lord Buddha sighed with praise. “He truly has the heart of a Buddha, and my Buddhist techniques were perfect for him. If he was given enough time, he would stand a very good chance of becoming a major power as well. Alas, the war has already arrived.”

“Mm.” Ning felt quite pleased as well. He had never imagined that the spoiled Prince Eastluck who had provoked him would become Bodhisattva Eastluck.

Ning continued to stare at their forces.

There were quite a few people who he had ties to. There were also quite a few who had grudges against him. They were all scattered throughout the various Immortal and Fiendgod armies. At this point in time, they were nothing more than minor chess pieces in the Endwar. Ning, however, had carved out a path for himself via his cultivation. He had also been blessed by luck and opportunity, and as a result he now stood at the very peak of power. He was capable of truly influencing the entire course of the war.

“I wonder how many of them will be alive after the war.” Ning continued to quietly look at them all.

“Seamless Gate!”

Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s voice echoed through the endless Void, reverberating by the ears of every single Immortal and Fiendgod. “We once permitted you to enter our Three Realms and live amongst us. It’s one thing for you to be ungrateful, but how dare you once more stir up trouble and cause such a great war? You were even so despicable and shameless as to assassinate the family and friends of our major powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals. Now…you wish to fight? Do you think our side is afraid of you? Hah! You lost the war all those years ago, and you’ll lose the war this time as well!”

“Cut the crap.” A cold laugh rang out from amongst the major powers of the distant Seamless Gate. “The victors pronounce themselves kings while the losers are derided as bandits. If we win, we’ll become the masters of the Three Realms. Only one of us will be able to survive!”

“Then all of you can die.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s cold voice echoed through the Void.

“Kill!” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan gave the order.

“Kill!” “Kill!” “Kill!”

The entire Void seemed to be filled with these cries. The hundreds of millions of Immortals and Fiendgods in the many armies all roared furiously, causing the entire Three Realms to tremble.

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Chapter 14 – The Battle for Karmic Luck (1)

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 14 – The Battle for Karmic Luck (1)

The two titanic armies of Immortals and Fiendgods began to charge towards each other, smashing upon each other like a pair of massive anvils! Of course, the ones who charged forward were the ones skilled in close combat. There were quite a few ancient, massive formations that were located in the rear, throwing large-scale spells and attacks against the battlefield. The attacks blotted out the sun, causing even the Void to splinter and shatter.

Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan solemnly and carefully deployed his troops.

Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, Suiren, Shennong, Fuxi, Ji NIng, Houyi, and the masked man all stood at the back lines, watching the battle and keeping an eye on the actions of the major powers of the Seamless Gate. They were determined to prevent the Seamless Gate’s major powers from launching any sneak attacks!

Now that the final battle for karmic luck had begun, it was possible that the Seamless Gate’s major powers would suddenly launch the Endwar if they thought they were losing.

“The advantage lies with us right now,” Daoist Three Purities said in a cold voice. “We won’t be in a rush to launch the Endwar. The Seamless Gate, however, is different. They have a slightly weaker hand to play; once they completely despair of victory, they will launch the Endwar. Suiren, Ji Ning, the two of you are the quickest; when the time comes, it will be up to the two of you to stop the Seamless Gate’s sneak attacks.”

“Right.” Suiren nodded.

“Alright.” Ning nodded as well.

The two of them had both mastered the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique; if the Seamless Gate was to launch a sneak attack, they would be able to intercept it.

“Our side is beginning to sustain casualties already,” Tathagata said softly.

“Casualties are impossible to completely avoid.” Suiren’s eyes glowed with divine power, a desire to do battle radiating from his entire body. He said in a low voice, “Sometimes, victory can only be won when you pay a price in blood.” It had been Suiren who had led the human race from obscurity to power. He knew very well that an enormous price had been paid in blood and bones for the human race to rise to its current illustrious state.

Ning watched it all unfold silently.

“Senior apprentice-brother Sloppy…” Ning suddenly saw an unremarkable figure located in a distant ‘Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation’. It was his eldest disciple-brother of the Black-White College. 1

“I didn’t expect for him to become a Pure Yang True Immortal as well.” Ning sighed to himself. “If he hadn’t broken through, he might’ve been able to avoid this battle.”

The weaker disciples and family members of the various major powers, such as those who had merely become Celestial Immortals, were generally permitted not to take part in this battle. Ning’s own daughter Brightmoon was one example, and Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple Adept Woodpass was another. Both were Celestial Immortals, and there was no real point to them taking part in this battle. No matter what, the Nuwa Alliance still had to preserve its next generation, and so its lower-level geniuses were not required to take part in the battle. As for the likes of Autumn Leaf or Bluecliff Xiaoyu, who weren’t even Celestial Immortals, there was of course no point whatsoever for them to get involved.

However, for anyone who became an Empyrean God or True Immortal, things were different. The Sloppy Daoist and Bodhisattva Eastluck were all geniuses as well, but they were required to take part in this battle.

There would only be an exception if an extremely important member of the Nuwa Alliance absolutely insisted on protecting them. Someone like Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, Suiren, or Ji Ning could insist on protecting a particular Empyrean God or True Immortal. For example, if Ning’s daughter had theoretically become a True Immortal and Ning was unwilling for her to suffer any danger, the Nuwa Alliance would be willing to satisfy this personal request of Ji Ning’s.

Still, even major powers would only rarely make a request like this. Even if they did, they would at most request for one or two of their most dearly beloved family members to be protected.

Daofather Subhuti, for example, did not ask for a single one of his disciples to be protected! All of them had gone off to war!

“Those dazzling geniuses of yore have become nothing more than minor chess pieces on this battlefield.” Faced with such a deluge of Immortals and Fiendgods, Ning could keenly sense how irrelevant a single person’s power and ability was. Even most True Gods and Daofathers would feel powerless in the face of a war like this.

Both sides were using enormous formations, and the attacks from these formations surpassed the power of an ordinary True God or Daofather; the attacks were very close to the power of elite Daofathers!

The first time the two massive armies clashed, they battled for roughly an hour before both sides withdrew. This sort of battle caused both sides to use up Immortal energy and divine power at an absolutely staggering rate. Virtually every single Immortal and Fiendgod in the Three Realms was taking part in this battle, and so neither the Nuwa Alliance nor the Seamless Gate could possibly provide enough Immortal pills for them to replenish their energy. Thus, their only choice was to battle over and over again.

Both sides proceeded very carefully with each clash, doing their best to locate the enemy’s weak spots and tear them apart as much as possible.

On the very first day of battle, the Nuwa Alliance lost a total of 612 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, more than 3.2 million Celestial Immortals, and countless lower-level cultivators. As for the Seamless Gate, they lost 122 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, more than 1.89 million Celestial Immortals, and countless lower-level cultivators.

By the sixth day of battle, the Nuwa Alliance had lost a total of 925 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, more than 5.62 million Celestial Immortals, and countless lower-level cultivators. The Seamless Gate had lost a total of 531 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, more than 1 million Celestial Immortals, and countless lower-level cultivators.

By the nineteenth day of battle…

By the twenty-sixth day of battle…

Both sides continued to do their best to seek out the enemy’s weak points, and they proceed tentatively with each clash. Casualties were still fairly light, given that almost all of the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms were taking part.

The sixty-ninth day of battle. The battle this day was noticeably more vicious than on previous days. More Empyrean Gods and True Immortals died on this day than during all previous days combined. This was because on this day, both the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance had almost simultaneously revealed their bugbeast armies. The appearance of the dominating bugbeasts armies immediately destabilized the battlefield, resulting in large-scale massacres.

“Withdraw.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan gave the order.

Both the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate began to withdraw their troops. The mood on the battlefield was noticeably much grimmer than before, with countless Immortals and Fiendgods having frenzied looks in their eyes. All of the cultivators knew that there was nowhere to run; their only choice was to stake their own lives in an attempt to take the lives of their opponents.

“They actually have slightly more bugbeasts than we do.” Fuxi frowned.

“They gained the legacies of the Lord of All Things. It’s not that strange that they also gained his bugbeast techniques.” Daoist Three Purities said coldly, “Although they have slightly more bugbeasts than we do, things are still manageable.”

“Sword Immortal Evergreen…” Ning shook his head.

Ning had always been wanting to find an opportunity to kill this traitor.

However, no one would’ve imagined what had happened. Due to both sides suddenly adding bugbeasts into their armies, the balance between the two sides had been completely disrupted. Faced with critical danger, Sword Immortal Evergreen had actually made a sudden breakthrough! He had mastered one of the Heavenly Daos, causing a resonance that everyone was able to feel. Sword Immortal Evergreen had immediately swallowed Great Firmament Immortal pills to breakthrough to become a Golden Immortal of the Great Firmament (Daofather). After he made a breakthrough, he immediately suffered frenzied, concentrated attacks attacks from the Nuwa Alliance. He became a focal point…resulting in him being slain almost instantly!

Just a few seconds after becoming a Daofather, Sword Immortal Evergreen had been assaulted by more than ten mighty formations. He had died on the spot!

In this sort of massive battle, anyone who seemed particularly impressive or eye-catching would immediately draw enormous amounts of concentrated firepower on his or her head. Only someone close to the overlord level of power would be able to survive; anyone else would almost certainly perish.”

“Too many died in this battle.” Shennong sighed softly.

“There are no other choices.” Suiren suppressed the pain he felt in his heart.

Ning felt miserable as well.

This latest battle was the most vicious battle to date in the final war for karmic luck. As a result of this battle, the total number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals the Nuwa Alliance had lost had reached more than 8600! As for Celestial Immortals? Celestial Immortal casualties had surpassed a hundred million! Loose Immortals and Fiendgods? Forget about even trying to tell them.

Things weren’t much better for the Seamless Gate either. Although they were supported by many powerful golems, they were still the weaker side in this conflict. They had lost more than 6900 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals and more than 92 million Celestial Immortals. Their Loose Immortal casualties were also horrendous beyond count.

These simple, plain numbers represented a hideous loss of life amongst Immortals and Fiendgods!

Far, far too many had died in this battle…including many of Ning’s good friends.

“Old brother Buyou. Roughpeak…” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. More than ten of the Empyrean Gods he had rescued from Undermoon Lake had died just now, including Empyrean Gods Buyou and Roughpeak. He had been particularly close to those two.

“And Eastluck…” Ning sighed again.

That stubborn wastrel of a prince…after his temper had been tamed, he had revealed his tremendous talent and brilliance. He had skyrocketed in power after entering the Buddhist Sangha, causing even Lord Buddha to take notice of him. In this battle, Bodhisattva Eastluck had actually been given full control over a large formation. But…just now, that dazzlingly talented Bodhisattva Eastluck had also died in battle.

If he had been given enough time, it was entirely possible that the Buddhist Sangha would’ve gained yet another Buddha into their ranks.

Alas, this was destiny.

No matter how talented you were or how much of a genius you were, if you weren’t given enough time to grow you still wouldn’t become a ‘major power’. Dying in a titanic battle like this was like a single wave disappearing into the sea, leaving behind no traces of its passing.

Not even Lord Buddha had enough time to grieve for each individual person. Far too many were dying, and every single major power had to watch as quite a few of their beloved disciples perished. Almost every Empyrean God and True Immortal had taken on a major power as master, after all.

1. The legend of Nuwa repairing the heavens is one of the oldest legends of Nuwa, and was mentioned previously with regards to how Gonggong damaged the pillars of Heaven, causing the skies to collapse.

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Chapter 15 – The Battle for Karmic Luck (2)

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 15 – The Battle for Karmic Luck (2)

War was a cruel affair.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were all fighting in massive formations. Each of them commanded many Celestial Immortals and a sea of Loose Immortals and Fiendgods! Each time a formation was broken apart, a huge massacre would follow! Only a few lucky individuals would be able to survive, generally when allied Immortals and Fiendgods who were still in formation managed to scoop them up into estate-treasures.

Ji Ning’s eyes were bloodshot. When he saw all this happen, he couldn’t help but wish to charge into the fray himself as well.

However, he knew that he had to remain calm. Although the numbers indicated that the Nuwa Alliance’s losses were heavier than the Seamless Gate’s, that was because the Seamless Gate was losing golems as well! As more and more golems were destroyed, the Seamless Gate began to lose more and more Immortals and Fiendgods as well.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly relaxed slightly.

His Primaltwin had been in the Heavengazer Tower the entire time. Just now, it had finally mastered and unlocked the fourth level of the Triult Sword! As his Primaltwin was now also an Ancestral Immortal, he now used up a staggering amount of energy when he sped up time inside the tower. Thus, his Primaltwin now merely maintained a rate of thirty times the normal speed of time.

At twenty times the normal speed of time, the Primaltwin was able to maintain an energy equilibrium. At thirty times the normal speed of time, the Primaltwin would need to occasionally consume spirit pills in order to stay steady.

Roughly three months had passed in the outside world, but roughly eight years had passed in the Heavengazer Tower. Finally, the fourth level had been unlocked.

“Now, the Triult Swords will be slightly more powerful for me than they were for Swordfather Triult,” Ning mused to himself. To be able to increase his own power at such a critical moment in time was something which pleased Ning greatly.

The war for karmic luck continued. As more and more golems were destroyed, the Nuwa Alliance’s advantage became increasingly apparent. However, the Seamless Gate was quite resolute as well. They triaged their losses whenever necessary, determined to give the Nuwa Alliance no chance at all for a quick victory.

The battles continued, and the casualties continued to climb…

By the 179th day of battle, after roughly half a year had passed, the Nuwa Alliance had lost a total of more than twenty thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals! The Seamless Gate had also lost more than twenty thousand as well! If this was a battle between mortal armies, such terrible casualties could very well have caused a complete breakdown in moral, resulting in one side collapsing.

However, the two vast armies continued to fight with utter bloodlust.

……

“It’s about time.”

The Lord of All Fiends, Keeper Everwood, Daomother Devilhand, Daofather Bloodswan, Old Man Yuan, and the other major powers were all standing in the darkened skies, watching as the battle proceeded.

“Prepare for the Endwar,” the Lord of All Fiends sent mentally.

“The Endwar?” Everyone present felt their hearts clench.

Daomother Devilhand sent frantically, “Windfiend, we haven’t lost the war for karmic luck yet. Our losses in Empyrean Gods and True Immortals are equal to their losses. We can keep fighting.”

“We can, but can we win?” The Lord of All Fiends asked her.

Daomother Devilhand instantly fell silent.

The Lord of All Fiends swept them all with his gaze. He sent mentally, “Things weren’t so bad at the start, primarily because we had so many golems in storage! But more and more of the golems have been destroyed. Over the course of the past half year, we’ve lost nearly 90% of our golem army! The formations of the Nuwa Alliance, however, remain as powerful as ever. They completely suppress our formations in power. We aren’t a match for them in terms of mobilizing True Immortals and Empyrean Gods.”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate had to admit to this. The Nuwa Alliance’s formations had been left behind by Mother Nuwa herself. Their formations were superior, which meant that their Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were able to join together more effectively.

“Perhaps certain tactical schemes and traps can turn the course of battle, but the enemy commander is Xuan Yuan. His control over their armies is completely flawless; he doesn’t strive for brilliant victories, he only seeks to make no mistakes. He fights against us in a frontal, aboveboard manner, slowly draining our armies! He relies on his superiority in numbers and his superior formations rather than compete against us in tactical brilliance!” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head. “Traps and schemes might be useful against another commander, but we can forget about using them against Xuan Yuan when he’s commanding troops in such a manner.”

“But our karmic luck is weaker than theirs. The situation is disadvantageous to us.” The black-robed Godking spoke out in worry as well.

The Seamless Gate had lost many of the important Realmwars, resulting in their karmic luck weakening. They were at a disadvantage in this battle as well. If their karmic luck was to weaken even further, then during the Endwar it would be much more difficult for them to use certain formations to summon enough energy from Heaven and Earth. The Nuwa Alliance, however, would find it easier to summon and maintain those formations. It would be as if Heaven and Earth were both trying to assist the Nuwa Alliance.

“Yes, our karmic luck is a bit weaker right now…but if we keep fighting like this, we’ll probably lose all of our karmic luck,” the Lord of All Fiends said.

“Everwood?” Daomother Devilhand looked towards the silent Keeper Everwood.

“I agree with what Windfiend said.” Keeper Everwood said slowly, “No matter what…we have to start the Endwar at some point. Although it does seem as though we still have a chance at winning the war for karmic luck…that’s precisely why, if we attack now, we might be able to catch the Nuwa Alliance off their guard. If we wait until we completely lose the war, not only will we have even less karmic luck, the Nuwa Alliance will be fully prepared as well.”

“Fine.”

“Then let the last battle begin.”

“I haven’t had the chance to make the Nuwa Alliance pay for my child’s death yet.”

“The Three Realms was created by the collision of our Seamless Chaosworld and their Pangu Chaosworld. Why, then, have they always put on airs of being the ‘true masters of the Three Realms’? I’ve been pissed off about this for eons.”

“Fight!”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate cast aside all their doubts and worries. Only one path existed before them…that of battle!

The Lord of All Fiends sent mentally, “Daoist Yuan, don’t end up becoming soft-hearted when the battle starts.”

“Don’t worry.” Old Man Yuan chuckled calmly.

“Witherspike.” The Lord of All Fiends sent a mental message deep into the darkness of the Void, to a location where a dark-golden castle was located.

Inside the castle, Godfiend Witherspike was seated atop his throne as always. Smiling coldly, he made his reply. “Don’t worry, Allfiend…if I don’t intervene, your chances of winning the Endwar would be pathetically low. I’ll definitely take part.”

“Good.” The Lord of All Fiends looked calmly at the two vast armies battling before him. “Transmit my orders.”

All of the major powers of the Seamless Gate turned solemn, preparing to enter battle at a moment’s notice.

The battle between the Immortal armies turned increasingly vicious.

Ning and the other major powers of the Nuwa Alliance all held their breaths, unable to breathe as they saw so many familiar faces perish. They felt tremendous pain in their hearts, but all they could do was watch!

Although he felt pain, Ning was still continuing to focus on attuning to his own body. He continued to train in accordance with the [Solitary World God], seeking to find that spark of insight in his own body so that he could break through to become an Elder God. If he could become an Elder God…given how he had the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and [One True Body] divine abilities, he would become a half-step World God. In all the Three Realms, most likely only the mysterious, inscrutable Lord of All Fiends would be a match for him.

Alas…

Ning desperately wanted to make the breakthrough, and he had mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water, but mastering a Heavenly Dao was just one of multiple prerequisites for becoming an Elder God. In the Three Realms, quite a few True Gods had mastered Heavenly Daos, and a good number of them had been taught the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] technique. However, Suiren was the only one to break through to become an Elder God! From this, one could see how hard it was to become an Elder God.

Ning had been unable to find that spark of insight inside his body. Despite that, Ning had never given up on trying. He continued to search for that spark at all times.

“SNOW SCORPION!!!” Suddenly, an agonized cry rang out from behind Ning. It was Redsnow, and he had a frantic, heartbroken look on his face.

Redsnow had left his secluded meditation when Ning was fighting against the Primordial Ruinworld. He had already broken through to become a True God! Redsnow was staring at a distant Pangu Genesis Formation, one which had already been broken apart. Empyrean God Snow Scorpion had been inside that formation, and her body had been torn through by the sharp claws of an Envoy of All Things. She died on the spot.

“Snow Scorpion…” Ning felt pain in his heart as well. Seven Empyrean Gods had followed him from the Starseizer world…and one of the seven, Snow Scorpion, had just perished.

Compared to Ning, however, Redsnow felt far greater pain.

Redsnow and Snow Scorpion had been the right and left arms of Daoist Threelives. He would never be able to forget how the two had fought side-by-side for countless years. The other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under Daoist Threelives’ command had all slowly trickled away, with only a few remaining within the Starseizing Manor. Redsnow and Snow Scorpion had stayed behind, and the two had long ago grown close to each other. Although they didn’t formally join together to become Dao-companions, they had lived alongside each other for so long that they were like family.

“Damn.” Redsnow’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a streak of black light appeared in the distance. The streak of black light moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, charging straight towards the vast armies of the Nuwa Alliance. This alpha strike had been launched by the most terrifying figure of the Seamless Gate, the Lord of All Fiends. He was simply far too fast when he attacked…but the Nuwa Alliance had been watching vigilantly this entire time.

“KILL!” Daoist Three Purities’ face changed and he immediately let out a furious bellow!

“KILL!” All of the major powers had been keeping their growing rage suppressed. Now, they let it all explode outwards. True God Redsnow and the others had bloodlusted eyes as all of them instantly went berserk.

“ALLFIEND!” Ning and Suiren simultaneously let out angry howls.

The two of them were the fastest on the Nuwa Alliance. When faced with the sudden attack of the Lord of All Fiends, Ji Ning was actually the most suitable candidate for defending against it, thanks to his mastery of the [Five Treasures].

Ning immediately executed the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique as well as the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]! The divine tattoos appeared on his six enormous palms, filled with such power as to cause the entire Void to shudder. They were like six titanic stormclouds that swept through the skies, each palm surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Daos as they struck towards the armies of the Seamless Gate!

Ning knew very well that in terms of speed, he was still a bit inferior to the Lord of All Fiends. Thus, he launched an attack in order to force the Lord of All Fiends to withdraw his attack as he sent his six cloud-sized palms towards the army of the Seamless Gate! In this way, he could ensure that the Lord of All Fiends would have to withdraw his attack.

“Not good.”

“Careful.”

“Block it.”

The soldiers of the Seamless Gate stared ashen-faced at the six titanic stormclouds that were descending towards them. The Lord of All Fiends had only struck with a single sharp blade that moved like a streak of black light, but Ji Ning had struck out with six gigantic palms. How many of them would die to this strike?

“Hmph.” The Lord of All Fiends frowned. The black streak of light curved in midair, expanding to become hundreds of thousands of kilometers long as he swung it towards Ning’s palms.

BOOM!

A massive blast could be heard, and the incomparably powerful collision caused Ning to uncontrollably fly backwards a few steps.

The Lord of All Fiends’ body trembled momentarily as well. The weapon in his hand was a strange, black-colored weaver’s shuttle.

Sword Immortal Darknorth and the Lord of All Fiends had exchanged blows. Now, all the other major powers of the two alliances entered the fray as well. Some began to take command over Envoys of All Things, some began to take command over many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to assume mighty formations…

The battlefield quickly transformed from the final battle over karmic luck to the true Endwar!

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Chapter 16 – Guardian Formation

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 16 – Guardian Formation

“So powerful.” Ji Ning stared at the distant Lord of All Fiends, who continued to stand there in midair. “He really is an Elder God. If I only use the [Starseizing Hand], I’m at a complete disadvantage.” Even during the Primordial Era, the man had been able to save the Seamless Gate from the hands of a World God, Mother Nuwa. He was the person who the Nuwa Alliance feared the most.

“Assemble the formation.”

“Assemble the formation.”

“Assemble the formation.”

“Assemble the formation.”

Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Shennong, and Fuxi began to take command over the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on their side. Kuafu, Daoist Jade Cauldron, Xingtian, Exalted Celestial Carefree, and the rest of the True Gods and Daofathers quickly took command over their respective Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as well.

“The final battle!” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s voice rang out by the ears of every single Immortal and Fiendgod.

All of the Celestial Immortals immediately waved their hands, putting away the Loose Immortals and Fiendgods under their command. In the blink of an eye, the previously countless throngs of Immortals and Fiendgods began to dramatically sparsen and thin out. All of the weaker cultivators vanished, while the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals then instantly drew their tens of millions of Celestial Immortals into their estate-treasures and estate-worlds.

Almost all of the cultivators on the side of the Nuwa Alliance instantly disappeared, leaving behind only the True Gods, Daofathers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals.

Rumble…

Daoist Three Purities gathered a total of 3600 Pure Yang True Immortals around him. A flood of Immortal energy began to activate, drawing upon enormous amounts of natural energy. Given Daoist Three Purities’ abilities, the energy was instantly formed into an enormous formation. The illusory image of a titanic Daoist Three Purities appeared above the formation, and beneath the feet of the illusion was an enormous deep azure diagram. Four Chaos swords floated around the illusion, one in each direction, their auras filling the heavens.

“Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation!” The major powers of the Seamless Gate hurriedly took control over their formations as well, with some entering their Envoys of All Things. However, when they saw the enormous formation which the distant Daoist Three Purities had just created, they couldn’t help but feel their hearts quaver.

Mother Nuwa had left behind three ‘guardian formations’.

What did this term ‘guardian formation’ truly represent?

Mother Nuwa was worried about more alien Outsiders invading in the future, and so she spent enormous amounts of effort to develop these three guardian formations. Only then did she feel confident enough to leave.

During the war for the Deerchaser world, the Nuwa Alliance had put one of their three guardian formations on display, the Pangu Genesis Formation. However, that time they merely had True Immortal Jimin command the formation, and his formation only held a total of around five hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. It could be considered a simplified version of the Pangu Genesis Formation.

However, Daoist Three Purities was now serving as the core of a massive formation with 3600 Pure Yang True Immortals, forming a perfect Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation.

Every single movement he made was filled with the power of Heaven and Earth. He was every bit as powerful as a true first-tier Ancestral Immortal!

In addition to that, Daoist Three Purities had an extremely high level of insight into the Dao, and his Immortal Slaying Swords were tremendously powerful. One could imagine how deadly he was!

“Arise.” Lord Tathagata folded his hands together in prayer. Around him were exactly 5800 Empyrean Gods, and they too began to summon an overwhelming amount of natural energy from Heaven and Earth. A titanic body was quickly formed around them, but it still had the appearance of Tathagata.

This formation was the guardian formation known as the ‘Pangu Genesis Formation’.

It had been manifested through the power of 5800 Empyrean Gods, with Tathagata serving as the core. The Pangu God created by this formation was every bit as powerful as any Elder God! Given Tathagata’s insights into the Dao and formidable palm-arts, it could be said that he did not need to fear anyone.

“Assemble the formation.” Fuxi also took command over 3600 Pure Yang True Immortals to assemble a second Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation.

“Assemble the formation.” Shennong took control over 5800 Empyrean Gods to form a second Pangu Genesis Formation.

“Arise.” Exalted Celestial Carefree commanded a total of 2200 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, using them to form the ‘Origin of Duality Formation’.

Three mighty guardian formations.

The Pangu Genesis Formation used Empyrean Gods to form a Pangu God which was adept at close combat.

The Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation sued True Immortals to manifest tremendous amounts of Immortal energy that could be used to launch long distance attacks.

The Origin of Duality Formation was an extremely durable formation. It could be used on the battlefield to deal with the most dangerous situations. It could be placed wherever it was needed! It could launch long range attacks but could also tank attacks at close range!

These three guardian formations were incredibly powerful!

Even if alien Outsiders with the power of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals invaded, the Nuwa Alliance would be able to rely on these three guardian formations and their profound insights into the Dao to fight back!

The Nuwa Alliance had assembled into formations, but the Seamless Gate was doing the same. They had many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as well, and they also had their Envoys of All Things…but when they saw the three guardian formations of the Nuwa Alliance reveal their full power for the first time, they couldn’t help but quiver.

“Fiendlord, our karmic luck is weak while their karmic luck is strong. Our major powers are drawing far less natural energy than theirs!”

“Our karmic luck is weak and our formations are weak…the difference is simply enormous.”

“Fiendlord, what should we do?”

Everyone in the Seamless Gate was beginning to panic.

They knew that the Nuwa Alliance had three powerful guardian formations, but the Nuwa Alliance had never truly revealed them in the past! The versions they had previously seen were all just simplified versions. Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others had never personally taken command over those formations. Now that they had, the Seamless Gate was shivering in fear.

Forget about the Seamless Gate; even the highly experienced Godfiend Witherspike had an ashen look on his face.

“Prepare to fight.” Godfiend Witherspike was commanding his retainers and the alien Outsiders of the Primordial Ruinworld, and he was about to command them to charge forward…but upon seeing the enormous formations the Nuwa Alliance had just set up, he was dazed.

“This formation…” Godfiend Witherspike previously always had a calm look on his face, but he could no longer remain calm. Awestruck, he said, “Nuwa…she was just a local aboriginal, right? And she left the Three Realms shortly after becoming a World God. A new World God who didn’t have much tutelage…how the hell could she have created three formations of such power?”

“This is trouble.” The nearby Saber said in a low voice, “Master, these locals are much weaker than us, but that’s primarily because they are all just True Gods and third-tier Ancestral Immortals. Now that they’ve assembled these so-called ‘guardian formations’, they have become dramatically stronger. Look at Tathagata over there. That ‘Pangu God’ he’s created definitely has the power of an Elder God. Combined with his palm-arts…even if the two of us joined together, we wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.”

“Agreed.” Godfiend Witherspike nodded.

Tathagata was highly skilled in defense. Even in the Primordial Ruinworld, when the two had joined forces they had only been able to injure him, not capture him. Now that Tathagata had the body of a Pangu God, he could absolutely be described as invincible.

“These local ‘overlords’ all have incredible insights into the Dao. They had just one weakness…and its just been covered by their formations.” Saber frowned. “They are not easy to deal with.”

“I just KNEW that a chaosworld that gave birth to a World God wouldn’t be so easy to invade.” Godfiend Witherspike gritted his teeth. “Let’s watch for now and see how the Seamless Gate reacts. If they get completely manhandled, we’ll give up on our schemes and leave right away.”

“Agreed.” Saber nodded.

Although Godfiend Witherspike and Saber both had ultimate attacks that they had yet to use, when they saw the true power of the Nuwa Alliance they understood that even if they used everything they had, they still wouldn’t be able to take over the Three Realms. It was best to see what the Seamless Gate had up its sleeve first.

The Seamless Gate was panicking…but it had no options but to fight.

“Tathagata, Three Purities, Fuxi, and Shennong. Don’t worry about the formations they are in command of. All of you, go deal with the formations led by the other True Gods and Daofathers,” the Lord of All Fiends immediately instructed.

“Yes.”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate all heaved sighs of relief.

The Seamless Gate had quite a few major powers on its side as well, especially after Old Man Yuan had led the Four Ancestors of the River Source into their alliance. These major powers had two types of large formations of their own to use.

One of them involved three True Gods to take control over 3900 Empyrean Gods in the ‘Infinity Fiendgod Formation’.

The other involved six Daofathers taking control over 5100 True Immortals to form a ‘Ragnarok Formation’.

These were the two mighty formations which Keeper Everwood had come up with after spending countless years of effort. However, these formations were far weaker than the ones which Mother Nuwa had devised. The Ragnarok Formation, for example; it required six Daofathers and 5100 True Immortals, but the ‘Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation’ was stronger, even though it only required a single Daofather and 3600 True Immortals!

But of course…the more powerful the commander, the more powerful the formation. There was a huge gap in power between a formation commanded by Daoist Three Purities and a formation commanded by an ordinary Daofather.

Three Purities, Fuxi, Shennong, and Tathagata had each taken control over a formation. If the Seamless Gate’s Daofathers didn’t need to worry about those four formations, they felt much more confident in their chances.

“We can ignore the nastiest ones.”

“We have nine Envoys as well. We can at least give the Nuwa Alliance a good fight.”

“However…I wonder how the Fiendlord and the others are planning to deal with those terrifying formations of the Nuwa Alliance.” The major powers of the Seamless Gate continued to worry.

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Chapter 17 – A Host of Elder Gods

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 17 – A Host of Elder Gods

The Nuwa Alliance was not going to show any mercy!

As soon as the formations were established, they immediately began to press the attack.

“Kill!” Daoist Three Purities, in command of a Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation, pointed from far away, his aura towering to the heavens. Instantly, his four Immortal Slaying Swords joined together to form a single titanic sword that chopped downwards towards the grand army of the Seamless Gate. The tip of the giant sword instantly caused the Void to break apart, and the terrifying aura of power around the sword caused all the major power to feel their hearts grow cold.

“What a killer formation.” The faces of both Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were rather ashen.

Even Ji Ning sighed in shock upon seeing this.

Although his Primaltwin was a first-tier Ancestral Immortal and capable of unleashing tremendous power with the Triult Swords, it wouldn’t be like this. Daoist Three Purities had acquired the Immortal Slaying Swords far too long ago, and he himself had developed the sword-diagram linking the four together! Daoist Three Purities was also at a higher level of insight and understanding than Ning. Thus when he used the Immortal Slaying Swords, the power of his attacks could be described as truly unequalled in all the Three Realms.

“Three Purities!” A loud roar rang out.

A wooden ruler suddenly expanded in size, becoming so gigantic that it seemed to completely block out the skies themselves.

The gigantic sword collided with the massive wooden ruler, the collision completely obliterating the Void around them.

Daoist Three Purities stared at the distant violet-robed figure, then said in a cold voice, “Everwood, I’ve never been able to get a good handle on the Lord of All Fiend’s power. The other one I was unsure about was you. You really did hide your power very well. You’ve actually become an Elder God!”

Keeper Everwood’s face was turning slightly pale. The Immortal Slaying Swords were simply far too strong.

“No need to waste words.” Keeper Everwood immediately attacked once again.

“Kill!” Daoist Three Purities once more sent his Immortal Slaying Sword Formation to strike at Keeper Everwood.

Keeper Everwood was proficient in almost every aspect. Treasure forging, formation setting, attack, defense…he seemed to be skilled in everything. His talent was such that even Lord Demonheart felt great admiration for him. The two most dazzling figures in the Seamless Chaosworld had been the Keeper of the Everwood and the Lord of the Demonheart! Keeper Everwood simply didn’t have any taste for power. Despite that, after the battle that ended the Primordial Era he managed to make a breakthrough to become an Elder God.

He didn’t have any guidance from others, much like how Mother Nuwa wasn’t guided by anyone to become a World God. The same was true for Keeper Everwood. He simply had such a powerful foundation and many profound insights into many different fields. After being ‘baptized’ by the war that ended the Primordial Era, he ended up becoming an Elder God. He simply never revealed it to anyone else…but today, during the Endwar, he finally did.

And yet, Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Sword Formation’ was simply too savage. Even though Keeper Everwood was an Elder God, he was only able to just barely withstand the formation’s attack.

“Waterflame Apocalypse – Yin-Yang Birth and Destruction!”

Fuxi was in command of a Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation as well, and he immediately executed his strongest technique.

Rumble…

An area of a hundred million kilometers around him became instantly transformed into a sea of water and fire. Seemingly endless amounts of Arcane Moonwater and Eternal Kindlefire filled the emptiness of the Void, and the formations and Envoys of the Seamless Gate instantly felt as though their bodies had been trapped in quicksand. Their movements were all affected, and their speed was dramatically lessened.

In addition, the water and fire joined together to form a gigantic Taiji diagram in front of the Lord of All Fiends.

Water was used to represent Yin, while fire was used to represent Yang.

Water represented life, fire represented destruction.

In his previous life, Fuxi was Elder God Fuxi, after all. He was born with mastery over the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. In this life, he had worked hard to understand the Heavenly Dao of Life, so as to be able to recover his memories from his past life. Thus, he was quite talented in both of these Heavenly Daos, and he had of course long ago mastered the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang.

This was why the true killer technique of his ‘Waterflame Apocalypse Formation’ was this technique, the ‘Yin-Yang Birth and Destruction’ technique. If he was to master the Heavenly Daos of Life and Destruction, the power of this attack would increase dramatically. Even now, thanks to the power of the Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation, this technique possessed extraordinary power.

“Eh?” The robes of the Lord of All Fiends fluttered, causing a series of concentric ripples to spread out around him and defend against the attacking Taiji diagram.

“Kill!” Shennong, in control of a Pangu Genesis Formation and protected by a Pangu God, also flew forward and attacked the Seamless Gate. He had mastered the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and was exceedingly powerful in close combat as well.

“Kill.” Suiren no longer held back his overwhelming powerful aura either. He completely unleashed his Elder God aura as he charged towards the Seamless Gate.

“He’s an Elder God! Suiren is an Elder God!”

“He’s actually an Elder God?”

The Seamless Gate was stunned. The only ‘natural’ Elder God on their side was the Lord of All Fiends. The other one was Keeper Everwood, a genius who spent countless years cultivating before also reaching that level. As the Seamless Gate saw it, advancing from True God to Elder God was incredibly difficult. There were no techniques that could teach someone to make this breakthrough, after all. The only reason why Keeper Everwood had been able to do so was because he had such a deep, well-rounded foundation in every single aspect of the Dao. They felt that the Nuwa Alliance wouldn’t be able to accomplish the same…but they were wrong.

“Kill.” The stooped, gray-robed figure suddenly straightened his body, lifting his head up and revealing a heavily bearded face. His eyes were filled with boundless killing intent.

His aura towered to the heavens as he charged towards the Seamless Gate.

“That’s Gonggong.”

“Elder God Gonggong. He actually didn’t die?!” The Seamless Gate instantly recognized him. Elder God Gonggong had displayed his might during the war that ended the Primordial Era, after all. But everyone in the Three Realms had believed Gonggong to be dead. It was said that he had been slain by an alien Outsider, and he hadn’t shown himself in countless years. In the end, the Seamless Gate came to truly believe that Elder God Gonggong had perished.

No one imagined that he was still alive!

“First Suiren, now Gonggong. The Nuwa Alliance actually has two Elder Gods.”

“Kill!”

Hatchet in hand, Houyi no longer held back. His aura completely burst forward, sweeping through Heaven and Earth with as much power as the auras of Gonggong and Suiren.

He was the most dazzlingly, peerlessly talented figure of the Primordial Era. After he gained Mother Nuwa’s [Unbound Elder God Visualization], he had trained to become an Elder God as well. In the entire Nuwa Alliance, only two figures had been able to train in the [Unbound Elder God Visualization] to become Elder Gods. The first was Suiren, while the second was Houyi.

“Die, Godking.”

Thirty-six icy lotuses had appeared in the air around Ning, and they were freezing all the opponents around him. Fuxi’s ‘Waterflame Apocalypse Formation’ focused on large-scale attacks, which was why it wasn’t that powerful in terms of constricting any specific individual. Ji Ning, however, was a first-tier Ancestral Immortal, and his Frozen Lotuses of the Thirty-Six Heavens covered a much smaller region, allowing for much more concentrated power than Fuxi’s formation.

Wherever the icy lotuses flew past, snow fluttered about. Ning wielded Violetjewel in his hand, sending his sword-ki flying everywhere and bringing terror to the Seamless Gate.

“Ancestral Immortal? A first-tier Ancestral Immortal?” As Godfiend Witherspike watched from afar, his face instantly changed.

“He’s actually a first-tier Ancestral Immortal.” Saber was shocked as well.

“The Nuwa Alliance’s foundation is far too deep. Weren’t they supposed to have no Elder Gods at all? How the hell did they gain three Elder Gods and an Ancestral Immortal on top of those guardian formations!?” Godfiend Witherspike felt true pressure now. The three guardian formations had only made him feel that any assault would be unlikely to succeed, but now he felt as though he was staring at a steel plate that was waiting for him to kick.

“Wait.” Godfiend Witherspike growled, “Let’s keep waiting. We probably aren’t strong enough to fight back against either side. The only thing we can do is wait and hope that the Seamless Gate is strong enough to fight back. If both sides are badly injured…perhaps the Seamless Gate will deal the Nuwa Alliance a heavy-enough blow that I’ll have a chance.”

Saber nodded slowly.

In the primordial chaos, taking advantage of a chaotic scene to gain benefits for one’s self was an extremely common tactic. It was far too difficult to crush someone with overwhelming power! Before this, Godfiend Witherspike had thought that there would be no way the Three Realms could resist his ultimate attack, but now he saw that he had been far too arrogant.

The Nuwa Alliance’s morale was skyrocketing. Their formations were incredible, and they had multiple Elder Gods who had just shown themselves.

“Jueming, why haven’t you entered a formation yet?”

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had all entered into their respective formations, taking command over their Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. The weaker Daofathers would join together in groups of four to five and jointly lead a formation. Daoist Three Purities was able to easily command a Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation by himself, but ordinary Daofathers wouldn’t be able to unleash the formation in its perfect state. If two or three other Daofathers were to join in, they would be able to work together to unleash the full power of the formation.

“Amitabha.” Buddha Jueming folded his hands together in prayer.

BOOM!

A terrifying aura that was every bit as powerful as the auras given off by Ji Ning, Suiren, Gonggong, and Houyi instantly blasted through the Void. Buddha Jueming slowly walked through the Void, each step causing space to twist and distort as he walked towards the Seamless Gate. “Vile Seamless creatures, you should be sent into the endless hells.” His eyes no longer held any mercy in them at all, only adamantine rage.

“Jueming is also an Elder God?” The major powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance were all shocked as well.

“Good!” Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, Fuxi, and Suiren all revealed looks of joy as well.

“As I thought.” Ning smiled upon seeing this.

The grand army of the Nuwa Alliance charged straight towards the Seamless Gate. They were led by Gonggong, Houyi, Ji Ning, Jueming, and Suiren – four Elder Gods, one Ancestral Immortal. In addition to them, there was also the formation-commanding Daoist Three Purities, Fuxi, Shennong, and Tathagata. All of these terrifying figures came surging forward, bringing utter terror to the hearts of the Seamless Gate.

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Chapter 18 – A Bloody Battle

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 18 – A Bloody Battle

The overlords of the Seamless Gate all had ashen looks on their faces.

They had made extensive and careful preparations for this fight, but the might which the Nuwa Alliance had just displayed was just too strong. Five Elder God-level combatants had just appeared out of nowhere! Just one or two, the Seamless Gate would’ve been able to deal with, but now? They had instantly been pushed to the edges of the cliff.

“Ugh.” Old Man Yuan let out a sigh, then sent mentally, “Allfiend, I’ll do what I promised I would do. However, there’s no way I can change the overall situation by myself. Leave Gonggong to me. Deal with the rest yourself.”

Swoosh.

Old Man Yuan transformed into a streak of light, flying straight towards Gonggong.

Elder God Gonggong’s eyes were filled with murder as he stared at Old Man Yuan. He roared angrily, “Daoist Yuan, you traitor…die!”

“Who will kill me? You?” Old Man Yuan’s horsetail whisk struck out, causing countless strands of white hairs to flew towards Elder God Gonggong.

Godfiend Witherspike and the one-armed Saber watched from the sidelines. Right at this moment, the Lord of All Fiend’s voice rang out by their ears. “The situation looks grim. Do you plan to give up or do you plan to help us out?”

“Help out. Of course we will help out,” Godfiend Witherspike replied.

“Houyi, Ji Ning, Jueming, Suiren. Choose two of these four,” the Lord of All Fiends sent.

Godfiend Witherspike and Saber immediately made their decision.

Ji Ning? He was too hard to deal with.

Suiren? He actually also had the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]. He was also too hard to deal with.

Houyi? Intriguing. They hadn’t fought against him either.

Jueming? He’d hidden his true power quite well.

“Leave Houyi and Jueming to us,” Godfiend Witherspike replied. The two transformed into streaks of light, charging towards the Nuwa Alliance. These two had battled countless times in the primordial chaos; to exchange blows with Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals was a commonplace event and they felt no pressure whatsoever. Still…since they had chosen to get involved in this fight, they still had to give it their best shot.

“I’ll go stop Shennong,” Daofather Ink Bamboo sent, then moved to engage.

“Be careful.” The Lord of All Fiends sighed quietly to himself.

After the battle that destroyed the Primordial Era, the Seamless Gate had given birth to overlords of its own. Bloodswan and Ink Bamboo were two examples! As for Everwood, he had actually broken through to become an Elder God. Of course, all these things were kept highly secret. Daofather Ink Bamboo had always been a very low-key figure. Long ago, he had followed the Lord of the Demonheart as a loyal retainer. Later, when the black-robed Godking became the nominal leader of the Seamless Gate, he had willingly carried out tasks on the Godking’s behalf.

No one realized that this loyal, devoted servant, this ordinary Daofather, would actually come to possess the power of an overlord as well.

Tathagata did so by mastering the Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth! Fuxi had mastered the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang!

But Daofather Ink Bamboo was different!

He had grafted his insights into the Seamless Chaosworld’s Heavenly Daos of Earth and Water with the Three Realms’ Heavenly Dao of Wood, joining them together into a seamless whole. This allowed him to reach an utterly inconceivably high level of insight into the Dao of Wood. Much like how Ning had reached a shocking level of power thanks to his skill in the Dao of the Sword, Daofather Ink Bamboo’s mastery over the Dao of Wood had allowed him to become an overlord as well.

Swoosh. The skies became filled with giant stalks of bamboo, all of which reached out towards Shennong’s Pangu Genesis Formation.

“Bloodswan, Devilhand, the two of you go deal with Tathagata,” the Lord of All Fiends instructed.

“Alright.” Daomother Devilhand and Daofather Bloodswan didn’t hesitate at all, immediately charging towards Tathagata. If they had to fight against Tathagata by themselves, they truly wouldn’t have felt any confidence at all.

The reason why Daofather Ink Bamboo dared to fight Shennong by himself was partially because Shennong wasn’t that skilled in close combat. In addition, Daofather Ink Bamboo was skilled in defense!

Whoosh. While Daofather Bloodswan flew forward, a second body suddenly appeared next to him.

There were now two of him; one in black robes, the other in blood robes. Both bodies were at the overlord level of power. Daomother Devilhand was by his side as well, and the three of them jointly struck out towards Tathagata.

As for the Lord of All Fiends, his divine body suddenly split apart into two different bodies. The two Lord of All Fiends separately attacked Ji Ning and Suiren!

Although all this took time to described, it actually all occurred in an instant.

Keeper Everwood, Old Man Yuan, Godfiend Witherspike, Saber, Daofather Ink Bamboo, Daofather Bloodswan, Daomother Devilhand, and the Lord of All Fiends attacked in unison.

Keeper Everwood, Godfiend Witherspike, Saber, and the Lord of All Fiends were actual Elder Gods!

Old Man Yuan and Daofather Ink Bamboo were both extremely skilled in defensive techniques, guaranteeing that even though they were somewhat weaker they would still be able to hold on in the face of enemy attacks. This was much like how Tathagata had been able to hold on for a long period of time against Godfiend Witherspike, Saber, and an entire host of Outsider major powers.

When Daofather Bloodswan’s two bodies joined together with Daomother Devilhand, they formed quite a formidable team.

……

“Die…all of you can go die…” Elder God Gonggong’s long hair fluttered about as he smashed at Old Man Yuan with his staff in a berserk manner.

Old Man Yuan continuously focused on defense, blocking the attacks.

“You should know that I hate traitors like you the most,” Elder God Gonggong bellowed.

“Hmph.” Old Man Yuan just smirked calmly, not deigning to respond.

……

“I heard you are pretty good with the bow.” Godfiend Witherspike stood there in midair, chuckling as he faced the hatchet-wielding Houyi. “Why don’t you show me?”

“You think you merit it?” Houyi suddenly charged forward, his aura bursting with power as he raised his hatchet up high.

This scene caused Godfiend Witherspike to feel a slight hint of terror. He felt as though he was facing a terrifyingly powerful World God who was chopping down at him with an axe. Still, Godfiend Witherspike was able to remain quite calm. His tail rapidly expanded in size as well, striking out like a giant whip that lashed out at the upraised hatchet.

BOOM!

Godfiend Witherspike was knocked slightly backwards, while Houyi’s body came to a halt as well.

“Quite powerful.” Godfiend Witherspike chuckled, then let out a sigh. “This is a bit interesting. Your heartforce really is strong; I nearly succumbed to your blow just now. Fortunately, I’m quite experienced myself.”

“Hmph.” Houyi just advanced coldly, continuing to swing his hatchet.

……

The one-armed Saber was battling against Buddha Jueming.

A dazzlingly brilliant golden palm came flying through the air, and it knocked Saber backwards. Saber’s eyes gleamed as he stared at Buddha Jueming, a hint of excitement in his gaze. “Your Three Realms has the so-called ‘Buddhist Sangha’. I’ve tangled with your Buddhist overlord, ‘Tathagata’. Your palm-arts are quite similar to his, and even your palms are like top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures. However, your palm-strikes are even more powerful than his!”

“Only because I have strong enough divine power.” Buddha Jueming replied calmly. His eyes were ice cold, and he continued to slam down with his mighty palms.

The Buddhists were all skilled in palm-arts. After Jueming became a Buddha, Lord Tathagata had naturally imparted many Buddhist secret arts and divine abilities to him. Buddha Jueming had meditated on these secret arts, then joined those insights to his [Nine Elements Annihilation]. He had spent countless years in order to develop a palm-art divine ability that was every bit as strong as Lord Tathagata’s; in fact, in terms of raw explosive power, it was actually superior! Now that he was an Elder God, this set of palm-arts allowed him to unleash the power of a truly elite Elder God. His only weakness was that his insights into the Dao weren’t as profound as Tathagata’s, making his palm-arts less perfect. Despite that, his advantage in raw power as an Elder God made it so that when he used this palm-art, his strikes were truly devastating!

For now, even Saber was kept at a disadvantage.

……

Daoist Three Purities commanded his Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation to use his Immortal Slaying Swords to attack the Elder God ‘Keeper Everwood’, who found it difficult to endure his blows.

Lord Tathagata commanded his Pangu Genesis Formation to fight against Daofather Bloodswan and Daomother Devilhand, who also were just barely able to hold on.

Shennong was in command of another Pangu Genesis Formation, but Daofather Ink Bamboo had managed to tie him down.

Suiren’s strikes with his wooden staff were filled with incredible, extraordinary power. Each time he struck out with his staff, an ferocious burst of flame would erupt with absolutely devastating might. Even the Lord of All Fiends was forced to dodge, rather than take those attacks head-on.

“Allfiend, is dodging all you can do? Is that all you dare do?” Suiren roared angrily. He was quite fast, but the Lord of All Fiends was even faster.

“If we were fighting one-on-one, of course I’d fight you head-on. Right now, I only have part of my full power; a head-on fight isn’t in my favor.” The Lord of All Fiends flew about unpredictably, continuously circling around Suiren and ensuring that Suiren wouldn’t dare to act rashly. Although he had divided his body in two, causing both bodies to be slightly weaker than his normal body, each body could still just barely be considered as having the power of an elite Elder God. If Suiren acted rashly, he would still be in danger of dying.

But of course, only someone like the Lord of All Fiends, the physically fastest combatant in all the Three Realms, would dare to divide his body in half at a time like this.

Ning was facing off against a Lord of All Fiends as well.

“Lord of All Fiends, you split your body in two? I imagine that each body only has a portion of your true might.” Ning shook his head. “You underestimate me too much.”

Whoosh.

A black-robed Ning suddenly appeared next to the white-robed Ning.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The white-robed Ning charged towards Daofather Ink Bamboo, while the black-robed Ning charged towards Daomother Devilhand.

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Chapter 19 – Executed

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 19 – Executed

“Damn.” The Lord of All Fiends’ face turned pale. His body surged forward like a gust of wind, quickly flying towards the black-robed Ji Ning. He knew exactly how formidable Ji Ning’s true body was; it was as tough as a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure and was simply unbreakable. By comparison, the Primaltwin should be much easier to deal with, as it had a much more fragile body.

“Go.” The black-robed Ning turned his head to stare icily at him.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three streaks of sword-light flew out from his forehead. Those three streaks of sword-light moved in a unpredictable, ghostly fashion, and all three of them surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. They swirled around the region, completely halting the Lord of All Fiends in his tracks.

“Eh?” After testing those swords out, the Lord of All Fiends immediately felt a headache impending. Ji Ning was a first-tier Ancestral Immortal who was controlling Chaos-level swords that moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. The swords flew around Ning like a circle, with Ning being the center of that circle. They only had to defend against any attacks that drew close to that center, and if the Lord of All Fiends wanted to breach their defenses he would have to attack much faster than they moved. But…there were three of those swords!

And that wasn’t the worst part of it!

The worst part of it was that thirty-six frozen lotuses had appeared around the area, spinning about and releasing streams of frozen energy, dramatically impacating the Lord of All Fiends. Even if he was at the peak of his power, he would still find it difficult to penetrate Ning’s defenses.

In truth, Ning had yet to reveal his Blackcloud Chains. Once he did, his defenses would become absolutely and completely imperveious.

“Where the hell did he acquire this set of swords? How can they be so powerful?” The Lord of All Fiends tried multiple times to break through Ning’s defenses, only to discover how formidably sharp and fierce the set of three swords was.

Swoosh.

He wasn’t able to stop the black-robed Ning, which meant the black-robed Ning was free to continue charging towards Daomother Devilhand.

As for the white-robed Ning, he moved forward at high speed using his Ninehorn Lightning Serpent.

“I have no choice but to go stop his true body instead.” The Lord of All Fiends moved at maximum speed towards the white-robed Ning. The two were originally quite far away from each other, but the distance between the two could be visibly seen shrinking! Before the white-robed Ning had reached Daofather Ink Bamboo, the Lord of All Fiends had once more appeared before him, stopping him in his tracks.

“You can’t stop me.” Ning laughed coldly, “The Seamless Gate is doomed to lose for sure.”

The Lord of All Fiends couldn’t help but sigh to himself as well. Indeed. Upon discovering how many terrifying overlords the Nuwa Alliance had, he had wracked his brains for solutions and had gone so far as to split his own body in half, so that he could stop the two fastest enemy overlords, Ji Ning and Suiren.

And yet…in the end, it wasn’t enough. Ji Ning had a second body of his own, one which most likely also had the combat power of an elite Daofather!

That second body was the final straw that broke the camel’s back!

The Seamless Gate simply had no more extra power it could squeeze out.

“Should we retreat right away?” This thought flashed past the Lord of All Fiend’s mind.

If they were to retreat now…he was fast, but it would still take him time to rescue everyone one-by-one. If the Nuwa Alliance seized the opportunity to press the assault, the Seamless Gate would definitely lose a large number of Immortals and Fiendgods, but it would only make up a small fraction of their total forces. If things went on for too long, they would probably lose even more.

“Not yet. The reasons behind this war have yet to be revealed,” the Lord of All Fiends mused to himself.

To this very day, neither side truly understood what the cause of this war was. In addition, the alien Outsider known as Godfiend Witherspike still had yet to display his true power. Everything still seemed quite odd. The Lord of All Fiends wanted to watch and wait for a bit longer.

Boom…

The Daofathers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals continued to battle in the Void. One of the Infinity Fiendgod Formations of the Seamless Gate broke apart, and the three True Gods and 3900 Empyrean Gods inside of it were thrown into a state of chaos. The Nuwa Alliance naturally seized the opportunity to butcher them!

Whenever a formation was broken apart, a large-scale massacre would immediately occur.

The longer the Endwar continued, the more major powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals would die.

“Die.” The black-robed Ning stared off into the distance.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Two crystalline swords and a golden sword came together, forming a triangle as they shot towards Daomother Devilhand and Daofather Bloodswan’s two clones. The three of them were currently battling Lord Tathagata, and as Ning’s three swords flew towards them, the divine runes atop the swords began to manifest and glow. The three swords quickly began to transform, melting together like mist to form a single semi-translucent golden sword.

Once the semi-translucent golden sword appeared, a faint aura of sword-ki manifested around it for a million kilometers, causing everyone on the battlefield to feel astonished.

That sharp aura of light was simply too ferocious. It was completely comparable to that of the Immortal Slaying Swords of Daoist Three Purities! Daoist Three Purities’ Immortal Slaying Swords were capable of causing tremendous difficulties for even a defensive specialist like Keeper Everwood.

Ning’s ‘Triult Sword Formation’ flew straight towards Daomother Devilhand and Daofather Bloodswan.

“Not good. Flee!” The faces of Daomother Devilhand and Daofather Bloodswan both changed. They could tell that Ning was specifically targeting the two of them.

“Don’t even think about leaving.” Lord Tathagata’s palms came crashing down upon them, seeking to bar their path.

However, Daomother Devilhand and Daofather Bloodswan were in no mood to fight him any longer. When they saw the power of the Triult Swords soaring towards them, they instantly knew that this wasn’t something they could fight back against. Right now on the field of battle, the most offensively powerful attack as the Immortal Slaying Swords of Daoist Three Purities’, who was in command of a Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation. The second was the terrifying unknown sword-formation which the black-robed Ji Ning had just unleashed.

“Flee in separate directions.” Daofather Bloodswan’s two bodies and Daomother Devilhand fled in three completely different directions.

Swish.

The semi-translucent golden sword continued to fly after Daomother Devilhand! It was best to pull up grass by the roots. Daomother Devilhand didn’t have any clones; if she could be killed, she would be permanently slain.

“Come, then!” The fleeing Daomother Devilhand understood what was happening. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to outrun that terrifying sword, and so she turned, a calm look on her face, to watch as the sword-light descended upon her.

She was dressed in violet robes, and she was as beautiful as any fairy maiden.

However, she was the most terrifyingly devil of the entire Seamless Chaosworld. She calmly struck out with her jade-white arms, using them to block the incoming streak of sword-light.

“No…” Daofather Devilhand had fled far off into the distance. When he saw this happen, his face changed.

“Devilhand” Keeper Everwood grew frantic as well.

When the Lord of All Fiends saw this, all he could do was sigh softly.

BOOM!

She managed to block the blow. Her twin palms, covered by a pair of Chaos gloves, had actually managed to block the semi-translucent golden sword. However, the sword-strike had carried far too much power within it. The force of the collision instantly caused Daomother Devilhand’s body to quiver, and she couldn’t help but vomit out a mouthful of blood. In the next instant…the semi-translucent golden sword hacked down again in an unpredictable, ghostly manner.

Before she died, Daomother Devilhand was able to strike out a total of eight times, blocking eight of those sword-attacks. On the ninth sword attack, the sword-light swiped past her neck…and as it did so it completely annihilated the rest of her body. Her body evaporated like a snowflake in the sun, completely disintegrating into dust.

The difference in power was simply too obvious.

This scene caused terror to fill the hearts of all the major powers of the Seamless Gate.

Did she just die?

That was Daomother Devilhand! A legendary woman who was known as a devil amongst devils in the Seamless Chaosworld. This legendary figure who had once exchanged blows against Mother Nuwa herself…had died, just like that?

But when they thought of the sword-formation Ji Ning had just displayed, every member of the Seamless Gate shook in fear.

Too powerful.

In raw power alone, perhaps only the Immortal Slaying Swords could match it. Technically, the Immortal Slaying Swords might be a bit more powerful, but the important thing was that Ji Ning’s ‘Triult Swords’ were much faster than the Immortal Slaying Swords! The Triult Swords were being used to display Ji Ning’s sword-arts, the most supreme sword-arts of the Three Realms. After twenty thousand years of polishing, Ning’s sword-arts had reached a truly inconceivable level.

“Fiendlord, we can’t hold on any longer.”

“We can’t hold.”

The Seamless Gate had less karmic luck to begin with, making it so that their formations were able to summon significantly less natural energy from Heaven and Earth. Daomother Devilhand’s death, combined with the fact that no one was able to bar the path of the black-robed Ning, caused the morale of the Seamless Gate to dramatically plummet. Two more of their formations were broken in quick succession, resulting in the deaths of the nine True Gods/Daofathers and ten thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in them. It was an absolute massacre…and now, Ji NIng was chasing after Daofather Bloodswan. The situation was growing grimmer and grimmer.

“Have we lost, just like that?” The Lord of All Fiends truly didn’t wish to accept this.

He had known right away that Devilhand was going to die.

From the moment that he had been unable to stop the black-robed Ji Ning from advancing, he had known that Daomother Devilhand was definitely going to perish. However, the degree to which things were worsening was causing the Lord of All Fiends to grow frantic.

“What exactly is the cause of all this mayhem?” The Lord of All Fiends suddenly detected a subtle ripple of power. His face instantly changed. “This is…”

……

The Nuwa Alliance’s morale was skyrocketing even further!

They had five new overlords, the three guardian formations, and superior karmic luck. Although the Seamless Gate had gone all out to recruit new allies, bringing Old Man Yuan and the two Elder Gods of the Primordial Ruinworld into their fold, in the end…this short initial clash had already brought the Seamless Gate to the breaking point.

Lord Tathagata, Ji Ning, and the others sought to widen the scope of the massacre and slay even more of them. But right at this moment…

Rumble…an extremely minute ripple of power spread out.

Every single major power, Empyrean God, and True Immortal on the battlefield could sense it, because the source of this ripple came from the Heavenly Daos. The ripple quickly began to grow more powerful, causing all of the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realm to begin to shudder.

“You wish to stop me? Three Realms, you aren’t able to do so!” A furious roar rang out in every single part of the Three Realms, causing all of the Heavenly Daos to shake.

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Chapter 20 – Escaping the Three Realms

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 20 – Escaping the Three Realms

“That voice…it sounded like the voice of the heavens themselves.” The countless denizens of the Three Realms, human and monster alike, stared questioningly at the skies. The weaker ones were confused, while the powerful cultivators and Diremonsters were stunned.

As for the two battling armies in the Void, their experts and major powers were similarly shocked.

“Is that…” Ji Ning and the others all felt fear in their hearts.

Rumble…

The entirety of the Three Realms was trembling. Heaven and Earth were thundering and shaking. Even the Void itself was booming! It was as though some invisible creature was attempting to tear the Three Realms asunder. This surge of power caused the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance, who had held the upper hand in the Endwar thus far, to have a bad feeling.

“Ignore him. Wipe out the Seamless Gate first,” Daoist Three Purities barked.

“Wipe them out first.”

The black-robed Ning pointed, causing the semi-translucent golden sword to rapidly swing towards the distant army of the Seamless Gate. The sword energy stretched out a million kilometers, aimed at a Ragnarok Formation that was formed by six Daofathers and 5100 True Immortals. Rings of black light swirled around the Ragnarok Formation as it did its best to defend.

Slash! The first strike of the semi-translucent golden sword nearly destabilized the Ragnarok Formation.

Stab! The Triult Sword Formation launched yet another attack, this one using the ‘Blood Drop Stance’ of the [Brightmoon] sword-art and striking with extraordinary speed.

Boom!

The entire Ragnarok Formation completely blew apart. Sword-ki sliced everywhere, causing the majority of the True Immortals in the formation to be reduced to dust. The six Daofathers and the remainder of the True Immortals sought to flee, but the semi-translucent golden sword then spun about, transforming into an enormous black hole that drew in and ground to death all of the Immortals and Fiendgods in the area. Some attempted to hide in their Immortal estates, but even those estates were ground to tiny pieces. Of the thousands of Immortals, only eight were able to survive, all of which were only able to do so because they had extraordinarily powerful estate-worlds or Immortal estates on them.

Three of the eight were Daofathers while five were True Immortals.

“Come here.” The black-robed Ning flew over towards them, waving his hand and collecting all eight of those treasures.

“Ashes to ashes…dust to dust.”

Lord Tathagata the Buddha, in command of a Pangu Genesis Formation, also advanced through the Void as he charged towards the Seamless Gate’s army. The mighty formations of the Seamless Gate quickly began to flee. Although these formations had many Immortals and Fiendgods inside of them, how could they possibly fight Lord Buddha head-on? A Ragnarok Formation had been destroyed by Ji Ning with just two blows!

“You shall BREAK!!!!” A furious roared echoed throughout the entire Three Realms, causing the infinite Void to shudder and shake.

RIIIIIIIIIP!!!!!!!!!!!

A blinding golden light suddenly appeared at the end of the distant Void. It was like a giant golden tear in the emptiness of space. Although the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate were in the middle of a giant battle, they couldn’t help but pay attention to what had just happened. The rift of golden light was at least a hundred million kilometers long, and it seemed to very nearly tear apart the entire Three Realms.

Deep inside the rift of golden light, something which looked like a massive, turbid flood could be seen.

BOOOM!!!!

The torrential flood of water gushed out from the golden rift, quickly passing through into the Void and flowing towards the battlefield where the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate were located.

As the waters finished flowing out the distant golden rift quickly healed and closed, completely disappearing from sight.

“Demonheart.” The Lord of All Fiends was the first to speak.

“Ahaha….ahahahahaha! I’ve finally returned…I’VE FINALLY RETURNED! AHAHAHA!” Wild, frenzied laughter rang out, echoing throughout the Void. The raging waters of the river quickly solidified into a tall, slender, black-robed figure. He had thick, bushy, ink-black eyebrows, and a pair of intoxicating eyes that caused those who looked into it to feel an uncontrollable urge to submit.

His black robes rustled about him as his aura surged towards the heavens.

“Tathagata.” The black-robed figure waved his hand, causing his palm to once more transform into a raging river that smashed directly towards Lord Buddha.

Lord Buddha, who had been charging towards the Seamless Gate’s army, was forced to turn his attention towards this oncoming palm attack.

BOOM!!!

The massive Pangu Genesis Formation shuddered violently, causing Tathagata’s face to change. The raging river then delivered a second blow with incredible speed, so fast that no one present was able to block it.

Boom! The Pangu Genesis Formation actually broke apart. Lord Buddha was knocked flying backwards, and as he did so he frantically waved his hand to use his [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm] to collect as many Empyrean Gods as he could. However, more than 90% of the Empyrean Gods were instantly reduced to dust.

“Die!”

As soon as the black-robed figure assaulted Tathagata, Ji Ning immediately used his Triult Sword Formation to counterattack, sending the awesome power of the semi-translucent golden sword forward.

The black-robed figure delivered yet another blow of his palm. His palm once more transformed into a raging river, striking against the tip of that semi-translucent golden sword. The sword let out a keening cry as the raging river shuddered and dissipated slightly. However, the sword itself was knocked flying backwards.

The entire battlefield turned completely silent.

The army of the Nuwa Alliance had been in hot pursuit, but now they quickly began to regroup. Ning’s true body and Primaltwin moved towards each other, while Lord Buddha flew back to his side as well. Everyone stared at that black-robed figure.

After appearing, he had attacked twice with his palms.

With one palm attack, he had effortlessly suppressed the Triult Sword Formation.

With the other palm attack, he had delivered a double-blow that had annihilated a Pangu Genesis Formation that had been commanded by Lord Buddha.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

The grand army of the Seamless Gate quickly reassembled as well. Even Godfiend Witherspike, Saber, and the others retreated temporarily. As he retreated, Godfiend Witherspike stared fixedly at the skinny, black-robed figure as he chatted mentally with Saber. “So he is the Lord of the Demonheart? He’s too powerful. Even in the endless primordial chaos, he would be one of the most supreme of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. He’s incredibly close to the World God level!”

“Yes. He’s definitely a transcendent figure amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.” Saber’s heart was quivering as well.

Ordinary Elder Gods had the power of an ordinary ‘overlord’; this was the power which Elder Gods were born possessing.

Elite Elder Gods included the likes of Ji Ning and Keeper Everwood. When Daoist Three Purities and the others used certain formations, they could also attain this level of power.

In the endless primordial chaos, most Elder Gods and first-tier Ancestral Immortals who did some adventuring and who worked hard would generally be able to reach the ‘elite’ level of power. However, less than one in a thousand Elder Gods would be able to reach such a supreme level of power, a level of power that was extremely close to that of a World God or a Chaos Immortal!

“Be careful, everyone. He is the Lord of the Demonheart,” Daoist Three Purities sent mentally. “Long ago, he merged his body into the Heavenly Daos. I never would’ve imagined that he would actually be able to escape from them.” Everyone who saw this scene could guess that it was most likely Lord Demonheart who had just broken free of the Heavenly Daos. If he hadn’t, how could he possibly have struck out at them and slain so many Empyrean Gods?

“He actually broke free.” Ning felt dread as well.

This was too terrifying.

His Triult Sword Formation was his most powerful technique…but it had actually been crushed in a head-on clash. This ‘Lord of the Demonheart’ was far too strong!

During the war that had ended the Primordial Era, the most powerful combatant of the Pangu Chaosworld had been Mother Nuwa, while the most powerful combatant of the Seamless Chaosworld had been Lord Demonheart! The two had been on the exact same level. Mother Nuwa had become a World God and left the Three Realms, while Lord Demonheart had merged himself into the Heavenly Daos and remained within them for countless years. But today…he had broken free.

“Demonheart.” The two bodies of the Lord of All Fiends merged together once more, and he stared calmly at the Lord of the Demonheart. “You owe me an explanation.”

“An explanation?”

Lord Demonheart’s black robes rustled, causing space around him to ripple like water. He chuckled. “Yes, I do you an explanation. You really are quite clever, Windfiend. Even all those years ago, I could tell that although Everwood’s reputation was second only to mine in the Seamless Chaosworld, only you were truly a match for me. I have to thank you for what you did during the clash between our two chaosworlds. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to see my disciple and grand-disciples today.”

“The explanation.” The Lord of All Fiends continued to look at him.

“Oh.” Lord Demonheart laughed. “Your guess is correct. I was indeed the one behind all of this.”

Lord Demonheart turned his hypnotic gaze towards the Nuwa Alliance, his voice reverberating within the Void. “It was all because of me. I wished to break free of the Three Realms, which is why I had to come up with a way to cause this great war.”

“What does you breaking free have to do with this great war?” The Lord of All Fiends frowned.

“Ahahaha…I’ll tell you, all of you. Especially you.” Lord Demonheart once more swept his gaze towards the Nuwa Alliance. “Before you die, I’ll let you know why exactly you are dying.”

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance were all filled with murderous intent.

This ‘Lord of the Demonheart’ was behaving far too arrogantly. He actually held them in no regard at all! Still, Ning and the others all understood that although Lord Demonheart wouldn’t be able to effortlessly dominate them as a World God would, the power Lord Demonheart had displayed just now meant that multiple overlords of the Nuwa Alliance would most likely have to join forces against him in order to stop him.

“Ji Ning, your true body, Jueming, and myself will join forces and strike out simultaneously against Lord Demonheart,” Suiren sent mentally.

“Alright.” Ning and Buddha Jueming both assented.

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Chapter 21 – The Lord of the Demonheart

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 21 – The Lord of the Demonheart

Ji Ning’s true body was as tough as a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. Buddha Jueming had mastered the [Nine Elements Annihilation], coming up with his own palm-arts that were even more formidable than those of Lord Tathagata’s. Not only were his palms comparable to top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures, so was the rest of his body! As for Suiren…his attainments in fire were simply too profound. He had long ago mastered his own flameform incarnation technique, which was similar to how Lord Demonheart could transform his body into the waters of a raging river.

This was why Ji Ning, Jueming, and Suiren would dare to fight head-on against Lord Demonheart.

Lord Demonheart, however, held the Nuwa Alliance in no regard whatsoever. He sighed wistfully, “When Nuwa suddenly broke through to become a World God, she came straight for me. I was out of options. I could sense that the Heavenly Daos of the newly forming Three Realms contained a demonheart within it, and so I immediately merged myself into those Heavenly Daos, avoiding that near disaster. If Nuwa wanted to kill me, she would’ve had to destroy the entire Three Realms. Clearly, she wasn’t willing to do so.”

“Although I managed to survive, I was perpetually trapped inside of the Heavenly Daos, becoming part of them. Even I myself thought that I would forever be a part of the Heavenly Daos, and that I would perish with the Three Realms when it eventually perished, as all chaosworlds do. But I wasn’t willing to accept that…and so all this time I’ve been searching for a chance to escape the Heavenly Daos.”

Lord Demonheart once more turned his gaze towards the Nuwa Alliance. “The Heavenly Daos that apply to the Three Realms were formed from multiple Daos, including metal, wood, water, fire, earth, Yin, Yang, life, destruction, chaos, the sword, the Taiji, infinity, thunder, demonheart, and more. These countless Daos joined together to form the complete set of functioning Heavenly Daos.”

“Later…I realized that the Heavenly Daos weren’t always completely stable.”

“For example, when many worlds began to clear their forests, the causing the amount of wood in the Three Realms to slowly lessen, the Heavenly Dao of Wood would slowly begin to weaken as well.” Lord Demonheart smiled.

Upon hearing this, the distant Ji Ning was surprised.

Right.

The records which World God Northrest had transmitted to Ning had made it clear to him that there were differences amongst chaosworlds. In some chaosworlds, for example, there was an enormous amount of fire; those places were known as ‘flame chaosworlds’. The most powerful Dao in a flame chaosworld would be the Heavenly Dao of Fire, and in that chaosworld it was entirely possible that it would be nearly as complete as the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.

The Dao of the Sword also had at least six levels and was thus also comparable to the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.

Both the Dao of Wood and the Dao of Fire could also be continuously developed to the point where it would be a match for the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos.

A flame chaosworld could, over the course of its development, suffer from special circumstances that would cause the entire chaosworld to all but be destroyed. This would instill the entire chaosworld with the aura of destruction, very possibly causing it to transform into a destruction chaosworld. As for the formerly supreme Heavenly Dao of Fire, it would dramatically weaken, allowing the Heavenly Dao of Destruction to become the most important Heavenly Dao in that chaosworld.

“There are fluctuations in every single Heavenly Dao.” Lord Demonheart smiled. “When the Three Realms sink into times of strife, resulting in many deaths and killings, the devil in the heart of all creatures will grow stronger. As a result, the entire Dao of the Demonheart will grow stronger and stronger.”

“I realized that as the Dao of the Demonheart grew stronger, my influence over the Three Realms grew greater as well. In fact, I had the feeling that if the Dao of the Demonheart grew strong enough, I would be able to break free from the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms. And if the Dao of the Demonheart became the most powerful Dao of the Three Realms? Then I would become the absolute master of the Three Realms. My will would be the will of the Three Realms itself!”

“However, the Three Realms is merely a single chaosworld. How could I let myself be perpetually tied down to a single chaosworld? All I needed was to make the Dao of the Demonheart strong enough that I could escape the Heavenly Daos.”

“Alas…the Heavenly Daos functioned in a way in which the balance is automatically maintained. I had no chance of changing things at all…until one day, my chance came.”

Lord Demonheart said smugly, “After countless years of propagation, the number of living creatures in the Three Realms grew to an unfathomable level. More and more Immortal cultivators and Diremonsters emerged. More and more Celestial Immortals, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals were born. In fact, even many Daofathers were born as well. This placed an increasingly greater burden on the Three Realms. All of you refused to engage in civil war, which meant that more and more experts continued to arise with very few perishing. The burden on the Three Realms grew to be so great that I could sense that one day, it could cause the Three Realms to collapse and be destroyed.”

“What?!” Everyone present was astonished. Too many living creatures could cause the destruction of the Three Realms?

“Don’t you understand? Imagine being on a boat that can seat twenty. If two hundred of you board the boat, the boat will sink! The same is true for the Three Realms. It is nothing more than a single chaosworld! You can see for yourselves how many major powers, Immortals, and Fiendgods existed within the Nuwa Alliance and my Seamless Gate. The number of Celestial Immortals was truly inestimable!” Lord Demonheart laughed coldly.

Both the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate had to admit this was true.

Previously, they had all been sighing emotionally at how this war was far greater in scale than the one which had destroyed the Primordial Era. And yet, the experts who took part in the war that ended the Primordial Era had come from two different chaosworlds, while this time they came from just one; the Three Realms. This single chaosworld of the Three Realms had more experts than those two chaosworlds combined!

Even though the Three Realms was a special chaosworld that had been born from the collision of two different chaosworlds, it apparently had still been under enormous pressure due to the number of creatures who were living within it.

“The Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms were intrinsically searching for a solution to lower the number of living creatures in the Three Realms. They sent down countless disasters and tribulations, but it was all useless. Immortals and Fiendgods are simply too good at staying alive. The calamities the Heavenly Daos sent down were only capable of killing ordinary mortals, and even then Immortals and Fiendgods would sometimes set up large formations to protect those mortals.”

“Mortals continued to propagate, filling every world of the Three Realms. Countless Immortals and Diremonsters continued their path of cultivation, resulting in more and more powerful experts. If this continued unabated, the entirety of the Three Realms would be completely crushed and shattered by the burden.”

“That’s when I knew that my chance had come.”

“I communed with the Three Realms, imparting unto it the suggestion to have the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate engage in a great battle. My idea was to have the two sides engage in a great civil war; without a doubt, enormous amounts of Immortals and Fiendgods would die during this war. This would instantly cause the burden on the Three Realms to be dramatically lessened.” Lord Demonheart laughed. “And it would be quite easy for us to instigate this war. All we had to do was to have fate whisper to both sides and guide them, telling them that only one of the two sides could survive. If one side wished to survive, they would have to annihilate the other side.”

“The living creatures of the Three Realms would never question it when fate itself whispered to them.”

“Ahahaha…but the River of Destiny of the Three Realms is nothing more than part of the Heavenly Daos that function to maintain the Three Realms.” Lord Demonheart roared with laughter. “In the past, the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms had functioned in an extremely fair and just amnner. However, after the Heavenly Daos realized that the propagation of the various living races was threatening the very survival of the Three Realms, it automatically began to adjust itself in a way that would ensure more internal warfare amongst the various races. All I did was give it a little push.”

The Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate all had ashen looks on their faces.

It was…

It was all a scheme? It was the Heavenly Daos of the Three Realms which had guided them to kill each other?

“I nudged the Seamless Gate into causing all sorts of trouble, filling the Three Realms with all sorts of chaos and slaughter. Shadows were cast over the hearts of countless living creatures, giving birth to the demonheart within their soul.” Lord Demonheart laughed. “I even had the Seamless Gate launch large-scale assassinations of the family members and loved ones of the Nuwa Alliance, causing the demonheart to fester and growth within the hearts of many of your experts. Some of them actually died when their demonhearts grew out of control.”

“The Three Realms were thrown into chaos, and the demonheart prospered.”

“The Dao of the Demonheart continued to grow increasingly powerful. Although I could sense that much chances were growing greater and greater, I continued to wait. I knew that I could only make one attempt to break free of the Three Realms. If I failed, the Heavenly Daos would use all sorts of schemes and ploys to more firmly entrap me and suppress me. It would be very hard for me to find a second such chance.”

“After a thousand years of chaos in the Three Realms, the Dao of the Demonheart had become very powerful.”

“Finally…you started the wars.”

“What a fine slaughter it was! Immortals and Fiendgods died in droves.”

“You were filled with hatred and the desire to kill. You hated your enemies to the bone, but you had no idea that as your hatred filled the heavens, the demonheart grew within the Three Realms and within you. The Dao of the Demonheart only grew even more powerful.” Lord Demonheart smiled. “Nuwa left behind those three guardian formations, and I imagine she also left behind a technique allowing one to train to become an Elder God. Quite a few of you ended up becoming Elder Gods, and you also had such powerful formations…the Endwar has just started, but the Seamless Gate has already begun to crumble. That’s why I decided to immediately break free of the Three Realms.”

“Hahaha…I’ve been scheming and preparing for countless years for this moment. I was at a higher level of enlightenment than I was during the war that ended the Primordial Era. When I suddenly struck out, I was able to break free of the Three Realms in one blow.”

“From this day forth, I shall forever be free and unrestrained, bound by no one and nothing.”

Lord Demonheat laughed heartily, his laughter reverberating throughout the endless Void. Everyone present, be it the Nuwa Alliance or the Seamless Gate, could sense the wild, exultant joy which the Lord of the Demonheart felt.

He had been imprisoned for countless years and had schemed for countless years to escape, knowing that there would only be one chance…

And he had succeeded!

Why shouldn’t he be excited?

“Since the story has been made clear to all of you…” Lord Demonheart swept the army of the Nuwa Alliance with his gaze. “All of you can die now.”

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Chapter 22 – Surrounded and Attacked

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 22 – Surrounded and Attacked

“Let’s go.”

Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were standing at the margins of the battlefield. The Nuwa Alliance had yet to actually begin to fight against the Seamless Gate once more, but the two exchanged a glance and instantly hid themselves within their dark-gold castle. With a swoosh, they flew far away.

Protected within the castle, Godfiend Witherspike, Saber, and the retainers were now quite relaxed.

“I didn’t expect a local chaosworld to produce a truly supreme Elder God.” Godfiend Witherspike let out a chortling sigh. “This supreme Elder God would be considered an expert, even in the endless primordial chaos.”

Ordinary Elder Gods were the weakest type of Elder Gods.

Elite Elder Gods were talented, powerful Elder Gods who had fairly powerful divine abilities and fairly deep insights into the Dao.

Supreme Elder Gods, however, were very close to World Gods in power. They were considered true experts, and they were generally able to do quite well for themselves within the endless primordial chaos.

Clearly, the Three Realms didn’t have Elder Gods of this caliber. An Elder God of this caliber would only appear when there was a confluence of monstrous talent, incredible luck, superb divine abilities and techniques, exceptional treasures, and many other factors. Only then would such a supreme Elder God emerge.

Godfiend Witherspike and Saber had retreated. Both armies were like arrows nocked to bowstrings, ready to shoot forward at a moment’s notice.

“Kill!”

“Ji NIng, Jueming, let’s do it.”

Suiren, Buddha Jueming, and Ji Ning simultaneously charged forward towards Lord Demonheart.

“Let me be the one to accompany the two of you.” The Lord of All Fiends’ body blurred, once more splitting into two as he went to block the black-robed Ning and Lord Tathagata.

Because he hadn’t been able to stop the black-robed Ning, Ning had already slaughtered many people earlier.

Lord Tathagata had reformed a new Pangu Genesis Formation. For now, there was no else one available to stop him.

Boom!

Whoosh!

The two Lord Allfiends began to battle against the black-robed Ning and Lord Buddha. The Lord of All Fiends was simply too fast, even faster than Ning’s Triult Sword Formation. This allowed him to completely tie down both Ning and Lord Buddha for now.

“Everwood, I have all the Immortal pills I need. Let’s see how long your divine power can hold out for.” Daoist Three Purities and his formation began to battle against Keeper Everwood once more.

Daoist Three Purities was using up Immortal energy, while Keeper Everwood was using up divine power. There was no real way to replenish divine power. Strictly speaking, there were a few unique treasures that could replenish it, such as chaos nectar, but these treasures were incredibly rare. An entire bottle of chaos nectar would only be enough to repair the bodies of ten or twenty Celestial Immortals; it wouldn’t even be enough to heal the body of a True Immortal!

To heal the body of an Elder God, not even a hundred bottles of chaos nectar would be enough. Obviously, no one in the Three Realms had that much chaos nectar. Even in the endless primordial chaos, there was no one who would waste that much chaos nectar just to replenish their divine power.

“Don’t worry about me, my divine power can sustain me for quite a long period of time. Demonheart is now much more powerful than before. Your side will collapse long before I do,” Keeper Everwood said coldly.

These two former friends were now fighting for their lives against each other.

They all knew that this had been caused by Lord Demonheart, but it was as though they were riding on the back of a tiger; there was no way off the ride. The hatred between the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance was now bone-deep.

“Daoist Yuan!” Gonggong roared furiously, but the only response that came were those countless strings from Old Man Yuan’s horsetail whisk which completely blocked him.

Old Man Yuan’s defensive skills were simply too formidable. Gonggong was completely stymied for now.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Shennong commanded his Pangu Genesis Formation to do battle against Daofather Ink Bamboo.

Daofather Bloodswan’s true body and Primaltwin both flew towards the Seamless Gate’s army, assisting them in battling against the Nuwa Alliance’s army.

Right now, there was only a single overlord on the battlefield who was free…Houyi!

Houyi had been battling against the alien Outsider, Godfiend Witherspike. However, now that Witherspike and Saber had retreated, Houyi was free to make one of two choices. He could either assist his army to battle against the Seamless Gate army, or he could get involved in the battle between the elites.

Houyi knew that right now, the critical part of this battle lay in defeating the Lord of the Demonheart. By contrast, the battle between the two great armies wasn’t as important. Although the Seamless Gate’s army had the assistance of Daofather Bloodswan, their own side had the help of Fuxi, whose Waterflame Apocalypse Formation had taken complete control over the battlefield. Even with Bloodswan’s assistance, the Seamless Gate’s army was still at a disadvantage.

“Demonheart.” Houyi focused his attention on the Lord of the Demonheart.

“Demonheart, prepare to die.” Ning was in his three-headed, six-armed form as he struck out with his six swords in close combat, his sword-arts absolutely shocking to behold.

“Amitabha.” Buddha Jueming stood far off in the distance, sending one giant golden palm after another towards Lord Demonheart.

As for Suiren, he swept out with his wooden staff, transforming it into a river of flames as he struck.

“Ahaha…is that all you have? And you want to try to stop me?!” The newly unleashed Lord Demonheart was itching for a fight. As Ji Ning, Jueming, and Suiren assaulted him, his own body blurred as he also manifested three heads and six arms. However, his six arms then quickly transformed into six raging rivers of water.

BOOM! As the raging rivers crashed into him, Ning was still knocked flying away despite doing his best to resist it. This was an overwhelming disparity in power.

BOOM! Buddha Jueming was also knocked flying.

BOOM! Suiren was sent stumbling backwards.

All three of them had powerful protective divine abilities and thus were uninjured. However, Lord Demonheart had manifested a total of six arms, but only used three of them against them just now! He was able to completely crush them with three arms…which was to say that he had the power to suppress six elite overlords like Ji Ning, who only had a chance because he had a strong enough divine body to just barely resist those attacks. The Lord of the Demonheart clearly was a supreme Elder God, but the Nuwa Alliance didn’t have anyone on that same level of power.

As those three raging rivers continued to crash down upon them, Lord Demonheart suddenly sent the other three rivers to all surge towards Suiren.

“Die, Suiren.” Lord Demonheart’s cold voice rang out.

Ji Ning and Jueming both had bodies comparable to top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures; killing them would be difficult.

Suiren had a body that could transform into flames. Although he would also be hard to kill, it would be a bit easier to kill him than Ji Ning or Jueming.

But right at this moment…

“Eh?” Lord Demonheart suddenly felt an inexplicable tendril of fear. He hurriedly turned his head to look, and as he did he immediately saw Houyi standing far off in the distance.

Houyi was staring at him coldly. He was holding an ancient divine bow in one hand and gripping a black arrow in the other.

“Houyi?” Lord Demonheart actually smirked, his laughter once more thundering through the Void. “Houyi. Ahahaha! I fear archery the least of all. Come, come.”

Houyi was calm and silent as he slowly nocked his arrow and drew back the bowstring.

Shudder…

Houyi drew the bow to full draw, the tip of his arrow pointed directly towards the Lord of the Demonheart.

The entire battlefield suddenly was thrown into a strange, hushed silence. All of the Immortals and Fiendgods present could sense an invisible form of pressure that weighed down upon their very souls.

“Is that…?” The faces of the distant Godfiend Witherspike and Saber changed slightly.

“What a terrifying type of archery.” Godfiend Witherspike muttered to himself, “This Houyi…he truly is formidable. This local chaosworld is far too powerful.”

“He really is impressive.” Saber felt the pressure as well.

Even Gonggong and Old Man Yuan paused mid-battle, turning their heads to look towards Houyi. The two of them had also reached the fifth stage of heartforce, and they could sense that Houyi was only at the fifth stage as well. However, in the instant that Houyi drew his bow, the invisible pressure that manifested caused even them to feel their spirits being crushed. This was an absolutely terrifying archery skill that involved completely and perfectly joining heartforce, divine power, and the soul together.

“This arrow will be far more terrifying than the one he used to kill that Golden Crow ‘Emperor of Monsters’ all those years ago.” Fuxi was also watching this battle, and he couldn’t help but sigh in amazement to himself by what he saw.

“This arrow…” Ning felt his own heart quiver as well. Although the arrow wasn’t targeting him, he felt a white rabbit who had suddenly run into a sleeping tiger. The tiger was slumbering, but the rabbit would still feel its heart shudder in fear.

“This arrow…” Even Lord Allfiend’s face changed. During the war that ended the Primordial Era, he hadn’t held Houyi in any regard. Houyi’s arrows weren’t able to catch up to him, after all. But now…faced with this arrow…the Lord of All Fiends could sense that even he wouldn’t be able to escape it. He would have to block the arrow first, then flee.

Everyone present could sense the terrifying threat which Houyi’s arrow posed. Even the most powerful figure present, Lord Demonheart, felt his heart quiver slightly. However, he still felt absolute confidence in himself.

“Die.” Lord Demonheart continued to strike towards Suiren with four of his arms, each of which had been transformed into a raging river.

Swish.

A light twang of the bowstring.

An arrow instantly pierced through the Void. It originally was completely silent, but as it pierced through the Void it immediately began to ravenously devour all energy around it. Elemental energy, natural energy, chaos energy…it ravenously devoured everything, and as it did it howled as it tore through the emptiness of the Void. Quickly, the aura of light around the arrow became thirty thousand meters long…three million meters long…three million kilometers long…

It was like an enormous rainbow that was streaking through the Void. All the major powers pressure felt a sense of tremendous pressure.

“Ahahaha…” Lord Demonheart just laughed wildly, continuing his assaults against Suiren. Bombarded by those four rivers, Suiren’s flames were being rapidly depleted and consumed. When all his flames were used up, he would perish.

Swish.

The gigantic arrow-rainbow finally reached Lord Demonheart. This arrow was far too fast for Lord Demonheart to dodge, and he felt dodging to be beneath himself anyways. His gaze finally turned towards that arrow-rainbow. As far as he was concerned, the unearthly power of the rainbow light surrounding the arrow was all meaningless; the only real threat was the seemingly ordinary black arrow itself.

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Chapter 23 – Inconsolable

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 23 – Inconsolable

Lord Demonheart could still feel a tinge of fear in his heart, and he didn’t dare to be the slightest bit overconfident in facing this attack. Although he acted with bravado, when the arrow actually shot out towards him he acted with great caution.

“Hmph.” Lord Demonheart let out a cold snort, his entire body beginning to transform into an endless flood of water. It was as though his body was made of countless drops of water to begin with.

Boom!

The arrow pierced straight towards Lord Demonheart. Lord Demonheart didn’t try to block at all, allowing the arrow to pierce straight though his body. The water rippled around the arrow, which easily pierced through it then exited from Lord Demonheart’s back and continued to fly far off into the distance.

If you try to cut water with a knife, the water will continue to flow. When the arrow passed through the water, it left behind no traces of its passing.

Hissssss…

Lord Demonheart’s face suddenly turned ashen as he revealed an expression of utter terror. A hole had appeared in his chest where the arrow had passed through, and that hole was rapidly corroding and rotting away at the rest of his body, causing those drops of water to vaporize and vanish.

“Impossible. Impossible!” Lord Demonheart had a look of horror on his face. “My riverform has been perfected. I have a deathless body. This is impossible. It’s impossible to injure me!”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate began to panic as well.

As the Nuwa Alliance, Ji Ning, Daoist Three Purities, and the other major powers all revealed looks of delight.

However, none of them understood what was happening. Not even Ji Ning understood. World God Northrest had transmitted certain information to him, but there was still much that he did not know.

“This is…Godslayer?” Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were watching from far away, and Saber began mumbling to himself. “Godslayer?”

“What’s that? Godslayer?” Godfiend Witherspike was surprised. He immediately sent mentally, “What’s a Godslayer?”

“Godslayer is a type of special attacking technique which only those mysterious Heartforce Cultivators are capable of using.” The one-armed Saber sent mentally, “The are able to merge their heartforce with their divine power, then use it to attack. They will use their own divine power to wipe out the opponent’s divine power. It’s like a mutual exhaustion of divine power. The Heartforce Cultivator will exhaust his own divine power to ensure that the enemy will exhaust even more divine power.”

“This is like a strategy of sacrificing eight hundred of your men to slay a thousand enemies. Despite that, it’s a terrifying ability,” the one-armed Saber sent mentally. “Once a Heartforce Cultivator begins to use this technique, he will be virtually invincible against other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. However, while he might be able to slay his foes he will also badly injure himself, making it so that he’ll no longer be able to fight. Generally speaking, Heartforce Cultivators aren’t willing to use this ability unless they are in truly desperate straits. In addition, even amongst Heartforce Cultivators, this technique can be considered a fairly rare one.”

“Oh?” Godfiend Witherspike was quite surprised. Although he had gone adventuring as well, he had mostly adventured through regions that he was fairly familiar with. Saber, in truth, was an even bolder and more fearless person than him. Saber had gone to more danger zones and had learned many more things.

“This Lord of the Demonheart is about to die.” Saber stared at the distant, horrified Lord Demonheart. “He actually ran into such a terrifyingly powerful Heartforce Cultivator…and this Heartforce Cultivator is willing to sacrifice anything in order to kill him.”

“If what you say is true, then after Houyi kills Lord Demonheart he’ll probably be at the verge of death himself.” Godfiend Witherspike revealed a smile. “That means we still have a chance.”

“This Houyi must have acquired the legacy of a Heartforce Cultivator.” Saber stared at the distant Houyi. “I absolutely refuse to believe that he could come up with this technique on his own.”

There were tens of millions of heartforce application techniques. Some cultivators with fifth-stage heartforce were of average strength, but some true Heartforce Cultivators had techniques which were powerful enough to make all Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals quail in fear! Houyi’s ‘Godslayer’ technique was one such technique.

“So this technique really does work on you.” Upon seeing Lord Demonheart suffer an injury, the murderous intent in Houyi’s eyes grew even stronger. “I was worried that you might be so powerful as to completely ignore my arrows.”

Twang.

Houyi swiftly nocked an arrow, drew to a full draw, then fired the arrow in one swift motion.

Swish!

The black arrow streaked forward like lightning.

Twang! Not hesitating at all, Houyi took out yet another arrow, nocked it, drew it, and fired it.

One arrow after another streaked through the Void, transforming into a series of blindingly brilliant rainbows that shot straight towards Lord Demonheart. This was a strange, unique secret art which he had dvised over the course of countless years of tree-chopping on Mount Innerheart. Upon actually using the technique, he would use up an utterly enormous amount of divine power, but he didn’t care at all, continuing to furiously shoot out arrows.

He shot out nine consecutive arrows in one breath.

Those nine arrows all transformed into rainbows as they streaked through the Void, shooting straight towards Lord Demonheart. Despite being tremendously powerful, Houyi was only able to simultaneously control nine arrows at once.

“No…no…” The Lord of the Demonheart stared in horror as the arrows shot towards him from across the Void.

A single arrow had already injured him badly. How could he possibly survive if all nine of these arrows connected?

The arrows were too fast. Not even the Lord of All Fiends was as fast as these arrows, much less the Lord of the Demonheart.

“I won’t die. I won’t!” A berserk look appeared in Lord Demonheart’s eyes.

Whoosh.

Lord Demonheart’s body suddenly split apart in half, resulting in more than a hundred of him appearing and fleeing in every direction.

Bang! One rainbow arrow pierced directly into the body of a Lord Demonheart. After piercing into his body, its power was slightly weakened, but it was still powerful enough to go straight through it and shoot towards the other Lord Demonhearts. As for the first one to be struck, his body was instantly annihilated.

The nine rainbows continued to streak through the air at high speed, shooting towards the various Lord Demonhearts.

“It’s useless.” The distant Saber shook his head. “Every single arrow is filled with an enormous amount of Houyi’s divine power. Until his divine power is exhausted, the arrow won’t come to a halt. That’s why splitting up your body into multiple clones is a completely ineffective way to avoid this terrifying attack.”

How could an attack known as the ‘Godslayer’ be easily overcome? If it could, it wouldn’t be so famously deadly.

Lord Demonheart also quickly came to realize that this ‘solution’ wouldn’t work. He quickly willed his still-existing 106 bodies to roar in unison as they transformed into a raging river of vast proportions. The vast river transformed into a giant palm of water that struck directly at one of the arrows.

BOOM!

A frontal collision!

The arrow was knocked flying, but the bizarre divine power which had been infused into it still instantly ate away at the gigantic palm of water, depleting an enormous amount of divine power.

“Dodging doesn’t work. Neither does blocking. What should I do!?” Lord Demonheart let out another sudden howl, causing the vast river to suddenly tear an enormous rift into the Void before him. The river quickly shrank in size as it flew straight towards that enormous rift.

Swoosh!

The arrow chased after him, making it to the rift right after he did.

BOOM! The Void was once more torn open. The raging river was blasted out from the other side through the new rift, reforming into the Lord of the Demonheart.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!! I don’t accept this! I can’t accept this! I WON’T ACCEPT THIS! GRAAAAAAH!!!” Lord Demonheart had gone completely berserk. As he stared the arrows streaking towards him from afar, the sense of absolute despair he felt began to drive him insane.

He had waited for so long! Had schemed and planned for so long to regain his freedom!

Finally…he had succeeded in escaping the Heavenly Daos.

He had thought that he would be able to easily subjugate the Nuwa Alliance. He was planning to leave the Three Realms to the major powers of the Seamless Gate, then lead a small group of people to voyage out into the vaster world outside of the Three Realms. He believed that the vast primordial chaos was where he truly belonged! Even Nuwa had become a World God; Lord Demonheart felt certain that he could become a World God as well.

Lord Demonheart had many plans for the future, many ambitions, many dreams.

But now…

He was going to die.

Those arrows were utterly terrifying, and there was no way to block them at all. He felt true despair as he stared at them come towards him.

“I really can’t accept this. I really can’t.” Lord Demonheart’s mutters echoed throughout the vast Void. “Well…if I’m going to die…then let’s have everyone die. All of you shall die as well!!!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Lord Demonheart instantly transformed his body into a series of raging rivers once more. Every single one of the six rivers flashed with white light as they surged violently towards the Nuwa Alliance. By now, he didn’t care about Houyi’s arrows at all. The only thing he wanted to do was kill. If he was going to die, then all of them were going to die as well.

The Lord of All Fiends could only watch as this happened, powerless to stop it.

He was many millions of kilometers away from Houyi. Although he was faster than the speed of light, which could move three hundred thousand kilometers in a second, he himself could only move five hundred thousand kilometers per second! Houyi was more than capable of maintaining his distance as he continued to fire off arrows.

As the power in each arrow was depleted, Houyi would continue to shoot out new arrows, intending to slay the Lord of the Demonheart as quickly as possible.

“Hold.”

“Hold for just a bit longer. This is Lord Demonheart’s final, desperate attack.”

“Block!”

Ji Ning and Buddha Jueming had powerful divine bodies, and so the two of them valiantly charged to the forefront, seeking to block this last-ditch attack. However, two of the six raging rivers were enough to completely tie them down. In fact, Ning could sense that Lord Demonheart’s attack seemed to be a bit stronger than it was earlier. He understood that in his berserk madness, Lord Demonheart had certainly drawn upon every single scrap of power he possessed to deliver this final attack.

“Suiren!” Ning suddenly realized that the distant Suiren was in extremely dire straits, having been completely surrounded by two of those rivers. Suiren was roaring with rage, his body blazing with flames as he swung his wooden staff around to defend. His aura initially towered to the heavens, but as the raging rivers continued to surround and suffocate him his aura slowly and gradually began to weaken.

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Chapter 24 – The Kindlefire is Eternal

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 24 – The Kindlefire is Eternal

“Protect Suiren.” Daoist Three Purities frantically exerted the power of his Immortal Slaying Swords. He was fairly far away from Keeper Everwood, and so he could afford to take a moment’s respite and temporarily ignore his opponent. A dazzling, freezing sword pierced out through the Void, stabbing directly at the flood of water surrounding Suiren.

Boom!

A raging river of water immediately turned to smash head-on against the Immortal Slaying Swords. The sword-light shattered and the Immortal Slaying Swords were knocked flying backwards.

“Rescue Suiren.” Ji Ning and Buddha Jueming strove to intercept the attacks, but the raging rivers swirling around them had completely tied them down, giving then no way to advance at all.

“Don’t even think about leaving.” The Lord of All Fiends easily blocked the black-robed Ning and Lord Tathagata from moving.

All of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance wished to save Suiren, but none of them were able to draw close to him.

“Shennong, be careful!” Fuxi called out furiously.

Boom!

The raging waters once more came crashing against Suiren.

It must be understood that of the six rivers of water which the Lord of the Demonheart had manifested, two were being used to die down Ning and Buddha Jueming, two were being used to kill Suiren, and the final two were striking out against various other individuals. Shennong was in command of a Pangu Genesis Formation and was using it to fight in close combat, which was why he had charged the farthest and was the closest to Lord Demonheart.

The water came crashing towards Shennong. Shennong sought to evade, but the endlessly growing bamboo stopped him at every turn. Soon, the raging river had completely enveloped Shennong as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! As the waters of the river crashed against Shennong, his Pangu Genesis Formation began to shudder and shake. It was at the verge of breaking apart.

“Not good.”

The faces of every member of the Nuwa Alliance changed.

Suiren was an Elder God, and his body could be dematerialized into endless flames. As a result, he was able to resist Lord Demonheart’s attacks for quite some time. Although the situation looked dangerous, he would still be able to hold for a bit longer. Shennong, however, was somewhat weaker. His Pangu Genesis Formation most likely wouldn’t be able to survive Lord Demonheart’s assaults for very long before being destroyed.

“Three Purities, Fuxi, protect the Three Realms.” Suiren’s voice suddenly echoed through the Void…and then, his voice became incredibly calm and peaceful. “Kindle the fire and make it eternal…”

Although his voice was peaceful, it brought terror to the hearts of those who heard it.

Suiren’s body had been covered with flames that were weak but still seemed capable of fighting back. Suddenly, the light around him increased dramatically. Moments later, all of the light around his body solidified into small flames. Suiren himself completely vanished, leaving behind just those eight little flames.

Hiss…crackle…

The eight flames seemed tiny and weak, and they rose and fell alongside the river waters that were surrounding them.

These bizarre flames seemed to carry endless life force with them. Although the raging waters of the rivers around them continued to do their best to smother these flames, it was the water that ended up hissing and bubbling as it began to boil away. The two rivers began to quickly shrink in size, becoming thin and weak. As for those eight little flames…slowly, they began to be extinguished. One flame. Two flame. Three flames…

As one river was completely boiled away and half of the second river was destroyed, the final few flames were extinguished.

Suiren’s aura had completely vanished.

Suiren…had died.

Boom! Boom! Boom! In the instant that Suiren’s body had dematerialized into those eight flames, a series of arrows had struck the waters of the rivers as well. Their primary target was the river which had wrapped itself around Shennong. As they landed against the river, the river began to dramatically weaken to the point where it was no longer a threat to Shennong.

The arrows moved with incredible speed. Although Lord Demonheart had launched a series of final, berserk attacks, Suiren’s own final burst of power resulted in Lord Demonheart’s death being hastened.

“I can’t accept this…I can’t accept this…I can’t accept this…” Lord Demonheart’s furious roars could still be heard echoing within the waters of the raging rivers. As Houyi continued to fire off arrows, the river continued to shrink in size and wither away, until finally it completely disappeared completely.

The entire Void was completely quiet.

The Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate had both fallen silent.

Everyone felt dazed and stunned. This war had been instigated by the Lord of the Demonheart, and he had done so to escape from the confines of the Heavenly Daos. As the former king of the Seamless Chaosworld, Lord Demonheart’s reputation and power was known to everyone on this field of battle. The Nuwa Alliance had been quite terrified of him, as he truly was incredibly powerful.

But…

He had died just like that?

“How could this have happened…” The black-robed Godking stared blankly into the Void. When he saw his master come out, he had been exceptionally happy. After all, although he was the nominal leader of the Seamless Gate, its actual leader was really the Lord of All Fiends! Most of the older generation of major powers didn’t pay much attention to him, which was why he was delighted by the thought of being able to shelter under his master’s auspices once more. But…his master, the Lord of the Demonheart, had actually died just like that!

“Is this destiny?” The Lord of All Fiends sighed softly.

Lord Demonheart had secretly stirred up this entire mess. This had actually enraged the Lord of All Fiends, as he was a person who hated to fight over power. However, there was no way out; the relationship between the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance was now like the relationship between fire and water, utterly irreconcilable. His only choice had been to follow Lord Demonheart in pressing the assault against the Nuwa Alliance.

But now…Demonheart had died. Truly died. He had survived the battle that ended the Primordial Era, but this he did not survive this one.

Last time, he had been able to fuse himself into the Heavenly Daos. However, now that he had broken free from them once, there was no way the Heavenly Daos would allow him to merge into them again. This was why there was nowhere for him to run when Houyi’s final arrows had come for him.

“Suiren.”

The Nuwa Alliance didn’t celebrate at all. All they felt was grief. When Daoist Three Purities, Ji Ning, Fuxi, Tathagata, and the others had seen Suiren transform himself into those eight flames, their hearts had been plunged into grief.

“Big brother…” Shennong’s eyes were wet with tears. “Was it worth doing this for my sake?”

Those six raging rivers were like Lord Demonheart’s body. The smaller it became, the weaker he became. Suiren’s final suicide attack had completely burned away nearly two of the rivers, causing Lord Demonheart’s body to be dramatically lessened and weakened, buying time for Houyi’s final arrows to arrive and save Shennong.

“Don’t blame yourself too much. Suiren was already in a desperate situation. Even if he didn’t launch a suicide attack, he still would’ve been killed by Lord Demonheart.” Daoist Three Purities let out a sigh, then said consolingly, “He just didn’t wish to see you die alongside him. Better for one to die than both.”

“Alright.” Shennong nodded slowly, but he couldn’t disguise his grief.

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance all joined together.

“Houyi.” They all turned their heads towards Houyi as the latter flew towards them. Houyi’s face was ashen, but he still looked quite calm.

“You alright?” Kuafu, in command of a Pangu Genesis Formation, immediately inquired after his well-being.

“Not dead yet.” Houyi nodded and smiled, quickly flying to the side of Ji Ning and Buddha Jueming.

“Senior apprentice-brother Houyi.” Ning looked at Houyi. “It was all thanks to you.”

“If it wasn’t for Houyi, it would’ve been hard for us to survive this battle.” The nearby Buddha Jueming let out a sigh. “I really didn’t expect the cause of this war to be the Lord of the Demonheart. He truly was quite powerful, even more powerful than he was during the war that ended the Primordial Era.”

Ning could sense that Houyi’s aura was very weak right now. He didn’t fully understand what each arrow had cost Houyi, but he could sense that the price had been enormous.

“Too bad about Suiren.” Houyi sighed softly.

“He transformed his body into kindle, using his life to fuel the flames and ensuring that it would continue unto perpetuity. This…this is the true meaning of the ‘Eternal Kindlefire’.” Buddha Jueming folded his palms together into prayer. “Amitabha.”

Ning nodded slowly as well.

During the Primordial Era, Suiren had led the puny, weak race of humans to slowly rise to power. He had watched as countless human heroes had perished for the sake of their race, and thus he had developed his own ‘Eternal Kindlefire’ technique. However, the Eternal Kindlefire could only unleash its most terrible flames when it was truly infused with the essence of sacrifice.

Although the Nuwa Alliance was filled with grief, they were also filled with confidence that they had taken control over the battlefield. Old Man Yuan, Daofather Ink Bamboo, Keeper Everwood, and the others had all retreated for now. Without the Lord of the Demonheart, the Seamless Gate no longer felt any confidence in their ability to win.

“Three Purities. Tathagata.”

The two bodies of the Lord of All Fiends merged into one. He stood there in midair, looking at them and speaking in a calm voice. “The outcome of this war is very clear. It was Demonheart who caused this war, all for the sake of escaping from the Heavenly Daos. In addition, the Heavenly Daos themselves acted in ways to mislead us and instigate this war, precisely because there were too many living creatures within the Three Realms. Many of us have died on both sides, and the burden on the Three Realms is now much lower. I think we should bring this war to an end.”

“Bring this war to an end?” Shennong’s face was a mask of grief, but his eyes blazed as he growled out, “What, the Seamless Gate still intends to live here within the Three Realms?”

“The Three Realms is also the home of the Seamless Gate.” The Lord of All Fiends sighed softly.

“Ahahaha…”

Daoist Three Purities laughed coldly. “What a joke! You had your chance…and in fact, the Nuwa Alliance didn’t wish for all of this to come to a war. It was your side which continuously caused problems, furiously assaulting us and provoking us. You even went so far as to cause chaos throughout the Three Realms, assassinating the friends and family members of our major powers. Do you think we can just wipe out all these debts at one stroke?”

“We were foolish enough to let you return once…do you really think we would be foolish enough to do so again?”

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Chapter 25 – The End of the Road for the Godking

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 25 – The End of the Road for the Godking

The two great alliances faced off against each other as Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, Fuxi, Shennong, Houyi, Jueming, Gonggong, and Ji Ning spoke mentally to each other.

“Everyone, should we keep fighting? Or should we force them to leave the Three Realms instead?” Daoist Three Purities sent mentally.

“Kill them. Kill them all. Make sure they will never pose a problem ever again.” Gonggong’s mental voice was filled with murder.

“Who can kill the Lord of All Fiends?” Tathagata asked.

Everyone fell silent.

Tathagata spoke out again. “Houyi, can you kill the Lord of All Fiends?”

“I cannot. He’s too fast. Although my arrow is faster than him, it’s only slightly faster. I’d probably only be able to hit him with one or two arrows, by which point he would’ve fled outside the range of my bow. In addition to that, I badly injured myself dealing when I dealt with Demonheart. There’s no way I can kill another Elder God,” Houyi said.

Ning and the others all sighed secretly. They could all tell that Houyi was very heavily injured; for him to be able to kill Demonheart was already an unexpected surprise for them.

“No one can kill Allfiend.” Tathagata sent mentally, “If this battle was to continue…Allfiend is too fast. He’ll probably launch a series of crazed counterattacks with his speed. We’ll definitely win, but our losses will be very heavy and he himself will probably be able to escape in the end.”

“Agreed.” Everyone nodded.

“As I see it, we should force them to leave the Three Realms,” Tathagata sent mentally. “That will lessen our total casualties. If they ever dare to return, we can fight them then.”

“That works as well.” Daoist Three Purities nodded in agreement. “Ji Ning, what do you think?”

The other major powers were all waiting for Ji Ning’s input. They knew exactly how deep Ji Ning’s hatred for the Seamless Gate ran. It could be said that the Seamless Gate’s torments had accompanied him during his entire cultivation path.

“Let them leave. However…they have to hand over their Godking.” Ning gave his response. He would never be able to forget how the Godking had killed Yu Wei. No matter what, he would never spare the Godking. In the earlier battle, he had focused on the big picture and so had not attacked the Godking, but there was absolutely no chance that he would let the Godking leave this place alive.

“Agreed. Many of the vilest actions that caused chaos throughout the Three Realms were carried out by the Godking. I agree that we can’t just let him leave.”

“Agreed.”

“Fine.”

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance quickly concluded their discussion, coming to a joint agreement.

“The Seamless Gate is willing to leave the Three Realms.” The Lord of All Fiends suddenly spoke out. “Let this battle come to an end now.”

There was a stir in the ranks of the Seamless Gate. Their major powers, Immortals, and Fiendgods all turned to look at their leaders, their eyes filled with resentment and an unwillingness to accept this outcome. Many of them had been born within the Three Realms; they truly did not wish to leave this place, their home, and venture into the terrifying, unknown parts of the primordial chaos. If they were Elder Gods, they would naturally be able to roam the primordial chaos without fear, but the vast majority of them were far too weak. Even True Gods and Daofathers would merely be minor figures in the primordial chaos.

Still…they also knew that if they continued to fight, the only result would be death. Although leaving the Three Realms would be dangerous, staying behind would be even more dangerous.

“You want to leave, just like that?” Daoist Three Purities said coldly, “That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?”

“Then what do you want?” The Lord of All Fiends said in a low voice, “Do you wish to keep fighting?” It would take him time to rescue everyone. The Seamless Gate had far too many major powers; once the battle began anew, he would probably only be able to rescue a part of his allies, with the other part being massacred by the Nuwa Alliance. He naturally wished to keep as many of them alive as possible.

“Allfiend,” Daoist Three Purities said, “We won’t make things too hard for you. Hand over your nominal leader, your black-robed Godking, as a sign of your repentance and desire to make amends. If you do so, we’ll let you leave the Three Realms, never to return. If you agree…then the war can stop now. If you do not, then let us keep fighting.”

The Lord of All Fiends stared at the Nuwa Alliance, and the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance stared right back at him. The only reason why the Nuwa Alliance was even entertaining this option was because the Lord of All Fiends was too hard to kill; thus, their only choice was to force him to leave instead! If it wasn’t for that, they would definitely seize this opportunity to completely wipe out the Seamless Gate.

The Lord of All Fiends then turned his head to stare at the great army behind him. The black-robed Godking had been feeling many complicated emotions, but upon hearing Daoist Three Purities’ request his face instantly turned bloodless and ashen. When the Lord of All Fiends turned his gaze towards him, he became filled with utter terror.

“Fiendlord!” The black-robed Godking called out in terror.

“Clothred.” The Lord of All Fiends said, “Sacrifice yourself for the sake of the Seamless Gate.”

“No, Fiendlord! You must not!” The black-robed Godking said frantically, “I’m the leader of the Seamless Gate. If you sacrifice me…the Seamless Gate will have no face left whatsoever! Better that we die in battle than be shamed in such a way!”

Upon hearing these words, the Lord of All Fiends frowned. He said in a cold voice, “You really are cut from the exact same cloth as your master Demonheart was.” He snorted coldly then waved his hand, causing an azure rope to fly out. The azure rope transformed into an azure dragon as it flew towards the Godking. The terrified Godking sought to flee, but space around him began to twist and warp. He found himself completely bound up before he even had a chance to react. How could someone like him possibly challenge the power of the Lord of All Fiends?

“You cannot! Fiendlord, you cannot! You cannot just hand me over…” The Godking struggled frantically against his restraints.

The major powers of the Seamless Gate all stared at the black-robed Godking. Although some of them disliked him, he was still their nominal leader. For them to sacrifice their leader in such a way…in truth, they felt quite humiliated. However, they knew that they had lost this war. Even the Lord of the Demonheart had perished. There was nothing more they could say.

The Lord of All Fiends made a casual tossing gesture, causing the bound Godking to be flunt towards the Nuwa Alliance.

The white-robed Ji Ning transformed into a streak of lightning, moving with incredible speed. When he saw the bound Godking fly through the air towards him, for some reason…he felt many different emotions in his heart. So many scenes flashed through his mind. The scene of how he had knelt down before the Godking to try and save Yu Wei…the scene of how the Godking had killed her…and more.

“Godking.” Ning murmured this word softly.

“Y-y-you…” The tied-up Godking stared at Ji Ning in terror.

“Relax. I won’t let you die so easily,” the white-robed Ning murmured gently.

Upon hearing this, the Godking began to panic even more. The outcome he feared the most was ending up in Ji Ning’s hands. However, he didn’t have the courage to commit suicide, as he still felt a powerful desire to stay alive. “So long as I remain alive, I’ll have more opportunities in the future. If I really can’t take it, I can commit suicide later.”

Ning reached out to grab the black-robed Godking, then put him away with a cold smile on his face.

He could guess at what the Godking was thinking.

To prevent a major power from committing suicide was very difficult! However, Ji Ning had acquired the many legacies and techniques of World God Northrest; he had the necessary abilities.

“You sent my wife into the Infinity Hells to suffer torment…and I promise you, everything you did to her will be slowly repaid unto you a thousandfold.” After putting away the Godking, Ning gave the distant army of the Seamless Gate a final glance. The formations of the Seamless Gate had already been dispersed, and looks of sadness, disappointment, and pain could be seen in the eyes of those Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. However, all they could do was allow the major powers on their side to put them away.

The vast majority of them had been born and bred within the Three Realms. They all viewed the Three Realms as their home. When the thought of how they would soon have to venture through the unknown lands of the primordial chaos, all of them were filled with restlessness and unease. Still…since they had chosen the side of the Seamless Gate, they had to live with their choice.

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate began to disappear as they were all put away by their respective Daofathers. The Nuwa Alliance began to disperse its formations as well. Keeping the formations active required a large amount of Immortal energy, after all. Still, just to be safe the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance continued to remain close to each other, prepared to reform the formation at a moment’s notice and do battle if necessary.

“Look at Daoist Yuan.” Houyi stood by Ning’s side, staring at the rather forlorn-looking Old Man Yuan who stood within the ranks of the Seamless Gate’s armies. “I really don’t know what he was thinking. He actually chose to join the Seamless Gate.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Old Man Yuan had chosen the wrong side, which was why there was now only one road before him…following the Seamless Gate and leaving the Three Realms.

To permit him to leave the Three Realms instead of chasing after him and killing him was already a tremendous show of grace on the part of the Nuwa Alliance. There was no way they would permit him to remain here any longer.

“He’ll probably find the primordial chaos to be a tough place to live,” Ning said softly. “Still, it is for the best. He always did want to adventure through it. I suppose we’re satisfying his dreams.”

Old Man Yuan stood by himself at a corner of the Seamless Gate’s armies, watching all this happen. There was a hint of disappointment in his eyes, and he couldn’t help but sigh. “Alas. I really didn’t expect all of this to end like this. So it was the Lord of the Demonheart who was behind this war…and he ended up being killed as soon as he came out. Houyi truly was a surprise for me! Still, Houyi’s usage of his ‘Godslayer’ has surely caused him grievious injuries.”

Suddenly, an invisible ripple of power centered around Old Man Yuan swept out, filling the entire battlefield.

“Attack, my children.” Old Man Yuan’s voice rang out within the hearts of certain individuals.

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Chapter 26 – Unexpected Events

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 26 – Unexpected Events

The white-robed Ji Ning and the black-robed Ji Ning were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, staring towards the Seamless Gate. Although they were in the process of withdrawing, Ning’s heartforce was still kept active, continuously rippling out as he kept a careful watch over the region.

At a time like this, there was no such thing as being too careful. The enemy forces still had the Lord of All Fiends, after all?

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned slightly. Just now, there seemed to have been a small ripple…but the ripple was so hidden and secretive that he couldn’t completely detect it.

Ning glanced all around him, rather puzzled. As he did so, he told himself to be even more careful.

BOOM!!!!!

Suddenly, a towering explosion of natural energy manifested in the form of an endless sea of flames and a boundless sea of water. The massive attack swept towards the grand army of the Nuwa Alliance as well as the major powers of the Seamless Gate, catching both sides completely off-guard.

“Fuxi, what are you doing?!” Three Purities, Tathagata, Shennong, and the others were all shocked.

“No…!”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Nuwa Alliance were completely caught off-guard. Initially, they weren’t too worried as Fuxi was on their side; when he used the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation in the past, he had made sure that the water and the fire would stay away from them. This time, however, the water and the fire swept straight through their ranks. By the time they realized what was happening, it was far too late.

“Why?!”

“No!”

“Fuxi?!”

All sorts of agonized cries rang out as countless Immortals and Fiendgods perished to the endless floods of fire and water.

Suddenly, circles of icy energy began to swirl around the area, furiously ablating the power of the Waterflame Apolcaypse Formation. It managed to block and stop parts of the water and the flame.

One frozen lotus after another was hanging in midair, emitting enormous amounts of frozen energy that completely blocked off the effects of the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation. Ji Ning was using his power as a first-tier Ancestral Immortal to control this treasure, which Fuxi was merely controlling his formation with the power of a third-tier Ancestral Immortal. Thus, although Fuxi’s formation was far more formidable, Ning was still able to withstand it.

“Why has this happened…” Although Ning had managed to block the attack, he was still in a dazed state of disbelief. He had become even more cautious when he had sensed that ripple of power, but when Fuxi struck he was still momentarily dazed. Although he quickly recovered and moved to stop the attack, a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals still perished.

“Senior brothers Lord Jiang and Junwu…” Ning’s heart was filled with pain and confusion.

In that brief moment, the terrifying power of the Eternal Kindlefire and Arcane Moonwater had caused more than thirty thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to die! Far more died in that instant than had died during the entire war. Many of Ning’s good friends, as well as many of the drinking buddies and conversation partners he had met while wandering the Three Realms, had died. In fact, many of the disciples of Mount Innerheart had just perished as well.

Whoooooooosh. The thirty-six frozen lotuses hovered in the air, surrounding the Nuwa Alliance’s army and defending them from the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation.

The entire Nuwa Alliance was in a state of disbelief.

The deaths of so many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had dazed them…but for Fuxi to be the culprit had completely struck them dumb.

“GONGGONG!” An agonized scream rang out. Shennong stared in disbelief at Gonggong, who was standing right next to him. Gonggong had a cold look in his face, and his right hand…had pierced directly into Shennong’s chest.

Boom! Shennong’s entire body disintegrated. As Shennong died, a look of agony and pain was in his eyes as he murmured his final words. “Gonggong is dead…”

“Die,” Gonggong said coldly.

“Kill!”

“Kuafu, what are you…!”

“Thundergod attacked me first!”

“Kill!”

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance suddenly found themselves thrown into chaos as a furious battle broke out within their own ranks.

This was all too sudden! Ji Ning, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, Buddha Jueming, Houyi, and the others were all stunned. Fuxi had first activated the ‘Waterflame Apocalypse Formation’ and attempted to wipe out all their Empyrean Gods and True Immortals with utter cruelty…and then Elder God Gonggong and other major powers had suddenly attacked them!

“Stop this!”

“Stop fighting!”

Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, and the others began to make their move. They had been vigilantly watching their surroundings, and so they knew exactly which major powers had attacked first. Thus, they immediately attacked the offenders.

“Let’s go!”

“Withdraw.”

The ambushers quickly began to withdraw from the ranks of the Nuwa Alliance.

“Stop right there.” Elder God Gonggong’s body suddenly transformed to become a million kilometers tall, waves swirling around his entire body as though he was an ocean world unto himself. His palm swung out, and as it did it seemed to be a massive tidal wave that was crashing towards his foes.

BOOM!

Ning’s Triult Swords transformed into that semi-translucent golden sword, then struck directly against that titanic tidal wave.

Rumble…

His attack was actually stopped!

“Gonggong is actually this powerful?” Ning was stunned. Previously, Gonggong had battled against Old Man Yuan for quite some time. From what Ning could tell, Gonggong didn’t seem to be that powerful, appearing to be weaker than Ning himself. But now, it was evident that Gonggong definitely had the power of an elite Elder God. In fact, no one in either alliance had anyone who was definitively more powerful than Gonggong right now.

Only the deceased Lord Demonheart was unquestionably more powerful than him, while Houyi had been heavily injured and was no longer capable of slaying any Elder Gods.

“Ink Bamboo, you…!” Keeper Everwood stared in disbelief at the distant Daofather Ink Bamboo. “Y-you…”

“You hid your power quite well.” Daofather Ink Bamboo gave him a cold glance, then quickly fled.

“Kill!”

“Senior apprentice-brother, you…!”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate were suddenly thrown into turmoil as well as they began attacking each other. The Lord of All Fiends was completely stunned.

“Chase him down!” The Lord of All Fiends quickly came back to his senses. His eyes became filled with fury and murder as he chased after the major powers who had just launched sneak attacks against their friends.

“You can stop right there.” Old Man Yuan, who was within the Seamless Gate’s ranks, said these words softly as he flicked out his horsetail whisk.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless white strands flew out from his whisk, covering the skies like a series of giant white waves that protected the fleeing, traitorous major powers.

“Die.” Murder radiated from the Lord Allfiend’s eyes as he clutched his weapon. He had never wanted to kill someone more than he did right now. Only a few major powers had died during the battle between the two sides, but this sudden ambush had resulted in him losing more than twenty of his major powers! This loss caused the Lord of All Fiends to go berserk.

As for Old Man Yuan, who was protecting these traitors? The Lord of All Fiends wanted to kill him more than anyone else.

Whooooooosh. The white strands of the horsetail whisk undulated, blocking off all paths. No matter how the Lord of All Fiends tried to move past them, he was unable to do so.

Finally, the Lord of All Fiends came to a halt. All of the traitors had already fled. He stared coldly at the distant Old Man Yuan, who had used the horsetail whisk in his hands to prevent any pursuit. The traitors of the Seamless Gate had joined together with the Nuwa Alliance, and they had docilely flown to Old Man Yuan’s side as if they were children running to the side of their father.

The entire battlefield fell completely silent.

The Nuwa Alliance had been dealt a grievous blow. More than thirty thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had perished, while more than twenty major powers had died. Fortunately, Ning had been able to block the Waterflame Apocalypse Formation; otherwise, their losses would have been even greater.

Although the Seamless Gate’s major powers had collected its Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, more than twenty major powers had been slain. The Seamless Gate had fewer major powers than the Nuwa Alliance to begin with, which meant that their casualties were proportionally higher. Once those major powers had died, the traitors who had slain them had also seized their items and estate-treasures, including the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals contained inside. It was obvious what would happen to them.

The two alliances both stared furiously at the traitors.

Old Man Yuan continued to hold his horsetail whisk in his hands, a smile on his face. Behind him stood a group of towering major powers, including Gonggong, Fuxi, Daofather Ink Bamboo, and more than thirty other True Gods and Daofathers.

The power which Old Man Yuan controlled was actually just as formidable as the power of either alliance.

“The Nuwa Alliance lost thirty thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.” Old Man Yuan smiled. “I’ll make things fair. Children, release the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate.”

“Yes.”

Instantly, the Seamless Gate traitors released the many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals they were holding.

More than twenty major powers of the Seamless Gate had been slain, while more than ten had turned traitor. Each major power had collected nearly ten thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, and so a total of nearly thirty thousand were released!

It must be understood that the Seamless Gate’s losses during the previous battle had been very heavy; thirty thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals represented more than half of their total forces!

“You can all die now.” Old Man Yuan laughed calmly, the countless strands of his horsetail whisk surrounding every single captured member of the Seamless Gate. Before the abductees even had a chance to react…boom! All of them were slain.

“No!”

“Stop!”

Keeper Everwood, Lord Allfiend, and the others all stared with bloodshot eyes, but to no avail…all of the captured Seamless Gate members were slain.

Old Man Yuan had just slain nearly thirty thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals with a smile on his face. This caused the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance to feel two things…cold fear, and burning rage! They all stared at Old Man Yuan and the large group of major powers behind him.

“They are all dead.” Lord Tathagata had a pained look on his face. “Those ‘traitors’…all of them are already dead.”

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Chapter 27 – The Nine Divine Generals

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 27 – The Nine Divine Generals

“Why would you say that they are dead?” Old Man Yuan flicked his whisk, a smile on his face. “They are alive and well. Isn’t that right, Gonggong?”

“Yes, Master.” Gonggong spoke in a low, respectful voice.

Upon Gonggong say the word ‘master’, whispers broke out within both the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate. Looks of pain and hatred appeared in the eyes of Ji Ning, Daoist Three Purities, and the others. They wanted nothing more than to kill Old Man Yuan right now. They weren’t fools; they could tell that it was Old Man Yuan behind all of this.

“So it was you, Old Man Yuan, who caused them to turn traitor?” The Lord of All Fiends growled.

“They are all my children. Why speak of ‘betrayal’?” Old Man Yuan smiled.

Everyone in both alliances, be it Ji Ning, Daoist Three Purities, the Lord of All Fiends, or Keeper Everwood, was completely enraged. Still, they knew that they had to maintain their calm. They knew very well that this was a critical moment; they had to be even more careful than they were before. Old Man Yuan’s ambitions were truly terrifying, and he was in control of so many major powers. Once he mobilized them…he would be even more dangerous than Lord Demonheart had been.

“You’ve taken control of them?” Ji Ning suddenly spoke out.

Soul control. This was something which terrified any and every cultivator.

It meant to be controlled, to lose all free will, to feel complete and slavish devotion. If the master ordered the soulslave to die, the soulslave would commit suicide with a smile on his face. This was what made soul control so terrifying! Once you were controlled, it might look as though you were still alive, but you would lose all of your free will. It would be no different from death.

In the endless primordial chaos, there were certain supreme major powers who knew soul control techniques. However, they would generally only be able to use it against weaklings.

By contrast, Old Man Yuan had actually been able to make the likes of Fuxi and Gonggong his soulslaves. This meant that he was most likely incredibly skilled in ways of heartforce, perhaps to the point of being an actual, terrifying Heartforce Cultivator.

“He definitely is a Heartforce Cultivator.” Godfiend and Witherspike were both watching from far away, and both of them were stunned. Saber immediately said, “To be able to stealthily take control over so many major powers without revealing any flaws at all…this Old Man Yuan is definitely a terrifyingly powerful Heartforce Cultivator. He’s even more terrifying than Houyi.”

“For someone like Houyi to appear within this local chaosworld is one thing, but how could a true Heartforce Cultivator appear here? Aren’t they supposed to be extremely rare and extremely mysterious, with very few legacies left behind for others?” Godfiend Witherspike felt his heart grow cold.

No Heartforce Cultivator could be underestimated.

Heartforce…it was ephemeral, formless, and extremely strange.

The cultivators of the endless primordial chaos were primarily divided up into three major paths: Fiendgod Refiners, Ki Refiners, and the mysterious Heartforce Cultivators! Fiendgod Refiners primarily focused on refining the body, Ki Refiners focused on cultivating their Immortal energy, and Heartforce Cultivators focused on cultivating the ephemeral power of heartforce.

“Just before you joined the Seamless Gate, you sought me out,” Ning said. “You suddenly launched a heartforce attack against me. Were you attempting to take control over me as well?”

“Yes.” Old Man Yuan smiled. “Your rise to power was simply far too sudden, much faster than I had expected. Given that the Endwar was nigh, I didn’t have any time to slowly infiltrate your soul defenses. To be honest, I acted against you in a brutish and rather inelegant manner, and I knew that my chances of succeeding would be much lower as a result. When I took over Gonggong and Fuxi, I slowly worked on them over the course of countless years, causing them to fall under my control without even knowing about it. I tried to do the same against Three Purities and Tathagata as well. These locals naturally weren’t able to notice a thing, but their hearts were far too powerful. There was no way for me to truly control them.”

“What?” Three Purities and Tathagata were both shocked.

So Old Man Yuan had tried to secretly take control of the two of them as well. They had automatically defended against it without even knowing about it.

This was simply too terrifying.

“Ahaha, you local yokels…how could you possibly understand how truly formidable heartforce is?” Old Man Yuan laughed coldly, then glanced at the distant Houyi with a look of praise in his eyes. “But for someone like you, Houyi, to emerge in a backwater chaosworld is quite admirable. You received no legacies at all, but you were actually able to come up with a few heartforce techniques on your own. Although you are a child when compared to true Heartforce Cultivators, you are still quite impressive.”

“Heartforce Cultivator?” Lord Tathagata’s face changed. “You are a Heartforce Cultivator?”

They had acquired quite a bit of information from alien Outsiders they had slain. They knew a bit about what Heartforce Cultivators were and knew exactly how terrifying they were.

“Yes.” Old Man Yuan smiled and nodded, continuing to look at the distant Houyi. “Houyi, I actually wanted to take control over you a long time ago. I knew it would be easy, because your spirit has an obvious weakness…her.” Old Man Yuan waved his hand, causing an absolutely peerless beauty to appear by his side. The woman looked towards Old Man Yuan with absolute adoration on her face.

“Chang’e.” Houyi’s face changed. 1

“As I said, your flaw is obvious. Although your heartforce is powerful, I’m completely convinced that I could take control over you. Alas…after the war that ended the Primordial Era, I was never able to find you. I had no chance to seize your soul.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “So you were hiding by Subhuti’s side all this time. You hid yourself quite well.”

“What did you do to Chang’e…” Houyi was enraged.

“Ahaha…” Old Man Yuan glanced at Chang’e, who stood by his side.

Chang’e called out in a soft voice, “Master.”

This sight caused Houyi to feel even more miserable. Still, he quickly regained his calm…but his eyes remained as cold as the edge of a blade as he stared at Old Man Yuan.

“Stop trying to scare me. You can’t actually kill me with your eyes, you know.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “If you were at full power, I’d need to use a bit of effort to deal with you, but now, after killing the Lord of the Demonheart? Hmph. Although I look down upon you local bumpkins, I have to admit that he had the power of a supreme Elder God. In killing him, you most assuredly did considerable damage to your own vital essence as well. I could just stand here and let you attack me as you please, but even if you used up all of your divine power you still wouldn’t be able to kill me. And…I won’t actually let you hit me, of course. Your techniques might be useful against other major powers, but against me? You are still just a kid.”

Daoist Three Purities said in a cold voice, “From what you are saying, I assume you already started to take part in our wars during the Primordial Era?”

“Correct.”

Old Man Yuan said, “I arrived in this place during the Primordial Era. Back then, it was still the Pangu Chaosworld. I was heavily injured when I arrived, so I possessed Old Man Yuan and took his body for my own. Back then, he wasn’t that powerful, and he was a very solitary figure. After I took his body, I slowly began to grow more powerful and took control over other major powers. I’ve been here all along, partially because I wanted to take the Worldheart, and partially because I wish to acquire Subhuti’s spacetime techniques.”

“You honor me too much.” A white-haired old man in Daoist robes appeared next to Ji Ning. It was Subhuti’s incarnation. “So all those years ago, when you risked your life to save this old Daoist, it was all part of your plan?”

“Ahaha…who in the puny little Pangu Chaosworld could possibly do anything to me? Everything was part of my plan.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “The Dao of Spacetime…it truly is quite incredible. Once you reach a truly high level in this Dao, you can effortlessly travel through both space and time, making it impossible for your foes to find and kill you. I really did want to acquire those abilities of yours and learn them from you…but you refused to teach them to me.”

“You have no talent in that regard.” Subhuti shook his head.

“You simply refused to give me the techniques you came up with.” Old Man Yuan’s gaze was icy cold. In the primordial chaos, spacetime techniques were considered incredibly valuable techniques, far more valuable than most divine abilities.

Subhuti was a prime example of why this was the case. At his level of mastery, he could leave a place whenever he wished. He was different from the Lord of All Fiends; the Lord of All Fiends had managed to merge the Dao of Wind and the Dao of Space to an unfathomable degree, resulting in him being able to move at incredible speeds. Subhuti, however, had completely surpassed speed itself. He operated in the realm of spacetime and was able to transport himself to a completely different time continuum, making it impossible for any enemies to catch up to him.

This was quite a terrifying ability, especially when used for subterfuge, assassination, or escaping. The value of this technique was actually greater than that of the Worldheart!

“Still, I’m a patient man.” Old Man Yuan smiled. “I’m never hasty. I always wait for the end before making any move. I was quite patient during the war that ended the Primordial Era as well…and it was a good thing I did. I watched as Nuwa, Lord Demonheart, and the Lord of All Things fought against each other. I saw Nuwa make her sudden breakthrough and dominate all her foes…and because I waited and watched, I managed to avoid bringing disaster upon myself.”

“This time, however, the two sides decided to stop fighting, forcing me to make my move.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “A true pity. As a result, I won’t be able to acquire Subhuti’s spacetime technique. This disappoints me greatly.”

Ning let out a secret sigh of relief.

His master had only transmitted his spacetime technique to Redsnow, teaching it to no others at all. The only people who even knew that Redsnow had learned this technique were Ji Ning, Crazy Ji, and Subhuti himself.

If it wasn’t for that, Old Man Yuan would probably have gone after Redsnow.

“Spacetime techniques are actually this valuable?” True God Redsnow, protected behind the Nuwa Alliance’s formations, was shocked upon hearing this. He had lost one of his clones during the chaotic battle just now, but fortunately he had a total of eighteen clones. Prior to this, he had simply believed spacetime techniques to be powerful…but he had no idea that they were this powerful! Now, it seemed as though the ‘Worldheart’, an item which countless alien Outsiders would go mad for, was not necessarily as valuable as his spacetime techniques.

“Forget it. Can’t win’m all. If I can’t get it, I can’t get it.” Old Man Yuan turned his head to glance at the distant dark-golden castle. “Witherspike, do you still remember that black lotus? If you do, give me a hand. I’ll definitely reward you heavily.”

Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were located deep within that dark-golden castle. Upon hearing these words, both their faces changed, with Witherspike’s face turning completely ashen. He had always believed Old Man Yuan to be a local, but upon listening Old Man Yuan’s soliloquy he started to have a feeling that something was off. Now…he finally understood everything.

“It’s him.” Godfiend Witherspike was stunned. “Him. He’s one of the Nine Divine Generals under the command of God Emperor Blacklotus…the Mindlord. Why has he appeared in this backwater?! Let’s leave! Let’s leave right now! We need to get the hell out of here!”

“One of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus?” Saber’s face turned pale as well.

Each of the nine were supremely powerful Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were utterly, terrifyingly powerful. Compared to them, lone wanderers like Witherspike and Saber were nothing.

“Let’s go!”

Swoosh.

The dark-golden castle instantly fled, disappearing like a streak of light.

“How useless.” Old Man Yuan watched as the dark-golden castle fled at high speed, then shook his head. “Kids like them are as slippery as eels. As soon as they sense a bit of danger, they’ll immediately slip away.”

1. Chang’e is an important part of the Houyi legend in Chinese mythology. She was his wife, and in many versions of the story she betrayed him, be it intentionally or accidentally.

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Chapter 28 – I Have a Solution

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 28 – I Have a Solution

Although the dark-golden castle had fled far away, Godfiend Witherspike had left an incarnation behind.

“He’s actually one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus…” Godfiend Witherspike watched from afar. “Hmph. I need to keep my true body far away from this man, but this battle is still worth watching. I might still have a chance.” Godfiend Witherspike was far less nervous now that his true body wasn’t at any risk. There was no longer any danger here.

“The Nine Divine Generals are all famous figures, with the Mindlord being a particularly formidable Heartforce Cultivator.” Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes suddenly lit up. “They’ve started to fight.”

In the Void.

“It seems that the formations which Nuwa left behind are just so-so after all.” Old Man Yuan said calmly, “Assemble my formation.”

Elder God Gonggong, Daofather Ink Bamboo, Fuxi, and the other major powers all quickly assembled into formations. They drew upon the power of chaos, centering it around Old Man Yuan and forming an enormous formation around him. A giant black lotus flower began to bloom around him, a lotus flower with a total of three lotus petals.

Old Man Yuan stood atop the center of the black lotus, flywhisk in hand. Next to him stood Chang’e, the mistress of the Lunar Palace which was also known as the Frozen Palace. Elder God Gonggong, Daofather Ink Bamboo, and Fuxi each commanded a squad of major powers, with the three squads standing on those three black lotus petals.

Rumble…

Chaos energy began to surge violently.

Old Man Yuan and his subordinates had joined their powers together perfectly, and their combined aura was far more powerful than that of Lord Demonheart’s.

“Kill.” Old Man Yuan’s eyes were filled with lofty disdain, as though he was staring down at a pile of ants. This was his true face, the face of the Mindlord.

The Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance had both become enraged long ago. The sudden betrayal had caused devastating losses to both their sides, and their hearts were filled with endless hatred. The only reason why they had not attacked was because they wanted to get a better understanding of Old Man Yuan first. Now, they understood that Old Man Yuan was actually a terrifyingly powerful alien Outsider, one who had lain in wait for a long period of time and who had silently taken control over quite a few major powers. He was an even more terrifying figure than the long-deceased Lord of All Things had been.

Swish.

Swish.

Swish.

Three dazzling streaks of light shot through the air towards Old Man Yuan.

These streaks of light were Ji Ning’s Triult Swords, Daoist Three Purities’ Immortal Slaying Swords, and the Lord of All Fiend’s shuttle. These were the three fastest attackers. Because Old Man Yuan was somewhat closer to the Seamless Gate, the Lord of All Fiend’s attack was actually the first to arrive.

“You backwater locals.” Old Man Yuan calmly willed the lotus petals to swivel slightly.

Boom! The sharp shuttle stabbed directly against the slowly swiveling black lotus petals but was completely blocked.

Boom! Boom! The attacks from the Triult Swords and the Immortal Slaying Swords arrived as well. The black lotus simply slowly swiveled to block the two attacks. Although it trembled, it was still able to endure the strikes.

One of the enormous lotus petals gently brushed against the body of the Lord of All Fiends, who had moved into close combat range. He was knocked flying backwards and he vomited up a mouthful of blood.

“You can’t take those attacks head-on. Those lotus petals are as powerful as Demonheart was.” The Lord of All Fiends sent a hurried mental message to the others. He was more than fast enough to have dodged the attack, but he wanted to test those black lotus petals and see how powerful they were.

This caused the major powers in both alliances to feel their hearts grow cold.

Ji Ning, Three Purities, the Lord of All Fiends…the three of them striking out essentially represented the three most powerful attackers in both alliances striking out. Although they had caused the black lotus petals to tremble, it was still clearly quite stable and far from the point of breaking down.

And a single, simple strike from a petal was comparable to a blow from Lord Demonheart?

T-this…

Boom! The enormous black lotus came smashing straight towards the Seamless Gate.

“What should we do?”

“How should we stop him?”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance were both panicking. After suffering such heavy losses a few moments ago, both sides were now much weaker than before. Even the attacks of Ji Ning, Three Purities, and the Lord of All Fiends had been useless against the black lotus. Most likely, even if everyone in both alliances attacked together they still wouldn’t be able to breach its defenses.

“I have a solution. It might be able to kill Old Man Yuan.” A voice suddenly rang out in the minds of the overlords of both the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate.

“Subhuti.” Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others were intrigued.

“Master?” Ji Ning was stunned.

……

The Crescent world.

Subhuti was standing atop the clouds, staring at past the skies towards the war in the Three Realms. He was able to see everything very clearly.

“Shennong…given what has come to pass, it is time to use that flower.” A hint of grief could be seen in Subhuti’s eyes as a fiery red flower appeared in his hands. “A pity that you won’t be able to see it.”

……

Six years ago.

The two of them were standing together at a farm deep within the primordial chaos. There was a thatched cottage by the side of the farm, and Shennong, dressed as an old farmer, was smiling as he pointed towards a certain plot. “See that, Subhuti?”

The restrictive formations covering the field had already been withdrawn, revealing its true appearances. There were small creeks and many different plots, with a fiery red flower having appeared in the very center of the field.

“What’s that?” Subhuti paused for a moment, then his face changed slightly. “I-I…why do I sense your aura in it?”

“Yes.”

Shennong said softly, “That’s because I used my own blood and soul to nourish it. Finally, just before the Endwar, it has come to maturity. This is the most terrifying plant that I have ever created in all my life. Normally, I delight in creating medicinal plants that can save lives. But this time…I have a bad feeling about this Endwar. I feel as though there has to be someone causing it, someone scheming behind our backs.”

“Yes. Who is causing this great calamity?” Subhuti frowned as well. “The Seamless Gate has coexisted peacefully with us for countless ages now. Why, then, am I now subconsciously sensing that destiny is telling us that either we survive or they survive? What is happening?”

“I’ve poured my heart and soul into the art of plants and flowers.” Shennong smiled. “I’m afraid that I won’t be of that much use when the war begins. I suppose this flower is the only real contribution I can make.”

“This flower is for you to use.” Shennong looked at Subhuti.

“Me?” Subhuti was stunned.

“Nuwa trusted you. I trust you as well.” Shennong nodded. “This flower has a very simple name. It is the ‘Lifeseizer Flower’. When the flower blooms, it shall seize away life! Right now, it has yet to bloom. Once you fill it with your divine power, you’ll be able to make it bloom…and once it does, everything within thirty meters shall be attacked by it. Even Elder Gods will see their souls shattered and even their truesouls annihilated.”

Subhuti was shocked by what he heard.

“However, you need to get within thirty meters of your target,” Subhuti said. “My concern is that the instigator of the Endwar will appear and be too powerful for me to handle. If I’m too weak, I won’t even be able to draw near him. But you, Subhuti, have incredible mastery over the Dao of Spacetime. You can silently draw near our opponent…although you’ll probably have to sacrifice a bit of divine power once you lose that clone.”

“Alright.” Subhuti nodded. This definitely was a killer weapon for them to keep hidden.

“Subhuti…remember, you can’t use this weapon casually. It can only be used once, after all,” Shennong said.

“I understand.” Subhuti nodded.

Shennong nodded slowly as well. “I hope to one day see the beauty of the flower blooming…and yet, I also hope that day will never come.”

For the flower to bloom meant that they were in truly desperate straits.

“You might be worrying just a bit too much.” Subhuti smiled. “You know how powerful our side is, and we also have the three guardian formations. On the whole, we should be overwhelmingly more powerful than the Seamless Gate.”

“No one can predict the future. It is best to be cautious.” Shennong turned to stare at the creeks flowing through his fields and the tiny little eddies within them. “You and I are different. Suiren and I both watched as our fragile little human race slowly rose to prominence. Many of our comrades died during that process. That’s why I know that life and death are both unpredictable things. There will always be unexpected events in every war.”

“Look at those little eddies in the creeks. They can represent all the deceased heroes of the human race. Their risked their lives for the sake of giving their descendants a brighter, safer future. This tribulation is a great tribulation for all the Three Realms. I hope that the Three Realms will be able to safely endure it and once more return to peace.”

“Right.” Subhuti sighed as well. He, too, was concerned.

The war of the Primordial Era had resulted in both chaosworlds being shattered.

What would happen this time?

“Let us fight. If someone wishes to take over our home or destroy it, we shall fight them to the bitter end.” Shennong waved his hand, causing the flower to fly over and land within it. He lowered his head to look at it, then handed it to Subhuti. “I entrust it to you.”

“Alright.” Subhuti nodded.

……

The present day.

“I have a solution that might allow us to kill Old Man Yuan.” Subhuti’s voice rang out within the minds of Ji Ning, Jueming, Three Purities, Houyi, Everwood, and Allfiend.

“So long as I can get within thirty meters of him, I’ll have a very good chance of killing him! Even if he doesn’t die, he will still be heavily wounded,” Subhuti said. “However, the issue is that this black lotus formation has completely locked down spacetime around him. There’s no way for me to draw near him. I need all of you to help me breach that black lotus formation. Without it locking down spacetime, I’ll be able to instantly appear next to him and launch my attack.”

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Chapter 29 – All To Let the Flower Bloom

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 29 – All To Let the Flower Bloom

“Subhuti, are you really sure about this?”

“Even if we can temporarily breach the formation, Old Man Yuan has a host of servants guarding him. He himself is also unfathomably powerful.” Everyone began to question him.

Subhuti continued to stand there atop the clouds of the Crescent world. His divine body suddenly split in half, resulting in a second Subhuti appearing next to him. “I’m sure.”

It wasn’t that he had faith in himself.

It was that he had faith in Shennong! Shennong had said that even Elder Gods would see their souls shattered and their truesouls destroyed by this flower.

“Good.” Keeper Everwood sent mentally, “Subhuti, my old friend, I believe in you. I never would’ve thought that we would have the chance to fight alongside each other.”

“I believe in you.”

“We have no other options.”

“Everyone, how should we break that black lotus formation?”

The overlords were all speaking mentally to each other.

Houyi had been silent this entire time. Suddenly, he sent mentally, “I need your help. All of you, attack the black lotus formation! Put it under some pressure, and then I’ll use my archery to break through it with one strike.”

Ji Ning and the othesr were all stunned upon hearing Houyi say this.

They had great confidence in Houyi, because Houyi was the one who had slain Lord Demonheart! However, Houyi clearly was heavily injured right now.

“This arrow will be my most powerful arrow, an arrow that will be far stronger than the ones I used to kill Lord Demonheart,” Houyi said.

“Fine. We’ll do as you say.”

“Alright.”

The various major powers quickly came to a decision.

“Everyone, we no longer have any other way out of this.” Lord Tathagata let out a growl as he and the Empyrean Gods around him all stared at the black lotus formation as it assaulted the distant army of the Seamless Gate. Everyone’s eyes were filled with hatred…and then they summoned the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, quickly forming a Pangu Genesis Formation around Lord Tathagata.

“Hahaha…we’ve been forced to the brink. My fellow Daoists, come fight by my side!” Daoist Three Purities let out a laugh as the Pure Yang True Immortals around him quickly joined together into the Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation.

“My fellow Diremonster brethren, let us kill this Old Man Yuan! After we kill him, we’ll drink and feast together!” Sun Wukong let out a loud roar which was immediately followed by the cries and cheers of the many Diremonster Gods around him as they formed into a Pangu Genesis Formation around him. The massive Pangu-Wukong charged forward through the Void towards their enemies.

“Daoist Yuan…today is the day you shall die.” Buddha Amitabha took control of a Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation as well.

Kuafu…

Daoist Jade Cauldron…

Buddha Maitreya…

All of these powerful figures who were close to the overlord level took control of a grand formation. None of the Empyrean Gods or True Immortals within the formations shirked back from their duty. They all fearlessly followed their major power leaders into war.

“Amitabaha…to be able to join so many friends in battle is truly a blessing,” Buddha Jueming said with a smile as he sped through the Void towards the black lotus formation.

“Brightmoon.” In this moment…Ning’s mind was filled with images of his daughter, Brightmoon.

“No one will be able to harm you.”

“No one.”

A black lightning serpent streaked across the Void, charging towards the black lotus formation.

Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation had been watching this battle from afar. Upon seeing all the experts of the Three Realms charge straight towards the black lotus formation, Witherspike felt astonishment. He couldn’t help but reminisce to himself as he murmured softly, “By all rights, the Mindlord isn’t someone that these locals can defeat. They are fools to true! And yet…when I see this, I can’t help but hope for their victory, much like how I hoped that my own homeland would win that great war. Alas…in the end, this world is a world where the strong reign supreme.”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Old Man Yuan showed no mercy at all. The black lotus petals ground away at the attackers like a meat grinder, quickly causing the deaths of many major powers and the destruction of multiple formations.

Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, Keeper Everwood, and the Lord of All Fiends had charged to the very front, seeking to aid the other major powers as much as they could. They relied on the power of their divine bodies or the strength of their defensive techniques to charge into the most dangerous situations, ensuring that their allies would suffer fewer losses as they furiously attacked the black lotus formation.

The Triult Swords, the Immortal Slaying Swords, and other streaks of jade light, bloody light, sword-light, and various Chaos weapons all struck out towards the grand formation.

Both alliances were attacking with full strength, holding nothing back whatsoever.

Far off in the distance, Houyi calmly watched this all happen. “Everyone…I promise that I will not let you down.” He drew his bow.

Old Man Yuan had been calmly watching everything happen from within his black lotus formation. Upon seeing Houyi draw his bow, Old Man Yuan’s face changed slightly as he stared at Houyi. He knew exactly how formidable every single Heartforce Cultivator could be. Although Houyi only knew some techniques he had devised on his own, he had been able to use those techniques to kill the Lord of the Demonheart! Old Man Yuan didn’t dare to underestimate Houyi’s attacks. This was one of the reasons why he had taken control over Chang’e all those years ago; he wanted to be able to influence and perhaps restrict Houyi’s actions.

“Houyi.” Old Man Yuan issued a silent order, causing Chang’e to immediately fly in front of him.

“If you wish to act against me, you’ll have to kill Chang’e first.” Although Old Man Yuan felt confident that he could handle this next arrow, he still acted with caution.

“Houyi.” As Houyi drew his bow, he felt as though he had returned to those bygone days, the most beautiful days in his life.

“Houyi, have a taste. Does it taste good?”

“Everything you make is wonderful, Chang’e.”

Although certain things happened afterwards that broke his heart, the beauty of those oldest memories had never faded.

Houyi smiled as he pulled the bow to a full draw.

Rumble…the Void shook as a flood of chaos energy began to fill Houyi’s divine bow.

Rumble…the bowstring also began to tremble.

Houyi’s divine body transformed into a breathtakingly brilliant beacon of light…and then all the light was also poured into that arrow.

Chaos energy was his bow. Heartforce was his bowstring. His own body, his very life itself, was his arrow.

This was an arrow which Houyi had developed over the course of countless years of melancholy and spiritual sorrow. An arrow which required the life of the archer…

Twang.

The bowstring sang.

The arrow flew.

The only thing left in the Void was Houyi’s divine bow, which seemed to be sobbing in pain.

The arrow pierced through the skies, gathering and swallowing all of the chaos energy and natural energy nearby. This arrow streaked through the Void like a meteor, becoming increasingly brilliant as it flew forward. The entire Void seemed to have turned silent. All the major powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals were staring at this arrow. They were frantically assaulting the black lotus formation, precisely so that they could give this arrow a chance.

They understood that Houyi had sacrificed his very life for this arrow.

Although they felt sorrow, they also felt hope. Hope that this arrow would succeed. If necessary, they would be willing to make the exact same sacrifice.

“A suicide arrow.” Protected by his black lotus formation, Old Man Yuan frowned. “This Houyi truly is a madman. He is tremendously talented in heartforce, but why is it that every single technique he came up with is borderline suicidal? He used what could be described as a desperation attack in order to kill Lord Demonheart, but this arrow? It’s completely a suicide attack.”

The arrow was too fast. There was no way to dodge it at all.

“These madmen.” Old Man Yuan frowned. The grand formation was being battered by everyone in both alliances. Although the individual cultivators were quite weak, when they joined forces they were so powerful that even Lord Demonheart would find it hard to withstand them. The black lotus formation truly was under a significant amount of pressure.

Boom!

The arrow had expanded to become an utterly enormous comet, and it slammed directly against the black lotus formation, causing a tremendous boom. The formation had already taken a tremendous amount of punishment…and now, it could take no more. With a bang, it blew apart and dissipated, but as the lotus petals broke apart the giant comet became much dimmer as well. The arrow within it could now be seen as well as it continued to shoot straight towards Old Man Yuan.

Old Man Yuan stood there, horsetail whisk in hand. The strands of his whisk coiled around him, forming multiple layers of protection. He also ordered Chang’e to stand in front of him as well.

Boom!

The arrow streaked forward without changing course.

It pierced both through the body of Chang’e and the whisk-barriers. As it appeared before Old Man Yuan, Old Man Yuan struck out with his palm against the tip of the arrow.

BOOM!

Old Man Yuan was knocked quite a few steps back. Blood leaked out from the corner of his lips, but he grinned. “You were able to breach my formation, but in doing so you lost all your power. You were only able to consume up a small bit of my divine power.” The only thing which he was worried about was Houyi and his arrows.

Chang’e fell to her knees, holding a hand to her chest.

Whoosh. A blurry shadow appeared in front of them, a shadow with Houyi’s appearance. It was his truesoul.

“Chang’e.” Houyi’s shadow looked at Chang’e. He gently stretched out his hand, touching her face. He said in a soft voice, “I…never…hated you.”

Chang’e just looked at him, her eyes as cold as ice.

And yet…two tears silently streaked down her face.

She felt pain in her heart. She knew exactly what had happened, but there was nothing she could do.

Upon seeing the two tears streak down the face of Chang’e, Houyi’s shadow smiled gently. And then…it dissipated.

“He used a suicide arrow attack, but was actually able to keep his truesoul intact for a brief moment out of pure willpower?” Old Man Yuan glanced coldly at Chang’e. She had fallen to the ground and her aura was already beginning to weaken. Her body had been penetrated by that terrifying arrow; how could she possibly survive?

“Hmph.” Old Man Yuan waved his hand, causing a surge of divine power to sweep out and smash down upon her body, transforming it into ash.

And right at this moment…

“Eh?” Old Man Yuan’s face changed…because right behind him, a white-haired old man in a Daoist robe had suddenly appeared.

An utterly dazzlingly flower flew out from Subhuti’s hand, and as it did so it began to bloom. The petals of the flower began to spread out, revealing what could truly be described as the most indescribably beautiful flower to ever grace the Three Realms.

Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, the Lord of All Fiends, the Keeper of the Everwood, Kuafu, Sun Wukong, Crazy Ji, Jade Cauldron, Buddha Maitreya, Amitabha, and all the other major powers were watching. They stared at that flower as it bloomed. Everything they had done…Houyi’s sacrifice…it was all for the sake of letting this flower bloom.

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Chapter 30 – Unto Death

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 30 – Unto Death

The flower bloomed.

Daoist Subhuti watched as the flower bloomed…and then, his gaze grew dim. Although divine power still rippled through his body, his aura of life had completely vanished.

Ji Ning and the others watched from afar, staring hopefully at Old Man Yuan who stood at the center of that giant black lotus. A look of horror appeared on Old Man Yuan’s face, and his aura trembled then weakened dramatically.

“He didn’t die.”

“He didn’t die!”

Ning and the others were all stunned. The Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms were in a state of shock.

“He actually didn’t die.” Daoist Subhuti, back within the Crescent world, let out a soft sigh. His own clone had been instantly slain and so he knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful that flower had been. Old Man Yuan, however, had actually been able to withstand it.

“Shennong said that even Elder Gods would have their souls shattered and their truesouls wiped out. Old Man Yuan, however, is far more powerful than ordinary Elder Gods.” A hint of grief was in Subhuti’s eyes. He understood that since the Lifeseizer Flower had failed to seize Old Man Yuan’s life, the upcoming battle would be the cruelest, deadliest battle of them all. If Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Buddha Jueming, Crazy Ji, Ji Ning, and the others were not able to withstand Old Man Yuan…then all living beings in the Three Realms would truly be annihilated.

“That flower…?” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation was still watching from afar. As he saw this, he nodded to himself. “Subhuti’s clone no longer has any aura of life around it, but the body of the clone is fine. It would appear as though that flower doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe; it should be something that attacks all souls and truesouls around it. Alas…the flower might’ve been powerful, but the Mindlord is a powerful Heartforce Cultivator. Heartforce Cultivators have more techniques for protecting their souls and truesouls than ayone else. Still, it looks as though the Mindlord was heavily injured; even his life aura has grown unstable.”

“Kill.”

“Kill him.”

“Kill.”

Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, the Lord of All Fiends, Keeper Everwood, Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, and the rest of the major powers were briefly disappointed, but then their eyes turned red with bloodlust as they let out furious roars and began to launch all-out attacks with abandon.

Old Man Yuan’s face turned ugly. He barked out in a cold voice, “Kill them!”

He knew quite well that this was the critical moment. As he gave the order, his soulslaves immediately sprang into action, forming into multiple smaller formations and engaging the Nuwa Alliance and Seamless Gate in battle. The three guardian formations of the Nuwa Alliance were particularly deadly, and the ones under the command of Buddha Maitreya, Buddha Amitabha, and Daoist Jade Cauldron were actually able to hold the upper hand, tying down the likes of Elder God Gonggong for now.

“Blacklotus Guard.” Old Man Yuan sat down into the lotus position and activated a secret art.

Whoosh!

Instantly, the area around him transformed into countless lotus flowers. He was seated atop a lotus throne, while the sea of black lotuses around him and spread out to cover an area of nearly ten thousand kilometers. Spacetime around him instantly became sealed, blocking out any movement.

“Attack.” Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, the Lord of All Fiends, Keeper Everwood, Ji Ning, and Buddha Jueming were clearly more powerful than the other major powers. They either charging forward alone or attacked from afar with the help of mighty formations, furiously assaulting Old Man Yuan.

There were seven figures in total, as Ji Ning was using both his true body and his Primaltwin. This represented seven elite Elder Gods assaulting Old Man Yuan!

The most powerful forces on both sides had joined together to attack him; even Lord Demonheart at his peak would have been suppressed in power. However…although Old Man Yuan had clearly been heavily injured, he was able to rely on his ‘Blacklotus Guard’ to block all attacks. The lotus petals slowly swiveled around him, rendering the area around him completely impervious to attack.

Old Man Yuan was one of the Seven Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus. He was a supreme Elder God, and an extraordinary one at that! He was most skilled in heartforce and knew many secret arts, and he naturally knew the ‘black lotus techniques’ which God Emperor Blacklotus had developed.

This Black Lotus Guardian was something which Ji Ning and the others were not capable of breaching.

“Die.” Old Man Yuan, seated atop the lotus throne, had an ugly look on his face. He reached out with his right hand which instantly expanded in size and glowed with black light, stretching out hundreds of thousands of kilometers to strike at Daoist Three Purities. Daoist Three Purities wasn’t too far away, as he had to rely on his Immortal Slaying Swords to attack. Only Houyi, who attacked with arrows, was capable of attacking from a greater distance.

Old man Yuan’s fingers reached out towards him like the very pillars of heavens themselves.

“Not good.” The black-robed Ning immediately willed his Triult Swords to arc out in a streak of curved light, stabbing towards that palm.

“Hmph.” Daoist Three Purities also used his Immortal Slaying Swords to strike out at the attack.

“And here I was worrying that he would keep hiding inside without coming out.” The Lord of All Fiends was the fastest of them all. He instantly appeared next to Old Man Yuan’s elongated right arm, then whipped down his long shuttle at the arm.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

The attacks from the three major powers forced Old Man Yuan to withdraw his arm once more.

“What?! His body is comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure?” This exchange of blows caused the hearts of Daoist Three Purities, Ji Ning, and Allfiend to clench. When their attacks had landed on Old Man Yuan’s arm, they had only been able to cause a few sparks to appear.

“I never would’ve thought that I’d have to fight with full power in order to kill you backwater locals of the Three Realms. That flower should have been devised by Shennong, I believe? It was quite nasty.” Old Man Yuan’s face was quite pale. He put away his horsetail whisk, then a total of six arms suddenly appeared on his body. His six arms all dramatically elongated, striking out at the various major powers.

Old Man Yuan continued to sit there atop his black lotus throne, striking out with his six arms in every direction, his hands executing different types of marvelous palm-arts and finger-arts.

“The heavy injury he suffered just now was to his soul. Now, he’s using up his divine power as well. Every bit of divine power he uses up, a bit of his soul is used up as well.” Lord Tathagata sent mentally, “Everyone, keep fighting. If we can hold on for long enough, he won’t be able to endure it.”

“All of you can go die.” Old Man Yuan also knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay in battle for too long.

Faced with six attacking arms at once, Ning and the others had to fend for themselves by themselves.

Boom!

Old Man Yuan’s giant palm clashed directly against Keeper Everwood’s wooden ruler.

Bang!

An invisible wave of power struck out at Keeper Everwood’s soul. Keeper Everwood’s wooden ruler turned sluggish, giving the palm a chance to slip past it and strike directly against his body.

“Everwood!” Lord Allfiend’s face twisted. He never would’ve expected that Keeper Everwood, so skilled in defense, would actually be the first to fall into danger.

“I won’t be able to escape.” Keeper Everwood quickly understood that he wouldn’t be able to avoid death.

His mind became filled with thoughts of how he had journeyed as a mortal through the Seamless Chaosworld.

He thought of a wooden house.

Keeper Everwood had played an everwood flute in front of that house as a certain woman had danced by his side.

“I really wish I could go back…but I never will…”

Swish!

The giant palm pierced straight through Keeper Everwood’s body…but as it did, Keeper Everwood actually laughed.

BOOM!

His body suddenly exploded. Pierced through by that palm, he had unhesitatingly chosen to self-detonate. This explosion, the self-detonation of an Elder God, rocked the entire battlefield. The power of this explosion was great enough to cause the already-injured Old Man Yuan’s face to turn even paler.

“These damn locals.” Old Man Yuan knew that at a critical time like this, he had to either kill these Immortals and Fiendgods or be killed!

He never would’ve imagined that he would be in such a dangerous situation. It was all due to that flower!

No…it was all because of Houyi.

If it wasn’t for Houyi, his black lotus formation wouldn’t have been breached.

“Die.” Old Man Yuan grew even more berserk. This time, he simultaneously struck out with two of his palms against Daoist Three Purities. Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Swords’ had tremendous penetrative power. As a result, his attacks were actually the most damaging to Old Man Yuan.

“My fellow Daoists, are you willing to accompany me unto death?” Daoist Three Purities knew that he wouldn’t be able to survive this attack; the defensive power of his ‘Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation’ was far lower than that of an Elder God’s body.

“It is our honor to follow you, Daofather.”

“Let’s fight!”

As the giant palms came smashing towards them, Daoist Three Purities and his 3600 True Immortals all smiled. Then…they transformed into an incomparably dazzling sun that was even more brilliant than the Solar Star itself.

“You’ve gone ahead of us, my old friend,” Lord Tathagata murmured to himself.

“I swear I will slay this Outsider!” Ning’s eyes were filled with crimson bloodlust.

“Amitabha.” Buddha Jueming was even more berserk.

“These damn yokels!” Old Man Yuan was going crazy from rage as well. Keeper Everwood had chosen to self-detonate, then Daoist Three Purities and several thousand True Immortals had chosen to do the same, allowing all of the Immortal energy in their body to completely burst forth. The explosive power was simply too great; even Old Man Yuan was injured by the waves of power.

“Die! Die!” Old Man Yuan then sent three of his palms to strike out towards Ji Ning. Aside from the Immortal Slaying Swords, Ji Ning’s Triult Swords were the most dangerous weapons on the battlefield. The two people Old Man Yuan wanted dead above all others were Ji Ning and Daoist Three Purities.

Ning’s true body was able to block one palm…but the other two palms continued forward to strike against Ning’s Primaltwin. The black-robed Primaltwin’s body was quite weak, after all; he wouldn’t be able to resist any close range attacks that landed against him. Ning’s true body had been helping out this entire time, but now that three palms were simultaneously striking out against him…the only possible result was death.

“Outsider…” The black-robed Ning shut his eyes.

BOOM!

Yet another dazzling, enormous sun suddenly lit up.

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Chapter 31 – The Destiny of the Three Realm

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 31 – The Destiny of the Three Realm

When the distant incarnation of Godfiend Witherspike saw those enormous suns erupt one after the other, even he was moved by the grief he could sense radiating from them. Some of his most ancient memories were stirred, and he couldn’t help but sigh softly, “Even I hope that they can kill the Mindlord. Perhaps the Mindlord really will end up falling by the hands of these locals.”

Keeper Everwood, dead.

Daoist Three Purities and his 3600 True Immortals, dead.

The black-robed Ji Ning, dead.

“Die, you yokels! All of you, die!” Old Man Yuan was utterly enraged. Even if he won this battle, his soul would have been so heavily injured that even he didn’t know how long it would take for it to heal. He sent three of his enormous arms reaching out towards Lord Tathagata the Buddha.

Lord Buddha murmured in a soft voice, “If I do not go to Hell, who shall? My friends, are you willing to venture into Hell alongside me?” 1

“I am willing.”

“I am willing.”

The Empyrean Gods by his side were all extremely calm as the most unforgettable memories of their lives slowly drifted through their minds. They all had things they had once sworn to protect, and they would not shirk back from their duty, not even it cost them their lives.

The three enormous palms descended upon them.

Lord Buddha and his 5800 Empyrean Gods were all completely calm and peaceful.

BOOM!!!

A blindingly brilliant sun erupted once more.

Although Lord Tathagata had an indestructible golden body, he knew very well that he was still just a True God. If he didn’t self-detonate, Old Man Yuan would end up suppressing him and then sealing him away. The end result would still be death, and he wouldn’t even be able to harm Old Man Yuan! Thus, Lord Buddha didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately self-detonated, the shock of the explosion causing Old Man Yuan’s hands to shudder and quickly draw backwards.

Old Man Yuan’s face turned even uglier to behold.

“Kill!” Old Man Yuan had already made up his mind to wipe them all out. His next target was Buddha Jueming. Buddha Jueming’s protective divine ability was incredibly formidable. Given that he was also an Elder God…he made Old Man Yuan rather uncomfortable.

“Amitabha. Northrest, my benefactor…this monk won’t be able to travel to Vastheaven Palace.” Buddha Jueming silently murmured these words to himself, smiling as he watched those three massive palms descend towards him.

BOOM!!!

Buddha Jueming also transformed into a dazzlingly bright sun, the power of the explosion furiously draining away Old Man Yuan’s divine power. However, given that Old Man Yuan was a Heartforce Cultivator, he’d still be able to survive even if the only part of him left was his truesoul! When World God Northrest had fled, he had lost both his body and his soul. The only part of him left was his truesoul, and his truesoul was actually beginning to dissipate as well. Despite all that, he had managed to stay alive for a long period of time.

Obviously, Old Man Yuan wasn’t as formidable as Northrest. However, although quite a bit of his divine power and soul had been consumed, he was still able to continue to launch attacks of tremendous power.

This was the difference between himself and Lord Demonheart. He was one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus!

“He’s still not dead?”

“How is he not dead?!”

The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate all felt heartbroken over their losses, and yet somehow Old Man Yuan was still alive!

“Ji Ning, die.” Old Man Yuan next sent five of his arms to strike at Ji Ning. Ji Ning’s true body had mastered the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], making it extremely hard for Old Man Yuan to kill him with just one or two arms. However, Old Man Yuan’s arms were all capable of attacking as fast as the limits of the Heavenly Daos. When five of those arms attacked simultaneously, there really was no way for Ji Ning to dodge, especially since he had been fighting in close combat to begin with.

In addition…Ji Ning never even considered fleeing.

None of the other major powers had additional clones like he did, yet they had all decided to self-detonate in the hopes of exhausting more of Old Man Yuan’s divine power. Ning had clones. How could he flee?

In this moment, he threw all other thoughts to the back of his mind. He focused on just one thing…to injure Old Man Yuan as best he could. Perhaps he might be the straw that broke the camel’s back, causing Old Man Yuan to die.

Keeper Everwood had died.

Daoist Three Purities and his 3600 True Immortals had died.

The black-robed Primaltwin Ning had died.

Lord Tathagata the Buddha and his 5800 Empyrean Gods had died.

Buddha Jueming had died.

Now, even Ning’s true body was going to die.

“My fellow Daoists…I’m not afraid of death, but I have to ensure that the Seamless Gate will live on. If all of us were to die here, the Immortals and Fiendgods who died for our sake would have died for nothing.” The Lord of All Fiends finally decided to flee.

“Let’s go.”

“We’re leaving the Three Realms.”

The Lord of All Fiends began to collect the major powers of the Seamless Gate mid-battle.

Before this Endwar had begun, these major powers had all handed their closest friends and loved ones over to the Lord of All Fiends for safekeeping. They all had faith in the escaping abilities of the Lord of All Fiends. The reason why they were willing to risk or even to give up their lives was to ensure that the ones they cared about would be able to continue living.

“Let’s go. All of you, let’s go.” Subhuti appeared next to the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance as well.

“Let’s go.” Sun Wukong’s eyes turned red, as did the eyes of many others.

“Let’s go.”

They all understood that continuing to fight like this would be pointless. The whole point of them fighting was to keep the soulslaves occupied, preventing them from assisting Old Man Yuan! Now, however, there was no point. It was all up to Ji Ning.

These other True Gods and Daofathers were too weak to make a difference; they simply couldn’t keep Old Man Yuan tied down. If Old Man Yuan wanted to flee, he could do so whenever he wished to. Only the likes of Ji Ning, the Lord of All Fiends, and the other overlords were capable of forcing Old Man Yuan to stay and fight.

The Lord of All Fiends evacuated the Seamless Gate, while Subhuti evacuated the Nuwa Alliance. Both sides had already made their preparations.

If Ji Ning’s self-detonation failed to slay Old Man Yuan, then they would leave the Three Realms and enter the endless primordial chaos.

If Ji Ning’s self-detonation succeeded in exhausting Old Man Yuan’s store of divine power, rendering him helpless…then they would counter-attack and win!

It was all up to Ji Ning!

Those five massive palms reached out for Ning from five different directions, covering the Void like five massive stormclouds. All of them moved as fast as the speed of light, giving Ning’s true body no chance to run.

“Is the Three Realms about to be destroyed?”

“No…”

“We still have a slight chance.”

Ning was calmer than he ever had been before. The reason why all of those overlords had sacrificed themselves was because they saw that same slight chance as well.

“Come, then.” Ning’s heart was as still as water.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Old Man Yuan’s five palms slammed down with no mercy whatsoever towards Ning’s true body. With the Lord of All Fiends having fled, the Three Realms no longer posed any threat to him whatsoever. As for the likes of Buddha Maitreya or Sun Wukong, those major powers were too weak in comparison. If he wanted to fight them, he would; if he wanted to flee from them, he could.

Ji Ning was the last one who could pose a threat to him.

“Die, then.” Old Man Yuan’s eyes were filled with cold savagery as he mentally steeled himself for Ji Ning’s self-detonation. “I can take another blast. I can still hold.”

The Lord of All Fiends had fled far off into the distance and was watching through his senses.

Patriarch Subhuti was also far away by now, and by his side stood Buddha Maitreya, Buddha Amitabha, Sun Wukong, Jade Cauldron, and the others. They, too, were watching.

Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation was also watching from afar.

The destiny of the Three Realms itself hung in the balance, and everyone was waiting to see how the scales would be tipped. Even the Heavenly Daos were shuddering. They understood that a critical moment had arrived…but there was nothing they could do.

As for the countless living creatures of the Three Realms, they continued to peacefully live their ordinary lives. Some struggled for political power, some wooed their lovers, some chanted poems, some focused on their studies, and some were fighting in their own wars…

They had no idea…that the fate of the entire Three Realms would be decided in this next instant.

“…What’s going on?” The Lord of All Fiends, Patriarch Subhuti, Godfiend Witherspike, and the others all grew puzzled.

This was because Old Man Yuan’s giant palms had descended upon Ji Ning, clutching him in their grasp.

But…

There was no detonation!

“He didn’t self-detonate?!” The Lord of All Fiends boggled.

Subhuti and the rest of the Nuwa Alliance were all stunned as well. Even Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation was stunned.

None of them believed that this was because Ji Ning was afraid to die. Ji Ning had to know that if Old Man Yuan captured him and sealed him away, the end result would still be death, and a pointless one at that. He wouldn’t even be able to injure Old Man Yuan.

They were shocked. Old Man Yuan himself was shocked. He had already mentally prepared himself to deal with Ji Ning’s self-detonation, but even as he finally wrapped his fingers around Ji Ning, Ji Ning still did not self-detonate.

“The destiny of the Three Realms shall be decided in this instant.”

When Ning saw the palms draw near him, he had decided to self-detonate.

In this moment, his heart was calmer than it ever had been before. He stood there all by himself, his friends and allies all far away, his spirit in a state of complete silence…and suddenly, he found that spark of insight within his divine body.

“A spark of insight that can only be found in endless solitude…” As death descended, Ning suddenly gave up his plans of self-detonation. Instead, he immediately activated the [Solitary World God] technique.

In order to advance through the [Solitary World God], one had to find a spark of insight hidden within one’s divine body.

Last time, when he had broken through to become a True God, he had succeeded because of the effort he had spent on mastering the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens. This time, however, it was because in this moment where the entire destiny of the Three Realms hung in the balance, his soul had become so extraordinarily calm and silent that he was able to sense that tiny little spark inside himself.

Whoosh. Old Man Yuan’s fingers clenched around Ji Ning.

Ji Ning did not self-detonate.

“It’s over.” The Lord of All Fiends shook his head.

“It’s finished.” The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance all shook their heads, despair written plainly on their faces. They had tried so hard…but for some reason, Ji Ning had refused to self-detonate. The last hope of the Three Realms was gone.

“No.” Patriarch Subhuti continued to watch. He wouldn’t believe it. He refused to believe that his disciple was a craven man who feared death.

Rumble…

Boundless amounts of chaos energy suddenly began to appear in a great flood, forming an enormous chaos vortex that was centered…directly above Ji Ning.

“It’s not finished. The Three Realms isn’t finished.” When Subhuti saw the chaos vortex suddenly appear, he let out a hoarse cry. “The Three Realms is not finished!”

1. This is a very famous Buddhist saying which was actually attributed to Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha, who swore that he would not allow himself to become a Buddha until he rescued all living things who were trapped in Hell. When asked by others why he was doing this, he countered with the question, ‘If I do not go to hell (to rescue those people), who shall?”

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Chapter 32 – Half-Step World God

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 32 – Half-Step World God

“Is that…!”

The Lord of All Fiends, the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance, and Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation all stared at the chaos vortex which had suddenly appeared. All of them tensed as they sensed that aura of tremendous power expand and wash over them. The source of that terrifying aura…lay in the center of Old Man Yuan’s giant palms.

“Impossible. This is impossible.” Old Man Yuan was still seated on his lotus throne, but his face now completely changed. He could keenly sense the terrifying power emanating from Ji Ning, who he still held within his grasp. Clearly, Ji Ning was striving to push him back.

“He made a breakthrough?!”

Old Man Yuan had experienced the war that ended the Primordial Era. It was at the very end of that war when Mother Nuwa had broken through to become a World God, absorbing enormous amounts of chaos energy and then dominating all her foes. For a chaos vortex to appear at a moment like this…Old Man Yuan knew right away that Ji Ning had begun to make a breakthrough.

But…Ji Ning had only trained for roughly a thousand years!

“He’s barely a thousand years old. There’s no way he could possibly become a World God so quickly.”

“And judging from the size of this chaos vortex, it doesn’t appear as though he has become a World God.”

“So long as he isn’t a World God, he still won’t be a match for me.” Old Man Yuan had been heavily wounded. He knew that this was a critical moment, and he truly did not wish to lose. To lose meant dying in the hands of these local yokels, and so he repeatedly consoled himself by telling himself he would win.

“Get over here!” Old Man Yuan sought to tighten his grip around Ning and pull him over.

BOOM!

Ning suddenly manifested three heads and six arms. His six arms trembled violently, but he was still able to push Old Man Yuan’s palms aside.

A vast flood of chaos energy continued to pour into Ji Ning’s body. Ji Ning’s divine body was continuously improving and transforming as his True God power was rapidly converted into Elder God power. This caused his aura to continue to grow in power, allowing him to fight back with greater and greater efficacy.

“Damn.” This time, Old Man Yuan struck out with all six of his massive palms.

BANG! BOOM! BANG!

Ning continued to block and occasionally counter-attack. Only part of his mind was on the fight; most of his efforts were directed towards converting his divine power.

His body continued to grow more and more powerful…

“How can this be? How can he be this strong? Even if he has become an Elder God, it doesn’t make sense for him to become this strong.” Old Man Yuan grew frantic. The amount of power which Ji Ning had revealed already surpassed that which an Elder God should be capable of. Old Man Yuan’s six arms were now completely incapable of suppressing Ji Ning.

Of course, Old Man Yuan had no idea that Ji Ning had trained in both the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and the [One True Body] divine abilities. Upon becoming an Elder God, Ning would be as strong as seventeen Elder Gods added together. This was even more effective than seventeen Elder Gods joining together into a formation; he could be considered a half-step World God!

Old Man Yuan couldn’t be blamed for his miscalculation.

This combination of techniques was extremely rare, even amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Less than one in ten thousand would be at such a level of power. The King of Pangaea himself had only risen to prominence amongst Elder Gods after he had mastered the third level of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], which allowed him to fuse all eighteen of his bodies together. When he later became a World God, he became an incredibly powerful one thanks to his enormously strong and stable foundation.

“Old Man Yuan can no longer hold him down.” The Lord of All Fiends revealed a look of joy.

“He can’t hold Darknorth down any longer.” Buddha Maitreya and the others began to grow excited as well. Why had so many major powers, Immortals, and Fiendgods sacrificed their lives earlier? It was all for the sake of defeating this alien Outsider and defending their Three Realms. Now…they could see hope!

“You have to win. You HAVE to win!” Patriarch Subhuti grew excited as well, his body beginning to visibly tremble.

“Die! Die! DIE!” Old Man Yuan’s six arms struck out at Ji Ning with wild, berserk abandon.

Rumble…

The flood of chaos energy continued to pour into Ning’s body, causing even more of his True God power to be converted into Elder God power. By now, more than seventy percent of the divine power in his body was Elder God power, and the rest was still being converted. He was now so strong that his punches and kicks were enough to completely block Old Man Yuan’s attacks. In terms of raw power alone, he had definitely surpassed Old Man Yuan already.

A half-step World God…unless a true World God made an appearance, a half-step World God could be described as capable of utterly dominating all opponents.

“How could this happen? How could he be this strong? What the hell type of divine abilities and secret arts has he trained in?” Old Man Yuan was beginning to panic. “I need to leave, now!”

There was no time for slow pondering. Old Man Yuan immediately chose to flee!

As one of the Nine Divine Generals, he was an extremely crafty figure. He knew very well that given how Ji Ning had learned the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], it would be extremely difficult for him to flee. This was one of the reasons why he hadn’t tried to leave earlier and had instead focused on attempting to wipe out the experts of the Three Realms. Now, his plan was to take advantage of the fact that Ji Ning was making a breakthrough and use the remaining time to flee.

Swoosh! Old Man Yuan immediately began to flee at high speed atop his black lotus, and as he did so he gave orders to his many soulslaves. “Stop Ji Ning!”

“You want to run?”

Ji Ning was continuing to convert his divine power, but he immediately transformed into a streak of black lightning and chased after Old Man Yuan. Although his divine power was not yet fully converted, and although combat would slow down the breakthrough process, that wouldn’t make much of a difference. When Mother Nuwa had made her breakthrough to become a World God, she had caused an even greater disturbance and needed to convert even more divine power, but she was still able to dominate all her foes during the process.

Swish! The black lightning serpent flashed forward through the Void, easily dodging past the other major powers and chasing after Old Man Yuan.

“Damn.” Old Man Yuan felt hatred and regret. He had made so many preparations and backup plans, and he had even managed to avoid exposing himself during the war that had ended the Primordial Era after seeing Mother Nuwa make her breakthrough. This time, he had only chosen to reveal his true self after Lord Demonheart had died and the two alliances had come to a ceasefire…but then he ended up running into this monster, Ji Ning!

Houyi was a monster.

Ji Ning was a monster as well.

Houyi had slain Lord Demonheart and breached the first black lotus formation.

Shennong’s Lifeseizer Flower had heavily injured him.

The self-detonations of the various major powers had depleted the majority of Old Man Yuan’s divine power.

“Given all of my abilities, if I was at peak power I wouldn’t be afraid to battle this Ji Ning head-on. But…this body is a body that I took over through possession. It is too slow!” Old Man Yuan shook his head. He wasn’t even able to fly as fast as the speed of light; there was no way he would be able to escape. And, unlike Subhuti, he didn’t have any techniques that allowed him to flee to a different spacetime continuum. His only choice was to face Ji Ning head-on.

“Blacklotus Guard.” Old Man Yuan sat down in the lotus position once more, the black lotus flowers once more circling around him and covering an area of ten thousand kilometers. The lotus petals began to swivel in place as he stared icily at the white-robed youth.

Ning just stood there in the Void, his aura continuing to grow more and more powerful.

Ninety percent. A hundred percent!

The chaos vortex above him finally began to vanish. Ji Ning looked at Old Man Yuan, his eyes filled with a terrible, terrifying light.

“Outsider…today is the day you die.” Ning’s body blurred briefly as he manifested his three heads and six arms.

“A yokel like you dares to put on airs in front of me?” Old Man Yuan sat there atop his black lotus throne as he replied in a cold voice. “I might be heavily wounded, but if I have to fight to the death I can still kill a bumpkin like you.”

“Hmph.”

Ji Ning let out an angry snort. His six arms instantly stretched out through the Void, expanding many tens of thousands of kilometers as they simultaneously struck out towards Old Man Yuan’s black lotus flowers. Ning’s six mighty arms were like six enormous axes, and he furiously chopped down upon the black lotus flowers with power comparable to Pangu’s when Pangu cleaved apart Heaven from Earth.

Divine ability…[Starseizing Hand]!

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker stance!

“Keep dreaming.” Old Man Yuan felt complete confidence in himself. The Blacklotus Guard was a secret art of God Emperor Blacklotus. It possessed incredible defensive strength and was so durable that the simultaneous attacks of Ji Ning, Daoist Three Purities, the Lord of All Fiends, and Keeper Everwood had been able to do nothing to it.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six massive explosions rang out.

The black lotus flowers surrounding him shuddered violently. Even his lotus throne shuddered, and quite a few of the lotus petals began to crack apart.

“What?!” Old Man Yuan was shocked. How was this possible? He had been personally taught this technique by the God Emperor. Even supreme Elder Gods should find it difficult to breach this technique!

“Eh?” Ning actually frowned as well.

He knew better than anyone else how shockingly powerful he had become. He was now a half-step World God, and his six palms were all comparable to Chaos weapons. His skills in sword-arts were incredibly high, and when he used the ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ to strike his blows definitely possessed the power of a supreme Elder god. He had also used the [Starseizing Hand], making his blows more powerful than even Lord Demonheart’s had been.

He had struck out with six palms at the same time…and yet, the black lotus flowers hadn’t completely shattered?

“I told you. Today is the day you die.” Ning retracted three of his six arms, then manifested a blood-red sword within one of them – Violetjewel. Ning’s eyes were filled with murder.

If he didn’t use Violetjewel and instead used brute force strikes, he would probably still be able to eventually break apart the Blacklotus Guard or to completely exhaust Old Man Yuan’s divine power and then kill him…but Ning felt far too much hatred towards Old Man Yuan. He wasn’t willing to wait, and so he immediately took out the most powerful weapon he had.

A half-step World God body…a supreme sword-art…the [Starseizing Hand]…and Violetjewel, a weapon that was comparable to a Dao weapon…

Ning’s power had already crossed the threshold of a World God’s power.

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Chapter 33 – Curtain Call

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 33 – Curtain Call

“A sword?” When Old Man Yuan saw Ji Ning pull out a sword, he gritted his teeth. “My black lotus is incredibly tough and durable. It’s perfect against swords and sabers.”

Boom!

The white-robed Ji Ning took a step forward, his body rapidly expanding in size to become thirty thousand kilometers in height, comparable to the size of the black lotuses. He then lifted up the similarly enormous Violetjewel.

“You shall break for me!” Ning raised Violetjewel up high, filling it with a savage torrent of divine power that passed through the sword’s quintessence and made it even more powerful. The towering Ning held Violetjewel high in the air, then furiously chopped down towards the protective black lotus in front of him. The anger infused into this chop made it even more savage than any of his previous strikes.

“He wasn’t even able to breach my defenses when using all six arms. Now, with just a single sword…” Old Man Yuan smiled coldly as he took firm control over his Blacklotus Guard…but then, his cold smile turned stiff.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It was like the Heavens had collapsed.

In the instant that the blow connected with the black lotus flowers, the flowers completely folded under its power. Countless lotus petals were instantly torn apart, causing the entire black lotus to begin to break apart.

“A Dao weapon.” Old Man Yuan stared as Ning struck out with Violetjewel. “Is that a Dao weapon? It has to be a Dao weapon. Otherwise, there’s no way it could be so powerful.”

There were many grades of magic weapons. Above Chaos weapons was the realm of Dao weapons.

Generally speaking, Dao weapons were exclusively used by Elder Gods and Chaos Immortals. It was almost impossibly rare for an Elder God or an Ancestral Immortal to be lucky enough to acquire one! A weakling simply wouldn’t be able to keep his hands on a Dao weapon for long, and in truth Ji Ning wasn’t strong enough either. Previously, when he filled it with his True God power, it had still been so weak that his strikes weren’t particularly impressive. Not even experienced figures like Witherspike or Old Man Yuan had suspected that his weapon was a Dao weapon.

Now that his divine power had become dramatically stronger, the power of his weapon also became much more apparent.

The Triult Swords or the Immortal Slaying Swords, for example, could be said to have just barely surpassed Chaos weapons in might; they could be considered to have nearly reached the level of Dao weapons. However, they were only comparable to the weakest of Dao weapons; there was still a noticeable difference between them and true Dao weapons. Now that Ning had become a half-step World God, his divine power was capable of truly linking to and activating the core quintessence of the sword, allowing it to reveal its true might.

Generally speaking, only the most supreme of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would be qualified to even dream of possessing a Dao weapon. They would furiously battle for the right to wield such a weapon, and only the most powerful of them would ever be able to do so.

Without a Dao weapon, Ning would at most be considered a supreme Elder God and be just slightly more powerful than Lord Demonheart. They would still, however, belong to the same general level of power.

With this Dao weapon, he had truly reached the World God threshold.

“Die.” After Ning broke apart the black lotuses, he returned to his normal shape and size as he transformed into a black lightning serpent that streaked towards Old Man Yuan.

“After I kill you, your Dao weapon shall be mine.” A look of greed was in Old Man Yuan’s eyes. “Time to go all out. I have no way out anyhow. My only option is to use my heartforce in a last-ditch attack.”

During the Endwar, he hadn’t tried to use his heartforce to attack Ning at all.

This was because he had discovered during his previous ambush attempt that Ji Ning’s soul protection technique was extremely formidable. He simply didn’t feel confident in using heartforce against Ji Ning…but now, he had no other options. Use divine power? He had almost run out, and thanks to the Dao weapon Ji Ning had just barely reached the World God threshold of power. Old Man Yuan’s only shot, his final shot, was to use heartforce in one last attack.

“Die.” Ning charged towards him, Violetjewel in hand.

Old Man Yuan sat there in the lotus position, striking out with his six arms to block Ning.

“Hmph.” Ning chopped out with his sword once more.

Boom!

Old Man Yuan was knocked flying backwards, his hands aching and starting to split apart. He couldn’t help but feel shocked by this. “With this Dao weapon in hand…in offensive power, at least, Ji Ning is as powerful as a World God. My body is comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure, but it is at the verge of breaking down.”

A true World God would be able to effortless smash apart any top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure…and Ji Ning was already strong enough to cause damage to such treasures!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Old Man Yuan used his palms to block Ning’s repeated attacks. Although he was sent flying backwards each time, his defenses remained utterly airtight.

“Eh?”

Ning stared at Old Man Yuan as the latter struck out repeatedly, six arms moving like a blur. He felt a greater desire to kill this man than he had ever felt before, and the future of all living creatures of the Three Realms was riding on his shoulders. Ning felt calmer and more zen-like than he ever had before.

In recent years, he had mastered the ninety-eight stone sword-steles which World God Northrest had left behind, but he had never been able to gain proficiency in the [Nameless] sword-art. However, as he stared at Old Man Yuan’s six illusory arms, a light suddenly flashed in Ning’s head.

It was a very strange feeling…

It was as though the surrounding Void had become part of his own demesnes, as though the Void itself had become brimming with sword-intent. It was as though countless swords were resonating with him and were calling out with joy!

“This…this is my world.”

He felt a sense of total and utter control. In this moment, Ning suddenly understood the true meaning of the first stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Heartsword’ stance.

The ‘Heartsword’ stance…

It wasn’t meant to make his sword stronger! It wasn’t meant to make his sword faster! On the surface, it seemed as though it wouldn’t make Ning’s sword attacks better in any measurable way, but in reality…the true meaning of the ‘Heartsword’ stance lay in truly understanding how to use and control the sword. It taught the wielder how to become the true master of his sword, allowing him to truly unleash the appropriate amount of power with every single strike. It taught one to be agile when necessary, strike with full force when necessary, block when necessary…

It was a sense of control that one would only possess when one reached a truly profound level of insight into the sword.

“Heartsword Realm.”

Ning looked at Old Man Yuan’s six illusory palms, then strode forward through the Void and struck out with his sword.

Slash! The sword knocked one palm aside, causing an opening to appear in the movements of the other five palms. In the past, Ning would have never been able to notice such a minute flaw…but he now had a sort of absolute control over the Void around him, making it almost impossible for any flaw to escape his notice.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

He struck out with three consecutive sword-strikes.

Old Man Yuan didn’t even have a chance to react before Ning’s sword-light pierced through his six blocking arms, stabbing straight towards his body.

“How can this…” Old Man Yuan was in disbelief.

Even an ordinary Elder God who had mastered the first stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Heartsword’ stance, would become comparable to a supreme Elder God in battle. This stance represented a certain level of mastery over the sword!

“Go.”

Faced with impending doom, Old Man Yuan didn’t attempt to block the sword-strike. In truth, there was no way for him to block it, even if he wanted to…and so all he did was stare into Ji Ning’s eyes.

Whoosh.

A ripple of power instantly surged towards Ning and attacked him.

It was as if a gray seed suddenly burrowed itself into Ning’s body, attempting to penetrate his very soul. This gray mental seed caused Ning to feel a dim sense of danger.

Boom!

Heartforce soul-lock!

After he became a half-step World God, he had hurriedly strengthened his soul and once more protected it with the heartforce soul-lock technique which World God Northrest had transmitted to him. It was as though an incomparably thick steel plate had appeared before the gray seed. The gray seed did its best to burrow through it, but it actually began to shatter after repeatedly ramming into the steel plate.

Stab!

Ning’s sword-light didn’t slow down in the slightest as it pierced straight through Old Man Yuan’s forehead.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

This was Ning’s fastest and most penetrating attack. Old Man Yuan’s protective divine ability was unable to block this strike. His forehead was pierced straight through…and he finally ran out of divine power. As Violetjewel unleashed its power, Old Man Yuan’s truesoul was completely ground apart and destroyed.

Old Man Yuan…had died!

The Void was completely silent.

Old Man Yuan’s body continued to sit there in the lotus position, with Ji Ning standing in front of him, holding a sword that had been driven through his forehead. Old Man Yuan’s life aura had completely dissipated…but on his face was a look of resentment and unwillingness to accept this outcome.

Clearly, his final attempt at a heartforce attack had also been easily blocked by Ning. This made him feel quite resentful.

Tears appeared in the eyes of the Lord of All Fiends as he beheld this sight. He murmured softly to himself, “Everwood, we won. The Three Realms won.”

On the Nuwa Alliance’s side, Patriarch Subhuti, Buddha Maitreya, Sun Wukong, Jade Cauldron, Kuafu, and the other major powers stared hard as well, afraid that they were seeing things.

“Dead. Old Man Yuan is finally dead.” Daoist Jade Cauldron mumbled to himself, “Master, the Three Realms has been saved. It’s saved. We won.”

“We won.” Sun Wukong murmured softly, “My senior apprentice-brothers and junior apprentice-brothers…we won. Do you know? We won!”

A number of major powers couldn’t help but begin to shed tears.

They had won.

The Three Realms had won.

Even the distant incarnation Godfiend Witherspike found itself breathless. When he saw Ji Ning pierce through Old Man Yuan’s forehead with his sword, he waited for Old Man Yuan’s life aura to completely vanish before he mumbled to himself, “I never would’ve thought that the Mindlord of the Nine Divine Generals would end up dying in the hands of a local bumpkin from this chaosworld. These yokels actually won. This is unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.”

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Chapter 34 – Deception

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 34 – Deception

Snick! Ji Ning pulled Violetjewel out of Old Man Yuan’s corpse. His body was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure; destroying it would be no easy feat. Ning would have to attack multiple times at absolute maximum power in order to succeed. Still, Ning couldn’t actually be bothered to do that; he would simply use his Five Elements Cauldron to annihilate the body of this alien Outsider who had sinned against them all.

Ning wouldn’t even make use of the Five Elements essence from this body, because he viewed it to be filthy! Ning truly felt far too much hatred towards Old Man Yuan, because far too many had died because of him. Many of Ning’s old friends, his fellow apprentices, and even overlords had died because of him. All the waters of the universe still wouldn’t be enough to wash away the hatred he felt.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Daofather Subhuti, Buddha Maitreya, Daoist Jade Cauldron, Kuafu, and the other major powers flew over. The Lord of All Fiends, Daofather Bloodswan, and the other major powers of the Seamless Gate flew over as well.

“He finally died.” Subhuti stared at Old Man Yuan’s corpse, then said in a low voice, “This alien Outsider has finally died.”

“This is the most terrifying Outsider I have ever encountered.” The Lord of All Fiends let out a sigh as well.

“The Three Realms’ tribulation has finally come to an end.” Buddha Amitabha had a look of grief and sorrow in his eyes.

“An end?” A voice suddenly rang out from afar. “Don’t be so quick to celebrate.”

All of the major powers surrounding Old Man Yuan’s corpse turned to look. They saw Godfiend Witherspike fly towards them from afar.

“Godfiend Witherspike?” The Lord of All Fiends frowned. “No, this is just his incarnation.”

Ning and the others could also tell that this was merely Witherspike’s incarnation.

“Witherspike, what do you mean by that?” The Lord of All Fiends frowned. “Are you scheming something?”

A flicker of a killing intent flashed through Ji Ning’s eyes.

Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation glanced at Ning, then laughed. “Sword Immortal Darknorth definitely stands at the very peak of power amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. How would I dare to scheme against him?”

“Then why would you suggest that the tribulation has not ended?” Ning frowned as well.

“I didn’t say that. I just said…don’t be so quick to celebrate.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation side. “To tell you the truth, all of you have to thank me. I truly feel sympathy for you locals, after having seen you all fight so hard to protect your Three Realms. As for the Mindlord, I really rather dislike the man. That’s why I’ve come to tell you a few things.”

“Mindlord?” Ning and the others listened, puzzled.

“Old Man Yuan had an extraordinary background,” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation said. “He is one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus, whose name is spoken of with awe throughout the entire Badlands Territory. God Emperor Blacklotus is a World God, while his Nine Divine Generals are his nine most trusted subordinates, each of whom is a supreme Elder God or Ancestral Immortal. Every single one of them is more powerful than Lord Demonheart was, while Old Man Yuan was the ‘Mindlord’ of the nine.”

Ning and the others frowned upon hearing this.

The Badlands Territory?

It was the territory that was closest to the Three Realms. Once one traversed through that spatial vortex that led outside the Three Realms, one would reach the vast region commanded by the Badlands Everworld which was known as the Badlands Territory.

“No matter how powerful he was, he’s dead now,” Ning said.

“No.” Godfiend Witherspike shook his head. “I only reached this place during the Three Realms Era, while the Mindlord arrived here during the Primordial Era…but what’s strange is that when I was in the Badlands Territory, I actually saw the Mindlord once from afar.”

“You saw the Mindlord in the Badlands Territory during the Three Realms Era?” The faces of Ji Ning and everyone else all changed.

Old Man Yuan had arrived during the Primordial Era.

How could the Mindlord have been present in the Badlands Territory during the Three Realms Era?

“Right.” Godfiend Witherspike nodded. “As you’ve probably guessed by now, the Mindlord rose to power step-by-step, starting as an ordinary mortal. He has a Primaltwin! His true body has been following and serving God Emperor Blacklotus this entire time, while his Primaltwin has generally been the body he used to wage war. My guess is that the ‘him’ that died here was nothing more than his Primaltwin.”

“What?”

“He still has a true body?”

“Shit.”

The major powers of the Three Realms were all enraged.

“But why is it that all of his soulslaves died as well?” Ning pointed towards the corpses of the major powers that were floating through the Void. As soon as Old Man Yuan had died, all of his soulslaves had silently passed away as well. “If he has a true body…his true body and his Primaltwin should share the same soul. Both would be capable of controlling his soulslaves. When his Primaltwin died, the soulslaves should remain alive, right?”

“Spot on.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation sighed. “Logically speaking, after he died he should’ve immediately ordered his soulslaves to attack you, trying to do as much damage as he possibly could, regardless of the price.”

“And yet…he did not.”

“Instead, when he died he willed all of his soulslaves to die as well.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation smiled. “That’s because he didn’t want you to realize that he still had a true body around.”

“He didn’t want us to know?” The major powers of the Three Realms began to understand.

Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation glanced at Ning, then let out a sigh. “Sword Immortal Darknorth…you’ve started to frighten the Mindlord.”

“Frighten?” Ning frowned.

“Yes. You are starting to scare him.” Godfiend Witherspike continued, “Because of what Old Man Yuan, the Three Realms has suffered far, far too much. I trust that all of you here would be willing to do almost anything to tear him apart, dining on his flesh and drinking his blood. If you all knew that he had a true body out there…it’s entirely possible that you would choose to venture out into the Badlands Territory to seek revenge upon him.”

“All of you have remained within just this single chaosworld, with no one to provide you with any guidance…and yet, you all have still managed to train to such levels of power. This is even more true for you, Sword Immortal Darknorth…you are already ridiculously strong, and your sword-arts are particularly terrifying. Very few Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals would be a match for you. In fact, not even the Mindlord’s true body would necessarily be a match for you! And you’ve only trained for a bit over a thousand years…given your potential, it is entirely possible that you might become a World God!”

“If you were to seek him out in the future for the sake of revenge…you tell me, wouldn’t the Mindlord be worried? Wouldn’t he be frightened by this possibility?” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation smiled. “If you were to perpetually remain at your current level of power, he wouldn’t be worried; he’s protected by God Emperor Blacklotus after all. But you’ve been improving far too quickly. He can’t help but feel afraid…and so, in the moment of his death, he extinguished the souls of all his soulslaves, putting on a show of being truly slain. This was all for the sake of deceiving you.”

Ning nodded.

It made sense. Even if Old Man Yuan had ordered his soulslaves to launch an all-out assault, Ning would’ve been able to effortlessly wipe them all out. Far better to use them to deceive Ning instead.

“Ahaha…well, I’ve said everything I’ve come to say.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation smiled. “No need to thank me. Ahahaha…great men like the Mindlord have always looked down on minor figures like us. I’m delighted that I’m able to ruin things for him!” As he laughed, his incarnation slowly dissipated and faded away.

……

Far away, at the very end of the Three Realms. A dark-golden castle was hovering in the Void here.

Inside the castle.

“Mindlord…hmph. You wanted to make a clean break and avoid any future troubles? A pity for you that I’ve stirred up the trouble you wanted to avoid.” Godfiend Witherspike laughed coldly. ‘Old Man Yuan’ truly had put on a perfect show; Ji Ning and the others had no idea that ‘Old Man Yuan’ still had a true body outside the Three Realms, much less what his true identity was. It really would’ve been difficult for them to take revenge on him.

But now…Godfiend Witherspike had told them everything.

“Master, did you just say that Ji Ning slew the Mindlord?” Saber was shocked. “Is Ji Ning really that powerful?”

“He really is.” Godfiend Witherspike thought back to that final clash, when Ji Ning’s terrible sword-art had easily pierced through Old Man Yuan’s palms. The power of the ‘Heartsword’ stance had truly frightened the Godfiend.

The ‘Heartsword’ stance was a technical stance. Ji Ning was now a half-step World God, and his body was filled with incredible power. An incredible technique, matched with incredible power…and a Dao weapon as well!

“Of all the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals I’ve ever seen, he can rank in the top three.” Godfiend Witherspike sighed softly. The reason he said this was because he had seen how terrifyingly brilliant Ji Ning’s final sword-art had been. If Ji Ning merely relied on powerful divine abilities and his Dao weapon, he would be nothing more than a stronge brute…but the Heartsword stance had truly allowed him to unleash his power in a perfect manner.

“He’s that powerful?!” Saber was truly shocked now.

Was this a joke? Godfiend Witherspike had been alive for ages now, and had seen more than a hundred individuals on the same level as the Mindlord. Despite all that, he actually dared to claim that Ji Ning could rank in the top three?

“Let’s go. To be able to watch as two figures of such power battled to the death…this entire trip was worth it.” Godfiend Witherspike no longer harbored any more designs on the Three Realms at all. His dark-golden castle flew out of the Void, entering the endless primordial chaos and once more beginning their drifting journey through it.

……

After listening to Godfiend Witherspike’s words, Ning had a feeling that the man had told them the truth.

This was because Old Man Yuan had once said this to Witherspike: “Witherspike, do you still remember that black lotus?” When Witherspike had heard those words, he had been so terrified that he immediately fled. The ‘black lotus secret art’ which Old Man Yuan had used had also been truly formidable.

“Old Man Yuan? Mindlord?” A killing intent arose once more within Ning’s breast.

He was going to venture into the endless primordial chaos eventually.

All signs pointed to Old Man Yuan being the Mindlord; Ning assessed that there was at least an 80% chance of this being the case. After Ning ventured off into the Badlands Territory, he would probably be able to quickly verify whether or not this was the case. A technique as powerful as that black lotus art had to be quite famous. Not just anyone could be allowed to learn it!

“Darknorth…can the Seamless Gate rejoin the Three Realms once more?” The Lord of All Fiends suddenly spoke out.

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Chapter 35 – The New Three Realms

Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 35 – The New Three Realms

The faces of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance all changed slightly. Suhbuti, Maitreya, Jade Cauldron, Kuafu, Sun Wukong, and the others all hesitated before answering. They wanted to refuse…but just now, both alliances had worked together to defeat Old Man Yuan. Keeper Everwood had gone so far as to unhesitatingly sacrifice his own life by detonating his own body.

Quite a few major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had been very close to Everwood. Subhuti and the already-deceased Tathagata and Three Purities…they had all been very good friends with Keeper Everwood. For them to expel the Seamless Gate right after Keeper Everwood had died for the Three Realms…it really wasn’t very appropriate.

But!

Although they felt confident that the Lord of All Fiends wasn’t a warmonger, who could say what the future would hold? When the Seamless Gate gave birth to new overlords in the future, who could say what would happen? If the Seamless Gate was permitted to stay in the Three Realms, they would continue to be a potential source of trouble. It was entirely possible that in the future, a new war would once more erupt.

“Darknorth, what do you think?” Buddha Maitreya spoke out, causing all the major powers present to look towards Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was now the unquestionably most powerful expert of the Three Realms. He now had the power to dominate all others, much like Mother Nuwa before him. This meant that his words now held much more weight than before.

“They can rejoin the Three Realms.” Ning nodded.

“What?” Subhuti and the others stared towards Ning in astonishment.

The Lord of All Fiends and the others were all shocked and overjoyed. For the Lord of All Fiends to venture through the dangers of the primordial chaos was one thing, but the other major powers and the Seamless Gate’s Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were far too weak. Life in the Three Realms would be better by far.

“However…you all must swear lifeblood oaths.” Ning waved his hand, producing a jade globe.

“A lifeblood oath?”

The major powers of both sides looked towards the jade globe in Ning’s hands.

“Is that an oathstone?” The Lord of All Fiends was shocked.

“Yes.” Ji Ning nodded.

“Then today, the troubles of the Three Realms shall all come to an end.” The Lord of All Fiends laughed. Why was it that the various organizations of the vast primordial chaos were able to remain so unified? It was because of lifeblood oaths! Even the most durable of faiths and promises could be slowly worn away by the passage of time, after all. Only the compulsive power of lifeblood oaths was truly eternal.

Right there in the Void, before the corpse of Old Man Yuan, the major powers of the two alliances set down and swore the Three Realms Oath.

After all of the major powers finished swearing their lifeblood oaths, the atmosphere between the two alliances immediately became noticeably friendlier.

“Ji Ning.” Subhuti pointed at the corpses of the major powers that were floating around in the Void. “We can’t just let their corpses continue to float around like that.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“I think…Holyflame.” Subhuti turned his head to look at Daofather Holyflame. “Let us cremate them and send them to their final rest, never to be disturbed again. Allfiend, what do you say?”

“Agreed.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded slowly.

Generally speaking, corpses of major powers wouldn’t be buried. The concern was that some might plunder their graves or perhaps even go so far as to refine their corpses into treasures. For example, when the Three Realms slew the alien Outsider known as Rahu, they had used his corpse to create multiple different treasures such as the Rahu Bow.

Daofather Holyflame nodded, then waved a finger.

Whooooosh.

A dazzling, sacred white flame suddenly flew out from his finger. This was the holy flame which Daofather Holyflame had devised, a flame that was far more powerful than the samadhi truefire he had once used. It was still somewhat weaker than the likes of Golden Solarfire, Zhurong Godfire, or the Eternal Kindlefire, but since these corpses weren’t as tough as top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures, his holy flame was enough to cremate them.

The corpses of the Immortals and Fiendgods began to blaze with that pristine, holy white fire.

Ji Ning, Subhuti, Allfiend, and the others all watched silently. Their hearts were all filled with grief. Far, far too many of their friends and brothers had died on this day.

“Life and death are part of a cycle,” Subhuti said softly. “Although they have died, the Three Realms shall never forget them.”

“The Three Sovereigns of Mankind – Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong…” The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Tathagata…Three Purities…”

“Everwood…Jueming…Gonggong…Devilhand…”

“They will become legends. The humans…the Buddhists…the Daoists…the Seamless Gate…the countless living creatures of the world…they shall sing about them for generations to come.”

Ning nodded slowly as well.

They were the forefathers, the ones who had ensured that this world of theirs would survive and prosper.

It didn’t matter what the future held in store for the human race. It didn’t matter that the Three Realms would eventually collapse and give birth to a new chaosworld. Hundreds of chaos cycles could go past, but so long as the human race continued to exist, it would still forever remember those three ancient Sovereigns who had protected them and guided them in the earliest, weakest days.

“Although they are dead, they shall still live forever.” Ji Ning, who had truly fought shoulder-to-shoulder alongside all of them, felt even more grief than the others.

“If in the future…”

“If after a hundred chaos cycles…a thousand chaos cycles…or an even longer period of time…if I ever reach the true apex of power possible for cultivators and become capable of reviving all those who were slain…I swear that I definitely will do so. I’ll make it so that we’ll all be able to sit down and drink with each other once more.” Ning was silently praying to himself.

Because of his lifeblood oath, he had to go to Vastheaven Palace. But even if it wasn’t for the sake of the oath, he still would’ve wanted to leave and travel to more distant realms.

Perhaps one day, he would find a technique which would allow an extinguished truesoul to be brought back to life once more. If he did, he would no longer have any more regrets in life. He would be able to bring back all those who had died…but Ning knew quite well how incredibly hard it would be for him to find and become capable of using such an incredible technique.

However, he had made up his mind. No matter how long it took or how hard it would be, he would continue to go down this path.

……

Thanks to this great war, the Three Realms had lost many of its major powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals. Its vital essence had been dramatically weakened, and even the Celestial Court had been shattered by the war.

And so…

Ji Ning and the other major powers had worked together to remake a new Celestial Court! They had re-established the Netherworld Kingdom! They rebuilt the great Six Paths of Reincarnation!

In rebuilding the Six Paths of Reincarnation, Ji Ning served as the principle power while Subhuti served as the assistant. This was because the Six Paths of Reincarnation involved the power of spacetime. Although Ji Ning’s divine power was the strongest and purest in the Three Realms, he still needed Subhuti’s help. After three years of hard work, the Six Paths of Reincarnation were repaired and remade, allowing the Three Realms to go completely back to normal.

“From this day forth, Immortal cultivators must be extremely restrained and cautious in choosing disciples.”

“The Dao is not to be casually transmitted.”

A veritable ocean of Celestial Immortals, True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, and other cultivators had died as a result of this war. The burden on the Three Realms was significantly lessened as a result. However, everyone knew that if the Three Realms continued to produce Immortal cultivators at as fast a pace as before, it was likely that many new Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would emerge in the not too distant future. Thus, certain changes had to be made. Immortal cultivation had to become a more difficult path, one filled with even more dangers than before.

After the major powers of the Three Realms gave the orders, the entire Three Realms began to change. All Immortal cultivation schools were relocated to mountain tops, and the Immortal cultivation clans and tribes would rarely admit new disciples. To embark upon the path of Immortal cultivation would be a hundred times more difficult than it had been in the past. It required even greater determination and willpower for someone to be permitted into an Immortal school.

Three hundred years passed after the great war.

“The Three Realms has changed.”

An old man in Daoist robes was alongside a white-robed youth. The two were standing atop a cloud, staring at the vast world before them.

The Daoist robed elder let out a sigh. “The Three Realms has become more peaceful as a whole. Immortal cultivation has become more difficult, which means that fewer and fewer Immortal cultivators are around to take part in mortal wars and battles. At most, you’ll only see the occasional Zifu Disciple taking part. Now that there are so few Immortal cultivators, there are also much fewer people fighting over resources and natural treasures, making conflicts amongst cultivators much rarer than in the past as well.”

“Yes.” Ji Ning nodded.

It was as though the Three Realms had turned over a new leaf.

“Are you truly going to leave the Three Realms?” Subhuti looked at Ning.

“I have to leave.” Ning nodded. “I have no other choice.”

Subhuti understood what Ning was hinting at, knowing that Ning had to be under some sort of compulsion. “Then what of the Three Realms? Your daughter?”

Ning said, “I’ll set up an Immortal estate very close to the Three Realms in the primordial chaos. My Primaltwin will stay there permanently and protect the Three Realms. My true body will traverse that spatial vortex and journey to the Badlands Territory. Everything else aside, the Mindlord remains a source of potential trouble. If I ever have the chance to kill him, I will.”

“Good.” Subhuti revealed a hint of delight on his face.

For someone was powerful as Ji Ning, going out adventuring through the primordial chaos was quite normal. Mother Nuwa was born an Elder God and thus did not have a Primaltwin. Ji Ning, however, had started an ordinary mortal and slowly had risen to power. Although he was going to leave, he would only send his true body out adventuring; his Primaltwin would remain behind,c lose to the Three Realms.

“How strong is your Primaltwin, compared to your true body?” Subhuti asked.

“With my Primaltwin here, we wouldn’t need to worry even if we encounter more figures on the level of Old Man Yuan,” Ning said.

Although his Primaltwin was a bit weaker than his true body, it was still a first-tier Ancestral Immortal. When using the ‘Heartsword stance’, it absolutely had the power of a supreme Elder God.

“Alright.” Subhuti suddenly glanced downwards and smiled. “See what your daughter is doing?”

Ning glanced downwards as well, his gaze piercing through the Void. He saw Brightmoon tease and toy with an ordinary scholar in a mischievious manner. She was pretending to be an ordinary young lady from a mortal clan of nobles, and she and her ‘maidservant’ were both teasing this ordinary mortal scholar.

Ning laughed.

His daughter was able to live freely within the Three Realms, to be happy and carefree. Ning was satisfied. In the past, his daughter had been forced to hide within the Crescent world, and if they had lost the war she would’ve been forced to risk her life adventuring through the primordial chaos. Ning truly did not wish to see this happen.

“She’s doing well. That’s all I want.” Ji Ning smiled.

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Chapter 1 – Leaving the Three Realms

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 1 – Leaving the Three Realms

An Immortal estate located within the primordial chaos. This estate was a few kilometers in size, and it was filled with creeks, small streams, flowers, and grass.

“Father, will you live here permanently in the future? Won’t you return to the Three Realms?” Brightmoon held onto Ji Ning’s arm as she looked curiously at the area.

“Yes. I plan to enter secluded meditation.” Ning nodded and smiled. “It will be a long time before I return to the Three Realms.”

The lifeblood oath he had sworn was that he would leave the Three Realms within a thousand years of becoming an Elder God. Once this part of the oath became active, his soul would instantly become bound by its power. Even his Primaltwin would be affected. This was why, even though Ning intended to have his Primaltwin stand guard over the Three Realms, it couldn’t actually live within it. It had to reside in a part of the primordial chaos that was right next to the Three Realms.

Only when he finished his lifeblood oath and actually carried Northrest’s final message to Vastheaven Palace would he be released from it.

“Oh. That works as well, I guess. I’ll just spend a lot of time here in the future. This is actually my first time journeying into the primordial chaos.” Brightmoon was rather excited. “Father, I’m going to go take a look at some other places.

“Go ahead.” Ning nodded.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf and Uncle White had accompanied Brightmoon here. They knew Ning very well…and they knew it made no sense that he had to remain within the primordial chaos while engaging in secluded meditation.

“Ning, son, are you keeping things from us?” Uncle White asked, and Autumn Leaf looked towards Ning as well.

“A few things.” Ning nodded. “There are some things I have to do. During the past period of time, I’ve been slowly working on rebuilding my Primaltwin. Now that its been restored and now that everything has been settled, I have to go take care of things. Don’t worry. My Primaltwin will remain here.”

His true body would keep a spare clone behind as well, safely ensconced within the prisonworld.

As for his Primaltwin’s spare clone, it would be kept safe within the Crescent major world.

During the Endwar, his Primaltwin had self-detonated. It was at the Ancestral Immortal level, and thus an absolutely inconceivable amount of chaos nectar would be needed if he wanted to immediately revive it. His only choice was to slowly rebuild it naturally. Ning had already mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water and had thus gained a certain degree of insight into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. He was now capable of absorbing chaos energy and was thus able to constantly absorb a large amount of it, making the rebuilding process fairly quick.

His true body was a dual refiner and would need ten thousand years to rebuild. His Primaltwin was merely a Ki Refiner; only three thousand years was necessary. Thanks to the Heavengazer Tower, Ning was able to easily maintain a rate of time that was twenty times faster than normal. Thus, his Primaltwin had been rebuilt long ago. The only reason he had taken so long was because he had needed to spend a bit more time settling his affairs in the Three Realms.

“Young master…” Autumn Leaf said worriedly, “Let me go with you.”

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

This was no joking matter. Even the mere process of leaving the Three Realms via that spatial vortex would be incredibly dangerous. No one could say what would happen on such a journey. To have Autumn Leaf accompany him into such great danger would be completely pointless.

His Immortal estate in the primordial chaos had already been set up. Ning had invited some friends and family over to tour through it, with the guest list including the likes of his junior apprentice-brother Mu Northson, his own apprentice Bluecliff Xiaoyu, his senior apprentice-brothers Sun Wukong and Crazi Ji, as well as many other figures. He even invited Lu Dongbin, Kuafu, and other major powers to visit this new home of his as well. Everyone knew that if they wished to meet with Ning in the future, they would have to enter the primordial chaos and visit this Immortal estate.

“Disciple, the primordial chaos is a place where experts are as common as the clouds. Our Three Realms is just a tiny little corner of it. You have to be careful.” Subhuti looked at Ning.

“Don’t worry, master.” Ning nodded.

Today was the day for Ning to set off on his journey. He hadn’t informed anyone of his departure save his master Subhuti.

“When Mother Nuwa left, she never returned. We haven’t heard any word of her at all.” Subhuti said softly, “You have to be careful, careful, careful. If you ever encounter Mother Nuwa, notify me right away.”

“I will.” Ning nodded. His Primaltwin would remain close to the Three Realms within the Immortal estate, and it shared memories with his true body. Whatever his true body experienced, his Primaltwin would also share in.

“Go then.” Subhuti nodded.

Whoosh.

A deep azure flying boat suddenly appeared in midair. Ning boarded the flying boat. A series of spatial ripples spread out around it, and a few moments later the flying boat teleported away through the Void.

“Be careful.” Subhuti watched silently and hopefully as Ning left.

Long, long ago, Mother Nuwa had left the Three Realms. Now, Ji Ning had left the Three Realms as well.

Both of them were the most supreme figures of their times in the Three Realms.

……

The azure boat continued to blink through the Void, advancing continuously.

The insides of the flying boat weren’t that large. Ning sat in the lotus position, his gaze passing through the walls of the boat and focusing on the primordial chaos outside.

“I’m going to leave the Three Realms and wander through the primordial chaos, all by myself…” Ning shook his head. “A pity that to this very day, I still don’t have the power I need to break the chains of the prisonworld.”

The prisonworld contained a large number of prisoners within it, including even Elder God and Ancestral Immortal prisoners.

The manacles that held them could only be broken by those who were at the World God or Chaos Immortal level of power. In fact, someone at that level of power could shatter the prisonworld itself. Ji Ning was now extremely powerful, but even when he struck at the manacles with full force using Violetjewel, he was still only able to leave behind a few scratches behind, with the scratches quickly being automatically repaired. Clearly, he was still quite a ways off from being able to sever the manacles.

In truth, if one thought about it in detail, it made sense.

Why did the King of Pangaea arrange for Overseers to watch over the prisonworlds? It was precisely to oversee them and ensure that they would be able to make a report if any World Gods appeared. This meant that even prisoners who ascended to become World Gods would need a fairly long period of time in order to break apart those manacles and the prisonworld. The King of Pangaea would have more than enough time to hasten to the prisonworld! This was the entire point of having an Overseer.

Ning had just barely reached the World God threshold of power. He was able to just barely cause a bit of damage to those manacles now.

“Still…those Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quite wealthy.” Ning nodded secretly to himself. This flying boat he was on, for example, was a top-grade Chaos treasure that was knowing as the Godwood Moatship.

The prisoners of the prisonworld, including the wild dog Elder God, had all been beaten and plundered by Ning. Even the incredibly savage wild dog Elder God could just barely be considered a supreme Elder God. Ning didn’t even need to use Violetjewel; the ‘Heartsword stance’ alone was enough to easily defeat all of them.

“If I was able to break apart those manacles, I would gain quite a few retainers.” Ning shook his head, casting those thoughts aside. With another thought, he caused the 3600 Goldstar Beads of the Heavens to appear around him, swirling around him like countless glittering stars.

Ever since he had mastered the Heartsword stance three hundred years ago during the Endwar, he had spent a good deal of his time quietly training and meditating upon it. As a result, Ning had made continuous improvements into his insights regarding the Dao.

He had insights into primordial chaos…

He had insights into space…

He had insights into water and lightning…

He had insights into the sword…

In fact, Ning had even mastered eight of the Nine Chaos Seals. He was at the same level of mastery as Mother Nuwa had been, prior to her becoming a World God.

“The Ninth Chaos Seal…I have the feeling that if I am able to master it, something special will happen.” Ning could sense that the various insights he had gained were building atop each other in a cumulative fashion. Once he fully mastered the ninth chaos seal, all nine of the chaos seals would merge together into a whole, then completely transform. Ning was quite eager to see this happen.

He spent more than half a month flying through the primordial chaos aboard the Godwood Moatship. Finally, he reached the area which the star map marked as containing the spatial vortex.

“So this is the spatial tunnel?” Ning sat aboard his Moatship, staring in front of him.

An utterly enormous spatial wormhole lay in front of him.

The gigantic vortex tore at the surrounding primordial chaos, causing it to swirl around it in multiple rings. Even Ning felt a sense of pressure and dread.

“The most dangerous vortex of them all.” The alien Outsiders who had been lucky enough to survive passage to the Three Realms had written down extremely detailed records regarding this dangerous vortex.

“It doesn’t matter. I have nowhere else I can go.”

“In we go.”

Ning’s divine power completely filled the Godwood Moatship. In this moment, the Moatship seemed to have transformed into a sword, and Ning commanded it fly in as though he was flying atop a giant sword. Swoosh! After having hesitated briefly before the spatial vortex, the Moatship finally plunged deep inside of it.

Whooooosh.

The vortex was filled with an incomparably powerful tearing force that was instantly applied towards the Moatship, dragging it deeper inside. Ning commanded the Moatship to follow that dragging power inside while doing his best to keep stable and ablate its power.

As a truly supreme Sword Immortal, Ning had reached a truly inconceivable level of finesse when it came to controlling and ablating power.

Whoosh.

Although the ripping power of the spatial vortex was quite terrifying, the Moatship was able to quite easily and safely make its way deeper inside of it. No problems were caused for Ning at all.

“I hope I can safely pass through this spatial vortex and reach the Badlands Territory,” Ning murmured to himself softly. “Given my abilities with the sword, I should be able to stay alive. But if I get lost…all bets are off.”

In front of Ning was an absolutely enormous spatial tunnel that was filled with countless spatial tears, some pitch-black and some ashen-white.

Whoosh!

The Moatship flew forward, making its way through that enormous spatial wormhole.

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Chapter 2 – Spacetime Transfer Array

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 2 – Spacetime Transfer Array

There were three possible outcomes when one flew through this spatial vortex.

The first was that one would be able to safely reach the other side and enter the Badlands Territory. This was the ideal outcome.

The second was that a spatial rift would suddenly appear in front of you and suck you inside, resulting in you being teleported into an unknown territory of the primordial chaos. Ji Ning knew at least a few things about the Badlands Territory, thanks to the detailed star maps which the Three Realms had acquired long ago. The Mindlord which Ning intended to slay also resided in the Badlands Territory. If he ended up in a completely foreign part of the primordial chaos, he would have to slowly figure everything out from scratch. Still, this wasn’t the worst case scenario; he’d still be alive, after all.

The third possible outcome was that the spatial rift would teleport him straight into a death trap of some sort.

“I really need to stay away from those spatial rifts.”

Swoosh.

The Moatship flew forward at high speed like a sword, agilely dodging and avoiding the suddenly appearing rifts.

Rumble…

An enormous, savage-looking rift of violet light suddenly appeared in front of Ning, instantly covering a very large region.

“Backwards.” The Moatship quickly reversed and flew backwards, then curved around the rift and flew away from it.

He had to be able to make up to a thousand corrections every moment. This was an even deadlier process than actually fighting with the sword.

Ning’s complete attention was focused on controlling his ship, but he was also able to maintain total control over an area of ten thousand kilometers around himself. This was the ‘Heartsword Realm’ which Ning had developed some time ago.

Six days later.

A flying boat suddenly flew out from the mouth of an enormous spatial vortex.

“I made it.” Ning’s face was rather pale with exhaustion, but he now revealed a look of delight. “I finally made it through safely!”

These six days had been an absolute nightmare.

Those spatial rifts had appeared and disappeared with incredible speed, and some of them were simply enormous. If Ning was just a bit unlucky, it was entirely possible that rifts would simultaneously appear in every direction around him, making it impossible for him to dodge them. When that happened, the only choice would be to take a chance and choose a rift at random.

During the past six days, there was one time when Ning had actually been drawn into a spatial rift. Thankfully, it had quickly dispersed, allowing Ning to just barely escape from it and return to the spatial wormhole. If he hadn’t been able to do so…not even Ning himself knew what area he would’ve been sent to.

But of course, the more powerful a person was, the better his chances would be of successfully passing through the vortex.

Ning had been lucky in that he had only been sucked into a spatial rift once. This naturally meant that it had been fairly easy for him to survive passage.

Godfiend Witherspike, by contrast, had been drawn into rifts on nine different occasions. However, he had been fairly lucky; all nine times, he had been able to fight his way back out of the rifts before being drawn into the other side.

“The Badlands Territory.”

Seated within his Moatship, Ning stared at the vast primordial chaos around him. “Here I am.”

Thanks to his star maps, Ning knew exactly where this end of the spatial wormhole lay. Thus, without hesitating at all, Ning immediately began to move towards the spacetime transfer array which was closest to him. The primordial chaos was simply too vast; if he was to slowly fly through it while relying on his own power, even a trillion years wouldn’t be enough to finish travelling through every part of the Badlands.

Five months after Ning reached the Badlands Territory.

“There we are.” His Moatship flew out from the Void towards an enormous ellipsoid world.

Ning stared at the massive ellipsoid world, then let out a sigh. “This is the ninth chaosworld I’ve seen thus far. According to my star maps, I’ll need to travel past another twenty-six chaosworlds before I’ll reach Earthdrake.”

The spacetime transfer array which was closest to Ning was centered around the Earthdrake planet. There were so many celestial bodies in the primordial chaos that the vast majority were nameless. Only stars and planets with certain special qualities about them would be given names.

Ning had travelled past one chaosworld after another. Every so often, Ning would sense others scanning him with coresense. Each time, he would send his own dominatingly powerful coresense right back at them. When their coresenses ‘collided’, the other side would be so terrified that they would immediately stop their scrying attempts.

Thanks to his half-step World God body, Ning’s coresense was extraordinarily powerful!

After entering the Badlands Territory, there had been one occasion where Ning had encountered an incredibly powerful soul-sweep conducted by a World God. Ning had been so terrified that he had immediately Void-blinked far away, fleeing without a second thought. Although World Gods generally wouldn’t act against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals without a good reason, Ning still felt that it would be better to stay a safe distance away.

One year and nine months after entering the Badlands Territory.

On this day, Ning finally reached the spacetime transfer array located closest to the Three Realms. For him to be able to reach an array after less than two years was actually quite fast; this would be considered an extremely close array.

The primordial chaos was so vast that even in an area like the Badlands Territory, it was common for individuals from backwater chaosworlds to spend up to ten years in order to reach a spacetime transfer array.

“Earthdrake.”

The Moatship hung there in empty space. Ning stayed inside of it, staring at the utterly stunning sight before him.

The primordial chaos in front of him had long ago been torn asunder, revealing eight utterly dazzling stars that glowed with layers of light. These eight stars all revolved around a final planet located in their center. These eight stars were the ‘servants’, while this ninth planet was the ‘master’! These nine celestial bodies came together to form an enormous ‘spacetime transfer array’, and their light was far more dazzling than even the Solar Star of the Three Realms.

In terms of raw size? The formation was probably comparable to the entire Three Realms!

“How could a single formation be so large?” Ning let out a sigh. “I really can’t imagine how powerful the person who set up this formation was.” According to his records, not even World Gods or Chaos Immortals were even close to being powerful enough to construct spacetime transfer arrays. These arrays had all been passed down from the most ancient of days.

As for the question of who built them? No one even asked any longer.

“Go over there.”

Swoosh. The Moatship quickly flew towards the enormous spacetime transfer array.

The core star surrounded by the eight other stars was the Earthdrake planet. Even before landing on Earthdrake, Ning could sense the ripples of power emanating from atop it. These were ripples that emanated from powerful experts.

“Come back.” Ning put away his Moatship, then quickly descended upon the star.

Earthdrake was an enormous planet that was comparable to the Solar Star or the Lunar Star in size. However, the entire planet had been refined and retrofitted, making it more like an utterly enormous magic treasure.

“So many experts…” As Ning sensed the powerful ripples emanating from the star, he immediately transformed into a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent as he flew towards the very center of Earthdrake.

Swish.

The Ninehorn Lightning Serpent was quite fast. While flying forward, Ning encountered quite a few other cultivators. Some looked similar to humans, while some looked extremely different. As they saw the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent fly past them and sensed the undisguised aura of dominating power radiating from Ji NIng, they all revealed looks of wariness on their faces.

Whoosh. Ning landed on the ground, a miniature spacetime transfer array located directly in front of him.

Although spacetime transfer arrays were utterly enormous, their most important cores were just a few hundred kilometers in size. These miniature spacetime transfer arrays actually had buildings located in side of them. Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were stationed in these buildings to keep the array safe. There were also many True Gods and True Immortals here, along with a vast number of Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. All of them were responsible for maintaining the spacetime array and keeping it in good shape for any future uses.

“Where are you going?” An Elder God dressed in golden robes with a scaly reptilian tail was seated in the lotus position in front of Ning. His body was utterly massive, and he peered down as he looked at Ning. When he sensed how powerful Ning’s aura was, his attitude improved slightly and he even put a smile on his face. Earthdrake was primarily populated by Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. World Gods and Chaos Immortal were incredibly exalted figures, after all; they generally wouldn’t deign to handle such low-level matters.

“Sevenwater Star,” Ning said.

Sevenwater Star was naturally a star that was located at the heart of a different spacetime array.

Actually finding and reaching Vastheaven Palace would be too hard. Ning’s first goal was to deal with the Mindlord, who was one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus. The records the Three Realms had regarding God Emperor Blacklotus stated that he was an incredibly powerful World God who had five other World Gods serving him. Together, they dominated a wide swathe of territory.

The area around Sevenwater Star was dominated by God Emperor Blacklotus, the Starlord of Fogstone, Sovereign Eastvictor, and several other hegemons. God Emperor Blacklotus was just one of them.

“Sevenwater Star?” The Elder God nodded. “If you want to go right now, we can activate the transfer array just for you, but that’ll cost you a total of 120 bottles of chaos nectar. If you are willing to wait…if you are lucky, in around eight years or so there will be another group activation of the array for transference to Sevenwater Star. Only a single bottle will be required.”

“Eight years?” Ning nodded slowly. “Alright.”

This spacetime transfer array was the size of the entire Three Realms. Activating it required a significant cost, and a payment of 120 bottles of chaos nectar was quite standard. However, Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals usually wouldn’t be willing to act in such a wasteful, extravagant manner. The total networth of most Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals wouldn’t even necessarily be that much!

“Yes, eight years.” The Elder God nodded. “There’s a stone stele over there with detailed information regarding transfers.”

“Alright.” Ning walked over to the stone stele, giving it a glance. It was filled with detailed information regarding how long one would have to wait for transference to each other spacetime array.

“If I wanted to go to the Badlands Everworld, I wouldn’t have to wait nearly so long. That destination is a much more frequently visited place,” Ning mused to himself. “Still, there’s nothing for it. I’m simply too far away from Sevenwater Star; if I wanted to fly there by myself, I wouldn’t be able to get there in a trillion years. I might as well wait for eight.” Although Ning had acquired the treasures of the Elder God and Ancestral Immortal prisoners of the prisonworld as well as around 120 bottles of chaos nectar, Ning had left a hundred of those bottles to the Three Realms. He had left them behind for the sake of his daughter and Autumn Leaf.

As for himself? He was strong enough and capable enough to acquire more on his own.

Whoosh.

Ning quickly flew away from this place. He found and selected a beautiful, secluded mountain peak within Earthdrake. He waved his hand, causing an Immortal estate to descend upon the peak. Ning then entered the Immortal estate and began to quietly wait.

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Chapter 3 – Fogstone Planet

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 3 – Fogstone Planet

The Heavengazer Tower of the Heavens had been placed within the Immortal estate.

Ji Ning was seated inside the tower in the lotus position, as still as a lifeless rock. He had activated the ‘solitude’ technique of the [Solitary World God] while using the [Nine Elements Annihilation] to work on the [Starseizing Hand].

The ‘solitude’ technique would allow a cultivator to reach an extremely calm state, with the inner heart becoming far more sensitive and nimble. It was meant to allow one to find the secrets of the body, but it also made it easier for one to visualize and hypothesize certain techniques. Buddha Jueming, who had already sacrificed himself, had perpetually stayed in the ‘solitude’ state, which was why he had been able to come up with a divine ability that was just as strong as Lord Tathagata’s.

Right now…Ning was researching and developing the Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]!

The first six cycles all served as guides for this project. Previously, when he didn’t have any golden starstone, he had actually used the [Nine Elements Annihilation] to disassemble and overhaul the [Starseizing Hand], allowing him to create a brand new Sixth Cycle. Now, he naturally wished to come up with an even more profound Seventh Cycle!

“A True God body can train in the Sixth Cycle.”

“I already have an Elder God body. Logically speaking, I should be able to train in a Seventh Cycle…but to develop it truly is difficult.” Ning continually visualized and worked on this project but was only able to make a tiny bit of progress.

To train in a Seventh Cycle, one had to first come up with an even more profound way to allow divine power to blast out. In addition, one also needed to come up with a way to transform the palms and make them comparable to Dao weapons. Only then would they be able to withstand the bursts of divine power.

Both of these requirements would be extremely difficult to fulfill.

“Daoist Threelives, as a True God, was able to develop the Sixth Cycle. As an Elder God who has the [Nine Elements Annihilation], I should be completely capable of developing a Seventh Cycle.” Ning was completely absorbed in his meditations.

Thump.

His soul trembled slightly.

The aura of life slowly began to return to Ning’s unmoving, rock-like body. As his aura began to strengthen, color began to return to his skin. Finally, his eyes opened.

“160 years passed in the blink of an eye. It has been eight years in the outside world.” Ning rose to his feet. “Time to head out.”

It was time to journey from Earthdrake to the distant Sevenwater Star.

……

“They really know how to make money. A single activation of the formation nets them a hundred bottles of chaos nectar.” Ning shook his head as he walked out of the spacetime transfer array and glanced at the cultivators who were scattering in various directions. “Although each activation of a spacetime transfer array does require a certain amount of resources, they are making at least a 50% profit. They are making money at an insane rate.”

“Every single cultivator has to pay a bottle of chaos nectar each time the array is activated. No wonder only Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals take part.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

True Gods and True Immortals simply couldn’t play around like this. The price was too high. True Gods and True Immortals would generally just wander around nearby chaosworlds or follow Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals and servants.

“Any World God or Chaos Immortal would love the chance to take control over a spacetime array like this. A pity that these are all controlled by the Badlands Court.” Ning sighed. The greatest power in the vast Badlands Territory was the Badlands Court. It was an organization that rivaled Vastheaven Palace in power! In the Badlands Territory, the Badlands Court held supreme, unchecked power.

“Where should I go?” Ning stood in the air above Sevenwater Star, staring into the endless primordial chaos.

“God Emperor Blacklotus established his Blacklotus chaos-kingdom and has five World Gods supporting him. He controls a total of fifty-three chaosworlds.” Ning pondered for a moment on some of the ancient information which the Three Realms had collected in the past. “God Emperor Blacklotus is a local hegemon. He has a few neighbors who he is on poor terms, including the Starlord of Fogstone and Sovereign Eastvictor.”

“The Starlord of Fogstone has eight World-level experts serving him and commands ninety-six chaosworlds.”

“Sovereign Eastvictor has six World-level experts serving him and commands sixty-one chaosworlds.”

“Should I join the Starlord of Fogstone? Or should I join Sovereign Eastvictor?”

Ning was pondering on this question.

He had never entertained the foolish thought of going straight for the Mindlord all by himself. He had to verify whether or not the Mindlord really was Old Man Yuan! In addition, not even World Gods would rashly charge into the headquarters of an enemy force. That was just suicide.

“The Starlord of Fogstone and Sovereign Eastvictor are on hostile terms with God Emperor Blacklotus. If I join one of these two sides, I’ll seek out an opportunity to kill the Mindlord when they engage in battle.”

“I’ll also be able to rely on their power to strengthen myself.”

Vastheaven Palace was too far away!

World God Northrest was an extremely exalted figure, yet had hadn’t even heard of the Badlands Territory. This meant that the distance between the Vastheaven Territory and the Badlands Territory was so vast that World Gods would almost never travel between these two locales. If Ning remained a mere Elder God, he’d probably die while attempting to find Vastheaven Palace.

It was best if he became a World God first, then embarked on the journey.

He had a full chaos cycle. Just a tenth of a chaos cycle would be more than enough time for him to grow strong.

“The Starlord of Fogstone and Sovereign Eastvictor…the intelligence I acquired about them is all quite old. Perhaps there have been changes within their respective organizations. Mm…Fogstone is closer by, I’ll go visit it first. I’ll take a good look then make up my mind.” Ning immediately commanded his Moatship to begin flying through space in that direction.

Six months later.

The Moatship had arrived before a distant, beautiful planet.

“That’s Fogstone.” Ning stared at the beautiful planet. According to his intelligence reports, a total of nine World-level experts resided on this planet, along with thousands of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. From this planet, they ruled over and governed a total of ninety-six chaosworlds.

Swoosh.

Ning quickly flew towards the planet.

More than half of Fogstone was perpetually covered with blurry shadows. Clearly, it was protected by some sort of formation. The other half, however, was not covered by any formations.

“Right there.” Ning immediately saw a series of islands within the seas of Fogstone. He immediately flew straight towards it.

Swoosh.

As Ning drew closer to those islands, a figure suddenly flew out from one of them. It was an azure-armored man whose aura was that of a True God’s.

“Greetings, senior.” The azure-armored man said respectfully, “Senior, this should be your first visit to Fogstone. Do you need me to guide you around?”

“Very well.” Ning nodded and smiled. “Are you in charge of welcoming Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals? Do many come to Fogstone?”

“Fogstone rarely has visits from unaffiliated Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.” The azure-armored man smiled. “This junior was ordered to guide the path for any who do come. During the past thousand years, I’ve only welcomed around a hundred.”

“Ah.” Ning nodded.

This was in keeping with what Ning knew.

A core planet that was responsible for governing a chaos-kingdom would generally have certain areas that were meant for trade and business. Cultivators needed to purchase treasures, divine abilities, spells, secret arts, golems, and other things. Thus, there was always a need for trading posts. Empyrean Gods, Celestial Immortals, True Gods, and True Immortals rarely had good treasures. Thus, there generally wouldn’t be any people responsible for receiving them.

As for the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who served Fogstone, there was no need to guide them around either; they knew the place well enough.

Only first-time visitors like Ji Ning who were at least Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals would merit a guide! If a World God was to arrive, the entire world of Fogstone would be put on high alert. Most likely, a World God of Fogstone would be assigned to welcome and greet such a visitor.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The two of them descended upon a spacious cloud street.

This street was completely formed from clouds. It led from the vast seas to the various islands.

“Do you need any servants, senior?” The azure-armored man pointed towards a distant, enormous island. “That’s the slave island. Many slaves are imprisoned there, ranging from Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods to Ancestral Immortals and Elder Gods! So long as you are willing to pay the price, you can purchase as many slaves as you wish.”

Ning nodded. Imprisoned Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would often be sold off as slaves. Generally speaking, they were enemies who had been captured during conflicts against other organizations.

“I don’t need any for now,” Ning said.

The two walked forward through the cloud path. There were many other cultivators on this path, but almost all of them were below the Elder God level of power. This was why they all hurriedly parted before Ning when they saw him. In this world, the difference in status between the strong and the weak was very obvious.

“This place specializes in selling formations. Yes, that island over there! We also have shops that specialize in selling Ki Refining techniques, divine abilities, secret arts, sword-arts, lightning arts…” The azure-armored man warmly pointed at one island after another.

“Sword-arts?” Ning’s eyes lit up..

“Right.” The azure-armored man said hurriedly, “That island is known as the Sword Pavilion! The Sword Pavilion has many sword-arts within it, at least ten thousand! Some are weak, some are strong. Even the [Skystar Sword] which our Starlord of Fogstone made famous throughout the Badlands Territory is available for sale, so long as you are willing to pay the price.”

“The [Skystar Sword]?” Ning was surprised.

“This is one of the most awe-inspiringly famous sword-arts of the entire Badlands Territory. Once you master it, you might even be able to become a World God through the Dao of the Sword.” The azure-armored man let out a sigh. “That really would be incredible.”

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Chapter 4 – Joining Up

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 4 – Joining Up

“Oh?” Ji Ning was intrigued.

His own [Nameless] sword-art was something which even World God Northrest of Vastheaven Palace had been mesmerized by. Just by mastering three of its stances, one could become a World God.

This [Skystar Sword], however, needed to be fully mastered in order for one to become a World God. It seemed as though it was quite a bit inferior to the [Nameless] sword-art. Still…Ning knew very well that since the Starlord of Fogstone was willing to sell it, it probably wasn’t the best technique he truly possessed. From what Ning had heard, the Starlord of Fogstone was actually quite shockingly powerful.

“Can I ask what the price of purchase would be?” Ning asked.

“Ten cubes of chaos nectar,” the azure-armored man said.

“Ten cubes?” Ning was speechless.

A bottle of chaos nectar contained ninety-nine drops.

A thousand bottles of chaos nectar made up a cube! Ten cubes represented ten thousand bottles!

“There aren’t even many World Gods who would be willing to pay such a price. Not just anyone can learn a peerless sword-art that allows you to reach the sixth stage of swordforce.” The azure-armored man smiled.

“When I first arrived at Fogstone, my plan was to purchase a detailed star map of the region around Sevenwater Star,” Ning said.

“Come this way, please.” The azure-armored man knew that most newcomer Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would first wish to get a better idea of the situation in the area. They soon traversed another cloud street and arrived at a quiet island that had a single pavilion atop it.

There were several female Celestial Immortals located inside the pavilion, each of whom was incomparably beautiful. There was also a truly ravishing female True Immortal who headed straight towards Ning.

“Respectful greetings to you, senior.” The female True Immortal smiled.

Ji Ning nodded.

“Bring me a star map,” the azure-armored man instructed a female Celestial Immortal.

“Yes.” The female Immortal immediately brought a furled scroll over, respectfully handing it over to the azure-armored man, who then smiled and respectfully handed it over to Ning. “Senior, this star map contains a detailed breakdown of the various powers and regions around Sevenwater Star. It only costs ten chaos gems.”

“Very well.” Ning handed over ten chaos gems.

Chaos gems and chaos nectar were a form of common currency, with chaos nectar having more marvelous properties but coming in smaller amounts. Chaos gems were able to contain more energy within them, with the result being that many powerful formations and golems made use of them as energy sources. Generally speaking, a single chaos gem was considered equivalent to a drop of chaos nectar.

Whoosh. Ning sent his divine energy into the scroll. Instantly, a large amount of information was transmitted to Ning, who memorized it all.

“So not much has changed.” There were very few differences between this intelligence report and the report which the Three Realms had acquired long ago.

God Emperor Blacklotus had increased his territory and now commanded a total of sixty-one chaosworlds.

The Starlord of Fogstone still commanded ninety-six chaosworlds.

Sovereign Eastvictory’s territory had lessened and he now commanded just fifty-eight chaosworlds.

The information in this star map regarding the Badlands Territory was a bit more detailed than the information the Three Realms had, but it was still limited to just this territory. There was no information regarding any other territory, to say nothing of Vastheaven Palace.

“Mm. Judging from this, I should probably join the Starlord of Fogstone for now.” Ning made up his mind. Still, he wasn’t in a rush. He first said to the azure-armored man, “Come, lead me to see a few other places.”

“This way please, senior.” The azure-armored man was quite friendly as he guided the way forward.

After walking about for a long period of time, the azure-armored man began to secretly grumble to himself. “This senior’s been walking around forever, but the only thing he purchased was a single map. This sucks. I ran into a skinflint of an Elder God. I probably did all this work for nothing.”

Anyone who came all the way here via a spacetime transfer array generally did so with a specific purchase in mind, such as buying some of the unique products that belonged to this planet. It cost a bottle of chaos nectar to use the array, after all; anyone who was willing to pay that price to come here would generally be willing to spend even more to buy the desired items. But…this Elder God before him was clearly an exception. All he had purchased was a star map, nothing else.

“And what’s this island? It looks quite impressive.” Ning pointed to an enormous island up ahead.

“That? That island is our mustering grounds.” The azure-armored man was beginning to become a bit casual in his speech. “Fogstone commands a total of ninety-six chaosworlds, which means we have many cultivators, quite a few of whom wish to join the Fogstone Army. Ordinary cultivators are naturally not permitted to go into the interior regions of Fogstone; only this trading region is open for all. Cultivators who wish to join our ranks have to first go to the mustering grounds and be tested before being granted entry.”

“But of course.” The azure-armored man smiled at Ning. “If you wished to join the army, it would be much simpler, senior. As an Elder God, there’s no need for you to be tested.”

He said these words quite casually, but they were true. Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals could be considered powerful experts, and to raise a new crop of them was very difficult. Fogstone controlled many chaosworlds and had many legacies and training techniques to offer its geniuses, but it only had a few thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals within its ranks, despite the passage of countless years. All organizations, including ones that were even more powerful than Fogstone, were willing to recruit and retain Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Frankly speaking, Fogstone wasn’t that powerful of an organization within the Badlands Territory.

If the azure-armored man was able to recruit an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal into their ranks, his reward would be quite considerable!

“Oh?” Ning nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”

“Uh, y-you can’t just go randomly wandering around the mustering grounds. It is an important place,” the azure-armored man said hurriedly.

“Didn’t you say…I would be able to join your army?” Ning asked.

“Senior…” The azure-armored man stared. “Senior, are you saying you wish to join the Fogstone Army?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“G-g-great!” The azure-armored man was shocked and delighted. He immediately said, “The Fogstone Army is very welcoming towards Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who have journeyed and adventured through the primordial chaos. Although you’ll be given certain restrictions, since you are an Elder God the restrictions will be quite lax. The only requirement will be for you to take part in critical battles, while you’ll be given many benefits upon signing up. You’ll get chaos nectar, treasures, and all sorts of other things.”

Ning followed the azure-armored man forward. They passed through more cloud streets as they moved towards the mustering grounds.

“Brother Mu, this is the mustering grounds.” A black-armored True God who was leaning relaxedly against a boulder while drinking some wine gave Ning a glance, then snapped at the azure-armored man, “You should lead this senior away from here.” Although Ning was an Elder God, he was still an outsider. The True God soldier really didn’t care about him at all.

“You imbecile, this senior is planning to join our Fogstone Army!” The azure-armored man hissed.

“He’s joining the Fogstone Army?” The True God’s eyes bulged out and he hurriedly jumped to his feet, his attitude markedly more respectful than before. He had acted arrogantly because he was a member of the Fogstone Army and really didn’t care about outsiders, but if this Elder God was to truly join the Fogstone Army, he would clearly become one of the core members of it. The Elder God would become one of his superiors, at which point it would be very easy for this Elder God to punish him.

“This way please, senior.” The black-armored True God hurriedly spoke with respect.

“Senior, we’ll part ways for now.” The azure-armored man smiled merrily. He was quite pleased. Today, he had just earned a bundle for himself!

“Alright.” Ning immediately followed the black-armored True God forward. As he did, he began to hear cries ringing out from afar.

“How much longer do we have to wait? We have to go through nine rounds of testing, but this is just the third round. This is so pointless.”

“If you aren’t even patient enough to wait, what makes you think you are qualified to join the Fogstone Army? My senior apprentice-brother told me that last time, the nine elimination rounds took a total of a thousand years.”

“Hey, what’s going on over there?”

“Why is that white-robed youth being led into the restricted area?”

There were quite a few True Gods and True Immortals waiting in the mustering grounds. They had come from the ninety-six chaosworlds and were taking part in the elimination trials. The nine rounds of eliminations would usually take quite a long period of time, mainly because the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals in charge of the trials were usually quite relaxed and lazy about them. They might end up going into seclusion for a hundred years between rounds, which was why the trials often ended up taking forever.

“Island master.” The black-robed True God immediately ran over to the side of a gray-robed elder who was fishing in a relaxed manner. “This senior wishes to join our Fogstone Army.”

The gray-robed elder put down his fishing rod, rising to his feet as he looked at Ning.

Ning looked at the gray-robed elder as well. This elder had a closed vertical eye-slit on his forehead; most likely, he was an Elder God as well. The Elder God waved his hand, dismissing the black-armored True God.

“My name is Fushe,” the gray-robed elder said. “The master of this island, the mustering grounds.”

“Darknorth,” Ning said.

“Brother Darknorth, do you truly wish to join our Fogstone Army?” The gray-robed elder asked.

“I do.” Ning nodded.

The gray-robed elder smiled. “Elder Gods do not need to go through the elimination process. They can directly join the Fogstone Army. However…even Elder Gods have different statuses within the army. There’s a great difference between an ordinary Elder God and a supreme Elder God, after all.”

Ning nodded.

“The Elder God soldiers of the Fogstone Army can be promoted based on their military accomplishments; with enough military successes, they will be promoted to very high levels. A second possibility is for them to be promoted based solely on power. If you are strong enough, you can be promoted to a high rank even if you haven’t fought in battle yet.” The gray-robed elder looked at Ning.

“Generally speaking, you have to fight against and defeat certain golems in order to prove your strength. We have three types of golem on this island; they represent ordinary Elder Gods, elite Elder Gods, and supreme Elder Gods. The golems aren’t that skillful, but beating the first golem means you have the power of an ordinary Elder God. Beating the second golem proves that you have the power of an elite Elder God. Beating the third means that you have the power of a supreme Elder God.”

“It is quite rare for new entrants to the Fogstone Army to be able to defeat the third golem. I’ve only encountered two during my tenure here as master of the island,” the gray-robed elder said with a smile.

Ning asked, “Just these three types?”

“If you are strong enough, there’s no need to even go through the golem testing. You can ask a World-level expert to come here and attest to your power.” The gray-robed figure continued, “However, there are very few figures that are stronger than supreme Elder Gods. Although the Fogstone Army does have a few such figures, they only became that powerful after spending quite a bit of time improving themselves after joining us. There have been none who have requested a World-level expert come and testify to their power immediately after they join our ranks.”

Ning nodded.

He had inherited the legacy of World God Northrest and was quite familiar with some of the unspoken rules of the primordial chaos. He truly did wish to establish himself here on Fogstone and receive the resources he would need in order to grow more powerful! In the future, he would go out and battle on behalf of the Fogstone Army and find a chance to slay the Mindlord. This was why Ning had decided long ago that he would shock them all upon arriving, ensuring that the World Gods of Fogstone all knew his name.

“Please invite a World-level expert to come, then.” Ning nodded.

“Invite a World…” The gray-robed figure stuttered. “W-what did you just say?” His mind went blank.

“No need to bother with the three golems,” Ning said. “I wish to invite a World-level expert to come here and attest to my strength.”

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Chapter 5 – Military Headquarters

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 5 – Military Headquarters

The gray-robed elder stared blankly at Ji Ning, as though he was staring at some bizarre monstrosity. He then murmured in a low voice, “Brother Darknorth, it’s not that I look down upon you, but I would still recommend that you go fight the third golem. That’ll be enough! If you are truly powerful, you’ll have chances to prove it once you enter the army. But if you insist on asking a World-level expert to verify it…you should know how high the standards of World-level experts are. If you are over-confident in your powers, you can easily cause the World-level expert to feel dissatisfied with you.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

This was no joke. Ning knew exactly how powerful he was. Even an ordinary Elder God who used the ‘Heartsword stance’ would instantly become comparable to a supreme Elder God! Ning, however, was a half-step World God. When he used the ‘Heartsword stance’, he could dominate supreme Elder Gods.

If he also used Violetjewel…he would be at the World God threshold of power.

Or, as Godfiend Witherspike had put it…Ning ranked amongst the top three Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals he had ever seen! Not one Elder God in ten thousand would be a match for Ning. The Fogstone Army only had a few thousand Elder Gods and Chaos Immortals. Although they were a fairly elite force, Ning felt confident that he could probably dominate all of them even without using Violetjewel.

“I’ll ask you one more time. Are you sure you wish to ask a World-level expert to come and attest to your strength?” The gray-robed elder said solemnly.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Alright.” The gray-robed elder nodded as well. “Since you’ve made the request, I’ll report it to my superiors! Still…as you can probably guess, most World-level experts spend the majority of their time in seclusion, while others will often go out adventuring. If a World-level expert is available, he or she will come and test you out. I can’t say exactly who it will be or when this will happen. It’ll all be up to the World-level experts.”

Ning laughed. “Of course. Should I just wait here on the mustering grounds island?”

“No need for that.” The gray-robed elder shook his head. “The mustering ground is really for True Gods and True Immortals. How about this? I’ll give you a set of silverscale armor on loan. That’ll allow you to enter the city alongside me. When the World-level expert comes and tests you out, we’ll make a decision on what your actual military rank will be.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

A short while later.

Ning was now dressed in a set of silverscale armor, and he was flying through the air alongside the gray-robed elder.

“The core of the army generally consists of Elder Gods and first-tier Ancestral Immortals,” the gray-robed elder said with a laugh. “There are essentially three ranks; silverscale warriors, goldscale warriors, and generals.”

“Ordinary Elder Gods and elite Elder Gods are generally silverscale warriors.”

“Supreme Elder Gods are generally goldscale warriors.”

“As for generals, all of them have surpassed supreme Elder Gods in power.” The gray-robed elder continued, “Our Fogstone Army has a total of five generals, and they are able to style and color their armors as they see fit. Other soldiers have to wear the assigned armors.”

Ning nodded while feeling surprised.

This silverscale armor was a top-grade Protocosmic armor that had protective properties! This was a treasure that was comparable in value to a Chaos treasure because protective armors were extremely rare.

“This armor of yours is merely a suit of top-grade Protocosmic armor. The goldscale armors are all Chaos armors.” The gray-robed elder chuckled. “Goldscale armors will generally be able to block against most ordinary attacks. In all the Badlands Territory, there are just a few organizations that are willing to give their soldiers such valuable suits of armor.”

Ning nodded.

If someone with a weak divine body who wore a suit of Chaos armor was struck, the shockwave from a sufficiently powerful blow could still cause some damage. By comparison, being capable of reinforcing the body to make it as tough as a treasure was far more useful! Still, these powerful suits of armor were at least able to help ablate 99% of the incoming damage.

“Brother Fushe,” Ning said, “You just told me that the Fogstone Army has five generals. Might I ask how strong they are compared to the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus?”

“Hmph.” The gray-robed elder smirked. “Those nine aren’t even qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as our generals! They actually came up with their ‘Nine Divine Generals’ because they envied us for having our five. All they did was promote certain supreme Elder Gods with special skills into the ranks of their nine. All nine of them combined are actually a bit weaker than our five.”

Ning nodded.

Indeed. Judging from his fight against Old Man Yuan, Old Man Yuan was probably just an ‘ordinary’ supreme Elder God; his main advantage lay in the fact that he was incredibly skilled in heartforce.

The two continued to fly forward together, chatting the entire time. They quickly arrived at a major continent, and Ning stared at a towering citadel that had appeared in front of him.

“What a large city,” Ning marveled.

The city emanated ripples of absolutely incredible power. Chaos energy swirled around it, so dense as to seem almost solid. The city was furiously devouring the chaos energy, using it to maintain the enormous formation that protected the entire planet of Fogstone.

“This is Fogstone City.” The gray-robed elder pointed towards the citadel. “The military camps are located inside, as are various entertainment venues. True Gods and True Immortals generally required to reside within the city, while Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals are given more freedom to wander around. They are permitted to choose a residence of their choice on Fogstone and just occasionally go to the army camps to meet with the others.”

Whoosh.

The two slowly began their descent as they flew through the enormous citadel gates of Fogstone City. Ripples of power swept past them but no one came out to bar their path.

“The army camp is over there. The army camp is divided into two major regions. The nicer-looking region is where the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals usually gather together, while the other one is meant for True Gods and True Immortals. Go in and take a look for yourself. I need to make a report on your behalf. I trust that a World-level expert will soon come over to test your strength out,” the gray-robed elder said.

“Go ahead.” Ning smiled at the gray-robed elder, who quickly flew away.

As for Ning, he transformed into a streak of light as he flew towards the entrance of the army camp. There were two black-armored soldiers standing guard at the entrance, but upon seeing the silver-armored youth move towards them they both simply bowed slightly.

Ning entered the army camp.

After doing so, he saw two main paths. These two paths led to two separate drill areas. One area had quite a few soldiers within it, almost all of whom were True Gods or True Immortals. The other drill area had far fewer people, just a few dozen or so Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. The vast majority of them were dressed in silverscale armor, with just one dressed in goldscale armor.

“Eh? Who is this?”

“Anyone know him?”

“Don’t know’m, never seen’m.”

“He should be new.” The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all watched as Ning moved towards them.

The one dressed in goldscale armor rose to his feet. He was rather skinny, and he had some jade-green tattoos around the corners of his eyes. He smiled in quite a radiant manner. “Are you new, my friend?”

“I just joined.” Ning nodded.

“My name is Skyleave.” The goldscale soldier smiled.

“Darknorth,” Ning replied.

“Brother Darknorth, which squad do you belong to?” The goldscale soldier asked curiously.

“I don’t know yet. I just joined. I haven’t really been assigned to anyone,” Ning said. This was true. The island master had to first report Ning’s request to the World God, at which point he would be assigned a rank and a position.

“Haha, I’m the captain of the tenth squad,” Skyleave said. “You might end up assigned to me. All of you, come over here. This new friend of ours is Darknorth, a new member of our Fogstone Army.”

“A new brother? Captain, we have to hold a feast to welcome him.” A rather chubby, smooth-faced soldier dressed in silverscale armor immediately called out.

“Right, Captain!”

“We need to have a feast.”

The others all called out excitedly as well.

“You guys…ugh. Blackpeak is about to attack us, but all you care about is eating and drinking. Fine, fine. We’ll feast, we’ll feast,” Skyleave said with a laugh.

“Ahaha, brother Darknorth, my name is Baiwu.” The chubby silverscale soldier slapped his arm around Ning’s shoulders, then said with a laugh, “Our captain is rarely this generous. He almost never treats us to meals. This is your first time here; you need to taste some of the delicacies of Fogstone as well. Ah, man…I’ve lived for ages but I still as much of a glutton as ever. But the thing is, the better something tastes the more expensive it is. Ugh…”

Ning laughed.

When Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had access to good techniques and tutelage, they would usually either break through to become a World God within a single chaos cycle or never be able to become a World God at all. Most of these soldiers had been alive for quite some time, and none of them had much hope of breaking through. Thus, all of them liked to enjoy life instead. Some liked food while others had other hobbies.

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were all immediately led towards a lavish, semi-translucent building located nearby.

“Three basins of dragon meat first!” Once the soldiers sat down, the chubby Baiwu was the first to call out and make an order.

“You bastards.” The goldscale soldier, Skyleave, just shook his head helplessly.

Soon, all sorts of strange delicacies and dishes began to make their way to the seated soldiers. The most impressive were those three giant basins of dragon meat that were each thirty meters long. The dragon meat was tinged with a dark-red color and emanated an aura of absolute fragrance. Even Ning couldn’t help but drool once he caught a whiff of it. The soldiers all stretched out their hands to grab at the pieces of dragon meat, pulling them out from the basins and chewing on them.

Chomp, chomp, chomp. The Elder Gods chomped through meat and bone alike, enjoying the food and the wine.

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Chapter 6 – Elder God Blackpeak

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 6 – Elder God Blackpeak

“Is it really that good?” Ji Ning picked up a large chunk of meat that was as thick as his arms, then gave it a bite. A blissful feeling filled his entire body as a surge of pleasure went through him.

“Dragon meat is one of the top ten delicacies of the entire Badlands Territory. There’s no way for dragons to be raised in captivity; they can only survive and thrive in certain special areas…and capturing them isn’t easy.” The goldscale soldier Skyleave laughed. “I usually end up spending more than half of my chaos nectar on food.” For Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, other types of entertainment might be quite cheap, but top-quality food was very hard to find.

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals chatted, drank, and laughed amongst themselves. Ning began to learn more and more about them.

Roughly two hours into their feast…

“SKYLEAVE!”

“SKYLEAVE!”

An enormous roar blasted out like thunder, echoing throughout the surrounding area.

“Eh?” The Elder Gods had been eating and drinking happily, but they now all came to a halt.

“He’s here.” The goldscale soldier rose to his feet.

“The other dishes don’t matter, but make sure you take away the dragon meat. We’ll eat it later.” The soldiers all quickly packed up the dragon meat. They had been eating quite slowly, enjoying every mouthful of it. Clearly, they didn’t want to waste it by gulping it all down too quickly.

“Captain, you don’t even need to bother with Blackpeak.”

“Right. That idiot caused the deaths of more than twenty of our fellow soldiers. So what if you lectured him a bit?”

“Idiot.”

The other soldiers were all cursing the man.

“I said what I said. If he wants to fight, we’ll fight. Does he think I’m afraid of him?” Skyleave laughed coldly. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

The soldiers all hurriedly followed behind Skyleave.

“What’s going on? Who is this ‘Blackpeak’ you guys are talking about?” Ning followed behind as well while chatting with Elder God Baiwu.

Baiwu pursed his lips. “Blackpeak was once a captain as well…but he was too arrogant and proud. Not too long ago, we had a clash with the Blacklotus Empire. Because of his arrogance, twenty-three of his soldiers paid the ultimate price. Twenty-three Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals! Even the Starlord of Fogstone was notified of this. He was punished by being demoted to be an ordinary silverscale soldier. However, quite a few of the dead Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had friends in the other squads, all of whom were quite angry with Blackpeak. Our captain once cursed him out, causing a bit of friction between the two. They decided to have a duel with each other today.”

“Oh.” Ning nodded.

“Blackpeak is arrogant and prideful, but he is also quite strong.” Baiwu said in a low voice, “The number of captains stronger than him in the Fogstone Army can be counted on one hand.”

As they chatted, their group arrived at the drill area once more. Quite a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had arrived here, all for the sake of watching this battle.

“The tallest one over there? That’s Blackpeak,” Baiwu said.

Ning glanced over. The man was dressed in silverscale armor, but his body was incredibly slender. He had a total of four arms and the parts of his skin that were exposed were all completely pitch-black. He had a pair of cold and narrow golden eyes, and a mocking look could be seen within them. He spoke out and said with a cold smile, “Skyleave. How is it that an imbecile like you would consider yourself qualified to lecture me? Today, I’ll let you know exactly how great the difference in power between us is.”

“Cut the crap.” Skyleave’s face was cold.

“According to the rules of our Fogstone Army…” Blackpeak strode forward, a cold smile on his face. “Duels have to be fought for stakes. How many treasures can you bring out? I’ll match any stakes you issue.”

“A hundred bottles of chaos nectar,” Skyleave said coldly.

“Oho! You are actually willing to risk that much? It must’ve been hard for you to store up that much chaos nectar. If you insist on giving it all to me, how could I possibly refuse? I accept.” Blackpeak licked his lips.

Some of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were here in support of Skyleave. The rest were just here to watch. Blackpeak had come all by himself; clearly, he didn’t have many friends.

Soon, the battle began between these two Elder Gods.

“Ahahaha, you really think you are a match for me?” Blackpeak held four great warhammers in his four arms, and they all glittered with earthen yellow light as they smashed downwards like mountains in an utterly dominating fashion. Although there were many who disliked Blackpeak, all had to admit that he was incredibly powerful, even amongst his fellow captains.

“Hmph.” Skyleave held a pair of shuttles in his hands as he moved around like a blur. He let out a furious growl, then his body suddenly manifested four more arms, giving him six arms and six shuttles.

“Useless. I won’t even have to use any divine abilities against you,” Blackpeak bragged loudly.

“Fall down!”

“Fall down!”

“FALL DOWN!”

Blackheaven fought in a crazed fashion as he furiously smashed down with his warhammer, each blow containing utterly shocking amounts of power. Fortunately, this arena was protected by formation spells which ensured that Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals could fight at full power without any qualms. The Starlord of Fogstone was happy to have his subordinate Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals compete against each other, so long as none of them ended up dying.

Skyleave endured six heavy hammer blows in a row. Finally, upon receiving the seventh hammer, he spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backwards.

Boom!

Blackpeak instantly chased after him, smashing his warhammer against Skyleave’s chest. Although Skyleave was protected by his goldscale armor, the concussive power of the blow was still quite tremendous and enough to instantly and completely shatter his chest. Blackpeak tapped another hammer against Skyleave’s head, then smirked. “You lost, you idiot.” As he spoke, he stomped down on Skyleave’s face with his foot. Boom! Skyleave’s face was instantly caved in and reduced to mush.

Whoosh.

A stream of divine power quickly reassembled far off in the distance, reforming Skyleave’s body.

“Blackpeak.” Skyleave’s face was ashen. He had just had his face stomped on so hard that it had been destroyed. How could he not be enraged by this sort of insult?

“Blackpeak, our captain had already lost. You went too far.”

“Blackpeak…”

Skyleave’s soldiers were all furious.

“In our duels, the only rule is that we are not allowed to kill our opponents. Everything else goes, right?” Blackpeak’s face was a mask of innocent confusion. “All I did was was cave his chest in and stomp his face in. He’s an Elder God! That’s not nearly enough to kill him. I didn’t break the rules, right? Even if you reported it to Starlord Fogbeast, he’d find me innocent.”

“Damn.”

“Damn him.”

All of the soldiers had ugly looks on their faces.

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh in surprise. When these two had fought, they had controlled their power in an extremely meticulous way, with no wasted energy or movements. Both Blackpeak and Skyleave were more powerful than Lord Demonheart had been.

The chubby Elder God Baiwu had been standing next to Ning. Now, he stepped forward. Everyone fell silent as they all turned to look at Baiwu. Baiwu said in a cold voice, “I’ll duel you next.”

“You?” Blackpeak said disdainfully, “You are a silverscale soldier. I can’t be bothered.”

“Aren’t you a silverscale soldier yourself?” Elder God Baiwu said coldly, “What, do you still take yourself to be a goldscale soldier? If you forget, take a look at the armor you are wearing.”

Blackpeak’s face instantly changed. Clearly, Baiwu had just hit him where it hurt. He was an incredibly proud person. Even though he had been demoted, he still felt himself to be a goldscale soldier, an equal of the other captains. Blackpeak stared at Baiwu coldly. “Very well. Since you insist on giving me your treasures, I have no choice but to accept. But if you want to duel me, you need to prepare at least fifty bottles of chaos nectar. Otherwise, don’t even bother taking your stakes out.”

“If I lose, I’ll give my Ninestar Skyhooks to you.” Elder God Baiwu’s body blurred momentarily as he manifested a total of six arms, each of which held onto a curved hook.

“A set of Ninestar Skyhooks? I’ll be generous and value that as being worth sixty bottles,” Blackpeak said.

“Good.” Elder God Baiwu looked at him coldly.

“Baiwu…”

“Baiwu, don’t do this.”

“Blackpeak is incredibly strong.”

His fellow soldiers quickly began to send mental messages urging him to back down.

Quite a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were watching this happen from afar.

“Blackpeak is quite strong; he was one of the strongest goldscale captains we had. Even Skyleave lost to him. For Baiwu to challenge him is just foolishness.”

“Baiwu is definitely going to lose.”

“Skyleave, you should talk your soldier out of this. It isn’t worth it for him to lose a set of Chaos treasures just like this,” a spectator purposefully called out in a loud voice.

Captain Skyleave was just doing just that. He sent mentally, “Baiwu, I’ll eat my loss and swallow my pride for now. When I become more powerful, I’ll come back and challenge him again. If you go, all you’ll do is lose your treasure. It isn’t worth it.”

But Baiwu completely ignored everyone as he marched straight towards Blackpeak.

Blackpeak smirked.

Boom!

Whoosh!

The two transformed into streaks of light and clashed against each other.

“This Baiwu fellow is really strong!” All of the spectating Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were rather surprised, because Baiwu had just shown himself to possess the power of a supreme Elder God. The two were actually fighting to a standstill.

“Baiwu, you made a breakthrough?” Skyleave revealed a look of surprise and joy.

“Brother Baiwu, kick his face in!”

“Teach him a lesson, brother Baiwu!” Skyleave’s soldiers were all hollering excitedly on his behalf.

The pudgy Elder God Baiwu continuously struck out with his six hooks. No matter how hard the warhammers struck at him, he was able to easily deflect every single attack. His pudgy body was like a ball of meat that continuously rolled everywhere, easily absorbing and deflecting the force of the Blackpeak’s blows.

“Ahahaha…so you actually have a bit of power after all. Pity for you that it won’t make a difference.” The warhammers suddenly vanished from Elder God Blackpeak’s hands, only to be replaced by six slender swords.

Swish!

Both his body and his swords were extremely slender. His movements became ghostly and unpredictable as he launched a furious barrage of blows with his slender swords against Baiwu. Previously, his attacks had been dominating and savage. Now, they were strange and unpredictable. These were two diametrically opposed styles of combat, and this sudden change caused all of the watching Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quite shocked as Blackpeak quickly seized the upper hand.

Boom!

Baiwu vomited out a mouthful of blood as he was knocked flying by a hard kick.

“He lost.” The soldiers next to Skyleave all shook their head.

“Ugh…”

The spectators all shook their heads as well.

Swish.

Suddenly, a black streak of lightning flashed past, covering Baiwu and quickly moving him away.

“Eh?” Blackpeak had been about to trample over Baiwu, but he immediately came to a halt. Frowning, he stared off into the distance where a silverscaled youth was holding Baiwu in his arms. A moment later, the youth released Baiwu.

“If he lost, he lost. No need to keep hitting him,” the silverscaled youth said.

“Baiwu, why haven’t you given me your Ninestar Skyhooks yet?” Elder God Blackpeak smirked.

Baiwu gritted his teeth, then waved his arm and sent his six hooks flying over. Elder God Blackpeak accepted them smugly, then began to laugh with delight. He pointed at Skyleave, Baiwu, and the rest of the Elder Gods. “I’ve been pretty pissed lately. Thanks for presenting yourselves before me and letting me beat you up. That really felt good. And you gave me quite a few treasures as well! Ahaha…and just look at the looks in your eyes! Do you want to keep dueling me? I’ll take on any of you. If you want to give me your treasures, I’d hardly refuse.”

Suddenly, a voice rang out. “I want to compete against you.”

Blackpeak glanced over, puzzled. It was the silverscaled youth who was standing next to Baiwu.

“You?” Blackpeak laughed. “What’s going on with the silverscale soldiers? All of them are getting too big for their britches. For yet another one to challenge me…”

“You are a silverscale soldier as well,” the youth said.

Blackpeak’s face instantly turned ugly.

“If the bet is too small, I can’t be bothered,” Blackpeak said coldly.

“If the bet is too big, I’m afraid you won’t dare to accept,” Ning replied.

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Chapter 7 – The First Battle

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 7 – The First Battle

“Won’t dare to accept? A bet with you?” Elder God Blackpeak’s face turned even uglier as rage began to burn within his heart. Ever since he had returned after losing a few Elder Gods, the soldiers of the Fogstone Army had all treated him in a completely different way. In fact, some would actually curse at him to his face or mock him, with Elder God Skyleave being one of them. These insults and this mockery caused him to feel quite unhappy.

He had lived for more than a chaos cycle and had no hope of breaking through to become a World God. For people like him, face mattered more than anything else. In recent days, he had been stewing angrily.

For Skyleave to duel him was one thing.

For a silverscale soldier like Baiwu to challenge him as well? Bah, forget it. He was still a figure with quite the reputation.

But now, a silverscale soldier he had never even met before was also daring to challenge him?

“Yes. A bet with me.” Ji Ning looked at him.

“What’s the bet?” Blackpeak smiled coldly. “No matter how much you bring out, I’ll match it.”

“Three hundred bottles of chaos nectar,” Ning said.

“Three hundred bottles?” Blackpeak blinked, then let out a cold laugh. “Do you even have that much? Take it out.”

Supreme Elder Gods would generally be able to take out a hundred bottles of chaos nectar. If they also added their magic treasures into the mix, they might just barely hit three hundred bottles worth….but how many would generally be willing to add their most important treasures to the stakes of a duel?

Ning waved his hand, causing more than ten thousand chaos gems to appear next to him. “There are 160 sets of chaos gems here.”

In the primordial chaos, chaos gems and chaos nectar were the most commonly used currencies. A single drop of chaos nectar was equivalent to a single chaos gem, with a set of chaos gems being equivalent to ninety-nine gems!

Ning had pillaged all of the Elder Gods of the prisonworld. He had acquired some chaos nectar as well as quite a few chaos gems from them. The total number of chaos gems he had acquired was over 160 sets.

“These two Chaos treasures should be worth at least 140 bottles of chaos nectar.” Ning waved his hand again, causing a pair of Chaos treasures to appear. One was a pair of flying scissors that was shaped like a Flood Dragon, while the other was a set of nine flying needles. These were both quite valuable top-grade Chaos treasures which Ning had acquired.

“So you have some treasures after all.” A cautious look appeared in Blackpeak’s eyes as he looked at Ning. This unremarkable little silverscale soldier appeared to be hiding quite a few secrets.

“Screw’m. I’ve made a few breakthroughs lately, and I daresay none of the supreme Elder Gods of the Fogstone Army are definitively stronger than me now. Only the five generals are definitely more powerful than me and can beat me. What, can this silverscale soldier possibly have the power of a general?” The flames of rage within Blackpeak’s heart began to burn brighter and brighter, and his aura began to increase in might as well.

“Fine. Three hundred bottles of chaos nectar. I’ll take that bet.” Blackpeak waved his hand, causing 240 black jade bottles to appear alongside the Ninestar Skyhooks. A hundred of the bottles had come from Skyleave while the hooks had come from Baiwu. Only the 140 of the bottles really belonged to him. He had actually prepared the chaos nectar for the sake of this duel, but he had all but wiped out his savings in doing so.

If Ning had chosen to wager five hundred bottles, Blackpeak really wouldn’t have been able to provide enough chaos nectar. He probably would’ve been forced to throw his most important treasures into the mix.

A bet of three hundred bottles of chaos nectar…this was quite the wager!

Supreme Elder Gods rarely made wagers of this magnitude. As for ordinary Elder Gods or even elite Elder Gods, most of them wouldn’t be able to come up with that much money, even if they pawned everything they had.

“Three hundred bottles?”

“I don’t think I’ve met that silverscale soldier before. Any of you know him?”

“No clue.”

“Never met him.”

“I don’t know him either.”

“The Fogstone Army only has so many Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Where did this guy come from? He probably is quite strong.”

“If he dares to make a bet of this size, of course he must be strong enough to back it up…but so what if he’s strong? Blackpeak might be an idiot, but he really is powerful. In the past, he’s always used warhammers, but just now he switched to using those slender swords. I bet Blackpeak is hiding even more techniques that we don’t know about. I’ll wager that none of the supreme Elder Gods of the Fogstone Army are definitively stronger than him. Do you really think a silverscale soldier will be able to beat him?”

“Agreed. He’s just a silverscale, after all.”

The spectating Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all chatted amongst themselves. Clearly, in their eyes there was a limit to how impressive this unremarkable-looking silverscale soldier could be. They refused to believe that someone with the power of a general would be so bored as to pretend to be a silverscale soldier. Even if the man wanted to be low-key, there was no way he would be THAT low-key.

“Don’t do it, brother Darknorth.”

“Brother Darknorth, this Blackpeak guy is hiding his true power. I suffered due to it just now!”

“Darknorth…” The soldiers under Elder God Skyleave all hurriedly sent mental messages to him, urging him to stop. They had feasted alongside him just now and were rather friendly towards him. In addition, it could be said that Ji Ning had stood up for them just now. They didn’t wish for Ji Ning to lose his treasures to Blackpeak.

“No need to worry, my friends.” Ning turned his head and smiled towards them.

Skyleave and the others felt helpless. Cultivators at their level wouldn’t be so easily dissuaded!

“Brother Darknorth probably has some certain special techniques that he is confident in…but what he doesn’t realize is that the soldiers of the Fogstone Army all have access to the various legacies and techniques of Fogstone. They won’t have any glaring weaknesses in any areas. It’ll be hard for him to achieve victory using whatever special skills he has. Ugh…he’s too new. There’s too much that he doesn’t know.” Skyleave and the others all shook their heads in worry.

The more powerful a legacy was, the fewer flaws it would have.

Ji Ning, for example. He was skilled in soul defense, heartforce scouting, resistance to illusions, and had powerful protective divine abilities. He was quite formidable in every single aspect, all because of the many techniques included in World God Northrest’s legacy. Dealing with someone like him, who had no glaring weaknesses, would be an incredibly difficult task. Blackpeak was a supreme Elder God of the Fogstone Army; he naturally had learned quite a few formidable techniques of his own as well. The chances of successfully using a special technique to defeat him would be very, very low.

The drill area.

Blackpeak and Ji Ning stared at each other from afar.

“For you to gift me with so much chaos nectar…ahahaha…” Blackpeak held four heavy warhammers in his hands as he boomed out with laughter, his powerful aura rolling out in waves around him.

As for Ning, he just stood there in a very placid manner, his aura the same as it normally was.

He had been planning to familiarize himself with this army camp first, which was why he had kept his aura in check this entire time. His aura was merely that of an ordinary Elder God’s. If he was to allow his true aura of a half-step World God leak out, he probably would’ve immediately become the focal point of the entire planet. Ning wasn’t the flashy, ostentatious type. He preferred to keep a low profile whenever possible…and now an unexpected benefit of that was that he was going to earn some chaos nectar.

He was going to teach Blackpeak a lesson at the same time as he earned some money. Wasn’t this just perfect?

“Be careful now. I kicked your captain’s face in just a few moments ago,” Blackpeak said. As he spoke, he also attacked with his full power, not daring to be negligent.

“Just show me what you have.” Ning stood there without moving.

“This silverscale soldier isn’t even taking out his weapons? Is he actually planning to use his hands?” Blackpeak mused to himself. It was quite common for experts to use their hands to fight as hands were even more dexterous and nimble than most weapons. One could strike with a palm, a fist, a finger, or a claw. There were also some special body-enhancing techniques that could refine one’s hands to make them as powerful as magic treasures.

“Hmph.” Blackpeak instantly transformed into a streak of light and shot towards Ning. As he flew over, he lashed out with his giant warhammers, causing the air to shudder as though the heavens themselves had come crashing down to earth.

“FALL!” Blackpeak roared loudly.

“[Starseizing Hand].” Ning immediately struck out with his right hand. His palm was filled with tremendous power, as though it was the gigantic axe which Pangu had used to cleave Heaven from Earth. It became three hundred meters large as it smashed towards Blackpeak like a gigantic black stormcloud. Ning’s hands were comparable to Chaos treasures and were completely capable of withstanding the tremendous amount of divine power which was instantly unleashed by his [Starseizing Hand].

He had the body of a half-step World God. When he allowed his [Starseizing Hand] to burst forth with power, he was overwhelmingly stronger than almost any supreme Elder God.

“FALL!” Blackpeak’s words continued to echo in the air, and his eyes were filled with madness as he sent his great warhammer in a vicious blow towards the giant palm. So what if he makes his palm huge? Even if he makes it ten thousand kilometers long, I’ll still smash it into meat paste.

BOOM!

The warhammer smashed against the giant palm.

Rumble…

It was like swatting a mosquito. When the giant palm came crashing down, it smashed Blackpeak down to the point of imprinting him into the ground.

Ning withdrew his palm.

Everyone present was silent. All of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals turned to look at Ning.

Blackpeak crawled out of the Blackpeak-shaped impression in the ground, an ugly look on his face. He growled out, “I haven’t lost yet!” As soon as they had exchanged blows, he had instantly realized how terrifyingly strong this silverscale soldier was. In a head-on collision, there were very few supreme Elder Gods who would be a match for him…but in a real battle, raw strength alone wasn’t worth that much.

Whoosh. The warhammers disappeared from Blackpeak’s hands, replaced by those thin swords.

Swish. He transformed into a streak of light and shot towards Ning once more.

“Shameless.”

“You got the crap smashed out of you just now. If he had pressed the attack, you would’ve been finished.”

The spectators all shook their heads, but they didn’t say anything. This was because in a normal duel, the duel would proceed until one side was completely unable to fight back, had his body completely smashed apart, or perhaps had his protective magic treasures knocked far away. Only then would the duel be considered lost. Simply being knocked down didn’t really matter that much. Blackpeak’s body was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure; it wouldn’t be so easily damaged. If he didn’t want to admit defeat, there was nothing that could be said or done about it.

Generally speaking, he would’ve voluntarily admitted defeat for the sake of saving face…but the thing was, Blackpeak still thought he could win!

“He’s just physically strong. I won’t compete against him in strength.” Blackpeak’s four slender swords struck out towards Ning in a ghostly, unpredictable fashion.

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Chapter 8 – Chaos Immortal Abyssus

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 8 – Chaos Immortal Abyssus

“Go.” Ji Ning once more struck out with his palms. If supreme Elder God wanted to avoid competing on raw strength, he would have to use some of his true abilities if he still wished to win. As far as raw strength went, even Old Man Yuan’s ‘Blacklotus Guard’ had been beaten by Ning to the point of collapse. This was a testament to Ning’s raw strength. As for technique? Ning hadn’t even used any of his sword-arts yet!

Ning’s palms once more transformed into a pair of giant black stormclouds that covered the skies, but this time the stormclouds moved even faster than before. They moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, and they carried a strange aura of destruction about them.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker stance!

Ning had reached such a high level in sword-arts that his Heavenbreaker stance possessed truly shocking amounts of power. It had become even faster than before, and it also carried a terrifying aura of utterly crushing annihilation that made it difficult for an enemy to dodge.

“How can he be this fast?!” Elder God Blackpeak couldn’t even dodge in time. All he could do was stare wide-eyed as the giant black stormclouds came smashing down towards him once more.

“Damn.” He hurriedly used the four slender swords in his hands to block.

Boom!

Blackpeak staggered backwards but was still able to block the attack in a stable manner. He was skilled in every aspect; furious attacks, strange sword-arts, and defense. The reason why he had been knocked down the first time was because he had overestimated himself and competed against Ning in raw strength. Despite that, he had been able to endure the full brunt of Ning’s attack. Now that he was using four swords to ablate the force of Ning’s strikes, he was able to hold his own.

“This Blackpeak’s defensive powers are actually a bit inferior to Old Man Yuan’s.” After this second clash, Ning became certain of his victory.

Old Man Yuan was able to use palm-strikes to set up a completely airtight defense. Ning had to use the ‘Heartsword stance’ in order to achieve victory.

Blackpeak was more skilled in offensive attacks. Although he did understand certain defensive arts and mysteries, he was still a bit inferior compared to Old Man Yuan.

“Blackpeak is actually losing?”

“Blackpeak is completely focusing on defense. He isn’t able to launch any attacks at all. The difference in power between the two is quite obvious.”

“This silverscale soldier’s palms are able to strike faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. How impressive! He’s also incredibly powerful as well. Blackpeak focuses on physical strength, but even he isn’t able to withstand the silverscale’s blows.”

All the watching Elder Gods and Ancient Gods sighed in amazement. This was too incredible.

“Fall down!” Ning suddenly let out a roar as he manifested three heads and six arms. All six of his arms suddenly stretched out, transforming into six enormous black stormclouds that all moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. He once more used the Heavenbreaker stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, striking out with incomparable ferocity as his palms smashed down towards Blackpeak.

The six massive palms struck out in a furious, consecutive series of blows that seemed to have no end.

“He’s terrifying.”

“Who could possibly withstand such a furious barrage of palms?”

“Fast and furious.”

All of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, including the ones under Captain Skyleave who had chatted and feasted with Ning, felt a cold chill. They could tell that almost no supreme Elder God could compete against Ning’s palms in raw power. For it to also surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos in speed…

The six palms continued to furiously rain down upon Blackpeak with tremendous power and great speed. Ning’s techniques seemed simple, but all of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals present felt as though they couldn’t even breathe. There was no way to defeat this at all.

Sometimes, the simpler something was, the more it could drive someone to despair.

“No.”

“Impossible!”

Blackpeak was drowning in palm-shadows. He was only able to withstand the attack for a brief moment before finally falling down. In the end, his defenses simply weren’t good enough.

Whoosh.

As soon as he fell down, Ji Ning struck him with a giant palm. His body went completely limp, then Ning seized him and lifted him up.

Ning dispelled the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability, hoisting Blackpeak up with one hand. Blackpeak struggled forcefully with his four arms, but Ji Ning was simply too strong. He was completely unable to break free.

“Give up?” Ning looked at the captured Blackpeak.

“You…” Blackpeak gritted his teeth. Three hundred bottles of chaos nectar!

Ning shook his head. “It seems as though you are going to force me to seal you away and then slowly refine you…” Blackpeak’s body was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure. If Ning wanted to actually break his body apart, he would either have to use Violetjewel or seal the man away and slowly refine him to death.

“I admit defeat.” Blackpeak lowered his head and spoke these words with extreme reluctance.

……

“What do you think?” Two figures were standing at the very edges of the area. One was the gray-robed elder Fushe, the master of the mustering grounds. The other was a handsome, white-haired, white-robed man. The handsome man was carrying a box on his back as he quietly watched the battle proceed between Ji Ning and Blackpeak.

“He’s quite ferocious.” The white-robed, white-haired man sighed softly. “He must have trained in an extremely formidable divine ability. How else could he be this dominating in raw strength?”

“His palm-arts are quite formidable as well. Every palm-strike surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Daos,” Fushe said.

“Mm.” The white-robed man nodded slowly. “Still, if this is all he has, there’s no need for us to have my master get involved.”

“This might be just part of his true power,” Fushe said. “I have the feeling that he wasn’t lying to me.”

The white-robed man nodded as he continued to watch.

……

Ning withdrew his palms, allowing Blackpeak to fall to the ground. Blackpeak rubbed his throat, then gave Ning a hard look. “I’ll remember you.”

“The stakes?” Ning said calmly.

“The stakes!”

“Elder God Blackpeak, hand over the stakes!” Captain Skyleave and the other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all grew excited and ran over to stand next to Ning. Elder God Baiwu excitedly slapped Ning on the shoulders and sighed in amazement, “Impressive. Given how strong you are, why the hell are you wearing silverscale? You should at least have a set of goldscale armor. Blackpeak, don’t just stand there like an idiot. Hurry up and hand over the stakes.”

Blackpeak let out a snort, then waved his hand, causing the 240 bottles of chaos nectar and the Ninestar Skyhooks flew over to Ning. He then turned his head and left, his body blurring as he disappeared into the army camp.

Ning waved his hand, collecting the items.

“Brother Baiwu, here’s your treasure.” Ning handed the Ninestar Skyhooks over to Elder God Baiwu.

“I c-can’t…” Baiwu hurriedly waved in refusal. “I lost it to Blackpeak, while you won it from him.”

“This is something you actually use in battle. You’ve used it for many years; I imagine you must be quite used to it by now,” Ning said.

Baiwu hesitated a moment. This set of treasures had indeed accompanied him for a long period of time, and he was emotionally attached to them. He gritted his teeth, then nodded. “Alright, I’ll accept them back. Brother Darknorth, I owe you one. If there’s anything you need me to do in the future, just let me know.” Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals generally weren’t willing to be in the debt of another; the only reason why Baiwu had accepted the treasures was because he truly had used them for a very long period of time.

“Captain Skyleave.” Ning waved his hand, causing a hundred bottles of chaos nectar to float over towards him.

“No need.” Skyleave laughed and shook his head. “If I lost some chaos nectar, so be it. I won’t go so far as to take it back. No need to even discuss this.”

Accepting the chaos nectar meant accepting a favor from Ning. Baiwu might’ve accepted his treasures back, but he was planning to repay Ning as well.

“Come, come! Darknorth won so much that we really need to feast in celebration. We stopped halfway through the last one. We didn’t even get to finish!”

“Right, right! Let’s go!”

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were all quite happy. To make Blackpeak suffer a loss like this was a happy thing.

“Don’t be in such a rush, everyone.” Two figures walked towards them from afar.

“It is Imperius.”

“Imperius.”

The white-robed, white-haired man and Fushe walked over towards the group.

“Brother Fushe.” Ning smiled.

“This is Imperius.” Fushe made the introductions. “He is the senior disciple of Immortal Abyssus.”

The handsome man known as Imperius was dressed in long robes and carried a box on his back. He smiled and said, “On my master’s orders, I’ve come to invite you to the Abyssus Palace.”

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals nearby were all shocked.

“Hurry up and go!”

“Darknorth, hurry up and go. A Chaos Immortal has summoned you!” They all secretly sent mental messages over to Ning.

Ning felt his heart clench in nervousness as well. One of the nine World-level experts resident on Fogstone was known as Immortal Abyssus. He was a Chaos Immortal who had joined from outside the region. He had been a wanderer of the primordial chaos, but he had decided to take up residence on Fogstone, possibly because he was tired of wandering or for some other reason.

Almost all of Immortal Abyssus’ disciples had originally been his followers who had decided to join him on Fogstone. All of them were outsiders. After taking up residence on Fogstone, he had only accepted a grand total of two disciples over the course of countless years.

“It seems as though Immortal Abyssus will be the one responsible for verifying my strength,” Ning mused. “I’ve heard about the power of World-level cultivators for so long, but I’ve never actually met one.”

Immortal Abyssus would be the first World God or Chaos Immortal Ning would meet.

“Everyone, I’ll head to the Abyssus Palace first.” Ning turned to nod towards Skyleave and the others.

“Let’s go,” Ning said.

Escorted by Island Master Fushe and Ancestral Immortal Imperius, Ning departed from the army camp. The citadel was quite large, and the nine World-level cultivators all resided in their own palaces.

“That’s Abyssus Palace over there.” Imperius pointed towards a distant, towering palace that was almost completely black in color. The palace emanated golden ripples of power in every direction, with the ripples being so strong as to cause even Ning to feel secretly shocked.

“Abyssus Palace is a Dao treasure.” Imperius laughed. “When we followed Master in adventuring through the primordial chaos, we went to countless dangerous areas. In many cases, we had to rely on the Abyssus Palace to survive.”

Ning nodded.

There was a guard at the entrance of Abyssus Palace. Upon seeing Imperius, Fushe, and Ning fly towards him, he stepped aside and didn’t try to stop them.

The insides of the palace were quite spacious. Beautiful women belonging to many different races could be seen everywhere, as well as valuable beasts and birds. There were also springs of water that emanated auras of intoxicating spirituality; clearly, these were extraordinary holy springs.

“Master is in the main hall.” Imperius pointed towards the front, then smiled. “After he learned of your presence, he was quite curious about you.”

“Eldest apprentice-brother, eldest apprentice-brother!” A lively young maiden dressed in gauze came running out. When Ning saw her, he was secretly puzzled. She was merely a True Immortal! For a True Immortal to become apprenticed to Immortal Abyssus was no easy feat.

“What is it, junior apprentice-sister?” Imperius asked.

“World God Blackmist has arrived.” The maiden hurriedly lowered her voice and whispered, “He’s right there inside the hall. Master is accompanying him.”

Ning’s heart thumped.

World God Blackmist?

Of the nine World-level experts on Fogstone, three were World Gods. World God Blackmist was one of them.

“Oh?” A thoughtful look seemed to flash past Imperius’ eyes as he grinned at Ning. “It seems you’ve attracted quite a bit of attention, brother Darknorth. Come, let us have you pay your respects to Master and World God Blackmist.”

“Right.”

Ji Ning, Elder God Imperius, and Island Master Fushe walked towards the gates of the hall together.

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Chapter 9 – Sword-Arts

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 9 – Sword-Arts

After entering the main hall, Ji Ning felt as though he had entered a completely different world. He had heard nothing when he was outside the hall, but upon entering it he could clearly hear the sound of music reverberating throughout it.

Ning swept the hall with his gaze.

There were female Immortals dancing within the hall, as well as musicians who were playing all sorts of various instruments. There were nine separate musical groups spread throughout the hall, each separated by curtains of brocade cloth. There had to be several hundred musicians present as well as several hundred dancing female Immortals. All of them merely fluttered about at the margins, providing just a bit of extra festivity.

“Greetings to you, senior Blackmist,” Ancestral Immortal Imperius said respectfully. “Master, I’ve brought Elder God Darknorth.”

Ning glanced upwards. There were two tables placed at the front of the great hall. On the left sat a white-haired elder dressed in loose white robes, while on the right sat a black-haired man who looked rather sloppy and poorly dressed. Both of them emanated ripples of power that were so great, they felt as though they were the ripples that would emanate from entire chaosworlds.

“World God. Chaos Immortal.” Ning could sense that these two posed a deadly threat to him.

Although he had just barely reached the World God threshold when using Violetjewel, the difference in power between him and these two figures who had long ago crossed that threshold was still quite apparent.

“Respectful greetings to you, seniors.” Ning and Fushe both spoke out with respect. As Elder Gods, they had enough status to speak while remaining on their feet, as opposed to True Gods and True Immortals who had to kneel.

“So you are Darknorth?” The old man dressed in loose white robes spoke out slowly. He was Chaos Immortal Abyssus.

“I am,” Ning said respectfully.

“You seem quite confident in your skills. You asked for a World-level expert to attest to your strength as soon as you joined the Fogstone Army.” Chaos Immortal Abyssus smiled gently. “You’ve made an impression on all nine of the World-level experts of Fogstone.”

Island Master Fushe had made the report to all nine of the World-level experts, including the Starlord of Fogstone. Immortal Abyssus was the first to respond, but all nine of them knew about this matter.

“Mmhmm.” World God Blackmist glanced downwards as well while sipping from his winecup.

“Master.” A red-lipped, red-robed standing off to one side suddenly spoke out loudly. “We don’t even know where this Elder God Darknorth came from. Are we supposed to trouble you with every random Elder God or Ancestral Immortal, master? Your disciple is willing to test him out first and see how much power he actually has. If he can’t even beat me, there’s no need whatsoever for you to intervene.”

Immortal Abyssus chuckled.

World God Blackmist played with his wineup, a drunken look in his eyes. “Brother Abyssus, this disciple of yours is pretty strong. You can let him have the first go with this Darknorth fellow.”

“Might as well.” Immortal Abyssus nodded, then instructed, “Disciple, have a little contest with Darknorth. Neither of you are to kill the other.”

“Understood,” the red-robed youth said respectfully.

“Understood,” Ning said as well.

Two World-level experts had made their wishes known. How could he possibly disagree?

Both Immortal Abyssus and World God Blackmist were watching the proceedings from their tables.

“What’s your impression of Darknorth?” Immortal Abyssus asked with a smile.

“He seems quite calm and confident,” World God Blackmist said. “He should have a bit of strength.”

Immortal Abyssus nodded in agreement. “Then who do you think will win, Abyssus?”

“Let’s watch and see.” World God Abyssus had a look of curiosity on his face.

Restrictive spells automatically sprang into place within the hall, completely covering both Ji Ning and the red-robed youth.

Ning and the red-robed youth stared at each other from within.

“Listen up. My name is Shadesoar.” The red-robed youth produced a pair of swords within his two hands. “My area of expertise is sword-arts.”

“My area of expertise is also sword-arts.” Ning also produced a pair of Darknorth swords. Previously, he had merely used his palms and the [Starseizing Hand] to crush Elder God Blackpeak. Now that he was performing in front of a pair of World-level experts, Ning felt it was best to be cautious. He was still able to perform sword-arts better with his swords, after all.

The sword was both sharper and faster.

“His area of expertise is sword-arts?” Ancestral Immortal Imperius and Island Master Fushe were both surprised. Ji Ning had fought in a tyrannical, dominating fashion earlier. He was actually a sword-user as well?

“He also uses the sword?” World God Blackmist let out a laugh. There were two World-level experts on Fogstone who were extremely skilled in using the sword. One was the Starlord of Fogstone, who had devised and was willing to sell his ‘Skystar Sword’ manual to those who were willing to pay the right price. The second was World God Blackmist. World God Blackmist was very good friends with the Starlord of Fogstone; it could be said the he had watched as the Starlord of Fogstone slowly grew up and rose to power.

World God Blackmist had actually taught the Starlord of Fogstone his sword-arts. But of course, Fogstone was now far more powerful than Blackmist by now.

“A competition between two swordsmen. This will be interesting.” Immortal Abyssus smiled. “Blackmist, if Darknorth is skilled you can choose him as your disciple.”

“I told you, I’ll never accept a disciple,” World God Blackmist said.

Immortal Abyssus secretly shook his head.

Long ago, World God Blackmist had a disciple. After that disciple died, Blackmist refused to accept any more disciples.

Suddenly, both Ning and the red-robed youth made their moves as they charged towards each other.

Both had reached extremely high levels of expertise in sword-arts and were able to control their divine power freely, letting none of it leak out or go to waste.

“Fifth-stage swordforce? His sword-arts are quite impressive as well.” Ning immediately felt a hint of pressure as he started to fight against the red-robed youth. The youth’s sword-arts were nimbler and more agile than his, like an antelope galloping through the woods or a pegasus flying the skies. Every single strike of the sword moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos; clearly, he had also learned and mastered a technique similar to the [Five Treasures].

None of this surprised Ning. This was a disciple of a Chaos Immortal, after all; it made sense for him to possess this type of technique.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

By comparison, Ning’s sword-arts were more unpredictable and formless.

Ning was using the ‘Shadowless’ stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art. The red-robed youth found that this stance was extremely difficult to block.

“Your sword-arts aren’t bad, but if this is all you have, you aren’t qualified to exchange blows with my master,” the red-robed youth barked out while fighting.

“Then you had best be careful!” Ning let out a loud roar.

BOOM!

Ning’s two fluttering swords suddenly exploded with might. His swords had previously moved in strange, unpredictable ways. All of a sudden, they grew dramatically more powerful than before. Prior to this, Ning hadn’t been using the [Starseizing Hand], while the red-robed youth had actually already used his own divine abilities. Only by doing so was he able to match Ning, a half-step World God, in might. Now that Ning was using the [Starseizing Hand], the power of his blows increased dramatically.

Fast, strong, bizarre…

Ning’s sword-light brought such tremendous pressure upon the youth that his face changed. His body blurred as he manifested a total of six arms, but Ning immediately manifested six arms of his own as he continued to press the assault.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s sword-light struck with incredible weight and savagery, causing the nimble sword-arts of the red-robed youth to be completely disrupted.

Boom!

A streak of sword-light slammed against the red-robed youth’s body. The youth was knocked flying backwards and fell to the ground, causing even the palace hall itself trembled slightly. The red-robed youth couldn’t help but vomit out a mouthful of blood.

“He’s just a bit stronger than me, that’s all.” The red-robed youth didn’t want to accept the loss and wished to charge towards Ning once more.

“Enough.”

A voice rang out from on high. “If you lost, you lost.”

“Yes, Master.” Rather embarrassed, the red-robed youth assented in a respectful voice. He had wanted to defeat this unknown Elder God, but instead he himself had been defeated. In terms of sword-arts, he was actually one of the top three Fogstone soldiers…and yet, he had been defeated by this Darknorth.

“What do you think?” Immortal Abyssus looked towards World God Blackmist. “You are more qualified to judge him than I am.”

World God Blackmist looked downwards at Ning, a hint of praise in his eyes. “This Darknorth has reached a very high level of skill in sword-arts. It seemed as though the two were on par with each other, with Shadesoar only losing because he was a bit weaker, but…in this fight, Darknorth’s techniques came out in a steady, unbroken stream. His techniques were very well-rounded and perfected, allowing him to battle in a very natural, unrestrained manner. If my guess is correct, Darknorth has revealed just a hint of his true prowess with the sword. He hasn’t shown his most formidable techniques yet.”

“Oh?” Immortal Abyssus was rather surprised.

World God Blackmist had long ago reached the ‘Sword World’ level in the sword. He was better equipped to evaluate sword-arts than almost anyone else.

“Although he hasn’t revealed his most formidable techniques yet, he isn’t able to hide the slick perfection of the techniques he has revealed.” World God Blackmist smiled. “It is very hard for a weakling to pretend to be an expert of the sword, but it is also very hard for an expert of the sword to pretend to be a weakling. Every single stance he uses is extraordinary, as is his sword-intent. Abyssus, I have a rather unreasonable request to make.”

“Oh? What is it?” Immortal Abyssus asked.

“Let me be the one to compete with him instead.” World God Blackmist put down his cup of wine. “Only when I personally test him out will I be sure as to exactly how strong he is.”

“Haha, my attainments in the Dao of the Sword are quite average. You are actually the best choice possible.” Immortal Abyssus nodded in agreement.

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Chapter 10 – World God Blackmist

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 10 – World God Blackmist

Chaos Immortal Abyssus and World God Blackmist both suddenly turned to look towards the outside of the hall.

Whoosh.

Another figure suddenly walked into the hall.

Ji Ning, the red-robed youth, Ancestral Immortal Imperius, and Island Master Fushe all turned their heads to look. The new arrival was a man who was dressed in a robe of stars. He had long black hair, with every single strand of hair glimmering with the light of the stars. His gaze caused Ning and the others to feel an uncontrollable desire to drop their eyes.

“This aura…” Ning’s heart trembled. Upon seeing this man who had just arrived, he felt as though he was seeing the planet of Fogstone itself glittering within the skies.

“Starlord.” Immortal Abyssus had already risen to his feet. He immediately waved his hand, causing a third table to appear in the center of the hall. He and World God Blackmist quickly seated themselves to either side of the table.

“Childstar.” World God Blackmist rose to his feet as well.

Whoosh.

The starry-robed man moved to the front of the hall, then sat down in the lotus position as well. He smiled. “Second Uncle, Abyssus, please take a seat. Don’t stand on such ceremony. I just heard a short while ago that an Elder God named Darknorth wishes to join our Fogstone Army. I just so happened to leave my meditations and had nothing to do, so I came over to take a look.”

“Haha, Blackmist was just about to personally test this Darknorth’s power.” Immortal Abyssus smiled. He was very respectful towards the Starlord of Fogstone because the Starlord was an incredibly powerful figure. Compared to him, even the other two nearby hegemons such as God Emperor Blacklotus and Sovereign Eastvictor were a bit lacking.

Immortal Abyssus truly admired him, which was why he was willing to take up residence here.

“Second Uncle, you plan to personally test him out? Haha, it seems like my decision to come here was the right one.” The Starlord laughed.

“Darknorth seems to be quite talented in the Dao of the Sword.” World God Blackmist nodded his head and smiled. The little kid really had grown up and become powerful.

The Starlord of Fogstone, Immortal Abyssus, and World God Blackmist chatted amongst themselves. None of the others could hear a thing.

“Is that the Starlord of Fogstone?” Ning and the others, including the disciples of Immortal Abyssus, all felt breathless.

The Starlord of Fogstone was a legend.

Strictly speaking, every single Starlord of Fogstone had been a figure of incredible power. Fogstone had a long, ancient history that stretched even further back than the lineage of the Badlands Court itself! Whenever a successor became powerful, the previous Starlord of Fogstone would depart and go out to adventure through the primordial chaos. They would search for their own paths, and as a result many of them would die on other worlds during their adventures.

After adventuring for many years, some would come back and visit their old home. Thus, although every so often the Fogstone lineage would be wiped out, in every case it had been quickly restored to power once more.

In addition, whenever any of the successors formally assumed the mantle of ‘Starlord of Fogstone’, they would suddenly become dramatically more powerful.

One of the reasons why Ning had decided to join Fogstone was precisely because the Starlords of Fogstone had very deep roots. They could rely on the power of Fogstone itself to quickly improve themselves.

“Darknorth.” Immortal Abyssus spoke out.

“Present.” Ning replied with respect.

“It shall be World God Blackmist who tests you out,” Immortal Abyssus said. “World God Blackmist has long ago reached the ‘Sword World’ level in the Dao of the Sword. Don’t waste this opportunity.”

“Understood.” Ning grew excited.

Sword World?

The sixth stage of swordforce? The stage which allowed one to become a World God through the Dao of the Sword?

“My second uncle rarely shows his power. You need to treasure this,” the Starlord of Fogstone said with a laugh.

“I won’t take advantage of you, kid.” World God Blackmist waved his finger, causing a drop of blood to fly towards Ning and manifest into an identical clone of Blackmist. However, this clone’s aura was noticeably weaker. “This blood incarnation is a bit weaker than an ordinary Elder God. Use your most powerful attacks against me.”

“Alright.” Ning’s eyes lit up.

Ning and Blackmist’s incarnation stared at each other from afar.

Blackmist’s incarnation was rather weak in both speed and strength for an Elder God, while Ning was a half-step World God. This gave Ning a huge advantage…but Ning knew that his opponent was at a much higher level of skill and enlightenment than himself.

“Senior Blackmist, this is the most powerful sword-art I have developed to date. Please provide me with some advice,” Ning said solemnly, holding a single sword with a twohanded grip. The entire hall suddenly seemed to echo with his sword-intent as Ning took complete control over the entire area.

[Nameless] sword-art, Heartsword stance!

Ning had gone into seclusion for three hundred years after the Endwar, which translated into six thousand years in the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance. Although he had spent much of the six thousand years restoring his bodies, most of his attention had been spent on meditating on the Dao and on the Sword. His sword-arts were even more formidable and perfected than they had been when he had slain Old Man Yuan.

Swish! Ning flew forward, his entire being seeming to have transformed into a sword.

“This sword-intent….he really is a true expert in the Dao of the Sword.” Blackmist’s incarnation let out a laugh as he produced a sword and began to fight against Ning.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Tens of thousands of sword-shadows appeared as the two furiously battled against each other.

Ning possessed tremendous power, formidable divine abilities, and shocking sword-arts. World God Blackmist’s sword, however, was even more unpredictable and ephemeral, causing each of Ning’s strikes to fall empty and miss their mark.

“Second Uncle, you probably won’t be able to do anything to Darknorth with just an incarnation. He has gained certain insights into the true essence of the sword. Although he’s lacking in other respects, his control and mastery over the sword has reached a level of perfection.” The Starlord of Fogstone was even more skilled in the Dao of the Sword than World God Blackmist. Upon seeing this battle, he immediately laughed and gave his input.

“He shows no openings or weaknesses at all. With every step he takes, he crushes down upon me, taking advantage of the fact that I don’t have enough divine power.” The incarnation of Blackmist simply didn’t have enough divine power to fight. “I need to take part with my true body.”

Swoosh.

World God Blackmist suddenly flew away from his seat, dispelling his clone and instead charging forward to battle against Ning personally.

“What? World God Blackmist has engaged with his own body?”

“The incarnation of World God Blackmist wasn’t enough to deal with Darknorth?” All the spectators, including Island Master Fushe and the disciples of Immortal Abyssus, were stunned.

Immortal Abyssus himself was also puzzled. “Brother Blackmist is tremendously skilled with the sword. Although his incarnation is a bit lacking in physical strength, brother Blackmist should be talented enough in sword-arts to defeat Darknorth despite being physically weaker.”

“That’s where you are wrong,” the Starlord of Fogstone said. “The Dao of the Sword is a Dao meant for battle and slaughter. Thus, when most swordsmen reach a sufficiently high level of insight into the Dao of the Sword, they will first gain insight over the sword-intent of slaughter. This Darknorth, however, didn’t gain insight into the sword-intent of slaughter; instead, he gained insight into something else, a sort of absolute control over the sword. He’s able to unleash the maximum power of every single stance he uses while showing almost no weaknesses or flaws, making it extremely difficult for anyone on the same level of power as him to actually defeat him.”

“Absolute control?” Immortal Abyssus didn’t really understand.

The Starlord of Fogstone chuckled calmly. “The true essence of the sword is a vast, endless sea. Different experts in the Dao of the Sword will gain different insights when they study the essence of the sword. The insights Darknorth gained pertain to control, control over the sword. His sword isn’t the fastest, nor is it the sharpest, but he has the most perfect control over his sword.”

Indeed.

The deceased World God Northrest had left behind ninety-eight stone steles for his successor, so as to help his successor master the concept of the ‘hidden edge’. This was a concept that centered around control, not an all-out attack. Later on, Ning had finally mastered the ‘Heartsword stance’ during the Endwar. The [Nameless] sword-art required its practitioners to have absolute control over their Immortal swords. If one couldn’t fully control the sword as one wished, then one would never be able to become truly powerful, no matter how strong one’s blows became.

“This is a level which many experts of the Dao of the Sword dream of reaching. If you are completely flawless, then when you encounter an enemy of the same level of power it will be very difficult for that person to defeat you.” The Starlord laughed. “I only reached this level after I became a World God. My second uncle still has yet to reach this level of mastery. He’s embarked on a different path in the Dao of the Sword.”

World God Blackmist suppressed his own power as he fought, strictly competing against Ning in sword-arts.

Rumble…

Sword-light flashed throughout the hall.

Ning felt as though he had been trapped in a web of countless sword-shadows, all of which were crushing down upon him. He couldn’t even see any of the other people in the hall. All he could see were those attacking streaks of sword-light, each of which seemed to emerge from a black mist of sword-shadows. Every single blow was ghostly yet brutal and overbearing.

“Kid, this here is my Sword World. Take a good look!” World God Blackmist’s voice echoed in the hall.

Ning was using every inch of power he had to defend. Supported by the ‘Heartsword Realm’, his [Brightmoon] sword-art was executed in a perfect, intricate manner…and yet, he still was at the verge of being defeated. All he could do was fight with full power, infusing all of the insights he had gained into his sword-arts.

In recent years, Ning hadn’t been able to meet a truly skilled opponent in the Dao of the Sword! He had been painstakingly training on his own this entire time. Now, however, a World God who had mastered his own Sword World was sparring against him in person, giving him a chance to see a completely new world and gain an even deeper glimpse into the true, vast essence of the sword. In fact, Ning was actually beginning to gain more and more insights into the second stance of the [Nameless] sword-art.

“Six thousand years of training wasn’t as useful as this single battle.” A berserk look appeared in Ning’s eyes as he did everything he could to continue fighting against World God Blackmist. He tested out many of the insights he had gained into the Dao of the Sword, hoping that this battle against World God Blackmist would persist for a bit longer.

In fact, his sword-arts were improving at a rate which was visible to all the spectators.

“He’s growing more powerful?”

The Starlord of Fogstone continued to watch from his position, and his eyes lit up when he saw this. “It seems that this Darknorth has never encountered true experts in the Dao of the Sword in the past. Second Uncle, spend some extra time sparring with him! It’s quite rare for us to acquire such an expert in the Dao of the Sword.”

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Chapter 11 – The Sixth General

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 11 – The Sixth General

Only when competing against a grandmaster of the sword would one truly be able to see one’s own weaknesses.

Although Ji Ning’s ‘Sword Realm’ was very formidable, allowing him to perfectly control every single sword-strike he used, its weakness was that it was too balanced. His sword wasn’t fast enough, unpredictable enough, savage enough…it was lacking in many respects. When World God Blackmist used his sword-arts against Ning, Ning was completely suppressed in every respect. Blackmist’s sword-arts were truly terrifying and contained an entire system within it.

The Sword World level represented a systemized understanding of the true essence of the sword, allowing one to form an entire world with it. World God Blackmist clearly had already reached that level.

Slash.

Swish.

“That’s how it should be.”

“The second stance of the [Nameless] sword-art…no wonder I always felt something was off.”

“Right…”

During this battle, many of the questions and mysteries that had puzzled Ning were dispelled one after the other, causing Ning to feel quite excited. In his homeland of Earth, there was a saying; ‘Listening to a word of wisdom from a master is more effective than ten years of reading.’ When competing against such a formidable master of the sword such as World God Blackmist, Ning found that he was improving at a shocking rate. He had trained for many years but had never encountered someone as terrifyingly formidable in the Dao of the Sword before.

World God Blackmist had clearly suppressed his own level of power, allowing just a little bit of it to be put on display. If he was to allow the power of his Sword World to fully explode, it would be effortless for him to destroy an entire chaosworld.

Although Ning continued to make improvements, he was still very puny compared to the true might of this Sword World.

“A killing stance…”

“Right. This stance doesn’t focus on stability; it focuses on attacking and killing.”

Ning slowly began to understand.

[Nameless] sword-art, first stance – Heartsword stance.

[Nameless] sword-art, second stance – Killsword stance.

“He truly is talented in the Dao of the Sword.” Immortal Abyssus watched from on high as World God Blacklist dueled against Ji Ning. Every single streak of sword-light from Ji Ning was more powerful and fiercer than the last as his Dao of the Sword noticeably grew sharper and deadlier.

“He is improving quite quickly. My guess is that Darknorth hasn’t been training for that long,” the Starlord of Fogstone said with a smile.

“Agreed.” Immortal Abyssus nodded.

If one didn’t reach the World-level in a single chaos cycle, it was almost guaranteed that one would never reach that level.

For Ji Ning to improve so quickly when dueling with a master of the Dao of the Sword meant that he was clearly still in his early growth period. And in truth, the reason why his rate of improvement was this fast was primarily because he had never before had the chance to duel such an expert of the sword.

“B-but…” As the red-robed disciple of Immortal Abyssus watched this fight, he felt more embarrassed than anyone else.

“Now do you understand the difference between the two of you?” Ancestral Immortal Imperius laughed.

“Please don’t make fun of me, eldest apprentice-brother.” The red-robed youth said hurriedly, “Only now do I realize that Elder God Darknorth was taking it easy on me. If he had revealed such terrifying sword-arts from the very start, I probably would’ve been instantly defeated. His sword-arts have completely eclipsed the sword-arts of so-called ‘supreme Elder Gods’. He should be comparable to our five generals. Most likely you, eldest apprentice-brother, are the only one who is definitely capable of defeating him.”

“If eldest apprentice-brother fights, of course he’ll win.”

“No question.”

All of the fellow disciples agreed on this.

Chaos Immortal Abyssus had only joined this place after adventuring for many years in the outside world, and as he did so he was accompanied by his eldest disciple, Ancestral Immortal Imperius. Imperius was unfathomably strong, but he had never joined the Fogstone Army. He was a very low-key figure, but the disciples of Chaos Immortal Abyssus and the high-level members of Fogstone all knew that the most powerful figure below the World-level on this planet was actually Imperius. In fact, the five generals had once joined together to challenge him in secret, but all five of them had been defeated.

Imperius was simply a low-key man who didn’t like to fight.

Because he had been training for far more than a chaos cycle, his master and the Starlord didn’t force him to go out and adventure, allowing him to live his low-key life on Fogstone.

“Beating him wouldn’t be easy.” Imperius watched as Ning continued to battle against World God Blackmist. “All of you are underestimating him. When World God Blackmist first used an incarnation to fight, his sword-arts were actually incredibly powerful. Despite that, he still wasn’t able to do anything to Darknorth. World God Blackmist has now used his Sword World, but Darknorth is still able to keep fighting. Although World God Blackmist is taking it easy on him, Darknorth’s defensive sword-arts truly have reached a terrifying level.”

“He’s too stable.”

“His defense is airtight and completely flawless. The other five generals each have their own special techniques, but when faced with Darknorth’s airtight defense…eventually, all of them will be defeated. Even I am not confident in being able to defeat him,” Ancestral Immortal Imperius said.

“Completely flawless?” The other disciples, all of whom worshipped their eldest apprentice-brother, were all shocked.

“Given how terrifying his sword-arts are…if he was to acquire a Dao sword…” Ancestarl Immortal Imperius shook his head. “That would make him truly dangerous.”

“Agreed.” All of the other disciples nodded.

Darknorth was already incredibly powerful and an expert of the Dao of the Sword. If he had a Dao sword as well…how deadly would he become?!

Ning’s ‘Heartsword Realm’ was a technique allowing him absolute control over himself and his sword. Even those more powerful than him would find it difficult to break his sword stances, unless the difference in power was truly enormous.

The [Nameless] sword-art was simply too formidable.

Even someone like World God Northrest, who had access to the resources of the mighty Vastheaven Palace, had been smitten by this sword-art. And even to the very day of his death, he had still been far from completely mastering the entire [Nameless] sword-art.

Whoosh.

World God Blackmist ceased his attacks.

Ning stood there, his face covered with sweat. His eyes, however, were blazing with excitement. He had been mentally exhausted just now, but he didn’t care at all. This was his first time fighting against such a formidable master of the Dao of the Sword; Ning naturally valued and cherished this opportunity.

“Thank you, senior,” Ning said gratefully.

Ning truly was extremely grateful.

It had been a long battle. At first, his sword-arts had continuously improved, but towards the end he was unable to improve any further. He had already made full use of all the insights and experiences he had gained during six thousand years of meditation in the Three Realms. No rate of explosive could be maintained forever. Clearly, the insights Ning had gained in recent years weren’t enough to allow him to truly master the ‘Killsword stance’ just yet.

However, he now comprehended the majority of the ‘Killsword stance’. The parts he had yet to comprehend were the hardest parts…but of course, the power of Ning’s sword-arts had increased significantly as well.

“It’s rare to encounter someone on Fogstone who understands the Dao of the Sword. You can come seek me out whenever you wish,” World God Blackmist said with a smile.

“Understood.” Ning was overjoyed.

Although Blackmist had said ‘whenever you wish’, Ning wouldn’t be so foolish as to actually seek him out all the time. When training in the sword, one had to have both insights and actual combat experience! Only when he had enough insights would he seek Blackmist out for another duel.

“Based on how quickly I’m improving…I should be able to master the second stance in about ten thousand years.” Ning mused to himself, “If I use the Heavengazer Tower, it should only take me a few centuries.”

If it wasn’t for World God Blackmist, Ning would probably need a hundred times as much time in order to succeed. In fact, it was entirely possible that Ning would encounter a bottleneck that would stymie him, no matter how hard he tried to breach it. With a capable teacher providing guidance, he would be able to easily make his way past those bottlenecks. A good teacher could make a tremendous difference.

“Darknorth.” The Starlord of Fogstone spoke out as Immortal Abyssus and World God Blackmist both looked towards Ning.

“Starlord.” Ning looked at him respectfully.

“You are quite strong indeed. Fogstone has a total of five generals. As of today, you are now the sixth.” The Starlord smiled.

Ning was slightly startled. ‘General’ was an important rank; not only did one have to be powerful, one generally also needed to have rendered accomplishments for the organization.

“Understood,” Ning hurriedly said.

“Since you are a general, we won’t place too many restrictions on you,” the Starlord said with a smile. “If my guess is correct, you probably haven’t been training for too long.”

“Right,” Ning said.

“Mm. Since you’ve only trained for a short period of time, I imagine you are definitely working hard to try and break through to the World-level.” The Starlord continued, “That means in the future, you’ll go out adventuring. This is the lifeblood oath I need you to make in order to join the Fogstone Army. It is a fairly loose one.” As he spoke, he waved his hand, causing a scroll to fly down towards Ning.

Ning accepted the scroll. Anyone who wished to join an organization would have to swear a lifeblood oath. However, if one merely joined as a ‘guest retainer’, the terms of the lifeblood oath would generally be much looser.

Ning glanced through the scroll. Indeed, this lifeblood oath was a fairly relaxed one. It placed almost negligible constraints on Ning, only requiring him to be loyal to Fogstone.

“Starlord,” Ning said respectfully. “Can we make a slight alteration to this oath?”

“Alteration?” The Starlord frowned. This oath was already an extremely loose one. “What part needs altering?”

“In the future, my journeys will most likely take me beyond the Badlands Territory,” Ning said respectfully.

“Leave the Badlands?” The three World-level experts were all puzzled.

The Badlands Territory was a vast place with many World-level experts. A territory of this size was more than large enough for an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal to adventure through.

“I don’t have a choice. I’m bound by another lifeblood oath. In the future, I’ll definitely have to leave the Badlands Territory and seek out a place known as Vastheaven Palace.” Ning immediately asked, “Might I ask the three of you, seniors, if you know where Vastheaven Palace is?”

There was no need for him to hide the fact that he had to seek out Vastheaven Palace.

These three World-level figures were all much more experienced than him. Perhaps they might know where Vastheaven Palace lay.

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Chapter 12 – Sentinel

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 12 – Sentinel

World God Blackmist, Chaos Immortal Abyssus, and the Starlord of Fogstone were all slightly startled.

“Vastheaven Palace?” The Starlord glanced towards the other two, puzzled. “I haven’t gone to many places, just the Badlands Territory, the Cicada Territory, and three other territories. You two have been to many more places.”

“I’ve never heard of it either.” World God Blackmist shook his head. “Abyssus, you’ve journeyed through the primordial chaos for quite some time. Have you heard of Vastheaven Palace?”

Chaos Immortal Abyssus glanced downwards dubiously. “Elder God Darknorth, what is this Vastheaven Palace? Is it a region, the name of a palace, or an organization?”

“An organization. It should be quite a powerful one,” Ning said.

“Haven’t heard of it.”

Abyssus was rather puzzled. “I’ve spent countless years traveling in the territories surrounding the Badlands as well as quite a few distant territories. I’ve been to many places and collected many star maps, but I’ve never heard of an organization known as Vastheaven Palace!”

“The other World-level members of Fogstone have been to far fewer places than Abyssus has. If not even Abyssus has heard of this place, it must be located extremely far away or in a very remote area. In fact, it could’ve been wiped out many chaos cycles ago,” the Starlord said.

A chill entered Ning’s heart.

World God Northrest, what did you do? You ran around in such a crazy manner that even a sword like Violetjewel was nearly destroyed, ending up in a place you didn’t recognize.

This was going to be even harder than he thought!

World God Northrest had never heard of the Badlands Territory, while the Starlord of Fogstone, World God Blackmist, and Immortal Abyssus had never heard of Vastheaven Palace! It must be understood that Vastheaven Palace controlled the entire Vastheaven Territory, which meant that it should be a fairly famous organization. And yet, even someone like Immortal Abyssus who had journeyed through many territories had never heard of the place. From this, one could imagine just how far the Badlands Territory was from the Vastheaven Territory.

“Will I be able to find it within a single chaos cycle?” Ning began to worry.

“I’ll help you ask the other World-level experts about Vastheaven Palace. I’ll also ask my friends if any of them have heard of it,” the Starlord said.

“Thank you, Starlord.” Ning nodded.

The Starlord gazed downwards at Ning, then shook his head and laughed. “That’s all I can really do. However…if not even Immortal Abyssus has heard of the place, it’s unlikely that any of my friends would have heard of it. Mm, right. Yes, we can make a slight alteration to the lifeblood oath you need to swear in order to join the Fogstone Army.” As he spoke, he pointed at the scroll. A twinkling little sparkle of star light instantly descended, covering the scroll in Ning’s hands and changing its contents.

“What do you think?” The Starlord asked.

Ning lowered his head to look at it. There were now even fewer restrictions than before, and once he became a World God there would be virtually no restrictions on him whatsoever.

“If you are willing to accept this, you can swear the lifeblood oath now,” the Starlord said.

“Yes,” Ning said respectfully, scroll in hand. This scroll effectively acted as an oathstone on its own.

“I swear on my very life itself…”

From this day forth, Ning was now a formal member of Fogstone. Even if trillions of years passed and he became far more powerful than he was now, he would still be a member of Fogstone.

Within the hall.

After Ning swore the lifeblood oath, the gazes of the Starlord, World God Blackmist, and Immortal Abyssus all turned warmer as they looked at him. They were now on the same boat, after all.

“Per our usual rules, you should be bestowed with some treasures and techniques now that you have joined the Fogstone Army,” the Starlord said. “In a short while, I’ll arrange for Fushe lead you to the treasury and get your things.”

“Alright,” Ning said.

“However, be aware that Fogstone has many cultivators; we can’t just give you all of our treasures,” the Starlord said. “Thus, if you wish to acquire more than just the base package, you’ll have to render merits to the organization. Would you prefer to remain here on Fogstone, or would you prefer to venture outside and do battle on our behalf?”

“I’m willing to go out and do battle,” Ning said respectfully.

The Starlord smiled and nodded.

“Starlord,” Ning immediately said, “I’d like to ask you a question. How many people in the Badlands Territory know the ‘Blacklotus Guard’ technique, are Heartforce Cultivators, and are at least at the supreme Elder God level of power?”

“The ‘Blacklotus Guard’ is one of the consummate techniques of God Emperor Blacklotus. He will never teach it to an outsider, much like how we won’t teach outsiders our truly supreme skills either. Only the less important techniques will be transmitted to others.” The Starlord of Fogstone chuckled. “A Heartforce Cultivator who knows the ‘Blacklotus Guard’ and is at least a supreme Elder God…the only one who fulfills all of these requirements is one of his Nine Divine Generals, the Mindlord.”

“Does the Mindlord have a Primaltwin?” Ning asked.

“He did.” The Starlord nodded. “Based on what I know, the Mindlord’s Primaltwin headed off to the Earthdrake area roughly a chaos cycle and ended up dying there.”

Ning was startled. The Earthdrake area? Wasn’t that the area he was from? Died a chaos cycle ago? Wasn’t Old Man Yuan possessed during the Primordial Era? There couldn’t be that many coincidences.

“So it really is the Mindlord.” A flicker of a killing intent appeared in Ning’s eyes. It made sense. He had the feeling that Godfiend Witherspike was telling the truth. As an extremely powerful cultivator who was skilled in heartforce, he was generally able to tell when others were lying to him or not. Perhaps true Heartforce Cultivators like Old Man Yuan would be able to deceive him, but people like Witherspike didn’t have skills in this area.

“You have a feud with the Mindlord?” The Starlord of Fogstone asked.

“I do,” Ning said respectfully.

“Oh…” The Starlord pondered a moment, then said, “How about this? Of the chaosworlds under my command, the Windsource Chaosworld lies closest to God Emperor Blacklotus’ domain. Combat occurs quite often there, which is why we have more than three hundred Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stationed there permanently. You can go to the Windsource Chaosworld.”

“We already have a leader for our forces there,” World God Blackmist said.

The Starlord waved his hand, manifesting an insignia that glimmered with starlight. He tossed the insignia to Ning, who hurriedly reached out to catch it. The insignia had the word ‘Sentinel’ on it.

“This is the Sentinel insignia,” the Starlord said. “From this day forth, you are my designated Sentinel. When you reach the Windsource Chaosworld, you will be my representative. All the cultivators of the Windsource Chaosworld will obey your commands.”

“Yes,” Ning said respectfully.

“Also, I’ll send the word and make sure that the news of your arrival is kept quiet,” the Starlord said. “You’ve just joined us a short while ago; very few people know of your presence. I imagine that God Emperor Blacklotus and his forces don’t even know about you yet. Their ignorance of your allegiance to us will make it easier for you to strike out against them and take revenge. The Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus often travel to the Windsource Chaosworld. You’ll definitely find a chance to fight the Mindlord.”

“Thank you, Starlord.” Ning was overjoyed. This was a perfect arrangement. To be the Starlord’s Sentinel was quite a lofty position.

“Be careful.” World God Blackmist instructed, “The armies of God Emperor Blacklotus aren’t so easily dealt with.”

“Yes.” Ning was still filled with eagerness.

Sword-arts were meant for battle. Only in battle would his sword-arts be tempered and improved! Ning’s [Nameless] sword-art in particular needed both time and actual combat experience.

“Fushe, go ahead and lead Darknorth to the treasury. After he has his items, he can immediately head off towards the Windsource Chaosworld,” the Starlord instructed.

“Yes,” Island Master Fushe said respectfully.

Ning and Fushe then departed the hall together.

“What do you think?” The Starlord looked towards the other two.

“An excellent choice.” Immortal Abyssus chuckled. “We’re lucky to have such a formidable expert in the Dao of the Sword join us. My guess is that this Darknorth holds an enormous grudge against the Mindlord, which is the reason why he decided to join Fogstone to begin with. Otherwise, given his sword-arts he could have easily joined any organization aside from the Badlands Court.”

“That’s why I arranged for him to be in the Windsource Chaosworld,” the Starlord said.

The border regions between two major organizations served as a meat grinder. Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals often died there. As far as both sides were concerned, the border regions were a good place for the cultivators of both sides to gain experience through life-and-death battles. Only then would they be able to grow more quickly.

……

“Congratulations, brother Darknorth. You are now our sixth general.” Island Master Fushe flew alongside Ning as they left the Abyssus Palace. “When you go to the Windsource Chaosworld as the Starlord’s Sentinel, you’ll be the undisputed leader of our forces there. Being the leader of a chaosworld is quite an excellent position. All of the cultivators in the Windsource Chaosworld will try to curry favor with you.”

“Curry favor with me?” Ning was puzzled.

“Of course. You will be guarding the place as the Starlord’s representative. You can easily cause problems for any of them. They wouldn’t dare to NOT curry favor with you.” Fushe laughed. “Look, the Starlord’s estate is over there.”

Ning turned to look, only to see an enormous, city-sized estate appear in the distance. The estate was surrounded by countless sparks of star light, as though it was the very center of the entire planet of Fogstone.

“Ordinary Elder God soldiers might exhaust themselves for an entire chaos cycle without being able to acquire the treasures and techniques you are about to get.” Fushe had a look of envy on his face as he led Ning into the Starlord’s estate.

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Chapter 13 – Statues

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 13 – Statues

The Starlord’s estate was tens of thousands of kilometers in size. It was filled with countless edifices and emanated an aura of supreme power.

“What are…?” Upon entering the estate, Ji Ning immediately stared off into the distance in amazement.

As soon as he had entered, the first things he saw were those grayish-white statues, all shaped like humanoids. There was a statue of a dominating man whose hair was flying about, a statue of an icy, beautiful woman, a statue of a crazy old man who was roaring with laughter, a statue of a youth who was filled with a murderous aura…

Every single statue seemed to be almost alive. However, they were clearly just lifeless stone sculptures.

“What are those?” Ning was puzzled.

“Those are all World-level experts.” Upon seeing those distant statues, a complicated look entered Fushe’s eyes. He said softly, “Deceased World-level experts.”

“Deceased?” Ning instantly understood. “So when World-level experts of Fogstone die, they are memorialized here in the form of stone sculptures?”

Island Master Fushe slowly shook his head. “These are their corpses!”

“Corpses?” Ning was stunned. He turned his head to stare at the statues once more. There were dozens of them, and all of them were completely lifeless. They had no aura of life, divine power, or Immortal energy. It must be understood that even the corpse of an ordinary Fiendgod would radiate an aura of divine power. If a Chaos Immortal was to die, his corpse would continue to emanate an aura of extraordinary power.

But these stone statues…Ning couldn’t see anything special about them at all.

“These are all the World Gods of Fogstone who have died since time immemorial,” Fushe said softly. “They all used the [Fogstone Apocalypse] divine ability to fight against their foes, then perished in battle.”

“[Fogstone Apocalypse]?” Ning was puzzled.

“Fogstone’s lineage is an ancient one, even more ancient than the lineage of the Badlands Court, the most powerful organization in the Badlands Territory. Although the Badlands Court is more powerful, Fogstone actually ranks as one of the three oldest lineages of the Badlands Territory and is far older than the Badlands Court. Actually, there are many organizations in the Badlands Territory which are older than the Badlands Court, but quite a few of them were wiped out. In the end, power is what matters. The Badlands Court was established by Daolord Badlands; it naturally is the ruler of the entire Badlands Territory.”

Island Master Fushe continued, “The most powerful divine ability the Fogstone lineage possesses is the [Fogstone Apocalypse] technique. Only Fiendgod Body Refiners can train in it, and only World Gods can fully master it. This divine ability is never taught to outsiders.”

Although Ning had purchased a star map and learned a bit of information about the region, the star map had included very little information about the truly peerless techniques which existed here.

“When you use this divine ability, your body will slowly transform into fogstone. If you completely master it and use it, your entire body will become transformed into fogstone.” Fushe shook his head. “During the petrification process, you will become terrifyingly powerful…but there’s always a catch. If you run out of divine power after you complete the transformation process, you will transform into a fogstone statue and perish.”

“What?” Ning was stunned.

“This will only happen to the World Gods of Fogstone in the most dire of situations. Generally speaking, if you halt the divine ability once your divine power begins to run low, you’ll be able to stay alive. These World Gods all died in battle,” Fushe said softly.

Ning stared at the stone statues.

These were all World Gods who had died countless years ago…

They had been forced into dire situations where they had no choice but to go all out. Some of the World Gods died laughing, some died while furious, and some died calmly. This truly stunned Ning. It reminded him that the path of cultivation was one which was filled with countless dangers which could fell even a World God. World God Northrest was another classic example.

“Let’s go,” Fushe said.

“Right.” Ning bowed respectfully towards the statues, then followed behind Fushe.

The first thing Ning acquired was a suit of armor. As the sixth general of the Fogstone Army, Ning was given a suit of top-grade Chaos armor.

“These are the abridged jade slips which hold information about the many techniques Fogstone has to offer.” A series of jade slips floated out from the deep recesses of a dark hall. There were thousands of them, and all of them glowed with light. “The dimmer ones are the more ordinary techniques, while the brighter ones hold the elite techniques. As for the brightest slips, they hold the consummate techniques that cannot be taught to outsiders.”

Ning stood there within the dark room, staring at the levitating jade slips. There were only twelve of the brightest jade slips.

“The consummate techniques that cannot be taught to outsiders can only be learned by the generals of the Fogstone Army, as well as the personal disciples of our World Gods,” Fushe said.

“Oh?”

Ning immediately sent his coresense forward, scanning those twelve jade slips with it.

Ning was immediately shocked by what he found.

Fogstone truly had a deep foundation! Of the twelve jade slips, three were sword-arts…and all three were extraordinary.

The most powerful was the [Illusory Starsword] technique. It had a total of nine stances, and by training to the fifth stance one would reach the Sword World stage.

“Although it is quite formidable, it’s still a bit lacking compared to my [Nameless] sword-art. The [Nameless] sword-art is even more profound and exquisite.” Ning was an expert of the Dao of the Sword; naturally, he was able to tell which was better and which was worse. The [Nameless] sword-art’s creator had to be at an incredibly, incredibly high level of mastery. This was why even his first stance, the ‘Heartsword stance’, was so profound as to allow cultivators to completely and fully control each stroke of the sword. The further one delved into the [Nameless] sword-art, the more profound it became.

As for other sword-arts, they might be quite powerful as well, but their visions and their intents were more limited in scope, making them inferior.

“I’ll continue to focus on the [Nameless] sword-art.” Ning actually ignored all three of these sword-arts.

[World of Dust], [Eternal Demonheart], [Violet Smoke Diagram], [Fogstone Apocalypse]…

These divine abilities and secret arts all made Ning sigh in amazement.

Incredible.

Simply incredible.

World God Northrest was a member of Vastheaven Palace, but he was unable to transfer its most consummate skills to Ji Ning. All the skills he had given Ning were the ones which he himself had acquired through his dangerous adventures. The [Nameless] sword-art and the [Golden Statue] divine ability were two extremely formidable techniques, but the rest of the techniques he had handed over were somewhat weaker. As for the consummate arts of Fogstone, they were superior to all but the [Nameless] sword-art.

The partial scroll of the [World of Dust] was a good example. This was a technique for devising seals and tags of tremendous power. Although the scroll was incomplete, Ning could sense from the abridged version of jade slip that this technique should be on the same level as the [Nameless] sword-art. Unfortunately, it was incomplete. According to the records, no one was even able to gain a basic level of expertise in it; it was nothing more than an incomplete, fragmentary record of a seal-devising technique.

Although Ning’s [Nameless] sword-art was also incomplete, at least the first stance through seventh stance were included in their entirety. Even World God Northrest had been able to train to the fifth stance, which proved that the [Nameless] sword-art was something which Ning could train in for a long, long period of time.

“The Fogstone Apocalypse…what a powerful divine ability.” Ning sighed in amazement.

The [Fogstone Apocalypse] technique was divided into three stages.

The first stage allowed minor parts of the body to transform into fogstone, such as the hair. The transformation was a fairly minute one, but it still allowed one’s divine power to increase dramatically in power.

The second stage allowed for large-scale transformation of the body, allowing even the bones to transform into fogstone.

As for the third stage, it completely transformed the entire body into fogstone, giving one a perfect fogstone body. When a World God’s body was completely transformed into fogstone, his body would become as tough and as resilient as a Dao weapon. A body like this was capable of withstanding tremendously powerful explosions of divine power. The [Starseizing Hand] only allowed the hands to withstand such tremendous power; the [Fogstone Apocalypse] allowed every single part of the body to burst with absolutely inconceivable might.

The first stage alone was already comparable to the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

“Choose wisely,” Island Master Fushe said “You are a general. You may choose either ten of the more ordinary techniques, one of the elite techniques, or part of the consummate techniques.”

The consummate techniques would not be taught in their entirety at once.

Ning carefully went through the jade slips. A long while later, he made his decision.

“I choose this, the [Fogstone Apocalypse],” Ning said.

“Ah?” Fushe was rather surprised. He had actually told Ning about the fogstone statues earlier, after all. He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

This divine ability was extremely powerful. The second stage of it was comparable to a theoretical Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], which Ning hadn’t even been able to develop yet.

Ning had chosen this divine ability for two reasons. He wanted to train in it, but he also wanted to analyze it and use its mysteries to help him in his quest to develop the Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]. After that, Ning would want to develop an Eighth Cycle and perhaps even a Ninth Cycle!

A short while later, Ning received the full jade slip. Within this jade slip was recorded the first part of the [Fogstone Apocalypse] technique. The first part included just the first stage and the second stage, which could both be used by Elder Gods. Only World Gods could train in the third stage.

……

“Brother Fushe, I’ve been given orders by the Starlord. I’ll head out towards the Windsource Chaosworld right away.” Outside the Starlord’s estate, Ning was bidding Fushe farewell.

“The Windsource Chaosworld is a place where we often clash with God Emperor Blacklotus’ troops. Be careful, brother Darknorth,” Fushe said.

Ning nodded, then soared into the skies and headed towards the direction of the Windsource Chaosworld.

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Chapter 14 – Windsource Chaosworld

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 14 – Windsource Chaosworld

The Windsource Chaosworld was an enormous, ellipsoid sphere.

Swoosh.

A boat flew into the Windsource Chaosworld, carrying three cultivators within it. These three cultivators didn’t disguise their auras in the slightest.

“Why have the three of you come to Windsource?” The air shimmered momentarily before a black-robed Ancestral Immortal appeared. This Ancestral Immortal had a pair of wings on his back and a white horn growing out of his forehead.

“The three of us have come here to scavenge for ancient relics.” All three of the cultivators rose to their feet. They had powerful auras and were either Elder Gods or first-tier Ancestral Immortals.

“Here are three bottles of chaos nectar.” One of the three, a silver-haired cultivator, waved his hand and sent three bottles of chaos nectar over.

The black-robed Ancestral Immortal accepted the bottles, then said calmly, “Very well. I trust the three of you understand that this is a border world which lies between Fogstone and the Blacklotus Empire. Don’t get caught up in our problems.”

“We understand,” the three cultivators responded, then quickly departed on their boat.

Whoosh.

An old man whose body was surrounded by waves of blood suddenly appeared next to the black-robed Ancestral Immortal. The old man said with a smile, “Whitehorn, was that another group of treasure hunters?”

“Yes.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal waved his hand, revealing the three bottles of chaos nectar.

“Those ancient relic sites have attracted quite a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals over the years. We’ve collected so much chaos nectar that my hands are starting to go limp.” The old man shook his head. “A pity that we have to offer all of it up to our superiors. It’d be wonderful if we could keep it for ourselves.”

“Do you think all of those Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would obediently hand over those bottles if they were meant for you?” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal smirked.

The Windsource Chaosworld…

It wasn’t a chaosworld that had been created through completely natural means.

The Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld had started out as Worldhearts which gave birth to Fiendgods. The strongest of the Fiendgods had established the chaosworld, then perished.

The Windsource Chaosworld, however, had been artificially created by an ancient and enormously powerful figure.

That ancient figure had taken over nearly half of the chaosworld for his own use, transforming it into his own Immortal estate. After he had died, his Immortal estate had become a relic site.

The home of a powerful cultivator, even a deceased one, was an extremely dangerous place. The cultivator would have set down many layers of traps in order to ensure that it would be difficult for anyone to invade. Thus, even though this ancient figure had died, his estate remained filled with layers of dangers.

However, the techniques and treasures which the deceased figure had left behind were also powerful enough to drive countless cultivators wild.

The Windsource Ruins was an incredibly famous place. Even World Gods and Chaos Immortals had lost their lives there. To this very day, the Windsource Ruins was still filled with mysteries. However, the cultivators that managed to survive it and come back with treasures ensured that there would forever be a steady stream of fortune seekers.

Want to try your luck?

No problem. Just pay the entrance fee!

When using a spacetime transfer array, you had to pay a bottle of chaos nectar. This relic site belonged to Fogstone, and so if one wished to visit it one would have to pay the fee. World Gods and Chaos Immortals naturally didn’t have to pay anything, but Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals did. Otherwise, they would be surrounded and attacked by the Fogstone Army, which would be a rather miserable ending.

The most profitable enterprise in the Badlands Territory lay in operating spacetime transfer arrays, but all twenty-one of them had been taken over by the Badlands Court! The other powers could do nothing besides envy them.

“Has the Sentinel arrived yet?” A muscular goldscale Fiendgod suddenly appeared next to them.

“Not yet.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal shook his head.

“We’ve been watching for him this entire time.” The old man surrounded by bloody waves was a bit worried. “I wonder what sort of a personality this Sentinel has. Whitehorn and I have been managing the Windsource Chaosworld for several chaos cycles. I hope this new Sentinel won’t rip us off too badly.”

The Windsource Chaosworld was a world which had been established by an ancient power. Naturally occurring chaosworlds were only able to survive for a single chaos cycle before they would decay and then be reborn. The Windsource Chaosworld was protected by the Windsource Ruins within it and thus had been able to exist for an extremely long period of time.

“I heard that this Sentinel is a new general.” The goldscale Fiendgod lowered his voice. “Our Fogstone Army only had a total of five generals, with him becoming the sixth. I’ve never met this guy either. I have no idea what he is like. Keep praying, you two.”

“Right.” The other two both felt rather nervous.

Sentinels were responsible for overseeing certain region. They were given tremendous amounts of power.

Just as the three of them were discussing this new Sentinel…

Swish.

A tear suddenly appeared in the skies on the opposite end of the Windsource Chaosworld. A streak of light flew out from the tear, then came to a halt. It was Ji Ning.

“Eh? Something just happened.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal, the old man, and the goldscale Fiendgod all hurried over.

As they teleported over, they saw a white-robed youth appear in midair, staring downwards towards this vast chaosworld.

“He looks identical to the painting we were given.” The three of them didn’t hesitate at all, immediately flying over towards Ning. The black-robed Ancestral Immortal immediately asked, “Are you the new Sentinel?”

Ning waved his hand, producing an insignia.

Rumble…

The insignia emitted a wave of overwhelming power that had an aura identical to that of the Starlord’s.

“We bow in greetings to you, Sentinel.” The three of them hurriedly called out respectfully to Ning. There was no way the Sentinel insignia could be counterfeited, and once the Starlord gave it to Ji Ning, he would become the only person capable of using it. No other Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals would be able to use it.

“Mm.” Ning nodded. “The three of you are…?”

“I’m Whitehorn. He’s Bloodsea. The two of us are responsible for managing all affairs of the Windsource Chaosworld, great or small.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal hurriedly answered the question.

“I am Elder God Mountain Eater.” The goldscale soldier was incredibly muscular, but he had a simple, honest look in his eyes. He said in a low voice, “The 321 Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stationed in the Windsource Chaosworld all obey my commands. Per the Starlord, from this day forth I shall obey the Sentinel’s commands.”

Ning smiled and nodded. Given how many chaosworlds the Starlord commanded, it only made sense that he had designated certain individuals to manage them. Generally speaking, he would arrange for two Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals to watch over each chaosworld as well as each other. In addition, the Starlord would also occasionally send out a Sentinel to oversee certain areas and ensure that the local managers weren’t plundering the worlds they were supposed to oversee.

The Windsource Chaosworld was under the management of Ancestral Immortal Whitehorn and Elder God Bloodsea.

“The three of you can simply refer to me as Sword Immortal Sunrise,” Ning said. Since the Starlord was helping him to disguise his identity, Ning naturally was going to use a false name as well.

“Sword Immortal Sunrise,” the three called out respectfully.

“Where is the Fogstone Army stationed? Take me there,” Ning instructed.

“Right over there.” Elder God Mountain Eater pointed at a distant chain of mountains. “We all live there in the Eastcalm Mountains.”

The mountain range stretched out for thousands of kilometers. The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had all chosen mountain peaks that they liked, then settled down on their respective peaks. The distance between the mountain peaks was negligible to them; once battle began, they would be able to almost instantly gather together.

“Oh?” Ning nodded and smiled. “Then I will live there as well. Brother Mountain Eater, overseeing the Windsource Chaosworld is just a minor part of my duties. The real reason I’ve come here is to battle against the Blacklotus Empire by your side.”

“With you by our side, general, our victory is assured.” Elder God Mountain Eater chortled.

“I heard that the Windsource Ruins here are quite famous.” Ning turned his head to glance at the Bloodsea and Whitehorn. “Do you have any reports on the Windsource Ruins which you can share with me? If you do, give me a copy.”

“We do.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal immediately waved his hand, producing a jade slip which he respectfully offered to Ning.

“Mm. Very well then, that’s all I need from you. Go do whatever you need to do,” Ning instructed. “Just keep cooperating with the Fogstone Army. If there’s nothing urgent, no need to come speak to me.”

“Understood.” “Understood.”

Both Whitehorn and Bloodsea assented respectfully.

“You may leave,” Ning said. Only then did the two depart.

……

“He let us leave, just like that?” Elder God Bloodsea murmured in a soft voice, “Whitehorn, I thought we’d have to offer him some of our treasures. I even prepared mine already.”

“I know, right? This Sentinel is a general; he definitely has very high standards. I was really worried about this. I never would’ve thought he’d let us leave, just like that.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal let out a sigh of relief as well. “It sounds like he doesn’t really want us to bother him unless there’s something urgent. It seems as though this one really isn’t planning on extorting treasures out of us.”

“Right.” Bloodsea felt jubilant as well.

……

“General, all you had to do was say the word and they would’ve offered up their treasures like good little boys.” Elder God Mountain Eater grinned at Ning. “Managing a place like the Windsource Chaosworld is a wonderful assignment. Not just any Elder God will be assigned here.”

Ning shook his head. Given how powerful he now was, why would he need to extort his subordinates?

Ning turned his head to stare at the distant Eastcalm Mountains. For a long period of time, perhaps ten thousand years or even longer, he would be living in this place.

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Chapter 15 – Adventurers

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 15 – Adventurers

The day after Ji Ning arrived at the Windsource Chaosworld.

Ning alighted upon an ordinary-looking planet in the midst of the primordial chaos.

“This planet is perfectly ordinary. There are trillions of planets like this one in the primordial chaos.” Ning nodded slowly. “Ordinary is perfect. I’ll put the prisonworld right here.”

Ning waved his hand, causing a stone stele to sink down into an unfathomably deep crevice. It fell tens of thousands of kilometers, then sank deep within a dark underground river that carried it deeper into the earth.

He was going to adventure through the Badlands Territory and perhaps even leave it one day. Something dangerous might happen. He had to have a backup plan that would ensure that he would have the chance to recover! The backup clone for his true bod would remain here. Even if he lost his true body, his clone would be able to eventually recover and rebuild.

“However, according to the legends, there are some terrifyingly powerful secret arts that can simultaneously slay all of a person’s clones at once.” Ning was still quite wary.

The lifeblood oath was one example. If one violated a lifeblood oath, one’s true body, Primaltwin, and clones would all be devoured and killed by it! This was because the true body and the Primaltwin were linked together in a very special manner that the lifeblood oath could access.

In the endless primordial chaos, there were supposedly certain terrifying figures who could use special secret arts to achieve the exact same effect, killing all the clones belonging to one’s true body or Primaltwin! It didn’t matter how many clones you had; you would still die! This, too, was part of the information which World God Northrest had left behind for Ning. However, these powerful secret arts were extremely difficult to train in and also incredibly rare. Less than one in ten thousand World-level experts was capable of such a technique.

As for Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals? The vast majority weren’t even aware that such techniques existed.

“Even though I’ll have a clone here, I still need to be careful,” Ning reminded himself.

Swoosh.

Ning flew away from this planet. This planet was quite far away from the Windsource Chaosworld, and Ning had to spend more than half a day before he could finish teleporting back.

The Windsource Chaosworld. The Eastcalm Mountains. The Sunrise Courtyard.

This was a quiet, peaceful, ordinary-looking little courtyard. This was the place where Ning would live.

Whoosh.

A streak of light flew in from afar, alighting within the courtyard. It was Ji Ning, who had just returned from that distant, desolate planet.

“General.” A voice rang out from outside the courtyard gates.

Ning glanced towards the gates, then smiled. “Come in.”

The gates were pushed open and three goldscale soldiers walked in from outside. These three were all goldscale captains of the Fogstone Army. The leader of the three was Elder God Mountain Eater, who Ning had met the previous day. Next to him was an alluringly beautiful woman who had a bushy, snowy-white tail, and a jade-haired man who emanated a freezing aura.

“General, you headed out early in the morning. These two didn’t have a chance to come pay their respects to you,” Elder God Mountain Eater said with as mile.

“So these are the other two captains?” Ning looked at the other two.

Mountain Eater quickly made the introductions. “This one here is Immortal Soulflight.”

“Greetings, General.” The alluring female goldscale captain who had a bushy white tail spoke out, her voice tinged with mesmerizing charm.

“And this is Elder God Tearwell.” Mountain Eater then introduced the icy-looking jade-haired man next to him.

“Greetings, General.” Elder God Tearwell was quite respectful as well.

“The three hundred-plus Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stationed here at the Windsource Chaosworld are usually divided up into three squads. The three of us are the captains of the squads, with the Starlord having originally assigned me to be the leader.” Mountain Eater continued, “Now that you are here, General, we will of course obey your commands.”

Ning nodded and smiled. “Soulflight, Tearwell, this is our first time meeting each other. In the future, we’ll often be fighting by each other’s sides. Please sit! Let’s chat while sitting down.”

The four seated themselves around a wooden table within the courtyard. Ning waved his hand, causing some fine wine to appear.

“I’m new here and don’t have a good understanding of the situation between our forces and the forces of the Blacklotus Empire. Tell me a bit about the situation,”Ning said.

“General.” Immortal Soulflight’s voice was very pleasing to the ear. “This is a border world. The closest Blacklotus Empire border world would be the Songbug Chaosworld. Sometimes, they’ll ambush us; sometimes, we’ll ambush them. Generally speaking, the battles are kept fairly small-scale. Large scale battles which involve hundreds of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals are very rare.”

“Oh?” Ning nodded slowly.

“Still, they usually ambush us more than we ambush them.” Soulflight shook her head. “We control the Windsource Chaosworld and its Windsource Ruins. Every single unaffiliated Elder God or Ancestral Immortal has to pay us a bottle of chaos nectar if they wish to test their luck. Over the course of a chaos cycle, we will usually collect a cube of chaos nectar.”

A cube of chaos nectar represented a thousand bottles.

This was a sum that would make any World-level expert turn green with envy.

“That’s why the Blacklotus Empire deeply desires to take over our Windsource Chaosworld and why they launch repeated ambushes against us. However, we’ve long ago set up many layers of formations around the Eastcalm Mountains. This chaosworld is our territory. When they try to ambush us, they usually end up suffering more losses than we do.” Soulflight continued, “When all of our Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals join forces, we can hold off even an enemy World God. Thus, the Blacklotus Empire has never been able to do anything to us.”

“Mm.” Ning understood.

The Blacklotus Empire lusted after the Windsource Chaosworld, but they would most likely need to mobilize their World Gods if they wanted to actually take it over. But once their World-level experts made a move, the war would instantly escalate to a dramatically different level.

Fogstone had a long history, deep roots, and more World-level experts.

The Blacklotus Empire didn’t dare to launch a large-scale war against such a powerful organization without a very good reason. That’s why the conflicts between the two were usually contained to the Elder God and Ancestral Immortal level. In truth, these ‘conflicts’ were primarily meant to help train and temper their subordinates, as only through engaging in life-and-death battles would they be able to grow and improve. Almost none of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stationed here had been alive for more than a chaos cycle. But of course, the Blacklotus Empire probably also hoped that they might eventually get lucky and successfully take over the Windsource Chaosworld.

Ning chatted with three captains for a long period of time, gaining a general understanding of the disposition of the three.

Elder God Mountain Eater looked like a violent hulking brute, but he was actually a very steady figure. This was probably the reason why the Starlord of Fogstone had ordered the others to follow his lead.

Ancestral Immortal Soulflight was a very excitable individual. Each time the conversation turned to warfare and combat, her eyes would gleam with excitement. She was most likely the type that loved to fight.

As for Elder God Tearwell, he was a taciturn man.

Time continued to flow on. More than a hundred years had passed since Ning had arrived at the Windsource Chaosworld.

“Why have you come to the Windsource Chaosworld?” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal appeared within the skies, staring towards a golden-robed man that was sitting within a giant warship.

“Cut the crap. I’m here for the ruins.” The golden-robed man said lazily, “Take your bottle of chaos nectar.”

He tossed out a bottle of chaos nectar. The black-robed Ancestral Immortal caught the bottle and frowned, but remained silent. These cultivators were willing to pay the fee of a bottle of chaos nectar in order to avoid offending Fogstone, but they wouldn’t necessarily be polite about it.

Whoosh.

Space rippled like a curtain. Moments later, Ji Ning appeared.

“Eh?” Ning glanced at the golden-robed man within the large warship.

“Greetings, Sentinel. He’s an adventurer,” the black-robed Ancestral Immortal said.

“Oh.” Ning nodded. This was his first time encountering an outsider during the century he had spent here.

The golden-robed man on the warship glanced sideways at Ning, then muttered softly to himself, “Sentinel? Hmph.” He waved his hand, causing an entire host of Immortals and Fiendgods to appear next to him, all of whom had the auras of either Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals. There had to be over a hundred of them, and all of them were extremely respectful, addressing the golden-robed man as ‘master’.

“Let’s go.” The golden-robed man seemed quite relaxed.

The great warship flew off into the distance, disappearing in the horizons as it flew towards the ruins.

“He actually has that many retainers?” Ning was surprised.

“He’s a rather famous figure amongst the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who go out adventuring. His name is Elder God Skysouth. He’s a supreme Elder God, but during one of his adventures he lucked into a large trove of treasures. He used those treasures to purchase over a hundred Elder God and Ancestral Immortal slaves.” The black-robed Ancestral Immortal explained, “After buying all those slaves, he then purchased an Elder God Formation! With that formation and with those Elder Gods, he’s able to use his slaves to defend against even a World-level expert for a brief period of time. That’s why he is so arrogant and brash.”

Ning nodded.

Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals enjoyed very long lives. They knew that if they didn’t reach the World-level during their first chaos cycle, they essentially would have no hope of ever reaching that level. Upon realizing that they wouldn’t be able to make any more breakthroughs, many of them would decide to go out ‘adventuring’ and exploring the ruins left behind by ancient powers.

They loved to court death, loved the feeling of adventure. A single successful expedition could result in enormous rewards.

Elder God Skysouth was a classic example. Because of one enormously successful trip, he had ended up being able to purchased over a hundred Elder Gods as well as an Elder God Formation, becoming an often-discussed figure amongst the adventuring cultivators.

“It’s time I pay a visit to the Windsource Ruins myself,” Ning mused to himself. On the first day he had arrived, Ning had acquired a detailed report regarding the Windsource Ruins from the black-robed Ancestral Immortal. The Three Realms was a place that was somewhat lacking in opportunities, but the Badlands Territory was a place with many legacies left behind by ancient powers.

It had been countless years, but the Windsource Ruins still had yet to be fully investigated. Even World-level experts had died within it. Clearly, the ancient power who had left behind the Windsource Ruins was someone who surpassed World Gods in power.

Given that Ning had a clone located in the prisonworld, Ning definitely had to give this place a good look.

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Chapter 16 – Entering the Ruins

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 16 – Entering the Ruins

Three days later.

“So this is the Windsource Ruins?” Ji Ning stood atop a cloud, staring downwards at the vast world before him. He saw an unfathomably large area that was completely covered by clouds. It must be understood that the Windsource Ruins was one the Immortal estate of that ancient power, and as such it took over nearly half of the space of the entire chaosworld. One could imagine how enormous it was!

“Time go to in.”

Ning flew deep into the cloud-shrouded world.

Whoosh.

He could sense space twisting around him. Suddenly, Ning’s legs went soft. Ning’s face changed and he hurriedly try to fly back up.

Whoosh…

An enormous bloody maw suddenly appeared below him, delivering a fierce chomp towards him. Fortunately, Ning was able to fly quite quickly and thus was able to dodge the bite.

“I was actually teleported straight towards the swamp.” Ning glanced downwards as he continued to fly high up in the air. The region below him was an incredibly vast swamp, and there was a mud-covered beast below him that was staring straight at him. The creature had a savage look in its eyes at it slowly crawled out from the muck, revealing a lizard-like body.

“According my records on the Windsource Ruins, as soon as you enter you’ll be teleported to the swamp. It doesn’t matter where you enter from; you’ll still be sent straight here. The swamp is filled with countless bugs and beasts, some powerful and some weak. The weak ones might be merely as powerful as a True God, while the most monstrously powerful ones might be as powerful as a World God.” Ning glanced downwards once more at the beast who was now tracking him.

It was normal for powerful cultivators to rear bugbeasts within their estates.

The ancient power who had build this estate had intentionally created an enormous swamp within it for the sake of rearing certain bugbeasts. In fact, he had established a breeding loop that would ensure that the bugbeasts would continue to kill and eat each other, becoming stronger and stronger without him even needing to worry about them. Thus, even though the estate’s owner had died countless years ago, there were still a shocking number of bugbeasts in the swamp.

These bugbeasts were reared for the purpose of becoming the guardians and protectors of the estate. Thus, all outside invaders would suffer attacks from these bugbeasts.

Growl…

The lizard-shaped creature opened its mouth even wider as it suddenly soared into the skies, its body coiling upwards for many hundreds of meters as it ‘crawled’ upwards through the air.

“Die.”

A dazzling streak of sword-light slashed through the bugbeast’s army.

Snick! The bugbeast’s body was chopped into two halves. Blood sprayed everywhere as it died, and as the blood came crashing back down to the swamp it kicked up a few small muddy waves.

[Brightmoon] sword art, Shadowless stance!

Ning held a Darknorth in his hand, shrinking it from being three thousand meters in length to merely three meters.

“There are way too many bugbeasts in the swamp. I need to get out of here.” Ning immediately transformed into a black lightning serpent and began to fly away.

The Windsource Ruins’ outermost region was the swamp region. Everyone had to start from the swamp and work their way in if they wished to reach the other regions of the ruins. Even Ning found it difficult to tell north from south after he had entered the ruins. All he could do was just choose a random direction and begin flying at maximum speed.

“Eh?” Ning could sense some ripples of power from afar. He immediately began to stealthily fly in that direction.

A short while later, Ning was able to see what was happening in the distance. There was a desolate hill off in the distance, and atop the hill coiled a two-headed serpent whose body was more than ten kilometers long. Its head was raised as it stared upwards at an enormous winged scaly monster that was right above it. Both creatures had auras of tremendous power.

“I have the feeling that in raw strength alone, both have reached the World-level of power. Still, they are fairly weak in terms of technique. It’d take me a bit of effort to kill them, but it wouldn’t be too hard.” Ning mused to himself, “I’ll wager these two are two of the bosses of the swamp.”

“GRWAAR!” The two-headed serpent let out a thunderous roar as it suddenly charged upwards.

As for the scaled monster, it plunged downwards as it attacked as well.

The entire swamp seemed to shake. Thankfully, spacetime in the Ruins was incredibly stable; even if World-level experts fought here, they wouldn’t be able to shatter it. If these two creatures were battling in the outside world, they would probably cause entire chaosworlds to shatter in their wake.

“Is that…?” Ning suddenly saw a filthy looking boat appear in the distance. The boat was filled with sabers, swords, suits of armor, pearls, banners, and all sorts of other magic treasures that emanated powerful auras.

“So many treasures? And almost all of them are Chaos treasures!” Ning was delighted.

Over the course of countless years, an equally countless number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had died in the swamps. The bugbeasts weren’t capable of using the treasures the slain cultivators had left behind, and so the more powerful ones simply piled them together as spoils of war!

Ning suppressed his aura and bent light around him, making it so that the bugbeasts couldn’t see him.

“In order to completely repair Violetjewel, I’ll need to acquire an enormous amount of Five Elements essence. I have to get these treasures.” Ning immediately came to this decision. “Ideally, these two creatures will kill or maim each other.”

Slash!

One of the heads of the two-headed serpent was seized by the sharp claws of the scaly creature, but the other head had managed to latch its maw around the scaly creature’s own head. The scaly creature struggled furiously, beating its massive wings and causing waves of mud to kick up around it.

Boom! The scaly creature’s head suddenly exploded. Its aura began to grow weak and its struggling wings slowly began to sink downwards.

One of the two-headed serpent’s heads had been completely crushed, but its remaining head let out an excited roar.

“GRWAAAR!”

Its roars echoed in the skies.

It then lowered its head, beginning to dine on the flesh of the scaly creature. This was how these bugbeasts lived; they would fight each other and consume each other, constantly growing and transforming. As the serpent continued to feed, its destroyed head began to slowly grow out anew.

Swish!

A figure suddenly drew close to it.

The two-headed serpent was enraged, and its undamaged head immediately turned to stare angrily at the white-robed figure.

Whoosh! Its tail suddenly moved, lashing out lightning-fast towards the offender.

“Heartsword Realm.”

Boom!

Sword-light flashed. The enormous tail was deflected towards one side, with the sword-light itself stabbing straight towards the one remaining head of the two-headed serpent. The enraged two-headed serpent opened its giant maw, revealing a pair of crystalline fangs that glistened with translucent venom.

Swish! The venom shot out from its fangs as fast as lightning.

Slash! The sword-light blurred, easily deflecting the stream of venom.

Stab! The sword-light pierced straight through the two-headed serpent’s head. The serpent’s body trembled, then slowly began to turn limp. As it fell down into the swamp, it caused the surrounding mud to tremble violently.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

“Thankfully, this bugbeast had already been heavily injured and had less than a third of its maximum power. Otherwise, killing it wouldn’t have been so easy.” A look of delight was on Ning’s face. The most dangerous aspect to killing a bugbeast was the possibility of the bugbeast summoning its kin! Once a bugbeast encountered a powerful invader that it couldn’t defeat, it would often let out a loud cry to summon more of its ilk.

Thankfully, the two-headed serpent had been heavily injured and Ning had been very fast. Ning hadn’t brought Violetjewel with him on this excursion to the Windsource Ruins, as that was his most important treasure. If he died within the Ruins…losing the other treasures didn’t matter, but losing Violetjewel would be a tremendous blow. It simply wasn’t worth the risk.

Violetjewel was a sword which even World Gods and Chaos Immortals would go crazy over. So long as Ning had enough Five Elements essence, he would be able to reforge Violetjewel and allow it to reveal its true power.

“The treasures.” Ning immediately shot towards the distant hill. Next to that hill was the large, muddy boat that was filled with treasures. Those were the many treasures which the two-headed serpent had acquired over the years. Some had come from slain cultivators while some had come from slain bugbeasts.

“Twenty-one Chaos treasures. Perhaps the storage treasures will also have fine items within them.” Ning swept through the treasures with his heartforce, then waved his hand and collected the entire boat.

Swish!

Suddenly, a streak of light flew towards Ning from afar.

Ning turned his head to look.

“Well, well. Isn’t this our Sentinel? Ahaha! Hand over those treasures and I’ll spare your life.” A golden-robed man was standing atop the warship, and an entire host of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stood behind him.

“Elder God Skysouth?” Ning frowned.

Elder God Skysouth had over a hundred Elder God and Ancestral Immortal slaves, while Ning had left Violetjewel behind. Dealing with him would be a bit tricky.

In the Ruins, only part of the dangers came from the traps and defenses left behind by that ancient power. The other part came from the cultivators who might strike out at you out of greed!

“Hand over the treasures!” Elder God Skysouth’s face turned cold as he stood there at the front of his boat. “Otherwise, die!”

“Elder God Skysouth. I don’t wish to become enemies with you. The Windsource Ruins is a large place. There’s no need for us to fight to the death over these treasures,” Ning said.

“Fight to the death with you? You?” Elder God Skysouth finally ran out of patience. He barked coldly, “Kill him.”

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Chapter 17 – Danger Zone

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 17 – Danger Zone

As Elder God Skysouth issued the order, all of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals under his command immediately began to attack.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Six streaks of light that moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos charged straight for Ji Ning.

“Flee.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately using the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] to evade.

“Chase!” All of the Elder Gods charged straight after Ning.

Ning was powerful, but when a hundred Elder Gods joined together into an Elder God Formation, they would be able to hold off even a real World God for a period of time. If Ning was surrounded by them, he would be unable to escape! They would slowly grind him down, exhausting his reserve of divine power and Immortal energy. Ning absolutely would not permit himself to be surrounded.

“You won’t be able to escape.” Elder God Skysouth laughed coldly. He had spent quite a lot of money to purchase those two Ancestral Immortals who were capable of controlling magic treasures faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. They were generally responsible for briefly tying down opponents, giving the rest of the Elder Gods enough time to charge forward and trap them.

These slaves made it so that Elder God Skysouth was virtually invincible to anyone below the World level of power!

The six streaks of light chasing after Ning were six long shuttles. They clearly moved even more quickly than Ning, and they soon intercepted him and moved to block him.

“F*ck off.” Ning unleashed his full power, using [Three Heads, Six Arms] and wielding six swords simultaneously.

“Heartsword Realm!”

The six swords struck out simultaneously!

The [Starseizing Hand] was unleashed as well!

After spending a hundred years training while living in the Windsource Chaosworld, Ning had improved his sword-arts even more, resulting in his strikes containing even greater power.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The six long shuttles were all smashed away. Although Ning slightly slowed down for a brief instant, in the next instant he immediately regained his normal speed and continued to flee.

“What?” Elder God Skysouth had been watching lazily from atop his warship, but in this instant his face completely changed. “Those two Ancestral Immortals are able to attack faster than the speed of light using their treasures. He was able to instantly defeat them?”

The clash was simply too brief. It was as though those six shuttles had instantly been knocked away as soon as Ning had struck them…and thanks to his half-step World God body and the [Starseizing Hand], Ning was able to send them flying a very long distance.

Whoooooosh.

The hundred-plus Elder Gods were much slower by comparison. They were only able to watch helplessly as the white-robed youth continued to pull further and further away from them before finally disappearing into the horizons.

“Hmph.” Elder God Skysouth frowned, then let out a cold snort. “Fine. You run fast. For your sake, you’d best hope you can keep running that fast the next time I see you.”

“Let’s go,” he ordered calmy.

“Yes.” The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all returned to the warship, which then quickly departed the scene as well.

……

Ning glanced backwards, then let out a sigh of relief.

“In the future, I’ll need to get a few Elder God and Ancestral Immortal servants of my own,” Ning muttered to himself. There was a great difference in power between Elder Gods and World Gods, but sometimes quantity could make up for quality! When a hundred Elder Gods joined together into an Elder God Formation, they would be able to withstand even a true World God for an extended period of time. If a thousand of them joined together into an Elder God Formation, they might very well be capable of killing some of the weaker World Gods!

However, it wouldn’t be so easy for someone to acquire a thousand Elder Gods. The entire Fogstone Army only held a few thousand Elder Gods and first-tier Ancestral Immortals!

In addition, the cost of a thousand-man Elder God Formation would be even higher than the cost of a thousand Elder Gods! Without the formation, the Elder Gods would be nothing more than a pile of loose sand. Only through usage of an Elder God Formation would they be able to join together into a perfect whole.

“Time to go.”

Ning continued to fly forwards at high speed.

Given how strong Ning was, the swamp region of the Ruins didn’t pose much of a threat. So long as he was careful and stayed far away from any powerful auras he sensed, he would be fairly safe.

“Ah, there it is.” Ning saw a chain of mountains appear off in the distance. “I’ve reached another part of the Ruins.”

“The intelligence report I received regarding the Windsource Ruins is now essentially useless.”

Ning was slightly worried. The swamp was the outermost layer and also the ‘safest’region.

The other regions were controlled by the restrictive formation spells of the Ruins and would often change and transform. A place might be perfectly safe one day but transform into a death trap the next day. That was why his intelligence report was now of no use.

Whoosh.

Ning landed atop a mountain peak. Even he no longer dared to rashly fly about any longer, for fear of accidentally flying into a death trap.

“Eh?” As Ning jogged forward, he suddenly turned his head to look off into the distance.

A red-robed woman was seated in the lotus position at the top of a mountain peak. The woman’s face was delicate and beautiful, with eyes as gentle as the waters of autumn. She was surrounded by hundreds of crescent blades that were wreathed by fire, causing flames to billow out all around her.

“What a beautiful woman.” Ning had very high standards, but even he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of praise. “Beauty like this could cause the collapse of an empire.”

After glancing at her, Ning continued to jog forwards, instantly traversing ten thousand kilometers with each movement.

The red-robed woman had noticed Ning as well. She couldn’t help but murmur softly to herself, “How odd. The [Libertine Dream] technique I devised carries an aura of natural charm which is far superior to those more blatant, forceful charm spells. And yet, he didn’t even pause to say a word to me? Hasn’t he heard of me, the Flamefairy?” 1

Su Youji, the Flamefairy, was quite a famous figure amongst the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the Badlands Territory.

“And why is he running so quickly in a place as dangerous as this?” The fiery-robed woman mumbled to herself, “I’ve always felt that I’m pretty crazy, but he’s even crazier than me. If he keeps running around that fast, he’ll probably explore more of this place in one year than I would in ten thousand. Still, he’ll die faster than me as well. I hope you are lucky enough to survive…it’s rare for me to take a liking to someone.”

The swamp was the outermost region. After exiting the swamps, one would enter the truly dangerous regions. Generally speaking, most people would advance very carefully through these regions and move at a glacially slow pace.

However, given that the Windsource Ruins took up fully half of the Windsource Chaosworld, it truly was incredibly vast. If you moved through it slowly, you could spend a million years and still just explore a tiny part of it. Still, since Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals generally had very long lifespans, they wouldn’t be in a rush. Safety first!

Ning, however, was different.

Not only did he have a clone in the outside world, he also had mastered the ‘Heartsword Realm’ technique and had tremendous control over his surroundings. His skill empowered his boldness. In addition, he only trained for a relatively brief period of time; how could he possibly be willing to spend a few hundred thousand years here? He was planning to adventure through this place for a few years at most, then leave. Of course he had to move quickly!

“Eh?” Ning’s eyes lit up as he saw a corpse off in the distance.

“Get in here.” He flung out a Protocosmic spirit-rope, looping it over that corpse and pulling it into his estate-treasure.

The corpse would have to be destroyed, but the treasures Ning would keep.

“Keep going.” Ning was in an excellent mood. One would often encounter the corpses and skeletons of fallen cultivators in this place…but of course, if one wasn’t careful, one might easily end up joining.

The place was simply too large.

Ning spent more than a year traveling through the Ruins. Thanks to the keen senses provided by the ‘Heartsword Realm’, the protection provided by the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens, and the investigative power of his heartforce, he was able to avoid all of the most dangerous areas. Aside from Elder God Skysouth and the Flamefairy, he encountered six more cultivators. However, only one of the six tried to assault Ning; the rest steered clear of him.

As for the one who tried to attack Ning? Ning killed him, of course!

Whoosh.

Ning was jogging through a mountain forest, sometimes moving fast and sometimes moving slow. He moved at quite a unique rhythm; clearly, Ning had gotten used to this place.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Waves of power were rippling out from afar.

“Eh?” Ning’s eyes lit up. “Those waves are pretty powerful, and it seems there are quite a few of them. Let’s go take a look.” Generally speaking, when multiple people fought aginst each other in a dangerous region like the one he was located in right now, it was over an extremely important treasure.

Swoosh.

Ning quickly and silently moved closer to the source of the ripples, soom arriving at a mountain peak. Ning hid within the grass, peering off into the distance. Within the distant mountain gorge, he saw five Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals engaged in a battle. The five were divided into two sides, with four cultivators on one side and one cultivator on the other.

“Hellsword, there are two of these Dao weapons. Why can’t we split them? One for you, one for us. Isn’t that ideal?”

“A Dao weapon for you four fools? Die, die, die!” The lone cultivator was dressed in black robes, and his six arms were striking with six blurry streaks of sword-light. As for the other four cultivators, they were able to just barely hold him off as they supported each other.

Upon hearing these words, Ning’s eyes lit up. “Dao weapons? Two of them? Elder God Hellsword….mm, so that’s the legendary Hellsword. He truly is an expert of the Dao of the Sword. He should be on the same level of power as me.”

1. Su Youji is an interesting name. All three characters, Su, You, and Ji are actually surnames in Chinese as well.

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Chapter 18 – Battling Within the Ruins

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 18 – Battling Within the Ruins

“All of you, die!” Hellsword exploded with power as he wildly assaulted the other four. He knew that if this battle went on for too long other, Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals in the Windsource Ruins might be drawn to this place.

“I can’t hold any longer.”

A muscular Elder God who wielded six black staffs let out a low growl. Hellsword’s sword-light landed against his body, but only created a few sparks.

“Be careful.”

“Retreat.”

A blood-robed Elder God who had been fighting Hellsword in close combat suddenly blanched, then hurriedly split his body into two and sent his two clones fleeing in two separate directions.

Slash!

A streak of sword-light fell down upon one of the clones, slaying it.

“My divine body’s been weakened. I won’t be able to hold on for any longer.” The blood-robed Elder God continued to flee at high speed. The other three Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals cursed, but had no choice but to begin fleeing in other directions as well. They weren’t actually members of a team; they had simply joined together on an ad-hoc basis simply because Hellsword was far too powerful.

“Hmph. Those fools.” Hellsword came to a halt, grinning as he looked at the four fleeing figures.

“Eh?” Hellsword’s face suddenly changed dramatically as he immediately turned his head.

An icy ray of sword-light had suddenly appeared and was stabbing straight towards him.

“So there was one more hiding in the weeds.” Hellsword let out a savage grin, striking out mercilessly with his six swords. He wasn’t worried about the enemy attack at all; although it was quite fast, it was too simple and straightforward a strike.

BOOM!!!!

The opposing streaks of sword-light collided.

Hellsword was sent flying backwards, his face a mask of astonishment. As for the white-robed Ji Ning, he chased right after Hellsword.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Blood Drop stance!

“What tremendous strength.” Hellsword was completely stunned. His opponent wasn’t just stronger, he was overwhelmingly stronger!

“But raw strength is useless against me.” He suddenly came to a halt, spun around, then charged straight towards Ning.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

Streaks of sword-light filled the air between the two, then both fell back.

Hellsword stared at Ning, then said in a low voice, “Who are you? Someone with such powerful sword-arts can’t possibly be an unknown figure.”

“Sunrise,” Ning said calmly.

“You must be a new expert in the Dao of the Sword,” Hellsword said coldly. “You are pretty strong. However, the Ruins aren’t a suitable place for sparring. Let’s compete after we leave this place.” After speaking, Hellsword transformed into a streak of black light, moving at light speed as he fled.

When the two had clashed, he had the feeling that Ning’s sword-arts were simply perfect. He couldn’t find any flaws at all, and so he decided to avoid wasting more time with such a troublesome opponent.

“Leaving?” Ning willed his swords to fly out.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Nine streaks of sword-light shot out through the skies. These nine swords were all Chaos treasures that Ning had acquired in the Windsource Ruins. Although they weren’t part of a set, Ning’s Ancestral Immortal power filled them, ensuring that each of them possessed shocking levels of power. They spread out like a layered net, completely surrounding and blocking Hellsword’s path.

All nine swords moved faster than the speed of light and were thus able to quickly catch up to Hellsword.

“Damn.” Hellsword blanched as he stared at the nine swords surrounding him. “Where the hell did such a powerful expert of the sword come from? His sword-arts are completely flawless. Damn it all.”

He would rather fight against an enemy with ferocious offensive stances than someone like Ning, whose sword-arts could be described as truly flawless. One could easily succumb to a sense of despair when faced with such impeccable sword-arts.

The nine streaks of sword-light swirled around him, preventing him from fleeing any further.

“You won’t be able to escape.” Ning had already manifested three heads and six arms. He wielded six of his Darknorth swords as he charged straight towards Hellsword.

“Then let’s fight!” Hellsword went berserk as well, his eyes filled with bloodlust as he once more threw himself against Ning.

Neither would be willing to retreat. Two Dao weapons were at stake!

Dao weapons were incredibly rare, even amongst the other experts on their level. Every single Dao weapon was worth at least a cube of chaos nectar, with the best Dao weapons being worth more than ten! This was a sum of money that even World Gods would lust after. It was only natural that both Ji Ning and Hellsword went berserk over the two Dao weapons.

“If I get those two Dao weapons, I might be able to extract enough Five Elements essence to completely repair Violetjewel!” Ning’s killing intent began to soar.

“What’s going on?”

The four fleeing Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals could sense powerful ripples emanating from behind them. “Who is Hellsword fighting against now?”

The four of them carefully began to creep backwards. The allure of a pair of Dao weapons was simply too great!

“Eh?”

“Who is that?”

After sneaking back, they saw a white-robed figure battling furious against a black-robed figure.

The black-robed figure was the famous, highly regarded ‘Hellsword’.

The white-robed figure was an unknown youth.

“What? Hellsword is actually at a disadvantage?” The four were all shocked. “Where did such an expert of the sword suddenly come from? He’s so strong!”

“Brother Xiuyi, what should we do?”

“What can we do? Stay far away from them and watch. If both are heavily injured, we can try to seize the opportunity to attack them. If no chance presents itself, then we’ll immediately run away after their battle concludes.”

“Brother Xiuyi’s words are reasonable.”

“This white-robed Elder God is even more terrifying than Hellsword.”

Ning and Hellsword both suspected that those four had returned to watch them, but neither really cared about the four. Four supreme Elder Gods? Pffft. It might take them a bit of effort to kill the four, but it wouldn’t be too hard. Ning’s ‘Heartsword stance’ in particular ensured that he didn’t have to worry about group attacks at all.

The two continued to focus on battling each other.

Ning’s sword attacks seemed to be more casual and carefree, but they came in consecutive linked waves that made Hellsword feel as though he had no chance to even breathe.

Hellsword’s attacks were more frenzied and they were filled with a thick intent of darkness.

Clang!

Sword-light flashed. Finally, a blow landed upon Hellsword’s body. Ning felt as though he had just stabbed an extremely tough magic treasure. The power of the blow caused Hellsword to be knocked flying backwards, and he slammed into a distant boulder, causing it to break apart into tiny pieces that shot out in every direction.

“A protective divine ability?” Ning frowned slightly. “It seems as though I’ll have to suppress and seal him.”

“What!?” Upon Ning landed a blow against him, Hellsword’s face changed yet again. Clearly, his sword-arts were somewhat inferior.

“If I can’t overcome you in sword-arts…”

Hellsword gritted his teeth, then manifested an enormous violet hammer that emanated mighty ripples of power.

“A Dao weapon?” Ning immediately understood. So one of the two weapons which Hellsword had acquired was a warhammer. No wonder he hadn’t used it during this battle! Using sword-arts with a warhammer wasn’t really effective.

However…the difference in power between the two was obvious. Hellsword had no choice but to change the way he fought.

“Die!” Hellsword brandished the violet warhammer, then struck out with it.

Rumble…

As the warhammer struck out, streaks of lightning could be seen crackling around it. It compressed space in front of it as it smashed straight towards Ning.

“What tremendous might.” Ning could instantly sense how much power this strike held. He hurriedly willed his Darknorth swords to transform into black holes that he then used to defend.

Whoosh!

The warhammer was deflected off to one side, while Ning was knocked a few steps back.

“I knew it.” Hellsword had an ugly look on his face. This white-robed youth was ridiculously strong. Even though Hellsword had an advantage in weaponry, the white-robed youth was still able to defend against it with his techniques.

“A big warhammer like this must have lots of Five Elements essence inside of it.” Ning now wanted the weapon even more.

“There’s a total of two warhammers. You can have one, I’ll keep the other. Deal?” As Hellsword continued to battle, he began to send Ning a mental message. He was willing to compromise. There was nothing he could use against Ji Ning’s terrifying sword-arts, and he knew that he would definitely be defeated if this battle was to continued for much longer. This white-robed youth was also skilled in long-range attacks; there was no way he would be able to escape.

“Give me both and I’ll let you off the hook,” Ning sent back.

“Don’t even think about it.” Hellsword was beginning to go crazy.

“Then let’s keep fighting.”

Ning charged forward even more furiously than before, sending sword-light flashing everywhere. He even manifested a rope next to him, filling it with some of his will. If Ning was able to break through Hellsword’s defenses and catch him offguard, he would use this rope to bind and capture him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hellsword battled on the run, and while doing so he sent furiously to Ning, “This place is the Windsource Ruins. You never know when danger is going to appear here. If you keep chasing after me like this, you’ll end up in a death trap as well.”

Ning just continued with his furious attacks.

The four Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals watching from afar felt breathless.

“Both of them are crazy.”

“Hopefully, both of them will be killed by traps or protective formations, letting us pick up their treasures.” The four watched, prayed, and chased after the the Hellsword and the white-robed cultivator as those two continued their wild fight.

Boom!

Just as Ning clashed once more against Hellsword in midair…

Suddenly, a gray gust of wind suddenly appeared out of nowhere, spinning into a tornado and instantly whirling around both Ning and Hellsword. A few moments later, the tornado vanished…but with it vanished by Ning and Hellsword as well.

When the four saw this from afar, their faces all changed.

“Everyone knows that the Windsource Ruins are too dangerous to fly through. You might end up being trapped inside some formation. Those two must’ve been teleported straight into a death trap.”

“Damn. Those two Dao weapons were swept away as well.”

Unwilling to just give up, the four of them continued to wait there for three full days, but they saw neither hide nor hair of Ji Ning and Hellsword, to say nothing of the Dao weapons. In the end, they had no choice but to leave unhappily.

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Chapter 19 – A Gray Wind

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 19 – A Gray Wind

“Not good.” Ji Ning’s face immediately changed as that gray wind appeared, bringing with it an aura of death and stillness.

Hellsword had been driven by Ning to the brink of madness, which was why he had started to fly around in a crazed manner.

The difference in power between the two wasn’t that great, which was why Ning needed time to subdue and capture him. Ning had thought that he wouldn’t be so unlucky as to run into a protective spell during such a short battle…but alas, he really was.

Boom!

The gray wind swept both Ning and Hellsword into its grasp, and its utterly indomitable power threw the two of them flying downwards.

“What incredible power.” Ning did his best to halt his fall, but his divine power and Immortal energy were far too weak to do so.

Whooooosh.

There was an utterly enormous black pit beneath them.

Ning and Hellsword were both spun around like tops by the tornado and sent flying straight into the pit.

“Stop. Stop!” Ning instantly activated his [Three Heads, Six Arms] ability. All six of his arms dramatically increased in size as he clawed towards the edges of the pit. In midair, Ning had nothing to hold onto. Now, however, he was able to see the stone cliffs lining the edges of the pit. Ning had the feeling that if he was drawn deep into this pit by the tornado, he would probably end up dead.

He had to come to a halt! But the wind was simply too powerful.

Ning’s six arms simultaneously activated the [Starseizing Hand]. In the end, one of his hands managed to just barely clench around a pillar of rock.

Bang! Ning had been dragged down at an incredible pace. When his hand clenched around the stone pillar, his entire body came to a sudden halt. A terrifying ripping power was applied throughout his entire body, causing it to twitch. As for his hands that were using the [Starseizing Hand], they instantly went numb and slack…resulting in Ning continuing to be dragged downwards by that furious gray tornado!

Crack! Crack! Crack! The gray stone pillar that Ning had managed to grab onto earlier began to crack apart as well. Moments later, it completely shattered and was also dragged downwards by the furious tornado.

“Gotta stop.”

“Stop.”

“Stop!” Ning’s six arms wildly clutched at the surrounding walls, seeking to grasp anything that jutted out.

Rumble…

Ning finally came to a halt when three of his hands managed to simultaneously snake their way into an enormous crevice in the pit walls. Thanks to these three hands holding onto that crevice desperately, he was finally able to resist the power of the tornado.

“Whew. I stopped.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. The enormous stone crevice was thousands of meters long, and as Ning latched onto the crevice he had changed his arms to make them hundreds of meters long as well. He had dug his hands deep into the crevice, ensuring that he would be able to hang off the walls.

“No!”

Hellsword had also been dragged into the pit, and he was also clawing at the walls in an attempt to find something to hold onto. However, he was far weaker than Ning in raw strength. He managed to grab onto a jutting piece of rock, but the tearing force instantly rendered his hands completely numb and slack. He wasn’t able to slow himself down! The power of the tornado was simply too great, giving him no chance to grab onto anything.

Ning’s hands were akin to Chaos treasures, after all. He also had the power of a half-step World God body, as well as the enhancement of the [Starseizing Hand]. That was the only reason why Ning was more successful than him in coming to a halt.

Bang! As Hellsword continued to be dragged downwards, his body would occasionally smash into some jutting pieces of rock, resulting in him bouncing around the walls.

Bang!

Hellsword vomited out a mouthful of blood. These collisions were even more deadly than Ning’s sword-strikes, and he continued to smash into one jutting rock after another. Given how keen Ning’s eyesight was, he was able to clearly see Hellsword continuing to fall several hundred kilometers, smashing into the walls at least a few dozen times. It seemed as though the deeper Hellsword fell, the more powerful the tornado became. Hellsword’s body was beginning to twist and contort from the collisions.

Boom!

After smashing into a particularly sharp spear-shaped rock, Hellsword’s body actually completely blasted apart. The powerful tornado quickly ground the pieces of his body apart, completely wiping him out in body and soul. The tornado was far stronger than Ning, after all!

“A pity.” Still hanging off the stone walls, Ning could do nothing but watch as Hellsword died.

“The Dao weapons were sucked down as well.”

“But…what should I do?”

All six of Ning’s arms were clinging onto the stone crevice. He was wearing a top-grade suit of Chaos armor, and he had a powerful divine body that had trained the [Golden Statue]. He was more than capable of withstanding the power of this tornado.

“Am I supposed to just keep hanging here?” Ning spread out his heartforce, but alas it was instantly destroyed by that gray wind of destruction.

“This gray wind is capable of destroying even heartforce! How terrifying was this ancient power that erected the Windsource Ruins!?” Ning muttered softly to himself.

Ning had no idea. The strongest figure of the Badlands Territory, Daoking Badlands, had once paid a visit to the former master of this estate…and he had been thoroughly convinced of his inferiority. In fact, the reason why this place was named ‘Windsource’ was because that ancient power had reached an utterly unfathomable level of mastery over the wind.

Neither heartforce nor coresense could penetrate the gray wind. All Ning could do was use his own eyes.

“I have to get out of here.” Ning raised his head to look upwards. The gray wind howled furiously above him, blocking his vision. Ning used his top-grade Chaos armor to form a semi-translucent barrier over his head; only then was he able to see just a little bit of the area above him.

“I have to get out of this pit. The wind is too powerful; I won’t be able to maintain a grip on any jutting pieces of rock. My only choice is to drive my entire arm deep into some of those crevices and cracks.” Ning scanned the area above him for more crevices. The gray wind had caused quite a bit of erosion to this pit, resulting in quite a few crevices appearing.

“There’s one.” Three hundreds above Ning was a slightly smaller crevice.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately stretched one of his hands upwards.

Whoooooosh.

The furious power of the wind blasted down against Ning’s hand with the weight of a thousand stars, completely preventing him from reaching upwards. Ning did his best to fight back against it, and he found that he was able to stretch his arms out in various other directions…but to go completely against the win and reach upwards? Completely impossible.

“Won’t work. Wind’s too strong.” Ning quickly gave up the attempt.

“If I can’t go up…”

Ning lowered his head to stare at the seemingly bottomless black pit beneath him. “Then my only choice is to go down!”

Ning looked downwards carefully. Roughly six hundred meters below him, he saw another large crevice. He immediately stretched out with a hand to grab a hold of it.

Going up meant going against the wind.

Going down meant going with the wind.

When he increased his arm to make it many hundreds of meters long, it was easy for him to snake his hand deep into the crevice. Ning sent one hand after another into the second crevice before finally letting go of the first one.

Whoosh!

Ning quickly fell downwards, then came to a halt.

“Let’s continue.” Ning glanced at his surroundings, then began to climb downwards again.

And so, Ning began to slowly make his way down through this bottomless pit of darkness.

A while later, Ning saw a sword that was jutting out from a stone pillar.

“This sword wasn’t one of Hellsword’s. Some other poor bastard must’ve been dragged in here and lost control of his weapon, resulting in it being stuck here.” Ning immediately, laboriously reached out to grab that sword, then took it into his estate.

Ning then continued his slow downwards climb.

Three hundred meters. Three thousand meters. Thirty kilometers…

By now, Ning had picked up a total of three weapons. Alas, all three were ‘merely’ Chaos treasures; none of them were Dao weapons. Still, it made sense. If a World-level expert was grabbed by the gray wind, he wouldn’t have been manhandled as badly as Ning and Hellsword had been. There were very few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who held Dao weapons; the chances of one of them just happening to fall down into this pit were even lower.

Ning slowly clambered down over another hundred kilometers, then took a rest and glanced at his surroundings in the hopes of finding a way out of here.

“What’s that?” Ning look downwards, surprised.

A cave had actually appeared on the walls of the pit. This was clearly a cave that had been artificially dug out, and it was many hundreds of meters wide. Although the gray wind howled past it, it didn’t go into the cave itself, making the cave a rare and welcome oasis of peace.

Because it sloped downwards and inwards, Ning wasn’t able to see it earlier. Only now, when he drew closer, did it appear before him.

“Who dug out this cave? Doesn’t matter, I suppose. I’ve used up quite a bit of my divine power after climbing so long and keeping [Three Heads, Six Arms] active for so long. I need to get in there right away.”

Ning hurriedly began to climb in its direction, then sent his arms deep into the cave entrance. There were a few jutting pieces of rock inside the cave, allowing Ning to easily gain a handhold.

Ning quickly ‘shrank’ his arms, resulting in the rest of his body being pulled into the cave like a rubber band.

“I’m in.”

It was strange. There was no wind in this cave at all. Ning had gotten so used to the raging gray winds that he felt rather unaccustomed to the calm.

“Whew. I can finally take a break.” Ning deactivated [Three Heads, Six Arms], then glanced at the gray wind which continued to rage outside of the cave. He then turned his head to carefully inspect the cave itself.

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Chapter 20 – The Nine Seals

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 20 – The Nine Seals

It was extremely obvious that this cave had been dug out artificially. It had been dug out in an extremely methodical manner, and various markings that looked like fish scales could be seen on the walls. There were also some diagrams and some writing that had been left behind on the cave walls, and the cave itself emanated a strange intent that felt like flowing water. Ji Ning couldn’t help but be affected by the cave’s aura, and his heart became quite calm as well.

Ning was in no rush to read the words or look at the pictures. Instead, he first carefully inspected the scale-like patterns and marks on the walls.

“Very neat.”

“If someone slowly dug the cave out, there’s no way it could all be so neat and tiny.” Ning stared at the tiny markings. “I feel as though someone must’ve used a divine ability to instantly scoop out the rock and make the cave.”

Ning couldn’t help but feel shocked by this possibility.

When he had grabbed onto that stone pillar a short while ago, the powerful tearing force from the tornado had only been able to cause a few cracks to it. He had tested out using his hands to ‘dig’ a handhold into the walls, but had been completely unable to succeed whatsoever. This was why Ning had chosen to find pre-existing crevices instead.

“The stone here has been nourished by the local formations and baptized by the gray wind, giving it extraordinary properties. Most likely, not even World-level experts would be able to so easily dig out a cave of such size,” Ning mused to himself. He reached out with his hand, gently stroking it against the fish-scale patterns.

As he did, he suddenly could sense a strange, unique intent pouring towards him from the patterns.

“As calm…as water…”

Ning carefully inspected the cave in detail for a while longer, then turned his attention towards the writing and the diagrams on the cave walls. As Ning viewed it, those diagrams wouldn’t exactly be running away. If he wasn’t careful and missed something or activated a trap by accident, that would be truly disastrous.

The ‘Hundred Streams of the Windsource’ in these ruins are quite marvelous indeed. A pity…I would’ve loved to have had the chance to sit down and discuss the Dao with the fellow Daoist who created this estate. That fellow Daoist died countless years ago. In the future, when I reach the end of my own life, I shall also leave behind my Dao and allow the cultivators who come after me to get a good look at it…

I have spent more than a hundred thousand years here and have gained certain insights. Although I’ve only inspected a few of the streams, I can tell that there is a great difference between them and the path which I have chosen, and so it doesn’t matter if I look at the rest of the Hundred Streams or not…

Here are the insights I have gained from a hundred thousand years of viewing these streams. I’ve recorded all of them down here. If a cultivator has the chance to come here in the future and see them, consider this a bit of karma between us.

These are the words of Waterwind!

Every single character emanated a relaxed, carefree aura.

When Ning looked at these words, he felt as though he could see that ancient power writing them down all those years ago.

“Waterwind?” Ning murmured softly to himself, “Who is that? Judging from what he wrote, he should be someone who was on the same level of power as the creator of the Windsource Ruins.”

The Badlands Territory…as far as Ning knew, it didn’t hold anyone by the name of ‘Waterwind’.

Ning had long ago acquired intelligence reports regarding the many World-level experts. The most powerful figure in the entire Badlands was the creator of the Badlands Court, Daolord Badlands! Daolord Badlands was still alive and was unfathomably powerful; he wasn’t a person who someone of Ning’s level could hope to approach.

Daolord Badlands had established the Badlands Court. World-level experts were like toddlers before him.

“The Badlands Court holds a number of very famous figure, but none of them go by the moniker of ‘Waterwind’,” Ning mused to himself. “No, I’ve never heard this name before. Could it be…someone from another territory?”

Still, in the end it didn’t really matter.

Waterwind talked a big game. If he was telling the truth, then he was most likely someone above the World-level of power! Even if he was ‘merely’ a World-level expert, he most assuredly stood at the very peak of power amongst them.

“Waterwind…Waterwind…” Ning quietly memorized this name, then turned his attention to the ‘insights’ which Waterwind had left behind on the cave walls.

The cave walls were covered with both writing and diagrams.

The writing consisted of the words Ning had read just now.

As for the diagrams, they contained the insights which Waterwind had gained.

The diagram was of fishes swimming in the sea. Ning saw more than ten fishes, each of whih was in a different pose. Around them could be seen several ordinary-looking lines which seemed to represent the ripples of the water.

There were a total of sixteen fish and ninety-seven water ripples.

“These diagrams…?” Ning felt that these diagrams were rather odd. He gave them a closer look, carefully inspecting the water ripples and the fish for any peculiarities.

Whoooooosh.

Slowly, without Ning even onticing it, a surge of will and intent began to slowly seep outwards from the diagrams and towards Ning.

Rumble…

A vast river that was three thousand meters wide was flowing past Ning, and in the river was a fish of gigantic proportions. The river was merely three thousand meters wide, but this fish was over three hundred meters long. The fish swam with the waves, continuing to advance forward with an indomitable, unstoppable attitude.

“What the hell?” Ning stared blankly at his surroundings.

Directly him was a river that was three thousand meters wide. There were several other rivers next to it, each of which was three thousand meters wide and which flowed with tremendous speed. Off in the distance, Ning could see even more rivers, but he wasn’t able to get a clear glimpse of them.

Although Ning wasn’t able to see those rivers clearly, he could vaguely sense that there was a total of a hundred river streams.

A hundred rivers. A hundred fish.

The rivers flowed in one direction. The fish swam in the same direction.

At the very end of the rivers, there was a place where all of them came together, a place of unstoppable power which saw the hundred streams become one.

Every single river gave Ning ad ifferent feeling, as did the fish within it.

Some of the rivers felt like the pretty girls next door.

Some of the rivers felt like scorchingly attractive vixens.

Some of the rivers felt like icy cold fairy maidens.

They all had completely different auras and intents, but they were able to perfectly join together off in the distance.

“The Hundred Streams merge together to form the Dao…but alas, if you are unable to do so, you shall die. A pity, a pity…” A sigh suddenly echoed forth from this world…and then, everything vanished.

Ning was once more within the cave, staring at the ordinary-looking pictures of fish and water ripples.

“What just happened?” Ning was puzzled. “Was that an illusion I saw just now? No…I should’ve been able to tell if that was all an illusion. It was no illusion. It was….something else…”

“After ‘Waterwind’ looked at the ‘Hundred Streams of the Windsource’, he left behind these diagrams containing his insights.” Ning raised his head to give the diagrams another look, but then he suddenly froze.

This was because when he did so, the scene he had just seen instantly began to replay in his mind.

The hundred surging rivesr, the hundred swimming fish, even that final sigh…all of it appeared once more within his memories.

“It has an inexplicable feeling to it. Almost like…sadness.”

Ning silently pondered on this. The reason why Ning felt that sense of sorrow was due to that final sigh.

“But this so-called ‘hundred streams merging together to form the Dao…’” Ning had the feeling that those words contained an incredibly profound meaning to it. The more he tried to understand it, the more confused he became. However, Ning was in no rush. He sat down in the lotus position and began to slowly meditate on what he had just seen. He was so absorbed by this that he actually forgot ot enter the Heavengazer Tower, as he was completely focused on the scene of the hundred streams that he had just seen.

One day after another went past.

Ning continued to sit there, as unmoving as a statue. Dust began to collect and accumulate on his body, and soon Ning looked like an actual statue.

Six years later.

Ning had been completely covered with dust…but finally, on this day, he opened his eyes, revealing a look of surprise and delight in his gleaming, crystalline gaze.

“The Hundred Streams merge together to form the Dao…the Nine Seals join together to become One…so this is how the Nine Chaos Seals actually work,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

The meaning of the phrase ‘the Hundred Streams merge together to form the Dao’ was simply too profound; he was able to just barely glean a few insights from it. However, while doing so he was able to see many similarities between it and his Nine Chaos Seals, resulting in him gaining many more insights into the ninth seal.

Before leaving the Three Realms, Ning had already mastered the eighth chaos seal. Only one was left.

A series of complicated divine runes began to appear within Ning’s eyes. All nine of the Nine Chaos Seals began to manifest within his eyes, changing and transforming in an endless pattern. In the past, it seemed as though there would never be an end to the changing runes of the Nine Chaos Seals…but once Ning mastered them, the transformations came to an end. Finally, they came together to form the image of what looked like a flower.

This image appeared on Ning’s soul itself, as well as his very truesoul.

It was an azure flower.

It was sacred, holy, natural.

The seal imprint of an azure flower began to naturally manifest itself on Ning’s forehead as well. After appearing briefly, it then quickly faded away and hid itself.

“When the Nine Chaos Seals join together to become one, they become absolutely marvelous. Mother Nuwa must have reached this level as well.” Ning could sense the seal imprint of an azure flower that had appeared on his forehead, an azure flower that was gently swaying.

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Chapter 21 – Azureflower Space

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 21 – Azureflower Space

The sea of consciousness was located very close to the forehead…and within Ji Ning’s sea of consciousness, there was an absolutely beautiful azure flower that was swaying in the wind.

“I never would’ve thought that after mastering the Nine Chaos Seals, an azure flower seal would appear, with an azure flower appearing in my consciousness as well.” Ning could sense himself transforming. In the past, after mastering each chaos seal he would be able to more closely attune with the essence of certain concepts such as destiny, slaughter, darkness, the sword, etc.

Now that the nine had come together, Ning felt an even greater attunement towards the essence of the sword. It made sense; he had the most insights in this regard, after all. He also felt much closer attunement towards rainwater, lightning, space, and other Daos…

“What is this azure flower meant for?”

“Is it meant to help me be more closely attuned to the various essences when I meditate?” Ning was puzzled. He carefully inspected that swaying azure flower.

Whoosh.

When Ning’s heartforce brushed against that azure flower…it suddenly began to transform.

Crackle…

Heartforce was supposed to be formless and untouchable, but as soon as it touched the azure flower it was immediately devoured by it.

Inside the azure flower was a region of its own. This space was a blurry, empty region. However, a mist was slowly beginning to materialize inside of it.

“My heartforce was transformed by the azureflower space into mist?” Ning was so surprised and shocked, he immediately came to a halt. Almost ten percent of his heartforce had been used up in an instant!

“Heartforce is ephemeral and formless. Only certain special techniques, such as Houyi’s archery techniques, are able to make use of heartforce. But this azureflower space was actually able to convert and transform heartforce…” Ning could sense that the mist within the azureflower space was filled with a strange, marvelous type of power.

“It can convert heartforce. Is it also capable of converting divine power and Immortal energy?” Ning wondered to himself.

Ning willed a tiny thread of divine power to seep into his sea of consciousness as well. As soon as it brushed against the azure flower, it was immediately devoured by the flower, resulting in a bit more mist to appear inside of it.

“B-b-but…” Ning was dazed.

“It’s actually…the same?”

“When heartforce is devoured, it transforms into mist. When divine power is devoured, it also transforms into mist. And…the mist is the same?!” Ning could hardly believe it. Heartforce and divine power were two completely different types of power; the differences between the two were enormous! And yet, both were somehow converted into a different type of energy, one which Ning was capable of controlling?

Ning could sense how terrifyingly powerful the energy contained within the mist was.

“Or perhaps…it isn’t a ‘conversion’. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the azure flower was able to ‘eat’ my divine power and heartforce, then give birth to this new type of energy?” Ning mused to himself.

“So it can eat both divine power and heartforce…what of Immoratl energy?”

Ning willed it, and his Immortal energy flew into his sea of consciousness as well. As soon as it touched the azure flower, it was also devoured right away, resulting in even more mist appearing within the azureflower space.

Ning remained seated in the lotus position inside the cave, a very complicated series of looks flashing over his face. There was surprise on his face as well as puzzlement and excitement.

The azure flower that appeared after the Nine Chaos Seals merged together was simply too marvelous.

Divnie power, Immortal energy, heartforce…these were three completely different types of energy, but the azure flower was capable of eating them all and then giving birth to more of the mist.

“How is this azure flower so powerful? It’s actually capable of eating and transforming three completely different types of energy.” Ning murmured silently to himself, “I wonder…was it true that the Nine Chaos Seals were formed naturally by the primordial chaos? Or were they created by some ancient power? They are simply too marvelous.”

“Doesn’t matter, I suppose.” Ning pushed that aside for now.

Many of the abilities these ancient powers were capable of were beyond Ning’s imagination. For example, the supreme figure of the Badlands Everworld was Daolord Badlands, someone who also stood on a level of power that surpassed that of the World-level.

“Let’s see just how powerful that mist is.” Ning willed a hint of the mist to emerge from the azureflower space. Instantly, his entire body began to be filled by the mist, absorbing it like a dry sponge absorbing water. As it did so, Ning began to transform.

“Eh?”

“There’s no way to make the power of the mist leave the body?” Ning was shocked.

Divine power, Immortal energy, and heartforce could all be made to leave the body. This mist energy, however, could not.

Ning spent some time testing it out. Indeed, the mysterious mist was only able reside within his body, unable to leave it!

“What on earth is this mist good forth?” Ning knelt down on one knee, stretching out his right hand and suddenly slapping it against the stone ground. As he did so, a surge of power suddenly burst forth.

BOOM!

The entire cave trembled and a few cracks actually appeared.

“This…” A shocked look was on Ning’s face. He hurriedly waved his hand, causing an estate-world to appear within the cave. Ning quickly entered the estate-world.

This was a Chaos-level estate-treasure which Ning had acquired after entering the Ruins. Ning had quite a few estate-worlds now; the reason he had chosen this one was because it was extremely large.

The insides of the estate-world was nearly ten million meters in size. It contained a vast mountain range, a wide sea, a series of giant continents, and many alien Outsiders that lived here.

Whoosh.

Ning suddenly appeared within the skies of this world.

“Let’s give it a try.” Ning’s eyes lit up and he began to fly through the air.

Boom!

He didn’t use the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent; instead, he just relied on the power of his divine body as he flew. He instantly transformed into a streak of rainbow light…and as he flew, he actually broke past the speed of light. If in the past he was able to travel three hundred thousand kilometers in an instant, now he was able to travel nearly four hundred thousand kilometers in an instant!

It looked like a simple increase of just a third, but in reality breaking past the speed limits of the Heavenly Daos was incredibly difficult. And more importantly, in the past Ning had to rely on the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent in order to reach the speed of light. Now, he wasn’t using the lightning serpent at all, merely relying on the power of his divine body…and yet, he was able to breach the speed of light! Ning hadn’t gained any new insights with regards to space or speed, but his flying speed had just dramatically increased!

It was almost like becoming aWorld God.

World Gods were dramatically strengthened in every single way, resulting in them completely eclipsing the various limits of the Heavenly Daos. The limits of the Heavenly Daos were now completely unable to restrict them any further, allowing them to ‘brute-force’ past the speed of light.

“I was actually able to brute-force past the limits?” Ning came to a halt. He stood there in the air, completely astonished.

“I originally just had the body of a half-step World God….but with the mist supporting me, I’m actually able to effortless brute-force the limits of the Heavenly Daos?” Ning truly couldn’t believe it.

In truth, when he had struck the ground of the cave with a palm just now, he had already begun to sense it. The power of his palms definitely equaled the power of a Dao weapon. It was absolutely at the level of a World-level expert!

Now, he had apparently also reached the World-level in terms of speed as well.

And the reason for these miraculous results…was the power of the mist that formed within the azureflower region.

Although the energy was unable to leave his body, it supported and reinforced it, upgrading Ning in every single area to an entirely different level. He was now stronger and faster…and Ning had the feeling that he was now as fast as a World God. Even if he wasn’t, he had to be extremely close to that level.

He was able to fly faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos while relying solely on his body.

He was able to strike as hard as a World God while solely striking out with his palms. This, too, represented a breaching of the limits of the Heavenly Daos.

The limits of the Heavenly Daos…they were like paper, easily pierced through by Ning.

There was no need for him to rely on his insights from the [Five Treasures]

There was need for any other forms of support.

Just by allowing the mist to reinforce his body, he was able to completely breach the limits of the Heavenly Daos in every single way. Even if he wasn’t a World God, he wasn’t far off from that level.

“How could it be this powerful?” Only now did Ning truly understand how marvelous the azureflower space was.

“Who on earth came up with this technique?”

The primordial chaos did have quite a few monstrously powerful techniques. For example, Ning’s combined usage of the second stage of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and the [One True Body] technique to give himself the power of a half-step World God. The primordial chaos also contained stories of some even more powerful techniques that had been devised by truly ancient powers, and in some of those stories these techniques allowed extremely powerful Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals to slay World-level experts.

What did one need in order to kill someone on a higher level?

Ridiculously powerful techniques, terrifying treasures, shockingly high levels of insight into the Dao, and more. Only when one had reached the utmost peak of power in every single aspect could one produce such extraordinary results.

Ning had the feeling that the technique which produced his azureflower space was one such technique.

The stronger one became, the harder it would be to grow even more powerful. There were actually quite a few strength-enhancing techniques akin to the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] or the [One True Body], such as the [Thousand Bodies Sutra], a technique which was even more monstrous. However, after all those clones were joined together into one, it would become thousands of times more difficult to improve the body any further.

Or, to put it another way…the azureflower space technique was a technique that was thousands of times more valuable than the combination of the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and the [One True Body] techniques.

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Chapter 22 – Continuing Downwards

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 22 – Continuing Downwards

Ji Ning began to feel excited.

He had just undergone a transformation on a qualitative level. He had long ago mastered the ‘Heartsword stance’, ensuring that he would be able to withstand a blow or two from even a true World-level expert. If he was able to completely repair Violetjewel, then he might actually be able to give those World-level experts an actual fight.

“Am I going to be one of those legendary monsters who are able to slay World-level experts despite merely being an Elder God?” Ning mumbled to himself, then grinned.

It was too difficult to break through to the World-level.

Every single person who was capable of succeeding in doing so was an absolute genius who had many fortuitous encounters. Thus, an Elder God who could slay a World God had to be an even more brilliant genius who had even better luck and even deeper insights.

“The Dao of the Sword is a Dao meant for combat. I need to do my best to master the second stance of the [Nameless] sword-art. I might not be capable of becoming one of those monsters, but I still need to work as hard as I can to advance through my chosen path.” Ning had a look of desire in his eyes.

A man had to aim for the stars and set high goals for himself on his path to cultivation. That way, even if he didn’t succeed in his goals, he would still be able to travel farther than most cultivators.

Ning once more appeared within the cave inside the pit. With a wave of his hand, he put away his estate-world treasure.

“This mist energy is truly marvelous. Still…I imagine it’ll be used up quite quickly in battle. I need to store up more of it.” Ning waved his hand, causing the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance to appear next to him, then entered it.

Within the Heavengazer Tower.

Ning began to fill the azure flower with his heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy. The azure flower accepted it all, ravenously devouring the energy and converting it into mist, resulting in the mist grower denser and denser.

After most of his energy was used up, Ning took a break to recover. He could withdraw energy from the primordial chaos to replenish his divine power, but his heartforce could only be recovered through rest.

After recovering…he continued to pour all his energy into the azure flower.

Whoooosh. Finally, once the mist in the region reached a certain level of density, a vortex suddenly formed which drew in all the mist energy, converting it into a single crystalline drop of water.

“A drop of water?”

Ning attuned to it briefly, then immediately understood.

This drop of water was the form the mist took when it reached an extremely high level of density. When battle began, he would be able to draw the mist energy out from the drop of water.

“I have to use up almost all of my divine power, heartforce, and Immortal energy in order to condense a single water drop.” Ning couldn’t help but feel shocked. “Well, time to continue.”

The primordial chaos was truly vast and infinite. There was a limit to how much of its energy a cultivator could draw upon, with the hard limit being how much the cultivator’s body could withstand! Thanks to the Heavengazer Tower, Ning was able to withdraw chaos energy at a rate that was ten times faster than someone in the outside world. He repeatedly went through a cycle of exhausting all his heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy, then replenishing it through resting. More and more water drops began to appear in the azureflower space. One drop. Two drops. Three drops…

Every single drop was formed through Ning completely exhausting and converting all his energy.

Finally, after a long period of time, a total of thirty-six drops of water were circling within the azureflower space. A strange equilibrium had been reached, and a sense of pressure radiated outwards from the azureflower space, letting Ning know that it had reached its limit for now.

Ning spent a few more days in the cave after this. He needed to get a full picture of what the azure flower could do. As for the other clone of his true body which was within the prisonworld, it had also mastered the Nine Chaos Seals and had gained an azure flower seal of its own, one which was also capable of manifesting those drops of water.

However, for the clone, three drops was the absolute limit.

“It seems as the my true body’s azureflower space is able to hold more power than my backup clone’s?” Ning murmured to himself.

“Is it due to it having a stronger divine body? A stronger Jindan? Or is it due to the soul?” Ning was filled with many questions.

His true body was formed through merging seventeen clones. It had a more powerful divine body, a stronger soul, and a Jindan that was comparable to first-tier Jindans. Its azure flower was more powerful as well.

“No need to dwell on it. For now at least, it seems as though the azureflower energy can only be applied to the divine body,” Ning mused to himself. He had a feeling that the azureflower energy wasn’t that simple, but despite spending quite a bit of time analyzing it he was still unable to discover any other methods of applying it.

“Given Mother Nuwa’s abilities, I’m sure she must’ve been able to merge the Nine Chaos Seals together as well. She also must have an azureflower space of her own, and I’ll wager her insights into it are much greater than mine. She might’ve discovered some of its secrets,” Ning mused. “But…I still have no idea where she’s gone off to. There’s actually no record of her in the Badlands Territory.”

Mother Nuwa had left the Three Realms roughly half a chaos cycle ago. If she had arrived in the Badlands Territory…given her power, her arrival definitely would’ve been recorded down. It must be understood that even the more powerful Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were known throughout the Badlands Territory. As for the World Gods, all of them would definitely be recorded down. And yet, Ning was unable to find any records of Mother Nuwa at all.

“Or perhaps she didn’t make it to the Badlands Territory? Did she get lost in the spatial vortex tunnel? Given her power, Mother Nuwa should’ve been able to traverse that tunnel with ease unless her luck was so horrid that she was completely surrounded by spatial rifts, giving her no way out at all. The chances of that happening, however, are quite low.”

“Or did she hide her true identity here in the Badlands Territory?”

“Mm. Well, I’ll worry about that later. Given her power…if she’s still in the Badlands Territory, her reputation will quickly spread throughout the region.” Ning was in quite a good mood right now. His mastery of the azureflower space had been more beneficial to him than anything he could imagine. Even if his true body ended up dying here, his backup clone would eventually be able to rebuild it.

“Thank you, senior Waterwind.” Ning turned to look at the words left behind on the cave walls.

It was thanks to the diagram of the ‘Hundred Streams merging together to form the Dao’ that Ning had been able to gain tremendous insights of his own and thus master the Nine Chaos Seals. This was far more valuable and important to Ning than merely improving his sword-arts a bit.

Ning moved to stand at the edge of the cave. He first stared upwards, then downwards towards the bottomless abyss.

“Should I climb upwards? Or should I go down?” This was what Ning was pondering.

With the azureflower energy supporting him, he would be able to easily climb upwards and escape from the pit. But after leaving the pit, would he be able to escape this place safely? Hard to say.

What would happen if he climbed downwards? Still hard to say.

“It won’t be too hard for me to climb upwards, but…” Ning nodded slowly. “I don’t need to rush out of here. I’ll go down and take a look first. Countless cultivators must’ve been swallowed by the Windsource. Hellsword himself had a pair of Dao weapons on him. The depths of the Windsource Ruins must hold many treasures.”

Although the path downwards might be filled with many dangers, it was also a path that led to great treasures.

It wasn’t impossible that Ning might end up finding four or five Dao weapons there.

“Time to go.” Ning no longer hesitated.

Cultivators were meant to battle against Heaven and Earth. If they wanted to acquire good treasures, they’d have to risk their lives for it!

Ning’s arms stretched out many hundreds of meters. He looked like a giant ape as he swung from crevice to crevice, the azureflower energy filling his body making the process quite simple. In fact, Ning was now able to easily grasp onto jutting pieces of rock without needing to focus on cracks. Previously, Ning wouldn’t be able to maintain his grip, but now he was able to do so with ease.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. He clambered down very agilely with six arms, moving so fast that he looked like a blur.

Ten kilometers. A hundred kilometers. A thousand kilometers.

Ning continued his downwards descent.

Every so often, he would encounter a treasure that was caught within a crack or on a ledge.

“This is way too deep. I must’ve gone down at least thirty thousand kilometers by now.” Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh in amazement. “The deeper I go, the more powerful the Windsource seems to become as well.”

Right now, the Windsource was at least five or six times more powerful than it had been when he was next to the cave. However, Ning had become so much more powerful that he was still able to proceed in a very relaxed manner.

“Eh?” Ning’s eyes lit up as he saw a warblade that glistened with bloody light that had been caught within a crevice. As the gray wind blew past the warblade, it emitted an ear-piercing screech. The warblade was quite dazzling to behold, and its aura caused even Ning’s heart to clench.

“A Dao weapon!” Ning revealed a look of delight. “After climbing down thirty thousand kilometers, I picked up more than a hundred Chaos weapons. Now, I’ve finally found a Dao weapon.”

Whoosh.

Ning reached out with his arms, stretching them out several hundred meters as he stuck his hands deep into the crevice, then pulled the warblade out. Judging from the ripples emanating from the warblade, it was an ownerless item. Its former owner had most likely died a long time ago.

“I feel as though its aura is even stronger than Violetjewel’s aura is,” Ning murmured to himself. “It must be quite a powerful Dao weapon.”

Ning’s guess was correct.

This warblade was a weapon which an Elder God had acquired from an incredibly deadly place. It was a top-grade Dao weapon! However, after acquiring the weapon, the Elder God had been unable to escape the danger zone he was in. He continued to flee through the area and in the end had been swept into and perished within the Hundred Streams of the Windsource.

“For the sake of this warblade alone, I have to make it out of here alive. It’d be a huge waste if I died.” Ning quickly put the warblade away. One could perish at any moment when trapped within a deadly area such as this…but the rewards one could reap could also be staggering.

“I’ll keep going downwards.”

“I still haven’t seen those two Dao weapons which Hellsword found.” Ning reached out with his six arms, continuing his quick downwards descent into the depths of this bottomless pit.

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Chapter 23 – Windbeast

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 23 – Windbeast

Ji Ning continued to clamber downwards, traversing yet another ten thousand kilometers. On the way down, he picked up another twenty-plus Chaos treasures. The reason why he picked up no Protocosmic spirit-treasures was because the gray wind here was so strong that even Protocosmic spirit-treasures would be slowly ground to dust by it. Only Chaos treasures were able to survive the wind for extended periods of time.

“Eh? I reached the bottom?” Ning held onto the walls with his six long arms as he stared downwards.

Rumble…

The gray wind formed a swirling maelstrom at the bottom, but the pit itself had come to an end. All Ning could see was the small part of the enormous maelstrom that was visible from his location.

“This should be the bottom. This is where the wind transforms into a maelstrom, at least. That means that the treasures left behind by the dead cultivators should all be here.” Ning began to grow rather excited. Hellsword had two Dao weapons on him, and Ning had already picked up over a hundred Chaos treasures and a top-grade Dao warblade on the way down. The number of treasures at the bottom had to be immense.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The closer he got to the treasures, the more careful he became. He slowly climbed downwards, carefully inspecting his surroundings as he did so. The gray wind here was so powerful that if it wasn’t for his azureflower energy, there was no way he would be able to climb around here.

“The maelstrom is pretty large.” As he continued to climb downwards, the true size of the gray maelstrom of wind began to reveal itself.

“What?!” Ning was stunned.

The enormous maelstrom covered an area of roughly a thousand kilometers. On one end of the maelstrom was the deep pit which Ning had just emerged from, while on the other end of the maelstrom was another pit that seemed just as deep and dark. Quite a bit of the gray wind would occasionally howl towards and go through the second pit as well.

“This is…?” Suddenly, Ning had a thought. The image of the ‘Hundred Streams’ once more appeared in his mind, with those rivers all surging forward before coming together as one.

“Now I understand. This is what senior Waterwind spoke of when he said he saw the marvelous sight of the Hundred Streams of the Windsource. What I experienced just now should’ve been just one of those flows.” Ning immediately understood.

The Hundred Streams of the Windsource represented a hundred of these tunnels that coiled deep into the planet before joining together at a common location. Each tunnel had to be more than a million kilometers long. The Hundred Streams contained all of the Daos which had been mastered by the ancient power behind this estate!

Waterwind had viewed several of the flows and gained many insights into them. Thus, he had left behind his diagram atop the walls of that cave.

“The pit I just climbed out of and the pit on the other side should belong to the same flow.” Ning nodded slowly to himself. “It’s much like how the waters of a river will occasionally form small whirlpools when going past certain bends. So I’ve only been on a single stream this entire time. Still, it makes sense. Even someone as unfathomably powerful as Waterwind was only able to investigate a few of the streams.”

“I’ll wager that quite a few of the treasures ended up being piled up here somewhere.”

Now, Ning finally understood. After he had been drawn in here from the outside world, he had begun his journey through a single stream and had now encountered the first ‘bend’ in the stream. This meant that he was most likely in the outermost layer of the Hundred Streams!

“The farther down I go, the more dangerous it will probably become!” Ning mused to himself. “Even Daolord Badlands and senior Waterwind were unable to fully conquer this ancient ruin. If I try to go much deeper, I’ll probably be throwing my life away.”

Upon realizing that he was still at the outermost layer of the Hundred Streams of the Windsource, Ning immediately came to his senses.

“I should take away these treasures, then get the hell out of here.” Ning immediately came to this decision, then once more began to carefully crawl forwards. Soon, he reached the bottom.

The maelstrom itself didn’t have too much of a sucking power to it, just some tearing power. The margins of the maelstrom were actually quite peaceful, and many treasures had been swirled about and tossed to the edges of the maelstrom. Ning saw that there had to be hundreds, perhaps over a thousand treasures with tremendously powerful auras that were scattered around the edges of the maelstrom.

“Seven Dao weapons?” Ning was delighted when he saw this. “And that’s just what I can see with the naked eye. There are probably several other Dao weapons that are hidden within storage treasures.”

“Hmph.” Ning willed the azureflower mist energy to reinforce his legs, allowing him to easily walk across the bottom of this chamber. The sucking power wasn’t that strong here, allowing him walk about quite freely.

Ning silently crept forward, soon arriving in a region that was roughly three hundred meters long. There was no wind here at all, and quite a few treasures had been piled up here.

“This is great.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the treasures.

Whoosh.

That small corner contained dozens of Chaos treasures as well as a Dao weapon. The Dao weapon was an odd-looking fist-sized slab. Ning used his divine power to bind it, and upon doing so Ning realized that this ‘slab’ was actually a flexible sword of incredible sharpness that could also be used as a whip.

“Eh? What are these fragments?” Ning glanced at the unremarkable fragments nearby.

Ning waved his hand, picking up a fragment of a sword handle. “What’s this?” Ning frowned. He could clearly see deep indents on the surface of the handle.

“Are those…fang marks?” This thought suddenly flashed through Ning’s mind.

“Come here.” Ning waved his hand, causing the many shards and fragments to all fly into his estate-treasure. Within the estate-treasure, Ning’s coresense wouldn’t be disturbed by the gray wind, allowing him to more carefully inspect the fragments. What he found was a very strange object located within the large pile of ordinary fragments.

Ning waved his hand, causing the strange object to fly out and come to a rest within Ning’s palm. It was a large, palm-sized bluish-white scale.

The fragments he had picked up were of all different colors, and so Ning hadn’t noticed the scale earlier.

“A scale?” Ning glanced at the patterns on the scale. It looked quite like a scale that would appear on some sort of a beast.

“And those fang marks…fangs that were able grind apart a Chaos treasure…and a scale? I can’t stay here. I need to pick up these treasures, then get out of here.” Ning didn’t even dare to imagine what creature had caused this. He hurriedly flew towards a different corner of the chamber, but as he did so he saw a streak of light fly against the gray wind, emerging from the depths of the chamber and flying towards him with astonishing speed.

Ning blanched when he saw this.

Good heavens.

Even though he had become dramatically stronger, he still had to use his arms and hands to crawl around this place. However, that streak of light was not only moving against the wind, it was doing so at an utterly inconceivable speed.

“Flee.” Ning no longer dared to tarry. His hands stretched out thousands of meters as he hurriedly began to crawl upwards and flee at high speed.

“My…my treasures…”

Just as Ning had picked up that scale, a creature had stirred from deep within this chamber. Its entire body was bluish-white, it had a crystalline mane, the head of a tiger, a body that was completely covered in scales, an extremely long tail, and four mighty limbs.

After being born, it had lived its entire life here within this endless tunnel.

It would occasionally discover some sabers, knives, staves, hammers, and other weapons that fell into its lair. These weapons were useless to it, but it liked to collect them and hoard them! It even placed a few of the scales it had shed in the corners of the chambers where there was no wind, so as to signify that those treasures belonged to it!

“You actually dare to rob me of my treasures.”

“Die.”

“Die!”

It was enraged. It immediately transformed into a streak of light, flying against the wind towards the invader.

“What sort of a freak is this? How can it possibly fly directly against the wind of the Hundred Streams? Does this scale belong to it?” Although Ning had fled after taking just one glance at the creature, he was still able to tell that it was a strange beast that was completely bluish-white in color, while the scale he had acquired was also bluish-white. “And those shards of treasures that had been bitten apart…did those teeth marks come from it?”

“The undamaged Chaos treasures were all high-grade or top-grade in quality, while the broken ones were all fairly low quality Chaos treasures.”

“Still…for it to be able to chew Chaos treasures apart…”

Ning immediately understood that this monster was most likely far too powerful for him to handle.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!!

Ning’s six arms moved in a blur as he frantically clambered upwards. He had never crawled as fast as he was crawling right now. Before this, he had been moving very slowly, for fear of something dangerous happening. Now, he was climbing at his absolute maximum speed. In almost the blink of an eye, Ning propelled himself upwards ape-style by more than ten thousand kilometers.

Whoosh!

But despite how fast Ning was climbing, that bluish-white streak of light flew upwards even faster, even though it was going against the wind. In fact, it had caught up to him!

“Damn. I found so many treasures. Am I going to die here now? This sucks!” Ning turned his head, staring at the ferocious, bluish-white monster that had drawn close to him.

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Chapter 24 – The Battle in the Abyss

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 24 – The Battle in the Abyss

The crystalline mane of the bluish-white beast trembled as it glared at Ji Ning, its dark yellow eyes filled with hatred and murder.

Ji Ning clung onto the walls of the pit with one hand, as he turned to stare at the bluish-white scaled monster.

Their gazes met.

“I don’t want to be enemies with you,” Ning said.

“Die!!!” The bluish-white monster suddenly let out a furious roar as it struck out with its tail, striking so fast that Ning blanched.

Ning hurriedly use his five free arms to strike out with his sword-arts. It was as though five black holes had suddenly appeared in the air and moved to deflect the oncoming attack.

BOOM!!!

The incredible power of the collision caused even Ning’s body to tremble, smashing him against the stone walls behind him. A large crack had appeared on the walls, but thankfully Ning had a tough divine body and a top-grade suit of Chaos armor, as well as the support of that azureflower mist energy. All these things ensured that he was able to withstand the blow…but from this very first clash, Ning instantly understood that his foe was even more stronger than he was!

Ever since Ning had mastered the Nine Chaos Seals and acquired the azureflower energy, Ning had felt confident that he was very close to the World God level of power and perhaps had even reached it.

But this monstrosity before him…a simple strike from its tail had complete overpowered Ning!

“Die!” Die!” Die!” The bluish-white monster charged forward furiously, raking out with its claws.

“I gotta get out of here.” Ning quickly clambered up the walls like a spider, sometimes using his left hand to climb, sometimes using his right. He’d occasionally block an attack while occasionally borrow from the force of the collisions to propel himself further upwards.

Riiiiip! The sharp claws tore a gash through the stone walls.

Whap! The powerful tail-strikes caused the stone to shudder.

Ning was at a complete disadvantage.

“Eh?”

“This beastie…doesn’t seem to be that tough.” After exchanging a few dozen blows with the creature, Ning was slowly beginning to come to this conclusion. “It is strong and fast, and its claws are quite sharp, but…it doesn’t seem to have many insights into the Dao at all. It has an incredibly powerful body, but in battle it is clumsy beyond belief.”

The azureflower mist energy had strengthened Ning’s body, making it so that the difference in power between him and the beast wasn’t that great. If Ning hadn’t mastered the Nine Chaos Seals and was only as strong as he was when he had first been drawn into the pit, he would’ve been flattened by that first swipe of the tail. It wouldn’t have mattered how profound his insights into the Dao were!

“I can’t keep wasting time with it. If too much time passes, my azureflower mist energy will be used up and I’ll be finished.” After battling for just a short period of time, one of the drops of liquid azureflower energy had already been used up. This shocked Ning and brought him back to his senses.

“You can’t kill me!” Ning barked.

“You. Die!” The bluish-white scaled creature continued to fight in a berserk manner.

Ning took out the warblade. This was the Dao weapon which he had picked up a short while ago, and Ning had already bound it to himself quite some time ago. In terms of raw power, it was even stronger than the still-damaged Violetjewel!

“F*ck off!” Ning exploded with power.

Swords are double-edged weapons. Sabers have just a single blade. However, the tip of this warblade was incredibly sharp, and thus it could also be used to stab, split, and scrape, just as a sword would. Still, it was still better suited for more explosive and forceful attacks.

“Heavenbreaker stance!”

Ning held the warblade in a two-handed grip. He allowed his divine power and the azureflower mist energy to both blast forth at full power as he raised the warblade up high, then furiously chopped down towards the bluish-white scaled monster before him.

The ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ was Ning’s most forceful attack. Of Ning’s many sword-arts, it was the sword-art which was best suited for use with a weapon such as this warblade. In fact, after getting some insights into the second stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, Ning’s ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ now contained even more of a killing intent than it did before. When Ning unleashed this attack he was striking downwards, resulting in the attack being sped up by the howling wind. His saber-light flashed out far faster than the speed of light, giving the bluish-white scaled monster no time to dodge at all.

“GWRAAAR!” The monster confidently blocked with its claws.

The enormous crescent saber-light actually blasted the sharp claws aside, landing against the creature’s scaly body.

BOOM!

The bluish-white scaled creature was actually knocked backwards, scales shattering at the point of impact and flying out of its body. It slammed into the stone walls of the pit with a bang, causing the stone to tremble and multiple cracks to appear.

In raw power alone…with the aid of the warblade, Ning was actually able to overpower even the bluish-white beast. It was the beast’s own fault for being too stupid; it had a mighty body that was stronger than even the body of a World God, but the way in which it was able to use that power was quite crude. It simply had far too low a level of insight into the Dao.

Or perhaps it might have no insights at all. Perhaps all it knew was just the most basic of attacks.

“AWOOOO!” After smashing into the stone walls, the bluish-white creature suddenly raised its head and let out a furious howl.

Its howling voice contained a strange, rippling wind to it.

Whoosh.

The sound of its voice was carried away by the Windsource and instantly transmitted to a different region.

Deep within a distant pit, a windbeast that had been slumbering suddenly raised its head. It murmured softly to himself, “An invader?”

“There’s an invader?”

“That kid Fuu hasn’t been alive long enough. He’s too weak, which is why we had him stand watch over one of the least dangerous regions. And yet he’s asking for reinforcements?”

The windbeasts all heard this sound.

Some of them had powerful auras, some of them had weak auras. Some of them actually shook their heads and sighed.

Whoooooooosh.

Nine of the closest windbeasts transformed into streaks of light, flying through the wind like fish swimming through water. When Ning had seen the bluish-white creature fly at high speed against the wind, he had been so terrified that he immediately fled. Only after actually fighting it did he realize that he was actually able to beat it. These windbeasts were born in the Windsource, after all; this was why they were able to fly within the wind with such ease.

“His body is too tough. Even my warblade is only able to chip off a few of its scales.” Upon seeing this, Ning instantly lost all desire to fight against the creature any longer. In a place as dangerous as this, he couldn’t just waste his azureflower energy willy-nilly; if he ran out, he’d die!

“Time to leave.”

Ning quickly clambered upwards, moving more than a thousand kilometers.

“Running?” The bluish-white scaled monster continued its pursuit.

“What was that?!” As Ning climbed upwards while blocking the attacks from the first monster, Ning suddenly saw a second streak of light fly towards him from down below.

“Another one?!” Ning was horrified. “Move! Move! Move!” Ning was truly panicking now. He used four of his arms to furiously climb upwards while his other two arms used the warblade to furiously strike down upon the chasing windbeast. Each blow consumed quite a bit of his azureflower energy, but each time the windbeast suffered just slight injuries. It refused to give up the chase.

Whoooosh!

Ning continued to climb upwards at high speed. “I should be just a few thousand kilometers away from the exit. Once I escape the pit, the gray wind won’t be able to cause me any trouble. I’ll easily be able to fly faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos and it’ll be much easier for me to deal with that monster.”

“You can’t even deal with a single invader?” The second streak of light had arrived as well.

“Help me kill him,” the first windbeast growled.

“Shit.” Ning gritted his teeth as he saw yet another streak of light appear in the depths of the pit.

“How many of the damned things are there?” As Ning continued to climb upwards, he defended himself with two hands. He now wielded the warblade with one hand, using it to launch incredibly powerful attacks. With the other hand, he activated the slab that he had picked up, causing a flexible sword to immediately fly out from within it. This was the second Dao weapon which Ning had acquired.

The warblade was used to launch ferocious, savage attacks. The flexible sword was used to execute the ‘Shadowless stance’ and other unpredictable sword stances.

As for Ning’s other four hands, he continued to use them to frantically climb upwards.

Boom! Boom!

“Kill!”

Two of the windbeasts furiously assaulted Ning, and he defended against them while continuing to climb upwards. Right at this moment…the third windbeast arrived as well.

“B-b-but…” Not only was Ning facing the attacks of three windbeasts, he could see two more streaks of light soaring upwards from the dark depths of the pit. One of those streaks of light moved with incredible speed; clearly, it was the fastest of the five.

“If I let them surround me, I’m dead.”

Ning furiously defended against their attacks, using his Dao weapons to block. He also redirected some of their attacks, making it so that the three windbeasts interfered with each other’s attacks.

“There it is!” Ning could see the bright opening above him.

“Gotta charge out!” Ning could already see the fourth windbeast, the incredibly quick one, drawing very close to him.

BOOM! Ning intentionally let himself be hit by a claw strike.

Swoosh! He borrowed the power of the blow, letting it sweep him upwards and shoot him outside of the pit entrance.

“GRWAAAAR!”

“Fuu, not only were you unable to kill him, you actually hindered me.”

“You idiot! He was barely able to handle me. You were useless!”

“Both of you, shut up.”

“All three of you idiots, shut up!” The fourth windbeast let out a roar, causing the other three to fall silent.

The four windbeasts all looked upwards, a look of rage and dread in their dark yellow eyes. They didn’t dare fly out of their pit, as the Ruins were far too incredibly dangerous. Even they were only able to live peacefully in their local part of the Hundred Streams. There were many places which were death traps even for them.

“Eh?” After flying out of the pit and away from the gray wind, Ning landed on the ground. He glanced towards the deep, enormous pit in surprise. “They didn’t come out?”

“Whew. I finally escaped!”

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Chapter 25 – The House By the Lake

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 25 – The House By the Lake

Ji Ning kept a firm hold on the ground. Only when he saw that no windbeasts were emerging did he relax and glance at his surroundings.

“Eh?” Ning slowly rose to his feet, looking around himself with surprise.

The vast skies were filled with streams of gray energy that criss-crossed in the air. A stream of gray energy was flowing through the endless pit he had just crawled out of as well. Ning immediately understood that the gray energy was actually the gray ‘wind’ which had enveloped him and Hellsword earlier.

“When Hellsword and I were fighting, we must’ve activated some restrictive spell by accident, resulting in us being swept into that tornado.” Ning carefully inspected the area. “If those windbeasts were too afraid to come out here, it has to mean that this place is dangerous.”

He was in a vast new realm. Aside from some enormous pits, Ning could also see some enormous continents, mountains, valleys, and lakes.

Everything looked so peaceful!

However, Ning’s heartrate began to speed up. Ever since he had manifested the azureflower seal after merging the Nine Chaos Seals, Ning had become even more keenly attuned to the essence of destiny. He was able to easily see the future destinies of mortals at one glance, and he could now sense that destiny was warning him that this place was incredibly dangerous. It was as though those peaceful-looking continents, mountains, and lakes were all filled with danger.

“What should I do?” Ning raised his head to stare towards the skies, then towards the area around him. “I can sense that every single direction is filled with grave danger.”

“If every direction is filled with danger…and if the pits are filled with all those windbeasts…”

“Forget it. I’ll just randomly choose a direction. It’ll be up to luck.”

After pondering for a moment, Ning had no choice but to harden his heart. Warblade and flexible sword in hands, he began to carefully move forward. If every direction was filled with danger, then picking a particular direction didn’t matter.

Ning walked out of the barren wastelands and into a grasslands. Although he sensed tremendous danger the entire time, he made his way forward safely.

“Maybe I’ll be able to walk out of this place,” Ning consoled himself.

“The lake is quite pretty.”

He saw a lake within the grasslands, so beautiful that it looked like the tears of a lovely maiden.

“I hope nothing dangerous suddenly pops out of the lake.” Ning continued to remain vigilant, and he even kept the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens around him, so as to help forewarn him of any incoming danger. Of course, if he wasn’t strong enough no amount of vigilance would matter.

Whoosh!

A ripple suddenly spread out and encompassed Ning, causing his surroundings to change and transform.

“This is…?” Ning stared at his surroundings. He could still see the beautiful lake, but a quiet little residence had appeared by the side of the lake. The house was emanating ripples that were so powerful, they caused Ning to shiver.

“What’s going on?”

Ning could sense how terrifying and deadly that house was. He wanted to move away from it, but no matter how he walked he was unable to move farther than three kilometers away from the house. It was as though space itself was twisted here.

“If I can’t leave, I suppose I’ll have to go over and take a look,” Ning mused to himself. “The person who built this house has to be far more powerful than me. If he wants me dead, I won’t be able to escape.”

He had no other options. His only choice was to go forward, and he did so, gently pushing open the gates to the courtyard of the house.

Inside the courtyard was a garden and a grassy lawn, as well as several seats that were scattered across it. In the center was a graceful, elegant house that emanated ripples of tremendous power. Ning walked over towards the house.

Three of the four sides of the house had windows, while one side had a door. The windows were made from wood and could be easily seen through.

“Eh?” Ning could vaguely make out a figure seated in the lotus position inside the house. This caused Ning to feel quite shocked. However, Ning still chose to walk forward to the doors of the house.

Inside the house, there was an old man dressed in golden Daoist robes who was seated atop a prayer mat. The old man’s eyes were closed, and he was holding a horsetail whisk in his hands. Next to him lay a miniature nine-level pagoda.

His Daoist robes, his whisk, the prayer mat, the nine-level pagoda…everything emanated ripples of absolutely shocking power.

“That nine-level pagoda in particular radiates an aura that is a hundred times as powerful as the aura of the warblade. This was the aura which Violetjewel gave me before I bound it.” Ning was stunned. “Can it be that this nine-level pagoda is also a treasure that is on a higher level than that of Dao weapons?”

Ji Ning was no longer the same person he was back in the Three Realms. He was now a vastly more experienced figures.

Chaos treasures were generally wielded by Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

Dao weapons were generally employed by World Gods and Chaos Immortals.

As for weapons which surpassed Dao weapons like Violetjewel or this tower…they were items which would drive any World-level expert mad with desire!

“His robes, the whisk, the prayer mat…those three are all Dao weapons, and they each have auras that are as strong as the aura of my warblade.” Ning’s own eyes were shining with desire as well. The treasures that he could see were already enough to drive any World-level expert mad with lust.

“But…it seems as though this old man is already dead?”

Ning sensed no life energy at all from the old man’s body, only an aura of ancient might.

“I’ll give it a test.” Ning moved many steps backwards, then willed his Protocosmic spirit-rope to fly out. Ning didn’t dare to actually approach the old man and try to take the treasures himself, for fear of activating some sort of dangerous spell or formation. Thus, he instead willed his Protocosmic spirit-rope to loop around the nine-level pagoda, intending to tug it over. If he could acquire that pagoda, this entire trip would be more than worth it.

The pagoda was something which even World-level experts would go crazy for. The only reason why World God Northrest was able to acquire Violetjewel was due to the assistance of Vastheaven Palace. For Ning to be able to so easily acquire another such treasure was simply a bit of staggeringly good luck.

Rumble…

As the Protocosmic rope moved within nine meters of the old man, a wind suddenly arose around him. As the wind blew past the Protocosmic spirit-rope, half of it was instantly disintegrated into dust.

A series of words suddenly appeared in midair, every single character gleaming with golden light.

The fellow Daoist who is capable of defeating the Windsource Formation shall acquire my treasures.

Ning was filled with both shock and desire.

Windsource Formation? What was the connection between it and the Hundred Streams of the Windsource? Could it be that this old man was the creator of these ancient ruins? If he really was, could this house be the house where he lived? Ning couldn’t quite believe it.

“If you die, you die. Why did you have to put up these formations and spells?” Ning’s head hurt. He had grown dramatically more powerful, but he was still just barely capable of damaging a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. To instantly disintegrate it into dust? He was far from capable of such a thing.

“Let me try it again.”

Ning willed a large battleaxe to appear. This battleaxe was covered with divine runes, and it was a top-grade Chaos treasure.

“A top-grade Chaos treasure…I refuse to believe you can destroy it.” Ning immediately used his Immortal energy to send the battleaxe to fly towards the seated old man. Once more, when the axe reached nine meters of the old man, a wind arose. Hissssss! When the wind blew across the axe, it emitted an ear-piercing hiss.

The axe remained undamaged…but it was unable to advance any further.

“What’s going on?” Ning could sense incredibly powerful energy blocking his battleaxe’s path. No matter how hard he ‘pushed’, he was unable to make it advance at all.

Swoosh.

Suddenly, a stream of energy flew out from the nine-level pagoda next to the seated old man. The stream of energy transformed into the appearance of a black-robed child.

“Stop trying. You aren’t even a World-level expert. Why are you wasting your time?” The black-robed child snapped rather irritably.

“You…” Ning was startled.

“I’m a treasure spirit. Haven’t you seen one before?” The black-robed child glanced sideways at the old man’s corpse, then said, “And you can stop lusting after the old man’s treasures. Even if you managed to break through the Windsource Formation, you’d have to swear a lifeblood oath first. Only after accomplishing it would you be allowed to acquire these treasures. As for breaking through the formation? Only peak World Gods would have a shot at it.”

“Only peak World Gods would have a shot at it?” Ning was puzzled. “What level was this senior at?”

“He was just a peak World God as well.” The black-robed child smirked. “However, he was one of the servants of Daolord Windsource, who gave him a few treasures like the Windsource Formation. Although no one is currently commanding it, it’ll still be very hard for anyone to break through it.”

Ning nodded slowly.

This all made sense. The deceased World God had used the phrase, ‘the fellow Daoist who is capable of defeating the Windsource Formation’; for him to use the words ‘fellow Daoist’ meant that the person capable of defeating the formation would probably on the same general level of power as he had been.

“Ugh. When Daolord Windsource died, all of his servants accompanied him to the grave. If he died, he died, but why the hell did the old man have to keep me trapped here as well?” The black-robed child sighed, then shook his head. “I’m a venerable treasure that has a quintessence inside, but I’ve been trapped here for ages. What a waste!”

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Chapter 26 – Escaping Alive

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 26 – Escaping Alive

A magic treasure that had a quintessence core within it?

Right. Violetjewel had a quintessence core within it as well. Its physical body had suffered incredible damage but the quintessence core inside of it was completely unharmed.

“Don’t you want to leave?” Ji Ning asked.

“Of course I do. I’m bored to death here.” The black-robed child glanced sideways at Ning.

“Aside from breaking the Windforce Formation and swearing a lifeblood oath, is there truly no other way of taking you away?” Ning asked. “If you can tell me a way, I’ll definitely do my best to carry it out.”

“Well, there is.” The black-robed child nodded.

“There is? What?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“Become a Daolord first,” the black-robed child said.

Ning instantly felt speechless. The only Daolord in the Badlands Territory which Ning was aware of was Daolord Badlands. There might be other Daolords who were in seclusion, but regardless of how many were present, their level of power was a level far beyond Ning’s. If Ning truly did become a Daolord in the future, it wouldn’t be hard for him to acquire treasures such as this. Didn’t Daolord Windsource himself parcel out such treasures to his World God servants?

One could imagine how fabulously wealthy Daolords were!

“How many servants did Daolord Windsource have exactly?” Ning asked curiously.

“Kid, you aren’t even a World God yet.” The black-robed child shook his head, then said in a smug manner, “Let me broaden your horizons a bit, then.”

“Right, right.” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“Daolord Windsource had a rather weird disposition, but he truly was an incredible figure. He roved through the endless primordial chaos and journeyed through many of its territories. He directly enslaved over five hundred World-level experts, with more than a hundred others willingly joining him as retainers…” The black-robed child let out an amazed sigh. “In fact, he even had a Daolord as his retainer.”

“What?!” Ning was shocked.

“Incredible, right?” The black-robed child said smugly, “When Daolord Windsource descended upon this territory, the owner of this territory came out and welcomed him with great ceremony and courtesy.”

“But alas…I heard that Daolord Windsource failed in his attempts to merge his Hundred Streams together down. Before dying, he exiled his eldest disciple, the one who had become a Daolord, as well as some other disciples and retainers. He then led all of his slaves and the rest of his World-level retainers to this place.”

“According to what Daolord Windsource said, this was his ancient homeland. He left this place long, long ago and voyaged through the outside the world. If he was to die, he wished to die at home.”

“However, his ancestral chaosworld had vanished long ago. Thus, Daolord Windsource established the Windsource Chaosworld in the same location where his ancient chaosworld had been. He then established the Windsource Ruins. Supposedly, he did all this to show off all the insights into the Dao he had gained during his life. After leaving his Dao behind…he died.” The black-robed child pointed towards the seated old man. “Look. That’s one of the poor bastards who served him and was forced to join him in death.”

“More than five hundred World-level experts joined him in death?” Ning was speechless.

“Right.” The black-robed child nodded. “Daolords, y’know? Daolord Windsource was actually pretty peaceful. Some of the crazier Daolords will go completely berserk. When they die, they will make their entire territory die along with them, going so far as to slaughter every living being they can find before dying in a sea of corpses.”

Ning truly was unable to say anything.

Make an entire territory die with them, then continuing to slaughter until they themselves perished?

Madmen.

The more powerful a person was, the more terrifying they would be when gripped by madness. It seemed as though Daolord Windsource really was fairly calm by comparison.

“So you are saying that more than five hundred World-level experts died in these ruins?” Ning sighed in amazement.

“A Samsara Daolord, more than five hundred World-level experts, and an enormous number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all died here,” the black-robed child said. “Over the course of countless years, quite a few treasure-seeking cultivators have died here as well, leaving behind many of their own treasures. Thus, this place really is like a giant treasure vault. The only question is…are you strong enough to loot it?”

“You are actually pretty lucky.” The black-robed child let out a sigh. “You actually were able to find this place. The wind is formless and fickle, and thus the internal structure of Daolord Windsource’s estate is also ever-changing. Since you were able to find this place, you now have a chance of being able to escape.”

“A chance of being able to escape?” Ning was surprised and delighted.

“Right. There’s a pavilion over there. Once you go inside of it, it’ll teleport you to the outer regions. The outer regions are much safer than this place,” the black-robed child said. “Alright, that’s all. Hurry up and beat it. You were lucky enough to find this estate this time, but you probably won’t be so lucky next time.”

After speaking, the black-robed youth flew back into the nine-level pagoda.

Ning once more turned his gaze towards the golden-robed old man who was seated in the lotus position within the house. He couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. This old man was a peak World God; most likely, he was on par with even the likes of World God Northrest or even stronger. And yet…his destiny had been to accompany his master unto death!

Daolord Windsource had only driven away some of his disciples and retainers. The rest of his retainers, along with his slaves, had all died with him here. Apparently, the retainers who had died were the ones he didn’t like. The ones he did like, he had exiled along with those disciples, sparing them instead of having them die with him.

“The treasures are right there in front of me, but I just can’t get at them.”

“Forget it. Time to go.”

Ning knew that luck and fortune couldn’t be forced. If he really was lucky, he’d be able to find a World God’s corpse that wasn’t protected by any formations or spells at all, allowing him to easily take away any treasures. That would really be a helluva stroke of luck!

And yet, he was still fairly lucky. Although he hadn’t been able to acquire the treasures, he had learned of a safe route out of here.

After leaving the house, he turned to glance one final time at the golden-robed elder’s corpse. Only then did Ning begin to make his way through the courtyard. There were a total of three pavilions within the courtyard, but Ning was in no rush to leave. Instead, he first inspected the other rooms.

“There might be some other treasures left here,” Ning mused to himself.

“Eh?”

Ning really did find something inside one of the rooms.

This was a room with a study. There was a table here, a quill pen having been tossed atop of it. The table was covered with golden paper, but there was plenty of paper scattered on the ground as well.

“Damn. Damn. Damn.”

“Damn me for choosing to serve that old bastard.”

“Damn that old bastard for being unfair and partial.”

“You damn well deserved to lose your Dao and die!”

The words on the paper were filled with hatred. In truth, the retainers didn’t realize what had happened right away. Only after Daolord Windsource had sealed their truesouls did they understand what was happening. Given that it was guaranteed that their souls would soon be shattered, how could these slaves and retainers possibly feel afraid of him any longer? For them to merely vent their rage on a few pieces of paper was nothing!

A pity for them that Daolord Windsource had already went into silent seclusion to wait for death to come. How could he possibly care about the ravings and curses of these ant-like beings?

In the instant of his death, the seals covering the truesouls of his slaves and retainers were all activated, causing all of their truesouls to be destroyed as well.

“This World God must’ve been fond of calligraphy. This pen is actually a Dao weapon.” Ning was amazed. This was the first time he had seen a pen-shaped Dao weapon. He hurriedly picked it up and easily bound it to himself.

The quill of this pen could transform into countless strands of white thread that could entangle one’s foes, while the tip of the pen could be used as an awl or dagger.

It could be used for soft attacks or hard attacks. This truly was a fierce weapon. However, the deceased World God had long ago grown accustomed to using it for calligraphy.

“If I keep searching, perhaps I’ll find more.” Ning thoroughly searched the rest of the rooms but found nothing else. Still, Ning was in an excellent mood. A quick search had resulted in him gaining a pen-shaped Dao weapon which other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would go mad over.

“Time to go.” Not hesitating at all, Ning immediately began to move towards the pavilions.

There were three pavilions in total. Ning used his Immortal energy to take control of the nearby grass to test the pavilions out. When he sent the grass into the second pavilion, the grass suddenly disappeared as it was teleported away.

“There it is. It really was teleported away. I wonder if it was teleported to some place safe or some place dangerous.” Ning could sense the ripples from the teleportation. “At least there’s a chance of getting out of here. In I go.”

Ning strode forward, entering the pavilion. As he did so…swoosh! He disappeared into thin air.

Ning re-appeared somewhere else in the middle of the air.

“Where am I?” Ning glanced downwards, a look of delight instantly appearing on his face. “The region I was in previously?”

He had been journeying through this region for more than a year before encountering and battling Hellsword. Only then had he been swept into the Hundred Streams of the Windsource. Now, he had made it back to this dangerous region. However, Ning now knew that compared to the core regions he had just escaped, this ‘dangerous region’ and the swamps were all incredibly safe. Even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were able to wander through this region with ease!

“I managed to come back with quite a haul of treasures. If I died in there, all my treasure-scavenging would’ve been for nothing.” Ning was filled with contentment and happiness.

“Eh?”

Ning suddenly stared off into the distance. His vision was incredibly keen, especially after the azureflower energy began reinforcing every part of his body. He was now able to see to great distances with the naked eye, and he immediately saw a warship drifting through the distant skies next to a chain of mountains. This warship had been resized to be merely a few dozen meters long, and it clung tightly to the chain of mountains.

“Elder God Skysouth?” Ning immediately recognized the warship. He couldn’t help but murmur to himself, “It seems the two of us really are destined to clash.”

Swoosh.

Ning immediately began to fly towards the warship, the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens swirling around him.

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Chapter 27 – Ji Ning and the Flamefairy

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 27 – Ji Ning and the Flamefairy

Karma was truly a wondrous, mysterious thing.

As Ji Ning flew towards the warship, he couldn’t help but sigh. When he had first entered the Ruins, Elder God Skysouth had relied on his army of slaves to attack Ning and attempt to seize Ning’s treasures. In truth, Ning didn’t hold much of a grudge. Anyone who entered the world of cultivation had to abide by its many unspoken rules, and combat was extremely common within the Ruins. If Ning truly had been killed, he would’ve only blamed himself for being too weak.

Back then, he had elected to flee.

After roaming about the Hundred Streams of the Windsource, he had ended up acquiring multiple Dao weapons and had mastered the Nine Chaos Seals, materializing the azureflower seal and growing dramatically more powerful. And now, as soon as he exited the Hundred Streams, he had run into Elder God Skysouth once more. If there was no enmity whatsoever between the two, Ning probably would’ve just left; that was the type of person he was. But now that there was a bit of bad blood…Ning didn’t hesitate at all in choosing to chase after him.

This, too, was karma!

“Destiny and karma truly do work in unfathomable ways.” Ning could sense the unfathomably distant and vast essence-river of destiny ebbing and surging.

He was now able to see the fate of mortals with but a single glance, discerning their future joys and sorrows.

Truly formidable cultivators, however…

Ning found it difficult to see their destinies.

Although destiny was often viewed as being abstruse, it actually operated on simple principles. Destiny was formed by the entangling of countless different strings of karma. For example, Ji Ning held a grudge against Old Man Yuan, which was why Ji Ning had ended up joining Fogstone and being stationed here on the Windsource Chaosworld! But of course, the secret workings of destiny were trillions of times more complicated than the simple ‘cause and effect’ of karma.

Ning understood another principle as well. The past was difficult to change, but the future was not.

For example, Ning might be able to see the destined life path of a mortal, but because the future had yet to actually happen, for that mortal’s destiny to be changed wouldn’t be too hard. For example, if a powerful cultivator suddenly chose to intervene in that mortal’s life, that mortal’s destiny would easily be changed.

The Book of Life and Death was a good example. It set down the destined fates of mortals, but if that mortal gained great karmic merit, his life could be completely changed.

In fact, Ning had the sneaking suspicion that some unfathomably powerful figures might be capable of reversing things that had already occurred in the past! For example…perhaps a cultivator whose truesoul was destroyed could be revived.

This was Ning’s greatest hope and goal as he continued on his path of cultivation. His greatest desire was to see his beloved wife be brought back to life.

Ning continued to chase after the warship, moving closer and closer to it, but his mind began to wander as he began to ponder on the workings of karma and destiny. In truth, he didn’t view Elder God Skysouth as much of an opponent.

A hundred Elder Gods in an Elder God Formation were very formidable and were capable of holding off even a World God for a period of time, but Ning didn’t intend to give Elder God Skysouth the chance to act as he pleased.

The warship continued to slowly fly through the mountains. Elder God Skysouth was seated on at the front of the ship, lazily watching the skies before him. Next to him was a table covered with wine and delicacies, along with two female servants who were attending to him. Behind him were six Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were maintaining a watchful vigilance.

In front of the warship, a blazing figure was fleeing at high speed. The area around this fiery-robed woman was filled with countless daggers of flame.

“Flamefairy.” Elder God Skysouth chortled. “You’ve been fleeing for quite some time now. I imagine you should understand that you won’t be able to escape me. If I wanted to, I could’ve caught you long ago. However, I chose not to. I can’t bear to see such an unmatchably beautiful Immortal maiden like yourself die within a place like this.”

“All I want you to do is be one of my retainers. Why must you be so stubborn?” Elder God Skysouth drained all the wine from his winecup. The female servant next to him smiled flirtatiously and quickly helped him fill it once more.

“Just a retainer?” The fleeing Su Youji laughed coldly.

“You look ravishing when you are angry, Flamefairy. Your [Libertine Dream] technique truly is alluring.” Elder God Skysouth couldn’t help but sigh in praise. “I’m not asking that much. All you need to do is serve me as a retainer while also being my pleasure-companion. What’s the point of cultivation? It is to be able to travel as far as we can on our paths with our hearts filled with pleasure. But for someone like me…I no longer have any hopes with regards to cultivation. All I can seek is excitement and pleasure, yes?”

“I train in the [Libertine Dream]. I cannot possibly become your pleasure-companion,” Su Youji sent mentally.

The [Libertine Dream] technique did not permit the user to lose her virginity.

This was a technique which Su Youji had devised for herself after she saw fragments of an ancient technique. Su Youji had improved with dramatic speed after developing this technique. She had been cultivating for less than a million years but had long ago become comparable to a supreme Elder God or Ancestral Immortal. However, because she was a Ki Refiner, she was a bit weaker than Fiendgod Body Refiners in close combat.

“The forbidden fruits taste the sweetest.” Elder God Skysouth let out a soft sigh, his voice echoing by Su Youji’s ears. “Someone like me can buy and sell even female Ancestral Immortals as chattel, but one as mesmerizing as you is almost impossible to find. I urge you to stop running. If you keep running around like this, you might wind up activating a dangerous formation of some sort.”

Elder God Skysouth was quite relaxed.

As soon as he had seen Flamefairy Su Youji, he had immediately desired to possess her and had tried to force her to become his retainer. She knew that she wasn’t a match for him and so had been willing to bow her head, but…the lifeblood oath which Elder God Skysouth had wanted her to swear had been simply too onerous. Although she was a ‘retainer’ in name, in reality she would be nothing more than a toy for him to enjoy. The reason why she was known as the Flamefairy was because she had an explosive, fiery temper. There was no way she would accept such terms.

She had trained for less than a million years. Even though she was just a Ki Refiner, she was still comparable to supreme Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. She had an extremely high level of insight into the Dao and could quite possibly reach the World-level of power. How could someone like her possibly be willing to become someone else’s plaything?

But Elder God Skysouth was quite patient. He was willing to slowly chase after her.

He had once tried to send his servants to chase after her, but she had furiously fled at maximum speed. Skysouth had immediately recalled his servants. Such a high-speed chase could easily result in the activation of some hidden formation, and he wasn’t willing to see the Flamefairy die like this.

And so, he had slowly chased after her.

With the Flamefairy fleeing at a fairly low speed, he wouldn’t be in much danger.

In addition, since she was running in front of him while he was slowly chasing from behind, she was essentially serving as a scout for him that was helping him test and see if the area up ahead was safe or not. Where else could he possibly find a free scout like her? He needed time to tame the Flamefairy’s unruly spirit anyhow.

To tame such a peerlessly beautiful Immortal woman was no easy feat. Time would be needed…but once he succeeded…

Just the thought of it made him quiver.

“Who is there?!” Elder God Skysouth suddenly put away his warship and turned to look behind himself.

The two female servants next to him were badly frightened, but the six Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals simply looked backwards with vigilance.

Behind them was a white-robed youth who was flying straight towards them, surrounded by countless golden beads that were swirling around him.

“Careful, Master.” The six were shocked, as they all recognized Ji Ning. The two most powerful of them had used treasures to attack Ning faster than the speed of light, but Ning had broken through their attacks with one blow and then easily escaped.

“The Sentinel?” Elder God Skysouth smirked.

Whooooooosh! A large group of Elder Gods immediately appeared around him. These were the hundred Elder Gods which Skysouth carried with him at all times inside an estate-treasure. This represented the greatest force he could muster. When traveling through the Ruins, he often put on a show of being weak. When he actually got close to other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, he would suddenly summon all of his subordinates.

“Kill him! Let’s see if he dares to flee through this region at high speed like before!” Elder God Skysouth pointed straight towards Ning.

He was no fool. Last time, when the two had fought each other, Skysouth had quickly realized that this ‘Sentinel’ was a formidable expert who had the power of a truly transcendent Elder God in power. Thus, this time he immediately ordered all hundred of his Elder Gods to attack! Last time, Ning had been able to escape because they were in the swamps; this time, they were in a much more dangerous region. Logically speaking, he wouldn’t dare to flee at such high speed through it.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The hundred Elder Gods all immediately charged towards Ning.

“Him?” The fleeing Flamefairy, Su Youji, was glancing backwards as well. She saw that Elder God Skysouth had come to a halt and had instead turned his attention towards a white-robed youth.

She recognized that youth.

Over a year ago, this youth had flown past her. However, the two had only exchanged glances, not words.

“He’s in danger.” In her heart, Su Youji was definitely cheering for Ji Ning. She was filled with anger and hatred towards Elder God Skysouth.

Faced with a hundred attacking Elder Gods, Ning drew a thin, slender sword. This was the flexible Dao sword he had acquired earlier. It could be used as either a soft weapon or a hard weapon, and its slenderness made it very suitable for intricate, unpredictable sword-arts.

Whoosh.

Not only did Ning not flee, he instead charged straight towards the hundred.

“He isn’t fleeing?”

“He’s courting death.”

The hundred Elder Gods were filled with confidence. They didn’t fear anyone below the World-level of power in a frontal clash. Alright, perhaps they might fear one of those legendary monsters who could defeat World-level experts despite being mere Elder Gods…but what were the chances of running into such a figure?

“Kill!” “Die!” Saber-light and axe-light flashed through the air, howling towards Ning.

Swoosh.

Ning suddenly dramatically sped up, instantly surpassing the speed of light as he shot out in a solitary arc, moving past all hundred Elder Gods. The Elder Gods wanted to hack at him with their weapons, but none of them were able to attack faster than the speed of light. They couldn’t even touch the hem of Ning’s clothes, to say nothing of Ning himself. Ning easily moved past them.

Swoosh. Ning flew straight towards Elder God Skysouth.

“How?! Impossible!” Elder God Skysouth was truly frightened now. There were very few experts capable of moving faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Generally speaking, only World Gods were capable of this! The Lord of All Fiends was one of the very few exceptions. He was so ridiculously fast that even Mother Nuwa, who had just become a World God, was unable to catch up to him.

“Stop him!” Skysouth hurriedly directed his six bodyguards to defend him.

“Quick, all of you come back!” He hurriedly ordered the rest of the hundred Elder Gods to return as well.

Whoosh. Ning had arrived.

The six bodyguards all readied their various weapons and treasures, using them to attack Ning.

“Gotta hold. Gotta hold! If I can hold for just a few moments, my Elder God Formation will make it back here.” Elder God Skysouth hurriedly manifested a three-headed, six-armed form as well. Each of his six arms wielded a long hook, and he sought to use them to defend and buy himself some time.

But alas, the white-robed youth had already arrived.

Sword-light flashed.

The attacks of the six bodyguards all missed. They did their best but were unable to even so much as touch Ning.

Slash! A sword suddenly stabbed at Elder God Skysouth’s throat. Because he wore a protective suit of armor, the sword wasn’t able to pierce through his throat, but…the powerful force contained within Ning’s sword was powerful enough to cause Skysouth’s body to be instantly disintegrated.

“You-…” Skysouth stared in disbelief at the white-robed Ning. How could this be? Even during their previous battle, this Sentinel had been limited to the speed of light. His sword-arts weren’t as fast as they were now either! Why was he so terrifyingly strong this time?

But of course, he had no idea that the azureflower mist energy in Ning’s body had made him both stronger and faster, allowing him to easily overpower the limits of the Heavenly Daos with his sword through raw strength. Ning’s sword-arts were profound to begin with, and this time they were significantly faster than before.

Whoosh.

Skysouth’s body completely disintegrated. How could someone like him possibly endure a head-on sword-strike by a World-level expert?

His six bodyguards, his two female servants, his hundred Elder God slaves…their eyes instantly turned dim and all signs of life vanished from their bodies. They were slaves. Long ago, their lives had become inextricably linked to the life of their master! This was a way of ensuring that slaves would truly work hard to protect their masters. If their master died, they would not be able to escape death.

“To tell you the truth, you actually had a chance at staying alive.” Ning began glancing through the treasures which Elder God Skysouth had left behind. “If you had kept those hundred Elder Gods around you at all times, I wouldn’t have been able to get you.”

World-level experts were able to move faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. How, then, would a hundred Elder Gods in a formation be able to fight back against such a foe? All other methods were suicidal; the only method was to defeat motion with stillness.

If Elder God Skysouth had ordered the hundred Elder Gods to stay around him and protect him at all times, there was no way Ning would’ve been able to breach such a turtle-shell defense. However, Skysouth had been so confident in his ability to defeat anyone aside from a World-level figure that he had ordered all hundred Elder Gods to attack instead. This rendered his own defenses vulnerable enough that and any World-level expert would be capable of effortlessly dodging past the Elder God formation to slay him!

Skysouth couldn’t really be blamed. How could he have ever imagined that Ji Ning was this strong?

“B-but…” The distant Su Youji was completely dazed by what she saw. “He flies faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, his sword-arts are faster than the speed of light, and his blows are so powerful as to destroy an Elder God’s armor-protected body. Seven Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals fought against him, but they weren’t even able to touch his sword…what the hell level is this guy at?!”

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Chapter 28 – The First Retainer

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 28 – The First Retainer

“He can break through the limits of the Heavenly Daos as he pleases.”

“Quite a few of Elder God Skysouth’s servants were supreme Elder Gods, but they were still unable to so much as touch him. They were like toddlers facing off against a giant.” Su Youji was truly stunned by what she had just seen.

Prior to mastering the Nine Chaos Seals and manifesting the azureflower seal, even if Ning had Violetjewel on him he would’ve still had to use it to block the enemy’s weapons. This time, however, he had the azureflower energy powering his body, upgrading it considerably and making it much faster in every way. His enhanced body was fast, his sword was fast, and his sword-arts were incredibly profound. This was why his enemies hadn’t even been able to touch him.

“Is he a World-level expert?”

“But he clearly is an Elder God. His Elder God aura is very noticeable. I saw him just a few years ago; he definitely was an Elder God back then. There’s no mistaking it at all.” Su Youji’s heart was shaking.

She had suddenly thought of something.

It was fairly easy for most Elder Gods to become ranked as ‘standard’ Elder Gods or ‘elite’ Elder Gods. ‘Supreme’ Elder Gods would be considered experts. As for ‘transcendent’ Elder Gods, they were truly formidable figures, and the generals of the Fogstone Army were all at that level. When they used certain weapons or certain explosive techniques, they might even be able to temporarily reach the World level of power. When Ning had first gone to Fogstone, he was just barely at the World God level of power when he used Violetjewel. However, if he had battled against a true World God, he probably would’ve been defeated in a single blow.

But according to the legends…

There were some true monsters who could accomplish the impossible!

They were truly invincible amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals…and some of them were so terrifyingly strong as to be able to slay even World Gods and Chaos Immortals! However, less than one in a million Elder Gods would ever reach such a level of power.

“I actually ended up running this one of those legendary monsters.” Su Youji grew excited.

Someone like Ning was capable of fighting against World-level experts despite merely being an Elder God and Ancestral Immortal. Once he became a World God, he would instantly become one of the most elite of World Gods!

“If I miss an opportunity like this, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.” Su Youji quickly came to her decision.

All this seemed to happen in slow motion, but in truth it happened in an instant.

After slaying Skysouth, Ning waved his hand and caused the corpses of thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals to be swept into his storage treasure. After putting them away, he said, “I’ll find a suitable burial ground for some of these corpses in this estate-world. The deceased figures had all died on their own paths of Immortal cultivation; Ning would rather bury them than allow their corpses to remain there in the air. He wanted to build a special graveyard for Immortals and Fiendgods here, so as to constantly remind himself that his path was a perilous one that required the utmost of caution.

“Fellow Daoist!” The distant fiery-robed Flamefairy immediately flew towards him.

Ning turned his head to glance at her, immediately recognizing her. He had encountered her a few years ago when he had first entered this region. He nodded slightly. “It seems we truly do have a bit of fate connecting us.”

“Indeed.” Su Youji said curiously, “Don’t you recognize me?”

“You are…?” Ning looked at her.

Ning had only purchased a single star map, one which primarily explained the various major organizations located within the Badlands Territory. It focused on the World-level experts as well as a few incredibly powerful Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. As for the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who spent most of their time roaming and adventuring, there was very little information regarding them. This was why Ning wasn’t able to immediately recognize figures such as Elder God Skysouth.

Hellsword had belonged to one of the local organization; he was simply out on a brief adventure. This was why Ning recognized him.

“My name is Su Youji. Most people refer to me as the ‘Flamefairy’,” Su Youji said.

“You can simply address me as Sunrise,” Ning said.

“Oh.” Su Youji looked at Ning, her eyes shining. “Fellow Daoist Sunrise, would you be willing to accept me as your retainer?”

“Retainer?” Ning was startled for a moment before understanding that the Flamefairy must have seen him slay Elder God Skysouth. He had long ago heard that some extremely powerful Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would have other such figures be willing to serve them as retainers. However, it was incredibly rare for someone to voluntarily offer to join someone in such a fashion!

“I’m a Ki Refiner but I an comparable to a supreme Elder God,” Su Youji said hurriedly. “I’ve trained for less than a million years and stand a chance of becoming a World-level expert.”

A retainer who had a chance of becoming a World-level expert was completely different from one who did not.

“Oh?” Ning carefully scrutinized Su Youji.

He did indeed wish to acquire some retainers; in fact, if he wasn’t able to find enough, he would go and purchase some slaves. Although he was now very powerful, even World-level experts had need of an army of cultivators, to say nothing of him. An army of a thousand Elder Gods in a formation could very well slay even a World-level figure! However, this was mostly dependent on the strength of the combination formation as well as sturdy Immortal estates that could resist outside attacks.

This allowed them to both attack or retreat in relatively safety. Who wouldn’t want such an army?

However, a formation that could use a thousand Elder Gods or a thousand Ancestral Immortals wasn’t easily acquired. Even if Ning did manage to acquire one, he would need a number of commanders who had reached very high levels of comprehension in the Dao.

“A Ki Refiner?” Ning looked at Su Youji. “Attack me using your most powerful techniques. If I find you acceptable, you may be my retainer.”

“Alright.” Su Youji’s eyes lit up. “Be careful.”

“Go!” Su Youji raised her milky-white hand, pointing towards Ning with a finger as red light flashed in her eyes.

BOOM!!! Nine streaks of fiery red light simultaneously shot out around her. If one carefully inspected them, one would see that every single stream of fiery red light was actually formed from an enormous number of fiery blades. These nine streams of fiery red light joined together into a perfect whole, coming to form a beautiful, nine-tailed bird. The bird’s entire body blazed with flames as it charged straight towards Ning.

It had an aura of tremendous power and incomparable dominance.

“She’s merely an Ancestral Immortal, yet she has such tremendous power. And I have the feeling…that this technique hasn’t revealed its full power yet.” Ning instantly understood that the Flamefairy had been telling the truth. She did indeed possess a high level of insight; in this regard, she was probably comparable to transcendent Elder Gods in power. However, because she was a Ki Refiner and didn’t have access to any powerful divine abilities, in battle she was merely comparable to a supreme Elder God.

Ning stretched out with his right hand. It increased dramatically in length, transforming to become dozens of meters in size as his palm became as crystalline as jade.

BOOM!

The nine-tailed firebird slammed directly against Ning’s palm. Countless sparks of fiery light appeared on the surface of Ning’s palm, but in the end the firebird was completely destroyed while Ning’s palm was completely undamaged.

“I wasn’t even able to shake him.” Su Youji was secretly shocked by what she saw. “So he’s this powerful, even in terms of just raw strength?”

When Ning had killed Elder God Skysouth, he had focused on speed and sword-arts. This time, he revealed his terrifying raw strength.

“Mm.” Ning looked at Su Youji and nodded. “Very well. I’ll accept you as my retainer. Here’s an oathstone. Take a look for yourself.”

There were two types of retainer relationships.

The first type of relationship was like the one between Saber and Godfiend Witherspike. His status had been nearly identical to that of his master’s. In this type of relationship, both the master and the retainer would swear lifeblood oaths; only then would the two trust each other. But of course, the master’s lifeblood oath would be much looser.

The second type of retainer involved a relationship like the one between Daolord Windsource and some of his World Gods. Those World Gods had chosen to serve him in the hopes that he would provide them with guidance and tutelage. They naturally had a much lower status than him. All of them had to swear lifeblood oaths to Daolord Windsource, but the Daolord naturally would never swear one to them. Whenever he was in the mood, he would occasionally impart them with a bit of guidance. That would be enough to make those World Gods delirious with joy.

The relationship between Ning and Su Youji belonged to the first type.

Su Youji feared just one thing…that Ji Ning would force himself upon her. Her [Libertine Dream] technique was one which required her to be a virgin until the day she became a World God. Given how strong Ning was, if he wanted to force himself upon her there was no way she’d be able to fight back.

When Ning heard Su Youji’s request, he felt absolutely speechless. Still, in the end he just chuckled and swore the oath.

“Youji greets you, Master.” After the two swore their lifeblood oaths, the relationship between them had changed permanently. Su Youji beamed at Ning as she bowed, her smile filled with endless charm.

Ning nodded and smiled as well. “You are the very first retainer I’ve ever accepted.”

“You’ll definitely accept more and more in the future, Master.” Su Youji’s eyes were shining with light. “But I’ll always be your first.”

“Let’s go. We’re going to leave the Ruins,” Ning said. “Oh, right. My true Daoist name is ‘Darknorth’. ‘Sunrise’ is just a Daoist name I’m temporarily using.”

“As you wish, Master.” Su Youji followed by Ning’s side, but in her heart she was mumbling to herself, “Darknorth? Darknorth?”

The two travelled more than ten thousand kilometers through the mountain range before finally reaching a region where the skies were filled with mist.

“Let’s go.”

Swoosh. Swoosh.

The two immediately soared into the skies, flying into the mist. They then disappeared into thin air.

The Windsource Ruins were perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist. Whenever you found a place in the dangerous areas or in the swamps where you could see the mist, all you had to do was fly into the mist and you would be able to leave! This was something everyone knew about the Windsource Ruins.

The Eastcalm Mountains. The Sunrise Courtyard.

Two streaks of light descended upon the courtyard.

“This is my residence,” Ning said.

“You live here on the Windsource Chaosworld, Master?” Su Youji was surprised.

“Right. I’m a Sentinel of Fogstone,” Ning said. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh. He had spent quite a few years wandering the Ruins, but Elder God Mountain Eater and the other soldiers stationed here had never sought him out. Ning had ordered that they were to immediately contact him if the forces of God Emperor Blacklotus invaded. Once they shattered the message talisman which Ning had given them, Ning would immediately know what had happened and would return from the Ruins.

Still, it made sense. He had spent a hundred years in training without any attacks occurring. This most recent adventure had only lasted a few years.

“Choose a place for yourself to live in,” Ning instructed.

“Yes, Master.” Su Youji turned her head to glance at a nearby room, then pointed towards it and said, “Then I’ll live right over here.”

Ning nodded, then retired to his own private rooms. He began to carefully inspect the treasures he had acquired during this journey through the Ruins. He had acquired quite a few treasures, as well as several storage-type treasures which he hadn’t even had the chance to inspect carefully yet.

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Chapter 29 – Reaping the Rewards

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 29 – Reaping the Rewards

Half a day later.

Ji Ning was seated by himself at the highest point on the mountain where the Sunrise Courtyard was located. He was staring at the vast skies, the chains of mountains, and the distant plains.

“I really made a killing this time!” Ning let out a blissful sigh.

Ning had already bound all of the treasures he had acquired in the Ruins, including the storage treasures. He had also completely finished sorting through the items in the storage treasures as well. There had indeed been a number of unexpected surprises for Ning, such as a Chaos-level estate-treasure which Ning suspected was originally owned by a World-level expert!

This was because this estate-treasure actually had a pair of Dao weapons within it! It also had a star map and a jade slip containing information regarding the Windsource Ruins, both of which seemed to be far better than what an Ancestral Immortal or Elder God should be capable of acquiring.

The star map included records of the Badlands Territory and five nearby territories, with the Badlands Territory having the most detailed markings. Every Elder God and Ancestral Immortal who had even the slightest bit of renown was recorded down within this star map, including even the newer ones like Su Youji the Flamefairy. Generally speaking, only World-level experts could acquire star maps of such detail which covered such a vast expanse.

And that jade slip! The World-level expert who originally owned it must have sought out a great deal of information regarding the Windsource Ruins, as the jade slip contained detailed records of the Ruins, describing the outermost swamp region, the outer region, the inner region, and the core region.

The outer region was the dangerous area where Ning had encountered Su Youji. It was a place where Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals often ventured through.

The inner region included the Hundred Streams of the Windsource. Many of the World-level servants of Daolord Windsource had been stationed in the inner region and had died there as well. The inner region was far more dangerous than the outer region.

The core region was the place where Daolord Windsource had lived. Not even Daolord Badlands or Waterwind had dared to venture too deeply into that place.

“If we add in these two Dao weapons I found in that estate-treasure, I now have a total of five Dao weapons.” Ning was absolutely delighted.

Elder God Skysouth had left quite a few things behind after he died. The most precious item he had left behind was his Elder God Formation, but he had also left behind over a hundred Chaos treasures. Alas, he didn’t even have a single Dao weapon.

What Ning didn’t know was that Elder God Skysouth had actually found a Dao weapon many years ago. Knowing himself to be too weak to make proper use of it, Skysouth feared that other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would just take it from him! Thus, he instead sold the Dao weapon, using the proceeds to purchase many Elder God slaves as well as an Elder God Formation. Instantly, he became virtually invincible against anyone weaker than a World-level expert.

“Five Dao weapons, one Elder God Formation, and over three hundred Chaos treasures.” Ning nodded to himself. These were the main proceeds of this adventure.

“Five Dao weapons, with that warblade being the most valuable of the five. It should be considered a top-grade Dao weapon and is most likely worth roughly fifty cubes of chaos nectar.” Ning continued to quietly calculate mentally. “The other four all combined are probably worth fifty cubes as well! An Elder God Formation meant for a hundred Elder Gods is probably worth roughly ten cubes. As for the three hundred Chaos treasures, some are high-quality while some are low-quality. They are probably worth roughly ten bottles of chaos nectar on average, for a total of around ten cubes.”

“All combined…they should be worth more than a hundred cubes!”

Ning sighed in amazement.

A single cube of chaos nectar was equivalent to a thousand bottles! A hundred cubes…that was comparable to the total networth of an ordinary World-level expert!

This was what made adventuring in these places so alluring!

Just the tiniest part of the fortune left behind in the ruins of a deceased Daolord was comparable to the networth of an ordinary World God!

And yet, the danger level in such a place was similarly high. As soon as Ning had entered the Ruins, he had been beset by dangers. He had damn near died when the windbeasts had chased after him. The only reason why he was able to safely return to the ‘outer region’ was because he had stupid good luck, resulting in him finding and entering that private estate.

To safely leave the inner region was incredibly difficult. Only around half of the World Gods who entered the place would be able to leave alive.

But for those who did manage to leave…almost every single one of them returned with great rewards.

“So many treasures…this should be enough to repair my sword, Violetjewel,” Ning mused to himself. Even if he used up all of the treasures, Ning wouldn’t feel any heartache. This was because Violetjewel was a weapon that had a quintessence core!

“Master.” The fiery-robed Su Youji walked out. As she looked at the seated white-robed youth, she felt quite happy.

She had been pursued by Elder God Skysouth for so long. Whenever she thought of his ugly smile and his demand for her to become his pleasure-companion, she felt extremely repulsed. When she looked at the seated Ning, she could sense the distance between the two of them.

There were many cultivators who tried to befriend her and move closer to her, hoping that they would have the chance to enjoy ‘the joy of fish when entering the sea’. But Ning, however, only gave her a feeling of distance. Clearly, he didn’t wish to be too intimate with her.

“Oh?” Ning turned his head to look at her. “Right. If you aren’t busy, accompany me on a trip to Fogstone.”

“Fogstone?” Su Youji was startled for a moment, then smiled beautifully. “Alright. When?”

“Right now,” Ning said.

Ning deeply desired to completely repair Violetjewel and restore it to its full level of power. According to the books he had read as well as the notes left behind by World God Northrest, weapons that had quintessence cores were incredibly marvelous. They surpassed all ordinary weapons and stood at a completely different level of existence.

Immortal cultivators of Ning’s level focused on attuning to certain essences, such as how Ning was attuning to the true essence of the sword in the hopes of reaching a higher level of skill with it.

However, Violetjewel had such an essence within it! This quintessence core was the most valuable part of Violetjewel. The stories regarding weapons like Violetjewel were simply too obscure and mystical; Ning wanted to see it for himself!

Ning and Su Youji flew together within his ship, departing from the Windsource Chaosworld and heading towards Fogstone.

Fogstone.

Last time Ning had come to this place, he had been an outsider. This time, he was a general of the Fogstone Army. He was considered one of them and there was no need for someone to guide him around.

“Greetings, seniors. What sort of treasures might you need?”

They were within an enormous hall inside an island. This hall was filled with many beautiful maids, with one being on the True Immortal level. When she sensed Ji Ning and Su Youji’s auras, she immediately became extremely hospitable. This place was extremely important. It was the central location for people to sell treasures to Fogstone. Because it was located in the heart of Fogstone, the forces of Fogstone didn’t really worry about anyone causing trouble here.

Ning waved his hand, producing his general’s insignia.

“General?” The violet-robed female True Immortal’s attitude became even more respectful.

“How many treasure fragments do you have here?” Ning asked.

To repair Violetjewel, he would need Five Elements essence.

The cheapest way to acquire Five Elements essence was to purchase treasure fragments from already-destroyed treasures. A more expensive solution would be to purchase undamaged ingredients, while the most extravagant way was to purchase undamaged artifacts and treasures.

“Treasure fragments?” The violet-robed female wouldn’t dare to lie to one of Fogstone’s generals. She immediately said, “There aren’t many cultivators who need treasure fragments. Most who purchase them do so to extract Five Elements essence from them to repair other treasures. As a result, our entire stockpile is worth less than a cube of chaos nectar. However, this should be more than enough to repair a Dao weapon.”

The violet-robed woman was privately guessing that this general was intent on repairing a Dao weapon.

“Less than a cube?” Ning was no longer the ignorant child he had been when he was in the Three Realms. A treasure with a quintessence core that had been almost completely wrecked internally would require an enormous amount of Five Elements essence if one wanted to repair it. If he was to purchase raw ingredients rather than treasure fragments, even a hundred cubes of chaos nectar might not be enough.

Purchasing treasure fragments was a better path to success.

“That’s it…?” Ning frowned, but this was as he had expected. Fogstone only had nine World-level experts. Why would it see the need to store so many treasure fragments here?

“Let’s go.” Ning led Su Youji away.

He wasn’t worried about openly asking for treasure fragments here on Fogstone. Everyone on their side was bound by a lifeblood oath preventing fratricide. This was one of the reasons why Ning had chosen to come to Fogstone.

“It seems I’ll have to pay a visit to the Badlands Everworld if I wish to acquire enough treasure fragments to repair Violetjewel,” Ning mused silently to himself. “I can be a bit more relaxed here on Fogstone, but I’ll have to be careful when I’m in the Badlands Everworld. If I’m too arrogant and end up catching the wrong person’s attention, I can very well die.”

Although Ning was going to be vigilant, he wasn’t scared.

“Youji.”

The two were within a flying warship that soared through the space outside Fogstone. Ning said to the nearby Su Youji, “I’m preparing to pay a visit to the Badlands Everworld.”

“I’ll go wherever you go, Master.” Su Youji laughed. “And I’ve visited the Badlands Everworld before. I’m quite familiar with the place. Although I was just there once, I have to admit that it truly is a remarkable and marvelous place. Many cultivators reside there, and even the most powerful organization of the Badlands Territory, Badlands Court , is located there.

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

The flying warship continued to advance through space towards the distant Sevenwater Star. From there, they would be able to make use of a spacetime transfer array that would send them directly to the Badlands Everworld!

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Chapter 30 – First Visit to an Everworld

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 30 – First Visit to an Everworld

Sevenwater Star was a long distance away from the planet of Fogstone. After reaching it, they had to wait for another year before the spacetime transfer array was activated. Thus, it took them two years before they were able to reach the Badlands Everworld. This was actually quite a short period of time, and the reason why the transfer happened so quickly was because the Badlands Everworld was a fairly high-traffic location. The Badlands Everworld was the center of the entire Badlands Territory and held the most powerful organizations in the region.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning and the other cultivators appeared within the spacetime transfer array. As for Flamefairy Su Youji, Ning had naturally been stored her away into his estate-world.

“So this is the Badlands Everworld?” Ning walked out of the array, staring at the vast world that had appeared before him. He waved his hand, causing Su Youji to appear next to him.

“Can you feel it?” When Su Youji appeared, she smiled as she looked at Ning.

“Yes…”

Ning nodded slowly. “What an odd feeling.”

Ning was now powerful enough to easily destroy most chaosworlds. However, the Badlands Everworld gave Ning an impression of exalted majesty, a sense of all-encompassing grace that was completely ineffable.

“I really can’t fly here.” Ning tried to fly but couldn’t, no matter what he did.

“How marvelous. This place is exactly as the legends said it is. Supposedly, the skies have been completely sealed in the Badlands Everworld. There really is no way to fly through the air here.” Each time Ning tried to fly into the air, a strange, unfathomable sort of law seemed to exert its power upon him, making it impossible for him to fly.

According to the legends, when each everworld was first created by their powerful creators, certain Laws would be set down.

For example, there might be a ‘flamebane’. This meant that all fire-attribute types of power would be completely unusable within that everworld.

Or for another example, there might be a ‘swordbane’. This meant that even the most formidable of experts in the Dao of the Sword would find themselves unable to summon the energy of the true essence of the sword. In fact, they wouldn’t even be able to draw their swords!

There could be some other special Laws as well. So long as the creator of the everworld set down that rule, all others who came to the everworld would be forced to follow it.

One of the Laws of the Badlands Everworld was its ‘skybane’. No living creatures were able to fly here, not even winged creatures like birds! Nothing and no one could fly in this world.

Of course, if you were incredibly powerful, you might be capable of resisting this law. Daolord Badlands, for example, might be strong enough to force his way into the air…but of course, that was just conjecture. No one had ever seen Daolord Badlands flying about within the Badlands Everworld. The only reason why people thought he might be capable of disobeying the Law was because everyone here felt the utmost of respect for Daolord Badlands’ abilities! However, it was also equally possible that not even the Daolord was capable of flying here.

As for others?

No World-level expert was capable of overcoming a local Law, to say nothing of an Ancestral Immortal or Elder God.

“Still, the everworld is a very comfortable place,” Ning said softly. “This world is incredibly deep and dense. It feels as though it embraces all visitors with warmth and kindness, bringing peace to their hearts.”

“This is a reason why so many cultivators like to live here within the Badlands Everworld and why so many organizations want to take this place over. However, only the most powerful organization of all, the Badlands Court, is qualified to rule this place!” Su Youji said.

“Come. Let us go find Waveshift City.” Ning immediately strode forward.

The two walked shoulder-to-shoulder as they advanced at tremendous speed.

Waveshift City was the largest, most bustling city of the Badlands Everworld. It was indescribably old, and it had existed ever since the Badlands Everworld itself had first come into being! Naturally, this made it far older than the so-called Badlands Court, which had merely destroyed the previous occupant of this everworld, took it over, and changed its name to be the ‘Badlands Everworld’.

Waveshift City was quite close to the spacetime transfer array.

Ning and the Flamefairy merely had to walk for roughly an hour before arriving at the base of the mountains around Waveshift City.

“Quite high.” Ning raised his head to stare upwards.

This was a mountain that was a million kilometers tall, its peaks wreathed in white clouds and crowned with an enormous city. Waveshift City.

“Let’s hike up the mountain,” Ning chuckled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve gone hiking.”

“We have to walk our way up step by step. I feel just like a mortal.” Su Youji grinned as well.

The mountain path was a sinuous one that coiled around the mountain peak, slowly guiding travelers upwards. If Ning was able to fly, he would’ve flown straight up to the peak of the mountain. Instead, he now had to slowly hike up one step at a time. Within the everworld, flight simply didn’t work.

“This everworld is truly vast, far larger than any chaosworld.” As Ning hiked up the mountain, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “I hear that the everworld has many ancient ruins located inside it.”

“Yes.” Su Youji nodded. “I heard there are more than ten.”

There were more than ten ancient ruins within the Badlands Everworld which had never been fully conquered! This was because the Badlands Everworld was simply far too vast.

“Here we are.” Su Youji pointed towards their front.

The mountain peak itself was just a few hundred kilometers around, but it held up an enormous city that spanned hundreds of thousands of kilometers. The city almost looked as though it was hanging precariously in the air, ready to tip at a moment’s notice. Ning and Youji followed the mountain path forward, walking towards the gates.

The walls of the city were engraved with two words ‘Wave’ ‘Shift’.

“Waveshift…” Ning raised his head to look at those two words, sensing the incredibly arcane ripples emanating from within them.

Those ripples were simply too hard to lock down. Just trying made Ning feel tired and extremely uncomfortable. The difference in power was simply too great. Ning quickly tried to give up attuning to those ripples, but was unable to break free from the endless might that radiated out from those two words.

“Urgh.” Ning vomited out a mouthful of blood before finally coming back to his senses.

“Master, don’t you know that you must not stare at those two words?” The Flamefairy asked.

“I know, but I still wanted to take a look. I won’t die just because I looked at them, right?” Ning laughed. “They truly are incredible. Those two words made me vomit up blood just because I looked at them. I wasn’t able to glean any insight into them at all, just a feeling that they are unfathomably profound.” According to the legends, even World Gods who stared at those two words would vomit up blood, to say nothing of someone like Ji Ning.

Generally speaking, if you took over an everworld you would change its name.

The Badlands Court had taken over this everworld and had thus renamed it to be the ‘Badlands Everworld’. However, they hadn’t changed the name of the most prosperous city of this everworld, precisely because those two words ‘Wave’ ‘Shift’ were completely inviolable. Those two words served as the core of the entire city and possessed utterly supreme power. So long as those two words remained on the walls, all other cultivators would continue to call this place ‘Waveshift City’, no matter who tried to change its name.

Thus, there were many cultivators who suspected that when the Badlands Everworld was first established a long, long time ago, its original name might’ve been the Waveshift Everworld.

“No one knows who wrote those two words.” The Flamefairy let out a sigh. “That person might well be more powerful than even Daolord Badlands.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

It made sense.

There were differences in power even amongst Daolords. Didn’t Daolord Windsource have a Daolord amongst his retainers?

Ning’s heart began to beat slightly faster as he thought about that ancient, powerful figure. A few moments later, he turned and entered Waveshift City alongside Su Youji. Waveshift City was an incredibly prosperous city, and it had one simple rule: All combat within city limits was forbidden! Anyone who violated this rule would instantly suffer automatic attacks from the formations protecting Waveshift City.

“What a bustling place.” As Ning walked through the wide streets, he could see Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals everywhere. As for True Gods and True Immortals, there was a ridiculous number of them located here.

“I would imagine that almost half of the cultivators of the entire Badlands Territory are gathered here,” Su Youji said. “Waveshift City even holds more than a thousand World-level experts!”

Ning nodded. This was a place of power and safety. No one would dare to attack you here.

However, once you left the city, no one would care if you lived or you died.

“Is that the Palace of Ten Thousand Treasures?” Ning stared off into the distance. Far away, at the ends of the street, there lay an utterly enormous palace that glowed with absolutely breathtaking light. The entire palace emanated many ripples of power, each of which represented the presence of a Dao weapon. The ripples which the palace were intentionally radiating out numbered over a hundred.

“Yes, that’s the Palace of Ten Thousand Treasures. It holds more treasures within it than any other place within Waveshift City. Here, you can buy whatever treasures you desire! You can have Dao weapons custom made for you, or even be able to purchase one of those legendary treasures with a quintessence core inside of it. So long as you are willing to pay the price, you can buy anything…but of course, the price of such a weapon would be truly terrifying.” Su Youji let out a sigh.

Nind nodded. He knew that the master of this Palace was actually Daolord Badlands himself!

Daolord Badlands could capture a few dozen World Gods, then enslave them and sell them off, but they still wouldn’t be as valuable as a single treasure with a quintessence core. The price of such a treasure was unimaginable, enough to drive even a World God completely mad.

“What do you plan to buy or sell, Master? You can do it all here. This place is extremely safe, and the Palace will never reveal your secrets,” the Flamefairy sent mentally.

“I know.” But in his heart, Ning silently muttered to himself – Bullshit.

Yes, the Palace was an extremely safe place where he could sell off his Dao weapons to acquire a hundred cubes of chaos nectar; the Palace wouldn’t really care much about it. But if he was to directly purchase ‘treasure fragments’ from them in large quantity, everyone would be able to guess that Ning had a treasure which required significant amounts of Five Elements essence to repair!

Daolord Badlands had an exalted status here; there was naturally no way he could possibly switch positions and decide to come here to run the shop. The ones in charge of this place were most likely World Gods or Chaos Immortals…and Violetjewel was a treasure that would attract attention from any World-level expert, some of whom would actually stare at Ning from afar.

There was no such thing as the old nonsense saying about ‘one’s word is priceless’. Everything had a price to it; the only question was how high. A magic treasure that had a quintessence core was valuable enough that many Elder Gods and Chaos Immortals would be willing to sacrifice anything, face included, to acquire it.

“I have to spend a little bit of thought on this,” Ning mused to himself.

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Chapter 31 – Magic Treasure Fragments

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 31 – Magic Treasure Fragments

A short while later, Ji Ning walked into the Palace of Ten Thousand Treasures by himself, having had Flamefairy Su Youji enter his estate-world.

“What do you wish to purchase, fellow Daoist?” As soon as Ning walked in, a violet-robed female cultivator with the aura of an Ancestral Immortal greeted him with a smile.

Ning swept the palace with his gaze. It was filled with violet-robed male and female Immortals, all of whom were at the Elder God or Ancestral Immortal level. This was a testament to how wealthy the Badlands Court was! The treasures here ranged from Protocosmic spirit-treasures to Dao treasures, and there were more than a thousand display tables filled with those treasures.

This particular violet-robed Ancestral Immortal fell into place behind Ning, following him.

“I’m here to sell treasures,” Ning sent mentally. “I’m selling a Dao weapon.”

“A Dao weapon?” The violet-robed woman gave Ning a surprised glance, then also switched to speaking mentally. “It seems you’ve made some great gains while adventuring, fellow Daoist. Please follow me.”

Soon, Ning was led towards a side hall.

“My uncle-master shall arrive shortly,” the violet-robed Immortal said. The Badlands Territory was a vast place, and every so often there would be a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were lucky enough to acquire Dao weapons while adventuring. Hundreds of them might die in their adventures, but every so often one would luck out. This wasn’t that uncommon, and given how vast the entire Badlands Territory was, a surprising number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had Dao weapons.

Generally speaking, they would go to the Palace to sell off the Dao weapons and trade for other treasures they needed. Daolord Badlands was behind the Palace; there was no need for them to worry about their security here.

“Uncle-master,” the violet-robed woman called out respectfully.

A white-robed, white-haired old man walked in, and the aura which rippled off of him was completely different from that of an Elder God’s or an Ancestral Immortal’s. Ning suspected that this had to be a Chaos Immortal.

“Senior,” Ning immediately said respectfully. Any Chaos Immortal admitted to the Badlands Court had to be an extraordinary figure.

“Take your Dao weapons out and let me have a look,” the white-robed Chaos Immortal said with a smile.

Ning waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Instantly, four Dao weapons appeared in the air before him. There was a warblade, a quill pen, and a pair of long shuttles.

Actually, Ning had acquired five Dao weapons. However, Ning had taken a liking to the flexible sword and thus was unwilling to part with it for now. Even if he sold it, he’d only gain access to roughly ten cubes of Chaos nectar.

“This warblade…” The white-robed Chaos Immortal’s eyes lit up as he nodded slowly. “Not bad.”

He didn’t seem to pay much attention to the other three items.

“I also have an Elder God Formation.” Ning also produced the Elder God Formation he had acquired from Elder God Skysouth.

“Mm.” The white-robed Chaos Immortal glanced sideways at the Elder God Formation, then ignored it. At his level, only a formation that allowed for a thousand Elder Gods would be of interest. To him, a hundred-man Elder God formation was very unremarkable. In truth, even Ning didn’t care about it that much. Thanks to his azureflower space, Ning was now capable of fighting a hundred Elder Gods head-on, making the formation of little use to him.

“This blade…this should be a weapon that was nourished through sin, a Sinblade. It is quite excellent.” The white-robed Chaos Immortal nodded. “The others are just so-so. All combined, I’d be willing to give you 105 cubes of chaos nectar.”

After finishing his words, the white-robed Chaos Immortal glanced at Ning, then turned and left.

Chaos Immortals held an exalted status. They would be willing to come out to assess Dao weapons and give a price for them, but they generally wouldn’t actually deal or haggle with Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals.

“As my uncle-master just said, the highest price we can give is 105 cubes of chaos nectar.” The violet-robed female Immortal looked at Ning.

“Fine, then let’s just set the price at 105 cubes.” Ning nodded. Generally speaking, the Palace would make very honest offers, as they disdained from trying to nickel-and-dime weak cultivators like him.

“I also have some Chaos treasures. Quite a few of them, actually. I wish to sell them all.” Ning waved his hand, causing more than three hundred Chaos treasures to instantly appear in the air next to him.

The violet-robed woman wa quite calm, as she had seen far too many Chaos treasures in her life. She swept them with her gaze, then smiled as she looked back at Ning. “We can give you three cubes for them, I suppose.”

“Fine.” Ning nodded.

The Chaos treasures were worth roughly what he had thought they would be worth, while the Dao weapons had been worth a bit more than he had expected. It was probably due to the warblade. Ning had thought it to be worth roughly fifty cubes, but he wasn’t sure as to exactly how much it would be worth. It was a top-grade Dao weapon, after all. Some could be bought for fifty cubes while others would require up to a hundred cubes.

“A total of 108 cubes. We will give it to you in the form of chaos nectar and chaos jewels. Alternately, would you like to receive treasures in trade instead?”

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

Amongst the many Chaos treasures he had acquired was a Chaos-level ‘Five Elements Cauldron’. Ning really didn’t need any particular treasures right now at all. The flexible sword was also more than enough of a weapon for him at present.

“Then please accept this.” A short while later, the violet-robed Immortal returned and gave Ning a storage flask that contained a separate dimension within it which held many bottles of chaos nectar as well as many chaos jewels. As for the flask itself, it was naturally a complimentary gift.

After accepting the flask, Ning turned and left.

“Now…time to buy treasure fragments.” After leaving the Palace, Ning began to ponder on what to buy.

Waveshift City was an extremely busy city. Given that all combat was forbidden in this place and that it was protected by Daolord Badlands as well as an incredibly ancient formation, it could be described as the safest place of the entire Badlands Territory! Thus, this placed was loved by cultivators who disliked violence and who wished to calmly focus on their meditations. World-level experts, Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, True Gods, True Immortals…an enormous number of them lived here.

However, they needed resources and treasures for cultivation!

Thus, some World-level experts would arrange for their disciples to set up shops here. They’d toss the spoils of war they acquired into the shops for sell.

There were three particularly popular types of shops. The first involved the buying and selling of treasures. The second involved the buying and selling of divine abilities and secret arts. The third involved the buying and selling of slaves.

These were the three types of shops that did the most trade. Although there were also shops that sold formations, pills, and other things, they weren’t quite as popular.

In Waveshift City ,there were more than eight hundred shops that engaged in the buying and selling of treasures! Some were established by independent World-level experts while others were established by clans and organizations, such as Fogstone or the Blacklotus Empire.

……

The sixth day after Ning’s arrival at Waveshift City.

The Windflower Hall was a treasure shop owned and operated by the Windflower chaos-kingdom.

A black-robed child walked into the hall.

“Senior.” A female True Immortal quickly walked forward to welcome him. Cultivators couldn’t be judged by their appearances alone. Although this child looked very young, he had the aura of an Elder God.

“Do you have treasure fragments for sale here?” The black-robed child said.

“We do.” The female True Immortal looked at the child. “But not much. Just three cubes worth.”

“I wish to buy six hundred bottles worth of treasure fragments,” the black-robed child said.

“Alright.”

The female True Immortal was quite calm. Treasure fragments weren’t popular items, but when people did purchase them they usually purchased them in large quantities. Some large organizations actually bought them in bulk, while other independent cultivators might need them to repair their treasures.

……

The Ninelights Palace.

“Senior.” A white-robed female Celestial Immortal stepped forward.

The muscular man glanced sideways at her. It was quite rare to see a Celestial Immortal in Waveshift City; she most likely had come here alongside her master or her family members.

“I wish to buy treasure fragments, eight hundred bottles worth. Do you have any?” The muscular man sent mentally.

“We do,” the female Celestial Immortal said hurriedly.

…..

A child. A muscular man. An alien Outsider. An elderly man.

Ning transformed into many different forms, using some of the minor techniques and tricks which World God Northrest had imparted to him to mask and disguise his natural aura. Given his power, most Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals wouldn’t be able to see through his disguise. Only World Gods and Chaos Immortals would be able to do so, if they gave him a serious look.

In addition, Ning focused on shops and stores that were operated by True Immortals.

Within half a day, he visited over 180 different shops, buying around five hundred to eight hundred bottles worth of treasure fragments. Soon, he had completely spent all 108 cubes of chaos nectar.

……

The Badlands Everworld. The spacetime transfer array.

“Is this one going to Brightcave Star?” When Ning arrived at the array, he asked this question of a nearby Elder God.

“Yes. It’s about to activate immediately.”

“Right.” Ning paid the fee of a bottle of chaos nectar, then stepped into the array.

A short while later, the spacetime transfer array was activated, sending its occupants to Brightcave Star.

Upon reaching Brightcave Star, Ning immediately teleported away. He found a distant, unoccupied planet, then went into seclusion for three years. Three years later, he rode Brightcave Star’s spacetime transfer array and went straight to Sevenwater Star.

After arriving, Ning went straight towards the territory controlled by Fogstone. He returned to the nameless star where he had secreted the prisonworld, then entered it.

Within the prisonworld.

“I’m back.” Ning smiled.

He had spent five days in Waveshift City. Only on the sixth day had he gone out shopping for treasure fragments, precisely because he wanted to make immediate use of the spacetime transfer array. Ning had completely memorized the array’s schedule, and in this way ensured that no one would have a chance to follow him or chase him!

To be honest, Ning was being excessively cautious. He had changed his appearance and his aura across the hundred-plus shops. As a result, he didn’t cause even the slightest stir in Waveshift City, nor had any of the countless cultivators there paid him any special attention.

Still, Ning was right to be careful. One had to be careful as a cultivator; a single act of negligence could very well result in death. It didn’t really matter if his true body was killed, but if he lost 108 cubes worth of treasure fragments due to it? Ning would probably want to kill himself out of regret.

This time, he had been quite lucky when journeying through the Ruins. Next time, he might not acquire any treasures at all. Who knew how long it would be before the next time he acquired such a fortune?

Whoosh.

Ning appeared atop a mountain peak. He stared off into the distance, watching as a black-robed Ning flew towards him. This was his true body’s backup clone.

“Here we go.” Ning revealed a look of anticipation on his face.

As the black-robed Ning landed before him, it produced a blood-colored sword which it tossed to Ning’s true body. It was Violetjewel. When Ning had entered the Windsource Ruins, he had stashed Violetjewel away in the prisonworld. He hadn’t taken it to the Badlands Everworld either. This was the most important treasure he had, and he had to keep it safe.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing an enormous Five Elements Cauldron to appear in the air and land on the ground next to him, causing the mountain to tremble.

The white-robed Ning glanced at Violetjewel. It looked fine from the outside, but its insides were so completely mangled that only its quintessence core remained intact. Ning said softly, “Violetjewel…the Five Elements essence from this many treasure fragments should be enough, right?”

He was filled with anticipation. He wanted to see exactly how powerful one of these legendary quintessence weapons were.

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Chapter 32 – The Quintessence Core of the Sword

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 32 – The Quintessence Core of the Sword

As the Five Elements Cauldron descended upon the mountain peak, it shone with a blindingly bright burst of light that illuminated the entire area.

The white-robed Ji Ning sat down in the lotus position, placing Violetjewel before him.

“Begin!” Ning waved his hand, causing an enormous pile of treasure fragments that was more than thirty meters tall to suddenly appear a short distance away from him. The treasure fragments consisted of broken bits of sabers, swords, beads, ropes, banners, staffs, greataxes, cauldrons, flying boats, Immortal palaces, and other things that were all at least at the Protocosmic spirit-treasure level. After being badly damaged and broken into pieces, they were now much less valuable than they were before, but it was actually even easier to extract energy from them than it was from undamaged treasures. After all, there was now no need to actually grind them apart!

“Go.” Ning sent out a surge of Immortal energy to scoop up the treasure fragments.

Whoooosh! The treasure fragments surged out in a stream, beginning to flood into the Five Elements Cauldron. This was a Chaos-level Five Elements Cauldron, and it quickly reduced the treasure fragments to tiny bits of dust and debris, completely absorbing the Five Elements essence from those treasures and storing it into the cauldron’s storage region. Just ten breaths worth of time later, the entire pile of treasure fragments had been completely used up.

Rumble…a large amount of debris came flying out from the Five Elements Cauldron.

“Again.” Ning once more waved his hand, causing another thirty meter pile of treasure fragments to appear next to him.

The treasure fragments were once more broken apart and transformed into debris, the Five Elements essence having been sucked out of them.

Ning had purchased 108 cubes worth of treasure fragments. 108 cubes of chaos nectar was a sum that was comparable to the entire networth of many ordinary World-level experts, and he had used it all to purchase treasure fragments. The amount of treasure fragments he now had was absolutely extraordinary!

It took six full hours to go through it all! Finally, six hours later, the treasure fragments had been completely consumed.

“Come.” Ning picked up a jade gourd, causing streams of golden yellow energy, watery blue energy, green wood energy, fiery red energy, and dark earthen energy to soar out of the cauldron and into the mouth of the jade gourd. Only after a long period of time was the Five Elements Cauldron completely emptied of Five Elements essence.

Ning waved his hand, putting away the cauldron as well.

“This gourd has 108 cubes worth of Five Elements essence.” Ning hefted the jade gourd in his hands. He had been very lucky, but had still nearly died in the Ruins in order to acquire such a fortune.

“Violetjewel…show me your true power!”

Ning willed it, and Violetjewel suddenly appeared in the air before him. Ning took hold of Violetjewel, then placed it next to the jade gourd. Five Elements essence immediately began to fly out of the jade gourd, flooding straight towards Violetjewel. The essence swirled around Violetjewel before slowly seeping inside of it.

On the surface, Violetjewel looked as though it was in perfect shape. Its internal structure, however, was unbearably mangled. It was like a building that looked pristine from the outside but was filled with shattered support beams; although it looked nice, it was actually quite weak.

By the same principle, Violetjewel looked as though it was in perfect shape from the outside, but it was actually very weak! The only reason why it was still so powerful was because it was simply such a fantastically good weapon that even in its present state, it could still unleash the power of a Dao weapon.

Crackle…

The damaged internal structures of Violetjewel furiously devoured the Five Elements essence pouring into it. The healing began to occur at a very slow pace, as every single bit of it was very difficult to repair.

The core of the sword was its quintessence. The closer the healing process came to the quintessence core, the more difficult it was to repair it.

Because the surface of the sword had been repaired, the sword was able to absorb Five Elements essence much more quickly than before. As more and more of it was repaired, it began to absorb the Five Elements essence faster and faster as well. However, there was simply so much essence that more than six days and nights passed in the blink of an eye, with Violetjewel continuing to ravenously absorb the essence.

“It has already consumed thirty cubes…it is more than half-healed by now.” Ning actually frowned. “But the closer we get to the core, the harder the repair process will be.”

Another day passed.

“Fifty cubes…it still needs a bit more…”

“Sixty cubes…seventy cubes…still needs a little more…”

The sword was clearly almost completely repaired by now, but as as they drew closer and to the core, the repair difficulty began to increase at a staggering rate.

“Eighty cubes.”

“Ninety cubes.”

“Ninety-five. Ninety-six. Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight!” Ning was carefully attuned to this sword which he bound all those years ago. Finally, the last bit of damage that was located extremely close to the quintessence core was also repaired.

After using up ninety-eight cubes worth of treasure fragments, Ning had finally, completely repaired Violetjewel.

Rumble…

The blood-colored sword hovering in front of Ning emitted a joyful aura. Ning smiled as well, not suppressing the sword and allowing it to burst forth with its true aura of power.

A stream of sword-light that looked like blood-colored water blasted out in every direction.

Whooooooosh.

As the sword-light howled forth and spread out around Ning, the prisonworld itself began to tremble.

“What?!” Ning was badly shocked.

“This is a prisonworld, a place meant to hold prisoners. When my true body uses the azureflower seal and strikes at full power, it can cause the prisonworld to faintly tremble. But just now…I didn’t even control or activate Violetjewel. Its own natural aura was enough to cause the prisonworld to shudder?!” Ning was stunned.

“This weapon is far more powerful than any Dao weapon! A hundred times more powerful? Perhaps a thousand times more powerful?”

“How powerful would I be if I could control it?!”

As Ning stared at the illusory lake of blood that had spread out around Violetjewel, he was afraid to even imagine how much power this sword truly contained.

“Come over here.” Ning extended his hand.

The aura of bloody sword-light immediately vanished as Violetjewel obediently flew into Ning’s hands.

Reinforced and strengthened by the azureflower energy, Ning poured his divine power into the sword, planning on delivering a full-force strike. But just at that moment…

“Blood and water…”

“A sword like water…a sword like blood…”

An indistinct, unclear voice suddenly spoke out from the quintessence core of the sword. Because Ning’s divine power had filled the sword, he was able to sense this voice in detail.

He could sense the solitary pride contained within the sword’s quintessence core…

In fact, Ning could almost see a solitary, proud figure appear. That lonely figure figure seemed to wield a sword that caused Ning to feel a sense of awe and veneration. When the intent of that sword exploded forth, it crushed stars, shattered worlds, and wiped out all living beings. Nothing could stop this surge of sword-intent, which seemed to be capable of tearing apart even the primordial chaos itself.

Whoosh.

Ning came back to his senses. Only now did he realize that he had been in a dazed state for fully half a month!

“This sword’s quintessence core…?” Ning had acquired Violetjewel a long time ago, but in the past he had never noticed anything remarkable about its quintessence core. Only after fully repairing Violetjewel did the sword’s quintessence seem to come to life, allowing Ning to get a glimpse of an utterly supreme sword-intent that completely eclipsed the sword-intent left behind by the diagram of the Hundred Streams of the Windsource Ning had seen years ago.

The only thing Ning had ever seen which could possibly be compared to this surge of sword-intent was the power which had emanated from the words ‘Waveshift’ which he had seen on the walls of Waveshift City.

It was just as exalted and ineffable! In fact, it seemed to carry an aura of perfect and eternity.

“Eternity?” Ning murmured softly to himself, “No wonder this sort of weapon is referred to as an Eternal weapon.”

Chaos weapon.

Dao weapon.

Eternal weapon!

Eternal weapons were weapons that contained their own quintessence cores, which made every single one of them incredibly marvelous and unique. No two Eternal weapons were exactly the same.

Generally speaking, only figures on the level of Daolord Badlands or Daolord Windsource would have access to such weapons! Of course, every so often a lucky junior might be able to acquire such a weapon…such as World God Northrest, who had found an Eternal weapon of his own!

“I have this strange feeling. It is as though the full power of Violetjewel can only be unleashed when I’m able to completely unleash the might of the sword’s quintessence core.” This insight suddenly flashed within Ning’s mind…but the next moment, he just grinned wryly. Completely unleash it? What a joke! One would need utterly incredible insights into the Dao necessary to completely unleash the quintessence core’s power. Ning was far, far from being able to do such a thing.

Fortunately, his path was the Dao of the Sword, and he had his own insights into this Dao.

“Let me test out its power first.” Ning held Violetjewel in his hands as he soared into the skies.

……

A black-haired old man was seated in the lotus position in a different part of the prisonworld.

Swoosh.

A white-robed youth suddenly flew over from afar.

“Triult.” Ning spoke out.

“Master.” The black-robed elder hurriedly rose to his feet. He had been thoroughly cowed by Ning’s power. By now, all of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals in the entire prisonworld had been subdued by Ning, while Swordfather Triult was the first one who had submitted to Ning.

“Don’t move,” Ning instructed.

The black-haired elder glanced curiously as Ning walked towards him.

Ning suddenly struck out with his sword. As he did so, it carried the intent of the ‘Killsword stance’ which Ning was working on. Although Ning had yet to master this stance, the bit of insight he did have was able to resonate with Violetjewel’s quintessence core and unleash just a bit of its power, causing it burst forth from Violetjewel.

Ning had the feeling that with a bit of power from Violetjewel’s quintessence, he had the power to break almost anything.

Slash! A blood-colored sword-light flashed through the air.

With a ‘clank’ sound, the translucent black chains connected to the black-haired old man were split in half.

The black-haired elder’s eyes instantly turned huge. “W-what…”

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Chapter 33 – Meditating on the Sword

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 33 – Meditating on the Sword

“How is this possible? T-these chains were personally forged by the King of Pangaea…but he clearly…” The black-haired man stuttered as he stared at Ji Ning in disbelief. Ji Ning was clearly just an Elder God! He still remembered that time a few hundred years ago when Ji Ning came with this very same blood-colored sword and hacked down upon those chains with it. That time, he was only able to leave a few scars behind.

Swordfather Triult had still be quite shocked. The Endwar had just concluded and Ji Ning’s attacks had just barely reached the World God threshold.

Ning was now much stronger than he was before, thanks to the azureflower energy reinforcing his body! He was also striking out with full power using an Eternal weapon that had part of its quintessence unleashed!

The power of this blow was so great that it easily hacked the chains apart. The chains posed no threat to it at all.

“According to what the King of Pangaea said, only a World God or Chaos Immortal is capable of severing these chains, but even then it shouldn’t be an easy task. Is he even more powerful than a newly ascended World-level expert?” The black-haired elder stared at Ning, his heart filled with astonishment. How could an Elder God be this strong?

“Alright. I’ve severed the chains and you can leave this place,” Ning said. “In the future, you can simply accompany me. Once I become a World God, you can choose whether or not you wish to continue to follow me.”

“To be able to follow you is my blessing, Master.” Swordfather Triult spoke with the utmost of respect.

A legendary monster…

An Elder God who was absolutely stronger than a newly ascended World-level expert.

“Mm.” Ning chuckled. He understood that today, Swordfather Triult was completely sincere in his servitude. In the past, he had only lowered his head because he was forced to and because a lifeblood oath bound him.

Ning glanced down at Violetjewel. Because it was a weapon with a master, he was able to disguise it as a completely ordinary weapon. No one would be able to tell how formidable it was. Even Swordfather Triult, who had personally witnessed the power of Ning’s blow, thought that it was due to some breakthrough which Ning had made. He didn’t understand that it was Ning’s sword which had undergone an utterly earthshaking transformation.

“So the difference between an Eternal weapon and a Dao weapon is actually this great!”

“Even when I don’t activate its quintessence core, it’s still significantly more powerful than any Dao weapon. Once I activate it…its power is utterly incalculable!” Ning mused to himself.

Eternal weapons were precious because of their quintessence cores. This was the reason why figures like Daolord Badlands or Daolord Windsource relied upon them in battle. The power of their cores was utterly inconceivable. However, Ning was far from being able to master an Eternal weapon for now. All he was able to do at present was guide out just a strand of its power, but that strand was already enough to cause his power to skyrocket.

Ning began to release the prisoners, one after the other.

Ning had long ago swept through and dominated all the prisoners in the prisonworld. Prior to the Endwar, Ning had used every technique he had at his disposal to either force them to submit or perish.

Now…Ning helped them sever their shackles.

Whoosh.

A group of figures appeared out of nowhere on a grassy plains.

These were all the Immortals and Fiendgods who had been imprisoned within the prisonworld. Ning had stored them away into his own estate-world. Just moments ago, all of them had been chatting excitedly amongst themselves.

“The Overseer is absolutely incredible. I personally saw him appear almost instantly, moving far more quickly than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. He just casually chopped out with his sword and chopped through the chains like mud. Crunch! The chains were completely severed. It wasn’t even hard! He definitely is as powerful as only a World God or Chaos Immortal should be!”

“But he obviously is an Elder God.”

“Right, the Overseer definitely is an Elder God. When I first saw him, he was actually just an Empyrean God. I even battled against him a few times. How could he possibly have become a World God in such a short period of time?”

“But for an Elder God to have the power of a World God…”

“He’s one of those legendary figures.”

All of them were extremely excited. Legendary monsters like Ning were incredibly rare. The vast territories each held dozens of World-level experts or more, but monsters like Ning were much rarer.

Whoosh.

Just as they were chatting excitedly, all of them were suddenly teleported to this grassy plains.

All of them fell silent.

Before them stood a white-robed figure who they all recognized as the Overseer. In the past, they might not have been convinced of his mastery, but now…all of them felt truly subdued. Some of them even felt veneration towards him!

“Everyone.” The white-robed Ning spoke out.

“I once said that when I have the power to do so, I shall release all of you from this prisonworld.”

“Now…”

“All of you are permitted to leave.”

“However, before you do so, I must give you a warning. The territory I am currently in is located within the primordial chaos and is known as the ‘Badlands Territory’. The Badlands Territory is an extremely large territory that holds more than eighty thousand chaosworlds, and multiple organizations hold World Gods and Chaos Immortals within their ranks. The most powerful organization is known as the Badlands Court, which rules over the Badlands Everworld. The Badlands Court was established by Daolord Badlands, someone who stands above World-level experts and has far more power than you can even imagine.”

“Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals can adventure through the Badlands Territory.”

“It is best for True Gods, True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, and Celestial Immortals to avoid travelling whenever possible, because if you run into some nasty individuals you might well end up as slaves,” Ning said. “I’m not trying to frighten you. I’m just telling you the truth. To be honest, I don’t need to frighten you.”

The Immortals and Fiendgods were all astonished.

The Badlands Territory?

Where the hell was this? Was this…was this place really that much more powerful than their chaos-kingdom of Pangaea?

“I wasn’t able to find any records of Pangaea in the Badlands Territory,” Ning said. “Alright. You can make your own decisions now. If you choose freedom, you have to swear a lifeblood oath not to tell anyone anything about me.”

“We are willing to forever serve you, Master.”

The sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had all spoke out in unison after exchanging glances with each other.

When they had been defeated by Ning, they had all already sworn lifeblood oaths to be his retainers.

“We are willing to serve you, Master.” The True Gods, True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, and Celestial Immortals all called out in unison after a brief hesitation.

Even the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were willing to call the Overseer ‘master’. What had they to be worried about?

In addition, the Overseer himself had suggested that the True Gods, True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, and Celestial Immortals should avoid doing too much travel, as they might be enslaved by unscrupulous figures. Although Ning had insisted that he wasn’t trying to scare them, they couldn’t help but feel uneasy. They had been imprisoned here for too long, and they didn’t have much hope of breaking through. All they wanted was to stay alive and enjoy life.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. “I am currently living in the Windsource Chaosworld. You may come with me.”

“Yes,” the assorted retainers all spoke out in unison.

Ning glanced at them and nodded slightly. In truth, he didn’t hold these True Gods, True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, and Celestial Immortals in much regard. However…some of them knew that he had multiple bodies! Long ago, Ning had been forced to use both his true body and his backup clones to fight them. This was why they had to swear lifeblood oaths if they left his service.

To be honest, even Ning himself felt that most of them would probably end up as slaves if they left. They were strangers in a strange land with no backers or protectors, after all.

The Windsource Chaosworld was quite a large place.

After returning to this chaosworld, he was able to use his status as Sentinel to carve out an area of a million kilometers in the Eastcalm Mountains for his retainers to live in. As for the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, they released the people and creatures that had been living within their estate-worlds, allowing them to live and propagate in this place.

“You may build your dwellings atop this mountain,” Ning instructed.

This was the mountain where the Sunrise Courtyard was located.

The sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, along with Flamefairy Su Youji, all took up residence in this area around Ning.

After this…life was extremely calm.

Su Youji often wished to spar against Ning. Each time, Ning would use his sword-arts to subdue her, causing her constantly come up with new ideas on how she could grow more powerful. Her improvements were quite noticeable.

As for Ji Ning?

Ji Ning improved even faster than she did. Thanks to the influence of Violetjewel’s quintessence core, the murderous intent of Ning’s sword-arts grew heavier and heavier, and his mastery of the ‘Killsword stance’ improved much more quickly as well.

As for the other sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, they each asked to spar against Ning once or twice as well. However, they clearly didn’t have much to work with. All of them had trained for far, far too long. They had long ago given up any hope of becoming a World-level expert.

Life in the Windsource Chaosworld was very calm. Ning focused completely on his sword-arts and on understanding the quintessence core of his sword. More than two hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

The peak of a mountain.

Ning was seated in the lotus position. The mountain wind rustled against his robes.

Violetjewel lay across Ning’s knees. He treated it almost as he would a lover, keeping it by his side at all times so that he could constantly sense and attune to the will of its quintessence core. This made Ning’s rate of improvement astonishingly fast. A few decades ago, he had fully mastered the second stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Killsword stance’. However, Ning didn’t feel the slightest bit of pride or smugness.

In the face of the overwhelming sword-intent contained within Violetjewel’s quintessence core, Ning understood how puny a figure he truly was.

“How wonderful it would be if I could one day reach the same level of power as the quintessence core of Violetjewel.” Ning stared at the distant skies, the sword-intent hidden within his body causing wisps of sword-light to flow naturally in the area around him.

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Chapter 34 – The Starlord’s Obsession

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 34 – The Starlord’s Obsession

The second stance of the [Nameless] sword-art was the ‘Killsword’ stance. The third stance was the ‘Great Firmament’ stance, also known as the ‘Sword World’ stance.

Upon mastering one’s own Sword World, one would step into the World-level!

Different sword-arts would result in the creation of completely different Sword Worlds. Some Sword Worlds would be insidiously cold, others would be bursting with heat, while still others would be seep through every pore in your body. The third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art was clearly quite profound, but this meant that mastering it would also be incredibly difficult. Not even Ji Ning knew how long it would take for him to master the third stance.

Whoosh. A streak of light flew towards him from afar.

“Eh?” Ning was seated in the lotus position at the top of his mountain. He quickly turned his head to look over.

The streak of light came to a stop in front of Ning. It was a thin, gray-robed man with tousled hair. His eyes were dark yellow and filled with cruel coldness, but when he looked at Ning his gaze was filled with veneration and respect. He said respectfully, “Master.”

Ning nodded.

This thin gray-robed man was actually the wild dog Elder God in his human form. After Ning had subdued the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the prisonworld, the one who ended up worshipping him the most and being the most loyal was actually Elder God Wilddog! Elder Dog Wilddog, in order to prove his loyalty, had insisted on swearing a second lifeblood oath to Ning which was so stringent, even Ning was shaken by its terms.

Elder God Wilddog was born as an Elder God in the form of a canine. He was a very solitary, arrogant man, but once he truly accepted someone as his master, he would be completely and utterly devoted to the man.

Given that even Ning had been shaken by Wilddog’s oath, he often chose to have Wilddog carry out many tasks on his behalf.

“How did it go?” Ning asked.

“I looked into this matter carefully. During the past few centuries, the ‘Mindlord’ in the service of God Emperor Blacklotus has been hiding within the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire. He hasn’t done any adventuring at all, nor has he led any troops out to do battle.” A look of resentment was in Elder God Wilddog’s eyes. “This Mindlord must be afraid of you, Master…”

Ning frowned.

The reason he had joined the Fogstone Dominion was for the sake of killing the Mindlord.

However, both Ning himself as well as Wilddog had made numerous scouting trips, only to discover that the Mindlord had spent the past few centuries in the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire. Or, to be precise – ever since Ning had slain Old Man Yuan, the Mindlord had returned to the imperial capital, never taking so much as a single step out of it.

“This Mindlord truly is a cautious man.” Ning frowned.

In truth, the sword-strike which Ning had used to slay Old Man Yuan had completely terrified the Mindlord.

The Mindlord knew exactly how deep the enmity between the Three Realms and himself ran. So many major powers had died by his hands, many of whom were pioneers and who had assisted, guided, or taught Ji Ning. Houyi, for example, was Ji Ning’s senior apprentice-brother. As long as Ji Ning had the chance, he would definitely come for revenge.

Given how powerful Ji Ning had been…it would be far too easy for him to slay the Mindlord. It must be understood that Ji Ning’s final sword-strike had pierced straight through his body, which was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure!

“Master?” Elder God Wilddog hunched over. “The Mindlord often visits friends in the imperial capital, and also likes to enjoy life. Why don’t you buy some Elder God slaves and let me lead them into the imperial capital, then kill him? After assassinating him, I’ll immediately flee through teleportation.”

“Unacceptable.” Ning shook his head.

“Not even World-level experts can be watching over every inch of their capital at all times. If I can find the right moment to attack, I’ll be able to escape afterwards.” A look of savagery was in Wilddog’s eyes.

“We are talking about the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire…” Ning shook his head. “There’s no rush. We have plenty of time. Let’s take it slow.”

If they were hasty, they might make mistakes.

Ning was confident that he was capable of slaying the Mindlord. The only thing he needed was a good opportunity.

So long as he didn’t rush, opportunities would come!

The planet of Fogstone.

A quiet, secluded estate-world. This estate-world was filled with sparkling stars that twinkled with streams of energy.

A handsome man dressed in an astral robe was seated in the lotus position by the side of a lake. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Glittering divine jewels flew out of his body. These divine jewels were made from crystallized divine power. Once Fiendgod Body Refiners became World Gods, their divine power would crystallize into divine crystals. This was a qualitative transformation.

The divine jewels twinkled, filled with mysterious auras of the Dao. Every single divine jewel was filled with a slightly different aura of the Dao, but they all came together into a perfect whole.

Whoooooosh. A large number of divine jewels flew out of his body, swirling around him in circles, then flying back inside of him. As the divine jewels flew in and out of his body, dancing in the air, they glimmered with the light of the stars themselves.

“The stars…”

The handsome man murmured softly to himself as his mind was filled with certain memories that he would never forget.

“I really have to go back. I must. I can’t disobey.”

“Alright…but you have to come back, Starchild.”

“I definitely will.”

Who would’ve thought that with this farewell would become an eternal one?

He would never forget the sight of his beloved shedding tears as he left.

Whoosh. Suddenly, the chaos energy began to stir around him as a total of twelve divine crystals suddenly materialized around him.

Boom!

The handsome man’s divine body split apart, transforming into a total of 36,000 divine crystals that all swirled around each other. Their Daos were joined together into a perfect whole that gave off a natural aura of completeness.

“Reform.”

The 36,000 divine crystals once more gathered together and transformed back into the astral-robed man.

“Full mastery…”

“I’ve finally become a master-class World God.” The astral-robed man’s eyes were filled with excitement as he murmured to himself, “Yi…I’ve kept you waiting far too long.”

Whoosh.

The astral-robed man disappeared into thin air.

……

A black-robed man was seated at the front of a palace, drinking some wine and watching as a troop of female dancers performed before him. There were musicians present as well, playing some melodies.

“Mm?” World God Blackmist frowned, then instructed, “All of you, leave.”

“Yes.” All of the dancers, attendants, and musicians all departed, leaving behind just World God Blackmist within the palace.

A single person walked into the palace, a man dressed in astral robes with long black hair. It was the Starlord of Fogstone.

“Starchild.” World God Blackmist smiled. He had watched as the Starlord grew up, and the Starlord truly was an incredible genius. He had grown and improved tremendously fast and had long ago surpassed Blackmist himself. Blackmist had known and protected him for so long that the Starlord viewed himself almost as Blackmist’s son.

“Second Uncle.” The Starlord seated himself next to him.

“Mm? What is it?” World God Blackmist could sense that something was off.

“I’ve already become a master-class World God,” the Starlord said.

“Master-class? You’ve gained full mastery?” World God Blackmist revealed a look of surprise and delight, but then his face stiffened. “You…”

“Right. I’ve been waiting and biding my time for far, far too long. When Father left the Badlands Territory and went out adventuring, he ended up never returning. Back then, the Fogstone Dominion was very weak. There was no way I could get revenge. All I could do was keep on training…and in the end, I broke through to become a World-level expert. However, that old bastard Owlsoar ended up joining God Emperor Blacklotus. Even if I commanded all of the forces of the Fogstone Dominion against them, the end result would just be that both of our sides would be heavily damaged. As for Owlsoar himself, if he focused on fleeing I might not have been able to capture him.”

“For the sake of the Fogstone lineage…”

“I’ve been enduring my hate and biding my time. Now that I’ve become a master-class World God, it is time to act,” the Starlord said.

“But…” World God Blackmist hesitated.

He knew of the enmity between the Starlord and Chaos Immortal Owlsoar, of course.

When the Starlord had been very weak, World God Blackmist had accompanied him as he had wandered the outside world.

During his wanderings, the Starlord had encountered a female Immortal.

Both had been quite weak, but they still ended up falling in love with each other. Back then, World God Blackmist had pretended to be nothing more than an old servant.

Some time after the two met, the Starlord’s father, who had himself been the Starlord of Fogstone at that time, had summoned him. Thus, he had to immediately go back to Fogstone. As for that female Immortal, she was bound by her duty to her clan and so had to remain behind within it.

And with this parting…their farewell became eternal.

After the Starlord had returned to Fogstone, his father had completed all of his arrangements and then left the planet, never to return.

Chaos Immortal Owlsoar had been refining a mighty sin-treasure. He butchered countless innocent cultivators in order to baptize his sin-treasure with their blood…and alas, the clan of the Starlord’s lover was one of the clans that had been wiped out. By the time the Starlord found out, it was far too late…

The Starlord had cried bitterly before the ruins of his lover’s clan.

He swore he would take revenge.

Ever since that day, the Starlord began to improve at a dramatic pace, reaching the World-level in an astonishingly brief period of time! After doing so, he continued to grow tremendously quickly, making repeated breakthroughs without pausing. And now…he had become a master-class World God! Even his sword-arts were now far more profound than World God Blackmist’s.

“I can no longer wait,” the Starlord growled. “I truly cannot. I’ve already reached the level of full mastery. How much more stronger do I need to become? Am I supposed to wait until I become a Daolord? That’s far too difficult. Even if I waited another hundred chaos cycles, I still might not be able to achieve it.”

“Now that I’ve reached the level of full mastery, I’m as strong as I possibly can be for now.”

“We will definitely win this attack! I’ll take part myself. There is no way that Chaos Immortal Owlsoar will be able to escape.” The Starlord’s handsome face was twisted with rage and savagery.

World God Blackmist couldn’t help but secretly sigh upon seeing this. In the past, the Starlord had always been quite relaxed and nonchalant about cultivation. It was all due to his obsession, his stubborn desire to take revenge that he had transformed into a cultivating fanatic and improved so rapidly. In fact, the only reason why he hadn’t left for revenge a long time ago was because he was worried about protecting the Fogstone lineage. That was why he had waited for so long.

“Starchild, if you wish to go seek revenge, then I shall definitely help you,” World God Blackmist said. “However…you should first go and convince the other World-level experts of the Fogstone Dominion. The more who stand with us, the better our chances are.”

“Alright.” The Starlord of Fogstone nodded.

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Chapter 35 – The Order

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 35 – The Order

It was often said that the Fogstone Dominion held a total of nine World-level experts. This, however, referred to the ones who permanently resided within this region.

The Fogstone Dominion held sway over ninety-six chaosworlds. Over the course of many years, it had given birth to quite a few World-level experts. Many of them, such as the Starlord’s father, had ended up leaving the Badlands Territory and adventuring through other lands! In truth, there were many World-level experts who drifted through other territories. Even the Starlord himself had visited quite a few territories, despite being fairly young.

At present, there were nine World-level experts on the planet of Fogstone. The Starlord, World God Blackmist, and Immortal Skyram were all members of the Fogstone lineage. As for the other six, they were treated something like distinguished guests and honored vassals.

“If the Starlord wishes it, then I agree to take part in this battle. I will do everything I can to support our side in our campaign against the Blacklotus Empire, but if the situation goes south, I’ll still have to focus on keeping myself alive,” a bald, golden-robed elder said in a slow voice.

“Let everything happen according to the plan. I agree as well.”

“Right.”

“Acceptable.”

“Haha, I’m reminded of the days when I adventured through the outside world. I’ve been secluded here on the planet of Fogstone for far too long. It is time for a good fight!”

“Since the Starlord has paid such a hefty price, we naturally are willing to agree!”

In the end, the nine World-level experts all agreed to join the battle against the Blacklotus Empire.

The Starlord nodded.

“Second Uncle, I’ll have to trouble you to pay a visit to the Badlands Everworld and purchase the ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formations’ and the ‘Minor Thousand Ancestral Immortals Formations’,” the Starlord said.

“Done.” World God Blackmist nodded.

“Everyone, when the time comes, just follow the plan. It’ll make everything easier for you,” the Starlord said. “I don’t insist on you killing too many foes; I just need you to help me tie them down.”

“Don’t worry, Starlord.”

“A minor task for people like us.”

“Given the price you’ve already paid, Starlord…I can’t see how the Blacklotus Empire can possibly win.”

These vassal World-level experts, including Chaos Immortal Abyssus, were all couldn’t help but secretly sigh in amazement at how ancient and deep-rooted a lineage the Fogstone lineage was. They were actually capable of purchasing a ‘Minor Thousand Elder God Formation’ for the Fogstone Army!

In truth, over the course of countless years, the Fogstone Dominion had actually come into possession of three such formations. In order to strengthen their hand even more, they were going to purchase three sets of those formations for Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Immortal Abyssus, the most unfathomably powerful of the six vassals, was also loaning one of his own formation sets as well.

These formations allowed a thousand Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals to join together in battle. Roughly three hundred cubes of chaos nectar was needed for each. Most World-level experts wouldn’t be able to afford such a price. All their possessions combined wouldn’t necessarily be worth that much.

A so-called ‘Major Thousand Elder Gods Formation’ actually allowed a total of nine thousand to assemble together in battle. However, those formations were far too expensive; they were worth almost as much as an Eternal weapon! However, these formations were also ridiculously powerful; once a World-level expert was trapped within this formation, he would definitely perish!

……

The Windsource Chaosworld. The Eastcalm mountains.

Ning was seated in the lotus position within the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance, working on the Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand].

Although most of his time was spent on sword-arts, he still needed to alternate through other areas of cultivation as well. During the past few centuries in the Windsource Chaosworld, Ning had been able to use his insights into the [Fogstone Apocalypse] and the [Nine Elements Annihilation] to roughly sketch out how the Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] would work.

“Master.” A voice suddenly called out from outside.

“Eh?”

Ning opened his eyes. He hadn’t blocked out sound from the outside world, and so he was able to hear what was happening outside the Heavengazer Tower.

Swoosh!

Ning appeared out of nowhere within a study. He waved his hand, causing the Heavengazer Tower which had been atop the table to disappear.

Creeeeak. He pulled the door open. Outside the study stood Elder God Wilddog.

“Master, orders have come from the planet of Fogstone.” Elder God Wilddog said hurriedly, “The three captains stationed here have all been summoned already.”

“Orders?” Ning was startled, then nodded. “Let’s go take a look.”

……

“What? Everyone is to return to Fogstone?” The golden-robed Elder God Mountain Eater called out in shock.

“There’s no longer a need for troops to be stationed here on the Windsource Chaosworld?” The other two captains, Tearwell and Soulflight, were completely shocked as well.

As for Ning, he looked at the messenger before him.

The messenger said respectfully to Ning, “General, captains, this order comes from the Starlord himself. You can see it for yourself.” As he spoke, he handed over a glowing golden scroll over to Ning.

Ning unfurled the scroll and gave it a thorough reading.

The words on the scroll had been etched with divine power, and their aura was indeed the aura of the Starlord’s.

“The three of you can take a look as well.” Ning handed the scroll over.

Elder God Mountain Eater, Immortal Soulflight, and Elder God Tearwell accepted the scroll and looked through it, puzzled. None of them questioned the validity of the order, as there was no way the scroll or the messenger could be faked. Anyone capable of making a scroll that could fool them was powerful enough to not need to do such a thing!

“This is an important border region, but he’s actually withdrawing all troops? This has never happened before in all the years I’ve been here,” Elder God Mountain Eater said in a low voice.

“Very well.” Ning nodded then instructed, “Since the Starlord has ordered it, all of us should immediately return to Fogstone. Also…the decree states that we have to withdraw in a stealthy fashion.”

“Right.” The three captains all nodded.

Ning left Swordfather Triult in the Eastcalm mountains, so as to protect the Immortals and Fiendgods who lived in the surrounding area. All the others, such as Flamefairy Su Youji or Elder God Wilddog, followed Ning in leaving this place.

They moved in stealth. Ning led his retainers as well as the hundreds of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals of the Fogstone Army away from the Windsource Chaosworld and travelled to the planet of Fogstone.

Upon reaching Fogstone…Ning realized that thousands of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had all gathered here.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.”

“This many?”

The soldiers all sighed in amazement, then began to break up into groups of four or five.

“General, the Starlord has summoned you.” Things wouldn’t be as relaxed for Ning as they were for the ordinary soldiers. He was immediately summoned into the Starlord’s estate.

The Starlord’s estate.

Four figures were seated within a side chamber.

“Eh?” Upon entering the side chamber, Ning immediately saw those four seated figures. All of them had extraordinary auras and different appearances.

“Greetings, generals.” Ning was the first to speak out.

“I heard that our Fogstone Army has gained a new general who sparred against World God Blacklist. A pity that by the time I heard of this, fellow Daoist Sunrise, you had already left Fogstone.” A tall, muscular, scaled alien cultivator dressed in white robes was the first to respond.

“Greetings, Sword Immortal Sunrise.”

“Brother Sunrise, we should spar as well if we have some free time.”

The four generals all behaved in a fairly friendly manner towards Ning. They were on the same side, after all, and they had all sworn lifeblood oaths to support each other. Naturally, they would be quite a cohesive force.

Soon, the sixth general arrived as well as Elder God Imperius.

“The Starlord has arrived.” The seven turned to stare towards the outside, sensing the vast astral aura approaching. Moments later, an astral-robed man stepped into the hall.

“Greetings, Starlord.” The six generals and Elder God Imperius all bowed respectfully.

The Starlord sat down in the principal seat. “You can be seated as well.”

“Thank you, Starlord.” Ning and the others all sat down.

“I’ve summoned all of our Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals to Fogstone. I imagine you have your own guesses as to why.” The Starlord had a smile on his face.

Ning and the others were all quite curious. Given that the Starlord had summoned all of their many scattered armies…there definitely had to be an important reason behind this.

“The entire Fogstone Army is going to mobilize. Every World-level expert and every soldier is going to move out…and assault the Blacklotus Empire,” the Starlord said.

“What?!”

Everyone was shocked.

Ning was shocked as well. Although he was awaiting a good chance to act against the Mindlord, he was still stunned upon hearing this news. Generally speaking, the various organizations within the Badlands Territory would only engage in small-scale skirmishes against each other. These skirmishes were only meant to temper the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals within their ranks. Things would rarely escalate to the point of a full-blown war! Wars on that level…they had a tremendous impact on the area and would result in horrifying casualties.

Although the Fogstone Dominion had nine World-level experts, the Blacklotus Empire had six! In addition, a battle between cultivators wouldn’t be solely dependent on mere numbers alone. A single powerful World-level expert could very possibly counter seven or eight weaker World-level experts. An extremely powerful one, such as World God Northrest when he wielded Violetjewel, could easily slay ten ordinary World Gods who stood in his path!

Thus, numbers didn’t mean everything. No one could say for certain what the various World-level experts hid up their sleeves.

“Our plan has already been drawn up,” the Starlord said. “The seven of you will each take control over 999 Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals! You’ll form a total of six ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation’ and one ‘Minor Thousand Ancestral Immortals Formation’.

“Seven formations?” Ning was secretly shocked by this.

A formation that allowed a thousand Elder Gods to join their power would be able to surround and kill some of the weaker World-level experts! Even powerful ones would be stymied for a time by them!

“Imperius will be responsible for the Ancestral Immortals, while the six of you will be responsible for the Elder Gods. I’ll give you all a month to familiarize yourselves with these formations,” the Starlord said. “A month from now, we shall head out towards the Blacklotus Empire.”

“Acknowledged.” The six generals and Elder God Imperius all assented in unison.

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Chapter 36 – Sparring With the Sword Again

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 36 – Sparring With the Sword Again

Ji Ning and the other generals each accepted a set of formations, then left. Because Ning didn’t have his own estate on the planet of Fogstone, the Starlord of Fogstone arranged special accommodations for him.

The estate Ning was given was roughly a hundred kilometers in size. It was once filled with gardens and pools, but all of those things had been flattened as a military drill grounds had been established here.

“General.” A throng of Elder Gods were standing on the drill ground, watching Ning.

“Nine captains!” Ning called out.

“Present!” Instantly, nine goldenscale Elder Gods responded to Ning’s call.

“Each of you shall command a total of 110 Elder Gods. Spend some time getting familiarized with this formation and getting better control over it.” Ning waved his hand, causing nine dark-golden discs to fly out towards those nine captains. The entire Fogstone Army had undergone a significant revamping, with some of the personal servants of the World-level experts having been sent to join as well to make sure that each team had enough men!

The nine captains accepted the dark-golden discs, quickly binding them and attuning themselves to the mysteries within them.

“As for the rest of you…” Ning looked at the other Elder Gods, then waved his hand again, causing a large number of slightly smaller formation-discs to appear in the air. The divine runes covering these formation-discs were slightly less complicated as well. “You need to work hard as well. Cooperate with your captains. Your formation-discs will be a bit simpler; I trust that in four or five days, you should have mastered them.”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The nine hundred-plus discs all flew towards the Elder Gods, with each Elder God receiving one.

“As for me?” Ning explained, “I’ll be at the core of the formation, leading the nine captains.”

“I imagine you have already have an inkling as to what this is. Correct…this is a ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation’!” Ning could see the curious looks on the faces of the Elder Gods. Most of them were probably secretly exchanging mental whispers, and so Ning just went straight to the point.

All of the Elder Gods present fell silent upon hearing this.

A Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation?

A formation which would allow a thousand Elder Gods to perfectly join their strength together and unleash it? Supposedly, even weak World Gods who were trapped within such a formation would be slain by it. They were actually going to have a chance to use such a legendarily powerful formation?

Hundred Elder Gods Formation. Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation. Major Thousand Elder Gods Formation.

These formations weren’t developed by any single power or any single Daolord. They had been developed and refined by many generations of major powers over the course of countless years. By now, they had reached the point of utmost perfection! It could be said that there was no way to improve these formations any further at all. They had become perfectly standardized and refined, and so all ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formations’ were identical to each other, capable of allowing a thousand Elder Gods to unleash the full might of their combined power.

“From this day forth.” Ning swept the Elder Gods with his gaze. “You will have just one assignment. You are to master this formation as quickly as possible! You can practice with your captains and comrades in small groups. Every three days, all of us will come together for a joint practice session.”

“Alright. Go and meditate on the formation,” Ning commanded.

“Yes, General.” The Elder God soldiers all responded in unison.

Ning’s own formation-disc was the most complicated disc of all. He would be at the center of the formation and responsible for harmonizing it, and so Ning actually entered the Heavengazer Tower to meditate on it in detail. After spending six days inside the Heavengazer Tower, Ning completely mastered the formation.

Three days passed in the outside world.

The planet of Fogstone. The drill grounds at the front of Ning’s estate.

“Assemble the formation!” Ning issued the order.

Rumble…

Instantly, the thousand formation-discs joined together, causing countless streams of light to spring up and form a web that covered every single Elder God. The entire region seemed to be completely encompassed by this net of light.

“What a strange feeling.” Ning stood there, head raised towards the skies. “I feel as though I’ve become one with the heavens and the earth of this area.”

Once the formation was established, the users would become one with this dimension, forming a world unto themselves. This was the reason why they were able to fight evenly against even World-level experts.

“Eh?” Ning glanced sideways towards a fairly muscular Elder God captain. The formation in his region was trembling slightly.

“I’m still not that accustomed to this formation.” The captain sent a rather ashamed mental message.

Ning sent back, “Get accustomed, fast.”

“Yes.” The muscular captain himself realized that the eight other captains were in complete control of their parts; he was the only one who was falling behind. As for the ordinary Elder God soldiers, quite a few of them were rather unstable as well. However, because those soldiers served ancillary roles, their instability wouldn’t make much of a difference. They were like the twigs, while the nine captains were like the branches! As for Ning, he was the trunk of the tree!

If anything happened to Ning, the entire formation would collapse.

“A world unto ourselves…once we strike, we’ll strike with not just the power of all the Elder Gods, but also with the power of the world itself.” Ning nodded to himself. An enemy attack on any single Elder God would be dispersed across the entire formation, as well as the world which the formation had created. Most likely, 99% of the power would be dispersed into the world.

Only a tiny amount of power would actually land upon the thousand Elder Gods!

Thus, most World-level experts would be unable to do anything to a thousand Elder Gods who had joined together in such a formation. Weaker ones would actually be killed.

“Alright. Most of our Elder Gods have already mastered the technique. Go back and spend some more time on it. I hope that three days from now, our formation will be even more perfect,” Ning said.

“Yes, General.” The Elder God soldiers were all rather excited.

This was their first time being part of such a tremendously mighty force. Even though they were merely the twigs of this mighty formation, they were still supposed by the world which this formation created, allowing each of them to reach the World God threshold of power. As for the nine captains, they would be even more powerful. As the center of the formation, Ning was the most powerful of them all! He was now far more powerful than when he was by himself and using the azureflower mist energy.

Whoooooosh. The Elder God soldiers quickly departed and the drill grounds fell silent.

“Eh?” Just as Ning turned to leave, he suddenly saw a figure appear.

A black-robed man with tousled hair had appeared on the drill grounds. He had a smile on his face as he strolled towards Ning in a leisurely fashion.

Ning was surprised. World God Blackmist? Why had he come to this place?

“Greetings, senior.” Ning immediately called out respectfully to him.

“I could sense you assembling the formation so I took a look. Your forces have been pretty fast. The formation is more or less ready, and your control over it is excellent.” World God Blackmist chuckled. “The core formation-disc is the most complicated disc. To be able to master it within three days is impressive.”

Ning hurriedly said, “I actually spent a total of six days. I relied on the assistance of a temporal treasure to speed time up for myself.”

“Oh…”

World God Blackmist couldn’t help but let out a surprised laugh. This Darknorth really was quite an honest fellow.

“The Starlord gave you a month, primarily because the core-disc is extremely hard to master. Six days is still impressive.” World God Blackmist continued, “Last time, when you sparred against me, I could see that that your sword-arts were on the verge of making a great breakthrough. Have you succeeded?”

“I did indeed make a breakthrough,” Ning said.

“Oh?” World God Blackmist’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t help it; of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals on Fogstone, the only one who was truly an expert in the Dao of the Sword was Ji Ning.

“Come on, then. Let’s spar a bit!” World God Blackmist said.

“Yes.” Ning was growing excited as well.

Whoosh. Ning produced a longsword that seemed to flow with the waters of autumn. It was the flexible Dao sword he had acquired. Since they were merely sparring and testing out each other’s sword-arts, there was no need to take out an Eternal weapon.

“Be careful.” World God Blackmist waved his hand, causing an ordinary-looking longsword to appear. He naturally wouldn’t use his most powerful weapon in a sparring match against a junior.

A smile on his face, World God Blackmist struck out with the sword in his hand.

When the sword-light flashed, it instantly seemed to fill the heavens and the earth with its light. The surrounding area seemed to have been transformed into an endless haze of black mist…and suddenly, a bizarre but dominating streak of sword-light stabbed out from within the mist.

Ning remained quite calm. He knew that this was the ‘Sword World’ of World God Blackmist.

“Break!” Ning struck out with an exceedingly savage stab as well.

When his sword shot out, it was like a stream of light.

This was the fastest and most penetrative stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, the ‘Blood Drop stance’. By now, this stance had been completely infused with the essence of the ‘Killsword stance’ of the [Nameless] sword-art. The [Nameless] sword-art actually represented a certain realm of comprehension regarding the sword. After absorbing the essence of its techniques, Ning had completely incorporated them into [Brightmoon].

When the Killsword stance struck, it held nothing back at all! Once the sword struck out, it carried an aura of grim resolve with it.

Boom!

Ning’s sword-light clashed against Blackmist’s strange sword-light, smashing it apart.

“Eh? This sword-art is quite clever. Last time, your sword-arts focused around complete control and perfect flawlessness. This time, it’s the opposite…you ignore all else in favor of an attack that holds nothing back at all, filling it with savage resolve. In savagery alone, you are quite close to the average ‘Sword World’ level.” World God Blackmist’s voice rang out. “Fortunately, I’m not new to the Sword World level.”

The power of Ning’s sword-art was quite tremendous.

The essence of the Killsword stance was to be vicious to the enemy and merciless to the self. It ignored all defense and held nothing back, sending forth a strike of utterly incomparable might that was close in power to that of an ordinary Sword World’s might.

Only someone who had already mastered the Heartsword stance would be able to use this technique without injuring himself. If someone who didn’t master the Heartsword stance was to train in this technique, they wouldn’t have the flawless control necessary to ensure that there would be no openings. The end result would be that if you were unable to kill your opponent, your opponent would be able to seize upon your flaws and kill you instead!

Only when the Heartsword stance was mastered could one use such a dangerous, ruinous stance.

The longer Blackmist fought, the more excited he became. This Darknorth truly was talented in sword-arts. He had improved so dramatically since their last fight! Aside from the savage and violent ‘Killsword stance’, Ning actually had another sword-art that was even more shocking to Blackmist. This was something Ning had come up with based on Violetjewel’s quintessence core. Although it hadn’t truly taken shape, it was still enough to make Blackmist’s heart clench.

“Enough, enough.” World God Blackmist laughed. “I’m using a Chaos weapon and the strength of an Elder God, but I’m at the verge of being beaten.”

“I’m using a Dao weapon,” Ning hurriedly explained.

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” World God Blackmist once more let out a surprised laugh as he glanced at Ning’s flexible sword. “That explains it. My sword-arts are clearly more profound than yours, and yet I wasn’t able to suppress you when I used a Chaos weapon and the strength of an Elder God.”

Ning felt tremendous gratitude in his heart.

They had sparred for quite a long period of time just now. Only when Ning was unable to gain anything further had Blackmist brought things to a halt. This sparring match allowed Ning to test and verify all the many insights he had gained during the past few centuries, which translated into thousands of years in the Heavengazer Tower. His sword-arts had improved by quite a bit.

“It’s rare for Fogstone to produce such an expert in the Dao of the Sword.” World God Blackmist looked at Ning. “I can sense that your talent in the sword is no lower than the Starlord’s was. Train hard. Oh, right. Be careful on this trip to the Blacklotus Empire. Staying alive is what matters the most.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“Also…this is a sword-art I personally devised. It has a simple name: [Blackmist] sword-art. You are already so talented with the sword that this sword-art of mine won’t be of much use to you, but if you read through it you might gain a few ideas.” World God Blackmist waved his hand, producing a jade slip which he tossed to Ning.

Ning immediately caught it, then said gratefully, “Thank you, senior.”

“To be honest, I was thinking about taking you on as my disciple. However, judging by your performance today, I can tell that you’ll soon catch up to me and perhaps even surpass me.” Blackmist smiled. “Alright. Continue with your preparations for the war.”

“Right,” Ning said.

World God Blackmist departed in as leisurely a fashion as he had arrived. His hair still tousled and mussled, he casually sauntered off before slowly disappearing into thin air.

Ning felt tremendous gratitude towards the man. The very first time Ning had arrived on Fogstone and met with World God Blackmist, Blackmist had personally sparred with him and guided him as well.

Time continued to pass, and Ning spent his days analyzing World God Blackmist’s sword-arts. Soon, a full month had gone past. It was time for the grand army to go on campaign!

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Chapter 37 – Invasion

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 37 – Invasion

The Starlord’s estate. An enormous empty region within the estate was filled with a teeming mass of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

“I wonder what they are planning to do with such an enormous force.”

“They have to be planning on attacking a different organization.”

“Even if they plan to launch an attack, is there a need to go this far? The Fogstone Army usually has around three thousand Elder Gods, and they normally would use just three of those formations. But now, they’ve actually managed to summon a force of seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, including some who were servants or slaves of the various Chaos Immortals and World Gods.”

“Let’s just watch and see.”

The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were all discussing this amongst themselves.

Ji Ning, Elder God Imperius, and a few others who knew the truth felt a certain tightness in their chests. Yes…their leaders had spared no expense on this war.

They had originally numbered just three thousand, but after recalling all of their far-flung forces and adding in many servants and slaves, the Fogstone Army now numbered seven thousand! Ancestral Immortal Imperius was a good example of an irregular who had been pulled in. He was the disciple of Chaos Immortal Abyssus and was incredibly strong, which was why he had been assigned to command one of the seven armies.

“I wonder what sort of a feud exists between the Blacklotus Empire and the Fogstone Dominion. Why is the Starlord going all out in this fight?” Ning murmured these words to himself.

“Here they are.” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up as he saw the nine figures walking towards them from afar.

The leader of the nine was the astral-robed Starlord of Fogstone. Next to him were the other World-level major powers. The nine of them walked forwards together, causing all of the gathered Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals to fall silent.

“Everyone,” the Starlord said, “This campaign is an extremely important one. When the fight begins, all of you need to listen to the orders of your generals.”

“Yes,” all the soldiers acknowledged.

‘Come in.” The Starlord waved his hand. Whoosh. Instantly, a ripple of power spread out. None of the Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals resisted, resulting in all of them disappearing into thin air.

“By my command, the planet of Fogstone is to be completely sealed. No one is to be allowed to enter or leave.” A sonorous voice suddenly spread out into the ears of every single cultivator on the planet. Even the normally public trading markets were quickly sealed away as the entire planet was put on lockdown.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh swoosh! Swoosh!

The nine World-level experts soared upwards, quickly appearing in the skies and staring down upon Fogstone.

“Come in.” The Starlord waved his hand, causing the enormous planet of Fogstone itself to disappear as well. The planet had long ago been refined into an enormous magic treasure. This was the core legacy of the entire Fogstone lineage. Now that the entire Fogstone Army was on campaign, the Starlord naturally wasn’t willing to leave the planet here undefended.

“The Starlord really is going out this time,” a green-robed elder said with a chuckle.

“This time, we’re going to have a chance to witness the Starlord’s true power.”

“If all of us go all-out, we might very well be able to wipe out the entire Blacklotus Empire, even though that isn’t our goal. The only thing I’m concerned about is the guardian formation protecting the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire.”

“Starlord, that guardian formation truly is quite deadly.”

The other World-level experts all issued words of caution.

An enemy’s capital was bound to be an incredibly dangerous place to invade. Every generation of Starlords had worked hard to further reinforce Fogstone, rendering its formations increasingly deadly. Although the Blacklotus Empire wasn’t as old as Fogstone and mainly relied on God Emperor Blacklotus’ personal power, without a doubt the God Emperor and his vassals had set up many mighty formations around the imperial capital.

“Don’t worry. Just carry out our plan,” the Starlord said. “All you need to do is do what I told you to do. Don’t worry about anything else.”

“Alright.”

“Right.”

These World-level experts were just giving the Starlord a few words of caution. They weren’t ordinary pawns who could be sacrificed for the sake of a greater goal. Given their power, they were qualified to speak and treat with the Starlord as equals.

“Alright. We can’t waste any time.” The Starlord frowned. “The sudden disappearance of Fogstone will soon be noticed, but it’ll take a bit of time before the word gets to the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire. We need to get there as soon as possible. Ideally, we’ll arrive before the Blacklotus Empire is prepared for us.”

After speaking, the Starlord waved his hand and caused a ship of stars to appear before him.

The nine World-level experts all boarded this ship, which then twinkled with starlight and disappeared.

The imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire was located within the Blacklotus Chaosworld. It was the central administrative city for the entire Blacklotus Empire.

The entire city was actually an enormous magic treasure which was shaped like a nine-petal black lotus. The entire city stretched out ten million kilometers and was seated at the very tip of a mountain. The city’s layout was actually quite similar to the layout of the Badlands Everworld’s Waveshift City. This was a testament to how ambitious God Emperor Blacklotus was. He was an incredibly arrogant figure, which was why he had styled himself as the ‘God Emperor’.

“I wonder what’s been going on with the Fogstone Dominion lately. They actually summoned back all of their Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals from their various stations.” A gray-robed, black-haired man was frowning in thought as he sat within a winehouse located in the imperial capital.

This gray-robed, black-haired man had lofty brows, and the look in his eyes made it so that not even the winehouse’s attendants dared to go near him.

“Can it be that Fogstone is about to launch a grand campaign?” The gray-robed man muttered to himself, “It can’t be for the sake of that Ji Ning fellow, right? He shouldn’t have that sort of ability.”

“Ji Ning.”

“Goddamn Ji Ning.” The gray-robed man’s face grew uglier by the moment.

He was one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus, the Mindlord.

His Primaltwin had possessed Old Man Yuan in the Three Realms and had lived there for many years. As he saw it, for someone like him to wipe out a backwaters chaosworld was simplicity itself!

Although a World God in the form of Mother Nuwa had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the Mindlord had remained hidden and didn’t reveal his true power or intentions. Eventually, Mother Nuwa left.

He had remained hidden, even after her departure. He was in no rush, and his long life had taught him to be patient.

Finally, the Endwar had come.

First, that ‘Lord of the Demonheart’ had appeared once more! Although Demonheart had the power of a supreme Elder God, Old Man Yuan felt confident in being able to handle him.

And yet, those yokels had actually given rise to a formidable Heartforce Cultivator, Houyi! Still, this was not entirely unexpected. Old Man Yuan had taken control over Chang’e long ago, precisely because he wanted to have some leverage over Houyi. As a Heartforce Cultivator, he knew exactly how devastating such a mental influence could have on a cultivator.

He had accounted for everything…except for this Ji Ning.

Ji Ning. He had trained for a very brief period of time, but he was an utterly terrifying monster. In the end, Ji Ning had broken through and become so powerful that he had utterly crushed Old Man Yuan, defeating his palm-arts through superior sword-arts, then stabbing him through the forehead.

“Someone who has the power of a truly transcendent Elder God.” Old Man Yuan had truly been terrified. He immediately planned a deception, and in the moment of his death he willed all of his servants and slaves to die. He even released his bindings over his various magic treasures, so as to put on a show of being truly dead. All of this was for the sake of preventing Ji Ning from finding him later.

However, when the Mindlord carefully analyzed this matter, he realized that he had made an miscalculation.

“Witherspike!” The gray-robed elder muttered to himself, “I didn’t give a damn about Witherspike, but he knew exactly who I was. It is very possible that he might’ve told Ji Ning and the others about me. If he did that…given how much those of the Three Realms hate me, they’ll definitely come for revenge. Given how strong Ji Ning is, he stands a very good chance of surviving the trip through that spatial vortex tunnel!”

“If he wants revenge…he’d probably want to find a backer. It’s entirely possible that he might’ve joined one of the nearby organizations.”

The Mindlord had instantly come to this conclusion, and so he immediately began to purchase intelligence reports to see if any transcendent Elder Gods had appeared in recent years! In the end, he finally found out that Fogstone had gained a new general by the name of ‘Sunrise’.

“Sunrise?” The gray-robed elder smirked. “Transcendent Elder Gods don’t just appear out of nowhere. If Ji Ning truly has left the Three Realms, he most likely is this ‘Sunrise’ figure.”

Although he had already guessed at the truth, there was still nothing that he could do about it.

Sunrise was stationed on the Windsource World and had three hundred Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals under his command. What was the Mindlord supposed to do? Ask a World-level expert to intervene? He didn’t have that sort of ability.

All he could do was hide!

“Ugh.”

“I don’t even know if this ‘Sunrise’ really is Ji Ning,” the gray-robed elder muttered to himself. “I hope he isn’t. I hope that Witherspike never told Ji Ning about me.”

To tell the truth, the Mindlord had been miserable in recent years! However, he knew that he had to keep enduring it and bide his time. He had to at least verify whether or not Sunrise really was Ji Ning.

If Sunrise really was…

Going outside by himself would be suicide.

“OUTRAGEOUS!!!” Suddenly, a furious roar rang out, echoing throughout the entire chaosworld and causing it to tremble. All the cultivators within the imperial capital of Blacklotus were shocked by this.

“Come to my estate immediately!” An icy cold voice that was tinged with rage suddenly rang out in the Mindlord’s mind.

“His Imperial Majesty?” The Mindlord was shocked.

Swoosh!

Ignoring everyone and everything else, the gray-robed figure immediately flew out of the innhouse’s window and headed straight towards the God Emperor’s estate.

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Chapter 38 – Legacy Treasure, Fogstone Planet

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 38 – Legacy Treasure, Fogstone Planet

The Blacklotus Chaosworld. A giant warship with an aura of awe-inspiring majesty was forcing its way straight through this world.

The warship was ten thousand kilometers long, and at its prow stood nine World-level experts. Behind them stood a dense cluster of seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

“This chaosworld is the home of God Emperor Blacklotus.” The Starlord’s face was icy and solemn. “There’s no way for us to escape his notice after we enter his chaosworld. Still…there’s no need to keep it hidden. It’ll be too late for him.”

Whoosh.

The great warship disappeared in a teleportation. When it reappeared, it was over the clouds that were above an enormous city that was shaped like a black lotus with nine petals.

Rumble…

A ripple of power spread out from the Blacklotus imperial capital. The ripple of power spread out to cover the entire chaosworld, seeking to completely seal it off from the space around it, but it was too late.

“This is the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire?”

“A city shaped like a nine-petal black lotus…it has to be it.” Only now did most of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals aboard the ship understand who their target was. It was actually the Blacklotus Empire! All of them felt both excited and nervous. If they were by themselves, they would never dare to cause trouble here…but now there were seven thousand of them as well as nine World-level powers!

This filled all of them with excitement and eagerness.

“Assemble the formations,” the Starlord commanded.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The seven generals, including Ji Ning and Imperius, immediately began to assemble their formations. In almost an instant, all seven thousand of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were in place.

“Not a single one moved to flee?” The Starlord sat at the very front of the prow, staring downwards at the vast city below them. The entire chaosworld was now sealed so tightly that not even an ant could escape from it.

“Perhaps they feel that they are strong enough to leave when they please, if they feel the need to do so later,” Chaos Immortal Abyssus said with a chuckle.

“Hmph.” The Starlord laughed coldly. “They won’t be able to.”

Whoosh.

The Starlord swept open his astral robes. Instantly, an enormous planet suddenly appeared in midair. It was the planet of Fogstone! Fogstone was kept to a size of merely ten million kilometers, roughly the same size as the nine-petal black lotus below it, but Fogstone was emanating ripples of utterly terrifying power. And then…

Whoooooosh.

It shot out countless specks of astral light.

The starlight spread out to cover trillions of kilometers, completely illuminating the city beneath it, the nearby mountains and lakes, and the distant seas themselves as well as many mortal cities. In fact…its light spread out to cover this entire chaosworld.

“Ah?!”

“W-what’s…”

The countless living beings within this chaosworld, mortals and beasts included, all stared in puzzlement at the starlight that had just appeared everywhere.

The starlight felt very comfortable to them.

“What’s going on?” A cultivator suddenly realized, to his shock, that it was now impossible to engage in teleportation here.

“The ripples of spacetime have become completely locked.”

Within the black lotus city.

Inside the God Emperor’s estate.

Six figures were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, staring upwards at the skies. When they saw the enormous planet of Fogstone suddenly appear and radiate starlight in every direction, their faces all paled.

“Damn.” A chubby, ruddy-skinned alien with just one vertical eye let out a growl. “The Starlord of Fogstone has actually moved his headquarters, the planet of Fogstone, to this place. According to the stories, the planet of Fogstone is actually the legacy treasure of the entire Fogstone lineage. When it spreads out its astral light, it will completely suppress the local ripples of spacetime, causing every single region to be completely locked down. There’s no way for us to escape, even if we wished to do so.”

“They actually brought their entire planet with them?”

“There’s not much of a feud between us and Fogstone. We have the occasional border skirmish, but none of our World-level powers have ever feuded against theirs. Why would the Starlord be so crazed as to move his entire planet here for this attack?”

The six were all quite puzzled. God Emperor Blacklotus was puzzled as well!

The Fogstone Dominion was of an ancient lineage, and its legacy treasure was the planet of Fogstone itself. In addition, every single Starlord of Fogstone was a terrifying figure. Even if a person was once nothing more than an ordinary World-level power, upon assuming the mantle of ‘Starlord of Fogstone’ that person would transform into an utterly terrifying figure. This was all because of the legacy treasure known as the planet Fogstone.

Fogstone could be used to attack…and if one paid an incalculable price, one would be able to unleash utterly ruinous power from it. The planet itself was filled with countless dangers and traps, making it so that very few organizations would dare to raid it or launch attacks within it.

When used as a defensive structure, World-level experts had virtually no chance of breaking through into Fogstone.

When used to trap foes, the astral light it radiated would make it so that even World-level experts would move much slower!

Every single Starlord of Fogstone had the power to command and control the planet of Fogstone. This naturally made them some of the most troublesome opponents a World-level expert could face!

“Starchild.” A cold voice rang out, echoing within the prow of the incoming warship. “I don’t believe my Blacklotus Empire has ever offended you…and yet, you’ve actually gone so far as to move your legacy treasure, the planet of Fogstone, to my territory.”

“Blacklotus.” The Starlord stared downwards from his position at the prow, then said in a calm voice, “It is true that no grudges exist between the two of us, and I have no desire to engage in a war against you.”

“No desire to engage in a war? Then why have you come in such force?” The voice of the God Emperor rang out once more, causing the very air above the imperial capital to tremble.

“I’ve come here today solely for the sake of Immortal Owlsoar,” the Starlord said calmly. “After killing Owlsoar, I’ll immediately lead my forces away and also offer valuable treasures to make up for the offense.”

Everyone fell silent.

“I’ll give you as much time as is needed for a single stick of incense to be burned. Afterwards, if you choose to continue to protect Owlsoar, I’ll have no choice but to press the attack.” As the Starlord spoke, he waved his hand. A stick of gray incense instantly appeared in the air then self-ignited, emitting a calming and fragrant aroma. This was a precious treasure which cultivators used, known as the ‘Three Zens Incense’. Once it was lit, the cultivator would become extremely calm and be able to much more easily sense the Dao. This was of great benefit. When Ning trained in the [Solitary World God], what he needed to break through to the next level was to have his heart be completely calm.

“What’s this all about?”

“Owlsoar, the Starlord of Fogstone did all this just to kill you?”

“What sort of grudge exists between the two of you?”

The other five, including God Emperor Blacklotus, turned to stare at Chaos Immortal Owlsoar.

Immortal Owlsoar was a jade-eyed elder who had a divine blood tattoo on his forehead. His oily jade eyes inspired terror in all who saw him. He frowned and said in a low voice, “I don’t think there is any enmity between the two of us. Don’t be impatient. Let me ask him about this.”

“Starlord of Fogstone.” Immortal Owlsoar’s cold voice rang out towards the great warship in the skies. “I don’t know how I’ve offended you. Is it possible that there has been some sort of a misunderstanding?”

“Haha…misunderstanding?” The cold voice that rang down from above was filled with endless hatred. “Were you the one behind the great massacre that occurred within the Blackcold Chaosworld?”

Immortal Owlsoar’s face immediately changed upon hearing this.

For the sake of forging a mighty sin-treasure, he had once butchered countless living creatures. However, although he had slain many individuals, he had been careful not to slay any creatures who were protected by other World-level experts. However, he knew that this sort of butchery would naturally stir revulsion amongst certain noble-minded figures and possibly result in them attacking him, which is why he had immediately joined God Emperor Blacklotus after finishing the refining process.

“Was there a connection between the creatures of that chaosworld and you?” Immortal Owlsoar still couldn’t believe it. By his calculations, when he wiped out the Blackcold Chaosworld the Starlord of Fogstone, Starchild, had been nothing more than a young fellow. Back then, the Starlord had actually been Starchild’s father.

“Haha…” A frenzied, frozen laughter was torn from the Starlord’s throat. “My Dao-companion was located on the Blackcold Chaosworld!”

“What?!” Immortal Owlsoar’s face completely changed.

Back then, Starchild truly had been nothing more than a young fellow, and his Dao-companion was nothing more than a weak female Immortal.

All those years ago, in the face of the power of a Chaos Immortal like Owlsoar, they were nothing more than dust in the wind. But now…the weak little Starchild had come for revenge in his capacity as the Starlord of Fogstone.

“Blacklotus.” Immortal Owlsoar hurriedly turned his head to look at the frowning God Emperor Blacklotus. He said frantically, “Blacklotus, we aren’t that much weaker than them. There’s no need for us to be afraid of Starchild.”

“Hmph.” God Emperor Blacklotus glanced sideways at him and let out a cold snort. Clearly, he was quite unhappy at the trouble which Immortal Owlsoar had brought to his doorstep.

God Emperor Blacklotus had quite an unpleasant look on his face, and he felt quite unhappy that the Starlord of Fogstone had come to his very doorsteps.

……

At this very moment. The spacetime transfer array of Sevenwater Star.

A barefoot old man dressed in ragged clothes suddenly appeared within the array.

The Immortals and Fiendgods responsible for protecting the array stared at the old man in astonishment. “H-he…actually paid the fee to have the array be activated for him ahead of schedule?”

This would cost a hundred bottles of chaos nectar for short distances and even more for longer distances. Thus, not even World Gods or Chaos Immortals would do so lightly. Generally speaking, only the most top-tier of World-level experts would ever choose to have the spacetime transfer arrays activated for them on an individual basis. They often travelled throughout the outside world, after all, and constantly went from one array to another. If they had to pay for a personal activation each time, the costs would be quite staggering. Thus, it was quite rare for even the caretakers of the spacetime transfer arrays to see a cultivator have the array activated on an individual basis. This was especially true for a lesser-travelled location such as Sevenwater Star.

As for this old man’s strange appearance, that didn’t really matter. Cultivators dressed and acted as they pleased. They could all tell that this barefoot old man had an extraordinary demeanor. None of the caretakers even dared to breathe loudly in front of him.

“Ugh. Finally made it to the Sevenwater Star of the Badlands Territory.” The raggedy old man stepped out of the formation and into the skies. He muttered to himself, “If Daolord Windsource was going to die, he could’ve just died somewhere convenient. Why the hell did he have to run all the way over here, to the Badlands Territory? This old man is dog-tired from the journey.”

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Chapter 39 – The Battle Begins

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 39 – The Battle Begins

“The Windsource Ruins. Mm. Thank goodness Daolord Windsource set up an estate just before he died. All of his treasures should probably be inside that place. I hope my information is correct and the talisman is truly inside there as well!”

The raggedy old man took another step through the void of space, then completely disappeared.

……

The Blacklotus Chaosworld.

Above the city shaped like a black lotus with nine petals was an enormous planet that glimmered with boundless amounts of astral light.

The two forces faced each other watchfully.

Within the God Emperor’s estate.

“What do you think we should do, everyone?” God Emperor Blacklotus glanced at the other four World-level experts.

“Help me out, everyone.” Chaos Immortal Owlsoar looked at the other four as well, a hint of ill-disguised entreaty on his face. At a time like this, face no longer mattered. If God Emperor Blacklotus and the other five weren’t willing to stand up for him and he was forced to face the might of the entire Fogstone Army by himself, he would most assuredly perish.

“Owlsoar, you…ugh. Forget it. It is far too late now.” A man dressed in a white robe embroidered with flowers shook his head.

“What, are all of you shrinking back already? The Fogstone Dominion isn’t that much more powerful than us. If they force us to bow our heads this time, how will we ever be able to raise our heads again when meeting the other World-level powers of the Badlands Territory?” An alien covered in oily black armor spoke out, his golden eyes filled with anger.

“The entire reason we all joined together in an alliance was so that we could jointly deal with any threats, right? It’s also been a long time since I’ve had a good fight. My hands itch.” The chubby cyclopean alien spoke out in concurrence.

A look of delight and gratitude appeared on Immortal Owlsoar’s face.

“I’ll listen to what Blacklotus says,” the bald, gray-robed elder said calmly.

“Blacklotus…” All of them turned to look at God Emperor Blacklotus. Immortal Owlsoar had a hopeful look on his face.

God Emperor Blacklotus gave Immortal Owlsoar a glance, secretly shaking his head. He had always felt rather contemptuous towards Immortal Owlsoar. Immortal Owlsoar had only been able to break into the World-level due to a stroke of tremendous luck, not talent. After breaking through to this level, it had become extremely difficult for him to improve any further at all. Thus, Immortal Owlsoar had chosen to embark upon an evil path…and yet, despite having chosen this path, Immortal Owlsoar was always worried about the consequences of his actions. As a result couldn’t be considered a truly demonic figure.

Based on what God Emperor Blacklotus knew…

The truly demonic figures of the legends were able to throw an entire territory into utter turmoil despite merely being World-level figures! They would cause all the living creatures of tens of thousands of chaosworlds to perish for the sake of refining a single terrifying sin-treasure. Compared to those figures, Immortal Owlsoar was quite lacking.

“Everyone, I agree with what you said.” God Emperor Blacklotus nodded. “Since we’ve chosen to stand together, we need to remain unified.”

Immortal Owlsoar was delighted upon hearing this.

“In addition…although Starchild claims that he holds a huge grudge against Immortal Owlsoar, who knows if he’s even telling the truth?” God Emperor Blacklotus laughed coldly. “He might have simply come up with a random excuse to force us to give up Owlsoar. After he kills Owlsoar, what’s to stop him from coming up with another random excuse to kill another one of us? Are we supposed to give up our fellows one after the other? By then, we’ll be even weaker before. They’d probably be able to wipe us out at one blow.”

“Right, right! This is probably a plot!” Immortal Owlsoar said hurriedly.

“Enough! Shut your damn mouth. I only said he ‘might have’.” God Emperor Blacklotus cast him a cold glance. “The more likely answer is that he really does hold a grudge against Owlsoar. To engage in such a large battle for just a bit of territory wouldn’t really be worth it. It is very possible that his Dao-companion truly was killed by Owlsoar.”

Immortal Owlsoar nervously bit his lips.

“Still…for him to force his way to our doorstep is a sign of completely disrespect towards me and towards all of you.” God Emperor Blacklotus said calmly, “They have nine World-level experts while we only have six, but we also have the protective formations surrounding our imperial capital. How dare they act so brashly?”

“Agreed.”

“They really are holding us in no regard whatsoever.”

“They’re actually kicking in our doors. Let’s have a fight with them and see who is really stronger.”

……

Atop the warship in the air.

The Starlord of Fogstone and the rest of the nine World-level experts were waiting quietly. The stick of incense hovering in midair continued to slowly burn, with less than half of it remaining.

“Starchild.” A voice rang out from below.

“Have you made your decision?” The Starlord of Fogstone replied coldly.

“You say you wish to kill Immortal Owlsoar, and so I must let you kill him? What if you then demand to kill my other World-level experts? Am I supposed to offer them up as well?” God Emperor Blacklotus’ voice was icy cold as well. “In the end, I’ll be all by myself…and then you’ll just gang up on me and kill me, right?”

The Starlord frowned then sent back, “Blacklotus, if you don’t believe me, I’m willing to swear a lifeblood oath.”

“No need for a lifeblood oath. Even if Owlsoar truly did kill your Dao-companion, he is still a Chaos Immortal of my Blacklotus Empire! All of us have joined together in an alliance, precisely because we saw the value of joining together against powerful enemies.” God Emperor Blacklotus’ voice grew even colder. “If you leave right away, I’ll forget about your affront and your invasion of my territory. If you do not…then I have no choice but to let this be settled through combat.”

“A true pity.” The Starlord waved his hand, causing the half-burnt stick of incense to disappear.

“It seems we will still have to face them in combat.”

“We expected that.”

The others, including Immortal Skyram and Immortal Abyssus, all glanced at each other. All of them had suspected that Fogstone wasn’t powerful enough to force the Blacklotus Empire to surrender without firing a single shot. Thus, they were already prepared to storm this city by force. The reason why they had acted in such secrecy was to ensure that the Blacklotus Empire wouldn’t have the chance to purchase any Elder God Formations of their own.

“Seven formations, attack!” The Starlord commanded.

“Acknowledged!” Ning and the rest of the six called out in unison.

“Let’s go,” Ning ordered. He led his 999 Elder Gods to fly out of the great warship, and the other six armies flew out alongside them.

“Spread out,” Ning sent mentally.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Everyone, Ning included, began to spread out to cover an area of ten million kilometers. Their bodies then blurred as they each transformed to become massive titans who were ten thousand kilometers tall. These titans each held weapons in their hands and were surrounded by veils of flowing light. Clearly, they were reinforced by the world-energy of the ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation’.

A thousand titanic Elder Gods had appeared, staying within roughly ten thousand kilometers of each other.

Aside from Ning’s army, the other six armies of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had also scattered within an area of ten million kilometers. The Elder Gods all transformed to become ten thousand kilometers tall, and the weapons in their hands grew alongside them. As for the Ancestral Immortals, they retreated slightly but began to take control over their magic treasures.

“ATTACK!” The Starlord of Fogstone pointed downwards towards the lotus-shaped city and gave the order.

“Attack!”

“Attack!”

The seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals howled furiously as they charged downwards. It was as though a giant hemisphere of light formed by thousands of towering Fiendgods had come smashing downwards towards the city…and right behind them were the nine World-level powers!

The World-level powers were worried about the formations guarding the imperial capital of Blacklotus. The formations protecting any organization’s headquarters were bound to be extraordinarily powerful, and ordinary Chaos Immortals and World Gods might not be able to handle them.

However, the ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods formation’ was expressly meant to block attacks and entangle foes. Thus, part of their plan was to have those seven formations join together and reinforce each other. This was the most dangerous part of the plan, and the nine World-level experts weren’t willing to take the brunt of the danger.

A black cloud suddenly appeared around the black lotus city below them. The black cloud drifted outwards, covering the air above the city and serving as a protective layer.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals simultaneously launched attacks downwards, with the Elder Gods lashing out with their enormous weapons. Ning, for example, was using the flexible Dao sword with his right hand and Violetjewel with his left. Both swords had been transformed to become many tens of thousands of kilometers long, and he hacked down furiously with both of them at the same time! But of course, Ning kept part of Violetjewel’s true power in abeyance, not letting it truly erupt.

Right now, all of their forces were attacking simultaneously. Even if Ning held nothing back at all, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. It was better to keep his true power hidden and unleash it later in a sudden, critical attack against the forces of the Blacklotus Empire.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals launched frenzied attacks at the black cloud, smashing down with their gigantic weapons or striking from afar with magic treasures.

Every single Elder God and Ancestral Immortal was supported by the power of the world which had been created by their formation!

Even the attacks of ordinary Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had reached the World God threshold of power! The nine captains of each formation were even more powerful, and as for the generals at the center? They were now comparable to true World-level experts. Although the ordinary Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had merely reached the World God ‘threshhold’ of power, they had the advantage of overwhelming numbers.

None of the World-level experts of the Blacklotus Empire would dare to withstand the combined assault of seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals in formations.

Whoosh.

The black cloud didn’t seem to resist at all, allowing the enormous weapons and magic treasures to pass straight through it.

“It isn’t blocking?” The nine World-level powers behind the seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all frowned.

If the Blacklotus Empire focused completely on defense and forcefully fought back against every attack, it would actually be fairly easy for them to take it down. In a head-on clash, the Blacklotus Empire’s formation would have to withstand the full brunt of their blows, after all. But now that the Blacklotus Empire wasn’t blocking and was instead enduring and ablating their attacks, things would become a bit more difficult.

“It seems the guardian formation of the imperial capital of Blacklotus is quite profound.” The Starlord sent mentally, “Seven formations, enter the imperial capital and smash all before you.”

“Yes.”

The seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had joined together to form a half-globe of light that was ten million kilometers across. They pressed downwards forcefully, emanating a thick aura of World energy.

In truth, all World-level experts possessed World energy. Chaos Immortals dispersed their Jindan region into primordial chaos, then formed a chaosworld from it. As for World Gods, the mighty power within their body was equivalent to the power of an entire chaosworld, which was why they were also capable of forming chaosworlds.

As for Ning and his subordinates, they had World energy thanks to the ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation’.

A thousand Elder Gods who were able to perfectly mesh their energy together through a formation would be able to naturally merge with the dimension around them and be supported by the power of the local World energy.

Rumble…

The seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were incomparably valiant as they continued their downwards charge, brandishing countless weapons. They soon charged into the dark clouds that were covering the lotus-shaped city.

The black clouds were pushed aside by their World energy, and they continued to crash downwards.

“We have seven formations working together.” A hint of a killing intent could be seen in the Starlord’s eyes. “No matter how formidable your formations are, there’s no way you can break our seven mighty formations.”

A single ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation’ was already extremely tough to break apart. Seven of them joining forces…

The Starlord believed that most likely only a Daolord would be capable of defeating such a force.

The seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were what he was relying on to deal with the formations protecting the imperial capital of Blacklotus!

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Chapter 40 – Ji Ning and the Mindlord

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 40 – Ji Ning and the Mindlord

“The restrictive spells covering the imperial capital are no longer a threat to us.” Immortal Abyssus smiled.

“Agreed.” The Starlord of Fogstone nodded. “Everyone, our seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals have already entered combat. It is time for us to join them. Blacklotus and the rest of the six are inside the city. There’s no way they can avoid my astral light. Let everything proceed as according to plan.”

“Excellent.”

“Let’s go.”

“Attack.”

Flickers of killing intent appeared in the eyes of the World Gods and Chaos Immortals.

“Ji Ning, your squad of Elder Gods is responsible for protecting Immortal Overguard.” The Starlord’s voice rang out by Ning’s ears.

Rumble…

An enormous number of icy blades were howling through the air towards him. The titanic Ning wielded two swords in his hands, using them to hack with abandon and knock the blades aside. All of the formations and restrictive spells protecting the imperial capital had been activated, resulting in a furious flurry of attacks being directed at the seven thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

“Yes, Starlord.” Ning immediately acknowledged the order, then sent out an order of his own. “Captain Mountain Eater, lead your 110 Elder Gods to protect Immortal Overguard.”

Ning had a total of nine squads under his command. Elder God Mountain Eater’s squad was located closest to Immortal Overguard.

“Acknowledged.”

The hundred-plus Elder Gods under Mountain Eater’s command immediately moved into a defensive perimeter around Chaos Immortal Overguard.

“Follow me.” Chaos Immortal Overguard stood atop an enormous formation-diagram which was covered with four different streams of colored light that emanated an aura of awesome power. As for Mountain Eater and his hundred, they were all scattered around him in a protective stance. Once any attacks from the defensive formation and spells appeared, they would immediately go forward to block them.

Although Ning’s army of a thousand Elder Gods were scattered across various corners of the castle, they remained joined together in one unit!

A grand formation like the ‘Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation’ could be maintained across great distances. Even if all of them were spread throughout an entire chaosworld, they would still be able to keep the formation active. But of course, if they continued to expand it too much beyond that, there would be no way for the formation to remain active.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The nine World-level experts broke apart into six squads, each of which was protected by over a hundred Elder Gods. The six squads launched attacks against the six World-level experts of the Blacklotus Empire.

Finally, the World-level experts of both chaos empires were about to clash.

“Owlsoar.” The handsome, astral-robed Starlord stared coldly towards the distant jade-eyed elder. The old man’s eyes were closed as he took out a treasure that looked like a ritual tower. The ritual tower emanated the screams and calls of countless souls. Weaker individuals who heard the terrifying cries emanating from a sin-weapon like this could very well suffer a mental breakdown.

“The Starlord of Fogstone.” Immortal Owlsoar held the ritual tower in his hands, staring coldly at the Starlord and the black-robed, black-haired man next to him. “Two of you against me? You honor me too much.”

“Owlsoar.” World God Blackmist said calmly, “Today, you shall definitely die.”

“Oh, is that so?” Immortal Owlsoar let out a cold laugh, then waved his hands. Suddenly, a large group of figures appeared out of nowhere next to him. There were exactly a thousand Elder Gods, and they all emanated the same ripples of World-energy.

“A Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation?” The Starlord’s face changed.

He didn’t expect that Immortal Owlsoar would actually have a thousand Elder Gods with him, as well as a Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation of his own. This was going to be tricky. Everyone knew how defensively formidable these formations were. When he joined forces with World God Blackmist, he had thought that it would be easy for them to deal with Owlsoar. Similarly, if they were just dealing with a thousand Elder Gods in formation, it wouldn’t be too difficult. But to deal with both at the same time…this was going to be tough.

“Eh?” The Starlord frowned. His astral light was spread throughout the city, and thus he saw that a Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation had suddenly appeared next to God Emperor Blacklotus as well.

“They actually have two of their own?” The Starlord was surprised.

“Be careful, everyone. The Blacklotus Empire has two Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formations of their own. One is protecting God Emperor Blacklotus while the other is protecting Chaos Immortal Owlsoar,” the Starlord sent mentally.

“How can this be?”

“Why do they have two of their own?”

“Was our attack leaked by someone to them?”

“Impossible. If it was leaked, the Blacklotus Empire would’ve paid any price necessary to acquire more of these formations. They wouldn’t just have two.”

“If there was no leak…this means they are always carrying two thousand Elder Gods with them at all times?”

The World-level powers of the Fogstone Dominion conversed mentally amongst themselves, growing more vigilant and wary.

They all knew exactly what these two additional formations represented.

A single such formation required roughly three hundred cubes of chaos nectar! It must be understand that even after selling off so many treasures, Ning had only been able to acquire a bit over a hundred cubes. This was already roughly equivalent to the entire networth of most World-level experts. More powerful World-level experts might have perhaps five hundred cubes worth of treasures, but almost none of them would be willing to sell off three hundred cubes worth of treasures in order to purchase a single formation.

In the Fogstone Dominion, the only person who personally owned one of those formations was Chaos Immortal Abyssus, who had adventured in the primordial chaos for many years and was unfathomably powerful. None of the other eight owned any of these formations in their own right! The Fogstone Dominion itself had three of these formations, but those belonged to the Fogstone lineage, not the Starlord of Fogstone himself. This time, they had then paid an utterly enormous price, selling off quite a few of the Dominion’s treasures in order to buy an additional three sets.

Seven total sets. Six belonged to the Fogstone lineage, one was on loan from Chaos Immortal Abyssus. From this, one could see how rare and valuable these formations were.

But the Blacklotus Empire?

God Emperor Blacklotus had personally established the entire empire; he had no lineage or backing. As for the other five World-level experts, they were just temporary vassals and none of them were particularly outstanding. Logically speaking, they shouldn’t be wealthy enough to waste money on one of these formations, as none of them should’ve even had that many Elder God slaves.

So…where did these two formations come from?

“None of the other World-level experts have a thousand Elder God slaves with them.”

“Only God Emperor Blacklotus might have that many. Although he didn’t have that many slaves, he did have an army with thousands of Elder Gods. Those two formations probably came from him…but he built up the Blacklotus Empire all on his own with no outside backing. How could he possibly afford two of those formations all by himself?” This was why all nine of the World-level experts of Fogstone had grown wary.

God Emperor Blacklotus stood in place, an enormous black lotus with nine petals beneath his feet. The lotus flower swiveled slowly as its petals spread outwards.

Beyond the perimeter of the lotus flowers stood a thousand Elder Gods.

“Blacklotus, it seems all of us have underestimated you.” Immortal Abyssus, Immortal Skyram, and World God Goldcloud stood there in midair, each surrounded by a hundred Elder Gods who were helping them block the enemy defensive spells.

The Fogstone Dominion had a total of nine World-level experts.

Three of them had been sent to deal with God Emperor Blacklotus!

Two were dealing with Immortal Owlsoar.

The others were all fighting in single combat. The goal wasn’t to win; it was just to tie their foes down.

“Since you’ve decided to come onto my territory…you shall never leave again.” God Emperor Blacklotus swept them with a calm gaze. “Attack.”

“Attack!” The thousand Elder Gods around him all howled furiously as they charged forwards.

Ning could sense the six titanic shockwaves emanating throughout the city. These were the shockwaves coming from the battles against the six World-level experts.

Fortunately, this place was the imperial capital of Blacklotus! And fortunately, the astral light of Fogstone was suppressing the ripples of spacetime in this area.

Otherwise, a battle on this scale and level would’ve caused the entire chaosworld to break apart long ago.

“Things are much easier for us.” Ning and the seven thousand Elder Gods only had to focus on dealing with the defensive enemy spells and formations.

Rumble…

A streak of violet-golden thunderfire struck directly towards Ning.

Ning struck out with his sword, immediately breaking apart the streak of thunderfire. 99% of the power of the attack was absorbed by the invisible dimension protecting them, while the remaining 1% was jointly handled by the thousand Elder Gods.

Whoosh. Ning charged straight forwards. As the center of the entire formation, he had to stay within the city. So long as he did so, the formation would be fine. The other Elder Gods were assigned to various regions, but he, as the core, wasn’t given a specific assignment.

“The Starlord really is impressive.”

As Ning moved from place to place, suppressing the power of the defensive spells and formations, he also kept an eye on the various World-level experts. After watching two of them, he turned to watch the battle going on with the Starlord.

The Starlord was an extremely dazzling figure. Countless streams of astral light spread out from around him as though he was their sovereign and emperor. All by himself, he was able to tie down both Immortal Owlsoar and the formation of a thousand Elder Gods. World God Blackmist was helping out as well, but the tower-wielding Immortal Owlsoar and his formation of Elder Gods was still able resist their attacks. These formations were meant for defense, after all.

“Eh?” Ning was suddenly stunned.

He had just seen a gray-robed, black-haired old man amongst those thousand Elder Gods…and the man had seen Ning as well.

Sparks began to fly as their gazes met in midair.

“Old Man Yuan?” Ning had received a detailed intelligence report regarding the Mindlord long ago which included information about his appearance. He was able to recognize the man at a single glance…and the way in which that man looked at Ning made Ning feel completely certain that it was definitely Old Man Yuan!

“Ji Ning?” When the Mindlord saw that distant, blurry figure amongst the ranks of the Elder Gods of Fogstone, he was frightened quite badly.

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Chapter 41 – The Death of Chaos Immortal Owlsoar

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 41 – The Death of Chaos Immortal Owlsoar

“H-he actually did leave the Three Realms.” The Mindlord’s heart was shaking, but he quickly came back to his senses. “Why should I fear him? I’m a member of a Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation. Not even World-level experts can do anything to me right now. Me, fear him, an Elder God? It’s actually good that he’s here. I’ll find a chance to kill him.”

“Him! It’s him!” Ji Ning had been quite calm, but upon seeing the Mindlord Ning’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

Those memories began to play through his mind…

The death of Human Sovereign Suiren, whose body had transformed into those petals of kindlefire…

The self-detonations of Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Keeper Everwood, and Buddha Jueming…

Senior apprentice-brother Houyi, who had died right in front of Chang’e…

And those countless other Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms who had sacrificed their lives in self-detonation…

Ning could hear the sounds of those detonations ringing within his memories. He could hear those furious roars, those frenzied screams.

Murderous rage began to swell in his heart, rage which he was unable to suppress. It quickly filled his entire being.

Countless comrades had died in the Endwar…all because of this man!

“Old Man Yuan! DIE!” Ning immediately charged straight towards the Mindlord.

“Eh?” When the Mindlord saw Ning transform into a streak of light and fly towards him, he let out a cold smirk. “He’s just an Elder God. How can he possibly shake our formation of a thousand Elder Gods?”

……

“He’s too powerful.” Chaos Immortal Owlsoar had an ugly look on his face. He gritted his teeth, summoning the ritual tower closer towards himself. He was just barely able to set up a defensive perimeter of roughly thirty meters around himself. “How is the Starlord this powerful? Aren’t they only powerful because they can rely on the power of Fogstone itself? But the planet of Fogstone is outside the city! The Starlord is relying on just his sword-arts yet is still incredibly powerful!”

Thanks to this mighty sin-weapon, Chaos Immortal Owlsoar was a very formidable figure even amongst World-level experts, and the ritual tower was actually meant for defense.

And yet…even though he had a thousand Elder Gods helping him to divert his enemy’s attacks, he had still been beaten back to the point of only being able to keep a defensive perimeter of just thirty meters. If he didn’t have the thousand Elder Gods, he probably would’ve been slain in just one or two strokes.

“Second Uncle, this formation is a pain in the ass,” the Starlord sent frantically. He was using his seven formations to suppress the protective formations and defensive spells of the imperial capital, but now two such enemy formations were causing him problems as well.

“Yes, they are quite troublesome. I’m not able to breach their defenses either.” World God Blackmist had gone all out as well.

However, World God Blackmist was a bit weaker than the Starlord to begin with. He was roughly on par with Chaos Immortal Owlsoar.

“With this formation present, it’ll be very hard for us to kill Immortal Owlsoar.” The Starlord was growing frantic.

“This formation…” World God Blackmist was frantic as well. He had transformed to become a titanic figure who was thirty thousand kilometers tall, and he furiously launched attacks in every direction, but the thousand Elder Gods just absorbed his strikes as if they were made of soft taffy.

“Eh? Ji Ning?” The Starlord noticed Ji Ning suddenly charging towards them from afar.

Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning. The leaders of the Fogstone Dominion all knew who he truly was.

“Ji Ning, hurry up and go help World God Blackmist tie down the Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation!” The Starlord ordered.

“Yes, Starlord.” Ning immediately flew towards World God Blackmist.

“Ugh, what’s the point of him coming here?” The Starlord couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself. “Even though he has the formation strengthening him, and even though he is the core of the formation, he will still be at most comparable to an ordinary World God. He’s probably a bit weaker than even my second uncle! Even if he does help out, it’ll be hard for them to completely tie down that enemy formation.”

Ning was wielding Violetjewel in his hands. His gaze was ice cold, and the azuremist energy had quickly begun to flow out from the azureflower seal on his forehead, permeating his entire body.

The reason why Ning had come to the Badlands Territory…was to kill the Mindlord!

And now, the Mindlord stood right before him!

Kill!

The power of the azureflower mist energy was strengthening him!

The World energy generated by the formation of Elder Gods was strengthening him!

He had an Eternal weapon…Violetjewel!

“KILLSWORD STANCE!”

Ning raised Violetjewel up high, assuming a stance reminiscent of Pangu cleaving Heaven from Earth. In this instant, Ning was using the ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ of the [Brightmoon] sword-art to unleash the essence ‘Killsword stance’.

All the stances of the [Nameless] sword-art, be it the Heartsword stance or the Killsword stance, represented a certain realm of enlightenment regarding the Dao of the Sword. Ning’s own [Brightmoon] sword-art was completely capable of unleashing the full extent of his insights into these realms.

Whenever the Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation suffered an attack, it would first divert 99% of the energy of the attack into the World energy surrounding it, with the remaining 1% being spread across all thousand World Gods. This was why Ning had immediately used his most overpowering and dominating strike, the Heavenbreaker stance!

Rumble…

A strand of power was also extracted from the quintessence core within the Eternal sword and infused into the surface of the sword.

The enormous sword chopped straight towards Ning’s most hated foe, the Mindlord.

“Ahahaha, it is useless! I’m now a member of an Elder God Formation. No matter how strong you are, you won’t be able to do anything!” The Mindlord watched as that terrifying sword descended towards him. Although his heart shook a bit as he knew he wouldn’t be able to survive it without the formation…the fact was that right now, he DID have the formation. What did he have to fear?

BOOM!!!

The blood-colored Violetjewel crashed down upon the Mindlord with absolute fury.

The concussive power of the blow was instantly dissipated into the surrounding region as well as across the bodies of all thousand Elder Gods. All of the Elder Gods trembled, their bodies coming to a brief halt.

“Eh?” World God Blackmist was both shocked and delighted by this.

To cause a thousand Elder Gods to come to a halt required an incredibly powerful attack. When World God Blackmist himself used his most powerful killer moves, this was the exact same result.

“What?!” The distant Starlord was also completely shocked and overjoyed by what he was seeing.

“Impossible. He’s just an Elder God. There’s no way he could’ve done this.” Immortal Owlsoar’s heart turned so cold that it was like a block of ice, and his eyes were filled with shock and rage.

“Ahahah…excellent, Darknorth, excellent! I didn’t expect that with the formation strengthening you, you would actually be as powerful as I am!” World God Blackmist sent mentally, “Join with me and attack these Elder Gods. Let’s make it impossible for them to help Immortal Owlsoar.”

“Acknowledged,” Ning said.

With the support of the azureflower mist energy and the formation, Ning was probably slightly more powerful than even World God Blackmist. He also had an Eternal weapon! And yet…Ning understood that his fatal weakness lay in his insights.

His sword-arts were still merely at the level of the Killsword stance, while World God Blackmist’s sword-arts were at a far higher level. This was why the two of them remained on par with each other in strength. In addition to that, Ning was still unable to unleash his Eternal weapon’s true power.

Eternal weapons were valuable because they had quintessence cores. It was the power that lay within their cores which was truly terrifying! If Ning was able to unleash just thirty or forty percent of that power, he would probably be able to chop apart the enemy formation with just a single blow! Alas, actually unleashing that much power from the quintessence core was far too difficult. Ning would probably have to reach the same level of sword-arts as World God Northrest in order to command such power.

In truth, Ning was already quite formidable. World God Blackmist was no ordinary World-level expert, after all.

Generally speaking, World Gods were more formidable than Chaos Immortals. This was because most World Gods also trained as Ki Refiner as well! World God Blackmist in particular was an expert of the Dao of the Sword and incredibly skilled in launching offensive attacks. For Ning to be comparable to him in might was absolutely incredible.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

World God Blackmist and Ji Ning simultaneously launched their respective killer moves.

The way in which World God Blackmist was fighting was completely different from when he had been sparring with Ning. He had manifested a total of six arms and was striking with six swords in an endless windmill of attacks, sending six streaks of sword-light against his opponents in a constant barrage.

As for Ning, he wielded Violetjewel as he furiously struck out with the Heavenbreaker stance once more.

BOOM!

The simultaneous double attack from two experts of the Dao of the Sword caused all thousand Elder Gods to once more tremble and come to a halt. Although every single Elder God only had to endure a tiny part of their blows, the difference between them and the World-level experts was simply too great. Now that Ning and Blackmist had joined forces, the power of their blows made the Elder Gods feel absolutely miserable. They had been completely suppressed in power.

“These formations truly are incredible. Even when World God Blackmist and I join forces, we’re still merely able to just keep them suppressed.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

Ning and Blackmist had joined together to completely shut down this Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation, making it so that those thousand Elder Gods were completely unable to help protect Chaos Immortal Owlsoar.

“How can this be? How?!” The terrified Chaos Immortal Owlsoar immediately turned tail and transformed into a streak of black light, intent on fleeing.

“Do you think you can actually escape me?” The Starlord’s handsome face was now somewhat twisted by savagery. In fact, he could be described as looking rather crazed. “Owlsoar, I’ve waited for this day for far too long!”

BOOOM!!!!

The Starlord’s entire body suddenly radiated with brilliant light. The astral light swept forward and caught Immortal Owlsoar within it, making it so that his movements became dramatically slower, almost as though he was moving through quicksand.

“N-no…spare me!” Chaos Immortal Owlsoar had learned quite some time ago that there was a huge gap in power between himself and the Starlord.

“Die.”

The Starlord sent six streaks of sword-light straight towards him in a series of consecutive blows.

The terrified Immortal Owlsoar sought to use his ritual tower to defend, even summoning his other two Dao weapons as well…but alas, those two weapons were clearly inferior to the ritual tower.

Clang! Clang! He was able to just barely block the first two sword attacks.

Slash.

The third strike plunged deep into his forehead, and as it did so a terrifying sword-intent erupted forth into the Jindan chaos region inside his body. The Jindan chaos region began to break apart, and the Dao-tree inside of it was also beginning to be obliterated.

“No…” A look of resentment and disbelief was in Immortal Owlsoar’s eyes as his life aura rapidly began to weaken.

The Starlord pulled his sword out of Owlsoar’s forehead. As he stared at Owlsoar’s corpse, he fell silent and said not a word.

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Chapter 42 – Blacklotus

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 42 – Blacklotus

“Excellent!” World God Blackmist and Ji Ning were both delighted by what they saw.

The Starlord of Fogstone stared at Immortal Owlsoar’s corpse, his heart filled with many complicated feelings. He murmured softly to himself, “Yi, I’ve finally slain Owlsoar.”

“What? Owlsoar died?”

“Owlsoar died?”

The other four World-level vassals of God Emperor Blacklotus sensed Owlsoar’s powerful aura vanish from the battlefield. The entire city only held a total of fifteen World-level experts! There was a tremendous difference in power between them and Elder Gods. For one such aura to suddenly be extinguished caused the Blacklotus Empire’s forces to feel alarmed.

If one of them had died…then the Starlord and World God Blackmist would now be free to strike at the others.

The situation would just grow uglier and uglier.

“Don’t panic.” A voice suddenly rang out within the minds of the four World-level experts.

“Blacklotus, what should we do now?” The other four were all growing worried.

The enormous black lotus swiveled below God Emperor Blacklotus’ feet while a thousand Elder Gods surrounded and protected him. Although Immortal Abyssus, Immortal Skyram, and World God Goldcloud had joined forces against him, they still found it hard to do anything to him.

God Emperor Blacklotus had an ugly look on his face.

He was in control of all the formations protecting this entire city and thus he knew better than anyone else what was happening in each part of the city. Immortal Owlsoar had simply died too quickly. As soon as Ji Ning had entered the fray, Immortal Owlsoar had been almost instantly slain by the Starlord.

“I never would’ve thought that an Elder God would be able to force me to do this…” God Emperor Blacklotus murmured softly to himself.

Even with the formation strengthening him, Ning was still merely on par with World God Blackmist.

However, the Blacklotus Empire had been at a disadvantage this entire time. Ning’s suddenly burst of power was the last straw that broke the camel’s back!

“Have I been in retirement for too long?” God Emperor Blacklotus suddenly manifested a total of twenty-four arms, each of his arms coming together to form a mudra.

BOOM!!!!

A terrifying aura of power instantly burst forth from his body.

“What?!” Immortal Abyssus, Immortal Skyram, and World God Goldcloud had been unable to do anything against God Emperor Blacklotus this entire time…and now, their faces blanched.

“This aura. T-this…” Immortal Abyssus stared in astonishment at God Emperor Blacklotus. He had travelled through many territories and experienced many dangerous situations. Right now, God Emperor Blacklotus was giving him a sense of tremendous danger. “He’s actually this powerful? Then why has he squirreled himself away within his Blacklotus Empire for all these years? We are in trouble now! No wonder he was able to so casually produce two of those Elder God Formations!”

As soon as the Starlord slew Immortal Owlsoar, the God Emperor’s aura began to explode with power. This immediately snapped the Starlord out of his reverie and cleared his mind.

“What a terrifying aura.” The Starlord was shocked.

He was tremendously talented and had great affinity for the Dao of the Sword. He was now also a master-class World God, which meant he was unquestionably one of the top-tier World Gods around. However, the Starlord also knew that his level of power wasn’t THAT special; World Gods who had Eternal weapons or who had incredibly monstrous divine abilities would still be able to completely dwarf him in power. And now, it seemed as though God Emperor Blacklotus had just activated a secret art that was so powerful, its aura alone was enough to cause the Starlord to feel nervousness.

“Second Uncle, Ji Ning, hurry up and wipe out this formation,” the Starlord immediately ordered. “God Emperor Blacklotus is unfathomably powerful. We need to wipe out his other supporters, then encircle and slay him!”

As soon as he had sensed the God Emperor’s aura, the Starlord immediately understood that although he himself was also quite powerful, he probably wasn’t a match for the God Emperor in single combat. The Starlord was rather stunned. How was this God Emperor Blacklotus so powerful?! Still, it was too late for regrets.

“Alright.” World God Blackmist had turned solemn as well. “Ji Ning, let’s attack.”

“Right.”

Violetjewel in hand, Ning had already turned his gaze towards those thousand Elder Gods, focusing in particular on the Mindlord.

“Kill them!” The Starlord bellowed as he flew through the air, moving far faster than even Ji Ning. Astral light radiated from every part of his body, those specks of light shooting out like countless tiny stars.

As the astral light spread out, they exerted their power upon the Elder Gods, constricting them.

“Flee!”

“We need to flee!”

“Separate and flee!”

The Mindlord and the others began to flee in every direction. They had realized long ago that this new Elder God who had joined the fray was merely on par with World God Blackmist, but the Starlord of Fogstone was far more powerful than either of them. If World God Blackmist and Ji Ning were already capable of suppressing them, then once the Starlord joined in they would definitely be shattered.

“No.”

“Damn!”

“Imperial Majesty, save us!”

The Elder Gods scattered in every which way, but they still were merely able to watch as the Starlord, Blackmist, and Ji Ning chased after them. All three of them moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, while the thousand Elder Gods were much slower in comparison.

“Die!” The Starlord let out a cold shout as he struck out with his sword.

Whoosh! A dazzling river of stars appeared in midair, coming together to form a gigantic sword that cleaved down upon the back of a fleeing Elder God.

Boom! Boom! Ji Ning and World God Blackmist struck out at the same time as this blow landed.

The Mindlord was one of the captains of these thousand Elder Gods, and as such he was able to flee faster than most of the others. For the sake of ensuring that his blow would land at the same time as the Starlord’s, Ning had no choice but to just attack the Elder God closest to him.

BOOM!!!!

The bodies of all thousand Elder Gods shook.

“Urgh.” More than ten of the Elder Gods spat out a mouthful of blood. Cracks appeared on their faces and blood began to pour out of them.

Every single one of the thousand Elder Gods had to endure the same amount of power from the attacks. At a time like this, the weakest would be the first to perish! The Mindlord and others who had powerful protective divine abilities would be able to hold on for much longer than the rest.

“Again!” The Starlord sent mentally.

“Ahhhh!”

“We’re doomed.”

“No.”

Some of the already heavily-wounded Elder Gods began to panic…but alas, there was nowhere to run.

Yet another dazzling stream of stars split the skies and chopped down towards an Elder God.

Ji Ning and Blackmist struck out with their full power as well.

At this moment, God Emperor Blacklotus’ twenty-four arms completed their mudras. His terrifying aura skyrocketed even further, covering virtually the entire city.]

“Everyone dies eventually.” God Emperor Blacklotus could sense the despair of his thousand Elder Gods. He let out a soft sigh. “I bid you farewell on your next journey. I’ll take revenge for you.” The Elder Gods were simply too far away, and he was still surrounded by those three World-level powers, with Chaos Immortal Abyssus being particularly tough. Thus, not even God Emperor Blacklotus would be able to save those thousand Elder Gods in time.

“Blacklotus, although you are powerful, you are taking us a little too lightly,” Immortal Abyssus said with a cold laugh.

God Emperor Blacklotus gently waved his hand.

Whoosh.

The black fog permeating every part of the entire city began to vanish, revealing all of the countless buildings in it. Of course, the majority of the buildings had already been wrecked by now.

“Eh?” Chaos Immortal Abyssus, Chaos Immortal Skyram, and World God Goldcloud were all secretly shocked.

The black fog covering the entirety of the imperial capital had made it impossible for them to get a good picture of their surroundings. Only the Starlord had been able to scan the entire area, thanks to his astral light permeating the entire area…but now, the God Emperor had actually dismissed the black fog. Clearly, he no longer wished to bother with using any minor tricks. This was a display of utmost confidence in his superiority.

“You are right. I really don’t treat the three of you seriously at all.” God Emperor Blacklotus frowned slightly. He could sense that six of the weakest Elder Gods had just been slain. Although the core and the nine captains were still present and were able to just barely keep the formation up, it would now be even harder for them to withstand any attacks. All of the Elder Gods had already begun to panic and flee.

“The three of you…who do you think you are?”

“In years past…more than a few World-level experts died by my hand!” God Emperor Blacklotus said calmly, “I came to the Badlands Territory, set up a little empire for myself, and just wanted to reign here in peace. I never would’ve thought that trouble would come crashing down out of nowhere.”

“Fine, then. I’ll wipe out the entire Fogstone lineage and let the cultivators of the Badlands Territory know exactly how powerful I am.”

When Abyssus, Skyram, and Goldcloud heard these words, they couldn’t help but turn to look at each other.

These words were a bit too brash, weren’t they?

Wipe them all out?

What did he take the nine World-level experts of Fogstone to be?

“Prepare to receive a blow from me.” God Emperor Blacklotus’ aura began to surge outwards. Whooooosh. Instead, a series of black lotuses began to bloom in the area around him. Countless black lotuses emerged, causing an area of a million kilometers around him to transform into an enormous pool of lotuses. These black lotuses radiated a tremendous killing intent that surged towards the three World-level experts.

“This is the first stance of the Forbidden Black Lotus…Lotus Sea.” A calm look of supreme confidence could be seen in God Emperor Blacklotus’ eyes.

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Chapter 43 – Slaying the Mindlord

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 43 – Slaying the Mindlord

The black lotuses bloomed throughout the area, carrying a unique sort of charm.

However, Immortal Abyssus, Immortal Skyram, and World God Goldcloud weren’t in the mood for enjoying their beauty. Immortal Abyssus hurriedly sent a mental message to the hundred Elder Gods surrounding him. “Hurry up and retreat. Don’t get involved in this.”

“Yes.” The hundred Elder Gods could sense that things were turning dangerous. They didn’t dare to push it too far.

“Go.” Immortal Abyssus waved his hand, causing a semi-translucent cloth banner to fly out. The cloth banner flew through the air, instantly covering the skies as an enormous number of divine runes began to flow through it. The semi-translucent cloth banner began to emanate streams of gloomy white light that completely suppressed the countless black lotuses. The lotuses tried to push them back, but the light of the cloth banner was extraordinarily tough.

“I’ve always heard that Immortal Abyssus of the Fogstone Dominion is unfathomable in his power, but I didn’t think that you’d be able to withstand the first stance of my Forbidden Black Lotus.” God Emperor Blacklotus spoke out calmly, but the murderous aura which had once pervaded him when he had roamed through the various territories was beginning to slowly reveal itself.

“He managed to block it.” World God Goldcloud and Immortal Skyram were both overjoyed.

Both of them had started to panic just now. They could sense that if they were completely surrounded by those countless black lotuses, they would most likely die within them.

“Brother Skyram, Brother Goldcloud, this God Emperor Blacklotus is far too strong. He’s already forced me to take out my most powerful treasure,” Immortal Abyssus sent mentally. “I’m already at my limit. Listen to my instructions. As long as we can hang on for a bit longer, the Starlord will soon arrive. With him by our side, we will no longer need to fear God Emperor Blacklotus.”

“Right.” Immortal Skyram and World God Goldcloud both held great faith in Immortal Abyssus. In the past, they knew he was strong but were uncertain as to how strong he actually was. Now they realized that he was strong enough to block those countless black lotuses that had inspired such terror in them.

“Ahaha…” God Emperor Blacklotus let out a laugh. “Now, try out the second stance of my Forbidden Black Lotus. This stance is known as ‘Lotus Hell’.”

His voice echoed throughout the skies and by the ears of the three World-level experts.

Whoosh….

Suddenly, one black lotus after another began to descend from the skies. Countless black lotuses descended, and as they did so they were actually beginning to resonate with the countless black lotuses on the ground that had been suppressed by Immortal Abyssus.

“Starlord, hurry over here!” Immortal Abyssus blanched as he hurriedly commanded the cloth banner to send out light to both suppress the black lotuses on the ground as well as the black lotuses falling from the skies. For a moment, he was able to establish a defensive perimeter and block the lotuses from every direction.

The Starlord knew that time was of the essence, and so he struck out with two sword at maximum speed, slaying six of the weakest Elder Gods in the Elder God Formation.

“Second Uncle, Ji Ning, let’s go. We need to get over there right now.” After breaking through the formation, the Starlord immediately waved his hand, causing dozens of streaks of sword-light to chop out towards the Elder Gods closest to him.

“Alright,” World God Blackmist said.

“Starlord, I’ll go right away, but first I need to kill the Mindlord.” Ning didn’t immediately follow behind him, instead flying at maximum speed towards the terrified, fleeing Mindlord.

The Starlord glanced backwards at Ning. Ning had said long ago when he had first joined the Fogstone Army that his goal was to kill the Mindlord. “Fine. Hurry up and get rid of the Mindlord, then come join us right away.” Ji Ning was now an important member of their force. The other six formation commanders were merely comparable to ordinary World Gods, while Ji Ning was comparable to World God Blackmist, an expert of the Dao of the Sword. He could be considered an expert amongst World Gods.

“Alright,” Ning said.

Swoosh.

Ning moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, furiously chasing after the Mindlord.

“Why is this happening? Why?!” The Mindlord was frantically fleeing, but the Starlord’s astral light was slowing him down too much. Ning caught up to him almost instantly.

“Ji Ning, spare me! Ji Ning!”

The Mindlord began to beg for his life. Earlier, when the Starlord had broken apart the formation, he had slain quite a few Elder Gods before heading off towards the other World-level experts. The entire Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation had collapsed, resulting the Mindlord becoming much weaker as well.

“I gifted you my [Heart Sutra] long ago!” The Mindlord sent frantically. When he was in the guise of Old Man Yuan in the Three Realms, he had put on a truly flawless act! He had helped train juniors, ‘risked his life’ for his friends, and acted exactly as the true Old Man Yuan had. This was why the Nuwa Alliance had never suspected a thing or seen any flaws in his masquerade.

In fact, Patriarch Subhuti’s friendship with Old Man Yuan had only deepened!

He had casually bestowed the [Heart Sutra] to Ji Ning, but that was merely a manual with some extremely crude bits of information pertaining to heartforce. This was part of his usual act of pretending to be a kind old man!

“Die.”

Ning had already arrived, and his eyes flashed with murderous malice.

The Mindlord grew frantic.

“I’ve already informed one of my slaves about the Three Realms. Once I die, my slave’s lifeblood oath will compel him to immediately spread this information regarding the Three Realms. By then, quite a few adventurers of the Badlands Territory will probably set off towards it.” The Mindlord sent threateningly, “Eventually, an endless stream of adventurers will go from the Badlands to the Three Realms. It’ll be finished!”

Boom!

Sword-light flashed. Although the Mindlord was wearing armor, it was a very weak set of Chaos armor. There was no way it could withstand Ning’s full-force strike! Ning’s sword-light struck the Mindlord at the waist, chopping straight through the Chaos armor. The terrifying power of Violetjewel swept through the Mindlord’s entire body, wiping out all of his divine power as well as his truesoul.

Even when Ning was back in the Three Realms, his full-force blows were capable of piercing through top-grade Chaos treasures.

He now was strengthened by the azureflower mist energy, the World energy of his formation, and was wielding a fully repaired Eternal weapon. Even his sword-arts had improved! His full-force strikes were now completely capable of shattering ordinary Chaos treasures. If the Mindlord was wearing a suit of top-grade Chaos armor, Ning wouldn’t be able to chop through it, but the kinetic force of Ning’s blows would still be enough to reduce the Mindlord’s body to dust.

“I…” A look of true despair appeared in the Mindlord’s eyes.

Whoosh.

The two severed halves of his body suddenly broke apart and crumbled. Violetjewel’s power was more than enough to cause his entire body to break apart.

“The Mindlord…is finally dead.”

After slaying the Mindlord, Ning was momentarily dazed.

He could almost see his senior apprentice-brother Houyi in the moment of his truesoul’s dissipation. He could almost see the other major powers of the Three Realms who had all transformed themselves into enormous suns.

“This troublemaker has finally been dealt with. My fellow Daoists…seniors…rest in peace.”

Ning’s heart was filled with many complicated feelings.

Was he happy?

Ning didn’t feel even the slightest bit of happiness right now.

He felt disappointment and frustration.

He also felt a sense of release.

The Mindlord’s death represented the true, final end to the great Endwar.

“He even dared to threaten me as he died.” Ning glanced at the Mindlord’s completely shattered corpse. The truesoul within the corpse had been wiped out, and there wasn’t any hint of life in his body. “Even if you really did tell your servant about the Three Realms, so what? How many adventurers would dare to brave the spatial vortex tunnel between it and the Badlands Territory?”

“And even if they do brave it…so what?”

“My Primaltwin has also mastered and unified the Nine Chaos Seals. It is capable of using the azureflower mist energy and has the power of a World-level expert as well. It doesn’t matter how many adventurers make it there; I’ll kill them all,” Ning murmured to himself. He didn’t believe that any World-level experts would go adventuring in the Three Realms.

In addition…

Ning himself would eventually become a World-level expert as well, and the azureflower mist energy would guarantee that he was far stronger than most World-level experts.

“I really wonder how Daoist Three Purities managed to acquire those Nine Chaos Seals.” This thought briefly flitted through Ning’s mind.

Rumble…

Ripples of incredible power spread out from off in the distance.

Ning turned his head to look. The black fog had long ago dissipated, and so he was now able to see everything quite clearly. The astral light from the planet of Fogstone continued to shine down upon the city, revealing the scene of Immortal Abyssus, Immortal Skyram, World God Goldcloud, the Starlord of Fogstone, and World God Blackmist all fighting against God Emperor Blacklotus.

The most dazzling figures were the Starlord and the God Emperor.

“Attack!” Each blow of his sword struck out like a stream of stars, leaving a trail of shattered black lotuses behind them. The Starlord was able to destroy more than half of the black lotuses by himself. He was so powerful that he was roughly comparable to the other four allied World-level experts combined.

As for God Emperor Blacklotus, he stood in the center, the enormous nine-petal black lotus below his feet still slowly swiveling. Even now, it was the God Emperor who was attacking while the other five were defending.

“Ji Ning, hurry over here and help protect Abyssus.” As soon as Ning slew the Mindlord, the Starlord of Fogstone immediately urged him to come.

“Acknowledged.” Ning transformed into a streak of light, moving faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos as he charged straight towards the most terrifying place on the battlefield.

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Chapter 44 – Supreme World God

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 44 – Supreme World God

As Ji Ning moved closer to the battlefield, he saw those countless black lotuses bloom and then be smashed apart. He couldn’t help but feel a hint of fear.

“Senior Abyssus.” Ning immediately flew towards Immortal Abyssus.

“Sorry for the trouble, my young friend.”

Immortal Abyssus smiled towards Ning, then once more turned his full attention towards controlling his swirling cloth banner. The cloth banner looked quite ordinary, but it made it so that the black lotuses weren’t able to move past it in the slightest. Of course, this was primarily because the Starlord of Fogstone had charged to the very forefront of the battle, destroying the majority of the black lotuses before they were even able to get close to him.

“Should I just stand here and watch?” Once Ning arrived next to Immortal Abyssus, he felt rather puzzled. The others were all launching furious counter-attacks against the black lotuses.

“Yes, just stand here and watch for now,” Immortal Abyssus sent mentally. “Don’t be deceived by the fact that I’m able to block these attacks. I’m almost at my absolute limit. If God Emperor Blacklotus was just a bit more powerful, I wouldn’t be able to hold them back any longer…and as a Chaos Immortal, I’m much weaker in close combat.”

Ning nodded.

Pure Chaos Immortals were innately weaker than World Gods. Most World Gods were dual refiners, giving them an overall advantage.

“Ji Ning, all you need to do is help protect Abyssus.” The Starlord’s voice rang out within Ning’s mind.

“Acknowledged.” Ning understood.

Ning began to simply watch the battle, while all the others such as Immortal Abyssus went all out.

As for God Emperor Blacklotus, his eyes were filled with a murderous intent. He showed no mercy in his attacks at all.

“It seems as though God Emperor Blacklotus is extremely strong,” Ning mused to himself. “The Starlord seems to be slightly weaker than him. Immortal Abyssus is right behind the Starlord! After him should be World God Blackmist. World God Goldcloud and Immortal Skyram are both significantly weaker.”

Ning could clearly see the difference in power between the various World-level experts.

Just as Ning was watching…

The stalemate had clearly angered God Emperor Blacklotus, who suddenly let out a furious roar: “Forbidden Black Lotus, third stance…Blacklotus World!”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The countless black lotuses had been falling from the skies and rising from the ground. Now, however, every single inch of space on the ground or in the air within a million kilometers began to manifest the black lotuses. The black lotuses even began to appear next to Immortal Abyssus and Ji Ning.

“Not good.”

“Careful.”

Everyone’s faces changed.

Immortal Abyssus immediately acted, willing an enormous black shadow to swirl around him and cover Ji Ning as well. The black shadow covered an area of roughly three hundred meters, and all the black lotuses in the area covered by the black shadow were immediately shattered.

Things weren’t so bad for World God Blackmist and World God Goldcloud. They were World Gods, after all; even though a few attacks made it through their defenses, they were able to hold on.

“Careful!” The Starlord was forced to divert some of his energy to protecting Immortal Skyram.

“All of you will die.”

God Emperor Blacklotus had a sinister look on his face as he stood there atop the enormous, slowly swiveling nine-petal lotus. The area around him had become completely filled with the trillions on trillions of small black lotuses, all of which were furiously striking out towards his World-level enemies.

Immortal Abyssus continued to use his illusory shadow, blocking out all lotuses within its range.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Countless black lotuses smashed towards the illusory shadow in an endless stream, exploding as they struck it.

“Darknorth, my young friend.” Immortal Abyssus’ face tightened. “I’ll use my magic treasures to block these lotuses as best I can, but if any slip through I need you to help me stop them. Try to minimize the number that end up striking against my Shadow Idol.”

While speaking mentally with Ning, Immortal Abyssus immediately took control over the cloth banner once more.

Part of the cloth banner separated from the rest of it, then coiled around Immortal Abyssus, blocking more than 90% of the black lotuses that had been striking towards him. Alas, some of the black lotuses materialized inside its defenses, and so the closest black lotuses continued to stream towards the enormous illusory shadow.

“Leave it to me.” Ning’s body momentarily blurred as he transformed to become three hundred meters tall. He struck out with Violetjewel, which pierced out beyond the protection of the illusory shadow and set up a protective barrier of sword-light that covered more than half of the empty space.

The sword-light transformed into a black hole, continuously weakening the power of the assaulting black lotuses.

The true, terrifying power of the Heartsword stance was now on full display. Ning had absolutely perfect control over his sword, especially the ‘Soleheart stance’ of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, which was a technique which focused on defense. As a result, when the black lotuses struck him, they did so after 90% of their power had been ablated. The remaining 10% was then mostly absorbed by the World energy that protected him, with the tiny remaining amount of energy being spread across a thousand Elder Gods. By then, there was only a tiny bit of power remaining.

“Whew.” Immortal Abyssus relaxed slightly.

With Ning helping him defend against the majority of the black lotuses, things were now much easier for him as well.

Things weren’t so bad for Ning and Immortal Abyssus, but this was primarily due to Immortal Abyssus’ usage of the cloth banner and the Shadow Idol. All Ning had to do was provide a bit of help in order to ensure that they would survive the danger.

“God Emperor Blacklotus is far too powerful. He’s able to fight against multiple World-level experts by himself and actually have the upper hand.” Ning stared past the swiveling cloth banner and stared at the distant God Emperor Blacklotus.

“Blacklotus!” The Starlord suddenly let out an angry roar.

His handsome face actually began to turn a grayish-white color, as did his hands. His entire body seemed to become almost statue-like as his aura suddenly exploded with might. His six arms wielded six swords, and he sent them forth as utterly dazzling streams of stars. He was using the same sword-arts as before, but the power of his attacks had increased tenfold!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless black lotuses were blasted apart as the sword-light easily chopped through them. The sword-light slashed all the way to God Emperor Blacklotus’ side and struck directly at the enormous nine-petal black lotus.

Boom! Boom! Boom! When the slowly swiveling black lotus was struck by the terrifying sword-light, it began to shudder slightly.

“So this is the [Fogstone Apocalypse] of the Fogstone Dominion, eh?” God Emperor Blacklotus was startled as well.

“Attack!” The Starlord’s skin had now completely turned the color of stone. His aura grew even more savage, and his blows even began to cause cracks to appear on the nine-petal black lotus.

“The [Fogstone Apocalypse].” Ning was secretly surprised by what he saw. “And he’s using the third stage of it.”

The third stage of the [Fogstone Apocalypse] involved transforming the entire body into stone. It would allow the user to become tremendously more powerful, with the body becoming comparable to a Dao weapon in toughness. However, this sort of explosive technique resulted in a rapid consumption of divine power. Once the divine power was used up, one would transform into a true statue forever. Thus, this divine ability generally wouldn’t be used until things were truly dire.

The Starlord had clearly grown nervous upon seeing that the five of them were at such a disadvantage.

“He truly has reached full mastery of his skills.” Immortal Abyssus sighed in amazement and nodded. “The Starlord hasn’t trained for very long, but this divine ability alone ensures that he is a master-class World God.”

“Master-class?” Ning was puzzled.

God Emperor Blacklotus was now being completely suppressed by the Starlord’s attacks. No more black lotuses were appearing around Ning and Abyssus. Clearly, the God Emperor was now focused on his own defenses.

“Yes.” Immortal Abyssus nodded and smiled. “There are differences in power amongst World-level experts, and they can be divided into several rough categories.”

“The first level is the level of brand new World-level experts. They are young, inexperienced, and quite weak. They can be described as having just barely reached the World-level threshold.”

“The second level is the ordinary level which most World-level experts are at! This is a level which every single World-level expert can reach after they spend a bit of time in training.”

“The third level can be described as the elite level! Blackmist, for example, is at this level, thanks to the fact that he has the body of a World God and is skilled in the offensive Dao of the Sword. I’m actually at this level as well, but I have a few more tricks up my sleeve than he does, which is why I’m a bit stronger than him.”

“The fourth level is the level of full mastery! Both the Starlord and God Emperor Blacklotus can be described as master-class World Gods.”

Ning nodded. “Are there any higher levels?”

“There are. If either of them had an Eternal weapon, they could be described as supreme World Gods,” Immortal Abyssus said. “This is a fairly widespread classification system used in these Endless Territories. As for why they are classified in this manner…once you reach the World level, you will understand.”

Ning nodded.

He wasn’t a World God yet. He naturally didn’t understand the cultivation mysteries of World-level experts.

Based on Immortal Abyssus’ classifications…World God Northrest was most likely a supreme World God! As for the deceased slave he had seen in that house by the lake inside the Windsource Ruins, he was probably a supreme World God as well.

“Are there any who are more powerful than even ‘supreme’ World-level experts?” Ning was curious.

“There are.” Immortal Abyssus nodded. “But you won’t possibly be able to understand why those World Gods are as powerful as they are. Some are World Gods who have unleashed the full power of their Eternal weapons, while some have cultivation paths that we can’t fathom. Perhaps they might have gained some particularly incredible legacies! However, those figures are nothing more than legends. I’ve wandered through many territories, but I’ve only seen just one of those terrifying figures. In our Badlands Territory, not a single one of them exists. Thus, to be a supreme World God is already quite incredible.”

Ning nodded secretly to himself. No wonder World God Northrest was such an incredible figure! Alas, in the end he had still fallen.

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Chapter 45 – Eternal Weapon

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 45 – Eternal Weapon

The morale of the Fogstone Dominion was soaring.

“Break for me!” His entire body a grayish-white color, the Starlord of Fogstone waved his hand, unleashing streams of astral sword-light against the enormous black lotus, causing it to begin to crack apart and crumble. God Emperor Blacklotus continued to stand atop the black lotus, allowing this to happen. He murmured softly, “I heard that the [Fogstone Apocalypse] is just something derived from fragmentary records of an ancient technique. And yet, it is this powerful? I wonder how powerful the true, complete technique was.”

Quite a number of Fogstone’s supreme techniques were incomplete.

[Dust of the Mortal World] was one.

[Fogstone Apocalypse] was another.

Ning’s own [Nameless] sword-art was just a fragment of the true, complete technique as well.

The reason why so many techniques only existed in fragmentary parts was because they were simply too profound. There was no way to completely memorize them! Daoist Three Purities had an incredibly high level of insight into the Dao, but it still took him countless years before he was able to completely memorize the Nine Chaos Seals, which Ning had already merged together into one.

However, techniques like [Dust of the Mortal World] and the [Nameless] sword-art were ancient techniques which even Daolords would sigh with amazement upon seeing. There was no way a World God could possibly have the ability to completely memorize such a technique; the could at most just memorize part of it.

Thanks to a stroke of tremendous luck, World God Northrest had been able to view the [Nameless] sword-art, but he was only at a level where he could memorize its first seven stances. He wasn’t able to memorize any of the rest of it at all.

“Against you? It’ll be enough.” The Starlord surged with a killing intent.

“You overestimate yourself.” The God Emperor looked at the Starlord coldly. “I didn’t want to use this treasure. I thought I could defeat you just by using a few secret arts…but it seems I’ll still be forced to activate it. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve truly fought someone.”

God Emperor Blacklotus stretched out his right hand. Whoosh. A crystalline scimitar that seemed to have been carved out from a block of ice suddenly appeared in his hand. The scimitar was roughly three feet long.

Whoosh!

An unspeakable aura instantly filled the entire city. In fact, the aura spread out past the city and covered an enormous region beyond it as well.

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Cold!

Every single cultivator, be it the Elder Gods, the World Gods, or the Chaos Immortals, felt an icy cold feeling in their hearts.

“Is that…” All the cultivators turned their heads to stare at the origin of this feeling of icy terror. They saw that frozen crystal scimitar in God Emperor Blacklotus’ hand, as well as the glimmer of azure light flowing over its surface. Every single cultivator felt their hearts shudder when they merely looked at the scimitar.

“What is that?” Ning’s heart was shaking as well.

“That is an Eternal weapon.” The nearby Immortal Abyssus had turned completely pale. “That’s an Eternal weapon. I’ve seen the power of an Eternal weapon before, and this gives me exactly the same feeling. When you see an Eternal weapon, you’ll immediately lose all your courage.”

“An Eternal weapon.” The faces of World God Blackmist, Immortal Skyram, and the others all changed as well.

“How could he have an Eternal weapon?”

“How could God Emperor Blacklotus be this powerful?”

Everyone was dazed.

Eternal weapons were just legends to most World-level experts! The number of World-level experts in the entire Badlands Territory who possessed Eternal weapons could be counted on one hand. They either had incredible luck or had been bestowed it by a Daolord! It must be understood that most Daolords used Eternal weapons, and so for them to bestow one on a World-level expert was incredibly rare.

Whooooosh. An invisible, freezing intent filled the hearts of every single cultivator present.

“I’m also wielding an Eternal weapon, but none of the World-level experts paid it any attention. But now that God Emperor Blacklotus has taken one out, he has stunned the entire battlefield.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. This was all because his attainments in the sword were simply too low. He was only able to unleash just a tiny fraction of the power within Violetjewel’s quintessence core, so little that no one even paid attention to it.

If he was as powerful as World God Northrest, who was able to unleash thirty to forty percent of Violetjewel’s quintessence core, he’d be able to inspire terror in other World-level experts just by standing there with the sword in his hands.

“A supreme World God. I never would’ve thought that God Emperor Blacklotus is this powerful.” A frantic look was in Immortal Abyssus’ eyes.

“Blacklotus.”

The Starlord withdrew, slowly stepping backwards as he looked at God Emperor Blacklotus.

“Why are you retreating?” God Emperor Blacklotus asked calmly.

“I admit defeat,” the Starlord said in a low voice. “I’m willing to pay a high price to stay your hand and quell your rage, God Emperor Blacklotus.”

As a cultivator, one had to know when to advance and when to retreat. To continue the battle when there was such a large disparity in power was just suicide.

“Hahaha…” God Emperor Blacklotus laughed. “A high price? As far as I’m concerned, the Fogstone lineage is worth nothing! Oh, wait. I actually rather like the planet of Fogstone itself. Hand over the planet and I’ll let you leave.”

“Impossible. God Emperor Blacklotus, you should know that the planet of Fogstone is a legacy treasure of the Fogstone lineage. Someone who is not of our lineage cannot bind or control it,” the Starlord said.

This was the truth.

In the past, the Fogstone lineage had actually been completely wiped out by enemies before. However, once the major powers of the Fogstone lineage who were out exploring in other territories returned, they would generally take revenge and retake their legacy treasure, resulting in the lineage continuing to be passed down. Starchild’s own father, the previous Starlord, was someone who had gone out exploring as well.

This was the custom of the Fogstone lineage. Once they reached a certain level of power, they would leave and go out adventuring in the primordial chaos. After a few dozen chaos cycles passed, they might eventually return to Fogstone, ensuring that its lineage would remain unbroken.

Their most important legacy treasure was the planet itself, and one had to have mastered certain core techniques in order to bind the planet. These core techniques were never taught to outsiders.

“I’m willing to offer treasure that is worth three thousand cubes of primordial chaos,” the Starlord said hurriedly.

“Do you think I care?” God Emperor Blacklotus lifted the scimitar up.

The Starlord’s face turned even uglier.

“When I journeyed through the primordial chaos, I passed through many territories and took on many masters. And yet, in the end I remained unable to take that final step to the next level. I no longer hold any hope of becoming a Samsara Daolord.” God Emperor Blacklotus said softly, “And so I returned to the Badlands Territory. It had changed significantly since my departure from it. In fact, when I was born here, it wasn’t even called the Badlands Territory…”

“I simply chose a random location and set up a little empire for myself, intending to rule over it in peace…and yet, trouble chose to come knocking on my door.”

“It seems that I’ve been too…benevolent.”

“To tell you the truth, I had a nickname when I roamed the primordial chaos. ‘Daoist Blacklotus’,” the God Emperor said.

“Daoist Blacklotus?” Immortal Abyssus sent mentally, “Careful, I know who he is now! He’s a true fiend, a demon who delights in slaughter and who walks the path of evil. Don’t put too much faith in his promises. He’s an extremely temperamental person who has killed many World-level experts. Its been a long time since anyone has heard any news regarding him. I never would’ve thought that he had actually come to the Badlands Territory and set up an empire for himself to rule over.”

“Daoist Blacklotus?” None of the other World-level experts, including the Starlord, knew what this name and title represented.

However, the Starlord and the others knew what they had to do.

God Emperor Blacklotus shook his head. “Still, I’m willing to be benevolent one final time. I’ll give you two choices.”

“The first choice is for all of you to hand over all of your treasures, including the planet of Fogstone and the treasures and techniques it contains,” God Emperor Blacklotus said. “I’ll spare your lives.”

“The other choice is death.” God Emperor Blacklotus had a very calm look in his eyes. The lineage of Fogstone truly was an ancient one. Perhaps it held certain techniques that might be of use to him. Although he didn’t really feel that he would be able to make any more breakthroughs, he was still willing to give it a try.

“The planet of Fogstone? All of the treasures and techniques it holds?” The Starlord’s skin once more transformed to become grayish-white. He couldn’t possibly hand those things over, because he had sworn a lifeblood oath upon joining the lineage. If he violated it, the lifeblood oath would immediately take his life. It was impossible.

“Attack!” The Starlord’s entire body had turned grayish-white, and his eyes were filled with a murderous frenzy.

“I’ve already taken revenge for Yi, so let’s have a good fight. I want to see just how powerful an Eternal weapon is!” The Starlord charged forwards in a frenzy.

As he did so…

“Run!”

“All of you, run!”

“I’ll hold him down. The rest of you, go hide within the planet of Fogstone. He won’t be able to do anything to you once you go inside!” The Starlord’s voice simultaneously rang out within the minds of Ji Ning, Immortal Abyssus, World God Blackmist, the other World-level experts, and the minds of the many Elder Gods as well.

Rumble…

The enormous planet which had been hanging in the sky suddenly came crashing downwards.

Ning and the others all understood that the planet of Fogstone was definitely filled with formations and protective spells that were far more powerful than the ones which had been protecting the imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire. If they could make it inside, they would be safe! The Starlord of Fogstone was the most powerful person on their side; he was the only one who had a chance of stopping God Emperor Blacklotus.

“He wishes to stop me? To hold me down?” God Emperor Blacklotus held that enormous crystal scimitar in his hands as he strode forward, his voice echoing in the ears of every single cultivator present. “You really do have a fine Starlord. A pity, though…he won’t succeed. All of you will die.”

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Chapter 46 – Shield You From the Wind and the Rain

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 46 – Shield You From the Wind and the Rain

God Emperor Blacklotus showed no mercy at all as he struck out with the giant crystal scimitar. Whoosh! A streak of icy saber-light shot out through the air, carrying an aura of extreme coldness as it flew towards the Starlord. The Starlord’s body was now completely grayish-white, and he hurriedly shot out streaks of astral sword-light to defend.

Boom!!!

The Starlord was knocked flying backwards as the saber-light slashed past his chest. Fortunately, his body was as tough as a Dao weapon and so he was able to endure the blow.

“You can’t stop me. In a head-on fight, you have no chance of stopping me at all.” God Emperor Blacklotus smiled coldly.

The Starlord was beginning to panic.

He truly was a blessed child of the heavens! His father had been the previous Starlord, while World God Blackmist had supported him and guided him. Even though he hadn’t been particularly diligent in cultivating, he had still been able to easily overcome his tribulations. After his beloved Yi had perished, he had begun to work hard and improved at an even more astonishing speed, becoming a World God. He then continued until he reached his certain stage, resulting in his divine body reaching the stage of full perfection! He was now the most powerful expert of the Fogstone lineage.

His path had always been a path that led straight upwards! Thus, his most powerful sword-arts were all focused on offensive attacks, making him somewhat weaker in defensive skills. The Starlord had always believed the old maxim that the best defense was a good offense! When he used the [Fogstone Apocalypse] his body was rendered comparable to a Dao weapon. Why, then, should he waste his time and effort on mastering defensive sword-arts? Only when he focused his efforts in the right area would he be able to more quickly reach a higher level of power.

But now…

He had encountered someone who was so superior to him that his vaunted attacks were useless! At a time like this, only someone tremendously talented in defensive sword arts would be capable of dealing with such a difficult foe.

Boom! The airborne Starlord was smashed downwards towards the ground.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Quite a few Elder Gods immediately began to flee, not hesitating in the slightest. They all soared towards the skies, obeying the Starlord’s orders to flee.

However…the Starlord had misjudged one of them.

“Childstar.” World God Blackmist looked at the Starlord, a gentle look in his eyes. “You want me to flee?”

There was no way he would flee.

The previous Starlord had shown him great benevolence, which was why he had chosen to help take care of Childstar! At first, World God Blackmist had only done so in order to repay the old Starlord’s kindness, and so Childstar had called him ‘Second Uncle’. He had watched as the child slowly grew up, while the old Starlord himself had actually spent very little time with his son.

In the end…

It was World God Blackmist who spent virtually all of his time by Childstar’s side. He had watched as Childstar grew up, had shielded him from the wind and the rain, ensuring that he would live a carefree life! As for the death of Childstar’s Dao-companion, there was nothing that World God Blackmist could do about that. All he could do was silently support his young ward, hoping that this tragedy would encourage him to grow up even faster.

It had been so many years.

Although he was nominally the child’s ‘second uncle’, in reality Blackmist had spent far more time and effort on Childstar than the old Starlord ever had. He had been there when Childstar was a crying and screaming newborn, and he had watched as Childstar grew up. By now, Blackmist truly viewed Childstar as he would his own son.

At a time like this…the Starlord was going to defend them?

Was ordering him to flee?

How could he possibly flee?

However, World God Blackmist still felt a warm feeling in his heart.

Whoosh. World God Blackmist’s body suddenly began to blaze with white light, and all of his skin instantly transformed to become a rocky-gray color as well.

“Childstar, retreat!” World God Blacklist let out a loud roar as he charged forwards.

Although Childstar was the Starlord, he had always obeyed his second uncle’s instructions. Eventually, however, he had become a World God and become more powerful than his second uncle. It had been a long time since his second uncle had given him any orders.

The fact that he was doing so now caused Childstar to grow blank for a moment…and then he saw World God Blackmist charging forward, his entire body glowing with white light.

The look in Childstar’s eyes instantly changed.

“Second Uncle!” Childstar’s eyes instantly reddened. He was the current Starlord of Fogstone. He knew exactly what his second uncle had just done.

“Not even your Starlord is a match for me. You think you are?” God Emperor Blacklotus once more chopped downwards with his enormous crystal scimitar.

Ssssshrk. Whoosh!

Sword-light and saber-light clashed against each other.

World God Blackmist was different from Childstar. He had relied entirely on himself as he had grown up, with no one there to provide him with any protection. His sword-arts were unpredictable and savage, but also quite suited for defense. Still, even the most defensive of stances would be useless if the disparity in power was too great.

“Eh?” God Emperor Blacklotus was astonished to see that World God Blackmist was merely knocked a few steps back. “H-how is it that you…”

“Childstar, leave right now!” World God Blackmist sent mentally to the Starlord, who was standing there blankly.

The Starlord gritted his teeth, his eyes glistening with tears.

Second Uncle…

Thanks to his second uncle, he had never worried about anything as a child. His second uncle had always been by his side, and the Starlord had grown used to his presence. Upon seeing his second uncle’s body be wreathed in white light, he immediately understood that his second uncle had just used the forbidden fourth stage of the [Fogstone Apocalypse]!

Right. The [Fogstone Apocalypse] actually had a fourth stage!

However, their [Fogstone Apocalypse] was a fragmented technique. Only the first three stages were complete, which was why using the first three stages posed no risks. Even when one used the third stage, so long as that person stopped before completely using up his divine power, he wouldn’t turn into fogstone and die. However, their records of the fourth stage were incomplete. Although it was still usable…once it was used, the body would begin an uncontrollable transformation into fogstone!

In other words…once a cultivator used the fourth stage, he was doomed to die! This was why the Starlord had been so agonized and grief-struck upon seeing the white light wreathing World God Blackmist’s body. There was no way to reverse this process at all.

“This is my choice, and there is no turning back. If you don’t wish for my death to have been for nothing, leave. Leave right now!” World God Blackmist roared furiously, “If you don’t run, I’ll have died for nothing! NOTHING!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!” The Starlord let out an agonized howl, but he still turned and fled at high speed, charging into the skies.

He felt hatred and regret.

Why. Why!

Only now did he truly understand how important his second uncle was to him. His second uncle was his most beloved family member and just as important to him as Yi had been! Why? Why did it have to end up this way?

“Stay alive and forget about revenge. Only when you become a Daolord should you come and seek your revenge. Otherwise, I’ll never forgive you. Never!” World God Blackmist’s voice echoed in the Starlord’s mind.

The Starlord lowered his head to stare downwards, tears cascading down his face.

“Second Uncle…”

Boom!

Whoosh!

World God Blackmist continued to battle against God Emperor Blacklotus.

“What type of divine ability did you use just now?” God Emperor Blacklotus was now quite intrigued. He sent mentally, “You clearly are quite weak, but this divine ability actually allows you to be on par with your Starlord. For a divine ability to be capable of strengthening you this much…Fogstone really does have quite a few nice things.”

God Emperor Blacklotus did know that in the Endless Territories, there were a number of monstrously powerful forbidden divine abilities.

“Hand this divine ability over to me and I’ll spare your life,” God Emperor Blacklotus sent mentally.

“Don’t even think about it!” World God Blackmist roared back.

To be honest, it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to hand it over. People like Ji Ning were only capable of acquiring the first and second stage, while the third stage came with many strict requirements. As for the fourth stage…only the most core members of the Fogstone lineage would have access to it. Although the fourth stage was fragmentary and incomplete, every generation of Starlords had done their best to repair it.

The fourth stage was simply too powerful. If they were capable of restoring it to the point where they could use it safely, it would be wonderful!

“You are now as strong as the Starlord, and your sword-arts are quite strange, but…do you think that’s enough to stop me?” God Emperor Blacklotus let out a furious roar as the giant scimitar in his hands suddenly unleashed hundreds of streaks of crescent saber-light, sending them swirling around World God Blackmist. Every single strike contained the power of his scimitar’s quintessence core.

“I have to be able to block them all. For the sake of Childstar, I have to block them all.” World God Blackmist was wielding six swords in his hands.

He had long ago stopped caring about whether or not he would survive.

In this moment, he felt a greater desire than he had ever felt in his entire life.

His six swords transformed into six streaks of utterly dazzling sword-light, criss-crossing in the area around him and forming an enormous sphere of black mist.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The hundreds of streaks of saber-light struck down upon the sphere of black mist. Although they carried tremendous power, World God Blackmist was completely capable of withstanding them.

“Y-you…” God Emperor Blacklotus stared in astonishment at World God Blackmist. “You actually made a breakthrough?” Before this, World God Blackmist’s sword-arts were very unpredictable, but they weren’t as resilient and tenacious as they were now. His sword-arts had clearly improved to a brand new level, capable of enduring offensive blows as though they truly were made of mist.

This was a terrifyingly strong defensive sword-art. Although God Emperor Blacklotus was stronger than his opponent, he remained unable to break through his defenses.

“Yes. My sword-arts reached a bottleneck a long, long time ago…but fortunately, I was able to make a breakthrough today.” World God Blackmist revealed a relaxed, carefree smile. He was able to stop God Emperor Blacklotus’ attack. Childstar would be able to stay alive. It was enough.

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Chapter 47 – None Shall Escape

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 47 – None Shall Escape

At present, World God Blackmist was every bit the Starlord’s equal in the Dao of the Sword. However, the Starlord focused on offensive attacks, whereas World God Blackmist specialized in defense.

His sword-light was like a web of black mist that filled the entire region. Although God Emperor Blacklotus held an absolute advantage, he was still unable to breach it!

“Damn.”

“Do you really think…that you can stop me?!”

“I, Blacklotus, spent countless years roaming across many territories. You think you can stop me with just a defensive technique like this? You underestimate me too much!” God Emperor Blacklotus turned his gaze towards the fleeing cultivators of the Fogstone Dominion, then let out a cold smile. “I trained as both a Fiendgod Body Refiner and a Ki Refiner!”

Rumble…

The entire imperial capital below them began to shudder, then slowly began to swivel. The city itself was in the shape of a nine-petal black lotus that covered an area of ten million kilometers. As the enormous black lotus swiveled, the entire Blacklotus Chaosworld began to shake. Countless black lotuses began to appear, and they covered the heavens and the earth as they furiously shot out towards the cultivators of the Fogstone Dominion.

“What’s going on?!”

“This is even more terrifying than the secret arts he used earlier.”

“Why are there so many black lotuses?”

Ning and the others were all dazed as they stared downwards.

As the gigantic nine-petal black lotus below them swiveled, it emanated an aura of terrifying power that quickly spread over the entire chaosworld.

“My Daoist name was Blacklotus. My true skills do not lie in close combat, nor was my reputation established because of this Eternal weapon. It was all because of my Dao, the Dao of the Black Lotus!” God Emperor Blacklotus smiled as every inch of the entire chaosworld began to shake. “The imperial capital of the Blacklotus Empire is actually a magic treasure which I used when I roamed through the Endless Territories. I poured all of my blood, sweat, and effort into it, and it contains my Dao.”

“What?”

“It’s a Dao weapon.”

“His Dao?”

The fleeing cultivators all started to panic.

Usually, only Samsara Daolords were capable of forging Dao weapons! It was incredibly difficult for a World-level expert to forge a Dao weapon, but if a World-level expert successfully in doing so and infusing his own Dao into his creation he would have a weapon that was perfectly suited to him, allowing him to unleash tremendous power from it.

The deceased Immortal Owlsoar, for example, had murdered countless living beings to create that ritual tower of great sin. He had personally forged that ritual tower, and the mysteries of the Dao within it belonged to him and him alone, which was why he was quite powerful when using it. His insights into the Dao were quite average, but with that ritual tower in hand, he was actually on par with someone like World God Blackmist.

Some World-level experts who found themselves unable to make any more breakthroughs would generally focus most of their time, energy, and effort on forging a Dao weapon for themselves.

The same was true for God Emperor Blacklotus!

He had personally refined and forged this gigantic black lotus, infusing it with all of his insights into the Dao of the Black Lotus. When he used this new Dao weapon to execute his Forbidden Black Lotus technique, the power of the technique would increase dramatically.

However, after he acquired an Eternal weapon, he rarely saw the need to use his original Dao weapon. In fact, after arriving at the Badlands Territory, he had actually transformed it to make it a hundred thousand kilometers in size and treated it as a city.

Although there were some cultivators who had a strange feeling about the city, as though the entire thing was just one giant treasure, none of them knew that this city actually contained all of the insights into the Dao of God Emperor Blacklotus.

“Now this…this is the true Blacklotus World.”

“Long ago, I set down restrictive spells on every part of this chaosworld. The chaosworld itself can become one with my magic treasure, creating a Blacklotus World of enormous proportions.” God Emperor Blacklotus smiled, but his eyes were filled with madness. “This…is a world of lotuses…”

The entire chaosworld was shaking. The earth had cracked apart in many places, revealing enormous formation leylines. The seas had parted, revealing divine runes that glowed with black light. The mountains had collapsed and the cities had crumbled. The entire chaosworld was like an enormous painting that had been filled with spells…and now, all of the formations that God Emperor Blacklotus had secretly set down long ago suddenly exploded in power.

Countless black lotuses began to take shape.

The activation of this formation alone resulted in trillions of living beings on this chaosworld dying. God Emperor Blacklotus didn’t kill them on purpose, but he also wasn’t willing to weaken the power of his mightiest attack, the ‘Blacklotus World’, just to keep them safe.

The black lotuses filled every inch of the entire chaosworld, and they furiously flew through the air towards the fleeing Elder Gods and other cultivators.

The planet of Fogstone had been rocketing downwards towards the cultivators, but it was now completely surrounded by the endless black lotuses and unable to move any further.

“Be careful.”

“Seven formations, join forces together and do your best to hold!” The Starlord sent frantically.

“Hold!”

The seven thousand Elder Gods had transformed into an enormous protective circle, with Immortal Abyssus and Immortal Skyram having hidden themselves inside the circle. However, the valiant Starlord of Fogstone remained outside the circle, lashing out with his sword repeatedly as he attempted to chop apart as many black lotuses as he could.

However, there were simply too many lotuses.

“We won’t be able to escape. Once God Emperor Blacklotus returns, we’ll be doomed.”

“What should we do next?”

“How could the God Emperor be this powerful?”

All of them were frantic, Ning included. They weren’t capable of breaching past those black lotuses; there was no way they could make it back inside the planet of Fogstone.

“Second Uncle.” The Starlord was still wracked by grief and agony.

“If this continues, all of us are definitely going to die.” Ning was pondering his next steps. “Right now, we’re able to block the black lotuses because all seven formations are sharing the load together, but once God Emperor Blacklotus arrives and strikes out with his Eternal weapon, we won’t even be able to dodge. If his attack lands on me, my Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation will collapse.”

The seven formations weren’t truly as one. Given how strong the God Emperor was, it would be easy for him to break through the defenses of the formations one by one.

“I have no other options.” Ning frowned. Violetjewel was his most important possession, and treasures were incredibly important for any cultivator. Ning truly didn’t wish to loan Violetjewel out to someone else! It was entirely possible that the Starlord would become greedy and not return it. As the leader of the entire Fogstone lineage, the lifeblood oath he had sworn was a very lax one.

As the leader of their organization, he had tremendous authority. He could find excuses to issue punishments to his subordinates, and so it was entirely possible for the Starlord to find a way to put Ning to death without running afoul of his lifeblood oath!

“I’ll have him swear another lifeblood oath of my choosing, then I’ll secretly lend him Violetjewel,” Ning mused. “That’s the only way to survive this.”

“But…there’s just one problem.”

“Spirit of the sword.” Ning immediately reached out to commune with the sword-spirit residing within Violetjewel.

“Master,” the sword-spirit said.

“If I was to allow the Starlord to bind Violetjewel for his own use, how long would it take?” Ning asked. Ning didn’t know much about Eternal weapons, but he had heard that binding them was actually quite difficult.

“According to what the old master told me all those years ago, Eternal weapons are quite hard to bind,” the sword-spirit said. “Normally speaking, anyone below the World level of power will not be able to bind Eternal weapons at all. The only reason why you were able to do so after a few centuries was because of the secret ‘Heartseep technique’ which Vastheaven Palace had access to.

“The Starlord is a World God. He can bind it. But…the quintessence core of an Eternal weapon contains some of the insights into the quintessence of a Dao from the original creator of that weapon. Thus, if you wish to fully master an Eternal weapon, you have to be approved of by the sword’s quintessence core itself,” the sword-spirit said.

Ning nodded.

Creating Chaos weapons and Dao weapons, by contrast, was much simpler. They didn’t have quintessence cores, just a few divine runes and tattoos.

“For a World-level…it’ll take anywhere from four or five days to forever,” the sword-spirit said.

“Forever? You mean, he might never be able to bind it?” Ning was stunned.

“Right. The quintessence cores have their own personalities and will try to seek out masters that suit them. If a core is completely opposed to the person trying to bind it, there’ll be no way to succeed in binding it. However, both you and the Starlord are quite talented in the Dao of the Sword. He should be able to bind it,” the sword-spirit said. “And it should be fairly fast for the Starlord. He should be able to succeed in just a few days.”

Ning began to panic.

A few days?

That was far too much time. Given how furiously World God Blackmist was fighting, he would probably run out of energy in the time needed to boil a kettle of tea. A few days?

……

“Let’s see how much longer you can hang on for.” God Emperor Blacklotus was quite relaxed as he used the giant crystal scimitar in his hands to chop towards World God Blackmist again and again.

World God Blackmist’s entire body had turned a stony gray color and emanated a dazzling white light. Clearly, he had gone all out.

“What should I do? What should I do?!” World God Blackmist was beginning to panic.

He had managed to stop God Emperor Blacklotus, yes. But God Emperor Blacklotus was also an incredibly talented Ki Refiner. This entire chaosworld had become completely filled with black lotuses, all of which were surrounding and suppressing the cultivators of the Fogstone Dominion, making it so that there was no way they could escape.

……

“Eh?”

A crack suddenly appeared in the membrane protecting the chaosworld, and a barefoot, sloppy-looking old man dressed in tattered robes walked out from the crack, staring downwards with curiosity.

“What’s with all these black lotuses? Oho! An Eternal weapon? Isn’t that interesting.” The raggedy old man’s forehead creased as he smiled.

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Chapter 48 – You Dared Attack One of Mine?

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 48 – You Dared Attack One of Mine?

“I wasn’t too late. That young brother of mine hasn’t been killed yet.” The raggedy old man’s gaze pierced through all obstructions as he stared at the great battle being fought.

“Let’s go take a look.”

He sauntered forward through the air. Although his body touched some of the lotus flowers, they slid right through him as though his body was illusory, having no effect on him at all.

He looked as though he was walking quite slowly, but with each step he moved millions of kilometers.

……

The battle was still continuing.

Ji Ning, the Starlord of Fogstone, Immortal Abyssus, and the others had been completely surrounded by the endless black lotuses. There was no way out whatsoever.

“I never would’ve thought that I’d end up dying here.” Immortal Abyssus let out a soft sigh. “For me to die is one thing, but my disciples…” Although some of the disciples remained behind on the planet of Fogstone, once the World-level experts died the planet of Fogstone would fall into the hands of God Emperor Blackstone. Not a single living being would be able to escape.

“How could this God Emperor Blacklotus be so strong?”

“My luck is horrid. I’ve been in seclusion for so many years, and the very first time I leave it to take part in a fight, I end up running into someone as frightening as him.”

“I know. His insights into the Dao are profound, his forbidden secret arts are incredibly powerful, and he even has an Eternal weapon! Even when I roamed about the primordial chaos, I almost never encountered people as terrifying as him.”

The various World-level experts could do nothing but sigh. Their hearts were filled with resentment and an unwillingness to give up, but they could read the situation. Whether they lived or died was now completely up to God Emperor Blacklotus.

“Second Uncle.” The Starlord lowered his head and saw World God Blackmist continuing to furiously fight back against World God Blackmist. Tears appeared in the Starlord’s eyes. “Second Uncle, forget it. Forget it. We’ve lost.”

The fourth stage of the [Fogstone Apocalypse] was indeed terrifyingly powerful, but it used up divine power at an even more terrifying rate. Soon, the very last bit of Blackmist’s divine power would be used up.

“Ahahaha…Blackmist, I have to say that even I admire your tenacity. To show my respect for you, I’ll allow all of these World Gods and Chaos Immortals to join you in death.” The God Emperor’s mocking voice rang out in the skies. “After all of you die, I’ll come up with some other ideas for acquiring your divine abilities and techniques from within the planet of Fogstone.”

“There’s no way you’ll succeed,” World God Blackmist growled, his eyes filled with savagery and pain.

He wasn’t afraid of death.

What he feared was dying while failing to protect the Starlord.

“If I succeed, I’ll be happy. If I don’t, it won’t make much of a difference. Blackmist, I’m curious as to how long your divine power will be able to hold out.” God Emperor Blacklotus was quite relaxed. He held the absolute upper hand and was launching attacks with impunity. “You can fight for as long as you wish, but in the end the result will still be death.”

World God Blackmist’s eyes were filled with resentment.

He was continuing to fight, only because he truly wasn’t willing to give up.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, a series of echoing booms began to ring out in the heavens.

Serpent-shaped streaks of lightning began to cascade down from the heavens. It looked as though trillions of lightning chains had manifested, wantonly crashing downwards against the earth. The countless black lotuses were all wiped out, and even some of the black lotuses that weren’t directly struck by the lightning bolts saw sparks of lightning crackle around them, wiping them out.

One moment ago, the entire world was filled with countless black lotuses. Now…they had all vanished. The mountains, the skies, the seas…the mighty divine runes that filled this world had all been shattered as well.

“What…”

“What just happened?”

The seven thousand Elder Gods that had been struggling to defend were all stunned. The Starlord, Immortal Abyssus…all of them were stunned.

Vanished?

The countless black lotuses which they had been struggling to push back had all just…vanished?

“Impossible. That’s impossible.” God Emperor Blacklotus blanched. He no longer paid any attention to World God Blackmist as he frantically scanned the world around him. He knew exactly how strong this forbidden art of his was, because he had to prepare it in advance by filling the entire chaosworld with many formations.

When all of the formations were unleashed, they were almost comparable to his full power when he used his Eternal weapon.

A forbidden art of such power had been instantly defeated? By lightning? Who could do such a thing?!

“Uh…so did you guys think the lightning looked really pretty?” A voice suddenly rang out by the ears of the Ji Ning, the Starlord, God Emperor Blacklotus, and all the other cultivators.

A barefoot old man dressed in tattered robes walked towards through the air from afar, the trillions of lightning bolts parting before his path.

“I really like lightning, you know.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much talent for it. I lived in the Grand Lightning Sea for ages, but in the end I was still able to master just one stage of its lightning. It is pretty weak, but its not bad when you just want to mess around.” The raggedy old man beamed as he spoke, then waved his hand, causing the trillions of lightning bolts to vanish from the heavens.

The battle between the two sides had come to a complete halt.

The Fogstone Dominion’s major powers were filled with excitement, believing that perhaps they might be able to survive after all.

God Emperor Blacklotus began to worry.

“Greetings, senior.” Immortal Abyssus was the first to react.

“Greetings, senior.” All of the cultivators of the Fogstone Dominion bowed respectfully, including World God Blackmist.

“Greetings, senior.” God Emperor Blacklotus and the World-level experts on his side, as well as all of the Elder Gods, also bowed respectfully.

None of them were fools. What they had witnessed just now spoke volumes. This person had easily, casually wiped out God Emperor Blacklotus’ terrifying forbidden art. Most likely, only someone on a completely different level of power could accomplish this…a Samsara Daolord!

According to the stories, Samsara Daolords walked at the borders between life and death. Each time they traversed this samsara cycle of life and death, they would grow dramatically more powerful. If they failed…then they would die.

Every single one of them was inconceivably powerful.

There were legends of monstrous Elder Gods who could slay World-level experts! However, even the most monstrous of World-level experts would only at most be capable of dealing with newly ascended Samsara Daolords. Any Samsara Daolord who had been alive for just a bit of time had the power to utterly crush any World-level expert, and the longer they stayed alive the more powerful they became. According to the legends, an enraged Samsara Daolord who was about to die might wipe out entire territories in their death throes!

And those legends were true!

Only those who had actually encountered a Daolord would understand how terrifying they were.

“Mm.” The raggedy old man swept the Fogstone Dominion’s experts with his gaze, revealing a smile.

The experts of Fogstone all felt a surge of joy.

The experts of the Blacklotus Empire all felt their hearts tremble.

“You actually dared to attack one of mine.” The raggedy old man looked towards God Emperor Blacklotus, a smile still on his face. “You really are quite bold.”

God Emperor Blacklotus quivered, his body turning soft.

He had experienced many things while roaming through foreign territories, and he had encountered quite a few Samsara Daolords. He knew exactly how terrifying a Samsara Daolord could be.

“Great!”

“It looks like he’s on our side.”

“Didn’t you hear the Daolord say ‘one of mine’ just now? Does he belong to us? Starlord, could he possibly be one of the ancient seniors of the Fogstone lineage?” Every member of Fogstone was jubilant, and Ning let out a sigh of relief as well.

The Starlord was also puzzled. He sent back, “I don’t know. Fogstone does have quite a few ancient cultivators who are roaming the outside world. It is possible that one of them broke through to become a Samsara Daolord, I suppose…but I don’t recognize this man.”

“Blackmist, do you recognize him?”

“I don’t recognize this senior either.” World God Blackmist flew towards them, his skin still that grayish-white color. “If he’s a Samsara Daolord, he must have been training for an extremely long period of time. He probably left Fogstone long before I even started to cultivate. It’s also possible that he’s completely unrelated to Fogstone.”

Fogstone’s experts were musing over who this Daolord was, while the experts of the Blacklotus Empire were filled with terror upon realizing that he was an enemy.

“You attacked one of mine, so…I have to kill you.” The raggedy old man continued to smile in a jolly fashion, but his words were utterly terrifying. He waved his finger, causing an enormous illusory finger of lightning to shoot out towards God Emperor Blacklotus.

“My master is Daolord Seven Sovereigns!” God Emperor Blacklotus had a look on his face as he screamed, “Daolord Seven Sovereigns is my master!”

God Emperor Blacklotus wanted to flee, but spacetime was sealed off in this area. He had nowhere to run or hide.

The finger of lightning tapped him on his body.

Whoosh! One moment, a look of terror was on God Emperor Blacklotus’ face. The next moment, he had been completely transformed into dust.

The entire world was silent.

Ning and the others hadn’t even had the chance to digest the fact that Blacklotus was a disciple of this ‘Daolord Seven Sovereigns’ before Blacklotus died.

“Seven Sovereigns?” The raggedy old man spat. “Seven SOVEREIGNS? More like seven bugs! He hides from me like a bug. This old man wanted to kill him before my Daomerge, but he actually abandoned his home and went scurrying off to some godforsaken place.”

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Chapter 49 – The Daolord’s Brother

Book 24, The Starlord of Fogstone, Chapter 49 – The Daolord’s Brother

After killing God Emperor Blacklotus the raggedy old man waved his hand, collecting the treasures which Blacklotus had left behind. He singled out the giant crystal scimitar in particular, picking it up and giving it a close look. He mumbled to himself, “Huh, this Eternal weapon isn’t bad.” Watched by all of the cultivators, the old man put the scimitar away.

The raggedy old man wasn’t the slightest bit self-conscious about looting Blacklotus’ items.

“He’s crazy powerful.”

“He squashed God Emperor Blacklotus like a bug.”

“Didn’t you hear? This senior even wishes to kill that ‘Daolord Seven Sovereigns’.” The cultivators of Fogstone felt their hearts shudder as they contemplated this. Samsara Daolords were figures that vastly surpassed them in power. However, their innate fear didn’t prevent them from also feeling gratitude and veneration towards this raggedy old man who they had just met for the first time. They all hoped that one day they might also reach his level.

The entire purpose of cultivation was to go out and see more things and experience greater things, to possess more formidable techniques and divine abilities.

“Let’s go down,” the Starlord sent.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Thousands of figures descended from the skies. Now that nothing was around to interfere with their movements, they moved quite quickly as they descended upon the enormous nine-petal black lotus which was now bereft of all buildings. A day ago, this black lotus was a city. After being activated as a treasure, some of the buildings that lay atop it had been put away while the rest had been crushed into dust.

“Greetings, senior.” The Starlord stepped forward and bowed. “Thank you for saving us, senior.”

“Thank you for saving us, senior.” The thousands of cultivators behind him all bowed as well.

As for the surviving Elder Gods and World-level cultivators of the Blacklotus Empire, all of them were feeling rather uneasy. They didn’t even dare to try and flee, nor did they dare to go forward and speak to the Daolord. They were afraid that he’d wave his finger at them and kill them all.

“Senior.” The man dressed in white floral robes gritted his teeth, then said respectfully, “We have nothing to do with this matter. The Starlord came here to take revenge on Chaos Immortal Owlsoar, who is now already dead. We were just defending ourselves and were the weaker side until the God Emperor revealed his true power in an attempt to wipe out the Fogstone lineage…but that was him, not us. We just staid on the sidelines and didn’t get involved at all.”

“Right right right! We didn’t get involved at all, nor were we strong enough to get involved.”

“Please show mercy, senior.”

The four remaining World-level experts and the Elder Gods all waited nervously.

The raggedy old man waved his hand dismissively. “Beat it, beat it! All of you, beat it.”

The survivors of the Blacklotus Empire were stunned for a moment, then revealed looks of joy.

“Thank you, senior.”

First, they bowed respectfully. And then…swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! All of them flew into the skies and departed. The Starlord didn’t dare to stop them; he even withdrew the astral light that had been emanating from the planet of Fogstone. If the Daolord had granted them permission to leave, how could he possibly dare to stop them?

After waving the survivors off, the raggedy old man turned to smile at the cultivators of the Fogstone Dominion who were standing closest to him.

“He’s looking at us.”

“He’s staring at us.”

“He’s smiling!”

“So what if he’s smiling? He smiled when he wiped out God Emperor Blacklotus with a finger, didn’t he?”

“What are you talking about? The Daolord already said that he was on our side.”

“We have no idea who he is. He might be an ancient member of Fogstone who left long ago but made a breakthrough to become a Daolord.” Everyone present was secretly speculating, but they all knew that actually breaking through from the World level to become a Samsara Daolord was incredibly difficult. The Fogstone lineage was an ancient one, but it had only produced a fairly small number of World-level experts. For it to give birth to a Samsara Daolord was extremely unlikely, unless one of them had a stroke of absolutely tremendous luck.

The raggedy old man walked towards them.

The Starlord and the others all bowed respectfully while secretly feeling eager to find out exactly who this old man was.

“Mm.” The raggedy old man glanced at them, then turned his gaze to…Ji Ning.

“The Fogstone lineage, eh?” The raggedy old man nodded slowly, turning his gaze back to the Starlord. “Fogstone deserves to be thanked for its efforts in taking care of this young brother of mine.”

“Young brother?” The Starlord and the others were all stunned.

Ning was also stunned.

Brother?

The raggedy old man winked at Ning, then sent mentally, “What is your name? Who gave you the talisman of welcome?”

Ning immediately understood.

Talisman of welcome?

The Vastheaven Palace’s talisman of welcome? This was a talisman which World God Northrest had prepared for his heir before he died. Every single formal member of Vastheaven Palace was given a single opportunity to welcome and recruit a new member into their ranks. Anyone welcomed in such a manner would be allowed to enter Vastheaven Palace with no need for any testing. Thus, the formal members of Vastheaven Palace wouldn’t casually bestow their talisman of welcome to others. They were generally extremely exacting in their standards, and some of them would never use the talisman a single time in their entire lives.

“My Daoist title is Darknorth, while my personal name is Ji Ning. This talisman of welcome was given to me by World God Northrest,” Ning sent mentally.

“Northrest?” The raggedy old man blinked, then the look in his eye changed. “Do you know how he died?” Vastheaven Palace had known of Northrest’s passing in the moment of his death. It had investigated the cause of his death but had been unable to discover anything.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Let’s chat about that in a bit. Also, there’s no need for you to stay here on Fogstone any longer. Return to Vastheaven Palace with me,” the raggedy old man said. “Vastheaven Palace is much more powerful.”

“Understood,” Ning said.

The lifeblood oath he had sworn to Fogstone had been a fairly loose one, as Ning was planning all along to spend the next chaos cycle searching for Vastheaven Palace. In addition, since this raggedy old man was able to immediately recognize that Ning had a talisman of welcome, he was most likely a member of Vastheaven Palace as well. In fact, it was entirely possible that he was one of their highest ranking members! Only a fool would refuse to join such a powerful organization.

World God Northrest himself had claimed that countless cultivators dreamed of having the chance to join Vastheaven Palace.

“Who is Darknorth to you, senior?” The Starlord and the others were all stunned.

“He’s my friend and brother.” The raggedy old man nodded. “I’m going to take him back with me now. You won’t stop me, right?”

“Of course not!” The Starlord hurriedly nodded. “Darknorth just joined us a short while ago. He was quite powerful when he joined us, and so the lifeblood oath he had to swear was a fairly lax one. He’s absolutely permitted to leave.”

Immortal Abyssus and the others all looked towards Ning as well, a look of envy in their eyes.

Good heavens.

A Samsara Daolord was addressing him as ‘brother’? Who wouldn’t want to be in his place?! They’d even be willing to be the Daolord’s retainer, to say nothing of being his brother. However, Samsara Daolords had extremely high standards. They wouldn’t just casually accept anyone as their retainer.

“There IS one thing.” The Starlord gritted his teeth. “I’d like to ask you to help me, senior.” Although he was afraid of angering this Daolord, he still forced the words out.

“What is it?” The raggedy old man smiled cheerily at him.

“Childstar!” The nearby World God Blackmist sent a furious mental message, terrified that Starlord was going to anger this powerful old man.

The Starlord lowered his head, then said respectfully, “My second uncle used an incomplete divine technique which is causing his entire body to transform into fogstone. We aren’t able to stop or reverse the process. I hope that you can intervene to rescue my second uncle, senior.”

“Oh?” The raggedy old man walked forward towards Blackmist. “This is your second uncle? Yes, he really is completely transforming into fogstone. Hmm. Don’t resist. Let me take a look.”

The raggedy old man extended a hand, pressing it against World God Blackmist’s shoulders and carefully extending his senses.

“Uh…what the hell type of divine ability is this? How unique. It is actually causing even his truesoul to transform into fogstone. If this continues, he’s going to transform into a hunk of rock.” As the raggedy old man extended his senses, he continued to mumble to himself. “But this divine ability really is quite powerful. It actually allows for one’s divine power to explode to such a level of might…quite impressive.”

“Unfortunately, you are using an incomplete version of this divine ability, resulting in your truesoul being petrified. There’s no way to reverse it. Even if you were to suddenly gain the complete, correct version right now, you still wouldn’t be able to stop it.” The raggedy old man let out a sigh. “His truesoul is undergoing an irreversible transformation. When the process is completed, he’ll lose all life and become a hunk of rock.”

“Is there nothing you can do?” The Starlord revealed a look of desperation.

“He won’t be able to hold for much longer. Less than the time needed to boil a kettle of tea.” The raggedy old man shook his head.

“Second Uncle.” The Starlord gripped World God Blackmist’s hands, his eyes reddening.

“Don’t be sad, Childstar. Quite a few of the elders and ancients of the Fogstone lineage have been forced to use the fourth stage, and all of them died in the grips of despair…” World God Blackmist looked fondly at the Starlord, almost as if he was looking at his own son. “I, however, will be dying happily. You are alive! I’ve lived for long enough. Eternity isn’t for everyone.”

“I understand.” The Starlord nodded, but he was still filled with pain.

Slowly, World God Blackmist’s skin turned grayer and grayer. Earlier, there was at least a tinge of pinkish flesh to his coloration, but now his aura grew dimmer and dimmer. And yet, a smile remained on his face.

Finally…

His aura was completely extinguished.

World God Blackmist had completely transformed into a statue. However, his gaze remained gentle and calm, as though he was forever looking at a beloved child.

“Second Uncle.” The Starlord shuddered, wracked by agony.

“Brother Blackmist.” Immortal Abyssus and the others all sighed and bowed slightly.

Ning bowed respectfully as well. He felt great gratitude towards World God Blackmist, who had treated him better than anyone else on Fogstone. Blackmist had even taught him sword-arts with care. Although Blackmist’s sword-arts weren’t particularly formidable, he had truly been very diligent in guiding Ning, going so far as to allow Ning to inspect the sword-arts he himself had come up with.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The Starlord fell to his knees, kowtowing heavily as his tears stained the ground before him.

The statue didn’t move. It just stood there, continuing to stare at him with gentle warmth.

“Let’s go, let’s go. I hate seeing stuff like this happen. Ugh.” The raggedy old man shook his head and sighed. “There’s nothing I can do. His truesoul was transformed into fogstone. Let’s go, Ji Ning. Let’s go.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“Everyone…” Ning looked at the World-level experts and Elder Gods.

Everyone nodded.

Since the Starlord was still kneeling before the statue in grief, it wasn’t appropriate for them to chat too much with Ning. Their gazes said everything that needed saying.

“Let’s go.” The raggedy elder stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ning as they both soared into the skies and disappeared.

As Ning flew away, he turned his head to look backwards, once.

He saw the Starlord on his knees, as well as the gently smiling statue of World God Blackmist.

“Fogstone…” Ning knew that he would never, ever be able to forget this place, his first home in the Badlands Territory.

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Chapter 1 – Daolord Solesky

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 1 – Daolord Solesky

Atop a large ship that was advancing through the emptiness of space.

“Sit.” The raggedy old man sat down in the lotus position, a table in front of him. The table was covered with fruit and wine, and Ji Ning sat down in front of the old man.

“Oh, right. I haven’t introduced myself yet.” The raggedy old man smiled. “I’m one of the three Palace Lords of Vastheaven Palace, ‘Daolord Solesky’.”

“Three Palace Lords?” Ning was surprised.

The information which World God Northrest had left behind indicated that Vastheaven Palace only had two Palace Lords.

“All members of Vastheaven Palace address each other as ‘brother’. There’s no difference in status amongst us,” the raggedy old man explained. “Anyone who can become a Samsara Daolord will be honored with the title of ‘Palace Lord’. A short while ago, Vastheaven Palace gave birth to a new Samsara Daolord.”

Ning was secretly amazed.

This was truly incredible. Their organization had a total of three Daolords! Vastheaven Palace truly was a thriving, powerful place.

“Earlier, you said that it was Northrest who gave you the talisman of welcome. How exactly did Northrest die?” A hint of a baleful aura began to gather around the raggedy old Daolord Solesky. The members of Vastheaven Palace showed extreme solidarity, especially since it was extremely hard to join Vastheaven Palace in the first place. Every single member of the Palace was extremely talented. World God Northrest was on the same level of power as God Emperor Blacklotus, and strictly speaking he was actually a bit more powerful. This was because World God Northrest had trained in the [Nameless] sword-art. When using it alongside Violetjewel, he was somewhat stronger than even Blacklotus had been.

“He was slain by the three Wujiao Godbeasts,” Ning said.

“Them?” A cold light flashed through Daolord Solesky’s eyes, then he closed them and began to spread out his senses.

Daolord Solesky looked just like an ordinary old beggar, but when he closed his eyes, a wave of invisible power swept out from him that caused even Ning to feel a sense of uncontrollable veneration towards the man. Prior to this, Daolord Solesky had kept his aura completely suppressed, so as to ensure that Ning wouldn’t feel any pressure from his presence at all. Now, however…Ning felt the pressure.

A short while later, Daolord Solesky opened his eyes and nodded. “I’ve already sent word to Vastheaven Palace. Both Battlemaster and I engaged in a bit of Numerancy. Those three Wujiao Godbeasts truly were the slayers of Northrest.”

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh in amazement.

Numerancy?

Ning himself had some insights into the workings of fate, and was capable of seeing the destinies of ordinary mortals and weak cultivators. Thus, he knew exactly what Daolord Solesky meant! To use the power of Numerancy to calculate and identify the killer of Northrest was extremely difficult, because there were many different streams of variables which interfered with the workings of fate.

However, once they knew that the killers were the three Wujiao Godbeasts, things were different. They were able to use Numerancy to calculate the actions of both Northrest and the three Wujiao Godbeasts, making it millions of times easier to come to the correct conclusion. Still, few World-level experts would be capable of such a thing.

“Those three vile creatures truly were audacious. How dare they scheme against one of our brothers?” Daolord Solesky’s eyes flashed with cold light. “I really wonder where the hell they got their courage from. Six of our brothers from Vastheaven Palace have already set out after them. Soon, those three vile creatures will die.”

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh for the three Wujiao Godbeasts.

To plot against a member of Vastheaven Palace was no easy feat. The slightest misstep would spell certain doom.

All those years ago, the three Wujiao Godbeasts had successfully ambushed World God Northrest, acquiring the treasures they wanted and forcing him to flee while heavily injured. Despite their ‘success’, they risked their own lives as they furiously chased after him, diving deep into many dangerous areas! They did this precisely because they actually were filled with tremendous terror regarding the possibility of Vastheaven Palace finding out what they had done. If that happened…given how powerful Vastheaven Palace was, they would be easily wiped out.

In the Vastheaven Territory, Vastheaven Palace was the undisputed hegemon.

All of its members were extremely formidable, and some of their most powerful members transcended even supreme World Gods in might. They were even stronger than Northrest had been! Just one of those figures would be able to easily slay all three of them. Even ‘ordinary’ members of Vastheaven Palace would be more powerful than the three Godbeasts; if several ‘ordinary’ members were sent out, they would have no chance at all of surviving.

In the end, World God Northrest was forced to flee into such a lethal death trap that even his Eternal weapon was half-shattered! Only then was he able to throw the three Wujiao Godbeasts off his trail. Thankfully, the quintessence core of his Eternal weapon was extremely powerful, allowing the remnants of his truesoul to hide within it. Alas, in the end, he was unable to reverse or stop the process of his truesoul breaking apart.

“Eh? Why is my lifeblood oath still active?” Ning frowned slightly.

He had sworn a lifeblood oath to go to Vastheaven Palace and inform its Welcomer of Northrest’s death within a chaos cycle.

He had now notified Daolord Solesky, which meant that word had surely been spread to all the members of Vastheaven Palace. In fact, several of the brothers had already struck out for revenge. By all rights, the Welcomer should have been informed as well.

“Gah!”

“Right.” Ning immediately understood what was going on.

The exact wording of his lifeblood oath had been: “I swear on my very life itself that within a thousand years of becoming an Elder God, I must leave the Three Realms. I must reach ‘Vastheaven Palace’ within a chaos cycle and inform a Welcomer of Vastheaven Palace that World God Northrest was slain by the three Wujiao Godbeasts.”

The wording of his lifeblood oath specified that he had to physically reach Vastheaven Palace within a chaos cycle. This was part of his oath.

“It seems that the lifeblood oath will only dissipate after I actually reach Vastheaven Palace,” Ning mused to himself. “Eh. I’m going there anyways. No rush.”

“Ji Ning.” Daolord Solesky suddenly spoke out.

“Palace Lord,” Ning said.

“Just call me big brother Solesky,” Daolord Solesky said with a laugh. “In Vastheaven Palace, people on the same level simply refer to each other as ‘brother’. If someone is a level higher than you, you should just refer to them as ‘big brother’.”

“Big brother Solesky.” Ning nodded.

“Ji Ning, I spent quite a bit of time rushing all the way from the Vastheaven Territory to the Badlands Territory because there are two places in the Badlands Territory I must visit,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Two places in the Badlands Territory?” Ning listened attentively.

“The first place is the Windsource Ruins,” Daolord Solesky said. “I was headed over there, but halfway there I sensed your talisman of welcome. However, I could also sense fate whispering to me that you weren’t in too much danger, so I took my time and wasn’t in a rush to go find you. Alas…if I had known what was happening, I would’ve travelled to you at maximum speed. Perhaps I might’ve been able to save that ‘World God Blackmist’ fellow.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh as well.

He couldn’t really blame Daolord Solesky. Daolord Solesky had only really been focused on Ning’s survival, after all; when he sensed that his brother Ning wasn’t in too much danger, he naturally didn’t feel the need to rush over.

“This ship is heading straight for the Windsource Ruins.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “The Windsource Ruins were established by Daolord Windsource. Daolord Windsource was an absolutely incredible figure. He was every bit my equal and he very nearly succeeded in his Daomerge. The protective spells and formations he left behind to guard his estate are quite troublesome. I really don’t want to risk them, but I have to.”

Ning could tell that apparently Daolord Solesky was just as strong as Daolord Windsource had been.

“Before he died, he laid out all of his insights into the ‘Hundred Streams of the Windsource’,” Daolord Solesky said. “Once that formation is activated, it’ll cause the entire Windsource Chaosworld to completely blow apart. It will be as strong as a full-strength desperation blow from Daolord Windsource!”

“Fortunately, I don’t need to actually break his formation on this trip. All I need to do is enter the core region and acquire a certain treasure,” Daolord Solesky said. “Despite that, it’ll still be dangerous. If you are going with me…I recommend you either stay in my estate-world or wait for me outside the Windsource Ruins.”

Ning said hurriedly, “Big brother Solesky, is there a relatively safe location inside the Ruins that you can take me to?”

He had dared to adventure through the Ruins by himself. Now that he had a Daolord by his side, what did he have to fear?

“I knew it.” Daolord Solesky rather admired Ning’s adventurous spirit. “That place is divided into an outer region, an inner region, and a core region. I’m headed to the core region. If you come with me, I’ll find a relatively safe place inside the core region for you and set up a perimeter for you. No matter what, you are not permitted to leave that area!”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

No kidding. The core region was the most terrifying place in the entire Windsource Ruins. If he ran about randomly within it, he would essentially be treating his own life as a joke.

“Good.” Daolord Solesky nodded.

Just two hours later, Daolord Solesky and Ning arrived at the Windsource Chaosworld.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Samsara Daolords travelled much more quickly than Ning himself could…and this was supposedly a slow, leisurely pace for Daolord Solesky. He would probably move much faster when time really mattered.

“The Windsource Ruins are right over there. I actually went there before, once. Ning pointed at a wide region covered by fogs.

“The Ruins…” Daolord Solesky stood there in the sky, staring downwards at the vast Windsource Ruins. A rather complicated look was on his face. He sighed, “He made it to the very last step. All he needed to do was complete his final step and merge his Hundred Streams into the Dao…but in the end, he failed. Knowing that he was about to die and his Dao was about to vanish, he decided to leave these Ruins behind to let people in the future know that a person named Windsource once existed.”

“Big brother?” Ning looked towards Daolord Solesky.

“Ahahah! My Daomerge is coming. Recently, I’ve developed a habit of thinking about all sorts of random things.” Daolord Solesky shook his head and laughed. “I’m much luckier than Windsource was, and my Dao is stronger than his was as well. Ahaha! Come, come! Follow me inside.”

Whoosh.

Daolord Solesky immediately led Ning to charge downwards into the clouds below.

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Chapter 2 – Sword-Ki Island

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 2 – Sword-Ki Island

Within the Windsource Ruins.

Daolord Solesky and Ji Ning stood in the air, the area around them filled with streams of gray energy.

“Uhh…” Daolord Solesky stared at the streams of gray energy swirling in the skies. Every single stream of energy came out of great crevices within the earth, intermingled with the other streams of gray energy in the air, then plunged back down into a different crevice.

“Interesting. Daolord Windsource was quite a legend, and it seems he had the power to match his reputation.” Daolord Solesky stared at the many criss-crossing streams of gray energy in the skies. “A pity that my path is completely different from his. Otherwise, I’d burrow into the ground and spend some time getting a clear look of the Hundred Streams of the Windsource.”

Ning just stood next to him, not understanding any of this. It had been one of those streams of gray energy that had pulled him into one of the deep abysses.

“Big brother.” Ning pointed towards a pool of water below them, then said, “When I last entered the Windsource Ruins, I accidentally encountered a little house by that lake. The house held a deceased World God and a tower-shaped Eternal treasure he had.”

“An Eternal treasure?” Daolord Solesky glanced downwards, two streams of golden light shooting out of his eyes.

“No, nothing there. There’s no house.” Daolord Solesky shook his head. “The Hundred Streams of the Windsource are constantly changing. The house you encountered last time could well be ten million kilometers away by now.”

Daolord Solesky wouldn’t mind taking away an Eternal weapon if there was no effort involved, but alas it wasn’t there.

“Let’s go.” Daolord Solesky shook his head. “When Daolord Windosurce died, many of his World Gods died with him, but only four or five of them held Eternal weapons. All of them are scattered throughout the Ruins, and I’m not able to break apart the formation protecting this place. All I can do is try my luck, but I could spend thousands of years without finding one of the Eternal weapons.”

Ning agreed with this analysis.

Daolord Solesky himself had said earlier that when the Hundred Streams of the Windsource Formation unleashed its full might, it would be tremendously powerful. Quite a few Daolords, such as Daolord Waterwind or Daolord Badlands, had visited this place before, but all of them acted with great caution. None of them tried to actually breach the formation! This was a formation which Daolord Windsource had poured all of his heart, soul, power, and Dao into as he lay on the verge of death. When the formation was activated, it would possess as much power as Daolord Windsource himself did when engaging in a last-ditch final attack.

“I wouldn’t be afraid of fighting Daolord Windsource himself, but…” Daolord Solesky laughed. “Because he was dying, he poured everything he had into this formation. I don’t want to take on an explosive, full-strength from the thing.”

“Let’s go to the core regions.”

Daolord Solesky led Ning as they continued to fly forwards.

He didn’t try to breach the formation or bypass it. Instead he followed its natural flows, resulting in them slowly moving closer and closer towards the core regions.

Whoooosh. Before them were countless gusts of gray wind. The further they advanced, the more powerful the wind was and the more gusts of them appeared.

Ning stood by Daolord Solesky’s side, but he still couldn’t help but feel nervous.

He could sense that if he was by himself here, he would be completely ground apart into tiny pieces.

“These are all some of Windsource’s killer techniques, but those powerful enough can easily go through them without harm. In fact, they’ll actually form a giant corridor.” Daolord Solesky laughed as he led them through the gray wind.

Before them were a series of islands.

“We are now in a core region,” Daolord Solesky said.

“It is so beautiful here.” Ning saw a large lake that was thousands of kilometers long. In the center of the lake was a single large island surrounded by more than ten smaller islands.

“Don’t be fooled by appearances. This place is extremely dangerous.” Two streams of golden light shot out from Daolord Solesky’s eyes as he surveyed the region. “The island in the center is the place where Daolord Windsource used to live. The surrounding islands should be places where his disciples and servants lived.”

“Oh?” Ning swept the area with his gaze.

Every single island emanated ripples of energy.

Some emanated ripples of electric.

Some emanated ripples of frost.

Some emanated ripples of a bloody aura.

One island had an aura of sword-ki at its center that soared into the heavens.

As for the central island where Daolord Windsource had lived, that island emanated multiple rings of ripples. It was as though this island was generating a omnidirectional wind that gently rippled out in waves. In fact, when the wind reached them Daolord Solesky didn’t move to block it, allowing it to gently blow across them. The feeling was quite comfortable.

However, for some reason, whenever Ning looked at the central island his heart was filled with a sense of fear. “That old bastard.” Daolord Solesky stared intently at the central island, his eyes glowing with golden light as he mumbled to himself, “He died, but he wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t be easy for others to acquire his treasures without paying a price.”

“I won’t be able to take you inside, and I won’t be able to protect you once I go inside.” Daolord Solesky glanced at Ning. “There are quite a few islands around the big one. Just pick one.”

Ning felt a surge of joy. He actually didn’t want to go to the central island. It was too dangerous! If he went inside, he would probably die without even realizing what was happening.

“Alright.” Ning glanced at the small islands before turning to focus on the one which was emanating a towering aura of sword energy. “That one, I suppose.”

Ning knew that all of the World-level experts here had died, which meant that the treasures they had left behind were all ownerless. Ownerless treasures would naturally emanate ripples of tremendous power…and a treasure which emanated such towering ripples of sword energy was bound to be an extraordinary one.

“That one?” Daolord Solesky turned his golden gaze towards that island. That island had an Immortal estate built atop it, and it was from this place that the sword-ki was emanating.

“Ji Ning, you should have the Eternal weapon which Northrest owned, right?” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Mm. When I saw you defend against those black lotuses, I could sense that you were quite strong. That’s why I suspected that you were probably using his ‘Violetjewel’.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “Since you have Violetjewel…although that island is filled with danger, you should be able to handle it.”

“Filled with danger?” Ning was secretly surprised.

“Go. That island holds three deceased World-level experts.” Daolord Solesky laughed. “The treasures they left behind aren’t bad. They are a good fit for you.”

“Three?” Ning nodded.

“Remember. No matter what, don’t move as much as a single step off of that island.” Daolord Solesky said solemnly, “If you touch or activate part of the formations here, you’ll instantly be reduced to dust. I won’t have any chance to save you.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

“Then go.” Daolord Solesky waved his hand, causing a stream of watery light to immediately surrounding Ning and send him flying towards the small island at high speed.

Whooooosh.

Ning landed atop a grassy patch of land. He hurriedly raised his head to stare at the skies, where he saw Daolord Solesky smile and nod towards him. “Just wait here for me on this island.” Daolord Solesky then immediately transformed into a formless stream of water that flew straight towards the large central island.

The ripples of gentle wind surrounding transformed into ripples of incredibly sharp golden wind that could cut through anything. However, that stream of water was durable and formless; even after being chopped apart, it seeped through the wind and reformed, easily bypassing the barrier and entering the central island.

When Ning saw Daolord Solesky transform into a stream of water and sensed the terrifying power of the golden wind emanating from the central island, he was once more reminded of the huge gap in power that existed between him and them. They were on completely different levels.

“I’m still very weak.” Ning turned his head to look at the island he was on.

The island he was on was a few dozen kilometers in size.

The island was filled with beautiful flowers and lovely trees, as well as a few small hills. The Immortal estate was located at the very center and was quite dazzling to behold.

“Is that where the three World-level experts are?”

“Big brother Solesky told me that although this place is filled with danger, I can handle it.” Ning stretched out his hand, causing Violetjewel to appear within it. The azureflower mist energy began to fill his body as well, further strengthening it.

Ning carefully walked forward, arriving before the Immortal estate within a few seconds.

The doors to the palace were open. It was completely silent.

“Eh?”

As Ning cautiously advanced through the estate, he could sense how deathly still the entire place was. At the same time, the hallways were all extremely clean and tidy.

“Nobody here at all?” As Ning walked forward, he saw that the entire place was completely empty. There weren’t even any corpses to be seen. Ning tested out using his coresense and heartforce to scan the place, but the entire region hummed with a gentle wind that blocked out everything. Daolord Solesky was able to scan the place, but clearly Ning was far too weak to do so.

“Eh?” Just as Ning was wondering why there was nobody to be seen here, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Ning saw a small mountain off in the distance located just outside the walls of the palace. Midway up the mountain, there was a little pavilion, and there was a golden-robed figure seated in the lotus position within the pavilion.

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Chapter 3 – Stone Titan

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 3 – Stone Titan

“I never would’ve thought that the first World-level expert would actually be located outside of the estate.” Ji Ning hopped over the wall, then walked up the mountain. The golden-robed figure seated within the distant pavilion looked as though he was alive. He had a long beard, a peaceful face, and emanated faint ripples of a Chaos Immortal’s energy. However, no signs of actual life could be seen.

“The sword energy emanating from this island doesn’t come from him.” Ning turned to glance backwards at the Immortal estate. The sword energy was emanating from deep within the immortal estate itself. Ning had spent some time wandering it, but had been careful to stay in the outer regions of the estate. He hadn’t gone deeper inside of it yet.

If even someone like Daolord Solesky described this place as being ‘filled with danger’, how could Ning possibly dare to take it lightly?

“Senior.” Ning walked to the pavilion, then clasped his hands as he stood outside of it. “I’ll take the treasures you left behind, but I’ll also give you a proper burial to ensure that you won’t be disturbed again.”

Just as his words finished…

Rumble. An aura of power suddenly burst forth.

Ning’s face changed. He hurriedly retreated at high speed, then turned to stare at the place where the aura was coming from. There were many boulders on this mountain, and an enormous boulder was located right next to the pavilion. Ning hadn’t paid it too much attention, but this boulder was now emanating an aura of power that vastly outstripped Ning himself. In fact, Ning had the feeling that it was even more powerful than most World-level experts.

Whoosh. The boulder melted into liquid, then reformed anew, transforming to an enormous stone titan. The stone titan had dark yellow eyes and his entire body was formed from stone, and he was staring straight at Ning.

“A golem?” Ning carefully reached out with his senses. Although this stone titan had an aura of tremendous power, it didn’t have an aura of life; all it had was an aura of energy. It was a construct or a magic treasure of some sort.

“An Elder God?” The stone titan’s voice rumbled. “Puny Elder God. It is good that you chose to show respect to your seniors. If you dared to desecrate my master’s corpse, I would’ve smashed you into a thousand pieces already.”

Ning immediately understood. This stone titan had to be some sort of construct which the deceased Chaos Immortal had created long ago. The Chaos Immortal hadn’t chosen to destroy the golem; instead, he had allowed the golem to stay by his corpse’s side and guard him for all these years.

“So this senior was your master?” Ning said with curiosity, “I imagine you must’ve been trapped on this island for a long, long time. Don’t you want to leave?”

“What do you care?” The stone titan looked at Ning. “You wish to bamboozle me into accepting you as my new master?”

Ning smiled, but in his heart he felt rather embarrassed. This golem wasn’t created through a grafted soul and instead had an artificial golem spirit, but it was quite intelligent.

Generally speaking, intelligent beings who were by themselves for a long period of time would want to leave a place like this. For example, the treasure-spirit of the Eternal-level tower which Ning had encountered in the house by the lake wished to leave the Ruins. Ning could tell that this powerful golem, which had an aura that was mightier than that of most World-level experts, was extremely tough to deal with. Wouldn’t it be nice if Ning could convince the golem to join him and accept him as its new master?

But alas, Ning was mistaken.

This golem was fashioned from a type of marvelous ore, and the golem spirit that had emerged from it had a stony personality as well. The golem enjoyed peace and quiet and was perfectly happy with staying in one place without moving for countless years on end. He had taken the shape of a giant boulder and guarded its master’s corpse for countless years without fail. If Ning hadn’t come, he would’ve continued to remain in that form.

“Yes, I wish you to accept me as your master.” Ning nodded and smiled. “You should be a World-level golem. To leave you here is a complete waste of your power.”

“You were quite respectful to my master, so I’ll give you a chance.” The stone titan nodded. “Since you are just a puny little Elder God, I won’t make it too hard for you. If you can withstand three of my palm-strikes, I’ll accept you as my new master.”

The stone titan still remembered the final words of his master.

His master had known that death was nigh. Before dying, he had said, “After I die, if there are any outsiders who come and act with great respect and propriety, you may follow him after testing him and verifying that he is strong. But if any would act to defile my corpse, slay them! If you cannot slay them, dive into the lake. If they dare to follow you into the lake, they shall surely perish.”

There were some cultivators who would ransack and defile the corpses of deceased seniors. Any of those who came here would be in trouble!

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“These three palms of mine won’t be too powerful, but there aren’t many Elder Gods who can withstand them. Weak Elder Gods aren’t qualified to be my master. Be careful!” The stone titan looked at Ning. Ning was an Elder God, which was why the stone titan was only going to strike three times. If Ning was a World-level expert, the golem would be fighting with full power.

“Come.” Ning nodded.

Whoosh.

The stone titan suddenly struck out with his enormous, pillar-like arms. His arms stretched out to become many dozens of meters long as his giant palms came crashing down towards Ning!

“Fast!” Ning was secretly startled. He unleashed his flexible sword, causing it to transform into a black hole that immediately entangled the stone palm.

Boom!

Ning took one step backwards.

Actually, Ning was doing this on purpose. With the azureflower mist energy strengthening him, his body was as tough as any World God’s body. He easily could’ve stood there without needing to take a step back at all. However, Ning was afraid that this might rouse the golem’s fighting spirit, resulting in the next two palms becoming much more powerful. Taming this golem was what really mattered right now; after he became the golem’s master, there would be plenty of time for the two of them to spar. A World-level golem was far more valuable than most Dao weapons; if any danger appeared, Ning could allow the golem to stand in front and protect him.

“So you have a bit of power.” The stone titan let out a growl. “Try out my second palm!”

Whoosh!

The stone palm easily broke past the speed of light as it instantly appeared before Ning. It was clearly much faster than the previous blow, and as the giant stone palm appeared Ning felt as though the entire world was growing dark.

Boom!! Yet another massive explosion rang out from the collision.

This time, Ning took three steps backwards.

“Eh?” The stone titan frowned at this, and a ‘frown’ appearing on a giant stone face was actually quite an amusing sight. The stone titan had thought that this palm of his would smash the Elder God and send him flying all the way back to the walls of the Immortal palace…but instead, the Elder God had only taken three steps back. Clearly, the man was holding back some of his true power.

“Final palm!” The stone titan let out a growl, sending his palm down towards Ning in an even more brutal strike. This palm-strike was so fierce that space itself was being crushed in on itself and came slamming towards Ning as well.

“Let’s do this!” This time, Ning used his Eternal weapon Violetjewel. He unleashed his most powerful strike!

Boom! It was time for the ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance. Ning lifted Violetjewel up high, transforming it to become three hundred meters long, then chopped down furiously towards the stone titan. It was already the third palm, and so Ning felt that it was time to show the stone titan his real power. He wanted to show the stone titan that he was not a ‘puny Elder God’!

“Eh!?” The stone titan was caught off-guard. The power of the blow which Ning had just unleashed caused him to feel shocked. His palm had been crashing downwards towards Ning, but now he hurriedly angled it upwards to block Ning’s attack instead.

BOOM!!!

A head-on, frontal collision.

The sword-light smashed directly downwards against the giant stone palm, causing the stone titan to sink downwards into the ground. Even the mountain itself trembled slightly. However, this island had been constructed by Daolord Windsource; World-level experts would often spar in these islands but were unable to truly damage it in the slightest.

As for Ning, he was driven quite a few steps backwards by the shockwave generated through this exchange of blows.

“What tremendous power. I caught him off-guard and he only used one hand to block, but he was still able to knock me backwards. In raw strength alone, he vastly surpasses me,” Ning mused to himself.

“I’ve received all three of your palm-strikes,” Ning said.

The stone titan stared at Ning. Puzzled, he asked, “You…you ARE an Elder God, right?”

“Can’t you tell from the aura?” Ning grinned.

“But your power…I feel as though you are comparable to some of the World Gods I’ve met in the past.” The stone titan stared at Ning, feeling quite curious. “There are legends of some Elder Gods who can defeat World Gods. I think you should be able to defeat some of the weakest World Gods…but don’t get smug. I treated you as an Elder God and so I didn’t strike with full force. Otherwise, I would’ve smacked you flying with a single hit. I was afraid if I hit you too hard, I’d send you flying off the island and get you killed by the formations.”

Ning laughed.

He had noticed earlier that the attacks of the stone titan had all come from the same direction. From this direction, even if Ning had been sent flying, he would’ve merely smashed against the Immortal palace. But of course, if he was hit too hard, it was still possible that he would’ve bounced off the Immortal palace and been knocked off the island regardless.

“Do you remember what you promised just now?” Ning said.

“My previous master was a master of formations.” The stone titan glanced at the golden-robed figure within the pavilion. “I didn’t expect that my new master would be an Elder God with the power of a World God.” He opened his mouth, causing a fist-sized globe that was covered with countless divine runes to fly towards Ning, coming to a halt before him.

Ning immediately recognized it. This was the life-core of a golem which contained its formation-diagram. This was the core of the entire golem; upon binding it, he would become capable of controlling it.

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Chapter 4 – Twelve Disciples

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 4 – Twelve Disciples

Ji Ning’s Elder God energy flew out, surrounding the life-core and quickly binding it.

After binding it, Ning could sense the intimate connection that now existed between him and the golem. The golem was now completely under his control.

“A World-level golem. This is far rarer than a Dao weapon.” Ning was in an excellent mood.

“Master.” The stone titan now had a much friendlier look in his eyes as he looked at Ning.

“Right. What’s your name?” Ning asked.

“My previous master just called me Rocky,” the stone titan said honestly.

Ning blinked. A World-level golem was actually named ‘Rocky’?

“Alright, I’ll keep calling you Rocky as well.” Ning nodded, then turned towards the golden-robed corpse. Ning waved his hand, causing the golden-robed corpse and the stone titan to disappear.

Within Ning’s estate world. This was a place filled with endless mountain ranges.

Ning had sent one of his divine power incarnations to accompany the stone titan in travelling through this place.

“When I encounter certain deceased Immortals and Fiendgods in my travels, I’ll generally bury them here.” Ning pointed at a distant mountain which held a graveyard filled with many tombstone, each tombstone quite large.

“Open up.” Ning pointed at a verdant mountain in front of them. Rumble…the mountain began to split apart. Moments later, the golden-robed corpse flew into the mountain crevice. The mountain then reformed, a new tombstone appearing at its very peak.

“What was your previous master’s name?” Ning asked.

“Chaos Immortal Origination,” the stone titan rumbled.

Ning nodded. A total of seven words immediately appeared on the surface of the tombstone: “The burial site of Chaos Immortal Origination.” The stone titan stared at the lush mountain for a moment, then rumbled softly, “Let us leave, Master.”

The pavilion on the mountain in the outside world.

“Immortal Origination didn’t have any Dao armor?” Ning began to bind Immortal Origination’s treasures and carefully sift through them.

“Immortal Origination placed all of his time and energy into his golems. He never engaged in close combat against foes,” the stone titan said. “His most important treasures were the ‘Ninehearts Heavenloop Formation’ and a domain-type artifact known as the ‘Rainbow Cloud World’. Both can be considered top-grade Dao weapons.”

After finishing his inspections, Ning was quite excited by what he had just found. He now possessed an enormous number of chaos jewels! Immortal Origination had stored up roughly fifty cubes worth of chaos jewels.

“The Ninehearts Heavenloop Formation was his most powerful formation. Once he used it, no enemy would dare to move close to him. Once they entered the sphere of the formation, it would be almost impossible for them to break free from it. It was completely up to him whether or not he wished to keep fighting or to flee,” the stone titan said. “However, the formation is an incredibly complicated one. Only someone with incredible talent in the art of formations is capable of using it.”

Ning waved his hand, causing the nine loops to appear before him. Every single loop was filled with countless divine runes that were much more complicated than even the formation-diagram located in the stone titan’s core.

The stone titan had been personally created by Immortal Origination. This Ninehearts Heavenloop Formation, however, was a Dao weapon that had been fashioned by a Samsara Daolord. It was naturally much more profound.

“It is too complicated. I can’t use it.” Ning shook his head then waved his hand again, causing a pearl to appear within it. This pearl was brimming with a strange mist that swirled around it. Ning smiled. “This is better for me. Domain-type Dao weapons are quite rare.”

Although Immortal Origination didn’t have many treasures, the ones he did have were all exquisite.

The Ninehearts Heavenloop Formation was a set of nine loops that were worth more than a hundred cubes of chaos nectar.

The stone titan Rocky was also worth more than a hundred cubes.

The Rainbow Cloud World was a domain-type treasure that was incredibly rare and worth more than fifty cubes.

And then there was the enormous amount of chaos jewels!

“Immortal Origination really had a lot of chaos jewels.” Ning let out a sigh.

“He focused on the art of formations and the art of constructs. He naturally had to prepare many chaos jewels to keep them powered,” the stone titan said.

“Help protect me for a time. I need to spend a bit of time in cultivation,” Ning said.

“Yes, Master.” The stone titan nodded.

Whoosh.

The Heavengazer Tower of Radiance appeared next to him. Ning stepped into the tower.

Within the tower.

Ning sat down in the lotus position. He waved his hand, causing thousands of chaos jewels to appear, all of them brimming with power.

“I can’t let all these chaos jewels go to waste. My protective divine ability isn’t really cutting it any longer. If I just slowly train it on its own, even if I use the Heavengazer Tower it’ll take me tens of thousands of years to master it,” Ning mused to himself. “Since I’ve gained such a great fortune, I might was well be a bit extravagant and break through my current bottleneck.”

Ning had already mastered the upper portion of the [Golden Idol] when he was in the Three Realms, resulting in a divine body that was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure.

Ning had been working on the middle portion of the [Golden Idol] ever since he had become an Elder God.

This divine ability was actually a very simple one. All it needed was energy. Divine power, Immortal energy, chaos energy, spirit-pills…it accepted all types of energy. Ning had started with complete mastery over the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and so was able to use its energy to easily master the upper portion. The middle portion, however, was much more complicated…but it allowed for the cultivator to make his body comparable to a top-grade Chaos treasure. The amount of energy it required was correspondingly great as well!

If Ning continued to simply train slowly, he would need roughly a million years before he was able to master this technique. Even when using the Heavengazer Tower to save time, he would still need tens of thousands of years. Ning had indeed been preparing to spend that time slowly cultivating, because if he wanted to rely on the energy of chaos jewels or chaos nectar he would need to spend dozens of cubes worth of energy. This price was far too high! Even most World Gods would rather spend twenty or thirty thousand years cultivating rather than pay such an enormous price.

Chaos jewels and chaos nectar were used like currency in the Endless Territories.

Chaos nectar’s advantage lay in its quality! It was incredibly marvelous and could be used in many ways. Many divine abilities, secret arts, pill-making techniques, and protective spells needed it.

Chaos jewels’ advantage lay in energy quantity! They were jewels that were naturally formed through a crystallization of chaos energy, which meant that every single chaos jewel held an enormous amount of chaos energy within it. Powerful formations and powerful golems all required chaos jewels to be used as their energy sources. Chaos jewels had many uses as well.

“I need to break through this bottleneck as quickly as I can. If I do so, I’ll stand a better chance of surviving any future dangers. Although big brother Solesky said that I should be able to handle the dangers here, nothing is absolute. Best to be safe.”

Ning waved his hand, causing a chaos jewel to fly into his palm.

Ning then sat there in the lotus position, drawing out an enormous amount of chaos energy into his body from the chaos jewel. His divine body began to transform, and Ning’s skin began to emanate a faint golden light…

Two days later.

After having used up nineteen chaos jewels, Ning opened his eyes.

“Mm. My body has broken through to the Chaos treasure level. I’ll pause here for now. When I go to the outside world and have some more free time, I’ll finish the process.” Ning had spent hundreds of years slowly drawing in energy, resulting in him reaching a bottleneck. Within the Heavengazer Tower, he was able to cause time to flow fifty times faster than in the outside world, resulting in his body eventually breaking through to the Chaos level. Although this used up quite a bit of energy, Ning wasn’t worried about the cost in chaos jewels.

Whoosh.

Ning appeared within the pavilion once more.

“Master.” The stone titan looked at Ning.

“Rocky, there should have been two other World-level experts on this island, right?” Ning asked.

“Yes.” The stone titan pointed at the other distant islands. “There are twelve islands surrounding Daolord Windsource’s residence. These islands housed his twelve disciples as well as some servants.”

“Twelve disciples?” Ning was startled. “What of this island?”

“The three World-level experts who resided on this island were World God Cavecry, Chaos Immortal Bloodpool, and Chaos Immortal Origination. World God Cavecry was the Daolord’s disciple while Immortal Origination and Immortal Bloodpool were responsible for serving World God Cavecry,” the stone titan said. “World God Cavecry was far more powerful than Immortal Origination and Immortal Bloodpool.”

Ning’s curiosity had been aroused. “World God Cavecry was Daolord Windsource’s disciple. Was he ordered to accompany his master into death as well?”

“The disciples who were summoned here were all the ones he didn’t really like. The Daolord was a strange man with a strange personality. If he didn’t acknowledge and respect you, you would die with him,” the stone titan said. “However, Daolord Windsource still bestowed a painting upon World God Cavecry. I still remember what the Daolord said to him when giving him the painting. ‘If you can comprehend and master this painting, you’ll be be given your freedom and allowed to leave.’ Alas, World God Cavecry didn’t manage to master it before his death.”

“Oh.” Ning nodded.

“Actually, Daolord Windsource gave all twelve of these disciples a chance to live. The problem was that he gave them extremely harsh tests that were far too difficult for them. I don’t think any of the twelve managed to live,” the stone titan said.

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Chapter 5 – The Underground Hallway

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 5 – The Underground Hallway

The stone titan said hurriedly, “These twelve disciples were not favored by the Daolord and weren’t acknowledged by him. However, although the Daolord had a rather strange temperament, he would still work hard to cultivate and rear powerful subordinates. Thus, the stronger ones were all expelled and driven away once the Daolord returned to his home. The ones who were required to follow him to this place were the ones who didn’t have much potential.

“Didn’t have much potential?” Ning immediately asked, “Did World God Cavecry have an Eternal weapon?”

“He did not.” The stone titan shook his head.

Ning felt a bit of disappointment. When he had heard that the lord of this island was World God Cavecry, who had two Chaos Immortals serving him, he had thought that Cavecry had to be a truly incredible figure. Who would’ve thought that he didn’t have so much as a single Eternal weapon?

“Eternal weapons are extremely valuable. Not even Daolords can just toss them around casually, and the Daolord preferred for his disciples to adventure for their treasures rather than just wait for him to hand them out,” the stone titan said. “Based on what I know, only nine of the Daolord’s disciples had Eternal weapons. Most of them acquired them on their own. The Daolord doted dearly on his first disciple and his second disciple, and he only bestowed Eternal weapons upon the two of them.”

“None of the twelve disciples who accompanied him in death had Eternal weapons.”

“However, quite a few of his hundreds of slaves had Eternal weapons. They had acquired those weapons by chance as they had accompanied the Daolord in his adventures,” the stone titan said.

Ning nodded slowly.

“Don’t feel disappointed, Master.” The stone titan said hurriedly, “As I recall, before World God Cavecry died he would often spend his time staring at that painting. My master said that painting is equal to an Eternal weapon in value.”

“Painting?” Ning suddenly remembered that Daolord Windsource had bestowed a painting upon World God Cavecry, promising to release him if Cavecry was able to comprehend it.

Alas…World God Cavecry was unable to do so.

“Are you familiar with the palace?” Ning pointed at the Immortal estate before them.

“Of course. Follow me, Master,” the stone titan said.

The stone titan shrank down to a size of three meters, then walked down the mountain alongside Ning and entered the palace.

“Master, you must be careful. World God Cavecry was a cruel, narrow-minded, vicious man who was exceedingly selfish,” the stone titan warned. “Even though he knew he was going to die, he still didn’t wish for others to be able to acquire his treasures. His extreme selfishness was the true reason why Daolord Windsource disliked him. Early on, he improved incredibly fast as a cultivator, and so the Daolord held high hopes for him. However, later on he stopped improving. Given how selfish he was…the Daolord ended up choosing him to be one of the twelve to accompany him in death.”

Ning nodded as he gripped Violetjewel carefully in his hand.

“He spent most of his time within the underground study, focusing on the painting,” the stone titan said. “Daolord Windsource’s death came suddenly. As a result, World God Cavecry died in that underground study, and his corpse remains there.”

When Daolord Windsource died, his twelve disciples and many servants all died as well.

The servants and disciples all knew that his death was impending, but none of them knew exactly when it would occur. There was of course no way that Daolord Windsource himself could send them a mental message warning them that he was about to die.

Rumble…

The stone titan led the way, pushing aside a stone wall in a practiced manner and revealing a stairway leading downwards.

The stone titan walked in front while Ning walked behind him. The two advanced down the stairway.

It was fortunate for Ning that the stone titan was very familiar with the Immortal estate. Otherwise, given how he couldn’t even scan the place with coresense or heartforce, it would’ve been extremely difficult for Ning to locate the door behind that wall.

“Careful, Master. We are now very close to that private study. There might be danger,” the stone titan said as they advanced through the dark hallway.

“Right.” Ning remained on high alert.

The underground hallway was extremely dark, with just the divine runes etched into the sides of the corridor providing a dim amount of flickering light.

The stone titan and Ning continued their advance.

“Come here, Master!” When they reached a turn, the stone titan suddenly sent a mental message to Ning. At a time like this, the stone titan was quite cautious as well.

Ning silently moved to stand next to the stone titan and peered down the hallway.

A figure in blood-colored robes was seated on the ground, slumped against the walls.

“That was Immortal Bloodpool.” The stone titan sent mentally to Ning, “Immortal Bloodpool was probably walking through this hallway when his truesoul was suddenly extinguished, which is why he is half-sitting, half-slumping.”

“Right.” Ning felt a bit of eagerness.

Immortal Origination had quite a few treasures on him. What did Immortal Bloodpool have?

“Let me take a look first, Master.” The stone giant stepped forwards. As a golem, his task was to charge forward and absorb the blows as the vanguard. His body was comparable to a Dao weapon in strength; he would be able to withstand even a blow from most Samsara Daolords! His ability to stay alive was far greater than that of almost any World-level expert.

Only when the stone titan was unable to discover any danger around Immortal Bloodpool’s corpse did Ning step forward as well.

Immortal Bloodpool was quite handsome, but his robes and his hair were all blood-colored, giving him a rather evil aura.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing Immortal Bloodpool’s body to be drawn into his estate.

After inspecting the man’s possessions, Ning found a few pleasant surprises. Although Immortal Bloodpool had slightly fewer treasures than Immortal Origination did, the difference wasn’t that great…and one treasure was particularly useful to Ning.

“A suit of Dao armor.” Ning waved his hand, causing a glittery suit of silverscale armor to appear in his hands. This was most likely a high-grade Dao armor of tremendous worth. The Fogstone Dominion only gave the generals of the Fogstone Army suits of top-grade Chaos armor, while the Blacklotus Emperor didn’t even give the Mindlord or his other generals such precious equipment.

Armor was incredibly rare and expensive! Even a ‘mere’ high-grade Dao armor was worth more than a hundred cubes of chaos nectar.

“Bloodcloud Seat, Five Elements Bloodflame Needles.” Ning nodded.

Immortal Bloodpool had a total of three sets of Dao treasures.

The armor was worth over a hundred cubes of chaos nectar. However, there was no way Ning would be willing to sell it. He focused on close combat and was in dire need of such a strong suit of armor.

The Bloodcloud Seat was an extremely bloodthirsty type of Dao weapon that was worth more than fifty cubes of chaos nectar.

The Five Elements Bloodflame Needles were a set of five needles that were also worth more than fifty cubes of chaos nectar.

Whoosh. Ning quickly bound the suit of armor to himself and put it on.

He now had a suit of Dao armor protecting his body, and his body was itself comparable to a Chaos treasure. Ning could now withstand even a full-force blow from an elite World God. But of course, although Ning could ‘withstand’ such a blow, he would still be easily captured and then killed in other ways. Naturally, Ning wouldn’t be so foolish as to actually get into a real fight against an elite World God.

“It seems as though after we leave this place, I’ll have to find an opportunity to sell off these treasures,” Ning mused to himself. Ning had no use to the treasures which Immortal Origination and Immortal Bloodpool had loved the most.

“Keep going forwards, Rocky,” Ning instructed.

“Yes, Master.” The stone titan advanced fearlessly. A short while later, he came to a halt. He then stretched out with his massive hands and pushed at a section of the wall. That section of the wall looked plain and ordinary, but when he pushed at the section it immediately swung open.

“World God Cavecry is inside there,” the stone titan sent mentally.

“Right.” Ning immediately walked to the entranceway and stared into the study.

The private study was quite large. It was completely silent here.

A black-robed figure was seated in the lotus position, an enormous banner placed behind him.

The ripples of divine power emanating from the black-robed man’s corpse were indeed that of a deceased World God. He was facing a wall which was covered by a painting, and the painting was the most eye-catching thing in the entire study.

The entire scroll emanated a towering aura of sword energy!

The sword energy filled the entire study. In fact, it was so powerful that it went through the entire Immortal palace and soared high into the heavens. Ning and Daolord Solesky had both been immediately able to discover the sword energy soaring out of this particular island.

“So the sword-ki came from this painting.” Ning stared at the painting. Because the banner behind World God Cavecry partially blocked his vision, he was only able to see that it appeared to be a painting of mountains and rivers.

“Should I enter, Master?” The stone titan knew that he shouldn’t act rashly at a time like this.

“Yes, but be careful,” Ning instructed.

The stone titan carefully crept into the study, walking towards the seated black-robed corpse. When he was roughly thirty meters away from the black-robed corpse, circles of divine runes suddenly began to manifest around corpse. The divine runes glowed with dazzling, beautiful light, forming an enormous hemisphere of light that surrounded and protected the corpse. Even the faintly glowing runes located on the walls of the corridor began to grow dramatically brighter!

BOOM!

A terrifying power suddenly burst forth. Ning was only able to use his sword to block from one direction, while the omnidirectional burst of power struck at his body from every other direction…

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Chapter 6 – A Clean Sweep

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 6 – A Clean Sweep

A terrifying shockwave blasted out towards Ji Ning from every direction. Although the brunt of it was blocked by his armor, some of the power still made it through to assault Ning’s body.

“Whoah.”

Ning’s legs were slightly flexed as he stood there in a stable position. He took a deep breath, then glanced at his surroundings. The divine runes that had been flickering on the walls had turned dim. A few aftershocks of power continued to swirl through the corridor, but they were incapable of posing any danger to Ning.

“So World God Cavecry actually prepared a nasty trick like this. What a nasty fellow. If a Chaos Immortal encountered this trap, he probably would’ve died,” Ning murmured softly. The power of that formation was as strong as a frontal blow from a World God. Still, given Ning’s power, even if he was still just wearing his previous set of top-grade Chaos armor he still wouldn’t have been in any trouble.

Anyone with a strong divine body would’ve been able to withstand this blow. Only physically weak Ki Refiners would’ve been slain by it, most likely.

“Rocky.” Ning stepped into the room.

The stone titan had been blasted into the room and against one of the walls. He had now regained his footing as well and he said in a rumbling voice, “I’m fine, Master. World God Cavecry really was a nasty piece of work. He probably set this formation up in secret. Even I didn’t know about it.”

“Right.” Ning turned to glance at the private study. The private study was roughly three hundred meters in size, and the black-robed figure remained seated in the lotus position in the center of it. That enormous banner remained placed directly behind him.

Flutter. Flutter. Streams of black energy swirled around the enormous banner as Fiendgod-like figures began to fly out from it. The creatures that flew out of the banner had human-shaped upper bodies but lower bodies of mist and smoke. They wore suits of black scale armor, had blood-red eyes, and sharp claws. All of them stared intently at Ning and the stone titan.

“Sinfiends.” The stone titan hurriedly sent mentally to Ning, “Master, this is a powerful sin treasure which World God Cavecry personally forged. It is known as the Eversnow Banner and it holds a total of nine sinfiends, each of which is slightly weaker than me.”

Ning’s face changed upon hearing this. A powerful sin treasure?

He could instantly tell that these three ‘sinfiends’ were creatures akin to the ‘ghost generals’ that existed within the Three Realms. The difference was that these sinfiends could grow powerful by devouring sin. When given certain valuable treasures that existed in the primordial chaos, they could undergo a fundamental transformation and become living creatures. These nine sinfiends were all World-level creatures.

“World God Cavecry died long ago,” the stone titan growled. “The nine of you still intend to bar me and my master?”

“Your master? You acknowledged a puny Elder God as your master?”

“Master created us. He shall always be our master.”

“Any who barge into Master’s cultivation grounds shall die.”

“Die!”

The nine sinfiends bellowed and transformed into blurs that charged towards Ning from every direction.

They were intelligent creatures. They knew that Ning was the master of the stone titan. So long as they could kill Ning, everything would come to an end.

“Foolish sinfiends.” The stone titan let out a roar, charging forward to meet them. He transformed into a streak of light, moving far faster than the sinfiends. His hands became enormous in size as he smashed down towards the sinfiends with them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His enormous palm smashed down upon them again and again.

The stone titan possessed an overwhelming advantage in strength. As a stone titan golem, his speed and strength was far superior to the vast majority of World Gods! However, those World Gods all had high levels of insight into the Dao and were very skilled, which was why it would be very hard for the stone titan to slay them.

These sinfiends, however, also didn’t have any insights into the Dao. They solely relied on their innate gifts and brute strength.

Bang! A sinfiend let out an ear-piercing screech as it was smashed aside.

The private room wasn’t that large. The stone titan was able to stop six of the sinfiends all by himself. However, the other three managed to move past the stone titan and charge straight towards Ning.

“There’s no way we can kill the stone golem. Kill the Elder God instead.”

“Eat him.”

“Eat him alive.”

As the three sinfiends flew towards Ning, they emitted strange, ear-piercing cries that caused inaudible ripples of sound that struck out towards Ning’s soul.

“Eh?” Ning’s soul was protected by the heartforce soul-lock technique and reinforced by the azureflower mist energy. It was able to completely negate this soul attack.

“CHOP!”

Ning struck out with the sword in his hand.

Sword-light flashed in a dazzling manner.

Slash!

The Killsword stance, an attack that held nothing back. Ning had just unleashed a tiny amount of the power of Violetjewel’s quintessence core. Given that Ning himself had the strength of a World God, how could these puny sinfiends possibly withstand Ning’s Eternal weapon?

Violetjewel managed to chop through a sinfiend’s body with some difficulty, splitting it in two. Alas, the sinfiend completely transformed into mist before once more reforming in front of Ning. And yet, a look of terror and disbelief was now in its eyes.

“How can this be?”

“How could an Elder God have injured me?”

“How could a mere Elder God be this strong?” All the sinfiends were stunned.

“Surround him and attack him.”

“He’s just one person. Surround him, attack him, and kill him!” One sinfiend let out a sharp cry, followed by shrill screeches from the rest of the nine. The stone titan bellowed, “Foolish sinfiends! Shatter!” The stone titan smashed out with its giant palms with abandon. He rarely had the chance to unleash its full strength in such a manner because when fighting against World-level experts, they would make it extremely difficult for him to strike with full force.

The stone titan struck out with wild abandon. The sinfiends all tried to avoid him, instead focusing on attacking Ning.

“Chop!”

“Chop!”

Ning sent out nine sword-chops in succession, each chop splitting a sinfiend apart. Alas, Ning was still kept outside the room by their assaults, unable to enter it. These sinfiends were completely undamaged by his attacks, and they charged forward in an unceasing stream that prevented Ning from advancing.

“They are formless creatures. Chopping them apart is useless.” Ning’s gaze turned towards the banner that was placed behind the black-robed figure. “If I can bind that banner, the nine sinfiends will no longer pose any danger.”

“Rocky,” Ning sent mentally.

“Master.” The stone titan looked at him.

“Bring that banner to me,” Ning instructed. Every single sinfiend was roughly as strong as he was, and they came in an unending stream; it would be extremely difficult for Ning to move past them and reach the banner.

“Alright.” The stone titan immediately marched towards the banner.

“Stop it!”

“Stop it!” The nine sinfiends began to panic. They had all been working on avoiding the stone titan, but now they no longer were able to continue to do so. The sinfiends all turned to charge towards the stone titans, resulting in a series of head-on clashes between a pair of giant stone palms and many sharp claws. Each time, the sinfiends were blasted apart…and yet, they would almost instantly recover and continue their attacks.

Every single sinfiend was roughly as strong as Ning himself. Eight of them had to work together in order to stop the stone titan in its tracks.

“Hmph.” Ning suddenly charged towards the banner. Although the lone remaining sinfiend sought to block him, he was completely dominated by Ning and his sword-arts. There was no way it could stop Ning at all.

“No…”

There was nothing the nine sinfiends could do. If they tied down the stone golem, they would be unable to tie down Ning. If they tied down Ning, they wouldn’t be able to tie down the stone golem.

As for the banner…the nine of them weren’t able to touch it. If they did, they would immediately be sucked into it.

Whoosh. Smiling, Ning stretched his hand out and grabbed the banner, immediately pouring his Immortal energy into it.

“Graaaaah!” The nine mighty sinfiends didn’t wish to give up, but they all dispersed into mist and were drawn back into the banner.

“It isn’t that hard or that expensive to create sin treasures, but they are quite powerful. No wonder so many cultivators end up deciding to walk the path of evil.” Ning sighed to himself. If one wished to create a golem, one had to have incredibly profound insights into the art of formations and large amounts of precious resources. Only then could a powerful golem to be created. By comparison, golems were far more costly and difficult to make.

Sinfiends? Sinfiends were easy, and the treasures meant to house them were cheap to make. After absorbing enough sin, they would naturally become very powerful, much like how sin-weapons could grow in strength as well.

As for the Sinfiends themselves? If they were fed enough sin, they would grow more powerful as well. The only thing you needed to do was slaughter many people and collect enough sin.

Whoosh.

After putting away the banner, Ning turned his gaze to the black-robed corpse and the distant painting of sword-ki that was hanging on the walls.

“Come here.” Ning waved his hand, collecting both the corpse and the painting.

“Rocky, let’s look around and see if we can find any other treasures,” Ning instructed.

“Yes, Master.”

These two began to search every nook and cranny of the entire estate for treasures. They even dug three feet deep into the floor of every room. Only after completely sweeping through it did they leave.

Atop a mountain on the island.

Ning sat down in a relaxed manner, then laughed softly. “I’ve swept this island clean of all treasures. I really made a killing this time. If it hadn’t been for big brother Solesky, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken for me to acquire such a hoard of treasures.” Ning then turned his attention to the treasures which World God Cavecry had left behind.

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Chapter 7 – A Sudden Change

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 7 – A Sudden Change

After searching through the items, Ji Ning felt both delighted and slightly disappointment.

The surprise and delight came from the fact that World God Cavecry truly was quite wealthy. As a personal disciple of Daolord Windsource, he had treasures that were worth over a thousand cubes of chaos nectar, not including the sword-ki painting! What caused Ning to feel slightly disappointed was the fact that aside from the Eversnow Banner, none of the treasures of World God Cavecry were of use to himself at all.

For example, World God Cavecry’s most valuable treasure-set was a set of six top-grade Dao scimitars. They were worth more than five hundred cubes…but alas, Ning used swords, not scimitars.

As for his armor, it was a set of high-grade Dao armor. This was the same type of armor that Immortal Bloodpool had used. Since Ning already had one, this second set was temporarily of no use to him.

“I suppose I’ll sell it all once I leave.”

Ning cast the treasures to the back of his mind, then waved his hand to summon the painting.

This was the most valuable treasure of the entire island. It was definitely worth as much as an Eternal weapon.

“What secrets are hidden within this painting?” Ning unfurled the painting and gave it a close look. He had already bound the painting and so the sword energy of the painting had been restrained. It now looked completely ordinary.

“It doesn’t have any divine runes on it.”

“There don’t appear to be any ways to activate it.”

“It…it is just a painting…” Ning stared at the sword-ki painting, puzzled.

The sword-ki painting looked like an ordinary painting of mountains and rivers. It held mountains, waterfalls, and creeks. In fact, from an artistic standpoint the painting actually looked rather mediocre. Ning himself could paint something like this. And yet, whenever Ning extended his senses into this seemingly ordinary painting, he could sense a sword-intent that struck fear into his heart. The exalted sword-intent which filled the painting was just as strong as Violetjewel’s quintessence core.

“The person who painted this painting had to be a terrifyingly powerful expert of the Dao of the Sword,” Ning mused. “But so what? At least I can link my consciousness up with my sword’s quintessence core and get a basic understanding of it. All I can do with this painting is look at it!”

What use was a painting that was merely filled with sword-intent that couldn’t be interacted with?

Violetjewel’s quintessence core had a similarly profound sword-intent, but Ning could actually make use of it to do battle!

“Wasn’t this supposed to be equal to an Eternal weapon in value?”

“Eh, it makes sense. Daolord Windsource told World God Cavecry to comprehend and master this painting, but he wasn’t able to succeed in doing so before he died. I’m probably at too low a level of insight into the Dao to understand the true secrets hidden within the painting.” Ning could do nothing save console himself with these words. Still, he couldn’t help but give the painting a few more glances. He had a strange feeling that this painting was hiding certain secrets within it…but alas, a gauze had been draped over these secrets, making it impossible for him to behold them.

“What the hell is it?”

Ning ended up spending six more hours on the painting before giving up and putting it away for now.

“Master.” The nearby stone titan said curiously, “Why have you come to this place? I heard that only Samsara Daolords are capable of passing through the Hundred Streams of the Windsource Formation.”

“I accompanied my big brother, of course.” Ning smiled.

“Your big brother, Master?” The stone titan was quite curious, and his dark yellow eyes suddenly lit up. “Master, your ‘big brother’ is a Daolord? Where is he?”

“He went to the central island.” Ning pointed to the central island. “We’ll just wait for him here. When he returns, he’ll take us out of the Windsource Ruins.”

If Daolord Solesky didn’t return, Ning himself certainly wouldn’t be strong enough to lead.

“But that’s where Daolord Windsource once lived. It is the most dangerous place in this world,” the stone titan said.

Suddenly, a golden ripple of power burst out from the central island. The terrifying ripple instantly swept out in every direction, terrifying Ning and causing his face to turn ashen. Upon seeing the golden omnidirectional wave blast out towards him, he knew that if it touched him he was dead. He wouldn’t even have a chance to dodge.

Fortunately, as the golden wave blasted out from the central island it parted past the various smaller islands.

“What the hell?” Ning was badly rattled.

“He must’ve activated some formation or trap,” the stone titan offered.

“I know that! But he didn’t activate anything earlier. What happened?” Ning was rather worried out. He had spent six hours meditating on the sword-ki painting and nothing had happened…but now, all of a sudden, a huge shockwave had just blasted out in every direction. This caused Ning to feel extremely uneasy.

Within the central island.

A barefoot, raggedy old man let out a long breath. The buildings around him had been completely reduced to rubble. Only a towering palace located at the very center of this island remained standing.

“Damn this Windsource. If he died, he died. Why the hell did he have to leave so many restrictive formations behind?” Daolord Solesky cursed softly. “What, did you want everyone to know how badass you once were?”

He knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but upon actually entering the island he immediately found himself beset with countless dangers, even though there weren’t any treasures nearby! This caused Daolord Solesky to feel quite irritated.

“Nobody can stop my dao!”

“Not only are you dead, even when you were alive you wouldn’t have been able to stop me!”

Daolord Solesky no longer looked as relaxed as he normally did. A terrifying light was now shining in his eyes.

Whoosh!

Daolord Solesky actually split into two…then into four…then into eight…

In the blink of an eye, he split into more than ten thousand figures. Every single Daolord Solesky peered towards the undamaged main palace, then began to walk towards it from different parts of the island. The countless divine runes surrounding and protecting the main palace all began to flicker and flow.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. As the thousands of Daolords advanced, some attacks began to erupt forth and cause his bodies to burst open like bubbles. However, those bodies would then quickly reform. A disturbance was caused within the formation, and quite a few of the bodies seized this opportunity to march inside the formation.

And so, in a seemingly simple fashion, the thousands of Daolords managed to completely bypass the protective barrier of countless divine runes.

“If the actual Hundred Streams of the Windsource formation was activated, I might be in for a bit of trouble. These lesser formations, however, are no match for me at all.”

“Like an illusion.”

“Like a shadow.”

“Space and time.”

“Only I remain.”

The thousands of bodies all vanished, leaving behind just one figure standing before the main palace.

Daolord Solesky stood there, staring at the silver-haired figure seated in the lotus position within the main palace. The silver-haired man had a handsome face, was dressed in white robes, had a smile on his face, and emanated an aura of light. He said with a smile, “I don’t know which fellow Daoist has arrived. Given how hard you worked to defeat the thirteen formations surrounding my island, I imagine you must’ve come for my Talisman of Eternity. The Talisman of Eternity is right here. Before my Daomerge, I nearly perished in order to acquire this Talisman of Eternity. So long as you are willing to kowtow to me three times, fellow Daoist, you may take this talisman with you. But if you wish to take it by force…hmph.”

“You want me to kowtow?” Daolord Solesky’s eyes bulged out.

“You are already dead, and yet you still wish to toy with me? I’ll never kowtow to you, even if it means that I’ll fail my Daomerge as well!” Daolord Solesky was truly enraged now.

He could tell that this was an illusory image when Daolord Windsource had left behind prior to dying.

“The Hundred Streams of the Windsource Formation is an enormous formation. There’s no way its full power can be instantly unleashed. Let’s see what other tricks you have up your sleeve besides this formation!” Daolord Solesky smiled coldly. “I wasn’t afraid of you when you were alive. Now that you are dead, I’m even less afraid of you!”

As he spoke, Daolord Solesky reached out with his hand.

Whoosh.

An enormous illusion of a giant palm suddenly appeared, and it made a snatching motion towards the clothes and treasures located at the very center of the palace. Daolord Windsource had failed his Daomerge, eventually perishing as a result. Since he had died due to failing his Daomerge, at the moment of his death his entire body crumbled apart. Even his truesoul vanished, leaving nothing behind aside from his clothes and his treasures.

Whoosh. The giant palm grabbed the clothes and magic treasures. Although there were Eternal items in the pile, Daolord Solesky didn’t care about them. The only thing that mattered was the Talisman of Eternity.

“I nearly died to acquire this Talisman of Eternity. Fellow Daoist, you want to simply seize it from me? Hahaha…”

Suddenly, a cold laugh began to ring out throughout the main palace.

Countless divine runes suddenly began to manifest from every inch of the palace, causing it to radiate with dazzling light. The entire main palace almost instantly blew apart, the terrifying shockwave sweeping through the entire area. Daolord Solesky’s face immediately changed. He didn’t even have a chance to curse; all he could do was immediately flee for his life.

Rumble…

The entire central island began to crumble as the savage wave of might spread out in every direction.

Ning and the stone titan were waiting patiently on their island for Daolord Solesky to return. They suddenly saw the entire central island begin to break apart as an incomprehensibly powerful shockwave suddenly lashed out in every direction.

“Careful, Master!” The stone titan’s body instantly expanded dramatically as he transformed into a giant globe that completely surrounded Ning.

BOOM!!!!!!

The island which Ning was on began to violently tremble…and then, with a boom, it completely broke apart as well. The shattered bits of the island began to sink into the surrounding waters of the lake, and the palace itself was knocked thousands of kilometers away in the blink of an eye and sent into the distant, howling gray wind.

The stone titan was protecting Ning in the form of a giant boulder that had surrounded him. It was also sent flying and was swept into the howling gray wind, quickly disappearing within it.

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Chapter 8 – Emperor Mirrorsnow

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 8 – Emperor Mirrorsnow

A short while later.

A stone titan was deep inside a giant pit, holding onto the edges of a giant crevice. The gray wind had dragged it inside here.

“Master, the wind is much weaker here,” the stone titan sent mentally.

“Yes.” Ji Ning let out a sigh of relief.

That had been far too dangerous.

Fortunately, he had taken on the stone golem as his servant. Otherwise, he probably would’ve lost his life just now!

“I wonder how my big brother is doing,” Ning mused to himself. “That blast of power was simply incredible. Even though the stone titan covered me and absorbed more than 90% of the force, I still suffered serious internal injuries and used up a great deal of divine power. Without it, I definitely would have died.”

Daolord Windsource’s protective spell was meant to kill other Samsara Daolords who were as powerful as he had been. It was ridiculously powerful! Just the collateral shockwave alone was enough to wipe out weaker Samsara Daolords!

Ning truly had been incredibly lucky!

The twelve islands themselves possessed strong defensive properties. The shockwave had first expended much of its power tearing apart the islands, then landed against the stone titan which had protected Ning, who was wearing a set of high grade Dao armor. All of these factors combined were why Ning managed to survive!

“Master, what should we do next?” The stone titan sent.

“Wait.” Ning sent mentally, “Let’s just wait here for my big brother to come.”

“We should be inside the Hundred Streams of the Windsource Formation,” the stone titan sent mentally. “I heard that there are many windbeasts located inside this formation, each of which has the power of a World-level expert. Once a large number of them surround us, we will be in grave danger.”

“I know.” Ning nodded. He had fought against the windbeasts before. “Don’t worry. If we just wait here quietly, it’ll be difficult for them to discover us.”

“Right,” the stone titan replied.

Time passed by slowly, one minute at a time.

Ning and the golem continued to wait within the deep abyss. “I have the talisman of welcome with me. Big brother can sense exactly where I am located. Why hasn’t he come to me yet?”

“Can it be that he…?”

A thought came to Ning’s mind. Had Daolord Solesky died?

Ning didn’t wish to believe it. Daolord Solesky had been incredibly powerful!

However, he couldn’t help but logically follow this train of thought. That last blast of power had been incredibly strong. Even the weaker shockwaves generated by it had been so strong as to wipe out all the islands. One could imagine how powerful the blast had been within the central island itself! It was entirely possible that Daolord Solesky had died in the face of such great power.

“Impossible.”

“He won’t die that easily.” Ning didn’t wish to believe it, and so he continued to wait quietly.

One hour.

Two hours.

Ning grew more and more nervous, but he continued to wait silently.

“Big brother…”

Ning truly didn’t wish to believe it.

Thump!

Suddenly, a rumbling sound could be heard from deep below them.

“Careful, Rocky.” Ning looked downwards. “It might be a windbeast.”

“A windbeast?” The stone titan was startled.

Ning felt a headache coming. He wasn’t afraid of one windbeast, but if an entire group of them attacked…

“It really is a windbeast!” Ning growled. Below them, at the very bottom of the deep abyss, he could vaguely make out the silvery-blue forms of three windbeasts. Ning instantly went on full alert…but then, he was confused. These three windbeasts were actually rolling forward.

“They…roll?” Ning was speechless.

Whoosh.

A familiar figure suddenly appeared next to two of the rolling windbeasts, foot upraised to deliver a kick. A look of utter terror could be seen on the windbeasts’ faces.

“Ahaha, brother Ji Ning! I finally found you. I searched forever.” The figure was initially quite blurry, but it quickly appeared before Ning. It was the ragged, barefoot Daolord Solesky.

“Big brother!” Ning was delighted.

“I’m glad you are safe.” Daolord Solesky let out a sigh of relief. “The Hundred Streams of the Windsource Formation is filled with twists and turns. It really is a pain in the ass. I could sense you weren’t too far away, but I just couldn’t find the right path to you. I ended up moving farther and farther away from you! I had to spend a bit of time understanding this formation before I could find the correct tunnel.”

“All the twisting tunnels really pissed me off. I really wanted to wreck the entire damn thing, but in the end I managed to keep my temper down.” Daolord Solesky’s face was rather ashen. He waved his hand towards the nearby wall.

Whoosh.

A giant illusory hand tore the wall open, carving out a small cave.

“I suffered a bit of an injury. I need to take a rest. We’ll leave later,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Of course. I’m in no rush,” Ning said. Ning understood that Daolord Solesky had probably rushed off to search for him without even taking the time to heal.

“This Daolord Windsource guy really is a dumbass. Even in death, he wanted to screw other people over.” Daolord Solesky entered the cave, then sat down in a rather frustrated, embarrassed manner. “Thank goodness this old man is pretty strong. Otherwise, this old man would’ve died just now.”

“Hurry up and heal,” Ning urged.

“Right.” Daolord Solesky nodded and closed his eyes.

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble. A series of illusory circles began to radiate out from Daolord Solesky, causing spacetime to twist and distort. The flow of time in the surrounding area began to speed up rapidly, making time in the area move roughly a hundred times faster than in the outside world. Streams of condensed chaos energy began to swirl around Daolord Solesky, transforming him into a black hole that devoured chaos energy.

“He’s absorbing energy from the primordial chaos even faster than I absorb energy from chaos jewels.” Ning was secretly speechless.

Nearly an entire year went by before the process came to a halt.

The streams of chaos energy vanished and spacetime in the cave went back to normal. Daolord Solesky opened his eyes. Nearly a year had gone by within the cave, while merely three days had gone by in the outside world.

“I’m fine now.” Daolord Solesky rose to his feet, a smug look on his face. “That Windsource idiot had to have spent a lot of time and effort setting up that nasty formation. A pity for him that this old man completely recovered after spending just three days.”

“Congratulations, big brother,” Ning said.

“Ahaha! Yes, I should indeed be congratulated. This journey of mine into the Windsource Ruins was a success.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “How about you? Did you get that painting?”

“Yes, I acquired the sword-ki painting.” Ning nodded. “However, I can’t see anything special about it at all, aside from its aura of sword-ki.”

“Ahaha! You don’t get it. Hand it over to me, I’ll help you take a look at it,” Daolord Solesky said.

Ning waved his hand, causing the painting to appear.

Daolord Solesky accepted the painting, opening it and taking a look at it. He nodded slightly as he pointed at the mountains and rivers. “Artistically speaking, this painting really is hideous. Emperor Mirrorsnow clearly is terrible at painting, yet he still takes delight in it. If he spent just a bit of effort on the actual Dao of Painting, he would’ve immediately reached an incredibly high level of skill in painting and calligraphy. And yet, he refuses to actually train in it, instead insisting on treating it as his hobby.”

“Ning said, “That’s how hobbies work, I suppose. If he treated it as part of his cultivation, he would’ve no longer enjoyed it.”

“I suppose.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “Your words make sense. Anyhow, although this painting is quite unsightly, it definitely is as valuable as an Eternal weapon. Emperor Mirrorsnow succeeded in his Daomerge, after all. He became an ancient, eternal figure.

“A successful Daomerge means becoming eternal?” Ning was surprised.

“Yes. Eternal.” Daolord Solesky mused softly, a distant look in his eyes, “Truly eternal in every possible spacetime continuum. No matter how much time passes, they shall remain eternal and everlasting. This old man is just one step away from that level…but alas, this step is the hardest step of all.”

“Enough of that.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “In short…I once had the opportunity to meet Emperor Mirrorsnow. However, roughly a thousand chaos cycles ago, Emperor Mirrorsnow departed and ventured off into unknown realms. The endless primordial chaos is simply too vast. As someone who had become a truly eternal figure, Emperor Mirrorsnow naturally would want to continue his journeys and see more things.”

“He was a fickle, restless man. He didn’t have the patience necessary to teach any disciples. However, before he left, he produced a total of forty sword-ki paintings,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Forty?” Ning was surprised. That many?

“Right.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “A total of ten sets of four paintings.”

“If you can collect an entire set and pass the trials he established within the paintings, you’ll be able to receive his legacy and become his personal disciple,” Daolord Solesky said. “Every single set can only be successfully used once, and so theoretically speaking he can take on a total of ten disciples at most.”

“But of course, Emperor Mirrorsnow scattered those forty paintings across many territories.” Daolord Solesky laughed. “To collect an entire set of four will be quite hard. This painting that you have is the third painting in the set.”

Ning immediately said, “But I didn’t discover any trials yet?”

“Haha…every single Mirrorsnow Painting actually holds an estate-world within it,” Daolord Solesky said. “Once you go inside it, you’ll be given a trial. If you master the relevant sword-art, you’ll have succeeded in passing the trial.”

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Chapter 9 – The Badlands Court

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 9 – The Badlands Court

“An estate-world?” Ning was rather startled. He had already bound the painting to himself, but he had yet to discover any estate-world hidden inside of it.

Daolord Solesky began to laugh when he saw the look Ning’s face. “That’s why I said you don’t get it. Emperor Mirrorsnow left behind those ten sets of paintings with the intention of finding good disciples for himself. However, as an Emperor who had succeeded in his Daomerge and gained eternity, he naturally hoped for his disciples to be figures of great power. They had to at least be capable of becoming Samsara Daolords! How could he possibly be willing to take on an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal as his disciple? They are far too weak, and some have been alive for countless chaos cycles and will never become World-level experts. If someone this weak became his disciple, he would’ve wasted a legacy spot!”

“Thus, only World-level experts can sense the true mysteries hidden within the Mirrorsnow Paintings. Only they are worthy of being tested by it,” Daolord Solesky said.

“You have to be at least a World-level expert?” Ning nodded slowly.

“No, you have to BE a World-level expert!” Daolord Solesky explained, “If you were a Samsara Daolord, you still wouldn’t be able to enter. Samsara Daolords are too strong; they would be able to easily pass his trial. However, Samsara Daolords have already found their own paths and discovered their own Daos. His legacy would be completely useless to them!”

“It has to be World-level experts. Only World-level experts can use these paintings! Only World-level experts are worthy of becoming his disciples,” Daolord Solesky said. “Emperor Mirrorsnow’s Dao was the Dao of the Sword! You are quite a good fit, which is why I agreed to let you go to that island.”

“Oh…” Ning nodded.

No wonder.

No wonder Daolord Windsource had his disciple, World God Cavecry, spend his time meditating on the Mirrorsnow Painting. It could be said that he was actually treating his disciple quite decently by giving him this opportunity. Alas, this was a trial that had been set down by an Eternal Emperor who had succeeded in his Daomerge. One had to acquire and master all four paintings in order to become his disciple, while World God Cavecry hadn’t been able to pass the trial of even a single painting. If he had succeeded, Daolord Windsource would’ve viewed him in a different light and allowed him to live.

“I only have a single painting, and there’s only ten sets in total. Emperor Mirrorsnow scattered them throughout the territories…” Ning said worriedly, “Big brother, how am I supposed to get a full set?”

“Ten sets, forty paintings.” Daolord Solesky smiled merrily. “There are ten of each painting, so it’s not impossible for you to collect an entire set.”

Ning listened carefully.

“I really shouldn’t get involved. I should let you temper yourself and adventure for the paintings, but…my rashness damn near got you killed just now.” Daolord Solesky said, “So I suppose it would only be fair for me to give you something nice in compensation. It doesn’t make much of a difference anyhow.”

“Catch.” Daolord Solesky pulled out a jade slip and tossed it to Ning.

Ning accepted the slip.

“Memorize this,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Alright.” Ning immediately sent his Immortal energy into the jade slip as he began to read it.

A stream of information began to enter his mind.

“I swear on my very life itself…”

Ning immediately discovered a lifeblood oath within the jade slip. One had to swear a lifeblood oath in order to gain access to its contents. Ning read through the lifeblood oath. Simply put, it was an oath to never reveal the contents of the jade slip under any circumstances. If he discovered similar information from other sources, he could only reveal the part he had learned from other sources to others.

This oath wasn’t too stringent. Ning swore the lifeblood oath, then accepted the large amount of information that surged towards his mind.

“Emperor Mirrorsnow has a total of ten sets of paintings. We’ve discovered six ownerless sets of the first painting. The first is located in the third-level world of the ‘Lost Tower City’ of the Voidblue Territory…”

“We’ve discovered five ownerless sets of the second painting. The first is located in the Snowfall Territory…”

“We’ve discovered seven ownerless sets of the third painting. The first is located…”

“We’ve discovered three ownerless sets of the fourth painting…”

Ning stared speechlessly.

There were only forty paintings total, but there were records of twenty-one paintings here! They were scattered throughout the various territories, with the Badlands Territory holding merely two paintings.

One was the third painting, located in the core regions of the Windsource Ruins. Daolord Windsource had acquired it long ago. The core region was an incredibly dangerous place where Daolord Windsource had died. It was filled with many treasures but countless dangers. World-level experts who attempted to enter it would almost invariably perish.

The second was the first painting. It was located in the Allgod Estate. Daolord Allgod had acquired it long ago. Although it was merely in the inner region of the state, which wasn’t that dangerous, the Allgod Estate was a place which was easily entered but almost impossible to leave!

This jade slip even contained detailed information regarding the various dangers one would encounter within the Windsource Ruins and the Allgod Estate.

“Big…” Ning was truly shocked. Why did his big brother have such a detailed intelligence report regarding such an important treasure that was scattered across so many territories? In Ning’s eyes, this sort of valuable information was equal to an Eternal weapon in value! Without this intelligence, he wouldn’t have even known where to begin searching.

“Remember,” Daolord Solesky said solemnly. “You are not allowed to discuss it with any others.”

“Understood,” Ning immediately said.

“In the future, when you are strong enough, you can go and search based on the intelligence I just gave you,” Daolord Solesky said. ‘However, these places are all rather dangerous. The ones in easy-to-get locations have been picked up long ago.”

“As for the Allgod Estate…if you choose to challenge it, you must be careful,” Daolord Solesky said. “When Daolord Allgod was alive, he was an extremely dangerous Daolord. Even I wouldn’t have been a match for him.”

Ning was startled. Daolord Allgod was this incredible?

The Allgod Estate…

Ning had heard of this place before. It was another one of the ancient ruins located within the Badlands Territory, and it was said to be even more dangerous than the Windsource Ruins. Roughly 30% of the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who entered that place would make it out alive.

“He was terrifyingly strong, far more so than Daolord Windsource. Even amongst Daolords, the Allgod Estate is not a place where many would dare tread!” Daolord Solesky let out a sigh. “Let’s go. I already have the talisman I need. Accompany me to the Badlands Court. We’re going to meet Daolord Badlands.”

“Big brother, we’re going to go meet Daolord Badlands?” Ning was puzzled.

“As I said, I came to the Badlands Territory because there are two places I have to visit,” Daolord Solesky said. “The first place was the Windsource Ruins. As for the second place…I’ll need Daolord Badlands to help me out with it.”

Ning nodded slowly.

Daolord Badlands…he was indisputably the number one cultivator of the entire Badlands Territory. His power was unfathomable.

Daolord Solesky led Ning out of the Windsource Ruins. They travelled to Sevenwater Star, then spent a hundred bottles of chaos nectar to travel to the Badlands Everworld.

Whoosh.

A wind was blowing.

Daolord Solesky led Ning forward atop a cloud through the air.

“Flying…” Ning still hadn’t recovered from his shock. “Big brother, you are able to fly in the Badlands Everworld?”

“This everworld does indeed have certain restrictions placed upon it.” Daolord Solesky smiled. “Its laws were created by the ancient power which created this everworld…but since a person was able to create these laws, then another person would be capable of resisting these laws! This old man is just one step away from the Daomerge. If that ancient power came in person, he’d be able to suppress me, but he’s been gone for countless years. These empty laws cannot bind me.”

Ning nodded.

“This old man can fly, but weaker Daolords wouldn’t be able to.” Daolord Solesky had quite a smug look on his face. “Ah, there we are.” He pointed towards the front.

Ahead of them was an enormous lake that was at least a million kilometers in size. Ordinary mortals would describe it as a sea, but to cultivators it truly was nothing more than an inland lake. A large estate could be seen hovering above the lake, filled with countless buildings. In front of the great estate was an enormous stone stele.

The stele was three thousand meters high, and there was a single word engraved upon it – Badlands!

A vigorous, heroic aura spread out from that stele, shaking the world around it.

“The Badlands Court,” Ning murmured softly.

The legendary Badlands Court! In truth, a smaller ‘Badlands Court’ existed within Waveshift City as well. However, this place was the true center and foundation of the organization. This was where Daolord Badlands lived.

“Badlands!” Daolord Solesky led Ning downwards, sending their cloud soaring across the lake. His voice echoed throughout the region. “This old man has come here to eat your food and drink your wine!”

Quite a few figures in the Badlands Court raised their heads to look up. When they saw the ragged, barefoot old man flying through the skies with a white-robed youth in tow, all of them were quite speechless.

“He’s flying?”

“You can fly in an everworld?”

These were proud, arrogant figures. They were World Gods and Chaos Immortals who could all but do as they pleased in the Badlands Territory…and yet, all of their hearts trembled. They knew very well what it meant for someone to be able to fly in this everworld. They all quickly put on very friendly looks as they gazed at the figures in the skies.

“Ahaha! How wonderful that you’ve arrived, big brother Solesky! It wouldn’t matter even if you ate me out of house and home!” A booming laugh rang out as an azure-robed man and a beautiful lady walked out of a house together. They walked into the air, striding towards Daolord Solesky.

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Chapter 10 – An Avatar

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 10 – An Avatar

When the cultivators of the Badlands Court saw these two emerge, they all felt quite proud. See? Daolord Badlands of our Badlands Court is also capable of flying in this everworld!

“Daolord Badlands really lives up to his reputation.” Ji Ning stood next to Daolord Solesky, simply watching this all happen. He was secretly quite surprised Solesky himself had said that weaker Daolords wouldn’t be able to fly in this everworld. Daolord Solesky truly was a formidable figure who was capable of controlling an entire territory.

“Oh?” Daolord Solesky glanced at the beautiful lady in surprise. “Little sister Yan’er, you reached the Daolord level as well? Congratulations, Badlands! You don’t even know how many of our old friends envy you two Dao-companions.”

“I just broke through recently.” The beautiful lady smiled. “And I’m merely at the first step. I’ll be happy if I can one day have even a fraction of your power, big brother Solesky.”

“Yan’er loves to waste time on random things. I’m amazed she even managed to become a Daolord.” The azure-robed man smiled as he looked towards Ning. “This is a member of your Vastheaven Palace?”

“Yes, he’s a brother of Vastheaven Palace.” Daolord Solesky nodded.

“Ji Ning greets you, Daolords.” Ning immediately greeted the two respectfully.

Everyone in the Badlands Territory knew that the Badlands Court was run by Daolord Badlands. Who would’ve thought that his Dao-companion would also become a Daolord?

Alas…

Dao-companion…

How wonderful it would be if he could journey through the vast universe alongside Yu Wei? Solesky’s words were correct; countless cultivators felt envious of Daolord Badlands and his Dao-companion.

“A brother of Vastheaven Palace?” Daolord Badlands gave Ning a second look, as did the beautiful woman next to him. Both felt that this Ji Ning fellow truly was quite lucky. It must be understood that for anyone wandering the primordial chaos, a powerful backer was of paramount importance. Generally speaking, anyone who heard the words ‘a brother of Vastheaven Palace’ would be terrified and unwilling to launch an attack.

All members of Vastheaven Palace viewed each other as brothers. They were a truly united force!

Thus, only a truly crazed, insane individual would dare to attack a member of Vastheaven Palace. The only reason the three Wujiao Godbeasts had dared to do so was because their greed had truly overwhelmed them…and it was also because they knew that World God Northrest didn’t have any clones! If he had left a clone at Vastheaven Palace, the three Wujiao Godbeasts would have never dared to attack him under any situation.

To be a brother of Vastheaven Palace meant far more than merely being a disciple of the Badlands Court.

The disciples of the Badlands Court could do whatever they pleased in the Badlands Territory! Not even God Emperor Blacklotus or the Starlord of Fogstone would have dared to do anything to one of them. However, in the other territories of the Endless Territories, the Badlands Court was a much less imposing presence.

In addition, the disciples of the Badlands Court were clearly delineated in status based on their strength. The life of an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal was naturally valued much less than that of a World-level experts!

However, Vastheaven Palace treated all of its members equally. The life of every single member was incredibly precious, and actually joining Vastheaven Palace was extremely difficult. Once one succeeded in joining it, one would instantly be protected by its mighty aura and reputation.

In addition, the Badlands Court was overall weaker than Vastheaven Palace. Daolord Solesky of Vastheaven Palace was a Daolord who was on the verge of the Daomerge, while Daolord Battlemaster was quite close to him in strength. Now that it had given birth to a third Daolord, it had only become still more powerful.

However, the only formidable figure the Badlands Court possessed was Daolord Badlands himself.

“Eating and drinking isn’t the main reason I came this time. There’s something I need to trouble you with, Badlands.” Daolord Solesky turned slightly more serious as he spoke.

“Oh? Come, come. Let’s sit and talk it over,” Daolord Badlands said hurriedly.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Daolord Solesky led Ning while Daolord Badlands led his wife. The four flew into a secluded residence within the Badlands Court. The entire Badlands Court was merely a hundred thousand kilometers or so in size, but it was filled with quite a few mountains where the disciples of the Badlands Court had set up homes. Daolord Badlands had chosen a location which was the most quiet, secluded location within the entire region.

“Sit.”

Inside this thatched cottage, there was a long wooden table. Daolord Badlands and his wife sat down on one end of the table, while Daolord Solesky led Ning to sit down on the other end.

Daolord Badlands personally poured two cups of fragrant wine.

“Big brother Solesky, what do you need my aid with? So long as I can help you, I will definitely do my best,” Daolord Badlands said.

“Battlemaster is now in control of Vastheaven Palace, while brother Overflow has also broken through to become a Samsara Daolord. I no longer have anything to worry about, and so I can now focus on my Daomerge.” Daolord Solesky said slowly, “But…I’m still not completely confident in being able to succeed in it. The main reason I came to the Badlands Territory is because of the Waveshift world!”

Ning was listening to this discussion carefully.

The Waveshift world?

This was the most dangerous and mysterious place of the entire Badlands Territory! The Badlands Territory had quite a few dangerous regions within it. Some were naturally formed from the primordial chaos itself while others were ruins left behind by deceased Samsara Daolords.

The Waveshift world, however, was the personal estate of the ancient power who had established the Badlands Everworld itself. It was filled with both incredible dangers as well as countless treasures.

Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who entered it were absolutely guaranteed to die.

The majority of World-level experts who entered it would perish as well.

“You acquired the talisman?” Daolord Badlands asked.

“I paid a visit to the Windsource Ruins and acquired a talisman, yes.” Daolord Solesky smiled.

“Oh?” Daolord Badlands was surprised. “I entered that place as well, but when I performed a bit of Numerancy, I predicted that I could very well perish if I tried to force my way through it. I ended up leaving.”

“Ahahaha! You live up to your reputation, Badlands! In terms of Numerancy, you rank amongst the top three Daolords! Even my brother Battlemaster is a bit inferior to you.” Daolord Solesky sighed. “Your prediction was quite accurate. Daolord Windsource died, but he still wanted to ensure that others wouldn’t profit from his death. That final, cataclysmic attack he unleashed…thankfully, this old man is extremely skilled in staying alive. Other experts on my level who specialize in other areas may have very well died.”

“Mm.” Daolord Badlands nodded. “My own Numerancy told me as well that I would probably die if I tried to force it.”

Daolord Solesky was extremely famous. The reason why Vastheaven Palace was such a powerful organization was primarily due to Daolord Solesky’s personal might, and he was famous for being incredibly hard to kill! If you weren’t able to kill him, he would eventually come seek revenge upon you. Thus, most of the other ancient powers were unwilling to make an enemy out of him. This was also why Daolord Solesky was confident enough to force his way through the Windsource Ruins.

“Now that you have the Talisman of Eternity…big brother Solesky, you can go to the Waveshift world.” Daolord Badlands nodded.

“I’m not familiar with that place. No one is more familiar with that place than you, Badlands. That’s why I’m hoping you can help me out,” Daolord Solesky said. “Send one of your avatars and accompany me in my journey through the Waveshift world. Of course, I’m not asking you to do all this for free.”

As he spoke, Daolord Solesky took out an estate-treasure and handed it over.

Daolord Badlands accepted the treasure, pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. I’ll send my avatar to accompany you to the Waveshift world, big brother Solesky! But I’ll need a bit of time. Give me three years to prepare.”

“I’m in no rush.” Daolord Solesky relaxed slightly after seeing Daolord Badlands agree. Avatars were incredibly important to Daolords, and the chances that Daolord Badlands’ avatar would survive the trip to the Waveshift world were quite low. That was why Daolord Solesky not only had to pay a high price, he also had to see if Daolord Badlands was willing to give him face.

Fortunately, the two were good friends.

There was no way he could’ve forced Daolord Badlands to do this. First of all, Daolord Badlands was extremely powerful, on par with Daolord Solesky himself. Secondly, if Badlands didn’t whole-heartedly wish to help him and instead wanted to scheme against him, it wouldn’t be too hard for Badlands to cause trouble with skewed Numerancy.

“The Water Curtain Home is located quite close to my place, and nobody is staying inside it. Big brother Solesky, why don’t you stay there for now along with my young friend Ji Ning?” Daolord Badlands said.

“Very well! Badlands, no need to send us off. We’ll go by ourselves.” Daolord Solesky immediately led Ning to depart from this place.

Daolord Badlands and the beautiful woman remained seated in the lotus position.

“Milord husband.” The beautiful woman was rather worried. “The Waveshift world is filled with many dangers…and as you know, the place which Daolord Solesky is travelling to can be considered part of the core region.”

“I know.” Daolord Badlands nodded. “Although it isn’t easy to create an avatar, if I spend three years in a spatial treasure I should be able to recreate a slightly weaker avatar. My true body will remain here as well, slowly empowering it and strengthening it. Big brother Solesky gave me enough treasure to create two avatars, with a little to spare.”

“Alright.” The beautiful woman nodded, but she remained somewhat unhappy.

A powerful avatar was incredibly important, both to Daolord Badlands himself as well as the entire Badlands Court.

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Chapter 11 – The Daolord’s Arrangements

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 11 – The Daolord’s Arrangements

The Water Curtain Home of the Badlands Court took up an area of roughly a hundred kilometers. It was a secluded, graceful place which the Badlands Court used to receive its most distinguished visitors.

The Water Curtain Home.

This was a dwelling with a garden, a palace, a study, and other buildings that were all hovering atop a great lake of water. They were connected to each other by a series of levitating wooden bridges, and a barefoot, ragged old man was currently walking alongside a white-robed youth across one of those bridges.

“Whew.” Daolord Solesky let out a sigh of relief, an emotional look on his face. “I knew Badlands would help me out. When he actually said it, though, I couldn’t help but feel rather guilty. I really hate owing favors to my old friends.”

“It’s just an avatar, big brother. You aren’t asking him to go in person. Even if he loses it, he should be able to remake it quite quickly, right?” Ji Ning was rather puzzled by this.

Daolord Solesky turned to look at Ning. “A short period of time? Do you know how a Daolord creates his avatar?”

Ning was startled. He slowly shook his head.

“When a World-level expert finds his own Dao and is about to break through to become a Samsara Daolord, he must first ensure that both his body and his soul have reached the utter apex of fullness,” Daolord Solesky said.

“The utter apex of fullness?” Ning murmured to himself.

“In other words, all of his clones must be merged into one,” Daolord Solesky said. “It doesn’t matter what type of cloning technique you might’ve learned in the past; you must merge all of your bodies into one. Of course, there are some special cases, such as the ‘Primaltwins’ which can be created by mortal cultivators. Because both the Primaltwin and the true body have undergone the Celestial Tribulation, there’s no way for them to merge together.”

Ning nodded.

He himself had a Primaltwin that was a Ki Refiner. His true body was a dual refiner, training as both a Fiendgod Body Refiner and a Ki Refiner. His true body had eighteen clones, all of which could join together because they were completely identical. However, there were significant differences between Ning’s Primaltwin and his true body. There was no way to merge them whatsoever.

“Thus, cultivators who started off as mortals essentially have two lives,” Daolord Solesky said with a laugh. “However, although more than half of high-level cultivators started off as ordinary mortals, quite a few of them don’t have Primaltwins! Some of them died, after all, over their many years of cultivation. I would say that more than 90% of Samsara Daolords only have their true body and do not have a Primaltwin.”

Ning nodded slowly.

“Look at me. I’m a Samsara Daolord, and I’m currently very far away from Vastheaven Palace. Why is it that I’m still in touch with them? It is precisely because I have my ‘avatar’ there.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning.

“Avatars are created from magic treasures!” Daolord Solesky explained, “They are much like golems. We forge golem-bodies for ourselves, then send a strand of our soul into them and take control of them! Simply put, we essentially need to fully and perfectly merge our soul with a golem-body, then pour energy into it to upgrade it. The cost of every single avatar is greater than the cost of buying ten Eternal weapons.”

Ning was secretly speechless.

“The treasures which I gave Badlands are enough for him to make two absolutely top-tier avatars, with a bit left to spare.” Daolord Solesky let out a sigh. “But raw materials isn’t the only thing needed to ensure that an avatar body can reach maximum power. The Daolord himself will need to spend an extremely long period of time building it up.”

“In addition, each Daolord can generally only work on a single avatar at once. Each avatar only had a small amount of his soul, after all; once he stops focusing on it, it will slowly degrade in power. Generally speaking, most Daolords only have a single avatar,” Daolord Solesky explained. “I only have a single avatar myself. Because avatars are essentially bodies formed from magic treasures, my avatar is able to seamlessly and perfectly integrate into the great formation protecting Vastheaven Palace. When fused into the formation, the power of my avatar is comparable to my own power! This ensures that it is more than capable of keeping Vastheaven Palace safe.”

“In addition, when an avatar serves as the core of a defensive formation, it will ensure that the power of the formation itself will become tremendous.”

“An avatar is a core force for any organization’s defenses.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “Daolord Badlands’ avatar is also capable of perfectly integrating into the formation protecting the Badlands Court. For me to ask him to send his avatar with me into the Waveshift world means that the Badlands Court’s defenses will be significantly weakened.”

Ning started to understand.

“The reason why he needs three years is because he needs the time to create a second, weaker avatar. In addition, this also means that his true body will have to stay at the Badlands Court and be unable to leave it!” Daolord Solesky continued, “Once his powerful avatar dies in the Waveshift world, he’ll immediately turn all of his efforts and attention to strengthening the second avatar.”

“He’s already prepared for his avatar’s death?” Ning was startled.

“Right.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “His avatar stands a 90% chance of death if it joins me on a trip to the Waveshift world. A perfect avatar that he spend countless years on is going to die, just like that. This isn’t just something that can be waved away by giving him some treasures. I owe Badlands now! If I fail in my Daomerge, then before I die I’ll do everything I can to pay him back. But right now, I must do everything I can for my Daomerge. Nothing else matters.”

Ning nodded slowly.

He had thought that an ‘avatar’ was something akin to the dharma-bodies which Lord Tathagata had in the Three Realms, a body that was created through divine abilities or secret arts. Now, it seemed, they were more like golems! They were completely different concepts.

Ning and Daolord Solesky sat down within a wooden house that was located inside the garden that was hovering above the water.

“Everything is going as I predicted. I now have the Talisman of Eternity, and Badlands will be sending his avatar to accompany me to the Waveshift world.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “The only thing I didn’t predict was that you would be here. I won’t be able to take you to Vastheaven Palace right away. If everything goes completely and perfectly according to plan on my trip to the Waveshift world, I should be able to return in four or five years.”

“But if I end up trapped somewhere inside the Waveshift world, things will get tricky. I might be stuck there for hundreds of million years, or perhaps even as much as a hundred chaos cycles.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “If I’m trapped there for an extended period of time, you’ll have to head off to Vastheaven Palace on your own.”

“Don’t worry about me, big brother.” Ning was quite confident in his abilities.

“It won’t be hard for you to break through to become a World God. Once you make your breakthrough, it’ll be much safer for you to travel off to Vastheaven Palace on your own.” Daolord Solesky waved his hand, causing a shimmering golden scroll to appear in the air before him. “This star map has a detailed route that leads from the Badlands Territory to the Vastheaven Territory. Memorize it right away.”

Ning was delighted. He immediately sent a strand of his coresense into the scroll, quickly memorizing its contents. After finishing, Ning was badly shocked by what he discovered.

What an incredible distance.

The Badlands Territory was located extremely far away from the Vastheaven Territory. The route which Daolord Solesky gave him was the simplest route possible, but it still required him to travel through a hundred and twenty-one different territories! Details regarding quite a few danger zones were also recorded on the star map. It must be understood that even the Starlord of Fogstone had only visited a few of the neighboring territories. If one wandered about randomly without a good star map, one could easily end up into a dangerous part of a foreign, unfamiliar territory.

“The star map I gave you only includes roughly three hundred or so territories worth of information.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning, then said solemnly, “There are also quite a few other foreign territories that I didn’t note down because I’m worried that you might go astray. The Endless Territories are filled with countless dangers. A World-level expert can’t just go running around randomly. You have to follow the line I mapped out. It’ll lower the danger level significantly…but despite that, you are not to head out until you become a World-level expert.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

There was no such thing as true safety in the primordial chaos. It was filled with countless mysteries.

The existing maps and travel lines had been all verified and authenticated by countless generations of cultivators who had risked their very lives. These were all safe routes! If you ran around randomly without paying attention to those routes, you could easily end up trapped in a dangerous death trap.

The distance between the Badlands Territory and the Vastheaven Territory was simply too great. The route which Daolord Solesky had provided included some definitely safe locations as well as relatively safe locations. Only when Ning was strong enough would he be able to reach his destination.

“I’ll bestow a few techniques upon you as well.” Daolord Solesky waved his hand, causing a series of bamboo slips to appear on the table before Ning. “In truth, after you formally join Vastheaven Palace you’ll be given access to a large amount of techniques and secret arts. Still…the formal rites will only occur after you actually reach Vastheaven Palace. Only then will you become a true member of Vastheaven Palace.”

“You have the talisman of welcome, and so it’s not a big deal if I bestow a few techniques upon you early.”

“Master these techniques and do your best to become a World-level expert as soon as possible. If I’m not able to return, you’ll have to rely on your own power to go to Vastheaven Palace,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Yes, big brother.” Ning felt tremendously grateful. Daolord Solesky had already taken many factors into account in trying to help Ning out. It wasn’t realistic to expect him to abandon his own plans and instead shepherd Ning through more than a hundred territories, some of which weren’t even directly linked by transfer arrays. There were actually a number of dangerous regions on the way as well.

Ning spent the next three years living in the Badlands Court. He permitted his retainers, Flamefairy Su Youji and Elder God Wilddog, to come out from his estate-world and also take up residence in the Water Curtain Home for now.

During these three years, Daolord Solesky would occasionally provide Ning with a bit of guidance. He even gave some advice to the Flamefairy. As for Elder God Wilddog, his comprehension abilities were too weak. Daolord Solesky couldn’t be bothered to teach him.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

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Chapter 12 – The Nature of the Sword

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 12 – The Nature of the Sword

On this day, Ji Ning was seated within the levitating wooden study, working on his calligraphy. Every single character was filled with his surging sword-intent.

Next to him was the Flamefairy, Su Youji. She was obediently helping him grind his ink and watching as Ning wrote. Usually, the Flamefairy was a woman with a temper that was just as fiery as her name. The reason why she was being so obedient as to help him grind his ink wasn’t just because she was his retainer; it was also because she wanted to spend as much time next to him as possible. That way, when Daolord Solesky came to offer Ning his advice, he might give her some off-hand advice as well.

“That Daolord is simply incredible.” Whenever the Flamefairy thought of Daolord Solesky, she was filled with admiration and amazement. “He gave me a few pointers during the past three years, allowing me to get a clear picture of what I need to do to advance to the World level. Once I break through this bottleneck, I’ll become a World-level expert!”

Su Youji had benefited tremendously through her association with Ning.

Daolord Solesky was a Samsara Daolord who had reached the very verge of the Daomerge. There was no one else like him in the entire Badlands Territory; even Daolord Badlands was slightly weaker than him! For her to have the chance to get advice from someone like him was truly a tremendous blessing for her! When she had to learn on her own and struggle through many wrong paths, she had still become comparable to a supreme Elder God even though she was just a Ki Refiner. These days, she was improving at an astonishing pace and was just a breath away from becoming a World-level expert herself.

Ning had made significant improvements as well. Daolord Solesky had even personally sparred with him a few times while using the sword. As a result, Ning’s understanding regarding the nature of the sword was undergoing a series of fundamental changes.

If one was at a completely different level of power, one would have a different perspective on the Dao. Although World God Blackmist was a formidable figure, there was a limit to how much he understood. Although Daolord Solesky didn’t really focus on the Dao of the Sword, there were certain commonalities which every single Dao shared.

“What is the sword?”

“Haha, I once heard Emperor Mirrorsnow discuss what the sword is. I felt that his words made a great deal of sense.” Daolord Solesky had once said these words to Ning. “The sword is a weapon which living beings created in order to kill others! The sword has a tip, two edges, and two flat sides. It was designed to kill. In order for you to discover and understand the Dao of the Sword, you need to start with its creation and its design.”

“How should the tip of the sword be used to kill?”

“How should you use a single edge of the sword to kill?”

“How should you use both edges together to kill?”

“How should you use the flat of the blade to kill?”

“When all these things are mixed together…how should you use them to kill?”

“When you meditate on the Dao, you meditate on the true essence and true nature of a thing. You should focus on simplicity, rather than complexity! If your Dao gets more and more complex, eventually you will lose yourself within it! Your Dao can appear to be complex to others, but to you it must be as clear and bright as a mirror.” Daolord Solesky had looked at Ning. “Remember this. This is very important.”

“Also – all techniques spring from the same source! If you reach a bottleneck that you cannot overcome in the Dao of the Sword, you can switch to other tasks such as calligraphy. I saw that your calligraphy isn’t bad, and you can infuse it with your Dao of the Sword. This is something that is quite different from using it to fight. However, these two things will share many commonalities, and both have their strengths with regards to helping you understand the Dao. Based on what I know, the majority of Samsara Daolords who focus on the Dao of the Sword also enjoy painting and calligraphy. I imagine there has to be a good reason for this.”

“I can also see that you have high affinity towards water, lightning, and space. Don’t discard or abandon these insights. Focus on them as well. There are commonalities between every single Dao. For example, although I’ve never focused on the Dao of the Sword, if I spent four or five days on it my mastery over the Dao of the Sword would become comparable to that of some weaker Samsara Daolords who do focus on the sword.”

Ning had felt as though a brand new gateway had just appeared before him, one which had brought him a completely new way of looking at the Dao of the Sword.

Ning had never intended to give up on water, lightning, space, or any of his other Daos. He did understand that all Daos shared certain commonalities.

As for calligraphy, he had always felt that that writing calligraphy was very pleasing and relaxing. However, only after listening to Daolord Solesky’s words did he truly understand how helpful it could be.

A new world had truly opened up before him.

“Right. Long, long ago, one of the first creatures of the primordial chaos created the very first ‘sword’. Ever since then, countless living beings have used his ‘sword’. Their techniques constantly improved until it all reached the level of a Dao unto itself that only became more and more powerful. Only then did the Dao of the Sword, a Dao feared by countless cultivators, come into existence.”

“The tip of the sword…the edge…the double edge…the flat…”

Ever since that day, the way in which Ning viewed the sword completely changed.

In the past, he had always felt that the Dao of the Sword was truly unfathomably profound, and he had dedicated himself to piously and slowly understanding all of its mysteries.

Now, Ning had a different view of the sword. Although the Dao of the Sword was indeed profound, its fundamental essence remained quite simple; it lay in the sword itself. If you could truly understand the structure of a sword, you would be able to quickly grasp the essence of the Dao of the Sword itself.

Ning now viewed the [Brightmoon] sword-art and the [Nameless] sword-art in completely different ways. He immediately began to retrofit them, making the ‘Blood Drop’ stance purer, the ‘Soleheart’ stance more ephemeral, the ‘Yin-Yang’ stance more chaotic, the ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance more dominating, and the ‘Shadowless’ stance slightly less unpredictable but even faster than before.

In fact, he split the Heavenbreaker stance into two different stances. The first used the edge of the sword to attack and was known as the ‘Heavenbreaker Hacker’; the other used the flat of the blade to attack and was known as the ‘Heavenbreaker – Eliminator’.

The power of the [Brightmoon] sword-art had suddenly increased more than twofold, just because he now had a completely different way of viewing the sword. In the distant future, Ning would understand how tremendously beneficial this new way of thinking would be for him and also feel even more gratitude towards Daolord Solesky for advising him.

“Mm.” Daolord Solesky was currently seated off in the distant, leisurely sipping some wine and watching as Ji Ning worked on his calligraphy within that levitating wooden study. Daolord Solesky couldn’t help but nod slowly.

“This Ji Ning really does have some talent.”

The Dao was not to be transmitted casually!

It wasn’t just that his guidance was incredibly valuable or precious. His avatar in Vastheaven Palace was capable of giving good guidance to every single member of Vastheaven Palace…and yet, every single cultivator had their own firm beliefs. If your guidance was very different from what they believed or what their own insights were, they would reject your guidance on an intrinsic level. Or worse; because they trusted in the Daolord and felt certain that his words had to be right, they might end up questioning their own Dao and losing their own way. That would be even worse!

Thus, each person’s Dao truly was different.

It wasn’t easy for a master to find a good disciple! When Ning had created his [Brightmoon] sword-art, he had already drawn the rough sketches of his own personal understanding of the Dao. When Ning had been in the Three Realms, he had proudly and foolishly believed that he could infuse the entirety of the Dao of the Sword into his five stances. What he didn’t realize was that all five stances were just variations on the true essence of the sword.

He had already reached out to the true essence of the sword. He just didn’t understand that he had done so.

Daolord Solesky’s guidance helped him to see past his own preconceptions, allowing him to see the truth. Since this was the path he had already chosen, the guidance he was given was enormous beneficial and helped him to understand his path more clearly than before.

“Ji Ning.” Daolord Solesky rose to his feet.

“Big brother.” Ning put down his brush and hurriedly walked out of the study. Elder God Wilddog was on duty, awaiting his commands.

“I am going to go to the Waveshift world now,” Daolord Solesky said. “After I leave, it’ll all be up to you.”

“Don’t worry about me, big brother. When you go to the Waveshift world, you need to be careful and stay safe.” Ning was worried as well. During the past three years, Ning had gotten a better sense of how dangerous the Waveshift world was. It was unfathomably more dangerous than the Windsource Ruins had been, and even Daolord Solesky would be in danger of dying in there.

“Ahaha! This old man plans to succeed in the Daomerge. How could I possibly let myself die in the Waveshift world?” Daolord Solesky laughed loudly, then strode away into the skies. An azure-robed figure was already waiting for him high in the air. This was Daolord Badlands’ avatar.

“Sorry for the trouble, brother Badlands,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Haha, I’ve never gone into the core regions of the Waveshift world either. Now that you are here, I can do a bit more exploring than I’ve done in the past.” Daolord Badlands’ avatar smiled.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s.”

The two transformed into streaks of light, disappearing into the horizon.

Ning just watched them from afar. After having spent three years with Daolord Solesky, he knew that the man truly did view him as he would a brother.

“Come back alive, big brother.” Ning murmured these words softly to himself.

Daolord Solesky had said that if everything went perfectly smoothly in the Waveshift world, he would be able to return in four or five years. If he ended up trapped, it could easily be hundreds of millions of years or even a hundred chaos cycles before he managed to escape.

Ning, the Flamefairy, and Elder God Wilddog continued to live within the Badlands Court. They slowly became familiar with the other cultivators who lived here, and Ning would even spend some time dueling with other cultivators of the Dao of the Sword. One of the competitions resulted in quite a bit of hubbub, because every single Elder God and Ancestral Immortal sword-wielder of the Badlands Court ended up being defeated by Ji Ning.

It must be understood that all of them used extremely ordinary swords and very little force; it was merely a contest of Daos.

In the end, even World-level experts got interested and involved. Now that Ning had begun to understand the true essence of the sword, only World-level experts who were truly skilled in the Dao of the Sword were able to suppress him…and they were only able to suppress, not defeat. The cultivators of the Badlands Court couldn’t help but sigh to themselves, “Brother Darknorth is most likely going to become a World God through the Dao of the Sword.”

Life was relaxed but quite fulfilling. Time passed on, year after year.

Three years. Five years. Ten years. Fifty years. A hundred years.

Ning continued his quiet life here at the Badlands Court, but Daolord Solesky still had yet to return.

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Chapter 13 – The Mysterious Treasure Auction

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 13 – The Mysterious Treasure Auction

“Ji Ning.”

Ji Ning was seated atop a levitating wooden bridge, lazily fishing. A voice suddenly rang out, badly startling him. He hurriedly turned his head, realizing that an azure-robed figure had just appeared next to him.

“Ji Ning greets you, Daolord.” Ning hurriedly rose to his feet. It was Daolord Badlands! Ning’s heart clenched. After having spent more than a hundred years here at the Badlands Court, he had grown quite used to this place and become very familiar with many of its World Gods, Chaos Immortals, Elder Gods, and Ancestral Immortals. However, he had never met Daolord Badlands a second time.

He knew that Daolord Badlands rarely showed his face in the Badlands Court. Millions of years often passed without a single appearance! However, he was actually one of the more visible Daolords. Some Samsara Daolords would only reveal themselves within their own clans a single time during each chaos cycle.

When there was such an absolute disparity in power, it became hard for people to become friends and hold conversations.

“Brother Solesky asked me to pass you a message.” Daolord Badlands looked at Ning. “He probably won’t be able to make it out of there any time soon. Your return to Vastheaven Palace will be up to you.”

“He won’t be able to make it out of there any time soon?” Ning was startled. He asked nervously, “Daolord, my big brother…”

“You don’t have to worry.” Daolord Badlands smiled. “He isn’t in much danger, but both him and my avatar are going to be trapped for a while. It’ll probably take at least a million years to make it out of the formation we are currently trapped in, and there will be more dangers to come!”

Ning nodded slowly.

“Catch.” Daolord Badlands tossed a black talisman over.

Ning accepted the talisman. This talisman only had two rippling waves carved onto it. One wave looked fast while the other looked slow and calm.”

“This is the Badlands insignia,” Daolord Badlands said. “I’ve set down restrictive spells upon it, ensuring that it can only be bound once. Anyone who has the Badlands insignia is equivalent in status to a formal member of the Badlands Court. In the Badlands Territory, it’ll be of some use to you.”

“Thank you, Daolord.” Ning hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

He had naturally heard of the Badlands insignia before.

With this insignia in hand, not even figures like God Emperor Blacklotus would dare to touch him. Although his status as a disciple of Vastheaven Palace was even more incredible, Vastheaven Palace was too far away. Almost nobody in the Badlands Territory even knew what Vastheaven Palace was. In fact, not even many of the disciples of the Badlands Court knew about it.

Similarly, not many of the members of Vastheaven Palace had ever heard of the Badlands Court. The Daolords of each organization generally wouldn’t give the other members such detailed maps, for fear that they might end up running too far away and getting lost, never to be able to make it back.

But of course, the powerful Daolords of Vastheaven Palace, the Badlands Court, and other similar organizations all knew each other. Thus, many Samsara Daolords would be unwilling to attack Ning once they realized who Ning was.

Powerful World-level experts generally weren’t afraid of other World-level experts. If they weren’t able to win, they would be able to flee! They only feared Samsara Daolords…and that’s when having a powerful organization as a backer made all the difference.

However, you also had to understand what the relationship was between your enemy and your own organization. God Emperor Blacklotus had foolishly reported that he was the disciple of Daolord Seven Sovereigns, but what he didn’t know was that Daolord Seven Sovereigns was mortal enemies with Daolord Solesky…and had been so terrified by Daolord Solesky that he had fled long ago. Blacklotus reporting his affiliation only resulted in him dying even quicker.

Time passed on, day by day.

Ning continued to live within the Badlands Court. He was in no rush to go out adventuring, because he was currently growing stronger at a break-neck pace.

The Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] had started to take form long ago. Thanks to Daolord Solesky’s guidance, it had truly come into being.

After using up a few dozen cubes worth of chaos jewels and the Heavengazer Tower, Ning had already mastered the middle portion of the [Golden Idol] as well. His body was now comparable to a top-grade Chaos treasure, the same level which World God Northrest had reached all those years ago.

These two accomplishments had been relatively simple ones.

The reason why Ning continued to live peacefully here at the Badlands Court was because he now had a completely different way of viewing the Dao of the Sword. He was improving incredibly fast and had yet to encounter a bottleneck! Generally speaking, cultivators would only go out adventuring when they had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation. Only by seeing and experiencing more things would they be able to more easily break through those bottlenecks.

“Darknorth, senior apprentice-brother Threecold is planning to pay a visit to the Azuresky Territory’s Startower region and give it a go. Anyone who wants to go with him can go seek him out. Any interest?”

“The Azuresky Territory? The Startower region?”

“Yes. It’s not too far away from our Badlands territory. The legends say that the Startower region was created when an ancient power tossed out a tower-shaped magic treasure and left it there in the primordial chaos. The tower drew in energy from the primordial chaos, creating an entire region of incredible power around itself. I hear that even Samsara Daolords will visit that place in the hopes of finding and acquiring that magic tower. Unfortunately, none of them have been able to master it to date. The treasures and techniques it contains are enough to satisfy World-level experts like us. Want to go? Senior apprentice-brother Threefrost is very powerful. If we go with him, it’ll be much safer.”

“I don’t wish to leave for now. Thank you for asking, brother Sevencolor.”

“Oh. Alright.”

Immortal Sevencolor exchanged a few more words with Ning, then departed.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

As the most powerful organization within the entire Badlands Territory, the Badlands Court was quite strict on accepting new disciples. New disciples had to be tremendously talented, and most were World-level experts. The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who made it in were all monstrously talented, and so most of the World-level experts of the Badlands Court were able to reach the level of full mastery and become master-class World Gods.

Upon reaching this level, the next breakthrough would result in them becoming Samsara Daolords!

There were many independent World-level experts in the outside world, but only a few of them would ever reach the level of full mastery. However, the vast majority of the disciples of the Badlands Court would become master-class World Gods! Thus, all of them were filled with exuberance and valor. They wished to go out and adventure, in the process discovering their own Daos and becoming Samsara Daolords.

“Almost everyone at Fogstone had given up and had chosen to live a peaceful, comfortable life. Everyone in the Badlands Court, however, is still fighting hard for their dreams.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

And yet, what he didn’t understand was that in truth there were also some members of the Badlands Court who had fought long and hard, yet remained unable to break through and so had given up. They were tired. They had lost their energy, their passion, and so they chose to leave the Badlands Court and find another place where they would live in peace. Those who decided to remain in the Badlands Court were the ones who were filled with energy and motivation.

This was the real reason why so many members of the Badlands Court would often venture out into new places. Each time they did so, they would usually announce it to their peers and try to recruit others to go with them. If four of five of them joined forces, they would stand a much better chance of surviving their adventures! Brothers from the same organization were more unified and generally more trustworthy than outsiders, after all.

“I’m beginning to solve the riddle of the third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the Great Firmament stance.”

“I’m improving very rapidly. When I reach a bottleneck or when I master this third stance, I’ll travel to the Allgod Estate. When I do that, I’ll let everyone in the Badlands Court know and invite some of them to accompany me,” Ning mused to himself.

The Allgod Estate…

Aside from the Windsource Ruins, the only place in the entire Badlands Territory which had a copy of a Mirrorsnow Painting was the Allgod Estate.

A hundred and sixty-one years after Ning arrived at the Badlands Court.

“Treasure auction.”

“They are about to start a treasure auction.”

The news quickly spread throughout the entire Badlands Court, causing quite a stir.

“Master! Master!” Flamefairy Su Youji came running into the room.

“What is it?” Ning was in the middle of practicing some calligraphy and meditating on his sword-arts. He put down his quill, looking up towards Su Youji.

“I just received word of something.” Su Youji’s oval face was pink and lovely. Her eyes were very bright, and she extruded an aura of natural charm. Thus, she was quite a popular figure within the Badlands Court and made many friends. In contrast, Elder God Wilddog was always a cold, unfriendly figure. He didn’t make many friends.

“Ninety-nine years from now, the Palace Opulentia will be hosting a Treasure Auction,” Su Youji said.

“A treasure auction?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“There will be many treasures to buy, and whoever offers the most money will take the treasures home. Many treasures which normally are never available for sale will be on display.” Su Youji was quite excited. “I heard that these auctions are only hosted ten times per chaos cycle. Each time, almost all of the World-level experts of the entire Badlands Territory will gather around it.”

“I heard that all sorts of treasure will be offered for sale, including Eternal weapons and some treasures that are even more marvelous than Eternal weapons.” Su Youji was incredibly excited. “Master, we have to go take a look.”

Ning nodded slowly.

He knew that in every single territory, including the Badlands Territory and the Vastheaven Territory, ten treasure auctions would be held during each chaos cycle! All sorts of valuable treasures would emerge for the many cultivators in that territory to bid on. These weren’t treasures that belonged to the Badlands Court or the Vastheaven Palace; rather, they were treasures delivered to this place by another mysterious organization.

The organization would send a Daolord to host each auction. Ten times per chaos cycle, the Daolord would come here to the Badlands Court and host a treasure auction. The Palace Opulentia merely loaned out their own auction grounds for this mysterious organization to use.

Any treasures that were not purchased during the auction would all be taken away at the end.

“This mysterious organization is spread throughout almost every single territory,” Ning mused to himself. “Every single territory has these auctions. Mm. I absolutely cannot miss this one. If I do, it’ll be countless years before the next one.”

“It seems I’ll need to hurry up and sell off the treasures I acquired in the Windswept Ruins. I need to prepare some money for the upcoming treasure auction.” Ning’s eyes were filled with eagerness.

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Chapter 14 – The Gathering

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 14 – The Gathering

This was a blazing hot planet. The surface of this planet was filled with lakes of lava and magma.

Whoooosh. One particular lake of lava could be seen bubbling and hissing as a gigantic head could be seen slowly bobbing up and down at the banks.

Suddenly…

The giant sleeping creature opened his crimson eyes.

“Oh? Treasure auction?”

Whoosh.

This enormous creature that had been lying within the flows of lava suddenly transformed into a streak of light, flying over to the nearby shores and transforming into a handsome, barefoot man. A set of fiery red robes appeared over his body as well.

“The treasure auction for the Badlands Territory will begin ninety-two years from now?” A simian red light could be seen flickering in the man’s eyes. “Not too far away. Hmph. I’ve wandered through quite a few Daolord ruins over the past ten chaos cycles, and I finally managed to find an Eternal weapon for myself! If I sell both it and the other Eternal weapon I acquired all those years ago, I might be able to purchase a ‘Pseudo Samsara’ pill.”

“A Pseudo Samsara pill!”

“I have to get it, no matter the cost!” The handsome man gritted his teeth, then transformed into a streak of fiery light and disappeared into the heavens.

……

“A treasure auction? It’ll be in the Waveshift City of the Badlands Everworld? Eighty-six years from now?” A beautiful woman dressed in elaborated white robes was seated atop a towering throne. She smiled as she spoke in a soft voice.

“Sect Mistress, you’ve been in secluded meditation this entire time and so I didn’t dare to disturb you. If you didn’t emerge by the final year, I would’ve been forced to disrupt your session. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary.” A woman dressed in a beautiful violet robed laughed.

“I finally managed to store up three thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Hopefully, this time I’ll be able to buy the treasures I need.” The white-robed woman mused softly, “I’ll be comparable to supreme World Gods if I succeed.”

……

“A treasure auction?”

“Let’s go check it out and see if there’s anything we can afford that would be of use to us.”

“Let’s go.”

Three World-level experts who had entered seclusion together within a chaosworld had decided to make haste to the Badlands Everworld.

…….

After the Badlands Court released the news of the auction, the word quickly spread throughout the entire Badland Territory. As for the major organizations who were headquartered in Waveshift City, they naturally became the first to find out.

A short while later, this information also spread out to some of the nearby territories.

The reason why it had been announced ninety-nine years in advance was to give everyone enough time to receive word of this auction, then travel to the Badlands Everworld. Some had actually come all the way from neighboring territories.

The ancient city of Waveshift was growing more and more lively by the day.

New, unfamiliar World Gods and Chaos Immortals began to gather here. Some of them belonged to the Badlands Territory. However, the more famous World-level experts in the Badlands Territory were figures who had lost their courage and determination, choosing to live peaceful lives of luxury. Most of the figures who were still dedicated to their Dao and improving themselves spent all of their time adventuring through the primordial chaos, resulting in very few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals knowing about them.

But of course, some of the unfamiliar cultivators had come here from the neighboring territories.

“Master, when nightfall comes, the treasure auction shall begin.” The skinny, grim-looking Elder God Wilddog was following behind Ning.

“What a beautiful sight.” The nearby Flamefairy let out an amazed sigh.

“Yes.” Ning nodded slowly.

The skies had already begun to darken. This everworld had been created by an ancient power, but it also had cycles of day and night.

The distant Palace Opulentia was a dazzling, eye-catching sight. Streams of light swirled around him, and it was the most dazzling, beautiful building located within the entire Waveshift City. Many World Gods and Chaos Immortals were currently in the process of entering the palace.

“It’s usually quite rare for us to encounter a World God or Chaos Immortal, but we are swarming with them today.” Ning sighed in amazement.

“Of course we are. More than half of the World-level experts of the entire Badlands Territory have arrived, as well as some from other nearby territories.” Su Youji was extremely excited.

“Let’s go. We should go inside as well.” As Ning spoke, he led Su Youji and Elder God Wilddog into the Palace Opulentia.

The Palace Opulentia was extremely noisy today, and it had a World God and Chaos Immortal standing guard outside of it.

“Please enter, fellow Daoist.”

“Please enter, fellow Daoist.”

The two disciples of the Badlands Court smiled as they welcomed the guests.

As for the World Gods and Chaos Immortals who had come to take part in the treasure auction, they were all courteous as they responded to the greetings. This was the territory of the Badlands Court, after all, and Daolord Badlands’ reputation in this territory and the neighboring territories was quite stunning.

“Anyone below the World level, come this way.” A female attendant was leading the way for the weaker cultivators.

“Master, there are so many World-level powers here!” A True Immortal was following behind an Elder God in terror. This Elder God was quite famous in their homeland, but he was currently walking forward nervously for fear of accidentally offending someone. “Just follow me.” The Elder God was behaving quite obediently and he followed the female attendant into the side door.

“This treasure auction will be an extraordinary one. All of the treasures up for sale are quite extraordinary, but space is limited. Anyone below the World level has to prove that he has at least ten cubes of chaos nectar before being granted entry. I hope you can understand, fellow Daoist.” Beyond the side door were two female attendants, and one of them spoke out courteously to the Elder God.

“Naturally, naturally.”

“Wonderful. This way, fellow Daoist.”

The Palace Opulentia kept things in perfect order.

World-level experts were allowed to enter the bidding grounds, but Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had to be tested. Otherwise, the spectators would end up squeezing out all of the actual bidders!

The white-robed Ji Ning led the fiery and dazzling Su Youji as well as the grim, icy-cold Elder God Wilddog towards the palace as well.

“Anyone below the World level, come this way.” A female attendant came to greet them.

One of the two disciples of the Badlands Court stationed outside the palace noticed this sight. The Chaos Immortal immediately walked over and barked, “Step back!”

The female attendant was badly shocked. She was nothing more than a hired employee, not a real disciple of the Badlands Court.

“Brother Darknorth, why didn’t you come alongside the rest of my fellow disciples?” The Chaos Immortal laughed. This was Immortal Sevencolor, who was one of the disciples of the Badlands Court who was on the most friendly terms with Ning.

“I wanted to check the place out so I came out for a stroll There really are a lot of World-level experts today,” Ning said with a smile.

“Yes there are. You normally would never see this many of them in one place. Only the treasure auction can possibly attract so many World-level figures from all the nearby territories. In fact, even Daolords have come.” Immortal Sevencolor lowered his voice conspiratorially when he said this.

“Oh?” Ning was surprised. Daolords?

“Darknorth, you can go straight to the third floor. That’s the place we’ve reserved for ourselves. No need to waste your time in the main hall downstairs,” Immortal Sevencolor said.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. “You can go back now. I know you are very busy today!”

“Haha.” Immortal Sevencolor chuckled, then hurriedly returned to the palace entrance. As for Ning, he led Su Youji and Elder God Wilddog into the Palace Opulentia through the main gates. This caused some of the nearby Chaos Immortals and World Gods to stare at him in a somewhat puzzled manner.

“Darknorth.”

“This way, brother Darknorth.”

There were some disciples of the Badlands Court maintaining order inside the palace as well. When they saw Ning, they immediately came to greet him.

“You can go straight to the third floor, brother Darknorth.” Ning was guided straight to the third floor which had many private rooms within it. This was where the disciples of the Badlands Court were going to stay, and Ning was given a room of his own.

Ning, Su Youji, and Elder God Wilddog entered their room. They were able to see through an enormous window to the great hall below them.

The hall below them was filled with many seats that were occupied by World Gods and Chaos Immortals, with the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals seated to the rear. There were quite a few rooms available on the second floor, but one had to spend ten cubes of chaos nectar in order to claim one. Ten cubes of chaos nectar was enough to purchase a Dao weapon. This was flat out extortion! Thus, 99% of World Gods and Chaos Immortals elected to sit in the great hall below.

A tiny fraction who truly did not wish to reveal themselves chose to sit on the second floor.

The top floor of the hall was quite spacious. A white-robed women was seated in the lotus position, and a stick of incense had been placed next to her. The scent of the incense swirled around her, emanating a sense of utter peacefulness.

“Thousand Shadows.” Two figures walked in from outside. It was the azure-robed Daolord Badlands and his beautiful wife.

“Badlands. Little sister Yan’er.” The white-robed woman nodded slowly.

“Dracogod came as well,” Daolord Badlands said.

“Dracogod?” The seated woman frowned slightly when she heard the name, a slightly disgusted look on her face.

At this moment, a man of noble demeanor dressed in golden robes walked in. He looked very poised and had a few scales on his forehead. This was Daolord Dracogod. When he saw the white-robed woman, he smiled. “Fairy Thousand Shadows! I didn’t expect you to be the one in charge of escorting the treasures this time. If I knew, I would’ve come to help out instead of letting you go to all this trouble.”

“I wouldn’t dare to ask you to help,” the white-robed woman said calmly.

Daolord Dracogod chuckled, but a hint of ice could be seen in his smile.

Daolord Badlands and his wife exchanged a glance. There was nothing they could do. Due to a ‘dragonification fruit’, a feud had sprung up between Daolord Dracogod and Daolord Thousand Shadows. Most likely, if they were meeting anywhere else, they would already be trying to kill each other.

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Chapter 15 – The Treasure Auction Begins

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 15 – The Treasure Auction Begins

“Fellow Daoists.” A loud laugh rang out as an azure-robed man with deer antlers on his head walked in.

“Brother Daoist Azuresky! I didn’t expect you to join this treasure auction.” Daolord Dracogod was the first to respond in a very warm fashion.

“Old brother Azuresky.” Daolord Badlands and his wife greeted him as well.

“Mm.” The antlered man smiled and nodded at Daolord Badlands and his wife, then glanced at Daolord Dracogod. Finally, he turned his gaze towards the white-robed woman. He smiled. “Thousand Shadows, I heard that you were the one responsible for escorting the treasures this time. My Azuresky Territory is pretty close to this place, so I came to come visit my old friends.”

“It has indeed been quite some time.” The white-robed female Daolord nodded slowly, a hint of a smile on her face.

This was the most powerful figure of the surrounding territories, Azuresky. Azuresky was another major power who was at the verge of the Daomerge, but his Azuresky Sect didn’t have any powerful Daolords that could help assume the mantle of leadership. Given that he still had plenty of time left, Daolord Azuresky spent most of his time slowly accumulating more power and experience, planning on attempting the Daomerge sometime in the future.

Whoosh. A gust of wind blew past, materializing into a figure.

“Little sister Thousand Shadows.” A short old man dressed in short sleeves beamed merrily and called out at her.

“Big brother Waterwind.” The white-robed woman had acted in quite an aloof manner thus far, but she now hurriedly rose to her feet and walked over towards that short old man and grabbed his hand. “Big brother Waterwind, it’s almost impossible for me to find you. The only reason I accepted this mission to the Badlands Territory was because I thought I might be able to see you. And now, I really have!”

“Ahaha, your big brother just loves to go wandering around the world,” Waterwind laughed.

“Long time no see, Waterwind.” Daolord Badlands smiled as well.

“Badlands.” Waterwind nodded.

The Badlands Territory actually held four Daolords. However, most of them rarely showed their faces, and so most Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, and World-level figures only knew of Daolord Badlands. They didn’t know any of the others.

The four Daolords of the Badlands Territory were Daolord Badlands, his wife, Daolord Waterwind, and Daolord Cavefloat. Daolord Cavefloat was somewhat weak, while Waterwind was extremely lazy. Waterwind had no interest in setting up his own sect whatsoever, preferring to wander the primordial chaos by himself. In terms of strength, however, he was a formidable figure who was absolutely on par with Daolord Badlands himself.

Of the five Daolords on the top level, the strongest was Daolord Azuresky. Daolord Badlands and Daolord Waterwind were ranked second, while Daolord Thousand Shadows and Daolord Dracogod were even weaker. As for Daolord Badlands’ wife, she was the weakest one of them all.

Generally speaking, not many Daolords would be drawn to any given treasure auction; it was normal for four or five to attend at most. This was because these treasure auctions were mainly meant to let World-level experts have a chance to buy some fairly rare items. However, each treasure auction would also hold a few items that would make even Daolords feel envious, which was why they would often come and see if there was anything they fancied.

“Brother Daoist Azuresky.” Daolord Dracogod behaved in an extremely friendly manner, repeatedly referring to Azuresky as as ‘brother Daoist’. This caused Waterwind to purse his lips in disdain.

If Waterwind was a solitary man who wandered as he pleased, Dracogod was the exact opposite. He curried favor with everyone around him and enjoyed making friends with the most powerful Daolords he could find! Daolord Solesky and Daolord Azuresky both were at the verge of the Daomerge and were extremely frightening figures of tremendous power.

If they failed their Daomerge, it was guaranteed that they would eventually perish. However, if they went berserk before they died, they would prove to be a terrifying foe for anyone to encounter. Who would dare antagonize someone who knew that death was coming no matter what? Not even ancient powers who had succeeded in their Daomerge and gained eternity would be willing to antagonize Daolords who had failed in their Daomerge.

Daolord Dracogod delighted in befriending the top-tier Daolords, doing everything in his power to curry favor with them. And as a result, he really did end up making quite a few friends. Generally speaking, no matter where he went, the other Daolords would give him some face. However, many solitary wanderers like Daolord Waterwind would feel very disdainful towards him.

“The treasure auction is beginning.” Daolord Thousand Shadows glanced downwards.

……

Ji Ning, Su Youji, and Wilddog peered out through their giant window towards the great hall below them. The hall didn’t look that large from the outside, but it was actually ten kilometers in size. Tens of thousands of cultivators were seated around the central auctioning platform. Most of the people present were World Gods and Chaos Immortals, with a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals present.

Even the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were allowed in had to have at least ten cubes of chaos nectar in wealth. The chairs were all seated a fair distance from each other as there was ten kilometers worth of space here. But of course, all of them had such perfect vision that they could see ants crawling on the ground from ten kilometers away with absolute clarity.

“Master, it has begun.” Su Youji hurriedly pointed downwards.

“Right.” Ning looked as well.

Three female Chaos Immortals dressed in marvelous floral robes walked out to the central auction platform. Their leader was a woman whose skin looked like it had been carved out of ice, and her eyes were a steely silver color. This silver-eyed woman stood there in the center, the other two standing by her side.

“Welcome, distinguished cultivators and guests from many different territories. I shall be the one in charge of this treasure auction.” The silver-eyed woman had a smile on her face. “I imagine all of you are tired of waiting, so I won’t waste any time. Let the auction begin! The rules to the auction are quite simple. Every single treasure will have a reserve price, and every bid has to be at least one cube of chaos nectar higher than the previous bid.”

“Alright. Let the first item be brought out.”

The silver-eyed woman waved her crystalline, frozen arm. Instantly, a dried yellow wooden slip appeared in her hands, then levitated into the air. It rose to a height of roughly thirty meters, so as to allow all of the cultivators a clear line of sight to it.

“This is a piece of Soulguide Wood.” The silver-eyed woman smiled. “Soulguide Wood. Once it is lit, it will completely ignite and transform into a certain type of smoke. If you completely inhale all of the smoke, you’ll enter a deep slumber for a thousand years. Any cultivators whose hearts have been cast into shadow due to some event will find the shadow to be dramatically weakened and no longer pose a threat to them.”

“Soulguide Wood has a reserve price of twelve cubes of chaos nectar. Let the auction begin!”

“Fifteen cubes! The first bidder was an Elder God whose eyes were filled with desire.”

“Sixteen cubes.” A gray-robed Chaos Immortal called out calmly from a different part of the hall. The Elder God immediately gritted his teeth helplessly. The reason why he had immediately increased the bid to fifteen cubes was because he wanted to scare off any bidders…but alas, everyone knew just how valuable Soulguide Wood was. How many Elder Gods could possibly win a bidding war against World-level figures?

“Seventeen cubes.”

“Eighteen cubes.”

Ning watched as the bidding proceeded, rather surprised. “Soulguide Wood? I didn’t expect the first treasure to be such a valuable one.”

When cultivators encountered certain types of setbacks, every so often a shadow would be cast over their heart. Sometimes, the shadow would be as strong as a demonheart curse. This would constantly disturb and nag at the cultivator, worrying away at him. Even if he was able to suppress it, he wouldn’t be able to be truly at peace when meditating on the Dao, making it much more difficult for him to grow more powerful. However, Soulguide Wood would send the cultivator into a thousand-year slumber. Upon awakening, the cultivator would feel as though the shadow cast over his heart was something that had happened long, long ago. He would barely be able to remember it.

This was quite a marvelous treasure. Although it was comparable in value to most Dao weapons, it was incredibly rare. Normally, if a person wished to purchase this item within the Palace Opulentia, the Palace Opulentia would charge an extortionate price to help them even locate the item. The price would start off at fifty cubes at least! Sometimes, even organizations like the Badlands Court would find it difficult to acquire, making it truly expensive to purchase.

However, the prices offered at these treasure auctions were much lower.

This was the reason why even Daolords would come and take a look. They wanted to see if they could pick up something cheap.

“Thirty-two cubes. Any higher bids?” The silver-eyed woman glanced at the surrounding cultivators. “Since there are no higher bids…” As she spoke, the Soulguide Wood slowly began to float downwards. When it landed in her hand, it represented this particular bidding cycle as having been completed.

The Soulguide Wood landed in her hands.

“Very well then. The Soulguide Wood is sold at thirty-two cubes,” the silver-eyed woman said. The woman behind her immediately walked forward, accepting the Soulguide Wood and then taking it off the auction platform. She walked to the Elder God who had placed the final bid of thirty-two cubes.

Soulguide Wood was something which many Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were desperately in need of.

Generally speaking, the higher one’s level of insight into the Dao was, the more powerful their hearts were. It was very rare for World-level experts to have their hearts troubled by the demonheart, and even if they were the problem wouldn’t be resolvable through usage of Soulguide Wood. If they truly did wish to buy Soulguide Wood, they could just spend fifty cubes to buy it at a later point in time. It was slightly cheaper now, which was why the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals present were desperate to buy it.

Many of the World-level experts had merely watched. It wasn’t yet time for them to make bids.

As for Ning, he also just watched from the third floor as well. He had sold off quite a few treasures for the sake of this treasure auction, precisely because he was waiting for rare, powerful items he needed to show up!

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Chapter 16 – Wings

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 16 – Wings

Thanks to the time he had spent in the Badlands Court, Ji Ning understood that each treasure auction would have many treasures for sale. Treasures of every single type would be sold, and so Ning sold off the vast majority of the treasures he had acquired in the Windsource Ruins. He had been planning on keeping the Eversnow Banner and the Rainbow Cloud World, but he ended up selling them as well.

The Eversnow Banner was quite useful. It had several sinfiends within it and could be used to trap enemies or test out dangerous regions. However, Ning deeply disliked sin treasures. He had planned on temporarily using it since he had a deficit of good treasures, but now that an abundance of treasures was coming towards him he was naturally going to sell it off to buy things he actually liked.

Although the Rainbow Cloud World was a domain-type artifact, Ning had no insights into the Dao of Mist at all. There was no way for Ning to even bind the layers of seals held within the Dao weapon and so he was only able to unleash a tiny fraction of its true power. He naturally chose to sell it as well.

The Eversnow Banner alone had been sold off for more than 150 cubes.

In short…Ning had sold off almost all of the treasures of those three World-level experts, save for the Mirrorsnow Painting and Rocky the stone titan. He had sold these treasures off to the Badlands Court, and since he was their respected guest they didn’t try to make much money off of him. Ning was able to earn a total of 1580 cubes of chaos nectar. This was an enormous sum of money! However, it wouldn’t be that impressive in the context of the treasure auction, and so he had to be very careful in how he spent his wealth.

“Violetjewel and the Mirrorsnow Painting are worth incredible amounts of chaos nectar, but they are very important to me.” Ning continued to stare through the window towards the great hall below him.

The great hall was still filled with tens of thousands of seated cultivators.

The silver-eyed woman took out one treasure after another, arousing waves of excited discussions.

In the blink of an eye, six hours had gone past. This was nothing more than the start, as every single treasure auction would go on for nearly ten days. Between the explanation phase and the bidding phase, every single treasure would take quite a bit of time. Even after a full day of auctioning, only a few hundred treasures had been sold off.

“This treasure.” The silver-eyed woman waved her hand, causing a white pair of wings to appear in her palms. The tiny, delicate little wings quickly flew into the air and began to expand in size. When it reached a height of thirty meters, it was roughly as tall as a normal human. It emanated waves of strange ripples as it constantly phased in and out of existence.

“This is a high-grade Dao treasure known as the Voidsea Wings. It is filled with many divine runes that embody the profound mysteries of space and is suitable for cultivators who cultivate the Dao of Spacetime.” The silver-eyed woman continued, “With this set of wings, you’ll be able to fly incredibly fast. When engaged in close combat, you’ll be able to move much more agilely.”

“The Voidsea Wings have a reserve price of thirty cubes of chaos nectar. Let the bidding begin!” The silver-eyed woman called out.

“Thirty cubes.”

“Thirty-one cubes.”

“Thirty-five cubes.”

Instantly, quite a few cultivators began to fight over the treasure. Treasures that could increase one’s agility in combat were actually very important, especially since they could also be vital when fleeing from danger.

These wings could allow one to fly much faster and also made one much more agile. Although it was merely a high-grade Dao treasure, it was even more rare and valuable than most top-grade Dao weapons.

The third floor.

“Master, don’t you need treasures like this?” Su Youji asked.

“Let’s wait for a bit longer. I imagine there will be even better treasures later.” Ning frowned. He did want a set of wings, because his path was the path of close combat, but his greatest skill lay in the Dao of the Sword. Although he did have some insights into lightning, water, and space, they were significantly weaker than his insights into the Dao of the Sword.

Strictly speaking, his most powerful Dao was the Dao of the Sword, the second was the Dao of Lightning, the third was the Dao of Water, and the last one was the Dao of Space…

The divine runes that had been imprinted into those Voidsea Wings were undoubtedly quite abstruse and profound. Given his limited skill in the Dao of Space, he probably would only be able to unleash a fraction of the full power of that set of wings.

“Sixty-nine cubes. Any higher bids?” The silver-eyed woman glanced at the surrounding people as the pair of wings in the air began to slowly descend from its height of thirty meters, shrinking as it did so. Finally, it landed in her palms. “The auction is complete. The Voidsea Wings have been sold for sixty-nine cubes.”

One of the female Immortals behind her immediately took the wings and delivered them to the winning bidder.

Ning continued to watch. He had yet to make a single bid, because there was nothing that had truly excited him thus far. There was no need for him to buy a treasure that wasn’t a perfect fit for him. With enough chaos nectar on hand, he would have plenty of other chances to purchase what he needed.

“If push comes to shove, I’ll buy a boat-type treasure that’s meant for fleeing,” Ning mused to himself. “Even if I’m not as agile as I would be with those wings, my sword-arts will ensure that I have nothing to fear.”

This was his backup plan.

The treasure auction continued for another two hours.

“This is the fifth set of wings to appear in this treasure auction. This is also a pair of high-grade Dao wings, and it is known as the Thunderlight Wings.” The silver-eyed woman waved her hand as her voice echoed within the great hall.

“Thunderlight?”

Ning’s ears twitched.

For the sake of mastering a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, Ning had transformed his body to give it an even higher affinity for lightning than Exalted Celestial Thundergod. His improvement in the Dao of Lightning was quite fast, on the same level as his improvement in the element of water. It was second only to the Dao of the Sword.

“Is that…” Ning stared from afar as a set of azure wings appeared in the silver-eyed woman’s hands. The wings appeared to spark and hum with electric light.

“Thunderlight Wings are powered by lightning and use sword-light to tear through all obstacles, allowing the wielder to move at tremendous speeds. It is highly suited for both close combat and evasive techniques. It is a perfect fit for cultivators who are skilled in both the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of Lightning,” the silver-eyed woman said.

Ning shot up, his eyes gleaming as he stared through the window. “That’s the one!”

The Thunderlight Wings were actually even tougher to use than the Voidsea Wings. There were quite a few cultivators who were skilled in the Dao of Space, the Dao of Lightning, and the Dao of the Sword, but fairly few who were skilled in both the sword and in lightning.

However, a treasure which was able to join together two different Daos would generally be even more astonishingly powerful than ‘normal’ treasures of that type.

“The Thunderlight Wings have a reserve price of thirty-six cubes of chaos nectar. Let the bidding begin,” the silver-eyed woman said.

“Thirty-eight cubes.”

“Forty cubes.”

“Forty-five cubes.”

Quite a few World Gods began to make their bids, the price rising much faster than the price for the Voidsea Wings had. Although fewer cultivators were able to use these Thunderlight Wings, there were so many World Gods present that there were multiple figures here who were skilled in both lightning and the sword. Under normal circumstances, Waveshift City didn’t have many Dao treasures for sale. Wing-type Dao treasures were even rarer, and dual-affinity ones such as this almost never showed up.

“The bidding war is pretty fierce.” Ning frowned slightly, then spoke out and made his first bid. “Fifty cubes!”

His voice rang out from the third floor, causing quite a few cultivators to turn their heads in his direction.

“That’s the third floor.”

“He must be a disciple of the Badlands Court.”

“So what if he is? Fifty-two cubes!”

“Fifty-five cubes.”

“Sixty cubes.”

“Sixty-five cubes.”

The bidding war grew increasingly intense.

“Seventy-two cubes.” Ning raised the price, making his second bid. This pair of wings were extremely hard to design and quite complicated to forge. They rarely showed up in the marketplace. If he used them, his ability and his speed would both increase dramatically. Ning would not accept no for an answer!

“Seventy-three cubes.”

“Seventy-four cubes.”

The bidding speed began to slow down. There was a limit to how much anyone would pay for a high-grade Dao treasure; in the end, they could try to find and buy one during the next treasure auction. Waveshift City would hold ten of them each chaos cycle, after all.

“Seventy-six cubes.”

Ning frowned slightly, then spoke out for a third time. “Eighty cubes!”

The entire hall fell silent. No further bids came. Eighty cubes appeared to be the ceiling. It must be understood that the stone titan Ning had acquired was itself worth merely a hundred cubes.

“Eighty cubes. Any higher bids?” The set of azure Thunderlight Wings continued to hover above the silver-eyed woman, but a moment later it began to slowly descend. Finally, it landed in her hands. “Bidding is now closed. The Thunderlight Wings have been sold for eighty cubes.”

On the third floor, Ning let out a sigh of a relief and revealed a hint of a smile. The highest possible price he was willing to pay was actually a hundred cubes of chaos nectar. Other cultivators and World-level experts had been around for a long time and were willing to wait; there were ten of these auctions each chaos cycle, after all. They wouldn’t be willing to pay too high a price. Ning, however, wasn’t willing to wait. By the time the next treasure auction came around, he would probably be a World-level expert himself!

“Eighty cubes for a set of wings that are a perfect fit for me. I’m satisfied.” Ning secretly celebrated.

“Congratulations, Master.” Elder God Wilddog hurriedly congratulated Ning.

“Congratulations, Master. You were silent for so long, but when you found something you liked you stopped at nothing to take it.” The Flamefairy smiled as well.

“We are just getting started. This was just a warmup.” Ning grinned. This set of wings had only cost him eighty cubes of chaos nectar. He had prepared more than a thousand cubes for this auction, and the best treasures had yet to appear! Supposedly, there were some treasures that would cause even Samsara Daolords to grow intrigued.

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Chapter 17 – Aquaflect

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 17 – Aquaflect

One treasure after another was sold off. Of course, there was also the occasional treasure which had no bidders at all.

Three days of bidding passed in the blink of an eye, with the cultivators in the hall growing increasingly excited. Increasingly unique treasures were beginning to come out, as many of the best treasures had been saved for last.

“This next treasure is a suit of armor.” The silver-eyed female Immortal smiled, her voice echoing within the ears of the tens of thousands of cultivators present. “This is the most unique set of armor we have for sale in this treasure auction.”

“Oh?” The eyes of quite a few people lit up as they began to listen carefully.

Ji Ning listened carefully as well.

“The most unique set of armor?” The Daolords seated at the top floor also glanced downwards towards the great hall.

“Little sister Thousand Shadows, what’s so unique about this armor?” Waterwind asked curiously.

The white-robed Daolord Thousand Shadows smiled. “Just keep watching, big brother. You know the rules! No leaks are permitted regarding the treasures for sale during any treasure auction.”

“Fine, let’s see what this treasure is.” Daolord Dracogod smiled as well.

Daolord Badlands and his wife watched curiously as well.

“Armor as precious as this is rarely seen during the various treasure auctions that have been held in these territories during recent chaos cycles. For me, at least, this is the first time I’m seeing such a precious treasure appear in an auction that I’m officiating over.” The words of the silver-eyed woman caused the cultivators present to feel even more intrigued. What was so rare and special about this armor?

“I imagine some of you have heard of this type of armor, but few of you have ever seen it.”

The silver-eyed woman waved her crystalline arm, causing a tiny suit of armor to appear in her palm. As the suit of armor floated into the air, it quickly expanded in size. The armor looked quite ordinary, but it was covered by a layer of icy frost.

“This suit of armor is known as the Frosthorn Robe.” The silver-eyed woman laughed. “It is suitable for cultivators skilled in the Dao of Water. It admittedly looks quite ordinary, and it is nothing more than a suit of top-grade Dao armor.”

“But…it has the ‘reflect damage’ property.”

“Any attacks, close range or longe range, that land on this suit of armor will result in an equal amount of damage being reflected onto the attacker.”

As soon as her words came out, the entire hall exploded into a shocked clamor.

“An equal amount of damage reflected!?” All of the cultivators were stunned. So if an enemy launched a full-force attack against you, your armor would automatically cause them to suffer an attack of the exact same level of power? How would you even try to fight against someone with this armor in close combat?

“With armor like this, World Gods that are skilled in close combat can even fight back against experts at a higher level of power.”

“This is crazy.”

World Gods generally all had incredibly tough bodies as well as top-grade Dao armors protecting them. Generally speaking, even World-level opponents who were one or two classes of power above them in strength would find it difficult to annihilate them in one blow. If their opponent was not only unable to slay them in one blow but would also suffer damage reflection…even foes stronger than the armor-bearers would find actually fighting them to be a painful experience.

Ning began to grow excited as well. This was definitely a set of armor that was perfect for anyone who specialized in close combat. Ning’s own body was very tough, especially when reinforced by the azureflower mist energy. Once he became a World God, he would become even more formidable in this regard! Him acquiring this set of armor would be like a tiger being given wings.

“Aquaflect?” The Daolords on the top floor, however, were all puzzled.

“So it’s just water-element damage reflection.” Daolord Dracogod frowned. “Although aquaflect armor is fairly rare, there’s one or two for sale in every treasure auction. Daolord Thousand Shadows, your subordinate is bragging a bit too much. Why did she say that this item is something that is all but unmatched in value in treasure auctions hosted during recent chaos cycles? She even claimed that this was the first time she ever encountered such an item while hosting an auction. Is this her first time being the auction mistress?”

“Aquaflect?”

Azuresky, Waterwind, and the Badlands couple were all puzzled as well. While the World Gods were all excited, this item wasn’t that exciting to Daolords like them.

“She’s hosted at least a hundred treasure auctions.” Daolord Thousand Shadows gave Daolord Dracogod a cold sideways glance. “If you aren’t impressed, don’t bid on it.”

“Don’t bid on it?” Daolord Dracogod was stunned. What was that supposed to mean? Was there something about this suit of armor that would attract his interest? Was this a joke? He was a venerable Daolord; all his items were of the Eternal level!

“The divine seals embedded into this armor are incomparably profound,” the silver-eyed woman said in a loud voice. “It contains seven layers of seals. World-level cultivators with complete mastery over water might be able to completely bind all seven seals…and if they do so, when they put on these robes they will be able to generate a Frosthorn Domain.”

“The Frosthorn Domain will span up to ten thousand kilometers.”

“Any attacks launched within this domain will result in full-force damage reflection.”

“The Frosthorn Robes have a reserve price of five thousand cubes of chaos nectar.” The silver-eyed woman smiled. “Let the bidding begin!”

Everyone in the great hall was silent.

Five thousand?

Was this a joke?

“Why the hell is it so expensive?” Ning had been debating buying the treasure, but he was instantly stupefied by the price. Five thousand cubes? He didn’t even have close to that much! And, based on what he knew, ten thousand cubes was enough to purchase an Eternal weapon!

For even the reserve price to be so high meant that this treasure was just as valuable as an Eternal weapon.

“Why the hell is it so expensive?”

“I saw a suit of aquaflect armor during the last treasure auction as well. It wasn’t nearly this expensive.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Even Elder God Formations start off with a reserve price of around 150 cubes during these auctions.”

The tens of thousands of cultivators in the hall were all silent for a moment. Then, they started to stealthily discuss this matter amongst themselves. It must be understood that ordinary top-grade Dao weapons were only worth a few dozen cubes at most! This was the price which Ning had been given for the warblade he had sold off. The Eversnow Banner held nine sinfiends within it, which was why it went for one or two hundred cubes of chaos nectar. Even complete sets of top-grade Dao weapons would generally go for a few hundred cubes at most.

Five thousand cubes?

This was a price that would render 99% of World-level experts completely speechless.

“Ten thousand cubes!”

“Twelve thousand cubes!”

“Daolord Dracogod, I thought you weren’t impressed with it? Fifteen thousand cubes!”

A rapid-fire series of bids began to ring out from the top floor of the auction hall. Everyone, Ning included, felt an enormous sense of pressure pushing down upon them.

There were quite a few terrifyingly powerful World Gods here, including some who were stronger than even World God Northrest. This was a gathering of the majority of the World-level experts from all the nearby territories, after all. Some of them were able to afford this price, but…was it really worth it? For just a top-grade set of Dao armor?

The top floor.

“Daolord Thousand Shadows, your insights into the element of water aren’t as profound as mine. Stop fighting with me over this.” Daolord Dracogod chuckled, then called out once more, “Eighteen thousand cubes.”

“Dracogod, you brat.” Waterwind spoke out, causing Daolord Dracogod’s face to turn dark. However, Waterwind was unquestionably more powerful than him. “Stop fighting with my little sister Thousand Shadows. Although this set of top-grade Dao armor has seven seals within it, didn’t you hear that only World-level cultivators who have reached the level of full mastery over the Dao of Water are able to bind all seven seals? My little sister is definitely capable of that.”

“If I wasn’t bound by the rules of our organization, I would’ve taken this treasure away long ago. There’s no way I would’ve let it show up on the floor of the auction hall.” Daolord Thousand Shadows glanced at Daolord Dracogod. Although she was in charge of this expedition, she didn’t dare to violate any of the rules. No information regarding the treasures was to be leaked, and all treasures had to be bid in a fair fashion during the actual auction itself.

This was a rule that had existed for countless chaos cycles.

“Twenty thousand cubes.” Daolord Thousand Shadows raised the price again.

“Twenty-one thousand cubes.” Daolord Dracogod immediately countered.

“Sorry, Yan’er. Nothing I can do.” Daolord Badlands looked at his wife.

“Forget it. I rarely go out into battle anyhow.” His beautiful wife laughed.

“Frosthorn Domain…who the hell managed to create something like this?” Daolord Badlands let out a sigh. “So long as you are in the range of this domain, each time you launch an attack you’ll immediately suffer from damage reflection. It’ll only end when you stop trying to attack! Even though this domain will have less of an impact on a powerful Daolord, he’ll still see his strength whittled away by more than half as his attacks travel through it.”

Once the Frosthorn Domain appeared, it would initiate a series of counter-attacks. Daolords could use the power of the counter-attacks to whittle away at the strength of the enemy’s blows. This effect alone ensured that the item would be a valuable one.

“Thirty-eight thousand cubes.”

“Forty thousand cubes.”

Daolord Dracogod and Daolord Thousand Shadows were completely at odds now. As Samsara Daolords, these two were neither particularly weak nor particularly strong. This was why they both desperately needed treasures like this one! As for the likes of Daolord Badlands, Azuresky, or Waterwind, any foes that might prove to be a threat to them wouldn’t be threatened by a mere Frosthorn Domain.

“Fifty thousand cubes.” Daolord Thousand Shadows made yet another bid.

“Damn.” Daolord Dracogod’s face was ashen. He had originally planned to just watch the treasure auction and see if he could pick up something cheap, and so he hadn’t prepared a particularly large amount of chaos nectar. However, Daolord Thousand Shadows had been in charge of escorting this mission! Although she couldn’t tell others about the treasures under her protection, she herself knew that this suit of armor was within it. Thus, she had prepared more than enough chaos nectar.

In truth, she wasn’t really getting much of a bargain, as this was the ‘standard’ price for an item of this nature. However, as the silver-eyed auction mistress had said…this type of armor was rarely available for sell! It truly was incredibly rare! It was a fairly cheap yet extremely effective item for Daolords, perfect for Daolords of average strength such as the two of them.

In the end, the Frosthorn Robe was sold for fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar. The many cultivators present were all stunned by this price, especially the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

Six more hours passed.

“This treasure is another set of armor. It is known as the Primalwater Armor, and it also has the aquaflect property.” The silver-eyed woman continued, “However, this set of armor only has three seals inside of it, and so it will only generate the damage reflection property when an attack actually lands upon it. It won’t generate a domain like the Frosthorn Domain we previously discussed.”

As she spoke, she waved her hand and caused a suit of armor to fly out of her palm. This armor was silvery-white and looked a bit more beautiful than the Frosthorn Robe.

The suit of armor flew into the air, expanding as it flew upwards. It immediately attracted the attention of many cultivators, Ning included.

“The Primalwater Armor’s reserve price is two hundred cubes of chaos nectar. Let the bidding begin!” The silver-eyed woman said.

Ning let out a sigh of relief.

This was a more ‘normal’ price!

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Chapter 18 – Completely Broke

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 18 – Completely Broke

As soon as the silver-eyed woman stopped talking, the cultivators in the hall all began to call out, especially the World Gods. “Two hundred and twenty cubes!”

“Two hundred thirty.”

“Two hundred forty!”

The price rapidly began to rise.

As for Ji Ning, he watched silently from the third floor even though he also desired this item quite badly. There were a number of World Gods in the great hall who were interested but were in no rush to make a bid. Most of the initial bidders were just trying to see if they could pick it up on the cheap, as most ‘normal’ top-grade Dao armors would go for at least three hundred cubes.

Top-grade Dao armor with the aquaflect property would naturally be worth much more.

“Three hundred twenty.”

“Five hundred!” Suddenly, a deep voice rang out. It came from a muscular alien World God whose entire body was covered with fiery red scales, and with his growling bid the price instantly rocketed up to five hundred cubes.

The hall grew much quieter.

There were ‘customary’ prices for most magic treasures. Ordinary top-grade Dao armor would go for around three hundred cubes, while something like this Primalwater Armor would go for around six hundred cubes or so.

“Five hundred and ten.”

“The disciples of the Badlands Court are truly impressive.” Many cultivators turned to look at the third floor. During this auction, many of the disciples of the Badlands Court remained silent until they chose to make a bid, at which point they would stun everyone present. This was their territory, after all, and everyone would look at them when they bid from the third floor. They generally wanted to ensure that they would gain face from their bids.

“Six hundred cubes!” A World God seated in the great hall whose entire body was covered by a gray robe suddenly spoke out in an icy voice.

“Six hundred and ten cubes,” the fire-scaled alien World God snarled.

“Six hundred and twenty cubes,” the gray-robed World God bid.

The alien World God hesitated, not sure if he should continue.

“Six hundred and ninety cubes!” Ning made yet another bid.

This bid caused two other hesitating cultivators to fall silent. Ning’s bid had caused them to both change their minds. Although Primalwater Armor was rare, one or two would appear during each treasure auction, and they’d generally go for around six hundred cubes. Sometimes the price would a bit higher; other times, the price would be a bit lower. Six hundred and ninety cubes was fairly high.

“Forget it. Later I’ll go back and buy some World-level golems that can be used in a formation. They’ll cost the same amount and will be a bit more useful to me than this armor.”

“Forget it.”

Quite a few World Gods began to talk themselves down from joining the bidding. This was an enormous sum of money, after all. The combined treasures which Ning had initially acquired from Immortal Origination and Immortal Bloodpool in the Windsource Ruins weren’t worth as much as this single suit of armor. The only reason why Ning was able to afford it was because World God Cavecry had left behind some nice treasures as well.

“Six hundred and ninety cubes. Any higher bids?” The silver-eyed woman spoke out as the suit of armor began to descend towards her palm. Finally, it came to a rest. “This suit of Primalwater Armor has been sold. The bidding is over.”

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief, sitting down and picking up a glass of wine. He took a small sip of it. Just now, he had been so nervous that he had jumped to his feet. He knew very well that the only reason why he had so much chaos nectar was thanks to Daolord Solesky. If it wasn’t for him, who knew how long it would’ve taken for Ning to acquire so much wealth?

“Congratulations, Master.” Elder God Wilddog spoke out.

“I imagine there aren’t many World Gods who can afford a treasure like this,” Su Youji said.

Ning chuckled.

Strictly speaking, for now, this suit of armor wouldn’t be as helpful to him as seven hundred cubes worth of bugbeasts or golems. For example, Ning could’ve purchased thirty-six sinfiends like the ones he had sold off! Generally speaking, most World-level experts would purchase quite a few bugbeasts or sets of golems.

Golems were magic treasures that could be deployed in formations, after all. An entire set of five or six golems in a formation would prove to be extraordinarily powerful.

“Fellow Daoist.” A soft voice rang out from outside.

“Come in,” Ning said.

Creeeeak. The door swung open and a woman walked in holding the suit of armor. Smiling, she said, “Primalwater Armor, six hundred and ninety cubes.”

“Right.” Ning tossed out a storage treasure.

The woman accepted it, glanced at it, then placed the suit of armor on the table and departed.

Ning reached out to gently stroke the suit of silver armor, filling it with his divine power. He was able to bind it quite easily. Whoosh. The armor instantly appeared over his body, while the set of high-grade Dao armor Ning had previously been wearing was put away.

“I have Violetjewel as my weapon and the Primalwater Armor as my armor. For agility and evasion, I have the Thunderlight Wings.” Ning nodded slowly to himself. “Given my sword-arts have improved during this period of time I spent at the Badlands Court…I’ll wager only master-class World Gods are capable of suppressing me in might.”

Ning had already used up nearly half of his chaos nectar. He was in no rush to make any further bids.

The treasure auction continued to proceed day by day, and many new marvelous items appeared. Ning’s horizons were truly broadened. Only now did he understand how many treasures the Endless Territories possessed! The World-level experts he had previously encountered, such as God Emperor Blacklotus, were actually nothing more than failures. Truly powerful cultivators would be able to wield their treasures to absolutely devastating effect.

On the seventh day of the treasure auction, Ning purchased yet another treasure. A Pentabolt Gourd!

The Pentabolt Gourd was filled with five different types of divine chaos lightning. In truth, a single one of those five types of lightning was enough to utterly devastate anyone below the World level of power, but against World Gods and Chaos Immortals it wouldn’t be of much use. The Pentabolt Gourd, however, mixed all five types of chaos lightning together. It was enough to threaten the lives of weaker World-level experts, and even powerful ones would be entangled and ensnared by them.

“The Pentabolt Gourd can be used to launch group attacks. Even if I can’t kill my foes, I can slow them down.” Ning nodded to himself.

Ning had spent a total of 180 cubes to purchase the Pentabolt Gourd.

The eighth day of the treasure auction.

“This next treasure is a set of three golems.” The silver-eyed woman waved her hand, causing three fiery golems to appear in her palms before slowly levitating into the air. “However, these golems are unlike ordinary golems! They don’t have any treasure spirits within them, but they do have a compartment which a cultivator can enter and control them through.”

“When these three golems come together into a formation, their defensive powers will increase exponentially.”

“This set of golems has a reserve price of three hundred cubes. Let the bidding begin!” The silver-eyed woman said.

Instantly, quite a few cultivators began to make their bids.

These golems that could hold cultivators inside them were very popular amongst Chaos Immortals. Chaos Immortals had fragile bodies, but when they were inside golems they would be fairly safe! In addition, golems that fought on their own usually did so in clumsy ways. Cultivators had much higher levels of insight into the Dao; when they personally commanded a golem, it was only natural for the golem to be capable of much greater power.

However, there was a weakness!

Ning’s own stone titan golem was able to fight alongside him; the two were able to surround and pincer-attack a foe together. If Ning was to enter a golem, the fight would turn into a one-on-one fight.

“Three hundred and sixty cubes.”

“Three hundred and seventy cubes.”

Ning was rather nervous. Twelve hours ago, a set of five similar golems had appeared. Ning had made multiple bids, but in the end the price had risen to over eight hundred cubes. Ning only had roughly six hundred cubes left!

“I have to win this time,” Ning mused to himself. If he let his powerful Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals control these three golems, they would actually be a bit more powerful than the stone titan was. Ning would then have much more resources at his disposal if he encountered dangerous situations when adventuring.

Originally, Ning had been planning on buying a Minor Thousand Elder Gods Formation.

At this treasure auction, around two hundred cubes would be enough to procure one of these formations! As for the thousand Elder God slaves needed to operate it, they could be purchased for a hundred cubes. Three hundred cubes would translate into an army of Elder God slaves who were able to join together into a formation. However, by comparison the set of three golems was even more attractive to Ning, even though they were somewhat more expensive.

“Five hundred cubes.”

“Five hundred and ten cubes.”

The price continued to rise.

“Six hundred cubes!” Ning said. He only had a bit over six hundred cubes left.

A momentary silence.

The silver-eyed woman glanced at the people nearby, then said, “Six hundred cubes of chaos nectar. Any higher bids?” The three golems began to slowly descend from midair.

“Six hundred and ten cubes!” Suddenly, a green-robed Chaos Immortal located in the corner of the hall gritted his teeth and place a bid.

“Six hundred and twenty cubes!” Ning almost immediately raised his bid once more.

The green-robed Chaos Immortal raised his head to glance at Ning. He didn’t say a thing.

The silver-eyed woman continued to ask for more bidders as the three golems began their descent. Finally, they landed in her palm. “This set of golems has been sold for six hundred and twenty cubes! The bidding is complete.”

Ning was standing at the window, staring down towards the great hall. He broke out into a grin.

It was enough.

Daolord Solesky wouldn’t be around to help him out. Ning would go out adventuring by himself, and he had spent all of his chaos nectar to buy what he needed. He had acquired enough from this treasure auction.

“I’m completely broke now.” Ning sat down to simply watch. This treasure auction would no longer mean much to him.

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Chapter 19 – Pseudo Samsara Pill

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 19 – Pseudo Samsara Pill

Ji Ning had also acquired a certain amount of chaos nectar and chaos jewels from the corpses of the three deceased World-level experts of the Windsource Realms. As a result, Ning still had roughly fifty cubes worth of chaos nectar left. However, such a small amount wouldn’t be enough to purchase any truly powerful items at this auction. It was better to hold onto them for now. If he ended up being heavily injured, he could use the chaos nectar to heal himself and save his life! This wouldn’t pose any burden to him and the healing effect would be quite quick.

The only things he really had to worry about were strange toxins, curse-spells from major powers, or attacks that caused the truesoul to crumble. It was hard to use chaos nectar to heal damage inflicted to the truesoul, but almost all other types of injuries could be healed.

“Everyone, there are only nine treasures left in this treasure auction.”

On the ninth day of the treasure auction, the mood in the hall noticeably grew more exuberant. The past few treasures had all sold for more than a thousand cubes or had been listed with such a high reserve price that over half of them hadn’t been sold. They were simply too expensive! Only someone truly in desperate need of them would purchase them.

“The first of the final nine is an Eternal weapon, a greataxe-type weapon. This is a weapon suitable for Earth-attribute cultivators to use. This weapon possesses tremendous power and the quintessence core within it is so strong that we rank this weapon as high-grade.” The silver-eyed woman produced a small black hatchet in her hands. As it rose into the air, it quickly expanded in size as it began to emanate waves of overpowering majesty, causing all of the cultivators in the great hall to feel a sense of tremendous pressure.

“This is an Eternal weapon, the ‘Three Extinctions Axe’. The reserve price is fifty thousand cubes. Let the bidding begin!”

All of the cultivators were silent. Even the Daolords on the top floor were silent.

And so…

No bids were placed.

It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the treasure. It was that it was just too expensive! It was beyond what the vast majority of World-level cultivators could afford…and quite frankly, most World-level cultivators had no need of such a high quality Eternal weapon. They wouldn’t even be able to unleash much of its power! It was quite unlikely for a World-level cultivator to be able to unleash the full force of a high-grade Eternal weapon.

Thus, even the most powerful of World-level cultivators generally preferred to use low-grade Eternal weapons. Power only mattered if you could actually command it and wield it! If you couldn’t, what good would it do you?

“The second of the final nine…” The silver-eyed woman didn’t seem surprised.

During each treasure auction, the final nine treasures would be truly fine specimens that were worth at least ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Thus, there were rarely any bidders on them.

This time, there were bids on the fifth and sixth treasures, but the bids all came from the top floor.

The fifth treasure was a drop of blood that was the size of a man’s head. It glimmered with azure light and radiated with an aura of tremendous power. The silver-eyed woman simply described it as being a drop of essence-blood from a Chaos Godbeast, giving no further information about it. In the end, it was purchased by Daolord Waterwind for a price of 83,000 cubes!

The sixth treasure was a stone statue. The silver-eyed woman had given even less information about it: “This stone statue is filled with boundless mysteries. The reserve price is 80,000 cubes. Let the bidding begin.” In the end, Daolord Azuresky had purchased it at the reserve price.

The seventh treasure…no bids.

The eighth treasure…still no bids.

“Alright. We have now come to the final treasure of this treasure auction.” As the silver-eyed woman’s words came out, the atmosphere in the great hall began to change. The tension was so palpable and thick, you could cut it with a knife.

The eyes of all the cultivators had lit up. In fact, some were unable to even breathe.

“Can it be true…?”

Su Youji and Elder God Wilddog stared unblinkingly at the great hall below. Ning did the same.

“You won’t be disappointed.” The silver-eyed woman smiled. “The final treasure up for sale in this treasure auction…is a single Pseudo Samsara pill!”

……

“It really is a Pseudo Samsara pill!?” A white-haired woman in a room on the second floor had an utterly terrifying look in her eyes.

……

“What a wonderful coincidence. I just acquired a large amount of chaos nectar, and the very first treasure auction I go to has a Pseudo Samsara pill for sale. I have to have it.” In another room on the second floor, a handsome man dressed in fiery red robes had a similarly terrifying look of lust in his eyes.

……

“Please don’t fight me over it. Please don’t fight me over it. Gotta have it. Gotta have it.” A wild-haired youth was muttering these words feverishly to himself, a look of madness in his eyes.

……

“A Pseudo Samsara pill.” The silver-eyed woman smiled as she swept the entire great hall with her gaze. “I imagine all of you know what it does. Let me remind everyone of the rules pertaining to this pill! Only those who have reached the level of full mastery as World-level experts can use Pseudo Samasara pills. This pill shall guide cultivators into finding their own Dao, letting them break through their bottleneck and become a Samsara Daolord.”

“What?! It allows World Gods to become Samsara Daolords?!?”

“A single pill?”

“The path of cultivation is an incredibly arduous one. How could a single pill have such monstrous power?” The cultivators hearing about Pseudo Samsara pills for the first time, especially the Elder Gods and the Ancestral Immortals, were utterly speechless.

Ji Ning, Su Youji, and Elder God Wilddog sighed in amazement from their room on the third floor. During the time they spent at the Badlands Court, they had learned that there was a very small chance that the final item for sale during each treasure auction would be a Pseudo Samsara pill! However, this truly was quite rare; less than one in a thousand treasure auctions would feature a Pseudo Samsara pill.

However, this was virtually the only chance World-level cultivators would have to purchase one of the these pills. They were never sold on the ordinary market. They only ever appeared during the treasure auction!

This was one of the reasons why so many World-level cultivators from neighboring territories had hastened here upon hearing that a treasure auction was going to be held soon.

When master-class World-level experts used the Pseudo Samsara pill, they would have a better than 99% chance of becoming Samsara Daolords. It was all but guaranteed.

“So pills like this really do exist. When I first heard of them, I really couldn’t believe it,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

“The endless primordial chaos is filled with endless possibilities.” Su Youji was uncharacteristically quiet.

“This is a pill that would drive any World God mad with lust,” Elder God Wilddog muttered.

Ning nodded slowly.

As for the Daolords on the top floor, they were actually sighing in a rather disappointed way.

“Pseudo Samsara pills. I wonder what that Eternal Emperor was even thinking? To be skilled in the Dao of Alchemy is one thing, but why does he have to spend so much of his time making these Pseudo Samsara pills?” Azuresky shook his head and chuckled. “Pseudo Samsara pills are ruinous things. If you rely on one to become a Samsara Daolord, it is almost guaranteed that you will forever be stuck at the first step. Even if you have absolutely incredible luck, you would at most reach the second step. That will be a hard limit. Samsara Daolords move between life and death with each step. Weak Daolords like them will never have a chance of improving ever again. If they keep their head down, nothing bad will happen to them, but if they get too uppity…”

“The second step? I’ve never personally encountered anyone who used a Pseudo Samsara pill who could reach the second step.” Waterwind shook his head.

“Look at the two of you go.” Daolord Badlands laughed. “Yes, you feel disdain towards those pills, but the vast majority of World-level experts never stood a chance of becoming Samsara Daolords to begin with. They don’t care how far they can progress after becoming Samsara Daolords; just becoming a Samsara Daolord is enough to satisfy them.”

The silver-eyed auction mistress continued, “Let me warn everyone once more of the Pseudo Samsara pill’s flaw. If you rely on it to become a Samsara Daolord, it’ll be very, very hard for you to make any further improvements afterwards.”

Flaw?

Who cared? Without it, most of them would never even be able to reach the Samsara Daolord to begin with.

“The reserve price is a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Let the bidding begin!” The silver-eyed woman announced.

“A hundred thousand cubes!” Instantly, a hoarse voice rang out from a room on the second floor.

“A hundred and ten thousand cubes!” An icy voice rang out from another nearby room.

“No…no…” The gray-robed, triangle-pupiled old man in the first room had a look of resentment and grief in his eyes. He didn’t have that much chaos nectar, just a hundred thousand cubes. He had gone to all of the treasure auctions in the surrounding territories after amassing this fortune, and on this trip, his third, he encountered a Pseudo Samsara pill. He made a bid at the reserve price, hoping no one would fight him for it, but…

Everyone who wanted a Pseudo Samsara pill knew exactly how much it was worth. Thus, whenever a treasure auction was being held, all the interested experts from the dozens of nearby territories would all hasten to the auction location.

This was one of the true reasons why treasure auctions were publicly announced ninety-nine years in advance.

The price continued to rise.

“A hundred and fifty thousand cubes!”

Each time one of these pills appeared, the price would be driven to a staggering level. Most Eternal weapons were worth just ten thousand cubes, while high-quality ones might be worth thirty or forty thousand cubes. Top-grade ones would generally go for around a hundred thousand cubes, and there were indeed some extremely powerful World-level experts who were capable of purcashing one or two of them. However, many of them saved their money instead…all for the sake of being able to afford a Pseudo Samsara pill!

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Only someone who had been driven to despair would go so berserk over a pill.

God Emperor Blacklotus had an Eternal weapon, but it was merely a low-grade one that was worth twenty thousand cubes. He had no chance of getting a Pseudo Samsara pill at all, as they would usually go for more than 160,000 cubes during the treasure auctions.

“168,000 cubes. Any higher bids?” The silver-eyed woman spoke out. “Then…the bidding for the Pseudo Samsara pill…is over!”

Her final words came out very slowly as she scanned the crowd for any more bids. This was the only treasure which they didn’t take out to physically show the cultivators present.

“Ahahahah! It’s mine! MINE! Ahahahahah!” Frenzied laughter rang out from the second floor. The bidders for the pseudo Samsara Pill had all been located on the second floor, choosing to hide their identities from the masses.

“I finally have it.” The handsome, fiery-robed man had a look of excitement in his eyes. “I’ll train to become a Samsara Daolord right here in Waveshift City. I have ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar left. I can even buy a weak Eternal weapon for myself to use!”

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Chapter 20 – [Quintessence Sword-Intent] – The First Stance

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 20 – [Quintessence Sword-Intent] – The First Stance

The treasure auction had come to an end!

After having experienced that great battle against God Emperor Blacklotus, Ji Ning had felt as though he now knew something of how the world worked…but now, he realized how truly vast the universe really was. There were many terrifying World-level experts skilled in formations or bugbeasts who could easily destroy him, to say nothing of Samsara Daolords.

“Let’s follow the plan.” Ning led Su Youji and Elder God Wilddog to move towards the other disciples of the Badlands Court. They jested and chatted amongst themselves as they headed back to the Court.

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

Azuresky, Dracogod, Thousand Shadows, and Waterwind all began to depart as well. Azuresky and Thousand Shadows soared into the skies and left, while Dracogod was forced to use his legs to physically walk out of Waveshift City.

“Hmph.” Daolord Dracogod glanced coldly at Waterwind and Thousand Shadows as they soared into the skies. Thousand Shadows didn’t actually have the power to fly on this everworld by herself; it was Waterwind who was helping her do this.

“Thousand Shadows…that bitch. Hmph. All she can do is flatter and cozen up to Waterwind and the others. When the chance comes, I’ll slaughter you myself.” Daolord Dracogod then quickly hid the killing intent that had appeared in his eyes. He had given himself the name ‘Dracogod’, and getting a ‘dragonification fruit’ was an incredibly important part of his cultivation path. Alas, it had been seized by Daolord Thousand Shadows all those years ago.

He had many friends, true. But Daolord Thousand Shadows also had many friends of her own.

Daolord Dracogod deeply desired to kill Daolord Thousand Shadows. Alas, she was his equal in strength.

“She ruined my karmic luck! One day…” Daolord Dracogod strode through the land, quickly arriving at the spacetime transfer array and departing from the Badlands Territory.

……

The Badlands Court. Within a quiet room inside the Water Curtain Home.

The Heavengazer Tower was located next to a prayer mat. Within the tower there was a golden leaf, which was itself an estate-world treasure.

Within the estate-world.

Whooooooosh. Waves gently lapped at the beach, caressing the sands before slowly retreating into the sea once more.

A white-robed Ning was seated on the beach in the lotus position, a blood-colored sword resting over his knees. He kept Violetjewel with him at all times so that he could be in constant communion with the sword’s quintessence core and the exalted sword-intent within it. As a result, Ning’s sword-arts were beginning to increasingly align with the core’s murderous intent.

The [Nameless] sword-art…

Although it only had seven stances, Ning could tell from these seven stances that the creator of the sword-art had to be at least at the same level as the creator of Violetjewel. Both were definitely peerless powers who were skilled in the Dao of the Sword.

The sword-intent of Violetjewel’s quintessence core was just as exalted as the sword-intent of the [Nameless] sword-art, even though these were two completely different interpretations of the Dao of the Sword.

“I’ll meditate on both paths.” Ning lowered his head to look at the blood-colored sword resting across his knees. “In the future, I’ll definitely become a Samsara Daolord as well. I’ll have to find my own path.”

The [Nameless] sword-art’s path wasn’t his path.

Nor was Violetjewel’s quintessence core’s path his path.

Every single Daolord had to find a completely unique path that belonged to them alone. In the Endless Territories, there were no creatures who had souls or memories that were absolutely identical. By this same principle, no two Daolords could ever have exactly the same Daos. Even if both walked the path of the Dao of the Sword, their paths still would not be identical.

“The [Nameless] sword-art’s strength lies in its balance! Its very first stance, the ‘Heartsword’ stance, is a testament to this,” Ning mused to himself. “Although Violetjewel doesn’t have an actual sword-art connected to it, it does have an exalted sword-intent that I can meditate on. From this, I can tell that its greatest strength lies in its offensive attack power!”

This estate-world was more than a million kilometers in size. It was a top-grade Chaos treasure which had originally belonged to Immortal Origination and was the sturdiest estate-treasure Ning had access to. He usually had his servants and retainers live within this estate-world, and it even had many other living beings who flourished within it.

Ning continued to meditate on the sword by the beach, occasionally striding across the waves to stand upon the surface of the ocean as he trained.

Sword-light flew everywhere with wild abandon, causing the waves around them to be annihilated.

Day by day…

Year by year…

Ning continued his research into the [Nameless] sword-art and Violetjewel’s quintessence core. Every so often, he’d take a break and instead turn to researching the Daos of Water, Lightning, and Space. Sometimes he’d even go strolling about the world of ordinary mortals who lived within this treasure. The living beings in this world were divided up amongst six continents and many islands, and each continent held an enormous number of individuals. They even had their own various religions, with the most powerful figures having just barely reached the Pure Yang True Immortal level.

Two hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

Atop an island in the sea.

“Flamefairy, we’re bored senseless in this estate-world.”

“Right! Flamefairy, when will Master lead us out into the outside world?”

Eleven Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were seated in a disorderly fashion, eating and drinking together. The most prominent figure within their ranks was Flamefairy Su Youji.

Ning generally kept the Flamefairy and Elder God Wilddog by his side. He had released many Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals from the prisonworld. Some had chosen to be stationed on the Windsource Chaosworld, while nine of them had chosen to follow Ning in his adventures. They normally were stationed here within this estate-world.

“How should I know?” Flamefairy Su Youji pointed towards a distant, small island located far away in the depths of the ocean. “Master is living right there on that island, but neither I nor Wilddog would dare to go there and disturb him without being summoned. When Master wants to come to us, he will. Let’s just keep waiting.”

“Ugh.”

“No choice but to wait.”

These Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals truly were quite bored. They all had their own estate-worlds, and they had already spent countless ages in the prisonworld diverting themselves by living amongst the mortals of their own estate-worlds. What they really wanted was action and excitement.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a terrifying wave of power swept over from afar.

“What?!” Su Youji, Elder God Wilddog, and the other nine Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals simultaneously rose to their feet. They turned to stare towards that distant island.

Whoosh.

A bloody streak of sword-light soared into the skies, spreading out into a rippling wave of power that caused all of them to quake.

“This wave…” Su Youji was the strongest of the eleven, but even she was so terrified that her heart quailed.

“What’s going on?” The more powerful figures who lived on the six continents and many islands of this estate-world all turned to stare at the same location! Although they couldn’t see anything physically, they could sense an utterly exalted and supremely terrifying sword-intent rising towards the heavens. Although the sword-intent was limited to this estate-world, all of the living creatures within it felt that it was something that was truly supreme and beyond all other power.

After this day, quite a few new Sword Immortals began to arise from within this estate-world. In fact, quite a few of its citizens began to sail off into the seas in search of the source of that sword-intent. Alas, they were never able to find it.

“Master is coming.” Su Youji and the other ten all stared off into the distance.

A white-robed youth was striding across the waves, an ordinary-looking blood-colored sword on his back. He soon arrived at their island.

“Greetings, Master.” Su Youji and the other ten all bowed respectfully.

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

“We’ve spent five hundred years here at the Badlands Court,” Ning said. “My sword-arts have now reached a bottleneck. It is time for us to go out adventuring.”

Five hundred years in the Badlands Court actually translated into more than ten thousand years within this estate-world.

“Master, just now…?” Su Youji’s eyes were shining.

“I developed a sword-stance.” Ning chuckled.

Alas, it wasn’t the Great Firmament stance!

He had long ago reached a bottleneck in the [Nameless] sword-art. In recent years, Ning had turned most of his efforts towards understanding the quintessence core of Violetjewel. Today, he had developed a sword-art that had an incredibly powerful offensive potential. Ning called it the first stance of his [Sword Quintessence] – Blackmist stance!

“World God Blackmist…” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

He would never be able to forget how he met this man after he had left the Three Realms. He would never be able to forget the sight of World God Blackmist slowly transforming into a statue. He had named this stance the ‘Blackmist’ stance in order to memorialize this deceased World God.

The creation of the Blackmist stance was the final result of the ten thousand years of hard work and effort Ning had spent within this estate-world!

“In terms of killing power, this stance should be quite close to the power of the ‘Great Firmament’ stance of the [Nameless] sword-art. Because I based it off Violetjewel’s quintessence core, it’ll actually make it easier for me to summon some of the core’s power.” Just now, Ning had tested that stance out. He was now able to summon more than ten times as much power from Violetjewel’s quintessence core, and the power of his strike was definitely comparable to that of a master-class World God’s strike.

Thanks to the azureflower mist energy strengthening his divine body, his body was comparable to a World God’s body.

His sword-arts were comparable to an elite World God’s techniques.

With the ‘Blackmist’ stance activating a good amount of his Eternal weapon’s quintessence core…Ning was now qualified to battle against master-class World Gods.

“It’ll be hard for me to improve my sword-arts any further just by sitting here and studying on my own. It is time for me to leave this place.” Ning glanced at Su Youji and the others, then instructed, “Youji, Wilddog, Blacksun, the three of you shall follow me.”

“Yes.” The Flamefairy and Wilddog were quite calm, but Elder God Blacksun was absolutely overjoyed.

Whoosh.

Ning led the three in departing from this place.

Ning had purchased those three mighty golems during the treasure auction. One was meant for the Flamefairy while the other was meant for Wilddog. As for the third, Ning had chosen to let Elder God Blacksun to command it. Elder God Blacksun was one of the most powerful Elder God retainers Ning had under his command, and he was also a bit more honest and obedient than the others. Ning preferred subordinates who were able to follow orders.

“Youji.” They had returned to the Water Curtain Home inside the Badlands Court. “You can go and pay some visits to your friends in the Badlands Court. You can tell them that I am heading out towards the Allgod Estate.”

“The Allgod Estate?” Su Youji was startled.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Alright. I’ll make sure the entire Badlands Court knows.” Su Youji laughed delightedly. She had far more friends here than Ning did, which was only natural; a woman of such charm and beauty would naturally be welcomed wherever she went.

“Also…I’m planning for us to leave three months from now,” Ning said.

“Understood.” Su Youji nodded.

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Chapter 21 – Allgod Estate

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 21 – Allgod Estate

Three months later.

A white-robed youth and a fat man whose eyes brimmed with flames were striding shoulder-to-shoulder across the surface of a lake, advancing across the waves as they departed from the Badlands Court.

“Brother Ji Ning, you picked something of a bad time.” The pudgy man chatted to Ning as they continued their journey forwards. “Quite a few people came back to the Badlands Court to take part in the treasure auction, but once it ended all of them quickly headed out to go adventuring. If you had spread the word right after the treasure auction that you had chosen to head to the Allgod Estate, at least four or five World-level experts would’ve chosen to go with you. But you instead chose to wait for more than two hundred years!”

The pudgy man chuckled. “Most of the people who wanted to go out already have.”

This pudgy man was quite an amiable fellow, even though he looked rather ugly due to the jagged scars and tattoos that lined his face. His eyes brimmed with flames, and his skin was suffused with a faint red color as well. Even when he was smiling, he still looked quite frightening.

“I still have you, senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder.” Ning laughed.

“I purchased a treasure during the auction and spent a bit of time binding it. I was just about to head out anyhow. Our timing was perfect,” the pudgy man said.

The two moved across the ground, their bodies flickering like illusions as they advanced nonstop.

Ning had waited three months for word of his journey to spread, but only a single member of the Badlands Court had chosen to journey with him – the pudgy fellow next to him, World God Dragonbinder!

They entered the spacetime transfer array and left the Badlands Everworld. They then boarded a flying ship, flew for several months, then finally reached the Allgod Estate.

The Allgod Chaosworld was an oceanic world. There were two great continents and a vast ocean that covered everything else. One continent held countless living beings while the other held the Allgod Estate.

Whooosh.

A cloud was floating through the skies. Ning and the pudgy man were standing atop the cloud, staring down at the vast world before them. They could vaguely make out the outlines of a towering edifice far off in the distance. That distant sight was enough to cause both Ning and World God Dragonbinder to feel breathless, as though they were staring upwards at something supreme.

“The Allgod Estate!” The pudgy man’s eyes blazed with fire as he stared at the great edifice. He said in a low voice, “Brother Ji Ning, we’ve been fairly relaxed on the way over. Now that we are about enter the Allgod Estate, though…I want to make a few things clear to you! Once we go in, we need to do exactly as we discussed. You can’t act rashly! If you do, then I’ll have to part ways with you.”

“Acting rashly in a place like this is suicide. Don’t worry, senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder,” Ning said.

“Good.” The pudgy man nodded. In truth, he felt certain that Ning wouldn’t be so foolish. At the same time, he knew that unexpected things would sometimes happen! As a member of the Badlands Court, he was naturally quite a talented figure. He hadn’t trained for very long, but he had already become a master-class World God. If he was to lose his life due to an act of foolishness on the part of Ji Ning, how lamentable that would be!

“The Allgod Estate was created by Daolord Allgod,” the pudgy man said. “Daolord Allgod was an incredibly powerful Daolord. Although he failed his Daomerge, based on what I’ve learned I believe that he was a thousand times more powerful than other Daolords who were on the verge of the Daomerge.”

“That much more powerful?” Ning was shocked. A thousand times?

This was insane!

Daolord Solesky himself had admitted that he was vastly inferior to Daolord Allgod. However, Ning didn’t understand exactly how much more powerful Daolord Allgod had been. Even now, he could hardly believe what World God Dragonbinder was telling him. The difference in power was simply too great! If this was true, then it meant that Daolord Allgod had the power to easily slay other Daolords who were at the Verge.

“I’m not exaggerating. Although he failed his Daomerge, he once attacked and chased after an Eternal Emperor who had successfully completed his Daomerge. He pursued the man for multiple chaos cycles, and to this very day no one knows what happened to that Eternal Emperor.” The pudgy man looked at Ning.

“He was really that powerful?!” Ning felt rather stunned. He only spent a brief period of time by Daolord Solesky’s side and had spent most of his time at the Badlands Court in seclusion. Thus, he knew very little information regarding these mysterious, powerful figures. However, World God Dragonbinder was a true disciple of the Badlands Court who often conversed with his fellow cultivators. He knew quite a bit of ‘secret’ information.

“It is true. I once discussed this with our eldest disciple at the Court.” World God Dragonbinder let out a sigh. “And…you should know that Daolords generally are afraid to try to enter the Allgod Estate.”

The Allgod Estate was an extremely strange place.

30% of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were able to survive it, 50% of World-level experts were able to survive it, but…of the Daolords who dared to enter it, less than 10% would be able to emerge! This was an incredibly high casualty rate, making it so that not many Daolords dared to even attempt it.

“He was simply way too powerful!” World God Dragonbinder looked at Ning and smiled. “Although he’s a bit ruthless towards other Daolords, he’s quite benevolent towards World-level experts, Elder Gods, and Ancestral Immortals. He left behind more than ten thousand treasuries at the ‘Ten Thousand Mountains’ alone! Come, it is time for us to enter.”

“Alright.” Ning smiled as well.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

As the two simultaneously charged downwards, they suddenly encountered a region of twisted space. Moments later, both of them vanished.

Ning could sense space twisting around him. Moments later, he reappeared in the air with World God Dragonbinder next to him.

“How beautiful.” Ning saw a long, winding series of majestic mountains located in front of him. The mountains were all interconnected and seemed to form a long, sinuous coiling dragon.

“The Ten Thousand Mountains of the Allgod Estate,” World God Dragonbinder said softly.

“Right.” Ning stared at them from afar as well.

There were countless mountains before them. At the end of the mountains there was a region of endless mist…and beyond the ‘endless’ mist there was an utterly dazzling, eye-catching estate of vast proportions. This estate was simply too vast. Even though they were very far away, they could still make out its details quite clearly.

“I can sense it…” Ning could sense the Mirrorsnow Painting within his Jindan region was calling out joyfully, having sensed a faint resonance nearby.

“It should be up ahead. According to what big brother Solesky said, it should be within the center of the Fog Sea.” Ning stared at the endless Fog Sea located past the great mountains.

The outermost layer of the Allgod Estate consisted of the Ten Thousand Mountains. There were exactly ten thousand mountains in this region!

The second layer was the Fog Sea!

The core region was the actual, towering edifice known as the Castrum Divinitus.

“Brother Ji Ning.” World God Dragonbinder looked at Ning. “Let’s try out the Ten Thousand Mountains first. After that, I’ll go to the Fog Sea by myself. You shouldn’t go there; it is far too dangerous a place for you.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

He had come here mainly because he wanted to acquire the Mirrorsnow Painting. Since the painting was located within the Fog Sea, he naturally had to enter it! However, he knew that World God Dragonbinder was looking out for his best interests. According to what the vast majority of cultivators had experienced, although Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had a good chance of surviving the mountain region, they would almost certainly die upon entering the Fog Sea.

However, World-level experts stood a very good chance of surviving the Fog Sea.

“Let’s go,” World God Dragonbinder said.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The two flew through the air towards the nearest mountain.

Based on what past cultivators had discovered, there were two fairly safe paths that could be followed through the Ten Thousand Mountains.

After the two landed atop the mountain, they began to advance through its forests. Watery waves spread out in constant ripples around them as they kept a close eye on their surroundings.

They travelled through one mountain after another.

They travelled cautiously and didn’t move too quickly. More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and they saw a number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals on their journey. However, all of them were so frightened upon seeing Ning and Dragonbinder that they immediately fled. Naturally, the two of them paid these minor figures no heed.

“Ji Ning, did you know? Every single mountain here holds the grave of a World-level expert,” World God Dragonbinder said.

“I’ve heard.” Ning nodded. “According to the stories, after Daolord Allgod failed his Daomerge he began to wander through the Endless Territories as he searched for cultivators who had committed many grave sins. More than ten thousand World-level experts died by his hand! Every single mountain is the rest spot for at least one of those evil cultivators.

“My guess is that Daolord Allgod wanted to kill as many sinners as he could to accumulate more karmic virtue, hoping that he might be able to find a way to survive.” World God Dragonbinder sighed. “But once you fail your Daomerge, your death becomes an inevitability. Many powerful experts have tried using various methods to stay alive…but alas, all of those efforts came to naught.”

The two continued to walk while chatting.

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

Ning and World God Dragonbinder both came to a halt. They raised their head to stare off into the distance. The forest here was blocking their vision, but they were able to see a half-opened door that was covered with some divine runes and inscriptions.

“Is that the treasury?” Ning and Dragonbinder exchanged a curious glance.

Every single mountain of the Ten Thousand Mountains held the corpse of a sinful cultivator as well as a treasury! This meant that there were ten thousand treasuries here…but the treasuries were tightly guarded and not easily accessed. This mountain, however, had a great gateway carved into it, and the runes covering the gateway were even more profound than the ones used to forge Dao weapons. Clearly, this had to be a treasury!

“Let’s go in and take a look,” Dragonbinder sent mentally. “We’ve found the treasury, but we won’t necessarily be able to take it with us. Plus, the ‘real’ treasury might be inside there.”

“Alright. Let’s go.” Ning carefully scrutinized the great door as well.”

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Chapter 22 – Treasury

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 22 – Treasury

The great door was sixty meters tall and completely black. It was covered with complex silver runes that emanated ripples of might.

Ji Ning and World God Dragonbinder moved to stand directly in front of the great door.

“This is my first trip to the Allgod Estate.” World God Dragonbinder let out a sigh. “Just by looking at this door, I can tell that the legends of Daolord Allgod were probably all true! How could a mere door be this complex and profound? This is just one of ten thousand treasures located within these mountains, and yet its restrictive spells are incredibly complex.”

“Let’s go in,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Right.” World God Dragonbinder nodded.

The two advanced together into the deep, dark hallway past the door.

Rumble…

Ning glanced backwards. As expected, the great door had already closed behind them.

Based on the information Ning had previously purchased, there were ten thousand mountains here and every single mountain had a treasury within it. If anyone passed through a treasury door, the door would temporarily swing shut behind them so as to bar any other cultivators from entering! If Ning and World God Dragonbinder failed in acquiring the treasures located in the treasury, the door would swing open and release the two of them.

If they successfully acquired the treasures, then the entire treasury region would crumble apart and reveal a different hallway that would grant them safe departure.

“There is light up ahead.” Ning sped up just slightly.

“There shouldn’t be any traps.” World God Dragonbinder was quite excited as well.

The two quickly reached the end of this first hallway. Before them was a spacious region that was roughly thirty kilometers in size and filled with a layer of blurry light.

“This is the treasury region.” World God Dragonbinder revealed a look of excitement. “This treasury region is still intact. That means it still holds its treasures.”

“The treasures are hard to win. Less than one in ten thousand cultivators will succeed in their attempts.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Although the trials were quite difficult, so long as the door remained open and a steady stream of cultivators continued to enter this place, sooner or later there would be a successful trial-taker.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Ning and World God Dragonbinder entered the treasury region of blurry light. Both of them grew more cautious as they did so, because this place had restrictive spells which had been emplaced by Daolord Allgod. Once those spells were triggered, even Daolords might perish!

“A corpse.”

Ning stared at the very center of the treasury region. A stone coffin was located there, and a corpse could be made out inside of it. Above the stone coffin hovered a globe of light.

Thanks to their intelligence reports, both Ning and Dragonbinder knew that the light globes were where the treasures were stored! The ten thousand treasures in the mountains were all different. Some had a single powerful treasure, such as an Eternal weapon, while others had eight or nine different Dao weapons. Some even had extremely formidable techniques, forbidden arts, divine abilities, or special legacies…

In short, everything was possible.

“You try first, senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder,” Ning said.

“Alright, I’ll try first.” Dragonbinder nodded as he strode forward. When he reached a distance of three hundred meters from the stone coffin, the globe of light expanded in size to instantly become more than three hundred meters large!

Everything within that region transformed into a blur. Ning could no longer see World God Dragonbinder at all.

“I wonder which treasury this is.” Ning waited quietly to one side. The reason he let World God Dragonbinder make the first attempt was because Dragonbinder was quite powerful! Even if Ning unleashed all of his power, he still would probably be forced to flee in the face of Dragonbinder’s power. Dragonbinder was a true master-class World God, after all, and he had some special treasures of his own. He was definitely a match for the Starlord of Fogstone and arguably even a bit more powerful.

A period of time passed, enough to boil a kettle of tea.

“Whew.” World God Dragonbinder emerged from that region of blurred space. The blurred space quickly shrank in size as the light was retracted back into the globe of light.

“Ugh.” World God Dragonbinder shook his head. “That was ridiculously hard. Way too hard! Even if I spent another chaos cycle training for it, I still wouldn’t have any chance of taking over this treasury.”

“What was the trial?”

Every single treasury had its own trials as set down by Daolord Allgod. You would only gain the contents of the treasury if you succeeded in passing the trial. Everyone had to follow the rules of the game which Daolord Allgod had set down! Perhaps some ancient powers who had become Eternal Emperors might be able to forcibly plunder a few treasures, but those figures generally disdained from acting in such a manner.

In addition, Daolord Allgod’s fame was so great that even many of those Eternal powers were afraid of him.

“It pertained to the mysteries of the Dao of Fire.” World God Dragonbinder explained, “Although I’m quite talented in Fire and in Water, I’m not even close to being able to solve this trial.”

“Fire?” Ning just stared.

Although he had some insights into Fire, he was still quite weak in this regard. He hadn’t even mastered the Heavenly Dao of Fire! To pass Daolord Allgod’s trial was quite unlikely.

Although Daolord Allgod gave trials to Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals which were easier than the trials he gave to World-level experts, Ning clearly wouldn’t be able to succeed in this particular trial. If it was a trial over the Dao of the Sword, Ning would’ve given it a shot, but Fire?

“I’m very weak in the Dao of Fire.” Ning shook his head. “I’ll let one of my retainers give it a shot.”

“Oh, Youji?” World God Dragonbinder grinned. It had been Flamefairy Su Youji who had informed the others that Ji Ning was heading to the Allgod Estate.

“Yes.” Ning nodded, then willed her to emerge. Whoosh. An incomparably beautiful woman dressed in fiery robes appeared by his side. It was Su Youji, the Flamefairy.

“Master.” Su Youji revealed a smile, then glanced at World God Dragonbinder. She said in a rather unhappy manner, “Senior Dragonbinder, you accompanied my master to this place but refused to let come out as well.”

“That’s because we wanted to wait until we could give you something nice, such as right now.” World God Dragonbinder grinned at her.

“Something nice?” Su Youji was puzzled.

“Youji.” Ning pointed at the distant light globe which hovered above that stone coffin. “We are in one of the treasury regions of the Ten Thousand Mountains of the Allgod Estate.”

“A treasury? I heard that Daolord Allgod left behind ten thousand treasuries.” Su Youji looked at the globe of light, a heated look in her eyes. She then glanced at Ning. “Master, you let me out because…?”

“Senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder gave it a shot but failed. The trials of this treasury pertain to the Dao of Fire,” Ning explained. “You are quite skilled in the Dao of Fire. You can be considered one of the most elite Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals in this regard, and you are very close to becoming a World-level expert yourself. You might have a chance at passing this trial.”

Su Youji began to grow rather excited.

She had heard others speak of this place before…

Every single trial in the Allgod Estate was incredibly difficult for World-level experts, but they were generally a bit easier for Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. However, the trials were all different in nature. A Trial of Fire would test everyone in the Dao of Fire, whereas a Trial of Lightning would test everyone in the Dao of Lightning.

“Should I give it a try?” Su Youji looked at Ning.

“Go.” Ning nodded.

Su Youji eagerly and nervously walked forward towards the stone coffin. Once she reached three hundred meters of it, the globe of light once more expanded to completely encompass her within it.

“Ji Ning, do you think Youji will be able to acquire the treasures?” World God Dragonbinder asked.

“She should have at least a 20% to 30% chance,” Ning posited. After Daolord Solesky had given Su Youji some guidance, she had improved quite dramatically. She was just a hair away from becoming a World-level expert and could break through at any moment. Given how talented she was in the Dao of Fire, it was likely that she stood a very good chance.

Time continued to pass, one minute at a time.

“She’s been inside for longer than me,” World God Dragonbinder said expectantly.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. He was rather excited as well. It would be wonderful if the treasury’s contents ended up in one of their hands. If the treasures Su Youji acquired were of limited use to her but of tremendous use to World God Dragonbinder, she could trade them to him.

Whoosh. The Flamefairy suddenly emerged from that blurry region. The field of light quickly retracted and returned to the globe.

“I failed.” Su Youji looked at Ning, a hint of disappointment and helplessness in her eyes. “I was so close! Just a bit more and I would’ve succeeded. If I had just slightly deeper insights into the Dao of Fire, I would’ve succeeded. Unfortunately, when that happens I’ll probably reach the World level.”

“The Daolord’s trials must include a different component as well,” World God Dragonbinder said.

“Mm. Perhaps. Based on the records I read, less than one in ten thousand cultivators will succeed in passing one of these trials. Most likely, you have to have certain special insights into the Dao of Fire in order to succeed.” Su Youji nodded.

Ning nodded as well. “Now you two have gotten me interested. I want to give it a shot as well.”

“You, Master? But your Dao of Fire…?” Su Youji looked at Ning. She had followed Ning for some time now and knew him to be very weak in the Dao of Fire.

“I can at least give it a try, right?” Ning also knew that he was quite weak in the Dao of Fire, but he had never tried one of these trials before. He wanted to at least experience it for himself. It was quite safe; no one had ever lost their lives in the treasuries before.

Whoosh.

Ning stepped into the range of the stone coffin as well. That globe of light emitted a large wave of light and quickly encompassed a region of three hundred meters with it.

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Chapter 23 – The Treasury’s Trial

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 23 – The Treasury’s Trial

Ji Ning was transported into the blurry region of light.

“Eh?” Ning stared in surprise. In front of him were a series of walls of light that protected the light globe above the coffin. There were nine walls of light in total, and each of them were covered with flowing, fiery-red runes.

“Pass through all nine restrictive spells and you shall acquire the treasure.” A booming voice rang out by Ning’s ears.

Ning was puzzled.

Where did that voice come from? Was it the voice of Daolord Allgod, or was it the voice of a treasure spirit?

“Who cares.” It didn’t really matter. All Ning needed to know was that he had to be on his best behavior in a place which had been established by a Daolord of such incredible power.

“Pass through all nine restrictive spells? How?”

Ning stared at the first light barrier and the fiery red runes flowing atop it.

“Doesn’t seem that hard.” Ning quickly came to understand how the barrier worked. He pressed his palm onto the light barrier, filling it with his Immortal energy. Because Ning had already comprehended its mysteries, he was easily able to master it and take control over it.

“Disperse.” Ning willed the light barrier to disperse. Whoosh. The first light barrier completely vanished, leaving eight more behind.

Ning once more advanced forward. The second barrier was also one covered by divine runes pertaining to the Dao of Fire, but they were clearly much more complicated. Ning just stood there, blinking several times as he stared at those runes.

“I had no idea the difference between me and Su Youji was this huge,” Ning mumbled to himself. He was both an Elder God and an Ancestral Immortal, and so he was given the exact same trial as the one Su Youji had been given. She had said that she was ‘very close’ to succeeding, which meant that she had probably made it to the final light barrier and was very close to solving it.”

“I…can’t even understand the runes on this eighth barrier.” Ning shook his head. “I really am weak in the Dao of Fire.”

Despite this setback, Ning wasn’t too disappointed.

Cultivation was a path filled with choices! If you chose to focus your efforts in areas you were skilled in, you would be able to advance much more quickly and even find it easier to break through certain bottlenecks. Ning was best suited to the Dao of the Sword. Even Lu Dongbin and Patriarch Subhuti had seen this in him all those years ago. Although Ning had made fairly quick breakthroughs in heartforce as well, heartforce remained a matter of the heart. Even after experiencing the great war that had shaken the Three Realms, Ning’s heartforce was merely at the fourth stage. His Dao of the Sword, however, had advanced quite rapidly. He was now just one step away from sixth-stage swordforce, the ‘Sword World’ level. He had even invented a first stance for his [Quintessence Sword-Intent], the ‘Blackmist’ stance, and this stance was nearly as powerful as the third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Great Firmament’ stance.

The power of this technique was so great that it was superior to some weaker Sword Worlds!

All Sword Immortals trained in the Dao of the Sword, but no two Sword Worlds were the same. Some were dominating, others were insidious. Even two cultivators who trained in the exact same technique would end up with their own different insights into it. As for the ‘Great Firmament’ stance, it would result in one of the most powerful types of Sword World.

“The Dao of the Sword is my true Dao. Fire?” Ning shook his head and laughed.

“Uh…” Ning’s face suddenly went blank.

“That voice said that I had to ‘pass through all nine restrictive spells’.” Ning glanced at the eight light barriers remaining. “It just said ‘pass through’. It didn’t say how I had to pass through.”

“When I bind and take control over the restrictive spells, I can disperse them and pass through them.” A strange light flickered in Ning’s eyes. “But…if I forcibly break through them, I would also be able to pass through.”

There were two ways of dealing with any formation.

The first method was to understand the formation and then break it down on a technical level. This was what Ning had done with the initial light barrier, and it was the most common solution.

The second method was just to overpower it with raw force!

It didn’t matter how profound a formation was if an enemy could rip it apart using raw, overwhelming power!

“Would I be able to breach a formation left behind by Daolord Allgod?” Ning mused to himself.

He pondered for a moment, then he bowed respectfully and called out, “Revered Daolord, this junior is not capable of passing through these nine barriers through mastering and dispersing them. However, this junior would like to be so bold as to attempt breaking through using raw power.”

After speaking, Ning turned his gaze towards the eight light barriers.

“Break!” Ning thrust out his palm, forming a streak of light at the tip of his fingers. The streak of light had the vague form of a sword, and it was filled with Ning’s azureflower mist energy. Ning even activated the Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] in his two hands, making his fingers comparable to Dao weapons.

Boom!

As Ning struck out, the second barrier of light trembled then shattered apart.

“It broke?” Ning was overjoyed. However, he wasn’t in a hurry to press the attack, instead pausing for a brief moment to see if there were any repercussions.

Nothing happened.

“It seems as though using raw power to break through the formation isn’t considered a violation of the Daolord’s decree.”

“Let me continue.” Ning took another step forward, his right hand quickly executing the savage ‘Blood Drop’ stance as he sent it stabbing towards a light barrier. Whoosh! It struck out like a sharp sword, stabbing into the light barrier. The light barrier trembled twice, then shattered apart.

Ning laughed.

His power was nothing to joke about. With the azureflower mist energy reinforcing him, he was every bit as strong as a World God! The power of this blow was as strong as a blow from an actual World God…but of course, this was merely the seventh barrier.

“I still wonder where this ‘azureflower region’ formed by the merging of the Nine Chaos Seals came from.” Ning felt increasingly amazed by how unearthly powerful this technique was. Without it, he would at most have the body of a half-step World God. Even with Violetjewel, he would be just barely comparable to a normal World God at best. He wouldn’t even be a match for an elite World God! Now that the azureflower mist energy was reinforcing his body, he was definitely as physically strong as a World God. With Violetjewel in hand, he was able to give master-class World Gods a run for their money.

“I wonder how powerful I will be when I become a World God.” Ning fantasized about it for a moment, then returned to the matter at hand.

“Time to continue.” Ning once more struck out, attacking the sixth barrier. However, this one was clearly much harder to penetrate. Ning wasn’t able to breach it with his first strike and needed to hack at it multiple times before succeeding.

“I’ll use my sword, I guess.” Ning waved his hand, producing Violetjewel.

“Break!” He stabbed out with his sword, activating a hint of its quintessence core as he did so.

Hiss!

The sword easily stabbed straight into that barrier of light.

“Again!”

“And again!”

Ning stepped forward one step at a time. With Violetjewel in hand, his strikes were now much more powerful. This was a formation meant to test Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Ning naturally found it quite easy to penetrate. Even without using the Blackmist stance, he was still able to breach the seven of the nine barriers.

“The eighth barrier?” Ning once more stabbed out with his sword. This time, however, he failed.

“Hmph.” Ning solemnly held Violetjewel in his hands…then suddenly lashed out, transforming it into a bloody shadow of sword-light. Violetjewel left a streak of terrifying, bloody red light in its wake as it pierced forward. This was the power of its quintessence core! Violetjewel itself was covered in bloody light that radiated an aura of astonishing might.

[Quintessence Sword-Intent], first stance – Blackmist stance.

Whoosh!

The bloody sword-light stabbed straight through the eighth barrier, causing it to crumble.

“Just one left.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, once more striking out with his ultimate attack. The azureflower mist energy made Ning’s sword far faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, while the quintessence core of the sword made this Eternal weapon irresistibly sharp! It was very sharp, very powerful, and incomparably fast. This blow would’ve been able to easily shatter a chaosworld apart. Even if the Solar Star or the Lunar Star were in front of Ning, they would have been pierced through by this blow.

Boom!

When the tip of the sword slammed against the ninth barrier, the barrier began to tremble violently. Ripples shuddered over its surface as though a rock had fallen into a pool of water…and yet, it did not break.

“I’m still a bit too weak?” Ning was stunned.

His blows were now incredibly powerful thanks to his own great strength and the fact that he had an Eternal weapon.

“I told you to break!” Ning once more struck out with his most powerful killing blow. Although the ninth barrier shuddered violently, it was clear that Ning’s blows were just a bit too weak to break it.

“Eh?!” Ning frowned. This was already the most powerful sword-strike he was capable of mustering.

“I guess I’ll have to find a way to strengthen the power of that blow.” Ning immediately stepped back, moving to stand just within the three hundred meter radius of the blurry light region.

Whoosh. A pair of azure wings appeared behind Ning’s back, crackling with electric light. These were the ‘Thunderlight Wings’ which Ning had purchased during the treasure auction. The wings used lightning as their energy source and sword-light to tear through all obstructions, allowing the user to move at incredible speeds.

“Attack!”

The wings trembled, instantly sending Ning hurtling through the torn layers of space and allowing him to move at tremendous speed as he moved towards the ninth light barrier like a streak of light himself.

Cultivators needed a bit of distance to build up speed as well. Long-distance flying speed and short-distance dodging speed were two completely different things. It was extremely difficult for one to instantly unleash all of his power and speed! Three hundred meters simply wasn’t enough. Ning had to use the Thunderlight Wings to build up enough speed to surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Without it, Ning would perhaps only be able to move at 60% of his normal speed.

“Break!” As Ning charged out, he once more struck forward with his Eternal weapon!

A sword’s attack speed was extremely important.

Even a pebble that moved at the speed of light could cause tremendous damage. By the same principle, a sword that moved 30% faster than it previously did could easily cause more than double the amount of damage! If Ning just struck out from point-blank distance, there was no way for him to increase the speed of his sword. Thus, he was forced to resort to the most primitive of options…fly forward at high speed and borrow from his own speed to deliver a full-force blow. This instantly allowed his sword to move 20% or 30% faster than before.

BOOM!!! Ning’s terrifyingly sharp Eternal weapon struck out like a bloody blur. Although it paused momentarily, in the end it still pierced straight through the light barrier.

BANG!!!! The final light barrier disintegrated.

The light globe above the stone coffin was now within arm’s reach!

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Chapter 24 – Formation Spirit

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 24 – Formation Spirit

Ji Ning looked at the globe of light hovering above the coffin. He couldn’t help but feel slightly excited; this was a treasury left behind by Daolord Allgod, after all! He really was quite lucky to have encountered a treasury so soon after entering the Allgod Estate.

Whoosh. Ning reached out with his hand, touching the light globe with his fingers.

“Eh?” Ning’s face changed. He sent his fingers through the light globe two more times, completely confused. “Nothing? There’s nothing inside?”

When his fingers touched the light globe, they went straight through the globe as though the globe didn’t even exist. There really was nothing inside.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a beam of light descended out of nowhere, materializing next to the stone coffin into the shape a white-robed old man.

Although Ning was quite surprised, he was able to keep calm. This was because he knew exactly how powerful the restrictive spells Daolord Allgod had left behind. It was capable of easily slaying most Daolords; if the formation wanted him dead, he had no chance of fighting back at all! However, countless cultivators throughout countless chaos cycles had ventured through these treasuries. There was no danger here whatsoever! No one had ever lost their lives while trying to gain a treasure from within a treasury.

“An Elder God?” The white-robed elder glanced at Ning. The old man emanated an aura of natural majesty and prestige, but he chuckled softly as he looked at Ning. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Darknorth.” Ning looked at the elder. “Who are you, senior?”

“The formation-spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains. My master once gave me a name, ‘Myriad Mountains’,” the old man said.

“Formation-spirit?” Ning was surprised.

It was quite normal for treasures to give birth to treasure-spirits. However, it was incredibly rare for powerful formations to gain sentience as well. For example, the ancient spacetime transfer arrays that were spread throughout the various territories of the primordial chaos had existed for countless chaos cycles, but Ning had never heard of any of them gaining sentience. Similarly, although some incredibly powerful formations would appear during various treasure auctions, Ning had never heard of any of them possessing sentience.

“Is it really that surprising? Master lay down three formations in total: the Ten Thousand Mountains Formation, the Fog Sea Formation, and the Allgod Estate Formation. He infused all three with his most profound insights into formations, and all three of us gained sentience.” The old man looked at Ning. “Someone on your level cannot possibly even imagine how truly powerful Master was. You might’ve met some Samsara Daolords in the past, but don’t even try to judge Master by their yardstick. They aren’t worthy! Only a Samsara Daolord who has pursued an Eternal Emperor after sending them fleeing can be discussed in the same breath as my master.”

Although countless years had passed, the spirit of this formation was still filled with the utmost of pride in his master.

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

If you boasted while having nothing to back it up, others would mock you. However, Daolord Allgod was so powerful that even Daolord Solesky was in awe of him and admitted inferiority before his prowess. Even Daolord Badlands would sigh in awe when discussing Daolord Allgod with his subordinates and juniors. Clearly, Daolord Allgod had been so awe-inspiring a figure in life that even now, after having died countless ages ago, his fame continued to resonate with later generations of cultivators.

“There’s no need for me to wax on any longer regarding how almighty Master was. Once you become a Daolord, you’ll understand,” the white-robed elder said.

“Me? A Daolord?” Ning laughed. “Why do you have such confidence in me, senior?”

“You clearly are just an Elder God, but you are capable of unleashing the power of a master-class World God.” The formation-spirit sighed. “It would be very easy for you to kill weak World Gods. An Elder God capable of easily killing most World Gods! There are very, very few monsters such as you. Many people will have a chance to encounter a Samsara Daolord in their lifetimes, but meeting a monster like you is incredibly rare.”

“Monsters like you generally are blessed with tremendous luck. Based on what I know, roughly 80% of people like you end up becoming Samsara Daolords,” the formation-spirit said.

“Oh? Eighty percent?” Ning nodded slowly.

In the Three Realms, there was a belief in ‘karmic luck’. Luck was an ephemeral, fleeting thing. No cultivator had ‘fixed’ luck, as luck could often change. For example, you might be born into an incredibly good family with your parents both being powerful Immortals or Fiendgods. Someone born into a situation like this could be said to be born into a tremendously lucky situation. However, if this person ended up becoming a silkpants wastrel who didn’t work hard in cultivation, his karmic luck would begin to decline.

Ji Ning, for example. He was reincarnated into a decent family and with the Nuwa Painting, and so it could be said that he was born with fairly decent luck. After he gained the legacy of Daoist Threelives, his karmic luck became even better.

Every single person had to fight for their own karmic luck.

However, the karmic luck of the Three Realms was quite weak compared to the overwhelming power of the primordial chaos. Ning was now fighting to gain the karmic luck of the Endless Territories! There were some World-level cultivators who would massacre the living creatures of many chaosworlds, causing great sin to accrue upon them. Daolord Allgod had once chased after and slaughtered countless great sinners, resulting in more and more karmic luck and karmic blessings being bestowed upon him. Karmic virtue and karmic sin existed in the Endless Territories…and so too did karmic luck!

In the Three Realms, three people gained the Nine Chaos Seals – Nuwa, Ji Ning, and Daoist Three Purities. All of them gained tremendous karmic luck as a result. If it wasn’t for the Nine Chaos Seals, Ning wouldn’t be able to easily slay weak World Gods as a mere Elder God!

“However, on the path of cultivation, either you advance forward or you slowly fall behind.” The formation-spirit looked at Ning. “My master was even more monstrously talented than you are. Alas, he still failed in his Daomerge. He died and his Dao faded away. Remember to treasure every single scrap of karmic luck you come across.”

“Thank you for your words of wisdom.” Ning nodded.

“Actually, all of the treasuries here in the Ten Thousand Mountains are empty.” The elderly formation-spirit looked at Ning. “I decide what treasures are to be awarded to those who pass the trials. Master left me with many treasures and decreed that I can teleport any of them into the globe of light. He certainly didn’t want to be bothered with such minor matters.”

Ning finally understood.

“In this treasury, I had originally intended the light globe to be filled with an idol of fire that was filled with the mysteries of the Dao of Fire.” As the elderly formation-spirit spoke, he waved his hand and produced a palm-sized fiery idol. This idol had eight faces, some beautiful, some ugly, some stern. The idol was covered with countless mysterious runes.

“However…”

“Every single Elder God who wishes to try and break the treasury formations here in the Ten Thousand Islands has to have at least the power of a master-class World God. If they do, then they can succeed.” The elderly formation-spirit looked at Ning. “Every single monstrously talented figure such as yourself is qualified to receive a treasure…but of course, you have to find a treasury first.”

Ning nodded.

“However, each person will only have one such opportunity.”

“On your very first trip here, you defeated a barrier spell through raw power. As a result, the seeds of good karma have been sown between us! However, you’ll find that you will no longer be able to break through any of the other barrier spells using raw power,” the elderly formation-spirit said.

“Understood.” Ning said in surprise, “But senior, you spoke of ‘sowing the seeds of good karma’. Although I feel confident in my powers, you are the formation-spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Can it be that there is something you wish Darknorth to do, senior?”

The elderly formation-spirit said, “There is indeed one thing. However, I won’t force you to do it; I merely hope that you can help.”

“Please let me know what you wish me to do, senior.” Ning was puzzled.

“My master had a hated foe.” A savage light flickered through the elderly formation-spirit’s eyes, and a murderous aura permeated his voice. “Master pursued his foe for many years, spending enormous amounts of effort in his attempt to kill him. Alas, in the end he wasn’t able to do so. His foe ended up fleeing.”

Ning was stunned. “Senior, are you speaking of that Eternal Emperor he pursued?”

“Yes. The Eternal Emperor.” The formation-spirit explained, “His name was Emperor Melobo.”

“Emperor Melobo?” Ning tasted the name. The name felt foreign, alien.

“According to what Badlands told me, Emperor Melobo has already returned.” The elderly formation-spirit laughed coldly. “My master chased him all the way into the endless darkness, where he hid himself from my master’s sight. He must have returned only after learning that my master died.”

Although Ning was surprised that Daolord Badlands was apparently acquainted with the formation-spirit, he couldn’t help but instead first ask, “Senior, are you asking me to deal with this Eternal Emperor in the future?”

“I am.” The elderly formation-spirit nodded.

Ning was speechless. “Senior, you think too highly of me.”

Eternal Emperors were eternal figures who had succeeded in their Daomerge! Daolord Allgod had died countless years ago but Emperor Melobo was still alive and well.

Daolord Allgod had chased after Emperor Melobo for countless years but had been unable to slay him. In other words, there wasn’t an enormous difference in power between the two. Given how much time had passed, Emperor Melobo had to have grown more powerful.

“Haha, I’m just planting seeds to sprout in the future. I don’t expect all of them to blossom.” The elderly formation-spirit explained, “In addition, Emperor Melobo is an enemy of the entire Dao Alliance! You came here with World God Dragonbinder of the Badlands Court. Given that he trusts you, I imagine you should be a member of the Dao Alliance as well. There’s no way a monstrously talented genius like you would betray them for our enemies.”

“What is a ‘Dao Alliance’?” Ning was rather dazed now.

“An alliance which encompasses virtually all of the cultivators of the Endless Territories.” The elderly formation-spirit looked at Ning. “Daolord Badlands is a member as well, and long ago the seeds of good karma were sown between the two of us as well. Haha…of the many seeds that I have sown, his has been the most illustrious one to date. I know all the disciples of the Badlands Court. Given that you came alongside World God Dragonbinder, you should also be a member of the Dao Alliance. Are you a member of the Badlands Court or…?”

“Vastheaven Palace,” Ning said.

Daolord Solesky was on very good terms with Daolord Badlands, and they were willing to meet each other in public. This meant they were probably on the same side.

However, this ‘Dao Alliance’ sounded quite powerful. An alliance comprising almost all the cultivators of the Endless Territories? What an extravagant claim.

“Ah.” The elderly formation-spirit nodded. “I’ve heard Badlands speak of Vastheaven Palace before. Yes, it is indeed part of the Dao Alliance as well. I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of the Dao Alliance, as you are still too young and weak. Even amongst World Gods, 99% of them will have never heard of the Dao Alliance! Only the truly illustrious World-level experts will be accepted into the Dao Alliance, as the alliance is primarily composed of Samsara Daolords. I expect World God Dragonbinder has perhaps heard of the Dao Alliance.”

“The mysteries of the Endless Territories are not for someone like you to comprehend. However, there are some dangers that are aimed at all cultivators…and Emperor Melobo is one of them.” The elderly formation-spirit looked at Ning.

“But enough of that. Once you become a World-level expert, your clan or sect will inform you of some of our mysteries. In addition, my information is a bit outdated.” The elderly formation-spirit nodded. “Well, then. What treasure do you want?”

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Chapter 25 – The Nine Secret Arts – Secret Art of Thunder

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 25 – The Nine Secret Arts – Secret Art of Thunder

“You’ve passed the trial. You deserve a treasure.” The elderly formation-spirit looked at Ji Ning. “I have many treasures. Which treasure do you desire the most? If I have it, I’ll give it to you.”

Ning had been still musing about this ‘Dao Alliance’. Upon hearing the formation-spirit’s question, he turned his attention to the treasury. Hesitating slightly, he asked, “Do you have any scrolls of the Mirrorsnow Painting?”

“I do not.” The elderly formation-spirit shook his head. Daolord Allgod had left behind many treasures, but the Mirrorsnow Painting was not one of them.

“Oh…” Ning continued to ponder.

What treasure? What treasure did he need? The opportunity to choose a treasure was a priceless one. Many thoughts flitted through Ning’s mind. After having experienced a treasure auction, Ning now knew of many more treasures than he had in the past.

“I guess I was wrong to make that suggestion. You don’t even know what treasures I have. How about this…what are you skilled in?” The formation-spirit chuckled. “Aside from the Dao of the Sword.”

“I’m most skilled in the Dao of the Sword. Aside from that, I’m also skilled in lightning and in water,” Ning said.

“Master’s title was ‘Allgod’,” the elderly formation-spirit explained, “Precisely because he was skilled in almost everything! Alchemy, formations…he was a master of many Daos. Unfortunately, he truly wasn’t that skilled in the Dao of the Sword. He was, however, extremely skilled in the Dao of Lightning! However, you’ll be fighting against enemies well above your level. Lightning-attribute techniques won’t be that useful to you.”

His old face wrinkled as he frowned. Clearly, he was pondering this question.

“I have it!” The formation-spirit looked at Ning, then reached out with his hand and generated a spatial ripple from his palm. Moments later, a jade slip appeared.

“This jade slip now belongs to you.” The formation-spirit passed it over to Ning, sending it floating through the air.

“Also, the treasure that was originally assigned to this treasury…” The elderly formation-spirit tossed out a second item, a fiery idol. “This is yours as well. My master once slew a vile Daolord who trained in the Dao of Fire and took this idol from him. If you were to sell it, you’d be able to sell it for one or two thousand cubes of chaos nectar. As for the jade slip, it contains a secret art which Master personally developed. Its value is incalculable. Not even the combined value of four or five Eternal weapons would be a match for it.”

Ning was shocked.

For the idol to be worth one or two thousand cubes made sense. The jade slip, however, was truly amazing.

Ning accepted the idol, then turned to look at the jade slip. The jade slip was a inky jade color, and one could see faint characters carved into the inky jade. Ning sent his coresense into it, quickly discovering that it contained a lifeblood oath.

“I swear on my very life itself that prior to becoming a Samsara Daolord, I am not to share this [Novessence Thunder] secret art with anyone else.” The lifeblood oath was quite simply worded.

Almost all techniques required lifeblood oaths to be sworn, be it treasures acquired from a treasure auction or from one’s sect.

Rumble…

As soon as Ning swore the oath, an enormous amount of information poured into his mind. Daolord Allgod had left behind an utterly amazing lightning-attribute secret art in this jade slip, and all of it was put on display for Ning.

This secret art was known as the [Novessence Thunder].

Daolord Allgod was an ancient power who was extremely skilled in alchemy, formations, artificing, and many other arts. At his level, only divine abilities and secret arts that he personally developed would be a good fit for him. Thus, he poured some of his insights into alchemy and artificing into developing secret arts that were meant to give himself greater power.

The more power, the better!

Daolord Allgod had created a total of nine mighty secret arts. These secret arts could be used at long range, allowing him to effortlessly dominate other experts on his level. In fact, he could even use them to tangle with Eternal Emperors!

As for the [Novessence Thunder], it was one of those nine mighty secret arts!

“A secret art like this can actually exist?!” Ning was boggled as he read through the information. “A secret art like this can exist?!”

This technique completely destroyed Ning’s preconceptions regarding secret arts.

Most techniques or secret arts required the wielder to have certain insights into the Dao, allowing him to use certain special technical tricks. The forbidden arts used by God Emperor Blacklotus fell into this category.

Ning’s [Nameless] sword-art was a good example. It had multiple levels, and only when one gained a high level of insight into the Dao of the Sword could one use the increasingly profound levels of the [Nameless] sword-art.

However, the [Novessence Thunder] was completely different.

It was like alchemy. When forging pills, one would gather all sorts of rare and precious ingredients, mix them together, use fire and energy to smelt them, then form them into a marvelous pill.

The [Novessence Thunder] required the wielder to harvest nine types of divine lightning, mix them together in a complicated way that was akin to alchemy, then transform them into a perfect thunder-attribute secret art.

As for the mixing process, Ning was rendered completely speechless upon reading it.

It was simply perfect. It was like a work of absolute art.

“In his hands, thunder and lightning were playthings that he could mold as he pleased. He was able to effortless mix various types of lightning together, joining them into an incredibly powerful secret art of thunder.” Ning was truly stunned. He had once bound a Ninehorn Lightning Serpent, and so he knew very well that lightning was intrinsically a type of force that was extremely wild and savage. Just binding and refining lightning was extremely difficult, to say nothing of using quasi-alchemical methods to mix multiple types of lightning together to form a secret art. This was truly unimaginable.

……

There were two sections to the [Novessence Thunder].

The first section required the user to harvest nine specific types of chaos lightning. These nine types of chaos lightning, by themselves, weren’t even capable of killing an ordinary World God. However, once you perfectly mixed these nine types of ordinary chaos lightning together in a certain manner through this secret art, you would be able to slay master-class World Gods and suppress even supreme World Gods!

The power of this secret art completely surpassed any Eternal weapon.

The second section involved harvesting nine specific types of Dao lightning. These types of Dao lightning had to be naturally harvested and not artificially manufactured, and they were incredibly rare. When Daolord Allgod created this technique, he had been at the Verge. He had many types of divine Dao lightning to choose from, but in the end he was only able to find these nine types which were suitable. After binding and smelting them together, he instantly rose to stand at the very peak of power amongst Daolords!

However…

It was extremely difficult for a person to succeed in mastering this technique!

“This truly is an inconceivable secret art.” Ning couldn’t help but praise the technique. “I’ve never seen anything like it. So lightning can be manipulated in a way such as this?”

“For the sake of killing Emperor Melobo, Master poured all of his energy into coming up with those nine mighty secret arts. Every single one of them was so powerful as to allow any wielder to gaze down upon the other heroes of the realm. Generally speaking, even Samsara Daolords at the Verge would find it difficult to withstand these techniques. When the nine secret arts are used together, they are capable of killing almost any Samsara Daolord.” The formation-spirit was quite proud. “Although the nine secret arts weren’t able to slay Emperor Melobo, all nine of them were able to form domain-type effects that were able to completely suppress him. As a result, Emperor Melobo’s power in battle was weakened to roughly a half of his maximum power.”

Ning nodded.

Having fully reviewed this technique, he knew quite well that once one completely mastered the first section of the [Novessence Thunder], one would be able to unleash an awe-inspiring domain of endless lightning bolts that stretched out more than a million kilometers. This was a lightning domain! It could suppress even supreme World-level experts. Even if Ning ended up encountering an extremely powerful figure which the lightning domain couldn’t kill, it would still dramatically weaken them and ensure they would only be able to unleash half of their full power.

“Nine secret arts…” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

“Unfortunately, Emperor Melobo still managed to escape in the end. He was simply too skilled in fleeing techniques.” The formation-spirit sighed. “Before Master died, he left all nine of his secret arts with the Dao Alliance. If you render great services unto the Dao Alliance or are able to sell them enough treasures, you’ll be able to learn all nine techniques from them. However, these secrets are far more valuable than even the ‘Pseudo Samsara pills’ which so many World-level experts lust over! Even most Samsara Daolords would love to have a chance to learn any one of these nine secret arts.”

Ning nodded.

Secret arts were incredibly powerful, but Ning also understood that mastering them could be incredibly difficult!

In this case, harvesting the nine types of lightning was just one of many difficult tasks. What really mattered was the process of perfectly alchemizing them together into a perfect blend. Actually succeeding in this required the user to be very, very skilled in multiple areas. Daolord Allgod was an ancient power who was skilled in alchemy, formations, and more, which was why he was able to accomplish it. However, when Ning viewed the technique he had two responses. First, he felt that the technique was so beautiful it was like a perfect work of art. Then, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Training in this technique would be incredibly hard.

“Thank goodness I have a powerful divine body. My divine power is far more robust than others at my level, as is my soul. I should still be able to succeed in this secret art,” Ning mused to himself.

“I’ve given you the secret art. I hope that, in the future, you’ll at least be able to reach Daolord Badlands’ level,” the formation-spirit said. “Alright. Now that you’ve taken the treasure from this treasury, hurry up and leave this place alongside your companions. This treasure region is about to fall apart.”

Whoosh. After speaking, the formation-spirit’s body dispersed into particles of light, then vanished. The light globe above the stone coffin also vanished, as did the region of light around the coffin.

World God Dragonbinder and Flamefairy Su Youji stared towards Ning from their original positions.

“Master.”

“Brother Ji Ning.”

The two called out to him at the same time.

Rumble…

The treasure region began to shake as one of the walls split apart, revealing a new passageway.

“This treasure region is about to crumble. We need to hurry up and leave.” Ning didn’t have a chance to explain what had just happened.

“Let’s go.” World God Dragonbinder and Su Youji both understood that time was of the essence. The three immediately moved at high speed towards that distant passageway.

Rumble…

The enormous treasury region began to completely fall apart. Boulders slammed down from the ceiling, completely burying the passageway behind them as the treasury sank down into the ground.

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Chapter 26 – A World-Level Retainer

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 26 – A World-Level Retainer

Ji Ning, Su Youji, and World God Dragonbinder travelled through the new passageway and reached another part of the mountain. They all turned to glance at the collapsed treasury.

“Brother Ji Ning, congratulations! You acquired the treasures,” World God Dragonbinder said.

“You are formidable as always, Master.” Su Youji was filled with admiration for Ning.

“Brother Ji Ning, I don’t quite understand…both the Flamefairy and I attempted the trial but neither of us could retrieve the treasures. But you, brother Ji Ning…” World God Dragonbinder couldn’t help but ask this question. He knew that Ji Ning was most skilled with the sword. If the trial was a trial of the Dao of the Sword, fine. But this clearly was a trial of the Dao of Fire!

Even the Flamefairy, who was just a hair away from becoming a Chaos Immortal, was unable to pass this trial. How could Ji Ning have succeeded?

“There are certain secrets and tricks to overcoming the treasury trials which Daolord Allgod laid down.” This was the only thing Ning said in response.

World God Dragonbinder and Su Youji both understood. The answer most likely involved some of Ji Ning’s personal secrets, and so they no longer asked. Cultivators sometimes would be placed under lifeblood oaths or simply be unwilling to disclose their most powerful, life-saving techniques. Thus, in general if someone didn’t wish to discuss something, others wouldn’t force the topic.

“I did acquire a treasure from within this treasury.” Ning waved his hand, producing a palm-sized fiery idol.

“What is this?” World God Dragonbinder’s gaze turned dreamy for a moment as his attention became absorbed by this idol.

As for the Flamefairy, her response was even more exaggerated. As she stared at the fiery idol, she was completely captivated by it.

As a master-class World God, Dragonbinder was quickly able to shake off the effect and come to his senses. He looked at Ning in an admiring manner. “Brother Ji Ning, I’m surprised that you are willing to show this treasure to the two of us in such a casual fashion. This idol hides within it a fire-attribute technique of tremendous profundity. The idol itself has eight faces, with each face representing one of eight great mysteries. This is something far more valuable than a mere technique-holding jade slip. Jade slips merely contain information on a technique; if you want to understand the technique, you have to slowly meditate on it. This fiery idol, however, has eight different auras and intents that can actually guide the cultivator in the correct method to train in this technique.”

“I’ve already become a master-class World God. What I now need to do is find my own path and then follow it to become a Samsara Daolord! These techniques are useless to me, but they are of tremendous use to the Flamefairy.” World God Dragonbinder explained, “This idol has to be worth over a thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Generally speaking, a person would have to pay a hundred cubes to even be given the chance to merely ‘borrow’ this idol to look at it for a while. You truly are generous to this retainer of yours.”

“It is useless to me but useful to her. I’m naturally going to give it to her. She’s my retainer! If she becomes more powerful, that means my team will be more powerful,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Ahaha…” World God Dragonbinder nodded.

Different cultivators treated their retainers in different manners. Some cultivators who were on the same general level of power as their retainers would treat them as friends and equals. However, if there was an enormous disparity in power the retainers would often be treated like slaves! When Daolord Windsource died, he even took quite a few of his disciples with him, to say nothing of his retainers.

During his time in the Badlands Court, Ning had sparred with quite a few people. His sword-arts were so profound that no Elder God or Ancestral Immortal in the Badlands Court was a match for him. From this alone, World God Dragonbinder could tell that Ji Ning was definitely comparable to a World God in power! He had to be much more powerful than Su Youji. For him to be courteous to her was one thing, but for him to give her such a valuable legacy in such a straightforward manner was something else. This sort of behavior was fairly rare.

“Eh?” Ning turned to look at Su Youji. A look flickered through World God Dragonbinder’s eyes as he turned to look at her as well.

Su Youji had already shut her eyes and vague ripples of fire had begun to swirl around her.

“Sudden enlightenment?” World God Dragonbinder said softly.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. They were inside the Allgod Estate, a very dangerous place. Generally speaking, no one would engage in meditation here. If Su Youji was here by herself and a prajna-state of sudden enlightenment descended upon her, she would probably break it right away. She would first leave the ruins, find a safe place to stay, then re-engage in her meditations. However, in doing so she would’ve lost the benefit from this prajna-state of sudden enlightenment. Thankfully, she was alongside Ji Ning and World God Dragonbinder. She trusted that the two would protect her, and so she allowed herself to be drawn into the prajna-state.

“Come here.” Ning waved his hand, causing Su Youji to be drawn into his estate-treasure and be placed atop an island.

Ning exerted his will, causing that island to be completely separated from the rest of the estate-world. As the master of this estate-world, Ning was able to ensure that there was absolutely no way that Su Youji’s moment of enlightenment would be disturbed.

“It seems likely that the Flamefairy is going to break through to become a Chaos Immortal.” World God Dragonbinder let out an impressed sigh.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “Youji was always quite talented. In the past, however, she never had any good teachers. Although my big brother Daolord Solesky gave her a few tips, he did so in a rather casual manner. This idol, however, has a truly systemized and complete technique within it.”

“Yes. This idol can guide someone to become a master-class World-level figure. Haha, Ji Ning…it seems you are about to acquire a World-level retainer.” World God Dragonbinder laughed.

“I can feel the pressure already.” Ning laughed as well.

“Hurry up and make your own breakthrough as well. Your sword-arts are as impressive as the sword-arts of quite a number of World-level Sword Immortals that I know,” World God Dragonbinder said.

“Mm.” Ning himself could sense that he had reached a bottleneck in the ‘Great Firmament’ stance. However, he was fairly close to making his breakthrough. The [Nameless] sword-art was an extremely profound sword-art; upon mastering this next level, he would form a Sword World that was far stronger than that of most Sword Immortals! As for Ning’s own ‘Blackmist’ stance, it was a stance that was fairly close in power to the ‘Great Firmament’ stance.

“Although I’m just a hair’s breadth away, that tiny bit of distance has prevented countless Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals from taking the next step.” Ning let out a sigh.

“True.” World God Dragonbinder couldn’t help but think about himself and the many other cultivators who were trapped as master-class World-level experts and were unable to make a breakthrough. “A single step that can be as wide as a moat that separates the heavens and the earth.”

That final step was the hardest step to take.

There were many, many master-class World-level experts. Even the Starlord of Fogstone, who had only trained for a fairly short period of time, had become a master-class World God. So had God Emperor Blackstone! But how few of them would become into Samsara Daolords?

“Let’s go view some other places,” Ning said.

……

Ning and World God Dragonbinder were fairly strong, and the Ten Thousand Mountains were merely the outermost layer of the Allgod Estate. There were actually very few World-level experts here; most cultivators present were Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals. Thus, the two were essentially able to roam through this region as they pleased. No one dared to antagonize the two of them.

In the blink of an eye, more than two years had gone by.

Given how powerful Ning and Dragonbinder were, the ‘outer region’ truly was of no challenge to them. This was especially true for World God Dragonbinder. He was an exalted master-class World God; he naturally had to enter the Fog Sea to test himself! And yet, because they needed to stand guard for the Flamefairy, he had remained by Ning’s side instead of venturing into the more dangerous Fog Sea region.

“Sorry to have troubled you, brother Dragonbinder. I’ve made you waste quite a bit of time here in the outer region.” Ning sat down on a stone as he held out a flask of wine.

“It’s just two or three years, and I’ll be able to see a new Chaos Immortal be born. No big deal at all. Uh…wow. This is good wine. Good lord, brother Ji Ning…how much money did you spend on Immortal wine?” World God Dragonbinder was guzzling wine with gusto.

“Ten cubes,” Ning said.

“Nice, nice.” World God Dragonbinder certainly wasn’t willing to spend this much money on wine.

When Ning had departed from the Windsource Ruins, he was laden down with many treasures. Thus, he chose to spend ten cubes of his wealth to purchase a great deal of fine Immortal wine. He was living in the Badlands Court and would often receive their disciples as his guests. How could he allow himself to be lacking in wine? The Immortal wine he had purchased had been created through many different valuable ingredients. Once it was consumed, it would actually help the imbiber by replenishing his Immortal ki.

Suddenly…

Rumble…

A dim sound rang out from the heavens above them.

The seated Ning and Dragonbinder both turned their heads to stare at the heavens. The vague image of a vortex of chaos energy could be seen swirling in the skies.

“We can even see the chaos vortex from within the Allgod Estate. There has to be an enormous flood of chaos energy in the outside world.” World God Dragonbinder revealed a look of delight…and his words were spot on. An utterly enormous vortex of chaos energy had formed in the skies above the Allgod Chaosworld.

“The Flamefairy should’ve begun her breakthrough,” World God Dragonbinder said. “Let everything return to the primordial chaos from whence it came. Let the Dao-seed grow and let all things be renewed…”

Ning felt eager as well.

He had received certain teachings from Daolord Solesky, and so he knew that breaking through to become a World-level expert would result a transformation on a fundamental level. When he thought of Su Youji’s transformation, he felt even more anticipation towards his own. He had the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods], the [Sole True Body], and the mysterious azureflower mist energy. This was why he was comparable to a World God despite being an Elder God.

One could imagine how enormous his transformation would be upon becoming a World God! He would be on a completely different level of power!

A long period of time went by, but neither Ning nor Dragonbinder were in a rush.

Whoosh.

A peerless beauty suddenly appeared, wreathed in flames. She knelt down towards Ning and said gratefully, “Youji shall never forget the great kindness you have shown her, Master.”

“It’s good that you know the importance of repaying the kindness of others.” World God Dragonbinder nodded. There were some retainers who would begin to treat their masters with disdain once they broke through and reached a higher level of power. Once their lifeblood oaths were completed, they would immediately depart.

“You are now a World-level expert. Hurry up and rise.” Ning hurriedly held the Flamefairy to her feet. He could sense the aura of a Chaos Immortal emanating from the rings of fire that wreathed her body, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

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Chapter 27 – The First Mirrorsnow Painting

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 27 – The First Mirrorsnow Painting

Ji Ning’s retainer had just become a Chaos Immortal, but he himself had yet to make a breakthrough! Still, Ning was fairly happy. At least he got a powerful assistant out of this event! However, Su Youji was a new Chaos Immortal who didn’t even have a suitable Dao weapon to use. Thus, she was actually weaker than most World-level experts; she could at most be considered to have reached the lowest benchmark of that level.

New Chaos Immortals with no suitable treasures and who hadn’t had the chance to solidify their powers were actually quite weak. Usually, they’d find a private location and spend a few thousand years in solitary cultivation. Only when they increased in power to become comparable to normal World-level experts would they emerge from seclusion.

“Congratulations, Flamefairy. This breakthrough you just made represents a fundamental transformation,” World God Dragonbinder said with a laugh. “From this day forth, you will no longer be the same person you once were.”

Su Youji’s eyes were shining with light and her heart was filled with many emotions.

Countless scenes from the past began to flash through her mind. Thanks to the technique she created, she was a woman of absolutely stunning charm. As a result, quite a few cultivators had desired to become Dao-companions. Some of them acted properly towards her, but others had been stuck at the Elder God or Ancestral Immortal level for so long that they had lost their rationality along with their hopes of making a breakthrough. As a result, they abandoned themselves to vices and would often try to kidnap alluring woman and use them to sate their own lusts. Someone like Su Youji, who was both powerful and mesmerizing, drove these men absolutely wild.

Su Youji’s technique was special. Before becoming a World-level expert, she could not allow herself to lose her virginity. Thus, in many cases her only choice was to flee from those men rather than to submit to them. She lived quite an arduous life as a result.

“Finally…finally…” Su Youji could sense how powerful she had become. The Jindan chaos region inside her body was filled with an enormous amount of World energy, giving her a sense of absolute power and control over herself and her surroundings.

“From this day forth, I am now Chaos Immortal Su Youji.”

A Chaos Immortal would be welcomed with open arms by any of the organizations of the Badlands Court. They would be ranked as one of the most high-level figures and be given tremendous power and authority.

“Since the Flamefairy has completed her breakthrough…brother Ji Ning, let us part ways here.” World God Dragonbinder said, “I’m planning to pay a visit to the Fog Sea.”

“Thank you for everything, senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder,” Ning said.

“A minor matter.” World God Dragonbinder smiled as he began to walk away.

Only now did Su Youji come back to her senses. She hurriedly said, “Thank you, big brother Dragonbinder.”

“I wager others would have begged for a chance to serve as your protector, little sister!” World God Dragonbinder’s voice rang out from afar as he moved further and further away from them. Soon, only Ning and Su Youji were left.

“Thank you, Master.” Su Youji was filled with gratitude.

“Oh, right.” Ning waved his hand, causing that palm-sized fiery idol to appear once more. When she saw the idol appear, Su Youji’s eyes instantly lit up. The techniques contained within this idol were a perfect fit for her. The idol had a total of eight faces, one of which was related to a charm technique. This was the reason why she was immediately stimulated upon seeing the idol, resulting in her breaking through to become a Chaos Immortal.

Su Youji’s eyes blazed with eagerness as she stared at that idol. This idol would truly be of tremendous use to her.

“Take it.” Ning handed it over to her.

“B-but…” Su Youji didn’t know what to say or do. She had taken part in the treasure auction as well, and thus she knew exactly how valuable a treasure like this was. It would probably start at a reserve price of roughly a thousand cubes!

“I’m giving it to you, so take it,” Ning said.

“But…I…” Su Youji hesitated. In the end, this fiery idol was simply too alluring to her. She said in a low voice, “Master, just let me view it for an hour. I’ll memorize the technique within it then give it back to you.”

Ning shook his head. “What’s the point of just memorizing the technique? This fiery idol has eight different types of conceptual intents radiating from it. It’ll be of tremendous benefit to you in your cultivation. And I’m not giving it to you, I’m just letting you use it. When I want it back, you’ll have to return it to me. So take it.” Ning pressed the fiery idol into Su Youji’s hands.

Su Youji’s heart quivered as Ning took her hand into his own.

Although she had served him for quite some time, this was actually the first time they had touched.

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded obediently.

“Right. I’m planning to go into the Fog Sea as well,” Ning said. “Go ahead and enter the estate-world and focus on solidifying your current foundation. You’ve just broken through, after all.”

“No need, Master.” Su Youji waved her hand, causing the fiery idol to be drawn into her Jindan chaos region. “I only need to spend part of my time working on this idol. With it, I should be able to solidify my foundation in less than a century. Your golem is by my side as well; once I enter it and command it, I’ll be able to unleash tremendous power from within. I won’t be in any danger.”

With such a detailed technique and helpful idol, her path to becoming a master-class Chaos Immortal was clear. It naturally wouldn’t take her much time to solidify her foundation. If she didn’t have the idol and instead had to work on her own, she probably would’ve needed a thousand years in order to succeed.

“Might as well.” Ning nodded. Although Su Youji didn’t have a Dao weapon, she did have that golem. If danger arose, she could instantly hide herself within that golem. She really wouldn’t be in much danger.

“Come. Let us enter the Fog Sea.”

Ning turned his head to stare off into the distance, where the vast, billowing Fog Sea could be seen. He could sense the ripples emanating from the Mirrorsnow Painting he had bound and its desire to enter the Fog Sea and reunite with the other painting there.

The Fog Sea was part of the ‘inner region’ of the Allgod Estate. It was far more dangerous than the Ten Thousand Mountains.

……

Whoosh. Fog billowed everywhere.

Ning stood atop an earthen hill, staring off into the distance. Even at his level of visual acuity, the fog ensured that he could only see to a distance of a few hundred kilometers.

“It’s up ahead.” Ning pointed straight ahead. Thanks to his Mirrorsnow Painting, Ning could easily determine the location of his target. The toughest part of being in the Fog Sea was that one would be unable to find one’s bearings. Anyone who spent a bit of time within it would quickly discover that they could no longer tell the directions apart. This was true even for World-level experts. But of course, if you walked in one direction for a long enough period of time, sooner or later you’d make it out of the Fog Sea.

“A lake?”

After walking forward for tens of thousands of kilometers, Ning saw a placid, almost mirror-like lake up ahead. The lake was quite wide, so vast that Ning couldn’t see the other side of it. It was so still here that not even any ripples could be seen on the lake’s surface. Ning did, however, get a vague sense of danger emanating from the area.

Su Youji looked towards Ning. “I sense as though this lake…”

“I sensed it as well.” Ning nodded.

“Should we walk on the surface of the lake? Fly over it? Or go around it?” Su Youji waited for Ning to decide.

Ning frowned as he glanced at the great lake before them. Finally, he said, “Let’s go around it.”

“Right.” This was Su Youji’s preference as well.

The two began to circle around the lake. However, the lake truly was quite enormous. Based on how much time they spent walking around it, Ning judged that it had to be more than a hundred thousand kilometers long.

……

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the formerly-still lake. Then, a golden head began to silently emerge from the waters beneath. This golden head had a pair of golden wings where a human would have ears. It stared off into the distance towards a place which Ji Ning and Su Youji had walked past just a short while ago. Some time later, the strange creature slowly sank beneath the waves once more.

……

Ning and Su Youji continued their journey after going past the lake, moving with slow caution. Whenever they encountered a place they felt was dangerous, they would avoid it. This was the Fog Sea, after all. This was a terrifying place which spelled death for nearly half the World-level experts who entered it! Even though Ning had the power of a master-class World God, he still didn’t dare to act rashly. In addition, his true goal was merely to find the Mirrorsnow Painting.

“We are almost there. We should be less than fifty thousand kilometers away,” Ning said. He had spent more than a month in here with Su Youji and had walked more than ten million kilometers. The reason why it had taken them this long was because they had to avoid quite a few dangerous areas.

The past month had been fairly safe. They had only engaged in battle a single time when they had encountered a scorpion-shaped bugbeast that had just barely reached the World level of power. Ning had simply taken out his Pentabolt Gourd and effortless killed the bugbeast with a thunderblast.

“It’s up ahead.”

“There it is.”

Ning and Su Youji had just reached a mountain. Halfway up the mountain, there was an elegant-looking palace which had three characters carved onto it: Yi River Palace.

“Yi River Palace?” Ning frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Su Youji glanced at Ning, puzzled.

“This doesn’t make sense.” Ning frowned. The Fog Sea had quite a few dangerous locations within it. Many generations of cultivators had ventured within the Fog Sea, resulting in many of its dangerous locations being marked down. The Yi River Palace was one such location! It held valuable treasures but was also filled with tremendous danger.

According to the intelligence report which Ning had acquired from Daolord Solesky, although the Mirrorsnow Painting was in the Fog Sea it wasn’t located within the Yi River Palace.

“For some reason, the Mirrorsnow Painting must’ve been moved from its original location into the Yi River Palace,” Ning mused to himself.

Boom! Ning gave the gates to the Yi River Palace a hard shove.

Rumble…the gates slowly swung open.

“Let’s go in,” Ning said. “Youji, the deeper parts of the Yi River Palace are filled with tremendous danger. We can’t get in too deep. Let me scout out the outer perimeter of the palace first.”

“Alright.” Youji nodded.

The two carefully stepped into the estate. The Yi River Palace was extremely large and it had a front hall, a main hall, an inner hall, and many side halls. According to the information Ning had, the other halls of the Yi River Palace were fairly safe, but the main hall was filled with tremendous danger. However, the main hall also had the most treasures.

“The Mirrorsnow Painting. It doesn’t seem to be in the main palace…” Ning could sense from his attunement to his own painting that this second one was actually located in a side hall.

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Chapter 28 – Be Our Slaves

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 28 – Be Our Slaves

Ji Ning led Su Youji towards the direction of the side hall.

Whoosh.

A streak of gray fog quickly surged out from that distant side hall, moving far faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos as it poured out of the Yi River Palace.

“That thing is carrying the Mirrorsnow Painting!” Ning’s face changed. “Chase it down!”

He could sense that the Mirrorsnow Painting had originally been within the side hall, but it was now receding from him at high speed. Clearly, it was being taken away by that gray streak of mist.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Ning and Su Youji immediately chased after it at high speed. Ning had always been extremely fast, while Su Youji was now a Chaos Immortal. Thanks to her powerful Immortal energy and the Jindan chaos region inside her body supporting her, she was now also able to easily overcome the limits of the Heavenly Daos and move just a tiny bit slower than Ning himself did. But of course, this was with Ning not using the Thunderlight Wings.

Boom! An inch-thick streak of golden light shot out of Ning’s eyes, allowing him to clearly make out the true form of that fleeing streak of gray fog.

Although it looked like gray fog, it was actually a strange beast that had a crocodilian body and a dragon-like head. Its four stubby legs propelled it forward at high speed, allowing it move faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos as gray mist emanated from its body.

“A bugbeast of some sort.”

“It most likely is one of the bugbeasts which Daolord Allgod once reared.”

Both Ning and Su Youji were able to see and identify the creature.

Many bugbeasts lived within the Fog Sea region. It must be understood that Daolord Allgod was skilled in many things, including alchemy, artificing, formations, and more. He had also reached an extremely high level of skill in the art of rearing bugbeasts. Even though he had died long ago, certain formations within the Fog Sea region continuously nurtured and gave birth to multiple generations of World-level bugbeasts.

“GRWAAAR!” The graymist beast let out a howl. Its body suddenly split into nine different pieces, each of which began to flee towards a different direction.

“Don’t even think about fleeing!” Ning roared. He pulled out a giant gourd with his left hand, immediately uncorking it.

Rumble…

Countless thunderbolts blasted out from within the gourd, instantly covering the entire region but centering around the area which included the nine streaks of gray mist that were beginning to flee. The [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique was limited to the speed of the Heavenly Daos, but this Pentabolt Gourd which Ning had purchased during the treasure auction contained five different types of chaos lightning, each of which was able to effortlessly breach the speed of light. They all moved much faster than Ning himself.

The five types of lightning crackled throughout the area and thundered around the gray mist.

“EEEEE! An ear-piercing, soul-piercing cry.

Eight of the nine streaks of gray mist instantly vanished. The remaining streak of gray mist quickly began to expand in size, its scaly crocodilian body beginning to emerge as well. The beast’s body was resisting the attacks of these five types of chaos lightning, and it turned to glare at Ning, its grayish-white eyes filled with rage.

“Hand over that sword-ki diagram and I’ll spare your life,” Ning sent mentally.

“You’ll never catch me.” The creature’s gravelly voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

Swish.

The scaly crocodilian creature once more transformed into mist. This time, the misty gray aura surrounding it brightened dramatically as it began to fly off into the distance at a speed which rendered Ning speechless. Even if he used his Thunderlight Wings, he still wouldn’t be able to catch up to it. His only choice was to use the Pentabolt Gourd to release those five streaks of chaos lightning to slow the creature down…and yet, although the creature seemed to be weakened by the lightning it didn’t slow down in the slightest.

“We can’t catch up to it, Master.” Su Youji was worried. The bugbeast had already flown out of the range of the five types of lightning. This place was quite dangerous, and Ning didn’t dare to let the lightning reach out to a much greater distance, for fear of accidentally striking and irritating other powerful bugbeasts.

“I can sense that it’s been injured.” Ning chuckled. The final blasts of lightning had injured the creature. Although it had managed to escape, its aura had been noticeably weakened.

“It won’t be able to escape me.” Ning could continuously sense the exact location of the Mirrorsnow Painting. So long as the creature remained within the Allgod Estate, Ning would still be able to sense its location.

A short while later.

“It is up ahead. It isn’t moving,” Ning sent.

Soon, Ning and Su Youji saw the creature. It was a crocodilian bugbeast with black scales, and it was resting as it lay atop a giant boulder. It instantly noticed Ning’s arrival and immediately transformed into an aura of gray mist as it once more began to flee.

Bugbeasts were artificially created lifeforms. They had tremendous strength and certain special gifts, and they used these advantages when they fought. However, they didn’t have divine power or Immortal energy. Thus, they were unable to bind magic treasures to themselves. In other words, the bugbeast hadn’t been able to bind the sword-ki painting and thus couldn’t sense Ning’s location.

Boom! Ning didn’t have enough time to chase after the creature. He instead once more pulled out the Pentabolt Gourd and released those five types of chaos lightning to attack.

The aura of the fleeing streak of gray mist began to noticeably weaken yet again.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Ning and Su Youji continued their chase.

……

“I can sense ripples coming from over there.”

“There’s a battle happening nearby.”

Two men who were seated in the lotus position rose to their feet. One was dressed in golden robes while the other was dressed in black robes. Both had dark, swarthy skin, and their faces were covered with green floral tattoos. Both emanated auras of tremendous power as well. One was a World God, the other a Chaos Immortal.

“Let’s go take a look.” The two exchanged a glance, then quietly began to move towards the direction of the ripples.

……

“It is still fleeing.” Ning and Su Youji continued their pursuit of the bugbeast. By now, the bugbeast could tell that the two cultivators probably had a way to track it and so it continued to frantically run as fast as it could.

“It’s moving farther and farther away.” Ning was worried. “The bugbeast knows the Fog Sea much better than us. It’ll probably end up hiding itself within a dangerous location. We have to catch up to it soon. If too much time passes, we’ll be in trouble.”

“HALT!” Suddenly, an icy shout rang out from afar and blasted into the ears of Ning and Su Youji.

“Eh?”

Ning and Su Youji had been flying at high speed. Both frowned and turned to look at the two figures which had appeared behind them. These two figures both emanated auras of power and savagery.

“Master.” Su Youji’s face tightened as she sent a quick mental message. “I know these two. One is known as World God Foxblaze while the other is Chaos Immortal Foxbold. The two belong to the same race and are extremely savage.”

“Oho, isn’t this Flamefairy Su Youji?” Chaos Immortal Foxbold was dressed in golden robes, and his eyes lit up when he saw the Flamefairy. “You actually broke through to become a Chaos Immortal! I hadn’t heard the news. It must be recent. Huh. Come to think of it, a short while ago the chaos energy within the Allgod Estate was in a state of great turmoil. Was that when you made your breakthrough?”

“Su Youji?” The black-robed World God Foxblaze’s eyes lit up as well. “Oho, what a rare treat…”

Su Youji was a peerless beauty of tremendous charm. After becoming a Chaos Immortal, her aura and demeanor had only grown more graceful. Both of these World-level experts felt a certain itchiness in their hearts when they saw her.

“Please make way! We are busy,” Su Youji barked.

“Make way? Su Youji, you just recently became a World-level expert. Instead of finding a safe place to stabilize your foundation, you instead came here to the Fog Sea. You are lucky that it was the two of us who found you.” World God Foxblaze laughed coldly. “It would be simplicity itself for us to kill you, but we’ll give you a chance to stay alive.”

Newly ascended World-level experts were very weak, especially Chaos Immortals. Chaos Immortals had fairly weak bodies; when they first made their breakthrough, they could be considered as having just barely reached the World-level threshold of power. Although World God Foxblaze and his friend weren’t that powerful, they had still been alive for a very long period of time. It would indeed be quite easy for them to slay a newly ascended Chaos Immortal.

“Right, right. We’ll give you a chance to live.” Chaos Immortal Foxbold stared appraising at Su Youji, licking his lips. “It’s simple. You simply need to swear a lifeblood oath to be our slave.”

“Slave?” A layer of frost appeared on Su Youji’s face.

“Don’t worry. You are a World-level expert as well; we won’t make things too hard for you. After you become our slave, all you’ll have to do is engage in ‘dual cultivation’ with us every so often. Dual cultivation is a source of great joy, as you’ll soon come to know.” World God Foxblaze’s eyes grew colder. “But if you refuse, today is the day you die.”

“All we ask is that you engage in ‘dual cultivation’ with us. You’ll have a much higher position than all the rest of our slaves,” Chaos Immortal Foxbold agreed.

The two had many women, but female Chaos Immortals of such peerless beauty and charm were incredibly rare. Most importantly of all, Su Youji had just recently become a Chaos Immortal. She was still very weak and would be easily captured.

Both of their gazes were fixed upon Su Youji.

As for Ji Ning?

He was merely an Elder God. The two completely ignored him!

“The two of you are going a bit too far.” Ning’s voice rang out. He didn’t want to fight as that would distract him from chasing after the fleeing bugbeast.

“World-level experts are speaking. How dare you interrupt us, you ant?” World God Foxblaze looked at Ning, a lofty look in his eyes. He naturally felt complete contempt towards a mere Elder God like Ning.

“Puny Elder God, how dare you speak so rashly before us? I was planning to simply enslave you as well. I suppose I might as well just kill you instead.” Chaos Immortal Foxbold glanced at Ning as well, a similar look of arrogance in his gaze. He, too, felt as though he was speaking to an ant.

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Chapter 29 – Slaying World-Level Experts

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 29 – Slaying World-Level Experts

An island within Ji Ning’s estate world.

“Wild Dog. Blacksun.” A booming voice echoed across the great island. Elder God Wilddog and Elder God Blacksun had been seated amongst their fellow Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, eating and chatting, but now the two immediately rose to their feet. They called out in unison, “Master.”

“Take control of your golems and await my signal.”

“Yes, Master.”

Elder God Wilddog and Elder God Blacksun simultaneously transformed into two tall, muscular black golems. Previously, the golems had been fiery red in color, but they had been cosmetically altered and recolored to black in order to conceal their true power. Once you bound a golem, you could completely withdraw and suppress its aura of power. In fact, golems with spirits controlling them such as Rocky were almost like living creatures. Rocky was able to completely suppress his own aura and transform into a boulder that not even Ning would be able to detect.

The two black golems stood there at the edges of the island, awaiting Ning’s summons.

“We’re about to enter combat.”

“Yes. We’ve been waiting forever for a real battle like this. All we were doing prior to this was nothing more than sparring.”

Both were filled with an eagerness to do battle. The golems they commanded filled them with tremendous self-confidence. It must be understood that Ning had to spend more than six hundred cubes of chaos nectar to purchase these three golems…and that was at the discounted treasure auction price. Normally, each of these three golems would go for significantly more than two hundred cubes of chaos nectar. Each of the three were individually more powerful than Rocky, and they were able to join together in a formation as well.

The outside world. The Fog Sea region of the Allgod Estate.

World God Foxblaze and Chaos Immortal Foxbold both glanced disdainfully at Ning, ignoring him after mocking him. In their eyes, he truly was nothing more than an ant-like presence. They were on a completely different level of power; why would they pay him any heed?

Their gazes turned once more to Flamefairy Su Youji. World God Foxblaze spoke out: “Su Youji, if you wish to live a long life, you have to learn when to compromise. We won’t make your lifeblood oath too harsh.”

“All you have to do is serve us in dual cultivation. It’ll be fun.” Chaos Immortal Foxbold truly looked forward to enjoying the pleasing company of this truly ravishing female Chaos Immortal. He never thought that a chance like this would come so quickly.

The two alternated between threatening her and persuading her. They wouldn’t be able to overpower her and force her to serve them; even if they did manage to capture her, she would be able to effortlessly self-detonate herself. It must be understood that even slaves could easily choose to self-detonate themselves. Thus, while an owner could oppress and coerce their slaves, they still had ensure that their slaves weren’t driven to utter despair. Otherwise, their slaves could choose to be disobedient. When Daolord Windsource had commanded his slaves to accompany him into death, many of them had cursed and railed at him for his actions. Alas, all they could do was curse, nothing else.

“Come here.”

“Come, Su Youji.” The two stared hungrily at the Flamefairy.

Su Youji’s face was so cold, it looked as though it was covered by a layer of frost. She sent to the nearby Ning, “Master, what should we do?”

“Since they insist on dying…then let’s just go ahead and spend a little bit of time to get rid of them.” Ning glanced at the two World-level figures. “Kill them!”

To be honest, Ning truly didn’t wish to get into this fight. Killing World-level experts wasn’t a simple task. World God Foxblaze was an elite World God while Chaos Immortal Foxbold was merely an ordinary one. Ning was completely capable of slaying the two of them, but it would still take him quite a bit of time. This was why he had been hoping he could talk the two of them into getting out of his way.

“We can hunt down the bugbeast later. Given that I can sense its location, I’m sure it’ll hide somewhere it feels is very safe.” The more Ning thought about it, the angrier he became.

“Fine.” Su Youji suddenly clenched her teeth and said aloud, “Show me your lifeblood oath.”

“Ahahaha, that’s more like it!”

“Good, good, good! What a fine beauty you are. Don’t worry. We couldn’t bear to mistreat you.”

World God Foxblaze and Chaos Immortal Foxbold were delighted upon hearing her words. Just like that, a lovely female Chaos Immortal had fallen into their clutches. What a stroke of great luck! World God Foxblaze waved his hand, causing a golden pearl to fly out. “This is my oathstone. Take a good luck, my pretty. If there’s anything you don’t like, we can change it.”

“Ehehe.” Chaos Immortal Foxbold felt more and more excited. This was better than finding an entire stash of valuable treasures. They never would’ve even imagined in their wildest dreams that such a female slave would fall into their clutches.

“I simply can’t believe how lucky we are. As soon as Su Youji broke through to become a Chaos Immortal, she ran into the two of us.” Both of them were filled with eagerness. They could already visualize the fantastic scenes of the two of them cavorting with her, causing their hearts to blaze with lust.

Ning was standing next to Su Youji. His eyes suddenly turned cold.

“Attack!”

His voice echoed within his estate-world as a black gourd suddenly appeared in front of him. The black gourd vomited out countless streaks of lightning, completely filling the region with five types of chaos lightning that surrounded and attacked Chaos Immortal Foxbold and World God Foxblaze.

“Shit!” The two blanched as they saw this happen. Chaos Immortal Foxbold’s robes instantly glowed with light, forming a protective barrier around him. Alast, the five types of chaos lightning were simply too powerful, causing the barrier to completely shatter as they crashed straight through it and against Foxbold.

A series of flying daggers had also appeared around Chaos Immortal Foxbold, but they were only able to deflect part of the lightning. The rest of the lightning crashed directly against his body.

Boom! An ugly look was on Chaos Immortal Foxbold’s face as he vomited out a mouthful of blood. He sent frantically, “Save me, big brother!”

“Shit. That’s one powerful lightning treasure.” World God Foxblaze instantly was both enraged and unnerved. “Hold on for a short while. I’ll capture Su Youji and take that gourd of hers.”

The gourd was hovering in front of Ning, who was standing right next to Su Youji. Thus, both of the enemies believed the gourd to belong to Su Youji.

The five types of lightning continued to furiously attack the two World-level experts. However, World God Foxblaze was quite a powerful figure, and he was dressed in a suit of low-grade Dao armor. His divine body was completely capable of withstanding the attacks from these five types of divine lightning.

Swish!

World God Foxblaze transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Su Youji with a furious look in his eyes.

Right at this moment…

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three golems suddenly appeared out of nowhere. One was Rocky the stone titan, while the other two were pitch-black golems. These three golems simultaneously charged towards Chaos Immortal Foxbold from three separate directions! World God Foxblaze was sprinting straight towards Ji Ning and Su Youji and so wasn’t able to turn in time, allowing all three golems to charge straight past him and towards Chaos Immortal Foxbold.

“They are fast!” World God Foxblaze’s face changed.

“Save me, big brother!” Chaos Immortal Foxbold was shocked as well. When he saw those three golems speeding towards him, he immediately understood that they were definitely World-level golems. He was utterly terrified and quickly sent out a distress call. It must be understood that he merely had the power of an ordinary World-level expert and was merely a Chaos Immortal. He had already been driven to distraction and unnerved by the five types of divine lightning that filled every inch of this area.

And now three golems were charging towards him as well? What was he supposed to do?

“Die.” The black golem controlled by Elder God Blacksun struck out with a massive fist, sending an enormously powerful punch towards Chaos Immortal Foxbold.

“Kill.” Elder God Wilddog delivered a vicious kick towards him.

“GRWAAAR!” Rocky sent two furious palm-blows towards him as well.

The five types of lightning in the surrounding area continued to furiously assault Chaos Immortal Foxbold as well. As for World God Foxblaze, he had charged towards Ji Ning and Su Youji at maximum speed and was completely unable to make it back in time to save Foxbold.

“NO!!!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Golems had an innate advantage in raw strength to begin with, with less than one in a thousand World Gods being comparable to World-level golems in strength. The only way you could beat a golem was by suppressing them with your superior insights into the Dao, but Chaos Immortal Foxbold had already been completely shut down by Ning’s Pentabolt Gourd attack. All he could do was scream repeatedly as he tried to use his blade barrier to block the attacks. “NOOOOO!”

BOOM!!!!

Chaos Immortal Foxbold was reduced to dust.

“What?!” World God Foxblaze had been charging towards Ning and Su Youji, but upon seeing this he blanched. “Those golems are way too powerful. Those are no ordinary golems! Each of them has to be worth at least a hundred cubes of chaos nectar.”

Whoosh! Right at this moment, Su Youji transformed into a black golem as well. World God Foxblaze was now quite close to her and she didn’t dare fight him in close combat.

“What?!” Upon seeing Su Youji transform into a black golem, World God Foxblaze felt as though his heart had been gripped by icy fingers. Four golems? He could tell that every single one of those golems was probably comparable to him in strength. If the four joined forces, they would completely dominated him.

“Time to leave.” World God Foxblaze no longer had any interest in tangling with Su Youji. He transformed into a streak of light, beginning to flee.

Whoosh. A pair of lightning wings suddenly appeared on Ning’s back. The wings fluttered slightly, sending Ning flying out at tremendous speed. Although World God Foxblaze also flew fairly quickly, the five types of lightning slowed him down somewhat.

“Eh?” World God Foxblaze stared at the figure who had suddenly appeared before him.

The white-robed youth stood there, his Thunderlight Wings spread wide and a blood-red sword in his hands. The youth stared at Foxblaze coldly. “You won’t be able to escape!”

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Chapter 30 – Willing to be Enslaved

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 30 – Willing to be Enslaved

World God Foxblaze was astonished by the speed of this white-robed youth, and he was able to tell right away that the Thunderlight Wings on Ning’s back were quite extraordinary. However, he wasn’t afraid; rather, he was delighted. If he killed this Elder God, then this extraordinary treasure would become his, right? He didn’t even consider the possibility that he might not be able to defeat this Elder God. Even the most monstrously talented Elder Gods would at most be comparable to ordinary World Gods…and he was an elite one!

“Puny Elder God, you overestimate your abilities. Die!” World God Foxblaze drew out a curved scimitar, then used it to chop towards Ning. It was like a streak of crescent moonlight had suddenly struck out.

Ning showed no mercy at all, immediately using his most powerful attack with his most powerful weapon, the Eternal weapon Violetjewel. He delivered a powerful, furious overhead chop with Violetjewel, his weapon moving far faster than the speed of light. As Violetjewel struck out in a cruel blur, Ning also activated as much of its quintessence core as he could, giving his weapon an utterly terrifying amount of power.

At this moment in time, Violetjewel was so incredibly sharp and powerful that even an ordinary mortal who casually brandished it would unleash a blast of sword-ki that could easily chop a mountain apart. But of course, there was no way that a mortal would ever come into possession of a weapon such as this.

BOOM!

Violetjewel’s sword-light clashed head-on against the crescent moon of saber-light.

The crescent moon of saber-light was blasted apart, while World God Foxblaze was knocked flying backwards. He stared at the midair figure of Ning, his eyes absolutely huge and filled with disbelief. How was this possible? How? He was an exalted World God who had been alive and training for countless years and had reached the ‘elite’ level. How could he possibly be at a completely disadvantage in this fight?

There was least a full level’s worth of difference between him and his foe!

This Elder God actually had the power of a master-class World God? How was this possible? How could anyone be this much of a freak? Even if this Elder God was wielding an Eternal weapon, it should’ve been impossible for him to be this powerful.

BOOM! The terrifying force of Ning’s blow had knocked World God Foxblaze flying backwards, and the five types of lightning in the area continued to furiously hammer down against his body. Foxblaze’s situation was growing more dire by the moment.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

The three black golems and the stone titan quickly charged towards World God Foxblaze. Su Youji’s black golem was already quite close to Ning, and so it was the first to arrive and strike at him.

Whoosh! The black golem’s fierce claws lashed out with dominating power, leaving a cruel fiery blur behind in the air as the golem struck at Foxblaze.

Bang! Although Foxblaze frantically lifted up his scimitar to block, he was knocked backwards yet again. Although he was actually roughly on par with the black golems, he had been completely knocked off his game by Ning’s attack. That first failure was causing a cascade of problems for him, and the entire situation was extremely grim.

“Die!” Elder God Wilddog and Elder God Blacksun’s golems arrived and began to attack, as did the stone titan Rocky.

“Hmph.” Ning charged towards Foxblaze as well, leaving a trail of dazzling electric light in the air behind him.

Foxblaze was completely trapped!

Although the four golems were somewhat inferior to him in technique and skill, they were superior to him in power and speed. He was able to to deal with one of them but four was simply too much. The worst thing was, the white-robed Elder God he had thought to be the weakest cultivator present was actually the most terrifying figure of them all!

He was a terrifying Elder God who had the power of a master-class World God! These types of Elder Gods only existed in legends!

“Four golems, five types of divine lightning, those electric wings…I was wrong. I was completely wrong from the start! How could Su Youji possibly afford treasures such as these? They most likely all belong to that white-robed Elder God! Su Youji is merely his servant as well!”

“N-n-no…I can’t just die here…”

“I can’t!”

Although World God Foxblaze felt regret and self-pity for being driven to such dires straits, he also felt a powerful urge to stay alive.

“Transform!” World God Foxblaze instantly transformed to gain a total of six arms, each of which was now wielding a scimitar. His aura grew slightly more powerful as well, and even his eyes began to turn red. Clearly, he was now in an utterly berserk state.

The only way for him to survive was for him to go all out!

“KILL!” He immediately charged towards the stone titan, because he could tell right away that all three black golems were identical and belonged to a single set. He could sense that they were arrayed together into a formation and so he naturally chose to go against the stone titan instead.

“Stop him, rocky.” Ning immediately sent a mental message over.

“Don’t worry, Master. My talents lie in tying down foes.” Rocky’s palms suddenly expanded dramatically in size as his stony body suddenly began to flow like a liquid.

BOOM! World God Foxblaze exchanged blows with Rocky, the force of the collision causing a few ripples to appear on the liquid-like surface of Rocky’s body. However, Rocky himself didn’t take so much as a single step back.

“What?!” World God Foxblaze was shocked.

As for the three black golems, they once more charged towards him and attacked him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The four mighty golems surrounded and assaulted this solitary World God.

World God Foxblaze still refused to give up. Although blows were raining down upon him, he had a set of Dao armor and a tough divine body. World Gods weren’t easily killed, and he continued to do his best to find a way to survive this assault. Alas, the three black golems moved together in perfect unison, giving him no chance to flee whatsoever.

“N-no…”

“Give up!” Right at this moment, Ning arrived. He struck out with Violetjewel, sending that terrifying streak of bloody sword-light towards Foxblaze once more.

“NO!” World God Foxblaze truly felt despair now.

BOOM! The sword-blow knocked him flying once more… and then, with a series of booms, two of the black golems smashed him into the ground.

If he was a World God who specialized in defense, he wouldn’t have been taken down so quickly. He would’ve been able to keep fighting for a somewhat longer period of time. Ji Ning, for example, had the Heartsword stance that gave him perfect control over his defensive sword-arts.

But of course, the Dao of the Sword was an offensive Dao that had tremendous advantages in close combat! Although World God Foxblaze used the scimitar, his specialty lay in a Dao of the Wind. This gave him certain advantages in speed and power in close combat, but once he lost the upper hand he would quickly be defeated.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Once Foxblaze was knocked down to the ground, the four golems began to rain a wild storm of blows upon his body.

As for Ning, he stood there to one side, not taking part in this. The blow he had just delivered was the final straw that had broken the camel’s back. World God Foxblaze would no longer have any chance of turning the tables on his attackers.

“Go.” Ning willed a long rope to suddenly appear next to him. The rope agilely slithered through the air like a serpent, quickly tying up the completely beaten World God Foxblaze and rendering him securely and completely incapacitated.

A look of utter despair was in Foxblaze’s eyes.

“Come.” Ning turned his head to glance backwards. The black gourd that had been spewing endless streams of lightning quickly flew towards Ning, coming to a halt within his hands.

Ning held the black gourd with one hand as he stared downwards at the tied and bound Foxblaze.

“It really…really…” When Foxblaze saw the black gourd fly to Ning, he couldn’t help but mumble to himself, “The gourd really does belong to him.”

“Master, this Foxblaze fellow was much harder to deal with than Foxbold,” Su Youji said with a laugh.

“He insisted on setting off on a path of no return. He has no one to blame for his death but himself,” Elder God Wilddog growled.

“Spare me. Spare me!”

World God Foxblaze was completely trussed up. He stared at Ning. “Spare me and I’ll give you all my treasures.”

“You idiot. Do you really take us for a fool? After we kill you, all of your treasures will be ours regardless.” Su Youji let out a cold laugh. Towards outsiders, she remained as ill-tempered and explosive as ever before.

“I-I…” World God Foxblaze stared wildly at Ning, then gritted his teeth. “I’m willing to be your retainer.”

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

“No. No!” World God Foxblaze took a deep breath. “I’m willing to be your slave! Your slave! I, World God Foxblaze, am willing to be your slave!”

“Master?” Su Youji, Elder God Wilddog, and Elder God Blacksun all turned to look at Ning.

“My slave? You honor me too much. I’m not interested, and so… it’s best you simply die.” Ning lifted up his black gourd, then activated it with a thought. A powerful sucking power suddenly emerged from it and was applied to World God Foxblaze.

Foxblaze was instantly sucked towards the gourd, shrinking as he flew towards the gourd’s opening.

“No… you… can’t possibly…”

He was in a state of utter disbelief. Someone actually refused to accept him, an exalted World God, as a slave? A moment later, he was drawn into the Pentabolt Gourd. A few moments after that a rope flew out from the gourd, then Ning resealed it.

Trapped within the Pentabolt Gourd, Foxblaze would suffer perpetual attacks from those five types of lightning. Sooner or later, his divine power would run out and he would be ground into dust.

“Why, Master? He was a World God, after all.” Su Youji and the others looked curiously at Ning.

“I wanted to kill him, so I did.” Ning’s response was quite calm.

A World God? What of it?

He didn’t like people with Foxblaze’s character. He’d feel uncomfortable having the man around, and a mere elite World God wouldn’t be of much use to him anyhow. Any of his four golems was comparable to Foxblaze in power, after all.

As for selling him off into slavery? He wouldn’t be worth nearly as much as a golem. Golems were absolutely loyal to their masters, after all. Foxblaze would most likely go for just a hundred cubes of chaos nectar at most, but the problem was that he knew how strong Ji Ning actually was. For now, Ning wished to keep his true power a secret.

He wouldn’t worry about the information leaking after he became a World God, and wouldn’t have minded selling Foxblaze off at that time… but who knew how long that would take? And by then, would he care about a petty hundred cubes of chaos nectar.

“Might as well kill him. I feel more comfortable doing that.” High-level cultivators had to follow their own hearts and their own paths to begin with.

“At my current level of power, killing elite World Gods still requires a bit of effort.” Ning reflected on this recent fight. “Without the four golems helping out, things probably wouldn’t be so easy.”

Thanks to the four golems, he had been able to kill an elite World God in a fairly short period of time.

“Wild Dog, Blacksun, go back and get some rest. Await my orders,” Ning instructed.

“Yes,” both Elder Gods said respectfully, their eyes filled with blazing eagerness.

What a show of utter dominance.

They had almost instantly slain a Chaos Immortal and a World God. The World God had begged to be enslaved, but their master didn’t even want to bother with enslaving him. This was true dominance! Their master truly was far too powerful. How mighty would he become when he actually reached the World level?

Whoosh. After Rocky, Elder God Wilddog, and Elder God Blacksun were all transported back into the estate-world, Ning turned to look towards Su Youji. “Youji, let’s get back to our hunt for that bugbeast.”

“Right.” Su Youji nodded as well.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Relying on his attunement to the Mirrorsnow Painting, Ning quickly led Su Youji towards the location of the second painting.

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Chapter 31 – Grove of Monoliths

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 31 – Grove of Monoliths

Ji Ning led Su Youji forward, using his attunement to the painting to sense where they should go.

The bugbeast had already come to a halt, causing Ning to feel quite uneasy. Although most bugbeasts were fairly dumb, World-level bugbeasts were both powerful and rather clever. Since this one knew that Ning had a way to track it, for it to come to a halt could only mean that it had found a place it felt was very safe.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Ning and Su Youji flew past one mountain peak after another, shrouded by mist. Every so often they could thread their way past forests or deep gorges. They advanced with great caution and deliberation, and as a result spent nearly an hour before they reached their destination. The bugbeasts had come to a halt, after all; it didn’t matter too much if they were moving a bit slower than before.

“It should be up ahead.” Ning was standing atop a towering, jagged boulder as he mentally conversed with the fiery-robed Su Youji.

“Let’s take it slow,” Ning sent mentally.

He was the vanguard and Su Youji was the rearguard.

The two began to move even more slowly than before. Thanks to the mist which permeated this region, Ning was only able to see to a distance of a few hundred kilometers. As he slowly drew closer and closer to the destination, he could sense a terrifyingly powerful aura suddenly sweep towards them from afar. Both Ning and Su Youji blanched at the power of this aura.

“Where are we?” Suddenly, Ning saw something up ahead.

A few hundred kilometers up ahead, there was a single giant monolith that was roughly three hundred meters tall and surrounded by mist.

“The Grove of Monoliths?” Su Youji’s face tightened. “Master, this seems to be the Grove of Monoliths.”

“Let’s move a bit closer and check it out,” Ning replied. His heart clenched as they slowly moved closer and closer to the monolith. Soon, they were roughly ten kilometers away from the first monolith and were able to see a second monolith of similar size and shape that had been embedded into the ground.

This second monolith had a red-winged beast that lay coiled atop it which emanated an aura of tremendous savagery.

Ning frowned. They continued to advance, keeping a careful distance from the creature. One monolith after another entered their field of vision, each of which was roughly three hundred meters tall. The monoliths had all been planted deeply into the ground, and many of them had terrifying bugbeasts that lay coiled on top of them. Other monoliths were surrounded by magic treasures and weapons which had auras of tremendous power. Most of them were Dao-level weapons or treasures.

“Master…” Su Youji grew increasingly nervous. This was a terrifyingly dangerous part of the Fog Sea, the ‘Grove of Monoliths’.

“Withdraw.” Ning finally gave the other.

The two carefully, quietly, and rapidly retreated from this location, only coming to a halt after they entered a nearby copse of trees.

“It actually went into hiding within the Grove of Monoliths.” Ning frowned.

“This is all the fault of World God Foxblaze and Chaos Immortal Foxbold. They delayed us at a critical moment! Otherwise, we probably would’ve been able to catch up to that heavily injured bugbeast.” The Flamefairy couldn’t help but feel quite upset by this. She knew exactly how much her master needed that sword-ki painting, and it now seemed evident that the painting would be unobtainable.

Ning wasn’t in a very good mood right now.

He had felt rather exuberant after slaying World God Foxblaze and Chaos Immortal Foxbold, as this was the first time he had personally slain a World-level expert, and two of them at that! However, Ning now felt rather resentful at all this.

“They ruined everything!” Ning gritted his teeth.

“What should I do? What should my next plan of action be?” Ning began to ponder.

The Ten Thousand Mountains was the outer region of this world.

The Fog Sea was part of the inner region.

The Fog Sea had many dangerous areas within it, and the Grove of Monoliths was definitely ranked as one of the deadliest locations. Based on the experiences of the many cultivators who had adventured into it, this was a region that took up roughly ten thousand kilometers of space, and within this region there were many enormous monoliths that had been inserted into the ground.

For some unknown reason, bugbeasts were highly attracted to these monoliths. Thus, bugbeasts would often rest within the Grove of Monoliths, with dozens of them nesting in this region at any given time. All of these bugbeasts were World-level creatures. Bugbeasts were fairly unintelligent and did not understand the mysteries of the Dao. They had to rely on their physical strength and their innate gifts to fight, and so most of them only had the power of ordinary World Gods! A minority were comparable to elite World Gods and a tiny number of them were comparable to master-class World Gods.

Alas, they did have one advantage: they existed in overwhelmingly large numbers. The Grove of Monoliths often had around a hundred World-level bugbeasts within it at any given moment in time. There were simply too many of them! If any cultivator dared to trespass within the Grove, that cultivator would immediately suffer the attacks of every single bugbeast there! As more time passed, bugbeasts from other areas would also hurry to the Grove to reinforce their fellows, causing the situation to grow increasingly dangerous!

The Grove of Monoliths was definitely a place of incredible danger. Only supreme World Gods would be able to survive in that place, but if they were unlucky enough to encounter particularly powerful bugbeasts they might still perish!

“The Grove of Monoliths is too dangerous.” Su Youji looked at Ning. “Master, according the information we acquired regarding the Allgod Estate, only supreme World Gods have a chance of surviving a trip into the Grove of Monoliths. If we go in there, we’d probably be doomed.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded. “It’s true. We have no hope of surviving that place. I knew that damned bugbeast would pick a troublesome place to hide.” Ning continued to ponder on this matter but could find no solutions.

The place was simply too dangerous.

All bugbeasts had a fetish for collecting magic treasures. Although they couldn’t use them, they viewed those items as their spoils of combat. Thus, the hundred-plus bugbeasts in the Grove of Monoliths had a correspondingly enormous hoard of magic treasures of inestimable value.

Alas, no one dared to go and try to take the treasure from them. Even supreme World Gods only stood a fairly small chance of surviving that place. Who would dare to risk their lives in such a rash way?

“It seems I’ll have to wait for my own breakthrough to the World level. Perhaps then I’ll have a chance,” Ning mused. He was already comparable to a master-class World God; after he actually broke through to the World level, he would definitely become much more powerful than before.

As for exactly how much more powerful he could become, even Ning himself wasn’t sure. This was because the main reason he was so powerful was because of the azureflower region inside of him. It was currently of tremendous help to him, but would it continue to be effective after he reached the World level? There was no way for Ning to find out in advance.

“Let’s leave,” Ning said.

“Leave?” Su Youji looked at Ning.

“Yes. We have no choice but to give up for now!” Ning turned his head to give the distant Grove of Monoliths a final look. “The Grove of Monoliths isn’t a place which I can challenge. Not now, at least. Let’s go explore some other areas. Perhaps, after a period of time passes, that bugbeast will voluntarily depart from the Grove.”

Voluntarily leave the Grove? Even Ning himself knew that he was just daydreaming. The graymist creature had nearly lost its life. It probably would stay hidden within the Grove for a long period of time before leaving. It wouldn’t be surprising if it stayed there for at least a million years!

“Right, right. Maybe it’ll come out later,” Su Youji said supportively.

Time flowed on.

In the blink of an eye, more than five months had passed since the two had slain Foxblaze and Foxbold.

Within the core region of the Allgod Estate, the Castrum Divinitus itself.

Whoooooooosh.

The towering estate was an utterly dazzling sight to behold, emanating an aura of light that seemingly stretched off into infinity. Although the Allgod Estate took up nearly half of this entire chaosworld, the Castrum Divinitus itself was so high that it could be seen from the very ends of the world.

This was an utterly enormous castle that spanned trillions of kilometers! This was a place which spelled doom for even Samsara Daolords! A place none dared to enter rashly!

“We’re just one step away. Just one step.”

In front of the towering castle was an enormous plaza, and before the plaza were a flight of stairs. However, there were 108,000 steps to this flight of stairs.

Two squads of cultivators were advancing up the stairs. One squad had four World-level experts and was led by a small, skinny, blood-robed youth. This skinny youth had blood-red eyebrows, and his eyes seemed like a deep, bottomless sea of blood. Anyone who looked at him would be seized by uncontrollable fear.

The blood-robed youth walked at the head of his squad, and behind him were three World Gods with auras of tremendous power. These three World Gods all treated the youth with tremendous respect.

“Fukai! Ahahaha. You brought ten World-level servants in, but only two of them remain.” The blood-robed youth let out an ear-piercing laugh. “I think you should just surrender and commit suicide.”

“Surrender? To you?” The leader of the other squad was a golden-robed youth, and behind him were two World-level experts of tremendous power.

The golden-robed youth laughed coldly as he cast the other youth a sidelong glance. “Arroyo, you brought in ten as well but you only have three left. You aren’t that much better off.”

“I still have one more than you. One more servant means my chances are better,” the blood-robed youth snickered. His bloodsea eyes were overflowing with a desire to kill, and he didn’t disguise his intent at all as he glared at the golden-robed youth.

These two squads advanced simultaneously up the stairs, neither squad pausing to rest.

Soon, they finished the 108,000 steps and reached the very top of the stairs, arriving at the great plaza.

Both squads raised their heads to stare at the enormous castle before them, a castle so great that they could barely see the top of it clearly.

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Chapter 32 – Bringing Disaster Unto Others

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 32 – Bringing Disaster Unto Others

The towering castle was utterly, endlessly enormous.

The two squads held a total of seven World-level experts, and they were like ants crawling atop the surface of that utterly enormous plaza. The leaders of the two squads, that blood-robed youth and that gold-robed youth, both raised their heads to stare at the titanic gates to the towering castle.

The front gates to the Castrum Divinitus was just as vast and towering as the castle itself.

Even though they were World Gods, they could just barely make out the outlines of the great castle. The edges to the castle were so far away that they appeared quite blurry to these World Gods. This was a testament to how truly vast this castle was.

“Daolord Allgod truly was a cultivator who was comparable to Eternal Emperors.” A blazing look was in the eyes of the blood-robed youth. “Sooner or later, I’ll become just as powerful as Daolord Allgod was. My name will spread throughout the Endless Territories, just as his did. Countless cultivators will tremble in fear when they hear my name. Ahahaha…”

“Are you still daydreaming? Time to wake up.” The golden-robed youth in the other squad smirked.

“Hmph. You’ll be nothing more than a stepping stone to me.” The blood-robed youth glanced sideways at the golden-robed youth.

“Based on what I can sense from the workings of fate… you’ll die here while I will survive.” The golden-robed youth’s voice held a strange cadence to it as he spoke.

“You fool.” The blood-robed youth laughed coldly.

As they were chatting with each other, drops of liquid suddenly began to manifest atop the vast plaza. The drops of liquid were covered in flames, and they slowly began to drawn together into a fiery figure. The flames began to die away, revealing the figure’s form. This was a bald, muscular man who had three eyes, the third eye in the middle of his forehead glowing with golden light.

“The Goldeye Golem.” The golden-robed youth and the blood-robed youth blanched, hurriedly suppressing their auras and beginning to act in a much more humble manner.

The Goldeye Golem was Daolord Allgod’s greatest creation and the most perfect manifestation of his Dao of Constructs.

Daolord Allgod was an expert in both artificing and in golem-making. The Goldeye Golem was the most powerful golem he had ever created, and Daolord Allgod had infused it with certain restrictive spells that ensured that there was no way any other cultivators would ever be able to take control over it. In other words…the Goldeye Golem possessed freedom!

It possessed tremendous power and was comparable to a Daolord who had reached the verge of the Daomerge! The Allgod Estate was under its control, as was the many formations and protective spells inside of it. Even Samsara Daolords who were themselves at the Verge would definitely die if they tried to force their way through the estate… and this Goldeye Golem was just one of the many defensive mechanisms which Daolord Allgod had left behind in this place.

This was a golem that could not be bound. It would forever stay within the Allgod Estate, serving as its eternal guardian! This was the First Guardian and Commander of the Castrum Divinitus, the core of the Allgod Estate.

“It has been a long, long time since a cultivator has come to the Castrum Divinitus.” The bald, three-eyed man stared coldly at the two squads. “You were able to overcome many dangers and make your way to the castle. Very well done.”

The Allgod Estate was divided into three regions.

The outer region was the Ten Thousand Mountains. The inner region was the Fog Sea. The core region was the Castrum Divinitus.

Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals generally stayed in the Ten Thousand Mountains, as 90% of them would perish if they dared to enter the Fog Sea.

World-level experts generally stayed in the Fog Sea. Although some of them would die, they still stood a decent chance of survival. However, if they dared to travel on to the Castrum Divinitus it was almost guaranteed that they would perish.

As for Daolords?

Daolords did not dare to enter this place at all.

“There were originally twenty-two of you. For seven of you to survive and make it to this place means that you are fairly strong for World-level experts,” the three-eyed man evaluated.

Generally speaking, only one out of ten World-level cultivators would be able to survive a journey to the Castrum Divinitus. Thus, people like Ning or World God Dragonbinder wouldn’t even think about trying to travel all the way to the core region. Such an attempt would be sheer suicide.

“Tell me. What do you desire?” The bald three-eyed man asked.

The gazes of the two squad leaders lit up. The blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth had both risked their lives in order to acquire the same treasure!

“The divine blood of the Eternal!”

“The divine blood of the Eternal!”

The two simultaneously said the exact same thing.

“The divine blood of the Eternal?” The bald three-eyed man frowned. It was clearly just a golem, but it behaved just as an actual living being might. Previously, there was a look of kindness in his gaze. Now, his words and his bearing had turned markedly colder. “If you have come here for the divine blood of the Eternal, you should know exactly where that blood came from! My master spent endless years chasing after Eternal Emperor Melobo. After dealing him a grievious injury, my master was able to steal away a portion of his divine blood. After refining it down to its purest essence, Master was able to produce just a single drop of purified divine blood!”

“That drop of Eternal blood is utterly priceless. It is one of the top ten treasures of the Allgod Estate!” The bald three-eyed man swept the seven cultivators with his gaze. “But since you have made it past all the dangerous obstacles in your way… per Master’s orders, you are qualified to be given one chance to acquire one of his legacy’s.”

“However, the more valuable the legacy, the more difficult the trial.” The three-eyed man continued, “I urge you to give up and instead choose an Eternal weapon, a precious elixir, or even a hundred bugbeasts servants. Those trials are all much easier.”

“I only wish for the Eternal blood,” the blood-robed youth said.

“The only thing I desire is the Eternal blood,” the gold-robed youth agreed.

“Oh?” The three-eyed man was rather irritated, but he couldn’t go against the orders which his master had set down.

“Very well then.” The three-eyed man’s voice was now ice-cold, and it grated against the ears of the seven cultivators. “All seven of you desire the divine blood of the Eternal?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes”

The other five World-level experts all spoke out as well.

“You have made your request, and your request is for the Eternal blood of Melobo!” The three-eyed man nodded. “Very well then. You shall be given the most difficult trial…the Twin Samsara Heavens!”

“Good.” The gold-robed youth and the blood-robed youth both had blazing, eager looks in their eyes.

Anyone who reached the front gates of the Castrum Divinitus could make a request of the Goldeye Golem. Daolord Allgod was quite benevolent towards weaker cultivators. He slew any and all Daolords who attempted to enter his estate, but any World-level experts who made it to the front gates usually would not leave empty-handed!

“You’ve already experienced many life-threatening dangers in your quest to reach this place. If you asked for any other treasures, even if you failed your trials you wouldn’t be at risk of losing your lives,” the three-eyed man said. “However, the trial of the Twin Samsara Heavens is the most difficult trial possible. Many of you will die, and it is possible that all seven of you will fail to acquire the Eternal blood. By then, it will be too late to feel regret.”

“We won’t feel regret.”

“No regrets.”

The blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth both spoke out in unison. In their hearts, they were actually beginning to curse at the golem.

Cut the crap, alright? Hurry up and start!

“Very well.” The three-eyed man nodded. “The trial of the Twin Samsara Heavens requires a total of ten World-level experts. Only seven of you are present. Therefore…I will teleport three additional World-level experts from various places throughout the Allgod Estate. They, too, shall take part in the Twin Samsara Heavens alongside the seven of you. They too shall have a chance to acquire the Eternal blood.

The faces of both the blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth tightened… but then they smiled coldly.

“Would those ants even dare to compete against us?”

“If they come, they die.”

Both felt quite confident in their abilities.

“Mm…” The three-eyed man nodded slowly. “I can sense four other World-level experts within the Allgod Estate right now. I’ll teleport the three closest ones here.”

……

“Hmph. You wanted to resist me?” World God Dragonbinder was seated atop a boulder, a somewhat excited look in his eyes as he stared at a flying needle which he had just recently acquired.

Rumble…

Suddenly, space around him began to twist and distort.

“How can this-…” Dragonbinder’s face twisted. He had never heard of something like this happening before, of a person tripping a formation despite sitting there and not even moving. Space around him formed into a spatial whirlpool which quickly drew Dragonbinder into its folds.

Swoosh.

World God Dragonbinder disappeared without a trace.

……

“Perhaps I’ll have a chance of succeeding once I become a master-class World-level expert.” A green-haired man dressed in long pink robes and whose narrow eyes were filled with foxlike cunning was staring at a palace in front of him. He had two females behind him, both Ancestral Immortals.

“Yes, I have to reach the level of full mastery first. If I still fail, then I’ll simply accept my death within this Fog Sea.” A look of resolve was in the pink-robed man’s eyes.

Rumble…

Space twisted around him as well as that spatial vortex appeared.

“What’s going on?” The pink-robed man was astonished. He had spent more than a thousand years in the Fog Sea but had never encountered a situation like this.

“Master!” His two maids were shocked as well.

The whirlpool of twisted space completely enveloped him as well as both of his maids.

Swoosh.

All three of them disappeared without a trace.

……

“Youji, you need to spend some time thinking about how to infuse your insights regarding the Dao of Fire into your combat tactics.” Ning was by Su Youji’s side, watching as she filled the air around her with countless curved scimitars. These were the treasures left behind by Chaos Immortal Foxbold, and they actually a very good fit for the Flamefairy.

But of course, Ning would help Su Youji acquire even better weapons after they left the Allgod Estate.

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded.

Rumble…

Spatial ripples began to appear in the surrounding area.

“What’s going on?!” Ning and the Flamefairy were both shocked. The spatial ripples twisted into a vortex which quickly encompassed the two of them, giving them no chance to hide or to dodge.

Swoosh.

Both Ning and the Flamefairy disappeared as well.

……

The blood-robed youth, the gold-robed youth, and the five World-level retainers were all standing before the great plaza. As for the three-eyed man, he stood at the very front of them.

At this moment, a series of spatial ripples began to appear next to him.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

A series of figures began to appear from within the spatial ripples. The three groups consisted of the pink-robed man and his two maids, World God Dragonbinder, and Ji Ning and Su Youji.

“Even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were roped in?” The blood-robed youth laughed. “Why’d you even bring them? My servants are all World-level experts.”

“For them to come means death.” The gold-robed youth laughed coldly.

Although the two wanted nothing more than to kill each other, that was because they viewed each other as dangerous opponents. As for other World-level experts? They truly held very little respect for the vast majority of them.

“What’s going on?”

“Why are we here?”

The cultivators who had just been forcibly dragged to this place all stared around in a bewildered fashion.

“Senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder.” When Ning saw Dragonbinder, he couldn’t help but call out to him mentally.

“Brother Ji Ning. Flamefairy.” When World God Dragonbinder saw Ning and Su Youji appear, he was also delighted and hurriedly messaged both of them. They could all sense that something strange was happening and so confined their conversation to the mental realm.

“Hmph. All of you were quite lucky. The seven of us risked our lives and nearly died to make it to this place, but you were lucky enough to be teleported straight here.” The blood-robed youth laughed coldly.

“Wrong. They aren’t lucky. They are unlucky as all hell… because they are going to die very soon,” the gold-robed youth said calmly.

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Chapter 33 – The Samsara Grinders

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 33 – The Samsara Grinders

Ji Ning, Flamefairy Su Youji, World God Dragonbinder, and the rest of the cultivators who had been teleported here glanced cautiously at their new surroundings. They heard the words of both the blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth, and it led them to come to a certain conclusion. This conclusion was simply so inconceivable that it caused all of them to feel shock and awe in their hearts!

“Are we standing before the Castrum Divinitus?” Ning raised his head to stare at the infinitely vast castle before him. “According to the information I purchased, one has to experience countless dangers in order to make it to the doorstep of the Castrum Divinitus, the coremost region of the entire Allgod Estate. It is said that death is virtually assured for anyone who tries to make this journey! Can it be that these seven World Gods have all successfully made it here?”

Seven had survived the journey through the Allgod Estate to this place. How many had originally been in those two squads? According to the accepted odds of only one in ten surviving, could it be that dozens of them had made the attempt? Were there really this many suicidal World Gods in the world?

“Welcome, our three newcomers.” The three-eyed man’s voice rang out as he glanced at the three new World-level experts. Everyone on the plaza fell silent.

“I forcibly teleported all of you here, and I imagine you are rather confused,” the three-eyed man said. “Although being teleported here can be described as a devastating disaster, it can also be described as a tremendous opportunity.”

Ning and the others all looked at the bald three-eyed man. The three-eyed man, simply standing there, radiated a faint aura of absolute transcendent power. Although he was clearly suppressing his aura, Ning and the others could all tell that this man could probably wipe them all out with a single gentle breath! And indeed, their senses were accurate. This three-eyed man, the Goldeye Golem, was the First Guardian of the Castrum Divinitus. He was every bit as powerful as Daolord Solesky was.

“The three of you, and the seven of you!” The three-eyed man pointed towards the cultivators on both sides, and all of them listened obediently.

“You must take part in the trial of the Twin Samsara Heavens,” the three-eyed man said.

“Senior.” World God Dragonbinder couldn’t help but speak out. “Why must we experience this trial? Must we take part in it? Also… you spoke of a ‘tremendous opportunity’. What are you speaking of?”

“You must take part,” the three-eyed man replied calmly.

Dragonbinder couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

He wasn’t a fool. He could tell that this Twin Samsara Heavens trial had to be an incredibly dangerous one. Even though he was a disciple of the Badlands Court, he had never even heard of the Castrum Divinitus forcibly teleporting World-level experts to this location to take part in any trials. In addition, the other group of seven World Gods gave him a sense of enormous danger!

Clearly, either of the two squads in that group could effortlessly kill him.

He didn’t want this ‘tremendous opportunity’. All he wanted to do was get out of here! But alas, there was no way out.

“The seven of them experienced countless dangers on their journey, and many of their comrades died on the way to this place.” The three-eyed man pointed towards the two squads as he explained to Ning and the others. “They were allowed to make certain requests of me, and if they requested bugbeasts, golems, high-level techniques, or other similar items they would’ve been given fairly simple trials.”

“However, they only desired one thing… the divine blood of the Eternal.”

“The divine blood of Eternal Emperor Melobo.” A dangerous tone could be heard in the three-eyed man’s voice.

Ning’s heart clenched when he heard this. Emperor Melobo?

Wasn’t that the Eternal Emperor which Daolord Allgod had wished to kill for so many years?

“The divine blood of the Eternal is of inestimable value.” The three-eyed man swept Ning and the others with his gaze. “Its value vastly surpasses the value of any items you are familiar with such as Pseudo Samsara Pills or Eternal weapons! It is one of the ten most valuable items in the entire Castrum Divinitus. As for its purposes… if one of you is able to obtain it, I’ll tell you then.”

The blood-robed youth had a look in his eyes that could only be described as ‘berserk’.

Although the gold-robed youth was more sedate, one could also see the flames of excitement burning deep within his icy cold gaze.

“Blood of the Eternal? What’s that?” World God Dragonbinder and the pink-robed man were both quite puzzled. They had never even heard of such a thing.

“Hmph. You fools.”

“You know nothing.”

The blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth exchanged a glance, completely disdainful of the newcomers who had just appeared.

The three-eyed man waved his hand. Suddenly, an enormous black and white millstone and grindstone appeared the air above the great plaza. The two giant stones were a hundred kilometers in size, and they slowly descended downwards before alighting on the plaza.

“This is the Samsara Grinders.” The three-eyed man pointed at the enormous grinder. “I will split the ten of you into five pairs! Each pair will take turns battling atop the Samsara Grinders, and your opponents shall be the many warriors who will appear and attack you.”

“In short, you will only achieve victory when your opponent and any forces he controls all perish!”

“If both you and your opponent perish at the same time, you can only blame your own poor luck.” The three-eyed man continued, “As for the surviving cultivators, they will each blessed with a small bit of fortune. The cultivator whose performance was the best will have a chance of acquiring the divine blood of the Eternal.”

“A chance?” The blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth both spoke out at the same time.

“If you wish to acquire the Eternal blood, then do your best to kill. Kill the warriors on the Samsara Grinders and kill your foe! The more you kill, the more power you reveal, the greater the chances that you will acquire the Eternal blood.” The three-eyed man said calmly, “You have to at least meet my minimum expectations. Otherwise, none of you should even think about acquiring the Eternal blood.”

The breaths of the two youths turned ragged. They had paid an enormous price to get here! But alas, they had no other options.

“The first pair.”

The bald three-eyed man swept his gaze across the ten World-level experts. He first pointed towards the World God standing behind the blood-robed youth. This World God actually had bone armor growing out of his upper back and protecting his chest. Spikes grew out from his elbows and knees, and his face was covered with a mask of bone which covered everything but his eyes and his mouth.

The three-eyed man pointed at the World God and said, “You!”

“And… you!” The three-eyed man then pointed towards the pink-robed man.

“Master.” World God Boneplate looked at the blood-robed youth respectfully.

“Just kill him as fast as you can,” the blood-robed youth instructed.

“Yes,” World God Boneplate said respectfully.

The pink-robed man frowned as he carefully scrutinized his opponent in the Samsara Grinders. “Not good. I’ve never even seen this man before. He probably isn’t a World God of the Badlands Territory. I sense tremendous danger from this man! Still, since he’s willing to be the blood-robed youth’s servant, he probably shouldn’t be too powerful.”

The pink-robed man murmured softly to himself, “Looks like I’ll have to go all out.”

“The two of you, listen up! Each of you will only be permitted to use nine Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals at most! You can at most use a total of nine bugbeasts! You are also limited to no more than nine golems! Furthermore, none of your World-level servants are permitted to take part!” The three-eyed man finished his instructions, then gave the final commands. “Now, go up onto the Samsara Grinders. Once I give the order, you can begin your attacks.”

“Yes,” World God Boneplate said.

“Shit. I can’t use my thousand-man Elder God Formation!” The pink-robed man’s face turned pale. That formation was one of his killer trump cards.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

World God Boneplate and the pink-robed man both flew atop the enormous black-white bedstone, rapidly shrinking to become ant-sized as they landed.

“The Samsara Grinders contains a dimension of its own,” World God Dragonbinder sent mentally.

“Agreed.” Ning nodded.

The black-white bedstone and millstone were both covered with countless marvelous runes and patterns.

World God Boneplate stood there, staring at his distant foe. He said aloud, “Chaos Immortal Flygrace. I recognize you. You have the power of an elite World-level expert.” His voice boomed with power and strength.

“But I’ve never heard of you before,” the pink-robed Chaos Immortal Flygrace replied.

Rumble…

The enormous Samsara Grinders began to tremble as the countless runes covering its surface began to emit light. The light quickly began to swirl together and condense into human-shaped warriors dressed in golden armor. There had to be thousands of those golden warriors, and every single one of them had the aura of a World-level expert.

“What?! How can there be this many golden warriors?” Everyone watching this was shocked, including the two combatants on the Samsara Grinders as well as everyone watching from below. Their faces all turned pale!

The auras generated by these golden warriors indicated that all of them had reached the World level of power. Even if they were merely at the threshold, there were thousands of them! This was utterly terrifying.

“Begin, then.” The three-eyed man gave the order.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The thousands of golden warriors transformed into streaks of light, moving at the speed of light as they charged towards the pink-robed man and World God Boneplate.

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Chapter 34 – The Silkmaid Race

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 34 – The Silkmaid Race

“Not good.” The pink-robed Chaos Immortal Flygrace had an ugly look on his face. He immediately willed the area around him to become filled with silvery-white shuttles. After they appeared, he furiously poured all of his Immortal energy into them, unleashing the power of the seals hidden within this set of Dao weapons. Instantly, the nine silvery-white shuttles began to transform and blur, first dividing into a total of eighty-one shuttles, then dividing into 729 shuttles, then…

Soon, more than ten thousand flying shuttles had appeared in the area around Chaos Immortal Flygrace, and they clustered around him in a dense array.

“Kill!”

“Kill him!”

The golden warriors bellowed with rage. Some of them wielded warblades, some wielded spears, some wielded gourds, some wielded ropes, and some wielded whips. They all surged forward en masse as they wildly charged towards their foes.

Boom! Boom! Boom! These golden warriors quickly entered into combat against Chaos Immortal Flygrace. The thousands of flying shuttles around him all transformed into streaks of light as they furiously plunged down upon the gold-armored warriors. Due to the limitations of space, only a hundred golden warriors could attack him at the same time. Thus, there were over a hundred shuttles striking against every single golden warrior.

Massive explosions could be heard ringing out nonstop.

The golden warriors had no fear of death and continued to charge forwards fearlessly. Some died due to their injuries, but more of their fellows would charge forward to take their spots. The runes of the Samsara Grinders committed to emit that dazzling light, causing a steady stream of golden warriors to continue to be born. Slowly, the total number of golden warriors atop the Samsara Grinders began to increase.

“Not good. I’m already using my most powerful area attack technique, and I’m using up my Immortal energy at an incredible rate. Despite that, I’m just barely able to hold on.” Chaos Immortal Flygrace was quickly forced into shrinking his defensive perimeter.

“Kill!”

“Charge!”

The golden warriors charged forward in an endless flood, fearing neither injury nor death. Quite a few of the silvery-white shuttles actually vanished, as there were only nine real ones to begin with. The rest were all condensed out of Immortal energy.

“Not good. I can’t hang on for much longer.” Chaos Immortal Flygrace spared a moment to glance at his distant opponent, wanting to see how his opponent was fairing. The distant World God Boneplate was slaughtering all of the golden warriors around him with incomparable valor. More and more golden warriors had appeared around him as well, and they had started to use teamwork, with some using ropes to slow him down and others using spears to strike at him from afar. World God Boneplate was starting to look a bit haggard, and yet he was still able to hold his own.

“A master-class World God?” Chaos Immortal Flygrace’s face changed. When he saw World God Boneplate continue to dispatch the golden warriors with comparative ease, Chaos Immortal Flygrace immediately understood just how powerful his foe was. In addition, his foe had clearly slain more of the golden warriors than he had.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More and more of the shuttles surrounding Chaos Immortal Flygrace began to disappear before reforming. His defensive perimeter was continuing to shrink as the golden warriors began to grow increasingly frenzied in their attacks. Many of them were starting to strike from afar by hurling their spears, putting even more pressure on Chaos Immortal Flygrace.

“N-no… am I going to just die here?”

“How can it end like this?”

“I have to make it back. I paid such an enormous price and abandoned all my pride. I slew my only friend in order to be able to acquire this Lesser Thousand Elder Gods Formation. I was going to go back once I reached the level of full mastery! How can I die here…”

“N-no…”

Boom! Boom!

The golden warriors were now able to move to within thirty meters of him, and more and more of them were surging in his direction. A short while later, Chaos Immortal Flygrace was completely smashed apart and slain by the golden warriors.

Ji Ning, World God Dragonbinder, and Su Youji watched all this happen from afar. Rather unpleasant looks could be seen on their faces.

“Chaos Immortal Flygrace had quite a good reputation, actually.” World God Dragonbinder sighed. “Him and Chaos Immortal Winterbowl were good friends and known as the ‘Two Immortals Who Fly in Winter’. Chaos Immortal Winterbowl died just a short while ago, and now Chaos Immortal Flygrace has died as well. Alas.”

“This Samsara Grinders truly is dangerous.” Su Youji was quite nervous. “Those golden warriors don’t look that tough, but there are simply far too many of them.”

“That World God covered in bony armor is able to slay a warrior with each strike of his palms. I can sense that these warriors have merely reached the threshold of the World level of power.” Ning nodded. “The problem is that there are too many of them, and they are completely fearless.”

Fighting enemies who had no fear of death at all was a completely different experience from fighting normal enemies.

“They have poor techniques. In fact, you can say that they have no techniques at all.” World God Dragonbinder nodded. “However, they are extremely strong. See that? When dozens of them toss their spears at the same time, even that bone-armored World God is suffering some injuries when he blocks them head on.”

“Although this Samsara Grinders supposedly is meant for the two combatants to duel each other, there’s actually no point to it. The gold-armored warriors alone are enough of a challenge!” Ning slowly shook his head.

“Right. Most likely, only someone with the power of a supreme World God would be capable of bursting past the encirclement of the golden warriors,” World God Dragonbinder agreed.

Although there were many golden warriors on the battlefield, only so many could attack you at any given moment in time. Thankfully, they didn’t have any combination formations to use either. Thus, if you were strong enough you might stand a chance of bursting past their many attacks.

“Unfortunately, none of us have that level of power.” World God Dragonbinder shook his head as he looked at Ning and Su Youji. “Youji, you just made your breakthrough a short while ago. You are too weak. It will be very dangerous for you once it is your turn to enter the Grinder.”

As he saw it, Ji Ning was merely an Elder God while Su Youji was just a newly ascended Chaos Immortal. The two of them were far too weak. Even an elite World-level expert like Chaos Immortal Flygrace had been overwhelmed and mobbed by those many golden warriors. How could Ji Ning and Su Youji possibly survive? World God Dragonbinder was very worried about them.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

After Chaos Immortal Flygrace let out a final despairing cry, all of the golden warriors atop the enormous Samsara Grinders came to a halt. Moments later, their bodies began to break apart and dissipate into light.

Soon, the only one remaining was World God Boneplate.

“The first of the five matches has ended.” The three-eyed man waved his hand spoke out in a frosty voice. His fiery hand dramatically increased in size, seized World God Boneplate by the shoulder, then roughly tossed him towards the direction of the blood-robed youth. “Since it’s over, why the hell are you still taking up space on the Grinder?”

A hint of rage was in World God Boneplate’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it and instead returned obediently to the blood-robed youth’s side.

“Not bad.” The blood-robed youth glanced sideways at his slave.

“Thank you, Master.” World God Boneplate revealed a look of joy.

“The second match…”

The three-eyed man swept the remaining combatants with his gaze, then pointed towards a World God standing behind the gold-robed youth. This was a hideously ugly old hag who had sharp, claw-like fingers. A dull red light could be seen flickering deep within her eyes, and she emanated an aura of extreme weirdness.

“You.” The bald three-eyed man pointed towards the ugly old hag as he spoke.

“And… you!” The three-eyed man pointed towards World God Dragonbinder.

“You already know the rules. Up you go!” The three-eyed man ordered.

The ugly old hag gave World God Dragonbinder a rather serious look. The gold-robed youth by her side instructed, “Be careful. This is World God Dragonbinder, a disciple of the Badlands Court. He definitely is far more powerful than that Chaos Immortal Flygrace was. Don’t embarrass me!”

“Don’t worry, master.” The ugly old hag nodded then immediately flew towards the enormous Samsara Grinders.

“Be careful, senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder,” Ning said.

“Big brother Dragonbinder, I don’t recognize any of these cultivators. They must be from other territories, and I can sense that they came with ill intentions. That master-class World God who fought just now was merely a servant; this one is probably a master-class World-level expert as well,” Su Youji said with worry.

“Mm…” World God Dragonbinder nodded slowly.

He knew that a critical moment had arrived.

Swoosh!

World God Dragonbinder flew towards the Samsara Grinders.

World God Dragonbinder and the hideous old hag stared at each other from afar from their positions at the opposite ends of the Samsara Grinders. The runes covering the enormous Grinder began to radiate light that quickly coalesced into those golden warriors.

“World God Dragonbinder. I’ve heard of your prowess and your might… but today, you shall die by my hands. Listen up! You can call me ‘Silkwater’. Don’t die without even knowing who you died to!” The ugly old hag began to grow in size as she spoke, her lower body transforming into the body of a giant scorpion. As for her upper body, it transformed into the form of a nude woman of surpassing charm whose face was every bit as beautiful as Su Youji’s.

Upon seeing this, World God Dragonbinder’s face tightened. “A Silkmaid?”

“A Silkmaid?” Ning’s face tightened as well. Before leaving, Daolord Solesky had given him information regarding many of the mysteries and secrets of the various territories around them. One bit of information pertained to a race known as ‘Silkmaids’.

“Who the hell are these people? How is it that they have master-class World Gods and Silkmaid experts serving as their slaves?” Ning turned to stare at the distant gold-robed youth and blood-robed youth.

“Don’t die, senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder. You have to stay alive.” Ning wasn’t even thinking about his own safety right now. All of his attention was focused on World God Dragonbinder.

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Chapter 35 – Dao-Seals

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 35 – Dao-Seals

The endless primordial chaos was filled with endless mysteries. Even the exalted Eternal Emperors, figures who would exist for all eternity for and whose every word carried the force of law, would never dare to claim that they understood all of its secrets. The primordial chaos held certain special types of lifeforms, one of which Ji Ning had encountered in the Three Realms. Back then, Ning had encountered the Waterian servant of the Elder God known as Godfiend Witherspike. Although Waterians were considered alien Outsiders to the Three Realms, they were actually quite common in the Endless Territories and not worthy of special mention.

The Silkmaid race, however, was different. They were much rarer and much more mysterious.

They existed only in small numbers, and all of them were female. They had to copulate with males belonging to other species in order to give birth to new Silkmaids, and their children would always be female! Despite being few in number, they were extoradinarily powerful because they were born with tremendous innate skill in illusions and also were very skilled in close combat. A Silkmaid who reached the World level would be an absolute nightmare for other World-level experts to face, because anyone trapped in one of their illusions would find themselves easy prey for the Silkmaids in close combat.

“Let us begin,” the three-eyed man ordered.

Thousands of golden warriors once more began to manifest atop the Samsara Grinders. With a loud howl, the golden warriors all transformed into streaks of light as they threw themselves towards World God Dragonbinder and World Goddess Silkwater.

Whoosh.

Two azure golems suddenly appeared next to World God Dragonbinder.

“Master.” The two azure golems took up defensive positions around him.

“Block any foes who attempt to attack me. Don’t let them get too close,” World God Dragonbinder sent mentally to them. At the same time, he took out a Dao-seal that looked like a dried yellow leaf. The seal was covered in many wriggly divine runes and emanated an aura of mystery and power.

“Time to go all out.” World God Dragonbinder felt a tinge of heartache. This was a treasure which he had saved to keep himself alive in a desperate situation. However, upon learning that his opponent was a Silkmaid and upon seeing all those golden warriors charge towards him, he could no longer afford to be stingy with his treasures. Staying alive was what mattered the most.

Rumble…

As World God Dragonbinder poured his Immortal energy into the Dao-seal, the dried leaf-like seal instantly disintegrated into countless divine runes. These runes intersected with each other like countless thin strands of silk, forming a golden set of armor over Dragonbinder’s body.

“SHKREE!!!”

The half-scorpion, half-female World God Silkwater let out an ear-piercing shriek. The sound instantly drove its way into the ears of the distant World God Dragonbinder, the strange cadence delving deep into his mind and causing him to instantly lose his mental connection to the outside world.

He realized that he had suddenly been transformed into an ordinary mortal. He was in the middle of a lake, and there were many beautiful women dressed in just swathes of gauze who were slowly moving closer and closer to him.

“Illusions? BREAK!!!”

Although he seemed like he was just an ordinary mortal, his suddenly explosive roar was filled with his heartforce and the power of his mighty will. The roar caused the illusory world to instantly break apart and quickly dissipate.

World God Dragonbinder regained his faculties.

A large number of golden warriors had drawn close to him and were charging straight towards him. The two golems he had were doing their best to defend, but there were simply too many of them. By now, two of them had already reached Dragonbinder himself and were in the process of launching an attack against him. However, the golden leather armor covering his body just rippled slightly, easily defending against this attack.

“Die.” World God Dragonbinder stabbed out with his claw-like hands, piercing directly through the heads of those two golden warriors. Boom! Boom! Both golden warriors died instantaneously.

“What a powerful illusion. It managed to trap even me within its world for a period of time.” World God Dragonbinder was shocked. My heartforce has reached the fourth stage, and I have a secret art which Master taught met, yet I was still unable to defend against it.”

Although he had almost instantly defeated the technique, battles between World-level experts could start and finish in a single instant. That brief moment when he had been trapped by the illusion was quite possibly enough to spell doom in battle. However, weaker illusions wouldn’t have been able to drag him into that illusory world, thanks to his powerful heartforce and his soul technique.

“Die!”

“World God Dragonbinder, die!” The Silkmaid battling against the other golden warriors off in the distance let out repeated screeches, each screech causing Dragonbinder a certain amount of trouble. He’d often come to a halt mid-strike, giving those golden warriors a chance to land attacks against him.

Although his two golems stayed close to him and defended him in close combat, it was impossible for them to prevent every single golden warrior from reaching him.

“The disciples of Daolord Badlands truly are difficult to deal with.” The gold-robed youth’s face tightened slightly. “So he actually had a seal of such tremendous power?”

“Fukai, aren’t you supposed to be very talented in the art of Dao-seals? The Dao-seal which World God Dragonbinder used just now was pretty powerful, right? When those golden warriors manage to land attacks against him, the Dao-talisman seems to almost completely nullify and ignore those attacks.” The blood-robed youth snickered. “It seems your Silkmaid is about to lose.”

“There’s a limit to how much power any Dao-seal can have. Once its power is used up, he’ll die.” The gold-robed youth ground his teeth. He had paid a staggering sum of money in order to purchase this World Goddess of the Silkmaid race to be his slave. The thing was, she hadn’t actually reached the level of full mastery as a World Goddess. Even so, thanks to her innate talents and some special abilities even actual master-class World Gods found it difficult to fight against her. The gold-robed youth had done everything he could to help her grow and to help strengthen her, but his quest to find the Eternal blood was simply too important. He was willing to risk even his own life to succeed in this question. Naturally, he had brought his Silkmaid to join him.

“I didn’t expect him to actually have such a powerful Dao-seal. Thus far, more than twenty golden warriors have landed attacks against him, but the power of the Dao-seal hasn’t even begun to dim.” The gold-robed youth secretly began to worry. “This Dao-seal has to be worth more than two hundred cubes of chaos nectar, and it can only be used a single time. I’m amazed he was willing to spend that much money.”

As for Ji Ning, he let out a sigh of relief. “So senior apprentice-brother Dragonbinder actually had such a powerful Dao-seal on him. He’s safe now. Still…I’m amazed he was willing to spend that much money on it.”

Dao-seals were very powerful, but the problem was that they were single-use items! Then again, their advantage lay in the fact that they generally didn’t have strict usage requirements. All you needed to do was to fill the seal with your Immortal energy and its power would be fully unleashed.

The power of this Dao-seal which Dragonbinder had just used was comparable to a Samsara Daolord’s defensive technique. Its energy was being depleted nonstop, and when the energy ran out the golden leather armor would disappear, but prior to that happening Dragonbinder was in a position of absolute security.

“No. No! Damn…”

Although World Goddess Silkwater did her best to battle against her many foes, the golden warriors continued to swarm her without pause. She let out repeated screeches, causing World God Dragonbinder to be briefly trapped within that illusory world, but Dragonbinder had both the golems protecting him as well as the Dao-seal. By now, the golden leather armor over his body had dimmed just slightly.

Silkwater, however, was close to the end of her rope. These golden warriors attacking her weren’t actual living creatures, and as such they were able to completely ignore her illusions.

“Master.” World Goddess Silkwater cast a final glance to the gold-robed youth standing outside the Samsara Grinders, a look of apology and longing in her eyes.

Every single Silkmaid retainer was absolutely loyal to her master.

“Go, then. Go.” The gold-robed youth felt tremendous sorrow in his heart as well. Silkmaids were rarely used to fight on the front lines in such a manner. During the previous battles, World Goddess Silkwater had primarily been responsible for casting illusions from the back lines while the other World Gods attacked furiously from the front lines.

“If I can get the divine blood of the Eternal, all of this will have been worth it.”

“If I cannot… then the only thing awaiting me shall be death as well.” The gold-robed youth shut his eyes.

“Aaaaaah!” An ear-splitting scream rang out as World Goddess Silkwater cast her final illusion… and then she was completely tied up by the ropes of the golden warriors. A golden warrior holding a flask drew Silkwater into the flask, then ground her apart into dust. Just like that, World Goddess Silkwater died.

“The second match has concluded.” The bald three-eyed man’s voice rang out once more. World God Dragonbinder quickly put away his two golems then hurriedly flew off of the Samsara Grinders. He was worried that if he moved too slowly, he would also be physically tossed off the stage just as the previous winner had been.

“Congratulations, big brother Dragonbinder,” Flamefairy Su Youji said.

Dragonbinder’s body was still covered with a suit of faintly glowing golden leather armor. He shook his head. “I was just lucky. That Silkmaid wasn’t that strong. If she had actually reached the level of full mastery as a World God, she would’ve been able to withstand the attacks of those golden warriors for an extremely long period of time. My Dao-seal would’ve been used up and I would’ve been not long for this world.”

Ning and Su Youji both nodded.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Silkmaids possessed terrifying powers of illusions. One had to have strong heartforce, a strong soul, and certain secret arts to be able to withstand their illusions. Ning was still at the fourth stage of heartforce and as such he was probably a bit too weak. Alas, upgrading heartforce was simply too difficult. There were many World-level experts who possessed only limited talent for heartforce, because heartforce was a completely different path of cultivation.

Cultivation was primarily divided amongst Ki Refiners, Fiendgod Body Refiners, and Heartforce Cultivators. Thus far, Ning had yet to encounter a single World-level expert who was a Heartforce Cultivator! One could imagine how rare they truly were.

“Master, how should we deal with them when it is our turn?” The Flamefairy was a bit worried.

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Chapter 36 – Ji Ning Enters the Fray

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 36 – Ji Ning Enters the Fray

“These two squads are too mysterious. Based on how they address each other, it would appear as though the blood-robed youth and the gold-robed youth are the leaders while the others are all servants or slaves! That bone-armored World God was a master-class World God while World Goddess Silkwater was of the ‘Silkmaid’ race, according to what big brother Dragonbinder said. Even big brother Dragonbinder was repeatedly drawn into her illusions. Given how powerful those two were, the rest can’t be weak either.” Su Youji sent worriedly, “And what worries me most is the possibility that we’ll encounter one of the leaders on the Samsara Grinders. They have to be even more dangerous.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded.

Su Youji didn’t fully comprehend how valuable Silkmaids were, but Ning himself did. If the gold-robed youth truly had purchased a Silkmaid who was a World Goddess, he had to have a staggering amount of wealth! A Silkmaid World Goddess was worth more than a thousand cubes of chaos nectar.

But if the Silkmaid World Goddess had willingly chose to serve the gold-robed youth… that just made him even more terrifying.

“When it is our turn, follow the plan I set out earlier,” Ning sent. “Given our level of strength, we should be able to hold off those golden warriors.”

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded.

The bald three-eyed man swept the remaining contestants with his gaze, then said, “The third match will be… hm. You!” He pointed directly towards Su Youji.

“And… you!” He pointed at the skinny, viper-like man who was standing behind the blood-robed youth, a man who emanated an aura of insidious cold.

“Senior!” The blood-robed youth’s face tightened as he hurriedly said, “Senior, I feel as though your actions are unfair.”

“Yes. Senior, your actions truly are a bit unfair,” the gold-robed youth agreed.

Both Ning and Su Youji were puzzled.

What was this all about?

“Unfair?” The three-eyed man looked at the two of them.

“We had to experience countless dangers in order to reach this place, and I imagine you know exactly how strong the seven of us are,” the blood-robed youth said. “But the three World Gods you just chose were the three weakest ones under our command.”

“Right.” The gold-robed youth agreed. “Of the seven of us, World Goddess Silkwater could be considered the equivalent of a master-class World God, thanks to her illusory prowess. Thus, all three of them were roughly comparable to master-class World Gods. However, the rest of us are all supreme World Gods! You sent our three weakest followers to compete against the three newcomers. It is clear that you intend to have the four of us, the strongest four, to battle each other. This isn’t really fair.”

“You are acting in a rather prejudiced manner, senior.” The blood-robed youth was rather irritated as well.

They had a total of seven cultivators split between their two teams. Three of them were roughly on par with master-class World Gods while the other four had the power of supreme World Gods. The First Guardian of the Castrum Divinitus had arranged for the three World-level experts he had forcibly teleported to this location to battle against the three weakest members of the original seven. Clearly, he was acting in a biased manner.

“Unfair?” The three-eyed man said coldly, “I forcibly teleported the three of them here and forced them to accept a potentially deadly trial. Do you think that was fair for them?”

“And her!” The three-eyed man pointed at Su Youji. “She broke through to become a Chaos Immortal just a few short months ago, right here in the Allgod Estate. We’re having a newly ascended Chaos Immortal compete against a master-class World God. You tell me, is that fair?”

The three-eyed man swept the gold-robed youth and the blood-robed youth with a cold gaze. “Or are you telling me that we should have her, a brand new Chaos Immortal, battle against one of you four supreme World Gods?”

The two instantly fell silent.

In truth, both of them knew exactly how strong Su Youji was. Before coming to the Badlands Territory, they had collected a significant amount of intelligence and information regarding all the World-level experts, Elder Gods, and Ancestral Immortals who lived in this territory. They had both long ago reviewed the information pertaining to Su Youji the Flamefairy. Although they weren’t sure when she had made her breakthrough, it was definitely within the past thousand years.

“You don’t even have the balls to compete against others on the same level of power as you, yet you dream of acquiring the divine blood of the Eternal?” The three-eyed man snorted, a hint of a mockery on his lips.

“Senior, please give us some guidance. What must we accomplish on the Samsara Grinders in order to acquire the Eternal blood?” The blood-robed youth, Arroyo, asked respectfully.

The gold-robed youth, Fukai, looked at the three-eyed man as well.

“Personally kill your opponent. Quickly.” The three-eyed man said calmly, “Enough. Hurry up and get onto the Samsara Grinders.”

“Hear that, Darkfall? She broke through to become a Chaos Immortal just a few months ago. Kill her as fast as you can,” the blood-robed youth instructed.

“Understood,” the tall, skinny, insidious man replied. Swish! He left behind a blur in the air as he moved to stand atop the Samsara Grinders.

“What incredible speed.” The faces of both Ning and Su Youji tightened when they saw this. Their opponent was clearly so fast that not even Ning using the Thunderlight Wings was a match for him.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Ning and Su Youji both flew up onto the Samsara Grinders. World God Dragonbinder wanted to stop Ning but he wasn’t able to do so in time. His face turned pale and he felt misery in his heart. “Brother Ji Ning, why the hell did you go up there? It doesn’t matter if the Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals don’t take part.”

The divine runes covering the Samsara Grinders had already begun to glow with countless streams of light, resulting in the appearance of the golden warriors .

The tall, slender, insidious man stood far away from Ning and Youji. He was dressed in black robes, and he stared at them as he said in a cold voice, “Flamefairy Su Youji. I’ve heard of you, but I didn’t expect for you to have broken through to become a Chaos Immortal. I urge you to put away that Elder God of yours. For him to take part in this competition is suicide. Oh. I forgot to tell you my name. I am World God Darkfall. Now, when you die, you’ll at least know the name of the person who killed you.”

World God Darkfall stood there, emanating an aura of absolute confidence. If he couldn’t even kill a newly ascended Chaos Immortal, even he himself would feel that he was a joke.

“Master.” Su Youji mentally messaged Ji Ning.

“Follow the plan,” Ning instructed.

A master-class World God? This would be the toughest foe he had ever faced. Although he had encountered God Emperor Blacklotus who was even more powerful, Ning hadn’t been the one to actually face him.

“Begin!”

The three-eyed man gave the order.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The countless golden warriors were driven into a frenzy as they transformed into streaks of light that shot towards the two sides.

“Come out.” Ning willed three golems to suddenly appear by his side. Two were black golems while the third was Rocky the stone titan. The Flamefairy also brought out her own black golem and took personal control of it upon entering it.

The three black golems formed a triangle that surrounded Ning and Rocky.

“She actually had four golems?” The blood-robed youth’s face tightened slightly when he saw this.

“She actually had four golems, Arroyo. It seems this won’t be as easy as you thought it would be.” The gold-robed youth spoke in quite a relaxed manner.

“Hmph. So what if she has four? Just watch and see.” The blood-robed youth was quite confident in the prowess of this subordinate, World God Darkfall.

Boom! Boom!

Golden warriors charged towards them in an endless tide, but the three black golems were like a dam that quelled their surge. As the two sides began to fight, quite a few of the golden warriors were knocked flying while some were actually shattered to pieces.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

Elder God Blacksun, Elder God Wilddog, and Su Youji each commanded a black golem. All three of them howled as bloodlust filled their veins, and they showed no mercy in their attacks whatsoever as they furiously blew apart all of the golden warriors charged towards them. These three black golems came as a set, and the formation linking them together was extremely suited for defense. The three of them were clearly far better at blocking out the enemy warriors than the two golems which World God Dragonbinder had used.

After battling for a brief moment in time, more than hundreds of golden warriors had been knocked away. Only two golden warriors managed to make it past their defensive perimeter, but Rocky was able to effortlessly crush both of them. Ning just stood there, not even needing to move.

“Hm?” Ning glanced at the situation on the other side of the battlefield. “It seems as though we need to give this World God Darkfall a bit of pressure.”

“Come out.”

Ning willed it, and a black gourd suddenly appeared before him in the air. The stopper to the gourd was open, allowing it to instantly release an enormous flood of lightning. Instantly, all five types of lightning began to furiously slam down towards the distant World God Darkfall.

“Shit.” World God Darkfall was wielding six different warblades as he furiously hacked at the golden warriors around him with abandon, causing many of them to fall. But once the five types of lightning began to slam into him, his face couldn’t help but tighten.

Although these five types of lightning weren’t capable of threatening his life, they were able to encumber down his movements and have an effect on his combat potential.

It must be understood that Ning was focusing all five types of lightning against him and him alone! Ning had spent a total of 180 cubes of chaos nectar in order to purchase the Pentabolt Gourd. Any weapon with such a hefty price tag would pose at least some degree of danger to most World-level experts.

“How can this be happening?!” World God Darkfall was clearly starting to struggle now.

He was feeling both angry and humiliated! He was a master-class World God, but he was mired into a dangerous situation while his opponent seemed to have an airtight defense.

“GRAAAAH!” World God Darkfall suddenly raised his head and let out a furious howl. Red lines appeared all across his face like tattoos as his aura was dramatically strengthened.

“Die!”

World God Darkfall’s speed suddenly rose dramatically. He moved past the golden warriors in a ghostly manner, slaughtering a path through them as he moved closer and closer towards Ji Ning and Su Youji.

“He’s too fast! How is he this fast?” Ji Ning was shocked. “He must’ve used some sort of special divine ability. Even though the five types of lightning are slowing him down, he’s still faster than me! He’s also incredibly agile.”

World God Darkfall was moving in an almost serpentine fashion as he dodged past the many enemy attacks. He continued to slaughter a path through the golden warriors as he moved closer and closer to Ning’s side.

“Of the servants under my command, Darkfall is the fastest and most agile. He’s completely capable of avoiding the golden warriors and moving to the other side of the arena.” The blood-robed youth, Arroyo, was watching with arms folded across his chest, a look of absolute confidence in his eyes. “So what if she has four golems? Soon, all of you will have to deal with attacks from both Darkfall as well as the golden warriors.”

The Samsara Grinders.

Whoosh.

World God Darkfall’s six arms were hacking away with his six mighty warblades. His warblades attacked with incredible speed and in an unpredictable manner.

“The Dao of the Saber?” Ning carefully watched the man fight. This was a World God of the Dao of the Saber.

World God Darkfall continued to press closer and closer towards them. Soon, he reached an area that was directly in front of Ning and the others. Elder God Wilddog sent mentally, “Master, we’re currently able to keep a tight defensive perimeter against these golden warriors, but if that World God attacks I don’t think we’ll be able to hold.”

“Leave it to me.” Ning stretched his hand out, allowing a blood-colored sword to appear within it.

“Haha, that puny Elder God actually took out his sword. Is he actually planning to attack? He really has quite some gall, even though he’s clearly suicidal!” The blood-robed youth laughed.

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Chapter 37 – Yes, Master

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 37 – Yes, Master

“Maybe he really does want to die.” The golden-robed youth, Fukai, was watching from afar as well.

Atop the Samsara Grinders.

The three black golems continued to circle around Ji Ning and Su Youji, blocking all of the offending golden warriors. World God Darkfall had drawn very close to them, and his cold eyes were staring directly at the four golems and Ning himself. “This ant-like Elder God actually dares to draw his sword, as though he’s preparing to enter the fray? Mm. He should be Su Youji’s retainer. Logically speaking, a single Elder God shouldn’t make any difference at all in a battle like this, and yet Su Youji permitted him to take part. There has to be a trap.”

“This puny Elder God probably has some sort of self-sacrificial suicide attack,” World God Darkfall mused to himself.

The endless primordial chaos was filled with untold mysteries. As Darkfall saw it, given that the Flamefairy was capable of producing those four black golems and that lightning gourd, she must have encountered a stroke of tremendous karmic fortune. Perhaps she had some other dangerous toys hidden up her sleeve as well.

“Unfortunately, Su Youji, you are a new Chaos Immortal and have no idea how great the power disparity is between an Elder God and a master-class World God. No matter what type of treasure you gave him, he still won’t pose a threat to me.” Many thoughts flitted through Darkfall’s mind, but he didn’t slow down in the slightest as he charged straight towards one of the black golems.

This black golem’s claw-techniques were clearly based off the mysteries of the Dao of Fire. World God Darkfall was instantly able to identify this particular golem as being the one which Su Youji was commanding.

“Once Su Youji dies, all of this will be over.” Right now, Darkfall had just one target: Su Youji!

“DARKFALL!”

A thunderous shot.

Ji Ning had been standing within the protective encirclement of the three black golems, the blood-colored Violetjewel in his hands. The pair of Thunderlight Wings suddenly appeared on his back as he instantly shot out in a streak of light, charging out of the protective encirclement and towards World God Darkfall.

“Eh?” World God Darkfall laughed when he saw this. Still, since he was worried that Ning might try to pull some sort of suicide attack or trap against him, he remained slightly on his guard. One of his six blades howled through the air in an illusory fashion as he released hundreds of streaks of saber-light towards Ning.

Because they were fighting atop the Samsara Grinders, World God Darkfall didn’t dare to transform his warblades and make them thousands of meters long. This was because if he did so, he would instantly have to deal with a hundred times more golden warriors than he was dealing with before. Even though he was a master-class World God, he would still be utterly demolished and killed by them.

Thus, everyone present including Ji Ning, World God Darkfall, and the golems all kept their weapons to a maximum size of just a few meters long. That way, only a comparatively low number of golden warriors would be able to assault them at any given moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Hundreds of streaks of saber-light flew towards Ning, but most of them actually landed upon the golden warriors who were charging towards Darkfall. Still, a portion of them ended up flying towards Ning.

“Hmph. He’s nothing more than an Elder God, while I’m a master-class World God. Any casual blow from my saber would be more than enough to wipe him out. You might have some powerful techniques up your sleeve, but if I don’t let you get close to me there’s nothing you can do.” World God Darkfall felt quite confident in his abilities, but he continued to keep a close eye on Ning’s actions. He wanted to watch as Ning died.

BOOM!

The Thunderlight Wings trembled as Ning charged straight towards Darkfall in an utterly ferocious manner.

“You think you can bar my path with those puny little blades of light?” Ning wasn’t worried in the slightest. Sword-light flashed in his hands and effortlessly chopped apart the incoming streaks of saber-light.

“What?!”

“How can this be?”

“This Elder God…”

World God Darkfall wasn’t the only one who was shocked. Even the blood-robed Arroyo and the gold-robed Fukai, along with their World God servants, were stunned. Although Darkfall had sent out those chops of saber-light in a rather casual manner, he was still a master-class World God who walked the path of the Dao of the Saber! Not even elite World Gods should be able to deflect his blows in such a casual manner.

“Ji Ning was… was this powerful?” World God Dragonbinder was stunned by what he saw as well. When Ning dueled against the World-level experts of the Badlands Court, he had only competed in sword-arts. He had never gone all-out and so the disciples of the Badlands Court had no idea as to exactly how powerful Ning was.

“How can an Elder God be this powerful?” The blood-robed Arroyo was absolutely stunned.

“What a monster. I simply must enslave him and take him for my own.” The golden-robed youth, Fukai, stared at Ning with a gleaming look in his eyes. He didn’t give a damn about whether Darkfall would die or not, as Darkfall was his foe’s subordinate. He actually hoped Darkfall would die faster!

“Not good.” Darkfall was completely stunned by this. Only now did he realize that there was no so-called ‘suicide attack’. This Elder God was just an absolute monster, a freak with incredible power who was capable of battling against him in close combat.

“How could a monster like him have chosen to become Su Youji’s retainer…”

“WAIT!”

“I was wrong!” The three-eyed man himself had told them that Su Youji had made her breakthrough to become a Chaos Immortal just a few months ago. In other words, a year ago she was nothing more than an Ancestral Immortal. Given how ridiculously, monstrously powerful this Elder God was…

“There was no way he had been Su Youji’s retainer. Su Youji had to be his retainer!”

World God Darkfall was no fool. As soon as Ning revealed a hint of his true power, Darkfall immediately came to the correct conclusion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning showed absolute valor and courage as he charged forward, sending golden warriors flying in every direction from his wake. Some were actually blasted into smithereens by his very charge itself. Ning’s sword-arts had become even more perfected than before. World God Darkfall was able to move past the golden warriors thanks to his tremendous speed and agility, but Ning was able to do the same by relying on his absolutely flawless sword-arts and the Soleheart stance.

“No matter how much of a monster you are, you are still just an Elder God. Die for me!” Darkfall let out a cold snarl as he pounced towards Ning.

To be beaten into a retreat by an Elder God would be a true humiliation!

“You aren’t good enough.” Ning instantly met him mid-blow.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sword-light and saber-light clashed numerous times in the air, generating powerful booms with each collision. The saber-light was rather fluid and unpredictable while the sword-light thrummed with awesome power.

World God Darkfall’s agility and speed were both utterly astonishing, far superior to that of most master-class World Gods. However, his saber-arts were a bit lacking in comparison. In fact, they were considerably weaker than Ning’s sword-arts. Thankfully for Darkfall, his advantage in speed and agility allowed him to cover up his flaws and seek out Ning’s.

Ning used just a single sword, but by relying on the [Heartsword Realm] he was able to deliver awe-inspiring attacks that gave World God Darkfall no chance to defeat him at all.

“Impossible. How can he possibly withstand my attacks?” World God Darkfall began to panic.

“The Dao of the Sword?”

“He’s actually every bit the match of Darkfall in a head-on collision.” The watchers, Arroyo and Fukai included, felt their hearts quiver. These two in particular were the favored sons of heaven and were every bit as talented as the Starlord of Fogstone had been. In fact, they had greater strokes of karmic fortune and were more powerful than the Starlord was. This naturally meant that they had far broader visions than most people… and yet, even they felt utterly speechless when they saw this Elder God fight a master-class World God to a standstill.

“He’s an utter monster.”

“What a complete freak…”

“Hurry over here! Assist me in surrounding and killing this World God Darkfall,” Ning roared loudly.

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, Master.”

The four golems all assented in unison. The three black golems began to advance while spinning together like a whirlpool, grinding apart and blasting away all the golden warriors who assailed them. As for the stone titan named Rocky, he helped deal with any of the stragglers who made it through the initial defensive perimeter.

“He really is the true master.”

“This Elder God is the real person in charge.”

Everyone present felt stunned at the thought that they actually had the chance to witness such a peerless monster in action. Individuals like Ji Ning only existed in legends, and it was almost impossible to actually encounter one of them in the flesh. Encountering someone like Ji Ning was far more difficult than encountering a Samsara Daolord!

When the spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains Formation saw Ning break through all nine barriers through raw force, it came to understand how much of a monster Ning was and thus it gifted him with a powerful legacy. The technique he had given was one of the nine mighty secret arts possessed by Daolord Allgod, the Novessence Thunder technique. This was a secret art which even Samsara Daolords would go mad over. The reason the spirit had given Ning the technique was because he had seen a faint sliver of a chance that Ning would one day reach the same level as Daolord Allgod. Although the chance was quite small, at least there was a chance.

Daolord Allgod was a Samsara Daolord but was able to hunt down Eternal Emperors.

When he was an Elder God, he was naturally just as much of a monster, if not more so! If you started far behind everyone else, you’d have even less of a chance of surpassing them in the future. Still, as far as the spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains Formation was concerned, Ji Ning had just a tiny chance of actually reaching Daolord Allgod’s level. Over the course of these countless years, he had seen more then ten such peerless geniuses and had handed them quite a few legacies, but the most dazzling performer to date was just Daolord Badlands.

Yes, Ji Ning might appear to have a strong start, but who knew how outstanding a figure he would be upon becoming a World God or becoming a Samsara Daolord? Each step taken by a Samsara Daolord involved treading on the boundary between life and death. To even reach the Verge of the Daomerge was extremely difficult. Not even Daolord Badlands had reached the Verge yet.

“Not good!” World God Darkfall was shocked.

“If those four golems join forces with this monster in front of me, I’m going to be in big trouble.” Darkfall began to panic.

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Chapter 38 – A Trap

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 38 – A Trap

Rumble…

The three black golems and the stone titan worked together flawless, the three black golems circling around Rocky as the four slowly advanced through the golden warriors towards Ji Ning and Darkfall.

“I have to kill this monster of an Elder God before those four golems arrive.” World God Darkfall could sense that this was an incredibly dangerous situation. His eyes flashed red and his attack patterns suddenly changed. Previously, he was trying to use his speed, agility, and unpredictable saber stances to find a flaw in Ning’s attacks. Now, he entered a berserk state and began to unleash saber-arts that focused on overwhelming, dominating power!

Each of the six dazzling sabers carried enough power to hack apart a chaosworld. Limitless amounts of power permeated every single saber as they burst forth with explosive might.

Boom! Boom! Boom! One explosion after another rang out. Ning used the Eternal weapon in his hand to block each time, but he clearly seemed to be somewhat struggling.

“Right! What a fool I am! This monster of an Elder God has only been using a single sword this entire time. Clearly, his other weapons are significantly weaker. This sword is most likely an Eternal weapon.” When World God Darkfall saw Ning begin to stagger, he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. “I have six blades but he only has one sword. He was able to easily defend against me when I focused on trying to find flaws in his swordplay, but when I go all-out and attack him with full force he won’t be able to withstand my blows.

“It doesn’t matter how tight your defensive swordplay is. As long as I keep I hacking down upon you with my sabers, a flaw will be revealed.”

Boom!

The two mighty Fiendgod Refiners exchanged hundreds of blows in an instant. World God Darkfall could sense the specter of death looming over him and so began to furiously attack with all his might, making it very difficult for Ning to defend against him.

“An opening!” World God Darkfall’s eyes lit up. He finally saw a flaw in Ning’s defenses.

Whoosh.

World God Darkfall didn’t hesitate at all. As soon as he saw the opening, he delivered a strike with an icy-cold streak of saber-light. This streak of saber-light went straight through Ning’s defensive perimeter! As the saying goes, ‘when he is ill, go for the kill’! A single critical strike could completely change the entire nature of a duel, and so Darkfall quickly struck out with all five of his other swords at the same time.

“No…!” Ning blanched as he hurriedly tried to deflect, but alas, this single mistake resulted in a cascade of mistakes.

Boom! Boom!

Two streaks of saber-light slammed down upon Ning at virtually the same moment.

“Haha…” A look of delight flashed through Darkfall’s eyes… but it was then quickly replaced by a look of shock and rage.

When his sabers had landed against Ning and struck his arm, it was as though some sort of spring mechanism had been activated. When the armor absorbed the force of his blows, it seemed to briefly store it, then sent it right back at Darkfall at the exact same level of power.

It must be understood that World God Darkfall had poured every last scrap of his power into those two saber-blows, making them incredibly strong!

And yet, he was now caught completely off-guard by this damage reflection. Two surges of utterly terrifying power had just been sent towards him from his two sabers!

BOOM!!!! The twin surges of obliterating power instantly blasted World God Darkfall backwards.

Being prepared for an attack and being unprepared for an attack… the results would be completely different!

This was true even for mortals. If he saw that someone was about to push him and prepared himself, he would at most stumble a few steps backwards. But if he was caught completely offguard and was ‘ambushed’ by the push, he might be instantly pushed down onto the ground! Even powerful experts could be slain by weaker opponents who managed to catch them offguard through a sneak attack!

This was the difference between being prepared and being unprepared.

“Die!”

Ning had clearly been struck twice, but he was only knocked a few steps backwards. Every step he took caused the entire Samsara Grinders to shudder, and as he did so he suddenly struck out with his Eternal weapon. Violetjewel instantly increased to become three hundred meters long, and as soon as World God Darkfall was knocked flying backwards Ning chopped at him with Violetjewel!

World God Darkfall had no choice but to frantically position his warblades in front of him to block.

BOOM!!!

He had already been knocked into the air; now, he was sent smashing into the ground by the force of Ning’s sword-blow.

This strike of Ning’s had made his situation go from bad to worse!

“It was a trap.” Darkfall instantly realized this.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! This entire time, the golden warriors had been assaulting both sides with no luck. However, almost all of them began throwing out ropes towards World God Darkfall. In the moment that Darkfall had been sent tumbling to the ground, two ropes had already tightened around his legs. He roared as he furiously struggled to break free, trying to use his warblades to hack the ropes apart and regain his freedom.

He knew very well that if he couldn’t break free, he would die.

“Useless.” Ning watched from afar, occasionally flicking out Violetjewel to attack the nearby golden warriors.

“He lost?” The blood-robed Arroyo could hardly believe this was happening. Alas, when he saw Darkfall be smashed to the ground and a rope snake around his legs, Arroyo knew that his retainer had lost.

The golden warriors were an extremely dangerous part of the Samsara Grinders matches.

Master-class World Gods could withstand them, but once any additional variables were introduced (such as being knocked to the ground) even they would be thrown into grave peril. In a situation like this, their chances of surviving would rapidly slip away and death would be nigh! The countless golden warriors, all of whom had reached the World threshold of power, wouldn’t give you any chance to recover at all.

“He was actually defeated by an Elder God.” The golden-robed Fukai also stared at Ji Ning, located atop that distant Samsara Grinders. Although he was very proud, he sensed that Ji Ning could potentially pose a huge threat to him in the future. He knew that if this Elder God continued to grow, he would definitely surpass both Arroyo and Fukai himself.

“Screw off! Break!”

World God Darkfall fought hard to break free, but it was useless. When a second rope coiled around his body, it became even harder for him to try and fight back. More and more ropes coiled around him, causing a look of despair to appear in his eyes. He turned his gaze towards the distant Elder God Ji Ning, then let out a low growl. “A trap. It was a trap. Just one mistake…”

Ning stood there, the four golems circling around him and protecting him, stopping the golden warriors from getting close to him.

It had indeed been a trap. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even that clever of a trap. Then again, when experts fought in a duel to the death there was no time to set up particularly intricate schemes. They would at most be able to set up a few small tricks to entrap their foes.

As soon as Ning had started to fight against World God Darkfall, he had immediately realized that actually killing his foe would be quite difficult. Both of them were roughly on par with each other in power. Even if the four golems came to assist, given how fast and agile Darkfall was he would’ve been able to easily bypass the golden warriors and flee from them.

Thus, Ning had deliberately said aloud, “Hurry over here! Assist me in surrounding and killing this World God Darkfall.”

This order was meant to be heard by Darkfall. Darkfall had naturally started to panic upon hearing it. He could flee, but what good would that do? He had to win this match and so he had naturally launched increasingly furious attacks to try and speed this up.

At that moment, Ning had deliberately revealed a tiny opening. Darkfall hadn’t suspected a thing.

He had fallen hook, line, and sinker!

Ning had spent 690 cubes of chaos nectar to purchase this Primalwater Armor during the treasure auction. When its damage reflection property was activated it had sent two incredibly powerful surges of power back towards World God Darkfall, catching him completely off his guard. He had suffered greatly from this attack! In truth, Primalwater Armor normally wasn’t as effective as this, and people who were prepared for it wouldn’t suffer quite this match. Ning, for example, had known exactly what was going to happen!

Although he had been struck twice, he had merely stumbled back by two steps. Knowing this was going to happen, he immediately struck out with a critical strike from his sword, slamming it against the already airborne World God Darkfall and sending him crashing to the ground.

His final strike was the straw that broke the camel’s back!

When Darkfall was knocked down to the ground and the countless golden warriors began to swarm him, his fate was virtually sealed. Only a stroke of absolutely incredible luck would’ve allowed him to escape this dire predicament. Alas, his luck wasn’t good enough.

Whoosh. A golden warrior who held a gourd in his hands sucked Darkfall inside the gourd, then ground him to dust.

Even as Darkfall was being drawn into the gourd, he continued to stare unblinkingly at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning just calmly looked back at him.

In the end, one of them had to die. There were no other options.

“The third match has concluded.” The bald three-eyed man’s voice rang out, causing all of the golden warriors to halt and then disappear.

Ning waved his hand as well, putting away the three golems. Su Youji appeared in her true form as well.

“Let’s go.” Ning and Su Youji transformed into streaks of light, flying off of the Samsara Grinders.

All of the cultivators atop the great plaza had fallen silent. Even Arroyo and Fukai, two incredibly experienced figures who had previously held Ning in no regard, were silent. They stared at Ji Ning and Su Youji as the two flew off of the Samsara Grinders… or to be precise, they stared at Ji Ning.

“I am Arroyo!” The blood-robed youth, Arroyo, stared at Ning as he spoke. “Tell me your name.”

Ning smiled. “Arroyo, you should spend your time worrying about your next match on the Samsara Grinders. You will probably be next.”

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Chapter 39 – Arroyo

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 39 – Arroyo

The faces of Arroyo and Fukai both tightened as they turned to glance at each other.

True enough.

Three of the five matches had concluded, with just two more to go. Although this freakishly strong Elder God was worthy of their attention, what really mattered was still the divine blood of the Eternal. In the end, the two figures who had the greatest chances of acquiring the Eternal blood were Arroyo and Fukai. They no longer paid any attention to Ji Ning, who simply chuckled as he and Su Youji walked back to World God Dragonbinder’s side.

“Brother Ji Ning, you hid your true power quite deeply,” World God Dragonbinder sent mentally to Ning.

“Please pardon me, brother Dragonbinder,” Ning said.

“Haha, I understand.” Dragonbinder chuckled. His comment was just a casual throwaway comment with no real blame attached. He understand Ning’s predicament. As the saying went, a large tree attracted the most wind! It was even more important for freakishly powerful Elder Gods like Ning to keep a low profile. Unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t let others know of their true strength! The only reason why Ning had revealed it today was because he had no choice.

World God Dragonbinder now viewed Ning in a completely different light. In the past, he had treated Ning as he would an equal due to his ties to Daolord Solesky. However, now that he knew exactly how freakishly strong Ning was, Dragonbinder truly wanted to befriend him. Ning was still merely an Elder God, but he was already Dragonbinder’s equal in power. How much more powerful would he become in the future?

“Your true abilities have been revealed. You have to be careful after you leave the Allgod Estate. I can sense that Arroyo and Fukai are incredibly dangerous. They somehow managed to convince even supreme World Gods to be their servants! This is truly unbelievable. They have to have a shockingly powerful backer,” Dragonbinder sent mentally. “They might take an unsavory interest in you.”

Ning nodded slowly.

It was true.

Arroyo and Fukai had stated earlier that the three members who had taken part in the matches thus far were the weakest members of their two groups. The remaining four were all supreme World Gods! Fukai and Arroyo were both supreme World Gods and they each had a supreme World God retainer. It was truly unfathomable for a person to be willing to subordinate himself to be a servant of someone who was merely his equal.

“My sword-arts are just a hair away from breaking through. I need to try my best to become a World God here in the Allgod Estate,” Ning mused to himself.

Once this affair was included, it was highly possible that Arroyo or Fukai would try to capture Ning and force him to become a slave!

He was still a bit too weak right now. After he broke through to become a World God, he would truly have nothing to fear.

“It is now time for the fourth match.” The bald three-eyed man’s voice was filled with a hint of mocking as he turned his gaze towards Arroyo and Fukai.

“You!” The three-eyed man pointed straight at the blood-robed Arroyo.

Arroyo’s face tightened slightly. It was finally his turn… but who would his opponent be? Arroyo turned to glance at the gold-robed Fukai as well as the swarthy, withered-looking man standing behind him.

“And… you!” The three-eyed man pointed towards that swarthy, withered-looking man.

“Buxin.” Fukai sent a mental message to his servant.

“Master.” The withered man respectfully acknowledged him.

“You should know quite well how incredibly important the Eternal blood is to me. If I cannot acquire it, I will definitely die… and you will die with me. In fact, even your entire school will be doomed. I think you know how angry my father will be if I die,” Fukai sent mentally.

World God Buxin’s pupils contracted slightly.

Fukai’s father was a true devil amongst devils, an utterly terrifying figure. It would be easy for him to annihilate Buxin’s school.

“But if I successfully acquire the Eternal blood, my status and power shall skyrocket! However, my greatest obstacle right now is Arroyo. If you can kill him, I’ll be the one to acquire the Eternal blood. I can promise you right now that I will bestow a Pseudo Samsara Pill upon you, and your sect will also receive my eternal protection!” Fukai sent mentally.

“Don’t worry, Master. Buxin will do his absolute best,” World God Buxin sent mentally.

“I don’t want you to your best. I want you to kill Arroyo! If I fail and die, you’ll die as well since you are my servant. I know that you will work hard, but you also need to be smart about this. Find a way to kill him!” Fukai gritted his teeth, then took out a jade green globe. “I’m willing to temporarily loan this treasure of mine to you.”

When the nearby Arroyo saw Fukai take out that jade green globe, his face tightened.

“Let me warn you…” The three-eyed man suddenly said, “All treasures, golems, bugbeasts, seals, and even Elder God servants can only be used a single time on the Samsara Grinders! You are forbidden from using them twice! If you give your servant a treasure, you are not permitted to use it for yourself!”

“What?! Why?” The gold-robed Fukai was shocked. “You never mentioned this before.”

“Because no one tried to lend someone else a treasure.” The three-eyed man said calmly, “I’ve already said what I need to say. Decide whether or not you wish to loan him that treasure.”

“Ahahaha…” The blood-robed Arroyo let out a loud laugh. “Fukai, go ahead and loan it to your servant… if you have the balls to, that is!”

The gold-robed Fukai hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at his servant. “It’ll all be up to you.”

“Understand, Master.” World God Buxin nodded.

His master, Fukai, would take part in the fifth match. If that precious Eternal treasure could only be used in a single match on the Samsara Grinders, there was no way Fukai would loan it to him!

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Two figures flew straight towards the Samsara Grinders. The blood-robed Arroyo and the withered-looking World God Buxin stared at each other from afar as the light around them began to coalesce into those golden armored warriors. These two supreme World Gods didn’t even blink, paying no attention whatsoever to the golden warriors.

“You think yourself worthy of facing me?” Arroyo had a look of ridicule in his eyes.

“Arroyo, on this day, either you or I will perish here atop this Samsara Grinders. I have no choice but to offend you.” World God Buxin’s voice was very calm and flat. Arroyo had an exalted background and his status was slightly higher than even Fukai’s, but they were more or less on the same level. Buxin and Arroyo were both supreme World Gods, but their statuses were completely different.

Neither side could afford to fail in this quest for the Eternal blood. World God Buxin was going to have to fight with his full power.

“Begin!” The three-eyed man ordered.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

Thousands of golden warriors let out furious roars as they charged straight towards Arroyo and World God Buxin.

“Heh heh heh…” Arroyo laughed coldly as waves of blood suddenly manifested around him. The waves of blood spread out in every direction, smashing into those golden warriors. Some of the warriors were actually shattered by the waves while the rest were pushed far away.

Arroyo waved his hand, and nine mighty golems appeared in the area around him. Each of the nine golems had auras of incredible power, and they were clearly even stronger than the golems which Ning had purchased.

“You are doomed.” An enormous pair of scimitars suddenly appeared within Arroyo’s hands. The scimitars were simply huge, larger than even Arroyo himself. Both emanated auras of utterly shocking power and were clearly Eternal weapons.

Arroyo strode forward confidently. The waves of blood continued to push outwards, preventing the golden warriors from even moving close to him, while his nine golems surrounded him like an honor guard escorting an emperor.

“What incredible power.” Ning was shocked by what he saw. The blood waves alone were so powerful that they were perhaps superior to most master-class World Gods in might. Those two weapons Arroyo were wielding were most likely Eternal weapons as well. Once he attacked, he would definitely be able to unleash the power of a supreme World God.

And most likely, he would be an incredibly strong one, superior to other supreme World Gods such as God Emperor Blacklotus.

“Even World God Northrest only had access to one Eternal weapon, but both of Arroyo’s scimitars appear to be Eternal weapons. And those nine golems surrounding him… I imagine every single one of them has to be worth over a thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Given that they are able to join together into a formation, the entire set has to be worth tens of thousands of cubes.”

Ning was shocked by Arroyo’s wealth. He now felt a sense of pressure. Just as Dragonbinder had warned him, it was very likely that either Fukai or Arroyo would try to capture him after these trials were concluded. They would want to force Ning to become a servant or a slave.

The terrifying power which Arroyo had just put on display would be turned against Ning. Would Ning be able to handle it?

And then there was Fukai, someone who was just as terrifying as Arroyo himself…

Boom! Boom! Boom! World God Buxin calmly walked forward, having manifested a total of eighteen arms. These eighteen arms were unleashing a series of palm-arts and fist-arts, and each time they struck a golden warrior the golden warrior would be smashed into tiny pieces. He just calmly walked forward through the sea of golden armored foes towards Arroyo.

Both sides completely ignored the golden warriors. They only had eyes for each other.

Only one of the two would survive!

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Chapter 40 – Close the Gates

Book 25, Novessence Thunder, Chapter 40 – Close the Gates

The battle between Arroyo and World God Buxin went on for nearly an entire hour. Finally, the battle came to an end.

“Impossible. How could this have happened?” The golden-robed Fukai was muttering to himself, a look of disbelief in his eyes. He truly couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

“How could this have happened? Is this… is this my destiny? My doom?” Fukai felt his entire body turn as cold as ice.

Ji Ning, World God Dragonbinder, Su Youji had already safely secured victory in their match. Although they were quite curious about this ‘Eternal blood’, it wasn’t something which they absolutely had to acquire. Thus, they had been watching the fourth match quite calmly.

“Huh. So that happened.” World God Dragonbinder was still rather stunned.

“Impressive.” Ning sighed in amazement.

“Master, would he now be considered a transcendent figure amongst World Gods?” The Flamefairy asked.

Ning nodded slowly. “I think he should be.”

The battle had been utterly exhilarating.

As World God Buxin entered the battlefield, his power actually began to increase! He used his fists and his feet as his weapons, and when his eighteen arms struck out they formed an inviolable domain that swept away any who sought to breach it. All nine of Arroyo’s golems had been somewhat suppressed by him! Fukai had been incredibly excited upon seeing this as nothing would have made him happier than seeing Arroyo die.

“Arroyo really did have quite a few treasures. He used up so many treasures that he was able to buy himself a considerable amount of time. In the end, just as he was about to lose, he went completely berserk and actually made a breakthrough. He became much more powerful as a result.” Ning still couldn’t get that dazzling saber-strike out of his mind. Gripped by utter despair, Arroyo released an utterly dazzling strike with his saber that suddenly exploded with unbelievable power. That strike had completely knocked Buxin off his feet and had sent him flying backwards.

Arroyo had been wildly overjoyed. He had struck out two more times, causing World God Buxin to tumble down to the ground. The golden warriors had seized the moment to tie him up with his ropes, and shortly afterwards he was drawn into one of their gourds and grind apart into dust.

“The fourth match ended,” the bald three-eyed man announced. Even he couldn’t help but give the blood-robed Arroyo a glance. Transcendent World Gods were incredibly rare. Any master-class World God who acquired an Eternal weapon or some incredibly powerful treasures would possess the power of a supreme World God, but to transcend past the supreme level was incredibly difficult.

One had to reach an incredibly high level of skill in a certain aspect in order to become a transcendent World God. These figures were incredibly rare! The number of transcendent World Gods in the entire Badlands Territory could be counted on one hand. They were just as rare as Samsara Daolords!

“Ahaha! I won! I WON! Ahaha…”

Arroyo flew downwards alongside his servants, a look of crazed joy and excitement on his face. The blood sea hidden within his eyes seemed to be roaring and shaking.

“Fukai. Your servant really was quite impressive. He actually forced me to the utter brink. Haha! I really need to find a way to thank him. If it hadn’t been for him forcing me to the brink of utter despair, I never would’ve been able to comprehend the true essence of the ‘Sanguine Decay’.” Arroyo was filled with smugness as he stared at the gold-robed Fukai. “Fukai, if you can’t accept this outcome, make your own breakthrough as well! That way, you’d also become a transcendent figure…”

Arroyo was filled with complete confidence now. “You’ve lost. You’ve utterly lost. The divine blood of the Eternal is mine.”

“My match hasn’t even started. You are celebrating too soon.” A gloomy look was on Fukai’s face as he spoke.

“Look at how unhappy you are! This is the first time I’ve seen you with such an ugly look on your face.” Arroyo snickered loudly.

Fukai had always looked completely calm, unflappable, and self-assured. Now, however, an extremely dark and gloomy look was on his face.

Fukai no longer had any confidence in his ability to win. To advance from being a supreme World God to become a transcendent one was an impossibly difficult step to take! However, Fukai still clung onto hope. “If Arroyo can make a breakthrough, why can’t I? I’ll definitely make a breakthrough as well. I’m going to acquire that Eternal blood, then become a Samsara Daolord. My path has just begun… I’m not going to be beaten. I’m not!”

“The fifth match.” The three-eyed man spoke out again. “It goes without saying that you two will be the ones to participate. That match just now was quite dazzling. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a transcendent World God. Don’t let the final match be a disappointment.”

The blood-robed Arroyo laughed, while Fukai’s face turned serious.

“Go,” Arroyo ordered his subordinate. “Play with him a bit.”

“Understood.” Behind Arroyo was an alien creature who looked something like an ape. His entire body was covered with black fur and protected by a suit of golden armor. When he allowed his aura to spread out, it crashed out towards everyone else like waves slamming against the beach.

“Hmph.” Fukai let out a cold snort, then immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew towards the Samsara Grinders.

“Die. The black-furred ape flew towards the Samsara Grinders as well, filled with a murderous aura.

Ning and the others continued to simply watch from below.

“That jade green globe actually held an army of bugbeasts inside of it.” Su Youji sighed in amazement.

“He really had quite a few treasures.” World God Dragonbinder couldn’t help but speak out as well.

“Hah. Him and Arroyo are no ordinary World-level cultivators.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. These guys were simply too rich. That jade green globe held an entire world within it that was exclusively devoted to rearing bugbeasts. The rules of the competition meant that only nine of the bugbeasts could be unleashed, but all nine were comparable to master-class World Gods who could give even Ning a run for his money!

It had been a truly wild battle.

Fukai had intentionally let himself fall into dangerous situations, hoping that the pressure of it all would result in him making a breakthrough.

Alas, breakthroughs weren’t that easy to make. In addition, he very nearly died due to a dangerous situation he put himself into. In the end, he only survived because he used a Dao-seal.

The battle went on for four full hours.

“I’ve done everything I can, Master.” The black-furred ape let out a low growl. The four hours of frenzied combat had completely wiped out his reserves of divine power.

“Die in peace. I’ll protect your entire race.” Arroyo smiled.

The battle came to an end.

The ape’s divine power was completely used up, resulting in his death. Fukai was the victor! However, he didn’t seem to be the slightest bit pleased by his victory. He put away his bugbeasts and flew off the Samsara Grinders in a rather numbed, dazed manner.

“Fukai.” Arroyo looked at Fukai.

Fukai looked at him.

Their gazes met. One would acquire the Eternal blood and survive. The other would die.

“You lost,” Arroyo said.

“N-no…” Fukai ground his teeth. He had won his match, but he had lost the competition between himself and Arroyo. Although he had intentionally let himself fall into dangerous situations, he hadn’t made any breakthroughs at all! He knew very well that Arroyo was now far more powerful than him.

Daolord Allgod had established the trial of the Twin Samsara Heavens for anyone who sought to acquire Eternal blood. Given what a proud figure he was, it was guaranteed that everything would be happened in accordance with his will. There was no way that World God Dragonbinder, World God Boneplate, Flamefairy Su Youji, or Fukai would be the ones to earn the Eternal blood.

There was only one possible victor!

Arroyo!

Transcendent World Gods were incredibly rare. He, and he alone, was qualified to be considered the victor of this trial.

“The five matches have come to an end.” The bald three-eyed man spoke out, causing everyone present to turn towards him.

“Five World-level cultivators remain.” The three-eyed man swept his gaze across Arroyo, Boneplate, Fukai, Dragonbinder, and Su Youji. These five had survived; the other five had died.

“Eternal blood aside, all survivors will be given a bit of karmic good fortune.” The three-eyed man smiled as he pointed towards the towering gates of the Castrum Divinitus.

Rumble…

These massive gates had been shut for countless years. They now slowly began to move, and it was like two giant continents were swinging open. Past the gates was utter darkness. Nothing could be seen at all.

“The survivors shall all be granted entry into the Castrum Divinitus, and all of you will benefit from it.” The three-eyed man turned to look at Fukai, Arroyo, and Boneplate. “The three of you experienced many dangers to reach this place. Even for those of you who do not acquire the Eternal blood, you will still be blessed with some karmic fortune.”

“As for you.” The three-eyed man turned to look at Dragonbinder, Su Youji, and Ji Ning. “I teleported all of you here against your will, then forced you to enter duels to the death. Since you have survived, I shall bless you with good fortune as well.”

“What about the Eternal blood?”

The blood-robed Arroyo said hurriedly, “I don’t care about other ‘fortunes’. I only care about the Eternal blood.”

“This group has performed excellently and is qualified to receive the Eternal blood,” the three-eyed man said. “However, you’ll only find out if you shall be the one to receive the Eternal blood after you enter the Castrum Divinitus. Each of you will be teleported to a different part of the Castrum Divinitus, with the victor being sent directly to the Eternal blood.”

“Why don’t you take it out right now?” Arroyo frowned. “Only five of the ten have survived! What, are you saying that it’s possible that someone besides me shall win the Eternal blood?”

Arroyo began to grow rather impatient.

The three-eyed man’s face turned cold as he said flatly, “The divine blood of the Eternal is incredibly precious. It is stored deep within the Castrum Divinitus, which is why the victor has to go in person to retrieve it. As for who that person is, you’ll know shortly.”

“Enough. All of you, get in.” The three-eyed man swept the cultivators with his gaze.

“Let’s go, let’s go.” World God Dragonbinder chortled merrily. “I’m not too ambitious and know my own limits. The Eternal blood isn’t for me. Still, to be blessed with some karmic fortune isn’t too shabby! Very few will ever be able to even enter the core region of the Allgod Estate, the Castrum Divinitus.”

“Let’s go. If we refuse to enter, he’ll just grab us and forcibly throw us inside. I’d rather that not happen.” Ning and Su Youji walked inside as well.

“Hmph.” Fukai had a gloomy look on his face as he also passed through the gates of the Castrum Divinitus.

“I have faith.” Arroyo nodded. “I’m sure that the trials left behind by Daolord Allgod were fair ones and will be judged fairly.” The only reason why Arroyo had been quibbling was because he truly couldn’t afford to lose this trial.

In the end, all of them walked towards the Castrum Divinitus.

Whoosh. World God Dragonbinder was the first to step inside the castle. As soon as he took a single step into the endless darkness, he completely disappeared.

Ning and Su Youji twitched slightly when they saw this. The insides of the castle were pitch-black, and they couldn’t see a single thing within the darkness at all. As for coresense or heartforce, they naturally were completely ineffective here. Still, they understood that it would be very easy for Daolord Allgod to slay them if that was the goal. There was no need for any tricks or schemes.

“Let’s go in.” Ning and Su Youji both stepped into the Castrum Divinitus, disappearing into the endless darkness.

Fukai, Arroyo, and Boneplate all entered the Castrum Divinitus as well.

“Haha…”

“It is over.”

The bald three-eyed man waved his hand, causing the Samsara Grinders to shrink as it flew back into his hands.

“Close the gates!” The three-eyed man laughed merrily.

Rumble…

The massive, towering gates of the Castrum Divinitus rumbled shut.

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Chapter 1 – The Owner of the Eternal Blood

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 1 – The Owner of the Eternal Blood

The instant that Ji Ning stepped through the towering gates and into the endless dark of the Castrum Divinitus, space began to twist around him. A moment later, the world brightened up as he found himself within a hallway.

This hallway had rather uneven walls that had torches stuck into them. The torches were blazing merrily, filling the hallway with their light.

“Eh?” Ning stood there in the hallway and scanned the area. No one else was in sight.

“What’s going on? Why have I been separated from Youji and the others?” Ning mused to himself.

Suddenly, a faint wave of energy rippled out from up ahead. Ning hurriedly turned to look, only to see strands of fire fly out from the two torches and coalesce in the air, transforming into the form of a barefoot, gauze-clad maiden. The maiden had long, beautiful green hair. Although her body was covered by a layer of thin gauze, she was essentially nude for all intents and purposes.

“I am the formation-spirit of the Castrum Divinitus. This is one of my incarnations,” the maiden said.

Ning was puzzled. “Why have I been separated from the others?”

“Everyone who took part in the Samsara Grinders and survived shall be blessed with good fortune. However, since you each walk different paths you shall each be given unique bits of karmic fortune. Thus, every single person has been teleported to a different part of the Castrum Divinitus,” the maiden said. “Come with me.”

Ning followed behind her obediently.

……

Indeed, every single person had been teleported to a different region.

The blood-robed youth, Arroyo, had also appeared in an empty hallway. He scanned the hallway with his bloodsea eyes, a hint of impatience visible within them. Suddenly, a barefoot, gauze-covered maiden suddenly appeared before his very eyes as well.

“I am the formation-spirit of the Castrum Divinitus. This is one of my incarnations. Follow me,” the maiden said.

“Where is the divine blood of the Eternal?” Arroyo asked.

“The divine blood of the Eternal?” The maiden looked at him, a strange smile playing on her beautiful face.

“Yes, the Eternal blood. My performance atop the Samsara Grinders should’ve been the best of the five. The Goldeye Golem himself said that our group’s performance was good enough to warrant the Eternal blood being awarded, but that I would have to enter the Castrum Divinitus to acquire it.” Arroyo gazed at the maiden, a look of urgency in his eyes. “I don’t give a damn about any other ‘blessings’. I just want the Eternal blood right away.”

The maiden looked at him, then slowly shook her head. “There is none.”

“None?” Arroyo was stunned.

“None for you, that is.” The maiden looked at him calmly.

“What are you saying?” Arroyo began to grow upset.

“It is simple. The divine blood of the Eternal shall be given to a different cultivator, not you.” The maiden smiled. “But of course, you’ll still be blessed with some good karmic fortune.”

“Impossible!” Arroyo’s eyes instantly turned red with fury. He howled angrily, “I was the most powerful one! Which of the four surviving World-level cultivators can possibly compare to me? That new Chaos Immortal, Su Youji? World God Dragonbinder of the Badlands Court? My servant? Fukai? None of them are qualified! Daolord Allgod was an ancient power and an incredibly proud man. There’s no way he would be so unfair!”

“All of the trials which Master set down were quite fair,” the maiden said. “And the results of the trial were… that you did not qualify to acquire the Eternal blood.”

“SHIT!!!” Arroyo was both enraged and panicked.

How could he not be enraged? How could he not panic? His very life was riding on him gaining the Eternal blood! Both he and Fukai had paid enormous prices just to make it from the Fog Sea to the gates of the Castrum Divinitus. Both had experienced countless dangers, but they had been willing to risk their lives multiple times because they needed the Eternal blood.

If they acquired the Eternal blood, their status would instantly skyrocket!

If they did not… they would die!

No one would be able to save him. Not even his father would be able to save him.

But it made no sense. After he made his breakthrough atop the Samsara Grinders, he was definitely the most powerful of the five surviving World Gods. He had felt certain that the Eternal blood would fall into his hands… and yet, reality had proven otherwise. How could he not be angry? How could he not panic?

“How could this have happened? Who was it? World God Dragonbinder? No way, he was only able to win because of his Dao-seal. Fukai? He won in a pathetic fashion, and he is much weaker than me. My own servant? His performance was completely unremarkable.”

Arroyo continued to ponder the matter. “Perhaps the Flamefairy, Su Youji? Mm… possible. She is a brand new Chaos Immortal, but she was able to kill Darkfall! It could be said she punched well above her weight…”

“Was it Su Youji?” Arroyo looked at the maiden before him.

“That’s a secret,” the maiden said. “No need for you to ask.”

“Wait, wait… something’s off. Daolord Allgod was an incredibly proud figure, while Su Youji is extremely weak. The only reason she even survived was because of that freakishly strong Elder God! How could Daolord Allgod possibly have been willing to give her the Eternal blood? Hell, he’d probably give it to that freak of an Elder God before he’d give it to her.”

Suddenly, Arroyo’s face turned white.

“That freak of an Elder God.”

Arroyo suddenly remembered the words that the three-eyed man had said just before the trial of the Samsara Grinders.

“As for the surviving cultivators, they will each blessed with a small bit of fortune. The cultivator whose performance was the best will have a chance of acquiring the divine blood of the Eternal.”

“The cultivator whose performance was the best… right. The word was ‘cultivator’. World Gods and Chaos Immortals are cultivators, but so too are Elder Gods.” When Arroyo carefully thought back to what had been said and what had happened, he realized that it all fit perfectly. It was entirely possible that the freakishly strong Elder God had been the one to win the Eternal blood.

In terms of ‘best performance’? For an Elder God to end up killing a master-class World God, albeit through the usage of a small trick, was an utterly inconceivable feat. Arroyo himself had merely slain a supreme World God while originally being a supreme World God himself.

“Right. If we factor in that Elder God…”

“That freak of an Elder God does indeed stand a better chance to earn the Eternal blood than me.” Arroyo turned to stare at the maiden before him, then growled, “It was that freak of an Elder God, right?”

“I told you, it is a secret.” The maiden remained as calm as ever. “Enough. Stop wasting time. Since you survived, you’ll be blessed with good fortune. Follow me.”

“No need. I don’t want it.” A cold light was flickering in Arroyo’s eyes.

“You don’t want it?” The maiden frowned.

“Right. I want to leave the Castrum Divinitus immediately,” Arroyo said.

“I hope you don’t regret it,” the maiden said. “Others would beg for the chance to be blessed with such good fortune. I recommend that you at least take a look at it. You can always leave after doing so.”

“I don’t need it,” Arroyo said calmly. If every single survivor was going to be blessed with a bit of karmic luck, how good could it possibly be? In addition, as far as he was concerned, no blessing mattered at all if he didn’t find the Eternal blood. He would still end up dying!

“If that’s the case, I’ll let you leave.” The maiden nodded.

……

The gold-robed Fukai stared at the maiden before him, an ugly look on his face. “I knew it. The Eternal blood was awarded to someone else! It must’ve fallen into Arroyo’s hands. No… I still have a chance! If I can kill Arroyo, I can seize the Eternal blood!”

“So what if he’s more powerful than me now that he’s made a breakthrough? I was completely unable to use most of my treasures during the trial of the Samsara Grinders. If I use all of them, I can dominate anyone below the Samsara Daolord level.” A berserk look was in the gold-robed youth’s eyes. “Once I kill Arroyo, the Eternal blood will be mine.”

“Follow me,” the maiden instructed.

“I don’t need any ‘blessings’. I want to leave the Castrum Divinitus immediately,” the gold-robed Fukai said.

“You want to leave immediately?” The maiden was surprised.

“Right.” The gold-robed youth nodded.

“No regrets?” The maiden asked.

“No regrets.” Madness could be seen flickering in Fukai’s eyes. He had been pushed to a precipice! He felt certain that the Eternal blood was now in Arroyo’s hands. If he wasn’t able to seize it, he would definitely die. His only chance of staying alive was to kill Arroyo before the man was able to leave this chaosworld!

If he wasn’t able to do so and if Arroyo was able to escape this chaosworld, there would be no chance to stop him whatsoever.

“How odd. One person after another has refused the blessing of good fortune, instead choosing to leave the Castrum Divinitus right away,” the maiden mused to herself.

“One person after another?” Fukai was stunned upon hearing this. “Who left? Was it Arroyo?”

The maiden glanced at him. “This is a secret.”

“It has to be Arroyo. I want to leave right away! Immediately! As fast as possible!” Fukai was panicking.

“As you wish.” The maiden nodded.

……

Ning was calmly but curiously following behind the maiden leading the way before him. Her bare feet gently glided over the floor as she advanced, soon leading him to an enormous stone archway.

“Go in.” The maiden went past the stone arch.

Ning followed inside. Upon doing so, light flashed in front of him. This was an enormous hall that was filled with many statues. There had to be thousands of these enormous stone statues here! Ning swept the hall with his gaze. It had to be at least ten kilometers high and a hundred kilometers in diameter.

“What’s that?” Ning saw that a long narrow table was located in a corner of the massive hall. Atop this table was a crystalline globe that glowed with white light.

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Chapter 2 – The Aeonian Kingdom

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 2 – The Aeonian Kingdom

The maiden’s lips curved upwards slightly as she turned to gaze in that direction in an intrigued manner.

Whoosh.

A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was the bald three-eyed man who was the First Guardian and Commander of the Castrum Divinitus – the Goldeye Golem.

“Eh?” Ning was slightly surprised when he saw the Goldeye Golem appear.

“Ji Ning, congratulations on having won the divine blood of the Eternal,” the Goldeye Golem said.

“You know my name?” Ning was rather surprised. During his conversations with World God Dragonbinder and the others atop the plaza in front of the Castrum Divinitus, Ning had never revealed his name. Any mention of his name would’ve occurred during their mental conversations, resulting in the likes of Fukai and Arroyo still having no idea as to exactly who Ning was.

“Nothing that occurs within the Allgod Estate can escape my eyes,” the nearby maiden said. “I heard about you from ‘Myriad Mountains’ quite some time ago. Enough. Go ahead and take a look. The Eternal blood is within that crystal globe.”

“Why is it going to me?” Ning was puzzled.

Although he was rather pleased, he was also quite calm. For most cultivators, what mattered the most was their insights into the Dao. This was what allowed them to reach higher levels of cultivation. As for treasures, they were of secondary importance! There was a limit to useful an outside source of help would be. Ning was already comparable to a master-class World God, but no amount of treasures would allow him to be comparable to a Samsara Daolord.

A Samsara Daolord who was skilled in illusions could instantly plunge Ning into an illusory world with a single glance. Ning wouldn’t be able to resist it, and he wouldn’t even have a chance to use any of his treasures. This was what happened when one was at a much lower level of cultivation!

“As I said,” the Goldeye Golem said, “After the trial of the Samsara Grinders comes to an end, the cultivator whose performance was the best will have a chance of acquiring the divine blood of the Eternal. You were the cultivator whose performance was the best.”

“Cultivator?” Ning blinked, then quickly understood.

“Ahaha, right! Cultivator! World-level cultivators are cultivators, but so too are Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.” The Goldeye Golem roared with laughter. “Those two kids, Arroyo and Fukai? Hmph! How could I possibly let the Eternal blood go to them?”

“Eh?” Ning was puzzled. What was this all about.

“If it wasn’t for you, then based on the rules which Master set down all those years ago, I truly would’ve been forced to hand the Eternal blood over to Arroyo. But since you came, me giving the blood to you instead is still in keeping with Master’s rules.” The Goldeye Golem pointed towards the table. “Go open it up.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded, then walked over towards the table. He was quite curious as well. Both Arroyo and Fukai had an extremely large number of treasures, but they were desperate and willing to pay any price to acquire this Eternal blood. What sort of treasure was it, exactly?

The formation-spirit of the Castrum Divinitus and the Goldeye Golem exchanged glances as they watched Ning move towards the table. Both of them were smiling.

“Eternal blood.” Ning walked to the table, staring at the crystal ball that was glowing with hazy light. After carefully inspecting it, he was able to tell that it was actually composed of two separate parts, an upper part and a lower part. Ning reached out to grab the crystal ball, then applied a bit of pressure to it. Whoosh! The two parts began to swivel in opposite directions. After Ning gave it a slight tug, the two parts completely separated.

In that instant…

BOOM!!!!!

An utterly terrifying aura that was far beyond anything Ning could’ve imagined instantly blasted forth into his mind, striking against his soul and his truesoul.

Thud! Thud!

Ning’s face was completely ashen as he took two heavy, stumbling steps backwards. His mind was completely blank, and the two halves of the crystal ball fell out of his hands and onto the ground with a crashing sound. However, the fist-sized globe of blood-streaked golden liquid that had been slowly flowing inside of the crystal ball continued to hover in midair. As it slowly spun and swiveled, it released an aura of utterly incomprehensible power.

Only after a long period of time passed did Ning manage to regain his faculties and recover from the sudden shock of that terrifying aura.

As soon as Ning regained his senses, he couldn’t help but furiously retreat several kilometers before he was able to feel slightly less nauseous.

“Is that the divine blood of the Eternal?” Ning stared at the fist-sized globule of blood that was hovering in the air. He had never imagined that a single drop of blood essence could brim with such incredible power. He had encountered other Eternal weapons and had attuned himself to the exalted sword-aura that was located within Violetjewel’s quintessence core, but this was the first time that he was completely shaking with terror.

It was his very soul that was shaking. He was utterly horrified! The aura from the blood alone had instantly caused his mind to go completely blank, rendering him completely incapable of thought.

“Right. This is the divine blood of the Eternal, the Eternal blood of Emperor Melobo,” the Goldeye Golem said. “Years ago, Master was able to heavily wound Emperor Melobo, hacking off a large amount of his flesh. Master took that large amount of flesh and blood, then distilled it into this single drop of Eternal blood. This essentially represents half of the entire lifeforce vitality of Emperor Melobo.”

“Oh.” Ning nodded slowly.

“Remember. After you bring the Eternal blood out of this place, you absolutely must not open the globe.” The Goldeye Golem waved his hand, causing the two fallen halves of the crystal globe to fly into his hand. He resealed the globule of Eternal blood into the crystal ball, then locked it tightly. That terrifying aura instantly vanished. He then tossed that crystal globe, sending it flying towards Ning like a streak of light.

Ning caught it. Puzzled, he asked, “I cannot open it?”

“The members of the Aeonian Kingdom are able to sense this Eternal blood, but so long as you remain here in the Castrum Divinitus they will not dare to come and take it.” The Goldeye Golem explained, “But if you were to open the crystal globe while outside the Allgod Estate, the terrifying experts of the Aeonians will immediately pursue you upon sensing it.”

Ning was stunned. He hurriedly asked, “What is this ‘Aeonian Kingdom’?”

“Something which you weren’t meant to know about. Generally speaking, it is rare for even World-level experts to have any interactions with them. Still, once you break through to become a World God you will be an extraordinary figure. You probably should get a better sense of them now,” the Goldeye Golem said.

“Let me explain to him,” the maiden suddenly interjected.

“Fine, you explain.” The Goldeye Golem had a hint of a smile on his face.

The maiden looked at Ning. “The Endless Territories are filled with countless cultivators. Do you know what the most powerful organization in the Endless Territories is?”

“The Dao Alliance!” Ning said, then chuckled. “Senior ‘Myriad Mountains’ mentioned them to me.”

“Right. The Dao Alliance, an alliance that comprises virtually all of the cultivators of the Endless Territories.” The maiden nodded. “Cultivators are by nature unrestrained figures that like to do as they please. Why, then would they join together to form an alliance? It is precisely because there exist certain creatures which are born enemies to all cultivators.”

“Born enemies?” Ning was puzzled.

“Right.” The maiden nodded.

“As you probably know, the endless primordial chaos is filled with countless mysteries and has given birth to many unique races,” the maiden said. “Ordinary cultivators who originally started off as mortals were generally born on a chaosworld and slowly grew up there. Even natural-born Fiendgods are born from the Worldheart of a chaosworld.”

“However, there are some special types of lifeforms that are different. They were brought into being within the primordial chaos due to certain special, unique circumstances, and they have certain special abilities.”

“Then again… most of those creatures are fairly rare. In fact, some races might have just one or two representatives in all the Endless Territories. There is no way they can compete against the Dao Alliance.”

“However, there is one organization that can. We don’t know where they came from, and although they are fairly rare they number in the hundreds. Every single member of this race possesses at least the power of a Samsara Daolord,” the maiden said. “They set up the ‘Aeonian Kingdom’ and call themselves the ‘Aeonians’. Much like us, they need to engage in cultivation, but there is a major difference! If they can kill and devour other Samsara Daolords, they can grow much more powerful.”

“Devour other Samsara Daolords?” Ning was shocked.

“Right!” The maiden nodded. “Devour them, just like cultivators might devour food or fine wine. To them, Samsara Daolords are delicacies to be feasted on!”

The maiden continued, “The countless cultivators of the Aeonian Kingdom wish to grow more powerful and walk farther on their paths. The Aeonians, however, seek to devour us. Thus, we are born enemies.” The maiden’s gaze turned cold. “My master’s Dao-companion was devoured by Emperor Melobo, which was why Master went so berserk in his efforts to slay him.”

Ning’s heart shivered.

How could such creatures even exist? Creatures that could actually devour Samsara Daolords?

“As a race, the Aeonians are fairly few in number. It takes a long time for a new Eternal to be born, but they’ve been in existence for an even longer period of time. Multiple Eternal Emperors stand guard over their Aeonian Kingdom, making it so that even the Dao Alliance is unable to break into it.” The maiden laughed. “In all honesty, they don’t really matter that much. The Aeonian Kingdom is actually much weaker than the Dao Alliance, as the Dao Alliance is an alliance of all the cultivators of the Endless Territories. It has countless experts within it! The Aeonian Kingdom’s advantage lies in the fact that its members are extremely unified, with all of their experts living together in the same place. Their Aeonian Kingdom is also protected by an utterly inconceivable treasure. If it wasn’t for that treasure, they would’ve been wiped out by the Dao Alliance a long time ago.”

Ning nodded.

“The endless primordial chaos has given birth to many different races of creatures. This race, the Aeonians, rely on devouring our Samsara Daolords to grow more powerful. As a result, they are one of our most hated enemies. In truth, there are actually many types of lifeforms that are both more powerful and more numerous than the Aeonians. There are also types of lifeforms that both rarer and more individually powerful as well. They have existed for countless years and possess simply inconceivable amounts of power,” the maiden said. “However… the most powerful organization shall forever remain the Dao Alliance! The Dao Alliance has far more cultivators and its ranks are all but endless.”

Ning chuckled. It was true. The Badlands Territory was a perfect example. It was filled to the brim with cultivators; when did Ning ever see other types of lifeforms within it?

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Chapter 3 – Unschooled in the Dao of the Sword

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 3 – Unschooled in the Dao of the Sword

Ji Ning looked at the crystal globe in his hands, then asked, “So… what can I do with this Eternal blood?”

“This drop of Eternal blood isn’t that valuable to the Dao Alliance. At most, they would use it to refine certain pills or rear certain unique bugbeasts,” the maiden said. “However, it is incredibly, incredibly important to the Aeonians. This drop of Eternal blood is enough to allow any member of their race to skyrocket in power! It represents nearly half the vital essence of Emperor Melobo, after all. Almost half of his blood and flesh was used in the refining of this drop of divine blood.”

“Any member of the Aeonians who knows that you are in possession of this blood will try to hunt you down and kill you,” the maiden said.

Ning frowned. So it wasn’t of use to him, but the Aeonian Kingdom would do anything to get it?

“Still, don’t worry. The Badlands Territory is one of the fairly central regions of the Dao Alliance. The Aeonians would never dare to encroach upon this territory! At most, they would send some of their World-level pawns.” The maiden continued, “To tell you the truth, both of us suspect that Fukai and Arroyo are most likely pawns of the Aeonians.”

“Right. They want the Eternal blood too much, far too much. It doesn’t make sense.” The Goldeye Golem agreed. “The Allgod Estate has many rare treasures within it, but the only thing they care about is the Eternal blood. In addition, both of them led squads of ten World-level servants, have many treasures, and have Eternal weapons.”

The Goldeye Golem shook his head. “They have so many treasures and such an extraordinary background, yet they are completely fixated on the Eternal blood and are willing to sacrifice anything to get it. This is more than enough to make us suspect that they are the running dogs of the Aeonians.”

Ning nodded. Right. They had to be lackeys at the most, as true members of the Aeonians were incredibly rare and were all at least at the Samsara Daolord level.

“But of course, I have nothing more than my suspicions,” the Goldeye Golem said. “In the end, they followed all of Master’s rules as they made it through many dangerous regions to come to the gates of the Castrum Divinitus, then survived the trial of the Samsara Grinders. If it wasn’t for you, I would’ve been forced to give this drop of Eternal blood to Arroyo.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“This drop of Eternal blood won’t be of much use to you. Once you leave this place, hurry over to the Badlands Court,” the Goldeye Golem said. “Tell Daolord Badlands that you acquired a drop of Eternal blood and that you wish to sell it to the Dao Alliance.”

The nearby maiden nodded in agreement. “Daolord Badlands is extraordinarily powerful. Although he has yet to reach the Verge of the Daomerge, he is an impressively powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories. In Numerancy, at least, he can rank as one of the top three Daolords in all the Endless Territories. If he can advance by just one more step and reach the Verge, he’ll most likely be every bit as strong as Master once was.”

“As strong as Daolord Allgod was?” Ning was secretly shocked.

Daolord Badlands truly was an incredible figure. If he reached the Verge, he would be comparable to Daolord Allgod? No wonder even Daolord Solesky was so courteous to him.

“You needn’t worry that a power such as Daolord Badlands would lust after your drop of Eternal blood.” The maiden laughed. “Handing it over to him is the safest solution. If you mention it to the other Samsara Daolords of the Dao Alliance, nine out of ten would choose to simply kill you and seize it for themselves. Although this drop of Eternal blood isn’t that valuable to the Dao Alliance, they’d still be willing to pay a price of roughly two million cubes of chaos nectar to purchase it.”

“Two MILLION cubes?” Ning was rather stunned. This was like manna falling from the heavens!

Still, wealth and treasures didn’t matter that much. In the end, they were all outside sources of strength. Personal strength was what mattered the most!

“The Aeonian Kingdom would probably be willing to pay ten million cubes.” The maiden chuckled. “But there is no way the Dao Alliance would ever sell it to them. It would only result in an Aeonian expert becoming even more powerful and dangerous.”

“Two million? Ten million?” This was a simply staggering amount of wealth for Ning. Suddenly, Ning remembered his big brother Daolord Solesky telling him that he had given Daolord Badlands enough treasures to create two perfect avatars. This was all for the sake of convincing Daolord Badlands to assist him.

Ning immediately asked, “How much wealth would be needed in order for a Samsara Daolord to create a perfect avatar?”

“A perfect one?” The maiden grinned as she looked at Ning. “Most Samsara Daolords generally create simple and rather crude avatars. With each step they take, they tread the line between life and death, after all. Only after reaching an inconceivable level of power would they dare to go and create an avatar which could be described as ‘perfect’. Thus, you would probably need at least ten million cubes worth of treasure in order to create a perfect avatar! Even for Samsara Daolords who are at the Verge, this is is a sum that represents all the wealth and treasures they possess.”

Finally, Ning understood. His big brother Daolord Solesky must have sold off nearly all of his possessions in order to acquire enough wealth to convince Daolord Badlands to help him. Daolord Solesky was a Palace Lord of Vastheaven Palace and had lived for countless years. This time, for the sake of his Daomerge, he had been willing to bring out almost everything he had.

“Ten million cubes is normally a sum which only Samsara Daolords at the Verge can produce,” the maiden said. “Normal, weaker Samsara Daolords generally have a networth of just a few hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar. In other words, this drop of Eternal blood is worth as much as all the combined treasures of multiple ‘ordinary’ Daolords.”

The Goldeye Golem said solemnly, “The endless primordial chaos is filled with countless hidden treasures. A single mysterious leaf might be worth millions of cubes of chaos nectar. For example, a single drop of Mirrorheart Water is worth enough to drive mad even a Samsara Daolord who is at the Verge. They’d be willing to spend ten million cubes of chaos nectar to buy such a treasure, but they wouldn’t find anyone willing to sell to them. However, all these things are illusory. Treasures are nothing more than outside sources of strength. In the end, success in cultivation requires you to rely on yourself.”

Ning nodded.

When Daolord Solesky had gone to the Waveshift World, he had been searching for a special treasure. For the sake of finding that treasure, Daolord Solesky had first risked his life in the Windsource Ruins to acquire that ‘Talisman of Eternity’, then paid an utterly enormous price to convince Daolord Badlands to help him out. They had then delved deep into the Waveshift World. From this, one could see that there were indeed some treasures that would drive even the most powerful of Daolords mad with desire.

“True. In the end, all treasures are nothing more than outside sources of help.” The maiden sighed. “For the sake of his Daomerge, my master risked his life to find certain useful treasures and also invited many of his friends to help him out. He did everything he possibly could to prepare for his Daomerge, but in the end he still failed. However, there are legends of ancient powers who made no preparations at all. They naturally completed their Daomerge while sleeping and dreaming, winning eternity for themselves.”

“In the end, cultivation is what matters the most.” The maiden sighed.

Ning nodded. He had come to understand this point long ago. Honestly, everyone did, including Daolord Allgod and Daolord Solesky. However, they had reached the end of their cultivation path and were unable to advance any further. They had reached the Verge of the Daomerge but weren’t confident in succeeding in it. It was only natural that they would go try and find treasures that might help them out and increase their odds of succeeding in their Daomerge.

“You now know how you should dispose of this drop of Eternal blood.” The maiden pointed at the statues surrounding them. The great hall was a hundred kilometers in diameter, and its four walls were filled with thousands of statues. “Master personally carved all of these statues.”

“Alchemy, artificing, formations… Master was skilled in many, many things. This is why he titled himself ‘Allgod’,” the maiden said. “Master even tried to train in the Dao of the Sword. For the sake of his cultivation, Master inspected the skills and sword-arts of more than five thousand World-level experts who walked the path of the Dao of the Sword. All of these World-level experts had completely different sword-arts.”

The maiden continued, “After Master viewed their sword-arts, he carved these five thousand-plus statues.”

“Every single statue is different and represents a different World-level cultivator’s sword-arts,” the maiden said. “After visualizing and mastering all of these different sword-arts and spending all this effort in carving these statues, Master’s skill in the Dao of the Sword had reached the level of a new Samsara Daolord who specialized in sword-arts.”

Ning was speechless upon hearing this. This sort of cultivation method was simply…

Viewing the sword-arts of more than five thousand World-level experts who trained in the Dao of the Sword? The entire Badlands Territory probably didn’t hold so many experts of the sword!

After finishing his carvings, he had reached the level of a new Samsara Daolord who had ascended through the Dao of the Sword?

“Afterwards, Master gave it up. As he put it, he simply didn’t have any talent for the Dao of the Sword,” the maiden said. “Master actually spent a total of multiple chaos cycles in order to first master the sword-arts of all of those World-level experts, then carve these thousands of statues.”

Ning had indeed heard from the formation-spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains that Daolord Allgod “wasn’t that skilled in the Dao of the Sword.” However, that was only in comparison to his other Daos. Daolord Allgod had been so incredibly skilled in other areas that he before dying, he had been able to set up a formation that frightened even Eternal Emperors. The golem he had made, the Goldeye Golem, was comparable to major powers who had reached the Verge of the Daomerge.

As for the Dao of the Sword? He was merely comparable to new Samsara Daolords who specialized in this Dao. By comparison, he truly “wasn’t that skilled in the Dao of the Sword.”

“Spend some time meditating on these statues. These five thousand-plus statues represent more than five thousand different types of sword-arts. Master often said that all Daos are linked. As a result, from these many sword-arts he ended up discovering a path that would allow someone to break through to become a Samsara Daolord,” the maiden said.

“Right.” Ning nodded, then walked over to stare at the statues. Suddenly, he turned his head and asked, “How much time do I have?”

“As much time as you want!” The maiden laughed. “You can spend one or two chaos cycles here if you wish. I trust that Fukai and Arroyo won’t wait outside the Allgod Estate for such a long period of time.”

“They are waiting outside?” Ning was slightly startled. He had already anticipated this possibility, but for it to actually occur still made him feel uneasy.

“Yes. The two of them did not wish to be given any blessings or treasures. Both of them chose to leave the Allgod Estate right away. If my prediction is correct, both are definitely waiting for you outside,” the maiden said.

Ning nodded, then laughed.

Who cared about them?

These statues represented more than five thousand different sword-arts. This was plenty to keep Ning occupied for a very, very long period of time. He would spend his time cultivating here. As for Fukai and Arroyo? They could just wait outside.

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Chapter 4 – Ji Ning’s Path to the Dao of the Sword

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 4 – Ji Ning’s Path to the Dao of the Sword

Ji Ning said hurriedly, “Please assist me in something, seniors. Please tell my retainer, Su Youji, not to panic. She should simply wait for me patiently.”

“Sure, leave it to me.” The formation-spirit maiden laughed. “Spend as much time here as you wish. Whenever you wish to leave the Allgod Estate, just let me know and I’ll teleport both you and Su Youji together. Oh, right. World God Dragonbinder is a member of your group, right? If he leaves on his own, he’ll probably be ambushed and killed as well.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “Please have World God Dragonbinder wait ten years after Su Youji and I leave. Only then should he leave.”

Ning wasn’t going to leave until he became a World-level expert. By then, even if World God Dragonbinder did join them he wouldn’t be of that much assistance.

After making his requests, Ning walked towards one of the walls of this enormous hall. The walls were all filled with enormous sculptures that bore the likenesses of many different cultivators.

“How marvelous.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement as he stared at the statues.

“His sculpting skills were simply inconceivable.” Every single sculpture had its own unique sword-aura. They were all completely different.

For example, the fiery idol which Ning had acquired earlier contained eight different types of Fire-attribute intent, as well as an incredibly powerful technique. As for these thousands of sculptures, every single sculpture contained a unique sword-intent. They didn’t actually contain any specific sword-arts, but for an expert of the Dao of the Sword such as Ning, every single engraving and carving on those enormous statues was a sword-art.

“Explosive and dominating.”

Ning stared at the sculpture before him. This sculpture had required more than ten thousand strokes of the sculptor blade in order to be created. Some of the strokes seemed rather crude and unsightly, but they slowly came together to form an increasingly marvelous whole. Clearly, as Daolord Allgod had watched this cultivator train, the Daolord had slowly gained an increasingly deeper understanding of the sword-arts involved.

“This one is ice-cold.”

“Ephemeral and carefree.”

“Strange and unpredictable.”

“Dark and shadowy.”

Ning stared at all of the surrounding sculptures, each one giving him a completely different feeling.

Ning was in no rush to meditate on them. He slowly strolled forward, carefully inspecting each statue.

This was a veritable sea of sword-arts!

Every single statue embodied a unique type of sword-art, and every single sword-art was incredibly profound. Ning was quite astute in judging these sword arts. He could tell that all of these sword-arts were at the level of a master-class World God’s sword-arts. The reason why it had taken Daolord Allgod so many chaos cycles on this project was because simply finding more than five thousand master-class World Gods of the Dao of the Sword was an incredibly time-consuming process. During this process, Daolord Allgod made a breakthrough in his Dao of the Sword, rising to the level of an new Samsara Daolord’s mastery of the sword. If he hadn’t made this breakthrough, he probably would’ve continued to hunt down more and more master-class World Gods.

Upon breaking through and finding his own path, he had understood the general direction which his own Dao of the Sword would follow.

……

Outside the Allgod Estate.

Three figures were seated in the lotus position atop the clouds, their senses spread out to cover this entire chaosworld. If so much as a bug tried to fly out, they would immediately detect it.

These three were the blood-robed Arroyo, the gold-robed Fukai, and World God Boneplate.

They had immediately left the Allgod Estate, then ran into each other in the outside world. Fukai had wanted to fight with Arroyo, but Arroyo immediately began to berate him and curse at him. “You imbecile, I left the Allgod Estate before you. Would I be sitting here waiting for you if I had the Eternal blood? I would’ve left long ago! I didn’t get the damn blood. If you don’t believe me, I’ll swear a lifeblood oath, alright?!”

Arroyo was willing to compromise because he wanted to make use of Fukai’s strength! “That freak of an Elder God was the one to obtain the Eternal blood. If he’s the cautious type, he’ll probably stay inside the Allgod Estate until he becomes a World-level expert himself. He was already comparable to a master-class World God. Once he breaks through, he’ll probably be as strong as I am. Fukai, the two of us will need to join forces if we want to be able to shut him down.”

Fukai glowered. “Don’t worry, Arroyo. If neither of us can get the Eternal blood, both of us will die. But you are overestimating that Elder God’s abilities. Even if he does become a World-level expert, his sword-arts are far inferior to yours. He might have some incredibly powerful divine abilities or secret arts, but I wager he’ll at most become a supreme World God.”

Arroyo shook his head. “Don’t underestimate him. We can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

“Agreed.” Fukai nodded.

And so, the three of them had sat down in the clouds, setting up a permanent vigil over the entire chaosworld with their godsense.

After becoming a World God, one’s soul and divine power would join together and be able to detect distant ripples of power through something known as ‘godsense’. Chaos Immortals had something similar called chaosense, but the two were essentially the same. However, if one’s heartforce was able to break through to the sixth level then one would truly have incredibly scanning abilities that could catch anyone offguard!

These three were all extremely formidable figures. It must be understood that even the Daofathers of the Three Realms were capable of scanning the entire Three Realms with their senses. These three mighty World Gods naturally found it quite easy to keep a constant vigil over an entire chaosworld. In fact, they were also capable of completely locking down the space around the chaosworld and making it so that no one would be able to teleport out of it.

“Once he comes out, he dies!” Arroyo’s eyes were filled with the crashing waves of a bloody sea.

“Kill him.” Fukai’s face was cold as well.

Either Ji Ning died or the two of them died! There were no other options!

Time passed on, day by day, but Ji Ning did not come out. As for the three World Gods, they waited like a trio of patient hunters, not growing restless at all.

……

Within the Castrum Divinitus. Inside the Hall of Swords.

Ning was still slowly strolling through the hall, staring at each and every sculpture.

More than five thousand sword-arts, with no two sword-arts alike!

Ning was completely spellbound by what he saw. He felt as though he was swimming within a sea of knowledge. It was all too stunning. Ning had never felt this stunned before, not even when he had seen the many sword-arts which World God Northrest had created.

All of those sword-arts had been the product of a single cultivator, after all. These sword-arts were created by more than five thousand different cultivators. This was a completely different situation!

Every single cultivator had their own special insights into the Dao. They might create many sword-arts, but in the end the sword-arts they created would belong within a single overarching system. However, these thousands of cultivators were all completely different individuals with completely different backgrounds, thoughts, insights, and sword-arts. This truly was an all-encompassing selection of sword-arts.

“Long, long ago… before the weapon known as the ‘sword’ even existed… a creature picked up a long, flat piece of metal and used it as a weapon. Slowly, certain mysteries and insights were developed for the application of this weapon, this ‘sword’. The first sword-arts began to be created, and over time it was qualified to be described as a Dao of its own, the Dao of the Sword…

“Countless years have gone past since then. The trillions of cultivators of the Endless Territories have passed down many generations of legacies, resulting in the Dao of the Sword becoming increasingly profound. Multiple Samsara Daolords have found their own paths within it, and deep within the primordial chaos there lies a place which holds the true essence of the sword…

“But in the end… all of it stems from this single, seemingly simple weapon – the sword.”

Ever since that day long ago when Ning’s understanding of the sword had changed, the entire Dao of the Sword had changed in his eyes.

Through these thousands of sword-arts, Ning could see how all the different sword-arts advanced from simplicity to complexity and profundity. The carvings which Daolord Allgod had created represented himself and how he slowly learned more and more about the start. His earliest carvings were rather crude, but his later ones became quite marvelous. This made it even easier for Ning to understand and analyze them.

“So the tip of the sword can actually be used like this? That means ‘Blood Drop’ stance can be redefined in many new ways…

“So my ‘Shadowless’ stance isn’t sufficiently shadowless. This… this stance right here is what ‘shadowless’ truly means!”

Ning looked at one sword-art after another.

Everyone specialized in something different. Some sword-arts had truly reached the pinnacle in certain areas and exceeded Ning’s wildest imaginations. For example, Ning’s ‘Blood Drop’ stance could be described as a particularly ferocious and fast technique, but in this hall Ning saw at least a hundred different sword-arts that truly struck with the speed and strength of a celestial comet. These sword-arts were truly, incomparably dazzling.

This process of breaking down and comprehending the fundamental underpinnings of so many sword-arts resulted in Ning’s own insights rising at an incredible pace. Prior to this, Ning had reached a bottleneck in his attempts to master the third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Great Firmament’ stance. However, as Ning’s insights into the sword continued to rise, he slowly but naturally came to grasp and completely understand this stance. He broke through! He was now completely capable of advancing to the World level.

However… Ning did not!

He was completely intoxicated and mesmerized by this sea of swords. He didn’t want to let himself grow distracted.

He continued to mentally disassemble and inspect every single sword-art.

Slowly, a great tree began to take form within Ning’s mind. This great tree was the ‘true nature of the sword’, and it started off with more than five thousand branches, each branch symbolizing a specific type of sword-art.

As Ning’s insights continued to develop, some of the branches began to cluster together and grow into large boughs.

This was a truly priceless experience, an enormous bit of good fortune.

In fact, as far as Ning was concerned this experience was far more valuable to him than the Eternal blood. The Eternal blood was nothing more than a source of outside help, but these thousands of sculptures would help him grow more personally powerful. The unsightly markings left atop the sculptures were especially helpful, because Daolord Allgod had personally left those markings as he had studied the Dao of the Sword. Thus, the first ones were fairly simple and allowed Ning to dissect them in a fairly easy fashion. If everything was incredibly profound and abstruse, there would’ve been no way for Ning to analyze them.

The great tree in Ning’s mind which represent the Dao of the Sword began to grow larger and larger. More and more of the various branches began to congregate together and merge into large boughs. The branches began to grow fewer and fewer in number, from several thousand to several hundred, then to one hundred, then to a few dozen…”

Ning’s mastery of the sword was constantly rising without him even being aware of it.

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Chapter 5 – The Fourth Stance of the [Nameless] Sword-Art

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 5 – The Fourth Stance of the [Nameless] Sword-Art

Time flowed on.

A fiery-robed maiden was seated in the lotus position next to a bubbling river of lava. It was Flamefairy Su Youji, who was meditating within the Castrum Divinitus on the karmic fortune she had been blessed with.

Su Youji stared in front of her, where a lotus was slowly swiveling within the bed of lava.

“This place is indeed a blessed place for anyone seeking to meditate on the Dao of Fire.” Su Youji frowned slightly. “However, no matter how hard I try I am unable to make any further improvements whatsoever. Ugh. According to what the formation-spirit of Castrum Divinitus said, Master is currently meditating as well. I wonder how long he will take. It has already been more than three thousand years!”

Right.

Su Youji had been in the Castrum Divinitus for more than a thousand years already.

After spending a bit of time firming up her foundation, she had gained the power of an ordinary World-level cultivator. After spending nearly three thousand years meditating in this location, a blessed place for meditating on the Dao of Fire, Su Youji had advanced to become comparable to an elite World-level cultivator.

It must be understood that although Daolord Allgod was not skilled in the Dao of the Sword, he was incredibly talented in the Dao of Lightning, the Dao of Fire, and many other Daos. Su Youji had benefited greatly from her exposure to this place.

“I suppose I’ll just have to keep waiting.” Su Youji had no other options.

……

“It’s been three thousand years, but he still hasn’t come out.” Arroyo, Fukai, and Boneplate were still quietly keeping a watch over the entire chaosworld from their position above the clouds.

Fukai had a gloomy look on his face. “I imagine that this freak of an Elder God suspects something, which is why he insists on delaying and remaining within the Allgod Estate. However, breaking through to become a World God isn’t an easy feat, even for a freak like him. Three thousand years? It is entirely possible that he might spend thirty thousand years or three hundred thousand years without making a breakthrough.”

“Cut the crap and just keep waiting,” Arroyo said coldly.

Both of them felt tremendous pressure, and this pressure caused their hearts to become filled with an intense desire to kill.

“All of those old bastards want to acquire the divine blood of the Eternal, but none of them dare to come in person. All they dare to do is send World-level experts like us for it.” Fukai was rather resentful.

“Right. They even made acquiring the Eternal blood part of our Awakening test.” Arroyo shook his head. “This is the Badlands Territory, and Daolord Badlands is one of the most skilled Numerancy experts of the entire Endless Territories. If any of those old bastards dared to enter the Badlands Territory, Daolord Badlands would probably be able to divine it right away.”

“Right.” Fukai nodded. Daolord Badlands was a very frightening person indeed.

The Endless Territories was an incredibly vast place. Not even Daolord Allgod would’ve dared to claim that he was the most powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories. Daolord Badlands, however, was ranked as one of the top three Numerancy experts of this entire realm! Numerancy experts like him would easily be able to predict and calculate when danger was coming without even needing to leave the safety of his own home. The Aeonians were the hated foes of the entire Dao Alliance. If any Aeonian dared to enter this place, he would find it almost impossible to avoid the Numerancy divinations of Daolord Badlands.

In addition, this was one of the central regions of the Dao Alliance. Once the Aeonian’s presence was discovered, there would be no way for him to escape.

This was why Aeonians, as a race, generally tried to avoid the terrifying members of the Dao Alliance whose Numerancy skills made them virtually omniscient. Only the truly terrifying members of their race who were comparable to Daolord Allgod in his prime would dare to trespass through places like this.

“We have no one to blame but ourselves for not being able to Awaken ourselves,” Fukai sent mentally. “If we were able to become true Samsara Daolords on our own, Awakening to become true members of the Aeonian race, we wouldn’t have to risk our lives to pass this trial in such a manner.”

“Mm.” Arroyo nodded.

The two of them could rely on Pseudo Samsara Pills to make their breakthrough, but if they did so they would have almost no potential for any future breakthroughs. There would be no way for them to truly Awaken, nor would they be acknowledged as members of the Aeonian race.

They had to rely on themselves.

The alternate option was to have the Aeonian Kingdom help them Awaken, but an enormous price would need to be paid. Thus, the Aeonian Kingdom had given them a test. They were to bring back the Eternal blood of Emperor Melobo, and if they succeeded the Aeonian Kingdom would help one of them Awaken! The Eternal blood wasn’t that important to the Dao Alliance, but it was incredibly important to the Aeonian Kingdom, enough so that they would be willing to pay the price necessary to help one of their descendants Awaken.

Many of their descendants had done everything they could to fight over this mission. In the end, it had been Fukai and Arroyo who had managed to succeed in having it assigned to them.

According to the orders given by the Aeonian Kingdom, if they succeeded in acquiring the Eternal blood their status would skyrocket, and they would be Awakened to become true members of the Aeonian race.

But if they failed… they would die!

“Fukai, as per the lifeblood oath we swore all those years ago, once that freak of an Elder God appears we’ll have to work together to seize the Eternal blood from him. Once we acquire it, we’ll fight to the death. The survivor will take the Eternal blood back to the Aeonian Kingdom.” Arroyo looked at Fukai.

“Naturally.” Fukai felt quite confident as well. In a true life-and-death battle, he would unleash every single ability he had to offer. He truly didn’t fear anyone below the Samsara Daolord level of power.

“Three thousand years is nothing. Even if we wait thirty thousand years or three hundred thousand years, it would be worth it.” A cold light flashed through Arroyo’s eyes.

……

Arroyo and Fukai waited impatiently on the outside. From the inside, Su Youji was left to speculate on how long she would have to wait for her master.

Ning, however, was completely absorbed within that sea of sword-arts.

He had never experienced something like this before!

Never in his entire life had he felt so confident in his own sword-arts.

Whoosh.

Ning appeared out of nowhere within the hall, then turned to stare at the thousands of sculptures on the four walls. At the very center of the hall there was a large pagoda-shaped tower. This was the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance.

Ning had spent almost every minute of every day meditating within the Heavengazer Tower, as he knew that completely dissecting and mastering these thousands of different sword-arts would require an incredibly long period of time. He naturally was going to make use of the Heavengazer Tower’s time compression abilities.

“I’ve finally finished meditating on every single sculpture, and I’ve reached my limit for now.” Ning waved his hand, putting aside the Heavengazer Tower.

Ning was filled with boundless vigor and excitement. As he stared at the surrounding statues, he bowed slightly and said, “Thank you, senior Allgod. If it wasn’t for you collecting all these sword-arts, how could I, Ji Ning, possibly have gained sudden enlightenment today?”

Ning was being quite modest in describing himself as having ‘gained sudden enlightenment’ today. There was nothing sudden about the hard work he had put in.

As a saying on Earth went, comparisons can be deadly. What were the strengths and weaknesses of a sword-art? An amateur wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at it. Only by completely dissecting these sword-arts and carefully comparing them to each other would you slowly discover that while this sword-art was exceedingly profound in this area, it had certain flaws in other areas.

Why was it strong?

Why was it weak?

After dissecting all of those sword-arts, Ning had gained certain yardsticks which he could use to judge the qualities of various sword-arts. Slowly, he gained an increasingly deeper level insight into the Dao of the Sword. In fact, Ning now had a complete, systemic view of the Dao of the Sword that belonged to him and him alone.

These thousands of sword-arts could be divided up into several general categories. In the end, Ning had divided those five thousand-plus sword-arts into twelve primary categories. After ascertaining that his judgments were correct, Ning suddenly felt as though wide panorama had opened up before him. He almost felt as though no sword-arts were too mysterious for him to understand! Even if there were some which were so profound that he would not be able to understand them at present, if he was given enough time he would thoroughly master it!

This self-confidence came into being after he had finished visualizing these thousands of sword-arts.

“Let me test it all out using the [Nameless] sword-art and Violetjewel’s quintessence core.” Ning smiled slightly. In recent years, he hadn’t spent any time truly focusing on the [Nameless] sword-art At most, he would just turn a small part of his attention to it when he learned something that would be relevant for it. Despite that, he had still long ago mastered the third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Great Firmament’ stance.

“The fourth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art – ‘Horizon’s End’. Quite profound, really.”

Ning quickly began to work on dissecting this sword-art, starting from the basic essence of the sword and then slowly working up to mentally executing the technique.

He spent a total of twelve hours on it.

“So that’s how it works. The creator of this sword-art truly was an incredible figure. This fourth stance is far more profound than those thousands of sword-arts I just finished analyzing.” Ning sighed softly in amazement. Still, he knew that although those thousands of sword-arts weren’t particularly profound in comparison, they had still served to help broaden his horizons and let him get a deeper understanding of the true nature of the sword.

It had only taken him twelve short hours for him to master the fourth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art.

“The fifth stance, then?” Ning began to meditate on the fifth stance, but a short while later he gave it up. “Even World God Northrest himself was only able to master the fifth stance. During the past three thousand years, I’ve been meditating in seclusion but haven’t gained any practical combat experience.”

Violetjewel suddenly appeared in Ning’s hands. “I suppose I should take a look at my sword’s quintessence core.”

Ning carefully attuned himself to the savage, murderous, yet exalted sword-intent that lay hidden within Violetjewel’s quintessence core. In the past, it was extremely hard for him to attune to it, but it was now noticeably easier. It took him a full day before he felt as though he could no longer make any further improvements or gain a better understanding of it… but the insights he did gain were more than enough.

Soon, Ning began to develop a new sword-stance of his own.

“This stance shall be the second stance of the [Quintessence Sword-Intent]. Since I developed it here in the Allgod Estate, let it be named the Allgod stance,” Ning murmured softly.

In his heart, Ning felt a hint of gratitude.

If it hadn’t been for Daolord Allgod spending many chaos cycles of hard work in watching master-class World Gods train in the Dao of the Sword, then laboriously carve these thousands of sculptures, how could Ning have been able to gain such tremendous enlightenment in such a short period of time?

But of course, this was also because Ning’s own understanding of the sword was a pure one that guided him straight to the true essence of the sword. There might be many other experts of the Dao of the Sword who had more profound insights than Ning, but when they saw these statues they would probably say, “I have my own path already. These differ from my Dao of the Sword.”

“Haha… I had planned on leaving this place after becoming a World God, but I didn’t expect that this place would be far more valuable to me than the drop of Eternal blood.” Ning let out a heartfelt laugh. Not only had he mastered the third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, he had even mastered the fourth stance. The third stance was all that was needed to become a World God!

These past three thousand years had been a truly transformative period of time for Ning.

His sword had now truly gained a soul of its own.

He had established a firm foundation for becoming a peerless expert in the Dao of the Sword in the future.

“Mm. Time to break through to the World level.” Ning sat down in the lotus position, calming his heart and soul.

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Chapter 6 – Breakthrough, World Level!

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 6 – Breakthrough, World Level!

BOOM!!!

The heavens shook and the earth quaked as the chaos energy in the area began to oscillate wildly.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Two figures suddenly appeared in the plaza before the Castrum Divinitus. It was the bald three-eyed man and the formation-spirit maiden. Both raised their heads to stare deep into the castle.

“What a torrent of chaos energy.” The maiden let out a sigh. “This is causing a far greater disturbance than is usually seen when a cultivator breaks through to the World level.”

“You can’t compare Ji Ning to ordinary World-level cultivators,” the three-eyed man said.

It must be understood that they were located within the Allgod Estate, but they were still able to see the chaos energy surging violently. One could imagine how huge the disturbance outside was! When the Flamefairy had made her breakthrough, the disturbance had been much smaller.

……

“A breakthrough? It must be Ji Ning of Vastheaven Palace.” The formation-spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains appeared at the top of a mountain peak in white robes. He raised his head to stare at the chaos energy pulsating through the skies.

……

“The chaos energy seems to be shaking quite violently.” Even though Su Youji was located within the Castrum Divinitus, she could still sense that something was happening. “Did someone make a breakthrough? Was it Master?”

……

Outside the Allgod Estate. The disturbance in the rest of the chaosworld was far greater than the disturbance within the estate itself. An utterly enormous chaos vortex had appeared high above the chaosworld, covering the entirety of the skies. Just looking at it would cause one’s heartrate to speed up.

“What a huge event.” The blood-robed Arroyo, the gold-robed Fukai, and World God Boneplate all raised their heads to stare coldly at the skies.

“That freak of an Elder God must have made his breakthrough,” Fukai growled.

“Most likely. Good. Now that he’s made his breakthrough, he’ll be coming out soon.” Cold light flashed through Arroyo’s eyes. “He lives up to being an Elder God who can battle master-class World Gods to a standstill. Look at the size of that thing! He has to be close to being on par with me by now.”

“Right.” Fukai nodded as well.

Both had extraordinary backgrounds and were extraordinarily talented. When they had made their breakthroughs, they had caused similarly shocking disturbances to the local flow of chaos energy.

……

The Castrum Divinitus. Within the Hall of Swords.

Ning was seated in the lotus position, an endless torrent of chaos energy swirling around him and into his body.

Rumble…

Within his Jindan region. This had previously been a beautiful, peaceful place, filled with islands that floated within a sea of elemental energy. However… everything was now being destroyed and returned to the primordial chaos from whence they came.

The entire Jindan region had been reduced to a region of utter chaos.

“Sword-seed!”

A seed had appeared out of nowhere. This seed was a sword-seed that would naturally form once one reached the fifth stage of swordforce, the ‘Sword God’ stage. Generally speaking, it would be extremely hard to see it with the naked eye. However, now that the entire region had been reduced to primordial chaos it was now much more noticeable.

The entire region of chaos energy swirled around the sword-seed. It was the center of the entire region.

“The sixth stage of swordforce – Sword World!” A voice echoed throughout this world of chaos.

Whoosh….

This seed surrounded by sword-ki began to expand and transform. It slowly began to split open, allowing a sapling to emerge from its shell. Soon, the sword-seed had completely transformed into a small tree that was growing at an incredible pace. Its many branches began to furiously extend outwards as Ning poured his insights regarding the Dao of the Sword into it, nourishing it and allowing this tree which represented his Dao of the Sword to grow nonstop.

Rumble…

The tree continued to grow at an incredible pace, becoming thirty meters tall. Three hundred. Nine hundred. Eighteen hundred. Three thousand…

Ning’s insights into the Dao of the Sword were simply astonishing. As a result, his Dao-tree was growing to a similarly astonishing size.

Ordinary trees allowed the ground they were rooted in to be stable, while a Dao-tree would allow a Chaos Immortal’s Jindan chaos region to be stable. The presence of the Dao-tree would allow the Jindan chaos region to continuously grow and expand.

This Dao-tree represented a cultivator’s insights into the Dao!

Ning’s path was the Dao of the Sword, and so this tree was a tree which represented the Dao of the Sword! Of course, in the future Ning’s Jindan chaos region could give birth to other Dao-trees as well, ones which embodied the Daos of Water or Lightning. However, at present Ning clearly was not sufficiently enlightened with regards to these Daos. His other Daos were not at the World level yet. He might be able to form Dao-seeds, but there was no way for them to bloom and grow into trees.

The height of a Dao-tree represented a cultivator’s level of insights into a Dao.

Normal cultivators who had just broken through to become World-level cultivators would generally just have Dao-trees that were around a thousand meters tall! Only after stabilizing their foundation would their Dao-tree grow to become three thousand meters tall.

A Dao-tree of three thousand meters meant that one had become a ‘normal’ World-level cultivator.

A Dao-tree of thirty thousand meters meant that one was comparable to elite World-level cultivators.

A Dao-tree of 108,000 meters meant that one had reached the level of full mastery as a World-level cultivator.

For World-level cultivators, Dao-trees growing to 108,000 meters was the maximum possible limit. No World-level cultivator’s Dao-tree could ever grow any higher. Only if one found one’s own Dao and underwent a fundamental transformation would this limit be breached, allowing the Dao-tree to grow even taller and thicker. This was the level of the Samsara Daolord.

Rumble…

This Dao-tree became an increasingly towering presence within this region of primordial chaos, sprouting more and more leaves and branches. Every single branch represented a different sword-art which Ning had mastered. Because Ning had created many sword-arts of his own and had mastered thousands of sword-arts in the Hall of Swords, his Dao-tree was filled with leafy foliage.

15,000 meters… 24,000 meters… 30,000 meters…

The Dao-tree continued to grow.

It contained all of Ning’s insights into the Dao of the Sword, and it clearly had an incredible foundation. When it reached 63,000 meters, it finally came to a halt and stopped growing taller, but its leaves and branches continued to stretch out in every direction.

It had three branches that were particularly thick. These three boughs represented the [Nameless] sword-art, the [Quintessence Sword-Intent], and the [Brightmoon] sword-art.

The bough that represented the [Nameless] sword-art emanated a boundless yet calm sword-intent.

The bough that represented the [Quintessence Sword-Intent] radiated an aura of savagery and violence.

As for the bough which represented the [Brightmoon] sword-art, it seemed to represent the vastness of the void itself, making it impossible for others to fully comprehend it.

“63,000 meters? It seems my insights into the Dao of the Sword are superior to that of most elite World-level cultivators, but is still quite a distance away from the level of full mastery.” Ning understood that in cultivation, the latter stages were always the hardest ones. Still, he wasn’t too far away from the level of full mastery.

“My insights into the Dao are somewhat inferior to the insights of master-class World Gods… but no matter how profound your insights are, what really matters is your ability to apply them.”

It was common for two master-class World Gods to execute sword-arts that were world’s apart in power.

Ning had mastered the fourth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Horizon’s Edge’, as well as the second stance of the [Quintessence Sword-Intent], the ‘Allgod’ stance. On a technical level, he was on par with the Starlord of Fogstone or God Emperor Blacklotus. Those two had been roughly on par with each other in terms of technique; Blacklotus’ advantage primarily came from the fact that he had an Eternal weapon.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The entire chaos region began to furiously expand, devouring more and more chaos energy from the outside world.

At a time like this, having a first tier, second tier, or third tier Jindan no longer made any difference. Upon becoming a Chaos Immortal, everything would return to the primordial chaos from whence all things arose.

Generally speaking, most Chaos Immortals would have a chaos region of a certain predetermined size. As their insights expanded and their Dao-tree grew, the chaos region would naturally grow as well. Because Ning had fused seventeen clones together, his heartforce and his Jindan regions were qualitatively superior to that of most cultivators, resulting in a larger chaos region. The Chaos Immortal energy he could draw upon would also be purer than that of most cultivators.

Training in a technique that allowed one to have many different clones then merging them together would indeed result in one becoming a significantly more powerful cultivator.

Ning had ‘merely’ merged seventeen clones, and so he hadn’t become too ridiculously powerful.

Techniques like the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] allowed for the creation of a thousand clones. Once all those clones were merged together, one would be enhanced to a ridiculous level. Those who had successfully trained in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] then broke through to become World Gods would have bodies that were comparable to the bodies of Samsara Daolords! This was proof of how truly incredible this technique was. Because Ning’s own body was merely formed from seventeen different clones, his body was merely strengthened by a single small level.

Whoosh.

Ning could sense that the entirety of his Jindan region had been converted into primordial chaos. His Dao-tree was more than sixty thousand meters tall, and it was able to stabilize the entire region. A large amount of Chaos Immortal energy had taken form as well.

“This feels wonderful.” Ning could sense his soul rapidly increasing in power thanks to it being nourished by his Chaos Immortal energy.

“Mmmm. I’ve already made my breakthrough as a Ki Refiner. Time to break through as a Fiendgod Body Refiner as well.”

Ning was now at such an incredibly high level of insight that he was able to easily sense that every single cell in his body was filled with an urgent desire to transform and become stronger.

Boom!

……

Things had just started to calm down in the outside world, and the flow of chaos energy had finally started to stabilize. All of a sudden, the chaos energy began to pulsate wildly once more as an enormous amount of it was drawn into the Allgod Estate.

“Eh?”

“Is that…”

The faces of Arroyo, Fukai, and Boneplate all tightened.

“It seems he simultaneously made his breakthrough as a Ki Refiner and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner,” Arroyo said coldly. Ki Refiners generally found it somewhat easier to make their breakthroughs, while Fiendgod Body Refiners found it a bit more difficult. Arroyo himself had first broken through to become a Chaos Immortal, then spent ten thousand more years in training before breaking through to become a World God as well. Ning simply had too high a level of insight into the Dao, which was why he was able to easily break through as both a Chaos Immortal and as a World God.

“So what if he did? He still has to die.” Fukai’s eyes were filled with a murderous look. Since Ji Ning had made his breakthrough, he was sure to come out soon.

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Chapter 7 – Leaving the Castrum Divinitus

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 7 – Leaving the Castrum Divinitus

With the Sword World serving as his core, Ji Ning began to remold his divine power.

His divine power began to undergo a fundamental change, transforming him into a higher level of existence.

Boom!

Ning’s entire body suddenly burst apart, then instantly solidified into a total of a hundred jewels. These were jewels formed from divine power – godgems! A flood of chaos energy surrounded these jewels, causing more and more godgems to rapidly form.

The Dao-tree was the core of a Chaos Immortal.

The godgems formed the core of a World God.

But of course, if one was a dual refiner one would have both types of cores.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! One godgem after another continued to coalesce. Every single godgem had to be infused with sufficient insights regarding the Dao of the Sword, but the insights within each jewel had to be different. Thus, the more insights into the Dao of the Sword you had, the more godgems you would create.

Newly ascended cultivators who broke through would be able to generate a few hundred godgems.

Cultivators who had stabilized their foundations would generally have a thousand godgems and be ‘standard’ World Gods.

Upon gaining a total of ten thousand godgems, one would be at the level of an elite World God.

At thirty-six thousand gems, one would have reached full mastery as a World God.

In the end, Ning formed a total of exactly 21,192 godgems. This was quite comparable to the height of his Dao-tree, and was what Ning had expected. Thanks to the fact that he had fused seventeen clones together, the divine power contained within his godgems was slightly purer than the divine power ‘ordinary’ World Gods had.

“Condense!”

The twenty-one thousand godgems that were scattered throughout the area instantly began to surge to a central location, joining together into a human figure that had the form of a white-robed youth.

“While I’m making my breakthrough, I have an unlimited amount of chaos energy at my disposal. I need to hurry up and use it to fill up my azureflower region.” The azureflower seal appeared on Ning’s forehead as he sent his senses into the azureflower region within his sea of consciousness.

A single azure flower was fluttering within his sea of consciousness. It now looked even more dazzlingly beautiful than it had before.

Within this azure flower was the vast azureflower region. As Ning poured his divine power and his Immortal energy into it, both were absorbed and converted into that misty energy. The power of the mist took Ning’s breath away; it was now unfathomably more powerful than it had been when he had been an Elder God.

A short while later, the mist condensed to form a single liquid drop. Ning could now sense a slight pressure weighing down upon his azureflower region.

When he had been an Elder God, he had only been able to manifest a maximum of thirty-six drops of this azureflower liquid.

“I wonder how many I’ll be able to manifest now.” Ning continued to condense more and more drops of azureflower liquid, pouring all of his divine power and Immortal energy into the azureflower region as he furiously drew upon the chaos energy of the outside world.

When one was making a breakthrough, one would have the ability to directly draw upon virtually limitless amounts of chaos energy! The cultivator making the breakthrough would be able to swallow as much of it as he could handle. When he could no longer absorb any more, everything would naturally come to an end.

“What is taking so long?”

“How can Ji Ning be absorbing so much chaos energy?”

Su Youji, Dragonbinder, the formation-spirits of the Allgod Estate, Arroyo, Fukai… all of them were uniformly stunned at the amount of time Ji Ning was spending in absorbing chaos energy.

However, what they didn’t realize was that the chaos energy was entering Ning’s body at an unprecedented rate. He had actually absorbed far more of it than they had imagined.

108 drops!

This was the new limit, the maximum number of azureflower drops which the azureflower region could hold. Every single drop of ‘water’ contained an utterly overwhelming amount of energy; Ning had to use up nearly his entire reserve of divine power and Immortal energy in order to create a single drop. In other words, the amount of energy the azureflower region had just absorbed was a hundred times as much energy Ning would’ve ‘normally’ absorbed after breaking through to become a World-level cultivator!

But of course, there were some cultivators who deliberately slowed down the energy absorption process when they made their breakthroughs, so as to get a better feeling for the overall process. Thus, while Ji Ning was furiously absorbing as much chaos energy as he could, Su Youji and the others all merely thought that he was just taking a long time. They didn’t truly understand how much chaos energy he had sucked in.

“This feeling…”

Ning stood there within the Hall of Swords, a stunned look on his face. He lightly balled his fist together. BOOM! He could sense that he had enough power in his fingers to effortlessly crush a chaos star to pieces.

“This is ridiculous. How can this azureflower mist energy be so powerful?”

Ning had merged seventeen of the clones created by the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. Now that he had broken through become a World God, he had the power of a half-step Daolord. And yet, when Ning activated the power of the azureflower mist energy his body underwent an utterly earthshaking transformation.

When the power of the azureflower mist energy filled his body, his body greedily drank it all in like a parched land drinking in the rain after a long drought. The azureflower mist energy filled him with vitality and life energy, giving his entire body such a terrifying amount of strength that Ning himself was frightened by it.

“With the azureflower mist energy reinforcing my body, I should be as fast as a Samsara Daolord,” Ning mused. “Where did these Nine Chaos Seals come from? They are ridiculously powerful!”

This technique was not only of great benefit to Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, it was of just as much benefit to World-level cultivators. This technique was simply unearthly. Someone who had mastered the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] would have a body comparable to a newly ascended Samsara Daolord… and Ning’s azureflower seal was just as marvelously effective as that sutra!

“Daoist Three Purities said that he found it within the primordial chaos. It seems that I should send my Primaltwin to wander through the primordial chaos surrounding the Three Realms. I wonder if I can find the original Nine Chaos Seal.” Ning had a feeling that these nine ridiculously powerful chaos seals had to have extraordinary backgrounds. His Primaltwin was already located in the primordial chaos outside the Three Realms and had nothing to do. He might as well send it out exploring.

In the instant that he made his breakthrough, his Primaltwin had also made its breakthrough. It now was also supported and reinforced by azureflower mist energy, giving it a level of power that was extremely close to that of Ning’s true body. Its only weakness lay in the fact that it didn’t have an Eternal weapon.

“I can’t get too cocky though. The endless primordial chaos is filled with many mysteries. The [Thousand Bodies Sutra], the Nine Chaos Seals… although such incredibly powerful techniques are very rare, they still exist. I was lucky enough to acquire one but I can’t let myself become too arrogant. As the saying goes, there’s always a taller mountain somewhere. Daolord Allgod was someone who was capable of slaying Eternal Emperors!” Ning quickly calmed down and quelled his excited emotions.

There were too many freakishly powerful figures in the endless primordial chaos. Hell, the entire race of Aeonians actually devoured Samsara Daolords for sustenance! As for Daolord Badlands, he was the number three Numerancy expert of the entire Endless Territories.

There were many might figures of simply incredible power. Ning might have a bit of power now, but compared to them he still wasn’t qualified to behave in a prideful, arrogant manner.

Hiss. Pop. A pool of lava bubbled and boiled, and next to it sat Su Youji. The Flamefairy was still waiting.

“That should’ve been Master making his breakthrough. He should be coming out soon, right?” Su Youji was waiting eagerly.

“Su Youji.” A figure suddenly appeared, materializing directly above the lava. It was the nearly-nude, barefoot maiden. “Come, it is time to leave.”

“Was it Master who made the breakthrough?” Su Youji asked.

“Yes.” The maiden nodded.

Space twisted and distorted around her as she was forcibly teleported away once more.

“Eh?” Everything around her became blurred and distorted. By the time it all came back into focus, Su Youji realized that she had returned to the great plaza in front of the Castrum Divinitus, the one which had held the trial of the Samsara Grinders.

“Master.” Su Youji immediately saw the white-robed youth who stood nearby.

Ning was just standing there, a sword on his back and an mighty aura of tremendous power radiating from his body. This was the aura of a World God.

“Congratulations, Master!” Su Youji said delightedly, “The Allgod Estate truly was a blessed place for the two of us. We both broke through to the World level here.”

“Yes, it truly was a blessed place.” Ning couldn’t help but think back to the Hall of Swords and its thousands of sword-arts. That place truly had been of tremendous assistance to him.

“Senior.” Ning looked at the nearby formation-spirit maiden. Although the formation-spirit didn’t have a cultivation base, it had lived for far longer than even many Samsara Daolords had. Here within the Allgod Estate, it could probably wipe out most Samsara Daolords with ease. For him to respectfully address the spirit as ‘senior’ was just proper.

“Please send me and Su Youji to the Grove of Monoliths within the Fog Sea,” Ning said.

“You are going to go to the Fog Sea first?” The maiden was puzzled.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Mm. You might as well go solidify your foundation in the Fog Sea, I suppose.” The maiden nodded. “Go ahead.” After speaking, she waved a finger and caused space to twist and distort around Ji Ning and Su Youji. It was like a whirlpool had formed around them, swallowing them up and causing them to disappear.

……

Mist billowed everywhere. This was the Fog Sea region of the Allgod Estate.

A series of spatial waves suddenly rippled out from a desolate patch of land, followed by Ji Ning and Su Youji appearing out of nowhere.

“Mm.” Ning could clearly sense the ripples generated by the nearby Mirrorsnow Painting. He couldn’t help but laugh. “That bugbeast is still hiding within the Grove of Monoliths. It has been several thousand years, but he remains hidden there.”

The Grove of Monoliths was a dangerous place, but Ning no longer feared it. The main reason he had come to the Allgod Estate was to acquire the Mirrorsnow Painting, after all!

“You scared that bugbeast witless, Master. If it hadn’t been for World God Foxblaze and his friend accosting us, the bugbeast probably would’ve died long ago. It knows we have a method to track it, so of course it is unwilling to leave the Grove,” Su Youji said.

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Chapter 8 – The Battle in the Grove of Monoliths

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 8 – The Battle in the Grove of Monoliths

“Come, let’s go to the Grove of Monoliths.” Ji Ning laughed as he began to walk towards the Grove.

“Are we really going there, Master?” Su Youji was rather worried. She had started to grow a bit nervous as soon as she had heard Ning ask the formation-spirit girl to teleport them straight to the Fog Sea. The Grove was one of the truly dangerous parts of the Fog Sea, and even supreme World Gods would only have a decent chance at best to escape from that place alive. It truly was a deadly place to venture into.

“Yes.” Ning glanced at Su Youji, then smiled. “But you won’t be needed for this battle. Just go into the estate-world when the battle begins. If you stay by my side, I’ll be distracted because I would need to protect you.”

Ning’s words were quite simply and ordinary, but Su Youji could sense the absolute self-confidence and the absolute dominance inherent in those words.

Her master had just broken through to become a World God, yet already possessed such incredible faith in himself?

Su Youji nodded slowly. “Alright. I’ll listen to you, Master. I still hope that you’ll be careful in your journey through the Grove.” She stared very carefully at Ning as she spoke, trying to find some clues from his aura regarding his current level of strength. Ning’s aura was that of a World God’s, but it didn’t seem as though there had been any other major changes.

Oh. One change was that Ning seemed calmer than before. Even though he was in a dangerous place, he seemed completely calm and unflappable.

“Master, why are you carrying that sword on your back?” Su Youji suddenly noticed the biggest difference. In the past, Ning would instantly materialize his sword when entering combat. He never kept it on his back before.

“I’m training,” Ning said.

“Training?” Su Youji was puzzled. How could carrying a sword on your back be considered training? Still, she didn’t ask any more questions.

Ning was carrying the Eternal weapon ‘Violetjewel’ on his back. By staying in contact with it at all times, he was able to better familiarize himself and attune himself to the quintessence sword-intent hidden within the sword’s core at all times. He was attuned to it every day and every night

It must be understood that if a mortal carried a blade with him at all times to the point of holding it when sleeping, that mortal would also be able to develop an extremely terrifying saber-art.

Habits such as this were quite important. Ning wanted to be attuned to the quintessence sword-intent at all times, as this would allow him to comprehend it more quickly.

Right now, Violetjewel was the strongest weapon which Ning had!

The fourth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, ‘Horizon’s Edge’, was on the same level as the second stance of the [Quintessence Sword-Intent], the ‘Allgod’ stance. If Ning used a different sword to execute these two stances, they would be on par with each other in power. However, because the Allgod stance was developed based on the quintessence sword-intent within Violetjewel, it would be much stronger when Ning actually used Violetjewel and its quintessence core. When Ning used Violetjewel to execute the two stances the difference was actually quite great, with the Allgod stance capable of unleashing several times as much power.

“You have to be able to protect yourself on your path of cultivation. Otherwise, you’ll die an early death. I’ve now gained insight into both the [Nameless] sword-art and the [Quintessence Sword-Intent]. For now, I should favor the [Quintessence Sword-Intent]. It will let me unleash greater power in battle for now.” Although Ning was able to estimate how strong he had become, he didn’t know exactly how strong that was.

Only through battle would he be able to truly ascertain how strong he had grown.

“The Grove of Monoliths…” Ning stared towards a distant, fog-shrouded monolith that had been planted into the ground.

“Stay prepared. Have Blacksun and Wilddog do the same. All three of you should be ready to be summoned by me at a moment’s notice,” Ning said.

“Yes, Master. Be careful, Master.” Su Youji had a worried look on her face.

Ning chuckled, then waved his hand and collected her into his estate-world. He then turned and headed off by himself towards the Grove of Monoliths, a small smile playing on his lips.

Enormous monoliths were planted throughout the Grove of Monoliths, with tens thousand of them having been planted in total. Quite a few of them had powerful bugbeasts coiling atop them.

As for Ning, he strolled into the Grove as though he was entering his own private garden.

An avian beast with bright red claws was currently coiled around the top of a giant monolith that was a few hundred kilometers away from Ning. The creature’s eyes were shut in slumber, and every so often a few streams of fire would flick out from its nostrils as it exhaled, with the streams of fire swirling around an area of a hundred meters. As Ning moved towards the creature, he could sense it open its eyes. Its two eyes were filled with a cold, murderous look in them as it stared at the human cultivator who had trespassed on its territory.

“An Outsider…” The flying beast let out a low growl. “Die.”

Its black wings suddenly spread out as it shot forth like a dazzling streak of electric light, moving far faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. This avian creature was actually quite formidable, far more so than the crocodilian creature Ning had fought and pursued for the sword-ki painting. This creature had the power of an elite World God, giving it tremendous confidence in its abilities to deal with most Outsiders.

Even if it encountered someone stronger than it, it felt that it would at most be slightly suppressed. Once the battle went on for an extended period of time, other bugbeasts would soon begin to arrive. By then, the Outsider cultivator would have to choose between fleeing or dying.

“KREE.” An ugly screeching sound rang out from the winged creature’s mouth as its enormous bright red claws ripped towards Ning. As for its black wings, it swept them towards Ning’s head.

Ning continued to walk forward in a very calm manner. Why wouldn’t he be calm? Even when he was an Elder God, he wouldn’t have feared a bugbeast like this, much less now.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Spatial ripples spread out from those giant claws as they tore through the air and struck with power comparable to that of Rocky’s.

Finally, Ning moved.

Slash!

Ning’s arms suddenly stretched out to become many dozens of meters long, and his fingers chopped out like the edges of a sharp blade. He used his hand to stab directly into the avian creature’s brain, then pulled his hand back. A huge hole had appeared in the avian beast’s head, with the insides of its skull completely destroyed. Life fled from its eyes and it died on the spot.

Although bugbeasts were born and bred for combat and possessed incredibly powerful bodies, they had their own weak spots as well.

A dull look of amazement could still be seen in the creature’s now-lifeless eyes as its corpse fell from the skies, kicking up a storm of dust as it slammed into the ground.

Ning gave it a glance.

“Horizon’s Edge. This truly is a formidable technique created by an ancient power. It really is formidable!” Ning couldn’t help but mentally praise the technique. Just now, he had used his fingers to simulate the strikes of a sword. Because of his Seventh Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand], his two hands were now comparable to Dao weapons. Bugbeasts like these weren’t worthy of him drawing his true weapons.

The Horizon’s Edge technique could be summarized in one word – fast!

As soon as the sword struck, it would instantly be able to reach the very edges of the horizon! This is what was meant by the name, ‘Horizon’s Edge’. Ji Ning had simply struck out with his right hand, but the avian beast was given no chance to dodge or block whatsoever. The azureflower mist energy had given Ning incredible speed and power to begin with, and when he matched it with the Horizon’s Edge technique, he was able to strike even faster. Even bugbeasts with incredibly powerful bodies such as the avian creature would be unable to dodge it in time.

“AROOOO!”

“GWRAAAAR!”

“KILL THE INVADER!”

“KILL THE OUTSIDER!”

The ripples generated by this sudden battle quickly spread out to cover the entire ten thousand kilometers of the Grove of Monoliths, causing the bugbeasts all began to furiously converge upon this location. This was the most terrifying aspect of the Grove! Formidable World-level cultivators could deal with these bugbeasts one or two at a time, but when they surrounded you and converged upon you in such a manner, you would have no choice but to flee even if you had the power of a supreme World God.

“Interesting. I’ll use you all to test myself out and see how powerful I have become.” Ning continued to stroll forwards, moving towards the direction of the crocodilian beast.

More and more bugbeasts began to appear within his field of vision. Some had enormous scaled wings, some crawled through the ground like centipedes, some were plant-type creatures with green leaves, while some looked almost humanoid and jogged across the land. All of them had auras of incredible power, but none of them were in a rush to immediately charge towards Ning. Instead, they continued to gather in number in the area around him. Ten of them. Twenty of them. Thirty of them…

They circled around Ning but didn’t attack.

“How crafty. Even though bugbeasts are stupid creatures, the ones who can survive to reach the World level are all quite crafty.” Ning chuckled as he glanced at the thirty-plus bugbeasts who had already arrived. All of these powerful creatures were staring intently at Ning, who remained as placid as a calm pool of water.

“Kill.”

“Kill him!”

Finally, they moved. A total of thirty-nine bugbeasts had arrived by now, and one of them was a towering humanoid bugbeast whose entire body was covered with sharp spikes. As it let out a furious howl, the other thirty-eight bugbeasts instantly began to charge straight for Ning.

Ning just stood there without moving, allowing these thirty-nine bugbeasts to attack him en masse.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, Ning stretched his hand out. His palms transformed in size, looking almost like utterly enormous palm-leaf fans that were filled with enough power to easily crush any chaosworld to bits. When he struck out with these titanic palms, the very skies themselves seemed to grow dim. At Ning’s current level of mastery, every single strike was filled with inconceivably profound mysteries and insights. He sent a palm smashing towards the head of the first creature to arrive, a fast-moving four-legged unicorn-like beast. BOOM! The four-legged unicorn’s head caved in so deep that it was pressed down through the neck into its chest. It died on the spot.

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Chapter 9 – We Meet Again

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 9 – We Meet Again

The many bugbeasts began to swarm around Ji Ning. Some blasted streaks of energy from their mouths, while the bugbeast that was covered with green leaves suddenly sprouted many branches as it charged into close combat range.

It must be understood that during the trial of the Samsara Grinders, only master-class World Gods were capable of successfully fighting those many weak (but berserk) World-level golden warriors to a standstill. These bugbeasts, however, were far stronger than those golden warriors had been, with a small number actually being comparable to master-class World Gods themselves. One bad strike could knock you to the ground, and you would instantly be entangled by vines, branches, tails, and other flexible weapons. After that happened, you would be dead.

Swish.

A cruel shadow suddenly streaked out. Ning’s fingers had pierced straight through the skull of a centipede-like bugbeast! The strike was simply too fast. As soon as Ning’s fingers had moved, they had gone straight through the enemy’s defenses.

Boom!

Ning’s palms suddenly expanded to become enormous in size, and he furiously chopped down with the edge of his palm like a hatchet! The power of his blow smashed an airborne winged bugbeast directly into the ground, its body shattering apart into countless pieces.

Swish!

Ning’s hands looked almost crystalline as they transformed into streaks of blade-light that lashed out, chopping straight through the head of the savage, humanoid-shaped creature that was completely covered with spikes.

It was a massacre. Ning’s two hands were weapons of mass destruction, and the more he killed the more excited he became. He suddenly manifested the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique and began to slaughter any bugbeasts who dared to move close to him.

“I’ve been having a wonderful nap for the past chaos cycle. Why has it taken all of you so long to deal with this invader? Why is he still not dead?” A turtle-shaped bugbeast slowly flew towards Ning from afar, but moments later it came to a sudden halt as its beady little eyes widened. It could see that there were now more than eighty bugbeasts gathered in the area.

The area was littered with shattered corpses. Normally, bugbeasts loved to devour the corpses of other bugbeasts, but right now no one was even thinking of doing such a thing.

All of them had been terrified by the slaughter.

More than fifty bugbeasts had been slain, and that white-robed sword-bearing youth continued to hold the complete upper hand in the battle as he continued to slay even more.

“Run away!”

Finally, the first bugbeast broke ranks and began to flee. Instantly, the teetering morale of the remaining bugbeasts shattered. They had only dared to continue the fight because of so many others being present, but they now lost all their courage and began to flee in every which way.

“He’s freaking terrifying. He killed more than half of them!” The turtle was so frightened that he immediately turned tail and fled.

“Ahahaha…” Ning suddenly transformed into a shadowy blur, his speed reaching incredible heights as his six arms savagely struck out in every direction. In the blink of an eye, more than ten more bugbeasts fell to the ground, dead. In the end, only eight of the bugbeasts that had surrounded Ning were lucky enough to escape with their lives.

Ning let out a laugh.

That had felt good.

He had utterly dominated them and massacred them, in the process getting a better understanding of his current level of power. During the trial of the Samsara Grinders, he had been able to easily defeat those golden-armored warriors, and he was now able to slaughter these bugbeasts with a similar degree of ease, including those master-class ones. They were like infants before him, easily slain by a casual blow.

This level of power completely and vastly surpassed that of a ‘supreme’ World God’s. Even if God Emperor Blacklotus came back to life, Ning would be able to easily defeat and slay him without even using Violetjewel.

“Everyone kept on talking about how strong those bugbeasts are, but I’m much stronger than them. Even if I completely rely on raw brute force alone, I’ve reached the Samsara Daolord threshold of power. My sword-arts, however, can allow me to better unleash my true power.” The reason why Ning was able to butcher these bugbeasts so easily was because he had the azureflower mist energy strengthening him as well as a terrifyingly strong divine body.

“Arroyo made certain breakthroughs on the Samsara Grinder and is now a transcendent World God. He probably has just barely reached the Samsara Daolord threshold of power as well. However, he can only reach that level when he unleashes his complete, full power in his strikes. Any random blow I unleash when using [Three Heads, Six Arms] is probably somewhat stronger than his full-force blows. If I was to use my Eternal weapon, Violetjewel… I think the power of my strikes would be enough to threaten even actual Samsara Daolords,” Ning mused.

However, he would only be able to threaten a Samsara Daolord who had just recently made his breakthrough. True Samsara Daolords who had been Fiendgod Body Refiners would have divine bodies that were just as strong as Ning’s, and they would generally have both Eternal weapons and more profound insights into the Dao! Given that they had other secret arts and divine abilities of their own… Ning was still some distance away from being able to battle them.

However, it was an indisputable fact that if Ning struck out with his sword, even Samsara Daolords would have to take his strike seriously.

“Flee.”

“Flee!”

The remaining bugbeasts in the Grove began to disperse and flee.

As for Ning, he could sense where the crocodilian creature was and the direction it was fleeing towards. Ning quickly advanced towards its direction, and on the way he was able to see quite a few magic treasures and weapons scattered throughout the grove. These were the spoils of war which the bugbeasts had taken from cultivators they had slain! Ning went ahead and collected them as he advanced through the Grove.

“That crocodile is still fleeing?” Ning’s speed suddenly skyrocketed.

Boom!

His speed instantly reached a terrifying new level as he blasted through the skies above the Grove. He almost instantly caught up with the blindly fleeing crocodilian bugbeast, which had been fleeing at its own top speed. “Who the hell was that invader, and why is he so strong? Everyone else is fleeing, so I guess I should flee as well. Right, right.” The crocodilian bugbeast hadn’t taken part in the fight, but it had began to flee when the other creatures had fled.

Swoosh! Ning suddenly appeared directly in front of the crocodile.

The crocodile came to a halt, shocked. It stared in utter terror at the white-robed youth who had just appeared in front of him. It recognized this youth! Years ago, this youth had pursued him so tightly that he had nowhere else to flee but the Grove. However, back then the youth’s aura had been fairly weak; he had merely been an Elder God at that time. His aura was now much more powerful.

“He chased me through the Grove. Is he the one who wrecked it?” The crocodilian bugbeast was utterly terrified. Bugbeasts were sentient creatures and thus were capable of fear. Even in the Grove, it had merely been one of the weaker creatures present. How could it dare to battle against Ning now?

“Spare me, spare me!” As soon as Ning appeared before the creature, it hurriedly called out for mercy.

Ning blinked. He wasn’t in a hurry to attack. “It knows to ask for mercy at a time like this? Interesting.”

This was the first time that Ning had encountered a bugbeast which begged for mercy.

“Hand over your treasures,” Ning instructed. “If you hold back so much as a single item… don’t blame me for not having given you a chance.”

“Y-y-yes!” The crocodile’s entire body transformed into a stream of gray mist, and one treasure after another began to fly out of that misty region. Dao weapons, strange claws, scales, a scroll, Chaos treasures… a small pile of treasures appeared next to it.

“Everything I have is right here. I didn’t hold anything back.” The crocodile reformed and hurriedly spoke to Ning in an ingratiating manner.

Ning’s eyes lit up. The claws and those scales were the spoils of war the crocodilian creature had acquired from defeating other bugbeasts. Ning didn’t really care about them. However, that scroll emanated an aura of sword-ki that was particularly striking, and the fact that it was resonating with his own Mirrorsnow Painting told Ning that it had to be the item he was looking for.

Ning waved his hand, pulling the scroll over towards himself. He opened up the scroll to take a look. It was the painting of a palace.

“Man, these paintings really are ugly,” Ning muttered to himself, but he had a smile on his face. He put the painting away.

“Four paintings in each set. I now have the first and the third paintings in this set.” Ning turned away and flew back towards the Grove of Monoliths. The crocodilian creature nervously watched as Ning left before it frantically turned to flee once more, its four stubby legs moving furiously as it once more transformed into a streak of mist.

Ning had slain most of the bugbeasts in the Grove of Monoliths, and quite a few of them were in possession of valuable treasures they had acquired as spoils of war. Ning naturally was planning to collect it all.

Six days later, Ning emerged from the Fog Sea and returned to the Ten Thousand Mountains.

“It is time to leave.” Ning turned back to glance at the fog, sighing mentally.

He still remembered quite clearly the scene of him entering Undermoon Lake for the first time. Back then, Ning had merely been an Empyrean God and had viewed World God Northrest as a figure of utterly overwhelming power. Now, Ning was at an even higher level of power than World God Northrest had ever reached. There were very, very few individuals below the Samsara Daolord level of power who were a match for Ning.

“But I’m still far from being strong enough to reverse the flow of spacetime and bring her back to life.” Ning shook his head, then walked out of the mountains.

……

The outside world.

Clouds were drifting high up in the skies. The blood-robed Arroyo, the gold-robed Fukai, and World God Boneplate were silently seated atop the clouds, continuously scanning this entire chaosworld with their godsense. They had completely suppressed their auras, and they looked like three hungry wolves who were preparing to pounce upon their prey. For now, their claws and their fangs remained hidden as they continued to quietly wait.

They were waiting for Ji Ning to emerge!

Rumble…

Suddenly, there was a spatial ripple.

Arroyo, Fukai, and Boneplate simultaneously turned to look towards a direction off in the distance. Even though they were millions of kilometers away, they were capable of seeing with great clarity a white-robed youth who had a sword on his back materialize in the air above the Allgod Estate. It was that freak of an Elder God whom they had been awaiting for so long.

“Eh?” Ning could sense their godsense and so he spread his own godsense out as well. As he did so, he also turned to look in their direction, and he immediately saw those three distant figures seated in the lotus position above the clouds.

In that moment, their gazes intersected in midair!

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Chapter 10 – Hellwind Golems

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 10 – Hellwind Golems

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The three mighty World Gods flew through the air like three meteors, moving straight for Ji Ning at high speed. Although they were millions of kilometers away, they were able to arrive right next to Ning in a single breath’s worth of time.

“Bold.” Arroyo looked at Ning.

“You seem quite confident.” Fukai’s eyes were narrowed as he stared in a cold, weighing manner at Ning.

As for World God Boneplate, he quietly stood next to Arroyo.

Ning himself had reached the speed of a Samsara Daolord. Ning could tell at a glance that although these three were quite fast, he would be able to easily shake off any pursuit by them without even needing to use his Thunderlight Wings. Although the surrounding space had been locked down, preventing any teleportation, Ning’s speed alone ensured that he could attack whenever he wished and leave whenever he wished. The initiative was with him.

Arroyo and Fukai never would’ve imagined that Ji Ning would vastly surpass them in speed as soon as he became a World God. For now, they were both filled with tremendous confidence.

“Hand over the Eternal blood,” Arroyo said. “We’re willing to trade treasures for it.”

Fukai stared intently at Ning as well.

This was part of their agreed-upon plan. They wanted to first try and get Ji Ning to voluntarily hand over the Eternal blood. If they were able to acquire it by simply buying it from him instead of fighting for it, that would be ideal. They had many treasures and they didn’t fear anyone below the Samsara Daolord level, but they weren’t completely confident that they would be able to slay Ji Ning!

If Ji Ning completely focused on escaping… Arroyo and Fukai weren’t certain if they would be able to catch him and bar his path.

But of course… if Ji Ning was unwilling to hand the blood over, the only option would be to kill him!

“You are willing to use treasures to trade for the Eternal blood?” Ning swept them with his gaze. “And what do you have to offer?” Ning couldn’t even be bothered to deny he had the blood. No one here was an idiot, after all. They all knew the truth.

“We have treasures that are worth tens of thousands of cubes of chaos nectar. We’re willing to use it to trade for your Eternal blood. You should be satisfied by this price.” Fukai frowned.

“Ahahah… how generous!” Ning laughed.

“You are forcing us to fight.” The killing intent within Arroyo’s eyes began to strengthen. In the end, they were still just World-level cultivators. Although they had many treasures, for them to be able to produce tens of thousands of cubes worth was already quite impressive. What, were they supposed to hand over their Eternal weapons as well? Only a fool would be willing to hand over his trump card treasures.

“Cut the crap, you running dogs of the Aeonians.” Ning’s face turned cold as he snapped at them.

The faces of both Fukai and Arroyo tightened.

“You are the running dog of the Aeonians!” Arroyo immediately snapped back.

“What, we’re members of the Aeonians just because we want the Eternal blood?” Fukai laughed coldly. “Not even the formation-spirit of the Allgod Estate would dare to claim that we are Aeonians. You, however, are quite audacious. How dare you sully us with such wild rumors!”

Neither of them would admit it, not even if it cost them their lives.

True Aeonians were all at least at the Samsara Daolord level of power, and they had auras that were completely different from the auras of normal Samsara Daolords. They could be recognized at a glance. However, the descendants and progeny of true Aeonians looked just like ordinary cultivators did. So long as they were not Awakened, there was no way to recognize them and there was nothing special about them.

Aeonians were mortal enemies of the Dao Alliance! Thus, any Aeonian slave who dared enter the territory of the Dao alliance would immediately be surrounded and attacked by all parties, once it was verified that they were indeed servants of the Aeonians. They were the common enemies of all cultivators!

As for Daolord Allgod, he absolutely detested the Aeonians. If the members of the Allgod Estate felt certain that Arroyo and Fukai were Aeonians, the Goldeye Golem and the other formation-spirits would’ve immediately attacked them and killed them. However, because there was no way to prove it, they had to follow the instructions left behind by Daolord Allgod prior to his death.

“The two of us were simply coerced by others to acquire this Eternal blood, that’s all.” Arroyo said coldly, “Hurry up and hand the Eternal blood over. Otherwise, today will be the day you die.”

“Oh? Will it?” Light suddenly flashed from Ning’s hands as sharp, icy sword swords suddenly appeared within them. This was a set of Dao weapons which Ning had acquired from the Grove of Monoliths, and it was one of the many Dao weapons he had plundered from that place.

This set of Dao weapons included six swords in total, each of which was a top-grade Dao weapon. They were incredibly sharp and perfectly suited for cultivators of the Dao of Water. These swords all seemed to be created from freezing cold ice, and thus Ning had decided to simply name them the ‘Frostice Swords’.

Ning believed that the six Frostice Swords were most likely weapons that had belonged to World-level cultivators. Of the Dao weapons Ning had found within the Grove, these six swords were the treasures which Ning liked the most. Not just anyone would be worthy of forcing Ning to use his Eternal weapon, after all. On the other hand, Ning wasn’t arrogant enough to try to fight Arroyo and Fukai barehanded either.

The faces of Arroyo and Fukai instantly turned cold and forbidding as well.

“Kill!” A fierce light flashed through Arroyo’s eyes as a total of eighteen golden golems appeared around him, each of which emanated with an aura of incredible power.

“Kill him!” Arroyo roared.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

The eighteen golden golems suddenly transformed into a giant black-and-white tornado that moved incredibly fast as it charged towards Ning. The gigantic black-and-white tornado began to cause all sorts of strange phenomena in the surrounding area.

“There were actually eighteen of them?” Ning was rather startled, as Arroyo had merely used nine of the golems when he was fighting in the Samsara Grinders. Now, it appeared obvious that Arroyo had been limited by the rules of the trials back then. There were actually eighteen golems in total, nine of them Yang-aligned and nine of them Yin-aligned. When they joined together, they were able to cause tremendous disruptions to the surrounding fabric of space. In addition, each golem had the power of a master-class World God. Upon joining together into a formation, they were strengthened and would each have close to the power of a supreme World God.

When all eighteen of them fought together, they would be able to easily kill most supreme World Gods!

“Father bestowed this set of Hellwind Golems upon me. They are invincible against anyone below the Samsara Daolord level of power. Even though I’ve broken through to transcend past the supreme World God level of power, I’d still find it quite hard to battle these Hellwind Golems.” Arroyo was extremely confident in his golems.

“Careful!” Fukai suddenly shouted loudly.

“What?!” Arroyo turned pale.

Ning had manifested six arms and was wielding six of those Frostice Swords. He transformed into a white blur and was able to easily charge out of the encirclement of those eighteen golden golems, then charged straight towards Arroyo who was located the closest to him. In doing so, he clashed with two of the golems and actually knocked both of them flying backwards!

Ning’s eyes were filled with an utterly terrifying sword-intent and killing intent.

Arroyo held those two enormous scimitars in his hands, a dark look on his face. “What marvelous sword-arts.” He had to admit that in terms of intricacy, his saber-arts were inferior to Ji Ning’s sword-arts. Still, it made sense. Swords were more nimble and agile weapons than sabers to begin with. Sabers were weapons that focused on dominance and raw power. They were two completely different weapons.

Arroyo was still completely confident in his saber-arts. Those saber-arts had allowed him to transcend past the supreme World God level of power, after all!

“Die.” As Ning charged towards him, Arroyo suddenly chopped out with both of his enormous scimitars, unleashing two streaks of blade-light.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two criss-crossing streaks of blood-red light appeared in the air, filled with auras of absolute dominance. They hacked straight towards Ning with an aura of simply terrifying power.

“Soleheart stance.” A black hole suddenly appeared in the skies, and both of those two terrifying streaks of saber-light were drawn into the black hole, the power of the black hole completely dispersing the two attacks.

Ning was simply too strong now. His sword-arts were clearly inferior to his foe’s saber-arts, and Ning was clearly using just Dao weapons while his foe was wielding a pair of Eternal weapons, but Ning had the benefit of possessing as much physical strength as ordinary Samsara Daolords did. This was what allowed Ning’s Soleheart stance to take these two streaks of saber-light head-on.

Whoosh! Ning borrowed momentum from the shockwave of the clashing attacks, shooting straight towards World God Boneplate who was standing quite close to Arroyo.

“Careful!” Arroyo’s face tightened.

Although Ji Ning was already quite freakishly strong as an Elder God, Arroyo truly had not imagined that Ning would become THIS powerful as soon as he became a World God. Just like that, the freak of an Elder God had become a transcendent World God as well? Alas, it seemed as though this newly ascended World God was indeed just as powerful as Arroyo himself.

In their original plans, World God Boneplate actually served a special purpose. However, given how powerful Ji Ning actually was, World God Boneplate was now of limited use in this battle. The problem was that everything had simply happened far too quickly. World God Boneplate simply didn’t have a chance to hide, and Ning’s own speed was far faster than Boneplate’s.

“No!” World God Boneplate was badly shocked as well.

Slash! Sword-light flashed as it pierced through the skies and pierced through Boneplate’s forehead. Ning yanked his sword downwards, causing World God Boneplate’s body to bisected into two halves. Despite that, Boneplate hadn’t died yet.

“Get over here.” A rope suddenly appeared out of nowhere and twisted itself around Boneplate.

Ning was actually quite surprised by what had just happened. He mused silently to himself, “He didn’t even have a suit of Dao armor? His protective divine ability was quite weak as well.” Ning actually hadn’t expect his strike to go straight through the man’s body. If the man had been wearing a suit of Dao armor or had learned a half-decent protective divine ability, not even someone as strong as Ning wouldn’t been able to slice through his body with such ease.

Alas, Arroyo had quite a few servant and Boneplate was one of the weaker ones. Thus, he wasn’t given access to many decent treasures.

“Shit.” A look of fury could be seen on Arroyo’s face. Although Boneplate was originally one of his weaker slaves, right now he was his only remaining slave.

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Chapter 11 – When He’s Ill, Go For the Kill!

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 11 – When He’s Ill, Go For the Kill!

Arroyo was enraged, but Fukai was shocked.

Arroyo was quite powerful. When he exchanged blows against Ji Ning, the difference in power between the two wasn’t that great. However, Fukai was merely a supreme World God and was much weaker by comparison. A shocked, angry look was now on Fukai’s face. “How could this be happening? How could this freak of an Elder God be so powerful after breaking through to the World level? It appears as though even Arroyo is slightly inferior to him! Those eighteen Hellwind Golems aren’t able to stop him at all.”

“Come out.” Fukai immediately produced his jade green globe.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh…

One tiny jade green globe after another began to fly out of the first one. As they flew out, they quickly increased in size and began to release enormous, powerful bugbeasts. These bugbeasts all had auras of tremendous might and had the power of master-class World Gods. More than fifty of the bugbeasts appeared in the blink of an eye.

Even Ning was rather surprised upon seeing this. “What a fellow!”

Arroyo was a tough cookie. Apparently Fukai was no pushover either! It must be understood that although the Grove of Monoliths had held over a hundred bugbeasts, the number that had truly reached the master class could be counted on one hand.

Now, over fifty such master-class World God bugbeasts had appeared before Ning. Even supreme World Gods would be forced to flee or perish before such an onslaught of bugbeasts. Most likely, even Arroyo would be put into a very tough situation.

“On one side, we have a eighteen golems that are part of a set. On the other side, we have over fifty bugbeasts that are master-class World Gods in power.”

Ning suddenly grinned. “Excellent. What fine treasures for the picking.” Ning wasn’t worried in the slightest.

“Kill him!”

Fukai pointed at Ning from afar and howled angrily, “Kill!”

“Kill.”

The awe-inspiring army of bugbeasts charged towards Ning at the same time, their auras blasting outwards.

As for the eighteen Hellwind Golems, they surrounded Ning and furiously began to assault him once more. A look of delight appeared on Arroyo’s face when he saw this. “Fukai finally pulled out his bugbeasts. When they work together alongside my golems, they should be more than strong enough to trap this freak.”

Fukai’s father was a member of the Aeonian Kingdom who specialized in rearing bugbeasts for them. Arroyo’s father was also an Aeonian, but his skill lay in the art of golems.

Fukai and Arroyo were both considered Aeonian descendants. In fact, both were two of the most outstanding descendants of the Aeonian race.

It must be understood, however, that the price to forcibly Awaken any descendant of the Aeonian race was a staggering high one, so high that not even the Aeonian Kingdom could pay it with impunity. This was why they repeatedly sent their descendants to take on these danger-filled challenges!

Both sets parents would do everything they could to ensure that their progeny would win the chance to be Awakened, and thus they had each prepared special killer weapons as well.

Fukai’s killer weapon was his horde of bugbeasts. Arroyo’s killer weapon was his powerful formation of Hellwind Golems.

“That really is a lot of bugbeasts.” A pair of wings suddenly appeared on Ning’s back, flashing with electric light. It was the Thunderlight Wings! Ning’s insights into the Dao of Lightning were now higher than before, with his insights into the Dao of the Sword having improved even more dramatically. As soon as he activated his wings they allowed him to stab through the air like a sharp sword, moving much faster than before.

Swoosh!

Ning was already quite fast to begin with. Now, he was being assisted by the Thunderlight Wings! He left behind a beautiful, solitary streak of light in the skies as he easily evaded both the fifty-five bugbeasts as well as the nearby Hellwind Golems.

And then… he charged straight towards Fukai!

“What?!” Fukai’s face turned pale.

“How is he this fast?” The smile froze on Arroyo’s face as he saw this. Ji Ning was too fast, far faster than the two had imagined! It must be understood that although these bugbeasts had the power of master-class World Gods, they were quite lacking in terms of technique. They had incredibly powerful bodies, and a number of incredibly fast avian bugbeasts were amongst their ranks, but Ji Ning was even faster!

This was because Ning’s raw speed and strength were both comparable to that of newly ascended Samsara Daolords! This was a completely different level of power. Now that he had activated the Thunderlight Wings, the Hellwind Golems and the bugbeasts were only able to stare in a daze.

If they couldn’t keep up with him, there was nothing they could do to him!

“Careful, Fukai!” Arroyo sent frantically. Although they had started out as rivals, Ji Ning was simply too formidable a foe. If Fukai died, his bugbeasts would lose their master. In fact, it was entirely possible that both they and the jade green globe would fall into Ji Ning’s hands!

“Go!” Fukai willed it.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three more bugbeasts appeared. These three bugbeasts were all incredibly muscular and covered with golden fur. Fukai then produced a metallic plate that was covered with many golden runes. He poured his Immortal energy into this Dao-seal, activating it.

Rumble…

A globe of golden light that was thirty meters long suddenly appeared, covering Fukai within it.

“Stop him!” Fukai ordered his three bugbeasts, then turned tail and began to flee.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The three bugbeasts were almost instantly knocked flying as a streak of lightning snaked past them towards the fleeing Fukai.

Prior to this, Ning had actively dodged past the many bugbeasts and golems. However, since there were now just three bugbeasts Ning didn’t even want to bother avoiding them. In fact, if he wanted to he could’ve quickly killed all three of them. As Ning saw it, however, if he could kill Fukai and seize the jade green globe then all of these bugbeasts would fall under his control.

“I’ll be owning these bugbeasts shortly. I can’t bear to kill them.” Ning was clearly filled with confidence.

“He’s too fast.” Although Fukai was fleeing in terror towards Arroyo’s direction, Ning was quickly able to catch up to him. Fukai turned his head to look back at Ning, a horrified look on his face.

“BREAK!”

A streak of sword-light came hammering down upon him.

[Quintessence Sword-Intent], second stance – Allgod stance!

The Allgod stance and the Horizon’s End were attacks of equal power when Ning was using other weapons. Only when Ning used Violetjewel was there a significant difference in power between the two.

The Horizon’s Edge technique focused on speed. As for the Allgod stance, it focused on explosive and furious power!

It was as though an enraged dreadwyrm had appeared in the skies, slamming down with tremendous, earth-rending force towards the golden globe of light around Fukai. The golden globe of light shuddered and turned slightly dimmer, but Fukai was able to borrow from the momentum of the strike to flee even more quickly.

“I wasn’t able to break through?” Ning frowned slightly when he saw this.

“What?! He was able to consume 20% of the power of my Dao-seal with just one blow?” Fukai shuddered in his heart. “My Dao-seal is capable of withstanding a full-strength blow from a Samsara Daolord, yet a newly ascended World God was actually able to destroy 20% of its energy with one strike.”

As Fukai was fleeing in terror, Arroyo was flying straight towards him. “Leave him to me. Use your bugbeasts to help me tie this freak down.”

“Alright.” Fukai understood that they had to work together in perfect unison if they wanted to kill this terrifying freak. Given how fast Ji Ning was, if he wanted to flee he would’ve fled long ago. Clearly, he felt absolute confident in his chances to win.

Ning watched as the many bugbeasts and golems surged towards him. As for Arroyo, he charged straight towards Ning with both giant scimitars held at the ready.

“That all you have?” Ning manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms], wielding a sword in each of his six arms.

“Kill!”

Every streak of sword-light that shot out was filled with terrifying levels of power and moved at incredible speed. Arroyo was immediately driven to the defensive. He did his best to block the attacks with his two scimitars, but he still forced into a rather ungainly position.

It must be understood that every single sword-strike Ning delivered was slightly stronger than Arroyo’s strikes. The thing was, Ning had six swords while Arroyo merely had two scimitars. As the saying goes, it is hard for two fists to defend against six hands! Arroyo found it extremely hard to defend against the attacks, and his saber-light continuously surrounded him as he completely focused on defending against the oncoming streaks of sword-light. He wasn’t able to fight back at all.

“Quick, quick, quick!” Arroyo frantically ordered his Hellwind Golems to hurry up.

“Move faster, Fukai!” Arroyo was yelling at Fukai as well.

He truly had begun to panic. As the saying went, if you focused exclusively on defense you would eventually lose. He felt as though he was walking on a tightrope, treading the fine line between life and death. Ning’s swords were simply too fast, and Arroyo felt as though he might slip up and fail at any moment.

Slash!

Just before the Hellwind Golems and the bugbeasts arrived, Ning finally managed to land a streak of sword-light against Arroyo’s waist. Arroyo instantly turned pale as he was knocked backwards by the force of that blow.

Boom! Boom! Boom! As the saying went, when he’s ill, go for the kill!

When experts fought, victory or defeat could be determined by the slightest of things.

Ning already held the upper hand to begin with, and he was so fast that his foes wouldn’t have any chance to recover from any mistakes. He sent out several furious sword-strikes on succession, each one landing directly against Arroyo. Arroyo was like a moth that had been swept into the raging waves of the sea, completely unable to resist whatsoever.

“N-n-no…!” Arroyo furiously did his best to fight back, but his two scimitars had been completely suppressed to the point that he wasn’t even able to chop out with them. Just at this moment, a black serpent suddenly appeared.

Generally speaking in a duel of experts, when one person was at a disadvantage that person would immediately flee.

Alas…

Arroyo wasn’t as fast as Ning. There was no way he would be able to escape.

The black rope quickly slithered forward like a viper, wrapping itself around Arroyo’s body. It quickly bound Arroyo up tightly, causing a look of despair to appear on his face.

He was finished!

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Chapter 12 – The Curtain Call

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 12 – The Curtain Call

As the ropes tightened around Arroyo’s body, he couldn’t help but think back to his life within that cold, grim, ancient clan of his. His father had been a remote and exalted figure. All of his father’s descendants had to work hard to cultivate and fight for everything they wanted! Arroyo himself had started off as just one of many weak descendants, but he had carved out a path all his own through the corpses of the others and eventually became a master-class World God. He became his father’s most cherished child! But even in his dreams, Arroyo’s truest desire was to become a real member of the Aeonian race.

“I lost.” Arroyo stared forwards.

The white-robed youth was standing in the air in front of him, his main sword still slung over his back. The youth produced a small golden gourd. Whoosh! A powerful sucking force was applied to Arroyo’s body, and he wasn’t able to fight back against it at all due to the ropes that were binding him.

Swoosh! He was sucked straight into the gourd. Once he entered the gourd, the ropes automatically released him and flew back out.

“No. No! I can’t accept this. I can’t!” Arroyo stared at his surroundings. There were a pair of spinning maelstroms within this gourd, one of black energy and the other of golden energy. As soon as Arroyo appeared, both maelstroms instantly exploded with terrifying levels of power as both began to grind towards him.

Grind, grind, grind. The terrifying grinding power filled every inch of the entire gourd. There was no place to run or hide at all. Arroyo’s only option was to rely on his divine power and his body to resist, but once his divine power ran dry he would be ground into dust.

“Right. I still have my Hellwind Golems.” Arroyo could suddenly sense those eighteen ripples of power that were linked to him from outside the gourd. Those were his golems, all of which were completely loyal to him. He wasn’t dead yet, which meant they were still in his service.

“Join forces with Fukai to kill that freak. Kill him!” Arroyo sent a mental order to his eighteen Hellwind Golems. “Kill him, seize his golden gourd, then release me.”

“Yes, Master.” The eighteen golems responded with complete devotion.

However, Arroyo himself knew that this was all just wishful thinking. From his battle against Ji Ning, he knew exactly how fast Ji Ning was. Would his eighteen Hellwind Golems really be able to succeed in killing that freak of a cultivator, even if they worked in harmony with all those bugbeasts?

Even if they were lucky enough to actually kill Ji Ning, Ji Ning’s corpse would probably fall into Fukai’s hands. It would be incredibly difficult for the eighteen Hellwind Golems to snatch Ji Ning’s corpse, find the gourd, then manage to release him. Still, in principle Arroyo still had a shot to stay alive. All he could do was try his best to seize it.

Golden gourd in hand, Ji Ning stared at the eighteen Hellwind Golems charging towards him. He actually felt quite relieved upon seeing this. “Thank goodness these golems didn’t self-destruct.”

As Ning saw it, these golems would soon be part of his property. For them to self-destruct would be a terrible waste.

During the first great war of the Three Realms, when the Lord of All Things had died his Envoys had all self-destructed. However, this was primarily because the Lord of All Things himself was very skilled in the art of constructs. He had personally created those Envoys and had naturally left behind certain self-destruct seals within them. By contrast, Ning had no way of causing any of the golems he had purchased during the treasure auction to self-destruct.

Arroyo had received these eighteen golems from his own father and similarly had no way to make them self-destruct. The creation of each golem required an enormous amount of blood, sweat, and precious materials. If one of them self-destructed, it would make all that work go to waste and render the golem useless. At most, it could be melted down to have its Five Elements essence extracted from it. Thus, golems that were available for sale would rarely have self-destruct mechanisms built into them. Generally speaking, only golems that were created for personal use by their users would possibly have self-destruct mechanisms built into them.

“What should I do? What should I do?!” Fukai was completely stunned. “Arroyo was actually captured!”

“Should I flee?” Fukai wanted to run. “But if I can’t acquire the Eternal blood, I’ll still end up dying!” They had all sworn lifeblood oaths upon accepting this mission from the Aeonian Kingdom.

To flee was to die.

Then… the only answer was to fight!

“Those eighteen Hellwind Golems haven’t given up yet. Good.” Fukai’s eyes turned bloodshot as he pointed towards Ning and roared furiously, “Kill him! Kill him for me!”

“AROOOO!” “GWRAAAAR!”

There was an awe-inspiring army of fifty-eight bugbeasts flying through the air, and they charged straight towards Ning alongside the eighteen Hellwind Golems. Alas, the Thunderlight Wings on Ning’s back simply flapped gently, allowing him to transform into an arced line that easily moved past the attacking golems and bugbeasts. When Fukai saw this, he was filled with despair… which only strengthened when Ning charged straight towards him.

“Shit. Come on then! You think you can kill me?” Fukai began to go berserk and flew straight towards his bugbeasts and the golems. If he could ensure that they were by his side, then Ning would have to go through them in order to get to him.

“Oh? Still struggling? It won’t work.” Ning frowned slightly as he suddenly reached back and placed his right hand upon the hilt of the sword he was carrying.

Clang. The Eternal weapon, Violetjewel, came out from its sheath!

Ning moved with incredible speed as he charged straight towards Fukai. However, a black-armored avian bugbeast was still able to intercept him midway.

Bang! Ning casually struck out with the palm of his left hand, almost as if he was swatting away a mosquito. His massive palm had been transformed to become roughly the same size as the bugbeast, and when it landed against the bugbeast’s body it sent the bugbeast tumbling backwards.

“Let’s do this!” When Fukai saw Ning pressing near, a look of delight appeared in his eyes as more and more bugbeasts and golems were gathering around him.

“This Dao-seal of mine is enough to block several of his full-force attacks. If he lands a hit on me, I’ll borrow the momentum of the strike to flee far away from him, but he’ll remain trapped and surrounded by all these bugbeasts and golems. He’s such an idiot! How dare he actually charge straight inside?” Fukai was wildly excited upon seeing this.

Previously, Ning had relied on his speed in order to avoid the bugbeasts and golems. He had never actually engaged them in battle, and this was his first time actually putting himself ‘at risk’. Fukai felt the first stirrings of hope.

Whoosh. Ning charged down from above.

Boom! His mighty body smashed into a golem, sending it stumbling backwards as Ning swept straight past it.

Finally, Ning struck out with his Eternal sword, Violetjewel. Violetjewel instantly transformed into an enormous streak of bloody light, carrying an aura of terrifying sharpness as it chopped straight towards Fukai.

[Quintessence Sword-Intent], second stance – Allgod stance!

“B-b-but…” Fukai’s face suddenly turned pale. When Ning chopped downwards with that terrifying sword, the bloody, baleful aura emanating from it instantly pervaded Fukai’s mind, causing even him to be filled with a feeling of uncontrollable fear.

This was different.

This was completely different from last time!

Last time, Ji Ning’s sword had ‘merely’ been able to consume more than 20% of the energy of Fukai’s Dao-seal. The stance looked the same, but the aura was far more powerful this time! Fukai’s very truesoul was shuddering in horror.

BOOM! The aura of golden light surrounding him trembled, then broke apart.

When the sword-light slammed against Fukai’s body, Fukai couldn’t help but vomit out a mouthful of blood. He stared ashen-faced at Ning, a look of despair in his eyes. “How is this possible? How could this have happened? My Dao-seal still had 80% of its power remaining. How could it have been shattered by one strike, with that strike still carrying enough excess power to wound me!? I have a Dao armor and a protective divine ability. Can it be that his sword is as powerful as the sword of a Samsara Daolord?”

A mocking look suddenly appeared in Fukai’s eyes. “Kill! Kill! All bugbeasts, begin killing your peers. Wipe out all the other bugbeasts. Kill them!” Upon seeing that terrifying strike of Ning’s, Fukai finally realized what was going on.

If even his Dao-seal had been incapable of resisting a full-force attack from this monster, this monster clearly wasn’t someone he could possibly contend with. Most likely, Ji Ning would be able to dispatch the bugbeasts with a single blow each. Neither Fukai nor Arroyo were a match for him.

“Kill each other! Wipe each other out! You monster, the reason you didn’t even kill a single bugbeast was because you wanted to take control over them, right? Haha, in your dreams!” Fukai had gone completely insane.

Arroyo was unable to destroy the golems under his control, and Fukai was similarly unable to cause his bugbeasts to commit suicide. Bugbeasts were living creatures, after all. One of the most overriding and basic of instincts for any living creature was to stay alive! However, what Fukai could do was to order them to fight amongst themselves. In fact, one of the most common ways of rearing bugbeasts was to have weak bugbeasts fight amongst themselves and devour each other, allowing the final survivors to be incredibly strong.

Boom! Boom! Bang!

The fifty-eight bugbeasts gave up chasing after Ji Ning and began to fight amongst each other. Blood, limbs, scales, and fur flew everywhere as the bugbeasts began a wild civil war amongst themselves.

“Aww, shit.” Ning had originally been planning on drawing Fukai into his gourd and slowly ‘digesting’ him with it, but his face now sank as he changed his mind.

“Die, then.” Ning exploded forth with full power.

Violetjewel once more stabbed through the air, causing a terrifying streak of bloody light to descend. Every single blow which Ning now delivered was filled with his maximum power and was capable of destroying a fully-charged version of the Dao-seal which Fukai had just used up. There was no way Fukai could possibly withstand such a strike! Although he had Dao armor and a protective divine ability, his divine power would be quickly wrung dry by the power of these consecutive attacks.

A mere twelve blows later, Fukai was all out of divine power.

Bang! Upon the thirteenth sword-blow, Fukai’s body trembled a final time, then began to split apart and crumble as though he was made out of clay. His eyes, however, were fixed towards the skies. He could still faintly see the blood-colored streak of sword-light that had been left behind by the final blow.

“Such beautiful sword-light.” Fukai closed his eyes.

Fukai’s body completely crumbled apart and his truesoul dissipated along with it.

Arroyo and Fukai had sought to slay Ning in order to seize the divine blood of the Eternal. Alas, in the end Arroyo had been sucked into the gourd while Fukai had been slain on the spot.

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Chapter 13 – The Three Realms

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 13 – The Three Realms

“Seven died.” Although Ji Ning had seized control over the jade green globe as fast as he could, more than seven of the bugbeasts had died during those brief moments of fratricide. Now, only fifty-one remained.

“Stop!” After binding the globe, Ning immediately exerted his control over the bugbeasts and ordered, “Surround those golems!”

“Yes.” “Yes.” …

The bugbeasts immediately acknowledged the order obediently and began to swarm around the Hellwind Golems, giving them no place to run.

……

Within the golden gourd.

Arroyo’s divine power was being depleted at an incredibly fast rate as the power of those two streams of energy continued to grind down at his body. His soul was linked to the Hellwind Golems outside and so he ‘saw’ everything that had happened.

“Those who kill others and take their treasures are destined to be killed in turn, one day.”

Arroyo emanated a bloody aura because his Dao was a Dao of slaughter. He had always been the winner in his battles, and so he had advanced step by step and left a trail of corpses behind his wake. However, this battle for the Eternal blood was the most important battle in his life. If he won, he would’ve become a true member of the Aeonians and skyrocketed in status in power. However… he had failed.

“Ahahaha… today, Fukai and I have fallen to your hands. However, how many cultivators shall truly gain eternity? One day, you will fall as well. You will die as well! Ahahaha…” Arroyo laughed wildly, and as he did so the last drops of his divine power were used up. His body was shattered apart, then ground into dust.

……

Ning could sense the crazed death throes of Arroyo within the gourd, but he remained quite calm.

It was true. The path of cultivation was a very difficult one to tread, and only a few Samsara Daolords existed in the Endless Territories to begin with. Samsara Daolords treaded the line between life and death with each step they took. How few of them would be able to take the final step, achieving the Daomerge and gaining true eternity for themselves?

However, Ning was determined to continue moving forward on his path, motivated by a faint, dim hope that he would never release. He hoped that one day, he would gain the power to reverse the flows of spacetime and bring his wife back to his side. This was the only way he would ever be able to see her again.

“One thing at a time.”

The eighteen Hellwind Golems had lost their master. Ning had overwhelmingly superior power and thus was quickly able to forcibly bind them.

“Time to leave.” Ning’s own godsense was spread out to cover this entire chaosworld. The disturbance caused by his battle against Fukai and Arroyo was quite enormous. Although both sides had kept control over themselves and their power, the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stationed in this chaosworld were still so terrified that all of them had gone into hiding and were unwilling to come out.

Ning stepped forward and through the world-membrane, returning to the primordial chaos outside the world.

……

Outside the Three Realms. Within the primordial chaos.

A black-robed Ji Ning was standing here within the primordial chaos, staring towards the Three Realms. Although his Primaltwin had stood guard over the Three Realms this entire time, his lifeblood oath made it so that he was completely unable to actually re-join the Three Realms. Only upon reaching Vastheaven Palace and completing the lifeblood oath would Ning be able to return to the Three Realms.

Rumble…

After mastering the ‘Sword World’, Ning was now capable of seeing through the primordial chaos and into the Three Realms.

The many ‘secrets’ of the Three Realms were no longer secrets to Ning. Everything was laid bare before his eyes, including its structural underpinnings as well as its core. He could even see an illusory, formless river that flowed through everything within it. This was the River of Destiny.

In truth, all creatures within the Endless Territories had their own destinies, and these destinies were all joined together into a great Sea of Destiny. The Three Realms was just a single chaosworld and thus it had just a single River of Destiny. The countless Rivers of Destiny of the endless chaosworlds within the territories were like countless tiny streams that would join together to form the enormous Sea of Destiny.

“The River of Destiny…” Ning’s gaze pierced through the Void and the primordial chaos alike as he stared at the River of Destiny. He could see the countless truesouls that had been submerged within it as well as the destinies of cultivators and mortals alike.

“Father! Mother!”

Ning’s heart trembled.

He saw them. Deep within the River of Destiny, there was a pair of truesouls who clung tightly to each other. Those were the truesouls of his father Ji Yichuan and his mother Yuchi Snow. Even though they were dead and their truesouls had been swept into the River of Destiny, they remained by each other’s sides.

“Father. Mother. Wait for me just a bit longer. Your son has already become a World God. Soon, I’ll head out to Vastheaven Palace. Once I reach Vastheaven Palace and complete my lifeblood oath, I’ll be able to re-enter the Three Realms and draw your truesouls out from the River of Destiny.” Ning’s heart was shaking.

It was clearly something that he could do with ease, with but the wave of a hand. Alas, he knew that if he truly stretched so much as a finger into the Three Realms, his true body and his Primaltwin would both be attacked and destroyed by the lifeblood oath he had sworn.

“I’ll wait a bit longer,” Ning murmured softly.

Whoosh.

A figure suddenly appeared off in the distance. It was a white-haired, white-bearded old man dressed in Daoist robes.

“Master.” Ning looked at him.

“Ji Ning.” Subhuti smiled. Just now, he had gone to Ning’s estate within the primordial chaos but had been unable to find Ning. He knew that his disciple had to have come to this place, as this was where his disciple would often go to stare at the Three Realms. Alas, he could see everything happening within it but couldn’t take so much as a single step within it.

“You-…” Subhuti’s face suddenly changed as he stared at Ning. He took a careful look, then a second, then a third.

“The World level?” Subhuti’s voice was quavering slightly.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I broke through.”

An excited look was now on Subhuti’s face. “That’s wonderful. I’ve been worrying about you ever since you started your journeys into the Endless Territories. Now that you have at least reached the World level, things will be much easier for you.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

“However, as the saying goes there’s always a taller mountain. Even though you have reached the World level, disciple, you must not be overconfident and brash. You don’t have many supporters or helpers in the Endless Territories. You’ll have to rely on yourself for everything. Those of us in the Three Realms won’t be of much aid either. You have to be careful,” Subhuti said. Although he didn’t know what Ning had experienced thus far, the Three Realms did know a bit about the Badlands Territory and knew that it was a place of constant struggles and battles between cultivators.

For Ning to emerge unscathed and at an even higher level of power meant that he absolutely had to have experienced and survived many of those life-and-death battles.

“Don’t worry. Your disciple isn’t so foolish as to think himself invincible.” Ning laughed. “I’m still dreaming of one day meeting with Mother Nuwa, you know.”

“Have you heard any news of Mother Nuwa in the territories outside?” Subhuti immediately asked. All of the first-generation Fiendgods who were born from the primordial chaos were filled with tremendous respect and veneration towards Mother Nuwa. She had reached the World level back when she was in the Three Realms!

“I have not. I don’t have any news about her at all. In fact, there have been no new World Gods in the Badlands Territory who seem even remotely similar to her.” Ning shook his head.

“Ugh…” Subhuti shook his head as well.

“Oh, right. Master, I’d like to trouble you to help me with something. Please send word to the Three Realms right away that I am intending to transmit certain techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts to our fellow Daoists of the Three Realms.”

“Transmit?” Subhuti was surprised.

“Right. In the past, I wasn’t able to do so. Now that I’ve become a World God myself, things have changed,” Ning said. In recent years, he had killed quite a few enemies and seized their treasures, but it was rare for cultivators at this level to carry cultivation manuals on them. Everything was firmly imprinted into their minds. The only reason World God Northrest had left behind so many manuals was because he was planning to bring up a successor in the future.

Ning was now far more powerful than World God Northrest had been, but he simply hadn’t spent enough time cultivating and adventuring. The number of transmittable techniques he had acquired during his adventures could be counted on one hand. Although he could purchase certain techniques from the Badlands Everworld, he still wouldn’t be able to bring them back to the Three Realms right away. He’d have to first memorize and master them, then write them down again. This would take an extremely long period of time.

Ning had correctly predicted that by the time he finished, he would probably already have reached the World level. World God Northrest had already given Ning many techniques which he could transmit to others upon him becoming a World God himself. Now, Ning had full and free control over them.

“Good, good, good!” Subhuti said excitedly, “This is wonderful. With these powerful techniques by our side, the Three Realms might give birth to new World Gods and Chaos Immortals in the future.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Ning had the feeling that the Three Realms was not an ordinary place.

It was in the Three Realms that Daoist Three Purities found the incredibly valuable Nine Chaos Seals.

The Three Realms had also given birth to absolutely dazzling figures such as Nuwa and Houyi, all of whom had created their own techniques since there was no one present to teach and guide them.

“After I transmit these techniques to them, I need to go exploring the primordial chaos around the Three Realms and see if I can find the original Nine Chaos Seals,” Ning mused. Many of his fellow disciples were actually incredibly talented; they simply had never gotten access to techniques that could guide them to becoming World-level cultivators.

The Three Realms was about to undergo a true golden age of cultivation and explode in power. Ning was very eager to see this happen. If he was the only person capable of protecting the Three Realms, what would happen to it if something happened to him? If the Three Realms had numerous experts on Ning’s level within it, it would become a truly safe place for its denizens.

……

A flying ship was sailing through the primordial chaos. Ning and the Flamefairy were both seated within the ship, staring out towards the primordial chaos.

“Master, were you waylaid by Fukai and Arroyo?” Su Youji immediately asked.

“I was.” Ning nodded.

“How did it go?” Su Youji asked. She didn’t know if Ning had fled on his own or if he had won that battle.

“I’m sitting right here before you. How do you think it went?” Ning smiled. “They lost. Both died on the battlefield.”

Su Youji wasn’t able to take part in that battle but had been quite worried. She knew that Fukai and Arroyo were both very powerful figures, especially Arroyo. He not only was a transcendent World God, he was also surrounded by a bloodthirsty aura that testified to his prowess in battle. Given the many treasures that they had… she couldn’t help but worry. Her life was bound to Ji Ning’s, after all. If Ji Ning died, she would be at the mercy of his killer.

“Where shall we go next?” Su Youji asked.

“Let us return to the Badlands Court first. Later, we’ll leave.” Ning stared at the outside world. His first priority was to return to the Badlands Court and get rid of the Eternal blood.

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Chapter 14 – Sell It To Me

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 14 – Sell It To Me

They flew aboard the boat towards a spacetime transfer array, eventually making their way back to the Badlands Everworld.

“There it is. The Badlands Court.”

Ji Ning and Su Youji were walking atop the waves as they advanced. Soon, they reached the island located in the center of the lake, the island which held the Badlands Court. In front of the island was a crimson-haired man dressed in loose robes who smiled at the two of them. “Brother Darknorth, congratulations for becoming a World-level cultivator. Oh, the Flamefairy broke through as well? It seems this recent trip has been tremendously beneficial to the two of you.”

“Brother Qichang, why are you here?” Ning was surprised.

“Master instructed me to stay here and wait for you.” The crimson-haired man laughed. “Come, I’ll take you to meet with Master.”

Ning was secretly amazed. Daolord Badlands truly lived up to his reputation for divination. Indeed, Ning was planning to ask him to help dispose of the Eternal blood. Somehow, the Daolord knew about it even before Ning asked to speak with him, thus choosing to send a disciple out to come greet him…

“Youji, you can go to the Water Curtain Home for now,” Ning instructed.

“Alright.” Su Youji departed obediently.

“Please lead the way, brother Qichang.” Ning and the crimson-haired man advanced side-by-side. The Badlands Court was laid out in a truly intricate way and filled with many formations. If no one was around to guide him, Ning truly wouldn’t have been able to locate Daolord Badlands’ residence.

The two quickly arrived at a quiet, secluded courtyard.

The courtyard was quite simple and unadorned. Daolord Badlands was relaxing in the lotus position, a single flask of wine on the table in front of him.

“Master, I’ve brought Darknorth as instructed,” the crimson-haired man said respectfully.

“You can leave now,” Daolord Badlands instructed.

The crimson-haired man acknowledged the order, then respectfully departed. Daolord Badlands turned his gaze towards Ning. A hint of a smile on his face, he pointed at the other seat and said, “Sit.”

“Thank you, Daolord.” Ning sat down in the lotus position before Daolord Badlands.

“You’ve reached the World level? Old brother Solesky will be quite happy to hear this.” Daolord Badlands laughed. “This morning, I could sense that something was going to happen. I did some careful Numerancy and divined that there is something that you wish me to help you with.”

“Yes.” Ning immediately nodded. “There is indeed something. This junior was fortunate enough to acquire a treasure within the Allgod Estate known as the ‘divine blood of the Eternal’.”

“The Eternal blood?” A shocked look appeared on Daolord Badlands’ face.

Although he was skilled in the art of Numerancy, he wasn’t all-knowing. Divining the future through Numerancy was actually quite difficult and there would be many things that were left unclear. Using Numerancy to divine the past was actually much easier, because it involved things that had already happened. Things in the future had obviously yet to happen, and thus almost anything was possible! Future Numerancy was generally only capable of calculating out some particularly major events.

Ji Ning was specifically coming to ask Daolord Badlands for help, and so Daolord Badlands had been able to sense it. Just a simple bit of Numerancy was enough to tell him that Ji Ning was coming to ask for his assistance. By then, Ji Ning had already reached the Badlands Everworld and was heading towards the Badlands Court, giving this bit of Numerancy an extremely highly credible interval.

“Is it the Eternal blood of Emperor Melobo?” Daolord Badlands asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I hear that the Aeonians would do anything to get their hands on this Eternal blood.”

“Of course they would!” Daolord Badlands’ eyes lit up as he smiled. “That drop of Eternal blood represents half of the life energy and vitality of Emperor Melobo. It took him forever to recover from that loss. That drop of Eternal blood is uncalculably valuable to them, and it’s something which will never appear on the open market. It is more valuable and alluring to the Aeonians than you could ever imagine.”

Ning said, “I heard the spirits of the Allgod Estate say the same, which is why I’m worrying about the proper way to dispose of this Eternal blood. That’s why I came to ask you for help.”

“Right. The simplest solution is to offer it to the Dao Alliance.” Daolord Badlands chuckled. “But I have another idea, if you are interested.”

“Pray tell, Daolord.” Ning looked at him.

“Sell your drop of Eternal blood to me,” Daolord Badlands said.

“Oh?” Ning was slightly startled.

“If you offer it to the Dao Alliance, they’ll probably give you two million cubes of chaos nectar as well as grant you immediate entrance into the alliance. If you sell it to me… although I won’t be able to bring you into the Dao Alliance, I’d be willing to give you three million cubes! What’s more, given how strong you are, you’ll definitely be granted entry into the Dao Alliance in the future.” Daolord Badlands continued, “If there are any techniques or treasures that you want, just tell me and we can deduct it from that balance.”

Daolord Badlands truly wished to take possession of that drop of Eternal blood.

The Dao Alliance itself wouldn’t have much use for it, but it was still an incredibly rare and valuable item! Whenever a drop of concentrated Eternal blood appeared in the Dao Alliance, it would immediately be purchased by its most powerful Samsara Daolords or Eternal Emperors. Someone like Daolord Badlands wouldn’t even have a chance! Once those powerful Samsara Daolords acquired the blood, they would analyze it and research it to gain insights from it.

It must be understood that this drop of Eternal blood was the concentrated blood essence distilled from more than half the blood and flesh of a mighty Eternal Emperor of the Aeonian race. This had represented an enormous drop in Emperor Melobo’s power. No Eternal Emperor would be willing to make such a sacrifice… and the number of Aeonian Emperor’s could be counted on one hand to begin with!

Thus, the ‘set’ price of two million cubes which the Dao Alliance was willing to pay was an incredibly low price.

Daolord Badlands naturally grew desirous of this drop of blood…

Daolord Badlands was actually a dazzling talented Daolord as well. As the Goldeye Golem had put it, if he was able to reach the Verge of the Daomerge then he would become a terrifyingly powerful figure who would be as strong as Daolord Allgod had been.

Dazzling talents such as him naturally were filled with tremendous ambitions! In the past, he didn’t have that much wealth; even if you placed that drop of Eternal blood in front of him, he wouldn’t pay it much attention. But in order to get his assistance, Daolord Solesky had prepared a gift of tremendous value for him. Daolord Solesky was a Palace Lord of Vastheaven Palace and had been alive for an extremely long period of time, accumulating enormous amounts of wealth. He had offered roughly twenty million cubes of chaos nectar for Daolord Badlands’ assistance!

Some of those treasures were meant for Daolord Badlands to rebuild his avatar.

As for the other treasures?

Daolord Badlands actually had numerous plans for them, but now that Ji Ning had brought a drop of Eternal blood to his doorstep, he suddenly changed his plans.

“Perhaps some of my children will be able to draw out the power of the Aeonians from within that drop,” Daolord Badlands mused to himself. “My divinations indicate that there is a better than 20% chance of them succeeding in this endeavor. First, Daolord Solesky came bearing fabulous gifts. Now, my young friend Ji Ning is asking me to help him deal with this Eternal blood. This is a karmic blessing which destiny has bestowed upon me. I have to seize it!”

“What do you think?” Daolord Badlands looked at Ning.

“I’m in no rush to join the Dao Alliance. All I want to do is get rid of this Eternal blood as soon as I can,” Ning said with a laugh. “Selling it to the Dao Alliance, selling it to you… it’s all the same to me.”

“Good.” Daolord Badlands laughed. “Three million cubes of chaos nectar. The average networth of most powerful Daolords is roughly in this range. My young friend Ji Ning, you must make sure not to waste this tremendous blessing. Tell me, which treasures, techniques, and divine abilities do you desire? I’ll help you find them and buy them. But of course, if all you want is chaos nectar then I can provide that as well!”

What would be the point of acquiring that much chaos nectar? Was he supposed to eat it like food? The best solution was for Ning to use it to help himself grow more powerful as soon as possible.

“I want to acquire the final part of a divine ability,” Ning said. “This divine ability is known as the [Golden Idol].”

“The protective divine ability, [Golden Idol]?” Daolord Badlands nodded. “That won’t be too hard. I can buy it for you from the Dao Alliance. Do you want it for yourself or do you wish to be able to teach it to others? If you wish to be able to teach it to others, the price will be dozens of times higher.”

“I’ll use it for myself.” Ning wasn’t going to waste his money like that.

“This divine ability is quite powerful. It can make your body as tough as a top-grade Dao weapon. Abilities on this level are fairly rare. I’ll help you buy it, but it’ll take two hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar.”

Ning was secretly speechless. This was even more valuable than a Pseudo Samsara Pill!

If it cost that much just for him to train in, then wouldn’t that mean a version he could transmit to others would cost several million cubes? No wonder that not even Vastheaven Palace had access to such a wonderful technique. Large clans and sects all had many expenses they had to pay. World God Northrest switched to training in the [Golden Idol] after acquiring it, but he had only gained access to the upper portion and the middle portion.

“Generally speaking, only Samsara Daolords need to have bodies that are as tough as top-grade Dao weapons,” Daolord Badlands said. “Honestly, I don’t know why you are in such a rush to buy it. Still, you now are worth more than three million cubes of chaos nectar. Buying it won’t cause you much trouble.”

Ning smiled. He might not be a Daolord, but he did have a body that was comparable to a Daolord’s body!

“What else do you need?” Daolord Badlands asked.

“I’ve heard of an Eternal treasure known as the Elementum Waterflame Gourd,” Ning said. “I wish to buy it.”

“Right, right! That is indeed a good treasure. It is fairly cheap, but extremely useul for World-level experts.” Daolord Badlands immediately nodded. “This gourd will require roughly half a million cubes.”

The Elementum Waterflame Gourd…

It held both Firecloud Lightning as well as Watersmoke Lightning within it. Both were considered types of Dao-level lightning! These were two of the nine types of Dao lightning which Ning would need in order to train in the secret art of lightning known as [Novessence Thunder] technique. By buying this item, Ning would be able to use these two types of lightning for now as well as use them to train in the [Novessence Thunder] later. Two birds with one stone!

Dao lightning was extremely expensive because capturing it was incredibly difficult. A single type of Dao lightning would generally be worth a minimum of two hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Firecloud Lightning and Watersmoke Lightning were two fairly common types of Dao lightning. There were certain rare types of Dao lightning that simply couldn’t be found on the market at all. Even Daolord Allgod had only found nine types of lightning that were suitable for his usage!

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Chapter 15 – Violetjewel’s Background

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 15 – Violetjewel’s Background

Ji Ning had long ago decided that he was going to train in the [Novessence Thunder] secret art. Alas, while he was in the Allgod Estate he didn’t even have access to nine types of chaos lightning, and so he was in no rush to start learning the technique just yet. After mastering nine types of chaos lightning, he would then test out mastering the nine types of Dao lightning with this technique.

However, according to the secret art’s descriptions, only World-level cultivators could train in chaos lightning while only Samsara Daolords could train in Dao lightning. Thus, for now Ning simply purchased two of the relevant types of Dao lightning. In all honesty, he probably couldn’t afford purchasing all nine types; even Daolord Allgod was only able to get nine!

“The lower portion of the [Golden Idol] and the Elementum Waterflame Gourd. That’s not even a million cubes.” Daolord Badlands looked at Ning. “Need any other treasures?”

“The Mirrorsnow Paintings. I need the second and the fourth paintings. Would I be able to buy these two?” Ning asked.

Daolord Badlands glanced at Ning, then chuckled. “It seems this trip to the Allgod Estate truly was a lucky one for you. The Mirrorsnow Paintings hold the legacy of Emperor Mirrorsnow within them. Although he had released a total of forty of these paintings into the Endless Territories, there’s simply far too many cultivators. How about this? I’ll ask the Dao Alliance and see if anyone is willing to sell those two paintings. However, I can’t guarantee they’ll be available.”

“If we can get it, let’s give it a shot.” Ning didn’t try to force it.

“Anything else?” Daolord Badlands asked.

“Daolord, please take a look at this.” Ning drew Violetjewel from its sheath on his back. Given that the two were discussing a business deal worth three million cubes of chaos nectar, a single Eternal weapon truly didn’t mean much. Some Eternal weapons were worth as little as ten thousand cubes, while valuable ones were still generally worth just a few hundred thousand cubes. Eternal weapons worth over a million cubes were very rare.

“This sword has been by my side for an extended period of time. Its previous owner was big brother Northrest, who named it ‘Violetjewel’.” Ning continued, “I wish to understand where it came from and want to see if I can get five more matching sets of this Eternal sword.”

Just so. Since he had three million cubes of chaos nectar to use up, Ning wanted to ensure that he’d be able to wield six Eternal weapons in any future battles! This would allow his attack power to increase dramatically, and he’d feel confident in battling even an enemy Daolord.

This was all because Ning’s [Nameless] sword-art was a technique that allowed for an airtight defense. If Ning used all six swords to focus on defense, then so long as the opponent wasn’t overwhelmingly more powerful Ning would still be able to survive.

“Oh? Violetjewel?” Daolord Badlands accepted the sword, then gently stroked its blade. As he did so, Ning released his control over the sword-intent hidden within Violetjewel’s quintessence core, letting its savage, bloodthirsty aura surge outwards.

“Just so. It truly is Violetjewel.” Daolord Badlands nodded.

“It ‘truly is?’” Ning was puzzled.

“This would be considered a middle-grade Eternal weapon.” Daolord Badlands laughed. “Once you become a Daolord of the First Step, you’ll be able to unleash the full power of this Eternal weapon. For now, it’ll be more than enough for you to wield while you remain within the World level.”

Ning nodded. In truth, low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade Eternal weapons were all the same to Ning. If the sword-intent contained within an Eternal weapon’s quintessence core was too powerful, Ning wouldn’t be able to make much use of it. Just as Daolord Badlands said, Ning would probably only be able to fully unleash the power of Violetjewel when he became a Daolord of the First Step.

Even if Ning was given a top-grade Eternal sword, he wouldn’t be able to unleash much of its power for now.

“You said that this sword’s previous owner called it ‘Violetjewel’. This wasn’t a name he chose at random,” Daolord Badlands said. “This is the name given to the sword by the Eternal Emperor who forged it.”

“It was forged by an Eternal Emperor?” Ning was quite curious.

“Long, long ago, that Eternal Emperor was an Emperor of the Dao Alliance! However, he ended up choosing to venture into the Endless Dark long ago. His name was Emperor Violetmount. Before he left the Endless Territories and entered the Endless Dark, he spent an extremely long period of time to create a total of ninety-nine middle-grade Eternal weapons which he named Violetjewel, nine top-grade Eternal weapons which he named Bloodpeak, and a terrifying weapon infused with all of his insights into the Dao of the Sword which he named the ‘Violetmount Sword’.”

Ning was speechless upon hearing this. Ninety-nine Violetjewel swords? Nine Bloodpeak swords? A Violetmount sword?

This was all done by Emperor Violetmount?

“So you wish to procure five more Violetjewels?” Daolord Badlands asked.

“Yes, I would ideally like to buy five of them.” Ning nodded.

Daolord Badlands nodded. “Although Emperor Violetmount originally created ninety-nine of them, some of them ended up being lost over the course of many years. Others are currently being used by other cultivators. Thus, buying five will be quite difficult. Still, I’ll ask the Dao Alliance to help out. Their power is spread throughout the entire Endless Territories; they just might be able to locate a few of these swords.”

Daolord Badlands looked at Ning. “I have to warn you in advance, this situation is completely different from the situation we saw in the treasure auction. Treasures in that auction all start at a very low reserve price, and even the final price for each item won’t be particularly high. Since you are actively seeking out these specific items, they will definitely cost you much more.”

Ning understood this quite well. The treasure auctions were all fairly cheap; buying treasures at the normal ‘listed’ price in the outside world would generally cost significantly more! As for someone like Ning who was actively looking for very specific items, the price would definitely be even higher.

“How high would it be?” Ning asked.

“A single Violetjewel sword generally goes for just a hundred thousand cubes or so. However, since you are actively seeking out this specific sword it’ll probably take a hundred and fifty thousand, maybe even two hundred thousand,” Daolord Badlands said.

“Any price below two hundred thousand is acceptable,” Ning said. He was no fool. If the price was too high, it really wouldn’t be worth it.

It must be understood that middle-grade Eternal weapons would generally go for anywhere from thirty thousand to sixty thousand cubes of chaos nectar in the treasure auctions. The normal list price, however, would be around a hundred thousand cubes.

Since Ning was actively seeking out these specific swords, the price could rise to as much as two hundred thousand cubes. In all honesty, this was quite a high price. Two hundred thousand cubes would be enough to easily buy a high-grade Eternal weapon during a treasure auction. If you were lucky, you might even be able to snag a cheap top-grade Eternal weapon!

“Anything else?” Daolord Badlands asked.

“Oh, that’s plenty. I don’t need anything else for now,” Ning said.

“Good. How about this? Give me a bit of time, roughly half a year or so, and I’ll give you a million cubes of chaos nectar for you to use it as you see fit,” Daolord Badlands said. “As for the treasures you are seeking, since I’ll need to ask the Dao Alliance to help out it’ll probably take a good deal longer. If we are lucky, it might take just four or five years. If we are unlucky, it might take a few decades. If there are any leftover cubes of chaos nectar, I’ll hand that over to you as well.”

“Thank you, Daolord,” Ning said.

There were two reasons Ning had chosen to ask Daolord Badlands for help. The first was that Daolord Badlands was on extremely good terms with Daolord Solesky. The second was that the formation-spirits of the Allgod Estate had suggested that Ning go seek him out. Daolord Badlands was a dazzlingly talented figure who had an extremely resolute Dao-heart. Even if he lost all of his treasures, he wouldn’t throw away his own principles or his own path.

Daolord Badlands was extremely skilled in divination, which meant that it was actually quite rare for him to go out adventuring. His style of cultivation was quite different from that of most other Samsara Daolords. This was why he didn’t have that much treasure. In truth, it was all thanks to Daolord Solesky’s gift of twenty million cubes worth of treasure that he had become so wealthy.

Even so, he didn’t have much actual chaos nectar. What he had was a large collection of random treasures and materials, which was why he told Ning he would need half a year for the first million cubes of chaos nectar.

Whoosh.

Ning walked back to the Water Curtain Home, his heart filled with emotions. “Eternal weapons are considered incomparably valuable to World-level cultivators, but they are nothing special to Samsara Daolords. I never would’ve thought that there would be ninety-nine copies of Violetjewel.”

“Once I get those treasures, I’ll be much more powerful than I am right now.” Ning always felt as though he should do his best to convert his chaos nectar into treasures as soon as possible. Even if he eventually outgrew them in the future, he could still convert them back into chaos nectar by selling them.

“Master.” Su Youji had returned to the Water Curtain Home earlier. She now came running out towards Ning.

“Youji, today we shall rest. Tomorrow, we are going to Waveshift City,” Ning said.

“Waveshift City?” Su Youji immediately asked, “Why are we going there?”

“You broke through to the World level. We need to find you some suitable treasures!” Ning laughed. “Spend some time picking what you like once we get there.”

“Alright.” Su Youji’s eyes lit up as she nodded repeatedly. Generally speaking, the master was responsible for outfitting his retainers with treasures. Still, most masters were quite stingy.

Ning, however, wasn’t stingy. And yet, he simply wouldn’t be able to afford giving Su Youji a set of Eternal weapons! Su Youji was a Chaos Immortal, and Chaos Immortals generally relied on sets of many powerful weapons. If every weapon in a set was an Eternal weapon, the cost of the set would be utterly astronomical.

“Waveshift City.” Another reason why Ning was heading to Waveshift City was because he needed to buy those nine types of chaos lightning. That way, he’d be able to start with the [Novessence Thunder] secret art.

The very next day, Ning and Su Youji set off for Waveshift City and went on a huge shopping spree. Fukai and Arroyo had both left behind quite a bit of chaos nectar and many treasures, giving Ning quite a bit of spare cash. Soon, the two had purchased everything they wanted, including the nine types of chaos lightning which Ning had been searching for.

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Chapter 16 – Novessence Thunder

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 16 – Novessence Thunder

Within the estate-world.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop the sandy beaches of an oceanic island. Next to him was a black gourd and four other gourds. The black gourd was the Pentabolt Gourd while the other four gourds were ordinary gourds that each held a different type of chaos lightning.

“The five types of chaos lightning within the Pentabolt Gourd are five types that I can use. I have all nine types of chaos lightning and am ready to start.” Ning began to mentally prepare the [Novessence Thunder] secret art.

Ning began to activate his Immortal energy, sending it into one of the gourds. This gourd was filled with a streak of black lightning that radiated an aura of both insidious coldness and extraordinary ruthlessness.

Ning’s Immortal energy was guided by the [Novessence Thunder] technique to form a very unique web of energy that began to envelop the chaos lightning. Chaos lightning generally wasn’t capable of defeating even weak World-level cultivators; they were only capable of dominating cultivators below that level! Given how pure Ning’s Immortal energy was thanks to his body being formed by the merging of seventeen clones, he was able to easily seize control over that streak of chaos lightning.

“Come here.” The web of Immortal energy completely surrounded that streak of insidious black lightning. No matter how much it struggled or how it flared its power, the web of Immortal energy merely expanded and contracted alongside it. The web was extremely tough and tenacious, giving the black lightning no place to run at all.

“Long ago, I risked my life and lost multiple clones in order to tame the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent… but now, compared to this technique of Daolord Allgod’s, that technique was unfathomably weak and meaningless.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Daolord Allgod’s technique was like an incredibly wise fisherman, with the lightning being his fish; no matter how the lightning struggled or writhed, it was completely unable to escape the control of the technique.

However, merely seizing control over the lightning was just the simplest starting point for this secret art.

Whoosh.

The web of Immortal energy squeezed around the streak of black lightning as it dragged it into Ning’s body. Soon, it was pulled into the realm of chaos which now existed inside of Ning.

The Jindan chaos region was a blurry, hazy region. At its very center stood a luxuriously flourishing Dao-tree which stood more than sixty thousand meters tall.

“Essence of lightning… take form!” Immortal energy began to ripple through the chaos ‘mud’ that existed in a corner of this chaos region, taking shape and transforming into an enormous formation. A streak of black lightning thundered down angrily upon the formation. Boom! The formation was instantly filled with Immortal energy that fed hungrily upon the power of the black lightning.

Rumble…

Countless streaks of black lightning began to flicker throughout the rune-patterns that covered the entire massive formation.

“One of the lightning essences has been contained, for now at least.” Ning nodded to himself. Establishing an essence of lightning was actually quite simple; the hardest part would be actually merging them to manifest the [Novessence Thunder] secret art. He would have to merge all nine types of chaos lightning in a manner similar to merging many ingredients into the production of a pill. Only then would the complicated secret art become usable. This would be thousands of times more difficult than simply forming the lightning essence was!

Ning himself was secretly nervous about this. Would he be able to succeed? Daolord Allgod was a master of alchemy and artificing, a truly peerless expert in these areas. Ning, however, wasn’t skilled in either regard.

“Next.” Ning once again reached out, seizing control over another one of the eight types of chaos lightning after another. His vast Jindan chaos region quickly became filled with eight more types of lightning essence.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The nine types of lightning essence crackled and clashed against each other, each holding different types of lightning.

“The easiest part is done. Next comes the hard part, where I actually forge the [Novessence Thunder] secret art. Let’s see if I can do this.” Ning felt a sense of pressure, even though this was a secret art ‘merely’ formed by chaos lightning; it would be much simpler than doing the same with Dao lightning.

Using nine types of Dao lightning to form the secret art would be much more complicated. Still, Ning understood that even ‘merely’ using nine types of chaos lightning would be incredibly hard for the vast majority of World-level cultivators.

“Begin.”

Ning’s pure Immortal energy poured into the nine types of lightning essence. The process of converting the chaos lightning into lightning essence had already caused the explosive, raging power of the lightning to be tamed by the formation. This method was far superior to the technique Ning had used to tame the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent long ago.

Crackle. Hiss. Pop. The nine streaks of lightning began to fly into the air under the control of Ning’s Immortal energy. They wrapped around each other, intertwining like the limbs of lovers and beginning to join together…

BOOM!

The nine types of lightning suddenly broke apart and dispersed.

“I failed.” Ning shook his head. “According to the instructions, I have to be able to merge all nine types of lightning into one in order to form the seed of this secret art. Afterwards, with the passage of time, I’ll be able to use the nine types of chaos lightning through this seed in unleashing this secret art.” Ning felt a headache coming. “Although I’ve tamed all nine streaks of lightning, I still need to perfectly match them together in a specific format that requires tens of thousands of steps. The lightning is simply too explosive and violent. The slightest mistake will result in failure.”

Ning’s Immortal energy was sufficiently pure, and his control over his energy was sufficiently strong. Given that his soul was being reinforced by the azureflower mist energy, it was similarly strong enough for him to maintain incredible control over the lightning. And yet, he still failed in the end. This was precisely because Daolord Allgod’s secret art was simply too detailed and complicated.

“I’ll try it again.”

Ning tried again and again to form the seed to this secret art. If he could succeed just once, the seed would be permanently formed and he wouldn’t need to spend all this energy and effort in the future. He’d be able to simply use this seed to activate the secret art!

Alas… it truly was difficult! Ning tried more than a hundred times, failing each time. Even his powerful soul was beginning to feel exhausted by the process. There was one time where he very nearly succeeded, but he ended up failing at one of the final steps.

“I’m going to rest for a while,” Ning mumbled to himself. “Simply merging nine types of chaos lightning is already incredibly difficult. How hard will it be for me to merge Dao lightning?”

“Hey…” Just as Ning was about to take a break, he suddenly noticed something within his body. “The azureflower mist energy can convert Immortal energy, divine power, and heartforce.” Ning mused to himself, “Although there’s no way for it to leave my body, it can easily enter the Jindan chaos region inside of me. If Immortal energy can be used to control the lightning, can the azureflower mist energy be used to do the same?”

The azureflower mist energy was far stronger than the Immortal energy!

“I’ll give it a try.” Ning immediately felt a hint of eagerness. Previously, he had dispersed his azureflower mist energy and sent it throughout his body, with a little residing within the Jindan chaos region as well. Now, Ning sent more and more of the azureflower mist energy into the Jindan chaos region, where it began to fly straight towards the nine types of lightning essence that crackled at the margins of the region.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The nine types of azureflower mist energy were like nine roving dragons that burrowed straight into the nine types of lightning essence. Upon the energy entering the lightning essence, Ning was ready to give controlling them a shot.

Instantly, the nine types of chaos lightning began to fly upwards. It was extremely easy, and the chaos lightning flew about in an extremely obedient manner.

“Haha, it actually works. Using the azureflower mist energy to control the lightning is a hundred times easier than using my Immortal energy.” Ning was delighted. If previously it had been as difficult as an ordinary man wielding a gigantic greataxe, Ning now felt like he was an ordinary man who was wielding a pair of chopsticks. It was so easy!

The nine streaks of lightning coiled around in the air, mixing together in a perfect manner and transforming to become something else.

Slowly…

The nine streaks of lightning merged into eight streaks, then seven…

In the end, only one streak of lightning was left. It was a streak of crimson-gold lightning that radiated an aura of power that was so great that Ning trembled in fear. It vastly surpassed any other type of chaos lightning in power, and Ning felt certain that most likely even Dao lightning wouldn’t be much stronger than it.

Boom!

The crimson-gold lightning suddenly slammed downwards, smashing against the ‘mud’ of the formation. Instantly, the formation drew in the power of the crimson-gold lightning. It seemed to come to life as an enormous seal took form atop it.

“The seed of the secret art has taken shape.” Ning let out a sigh of relief.

In the future, the nine types of lightning essence would simply release their power and allow it to be converted by the seed, giving birth to that terrifying crimson-gold lightning.

“The [Novessence Thunder] formed by chaos lightning should be able to kill any master-class World God with a single blast.” After getting a good sense for how powerful the crimson-gold lightning was, he felt even more convinced of Daolord Allgod’s might.

However, given how strong Ning currently was, the [Novessence Thunder] would primarily be used as a ‘domain’ type effect, causing a large amount of lightning to surround and trap his foes. It must be understood that a domain that was capable of easily slaying master-class World Gods would serve as a terrifyingly strong constraint upon others!

When two individuals were on the same general level of power, for one side to be constrained in some manner would have a huge impact on a battle between them.

Daolord Allgod himself had used his nine secret arts at the same time to trap and constrain his foes. As a result, even someone like Emperor Melobo had been forced to flee. Emperor Melobo had damn near died, and in the end he had lost an enormous amount of flesh and blood which Dalord Allgod had refined into that drop of Eternal blood.

Ning was now in a superb mood after having successfully forged the [Novessence Thunder].

Two short months later, Daolord Badlands returned with a million cubes of chaos nectar. Although Ning had mentally prepared himself to receive such a vast fortune, his heart still shook when it actually entered his hands. For such a sum of chaos nectar to actually before him was still quite a stunning sight.

For most Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, a mere hundred bottles was already an incredible fortune.

For World-level cultivators, a hundred cubes was a shocking sum.

A million cubes was enough to cause even Samsara Daolords turn green-eyed with envy.

“I really have never seen so much of it before.” Ning was located within a miniature estate-world which held a small pond within it. Ning stared at this elegant-looking small pond, which was merely thirty meters in size. It really was quite small… but Ning’s eyes couldn’t help but shine as he stared at it. This entire pool was formed from chaos nectar!

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Chapter 17 – The Trial of the Painting

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 17 – The Trial of the Painting

After feeling stunned for a while, Ji Ning regained his normal composure. In the end, outside sources of power were extraneous. The path of cultivation was a path where one would have to rely on one’s self.

“Time to go test out the Mirrorsnow Paintings,” Ning murmured to himself.

The Mirrorsnow Paintings could only be entered once one reached the World level, and only World-level cultivators were granted entry; Samsara Daolords were unable to go inside.

“I wonder what sort of trials Emperor Mirrorsnow left behind? Time to take a look.” More than two months had passed since he had returned from the Badlands Court. It had only taken him a single day to form the [Novessence Thunder] technique. The rest of his time had been spent ruminating over the Dao of the Sword. Ning had gained quite a few insights since his battle against Arroyo.

Ning had acquired the first Mirrorsnow Painting from the crocodilian bugbeast in the Grove of Monoliths within the Allgod Estate.

Ning was now seated by the sandy shores of that oceanic island, admiring the first painting. The painting was of a beautifully decorated palace, but the artistic quality of it really was rather low.

“In I go.” Ning had bound the first Mirrorsnow Painting long ago. He now filled it with his Immortal energy, and his World-level energy instantly connected to the estate-world located within it.

Swoosh!

Ning entered the world of the painting.

“Eh?” Ning looked at his surroundings. Moments ago, he had been atop a sandy beach. Now, he was located within a towering palace that was carved out of jade. Its pillars glowed with golden light and were filled with carvings of strange beasts.

In front of Ning, far off into the distance up the stairs, there was a golden throne. A figure suddenly appeared before the golden throne. It was a tall, golden-robed man who sat down atop the throne, staring downwards towards Ning like an emperor staring at his subject.

“After so many years, a new World-level cultivator has finally entered.” The golden-robed emperor said, “Junior, the Eternal Emperor ordered me to wait here for you. All you need to do is defeat me. If you can defeat me, you’ll have passed the trial of this estate-world. The four Mirrorsnow Paintings hold a total of four estate-worlds within them. If you can pass all four trials, you shall become a true, personal disciple of the Eternal Emperor.”

“Defeat you?” Ning looked at the golden-robed emperor. “Might I ask, what techniques am I permitted to use in this attempt?”

“You are not permitted to use Immortal energy or divine power. You must rely on nothing more than your own raw physical strength, and I’ll use the same amount of strength as you. The two of us shall compete in swordplay and nothing but swordplay. Neither of us shall use divine abilities, secret arts, or anything else,” the golden-robed emperor said. “If you can defeat me, you will have won.”

Ning now understood. This was a test of his sword-arts. The four paintings represented four major challenges. Daolord Windsource’s disciple had access to the third painting for an extremely long period of time, but he still remained unable to pass its trial. This was a testament to how difficult the trial would be.

“Come, then.” A Frostice sword appeared within Ning’s hands.

“Very well.” The golden-robed emperor rose to his feet, a broad golden longsword appearing in his hands as well. He slowly walked down the stairs, his aura growing in power as he did so. It was as though he was the one and only sovereign of this world, as though everything had to prostrate before him.

Ning’s face tightened slightly. What a terrifying sword-art! The man had yet to strike, but the sword-intent radiating from him had already caused Ning to feel a sense of danger.

“Great Firmament stance!”

Ning made his move. The Frostice sword in his hand struck out, causing the entire palace to become submerged within an endless mist of sword-light which blanketed everything. Although the Great Firmament stance was the third stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, it represented an entire Sword World. As Ning’s sword-arts and cultivation continued to improve, his Sword World would naturally become increasingly powerful as well.

The seemingly endless Sword World was like a vast net that completely encompassed the golden-robed emperor.

HUAAAANG!

The sound of a sword ‘roaring’ suddenly filled the entire palace as a golden streak of sword-light tore apart that endless Sword World. It was like the rising of the dawn sun casting its first glow of light upon the world, and it completely shattered Ning’s sword-arts apart.

Ji Ning was just barely able to use his own sword to block this attack, but he was knocked flying backwards by the force of the collision. Boom! He struck directly against the closed gate beneath him, causing a loud bang to be heard.

“What a dominating sword-art!” Ning was truly stunned.

This was a sword-art that was every bit as dominating as Arroyo’s saber-arts had been! The reason why Ning had been able to so easily defeat Arroyo was primarily because he was being reinforced by the azureflower mist energy. If it hadn’t been for his overwhelming advantage in speed and strength, and if he had to rely on just his sword-arts, there was no way he would’ve been able to defeat Arroyo’s saber-arts in such a way.

“CHOP!” The golden-robed emperor took another step forward, once more striking out with that towering, majestic broadsword. His sword-light flashed brilliantly, and it seemed as though nothing could stop this strike.

Whoosh. The Frostice sword in Ning’s hands suddenly transformed into a black hole, seeking to ablate the power of the enemy’s strike and then defeat it. However, Ning could sense that his opponent’s sword was so dominating and forceful that there was no way he could shake it at all. Instead, it was his own Soleheart stance which was broken. Once more, Ning was sent flying back by the force of the collision.

He was getting absolutely mauled in this fight.

The truth of the matter was, in terms of raw sword-arts Ning wasn’t quite at the level of master-class World Gods. Even though he did have the [Nameless] sword-art and the [Quintessence Sword-Intent], he was just barely on the same level as the Starlord of Fogstone. He was far from being a match for this trial which Emperor Mirrorsnow had left behind.

Only a truly dazzlingly talented figure would be qualified to become the personal disciple of Emperor Mirrorsnow.

The golden-robed emperor within the first estate-world had incredibly profound sword-arts. Most likely, even Arroyo’s saber-arts were slightly less mature in comparison. Arroyo had died shortly after making his breakthrough upon the Samsara Grinders, after all; he didn’t really have enough time to stabilize and build upon his gains. This golden-robed emperor’s sword-arts were finely perfected and absolutely flawless. They truly had reached a level of immaculate perfection.

“Wonderful, wonderful!” Ning emerged from the first estate-world, a look of delight on his face.

During this last battle, he had been sent flying into the walls, stone pillars, gates, and staircase more than sixty times. However, Ning felt nothing but pure joy. He had spent three thousand years meditating in the Hall of Sword, but he was in bad need of actual combat experience! No matter how much time you spent in meditation and training, if you didn’t have any actual combat experience you would always have flaws in your technique.

In the world of the Mirrorsnow Painting, Ning was given an opponent who had essentially reached the apex of World-level sword-arts. This battle had given Ning a clear picture of the many flaws which existed in his sword-arts.

“Even if I’m unable to become Emperor Mirrorsnow’s disciple, the mere fact that I now have an incredible expert in the Dao of the Sword who will spar against me whenever I wish is of incalculable value.” Of course Ning was delighted!

“Let me take a look at the third estate-world.” Ning pulled out the painting that he had acquired from the Windsource Ruins.

Ning entered the world of the painting. He found himself in a world with a beautiful mountain, a waterfall which seemed to descend from the heavens themselves, and beautiful creeks that swirled next to him.

Ning immediately saw the gray-robed fisherman located off in the distance. The fisherman simply sat there fishing.

“Finally, a new World-level cultivator.” The fisherman rose to his feet in a leisurely way, then said calmly, “I have been waiting here on the orders of the Eternal Emperor. You are not permitted to use Immortal energy, divine power, divine abilities, or secret arts. I will use the same amount of strength as you possess in a swordplay competition.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“Then come.” The fisherman’s fishing rod suddenly shrank to become merely three feet long, and he pointed it straight at Ning.

……

Ning was utterly trampled and demolished.

The fisherman within the third estate-world was incredible. His sword-arts were like the clouds in the sky, completely unpredictable in their movements and transformations. The power of his sword-arts seemed to be utterly inexhaustible as well as he sent out one strike after another. Ning was confident in his defensive abilities, but in the end he was simply unable to defend against the fisherman’s attacks. He ended up getting whacked in the face quite a few times by that fishing rod, and was smashed into the ground each time.

Although the golden-robed emperor’s sword had knocked Ning flying backwards, Ning was still able to use his sword to block against those attacks.

The fisherman’s sword… Ning was actually unable to withstand it!

Ning knew that the fisherman and the golden-robed emperor each used different types of sword-arts, but were more or less on par with each other. The golden-robed emperor’s sword-arts were more regal, upright, and just, and his attacks were filled with enormous power. The fisherman’s sword-arts, by contrast, were more mysterious and unpredictable.

“Nice, nice, nice! Only by battling many experts who use the sword in different ways will I get a better picture of the flaws that exist in my own sword-arts.” Ning was actually ecstatic at the beating he had just taken.

From this day forth, Ning became even more obsessed with meditating on his sword-arts. He battled against these two experts of the sword repeatedly, discovering many weaknesses in his own sword-arts and finding many areas for improvement.

The many insights into the Dao of the Sword which Ning had gained in the Hall of Swords were now finally transforming into true power. His sword-arts continuously improved with each sparring session, becoming more and more powerful.

Meditation and actual combat – the two went hand in hand. Both were necessary.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years passed here in the Badlands Court. World God Dragonbinder had returned from the Allgod Estate as well, and the first thing he did upon returning was to go speak to Ji Ning.

“Brother Ji Ning, when I sensed the chaos energy fluctuating within the Allgod Estate I simply knew it had to be you making your breakthrough.” When World God Dragonbinder saw Ning, he felt absolutely delighted.

The two spent some time dining and chatting together. Ning had gained many things from this trip to the Allgod Estate, but so too had World God Dragonbinder. In fact, he now had a vague idea as to what his path through Samsara would be. Alas, it was still nothing more than a vague idea. To actually tread that path and become a Samsara Daolord would be very, very difficult.

Still, it was definitely an improvement. If he couldn’t even see or sense his path, how could he have any hope of walking it?

Six more years went back.

Sixteen years after Ning’s return to the Badlands Court, a Samsara Daolord came to pay a visit to the Badlands Court.

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Chapter 18 – Leaving the Badlands Territory

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 18 – Leaving the Badlands Territory

The Badlands Court. Flower petals could be seen everywhere, drifting to and fro.

Daolord Badlands and his wife were seated opposite a cyclopean man with a single horn on his head.

“I didn’t expect that you would be assigned to personally escort this mission, big brother Fusu.” Daolord Badlands smiled as he spoke.

“I was planning to visit the Triclopean Thundersea anyhow, which was why the Dao Alliance asked me to help escort these treasures.” Daolord Fusu smiled. “The treasures you requested included the [Golden Idol] divine ability, a few Eternal weapons that are merely middle-grade, and the Mirrorsnow Painting. I imagine you must be purchasing them for one of your disciples, yes? You know, you really should make them go out and seek their fortunes. No matter how much you favor a disciple, you can’t spoil him to this extent.”

“Big brother Fusu, you think too highly of me. How could I possibly be willing to spend this much money just to help one disciple?” Daolord Badlands shook his head. “You’ll have to forgive me for not being at liberty to disclose the reason why I have requested these items.”

“Oh…” Daolord Fusu dropped this line of conversation. He let out a laugh. “Oh, right. I heard that old man Solesky of Vastheaven Palace has begun to furiously scour the realms for important treasures. He’ll be planning to start his Daomerge soon. I heard that he’s actually come to your Badlands Territory. He probably went to Waveshift world, right?”

“Yes.” Daolord Badlands nodded. This was no secret. Many Samsara Daolords had already guessed at the truth, and a little bit of divination would be enough to show that this very likely the case.

“That old fellow is finally willing to start his Daomerge.” Daolord Fusu let out a sigh. “Still, it makes sense. Their Vastheaven Palace has just given birth to a new Samsara Daolord, and Daolord Warlord has reached the fourth step as well. Even if old man Solesky fails his Daomerge, he’ll still be able to protect Vastheaven Palace for a period of time before he perishes and his Dao vanishes. Vastheaven Palace will be able to grow considerably more powerful during this timeframe.”

Daolord Badlands nodded slowly. When one failed in the Daomerge, one’s truesoul would slowly begin to dissipate. However, given how formidable Daolords who were at the Verge of the Daomerge generally were, it would generally take an extremely long period of time for the truesoul to actually crumble away. It must be understood that even World God Northrest was able to endure for nearly a full chaos cycle before he truly died from the crumbling of his truesoul. Those ancient powers who were at the Verge would be able to last much longer.

But of course, if they went crazy and started attacking everyone around them, they would die much more quickly. Still… Daolords who had failed their Daomerge were destined to die, which make them incredibly fearsome foes to face. Some would engage in wild massacres and do things which they normally wouldn’t have dared to do, for whatever reason. Who would dare to antagonize madmen like them?

“I envy him. I wonder how long it will be before I, too, can set my burdens aside and go to my Daomerge?” Daolord Fusu sighed. “My entire race’s prosperity rests upon my shoulders. Although my race does have another Samsara Daolord, he’s still at the first step despite an entire chaos cycle having gone by since his ascension. He still hasn’t been able to reach the second step. I fear that his potential is limited and that he won’t have the power to protect our race.”

“Big brother Fusu, perhaps you will make a sudden breakthrough that will allow you to naturally and easily succeed in your Daomerge. When that happens, you will gain eternity,” Daolord Badlands said.

“Gain eternity? The number of Eternal Emperors in the entire Dao Alliance can be counted on two hands.” Daolord Fusu shook his head. “Enough of that. Let me give you the treasures which I escorted here. The price the Dao Alliance requested was a total of 1.81 million cubes of chaos nectar.”

“1.81 million cubes?” Daolord Badlands nodded. Chaos nectar instantly began to flow out of his estate-world, automatically separating themselves into a total of 1.81 million cubes before flying towards Daolord Fusu.

……

Daolord Fusu left that very day as he headed off to the Triclopean Thundersea.

……

Late that night, Daolord Badlands paid a personal visit to the Water Curtain Home to visit Ji Ning.

“Daolord.” Ning was shocked. “Daolord, if there’s anything you need, all you had to do was have someone send word to me.”

“I’ve pretty much finished the process of finding those treasures you sought,” Daolord Badlands said. “I have the [Golden Idol], an Elementum Waterflame Gourd, and five Violetjewels. The Mirrorsnow Paintings were a bit harder to find, as very few are willing to sell them once acquired. I was only able to buy a copy of the second painting for you.”

“That’s more than enough!” Ning said hurriedly.

Ning had predicted early on that most Violetjewels had probably fallen into the hands of Samsara Daolords. To them, being able to sell a middle-grade Eternal weapon for nearly two hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar was an absolutely wonderful bargain. They would easily be able to purchase another powerful sword as well as other treasures they needed. Ning wasn’t surprised at all that they had been able to find the five copies that he needed.

Alas, the Mirrorsnow Painting was different. It was generally in the hands of World-level cultivators, and to those cultivators the paintings represented a priceless opportunity. Very few would be willing to sell off an opportunity to become a personal disciple of an Eternal Emperor. In fact, the Dao Alliance wasn’t even sure as to who was in possession of most of the paintings, as most World-level cultivators would keep their ownership secret.

“If we just round it off, the total cost is roughly 1.8 million cubes,” Daolord Badlands said. “I already gave you a million cubes previously. Let me give you another two hundred thousand cubes now, as well as these treasures.”

As Daolord Badlands spoke, he handed Ning a smooth disc of jade that held an estate-world within it.

“Thank you, senior.” Ning was very grateful.

The [Golden Idol] had cost two hundred thousand cubes while the Elementum Waterflame Gourd had cost five hundred thousand cubes. Daolord Badlands had been very clear about the price of these items, and so the total cost was around seven hundred thousand cubes.

In other words, the Mirrorsnow Painting and the five Violetjewels cost a total of 1.1 million cubes. Ning was actually quite happy with this price. Honestly, even if Daolord Badlands upped the cost a little bit, Ning wouldn’t have been able to find out.

Within a private study. The six Violetjewels were all placed atop a desk, and they each emanated absolutely identical auras of sharpness and bloodlust.

“Six Violetjewels.” Ning nodded slightly. They would be of enormous use to him and make him stronger. “With these six swords, I’ll be several times more powerful than I currently am. I should be able to give a decent fight to a Samsara Daolord of the First Step. Even if I can’t beat them, I should still be strong enough to escape.”

When Ning had battled against the fisherman in the third estate-world of the Mirrorsnow Painting, he had eventually been unable to defend against the fisherman’s rod.

However, Ning knew that one of the main reasons for this was that he had only been using a single sword. If he had six swords… it could be said that he could defend against even sixteen swords, preventing them from landing attacks upon him.

With just a single sword, Ning had been able to create an almost airtight defense. With six swords working in unison, it would be as though he was surrounded and protected by enormous bucklers. Given Ning’s absolute control over the Soleheart stance, he would have no flaws in his defenses at all.

“The Elementum Waterflame Gourd.” A gourd suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of Ning. This was a red-black gourd which saw black lines intertwining and mixing together with red lines on the surface of the gourd, making it look mysterious and beautiful.

After Ning bound the treasure, he was immediately able to sense the explosive, terrifying power of the Dao lightning within it. The two types of Dao lightning within the gourd were the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning. Both were filled with absolute savagery, and it made sense. All lightning was explosive and aggressive by nature, making them incredibly difficult to control.”

“It really will be thousands of times more difficult to refine them than the chaos lightning.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

“Let me take a look at the lower portion of the [Golden Idol].” Ning picked up a jade slip then sent his divine power into it. He could immediately sense the lifeblood oath covering the technique, as well as the various rules and regulations which the Dao Alliance had set down. Ning carefully read through everything. Once he decided there were no problems, he immediately swore the oath.

Instantly, the information regarding the lower portion of the [Golden Idol] began to fill Ning’s mind…

……

Three days later.

“You are going to leave?” Daolord Badlands looked at Ning, who had come to pay respects to him.

“This junior needs to return to Vastheaven Palace,” Ning said. “I regret having disturbed you so often in recent days, Daolord. This junior will definitely remember all the assistance you provided.”

“Mm. Sooner or later, you do indeed have to return to Vastheaven Palace. However, to go from my Badlands Territory to the Vastheaven Territory is an extremely long journey, and you will encounter quite a few dangers and ancient powers on the way. It is difficult for me to divine exactly what you shall encounter on this journey.” Daolord Badlands shook his head. “Just remember one thing: caution above all else.”

“This junior understands.” Ning nodded.

Vastheaven Palace was very, very far away from the Badlands Territory, and the journey was quite a perilous one. Even World-level cultivators would find such a sojourn to be filled with dangers. Still, Ning felt confident that he wasn’t too much weaker than most Samsara Daolords of the First Step, which meant that he should at least be strong enough to keep himself safe and survive the trip.

“Go, then.” Daolord Badlands nodded.

Ning departed.

A reflective look was in Daolord Badlands eyes as he stared at Ning’s back as Ning left. “According to what Dragonbinder said, when Ji Ning was an Elder God he was capable of matching master-class World Gods in power. He can be considered a freakishly talented figure. Still… the path of cultivation is a path filled with countless dangers. I wonder how far he will make it on his path.”

Freakishly talented? That didn’t count for much. Daolord Badlands himself was a freakishly talented figure, and over the course of many chaos cycles he had seen quite a few other freakishly talented figures as well. However, the vast majority of them ended up dying on their path.

If Ji Ning was his own disciple he probably would’ve been willing to pay almost any price, up to and including suffering severe injuries, in order to carefully divine what would happen to Ning on this journey. However, Ji Ning was just a disciple of Vastheaven Palace. There was naturally no reason for Daolord Badlands to act in such a selfless manner.

……

The spacetime transfer array of the Badlands Everworld.

“First, we’ll go to the Azuresky Territory.” Ning led Su Youji into the transfer array.

“These two are requesting for the array to be activated just for them?” The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals responsible for protecting the array were all secretly speechless. The distance from here to the Azuresky Territory was incredibly vast. The cost of activating the array just for the two of them wouldn’t’ be a mere hundred bottles; it would be a full cube of chaos nectar!

Still, Ning truly didn’t care about the cost. Going from the Badlands Territory to the Vastheaven Territory would at most cost him roughly a thousand cubes of chaos nectar! There were also many places where there were no connecting spacetime transfer arrays. He would have to personally fly to the closest array, often through many dangerous regions.

“The Badlands Territory…” Su Youji stared towards the outside of the array. “So I, Su Youji, am actually going to have a chance to see and explore other territories.” Being powerful enough to voyage through other territories was a testament to her strength.

“The Badlands Territory!” Ning stared at the skies far above them. This was the place where he had gotten his first start after departing from the Three Realms.

Rumble…

Spacetime began to twist and distort.

The entire array began to shine with blinding light as it tore through the fabric of space and time, teleporting the two of them to a distant place in the spacetime continuum. When the light faded away, the two figures had vanished from within the array.

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Chapter 19 – Trifount Planet

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 19 – Trifount Planet

More than ninety-two years went by in the blink of an eye.

The Qianyun Territory was a place that was incredibly far away from the Badlands Territory. Trifount was one of the planets located within this territory, and it was one of the core planets that were part of a local spacetime transfer array. The spacetime transfer array was gleaming with light as it twisted and distorted spacetime. Moments later, two figures suddenly appeared within it.

The first figure was a white-robed youth who was carrying a sword on his back. The second was a fiery-robed woman. The two were Ji Ning and Su Youji, who had travelled here all the way from the Badlands Territory.

“Trifount.” Ning and Su Youji both emerged from the formation and stared off into the distance.

Rumble…

A massive geyser of water could be seen off in the distance, blasting a fountain of water thirty thousand meters into the air. The stars glittered in the skies above them, causing the water to sparkle with rainbow light. This planet was constructed in a strange way, resulting in three enormous geysers that blasted mountain-sized fountains of water high up into the air. This was the reason why the planet was known as Trifount.

“We finally reached Trifount.” Su Youji had a rather solemn look on her face. “Master, our next destination will be the most dangerous place in our journey; the Sea of Darkness.”

“Yes. Once we pass the Sea of Darkness, we won’t be too far away from Vastheaven Palace.” Ning nodded as well.

Ninety-two years…

Ning and Su Youji had travelled through many different territories, some of which they had to fly through or teleport their way through! This was why it had taken them so long. They had encountered a number of dangerous situations along the way, including some deadly environments as well as cultivators who had sought to waylay and kill them. However, none of these situations had truly been troublesome for the two of them.

They dared to ambush Ji Ning? They truly had been courting death.

“The most dangerous part of the journey from the Badlands Territory to the Vastheaven Territory is the passage through the Sea of Darkness.” Ning and Su Youji were standing alongside each other atop a tall mountain, staring off towards the distant void of space. Ning said, “Given how fast we travel… I expect it will take us eight centuries to go through the entire Sea of Darkness!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, three streaks of light flew towards them from afar. They soon arrived before Ning and Su Youji, the streaks of light transforming into three cultivators who emanated auras of tremendous power. There were two men and one woman, but all three had World-level auras.

“Fellow Daoists.” The leader of the three, a fairly muscular man, walked over with a smile on his face. “Have you come to Trifount for the sake of passing through the Sea of Darkness?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded, not denying it.

The muscular man smiled. “My name is Xiang Lu. He is World God Windgrace while she is Chaos Immortal Waterswell.” The handsome, violet-robed man next to him nodded towards Ning and Su Youji. “Windgrace greets you, fellow Daoists.”

“Waterswell greets you, fellow Daoists.” The female Chaos Immortal was just as attractive as Windgrace, and her aura was even more charming than Su Youji’s.

Su Youji could be described as flickering flame, filled with alluring magnetism. This Chaos Immortal named Waterswell, however, was like a pool of gentle, soft water.

“I am Darknorth. She is the Flamefairy.” Ning introduced their side as well.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth. Fellow Daoist Flamefairy.” The muscular man said, “We saw you two appear within the spacetime transfer array from afar. When we noticed how you two decided to stay here, we had a suspicion that you might be planning to travel through the Sea of Darkness. I imagine both of you know exactly how dangerous the Sea of Darkness is, and the journey is an extremely long one as well. Given how long and how dangerous the journey is, for a small group of just four or five World-level cultivators to try to pass through it by themselves is an extremely risky and difficult endeavor.”

Ning and Su Youji both nodded. It was true. It would indeed be very dangerous! There were many dangers on the path from the Badlands Territory to the Vastheaven Territory, but the Sea of Darkness was the most dangerous place of them all! Even someone as powerful as Ji Ning wouldn’t dare to claim 100% confidence in navigating the place successfully.”

“That is why those of us who wish to traverse the Sea of Darkness will generally join together into a group before venturing forth.” The muscular man laughed. “Our current plan is to wait until we have a total of ninety-nine World-level fellow Daoists, so that we can join together into a formation if necessary. Once we have enough people, we will head into the Sea of Darkness. We already have more than eighty fellow Daoists, and the three of us have come to ask the two of you to join us.”

“Ninety-nine?” Ning and Su Youji exchanged glances.

“Don’t worry. When we have enough people, all of us will swear a simple lifeblood oath that we are absolutely not permitted to attack any of our fellow travelers,” the muscular man said. “With ninety-nine of us working together, we will have a better than 90% chance of traversing the Sea of Darkness.”

Ning agreed with this assessment. Ninety-nine! Given how many World-level cultivators would be gathered here, some would most likely be supreme World Gods.

Once they all joined together into a formation and were able to support each other, those supreme World Gods would be comparable to Arroyo in strength! The others wouldn’t be too weak either. Once they all fought together, it was likely that even Samsara Daolords of the First Step would have to stay away from them.

“Fine.” Ning nodded and smiled. “Just now, the two of us were worrying about how we were going to safely traverse the Sea of Darkness. It would indeed be much safer for us if we can work together alongside so many fellow Daoists.”

“Immortal Waterswell, please lead these two fellow Daoists to the others,” the muscular man instructed. He then looked at Ning. “Brother Windgrace and I will have to stay here and keep an eye out for any other World-level cultivators who we can invite to join us. Sorry for being unable to send you off personally.”

“No need.” Ning and Su Youji followed Chaos Immortal Waterswell and flew off into the distance.

“Our many fellow Daoists are all located close to this place.” After flying for just a short period of time, they reached a flat grassland. There were quite a few World-level cultivators here clustered into small groups of two or three people. A total of eighty-three cultivators were located on this plains.

“The two of you can rest here for now. We’ll head out once we reach a total of ninety-nine cultivators. I’m going to go back now and wait alongside big brother Xiang Lu.”

Although quite a few World-level cultivators had been gathered here, only twenty or thirty percent of them belonged to the Qianyun Territory. The others were all from nearby territories, with very few being from places as far away as the Badlands Territory.

Most of the people here didn’t know each other, nor did they need to know each other. After passing through the Sea of Darkness, they would all go their separate ways. Thus, they all stayed clustered in small groups of two or three, not really fraternizing with the others.

“Let’s just wait, then.” Ning and Su Youji sat down in the lotus position, waiting silently while drinking some Immortal nectar.

While waiting, Ning continuously sent out a small amount of his divine power to create incarnations which he sent into the Mirrorsnow Painting. He repeatedly challenged the expert swordsman within the third estate-world using his incarnation.

The golden-robed emperor. The fisherman. The assassin.

When dueling, these three would use the exact same amount of power as Ning. It was merely a contest of swordplay, and so Ning could simply use incarnations of divine power to carry out the sparring.

As for Ning’s true body? Ning spent his attention on training in the [Golden Idol]. Initially, Ning immediately used three hundred cubes worth of chaos jewels to upgrade his body to the Dao weapon level. After that, he began to simply train slowly in the technique, using just a small amount of chaos jewels as he did so.

To upgrade his body and make it comparable to top-grade Dao weapons would require an extremely long period of time. Ning was in no rush. It was fine to take it slow.

Fortunately, they only had to wait eleven years at Trifount before the total number of World-level cultivators reached ninety-nine.

“My fellow Daoists.” World God Xiang Lu smiled as he looked at the ninety-plus cultivators on the plains. “We’ve already gathered a total of ninety-nine World-level cultivators. It is time for us to head off into the Sea of the Darkness. Here are the formation-discs. Each cultivator can simply bind a single formation-disc.”

A total of ninety-eight discs of light appeared before him, then flew towards the other World-level cultivators.

“This is an extremely simple formation. You’ll know once you take a look at it.” World God Xiang Lu smiled.

Ning accepted a formation disc. After sending his power into it, he quickly understood that this was indeed a very simple formation. It merged all the energy of the cultivators into one mass, making it so that all the cultivators were reinforcing and supporting each other. They would all be much more powerful as a result.

There were actually many formations that were more powerful than this one, but none of the World-level cultivators here really knew each other or trusted each other. It was precisely because this formation was so simple that everyone had no suspicions regarding it and were willing to use it.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

As the cultivators bound the formation-discs, streams of light began to surge into the skies. The ninety-nine streams of light connected with each other, and all of the cultivators were blessed with the strength and power of the formation.

“I swear on my very life itself…”

“I swear on my very life itself…”

“I swear on my very life itself…”

The ninety-nine World-level cultivators simultaneously sent their Immortal energies into the oathstone they were surrounding. As they all swore the lifeblood oaths, they could sense the oaths of the others taking effect as well.

All of the oaths were identical. So long as they were in the Sea of Darkness, they were absolutely not permitted to launch attacks against their comrades. If the oath was violated, the assaulted party wouldn’t even need to fight back; the lifeblood oath itself would ensure that the violator’s truesoul was destroyed.

Once the oaths were sworn, the cultivators all grew noticeably friendlier towards each other. There was now at least an element of trust amongst them.

“My name is Poisonfeather. This flying vessel of mine is a top-grade Dao treasure that is specialized for long-distance flying. It should be quite suitable for traversing through the Sea of Darkness.” A bald, silver-eyed man suddenly spoke out. “We can ride it together! If anyone has any better flying treasures, we can use that instead.” 1

Soon, the cultivators all decided to use Daoist Poisonfeather’s ship for their journey through the Sea of Darkness.

“Let’s head out!”

The ninety-nine cultivators all boarded the ship, keeping the formation active as they departed from Trifount and headed off towards the Sea of Darkness.

1. Poisonfeather’s name is actually ‘Flying Zhen’, with ‘Zhen’ being a Chinese mythological beast that is often called the ‘Poisonfeather Bird’, for self-explanatory reasons.

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Chapter 20 – The Sea of Darkness

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 20 – The Sea of Darkness

The flying vessel was three thousand meters long, completely black, and was shaped like a weaver’s shuttle. It continuously advanced through the dark void of space towards the vast sea before them.

If Ji Ning wished to reach Vastheaven Palace, he absolutely had to pass through the Sea of Darkness! If he went around it, it would result in an incredibly long detour. What’s more, the map which Daolord Solesky had given Ning didn’t even specify the details to any such detour, instead simply telling him to go straight through the sea. This was because this was actually the safest option; the other options were even more dangerous!

Although this was safer by comparison, it was still a rather dangerous trip for World-level cultivators. If they weren’t careful, they would easily die in this place.

This was one of the reasons why very few World-level cultivators would embark on such long journeys! When Ning had been in the Badlands Territory, he had queried the Starlord of Fogstone regarding the location of Vastheaven Palace, but neither the Starlord nor his subordinates had even heard of it. This was because the distance between the two territories was utterly enormous. Even the Badlands Court, the most powerful organization within the Badlands Territory, only held a few cultivators who were aware of Vastheaven Palace.

“We’ll reach the Sea of Darkness soon,” Ning sent mentally. “I recommend you go into the golem now. Don’t stray too far from my side.”

“I know my own limits, Master.” Su Youji was quite excited. “The legendary Sea of Darkness. Actually, I’ve never even heard of it before this! To think that I’m going to be going into it just a short while from now. Wow. This trip from the Badlands Territory to the Vastheaven Territory will give me something to brag about for many, many years to come.”

Ning chuckled, then closed his eyes and focused on attuning to the sword-intent of his Violetjewels.

He was attuned to its sword-intent at all times as he continuously meditated on the Dao of the Sword.

Whoosh.

The flying vessel continuously teleported through the emptiness of space. Roughly a day later, they finally arrived at the borders of the Sea of Darkness.

The entire vessel was completely silent as all ninety-nine cultivators stared at the distant sea of spatial chaos. Even here, at the mere borders of the sea, they could sense the spatial waves crashing against their flying vessel.

“Everyone.” World God Xiang Lu spoke out. The other cultivators turned their gazes from the Sea to him.

“According to what fellow Daoist Poisonfeather said, although this vessel is fast, it’ll still take over six hundred years to go through the Sea of Darkness. During these six hundred years, we’ll be in a state of constant danger. Thus, if anything happens I would like to ask that the more powerful experts among us to hold back. Please help out our weaker fellow Daoists. Once one of us dies, the formation will be dramatically weakened as well. The more of us die, the weaker the formation will be, making it even more difficult for us to safely traverse the Sea of Darkness,” World God Xiang Lu said.

“Naturally.”

“Since we are all on the same ship, we should all support and help each other.”

“Fellow Daoists, I hope all of us will be able to make it safely through this Sea of Darkness.”

The cultivators aboard the vessel were all quite nervous. This was the Sea of Darkness, after all. Most likely, few to none of them would dare to traverse this place all by themselves.

As for Ning, he watched quite calmly from his little corner. His original plan had been to venture into the Sea of Darkness alongside Su Youji, but that would have indeed been rather dangerous. Now that ninety-nine World-level cultivators had joined forces, if nothing went awry they would stand at least a ninety-plus percent chance of successfully traversing the Sea. If you factored in Ning’s true level of power, it could be said that they were virtually guaranteed to succeed.

Boom!

The pitch-black vessel flew forward at high speed, smashing straight into the Sea of Darkness. It continuously sped up as it flew forward, quickly breaking past the limits of the Heavenly Daos and continuing to skyrocket in speed. Soon, it reached a level of speed that was roughly double the speed of light. This was the vessel’s limit, and it began to cruise forward at this speed.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Dark, turbulent waves of distorted chaos and space repeatedly crashed the sides of the vessel.

As for the ninety-nine cultivators, they all stared intently at their surroundings. Even Ning elected to draw Violetjewel from its sheath on his back.

“What a nervous feeling.” Su Youji stared at her surroundings as well.

The World Gods and Chaos Immortals present were all extraordinary figures with extraordinary vision. Take Ji Ning, for instance. Even when he merely relied on his eyes, his current visual acuity far surpassed the level he was at back when he was an Empyrean God who used the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

“No need to be so worried, everyone. I’ve been through the Sea of Darkness before.” A pudgy, fat-faced, chubby-eared youth next to Ning let out a merry chuckle. “The most dangerous race of creatures here in the Sea of Darkness is the race of ‘Oddbats’, but they live in groups deep within the Sea of Darkness. Based on my previous experience, we’ll generally suffer just one attack every four or five days.”

“YIIIIII!” An ear-piercing screech suddenly rang out.

A strange beast that was pitch-black in color and had a pair of bat-like wings suddenly emerged out of nowhere from the spatial waves. It brandished its fierce claws as it charged straight towards one of the cultivators atop the vessel. Fortunately, that cultivator had been keeping a vigilant watch and immediately struck out with his enormous greataxe, the power of his blow causing space around him to congeal and turn almost solid.

“Kill.”

“Kill!”

One strange creature after began to emerge from the spatial waves, all having bat-like wings, incredibly sharp spear-like tails, and fierce claws.

“Oddbats!” Ning was wielding Violetjewel, while Su Youji had already entered her golem. She was able to control it at the same time as she controlled the many blade-like magic treasures around her.

“Kill! Kill!” One of the Oddbats flew onto the vessel and pounced straight towards Ning. Ning struck out with Violetjewel, transforming it into a streak of graceful sword-light that chopped straight towards the Oddbat’s neck. However, the Oddbat used its left claw to gracefully deflect the blow.

Clank!

When the sword clashed against the claw, a clanking sound was heard.

“According to the star map records I read pertaining to the Sea of Darkness, these Oddbat creatures have incredibly tough tails and claws, which are the hardest parts on their bodies and equivalent to Dao weapons. It seems this really is the case.” Still, Ning simply spun his sword-light in a relaxed, graceful manner.

Slash! How could a dumb creature such as an Oddbat possibly be able to defend against Ning’s marvelous sword-arts? The sword chopped straight through the Oddbat’s neck, severing its head from the rest of its body. Moments later, the Oddbat’s body began to completely break apart, leaving nothing behind.

Oddbats…

They were unique creatures that were formed from the unique environs of the Sea of Darkness. They possessed extremely low levels of intelligence, and they usually lived for only shockingly brief periods of time. Although they had World-level power, they lived for less than three centuries. Once three centuries passed, their bodies would naturally disintegrate and leave nothing behind. The only way for them to live longer was for them to undergo a fundamental evolution.

It could be said that there were three tiers of Oddbats. There were the black Oddbats, the silver Oddbats, and the golden Oddbats. The black Oddbats only lived for less than three centuries, the silver Oddbats lived for less than a chaos cycle, but the golden Oddbats could live forever.

However, every part of a golden Oddbat’s body was a precisely treasure. Generally speaking, when Samsara Daolords encountered them, they would immediately kill them and collect the corpse! Thus, there were very few golden Oddbats in the Sea of Darkness.

“Kill!”

Slash!

Bang!

Magic treasures flew everywhere, as did sword-light, saber-light, and divine abilities.

The cultivators aboard the flying vessel all used the various techniques they had available to quickly massacre any of the Oddbats who dared to invade their vessel. After battling for a short period of time, the remaining Oddbats all retreated.

Hundreds of Oddbats had taken part in this battle, all of black-colored ones who were fairly weak.

“That was certainly easy.”

“We beat them pretty easily.”

“I barely had a chance to even fight.”

The previously nervous cultivators all glanced at each other. Many were now much more relaxed than before.

“We were lucky this time. We only encountered black Oddbats. If a silver Oddbat had come, things would’ve been much more troublesome. I’ve heard that silver Oddbats are very nearly comparable to transcendent World Gods in power,” the chubby-faced youth chortled.

“Ol’ brother Ninehearts, can you please shut your yap? I don’t want to run into one of those silver Oddbats.” An old man next to him who had a face that looked like the withered bark of a dried tree shook his head helplessly.

“Silver Oddbats are nothing. According to the legends I heard, there are golden Oddbats as well,” the chubby-faced youth said.

Time slowly flowed on.

It was just as World God Ninehearts said. Every four or five days, they would suffer an attack. Every so often, a silver Oddbat would appear amongst the ranks of the black Oddbats!

None of the ninety-nine cultivators aboard the flying vessel were weak. Most were master-class World-level cultivators, and there were at least three supreme World-level cultivators! This was based on the amount of power they had displayed thus far.

A single supreme World-level cultivator, supported by the power of the formation, was enough to contend against one of the silver Oddbats.

“There really is strength in numbers.” Ning continued to relax in his corner of the flying vessel. Thus far, he hadn’t even used any divine abilities, much less the azureflower mist energy.

Ninety-nine World-level cultivators fighting in unison truly made for a powerful force. There was no need for Ning to fight too hard; they were able to easily defeat the repeated attacks by the Oddbats.

Three hundred and eleven years passed after their entry into the Sea of Darkness. The flying vessel continued to advance through the chaotic waves.

“Come, brother Darknorth. Drink with us!”

“Brother Poisonfeather.”

“Fairy Yun.”

The vessel was filled with the sound of laughter. Everyone was drinking and chatting, but they were also ready to engage in battle at a moment’s notice. They had gotten accustomed to fighting every few days during the past three centuries.

The battles had all been quite easy. Most of the World-level cultivators on the ship, Ning included, had yet to be forced to show their true power.

Roughly ten trillion kilometers away from them, in a region of chaotic space, an incredibly dense cluster of black Oddbats and a few silver Oddbats were ‘escorting’ a completely golden Oddbat. The golden Oddbat spread out its golden wings just a bit, its intelligent eyes staring at the distant flying vessel.

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Chapter 21 – Ambushed

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 21 – Ambushed

“Everything has been verified?” The golden Oddbat spoke verbally, its shrill voice reverberating in a strange manner that caused ripples to appear in the already-chaotic space around it.

“Everything has been verified, your Highness. That flying vessel is indeed crewed by World-level cultivators, and there are ninety-nine of them in total.” A silver Oddbat responded respectfully to the query.

Oddbats were extremely dumb creatures, with the black ones only capable of calling out for blood and mayhem. It was difficult for them to even form complete sentences. However, once they evolved to become silver Oddbats they would gain a much longer lifespan and a dramatically increased level of intelligence. Silver Oddbats were at least comparable to ordinary mortals in intelligence.

“Ninety-nine World-level cultivators?” The golden Oddbat stared coldly towards the distant vessel. “They actually managed to mass such a large number of cultivators? That probably means they don’t have any Samsara Daolords amongst their ranks. Samsara Daolords wouldn’t bother with waiting so long, they’d just go through by themselves. Mm… since that’s the case, ehehe…”

Oddbats had a strange fetish; they delighted in eating the flesh of cultivators. They could even devour the incredibly tough bodies of most World Gods! So long as those divine bodies had not reached the Dao weapon level, the golden Oddbats would be able to crunch through them like candy. To the golden Oddbats, cultivators were the finest delicacies in existence.

This was exacerbated by the fact that Oddbats generally tended to be massacred in vast numbers by travelers. Even their kings, the golden Oddbats, would often find themselves killed by Samsara Daolords if they were careless. Thus, the race of Oddbats harbored tremendous hatred for cultivators in general.

“What luck. The Sea of Darkness is such a vast place, but I actually managed to run into a vessel of cultivators. Kill them, my children!” The golden Oddbat let out a shrill shriek as it ordered, “Wipe out all the cultivators on that vessel! Kill them all!”

“Yes.” The nine silver Oddbats assented respectfully in unison.

“Yes!” “Yes!” “Yes!” The many black Oddbats all cried out in a raucous chorus.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The dense cluster of Oddbats all quickly passed through the spatial waves and flew towards the distant flying vessel. The Oddbats were born from within the Sea of Darkness and thus were born with the innate ability to conceal themselves within the violent spatial tempests within the Sea. This was the reason why they were able to fly close to the vessel without being detected.

The Sea of Darkness was incredibly vast, but it had very few golden Oddbats within it. Even though the vessel Ning’s group was in was incredibly fast, it would still need more than six centuries to pass through the Sea. One could imagine how utterly vast it was! This was why it was extremely rare for a group to be unlucky enough to encounter a golden Oddbat. In fact, dozens of squads would often pass through the Sea without a single squad encountering one.

“Master, before we entered the Sea of Darkness you frightened me half to death with the stories about how dangerous this place is. Well? Look at how relaxed we all are!” Su Youji was seated next to Ji Ning in a corner of the vessel. The two were engaged in conversation.

“That’s because you have more than ninety other cultivators fighting alongside you, helping you deal with those Oddbats. If the two us had to deal with them all by ourselves, what do you think would happen?” Ning gave her a sideways glance.

Su Youji blinked.

What would happen?

Although Ji Ning was strong, he was still just one person. He’d only be able to deal with a portion of the Oddbats at any given point in time. Su Youji would have to rely on her golem and the bugbeasts to fight against them, but she’d still be in grave danger.

But of course, now that they had ninety-nine cultivators and a supportive formation, things were completely different.

“If I have to blame someone, I’m going to blame you for not having sufficiently detailed information,” Su Youji mumbled. “The awe-inspiringly, inconceivably famous Daolord Nihilate failed in his Daomerge and is now searching for a disciple. How is it that your intelligence reports made no mention of such earth-shaking news?”

Ning couldn’t help but let out an involuntarily snort.

The Sea of Darkness was an incredibly dangerous place. Although it was located next to the Qianyun Territory, in normal times it was extremely rare for cultivators to pass through the Sea, and they would only do so if they had an extremely special reason for it. It would take a very long period of time for ninety-nine World-level cultivators to be gathered. In contrast, this time they had managed to reach this figure in a very short period of time.

This was because of something which had happened on the other end of the Sea of Darkness, within the Jadesea Territory. A Samsara Daolord known as Daolord Nihilate had failed in his Daomerge, then had publicly proclaimed that he wished to take on a disciple!

Daolord Nihilate was an incredibly famous figure, especially in the surrounding territories. However, he was a solitary figure with no sect and no disciples to his name.

Now that he had failed in his Daomerge, he had suddenly realized that he didn’t have any heirs at all. This was why he had chosen to accept a disciple. Daolords who had failed in the Daomerge were all at least Verge-class Daolords who were just as powerful as Daolord Solesky! If such a powerful Daolord wished to take on a disciple, almost every World-level cultivator would be willing to sacrifice almost anything in order to become that disciple!

Although this master would undoubtedly die in the future, it was a fact that even a World God like Northrest was able to survive for a full chaos cycle before his truesoul faded away. So long as Daolord Nihilate didn’t go crazy and engaged in repeated, frenzied battles, he would be able to stay alive for an extremely long period of time. By the time he passed away, his guidance probably would’ve resulted in his student becoming a Samsara Daolord as well.

More importantly… who would dare to antagonize you if you had a master who had just failed his Daomerge? It could be said that prior to your master dying, you could do whatever you wished and be completely unchallenged. More than 80% of the people on Ning’s vessel were heading to the Jadesea Territory to try and take on Daolord Nihilate as their master.

“While travelling to this place from the Badlands Territory, I heard quite a few legends and stories about things that had happened in the ancient past. I heard many stories about truly powerful Daolords who failed their Daomerge, their Daos vanishing and their lives ending…” Ning shook his head and sighed. “I really have heard of very few Daolords who succeeded in their Daomerge.”

Ning was worried about Daolord Solesky. Although they hadn’t had many interactions with each other, Daolord Solesky truly had treated Ning as he would a brother. In the Windsource Ruins, Daolord Solesky had suffered severe injuries but elected to go all-out in attempting to locate Ning before even treating his own wounds. Only after he had located Ning had he calmed down and started to heal himself. Ning had felt tremendously moved by him when NIng saw this.

“Watch out!”

“YIIIIIII!”

A sudden, shocking, high-pitched Oddbat shriek suddenly rang out. The cultivators who had been chatting calmly amongst each other instantly took control of their respective treasures and weapons, then started to attack.

Slash! Sword-light flashed in Ning’s hands as he slew a black Oddbat. The creature’s head went flying off, then the rest of its body dissipated into nothingness.

“What?!” Ning’s face suddenly fell dramatically.

A tight, dense cluster of black Oddbats had appeared in the area around the vessel. There were far more Oddbats this time than there had ever been in the past, at least ten times more than the previous record! There had to be thousands of the things. They all circled around the vessel, causing it to slow down and eventually come to a full stop, unable to move any further.

“Transform.’ Ning’s body blurred as he manifested three heads and six arms. He now wielded six Violetjewels in his arms.

“Careful, everyone.”

“There are nine of those silver Oddbats.”

The situation instantly turned extremely grim as all the cultivators began to grow nervous. It must be understood that every single silver Oddbat was comparable to a transcendent World God in power. Even though the cultivators were all supported by the power of their formation, they had to have originally possessed the power of a supreme World God if they wished to be able to give the silver Oddbats a good fight.

Whoosh. Ning’s sword-light spun out in a beautiful arc, causing eight of the black Oddbats around him to be annihilated.

“Youji, bind this bugnest.” Ning immediately tossed a jade green globe to Su Youji. As soon as she bound it, she would be in control of the fifty-one bugbeasts stored within it. Given how ugly the situation was looking and how many Oddbats were attacking, Ning was worried that he wouldn’t be able to protect her.

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded. She wouldn’t decline or be polite at a time like this, and she immediately bound the treasure.

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

“There’s too many of these Oddbats!”

“Why are there so many?”

“Block that silver Oddbat!”

A wild battle was occurring atop the flying vessel. Magic treasures flew everywhere while World Gods charged to and fro.

“Let me deal with this silver Oddbat.”

“I’ll handle that one!”

The cultivators on the vessel had never experienced a truly dangerous situation during this trip. Quite a few of them had therefore been hiding their true power. Now, however, they had to reveal everything. There were actually more than ten cultivators who had the power of supreme World Gods! It made sense. If you wanted to become a disciple of Daolord Nihilate, you had to have enough power to back up that goal.

“Kill!”

Ning had transformed into a ghostly blur, his swords becoming even more ephemeral and unpredictable than before. They struck out lightning fast, causing Oddbats to perish wherever they went. The Oddbats were completely unable to defend against Ning’s terrifying sword-art.

During the past three hundred-plus years, Ning had often sent incarnations of divine power into the estate-worlds of the Mirrorsnow Paintings to challenge the guardians. His sword-arts were now much more powerful than they had been back in the Badlands Territory.

“Wipe out any Oddbats that get near me.” Su Youji summoned her bugbeasts, calling out a total of thirty of them to surround her and slay any Oddbats that dared to draw near her.

The black Oddbats were all quite weak, after all. These bugbeasts all had the power of master-class World Gods; plenty strong enough to deal with Oddbats.

Cultivators were engaged in fierce battles throughout the entire vessel. As a result, they were able to just barely hold their own against this assault by the nine silver Oddbats and thousands of black Oddbats.

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Chapter 22 – Golden Oddbat

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 22 – Golden Oddbat

More and more black Oddbats died as the battle progressed, resulting in the cultivators relaxing slightly. Although the situation was still quite grim, they were no longer under as much pressure as they were before.

The chubby, fat-faced youth named World God Ninehearts suddenly turned his head to stare off into the distance, his face turning pale. He immediately shouted mentally to everyone, “Watch out!”

Whoosh!

A blurry figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to a tall, skinny World God who was dressed in black armor. The World God was already engaged in battle, but he hurriedly chopped out with the waraxe in his hands.

Clank!

Crunch!

The illusory figure suddenly seemed to wrap itself around the World God’s head. Crunch! The head was bitten clean off. Only now did the other cultivators on the vessel see that the creature which had bit off the head of the World God was a golden Oddbat. The golden Oddbat’s wings were spread out and its terrifying aura had completely enveloped the entire vessel. It then swallowed down the rest of the World God’s body into its tummy.

“A golden Oddbat.” The faces of all the cultivators present turned ashen.

Golden Oddbats were unique, legendary creatures of the Sea of Darkness. They were the most terrifying creatures that could be found in the Sea! Silver Oddbats were comparable to transcendent World Gods, while golden Oddbats were comparable to Daolords of the First Step. Powerful Samsara Daolords were able to easily slaughter golden Oddbats, treating their body parts as valuable treasures, but World-level cultivators viewed the golden Oddbats as utter nightmares. How many World-level cultivators were able to battle against Daolords of the First Step?

Ninety-eight cultivators were still alive, but the death of that single cultivator resulted in the strength of the formation dropping by nearly 30%! If the ninety-eight cultivators worked together, they would be able to withstand that golden Oddbat. The problem was that there were nine silver Oddbats and thousands of black Oddbats attacking them as well. The cultivators present simply didn’t have any excess capacity to spare right now.

“Careful, everyone! Hold on for as long as you can. Brother Ninehearts, brother Loopwise, join me in fighting against that golden Oddbat. If we let it slaughter the others, all of us are going to die.” The master of the flying vessel, the bald silver-eyed World God Poisonfeather, sent a hurried mental message to the others.

World God Poisonfeather, World God Ninehearts, and World God Loopwise were the supreme World Gods on the vessel who were not tied down in combat against a silver Oddbat.

“Hurry up and go.”

“Leave the other Oddbats to us.”

“Be careful!”

The other cultivators all gritted their teeth as they fought, doing their best to hold on as long as they could.

The three supreme World Gods Poisonfeather, Ninehearts, and Loopwise all transformed into streaks of light as they flew strange towards that golden Oddbat.

The golden Oddbat watched coldly as those three powerful cultivators charged towards it. It was extremely confident in its own powers. It was capable of avoiding the three, but why would it even see the need to avoid the three?

They were merely World-level cultivators. In the golden Oddbat’s eyes, these cultivators were nothing more than tasty snacks!

“Puny cultivators…” The golden Oddbat spread wide its golden, bat-like wings as the three cultivators reached its side. Supported and empowered by the group formation, they could be considered to have just barely reached the transcendent World God level of power.

“Light.” World God Poisonfeather had a solemn look on his face. He stabbed forward with the pike in his hands, a spot of light appearing at its tip. The surrounding area was completely plunged into darkness, leaving behind only that single tip of light.

“Die.” World God Loopwise complete transformed a savage, roaring wave of blood. Flickers of saber-light could be seen flashing within this wave of blood as it surged towards the golden Oddbat.

“If you don’t die, who will?” The chubby, fat-faced youth World God Ninehearts struck out with his longspear, causing spacetime to distort and fold in on itself. It seemed as though there was no way for anyone to dodge this spear no matter what.

These three were amongst the most powerful cultivators on this vessel. Although the other cultivators were furiously defending against the onslaught of the other Oddbats, they were able to spare a little bit of attention to watch this battle. When they saw these three killer moves being unleashed, they couldn’t help but feel a hint of eagerness.

Rumble…

The golden Oddbat suddenly flapped its giant golden bat wings. As soon as its wings moved, all of the chaotic spatial waves around it suddenly turned still… and then, the golden Oddbat itself became the source of all of the spatial waves in this area. Its flapping wings began to kick up an enormous spatial tempest as the wings began to rapidly increase in size, to the point where the wings seemed large enough to cover the entire vessel.

Poisonfeather’s lance, Loopwise’s saber-light, Ninehearts’ longspear…

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out.

All three World Gods were knocked flying backwards. They slammed hard into the deck of the ship, all three of them vomiting out blood.

“How can this be?”

“How can it be this powerful?”

“Three supreme World Gods, supported by our formation, aren’t even able to withstand a single strike from it?”

“How can…”

The ninety-plus cultivators instantly felt their hearts freeze and their hopes vanish. Apparently, those three supreme World Gods weren’t even close to being a match for the golden Oddbat. Most likely, all of the supreme World Gods on the vessel would have to join forces in order to have a chance! Alas, the vessel was being assaulted by nine silver Oddbats and the thousands of black Oddbats as well.

“We are finished.” Some of the cultivators began to feel despair. They couldn’t come up with any solutions for dealing with these foes.

“In terms of technique or their mastery of the Dao, those three are my equals.” Ning had watched carefully as those three had charged forward. He had actually followed right behind them, watching them test out the golden Oddbat in the hopes that he could get a sense of how powerful it truly was.

As soon as those enormous bat-wings had flapped, the three World Gods had been knocked flying backwards.

Ning frowned slightly upon seeing this. He was quickly able to come to a series of judgments. “So it really is true! Oddbats are all incredibly dumb creatures. Even golden Oddbats are only talented in the Dao of Space because of their incredible innate gifts in this Dao. Despite that, their insights are only comparable to the insights of ordinary World-level cultivators.”

Oddbats. The black Oddbats had the intelligence level of ordinary human infants, and they knew almost no combat techniques at all. They relied entirely on their innate gifts to battle.

Golden Oddbats were far more powerful, but their insights into the Dao were merely comparable to the insights of ordinary World-level cultivators. They weren’t even close to being a match for Ning and the others in this regard.

“Its insights into the Dao are quite ordinary! The problem is that it is incredibly fast and possesses overwhelming physical power.” Ning’s eyelids twitched slightly. “Its body is incredibly tough. No wonder everyone says that the corpse of a golden Oddbat is a priceless treasure. Its various parts can be used to forge Eternal weapons.”

The claws, fangs, and tail of a golden Oddbat were all comparable to Eternal weapons. Its other parts were slightly weaker but still formidable. For example, its wings were soft but resilient, while its skin was quite smooth. Its entire body was terrifyingly strong, granting it incredible speed and strength. When it had flapped its enormous wings just now, it actually hadn’t used any intricate techniques. It had relied on its overwhelming superiority in strength to send those three cultivators halfway to Hell!

“Cultivators are truly useless.” The golden Oddbat spread out its enormous wings once more as it stood there atop the flying vessel. It turned its cold, insidious gaze towards the other cultivators on the boat. All of the cultivators began to feel a sense of despair. What were they going to do? How were they supposed to stop it?

“How boring. All of you can go die now. Ahahaha…” The golden Oddbat let out an ear-piercing laugh as it suddenly pounced towards the nearest cultivator, who hurriedly beat a frantic retreat in terror.

Swish!

A blinding streak of sword-light suddenly pierced through the air towards the golden Oddbat, colliding directly against the golden Oddbat’s sharp claws.

Clang! The golden Oddbat was brought to a momentary halt.

As for Ning, he couldn’t help but stumble backwards by three steps, each step so heavy as to cause the entire vessel to tremble.

Ning’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the golden Oddbat. He was now supported by the azureflower mist energy; with its energy supporting him, the additional power granted by the formation was almost negligible. “What terrifying strength. It is far stronger than I am.”

The golden Oddbat stopped moving as it turned to stare at Ning, weighing him.

The entire vessel fell silent. All the cultivators turned to focus on this sight.

Ji Ning had manifested three heads and six arms and was wielding six swords. He and the golden Oddbat were staring at each other intently from afar.

The golden Oddbat continued to stare weighingly at Ning, then let out another one of those ear-piercing laughs. Its voice echoed throughout the surrounding void as it said, “I didn’t expect to find someone so powerful here. You should be the most powerful person on this vessel.”

“That’s brother Darknorth.”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth!”

The other cultivators were overjoyed upon seeing this. They were stunned at the level of power which Ning had just unleashed, but they were also filled with a powerful urge and hope to stay alive!

“But it is useless. You will still die.” The golden Oddbat let out that bizarre laugh. “All the cultivators on this vessel will die!” As it laughed, it transformed into a blur as it pounced straight towards Ning.

“Kill!” Ning didn’t back down in the slightest, charging straight forward with six Violetjewels at the ready.

Ning was like a streak of light while the golden Oddbat was like an illusory blur. The two instantly collided against each other! Ning possessed astonishing speed and strength, but the golden Oddbat was superior to even Ning in these two aspects.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two instantly clashed dozens of times. No one dared to draw near the two of them.

BOOM! An enormous explosion rang out as the golden tail and the sword-light both struck the deck of the flying vessel at the same time, knocking it askew and flipping it over. All of the cultivators and Oddbats were sent flying out of the vessel. They all hurriedly moved to avoid Ji Ning and the golden Oddbat, who had now truly begun to fight.

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Chapter 23 – Terror

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 23 – Terror

The Dao-tree Ji Ning’s Jindan chaos region was now more than ninety thousand meters tall. His Sword World was incredibly powerful, and the six Violetjewels in his hands were Eternal weapons of ridiculous power. Ning also had the azureflower mist energy reinforcing him, making his body comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step, and yet…

BOOM!

Ning was sent staggering backwards, but his swordplay remained orderly. He stared intently at the distant golden Oddbat.

“It is simply too physically strong.” Ning felt genuine amazement in his heart. “It clearly has terrible combat techniques, but it is still able to suppress me.”

The golden Oddbat’s wings were spread, but its gaze was turned towards the other cultivators in the distance as it watched those ninety-plus cultivators fight against its many children. The cultivators were slowly gaining the upper hand as the number of black Oddbats began to decline, causing the golden Oddbat to feel rather impatient.

“Hmph, I’ll let you stay alive for a bit longer.” The golden Oddbat let out an ear-piercing screech as it shot out in a solitary arc, seeking to move past Ning and assault the other cultivators.

“What?!”

“Not good!”

The ninety-plus cultivators had all been paying attention to the battle between the golden Oddbat and Ning. They were all shocked to see the golden Oddbat head their way.

They all knew how incredibly fast the golden Oddbat was. Previously, the golden Oddbat had simply been so proud and arrogant that it had stood there without moving, allowing those three World Gods to assault it. It had battled against Ning for quite some time before it began to grow impatient. It set aside its pride, intending to move around Ning and slay the other cultivators instead.

“No running!” Ning let out a loud roar as the Thunderlight Wings suddenly appeared on his back. The Thunderlight Wings fluttered slightly, causing his speed to dramatically increase.

“Halt!” A dazzling, eye-catching streak of crimson-gold lightning suddenly shot out of Ning’s forehead. This streak of crimson-gold lightning moved with incredible speed, far faster than the golden Oddbat itself. The lightning furiously smote the golden Oddbat with a direct blow! This was one of the streaks of [Novessence Thunder] which Ning had mastered.

Crackle! Hiss! The crimson-gold lightning completely surrounded the golden Oddbat’s body. The golden Oddbat was so powerful that it could completely ignore the damage caused by the crimson-gold lightning, but the lightning had a powerful restrictive effect on it. It was like a supreme World God was doing everything he could to keep his arms wrapped around it, causing the golden Oddbat’s movements to be encumbered.

Ning was incredibly fast to begin with, his speed being comparable to that of ordinary Daolords. Now that he was using his Thunderlight Wings, the two were fairly close in speed. Given that golden Oddbat was being slowed down by Ning’s [Novessence Thunder], Ning was immediately able to catch up.

“Damn.” The golden Oddbat was enraged.

“Good!”

“Well done, brother Darknorth!”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth truly is an admirable figure.”

Shouts of delight rang out from afar, as well as some laughter.

As Ning caught up to the golden Oddbat, his six Eternal weapons struck out like six blood-colored wyrms as he furiously assaulted the creature, once more stopping it in its tracks.

“Everyone, help me out by getting rid of the other Oddbats as soon as possible,” Ning called out laughingly.

“Right on!”

“These Oddbats are easy to deal with.”

“Hurry up, fellow Daoists. It isn’t easy for brother Darknorth to fend off the golden Oddbat!” The cultivators could now see hope, and so they did their absolute best to wipe out the remaining Oddbats.

As for Ning, he continued to battle against the golden Oddbat in single combat while using the [Novessence Thunder] to bind it. The power of that crimson-gold lightning was completely applied to the golden Oddbat’s body, causing it to be slowed down slightly. Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement at how tough its body was.

“If I were to use the Elementum Waterflame Gourd and release the lightning it holds, it would definitely release more power than my [Novessence Thunder] possesses.” Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh. “The problem is that it would just be one level of power stronger. I would at most have the upper hand but I still would find it difficult to actually kill this golden Oddbat.”

The Elementum Waterflame Gourd held two types of Dao lightning. Dao lightning was capable of sweeping aside almost anyone below the Daolord level of power! However, it was only capable of wiping out master-class World Gods in one strike; it was at most just slightly stronger than the [Novessence Thunder] which Ning had put such effort into creating.

When these two types of water-attribute and fire-attribute Dao lightning joined together, they would be significantly stronger, most likely capable of slaying supreme World Gods in one blow! They were capable of heavily injuring transcendent World Gods and have a major restrictive effect on Daolords of the First Step. Alas, the golden Oddbat was simply too physically tough, and its claws, fangs, and tail were comparable to Eternal weapons in might. Even its skin and its wings, some of its weaker body parts, were comparable to Dao weapons. It would be extremely difficult for Ning to injure it with his sword.

“In addition, the Elementum Waterflame Gourd is an important treasure. I spent five hundred and fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar for it! If I was to use it, everyone would be able to recognize it right away. Elementum Waterflame Gourds are incredibly famous Eternal weapons. If they recognize it… once these cultivators reach the other end of the Sea of Darkness, word of it being in my possession will spread and I’ll probably be in a lot of trouble.”

Although they were currently on the same vessel, a treasure worth over half a million cubes of chaos nectar was alluring for even many Samsara Daolords, to say nothing of World-level cultivators. The reason why Ning had purchased this treasure was to use it as a killer trump card! He would only use it in dire situations, when his very life was at stake. But of course, he also had it since he would need those two types of Dao lightning when training in the second part of the [Novessence Thunder].

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Ahaha, this is fun.”

“Kill them all.”

Thanks to Ning tying down the golden Oddbat, the other cultivators slowly began to gain the upper hand as more and more Oddbats perished.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, just hold it off for a while longer. We’ll be ready to reinforce you soon.”

“We’ll be there shortly!”

The cultivators began to pick up the pace in killing the Oddbats.

As for the golden Oddbat, it let out a furious, ear-piercing screech. After having been tied down for so long, it finally couldn’t take it any longer. It roared furiously, “Let’s go, children! Let’s go! Go!”

Boom! The golden Oddbat flapped its massive wings, creating a terrifying spatial tempest as it began to flee off into the distance.

The nine silver Oddbats and the few surviving black Oddbats all hastily fled as well, moving at incredibly fast speeds.

Ning stared as the golden Oddbat disappeared into the distance. He didn’t try to chase it. If he did, he would probably be surrounded and attacked by all of the Oddbats! In addition, these Oddbats were born and bred here in the Sea of Darkness. They knew it better than any cultivator. If Ning really did give chase, he might well be led into and trapped within a dangerous part of the Sea.

“It is over.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. Being able to force these Oddbats into retreating was already an excellent outcome. Ning’s goal was to reach Vastheaven Palace, after all. It wasn’t to kill a golden Oddbat.

Atop the flying vessel.

The cultivators had all returned to the flying vessel, which once more began to accelerate.

“Brother Darknorth, it was all thanks to you that we made it. If it wasn’t for you, we would probably all be dead.”

“Haha, I’m embarrassed to say this, but all this time I felt certain that I was one of the strongest cultivators on this vessel. Now, it seems, brother Darknorth is capable of defeating me in a single blow.”

“We actually encountered a transcendent World God on this trip, eh? This truly is a rare occasion. Come, fellow Daoist Darknorth. Let me offer you a toast!”

The vessel was filled with the sound of laughter.

Transcendent World Gods, when supported by the power of their formation, would be comparable to Daolords of the First Step. Thus, most of them felt certain that Ning was a transcendent World God. What they didn’t realize was that Ning’s own azureflower mist energy was actually far stronger than their formation, which had provided him with just a negligible amount of assistance.

Ning, of course, wouldn’t tell them the truth. This was his secret.

“Without everyone else helping out, I probably would’ve ended up dying after being encircled by the golden Oddbat and thousands of other Oddbats.” Ning also laughed as he chatted and drank with the other cultivators.

The spatial waves within the Sea of Darkness remained as savage as ever. The ninety-eight cultivators continued to fly through the Sea within their vessel, chatting, drinking, and celebrating their victory. But just at this moment…

Whoooooosh.

An enormous, pitch-black opening suddenly appeared within the spatial waves around them. The opening was over a million kilometers in size… and a head slowly began to emerge from within it.

This head was utterly enormous, at least a million kilometers in size as well. Its two eyes were like two enormous blazing suns, and it was staring right at the flying vessel.

“What?!”

“Good heavens…”

“What is…”

The carousing cultivators aboard the flying vessel all stared wide-eyed in horror, as didi Ning. They could feel their truesouls quivering in terror as an incredible, indescribable sense of danger crashed down upon them. This was a warning that the Destiny Sea was sending to them…

Whoosh. The enormous head opened its mouth, causing a pitch-black corridor of spacetime to appear. All of the cultivators were instantly drawn inwards towards its mouth. Ning was the strongest cultivator present, and he tried to activate his Thunderlight Wings to escape, but even he found it impossible to shake off that sucking effect.

The entire flying vessel was swallowed into the spacetime corridor of darkness located within the creature’s mouth, as were all ninety-eight cultivators.

Spacetime was in a state of absolute flux within this dark corridor. Soon, the vessel and all ninety-eight cultivators completely vanished.

The blazing, sun-sized eyes of the titanic head swept the surrounding area with a glance, then slowly shrank back into the enormous dark cavity from whence it came. That enormous dark hole then vanished as well and the Sea of Darkness once more returning to its regular appearance.

However, the ninety-eight cultivators and the flying vessel they had been in had completely vanished from the Sea of Darkness.

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Chapter 24 – Taken By Force

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 24 – Taken By Force

A territory located unfathomably far away from the Sea of Darkness.

An enormous rhombus-shaped gemstone was located atop a chaos star, emanating ripples of power.

“I need to get closer to it. I can still move a bit closer.”

More than a hundred World-level cultivators had been gathered here atop this chaos star. Their gazes blazed as they stared at the enormous rhombus jewel that had been firmly planted into the ground off in the distance. The ripples emanating from the jewel were being transmitted straight into their minds.

“A karmic fortune has been placed before me. I have to grasp it.”

“I can keep moving closer.”

The World-level cultivators were like children who had just started to learn how to walk. Every single step they took was incredibly difficult, and the closer they moved to it, the more invisible pressure was applied to their very truesouls. Despite this, they continued to strive to move closer to the rhombus so that they might more clearly hear the voice that was hidden within those ripples of power.

The voice was like the voice of the Dao itself.

Whoosh.

An enormous, pitch-black hole that was over a million kilometers in size suddenly and silently opened above that chaos star. A titanic head slowly emerged from within the hole, and it stared with its two blazing sun-like eyes towards the cultivators below it.

“What the…”

The hundred-plus World-level cultivators were disturbed from their reverie. They had been consumed by delight upon encountering this tremendous karmic fortune, but they now all stared upwards in shock at the terrifying head that had just appeared. Their truesouls were all shaking in terror!

Whoosh.

The enormous head opened its lips and inhaled, an enormous pitch-black spatial corridor appearing within its mouth. The hundred-plus World-level cultivators atop the chaos star were all drawn towards it, unable to resist its power in the slightest. They were all sucked into the spatial corridor, and even the rhombus jewel that had been planted onto the star was drawn in as well.

Gulp. The enormous head shut its mouth, then retreated back into the pitch-black hole which closed behind it.

Utter stillness was left behind in its wake.

……

The Gelian Territory. This was one of the territories located beyond the control of the Dao Alliance. The Aeonians were in control of this territory.

Two beautifully dressed major powers were striding through the chaos of space.

Spacetime twisted and distorted around them. They seemed to be moving slowly, but each step they took allowed them to travel a far greater distance than World-level cultivators travelled through teleportation.

“Gorsch, you were actually willing to let little Gorho become apprenticed to me? That means if he becomes Awakened in the future, he’ll be considered at least partially my subordinate.” A dazzling beautiful woman dressed in long green robes chuckled merrily as she spoke.

“In all my years, I’ve never seen any descendants of mine who have more potential than Little Gorho. Although he is currently just a World-level cultivator, I’ve raised him and taught him so that he is capable of battling against Daolords of the First Step. And that’s not even his limit! His greatest skill lies in the Dao of Spacetime… and you are one of the top two masters of spacetime in our entire Aeonian race. Only by apprenticing himself to you can he truly reach the greatest heights possible in the Dao of Spacetime.” The silver-haired, middle-aged man had a look of desire in his eyes.

The silver-haired man continued, “The stronger one is prior to being Awakened, the more they will benefit after their Awakening, and the more potential they will have! I’ve watched as little Gorho grew up and taught him step-by-step. It is true that as your disciple, he’ll be considered as half your subordinate… but for the sake of his future growth, I decided to let you take advantage of me.”

“You are making it sound as though I’m taking huge advantage of you.” The green-robed woman laughed. “I’ll have to spend a lot of effort in teaching him, you know?”

“There aren’t many of us Aeonians, and there are even fewer descendants with as much potential as this child. Little Gorho can Awaken himself whenever he wishes, but been intentionally suppressing himself. Don’t pretend you haven’t won the lottery by gaining a disciple of such potential,” the silver-haired man said.

“Let’s make things clear from the get-go. Since he is going to be my disciple, I’m going to keep him by my side for a full chaos cycle,” the green-robed woman said. “You are not permitted to interfere.”

“Fine.” The silver-haired man assented.

The two chatted and laughed as they strolled through the void of space, quickly reaching a different chaosworld.

“Eh!?” The green-haired woman’s face tightened. A speck of golden light appeared in each of her eyes that shone down upon the surrounding region of spacetime. A solemn look on her face, she immediately said, “The spacetime in the surrounding area has been forcibly distorted.”

“Forcibly distorted?” The silver-haired man’s face tightened as well. He immediately sent out his senses to scan the entire chaosworld.

“Where’s little Gorho?”

“Why is he missing?”

The silver-haired man was stunned. “Why are even his servants… wait, even the protectors of this chaosworld are missing?” According to the rules he had set down, the protectors were absolutely forbidden from leaving without his permission as this was an incredibly important part of the territory of King Gorsch.

But now, all of the World-level cultivators had gone missing from this chaosworld, including his most cherished descendant Gorho.

“My subordinates would never leave without my permission. Someone must’ve slaughtered them or captured them.” Flames began to flicker around the silver-haired man’s body, and his eyes became filled with a murderous look. “If spacetime has been distorted here, we should be able to trace the ripples of spacetime to locate the person who did this. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to KILL HIM.”

“You can’t kill him…” The green-haired woman had an ugly look on her face.

“Eh?” The silver-haired man turned to look at her.

“I can’t find any traces at all. The person who twisted spacetime here is even stronger than me in the Dao of Spacetime,” the green-haired woman explained. “There’s no way at all for you to stop him if he chooses not to fight you.”

“Even stronger than you in the Dao of Spacetime?” The silver-haired man could hardly believe it.

“Who on earth did this?” The green-robed woman frowned. “Could it be the Dao Alliance? There’s only a few members of the Dao Alliance capable of doing such a thing, but would they really lower themselves to act against little Gorho? They wouldn’t, right…?”

……

A blazingly hot chaos star. An enormous pitch-black hole suddenly appeared above it, followed by that gigantic head slowly emerging from within it. It opened its mouth and began to suck in the entire chaos star. The chaos star transformed into a blazing beast of fire with an aura of incredible power. Struggling to break free, it let out a furious roar: “Who are you?!”

“Time to come home, child.” The gigantic beast-head gave a simple reply, then sucked the blazing creature towards the pitch-black spatial corridor that had appeared in its mouth.

Whoosh. The blazing creature wasn’t able to fight back at all. It flew closer and closer towards the spatial corridor, shrinking in size as it did before finally being completely sucked in.

The gigantic head retreated from the black hole, which quickly closed behind it.

……

“How diverting.” A human-shaped figure that was completely formed out of water was seated in the emptiness of space, staring curiously at the world around it.

Whoosh. A pitch-black hole appeared next to it, followed by the emergence of that titanic head.

“Little newborn child…”

The titanic head opened up its mouth and began to draw in the watery figure.

“Uh? Eh?” The watery humanoid figure found itself irresistibly pulled towards that spatial corridor. It watched with curiosity, not trying to fight back at all. This was because it didn’t sense even the slightest bit of enmity or hostility from the seemingly terrifying creature before it.

……

During this period of time, many powerful creatures mysteriously vanished from throughout the Endless Territories.

When Ji Ning and the other cultivators aboard the flying vessel were drawn into the spacetime corridor, they could sense space and time twisting around them. It was quite similar to the feeling of being transported through a spacetime transfer array.

“This is a spacetime transfer. Where are we being transferred to?” Ning and the other cultivators were all filled with unease. The behemoth which had sucked them in was simply too powerful.

Whoosh. Spacetime suddenly stabilized once more.

“Where are we?” Ning could now see that there were at the peak of a towering mountain. They had been teleported to this incredibly large mountain, and there were many other living beings here already. More than half were cultivators, and there had to be over a thousand cultivators gathered here.

Ning and the other ninety-seven cultivators first put away the flying vessel, then looked around cautiously.

“What is this place?”

“Fellow Daoists, where are we? How do we leave this place?” World God Xiang Lu immediately queried the cultivators who had arrived here before them.

A black-robed cultivator glanced at World God Xiang Lu, then slowly shook his head. “There’s no way to leave. This mountain peak is surrounded by restrictive spells. You won’t be able to take so much as a single step off of the mountain. As for the mountain itself, we aren’t able to damage it in the slightest. To tell you the truth, we just got here a few hours before you did.”

When Ning and the others heard this, their faces tightened slightly as pensive looks appeared in their eyes.

Right at this moment, yet another hundred-plus cultivators suddenly appeared out of nowhere. All of the cultivators looked quite lost and uneasy.

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Chapter 25 – The Most Powerful Kingdom

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 25 – The Most Powerful Kingdom

Ji Ning stared at his surroundings. Many of the cultivators who had arrived alongside him tested out the borders of the mountain peak, only to find that it was indeed surrounded by invisible restrictive spells. As for flying upwards, they were only able to fly roughly three hundred meters into the air before being unable to move another inch.

“What sort of restrictive spell is this?” Ning gave the invisible barrier in front of him a push. Even when Ning applied his azureflower mist energy, he was completely unable to budge the barrier in the slightest.

“That mysterious behemoth felt absolutely terrifying. Not even big brother Solesky or Daolord Badlands gave me a sensation of such absolute terror.” Ning was still amazed by this. Both Daolord Solesky and Daolord Badlands were extremely powerful Daolords of the Endless Territories. “Perhaps it was because the two of them were very kind towards me, which was why I didn’t sense much danger from them.”

“Master! Master!” Su Youji appeared by Ning’s side.

“Mm?” Ning looked at her.

Su Youji said urgently, “Master, I heard some of the cultivators say that they are from the Springman Territory and appeared here after being swallowed by that behemoth. Other cultivators said that they were from the Vastheaven Territory before being swallowed…”

Ning was startled.

The Springman Territory? Never heard of it.

The Vastheaven Territory? That was where he was headed towards.

They had all been swallowed by that behemoth? For a single behemoth of such terrifying power to exist in the Endless Territories was already quite impressive. Ning refuse to believe that multiple such beasts existed.

“After the behemoth swallowed us, it formed a spatial corridor within its mouth.” Ning reflected on this. “It would appear as though this mysterious behemoth is extremely, extremely skilled in the Dao of Spacetime. This might be the reason why it was able to appear within so many places in the Endless Territories in such a brief period of time.”

“Perhaps it isn’t actually that much more powerful than my big brother Solesky. It is probably just incredibly talented in spacetime.” This was what Ning told himself to console himself, but he also understood just how terrifying this creature had to be in order for it to appear in so many places at once.

It must be understood that Daolord Solesky had to physically, laboriously travel all the way from the Vastheaven Territory to the Badlands Territory, making usage of many spacetime transfer arrays on the way! The ability to effortlessly appear throughout the Endless Territories was an utterly inconceivable ability.

Ning consoled himself, telling himself that it was possible that the mysterious behemoth wasn’t really that powerful. If this was the case, his chances of escaping would be a bit better. And yet, deep in his heart he knew the truth…

That the more likely possibility was that this mysterious behemoth was extremely, extremely powerful! Far more powerful than Daolord Solesky! It must be understood that Daolord Allgod was an example of someone who vastly outstripped Daolord Solesky. In fact, he had even been capable of chasing down and assaulting Eternal Emperors!

“What should I do? How should I leave this place?” Ning began to grow restless and nervous.

Was he supposed to just give up on his true body? Should he allow his clone in the Badlands Territory to once more work on rebuilding his main true body? It would be easy for him to rebuild his true body, but all of the treasures it was carrying… the six Eternal swords, the three Mirrorsnow Paintings, the Elementum Waterflame Gourd… there was no way to get them back.

“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Ning decided to just wait patiently. “Since the behemoth went to the trouble of pulling us to this place, it won’t just kill us for no reason.”

Time flowed on, day by day.

One day, two days, three days… more and more cultivators appeared on the mountain peak, as did many other types of living creatures.

Twelve days passed in the blink of an eye.

More than thirty thousand cultivators were now present at the mountain peak, as well as many other living creatures that were usually quite rare. There were plant-based lifeforms, flame-based lifeforms, stone-based lifeforms, and more. All of them were incredibly powerful, and there were thousands of them gathered here. These were some of the rarest types of lifeforms in the Endless Territories!

“Master, it seems as though no one else is coming.” Su Youji whispered softly to Ning from her position by his side.

“Yes. Half a day has gone by without any additional newcomers. I imagine we shall soon discover why we have been brought to this place.” Ning continued to wait and watch patiently.

More time passed, enough to brew a kettle of tea.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Two streaks of light suddenly appeared in the skies, moving towards the mountain peak with terrifying speed.

“What terrifying speed.” The many cultivators and other creatures on the mountain peak were all stunned. Those two streaks of light were simply too fast. Ning had previously witnessed other fast creatures such as the golden Oddbat, but there was simply no comparison!

Boom! Boom!

The two streaks of light landed onto the mountain peak, causing the entire mountain to tremble. Only now could everyone see them clearly.

It was a pair of powerful experts garbed in silver armor, one male and one female. The silver-armored man’s armor was covered with the imprint of a thunderbolt, whereas the silver-armored woman’s armor was covered with the imprint of a sword. Both emanated auras of tremendous power and majesty, causing the thirty thousand cultivators and other lifeforms to feel as though they could hardly breathe.

“Such power.” Ning could sense incredible danger radiating from the two. Although the two didn’t radiate as much danger as that mysterious behemoth, he was still certain that they could easily wipe out everyone present.

Behind each of the silver-armored duo was a pair of black-armored retainers.

The four black-armored retainers also had auras of tremendous power… and their aura was that of Samsara Daolords! Still, the auras weren’t that powerful; Ning felt as though they didn’t seem significantly stronger than the aura the golden Oddbat had.

“You have been selected by the almighty Hegemon from throughout the Endless Territories and delivered to this place. Quite a few of you possess tremendous potential.” The silver-armored man’s voice was deep, and it shook the entire mountain when he spoke. “Do not panic. For you to have been brought here, to the most powerful kingdom of the entire Endless Territories, is something of a tribulation, but it is an even greater blessing.”

When Ning and the others heard this, they all felt stunned.

Selected by the almighty Hegemon?

Was that mysterious behemoth this so-called almighty Hegemon? Ning suspected that this silver-armored man was an incredibly strong Daolord. For him to refer to someone else as an ‘almighty Hegemon’ was rather incredible. Still, when Ning thought about how that mysterious behemoth had been able to bring so many living beings from throughout the Endless Territories to this place, Ning felt that it made sense.

“The most powerful kingdom of the Endless Territories?” Ning muttered softly, “Can it be even stronger than the Aeonian Kingdom of the Aeonians?”

“Tremendous potential? Was our flying vessel captured because of me?” Ning mused to himself. He wasn’t being narcissistic; he was indeed an incredibly talented figure amongst his World-level peers. Even the amount of power he had revealed thus far was already quite shocking.

“Although you have been brought to this place, you are not yet citizens of the Brightshore Kingdom, the most powerful kingdom there is.” The silver-armored man said, “If you cannot become one of our citizens, you shall perish! If you wish to survive, you must become one of our citizens.”

“I am willing,” a cultivator immediately cried out. ‘I’m willing to become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom!”

Some of the cultivators who had been abducted to this place were incredibly talented monsters like Ji Ning and Gorho, but even more were ordinary cultivators. For example, most of the cultivators who had been on Ning’s vessel had wanted to take on Daolord Nihilate as master. They could tell that this mysterious Brightshore Kingdom was incredibly powerful. Most likely, joining it would be every bit as beneficial as becoming apprenticed on Daolord Nihilate.

“Not just anyone is qualified to become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom.” The silver-armored man glanced sideways at the cultivators as he spoke in a calm voice.

“There are five ways in which you can become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom. The first method and best method is to break through to become a Samsara Daolord. If you do so, you can become one of our citizens.”

Ning and the others were rendered speechless upon hearing this.

Become a Samsara Daolord?

Of the thirty thousand-plus cultivators who had been abducted to this place, not a single one was a Samsara Daolord. Breaking through to this level would be incredibly difficult.

“The second method is to be protected by one of our Samsara Daolords! Each Samsara Daolord is permitted to protect three of his or her friends, as well as take on a maximum of ten slaves,” the silver-armored man said. “If you are the friend or family member of a Samsara Daolord, you can naturally become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom as well. But of course, if you are willing to become a slave you are also permitted to continue living. Slaves are the lowest-tier members of the Brightshore Kingdom and will be assigned many labors, but at least they will be permitted to remain alive.”

Ning and the others frowned. Become slaves? Lowest-tier members of the kingdom? No one would wish for such a thing.

As for Samsara Daolords being able to protect three friends, this rule was most likely put into place because the Brightshore Kingdom understood that Samsara Daolords had people they cared about. However, Ning and the others had just arrived; how could they know any Samsara Daolords?

“The third method is the safest method. Go to the Hydragon Mountain in the Endless Territories and work there as a miner. If you can mine enough ore, you’ll be given your freedom and become one of our citizens. However, I have to warn you in advance that generally speaking, World-level cultivators will need to spend a thousand chaos cycles mining ore before they have enough.”

“Hydragon Mountain?” Gorho, unnoticed by the other cultivators, frowned slightly. “I heard Father speak of it before. Hydragon Mountain is a legendary place which is the birthplace of the extremely valuable hydragon gems. Supposedly, it has been occupied and monopolized by a mysterious organization. So that mysterious organization is actually this Brightshore Kingdom!”

The silver-armored man swept the cultivators with his gaze, a smile on his lips.

Mine for a thousand chaos cycles?

“I know that none of you are willing to laboriously mine ore for a thousand chaos cycles. However… in the future, many of you will cry and beg for the chance to go mine there.” The silver-armored man said calmly, “The fourth option is simple. Survive for a thousand years in the third bugnest. If you are still alive after a thousand years, you can also become one of our citizens.”

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Chapter 26 – The Choice

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 26 – The Choice

“Survive for a thousand years?” All of the cultivators and special lifeforms atop the mountain peak were intrigued. All of them were at the World level and had been abducted to this place. To people like them, a thousand years was nothing. Ji Ning, for example, was going to spend more than six hundred years just traversing the Sea of Darkness.

If they merely had to spend a thousand years to become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom and be permitted to live in peace, everyone would be willing to do this.

However, that was assuming they were able to survive for a thousand years. From the sound of things, the third bugnest wasn’t a very nice place to be.

The silver-armored man had a hint of a cold smile on his face. “It might sound easy, but I have to warn you that the third bugnest is a place which our Brightshore Kingdom uses for rearing bugbeasts. In fact, it is our third most important nest! It has many powerful bugbeasts within it, some of which are comparable to Samsara Daolords.”

The silver-armored man continued, “Some of the bugbeasts there are weak, others are strong. There are even bugbeasts that are my equal in power, and all of them live within the third bugnest.”

The silver-armored man laughed. “If you choose this option, the fourth option, you’ll have to spend a thousand years living within the third bugnest! If you are lucky enough not to run into any powerful bugbeasts, you might be able to survive for a thousand years with ease! But if you are unlucky and end up encountering some of the stronger bugbeasts, you might die almost instantly. Based on what we’ve seen in the past, roughly one in ten cultivators will be able to survive option four.”

Just one out of ten? The cultivators and special lifeforms atop the mountain peak all felt a sense of pressure.

Even the incredibly strong experts like Ji Ning and Gorho, as well as some of the mysterious lifeforms which possessed incredible power, immediately abandoned the notion of choosing this option.

This option required luck. They were World-level cultivators, and even the most monstrously talented of them were only capable of battling Daolords of the First Step! Bugnest three had many terrifying bugbeasts, and according to the silver-armored man some of the bugbeasts were just as strong as him! If they ran into those bugbeasts, they would most assuredly be doomed!

Truly powerful experts wouldn’t be willing to accept such a luck-based outcome.

“The fifth option.” A strange smile played around the silver-armored man’s lips.

“Let me explain the fifth option.” The silver-armored woman spoke out coldly, her voice sharp enough that it seemed to stab into the truesouls of every single cultivator and special lifeform present. “The fifth option is to go live on the Astral Islands. All you need to do is stay alive. The opponents you encounter on the Astral Islands will all be World-level cultivators. You need to battle against them, and in the end the most talented individuals will be allowed to survive and leave.”

“Dare I ask what we will need to do on the Astral Islands?” A white-robed, incredibly handsome man who wielded a wooden staff in his hands spoke out.

The silver-armored woman glanced sideways at him then said calmly, “Once you go to the Astral Islands, you’ll be told. Simply put, your opponents shall be other World-level cultivators who were similarly abducted from throughout the Endless Territories. Only the most talented cultivators shall survive the island and be allowed to leave it! Roughly one in a hundred will survive.”

“What?”

“Only one in a hundred?”

“B-but…”

“This is crazy.”

“Everyone there is at the World level?”

All of the cultivators and special lifeforms, as well as the secret descendants of the Aeonians, were shocked upon hearing this.

In truth, Ning and the other extremely powerful figures were all leaning towards the fifth option, because in the fifth option their competition would consist solely of other World-level cultivators. They felt confident that they were far more powerful than the vast majority of their peers. They weren’t willing to risk their luck at the third bugnest… but on the other hand, it was true that the casualty rate for the fifth option was a bit too high.

Only one in a hundred would survive?

Even Ning was speechless.

Not even the Dao Alliance would dare to carry on such a competition. Every single World-level cultivator generally had masters or schools who supported them. The only reason the Brightshore Kingdom acted like this was because it had simply abducted outsiders from throughout the Endless Territories without caring about if they died or not. Only they would use such a brutal method to weed out the losers.

“Although I’m powerful, that’s just amongst my fellow cultivators. There are quite a few special lifeforms who were abducted to this place as well.” Ning’s greatest worry was having to deal with the special lifeforms. Some were weak, far weaker than cultivators even though they had some special techniques. Unfortunately, some were monstrously powerful.

Powerful special lifeforms usually were blessed with certain innate abilities that allowed them to be incredibly skilled in certain areas. For example, there were certain special lifeforms skilled in illusions who could possibly outmatch even World-level Heartforce Cultivators. It must be understood that Ning had yet to meet a single World-level Heartforce Cultivator to date!

“Just one in a hundred will survive. My opponents will consist of both the cultivators and the special lifeforms. What should I do? What should I choose?” Ning began to ponder this question.

“Five options. The first three options are very safe.” The silver-armored man and the silver-armored woman exchanged a glance. The silver-armored man said casually, “Become a Samsara Daolord, receive the protection of a Samsara Daolord, or become an eternal slave to a Samsara Daolord! Of course, you can also choose to go mining. These are all options with no risk to them.”

Very few would choose the first three options.

Becoming a Samsara Daolord wasn’t something you could do just because you wanted it.

Receiving the protection of a Samsara Daolord wasn’t that likely.

Become a slave? No one was willing to do such a thing. Few to no World-level cultivators would voluntarily become the slave of another. They all knew that becoming a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom would represent a tremendous blessing, but becoming a slave of the lowest caste meant that they probably would have no future prospects.

Mine for a thousand chaos cycles? That was way too long.

“The fourth option is to survive in the third bugnest for a thousand years. Roughly one in ten will survive.” The silver-armored man continued, “The fifth option is go to the Astral Islands and compete against your peers. One in a hundred will survive.”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The silver-armored man waved his hand, causing four streams of light to instantly appear and partition off the mountain peak.

“Those who choose the second option, enter the first region. Those who choose the third option, enter the second region. This region is for the fourth option. This region is for the fifth option.” The silver-armored man casually pointed to each of the partitions in turn, then swept his gaze across everyone present atop the mountain. “Choose your paths.”

Everyone atop the mountain peak began to move. Many were hesitating, but the silver-armored duo didn’t rush anyone. They just stood there and waited quietly.

Slowly, people began to make their choices.

A cultivator stepped into the second region. This represented a decision to go spent roughly a thousand chaos cycles in the mines. Only then would they have enough ore to become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

“I’m too weak. My chances of surviving either the third bugnest or the Astral Islands are both too low.” The cultivator shook his head as he stood there.

After he made his choice, quite a few other cultivators began to make their choices as well. Most cultivators chose the third, fourth, or fifth options.

“Master, what should we do? What choice should we make?” Su Youji sent mentally.

“I’m choosing the fifth option,” Ning replied mentally. “You?”

This was the only choice Ning could make. There was no way he would choose the first three options, because he had to make it to Vastheaven Palace within a single chaos cycle! He’d only be allowed to leave after becoming a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom. There was no way Ning could waste time mining, and there was obviously no way he would be willing to become another’s slave. He also didn’t have the ability to become a Samsara Daolord right away.

As for the bugnest, that was purely a matter of luck. Ning absolutely wouldn’t leave his own destiny up to luck. In the end, he was more confident in his own abilities.

“The fifth option?” Su Youji hesitated momentarily. “Then I will choose the fifth option as well.”

“No need to push yourself that hard. This is a life-altering decision. Choose whichever option suits you the most,” Ning said.

“I choose the fifth option.” Su Youji gritted her teeth. “I know that I’m fairly weak, but with those bugbeasts you loaned me I should be able to hold my own. I’m unwilling to choose any of the other options.”

Ning nodded. As he saw it, most likely many of the cultivators would elect to choose the fifth option. Most of them would rather battle against other cultivators of the same level than to waste countless years of their life, become an eternal slave, or put everything up to luck.

Ning suddenly produced a bracelet then handed it to Su Youji. “Youji, this holds those eighteen Hellwind Golems. They won’t be of much use to me, but if you use them and your fifty-one bugbeasts you should have at least some chance of surviving this Astral Islands. I’ve already ordered the Hellwind Golems to obey you in all things. You’ll easily be able to bind them.”

“Master, they will be of help to you.” Su Youji began to grow nervous. She knew exactly how dangerous the fifth option would be, given that only one in a hundred would survive. Even special lifeforms would be taking part!

“Just take it,’ Ning repeated.

Su Youji stared at the white-robed youth. At first, she had only elected to become Ji Ning’s retainer because of how monstrously talented he was. However, after the two spent more time together she slowly began to understand what type of a person Ji Ning truly was. Ji Ning looked peaceful and relaxed, but he wouldn’t readily acknowledge others. Once he did, however, he truly would treat that person as a lifelong friend.

Su Youji had always sensed that something was perpetually weighing on Ji Ning’s mind. She had tried to explore this topic but had never been able to make any progress.

“Let’s go.” Ning placed the bracelet in Su Youji’s hands, then strode towards the fifth option’s region. Su Youji nodded, following by his side.

More than thirty thousand cultivators and thousands of special lifeforms. Each made their own choices.

What truly surprised Ning was that twenty-three cultivators and two special lifeforms actually chose the second option. It must be understood that this was everyone’s first visit to this place. No one knew any of the local Samsara Daolords, which meant choosing the second option represented choosing to become a slave.

“Anything really can happen, I suppose,” Ning mused.

There were benefits to becoming a slave as well. You would become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom, albeit one of the lowest-tier members, and would gain at least a modicum of access to the Brightshore Kingdom’s secrets.

The third option, mining. More than a thousand cultivators and a hundred special lifeforms chose this option.

The fourth option, surviving the bugnest. More than five thousand cultivators and two hundred special lifeforms chose this option.

The fifth option, surviving the Astral Islands. All the remaining individuals chose this option.

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Chapter 27 – Six Strata

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 27 – Six Strata

Those who chose the other options were all escorted off by the four black-armored retainers. As for those who chose to attempt the Astral Islands, they were escorted by the silver-armored duo.

Actually, it wasn’t really ‘escorting’. They were simply dragged straight into an estate-treasure.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The silver-armored man and woman flew off the mountain peak and towards a different part of the Brightshore Kingdom. They physically flew because it was impossible to teleport within the Brightshore Kingdom; flying was the only option! The flight would take quite a few days.

The eleventh day of their journey.

“Eh? I sense a disturbance.” Ji Ning and thirty thousand-plus cultivators and special lifeforms were still within the estate-world. Ning could suddenly sense that his three Mirrorsnow Paintings were resonating with something far off in the distance. “Is there another Mirrorsnow Painting within the Brightshore Kingdom? I wonder if this is the one I need.”

After the silver-armored duo flew past this region, a strange alien lifeform with green reptilian skin suddenly emerged from the waters of the lake below. The creature raised his head to stare towards the skies, locating the silver-armored duo which was now billions of kilometers away. When the creature saw the silver armor, his face changed. “Was that a Mirrorsnow Painting? Those two major powers come from the Twelve Palaces. It should be carried by one of the World-level cultivators they abducted and are now escorting. Damn. I’ve already left the Astral Islands. There’s no way back.”

……

Although Ning could sense the Mirrorsnow Painting, there was nothing he could do. In the end, they all spent more than a month and a half in the estate-world.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, all the cultivators and special lifeforms were teleported out of the estate-world.

“Where am I?” Ning and the others all stared curiously at their surroundings.

Before them was an enormous dark abyss that devoured all light, making it impossible for any of them to see to the bottom of this abyss.

Directly above the abyss hovered a series of islands, each of which was merely three hundred meters or so in size. There were hundreds of thousands of these levitating islands! The dense cluster hung there in midair, continuously swiveling as they did so. Some were higher in the air than the others.

The bottom stratum held more than 99% of the islands. Ning estimated that there had to be more than three hundred thousand islands there!

The second stratum held roughly twenty thousand islands.

The third stratum held three thousand islands.

The fourth stratum held a hundred islands.

The fifth stratum held merely twelve islands.

The sixth stratum was the highest stratum, and it held only a single island!

“These are the Astral Islands.” The silver-armored man pointed at the levitating islands. “Every single Astral Island has a World-level cultivator!”

“Every one?” Ning could hear the others all murmuring. That meant more than three hundred thousand World-level cultivators were gathered here.

“The cultivators of the Astral Islands can only be promoted when they challenge cultivators on the same stratum or a higher stratum,” the silver-armored man said. “If you can gain ten consecutive victories against someone of the same level as you, you’ll be promoted to the next higher island. Win ten more times in a row, and you’ll be promoted once again. If you lose so much as a single fight… if you are lucky you will survive, but you’ll still be demoted by one level.”

Everyone’s faces turned pale.

Ning stared at the levitating islands. He finally understood what these levitating islands truly represented. The only island on the sixth stratum held a cultivator who had defeated at least ten of the cultivators on the fifth stratum before advancing to the sixth stratum. After doing so… others might challenge him, but he would have no one else to challenge.

“Dare I ask, what must we do to become citizens of the Brightshore Kingdom?” A cultivator spoke out right away.

“Don’t be impatient.” The silver-armored man smiled. “Choosing the Astral Islands was actually the best choice. Those who chose to become slaves have lost their futures, while those who went into the mines shall be there for a thousand chaos cycles. I’m amazed anyone would even consider those two choices. I really wonder what the hell they were thinking. As for those who chose the bugbeast nests… they probably doubted themselves and their level of strength, which was why they chose to test their luck.”

The silver-armored man looked at them. “All of you here, however, possess self-confidence and determination. You chose the path that has a 1% rate of survival.”

The silver-armored man continued, “You’ll engage in multiple duels here on the Astral Islands. If you want to become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom, the answer is actually quite a simple one. So long as you can acquire a complete legacy, you’ll become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

“Acquire a complete legacy?” All of the cultivators and special lifeforms present were puzzled.

“Right. Each time you defeat a foe on the Astral Islands, you’ll gain a legacy heirloom which they possess,” The silver-armored man said. “For example, a legacy created by a powerful Heartforce Cultivator might have been spread across 3600 legacy treasures. If you can gain all 3600 pieces and piece together the complete legacy, you’ll be able to become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

“A heartforce legacy?” Everyone present, Ning included, was shaken and excited.

How could a legacy described as something created by a ‘powerful Heartforce cultivator’ by this mighty Daolord possibly be a simple one? It must be understood that there were a number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were skilled in heartforce, but there were very few World-level cultivators of heartforce. As for Samsara Daolords who possessed heartforce? They were even more rare.

“Naturally. But of course, any such heartforce legacy would be spread across 3600 different treasures. This would be considered one of the most truly top-tier legacies. There are many other legacies that are merely spread out across a thousand legacy treasures. There are also some that are spread across five hundred or two hundred treasures. Once you reach the Astral Islands, you’ll easily be able to detect which legacy treasure is located on which island, and you can go challenge the person who has what you want. But of course, that’s only if you are qualified to request the duel. The sole cultivator on the sixth stratum, for example, isn’t qualified to challenge anyone. He has to wait for others to challenge him.

“In short! If you can piece together a complete legacy, you can request permission to leave and become a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom. If you piece together two complete legacies, you absolutely must depart.”

The silver-armored man suddenly laughed. “But of course, you can always do what that person on the sixth stratum has done. He acquired a complete legacy, lost a few pieces of it on purpose, then won a second complete legacy, then lost a few more pieces of it… and as a result, he slowly built up a library of eight different legacies.”

“What?”

“You can do that?”

Ning and the others were instantly rendered speechless.

If you pieced together one legacy, you could leave. If you pieced together two, you had to leave. There was actually a loophole?!

“The Astral Islands hold a total of ninety-nine mighty legacies, all of which are incredibly powerful.” The silver-armored man laughed. “It is incredibly hard for ordinary citizens of the Brightshore Kingdom to gain access to such powerful legacies. However, ninety-nine priceless legacies are present here at the Astral Islands. Unfortunately, they are spread across many different treasures. If you are strong enough, go forth and defeat the other cultivators and seize their treasures.”

The silver-armored man continued, “Remember this! Every day, you are only permitted to engage in a single duel. If you go a full month without a single legacy treasure to your name, you will be put to death. Thus, there’s no way you can avoid battle and just relax.”

Ning and the others immediately understood.

The losers would have their legacy treasures be seized! If they didn’t have so much as a single legacy treasure, the other cultivators wouldn’t even bother with them, resulting in them living unmolested lives. However… the Brightshore Kingdom did not wish for this to happen. If you didn’t have so much as a single legacy treasure for more than a month, you would perish!

The Brightshore Kingdom would put you to death!

The other World-level cultivators would also try to kill you!

The closer you got to acquiring a full legacy treasure set, the more difficult things would become. For example, if you had 199 legacy treasures and needed just one more, other cultivators might take an interest in you and try to kill you and take everything you had.

“Those who wish to try for the truly top-tier legacies will have an even higher chance of death. Those who go for somewhat weaker legacies will have lower casualties.” Ning understood this principle.

“This is a place of both great danger as well as great opportunity. Ninety-nine legacies! Haha, in the Endless Territories you’d risk your life countless times over without getting a chance at such a legacy. Here, every single one of you has a chance! In fact, you can do the same thing which this guy is doing?” The silver-robed man pointed at the the cultivator on the sixth level. “This one has already pieced together eight legacies. If you are strong enough, you can do the same.”

“But of course, you’ll need to be careful as well. Don’t end up dying.” The silver-armored man suddenly raised his voice. “Old fellow, create another 31091 astral islands.”

“Mm.” A deep voice rang out from within the dark abyss.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of stars began to suddenly arise from within that pitch-black abyss.

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Chapter 28 – Arrival

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 28 – Arrival

Ji Ning and the others flew past the various astral islands.

“Go.” The silver-armored man waved his hand, sending out an awe-inspiring blast of power that pushed at every single World-level cultivator. Even someone like Ning felt that this surge of power was nigh irresistible.

Ning followed that surge of power, allowing it to carry him forward as he flew towards the closest astral island.

“Master.” Su Youji’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

Ning turned to look at her.

Su Youji was far off in the distance. She had flown towards an astral island as well, but she was staring at Ning.

“Be careful,” Ning sent mentally.

“You too.” Su Youji had a look of longing in her eyes.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh mentally. There was nothing he could do. Once they had chosen to challenge the trial of the Astral Islands, every single cultivator would have to fend for themselves. There was simply no way for him to continue to protect Su Youji. He’d done everything he could. The rest was up to her now.

The various cultivators and special lifeforms all flew to their own islands, which then quickly descended to the lowest tier of islands. As for the silver-armored man and woman, the two simply watched from afar.

“Although the Hegemon didn’t grab that many people from the Endless Territories this time, he still managed to grab a few who have incredible talent and potential.” The silver-armored woman smiled.

“Mm.” The silver-armored man nodded.

The Brightshore Kingdom was one of the most mysterious and powerful organizations in the Endless Territories. It naturally had its own territory where its countless denizens dwelled, and it had its own World-level cultivators which it reared.

However, every so often the almighty Hegemon would abduct promising figures from throughout the Endless Territories. Generally speaking, he wouldn’t grab too many people, less than a hundred thousand. Compared to the vastness of the Endless Territories, this was a fairly small sum and so the other major powers were willing to tolerate his actions. Nobody wished to make an enemy of the Hegemon over something as minor as this.

“How many do you think will be able to make it onto the fifth or sixth levels?” The silver-armored woman asked.

“The fifth level? I’m guessing ten! As for the sixth… that’s hard to say. It’s possible that none of them will make it.” The silver-armored man’s gaze turned towards the very apex of the hundreds of thousands of astral islands, at that single solitary island that sat atop the sixth level. “Bertulu… I wonder which of our Twelve Palaces he will end up choosing.”

“Most likely it’ll be the Palace of the Heart or the Palace of Radiance.” The silver-armored woman sighed. “It has been a long, long time since our Brightshore Kingdom has encountered a peerless genius like him. He was originally just a rather intriguing special lifeform. Who would’ve thought that he would actually become the equal of the Ancient cultivators?”

“Right. The first time I saw Bertulu, I took him for an Ancient cultivator as well.” The silver-armored man let out a sigh. “What a dazzling figure! Even the Hegemon is paying attention to him. The Heart Palace and the Radiant Palace are fighting fiercely over him in secret. Both sides hope that Bertulu will join them.”

“Unfortunately, he’s not skilled in the sword. If he was, I’d be hoping for him to join our Sword Palace.” The silver-armored woman shook her head. “Let’s go. Our mission is over.”

The two glanced a final time at the sole island on the sixth level, then transformed into twin streaks of light that quickly departed. Both of them knew that Bertulu was capable of breaking through to the Samsara Daolord level whenever he wished. Once he made his breakthrough… even though he would merely be a Daolord of the First Step, he would probably be just as strong as most Daolords of the Third Step.

If so, he would be every bit a match for the two of them. Even the Hegemon was paying attention to this peerless genius. The two of them viewed him as they would equals.

……

Ning was walking through his quiet astral island. This island was merely three hundred meters in size, but it had a graceful little residence that was actually decorated with many unique statues . As soon as Ning had landed within this astral island, it had recognized him as its master.

“From this day forth, I’ll be staying here for quite a long period of time.”

With but a thought, Ning willed the residence to change in appearance, making it look like the houses he stayed in back when he had lived on Earth.

He pushed open the door to the home. Inside the home, there was actually a reclining sofa. Ning lay down on the sofa, then casually waved his hand, causing a golden book to appear and fly into Ning’s hands.

This golden book held records regarding the other three hundred thousand-plus islands. Every single cultivator on those islands held a piece of a legacy!

This book also contained an explanation regarding the ninety-nine precious legacies that were here.

“The number one legacy is the heartforce legacy, a legacy which was created by a Heartforce Cultivator who had reached the Verge of the Daomerge, Daolord Featherdress. This heartforce legacy is mysterious but very powerful. Every single Heartforce Cultivator stands at the very apex of power amongst cultivators of the same level. Daolord Featherdress was once the most powerful Daolord in all the Endless Territories! Alas, he failed his Daomerge. Before dying, he had slew an Eternal Emperor… and this legacy is just as valuable as the legacy of an Eternal Emperor’s! It has been separated into 3600 parts. If you gather the 3600 legacy treasures and merge them together, you shall gain access to this legacy.”

“The number two legacy is the spacetime legacy, a legacy left behind by the almighty Hegemon himself. Although this is merely the first chapter of the full technique, it will be enough to allow you to roam the Endless Territories without fear. It has been scattered across 1800 different legacy treasures. If you gather all 1800 legacy treasures, you can gain this legacy.”

“The number three legacy…”

There was a detailed ranking of all ninety-nine legacies.

The most powerful legacies required a total of 3600 legacy treasures.

The weakest legacies merely required a hundred legacy treasures.

Although Ning was intrigued by quite a few of them, he still shook his head privately. “As expected, this is merely a place for weeding out weak World-level cultivators. The most powerful legacies of the Brightshore Kingdom are not here.”

The number two legacy had been left behind by the almighty Hegemon. If this was the complete legacy, it would be an absolutely incredible boon… but alas, it was merely the first chapter.

Ninety-nine legacies in total. The Hegemon had only left behind the number two legacy. The other ninety-eight came from various Daolords. The legacies of a Daolord and the legacies of an Eternal Emperor were completely different things.

The likes of Daolord Featherwing or Daolord Allgod were incredibly powerful, capable of matching or even exceeding Eternal Emperors. However, every single Eternal Emperor was at least on their general level, and some were even more powerful.

By comparison, the four paintings and legacies of Emperor Mirrorsnow were more valuable than these ninety-nine legacies.

That number one legacy, the heartforce legacy, is quite valuable though. I imagine that one is on par with Emperor Mirrorsnow’s legacy.” Ning carefully read through the entire book.

Ning wanted sword-arts, and there were two types available. One was ranked nineteen, the other ranked seventy-three! Both had been left behind by Daolords.

“If I have the chance, I really do need to try and acquire the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting. As for these sword-arts here? I should try to use them to validate and test my own sword-arts. It should be of some benefit, at least.” Ning had long ago found his own path and understanding regarding the sword.

As Ning saw it, the more sword-arts the better. He had studied more than five thousand sword-arts in the Hall of Swords in the Allgod Estate, after all.

“Eh?” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“This one seems to be… not bad at all!” On his second careful reading, Ning’s gaze fell upon the ninth-ranked legacy.

The ninth-ranked legacy was the footwork legacy. This was a footwork technique meant for close combat which had been left behind by an unknown major power who had gained certain special insights over lightning.

At first, Ning hadn’t paid it much attention as he had focused on searching for heartforce techniques and sword-arts. However, on his second careful read-through he realized how extraordinary this ninth-ranked legacy was.

For a footwork technique to be ranked number nine was extraordinary, in and of itself. This was also a technique that was devised based on lightning. Ning trained in the [Novessence Thunder] and was fairly familiar with lightning; most likely, he would be a good fit for this footwork legacy.

“In battle, I currently rely on my sword-arts and just use my the Thunderlight Wings for support. I don’t have any actual, decent footwork techniques.” After carefully reading through the book, Ning made up his mind. His first target would be the ninth-ranked footwork technique!

……

“A newbie?”

“So many newbies.”

As Ning and the other World-level cultivators flew towards the astral islands, the many newly created islands began to descend towards the bottom stratum of islands. This naturally attracted the attention of the hundreds of thousands of World-level cultivators who were already present.

These cultivators stood atop their own astral islands, watching from afar. Some began to scan their golden books to gain some basic insights into these newcomers. Each golden book recorded rudimentary information regarding the cultivators on each island and the legacy treasures they possessed.

“I’ll wager these newbies are carrying plenty of chaos nectar and treasures.”

“Let’s see what we can take from them.”

“Challenge issued.”

“Challenge issued.”

Many of the more powerful cultivators were intrigued. The weak ones in their group had been plundered long ago, with some having lost all their magic treasures! These newly arrived cultivators, however, would definitely have quite a few treasures on them.

Life in the Brightshore Kingdom was the same as life anywhere else. If you wanted to live, you’d need treasures.

“I need to issue a challenge right away.” There were some cultivators who were extremely powerful but who had lost their treasures to even more powerful cultivators. These people immediately began to issue challenges, as they were in desperate need of treasures! They naturally chose to go after the newcomers.

“A challenge? A challenge from the third stratum?” Ning was relaxing on his sofa, flipping through the information pertaining to the ninety-nine legacies when he suddenly received a challenge notification.

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Chapter 29 – The First Battle

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 29 – The First Battle

“It seems a lot of people are interested in newcomers like myself.” Ji Ning was in no rush. Instead of answering, he continued to wait patiently as more and more challenges began to accumulate. One… two… three.. four… five…

Apparently, quite a few people were interested in challenging Ning!

In the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning received one challenge from the third stratum, two challenges from the second stratum, and twelve challenges from the bottom stratum!

“A total of fifteen World-level cultivators have challenged me,” Ning mused. Per the rules of this place, each World-level cultivator could only issue one challenge each day! Ning was permitted to challenge a different World-level cultivator as well, but if they didn’t accept… Ning would have to choose from one of the fifteen challengers. He would have to accept at least one challenge.

In truth, to be challenged by so many people at once was actually quite rare. The only reason why there were so many challenges was because everyone knew that Ji Ning and the others had to be carrying many treasures on them.

Normally, it was entirely possible that days would pass between challenges!

“Who should I choose? The Astral Islands are divided up into six strata. The third stratum is neither high nor low… and there are more than three thousand cultivators on that level. I’ll go with this guy.” Ning’s talent made him bold. Weaker new arrivals would most likely choose someone on the first floor as their first opponent.

Through the golden book, Ning willed for his opponent’s message of challenge to be shattered. This represented him accepting the challenge!

There were more than three thousand islands hovering within the third stratum. Within one of those astral islands.

“He accepted? He actually accepted my challenge?” The chubby youth instantly jumped to his feet, a look of wild joy on his face. “Ahahaha, he actually accepted? This is great. It seems that things are finally turning around for me, Pillsaint. Has my luck finally arrived?”

The man known as Pillsaint was the type of person who simply couldn’t hide or disguise his emotions.

“I’m a venerable master of the Dao of Alchemy, but my alchemical prowess is completely useless here. Instead, I have to battle against all these other World-level cultivators.” The chubby youth muttered to himself as he walked towards a room. He pushed the door open, then entered. The walls of this room were covered with many divine runes. Upon entering the room, you would also be entering this powerful formation.

Rumble…

Space began to twist and distort, with World God Pillsaint disappearing into thin air.

……

This island was a beautiful one that was covered with a layer of frost and snow. The entire island was completely silent.

Whoosh.

A pudgy youth suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He glanced at his surroundings, noticing that the entire island was covered with a layer of silvery snow. He was able to see everything quite clearly, and he was quite satisfied. “This battleground is a good one. The scenery is nice, at least. Way better than the last one.”

“It seems my luck really is turning.” World God Pillsaint lay down on the snow, half-closing his eyes as he relaxed. “I don’t have many legacies left, but those damnable cultivators on the fourth level keep on coming to rob me of what I have. I hope my luck takes a turn for the better for once. Hopefully this guy will have at least an Eternal weapon. If I can get an Eternal weapon, I’ll become much more powerful and be capable of giving those fellows on the fourth level a good fight. I might even be able to acquire a complete legacy.”

Previously, he had been trying to collect the ninety-sixth legacy, a legacy which was scattered across a hundred legacy treasures. He had gained a total of ninety-one pieces, but a damnable cultivator on the fourth level had issued him a challenge. Pillsaint had hurriedly issued a challenge of his own to a cultivator on the second stratum. If that cultivator had accepted, then there would’ve been no need for Pillsaint to battle the cultivator from the fourth stratum.

Alas, the cultivator from the second stratum had declined to do battle.

Pillsaint had no other options. He had to accept the challenge from the fourth stratum.

The results of that battle were… he lost. His legacy treasures were stripped from him! He had worked so hard for so long, but it all instantly went up in smoke. He had damn near gone mad.

Whoosh.

Space twisted once more.

Ji Ning appeared atop this icy island. As he glanced at the scenery, Ning couldn’t help but smile very slightly. He also noticed the pudgy youth who was sleeping on the snowy ground not too far away from him.

Swoosh. The chubby youth rose to his feet and stared at Ning, a scorching look in his eyes. “Fellow Daoist, you have an extraordinary demeanor. I imagine you must be carrying valuable treasures.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

The chubby youth’s eyes instantly lit up as he grew even more excited. “Eternal treasures?”

“Yes.” Ning laughed and nodded. Hundreds of thousands of World-level cultivators were here, and most likely a good number of them held Eternal weapons. Ning couldn’t bother to hide the fact that he had one of his own. A weak person who had an Eternal weapon might become a target, but Ning was strong enough that he had nothing to fear.

“Ehehe. Treasures belong to the strong, you know. It would be wasted in your hands.” The pudgy youth’s aura suddenly blasted forth as he manifested a total of six arms. He now wielded six black hammers in his hands. “Hurry up and hand it over, and I’ll spare your life if you do.”

For some reason, Ning couldn’t help but have a good feeling about this pudgy youth. He almost felt as though he was looking at an infant. This pudgy youth wore his heart on his sleeve, his emotions on display for anyone to see. He didn’t seem to have any evil intentions at all and appeared to be a valiant man.

However, Ning suddenly felt a twinge of fear.

How could he possibly treat any World-level cultivator as he would a child? For Ning to feel kindly disposed to him without even realizing it… it was possible that this was because this cultivator truly was a good man, but it was also possible that he had trained in some sort of mesmerizing technique.

“Then let’s see what you have.” Ning held a Violetjewel in each of his two hands. Here on the Astral Islands, even a battle against someone weaker had to be taken seriously.

Although two swords wasn’t the full extent of Ning’s power, it was enough for Ning to generate a truly airtight defense.

“Eat a hammer!” The pudgy youth charged forwards, the great warhammer in his hands transforming into a streak of light that caused space to collapse in on itself. The power of this blow was so great that even Ning couldn’t help but feel speechless.

A supreme World God? It seemed he was actually more than just that!

BOOM! Ning released a seemingly simple sword-strike that struck directly against the great warhammer that was slamming down towards him. Warhammers were weapons well-suited for heavy smashing blows, and to use sword-arts in a head-on clash against a warhammer was indeed a foolish decision. However, Ning held tremendous confidence in his own strength. It was highly unlikely that he would find anyone in the World level who could overcome him in raw physical power… and if Ning DID encounter some a powerful freak that was even stronger than him, Ning would run away as fast as he could.

As expected, this casual strike from Ning was enough to send his opponent staggering backwards.

“How can this be?!” A dazed look appeared on the pudgy youth’s face as he stared at Ning. “I just wanted to fight a newbie. Why the hell did I run into such a strong one?”

“No way. I don’t believe this.” The pudgy youth once more charged forwards, his six warhammers shattering the heavens as they came smashing down towards Ning once more.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh upon seeing this.

His opponent was most likely a supreme World God, and his awe-inspiring hammer-arts were mighty and difficult to defend against. However, there was a flaw to this type of an attack, which used overwhelming raw power and space itself to crush down upon one’s foes. The flaw was… if your foe could withstand your attacks, you would be finished.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning showed no mercy at all, striking out three times in quick succession. The first strike knocked the youth backwards, the second caused him to stumble as he frantically defended. When Pillsaint fell down to the ground, a huge crater appeared in the ground beneath him.

When Ning’s third sword slammed into the opponent, the pudgy youth vomited out a mouthful of blood.

“Give up?” Ning pointed at his foe with his sword.

“You are way too strong. Even on the fourth floor, only those freaks who once made it to the fifth floor would be a match for you.” The pudgy youth lay there within his crater, somewhat dazed. “Why is my luck so shitty? More than thirty thousand newbies, and I have to pick a freak who is strong enough to make it to the fifth stratum.”

Ning was intrigued upon hearing this. He didn’t know how strong the various experts on the Astral Islands were, but his opponent had clearly been here for quite some time and knew many things.

“There’s only a few freaks like him, but I just had to run into one.” The pudgy youth shook his head, then looked at Ning. He said hurriedly, “Can you please not take away my warhammers? They are just Dao weapons.”

“Dao weapons?” Ning was secretly surprised. The youth had been able to unleash the power of a supreme World God while using mere Dao weapons? This fellow was incredibly strong, much more powerful than God Emperor Blacklotus had been! If he was using an Eternal weapon… didn’t that mean he would have the power of a transcendent World God?

“I’m telling the truth. See for yourself!” The pudgy youth said hurriedly, “You can send out your divine sense and scan any of the treasures I’m carrying inside of me. Ugh, I’ve been robbed of all of my chaos nectar. All I have left are these six hammers…”

Although he had encountered a few people who were slightly stronger than him, they generally wouldn’t go too far. If they did, World God Pillsaint would’ve gone all-out. To kill a powerful World God was a very difficult feat; normally, the only option for doing so was to exhaust his store of divine power.

Divine power needed a fairly long period of time in order to recover. However, on the Astral Islands it was possible that one would receive a challenge every single day. If you lost your power, you might well fall victim to the schemes of another.

Thus, unless there was an overwhelming disparity in power, these cultivators generally wouldn’t force their foes to go all-out. That was of no benefit to them.

However, Ning was capable of easily slaying his opponent. The difference in power between the two truly was quite great. His foe was merely a supreme World God, whereas Ning was comparable to a Daolord of the First Step.

“All I have are these six hammers.” The pudgy youth stared at Ning. He really was worried that Ning would take those hammers away from him.

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Chapter 30 – Three Months

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 30 – Three Months

If Ji Ning wished to take his warhammers by force, he would be dramatically weakened. Although he could still go abuse other cultivators on the first stratum and steal a few Dao weapons from them, he had brought those six warhammers with him from the outside world. They were very suitable weapons for him, and it would be quite hard for him to find similarly suitable weapons on those weaker cultivators.

“Are you serious…” Ning swept the man with his godsense. The man didn’t resist at all, allowing Ning to scan him with ease.

“You don’t even have a single bottle of chaos nectar or a single chaos jewel.” Ning shook his head.

“I used to! They took everything from me.” The pudgy youth shook his head. “Nothing I could do. They were stronger than me. I’m just happy I was able to keep my six warhammers. I used to have an Eternal treasure, but that was taken from me as well.”

As he spoke, he looked at Ning in a rather anxious, beseeching manner. “Can you leave my six warhammers alone? Please?”

“Don’t worry. I have no interest in those six warhammers whatsoever,” Ning chuckled. “I just want to ask you a few questions. Also, you have to give me that sword-arts legacy you are holding.”

“Take it.” The pudgy youth immediately tossed a sword-shaped talisman over towards Ning. This was one of the legacy treasures that formed the seventy-third ranked legacy, the sword-arts legacy. Although it was merely ranked seventy-three, it was still divided up into 108 different legacy treasures. You had to acquire the full set in order to gain access to it.

Seeing that Ning didn’t intend to kill him, the pudgy youth hurriedly said, “Ask me whatever you wish. I, Pillsaint, will tell you everything you want to know.”

“Your name is Pillsaint?” Ning asked.

“Yes, Pillsaint. This is the Daoist title which my master gave me. My master is skilled in alchemy, as am I. Who would’ve thought that I would be this unlucky? A Daolord had asked me to go help him refine some pills, but halfway on the trip back I was abducted to this place by a different Samsara Daolord, as were the ten World-level cultivators who the first Daolord had sent to invite me.” Pillsaint had a resigned look on his face as he spoke.

Ning was shocked upon hearing this. Skilled in Alchemy?

This fellow was capable of unleashing the power of a supreme World God when using mere Dao weapons… and he was actually a master of alchemy? A Daolord had asked him to go refine pills for him? That meant his skill in alchemy had to be incredibly high. Ning knew that the skilled alchemists and pill-refiners of the Endless Territories were incredibly respected.

“Ugh, but so what if I’m good at alchemy? The Brightshore Kingdom doesn’t give a damn about me. All I can do is stay here and duel other World-level cultivators.” World God Pillsaint said resignedly, “I’m skilled in controlling the empty void of space and am physically strong, but that’s just because those are necessary components of pillforging. Right now, all I can do is use my warhammers to battle against other World-level cultivators.”

Ning could tell that this World God Pillsaint had to be extremely skilled in the arts of alchemy and had an even more skilled alchemy master. In the outside world, not even ordinary Samsara Daolords would go offend someone of his status.

If Ning could, he would try to find a chance to help this man out. If World God Pillsaint was able to leave this place in the future, Ning could ask him or even his master to help him refine any special pills that he needed.

“Mm. In the future, I’ll need to acquire a few extra legacies. If I find any that I don’t need, I can just lose a set to him on purpose,” Ning mused.

The only legacies Ning himself were interested at present were the sword-arts legacy and the footwork legacy. As for the top-ranked heartforce legacy, Ning was interested in that as well.

Still, the rules were that those who acquired a complete legacy could leave, but those who acquired two were required to leave.

Thus, if Ning wanted to acquire several different legacies, he would have to lose a few battles on purpose and let his opponents acquire those legacies! Ning was definitely planning on helping out Su Youji, but if he had the chance he would also help this World God Pillsaint as well.

“I wonder which astral island Youji is now on.” There was nothing Ning could do. Only after battling someone could he find out exactly which island a specific cultivator was on. He wanted to help her out, but he currently could not. Only in the future would he be able to try to come up with a way of locating her.

“I ask you this,” Ning said, “Roughly how strong are the cultivators on each island?”

“That’s hard to say, because even the first stratum might hold a few freakishly strong individuals.” World God Pillsaint glanced at Ning, then said hurriedly, “I can just give you a rough estimate of how strong everyone is.”

Ning nodded.

“The astral islands on the first stratum generally hold master-class World-level cultivators as well as a few even weaker cultivators.

“The second stratum holds more formidable cultivators. Some have unique treasures or techniques, such as special spells or powerful golems. Others have reached at least the supreme World-level of power.

“The third stratum is generally where most supreme World-level cultivators reside, or those who possess extremely special techniques. I’m a supreme World God myself, and I’m very physically strong. I’m capable of forcing my opponents to face my attacks head-on, which is my position within the third stratum is quite secure.

“The fourth stratum is generally filled with transcendent World-level cultivators, as well as some of the freakishly strong figures who belonged to the fifth stratum but who were temporarily beaten down by other cultivators from that stratum.

“The fifth stratum… everyone capable of standing securely within that stratum is an utter monster. Most of them probably have the power of Daolords of the First Step, and many have very unique skills and abilities. Who knows what special skills or trump cards they have up their sleeves? All I know is that I’ve never run into them before. There are only twelve individuals total on the fifth stratum. Eight are special lifeforms while four are cultivators.”

Ning was secretly shocked upon hearing this.

The twelve on the fifth stratum all had the power of Daolords of the First Step? How terrifying. Still, most were special lifeforms. There were certain powerful races that were born with tremendous advantages over normal cultivators!

“There’s only a single cultivator on the sixth stratum. I hear that his name is Bertulu, and that he’s an absolutely freakishly strong figure.” The pudgy youth shook his head. “What a freak! He’s a special lifeform as well. Not even those other freaks on the fifth stratum can beat him. He truly is unfathomably strong.”

“Bertulu?” Ning silently memorized this name.

“Fortunately, there is a rule in the Astral Islands that anyone who makes it to the fifth level will be protected, even if they are temporarily knocked down to a lower level. That’s why the only reason why Bertulu hasn’t completely demolished all of the other freaks.” World God Pillsaint shook his head and sighed.

Ning understood the purpose of this rule. The Astral Islands existed in order to help the Brightshore Kingdom select some of the most powerful World-level cultivators to join its ranks. The three hundred thousand-plus cultivators within the Astral Islands right now included many powerful cultivators which the Brightshore Kingdom had abducted from the outside world, but it also held many cultivators which had emerged from the Brightshore Kingdom’s own territory. Ordinary World-level cultivators simply couldn’t compare to them.

Given how many powerful World-level cultivators were amongst the three hundred thousand, for a few absolute monsters to emerge was normal.

Generally speaking, anyone who could make it to the fifth stratum was a freak in some way. Any such person would be protected by the Astral Islands. Even if other cultivators defeated them, they would at most be permitted to take away their opponents’ legacy treasures. It was forbidden to kill them! It was also forbidden to seize any of their other, personal treasures!

But of course, this was just a minor form of protection. Although the Brightshore Kingdom was intrigued by these monsters, it wouldn’t necessarily go crazy over them. This was because although they were monsters now, they wouldn’t necessarily be monstrously powerful Daolords in the future.

In the Allgod Estate, the formation-spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains had encountered quite a few freakishly talented figures over countless eons, but the only truly formidable figure to emerge was Daolord Badlands.

But of course, Bertulu was so incredibly, freakishly talented that even the most powerful kingdom in all the Endless Territories, the Brightshore Kingdom, rarely encountered his equal. He had already found his path and was capable of becoming a Samsara Daolord whenever he wished. The way they treated him was naturally different.

“It seems that I should be strong enough to make it to the fifth stratum,” Ning mused. “Only by making it to the fifth stratum will I be protected.”

Although Ning was confident in his abilities, he wasn’t confident in his abilities to defeat Bertulu of the sixth stratum. Bertulu had to have acquired the number one legacy, the heartforce legacy, a long time ago. Cultivators skilled in heartforce were quite terrifying to fight, and Ning wasn’t confident in his ability to withstand him.

“I need to seize every moment. The more time passes, the more variables might appear.”

After this first battle, Ning began to accept one challenge after another. He kept a low-profile as he dueled other cultivators on the first stratum. Some challenged him, others he challenged.

There were also times when no one challenged him and the person he challenged refused. In that case, he had no choice but to wait and rest for a day.

And so, just like that…

Ning ended up spending twelve days before advancing to the second stratum.

After spending another twenty-six days, he advanced to the third stratum.

After spending another fifty-one days, he advanced to the fourth stratum.

Ning didn’t encounter any of the freaks who had previously made it to the fifth stratum. Since everyone who had been on the fifth stratum was under protection, it was very rare for other World-level cultivators to challenge them. Thus, those freaks generally spent most of their time meditating on the powerful legacies they had acquired. It was entirely possible for them to spend a century in meditation. Ning’s sudden rise to power did attract the attention of two ‘protected’ World-level cultivators, but those two didn’t move to challenge him. Instead, they watched quietly.

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Chapter 31 – Full Mastery

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 31 – Full Mastery

Ji Ning took things slowly and steadily. He began to challenge the other cultivators on the fourth level. Out of an abundance of caution, Ning didn’t challenge anyone who had made it to the fifth stratum in the past. Ning’s plan was to wait until he himself made it to the fifth stratum before challenging them.

Here in the Brightshore Kingdom, a single mistake could result in a cascade of errors. There were many freakishly strong cultivators in the Endless Territories who had ended up perishing midway through their journeys. If he was too arrogant, he would probably join them.

Every single opponent on the fourth stratum was incredibly strong, at least as strong as a transcendent World God. They all had their own special skills, and Ning would spend time after each battle meditating on his experiences.

Within one of the astral islands levitating within the fourth stratum.

There was a strange building here that looked round from the outside but was box-shaped on the inside. This was the finest temporal acceleration treasure which Ning had acquired from Arroyo, a treasure which was far better than the Heavengazer Tower. It could easily maintain a rate of time that was fifty times faster than normal, and if you were willing to use up your Immortal energy it could go up to two hundred times the normal rate! But of course, this would use up an absolutely astonishing amount of energy.

Ning was currently maintaining a rate equivalent to a hundred times the normal rate of time. He was reflecting on his previous battle and the new insights it had brought him, using them to perfect his sword-arts. That last battle had been his sixth battle on the fourth stratum, and he had won it as he had all his previous battles!

Rumble…

While meditating on his sword-arts, Ning was in constant resonance with the infinitely distant prime essence of the sword.

The prime essence of the sword was one of the true essences and sources of the endless primordial chaos. It was where the Dao of the Sword itself originated from! It constantly emanated mysterious ripples pertaining to the Dao of the Sword, allowing cultivators to understand more of itself.

“After cultivating for more than a hundred thousand years, I finally understand.” Ning suddenly smiled.

Rumble…

The towering Dao-tree within his Jindan chaos region had already reached a height of of more than 105,000 meters tall. In this instant it once more grew upwards, reaching a height of precisely 108,000 meters tall!

In this moment, power began to flow throughout his entire Jindan chaos region, causing it to become even more stable than before.

Boom! Ning’s divine body suddenly transformed into a large number of godgems. Chaos energy flowed through him and transformed into more and more godgems, causing a total of 36,000 godgems to emerge and hover in midair. Moments later, they reconverged to form a single figure, Ji Ning’s figure.

“I’ve seen through and comprehended all the foundational insights regarding the Dao of the Sword. Finally, I have reached the level of full mastery.” Ning was in a superb mood today.

Although it seemed as though Ning had only been cultivating for a few thousand years, if you factored in all the temporal acceleration he had spent more than a hundred thousand years meditating on the Dao of the Sword! When he had emerged from the Allgod Estate, his Dao-tree had already been more than sixty thousand meters tall. He had then engaged in many battles as well as repeatedly dueled the three experts of the sword in the Mirrorsnow Paintings, resulting in Ning’s Dao-tree quickly growing to become more than ninety thousand meters high.

He had spent hundreds of years battling in the Sea of Darkness as well. Although he had spent less than half a year in this place, the temporal acceleration meant that dozens of years had gone past for Ning. In addition, Ning had been battling gainst all sorts of powerful World-level cultivators. Thanks to all of these factors, he had finally understood some of the fundamental principles of the prime essence of the sword.

In that instant, he finally understood why it was that this level as known as the level of ‘full mastery’ and why World Gods at this level were referred to as ‘master-class’ World Gods.

“Full mastery of the World level… so this is nothing more than the outermost level of understanding the prime essence of the sword.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

The prime essence of the sword…

From it originated the entire Dao of the Sword within the endless primordial chaos. It was naturally unfathomable and profound, and many of its most profound mysteries were actually hidden within the prime essence itself. There was no way to even sense those mysteries, much less meditate on them.

Only the outermost mysteries of the Dao of the Sword which emanated from it like a halo could be meditated on. In recent years, Ning had merely been meditating on those outermost mysteries.

Every single World-level cultivator of the Dao of the Sword would strive hard to comprehend these mysteries. And now… Ning had gained a complete understanding of this outermost layer of the prime essence of the sword!

From this day forth, his Dao-tree would be 108,00 meters tall and his godgems would be 36,000 in number!

From this day forth…

The prime essence of the sword within the endless primordial chaos would no longer be of any use to Ning, because there was no way he could meditate on any of the mysteries that were contained deeper inside of it. Forget about Ji Ning; not even Samsara Daolords or Eternal Emperors were capable of entering the prime essence heart of the endless primordial chaos. This place was the very core of the entire primordial chaos, a place which cultivators could not possibly enter.

In truth, it wasn’t just the Dao of the Sword that existed in that place. All Daos originated from that place!

The prime essence of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, lightning, light, slaughter, the saber, the sword… all prime essences radiated some of its outermost mysteries, allowing cultivators to train in them, but held their deeper mysteries inside of themselves. There was no way those mysteries could be cultivated in at all.

Thus, no matter what path you trained it, you would at most be able to reach the level of full mastery in a fairly easy manner.

Once you gained full mastery…

Your insights would come to an end. You had gained full mastery of what there was to master.

If you wanted to make any further advancements, you would have to rely solely on yourself! In the past, you would be able to continue to attune to the prime essence of a Dao. Now, however, you would have no one to rely on but yourself. You would have to find a unique path belonging to yourself, creating your own Dao out of nowhere and use it to step into the Samsara Daolord level.

Because this Dao would be a completely self-created Dao, this was an incredibly dangerous prospect. The Dao you created might be a heterodox Dao that was wrong. That Dao might allow you to step onto the Samsara Daolord level, but it was entirely possible that soon after embarking on this path your Dao would suddenly crumble, causing you to perish.

This was the reason why it was said that with each step, Samsara Daolords tread the line between life and death! Every single step they took, they would create an ever-deeper level of the Dao for themselves. If the Dao you created was an erroneous Dao, then once you attempted to use it to improve yourself your divine power and truesoul would become to collapse. You would perish.

With each step, they tread the line between life and death. Some would finally reach the Verge of the Daomerge, becoming incredibly powerful figures even amongst their Samsara Daolord fellows. Daolord Solesky was one good example. If his Daomerge succeeded, it meant that his Dao was a perfect one which could gain true eternity. Their path would allow them to live forever within the primordial chaos, with the ravages of time no longer having any effect upon them!

But of course, some of those Daolords on the Verge had incorrect Daos. That did not, however, mean that they were weak. There were some Verge-level Daolords who were capable of battling Eternal Emperors, even though they themselves would never reach that level.

“I previously was able to advance at a rapid pace. Now that I have reached the level of full mastery, I’ll have to find my own path for myself.” Ning understood exactly how difficult it would be for him to find a path that would let him enter the Samsara Daolord level.

……

An astral island on the fifth stratum.

“My dear Wildgloom, in the Twelve Palaces our Palace of Thunder is ranked as one of the top palaces. You are quite talented in the Dao of Thunder. If you join our Thunder Palace, your future prospects will definitely be limitless.” An old man dressed in azure armor chortled as he spoke.

Seated facing him was a tall, muscular metallic creature whose entire body was formed by strange metals and wreathed in lightning.

World God Wildgloom was a special lifeform who was born with great power over lightning. He had now reached an incredible level in the Dao of Thunder. Once he became a Samsara Daolord, he would reach even more astonishing heights.

“I can train in thunder in any of the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore.” Wildgloom’s voice was slightly jarring to the ear. “Senior Flameflow, please give me some more time to think this matter through.”

“No rush, no rush.” The azure-armored elder nodded and smiled.

Anyone capable of residing permanently on the fifth stratum was more than strong enough to easily acquire a complete legacy. They could’ve left the astral islands long ago, but most of them were in no rush. There were legacies here, as well as powerful opponents for them to battle against. Most importantly, they still had to decide which palace they were going to join.

The Twelve Palaces of Brightshore were all incredibly powerful, but the best palace would always be the one which suited them the most. They had to decide what their future path would be before deciding on which palace they would join.

“You have my message-talisman. Once you decide, just break it and I’ll come find you.” The silver-armored elder smiled as he rose to his feet. “I won’t disturb you any further.”

World God Wildgloom hurriedly rose to his feet to send his guest off. Although this person had come to invite him, he was still a Samsara Daolord. He was not, however, one of those black-armored Daolords. Those black-armored Daolords were the weakest Daolords.

Whoosh.

The azure-armored Daolord, Daolord Flameflow, flew out of this astral island. He pulled out an enormous book and began to casually flip through it. The members of the Twelve Palaces were permitted to go through the information which the kingdom possessed regarding all of the World-level cultivators here.

“Eh? This fellow has been here less than half a year, but he’s made it to the fourth stratum already? He’s also defeated six consecutive foes on the fourth stratum? He’s undefeated thus far?” As Daolord Flameflow flipped through the pages of the book, he couldn’t help be startled by something he read.

If someone defeated ten foes in a row on the fourth stratum, that person would be promoted to the fifth stratum. This man had defeated six foes in a row without being defeated a single time. Given this, it was very likely that he would make it to the fifth stratum in the future.

“Skilled in both the sword as well as lightning? His skill in lightning alone allows him to suppress his foes, and he is quite talented in the Dao of Thunder? This guy looks like he would be a great fit for my Thunder Palace. Mm, I should go take a look.” The azure-armored elder quickly decided to go visit this astral island on the fourth stratum. He quickly began to stride through the air as he walked towards that island.

This was, of course, the astral island which Ning was residing on.

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Chapter 32 – The Twelve Palaces of Brightshore

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 32 – The Twelve Palaces of Brightshore

Ji Ning was meditating on sword-arts by himself within his astral island, using the top-grade temporal acceleration Dao treasure, the Luminous Room.

Ning was seated in the lotus position. Before him was a table that had a flagon of wine, a scroll of parchment, a brush, and a brush holder. Every so often, he’d pick up the brush and spend a bit of time painting on the scroll.

“The fifth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the Silent World. I still need to spend a bit more time on it.” Ning was close to mastering the fifth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, which was the highest level stance which World God Northrest himself had been able to master!

They were both World-level cultivators and had both reached the level of full mastery in the Dao of the Sword, but there were still differences in their sword-arts!

Northrest had only been a supreme World God due to his Eternal weapon, but some of the truly peerless geniuses which the Brightshore Kingdom had abducted and brought to this place were capable of that level of power even when they used mere Dao weapons. Some were even more terrifyingly strong!

This was what a difference in sword-arts could make.

In terms of profundity of sword-arts, there were quite a few people on the Astral Islands who were superior to Ning! Ning himself understood this quite well. In short, he simply hadn’t been training for long enough, and he had broken through to the World level just recently. If these people knew that he had reached the level of full mastery a mere thousand years after reaching the World level, they would probably be completely stupefied.

“Others won’t care about how long you have been cultivating. They will only care about how strong you are. My advantage lies in the strength and speed which the azureflower mist energy has imbued me with. It gives me the speed and strength of a Daolord of the First Step! But my weakness is my sword-arts…”

“I need to hurry up and collect a set of the sword-arts legacy. That will be of use to my sword-arts as well,” Ning mused.

Anything referred to as a ‘legacy’ would include extremely detailed, step-by-step instructions for cultivators to use. The [Nameless] sword-art which Ning had acquired was just a fragmentary record; it couldn’t really be referred to as a true legacy.

On the other hand, the many stone sword-steles which World God Northrest had painstakingly erected in order to help his successor better understand the first stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the Heartsword stance, would qualify as a legacy. It contained detailed instructions and provided true guidance to the learner.

It was the legacy which World God Northrest had prepared for his successor.

As for the ninety-nine legacies on the Astral Islands, two of them were sword-arts. However, these sword-arts had been left behind by Samsara Daolords. It must be understood that ever since Ning had left the Three Realms, he hadn’t encountered any formidable Daolord-level experts of the sword who could provide him with tutelage. He had been working hard all by himself.

“Eh?” Ning was suddenly disturbed from his meditations. “Someone came?”

He had bound this astral island long ago and thus was easily able to sense the presence of an outsider.

“Even I am restricted from leaving my astral island. For someone to come to my island means that this is probably a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom.” Ning placed his brush on the brush stand, then immediately left the Luminous Room.

After putting his treasure away, Ning emerged from his private room and then walked into his courtyard where he saw a figure standing outside.

It was an old man dressed in azure armor who had his hands clasped behind his back. As Ning pushed open the doors to his courtyard, the old man turned around and smiled at Ning. “I am Flameflow. I am from the Thunder Palace of the Twelve Palaces.”

Ning was startled. This old man was a Samsara Daolord? He immediately said, “Darknorth greets you, senior Flameflow.”

“Darknorth?” The azure-armored man nodded slightly, then let out a praising sigh. “My dear Darknorth, you are an impressive figure. Just three months after coming to the Astral Islands, you have already ascended to the fourth stratum, then won six consecutive battles here.”

“I’m not quite where I need to be yet. I need ten consecutive victories before I can make it to the fifth stratum,” Ning said.

“Generally speaking, the newcomers to the Astral Islands will have to undergo many battles and acquire a few legacies, allowing them to improve and grow before they are able to ascend to the fifth stratum.” The azure-armored old man said, “As soon as you came here, you won six battles in a row here on the fourth stratum. I trust that it won’t be too hard for you to ascend to the fifth stratum.”

Ning understood this as well. There was one particularly valuable part of being here on the Astral Islands: there were many dazzlingly talented cultivators here. In the rest of the Endless Territories, it would be quite hard for Ning to encounter suitable foes. For a transcendent World God to encounter another transcendent World God was an incredibly rare experience.

But here on the Astral Islands, a large number of formidable World-level cultivators had been brought together. It was entirely possible and quite easy for a person to seek out opponents who were roughly on par with him in strength, or perhaps someone slightly stronger or weaker. Since losing a duel might very well result in death, everyone was motivated to fight to their fullest potential. As a result, all the surviving cultivators were generally able to grow stronger and stronger.

Only by making it to the fifth stratum would you receive protection… but how many would ever be able to ascend to that stratum?

“Please sit, senior.” Ning gestured towards the wooden table and seats nearby. Ning had placed them here, as he often enjoyed sitting down and enjoying some wine as he stared at the many astral islands hovering outside.

Daolord Flameflow sat down.

“Please.” Ning sat down on the other side and helped pour some wine.

“I know you are skilled in lightning,” Daolord Flameflow said.

“You know, senior?” Ning was surprised. Although he had fought quite a few times in the Astral Islands, it was only during his two most recent battles that he had used thunder and lightning. His previous opponents had been so weak that he hadn’t felt the need.

“I have full records of all the battles you engaged in here in the Astral Islands.” Daolord Flameflow chuckled. “Only by watching your battles and learning where your specialties lie shall the Twelve Palaces be in a good position to judge and choose from amongst you.”

“The Twelve Palaces?” Ning was puzzled.

Daolord Flameflow smiled. “You were abducted to this place by the almighty Hegemon, but you probably don’t know much right now. For weaker cultivators, being brought here was a calamity, but for someone like you it is a blessing. The almighty Hegemon… he is an incomparably powerful figure that is one of the few that truly stands at the very apex of the Endless Territories. He has been alive for an extremely long period of time and was the founder of our Brightshore Kingdom.”

Daolord Flameflow asked, “Have you heard of the Dao Alliance?”

“I have.” Ning nodded.

“The Dao Alliance spans an incredibly vast area and virtually all cultivators belong to the Dao Alliance. Compared to the Dao Alliance, our Brightshore Kingdom is more aloof and more secretive.” Daolord Flameflow said, “The Brightshore Kingdom almost never gets involved in any wars, and so we are on fairly good terms with the Dao Alliance.”

On good terms with the Dao Alliance? Ning let out a sigh of relief. Vastheaven Palace was part of the Dao Alliance; if the Brightshore Kingdom was on bad terms with the Dao Alliance, Ning would’ve been in trouble. But if they were on good terms… why would this almighty Hegemon abduct so many of the World-level cultivators belonging to the Dao Alliance?

“The Brightshore Kingdom is primarily divided up into twelve palaces,” Daolord Flameflow said. “There is also an imperial clan of individuals who are of the same race as the almighty Hegemon. Although they are few in number, they are extremely powerful.”

“They are of the same race as the almighty Hegemon?” Ning suddenly thought back to that enormous, terrifying behemoth that had abducted him to this place.

Of the same race as that behemoth?

“Yes. The members of the imperial clan are extremely few in number, but every single one of them possesses incredible strength and power. But of course, the almighty Hegemon is the mightiest of them all,” Daolord Flameflow said. “The imperial clan rarely shows itself, while the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore comprises virtually all of the cultivators, Aeonians, special lifeforms, and other powerful experts of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

Daolord Flameflow continued, “The Twelve Palaces are very powerful. They are divided into the Palace of the Saber, the Palace of the Sword, the Palace of Radiance, the Palace of Mortality, the Palace of Thunder, the Palace of Flames, the Palace of the Heart, the Palace of Kindwater, the Palace of Woodform, the Palace of Skymetal, the Palace of Deepearth, and the Palace of Spacetime. My palace, the Thunder Palace, holds almost all of the Brightshore Kingdom’s experts in the Dao of Lightning. We have the accumulated legacies of countless generations of lightning-attribute experts and many Daolords! If you were to join us, you will definitely be able to make great strides on this path.”

Only now did Ning truly understand. At the top of the Brightshore Kingdom stood the Twelve Palaces. As for the almighty Hegemon and the imperial clan… the almighty Hegemon was of course quite powerful, but his imperial clansmen were simply too few in number.

As for the Twelve Palaces, a steady flow of new people would constantly join them. Just look at the cultivators and special lifeforms currently within the Astral Islands. The most skillful members would all be brought into the Twelve Palaces in the future.

“Once you acquire a full legacy, you’ll be qualified to leave this place. If you wish to join the Thunder Palace, you can just shatter this message-talisman of mine.” As Daolord Flameflow spoke, he produced a deep azure talisman that was brimming with flickers of electricity. He handed the talisman straight to Ning. “Once you shatter this, I’ll sense it and immediately come receive you.”

Ning blinked. The Thunder Palace? It was destined that he would walk the path of the Dao of the Sword! His mastery over lightning was far weaker than his mastery of the sword. The entire reason why he had some skill in this area was all thanks to one of the nine secret-arts of Daolord Allgod, the [Novessence Thunder].

Daolord Flameflow continued, “I know that you are also skilled in sword-arts, and I imagine that in the future you shall have to choose between the Sword Palace and the Thunder Palace. None of the Twelve Palaces will give you any pressure; you can choose whichever palace you so desire.”

“Oh, right.” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Senior, you said just now that you know the results of every battle?”

“Yes. That way, the Twelve Palaces can more easily choose our new members,” Daolord Flameflow said.

“Then have you received word of a female Chaos Immortal who is skilled in the element of fire? She has fifty-one bugbeasts that are comparable to master-class World Gods as well as a full set of eighteen powerful golems that are also comparable to master-class World Gods.” Ning continued hurriedly, “This is what she looks like. She came here by my side.” As Ning spoke, he waved his finger in the air and caused an image of Su Youji to appear out of nowhere.

“I don’t know what she looks like, but as for a female Chaos Immortal skilled in fire who has bugbeasts and eighteen golems…” Daolord Flameflow laughed. “There is indeed someone amongst the new arrivals who fits these criteria.”

Ning let out a sigh of relief. He found her. Finally, he had found Su Youji!

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Chapter 33 – The Tenth Battle

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 33 – The Tenth Battle

“Female Chaos Immortals are rare to begin with, and ones who specialize in using golems and bugbeasts are even rarer. When you factor in her being skilled the Dao of Fire… yes, there’s only one who fits it all.” Daolord Flameflow looked at Ji Ning. “Is she your Dao-companion?”

“She is my friend,” Ji Ning replied.

“It seems that being your friend is a good thing.” Daolord Flameflow said, “Are you planning to acquire a full legacy, then lose it to her on purpose?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. Once she acquired a full legacy, she would be able to leave this place.

Daolord Flameflow said, “Then there is something I must tell you in advance.”

“Yes?” Ning looked at the Daolord. Something he needed to know in advance? Was there something wrong with this plan of his? But based on what he had seen thus far, losing on purpose was entirely permitted.

“Being in the Astral Islands is both a curse and a blessing. If your friend is extraordinarily talented, it might be a better idea for you to let her stay here for a while longer. But of course, if she’s weak it would be best for her to leave early on,” Daolord Flameflow said. “My reminder to you is this… even if she manages to survive the Astral Islands, it’ll still be quite hard for her to join the Twelve Palaces.”

“Very hard?” Ning was intrigued.

“Yes.” Daolord Flameflow nodded. “The Twelve Palaces represent the twelve most powerful organizations in the entire Brightshore Kingdom. They recruit Daolords as well as truly talented World-level cultivators who are worthy of further training. It is quite difficult for the many denizens of the Brightshore Kingdom to actually join the Twelve Palaces.”

Daolord Flameflow continued, “There are some, for example, who willingly became slaves of the kingdom. Although they are still considered our citizens, they stand at the lowest rungs of society. As for those who went to mine for a thousand chaos cycles, they will become citizens upon their return, yes, but do you really think they are qualified to join the Twelve Palaces?” Daolord Flameflow laughed. “Becoming a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom and joining the Twelve Palaces are two separate matters.”

Ning now understood.

“Take yourself, for example. You have the power to make it into the fifth stratum, which is why I came to give you an invitation.” Daolord Flameflow continued, “Some weaker World-level cultivators might never receive an invitation, even if they do manage to put together a complete legacy. There is a high barrier to entry for the Twelve Palaces, and even the citizens of the Brightshore Kingdom have to undergo many different trials before they are granted entry. But of course, people like you who have received invitations don’t need to go through any further trials.”

Ning nodded.

He understood. However, he still wanted to help Su Youji as quickly as possible. Ning knew exactly what her strengths and limitations were. She had just reached the World level a short while ago, and her insights into the Dao weren’t even as profound as Ning’s, nor was she a battle-hardy World God. She would be able to buy herself some time with her bugbeasts and golems, but as time passed… eventually, she would encounter a truly talented expert and might well lose her life.

“I’d like to ask you, senior, to tell me which astral island she is on,” Ning said.

The golden book included detailed records of every astral island, including basic information about each cultivator and the treasures they held. There was naturally a notation of each location as well.

Generally speaking, the cultivators in the Astral Islands would only learn of each other’s locations through actual combat. But it was only natural for a Samsara Daolord of the Thunder Palace of the Twelve Palaces to know much more.

“The astral island she is on has the address of 399-236,” Daolord Flameflow said.

“So this one over there.” Ning immediately was able to locate the island in question. This astral island was still on the first stratum.

“My young friend Darknorth, I won’t disturb you any further. If you wish to join the Palace of Thunder, simply shatter the talisman and I’ll come welcome you.” Daolord Flameflow rose to his feet.

“Thank you for everything, senior.” Ning felt quite grateful towards the man. If it wasn’t for his help, even he didn’t know how long it would be before he found Su Youji’s astral island.

“A minor matter,” Daolord Flameflow said with a laugh. He then turned and left, disappearing into the skies.

Ning watched silently and pensively as the Daolord left.

“I need to make it to the fifth stratum as soon as possible. I’ll then acquire one of the simpler sword-arts legacies and lose it to Youji right away,” Ning mused to himself. Two sword-arts legacies and one footwork legacy. Ning wanted the footwork legacy the most. Alas, it was highly ranked and hard to acquire. In fact, most of the legacy treasures were with the cultivators on the fifth stratum.

In the coming days, Ning began to issue challenges anew to the other cultivators on his stratum.

The fourth stratum. The seventh battle.

Ning encountered an expert who was skilled in the Dao of Spacetime. This was Ning’s toughest, most grueling battle, because his opponent’s fleeing skills were simply incredible, allowing him to retreat and advance as he pleased.

Ning knew that he had an advantage in actual power, but he was still unable to do anything to his opponent. Even when he used the [Novessence Thunder] to restrain his foe’s movements, his foe’s movements remained unpredictably fast and fluid. In the end, Ning was forced to split his body into two, using two bodies to battle at the same time. Although each body was weaker than his true body, they were still individually superior than his opponent in strength. Ning wasn’t exactly slow. With two bodies surrounding and attacking at the same time, as well as the assistance of the [Novessence Thunder], Ning was able to force his opponent into admitting defeat.

The fourth stratum. The eighth battle.

This battle was against a special lifeform. Special lifeforms were different from ordinary cultivators. Ordinary cultivators were all born from the Worldheart of their chaosworld. Natural-born Elder Gods like Nuwa were said to be born from the primordial chaos, but in reality it was the chaosworld generated by the Worldheart which gave birth to them. They were born with mastery over one of the Heavenly Daos of their chaosworld, but they still emerged from the mysterious, marvelous powers of their Worldheart.

True Gods, Empyrean Gods, mortals… all of them were produced from the Worldheart.

Special lifeforms, however, were truly born within unique situations within the endless primordial chaos. There was a qualitative difference between them and cultivators, and although some of them were weak, others of them were inconceivably strong.

This opponent fighting Ning was an ape-like creature. Just prior to the battle, the creature was crunching his way through a tasty meal of strange, metallic objects. It had a body as tough as a Dao weapon and incredible strength, but it was also extremely intelligent. It had even deeper insights into the Dao than Ning did!

However, in the end it still lost.

This was because Ning was just as strong as it was, but was also much faster! Most importantly of all, Ning was wielding six Eternal weapons while the ape had to rely on its two arms… but to actually kill the ape would be incredibly difficult, because Ning was unable to damage its body. Binding it would also be quite difficult. The only thing Ning could do was force it to admit defeat.

The fourth stratum. The ninth battle.

This was an simple, direct battle. Ning easily gained victory.

“I’ve already won nine battles in a row. One more battle. Just one more win and I’ll have made it into the fifth stratum. Things will be much simpler then.” Ning was feeling rather confident. Thus far, he hadn’t encountered any foes that required him to use his Elementum Waterflame Gourd. That was his final trump card which he would only use when absolutely necessary.

“Next challenge.” Ning sent out yet another challenge to a cultivator on the fourth stratum.

……

“He’s won a total of nine victories in a row now.”

One of the twelve astral islands within the fifth stratum.

A skinny, swarthy-skinned child with three eyes dressed with strange silver cape was staring intently at the golden book in his hands. “I hear that the almighty Hegemon personally selected this latest crop of newcomers. It really does seem as though some of them possess tremendous potential. This fellow who won nine battles in a row might not necessarily be powerful, but he definitely has been the fastest mover.”

The golden book only included some basic information regarding the World-level cultivator on each astral island. It didn’t include information such as win-loss totals. Still, it wasn’t too hard to divine such information.

Ji Ning, for example. Ever since he had reached the fourth stratum, he had won every battle he was in. He had gained a number of legacy treasures, while the ones he had defeated had been completely drained of their own legacy treasures! Just by watching the movements of the various legacy treasures, one would easily be able to divine who had won which battles. It was obvious that Ning’s total legacy treasures had increased nine separate times after arriving on the fourth stratum, while there were nine fourth-stratum cultivators who had lost those exact same treasures. Clearly, he had won nine battles in a row.

“Twenty-one of the newcomers have fought their way into the fourth stratum, but eight ended up being pushed back into the third stratum. Some of them managed to fight their way back into the fourth stratum once more. Only five have won every battle they were in. The fastest has won nine battles, while the second fastest has won six.” The skinny, swarthy-skinned child read on. Speed didn’t count for much; the slower ones might just be a bit more cautious.

“It is rare for me to meet a worthy opponent. Mmm… once he wins his tenth battle and makes it into the fifth stratum, I’ll send him a challenge.” A strange smile flashed past the child’s face. “I’ll teach him a thing or two and let him know that there is a heaven beyond the heavens.”

……

“Oh? He’s won nine battles?” A black-robed expert on the fourth stratum was flipping through the golden book as well. Although he was on the fourth stratum, it had been a long, long time since anyone had challenged him. This was because he had once made it to the fifth stratum and thus received the protection of the Astral Islands! Making it to the fifth stratum was a testament to his power. Most of his former opponents now knew how strong he was and wouldn’t challenge him without a good reason. As for the newcomers including Ning, few of them would be so rash as to challenge someone under protection.

“Eheh, he’s about to make it to the fifth stratum and receive protection? It won’t be that easy. Not just everyone is worthy of being protected. You might be just one step away… but I will ruin your hopes.”

“You are just one step away, but I’ll let you die in the grips of despair. Just thinking about it excites me. Seeing a genius perish in despair is such a lovely sight.” The black-robed expert let out a chilling laugh as he issued Ning a challenge.

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Chapter 34 – The Black-Robed Expert

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 34 – The Black-Robed Expert

A gentle wind was blowing through the Astral Islands.

Ji Ning was in an excellent mood today. He was flipping through his golden book when his face suddenly changed. “A challenge?”

Ever since he had risen to the fourth stratum, this was the first time someone else on the same stratum had sent him a challenge! The fourth stratum was just a single step away from the fifth stratum, causing everyone to be quite cautious and unwilling to casually start a duel against an unknown cultivator on the same level. They would first gather as much intelligence as possible before deciding whether or not to challenge the newcomer.

“He is actually one of the protected cultivators?” Ning frowned. “There are only around twenty protected cultivators in all the Astral Islands! All of them are unfathomably strong. For him to challenge me…”

“Wait. I’ll wait for a short while.” Ning shut his eyes and began to wait calmly.

Each day, a person could only issue a single challenge. Earlier this day, he had already issued a challenge to another member of the fourth stratum, a cultivator who was not under protection. However, that person wouldn’t necessarily accept his challenge. The higher the stratum, the more cautious cultivators were about dueling people on that stratum.

This was especially true for fourth stratum cultivators who hadn’t received protection!

The closer they were to the fifth stratum and receiving protection, the more cautious they would become. They would generally first defeat some cultivators on the second or third strata, but they wouldn’t kill them. Instead, the fourth stratum cultivator would force these weaker cultivators to swear lifeblood oaths that they would accept any challenges from him, with him swearing that he would not take their lives.

That way, once the fourth stratum cultivator received a challenge from someone on his level that he didn’t wish to fight, he could immediately issue a challenge to those cultivators on the second and third strata, allowing him to avoid the challenge.

It was possible to avoid battles in this way, but unexpected things would sometimes happen as time went on. For example, those second and third strata cultivators might already be engaged in a duel, preventing them from accepting the challenge from the fourth stratum cultivator. This wouldn’t be considered a violation of the oath.

Thus, during the past two weeks, Ning had only been able to successfully challenge someone a single time. All his other challenges had been declined.

“I hope this one will go through. Unless absolutely necessary, I’d rather not duel a protected cultivator until I myself receive protection as well,” Ning mused.

If he wasn’t protected while his opponent was, their mental approach to any duel would be completely different.

Time ticked on minute by minute.

Rumble.

The golden book now displayed some new information. The cultivator which Ning challenged had just entered into a battle against a different individual.

“Another one avoiding battle.” Honestly, Ning had expected this outcome. He had only succeeded once in the past half month, after all.

“No choice but to accept the challenge. Time for me to see just how strong these protected individuals are.” Through the golden book, Ning was made aware that this individual was a special lifeform, was under protection, and had quite a few legacy treasures. Other than that, Ning knew nothing at all.

Ning reached out through the golden book and shattered the writ of challenge, accepting the challenge. He then immediately walked towards a room filled with many divine runes. Ning stood there in the center of the room, allowing the formation to be activated and teleport him away.

Rumble…

This was another oceanic island, filled with beauty and grace. Ning appeared atop a small mountain within the island, and he immediately saw the distant, azure-blue waters of the sea as well as the dazzling sands of the beach.

Rumble… another figure suddenly appeared on that same mountain, just a few hundred meters away from Ning. This was a figure that was completely covered in black robes.

Ning looked at his opponent.

The black-robed figure looked back at Ning as well. Only a pair of crimson eyes were visible beneath his dark robes.

“Upon arriving here at the Astral Islands, you immediately ascended to the fourth stratum, then won nine battles in a row.” The black-robed figure’s voice was cold and dark, and his eyes were completely different from the eyes of a cultivator. Those crimson eyes looked even more bizarre and sinister than the eyes of various strange beasts and monsters which Ning had encountered in the past. This was no cultivator. It was a special lifeform.

“Quite impressive. Given enough time, you would definitely be able to ascend to the fifth stratum. Unfortunately, you won’t have that chance.” The black-robed expert laughed, and his laughter was extremely grating and ear-piercing.

“Hahaha… you are just one step away, but you are going to die here. Do you not feel despair? Ahaha…” The black-robed expert laughed wildly, a chaotic aura of fire beginning to emerge from his body. This aura alone was probably capable of driving some weaker cultivators to the brink of insanity.

Ning simply frowned. No enmity existed between the two of them, and yet this man wished to destroy Ning’s future prospects?

“You talk a big game,” Ning said calmly.

Boom! A large black sword suddenly appeared in the black-robed expert’s right hand. Although it could be described as a sword, it didn’t have any edges to it at all. The aura emanating from this greatsword gave Ning an impression of incredible weight and density.

“Ahahaha, I dare make these claims because I have the power to take your life. You simply haven’t been here in the Astral Islands long enough, and you haven’t undergone sufficient tempering. There is no place in the outside world which is quite like the Astral Islands, with its many elites and geniuses for you to test yourself against. I think you won’t be able to take so much as my very first sword-blow.” The black-robed expert let out a bizarre laugh.

“Hmph.” Ning’s gaze turned sharp, and a crimson-gold lightning seal suddenly appeared on his forehead.

Ning was beginning to get rather irritated by this black-robed expert’s words. Screw the talking; he was going to give this person a taste of his [Novessence Thunder] first!

Bang! A crimson-gold streak of lightning shot out with incredible speed, giving the black-robed expert no time to dodge at all. The lightning bolt hammered directly against him, causing his body to tremble slightly. However, he was still able to stand there calmly.

“What powerful lightning. Unfortunately, I’m the wrong person for you to use it against.” The black-robed expert completely ignored the [Novessence Thunder], allowing it to crackle and writhe around his body. A few flickers of lightning brushed against some of the nearby boulders, instantly reducing them to dust.

“You can die now.” The black-robed expert struck out with his sword.

Ning didn’t dare to be too brash. This person knew that he had won nine battles in a row on the fourth stratum, but still dared to make the claim that his very first sword-blow would be too much for Ning to handle. Without a doubt, this strike would be an extraordinary one.

Boom! Once this strike was unleashed, the skies above the oceanic island began to dim. Countless flaming clouds began to gather in the air above them , and the sword crushed down upon Ning as though it was bringing the might of Heaven and Earth down with it.

The sword came crashing down towards Ning with a feeling of absolute, immeasurable ponderance.

“Allgod stance!” A cold, fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes as well as he unleashed the most dominating, explosive sword stance he possessed. As Ning’s insights into the sword had risen, his Allgod stance had become increasingly extraordinary as well. It was now able to unleash a truly significant amount of the might of Violetjewel’s quintessence core.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning immediately manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms]. His six swords transformed into six blood-colored wyrms that howled towards the massive world-sword that was crashing down upon him.

BOOM!!! When the first blood-colored wyrm slammed into the greatsword, the blood-colored wyrm was brought to a halt but the greatsword was knocked flying backwards.

“What?!” The black-robed expert let out a startled shout.

“He does have a bit of power. No wonder he bragged so much.” Ning was secretly startled. Thanks to the azureflower mist energy, Ning was as strong as a Daolord of the First Step and far above the vast majority of World-level cultivators. He was also using an Eternal weapon and had unleashed his most powerful sword-stance, a strike which was so powerful that very few were capable of withstanding it.

And yet… that black-robed expert’s greatsword had managed to halt his strike in its tracks! But of course, it had only been able to block Ning’s first strike. Ning had six Eternal weapons he was using!

Although one of the blood-colored wyrms had been destroyed, the other five continued to surge forward towards the black-robed expert.

“How can…” The black-robed expert was absolutely stunned. A blazing crimson warblade appeared in his other hand, a saber that gave off a similar aura of incredible ponderance. He joined his saber and his sword in front of him, using them to block Ning’s attacks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The five blood wyrms came crashing down with enough power to shake the heavens.

BOOM!

The entire mountain they were on actually collapsed, and the island itself split apart as the ground below the strike was completely caved in. As for the black-robed expert, Ning had already smashed him down into the very bottom of the sea.

Swoosh! Moments later, the black-robed expert came charging out of the waters of the sea. He hovered there in midair, staring at the distant Ji Ning who was standing atop a gray boulder.

“You talked a big game, but you don’t have much to back it up.” Ning let out a chuckle.

“You…!” The black-robed expert was enraged.

There was a reason for his earlier braggadocio. He was an extremely powerful special lifeform, and despite being at the World level he was completely capable of unleashing a level of power comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step. Given that his two Eternal weapons were also quite suited to him and to unleashing the type of power he specialized in, most fourth stratum foes would never dare to take his blows head on.

That was why he had felt so confident in his abilities! What he didn’t realize was that for many years now, the way Ning had fought was by directly crushing his foes with overwhelming power.

“Your swords are quite powerful, and you are just as strong as I am.” The black-robed expert’s voice began to transform, turning low and gravelly. As for his crimson eyes, they began to be filled with an even more insane look than before. “You are now qualified to see my true form.”

Boom!

The area around the black-robed expert suddenly became filled with endless tendrils of dark-red flames. He was like the god of this world of flames, and his black robes suddenly vanished, revealing the form underneath…

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Chapter 35 – A Miserable Victory

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 35 – A Miserable Victory

It was a humanoid creature whose skin was completely pitch-black. His eyes were crimson red in color, and the way in which he stared at Ji Ning made Ning feel uncomfortable. This pitch-black humanoid’s skin suddenly began to crack and split apart, revealing a dim crimson substance beneath the skin.

Pop! Every so often, a piece of that crimson material would suddenly shoot out from beneath his skin, moving vastly beyond the speed of light and causing spacetime around it to twist and distort.

The creature simply stood there, allowing his ‘skin’ to crack and pop. Every so often, more of that crimson substance would shoot out. Whenever it touched the waters of the ocean, the water would begin to hiss and boil away. Whenever it touched the the remnants of the island, the island would shudder and break apart even further.

“You’ve forced me to reveal my true form, which means you have to die. You are indeed qualified to make it to the fifth stratum, but unfortunately for you… you ran into me.” The sable creature spoke in a hoarse voice, and a few flecks of that crimson material flew out from his mouth with each word.

“Aren’t you the ugly one,” Ning said softly.

“You-!”

The sable creature was both embarrassed and enraged. Cultivators were the true masters of the Endless Territories, after all. They were simply too numerous! Even though he was an incredibly powerful special lifeform, when he was born from the primordial chaos he found himself to be the only member of his race. Thus, he changed his appearance and always wore a black robe, spending his life within the world of cultivators.

As a result, even he himself felt that his true appearance was rather ugly. However, only by revealing his true form was he capable of unleashing his full power. There was nothing else he could do. When normal cultivators insulted him, he wouldn’t be that irritated, but the person who just spoke was a powerful cultivator who was on his general level of power.

“All you can do is flap your mouth. Remember this in your next life. The person who killed you is Sabafey.” The sable creature let out a low growl as he gripped the heavy warblade and the heavy greatsword with his hands.

“What an ugly name as well.” Ning was intentionally mocking him. He could tell that this special lifeform had a fairly weak Dao-heart.

“Die.” Two sonorous streaks of saber-light and sword-light struck out, carrying an aura of incredible majesty and power.

“Hmph.” Ning once more manifested three heads and six arms, using his six Eternal weapons fight back.

“Eh? What’s this?” When Ning transformed into a streak of lightning and charged forward, he immediately sensed spacetime twisting around him. This had an impact on even his own agility and movements. Clearly, this Sabafey was capable of causing spacetime to twist all around him in a domain-type maneuver.

“Hmph.” Ning let out an angry snort as that streak of crimson-gold lightning once more blasted out of his forehead. The lightning was shaped like a Flood Dragon as it struck out, but once it moved closer to that black humanoid, it was impacted by some of the crimson substance spurting out of its cracked skin. The crimson-gold lightning instantly began to tremble.

“We haven’t even clashed yet, but that crimson substance shooting out of his body and this domain around him is already having an impact on my abilities. So this is the power of his true form?” Ning was secretly nervous.

Boom!

Boom!

A streak of black light suddenly shot out. This was the sable freak, Sabafey!

A streak of lightning shot out as well. This was the three-headed, six-armed, white-robed Ji Ning. Crimson-gold lightning continuously shot out of Ning’s forehead.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two instantly clashed multiple times in midair, causing the air around them to tremble, the fragments of the island beneath them to sink deeper into the sea, and tremendous tidal waves to arise.

The two of them battled in a wild orgy of destruction, and Ji Ning was clearly at a disadvantage in this fight.

“Damn.”

Ning was forced to repeatedly dodge backwards, then charge forward once more. As for the black freak Sabafey, he fought in an utterly dominating fashion. Although he only had a single warblade and a single greatsword, his strength and savagery was enough to allow his two weapons to completely overwhelm Ji Ning.

In fact, the unique spacetime domain surrounding this creature was enough to make him superior to Ning in speed as well.

“So his true form makes him this much stronger than before.” Ning could feel how difficult this battle was becoming. The power of every single blow from the enemy’s sword and saber was superior to Ning’s power. Even though Ning had six weapons to his foe’s two, he was still at a marked disadvantage in this fight.

In truth, this special lifeform was indeed as physically strong as a Daolord of the First Step. He was on par with Ji Ning, and his insights into the Dao were even more profound than Ning’s. This was the reason why the power of his every blow exceeded Ning’s power.

As for their earlier clash? Before revealing his true form and unleashing his full power, he looked just like an ordinary cultivator dressed in black robes. He had only been able to unleash roughly ten or twenty percent of his maximum power in that state, which was why his full-strength blow was merely on par with one of Ning’s sword-strikes. Things were completely different now.

“You are definitely going to die. You are gonna die!” Sabafey’s hoarse, maddened voice rang out. He held an advantage in both speed and power!

This was the first time since arriving at the Astral Islands that Ning had been in such a terrible situation. He was being completely dominated.

This was someone who was just as fast and as strong as him, but who also had an even higher level of insight into the Dao. Sabafey had been training here at the Astral Islands for an extremely long period of time, and he possessed that strange domain which was even stronger than Ning’s [Novessence Thunder].

Ning was being crushed.

As the saying goes, if you always stay on the defensive, sooner or later you will lose. Ning no longer dared to let things continue like this.

“Come out!” Ning was furious as well. This Sabafey really was trying to kill him and sever his path.

Whoosh!

A black-crimson gourd suddenly appeared out of nowhere next to Ning. This was the Elementum Waterflame Gourd! The gourd hovered behind Ning, then instantly spat out two streaks of dragon-shaped lightning. One streak of lightning was the Watersmoke Lightning, and it looked a flood of black water descending from an enormous stormcloud. The power of this lightning was so tremendous that it alone was superior to Ning’s [Novessence Thunder]. As for the second streak of lightning, it looked like a cloud of flame and was just as strong as the first streak of lightning.

Two streaks of lightning. The first was Watersmoke Lightning, the second was Firecloud lightning. Fire and water were incompatible by nature! They were opposing forces! But these two streaks of Dao lightning simultaneously coiled around each other as they thundered towards the sable freak, Sabafey.

“What is that?!” The sable creature was shocked.

BOOM! BOOM!

The two streaks of Dao lightning showed no mercy at all. They simultaneously hammered down upon the sable creature, then began smashing into each other as well. As the two streaks of fiery lightning and watery lightning collided, they unleashed an utterly ruinous level of explosive power that caused even Ning himself to be in awe.

Even most supreme World Gods would be instantly slain by such an attack. As for transcendent World Gods, they would be heavily injured at the very least. A few consecutive blows would ensure that they would perish.

Only Daolords of the First Step would be able to endure such a blow, but even they would be heavily restricted and bound.

Boom! Boom! The two streaks of Dao lightning furiously swirled around the sable creature’s body, and each time they collided they released tremendous amounts of power, causing Sabafey’s speed and strength to both fall dramatically.

“This is Dao lightning!” Sabafey called out in shock.

“Yes it is.” Ning charged forward once more.

“So what if you have Dao lightning? It can at most slow me down. It can’t kill me!” Sabafey remained as ferocious and savage as ever. His true body was indeed comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step, allowing him to endure the strikes of these two types of Dao lightning. However, he was still hindered tremendously by them. He was now slightly slower than Ning!

Boom! Boom! Boom! His warblade and his greatsword still held roughly half of their former level of power. He was still able to crush Ning in power.

Still, things were now much simpler for Ning. Now that he had an advantage in speed, he was able to advance and withdraw at his leisure. In addition, his foe’s advantage in strength was now much smaller than before.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The two continued to battle ferociously.

“I am a special lifeform. This cultivator has to be using his divine power at an incredible rate. He won’t be able to hang on for much longer, while I’ll be able to keep going for quite some time.” Sabafey was filled with confidence. He was certain he would be able to keep fighting for an extended period of time.

“Every single drop of my azureflower mist energy represents the distillation of all my divine power, heartforce, and Immortal energy. I’m not using any particularly powerful divine abilities for this fight. I’ll be able to go on for ages. This special lifeform has to be using some sort of secret art which allows him to release tremendous amounts of power, but I’m certain he won’t be able to maintain it for too long.” Ning was filled with confidence as well.

Ning was merely using [Three Heads, Six Arms]. This divine ability used up fairly little divine power. Ning was mainly relying on his azureflower mist energy in this battle, and it wasn’t being used up that quickly.

This battle went on for more than two full hours.

At first, both were very confident. As time went on, both Sabafey and Ning grew increasingly amazed. By now, Ning only had sixteen drops of his azureflower mist energy left.

“I admit defeat!” Finally, Sabafey let out a disgruntled growl. “Given how much power you have unleashed, you have to be using up divine power at an incredible rate. How is it even possible for you to continue fighting for this long? How?!”

If Ning was using abilities like the [Starseizing Hand], he would indeed be using up divine power at an astonishing rate.

Ning let out a sigh of relief.

He had won. Finally, he had won.

He could sense the golden book in his possession begin to transform. He was now under the protection of the Astral Islands, which acknowledged the fact that he had just won ten battles in a row on the fourth island.

“Hand over your legacy treasures.” Ning stared at him. If it wasn’t for the fact that this person was also under protection, Ning would’ve shown him no mercy at all and slain him. This person wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer.

“Don’t be smug. I was defeated by the others on the fifth stratum, after all.” Sabafey let out a hoarse growl. “There are many on the fifth stratum who are stronger than me. You are indeed quite strong, but your insights into the sword are quite mediocre. Ahaha… you are even inferior to a special lifeform like myself.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand and tossed out a large amount of legacy treasures. Upon losing, he had to hand over everything he had unless Ning voluntarily accepted less. He didn’t dare violate the rules of the Astral Islands.

“EXIT!” Sabafey raised his head and let out an angry shout.

Whoosh! Spacetime twisted around him, causing his sable form to disappear into thin air.

Ning waved his hand, collecting the many legacy treasures. His golden book immediately sent him an alert, informing him that he had already acquired a full legacy and that he was permitted to leave the Astral Islands whenever he wished.

“A full set?” Ning wasn’t that surprised. He knew that Sabafey had many legacy treasures on him, including a full legacy set.

Swoosh!

Ning waved his hand again, causing the Elementum Waterflame Gourd to fly towards him as well.

Ning put away the gourd. If it hadn’t been for this gourd he probably would’ve lost this fight, even if he was able to keep himself alive. Upon losing, he would’ve been knocked down to the third stratum once more, where he would’ve had to slowly accumulate enough wins for another promotion.

“Sabafalle. He was merely an individual who wasn’t strong enough to stay in the fifth stratum permanently. He was beaten down into the fourth stratum… and yet, he is incredibly powerful. My sword-arts are indeed a weak point.” Prior to this, Ning didn’t fully realize how great a weakness this was. However, the more he battled against other incredibly talented figures, the more he realized how lacking his sword-arts were. In the end, he simply hadn’t spent enough time as a World-level cultivator.

“So many of the cultivators on the fifth stratum are more powerful than him?”

A flicker of battle-lust appeared in Ning’s eyes. “Good. The stronger they are, the better.”

Ning raised his head and called out, “Exit!”

Whoosh.

Spacetime twisted around Ning, causing him to be teleported away and back to his own astral island.

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Chapter 36 – The Watcher in the Dark Abyss

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 36 – The Watcher in the Dark Abyss

The six strata of astral islands continuously circled around each other in a very orderly manner.

At the very top stratum, the sixth stratum, there was just a single astral island. The fifth stratum had a total of twelve astral islands that slowly circled each other.

Rumble…

One of the hundred-plus islands belonging to the fourth stratum began to slowly fly upwards.

“What?”

“Is that…”

“Someone made it to the fifth stratum.”

The many cultivators on the lower strata of the Astral Islands all raised their heads to stare at the higher-level islands. Hundreds of thousands of them were watching as this particular island ascended from the fourth stratum to the fifth stratum.

Many cultivators felt complicated feelings in their heart. They dreamed of being able to make it to the fifth stratum. That way, they would similarly be able to receive the protection of the Astral Islands! Alas, this was far, far too difficult a task.

“A change in destiny…”

This was what countless cultivators were murmuring silently to themselves.

……

“He was quite fast. He was brought here alongside the rest of us in this batch, but he actually made it to the fifth stratum before I did.” A jade-haired woman dressed in silvery, semi-translucent gauze was murmuring to herself softly from within her island on the fourth stratum. “And a cultivator at that. I’ve never ever met any World-level cultivators who are a match for me, but almost as soon as I arrived in the Brightshore Kingdom I encountered one. How intriguing. What’s more, the Brightshore Kingdom treats cultivators and special lifeforms equally, giving no special preferences or advantages to either.”

“I like this place.” A smile appeared on the jade-haired woman’s face as natural mist began to swirl around her.

……

“I never would’ve thought that those puny cultivators would give rise to someone who might be a match for me. He actually made it to the fifth stratum before I did.” A devilishly handsome silver-haired youth was murmuring softly to himself.

He was a member of the Aeonians who had long ago found the path he needed to take to become a Samsara Daolord. However, he wanted to become more powerful before doing so. That way, he would benefit even further from his Awakening of his Aeonian bloodlines.

Still, he had to admit that the Brightshore Kingdom truly had gathered many freakishly talented figures. The fourth stratum alone was filled with many figures who had been quite difficult for him to overcome. This made him quite cautious.

Anyone capable of surging into the fifth stratum so quickly was definitely a powerful figure.

“Although cultivators are individually weak, there’s simply too many of them. There are far more of them around than we Aeonians. In the end, the law of large numbers means they will give birth to many freakishly strong figures.” The silver-haired youth mused to himself, “Once I enter the fifth stratum, I’ll definitely have to test him out myself.”

……

Ning’s ascension to the fifth stratum did indeed arouse the interest of quite a few of the other freakishly talented World-level cultivators. The ability to make it into the fifth stratum was a testament to his strength!”

“Another person has joined us in the fifth stratum?”

“Interesting. A few days from now, I’ll have to give him a challenge and see how he does.”

“I wager that Kilostar will be the first challenger yet again. Ahh, forget it. Just let it be him.”

The fourth stratum and the fifth stratum were completely different.

The cultivators on the fourth stratum weren’t under any protection. As a result, they would rarely accept or issue challenges. They were all quite cautious. However, these twelve peerless geniuses on the fifth stratum were all incredibly strong and talented figures. This was why they were able to keep their positions within the fifth stratum stable. Even if they occasionally fell down to the next level, they would quickly rise up once more. All of them delighted in battle.

In fact, the entire reason why they were still here was because they wanted to keep fighting!

As for the legacies? There was no point in being greedy. They merely needed to local the ones they actually needed. The best part of being here was the ability to battle against all these World-level cultivators. The experience they gained through combat was quite useful to them.

An astral island within the fifth stratum.

A skinny, swarthy child dressed in a silver cape was flipping through his golden book, roaring with laughter. “Ahahah! He didn’t disappoint me. He actually beat that special lifeform named Sabafalle. Although Sabafalle is a bit of an idiot, beating him is no easy task. Interesting, interesting.”

“Still, simply defeating Sabafalle doesn’t mean much. Sabafalle is completely incapable of standing stably amongst the ranks of the other fifth stratum individuals. Kid, I’m going to teach you the true meaning of the phrase, ‘there is always someone stronger than the strong’.” The skinny, swarthy child laughed.

“Challenge issued!”

He issued a direct challenge to Ning through the golden book.

“Heh heh heh… the other eleven fellows on the fifth stratum will all give me some face. Same as always! I’ll be the first to challenge the newcomer.” A look of excitement was in the swarthy-skinned child’s eyes.

All of them had lived together for quite some time. They had formed certain habits long ago.

Each time a newcomer made it to the fifth stratum for the first time, it would be Kilostar who would challenge that person first. Kilostar wasn’t necessarily the most powerful of the twelve, but he had the fewest weaknesses. He was capable of dealing with any foes that appeared. Even if he had to fight against that terrifying fellow from the sixth stratum, he’d still be able to at least keep himself safe! In other words… he was capable of dealing with any World-level cultivator, no matter how freakishly talented that person was.

……

The dark abyss directly below the hundreds of thousands of astral islands.

At the very bottom of the abyss.

Hiss. Crackle. Nine strange flames were flickering here.

Above the flames was a horizontally placed longspear that was over a thousand meters long. An enormous haunch of meat that was at least three hundred meters long was currently spitted on the spear.

The beast’s flesh was being slowly roasted by the nine flames, and its surface was just slowly turning red. To fully cook it would probably take quite some time.

“Delicious. Absolutely delicious.” A burly, nearly-naked man with tousled black hair was seated, dressed in simple battle garbs. In front of him was a large basin that was over thirty meters long, filled with roasted meat. He was chomping through the meat with relish.

Sitting opposite of him was a muscular golden-haired man dressed in golden armor. This man also had an enormous basin front of him, also filled with roasted meat.

“King Wu, your hunting skills really aren’t bad. This Bloodflame Dragon had to be comparable to a Verge-level Daolord. Its flesh is simply savory.” The golden-armored warrior was crunching his way through the meat as he spoke. Not just anyone was powerful enough to chew through this! “Hunting these things really isn’t easy. I think you Imperials must have damn near wiped them out of the Endless Territories by now.”

“We pretty much wiped them out ages ago.” The black-haired, nearly-naked man shook his head. “The Hegemon, that old bastard, captured more than anyone else. He’s able to instantly teleport to any territory he pleases, whereas I actually had to physically run across countless territories before I was able to find a single Bloodflame Dragon. I then had to pretend to be a cultivator, for fear that once it realized who I was it would self-destruct rather than let me capture it. It took forever for me to capture it! Ehehe… but now that I have one, I can slowly savor it for an extremely long period of time.”

Bloodflame Dragons were incredibly, terrifyingly powerful beasts. They were unlike cultivators or Aeonians; they neither used divine power nor had any Immortal energy. They were actually similar to bugbeasts, but they were far more powerful than bugbeasts.

However, it was incredibly rare for one of them to be found in the Endless Territories. They had been driven to the point of extinction long ago, precisely because the Brightshore Imperials’ favorite food was Bloodflame Dragons.

A Bloodflame Dragon which had reached the Verge of the Daomerge had a body that was comparable in size to an entire chaos star. If you ate just a thousand meters of it with each meal, you would be able to able to feast for an extremely long period of time.

Alas, ancient creatures such as the members of the Brightshore Imperials would live for even longer.

“King Wu.” The golden-armored warrior glanced off into the distance towards a strange beast that was wreathed in flames. This creature possessed tremendous vitality and power, but it was currently suffering all sorts of unspeakable torments. “I heard that you Imperials just gained a new clansmen. Shouldn’t you take his training a bit more seriously?”

“For me to even keep an eye out for him me being much more serious than usual. Yeah, this abyss is filled with plenty of danger, but so long as I keep an eye out I’ll be able to guarantee that he stays alive,” the black-haired man said between mouthfuls of meat.

“Eh?” The black-haired man suddenly raised his head to stare upwards.

His gaze pierced through the darkness of the abyss as well as the protection of the Astral Islands, allowing him to see Ji Ning. Ji Ning was currently flipping through his golden book within his room in his astral island.

Right at this moment, Ning suddenly found himself seized by an invisible, inexplicable terror. It was as though some terrifying creature had just taken notice of him.

“It seems a new kid is about to join your Twelve Palaces as well.” The black-haired man looked towards the golden-armored warrior. “He made it to the fifth stratum quite quickly, and he’s a cultivator just like you are.”

“He’s not bad, I suppose.” The golden-armored man laughed. “We cultivators are fairly weak in general. It is quite rare for an extremely powerful cultivator to emerge. We simply can’t compare to the members of your race. All of you are born with utterly enormous power.”

“Is that comparable? Is that even comparable?!” The black-haired man glared at him. “How many of you are there? How few of us are there? The Hegemon, that old bastard… how much time does he need to spend wandering the Endless Territories before he is able to find another member of our race? For each new member of our race that is born, another ten Daolords emerge amongst you cultivators. You cultivators give birth to monsters by the bundle. Just look at the Twelve Palaces. How many Daolords do you have? And how few members do we have in our imperial clan?”

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Chapter 37 – The Plight of Su Youji

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 37 – The Plight of Su Youji

“Ahaha!” The golden-armored warrior laughed. “Fine, I misspoke.”

“Sometimes, I really envy you cultivators. There is a stupid large number of you. You guys are absolutely everywhere. Every single territory has you cultivators in them.” The black-haired man sighed and shook his head. Suddenly…

“THAT BRAT! Is he trying to die?!” The black-haired man’s eyes suddenly bulged out. Two streaks of golden light shot out of his eyes, passing through the barriers of spacetime and reaching a distant figure in a distance place.

……

The Astral Islands.

“What just happened?” Ning’s entire body had turned stuff. He felt as though an utterly terrifying presence had suddenly taken notice of him. However, that terrifying sense of danger quickly dissipated.

“Who was that just now?” Ning guessed that it had to have been an incredibly powerful figure who was scrying upon him, a figure that didn’t even bother to hide his aura. If he had, there was no way Ning would’ve been able to sense him.

“That sense of danger… it was second only to the sensation I felt when I encountered that terrifying behemoth that brought me here,” Ning mused to himself.

The terrifying behemoth that had devoured him and brought him to this place was the most terrifying thing Ning had ever encountered in his life. It vastly surpassed any and all experts Ning had encountered in the past.

The Brightshore Kingdom was an organization that was on the same general level of power as the entire Dao Alliance itself. The Dao Alliance was unfathomably powerful, while the Brightshore Kingdom was very secretive and quite powerful as well.

“Doesn’t matter, I guess. Either of them can crush me like a bug.” Ning couldn’t be bothered to worry about it. The point of the almighty Hegemon bringing them here was to raise a crop of powerful cultivators. Even the most powerful of organizations would need constant injections of fresh blood, after all.

No matter how powerful their elite experts were, only their Eternal Emperors would live eternally. Samsara Daolords who did not succeed in the Daomerge would all perish eventually. Thus, they needed to ensure a constant, steady stream of new blood.

Ning was one of them, a future expert of the Brightshore Kingdom.

“Mm. Fortunately, Youji is still alive.” Ning flipped through the golden bok again, then let out a sigh of relief.

“Eh? Someone just challenged me?” Ning frowned. One of the talented geniuses of the fifth stratum had just issued him a challenge. It must be understood that the twelve members of the fifth stratum had been on that stratum for a long period of time. They were all definitely superior to Sabafalle in power.

Ning had been forced to pull out his Elementum Waterflame Gourd for the sake of defeating Sabafalle.

“I’m currently protected by the Astral Islands. Even if I lose, I would at most lose some legacy treasures. However… I need to make sure this set gets to Su Youji first. If too much time passes, something unexpected might happen.” Ning didn’t dare to be too arrogant.

Ning waved his hand. Whoosh! Three hundred and twenty legacy treasures suddenly appeared before him. These were all fiery red leaves. The fiery leaves were all gathered together, and Ning could immediately sense the tremendous amount of information they contained, as well as that blazingly powerful aura of fire.

This was a legacy pertaining to the Dao of Fire. Sabafalle, Ning’s previous opponent, had walked the Dao of Fire. The reason he had kept these legacy treasures with him was so that he could be in constant contact with the blazing will they contained. However, the treasures had now fallen into Ning’s hands.

All he had to do was swear a lifeblood oath and he would immediately be able to study this legacy.

Ning did end up learning it, but he simply memorized its contents. This legacy was indeed quite profound and remarkable. Just by reviewing the entire legacy from start to finish, Ning’s insights into the Dao of Fire increased substantially, reaching a level of near-parity with his Dao of Water or his Dao of Thunder.

“Possession of a legacy really does make a big difference,” Ning mused to himself. “Still, my Dao is the Dao of the Sword. I can’t waste my time and energy on fire.” Ning quickly buried this legacy into another corner of his mind. He had simply memorized it to gain a bit of additional experience, as all Daos shared certain commonalities. This legacy contained many abstruse mysteries that would be of some use to Ning in his mastery of the Dao of the Sword.

“Time to challenge her.” After looking through the legacy treasure, Ning nodded silently to himself. Su Youji was quite talented in the Dao of Fire. If he gave this to her, it would be of tremendous benefit to her in mastering the Dao of Fire. She would improve quite quickly.

Ning sent Su Youji a challenge.

“I hope she accepts. She has to accept.” Ning was rather worried and nervous.

He had learned the location of Su Youji’s astral island from Daolord Flameflow, but Su Youji didn’t know that Ning had reached the fifth stratum. If she suddenly saw someone from the fifth stratum challenge her, would she accept?

If she did not, then Ning would have to accept this duel from Kilostar, his fifth stratum challenger. If he won, that was one thing, but if he lost… his legacy treasures would all be gone as well.

It wouldn’t be too hard for Ning to get another set of legacy treasures, but to get another set that was of the Dao of Fire which Su Youji could use would be quite difficult. In addition, if too much time passed… Su Youji might perish.

……

The bottom stratum of the hundreds of thousands of astral islands. One of the islands was covered with plants and flowers. This was a very beautiful island.

Su Youji, dressed in fiery red robes, was lying within the grass, staring at the skies. A look of exhaustion was on her face.

“If this keeps up, I really won’t be able to endure for much longer. Master… I probably won’t be able to accompany you for much longer.”

Su Youji lay there in the grass, utterly exhausted. She truly had almost no energy left.

Ji Ning had given her his bugbeasts and his set of Hellwind Golems. At first, she had indeed been able to win quite a few battles in a row with ease. On the first stratum, there really weren’t that many who were a match for her.

But soon, trouble began to appear.

News that she had many bugbeasts and a set of Hellwind Golems quickly began to spread. There were many powerful World-level cultivators who wanted those bugbeasts and those powerful golems!

For example, there wasn’t a significant difference in power between cultivators on the third stratum and those on the fourth stratum. If they had a set of Hellwind Golems helping them out, a third stratum cultivator might be able to charge into the fourth stratum and have a chance at acquiring a full legacy.

Especially for those who specialized in close combat, a set of Hellwind Golems and a host of bugbeasts would allow them to become far stronger.

Many of the World-level cultivators who had been living here at the Astral Islands for a long time knew each other. At critical times, they would issue each other challenges to avoid dangerous battles. Thus, in the end there were three powerful World-level cultivators who found out about the golems and the bugbeasts.

Two of these three came from the third floor, with one coming from the fourth floor. All of them furiously challenged Su Youji day in and day out. Su Youji did her best to avoid them. When she could not, she would go fight the ones on the third floor.

“I was able to hold on for a few times… but how much longer will I be able to hold?” Su Youji mumbled to herself. She had been here for more than half a year, and the past few months had been an utter nightmare.

Rumble…

Sudenly, an island ascended from the fourth stratum to the fifth stratum.

“The fifth stratum?” Su Youji’s eyes lit up. “A cultivator reached the fifth stratum? Could it be Master?” She deeply hoped that it was Ning, but she knew that there were many individuals of tremendous talent and skill amongst the fourth stratum.

“I hope it is Master. So long as Master can stay alive… that is enough.” Su Youji prayed silently. She didn’t hope for Ning to rescue her. Logically speaking, there was no way for Ning to even find out which island she was on.

Just as her thoughts were racing, suddenly…

“A challenge?” Su Youji could sense that yet another challenge had been sent to her golden book. She remained quite calm, because she received challenges every single day. Her bugbeasts and golems were simply too irresistible.

“A challenge from the fifth stratum?” Su Youji was badly shocked.

Her bugbeasts and golems were indeed attractive, but it made no sense for those protected freaks on the fifth stratum to take an interest in them. Prior to this, the highest-level challenge had come from someone on the fourth stratum, and that had been her only challenge from that stratum.

“Eh? It seems… to be from that person who just made it to the fifth stratum?” Su Youji quickly noticed this. Every day, she would go through the golden book, and she recognized the twelve markers that originally belonged to the fifth stratum islands. Given her memory as a Chaos Immortal, she was naturally able to memorize those twelve at once. The person who had just challenged her was not one of the twelve.

“This person challenged me immediately after reaching the fifth stratum? If this person has already received protection, it makes no sense for him to be interested in my bugbeasts and golems. Could it… truly be Master?” Many thoughts flashed through Su Youji’s mind.

She didn’t dare to believe it.

She felt that it was all wishful thinking.

However… she also had the vague feeling that it really could be her master. Logically speaking, there was no reason for a newly ascended fifth stratum expert to immediately issue a challenge to her.

“Could it be that Master had a way to discover astral island which I am on?” Su Youji hesitated for a long moment.

“Screw it. I’m at the brink of collapse anyhow. Even if it really is an enemy, I’d be satisfied with my defeat coming at the hands of someone on the fifth stratum.” Su Youji gritted her teeth, then accepted the challenge.

She quickly entered a room in her island covered by divine runes. As the runes lit up and activated, spacetime began to twist around her as she was teleported off of the astral island.

This was yet another oceanic island. There was a volcano on this island that was belching lava and flames, causing the island to be covered with a layer of grimy soot.

Su Youji appeared out of nowhere. She immediately saw a figure off in the distance.

A white-robed figure.

A figure carrying a sword on his back.

“Master…” Su Youji’s body trembled slightly as she murmured these words.

“Youji.” The figure turned and looked at her.

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Chapter 38 – Kilostar

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 38 – Kilostar

Su Youji’s eyes instantly reddened. She was both shocked and delighted. Her heart was filled with many complex emotions. She felt excited for Ji Ning upon realizing that he had fought his way through so many World-level cultivators to make it to the fifth stratum, and also celebrated for herself.

The exhaustion and pressure she felt was all wiped away.

“Youji.” Ning’s form blurred as he transformed into a streak of light that flew to her side. He looked at her carefully. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m just so happy.” Su Youji finally smiled, and her smile was absolutely incandescent. She now looked like her old self again. “If you came just a bit later, Master, you probably wouldn’t be able to find me.”

“What’s going on?” Ning was shocked. “You are on the first stratum. Those bugbeasts and golems should’ve been enough to let you hang on for quite some time.”

“Against the first stratum cultivators, I would’ve been, yes. But third stratum and fourth stratum cultivators often send me challenges.” Su Youji said helplessly, “I can’t even avoid them.”

“Third and fourth stratum? There are so many cultivators on the first stratum. Why would they single you… shit!” Ning turned pale. He realized what had happened. He had given her those bugbeasts and golems with the best of intentions, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Here at the Astral Islands, whenever someone was discovered to be in possession of good treasures that person would often find himself targeted. What, then, of such a powerful set of golems and bugbeasts? Although it was hard for most of the cultivators here to send each other messages, there were indeed a few alliances and partnership. It made sense that word would eventually spread to the third and fourth strata.

“I screwed up.” Ning shook his head.

“It wasn’t your fault, Master. Even I didn’t realize what was going to happen. Only later on did I understand how badly they wanted my golems and bugbeasts,” Su Youji said.

“You must have been exhausted.” Ning could imagine how life had been for her recently. Those third and fourth strata cultivators had assuredly done everything they could to try and force Su Youji to fight them. Although she had struggled and fought back, how long would she be able to do so? As more time passed, most likely there would be even more powerful cultivators who would take interest in her.

“I admit defeat.” Ning suddenly spoke out in a high voice, his words echoing within the air above the volcanic island.

“Master?” Su Youji was stunned.

“I admit defeat in my duel against you.” Ning laughed. “This set of legacy treasures is for you. Don’t you need any other treasures?”

Su Youji suddenly realized what was happening.

“Hurry up. This set of legacy treasures is useless to me, and I’ve already received the protection of the Astral Islands.” Ning laughed as he waved his hand, causing the three hundred and twenty leaves filled with the Dao of Fire to float over towards Su Youji.

Su Youji immediately waved her hand to accept this legacy. She had won this battle. If she wanted to do so, she could demand that Ning hand over all of his legacy treasures. But of course, since she was going to leave the Astral Islands there was absolutely no point to acquiring more of these legacy treasures. You had to acquire a full set in order to gain a legacy, after all.

“Alright. Now that you have a full legacy, hurry up and leave the Astral Islands,” Ning instructed. “This place is far too dangerous for you.”

For someone like Su Youji, this was indeed an incredibly dangerous place. Without the bugbeasts, she was at high risk of death. With the bugbeasts and golems, she became the target of even more powerful cultivators.

“Alright.” Su Youji felt many complex emotions in her heart.

“Also. Once you leave the Astral Islands, do your best to enter the Twelve Palaces,” Ning said. “At present, you most likely aren’t strong enough to attract their interest. However, now that you have this legacy, you’ll be able to grow much more powerful. Focus on your cultivation, and if the opportunity arises you should do your best to enter the palaces. In the future, I will join the Twelve Palaces as well.”

“Twelve Palaces?” Su Youji was puzzled.

“The most powerful organization in the Brightshore Kingdom. At the very apex of the Brightshore Kingdom stands its Twelve Palaces and its imperial clan.” Ning gave her a simple explanation. “You only acquired a full legacy thanks to my assistance, and so the Twelve Palaces won’t grant you automatic entry. You’ll need to train hard and undergo many trials before being permitted to enter the Twelve Palaces.”

“Understood.” Su Youji knew her own limits. To even escape this place alive was a stroke of tremendous luck. She didn’t daydream about being granted automatic entry into the Twelve Palaces.

“This is my talisman. Keep it with you at all times, and I’ll be able to sense your location. After I leave the Astral Islands, I’ll go find you.” As Ning spoke, he handed out a jade talisman to her.

Su Youji accepted the jade talisman. It was slick and cold in her hands. She nodded slowly. “Alright.”

“Go, then. Be careful once you enter the rest of the Brightshore Kingdom,” Ning instructed.

“Don’t worry. After what happened here, I’m going to be even more careful in the future. Besides… even if the outside world is a dangerous place, it can’t possibly be as dangerous as these astral islands.” Su Youji chuckled.

These two, master and retainer, didn’t have too long to chat. In the end, they had to part once more as they were each teleported to their own astral islands.

Su Youji first memorized the entire legacy, then chose to depart.

“Damn.”

“That bitch actually acquired a full legacy and left.”

“That freak who made it to the fifth stratum lost to her on purpose? No wonder she had such valuable bugbeasts and golems. It must’ve been that freak who gave it to her.”

“Do you think that freak who made it to the fifth stratum will take revenge on us?”

“We are in trouble now.”

The cultivators who had been eyeing Su Youji and repeatedly challenging her for her treasures all began to grow restless and uneasy. However, neither Ning nor Su Youji were interested in revenge.

Although Su Youji had been driven to the brink of despair, she didn’t feel any hatred for them. She knew that they were also struggling to survive. When they encountered anything that could help them or increase their chances of acquiring a full set of legacy treasures, it was only natural for them to do anything they could to win it.

As Su youji saw it, she had already escaped from this sea of bitterness, whereas all of her tormentors were still struggling. In all the hundreds of thousands of astral islands, only those twenty or so figures who had received the protection of the Astral Islands would be truly at ease.

“What? He made it up, then fell down again?”

“He actually lost that set of legacy treasures to a first stratum cultivator?”

All the cultivators kept a tight watch on their golden books, and they noticed whenever any changes appeared. They were able to almost instantly scan through the information pertaining to all of the islands, and they quickly realized that one particular island now contained a legacy treasure pertaining to the Dao of Fire.

Someone on the fifth stratum had lost to someone on the first stratum? And that person just so happened to now have a legacy of the Dao of Fire?

“He lost on purpose?”

“Damn, why don’t I have friends like that?”

“Ugh.”

Ning’s astral island sank from the fifth stratum to the fourth stratum once more.

Kilostar, the cultivator on the fifth stratum, was a bit irritated by this. He had sent Ji Ning a challenge, but in the end Ji Ning had actually chosen to battle Su Youji instead. “He actually avoided my challenge and delivered his legacy treasure to a cultivator on the first stratum?”

“Hmph. I’ll keep challenging him. Let’s see if he has the balls to accept. If he does, I’ll hold him in some respect.”

The next day, Kilostar once more sent Ning a challenge. This time, Ning didn’t decline.

Ning was now under the protection of the Astral Islands, after all. He was brimming with confidence and the desire to do battle. He wanted to see just how powerful the freaks of the fifth stratum were. Kilostar was also a cultivator, after all!

The two were both teleported to a black oceanic island. They stared at each other from afar.

Kilostar had the appearance of a skinny, swarthy-skinned child. His silver cape fluttered in the breeze, and as soon as the battle began Kilostar transformed into a thousand clones. This sight instantly caused Ning’s face to tighten. “That’s the [Thousand Bodies Sutra].”

“Just so. This is the [Thousand Bodies Sutra].” Kilostar’s thousand clones were capable of joining together into a strange formation akin to a Thousand Elder Gods Formation. Ning was completely surrounded by Kilostar’s clones, and an almighty domain-type effect began to apply to the area, filling it with Kilostar’s power.

Although Ning fought back with all his power, going so far as to use his Elementum Waterflame Gourd, he wasn’t able to do anything to this formation at all.

As for the thousand Kilostars, they continuously assaulted Ning. Ning’s two mighty streaks of Dao lightning blasted out with wild abandon, slowing down and restricting the actions of the many Kilostars, and Ning struck out with maximum power each time. Although Kilostar was absolutely dominating Ning in this battle, Ning’s six Eternal weapons gave him an utterly airtight defense.

“Your sword-arts aren’t that powerful, but your defenses really are tight.” Kilostar then merged with the rest of his clones into one body.

With his clones merged together, he now had a body comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step. He was now able to use divine abilities as well!

Although Ning’s azureflower mist energy enhanced his body, there was no way for him to use that mist energy to cast divine abilities.

Kilostar wielded a single scimitar in one hand, and his saber-arts were ephemeral and unpredictable. He was incredibly strong and incredibly fast, a far more frightening foe than Sabafalle.

Ning’s swords were trembling with each collision, but fortunately he was able to use his six swords to defend in succession. He was being completely dominated in this fight, but every so often Ning would intentionally allow one of Kilostar’s blows to land upon him, resulting in the power of his aquaflect armor playing quite a few nasty tricks on his foe.

“I have an utter ocean of divine power thanks to the [Thousand Bodies Sutra], but how is it that YOU are able to keep fighting for so long?” After fighting for an extended period of time, Kilostar was completely stunned. “Screw this, I’m done! This is just an utter waste of my divine power. My name is Kilostar. What is your name? You are indeed strong enough to reside amongst us within the fifth stratum. If nothing else, you can use your divine power to keep fighting until you exhaust and defeat some of the others on our stratum.”

“My name as Darknorth.” Ning smiled as well. On this day, he became friends with Kilostar.

Still, in the end Ning acknowledged defeat in this battle. Thus, he once more fell, this time from the fourth stratum to the third stratum.

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Chapter 39 – Life in the Astral Islands

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 39 – Life in the Astral Islands

A year later.

There were now fifteen astral islands within the fifth stratum, all slowly circling each other. Ji Ning sat within one of the astral islands, seated atop a wooden seat and slowly sipping a cup of wine as he read through the golden book.

Whoosh.

One of the other astral islands in the fifth stratum suddenly began to drop down towards the fourth stratum.

“What a mess.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Indeed. During the past year since he had been the first in his group of cultivators to make it to the fifth stratum, others such as Gorho, the Empress, and the Waterstrider had all made it to the fifth stratum as well. This made the fifth stratum much more lively than it had been in the past. Previously, all twelve of the cultivators on the fifth stratum knew each other quite well, resulting in very few challenges amongst them. Most of them would engage in training, only choosing to issue challenges once they felt as though they had made some new breakthroughs.

But the sudden addition of so many new geniuses had caused a huge disturbance. The twelve original denizens of the fifth stratum were all intrigued and excited, beginning to issue challenges to the newcomers.

One battle after another had begun to play out. With each battle, a fifth stratum expert would lose and fall down to the fourth stratum. However, that person would quickly be able to ascend to the fifth stratum once more.

Fall down, rise up.

Fall down, rise up.

Every few days, an astral island would fall down.

The fifth stratum always had at least nine astral islands within it. At most, it had a total of sixteen.

“Compared to all these other freaks and geniuses, I really am just an ordinary figure.” Ning let out a sigh.

After battling many times against the others, Ning realized that the vast majority of the people within the fifth stratum were special lifeforms! Only a small number of them were cultivators! Everyone had his or her own specialty, and only Kilostar could be said to have almost no weaknesses.

Kilostar had a total of a thousand clones!

In terms of raw combat power, most likely only Ji Ning was a match for him. Once he used his thousand bodies to form that great formation, there was no one capable of injuring him at all. In terms of raw power, once his thousand bodies merged into one… he truly stood at the very top.

This was why Kilostar had never fallen from his position within the fifth stratum! As for the newcomer named Waterwalker, he was a special lifeform that similarly did not fall from the fifth stratum after reaching it. Ning had battled against him before as well. Waterwalker had a look of innocence in his eyes, almost as though he was a newborn child. He just stood there and allowed Ning to attack him as he pleased. Waterwalker himself simply transformed into an enormous globe of water, and none of Ning’s attacks could harm him whatsoever.

This virtually invincible defensive technique, all by itself, was enough to let Waterwalker find stable footing here on the fifth stratum.

“Kilostar relies on his thousand clones and that formation, making it impossible for anyone to harm him. As for Waterwalker, he can transform into an enormous water drop that is equally impervious to harm. Still… Waterwalker seems to be a completely guileless man. I wonder if he really is that innocent or if it is all a façade.” Ning was puzzled by this as well. Although they had only met a single time, the man had given Ning a good impression. The problem was that his innocence seemed excessive to the point of artifice. Before the duel between the two of them had started, he had repeatedly asked Ning all sorts of random questions. It was as though he was curious about everything.

Their ‘fight’ simply consisted of Ning attacking him and him not fighting back at all. No matter how hard Ning hit him, it was useless… and as Ning hit him, he actually continued to engage Ning in energetic conversation, continuing to ask Ning all sorts of random questions. In the end, Ning had to admit defeat.

“My body isn’t any whit weaker than the bodies of those special lifeforms. My only weakness lies in my sword-arts. If only I had mastered the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art! If I could do that, I would be able to easily deal with any of these other freaks on the fifth stratum.” Ning pondered on this matter. If he could master the sixth stance, his sword-arts would become comparable to Kilostar’s saber-arts. This was the same level which Arroyo’s saber-arts had been on, and also the same level which the trials of the three Mirrorsnow Paintings were on.

The sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art represented a specific level of attainment. At this level, a master-class World God could use a mere Dao weapon to unleash the power of a supreme World God.

With this sword-art and the Elementum Waterflame Gourd… Ning would be able to fight Kilostar to a standstill.

Two more months went by.

Ning finally managed to acquire a full sword-art legacy, but it was the legacy ranked seventy-third. Ning had been planning to wait a few days then gift this legacy to World God Pillsaint, who he was quite fond of, but he didn’t expect that during this period of time he was once more accosted by Waterwalker. Ning was unable to do any damage to him whatsoever, and the man absolutely refused to admit defeat, instead continuing to engage Ning in conversation. In the end, it was Ning who once more was formed to admit defeat.

Waterwalker had a bad habit. After he won a challenge, he would insist on taking away all of his opponent’s legacy treasures. As he put it, “I really like these legacies.”

There was nothing Ning could do…

He could only sigh quietly to himself. World God Pillsaint, you’ve been here for quite some time already. Just wait patiently for a bit longer. When I find the chance, I’ll give you another set of legacy treasures.

Five more months passed before Ning was able to acquire another set of sword-arts legacy treasures. This set was the one ranked number nineteen.

Within Ning’s estate-world.

This was a vast place with a towering mountain at the center of it. At the tallest peak on this mountain there was a white-robed youth who was seated in the lotus position, staring at the wide world beyond the mountain.

“I’ve finally mastered this stance, the ‘Silent World’.”

From this vantage point at the top of the mountain, his gaze was able to see to the very edges of this estate-world. Ning felt as though this entire world was under his control. In addition, he had benefited from his acquisition of those two mighty sword-arts legacies. As a result, Ning finally mastered the fifth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the ‘Silent World’.

“I’ve only mastered five stances. That is nothing.” Ning shook his head.

In the Endless Territories, this was already an incredible achievement. World God Northrest himself had merely reached this level of sword-arts. However, Ning was now comparing himself to the terrifyingly talented geniuses which the Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom had selected from throughout the many territories.

“To reach the sixth stance is no easy feat. Even after gaining those two legacies… it’ll take me tens of thousands of years at the very least, or perhaps as much as a few hundred thousand years.” Ning shook his head and sighed.

Arroyo had made his breakthrough during the battle atop the Samsara Grinders.

The sixth stance would allow Ning to just barely fulfill the criteria necessary for overcoming Eternal Emperor Mirrorsnow’s trials. To reach this level truly would be very difficult. Ning was living in the Astral Islands, had a large group of fellow geniuses to test himself against, and two mighty sword-arts legacies. This was why he might be able to succeed in ‘just’ a few hundred thousand years at most. This seemed like a long period of time, but Ning had the temporal acceleration treasure known as the Luminous Room. A thousand years in the real world might be enough to allow him to master this technique.

“As for these two sword-arts legacies?” Ning waved his hand, causing a thick tome to appear.

This tome was six hundred pages long. Each of its pages was a legacy treasure. Ning had to acquire all six hundred pages before being able to merge them all into this book and acquiring the sword-arts legacy within it. This was the legacy that was ranked nineteenth.

Ning flipped the book open.

Every single page had a single character on it that was filled with the aura of the Dao of the Sword.

Ning had memorized this legacy long ago. As for the six hundred characters, they represented six hundred different types of sword-intents that allowed Ning to get a better understanding of this sword-art.

“This Daolord Shipstream truly loved calligraphy. I love calligraphy as well. That’s something we have in common.” After acquiring this legacy, Ning had also gained some information regarding Daolord Shipstream.

Daolord Shipstream was an ancient power who had reached the Verge of the Daomerge. In the end, he had failed his Daomerge. He had perished and his Dao dissipated.

He liked to wander about and disliked combat. He titled himself Shipstream because he liked to voyage through the Endless Territories. Due to his personality, his sword-arts didn’t focus on offense; instead, they were incredibly defensive!

He had left behind an extremely detailed and complete legacy, as well as those six hundred characters. Each legacy represented a specific sword-intent. Ning himself was fond of using calligraphy to symbolize his sword-intent, and so he was easily able to understand the information and insights which Daolord Shipstream had sought to transmit through these characters. Given that Ning’s sword-arts were quite defensively oriented to begin with, he was indeed able to quickly understand the true essence of the sword-arts of Daolord Shipstream. A short month after gaining this legacy, Ning had mastered the fifth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art.

Two sword-arts legacies.

The first was ranked seventy-three. It seemed dazzling but it actually had clear weaknesses.

The second was ranked nineteen. It had been created by Daolord Shipstream. It seemed ordinary and unremarkable, but it was actually filled with boundless wisdom.

Afterwards, Ning continued to focus on analyzing his sword-arts. Even though Kilostar once more issued Ning a challenge, Ning made his position quite clear. “I can admit defeat, but I absolutely cannot give you this sword-art legacy. If you don’t accept my terms, then I won’t admit defeat and we can just keep up this battle of attrition. In all honesty, most likely the only person capable of defeating Ning in a battle of attrition was Kilostar. But of course, that was if Ning didn’t use any of his chaos jewels. When Ning had left the Badlands Territory, he had converted quite a bit of his chaos nectar into chaos jewels.

None of the other cultivators could possibly beat Ning in a battle of attrition.

Kilostar walked the path of the Dao of the Saber. He really didn’t care about sword-arts at all and so he didn’t mind Ning’s terms.

Waterwalker… Ning wasn’t able to do anything to him, but he wasn’t able to do anything to Ning either.

Thus, the book which had been personally authored by Daolord Shipstream remained by Ning’s side. Each day, Ning would spend much of his time silently meditating on this book, and his sword-arts continued to rise in profundity, especially in defense.

Ning was so absorbed in his sword-arts that he very nearly forgot all about World God Pillsaint. As far as Ning was considered, if he could help out he would, but that was a favor and not an obligation. World God Pillsaint had been here for countless years anyhow. To be here for another ten thousand years or hundred thousand years wouldn’t be that big a deal to him.

Time flowed out. In the blink of an eye, more than five hundred years had gone by in meditation and battle.

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Chapter 40 – [Nameless] Sword-Art, Stance Six – Unicorn’s Heart

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 40 – [Nameless] Sword-Art, Stance Six – Unicorn’s Heart

Within the estate-world of the first Mirrorsnow Painting.

There was a towering palace here that was absolutely beautiful. A figure slowly materialized atop the royal throne at the front of the hall. It was the golden-robed emperor.

“You’ve come again.” The golden-robed emperor stared downwards.

Ji Ning nodded from his position below the throne. “Be careful this time. If you are overconfident, you might end up being defeated by me.”

“This is the first time I’ve heard you say such a thing.” The golden-robed emperor’s eyes lit up as he produced that wide golden greatsword. He rose to his feet and began to walk down the stairs from his throne. “Come, come! Don’t disappoint me.”

Ning produced one of his Frostice Swords as well.

Ning stood there without moving. As for the golden-robed emperor, he slowly walked down the steps. Although the two had yet to engage, their auras were beginning to surge and press against each other. Both were carefully inspecting their foe. Although the golden-robed emperor had won every match, he himself was aware that Ning was posing an increasingly great threat to him.

“Something’s off.” The golden-robed emperor suddenly sensed something strange. Although Ning stood a distance away from him, he gave the emperor a sensation of unpredictable fluctuation. This was something he had never sensed before in his previous battles.

“Forget him. I’ll smash it all to smithereens.” The golden-robed emperor’s path was a Dao of righteous valor and honor. He raised his golden greatsword up high, then sent it crashing downwards towards Ning.

Boom! A terrifying aura of power blasted out as the greatsword chopped down furiously towards Ning, seeming to carry such great power that it could hack any foe to death. This terrifying aura alone was enough to freeze the hearts of many World-level cultivators.

Sniiiiick. Ning’s frozen sword flashed out like a streak of azure mist as it scraped upwards towards the golden greatsword.

Although he was just using the flat of his blade to push at and scrape at the sword, this actually made things harder for the golden-robed emperor than a frontal clash would have! The strange power held within Ning’s sword caused the emperor’s golden greatsword to change directions, causing it to completely miss Ning.

If you couldn’t hit your opponent, it didn’t matter how powerful your sword-arts were.

“So his technique really has changed.” The golden-robed emperor was startled.

“The [Nameless] sword-art truly is marvelous.” Ning was overjoyed. Although he had just learned this sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, he hadn’t actually employed it yet. This battle against the golden-robed emperor was his first time actually using it in battle.

This clash had resulted in him easily defeating the valiant, killing blow of the emperor. Although Ning had been able to withstand this strike in the past, it had always been incredibly taxing for him. In fact, he would stumble backwards after each block.

This time, he didn’t have to use too much strength. He was able to effortlessly use a single strike to block this attack without even having to face it head-on.

“Again.” The golden-robed emperor let out an angry roar. Suddenly, a golden streak of crescent sword-light appeared high in the air of the palace, then chopped down horizontally towards Ning.

Crack! Once again, Ning unleashed that seemingly casual strike in response. He sent his sword scraping against the edge of that golden crescent. As their weapons collided, the power of each person’s sword-arts began to clash against each other. The golden-robed emperor’s sword-art were more dominating whereas Ning’s sword-art was more ephemeral and unpredictable. However, for some reason Ning was able to change the direction of the emperor’s sword yet again.

The golden greatsword had been sweeping directly towards Ning, but as Ning sent his own sword scraping and pushing down upon the greatsword, the sword-light ended up slashing into the ground in front of Ning’s feet. It completely missed Ning.

“How can this be? This is impossible.”

The golden-robed emperor was angry now. He launched one attack after another, and each sword was filled with truly valiant and dominating power.

Each strike of Ning’s seemed to be very casual and relaxed, but in truth he had focused all of his concentration into each strike. He had unleashed his sword-arts to maximum effect, and during this battle he began to gain a better and better understanding of the application of this sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art. He began to better understand how to actually use it in battle, and as this battle proceeded Ning began to relax.

Snick! Snick! Clank!

Sword-light clashed over and over.

It was very strange. Generally speaking, when two experts battled their weapons would produce sonorous explosions, as though the heavens were about to collapse. However, whenever Ning’s sword collided with his opponent’s sword, it merely produced a very gentle sound. It was as though Ning was using a brush to write words on parchment. He seemed quite relaxed and at ease.

Snick!

Ning’s fluctuating sword-light once more scraped against the golden sword-light. This time, it scraped straight past it and stabbed straight into the golden-robed emperor’s throat.

The sword went straight through the emperor’s throat. Everything went still.

The golden-robed emperor came to a halt, and Ning withdrew his Frostice Sword.

“You’ve won.” The golden-robed emperor had a strange smile on his face. “Your sword-arts have been improving for years now. I knew that sooner or later, you would be able to defeat me. Still, even I didn’t expect that it would happen this quickly. Can you tell me what your sword-art is named?”

“This is a sword-art created by a major power. This the sixth stance, and its name is the ‘Unicorn’s Heart’,” Ning said.

“The Unicorn’s Heart?” The golden-robed emperor nodded slowly. “Your sword truly is ephemeral and unpredictable. It makes things quite uncomfortable for your foe.”

“Senior, your sword-art is honorable, direct, and dominating. I had to fight for very long before I was able to win through one fortunate strike,” Ning said. In truth, when he had first started fighting he hadn’t been very familiar with the Unicorn’s Heart. Naturally, it was very hard for him to win. However, as he slowly began to grow increasingly familiar with this technique, he had improved to the point of being able to stab through the emperor’s throat with one blow.

The [Nameless] sword-art was very interesting.

The first stance was the Heartsword stance. It required the wielder possess absolute control over his his sword, allowing his heart to be in control of the sword and the world around it.

The second stance was the Killsword stance. It was an utterly dominating and powerful stance.

The third stance was the Great Firmament stance. It allowed the user to create a world unto itself. In truth, this was the upgrade version of the Heartsword stance. It perfected the technique, giving it even more perfect defensive powers and making its attacks even tighter.

The fourth stance was the Horizon’s Edge stance. It could be described with one word – fast!

The fifth stance was the Silent World stance. It could be described with one word – savage! The fourth stance and fifth stance were both attacking stances that were meant to be used against different types of foes. Some foes could only be dispatched with speed, others required dominating and savage sword-arts.

The sixth stance was the Unicorn’s Heart stance. This represented an evolutionary transformation of the Great Firmament stance. It was much brighter than the Heartsword stance; the Heartsword stance only gave absolute control over the sword, whereas the Unicorn’s Heart was able to produce all sorts of marvelous effects.

It could easily block, deflect, and redirect attacks. It could also kill foes!

This sword-art was ephemeral, unpredictable, and incredibly abstruse. It was extremely hard to comprehend. Fortunately, Daolord Shipstream’s legacy and the book he had left behind were highly focused on defense. Once a defensive technique reached the later stages, it would also gain something akin to the flavor of the Unicorn’s Heart. After all, truly powerful sword-arts all had things in common.

Thus, after five hundred years Ning was able to master this sixth stance.

“The first stance, Heartsword stance. The third stance, Great Firmament stance. The sixth stance, the Unicorn’s Heart stance. All of them are highly defensive techniques that can also be used to slay my foes.” Ning knew quite clearly that these three stances were fundamentally the same. All of them focused on tightly controlled sword-arts that sought out flaws to use for sure-fire kills.

The Killsword stance, Horizon’s Edge stance, and Silent World stance were stances that were completely focused on attacking while holding nothing back.

“You have defeated me and passed my trial. However, you must defeat the other three as well,” the golden-robed emperor said. “Only then shall you gain the legacy of the Eternal Emperor and become his personal disciple! Emperor Mirrorsnow’s sword-arts were some of the most terrifying sword-arts of all the Endless Territories. If you become his disciple, your future prospects shall be limitless.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

Ning currently had a total of three Mirrorsnow Paintings. The first held the golden-robed emperor, the second held the assassin, and the third held the fisherman.

The assassin’s sword was a bizarre sword that was focused on murder and death. In a world of darkness, the assassin would suddenly appear and disappear out of nowhere, his sword-light flashing as he stabbed at Ning.

Ning would be forced to stand there, Frostice Sword in hand, blocking each and every strike from the assassin. The assassin’s sword-arts were on the exact same level as the golden-robed emperor’r sword-arts, but they had completely different styles. They provided different insights to Ning, allowing Ning to gain many new insights into the Unicorn’s Heart. At first, he still found himself unaccustomed to dealing with the assassin’s fighting style. However, he slowly became accustomed to it and found it increasingly easy to deal with.

Snick! Swish!

Sword-light flashed as it stabbed straight through the assassin’s throat.

The assassin was incredibly slender. His face was covered with scales, and his eyes glowed with green light. This was the first time Ning had caught a clear glimpse of the assassin’s face.

“You won. Defeat the other three and you shall receive the Eternal Emperor’s legacy.” The assassin spoke in a hoarse voice, then disappeared once more.

The estate-world within the third painting. This was the world of the fisherman.

The two clashed for quite some time. The fisherman no longer seemed as relaxed and carefree as he had been in previous battles. This time, he fought with full intensity and deadly seriousness. Ning’s expressions were similarly solemn, and the two battled for more than two hours. This high-intensity battle gradually began to wear both of them down.

It must be understood that Ning’s battles against the other two had lasted for less than one hour.

“The fisherman’s sword is unpredictable and fluctuating, and he uses that fishing pole of his to fight me. That pole is sometimes rigid but sometimes flexible, whereas my sword is incredibly sharp and resilient… and yet, I’m still unable to breach his defenses.” Ning was beginning to understand.

The fisherman’s sword was quite similar to his own Unicorn’s Heart. Both were unpredictable, fluctuating sword-arts that sought out a chance to deliver a single lethal strike.

By comparison, the fisherman’s sword had a ‘softer’ defense, but once he reached an opponent who was a match for him the fisherman unleashed virtually all of the potential within his sword-arts, resulting in Ning being completely unable to harm him.

Finally, the two came to a halt.

“Your sword-art is incredibly profound and mysterious. It truly is one of the most profound sword-arts of all the Endless Territories. However, my own sword-arts were passed down by the Eternal Emperor himself. If you wish to defeat me, you’ll need to improve a little bit more.” The fisherman calmly walked back to his pool and began to fish again. “You can leave now.”

Ning wasn’t disappointed. Instead, his heart was filled with joy. This battle with the fisherman had resulted in him improving dramatically in his Unicorn’s Heart.

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Chapter 41 – The Coming of Bertulu

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 41 – The Coming of Bertulu

After mastering the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, ‘Unicorn’s Heart’, Ji Ning spent another year before he was able to develop the third stance of his [Quintessence Sword-Intent], the ‘Astral’ stance.

Blackmist stance, Allgod stance, Astral stance. These three stances were named after three places or people that had a huge effect on him.

The Unicorn’s Heart and the Astral stance were sword-arts on the same general level of power. However, when Ning used Violetjewel to executed the Astral stance he was able to unleash several times more power.

After his sword-arts improved, Ning became capable of standing firmly within the fifth stratum. Even Kilostar was merely on par with Ning.

In truth, when Kilostar used his full power he was clearly on a higher level of power than Ning. Unfortunately, Ning had the Elementum Waterflame Gourd and six sets of Violetjewel. It was hard for the other geniuses to compete against him in terms of wealth and treasures.

“You have six damn swords, whereas I just have a pair of warblades… and you, you sly bastard, keep on releasing lightning to attack me as well!” Kilostar was frustrated by his battles against Ning as well. He had to go all-out in each fight, but he was still only able to fight to a standstill. “Screw this, I’m done! I’m not going to accept any more challenges from you. Go ahead and admit defeat! I’d rather die than admit defeat in this battle.”

Kilostar immediately transformed into a thousand clones again and entered his formation. He absolutely refused to admit defeat, and this great formation ensured that there really was no way anyone could do anything to him.

Ning was in quite a good mood, and so he voluntarily admitted defeat.

Thirty-two years after learning the Unicorn’s Heart, Ning finally managed to piece together the footwork legacy he wanted.

“I finally have it.” Ning stared at the jade tome in his hands. The footwork legacy consisted of a series of jade slips, and there were a total of eight hundred slips. After acquiring all eight hundred, they came together to form a jade tome that radiated several large characters: “Swear the oath and you can view my true teachings.” There were a few other smaller characters hovering nearby those larger characters as well.

Ning reviewed the restrictive spells pertaining to the jade tome, then immediately swore the oath. A large amount of information then began to transmit into Ning’s mind.

Moments later, a series of tightly clustered characters began to emanate out of the jade tome, bringing with them an aura of marvelous and profundity.

“Footwork technique. What does this phrase means? It simply refers to a technique meant for movement! Unless there is a tremendous gap in power, a powerful footwork technique is far more effective than offensive or defensive techniques. This is true for both mortals as well as Eternal Emperors!

“If I am always a step ahead of you, your sword shall never touch me. Even if I can only dodge it by one centimeter, I’ll have rendered your sword-arts useless against me, no matter how powerful they are.

“If my footwork techniques are powerful, I’ll be able to strike my foes without him being able to strike me. All shall be under my control.”

Ning read these words, then slowly nodded. He understood the importance of a good footwork technique. When he was young and living in Swallow Mountain, his mother Yuchi Snow had personally taught him his first footwork techniques. Ning had never abandoned his progression in this area, and had always infused his insights into the Dao into his footwork techniques. He had even purchased a pair of Thunderlight Wings! His footwork abilities were actually quite excellent compared to his World-level peers. He actually wasn’t lacking in this area.

“All good footwork techniques share certain commonalities. They allow you to instantly explode with speed, allowing you to dodge attacks as best you can. Two people might have the same level of divine power and the same insights into the Dao, but the one who has superior footwork techniques will be able to dodge faster. A good footwork technique can make a tremendous difference.

“This footwork technique of mine involves the cycling of divine power that can be divided up into three layers of expertise. The first level is most likely comparable to that of the footwork techniques most cultivators use, allowing them to dodge and move at high speed. The second allows for nearly instantaneous dodging that is at a far faster level. As for the third level…”

As Ning read on, he couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly.

The cycling of divine power?

His greatest source of power came from his azureflower mist energy. No matter how strong his divine power became, it couldn’t possibly compare to that mist energy! Although this technique’s unique methods of cycling divine power had been transmitted into Ning’s mind, it truly was of no use to him.

Still, Ning read on.

“The power you can unleash from your footwork depends on two things. The first is the way in which you cycle your divine power. The second is the skill with which you execute the techniques.

“Those who have a high level of skill are able to easily surpass those at a lower level of skill, even if they don’t use any divine abilities.

“My footwork technique has a special history to it. Long ago, when I was paying my respects to the almighty Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom, I saw a lightning dragon. This lightning dragon was actually a streak of lightning which the almighty Hegemon had created that was capable of gaining eternity. When I saw how this ‘Eternal Thunderdragon’ moved about, I meditated for many years before coming up with this technique, the Thunderdragon footwork technique. It can be divided up into five different levels.

“The first level is the level known as ‘control’. Anyone who studies this footwork technique of mine can master this level.

“The second level is the level known as ‘infusion’. You shall infuse all of your insights into the Dao into this footwork technique. If you are skilled in the Dao of Spacetime, you should infuse those insights into your footwork. If you are skilled in the Dao of the Saber, then you can do the same. Only once you truly and completely merge your deepest insights into the Dao into my Thunderdragon footwork technique shall you have mastered my ‘infusion’ level.

“The third level is the level known as ‘draconify’. When you use this footwork technique, an illusion of a lightning dragon shall protect your body, allowing your speed to increase dramatically. At this level, you shall have begin to grasp the true essence of this technique.

“The fourth level is the level known as ‘thunderdragon’. This footwork technique can be used to control a type of lightning which is on the same level as other types of Dao lightning. Once you reach the fourth level, the lightning you control can become one with your body. You shall be the lightning and the lightning shall be you. You’ll be able to move as fast as Dao lightning. Even I myself have only ever reached this fourth level.

“The fifth level is the level known as the ‘Eternal Thunderdragon’. After I created this technique, the almighty Hegemon looked it over and added a few improvements to two parts of it, then informed me that once this technique reached the apex one would be able to manifest a streak of Eternal lightning, then become one with it. I have spent dozens of chaos cycles painstakingly meditating on this technique as a Verge-level Daolord, but I’m still unable to make any improvements. I can’t even imagine what sort of level this ‘apex’ which the almighty Hegemon spoke of is at, but I’ve taken the liberty of describing it as the fifth level.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement as he read this. This footwork technique was far too powerful.

The rest of the jade tome just included a few diagrams. There were a total of eighteen images of thunder dragons. As for the detailed information regarding the footwork technique as well as the divine power cycling method, all of that had been directly transmitted into Ning’s mind.

“The divine power cycling method is useless to me, but this footwork technique itself is incredibly powerful once one reaches the apex of it.” Ning knew exactly what the phrase Eternal lightning entailed.

Chaos lightning belonged to the World level of power, which was why it could easily breach the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Chaos lightning flew incredibly fast, roughly ten times faster than the speed of light. Generally speaking, even most Daolords were unable to move that fast.

Dao lightning belonged to the Samsara level of power. Some Dao lightning was born from the endless primordial chaos, but some had been created by Daolords! In the Three Realms, Zhurong had created his own Zhurong Godfire while Suiren had created his Eternal Kindlefire. Samsara Daolords were similarly capable of creating their own incredibly powerful types of Dao lightning. Dao lightning flew incredibly fast, far faster than Chaos lightning. Generally speaking, they were able to move a hundred times faster than the speed of light.

As for Eternal lightning… this level of lightning was something out of the legends. Ning had never heard of any type of Eternal lightning emerging naturally from the primordial chaos. Perhaps it existed, perhaps it did not. Only Eternal Emperors could hope to create Eternal lightning, and that only if they had reached incredibly profound levels of insight into the Dao of Lightning.

As for how fast Eternal lightning moved? Ning had no idea as he had never seen it before.

“When one reaches the apex of this footwork technique, one will be able to manifest a type of Eternal lightning, then merge with it?” Ning was speechless. How fast would such a person become?!

“Still, even the creator of this footwork technique was only able to reach the fourth level. This, despite the fact that he was so talented that he was able to develop it after merely seeing the Hegemon’s own Eternal lightning. Most likely, the only reason why this footwork has a so-called ‘fifth level’ is because of the two alterations which the almighty Hegemon made to it.” Ning instantly realized that the fifth level was most likely something illusory and untouchable, like the reflection of the moon in the waters of a lake. If even a Verge-level Daolord spent dozens of chaos cycles without being able to master it, who could?!

“My ambitions aren’t that high. I’ll be happy just reaching the third level.” Ning was still feeling quite excited.

At the third level, he would gain the protection of an illusory thunder dragon that would allow him to move with incredible speed.

Life for Ning in the Astral Islands was quite blissful. He had memorized two valuable sword-art legacies that he could train in, which included very detailed instructions on their use. He had also memorized an incredibly powerful footwork technique, one that was far superior to any other technique which Ning had ever seen. This, too, was available for Ning to train in as he pleased.

As for experts on his same general level? There were dozens of freakishly talented geniuses for him to duel against.

Time passed on, one day after another. The battles between the fifth stratum cultivators became rarer and rarer, as by now everyone had already fought everyone else. Some of them had battled each person multiple times by now. Even Kilostar and Waterwalker had dueled each other. But of course, the end result was that Waterwalker had been defeated. Kilostar maintained his undefeated streak within the fifth stratum.

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye Ning had spent a thousand years here at the Astral Islands.

The sixth stratum still had just a single astral island hovering within it. This was the residence of Bertulu, and he had issued no challenges. No one was qualified to truly challenge him.

Within this astral island there was a white-haired youth dressed in loose white robes who was seated in the lotus position on the ground. Suddenly, his eyes opened up. He had a gentle, warm gaze, but they seemed to hold the light of countless stars within them. He murmured softly to himself, “A thousand years have gone past. The new cultivators have experienced a thousand years of tempering and growth. I imagine they should have reached a bottleneck in power by now. It is time for me to challenge them a bit. Mm… I shall start with Kilostar.”

Soon, something happened that stunned all of the cultivators of the hundreds of thousands of astral islands.

Kilostar, who had never fallen from the fifth stratum after entering it, had actually fallen down to the fourth stratum. All of his legacy treasures had been seized by the sixth stratum.

Everyone knew that the sixth stratum cultivator, Bertulu, had just struck out and defeated Kilostar!

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Chapter 42 – Predeparture Preparations

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 42 – Predeparture Preparations

“Hurry up! Bring out all your best wine.” Kilostar and Bertulu were seated facing to each other on an oceanic island, a stone table in front of them.

On one side was the skinny and swarthy Kilostar, dressed in that silver cape of his. On the other side was a white-robed, white-haired youth. The two had completely different looks and auras as well. Kilostar’s aura was rather valiant and explosive, whereas Bertulu’s aura was much warmer and more radiant. He was like the warmth of the sun, bringing comfort and friendliness to all who saw him.

“That’s more like it.” Kilostar grabbed the gourd of wine that had appeared on the stone table, lifted it up high, then began to guzzle it all down.

“Alright, alright. There’s no need for you to be this angry, Kilostar.” Bertulu let out a laugh.

“You insidious, sly, hypocritical wolf in cultivator’s clothing!” Kilostar glared ferociously at Bertulu. Even his third eye within his forehead was bulging with rage. “I have NEVER fallen down from the fifth stratum. It was all because of you! You deceitful bastard, I lost because of your tricks! That was bullshit! Bullshit! BULLSHIT!”

Bertulu chortled. “You lost, alright? Even if I did pull a few tricks, the end result was that you lost. In battle, the only thing that matters is the result. The process isn’t really important.”

“I trusted you! That’s the only reason you were able to trick me!” Kilostar was furious.

Actually, this wasn’t his first time being defeated by Bertulu. In the past, he had won ten battles in a row and was qualified to charge Bertulu for residence within the sixth stratum. However, Bertulu had swiftly dispatched him and sent him right back down to the fifth stratum. Over the course of many years, the twelve in the fifth stratum had tried numerous times to make it into the sixth stratum, but each time they were quickly knocked down by Bertulu once more. The only person who could stably reside within the sixth stratum was Bertulu himself.

“If I had used my formation and focused completely on defense, there’s no way you could’ve beaten me,” Kilostar said angrily.

He was pissed off just thinking about it. He had never been knocked out of the fifth stratum before. He had wanted to keep his perfect record, leaving behind the legend of Kilostar once he departed from these Astral Islands. To be honest, Kilostar had been planning on leaving for some time now… but who would’ve thought that his golden record would be broken just before his departure? Now, he was back in the fourth stratum. Of course he was irritated by this!

“I trusted you! I considered you my friend! But you-” Kilostar truly was quite disgruntled.

“Enough, enough already. It was my bad, alright? But you know, everything is fair game in a battle.” Bertulu chortled again. “Oh, right. How strong are the newbies?”

“The newbies have improved significantly. Six of them made it to the fifth stratum,” Kilostar said.

That very first year after Ning’s arrival, four members of his ‘class’ had made it into the fifth stratum. After a thousand years, two more had joined them.

“As far as how strong they are…” Kilostar paused, weighing his words. “In terms of attack power, the Empress and Darknorth are on par with me. The others including Gorho, Daoist Fish, Fairy Brightheart, and Waterwalker are slightly weaker.”

“Oh?” Bertulu was quite intrigued.

“In terms of defensive prowess, Waterwalker is the strongest freak of all. He probably has some sort of special innate ability that makes him virtually unkillable. Next would be Fairy Brightheart, with Darknorth being third. The Empress, Gorho, and Daoist Fish are ranked below them.”

Kilostar continued, “As for endurance, Darknorth is the strongest. After him is Fairy Brightheart, Waterwalker, the Empress, then the rest.”

Kilostar nodded. “That would be how I would rank them. They each have their own specialties.” Kilostar smiled. “As for the more detailed information… go try them out yourself.”

Bertulu was intrigued. “From what you are saying, it sounds as though this Darknorth fellow is quite strong?”

“Him? He’s just as much of a bastard as you are.” Kilostar said in a disgruntled manner, “At first, his sword-arts were fairly weak and I was able to crush him with just one warblade. Over the course of the past thousand years, his footwork techniques and his sword-arts both improved dramatically. But the disgusting thing is, he not only has an Elementum Waterflame Gourd, he also has six damn Eternal weapons that are absolutely identical to each other.”

Kilostar shook his head. “You tell me, doesn’t that just piss you off? Although I, Kilostar, have acquired multiple Eternal weapons as well, the only ones that suit me are those two warblades. He actually has SIX of those Eternal swords, and they are absolutely identical!” Kilostar said furiously, “It’s like a six on two fight! And that Elementum Waterflame Gourd continuously releases lightning against me as well…”

Bertulu was surprised. “It sounds as though this Darknorth has quite a few treasures.”

“He has a ridiculous amount of treasures! It’s damn near impossible to get six identical Eternal weapons, and that Elementum Waterflame Gourd has to be worth at least half a million cubes of chaos nectar as well. All combined, that stuff has to be worth more than a million cubes!” Kilostar grumbled unhappily, “If all he had was two swords and if he didn’t have that lightning helping him, I’d still be able to crush him.”

“Oh…” Bertulu nodded upon hearing this.

“Have an idea of what you are going to do?” Kilostar looked at him.

“A few ideas.” Bertulu nodded. “I wanted to first challenge all of the old timers, then sweep through the six newbies. After that, I’ll be leaving.”

“You are going to be leaving the Astral Islands?” Kilostar was briefly stunned, but he then nodded slightly.

“It is time. The reason why I’ve been staying for the past few years was because I wanted to wait for this newest batch of ‘recruits’ to have a chance to grow up,” Bertulu explained. “The almighty Hegemon generally only goes out to personally abduct people roughly once every chaos cycle. I certainly can’t afford to wait that long for the next crop.”

“You bastard, you can break through to become a Daolord whenever you want.” Kilostar shook his head and sighed. “I, unfortunately, have only gained a vague glimpse of what my path is to be. I haven’t truly understand it yet.”

Only by truly discovering one’s own path and discovering one’s own Dao would one be able to rely on that Dao to become a Samsara Daolord.

Bertulu had discovered his path and his Dao long ago. He was able to become a Samsara Daolord whenever he wished it. However, Brightshore Kingdom was a very safe place and he was simply in no rush to make his breakthrough. Once he made that choice, there would be no going back. He naturally wanted to make sure everything was perfect first.

“You will benefit greatly from your time in the Twelve Palaces,” Bertulu said. “Although the Astral Islands have ninety-nine legacies, only the top ten legacies can be considered decent. Strictly speaking, none of these legacies can be considered ‘core’ legacies of the Twelve Palaces.”

“Mm.” Kilostar understood this point as well.

Kilostar lost his battle. His astral island sank from the fifth stratum to the fourth stratum.

After that, Bertulu began an absolute ‘massacre’. He challenged one fifth stratum expert after another, but none of the challenged experts were afraid of him. Bertulu was a person who they normally wouldn’t have a chance to fight. All of them were filled with a towering desire to do battle as they went forth to face Bertulu.

And the end result was…

Every single astral island was smacked down to the fourth stratum.

Originally, the fifth stratum had sixteen islands. It shrank down to fifteen… fourteen… thirteen… twelve…

More and more islands began to fall.

“Yet another island has fallen.” Ning stood at the edges of his own astral island, staring off into the distance as another astral island that had been within his stratum began to sink downwards.

“Mm. My sword-arts have reached a bottleneck, as have my footwork techniques. It’ll be difficult for me to improve any further here in the Astral Islands. Although there are many freaks here for me to fight against, it is still time to leave soon,” Ning mused.

It was time to leave the Astral Islands. Yes, the environment here was nice, and it was possible that over the course of countless years sparring against these monsters he might gain some insights that would allow him to master the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, but…

That would almost assuredly be something that happened a very, very long time from now. It had taken him nearly five hundred years to master the sixth stance, and if you factored in the temporal acceleration it had actually taken tens of thousands of years. As for the seventh stance, Ning was completely mystified by it. He knew that mastering it would be an incredibly difficult prospect, and it would most likely take him perhaps a thousand times more time and effort.

“I’m under the effects of a lifeblood oath to reach Vastheaven Palace within a chaos cycle. Only then will I be able to return to the Three Realms to bring back my parents. Although a chaos cycle is an extremely long period of time, who knows what new variables might be introduced in the future? I can’t waste too much time here.”

Ning nodded to himself. To have spent a thousand years here in the Astral Islands was enough.

“I should give this footwork legacy to World God Pillsaint.” Ning picked up his golden book, then sent World God Pillsaint a challenge. He was going to leave and he wouldn’t be able to take this jade tome with him. He might as well give it to Pillsaint instead. The first person Ning had met here in the Astral Islands had been Pillsaint, and he had quite a good impression of the man.

……

“A challenge?” The rosy-lipped, white-teethed, chubby-faced youth, World God Pillsaint, looked at his book. His eyes lit up. “It is Darknorth.”

Ning and Pillsaint were on very good terms with each other.

For example, when Ning didn’t wish to battle against a particular foe, but that person insisted on challenging him, Ning would often send World God Pillsaint a challenge and use that duel to avoid the first one.

“Is Darknorth trying to avoid another challenge?” Pillsaint was puzzled. Still, he entered the room filled with divine runes and allowed himself to be teleported directly to the battlegrounds.

This was an icy cold oceanic island that was completely locked in by icebergs. A cold wind howled through this world.

As soon as Pillsaint appeared, he immediately saw the white-robed youth who was carrying that sword on his back.

“Darknorth,” Pillsaint immediately called out to him.

“Pillsaint.” Ning looked at him. “I’m going to be leaving.”

“Leaving?” Pillsaint was stunned. “So soon?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“That’s crazy fast. We cultivators live extremely long lives. Why rush things like this? Generally speaking, most of those other freakishly talented geniuses will spend ten million years or a hundred million years here before leaving,” Pillsaint said.

Ning laughed. If he stayed here for ten million years, he probably would indeed be able to master the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art. Ten million years out of an entire chaos cycle? That really was nothing. Still, Ning wanted to save as much time as he could, for fear of something else from happening.

“Time for me to leave. This time, I admit defeat.” Ning spoke out in a high-pitched voice.

“Admit… defeat?” Pillsaint was stunned. Ning had never admitted defeat in any of his battles before. He knew that that Ning had a footwork legacy in his hands. Was Ning planning to transfer this legacy to him?

“I won’t be able to take this footwork legacy away with me. Take it.” Ning tossed the jade tome over to him.

Pillsaint couldn’t control himself. He immediately extended his arms to accept the jade tome, gripping it with his fingers. His eyes couldn’t help but turn red. He had been trapped here in the Astral Islands for an extremely long period of time. He desperately wanted to find a way to leave, but acquiring a full legacy truly was not easy. Whenever he had enough parts of a legacy, he would suffer countless challenges from cultivators on the third and fourth strata. Each time he got close, he would lose it all!

“Darknorth.” Pillsaint’s eyes turned red.

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but I was actually planning to give you a sword-art legacy I acquired quite some time ago. Unfortunately, Waterwalker managed to force it out of me.” Ning shook his head.

“Darknorth, I’m endlessly grateful that you are willing to help me out. You’ve been here for less than a thousand years, right? It hasn’t been a long time at all.” Pillsaint was quite moved. With this legacy, he would regain his freedom.

“Alright. Once I leave, I’ll be joining the Palace of the Sword of the Twelve Palaces,” Ning said. “If you wish to meet me, go to the Sword Palace and seek me out.”

“I will.” World God Pillsaint nodded vigorously.

“And now… the only thing that remains is my battle against Bertulu.” Ning had a distant look in his eyes. The last thing he wanted to do before leaving this place was to have a battle against Bertulu.

Bertulu, the undisputed number one expert of the hundreds of thousands of astral islands. Ever since he had made it to the sixth stratum, he had never fallen down from it.

Ning had battled against all the other talented geniuses. He had never, however, battled Bertulu.

“I really look forward to it.” Ning could feel his blood boiling with eagerness just thinking about this battle.

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Chapter 43 – The Hegemon

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 43 – The Hegemon

Ji Ning was looking forward to battling Bertulu. After fighting with him, he could leave the Astral Islands with no regrets. However, he had to wait for Bertulu to finish challenging the old timers first.

The number of astral islands in the fifth stratum continued to decreased. Eight. Seven. Six. Five.

Only five were left! These were the five newcomers.

……

“I lost.” The handsome, devilish-looking silver-haired youth stared at the white-robed, white-haired youth in the distance. Both had extraordinary auras. The former had a more devilish aura while the latter had an aura of warmth and calm.

“Gorho, it seems as though you have already found your own path to becoming a Samsara Daolord.” Bertulu smiled as he spoke.

“Yes.” It was very rare for Gorho to feel admiration towards someone else. Although Darknorth and Kilostar had defeated him, he didn’t really care too much. This was because he could tell that Kilostar had mainly succeeded due to having a thousand clones, while Darknorth had a body just as tough as Kilostar’s and most likely had a similar technique he relied on. In terms of actual insights into the Dao, neither Darknorth nor Kilostar were up to his level.

However, Bertulu gave Gorho a sense of tremendous pressure! This was the first time he had encountered someone who completely outclassed him in terms of enlightenment and insights.

“What path do you plan to walk?” Bertulu asked with curiosity.

“If I have the chance, I will walk the path of spacetime,” Gorho said.

“Spacetime? Isn’t your strongest Dao the Dao of Fire?” Bertulu was puzzled. From the battle they had just engaged in, he was able to tell that Gorho had reached incredible heights in the Dao of Fire. In fact, he had reached the level of being able to use it to become a Samsara Daolord whenever he wished.

“I like it, I guess.” This was Gorho’s response, but in his heart he mused to himself…

My true talent actually lies in spacetime. My strongest Dao isn’t necessarily my best Dao.

He was the most powerful descendant of an almighty Aeonian, King Gorsch. He naturally was extremely skilled in the Dao of Fire… but he was even more skilled in spacetime! However, he was personally trained in the mysteries of fire by King Gorsch, whereas he had to study the art of spacetime by himself. This was why his Dao of Fire was slightly superior to his Dao of Spacetime.

However, by comparison he had to put twice as much effort into his Dao of Fire, only to get half the results. Prior to him being abducted, his father King Gorsch had told Gorho that he was planning to help Gorho find a master who was skilled in the Dao of Spacetime to teach him.

“But how could any major power possibly be a match for the almighty Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom?” After years of painstaking work, Gorho had finally managed to acquire a complete spacetime legacy roughly two years ago. “According to the notes on that legacy, if I reach a high enough level of skill I will be able to receive personal guidance from the Hegemon himself.”

“Once I become a Daolord and Awaken my bloodline, I’ll become even more powerful. By then, not even Bertulu would necessarily be a match for me.” Gorho’s heart was filled with tremendous pride and self-confidence.

Prior to their Awakening, Aeonians were quite similar to cultivators. After being Awakened, however, they would explode with power and would view other Samsara Daolords as prey for them to feed out. They truly were terrifyingly powerful.

Yet another astral island descended from the fifth stratum. Now, only four remained.

…….

“My techniques were completely ineffective against you.” The special lifeform known as Daoist Fish let out a sigh. His face was covered with fish scales and his eyes gleamed with golden light.

“You have too many techniques. You need to focus a bit more.” Bertulu was gleaming with light, as dazzling as any sun. Slowly, he began to retract his aura of radiance.

“I know that, but… I can’t help it. I like them all.” Daoist Fish let out a sigh. “Ugh. I can play around with any of those individuals on the third and fourth strata as I please, but each time I fight someone else on the fifth level I’m beaten.”

Daoist Fish was one of the last to join the fifth stratum, and he was the only one who was in the fourth stratum at the time of this challenge.

……

“How can this be?” This was a bald woman who was dazzlingly beautiful but who had a demeanor as cold as ice. Right now, a look of absolute shock was on her face. “How could you have…”

“Fairy Brightheart, your defensive techniques are indeed quite formidable, and I am filled with admiration towards you. But that heart of yours… it really is a major weakness. Any World-level Heartforce Cultivator would be able to easily defeat you, to say nothing of me.” Bertulu let out a soft sigh.

Fairy Brightheart’s face turned slightly pale.

Deep within her innermost heart there lay a nightmare that she had never been able to forget. However, it was also thanks to this nightmare that she had been able to persevere and reach her current heights in cultivation.

“I understand.” Fairy Brightheart nodded slowly.

The four islands became three islands.

……

“Fighting with you was a wonderful experience. You forced me to go all out.” Bertulu looked at the jade-haired woman before him. This was the Empress.

Empress was dressed in semi-translucent gauze and looked quite bewitching. She let out a soft laugh. “Bertulu, everyone knows that although you are skilled in the Dao of Light, you are even more skilled in heartforce. Just now, you didn’t use your heartforce at all. You were able to defeat me merely through employing your Dao of Light.”

“In close combat abilities, at least, I was forced to use my full power,” Bertulu said. “Your are extremely talented. However, you are a bit lacking in terms of your insights into the Dao. If you were to reach a higher level in this regard, perhaps to Gorho’s level, then I would be forced to use my heartforce techniques in order to defeat you.”

The three islands became two islands.

……

“How incredibly powerful.” Waterwalker stared at Bertulu, his eyes filled with shock and awe. “I fell asleep before we even started our fight?”

“You should’ve been born just a short while ago, right?” Bertulu looked at Waterwalker.

“Yes. The almighty Hegemon captured me just moments after I woke up.” Waterwalker nodded.

“Your innate abilities are amongst the most supreme abilities any race of special lifeforms possess. Most likely, even the Empress is a bit inferior to you in this regard. Your innate abilities are so strong that I imagine you are close to being on par with even the legendary Ancient cultivators or the Brightshore Imperials.” Bertulu continued, “By relying on your innate abilities, you can ensure that the other geniuses here are completely unable to injure you. That alone ensures that you can defeat cultivators on the fourth and fifth strata.”

“However… the problem with you is that you simply haven’t been alive for long enough. Spend some extra time here in the Astral Islands. I recommend you spend a chaos cycle here, then spend another chaos cycle wandering the Brightshore Kingdom,” Bertulu said. “Only then should you join the Twelve Palaces.”

“Although I don’t really understand why I have to stay here that long, I can sense that you have nothing but the best of intentions in mind for me.” Waterwalker looked at Bertulu. “From this day forth, you are one of my friends.”

“Haha, good!” Bertulu nodded.

When he looked at Waterwalker, he felt as though he was looking at himself all those years ago. The only difference was that Waterwalker had been abducted shortly after being born, whereas Bertulu himself had wandered the primordial chaos for countless years and had experienced many, many things. He had experienced both grief and joy, gatherings and partings. All of these things had come together to allow him to walk the path of heartforce.

The two islands became one.

……

Only a single astral island was now left within the fifth stratum. Ji Ning’s astral island.

“Am I the last one?” The white-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position atop a grassy area within his astral island, Violetjewel resting across his knees. He had been waiting here for quite some time now, but Bertulu had unexpectedly chosen to save him for last.

“Here it comes.” Ning’s gaze turned towards the golden book next to him.

A challenge had finally appeared within his golden book, a challenge that came from the sixth stratum. This was a challenge Ning had never received before.

“I’ve spent a thousand years in the Astral Islands waiting for this battle.” Ning sent out a strand of his will, shattering the message of challenge. Challenge accepted!

…….

“Wow.”

“That guy in the sixth stratum is truly invincible.”

“He’s way too powerful.”

All the islands of the Astral Islands had been in a state of breathless excitement for the past fifteen days. They had watched as one island after another descended from the fifth stratum. Every single person within the fifth stratum was a freak of a genius, no matter what path they walked or what Dao they were skilled yet. And yet, Bertulu had crushed and defeated all of them!

Only a single island remained within the fifth stratum. Once this island was also defeated, there would be no islands in the fifth stratum at all.

At this moment in time, all of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators present here were completely focused on what was going to happen. They were awaiting the final resolution to this momentous event.

……

At the very bottom of the dark abyss below the Astral Islands.

At this moment there were more than ten figures gathered here, including that of the muscular man with tousled black hair who was dressed in simple combat garbs. Their auras were as profound as that of the endless sea of stars.

“Bertulu truly is formidable in heartforce.”

“This should be his final battle in the Astral Islands.”

“After he finishes sweeping through all his opponents, he will probably leave.”

“He still has yet to tell us if he will be joining the Palace of Radiance or the Palace of Heartforce.”

These ancient powers were all chatting amongst themselves. All of them had been keeping an eye on Bertulu for quite some time now. In fact, even the almighty Hegemon had been paying attention to him.

The path of cultivation had three main branches; Fiendgod Body Refining, Ki Refining, and Heartforce Cultivating. Ji Ning was a dual refiner who trained both as a Fiendgod and as a Ki Refiner! However, it was actually possible to be a triple refiner who trained in heartforce as well! Bertulu was one such cultivator, and people like him were the most terrifying opponents one could face. If Bertulu could use his heartforce to even slightly affect his opponent, he would then be able to easily dominate that person through his terrifying close combat skills. In fact, there were many who Bertulu could defeat without even having to lift a finger!

“Oh, just one battle is left?” A voice rang out.

A white-bearded elder dressed in snowy robes who had six curved horns on his head suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The ten-plus ancient powers gathered here were all shocked. They hastily bowed with respect. “Hegemon!”

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Chapter 44 – Ji Ning Battles Bertulu

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 44 – Ji Ning Battles Bertulu

The almighty Hegemon, the most exalted figure in all the Brightshore Kingdom.

Because of him, the Brightshore Kingdom sprang into existence. Because of him, there existed the Brightshore Imperials and the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore. Because of him, the kingdom was qualified to stand alongside the Dao Alliance and the Aeonian Kingdom as one of the most supreme powers of the Endless Territories. In front of him, even the most unruly of ancient powers would have to bow their heads.

“How is the latest batch of newcomer kids doing?” The six-horned, white-bearded old man slowly saunted towards them. Spacetime began to congeal and condense in the area around him. Although he wasn’t intentionally flaring his aura, the tiny bit of it that was naturally leaking out of him was more than enough to make all the members of the imperial clan or the Twelve Palace to feel as though they could barely breathe.

“The newbies? That kid named Waterwalker has superb innate gifts. The others are a bit lacking by comparison.” An incredibly muscular golden-armored man spoke out. This man was a bit excessively muscular. Even though he had already shrank down from his true size, his arms were still thicker than his head. There was clearly a bit of a mismatch in proportions. “Bertulu himself said that Waterwalker’s innate gifts are comparable to the gifts of us Imperials or those Ancient cultivators.”

“His innate gifts are indeed quite good. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really understand anything.” The white-bearded elder nodded slowly.

“As for those geniuses which Bertulu just battled against, he was able to defeat them all with ease. None of them can even compare to him.” The muscular golden-armored man laughed. “Hegemon, Bertulu truly is quite talented in the Dao of Light. Let him enter our Palace of Radiance! I can promise that I’ll take him on as my personal disciple and provide him personal guidance.”

This muscular man was an incredibly famous figure in the Endless Territories known as Daolord Thousand Waves. He was one of the two Palace Lords of the Radiant Palace, a figure who was capable of causing tremendous waves within the Endless Territories.

“There are so few Heartforce Cultivators. Thousand Waves, why must you fight with me over one?” A figured covered in black robes spoke out in an ancient voice.

“Your Palace of Heartforce barely has any Daolords in it.” Daolord Thousandwaves spoke in an utterly indomitable fashion.

“Although we are few in number, each of us has the power of ten or a hundred men,” the illusory, formless figure underneath the black robes said.

“Oh? The power of ten? Then why don’t you have someone in your Heartforce Palace come spar with me a bit?” Light began to gather within the eyes of Daolord Thousand Waves.

The black-robed figure was instantly rendered speechless.

Daolord Thousand Waves was one of the top ten experts of all the Twelve Palaces. If the Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace was around, he might give Thousand Waves a run for his money, but he was out wandering the endless primordial chaos and hadn’t returned in more than ten chaos cycles. At present, there really was no one in the Heartforce Palace who was a match for Daolord Thousand Waves.

“When the time comes for Bertulu to make his choice, the two of you can do your best to recruit him.” The white-bearded elder smiled. “I won’t get involved. Enough. These two kids are about to start their duel.”

Rumble…

A series of moving images appeared in the air next to them. This was what was occurring within the dueling island. Ji Ning and Bertulu had just met each other.

“Darknorth isn’t bad either. Unfortunately, his opponent is Bertulu.”

“I wonder how long he will be able to hold on for?”

“That entirely depends on how long Bertulu wishes to play around for.”

This was what all the major powers were saying.

They truly had very high opinions of Bertulu. It must be understood that the Astral Islands had helped train many groups of geniuses over the course of countless years, but it had been an extremely long period of time since someone had excited them as much as Bertulu. This was because Bertulu simply had an incredible level of insight into the Dao. It could be said that as soon as he broke through to become a Daolord of the First Step, he would instantly become capable of matching Daolords of the Third Step.

If he spent a little bit of time training and became a Daolord of the Second Step, he would be capable of battling Verge-level Daolords!

Although others such as Gorho were also capable of becoming Daolords whenever they wished, no one in the Twelve Palaces really cared about him, even though they knew that he was an Aeonian! So what if he was an Aeonian? Even Eternal Emperor Melobo of the Aeonians had been severely beaten and chased around by Daolord Allgod.

Gorho’s level of enlightenment was far inferior to Bertulu’s.

“Bertulu really is at the point where he should be breaking through to the Daolord level soon.” A look of anticipation was in the white-bearded elder’s eyes.

All the major powers were staring at the midair images, watching as the battle was about to begin.

……

The oceanic island.

A white-robed youth who carried a sword on his back was staring off into the distance. He saw a white-robed, white-haired youth off in the distance, a youth whose eyes seemed to contain the all the stars of the cosmos. When Ning saw those eyes, he couldn’t help but be affected by their power.

“Incredible.” Ning was secretly speechless.

“Darknorth, my name is Bertulu.” The white-haired youth spoke out.

“Bertulu. I’ve heard of you, and I’ve been waiting for this battle for quite some time,” Ning said. For some reason, although they had yet to fight Ning already felt a sense of tremendous pressure. “The stronger he is, the better. I want to see how powerful a World-level cultivator can become.”

“You should be the strongest individual in the group of newcomers.” Bertulu smiled. “I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

“Then take out your weapon,” Ning said.

“Take out my weapon?” Bertulu smiled. “Let’s see if you are strong enough first.”

Although this was Ning’s first time meeting Bertulu, he had heard long ago that Bertulu generally used his bare palms when fighting in close combat. The only time he had ever used his weapons was in his battles against Kilostar! This was Kilostar’s evaluation: “Only once you fight him yourself will you truly understand how powerful he is. He is powerful enough to drive a man into despair. Only by using my thousand bodies formation am I able to make it so that he can do nothing to me.”

Whoosh.

Ning stood there atop a mountain boulder. His body momentarily blurred as he manifested three heads and six arms, a sword in each of his six hands.

“Hahaha…” Bertulu laughed, then began to stride through the air towards Ning. As he did so, he delivered a punch from far away.

Boom! His punch seemed to strike out with the power of a meteor as its power crushed through Heaven and Earth, slamming down towards Ning from the air.

Ning’s face tightened slightly, the desire to do battle growing even stronger in his heart. His opponent was fighting empty-handed, while he himself was using six Eternal swords. He had a huge advantage in this fight. “I have to force him to take out his weapons.”

Whoosh. Ning’s sword moved, transforming into a streak of absolutely dominating blood-colored light as it struck out against that fist.

Although it seemed to merely graze Bertulu’s fist, it instantly was able to have an impact on his fist technique.

“Oh? Interesting.” Bertulu laughed as he continued to stride forwards. He manifested six arms as well, then began to rain down blows with his fists like countless meteors shooting through the skies. His palms were like massive screens that blotted out the skies, and his fingers seemed to tear through everything in the world. Even though he still merely used his bare hands, his six hands were still strong enough to put pressure upon Ning with each strike. As for Ning, his pride prevented him from using his Elementum Waterflame Gourd.

Although Bertulu was strong, he was fighting empty-handed. Ning was already using six Eternal weapons against Bertulu’s bare hands; how could Ning possibly take out the gourd as well? If he lost in a situation like this, he would be thoroughly convinced of the latter’s superiority.

Rumble…

Bertulu circled around Ning at high speeds as he attacked, his aura flaring out and filling the heavens with each strike.

……

“Each time I watch Bertulu fight, I enjoy myself immensely.”

“Right. I truly would never have imagined that a World-level cultivator could reach such a high level of insight.”

The ancient powers in the dark abyss all sighed as they watched this battle go on.

The white-bearded elder nodded slowly. “When Dawnstar was at the World level, his saber-arts were comparable to Bertulu’s fist techniques. However, Dawnstar was merely a dual refiner who did not train in heartforce.”

“Dawnstar?”

“Palace Lord Dawnstar?”

“He was this powerful as well?”

“No wonder Palace Lord Dawnstar is so powerful now.”

All the ancient powers nodded.

Without question, the most powerful Daolord of the Twelve Palaces was Palace Lord Dawnstar. He was the Palace Lord of the Palace of the Saber. Although he was ‘merely’ a Verge-level Daolord, on one occasion when he was enraged he had slain an ancient Eternal Emperor with just three strokes of his saber. His reputation was instantly spread throughout the Endless Territories! He was so dominatingly powerful that he was even stronger than Daolord Allgod had been.

For the Hegemon to compare Bertulu to Palace Lord Dawnstar was a sign of how great his expectations were for Bertulu.

……

Rumble…

Although Bertulu repeatedly circled around Ning and furiously assaulted him, he was unable to injure Ning in the slightest.

“If that’s all you have, you won’t even be able to scratch me,” Ning said coldly.

“You are indeed worthy of making me use a weapon.” A sword suddenly appeared in each of Bertulu’s hands, and each sword was an Eternal weapon. The area around him became filled with endless flickers of light, and Bertulu himself was like the divine lord of the lights as he once more charged at Ning with those six swords at the ready.

His swords struck out in a fierce, dominating fashion. Ning was forced to defend with all his might.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“What powerful sword-arts! Still, the stronger he is the better.” Ning only grew even more excited. The Thunderlight Wings suddenly appeared on his back, bolstering his footwork techniques. Each flutter of the wings and each step Ning took was like a stance from a sword-art. His movements and his attacks had all joined together into a perfect whole.

Ning struck out with his six Violetjewels simultaneously, transforming them into six streaks of bloody light that slashed out through the skies. Each time, he was able to defend against Bertulu’s swords.

“He was actually able to defend against me?” Bertulu was rather startled. He called out, “What is your sword-art named?”

“During my thousand years here at the Astral Islands, I merged the Unicorn’s Heart stance with my Astral stance and created a defensive technique,” Ning replied. “I named it the Unicorn’s Domain!”

“Unicorn’s Domain?” Bertulu was slightly surprised.

The Unicorn’s Domain represented Ning’s most profound insights into the Dao of the Sword.

The Unicorn’s Heart represented a certain level of insight into the sword that was focused on defense. Much like how the Heartsword stance represented the heart having full control of the sword and the world around it, or the Great Firmanent stance represented the power of an entire world, this stance represented a type of domain that was even more profound than the Unicorn’s Heart. Ning had used the essence of the Unicorn’s Heart and fused it with the even more powerful Astral stance to create this domain, his Unicorn’s Domain!

He was able to defend against any attacks that entered this domain. Each time, his defenses were able to deflect and then counterattack the enemy. The Astral stance was merely a ‘tool’ in that using it with Violetjewel resulted in tremendous gains in power. For him to incorporate it into his Unicorn’s Domain and use it to defend or deflect just made the power of the domain even greater and more effective.

By relying on this technique, Ning had been able to finally defeat the fisherman in the third Mirrorsnow Painting. However, Ning’s sword-arts had since reached a true bottleneck, which was why he had decided to leave the Astral islands.

“This is the most powerful sword-art I have at present,” Ning said. “Bertulu, I’ve already activated my Unicorn’s Domain. If you can defeat this domain of mine, I will admit defeat.”

“Haha, good. Aside from Kilostar, you are the only person in all the Astral Islands capable of forcing me to use my true weapons.” Suddenly, the six swords vanished from Bertulu’s hands. Moments later, two heavy warhammers appeared. One warhammer was black while the other was white, and both were Eternal weapons.

“Judging from the fist techniques you used earlier, I actually guessed that you specialize in something aside from sword-arts. It seems as though my guess was correct. You actually specialize in hammer-arts, using your hands as your hammers, right? Come. Let us see if you can break my Unicorn’s Domain.” Ning had absolute confidence in his Unicorn’s Domain. This was a technique which was perfect for a weaker cultivator to defend against a stronger foe with. It was a defensive sword-art that avoiding facing a stronger foe’s attacks head-on.

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Chapter 45 – True Body?

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 45 – True Body?

The ancient powers watched the images of the battle from their position in the dark abyss.

“He’s infused an attacking sword-art into a defensive domain, but managed to keep the essence of his domain intact.” A partially bald man let out a laugh. “Although Darknorth isn’t a match for Bertulu, he’s still quite a rare talent. Once he enters our Palace of the Sword, we’ll give him some good training. Perhaps a miracle will happen and he will be able to be Bertulu’s equal in the future.”

“Has this kid even chosen your Sword Palace yet? Even if he has, should really be so shameless in praising him? His sword-arts aren’t bad and have reached incredible heights in terms of defensiveness, but for him to be Bertulu’s match in the future? Haha, how many Bertulus do you think our Brightshore Kingdom will give rise to?”

“Daolord Woodflower, you are going a bit too far in your praise.”

“Well, Woodflower belongs to the Sword Palace. It isn’t surprising for him to praise someone else who will be in his palace.”

“I do have to admit that Darknorth’s defensive abilities are quite excellent.”

The ancient powers all gave their own opinions as they watched Ning and Bertulu continue to furiously battle against each other.

……

Rumble…

It was as though the world itself was breaking apart. Space had been shattered and distorted, and each of those two warhammers carried enough power to cause this entire world to tremble. Ning had to use three or four swords to block each attack; for him to use just a single sword was no longer enough.

“Although he is skilled in using heavy warhammers, I imagine he only has two of these Eternal warhammers.” Ning was able to hang on with some difficulty.

Actually, it was with quite a bit of difficulty.

Bertulu was most skilled in hammer-arts, and he sent his attacks forward in an open, straightforward, and awe-inspiring display of power! Ning was being completely crushed in this fight, and he was only able to just barely survive because his newly developed Unicorn Domain allowed him to perfectly execute every strike and avoid facing the power of each hammer head on.

“His hammer-art is so profound that I can’t even understand it. Although the golden-robed emperor in the Mirrorsnow Painting also had an open and straightforward fighting style, there is obviously an enormous difference between the two of them!” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. If the golden-robed emperor was described as a child who had just learned to walk, then Bertulu was a valiant warrior who bounded to and fro with the fierceness of a tiger.

Fortunately, Ning had infused his Astral stance into this Unicorn’s Domain. Otherwise, if he was merely relying on the Unicorn’s Heart stance, he would have been completely unable to withstand this assault.

“You are actually still able to hold on?” Bertulu was slightly startled as well. He then called out, “Watch out, Darknorth!”

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly.

Rumble…

The world around him suddenly changed.

Previously, he had been on an oceanic island that was surrounded by an endless sea. Although the island had begun to crumble from the effects of their fight, the endless waters of the sea hadn’t changed.

However, Ning now realized to his astonishment that the world around him had completely changed. It had become a world of rolling plains and towering mountains, and at the very peak of one mountain there was a sacred shrine that glowed with breathtaking light, allowing the great plains to bask in its radiance.

As for Ning and Bertulu, they were battling within the plains.

“Ning, son.”

Yuchi Snow and Ji Yichuan both appeared. They were staring at Ning, eyes filled with joy.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Yu Wei appeared as well.

A surge of invisible power had been applied to Ning’s truesoul, pulling his deepest desires and most sacred memories out from the bottom of his heart. Ning’s heart was forever occupied with his longing for his father, his mother, and for Yu Wei. They had been the most important people in his life, and he deeply desired to one day rescue Yu Wei and allow their family of three to reunite.

“Break!” Ning continued to battle furiously against Bertulu, not allowing any of this to affect him in the slightest. He let out a furious roar, causing Yuchi Snow, Ji Yichuan, and Yu Wei to all vanish.

“He actually wasn’t affected by it.” Bertulu was a bit surprised.

“What a powerful heartforce illusion. Eh?” Ning’s face turned slightly pale as he realized that he was still surrounded by rolling plains and towering mountains.

Ever since the Endwar of the Three Realms, Ning’s Dao-heart had continuously risen and grown more powerful. As he mastered the Heartsword stance, his own heartforce had reached the threshold of the fifth stage of heartforce. The problem was that he was still just a hair away from making that breakthrough. Although his heartforce was quite strong, it was nothing compared to Bertulu’s heartforce illusions.

However, Ning’s strongest aspect was his truesoul! His truesoul was bathed in the power of the azureflower mist energy, causing it to be comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step.

Anyone who wished to successfully bewilder Ning would have to overwhelm his truesoul with a heartforce technique or some other secret art. Take Eternal Emperors for example. Eternal Emperors might go insane or berserk in some instances, but to shake their truesouls would be almost impossibly hard. Ning’s truesoul was incredibly powerful, and he had decently strong heartforce as well. This was why he had been able to withstand the illusions just now.

“Come forth! As Bertulu continued to battle against Ning, he suddenly let out a loud shout.

Boom!

The plains around them suddenly split apart. Many long chains began to fly out from within the crevices and spin towards Ning.

“More illusions? Break!” Ning willed his powerful truesoul and mighty will to cause all these things to dissipate.

“Haha, illusions? You underestimate us Heartforce Cultivators. What is illusory is real, what is real is illusory.” Bertulu shook his head. “What you are seeing is all real.”

Ning had no time to do anything else. Swoosh! A crimson-black gourd suddenly appeared next to him, then released two streaks of lightning that shot out like dragons. One streak of lightning caused dark stormclouds to gather as it shot out, with the other causing crimson clouds of flame to appear around it. The two swept out against the surroundings, incinerating and shattering the chains that had sought to bind Ning. Alas, the chains reformed after being broken apart and continued to attack Ning in an endless stream.

The two streaks of Dao lightning destroyed everything in the surrounding area, and Ning was like the god of lightning himself. Even Bertulu, who had been fighting Ning in close combat, was impacted by the lightning.

“Omnipresence.” Bertulu said this word calmly.

Whoosh.

Instantly, golden light began to emanate from every single part of the plains. Endless streams of golden light surrounded Ning, constricting him and slowing him down. The two streaks of Dao lightly furiously hammered down upon the light, but it was omnipresent and inescapable.

“Attack!” Ning took direct control over the two streaks of Dao lightning, sending them sweeping out against everything around him in a net.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The warhammers continued their dance, causing the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble.

Ning’s swords continuously formed Unicorn’s Domains, allowing him to defend with some difficulty. Thankfully, Ning had the azureflower mist energy supporting him, giving him the strength to withstand his foe.

“Let’s stop here.” Bertulu suddenly retreated.

The rolling plains and towering mountains around them all vanished, as did the shrine atop the mountain. The surrounding area returned to its normal, ‘real’ appearance. The island had long ago been completely reduced to rubble. The two were standing in the middle of the air, surrounded by the endless waves of the ocean.

“Stop?” Ning was slightly surprised.

Even though he had taken out his Elementum Waterflame Gourd, he still found it extremely hard to hold on. He could sense that defeat might come at any moment, but he had continued to do his best to delay the inevitable for as long as he could.

“I admit defeat,” Bertulu suddenly said in a loud voice.

“You admit what?” Ning was stunned. His foe’s hammer-arts were incredibly, incredibly profound. In addition, Ning could sense that Bertulu hadn’t really been going all-out in the fight; he had simply been fighting in a fairly casual, relaxed matter. Despite that, Ning had been able to sense that he was going to lose soon, if for no other reason than the fact that he was perpetually on the defense and unable to launch any attacks of his own.

“I promised Kilostar that I would transfer this heartforce legacy over to him.” Bertulu suddenly produced a single white feather. “This duel was my final duel. After this, I will be leaving the Astral Islands. Before leaving, I wanted to hand this heartforce legacy over to you. After you learn it, challenge Kilostar and transfer it to him.”

As he spoke, he sent the white plume flying towards Ning.

“…Oh.” Ning accepted the plume blankly. This white plume was the heartforce legacy that was ranked number one amongst the ninety-nine legacies. It had been in Bertulu’s hands all this time.

“But you obviously were stronger than me…” Ning stared at Bertulu.

“There’s no need for me to be so stubborn about a mere duel in the Astral Islands.” Bertulu laughed calmly.

“But… you are a special lifeform! You haven’t even revealed your true form.” Ning couldn’t help but argue back.

He had battled against quite a few special lifeforms in recent years. He knew that these special lifeforms had all used shapeshifting techniques to take a humanoid form. Cultivators were generally humanoids, and they were the most numerous living creatures in all the Endless Territories. However, special lifeforms who were in human form were often only able to unleash perhaps ten to twenty percent of their true power. Once they revealed their true forms, they would become far more powerful.

If they also possessed powerful innate abilities, they would become even more freakishly strong once they assumed their true forms.

“My true form?” Bertulu laughed as he glanced at Ning. “I’ve never shown my true form in the Astral Islands.”

“Exit,” Bertulu called out. Instantly, spacetime twisted around him and caused him to vanish.

Ning just stood there blankly, that white plume in his hands. He had won, right? Then why did he feel so pissed off? He hadn’t even had the chance to see Bertulu’s true form.

……

The bottom of the dark abyss. The ancient powers were still watching.

“I once saw Bertulu’s true form. The first time I saw him, I misidentified him as an Ancient cultivator.” Daolord Thousand Waves let out a loud laugh. “This kid has never used his true body in any of his duels in the Astral Islands. Each time, he’s only used his human form.”

“Given the level of his insights, if he uses his true form he would probably be able to slay Daolords of the First Step right now.”

“He should be at the absolute maximum level of power, theoretical or otherwise, for any World-level cultivator.”

Ancient cultivators as well as the Brightshore Imperials represented the ultimate heights of racial power. They were very rare in number, but they possessed utterly unearthly levels of power. Waterwalker was a special lifeform who was comparable to Ancient cultivators in power, while Bertulu possessed similarly strong innate gifts. If he truly did reveal his true body, he would instantly become more than ten times as powerful!

“Alright. Bertulu has already decided to leave the Astral Islands.” The white-bearded elder laughed merrily. “It will be up to the two of you to convince him to join either the Palace of Radiance or the Palace of Heartforce.”

Laughing, the white-bearded old man turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness.

“Time to go.”

“Hurry!”

“Daolord Thousand Waves, the Heartforce Palace really does need more Daolords! We don’t have enough!”

The many Daolords quickly flew out of the dark abyss and towards the astral islands in the sky.

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Chapter 46 – Heartforce Legacy

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 46 – Heartforce Legacy

“How is this possible?” Kilostar stared in astonishment from within his own astral island. The highest astral island, the island within the sixth stratum, was actually descending?

“No way.”

“How can this be?”

“How could Bertulu have lost?”

“Darknorth beat Bertulu? Is this some kind of joke?”

All the other defeated geniuses, be they cultivators, Aeonians, or special lifeforms, were all in a state of disbelief. They all knew how powerful Bertulu was, which was why they completely refused to believe that he could’ve been defeated!

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators watched as Bertulu’s island descended from the exalted sixth stratum. All of them were equally stunned.

There were currently two islands that floated within the fifth stratum. Ji Ning was seated within his own island, and he was mumbling to himself. “He lost on purpose? Did he think I’d be really happy once I won? I didn’t even get to see his true form…” Ning didn’t feel any excitement at this ‘victory’, because he knew his opponent had thrown the fight.

“Still… I didn’t expect to get a copy of the heartforce legacy before leaving.” Ning waved his hand, causing that white plume to appear.

The white plume was incredibly beautiful. This single feather was actually formed from 3600 strands of silk. Ning sent his senses into it, discovering the legacy hiding within it.

“Although I didn’t expect to acquire it, being able to learn it is a decent stroke of luck.” Ning immediately swore the oath required of him, allowing an enormous flood of complicated information to flood into his mind.

Although Ning had some talent for the water, lightning, and heartforce, he hadn’t really been planning on spending too much effort on them. There was a limit to how much energy he had, and he had chosen to pour it all into his Dao of the Sword. His advantage in this field was far greater than in the other fields, and he naturally wanted to focus more on it.

As for those other Daos, once he had some more leisure time or once he reached an unbreachable bottleneck in the Dao of the Sword, he would slowly spend some time getting his other Daos up to speed. Daolord Allgod was a good example. Only after becoming a Verge-level Daolord had he chosen to start studying the Dao of the Sword. By then, his overall level of understanding regarding the Dao was so great that he was able to train quite quickly in his secondary or tertiary Daos.

Once Ji Ning became a Verge-level Daolord, he would probably be able to reach the early Daolord level in water in just one day. After that, his training would also proceed quite quickly. It was entirely possible that he’d be able to progress to the Verge in water as well. But of course, if his innate affinity for a Dao was low, training in it would be extremely slow. Daolord Allgod had spent an tremendous amount of effort in order to upgrade his skill in the Dao of the Sword to the early Daolord level, which was why he himself had declared that he simply had no talent for the Dao of the Sword at all.

“I would probably have to spend a hundred times as much effort in training in the Dao of Water in order to make it comparable to my Dao of the Sword, and it wouldn’t even help me that much. If I put all that work into the sword instead, I’ll improve far more.” Ning understood this quite well.

A long period of time passed. Finally, Ning finished memorizing the heartforce legacy. It truly was the top legacy of the ninety-ninety legacies of the Astral Islands, and it contained a correspondingly enormous amount of information.

“So this is what being a true Heartforce Cultivator is all about.” Ning was stupefied.

He finally understood.

Heartforce could be divided into six stages. The first five stages were essentially the stages which Houyi had described.

The first stage was the elementary level. It was extremely hard to reach the first level; if you couldn’t succeed in it, you would have no hope of progressing as a Heartforce Cultivator.

The second stage, ‘iceheart’.

The third stage, ‘ruler’.

The fourth stage, ‘mortal dust’.

Ning had reached the mortal dust level long ago during the Crimsonbright Realmwar. Even though the Endwar and its various battles had an enormous impact on Ning, and he had reached the threshold of the fifth stage after seeing so many of the major powers of the Three Realms die. Alas, he still stubbornly clung on to certain things and was unable to truly let go.

The fifth stage, ‘truth’. This was a very high level of heartforce for most cultivators. To reach this level was extremely difficult! Strength didn’t have much to do it with it. Although many powerful cultivators had gained their power through enormous mental tempering and stress, resulting in them possessing powerful hearts, there were many special lifeforms such as Waterwalker who were born with incredible power but who had very weak hearts. Waterwalker hadn’t even reached the elementary stage of heartforce.

The sixth stage, ‘world’. This was the highest level of heartforce!

“After your heartforce reaches the stage of ‘truth’, you will be able to see through the truth of all things. Your heartforce will transform, allowing all your thoughts and desires to coalesce into a sea of consciousness. You will then be able to establish your own heartworld,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

Finally, he understood.

Prior to reaching the sixth stage, heartforce could only be used in fairly crude ways. In the Endless Territories, Old Man Yuan would be considered a Heartforce Cultivator by Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, but technically speaking he wasn’t a true Heartforce Cultivator. He was just someone who understood certain heartforce secret arts, but those arts were enough for quite a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals to refer to him as a Heartforce Cultivator.

Actually World-level Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly rare. There was simply no way for someone like Old Man Yuan to rely on heartforce to reach the World level.

Once your heartforce reached the sixth stage, all of your heartforce would pool together within that sea of consciousness. If your heartforce was strong enough, it could affect reality itself, forming a singularity where what was real and what was false would collide. A single grain of sand could become an entire real world.

“Ki Refiners cultivate Immortal ki and the Dao-tree in their bodies will continuously grow taller.

“Fiendgod Body Refiners cultivate divine power and their divine bodies will continuously grow stronger.

“Heartforce Cultivators cultivate their worlds. They need to establish their heartworlds, with their insights into the Dao perfecting those worlds and making them more and more real.”

Ning murmured softly, “Heartforce Cultivators truly are unique.”

These were three completely different paths of cultivation.

By comparison, Heartforce Cultivators didn’t need to gain incredibly profound insights into the Dao. What they needed to do was to slowly build up their heartworlds, allowing their heartworlds to become increasingly like real worlds. Only when their heartworlds became sufficiently stable could they be expanded… but it was possible for heartworlds to become greater than entire territories in size. In fact, they could become greater than a hundred territories!

The larger a heartworld was, the more powerful a Heartforce Cultivator was! This was because all the World energy within this heartworld would be available to the Heartforce Cultivator to command. If the heartworld was the size of a territory, then its ‘heartworld projection’ alone would be able to crush Verge-level Daolords to death, to say nothing of someone like Ning.

“When I fought against Bertulu, he caused the area around us to transform into a world of grassy plains and tall mountains. I thought that was all just an illusion… but it was actually his heartworld projection.” Ning finally understood.

The manifestation of a heartworld projection was a symbol of all the power of an entire world being brought to bear! Even Ning felt constricted and restrained by its power. If it had been an ordinary master-class World God, that person probably would’ve been crushed straight to death! Even Ning was forced to use his Elementum Waterflame Gourd in order to hold on.

The difference in power was simply too great.

Both Fiendgods and Ki Refiners had to pursue increasingly greater heights in the Dao, but Heartforce Cultivators focused on greater stability in their heartworlds. Only with great stability would they be able to expand the size of their heartworld. As a result, Daos that were excessively oriented in a certain direction were actually unsuitable for inclusion in a heartworld! What heartworlds truly needed were highly stable and balanced Daos.

“To make the false real, to make the real false. The goal of Heartforce Cultivators is to make their heartworlds into true worlds, to make that which is illusory into something which is real.”

“Once they reach that level… with but a thought, a Heartforce Cultivator can produce a hundred Eternal weapons within his heartworld, and those Eternal weapons will all be real. He will be able to pull them out and use them in battle. With but a thought, he would be able to produce powerful pills, golems…” Ning was frightened just thinking about it.

Still, according to the heartforce legacy this only happened at the absolute apex of power. In addition, it didn’t contain any instructions on how to actually reach this level.

“I haven’t even reached the fifth stage of heartforce yet.” Ning shook his head, putting away the white plume. He had to reach the sixth stage of heartforce before he would even have his own heartworld. Only then would he be able to use the guidance of this legacy, which would teach him how to quickly and stably expand his own heartworld.

“No wonder there are so few Heartforce Cultivators. To reach the sixth stage of heartforce is impossibly difficult.” Ning shook his head. Even Houyi himself had most likely failed to reach the sixth stage of heartforce. The only person Ning knew of who had reached the sixth stage of heartforce was Bertulu.

One day later, Ning challenged Kilostar.

“Take it.” Ning handed the white plume to Kilostar. “Bertulu asked me to transfer this to you.”

“I knew it. I knew he had to have thrown the fight.” Kilostar looked at Ning. “Oh, right. What weapons did he use?”

“Hammers,” Ning said.

“You actually forced him to use his hammers? Oh! Did you see his true form?” Kilostar was quite curious. Although he was on decent terms with Bertulu, he had never been able to get Bertulu to show his true form.

“No.” Ning shook his head. “Now that I’ve given you this legacy, my business here is done. Kilostar, if you ever want to meet me you can go to the Palace of the Sword.”

“You are leaving? So soon?” Kilostar was quite surprised.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Alright. I’ll be leaving soon as well. You will be in the Sword Palace while I will be in the Saber Palace.” Kilostar nodded. “Let’s see which of us will be the first to become a Samsara Daolord.”

“Alright. Let’s see who makes it first!”

After Ning bid Kilostar farewell, he shattered the talisman which a Daolord of the Sword Palace had given him. The only members of the Twelve Palaces who had come to visit Ning had been from the Sword Palace or the Thunder Palace.

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Chapter 47 – Departure

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 47 – Departure

Ji Ning stood within his astral island by himself, staring at the emptiness around his island. The island which had represented Bertulu had already descended into the dark abyss, because Bertulu had already left.

Whoosh.

A streak of light suddenly flew towards him from afar.

Ning immediately turned to look. The person who had flown over was an azure-armored alien Daolord. This man was fairly ugly, and his skin was a coarse, dark-red color. Although he looked rather frightening, Ning knew that this man, Daolord Grayvast, was actually a very good man who was easy to get along with.

“Brother Darknorth.” The azure-armored, muscular-looking Daolord Grayvast landed on the island, then laughed. “You are planning to leave so soon?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “My sword-arts have reached a bottleneck. It’ll probably be quite some time before I can improve any further. In addition, I understand more than half of the more powerful experts are planning to leave as well.”

Bertulu had left, Kilostar was leaving, and many of the old timers were leaving as well.

“You might as well. The Sword Palace is a much better place than this place.” Daolord Grayvast laughed. “Even in the Endless Territories, our Palace of the Sword is considered a holy land for those who train in the Dao of the Sword.”

Ning nodded in agreement. Brightshore Kingdom was an organization on the same general level of power as the Dao Alliance and the Aeonian Kingdom. Almost all of its elite cultivators in the Dao of the Sword were gathered within the Palace of the Sword. One could imagine what an accumulation of wealth, talent, and legacies it had accumulated over the course of countless ages.

“Oh, right. Senior Grayvast, please have a seat first.” Ning hurriedly produced some Immortal wine, personally filling Daolord Grayvast’s cup. He asked curiously, “Bertulu’s astral island has already sank into that dark abyss. That means he should’ve left already. Senior, do you know which palace he chose?”

“You aren’t the only one curious about this. Many of the Daolords have been paying attention to him as well.” Daolord Grayvast sat down, then picked up a cup of wine and gave it a sip. “In the end, he chose the Palace of Radiance.”

“The Radiant Palace?” Ning was startled. “He plans to walk the Dao of Light?”

Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly powerful. Daolord Featherdress, who had left behind the heartforce legacy, was publicly acknowledged as the most powerful Daolord in the Endless Territories during his era! After gaining this legacy, Ning came to understand that once a heartworld reached truly massive proportions, a simple heartworld projection would be enough to crush an opponent to death. Even if it didn’t directly kill one’s opponent, it could still suppress and restrict them, causing them to be limited to a mere twenty percent of their true power.

And Heartforce Cultivators had more tricks up their sleeves than just that…

“Choosing the Dao of Light is the most stable, appropriate path.” Daolord Grayvast let out a sigh. “Everyone knows how powerful and inscrutable Heartforce Cultivators are, but training in heartforce is simply too difficult. There are incredibly few World-level Heartforce Cultivators. As for Daolords who are Heartforce Cultivators… very few of them exist in the Endless Territories. The Heartforce Palace is one of the Twelve Palaces, but it has a total of less than ten Daolords!”

Daolord Grayvast shook his head. “The Dao of Light is actually a fairly normal Dao in comparison. Bertulu can focus on the Dao of Light while spending some time in heartforce as well.”

“Now that I think about it…” Ning said softly, “When I fought against him, he only used his heartworld projection to suppress me, then engaged me in close combat. He didn’t really use a lot of heartforce techniques. It seems as though he decided long ago that he would use heartforce as a supporting skill. His main focus is on fighting in close combat.”

“A very solid choice.” Daolord Grayvast sighed. “This solid choice means that we can already imagine how dazzlingly powerful he will be in the future. In fact, if he successfully walks down the path he has started on, he will become either the Palace Lord or a vice Palace Lord.”

……

Ning chatted and drank with Daolord Grayvast, learning much more about the Twelve Palaces. Soon, the wine was all finished.

“Time to go.” Ning rose to his feet.

“There is a teleportation array within the Astral Islands. It can send you straight to the Sword Palace.” Daolord Grayvast rose to his feet as well.

“No need.” Ning shook his head. “I have a good friend who came with me to the Brightshore Kingdom. She is currently somewhere in the Brightshore Kingdom. I plan to find her first, then I’ll go to the Sword Palace.”

“Oh?” Daolord Grayvast frowned slightly, then solemnly handed over a medallion. This medallion looked illusory and translucent, but one could vaguely make out the word ‘sword’ on the medallion. Daolord Grayvast handed the medallion over to Ning. “Technically speaking, you should only be given this medallion after you go to the Sword Palace and become one of our formal members. However, since you need to find your friend first, I’ll let you bind this medallion right now. Once you bind it, you’ll be one of our formal members.”

Ning was startled. “You are going to give it to me in advance?”

“The Brightshore Kingdom is a dangerous place,” Daolord Grayvast explained. “If I didn’t give it to you… you might end up dying while traveling to the Sword Palace.”

“Ah?!” Ning was shocked.

“The Brightshore Kingdom is an extremely large place with countless living beings within it. The almighty Hegemon actually went out of his way to personally create many dangers, hiding many legacies within those dangers,” Daolord Grayvast explained. “He wishes for the countless living beings within the Brightshore Kingdom to be filled with energy and courage. If everything is too peaceful and everyone lives in peace, the kingdom will produce far, far fewer major powers.”

Ning understood this principle. A peaceful life sapped one’s willpower. Even chaosworlds were filled with battle, to say nothing of the Endless Territories.

“Anyone who becomes a Daolord is required to join the Twelve Palaces,” Daolord Grayvast said. “Within the Twelve Palaces, all internal strife is forbidden. Even if you do hold a grudge against someone, we would encourage you to do your best to resolve things peacefully through mediation. If the mediation fails, you will still have to get advance permission before entering into a life-and-death duel. If you dare to kill one of your colleagues without getting that permission, you will be devoured by your lifeblood oath and killed on the spot.”

“Many of the Daolords will leave the Brightshore Kingdom to adventure through the outside lands.” Daolord Grayvast laughed. “If you want to kill people, do it outside. Don’t kill other Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

“Once you bind this medallion, none of the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom will dare to lay a finger on you,” Daolord Grayvast said. “That will make things much safer for you! To physically travel from this place to the Sword Palace means crossing more than half of the entire Brightshore Kingdom. There will be many Daolords on the way, including some special lifeforms who have bad tempers or strange dispositions. There are some who will slaughter anyone who crosses their path…”

Ning was speechless upon hearing all this.

“So… hurry up and bind it,” Daolord Grayvast urged.

Ning immediately sent his senses into the medallion. This medallion did indeed hold a lifeblood oath within it that was quite similar to the one which Daolord Grayvast had just described. The Twelve Palaces forbade its members from engaging in internal combat. In addition, if the Brightshore Imperials or the Twelve Palaces fell into danger, the members of the palaces would have to do their utmost to rescue them. But of course, if one of the Imperials sought to kill you then you would be permitted to fight back; there would be no need to defend them.

“The Twelve Palaces must protect the imperial clan?” Ning raised his head to look at Daolord Grayvast.

Protecting the imperial clan was actually part of the charter of the lifeblood oath. But of course, in order to ensure that the experts of the Twelve Palaces were sincere in their loyalty, the Brightshore Imperials also had to swear oaths that they absolutely would not attack any members of the Twelve Palaces. If they did, they would no logner be protected and they could instead be counter-attacked and killed!

“Yes.” Daolord Grayvast nodded. “The Brightshore Kingdom was established by the almighty Hegemon. He created the Brightshore Kingdom for the sake of protecting his imperial clan. Although the Imperials are very powerful, they are extremely few in number.”

“Alright.” Ning understood.

Ning could also sense what an extraordinary aura this medallion had. Most likely, it was the almighty Hegemon himself who had created this medallion as well as the lifeblood oath. But of course, the Twelve Palaces had to agree with the wording of the oath. Only then would such a mighty organization have staying power.

“I suppose I can accept that.” Ning immediately swore the lifeblood oath. The medallion was instantly and easily bound as well.

“Eh?” As soon as he bound the medallion, Ning could sense ten ripples of power coming from the Astral Islands region. These were ripples emanating from other similar medallions.

“The Twelve Palaces and the Brightshore Imperials all have similar medallions. The ripples coming from those medallions will testify to their identity, ensuring that we won’t get into accidental fights against our fellows without realizing it,” Daolord Grayvast said. “Now, no Daolord will dare to act against you here in the Brightshore Kingdom. As for World-level cultivators? I’m confident that you should be able to easily defeat any World-level cultivators. Oh – here is a star map of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

Daolord Grayvast handed Ning a furled star map.

Ning accepted it. “Thank you, senior Grayvast. I’ll be leaving now.”

“I’ll see you in the Sword Palace,” Daolord Grayvast said. “Be careful on your journey.”

“I will.” Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew away.

Daolord Grayvast watched as the sword-carrying white-robed youth flew away, then turned to leave as well.

The astral island which Ning had been on began to sink downwards into that dark abyss below. As for the random legacy treasures which Ning had left behind, they all scattered and began to fly towards the various other islands.

All the legacy treasures of the ninety-nine legacies would forever remain within the Astral Islands.

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Chapter 48 – Yet Another Mirrorsnow Painting

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 48 – Yet Another Mirrorsnow Painting

The Brightshore Kingdom was an exceedingly large place.

Clouds fluttered about in the skies as a shuttle flew at high speed through the air. Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position aboard his ship, staring at the beautiful world of the Brightshore Kingdom.

“So the Astral Islands were over there. As for the Sword Palace, that’s over there. And oh, that’s where they greet newcomers? So that’s the place I was taken to when I was first abducted.” Ning now had a rough understanding of the geography of the Brightshore Kingdom. “I remember when I first arrived here and more than thirty thousand fellow World-level cultivators were led by those two silver-armored Daolords all the way to the Astral Islands. We flew for roughly forty-six days. On the eleventh day, I could sense the presence of another Mirrorsnow Painting.”

Teleportation was impossible within the borders of the Brightshore Kingdom. One would have to slowly fly from destination to destination.

“To go from the arrival area to the Astral Islands…” Ning engaged in a bit of calculation and was able to easily calculate the rough location of the Mirrorsnow Painting.

Those two silver-armored Daolords had flown in a straight line, and the painting was roughly a quarter of the distance between the arrival area and the Astral Islands.

“Eh? The Mirrorsnow Painting isn’t that far away from Youji’s position. I won’t have to make as much of a detour as I thought.” Ning was quite delighted.

Swoosh! His flying vessel transformed into a streak of light and sped off into the distance.

Ning had given Su Youji a message talisman. Due to the great distance which separated them, he was only able to get a rough sense of the direction where she was located. He flew for three full months, and on the way he sensed the auras of quite a few Daolords. Those Daolords could sense that Ning belonged to the Twelve Palaces and so they naturally had no interest in causing trouble for Ning. Still, this journey gave Ning a good understanding of how dangerous the Brightshore Kingdom was.

Ning was ambushed multiple times on his trip. Clearly, the Brightshore Kingdom was a rather chaotic and brutal place. There was even more strife here than there was in the territory controlled by the Dao Alliance. Unfortunately for those poor bandits who attempted to waylay Ning, they quickly discovered that they had kicked a metal plate! The results of their attempts were foregone conclusions.

“Eh? A ripple!” The flying vessel quickly began to slow down and descend from its position within the clouds. The white-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position, a sword across his lap. Ning opened his eyes, a look of eagerness in his gaze.

“That ripple is coming from the Mirrorsnow Painting!” Ning could sense the resonance being generated by his own three Mirrorsnow Paintings. “I didn’t expect that after a thousand years, that painting would still remain in this location.”

…….

Deep underneath a lake that was located a ten billion kilometers away from Ning. There was a beautiful palace located here in the depths, filled with many maids and guards.

“Eh?” Within a side hall of this palace was an azure-scaled creature who was leaning against a throne while sipping some wine. The creature’s face suddenly tightened ,causing the maid who had been giving him a neck massage to be badly startled.

“A Mirrorsnow Painting? Wait, three of them?” The azure-scaled creature was both shocked and delighted… but then, his face tightened once more.

A thousand years ago, when Ning had passed by this place after being abducted, this creature had already sensed the presence of those paintings. He was in possession of a copy, allowing him to sense the presence of three other copies. He had been quite delighted, but as soon as he saw those two silver-armored Daolords who ignored him he had immediately realized that it was most likely an abducted World-level cultivator who was in possession of the paintings.

“Those are the same three copies I sensed last time. Did one of those World-level cultivators escape from the Astral Islands already?” The azure-scaled creature narrowed his eyes.

Swoosh! He transformed into a streak of light, almost instantly emerging from his aquatic palace. He soon emerged from the lake, lifting his head up out of the water to stare upwards.

Following the resonance, he turned his rather dark and icy gaze to stare towards that flying vessel that was ten billion kilometers away. He was able to see the vessel quite clearly, as well as the white-robed youth aboard the vessel.

“He’s not a Daolord. He’s just a World-level cultivator.” The azure-scaled creature was immediately delighted. He guessed that this person had most likely discovered him, and so he no longer hid his presence. He immediately sent out his godsense, sweeping it out to a distance of ten billion kilometers.

“He’s actually by himself? He’s the only one on his ship?” The azure-scaled creature grew increasingly excited. “It makes sense. He came out of the Astral Islands. Those people who leave the islands usually travel by themselves; it is quite rare for them to move around in groups. Even if he does have some subordinates in an estate-world treasure, they probably aren’t that strong given the fact that they are hiding.”

The azure-scaled creature let out a cold grin. “So you have three of the paintings but you want mine as well? How greedy. This fellow seems quite confident.” The azure-scaled creature slipped below the waves once more, quickly returning to his underwater palace.

The underwater palace.

As soon as the azure-scaled creature returned to his palace, he headed straight towards the main hall. He picked up an enormous thigh-bone and then began to bang on a nearby drum with it. Boom! The drum emanated a series of ripples that instantly spread throughout the entire hall. One person after another began to emerge from locations throughout the palace, and all of them possessed auras of tremendous power that were at least as strong as the azure-scaled creature’s aura.

“Azurekai.”

“Azurekai, why have you suddenly summoned us?”

“You even banged on the royal dragon drum. What is this all about?”

Soon, a total of twenty-six World-level experts appeared within the main hall. All of them could be considered cultivators, but they were all cultivators of various aquatic races. This was why they had placed their palace within the lake.

“Something wonderful has happened.” The azure-skinned creature let out a loud laugh. “Ten billion kilometers away, there is a World-level cultivator who is flying towards us at high speed.”

“Flying straight for us? A World-level cultivator?”

“Is he suicidal?”

The World-level experts present were all puzzled.

The azure-scaled creature said hurriedly, “He’s from the Astral Islands. There’s a bit of a grudge between the two of us.” He didn’t dare to admit that it was due to the Mirrorsnow Paintings, because those paintings were simply too valuable. Between the two of them, they held a total of four Mirrorsnow Paintings… this was a fortune that would cause even Daolords to grow desirous. If he admitted it, his ‘friends’ would probably start to bicker with him over the items.

“I once won a treasure off of him, but he had two sets of that treasure. These treasures resonate with each other, which is why he has followed me to this place,” the azure-scaled creature said. “He has an incredibly high number of treasures. After we kill him… I don’t want anything special, just those three paintings he holds. What do you say?”

“Three paintings?” The other World-level cultivators were instantly able to guess that the three paintings were fairly valuable.

“His other treasures won’t disappoint you either.” The azure-scaled creature frowned. “He came from the Astral Islands, but he was merely on par with me in strength. If the twenty-seven of us fight together, we can easily kill him.”

“If he came from the Astral Islands, he might’ve joined the Twelve Palaces.”

“Don’t worry.” The azure-scaled creature swept them with his gaze, then let out a cold laugh. “I came from the Astral Islands. I know it better than anyone else. Everyone who was directly admitted into the Twelve Palaces was an absolute monster. Very few were allowed entrance! The vast majority who escaped that place did so because they were lucky enough to piece together a full legacy. That fellow is probably on par with me at best! Even if we are unlucky enough to encounter someone freakishly strong… no matter how much of a freak he is, he can’t possibly fight the twenty-seven of us together. I’m telling you, this genius had many treasures on him.”

The others instantly grew excited and intrigued.

“We are the twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords of the Royal Dragon Palace. There’s no way we’d be afraid of him.”

“Kill him and take his treasures.”

“Kill him.”

The twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords of the Royal Dragon Palace were incredibly famous in this area. There were all members of aquatic races who had trained to the World-level, but only those who had reached certain levels of strength would be granted entry into this small squad. Within the Brightshore Kingdom, the powerful sects were generally guarded by Daolords, but most of them had rather strict rules. The Brightshore Kingdom was filled with many dangers and many fortunes; to locate good techniques or legacies wasn’t very hard here. Thus, many unaffiliated World-level cultivators ended up joining into minor groups to work together.

World God Azurekai had relied on his own power to escape the Astral Islands. Although he didn’t enter the Twelve Palaces, he just missed the cutoff by a tiny amount. He was the second most powerful individual in the palace, which was why others came when he called.

“That kid just emerged from the Astral Islands. He has no idea about our Royal Dragon Palace.” The azure-skinned man said hurriedly, “Everyone, stay patient. Let’s wait here inside our palace. Our palace has formations and restrictive spells protecting it; this will prevent him from realizing how many of us are here. After he reaches the outside of our palace, we’ll charge out and surround him. We won’t even give him a chance to run.”

“Right.”

“We are hiding in the shadows while he is standing in the light. So what if he made it out of the Astral Islands? We aren’t pushovers either!”

Whoosh.

A distance of ten billion kilometers was fairly far. Ning had to fly for quite a few hours before arriving outside the lake. Ning’s skill gave him courage, and his godsense had revealed the Royal Dragon Palace below him.

Swish! Ning put away his flying vessel, then charged straight into the lake and flew towards the palace. Soon, he reached the palace gates. He immediately saw the guards and maids within the palace.

“You actually dared to come to our Royal Dragon Palace?”

“So many paths lead to life, but you had to choose the one that leads to death.”

Suddenly, streaks of light began to fly out from the Royal Dragon Palace. There were twenty-seven streaks of light in total, and they simultaneously released murderous auras as they joined together into a formation.

Ning just watched calmly. He murmured to himself, “Royal Dragon Palace, eh?”

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Chapter 49 – The Twenty-Seven Waterfiend Lords

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 49 – The Twenty-Seven Waterfiend Lords

The twenty-seven streaks of light came to a halt after surrounding Ji Ning.

Ning glanced at them. The twenty-seven figures before him were all quite bizarre-looking. These were all creatures that were born as members of aquatic races. Although as World-level cultivators, they could now survive equally well on dry land or in the void of space, they still had an innate fondness for water. Ning similarly could live equally well in water or on land, but he still preferred to dwell on land.

“Eh?” Ning’s gaze fell upon the azure-scaled creature’s form. He could sense that the painting was being carried by that creature.

“Three paintings!” The azure-scaled creature felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

“Everyone…” Ning spoke out.

“Haha, are you afraid now? Too late!”

“Kill him.”

The twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords couldn’t be bothered to chat with Ning. They had dominated this region for quite some time and were figures of renown. They showed no mercy at all when attacking. They truly weren’t worried about this World-level cultivator at all; they had never encountered someone on their level who could withstand the twenty-seven of them.

The weakest of the twenty-seven was a master-class World God, while the strongest was a transcendent World God!

Boom! A black streak of lightning thundered down towards Ning.

Whoosh! A current of freezing energy surged out to try and freeze Ning.

Swish! An enormous web-shaped treasure swept out to capture Ning.

Hiss! A serpentine rope-like treasure twirled out to bind Ning.

The twenty-seven cultivators instantly launched simultaneously attacks in a very practiced manner. Generally speaking, most World-level cultivators were only able to control two powerful treasures at the same time. A situation like this was a testament to the old saying, strength in numbers. A dazzling array of spells and treasures instantly swept out towards Ning in a wave, seeking to drown him. As for the World Gods amongst the twenty-seven, they charged straight towards Ning.

Whoooosh.

Rings of sword-light began to spread outwards.

Ning just stood there, surrounded by rings of sword-light. Although the freezing current of energy was able to freeze the waters of the lake as it reached out towards Ning, it instantly shattered whenever it touched the sword-light. As for the web treasures and the other treasures? They were completely stopped by Ning’s sword-light.

“How average.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. When he had used his Unicorn’s Domain had been able to withstand Bertulu, he had been under tremendous pressure. But now that he was fighting these twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords… he felt things were far too easy. He didn’t even have to really focus on this fight; he instead simply activated his domain, allowing his sword-intent to automatically defend against the attacks.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

Nineteen of the twenty-seven were World Gods. This was quite a powerful force, after all. World God Azurekai had been able to leave the Astral Islands without anyone helping him, and he had the power of a transcendent World God, but he was merely the second most powerful figure in their group. Only sufficiently powerful individuals would be admitted into their ranks, and these nineteen World Gods were filled with tremendous power, especially after being reinforced by their formation.

“Die.” A streak of silver light shot out at tremendous speed towards Ning.

“Hm?” Ning held a single sword in his hands. He glanced sideways at the attack, then executed a simple sword-stance.

Clang! Crack!

Ning’s sword was even faster and his attack was even more profound!

It must be understood that the Unicorn’s Domain was based off the perfect fusion of the ‘Astral’ stance and the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the Unicorn’s Heart. The [Nameless] sword-art was a sword-art that had been left behind by an Eternal Emperor, while the Astral stance had been developed based on Violetjewel’s quintessence. Both were incredibly high-level sword-arts.

“What?!” The silver-streak of light was shocked after this clash. Ning’s sword-light had actually brushed him across the chest!

BOOM!

The silver streak of light retreated at tremendous speeds. The power of Ning’s strike was simply too enormous, and he was simply too strong. With a boom, the streak of light slammed into the distant walls of the Royal Dragon Palace, causing the entire palace to tremble. The other twenty-six Waterfiend Lords were all horrified, to say nothing of the palace attendants and maids.

The person Ning had just sent flying was the leader of the group… World God Dragonking.

World God Dragonking was a transcendent World God who was supported by a formation with multiple other World Gods! How could he have been beaten in just a single clash!

“Not good.”

“We are in trouble.”

“This opponent is too powerful.”

The other Waterfiend Lords all felt their hearts clench.

“Don’t fight him solo. Let’s all fight together.” Although World God Azurekai was rather shocked at how terrifyingly strong this opponent was, the allure of those three paintings was simply too great. He immediately roared mentally, “Big brother Dragonking, let’s join forces!”

“Alright!” World God Dragonking had a decent protective divine ability. Although he had been knocked flying, he hadn’t suffered any significant injuries. “His sword-arts are quite profound. None of us are a match for him in solo combat. All of us need to fight together. There’s no way he can take us all on at once. Find a chance to tie him up and bind him!”

“Right. Let’s all join together.”

World God Dragonking quickly flew back to rejoin them. They were all much more somber now. They either attacked with magic treasures from afar or cautiously advanced en masse towards Ning. By now, even the most arrogant member of their group, World God Dragonking, no longer dared to act brashly.

“The Brightshore Kingdom’s territory really is rather lawless. Is this what the almighty Hegemon desires?” Ning shook his head. He had been waylaid and accosted multiple times on his trip to this place from the Astral Islands. This time, these twenty-seven had attacked him without even bothering to talk to him. From this, one could see how unruly this kingdom was.

By comparison… although there was also danger and combat within the territory of the Dao Alliance, it was a far more peaceful place! The Dao Alliance followed the principles of governance through inaction, but there was a reason for it. Ninety-nine percent of the territory of the Endless Territories was under the control of the Dao Alliance, and virtually all cultivators were a member of the alliance. There were simply too many cultivators! Even though they governed through inaction, they were still able to produce a few Daolords within each territory. How vast and powerful was the entire Dao Alliance?

The main weakness of the Dao Alliance was that its cultivators were too scattered out.

The Brightshore Kingdom’s power was much more concentrated, even though it held much less territory. The almighty Hegemon was a Brightshore Imperial, which meant he really didn’t feel much pity or sympathy for ‘alien’ forms of life. He would use whatever means were effective in rearing a crop of powerful experts! The fatality rate in the Astral Islands was a testament to how cold and ruthless the almighty Hegemon could be.

According to the Twelve Palaces, the reason they existed and the reason the Hegemon had created the Brightshore Kingdom was so that Imperials would be protected. Because the Twelve Palaces had become extremely powerful, the almighty Hegemon respected them and placed them on an equal level.

Swish! Crack! Whoosh!

Many weapons and spells flew towards Ning in a steady stream.

Moments ago, Ning had been able to rely on his supreme sword-arts to easily defeat his opponent. However, simply relying on sword-arts was no longer enough. He would now have to actually fight.

Boom!

The nineteen World Gods were all sent flying backwards.

“What?!”

“He’s too strong.”

“Quick, flee!”

Slash! Sword-light flashed as the tip of Ning’s sword pierced into the body of World God Dragonking, the fastest of the twenty-seven. This time, Ning infused his strike with the power of his azureflower mist energy. Although the strike had to first pass through a layer of armor, and although World God Dragonking’s body was comparable to a Chaos treasure… his body began to tremble, then crack apart as blood began to flow from every single part of his body.

“Die.” Ning showed no mercy at all as he delivered three consecutive furious strikes upon the body of World God Dragonking.

“No!” World God Dragonking was utterly horrified. “How can he be this strong? He’s clearly just at the World level. How can he be this much stronger than me?!” The three consecutive blows smashed World God Dragonking’s body into dust, causing even his truesoul to dissipate.

“How can a World-level cultivator be this strong?”

“He’s too strong!”

The Waterfiend Lords began to flee in utter terror. Even when they joined forces, they were still defeated in the very first clash? But of course, if they knew that Kilostar’s thousand clones weren’t able to do anything against Ji Ning, they would no longer be surprised by their defeat.

“He’s a freak! He’s one of those horrifyingly, freakishly talented geniuses that were in the higher strata of the Astral Islands. He must’ve been admitted into the Twelve Palaces already!” The fleeing World God Azurekai was more frightened than anyone else. “And he must’ve been one of the top freaks!”

Some of those ‘freaks’ were strong because of special treasures or secret arts, while others held enormous advantages in terms of speed and strength. Those freakishly strong cultivators who were as strong and fast as Daolords of the First Step were the most terrifying ones of all. Kilostar and Ning both belonged to this category. Even when Ning’s sword-arts had been weak, his powerful divine body had allowed him to stably reside within the fifth stratum. Once his sword-arts improved, he became strong enough that even Bertulu would have to reveal his true form in order to be certain of victory over Ning.

“Fleeing?” After slaying World God Dragonking, Ning’s body flickered as he began to chase after World God Azurekai.

World God Azurekai and World God Dragonking were both transcendent World Gods and the strongest members of the twenty-seven. As for the others? Ning really didn’t care about them.

Boom! Sword-light descended.

“No!” World God Azurekai struggled to defend, utterly terrified. But after a few strokes of sword-light, he was finished.

World God Northrest had acquired something like the [Golden Idol] out of pure luck. In contrast, World God Azurekai had only been able to train his body to make it comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. He hadn’t even reached the Chaos treasure level. Protective divine abilities were very rare, after all, and they were extremely hard to train in. Elite protective divine abilities were even more rare!

Soon, World God Azurekai disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Ning glanced at the treasures he had left behind, then waved his hand and collected it all.

As for the other Waterfiend Lords, they had all fled long ago. They didn’t even want their palace any longer. As for the attendants and maids inside the palace, they had hidden themselves in terror.

“Time to go.” Ning soared into the skies, shooting out of the lake and into his flying vessel as he departed. Once he entered his vessel, Ning began to bind the treasures which World God Azurekai had left behind. Soon, he located the Mirrorsnow Painting he was looking for.

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Chapter 50 – Bloodfire Cloudfruit

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 50 – Bloodfire Cloudfruit

The flying shuttle flew through the clouds with Ji Ning seated on the deck, going through the treasures he had just acquired.

“It is actually…” Ning stared at the Mirrorsnow Painting in his hands. This painting was a painting of a beautiful palace. This palace was slightly different from the painting of a palace which Ning had already acquired, but Ning immediately recognized it as being painted by Emperor Mirrorsnow… partially because of how ugly it was, but also because no one could imitate his distinct sword-intent.

“A painting of a palace? Is this another copy of the first painting?” Ning nodded slowly. “It makes sense. I would have to have stupid good luck in order to find the fourth painting right away.”

Ning wasn’t too surprised by the fact that this painting wasn’t the fourth painting.

“Still… at least this painting can be sold for roughly a hundred or two hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar. In fact, someone who desperately needs it would probably be willing to pay even more.” Ning was in quite a good mood. These paintings were popular, valuable items. Generally speaking, those who acquired the paintings wouldn’t divulge it to others! Given that there were only forty of them in all the Endless Territories, and given that some might have multiple copies of each…

It certainly wasn’t going to be easy for him to just randomly encounter the exact piece he needed. For him to even find a copy of the first one here in the Brightshore Kingdom was already a stroke of great luck.

“After I go to the Palace of the Sword, I’ll ask the Twelve Palaces to help me locate the fourth painting,” Ning mused to himself.

The Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom were on the same general level of power as the Dao Alliance.

Last time, Ning had asked Daolord Badlands to help him buy Mirrorsnow Paintings, and Daolord Badlands had sought out the Dao Alliance to carry out this task. Because they were on a tight time schedule, the Dao Alliance didn’t really carry a large-scale search. The Twelve Palaces, however, was itself an incredibly powerful organization that held cultivators, Aeonians, and other special lifeforms.

In the future, Ji Ning would be one of their links to the Dao Alliance.

In the future, Gorho would be one of their links to the Aeonians.

As a result, the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore were on very good terms with many of the organizations of the Endless Territories. It might be hard for the Twelve Palaces to immediately procure a copy of the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting, but if they were given enough time they stood an extremely good chance of succeeding. But of course… that was only if you were willing to pay the price!

Ning sent out a strand of his divine power into his new copy of the first painting, creating a divine clone within it.

Within the palace inside the painting. A golden-robed emperor manifested atop the royal throne within the palace.

Ning sighed upon seeing this. “Although there are slight differences, I can sense that he is similar to the golden-robed emperor within my original first painting.”

“Oh. A while ago, it was World God Azurekai who met with me. Did you kill Azurekai?” The golden-robed emperor looked downwards at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I already acquired other Mirrorsnow Paintings in the past. Do all ten copies of the first Mirrorsnow Painting created by Emperor Mirrorsnow hold the exact same ‘type’ of person?”

“They do.” The golden-robed emperor smiled and nodded. He didn’t really care about Azurekai’s death. He existed for the sake of completing the Eternal Emperor’s mission, and for someone to be able to kill Azurekai meant that this person should be even stronger.

“Let’s have a little competition,” Ning said.

“Azurekai was never able to defeat me.” The golden-robed emperor produced a golden greatsword in his hands as he walked down the stairs towards Ning. “You said you already have other Mirrorsnow Paintings. You should know the rules.”

“I know them.” Ning nodded.

After a brief battle, Ning defeated the golden-robed emperor.

Aboard the flying vessel, the true Ning revealed a look of resignation. “Although there are slight differences in the sword-arts they use, the two golden-robed emperors really do belong to the exact same ‘school’. This is of no use to my sword-arts whatsoever.”

“What else is there?” Ning began to go through the rest of his spoils of war.

World God Azurekai didn’t have any particularly good treasures aside from the painting. He did have an azure sword which was an Eternal weapon, but Ning was quickly able to judge that it was merely a low-grade Eternal weapon that was actually weaker than his Violetjewels! And there was only one Eternal weapon. As for the other treasures, they were negligible.

“He did have two decent techniques.” Ning glanced through them. “Useless to me, but I can transmit them to the Three Realms.”

“I wonder what World God Dragonking had?” Ning scanned through these treasures as well. World God Dragonking was a spear-wielder, but his spear was also merely a low-grade Eternal treasure.

The Brightshore Kingdom was a place filled with many dangers but also many treasures and legacies. So long as you were willing to brave the dangers, you would have a good chance of acquiring powerful treasures and legacies. Some of the more powerful World-level cultivators were thus able to acquire Eternal weapons, but most of those weapons were merely low-grade.

“The almighty Hegemony is such a cheapskate. I bet most of the Eternal weapons he scattered throughout the Brightshore Kingdom are just low-grade,” Ning muttered to himself. “The Dao Alliance is better. In the rest of the Endless Territories, Eternal weapons are quite rare and hard to obtain, but the ones that you do find are usually pretty good. In fact, some ruins might even hold top-grade Eternal weapons.”

The ruins and relic sites of the Endless Territories were generally left behind by Daolords. It was only natural that they would hold excellent treasures. The equivalent places in the Brightshore Kingdom, however, were intentionally created by the almighty Hegemon! As a result, almost all of the treasures were ‘mere’ low-grade Eternal weapons at best.

“Eh?” A jade bottle suddenly appeared in Ning’s hands, causing him to reveal a look of surprise.

“A pureloop jade bottle? And it holds a Bloodfire Cloudfruit inside?” Ning willed the stopper of the bottle to pop out, allowing a fruit to emerge from within the bottle. This was a fruit that was completely crimson in color, and mist could be seen swirling in the air around it. Ning had noticed this bottle earlier in his estate-world when he had quickly scanned through World God Dragonking’s treasures, but only now did he realize what a treasure it was and what it held inside.

“Pureloop jade bottles can contain vast worlds within them. The vast world inside this one can form a mighty Pureloop Jade Formation that will draw upon all the chaos energy of that entire vast world, distilling it into chaos nectar.” Ning sighed in amazement. This pureloop jade bottle was far better at distilling chaos nectar than the prisonworlds created by World God Pangaea.

This pureloop jade bottle was able to distill a full cube of chaos nectar every chaos cycle. Still… even Daolords had finite lifespans. With each step they took, they walked the boundaries between life and death. Some would perish after living for a mere thousand chaos cycles. Thus, these bottles generally weren’t sold for too high a price. Most were collected by sects and would be sold for roughly ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar.

Aside from being used to distill chaos nectar, the bottle could also be used to hold some of the marvelous items that were birthed from the primordial chaos. There were certain treasures such as fruits or spirit-leaves that would quickly lose their efficacy if not stored in a proper manner. If you placed them within the heart of a Pureloop Jade Formation, the formation would be able to prevent any leakage at all. This formation was able to hold any type of energy, making it quite suitable for storing treasures.

“It actually held a Bloodfire Cloudfruit within it.” Ning mumbled to himself, “Did this guy even know how valuable this thing is?”

Ning had gained much information from Daolord Solesky, which was why he knew about more than 90% of the known treasures which existed in the Endless Territories. World God Dragonking hadn’t been given a similar legacy, and it really was possible that he didn’t know what a Bloodfire Cloudfruit was.

“Bloodfire Cloudfruit is incredibly valuable. These fruits are naturally born from the primordial chaos and are extremely few in number. A single cloudfruit can completely transform the divine body of a cultivator, converting it into a divine body that is completely formed from the element of fire. With this new body, the cultivator will find that training in the Dao of Fire will be much easier than it was before. He will also be able to merge and release Bloodfire, then use it to fly.” Ning was truly quite amazed.

Ning, for example, was able to control his [Novessence Thunder] and even had possession of Dao lightning, but there was no way for him to fully merge into those types of lightning. This was because there was simply no way for his body to connect with them.

The Golden Crows were able to ride Golden Solarfire because their divine bodies were able to perfectly join together with that fire.

Exalted Celestial Thundergod was unable to fly using Ninehorn Lightning Serpents because his divine body was unable to perfectly join together with them.

Ning had lost quite a few clones in order to transform his divine body, making it thunder-aligned and capable of using the lightning serpents to fly. However, Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were ranked as a type of Elder lightning. They weren’t even at the Chaos level! There was naturally no way for Ning’s body to take control over Chaos lightning and use it to fly. If there was, Ning would be moving at a truly astonishing speed.

However, Bloodfire Cloudfruits were suitable for controlling Bloodfire, a type of Chaos fire. If you used it to flee, the vast majority of Daolords would be unable to catch up to you.

This single fruit was worthy roughly a million cubes of chaos nectar… and it generally could not be found in the open market. These types of treasures that were born from the primordial chaos were incredibly rare, unlike Eternal weapons which could be forged.

“Or perhaps this World God Dragonking did know, but was afraid to reveal it?” Ning mused. “Did he know? Or didn’t he? Still, it doesn’t matter. This fruit is useless to me. If I encounter any treasures that I need, I can sell it off or trade it.” Ning was in no rush to sell it. This was a fine treasure for a Daolord who walked the Dao of Fire. If he waited for an opportune time, he would be able to sell it for a very high price.

“I really didn’t expect to be waylaid so many times after leaving the Astral Islands. I killed quite a few of those bandits, but unexpected my most valuable loot was this Bloodfire Cloudfruit rather than the Mirrorsnow Painting.” Ning hurriedly stored the fruit back into the pureloop jade bottle.

“Time to go.” Ning had quite a few valuable treasures on him already, and so he was quickly able to return to his usual calm.

After leaving the Royal Dragon Palace, Ning flew for more than two more months before finally reaching the place where Su Youji had secreted herself.

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Chapter 51 – Bluegrace Sect

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 51 – Bluegrace Sect

The Bluegrace Sect was one of the many sects within the enormous territory ruled over by the Brightshore Kingdom. It had been established by Daolord Bluegrace and was an ancient organization with deep roots.

The Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect. The residential area for high-level sect members.

There was an estate located at the peak of one of these mountains, and outside this estate sat eighteen World-level cultivators in the lotus position.

“Hmph.” A white-robed woman at the entrance to the estate glanced at those eighteen, then let out a cold snort.

“Junior apprentice-sister Qingfan, you should urge the Flamefairy Su Youji to stop resisting.” A black-robed elder, one of the eighteen seated World-level cultivators, spoke out. “Have her obediently hand over her golems, her bugbeast, and that statue of Feixian the Exalted. If she does that, we naturally won’t cause any further trouble for her. Otherwise… once the order comes from the headquarters, she shall perish and her Dao shall vanish!”

“Little sister Youji rescued some of our fellow disciples. Not only have you shown no gratitude, you’ve plotted against her and tried to take her treasures away from her. Little sister Youji risked her life in order to acquire that statue of Feixian the Exalted.” The white-robed woman said angrily, “An order from the headquarters? You might be able to cause trouble here in this local branch, but the main base isn’t a place where you fools can do as you please!”

The eighteen World-level cultivators no longer spoke. They just continued their silent vigil.

“Hmph.” The white-robed woman angrily returned to the estate.

Within the estate.

Su Youji was seated in the lotus position within one of the rooms in the estate, engaging in silent meditation. Dressed in fiery robes, Su Youji emanated an aura of incredible allure and magnetism . It was as though she was the most beautiful, most seductive woman who had ever been born, so beautiful that even World-level cultivators would be affected by her presence. Suddenly, she opened her eyes. When she did so, she withdrew her aura of magnetism. She glanced outside, then smiled. “Elder sister Qingfan.”

“Little sister Youji.” The white-robed woman walked into the room.

“I’m sorry to have caused you trouble, elder sister Qingfan,” Su Youji said. “I put you in a precarious situation here in your sect.”

“Don’t worry. This is my estate. World-level cultivators are barred from barging into the residences of their fellow disciples. They’ll only be able to enter if they receive a command from the sectlord to do so,” the white-robed woman said. “So long as you are in my estate, they will be completely unable to get their hands on you. As for the sectlord, he’s a figure of incredible power. If they think they can convince him to issue an order… hmph. Hmph!”

Su Youji couldn’t help but sigh silently to herself.

This entire affair…

After she left the Astral Islands, she had quickly realized how chaotic and unruly the Brightshore Kingdom was. She had acted with great caution, first purchasing a star map and getting an understanding of the Brightshore Kingdom’s rough geography. Her goal was to go to the Palace of Fire and test her luck, but midway on her journey she accidentally entered a strange, dangerous location.

There were many such locations within the Brightshore Kingdom. Some had been personally crafted by the almighty Hegemon, but some were left behind by deceased Daolords. There were many dangerous locations which were undiscovered and unknown to most cultivators.

Su Youji ended up entering a dangerous region which had been set up by Feixian the Exalted. She encountered many dangers in that place, and eventually she found herself in a dangerous situation but was rescued by Fairy Qingfan’s group. To be specific, it was Fairy Qingfan herself who had rescued her. Su Youji felt very grateful towards her, and so she had joined Fairy Qingfan’s group of three.

They had braved the dangers of that place together, and Su Youji had put her golems and bugbeasts into full effect. In the end… she actually passed the trial which Feixian the Exalted had laid down, becoming her personal disciple.

Feixian the Exalted had left behind many treasures, all of which now belonged to Su Youji. The rest of his treasures had been located within an estate-world which Su Youji had easily taken away without notice, but his statue had been located at the very highest position within the palace. Su Youji had to personally climb up to grab it, and this was witnessed by Fairy Qingfan and the others.

Fairy Qingfan’s group had experienced many life-and-death battles alongside Su Youji. They all trusted each other very much, and Fairy Qingfan had even saved Su Youji’s life. Thus, Su Youji didn’t harbor any suspicions regarding them.

Back then, Fairy Qingfan had said to her, “Little sister Youji, you are heading to the Twelve Palaces? That’s in the same direction as we are headed. We are going back to our Eastsmoke branch. Let’s travel together!”

Su Youji and Fairy Qingfan had quickly become fast friends and had grown close to each other, and so they continued to travel together after exiting the trials.. Fairy Qingfan had grown up here in the Brightshore Kingdom and so was quite familiar with the local region. They arrived at the Eastsmoke branch without any trouble… but right after they had sat down and drank two cups of wine within Fairy Qingfan’s residence, these World-level cultivators had immediately shown up and surrounded them.

As it turned out, one of the other companions on their journey, World God Whiteswan, had reported on the outcome of their adventures to the branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch. The Eastsmoke branch leader was merely a World-level cultivator, and he grew greedy for Su Youji’s bugbeasts and golems. Since Su Youji wasn’t a member of this sect, he immediately issued an order to kill her and take her treasures.

“Don’t worry, little sister. He’s just a branch leader. As far as status goes, he isn’t significantly superior to me. He just has a few connections in the main base, which was why he was given the position of branch leader. Without the sectlord’s orders, there’s not a damn thing he can do. You can stay here for as long as you wish, little sister.”

Su Youji nodded.

…….

A flying vessel had just appeared in the clouds high above the Bluegrace Sect. A white-robed youth was seated in the lotus position on the decks of the vessel, a sword across his lap. The youth glanced downwards.

“My message-talisman is directly below. Based on the star map which Daolord Grayvast gave me, this place should be one of the nine branches of the Bluegrace Sect.” Ning was rather puzzled. “Why did Youji come to the Bluegrace Sect?”

The Bluegrace Sect had been established by Daolord Bluegrace. The entire sect had a total of four Daolords! Daolord Bluegrace was an extremely powerful figure, but the other three Daolords were a bit weaker; they were merely black-armored Daolords.

The Daolords of the Twelve Palaces were divided up into several different levels of power. There were black-armored, azure-armored, silver-armored, and gold-armored Daolords. The black-armored Daolords were the lowest level Daolords.

“No ripples?” Ning stared downwards at the Eastsmoke branch. “There are no Daolords protecting this place.”

It made sense. There were only four Daolords, while the Bluegrace Sect had a total of nine branches. According to what Ning’s star map claimed, the four Daolords usually resided in the main base.

“Youji is in the Eastsmoke branch…” Although Ning was puzzled, he still put away his flying vessel then began to fly downwards in person.

“Quite impressive.” Ning stared downwards at the Eastsmoke branch. The Eastsmoke branch covered an extremely vast territory of over ten million kilometers. “According to this star map, this branch holds a total of more than three hundred World-level cultivators. The Brightshore Kingdom really is quite unlike the Dao Alliance. The sects of the Dao Alliance are all extremely cautious when they recruit new World-level cultivators, keeping their numbers low. Here, it seems their motto is ‘the more the merrier’.”

The Dao Alliance governed through inaction. The Badlands Court was a good example. Daolord Badlands was the leader of the Court and the entire territory, but he only had roughly a hundred World-level cultivators under his command. The vast Badlands Territory had more than ten thousand World-level cultivators, but they were all scattered across many smaller organizations.

The Brightshore Kingdom was different. The Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom and the organizations they established, such as the Bluegrace Sect, centralized things far more. The main base and nine branches of the Bluegrace Sect alone held more than five thousand World-level cultivators! They really did believe in the concept of strength in numbers. This was because the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom were all prevented from fighting amongst each other, due to all of them being members of the Twelve Palaces.

Since Daolords were unable to directly do battle, battles amongst sects in the Brightshore Kingdom had to be carried out by World-level cultivators. Thus, the more the merrier! The battles amongst World-level cultivators were quite brutal and savage.

“Halt, fellow Daoist! This place is the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect.” A tall, skinny World-level cultivator flew out and shouted at Ning.

“I am Darknorth.” Ning smiled. “I’ve come to join the Bluegrace Sect.”

“Fellow Daoist, you wish to join our Bluegrace Sect?” The tall, skinny cultivator gave Ning a weighing glance. World-level cultivators were generally mid-level figures within the Brightshore Kingdom. If Ning was an Elder God, he wouldn’t be treated in such a friendly manner. “Haha, the doors of our Bluegrace Sect are always open and welcome. Fellow Daoist, please follow me.”

Ning smiled as he followed the man inside, moving past the protective formations and entering the sect itself.

This was one of the branches of the Bluegrace Sect. The formations protecting it had naturally been laid down by Daolord Bluegrace himself. Although the formations weren’t that strong when being controlled by a group of World-level cultivators, Ning wasn’t certain that he would be able to overcome it.

“Please follow me, fellow Daoist.” The tall, skinny World-level cultivator flew alongside Ning. The branch was more than ten million kilometers in size, quite large.

“What’s going on over there?” Ning pointed off into the distance, towards the direction where he could sense Su Youji was located.

“The sect has disciples of varying levels of strength. The stronger World-level cultivators reside in that area.” The tall, skinny World-level cultivator pointed while speaking.

“Oh.” Ning now understood. Suddenly, he stretched out his palm, making it expand in size to become dozens of meters long. He immediately grabbed onto that World God as easily as he would grab onto a mouse. This person was responsible for welcoming and greeting guests, but he merely had the power of an elite World God. In the face of Ning’s power, he wasn’t even able to struggle.

“Fellow Daoist!” The man was utterly terrified.

“If I wanted your life, I could take it in an instant. If you want to stay alive, don’t fight me,” Ning sent mentally. Then, with a whoosh, he transferred the man into his own estate-world.

Ning transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Su Youji’s residence at high speed.

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Chapter 52 – A New Disciple

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 52 – A New Disciple

Ji Ning flew through the air towards the region where he sensed Su Youji was residing. She was within an estate at the very peak of a mountain, and there were eighteen f igures seated in the lotus position in front of it.

“Why are eighteen World-level cultivators keeping watch over this estate?” Ning muttered softly to himself.

Within Ning’s estate-world.

The cultivator Ning had captured stared at the white-robed Ning in terror. “Senior, please spare me!”

“Smart kid. Answer all of my questions accurately. There exists no grudge between the two of us. Unless absolutely necessary, I won’t kill you,” Ning said calmly. He had created this clone using half of his divine power, and his clone would be easily capable of slaying this cultivator.

“Understood.” The tall, skinny World-level cultivator nodded repeatedly.

This was no joke. He had been captured so quickly that he didn’t even have a chance to fight back. He knew exactly how great the disparity between their power levels was. In fact, he even suspected that this white-robed youth might actually be a Daolord in disguise. Now that he was trapped in this estate-world, how could he dare to be disobedient? Wisdom lay in knowing when to resist and when to comply.

“I ask you this.” Ning pointed at the air next to him with a finger, causing a map of the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect to appear. This map included the estate at the top of the mountain, as well as the eighteen World-level cultivators seated in the lotus position before it.

“Who resides within this estate?” Ning pointed at the estate at the top of the mountain.

“That’s the estate of senior apprentice-sister Qingfan,” the captured cultivator said hurriedly. “Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan is extremely strong, and she has the power of a supreme World God. She ranks as one of the top ten cultivators here in the Eastsmoke branch.”

Ning nodded, then pointed and asked, “Why are there eighteen World-level cultivators in front of her estate?”

“Senior, are you friends with senior apprentice-sister Qingfan?” The captured cultivator suddenly asked in a soft voice.

“Answer me.” Ning frowned.

“Senior, senior apprentice-sister Qingfan is in a lot of trouble right now. That’s why her estate is under watch.” The captured cultivator said hurriedly, “When she was out adventuring with two other fellow disciples, she became friends with an outsider known as the Flamefairy. The two of them are very close to each other.”

A sharp light flickered through Ning’s eyes. Flamefairy?

“I heard that they met each other and helped rescue each other in a dangerous ruins whch had been left behind by Feixian the Exalted. They experienced many dangers together, and in the end this Flamefairy acquired the statue of Feixian the Exalted,” the captured cultivator said. “Afterwards, the Flamefairy accompanied senior apprentice-sister Qingfan to our Eastsmoke branch…”

The captured cultivator let out an awkward laugh. “And here, a few rather embarrassing things happened.”

“Speak!” Ning barked.

“Y-y-es! I’ll tell you everything!” The captured cultivator said hurriedly, “One of the two fellow disciples who went out alongside senior apprentice-sister Qingfan, a World God known as Whiteswan, immediately made a report to the branch leader once he returned to the branch. My understanding is that our branch leader was interested in this Flamefairy’s treasures and was planning to kill her and take them all.”

Ning’s eyes narrowed.

“Killing and looting is very common here, and it is said that this Flamefairy has a set of very powerful bugbeasts and golems, as well as that statue of Feixian the Exalted. She might have other valuable treasures as well.” The captured cultivator let out a sigh. “But who would’ve thought that senior apprentice-sister Qingfan would notice that something was off? She helped the Flamefairy fight back, then actually helped the Flamefairy hide within her own estate. Now, the Flamefairy just hides in there and refuses to leave no matter what.”

The captured cultivator explained, “Our Bluegrace Sect forbids its disciples from barging into the personal estates of our World-level cultivators. No one would dare to violate this rule, unless they were doing so on the orders of the sectlord himself. This is one of our laws. Thus, there’s nothing our branch leader can do. All he can do is have his loyal subordinates keep a close watch as he tries to come up with some other ideas.

“Our branch leader wishes to kill the Flamefairy, whereas senior apprentice-sister Qingfan wishes to protect her. As a result, senior apprentice-sister Qingfan’s been living a rather unpleasant life recently. I hear that she hasn’t left her estate at all.” The man secretly glanced at Ning’s expressions. He was guessing that there had to be some sort of a special connection between Ning and Qingfan.

“Let me ask you something else. What type of protective formations does the Eastsmoke branch have?” Ning asked.

The cultivator immediately and obediently revealed everything he knew.

……

Ning began to fly towards that distant estate, his mind filled with thoughts. He had been able to easily enter this branch, but taking Su Youji out of it would be no easy task. This was the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect, after all. If all the protective formations here were activated, things would become quite problematic.

Swoosh. Ning began to descend at high speed.

“Eh?” The eighteen World-level cultivators seated before the estate all raised their heads to look at Ning.

“Who are you?” One of the black-robed elders said coldly, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you before.”

“I am Darknorth. Greetings, fellow Daoists.” Ning smiled. “I just recently joined the Bluegrace Sect, and so I haven’t met with the vast majority of our fellow disciples yet.”

“Oh, a new arrival?”

“So a new junior apprentice-brother has joined our ranks.”

These eighteen were merely responsible for keeping a watch over this place. Aside from the black-robed elder who was in charge of them, these cultivators didn’t really have a great deal of status within the Eastsmoke branch. Thus, they were all quite courteous when they met fellow disciples.

In most schools, people knew each other by their unique auras. Once you met someone, you would be able to easily recognize that person in the future.

Schools like the Twelve Palaces had far too many members who were scattered throughout the Endless Territories, which was why the almighty Hegemon had personally crafted those identity medallions. It wasn’t easy to create these medallions, all of which resonated with each other. The Mirrorsnow Paintings had similar resonances as well. Even though these weren’t particularly high-quality items, the cost of creating each medallion wasn’t exactly cheap. The forging process was quite complicated! The Bluegrace Sect had more than five thousand World-level cultivators. It naturally wouldn’t outfit all of its people with such treasures!

The eighteen didn’t suspect a thing. This was a central region in the Eastsmoke branch, with hundreds of World-level cultivators present and a protective formation which had been personally established by Daolord Bluegrace himself. The formations here were all extremely complicated and profound. Which World-level cultivator would dare to barge into this place? Only a suicidal one!

“Junior apprentice-brother, why have you come here?” The black-robed elder said coldly.

“To meet with senior apprentice-sister Qingfan.” Ning smiled.

“Oh?” The faces of all eighteen tightened slightly.

“What sort of a relationship is between you and her?” The black-robed elder asked.

“Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan was my benefactor. To her, it was nothing more than a bit of casual guidance, but I’ve never forgotten it. Because of her, I decided to join the Bluegrace Sect after I became a World God, all for the sake of repaying her kindness,” Ning said.

The black-robed elder frowned as he looked at Ning, then instructed coldly, “Go ahead.”

In recent years, quite a few people had come to visit Qingfan. However, no one had been able to rescue the Flamefairy Su Youji from this gilded cage.

“Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan!” Ning walked to the entrance of the estate, then called out, “Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan! Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan!”

He called out multiple times.

Instantly, Ning could make out the vague form of a white-robed woman appear off in the distance. The woman gracefully walked out of the estate, then looked at Ning.

Ning immediately sent her a mental message. “If you want to save Youji, cooperate with me.”

Fairy Qingfan couldn’t help but feel startled by this. The Eastsmoke branch wasn’t a large place, and the story of the Flamefairy had quickly been made public. However, there were very, very few people who knew that the Flamefairy’s name was Su Youji. In addition, this sword-bearing white-robed youth was someone who she had never met before.

“Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan, long ago you provided me with tutelage. I finally have broken through to the World level and have joined the Bluegrace Sect as well.” A look of gratefulness was on Ning’s face. “Thank you for your guidance all those years ago, senior apprentice-sister.”

“I just gave you a few casual pointers.” A hint of a smile was on Fairy Qingfan’s face. “I didn’t expect that the Elder God I guided would have become a World God by now.”

The eighteen World-level cultivators could hear their oral conversation. But of course, there was no way they could eavesdrop on the mental one.

“Who are you?” Fairy Qingfan sent mentally. “Hmph. You wish to help out Youji? Hmph. These fools tried to use this method to cheat me before. Don’t even dream about getting into my estate.”

“Just help me tell Youji one thing, and she’ll know who I am,” Ning sent back.

……

Su Youji was seated in the lotus position within her room. Everything was perfectly still.

“Little sister Youji.” Divine power flowed through the area, manifesting as a clone of Fairy Qingfan. Her true form was still conversing with Ning at the entrance, which was why she had manifested a clone here to speak with Su Youji.

“What is it, big sister Qingfan?” Su Youji opened her eyes and looked puzzledly at Fairy Qingfan.

Fairy Qingfan asked her, “Someone wishes to meet with you. Any idea who this person is?”

“Me? I don’t think I know many people at all, here at the Eastsmoke branch.” Su Youji was confused.

Fairy Qingfan looked at her. “He said… his name is Ji Ning.”

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Chapter 53 – Leave It To Me

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 53 – Leave It To Me

Su Youji’s body trembled.

His name was Ji Ning?

“He came for me?” Su Youji’s mind was filled with many complex thoughts and feelings. She felt a hint of excitement, but she also felt a hint of remorse! She knew that this place was where the Eastmoke branch was headquartered, and that it naturally was protected by many restrictive spells. This was an extremely tightly guarded place. Although Ji Ning was quite formidable, fighting in an enemy’s nest was still an extremely problematic affair.

She had thought that Ji Ning would spend a million years in the Astral Islands. She had planned in quietly training in the legacy left behind by Daolord Feixian the Exalted, as Feixian’s skills primarily lay in the realms of charm, illusion, and control! She was a Daolord who was so terrifyingly powerful that she was given the title of ‘the Exalted’. Generally speaking, Daolords who were slightly weaker than her would instantly fall under her control after a single glance!

She was an individual who was incredibly powerful!

Su Youji was born with tremendous affinity for skills involving charm and allure. Even when she had no legacies to guide her, she had been able to create a charming technique of tremendous power. This was why she had been able to pass all of the deadly trials left behind by Feixian the Exalted, and in the end she was found to be qualified to become Feixian’s personal disciple!

“My original plan had been to train here for ten thousand years and reach the third stage of the ‘Flying Immortal’ secret-art, then take control of the eighteen World-level cultivators outside and leave stealthily.” Even right now, Su Youji was capable of taking control over two or three World-level cultivators at the same time. However, this sort of mind control spell could only be maintained for a brief period of time.

Su Youji had never attempted to leave by force. This was a branch headquarters of the Bluegrace Sect; who would dare to try to force their way in or out of a place like this? Her goal was to take control of those eighteen, then leave stealthily.

“Should I let him in?” Fairy Qingfan asked.

“Yes.” Su Youji nodded.

“Understood.” Fairy Qingfan looked at Su Youji and smiled. “You look so dazed and befuddled right now. What sort of a relationship do you have with him, exactly?”

Su Youji shook her head. “What do you mean, ‘dazed and befuddled’? I’m his retainer. He is my master.”

“Master…?” Fairy Qingfan was startled.

……

At the entrance to Fairy Qingfan’s estate.

Ning and Fairy Qingfan were continuing to chat here.

“For you to join the Bluegrace Sect shows that karmic ties continue to bind us. Enter my estate. Stay here for a while and have a good conversation with me. As of late, your big sister’s been bored senseless.” Fairy Qingfan tossed Ning an intentionally playful look. Now that she knew that Ning was Su Youji’s master, she found herself quite impressed. This white-robed youth was definitely an figure of extraordinary power and ability. To have such an extraordinary figure address her as ‘big sister’ was quite diverting.

Ning gave her a look, then chuckled. “Please lead the way, senior apprentice-sister.”

“Mm.” Fairy Qingfan turned and walked towards her estate, with Ning following behind her.

The eighteen World-level cultivators seated outside all watched as this transpired. When the black-robed elder saw Fairy Qingfan actively invite Ning into the estate, a rather ugly look appeared on his face. He barked coldly, “Junior apprentice-sister Qingfan, don’t try to seduce this new junior apprentice-brother of ours into helping you out.”

“None of your damn business.” Fairy Qingfan didn’t even turn back to look at him. She simply let out a cold snort.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, remember… there are some things which you should do and some things which you should not do.” A chill filled the voice of the black-robed elder.

……

By now, Su Youji had already emerged from her room and was staring at the pathways in front of her, waiting eagerly.

Finally, Fairy Qingfan emerged from around the bends, and behind her was a white-robed youth who bore a longsword on his back. The youth looked the same as he always had, the same as he had in her memories.

“Master…” Su Youji stared at him, her heart filled with many emotions.

Guilt?

Gratitude?

In the Astral Islands, she had battled until she was at the point of absolute despair and exhaustion. When she saw Ji Ning appear, she had actually wept. And now, they were meeting at the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect. Even for someone like Ji Ning, a fight here would be quite troublesome. And yet… he had still come.

“It is always you helping me out, rather than vice versa. I’m your retainer, but I’ve never been able to do anything for you.” In this instant, Su Youji suddenly realized that she would never be able to forget how Ji Ning had saved her from the Astral Islands. That moment had been indelibly imprinted into her very soul… and now, they were meeting again here at this branch of the Bluegrace Sect.

“Youji.” Ning walked over towards her.

“Master.” Su Youji nodded slightly. “I’ve caused trouble for you.”

“I hear that this branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch is mainly trying to steal your treasures. I also heard something about a statue of Feixian the Exalted?” Ning asked.

Su Youji looked at Ning with some degree of surprise. “You already know?”

Ning turned to glance at the nearby Fairy Qingfan. “Fairy Qingfan, if Youji wishes to leave, who will try to stop her?”

Fairy Qingfan could instantly sense that this white-robed youth was now speaking in a very different way and had a very different attitude. When they had been at the entrance to her estate, he had modestly addressed her as ‘senior apprentice-sister Qingfan’. Although he still spoke in a very relaxed way, his words and his demeanor revealed his absolute self-confidence and his dominating presence.

“If little sister Youji wishes to leave, she would first need to deal with those eighteen World-level cultivators standing guard,” Fairy Qingfan said. “They are keeping a tight watch, and if anything happens they will immediately make a report to that fool of a branch leader. When that happens, that fool will undoubtedly order many of our other World-level cultivators to attack. In fact, he might even activate the many formations protecting this place. Once that happens, there really will be nowhere to run.”

Ning nodded slowly. This was what he had expected.

“Master, give me another hundred thousand years and I might be able to work something out,” Su youji said. A hundred thousand years would actually be millions of years if she used a temporal acceleration treasure. That should be more than enough.

“If too much time passes, new variables will enter the equation,” Ning said. “Since this man was able to become the local branch leader, he probably has certain connections within the main base. If he wants to barge into the estate of a fellow disciple and seize an unaffiliated World-level cultivator, all he has to do is find a suitable excuse and he’ll probably be able to convince Daolord Bluegrace into agreeing. You’ve only been here a few centuries, which is why he has been able to bide his time. If you wait too long, that will no longer be the case.”

Su Youji’s face turned pale. Right. Once the local branch leader received permission from the main base, he would be able to enter this estate and seize her. By then, she would have no recourse at all.

“Leave it to me. I’ll bring you out of here,” Ning said.

Su Youji felt a warm feeling in her heart. Although she was worried about Ning, as his retainer she held enormous faith in him. He was indeed an absolute freak of nature!

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” The nearby Fairy Qingfan said in a rather unhappy manner, “You must not act rashly. If you remain inside, they’ll be limited by the rules of the sect and won’t dare to cause trouble. But if you were to take little sister Youji out of this place… they’ll be allowed to attack. They won’t show mercy to an outsider who isn’t a member of our sect.”

“Fairy Qingfan, all you need to do is stand back and watch.” Ning turned his head and said to Su Youji, “I’ll take you into my estate-world.”

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded.

Fairy Qingfan said unhappily, “Little sister Youji, this isn’t…”

Ning just waved his hand, drawing Su Youji into his estate-treasure. He then turned and began to walk towards the outside.

“You-!” Fairy Qingfan immediately hurried after him.

The entrance to the estate.

Ning emerged from the estate and saw the eighteen World-level cultivators seated outside of it.

“Leaving already?” The black-robed elder stared at Ning in a very solemn manner, as did all of the other cultivators.

“Did Fairy Qingfan ask you to help her out by taking the Flamefairy out with you?” The black-robed elder’s voice turned icy cold.

“She did not,” Ning said.

“Junior apprentice-brother, the Flamefairy’s matter has grave implications for everyone here. As a result, we can’t just let you leave like this.” A nearby red-haired child spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Do you plan on inspecting my treasures?” Ning frowned.

“Cultivators often hide many of their secrets in their treasures. We won’t insist on inspecting everything by force. However… you will need to swear a lifeblood oath that you are not taking the Flamefairy out of this place.” The black-robed elder said calmly, “If you truly are not carrying her with you, then this oath will have no impact on you at all. But if you are… then this lifeblood oath will immediately rebound upon you and devour your life. You’ll die on the spot.”

“Swear the lifeblood oath and we will let you leave.” Swish! A dark-red crystalline rod was sent flying towards Ning.

Ning glanced at the dark-red rod, then shook his head.

Suddenly, he manifested three heads and six arms. His six arms dramatically increased in size, and his palms became so large as to block out the skies as he struck out towards the eighteen cultivators nearby.

“What?!”

“Careful!”

Fairy Qingfan was standing right behind him, and her eyes immediately bulged out. He actually went straight to fighting? How could Su Youji’s master be such a fool? He actually dared to launch an attack within the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect?!

“Hmph.”

“What a fool.”

The eighteen World-level cultivators instantly activated their formation, allowing Immortal energy to pool together and then flow over their bodies. The reason there were eighteen of them here was so that they could join forces and fight against tough foes. Even if Su Youji tried to use her bugbeasts and golems to force her way out of the estate, they would be able to hold on against her for a period of time.

BOOM!

As the six enormous palms swept towards them, an enormous collision could be heard as one of the World-level cultivators was captured as easily as one might pick up a little chick. The man was forcibly dragged into Ning’s estate-treasure, the entire formation having been forcibly torn apart.

Whoooooosh. The six enormous palms continued to howl forth and strike out towards them.

“Flee!”

“How can he be this powerful?!”

“Run away!”

The remaining World-level cultivators were all stupefied. This initial clash had just resulted in Ning capturing eleven of them, and the rest hurriedly began to scatter and flee.

However, the enormous power ripples caused by this clash spread out to encompass the entire Eastsmoke branch, which was merely ten million kilometers in size. Every single World-level cultivator here was able to easily sense that something had happened, and many streams of godsense swept outwards towards this region.

“Who dare you! How dare you barge into our Bluegrace Sect!” One stream of godsense carried a voice that exploded loudly within Ning’s mind.

“Hmph!” Ning suddenly poured out his own godsense, sweeping it in all four directions in an all-encompassing wave. Thanks to the nurturing effect of his azureflower mist energy, Ning’s soulw as comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step, as was his godsense. Other World-level cultivators truly had far weaker godsenses by comparison.

As Ning’s godsense flooded out, it boomed as it slammed into the streams of godsense that had flooded this area. Ning’s godsense crushed everything in its path, smashing apart nearly three hundred different streams of godsense and chaosense. The difference between a World-level cultivator and a Daolord was simply too apparent.

Rumble…

For a moment, the only stream of godsense present within the ten million kilometer region of the Eastsmoke Sect belonged to Ji Ning. All the others had been completely crushed and wiped out!

“The Flamefairy is my retainer. Today, I’ve come to the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect to take my retainer away from this place.” Ning’s voice boomed out, echoing in every corner of the entire Eastsmoke branch. “I trust that most of you know about the matter of your branch leader seeking to steal my retainer’s treasures, and you all know in your hearts who is in the right and who is in the wrong. I am going to take my retainer out of this place, and I’d rather not launch a massacre… but if anyone who seeks to bar my path shall die!”

His voice blasted out across every inch of the local branch’s territory. Every single World-level cultivator found his godsense or chaosense completely suppressed, and they were all completely unable to push back.

Fairy Qingfan stood there at the entrance to her home, staring in amazement as this all happened. When she heard this earth-shattering voice boom out in her mind, she couldn’t help but be shocked once again!

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Chapter 54 – Launching A Massacre

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 54 – Launching A Massacre

Fairy Qingfan was completely stunned by the dominating power of Ji Ning’s godsense. The power of one’s godsense was derived from the strength of one’s soul. This was something that simply couldn’t be faked! All by himself, Ji Ning had crushed the godsenses of all the other World-level cultivators in the Eastsmoke branch. This alone was proof that he was a person who ordinary cultivators absolutely could not compare to! And, judging from Ning’s words… he had only revealed a tiny fraction of his true power.

“Fellow Daoist Ji Ning.” Although Fairy Qingfan was so stunned that she immediately spoke and acted in a much more humble manner, she still said to Ning frantically, “This place is the local headquarters of our Bluegrace Sect. It is protected by many mighty formations which Daolord Bluegrace personally set down! No matter how strong are you, you can’t possibly withstand our guardian formations! You are acting far too impetuously!”

Ning gave her a glance. “Fairy Qingfan, I already told you that you only need to do is stand back and watch.”

“Then I’ll do just that.” Fairy Qingfan gritted her teeth. “Although that idiot branch leader is a real imbecile, he won’t show any mercy in activating those formations.”

“If I really can’t beat him, I’ll just hide in your estate again, Fairy.” Ning tossed a smile her way.

“You…” Fairy Qingfan stared, dazed. Good point. Ji Ning was standing right at the entrance to her estate. He really could simply retreat into it whenever he wished.

Ning then turned to stare at the distant main palace of the Eastsmoke branch, his gaze turning cold. The choice of how to proceed was up to the local branch leader. If he was wise enough to let Ning leave, Ning wouldn’t pursue this matter any further and simply wipe the slate clean! It was very common for cultivators to fight each other out of greed for each other’s treasures, after all, and Su Youji hadn’t actually been harmed. This matter was a matter that could be easily glossed over.

However, if he chose to fight…

The outcome would be completely different. Ning wasn’t certain in his ability to overcome the local formations, and so he wouldn’t show any mercy at all.

……

The main hall of the Eastsmoke branch.

“Who is he? Where the hell did he come from?” The Eastsmoke leader was a fairly handsome man, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

“No idea where he’s from.”

“Given how powerful his godsense is, he’s definitely an extraordinary World-level cultivator. In fact, he might be strong enough to enter the Twelve Palaces or might have already done so.” There were three other World-level cultivators in the main hall. Usually the various World-level cultivators of the Eastsmoke branch would reside within their own residences, and so the main palace only had three on duty.

The Eastsmoke leader’s face sank.

“Branch leader, what should we do?”

“Should we activate the formation and let them leave?”

The other three all looked at their branch leader.

The Eastsmoke leader was considering this very question as well. “It seems as though the master of the Flamefairy is quite a powerful figure… but no matter what, he’s just one man! So what if he really is a member of the Twelve Palaces? In this place, I can still kill him!”

The almighty Hegemon had long ago ordered all members of the Twelve Palaces to swear lifeblood oaths, preventing them from killing each other. However, these oaths were not binding upon the other cultivators of the Brightshore Kingdom! Although World-level cultivators who had been granted entry into the Twelve Palaces were generally incredibly powerful, over the course of countless years there had been a few occasions in which ordinary World-level cultivators had managed to somehow kill World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces. When this happened, the response was simple: Too bad! It was his own damn fault!

If you were protected from Daolords but ended up being killed by World-level cultivators, you deserved it!

“His retainer had so many treasures. He has to have even more.” The Eastsmoke leader grew more and more greedy as he thought about this. “No matter what, he’s just a World-level cultivator. The sectlord once said that not even the most powerful World-level cultivator would be able to defeat these protective formations.”

“Kill. Kill him!” The Eastsmoke leader made his decision, born of personal greed as well as confidence in the protective formation’s power. Ning’s own display of dominance and power had also angered the Eastsmoke leader, contributing to this decision.

Boom! The Eastsmoke leader sent out a strand of his will, merging it into the protective formation that covered the entire Eastsmoke branch. This was a sealing formation that prevented anyone from entering or leaving the place. This formation was perpetually active, which was why Ning had to pretend that he was interested in joining the Bluegrace Sect and be granted entry. If he hadn’t, there would’ve been no way for him to force his way inside. The sealing formation would’ve stopped him dead in his tracks, and the many other formations would’ve begun to launch spells against him as various World-level cultivators took control over them.

“Not only did you barge into the Bluegrace Sect, you act with such arrogance. It seems as though you truly have a death wish!” The Eastsmoke leader’s mind had become one with the formation, and his voice boomed out through the natural energy controlled by the formation as it echoed throughout the region. “On my orders, all disciples of the sect are to take control over our various formations and kill him!”

Giving this order through godsense would’ve been more subtle, but Ning’s godsense had completely permeated this entire region, giving him no option but to send the order through his formation.

“Yes.”

“Take control of the formations!”

“Quick!”

Some of the World-level cultivators were hesitating, as they all knew that the Eastsmoke leader was in the wrong for lusting over the treasures of this man’s retainer! In addition, the man’s godsense was so strong that he was clearly an unfathomably powerful figure. Some of the vacillating cultivators began to delay on purpose, wanting to see exactly how powerful this mysterious expert was.

However, some of them did obey the orders right away. As for the ones who were extremely good friends with the Eastsmoke leader, they all began to fly straight towards the various formation-cores. “Once we kill him, we’ll split some of the spoils as well.”

“He dared to enter our base. He truly doesn’t know his own limits!”

So long as they rendered merits in battle, there would be no way that the Eastsmoke leader would be able to refuse giving them a portion of the spoils. World-level fellow disciples were fairly important and respected, after all.

……

Ning stood there in front of Fairy Qingfan’s estate. When Ning heard the Eastsmoke leader send out a booming order to kill him, he just slowly shook his head.

“Think of something, quick!” Fairy Qingfan said desperately.

“Formations… have to be operated by cultivators,” Ning said coldly.

“Come out!” A crimson-black gourd instantly appeared in the air next to Ning. This was the Elementum Waterflame Gourd, and it immediately unleashed two dragon-like streaks of lightning. One was the Watersmoke Lightning, which surged out like a dark stormclouds that was filled with crashing waves of water. The other was the Firecloud Lightning, which spread out like an enormous billowing cloud of flames. The two streaks of lightning wrapped around each other, then began to blast out in every direction!

It must be understood that Chaos lightning moved faster than almost all Daolords. As for Dao lightning, it moved with such terrifying speed that even Daolords would be befuddled by it, to say nothing of World-level cultivators.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Dao lightning blasted out in every direction. In the blink of an eye, every part of the ten million kilometers of the Eastsmoke branch became filled by the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning. These two mighty types of Dao lightning were incompatible with each other, due to being water-aligned and fire-aligned, and each time they clashed with each other they would explode with utterly earth-shaking force.

“What?!”

“How is this possible?!”

The cultivators who had been the first to move, hoping to help kill Ning and then get a share of his treasures, watched in utter despair as Dao lightning blanketed the skies above them! The Dao lightning moved with such incredible speed that they were filled with complete hopeless. It must be remembered that Daolord Allgod himself had used those nine secret arts including the [Novessence Thunder] to strike down Emperor Melobo. In terms of speed alone, Dao lightning was generally so fast that even Eternal Emperors were unable to dodge it.

Boom! The two streaks of Dao lightning slammed downwards.

“NO-!” Some of the World-level cultivators brandished their weapons, seeking to block. Alas, as the divine lightning swept past them they were instantly reduced to dust, their truesouls completely annihilated.

……

The two mighty streaks of Dao lightning were so powerful that when they were completely focused on a single opponent, they would be able to slay even a supreme World God with a single blow. Even transcendent World Gods would suffer heavy injuries, and a few repeated strikes would result in their deaths!

However, since Ning had spread out his two streaks of Dao lightning into an area attack, the power of the attack was somewhat lessened. The elite World Gods were instantly swept through and destroyed! The master-class World Gods would be able to survive for two breaths before also perishing. As for supreme World Gods, they would generally be able to survive. However, this small Eastsmoke branch only had a total of around three hundred World-level cultivators. It only had roughly ten or so who had reached the supreme World God level of power!

Boom! The cultivators who had been the first to respond to their leader’s orders and charge forward began to die under the horrifying power of the two types of Dao lightning.

There had only been a single supreme World God who had responded to the Eastsmoke leader’s orders right away, and Ning focused an enormous amount of lightning on him, causing him to perish after a few breaths as well.

It had only been ten breaths worth of time, but all of the thirty-nine cultivators who had acknowledged their branch leader’s orders had perished! As for those who were hesitating or who were just watching, Ning didn’t act against them yet.

“Thank goodness.”

“Thank goodness I was cautious.”

“Thank goodness I hate that idiot.”

The many hesitating World-level cultivators in the branch all raised their heads to stare at the boundless streaks of Dao lightning filling the skies. The black lightning and the blazing lightning were tangled together, constantly crackling and exploding with such power that they all felt chilled to the core.

……

Fairy Qingfan stared in a similarly stupefied manner at the endless lightning crackling in the skies. She then turned to stare at the crimson-black gourd hanging in the air next to Ning. The gourd was still emitting more streaks of lightning.

“As I said. Anyone who seeks to bar my path shall die.’ Ning’s voice boomed out with the thunder, shaking the heavens and the earth. “If you do not get involved, I will not harm you. I do not harm the innocent.”

“You’ve killed the disciples of our sect. You must die!” The Eastsmoke leader’s furious voice echoed in the skies as well. “The nineteen of you who are already in position, activate the formations right away and kill him!”

The Eastsmoke leader had been driven absolutely furious. Normally, if an enemy attacked they would be able to rely on the protective sealing formation to defend them as the various World-level cultivators took control of the various attacking formations and used them to surround and assault their foe. The more powerful formations required multiple World-level cultivators to use, and there was obviously no point in having all of their cultivators be permanently stationed within the various formations. They needed to train and to go out on adventure! They would usually train in their own residences; all they had to do was hurry out and take part in any battles that did arise.

The problem was that Ji Ning was already inside the formation!

Even so, normal enemies would not have been able to prevent them from entering their various formation-cores. The problem was that Ning had the Elementum Waterflame Gourd, allowing him to wipe out all of them at one ago. Alas, nineteen World-level cultivators were permanently stationed in some of the formation-cores at all times, and so some of the formations were still activatable.

“If the nineteen of you do not get involved, I won’t act against you.” Ning’s voice boomed out once more. “But if you try to stop me… I guarantee that I will kill you all, no matter how much time and effort it takes.”

Instantly, the nineteen World-level cultivators within the formation-cores began to hesitate.

Should they get involved in this? If they didn’t get involved, they wouldn’t be in any danger. But if they did get involved and were unable to kill this mysterious expert, they would be in for a world of hurt.

“Kill him! Later, I’ll give all nineteen of you an equal share of his treasures.” The Eastsmoke leader spoke out using his Immortal energy through his formation.

“Kill him.”

“We are inside our formation. There’s no way he can touch us.”

“Kill him and his treasures will be ours.”

“If we act, we have to make sure we get rid of him.”

Three of the World-level cultivators chose not to get involved and instead just watch, but the other sixteen elected to activate their formations out of greed. Activating all the formations would require sixty cultivators, and they were only sixteen of them in position. Only a small part of the power of the formations had been unleashed, but they still felt quite confident. They trusted in the might of Daolord Bluegrace’s formation.

Rumble…

Multiple formations throughout the region began to activate!

Ning raised his head to stare into the skies, his eyes as cold as death.

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Chapter 55 – The Formations Activate

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 55 – The Formations Activate

The Eastsmoke leader was in charge of the most important formation. This was the one preventing Ji Ning from leaving.

As for the other sixteen, they were able to control roughly eight other formations. Three of them were meant for bewildering opponents while the other five were meant for launching attacks.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The enormous illusion of a axe slowly began to manifest in the air, drawing upon more and more of the power of Heaven and Earth as it corporealized. The illusion became increasingly solid, and its aura continued to increase.

“The power of this divine axe is so great that even a hundred World Gods would be slain by a single chop.” Fairy Qingfan had already hidden herself inside the estate behind Ning, and she watched all this happen with concern.

Rumble…

Thunder rang out, shaking both the heavens and the earth as streaks of lightning began to appear. These were all streaks of Chaos lightning, but they were so numerous that they still possessed tremendous power.

An axe, lightning bolts, flames, black mist, a divine sword… all five attacking formations had been activated. The three bewildering formations also began to unleash their power as well.

“Hmph. How laughable.” Ning simply stood there. His soul was so strong and his will was so resolute that all of the bewildering illusions were useless against him. It must be understood that not even a Heartforce Cultivator like Bertulu had been successful in using illusions to deceive Ning, to say nothing of these formations. These formations were designed to be used against World-level cultivators. They were completely useless against Ning.

“Break!!!”

Ning raised his head to the skies and let out a furious howl.

The two mighty streaks of Dao lightning immediately blasted out once more, striking towards the enormous axe, the Chaos lightning, the flames, the black mist, and the divine sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One explosion after another could be heard as the Dao lightning began to battle the five offensive formations.

The first to be destroyed was the Chaos lightning. Next was the strange, billowing black mist, which was wiped out by the supremely yang-attribute, forceful, and destructive Dao lightning. As for the giant greataxe and the divine sword, they contained so much condensed power that not even the Dao lightning could shake them! The destruction of the Chaos lightning and the strange black fog had used up a tremendous amount of the Dao lightnings’ power. In the end, it was only able to slightly weaken the blazing, Fiendgod-shaped flames.

“Kill!” The blazing Fiendgod flew through the air, roaring furiously as flames erupted in its wake.

“Kill!” The enormous greataxe hanging in the air quickly descended like a scythe, chopping down towards Ning with fury.

“Kill.” The divine sword hanging in the air descended tip-first as it stabbed straight towards Ning.

“Die. Die! DIE!” The Eastsmoke branch leader gritted his teeth as he watched from within the main palace. He repeated the word ‘die’ over and over again, hoping that when the power of these three formations descended they would utterly annihilate this white-robed brat.

“You have to do. You HAVE to die.” The sixteen World-level cultivators controlling the formations watched eagerly as well.

It was forbidden for members of the Twelve Palaces to fight amongst themselves, but ordinary World-level cultivators often dreamed of having the chance to slay a member of the Twelve Palaces! The status difference between the two was as great as the difference between the heavens and the earth, after all. However, the difference in power was similarly great, and those who were capable of completing such a momentous task were few and far between.

They now had a chance to accomplish such a deed… and if they won, they would gain access to this terrifyingly powerful World God’s treasures.

“Ji Ning…” Fairy Qingfan raised her head to stare at the blazing Fiendgod, the enormous greataxe, and the divine sword.

“I wonder what will happen?”

The other World-level cultivators who were simply watching on the sidelines stared as the three weapons descended towards that tiny white-robed figure.

“Hmph.” Ning suddenly let out an angry snort, instantly expanding in size to become a three-headed, six-armed Fiendgod who was more than thirty thousand meters tall. His six enormous palms were large enough to blot out the skies, and he swept them towards the three attacking formations.

“Kill! Kill!” The blazing Fiendgod continued to bellow furiously.

BOOM! BOOM!

Ning was using the same sword-art with all six of his palms – the Heavenbreaker stance!

This strike focused on using raw strength and power to overwhelm and crush foes in a head-on clash! After his experiences in the Astral Islands, Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-art had become dramatically more powerful as well. They were now comparable to the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art! Ning’s Heavenbreaker stance now had a similar aura of overwhelming dominance as the third stance of the [Quintessence Sword-Intent], the Astral stance, but it was even more direct and brutish in its might.

BANG! BANG! Two of the mighty palms slammed into blazing Fiendgod in succession. The blazing Fiendgod bellowed furiously as it attempted to fight back… but as the two palms simultaneously collided with it, its body began to break apart.

BOOM! Two enormous palms slammed direct into the chopping greataxe in a frontal collision. The result was the the greataxe was actually shaken into pieces, causing it to dissipate.

The final two palms smashed straight towards that descending sword.

In the blink of an eye, Ning had transformed into a towering Fiendgod, manifested three heads and six arms, then used his six palms to crush all three attacks. This sight caused all of the World-level cultivators in the Eastsmoke branch to fall silent.

“B-but…”

“How can he be this strong?”

“Thank goodness I didn’t get involved!”

They all stared slack-jawed, especially Fairy Qingfan. She was completely dazed! “Youji mainly relied on her bugbeasts and golems! She herself wasn’t that powerful. When this Ji Ning guy took out one of those legendary Elementum Waterflame Gourds, I thought that he had to be just like Youji, someone who relied on magic treasures. I never imagined that he himself is even more powerful than those treasures! H-he… he must be close to a Daolord in might!”

“That blazing Fiendgod, in terms of raw strength alone, was actually comparable to a Daolord of the First Step. Unfortunately, its insights into the Dao were so poor that it was even weaker than ordinary World-level cultivators in this regard.” Ning couldn’t help but shake his head. “As for that axe and the sword, they were materialized with many profound mysteries and were actually quite strong. Unfortunately, all the power they contained was used up after a single strike.”

The weakness of the blazing Fiendgod was that it possessed a very low level of insight into the Dao. As for the greataxe and the divine sword, they had no staying power. They were only able to stay materialized for a brief period of time at their maximum level of power. Ning, however, was a cultivator and was thus able to fight at maximum power for quite some time.

“All things crumble before the face of my Heavenbreaker stance,” Ning said calmly.

This was the fifth stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, the Heavenbreaker stance. This was Ning’s most physically powerful attack, an attack relying on overwhelming might! It was far more ferocious and forceful than the Blood Drop stance or the Shadowless stance. However, the Blood Drop stance had better penetration while the Shadowless stance was more unpredictable. When Ning battled against powerful cultivators, he generally tended to use some of the other stances, but when faced with these fairly weak formations it was actually the Heavenbreaker stance which was the most suitable attack.

“What should I do? What should I do?!” The Eastsmoke leader began to freak out, his eyes turning red with panic. “The formations can’t kill him. What should I do?”

“Branch leader, what should we do?”

“How are supposed to beat him?”

The other sixteen World-level cultivators in charge of those eight formations began to panic as well.

The Eastsmoke leader’s eyes were now bloodshot. Through his formation, he howled furiously, “No need to be afraid! He must have used some sort of incredibly powerful divine ability in order to be able to unleash such tremendous might! The more powerful a divine ability is, the more divine power it uses up. He’s probably using up divine power a thousand times faster than he would in a ‘normal’ battle. There’s no way he’ll be able to sustain this, but our formations will ensure that we can continue to launch attacks without pause.”

“Right.”

“Let’s kill him through attrition.”

“There’s no way he’ll be able to launch too many of those attacks.”

They had already made an enemy out of Ji Ning. If they were to now let him leave… unacceptable! The only choice was to follow this path to its conclusion.

They were using formations, and so they were able to draw upon the endless amount of natural energy that existed in the world. The formations were also powered by chaos jewels, ensuring that the controllers didn’t have to use up too much of their own Immortal energy. They’d be able to keep fighting for an extended period of time.

An illusion of an axe, an illusion of a sword, a black mist, a flaming giant, and lightning bolts once more began to form in midair.

Ning glanced upwards at them, then shook his head.

Attrition?

With each attack, the formations would have to build up power for quite some time before striking out. Ning himself was being reinforced by his azureflower mist energy and actually wasn’t using much of his own normal power. In a battle like this, the rate at which he absorbed energy from the outside world was actually faster than the rate at which he used it up.

Swoosh. Ning suddenly stepped forward, transforming into a streak of light that flew straight into the air.

“He’s moving.”

“He’s flying towards the main palace.”

Many World-level cultivators were watching this fight nervously. They didn’t dare to take part in this battle at all, because even if all of them joined forces they would still be butchered by this white-robed youth! The difference between a World-level cultivator and a Daolord of the First Step was simply enormous. Ji Ning had a much lower level of insight compared to a Daolord of the First Step prior to the almighty Hegemon abducting him, but he was now on equal terms with an actual Daolord of the First Step.

As Ning flew forwards, he suffered yet another waves of attacks, but he was once more able to use his six giant palms to effortlessly crush the attackers.

“He’s coming for me.” When the Eastsmoke branch leader saw the towering white-robed youth fly towards him, an ugly look appeared on his face.

“Break for me!” Ning let out a cold roar as his six giant palms sliced through the air, striking simultaneously at the main palace of the Eastsmoke branch. The Eastsmoke leader was hiding within the main palace, and he was as small as an ant compared to the six mighty palms that were descending.

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Chapter 56 – Ji Ning’s Slaves

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 56 – Ji Ning’s Slaves

The area around the main palace was surrounded by rings of light. When the six colossal heaven-covering hands came crashing down, only the outermost layer of light was shattered, and they regenerated almost instantly.

“Ahahaha! There’s no way you’ll be able to break through.” The Eastsmoke leader was overjoyed upon seeing this. He stood there in the main palace, a cold smile on his lips. “This is the main palace. This is the most important part of the Eastsmoke branch, and it possesses the strongest defenses. It is guarded by eight layers of defenses, and you were only able to breach one of them. You aren’t even close! Since you can’t kill me, you’ll be the one to die. I refuse to believe you’ll be able to keep this divine ability of yours active indefinitely.”

Ji Ning stared down towards him from his position in the skies. Ning nodded slowly as he mused to himself, “The main palace lives up to its reputation. This is the source of power for the entire restrictive formation”

The grand restrictive formation protecting this place required a formation-core, and the formation-core was under the control of the Eastsmoke branch leader and located in the tightly guarded main palace.

“It seems I’ll have to use my full power.” A hint of a smile played at the corner of Ning’s lips. He then reached out with one hand towards his back, taking a firm hold over the sword which he had been carrying on his back this entire time.

“He’s about to draw his sword.”

“He’s been carrying that sword along this entire time. It seems that sword should be pretty powerful.”

“I wonder what will happen?”

The World-level cultivators of the Eastsmoke branch all watched intently, including both Fairy Qingfan and the Eastsmoke leader.

Clink.

The sword left its scabbard!

In the instant that Ning drew his sword, five other swords appeared in his other five hands.

Six hands, six Eternal swords.

“Astral stance!” As soon as Ning drew his swords, his six Eternal blades began to gleam with blinding light. They transformed into six streaks of bloody sword-light that descended towards the main palace like a tempest of blood.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One layer of light after another was shattered. The main palace was guarded by eight formations, and six of them were broken through.

The shockwaves generated by the powerful collisions spread out in every direction, so strong as to cause even the surrounding mountains to crumble and topple. Countless trees were reduced to dust.

“What…” The Eastsmoke leader was so frightened that his face turned bone-white. He then swallowed, hard. “Thankfully, he didn’t break through. He won’t be able to break through.”

“Is this his true power?” Fairy Qingfan, still standing at the entrance to her estate, stared at the distant Ji Ning and the six mighty swords he was wielding. “No wonder little sister Youji was willing to follow and serve him. How can a World-level cultivator be this powerful.”

“Oh? It actually didn’t break?” Ning frowned, then raised his head to glance at the restrictive formations above him.

Swoosh!

Ning charged high into the skies.

“I knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on forever. He had to be using up an enormous amount of divine power to unleash those attacks.” A hint of delight appeared on the Eastsmoke leader’s face. Through the formation, he sent a mental message to the other sixteen cultivators. “Keep using your formations to attack him. Don’t be fooled by how powerful he looks. Soon, he won’t be able to fight back at all.”

“Right. He’s relying on his own power whereas we are relying on our formation.”

“He won’t be able to overpower us.”

The World-level cultivators continued to use their formations to attack.

“Impudent!” Ning frowned as he saw the greataxe, the sword, and the blazing Fiendgod charged towards him once more.

Whoosh.

Three streaks of bloody sword-light shot out into the skies, completely shattering the three oncoming attacks. Now that Ning was using his Eternal swords, these formations were nothing to him at all.

“Since I cannot break through the main palace with a full-force strike, I should give this grand restrictive formation a try.” Ning flew high into the air, head raised as he stared at the barrier in front of him. Although he knew that this barrier had to be extremely tough, he still wanted to give it a try.

“Go.” Six streaks of sword-light shot out like six meteors, simultaneously raining down together upon a thirty-meter region of the grand restrictive formation. Although the formation covered a region of ten million kilometers, Ning focused all of his attacks on one point. This would make piercing through it easier.

Rumble… the entire grand restrictive formation trembled slightly, then dispersed the power of Ning’s attack.

“It didn’t break?” Ning’s face changed slightly. “Again.”

Rumble… the six streaks of bloody sword-light sliced out once more as Ning furiously attacked the grand restrictive formation.

The entire Eastsmoke branch turned silent. All the World-level cultivators watched as the white-robed youth used his power to furiously assault the grand restrictive formation. It would be countless years before they would ever be able to forget this sight. A World-level cultivator was so audacious as to challenge the full power of their barrier… and was able to cause the entire barrier to tremble.

Ning sent ten consecutive attacks out against the formation!

“I really can’t break through.” Ning slowly shook his head. “It seems as though forcing my way out of this formation is impractical.”

If he wasn’t able to break out of this place, his only option was to carry out his original plan.

Ning lowered his head, staring downwards with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Swoosh. Ning immediately charged downwards. In just two seconds, he arrived before a black palace.

“Break.” Six dazzling streaks of sword-light descended upon the the black palace. Although the black palace was protected by three layers of barriers, it still exploded into pieces.

“Spare me!”

“Spare us!”

The three World-level cultivators hiding within the black palace immediately ran out, staring at Ning in terror.

Every single formation-core was protected by barrier spells, but those barriers couldn’t possibly compare to the barriers protecting the main palace! Transcendent World Gods might not be able to breach them, but Daolords of the First Step would be able to breach them through raw power.

“Hmph.” Ning waved his giant hand. Whoosh! The heavens seemed to turn dark as he captured all three of them.

“Next.” Ning began to fly towards another formation-core.

“What?!”

“We can’t stop him.”

“Mystdragon, this is all your fault. You ruined us, you idiot! Qingfan was absolutely right when she said you were an imbecile and buffoon.”

“We are finished.”

“We are all doomed.”

“He said earlier that anyone who stands in his way will be killed.”

Ning blew through the various formation-cores with ease, capturing all sixteen World-level cultivators.

“All of them are doomed.” The Eastsmoke leader’s face was turning pale from his position inside the main palace as he watched this happen. “I’m the only one left. He won’t be able to enter. He can’t break the main palace’s barrier spells.”

Although he consoled himself by saying this, he was still filled with terror. Although the barrier was able to trap Ning, it wasn’t able to kill. If too much time passed, who knew what additional variables might enter the picture?

“Big brother.” The Eastsmoke leader waved his hand, causing a black message-talisman to appear. He gritted his teeth, then crushed it into tiny pieces.

“Big brother. You have to come save me.” The Eastsmoke leader could now sense how dangerous this foe was. At a time like this, his only option was to ask his big brother to come protect him. His big brother had always doted on him.

……

The main headquarters of the Bluegrace Sect.

The main headquarters was a vast place, stretching out to cover more than a hundred million kilometers. There were countless cultivators here, with more than three thousand World-level cultivators and innumerable Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. There were also four Daolords! The most powerful was of course Daolord Bluegrace himself, and he was an extremely famous and reputable figure within the Brightshore Kingdom.

Bang!

A figure suddenly soared into the skies, leaving a deep gorge that was completely shrouded in black mist. This figure was dressed in black robes, had a cold and grim face, and looked quite similar to World God Mystdragon, the branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch. Only, his aura was colder and darker.

“Mystdragon actually shattered the message-talisman I gave him? What sort of danger has he encountered?” Daolord Batdragon’s face was grim, but his eyes were filled with worry.

Him and Mystdragon were actual brothers.

It was extremely rare for a pair of fraternal brothers to be able to train together and reach such heights in cultivation. Batdragon had long ago lost all his other kinsmen, and his little brother was the only one left. In truth, Mystdragon wasn’t really strong enough to qualify for his current position, but since Daolord Batdragon gave him his full support he was able to become a branch leader.

Mystdragon. His one and only little brother.

“I’ll go right now.” Daolord Batdragon didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew out of the main headquarters and towards the Eastsmoke branch.

……

At the top of a mountain of the Eastsmoke branch.

Ning stood there, a group of thirty-four terrified World-level cultivators before him.

Of the thirty-four, sixteen had been using formations to attack Ning while eighteen were the Eastsmoke leader’s devoted followers. The eighteen were the ones who had been keeping tabs on the Flamefairy. Ning had captured them all.

“The eighteen of you obeyed the Eastsmoke branch leader’s orders and wished to slay my retainer and steal her treasures.

“The sixteen of you wished to slay me!”

Ning swept the thirty-four with his gaze. “Quite frankly, I should kill you all.”

The thirty-four were utterly terrified. When cultivators made the wrong enemy or chose the wrong master, they would often find themselves in mortal danger.

“However, I will give you two options. The first option is death! The second option is to immediately swear a lifeblood oath to be my slave.” Ning tossed out an oathstone. “The oath is right here. If you are willing to swear the oath, you’ll be able to stay alive.”

“Slave?”

The World-level cultivators had ugly looks on their faces. World Gods and Chaos Immortals had exalted statuses; how many of them would willingly become the slave of another?

The problem was, if they refused they would die! Ji Ning was simply too powerful, far more powerful than any World God had a right to be. To submit to him… it wasn’t completely unacceptable.

“This oath…”

“This is way too stringent…”

“B-but…”

When the thirty-four of them saw the oath, they were stunned.

Once they swore this oath, they would become absolute slaves who would have to serve Ning with utter devotion. In fact, they weren’t even permitted to lie to him! This was one of the most stringent oaths possible. The only thing that gave them hope was the clause that said they would regain their freedom after a thousand chaos cycles.

A thousand chaos cycles? This was an incredibly long period of time. How many cultivators would even be able to stay alive for that long?

Ning swept them with a glance. He had actually been planning on killing them all, but he had reconsidered as there was always a need for servants or slaves to take care of some minor matters that he simply didn’t have time for. In addition, when he was out adventuring there were some dangerous places he could use them to scout for him. If some of them were so lucky as to stay alive for a thousand chaos cycles, for him to release them then would be fine as well.

A thousand chaos cycles? Ning couldn’t even imagine what level of power he would have reached by then.

“Impossible.”

“One wrong step, and it all comes to nothing.” Several World-level cultivators raised their heads and sighed. Their truesouls immediately dissipated as they perished on the spot.

“I chose the wrong path. I’ll have to bear the consequences.”

“Forget it, forget it.”

In the end, a total of five of them chose suicide. Ning didn’t move to stop them.

The other twenty-nine chose to bow their heads and become Ning’s slaves. As they saw it, this incomparably terrifying World God would most likely become a Daolord in the future. They were willing to accept becoming the servants and slaves of a Daolord.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, accepting these twenty-nine World-level slaves.

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Chapter 57 – Daolord Batdragon

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 57 – Daolord Batdragon

World God Mystdragon, the branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch, continued to hide in the main palace of the Eastsmoke branch. He watched as all of this happened, and he felt no sympathy for them at all. Instead, he was celebrating. “Thank goodness the barriers protecting my main palace are much stronger. Although this white-robed kid is strong, he still can’t do a damn thing to me. Hmph! Soon, my big brother will arrive. By then… hpmh!”

World God Mystdragon felt tremendous confidence in his big brother.

Whoosh. Ning suddenly transformed into a streak of light, flying away from the mountain and once more charging towards the main palace.

“He’s coming back?” The Eastsmoke leader was badly frightened. “Why is he coming back? Does he have some even more powerful tricks up his sleeve?”

The Eastsmoke leader’s heart was filled with alarm. He knew that if he didn’t have these barriers and had to face Ning by himself, he probably wouldn’t be able to withstand even a single blow!

The Bluegrace Sect’s area of influence was quite large, as was its territory. Its nine branches were all located in nine different corners of its territory, and even someone like Daolord Batdragon who flew roughly twice as fast as the speed of light would need to fly for roughly an entire day before arriving.

World God Mystdragon had to hold on for at least a day. By when, his big brother the Daolord would arrive and he would be safe.

“Come out.”

Ning landed in front of the main palace as a crimson-black gourd appeared behind him. This was the Elementum Waterflame Gourd. The gourd immediately belched out the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning, and the two mighty streaks of Dao lightning immediately began to hammer down upon the barrier spells, shattering through the two outermost layers.

“I hope this breaks it.” Ning manifested three heads and six arms, once more wielding six Violetjewels as he began to furiously assault the main palace.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The main palace echoed with the sound of explosions.

Even though Ning now had the Dao lightning helping him, he was still only able to breach seven of the barriers. The eighth and final barrier remained unbroken, and it was the strongest barrier of all.

“You can’t break it.” The Eastsmoke leader laughed coldly as he saw this. “And you can forget about escaping.”

Ning, however, continued to rain down furious blows with his Eternal weapons. As for his Dao lightning, it was constantly replenished by the natural energy of Heaven and Earth and thus was also able to attack unabated.

“Let’s see how long he can keep attacking for. He has to be using up an enormous amount of divine power, but I’m using up very little Immortal energy in maintaining these protective barriers.” The Eastsmoke leader smiled coldly.

Two hours later. Ning was still furiously attacking, not having taken any break at all.

“What the hell is going on.” The Eastsmoke leader had an ugly look on his face. “He has to be using an insanely powerful divine ability to launch such powerful attacks. It has to be consuming a thousand times as much divine power as a normal strike would. How can he keep going for so long?”

It must be understood that the barriers themselves used up an incredible amount of energy after having been breached and repaired so many times. Although most of this energy came from chaos jewels and the extracted natural energy of the world, a small part of it did have to come from the controller of the formation. His Immortal energy was instrumental in keeping the barriers and the formations active.

After two hours, more than half of his Immortal energy had been used up!

“Let’s keep fighting then. I’ll be able to hold.” The Eastsmoke leader gritted his teeth. “I have plenty of chaos jewels. I’ll be able to fight for a long period of time if I use my chaos jewels to replenish my energy.”

He was the fraternal brother of a Daolord and a branch leader. He naturally had quite a few chaos jewels, and the main palace itself also had an emergency cache of chaos jewels to ensure that the formations would remain active.

In truth, Ning really was using up quite a bit of energy. Although the azureflower mist energy was being consumed fairly slowly, it was still being used up far faster than he could replenish it. If he continued launching maximum-power attacks like this, he would probably run dry on energy after six hours. However… the one thing which Ning absolutely did not lack for was treasures and chaos jewels. For the sake of being able to end this sooner, using up a few chaos jewels was more than worth it.

Four hours.

Six hours.

Eight hours.

Ning continued his furious attacks. Every so often, Ning would draw some of the chaos jewels into his Jindan chaos region and absorb the pure, distilled chaos energy from the chaos jewels. As for the Eastsmoke leader, he had naturally started to use chaos jewels well before Ning had.

“Mystdragon, I urge you to just withdraw the formation and let him leave.” Fairy Qingfan had already flown over to the main palace. In truth, she was feeling quite stunned at the fact that Ji Ning was able to maintain such a high intensity over such a long period of time. It must be understood that World Gods used up divine power at an alarming rate when they launched full-power attacks. Even if they tried to use chaos jewels to replenish their energy, it wouldn’t be enough.

There was a limit to how fast chaos jewels could be used to replenish energy. Ning used up energy at a very slow rate, which was why he was able to easily use chaos jewels to keep himself topped off.

For those who truly did rely on powerful divine abilities to fight, they’d usually run out of energy after a short battle. There was simply no way for chaos jewels to keep up with their energy expenditures.

“You traitor.” The Eastsmoke leader laughed coldly.

“This was all caused by your attempts at robbery. If you let him go, then this matter will be at an end,” Fairy Qingfan urged.

“At an end? Ahaha, he’s completely unable to breach the main palace. I’m using up almost no Immortal energy in keeping the barrier spells active. I’ll be able to keep going for an extremely long period of time thanks to my chaos jewels. Soon, my big brother will arrive and he’ll be in for a world of trouble.” How could the Eastsmoke leader be willing to give up at a time like this?

So what if the white-robed kid belonged to the Twelve Palaces? His big brother was a member of the Twelve Palaces as well, and a retainer to Daolord Bluegrace. The Eastsmoke leader didn’t feel any fear at all.

And if this kid wasn’t a member of the Twelve Palaces, his big brother could simply kill him!

“Big brother?” The furiously attacking Ning cast him a glance. By now, Ning had a belly full of fire. Anyone who had been forced to continuously launch full-force attacks for so long would have a belly full of fire.

“It wouldn’t mater even if his big brother is Daolord Bluegrace himself.” Ning was truly furious now.

……

“Mystdragon.” The black-robed Daolord Batdragon was flying through the clouds at high speed. His nervousness had caused a layer of bloody light to appear within his eyes. “You have to hang on, Mystdragon. Hang on until I arrive.” He couldn’t even imagine what sort of threat had caused his little brother to shatter the message-talisman and beg for rescue.

He needed a full day to fly from the main headquarters to the Eastsmoke branch. All sorts of things could happen within a day.

“I don’t care who it is, if someone kills my little brother… I, Batdragon, swear that I will pay any price, up to and including my very life itself, to take revenge.” The bloody light in Daolord Batdragon’s eyes grew even more ominous. The two of them had grown up together as children, then had together embarked upon the path of cultivation. They had even braved many life-and-death dangers together. The relationship between the two simply couldn’t be describe by the word ‘deep’ alone. Mystdragon had been the most important person in his life for countless eons. For the sake of his little brother, he truly was prepared and willing to give up life itself.

“Hold on. Wait for me.” Daolord Batdragon continued to fly forwards at high speed.

A full day and a full night later, Daolord Batdragon finally reached the Eastsmoke branch. Thus far the life-tablet of his little brother, which he carried with him at all times, was still intact. That meant that his little brother was still alive.

Whoosh. When Daolord Batdragon arrived at the grand restrictive formation, he immediately charged in while shouting loudly, “Let me in!”

“Big brother?” The Eastsmoke leader was instantly overjoyed. As controller of the formation, he was able to immediately create a small opening for the black-robed Daolord Batdragon to enter through.

The atmosphere in the branch instantly turned quite odd and eery.

Ning, Fairy Qingfan, and many other World Gods could all sense that something had just happened to the formation. They saw that black-robed figure fly in, and they could sense from the overwhelming aura radiating from him. This was indeed the aura of a Daolord.

“A Daolord arrived.”

“That’s Daolord Batdragon.”

“Our branch leader’s big brother has arrived. That invader will be in trouble now.”

The various World-level cultivators were all secretly chatting amongst themselves. As for Ning, he halted his wild attacks and turned to stare at the black-robed figuring making a beeline in his direction. This black-robed figure had quite a cold and sinister face which was very similar to the Eastsmoke leader’s appearance.

“Eh?” When the black-robed World God Batdragon saw Ning, he could immediately sense the ripples from a identity medallion of the Twelve Palaces.”

Daolord Batdragon flew into the main palace, and the barriers surrounding the palace all vanished. Clearly, the Eastsmoke leader held complete faith in his big brother.

“Hm.” When Daolord Batdragon saw his little brother, a quck and careful scan showed that he wasn’t injured at all.

“Big brother, this World-level cultivator barged into my Eastsmoke branch.” The Eastsmoke branch leader, World God Mystdragon, pointed at Ning as he howled furiously, “Not only did he kill a group of dozens of my World-level cultivators, he forcibly abducted and enslaved a second group. He wanted to kill me, big brother!”

All of the resentment he had felt was bubbling out now. With his big brother by his side, who did he have to fear?

WHAP!!!!

Daolord Batdragon suddenly struck out with his palm, delivering a vicious blow to the face of the Eastsmoke leader. The Eastsmoke leader’s face immediately twisted and distorted as he was sent flying into the walls of the main palace. BOOM! He collided so hard that the entire palace shook. The palace walls were now covered with blood as the Eastsmoke leader lay on the blood-soaked ground, his body twisted brutally.

The Eastsmoke leader raised his head to stare at his elder brother in disbelief.

“Why haven’t you apologized to this fellow Daoist yet!” Daolord Batdragon stared at him as he furiously roared out these words.

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Chapter 58 – Resolution

Book 26, World Level, Chapter 58 – Resolution

“Big brother.” The Eastsmoke leader had a befuddled look on his face as he stared at his elder brother. He was to lower his head and admit that he was in the wrong?

“I told you, apologize to this fellow Daoist immediately!” Rage blazed in Daolord Batdragon’s eyes. His voice was very deep, and he growled out one word at a time.

The Eastsmoke leader felt unhappy with this. So what if this white-robed kid really was a member of the Twelve Palaces? His big brother was a member as well. It was forbidden for members of the Twelve Palaces to kill each other; why should he apologize? But judging from the way in which Daolord Batdragon had just spoken, the Eastsmoke leader could sense that his big brother was truly upset this time. He had long ago grown accustomed to obeying his big brother in all things.

“I was in the wrong.” The Eastsmoke leader bowed his head towards Ning. “Please pardon me, fellow Daoist.”

“I am Batdragon.” Daolord Batdragon looked at Ning and spoke in a very courteous manner. “I knew that this good-for-nothing little brother of mine must have done something to offend you, fellow Daoist. I’m willing to offer you fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar in compensation. I hope that you can spare my little brother, fellow Daoist.” As he spoke, he produced a circular bracelet.

“This contains ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar and two Eternal weapons. The total value here is fifty thousand cubes. I hope you are willing to accept this, fellow Daoist.” As Daolord Batdragon spoke, the bracelet flew straight towards Ning.

Ning was stunned. An immediate apology, followed by fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar?

Ning knew that this person was a black-armored Daolord, one who had reached that level only thanks to a Pseudo Samsara Pill. The man wasn’t exactly wealthy. The fifty thousand cubes probably didn’t represent all of his wealth, but it definitely would sting.

Ning glanced at the bracelet, in no hurry to accept it.

This branch leader had first tried to kill Su Youji, then tried to kill Ning himself. Even though Ning had dominated so many World-level cultivators and nearly breached the main palace, the man had refused to bow his head and insisted on keeping the grand restrictive formation active, preventing Ning from leaving in the hopes that his big brother would arrive. By now, Ning had an extremely deep urge to kill. Was he supposed to just write it all off due to a small token of compensation?

Although Ning wasn’t able to do anything to the branch leader now that Daolord Batdragon was here, Ning wasn’t willing to accept the bracelet. Accepting it meant accepting that this matter was resolved.

The rage that had built up in Ning’s breast after a full day of combat was not going to be quenched so easily.

“Swear a lifeblood oath right now.” After delivering the bracelet, Daolord Batdragon turned to glare at the Eastsmoke leader. “Within a thousand years, you must travel to Hydragon Mountain and spend a hundred chaos cycles there as a miner. I can see that you’ve completely let being the Eastsmoke leader go to your head. You’ve completely forgotten the proper way to behave. Go mine and get your thoughts straight!”

“Mine for a hundred chaos cycles?” The Eastsmoke leader was instantly furious. “Big brother!” A look of rage and resentment was on his face.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? Swear the lifeblood oath right away!” Daolord Batdragon roared.

The Eastsmoke leader was furious as well. “Big brother, why should we be afraid of this brat? So what if he is a member of the Twelve-”

WHAP!!!!!

Daolord Batdragon delivered another heavy slap. This time, the Eastsmoke leader was injured even more heavily than last time. He was smashed into the nearby wall by this palm, completely staining it in his blood. The Eastbranch leader slowly slid down the wall. He stared at his big brother.

Daolord Batdragon, seeing the look on his face, instantly sent a furious mental message. “Do you think I would ever do anything to hurt you?!”

The Eastsmoke leader slowly began to come to his senses, but he truly didn’t understand. He sent back, “But big brother, why?! He’s just a World-level cultivator. Giving him fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar is already giving him more face than he deserves. And you are going to send me off to mine for a hundred chaos cycles? Mining in Hydragon Mountain is an extremely arduous, boring life. Although it is fairly safe, it will sometimes be dangerous.”

As the Eastsmoke branch leader, he knew a great deal about the legendary Hydragon Mountain.

Hydragon Mountain wasn’t located in the Brightshore Kingdom. It was one of the dangerous zones that was located elsewhere in the Endless Territories. However, the Brightshore Kingdom had taken complete control over it! Combat was forbidden within Hydragon Mountain, making it an extremely safe place, but Hydragon Mountain itself would occasionally give birth to some dangerous things and places. Even when that happened, the miners would still have to go mine. Thus, there were occasionally a few casualties, albeit extremely rare.

“And with you here, big brother, he’s not able to do a damn thing to me. You also belong to the Twelve Palaces!” The Eastsmoke leader sent mentally.

“You idiot.” Daolord Batdragon explained, “Yes, both of us are members of the Twelve Palaces, but… it isn’t the same.”

Daolord Batdragon looked at his little brother. “Look. I made my breakthrough because I used a Pseudo Samsara Pill. I’m a black-armored Daolord, the lowest-ranked type of Daolord in the Twelve Palaces.” Daolord Batdragon began to mentally explain some of the hidden secrets pertaining to the Twelve Palaces. “The Twelve Palaces have some truly horrifying Daolords who are so strong that many of the other organizations in the Endless Territories are terrified of them. Do you think they have the same level of status as me, someone who relied on a Pseudo Samsara Pill to become a Daolord of the First Step and who will never make any more advancements?”

“But he’s still not able to do anything to you, big brother.” The Eastsmoke leader was beginning to understand, but he remained a bit stubborn.

“Wrong.” Daolord Batdragon sent mentally, “You don’t get it. Members of the Twelve Palaces are forbidden from fighting amongst each other, but if an enormous grudge somehow results from something, palace members are generally expected to go through mediation first! If the mediation fails, then the result will be a duel to the death!”

“Ah!” The Eastsmoke leader instantly grew excited. He sent mentally, “Then he should be afraid of you, right? How could he be a match for you in a duel to the death?”

“Wrong again. I’m a black-armored Daolord who only reached this level due to a Pseudo Samsara Pill. How can I be qualified to force him into a duel to the death?” Daolord Batdragon sent mentally, “Generally speaking, the Palace Lords or Vice Palace Lords of the Twelve Palaces are the ones responsible for mediation. Do you think I would dare to reject what their ruling is? I have no future prospects and my position is low… but this Darknorth was given direct entry to the Twelve Palaces at the World level. His future prospects are unlimited! Once he makes his breakthrough, he will quickly reach the power level of a Daolord of the Second Step. In fact, he might become even stronger than that.”

Daolord Batdragon shook his head. “People like me generally end up was retainers to more powerful Daolords. All we are… are servants.” Daolord Batdragon sighed. “Little brother, you need to understand that in the Twelve Palaces, people like me are looked down upon due to having used Pseudo Samsara Pills. The only reason the other Daolords are somewhat courteous to me is because I am Daolord Bluegrace’s retainer, and they wish to give him face.”

“Ah?!” The Eastsmoke leader was amazed. He knew none of this, because his big brother rarely discussed matters pertaining to the Twelve Palaces with him.

“It makes sense. People like us will never make any more breakthroughs, which is why we chose to use Pseudo Samsara Pills. To then advance from the First Step to the Second Step as a Daolord? Absolutely impossible.” Daolord Batdragon sent mentally, “That’s why I wanted to try and resolve matters between you and him. Otherwise… even though he can’t kill you, once he becomes a Daolord he’ll have plenty of ways to deal with you.”

Daolord Batdragon suddenly asked, “Oh, right. What exactly is the problem between the two of you?”

“To be honest, it is because he has a retainer known as the Flamefairy…” The Eastsmoke leader didn’t dare to lie to his big brother. He honestly revealed the entire affair to him.

“You imbecile. He was actually able to use his godsense to crush the godsenses of more than three hundred World-level cultivators? Even the Twelve Palaces are rarely able to recruit World-level cultivators of such power. How could you possibly be so reckless as to offend a freak like him?” Daolord Batdragon was once again enraged by what he was hearing. “But let’s put that aside from now. He furiously attacked the formation and was able to break through seven of the eight barriers protecting the main palace. Given how strong he was, what you should’ve done was just cancel the restrictive formation and let him leave! But you insisted on forcing him to fight with you for a full day and night. Also… did he really attack for a full day and night without resting?”

“Yes. He didn’t rest at all.” The Eastsmoke leader was beginning to feel scared.

“He was able to attack at maximum power for that long?” Daolord Batdragon was growing angrier and angrier. “No wonder he’s emanating such a murderous aura! As soon as I arrived here, I could sense his desire to kill. When I offered him that bracelet, he didn’t accept it. Ugh! Ever since I became a Daolord and let you become the Eastsmoke leader, you became completely full of yourself! If you continue to act so rashly… even if you survive this time, you’ll have a very short life ahead of you!”

“I-I… what should I do?” The Eastsmoke leader looked at his big brother.

“My worry is that this Darknorth is a man who holds grudges,” Daolord Batdragon explains. “Swear a lifeblood oath right away that you’ll go to Hydragon Mountain. Hydragon Mountain is an important place to the Hegemon, as that’s where his mines are. No one will dare to attack you there. A hundred chaos cycles from now, this matter will be ancient history. If he still holds a grudge after a hundred chaos cycles, it’ll obviously be a problem with him. I would have an excuse to ask Daolord Bluegrace to intervene and help out.”

The Eastsmoke branch leader now completely understood. He now realized that even his big brother was nothing more than a small pawn in the Twelve Palaces. If this Darknorth was the vengeful type, he really would be in trouble in the future.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, I was in the wrong and let greed blacken my heart.” The Eastsmoke leader looked at Ning. He bowed respectfully, then immediately swore a solemn oath. “I swear on my very life itself that I, Mythdragon, will go to Hydragon Mountain within a thousand years. I will spend a hundred chaos cycles there as a miner in order to expiate my sins towards fellow Daoist Darknorth. If I violate this oath, let my truesoul shatter and let my Dao vanish.”

Ning was flabbergasted.

Actually, he wasn’t really worried about Daolord Batdragon as Ning himself already had the power of a black-armored Daolord. The two were already on par with each other, but Ning was merely at the World level.

Still… Ning understood that with Daolord Batdragon here, it would be extremely hard for Ning to do anything to the Eastsmoke leader. For the Daolord to offer a gift and an apology was one thing, but the branch leader was now swearing to spend a hundred chaos cycles mining at Hydragon Mountain? A hundred chaos cycles was an extremely long period of time. There were many cultivators who wouldn’t even live to be that old. Ning could sense that Daolord Batdragon truly did care about this little brother of his.

“Then let this matter come to an end.” Ning accepted the bracelet, in effect accepting the proposed resolution. “I won’t stay here any longer. Farewell.”

Ning immediately left the main palace.

Daolord Batdragon let out a sigh of relief as he watched Ning accept the bracelet and Ning. Finally, this matter had been included.

……

Outside the main palace. Ning looked at Fairy Qingfan.

“Fairy Qingfan.” Ning looked at her, then waved his hand and sent a message-talisman towards her.

Fairy Qingfan stared blankly at the message talisman.

“This matter has been concluded, and I trust Daolord Batdragon won’t pursue this matter any further. Still… if you encounter any problems in the future, you can shatter this talisman and I’ll immediately hasten to your side,” Ning said. Fairy Qingfan truly had helped the Flamefairy out this time.

“Alright.” Fairy Qingfan nodded as she slipped her fingers over the talisman.

Ning soared into the skies, transforming into a streak of light as he flew off into the distance. The grand restrictive formation had long ago been lifted, and Ning soon disappeared into the clouds in the horizon.

Fairy Qingfan watched as Ning left, her fingers unconsciously tightening over the talisman. She murmured to herself, “Just now, if I told him that I wished to become his retainer, he probably would’ve agreed, right? Perhaps my path of cultivation and my destiny would both completely change…”

The path of cultivation was a path which one would have to choose for one’s self. No one else could make these choices for you, and different choices would result in different results.

……

Daolord Batdragon stood at the entrance to the main palace, letting out a second sigh of relief upon seeing Ji Ning disappear. He then turned to stare at his little brother. He immediately said, “Hurry up and make your preparations. I’m going to send you away from this place today. You are going to Hydragon Mountain right now.”

“Today?” The Eastsmoke leader hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Alright. I’ll go make the preparations.” As he spoke, he immediately turned and left to gather his things.

Daolord Batdragon mused to himself, “This Darknorth fellow doesn’t look like the evil, backstabbing type. This matter probably has truly come to an end. Still…” Daolord Batdragon glanced in his little brother’s direction. “It is all for the best. Hydragon Mountain will help to temper his disposition. Still, it is true that the place can be dangerous sometimes. Mm… I’ll go and request to become one of the overseers. I’ll take care of him in secret.”

There were overseers who were charged with overseeing the mining operations in Hydragon Mountain. This sort of boring job was almost always carried out by black-robed Daolords. The stronger Daolords would all be out adventuring. None of them would be willing to do this job.

“But I have to help him out in secret. I can’t let him know.” Daolord Batdragon made his decision.

……

Now that the matter had been resolved, Ning and Su Youji began to advance in their flying vessel. They spent five months flying before finally reaching the Twelve Palaces.

“So beautiful.” Su Youji stared at the surroundings from within the flying vessel.

Ning stared off into the distance as well.

At the edges of the horizon, twelve enormous palaces could be seen hovering there in midair. In their center was a dim black cavern. Those twelve palaces were the actual Twelve Palaces. They looked quite close to each other, but in reality the palaces were all separated by many layers of space. They were actually many trillions of kilometers away from each other, but the almighty Hegemon was so powerful that he was able to make them look as though they were located right next to each other. Together, these Twelve Palaces formed the most supremely powerful formation the Brightshore Kingdom had to offer.

Even Eternal Emperors would not dare to enter the Twelve Palaces without permission.

“To the Sword Palace.” Ning laughed.

Swoosh.

The flying vessel quickly began to move towards the direction of the Palace of the Sword.

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Chapter 1 – Swordlord

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 1 – Swordlord

The Palace of the Sword was incredibly large. It was like an enormous island-continent that hovered in the air, filled with countless buildings and radiating a sword-aura that caused Ji Ning to feel speechless.

The Sword Palace had numerous black-armored Daolords on patrol outside of it.

“Fellow Daoist.” A black-armored Daolord sensed Ning’s medallion and immediately flew towards him, then said in a fairly courteous and modest manner, “Is this your first trip to the Sword Palace?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“My name is Fudan. Let me guide the way for you, fellow Daoist.” This black-armored Daolord was courteous to the point of being obsequious. He glanced at Su Youji. Seeing that Su Youji clearly wasn’t a member of the Sword Palace, he didn’t say much to her.

“I am Darknorth,” Ning said.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, you come to us with an identity medallion on your very first visit. Are you from the Astral Islands?” The black-armored Daolord asked while leading the way.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.”

“A new entrant into our Sword Palace from the Astral Islands. Junior apprentice-brother, you are incredible!” The black-armored Daolord laughed. By now, they had already reached a stone path that was three thousand meters wide. This path led straight towards the main gates of the Sword Palace. Right above the massive gates were two words that were written in a vigorous, bold manner: ‘Sword’ ‘Palace’!

These two words were overflying with so much sword-intent that it filled the entire Sword Palace, then soared upwards into the skies. Even the multiple layers of folded spacetime around the palace were unable to impede it.

Ning felt stunned upon seeing it. These two characters possessed such incredibly dense sword-intent that they could be described as the most terrifying example of calligraphy he had ever seen.

“These two words were left behind by the first Palace Lord of our Sword Palace, Emperor Windsnow,” the black-armored Daolord said. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, have you been informed about the rules one needs to follow in order to establish a new palace?”

“Establish a new palace?” NIng was puzzled. He truly had never heard of such a thing.

The black-armored Daolord Fudan explained, “Long, long ago, the almighty Hegemon established the Brightshore Kingdom and put tremendous time and effort into cultivating his Daolords. Back then, the Twelve Palaces didn’t exist. As the almighty Hegemon put it, one had to be strong enough to be the equal of an Eternal Emperor before one could set up a new palace of one’s own.”

The black-armored Daolord continued, “Emperor Windsnow was the earliest of the major powers of the Brightshore Kingdom. Back when he was merely a Daolord, he was already an utterly dazzling figure who was more than strong enough to match an Eternal Emperor in might. He established the Sword Palace and became its first Palace Lord. Later on, he succeeded in his Daomerge and became an Eternal Emperor, at which point he rewrote the words ‘Sword Palace’ that hung above the palace gates. As the Emperor once said… those two characters contain the essence of the Dao of the Sword which he used to gain eternity.”

Ning nodded slowly.

As more time had passed, more palaces had arisen. By now, the Brightshore Kingdom had a total of twelve palaces.

There eventually were quite a few cultivators who were a match for Eternal Emperors or even capable of slaying them! However, these current twelve palaces encompassed the vast majority of cultivation paths, and thus it had been an extremely long time since a new palace had been established. Ning was a good example. His path was that of the Dao of the Sword, and thus even if he became an Eternal Emperor in the future he would belong to the Sword Palace. There was no need and no point to establishing a new palace.

“That is the Dao of the Sword he used to gain eternity?” Ning raised his head to stare at those characters.

“I don’t understand it,” Su Youji murmured softly.

“Neither do I.” Ning laughed. “The intent and will which this Dao of the Sword embodies isn’t for people like us to comprehend. The difference between it and us is simply too great. Perhaps when we become Daolords of the Third Step or Daolords of the Fourth Step, we can come back and scrutinize the secrets it holds.”

The three continued to advance as they chatted and laughed.

This wide stone path had quite a few other cultivators traversing it as well, all of whom were World-level cultivators. Although they were quite spread out, the path was so long and so wide that Ning estimated that he had seen at least ten thousand people.

“Why?”

“Why did I fail yet again? A hundred chaos cycles, only to fail yet again… ahahaha…”

Wild laughter rang out from afar from a cultivator who seemed to be laughing with tears or crying with laughter. He seemed utterly mad.

“Who is this?” Ning was puzzled.

Daolord Fudan shook his head. “These are all World-level cultivators who seek to pass the trials for joining the Sword Palace. Aside from those like yourself who are given formal invitations, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, cultivators who wish to join us generally have to undergo multiple layers of trials. All of them are here training, and once they reach a certain level of power they will try out the trials. Alas! Ignore them. After enough time passes, most of them realize that they have no hopes of entering and will leave on their own.”

Ning nodded slowly.

“This path into the palace is known as Sword Road,” Daolord Fudan said. “Aside from those who are taking part in the various trials, most of the visiting World-level cultivators spend their time here on Sword Road. They are forbidden from entering any other part of the Sword Palace.”

They continued to walk forwards through Sword Road. Sword Road was ten thousand kilometers long, and they saw many World-level cultivators along the way. When these cultivators saw Ning, many found it difficult to disguise the envy they felt. For a black-armored Daolord to treat Ning with such courtesy and deference meant that he had to be a formal member of the Sword Palace.

Boom!

Bang!

Explosions suddenly rang out from afar.

Ning glanced over with surprise. “Is that a duel?” Upon closer examination, he saw that a red-haired man wielding a greatsword was battling an opponent with six arms. The red-haired man had tousled hair and was standing there in a relaxed fashion as he launched his attacks, while his opponent was fighting back at maximum power with many magic treasures.

Alas, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. The second person was completely unable to do anything to the red-haired man, but with each strike the red-haired man was able to cause the space around him to oscillate in a manner reminiscent of a beautiful song. Although he was able to force his opponent back repeatedly, his opponent wasn’t injured either.

Ning’s face turned pale as he watched. What terrifying sword-arts. These sword-arts… they were definitely superior to his own! In the Astral Islands, most likely only Bertulu was at a higher level of skill than this man.

“Haha, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire is dueling,” Daolord Fudan said.

“Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire?” Ning was puzzled. Fudan was a Daolord. No matter how badass the red-haired man was, he was still just at the World level. Fudan addressed Ning as ‘junior apprentice-brother’, but addressed this man as ‘senior apprentice-brother Wildfire’?

“Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire is one of the six mighty Swordlords of our Sword Palace,” Daolord Fudan immediately explained.

“Six Swordlords? They are all World-level cultivators, right?” Ning was puzzled.

“The Sword Palace has a total of more than a hundred Samsara Daolords and more than two hundred World-level cultivators,” Daolord Fudan said. “The two hundred-plus World-level cultivators were accumulated over the course of many years. They represent the most powerful experts of the Dao of the Sword which the Brightshore Kingdom has managed to recruit.”

The Brightshore Kingdom was a top-tier power that was on par with the Dao Alliance. Only the most dazzlingly, outstandingly talented World-level sword practitioners were able to join it, and only around two hundred had been granted entry.

“Of these two hundred, only the ones who are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas are given the title of Swordlord,” Daolord Fudan said. “There are more than two hundred World-level cultivators but just six Swordlords. Although they are merely at the World level, the Sword Palace treats them as they would Daolords. This is because they are generally capable of killing some weaker Daolords of the First Step.”

“Kill Daolords of the First Step?” Ning stared in amazement at the relaxed-looking red-haired man.

A World-level cultivator who could kill a Daolord of the First Step?

Being ‘able to fight’ someone and being ‘able to kill’ someone… these were two completely different concepts.

In the Astral Islands, perhaps only Bertulu in his true form would be capable of killing a Daolord of the First Step. But the Sword Palace actually had six individuals capable of this?

“They could’ve broken through to become Samsara Daolords long ago, but they refused to do so because their sword-arts are still improving.” Daolord Fudan sighed. “Each of them are working on perfecting their sword-arts. They wish to perfect those sword-arts to the absolute maximum possible level before they become Daolords. After all, the more perfect one’s Dao of the Sword is, the stronger one will be as a Daolord.”

Ning nodded.

Bertulu was a good example of someone who was at such a high level of insight that even without revealing his true form, he was capable of dominating Ning with his two warhammers. Given his profound insights, once he became a Daolord, he would probably be able to match Daolords of the Third Step! Clearly, the six supremely talented Swordlords of the Sword Palace were all people of great ambition.

“My sword-arts are not even enough for me to become a Daolord. This ‘senior apprentice-brother Wildfire’, however, could’ve used his sword-arts to become a Daolord long ago… and he’s only gotten even better since then.” Ning was stunned. “No wonder his sword-arts are so much better than mine.”

“Next!”

Suddenly, the red-haired man’s greatsword suddenly swept out. Boom! Even before it had touched his opponent, invisible layers of spatial energy crashed out and swept his opponent away, sending him flying multiple kilometers.

“Thank you for your guidance, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire.” His opponent hurriedly spoke out to express his thanks. Actually, he had yet to pass the trials of the Sword Palace; for him to address Wildfire as ‘senior apprentice-brother’ was a show of shamelessness, but that was how most of the other World-level cultivators acted as well.

“Please give me some guidance, senior apprentice-brother.” Yet another World-level cultivator stepped forward, then began to use all the techniques he had available to fight Wildfire.

“He’s able to effortlessly crush them with a casual blow.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. “He is like an old man instructing children. They are all at the World level, and his challengers are extraordinarily strong cultivators who wield Eternal weapons and are comparable to supreme World Gods, but they seem to be absolutely nothing before his might.”

“The Sword Palace has built up tremendous power over the years.” The nearby Daolord Fudan laughed. “Once you enter the Sword Palace, you’ll need to start improving your own skills as well. Still, to reach senior apprentice-brother Wildfire’s level will be very difficult. After all, there are over two hundred World-level cultivators in the Sword Palace, but only six have been given the title of ‘Swordlord’.”

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Chapter 2 – A Holy Place for Sword Cultivators

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 2 – A Holy Place for Sword Cultivators

Ji Ning led Su Youji forwards alongside him as Daolord Fudan continued to introduce the people and places within the Sword Palace.

Boom!

The red-haired man sent his opponent flying with a single sword-strike. His gaze then fell upon Ji Ning, and his eyes instantly lit up. He laughed loudly, “Is this a new junior apprentice-brother of ours?”

“I am Darknorth. Greetings, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire,” Ning said.

“That explains it. I’ve sparred with and recognize everyone in our Sword Palace.” The red-haired man let out a loud, clear laugh. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, since you are a new arrival I won’t disturb you, but in two days I’m going to go find you and have a little competition with you. I trust you won’t decline?”

“I’d be delighted to accept,” Ning said modestly.

“Mm. Go, go. We can chat later,” the red-haired man said.

Ning nodded.

As they moved past the red-haired man, Daolord Fudan said in a low voice, “Of the six exalted Swordlords, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire is the most heroic and straightforward. He loves to duel other cultivators and won’t look down upon weak ones. He’s a person who is easy to make friends with, and is much more approachable than many of the other World-level cultivators of the Sword Palace.”

Ning laughed. He could sense how friendly and relaxed this senior apprentice-brother Wildfire was.

A sword cultivator who was capable of breaking through to become a Samsara Daolord at any time would have a clear understanding of his own nature, be it good or bad, honorable or dishonorable. Wildfire clearly was an extremely friendly and straightforward man, and his sword was similarly a sword that crushed all before it in an open and aboveboard manner.

“We are going to go to the Ancient Library next. It is right up ahead.” Daolord Fudan pointed towards a large, ancient-looking hall that was made of wood that was beginning to turn yellow with age. The entire ancient hall took up many kilometers, and just by looking at it Ning could sense the power of its aura.

“The Ancient Library was built alongside the Sword Palace itself. It has been around for an extremely, extremely long period of time,” Daolord Fudan explained.

“Eh?” Ning stared at it in amazement.

The Ancient Library had quite a few black-armored Daolords around it. Some were seated in the lotus position on the ground, some were relaxing and drinking wine, some were training with their swords. There were over a hundred of the present.

“Senior apprentice-brother Fudan.” Ning was puzzled. “On the way over, I saw quite a few black-armored Daolords. If we include in the ones before us, I’ve seen more than two hundred. But you told me that the entire Sword Palace only has a hundred Samsara Daolords…”

Daolord Fudan paused, a mixed look appearing on his face. “Let me explain.” He let out a sigh. “In the Sword Palace, all cultivators are like brothers. There’s not much of a difference in terms of status between us. World-level cultivators who run into Verge-level Daolords will simply address them as ‘senior apprentice-brother’.”

Ning nodded.

The Sword Palace was a place where elite sword cultivators gathered. Everyone treated everyone else in a fairly equal manner.

“But there’s still some differences, despite the overall equality,” Daolord Fudan said. “The cultivators in the Sword Palace are generally divided into two different types.”

“The first type consists of those who relied on themselves and their own insights to become Samsara Daolords! The six Swordlords are categorized along with them, even though they aren’t actually Samsara Daolords, because they can break through whenever they wish and possess tremendous potential. Once they break through, they will be far stronger than most Daolords of the First Step. This is why even Samsara Daolords treat these Swordlords as equals.

“The second type consists of the other World-level cultivators as well as black-armored Daolords like us.

“In the end, World-level cultivators are still just cultivators who have a chance of breaking through to become Daolords. They naturally have a somewhat lower status. As for us black-armored Daolords, all of us reached this level through using Pseudo Samsara Pills. We will forever remain at the First Step and have no hope of improving any further. There are even some freakishly strong World-level cultivators who are even stronger than us.” Daolord Fudan shook his head. “Some Samsara Daolords view us as the lowest of the low. They’d rather show kindness to World-level cultivators with potential than show us any real respect.”

Ning was silent. He could sense the sadness emanating from Daolord Fudan.

“In the Sword Palace, there are actually a total of more than 2300 black-armored Daolords,” Daolord Fudan said softly. “There are many more of them than there are World-level cultivators. There were quite a few people in the Brightshore Kingdom who become Daolords through using those pills, after all, and the almighty Hegemon has ordered that all Daolords must join the Twelve Palaces. This is why the Twelve Palaces has so many black-armored Daolords.”

Ning finally understood. The Sword Palace had more than two thousand black-armored Daolords, but just two hundred World-level cultivators and around a hundred ‘real’ Samsara Daolords. Given that they were fairly weak and had no prospects for future advancement, it wasn’t surprising that they had low statuses.

“Most of the black-armored Daolords are outside the Sword Palace, with just over five hundred staying inside of it,” Daolord Fudan said. “Although they are treated with some disdain, they still choose to remain within the Sword Palace because there, we will have a better chance to improve than we would anywhere else. Power depends on more factors than just enlightenment. Different sword-arts can also result in different levels of power, as do divine abilities and secret arts.”

Ning nodded. The [Novessence Thunder] was a great example of a very powerful secret art.

“They have a chance of earning those things in the Sword Palace, which is why so many remain within it,” Daolord Fudan said. “Come. I’ll take you to the Ancient Library for a look.”

They arrived at the Ancient Library.

“Is this a newcomer? You can come in. The one behind you cannot.” The two black-armored Daolords standing guard in front of the library looked at Ning.

Ning turned to glance at Su Youji, who was following him from behind.

“Youji, wait for me here,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Although Su Youji was quite curious, she didn’t really care because the Sword Palace was for those who walked the Dao of the Sword. For now, her path was the path of Feixian the Exalted. She was focusing on the path of charm and control, a completely different path from the Dao of the Sword.

Although the wooden floor and walls were protected by powerful formations, the unfeeling power of time had left its mark on them as well.

The ancient hall was incredibly large, and it was completely filled with bookshelves as far as the eye could see. Every single bookshelf was filled with many jade slips and scrolls.

“Eh?” Ning casually picked up a jade slip and sent his godsense into it. He immediately realized that it was filled with a large amount of information, and he accepted the information as it flowed into him.

“What a powerful sword-art.” Ning was rather shocked. This was a sword-art of tremendous power. In fact, it was just as strong as the [Nameless] sword-art. Alas, it was fragmentary and incomplete.

NIng couldn’t help but spend a bit of time reading through it before finally putting it back down.

“Don’t be impatient, junior apprentice-brother.” Only now did Daolord Fudan speak. “These sword-arts have been passed down since the most ancient of times. Some were left here by the almighty Hegemon while some were accumulated or created by the Sword Palace’s members over the course of countless years. In fact, when the other eleven palaces acquire new sword-arts they will often send them to us. We have tens of millions of sword-arts placed here, all of which are at least at the Daolord level.”

“Tens of millions of scrolls?” Ning was speechless.

“The problem is, 99% of them are fragmentary and incomplete,” Daolord Fudan said. “The ones on these bookshelves here are all fragmentary. The ones placed on the tables at the very front are all complete, with teachings that will guide you from the early stages to the late stages. That way, you can slowly train in them step by step. The tables have over five hundred thousand techniques.”

Tens of millions of incomplete techniques?

More than five hundred thousand complete techniques?

“Some of these sword-arts are strong, some are weak. Some were left behind by Eternal Emperors, while some were acquired by the almighty Hegemon by happenstance and possess incalculable power.” Daolord Fudan smiled.

“Are there any limitations or restrictions on learning these sword-arts?” Ning was worried.

“None.” Daolord Fudan sighed with emotion. “Any member of the Sword Palace is permitted to freely study any of the scrolls and slips here.”

Ning sighed in amazement as well.

As he walked through the Ancient Library and saw the many jade slips that had been placed here for countless chaos cycles, he couldn’t help but occasionally reach out to grab a scroll to take a look. Even the fragmentary ones were incredibly profound. If he was to give them to the Fogstone Dominion, they would be treated as supreme techniques.

Any technique placed within the Ancient Library of the Sword Palace had to be at least at the Daolord level.

“Simply incredible.” Ning sighed with amazement. He even saw a silver-armored Daolord seated in the lotus position, silently meditating on a sword-art.

“There are simply too many sword-arts here,” Daolord Fudan said. “Some of them, especially profound ones such as the ones left behind by Eternal Emperors, will take countless years to learn. There are so many sword-arts here that no one can truly learn them all. They will at most flip through some and try to gain some experience.”

Ning was incredibly excited. His Dao of the Sword required him to understand the true essence of the sword by analyzing and dissecting many different sword-arts. This place was an absolute treasure trove for him.

“The Ancient Library is actually considered a fairly ‘ordinary’ place here in the Sword Palace.” Daolord Fudan let out a secretive smile. “It doesn’t even rank as one of the top three places here in the Sword Palace.”

“Ah?!” Ning was stunned.

As Ning saw it, the Ancient Library was already sacred grounds for those who trained in the sword. And yet, it didn’t even rank as one of the top three places in the Sword Palace?

“Come. I’ll take you to another place,” Daolord Fudan said. “You’ll understand once you get there.”

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Chapter 3 – The Forest of Sword Pagodas

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 3 – The Forest of Sword Pagodas

Ji Ning and Su Youji followed Daolord Fudan in flying through a mountainous forest grove.

Every so often, one would be able to see the residences of cultivators spread out throughout the mountains. Daolord Fudan suddenly pointed off into the distance towards a distant valley. “That place is known as Armaments Gorge. That’s another one of the very important places in the Sword Palace. It is just as important as the Ancient Library.”

“Armaments Gorge?” Ning stared off into the distance, as did the nearby Su Youji. None of this really had anything to do with her, but it was a chance for her to learn a few things.

Distant buildings could be seen hidden throughout the gorge, with some located deep in the very bottom.

“Armaments Gorge is filled with many weapons, magic treasures, and unique artifacts,” Daolord Fudan said. “The weapons here are primarily swords of all shapes and sizes, but there are also many types of other magic treasures, including pills. All treasures are stored here.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. All treasures were stored here? Would perhaps Mirrorsnow Paintings be stored here as well?

“What must be done if I wish to acquire some of those treasures?” Ning said.

“The treasures inside Armaments Gorge were accumulated by the Sword Palace over the course of countless years. They cannot be taken away without paying a cost,” Daolord Fudan said. “If everyone just took away treasures as they pleased, the gorge would soon be completely emptied. When you are free, you can go and take a look. The Armaments Gorge has certain rules that govern it. Still, in the outside world, many of these treasures are completely unobtainable no matter what price you are willing to pay. At least they are available in the Armaments Gorge.”

Ning nodded. The more valuable a treasure was, the harder it would be to acquire it. Daolord Solesky had been willing to risk his own life and pay a heavy price in order to get Daolord Badlands to help him in his quest to obtain a certain treasure. It seemed as though the Armaments Gorge had many priceless treasures within it.

“The Ancient Library is filled with sword-arts, while this place is filled with treasures.” Ning nodded. These two places truly were on par with each other.

“Next, I shall take you to the third-most important place we have.” Daolord Fudan continued to fly forwards, leading Ning higher and higher into the skies.

“Look over there.” Daolord Fudan pointed at the tallest building in the entire Sword Palace. It was a strangely shaped building that was shaped like a towering pillar of cloud layers. Each layer was thirty thousand meters tall. The first layer was formed of black clouds, the second layer was formed of azure clouds, the third layer was formed of silvery-white clouds, and the highest layer was formed from golden clouds.

The four layers of clouds came together to form this towering edifice that was at the heart of the entire Sword Palace.

“This is the Daolord Cloudworld.” Daolord Fudan sighed. “This is one of the most important places in the entire Sword Palace, ranking within the top three.”

“What is it for?” Ning was puzzled.

“The Daolord Cloudworld is filled with many powerful golem opponents, and more than 90% of them wield swords. They will use different types of sword-arts, with the strongest ones being comparable to the sword-arts used by Daolords of the Third Step.” Daolord Fudan sighed. “Sword cultivators need combat more than anything else, and battles against other supremely skilled swordsmen help more than anything else.”

Ning absolutely agreed with this comment. One of the reasons why his sword-arts had improved so quickly was because he had been able to duel those three powerful swordsmen within the three Mirrorsnow Paintings. That had been of tremendous benefit to him.

“When you battle against other supremely skilled swordsmen, not only will you have a chance to discover the flaws in your own sword-arts, you’ll also learn from the sword-arts they used.” Daolord Fudan sighed. “However, battling against such powerful swordsmen in the outside world carries the risk of death. In the Daolord Cloudworld, however, you won’t be at any risk of dying. The Daolord Cloudworld has many golems because the entire Sword Palace has put tremendous resources into it over the course of countless years. That’s why it has so many golems of such incredible power.”

Ning nodded. There were quite a few cultivators who had sword-arts on the level of most Daolords of the Third Step, but creating a golem that possessed the same level of sword-arts would carry a tremendous price that even Eternal Emperors would feel pain upon paying. Generally speaking, powerful golems relied on using overwhelming speed and power, with their weakness being their insights into the Dao. This was even true for golems who could battle Verge-level Daolords.

Golems weren’t cultivators, after all. They were innately weak in this respect.

“There are many powerful expert swordsmen there who all use different types of sword-arts, some of which are comparable to Daolords of the Third Step.” Daolord Fudan sighed. “Which cultivator of the sword wouldn’t dream of gaining access to such a place as we have here in the Palace of the Sword?”

Ning was growing even more excited. No wonder the Sword Palace was able to give birth to six freakishly strong World-level cultivators like the six Swordlords!

“And there’s more! Remember, the Daolord Cloudworld has a total of four layers,” Daolord Fudan said. “The Blackcloud World is the first layer; if you overcome it, you will be awarded a set of black armor. This black armor is merely a top-grade Dao armor. The Azurecloud World is the second layer, and if you overcome it you’ll be given azure armor. The Silvercloud World is the third layer, and if you overcome it you’ll be awarded silver armor. The highest layer is the Goldcloud World, and if you overcome it you will be awarded golden armor. The azure armor, silver armor, and gold armor are all Eternal treasures of different levels of power. The suits of golden armor are top-grade Eternal treasures, and they possess many marvelous properties.

“Being able to acquire the black armor means you have reached the threshold of a Daolord of the First Step.

“Being able to acquire the azure armor means you have reached the threshold of a Daolord of the Second Step.

“Silver armor is for those who have reached the threshold of Daolords of the Third Step.

“Golden armor belongs to those who have reached the threshold for Daolords of the Fourth Step.”

Daolord Fudan explained the stages one by one.

Ning nodded. ‘Reached the threshold’ simply meant that you were at the minimum level of power for that level. When Ning had first broken through to the World-level, he had reached the threshold of a Daolord of the First Step. As for right now? He was comparable to an average Daolord of the First Step.

“In the Sword Palace, we have eight World-level cultivators who have won azure armor,” Daolord Fudan said softly.

“What?” Ning was shocked.

Although he was fairly powerful, he didn’t think he had reached the threshold of a Daolord of the Second Step. But the Sword Palace had eight such figures?

“Five of them are special lifeforms while three of them were cultivators, but even the cultivators have freakishly powerful divine abilities or secret arts,” Daolord Fudan explained. “In challenging the Daolord Cloudworld, you can use all abilities and techniques that you have available, such as divine abilities and secret arts. But of course, you can’t use certain single-use treasures, Dao-seals, bugbeasts, golems, or other similar treasures.”

“Don’t be too surprised. Divine abilities and secrets are can be tremendously powerful,” Daolord Fudan said. “I’ll take you to another place now.”

Daolord Fudan led him to a bamboo hall erected at the peak of a mountain which was wreathed in clouds and mist.

“This is the Pavilion of Mysteries.” Daolord Fudan pointed at the bamboo hall. “It is filled with many divine abilities, secret arts, and a few legacies left behind by ancient powers of the Dao of the Sword. Divine abilities can increase your strength a hundredfold, while secret arts are even more difficult to gauge. The strongest secret arts can unleash utterly terrifying levels of power,” Daolord Fudan said.

Ning nodded. His own [Novessence Thunder] technique was classified as a secret art! Certain incredibly powerful secret arts truly could allow the wielder to challenge cultivators who were at a higher level of power. If some of the freakishly strong World-level cultivators like Kilostar gained access to some of the terrifyingly strong secret arts or treasures the Twelve Palaces had to offer, it was entirely possible that he would be able to battle his way through the second layer of the Daolord Cloudworld and earn the azure armor.

However, if you had merely reached the threshold of the Second Step as a Daolord, you would probably be defeated in one blow by a true Daolord of the Second Step. Still, you would probably be strong enough to kill most Daolords of the First Step.

“Many of the divine abilities and secret arts stored in this place were left behind by Daolords who were comparable to Eternal Emperors in might. Some were left behind by actual Eternal Emperors. The same is true for the full legacies,” Daolord Fudan said. “However, the full legacies are fewer in number.”

Ning nodded.

Legacies were completely different from the sword-arts held within the Ancient Library.

To have a legacy was to essentially have a master. Not only did a legacy include many sword-arts and detailed instructions on learning them, it would often include a detailed analysis and explanation of every single stance from the Daolord who had left the legacy behind. To have a Samsara Daolord guide you step by step on your path… true legacies were thousands of times more valuable than mere sword-arts.

Take the [Nameless] sword-art which World God Northrest had transmitted to Ning. Its first five stances all had their own sword-intents, but Northrest himself had never learned the sixth or seventh stance. All he had been able to do was to leave behind a record of the stances.

This was the flaw of the Ancient Library. Its sword-arts consisted of nothing more than movements and techniques; there was no sword-intent for the cultivator to attune to.

“Every newcomer is permitted to choose a single thing from the Pavilion of Mysteries,” Daolord Fudan said. “The Daolord Cloudworld and the Pavilion of Mysteries are two of the top three sacred areas here in the Sword Palace. Now… I am going to take you to the most important place of all, the indisputably most sacred place.”

They continued to fly forwards, moving towards the very rear of the Sword Palace.

“There. Right there.” Daolord Fudan pointed off into the distance, towards a place which was covered in darkness. The black earth was filled with erect towers, and the towers filled the landscape like a forest or like a sea. Every single tower emanated an aura of incredible sword-intent which filled the entire region.

A million chaos cycles or even longer might go by… but the sword-intent here would never dissipate.

“Ever since the Sword Palace was established, every single person whose sword-arts are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas shall leave behind a Sword Pagoda of his own,” Daolord Fudan said softly. “To be acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, you have to at least reach the level of the six Swordlords. Over the course of countless years, every single true Samsara Daolord or Eternal Emperor has left behind a Sword Pagoda that belongs to them. Every single Sword Pagoda holds the sword-arts they learned and developed. They personally recorded those sword-arts down and left them here, infusing their pagoda with their sword-intent.

“Countless Daolords have died since the Sword Palace was founded, and even Eternal Emperors have disappeared into the endless darkness as they went out exploring parts unknown. Their Sword Pagodas, however, have been kept safe.

“There are a total of 83612 Sword Pagodas here!

“This place represents the greatest wealth, the greatest fortune the Sword Palace possesses. This is the most sacred place in the entire palace.” A look of awe and veneration was in Daolord Fudan’s eyes.

Ning could sense that the sword-intents here were incredibly ancient, having existed for countless chaos cycles. In fact, some of the sword-intents were absolutely lawless and dominating. These sword-intents had all been left behind by some of the most supremely talented cultivators of the Endless Territories, many of whom were capable of battling Eternal Emperors or actually were Eternal Emperors. All of them had been gathered here… and every single Sword Pagoda represented an ancient power.

Samsara Daolords. With each step they took, they walked the tightrope which existed between life and death. Daolords had to eventually succeed in the Daomerge, as they would otherwise die one day. Some of the earliest Daolords had already perished, but their sword-arts and their sword-intents had been left behind and would forever exist.

“The most sacred place of the Sword Palace… the Forest of Sword Pagodas.” Daolord Fudan’s voice was trembling slightly. He dreamed of one day being able to leave behind a Sword Pagoda of his own… but alas, his sword-arts were not good enough.

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Chapter 4 – Palace Lord Woodflower

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 4 – Palace Lord Woodflower

Ji Ning stared off into the distance, where he could vaguely see quite a few figures seated in the lotus position within those ancient, enormous Sword Pagodas.

“All members of the Sword Palace are permitted to come here and meditate,” Daolord Fudan said. “Even we black-armored Daolords are permitted.”

“I’m going to take a look.” Ning walked forwards.

The Sword Pagodas were tall and erect, with each emanating a completely different sword-intent. It was as though mighty sword practitioners were standing right next to Ning! As Ning walked through the ancient Forest of Sword Pagodas, he felt as though he was walking through a sea of time. As Ning stared at the mighty sword-arts and sword-intents which the ancient powers had left behind, he couldn’t help but feel utterly stunned.

These were his predecessors, ancient masters of the Dao of the Sword.

The Sword Pagodas had more than just sword-arts. Many also had a few tiny words carved into them.

Ning’s gaze turned towards one particular Sword Pagoda. The sword-arts inscribed within this Sword Pagoda were quite similar to his own [Nameless] sword-art. They belonged to the same general style of swordsmanship, and they were similarly exalted and profound. As for the sword-intent, it was awe-inspiringly profound and seemed to encompass all things.

Daolord Everstarter. After joining our Sword Palace, he received the acknowledgment of the Sword Pagodas while still at the World level and became one of our Swordlords. He had a modest disposition and liked to teach his juniors and those weaker than him. He treated the Sword Palace as his home and rarely went out adventuring. Silently and without any fanfare, he reached the Fourth Step as a Daolord. However, because the Ancient cultivators went too far in their actions, Daolord Everstarter ventured forth all by himself and unvealed his utterly terrifying sword-arts, defeating three other Verge-level Daolords who were Ancient cultivators. In fact, he even defeated an Ancient cultivator who was an Eternal Emperor.”

“This battle brought him tremendous fame, and he became acknowledged as the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories in his time. Afterwards, as he prepared for his Daomerge, he began to travel to many different places. Ever since then, we have received no word of him. We do not know if he is alive or dead.

Ning was speechless.

This Daolord defeated an Eternal Emperor who was an Ancient cultivator?

Ning knew very little about the Ancient cultivators. All he knew was that they were incredibly, terrifyingly powerful. Only the most supreme of special lifeforms were comparable to Ancient cultivators. Eternal Emperors who were Ancient cultivators were definitely far more powerful than ordinary Eternal Emperors. A Daolord had actually defeated one of them? No wonder he was publicly acclaimed as the number one Daolord in his time.

This feat was far more impressive than Daolord Allgod’s feat of attacking and pursuing Emperor Melobo.

“No one knows if Daolord Everstarter is still alive or not.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Ning was startled. Someone had appeared behind him without him even noticing?

He hurriedly turned and looked backwards, only to see that a golden-armored, tousled-hair, and rather decadent-looking man had appeared behind him.

“Greetings, senior apprentice-brother.” Upon seeing the suit of golden armor, Ning immediately addressed the man with respect.

There were no ‘masters’ or ‘apprentices’ here in the Sword Palace, only brothers and sisters.

At this moment, Daolord Fudan hurriedly ran over and said with great respect, “Greetings, Lord Woodflower.”

“Lord?” Ning was stunned.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, Daolord Woodflower is a Vice Palace Lord of our Sword Palace.” Daolord Fudan sent a hurried mental message to Ning.

Although Ning didn’t know the names of the various Daolords in the Sword Palace, he knew the general rules of the Twelve Palaces. The strongest member in every single palace was given the title of Palace Lord. Vice Palace Lords were the next most powerful! But of course, there were exceptions such as the Palace of Radiance, which had two powerful Daolords who were roughly on par with each other, which was why both were referred to as Palace Lord. Thus, the Radiant Palace had two Palace Lords.

Generally speaking, Palace Lords and Vice Palace Lords had the power to battle against Eternal Emperors. This was especially true in a place like the Sword Palace, which focused on combat.

“Greetings, Palace Lord,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Simply address me as senior apprentice-brother Woodflower.” The decadent-looking man chuckled. “I watched the battle between you and Bertulu. You aren’t bad at all. Actually, your sword-arts are quite similar to those of Daolord Everstarter. If he is still alive, he should be an Eternal Emperor by now. Given how strong he was as a Daolord, as an Eternal Emperor he would probably be alive to this very day and might be willing to give you some personal pointers.”

Ning nodded.

A Daolord who was able to defeat an Eternal Emperor of the Ancients and who was acknowledged as the undisputed number one Daolord of the Endless Territories of his time… if he was to become an Eternal Emperor, killing him would be almost impossible.

“Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower,” Ning said hurriedly, “Can it be that he doesn’t have an avatar here? Why is it that we don’t know if he is alive or not?”

When Ning had entered Undermoon Lake, he had been quite weak, but his clones in the outside world could sense if he was alive or dead. Once his clones in Undermoon Lake perished, he would be able to recreate the clones in the outside world. This was an easy way to judge if he was dead or not.

Daolords, however, would generally leave avatars in their homes when they were entering dangerous regions. If not, they would leave behind other special techniques or spells. Generally speaking, it wasn’t too hard to know what was happening or if they were still alive.

“The primordial chaos is vast and endless. Even the almighty Hegemon, who is older than the Twelve Palaces, wouldn’t dare claim that he knows everything which happens within it,” Lord Woodflower explained. “In the endless primordial chaos, there are indeed some places which will result in you being completely cut off from the outside world once you enter. There would be no way whatsoever to ascertain if you were alive or not.”

“Given that we have heard no word from him in countless years, it is very likely that he is dead. However, there’s no way to verify it, and so we generally will list these elders as ‘status unknown’ rather than ‘deceased’ on their Sword Pagodas,” Lord Woodflower explained.

Ning nodded.

After chatting a bit about Daolord Everstarter, Lord Woodflower said, “Darknorth, as a new member of the Sword Palace, you are able to choose a single divine ability, secret art, or legacy from the Pavilion of Mysteries. But of course, some Daolords restricted their legacies, only permitting juniors who passed the trials they set down to make use of those legacies. Generally speaking, the more valuable a legacy, the more common this practice is.”

Ning naturally understood this principle. His Mirrorsnow Paintings had trials as well. Actually procuring all four paintings was a major trial in and of itself, and of course he had to defeat the four experts within the four paintings.

“I’ll go take a look first,” Ning said.

“I’ll lead the way.” Lord Woodflower waved his hand, sending a surge of Immortal energy to surround Ning.

Sword-light flickered around them, resulting in them disappearing into the skies.

Daolord Fudan raised his head to watch them leave, a look of envy in his eyes. He murmured softly, “Lord Woodflower is quite nice to him. It seems he views Darknorth with great favor.” As he spoke, he walked back to the outskirts of the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

“Who was that person who just flew away with my master?” Su Youji immediately asked.

“That was Lord Woodflower of our Sword Palace. Although he behaves in a very casual, laid-back manner, he’s a very discerning man. It isn’t easy to attract his attention. It seems he quite likes your master,” Daolord Fudan said. “Let us wait for him here.”

“Alright.” Su Youji smiled. The better Ning’s live here was, the happier she would be. She felt absolutely delighted by this.

……

The Pavilion of Mysteries was located at the top of a mountain, surrounded by clouds and mist.

A streak of sword-light flickered and descended in front of the pavilion. Daolord Woodflower and Ji Ning both appeared once more.

“That was fast.” Ning was secretly shocked.

“Greetings, Vice Palace Lord.” Suddenly, a fiery red golem at the entrance to the pavilion rose to its feet and called out respectfully. Its entire body was made from magic treasures; a simple glance was enough to tell that it wasn’t an actual living creature.

“Swordthree, I’m going to take this new arrival of ours, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, in for a look.” Daolord Woodflower smiled towards Ning. “This is Swordthree, the overseer of the Pavilion of Mysteries. He’s been guarding this place for an extremely long period of time, much longer than any of our Daolords have been alive. He is ranked the third most powerful golem in the Sword Palace, and so we just call him Swordthree. You can call him the same.”

“Swordthree,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Darknorth.” The fiery golem cracked a friendly smile towards Ning.

“Follow me inside.” Lord Woodflower led Ning inwards.

Within this bamboo hall, there were a series of jade slips. There were also stone steles, statues, books, paintings, leaves, wine gourds, and all sorts of other items. They all looked quite ordinary, as though this was a flea market filled with many miscellaneous objects.

“This place holds many divine abilities and secret arts,” Lord Woodflower said. “All Twelve Palaces share more or less the same divine abilities and secret arts. Our legacies, however, belong to us alone.”

Lord Woodflower continued, “There are differences amongst the legacies. Some are more profound, some are less. Some were left behind by fairly ordinary Daolords, some were left behind by awe-inspiringly powerful Daolords who were as strong as Eternal Emperors, and some were left behind by actual Eternal Emperors. There’s no need to pass any trials to use the divine abilities or secret arts; all you need to do is choose one and you will be able to train in it. Legacies, however, generally come attached with trials and conditions.”

“The legacies left behind by Eternal Emperors are the most valuable. Here within this bamboo hall, there are five legacies that were left behind by Eternal Emperors.” Lord Woodflower explained, “Here in the Sword Palace, we have an additional requirement. World-level cultivators have to become acknowledged as ‘Swordlords’ by the Sword Pagodas before they are qualified to select a legacy left behind by an Eternal Emperor… but of course, they still need to pass the trials which the Eternal Emperor set down.”

Ning said with surprise, “Don’t some of those freakishly powerful Daolords possess sword-arts that equal the sword-arts of Eternal Emperors? Why is it that the legacies of the Eternal Emperors are so much harder to obtain?”

“Anyone who was able to become an Eternal Emperor had already perfected his Dao of the Sword to a level where it could gain eternity,” Lord Woodflower explained. “These legacies will give you experience that will help guide you to eternity. Over the course of countless years, we have seen several freakishly strong Daolords in every single generation. However, very few of them are ever able to become actual Eternal Emperors.”

Lord Woodflower continued, “Based on the rough numbers we have for the Endless Territories, less than one in a hundred thousand Daolords shall become an Eternal Emperor. Although our Sword Palace is assisted by the almighty Hegemon and selects only the cream of the crop, the elites of the elites, we’ve only given birth to a total of three Eternal Emperors since the establishment of the kingdom.”

Lord Woodflower shook his head. “Of the three Eternal Emperors… one perished, while the other two were solitary figures who went off wandering by themselves.” Lord Woodflower let out a sigh. “Our ratio of Daolords to Eternal Emperors is actually fairly high. The Dao Alliance has a much lower ratio than the Twelve Palaces.”

Ning was speechless. At present, the Sword Palace didn’t even have a single Eternal Emperor?

“It’s simply too hard for a new Eternal Emperor to be born. Even if one is born… they live far too long and easily grow bored, and so they often delight in exploring places which no one has ever been before. Sometimes, they never come back.” Lord Woodflower continued, “As for the freakishly strong Daolords… after they fail their Daomerge, they know that they shall die and so they will often go out and try to find chances to slay Eternal Emperors belonging to enemy organizations.”

“Although there aren’t that many freakishly strong Daolords, there’s usually a few in every generation. Although Eternal Emperors are untouched by the ravages of time, they can still perish through other means,” Lord Woodflower explained. “But of course, there are always differences. Take our almighty Hegemon. He’s actually an Eternal Emperor, but he’s just far, far too powerful. As a result, he’s still alive to this very day. Even though he occasionally abducts World-level cultivators who belong to other organizations, they just ignore it and pretend not to see it.”

Ning let out a sigh.

What sad, sad fates these Eternal Emperors had. They were incredibly rare in number, but the freakishly strong Daolords who failed their Daomerge would often target them in suicidal attacks. Daolord Allgod was a good example. After he failed his Daomerge, he attempted to chase down and kill Emperor Melobo.

Far too many Eternal Emperors disappeared while adventuring, were slain by Daolords, or went into hiding. Only truly almighty figures like the Hegemon were capable of staying alive.

“As a result, there are very few legacies that were left behind by Eternal Emperors. Even the weakest Eternal Emperor’s sword-arts are comparable to the sword-arts of supreme Daolords, and they contain a hint of eternity…” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “I’m sure you know this, but cultivators must find and walk their own paths. After becoming a Daolord, you must develop a sword-art all your own. These so-called ‘legacies’ are mainly valuable because they will help guide you in that.”

Ning nodded.

“By now, you should understand why the legacies left behind by Eternal Emperors are so rare and valuable,” Lord Woodflower said. “I urge you to do your best to acquire one of them if you can. But of course, it is up to you. What do you want? A divine ability, a secret art, or a legacy? What will you choose?”

“What will I choose?” Ning began to ponder this question.

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Chapter 5 – Hope

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 5 – Hope

A divine ability? Ji Ning’s greatest advantage was his azureflower mist energy, but there was no way to use it to execute divine abilities. For now, his [Golden Idol] and [Three Heads, Six Arms] were enough.

A legacy? He was still missing the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting for the legacy of Emperor Mirrorsnow.

“Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower,” Ning said.

“Have you made your decision?” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “There’s no need to choose right away. Think it over. You’ll only have one opportunity to pick something of your choosing. After that, you’ll have to pay a heavy price.”

“I actually want to ask a question. Is it possible for the Twelve Palaces to acquire a copy of the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting?” Ning asked.

“You already have the first three?” Lord Woodflower was surprised.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. There was no need to hide this; the Sword Palace had many legacies, and Lord Woodflower himself was a supremely strong Daolord who was comparable to Eternal Emperors in power.

“I don’t think the Sword Palace has a copy.” Lord Woodflower pondered for a moment, then let out a laugh. “Later, you should go to the Armaments Gorge and take a look for yourself. If they really don’t have a copy, you can ask them to help out. They’ll help you find a fourth copy in the Endless Territories. Given the might of the Twelve Palaces, I trust that they shouldn’t find this to be an overly difficult task. But of course, you’ll need to pay for it.”

“Understood.” Ning relaxed slightly.

“Emperor Mirrorsnow was an extremely powerful Eternal Emperor, and he’s still alive.” Lord Woodflower let out a sigh. “His legacy is an excellent one.”

Ning suddenly gave voice to something which had been puzzling him. “Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower, there’s something which has been bothering me. Advancing from the Samsara Daolord level to the Eternal Emperor level should represent an incredible increase in power… and I would imagine that anyone capable of becoming an Eternal Emperor should be have been an extraordinary Daolord as well. Why, then, do I often hear about Daolords slaying Emperors?”

Lord Woodflower was startled, and a complicated look appeared on his face.

“You were going to be told about this eventually.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “Samsara Daolords all have their own paths, and different paths will result in different levels of difficulty in becoming Eternal Emperors.

“If you choose a simple path, you will be fairly weak amongst your peers. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you probably won’t be as strong as I was when I was a Daolord of the Third Step. However… that will also make it somewhat easier for you on your road to gaining eternity.

“If you choose a difficult path, you will be extremely powerful. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you might even be able to slay some of the weaker Eternal Emperors. However… to succeed in your Daomerge on this difficult path and gain eternity will be even more difficult.”

Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “That is why there’s an old axiom that has rung true for countless chaos cycles… the more powerful the Daolord, the less likely he will be successful in his Daomerge.”

“The many freakishly strong Daolords that have appeared over the course of countless years have almost all failed in their Daomerge. Thus, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth… you need to think over what path you would like to take. Shall you choose a path that is a simple one? Or a path that is a difficult one?” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “The difficult path means that it is guaranteed that every single step you take as a Daolord will be very dangerous, and your Daomerge will be even more difficult! However, you’ll also be incredibly powerful and will be a dazzling figure amongst your peers. The simple path will be easier to walk, and in the end you will have a slightly larger chance of completing your Daomerge and gaining eternity.”

Ning was stunned by this revelation.

Still… it made sense. He himself had already found the direction in which his Dao of the Sword would lead. His path involved analyzing and dissecting all sword-arts he encountered in order to better understand the fundamental essence of the sword. His goal was to infuse all of the mysteries of all sword-arts into his own Dao of the Sword.

This path was an insanely ambitious one. To understand the fundamental essence of the sword and to absorb all of its mysteries meant that in the end, he would have developed what could be described as an ‘ultimate’, perfect sword-art.

Perfection was not so easily achieved.

Ning had chosen an extremely difficult path. In truth, Ning could’ve chosen to walk a simpler path. For example, right now Ning was extremely skilled in defensive techniques. If he focused all his efforts on defense, things would be much easier for him.

“Why should cultivators fear difficulties?” Ning laughed. “Even if you choose the simpler path, perhaps less than one in a hundred thousand Samsara Daolords shall gain eternity. It is best to follow your own heart and embark upon a path which is hard but glorious. That way, if you do become an Eternal Emperor, you’ll be truly invincible and will have nothing and no one to be afraid of.”

“Right!” Lord Woodflower laughed loudly. “In the Endless Territories, there are three almighty Hegemons. All three were freakishly powerful Daolords who were capable of slaying Eternal Emperors, and they eventually were successful in breaking through to become Eternal Emperors. After they made their breakthroughs, no one has ever been able to shake them and their positions. To show our respect for them and in order to differentiate them from ordinary Emperors, we revere with them the title of ‘Hegemon’. The almighty Hegemony of our own Brightshore Kingdom is one of the three, and he has been alive for far longer than our Twelve Palaces have existed.”

Ning nodded. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, causing him to take a deep breath before asking the question which he cared about more than all other questions. “Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower… if a truesoul is destroyed, is the almighty Hegemon capable of reversing time to save it?”

In terms of mastery over spacetime, it was possible that the almighty Hegemon was second to none in all the Endless Territories. Would it be possible for him to reverse the flow of spacetime and rescue Yu Wei?

Lord Woodflower was startled. He gave Ning a hard look. “In the Endless Territories, there is indeed a legend that says it is possible to invert spacetime itself, allowing you to reach out into the distant past and bring back to life a person whose truesoul has already been destroyed in the present day. However, I’ve heard that the person who uses this technique would have to pay an utterly ruinous price. I don’t know if the almighty Hegemon can accomplish this task, but even if he truly can he wouldn’t make it public. To invert spacetime and rescue a truesoul from the distant past is something which would probably cause him to suffer heavy injuries. There’s no way he would make something like this public.”

Lord Woodflower continued to look at Ning. “Still… it is indeed true that if you can reach a profound enough level of insight, you can invert spacetime and bring someone back to life. However, it will be so difficult that very few of the ancient powers capable of doing it would actually be willing to carry it out.”

“Understood.” Ning felt excited.

Hope.

He finally saw some hope!

Ning had always clung onto a dream which even he knew was unlikely. He had felt that theoretically, someone who had reached certain incredible heights in the manipulation of spacetime should be able to invert it and reach into the past to save a deceased truesoul. However, there was no proof backing up this theory of his… but today, Lord Woodflower had personally verified that this was indeed possible. And in fact, the almighty Hegemon might be someone who was capable of such a thing.

But of course, if Ning wasn’t able to offer enough of an incentive and pay enough of a price, there was no way he would be able to convince the almighty Hegemon to do such a thing.

“Senior apprentice-sister. We will definitely be able to meet each other once again. I don’t care how long it takes. I’m going to work hard until the day I see you again.”

Ning closed his eyes. When he imagined that day in the distant future, he felt as though he could see Yu Wei smiling at him from afar. Ning felt a warmth spread into his heart, filling him with strength and resolve.

Ning opened his eyes. “Thank you, senior apprentice-brother Woodflower.”

Lord Woodflower nodded. “Take some time and consider your choices. If you have any questions regarding the Dao of the Sword, you can go find me in my estate.”

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother Woodflower.” Ning could sense Lord Woodflower’s goodwill and felt quite grateful towards the man.

Lord Woodflower left, allowing Ning to search through the Pavilion of Mysteries by himself.

“The Windsmoke secret art. The normal price is five hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar, and it involves…

“The Endless Dark divine ability. The normal price is three hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar…”

These divine abilities and secret arts all had a simple explanation regarding how much one had to pay in chaos nectar in order to purchase them. The cheapest started off at a hundred thousand cubes, while the most expensive was as high as three million cubes. Even for Daolords, these techniques were truly consummate, killer techniques. Only in a place like the Sword Palace could one easily gain access to them. In the outside world? Acquiring such techniques would be far more difficult.

“Eh?” Ning was stunned.

“Novessence Fire, a million cubes of chaos nectar. This secret art was developed by Daolord Allgod…

“Novessence Water, a million cubes of chaos nectar…

Ning found five consecutive secret arts which had been developed by Daolord Allgod.

“They even have Daolord Allgod’s techniques?” Ning was rather surprised. The five secret arts he found were the [Novessence Fire], [Novessence Water], [Novessence Earth], [Novessence Wood], and [Novessence Metal] techniques.

Ning carefully read through the other secrets arts following them, only to find nothing else.

Curious, Ning hurriedly ran over to the entrance to the Pavilion of Mysteries.

“Have you chosen, Darknorth?” The guardian golem, Swordthree, looked at Ning.

“I saw five of the secret arts left behind by Daolord Allgod,” Ning said. “But I heard that Daolord Allgod actually had nine in total?”

“Right. Daolord Allgod was an astonishingly talented man who was skilled in alchemy, artificing, rearing bugbeasts, and more. He was a master of many different skills, and so he was an exceptional developer of secret arts as well. He created nine mighty secret arts, and when those nine secret arts came together they were able to unleash utterly shocking levels of power. Unfortunately, the Dao Alliance completely refuses to give us the entire thing.” Swordthree shook his head. “The almighty Hegemon made a personal appearance and paid a considerable price, but was still only able to convince the Dao Alliance to give us five of the secret arts belonging to Daolord Allgod. The four remaining secret arts were even more powerful, but we weren’t able to acquire them.”

Now Ning understood.

Ning had already come to a decision, but to be careful he still reviewed the basic descriptions of all the divine abilities and secret arts in the entire Pavilion of Mysteries.

Each of the five secret arts of Daolord Allgod cost a million cubes of chaos nectar, and every single one of those secret arts was enough to slay weak Daolords of the Fourth Step. These were terrifying killer techniques.

“Aside from the Dao of the Sword, I have some affinity for lightning, water, and space. Lightning and water resonate with each other and can support each other.” These were two naturally aligned elements.

“The nine secret arts of Daolord Allgod were meant to be used together in a combination. I shall choose the [Novessence Water] secret art.” Ning quickly made up his mind.

“Are you certain you wish to choose the [Novessence Water] secret art?” Swordthree looked at Ning. “To tell you the truth, legacies are more important for World-level cultivators.”

“I am certain.” Ning nodded.

“Alright.” Swordthree easily dispersed the restrictive spell covering the jade slip. “Go ahead and learn it.”

Ning sent his senses into the slip, immediately swearing the relevant lifeblood oath and beginning to study the technique.

Although the [Novessence Water] was very powerful, it was more of a soft, subtle technique. By contrast, the [Novessence Thunder] was a more dominating, destructive technique.

Of the nine secret arts, the five pertaining to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were slightly weaker, whereas the [Novessence Thunder], [Novessence Light], and the other two were slightly stronger.

“Time to go to the Armaments Gorge.” After learning the secret art, Ning departed from the Pavilion of Mysteries and headed towards the Armaments Gorge. He had to acquire the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting as soon as possible.

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Chapter 6 – Broken Sword?

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 6 – Broken Sword?

Ji Ning hovered there in midair, staring downwards at the Armaments Gorge. He then immediately flew downwards and landed in front of an icy building that was erected within the gorge. This was the true Armaments Gorge.

There were two golems guarding the gates to the building.

“Darknorth greets you,” Ning said courteously.

“Swordfive.”

“Swordsix.”

The two golems introduced themselves. They both had stately, solemn auras of tremendous power.

Ning walked past the gates, and the two golems let him enter unimpeded. Although there were many weapons and treasures stored here, not even Eternal Emperors were strong enough to seize them by force. The formations surrounding the most important parts of the Twelve Palaces had been personally established long ago by the almighty Hegemon himself, and the successive generations of geniuses in the Twelve Palaces had repeatedly strengthened them and reinforced them. By now, there were few to none in all the Endless Territories capable of breaking inside.

“What a treasure trove.” As soon as Ning entered, he saw the divine swords that had been firmly planted into the ground. They were clustered tightly next to each other, and they all emanated auras of terrifying sword-intent. Even the weakest sword was at least an Eternal weapon.

There was a stone stele next to every single sword, and each stone stele had a simple line of characters on them: “Thirty thousand cubes.” “Ninety thousand cubes.” “Fifty thousand cubes.” These were the prices of the swords, and the prices were actually quite low. Still, it hadn’t been easy for the Sword Palaces to collect these wondrous weapons, and there was no way Ning and the others could simply take the swords away without paying anything at all.

“What is…”

Ning’s gaze suddenly turned towards the distance, where he sensed an incredibly terrifying sword-intent radiating from afar. Although it was quite a distance off, and although there were thousands of other swords there, Ning could sense that none of them were able to shake that terrifying sword-intent in the slightest. It was a broken sword that was emanating that aura, and it was placed atop a table.

This was the only sword in the entire Armaments Gorge which was placed on a table.

“A broken sword?” Puzzled, Ning walked towards it to give it a careful look.

“Eh? It was broken in such a clean, natural way. It seems as though it was actually forged this way and meant to be this way.” Ning quickly was able to tell that this sword wasn’t actually ‘broken’; it was created this way.

Rumble…

Sword-intent billowed out from the sword. Ning felt as though he was a tiny ship facing the wild waves of the ocean, about to be capsized at any moment. The incomparably ancient sword-intent… it was the most terrifying sword-intent Ning had ever sensed. The [Nameless] sword-art, Violetjewel, the Forest of Sword Pagodas… none of these things had ever given Ning such a sensation before.

It was vast, it was awe-inspiring, and it was unfathomably ancient. It made Ning feel like he was back on Earth, staring into the endless sea of stars.

“Eh?” When Ning reached within thirty meters of the broken sword, a surge of invisible force suddenly stopped him from moving any farther. No matter how Ning tried, he was unable to take so much as a single extra step.

“I actually can’t go any closer to it?” By now, Ning realized that there were no other swords within thirty meters of the broken sword. “And it doesn’t have a price tag on it?”

The other swords all had clearly labeled prices on the stone steles. Only this broken sword was different. There was nothing within thirty meters of it, not even a stone stele.

Ning gave it a long, deep look, firmly engraving it into his memory.

Roughly a third of the Armaments Gorge was set aside for swords. The rest was used to hold many other types of treasures and unique artifacts, and they too had prices listed next to them.

“Fifty thousand cubes.” “Two million cubes.” “Ten million cubes.” “A hundred and ten thousand cubes.”

The treasures and artifacts all had different prices.

Ning wanted to acquire Dao lightning. Things like Watersmoke Lightning, Firecloud Lightning, or Azurewood Lightning represented the Five Elements and thus were fairly cheap, requiring roughly two hundred thousand cubes. Other types of Dao lightning, however, were much more expensive. The ‘Worldbury Lightning’ cost 1.9 million cubes, and it was the most expensive of the nine types of Dao lightning which Ning needed.

Ning was able to acquire all nine types of Dao lightning here in the Armaments Gorge, but the price was quite steep.

The Armaments Gorge even had a tenth type of Dao lightning that was naturally formed. This lightning was known as the ‘Allheaven Lightning’ and cost ten million cubes, and it could only be used if one was willing to swear a lifeblood oath! The Allheaven Lightning could only be harvested by the almighty Hegemon himself, and it was unique to the Brightshore Kingdom.

If any of the other supreme organizations wished to acquire the Allheaven Lightning, they would have to pay an utterly shocking fee to the Brightshore Kingdom. Only for actual members of the Brightshore Kingdom would such a ‘low’ price of ten million cubes be accepted.

“Daolord Allgod himself was only able to acquire nine suitable types of Dao lightning, at which point he created his [Novessence Thunder].” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. “But the Brightshore Kingdom actually has ten types…”

Ning’s horizons truly were broadened after he spent some time wandering through the Armaments Gorge. He finally began to realize how many treasures existed in the primordial chaos.

“Darknorth, done already?” Swordfive, one of the two golems guarding outside, asked Ning curiously, “What treasure have you chosen?”

“I was looking for but unable to find nine types of divine water, including Netherstring Water and Wormwind Water,” Ning said. He was going to train in the [Novessence Water] secret art and needed nine types of water.

Fire could be classified into Elder fire (such as Golden Solarfire), Chaos fire, and Dao fire. The same was true for water. When Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals were touched by Wormwind Water, they would find their bodies riddled with holes. Even their truesoul would begin to collapse.

“Oh, Chaos water?” The nearby Swordsix said in a low voice, “The Sword Palace doesn’t have low-level water like that. One of the other palaces, the Palace of Kindwater, definitely has it. If you really need it, we can have the Kindwater Palace deliver it to you.”

“I need nine types of Chaos water.” Ning carefully listed out the number types of Chaos water he needed.

The [Novessence Water] was also divided into two parts. The upper part involved using nine types of Chaos water, while the lower part involved using nine types of Dao water.

This was a technique which was on par with the [Novessence Lightning]. However, because of certain innate properties of lightning, the [Novessence Thunder] was slightly more powerful. Once these two techniques were used in unison then they would become much more powerful, especially considering that water and lightning were mutually complimentary elements. It must be understood that when Daolord Allgod used all nine secret arts together, he had been able to suppress even Eternal Emperors.

“Right. In the Armaments Gorge, I was only able to find a copy of the third Mirrorsnow Painting?” Ning looked at Swordfive and Swordsix.

“That’s the only one we have,” Swordfive said. “Emperor Mirrorsnow was a rather dissolute and wanton figure, but his sword-arts were exceedingly profound. Countless World-level cultivators were driven mad with lust for his paintings. If it wasn’t for the fact that only World-level cultivators are permitted to study from his legacies, they would probably be much more expensive.”

Ning agreed with this assessment. Emperor Mirrorsnow’s legacies actually provided even Daolords with good experience. If Daolords could learn from them, the price would become astonishingly high.

The only reason why the price was fairly low was because Emperor Mirrorsnow had decreed that only World-level cultivators could study his legacy. How much money could a World-level cultivator possibly have? Still, every single painting was usually worth around a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar.

“I need the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting,” Ning said.

“The fourth?” Swordfive and Swordsix exchanged a glance.

“It isn’t present within the Brightshore Kingdom. We’ll need to rely on the strength and reach of the Twelve Palaces in order to find it somewhere else in the primordial chaos,” Swordfive said. “If you want us to do that… before we begin, you’ll have to pay a certain amount of chaos nectar as a deposit. Also, if you search for one specific painting, it’ll probably end up costing you much more money.

“I can accept any price under half a million cubes,” Ning said.

“That’s fine, then.” Swordfive nodded. “Generally speaking, it costs us around two hundred thousand cubes when we purchase one from the outside world. It’ll just take us a bit of time. Three hundred thousand cubes is usually the maximum. Just wait for me to send word. Once the Twelve Palaces find the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting, I’ll immediately inform you.”

“How long will it take, roughly?” Ning asked.

“Anywhere from ten years to a thousand years.” Swordfive was rather smug. “The Twelve Palaces are quite influential in the Endless Territories.”

Ning was speechless.

Many of the Daolords of the Twelve Palaces had been abducted from other places when they were at the World level. Ning himself was a good example of this. He had been a member of Vastheaven Palace, which was under the Dao Alliance. He was now here in the Brightshore Kingdom, but it was guaranteed that there was no way he would separate himself from the Dao Alliance. This was the reason why the Twelve Palaces had such influence throughout the Endless Territories.

“Within the gorge, I found a broken sword that I couldn’t even get close to,” Ning suddenly said.

“Couldn’t get close to?” Swordfive was startled for a moment, then nodded. “That means you two aren’t destined to be together.”

“Not destined?” Ning was puzzled.

“What, did you think that it was some sort of a formation preventing you from moving closer to it?” Swordfive asked.

“Wasn’t it?” Ning was even more puzzled now.

The nearby Swordsix said, “Of course not! The formations within the Armaments Gorge are only there to prevent you from taking away the treasures without paying the price. Generally speaking, you can get close to and touch the weapons. You were able to do so with the other weapons, right? But that broken sword is so innately powerful that it can actually prevent you from going too close to it.”

“Only one with the right karmic destiny will be permitted to move close to it. If it refuses to acknowledge you, there is nothing you can do.” Swordfive glanced at Ning. “Not even the two Palace Lords of our Sword Palace were acknowledged by it. After its previous master perished, it has stayed by itself in the Armaments Gorge. It has been silent for a long, long time.”

Ning blinked.

Alright, then. If even the Palace Lords, the Vice Palace Lords, and the countless generations of Daolords had failed to receive its approval, it only made sense that Ning himself was unable to receive its approval as well.

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Chapter 7 – The Blazing Beast

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 7 – The Blazing Beast

Ji Ning knew very well that the Endless Territories was a place filled with countless marvelous treasures. It wasn’t surprising for this particular treasure to have no affinity for him. It was already lucky enough for him to have gained the Nine Chaos Seals.

“Master.” After leaving Armaments Gorge, Ning once more reunited with Su Youji.

“Let’s find a place to live first.” Ning and Su Youji flew through the skies. Suddenly, they saw a solitary mountain peak that jutted high up into the skies, surrounded by clouds and mist. This was one of the taller mountains in the Sword Palace. There were only so many ‘formal’ members of the Sword Palace, after all. Most people could easily find a place of their choosing within the Sword Palace, so long as there was no one else already there.

Ning waved a finger from afar. Whoosh! An estate suddenly appeared in midair, then descended upon the top of the mountain.

“From this day forth, this estate shall be our residence in the Sword Palace.” Ning looked at Su Youji. “Right, Youji. The Twelve Palaces all have spacetime transfer arrays connecting them together. You can give the Palace of Fire a shot. Perhaps you’ll be granted entry into it.” He wasn’t going to be able to give her much advice in the Dao of Fire. She’d have to rely on herself for everything.

“I have to say, now that I’ve wandered through the Sword Palace I do feel a bit jealous.” Su Youji grinned. “Although I know my chances aren’t that great, I’ll still give it a shot.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

……

The Sword Pagodas towered around everything around them. It was as though countless ancient powers were standing there in front of Ning. As Ning walked through the Forest of Sword Pagodas, his heart was filled with amazement and regret. So many major powers who had been the dominant forces of their time, who had been able to defeat even Eternal Emperors, had all passed away. The number of Daolords in the Sword Palace who were able to live for more than a hundred thousand chaos cycles could be counted on two hands.

This was the unstoppable, ruinous power of time.

“If I am to become an Eternal Emperor, then I wish to become one who is akin to the almighty Hegemon. Otherwise… I would rather become one of those Daolords capable of slaying Emperors. I have to become powerful enough to convince the almighty Hegemon or someone on his level to rescue and revive my wife!”

A dreamy look was in Ning’s eyes. “If I could bring her back… me, her, and Brightmoon would be together once more. Our family of three would be together again. Even if I eventually fail my Daomerge and perish, it will all have been worth it.” Although Daolords walked a fine line between life and death with each step, even those who failed their Daomerge would be able to live extremely long lives. If their family of three was able to live together in peace for some time, Ning would be satisfied.

Ning’s greatest regret was… his wife Yu Wei had perished shortly after giving birth to Brightmoon.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing a thatched cottage to suddenly appear next to him. This thatched cottage was actually Ning’s temporal acceleration treasure. Ning had made a few cosmetic alterations to it.

Ning entered the thatched cottage, then sat down in the lotus position. He set the flow of time to a hundred times the normal rate, then turned his gaze towards the distant Sword Pagodas.

“So many supreme sword-arts for me to analyze… and in fact, every single sword-art is filled with the sword-intent of its creator.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh at this. For most cultivators, greed was not a good thing. In fact, if you learned too many techniques, you might end up losing yourself or your own way. However, Ning’s path was a path that began from understanding the fundamental essence of the sword, and it was a path he would walk by analyzing and dissecting all other sword-arts, absorbing their best parts into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.

The [Brightmoon] sword-art was still quite young and incomplete, but Ning had chosen a path where he would use it to embody all the mysteries of the Dao of the Sword.

This path Ning had chosen was a very difficult path. It had been a blurry, unclear path for Ning back when he was in the Three Realms, but the guidance Daolord Solesky had given Ning had made everything clear! He had analyzed thousands of sword-arts in the Allgod Estate, and now he had arrived in the most sacred part of the Sword Palace, the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

“There are 83612 Sword Pagodas here, many of which are comparable to my [Nameless] sword-art. I have to treasure this opportunity.” Having come from the Three Realms, Ning knew exactly how precious this opportunity was. It must be understood that the reason why none of the others had been able to reach the World level was because they had no access to good techniques. This was true for Ning’s own master, Suhbuti, as well as the martyrs such as Houyi or Three Purities. It was only in recent years that Ning’s Primaltwin had begun to transmit more information regarding the Dao back home.

However, this opportunity in the Sword Palace was truly priceless, and Ning valued it immensely. He was the second person to leave the Three Realms, with Mother Nuwa being the first. He didn’t know what had happened to Mother Nuwa, but he was determined to seize this opportunity to make himself as strong as he possibly could.

Su Youji stood outside the Forest of Sword Pagodas, staring at that distant form which was seated in that thatched cottage. The white-robed youth was completely absorbed with meditating on his sword-arts, and countless streams of swordforce began to naturally manifest in the area around him, followed by one sword-stance after another. These things manifested whenever Ning had a new insight.

“Master has never had a truly excellent teacher who was able to give him any good guidance. Now, after so long, he has finally reached a truly holy place for cultivation. I imagine this will result in his power skyrocketing. He’ll be even more dazzling than before,” Su Youji murmured silently to herself.

“I have to work hard as well. Now that I have the legacy of Feixian the Exalted, I should be able to provide him with some assistance.” All this time, it had been Ning helping Su Youji rather than vice versa. She felt grateful, but she also wanted to be able to do something for him.

“Time to go to the Palace of Fire.” Su Youji turned her head and departed.

The Twelve Palaces were all linked together by spacetime transfer arrays.

“So many World-level cultivators here?” When Su Youji arrived at the Palace of Fire, she saw numerous World-level cultivators on the path before her seated in the lotus position. She walked forwards, quickly reaching the end of the path.

“Halt!” Suddenly, a black-armored Daolord barked out at Su Youji.

“I wish to join the Palace of Fire,” Su Youji said.

“You’ll have to wait. In about half a month, the next batch of World-level cultivators will be permitted to take part in the trials.” The black-armored Daolord gave her a cold look. “You World-level cultivators are only permitted to remain on this path. You are not permitted to go into other parts of the palace without prior permission. If you do, the restrictive spells here will automatically activate and burn you to a crisp.”

“Understood.” Su Youji immediately nodded.

When she had entered the Sword Palace, she had been alongside Ji Ning and so the black-armored Daolord had been fairly courteous to her. Normally, however, the black-armored Daolords were quite cold and indifferent to these applicants. There were simply too many of them, after all.

“Another half month.” Su Youji found an empty spot and sat down in the lotus position.

“Another newcomer. There really are a lot of people who wish to join the Palace of Fire.” Just a few hundred meters away from Su Youji was a chubby youth dressed in fiery robes. The chubby youth mumbled to himself, “I’m a venerable grandmaster of alchemy, but I not only was rejected by the Palace of Spacetime, I even failed the trials of the Palace of Fire. Ugh. What should I do? Why the hell isn’t there a Palace of Alchemy?”

The chubby youth shook his head. “I’m skilled in alchemy, spacetime, and fire, but I wasn’t able to pass the trials of either the Palace of Spacetime or the Palace of Fire…” The chubby youth sighed. “It seems I’ll have to seek out brother Darknorth and ask him to help. He definitely entered one of the Twelve Palaces. If I follow him, things will be a bit easier for me.”

This chubby youth was World God Pillsaint.

He truly was an unlucky fellow. He himself was an extremely skilled, grandmaster-level alchemist and pillmaker. Why would a person like him be forced to engage in combat? In the past, he had to simply wave his hand and whatever he wished would be carried out, and his master would often give him advice with regards to alchemy. Who would’ve thought that he would suddenly be abducted to the Astral Islands. In the Astral Islands, combat was all that mattered. Who cared about you being an alchemist? He had started off with an Eternal weapon, but as soon as he arrived he had been robbed of it. Thankfully, alchemy required high levels of insight into both fire and spacetime, and he was quite skilled in both. This was why he had been able to survive for so long… but accumulating a complete legacy and being able to escape was incredibly difficult.

It was all thanks to Ji Ning’s assistance that he had been lucky enough to survive.

His skill in alchemy made his life in the Brightshore Kingdom an easy one, which was why he was able to reach the Twelve Palaces. Alas, his skills weren’t enough for him to enter the Twelve Palaces.

“I’ll keep trying. The trials for the Spacetime Palace were too difficult, but if I improve a bit in the Dao of Fire I might be able to make it into the Fire Palace.” World God Pillsaint gritted his teeth. He was determined to make something of this.. He knew that entering the Palace of Fire would be a tremendous boon, and he deeply desired to succeed.

Although Su Youji and Pillsaint were just a few hundred meters from each other, neither knew each other.

……

The imperial palace of the Brightshore Kingdom.

Whoooooosh.

A blazing beast of fire was racing through the void of space. There were a few chaos stars in this vast region, which was part of the Brightshore Kingdom’s even vaster imperial palace. This was the place where the almighty Hegemon usually rested and resided.

The blazing beast was racing happily through it. Ever since it had been captured, it had been living a terrifying life of danger and adventure. Although a powerful member of his race known as ‘King Wu’ had been keeping eyes on it, it had still been worried that it might die at any moment. Thus, it had never dared to relax in the slightest. But now, it had finally survived and succeeded.

“Child.” An enormous behemoth appeared within the emptiness of space. When the behemoth stared at the blazing beast, its eyes were filled with warmth.

“Hegemon.” The blazing beast was so frightened that it immediately came to a halt and stood there obediently. It already knew that the almighty Hegemon was the most powerful member of their race.

“Ever since you were born, you have been training by yourself. You are still too young. Most of your time has been spent in slumber. Although you didn’t spend too much time in the abyss of the Astral Islands, you have still improved significantly. You are now qualified to enter the Archaeus region.” The giant behemoth’s head spoke out.

“The Archaeus region?” The blazing beast was puzzled. “Where, exactly?”

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Chapter 8 – The Archaeus Region

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 8 – The Archaeus Region

As the almighty Hegemon used his true form to chat with the blazing beast, something else was happening at another part of the imperial palace, a place where there were thirteen royal thrones.

One of the thrones was as white as snow. The other twelve were golden in color.

A white-bearded, snowy-robed old man with six horns was seated atop the snowy-white throne. The other twelve golden thrones were occupied by twelve golden-armored figures, and Daolord Woodflower was one of them.

“I have summoned you all because there is something I wish to discuss with you.” The six-horned, white-bearded old man smiled. “As you all know, my race just gained a new member. This kid was born with exceptional innate gifts, and in a thousand short years he’s managed to escape the abyss below the Astral Islands. Even amongst my Imperials, he is a rare breed who stands at the very top.”

“Congratulations, Hegemon.”

“I am confident that this child shall soon reach the ‘King’ level of power in your clan.”

“The Brightshore Imperials have gained yet another expert.”

The twelve golden-armored figures belonged to the Twelve Palaces, and they all spoke some words of flattery. Still, these words were also words of truth. The dark abyss below the Astral Islands was reserved for tempering and training new members of the imperial race. Generally speaking, the new members of the race had been wandering the outside world alone and didn’t really have any good teachers. Most of them needed to spend a long period of time in the abyss before overcoming its trials. In addition, the Imperials were so few in number that every new addition to their race was a cause for celebration. A new Imperial who was exceptionally talented was even more precious.

The almighty Hegemon beamed merrily. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood. “This young fellow is so talented that I wish to send him into one of the alternate universes.”

“Alternate universe?”

“An alternate universe?”

The faces of the twelve golden-armored figures turned pale.

“Hegemon, none of us have ever been to that place before.” They all began to worry.

“Don’t worry,” the Hegemon said. “As you know, when I was meditating on the Dao of Spacetime, I once discovered traces of a completely different universe within the flows of spacetime and opened up a transversal conduit to it. Our two universes have different essences, which has an impact on my transversal conduit. Only those below the Daolord level of power are able to enter… but I was able to let my will slowly seep into that alternate universe and seduce some of its local lifeforms to come to our universe. Quite a few World-level cultivators from that universe have passed through my transversal conduit to come to our universe. I’ve gone through their memories and have learned quite a bit regarding that universe.”

The Hegemon had discovered an alternate universe, had opened a transversal conduit to it, and then had been able to force his will through the conduit, even though he himself wasn’t able to pass through it.

The almighty Hegemon’s powers truly were quite terrifying!

“But… that’s still an alternate universe.” The twelve golden-armored powers were all quite wary.

The ‘Endless Territories’…

It was a place that was so incredibly vast that it was still filled with many places which no one had ever explored. Many who broke through to become Eternal Emperors eventually left to wander the territories, only to never be heard from again. However, in the eyes of the greatest powers this infinitely vast region known as the ‘Endless Territories’ was actually merely just a single ‘universe’.

Each universe had its own prime essences. An ‘alternate universe’ referred to a region which seemed similar but which had its own set of prime essences. For example, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword in this universe would be different from that of the alternate universe. Thus, one could easily sense when one was in an alternate universe, as even the prime essences would be different.

“When I sent my will into that alternate universe, I was able to scan quite a few chaosworlds close to the exit of my conduit,” the almighty Hegemon said. “I’ve been watching this universe for many years, and now know quite a few things about it. There aren’t that many differences between our two universes. The main difference is that cultivators in the Endless Territories are spread out across many different organizations, but the alternate universe has a single unified power ruling over it.”

The Hegemon continued, “In the alternate universe, there is a place known as the Archaeus region. Countless cultivators in that universe deeply desire to enter the Archaeus region, and even many Daolords dream of having a chance to enter it. However, only a tiny number are able to enter it… but those who enter and then come out alive again are all strengthened dramatically.” The almighty Hegemon let out a sigh. “Although it might be a bit dangerous, cultivators who live in perfect safety will get soft. They won’t be able to make it far on their paths.”

“When you live on the edge between life and death, you’ll encounter many dangers but also encounter many miracles. The young fellow’s level of talent is so great that it is rare even amongst members of my race. I’ve prepared quite a few dangerous regions for him to test himself against, and the Archaeus region of the alternate universe is the first place and an extremely important place. If he can survive it, he’ll definitely have undergone utterly earthshaking transformations. In addition, once he is able to unify the mysteries of both our universe and the alternate universe, his future potential will be truly unlimited,” the almighty Hegemon said.

The twelve golden-armored experts grew increasingly interested as they listened to the Hegemon speak.

It was true that the path of cultivation had to be a path filled with danger. Only by experiencing more things and seeing more wonders would one be able to walk farther along one’s path. For example, if Ji Ning had always trained by himself without going out adventuring, how strong could he possibly become? It was due to his adventures that he had first gone to the Allgod Estate, then to the Brightshore Kingdom. This was why he had grown so strong, so quickly.

This alternate universe… it was a place which most likely no one in all the Endless Territories had ever visited!

When the almighty Hegemon had created his transversal conduit, it had been limited by the differences in the laws between the two universes. As a result, only those below the Daolord level of power could use it.

“Hegemon, will members of the Twelve Palaces also be permitted to go?” Daolord Thousand Waves suddenly asked.

“Right, Hegemon. The Twelve Palaces have quite a few talented World-level cultivators as well.” Daolord Puregood of the Palace of Fire was a man with a full red beard, and his face was red with excitement right now.

If the Hegemon was going to send one of his own clansmen into that alternate universe, it meant that he probably felt confident in his clansman’s chances. It must be understood that the Hegemon was extremely protective of his clansmen. The entire reason he had founded the Brightshore Kingdom and developed the Twelve Palaces was so that there would be more protectors for his race! Given that the blazing beast was an incredibly talented member of his race… although the Daolords didn’t know much about this ‘Archaeus region’, they felt certain that it would be a good place. They naturally had to try and win a chance for their people to enter it as well.

“I’ve invited you all to come here precisely because of this matter. Over the course of countless years, I’ve managed to seduce many World-level cultivators into entering our universe, and I managed to acquire a number of Archaeus medallions from them. You must have an Archaeus medallion in order to enter the Archaeus region… but of course, that’ll only be enough to gain entry. You will still have to face and overcome all the dangers inside the region itself,” the almighty Hegemon said. “I’m not completely confident in the young fellow’s chances, which is why I’ve come to ask you for your help. I would like for the Twelve Palaces to choose four other World-level cultivators to accompany him.”

“I have five Archaeus medallions. That means a total of five World-level cultivators,” the almighty Hegemon said. “Choose four from the Twelve Palaces. They shall work together with that young fellow of my race, and they’ll all stand a better chance as a result.”

“Agreed.”

“Absolutely.”

They all nodded.

The Brightshore Kingdom was one of the supreme organizations of the Endless Territories, after all. If they were only permitted to choose four World-level cultivators, they would most assuredly choose freaks that were strong enough to defeat ordinary Daolords of the First Step. If they went into the alternate universe, they most likely would stand a good chance of overcoming the Archaeus region.

“Just four, Hegemon? Can’t we bring a few more?” Daolord Thousand Waves immediately said.

“Hegemon, just four… it’ll be a bit hard to choose.”

“Just four for all twelve of our palaces? Our Palace of the Saber alone has more than eight Saberlords at the World level.” Everyone present began to feel a bit frustrated.

The almighty Hegemon simply said, “Bertulu and Eastcult are peerless geniuses, the likes of which even our Brightshore Kingdom only sees once in countless eons. In addition, both of them are most likely preparing to become Daolords soon. There’s no need for them to go.”

The twelve golden-armored figures all nodded in agreement.

Bertulu and Eastcult could be said to have reached the true apex of power for World-level cultivators. There was no point to them tempering themselves at the World level any longer, especially Bertulu. Even prior to joining the Twelve Palaces, Bertulu had already reached the utmost peak of what even geniuses could reach. Eastcult, at least, had only reached that level after joining the Palace of the Saber and training in it for a period of time.

“The two of them are exempted. Aside from them, any member of the Twelve Palaces who have been acknowledged by their respective pagodas shall be considered,” the Hegemon said.

The Twelve Palaces each had a forest of pagodas. The one in the Sword Palace was known as the Forest of Sword Pagodas, whereas the one in the Fire Palace was known as the Forest of Fire Pagodas. The names were all fairly similar, and the concepts were the same; the World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces had to reach extremely high levels of mastery in a relevant Dao in order to be acknowledged by the pagodas.

The Sword Palace only had six Swordlords. As for the Saber Palace, it had eight Saberlords. However, since Eastcult was excluded, it only had seven.

“Aside from Bertulu and Eastcult, the Twelve Palaces have a total of sixty-six World-level cultivators who have been acknowledged by their respective pagodas,” Daolord Thousand Waves said. “How are we supposed to choose? Four out of sixty-six! I imagine all of them would badly desire to enter this Archaeus region.”

A chance to enter an alternate universe… it truly was a chance which, once missed, might never come again.

“No rush. That young fellow has just recently returned from the Astral Islands’ abyss. I need to teach him quite a few techniques first,” the almighty Hegemon said. “I’ll keep a close eye on him. When he is fully prepared, I’ll choose the four strongest cultivators.”

The almighty Hegemon waved his hand, causing a series of images to appear in the empty air around him. A total of sixty-six scenes appeared, with the sixty-six candidates having appeared within them. These were all candidates who had been acknowledged by their respective pagodas.

And of course… Ji Ning wasn’t one of them.

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Chapter 9 – The Full Mirrorsnow Set

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 9 – The Full Mirrorsnow Set

“The Saber Palace won’t push for too much. Two slots is enough.”

“Yinwind, there’s only four slots total. Your Saber Palace wishes to take half of them?”

“We might even take three.”

The twelve golden-armored powers began to chat amongst themselves while they evaluated the sixty-six figures that had appeared in midair. They were actually quite familiar with most of the stronger World-level cultivators in every palace… and it was true that the Saber Palace held the most outstanding World-level cultivators of this generation! Prior to Bertulu’s arrival, Eastcult of the Saber Palace had been the indisputably most powerful World-level cultivator in the Twelve Palaces. As for the other Saberlords, they were all shockingly powerful as well.

When the Vice Palace Lord of the Saber Palace, Daolord Yinwind, spoke of possibly taking three slots… he wasn’t exaggerating!

There was a reason why this generation of World-level cultivators in the Saber Palace were all so strong. It was because the current Palace Lord of the Saber Palace… was Palace Lord Dawnstar! Lord Dawnstar was indisputably the most powerful expert amongst all the Daolords of the Twelve Palaces. In fact, even if you looked at all of the Daolords belonging to the various organizations of the Endless Territories, Lord Dawnstar would rank in the top three.

He was such a freakishly strong figure that he had needed just three strokes of his saber to slay an Eternal Emperor. He was also a Verge-level Daolord, and one could imagine how difficult the Dao he had chosen was. To successfully Daomerge would be incredibly difficult, and so he focused almost all of his efforts on it. However, for a period of time he had actually chosen to teach the World-level disciples of the Saber Palace in an extremely earnest, diligent manner.

Those World-level cultivators had all received the personal, attentive guidance of Lord Dawnstar! He had spent ten million years educating them, then had left the Brightshore Kingdom and gone off to adventure through other places.

To teach others was also a form of training, in and of itself. To Lord Dawnstar, it was just one of many things he was doing to prepare for his Daomerge, but to those World-level cultivators it had been a stroke of tremendous karmic fortune. Lord Dawnstar was definitely one of the top three experts of the Dao of the Saber in all the Endless Territories, even if one factored in the various Eternal Emperors.

And thus…

This generation of World-level experts in the Palace of the Saber all became incredibly strong, and the geniuses among their ranks became even more dazzling.

……

The Palace of the Sword.

“Palace Lord.” Three World-level cultivators bowed respectfully.

Lord Woodflower was seated in the lotus position as he looked back at the three of them. His true body was here in the Sword Palace; the one which had been in the imperial palace was merely an incarnation.

“A great opportunity has come before you,” Lord Woodflower said.

“Oh?” Swordlord Wildfire, Swordlord Yicheng, and Swordlord Graceless’s eyes all lit up.

“The other three Swordlords are returning from elsewhere in the Brightshore Kingdom. The six of you will need to make some immediately preparations,” Lord Woodflower said. “Bertulu and Eastcult aside, all of the World-level cultivators acknowledged by the pagodas shall have a chance to win this chance. However… in the end, only four will succeed.”

Swordlord Wildfire and the others were all surprised upon hearing this.

Those acknowledged by the pagodas were all capable of breaking through to become Daolords at any time… and they would all become extraordinary Daolords! If only four were to be chosen… what sort of opportunity was this?!

“Make your preparations. I hope that at least one of the four will be from our Palace of the Sword.” Lord Woodflower sighed.

“Don’t worry, Palace Lord.”

“We will all work hard.”

The three Swordlords present were all filled with resolve and determination.

However, Lord Woodflower knew that determination alone wasn’t enough. Everyone acknowledged by the pagodas was filled with determination. In the end, strength was what would matter. Alas, this generation of World-level experts from the Palace of the Saber were simply too strong.

In the following days, those who had been acknowledged by the pagodas were all secretly summoned back from throughout the adventuring areas within the Brightshore Kingdom by the various leaders of the Twelve Palaces.

……

The Palace of the Sword. The Daolord Cloudworld.

Whoosh.

A white-robed youth appeared out of nowhere within the skies of the Daolord Cloudword. He looked quite bedraggled, and his body was covered with bloody scars. However, he quickly became clean once more after a bit of light flashed over his body. Ji Ning hadn’t even heard the news about this exciting opportunity. As a result, he continued to live a relaxed and happy life.

Life really was quite relaxed and exciting. The reason why Ning had focused on the Dao of the Sword for so long was because he truly did love training with the sword. This was a love that came from the bottom of his heart, and the feeling of continuing to improve with the sword was absolutely intoxicating for him.

As for the Sword Palace, it was a holy land for sword practitioners.

“This is absolutely wonderful. I can spend a few hundred years meditating in the Forest of Sword Pagodas and gain many new ideas, then enter the Daolord Cloudworld and use them in actual battle to further verify and refine my sword-arts.” Ning flew through the skies in a very pleased manner. It had been twenty years since he had entered the Sword Palace, but his temporal acceleration treasure made it so that he had actually engaged in two thousand years of cultivation. He had already tried out the Daolord Cloudworld on numerous occasions by now.

“Youji still isn’t back?” Ning glanced sideways at his distant estate at the peak of the mountain. Su Youji still had yet to return. “It seems she has completely set her mind upon entering the Palace of Fire.”

Suddenly…

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknoth! Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth!” Shouts rang out from afar.

Ning turned his head, only to see a tall, muscular, heavily-bearded Daolord dressed in black armor fly towards him.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you are…?” Ning truly didn’t recognize this person. The Sword Palace had quite a few black-armored Daolords, and Ning had spent most of his time training and very little time in making friends. He truly didn’t know many people in the Sword Palace.

“My name is Jiwang,” the black-armored Daolord said. “Swordfive of Armaments Gorge asked me to send word for you to go meet him.”

“Swordfive?” Ning’s eyes lit up. Swordfive was a golem. Golems focused exclusively on their duty, which meant Swordfive wouldn’t summon him without a reason. Ning had long ago purchased the [Novessence Water], which meant the only thing still pending at the Armaments Gorge was his request for them to help him purchase the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting.

“Thank you, Daolord Jiwang,” Ning said, then immediately flew away from his estate.

Ning descended upon the Armaments Gorge, then immediately turned to look at Swordfive and Swordsix. They each stood to one side of the entranceway.

“Darknorth.” Swordfive nodded at him.

“Is it the Mirrorsnow Painting?” Ning couldn’t help but blurt out.

“Aren’t you the impatient one.” Swordfive chuckled.

Ning grinned as well. “How can I not be? When I joined the Sword Palace, I didn’t choose a legacy.” Because Ning already had access to Emperor Mirrorsnow’s legacy, the other legacies in the Sword Palace really weren’t of interest to Ning. Although the Sword Palace did have legacies left behind by Eternal Emperors, they could only be chosen after Ning was acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas and passed the trials the Eternal Emperors had left behind. Ning clearly didn’t fulfill these requirements at present… and the other legacies were clearly inferior to Emperor Mirrorsnow’s.

“You were wise not to choose,” Swordfive said. “Your luck wasn’t bad. We didn’t need to spend too much effort in finding this fourth painting. However… the other party probably was able to guess that you care deeply about this painting, and so he gave a rather high price. You have to pay three hundred thousand cubes.”

Ning nodded. The Twelve Palaces had certain rules governing them. If you sent out word through the Twelve Palaces that you wished for the Daolords to help you find a certain item, there would be many Daolords who would help out. However, only the person who successfully located the treasure you wanted would be given a commission in thanks, as well as the Daolord who helped escort the treasure back to the palaces. The total commission given would be 10%. The other Daolords would have done all their work for nothing.

“Here are the three hundred and thirty thousand cubes.” Ning handed a gourd over to Swordfive, who accepted and inspected it.

Whoosh. Swordfive waved his hand, causing a painting which emanated sword-ki to fly out from deep within the Armaments Gorge. This painting depicted an image of an icy, snowy land.

“Take it.” Swordfive handed it over to Ning.

Ning couldn’t disguise his excitement as he accepted this painting of an icy snowland. Finally. He finally found it! Emperor Mirrorsnow had never accepted any true disciples, and so before he decided to go off adventuring he had produced these ten sets of paintings and spread them out into the universe. Those World-level cultivators who collected a full set of four and overcame his trials would become his personal disciples!

“A personal disciple of an Eternal Emperor? Since he dared make the claim that those who acquired a full set would become his personal disciple, I imagine I won’t be disappointed by the legacy he left behind.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

Some legacies merely involved individual techniques or abilities. Others had more thought put into them, such as World God Northrest who had worked hard to set up those ninety-eight stone steles to guide Ning.

As for the best ones… they included divine abilities, treasures, secret arts, and more. Daoist Threelives was a classic example. He had left behind everything for his successor.

“I wonder what Emperor Mirrorsnow left behind. Now that I have the full set, all I need to do is pass the fourth and final trial. I’ve already passed the first three trials; only the last one remains.” Ning immediately picked up the painting and put it away.

“Thank you.” Ning expressed his thanks to Swordfive and Swordsix, then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared.

Ning quickly returned to his own Immortal estate.

Swoosh! He flew into his estate, then shut the gates with a loud bang! No one would be able to bother him now. Even if Su Youji returned, she would have to stay outside and wait for him. Ning absolutely would not let anyone disturb him at all right now.

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Chapter 10 – The Personal Disciple of an Eternal Emperor

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 10 – The Personal Disciple of an Eternal Emperor

The world within the fourth painting.

Whooooosh. A cold wind howled through as snow drifted through the skies. This was a world of ice and snow.

Ji Ning appeared out of nowhere. He swept the area with his gaze, then began to walk towards a distant thatched hut. A white-haired, grim-looking man was seated in the lotus position within the thatched hut. In front of him was a flagon of wine that was surrounded by flames. Also on the table, next to the wine, was an ordinary sword.

“Mm?” Ning looked at the white-haired man.

“What, has Daolord Flylead gained yet another disciple in his Snowsword Sect?” The white-haired man looked at Ning.

“Daolord Flylead? I don’t know him.” Ning shook his head.

“Oh?” The white-haired man glanced at Ning in surprise. “In this chaos cycle, Daolord Flylead has sent more than ten World-level cultivators to duel with me in swordplay. Although he himself isn’t that strong, he’s still a Daolord of the Third Step. Are you actually strong enough to seize the fourth painting from him by force?”

Ning instantly understood. This painting had been in the hands of a Daolord, and one who often sent different disciples into this place to duel in swordplay. It made sense. The first Mirrorsnow Painting had been in the hands of Daolord Windsource, after all.

“I’m not currently capable of seizing treasures from a Daolord of the Third Step. I bought it,” Ning said. “I have already defeated the emperor, the fisherman, and the assassin. Now, the only one left is you.”

“You’ve already defeated the other three?” Light flashed through the eyes of the previously calm-looking man, and a desire to do battle began to radiate from him. He stretched his hand out, picking up the sword from the table as he rose to his feet. He slowly walked out of his thatched hut, his gaze focused on Ning. “You can address me as… swordsman!”

“Swordsman?” Ning was stunned. The man asked him to address him as ‘swordsman’. Ning had the sense that this person wasn’t going to be easy to deal with.

“I am the final trial for you.” The white-haired man stood there atop the snow, staring at Ning. “Draw your sword.”

“Alright.” With a flash, a Frostice sword appeared in Ning’s eyes.

The two were merely competing in swordplay, and so they would refrain from using divine abilities or special treasures.

Swish.

Ning was the first to strike. His sword-light flashed, causing his power to condense so tightly that it didn’t even have any impact at all on the snowflakes falling around it. It wasn’t necessarily true that a loud commotion and grand display of might meant that a person was strong. Dao lightning was a good example of this. When its power was unchained and flailed out randomly, its power was somewhat weakened. Only by focusing it tightly and using it against a single opponent would it unleash its maximum power.

The same was true for sword-arts!

Clang! The white-haired man struck out as well.

The swords of both moved vastly faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, vastly faster than the speed of light. If ordinary mortals were watching… in fact, if Celestial Immortals or Empyrean Gods were watching… they would only see two blurs flickering. They wouldn’t even see any sword-light, because the swords were moving faster than they could see.

The two constantly flashed and flickered through the falling snow, their sword-light clashing repeatedly.

“What a powerful and pure sword-art.” Ning was secretly shocked. This white-haired man’s sword-arts definitely were strong enough for him to be addressed as ‘swordsman’, and he lived up to his reputation as the final trial. If the emperor, the fisherman, and the assassin all belonged to different schools of swordplay, then this swordsman’s sword-arts encompassed all schools.

His sword-arts could be explosive, could be ephemeral, but could also be cold and sharp…

Technically, his sword-arts were ‘merely’ on the same level of unpredictability as the assassin’s and the same level of ephemeralness as the fisherman’s. However, because he had reached such a high level in every aspect, his sword-arts became incredibly terrifying to deal with. When a person reached a level where he had no flaws at all, his attacks could easily transform into defensive movements, which could easily translate into deceptive openings, which could easily transform into such assassination strikes. All the changes and transformations were very fluid and natural.

It was like an endless cycle that had inexhaustible moves. Ning had reached a very high level of sword-arts. His sword-arts were significantly better than that of the emperor, the fisherman, and the assassin, making it easy for him to defeat them, but for a time he was completely unable to do anything to this ‘swordsman’.

Slash!

Clang!

Sword-light continued to clash repeatedly.

Ning was filled with a strong desire to win, causing him to constantly try new tactics for gaining victory. Slowly, the insights he had gained in the Forest of Sword Pagodas began to merge into his Unicorn’s Domain. In truth, Ning had been steadily improving in the Unicorn’s Domain during his years in the Sword Palace, as it represented a path in sword cultivation to begin with.

This was a path that could be continuously perfected. It would even allow him to become a Daolord of the First Step, a Daolord of the Second Step, or even a Daolord of the Third Step…

However, this path wasn’t the most difficult path. It was merely a path on par with the fisherman’s path, and it represented the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art. The seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art represented a path that was even more difficult to take.

Without Ning even realizing it, the two ended up battling for more than six hours. As the fight progressed, Ning’s advantage became increasingly apparent.

It made sense. He had already been able to defeat the first three trials while he had been in the Astral Islands. Although he hadn’t spent too much time in the Sword Palace, two thousand years of accelerated time had resulted in him improving significantly.

Clang!

An emphemeral streak of sword-light brushed past the white-haired man’s sword, then stabbed him in the throat.

Ning then withdrew his sword and stepped back.

“You won.” The white-haired man smiled.

Ning, however, had a rather distant look in his gaze. Victory in this battle had taught Ning what choosing a path truly meant.

The Unicorn’s Domain was a comparatively easier path. The white-haired man’s path was a path that perfectly fused together multiple different paths of the sword. This was a path that was more than ten times harder to traverse, but it was also more powerful.

But of course…

A Daolord of the Fourth Step could easily defeat the white-haired man’s sword-arts using the Unicorn’s Domain. Ji Ning had similarly reached an incredibly high level of expertise in the Unicorn’s Domain, and he could sense that he was just a hair away from becoming a Daolord. If he made some more breakthroughs, he would probably be able to reach the Daolord level whenever he wished… but that would mean that he would have become a Daolord through the Unicorn’s Domain.

“However… in the end, the Unicorn’s Domain is not my path. Nor is the white-haired man’s sword-art my path.”

Ning’s path was a path that would lead him to the very essence of the sword itself. He would infuse all of the essence of the sword and countless sword-arts into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art, which represented his truest path.

The white-haired man had merely fused a few different sword-arts in a perfect manner. It was more profound than the Unicorn’s Domain, but it couldn’t really be said to point to the true essence of the sword itself. The latter path was the purest and most difficult path to take… but this was what Ning wished to obtain from his sword cultivation. He had to take this path. Only by taking the path you wished to take would you be on the most suitable path.

Rumble…

Ning was seated in the lotus position within his Immortal estate. It had merely been a divine power clone which he had sent into the fourth world.

After defeating the overseer of the fourth painting, Ning called out with his will and summoned all four Mirrorsnow Paintings. The four paintings hung there in the air, slowly drawing closer to each other before they completely merged into one. After the four paintings completely merged together, they actually transformed into a single painting. This painting looked quite ordinary, and it didn’t have any sword-intent within it. It did, however, depict a man.

This man carried a sword on his back and was staring off into the distance. He looked extremely handsome and suave.

“Disciple, this is the painting of myself, your master. Kowtow three times first.” A voice rang out from within the painting.

Ning was badly startled by this. In the next moment, he felt completely speechless.

Jeeze, Emperor Mirrorsnow… why are you such a narcissist? After the four paintings merged together, they actually formed a self-portrait of yourself? And you actually drew yourself in such a perfect, flawless manner?

The other paintings were all quite terrible, but his portrait was quite well-done. The strange thing was, there was almost no sword-intent radiating from this image. Ning strongly suspected that this probably wasn’t actually drawn by Emperor Mirrorsnow himself.

There was no way the man could paint such a nice portrait.

“I wonder what this master of mine has left behind. I had best kowtow first.” Ning immediately knelt down, kowtowing three times to the levitating painting of Emperor Mirrorsnow.

Whoosh.

As soon as he finished kowtowing, the painting emanated a blinding light that completely surrounded Ning. Ning didn’t resist, and with a swoosh he was drawn directly inside of it.

Within the Eternal Emperor’s painting.

This was an incredibly vast and ancient world. A man carrying a sword on his back was standing there atop the desolate earth, and there were four retainers who were standing by his side in a respectful manner. These four retainers were the emperor, the assassin, the fisherman, and the swordsman.

Whoosh.

Ning appeared out of nowhere next to them.

“Disciple.” The man carrying the longsword on his back looked at Ning.

Ning immediately understood that this person was most likely Emperor Mirrorsnow. Still… it most likely wasn’t the Eternal Emperor’s true form. Actually, the Eternal Emperor really did look quite handsome. The painting apparently had been an accurate one, and the sword-intent which naturally radiated from his eyes caused Ning to feel a sense of alarm in his heart. Although this sword-intent seemed quite calm, it had a hidden sharpness that was far more terrifying than the sensation which Daolord Woodflower had emanated.

“Master,” Ning called out respectfully.

“This is a world which will only appear after all four paintings merge together.” The Eternal Emperor looked at Ning. “I’ve left a strand of my will in this place, all for the sake of waiting for you, my dear apprentice.”

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Chapter 11 – A Memory Fragment

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 11 – A Memory Fragment

The Eternal Emperor looked at Ji Ning, extremely moved. “I delight in exploring, in visiting one beautiful new world after another. I truly don’t have the patience necessary to teach a disciple. However… if I keep adventuring like this, I’ll probably die one day. If I die, I die, but I’m afraid that after enough years pass, even my name shall be forgotten by the vast majority of cultivators.”

“It will be you, my dear disciples, who shall ensure that my name and reputation shall exist unto perpetuity. Once you become my personal disciple, you must accept ten more disciples on my behalf before you attempt your Daomerge. They can be considered honorary disciples of mine,” the Eternal Emperor said. “The skills I impart unto you, you can only impart unto those ten honorary disciples.”

“Your disciple understands.” Ning nodded.

Accept ten disciples before his Daomerge? This was a fairly easy oath.

“Then swear the oath,” the Eternal Emperor said.

Ning immediately swore a lifeblood oath. If he wanted to transmit certain legacies to his future disciples or to Subhuti and the others in the Three Realms, he could simply transmit his own insights. He would have a Dao that was completely his own, after all! The Eternal Emperor’s legacy primarily served as a guidepost for him, a way to show him how he should walk his future path and avoid certain wrong choices.

If a person walked forward blindly without any guideposts, it would be easy to get lost and make the wrong decisions. Ever step taken by a Samsara Daolord was a step which straddled the line between life and death. There were no ways to take back a misstep! Once you made that misstep, you would die and your Dao would dissipate.

“Mm.” The Eternal Emperor watched Ning swear the oath, nodding in satisfaction. He transformed into a streak of light that flew straight into Ning’s body. Ning wasn’t able to resist him in the slightest.

Rumble…

Ning just stood there in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by the four retainers of the Emperor. The swordsman, the fisherman, the assassin, and the emperor all stared at him as ripples of power began to emanate from the area around him. Clearly, the many memories and abilities which the Eternal Emperor’s strand of will contained were merging into Ning’s own memories. That strand of divine will held simply too much power and memories, making it physically painful for even someone as mighty as Ning to absorb.

Within Ning’s sea of consciousness. A large amount of information was flooding into this place.

“Before I succeeded in my Daomerge, I obtained an Eternal sword-art known as the [Heartseal] sword-art. This sword-art has a total of fifteen stances. This is the first stance, the Flysword stance…” A memory fragment entered Ning’s mind. The speaker was Emperor Mirrorsnow, and in the memory he wielded a single sword and began to display the first stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art.”

Emperor Mirrorsnow’s will was in complete control of these many memory fragments. He made it so that Ning was able to personally watch his memories.

“This is second stance, the Mountainsword stance.” Emperor Mirrorsnow put this stance on display as well. This was a far more effective method than simply meditating on sword-intent, as the Eternal Emperor was putting on a personal display. Not only was his sword-intent clear and obvious, he executed every movement in perfect detail and clarity. For the sake of being able to teach better, the Emperor Mirrorsnow displayed every single stance three times. The first time, he went through every single movement extremely slowly. The second time, he would display it without using any divine power or Immortal energy. The third time, he would use it with true, full power.”

“This is the fifteenth stance, the Heartseal stance. Once the Heartseal forms, eternity shall be gained.”

This final memory fragment was of Emperor Mirrorsnow executing sword-arts in a vast region of primordial chaos. When his sword struck out, an utterly titanic seal suddenly manifested which completely extinguished everything in the primordial chaos in the area. One chaos star after another was wiped out by the force of this strike. Ning was able to count over a hundred million chaos stars that were shattered and splintered by the force of this strike.

Ning was truly speechless when he saw this. When Emperor Mirrorsnow had unleashed a full-strength attack with this stance, just how wide an area had it covered? His sword was so fast that it had surpassed the concept of speed itself. In fact, it had surpassed even the very concept of spacetime itself. Otherwise, how could it have wiped out that many chaos stars? Even if his sword moved thousands of times faster than the speed of light, how could it possibly fly out that far, that fast?

And yet, it was an undisputable fact that Emperor Mirrorsnow’s sword had wiped out everything in an infinitely vast region, leaving nothing behind.

Fortunately, the region which Emperor Mirrorsnow had chosen to display this stance was a region that was completely devoid of life. Otherwise, the number of casualties that would’ve been caused would be incalculable.

“I’ve completely displayed the [Heartseal] sword-art for you. This was the sword-art I trained in as I progressed, step by step, to gain eternity for myself. It is extremely difficult to train in this sword-art, but it can be separated into four different sets of sword-arts.”

Emperor Mirrorsnow began to display a new set of sword-arts, and Ning instantly understood.

These four separate sword-arts could be described as the fisherman’s sword, the assassin’s sword, the emperor’s sword, and the killer’s sword. The fisherman, the assassin, and the emperor each used one of these three sets of sword-arts, while the final challenger, the swordsman, used a sword-art that could be considered the most basic, elementary version of the [Heartseal] sword-art.

“These four sets of sword-arts each represent a separate path. Although they seem quite ordinary, it won’t be hard for you to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step through using one of these sword-arts. However, even if you do reach that level, your accomplishments will be mediocre,” Emperor Mirrorsnow said.

“Now, these four sword-arts can actually be separated into ninety-six sword-arts.” Emperor Mirrorsnow once again began to carefully display and describe every single sword-art.

The reason why this transmission had been such a painful and arduous one to accept was primarily because each and every memory fragment contained scenes of the Eternel Emperor personally displaying his sword-arts. A large amount of stances were included, as were various types of sword-intent.

“The [Heartseal] sword-art can be separated into four fairly average sword-arts, which can then be separated into ninety-six low-class sword-arts. If you have sufficiently high insights into the sword, it will be easy for you to learn them.

“I have finished transmitting my sword-arts to you. Now, I shall transmit a divine ability to you, an extremely powerful divine ability that will allow your attacks to explode with power. You will be able to instantly unleash a extreme level of power with it. This divine ability is known as the [Five Seals Sword Dao]…” The transmission of a divine ability was much simpler. It mainly included basic information in how to train in that divine ability, and Ning was able to instantly memorize it all.

“Oh, right. I left behind four golem servants. They shall follow you, my personal disciple, and protect you. That way, I can guarantee you won’t die too quickly.

“Mm. I’ve taught you everything I should teach, and I’ve said everything that needs to be said. Train hard and make sure you don’t besmirch my mighty name, dear disciple. If fate wills it, perhaps we shall truly meet in the flesh one day.”

The transmission came to an end.

Back within the desolate wilderness.

The four retainers continued to watch Ning. While Ning had been accepting the transmission, he had been rippling with waves of power. This state had persisted for two full days before he came to a halt and took a rest. The main reason it had taken this long was because it truly was difficult for Ning to completely absorb all of the information in the memory fragments.

In truth…

If Ning had personally watched Emperor Mirrorsnow display his sword-arts, he wouldn’t have been able to understand or memorize the truly profound parts. However, Emperor Mirrorsnow had completely transmitted his memories directly into Ning’s mind. Once the process was complete, Ning would never forget those memories unless he personally wiped them away.

“Eh? Why hasn’t Darknorth woken up yet?”

“Right. There are no more ripples; the transmission should’ve concluded.”

“He’s probably training.”

The four retainers chatted amongst themselves.

Their guesses were correct. Ning was indeed training. In the Forest of Sword Pagodas, he had only been able to visualize and sense the sword-intents radiating from the pagodas. There was obviously no way he could see or visualize those ancient powers actually displaying their various sword-arts, much less have their memories be directly infused into his mind! The [Heartseal] sword-art was also an incredibly profound sword-art, and one which could be broken down into multiple different sword-arts. This made it extremely easy for Ning to train in.

Many of the questions he had regarding the Dao of the Sword were wiped clean. He was continuously gaining a deeper and deeper understanding as his sword-arts dramatically improved.

This explosively effective training session persisted for more than half a month before it finally came to an end.

“Whew.” Ning opened his eyes.

“Having a master versus not having one… it really is completely different.” Ning glanced at the world around him in a jubilant mood. He knew that he had just completely changed compared to a month ago.

Ning now knew how he should advance from the World level all the way to the Eternal Emperor level. In the past, he knew nothing. Now, he knew.

“I wonder who is stronger? My master Emperor Mirrorsnow, Violetjewel creator Emperor Violetmount, or the creator of the [Nameless] sword-art,” Ning mused. “Still… the Violetjewels are merely middle-grade Eternal weapons. Once I become a Daolord of the First Step, I’ll probably need to switch them out for something else. As for the [Nameless] sword-art, I only have the first seven stances to them.”

Ning understood that in the future, he would spend much of his time meditating on the [Heartseal] sword-art and learning from it, infusing its mysteries into his own Dao of the Sword.

“If I could gain the complete [Nameless] sword-art legacy and the complete legacy of Emperor Violetmount, then I would now have three complete legacies. I could simultaneously absorb the teachings and mysteries of all three legacies, then go learn from the Forest of Sword Pagodas. I’ll definitely improve even more quickly then.” When this thought flickered through Ning’s mind, he couldn’t help but grin.

“Darknorth, was that helpful to you?”

“It seems you’ve gained quite a bit from it.”

“Given how strong Darknorth is already, he’ll soon be able to break through to become a Daolord whenever he wishes.” The four retainers all spoke out when Ning woke up.

Ning smiled and nodded. “I indeed can break through to become a Daolord. However, that path is not my path.”

The Unicorn’s Domain had indeed been dramatically improved.

The Unicorn’s Domain was a path akin to the fisherman’s path. Emperor Mirrorsnow’s [Heartseal] sword-art could be divided into four sword-arts, one of which was the [Fisherman’s Sword]. Ning’s highest level of attainment in recent years was in the Unicorn’s Domain, which was his Unicorn’s Domain had dramatically improved just half a month after Ning had received the legacy. Ning could already sense that his accomplishments in the Unicorn’s Domain were enough for him to use it as his core foundation to rebuild his divine body and become a Daolord of the First Step.

Samsara Daolords. Each step they took resulted in their divine bodies being completely reconstituted! If you took a single wrong step, you would cause your body to crumble. You would die and your Dao would vanish.

“Just as Emperor Mirrorsnow said, although all four sword-arts which make up the [Heartseal] sword-art can allow a person to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, they will result in mediocrity.” Ning secretly shook his head. Just becoming a Daolord was not enough.

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Chapter 12 – The Twelve Scrolls of the Sutra of Eternity

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 12 – The Twelve Scrolls of the Sutra of Eternity

“The four of you.” Ji Ning looked at the four surrounding him. “According to what my master told me, you four shall follow me in the future, right?”

“Right.” The four all nodded.

“Might I ask how strong the four of you are?” Ning asked.

“The four of us are roughly comparable to peak-level Daolords of the Third Step. But of course, the swordsman’s sword-arts are a bit better, making him slightly more powerful,” the golden-robed emperor said.

Ning couldn’t help but feel stunned. All four golems were comparable to peak Daolords of the Third Step?

This was the legacy which his master had left behind for him? The more masters like this, the better!

“Golems comparable to Verge-level Daolords are too expensive. The Eternal Emperor did have one such golem, but he ended up selling it to procure forty golems comparable to peak Daolords of the Third Step for his personal disciples like you,” the golden-robed emperor said.

Ning was speechless.

Alright, fine. Maybe he had gone a bit too far in mentally praising his master. Still, Ning did know that golems with the strength of Verge-level Daolords were indeed quite expensive, and forging them was no easy task. After all, true Verge-level Daolords not only had considerable Immortal energy and divine power, they also had mighty magic treasures and high insights into the Dao. To have a mere golem be a match for one of them was extremely difficult. Daolord Allgod was an incredibly skilled artificer, but even he had been only able to painstakingly forge a single Verge-level golem.

The Sword Palace had collected many golems over the course of countless years, but even it had only acquire a total of nine Verge-level golems. Those golems were the ones titled Swordone through Swordnine.

Although the Daolord Cloudworld had many golems within it, those were all fairly weak. The strongest were probably just on par with the four standing right in front of Ning.

“If you are to follow me, should I bind you all?” Ning asked. He was too weak right now; there was no way for him to forcibly bind them.

“Unacceptable.”

“Per the Eternal Emperor’s instructions, we can each only help you out a single time prior to you defeating us in battle. Once you are able to defeat us, we’ll permit you to bind us and be your eternal servants.” The emperor, the swordsman, the fisherman, and the assassin all refused in solemn fashion.

Ning was instantly speechless.

Fine.

Most likely, Emperor Mirrorsnow was afraid that he would rely on the golems too much and so had restricted him to using them a single time. He probably just wanted to ensure that his disciples wouldn’t be killed while they were weak if they were unlucky enough to be trapped in a dangerous situation.

“Just one time each. Still, that’ll keep me alive in dangerous situations.” Ning was in quite a good mood.

“The divine ability my master taught me makes it so that someone with the body of a half-step Daolord is able to match a full Daolord of the First Step. Unfortunately, my azureflower mist energy ensures that I already am comparable to a Daolord of the First Step, and it lasts for a very long period of time.” Ning shook his head. This divine ability really was somewhat useless to him.

If he used it, his divine power would probably run dry after a short battle. How could it possibly last as long as the azureflower mist energy in battle?

“The most valuable part of the legacy were those memory fragments which Master transmitted to me.” Ning couldn’t help but feel excited. Although there had been legacies in the Astral Islands, those legacies consisted of simple information which any cultivator could learn and make use of. Those legacies within the Astral Islands would be transmitted to countless cultivators over the course of aeons, and they weren’t truly valuable.

These memory fragments of Emperor Mirrorsnow could only be transmitted a single time, and their creation had involved the Eternal Emperor infusing his own divine will into them.

……

The Brightshore Kingdom. The imperial palace.

Rumble…

The blazing beast stood there in a region of empty stace, staring at the distant, towering behemoth. Golden light began to radiate from the behemoth’s giant eyes, and the light completely swallowed the blazing beast.

Within that barrier of golden light, many mysteries and secrets were being transmitted to the blazing beast in an endless stream.

“GRWAAAR!” The blazing beast’s body trembled from the pain. Every so often, flames would flicker and burst out in the area around him.

Finally, the golden light dissipated.

“Hegemon.” The blazing beast revealed a look of delight as he stared at the distant, towering behemoth.

“After twelve separate transmissions, you have completely memorized the twelve scrolls of the [Sutra of Eternity]. Our race has very few members, and those who are suitable for my legacies are even fewer. Long, long ago, our race was forcibly enslaved by the Ancient cultivators. The Ancients are on par with us in terms of innate gifts, but they have many legacies. I was once fortunate enough to acquire a legacy left behind by a senior of our race, a set of ten scrolls called the [Ten Scrolls of Eternity]. It was thanks to that legacy that I was able to train to my present level, and I perfected them and supplemented them, transforming them into the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity].

“In this era, our race is on an equal footing with the Ancients, precisely because of the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity]. These twelve scrolls include all things with them. No matter what path you choose, it will be of assistance to you, which is why I will transmit this legacy to every single member of our race.

“Child… as of right now, I am the only member of our race who has broken through to become an Eternal Emperor. I hope you will be the second one of our race,” the towering behemoth concluded.

“Yes, Hegemon.” The blazing beast was incomparably excited. In recent years, he had come to learn much of the history of his race from the time he had spent in the imperial palace. He naturally now felt a tremendous sense of kinship and belonging! As for these [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity], they included virtually all Daos. This caused him to feel even more awe towards the almighty Hegemon.

“Choose an imperial name for yourself,” the towering behemoth instructed.

“When I was born and gained consciousness, I gave myself a name, ‘God of Sky and Fire’. Let my name be Skyfire of the Brightshore Imperials,” the blazing beast said.

A look of amusement appeared in the towering behemoth’s eyes. ‘God of Sky and Fire’?

The members of his race were only born from the primordial chaos under certain, very unique situations. They were incredibly few in number, and if it wasn’t for the fact that the Hegemon went out of his way to hunt for them, many would probably wander the primordial chaos for countless years by themselves. Generally speaking, they would choose rather odd names for themselves. ‘God of Sky and Fire’ was a fairly amusing one.

“Spend some time training in the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity]. I will give you a thousand years. A thousand years later, I’ll send you into an alternate universe, which will be your first training grounds,” the towering behemoth said.

“Yes, Hegemon.” The blazing beast was very excited, and he knew he neded time to study the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity]. Actually, after he learnt this precious technique he would continue to rise in power even as he roamed the outside world.

This was how the Brightshore Kingdom worked. After the most powerful World-level cultivators were selected and recruited, they would receive endless legacies and secret arts from the Twelve Palaces. The same was true for the imperial clan. New entrants to the imperial clan would also be forced to undergo certain tempering experiences, after which they would be transmitted the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity].

……

The imperial palace. There were thirteen royal thrones here hanging high in the skies.

The white-haired, six-horned old man dressed in snowy robes spoke out. “A thousand years from now, I will select the four most powerful World-level cultivators and have them accompany Skyfire Brightshore to the alternate universe. It will be up to them to make the most out of it.”

“A thousand years?”

“So we have another thousand years.”

Now that the twelve golden-armored powers knew exactly how long they had, they began to be filled with anticipation.

Time flowed on. More and more of the cultivators who had been acknowledged by the pagodas and who had been out adventuring within the Brightshore Kingdom began to return, responding to the summons of the Twelve Palaces.

“Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire, I heard from Lord Woodflower that a great opportunity awaits us?”

“Yes. Everyone acknowledged by the pagodas will have a chance at it. However, only the four most powerful members of the Twelve Palaces will be granted it.”

“Just four?”

……

The Palace of the Sword.

Two youngsters were striding within it. One was the red-haired Wildfire, whereas the other was an icy-faced child who was wielding a shortspear.

“We don’t have much time left, just nine hundred years,” Wildfire warned.

“I plan to spend the next nine hundred years in the Forest of Sword Pagodas,” the icy child said.

“I’m planning to do the same. I’m going to spend my time in meditation.” Wildfire agreed with this idea. The Forest of Sword Pagodas was the most sacred place within the entire Sword Palace. It had many sword-arts which had been personally left behind by the mighty Daolords from a previous era. If you chose to learn from sword-arts that were similar to your own, you would benefit greatly from it.

The icy child swept the area with his gaze. He saw a distant thatched cottage, and within that cottage sat the white-robed Ji NIng.

“Who is that?” The icy child asked curiously.

“His name is Darknorth. He’s a newly arrived junior apprentice-brother,” Wildfire said.

“Why is he using a temporal acceleration treasure? Has he been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas as well? Is he also trying to seize every moment to train?” The icy child asked.

“No.” Wildfire shook his head. “He’s new, and as soon as he came here he began to use a temporal acceleration treasure. He’s probably trying to finish something as fast as he can.”

The icy child nodded.

Normally, cultivators wouldn’t go out of their way to use temporal acceleration treasures, as they didn’t make much of a difference. The more one trained, the more those moments of epiphany mattered. Only when there was a pressing need would people use temporal acceleration treasures.

“Our opponents shall be all the World-level cultivators who were acknowledged by their respective pagodas. Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire, you’ll be one of my opponents as well.” The icy child looked at Wildfire.

“I won’t take it easy on you.” Wildfire chuckled as well.

The two didn’t care about Ji Ning at all. Right now, all of the talented geniuses of the Twelve Palaces who had been acknowledged by their pagodas were trying to seize every moment to strengthen themselves as much as they could.

Ning, however, knew of none of this. He was still completely absorbed in his cultivation.

He had the memories of his master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, providing him with careful and detailed guidance. He also had the opportunity to analyze the Eternal Emperor’s sword-arts and compare them to the many sword-arts of the Forest of Sword Pagodas. His level of insight was continuously rising at a pace that was unspeakably faster than before he had acquired the Eternal Emperor’s legacy. Ning enjoyed this process very much, and was completely intoxicated by it.

And so, in the blink of an eye, more than eight hundred years passed with Ning consumed by his quiet meditations.

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Chapter 13 – The Seventh Stance of [Nameless]

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 13 – The Seventh Stance of [Nameless]

The Forest of Sword Pagodas was filled with tens of thousands of towering Sword Pagodas which stood silently erect. Numerous cultivators were scattered throughout the Forest of Sword Pagodas, quietly training with no one disturbing them.

There was a thatched cottage in the forest as well, and within the thatched cottage was a white-robed youth. Streams of sword-ki surged in the area around him, occasionally flicking out as sword-stances.

Suddenly, the youth opened his eyes. A look of delight could be seen in his gaze.

“I’ve finished mastering the seventh stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art, the ‘Reincarnation’ stance.” Ning was in a superb mood. “My master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, used the Reincarnation stance to break through to become a Samsara Daolord, and now I myself have learned this stance as well.

Whooooosh.

Sword-light began to flood the area around Ning. Some of the sword-light was filled with an aura of murder, some of it was fluctuating and unpredictable, while the rest was dominating and savage. The different types of sword-arts cycled through in a perfect manner, and no flaws could be seen at all from any of the attacks. It truly was like the perfect cycle of reincarnation itself, and when any enemies made even the slightest of mistakes the Reincarnation stance would ensure that they would be trapped and buried.

“Emperor Mirrorsnow was a dissolute, adventurous man, but his sword-arts were extremely cautious and tight.” Ning sighed in amazement.

“Mm. Given my current level of insight into sword-arts, I should be able to train in the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art.” Ning immediately began to ponder the [Nameless] sword-art.

Thanks to the Eternal Emperor’s legacy, Ning was able to learn the [Heartseal] sword-art incredibly fast! By comparison, training in the [Nameless] sword-art was considerably more taxing… and Ning had the feeling that the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art was actually more difficult than the seventh stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art.

The spacetime acceleration cottage maintained a rate of a hundred times the normal flow of time. Ning’s mastery of his sword-arts had already skyrocketed, making the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art much easier to understand as he continuously meditated upon it.

The seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art was named ‘Cosmic Heart’. It was far more complicated than the Unicorn’s Domain, and it was even more profound than the Reincarnation stance.

More than thirty years went by.

“Eh?” Ning opened his eyes. A distant look was in his gaze, as though everyone around him including the thatched cottage no longer existed. It was as though he was surrounded by an absolutely pristine, illusory world… and a single tear had appeared within it.

This single tear seemed to be a tear of love… but it also appeared to be the very heart of this world.

Slash!

Ning flicked out with his fingernail as if he was stabbing forward with a sword, piercing that tear with it.

In this moment, Ning’s heartforce burst out and completely meshed together with his finger.

Whoosh!

A shocking aura of sword-intent billowed out of the thatched cottage and into the surrounding area.

Ning was completely stunned and absorbed by the perfect beauty of this strike. He couldn’t help but close his eyes and savor the marvelousness of that sword-art. He had naturally, unconsciously infused his sword-arts with his heartforce, but he didn’t force it as other cultivators did. Rather, it had all happened in a very natural manner. He hadn’t even intentionally tried to add heartforce into the mix. He had purely wished to execute this sword-art to its full potential. His subconscious mind merged his heartforce into it, causing him to unleash an utterly mystical and utterly terrifying strike.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a loud sound rang out from outside. The entire Forest of Sword Pagodas began to tremble.

“Eh?” Puzzled, Ning opened his eyes to stare outside. The ground outside was trembling as that enormous sound boomed from far away.

“What’s going on? The Forest of Sword Pagodas is the most sacred place of the Sword Palace. Who would dare cause trouble here?” Puzzled, Ning walked out of his thatched cottage and stared off into the distance.

“What was that?”

“Was that…?”

“Look!”

Dozens of cultivators within the Forest of Sword Pagodas rose to their feet. Some were at the World level, some were Daolords. In this moment, all of them stared at the area from where the disturbance was coming. At a distant part of the Forest of Sword Pagodas, the ground was booming loudly as it began to split apart. The tip of a pagoda was slowly emerging from underground and climbing higher and higher.

“A Sword Pagoda.”

“A new Sword Pagoda.”

“A new pagoda? We just gained yet another pagoda? Who was just acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas?” Everyone was excited.

They all understood what was going on. Only once you were acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas would the Forest of Sword Pagodas give birth to a brand new pagoda of your own. Countless eons had gone by, but only around eighty thousand cultivators had ever been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, and in this day and age only six World-level cultivators had been been acknowledged. They were, of course, the six exalted Swordlords.

Ning stared in astonishment as well. Although he had seen quite a few Sword Pagodas in the past, this was his first time seeing a new one rising.

That distant, newborn sword pagoda continued to rise upwards as the booming sounds rang out unabated. The entire Forest of Sword Pagodas was shuddering! Finally, the new Sword Pagoda came to a halt when it reached the same height as the other Sword Pagodas.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, countless sword-shadows began to fly out from throughout the Forest of Sword Pagodas. There had to be trillions of the things, and they all began to bow down in a certain direction.

“Uh?!” Ning was rather flabbergasted.

The countless sword-shadows from throughout the Forest were all bowing down towards Ning!

All of this had caused a great commotion, attracting the attention of quite a few Daolords and World-level cultivators of the Sword Palace, all of whom came flying over. As a result, many of the cultivators of the Sword Palace were able to personally bear witness as all of this happened.

“It is him?”

“Isn’t that junior apprentice-brother Darknorth?”

“His name is Darknorth?”

“Right, he’s a newcomer. He joined us less than a thousand years ago.”

“He’s still just at the World level, but he’s already received the acknowledgment of the Sword Pagodas?”

This stunning sight caused many of the cultivators present to begin to quietly chat amongst themselves. For a Daolord to be acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas was one thing, but for a World-level cultivator? This was extremely, extremely rare. The entire Sword Palace only had six Swordlords. Now, Ji Ning had become the seventh.

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, congratulations.”

“Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Darknorth, congratulations.”

“Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

Many cultivators came over to offer their congratulations. In the Sword Palace, there was a huge dividing line between those who were acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas and those who were not! If you weren’t acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, you would always be viewed as slightly inferior, even if you were a Daolord. As for those who were acknowledged? All of them were venerated.

Ning finally realized what was happening. His sword-stance just now had been acknowledged by the Forest of Sword Pagodas!

“Darknorth.” A deep voice rumbled out in Ning’s mind. “That new Sword Pagoda belongs to you. Only you are permitted to leave behind your sword-arts within it.”

“You are…?” Ning asked.

“I am the spirit of the Sword Palace,” the deep voice said.

Ning understood. Even the Starseizing Manor had given birth to a manor-spirit such as the giant yellow bear. It made sense that the Sword Palace had given birth to a sentient spirit as well.

……

The Brightshore Kingdom’s imperial palace. The thirteen royal thrones.

A trace of emotion suddenly flickered through the face of the snowy-robed Hegemon. He smiled slightly, then looked at the nearby Lord Woodflower. “Woodflower, congratulations are in order for your Sword Palace. You just gained a new Swordlord.”

“Haha, it seems as though I was right about him.” Lord Woodflower laughed merrily.

“What’s this?”

“A new Swordlord? Did yet another World-level cultivator of the Sword Palace receive the acknowledgment of the pagodas? Who is it?”

The other eleven golden-armored powers were all quite surprised.

Lord Woodflower said in a very smug manner, “It is Darknorth!”

“Darknorth? That kid who sparred against Bertulu?”

“When he battled against Bertulu, he specialized in defensive techniques and was quite good in that regard. However, he was quite a ways off from being at the level he would need to be to receive the acknowledgement of the Sword Pagodas.”

“This rate of improvement is crazy. Even if he was accelerating time to train a thousand times faster than normal… it has been less than a million years!” There had been many major powers who had witnessed Ning’s battle against Bertulu. Even the Hegemon had gone to watch! Although they had all been focusing on Bertulu, they naturally had also paid some attention to Bertulu’s opponent, Ji Ning.

The stronger one was, the more difficult it would be to accelerate the rate of time for one’s self. A thousand times the normal rate of time was already a ridiculously fast pace… but Ning had entered the Sword Palace less than a thousand years ago. That meant that even at a thousand times the normal rate of time, he would’ve been training for less than a million years.

In reality, Ning had only maintained a pace of a hundred times the normal rate of time.

“I said long ago that I had a good feeling about him. He truly is quite talented in sword-arts.” Lord Woodflower said in a very smug manner, “My Sword Palace has gained yet another Swordlord, which means we’ve gained yet another chance to be the ones to go to the alternate universe.”

“Yes, another candidate has appeared.” The almighty Hegemon nodded as well.

Everyone acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were qualified to take part in the trials.

“Let’s see what sort of sword-arts he came up with to be acknowledged by those ancient pagodas.” The almighty Hegemon waved his finger. There had been sixty-six images in the air, and now a sixty-seventh image joined them. This image displayed the scene of a white-robed Ji Ning standing in front of a Sword Pagoda, staring at it curiosity.

“Rewind.” The almighty Hegemon smiled as he watched, and the other twelve golden-armored figures watched closely as well. All of them were curious as to what type of sword-art this World-level cultivator had used to receive the acknowledgement of the Sword Pagodas.

Time began to reverse at high speed until the image returned to the time when Ning had just executed his sword-stance.

The image showed Ning seated in the lotus position within his thatched cottage. Ning gently flicked out a single finger in a seemingly simple manner, but the strike was indescribably profound. Slash! The strike shot out into the distant skies above him.

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Chapter 14 – The Eternal Emperor Closest to the Hegemons

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 14 – The Eternal Emperor Closest to the Hegemons

“Hrm?” The almighty Hegemon sat amongst the thirteen thrones, and both his face and the faces of the twelve golden-armored powers around him tightened. The almighty Hegemon actually once more took control over the flows of time to cause the earlier scene to replay once more. Ji Ning once more flicked out his finger…

“No mistaking it. That’s the [Heartsword] sword-art.” The almighty Hegemon nodded slowly.

“Darknorth actually trains in the [Heartsword]?” Daolord Thousand Waves was somewhat speechless.

“Impressive.”

“I thought he must’ve created a new sword-stance that received the acknowledgement of the pagodas. I didn’t expect that it was actually due to him executing the [Heartsword].” The golden-armored major powers present were all rather surprised. It must be understood that there was a difference between using your own sword-arts and using someone else’s. A self-created sword-art would generally be a bit more powerful.

When Ji Ning had mastered the Reincarnation stance of the [Heartseal], he could’ve chosen to develop a sword-stance of his own that would also be acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas. However, he was in no rush to do so. Instead, he had decided to meditate on the even more difficult and profound [Nameless] sword-art. The seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art had an extremely powerful sword-intent, and so when Ning executed it his burst of sword-intent was acknowledged by the pagodas.

“He has merely learned the sword-arts of another.” The almighty Hegemon shook his head slightly. “Only if he reaches this level through his own power and own skills would he be considered a truly dazzling figure.”

“Agreed.”

“Right.”

The golden-armored powers all nodded. Long ago, a person had been able to use the [Heartsword] to reach the apex of power and become an Eternal Emperor, but that didn’t mean that Ji Ning would be able to walk the same path. In addition, Ji Ning had only gained an elementary understanding of this sword-art.

“Woodflower.” The almighty Hegemon looked at the nearby Lord Woodflower.

“Hegemon.” Lord Woodflower nodded respectfully.

“Go give that young fellow a gentle reminder,” the almighty Hegemon instructed. “In the future, when he finds his own Dao and his own path, he should merge his heartforce and his sword-arts together and pour them both into his Dao! But of course, that’s just a suggestion. His own path will of course be up to him to choose.”

“Understood.” Lord Woodflower nodded.

A distant look appeared in the Hegemon’s eyes, and he murmured softly, “When Emperor Heartsword suddenly descended upon the world, he challenged all three of us Hegemons, then wandered off into parts unknown…”

The twelve golden-armored figures all listened attentively.

Emperor Heartsword was indeed a legendary figure. He was a legend who was roughly comparable in power to the three mighty Hegemons! However, his rise to prominence was just as sudden as his disappearance. Prior to him becoming a Verge-level Daolord, he didn’t really have much of a reputation. He was a very low-key figure, and it was said that he lived the life of an ordinary commoner in a distant chaosworld.

However, once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, a feud resulted in him slaying more than twenty Daolords in a row, and he even completely crushed and wiped out a large enemy sect. This action had shocked the Endless Territories, resulting in his rise to fame. Shortly afterwards, he succeeded in his Daomerge and gained eternity.

After gaining eternity, he immediately went and challenged each of the other Eternal Emperors. He won every single battle! However, he didn’t kill a single one one of them.

After that, he challenged the three ancient Hegemons.

Ever since the most ancient of days, the three ancient Hegemons had stood at the very apex of the Endless Territories. No one had ever been able to shake their positions. No one knew what the results of those duels had been. When asked, Emperor Heartsword simply said one thing: “I lost.”

However, one of the three ancient Hegemons, the one belonging to the Ancient cultivators, had said something else: “His power is comparable to ours.”

This phrase guaranteed that Emperor Heartsword would become a legend! However, despite his quick rise to prominence and the many waves he had caused, he disappeared just as quickly. Despite that, most later cultivators acclaimed him as being the Eternal Emperor who was closest to the level of the three Hegemons, and his [Heartsword] style was venerated by many. Alas, he had never transmitted his [Heartsword] sword-art to any disciples. The only thing he did was leave behind a complete copy of the [Heartsword] sword-art to the Dao Alliance before he disappeared on his journey.

The [Heartsword] tome became a precious treasure of the Dao Alliance. All the copies of this tome circulating in the outside world were all fragmentary, with only the tome in the possession of the Dao Alliance being genuine. Other organizations such as the Brightshore Kingdom would never be given access to a complete [Heartsword] manual, no matter what price they offered to pay.

“His sword-arts… although he reached an extremely high level of proficiency in the Dao of the Sword, some of the most freakishly talented Daolords, the ones capable of slaying Eternal Emperors, were superior to him in that regard.” The almighty Hegemon sighed. “His strength lay in the fact that he was actually able to almost perfectly merge his power as a Heartforce Cultivator and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. That is why he had such tremendous power.”

“Right.” The twelve golden-armored figures all nodded.

Logically speaking, Heartforce Cultivation, Fiendgod Body Refining, and Ki Refining were three completely separate paths that couldn’t merge together.

Take Bertulu as an example. In battle, he could use some illusions or use his heartworld to pressure his foes. In short, he would use heartforce as a supportive skill as he engaged in close combat!

However…

Emperor Heartsword was different. When he used his divine abilities and struck out with his sword, he was able to unleash tremendous power. As for his heartforce, he was able to use its illusions to affect reality itself. Most importantly, he was somehow able to cause his heartforce to naturally join together with his sword. This made it so that he was able to perfectly meld his power as a Heartforce Cultivator and as a Fiendgod Refiner, causing his power to skyrocket to a terrifying level. This was why he was acclaimed by so many as the Eternal Emperor who was closest to the three Hegemons in power.

……

The Sword Palace.

“Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Darknorth, now that you’ve been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, you are the seventh Swordlord of our palace.”

Ning was in a superb mood as he entertained his fellow disciples. Suddenly, he saw a figure appear at the margins of the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

“Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower?” Ning immediately recognized him.

“Follow me, Darknorth.” Lord Woodflower sent him a mental message.

“Everyone, the Palace Lord has summoned me. Pardon me.” Ning said a few words of farewell to the cultivators nearby. They, too, had seen Lord Woodflower appear.

A short while later, Ning and Lord Woodflower were walking side by side through a mountainous forest.

“Darknorth, you have received the acknowledgement of the Sword Pagodas and become a Swordlord. Per our rules, you are permitted to go to Armaments Gorge and choose a single treasure that doesn’t cost more than a million cubes of chaos nectar,” Lord Woodflower said. “This is a special rule the Sword Palace created for the benefit of our Swordlords. Only Swordlords are given this benefit.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. No more than a million cubes? What an enormously generous offer!

It made sense. Swordlords were capable of becoming Daolords at any time, and they would be extraordinary Daolords once they made their breakthrough. They were worth the cost.

“Oh, right. Now that you are a Swordlord, there is something I must tell you.” Lord Woodflower smiled. “All of the World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces who have been acknowledged by their respective pagodas are preparing for a very special opportunity which has come before you.”

“A special opportunity?” Ning was puzzled.

“Right. In the end, only four World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces will be given this special opportunity.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “This truly is a stroke of tremendous fortune for you. None of the Twelve Palaces have access to this. In all the Endless Territories, most likely only the exalted Hegemon is capable of bringing this opportunity before you. If it wasn’t for the sake of a newcomer who recently joined his clan, the almighty Hegemon definitely wouldn’t give us this chance.”

Lord Woodflower knew very well that in the Hegemon’s heart, what mattered the most was his imperial clan.

Only for the sake of his Brightshore Imperials was the almighty Hegemon was willing to make use of this opportunity! The reason why he was giving the Twelve Palaces four of the medallions was partially because they were subordinates, but also for the sake of giving that young Imperial four assistants! Although the chance to enter the Archaeus region of the alternate universe was an incredible opportunity, it was also extremely dangerous. Tremendous opportunity always came with tremendous danger.

“There should be many in the Twelve Palaces who have been acknowledged by their pagodas. Only four will have a chance?” NIng was puzzled.

“Just four.” Lord Woodflower sighed. “I’m worried that our Sword Palace won’t be able to get so much as a single slot.”

“You’ve just recently been acknowledged and haven’t spent much time in our Sword Palace, so it wouldn’t really matter if you fail. However, you should still do your best. According to what the Hegemon said, the strongest four shall be given this tremendous opportunity,” Lord Woodflower said. Frankly speaking, he really didn’t have much faith in Ning. Although Ning had been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, so had the other six Swordlords.

“In roughly one century, the almighty Hegemon will select the four strongest candidates,” Lord Woodflower finished.

“A century?” Ning nodded secretly. It seemed as though it was indeed time for him to make some preparations.

“Oh, right. Do you know the name of the sword-art you used to gain acknowledgement from the Sword Pagodas?” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning.

Ning shook his head. “I do not. I obtained this sword-art by accident. Because I don’t know what its true name was, I’ve been calling it the [Nameless] sword-art this entire time. Do you know its true name, senior apprentice-brother Woodflower?” Ning’s eyes became filled with an eager blaze. When Ning had executed the seventh stance, the Cosmic Heart stance, he had noticed that although it was harder to use than Emperor Mirrorsnow’s Reincarnation stance, the two were actually on the same level when it came to the profundity of their insights into the Dao of the Sword. The tough part of the Cosmic Heart stance lay in how ephemeral and unpredictable it was. One had to follow one’s own heart, allowing one’s heartforce to perfectly merge into one’s sword-stances.

Ning was quite talented in heartforce. Although his heartforce wasn’t at a very strong level, he was still able to execute the stance.

If he had been more skilled in heartforce, the power of this stance would’ve been much greater. This would have been especially true if he had reached the sixth stage of heartforce and established his own Heartworld.

“This is a sword-art which perfectly combines Heartforce Cultivation with the Dao of the Sword.” After executing this stance, Ning immediately understood what made this sword-art so valuable. He instantly grew eager to learn more.

“I do indeed know its name.” Lord Woodflower nodded. “This sword-art was created and passed down by a powerful Eternal Emperor who was nearly as strong as the Hegemon.”

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Chapter 15 – Preparations

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 15 – Preparations

Ji Ning was delighted to hear this. Finally, he was going to learn about the history of the [Nameless] sword-art.

Lord Woodflower continued, “This Eternal Emperor was known as Emperor Heartsword. His rise to power was sudden, and for a brief period of time he was the most dazzling, celebrated figure of the Endless Territories. However, shortly after he revealed his brilliance he elected to disappear as he adventured through parts unknown. He was so strong that he was most likely the Eternal Emperor who was closest to the three Hegemons in power.”

“Ah.” Ning nodded.

After mastering the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, he realized that although the sword-art itself was on the same level of profundity as Emperor Mirrorsnow’s, Emperor Heartsword’s strength lay in the fact that he was able to perfectly fuse his heartforce into his sword-arts. It made the power of his sword-arts increase dramatically to a point where he was unquestionably much more powerful than Emperor Mirrorsnow had been. It made sense for him to be comparable to the three almighty Hegemons.

It wasn’t that Emperor Mirrorsnow was weak. He had developed the Reincarnation stance at the World level and used it to break through to become a Daolord. If he had been at the Forest of Sword Pagodas, his self-created Reincarnation stance would’ve been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas! Someone who relied on this sword-art as the base of his breakthrough to Daolord would be able to immediately battle ordinary Daolords of the Second Step.

But of course, Bertulu and Eastcult were even more freakishly talented. Once they broke through, they would be able to match Daolords of the Third Step! However, the harder one’s path was, the more difficult it would be for one to become an Eternal Emperor! The more freakishly talented you were, the harder it would be for you to become an Eternal Emperor. This was why, despite the passage of countless years, there were only three Hegemons.

“What were his sword-arts named?” Ning asked.

“Prior to disappearing, he left behind a complete copy of his sword-arts with the Dao Alliance. He named it the [Heartsword].” Lord Woodflower continued, “Only the Dao Alliance has a complete copy of this sword-art.”

“Only the Dao Alliance?” Ning was rather disappointed.

“Yes, because this is the one and only sword-art which allows Heartforce Cultivators to completely merge their power with Fiendgod Body Refiners and Ki Refiners and then gain eternity,” Lord Woodflower said.

Fiendgod Refiners would be able to perfectly merge the heartforce into their sword-arts and then enter close combat.

Ki Refiners would be able to perfectly merge the heartforce into their flying swords as well.

“A sword-art which can rival Hegemons, with only one complete copy… its only natural that the Dao Alliance would never transmit it to outsiders. No matter what price our Brightshore Kingdom offered to pay, they refused to let us have a copy. Something like this sword-art isn’t something which mere treasures can be used to trade for. A sword-art like that is one of the fundamental pillars on which entire organizations rest.” Lord Woodflower continued, “The outside world only has incomplete, fragmentary records. How many stances do you have?”

“Just seven,” Ning said.

Lord Woodflower looked rather disappointed. “The first seven stances were created by Eternal Emperor Heartsword before he was a Daolord, and they are the seven most commonly known stances. I was hoping that you might’ve encountered something special. Oh, right. Have you gone to the Ancient Library? The library holds a fragmentary record that includes the first ten stances of the [Heartsword] manual.”

“The Ancient Library has it?” Ning was instantly delighted. The Ancient Library simply had far too many sword-arts within it, including tens of millions of fragmentary sword-arts. Each one could only be read through the usage of godsense. Even if you could fully review a thousand scrolls a day, it would still take over a hundred years for you to go through everything.

“Our Brightshore Kingdom had to pay a hefty price in order to purchase these ten stances, and we’re allowed to teach them to others,” Lord Woodflower said. “You are a cultivator, after all. I’m sure you’ll have some connections to the Dao Alliance and eventually be able to gain entry into it. At that point in time, if you spent a bit of chaos nectar you’ll be able to purchase the complete [Heartsword] sutra.”

Ning nodded. He was a member of Vastheaven Palace, which meant that he actually had quite a deep connection to the Dao Alliance.

“Make your preparations. You have a hundred years, at which point the Twelve Palaces will choose select just the four strongest World-level experts for this opportunity.” Lord Woodflower smiled as he delivered this message.

……

After parting with Lord Woodflower, Ning immediately headed towards the Ancient Library. The Ancient Library was filled with tens of millions of sword-arts. Ning scanned the place with his godsense and was quickly able to discover a jade slip that had the words ‘Heartsword Sutra’ atop it. In the past, Ning didn’t realize what it was, but now he realized that this [Heartsword] tome contained the ‘nameless’ sword-art he trained in.

“It really is the same.” As Ning picked up the jade slip and sent his godsense into it, a large amount of information flooded into his memories. This really did contain the first ten stances, as well as some explanations regarding this sword-art.

The complete version of this sword-art contained fifteen stances. The first seven stances had been created by Emperor Heartsword prior to becoming a Daolord, and he used the seventh stance to reach the Samsara Daolord level. Afterwards, he used his fifteenth stance to become an Eternal Emperor.

“It is even more profound than I believed it to be.” After Ning viewed the ‘final’ three stances, he couldn’t help but sigh. Actually, anyone could tell that they were the same technique. The very first stance of this sword-art was named the Heartsword stance, after all!

The Heartsword stance had exceedingly high requirements with regard’s to one’s mind and heart. The user had to make his mind one with both the sword and the world around it, gaining absolute mastery over the sword.

The various later stances also had very high requirements with regards to both the sword and the heart.

The sixth stance, ‘Unicorn’s Heart’, was even more profound and abstruse than the Heartsword stance. One had to find that ephemeral feeling which was so difficult to grasp.

The seventh stance was even better. The Cosmic Heart allowed for one to perfectly activate and infuse one’s heartforce into the sword-art. When the sword struck out, it was like a tear shed for a person you loved.

“His sword-arts actually aren’t that profound, compared to the most supreme major powers of the Dao of the Sword.” Ning had seen many things in the Forest of Sword Pagodas, and his horizons had been correspondingly expanded. “However, the mysteries of how he merged his heartforce with his sword-arts are worthy of further exploration.”

……

The Twelve Palaces. The Palace of Fire.

“Have you heard? Just today, a World God in the Sword Palace named Ji Ning was acknowledged by the pagodas.”

“Ah? A World-level cultivator was acknowledged? What a freak.”

“He would be the seventh Swordlord of the Sword Palace, right?”

Some of the black-armored Daolords who were on patrol were chatting with each other. News spread throughout the Twelve Palaces quite quickly. It must be understood that there were only around sixty World-level cultivators who had been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas. Generally speaking, only one such cultivator would appear every trillion years. Anyone acknowledged by the pagodas was destined to be a truly extraordinary Daolord.

“What a freak. I can’t even get into the Fire Palace, but those freaks are actually able to receive the acknowledgment of the ancient pagodas.” Some of the World-level cultivators in front of the Fire Palace began to discuss this matter as well, and many of them sighed with frustration and envy.

“Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by ‘acknowledgment of the pagodas’?” A tall, skinny, jade-haired youth spoke out.

“Let me explain. Joining the Twelve Palaces isn’t that impressive, as some of their members aren’t even able to become Daolords! Even if your insights into the Dao are so profound that you can become a Daolord whenever you wish, you still aren’t that impressive! Only those who reach truly incredible heights are acknowledged by the resonance of the pagodas. From what I’ve heard, those World-level cultivators who are acknowledged by the pagodas can not only break through whenever they wish, once they do so they will immediately be comparable to Daolords of the Second Step in power.”

“What? They are able to break through whenever they wish, and will immediately be comparable to Daolords of the Second Step?” Quite a few World-level cultivators were stunned by this, and they all began to chat amongst themselves.

“Eh?”

“Darknorth?”

Outside the Fire Palace was a large group of cultivators who wished to take the trials to join the Fire Palace, and two of them were individuals who Ning was quite familiar with. One was Su Youji the Flamefairy while the other was World God Pillsaint. They had tried many times in recent years but were still unable to enter the Palace of Fire.

“Master was acknowledged by the ancient pagodas?” Su Youji was instantly overjoyed to hear this. “Incredible. Master is simply incredible.” All other thoughts flew out of Su Youji’s mind as she immediately turned and ran towards the Fire Palace’s spacetime transfer array. She was going to go back to the Sword Palace. Her master had achieved such a great thing. How could she, his retainer, not be there to congratulate him?

“Is that brother Darknorth?” The chubby World God Pillsaint was stunned. “The Sword Palace? It has to be the Darknorth that I know. He once told me that he is going to join the Sword Palace. The Sword Palace doesn’t have that many World-level cultivators in it. There’s no way someone else will have the same Daoist title as him. Ugh, I’ve been training for years but still am not able to enter the Fire Palace. I might as well join brother Darknorth instead.”

World God Pillsaint quickly made up his mind, then turned and began to hasten towards the spacetime transfer array. Even assuming he didn’t wish to become Ji Ning’s retainer, he still would’ve gone to congratulate Ning on his success. Ning had shown him kindness, after all.

……

Whoosh. A few hours later Su Youji and World God Pillsaint, along with a few other cultivators, rode the spacetime transfer array from the Fire Palace to the Sword Palace.

Su Youji rushed straight into the Sword Palace. As Ji Ning’s retainer, she was permitted to go straight into the Sword Palace.

As for World God Pillsaint, he informed the black-armored Daolord who sought to bar his path, “Senior, I wish to meet with Swordlord Darknorth. I am his good friend.”

“He wishes to meet Swordlord Darknorth?” Su Youji, who had rushed on ahead, couldn’t help but turn back and glance at the chubby World God Pillsaint.

……

A short while later.

Within an Immortal estate located at the peak of a mountain. Ji Ning, Su Youji, and Pillsaint were all seated facing each other.

“Youji, this gentleman is the World God Pillsaint who I mentioned to you before.” Ning laughed. “In the Astral Islands, he was my very first competitor.”

World God Pillsaint looked rather embarrassed. He hurriedly said, “I really didn’t know my own limits. Thankfully, you showed mercy to me, Daoist brother Darknorth. Otherwise, I’d be dead.”

Ning chuckled. “It was a sign that destiny binds the two of us.”

“Right, right. Bound by destiny!” World God Pillsaint grinned at Ning. “Daoist brother Darknorth, I have nowhere to go in the Brightshore Kingdom. I’ve tried a few times to enter the Palace of Fire, but I’ve failed each time. And so, I’m planning to give up and join you instead. Am I lucky enough to be accepted?”

“Follow me?” Ning was startled, but he then said with a laugh, “If you don’t mind joining me, I’d naturally be willing to welcome you. Others would beg for the chance to take such a master alchemist as a retainer.”

“Then it is settled!” World God Pillsaint immediately and straightforwardly swore a lifeblood oath. His oath was one of the fairly common retainer oaths that were sworn in the Endless Territories. Generally speaking, retainer oaths were fairly relaxed. Ning was able to break through to become a Daolord whenever he wished, and would be an extraordinary Daolord at that. Someone like him was definitely qualified to take on World God Pillsaint as a retainer.

“Pillsaint greets you, Master.” World God Pillsaint bowed respectfully.

“Enough, enough. There’s no need for the two of you to go through these pointless courtesies.” Ning smiled. The very first time he saw World God Pillsaint, he had a good feeling about the man. Now, the chubby-cheeked, rosy-faced youth who wore all his feelings on his sleeve had become his retainer. Quite frankly, World-level cultivators who were so genuine and guieleless were quite rare.

“Whew. I finally have a backer now. Life in the Brightshore Kingdom really has pissed me off lately.” World God Pillsaint let out a sigh.

“Flamefairy, we didn’t know each other when we first met, but now we follow and serve the same master.” World God Pillsaint glanced towards the nearby Su Youji as he spoke.

“Uh huh.” The Flamefairy nodded.

“Can’t you be a bit more talkative?” World God Pillsaint felt speechless. The Flamefairy glanced at him and chuckled, but she didn’t say anything else.

As for Ning, he said, “Right. There’s something I need you two to do for me.”

“Please instruct us, Master.” World God Pillsaint and Su Youji both spoke out at the same time. Su Youji felt rather excited. It was quite rare for Ning to assign her any tasks.

“A great opportunity is coming, and I have a small shot at getting it. I have to do everything I can to prepare for it,” Ning said. “I’m planning to sell a treasure known as the Bloodfire Cloudfruit. It’ll be up to you to help me sell it.”

The Bloodfire Cloudfruit was the most valuable treasure he had on him.

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Chapter 16 – Treasure Selling

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 16 – Treasure Selling

“Bloodfire Cloudfruit?” Su Youji was puzzled.

“Bloodfire Cloudfruit!” World God Pillsaint’s eyes bulged out as he called out in shock.

“You know of it?” Su Youji turned to look at World God Pillsaint.

World God Pillsaint hurriedly nodded, too excited to act smug. “That’s one hell of a treasure. It is a unique fruit which can only be formed under very special conditions. It has marvelous properties, and cultivators who walk the Dao of Fire all dream of possessing something like it. But of course, it wouldn’t work for you. You Ki Refiners are too physically weak; there’s no way your bodies could possibly withstand the enormous amounts of energy the Bloodfire Cloudfruit contains. Only Fiendgod Body Refiners are able to endure its energy, which they can then use to forcibly convert their bodies into fire-attribute bodies. By then, they would be able to easily take control over Chaos fire and ride it to escape. Most likely, even Daolords would not be able to catch up to them.”

“It’s that amazing?” Su Youji was rather shocked. Not even Daolords would be able to catch up?

“If I sold it to Armaments Gorge, I’d be able to sell it for a million cubes of chaos nectar,” Ning said. “However, I’m hoping for a higher price. That’s why I’d like for you to help me spread the news of this treasure to the black-armored Daolords. They’ll definitely discuss it amongst themselves and with many others. Soon, everyone in the Twelve Palcaes will know, and I’m sure there will be some who would be willing to pay a high price for the Bloodfire Cloudfruit.”

“Selling for a high price? Easy! Leave it ot me.” Pillsaint was quite confident.

“Just spread the news as widely as you can. Even if a Daolord wishes to speak to me personally, just have them give you the bid,” Ning said. “A hundred years from now, I will leave the Forest of Sword Pagodas and choose the highest bidder, giving the Bloodfire Cloudfruit to him or her.”

“Alright.”

“Understood.”

Pillsaint and Su Youji were both a bit excited. Although this was a simple task, it was still a task that involved a million cubes of chaos nectar. They couldn’t help but be filled with enthusiasm.

“Alright. I’m heading to the Forest of Sword Pagodas.” Ning rose to his feet.

“Am I now allowed to enter and exit the Sword Palace freely?” Pillsaint was a bit worried about this. Just now, Ning had personally guided him through the palace, which was why the Sword Palace’s defenses had not automatically attacked him.

“Don’t worry. The spirit of the Sword Palace was able to see you becoming my retainer,” Ning said. The rules of the Sword Palace were that each formal disciple was permitted to grant two retainers free entry to and from the Sword Palace. Su Youji and Pillsaint were now both able to enter and leave freely, but Ning wouldn’t be able to grant this permission to a third retainer.

Swish.

Ning transformed into a streak of light and flew out the gates of Immortal estate and towards the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

Pillsaint and Su Youji watched as Ning left. Both of them felt a sense of pressure. Although this was a simple task, it still involved a great deal of wealth!

“As his new retainer, I need to make sure I handle this well,” Pillsaint mused silently.

“I’ve never been able to help out Master much. I can’t let him down.” Su Youji felt the same sense of pressure.

……

The Forest of Sword Pagodas.

Ning set out his temporal acceleration cottage, then sat down in the lotus position and began to cultivate.

“I hope I’ll be able to garner a high price for it. I don’t really have many valuable treasures on me right now,” Ning mused. Although he did have a few Eternal weapons, there was nothing special about them. The only other item he owned which was worth over a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar was the spare Mirrorsnow Painting. When Ning left the Astral Islands and headed towards the Sword Palace, he had acquired a spare from the underwater creatures. However, Ning was in no rush to sell if. If he really did need money, he could sell it then. If he waited for a good opportunity, he might be able to sell it for a better price.

Still, the truth was that Ning really didn’t have many items he could sell for a high price.

As for the Bloodfire Cloudfruit…

The Twelve Palaces actually weren’t the best place to sell it, because almost all of its major powers were wandering the outside world. The Sword Palace theoretically had over a hundred Daolords, not including the black-armored ones, but almost all of them were out adventuring. Only ten or so were here at the Sword Palace. This was simply how the Twelve Palaces worked. As a result, there would be less competition resulting in lower prices for Ning.

If this was one of the places where many major powers of the Dao Alliance congregated, the price would probably be much better.

Alas, by the time Ning reached such a place he would probably have already become a Daolord. By then, even if he did sell the Bloodfire Cloudfruit for a high price it wouldn’t be of much use to him.

Time flowed on.

Pillsaint and Su Youji spread the word, causing the news that Swordlord Darknorth of the Sword Palace wished to sell a Bloodfire Cloudfruit to spread throughout the Twelve Palaces.

“Bloodfire Cloudfruit?”

The people most excited to hear this naturally all belonged to the World-level cultivators and Daolords of the Palace of Fire, although virtually all of the World-level cultivators could do nothing more dream about it. These individuals all walked the Dao of Fire. If they had fire-attribute bodies, they would be able to cultivate much more quickly. They were thus the most suitable candidates for purchasing this item.

“Bloodfire Cloudfruit?”

The Saber Palace, Heartforce Palace, Sword Palace, Spacetime Palace, and other palaces also held Daolords and World-level cultivators who were interested.

Ning, for example, was a member of the Sword Palace who had a body that was lightning-attribute in nature.

But of course, those who walked the Dao of Water or the Dao of Metal would never procure fire-attribute bodies. That would make it twice as hard to cultivate, with half the effect. The fire-attribute body would disrupt their affinity to those Daos.

“That kid, Swordlord Darknorth, plans to sell it off within a hundred years? He’s probably doing this to prepare for the upcoming opportunity. Heh heh… fellow Daoists, there’s no need for us to bid up the price too much. He’s definitely going to sell it no matter what. Let’s keep the price low.” Instantly, some Daolords came up with this idea. There were some Daolords in the Twelve Palaces who walked the path of evil. In fact, some had committed tremendous sins and atrocities. Although the lifeblood oath prevented them from acting against Ning, they were still able to do something like lowball him for his treasures.

……

“The highest bid stands at 1.3 million cubes!” Pillsaint made this claim within an Immortal estate within the Sword Palace.

“What?” The old man frowned, his entire body emanating an aura of explosive, ruinous energy. “Who made such a high bid?”

“I can’t reveal that,” Pillsaint said placidly. “If your bid isn’t any higher than this, there’s no point in even bidding.”

“You punk.” The old man was irritated. He turned away and departed.

“Pillsaint.” Su Youji watched the old man walk away, then sent Pillsaint a stealthy mental message. “You lied to him. What if no one ends up bidding a higher price? We’ll be in trouble.”

“Don’t worry.” Pillsaint was quite confident.

Pillsaint and Su Youji had both noticed that the Daolords were in no rush to place any bids. Ning had given a limit of a hundred years, after all; they didn’t want to get the price too high, too early. In fact, some of the Daolords were colluding in secret to keep the price low.

Half a year later, the old man returned.

“I’m willing to bid 1.31 million cubes,” the old man said.

“The highest price is now 1.33 million cubes,” Pillsaint said, his eyes wide and innocent.

“Ah?!” The old man was stunned.

Pillsaint continued to raise the price. 1.33 million cubes, 1.35 million cubes, 1.36 million cubes, 1.37 million cubes… every half a year or year, the price would rise slightly.

Faced with the continuously rising price, some of the Daolords that were colluding began to grow a bit impatient.

“Who the hell keeps upping their bids?”

“Why are the bids continuing to rise?”

They were able to keep calm when the price was steady, but this constant rise made some of them a bit impatient.

Pillsaint secretly felt quite smug about this. “You have no idea who you are dealing with. I’m a grandmaster alchemist! I’m not just skilled in making pills, I’m also an expert in selling them.” There was a certain art to selling pills and treasures as well, and there was always a bit of artifice built into the prices. Many of the ‘bids’ for the fruit were false, but Pillsaint did manage to lure in a few real bids as well.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

“The highest price is now 1.46 million cubes! This is the final year,” Pillsaint declared. “My master will return from the Forest of Sword Pagodas anytime now. When he does return, the auction will come to an end. The highest bidder will win the Bloodfire Cloudfruit.”

“What? The auction will end as soon as his master leaves the Forest?”

“This is the final year. Swordlord Darknorth might return at any moment.”

Even the most patient of Daolords were no longer able to hold on. Once Ji Ning returned, they would have missed this opportunity for good. They didn’t believe that Pillsaint was lying, because no one would dare lie to so many Daolords at the closing time of an auction.

“I’m willing to offer 1.47 million cubes.”

“I’ll offer 1.48 million.”

“1.5 million.”

In the final year, the bids increased very rapidly. Some of the Daolords had truly grown impatient. Once they gained this treasure, more than 99% of the other Daolords would be unable to catch up to them in speed. Generally speaking, not even Verge-level Daolords would be able to fly as quickly as Chaos fire or Chaos lightning! Only those who had techniques allowing them to control Chaos fire or Chaos lightning would the exceptions. Once this opportunity went past, who knew how long it would be before the next opportunity? Even if another opportunity did arise, it was entirely possible that they wouldn’t even have a chance to bid on it. The Endless Territories were simply too vast; by the time they heard the news, the thing probably would’ve been sold already.

Pillsaint went so far as to run over to the Forest of Sword Pagodas to send Ning a secret message. “Master, don’t be in a rush to return. Give me another half year. Come back then.”

“Alright.” Ning trusted them.

Some of the Daolords truly did need this treasure, and time was running out. Once this sort of naturally-occurring treasure was gone, it would be eons before anothing one appeared. The bidding process became noticeably fiercer.

Ning finally emerged from the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

“How did it go?” Ning descended from the skies into the Immortal estate where Su Youji and Pillsaint were located.

“1.8 million cubes,” Pillsaint said proudly.

“What?!” Ning was quite surprised. If he sold it to a major organization, the price would’ve been roughly a million cubes. If he was lucky and many Daolords desperately bid against each other, the price could be several times higher. However, there weren’t many Daolords in the Twelve Palaces right now. To be able to sell it for 1.8 million cubes already vastly exceeded Ning’s expectations. He had thought that a price of 1.5 million cubes would already be quite high.

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Chapter 17 – A Thousand Years

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 17 – A Thousand Years

The imperial palace of the Brightshore Kingdom.

The almighty Hegemon stared at the sixty-seven images hovering in the air next to the thirteen thrones. He said softly, “A thousand years has concluded.”

The twelve golden-armored powers who had been chatting idly, meditating with eyes closed, or silently drinking wine all came alert.

“Hegemon, how shall you choose the most powerful ones?” The twelve golden-armored powers all looked at the almighty Hegemon.

These World-level cultivators who had been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were all incredible figures who possessed varied skills. What was the fairest way to choose the ‘best’ four?

The almighty Hegemon gently stroked his snow-white beard, then smiled. “Let them challenge the Daolord Cloudworld. They will have three days! The four who make it the farthest in the Daolord Cloudworld shall gain this opportunity.”

“Challenge the Daolord Cloudworld?” The twelve instantly understood.

……

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position within his spacetime acceleration cottage, still located in the ancient Forest of Sword Pagodas within the Sword Palace.

“Darknorth, come to me right away.” A voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

“Eh?” Ning opened his eyes. Dim flickers of sharp light could be seen within them. “A thousand years has concluded. It seems it is time for the actual challenge.”

Ning’s sword-arts were now far more formidable than when he had first developed the Reincarnation stance or the Cosmic Heart stance. His sword-arts were actually still continuing to improve, and he hadn’t encountered any bottlenecks yet. Alas, he simply didn’t have enough time! The almighty Hegemon had only given him a thousand years.

Whoosh. Ning put away his spacetime acceleration treasure, then flew out of the Forest of Sword Pagodas and towards Lord Woodflower’s palace.

……

Lord Woodflower was seated in the lotus position atop a golden-red prayer mat. In front of him were seven similarly seated cultivators. There was one who looked like a child, one who looked like a youngster, one who looked like a youth, and even an old man. They all had completely different auras of the Sword Dao. A cultivator’s age or mentality couldn’t be judged by their appearances. At this level, there were some cultivators who reached an elderly age before suddenly shining with brilliance and embarking upon the path of cultivation.

“A thousand years has concluded.” Lord Woodflower swept Ning and the others with his gaze. “The seven of you are the only ones within our Sword Palace have been acknowledged by our ancient pagodas. Right now, in the Twelve Palaces there are a total of sixty-seven individuals on your level, yourselves included. All of you will be fighting for this opportunity.

“Sixty-seven challengers, only four spots.

“The almighty Hegemon has already sent word for you to go and challenge the Daolord Cloudworld. You must complete your attempt within three days, and the final four who make it farthest into the Cloudworld shall be the ones to win this opportunity,” Lord Woodflower said.

Ji Ning, Swordlord Wildfire, Swordlord Graceless, and the others all became more alert. They were all going to do their absolute best, and indeed training in the Dao of the Sword itself was training in a path of no return.

“In the Twelve Palaces, the World-level cultivators of the Saber Palace are the strongest, while the Heartforce Palace and the Spacetime Palace also have immeasurably deep roots.” Lord Woodflower’s gaze fell upon the seven Swordlords once more. “I hope that our Sword Palace can gain at least one of the slots. It would be a damn shame if we gained nothing at all from this.”

“Understood.” Ning and the others were all very solemn. They weren’t angered or offended by Lord Woodflower’s words. Given their achievements, all of them were extraordinary figures who knew the importance of respecting their opponents. The other competitors had all been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas as well. Some were special lifeforms, and some had experienced tremendous strokes of karmic luck. None could be belittled or underestimated.

“I can only do my best.” Ning’s heart was firm with the resolve to do battle and test himself against these other acknowledged World-level opponents. Although the battle hadn’t started yet, Ning was already beginning to feel excitement and energy coursing through his veins.

……

“Palace Lord Dawnstar is the undisputed most powerful Daolord of the Twelve Palaces. Even if we factor in all the other organizations of the Endless Territories, he would be ranked the second most powerful Daolord. He personally tutored all of you for many years. If only one of you gains a slot, even I will feel ashamed on your behalf.” Daolord Yinwind’s voice was filled with icy arrogance. This was his natural, innate disposition.

When he was a young mortal, he had been kidnapped and dragged into an incredibly powerful but evil sect, filled with all sorts of viledoers and evil men. But of course, this was something that happened long ago, and by now a simple breath from him would be enough to wipe out that evil sect. He was now a Deputy Palace Lord of the Saber Palace, and his name and reputation held tremendous influence within the Endless Territories.”

“Don’t worry, Lord Yinwind.”

“Forget two, let’s try for all four!”

The Saberlords of the Saber Palace were brimming with confidence.

……

The sixty-seven waiting World-level challengers all received word from their respective elders. Some headed for the Daolord Cloudworld immediately, while some calmed themselves and planned on making the challenge on the final day.

The trials of the Daolord Cloudworld could actually be completed quite quickly. Generally speaking, half a day was enough.

……

The Heartforce Palace.

The Palace of the Heart was extremely quiet. There were pitifully few cultivators at either the World level or the Daolord level, and only one of them had been acknowledged by the Heart Pagodas: Heartlord Solewind.

“I’m the only one taking part in the Heart Palace. How lonely.” A bald, red-vested youth whose face was covered with strange, crimson divine tattoos smiled as he murmured to himself, “Little sister, just watch and see how your big brother takes on the Daolord Cloudworld.”

He strolled forward in a relaxed manner, and with each step he took a fiery divine crow would manifest beneath his feet. The line between reality and illusions was blurred around him. Clearly, he was training even when he was just walking. He was an incredibly famous figure in the Twelve Palaces, not because he had accomplished any special feats, simply because he was a member of the Palace of the Heart! Although the Heart Palace had pitifully few members, every single member was frighteningly strong.

Bertulu focused on the Dao of Light, using heartforce as a support skill. Heartlord Solewind, however, had truly focused all of his efforts on his skills as a Heartforce Cultivator. His accomplishments in this area vastly outstripped Bertulu’s, who had only reached the utter apex of power at the World level in the Dao of Light.

……

“The almighty Hegemon personally gave me pointers in the past. As for this opportunity he is offering… I, Greatjoy, shall definitely grasp it.” This was a youth who was dressed in strange black imperial robes and who wore a crown on his head. He was the most powerful World-level expert in the Palace of Spacetime, and he referred to himself as Prince Greatjoy. Although on the surface he was rather calm and stately when interacting with others, he was actually an extremely wild, berserk man.

“The Daolord Cloudworld, eh? Hmph.” Prince Greatjoy flew out of the Spacetime Palace and headed straight towards the Daolord Cloudworld.

……

More than half of the World-level experts immediately flew towards their Daolord Cloudworld as soon as they received the news. Every single one of the Twelve Palaces had their own Daolord Cloudworld, and the difficulty level in each was identical.

Swoosh!

Ning descended into the Armaments Gorge of the Sword Palace.

“Darknorth.” The two guardians of the gorge, Swordfive and Swordsix, both looked at Ning.

“Swordfive. Swordsix.” Ning said in a rather humble manner, “I’ve been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas. I believe I now have the chance to choose a single treasure from the Armaments Gorge, so long as it doesn’t cost more than a million cubes of chaos nectar. Right?”

“Right.” Swordfive nodded. “The Sword Palace has always been very generous towards World-level cultivators who are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas.”

“Swordfive, can you follow me inside?” Ning asked.

“I can.” Swordfive nodded. He surmised that Ning probably wanted to carry out a major business transaction. There was no other reason for Ning to ask him to go in.

The Armaments Gorge was filled with countless treasures, but Ning went straight towards one of the corners in the far back.

There was a seemingly ordinary black bottle placed atop one of the tables in the back. This black bottle, however, was priced at 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar! This bottle was a magic treasure known as the ‘Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags’, and it contained seven different types of Dao water. These seven types of Dao water could be used to form an enormous formation known as the Seven Flags Formation which could easily annihilate almost any opponent.

“Can I take this flagon?” Ning asked.

Swordfive slowly shook his head. “You aren’t permitted to choose anything worth more than a million cubes. If you insist on choosing this item, you have to pay an extra five hundred thousand cubes.”

“Done.” Ning nodded.

There were quite a few treasures in the Armaments Gorge which involved Dao water, and most of them were treasures which were forged out of Dao water. The Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags was the most suitable choice for Ning.

“Need anything else?” Swordfive had heard that Ning had sold off a Bloodfire Cloudfruit for 1.8 million cubes.

“I need some Dao lightning as well.” Ning grinned.

……

Ning departed from the Armaments Gorge, then transformed into a streak of light that flew back towards his own Immortal estate.

“Master.” Su Youji and World God Pillsaint both came out to greet him.

“No one is allowed to disturb me. No matter who comes, they are not permitted to see me.” Ning gave them some instructions, then went into his private room.

Ning sat down in the lotus position within this private room, then placed a black bottle, an azure cauldron, and a grey gourd next to him.

This time, he had purchased seven types of Dao water and five types of Dao lightning. He had paid 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar for them! Factoring in the million cubes of credit which the Sword Palace had bestowed upon him, he actually had used up more than three million cubes!

“With these items, I should now be able to make myself much more powerful.” Ning was quite calm as he summoned the technique for creating the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] into his mind.

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Chapter 18 – Training

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 18 – Training

Ji Ning willed the ethereal lightning to fly out of the gray gourd. It seemed unremarkable, but in reality it was terrifyingly powerful. Under Ning’s control, it swirled around Ning’s body and then seeped into it. For someone with a weaker divine body, such an act was akin to suicide. It must be understood that this was Dao lightning! Someone with a weak body would have it instantly reduced to ashes.

Long ago, when Ning was still an Empyrean God, his body was incapable of enduring the power of the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. In order to tame and control one of them, Ning had to first use Elder-level lightning serpents to repeatedly enter his body and completely transform it into a lightning-attribute body. Ning died multiple times before being able to successfully complete the transformation process. Only then was he able to survive alongside the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent and draw it into his body, storing it in the divine rune of a lightning serpent egg.

And now?

Ning had completely mastered the [Golden Idol], making his divine body comparable to top-grade Dao treasures! This Dao lightning was completely incapable of harming Ning.

Whoosh.

After the ethereal lightning entered Ning’s body, it seemed to be affected by a powerful gravitational force. With a swoosh, it was drawn towards Ning’s Jindan chaosworld, towards the location where one of nine lightning essences was located. This lightning essence was similarly ethereal, and the two seemed to have come from the same source. The Dao lightning voluntarily merged into the lightning essence, rapidly surging into it and drawing upon the Chaos lightning energy which had previously been present.

“I’ve finished absorbing the first Dao lightning.” Ning nodded slowly.

The reason why Daolord Allgod had separated the [Novessence Thunder] into the upper part and the lower part, despite the fact that he created the technique as a Daolord who didn’t need Chaos lightning, was because he needed to establish the nine lightning essence foundations. The lightning foundations were similar to the ‘lightning serpent egg’ which Ning once used to store and transform the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. The lightning foundations were the places where the lightning would stay and ‘live’. This was their home!

The lightning foundations which Daolord Allgod had created were countless times more profound than the ‘lightning serpent egg’. They were tremendously attractive towards Dao lightning, and Dao lightning naturally ‘liked’ to live within them.

“Next.” Ning willed the next one to enter.

Four streams of Dao lightning instantly began to surge out from the four handles on the azure cauldron in front of Ning. Under Ning’s control, the four streams of lightning surged into his body. These four streams of Dao lightning were similarly drawn into four different lightning essence foundations and were quickly swallowed up. They now had their own foundations where they belonged.

“And the Elementum Waterflame Gourd.” Finally, Ning produced the gourd which he had been using for quite some time. He used the exact same technique to draw those two streams of Dao lightning into the foundations inside his body.

There were a total of nine lightning essence foundations! These nine foundations were meant to hold nine streaks of Dao lightning or nine streaks of Chaos lightning which belonged to the same ‘type’. Right now, Ning had seven of those streaks of Dao lightning! These seven Dao lightnings were the seven cheapest ones he could find, but they had still cost Ning a total of 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar! As for the seven types of Dao water, they had cost Ning a total of 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar.

The Dao lightning was more powerful and thus preferred by cultivators, resulting in a slightly higher price than the Dao water.

Ning had purchased nine types of Chaos water shortly after arriving at the Sword Palace. As a result, his body already had nine types of water essence foundations within it, and he used them to absorb those streams of Dao water, completely drawing them inside.

“The transfer is complete.” Ning was a bit excited. “I wonder if I’ll be able to start training in the lower part now.”

To actually absorb the Dao lightning didn’t really signify anything, as Ning could control them regardless of whether they were inside his body or inside a magic treasure! In this sense, the location didn’t matter.

“According to the notes regarding the lower part of the [Novessence Thunder], only a Samsara Daolord can train in the technique because Dao lightning is thousands of times more explosive and unruly than Chaos lightning. The Immortal energy of World-level cultivators simply cannot cope with it, preventing them from training in this technique.” Ning’s eyes were shining. When he had first started on the [Novessence Thunder] using Chaos lightning, he had failed numerous types in his attempts to master it. In the end, he had to rely on his azureflower mist energy to succeed.

Using the azureflower mist energy to control the Chaos lightning had been hundreds of times easier than using his own Immortal energy.

“The reason why only Daolords can train in the lower part is because the Immortal energy of World-level cultivators is too weak. However, I can use the azureflower mist energy instead. That energy should be comparable to the energy of a Daolord of the First Step’s. According to the manual, a Daolord of the First Step has a chance to complete the second stage of the technique. In fact, he even has a shot at the third stage!” Ning felt quite eager.

The second stage referred to the secret art needed to completely merge two of the streaks of Dao lightning together. This would instantly cause the power of the Dao lightning to skyrocket!

Upon reaching the second stage, those two streaks of Dao lightning would probably be even more powerful than seven streaks of Dao lightning and seven streams of Dao water combined! Right now, Ning was relying on superior numbers in order to achieve victory. And yet, all his Dao lightning and Dao water combined was merely on par with the second stage.

“If I can master at least the second stage for the Dao lightning, then do the same for the Dao water, then use them along with the rest of my lightning and water… the power should be quite extraordinary.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

“Time to begin.” Using the azureflower mist energy to reinforce his physical strength in battle was the most basic way of using it. Using it to train in secret arts? That was far more impressive! This was a form of energy comparable to a Daolord’s energy, after all!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The azureflower mist energy spread out in accordance with the [Novessence Thunder], streatching out like an invisible hand that quickly latched onto the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning. These were the two types of Dao lightning that were the easiest to control.

“Hahaha… I’m completely able to control them! My suspicions were correct! My azureflower mist energy can be used to control Dao lightning as if it was Daolord energy.” Ning began to grow excited. This meant that he would be able to realize his ambitions! The two streaks of Dao lightning were innately explosive, but the power of the azureflower mist energy was still able to control them.

They followed Ning’s will and began to transform nonstop as the secret art began to take shape.

However, the later parts of this process grew increasingly complicated. The [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] techniques were techniques that were akin to applying alchemy and pill-forging principles to lightning and water. The lightning would be constantly adjusted and harmonized, causing its power to eventually be completely transformed in nature! Pill-makers needed to have complete control over their pills, and Ning needed to have similarly exquisite control over his lightning.

The process grew more and more difficult.

BOOM!

It had been just the slightest slip-up, but the entire secret art broke apart and the two streaks of Dao lightning instantly split apart, each returning to its own lightning essence foundation.

“My azureflower mist energy is clearly far more powerful than the Immortal energy of a World-level cultivator. I trust that it is no weaker than a Daolord’s, and my soul is also comparable to a Daolord’s soul. I refuse to believe I can’t do this!” Ning tried again.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice…

Ning tried twenty times in a row, only to fail each time.

Ning was stunned.

“Let me try the Dao water. Maybe I’ll be able to succeed with the Dao water.” Ning once more gave it a try, this time using the Dao water. It was clearly much easier to control Dao water than Dao lightning, as water was less explosive and wild, but as the process went on it failed once more at the very end. Multiple, repeated failures resulted in Ning giving up.

“Why do I keep failing?” Ning carefully went through his memories regarding these two techniques.

These two techniques…

The [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] were created based on Daolord Allgod’s insights into the process of alchemy and artificing. The process allowed him to take exquisite control over lightning and water, using them to form tremendously powerful secret arts. After one became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, it would be possible for one to master the ninth stage and complete the process. Daolords of the First Step generally could master the second stage, and they even had a chance at mastering the third stage.

“Why can’t I even master the second stage? Controlling them feels incredibly taxing.”

Ning suddenly stared blankly.

“I understand! Daolord Allgod was a Verge-level Daolord when he mastered the ninth stage for the lightning and water… but who was he? He was a master of alchemy and artificing, a true grandmaster of countless Daos. He was incredibly skilled in this respect! I, however, know nothing about alchemy or artificing whatsoever. I’m completely relying on the strength of the azureflower mist energy to brute-force the lightning and water into cooperating. It only makes sense that this sort of brute-force method will result in repeated failures.” Ning finally understood.

Alchemy and artificing were not simple tasks. They were arts that required tremendous levels of skill and expertise. World God Pillsaint was an incredibly skilled grandmaster in alchemy, but how many other World-level cultivators were similarly talented in this regard? Alchemy truly was an art filled with countless mysteries, but Ning knew nothing of it at all. All he could do was rely on his azureflower mist energy to brute-force things…

“Ugh…” Ning shook his head.

If he could master the second stage for the lightning and the water, then when he used them as well as his other types of Dao lightning and Dao water in a formation to attack an opponent, he would probably be able to slay an ordinary Daolord of the First Step in one blow! Even if that person didn’t die, he would be heavily injured. A few successive blows would ensure that the Daolord would definitely perish.

This was why the azureflower mist energy was so incredible and special. It gave World-level cultivators a chance to master techniques they simply shouldn’t be able to… but alas, Ning didn’t understand enough about alchemy or artificing.

“Too late to start training in these areas now. There’s no time. I have to try out the Daolord Cloudworld soon,” Ning mused. “But I just so happen to have an expert alchemist by my side. After the challenge is completed, I’ll ask Pillsaint for some advice! If I learn some basic alchemy skills, I’ll probably be able to rely on the experience I gained to make some progress in mastering the second stage of these two techniques.”

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Chapter 19 – Challenging the Daolord Cloudworld

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 19 – Challenging the Daolord Cloudworld

Ji Ning tested out using the seven types of Dao water and Dao lightning in the privacy of his study, using them to form a Heptastar Duality Formation. Cultivators would often use lightning and water in joint formations. The treasures which Ning had purchased previously all had formations built into them, such as the Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags which held a Seven Flags Formation.

After familiarizing himself with the formation, Ning calmed himself down and started to think back to the insights regarding the sword which he had gained in recent years. Slowly, his heart grew peaceful, calm, and empty.

A full day passed in the blink of an eye.

Ning opened his eyes, a hint of eagerness in them. “Time to try out the Daolord Cloudworld.”

Ning left the study, then glanced at World God Pillsaint and Flamefairy Su Youji. The two were seated outside, drinking some wine, but when they saw Ning they immediately rose to their feet. Su Youji immediately said, “Master, are you going to the Daolord Cloudworld?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Master.” Pillsaint hurriedly said, “I’ve heard that quite a few of the acknowledged World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces went to the Daolord Cloudworld on the very first day. It seems the competition will be quite fierce… but I know that you will definitely succeed.”

“You both know about it?” Ning was surprised. It seemed as though everyone knew about the Daolord Cloudworld trials.

“Although you didn’t tell us about it, even an idiot would be able to figure it out. The Twelve Palaces don’t exactly have that many acknowledged World-level cultivators! For so many of them to enter the Daolord Cloudworld on the exact same day is far too bizarre.” World God Pillsaint looked towards Ning. “As I see it… you’ll definitely succeed, Master. In fact, you might be number one. Those other fellows are nothing more than ‘dirt chickens and clay dogs’, of no worth whatsoever.”

Pillsaint was such an adorable-looking figure that these words didn’t seem offensive at all. Instead, he made them sound amusing.

“I hope you are right.” Ning laughed. “Alright, time for me to go to the Daolord Cloudworld.”

Su Youji and Pillsaint watched as Ning flew into the air towards the distant Daolord Cloudworld.

The Daolord Cloudworld was the tallest building in the entire Palace of the Sword, and its outer surface was that of four enormous layers of clouds.

“I’ll do everything I can. Let’s see how far I’ll be able to make it.” Ning craned his neck, staring upwards at the Daolord Cloudworld. Even though he had tried it out several times in recent years, those had all been merely for the sake of testing out some new sword-arts. He had never really gone all out.

Whoosh.

Ning took a single step forwards, moving deep into the layer of black mist and inside the Daolord Cloudworld.

“Swordlord Darknorth just went in.”

“Now, all of our qualified Swordlords have entered.”

“I wonder what’s going on? All of the geniuses of the Twelve Palaces have gone inside recently.” The black-armored Daolords patrolling off in the distance were all watching. News spread quite quickly within the Twelve Palaces.

The Daolord Cloudworld was split up into four levels. These levels were known as the Blackcloud World, the Azurecloud World, the Silvercloud World, and the Goldcloud World.

Cultivators of the Sword Palace would have to start from the Blackcloud World each time, because the main point of the Daolord Cloudworld was to help cultivators find suitable opponents.

……

The Azurecloud World. The white-robed Ji Ning was striding atop a long path formed from azure clouds, wielding a longsword in one hand. Right in front of him was a golem barring a path. The golem was shaped like a strange beast with four legs and was roughly as strong as a Daolord of the First Step.

Boom.

Sword-light swept against the golem’s chest in a seemingly casual manner, but the golem was knocked flying backwards off its feet. This was Ning’s ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ of the [Brightmoon] sword-art.

Swish.

Sword-light flashed again in a mysterious manner, causing many sword-shadows to appear in the air. There was no way to tell which attack was real and which attack was illusory. The edge of the sword sheared against the neck of a spider-shaped golem, and it couldn’t help but crumple as it was sent flying backwards by Ning’s sword-light.

Ning defeated opponent after opponent on the azure cloud path, but the more he defeated the stronger the new opponents became. In fact, even the total number of opponents began to increase as well. Ning, however, continued to merely use a single sword, and the only sword-art he used was his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.

“I’ve never finished going through the entire second level before.” Ning’s sword-arts had truly reached a profound level.

Each of the five stances of [Brightmoon] were actually stronger than the seventh stances of the [Heartsword] or the [Heartseal] sword-arts.

“It seems that at my current level of sword-arts, a single sword is enough to easily overcome this level.” Ning was already able to see the distant end to this azure cloud path. He had distilled some of the essence of [Heartseal] and [Heartsword] sword-arts, then raised them to a higher level. When he used his own sword-arts, they carried an aura of cyclical reincarnation as well, making the five stances of [Brightmoon] naturally become illusory.

Slash!

A dazzling streak of sword-light split the air.

Ning’s sword was like a comet that sped through the skies. It was the most beautiful thing in this world, and it seemed almost dreamlike. Ning’s sword had reached an incredible level of speed! With a slash, it cut deep into the body of a golem. Generally speaking, most people would stay far away from golems and fight them from ad istance, but this was the final opponent which Ning had to deal with.

Swish! The sword-light stabbed through the golem’s throat.

“Eh?” Ning was rather surprised. “It went through? I usually wasn’t able to cut or pierce through the other golems.”

Whoosh. The stabbed golem quickly retreated backwards, and a strange liquid began to flow out of its throat. The wound quickly disappeared, and the golem left the azure cloud path.

“I’ve finally reached the end of the path.” Ning flew out of the azure cloud path. In front of him was a small island that was only a few square kilometers in size, and there was a suit of azure armor placed on the island.

Ning chuckled when he saw the suit of azure armor.

“Azure armor? It seems as though it is time for me to upgrade my outfit.”

The first time one passed the Blackcloud World, a suit of black armor would be awarded. The first time a person overcame the Azurecloud World, a suit of azure cloud would be awarded. Ning had acquired his black armor long ago, which was a top-grade Dao armor. It wasn’t even as useful as the aquaflect armor he had purchased during the treasure auction. The azure armor, however, was an Eternal-level treasure.

“C’mere.” Ning stepped forward and accepted the azure armor, then sat down in the lotus position and began to slowly bind it while mentally preparing himself for the third level, the Silvercloud World.

The Silvercloud World…

World-level cultivators had absolutely no chance of making it to the end of this level! To make it past this level meant that you had reached the threshold of power of a Daolord of the Third Step. This was completely impossible. Even if Ning reached the third stage in the [Novessence Thunder] and [Novessence Water] and was thus able to slay a Daolord of the First Step, he would merely be equivalent to a fairly formidable Daolord of the Second Step. There was no way he’d be able to overcome the Silvercloud World.

Bertulu… Eastcult… none of them, not even the most talented of geniuses, could accomplish this task!

However, more than 90% of the geniuses acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were able to reach the threshold of Daolords of the Second Step. Ning, for example, was already equivalent to a Daolord of the First Step with his azureflower mist energy alone. Given that his sword-arts were even more profound than the Reincarnation stance and the Cosmic Heart stance, his skill in this area was actually somewhat higher than that of many actual Daolords of the Second Step! This was why he had been able to make it through the Azurecloud World with just as ingle sword.

“The azure armor is a low-grade Eternal treasure. It has no special properties other than its ability to absorb some degree of energy.” Ning couldn’t help but shake his head. At least his aquaflect armor was able to reflect damage. “Still, the more powerful my future opponents are, the less useful my current armor will be. As for my opponents on the Silvercloud World, they will all be at least at the threshold of the Daolord of the Second Step level.”

Ning switched armors, but he still elected to make it look like a set of white clothes.

Ning then sat down in the lotus position again and began to breathe quietly as he started to work on replenishing the azurelower mist energy he had used up during the first two levels. At the same time, he also thought back to some of the mistakes he had made in his earlier battle. This was the first time in the hundred years he been trying out in the Cloudworld that he had made it all the way through the second level. He had gained quite a few insights from this.

He thought back to the previous battles he had fought as he pondered on his sword-arts.

“On the final day, I will test myself against the Silvercloud World.” Ning came to a decision.

Ning was actually one of the slowest ones, as most of the World-level cultivators acknowledged by the ancient pagodas had already finished.

……

The imperial palace. The thirteen thrones levitating within the void of space.

“Ahaha, Heartforce Cultivators truly are impressive. Solewind’s heartforce is becoming more and more frightening.” Daolord Yinwind laughed merrily. “Our Saber Palace won’t say a single begrudging word if he is ranked number one.”

At present, aside from Heartlord Solewind of the Heartforce Palace being ranked as number one, the rest of the top four had been completely dominated by the Palace of the Saber!

“Hmph.” The nearby Lord Woodflower just let out a cold snort.

The Sword Palace and the Saber Palace had always been somewhat at loggerheads, because the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of the Saber had always been the two most offensive, combative Daos in the Endless Territories. Generally speaking, more cultivators trained in the Dao of the Sword! Slightly fewer trained in the Dao of the Saber.

“Woodflower.” Daolord Yinwind glanced sideways at Lord Woodflower, then let out an odd chuckle. “Five members of your Sword Palace have already finished their attempts, yes? The highest ranking member is merely ranked seventh. You have no chance at all.”

“Hmph.” Lord Woodflower had an ugly look on his face. He did not, however, try to argue. The Saber Palace’s performance truly had been dominating, while the Sword Palace’s performance truly had been lackluster.

These Palace Lords and Vice Palace Lords had all reached the end of the line. If they succeeded in their Daomerge, they would gain eternity. If they failed, they would die and their Dao would vanish. At their level, face mattered more than almost anything else.

“We’ll see about that,” Lord Woodflower said flatly.

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Chapter 20 – The Altar

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 20 – The Altar

Time passed quickly, and the final day of the three days the almighty Hegemon had allotted the challengers had arrived. Ji Ning and quite a few others had spent the previous day recuperating in the Azurecloud World, so as to be in peak condition when they challenged the Silvercloud World. Only a few people like Ning were able to fight for so long, after all; the majority relied on highly exhausting divine abilities that could allow them to unleash obliterating levels of power for brief moments.

On the third day, all of the remaining geniuses of the Twelve Palaces began to challenge the Silvercloud World.

“Greatjoy has come out.”

“That’s Greatjoy.”

Every person seated on the thirteen thrones, the almighty Hegemon included, was staring at one particular scene. This was the image displaying Prince Greatjoy challenging the Silvercloud World.

“So fast.”

“He’s blowing through them like rotted wood.”

“Hegemon, I feel upset each time I see Greatjoy. I really feel regretful that I wasn’t able to recruit him into our Skymetal Palace.” A handsome youth dressed in beautiful golden robes let out a sigh. “I could tell all those years ago that he had excellent potential, even though he was very weak starting off. In the end, the Spacetime Palace managed to lure him in… and then he somehow became one of your honorary disciples, Hegemon! Judging from how he is blasting through the Silvercloud World, he’s clearly become much more powerful once again.”

“Ahaha, Severtrip, jealousy won’t get you anything. Greatjoy is now a member of our Spacetime Palace.” A jade-eyed man with tousled hair let out a loud laugh.

“It is true that Greatjoy has improved quite rapidly.” The almighty Hegemon stroked his pristine white beard.

The almighty Hegemon’s accomplishments in the Dao of Spacetime allowed him to look down upon all others in the Endless Territories. In the Twelve Palaces, he was particularly close to the Spacetime Palace, and some of its dazzling geniuses would be given a chance to earn one of his legacies and become an honorary disciples! Prince Greatjoy was one of them.

The Hegemon and the twelve golden-armored lords continued to stare at the many scenes playing out in midair. Prince Greatjoy was moving farther and farther up the stairs to the altar, defeating one golem after another along the way.

Rumble…

Prince Greatjoy’s body shone with golden light as he manifested six arms and began to sweep forward with even greater power.

His palm-arts, fist-arts, finger-arts… they were all unfathomably profound and ridiculously powerful. Sometimes he moved quickly, sometimes he moved slowly, but the region of spacetime surrounding him was in a perpetual state of flux. It was extremely difficult for the golems attacking him to unleash their true power, but every single strike of Prince Greatjoy’s contained tremendous might.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He devastated his way through the golems, his entire body have transformed into a golden color. He looked like a golden god of war, but a look of absolute, glacial calm was in his eyes.

“He’s already reached six hundred!” Daolord Thousand Waves let out a startled cry. “Given how he’s cruised his way to the six hundredth level, he might have a shot at giving Solewind a run for his money.”

The Silvercloud World was actually one enormous altar that had nine hundred levels that served as the ‘steps’ to the top of the altar. The farther up you went, the more powerful your foes would be. The distance you were able to travel was a testament to your strength!

Right now, Heartlord Solewind was ranked number one. He had made it to the 692nd step.

Ranked in second place was Saberlord Redsnow of the Saber Palace. He had made it to the 680th step.

Ranked third and fourth were members of the Saber Palace who had made it past the 600th step as well.

600 steps… this represented a certain level of power. Most of the acknowledged cultivators had already completed their attempts, but only eight had made it past the 600th step!

“Given how easy it was for him to make it past the six hundredth level, he does indeed have a shot at matching Solewind.” Lord Woodflower nodded slowly as he gave his appraisal.

“Hard to say. He makes it look easy, but he might’ve already unleashed his full power,” the nearby Daolord Yinwind retorted coldly.

“Just keep watching.” Lord Woodflower glanced sideways at him.

“Hmph.” Daolord Yinwind stared hard at the scene playing out before him. Prince Greatjoy was still steadily advancing. Starting from the six hundredth level, the golems became much more powerful and and much more numerous. In fact, there could be as many as twenty or thirty of them attacking you at the same time. However, Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over spacetime allowed him to tower over almost all World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces. He was able find unconceivable openings and positions, allowing him to never have to face more than three golems at one time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Six hundred fifty.”

“Six hundred sixty. Six hundred seventy.”

Daolord Yinwind’s face grew uglier and uglier to behold, because Prince Greatjoy had just caused a member of the Saber Palace to be eliminated from this competition.

“Six hundred eighty! He’s still advancing.”

“Six hundred ninety!”

Prince Greatjoy’s face was starting to turn solemn, but a look of madness was in his eyes. His entire body radiated that blinding golden light, and each of his attacks contained utterly earth-shaking power. The golems were able to land an occasional attack against him, but were completely unable to harm him.

“He must have reached at least the eighth stage in the [Illusory Jade] secret art.” The youth dressed in the beautiful golden robes, Daolord Severtrip, let out a sigh when he saw this. “This secret art isn’t all that profound, but he still was able to reach the level of near-perfection in it. This is a secret art of our Dao of Metal… he really should’ve entered our Skymetal Palace.”

“He beat him.”

“He moved past Solewind.”

The farther one advanced, the more difficult each level became. Prince Greatjoy’s face was extremely solemn now. He was finding it extremely difficult to advance, with the golems doing everything they could to oppose him!

“Six hundred ninety-nine… seven hundred! He made it to level seven hundred.”

“Previously, the only members of the Twelve Palaces who made it past level seven hundred at the World level were Bertulu and Eastcult. Now, Greatjoy has joined their ranks.”

The ancient powers sighed in amazement as they saw this.

As for Prince Greatjoy, he gritted his teeth and fought like a madman. By nature, he wasn’t the type of person to easily admit defeat, and he still stubbornly fought and clawed his way forwards. He had reached exceedingly great heights in both the Dao of Spacetime and the Dao of Metal, and had also received personal guidance from the almighty Hegemon himself. Now, faced with such tremendous pressure, he actually began to slowly grow stronger and stronger.

Rumble…

Alas, with each step he took the golems became increasingly terrifying as well, and even more of them were appearing.

Boom! Boom! BOOM!

One missed strike and he was almost instantly knocked flying. Moments later, ropes tightened around him.

Defeat!

He had been defeated at the 719th step!

The ancient powers seated within the thirteen thrones couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. When they met and spoke with the most talented geniuses like Prince Greatjoy, they virtually treated those geniuses as equals, because once these geniuses made their breakthroughs they would quickly become comparable to Daolords of the Third Step. Once they engaged in a bit of training, they would quickly be able to compare to Daolords of the Fourth Step. It would be very easy for them to become major figures within the Endless Territories.

Right now, Prince Greatjoy was ranked number one after having made it to the 719th level.

Heartlord Solewind was ranked second after having made it to the 692nd level.

Ranked third was Saberlord Redsnow, level 680.

Number four was Saberlord Grief, level 668.

……

The Azurecloud World of the Daolord Cloudworld.

Ji Ning rose to his feet and walked directly towards the highest position on the island he was in. When he reached it, a spacetime vortex formed around him. Ning disappeared from the Azurecloud World.

Within the Silvercloud World.

This was a world shaped like an utterly enormous altar that had nine hundred steps to it.

“What an enormous altar.” Ning craned his neck as he stared upwards, seeing the many golems roving about. He could also hear faint booms ringing out from far ahead. “There are other cultivators here right now as well? I wonder which member of the Sword Palace is here… or perhaps it is one of the other Swordlords?”

There were so many golems within the altar that ten cultivators could challenge this world at the same time.

“Time to go.”

Ning held a pair of Eternal swords in his hands as he advanced forwards.

“GWAAAAR!” Instantly, a pitch-black golem shaped like a three-headed, four-legged beast let out a roar as it pounced towards Ning like a streak of light, moving roughly three times as fast as the speed of light! This single level was roughly as long as the entire Azurecloud World had been, but it was merely a million kilometers wide. A million kilometers might seem like a long distance, but major powers were able to traverse it with just a single step.

“Hmph.” Ning looked at the golem.

Boom! Instantly, Ning’s body radiated with lightning, water, and many other types of light. Some were dazzling, some were ruinous, some were subdued. The seven types of Dao lightning all had different auras, as did the same types of Dao water. Still, Ning was able to fully control all of them, and with but a thought Ning caused them to join together into a Heptastar Duality Formation. An enormous, dazzling, bizarre formation appeared in the air which completely covered the four-legged beast which was charging towards Ning.

Boom! Although the beast-golem let out a furious howl, it was still forced several steps backwards.

Ning was able to advance to the second level with ease. As he continued his advance, the golems became increasingly powerful. In fact, there were even a few golems that attacked from afar using magic treasures, and the effectiveness of Ning’s Hepastar Duality Formation began to lessen. Ning had to unleash his sword-arts to fight as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning’s sword-arts were quite mighty, allowing him to sweep through all obstacles.

Two hundred steps. Three hundred steps.

“Eh?” Ning’s ears suddenly pricked up. “It seems everything went silent.”

There had been another cultivator fighting on the other side of the altar. Moments ago, explosions had been ringing out unabated. Now, nothing could be heard at all.

“Woodflower, your Swordlord Wildfire has been defeated as well. He lost on the 597th step. He almost made it to the 600th!” Daolord Yinwind glanced sideways at Daolord Woodflower. “Right now, the only remaining member in your Sword Palace is that kid who just became a Swordlord a short while ago.”

Daolord Woodflower ignored Daolord Yinwind’s mockery. Instead, he stared at the scene of Ji Ning forging his way ahead.

Right now, Ji Ning was the only member of the Sword Palace who was still taking part in the challenge. All the others had already failed.

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Chapter 21 – Tenacity

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 21 – Tenacity

Within the Sword Palace’s Silvercloud World.

The rest of the altar was now completely silent. Still, Ning merely made a note of it as he then continued to fight all-out against the golems on each level of the altar.

Rumble…

Boom!

Explosions rang out unabated.

His Dao water and Dao lightning were combined into a formation of tremendous power, but at this point they were having a limited amount of impact on the increasingly powerful golems. Still, for someone at Ning’s level, even a limited impact would make things much simpler.

Level four hundred!

Level five hundred!

Ning continued to advance. His most powerful technique was the [Brightmoon] sword-art, and it was guaranteed that in the long run it would always be his most powerful technique! Once he became a Daolord, he would have his own path and that path would always allow him to unleash the most power possible. By then, the other sword-arts would merely provide him with guidance and experience, helping him enhance his understanding of the Dao of the Sword. However, his greatest power would forever lie within the [Brightmoon] sword-art.

The same was true for other experts of the Dao of the Sword. Their strongest sword-arts would be the ones they created!

“Break!”

Heavenbreaker stance. Shadowless stance. Soleheart stance. Yin-Yang stance. Blood Drop stance.

The five stances of [Brightmoon]! And Ning had now infused them with the sword-intent of reincarnation, making his five stances into a continuous cycle that flowed with no weaknesses or flaws whatsoever, allowing him to unleash even more power in battle.

Of the five [Brightmoon] stances, Ning’s strongest stances were the Yin-Yang stance and the Soleheart stance. These two were both defensive techniques. Ning had put a tremendous amount of effort into his Unicorn’s Domain, making him somewhat stronger in the area of defense.

“Hey, Woodflower. That’s the kid who just became a Swordlord in your palace, right? He actually made it to the 500th level.” Daolord Severtrip suddenly called out in surprise.

“Mmhmm.” Lord Woodflower nodded, revealing a smile as he watched Ning advance nonstop.

“It is pretty impressive for him to have even made it past five hundred. It seems this ‘Darknorth’ kid has some talent. A pity that he entered the Sword Palace a bit too late,” Daolord Yinwind said, attempting to pour some cold water on their excitement.

Daolord Woodflower didn’t argue. Even he could tell that although Ning’s sword-arts were profound, they also had noticeable flaws compared to the skills of Prince Greatjoy or Saberlord Redsnow! Ji Ning’s sword-arts were average amongst the Swordlords who had been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas. It must be understood that he had only been acknowledged a mere century ago. For him to be considered ‘average’ amongst the sixty-seven most talented World-level cultivators in the kingdom was already quite impressive.

The 500th level was a fairly ‘average’ level. Many geniuses were unable to make it much farther past this level.

Ning had three heads and six arms, and he wielded a Violetjewel in each of his six arms as he fought with all his might. Lightning and torrents of water exploded through the air unabated, doing their best to slow down and affect the impending golems.

Whooooosh.

A golem suddenly transformed into an enormous wave of water that came crashing down towards Ning. Ning hurriedly used his Dao lightning and Dao water to defend, but they were quickly submerged within the enormous wave, and it continued its crashing assault.

“Yin-Yang stance.” Ning’s six swords simultaneously struck out. This was a stance meant to deal with group attacks. Ning was often forced to use the Yin-Yang stance in the Silvercloud World, because the golems would often attack in groups.

Whoooosh. Yin and Yang spun as Ning’s sword-light flew. The surrounding area seemed to have been transformed into a black hole which completely blocked all the waters of the wave.

“Kill!” After pushing through the wave, Ning continued to advance.

Five hundred fifty. Five hundred sixty. Five hundred seventy…

Ning was incredibly tenacious and durable. There was no way for him to use any divine abilities with his azureflower mist energy, but because of how steady he was he was able to stay at maximum power for a very long period of time. Other Daolord-equivalents, even ones like Prince Greatjoy, had to conserve their divine power and thus would often engage in normal combat while only occasionally exploding forth with their full power. Thus, they even brought spirit-pills, chaos jewels, and chaos nectar to replenish their depleting energy.

Ning, however, was simply too stable!

His sword-arts were similarly stable. The five stances of [Brightmoon] included all aspects of swordplay. Some swordsmen were skilled in one area and weaker in other areas; in short, they had their areas of specialties and their deficiencies. Ning, however, was skilled in every single area. He was slightly stronger in defense, but that was just in comparison. The Reincarnation sword-intent filling his sword-arts made it so that all five stances were merged together perfectly. This naturally made him even stabler.

Emperor Mirrorsnow was legendary for his tenacity. Even those who were stronger than him would find it difficult to defeat him.

“Advance!

“Over the course of countless years, numerous major powers have perished. None of those Daolords who had failed their Daomerge have been able to come back to life! An enormous price must be paid in order to bring back someone whose truesoul has already been extinguished. If I’m not strong enough, I won’t be able to beseech the almighty Hegemon and experts on his level to help me. I won’t be able to convince them that the price will be worth it.

“If I want to accomplish my goals, I have to seize every opportunity I can.”

Ning would never give up. He knew that many members of even the Brightshore Imperials had perished over the course of years, with none being brought back to life. Clearly, even if the almighty Hegemon was capable of resurrecting the dead the price would be so terrifying that he wouldn’t be willing to do it lightly.

“I’ve just started. I can’t give up so soon.” Ning’s sword-arts were slowly, subtly improving during this process. He wasn’t at a bottleneck, after all, and this sort of furious, high-pressure combat would naturally result in his sword-arts being perfected nonstop.

“Keep going. I can take at least another step forwards.” Ning could feel that the pressure was growing greater and greater.

“Eh? Is he actually…”

“Is that kid from the Sword Palace actually…”

The ancient powers seated on the thirteen thrones all stared curiously at this scene. Ning was currently battling against six golems, and it was difficult for him to advance. Every single one of the six golems possessed tremendous levels of power, and by now Ning’s Dao lightning and Dao water were of very little help to him.

“Six hundred. He actually made it to level six hundred.”

“His sword-arts actually enabled him to make it to level six hundred?”

The ancient powers were all shocked. Daolord Thousand Waves cried out in surprise, “His sword-arts are clearly quite ordinary compared to the other acknowledged World-level geniuses, but he actually managed to make it to the six hundredth level! Ji Ning already ranks in the top ten.”

As time passed, the total number who made it past level six hundred continued to grow.

On the very first day, only five had made it past that level.

By the time Prince Greatjoy made it past, more than eight had already reached this level.

And now, Ji Ning was the tenth.

It must be understood that this contest was a contest involving all the World-level geniuses of the Twelve Palaces. For Ning to be only the tenth to make it through this level meant that he was one of the elites within his group. In fact, his performance was better than that of any other member of the Sword Palace.

“Six hundred and two. Mm, that should be it.” The white-bearded Hegemon nodded slowly. “Don’t underestimate this Darknorth kid. His sword-arts might seem to be inferior to that of Greatjoy and the others, making him look ordinary, but they are extremely balanced. He’s skilled in every single aspect, and from what I understand he has gained the legacy of Mirrorsnow. Look, you can see the sword-intent of Reincarnation permeating through his sword-arts. He’s managed to link everything together perfectly, making him very strong… and with those seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water supporting him, it makes sense that he can make it past level six hundred.

“Still, he’s at his limit. He’s only persisting out of sheer tenacity and stubborness.”

The almighty Hegemon watched the scenes being displayed. Ji Ning had made it to the 602nd level, but he was clearly at a complete disadvantage when facing the eight golems on this level. Still, he continued to stubbornly hang on.

“To make it to the 602nd level is not,” the almighty Hegemon evaluated.

“Yes, not bad at all.”

“In the future, this kid just might be a match for Greatjoy.”

They all agreed with the Hegemon’s appraisal. Even Daolord Woodflower nodded in agreement, but he couldn’t help but sigh to himself. Alas, the seven Swordlords of the Sword Palace had all failed.

No one rebutted the almighty Hegemon, because they all knew how astute his vision and judgment was. He was able to completely see and understand how strong Ning was right now. If he said that this level was as far as Ning could go, that would definitely be the case.

……

The Silvercloud World. Level six hundred and two of the altar.

Tired.

Ning was so tired.

These eight golems launched combined attacks against him. Terrifying flowers of fire and water continuously rained down upon him, and some of the golems repeatedly charged into close combat against him. Every single one was just as strong as Ning, and when the six joined forces they were able to completely suppress Ning! Ning had indeed only been able to just barely hang on for this long thanks to his extremely balanced sword-arts.

He wouldn’t admit defeat lightly. Once he gave up, he would have lost. Only by persevering would there be hope.

Ning strove to learn as much as he could from this very battle, pondering on his sword-arts flaws in real time as he continuously perfected them.

Rumble…

Attacks rained down from every direction, and Ning was like a little boat that was being rocked within a stormy sea that would capsize at any moment.

Ning had no idea that the almighty Hegemon and twelve golden-armored powers were watching him. Although they had a rather good opinion of him, they felt certain that this level was Ning’s limit.

“Their attacks really are endless and omnipresent…” Although Ning’s sword-arts were slowly improving, he still felt a sense of despair. Defeat would come at any moment.

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Chapter 22 – A Dao Belonging to Ji Ning

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 22 – A Dao Belonging to Ji Ning

“Omnipresent?” Surrounded and exhausted by the endless attacks from these many golems, the light of inspiration suddenly flickered in Ji Ning’s mind.

“Right. Their attacks are omnipresent. Some cast spells from afar, others close in on me and attack in melee using claws and palms. I only have six arms after using [Three Heads, Six Arms]; how can I possibly withstand so many attacks?” Ning was mumbling to himself as many different sword-arts went through his mind, with many insights regarding the Yin-Yang stance in particular coming to the forefront.

It was as though a thread was linking many small beads together, forming a true collective whole.

“Omnipresent…

“The true Yin-Yang stance shouldn’t result in me defending in such an exhausting manner. So what if I have six arms? Even if I had ten or eighteen arms, so what? There’s still a limit to what I can do!” Ning was beginning to awaken to the truth. “The true Yin-Yang stance should allow me to defend against all oncoming attacks, which means it needs to be omnipresent as well. It should envelope everything in its path, and any attacks that come forth should be blocked by it.

“That means… for the Yin-Yang stance to be truly powerful, it should be a domain! I need to transform this stance into a domain!”

Every single cultivator had a path that was most suited to them. Over the course of countless years, many major powers had chosen many different paths. At their level, there was no way they could imitate others any longer. If they did, it would actually have a negative influence on their own future insights. If you wished to draw a painting, it was best to start with a fresh, blank scroll of paper. The path of cultivation was best expressed through following one’s own heart, through slowly understanding and upgrading one’s insights to the point of fundamentally transforming them.

“Let my seven Dao lightnings and my seven Dao waters be my sword,” Ning murmured softly.

Rumble…

The Dao water and Dao lightning that had been in the surrounding area constricting the foes suddenly began to rumble. Although they were elemental lightning and water by nature, true experts of the Dao of the Sword could use anything as a sword. Flower petals, water drops, a single water drop… they could all be used as a sword. Now, Ning was using Dao water and Dao lightning as his blade.

“Dao lightning and Dao water, form my Yin-Yang stance and create my Yin-Yang Sword Domain.”

In recent years, Ning’s greatest achievements lay in the field of defense. All of his insights into the Yin-Yang stance, including some which he had previously felt to be rather unimportant, all came together in this stance as he generated a domain of sword-intent. He infused it with all of his insights, causing the power of this stance to instantly transform.

Rumble…

Every single streak of Dao lightning transformed into a sword! The ‘insides’ of the swords were made of lightning, but on the outside they had already been shaped and condensed into the form of a sword! The powerful sword-intent controlling the lightning was naturally giving birth to swordforce.

Every single stream of Dao water had also transformed into the shape of a sword.

They began to circle around Ning like an enormous whirlpool, but if one looked closely one would see that some of the streaks were swirling clockwise while others were swirling counter-clockwise. The mighty sword-intent controlling this technique caused parts of it to flow forwards and parts of it to flow backwards, creating an incredibly powerful tearing force!

What made white stand out? Only when the rest of a piece of parchment was completely covered in black ink would a spot of blank whiteness in the center be dazzling to behold.

Ning’s sword-intent was strong to begin with. Now that he had formed this technique with forward and reverse flows, the ripping, tearing power of his domain grew exponentially greater.

Yin-Yang Polarity!

The concept of Yin and Yang was reinforcing this technique as well! The Yang-attribute Dao lightning and the Yin-attribute Dao water mutually reinforced each other, resulting in both being strengthened. Every so often, compatible streaks of lightning or water would brush against each other, resulting in even more terrifying force.

Both forwards and backwards, both gentle and violent.

An enormous domain had formed around Ning, covering an area of ten thousand kilometers. This domain was formed of sword-shaped lightning and water, but what made it truly terrifying was the sword-intent which Ning’s Yin-Yang stance had manifested.

The sword-intent of the Yin-Yang stance had already undergone a fundamental transformation. Lightning and water flowed together, sometimes calm and sometimes explosive as it blasted at any foes which dared trespass!

“From this day forth, my Yin-Yang stance shall be the Yin-Yang Sword Domain.” Ning smiled. Finally, one of his five stances of [Brightmoon] had truly transformed. In this moment, Ning clearly understood that the Yin-Yang Sword Domain was a path he would absolutely have to take in the region of defense as he became a Samsara Daolord.

“Careful.”

“Quick!”

These golems were sentient. Once Ning formed that enormous Yin-Yang Sword Domain, the golems who were fighting within the reach of that domain instantly sensed multiple layers of force appear in the area. Sometimes, the force simply followed their movements; other times, the force exploded against them with great violence. There was even the occasional sensation of being brutally ripped apart by layers of power!

The entire domain was filled with countless attacks that alternated between Yin and Yang. The attacks constantly changed and transformed, making it harder and harder for them to defend. The golems had to use roughly 90% of their power in defending against the Yin-Yang Sword Domain.

Boom! Ning charged forwards, sweeping out with his sword-light and sending a golem flying. The golems were so focused on defending against the domain that they were now extremely vulnerable to Ning. He was able to defeat them all with one strike.

Ning continued to advance.

603. 604. 605…

Ning slowly advanced, wielding six swords while keeping [Three Heads, Six Arms] active. His enormous Yin-Yang Sword Domain covered an area of ten thousand kilometers around him, but in truth its size was variable. He could easily expand it to make it a hundred million kilometers in size, but the ten thousand kilometer range was the range at which he could maintain peak levels of power. Beyond that range, the power of the domain would slowly begin to decay.

The Yin-Yang Sword Domain could also be used through flying swords and other magic treasures, or even Dao fire. Anything could be used to generate it. However, Ning had access to incredibly powerful Dao lightning and Dao water, which was why he used them to generate the domain.

A simple tree branch controlled by Ning’s mighty sword-intent was now able to slay a Daolord of the First Step. The Dao lightning and Dao water were extraordinary elemental powers, and when they were used by the Yin-Yang Sword Domain they were able to produce truly enormous amounts of power.

……

The imperial palace. The almighty Hegemon and the twelve golden-armored powers were seated on their thirteen thrones, staring at this sight.

After Ning’s Yin-Yang stance transformed into the Yin-Yang Sword Domain, Ning was able to easily advance through the upcoming stages. However, none of the golden-armored powers cared about the fact that the almighty Hegemon’s evaluation had been wrong! Instead, they simply watched in astonishment as Ning unleashed his sword-intent domain because they knew what this portended.

“He… has finally taken that first step,” the almighty Hegemon said softly.

“Swordlord Darknorth is guaranteed to become one of the most supreme members of our Twelve Palaces.” Daolord Thousand Waves nodded.

“For someone like him to end up in the Sword Palace instead of mine… what a pity, what a pity!” Daolord Yinwind shook his head.

Daolord Woodflower glanced sideways at him, then began to laugh in a very contented manner.

“Although Swordlord Darknorth’s sword-intent domain is defensive in nature, every part of it is infused with terrifyingly strong attacks. If any enemies enter his domain, they will suffer attacks nonstop. Even the most powerful of foes will eventually be whittled down, making it so that they will be greatly weakened before even drawing close to him. A domain like this is guaranteed to be a terrifying thing to face. If he can become a Daolord of the Fourth Step… this sword-intent domain is powerful enough to allow him to suppress Eternal Emperors.” A golden-armored power whose eyes were like two black vortices of darkness let out a soft sigh.

“Agreed.”

The almighty Hegemon nodded. “He’ll be able to suppress ordinary Eternal Emperors! For Swordlord Darknorth to take this step forward means that he has already discovered an Supreme Dao of defense for himself!”

“It is guaranteed that he will be a monster of a Daolord.” Everyone present nodded.

There were differences in personal Daos. Some Samsara Daolords walked a path of simple Daos and would be very weak. As Daolords of the First Step, they would merely have ordinary levels of power.

Emperor Mirrorsnow’s Dao and his seventh stance, the Reincarnation stance, would have been enough for him to be acknowledged by the ancient pagodas. He used this path to become a Samsara Daolord, and his Dao was fairly formidable. As a Daolord of the First Step, he could match Daolords of the Second Step. However, a Dao like this just barely cleared the threshold of the ancient pagodas.

Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, Ji Ning… their Daos were on a higher level! Ning had just created his Yin-Yang Sword Domain, but it was a level of power above the Reincarnation stance and much more profound.

“An Supreme Dao of defense.” Daolord Thousand Waves let out a sigh. “The Sword Palace really hasn’t had many individuals who have ever been able to come up with an Supreme Dao.”

“Absolutely true.” Lord Woodflower nodded. Every single major power would have an individual Dao that was best suited to them. Ning was able to develop his Yin-Yang Sword Domain, but others might come up with similarly strong sword-arts. So long as they were at the same general level, they would all be classified as an ‘Ultimate’-class defensive Dao.

“If he follows this Dao to its conclusion, he definitely will be able to trample over Eternal Emperors once he becomes a Daolord of the Fourth Step.” Daolord Thousand Waves laughed.

“He’s still a bit lacking compared to Palace Lord Dawnstar,” Daolord Yinwind said. “Lord Dawnstar, at the World level, developed three Supreme Daos and then merged them together perfectly! After he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he was able to slay an Eternal Emperor with just three strokes of his blade. Although Swordlord Darknorth is impressive, he will only be able to suppress Eternal Emperors. Killing them will be a matter of luck.”

“True.” Everyone present agreed.

“But Bertulu and Eastcult do have a chance of reaching Lord Dawnstar’s level.” The almighty Hegemon agreed with this assessment as well. “Still… given that Darknorth has come up with an Ultimate-class defensive Dao, he’ll still be able to withstand them in an actual battle. He should be classified as someone on the same level as them.”

Eastcult had come up with Supreme Daos for both offense and defense, and had been able to merge them perfectly. This was why he was a match for Bertulu.

“True. Him having taken this step means he is guaranteed to be a monster of a Daolord.” Lord Woodflower was in a splendid mood.

Previously, these golden-armored figures had all referred to Ji Ning as ‘this kid’. Now that Ning had taken this step, they all referred to him as ‘Darknorth’ or ‘Swordlord Darknorth’, because in their hearts they viewed Ning as someone who would be a true equal!

“However… Supreme Daos are also the most difficult Daos for gaining eternity.” The almighty Hegemon let out a soft sigh.

“They are indeed hard, but to choose this path means he will definitely be an extraordinary figure,” Daolord Thousand Waves said.

Daolord Allgod, Daolord Featherdress, Palace Lord Dawnstar… they had all chosen the path of an Ultimate-class Dao. As a result, becoming an Eternal Empero would be incredibly difficult. Still… while they were alive, they were amongst the most illustrious, distinguished figures of all the Endless Territories.

The almighty Hegemon and the others were sighing in amazement over Ning’s prowess, but they had no idea that this was merely the evolution of the Yin-Yang stance, one of five stances in Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-art. Ning’s plan was to reach the apex with his other four stances as well! He was going to find suitable Daos for his other four stances, then infuse all of their mysteries into his own sword-arts. This was Ning’s true goal.

Right now, he had developed an Supreme Dao of defense, the Yin-Yang Sword Domain… but this was just the beginning!

“Six hundred sixty. Six hundred seventy. Six hundred eighty…” Daolord Woodflower watched as Ning continuously advanced up the steps of the altar, and the smile on his face continued to widen.

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Chapter 23 – The Dust Settles

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 23 – The Dust Settles

As Daolord Yinwind watched Ji Ning advanced past level six hundred and eighty, he couldn’t help but feel resigned. Even the best performing member of his Saber Palace, Saberlord Redsnow, had only made it to level 680. “For Heartlord Solewind to give such an impressive performance was expected, but Greatjoy’s improvements were truly shocking. He was even better than Solewind! And now, this Darknorth fellow has appeared as well.”

Ning continued to advance past multiple floors.

“Kill!”

Boom!

The attacks of the ancient golems were strong enough to sunder Heaven and Earth, and they came at Ning from all directions.

As Ning walked forwards, his Yin-Yang Sword Domain formed a region of wild, dark chaos around him. One could vaguely see the flickering of lightning and water within this region, and the region itself stretched out to be more than ten thousand kilometers wide. All enemies who sought to move close to Ning had to be able to first withstand the assaults of the Yin-Yang Sword Domain.

“Break!”

“Go.”

Ning’s swords were sometimes ephemeral and unpredictable, sometimes as heavy and weighty as a mountain. However, the speed at which he walked began to slow down. Clearly, the pressure was starting to increase.

“Six hundred ninety. Six hundred ninety-five. Six hundred ninety-six…” Daolord Woodflower had a look of delight on his face.

“He broke through level seven hundred!”

Ning continued to advance, albeit with great difficulty as he began to move slower and slower. Even though the Yin-Yang Sword Domain was helping him out, he was finding it harder and harder to deal with the increasingly powerful golems.

Boom!

Ning’s sword-arts were finally breached on level 705. Although they came out in a perfect, flawless cycle, they still crumbled when faced with the overwhelming power that had been brought to bear upon them.

Outside the Daolord Cloudworld. A white-robed, rather bedraggled-looking Ning suddenly appeared, a look of worry in his eyes. “I wonder if I made it into the top four.”

“However… I have to say that my performance was better than I expected. I actually ended up developing a defensive Dao.” Ning felt both content and worried. His sword-arts had reached an extremely high level, but his opponents were the greatest World-level geniuses of the Twelve Palaces. He couldn’t help but think back to that time when he had sparred against Bertulu. Only now did realize what a truly profound level Bertulu had reached!

This was because… Bertulu was at a level of insight that was most likely one level higher than the current Ji Ning’s! Only when Ning himself improved did he truly understand how great the distance had been between the two of them. Back when he had been at the Astral Islands, Ning only had the vague sense that the man had a higher level of understanding than he did. As to how much higher, exactly? He couldn’t say for sure. Bertulu hadn’t even used his true form, after all; he had merely used his human form to spar against Ning.

“However… now, even if Bertulu was to attack me with all his power, I would not need to be afraid of him,” Ning mused.

His Yin-Yang Sword Domain was an extremely defensive skill! Even if Ning faced opponents who were stronger than him, he would still be able to defend against them.

“Darknorth.” Suddenly, a voice rang out within Ning’s mind.

“Eh?” Ning turned to look towards the direction of Lord Woodflower’s estate.

“Come here immediately,” Lord Woodflower sent.

“Yes.” Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the estate. Soon, he reached Lord Woodflower’s estate, and Lord Woodflower himself was standing at the entrance, a smile on his face as he looked at Ning. “Come in, Darknorth.”

“What is it, senior apprentice-brother?” Ning was a bit nervous. He didn’t know if he had made it into the top four or not.

“Damned impressive. The almighty Hegemon and the others all saw you use that sword-intent domain of yours.” Lord Woodflower was in such a delightful mood that he was positively beaming. For his Sword Palace to completely crush the Saber Palace in such a way was absolutely wonderful!

The two palaces had been at loggerheads and competing against each other since time immemorial.

“That was something I just came up with it. I call it the Yin-Yang Sword Domain.” Ning laughed. “I was just lucky. I had already prepared seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water, and I was able to use them to create my Yin-Yang Sword Domain. If I had been using any other types of treasures, the power of my domain would’ve been much weaker.”

“The Dao lightning and the Dao water aren’t that impressive. It is your sword-intent which truly impresses.” Lord Woodflower couldn’t help but praise Ning.

Ning chuckled.

Even if he merely used a single, ordinary flying sword, his Yin-Yang Sword Domain would still cause it to naturally emanate an aura of swordforce. The power of the domain would still have twenty to thirty percent of the power of a domain formed through using Dao lightning and Dao water. At this level, even if he merely used his Immortal energy to manifest a sword and swordforce, he would still be able to create an extremely powerful domain with it.

“Without the Dao water and the Dao lightning, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it much farther past level six hundred and ninety,” Ning said. He couldn’t help but ask, “Senior apprentice-brother, do I have a shot at the top four?”

Only the top four would be granted the ‘opportunity’.

“You do.” Lord Woodflower nodded. “A very good shot, in fact. But of course, the three days haven’t ended and there are still World-level cultivators challenging the Daolord Cloudworld. Nothing is certain until the final cultivator concludes his attempts.”

“Oh.” Ning nodded. “Then how is my ranking?”

“Right now, you are ranked second,” Lord Woodflower said. “Prince Greatjoy is ranked first, and he made it to floor seven hundred and nineteen. Heartlord Solewind is ranked third, and he made it to floor six hundred and ninety-two. Fourth is Saberlord Redsnow, who stopped on floor six hundred and eighty.”

“Redsnow?” Ning stared.

“Something wrong?” Lord Woodflower asked.

“Nothing, nothing.” Ning immediately shook his head. “I just thought of an old friend, that’s all.”

Daoist Threelives’ most powerful general had been Redsnow. Redsnow had eventually chosen to follow Ning as well, then had become apprenticed to Subhuti as well. He shared the exact same Daoist title as this Saberlord Redsnow. Still, it was quite common to encounter cultivators with the same or similar nicknames. There were countless people in every chaosworld who shared the same name, and for a few of the more powerful cultivators to also share the same Daoist title wasn’t that surprising.

“Wasn’t the Saber Palace bragging a lot about how well they would do?” Ning asked.

“Ahaha, their boasting skills were quite profound, yes.” Lord Woodflower let out a laugh, but then he couldn’t help but sigh as well. “To be honest, they were qualified to boast. The fourth, fifth, and sixth-ranked experts all belong to the Saber Palace. We all knew that Heartlord Solewind would be formidable, but you and Prince Greatjoy caught everyone offguard.”

“Prince Greatjoy?” Ning listened attentively. He was quite curious about this man who had made it even farther within the Silvercloud World than he himself had.

“He’s also been improving quite rapidly. He actually managed to come up with two Supreme Daos.” Lord Woodflower let out a sigh. “If he can link his two Supreme Daos, he’ll probably be on par with Eastcult and Bertulu.”

Ning nodded. It was necessary to fuse Supreme Daos together in some manner.

For example, the five stances of Ning’s [Brightmoon[ sword-art were all linked together thanks to his Reincarnation sword-intent. If you weren’t able to perfectly join your sword-arts together, you would have flaws when you fought in battle.

True experts had to have powerful defenses. Only then would they be able to survive for a long time. But of course, their attacks had to be strong as well; only then would they be able to slay foes! If Ning’s attacks had been just a bit stronger, he would’ve been able to advance quite a bit further up the altar within the Silvercloud World.

“Ah!” A look of shock suddenly appeared on Lord Woodflower’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Ning looked at Lord Woodflower.

“I’ll tell you in a moment.” Lord Woodflower didn’t explain in detail. Clearly, his incarnation was watching something happen within the imperial palace.

Ning was incredibly curious as to what Lord Woodflower was watching, but he had no choice but to tamp down his curiosity. A long while later, Lord Woodflower suddenly began to laugh. “Ahaha. Pride really does cometh before a fall.”

“Senior apprentice-brother?” Ning was puzzled.

“A World-level cultivator belonging to the Palace of Kindwater, a fellow named Waterlord Firesurge, actually made it all the way to level six hundred and eighty-seven,” Lord Woodflower said.

“In other words, even farther than Saberlord Redsnow?” Ning stared.

“Right. The Saber Palace didn’t get a single slot in the top four!” Lord Woodflower roared with laughter. “Oh, this is just wonderful! When I saw that ugly look on Yinwind’s ugly face… oh, that was simply delightful. Hah! That fellow usually loves to strut about and put on airs in front of me.”

Ning felt amazed as well. In the end, the most famous Saber Palace had actually been completely defeated. Then again… the geniuses of the Twelve Palaces couldn’t be evaluated using common measures. Greatjoy, Darknorth, and Firesurge… these three had only displayed their true brilliance during this competition.

“He’s a member of the Kindwater Palace. Why is his Daoist title ‘Firesurge’?” Ning was puzzled.

“He’s another person who started off as a mortal cultivator. I heard that he originally was primarily a cultivator in the Dao of Fire. However, due to some trouble he apparently ran into within the sect he was in as a mortal, he ended up choosing the Dao of Water instead. However, by then his Daoist title had already been chosen, and so he simply continued to use it,” Lord Woodflower explained. The Twelve Palaces didn’t have that many World-level cultivators, and so he obviously was familiar with the vast majority of them.

Ning nodded.

Some cultivators would change their Daoist titles once they reached a certain level of power. Ning was another example of a person who had chosen his Daoist title, ‘Darknorth’, a long time ago. He had never changed it.

“Let’s wait for just another moment. There is one final World-level cultivator attempting the trials,” Lord Woodflower said.

A short while later…

“Alright, all done. The results are in. Prince Greatjoy, yourself, Heartlord Solewind, and Waterlord Firesurge will be the ones to partake in this opportunity,” Lord Woodflower said.

“And what opportunity is this, exactly?” Although Ning felt quite excited, he also felt quite curious as to what this was all about. All he knew was that this was an ‘incredible’ opportunity, one which no one seemed to know much about.

“Don’t ask. When you meet the almighty Hegemon, you’ll know,” Lord Woodflower said.

“Meet the almighty Hegemon?” Ning was stunned.

“Right. The almighty Hegemon has already issued a summons to the four of you. Hurry over to the place where the Imperials reside,” Lord Woodflower said.

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Chapter 24 – The First Meeting

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 24 – The First Meeting

The Twelve Palaces were tightly connected to the Brightshore Imperials, and so there were spacetime transfer arrays linking the palaces to the territory of the Imperials.

Rumble…

Spacetime twisted around Ji Ning. Once everything went still, he swept the area with his gaze. “So this is the imperial palace?”

Although all twelve of the palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom were extremely large and covered with many formations, the true center of the kingdom remained the imperial palace! Before Ning was an utterly, breathtakingly large palace that was as white as snow, with gold, black, and blue accents covering parts of it.

Just looking at the imperial palace, Ning sensed an aura of incredible presence and might. He felt as though he was looking up at the stars themselves.

“I heard that the Imperials generally live here in the imperial palace. I wonder how many defenses the almighty Hegemon had placed around his headquarters,” Ning mused.

Ning emerged from the array and began to walk towards the palace gates of the enormous imperial palace.

There were no people before the palace at all, just two gray statues. One was of a humanoid wielding a spear, the second was of a dragon-like creature that was coiled around itself.

“Halt.” The humanoid statue suddenly spoke out in a grating voice as it stared at Ning.

“Whaaaat?!” Ning was badly startled. “Its alive?!”

He could now be considered a powerful expert. After unleashing his Yin-Yang Sword Domain, he was a match for most Daolords of the Second Step, and thus he had extremely keen senses towards life and the aura of life. He would be able to easily detect the aura of a tiny mosquito from a million kilometers away! However, his senses were clearly telling him that this statue before him was nothing more than an ordinary statue, an inert hunk of rock. How, then, was it speaking?

“Have you come to see the Hegemon?” The gray humanoid statue was almost as tall as the palace gates, and it stared down at Ning.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. Although his senses were still telling him that this statue was an inert hunk of rock, he couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable hint of fear.

“Enter after all four have arrived,” the gray humanoid statue said coldly.

Ning had no choice but to stand there and wait quietly. After enough time passed to brew a kettle of tea, the nearby spacetime transfer array once more lit up. Once the light subsided, a skinny bald youth dressed in loose red robes had appeared within it. The youth’s face was covered with strange divine red tattoos that seemed to extrude an aura of special charm. Ning only had to glance at them to feel that they were exerting an effect upon him.

“I am Solewind.” The bald, red-robed youth strolled forwards, then smiled. “Greetings, Swordlord Darknorth.”

“Heartlord Solewind.” Ning greeted the man. The Heartforce Palace had very few cultivators, and the only World-level cultivator acknowledged by the ancient pagodas was Heartlord Solewind. Ning had heard of this man long ago. This was no dabbler like Bertulu; this was a man who had truly poured all of his effort into being a Heartforce Cultivator, and his abilities were truly unfathomable.

“Swordlord Darknorth, you actually made it farther into the Silvercloud World’s great altar than I did.” Heartlord Solewind smiled in a gentle, warm fashion. “I heard that you were abducted by the almighty Hegemon to our Brightshore Kingdom roughly two thousand years ago. For you to reach such a level of power in such a short period of time… Solewind truly admires you.”

Ning was instantly speechless. The man even knew about him having been abducted by the almighty Hegemon two thousand years ago? News had certainly spread quite fast!

“No need to feel surprised, Swordlord Darknorth. It was one of my elder brothers in the Heartforce Palace who informed me of this,” Heartlord Solewind said with a laugh. “The Heartforce Palace has very few cultivators within it, and we all treat each other as we would our actual siblings. We hold nothing back from each other.”

Ning suddenly remembered that the entire Heartforce Palace held less than ten Samsara Daolords! Most of those Samsara Daolords were out wandering the primordial chaos, leaving no more than two or three who actually resided within the palace itself. Compared to the other eleven palaces, the Heartforce Palace really did have pitifully few members. Ning could fully understand how this would result in them treating each other as they would actual siblings.

“Swordlord Darknorth, if you wish you can simply address me as Solewind.” Heartlord Solewind smiled.

“Then you can address me as Darknorth, brother Solewind,” Ning said. In his heart, he couldn’t help but feel astonished. Why was it that a simple smile from Solewind caused Ning to have such a good impression of him? His voice alone was enough to make it impossible for others to hate him!

Rumble…

The spacetime transfer array once more lit up, and momens later a youth dressed in deep blue robes emerged. He had a cold, forbidding face, and he emanated an aura of baleful energy. As soon as he emerged he saw Ning and Solewind, and he immediately called out, “Greetings, Heartlord Solewind and Swordlord Darknorth.”

“Are you Waterlord Firesurge? No need to stand on such ceremony. You can simply address us as Solewind and Darknorth,” Heartlord Solewind said, and Ning nodded.

“I was lucky enough to be ranked number four, but I fear I’ll need your help in the future.” Although the blue-robed youth had a cold and forboding aura, his words were quite courteous and respectful. Both Solewind and Ning felt quite kindly disposed towards him.

No matter what, they were all members of the Twelve Palaces who had sworn lifeblood oaths not to attack each other. Given that they were ranked in the top four, all of them would clearly be extraordinary figures in the future. So long as they were able to survive, they would all become major powers who would shock the rest of the primordial chaos. It was natural for them to wish to befriend each other.

The three chatted idly for a time, slowly growing more familiar with each other’s personalities and traits.

Finally, the last member arrived.

This was a man dressed in black imperial robes who wore a royal crown. His skin was as clear as jade, and his eyes were as deep as the abyss between the stars. Even the likes of Ji Ning, Firesurge, and Solewind couldn’t help but mentally sigh in amazement. In terms of appearance and aura, at least, this ‘Prince Greatjoy’ was definitely number one amongst the four.

“So the three of you have already arrived? Please pardon me for having arrived late. Greatjoy feels quite ashamed at having made you wait.” Prince Greatjoy was as courteous as the stories said he was… but of course the stories also said that deep down, he was actually quite a berserk fellow.

“We just arrived a short while ago.”

“Brother Greatjoy, you ranked number one in this trial. I imagine that you are probably on par with Bertulu and Eastcult.”

The four began to casually chat amongst themselves. Although they were all quite relaxed, none of them dared to underestimate any of the other three, as they were all quite close in power. They belonged to the same general level of strength, even though there were differences with regards to how far they had made it in the Silvercloud World. If they were to get into an actual fight, it was hard to say who would win. In addition, the trial of the Silvercloud World was a trial where many sources of outside help were banned, such as Dao-seals or golems. Given how extraordinary they all were, all of them had clearly experienced tremendous strokes of karmic luck in the past!

“The Hegemon has summoned the four of you. Go on inside.” The giant humanoid statue stared down at the four tiny dots below it as it spoke in a cold voice.

“The two statues standing in front of the imperial palace are the two great guardians of the imperial palace,” Heartlord Solewind sent mentally. “I heard that long ago, during the era when the almighty Hegemon was first establishing his reputation, he led these two great guardians into battle and slew countless major powers with them.”

“Oh?” Ning, Greatjoy, and Firesurge both listened attentively.

The members of the Heartforce Palace shared a particularly close relationship with each other, and so Heartlord Solewind knew many more secrets than most members of the other palaces.

……

Although Ning was quite intrigued about the history of these two giant statues, he didn’t pay them too much mind as he entered the imperial palace.

Once they stepped past the gates and saw the towering palace, the four of them could sense spacetime twisting around them as they were teleported away once more.

They had been brought to a region filled with empty space with a few chaos stars sprinkled throughout it.

Ning and the others all stared at their surroundings as they appeared in this place.

“What is this place?” All four of them were rather puzzled. This region was simply too silent, as still as a pool of water. The primordial chaos should generally be filled with many types of voidstorms and chaos waves, and it would generally be filled with boundless amounts of chaos energy! However, the empty region they were in was utterly enormous and completely devoid of primordial chaos.

Whoosh.

The void before them suddenly parted like a curtain of water as an incomparably massive behemoth suddenly appeared. This behemoth had two enormous eyes that were like blazing stars, but it gazed towards Ning and the other three in a very gentle manner. When it spoke, its voice was similarly gentle, but it echoed throughout every single inch of this region. “Greetings, my four young fellows.”

Greatjoy, Solewind, Firesurge, and Ning were all shocked.

Ning couldn’t help but think back to the scene of him and the other World-level cultivators being swallowed up by the head of an enormous behemoth, then being teleported to the Brightshore Kingdom.

“Greetings, Hegemon.” Ning and the other three all bowed respectfully. There was no need to kneel or kowtow; the Hegemon generally treated the members of the Twelve Palaces quite well.

“You four young fellows have earned a rare opportunity for yourselves,” the towering behemoth said. “You shall head out alongside a member of my Imperials known as Skyfire Brightshore, and then you shall enter the Archaeus region of an alternate universe. This region is one of the most legendary locations of this alternate universe, and it is filled with many dangers. It is also, however, filled with many opportunities. I’ve chosen the four of you because I hope that you will help my young clansman, Skyfire Brightshore, as much as you can and give him a better chance at surviving. But of course, I will reward you heavily for the services you have rendered to myself and Skyfire.”

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Chapter 25 – Following Master

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 25 – Following Master

Ji Ning and the others were all intrigued. In truth, they had all suspected long ago that the reason why the almighty Hegemon had chosen the four of them from the Twelve Palaces was to have them assist Skyfire Brightshore. However, the reason why the Twelve Palaces had been on such good terms with the Brightshore Imperials for so long was precisely because they treated each other as equals. Ning and the others were all extraordinary figures, and they wouldn’t be expected to risk their lives for the Imperials without being compensated at all.

“Once you return from the alternate universe, I’ll speak with Skyfire Brightshore. The more assistance you provided to him, the greater our gratitude shall be,” the towering behemoth said.

“Do not worry, Hegemon. We will definitely do everything we can.”

“Since we are travelling together, we shall definitely do our best to support each other.”

All of them spoke out in unison.

They all knew that since the Hegemon said he would ‘reward them heavily’, the rewards for this mission would definitely be extraordinary. The Hegemon was someone who had stood at the very top of the Endless Territories for countless years, after all. He had existed for even longer than the Brightshore Kingdom itself had existed.

A ‘heavy reward’ from someone like him was indeed more than enough to convince Ning and the others to do their absolute utmost in protecting Skyfire Brightshore in his journey to the alternate universe.

“Good.” The towering behemoth nodded slightly.

Rumble…

Yet another spacetime vortex appeared next to Ning’s group. Moments later, a strange beast bathed in blazing flames suddenly emerged.

“Skyfire.” The towering behemoth nodded.

“Hegemon.” The blazing beast immediately transformed into the shape of a fiery-haired youth who wore a suit of azure armor.

“It shall be the five of you who will travel to the alternate universe,” the towering behemoth said.

The fiery-haired youth swept the four with his gaze, closely scrutinizing them. He then cracked a smile. “My name is Skyfire Brightshore, but you can just call me Skyfire. I heard from the Hegemon that none of the four chosen ones are weaker than I am. Once we go to the alternate universe, I’ll have to trouble you to help me out.”

Although Skyfire Brightshore was an incredibly talented member of the race of Brightshore Imperials, he was still just a new member who had been brought back just a short while ago. Ning and the others had all developed at least one Supreme Dao and were comparable to Daolords of the Second Step. Indeed, all of them were somewhat more powerful than Skyfire Brightshore. But of course, this was only true if they factored in their ‘normal’ combat power. There was no way to calculate the power of any trump cards or single-use items which they were keeping hidden up their sleeves.

“Hegemon, where is this ‘Archaeus region’ and what is this ‘alternate universe’?” Prince Greatjoy asked. He was nothing more than an honorary disciple of the almighty Hegemon, and he wasn’t truly qualified to address the Hegemon as ‘Master’. According to the almighty Hegemon’s rules, only his personal disciples were qualified to call him ‘Master’.

“The alternate universe?” The towering behemoth smiled as it saw the looks of eagerness appear on the faces of Ning and the others. “By now, all of you should have sensed that the Endless Territories have certain prime essences within it. There is a prime essence of fire, a prime essence of water, a prime essence of the sword, a prime essence of space, a prime essence of time…”

Ning and the others nodded. Everyone could sense the prime essences. However, attuning to the prime essences was only able to help one advance to the level of full mastery as a World-level cultivator. As for the more profound mysteries, the prime essences kept them bottled up internally and emanated none of them at all. Supposedly, not even Eternal Emperors could enter the prime essences and train in those mysteries. Thus, Samsara Daolords had to find and develop a Dao which suited themselves, one slow step at a time.

“The vast region which is covered by the power of the prime essences is known as a ‘universe’,” the almighty Hegemon said. “An ‘alternate universe’ naturally refers to a place which has completely different prime essences.”

“What?!” Ning and the others were all stunned. Different prime essences?

The Three Realms, the Badlands Territory, the Brightshore Kingdom… Ning had been able to sense the prime essence of the sword in all these places. The prime essence of the sword was unchanging, and the vast Endless Territories were nothing more than a part of an enormous universe! But now, it seemed as though he was going to head off into a completely different universe?

“Do not worry. The outermost layers of the prime essences of this alternate universe, such as the prime essence of water, the prime essence of time, the prime essence of the sword, etc., are all the same as ours. Only the inner layers differ,” the almighty Hegemon said. “Thus, your power shall not be impacted whatsoever.”

“Has anyone ever been to this place?” Waterlord Firesurge couldn’t help but ask.

“None.” The almighty Hegemon shook his head.

Ning and the others were instantly rendered speechless.

“Long ago, as I attuned myself to the nature of spacetime, I was able to dimly sense the traces of an alternate universe that was quite close to our own universe, and so I opened a transversal conduit between our two universe,” the towering behemoth said. “However, the transversal conduit is rather weak, because it is constantly being disrupted by the differing laws of our two universes. Thus, only those below the Daolord level of power are able to enter it.

“Thus, once you head off into this alternate universe, you absolutely must not allow yourselves to break through to the Daolord level. If you do break through, you will never be able to return. You will have to forever stay within that alternate universe,” the towering behemoth instructed.

Ning and the others nodded. So due to the different laws of the two universes, there was no way for Daolords to pass through this transversal conduit.

“However, World-level cultivators can pass through this conduit with no danger whatsoever,” the towering behemoth said. “Just a few days ago, I sent one of my World-level servants through the dimension conduit to do some exploring, then brought him back safely. Over the course of countless years, I’ve also managed to capture quite a few World-level cultivators of the alternate universe and bring them to ours.”

“Capture?” Ning and the others were secretly speechless. The almighty Hegemon was unable to go personally, but was still able to capture people?

“Thus, this transversal conduit is completely safe,” the towering behemoth said. “Given how strong you are, I trust that you will not encounter much danger when you journey through the territories of the alternate universe. The true trial will begin once you reach their Archaeus region!”

Ning and the other four listened attentively. Not even Skyfire Brightshore knew much about this ‘Archaeus region’.

“The Archaeus region is the most mysterious region in this alternate universe. It takes up an extremely vast region of space, so vast that I imagine there are very few cultivators who even know how large it truly is. Supposedly, there are many Daolords and even Eternal Emperors who seclude themselves throughout the Archaeus region.” The towering behemoth laughed. “This Archaeus region is so vast that it is most likely as large as our entire Endless Territories.”

“What?!” Ning and the others were all speechless.

They had originally thought that this Archaeus region would be some sort of secret world or location. Now, it seemed, it was a place that was almost as vast as their entire Endless Territories.

“That place is the core of that entire alternate universe, the place where the alternate universe sprang from. Countless cultivators in that universe dream of entering the Archaeus region, because everyone who manages to survive their journey through it will return completely transformed,” the towering behemoth said. “However… if you barge into the Archaeus region, you will immediately be assaulted and annihilated by the full force of the entire Archaeus region itself. You’ll be instantly reduced to dust and your truesoul vaporized.”

Ning and the others were truly at a loss for words. If the entire region was the size of the Endless Territories… how terrifying would an attack launched with the full might of that region be?

“That place is the core of the entire alternate universe, after all.” The towering behemoth continued, “Everyone who wishes to enter the place has to first bind an Archaeus medallion. After doing so, you’ll be able to enter it safely and won’t be expelled by the power of the region.”

“Archaeus medallions are extremely rare. I sent my will into the alternate universe and spread it across an extremely wide area, then kidnapped the World-level cultivators who passed through the area. It took me countless years to accumulate just a few Archaeus medallions,” the towering behemoth said. “Here are the five Archaeus medallions. Take them and bind them.”

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

Five streaks of light appeared out of nowhere and flew towards Ning and the other four.

The Archaeus medallions were dark-red disc-shaped medallions that were covered with ancient, complicated runes. Ning and the others didn’t understand the runes, but could sense that they came from a long time ago, in a universe that was far, far away. They all bound the medallions.

“Hegemon.” Ning spoke out. “Will we be permitted to bring our retainers and servants into the alternate universe? Are they allowed to enter the Archaeus region?”

The others all looked at the Hegemon, because they all had retainers and servants as well.

“Anyone below the Daolord level can make use of the transversal conduit,” the almighty Hegemon said. “As for the Archaeus region… they will have to perpetually hide within your estate-world treasures, and they can’t let any of their auras leak out at all. If they reveal themselves within the Archaeus region, they’ll suffer an immediate attack from the power of the region. However, if they continuously hide without coming out they will be safe.”

Ning and the others now understood. They would not be able to leave the estate-worlds or even sent out their aura or godsense. If that was the case, there was no real point to bringing them.

“But of course, if you were able to acquire more Archaeus medallions, you could gift them to your retainers and servants. They would then be qualified to enter the Archaeus region as well,” the almighty Hegemon suddenly said. “Still, I urge you to be more low-key when you enter the Archaeus region, as it holds quite a few truly powerful Daolords.”

“Here is a star map of the alternate universe. It includes all the markers you need to travel from the transversal conduit’s exit to the Archaeus region, as well as some information regarding this universe. Remember, you are not to reveal this to others.” As the almighty Hegemon spoke, he bestowed five sets of star maps upon them.

“Understood.” Ning and the other four accepted the maps.

“Make your preparations. Three days from now, we shall meet again outside the imperial palace,” the almighty Hegemon instructed.

Ning returned to the Sword Palace, then met with World God Pillsaint and Su Youji.

“A tremendous opportunity has been made available to me. I’ll be heading to an extremely dangerous place. If you follow me, there’s a slim chance that you’ll gain some karmic fortune from it as well. But of course, when I die you will die as well,” Ning said. “Shall you follow me or will you remain here in the Sword Palace?”

“I’ll follow you, Master.” Su Youji didn’t hesitate at all.

“I’m not allowed to learn any of the techniques or secret arts of the Twelve Palaces. Of course I’ll follow you, Master!” Pillsaint agreed.

Ning nodded slowly upon seeing this. He couldn’t promise them anything. He hadn’t even visited this alternate universe before, after all.

Three days later, Ji Ning, Solewind, Firesurge, Greatjoy, and Skyfire Brightjoy all gathered together before the gates of the imperial palace.

“Everyone.” The gray humanoid statue suddenly walked towards Ning and the other four. “I shall escort the five of you to the transversal conduit.”

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Chapter 26 – Entering the Alternate Universe

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 26 – Entering the Alternate Universe

The grayish humanoid statue first made some slight alterations to the spacetime transfer array in front of the imperial palace, then activated it.

Ji Ning, Solewind, Firesurge, Greatjoy, and Skyfire could sense spacetime twisting around them. Soon, everything went silent.

“Eh?” Ning and the others stared at their new surroundings.

They were at the peak of a towering mountain that was levitating in empty space. At the very apex of the mountain peak sat a white-bearded old man dressed in snowy robes who had six curved horns on his head. Ning and the others had seen the almighty Hegemon’s true form before, and they immediately recognized the old man’s aura as that of the Hegemon’s. They immediately bowed respectfully. “Hegemon.”

“This place here is the transversal conduit.” The white-bearded old man pointed at a place halfway up the mountain. At first glance it seemed quite ordinary, but a more careful examination revealed a series of faint, concentric spacetime ripples emanating an aura of incredible power. If the transversal conduit was to collapse with them inside, they would probably all perish.

“Once you enter the alternate universe, even items like ‘truesoul towers’ and ‘heart lamps’ will no longer be able to detect whether or not you are still alive, to say nothing of ordinary life tablets,” the white-bearded elder said. “These are two completely separate universes, after all. But of course, if you have trained in some sort of cloning technique, you can leave a clone behind in this universe. If the other clones all perish, you can rebuild them with your backup clone. That’s one way to tell if you are alive or not.”

“Alright.” Ning and the others all nodded.

Heart lamps and truesoul towers were attuned directly to one’s truesoul. Even if one entered the most deadly of locations, they would still be able to sense the presence of your truesoul. Alas, if you entered an alternate universe they would be useless.

Life tablets were the most simple and common items used to determine if someone was alive or not. Many special locations were able to completely block the effect of life tablets. In fact, a sufficiently great distance would also be enough to make it impossible for a life tablet to function.

“No one will be able to assist you on this journey to this alternate universe. Everything will all be up to yourselves,” the white-bearded elder said. “Go in. After you enter the conduit, make sure you remember to only go forwards and follow the flow.”

“Understood,” Ning and the other four acknowledged. They then all turned to walk towards those the seemingly ordinary, concentric spacetime ripples. As the five moved closer to the ripples, they quickly began to feel as though they had been dragged into a powerful spacetime whirlpool.

The journey through the transversal conduit started off quite calm and peaceful. Soon, however, Ning and the others could sense how space and time were twisting and distorting around them, as were many of the laws they had taken for granted. This was quite a miserable feeling; even their truesouls felt stifled and choked.

“Let’s move faster,” Prince Greatjoy growled.

“Forwards!” Ning urged.

They all suppressed the nauseous feelings they had as they hurriedly flew forwards. In front of them was a dark tunnel which had been formed by rings of spacetime vortices. The black tunnel seemingly had no exit, and the laws of both universes were in force throughout the tunnel. Thankfully, Ning and the others had not yet reached the Daolord level, and so the disturbance they created was fairly minor. If a true Daolord had dared to make use of this transversal conduit, it was very likely that the two differing laws of the two universes would’ve crushed him to death.

Whoosh. Ning and the others continued to fly forwards at high speed.

“Why is this tunnel so long?”

“How long is this transversal conduit? There seems to be no end to it!”

Ning and the others had been flying for more than two hours by now, but they were still stuck within that tunnel of darkness. They all felt quite nauseous, but at least they weren’t at risk of losing their lives. They were all able to resist the uncomfortable feelings.

Heartlord Solewind sent mentally to the others, “The Hegemon told us to just keep pressing onwards after we enter the tunnel. Let’s just keep flying like this. Sooner or later, we’ll reach the exit.”

“Right.” Waterlord Firesurge nodded as well.

“A transversal conduit which links two universes. Today, I’ve finally seen such a thing with my own eyes.” Prince Greatjoy laughed loudly.

The five of them chatted as they continued to fly forwards, but they soon ran out of topics to talk about and so just continued to fly in silence.

One day. Two days. Three days…

Ning had never imagined that this transversal conduit would be so long. If this was ‘normal’ flying, he wouldn’t have minded, but this was a place where the laws of two universes were clashing against each other. Every second here felt like an entire miserable year. Why hadn’t the almighty Hegemon warned them about this? Most likely, he wanted to use it to temper their hearts and wills.

In the blink of an eye, three full years went by.

“Wait, what’s that?”

“Is that the exit?”

“I think that’s the exit.”

Ning and the others had been flying silently when suddenly, they all revealed looks of great joy. They saw some light sparkling up ahead, breaking up the monotonous darkness of the transversal conduit. It didn’t seem as though there was anything past those sparkles of light. It seemed as though they had reached the end.

“Keep flying.” They had no other options but to fly straight towards the light.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The five of them all flew out of the darkness.

“What is this place?” The five of them found themselves within a region of drifting primordial chaos. In front of them was an enormous chaos star that blazed like a giant ball of fire. Due to its close proximity the surrounding area was illuminated quite brightly by this chaos star.

Ning and the others turned to look behind them, only to see an enormous spatial vortex.

“I imagine there aren’t many who would dare to enter this spatial vortex,” Heartlord Solewind laughed.

Ning nodded.

He himself had arrived in the Badlands Territory by leaving the Three Realms through a spatial vortex. There were quite a few such vortices in the Endless Territories, but because most were naturally formed they often contained unknown dangers. Generally speaking, cultivators wouldn’t dare to risk their lives within one of them.

But of course, there were always those like ‘Old Man Yuan’ or Godfiend Witherspike who would enter the vortices because they were being chased and had nowhere else to flee. They had no choice but to flee into the most dangerous of places.

“Even if they made it through and were lucky enough to survive… on the other side is the Hegemon himself.” Prince Greatjoy sent a mental chuckle as well.

“Can you sense it, everyone?” Skyfire Brightshore’s eyes were closed as he sent out his senses. “It is true. Many of the prime essences in this place are different from ours.”

Ning was attuning himself to the local prime essences as well.

This place was similar to the Endless Territories in that both had a prime essence of the sword, a prince essence of fire, a prime essence of water, a prime essence of lightning, a prime essence of space, and many other types of prime essence. These prime essences were like giant stone pillars that were holding up the entire universe they were in, and the outermost ripples of these prime essences could be sensed and attuned to by cultivators. In this respect, things were exactly the same as they were in the Endless Territories!

Thus, cultivation was a similar process as well. However, ‘inside’ the prime essences things were very different.

“In the Endless Territories, the prime essence of the sword is more all-encompassing and massive. In this alternate universe, the prime essence of the sword seems to be more reserved but also more savage,” Ning mused.

The five of them were all curiously attuning themselves to the local prime essences.

“According to our star maps, our current location is quite a long ways off from the Archaeus region. Let us head off, gentlemen,” Waterlord Firesurge said.

“Yes, time to head off.”

“Our journey is a long one. Our most important mission right now is to reach the Archaeus region safely.”

“Let’s go.”

Although the five were all very confident, and although their chances of reaching the Archaeus region were quite high, they didn’t dare to be reckless. The distance between their location and the Archaeus region truly was quite great, as the Archaeus region was the core of this entire alternate universe and was truly, indescribably vast.

According to their star maps, it would take Ning’s group at least 1500 years to go from the transversal conduit to the Archaeus region. They would have go to through more than three thousand territories! World-level cultivators would almost never be willing to take on a journey of such distances, as it would be simply far too dangerous. Who knew when they would perish?

It took them two months to go to the nearest spacetime transfer array. The spacetime transfer arrays here were quite similar to the ones in the Endless Territories. Clearly, the two universes had very similar systems of cultivation.

Be it by flying, teleporting, or using spacetime transfer arrays, the group advanced through the alternate universe for more than a hundred years. Finally, they reached a specific chaos planet that was the core of a spacetime transfer array they had to pass through.

Deep within a gorge on this planet, there were a series of estates where other World-level cultivators resided.

Crackle. Pop.

A figure was seated in the lotus position by the banks of a lake, his entire body wreathed in flames that didn’t cause any damage to the nearby mud or grass at all.

Swoosh.

A streak of light flew towards him from afar. It was a green-haired World God who was carrying a greataxe on his back and radiated an aura of great strength.

“Five World-level cultivators arrived,” the green-haired World God growled.

“Oh? Five dared to trespass in our territory? Do they have extraordinary backgrounds?” The flaming figure asked.

“They should be outsiders. I’ve never seen them before,” the green-haired World God said.

“Never seen them before? Mm. We should know all of the World-level cultivators in the ten or so territories around us. If we don’t know them… they must have come from very far away.” The flaming figure let out a hoarse chuckle. “Inform the other leaders. Begin our preparations for killing these outsiders. We discovered them, so I insist on getting a full share.”

“Understood,” the green-haired World God said respectfully.

“By now, we’ve killed more than three hundred World-level cultivators. Still… that’s not enough. We aren’t even close to our quota of a thousand,” the flaming figure mused softly.

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Chapter 27 – Ambushed

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 27 – Ambushed

Ji Ning’s squad of five descended upon this chaos planet.

They were able to see the heart of the spacetime transfer array far off in the distance. Here in this alternate universe, cultivators also used chaos nectar and chaos jewels for bartering.

“Halt!”

An Elder God standing in front of a beautiful palace suddenly bellowed at them. Although the five before him were all World-level cultivators, and although he was merely an Elder God, he was a representative of a universe-wide organization which dominated this entire universe, the Church of Annihilation. Every single spacetime transfer array in this alternate universe was governed by the Church of Annihilation.

No major powers would dare to challenge the might and prestige of the Church of Annihilation! In this universe, the Church of Annihilation was an utterly exalted and supreme organization!

“We are going to the star of Cricket,” Heartlord Solewind said with a smile. Here in the alternate universe, it was usually Solewind’s responsibility to meet and speak with the locals.

“The spacetime transfer array is currently under maintenance. It’ll be half a month before it can be activated,” the Elder God said.

“Half a month?” Ning and the others looked at each other, feeling quite helpless. Spacetime transfer arrays did indeed require maintenance and repairs. If they were not given the proper maintenance, these ancient devices would slowly begin to break down. Ning’s group had no choice but to leave for now. They travelled a few hundred kilometers away and landed within a beautiful mountain valley.

“Let’s wait here for half a month,” Heartlord solewind said.

“The Church of Annihilation truly is incredible. It was actually able to take complete control over this entire alternate universe. The Endless Territories is just one part of our own universe, but it’s still divided up into many different organizations,” Prince Greatjoy sent mentally. He couldn’t help but sigh. “In the Endless Territories, more than 99% of the people belong to the Dao Alliance, but the Dao Alliance is dispersed into many different locations. Everyone operates independently, with some training and some fighting. As for the spacetime transfer arrays, the local schools and sects are allowed to run them.”

Ning chuckled as well. The Dao Alliance was quite relaxed… but that was why Ning liked it. It granted freedom and governed on a principle of non-governance.

“Cultivators, by our very nature, wish for freedom,” Solewind said. “The reason why the Brightshore Kingdom is so unified is because the almighty Hegemon is so strong as to completely overpower everyone else! The reason why the Aeonians are so unified is because if they aren’t unified, they’ll be wiped out as a race! The Dao Alliance is simply too strong, forcing them to be unified if they wish to survive. The reason why those other top-tier organizations are unified is also because they are few in number. They can’t not be unified.”

“And this alternate universe?” Firesurge asked.

Ning was curious as well. “For this universe to be completely unified is truly inconceivable.”

“Absolutely.”

The five of them were all extraordinary figures. In the future, if they worked hard in their cultivation, they would become truly monstrous Daolords. They were all very proud individuals, but they felt the utmost of admiration and awe towards this organization which had dominated and unified an entire universe.

The five of them continued to wait there quietly, drinking while chatting. But of course, when they discussed sensitive matters they sent mental messages to each other.

“Eh?” Their faces tightened at the exact same instant.

Boom!

The world around them changed as countless roaring waves came crashing out towards them in an apocalyptic scene. The waves swept straight towards the five of them, and at the edges of the endless waves there were a number of World-level cultivators who were riding the waves forward. They stared at Ning’s group of five, their eyes filled with murderous intentions.

“We’ve just been waylaid.” Ning’s group knew what was happening.

“Elder brothers, let me handle these waves.” Firesurge was dressed in deep blue robes and his face was grim and cold. He was quite humble when speaking to Ning and the other three, but he was filled with nothing besides icy contempt towards these attacking cultivators. He waved his hand. BOOM! A ring of seemingly ordinary black water began to spread out in every direction around him.

The ring of black water was able to easily defend against the roaring waves.

“What?”

“The ‘Empyrean Divine Water Formation’ we set up using 109 World-level cultivators was blocked with such ease?” The attackers were all horrified and shocked.

“Break!” Firesurge let out a cold snort, and the roaring waves of water suddenly were pushed backwards, causing the entire formation to collapse.

“It was only meant to bind and capture them anyhow. If we can’t capture them, we will just kill them.” A golden-winged World God issued mental orders to the others. Although he could tell that Firesurge wasn’t an easy person to deal with, he was very confident in his groups abilities. Given their overwhelming advantage in numbers, he truly felt no concern whatsoever.

The awe-inspiring horde of World-level cultivators suddenly switched to a different formation, causing blurry light to spread out amongst their ranks. All of them were now reinforced by the formation they were using, and they charged towards Ning’s group.

“They really are courting death.” Prince Greatjoy let out a cold laugh as he slapped out with his left hand. His left palm instantly expanded to become thirty thousand meters in size, and it emanated an aura of dazzling golden light. This dazzling golden palm moved terrifyingly fast as spacetime twisted and distorted in front of it. It was clearly quite far away from the attackers, but it somehow appeared directly in front of them in an instant.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Every single World-level cultivator touched by the golden palm was reduced to dust.

“Is that a Daolord?!”

“That has to be a Daolord!”

“What the hell is going on? He clearly has the aura of a World God.”

“He’s actually a Daolord pretending to be a World God!” The attackers were instantly scared silly.

Skyfire Brightshore let out a laugh. “There are quite a few attackers. Let me handle them.”

“GWAAAR!” Skyfire opened his mouth and let out a loud, furious roar as flames began to belch forth. The flames instantly covered the entire area and began blasting out in every direction. It must be understood that although Prince Greatjoy was very strong, each of his palm-strikes was only able to kill roughly ten or so World-level cultivators at once. This ring of fire, however, spread out in every direction. There was no way for anyone to run at all.

“Ahhhhh!” Some of the weaker Chaos Immortals were instantly burnt into dust. Even the World Gods with weaker bodies were burnt to ashes.

“Run away immediately!”

“These five World-level cultivators are way too strong.”

“They are probably all transcendent World Gods!”

“Why is our luck such shit?”

Some of the strongest World Gods, along with ones who had access to decent protective divine abilities, were able to endure the roaring flames. Just over twenty of them were able to survive and quickly began to flee in every direction. Although some of them were incredibly strong, they no longer wished to continue this fight against Ning’s group.

Ning nodded as he watched. The flames which Skyfire Brightshore had unleashed seemed to be slightly more powerful than his Chaos-level [Novessence Thunder] technique had been.

“Skyfire, let me give you a hand.” Ning let out a chuckle.

Whoooosh.

Seven streaks of Dao lightning and seven streams of Dao water instantly spread out to cover an area of a million kilometers, catching all of the fleeing World Gods within their area of effect. The Dao lightning and the Dao water were simply too fast; there was no way for them to escape.

The lightning and water all transformed into enormous greatswords that danced through the skies. The entire region of a million kilometers became transformed into an enormous domain of chaotic might. The terrifyingly powerful sword-intent filling this domain tore at the bodies of every single World God, resulting in many of them ground to dust by the clashing and grinding power of the lightning sword-intent and water sword-intent.

It was like an enormous millstone had ground them to bits!

The Yin-Yang Sword Domain, at maximum power, was something which quickly cause even Daolords of the First Step to perish! Even if Ning expanded the zone to cover an area of a million kilometers, Daolords of the First Step would still suffer very heavy injuries, to say nothing of these World-level cultivators.

“Brother Darknorth, your domain truly is formidable. Let me finish the stragglers.” Heartlord Solewind let out a laugh, then turned his gaze to the two World Gods who had made it very far away and were still struggling to flee.

“Why are they this powerful?!”

“Even our transcendent World Gods were wiped out?!”

“B-but…”

“Where the hell did these five come from?!”

The two World Gods who had managed to survive the Yin-Yang Sword Domain were terrified senseless by now. Of the two, one was a transcendent World God while the other was merely a supreme World God. The one thing they shared in common was that both had incredibly powerful protective divine abilities. There was no way for them to actually escape the domain itself, but their bodies were tough enough to let them survive for a moment longer.

“What is going-….”

“I…”

“Ahaha… death, sweet death! Once I die, I’ll have no more worries.”

Boom! Boom!

The two World Gods simultaneously fell to the ground, completely lifeless.

Heartlord Solewind’s lips curved upwards slightly.

“Those two were both elite World Gods, but you were able to make them both commit suicide, Solewind. Admirable, admirable.” Ning nodded.

“They were utterly terrified and driven to the brink of despair by your attacks, my friends. That’s why it was so easy for me to deal with them.” Heartlord Solewind smiled.

Ning and the other three, however, were still shocked by what had happened.

The ability to force a World God to commit suicide? Although the four of them were impressive, none of them were capable of such a thing. True Heartforce Cultivators really were terrifying.

The five of them quickly cleaned up the battlefield, getting rid of the corpses and dividing up the spoils.

“These World-level cultivators weren’t bad. They were fairly strong.” Prince Greatjoy frowned. “There were actually more than ten supreme World Gods and three or four transcendent World Gods! It doesn’t really make sense for there to have been that many transcendent World Gods, does it?”

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Chapter 28 – The Reason

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 28 – The Reason

“The alternate universe is fairly similar to our own.” Ji Ning also felt that something was off. “Logically speaking, less than one in a thousand World Gods would have reached a transcendent level of power. For this group of a hundred World-level cultivators to have so many supreme World Gods and three or four transcendent World Gods doesn’t make sense. Where the hell did they come from?”

Ning and the other four had effortlessly dominated the group, not giving them any chance to fight back before perishing. Thus, Ning’s group was only able to come to a general approximation regarding how strong they were.

“Let me take a look.” Skyfire Brightshore immediately soared into the skies, then cast his gaze down upon the entire chaos planet as his eyes blazed with fire.

“Hm. Let me take a look on the other side of the chaos planet.” The chaos planet was a sphere, and on the other side of the planet they ended up finding a large number of estates.

“They should be residing in that place.” Solewind cast his gaze downwards. “And… I see quite a few restrictive formations. There’s no way to use godsense to scan the place.”

“We killed 126 World-level cultivators, but there are nearly 150 estates there.” Ning frowned. “Are there still others?”

“Even if there are, they would’ve fled,” Prince Greatjoy said.

This guess was correct.

……

A group of nineteen World-level cultivators were hiding within an empty part of the primordial chaos. All of them had ugly looks on their faces as they traded glances. In their eyes could be seen both terror and joy.

“Thank goodness we were responsible for keeping watch over the headquarters.”

“That was terrifying.”

“All those life tablets went poof in an instant. None of them survived!”

When they thought back to the sight of all those life tablets shattering at the same instant, they couldn’t help but be seized by terror once more.

The World-level cultivators had all left behind life tablets so that the others would know if they were alive or not. Just now, when this group had been convening in their headquarters, they realized to their astonishment that a total of 126 life tablets had shattered apart in the same instant. Even the life tablets of the terrifyingly strong transcendent World Gods who they had dreaded were quickly shattered.

It had been a complete massacre!

Although they didn’t personally witness the battle, the wholesale annihilation of the life tablets was enough for them to guess at what had happened. They had been so terrified that they immediately fled from their headquarters and used a spatial teleportation to escape.

“Some of them had extremely powerful protective divine abilities. Logically speaking, even if they were attacked by Daolords they would’ve merely been captured and drawn into magic treasures to be slowly ground down. But… all those life tablets shattered in almost the blink of an eye.”

“What the hell did they run into?”

“Those five World-level cultivators… was a major power hiding amongst their ranks?”

The lucky survivors speculated wildly, but were unable to go beyond speculation. They would never dare to return to that place.

And so, just like that this formidable local organization disappeared, never to be heard of again.

This group of World-level cultivators truly had been quite powerful. Unfortunately, they had run into Ning’s group of five. These five were the most freakishly talented of the freakishly talented. Anyone besides the five of them would’ve found it extremely difficult to deal with this group.

For fear that this matter might have unexpected repercussions, Ning’s group decided to temporarily hide within a vacant region of primordial chaos as Prince Greatjoy stealthily investigated the matter. “Given my abilities, not even Daolords would be able to detect my actions unless they are even stronger than I am in the Dao of Spacetime.” In terms of mastery over spacetime, Prince Greatjoy’s level of expertise was superior to even that of many Daolords of the Second Step who specialized in the Dao of Spacetime.

As for those who weren’t particularly skilled? Not even Daolords of the Fourth Step would be able to discover any traces of him.

This was why the Dao of Spacetime was such a terrifying Dao.

“Nothing seems to be happening whatsoever. It seems as though that was nothing more than an ordinary robbery attempt.” Bandits were common in every universe, and there were many within the Brightshore Kingdom as well. Even in the Endless Territories, there were World-level cultivators who delighted in waylaying and robbing others. This was the fastest way of acquiring treasures, a way far faster and safer than adventuring in ruins left behind by Daolords. A sufficiently prepared ambush was far safer than adventuring in unexplored regions.

Time slowly flowed on. Ning’s group continued to advance, behaving even more cautiously than before as they moved through one territory after another. Despite that, they still suffered yet another ambush.

Even though they were moving with extreme caution, they had suffered two consecutive ambushes in a row. As for the results were… there were no surprises whatsoever. Anyone who dared to ambush Ning’s group was absolutely courting death.

Rumble…

Three World Gods were swept away by an enormous wave of water and smashed violently upon the ground.

The earth shuddered and split apart from the force of the collision. The three World Gods hurriedly rose to their feet, then stared in terror at the five World-level cultivators who were slowly descending upon them from the skies.

“They are terrifyingly strong.”

“W-way too strong.”

“How can World Gods be this strong?”

The eyes of the three World Gods were filled with terror. They would never forget what they had just seen. That terrifying finger-art… every single wave of the finger had caused World-level cultivators to perish. That terrifying wave… it had crushed more than half of them to death in an instant. As for the ones who wanted to flee, they were slain by crashing bolts of lightning. In the end, only the three of them had managed to survive, and only because their foes let them live.

Only now did they realize that it was possible for World-level cultivators to reach such a level of power.

“You can continue to live,” Prince Greatjoy said coldly, “But you have to do as I say.”

“Y-y-yes.” The three World Gods hurriedly nodded.

“Swear a lifeblood oath that you will never divulge what happened today to anyone. In addition, swear that you will honestly answer any questions we ask you,” Prince Greatjoy ordered grimly.

“Yes.” The three World Gods didn’t even think about fighting back or arguing as they all obediently swore the lifeblood oaths. All three of them were dressed in gray armored robes. Normally, these gray-robed cultivators were viewed as nightmares by other cultivators, but today they were filled with the utmost of reverence towards their captors. They put away their gray armored robes and lowered their heads, for fear of offending the five before them.

“Why did you attempt to waylay us?” Prince Greatjoy asked as Ning and the others watched.

“There were only five of you, and all of you were World-level cultivators. We thought you’d be easy to deal with.” A skinny man with a long beard hurried to be the first to respond.

“No other reasons? You were going to kill us just because we were easy targets?” Prince Greatjoy was puzzled, and he swept his gaze across the other two.

“Right.”

“That is the case.”

The three all immediately nodded.

Ning and the others exchanged a glance. This was the third time they had been ambushed in the past month. It must be understood that it would take them roughly a thousand years to travel from the transversal conduit to the Archaeus region. It would make sense for them to be ambushed once every decade, but for them to be ambushed three times in one month made no sense. And yet… apparently this was nothing more than a normal attempt at highway robbery.

“We were ambushed three times in one month.” Prince Greatjoy frowned. “Do you know why?”

“You don’t know?” The skinny, bearded World God looked at him.

“Speak!” Prince Greatjoy’s eyes lit up, as did the eyes of Ning and the others.

“Because of Nine Godstars,” the prisoner said hurriedly. “Nine Godstars has already formally announced its criteria for accepting new disciples.”

Ning and the others exchanged a glance. Nine Godstars was an extremely large organization.

“They only accept World-level cultivators as new members, and you have to have personally slain at least a thousand other World-level cultivators before you are qualified to join them,” the bearded man said. “Once news of this spread, not only did this cause an enormous stir in the eighteen territories next to Nine Godstars, it also caused a stir in hundreds of nearby territories! Many extremely powerful World-level cultivators began to furiously hunt down and kill down other World-level cultivators. It has been an absolute massacre. Weaker cultivators like us have nowhere to hide, and so we have to join together in large numbers to stay safe.”

“What? You have to kill a thousand World-level cultivators in order to become a member of the sect?” Skyfire Brightshore was shocked.

“That’s a bit crazy.” Heartlord Solewind frowned.

“This entrance requirement…” Ning shook his head.

To kill a thousand World-level cultivators was an extremely difficult. Even enslaved, oathbound World-level slaves were only willing to serve because it gave them a chance to stay alive! If a master insisted on slaying his slaves, the slave would probably go all-out in fighting back. If the slave was going to die no matter what, he would generally prefer to die fighting. When Daolord Windsource was about to die, his slaves would often curse and berate him as they no longer had anything to fear.

Even if you were an extremely powerful cultivator… after many battles, some unexpected variables might occur. You might’ve worked hard to kill several hundred cultivators, only to end up dead in ditch for some reason.

To actually kill a thousand would be very, very difficult.

“Nine Godstars is the number one sect within hundreds of territories, after all.” Next to the bearded man was an extremely muscular World God dressed in scale armor. He said hurriedly, “Nine Godstars has nine major branches, and each branch is led by a major power who is at the Verge of the Daomerge. As for its most powerful expert, that person is ranked as one of the elite Paladins of the Church of Annihilation.”

Ning’s group knew all this. The Church of Annihilation was in control of this entire alternate universe and was an utterly enormous organization. The ‘Paladins’ of the Church of Annihilation held high positions and were extremely respected.

“Nine Godstars will only be accepting eighteen disciples this time,” the scaled World God said hurriedly. “They’ll stop once the final slot is taken! I hear that the top three will be given Archaeus medallions and be sent to the legendary Archaeus region.”

“Archaeus medallions?” Ning and the others were all intrigued.

Archaeus medallions were extremely valuable. The almighty Hegemon had sent his will through the transversal conduit and used many schemes but had only been able to accumulate a few of those medallions over the course of countless years.

“That’s why everyone in the surrounding territories has gone mad. Not only will they have a chance of becoming a disciple, they’ll even have a chance of gaining a legendary Archaeus medallion. All of the transcendent World-level cultivators in the nearby territories have all hastened over here. There’s nowhere for weaker World Gods like us to run.” The bearded man shook his head. “That’s why you’ll encounter ambushes throughout these territories. Most likely, it’ll only come to an end after Nine Godstars accepts its eighteenth and final disciple.”

Finally, Ning’s group had an answer as to why there was such a high concentration of powerful cultivators. It was because the weaker ones had all been killed!

The ones still alive were fairly strong, and some had actually hastened to this place from other territories.

“If they knew that all five of us each hold an Archaeus medallion… I can’t even imagine how many World Gods would come to surround and attack us. There might even be Daolords coming for us.” Skyfire Brightshore sent an amused mental message to the others.

“Haha, we definitely can’t let them find out.”

Now that they knew the reason behind this… they still felt some pressure, but they also felt much more relaxed.

“It seems as though we will often be attacked over the next century or so,” Prince Greatjoy sent. “Everyone, let’s not be too reckless. The mighty Nine Godstars sect is behind this matter. If we attract the attention of their experts, we will be doomed.”

“Right.” Ning and the others all nodded.

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Chapter 29 – Adventures

Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 29 – Adventures

Ji Ning and the others were very careful. However, the Nine Godstars sect had sent out dozens of Daolords of the First Step to keep watch over the place, with the goal of preventing some truly dazzlingly talented World-level cultivators from being surrounded, trapped, and killed. These Daolords had all broken through via usage of Pseudo Samsara Pills.

These Daolords of the First Step were scattered across the local territories, keeping a secret look out for particularly dazzling and talented World-level cultivators. If they found one, they would be permitted to return to the sect in advance.

When roaming, they would actively emanate their Samsara Daolord auras, making it so that the World-level cultivators would not dare to act against them. There was a significant difference in power between them and Samsara Daolords, after all! Ji Ning, for example, would probably be merely a match for Daolords of the First Step if he was relying solely on his sword-arts. It was thanks to the azureflower mist energy strengthening his body and making it comparable to a Daolord’s that he was able to rise above them in power.

Firesurge, Greatjoy, and the others had their own divine abilities and secret arts as well.

Generally speaking, it was very difficult to rely on mere divine abilities to defeat those at a completely different level. The [Fogstone Apocalypse] was a very good example of a divine ability that didn’t qualify! Only some truly, devastatingly powerful divine abilities would do the trick, such as the [Five Seals Sword Dao] of Emperor Mirrorsnow. Alas, there was no way for Ning to use it.

……

Mighty divine abilities, secret arts, powerful innate gifts like Skyfire’s, supportive techniques like Ning’s azureflower mist energy… this was what was needed, along with ridiculously profound insights into the Dao, for a World-level cultivator to be able to slay a Daolord of the First Step! And of course, not even the likes of Bertulu would be able to slay a Daolord of the Second Step.

Thus, it was generally quite safe for Daolords of the First Step to be used to patrol most territories.

But of course, the Nine Godstars sect naturally would keep this type of mission a secret. Those World-level cultivators all believed that the only way to succeed was by killing a thousand of their peers, which was why they remained as berserk as ever.

“Damn.”

Sixteen years after they entered the sphere of influence of the Nine Godstars sect.

Ning and the others were in an empty part of space. They exchanged glances with each other, their faces grim.

“Greatjoy, you were a bit rash this time.” Heartlord Solewind had a rather ugly look on his face as he stared at the magic treasures and suits of armor floating in front of them.

“We had no other options! When we refused to follow that Daolord of the First Step, he tried to abduct us by force. You know that we cannot reveal our true identities.” Prince Greatjoy had an ugly look on his face as well as he spoke mentally to the other four. “We lied to him and told him that we are members of other sects, but he completely ignored us. We had no choice but to kill him!”

“We killed a Daolord of the Nine Godstars sect. Even though he was merely a Daolord of the First Step… I’m sure that the Nine Godstars sect has already found out and is sending people to investigate.” Firesurge was worried as well.

Ning and Skyfire both had solemn looks on their faces as well.

What were they to do?

The actual killing had been quite enjoyable. That Daolord of the First Step had been courting death, acting and speaking in such a dominating manner towards them. Any of the five were capable of slaughtering that Daolord! But in the end, it had been Prince Greatjoy who punched out with a fist and completely crushed him to death!

“We had no other options, but don’t worry,” Prince Greatjoy sent. “Although the Nine Godstars sect would immediately be notified of his death, it’ll take them some time for their investigators to be sent out and to arrive at this place.”

“And… they can forget about discovering anything.” Prince Greatjoy’s eyes were as cold as ice. “Give me one hour. I will completely scramble spacetime here and make it impossible for them to invert the flow of time, unless they bring someone who is ten times more skilled than myself in the Dao of Spacetime.”

“Alright.” Ning and the others felt stunned. Right. Greatjoy had reached a tremendously high level of skill in the Dao of Spacetime. If he was to scramble spacetime in the surrounding area, it would be difficult for even the Nine Godstars sect to find out what had happened here. At the very least, it would buy them some time.

Ugh. They had been doing their best to be low-key, but it was impossible for them to completely avoid showing at least part of their true power when they had to deal with so many ambushes. In addition, they had no idea that there were Daolords patrolling about in secret. In the end, one of them actually chased the five of them down. The five didn’t dare to actually go visit the Nine Godstars sect, as once their identities were revealed they would quite possibly face annihilation.

……

Ning’s group destroyed all the evidence at the scene and scrambled spacetime, then transformed into different appearances. They even summoned quite a few World-level retainers and servants from their estate-worlds, then continued to venture forth in a nine-cultivator squad.

Things happened just as they had predicted.

Roughly two years later, a Daolord of the Third Step from the Nine Godstars sect arrived in the place where they had slain the first Daolord. Given how powerful the Nine Godstars sect was, for them to calculate where their Daolord had died was an easy task! But of course, to actually divine the identity of the killer was virtually impossible. When World God Northrest had died, there had been no way for Vastheaven Palace to divine who had done it. They had to have more variables to work with in order to lower the difficulty of the Numerancy divination.

“Eh?”

“Spacetime has been scrambled here.” When the Daolord of the Third Step sought to reverse the flow of time and see what had happened, all he saw was a field of completely distorted and chaotic spacetime. There was no way to investigate at all.

“Did that servant of mine offend a major power who was skilled in the Dao of Spacetime?” The Daolord murmured to himself, “Perhaps my servant offended him, resulting in my servant being killed… and yet, that major power did not wish to become an enemy of our Nine Godstars sect… and so he scrambled spacetime here?”

Daolords who walked the Dao of Spacetime were notoriously tough to deal with. When this Daolord of the Third Step realized that spacetime had been completely scrambled here, he couldn’t help but feel sour about this matter.

……

In the end, the Nine Godstars sect was still the most dominating force in the hundreds of nearby territories. How could they possibly just let this matter come to an end?

However, if they wanted to get to the bottom of this matter they would have to invite a true master of the Dao of Spacetime to head out from their headquarters and investigate in person. The entire sect, however, only had two Daolords who were skilled in the Dao of Spacetime. One was a Daolord of the Second Step, while the other was a venerable figure who had reached the Verge of the Daomerge and was the third most respected figure of the entire sect.

The Daolord of the Second Step wasn’t willing to take the risk, whereas there was no one capable of giving orders to the Verge-level Daolord. Thus, more than a hundred years passed before the latter finally decided to head out and take a look.

“What’s this?!” When this mighty Daolord unscrambled spacetime, he was immediately shocked and stunned by what he discovered.

“Five World-level cultivators? One of them attacked and slew a Daolord of the First Step with a single blow?” This Daolord was stunned. “Where the hell did these freaks come from? Although I wasn’t able to see how strong the other four were, this one is incredibly strong. And… judging from how he scrambled spacetime, he has to be an extremely skilled master of the Dao of Spacetime.”

“Where the hell did they come from?”

Not even the entire Nine Godstars sect had a single disciple who was this freakishly talented!

There was no way for him to know, of course, that this man was an honorary disciple of an almighty Hegemon in a different universe and one of the most elite members of the Brightshore Kingdom. The Nine Godstars sect was nothing compared to the Brightshore Kingdom! It must be understood that the Brightshore Kingdom had entire squads of freakishly strong Daolords who were comparable to Eternal Emperors.

“We have to find and recruit this person into our Nine Godstars sect. I’ll chase him down!”

He gave the order, and the entire Nine Godstars sect sprang into action. He truly would have loved to take on such a freakishly talented disciple. He himself walked the Dao of Spacetime, and it was incredibly rare for him to encounter someone of such talent who walked his Dao. Alas, by this point in time Ning’s group of five had long ago escaped from the Nine Godstars sect’s sphere of influence.

……

The Nine Godstars sect was extremely influential in their local cluster of several hundred territories, but beyond that their influence and power dropped rapidly.

Aside from their slaying of that Daolord of the First Step, Ning’s group encountered another extremely dangerous situation during their journey. Ning’s group accidentally ran into a nation of special lifeforms that was wandering the primordial chaos. That nation of special lifeforms was actually established atop the shell of an utterly enormous turtle, and the turtle-like creature was clearly in a state of hibernation, slumbering as it drifted through the void of space.

This part of the journey should’ve been a safe one. Who would’ve thought that they’d run into such an unusual nation? Ning’s group ran into this nation by accident, and they were immediately attacked by one of those special lifeforms which sought to eat them alive. Ning’s group was forced to fight back, which only attracted the attention of even more of those special lifeforms.

Fortunately, that giant slumbering turtle did not wake up. Ning and the others all had the feeling that the turtle’s aura was utterly terrifying. Once it woke up, it would be incredibly easy for it to kill all five of them. No matter what they would’ve tried, they still probably wouldn’t have been able to survive the slumbering turtle’s attack.

In the end, Ning and the others joined forces and managed to just barely escape. From start to finish, they didn’t dare to actually kill so much as a single one of those special lifeforms, for fear of stirring the hornet’s nest and waking that giant turtle.

……

Aside from the Nine Godstars sect and the titanic turtle, the other problems they encountered were largely irrelevant.

“The Archaeus region. We’ve finally arrived.”

Ning’s group of five stood in the air, staring off into the distance. In front of them was a region filled with countless roiling clouds that flickered with violet light. This gigantic region covered by clouds was the Archaeus region! But of course, this was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg, a miniscule part of the massive, actual region. None of them even knew exactly how far off the Archaeus region stretched.

After journeying for 1605 years, Ning’s group had finally reached the Archaeus region.

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Chapter 1 – The World Within the Archaeus Region

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 1 – The World Within the Archaeus Region

The Archaeus region was the core of this entire alternate universe. According to legend, it was the place where this universe itself had originated from, and it was filled with both danger and opportunity. Every single World-level cultivator would be berserk for the chance to enter it, and even Daolords would vie for the chance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five streaks of light flew into the cloudy mists at the borders of the Archaeus region, delving deeper and deeper inside.

“Can you sense it?” Skyfire Brightshore sent a rather excited mental message.

“Yes.” Firesurge nodded.

“What a unique sensation.” Heartlord Solewind nodded as well.

“It truly is quite marvelous.” Prince Greatjoy sighed in amazement.

Ning was amazed as well as he carefully attuned himself to these sensations. Ever since he had flown into the Archaeus region, he had been able to sense an invisible aura of power which completely covered the entire region. This power was the power of the Archaeus region itself. If the five of them didn’t have access to an Archaeus medallion, they probably would’ve been instantaneously crushed into dust. They could sense that this mighty power originated from some place at the very heart of the vast Archaeus region.

“That direction, there.” Skyfire Brightshore pointed towards the distance. “That’s the place we need to go to.”

“The heart of the Archaeus region.” Ning and the others all nodded.

The star maps had included a detailed path from the transversal conduit to the Archaeus region. However, after they actually entered the Archaeus region they would have to depend on their own senses to advance towards the heart of the region! The center of the Archaeus region was a place which every cultivator dreamed of entering. Perhaps the journey would result in some adventures that would test them and allow them to grow more powerful and evolve, but the center… that was the place where the true transformation would occur.

“Gentlemen, same rules as always. I’ll be the one to teleport us,” Prince Greatjoy sent mentally.

“Alright.”

“Sorry to trouble you, brother Greatjoy.”

Ning and the others did not decline. It must be understood that the Archaeus region was most likely as large as the entire Endless Territories. To go from the border regions to its heart would probably take trillions of years if one wished to physically fly through it.

It must be remembered that Ning had long ago sworn a lifeblood oath to reach Vastheaven Palace within a single chaos cycle. Chaos cycles, however, were extremely long and were calculated in the trillions of years! Thus, Ning still had plenty of time.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Prince Greatjoy produced a flying vessel which Ning and the others then entered. Prince Greatjoy took personal control over the vessel, sending it hurtling through the Archaeus region at high speeds as he teleported again and again. Every single spatial teleportation allowed them to cover an extremely great distance. Given Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over the Dao of Spacetime, roughly a hundred teleportations would be enough to allow them to traverse a single territory.

In the ‘normal’ universe, territories were located extremely far away from each other. The distance between two territories could be a hundred times greater than the size of each territory.

“Based on what my senses are telling me… the heart of the Archaeus region is quite far away from us. If we keep teleporting like this, it’ll take us at least ten thousand years to reach it,” Prince Greatjoy said. “That is assuming, of course, that we don’t encounter any dangers. In reality, this place will be full of danger.”

“Let’s just keep advancing step by step,” Solewind said.

“We’ll fight fire with fire,” Ning laughed.

Whoosh.

The second day after they entered the Archaeus region. They had just performed yet another spatial teleportation. When the shuttle came to a halt…

“Quick, look.” Prince Greatjoy’s face tightened.

“Eh?” Ning and the others looked over. Ning stared past a faint layer of mist and was able to see an utterly enormous continent floating in space. Although there was a barrier of mist between them, Ning was still able to see out to a distance of a billion kilometers. He instantly saw that this continent had a few figures residing within it. He was able to make out a few dozen figures in total.

“Cultivators?” Ning frowned.

“Dozens of them? Why are there so many?” Prince Greatjoy was surprised as well.

Based on what they knew, one had to have an Archaeus medallion in order to enter the Archaeus region. This was true even for weaker cultivators like Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, True Gods, or True Immortals. Anyone who didn’t have a medallion would be crushed by the power of the Archaeus region.

There were very, very few Archaeus medallions. They had spent a thousand years travelling through many different territories, and as a result they had come to understand just how rare these items were! Logically speaking, it should’ve been almost impossible for them to encounter large numbers of cultivators bearing Archaeus medallions because of how rare those things were and how vast the Archaeus region was. They had only expected to encounter other cultivators after they actually entered the heart of the Archaeus region.

“Something doesn’t make sense. They… they give me an odd feeling.” Heartlord Solewind shook his head slowly. “It feels as though the invisible power of the Archaeus region is protecting them, rather than oppressing them.”

“Right. That really does seem to be the case.” The others quickly noticed this as well.

They had entered bearing Archaeus medallions, and so the Archaeus region did not harm them. However… those dozens of distant figures were actually being supported and protected by the power of the Archaeus region.

“They are moving very slowly,” Ning sent mentally. “In fact, they are flying at ridiculously slow speeds. Most likely, even average Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals would fly much faster than them.”

Whoosh.

The vessel slowly advanced towards the borders of that vast, levitating continent. Ning and the others all flew out of the vessel.

“Let me take a look.” Heartlord Solewind stared hard at a nearby figure who was merely three hundred million kilometers away. He sent an invisible wave of heartforce out to completely cover that figure.

“He is very weak. He’s an ordinary mortal who hasn’t even undergone the Celestial Tribulation. Strictly speaking, he would be considered at the Wanxiang level,” Heartlord Solewind said.

“A mortal?” Ning and the others were all surprised.

In the Three Realms, it was said that after surviving the Celestial Tribulation, one would be ‘no longer subject to the rules of the Three Realms and the fetters of the Five Elements’. Prior to overcoming the tribulation, one would be constrained by the rules of that world. These people were referred to as ‘mortals’ by powerful cultivators!

“Are there actually mortals who live here in the Archaeus region?” Ning and the others were all puzzled.

“Let’s take a look and see,” Heartlord Solewind said. He took a single step forwards, causing the space around him to shimmer as he teleported three hundred million kilometers and moved close to that distant mortal lifeform.

“Let’s take a look as well.” The others all teleported forwards as well.

……

Daoist Rainskill was riding on a magic treasure as she engaged in careful exploration. She could be considered a beautiful woman who was quite famous. In just a hundred short years, she had reached the Core Formation stage.

“I’m now in the deeprest reaches of the Western Wastes.” Daoist Rainskill was extremely cautious. “I hear that at the end of the Western Wastes lies the endless chaos storms. I’ve never seen the chaos storms before. I was lucky enough to be teleported deep into the Western Wastes… I can’t waste this chance to check it out.”

Suddenly…

A bald man dressed in fiery robes suddenly appeared in the air directly above the marsh in front of Daoist Rainskill. Moments later, several other figures appeared as well. There was a youth dressed in deep blue robes, a white-robed youth carrying a sword on his back, a black-robed man who wore a crown on his head, and a youth with long, crimson hair. All of them looked extraordinary.

“What? They can actually teleport straight into the Western Wastes?” Daoist Rainskill was badly startled. The Western Wastes was a chaotic place that was quite close to the endless chaos storms. Space was extremely unstable here. Only the ‘Grand Cultivators’ were able to teleport in places like this.

“Rainskill pays her respects to you all, seniors.” Daoist Rainskill was extremely respectful.

“We wish to ask you some questions.” Solewind smiled.

Without even realizing it, Daoist Rainskill began to relax. In her heart, she began to view this man as person who she completed trusted. “Ask away, senior.”

“How large is this continent? How many living beings does it hold?” Solewind asked.

“This place is the Northspring Continent. It is unimaginably vast and holds countless living beings,” Daoist Rainskill said. “The number of cultivators and monsters in this place is numerous beyond count, much less mortals and ordinary beasts.”

Ning and the others exchanged looks, all rather surprised. There were actually countless living beings here?

“But this place here is the Western Wastes. Space is distorted here, making it impossible for mortals to survive in such a place. Only cultivators would dare to delve deep into this place,” Daoist Rainskill said.

“What is the highest level of cultivation in this continent?” Solewind asked.

“First, you have the Qi Condensation stage. Then, you have the Foundation stage. Next comes the Core Formation stage… and the highest stage is the ‘Tribulation’ stage,” Daoist Rainskill said.

“The highest stage is the ‘Tribulation’ stage?” Solewind followed up on this. “There are none stronger than the ‘Tribulation’ stage? What happens after the tribulation?”

“After the tribulation, you ascend, of course!” Daoist Rainskill said, “You ascend to the Immortal realm. There’s no way back from there.”

“Are there any continents aside from the Northspring Continent?” Solewind asked.

“There are. If you go through the ancient transfer arrays, you can reach some other continents,” Daoist Rainskill said. “From our Northspring Continent, we can reach an incredibly distant continent known as the Blackfiend Continent as well as a place known as the Astral Ocean. I don’t know about any other locations.”

“Alright.” Heartlord Solewind nodded slowly, then looked at the others. “Let’s go.”

Ning and the others nodded, quickly disappearing as they left this place.

“Eh?!” Daoist Rainskill felt her mind go blurry for a moment. “What the hell? I actually started to daydream in a place like this?” She had no recollection of her meeting with Ning’s group at all.

“But… I feel very comfortable right now.” Daoist Rainskill felt a very comfortable feeling permeate through her entire body.

“What?! I’ve reached the peak of the Core Formation stage? And why does it seem as though my body has been completely transformed?” Daoist Rainskill was now truly stunned. What she didn’t know was that Heartlord Solewind had given her a glance as he left, bestowing a small parting gift upon her.

As for Ning’s group, they now stood once more at the margins of this vast continent.

“I never would’ve thought that the Archaeus region can give birth to living creatures as well,” Ning mused softly.

“Any environment can potentially give birth to living beings,” Solewind sent back. “The almighty Hegemon captured quite a few cultivators from this universe but was only able to learn a few things about the Archaeus region. It makes sense that there is a great deal of information we were unaware of.”

Ning and the others nodded.

Just now, they tested out the process of teleporting some people from the estate-worlds they held. They had all brought out people who had committed tremendous sins and were viledoers. Unexpectedly, all of them were able to survive here in the Archaeus region.

“Just now, that young lady spoke of ‘ascending’ to the Immortal realm after the tribulation.” Prince Greatjoy’s eyes narrowed. “As you all know, once you overcome the tribulation you’ll escape the rules and confines of a world. That means you will no longer be protected by the Archaeus region itself. Without an Archaeus medallion, you’d be instantly crushed to death. Most likely, those ascendants all ‘ascended’ to certain estate-worlds which are probably under the control of major powers who live here in the Archaeus region. In other words… it is very likely that behind this continent is a Daolord.”

“A Daolord?” Ning and the others nodded.

In the Three Realms or other chaosworlds, those who ascended and became Immortals or Gods would still be able to come and visit the mortal lands. However, here in the Archaeus region there was no coming back from ascension. Clearly, this was all due to the power of the Archaeus region, which ensured there was no way for them to return. If they wished to survive, they would only be able to do so by living in estate-world treasures.

Ning’s group naturally wouldn’t worry about them… but Daolords were definitely worthy of their attention and concern!

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Chapter 2 – Spatial Tempests

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 2 – Spatial Tempests

“It’s also possible that I’m just overthinking things,” Solewind said with a laugh.

“Mm.”

“There may be many things in the Archaeus region unknown to us.” None of them dared claim they knew everything about this place.

Did the mortals of the Archaeus region go to a Daolord’s estate-world after ascending, or did they go into some other special place? None of them were certain. Still, they had to remain vigilant. Given their current level of power, battles against Daolords were still quite risky for them.

“Let’s go,” Prince Greatjoy sent. Ji Ning and the others re-entered his flying vessel, then quietly and stealthily departed from this enormous continent and continued their journey via teleportation through the Archaeus region.

One year. Ten years. A hundred years…

The five of them continued to advance carefully. The Archaeus region truly was the core of this entire alternate universe, the place from which everything had first arisen. This place was filled with countless marvels and dangers as well as quite a few precious treasures. Ning’s group, however, didn’t dare to be too greedy. They did their best to avoid as many danger zones as they could, but they still encountered trouble on quite a few occasions.

Roughly 1308 years after they had entered the Archaeus region, they encountered an extremely powerful Daolord! They had come incredibly close to dying that time!

They had been teleporting through space using their flying vessel when all of a sudden, they discovered a green-robed Daolord had suddenly appeared a few billion kilometers up ahead of them. This Daolord was quite ugly, with white eyebrows hanging down all the way to his chest. He was leisurely strolling through the emptiness of space, but when he saw Ning’s flying vessel appear a look of murder appeared in his eyes.

That glare alone gave all five of them a sensation of tremendous danger.

“Leave right away.”

“Flee!”

“Quick!”

All five of them could sense death impending.

“Ahh!” Prince Greatjoy furiously sent his vessel into an immediate teleport. Swoosh! Right after his vessel disappeared, a sharp thread-like streak of light lashed through the empty space where the vessel had been.

“Hmph.” The green-robed Daolord’s gaze was cold as he relased his godsense to inspect the surrounding area of a trillion kilometers. “They ran quite quickly. I wonder which master they are apprenticed to.” The green-robed Daolord let out a cold snort, then walked away and disappeared from the scene.

Although that interaction had been a very brief one, Ning’s group remained terrified by the memory of it.

“That Daolord was definitely at the Verge of the Daomerge! Although Daolords are quite rare here in the Archaeus region, there’s still more of them than World-level cultivators. Many World-level cultivators have entered then exited the Archaeus region, with almost none of them actually staying here for an extended period of time! Given how vast the Archaeus region is, we have a much higher chance of running into Daolords than into other World-level cultivators.” Solewind shook his head. “Still, I never would’ve thought we would run into a Daolord just a thousand years after entering the Archaeus region. Worse, it was a shameless Daolord who immediately moved to attack us and steal our Archaeus medallions. Thank goodness brother Greatjoy was here.”

“That old bastard was very powerful. If I had been just a bit slower, we wouldn’t have been able to escape.” Prince Greatjoy also felt fear at what had nearly happened.

“It was all thanks to you, brother Greatjoy.” Ning was still petrified as well. If they had actually been forced to fight… even though Ning had those four guardian golems protecting him, there was no way he would’ve been able to defeat a Verge-level Daolord.

That near-brush with death had caused their souls and truesouls to all quiver with terror.

……

To be in a ‘relaxed’ state or to be in a ‘tense’ state where you straddled the line between life and death were two completely separate concepts.

You might spend multiple chaos cycles in a relaxed state without making any improvements, but just one or two life-and-death adventures might be enough to result in dramatic gains in strength! To live a peaceful life for countless years, or to straddle the line between life and death as you reached for greater glory and greater heights? Clearly, the majority of cultivators chose the latter.

More than 2800 years had passed since Ning’s group had entered the Archaeus region.

……

Boom!

“Charge!”

“Let’s charge through!”

Ning’s group of five were all aboard their flying vessel, using all their power to resist.

They were surrounded by countless spatial tempests, and their flying vessel was being tossed about by the spatial storms like an ordinary vessel might be tossed about by giant waves. They were completely unable to fight back as the spatial tempests pressed them forwards nonstop.

Ning’s group was still trying their best to resist, and Ning himself sent out an enormous streak of sword-light to tear a spatial tempest apart.

Firesurge sent out enormous waves of water to crash out against those spatial tempests.

Skyfire Brightshore had been growing noticeably more powerful ever since he had entered this alternate universe. He was now working alongside Firesurge, and the two were combining their skills in fire and water.

Greatjoy and Solewind were doing their best as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flying vessel was still being buffeted and tossed about by the spatial tempests.

“Won’t work. We can’t charge through.” Prince Greatjoy shook his head. “The difference in power between us and these spatial tempests is too great. These spatial tempests are simply too violent. Even my control over spacetime won’t be enough to calm them.”

“Ugh.” Firesurge frowned.

“Let’s just go with the flow, then.” Solewind chuckled. “This isn’t exactly the first time we ran into something like this.”

Ning nodded as well, then laughed, “These spatial tempests won’t always maintain such a high level of strength. If we just follow the flows, eventually we’ll reach a spot where things calm down.”

The Archaeus region was filled with many dangers, and they had encountered spatial tempests on quite a few occasions by now. Although Ning, Solewind, and the others all had certain trump cards they could use, these naturally occurring phenomena really weren’t worth the cost.

They ended up following the flows of the spatial tempests for nine more months.

“The spatial tempests are actually growing stronger and stronger.” Prince Greatjoy continued to helm the flying vessel through the storms, seeking a relatively easier ‘path’ for them to traverse.

“Everyone, look over there!” Prince Greatjoy suddenly called out.

“Land.” Ning and the others turned to stare as well, only to see an utterly enormous continent hanging in the void just past the spatial tempests.

“There’s actually land here? Hopefully this continent will have actual people living on it.” Ning and the others revealed looks of delight.

A short while later, Ning and the others all descended upon the great continent. The edges of this continent were surrounded by strange whirlpools of power that continuously weakened the spatial storms that swept towards the continent. By the time they made it a few billion kilometers into the heart of the continent, things were completely calm.

“An ancient, major power has passed by this continent before.” Ning’s group advanced through a desolate desert. This place was still considered as being part of the ‘border regions’ of this continent. The environs were quite harsh and not suitable for life.

Heartlord Solewind raised his head and stared off into the distance. “I can dimly sense that this entire continent is covered by an enormous formation which is diverting the power of those spatial tempests. This formation must’ve been left behind by a major power.”

“Yes, a major power has been here.” Prince Greatjoy stared towards a place roughly a billion kilometers away. “This continent is filled with countless living beings. It is very likely that this continent holds a spacetime transfer array.”

“Haha, it’ll be much easier for us to leave if we can move through a spacetime transfer array.” Ning laughed.

“Remember that time from five hundred years ago, when we were trapped in that sea of fire and unable to escape? In the end, we discovered that there was actually a continent located deep within the sea of fire.” Skyfire Brightshore couldn’t help but reminisce about this. “That continent was also filled with many living beings, and it also had a spacetime transfer array. It even had an estate left behind by a Daolord. Thankfully, that Daolord had left long ago, and so we were able to easily enter the spacetime transfer array and reach a different area. It actually shortened our journey considerably.”

Ning and the others all nodded. By now, they had spent nearly three thousand years in the Archaeus region, and they had accumulated a great deal of experience.

The Archaeus region was filled with countless continents that were in turn filled with many living beings. Small continents were generally ten billion kilometers in size, while larger ones could be a trillion kilometers in size! There were often traces of ancient major powers having passed through these places, albeit very few of them would actually set up residence. There was no point in living alongside ordinary mortals, after all.

However, virtually every single continent with living beings on it had a spacetime transfer array!

Ning’s group, however, didn’t dare to randomly use those arrays without doing some careful investigations. They’d rather continuously teleport through the Archaeus region than accidentally run into a reclusive Daolord who was residing within one of those continents!

“I hope things work out this time,” Ning sent mentally.

“Don’t worry, Darknorth. Even if there are Daolords residing in this continent, Daolords often go into closed-door meditation sessions that last a million years or more. We’ll move in and depart immediately. There’s no way we’ll be unlucky enough to run into one,” Greatjoy chortled.

“Just be careful, everyone. Don’t randomly send out your godsense to search this place,” Solewind warned.

If you swept a region with godsense, you might be able to discover a Daolord… but that Daolord would also discover you!

……

Ning’s group of five advanced through the continent, quickly reaching a place which was bustling with life and activity.

This place was a city known as Thousand Mountains, a place where the eight major sects of the region all recruited disciples from.

In the city of Thousand Mountains resided an old freak known as ‘Old Demon Qixiu’. He truly was the number one expert of this region, superior to all others in the eight major sects. However, he was a very low-key figure who very few people knew about.

“Patriarch.” As the Old Demon walked out of his room and through his estate, quite a few servants and retainers would call out to him with respect when they saw him.

“Ugh. This world places enormous restrictions on my power.” The Old Demon’s gaze drifted off into the distance as he stared at the mountain ranges outside the city of Thousand Mountains. “And yet, I really just can’t bear to leave…”

“Eh?” The Old Demon’s face suddenly turned pale. Five figures had suddenly appeared next to the lake nearby him. They were Ning, Solewind, and the others.

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Chapter 3 – Transfer Array

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 3 – Transfer Array

Upon seeing the five, Old Demon Qixiu could sense that his very soul was beginning to shudder. He swallowed, hard, then bowed and said respectfully, “Greetings, five seniors.”

Good heavens! He stood at the very peak of power in this world. By all rights, he should’ve been invincible, and yet… why was it that these five were unfathomably more powerful than him?

“I have a few questions for you,” Heartlord Solewind said with a smile.

“Please ask, senior.” The Old Demon was quite cautious, but even he himself didn’t realize that deep within his heart, a seed of trust was beginning to blossom towards this bald, red-robed youth.

“What is the name of this continent?” Solewind asked.

“This continent is quite fast, stretching hundreds of billions of kilometers,” the Old Demon said. “Because there are so many mortals living here, we refer to this continent as the Mortal Realm.”

Solewind nodded slowly. “Has anyone ever left this ‘Mortal Realm’ and ventured off into other continents?”

“There’s only one way to do that. You’d have to activate the ancient transfer array and head to the the Sacred Immortal Realm,” the Old Demon said.

“Sacred Immortal Realm?” Solewind asked. Upon hearing this, Ji Ning, Greatjoy, Firesurge, and Skyfire all revealed smiles. They were going to be able to leave this place.

This entire continent was surrounded by spatial tempests, making it impossible for them to leave. Only by using a spatial transfer array to go to another continent would they be able toe scape.

“This entire continent holds just a single transfer array within it,” the Old Demon said. “Supposedly, an incredibly long period of time ago there was a major power from the Sacred Immortal Realm who descended upon this continent who personally set up the array. There’s no way for the cultivators of our Mortal Realm to come up with such a complicated array.”

Ning and the others all laughed. Most likely, this spacetime transfer array leading to the Sacred Immortal Realm was something which had been personally established by an extremely powerful Daolord.

“Here in our Mortal Realm, the elemental energy of Heaven and Earth is very sparse. It is incredible if you can even reach the Nascent Soul stage. To reach the Apotheosis stage is even more difficult.” The Old Demon continued, “Thus, countless Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators shall gather from throughout the continent and travel through the array towards the Sacred Immortal Realm. According to the Apotheosis cultivators who came back from that place, the elemental energy there is far denser than it is here in our Mortal Realm, making it easier to cultivate and easier to overcome the tribulation.”

‘Nascent Soul’, ‘Apotheosis’… these were different terms for Ki Refiners. In the Three Realms, the mortal ranks were Zifu Disciple, Wanxiang Adept, Primal Daoists, and Void-level cultivator. This represented what the most perfect Ki Refining systems in the Three Realms could accomplish.

However, in the Endless Territories and in this alternate universe there were many different mortal races that used different Ki Refining techniques which had different terms and titles.

“Where is the transfer array?” Solewind asked.

“Here is a map.” The Old Demon immediately took out his treasured map.

Solewind glanced at it while simultaneously flipping through the Old Demon’s memories, wiping away all traces of this encounter.

“Time to leave,” Solewind said. The five immediately vanished.

“What just happened?” Old Demon Qi Xiu stared at his surroundings. “Why do I have the feeling that something is off…” The Old Demon frowned but wasn’t able to comprehend what had just happened.

……

Afterwards, Ning’s group chatted with two other Apotheosis cultivators who were considered extremely powerful in this continent. Everything they said was roughly the same as what the Old Demon had said.

The five of them road atop a cloud, staring down at the lands below.

“It is true that the elemental energy in this continent is quite sparse.” Ning nodded. “It is true that mortal cultivators would find it very hard to train here.”

If there was no elemental energy at all, there would be no way to cultivate whatsoever. The elemental energy in this continent was only enough for someone to just barely reach the Primal Daoist stage. If you wished to reach the Void level and become an Earth Immortal, it would be extremely difficult. The ‘Old Demon’ which Ning’s group had questioned would’ve been considered a Void-level Earth Immortal in the Three Realms.

“It is because of the formation which covers this entire place,” Solewind said. “This formation covers everything, drawing power from the entire continent. That’s why the elemental energy in this continent is so sparse! Still, the reason this continent is protected from the spatial tempests is because of this formation.”

“The Sacred Immortal Realm should be a continent where the density of elemental energy is normal,” Firesurge said. “However… as a result, the living creatures here refer to it as the ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’.”

“When there’s a difference in density of elemental energy, it’s only normal that there one realm is viewed as higher and one realm is viewed as lower.”

Ning and the others chatted as they advanced through the clouds and moved towards the ancient transfer array. They stared at it from afar.

The ancient transfer array took up an extremely wide amount of space. The entire formation itself covered hundreds of millions of kilometers, and its core components were extremely complicated and exquisite.

“It really is a spacetime transfer array.” Ning and the others were able to recognize it at one glance.

“Ahah. Quite lively here.” Prince Greatjoy glanced downwards, then let out a surprised sigh.

“These so-called ‘Nascent Soul’ cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators really are frighteningly numerous.” Solewind let out a laugh. This was the only spacetime transfer array within the entire continent. As a result, this place naturally attracted countless Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators from throughout the continent, making it very bustling. In fact, an enormous city had been erected here.

This city was filled to the brim with Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators. There had to be hundreds of millions of them.

Ning couldn’t help feel secretly amazed. This continent was hundreds of billions of kilometers in size, making it much vaster than the entirety of the Three Realms. Although in quality of elemental energy it was inferior to the Three Realms, its vastness resulted in the existence of hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators. Any one of them would be considered a local hegemon when scattered in any of the other places in this continent.

“Let’s enter the city.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Ning and the others walked through the city, moving directly towards the transfer array.

“I’ve been trapped at the Nascent Soul level for far too long. The density of elemental energy in Heaven and Earth is simply too low. I failed both of my attempts at reaching Apotheosis. Once I enter the Sacred Immortal Realm, I’ll be able to reach Apotheosis. I might even have a chance at overcoming my tribulation and reaching ascension!” The various cultivators in the city were chatting amongst themselves.

“I’ve become an early-stage Apotheosis cultivator, but I’m not able to improve any further. There just isn’t enough elemental energy here. Perhaps I’ll be able to become a Celestial Immortal once I go to the Sacred Immortal Realm.”

“This array only activates once every hundred years. I have to wait sixty-one more years. This really does make me impatient.”

“We’ve waited thousands of years, my brother. What’s another few decades?”

The eyes of the countless cultivators in the city were filled with eagerness. They had already reached the end of the path they could traverse here within the ‘Mortal Realm’. Only in the Sacred Immortal Realm would they have a chance to continue their path.

But none of them realized that those five seemingly-ordinary men who just walked past them were major powers who were truly capable of virtually anything! Even those ‘Celestial Immortals’ they dreamed of becoming would be wiped out in the billions by these five cultivators.

“Once every century?” Skyfire Brightshore frowned. “This spacetime transfer array only activates once every century?”

“Each activation uses up some energy. When this spacetime transfer array was created by that ancient power, only a few chaos jewels were left behind to guide it in gathering the surrounding natural energy into itself. It takes a century for it to accumulate enough energy to be activated,” Heartlord Solewind said. “My guess is that the Sacred Immortal Realm is located extremely close to this continent, which is why the activation can be as frequent as once every century. If it was farther away, it would probably be once every thousand years.”

Ning and the others nodded. This was different from the spacetime transfer arrays of the Endless Territories; if you were willing to pay enough chaos nectar, it could be activated for you whenever you wished! This array here in the alternate universe had been created by a major power, apparently out of an act of selflessness. Of course, it was also possible that this was done by the Church of Annihilation.

“Let’s go. We’ll first find a place to wait it out. Sixty-one years from now, we’ll come back,” Solewind said.

“We have no other choices.” Skyfire felt quite resigned.

It was possible for them to pour energy into the formation and activate it by force, but… once they did so and the transfer array became active, any reclusive Daolord in either this continent or the Sacred Immortal Realm would immediately realize that something was wrong! For the array to suddenly fire off before the hundred year mark had to mean that something had happened. Thus, they had no choice but to wait patiently.

In this continent, there was a place known as ‘Wintermount’.

Ning’s group of five secluded themselves here within the mountains forests, occasionally sipping wine, fishing, and sparring. Life was quite relaxing as they waited for the spacetime transfer array to activate.

Whoosh.

A fishing pole flicked upwards, followed by a fat fish being yanked out of the surface of the water. It fell down onto the bank, still flopping furiously.

“Haha, we’ll have fish soup tonight.” Ning put the fishing pole on his back as he walked through the forests. For the past thirty-plus years, he had lived the life of an ordinary mortal.

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble. A series of sounds rang out from afar. Curious, Ning walked in that direction.

A young man dressed in simple clothes whose temples were graying was seated there, using a wooden drill to drill into a piece of wood. As the wooden drill ground away, those grinding, rumbling sounds could be heard.

“I’ve never met you before.” Ning laughed. “You new?”

“I just moved here.” The gray-templed youth raised his head to smile towards Ning.

“At such a young age, you’ve chosen to live by yourself in a desolate mountain wilderness, rather than in a city or a mountain village. How odd.” Ning hefted his fishing pole.

“Sometimes, being by yourself is better,” the young man said.

Ning couldn’t help but laugh. How intriguing.

He could tell that this youth was less than thirty years of age, but his eyes were as calm and as deep as the sea. He clearly had an extraordinary heart that was far more formidable than that of many Nascent Soul cultivators or even Apotheosis cultivators. This gave Ning a completely different way of viewing him.

“My name is Darknorth. I live just a few kilometers away from here. What’s your name?” Ning smiled.

“My name is Green Bamboo,” the youth said, continuing to use his wooden drill.

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Chapter 4 – Brightmoon Sword-Art, Blood Drop Sword-Intent

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 4 – Brightmoon Sword-Art, Blood Drop Sword-Intent

The young man continued to spin his wooden drill across that piece of wood, leaving behind one hole after another as bits of wooden detritus went flying abaout.

Ji Ning held his fish bucket in one hand and his fishing pole in the other. His gaze was focused on that spinning wooden drill, and he stared at it as though time itself had stood still for him.

“Eh?” The young man glanced at Ning in puzzlement. Was this simple tool of his really that interesting? Still, he didn’t say anything.

“The faster you rush, the slower you go?” As Ning stared at that wooden drill, a look of reflection was in his gaze. “Perhaps I should try something else.”

Sword-light began to shimmer within Ning’s eyes.

Ever since he had left the Brightshore Kingdom four thousand years ago and entered this alternate universe, he had experienced countless dangers. Skyfire Brightshore’s level of power had been increasing quite rapidly and noticeably, while Ning and the others were improving much more slowly! Ever since Ning had gained insight into his Yin-Yang Sword Domain, he had been meditating on his other four stances. Alas, he hadn’t been able to make a fundamental breakthrough.

Rumble. Rumble. The wooden drill continued to bore holes into that piece of wood.

“He’s nothing more than an ordinary mortal. If he wanted to use a knife to cut a hole in that piece of wood, he wouldn’t be able to do it! But by using the wooden drill in such a fashion, he’s able to easily drill straight through it….” Thousands on thousands of scenes suddenly flashed through Ning’s mind.

In his past life on Earth, there were some ordinary mortals who used electric power drills to drill holes in walls. To ordinary mortals, concrete was incredible hard and tough… and yet, a power drill was able to easily pierce through it.

Ning thought back to the time he had spent wandering the Three Realms, where he had seen ordinary mortals battling in close combat, using their fists to punch out like Flood Dragons suddenly bursting forth from the waves… or perhaps cultivators who used the spear…

“I always thought… that the Blood Drop stance should be the fastest stance I have. If you want to be fast, you should take the shortest route and move as quickly as you can.” Sword-arts were flickering through Ning’s eyes. “Perhaps I was wrong.”

Ning continuously mentally mapped out one sword-art after another.

……

When one reached Ning’s level of sword-arts, what one truly needed was inspiration. A single inspiration could allow his many years of accumulated insights to suddenly burst forth and be transformed! During his past life on Earth, there had been a scientist who saw an apple fall to the ground. As a result, he was suddenly inspired and came up with the law of universal gravitation. And yet, ordinary people might see the same thing happen a billion times without coming up with this idea. The reason why this scientist could was because he had a deep background and numerous past insights. All he needed was that spark of inspiration.

Ning needed a spark as well.

The reason he had been able to come up with his Yin-Yang Sword Domain was similarly because he had a moment of epiphany, allowing him to understand where his future direction lay.

Within the estate-world which Ning carried on him at all times.

Su Youji, World God Pillsaint, Elder God Wilddog, and the others were all present here, as were the World God servants who had been captured in the Bluegrace Sect.

“Master?” Su Youji had been meditating by the seashore, but she suddenly saw the white-robed Ji Ning appear off in the distance. This was a divine power incarnation which Ning had created.

“Strike.” Ning stabbed outwards with his sword. Boom! Sword-light flashed and a few cracks could be seen.

“Again!” Ning stabbed out once more. This time, his sword-light actually became a spinning, draconic votex. Roaaaar! The stabbing sound caused the space around him to tremble.

Slash!

Bang!

Boom!

Ning struck out repeatedly with his sword, using actual practice to verify the many ideas he had come up with.

In truth, there were many different paths to train in the sword, and every single path could theoretically lead to incredibly profound heights! In the past, although Ning had been able to see sword-arts which were similar to the ones he theorized about, he had never paid much attention to them. Those were sword-arts which belonged to others! Now, however, he had accumulated enough experience that he was able to naturally advance to this new level.

Only one’s own sword-arts would allow one to have deeper levels of insights.

For one who trained in the sword, only those sword-arts you yourself created would allow you to reach the greatest heights of all.

“Why are Master’s sword-art changing repeatedly? But these sword-arts are all so powerful.” Su Youji watched in a spellbound fashion. She was truly stunned.

“Whoah.”

“What terrifying sword-arts.”

Everyone on this island, including Elder God Wilddog and World God Pillsaint, were all drawn to and intrigued by the sight of Ning training with the sword. They all came over to watch, and all of them were stunned by what they saw. These were all techniques which Ning had mentally visualized and theorized. Although he felt they were ‘failures’, every single one of these sword-arts was enough to allow a cultivator to become a truly, freakishly powerful Daolord. Most likely, if you used one of those sword-arts to become a Daolord you would instantly be a match for peak Daolords of the Second Step.

However… this wasn’t what Ning wanted!

……

Ning completely ignored him, absorbed in his own sword-arts.

One sword stabbed out after another. Slowly, his sword-arts became to transform, becoming very silent. Only in the final instant would they roar forth with an explosion.

BOOM!

When the sword-light stabbed out, there was no sound. Only when it came to a halt did it release that odd explosion.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Those strange explosions were growing louder and louder. They started to sound like thunder, and anyone within tens of thousands of kilometers would probably be able to hear them.

Ning struck out once again. This stab was as silent as the others, but in that final instant, there was just an extremely odd and extremely soft sound. The sound was incredibly soft and subdued, but it filled the hearts of everyone present with terror.

Boom. Such a tiny sound. When Ning’s sword stabbed forwards, a pitch-black hole suddenly appeared in the space in front of him.

Swish.

Ning stepped forwards, walking into that pitch-black hole.

Within that hole, there was a gleaming, rainbow-like tunnel. Ning could sense that this tunnel was leading him to many other places.

“A spatial passageway?” Ning advanced forwards through the spatial passageway.

“Come out.” Ning stabbed out with his sword, and another hole suddenly appeared in the rainbow light next to him. Ning stepped into this new hole.

When Ning emerged, he realized that he was now in a desert.

“It seems as though I went around the estate-world quite a few times in the blink of an eye,” Ning chuckled. “I didn’t expect that I would be able to use the Dao of the Sword to break through the bonds of space and enter a different spatial dimension.”

Space was divided up into many different dimensions. Prince Greatjoy had reached an extremely high level of skill in the Dao of Spacetime, which was why he could bring Ning and the others along with him when teleporting through spacetime. This sort of escaping ability was incredibly formidable! Ning himself was at most able to engage in spatial teleportation, which was nothing more than teleporting to a different place within the same spatial dimension. His sword, however, was able to shatter through the spatial laws of a small area around it, allowing one to pass through into a different spatial dimension.

In other words, through his Dao of the Sword Ning was now able to damage the Dao of Space and force his way into a different spatial dimension.

“According to the legends… any Dao, when trained to the ultimate apex, allows for mastery over all things,” Ning murmured softly. “At this point in time, my Dao of the Sword has reached a level where I can enter a different spatial dimension.”

“This stance… has finally been completed.” Ning smiled.

This sword-stance allowed him to forcibly destroy the Dao of Space in a localized region. Being able to enter a different dimension? That was nothing more than a side effect. In the end, the power of this stance was what truly mattered!

“I really have to thank that ‘Green Bamboo’ kid.” Ning revealed a smile. “I just changed my way of thinking slightly and was able to finally finish my path.”

Swish! Ning stood there in the desert, sending out yet another stabbing strike. In the instant in which his stab came to a halt, the sword-light around Ning’s sword twisted just slightly. This twisting represented the true, marvelous nature of the new Blood Drop stance! The reason why a wooden drill was able to drill through a wooden board was because it had to pass through the resistance of the wood.

Actually, it had to pass through the resistance of the air itself. Even in the emptiness of the space, there were forms of energy that would pose a degree of resistance, and even in true emptiness of the void, there would be the ripples of energy that came from the various prime essences of the universe, such as the prime essence of the sword, the prime essence of metal, the prime essence of wood, or the prime essence of space.

Every single place was filled with traces of the Dao. All of them served as barriers or forms of resistance that laid countless invisible strands around you. So long as any trace of the Dao existed in a place, Ning’s sword would have to go through those layers of resistance. There was no way it could ever reach an infinitely fast speed! Thus, Ning’s current stance was a stance of destruction, of piercing through anything which sought to bar his path!

His sword was like that wooden drill which forcibly drilled through that wooden board.

In fact, Ning’s stance even had the effect of destroying the Dao itself! It was capable of destroying the Dao of Space, allowing him to enter a separate spatial dimension.

“When my sword strikes out, nothing can bar its path. After I am able to strengthen it so that nothing can stop it, not the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, or even spacetime… then that is when this stance of mine should be comparable to the strongest stance which Emperor Mirrorsnow left behind.” Ning still remembered the image of his master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, displaying the most powerful stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art. That, too, was a strike that completely surpassed the limits of space and time.

Emperor Mirrorsnow had relied on that stance to gain eternity!

“The faster you rush, the slower you go. In the past, all I wanted to do was strike faster and faster… but that isn’t real speed.” Many thoughts flickered through Ning’s mind. “Many cultivators and many mortals try to seize every moment of every day, but they still end up failing.”

“Sometimes, if you slow down and catch your breath, then explode with full power, you might be more successful. The Dao can be found in life itself. It can be found in all things.” Ning smiled.

In comprehending the Dao, one had to fully understand life in all its myriad forms, to understand the essence of all things. If you did so, then when the moment came you would be able to see through to the true nature of things.

This sword-stance Ning had created destroyed all other Daos that barred its path. It seemed slow, but in reality it was now faster than ever before.

“My Blood Drop stance is the fastest of all swords, a sword of destruction, a sword that annihilates all other Daos. It is a stance that seeks to raise the sword to the ultimate level.” Ning nodded slowly. “Now, of the five stances of [Brightmoon], my Yin-Yang sword-intent and my Blood Drop sword-intent have taken form.”

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Chapter 5 – Ji Ning’s Second Disciple

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 5 – Ji Ning’s Second Disciple

Within the mountainous forest. That gray-templed youth continued to work on his simple tools, while Ji Ning continued to stare at him while holding his fish bucket in one hand and his fishing rod in the other.

“How odd. He looks like a youth, but he speaks in such a grandiose manner. I’m just here working on some furniture for myself, and he’s been staring at me for more than an hour,” the young man muttered to himself. “Still… from the looks of him, he probably isn’t an ordinary mortal. How could an ordinary mortal youth be fishing by himself in the deep mountains? His demeanor seems quite extraordinary as well.”

Ning just continued to stare, and the young man didn’t say anything about it.

Suddenly, Ning let out a laugh as the sword-light in his eyes completely faded away. In truth, no ordinary mortal would even be able to see the sword-light generated from the visualizations he had just performed.

“I just came here out of curiosity on my way home from fishing… who would’ve thought that I would’ve mastered yet another stance of [Brightmoon] as a result?” Ning laughed and shook his head, his gaze still focused on the young man. “Although he doesn’t realize it… that drilling he did earlier helped inspire me to master this stance. I have to repay him for that.”

Ning had already taken a liking to the man due to his extraordinary heart. Now that the young man had also helped him comprehend the Dao, Ning decided to bless him with some transformative luck.

“First, I’ll take a look at his history and see what he experienced. Only then will I know what he truly needs.” Ning’s gaze rested on the young man’s figure as he began to visualize all of the young man’s past experiences.

Although he wanted to thank and reward this young mortal, he had to first know what the man wanted.

After seeing the man’s history, Ning couldn’t help but shake his head. This young man’s true name was Yang Quding, and he came from an excellent family background. His mother had died when he was young, resulting in his father doting on him. Ever since he was young, he had been covered in brocade cloth and jade treasures. He was the son of a rich merchant, after all. He was born with great cleverness, and his father had once wanted to come up with a way for him to become an Immortal cultivator. Alas, Yang Quding didn’t have a so-called ‘spiritual root’. Ning, however, knew that the so-called ‘spiritual root’ was actually linked to one’s affinity for the natural energy of Heaven and Earth.

The greater an affinity you had for that natural energy, the easier it would be for you to absorb it. Ever since Ning was young, for example, he always had a close affinity for water. But of course, after he trained in the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] his body gained a high affinity towards lightning. Alas, Yang Quding had absolutely terrible elemental affinity.

If you were only able to absorb 1% of how much others could absorb, it would naturally be far more difficult for you to engage in cultivation. Even worse, this continent possessed very sparse elemental energy to begin with, making cultivation difficult for all. For someone in a place like this to absorb elemental energy at such a ridiculously low rate… the chances of becoming a successful cultivator were incredibly poor.

For the sake of allowing his son to become an Immortal cultivator, Yang Quding’s father had paid an enormous price. In the end, he had perished while escorting a shipment of valuables. This had been a tremendous blow to Yang Quding. After failing to become an Immortal cultivator, Yang Quding focused all of his efforts on continuing his father’s legacy as a merchant. He was quite clever and capable, and in just a few short years he had become a huge tycoon. In fact, he even employed two Foundation cultivators as well as several weaker Qi Condensation cultivators. He eventually married a woman as well.

But then… one day, a young, evil man entered the city which Yang Quding was in. He took a fancy to Yang Quding’s wife, and desired to kidnap her and make her his concubine. However, Yang Quding wasn’t an easy person to deal with; he had Foundation cultivators by his side, and he was able to bring a stop to this!

The problem was that this evil man had an extraordinary background. When Yang Quding looked into this man’s background, he immediately befriended a Core Formation elder of a major sect, giving him many precious treasures and eventually becoming that Core Formation elder’s adopted son. But of course, this was only in name! What really mattered was that with this protector of a ‘father’, his opponent wouldn’t dare to be too rash.

Alas, that evil man played some tricks in secret, forcing Yang Quding’s wife’s family to bow their heads before him. In the end, even Yang Quding’s wife had chosen to follow the evil man and leave him.

His parents had died long ago. Yang Quding had no family of his own, and so his love for his wife was deep and intense. And yet… his wife had actually betrayed him and left to follow another man. When she left, she had said, “Quding, you are able to protect me, but can you protect my mother and father? Don’t blame me.”

He had suffered a severe mental blow, but he had no desire to take revenge. Instead, he had just sat there dully every day. Eventually, he dispersed his family’s savings and entered this mountainous forest, giving himself the name ‘Green Bamboo’.

“Now, let me take a look at his future.” Ning’s gaze was still affixed upon Yang Quding’s figure. Yang Quding’s future was a bit cloudy; as soon as he had met Ning, it was guaranteed that his destiny would change. Ning was strong enough to annihilate this entire continent with ease, after all!

If Ning chose not to interfere with his life…

Yang Quding would stay by himself within this mountain forest for more than sixty years. After sixty-plus years, he would encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Nirvana Sect. The two would chat together, resulting in the Nascent Soul cultivator feeling tremendous admiration towards Yang Quding. The Nascent Soul cultivator would pay an enormous price to help him to become an Immortal cultivator. Alas, due to his great age and his poor spiritual root, he was still only able to become a Foundation cultivator.

However, he had reached an extremely high level of enlightenment. As a Foundation cultivator, he was capable of slaying Core Formation Daoists. He was also a good man with a virtuous reputation, and he was incredibly skilled in the ‘Illusions of Nirvana’, a skill which allowed him to trap foes in myriad illusions which would cause them to feel regret, then repent and change their ways. He even ended up slaying that vile man who had taken his wife from him. Although he was merely a Foundation cultivator, he was respectfully addressed as ‘Daoist Green Bamboo’ by others. In the end, due to his allotted time being used up, he passed away peacefully.

“His heart has already reached such a profound level that he is even more formidable than Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators in this regard. After he becomes an Immortal cultivator… that ‘Illusions of Nirvana’ technique is a classic example of something which major powers who belong to the Buddhist paths would use.” Ning nodded slowly. “Given his heart, he truly is well-suited to become an Immortal cultivator.”

“Go!”

Two streaks of sword-light suddenly shot out from Ning’s eyes, and they landed upon the body of the furniture-making man.

The sword-light quickly covered his entire body, rapidly transforming and overhauling it. The young man’s body quickly began to completely transform, with his muscles and tendons reaching a level of perfection in strength. His physical strength alone was stronger than even Xiantian-level Fiendgods of the Three Realms.

With a body like this… it could be said that Yang Quding’s spiritual result was unquestionably number one in this entire continent.

Whoosh. Ning waved a finger, tapping Yang Quding on the forehead. A surge of divine will surged outwards and was transmitted straight into his sea of consciousness.

Yang Quding was just an ordinary mortal, after all. Even though his body had been completely transformed, he still couldn’t withstand the power of the memories which Ning wished to give him. Thus, Ning could only choose to leave a stream of his own divine will within Yang Quding’s mind, much like how Emperor Mirrorsnow had left some of his own divine will behind. However, the reason why Emperor Mirrorsnow had done this was because he had left long ago and wished to be able to pass something onto his disciples. Ning had done this because his disciple was too weak and wouldn’t be able to endure a ‘normal’ transmission.

“Right now, you are too weak. You are only able to endure me passing unto you sword-arts and techniques which are at the Empyrean God or Celestial Immortal level,” Ning mused to himself. That stream of divine will contained complete cultivation systems, including both of Ning’s proudest accomplishments, the ‘Yin-Yang’ sword-art and the ‘Blood Drop’ sword-art. These were Ning’s most impressive techniques to date.

As the young man grew stronger, he would naturally gain more and more information from this legacy. When his soul became sufficiently powerful, he would finally be able to endure and receive it all.

“You are the first person I’ve truly transmitted my sword-arts unto.” Ning laughed.

Ning’s first disciple was Bluecliff Xiaoyu, but that was because of the rules of Mount Innerheart. Ning had to choose a person of great karmic virtue as his disciple! His Primaltwin stood guard over the Three Realms and would often provide Bluecliff Xiaoyu with some advice, but alas she simply wasn’t that talented.

‘Green Bamboo’, also known as Yang Quding, was Ning’s second disciple.

Ning only left behind a cultivation method and his sword-arts! As for divine abilities and what not, he didn’t leave any of those. Emperor Mirrorsnow had left behind four Daolord-level golems, but Ning didn’t leave a single protective measure behind at all. This was because these fairly weaker protective measures wouldn’t really be that useful. Given Green Bamboo’s talent, it wouldn’t be hard for him to rise to prominence in this Mortal Realm. As for those excessively powerful protective measures? They might actually result in some unnecessary trouble.

Guiding and nurturing a mortal was completely different from guiding and nurturing a World-level cultivator.

Emperor Mirrorsnow required his potential disciples to be World-level cultivators who had passed multiple trials. Yang Quding, however, was still just an ordinary mortal.

“W-what did I just…” Yang Quding felt as though he had just awoken from a dream.

When he came to his senses, he saw a youth carrying a fishing bucket and a fishing rod walk far off into the distance. “Disciple, if fate wills it the two of us shall meet again, ahahah…”

And just like that, Ning vanished into thin air.

“Disciple?”

Yang Quding was stunned. Moments later, a large amount of information flooded into his mind.

There were detailed instructions on how to go from being an ordinary mortal to a Celestial Immortal or Empyrean God. There were also two inconceivably powerful sword-arts known as the [Yin-Yang] sword-arts and the [Blood Drop] sword-arts. Only part of the information was available to him for now. When his soul grew stronger, he’d naturally be able to gain even more of this legacy. Ning had set down restrictive spells on his memories, preventing him from teaching these things to any others.

“B-b-but…” Yang Quding was stunned. He wasn’t someone who knew nothing of cultivation at all. He knew what the major impediments to Immortal cultivation were, but today he had just gained techniques which would actually lead him past tribulation and reach the legendary level of Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods? And this was just a portion of the true technique? And those infinitely powerful sword-arts!

Yang Quding instantly understood that from this day forth, his life would be changed.

If a major power was to scry his destiny, he would discover that this man’s life had been completely changed. His future would actually become extremely fuzzy, and the farther one gazed the more difficult it would be to divine.

“Master.” Yang Quding immediately knelt down and kowtowed towards the direction in which Ning left. He remembered that Ning had addressed himself as Darknorth.

……

“He’s in an alternate universe, while I must return to the Endless Territories. I wonder if we’ll ever meet again,” Ning mused. He had been seized by the sudden impulse to teach a disciple. He… really was an absolutely irresponsible ‘master’.

“Brother Darknorth.”

“Darknorth.” Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, Waterlord Firesurge, and Skyfire Brightshore were seated next to each other, drinking some wine.

“I just caught a big fish.” Ning grinned as he lifted up his fish bucket.

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Chapter 6 – Sacred Immortal Realm

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 6 – Sacred Immortal Realm

Ji Ning, Prince Greatjoy, Solewind, and the others lived a life of leisure here at Wintermount. Although they were ten billion kilometers away, their gazes were still often turned towards what was happening at the spacetime transfer array.

“This disciple of mine actually has some talent for the sword after all.” Ning paid quite a bit of attention to his disciple. Although Yang Quding lived on Wintermount as well, nobody here was able to detect Ning’s presence unless he wished it.

“Brother Darknorth, this kid’s sword-arts seem quite similar to your own Yin-Yang Sword Domain.” Prince Greatjoy sat nearby, watching as Yang Quding trained in swordplay ten kilometers away. “He trains by himself within the deep mountains, neither impatient nor hasty, and his heart is as calm as water. I have to say, his heart is quite impressive.”

“He can be considered my disciple,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Disciple?” Prince Greatjoy was shocked. “You accepted an ordinary mortal as a disciple?”

Although he had a good impression of Yang Quding, the man was still nothing more than an ordinary mortal. The five of them were amongst the most truly, freakishly talented figures of the entire Endless Territories. Even Skyfire Brightshore, who was currently still the weakest of the five, was a dazzling genius of the Brightshore Imperials. As for the other four, they all wielded their own Supreme Daos.

Any of them could break through into the Daolord level at any moment, and they would be extraordinary ones at that. Given Ning’s status… if he wanted to choose a disciple, virtually all World-level cultivators would be crying and begging for a chance to be chosen. And yet, he instead chose an ordinary mortal as his disciple?

“Your disciple?” The nearby Solewind laughed. “We’re just passing through this place. Why’d you accept a disciple? And is this how you treat your disciples? You just completely ignore them?”

“Even if I wanted to mentor him, I wouldn’t be able to do so for long. Better to just let him grow naturally.” Ning took a slow sip of wine.

“Brother Darknorth certainly takes it easy,” Waterlord Firesurge said.

……

In the blink of an eye, more than sixty-one years went past. The spacetime transfer array was almost ready once more.

“Time to leave.” Greatjoy rose to his feet.

“Time to head out, Darknorth. Stop staring at your disciple,” Solewind teased.

Ning had just glanced off into the distance. His second disciple, ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding, had long ago departed from Wintermount and was out adventuring through the world. He was already quite famous for millions of kilometers around, and was venerated as ‘Sword Immortal Green Bamboo’.

“Time to go.” Ning nodded.

Once he left, the two of them truly would have parted from each other. Once Ning returned to the Endless Territories, the two would be located within two separate universes. It truly was hard to say if they would ever meet again. It would all be up to fate.

Although the core of the spacetime transfer array was quite large, it was still completely packed with hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators who had gathered here throughout this utterly massive continent.

“Fellow Doaists, the ancient transfer array shall only be activated once every hundred years.” A middle-ranked Apotheosis cultivator was standing in midair and speaking in a sonorous voice. “Our Mortal Realm is unfathomably vast and filled with countless cultivators. Thus, I would like to invite all fellow Daoists interested in going to the Sacred Immortal Realm to first enter this estate-world! This estate-world is a very simple and crude one which is quite weak; any Apotheosis cultivator can easily tear it apart from within. All of us will enter this estate-world, and then the ancient transfer array will teleport it to the other side. This will be much easier.”

“Agreed.”

“Makes sense.”

“This has been the standard method for many years.”

Countless Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators nodded in agreement. This was a custom that had been established many years ago. Otherwise, how was the array supposed to be able to accommodate hundreds of millions of cultivators? The estate-treasure before them was quite crude and simple. They were able to see through it to know what was going on outside, and were also able to tear through it at a moment’s notice.

As for Ning’s group of five, they were mixed into the enormous group of cultivators. No one paid them any heed.

“Fellow Daoists, let us go inside together.” The tall middle-aged man in midair was the first to fly towards the entrance of the estate-world which was placed at the very center of the ancient transfer array.

This estate-world was shaped like an actual Immortal estate, and it had a normal ‘gate’.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Countless streaks of light flew towards the entrance as well.

“Let’s go.” Ning’s group of five followed the crowd into the estate as well.

“It really is weak.” The five found a corner within the estate-world, and no other cultivators were able to notice their presence. Ning laughed as he sent mentally, “I feel like the slightest vibration would be enough to cause it to completely collapse.”

“Let me stabilize it a bit. I actually am worried about it splintering,” Solewind said.

Rumble…

A cultivator on the outside had just activated the spacetime transfer array. Because it had already stored up enough energy, it now was able to completely activate.

The hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators gathered inside were all incredibly excited.

“The Sacred Immortal Realm!”

“We’re finally going to arrive at the Sacred Immortal Realm.”

“All the elders of my school are in the Sacred Immortal Realm. According to the legends, there are far more cultivators in the Sacred Immortal Realm than there are in our world.” They were all incredibly excited by this. Ever since they had embarked upon the path of cultivation, they had dreamed of one day reaching the apex of power in the Mortal Realm and then heading to the Sacred Immortal Realm.

Those qualified to head into the Sacred Immortal Realm were all major figures of the Mortal Realm.

……

A short while later, the teleportation effect came to an end. The estate-world had been sent to the Sacred Immortal Realm.

Ji Ning’s group had been relaxing in their little corner. Now, all of their faces tightened.

“Something’s wrong.” Prince Greatjoy sent mentally, “Everyone, let us hide ourselves for now and watch what happens.”

“Right.” Ning and the others all nodded.

This feeble estate-world had virtually no impact on them at all. They were able to see through it to the outside world and knew what was happening outside.

“We’ve arrived.”

“We’ve arrived at the Sacred Immortal Realm.” The hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators were all incredibly excited.

Rumble…

The shoddily-made estate-treasure blew apart with a boom.

The countless Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators all suddenly appeared in midair, covering the skies and blocking out the sun like a horde of locusts.

“Such dense elemental energy!”

“The elemental energy here is far denser than it is in our Mortal Realm.”

“So this is the Sacred Immortal Realm?” The countless cultivators all stared excitedly… but suddenly, they saw a large number of stone pillars off in the distance. The stone pillars all had cultivators bound to them. Some were humanoid, some were monsters, and some were beasts. Although they looked different, all of them were covered with blood, wounds, and scars. Many of them had eyes filled with furious hatred.

Deathly silence.

The hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators who had just arrived were all deathly silent.

Those cultivators bound to the stone pillars had clearly suffered countless types of torture. What was going on?

“Another batch has arrived.” One of the many bound and tormented cultivators let out a low mutter.

“One batch after another. There’s never an end.”

“Who can send a message to the people of the Mortal Realm? Tell them not to come to this ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’. Do not come!”

“I truly shouldn’t have come here.”

“I regret it so much.”

“Don’t come to the Sacred Immortal Realm.” The countless bound cultivators all mumbled and moaned in broken, pained voices.

As for the hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators who had just arrived, they all knew that something was wrong. Their hearts were as cold as ice.

“Ahahaha!” Suddenly, the vast land began to tremble as a deep laugh rang out from the depths of the earth. Slowly, one mountain-like figure after another began to emerge from underground. There was over a hundred of these figures, and each one was thirty thousand meters tall. An aura of darkness spread out to cover the skies as they stared at the countless cultivators with their blood-red eyes.

A hundred towering figures, and every single one of them possessed an aura that caused the cultivators to quiver in terror.

“Where are we?!” A golden-robed man amidst the crowd tamped down his horror enough to say, “This isn’t the Sacred Immortal Rea-”

“This is the Sacred Immortal Realm.” One of the towering forms spoke out in a thundering voice that shook Heaven and Earth. As he waved his hand, he caused an enormous cloth sack to appear.

Whoooooosh.

The cloth sack gave birth to an utterly, incredibly powerful sucking force. The hundreds of millions of Nascent Soul cultivators and Apotheosis cultivators tried to resist, but they were still forcibly sucked into the cloth sack. After all the cultivators were sucked away, the cloth sack shrank in size and flew back into the towering figure’s hands.

“A few more toys.” The towering figure looked at the cloth sack, then let out a low laugh. “Master shall be excited by this! I will go deliver him his toys. As for the rest of you, stay here and deal with the disobedient ones.”

“Alright.” The other towering figures all nodded.

Whoosh.

The bag-holding figure quickly flew off into the distance.

Ning’s group of five was standing there in midair. Given Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over spacetime, the towering figures were completely unable to see them.

Ning’s group just watched silently as this all happened.

“A hundred Elder God-level golems.” Ning narrowed his eyes as he sent mentally, “And they spoke of a ‘master’. His master is most likely a Daolord.”

“Agreed. This ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’ most likely has a Daolord standing behind it.” Solewind had a solemn look on his face as well.

“This will be trouble. Let’s be careful as we investigate this matter,” Prince Greatjoy said somberly.

“Agreed.”

“Let’s go.”

The five of them left the area silently.

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Chapter 7 – The Enormous Prison

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 7 – The Enormous Prison

Ji Ning and the others didn’t dare to cause the slightest disturbance, for fear of drawing the attention of the ‘Daolord’ they suspected of being behind this Sacred Immortal Realm. Right now, they had the advantage of stealth. Once they were discovered, things would become difficult. This Sacred Immortal Realm was someone else’s territory, after all. There had to be many formations protecting it.

For example, that local branch of the Bluegrass Sect in the Brightshore Kingdom was only staffed with weak World-level cultivators, but they were still able to trap Ning thanks to the grand protective formation! A Daolord’s lair was an incredibly dangerous place. There was no such thing as being too careful.

But of course, Ning’s group was fairly confident. Generally speaking, they wouldn’t be worried about weaker Daolords at all.

Swoosh.

Ning’s group of five silently teleported through space to move to the margins of this great continent, the Sacred Immortal Realm. Given Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over spacetime, a spatial teleportation caused no spatial ripples at all.

“Eh?” Ning’s group stood next to some boulders at the rather ragged edges of this continent. When they looked at the chaotic space up in front of them, they saw countless streaks of golden runes flickering and flashing. An enormous, ethereal formation was covering this entire continent.

“What a powerful formation,” Heartlord Solewind said softly. “This formation is so profound that even I find it difficult to fathom. There’s no way an ordinary Daolord was capable of creating it. I wonder if this formation was purchased by this Daolord or if he created it himself.”

“Hopefully, he bought it.” Prince Greatjoy looked as solemn as the others had ever seen him.

Ning nodded as well.

Anyone capable of developing this formation was a Daolord of the Third Step, at the very least. In fact, it might even be a Verge-level Daolord of the Fourth Step! Given this Daolord also had the advantage of being on familiar terrain… they were going to be in serious trouble.

“Then how should we leave this place?” Waterlord Firesurge asked, “You all saw that spatial transfer array. It’ll only allow us to return to the Mortal Realm! Once we activate it to go back to the Mortal Realm, that Daolord will definitely find out and might chase us all the way back. We’ll have nowhere to run.”

“Return to the Mortal Realm through the formation?” Prince Greatjoy shook his head. “Those golems would probably notice as soon as we did anything, which means their master would know as well. Given how powerful Daolords are, this one would probably be able to send his will to span the entire Sacred Immortal Realm in an instant! He would be able to disrupt the transference process. We probably won’t have any chance of going back to the Mortal Realm.”

Ning, Solewind, Skyfire, and Firesurge all had heavy looks on their faces.

A Daolord definitely was an opponent who could prove to be a huge threat to them.

“We’re not going to be able to defeat this formation.” Solewind raised his head to glance at the great formation covering the entire Sacred Immortal Realm. “Even if we go back to the Mortal Realm, it won’t be of any use. Once we go back, we won’t be able to escape.”

“Let’s keep looking,” Ning advised. “Perhaps we might find something useful.”

“No other options.”

……

The five of them began to stealthily search the entire Sacred Immortal Realm.

The Sacred Immortal Realm was much smaller than the Mortal Realm, covering just a few tens of billions of kilometers! The entire continent was covered by this enormous formation, and in the very center of the continent there was a dim, faint green mist. Deep within that mist, there was a towering estate that could vaguely be seen. This was the only place in the entire continent which Ning’s group did not dare to enter.

It was highly likely that this estate was the place where the Daolord lived!

“What a terrifying aura of resentment and hatred.”

Ning’s group was standing atop a barren, black land as they stared towards the enormous black edifice off in the distance.

Above that enormous black edifice was an aura of hatred which was so strong that it had actually become corporeal. Some of the hatred was tinged with red light, while others glowed with a black aura. However, the hatred located at the highest parts of the edifice were transformed into a deep green color, a deep green which was formed as a result of the condensed hatred of countless cultivators over the course of countless years. Every so often, furious faces could be seen appearing within the aura of hatred.

“Even if I destroyed a hundred chaosworld, the hatred and resentment wouldn’t be as strong as it is here.” Greatjoy frowned.

“I can sense that there are countless cultivators imprisoned within. This aura of hatred should be generated by them,” Solewind said. “The reason why it is so dense is possibly because these cultivators are suffering unspeakable torments. We saw early on how many cultivators were lashed to those stone pillars.”

“Let’s go inside,” Skyfire Brightshore urged.

“Let’s go.”

They needed more information. None of them dared to be arrogant in dealing with the Daolord that might be living in seclusion within this continent.

The enormous black edifice was a jail of utterly titanic proportions, and countless cultivators were imprisoned within it. It must be understood that the Mortal Realm’s formation would activate once every century. It was only natural that many cultivators had been imprisoned here.

“This place…” Waterlord Firesurge’s face paled as he continued to walk forwards. “This place is even more terrifying than the terrible Nightmare Lands which the legends of my homeland spoke of.”

“And more terrifying than the Eighteen Hells of my own homeland.” Ning was equally somber.

This enormous prison was filled with various implements of torture and punishment. This entire prison was in reality designed strictly for the torture of cultivators. It must be understood that the Eighteen Hells of the Three Realms were designed to punish great sinners, but this place had only one purpose… to torture and torment as much as possible. This made it a thousand times as frightening, causing even the faces of these five to turn pale.

“AHHH! All of you will die one day! You demons! You devils! All of you will DIE!”

“Nooooo…”

“Spare me! Spare me! Spare me!”

“No begging. Begging is pointless.”

All sorts of voices could be heard. Some were filled with hatred, some rambled, some were frenzied, some were screaming.

The entire prison was being used to furiously torment all of the hundreds of millions of newly imprisoned Nascent Soul and Apotheosis cultivators. Some of the new abductees were still begging for mercy, but they soon realized that this was completely pointless.

Whoosh…

Ning’s group of five continued their journey through the prison. Nobody was able to see them, not even the golems responsible for torturing the prisoners.

Most of these golems were at least at the Elder God level. Some were at the True God level, and a few were even at the Empyrean God level. There had to be millions of golems within this prison.

“Who would’ve thought that the ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’ so many dreamed of was actually a hell such as this?” Ning murmured softly.

“Indeed. However, there are very few Elder God-level golems. Most are weaker… perhaps the Daolord of this land is fairly weak as well,” Solewind said.

“Hopefully.” A murderous look was in Greatjoy’s eyes.

If the Daolord was a weak one, the five of them would join forces to kill him! That would end all their worries at one go.

Whoosh.

Although there were restrictive formations scattered throughout the prison, they were meant for weaker cultivators and were completely ineffective against Ning’s group. Ning’s group was able to easily enter one of the jail cells.

This jail cell held over a hundred cultivators, all shackled in chains. One of them was a skinny old man who was seated silently in the lotus position, a terrifying look in his eyes.

“I can’t accept this. I can’t accept this!” The skinny old man growled mentally, “I have to ascend and escape. If I can escape, in the future I’ll come back and kill these devils.” To this very day, he had yet to realize that his tormentors were actually golems.

“Eh?” The skinny old man suddenly felt that something was off. Five figures had suddenly appeared before him.

“You-…” The old man was stunned. This was absolutely bizarre. These five figures were simply too clean and pristine, and none of them were wearing shackles. What’s more… the doors to the prison hadn’t even opened.

“I have some questions for you,” the skinny, bald, red-robed youth said.

“Yes,” the skinny old man said obediently. He felt a sense of absolute devotion to the man before him. If the man ordered him to commit suicide, he wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest.

As for other manacled cultivators in the jail cell, they weren’t able to see a thing.

……

As Ning’s group infiltrated the enormous prison, a figure suddenly flew out of an ancient, towering estate which was surrounded by faint green mist that was located in the very core of the Sacred Immortal Realm. This figure was dressed in light green robes, had a stooped form, and just a few green scales on his forehead. His eyes looked quite cold and insidious, and his ancient face was covered in wrinkles.

“Master.” An Elder God golem standing outside the estate, waiting respectfully.

“Mm.” The stooped old man nodded. “The new batch of cultivators have arrived?”

“Yes, they just arrived. We’ve already sent them all into the prison,” the Elder God golem said respectfully. Golems were a type of magic treasures, but when they gained sentience they would be just as intelligent as actually living beings. The difference was, they would be unswervingly loyal and would do whatever their master ordered them to do.

“Mm. Let’s go take a look.” The stooped figure nodded slowly. The Elder God golem followed behind him respectfully, and the two quickly flew into the skies. In the blink of an eye, they moved more than ten billion kilometers and arrived at the enormous prison, wreathed in an aura of baleful energy.

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Chapter 8 – The Hope of the Cultivators

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 8 – The Hope of the Cultivators

The enormous prison was divided into many different regions. Within a jail cell located in one particular corner of the prison, Ji Ning’s group of five was staring at that skinny, elderly prisoner.

“I was captured and brought to this place six hundred years ago, after I travelled through the spacetime transfer array and arrived at the Sacred Immortal Realm.” The skinny old man’s eyes were filled with a reminiscent look as he said softly, “Ever since then, I’ve been imprisoned here. I’ve suffered countless torments. Some cultivators chose to self-detonate because they were unable to endure the misery. Ugh… I really wish I could go back to the Mortal Realm.”

Ning’s group all frowned. Solewind asked, “Do you know nothing about the rest of this Sacred Immortal Realm?”

The skinny old man shook his head. “I know very little. We’ve been trapped here this entire time.”

“Do you know about the ‘master’ which these devils who torture you serve?” Solewind asked.

The skinny man trembled as a look of terror appeared in his eyes. “He… he’s the master of the devils. He’s terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. After I was imprisoned here, I saw him visit the prison on two separate occasions. He used a terrifying spell to personally torture us. Countless cultivators were simultaneously tortured at the same time. He was simply too powerful, too terrifying.”

“Twice? He visited the prison twice in the past six hundred years?” Solewind’s face tightened slightly.

“He comes quite frequently,” Prince Greatjoy growled.

“We have to be careful. Who knows when this Daolord will appear again?” Ning said solemnly. He didn’t dare to spread out his own godsense, as once he did that it would be very easy for their foe to detect them.

Prince Greatjoy suddenly frowned. “I ask you this. The ancient transfer array activates once every century, which means that an utter flood of cultivators has been sent over here over the course of many years. If the torment never comes to an end… why are so many of you still alive? If you know that life will be worse than death, and that you will be subject to perpetual agony with no way of fighting back, why are you still enduring?”

Ning and the others were intrigued. Right. When faced with overwhelming power, overwhelming despair, and the prospect of never-ending torture, why wouldn’t they choose to die? Logically speaking, most would rather commit suicide than to continue like this.

“Because we are going to get revenge,” the skinny old man growled, his eyes filled with fury and hate.

“You? How?” Prince Greatjoy was puzzled.

“If we can ascend, we can leave this place.” The skinny old man ground his teeth. “After ascending, I will become a Celestial Immortal and will be able to continue to cultivate. In the future, after I grow stronger, I’ll definitely come back and get my revenge.”

Heartlord Solewind asked, “Ascend? If you ascend, you’ll be able to escape the Sacred Immortal Realm?”

Ning and the others were all puzzled. Logically speaking, ‘ascension’ should represent ascending into an estate-world of a Daolord.

“Those who ascend can indeed escape,” the skinny old man said immediately. “Long, long ago, before our Mortal Realm even had that ancient transfer array, it was somewhat easier for cultivators to train to the late Apotheosis stage. In the Mortal Realm, there were some who were occasionally able to reach that stage, and once they did the Celestial Tribulation would soon descend upon them. After the tribulation, they would ascend to a land of Immortals.

“Later, cultivation in the Mortal Realm became more difficult. However, the ancient transfer array then appeared, and some of our ancient predecessors chose to travel through it and go to the Sacred Immortal Realm. Some of them even came back and then told their descendants and juniors that the Sacred Immortal Realm was a holy place for cultivation with incredibly dense elemental energy. As a result, successive generations of cultivators have come to this place.

“Only after entering did we realize that it was all just a trick.” The skinny old man gritted his teeth.

Ning and the other four were all extraordinary figures. They immediately understood what had happened.

Long ago, before the ‘Mortal Realm’ was discovered by that Daolord, cultivation was a much simpler path. When the enormous protective formation sprang up to protect the continent from the spatial storms around it, it naturally caused the elemental energy in the continent to grow sparse, making cultivation much more difficult. The ancient transfer array then appeared, followed by some cultivators who were soul-compelled to return from this ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’ and widely spread rumors of how wonderful it was.

It was only natural that more and more cultivators would be drawn to enter it.

“It was all a plot. In truth, in the Mortal Realm it is still possible for outstandingly talented geniuses to reach the late-stage Apotheosis level, then successfully overcome their tribulations and ascend.” The skinny elder continued, “But it truly is very, very difficult. The Mortal Realm is unfathomably vast, but only a handful of people each century can achieve their goals and ascend. That is why we all entered this Sacred Immortal Realm.”

The skinny elder shook his hea.d “Although we are imprisoned here, it is still true that elemental energy in this world is far denser than it was in ours. It isn’t too hard to reach the late-stage of the Apotheosis level. However, once those devils notice us reaching that stage, they’ll immediately strike and kill us! Thus, we have to accumulate as much power as possible. We need to build up so much power that as soon as we reach the late-stage of the Apotheosis level, the Celestial Tribulation will immediately descend. By then, those devils won’t be able to do anything to us.”

Ning and the others were quite curious.

“So as long as you cause a Celestial Tribulation, you’ll be out of danger?”

“Once the Celestial Tribulation comes, they would never dare to interfere! All they would do is stand off to one side and watch. Even if that devil lord came himself, he would just watch from afar. Anyone who succeeds in the tribulation would immediately ascend to the legendary Immortal Lands,” the skinny elder said.

……

As Ning and the others questioned him, they continued to discuss this matter amongst themselves.

Generally speaking, in places like the Three Realms the so-called ‘Celestial Tribulation’ might pose a threat to ordinary cultivators, but it definitely wouldn’t be able threaten a World-level cultivator! A World-level cultivator would be capable of annihilating the entire Three Realms; how could a mere tribulation be able to do anything to him? By the same principle, it was impossible for a Celestial Tribulation to threaten a Daolord! Even if a Celestial Tribulation did descend, a Daolord could forcibly intervene and completely destroy the tribulation.

“I have a possible answer,” Firesurge whispered. “Ever since we entered the Archaeus region, we’ve been hearing stories of ‘ascension’ from the continents that we visit. Do you think it’s possible that there’s a Daolord in every single continent? That they will all go so far as to spend time and effort setting up an estate-world to protect them?”

“What are you saying?” Solewind looked at him.

“I imagine you’ve all noticed this by now as well. After we entered the Archaeus region, we’ve been able to sense that its power permeates every inch of this region,” Firesurge said. “The only reason we aren’t crushed by it is because we bear Archaeus medallions.”

Ning and the others nodded. It was true that the power of the Archaeus region was omnipresent here.

“Then… it is entirely possible that the ‘Celestial Tribulation’ sent down upon the countless living creatures of the many continents here were all sent down by the Archaeus region itself,” Firesurge said.

“Right.”

“Right, that has to be it.”

Their eyes all instantly lit up as they came to understand this matter.

The Celestial Tribulation… it only came about as a result of the natural laws of Heaven and Earth.

In a chaosworld such as the Three Realms, the ‘laws’ in question were the laws of the chaoworld itself, and thus it was the chaosworld itself which sent down the Celestial Tribulations.

But here in the Archaeus region, those vast continents did not have any natural laws that belonged to the continents themselves. Logically speaking, there was no way for the continents themselves to send down Celestial Tribulations. Which meant… it had to be the entire Archaeus region which sent down the tribulations!

“Because the tribulations are sent by the Archaeus region itself, not even Daolords would dare to interfere. If they did, they would be punished by the power of the entire Archaeus region,” Firesurge said. The reason why someone like Ning would be able to destroy the Celestial Tribulation of the Three Realms was because he wasn’t afraid of any reprisal from the Three Realms. But a reprisal from the Archaeus region… even Eternal Emperors would fear such a thing.

The Archaeus region was the very core of this entire alternate universe! A strike from it would essentially represent a strike from the entire universe itself! Who would dare to withstand such a blow?

“It makes perfect sense.” Skyfire Brightshore nodded.

“There is a high probability that you are correct. I’d say the chances are at least 80%. But there’s another 20% probability as well… perhaps all this talk of ‘ascension’ is nothing more than a cruel lie meant to give these cultivators hope. Once they lose all hope, they probably won’t be able to keep on living,” Solewind said.

Whoosh. Ning and the other four silently emerged from that small jail cell. They continued to walk through the enormous prison, with no one able to detect them.

“GREETINGS, MASTER!”

Suddenly, every inch of the prison exploded with raucous chants. Every single one of the million-plus golems obediently knelt down, and the sound of their knees hitting the ground echoed throughout the prison.

“He’s coming.”

“The lord of the devils is coming.”

“N-no…”

“He’s come again.”

When the prisoners trapped within those countless jail cells within the prison heard the noise, they instantly became filled with terror. Each time this ‘lord of the devils’ arrived, he would bring them nightmarish torment that was even worse than what the devils were able to dispense. Everyone’s breathing became ragged and chaotic, and even the aura of hatred, resentment, and madness which permeated the place became much stronger than before.

Ning’s face turned pale, as did that of the other four.

“Hmph.” A cold snort rang out, followed by an awe-inspiringly powerful surge of heartforce that swept out and covered the entire prison. At the same time, some faint green mist began to seep towards every single cell.

But suddenly, the green mist came to an immediate halt.

Even that wave of heartforce trembled.

“Who are the five of you?!” A furious and stunned mental query rang out.

Ning’s group of five was standing there in the hallways. They were able to easily ensure the golems were unable to detect them, but there was no way for them to avoid the heartforce scan of a Daolord.

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Chapter 9 – Slaying a Daolord

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 9 – Slaying a Daolord

Ji Ning and the other four felt a bit frantic. All this was happening too fast.

“Senior.” Heartlord Solewind sent mentally, “We came on the command of our master to enter the Archaeus region and test ourselves here. Alas, we accidentally entered the Mortal Realm, then rode the spacetime transfer array in preparing to depart from this place. We never imagined that the Sacred Immortal Realm was a place which we could not exit, and so we began to search for a way which would allow us to leave this place. We have no intentions of being your enemy, senior. I’d like to ask you to permit us to leave the Sacred Immortal Realm.”

“Oh? Five World-level cultivators and five Archaeus medallions… such wealth!” The stooped Daolord who stood at the entrance of the prison sent his voice out echoing with the ears of the five. “Letting you leave isn’t completely out of the question. However, you have to agree to one of my conditions.”

“Pray tell, senior,” Solewind immediately said.

Without actually fighting them, no one would be able to tell how strong Ning’s group was!

In the Archaeus region, there were some Daolords who would slay any World-level cultivators they saw and steal their Archaeus medallions. However, the majority of Daolords were unwilling to lower themselves and rob juniors, nor were they willing to offend the sect standing behind those World-level cultivators. Generally speaking, World-level cultivators within the Archaeus region all had significant backgrounds.

“I need you to swear a lifeblood oath that once you leave this place, you will never let anyone else learn a single thing about what you experienced in the Mortal Realm and the Sacred Immortal Realm. If you accept, I’ll let you leave this place,” the stooped Daolord said.

“A lifeblood oath?” Solewind immediately smiled. “That’s simple.”

“Careful!”

The nearby Prince Greatjoy’s face tightened as light suddenly shot out of his eyes.

Moments later, the faces of Solewind, Ji Ning, Skyfire Brightshore, and Firesurge all changed. They, too, could sense a terrifying strong surge of power descend from the heavens towards the prison. For this surge of power to descend from the heavens was a clear size that it came from the grand formation which protected the entire Sacred Immortal Realm.

“Kill!” Firesurge had an ugly look on his face.

“Kill!” Prince Greatjoy bellowed out the same word.

The five of them attacked simultaneously!

……

The stooped Daolord was at the entrance to the enormous prison, and his eyes were unspeakably cold and grim. The skies above him suddenly lit up as the previously ethereal-looking formation was activated, causing an enormous black serpent to appear out of nowhere and descend from the heavens at tremendous speeds as it shot towards the prison.

Just now, the stooped Daolord had intentionally been wasting some time chatting with them to buy himself enough time to unleash the power of the formation.

“All those who discover the existence of the Sacred Immortal Realm must perish.” A murderous look was in the stooped Daolord’s eyes, and the enormous serpent moved so quickly that it appeared before him in a flash. However… immediately afterwards, the stooped Daolord’s face turned pale. “WHAT?!”

His godsense was showing him what those five World-level cultivators were doing… and they were absolutely terrifying.

Of the five, Ji Ning and Heartlord Solewind were the fastest to attack.

“Heartworld, descend!” Solewind’s red robes fluttered as he glared towards the stooped Daolord coldly, and he showed no mercy at all when he attacked.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His heartworld projection instantly descended upon this area, causing the entire prison to boom violently. It was as though something incredibly heavy had smashed down upon it, and it was smashed apart as easily as a piece of tofu. This enormous prison was capable of holding countless cultivators prisoner, but for people on Ning’s level it was incredibly fragile. Previously, they had been deep within the prison while the Daolord had been at the entrance, which meant they were separated by many different gates. It was simpler to just destroy the entire damn thing.

“What?!”

‘B-but…”

Countless cultivators gawked in amazement at this scene. The jail cells they had been trapped in were all crushed into tiny pieces, but they themselves were left completely unscathed. This was a testament to how precise and masterful Heartlord Solewind was!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The million-plus golems were all knocked flat onto the ground under the crushing pressure of the heartworld projection. They weren’t able to resist in the slightest.

“An Exalted Immortal!”

“A Grand Immortal!”

“The heavens have finally come to our aid!”

Countless cultivators stared at the red-robed Heartlord Solewind, who stood there like a veritable god. Heartlord Solewind seemed to have become the center of this entire world, and he stared at that distant, stooped Daolord as he sent the full weight of his heartworld projection crashing downwards.

“A Heartforce Cultivator?” The stooped figure was stunned.

“BREAK!”

Next to Heartlord Solewind was the white-robed Ji Ning, and his eyes were equally cold. Rumble. A terrifying mixture of electric light and watery light appeared around him. The seven types of Dao lightning and seven types of Dao water transformed into a series of divine swords. The many divine swords moved incredibly fast, quickly sweeping towards the distant stooped Daolord and forming a terrifying domain that was like a vortex of darkness which ground away at his form.

This was the Yin-Yang Sword Domain!

“A sword cultivator? How could he be as terrifying as this?!” The stooped Daolord was now completely flabbergasted, and he hurriedly controlled his black serpent and used it to protect himself.

The black serpent howled furiously as it struggled to ‘survive’. The surrounding Yin-Yang Sword Domain was like a deadly fishing net that had been tightly wrapped around the serpent’s form and furiously tearing away at it.

“Great Annihilation!” Prince Greatjoy had a similarly icy look on his face as he immediately unleashed his most powerful killer attack. His twin palms suddenly glittered with dazzling golden light as they instantly pierced through the skies, striking with invincible and deadly intent towards the stooped Daolord.

BOOM! When the enormous golden palms struck down upon the black serpent, the black serpent tried to endure the power… but with a rumble, it began to shake and then crack apart.

“Ahhhh!” The stooped Daolord let out a furious, terrified scream.

“Kill him!”

“Die.”

Skyfire Brightshore and Waterlord Firesurge simultaneously struck out. The former struck out with a blazing red tail while the latter sent out two enormous entwined water dragons that shot out. The black serpent was already at the brink of collapse due to Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Intent and Prince Greatjoy’s attack. Now, it completely broke apart… and the power of the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and the other attacks all simultaneously thundered down upon the Daolord’s body. The Daolord did have other treasures he could use to defend himself, but he was completely unable to do so.

Boom!

He was completely, totally annihilated!

……

Utter silence.

The countless cultivators all just stared in a dazed fashion. That invincibly powerful and utterly terrifying ‘lord of devils’, a man so strong that he made their souls quiver when they looked at him… had been instantly killed?

It really had been just an instant.

The five of them had only struck out a single time each! Ning had only made use of his Yin-Yang Sword Domain; he wasn’t even given enough time to launch a second attack before the Daolord had died!

“We… we…” The countless cultivators stared at Ning’s group.

“Bind them.” Heartlord Solewind swept the area with his gaze. His heartworld projection had the appearance of an endless range of blazing mountains. As for the million-plus golems that were being suppressed by it, the death of their master had resulted in them instantly becoming ownerless. Thus, Heartlord Solewind was able to bind them all right away.

“Although these golems are fairly low-level, there’s certainly a great deal of them. Let’s split them up into five portions,” Heartlord Solewind sent.

The other four didn’t really care that much and so just waved their hands to accept it.

“This Daolord was really quite weak. I felt as though he was merely an ordinary Daolord of the First Step.” Prince Greatjoy shook his head. “If it wasn’t for the formation itself being incredibly powerful, brother Darknorth’s sword-intent domain alone probably would’ve wiped him out.”

Ning and the others all nodded. This Daolord had been very weak.

When Ji Ning, Solewind, and Greatjoy had attacked, their attacks had been blocked by the black serpent. In the end, it had been the attacks of Skyfire Brightshore and Firesurge which had caused the black serpent to collapse! As for the Daolord himself? He wasn’t able to resist them in the slightest.

“I wonder… is there perhaps a second Daolord here in the Sacred Immortal Realm?” Prince Greatjoy was worried. “This one was far too weak, while the formation itself was rather strong.”

“It’s quite rare for there to be a Daolord assigned to watch guard over a continent. Do you really think there would be a second one?” Solewind shook his head. “As for the power of the formation… perhaps this Daolord purchased it from somewhere else. Truly powerful Daolords generally wouldn’t deign to do things like torture and torment mortal cultivators. Only the weaker Daolords would generally do such a thing. If there really was another Daolord here, he probably would’ve sent his godsense over to investigate long ago. If he did so, there’s no way it would’ve been able to avoid interacting with my heartworld projection.”

“Mm.” Firesurge nodded in agreement. “These golems all belonged to the Daolord we just defeated. I think there probably was just one.”

“It doesn’t matter if there was one or two,” Ning said. “Either way, we still need to go into the Daolord’s estate in the very center of the continent! The formation remains active, after all, and the core of the formation is probably located within the Daolord’s estate. Only if we go there will we be able to disrupt the formation and leave this place.”

“Let’s go to the Daolord’s estate.” Prince Greatjoy nodded. “If there are no other Daolords, things will be much simpler. If there is another Daolord, then we’ll just have to give him a fight. There’s no other options for us!”

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Chapter 10 – Karmic Virtue

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 10 – Karmic Virtue

If they wished to leave the Sacred Immortal Realm, they had to first enter the Daolord’s estate.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning and the rest of the five transformed into streaks of light that flew into the air. Space rippled around them as they then disappeared.

Only now did these countless cultivators who had just been freed from torture, from their doom of eternal torment, finally come back to their senses. They had been too stunned by the death of that ‘lord of the devils’.

“Thank you, five Exalted Immortals, for sparing our lives!”

“Thank you, Grand Immortals, for saving us from an eternity of suffering!”

“Thank you, seniors!”

Countless cultivators fell to their knees in gratitude. Tears streamed down their faces as they cried out their praises. Aside from the hundreds of millions of cultivators who had just recently been taken prisoner, there were the countless cultivators who had been imprisoned here long ago. They had suffered endless torment, and only the hope of ascension and escape had kept them alive. However… whenever those million-plus golems noticed anyone breaking through to the late Apotheosis stage, they would immediately kill that person! Thus, every century there was just a very small number of cultivators who managed to overcome their tribulations and ascend. The rest all died miserable, tormented deaths.

Now, they finally had release.

They would all be able to survive. The boundless hatred and rage which had built up over the course of countless years began to transform into gratitude towards Ning and the rest of the five.

……

Ning’s group of five void-blinked straight to the location of the spacetime transfer array.

“These golems.” Heartlord Solewind waved his hand, easily binding the hundred-plus Elder God golems present here, then split them into five lots and gave each person a lot.

“What?”

“What’s going…”

“Does this mean…”

The tens of millions of cultivators who were bound to the stone pillars all raised their heads towards the skies, staring at Ning’s group of five. Those terrifying devils had been dealt with, as easily as that?

“From this day forth.” Heartlord Solewind swept them with his gaze as he summon his heartworld projection, smashing apart all the chains on every single cultivator. “You are no longer prisoners. You and the countless cultivators who were imprisoned in that jail were all free now. I hope you will all train hard and build up this ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’ into a place which is truly worthy of that name.”

“Freedom?” The tens of millions of cultivators were all stunned for a moment. Then, they began to tremble in excitement.

“Let’s go.” Ning’s group of five quickly departed. As far as they were concerned, helping out these mortal cultivators was nothing more than a casual act in passing. They naturally weren’t opposed to helping out.

The tens of millions of cultivators watched as those five airborne figures all disappeared. Only then did they come back to their senses and hurriedly kowtow, pressing their foreheads against the ground. “Thank you, Exalted Immortals!”

“Thank you for rescuing us, Exalted Immortals!”

“Finally, Immortals from the Heavens have come to deliver us!”

The cultivators cried out with hoarse sobs of excitement and gratitude.

……

The towering Daolord’s estate emanated an aura of faint green energy, and the estate itself seemed ethereal as well, as though it didn’t quite exist at all.

Ning’s group of five stared at it from afar quite cautiously.

“Eh?” Suddenly, a surge of strange power swept through the air and descended upon the bodies of Ning and the others. Apparently, faint layers of golden light were continuously descending upon them.

“What’s this?” Ning and the others exchanged glances.

“Karmic merit,” Solewind said softly. “What an enormous amount of karmic merit. All the karmic merit I’ve ever gained since I started cultivation isn’t as much as this.”

“This really is a lot of karmic merit,” Prince Greatjoy said. “I once battled against an evil cult and rescued more than three hundred chaosworlds from their grasp, but I still didn’t get as much karmic merit as I am right now.”

Ning was quite shocked as well.

At their level of power, the effect of karmic merit was negligible, just icing on the cake. They might have slightly better luck while adventuring, but that was it. Still… this amount of karmic merit was simply ridiculous in size and scope. If others knew that rescuing these cultivators would result in such a reward of karmic merit, it was likely that many Daolords would run around seeking opportunities to rescue people.

Once your karmic merit reached a certain level, your luck would become better and better. Although it wouldn’t be of much use to you in the Daomerge, it would still be of assistance when adventuring. In truth, however, you could run around rescuing chaosworld after chaosworld and you generally wouldn’t gain as much as one-thousandth as much karmic merit as right now.

“Earlier, we all saw how the aura of hatred above in the prison had reached utterly shocking proportions,” Solewind said. “This place had a simply ridiculous amount of hatred. It makes sense that the reward for rescuing them is a similarly ridiculous amount of karmic merit. It goes without saying that the number of cultivators who were tortured to death by them over the years was simply unimaginable. Even though they died, their ‘echoes’ sent down karmic merit to us.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

The cultivators they had saved were mostly captured within the past few thousand years. The earlier cultivators had almost all been tortured to death. Compared to the number of cultivators they had saved, the number that had perished was far higher.

“The Daolord’s estate…” Prince Greatjoy stared at the towering estate, hidden deep within the shadows of the faint green mist. “I feel as though it won’t be an easy place to go through. Let us first try and see if we can destroy it.”

“Mm. Worth a shot.”

“If we can destroy it, we can then hopefully destroy the core of the formation which covers this entire Sacred Immortal Realm. That would be perfect.” Ning and the others were all hoping for this outcome.

An estate which was being controlled by its master would possess incredibly strong defensive powers, but now the Daolord was dead. Ning’s group did indeed stand a good chance of destroying it.

“I’ll go first.” Ning smiled as he walked through the air towards the distant Daolord’s estate. As he moved forwards, his seven mighty streaks of Dao lightning and Dao water all flooded out as well, forming an enormous Yin-Yang Sword Domain. A dark and terrifyingly powerful domain appeared around him, completely annihilating all of the faint green mist as it furiously swept towards the estate-world.

“Break for me.” Heartlord Solewind immediately summoned his heartworld projection, causing an entire world to come crashing down upon the estate.

“Shatter!” Prince Greatjoy flew over as well as he stretched out his giant golden palms. His palms were capable of unleashing the most savage attacks amongst the five. Although Ning’s own Blood Drop sword-intent was also a Supreme Dao, its advantage lay in its penetrating power. Prince Greatjoy, however, specialized in overwhelming, brutalizing power.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two enormous, heaven-covering golden palms came crashing down like a pair of titanic golden clouds. The golden palms came crashing downwards repeatedly, striking heavily upon the Daolord’s estate. The air pressure generated by the blows was so great that an enormous palm-size imprint appeared in the ground around the estate.

“GWRAAAR!” Skyfire Brightshore transformed into his true form of a flame-bathed beast. His hooves kicked at the ground as his fiery tail lashed out in an aura of absolutely power.

As for Waterlord Firesurge, he charged forwards and launched attacks from all around the estate as well.

……

The entrance to the Daolord’s estate was open, and so Ning’s Dao lightning and Dao thunder flooded straight through it, smashing through all obstacles in their path.

After causing absolute havoc for a brief period of time, it finally came to a halt.

“Eh? But the door to the estate is clearing open.” The blazing beast once more transformed into a fiery-haired youth. “Brother Darknorth’s lightning and water, as well as my lifeblood fire… and that heartworld projection of brother Solewind… it all flooded into the estate to cause damage. Why, then, is the formation covering this realm completely undisturbed?”

“Mm.” Ning raised his head to stare into the skies as well. Golden runes could still be vaguely seen high up in the air. Clearly, the enormous formation hadn’t been impacted at all.

“We probably haven’t destroyed the core of the formation yet,” Ning said. “Perhaps the core of the formation is located in some secret, hidden location inside the estate.”

“Then what should we do now?” Solewind swept the area with his gaze.

“What can we do? Go inside!” Prince Greatjoy said coldly.

“Mm.” A murderous look flashed through Firesurge’s eyes as well.

Ning and the others all felt quite cautious about this Daolord’s estate. An estate was essentially a foe’s lair! If there really was another Daolord inside… fighting within the estate would be incredibly disadvantageous to Ning and the others.

But right now… there really was no way to tell whether or not there was a Daolord inside. If a Daolord truly decided to hide inside there and refused to come out, then Ning’s group would still have to go inside the estate and wreck the formation’s core in order to leave this Sacred Immortal Realm.

“Brother Darknorth, let us join forces to set up a defensive perimeter,” Solewind said.

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

Solewind’s heartworld projection was an excellent detection and warning system, whereas Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain was a Supreme Dao of defense.

For now, the group of five was guarded by a chaotic domain of sword-intent as well as countless world-shadows.

Whoosh.

Ning’s group went straight to the entrance of the Daolord’s estate. Although they had hammered against the estate for quite some time, it remained completely undamaged.

They entered the estate through the main gate.

The estate was actually quite large inside, and its internal layout was quite complicated. There were quite a few dismembered and shattered golems located inside of it as well, all destroyed by the water, lightning, flames, and other attacks which the group had unleashed.

“What a large estate.” It was built almost like a maze. Ning’s group spent a full hour wandering inside of it, jointly defeating the various formations and restrictive spells as they extensively searched the place.

……

At the deepest reaches of the Daolord’s estate, there was hovering passageway that was lined with fiery red stones.

Whooooosh. A blazing wind howled through the air above the hovering passageway.

There was a cave entrance located amongst the many boulders present in this place. Within this cave there was a black-robed Daolord who was seated in the lotus position. His aura was incredibly ancient, and he was unfathomably more powerful than the Daolord which Ning’s group had just slain. Images of Ning and the others wandering through the estate could be seen reflected off his eyes. “So these five World-level cultivators really did enter my estate! For World-level cultivators to be comparable to Daolords of the Second Step, and for five of them to appear at once… they have to have a truly incredible school behind them. Their master might be an extremely important member of the Church of Annihilation. Although they killed one of my retainers, I’d really rather not fight them unless absolutely necessary.”

“But… Master’s orders were clear. I am to guard this place diligently, and I am to slay any outsiders who invade this place.” The black-robed Daolord slowly shook his head.

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Chapter 11 – Moksha

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 11 – Moksha

The black-robed Daolord sat within that fiery stone cave. Suddenly, he turned his gaze towards that levitating passageway. Deep within it, a bulky and muscular creature was crawling across the fiery stones. The creature was brandishing an enormous greataxe, chopping downwards with it time and time again. Just looking at this muscular creature, one would easily be able to tell what tremendous power this greataxe held within it. However, the greataxe was just barely able to split the blazing stones apart, and it took dozens of blows from the greataxe in order to ‘harvest’ a single piece.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The reverberations were quite weak by the time they made it to the black-robed Daolord.

“Moksha.” The black-robed Daolord called out to the creature. “Come here.”

“Yes, Master.” A rumbling voice rang out from below.

Whoosh.

A streak of light flew out from the depths of that levitating passageway, then landed within the fiery stone cave. This was a strange, incredibly muscular thing whose unclad body radiated a metallic light. Clearly, this was not a normal living creature. The creature held a black greataxe in its hands that was almost as long as he was tall, and upon entering he immediately knelt down respectfully. “Master, what is your bidding?”

The black-robed Daolord nodded. “Five World-level children have entered the Sacred Immortal Realm. Although they were merely at the World level, all of them can be said to have reached a level of power comparable to that of Daolords of the Second Step. The five of them have already entered my estate, and they are continuously advancing in this direction! I order you to go and wipe them out. Remember… no matter what, do not let them damage my ‘Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower’.”

“Moska understands,” the towering creature said respectfully.

“Then go,” the black-robed Daolord ordered.

The muscular creature instantly departed through the passageway as he continuously flew upwards. Soon, he reached the entry point to the bottommost layer of the estate.

The black-robed Daolord nodded slightly. He really didn’t care much about the death of that retainer, as the retainer had been someone who had only been able to break through thanks to a Pseudo Samsara Pill. His only real job was to assist the black-robed Daolord in torturing those mortal cultivators. Someone like the black-robed Daolord wouldn’t want to lower himself or waste his energy on tormenting mortals. He would simply order his subordinates to do it for him.

“Five absolutely incredible World-level cultivators. They most likely stand a good chance of becoming absolutely incredible Daolords. A pity.” The black-robed Daolord let out a soft sigh. “Why did you have to come here?”

……

Deep within the Daolord’s estate.

Ji Ning and the rest of the five were still advancing forwards.

“There has to be a tremendous secret deep hidden within this path,” Prince Greatjoy said. We’ve already encountered eight different restrictive seals on this path, and it took us tremendous amounts of effort to break through them. Why would they put this many seals here if this wasn’t an important place?”

“We’ve broken quite a few seals in the estate, but no foes have emerged to face us. There probably really aren’t any Daolords here,” Solewind laughed. “I hope everything will continue to be this easy. That would be just wonderful.”

“I hope that is the case as well.”

They advanced through the passageway, delving deeper and deeper through the various layers of the estate. Suddenly, an enormous stone door appeared at the end of the path before them. This stone door was covered by strange carvings which emanated a dark, sinful aura. Just looking at it made the five of them uncomfortable. In truth, they had all noticed that it seemed as though the entire estate was filled with the aura of hatred and sin, with the aura being especially pronounced in certain areas.

Crackle, crackle, crackle. Solewind’s heartworld projection and Ning’s sword-intent domain both slammed into the stone door.

Golden runes immediately appeared on the surface of the stone door and began to flow across it. The runes were incredibly powerful, and they weren’t damaged in the slightest by the attacks.

Heartlord Solewind carefully inexpected the formation which had just appeared atop the stone door. Of the five, Heartlord Solewind possessed the highest level of skill in the Dao of Formations. He spent quite a bit of time, head upraised, as he stared at the stone door.

“Do as I say,” Heartlord Solewind instructed. “Brother Ji Ning, strike out with your sword using maximum force and destroy the runes over here.”

His heartworld projection immediately caused a particular part of the runes to light up.

“Brothers Firesurge and Skyfire, the two of you shall attack these two places.” Heartlord Solewind once more left behind sparkles of light atop the stone door, this time pointing out two areas with runes at the very top and very bottom of the stone door.

“Brother Greatjoy, all you need to do is to launch full-strength blows against this door,” Solewind laughed. “Leave the rest to me.”

To use raw, brute force to breach the formations would be incredibly difficult. If you were skilled in the art of formations, things would be much easier. Even if you weren’t able to overcome the formation by yourself, if you could point out certain critical areas and then focus your efforts on those areas, it would be hundreds of times easier than simply trying to brute-force the entire thing.

“Everyone… attack!” Heartlord Solewind barked.

Swish!

Ning struck out with his sword.

The sword struck out without creating any sound, but in the instant that it stabbed against the divine runes, its might was fully unleashed along with a terrifyingly strong penetrative power. If Ning wished it, he would be able to tear space apart and enter a completely different spatial dimension. The runes were completely pierced through and ripped apart by Ning’s strike, resulting in the formation covering the stone door to begin to tremble.

In truth, a small part of such a large formation being destroyed normally wouldn’t have much of an impact. Only a critical part of the formation being destroyed would.

“Good.” Heartlord Solewind revealed a look of delight.

Ning’s sword was indeed quite terrifying. Previously, as they had been breaching one sealed barrier after another within the estate, they had encountered a particularly nettlesome barrier that not even Prince Greatjoy had been able to break. In the end, it was Ning who had stepped up and used his sword to stab through a critical part of the formation. All of them had been stunned by how terrifyingly strong Ning’s sword was.

In terms of raw, overwhelming attack power, Prince Greatjoy was the strongest of the five.

In terms of viciousness… Ning’s sword was the deadliest.

“Attack!” Skyfire Brightshore and Firesurge simultaneously attacked, the former using fire and the latter using water. These two were diametrically different types of energy, and they were equal in power. As a result, when they joined forces they resulted in an absolutely explosive amount of energy being unleashed. Skyfire had truly grown much stronger in recent years, perhaps because the twelve scrolls of the [Sutra of Eternity] was indeed an incredible technique. By now, Skyfire was just as strong as Firesurge, who had been the weakest member of the four elites of the Twelve Palaces.

“Break.” Prince Greatjoy sent his enormous golden palms crashing downwards towards the two sides of the closed stone door.

Rumble…

The sealing barrier twisted, no longer able to endure the surging power that had been brought to bear against it. With a rumbling sound, the closed stone door began to swing open as the barrier naturally broke apart.

The two sides of the stone door were smashed open by the twin palms, revealing an empty pavilion behind them.

“So we have reached the end of this passageway?” Ning and the others were all stunned. They had encountered multiple barriers on the way over and had felt certain that there would be another passageway beyond the stone doors. Who would’ve thought that it would instead be a pavilion?

Ning and the other four advanced with caution, surrounded by the heartworld projection and the sword-intent domain. They walked through the stone door and into the pavilion.

The empty pavilion was roughly thirty thousand meters in size. An extremely muscular form was seated within the pavilion. The creature was completely crimson in color, and even its eyes were blazing with fire. It didn’t look like an ordinary living creature at all.

“A golem?” Greatjoy frowned.

“What a powerful golem.” Solewind’s face tightened as well.

“The Daolord we killed was merely at the first step. Why is there such a powerful golem here?” Ning’s heart sank. They could all tell that this was nothing more than a powerful golem, but it was different from those weaker golems that had existed in the Sacred Immortal Realm. Those golems were at the Elder God level of strength at most. This one… it was at the Daolord level.

Its aura was so weighty and dense that there was no way an ordinary Daolord could match it in might.

Whoooosh. There was another stone door on the other end of the palace. That tightly sealed stone door was covered with a layer of deep green energy that radiated hatred, with the hatred so dense that furiously roaring faces would constantly appear on its surface. Unfathomable amounts of dense elemental energy were being gathered from the surrounding areas, then channel into and through the stone door.

“The hatred and malice is all gathering here? What on earth is behind that stone door?” Ning realized that they were getting very close to uncovering some of the secrets behind the Sacred Immortal Realm.

The five of them exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking. They all knew that this would most likely be the most deadly battle yet in this alternate universe… and that it was possible they might die here.

“We have entered the Archaeus region on the orders of our master. I’d like to ask for you to give way and release the five of us from this Sacred Immortal Realm,” Solewind said. “If there is anything you want from us, just tell us.”

The massive golem, seated in the lotus position, slowly raised his head and stared at Ning’s group with his fiery eyes. His lips parted in a savage smile as he rose to his feet, then stretched out his left hand. Instantly, an enormous black shield appeared within it. He then stretched out his right hand, causing an enormous greataxe to appear.

A shield in one hand, a greataxe in the other… and his aura completely exploded forth, sweeping through the entire palace and causing it to echo and thunder.

“I want…” The massive golem’s voice boomed forth, “For you all to die!”

BOOM!

The golem transformed into a streak of light as it charged straight towards Ning’s group.

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Chapter 12 – In Danger of Dying

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 12 – In Danger of Dying

The entire pavilion was merely thirty thousand meters in size, and thus it was completely filled by the Yin-Yang Sword Domain. Torrents of electric light and watery light transformed into enormous swords that furiously hacked at everything near them. The towering golem was assaulted by endless attacks, but it simply roared with fury as it charged towards Ning’s group. The Yin-Yang Sword Domain wasn’t able to do anything to it at all.

Whooosh. Heartlord Solewind rose high up into the air, his red robes fluttering. He actually seemed to transform into a divine bird that was bathed in flames. More and more of these flaming birds began to appear in the area around him, as well as enormous amounts of blazing lava.

“Focus.” Solewind instantly manifested a total of eighteen arms, and each arm represented a beak of a firebird as they all flew towards that golem.

“Kill!”

“Attack!”

Skyfire Brightshore and Waterlord Firesurge joined forces in a practiced manner. They had long ago grown accustomed to combination attacks, and thus they sent intertwined attacks of water and fire straight towards the golems.

As for Ning, he first used [Three Heads, Six Arms], then drew out his six divine swords. Prince Greatjoy actually manifested six arms as well, a rare sight to behold. The two of them had the most powerful attacks… and were the final ones to attack.

“GWAAAAR!” The massive golem roared furiously as it chopped horizontally with the massive black greataxe in its hand.

This chop seemed to sever the heavens from the earth itself. Ning and the others all instantly felt their hearts turn cold!

Heartlord Solewind had used his heartworld projection to manifest eighteen blazing firebirds, but they were all chopped into two pieces by this blow.

“Careful.” Skyfire Brightshore was sent flying back by the chop as well, and he furiously cried out to warn the others.

Whoooosh.

Waterlord Firesurge’s body was cleaved apart at the waist. Blood flew everywhere, and a look of shock and rage was in his eyes. And then, his entire body transformed into a flow of water that tried to flee.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Prince Greatjoy’s six enormous golden palms began to descend from the skies, striking against the edge of that greataxe and preventing it from continuing its attacks. Thanks to him, Skyfire and Firesurge were saved.

“Brother Darknorth!” Prince Greatjoy vomited out a mouthful of blood as he flew backwards, but he still managed to send an urgent mental call to Ning.

Six silent streaks of sword-light. As Prince Greatjoy tied down the greataxe, the six streaks of sword-light scraped past it and stabbed directly towards the fingers of the golem’s right hand. Ning knew very well that this was a golem which was as tough and resilient as a magical treasure! To actually destroy this golem? Not even a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be able to do this, to say nothing of Ning.

Ning’s Blood Drop stance had penetrating power, true… but it wouldn’t be able to pierce through the golem’s body by even an inch!

Thus, Ning had only one goal – to attack the finger-joints on the golem’s right hand, then seize its greataxe! Ning had been able to tell quite quickly that this golem was at an extremely high level of skill in wielding a greataxe. If Ning was able to disarm it and take the greataxe, the golem would instantly lose the majority of its power! This was similar to how if Ning himself lost his six Eternal swords he would only be able unleash 10-20% of his true power!

Crunch. Clang!

The six streaks of sword-light simultaneously stabbed into different finger-joints on the golem’s right hand. The terrifying penetrative power of the Blood Drop stance caused the fingers of the mighty golem’s right hand to involuntarily unclench just slightly, causing its grip over the greataxe to grow weak.

Ning was delighted to see this. Just as he was about to move forwards and seize the greataxe…

“Darknorth, careful!” Solewind’s voice rang out in Ning’s mind.

“Eh?!” Ning’s face turned pale, because an enormous shield was crashing towards his head with an absolutely unstoppable amount of power!

The golem smiled coldly as it sent its enormous shield spinning towards Ning. Its greatest proficiency lay in the art of using shields! It was created in order to serve as a guardian for its master in dangerous situations, so as to help buy its master some extra time. The only reason it was also quite skilled in wielding axes was because it had been assigned to work as a miner for countless years now. Still… comparatively speaking, its true expertise still lay in wielding shields.

Rumble…

When the shield came crashing down, it was as though the skies themselves were pressing down upon Ning. Even a chaos star would most likely be reduced to dust by a blow from this shield! As the shield moved closer and closer to Ning, layers of multicolored space generated by the terrifying pressure began to appear right in front of it.

There was no way for Ning to seize the greataxe. All he could do was to use his sword-arts to defend as best as he could.

BOOM!!!!

The shield slammed directly onto Ning’s six swords. Although Ning was skilled in using his longswords to defend, that meant very little when there was such an enormous disparity in power. The shield crushed through Ning’s six arms and slammed into Ning’s body. Ning felt his head grow dim as he was sent flying backwards with a boom. He almost instantly slammed into the walls of the pavilion, and blood immediately spewed out of his mouth.

The faces of Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, Skyfire Brightshore, and Waterlord Firesurge all turned pale when they saw this. They were all completely stunned.

The strike from that shield… it was far more powerful than the strikes from the greataxe had been!

“You actually made me lose my grip over my greataxe. What a formidable sword-art! I’ll make your death a cleaner one.” The golem charged forwards, each step causing the pavilion to tremble. He continued to wield the shield in one hand and the greataxe in the other as he pounced towards Ning. Clearly, the fact that Ning had caused him to temporarily lose his grip over his greataxe had rather irritated him.

Prince Greatjoy and the others felt their hearts turn cold when they saw this. Right now, they didn’t really care about the greataxe any longer. It was that shield which had them worried.

“I, I…” Ning’s mind was still woozy, and he was only slowly regaining full consciousness.

Just now, he had been knocked completely unconscious for a brief moment. Thankfully, he had a suit of Eternal armor protecting him, and had already completely mastered the [Golden Idol] technique. That was the only reason why he had been able to survive that terrifying strike! If he had a slightly inferior protective divine ability, such as one which only made his body comparable to the toughness of an ordinary Dao weapon, he probably would’ve died from that collision.

Thankfully, Ning’s body was as tough as a top-grade Dao weapon. It wasn’t that easy to destroy.

“Dodge, brother Darknorth!” Prince Greatjoy once more struck out with his six golden palms towards the golem, and the golem once more bashed out with his shield, causing that immense level of power to once more descend upon the cultivators.

BOOOOM!

The six golden palms collided head-on with the enormous shield!

In truth, Prince Greatjoy’s palm-arts were actually quite similar in function and effect to the golem’s shield. In fact, Prince Greatjoy’s techniques actually evinced a much deeper understanding of the Dao! The problem was that the golem was simply too overwhelmingly powerful. Prince Greatjoy just barely qualified as having the physical power of a Daolord of the First Step, but this golem had the power of an apex Daolord of the Third Step! Even though its technique was rather weak, perhaps comparable to just that of a supreme World God, it would still be able to completely dominate Prince Greatjoy.

For a golem to be able to reach a level of mastery in using a shield which was comparable to that of a supreme World God was actually quite incredible. After all, golems were by nature far inferior to true cultivators in terms of being able to understand the Dao.

Bang!

Golden light radiated from every part of Prince Greatjoy’s body, making him seem as though he was made out of gold. And yet, he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of golden liquid as he was sent flying backwards. Still, his interception gave Ning the time he needed to fully regain consciousness.

“DIE!” The golem struck out with his greataxe once more, this time chopping towards Skyfire Brightshore and Waterlord Firesurge.

“Kill him.” Ning had come back to his senses, and a cold look was in his eyes.

Whoooosh.

A slight ripple suddenly appeared with the pavilion. The ripple was very delicated, and even Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain found it difficult to detect it. However, once the ripple moved next to the golem, the golem revealed a look of shock.

Swish!

A vicious, insidious streak of sword-light suddenly appeared, avoiding both the greataxe and shield as it slashed at the golem’s head.

Rumble…

The golem couldn’t help but be knocked backwards. As it was knocked backwards, that viper-like streak of sword-light appeared once more. This time, it actually began to twist as it quickly bound the golem up in rings of sword-light, completely trussling it up.

“Get in here.” A figure wreathed in black mist suddenly appeared, causing the golem to disappear with a wave of the hand. The figure glanced at Ning. “Per Master’s orders, you are permitted to have me help you one time. Now that I have dealt with this golem, I have completed my promise.”

“Mm.” Ning was still slumped on the ground of the pavilion. He nodded.

This figure wreathed in black mist was one of the four golems which Emperor Mirrorsnow had prepared for his personal disciples… the golem known as ‘the assassin’!

Whoosh.

The assassin instantly disappeared, returning to the world of the Mirrorsnow Painting.

Within that world.

The assassin, the golden-robed emperor, the fisherman, and the swordsman were all together, staring at the shield-bearing and axe-wielding golem.

“You really moved quite quickly,” the golden-robed emperor laughed.

“This guy isn’t too bad. He can be considered to be as physically strong as an apex Daolord of the Third Step,” the assassin said coldly. “His shield-wielding techniques are weak, though, and his greataxe-wielding abilities are even weaker. Overall, he can just barely be considered as strong as a weak Daolord of the Third Step. I was the perfect counter for him in every respect. This was an easy win.”

The four of them were all comparable to apex Daolords of the Third Step. In terms of speed and power, they had actually reached the threshold of Daolords of the Fourth Step, and they all had exceedingly profound sword-arts. Although Ning had ‘defeated’ them, that was because Emperor Mirrorsnow had ordered them to only use a certain level of sword-arts! But of course, their skills were slightly inferior to that of the sword-arts of a true Daolord of the Third Step. Thus, they averaged out to be as strong as an apex Daolord of the Third Step!

Strength? Speed? Comprehension? They surpassed this new golem in every way.

……

Within the pavilion.

Ning continued to sit there on the ground. Waterlord Firesurge slowly reformed his true body out of the currents of water, while Skyfire Brightshore turned to look towards Ning. Solewind let out a long, relaxed sigh. As for Prince Greatjoy? He began to roar with laughter.

“That was close,” Solewind laughed.

“Brother Darknorth, I owe you my life.” Prince Greatjoy looked towards Ning.

Ning let out a sigh of relief as well.

That golem had brought them far, far too much pressure! In the end, they were still just a five-man group of World-level cultivators. When faced with a golem that was comparable to a Daolord of the Third Step, they were completely flattened with each class. If too much time passed, they probably would’ve lost their lives.

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Chapter 13 – The Black-Robed Daolord

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 13 – The Black-Robed Daolord

“Thanks, Darknorth.” Skyfire Brightshore and Waterlord Firesurge both looked towards Ji Ning gratefully. Just now, had Ning been just one moment too slow, the two of them would’ve perished. Of the five, the two of them were undoubtedly the weakest.

“Brother Darknorth, just now I saw a dark figure appear, capture the golem, then say something about only helping you once?” Prince Greatjoy frantically asked, “We’ve disposed of the golem, but it was probably just equivalent to a Daolord of the Third Step. There’s no way its master was the Daolord we slew earlier… which means that it is highly likely that a second Daolord resides within the estate. If we can’t even deal with his golem… we’re probably going to be in grave danger once that Daolord attacks.”

The others all understood this point as well. They had disposed of the golem and managed to stay alive, buying themselves some extra breathing time, but the danger was still there! Still… there was nothing that could be done! If there truly was an even more powerful Daolord here, there was nothing they could do except face him. This was the Daolord’s estate, after all. They were on enemy grounds.

“Yes, he can only help me once.” Ning nodded. “My master once said I can’t rely on him to deal with every danger I encounter, which is why I’ll only be assisted a single time.”

Greatjoy, Solewind, and the others all nodded. They understood this principle.

Ning didn’t reveal the fact that he had three more golems. It was best for him to be able to leave a few more trump cards up his sleeve.

“Skyfire, you are a member of the Imperials. Don’t you have any trump cards of your own? If Darknorth had been just one second slower, you would’ve been finished.” Greatjoy glanced at Skyfire. The five had completely severed this local region of spacetime from the rest of the estate, and Solewind’s heartworld projection was keeping a close watch as well. There was no way any form of godsense or heartforce would be able to spy on them.

Skyfire laughed awkwardly. “So what if I’m a Brightshore Imperial? Shortly after I joined the kingdom, I was dragged off by the Hegemon and sent here to the Archaeus region. Since the entire point of this adventure is for me to learn and grow, he naturally refused to give me any protective treasures at all. Once you have too many trump cards, an excursion like this would no longer be an ‘adventure’, it would be ‘tourism’. So… I really don’t have any trump cards at all.”

Ning and the others were truly surprised to hear this.

It was very hard for cultivators like them to acquire particularly powerful trump cards they could use. Ning himself had to become the personal disciple of Emperor Mirrorsnow before he learned that he would have four golems who could each assist him once. Most likely, the other disciples of Emperor Mirrorsnow wouldn’t divulge this fact either.

The more powerful a golem was, the more valuable it would be. A golem that was comparable to a Verge-level Daolord would be an utterly priceless treasure. Even the Sword Palace itself had only been able to acquire a few such golems over the course of countless chaos cycles! Daolord Allgod was an incredible grandmaster of artificing, but even he was only able to create a single such golem in his lifetime, one which he would never even think about selling. After all, there was simply no way one could possibly find another such golem of tremendous power and unswerving loyalty!

Emperor Mirrorsnow similarly had just a single golem of such power. In the end, he had traded it for forty golems that were comparable to apex Daolords of the Third Step which he left behind to his personal disciples.

Thus… it truly was quite rare and difficult for one to acquire truly powerful golems! Weaker golems, those which were comparable to Daolords of the First Step or Second Step, were much more common. Every single one of the twelve Daolord Cloudworlds of the Twelve Palaces had an enormous number of these golems.

As Ning and the others saw it, the person in their group who was most likely to have a truly, ridiculously powerful trump card had to be Skyfire Brightshore! After all, his backer was the almighty Hegemon, someone who could truly be described as standing at the absolute apex of the Endless Territories! Even the most casual of trump cards bestowed by the almighty Hegemon would be terrifyingly powerful. Alas… Skyfire’s response disappointed all four of them.

“Ugh. This is going to be tricky. That shieldbearer golem was roughly comparable to a Daolord of the Third Step. Those golems are very expensive. His master might very well be a Verge-level Daolord.” Prince Greatjoy was rather worried.

……

Ning sent a divine power clone to descend upon the estate-world of the Mirrorsnow Painting.

“Gentlemen.” Ning looked at the assassin, the fisherman, the golden-robed emperor, and the swordsman.

“Can you help me bind this golem?” Ning glanced at the captured shieldbearer golem. Although it was much weaker than the golems which Emperor Mirrorsnow had left behind, it still had the power of a Daolord of the Third Step and was capable of dominating Ning’s group and even killing them in a short period of time.

Alas, Ning had ‘cheated’ by releasing an even more terrifying golem… the assassin.

“Even if we helped you tie it down, you wouldn’t be able to bind it.” The golden-robed emperor shook his head. “All we can do is keep it trapped here and make sure it can’t fight back. In the end, it is still an extraordinary golem, while your Immortal energy remains at the World level. If you wish to forcibly send your energy into the golem’s body and wipe out its master’s seal… there’s no way you can do it.”

Ning nodded. He had simply hoped that the four golems might have some special tricks.

A mighty golem comparable to a Daolord of the Third Step was right in front of him, helpless and bound, but there was no way for him to bind it. It was a pity that his azureflower mist energy was unable to leave his body. Otherwise, he might’ve been able to use it to bind the golem instead.

“I have a question for you.” Ning shifted his gaze to the golem.

“Hmph.” The towering golem let out a cold snort. “Stop struggling, brat. The five of you are all going to die. You have no idea who you just pissed off.”

“Oh? And who did we just piss off?” Ning smirked.

“Hmph.” The towering golem swept the area with his gaze, his eyes blazing with fire. He let out a snicker. “There are some things which I cannot speak about… but although these golems of yours are a bit stronger than me, they aren’t that much stronger. Even if all of them helped you out, you still would have no chance at all of surviving this encounter. You won’t even be able to fight back.”

Ning laughed coldly. “Oh, so you were talking about the Daolord behind you?”

“You’ll know soon enough.” The towering golem shut his mouth, saying nothing further. There were some secrets which even he didn’t dare to divulge. He had received strict orders long ago regarding these matters, and as a golem he would never violate the orders he was given.

Ning couldn’t help but begin to worry even more. Judging from the golem’s behavior, the golem seemed to feel supremely confident in the outcome of this fight. Why? What gave it such confidence?

Were the five of them really going to die here?

Ning wasn’t that afraid, as he had a clone in the outside world which would allow him to rebuild his body. Although he would’ve lost six Eternal weapons, four powerful golems, and the seven streaks of Dao water and Dao lightning in his body… he would still be alive. The price he paid for dying here would be a heavy one, but so long as he remained alive there would always be more possibilities in the future.

But Ning had no idea as to whether or not Greatjoy, Solewind, Skyfire Brightshore, and Firesurge had clones in the outside world. There were some secrets which you simply didn’t ask or tell others.

Within the pavilion.

Although the five of them knew that the situation was dangerous, they had no way out. They had to face it.

“Break!” The five of them joined forces once more to slam open the stone doors on the other side of the pavilion.

Rumble… the stone doors began to slowly swing open.

“This…” Ning and the others all took deep breaths. The aura of hatred and resentment here had to be a thousand times greater than the aura had been in the air above the great prison. The hatred was so intense, it had liquefied into a deep green pool that was swirling in a vortex of more than a hundred ‘streams’ of hatred that circled an absolutely beautiful, enormous flower.

This flower had many black leaves. Ning counted exactly a thousand of those black leaves, and they were layered atop each other in a strange, evil, yet beautiful way.

Atop the leaves there were the soul-stirringly beautiful petals. The flower petals were multicolored and emanated an aura of intoxicating fragrance. They were truly dazzling in their beauty, and they emanated faint streams of rainbow light.

“Was all that hatred meant to nourish this flower?” Ning and the others felt their hearts tremble when they saw this sight.

The deep green streams of hatred all centered around this pool, condensing into an actual liquid form which then split off in a hundred streams which were used to nourish the flower in an extremely detail-oriented manner.

“A Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower?” Heartlord Solewind murmured these words softly.

“Aren’t those flowers supposed to be impossible to cultivate? I thought they could only grow naturally in certain environments.” Prince Greatjoy was shocked as well. Ning and the others all had heard of the awe-inspiringly famous ‘Prismatic Kiloleaf Flowers’, which were known throughout the Endless Territories. It was one of several precious ingredients that were needed to refine some truly powerful magic treasures, and it was incredibly precious. A single flower would be worth roughly a million cubes of chaos nectar.

However, based on what Ning and the others knew, these flowers could only grow in natural environments. But now, it seemed as though there was a major power who was capable of actually growing them.

“Yes. This is a Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower.” A voice suddenly rang out.

Ning and the others simultaneously turned their heads to look. They saw a streak of dark light slowly manifest in the skies, revealing an ethereal figure which slowly began to materialize into a black-robed Daolord.

The black-robed Daolord landed, staring at the Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower with a distant look in his eyes. He then turned to sweep the five of them with his gaze. “The five of you are able to match Daolords of the Second Step, despite merely being at the World level. I imagine you all have incredible backgrounds! Not even my master himself would be willing to offend the major power who undoubtedly stands behind you.”

Ning and the others all felt their hearts turned cold. The more casually this Daolord spoke, the more nervous they became. Only someone who possessed an absolutely overwhelming advantage in power would act so casually.

“If that’s the case, then why don’t you let us leave, senior? We can immediately swear oaths to never divulge any information regarding the Sacred Immortal realm to anyone,” Solewind said.

“Haven’t you noticed? Ever since you entered the Sacred Immortal Realm, all your connections to the outside world have been completely cut off.” The black-robed Daolord looked curiously at them. “The reason we set up the formation which separated this realm from the rest of the universe was to prevent anyone from leaking information about it. And now that you’ve seen the Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower… don’t you know who you’ve just offended?”

Ning and the others blinked. They really had no idea, because they weren’t from this universe.

“Given how monstrously talented you are, the sect behind you has to be an incredibly powerful one. I imagine that your sect would’ve told you about the most powerful members of the Church of Annihilation.” The black-robed Daolord was puzzled. “The only person in the entire universe who can grow these Prismatic Kiloleaf Flowers is my master, Emperor Trisilk? Don’t you know anything?”

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Chapter 14 – Two Options to Choose

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 14 – Two Options to Choose

Ji Ning and the others exchanged glances, their hearts quivering.

Emperor Trisilk?

They had naturally never heard of this ‘Emperor Trisilk’ before, but even a fool could understand that he had to be an Eternal Emperor! And supposedly, he was the master of this black-robed Daolord and was the only person in this entire alternate universe who could plant Prismatic Kiloleaf Flowers. Clearly, he was not just an Eternal Emperor, he was an incredible one.

The five of us just wanted to journey through the Archaeus region. How the hell did we manage to run afoul of an Eternal Emperor?

When the black-robed Daolord saw how the faces of Ning and the others all turned pale, he couldn’t help but laugh. “It seems you now understand.”

“So what if he is an Eternal Emperor? My master slays Eternal Emperors as easily as turning over his hand,” Prince Greatjoy said coldly. “You had best let us go. Otherwise… given my master’s abilities, he’ll definitely be able to find out who killed us, even if it ends up being a bit troublesome for him! It won’t just be you who will be doomed; Emperor Trisilk himself won’t be able to withstand Master’s wrath!”

“No need to threaten me.” The black-robed Daolord smiled. “The five of you are at the World level, but talented enough to match Daolords of the Second Step. Not even my master himself has five such talented disciples under his tutelage. I find it highly likely that one of the sixteen Starkings of the Church of Annihilation stands behind the five of you. Am I right?”

Ning and the others were stunned.

They knew a bit about the Church of Annihilation. The most exalted member of the Church of Annihilation was, without a doubt, its legendary leader! Their leader was the person who unified this entire alternate universe, and he was unspeakably powerful to the point of being virtually omnipotent. Most likely, not even the almighty Hegemon would be a match for him.

Second to the leader were the sixteen Starkings.

Below the Starkings were the mighty Paladins.

The ‘Nine Godstars sect’ which Ning’s group had originally encountered upon entering this alternate universe only had a single Paladin in their organization! Generally speaking, ordinary Verge-level Daolords were not qualified to be given the rank of ‘Paladin’. Only breathtakingly powerful Daolords, along with Eternal Emperors, were qualified to be called ‘Paladins’!

“As I said a while ago, not even my master would wish to offend the person who stands behind the five of you. Alas… it was your own fault for barging into the Sacred Immortal Realm. It no longer matters how powerful the person who stands behind you is.” The black-robed Daolord laughed. “In order to prevent your school and master from tracking you down… as soon as you entered my estate, I sent my subordinates to destroy the spacetime transfer arrays linking the ‘Mortal Realm’ with this ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’.”

“Ah?!” Ning and the others were stunned.

“From this day forth, that ‘Mortal Realm’ will no longer be connected to this world of ours.” The black-robed Daolord sighed. “Because of the five of you, I had to sacrifice a large continent. Alas, I had to ensure that there would be no way for your school to trace you to this place and attack me here. I decided to remove all traces of your passing right away.”

If the spacetime transfer array between the Mortal Realm and the Sacred Immortal Realm was destroyed, then even if a major power managed to track Ning’s group to the Mortal Realm, there would be no way for him to find out where the Sacred Immortal Realm was located.

“In the outside world, the only person who even knows this ‘Sacred Immortal Realm’ exists is my master.” The black-robed Daolord smiled coldly. “As for myself, I’ve been permanently assigned to this place. Without Master’s permission, even I shall never be permitted to leave. As for the formation which surrounds this realm, my master was the one who personally set it up. It ensures that this realm is completely separated from the rest of the world. Even if you have other clones outside, there will be no way you can sense where this realm is.”

“Thus… no one knows that you are here, and no one will be able to find you. As for fighting back? Hmph. My master personally set up this formation, and I’m the only person who can fully unleash its power. Not even a Verge-level Daolord who stumbles into this place would be a match for me.” The black-robed Daolord swept the five with his gaze. “However… I have decided to give you a way to survive.”

“A way to survive?” Ning and the others stared at the black-robed Daolord. They had guessed long ago that the Daolord had ulterior motives, which was why he had spoken to them for so long. If he truly wanted to kill them, he would’ve done so long ago. Why would he first let them view the Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower and ensure they felt despair at knowing they had transgressed against Emperor Trisilk?

If they truly were geniuses who belonged to this universe, they probably would’ve felt despair upon hearing Emperor Trisilk’s name.

Emperor Trisilk was a true demon who had committed towering sins, and it was his idea to use enormous amounts of hatred to nourish Prismatic Kiloleaf Flowers. Just imagine how skilled he was in sin and how steeped he was in hate, for him to be able to manipulate it so effectively? As a man who had committed many sins, he had offended many major powers over the course of his life… and yet, he was still alive. Although he was merely a Paladin of the Church of Annihilation, he truly was skilled in staying alive.

Most importantly of all… Emperor Trisilk’s true specialty lay in torture. He could torture even Daolords to the brink of insanity, causing them to choose to commit suicide or to submit to him. All of his disciples were skilled in torture as well.

“Yes, a way to survive. If you are willing to swear lifeblood oaths to serve me forever and to obey my orders as my slaves, I’ll spare you.” The black-robed Daolord stared at Ning’s group, his eyes gleaming. The five of them were all monstrously talented cultivators who could become Daolords whenever they chose. Once they became Daolords, their future potential would be limitless. It was entirely possible that all five of them would become more powerful than the black-robed Daolord himself. And, if he had them work for him as miners after they became Daolords, they would definitely be far more effective than the shieldbearer golem.

His master had given him strict orders, true… but that was to prevent any secrets from being released. If these five swore lifeblood oaths to become his slaves, then there was naturally no chance of anything going astray. Even better, with these extra subordinates helping him mine this place he would be able to finish his task much faster and thus no longer need to remain here.

“Become slaves?” The faces of all five tightened.

“Impossible,” Solewind roared angrily.

“Nothing is impossible.” The black-robed Daolord laughed. “In the face of death… everything becomes possible.”

“Change your conditions,” Solewind growled. “We would die before becoming your slaves. We can carry out tasks for you and swear to divulge no information about this place to the outside world, but there’s absolutely no way we will become your slaves.”

The smile disappeared from the black-robed Daolord’s face, only to be replaced by an icy coldness. “You only have one choice – become slaves and live, or die!”

“Let us think it over.” Solewind gritted his teeth.

The black-robed Daolord stared coldly at the five of them. “Make it fast.” As he spoke, a savage-looking serpent began to appear in the air around him. The giant serpent coiled around the black-robed Daolord as it stared coldly at Ning’s group with its emotionless reptilian eyes. Ning and the others couldn’t help but shiver when they saw this. They knew that it could probably wipe them out in a single blow.

“What should we do?” Solewind, Ning, Greatjoy, Skyfire, and Firesurge traded glances.

“The power of this formation truly is incredible. He was telling the truth. Here in the Sacred Immortal Realm, not even Verge-level Daolords would be able to defeat him.” Prince Greatjoy sent mentally, “What should we do? I have a few trump cards, but they would at most be able to deal with Daolords of the Third Step. They wouldn’t even be enough to deal with that shieldbearer golem we just fought, much less this Daolord.”

“Right.” Firesurge had an ugly look on his face as well. As for Skyfire, he didn’t say a word. He really didn’t have any trump cards at all.

The black-robed Daolord sat there leisurely next to the Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower, the enormous black serpent continuing to coil around him. He said softly, “Tell me your choice. Do you choose life… or death?”

“LIFE!” A voice suddenly rang out.

The black-robed Daolord cracked a smile as he looked at the speaker.

As for Ning, him and three others also stared at the speaker in astonishment.

It was Heartlord Solewind.

Heartlord Solewind had just crushed an odd-looking jade pendant in his hands, causing an arcane surge of terrifying power to descend.

Whooosh.

It was formless. Colorless. Shapeless.

Ning and the others couldn’t see it or sense it at all; all they could sense was that something utterly terrifying had just appeared as a wave of something washed over them. The black-robed Daolord’s smile turned stiff, and a look of utter terror appeared in his eyes. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something… but then, all traces of life fled from his body.

The only thing left was his seated corpse, and it no longer had any trace of life in it at all. As for the terrifying serpent that hd been created by the power of the formation? It completely dissipated into nothingness.

“He died?” Ning and the other three were boggled as they stared at Heartlord Solewind.

“Ugh. Just like that, I was forced to use up the life-saving Dao-seal the Heartforce Palace bestowed up on me.” Heartlord Solewind sighed softly. “Dao-seals like that aren’t available for sale anywhere. The power of each seal is incredibly great, equivalent to the Palace Lord himself striking with 30% of his maximum power. It could easily kill even a Verge-level Daolord.”

Ning and the others were speechless.

Good heavens. A Dao-seal comparable to a 30% maximum power strike from the Palace Lord of the Palace of the Heart? The Heartforce Palace truly had very few Daolords, but it was one of the most terrifying palaces of the Twelve Palaces precisely because each of them truly were incredibly powerful. As for the Palace Lord, if he was to personally intervene even Eternal Emperors would turn pale with fright and scamper off.

A strike which contained 30% of his full power… such a blow would threaten even Eternal Emperors to a certain extent, much less ordinary Daolords.

“That Dao-seal is… a bit ridiculous.” Prince Greatjoy was stunned.

“Are you sure you are the Imperial, not him?” Firesurge glanced at Skykfire Brightshore.

“That’s just…” Skyfire Brightshore mumbled…

“Our Heartforce Palace is different from your palaces. We have very vew members, and so we truly treat every member as we would family. I naturally was given a few protective measures for this adventure.” Heartlord Solewind smiled. “A pity. I only was given two Dao-seals of this level of power.”

“You have another one?!” All four of the others were starting to grow jealous. It seemed as though the old saying, ‘less is more’, really was true. The Heartforce Palace had very few members, which was why it was incredibly kind to those few members it had.

Prince Greatjoy glanced sideways at the seated, lifeless corpse of the black-robed Daolord. The black-robed Daolord had a look of utter terror on his face, and his mouth was open. Clearly, death had descended upon him with incredible speed. He had died while still gripped by astonishment.

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Chapter 15 – The Secret of the Sacred Immortal Realm

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 15 – The Secret of the Sacred Immortal Realm

Heartlord Solewind stared at the black-robed Daolord’s corpse, then said, “This Daolord was quite extraordinary. He was most likely the second and final Daolord here in the Sacred Immortal Realm. Now that he’s dead, we’ll probably be able to leave this place soon! It is possible that his master, Emperor Trisilk, might have some unique methods which would alert him of his disiciple’s death. He might be heading towards this place right now. Once he arrives, we’ll truly be doomed. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

Ning and the others all nodded.

The Palace of the Heart might’ve given Solewind a powerful protective Dao-seal, but it wouldn’t be enough to kill an Eternal Emperor; at most, it would just tie him down for a period of time. Even if the Palace Lord was personally present, it would be quite difficult for him to actually slay an Eternal Emperor.

“I’ll collect the corpse for now. After we escape from the Sacred Immortal Realm, we can bind his storage treasures and split those things up,” Solewind said.

“No!” Prince Greatjoy immediately argued, “Solewind, you used a life-saving Dao-seal to kill him. All the treasures will naturally belong to you. You used up a Dao-seal that represented 30% of a maximum-power strike from the Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace! I imagine we could sell off all of this Daolord’s items, and it still wouldn’t be worth as much as that Dao-seal was. Even if you took everything, you are still coming out behind.”

Solewind was speechless.

“Right, Solewind.” Skyfire Brightshore said the same thing. “We’re certainly not going to take advantage of you like this. We can split up the treasures we earned from killing that weak Daolord of the First Step, but that golem and this black-robed Daolord’s treasures shall belong to Darknorth and yourself, respectively. You used up an extremely powerful Dao-seal, while brother Darknorth had to use up that favor from his helper.”

“These two affairs aren’t comparable. Brother Darknorth captured that golem, but there’s no way we could possibly split it up. The Daolord’s treasures, however, are useful for everyone,” Solewind argued.

“Unnecessary.”

“Stop quibbling.”

“We’re not taking it, and there’s nothing you can do to convince us otherwise.”

Ning and the others all laughed as they rejected Solewind’s suggestions. They had known each other for thousands of years by now, and all of them were quite friendly with each other. Of the find, Solewind was the most logical and the most trustworthy.

Solewind shook his head, then said with resignation, “Fine, then. I’ll be shameless and accept it all. Oh, right. This Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower is pretty much at full maturity as well. Let’s harvest it. I’ll take all of the black-robed Daolord’s treasures, but we can split up the value of the flower later.”

“Agreed.”

“Harvest it first.”

Waterlord Firesurge waved his hand. Instantly, a stream of water surged out and formed a giant hand that gently cupped the distant, beautiful flower, then plucked it all at once.

“Come, let us keep on exploring,” Prince Greatjoy said. “We still have yet to find the core of this formation.”

“We have to breach the formation. Only then will we be able to leave this Sacred Immortal Realm.”

Ning and the other five quickly began to advance once more. There would be plenty of time for them to split up the treasures later. Right now, every extra second they spent in this Sacred Immortal Realm was another second of danger for them! Who knew when Emperor Trisilk would come back? Although logically speaking the Sacred Immortal Realm had that enormous formation which completely separated it from the outside world, which meant Emperor Trisilk shouldn’t be aware of the black-robed Daolord’s death, in the end it was the Eternal Emperor himself who had set up this formation. He might’ve put in certain mechanisms that would let him know about what was happening in the Sacred Immortal Realm.

He was an Eternal Emperor. Even if he was very far away, it probably wouldn’t take him that long to hasten to the Sacred Immortal Realm. If the five of them were caught here, they really would be finished.

“Hurry up.”

“Let’s move.”

There were no further barriers in front of them. The planting grounds for the flower had essentially been the most important place in the entire estate, after all. They pushed open the enormous stone door in front of them, only to see a circular hallway behind it. The hallway was filled with complicated formations made from divine runes, and Immortal energy flowed through the runes with incredible power. More than ten thousand strange types of stones were present as well.

Some of the stones were jewel-like, some were white and slick, some were dark and gloomy, while some emanated auras of incredible cold. All sorts of different, strange stones were scattered throughout this place.

“We’re rich!” Prince Greatjoy’s eyes bulged out.

“So many treasures?!” Solewind swept the room with his gaze.

“All combined, these stones have to be worth at least ten million cubes!” Ning was shocked by the implications of this.

Good heavens. Ten million cubes? This was an absolutely enormous sum of money, even for a Verge-level Daolord… but these stones were merely being used to power this formation.

“We’ll split up these treasures into five portions. Each of us will get a portion,” Solewind said.

“Ahaha, alright! We’ll be shameless enough to accept that suggestion.”

“Right, right.”

Greatjoy and Ji Ning didn’t decline either.

In truth, all of them felt rather puzzled and suspicious. From what the black-robed Daolord had said, this formation was personally set up by that Eternal Emperor, who had ordered the black-robed Daolord to protect this place! What secrets did this place hold, for the Eternal Emperor to order such a powerful Daolord to stay here permanently? Why did he pay such an enormous price and personally set up such a complicated formation here?

“No one is in command of the formation, and the formation’s core is the weakest part of any formation. It’ll be easy to break it apart. Don’t move, everyone. Let me deal with it,” Solewind said.

Although no one was in command of the formation, it still took someone at the Daolord level of power to break it.

Solewind carefully picked up one precious stone after another. After carefully picking up a total of twelve stones, the power of the formation began to fade. Solewind grinned. “Next… you can do whatever you like. This formation is no longer able to fight back against us.”

“Right.”

“Let’s do this.”

Ning and the others all worked in concert, each of them collecting roughly a fifth of the total number of treasures present. With the treasures all collected, the formation naturally broke apart.

“The formation is done for. We can leave now.” Prince Greatjoy revealed a look of delight. “However… we still haven’t discovered what secrets this place is holding, for an Eternal Emperor to set both formations and guards over this place.”

“There are no other passageways from this estate,” Solewind said. “The mysteries don’t matter. Let’s leave first.”

“Agreed.”

There really were no other passageways for them to take. They had gone as deep as they could into the estate, and they had already discovered the core of formation at the bottommost layer of the estate.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ning and the others moved incredibly fast. In just a single breath’s worth of time, they flew out of the estate. There were no longer any barriers here to slow them down.

“Eh?” Ning and the others raised their heads to stare at the skies. Their faces all turned pale. “Not good.” All of them felt shocked.

The formation-barrier covering the entire Sacred Immortal Realm had already broken down, revealing the world beyond. Outside the Sacred Immortal Realm was an endless sea of blazing, roiling energy. There were also enormous blazing stones that was flying through the skies. In short, it was an absolutely apocalyptic hell of fire.

The barrier had completely blocked off the outside world, but it had also protected the Sacred Immortal Realm. Now that the formation had been cancelled out, the borders of the Sacred Immortal Realm actually began to collapse as the blazing flames of the inferno surrounding it descended.

“The Sacred Immortal Realm is about to break apart.”

“Let us give those mortals a hand.”

Ning and the others could immediately tell that there was no way they could save the Sacred Immortal Realm. They immediately began to teleport to the places where the cultivators were gathered.

Just a short while ago, the cultivators had been released from their nightmare and regained their freedom. They were planning out how to establish a home for themselves when all of a sudden, something terrifying had appeared in the skies. Endless, flowing streams of blazing energy began to sweep downwards towards them. All of them knew that they were going to die.

They could only watch as the fires of hell began to descend towards them. There was no way they could fight back at all.

“Get in here.” Ning appeared out of nowhere, then waved his hand and caused more than ten million cultivators to be drawn into his estate-treasure.

“Come here.” Heartlord Solewind appeared in another part of the world, rescuing the utterly terrified and despairing cultivators.

In just two breath’s worth of time, all of the cultivators in the entire continent had been rescued by Ning’s group of five.

Rumble…

The blazing streams of fire and the flaming boulders came crashing downwards. Each time they struck against the Sacred Immortal Realm, the entire continent would tremble and shake. The entire continent began to break and crumble apart into multiple pieces. It was completely disintegrating.

Ning and the others were all extraordinarily powerful. The power of the apocalyptic flames was enough to ruin this realm, but it wasn’t enough to harm them.

They just stood there in the air, surrounded by the Yin-Yang Sword Domain which stretched off ten thousand kilometers. The blazing streams of energy and the flaming bouldesr were immediately destroyed once they moved close to the group.

“The continent is finished.” After rescuing the mortal cultivators, Ning and the others just watched and sighed.

“Quick, over there!” Prince Greatjoy’s face changed as he pointed towards part of the Daolord’s estate. Now that the entire continent had broken apart, they were able to see something which had been hidden at the very bottom of the continent. There, they could see an enormous levitating mountain that was formed out of fiery rocks. The peak of the mountain was roughly a million kilometers in size, and there were strange spatial ripples covering it.

“An entire mountain of darkspace flamestone?” Ning and the others were completely stunned.

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Chapter 16 – Emperor Trisilk

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 16 – Emperor Trisilk

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Ji Ning and the rest of the five all immediately teleported closer towards that fiery-red mountain.

The entire place was filled with blazing streams of energy, but they weren’t nearly as dangerous to Ning and the others as the spatial tempests around the Mortal Realm had been. Despite the harsh environment, Ning and the others were actually able to engage in spatial teleportation here.

“Am I seeing this? Is this actually an entire mountain of darkspace flamestone?” Prince Greatjoy raised his head to stare at the towering mountain, unable to maintain his usual calm. A stunned look was on his face. “Am I asleep? Am I dreaming…?”

“An entire freaking mountain? Completely comprised of darkspace flamestone?” Solewind was dazed as well.

“By my calculations… every ten thousand kilograms of that mountain can be refined into one kilogram of pure darkspace flamestone.” Ning mumbled to himself, “The entire mountain stretches out to cover more than a million kilometers. How much darkspace flamestone is that? How much is it worth? I can’t… I can’t even calculate…”

“Insane. Absolutely insane!” Firesurge and Skyfire were both stunned as well.

This was an incalculably valuable treasury, one which Eternal Emperors go berserk over!

Darkspace flamestone was an extremely valuable type of mineral which could be used in many different ways. It could be used to forge golems and magic treasures, and there were even certain secret arts and divine abilities that made use of it. Generally speaking, it could be discovered in certain unique environments, but it was generally discovered in meter-sized amounts or even less.

An entire mountain that was over a million kilometers in size? This was a veritable quarry of darkspace flamestone! In fact, Ning and the others suspected this of being the largest deposit of darkspace flamestone in this entire alternate universe!

But of course, the primordial chaos often gave birth to many types of unique treasures. In the Endless Territories, the Brightshore Kingdom had taken sole ownership over Hydragon Mountain. Although the quality of ore was inferior to the darkspace flamestone here, the total amount of ore it possessed was a million times greater, making Hydragon Mountain far more valuable than this one.

Still… no matter what, this was an enormous mountain with more than a million kilometers of darkspace flamestone. Most likely, only Hegemon-level figures would be qualified to own such a place without fearing that others would seek to seize it. Generally speaking, Eternal Emperors who discovered such a fortune would mine in secret. They simply weren’t strong enough to openly claim sole ownership over such a fortune.

“No wonder. No wonder Emperor Trisilk sent his disciple to stand guard over this place,” Solewind mumbled. “No wonder he was willing to attack us, even though he knew that we all had extraordinary backgrounds. They really can’t risk letting the secret of this mountain get out.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! A deep sound rang out. Skyfire Brightshore had picked up an axe-shaped treasure and was using it to hack away at the mountain in front of him. Alas, he was only able to leave a few white marks behind on the fiery ore.

“Can’t hack it apart.” Skyfire blinked a few times as he muttered softly to himself.

“Wake up, guys! Wake up!” When Ning heard Skyfire mumble those words, he shivered then began to call out to them.

The other four stared at Ning.

“Stop daydreaming. This is an entire mountain of darkspace flamestone. We can’t even cut into it, much less mine it.” Ning shook his head. “I’d imagine only Daolords of the Third Step would be strong enough to just barely excavate some of the ore, and only at a very slow speed at that. This entire mountain is a million kilometers in size, and there’s no way for us to teleport it away. There’s nothing we can do at all.”

They all understood. There was literally nothing they could do.

Forget about them; not even Eternal Emperors or the almighty Hegemon would be able to do anything to such a vast mountain of precious minerals! Thus, Emperor Trisilk had elected to send a powerful Daolord and golems here to slowly mine away at the ore.

Every single piece of ore was a priceless treasure. A mountain of ore which was a million kilometers in size naturally was filled with certain arcane powers. In fact, it was being reinforced by some of the prime essences of this entire alternate universe. If you wished to move it by just a few kilometers… most likely, there were incredibly few figures in this entire alternate universe who would be capable of such a thing. To store it away into an estate-world? Completely impossible.

Think about Hydragon Mountain. The almighty Hegemon was incredibly skilled in the Dao of Spacetime, but even he was forced to resort to sending subordinates to slowly mine away at the ore.

“What should we do?” Skyfire Brightshore stared at Ning and the other three.

“We can only look, not touch.” Ning shook his head.

“There really is nothing we can do.” Solewind shook his head as well.

“All we can do is stare. And drool.” Firesurge licked his lips.

“At least we had the chance to see such a mountain of ore,” Prince Greatjoy said.

The five of them just stared at that mountain, their gazes blazing with lust. They were like five ordinary mortals who encountered an enormous mountain that was completely made out of gold. Although there was no way to move it, just staring at it was still a stunning experience.

“Let’s go,” Greatjoy said. “If we waste too much time and end up being caught by Emperor Trisilk, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Let’s go.”

“In the end, this isn’t something which we are qualified to own.”

Ning and the others were all men of talent. Although they were temporarily stunned by this sight for a time, they quickly came to the decision to leave.

Whoosh. Prince Greatjoy took control over their flying vessel, and they left this place at high speed.

If you wanted to take possession over such an inconceivably valuable place, you had to have the corresponding level of power! If you weren’t strong enough, then you would have to do what Emperor Trisilk did; secretly mine away without anyone knowing about it.

The almighty Hegemon was a good example. The first to discover Hydragon Mountain wasn’t actually him, it was a group of adventuring World-level cultivators. In the end, there had been a grand battle, resulting in the almighty Hegemon taking sole ownership over Hydragon Mountain.

The Church of Annihilation, in turn, had taken completely control over this entire alternate universe, becoming its paramount power.

In the end, power was what mattered the most!

Ning and the others advanced at maximum speed, relying on Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over spacetime to flee as fast as they could.

However… this time, their guess was wrong. Right now, Emperor Trisilk was in no mood to search for them.

……

Deep within another part of the Archaeus region.

Rumble…

Space was in chaos here, and spacetime itself trembled.

This was an extremely inhospitable environment. Not even major powers would come here, but a translucent, virtually invisible drop of water was floating through this region of chaotic spacetime.

Within that drop of water, there was an estate.

“Shit, shit.” A sinister-looking youth with nine malignant tumors on the top of his head was seated in the lotus position, grinding his teeth. “That old bastard Fubo really is like a ghost that just won’t go away. It’s been nearly nineteen chaos cycles, but he’s still chasing after me. Is he never going to get tired of this? Shit, shit, shit! I really regret pissing him off. Who would’ve imagined that the silent old fellow would be this powerful? If I knew, I would never have pissed him off. If it wasn’t for the fact that I, Trisilk, am skilled at staying alive, I would’ve died by his hands long ago.”

He truly felt regret.

Emperor Trisilk was consumed with regret. He was a lawless figure who had committed countless sins. He was willing to do anything if it meant growing more powerful!

Emperor Fubo was an extremely low-key Eternal Emperor. He was known as a very good man who spent all his time training his disciples within his own territory. He was often taken advantage of by others in the Church of Annihilation, but he didn’t really care too much. Emperor Trisilk had thought Emperor Fubo to be a complete pushover, and so when he heard that Emperor Fubo had bestowed an incredibly valuable treasure known as the Violetbolt of Icy Flames to his second disciple, Trisilk had decided to take it. He had slain Emperor Fubo’s beloved second disciple, then stolen the Violetbolt of Icy Flames.

This was a treasure that was used to meditate on the Dao. When you kept it by your side, your heart and mind would become extremely calm, making it much easier and faster for you to comprehend the Dao.

One of the reasons why Emperor Fubo had been able to succeed in his Daomerge was because of this treasure! His second disciple was a Verge-level Daolord as well, and so he had chosen to give his disciple this treasure. Who would’ve thought that it would end up in that disciple being killed?

He had been enraged. For the first time in many years, Emperor Fubo had been truly enraged!

His second disciple was the disciple he loved the most. His eldest disciple had long ago perished while adventuring, which meant his second disciple had been by his side the longest. He treated this second disciple as he would a son. Emperor Fubo spared no expense to investigate the matter, in the end discovering that it had been Emperor Trisilk who had been the culprit! Emperor Trisilk had been too arrogant, feeling that Emperor Fubo would not pose any threat to him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been discovered to be the culprit with such ease.

Once Emperor Fubo discovered who the murderer was, he left his home and began to chase after Emperor Trisilk.

This chase…

Stunned this entire alternate universe! Only now did they understand how terrifyingly strong Emperor Fubo was. He was close to being on par with the sixteen Starkings! If he was just a tiny bit stronger, he probably would’ve been bestowed with the formal title of ‘Starking’ by the Church of Annihilation.

With such a powerful figure pursuing him, Emperor Trisilk was forced to use up two of his most valuable life-saving treasures. He had even tossed the Violetbolt of Icy Flames over to Emperor Fubo and asked other major powers to intercede on his behalf, but it was all to no avail. The kindly, good-natured Emperor Fubo had been truly enraged. He had chased after Emperor Trisilk for nineteen entire chaos cycles, and he still continued the chase without relenting in the slightest.

“Ten chaos cycles, a hundred chaos cycles, or a thousand chaos cycles… so long as I, Fubo, am still alive, I swear I shall one day slay Trisilk.” These were the words which Emperor Fubo had said long ago.

All Emperor Trisilk could do was hide as best he could.

The universe was a vast place. If an Eternal Emperor wished to hide, it would be very difficult for anyone to find him. However… by the same principle, for a major power like Emperor Fubo to unrelentingly search for and chase after you was an utter nightmare.

“What horrible luck. Even my mountain of darkspace flamestone was discovered?” Emperor Trisilk muttered angrily to himself. He could sense his disciple’s death, but he didn’t dare to go and investigate what had happened. “My disciple had the power of a peak Daolord of the Third Step. With my formation supporting him, not even Verge-level Daolords would be a match for him. I wonder who killed him? Maybe that old bastard Fubo knows about it as well.”

……

Ning and the others, however, didn’t know any of this. Terrified of being discovered, they quickly moved towards the core parts of the Archaeus region.

“Do you think Emperor Trisilk will be able to invert the flows of spacetime to find our tracks?”

“Don’t worry. The Archaeus region is huge! It won’t be that easy for him to find us.” Ning and the others didn’t dare to relax in the slightest… but they had no idea that Emperor Trisilk was in no position to worry about anything besides keeping himself alive.

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Chapter 17 – A Group of Eight

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 17 – A Group of Eight

After leaving the Sacred Immortal Realm, Ji Ning and the others spent three hundred years in flight. Only after they felt that had fled a sufficiently long distance did they begin to divide up their loot.

A flying vessel was lazily drifting through the void of the Archaeus region. Ning and the rest of the five were seated within the vessel, counting their earnings.

“That weak Daolord actually had quite a few treasures, including two Prismatic Kiloleaf Flowers. If we add those two to the one which we harvested, that means we have three! He also had an Archaeus medallion as well as these other treasures…” Heartlord Solewind had placed the many treasures he had found across the deck of the vessel.

“That’s quite a lot.”

“Ahaha! That weak Daolord certainly had quite a lot of treasures.” Ning and the others were all pleasantly surprised by this. What they didn’t realize was that the stooped, green-robed Daolord had been assigned all of the more taxing tasks, such as tormenting the cultivators and taking care of the flowers. The actual planting and nurturing of a Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower was an extremely exhausting job, and each time a flower grew to maturity he would head over and harvest it. Although the harvested flowers were temporarily left with him, once their group left the Sacred Immortal Realm he would’ve had to hand it over to the black-robed Daolord.

“How should we split these things up?” Skyfire Brightshore asked hurriedly.

“You are an honorable prince of the Brightshore Imperials. Why are you trying to haggle over treasures with commoners like us?” Firesurge teased him.

“How about this? Let’s consider the three flowers as three ‘portions’ of treasures, an Archaeus medallion as one portion, and all of those other treasures as a fifth portion. Each of us will get one portion, and we can choose as we please,” Heartlord Solewind said.

Ning and the others all nodded.

The stooped Daolord truly did have quite ac ollection of treasures, including a bit of darkspace flamestone. Although he didn’t have that much of the flamestone, the amount he did have was still worth close to a million cubes of chaos nectar.

“I want the Archaeus medallion,” Prince Greatjoy said.

“I want…” Ning spoke out at the same time, then paused, slightly stunned. He wanted the Archaeus medallion as well! Su Youji had been a master-class Chaos Immortal when she first acquired the legacy of Feixian the Exalted. Feixian the Exalted had been an extremely powerful Daolord, and his legacy was very well-suited for Su Youji. As a result, she now had the power of a supreme Chaos Immortal. This opportunity in the Archaeus region wasn’t to be missed!

If she was given an Archaeus medallion, she would be able to journey alongside the five. She might grow a bit more stronger, in which case she could very well be able to break through to become a Samsara Daolord herself! A Samsara Daolord who knew the secrets arts of Feixian the Exalted would be a terrifyingly strong assistant, and Su Youji herself was actually an extremely talented individual as well.

She had relied on techniques she herself had come up with to reach the apex of the Ancestral Immortal level. She had needed only one further step to reach the World level, and after she joined Ning she had indeed broken through to that level during their adventures within the Allgod Estate! She had been improving at an incredibly fast rate. Although she was inferior to Ning, she was still quite dazzling. Ning naturally was willing to spend time and effort on helping build her up.

“Brother Darknorth, you want it as well?” Prince Greatjoy was startled.

“The two of you really are generous. We’re valuing these medallions at around a million cubes each.” Firesurge chuckled as he picked up a Prismatic Kiloleaf Flower. “I’ll simply choose this pretty little flower.”

“I have no retainers. I’ll choose one of the flowers as well.” Skyfire Brightshore also choose to acquire one of the flowers.

“Darknorth, if you also want an Archaeus medallion, the answer is simple. Give me your portion of the spoils and I’ll give you one of my medallions.” Solewind smiled. “After the black-robed Daolord died, I found two of the medallions on his corpse.”

The black-robed Daolord himself had a medallion, and he had kept another one of them stored inside his storage treasure.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. “Thank you.”

“No need for thanks. I’m not giving it to you, I’m selling it to you for a million cubes,” Solewind said. “Although I have quite a few retainers, there is only one worth me spending time on.”

Ning, Solewind, and Greatjoy each had a few retainers. Firesurge actually did as well, but he didn’t feel any of them had that much potential and so he wasn’t willing to spend much effort on them. As for Skyfire Brightshore… he had originally been a lone wanderer before he was abducted to the Birghtshore Kingdom. Even in the kingdom, he was a lonely and solitary figure who had no retainers at all.

……

After splitting up the loot, Ning’s group once more continued on their journey.

Within Ning’s estate-world. Su Youji and World God Pillsaint, along with the other World-level retainers, were sparring against each other.

Whoosh. A pair of dazzlingly beautiful wings of fire suddenly appeared behind Su Youji. Light shone from her eyes, causing the muscular World God facing her to grow rather dazed. An indecisive look of struggle appeared on his face, and quite some time passed before he was able to come back to his senses.

“The Flamefairy’s mastery over the arts of charm is growing more and more formidable. I, Qiyang, am full of admiration for you.” The muscular World God hurriedly spoke out in praise.

“You were dazed long enough for her to kill you a hundred times over.”

“The Flamefairy really is incredible.”

The World-level retainers were the ones who Ning had captured during his invasion of their branch of the Bluegrace Sect. They all knew that Flamefairy Su Youji had gained the legacy of Feixian the Exalted, and ever since then she had only become more and more mesmerizing. The charm which she naturally extruded was now so dazzling that weaker World-level cultivators would be uncontrollably smitten by her. Even the stronger cultivators would be dazed for a while then they saw her.

It must be understood that in a life-and-death battle, a single instant of befuddlement which came at a critical moment could result in immediate death.

None of the other supreme World-level cultivators under Ning were a match for Su Youji at all. This was how formidable a powerful legacy could be! But of course, it was also partially due to the fact that Su Youji’s Dao was quite a good match for the Dao of Feixian the Exalted, making it easy for Su Youji to train in her skills.

Because of her alluring charm, all of these World-level cultivators couldn’t help but flock around her. In fact, some of them secretly fantasized about one day becoming Dao-companions with her. Alas, Su Youji was not interested in them at all.

“Youji.” A voice suddenly rang out.

“Master.” A look of pleased surprise appeared on Su Youji’s face as she turned to look, only to see a white-robed Ning appear off in the distance. This was a divine power incarnation of Ning’s.

“Master.” The other World-level retainers all called out respectfully as well, looks of dread appearing on some of their faces. They had seen Ning attack before, and they knew that he was only a completely different level compared to them.

“Follow me,” Ning instructed.

“Yes.” The Flamefairy immediately moved towards Ning, following right behind him. Soon, the two moved into a copse of trees.

“A great opportunity has come,” Ning said, looking at Su Youji. “If you can grasp it… it could propel you to become a Samsara Daolord.”

“A Samsara Daolord?” Su Youjij was stunned. Although she had been improving rapidly in the arts of charm, illusion, and control, she wasn’t even close to becoming a Daolord just yet.

“This opportunity is something which people like us can only hope for, not count on.” Ning waved his hand, causing a dark-red circular disc to within it. “This is an Archaeus medallion. Bind it and carry it with you. If you don’t keep it with you, you won’t be able to leave this estate-world. If you tried, you would be crushed to death by the power of the Archaeus region.”

“An Archaeus medallion?” Although Su Youji was puzzled, she felt absolute faith in Ji Ning. She obediently bound the Archaeus medallion, then took it into her possession.

She had no idea what an enormous opportunity this was.

In this alternate universe or in their own universe, even the most talented of geniuses, the ones who could become Samsara Daolords whenever they chose, all dreamed of being able to acquire one of these medallions.

“Alright. Now follow me out,” Ning instructed.

……

Ning’s group of five had just become a group of eight! Ji Ning, Greatjoy, and Solewind had each arranged for one retainer to join their group. They were Su Youji the Flamefairy, World Goddess Skywolf, and Chaos Immortal Swallowback.

World Goddess Skywolf was the retainer of Prince Greatjoy. Although her Daoist title was ‘Skywolf’, she was actually an icy, grim woman of incredible beauty who was surrounded by a strong aura of death.

Chaos Immortal Swallowback was the retainer of Solewind and looked like a young child.

World Goddess Skywolf and Chaos Immortal Swallowback had both reached extremely high levels of insight into the Dao. Both of them could become Daolords whenever they chose, and both were formal members of the Twelve Palaces! Although they hadn’t been acknowledged by their respective pagodas, they were still extraordinary figures.

Su Youji was the weakest of the eight, but just like Ning she had only been training for a very brief period of time. She was also the personal disciple of Feixian the Exalted and had tremendous potential.

After the three ‘newcomers’ joined the squad of five, they all swore oaths not to divulge any information regarding their own universe.

……

The estate-world within the Mirrorsnow Painting.

Ning’s divine power incarnation descended upon this world, then turned to stare at the muscular golem.

The golem stared at Ning with its blazing eyes as it growled, “You killed Master?”

The black-robed Daolord was its master. As soon as the Daolord had died, the golem had regained its freedom. It naturally understand what this meant.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “Now… are you willing to submit?”

The towering golem gritted its teeth, then knelt down and said respectfully, “Moksha pays his respects to you, Master. Please don’t wipe out my mind.”

The reason why he previously hadn’t been willing to submit was because he felt certain that his master, the black-robed Daolord, would be able to defeat Ji Ning and the others. Now, his original master had perished… and this white-robed youth before him was unquestionably an incredible genius who could easily become a Daolord in the future. By then, the youth could use his Daolord-level energy to bind him by force. In fact, if Ning was irritated enough he could wipe the golem’s mind clean.

Anything which possessed intelligence and sentience, be it a golem or a magic treasure, would not wish for its mind to be wiped clean.

“Alright.” Ning revealed a smile. Just like that, he had gained an obedient golem that was the equal of a Daolord of the Third Step.

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Chapter 18 – The Genesis Lands

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 18 – The Genesis Lands

Moksha acted very obediently, actively assisting Ji Ning in binding him. Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself. He certainly changed his attitude quite quickly.

When he had been first captured, he had been boastful and held Ning in no regard at all, feeling certain that Ning’s group was going to die soon. Now that he realized that his former master had died, he had immediately knelt down and begged, ‘Please do not kill me.’

“Master.” After being bound, Moksha immediately smiled ingratiatingly at Ning. “There is something I must tell you.”

“Speak,” Ning said.

“I was instructed by Emperor Trisilk to assist my master in mining ore,” Moksha said smugly. “Darkspace flamestone is extremely difficult to mine, but I am extremely strong. Over the course of thirty chaos cycles, I managed to mine quite a bit of ore. For convenience’s sake, I stored it all within an estate-treasure which I carried with me as I mined.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. “Do you still have the darkspace flamestone?” He had been mining for thirty chaos cycles. How much had he mined?!

“I do.” Moksha nodded. “However, a good deal of it was taken away by my previous master. I only have on me the ore which I mined in the last nine chaos cycles. Take a look, Master.” As Moksha spoke, he waved his hand and caused fist-sized chunks of fiery-red rocks to appear on the ground. Strange spatial ripples began to fill the surrounding area as well.

He waved his hand three times in total, causing the fiery-red rocks to pile up into a small mountain that was three thousand meters tall. By this point in time, space had begun to completely twist and distort, causing shimmering ‘curtains’ of folded space to appear in the surrounding area. Because the chunks of stone were all fist-sized, it wasn’t too hard to store them away in that estate-treasure. If this had been a single massive slab of darkspace flamestone, most likely only an Eternal Emperor would’ve been able to store it away.

“You mined that much?” Ning’s eyes nearly popped out.

Although golems that were as strong as Daolords of the Third Step were valuable, the amount of ore this particular golem was carrying was even more valuable.

“So much darkspace flamestone…” Ning swept it with his godsense, carefully calculating how much was present. “This has to be worth nearly ten million cubes of chaos nectar!”

“My former master had roughly twice as much as this,” Moksha said. “Early on, I wasn’t that skilled in using axes and so was rather slow in my mining. It took about twenty chaos cycles before I got better, and all of the ore I mined during that period of time I gave to my previous master. This pile here consists of the ore I mined during the past nine chaos cycles.”

“I’m more than satisfied with this.” Ning grinned.

This ore had to be worth nearly ten million cubes of chaos nectar. As for the twenty million cubes which the black-robed Daolord had, that all belonged to Solewind. In order to save them, Solewind had used up a powerful Dao-seal that was so valuable, it would be almost impossible to find on the open market. Ning naturally didn’t feel any jealousy or envy whatsoever. For him to suddenly earn so much darkspace flamestone was already a stroke of tremendous fortune.

“What do you know about Emperor Trisilk?” Ning asked. The five of them still felt worried about this matter.

“Emperor Trisilk has an odd temper and is incredibly savage,” Moksha said. “You must be careful, Master. Based on what I know of the Emperor, he’s the type to avenge every single slight, no matter how petty. Once he locates the five of you… I guarantee he won’t let you off easily.”

“Oh?” A solemn look appeared on Ning’s face as he nodded.

But of course, the two of them had no idea that Emperor Trisilk was currently in a far more miserable situation than they were.

“What about the Genesis Lands? What do you know about that place?” Ning asked.

“The Genesis Lands is where this entire universe sprang from. All combat is forbidden there,” Moksha said. “When I served the Emperor, I once spent a very long period of time in the Genesis Lands.”

Ning asked, “Who issued the order forbidding all combat in that location?”

“The order came from the Church of Annihilation,” Moksha said. “Daolords generally do not dare to violate the commands of the Church. But of course, if someone really does go crazy, they can still choose to break this law. I once saw it happen with my own eyes. A Daolord, for the seek of evading an enemy, chose to hide within the Genesis Lands. However, his enemy was so enraged that he ignored the rules and chased the Daolord into the Genesis Lands, then killed him there! But of course… later on, the killer was wiped out by the Church of Annihilation!”

Ning nodded.

“Still… the Paladins of the Church of Annihilation aren’t afraid to violate this law. They are members of the Church itself, after all. Even when they break this law, they will at most suffer some non-lethal punishments,” Moksha said. “I once heard Master say that if the sixteen Starkings were to violate this law, no punishment would be given. Not even the ruler of the Church of Annihilation would choose to offend and act against his Starkings without a very good reason.”

“Oh.” Ning chuckled. This golem knew quite a bit!

Actually, the almighty Hegemon had given them some information regarding this alternate universe before sending them into it, but the amount of information was pitifully small. All Ning knew was that the Archaeus region was filled with danger, but once they reached the Genesis Lands in the center they would be fairly safe. Although the Genesis Lands held its own dangers, all violence was supposedly prohibited there. Supposedly, there was no need to worry about any World-level cultivators or Daolords you encountered within the Genesis Lands.

Upon hearing the golem speak at length, Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

A ‘prohibition’ against violence?

In the end, there was a limit to how far that prohibition would stretch. Suicidally fearless cultivators would violate that prohibition, as would the Paladins and Starkings of the Church of Annihilation, thanks to the extremely high positions they held within the Church.

“Still… Paladins will be punished if they violate this prohibition. They won’t attack us without a good reason.” Ning nodded slowly. “As for Starkings… I imagine we aren’t even qualified to attract the attention of a Starking, much less offend one.”

“Our entire universe only holds sixteen Starkings, and almost none of them are in the Archaeus region,” Moksha said. “I heard Emperor Trisilk once say that even he himself has only met three Starkings in his lifetime.”

……

Moksha had been Emperor Trisilk’s golem for quite some time, and thus knew many of the Emperor’s secrets. He had even been in the Genesis Lands, and thus he was able to give Ning a good deal of information regarding that place.

Time slowly flowed on, and Ning’s group of eight continued their careful advance. The rest of their journey was fairly uneventful, and they did not encounter any more Daolords! In truth, the odds of encountering a Daolord in the Archaeus region were incredibly low to begin with.

By now, they had spent over 8922 years in the Archaeus region, and they had encountered many dangerous situations and locales. Still, in the end they were able to safely reach the Genesis Lands. All eight of them survived this journey.

“The Genesis Lands.”

A flying vessel was soaring through the emptiness of space.

Ning and the rest of the eight were aboard the vessel, and their heads were raised as they stared at an utterly enormous floating world which was in front of them. This was the Genesis Lands! This was the wellspring of this entire alternate universe, from which all things originally arose.

“That aura of power…” Ning and the others were all quite shaken.

An invisible field of power covered the entire Archaeus region. Without an Archaeus medallion, even the likes of Eternal Emperors would be instantly crushed to death! The Archaeus region was almost as large as their homeland, the ‘Endless Territories’. It was incredibly vast, and that field of power stretched out to cover every inch of the region.

And yet… the incredibly vast world in front of them was the source of that field of power. One could imagine how much might it contained! Not even someone as powerful as the almighty Hegemon could compare to the might of the Genesis Lands of the Archaeus region.

“Come. Let us enter the Genesis Lands,” Ning said.

“Brother Darknorth, you told us earlier that the elementary trial we need to pass in order to enter the Genesis Lands is a trial of resolve, correct?” Greatjoy asked.

“That is what my golem told me. I think he was telling the truth,” Ning said.

Not just anyone was permitted to enter the Genesis Lands.

For weaker cultivators, entering the Genesis Lands was an almost impossible task. Any creature which sought to enter the Genesis Lands would first have to pass a trial of resolve. If they were able to endure it, they would be able to freely enter and wander the Genesis Lands. If they failed, they would be knocked unconscious and be teleported away. They would not be qualified to enter this sacred place.

“The trial isn’t that tough. Daolords and major schools often send their elite disciples to this place. Almost all of the more talented ones are able to gain entry.” Ning could tell that Su Youji, Chaos Immortal Swallowback, and World Goddess Skywolf all looked rather nervous. The three of them were just retainers, after all. Compared to the original five, they were still quite a bit weaker. As a result, they possessed less confidence in their own abilities as well.

“Alright.” The Flamefairy nodded.

Whoosh.

The flying vessel advanced at high speeds, flying towards that utterly massive levitating world. Finally, it began to slow down as it drew closer.

A web of venerable, almost sacred power descended from on high, covering Ning and the other eight within its grasp. This web of power was grim and unfeeling, and it possessed no intelligence whatsoever. It was a type of power which the Genesis Lands itself naturally possessed. This place was the Genseis Lands. It was not a place for weak creatures to live in.

Rumble…

Ning could feel something furiously hammer at his soul. However, Ning’s soul had been nurtured and strengthened by his azureflower mist energy, making it comparable to the soul of a Daolord of the First Step. He was able to resist the pressure with ease.

Ning turned to glance at the others.

Prince Greatjoy, Solewind, and Firesurge all seemed to be handling the trial with ease, and they all glanced back at him as well, smiles on their faces.

“Eh?” Ning and the others all noticed at the same time that Skyfire Brightshore had an ugly look on his face, and his body was trembling slightly. Although he was blessed with incredible natural gifts and had an extraordinary bloodline, he had experienced very few dangerous encounters in his early life. As a result, his soul and his willpower were all somewhat lacking when compared to that of Ning and the others.

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Chapter 19 – Universe Treasure

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 19 – Universe Treasure

Ji Ning and the other three began to grow nervous. The entire point of this journey was for them to accompany Skyfire Brightshore in an adventure within the Archaeus region. The journey wasn’t going to come to a crashing halt because this Brightshore Imperial wasn’t even able to enter the Genesis Lands, right? That would be an absolute joke.

“Hm.” Ning turned to glance at the other three retainers. Chaos Immortal Swallowback, World Goddess Skywolf, and Flamefairy Su Youji all had fairly relaxed looks on their faces. It seemed as though Swallowback was the most relaxed; he even grinned at Ning and the others. Skywolf and Su Youji, the two women, had fairly unpleasant l ooks on their faces, and their bodies were shaking slightly. Still, it seemed as though they would be able to endure it.

A long period of time passed.

That exalted web of power continued to fill every inch of this world, but it no longer launched any attacks against them.

“Whew.” Skyfire Brightshore let out a sigh of relief, and World Goddess Skywolf and Su Youji all looked slightly more relaxed as well.

“That was embarrassing. I was damn near flattened.” Skyfire Brightshore shook his head and laughed. He was born at the World God level of power, and he had been a solitary figure for much of his early life. In fact, shortly after he was born he had been abducted by the almighty Hegemon. As a result, his soul and his willpower were both very weak compared to that of the other five. The only reason he had been able to survive this trial was because of his innate gifts.

Every single member of his race was blessed with extraordinary powers from birth. His soul was already as strong as that of a Daolord’s, and so although he possessed much weaker willpower than Ning and the others, he was still able to endure the trial and overcome in.

“All eight of us will be granted entry. This is something to celebrate.” Prince Greatjoy smiled.

“Not bad.” Ning glanced at Su Youji and offered her a few words of praise.

“Master, I feel fortunate that I’ve spent these past few years meditating on the techniques of my master, Feixian the Exalted, within your estate-world. I’ve improved quite a bit with regards to my willpower and my mental strength. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to survive that,” Su Youji sent mentally.

Ning nodded. Su Youji’s path was a path of charm and control. This was naturally a path that required an extremely powerful mind.

……

The flying vessel flew deeper into the world of the Genesis Lands.

This was a world of truly incredible proportions. It was trillions of kilometers in size, and it seemed almost endless.

“How vast.” Su Youji sighed in amazement as she stared at the world.

“This is the place which gave birth to this entire universe.” Ning stared at their surroundings as well. He could sense that certain locations within this world were filled with auras of incredible power that only strengthened as they flew closer.

“Quick, look over there!” Prince Greatjoy pointed off into the distance.

“Eh?!” Ning and the others looked towards the direction in which he was pointing, only to see a powerful expert seated in the lotus position atop a golden carpet. This expert had a single horn on his head and was covered with dark-red scales, while the golden carpet was covered with many delicacies and wine. The man was drinking wine and devouring his food while casually glancing at his surroundings.

“Hey there, kiddos!” The horned expert suddenly noticed Ning’s group, and he immediately called out to them while flying towards them.

Ning’s group didn’t try to avoid him, as they knew that all combat was forbidden within the Genesis Lands. Many of the disciples of the mightiest major powers of this alternate universe had all gathered here within this place! It might be rare for them to encounter their peers in the other parts of the Archaeus region, but that was because they were all gathered here within the Genesis Lands. There were quite a few Daolords in seclusion here as well!

As a result, the Genesis Lands held many Daolords as well as quite a few World-level cultivators. If it wasn’t for the law against combat, the World-level cultivators would’ve been wiped out long ago.

“New arrivals?” The horned expert grinned merrily as he landed aboard their flying vessel.

“Greetings, senior.” Ning and the others bowed respectfully.

“Able to enter the Genesis Lands despite merely being at the World level. Not bad at all!” The horned expert grinned as he praised them. “I was only able to come to this place after I became a Daolord. Come, come! Bring me your finest wine and your best food and let me have a taste. In exchange, I, Owlbath, shall impart unto you some of the rules and secrets regarding the Genesis Lands.”

“Please be welcome, senior.”

“Please have a taste, senior.”

Ning and the others all hurriedly took out all sorts of fine food and wine.

“Not bad at all. Glug, glug. Hey, this wine is pretty good too. Can I have some more?” The horned expert didn’t just eat and drink, he even stashed some of the food away for later without seeming to feel the slightest bit embarrassed.

The horned expert burped, then chortled merrily with half-lidded eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat all of your food for nothing. The Genesis Lands is an enormous place. If you just run around randomly, you may very well end up dying here.”

Ning and the others listened silently, the very picture of innocent obedience.

“The Genesis Lands can be roughly divided into two parts; the ‘outer reaches’ and the ‘inner reaches’. The true name of the ‘inner region’ is actually the Prime Reaches, and it holds the innermost core and prime essences of this entire universe. There are many deceased ancient powers located within the Prime Reaches, and it is the most important location in our entire universe.” The horned expert said casually, “Every single cultivator would dream of being able to enter the Prime Reaches of the Genseis Lands. The Prime Reaches are located at the very center, and you’ll be able to recognize it as soon as you see it.” Glug, glug, glug. He raised his head and drank several more mouthfuls of wine.

Ning and the others all nodded. Actually, they knew all of this already! Moksha the golem had told Ning long ago about this.

“Every single World-level cultivator capable of entering the Genesis Lands is a genius,” the horned expert said. “But perhaps just one in a hundred of them are capable of entering the inner reaches!”

Ning and the others were stunned. Just one in a hundred? This was their first time hearing this number. Generally speaking, the World-level cultivators who were able to enter this place were all capable of becoming Daolords whenever they chose! Who would’ve thought that entering the inner reaches would be this difficult?

“But the outer reaches aren’t a bad place to be either. The outer reaches were formed when the universe itself was born, and it contains many mysterious places and many hidden fortunes,” the horned expert said. “I myself stay out here in the outer reaches. Alas… while one in a hundred World-level cultivators are able to enter the inner reaches, things are much worse for us Daolords. Perhaps just one in ten thousand Daolords are able to enter the inner reaches!”

“The outer reaches are filled with treasures, but the inner reaches are absolutely incredible. Almost all of the Eternal Emperors will venture into the inner reaches in search of treasures.” A mysterious look suddenly flashed through the horned expert’s eyes. “Have you heard? Shortly after the master of the Church of Annihilation became an Eternal Emperor, he entered the inner reaches… and then, for some reason, he became terrifyingly strong, strong enough to unify our entire universe and force all the major powers in it to submit to him.”

“Oh?” Ning and the others were growing increasingly curious.

Almost all the Eternal Emperors would enter the place? It was the Prime Reaches which gave the master of the Church of Annihilation his incredible power, allowing him to unify this universe?

“Everyone says that the Prime Reaches are filled with endless possibilities. Just three chaos cycles ago, a Daolord managed to acquire a Universe treasure within the Prime Reaches,” the horned expert said in a mysterious manner.

“A Universe treasure?” Solewind and Skyfire were both shocked. As for Greatjoy and Ning, they revealed puzzled looks.

What exactly was a Universe treasure?

Upon seeing this, the horned expert grinned. “It seems as though some of you, my young friends, haven’t heard this phrase before. Actually, even I only heard of these treasures after entering the Genesis Lands. Eternal treasures are powerful, but above them… there is a legendary rank of supremely powerful treasures which are known as Universe treasures. They are often also referred to as Supreme treasures. These are truly incredible treasures which even Eternal Emperors would go wild over. They are incredibly powerful, and they are incredibly mysterious.”

“Alas.” The horned expert shook his head. “Universe treasures are truly supreme treasures; there’s no way you can bind them by force! You can only bind a Universe treasure if the treasure itself acknowledges you.”

Ning, Greatjoy, and the others were all rather stunned.

At this moment, Heartlord Solewind sent mentally to them, “Darknorth, Greatjoy, Firesurge… Universe treasures are legendary things that are filled with inconceivable amounts of power. They truly are the most supreme eof treasures, and they are both incredibly rare and incredibly valuable. Even Eternal Emperors would drool over the chance to acquire such treasures! Treasures like them can only be hoped for, not actively sought out. Right… Darknorth, your Sword Palace actually holds a Universe treasure known as the ‘Shardsword’.”

“Shardsword?” Ning was stunned. He remembered now; the first time he entered the Sword Palace, when he entered the Armaments Gorge he had encountered a ‘broken’ shard of a sword that had no price tag and which he couldn’t even move towards.

Ning still remembered how he had asked the overseers of the Armaments Groge, Swordfive and Swordsix, about that strange sword. Their response had been to tell them that it was clear the sword and Ning were not fated to be together, and that even the two previous Palace Lords of the Sword Palace had not been able to receive the acknowledgment of that sword. Ever since the Shardsword’s original owner had died, the Shardsword had been silent and accepted no others.

“So that ‘broken’ sword was actually a Universe treasure. No wonder not even the two Palace Lords of the Sword Palace were able to receive its acknowledgment,” Ning mused to himself.

“Senior, are there Universe treasures within the Prime Reaches?” Solewind couldn’t help but ask.

“There are.” But the horned expert then shook his head. “According to the history books, over the course of countless years there has been a total of eight Universe treasures who acknowledged the major powers who found them and were willing to follow them out of the Genesis Lands! Supposedly, even more Universe treasures are hidden within the Prime Reaches. To be honest, though… Universe treasures don’t really matter that much. The thing which really drives all the cultivators crazy is the mystery behind the process by which the master of the Church of Annihilation gained such incredible power… but of course, those are the affairs of the most supreme cultivators of our universe. You World-level cultivators don’t need to worry too much about those matters. You aren’t strong enough to get involved just yet.”

“Still. The Prime Reaches truly are a mysterious place. I’ve never been there before myself, and I imagine none of the eight of you will be able to enter either,” the horned expert said.

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Chapter 20 – Emperor Maniseal

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 20 – Emperor Maniseal

“The eight of you will probably stay in the outer reaches as well,” the horned cultivator said. “I’ll tell you a bit about some of the taboos in the outer reaches. The danger in the outer reaches primarily comes from certain mysterious locations.”

The horned expert began to introduce various things they had to look out for as well as describe some of the more famous danger zones. Generally speaking, the places with the most opportunities were also the places with the most danger!

His narration went on for two full hours.

“Now, let’s speak of cultivators,” the horned expert said. “In the outer reaches, there are many Daolords who reside in seclusion, as well as quite a few World-level cultivators like yourselves who are seeking great fortunes. There’s no need for you to worry too much about these people, so long as you avoid offending the most powerful Daolords. Generally speaking, no one will dare to attack in this place.”

Ning and the others all nodded.

“The ones you really need to look out for are the two Eternal Emperors who live in seclusion in the outer reaches,” the horned expert said. “If you irritate them, you’ll be in serious trouble. Even if they kill you, at most they will be given some light punishment by the Church of Annihilation.”

“One of the two Eternal Emperors is named Emperor Northtree,” the horned expert said. “The other is named Emperor Maniseal.”

“Emperor Northtree isn’t that worrisome. He probably won’t attack for no reason. Emperor Maniseal, though… you really don’t want to piss him off.” A look of worry could be seen in the horned expert’s eyes. “These days, Emperor Maniseal might start a massacre at the drop of a hat, and even if he did the Church of Annihilation wouldn’t really do anything to him. I’ve heard that even the master of the church is trying to befriend him.”

“Befriend him?” Ning and the others were puzzled.

“Emperor Maniseal used to be a very low-key Eternal Emperor, but that arrogant madman Emperor Trislk killed his beloved disciple. This truly enraged him… eheh.” The horned expert shook his head and sighed.

Ning, Greatjoy, Solewind, Firesurge, and Skyfire felt their hearts clench.

Emperor Trisilk? They had been worrying about him attacking them for quite some time now.

“Enraged, Emperor Maniseal began to chase after and hunt down Empero rTrisilk.” The horned expert sighed in true amazement. “The power he displayed was enough to shock everyone in this universe. He was far more powerful than most Eternal Emperors, while Emperor Trisilk had a terrible reputation and had offended many major powers but had been able to survive due to his top-notch survival skills. And yet… Emperor Maniseal has been chasing after him relentlessly, forcing him to flee nonstop. Emperor Trisilk no longer dares to show his face anywhere.”

Ning and the others all secretly let out sighs of relief. Wonderful. Well done! The more difficult Emperor Trisilk’s straits were, the safer they would be.

“Emperor Maniseal is most skilled in the Dao of Seals,” the horned expert is. Right now, a Dao-seal clone of his currently lives within the outer reaches.”

“A Dao-seal clone?” Ning and the others were puzzled.

“A clone created from a single Dao-seal,” the horned expert said. “Supposedly, it has 80% of the power of his true body! And he has nine of these Dao-seal clones!”

‘What?!” Ning and the others could hardly believe it. How could Dao-seal clones be this strong?

It must be understood that the likes of Daolord Badlands or Daolord Solesky had to spend enormous amounts of treasure and effort in order to create a powerful avatar, and they could only really have one at a time! This was true in both the Endless Territories and in this universe.

The Dao-seal clones which Emperor Maniseal had created were simply ridiculous.

“This is a special secret art which only he possesses and only he can use. Not even his disciples have been taught this technique,” the horned expert said. “It is probably a secret art he came up with after he became an Eternal Empror. He’s reached an unfathomably deep level of skill in his Dao of Seals, and has been publicly acknowledged as the number one master of this Dao in the Church of Annihilation! It is precisely due to his unfathomable mastery of this Dao that the master of the Church of Annihilation supposedly wants to befriend him.”

“He’s currently boiling with rage and the desire to kill right now, and the leaders of the Church of Annihilation are all trying to befriend him. Thus… even if he does kill a few World-level cultivators, no one will be willing to offend him over it.” The horned expert pointed off into the distance. “Look. That place over there? The tallest peak on that levitating mountain? That’s where one of his Dao-seal bodies currently resides.”

Ning and the others all turned to stare. Roughly ten billion kilometers away from them, there was indeed a levitating ountain peak that emanated ripples of tremendous power. Ning and the others all felt reverence towards this man. He had reached such a level of skill in his craft that he was acknowledged as being the ultimate expert in this entire universe in the Dao of Seals. Most likely, the reason he had been such a low-key figure in the past was precisely because he was completely focused on analyzing Dao-seals.

Ning and the others felt gratitude towards him. His pursuit of Emperor Trisilk ensured that they would have nothing more to worry about.

……

Within a floating mountain. Inside an ordinary estate.

“Hmph.”

Emperor Maniseal was dressed in deep blue Daoist robes and wore a crown on his head. His face was thin and long, while his eyes were quite narrow. He loked very unpleasant right now.

A youth was kneeling before him. “Master, I went to beg the White Emperor for assistance. The White Emperor said that if you were willing to hand over eight of your ‘Lifeblood’ Dao-seals, he would guarantee that he would be able to convince the master of the Church of Annihilation to bring our second apprentice-brother back to life.”

“Eight Lifeblood Dao-seals? Hmph. These two… ugh.” Emperor Maniseal might have been a good-tempered man, but he was quaking with rage right now.

The most highly ranked members in the Church of Annihilation were its master and the sixteen Starkings, but there were differences amongst the Starkings as well. Of the sixteen, there were three known as the Primal Starkings who were very special. Supposedly, they had existed ever since this universe had been created.

The White Emperor was one of the three Primal Starkings, and was the teacher of the leader of the Church of Annihilation! However, the leader of the Church of Annihilation had eventually become the most powerful figure in the entire universe, overtaking his master and unifying this entire universe.

“The leader of the Church of Annihilation asked for nine Lifeblood Dao-seals to revive my disciple. As for his master, he asked for just a bit less; ‘just’ eight!” Emperor Maniseal ground his teeth. “These two must have come to a private agreement to rob me blind.”

Lifeblood Dao-seals represented the highest level of expertise which Emperor Maniseal had reached in the Dao of Seals. They possessed inconceivable amounts of power. If you were slain by a foe, you could rely on it to instantly come back to life!

A single Lifeblood Dao-seal represented an extra life!

Over the course of countless years, Emperor Maniseal had used up many treasures via many failed attempts to create these Dao-seals. After all that, he had still created just two of those Lifeblood Dao-seals. Even someone like him, the inventor of these Dao-seals, had a very high chance of failure when creating them. The creation process was simply far too difficult.

He had asked the master of the Church of Annihilation to reverse the flow of spacetime and revive his beloved disciple. He had loved his second disciple as he would a son. He was willing to pay any price!

Alas, the leader of the Church of Annihilation had rejected him outright. “Reverse the flows of spacetime and revive a Verge-level Daolord? Impossible. I’ve never even revived one of my retainers or disciples.”

It had been a clear-cut refusal.

However, Emperor Maniseal had brought out a half-finished version of his Lifeblood Dao-seal. The leader of the Church had been stunned upon seeing it! Given his exalted status, he immediately recognized how valuable this seal was. He immediately changed his tone. “Given how strong I am, only some of the most ancient powers in other universes might pose a threat ot me. If you can give me nine of these Lifeblood Dao-seals, I’ll be willing to bear the price necessary to reverse spacetime and save your disciple.”

Nine?

Not only did the creation of these Lifeblood Dao-seals require an enormous amount of treasure, they also took at least three full chaos cycles of time! And… once you made a single mistake, all of the time and wealth you had spent would have gone to waste! Worst of all, creating these Dao-seals required tremendous focus and was extremely tiresome. To stay in such a state for three full chaos cycle, with the results generally being failure… this was just a staggeringly exhausting process.

It had been countless years since he had come up with this idea, but he had only been able to create two of these seals.

“My Lifeblood Dao-seals are equivalent to an extra life. Hmph. The leader of the Church truly is greedy.” Emperor Maniseal ground his teeth. “Let’s wait and see. Sooner or later, he’ll seek me out.”

Emperor Maniseal felt that his Dao-seals were too difficult to create.

As for the leader of the Church, the leader similarly felt that reversing spacetime to revive a Verge-level Daolord was far too difficult. As for simply killing Emperor Maniseal? That never even came up as a possibility, as the Lifeblood Dao-seal meant that Emperor Maniseal was ost likely the toughest person to kill in this universe.

……

The flying vessel continued to advance. As for Daolord Owlbat, he continued to eat, drink, and boast. Ning’s group simply listened.

“Any art, when improved to the ultimate level, will possess inconceivable power. Emperor Maniseal has reached incredible heights in the Dao of Seals,” Daolord Owlbath said. “I heard that of the sixteen Starkings, the White Emperor has reached such heights in the Dao of Metal that you can’t even comprehend it.”

Ning and the others were happy to hear him talk on and on, and the flying vessel continued to teleport forwards and advance towards the center of the Genesis Lands.

“See that?” Daolord Owlbath pointed off into the distance.

Ning and the others were stunned by what they saw. An incredibly terrifying abyss was in the earth in front of them, and above that abyss hovered a world that was roughly a billion kilometers in size. This world radiated a towering pillar of light that was filled with countless terrifying auras, many of which were comparable to the auras of Eternal Emperors.

Many chains were attached to that levitating world, and the chains themselves were rooted firmly into the land of the outer reaches.

“That right there is the inner reaches! The world which gave birth to the entire universe, and which holds all of its prime essences,” Daolord Owlbath said. “There are eight primessence chains which connect it to the outer reaches. What you need to do is walk onto those chains and stride into the inner reaches.”

“But of course… if you aren’t careful and end up falling into that abyss? Even Daolords of the Fourth Step will be devoured and killed by the abyss, to say nothing of the likes of you!” Daolord Owlbath said.

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Chapter 21 – The Chains

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 21 – The Chains

The flying vessel flew towards one of the primessence chains. There were twelve World-level cultivators seated there in the lotus position. Clearly, they also wished to attempt to pass the primessence chains.

Whoosh. The flying vessel landed.

“Eight more have joined the fray.”

“Looks like we’re making new friends.” The other twelve World-level cultivators who were already present grinned as they got up and moved forward to welcome Ji Ning’s group.

“Fuzhou greets you, fellow Daoists.”

“Warpflame greets you, fellow Daoists.”

The World-level cultivators all came over to greet htem, and Ning’s group exchanged a few words of pleasantries with them.

It was quite common for people in the Genesis Lands to chat up unfamiliar faces, as all World-level cultivators who were able to make it into the Genesis Lands of this universe were extraordinary figures with limitless future prospects! In addition, all violence was forbidden here, making it so that they didn’t have to worry about ambushes or sneak attacks. This encouraged people to befriend each other, as perhaps one of these new friends might one day become an unearthly Daolord or perhaps even an Eternal Emperor.

Ning and his group all introduced themselves, making just slight alterations to their true story.

“Fellow Daoists, why haven’t you passed through these chains and entered the Prime Reaches?” Solewind laughed.

“You think we don’t want to? It’s that we aren’t able to.” A withered-looking World-level cultivator immediately shook his head. “The only way to enter the inner reaches from the outer reaches is by passing through one of those primessence chains. If you try to fly over, you’ll be swallowed up and devoured by the abyss. However, the chains themselves are also quite dangerous. There are special trials for World-level cultivators, and even more difficult trials for Samsara Daolords. Both trials are extremely dangerous, and the closer you get to the inner reaches the more dangerous it shall become.”

“Oh?” Ning and the other seven were quite curious.

“Ah, I forgot to tell you!” Daolord Owlbath was still seated next to them, drinking some wine. He let out a laugh and said, “When you step onto the primessence chains, there will be some wraiths that will begin to attack you. The farther along you go, the more powerful and numerous the wraiths shall be. Right… the primessence chains themselves are also capable of affecting your mind. If you aren’t careful, you might go crazy. If that happens, you’ll be dead for sure.”

“Just so. This senior speaks the truth. Thus… fellow Daoists, once you attempt to traverse the primessence chains, you need to immediately retreat as soon as you feel as though you’ve reached your limit. If you retreat, you’ll still alive. If you try to force your way through, you’ll probably encounter a sudden danger that you can’t handle which will knock you off the chains. The abyss will swallow you, and your truesoul will be wiped out. You’ll definitely die!”

“Better to retreat than to try and force things.”

The twelve all expressed similar sentiments, trying to dissuade the newcomers from rashness.

Daolord Owlbath nodded as well. “If you move slowly and carefully gauge your chances, you’ll have a shot of staying alive. If you try to force things, you’ll be doomed.”

“Thank you, everyone.”

“We understand.” Ning and the others all nodded.

Ning’s group exchanged a round of glances. It seemed they absolutely could not underestimate the deadliness of these primessence chains. Every World-level cultivator able to reach the Genesis Lands was a figure of extraordinary ability, but less than one in a hundred were able to enter the Prime Reaches. The difficulty of this trial spoke for itself. If you overestimated yourself, you would probably die.

“We’ll give it a shot first. The three of you should wait for now,” Solewind sent mentally. “Greatjoy, Darknorth, Firesurge, Skyfire… I recommend you let me be the first to give it at try. They said that these primessence chains can affect one’s mind, and I feel quite confident in my abilities in this area. As for those so-called wraiths… I’ll definitely move slowly and cautiously.”

“Mm.”

“Alright.” Ning, Greatjoy, and the others all nodded.

Less than one in a hundred World-level cultivators were able to succeed, but Heartlord Solewind was a Heartforce Cultivator who had been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas of the Palace of the Heart. He definitely stood far above the vast majority of cultivators with regards to the power of his mind and heart. Even proud figures like Ning and Greatjoy knew that they were significantly inferior to Solewind in this respect.

……

The twelve World-level cultivators, Daolord Owlbath, and the other seven all watched as Heartlord Solewind advanced onto the primessence chains.

The primessence chains were a thousand kilometers long and fifteen meters wide. Although they were described as ‘chains’, they were really more like bridges! Still, people like Ning could stably traverse even a minisculy thin steel wire without swaying in the slightest, to say nothing of a bridge.

“Eh?”

As Solewind advanced through the enormous steel chains, he couldn’t help but frown and say, “Everyone, these chains truly are rather bizarre. Make sure you don’t let your mind and heart be swayed by it.”

“GRAAAH!”

“GRAAAH!”

Two illusory figures suddenly swooped up from the infinitely deep abyss of darkness below the chains. The two moved incredibly fast, traversing a thousand kilometers in a single flicker as they charged towards Heartlord Solewind. One phantom was of a grim-faced man who wielded a warblade, while the other was of an ugly alien creature who wielded nine whips in its nine arms.

Solewind’s gaze grew cold as he saw those two phantoms strike towards him. A series of magic treasures that looked like fiery lotuses began to bloom behind him, and as they bloomed they immediately began to transform into blazing firebirds. There was a total of 391 firebirds in the skies, and they all radiated with blazing auras that easily dissipated the attacks coming from those two phantoms.

Ning and the others frowned upon seeing this. Were these the ‘wraiths’? Why did they seem like cultivators?

“Those are all cultivators who died long, long ago.” Daolord Owlbath explained, “After they died their truesouls were destroyed, but their power was transformed into these strange wraiths. Because you are at the World level, World-level wraiths shall be sent to attack you. If a Daolord attempted to pass… things would be far more frightening.”

Ning and the others nodded.

“Many of them failed while attempting to pass through the primessence chains, and some of them were truly dazzling figures of their time. Later on, these wraiths will group together and attack en masse.” Daolord Owlbath sighed. “To go through the primessence chains and reach the Prime Reaches. Oh, that’s gonna be tough, tough, tough.”

……

Heartlord Solewind continuously advanced while controlling his magic treasures, using it to break apart all impediments.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The primessence chains themselves were trembling slightly, sending out multiple strange ripples of power. Ning was able to physically see those ripples emanating out, each expanding to become thirty meters in size. Heartlord Solewind had to rely on the power of the chains to fight back against the devouring power of the abyss, but by doing so he ended up being restricted by the power as well.

“Hmph.”

Heartlord Solewind advanced with cool calmness, using his magic treasures to slaughter all of the attacking wraiths. As he continued to advance, more and more wraiths of increasingly greater power began to charge out of the abyss below the Prime Reaches.

As a Heartforce Cultivator, he was naturally quite skilled in controlling magic treasures from afar. These wraiths, as of right now, were not able to force him into close combat.

……

“Five hundred kilometers. He’s made it pretty far, pretty fast.” Daolord Owlbath stared in boggled amazement. “This young fellow is way too powerful, and he has an incredibly strong mind and heart.”

“He isn’t even swaying a bit?”

“He’s completely ignoring the effects of the primessence chains?”

The twelve World-level cultivators who had already tried and failed in the past also stared in amazement. The mental influence of the primessence chains would grow increasingly strong, and at five hundred kilometers the influence was now incredibly strong. Generally speaking, even those who were able to endure the mental attacks would feel quite miserable. Heartlord Solewind, however, had an extremely calm look on his face. He looked as though he was simply strolling through the streets. He made it look easy.

Ning and the others all revealed smiles.

“Only one in a hundred can succeed? Hmph. Let them compete with us,” Prince Greatjoy sent to Ning and the others in an extremely smug manner.

“Right.”

“Brother Solewind is making it look easy.”

Although Ning and the others weren’t the arrogant type, they agreed with what Greatjoy said. In terms of all-around ability, the five of them truly did surpass the vast majority of the other World-level cultivators in the Genesis Lands. These were the most elite geniuses of the geniuses of the Brightshore Kingdom, after all!

Heartlord Solewind continued to advance. Six hundred kilometers. Seven hundred. Eight. Nine…

Daolord Owlbath and the others watched with slack jaws as this happened. Howevere, towards the end Heartlord Solewind was also forced into close combat, and a look of seriousness appeared on his face for the first time as his movements noticeably slowed down. Still, he gritted his teeth and continued to advance.

Whoosh. Over a thousand wraiths were attacking him now. Heartlord Solewind fought his way through them, then reached the end of this primessence chain and entered the Prime Reaches.

“Ahahah!”

“Excellent.”

“Congratulations, brother Solewind.”

“We’ll join you in a bit, Solewind!”

Greatjoy, Ning, Skyfire, and Firesurge were in superb moods. For the first person from their side to challenge this trial and succeed naturally pleased them greatly.

“How is this possible?”

“He succeeded, just like that?”

Daolord Owlbath and the others couldn’t even believe it. Passing through the primessence chains was supposed to be incredibly difficult, right? But just now, that bald red-robed kid seemed to have breezed right through it.

“Darknorth, Greatjoy, Skyfire, Firesurge.” Solewind stood at the other end of the chains, staring at them from afar as he called out loudly, “The mental influence of the primessence chains is terrifingly strong, far more so than the attacks of the wraiths. You must be careful!”

“Understood!” Ning and the others grinned back at him in response.

“Which of the three of us shall be the next to give it a try?” Greatjoy turned his gaze towards Ning and Firesurge.

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Chapter 22 – Heaven’s Moat

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 22 – Heaven’s Moat

According to what JiNing and the others had planned, the four ‘protectors’ would first make their attempts, followed by Skyfire Brightshore. Only then would the retainers Su Youji, World Goddess Skywolf, and Chaos Immortal Swallowback make their attempts.

“I’ll go next. I’m still quite confident in my chances.” Firesurge revealed a smile. Because he had a cold and forbidding aura to begin with, his smile looked rather sinister.

“Alright.” Ning and Greatjoy nodded, then watched as Firesurge walked over towards the chains, then stepped onto them.

The gazes of Ji Ning, Greatjoy, Skyfire, the retainers, Daolord Owlbath, and the twelve other World-level cultivators were all focused on this youth dressed in deep blue robes as he advanced through the chains.

“The Prime Reaches. I have to enter them.” A terrifying, baleful aura could be seen in Firesurge’s eyes. “Nothing and no one will stop me.”

Firesurge’s path of cultivation had been a path filled with many setbacks and pitfalls. When he had been a weak mortal cultivator, he had lived in a world that had been controlled by ten mighty demonic sects! The demonic sects were filled with guile, treachery, and internecine murder. Every single powerful expert rose to power by trampling across the corpses of others… and Firesurge became the most powerful cultivator of this entire mortal world.

He had continued his path without remorse, eventually entering the greater primordial chaos and then being recruited into the Palace of Kindwater of the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore.

And now, he had been given the chance to join Ning and the others and adventure through the Genesis Lands of this Archaeus region in this alternate universe.

“I had to use every scrap of power I had, but was just barely able to claw my way into fourth place.” Firesurge strode forwards as waves buffeted the area around him. “Solewind, Greatjoy, Darknorth… all three of them are somewhat stronger than me, to say nothing of the most dazzling figures of the Brightshore Kingdom, Bertulu and Eastcult!”

“I’m going to surpass them. I’m going to surpass all cultivators!”

Firesurge felt a certain degree of urgency in this regard. Prince Greatjoy was the strongest of the four, Solewind was the most unfathomable and mysterious, and Darknorth’s sword-intent domain was incredibly tough to deal with. Even worse, Darknorth’s offensive sword-arts had become so powerful that even Firesurge shivered when he saw them.

Why had the gap between him and his colleagues grown so large?

“Kill!”

“Break!”

……

Firesurge advanced through the thousand kilometer long primessence chains, crushing his way through all of the wraiths that tried to oppose him.

“How dominating.”

“Incredible.”

“He’s plowing through them in an even more brutal manner than Solewind did.”

Ning, Greatjoy, and the others all smiled as they praised him. As for Daolord Owlbath and the other twelve, they just stared intently.

Four hundred kilometers. Five hundred. Six hundred…

Firesurge had experienced numerous setbacks in life in order to reach his current level, and he thus possessed an incredible mind and heart. He was also very close to the others in combat power, and thus he was able to forcibly disperse the wraiths with his attacks.

“Eh?”

Just past the seven hundred kilometer mark, Firesurge suddenly slowed down dramatically. The smiles quickly disappeared from the faces of Ji Ning and Greatjoy.

“Not good!” Ning was rather worried.

The distant Waterlord Firesurge was now moving slower and slower. He was still wiping out the attacking wraiths, but Ning and the others could clearly tell that something was hampering his combat performance. It seemed as though he was struggling to maintain focus.

“AAARGH!” Waterlord Firesurge let out a frustrated yell, then turned and left. He retreated at high speeds, needing only a few seconds to escape the chains.

He had an ugly, savage look on his face, and his eyes were filled with rage and resentment.

“Brother Firesurge,” Ning called out.

“Firesurge, if we fail the first time, we can try a second or a third time,” Greatjoy said consolingly.

Firesurge took a deep breath, taking control of his emotions. He nodded towards Ning and the others.

In truth, Ning and Greatjoy understand why Firesurge was so unhappy right now. If you failed the first time, you would probably fail the next hundred times as well unless you made significant gains in power or in mental fortitude. Firesurge hadn’t even been able to make it to the eight hundred kilometer mark! He had more than two hundred kilometers to go if he wished to make it to the Prime Reaches. His chances were extremely low.

“Be careful, the two of you. The primessence chains are extremely difficult to deal with,” Firesurge said.

“I’m amazed at how nettlesome they are.”

“Mm.”

Ning and Greatjoy both felt a great sense of pressure. Firesurge was still the fourth strongest World-level cultivator of the Twelve Kingdoms of Brightshore, if one excluded Bertulu and Eastcult; he definitely was a monstrously talented man! For him to have failed meant the primessence chains were far more difficult to deal with than any of them had expected.

“Your performance was incredible, my young friend Firesurge.” Daolord Owlbath was still eating and drinking in a leisurely fashion, and he grinned as he called out, “To be able to make it nearly eight hundred kilometers on the primessence chains is an absolutely incredible feat. Although all of the World-level cultivators here in the Genesis Lands are quite formidable, the vast majority are stymied at the five hundred kilometer mark.”

……

Firesurge’s failure worried not just Ning and Greatjoy, it worried Skyfire Brightshore even more. This prince of the Brightshore Kingdom was comparable to Firesurge in power, but as for his heart and his willpower? He was probably a bit inferior to even those three retainers. Even the invisible willpower trial which was applied to all entrants into the Genesis Lands had made him feel quite miserable.

“Darknorth, let me give it a try next.” Greatjoy’s eyes were filled with a terrifying desire to do battle. He walked straight towards the primessence chains then began to advance forwards. Ning and the others simply watched silently from behind.

Solewind had drifted through the chains like a calm, unflappable spring breeze.

Firesurge had fought his way through the chains while radiating a powerful aura of murder.

As for Greatjoy, he crushed his way through with absolute power as he advanced in a truly imposing fashion.

“These young fellows are all quite incredible.” Daolord Owlbath blinked. “This Greatjoy guy has already made it past the eight hundred kilometer mark. Uh… and that’s the nine hundred kilometer mark.”

Prince Greatjoy was clearly performing better than Firesurge had as he cruised through the first nine hundred kilometers. However, at this point he gradually began to slow down as well, and a solemn look appeared on his face. His entire body began to radiate with golden light as he continued to advance in a stable manner.

Ning and the others began to grow nervous as they watched.

“Master.” The armor-clad World Goddess Skywolf normally had a perpetually icy look on her fair features, but now a look of worry had appeared.

Although the wraiths were quite powerful, Prince Greatjoy still found it quite easy to deal with them. And yet… his movements were growing slower and slower.

Finally, at the nine hundred and twenty kilometer mark, he came to a halt. He stood there, easily deflecting the wraiths but unable to advance any further.

“Ugh.” A soft sigh… then Prince Greatjoy also turned and left, not hesitating in the slightest.

Peerless geniuses like them knew when they had to go all-out and when they had to be cautious! If you tried to force yourself past your limits in a place like this, you would most likely fall into that abyss and be destroyed in body and truesoul alike.

Prince Greatjoy walked back with a slight frown on his forehead, as though he was lost in thought.

“Heh heh.” Prince Greatjoy glanced at the cultivators in front of him, then began to chuckle . “When Solewind made it across, I figured the the primessence chains couldn’t be that tough. Who would’ve thought that the next two would both fail, myself included?”

“Brother Greatjoy, you made it much farther than I did,” Firesurge said.

“A failure is still just a failure.” Prince Greatjoy shook his head, then looked at Ning. “Darknorth, these primessence chains are incredibly strange. You have to be careful not to let yourself be ensnared in those illusions. The reason why I didn’t dare to advance any further was because I realized that I had already reached my limits. If I advanced any further, I would’ve been ensnared by those illusions and would’ve been completely unable to deal with the other dangers facing me.”

Ning nodded.

Solewind was a Heartforce Cultivator and thus was the best-equipped to deal with this issue. That was why he had been able to cruise through with ease. Alas, Firesurge and Greatjoy had both failed despite being incredibly talented figures.

……

As for Daolord Owlbath and the other twelve World-level cultivators, they sighed with amazement. Although Greatjoy and Firesurge had both failed, they had both made it incredibly far.

“Firesurge and I will probably wander through the various places in the outer reaches of the Genesis Lands. We’ll only come back here if we are able to grow significantly more powerful.” Greatjoy looked at Ning. “Darknorth, I wouldn’t mind having you by my side as we wander through the outer reaches.”

“You might not mind, but I sure as hell would.” Ning laughed. “I still want to wander the Prime Reaches alongside Solewind. The poor guy will be lonely if he has to go through that place by himself.”

Laughing, Ning strode confidently towards the primessence chains.

“Be careful, Master.” The Flamefairy Su Youji was quite worried. She knew her own limits and knew that she probably stood no chance of making it into the inner reaches, but she truly hoped that Ji Ning would.

The Prime Reaches was a place which even the Eternal Emperors of this universe wished to enter, and it was also the place which had completely transformed the master of the Church of Annihilation.

Rumble…

Ning advanced through the primessence chains as electric light and watery light surged out of his body. The seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water formed an awe-inspiring Yin-Yang Sword Domain around him which furiously repelled and slew all enemies in range of him. The attacking wraiths were all ground to dust before even getting close to him.

The way in which Ning was advancing through the chains was even more lofty and imposing than Solewind’s. His Yin-Yang Sword Domain truly was the perfect weapon for dealing with group attacks!

“The Prime Reaches…” Ning stared forwards at the other end of the chains, where the inner reaches lay.

He had fought so hard for this chance, and in the end he had been able to make it into the Genesis Lands of this alternate universe. Was he going to fail now, at the very last moment?

There was a huge difference between the outer reaches and the inner reaches!

“Brother Solewind, just wait a moment for me,” Ning called out, his eyes brimming with the intent to do battle. His Yin-Yang Sword Domain swirled around him as he continuously advanced through the long primessence chains.

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Chapter 23 – The Inner Reaches

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 23 – The Inner Reaches

As soon as Ji Ning stepped onto the primessence chains, he could sense an invisible web of power wash over him. He felt as though a strange melody was playing nonstop within his sea of consciousness. Still, Ning was no ordinary World-level cultivator. He was able to easily ignore a disruptive influence on this level.

He walked forward through the chains, moving tremendously fast, and as he did the various ghosts began to flicker towards him from afar, throwing themselves at Ning. Alas, Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain stretched out to encompass an area of eight hundred kilometers. As soon as the wraiths charged into his domain, they were instantly ground into nothingness. Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain was capable of slaying even Daolords of the First Step, much less mere wraiths!

“Eh? The invisible power covering the primessence chains seems to be growing stronger and stronger.” Ning continuously advanced towards the inner reaches, and the sound of the melody grew increasingly loud as well. The melody was constantly distracting him, despite his best efforts. It sang of a peerlessly beautiful maiden, of endless treasures, of the ineffable Hegemon, of the warmth of family, of the undying ardor of love, of the deep, warm-blooded feelings which friends and brothers shared with each other…

It was an absolute delight. It told him that if he truly fell into the song and allowed himself to be intoxicated by it, that he would have all of these things and more.

The alluring power of the song grew stronger and stronger.

“Eight hundred kilometers. Nine hundred kilometers! He’s hit the nine hundred kilometer mark. Darknorth is way too strong.” Daolord Owlbat stared wide-eyed in shock. “He’s merely using a domain, but he’s still able to crush all of those wraiths. He hasn’t even used any actual techniques at all.”

Su Youji and the others watched nervously as well.

“He hit the nine hundred mark?” Firesurge watched quietly. Of the four geniuses of the Twelve Palaces, both Ji Ning and Greatjoy had made it past the nine hundred kilometer mark. Firesurge, however, hadn’t even made it to the eight hundred mark!

“Brother Darknorth’s sword-intent domain truly is formidable.” Prince Greatjoy smiled. “His domain alone is enough for him to defeat all of the attacking wraiths.”

The Yin-Yang Sword Domain was a Supreme Dao, after all, and this one in particular was terrifyingly strong due to it having been formed by seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water. In terms of raw power, it was only slightly weaker than the killer attacks of Greatjoy and Solewind!

In addition, the wraiths focused on attacking en masse. The Yin-Yang Sword Domain was literally developed for the express purpose of defeating massed attackers! In addition, it had been easy for all four of them to deal with the wraiths; none of them had been forced to show their true power. All four of them were comparable to Daolords of the Second Step. Clearing, the trial of the primessence chains didn’t place too heavy an emphasis on raw power; so long as you were comparable to a strong Daolord of the First Step, you’d be able to handle the wraiths.

“Nine hundred twenty. Nine hundred thirty. Nine hundred forty. Nine hundred fifty…” Su Youji counted softly to herself.

Everyone was watching with bated breath. Was yet another member of the group about to pass through the primessence chains?

Prince Greatjoy fell silent. He simply watched as Ning advanced farther than he did.

……

The invisible power covering the primessence chains weren’t completely focused on Ji Ning in specific. It would be more accurate to say that the primessence chains were innately filled with a mysterious power which naturally emanated outwards, resulting in them affecting Ning.

The closer Ning moved to the inner reaches, the stronger the power released by the primessence chains became.

The melody grew more and more drifting and abstruse as it sought to seduce Ning into its flows. In fact, Ning could almost see a series of illusory worlds appear before him. If he stopped fighting back against them for just a single instant, he would instantly be drawn into those illusory worlds and lose himself within them.

Nine hundred eighty. Nine hundred ninety…

Ning continued to advance. Although the illusory melody was taking a firmer and firmer grip over his mind and soul, he still continued to steadfastly defend against its intrusions. He had just a single thought in his mind – he wanted to keep focused on his goal of making it to the end of the primessence chains.

“Ah?!”

“Is he really going to make it into the inner reaches?”

“So close. So close!”

Daolord Owlbath and the others stared in astonishment, as did Prince Greatjoy and Firesurge. As for Su Youji, she was the most nervous of them all as she stared unblinkingly at the domain-ensconced white-robed youth.

Finally…

Ning took one final step and broke past the bewildering force covering the primessence chains. The furious wraiths did their best to try to stop him, but they were completely unable to go through the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and touch Ning in the slightest.

“Whew.” Ning couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief when he took that final step and entered the inner reaches. He then dismissed his Yin-Yang Sword Domain.

“The Prime Reaches…” As soon as Ning stepped onto the other side, he could sense a surge of invisible power rush towards him from the ground. The surge of power warmed him, feeling almost like the embrace of a mother.

Ning was secretly speechless. Then again, the Prime Reaches was the most central location of the Genesis Lands. Even the prime essences of this universe were located here. Even the strangest of phenomena were to be expected of here.

“Congratulations, Darknorth.” Heartlord Solewind had stepped backwards to avoid the Yin-Yang Sword Domain, but he now grinned as he advanced to move next to Ning.

“That was far too close for comfort. But, I made it.” Ning smiled.

“It is incredible that you were able to make it this far, brother Darknorth. The primessence chains truly do have an incredibly strong mental alluring affect,” Solewind sighed.

Ning nodded.

The effect was indeed quite strong. Still, Ning knew that he had one particular advantage over all three of the others! Greatjoy, Solewind, and Firesurge were fairly ‘normal’ World-level cultivators. In battle, they could instantly unleash a level of power comparable to that of Daolords of the Second Step, but it was all thanks to their secret arts, divine abilities, and insights into the Dao.

In the end, their power was built off of World-level divine power and Immortal energy.

Ning, however, was different!

He had the power of the azureflower mist energy, which was equivalent to Daolord-level energy. It had nourished his soul, making it comparable to the soul of a Daolord of the First Step! As a result, it was incredibliy difficult to shake Ning’s soul and cause him to be trapped within an illusion. Ning’s mental fortitude was actually merely on par with Prince Greatjoy’s, but his soul was far stronger. As a result, he was naturally able to do what Greatjoy could not.

Skyfire Brightshore was a prince of the Brightshore Kingdom, a living being on the same level of power as the Ancient cultivators, Bertulu, or Waterwalker. They were amongst the most elite races of living creatures, giving them souls that were incredibly strong and essentially on par with Ning’s azureflower-reinforced soul.

Kilostar was another example. He had trained in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra], and so his divine body was comparable to a Daolord’s, as was his soul.

It was incredibly rare for a World-level cultivator to have a Daolord-level soul. Solewind was a Heartforce Cultivator, and so he had certain special techniques which could be used to strengthen the soul, but in the end he was still not nearly as strong in this regard as Ning and Bertulu were. As for Greatjoy and Firesurge, they were somewhat weaker in this regard as well.

“The only reason I made it through was because I have the azureflower mist energy sustaining and strengthening my soul. Heartlord Solewind, however, made it through with ease. He really lives up to his reputation as the one and only Heartlord of the Heartforce Palace,” Ning mused to himself in praise.

Ning’s gaze shifted towards the inner reaches. Previously, when he had been in the outer reaches, he could see that there was an enormous world here but was unable to make out any details at all. Now, however…

“Eh?” Ning frowned.

It was as scene of chaos and decay.

The ground was littered with enormous gouges, holes, and craters. Clearly, they had been left behind ancient powers who had battled against each other! These were marks that had been left behind by swords and sabers.

Far off in the distance, he saw a series of badly damaged mountain ranges… as well as a series of towering, massive corpses that emanated ripples of terrifying power.

“These corpses…?” Ning stared at them. Every single corpse emanated ripples of incredible power that were just as strong as the aura which Lord Woodflower had emanated.

“Are these all Eternal Emperors?” Ning mused. “It seems this place, the birthplace of the universe, is actually a battlefield. But why the hell are there so many Eternal Emperors here?”

Eternal Emperors were incredibly rare and few in number. Based on what Ning and the others had learned, this was true even here in this alternate universe. In the Endless Territories, the Brightshore Kingdom only had a few Eternal Emperors total! But here in the Prime Reaches, Ning was able to see at least twelve of this corpses which emanated auras of terrifying power. All of them had to be Eternal Emperor level corpses.

And these were only the ones he could see right now. Most likely, the Prime Reaches held far more corpses within it. No wonder so many Eternal Emperors of the Church of Annihilation had come here. No wonder the master of the Church of Annihilation had been able to skyrocket in power after entering this place.

“I, Ji Ning, am blessed to be able to be able to enter a place like this.” Ning felt a great surge of joy swell in his heart. Those ten thousand years of arduous travel and those multiple scrapes with death… right now, Ning felt as though everything was worth it.

“Skyfire is starting as well,” Solewind said.

Ning calmed himself down, turning to stare at the other end of the primessence chains.

Skyfire Brightshore had moved onto the primessence chains as well. Although his soul was comparable to Ning’s in strength, his mental fortitude was incredibly weak. In the end, he simply hadn’t experienced enough. Most likely, even an average World-level cultivator who had risen to power in the mortal world and experienced all of its trials and tribulations would have a far stronger mind and heart than he did.

In the end, Skyfire Brightshore was brought to a quick halt. He managed to move close to the five hundred kilometer mark, but in the end was forced to retreat. A look of disappointment was on his face. He hadn’t even been able to make it to the five hundred kilometer mark! Even if he was able to somehow become much mentally tougher, he probably still would have very little chance of traversing these primessence chains.

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Chapter 24 – Thirty-Five Corpses

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 24 – Thirty-Five Corpses

“I have zero chance. I’m not even close to meeting the mark.” Skyfire Brightshore left the primessence chains, then shook his head ruefully.

“Don’t let yourself feel too depressed about this. At least the two of us will keep you company, right?” Prince Greatjoy laughed.

“Solewind is a Heartforce Cultivator, remember?” Firesurge sent him a mental message of consolation. “As for Darknorth, he joined the Twelve Palaces just a short while ago but quickly rose to become the second-ranked expert in our trials. His rate of improvement is absolutely ridiculous. It’s not surprising that the two fo them were able to make it into the inner reaches.”

Skyfire nodded. Moments later, Prince Greatjoy nodded as well. Although he was an incredibly proud man, he had to admit that Ji Ning’s rate of improvement really was fast.

“If I fall one step behind, I’ll always be behind.” Firesurge frowned.

“Haha, let’s not get depressed.” Prince Greatjoy was in a fine mood. “In the end, lucky encounters and karmic blessings might be useful, but cultivation is ultimately up to yourself and your own efforts! They are in the inner reaches while we are in the outer reaches, but we won’t necessarily fall behind them!”

“Right. In fact, we might actually overtake them.” Firesurge nodded as well.

However, they all knew that they were just pumping themselves up and encouraging themselves. They all understood that the inner reaches had far more opportunities hidden within them than the outer reaches did, and both Solewind and Darknorth were just as talented as the three of them. There was no way they wouldn’t improve even further!

……

Prince Greatjoy’s retainer, ‘World Goddess Skywolf’, also gave the primessence chains a try. In the end, she was forced to come to a halt at around five hundred kilometers.

Flamefairy Su Youji actually managed to make it close to the six hundred kilometer mark. Clearly, she was quite skilled at defending against illusions, as that was her own path as well. Alas, in the end she simply hadn’t reached a high enough level of skill in this Dao.

Solewind’s retainer, Chaos Immortal Swallowback, actually managed to make it all the way to the nine hundred and ten kilometer mark! This badly shocked Ning and all the other spectators. Who would’ve thought that he would be able to make it this far?! This was almost as far as Prince Greatjoy himself had made it, and was a far stronger performance than Waterlord Firesurge’s!

Of course, in an actual battle he was far from being a match for Prince Greatjoy, Firesurge, or Skyfire. In the field of resisting illusions, however, he was clearly a very strong contender.

“Solewind and Darknorth, the two of you can stay in the inner reaches. We’ll wander the outer reaches. Don’t end up weaker than us by the next time we meet!” Prince Greatjoy laughed from afar, his voice rippling through space and making it to the other side of the chains.

“We’ll part ways here. The two of you better not disappoint me!” A stubborn, intense light gleamed in Firesurge’s eyes.

As for Su Youji, she stared at Ji Ning from afar.

Chaos Immortal Swallowback did the same towards his own master, Heartlord Solewind.

The two parties separated, heading off in different directions.

Prince Greatjoy and the others depart, beginning their journey through the various mysterious regions of the outer reaches. There, they would search for their own karmic blessings and opportunities. As for Ning and Solewind, they began their true journey into the Prime Reaches.

“Incredible.”

“Crazy strong.”

“Where the hell did these World-level cultivators come from?” The twelve spectators and Daolord Owlbath were all utterly amazed. They had been wandering the outer reaches for many years now, and dreamed of being able to make it past the primessence chains. They knew exactly how hard it was for one to be able to actually overcome the chains… but just now, two of the eight World-level cultivators in that group, the ones named ‘Solewind’ and ‘Darknorth’, had actually succeeded. Two others had made it past the nine hundred kilometer mark!

“Absolutely amazing.”

“Given how extraordinarily strong their hearts and souls are, they must be under the tutelage of a truly extraordinary power.”

“No ordinary school could possibly hand over eight Archaeus medallions at once.” They couldn’t help but continue to chatter in amazement, having firmly engraved the names and faces of Ning and the others in their minds.

……

Ning and Solewind gave the primessence chains a final glance. Prince Greatjoy and the others had already flown away.

“Let’s go,” Solewind said.” “Once we leave the Prime Reaches, we’ll meet with them again.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. He had left a message-talisman with Su Youji. Once they left the inner reaches, he would be able to locate her with ease, thanks to his connection to that talisman. Most likely, Solewind had left behind something similar with his own retainer, Chaos Immortal Swallowback.

The world of the inner reaches was aw orld that was roughly a billion kilometers in size. This wasn’t exactly small, but for cultivators of their power it wasn’t exactly large either.

This place was filled with an aura of utterly immense power. All flight was impossible here, and it was impossible for one to scan the area using godsense or chaosense, much less engage in spatial teleportation! The only option was to rely on one’s two feet. Thankfully, the two fo them were able to walk quite quickly, moving far faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos.

“This place is an ancient battlefield.” As Ning and Solewind advanced through this world, they moved towards the peak of a mountain, then came to a halt and surveyed the entirety of the inner reaches.

As far as the eye could see, the earth was littered with trenches, gouges, canyons, crater, and rubble. This was a ruined, destroyed world. Look at that terrifying gorge over there, filled with an utterly terrifying sword-intent that was so strong that Ning could hardly breathe. The strength and intensity of that sword-intent was so great that it was definitely the most powerful sword-intent Ning had ever encountered.

Even the most powerful sword-strike of Emperor Mirrorsnow was significantly weaker compared to the sword-intent radiating from that great gorge.

Awe-inspiring sword-intent.

Bounding saber-intent.

Billowing plumes of watery light.

Chaotic fields of spacetime.

The entire world of the inner reaches was filled with the scars of battle. If you could recognize a a leopard’s spots, you’d know you were looking at a leopard. Just by looking at the remaining scars, Ning was able to imagine how incredibly powerful the major powers who left the scars behind were.

“So many corpses… and almost all of them are 540,000 meters tall,” Solewind said in amazement.

“From our position atop this mountain, I can see at least twenty-six corpses.” Ning stared from afar as well. Due to the nearby mountains blocking off his vision as well as the tremendous power throbbing within this world, Ning wasn’t able to bend light and see far beyond the surrounding mountains. In a ‘normal’ place, he would be able to see everything for countless kilometers around him, even if he was inside a completely sealed-off edifice.

Alas… this place was different.

“They look like cultivators, but all of their corpses are 540,000 meters tall. Some of them are even larger! Those are probably the special lifeforms,” Ning said.

“All of them should be at the Eternal Emperor level,” Solewind evaluated.

A divinity’s height was one way to measure their power.

Ning and the others had reached the limits of power possible for World Gods, with a total of 36,000 godgems in their bodies. As for the Dao-tree within their Jindan chaos regions, the trees were 108,000 meters tall. Their true personal height was also roughly 108,000 meters tall! Many of the great powers were born as ordinary mortals who were merely a few meters tall, and thus they were accustomed to using those heights in their ‘normal’ form. As a result, in both the Endless Territories as well as this alternate universe, most people stayed at a ‘normal’ height of just a few meters.

Even the princes of the Brightshore Kingdom whose true bodies were the size of chaos stars would generally stay in a form where they were roughly on par with Ji Ning in size.

The absolute hard limit for World-level cultivators was 108,000 meters.

The absolute limit for Daolords was 540,000 meters.

Reaching this height meant that you had reached the Verge of the Daomerge. One you succeeded in your Daomerge, your divine body would remain 540,000 meters tall and be comprised of 540,000 godgems. The difference was… upon succeeding in the Daomerge, the ‘Dao’ within those godgems would gain true eternity, making your divine body both perfect and eternal as well.

……

Ning and Solewind continued to advance through the Prime Eaches, carefully analyzing everything.

The two of them quickly discovered two Daolords and three World-level cultivators in the inner reaches! The world was just a billion kilometers in size, after all. They were able to quickly scan through the entire place, and they discovered a total of thirty-five corpses of incredible antiquity. Each corpse emanated an aura of tremendous power that carried a scent of eternity.

“Thirty-five Eternal Emperors died here?” Solewind and Ning both felt breathless.

It must be understood that even the Brightshore Kingdom only had a few Eternal Emperors, and the number of Eternal Emperors belonging to the Aeonian Kingdom could be counted on one hand. In general, Eternal Emperors were incredibly rare.

Thirty-five Eternal Emperors… this was an incredible, terrifying figure. And yet, such a powerful force of cultivators had silently died in this place, leaving behind few traces of their passing.

“Eternal Emperors are truly eternal existences. If they die, they die because others killed them. But in normal battles, a fatal end should result in their divine bodies being destroyed. Their bodies are in perfect shape, and all of them seem quite peaceful. Some were standing, some were sitting… it seems as though they welcomed death peacefully.” Solewind had a solemn look on his face as he sent, “I can’t even imagine what level of power is needed to cause thirty-five Eternal Emperors to silently, peacefully pass away into death.”

Ning nodded. This truly was a terrifying thought.

“This place gave birth to the entire universe, after all,” Ning sent mentally. “There will always be secrets which we will never know the answers to. We are still too weak and know too little.”

“Mm.” Solewind nodded.

“We’ve gone through this entire world. It really is filled with many opportunities, but all of them were left behind by these thirty-five ancient powers. We haven’t found the prime essences of this universe at all,” Ning sent.

“We are too weak. We probably aren’t able to find or locate them,” Solewind sent. “Let us do the same as those two Daolords and World-level cultivators are doing. Let us search for the legacies left behind by those thirty-five major powers.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

The thirty-five ancient corpses had prepared for and welcomed death in a very calm manner, and they had left behind all of their treasures.

Those who were bound to them by destiny would gain access to those treasures.

Every single one of the deceased major powers was terrifyingly strong. Three of them were particularly terrifying, and the aura emanating from their corpses was so strong that Ning felt certain that they were comparable to that of the almighty Hegemon, who Ning had met in person.

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Chapter 25 – Three Great Leaders

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 25 – Three Great Leaders

Both Ji Ning and Solewind kept a cautious watch as they advanced through the world of the inner reaches.

“Brother Darknorth, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Heartlord Solewind suddenly stared at one of the corpses in front of them, a corpse that was seated in the lotus position and emanating an aura of faint golden light. The awesome aura emanating from that corpse was boundlessly majestic, and it would forever be an aura of true eternity. A total of sixteen treasures had been placed before that corpse, and each of the sixteen radiated extraordinary power.

“Are you talking about how the corpses are divided up into three groups?” Ning asked.

“Right.” Heartlord Solewind nodded. “The thirty-five corpses here seem to be divided up into three groups, each of which had a leader. This corpse before us, the one radiating golden light… it is one of the leaders. I have the feeling that he was a Heartforce Cultivator who gained eternity through that path.”

Ning revealed a shocked look. “A Heartforce Cultivator? Are you sure about this?”

“I’m absolutely sure.” Solewind’s eyes were flickering with excitement as he stared at the glowing golden corpse.

Ning couldn’t help but feel truly stunned, because Heartforce Cultivators truly were incredibly rare. The entire Heartforce Palace only had a few Daolords. For a Heartforce Cultivator to become an Eternal Emperor… Ning had never even heard of such a figure. And yet, seated right before him was the corpse of an Eternal Emperor who was aHeartforce Cultivator.

Rumble…

Ning and Solewind couldn’t help but walk towards that seated corpse. Suddenly, a series of invisible ripples swept outwards and brushed past the two of them.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly sensed a powerful force push back at him, making it impossible for him to move forward by a single step.

“It seems as though there are no ties of destiny between this ancient power and myself.” Ning smiled.

Solewind, however, suffered no impediments at all. He glanced at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, although there are thirty-five other corpses here, I’ve already decided that I’m going to choose this one and give it a try.”

“If you’ve made up your mind… all I can say is, be careful.” Ning nodded.

All thirty-five of these ancient powers had peacefully welcomed death, leaving behind all of their treasures and legacies.

If you wanted to acquire them, you would have to overcome the trials and challenges they had laid out! These trials were extremely dangerous, and some were even lethal. Daolord Owlbath had long ago warned them that many entered the inner reaches and then died there, never to return.

“He is one of the three leaders within the inner reaches, and the only Eternal Emperor who was also a Heartforce Cultivator.” Heartlord Solewind stared at the towering, seated figure with a blazing look in his eyes. “No one in the Heartforce Palace has ever been able to become an Eternal Emperor through heartforce. Now that I’ve finally found someone who was able to do this… I’ll risk everything I have. If I can learn some of the techniques this ancient power used, I might have a shot at gaining eternity in the future as well.”

Ning nodded.

Heartforce Cultivators had the most difficult path of all! The Sword Palace, Spacetime Palace, and other palaces all had cultivators who were able to become Eternal Emperors. The Heartforce Palace was the only palace which had never produced a single one. In fact, the entire concept was unheard of.

And yet… here in the inner reaches of the Genesis Lands of this alternate universe, they had discovered the corpse of a deceased Heartforce Cultivator who had reached that level.

“I’m heading over there.” Solewind looked at Ning. “Be careful.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

Heartlord Solewind began to move forwards once more. Whoosh! A rippling wave of spacetime swept past Solewind, causing him to completely disappear.

Ning stood there for a brief moment. Sensing that the powerful barrier in front of him was not going to disappear, he chose to turn and leave. He was still very weak in terms of heartforce; clearly, he didn’t meet the minimum threshold this deceased figure had left behind for those who wished to acquire his treasures.

……

Ning advanced by himself through the inner reaches. The more he inspected those thirty-five corpses, the more he got the feeling that they did indeed belong to three different factions.

As for the three most powerful corpses, they had auras of incredible might that were absolutely on par with the almighty Hegemon’s.

“The second leader.” Ning stared at an enormous four-legged beast that had a pair of curved horns on its head. Its aura was filled with the intent of endless annihilation, and just looking at the beast made Ning’s heart clench. Even in death, its eyes seemed cold, lofty, and proud. This was a creature who was unwilling to bow its head to anyone. Behind it were five Eternal Emperors that looked like its retainers.

“The third leader.” After walking forwards for a long period of time, Ning raised his head and stared at the third leader. What he saw caused his eyes to light up. This third leader was a sword-wielder!

He saw a towering man standing there, both hands clenched around an enormous greatsword that was a deep blue color. The hilt of the sword was pressed against his chest while the tip leaned against ground. The man himself stood there like the pillar which could hold up an entire world! He had a distant gaze in his dead, peaceful eyes. Anyone who looked at him would get the feeling that he would probably be able to survive even the annihilation of the universe itself.

And yet… this grandmaster of the Dao of the Sword, a man who emanated an incredibly dense and heavy aura of sword-intent… had died here as well.

Behind him stood two other men. One was a white-robed man with a smile on his face who carried three swords on his back; a violet sword, a golden sword, and a white sword. He stood there, emanating an aura of ephemeral grace, and his invisible aura of sword-intent seemed similarly ephemeral.

The other man was dressed in azure armor and had a mask on his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that were filled with hatred. Behind him there were nine enormous blood-colored swords that had been plunged into the earth, and every single sword carried an incredibly powerful aura of murder.

“The greatsword-wielding leader was able to convince two other Eternal Emperors of the Dao of the Sword to stand behind him as they died. The three of them had to be incredibly close friends or family,” Ning mused.

An absolutely overwhelming amount of power could be used to cause other major powers to serve you, much as how the Eternal Emperors of the Brightshore kingdom all served the almighty Hegemon. But when everyone knew that death was certain… continued servitude was no longer contingent on mere power alone.

If you knew you were going to die but still chose to stand behind someone, it most likely meant that you felt tremendous amounts of affection for that person.

“Eh?” Ning’s gaze suddenly shifted to a nearby mountain range, located quite close to the three towering masters of the Dao of the Sword. The entire side of the mountain range had been completely carved flat, and the surface was filled with multiple paintings of that greatsword-wielding man. There were paintings of him in battle, paintings of him smiling, and even paintings of him drinking wine in a leisurely manner.

There were a total of nineteen of these paintings, and Ning could sense the deep emotions that had been infused into every stroke. There was an intense sense of longing and wistfulness in those paintings which hadn’t lessened at all despite the passage of countless years. Clearly, the artist truly missed the greatsword-wielding expert very much.

“Who painted this?” Ning mused. “It seems as though the artist had an extremely close relationship to the deceased.”

“Later, I’ll definitely have to go take a closer look at him.” Ning glanced at the greatsword-wielding expert.

It must be understood that the greatsword-wielding expert was one of the three dead leaders. When Ning looked at him, Ning could sense an aura that was not one whit inferior to that of the almighty Hegemon’s! The two other Eternal Emperors stood directly behind the greatsword-wielder, and the trials the three had left behind were actually linked as well. If Ning moved just a little bit closer, he would be drawn into a danger-filled trial grounds.

Ning had tested things out already. When he moved closer to the corpses, he hadn’t been pushed back by any invisible surges of power… but he knew that if moved any further in that direction, he would immediately be drawn into a world of trials.

“They really did leave behind quite a few treasures.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

For one, the greatsword which the leader was leaning on emanated an aura of incredible density and ponderance. Ning felt certain that this sword had to be a Universe treasure! The weapons which the two experts behind him were wielding were comparatively weaker, but they also had other treasures which had been placed next to their corpses.

As for the leader himself, there was a total of twelve treasures which had been placed in front of him.

……

Thirty-five corpses, three of which belonged to experts of the Dao of the Sword.

Still, Ning was in no rush. He continued his explorations, moving to investigate the other corpses. He even spent a bit of time inspecting the scars of battle, because he was already gaining some insights from what he had seen thus far.

Whooooosh.

The canyon wind howled through the mountains, carrying with it a mysterious, ancient aura.

“The wind.” Ning stood there in the center of the canyon, eyes shut as he focused on everything around him.

……

The world here was distorted and shattered, and spacetime itself was in disarray. Ning had entered this world, which was nothing more than something created accidentally due to the battles between those major powers. It wasn’t an actual trial-world, and so it wasn’t that dangerous.

Ning strode through the distorted fields of spacetime, avoiding the most dangerous places as he continuously meditated on everything he saw.

“Is this the nature of spacetime?” Ning murmured softly.

……

Fire blazed throughout this area. There was the corpse of a major power seated in the lotus position, and everything around him for a million kilometers was bathed in endless flames.

This major power had died long ago, but his Dao was eternal. As a result, it continuously attracted and drew in flames from the surrounding world, causing the conflagration to burn perpetually.

Ning stepped into the flames.

The closer he moved towards that major power, the hotter the flames burned. As Ning walked through the flames, he could sense a hint of an eternal Dao of fire which whispered through the tendrils of fire. Ning was able to learn much as he carefully attuned himself to each flickering flame.

“Fire…” Ning murmured to himself.

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Chapter 26 – Shadowless Sword-Intent

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 26 – Shadowless Sword-Intent

Time flowed on.

Ji Ning continued his journey through the world of the Prime Reaches, going through the various battlefields and scars that had been left upon the land.

While doing so, Ning came to realize that there were actually thirty-nine different types of scars! It must be understood that even Eternal Emperors who had gained eternity through the Dao of the Sword would all have followed different paths and interpreted their Daos in unique, special ways. Thus, there were differences in the ‘Dao vestiges’ they left behind through their attacks, making it fairly simple to differentiate the scars and markings into multiple ‘types’.

“Thirty-nine? There are thirty-five deceased major powers, and they match up to thirty-five of the Dao vestiges left behind. But there are four types of scars which don’t match up to anyone.” Ning was rather amazed by this, as he had discovered something else as well. “The Daos of those three leaders are all awesome and overwhelming, filled with inconceivable force. But one of the four types of Dao vestiges can be found everywhere, even though it seems plain and unremarkable. I spent more than three hundred years inspecting this place before I realized how terrifying it is.”

Most likely, that particular Dao vestige belonged to the Dao of Primordial Chaos. It seemed very ordinary, but when you truly delved deep into it you would realize that it had surpassed the level which those three leaders were at.

“In the battle that was fought, there was someone who was even more powerful than those three leaders.” Ning was truly stunned. He could sense that those three leaders should have been on par with the almighty Hegemon himself; even if they were weaker, they wouldn’t have been weaker by much. But this fourth figure… Ning had the feeling that he had actually surpassed the almighty Hegemon.

“There’s always a mountain taller than the ‘tallest’ you’ve seen.”

Ning shook his head. “But what in the world happened here, within the Genesis Lands of this universe?” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Moments later, his eyes lit up. “Still… as far as I’m concerned, this is an enormous present for me!”

……

Ning had spent quite a bit of his time and energy on attuning to the various different Dao vestiges that had been left behind, especially the strongest vestige of a Dao of Primordial Chaos. Every so often, he would nap at the top of a mountain. At other times, he would sit down in the lotus position next to a river, listening to its waters gurgle. He would walk through an icy land of snow, then occasionally drift within the waters of a lake… and just like that, 6913 years went past.

“There’s a certain type of a sword in this world. It is unfathomable and inscrutable, traceless and untrackable. The moment it appears is the moment when the enemy shall perish.”

Ning revealed a smile as he drew out Violetjewel, then struck out with it.

Whoosh.

Both Ning and his sword both completely vanished, becoming truly traceless and untrackable.

It wasn’t a spatial teleportation. It wasn’t a secret art of some sort. Just like that… Ning vanished.

Pop! Three thousand meters away, Ning suddenly reappeared as his sword chopped downwards towards a mental target.

“What type of a sword can truly be described as traceless and untrackable? An invisible sword, a sword you cannot see or sense at all. This type of sword is the most difficult sword to defend against.” A smile was on Ning’s face as he turned his gaze towards the corpses of the ancient powers that were off in the distance, then bowed deeply in gratitude and respect. “Thank you, seniors. I have finally developed the sword-intent of my ‘Shadowless’ stance.”

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Shadowless stance.

In the past, when Ning used this stance, he would use various omnipresent Daos to greatly enhance the speed of his strikes. For example, if he was in a windy area he would borrow the power of the wind itself, while if he was in a sunny area he would borrow the power of light. He could even borrow the power of the spatial ripples which filled almost every place.

Because this was a technique which borrowed the power of various different Daos, Ning’s Shadowless stance was truly ghostly and inscrutable, allowing it to fluctuate and speed up in odd ways, giving it tremendous power.

However… his stance had never been able to improve to reach the same level which his Yin-Yang sword-intent and his Blood Drop sword-intent were at.

Only after coming to the inner reaches and seeing all the Dao vestiges left behind by many Eternal Emperors, especially the vestiges related to the deceptively simple and yet overwhelmingly powerful Dao of Primordial Chaos, had Ning suddenly realized the truth.

“What does ‘Shadowless’ even mean? It isn’t about borrowing from the power of all things around it; it means to truly become one with all things.

“There’s no way a sword can truly ‘vanish’, but when it becomes one with all things around it will become completely indetectable to any enemies.

“When the weather is windy, it can transform into a gust of wind.

“When it is bright, it can transform into a streak of light.

“When it is in space, it can transform into a spatial ripple.

“Every single part of a universe, no matter where, is subject to the influence and power of the prime essences of that universe. If my sword can completely merge into those things, it’ll naturally become truly shadowless and invisible.” Ning finally realized what his true goal for his ‘Shadowless’ stance should be.

And so, after having spent 6913 years in the inner reaches meditating on the various different Dao vestiges, he was finally able to develop a completely new Shadowless stance.

……

Ning’s body was as tough as a magic treasure. Just like his sword, it could also merge into all things. After both he and his sword did so, his attacks became even faster and even more ghostly than before.

“At present, I can just barely merge my sword into its surroundings. Although it cannot be seen, it can still be detected through godsense,” Ning mused to himself. “As my skill in this stance improves, I’ll be able to truly make it one with all things, making it so that not even godsense will be able to detect it. Only then will this stance be truly deadly.”

The Dao was present in all places. One day, his Shadowless stance would also be in all places.

A sword which not even godsense could detect, a sword which you would only see when it suddenly plunged into your skull… how terrifying such a sword would be! But of course, actually reaching this level would be very difficult.

“If I can train this technique to the apex, it will become truly shadowless and formless, capable of appearing anywhere. Alas… I’m still far, far away from that stage.” Ning knew how far he still had to go. In fact, he had actually witnessed someone else who had succeeded in this goal – the major power who wielded the Dao of Primordial Chaos. The primordial chaos encompassed all Daos. The reason why it had taken Ning so long to discover that this major power was even stronger than those three leaders was precisely because this power’s Dao of Primordial Dao was nigh-invisible, having seamlessly integrated all the other Dao vestiges into it.

Only after carefully inspecting the inner reaches for many years did he come to this shocking realization!

As for that major power… he had infused all things into his Dao, making it almost indetectable by even godsense or heartforce. One could only discover it through other means.

Of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, Ning now had three complete sword-intents; the Blood Drop sword-intent, the Yin-Yang sword-intent, and the new Shadowless sword-intent.

Although the Shadowless sword-intent had a weakness in that it could be detectable through godsense, strictly speaking this wasn’t really a weakness. How many Daolords could make themselves undetectable to godsense, after all? Because the Shadowless sword-intent could be merged into all things and all Daos, it was now even faster and even more inscrutable than before. This made it far more powerful, and it had been fundamentally transformed, allowing it to skyrocket to the same level as that of the Blood Drop sword-intent.

“Whew.” As Ning walked through the world of the inner reaches, he’d occasionally disappear without a single sound, then reappear a few hundred thousand kilometers away.

This was how he ‘walked’. He had incorporated his training in the Shadowless stance into his way of walking.

“If I didn’t have the chance to meditate on the Dao vestiges left behind by so many Eternal Emperors, it would’ve taken me at least a hundred million years to master this stance,” Ning mused. The other four of the five stances of [Brightmoon] required meditation and sudden epiphanies, while the Shadowless stance required Ning to broaden his horizons and gain many new experiences. Thanks to the many Dao vestiges left behind by the Eternal Emperors in this world, Ning managed to comprehend his enhanced stance far more quickly than before.

Every single Dao which Ning possessed would become a Supreme Dao. For instance, his attacking Daos included the Blood Drop sword-intent and the Shadowless sword-intent.

The Blood Drop sword-intent, at its peak, would allow Ning to annihilate all obstacles in his path. Space… time… nothing would be able to par his sword, which would reach incalculable levels of power.

The Shadowless sword-intent, at its peak, would make it so that the enemy would be completely incapable of locating Ning before dying.

……

“I’ve now developed three of the five true stances of [Brightmoon]. The Soleheart stance and the Heavenbreaker stance are left,” Ning mused. The Soleheart stance would be a defensive Dao, whereas the Heavenbreaker stance would be another offensive Dao. Each of the stances would be fundamentally different from the three which had come before.

“Here I am.” Ning continuously disappearing and reappeared as he advanced at high speeds. He was now moving even faster than his previous maximum speed.

This movement skill of his could be described as the ‘Shadowless’ evasion skill. Most likely, the large majority of Daolords would be unable to catch up to Ning in pure speed. This was why Supreme Daos were so terrifying! Each and every Supreme Dao was utterly unearthly in power. Even if you only came up with one of them, you would definitely become a truly terrifying Daolord in the future.

“The leaders?” Ning stood there, head upraised as he stared at the three sword-wielding figures off in the distance.

In front was the muscular man who was gripping that enormous deep blue greatsword. Behind him was the white-robed man who was carrying a violet sword, a golden sword, and a white sword on his back, and to the side of the white-robed man was the terrifying man who had plunged nine blood-colored swords into the ground before him.

These were the only three experts of the Dao of the Sword who were within the Inner Reaches.

“Three seniors.” Ning bowed respectfully. He felt tremendous veneration towards these experts who had reached such heights in the Dao of the Sword.

Ning began to move forwards. Soon, he could sense a series of invisible ripples spread over his body. If he advanced any further, he would be swept away and taken to the trial grounds. Many dazzling geniuses and Daolords had perished within these trials.

“My opportunity is right before me. How can I possibly shrink back from it?” Ning didn’t hesitate at all as he took one more step forwards.

Whoooosh.

He was completely enveloped by those invisible ripples. This time, Ning didn’t use his Shadowless evasion-art. Instead, he truly disappeared into thin air, having been teleported into the trial-world which had been left behind by these three powers.

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Chapter 27 – The Abyss of Fiends

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 27 – The Abyss of Fiends

At the same time as Ji Ning was entering the trial-world left behind by the three grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword, something else was happening in the outer reaches of the Genesis Lands.

This was region of complete darkness. Only a single source of light could be seen – a solitary figure who stood there, emanating an aura of golden light. This was Prince Greatjoy.

A series of ripples emanated outwards from him, causing spacetime to continuously fluctuate. Even though he had yet to strike, it was evident that the aura of power surrounding him was significantly greater than it had been in the past. He had reached a brand new level.

“True freedom and free will. From this day forth… I, Greatjoy, have truly reached the peak. I am no longer any weaker than Bertulu or Eastcult.” Prince Greatjoy revealed a smile.

When he had journeyed with the others to the primessence chains, Ji Ning and Solewind had managed to pass while he had failed.

Prince Greatjoy was an incredibly proud figure. He accepted his loss with seemingly good grace, but in reality a seed of resentment had been buried deep within his heart that day. Now, he had finally managed to perfectly merge his offensive Dao and his defensive Dao together, resulting in him growing more powerful yet again.

Prior to this, only two members of the World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom had been able to reach this level – Bertulu and Eastcult. Now, Greatjoy had joined their ranks!

“The level I have reached is the true apex of power for any World-level cultivator.” Prince Greatjoy nodded slowly. “Now, it no longer matters what mysteries or marvels the Prime Reaches contain. There is nothing that can result in me improving much more. However, I still want to pay a visit to that place. Perhaps I might acquire a few special treasures that will be of use to me once I become a Daolord in the future.”

If he was back home in the Brightshore Kingdom, he probably would’ve made some simple preparations then immediately broke through to become a Daolord. However, if he did so here in the alternate universe, he would never be able to go back home again.

……

Prince Greatjoy had two Supreme Daos. He had now merged them together in a perfect fashion, resulting in him reaching the apex of power.

Heartlord Solewind continued to experience many life-and-death trials within the trial-world left behind by the Heartforce Cultivator leader.

As for Ji Ning? He had just entered the trial-world of those three grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword.

Ning could sense an invisible surge of power spread out and cover him, instantly warping him away.

“Eh?” When he could once again make out his surroundings, he was rather startled.

The area around him was filled with living creatures, as far as the eye could see. He could even make out a giant citadel off in the distance, a citadel that emanated an aura of utterly breathtaking power. Although it didn’t affect Ning too much, normal World-level cultivators wouldn’t be able to resist the aura at all.

“What’s this?” Ning’s gaze suddenly fell upon a seemingly-ordinary rock nearby.

This rock was a very ordinary one… but all of a sudden, a series of golden characters began to fly out from within it, as well as a map.

“The Abyss of Fiends has a thirty-six layered world. It was created as a trial ground by three grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword. The twelfth layer, the twenty-fourth layer, and the thirty-sixth layer all have exit tunnels. These are the only ways out, the only ways by which you can leave and return to the Genesis Lands.

“Remember this. Only the strong will win what they desire.”

The golden words and the map levitated there in the air for a moment, then quickly disappeared.

Ning turned his gaze while sweeping out with his godsense to scan the area for a billion kilometers around him. The only building in this area was that towering citadel, and the citadel was filled with ten million cultivators, with the three strongest being a trio of World-level cultivators. Those three World-level cultivators were bold, heroic figures, but when they sensed Ning’s godsense lock onto them they were horribly frightened.

What powerful godsense!

It must be understood that many years ago, when Ning had visited the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect, he had been able to use his godsense to simultaneously crush the godsenses of more than three hundred other World-level cultivators.

“The three grandmasters died countless years ago, but there are still so many living creatures here within the world they left behind to test their would-be heirs,” Ning mused. The reason why he had scanned the area was because he could tell that the restrictive spells covering the citadel didn’t seem to be all that powerful.

Whoosh. Ning took a step forward, then completely disappeared.

……

“Who did that godsense belong to?! It was ridiculously strong. This world is a trillion kilometers in size, but there aren’t many with godsense on that level.” A golden-robed elder was seated in the lotus position, a frown on his face.

Whoosh.

A white-robed youth suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the seat located next to him. The youth sat there calmly as he stared at the golden-robed expert.

“You…” The golden-robed elder was horrified as he stared at the white-robed youth. “Y-you…”

He was a World-level cultivator! He was someone who stood at the very peak of power within this world. And yet, this youth was powerful enough to appear next to him without him even noticing?

“I have a few questions,” Ning said..

“Please ask them, senior.” The golden-robed elder’s heart was quivering in fear.

“I hope you will not try to lie to me. If you lie… you should be able to guess what will happen,” Ning said.

The golden-robed elder hurriedly smiled. “Senior, if you wished to kil me you could probably do so with a flick of your fingers. This junior would never dare to deceive you or hide anything from you.”

Ning nodded. “I ask you this – have you heard of the Abyss of Fiends?”

“The Abyss of Fiends? I have, of course I have.” The golden-robed elder gave Ning a curious look. Logically speaking, every top-level expert in this world should know about the Abyss of Fiends.

Ning’s gaze hardened.

The golden-robed elder said hurriedly, “This world of ours is a trillion kilometers in size, and powerful experts are as common as the clouds. Many experts have been born over the course of countless years, but the most powerful figures have always been the terrifying devils of the Abyss of Fiends. According to the stories, there are a total of thirty-six levels to the Abyss of Fiends. Countless devils live in that place, and some of them are so incredibly strong that they are honored with the tile of ‘fiendlord’.”

“Every single chaos cycle, a large number of devils will charge forth from the Abyss of Fiends under the guidance of a fiendlord and sweep through this world. When this happens, all of the experts within this world must join together if they wish to withstand the assault. But of course, sometimes we will fail. In any case, the devils will have to retreat back into the Abyss of Fiends after a brief period of time.”

Ning frowned. “fiendlord?”

Know thy enemy and know thyself; only then would you be the victor in every battle. The reason why Ning had come to interrogate this local expert was because he wanted to learn more regarding this Abyss of Fiends. This was at trial-world established by three Eternal Emperors, after all, and one of them was on the same level of power as the almighty Hegemon himself. There was no such thing as being too cautious.

“According to the legends, the first twelve layers of the Abyss only hold a single fiendlord. Starting from the thirteenth level, each level shall have many fiendlords within them. The fiendlords are extremely powerful, and it is easy for them to kill us.” The golden-robed elder sighed. “As for what the final twelve levels hold… that is a mystery to us all.”

Ning nodded slowly, as if enlightened.

……

This world was merely a trillion kilometers in size. After some detailed questioning, Ning came to understand that the strongest experts here were merely are the World level. Those who reached the Daolord level would all vanish without a trace.

“The Abyss of Fiends?” Ning stood at the peak of a mountain, staring off into the distance towards the great black abyss, a circular hole in the earth that was a million kilometers in circumference. The abyss was so deep that there was no way one could see to its bottom. The only thing one could sense was that terrifyingly baleful aura emanating from it.

“So this is the trial which the grandmasters left behind?” Ning revealed a hint of a smile. These so-called ‘trials’ were actually processes of elimination. Major powers were all incredibly proud figures, and thus ordinary cultivators were not qualified to even attempt to peek at their treasures. It must be understood that any of the treasures left behind by Hegemon-level figures would assuredly be valuable beyond price.

“I wonder if I, Ji Ning, will be found worth by the three grandmasters.” Ning transformed into as treak of sword-light, then flew out while using a hint of the Blood Drop sword-intent. The streak of sword-light instantly charged into the Abyss of Fiends.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A black mist wafted outwards from this place, carrying strange spatial ripples with it.

“Eh?” Ning soon arrived at the first level of the Abyss of Fiends. This first level was a world of volcanos, lava, and endless amounts of blazing light.

Ning swept out with his godsense but wasn’t too worried. The first twelve levels only held a single fiendlord, after all. Even the local World-level cultivators would often come adventuring through the first level.

“This leve is roughly ten billion kilometers in size and constitutes a world unto itself. It has more than three hundred devils, each of which has the aura of an ordinary World-level cultivator.” Ning’s hands tightened around his sword, Violetjewel.

“Someone has come from the World Above!”

“He actually dares to intrude into our world, the Abyss of Fiends?!”

“Kill him!”

When Ning stretched out with his godsense it instantly attracted the attention of some of the nearby devils, causing them to charge towards Ning. These fiends all belonged to the same race, a race with grayish-black skin, veiny wings, and a pair of sharp claws that glimmered with metallic light. These devils were able to easily surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos when flying, and the invisible aura of power surrounding them was quite great.

Ning swept the area with his gaze… and his gaze transformed into swords!

A series of sword-intents burst forth, transforming into an enormous Yin-Yang Sword Domain that was like a terrifying grindstone that easily ground away all of the attacking devils. The attacking devils were utterly terrified – this foe was actually able to kill them with just his sword-intent alone?!

Ning, however, was quite calm. These little devils weren’t even worthy of him using his Dao lightning or Dao water. Using his intent alone to form the Yin-Yang Sword Domain resulted in a domain which had perhaps only 10%-20% of his full power, but it was enough to effortlessly wipe through these opponents.

Rumble…

The terrifying sword-intent washed out wantonly, easily annihilating all invading devils.

Ning continued to fly downwards, passing through the ground and another layer of black mist before arriving at the second level of the Abyss of Fiends.

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Chapter 28 – Death Approaches

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 28 – Death Approaches

Ji Ning charged through one level after another, easily battling his way all the way down to the twelfth level. Thus far, he hadn’t even needed to draw his sword; his Yin-Yang Sword Domain was enough to sweep through all obstacles.

“Level twelve.”

Ning stood atop a hill and was staring off into the distance.

The twelfth level of the Abyss of Fiends was a world of dark-red earth and dark-red mountains. Even the rivers were dark-red in color. The only thing that was different was a pitch-black whirlpool that could be seen off in the distance. The whirlpool was enormous in size and emanated powerful spatial ripples.

“Is that a teleportation tunnel?” Ning recognized it right away. This was a spatial corridor that would allow the user to safely pass through it and leave this place. However… was he supposed to leave before he even encountered any fortunes or opportunities? Ning certainly wasn’t willing to resign himself to such a thing!

Ning knew very well that someone making it to the twelfth level meant nothing to those three grandmasters of the sword. Forget about Ji Ning; even some of the local World-level cultivators were able to make it to this level! As Ning had travelled downwards, he had discovered quite a few magic treasures left behind by the locals who had challenged this place.

“This is the twelfth level. There should be a fiendlord here. Supposedly, large groups of fiendlords roam the deeper depths of the Abyss of Fiends, and every chaos cycle there will be a fiendlord who will lead the devils out of the Abyss to assault the world outside. However… since they are often defeated, I imagine that the so-called fiendlords aren’t that powerful either.” Ning revealed a smile. He really didn’t hold these fiendlords in any regard. He spread out his godsense once more, using it to instantly encompass the entire twelfth level.

Once his godsense spread out, it immediately startled awake the devils on this level as well as an extremely powerful devil… the so-called fiendlord.

A short period of time passed, enough for a kettle of tea to be boiled.

Boom! Ning’s sword stabbed through the dark-red skin of a gigantic devil. Previously, the devils all had grayish-black skins. This particular devil was much larger and had dark-red skin; it was a fiendlord!

“Graa… graa…” The fiendlord’s throat had been pierced through, but it continued to make those strange yelping sounds as it swiped its sharp claws towards Ning, seeking to dismember him.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The divine sword in Ning’s hands sliced out out in a series of bizarre arcs of sword-light, splitting the fiendlord with three strikes. However, the fiendlord’s body then quickly reformed and healed and it let out a furious roar as it once more charged towards Ning. Every single punch and kick it unleashed was filled with incredible power that caused its own body to tremble. Clearly, it didn’t have extremely fine, minute control over its power.

Ning, for example, was capable of easily crushing and annihilating the power contained within entire chaosworlds. He was completely surrounded by his sword-light, and none of the power was able to escape at all.

Slash! Sword-light flashed out, resulting in the fiendlord being bisected at the waist once more.

And so, just like that…

Ning first used his Yin-Yang Sword Domain, then his Blood Drop stance, then the Shadowless stance, then his other techniques to repeatedly dominate and clobber the fiendlord for nearly a full hour. Although this was a creature which was born for battle, it had been dominated so effortlessly and rurthlessly that after a full hour, it finally knew fear and chose to flee.

It wasn’t too hard to kill a fiendlord, but to frighten it so much that it would flee for its life? This wasn’t easy!

“Mm. This fiendlord’s body is fairly tough, probably comparable to that of a Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning nodded slightly. “However… it has an incredibly low level of insight into the Dao. Any random World-level cultivator would be far superior to him in this regard.”

After testing out the fiendlord several times, Ning realized that although a single fiendlord would pose no threat to other monstrously talented World-level cultivators like Prince Greatjoy, in sufficient numbers they would still be dangerous. This was because they had bodies comparable to Daolords of the Second Step, which meant their attack power was dangerously high. Their weakness lay in the fact that their attacks were a bit clumsy and easy to dodge, but with enough attacks they could bury you in a storm of strikes which would be very difficult to deal with.

Still, since Ning had his Yin-Yang Sword Domain as well as seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water, it would be much easier for him to deal with massed fiendlords.

“Time to go.” Bathed in sword-light, Ning began to fly downwards.

Boom!

He easily traversed the ground beneath him, passing through yet another world-membrane and reaching the thirteenth level of the Abyss of Fiends. This was a blood-red world which emanated an endless stench of blood and an alluring aura which sought to guide the hearts of any cultivators here in descending into madness.

Ning’s godsense quickly spread out to cover this world. This world only had eight living creatures, all of which were fiendlords.

“GWAAAR!”

“Kill!”

“Kill him!”

The eight fiendlords were all located in separate regions of this world, but they all now flew straight towards Ning. In his previous battle against a single fiendlord, Ning had thoroughly dominated it for nearly a full hour before it chose to flee. This was a testament to how ferocious and savage these creatures truly were.

“How weak.” Ning held them in no regard at all, easily defeating one of the nearest fiendlords as he flew down towards the fourteenth level.

……

He continued to fly down one level at a time. His Yin-Yang Sword Domain ensured that these fiendlords were unable to pose any threat to him whatsoever.

Soon, Ning reached the nineteenth level.

Ning had thought that he would go through this level quite easily as well, but when he noticed that this level had an Eternal weapon within it, he immediately knew that things wouldn’t be that easy.

“The first thirteen levels held quite a few treasures left behind by deceased cultivators, but those cultivators were probably all locals. At best, their weapons were mostly Dao weapons. From the fourteenth level to the eighteenth level, I saw no treasures at all.” Ning had a solemn look on his face. “But the nineteenth level actually has an Eternal weapon.”

There was no way these locals could possibly forge an Eternal weapon.

Ning scanned the level warily with his godsense. This level merely had nineteen of this fiendlords. It didn’t seem to be all that different from the seventeenth level.

WHOOOSH!

Suddenly, an aura of power burst forth from deep within the ground, so powerful as to cause even Ning to be slightly shaken.

He saw the ground split apart, far off in the distance, as a figure suddenly sprang out. This figure was dressed in azure armor and had a mask on, with only his cold eyes being visible behind them. On his back, he was carrying a total of nine blood-colored swords.

“You…” Ning’s face turned pale.

He had seen those three grandmasters of the sword in the outside world. The strongest had been comparable to the almighty Hegemon, the towering man who had been wielding that deep-blue greatsword. The other two had been his friends or retainers, and one of them looked exactly identical to the man who had just appeared, except the ‘original’ version had plunged those nine blood-colored swords into the ground.

“If you can slay me, you will win the nine treasures which Master left behind. Those nine swords accompanied Master for countless years and possess such extraordinary power that they are incredibly close to Universe treasures in power. Even if you do not wish to use them and choose to sell them off… every single sword will fetch you at least fifty million cubes of chaos nectar. If you sell them off as a set, they will be of incalculable value,” the azure-armored figure said coldly.

Those nine swords were indeed incredibly valuable… but Ning didn’t feel the slightest bit of avarice at all. The entire time, he stared unblinkingly at the azure-armored figure in an incredibly serious manner.

Although the figure spoke of his ‘Master’, the terrifying aura of the sword-intent residing within his body was absolutely identical to that of the deceased grandmaster outside! Their auras were auras of murder and slaughter, but exalted to a level that surpassed Ning’s current level by unfathomable amounts. In fact… Ning felt certain that this was what the sword-intent of a true Eternal Emperor would feel like!

“I’m just at the World level. To be able to beat the fiendlords is one thing, but this guy seems to have a terrifyingly high level of insight into the Dao.” Ning had already manifested his [Three Heads, Six Arms], and he gripped his six Eternal swords as he waited solemnly.

“Do not be afraid. These nine swords on my back are not the actual swords which Master used; they are nothing more than nine Dao weapons which Master casually forged before his death.” The azure-armored figure walked towards Ning, every step echoing with his killing intent. His every movement felt like the crash of armies and chariots, filled with murder and such despair that even Ning felt breathless.

Ning understood how deadly this would be. Anyone capable of passing the primessence chains and entering the Prime Reaches would be a genius amongst geniuses… but judging from the nineteen Eternal weapons and various storage treasures, more than one person had perished here! And no wonder… this opponent was absolutely terrifying.

“If you slay me, you’ll earn those nine swords which Master used,” the azure-armored figure urged.

Ning’s eyes grew colder and colder. When he had arrived in this world, he had seen that those nine blood-colored swords had been plunged deep into the ground. No one was able to take those swords away! In other words… there had never been any World-level cultivator capable of killing this azure-armored figure!

Rumble…

Ning’s eyes were like ice. Ignoring all else, he instantly unleashed his dazzling Dao lightning and Dao water, transforming them into enormous swords that furiously swept out, instantly turning a region of ten thousand kilometers around him into a terrifying, desolate wasteland of the Dao of the Sword.

As for the azure-armored figures, he didn’t seem to see or hear any of this at all as he continued to walk towards Ning’s direction, towards that wasteland filled with nothing but swords.

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Chapter 29 – A Fortune

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 29 – A Fortune

“My Yin-Yang Sword Domain is one of my best killing techniques. Let’s see how it does first.” Ji Ning wanted to use his domain to test his opponent out first.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The azure-armored figure suddenly manifested a total of nine arms that reached out and drew those nine blood-colored swords. The nine swords suddenly began to vibrate slightly, in doing so somehow coming together to naturally form a layer of strange sword-light which served as a rippling barrier around him. He slowly strode forwards, delving deeper and deeper into the area of effect of Ning’s domain.

The sword-light barrier formed by those nine swords were able to easily pierce through Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain, almost as if they were fish moving through water.

“W-what…” Ning was in control of the domain, but he felt as though his opponent was as slippery as an eel, making it impossible for him to land a true attack against him.

“He isn’t all that strong; most likely, he’s not even at the World level of power. The problem is that he has a ridiculously high level of insight.” Ning was able to clearly make out every movement the opponent made, but Ning truly found it difficult to understand how those nine swords resonated together to form a rippling barrier of sword-light.

This was a Sword Dao of the Eternal Emperor level. It must be understood that in the Brightshore Kingdom, the Sword Palace didn’t have a single living Eternal Emperor!

“What should I do? How should I deal with him?” Ning was growing rather nervous.

He could sense his opponent wasn’t all that strong, which was what he had expected; if his opponent had the insights of an Eternal Emperor and the strength of a Daolord, there was no way Ning would be able to stand a chance against him! And yet… while Ning was as fast and as stronger as a Daolord of the First Step, he still felt as though he was completely unable to land any blows against this weaker opponent.

This was the most frustrating part of battling someone who had a higher level of insight than yourself. You might be strong, but you’d have no way of making use of that strength. As for your opponent, he would be able to make his attacks a thousand times more effective than they had any right to be.

“Your Sword Dao domain is actually able to slow me down a bit.” The azure-armored figure continued to advance calmly as he spoke. “It isn’t bad, actually. However… if this is all you have, you aren’t even close to being qualified to win Master’s treasures. Better for you to die instead.”

He clearly could’ve advanced quite quickly, but he instead chose to advance at a steady gait.

“Eh?” A flash of light went off inside Ning’s head as he stared at the rippling barrier of sword-light… but a moment later, the insight vanished.

They were ten thousand kilometers apart. Although the azure-armored figure walked rather slowly, he reached Ning in just ten short seconds.

“Kill!”

The killing intent in his eyes exploded as all nine of his blood-colored swords began to move.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The nine swords struck out in a consecutive, orderly fashion, carrying a beautiful but strange rhythm. As the nine swords simultaneously struck out towards Ning, they suddenly transformed into a single enormous blood-colored greatsword. Clearly, the nine had joined together to become one, resulting in them becoming dramatically more powerful as well.

Clang!

Ning emptied his mind of all other thoughts as he used his six Violetjewels to executed the ‘Soleheart’ stance, transforming the six swords into six black holes which he used to defend against the attack.

Bang!

Ning’s defenses were instantly splintered and destroyed by the clash. He was immediately blown backwards and sent flying, a deep gouge appearing in the earth. This gouge was tens of thousands of kilometers long and many dozens of meters deep.

Ning’s face was rather ashen. Not even Greatjoy, Solewind, or any of the others would be able to crush him in such a manner.

“Unacceptable. I have to counter-attack! If I just let him hammer away at me, I’ll definitely lose this battle.” With a swoosh, Ning transformed into a streak of light and charged forwards, his Yin-Yang Sword Domain once more covering the area.

Faced with the Yin-Yang Sword Domain, the azure-armored figure once more used the nine blood-colored swords he was wielding to form a protective barrier of sword-light that easily protected him from the domain. He raised his head, giving Ning a cold look.

Ning’s eyes actually lit up. “Although he’s able to resist my domain, he’s now moving much slower than before. I, however, am still moving at my normal speed.” Ning immediately transformed into as treak of light that once more shot out towards the azure-armored figure.

Swish!

When Ning had charged to within just ninety meters of the azure-arored figure, he suddenly vanished without a trace. Even his sword had completely vanished.

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Shadowless stance!

Tchtchtchtch… streaks of sword-light appeared, hidden within the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and completely undetectable. They flew out as chops, slashes, and hacks as they struck out towards the azure-armored figure.

“Mm?” The azure-armored figure raised an eyebrow as the nine swords in his hands trembled slightly.

The protective barrier of sword-light surrounding him began to oscillate, whittling away at the power of Ning’s strikes before completely dispersing them.

Whoosh.

While defending against Ning’s attack, the azure-armored figure immediately launched an attack of his own as he once more struck out towards Ning.

“Time to run.” Ning did his best to defend while retreating.

“Hahaha…” This time, he was able to retreat with ease. Ning revealed a look of delight. “If I seize the initiative to attack him, he’ll have to focus his efforts on defending against me. When he switches to attacks, he’ll be just a hair too slow and I’ll be able to withdraw. I can’t let a foe like this seize the initiative in a battle.”

Ning began to attack furiously.

Shadowless sword-intent! It was incredibly ghostly and unpredictable, but the rippling layers of sword-light surrounding the man were still able to block all of Ning’s attacks, even though they shook while doing so.

Blood Drop sword-intent! These attacks possessed incredible penetrative power, but it was a straightforward and above-boarod attack that the opponent could prepare for.

“Attack!”

“Dodge.”

Ning clashed against this expert repeatedly. A chance to duel someone who had an Eternal Emperor level of insight in the Dao of the Sword was incredibly valuable

For some strange reason, Ning continued to feel as though a spark of inspiration was floating deep within his mind… but alas, he remained unable to locate it no matter what he did. Now, the more he battled against the opponent, the more he felt as though he was vaguely touching upon it.

“Are these all the techniques you have?” The azure-armored man suddenly said.

Ning was slightly startled.

“How boring. You haven’t even been able to truly merge your offensive Dao into your defensive Dao.” The azure-armored figure let out a sigh.

Whoosh! He finally made his move.

This was the first time the azure-armored figure’s speed suddenly and dramatically increased. The nine blood-colored swords surrounding him transformed into a curtain of sword-light, and the man himself transformed into an enormous sword. If he previously moved through Ning’s domain like a fish moving through water, he was now like a sword that simply smashed through the domain with terrifying speed. He pounced at Ning, moving far faster than Ning himself could. There was no way Ning could dodge at all. Only now did he realize that his opponent hadn’t used anything close to his real power earlier.

“Chop!” The azure-armored man and his nine swords, in the form of an enormous greatsword, sliced downwards through the air and chopped directly towards Ning.

Ning had no other choices; all he could do was do his best to block the attack.

Bang!

The world seemed to break apart.

Ning was completely blown backwards. His six Eternal weapons were completely unable to defend against this attack, and all of his stances collapsed at first contact. In fact, two of his Violetjewels were actually knocked out of his grip and sent flying.

Rumble…

The ground beneath him shuddered as everything within a region of several hundred thousand kilometers was reduced to dust by the shockwave ripples.

Ning lay there in the giant crater, his fingers twitching numbly. He had been able to just barely keep a hold over four of his Eternal weapons. The other two had been knocked flying.

“Receive my second chop!” The azure-armored figure said coldly.

But Ning actually had a look of delight on his face… because he had finally realized what that elusive flash of inspiration was. “The sword… in the end, you can’t hold up a house on a single pillar of wood. It needs to be part of a whole…”

“Haha… so that’s how it is! I’m most skilled in defense, but my Soleheart stance has been trapped in a bottleneck for some time now. I’ve come up with two offensive Supreme Daos, but I haven’t been able to truly upgrade my Soleheart stance. Haha…” Ning laughed. His talent for defensive techniques was extremely high, and so he had reached a bottleneck a long time ago during his journeys through the alternate universe.

His offensive techniques had improved nonstop, to the point where he had developed two Supreme Daos for them. And yet, his Soleheart stance had come to a screeching halt.

When Ning first saw his opponent utilize that barrier of sword-light, he had the vague feeling that he had stumbled into a tremendous stroke of luck. Alas, he wasn’t able to truly grasp what he was seeing. As the battle progressed, Ning finally was able to do so.

“A single chopstick can be easily snapped in half. An entire bundle of chopsticks is almost impossible to chop.” Ning couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Sometimes, this was how things worked. Once you were able to see through to the true nature of things, you couldn’t help but marvel at how simple the principle was.

The reason why Ning’s Soleheart stance wasn’t truly able to evolve into a Supreme Dao was because his Soleheart stance was a single-target defensive technique. Ning would use each of his swords to defend, and was able to use a maximum of six swords in this manner at the six time. Each of the six swords worked independently. Of course there was a limit to how much power they could unleash! True, they were cooperating to a certain extent and in the past, Ning had thought that they were working ‘as one’, but now he realized he was wrong. When he saw his opponent use that defensive sword-art, he realized what it truly meant to be working ‘as one’!

He had to do the same thing, to truly fuse everything together. His opponent’s nine blood-colored swords were able to easily merge together to form that barrier of sword-light. When his opponent chose to attack, they were able to easily merge together into an enormous greatsword.

That was what ‘working as one’ truly meant!

“Soleheart stance.”

Ning’s hand swept out, causing the two Eternal swords that had been knocked out of his hands to come flying back to him at high speed.

The six Eternal swords moved simultaneously, each of them exerting the Soleheart stance and beginning to link together. Slowly, the six Eternal swords began to transform and harmonize little by little. Ning had personally watched his opponent use a similar technique and had clashed against him multiple times, allowing Ning to learn some of the key elements. To truly merge the stances together wasn’t as simple as to have all six swords use the exact same stance. Rather, they had to be responsible for different parts of it.

This was much like how a ‘complete’ man would have a nose, a mouth, two eyes, and other body parts.

Ning furiously pulled backwards, doing his best to stay away from his opponent as he tested this new idea out.

BOOM! Ning’s six swords suddenly transformed into a single black hole that completely surrounded Ning, and at the edges of the black hole there was something that looked like a rippling barrier.

“This is the true Soleheart stance. This is finally something worth of being described as a Supreme Dao of defense.” Ning revealed a smile. His Yin-Yang Sword Domain was superb at dealing with groups of attackers, but the Soleheart stance was much better for dealing with a single foe of tremendous power!

Ning had finally comprehended and mastered his Soleheart sword-intent, the fourth sword-intent of his five stances of [Brightmoon]!

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Chapter 30 – Stop Him!

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 30 – Stop Him!

“Chop!” The azure-armored youth transformed into an enormous streak of sword-light, forcibly shattering a path through Ji Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain. Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair when he gazed upon the sword-light. This was what happened when there was a tremendous disparity in insight and comprehension. The sword-intent of an Eternal Emperor… this really was completely unfair.

Although Ning was mentally shaken, he was still able to stay calm and alert as he unleashed his six swords into the Soleheart sword-intent he had just developed.

Whooooooosh.

It was like a peacock spreading its feathers, or like leaves swirling in the wind. The six swords moved in unison like a perfect whole, naturally coming together to form a terrifying black hole, with each of the swords playing a specific role in the black hole’s creation.

Boom!

The azure-armored figure’s terrifying sword-light chopped directly against that black hole. Tchtchtch!!! Ning poured all of his power, comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step, into his new Soleheart sword-intent, allowing it to unleash a simply terrifying level of force that furiously ground away at his opponent’s stance.

BANG!

His opponent’s sword-light began to shudder and twist as it immediately began to fall in power, causing the azure-armored figure to become visible once more. At this moment, the azure-armored figure didn’t hesitate at all, immediately choosing to retreat at high speeds.

The figure stood there in the distance, staring at Ning with some surprise.

“I succeeded. This… this is the true Soleheart stance.” Ning’s heart was filled with joy. This was the true Soleheart stance he had wanted all along. Six swords striking out in unison, as if they were a part of a single, indivisible whole. If he fought anyone on the same level of power as him, he would be able to completely shut down their attacks.

Even those who were stronger than him and who had a higher level of insight into the Dao would see their attacks dramatically weakened by this defensive technique.

“Hmph.” The distant azure-armored figure let out a cold snort. “Don’t get too smug. You were only able to block me once thus far. Now… take a look at my third chop!”

……

Although the azure-armored figure was quite physically weak, his sword-arts were at a terrifyingly high level. Ning had to use all of his power to deal with every single strike, and as a result he was able to increasingly perfect his Soleheart stance.

The two battled for the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea, but the azure-armored figure was still unable to do anything to Ning.

“Hey kid. Tell me your name.” The distant azure-armored figure suddenly spoke out in an icy voice.

“I am Darknorth.” Ning smiled as he spoke. He was naturally in a wonderful mood, now that he had developed a new sword-intent.

“Darknorth? Mm. You’ve reached the apex of perfection when it comes to defensive prowess,” the azure-armored figure said. “When you have that sword-intent domain active and spread out, I have to first endure its power if I wish to attack you. This distracts me, resulting in me only being able to unleash 60%-70% of my full power.”

Ning laughed.

His Yin-Yang Sword Domain was highly suited for dealing with group attacks! However, if Ning was dealing with just a single opponent, it would also be highly effective in entrapping and slowing that opponent down, making it so that the opponent’s power lessened! The azure-armored figure needed to constantly ward off the domain via his sword-arts, and so in battle he was completely unable to unleash his full, peak power.

“And your close-combat defensive skills are also quite formidable. When you combine the two… even I am not able to defeat you.” The azure-armored figure nodded. “I can’t kill you. You may leave now.”

“Leave?” Ning was startled.

The azure-armored figure glanced sideways at Ning, his cold eyes the only thing visible behind that mask he wore. ‘I can’t stop you, which means you can proceed to the next level.”

“Then what about the nine swords which your master left behind, senior?” Ning couldn’t help but ask this question. These were the swords left behind by an Eternal Emperor! Ning had witnessed for himself the terrible power which each sword contained; there was no way any ordinary Eternal weapon could possibly be a match for them. Moreover, when used together they would probably gain certain other special powers as well.

“You actually plan on taking my master’s nine swords?” The azure-armored figure smirked.

“I certainly wouldn’t decline them if you were willing to give them to me,” Ning said with a laugh.

“As I said, if you kill me you will win the nine swords which Master left behind.” The azure-armored figure continued coldly, “Although I can’t kill you, you can’t kill me either. This naturally means you are not worthy of acquiring Master’s nine swords.”

After speaking, the azure-armored figure dove into the ground, disappearing without a trace.

“That was fast.” Ning couldn’t help but laugh. “Was it really necessary for him to run away that fast? It’s not like I’m able to take those swords away from him by force.”

The azure-armored figure had truly been quite terrifying. His attacks were much stronger than Ning’s, and he was significantly faster as well. Thankfully, Ning had the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and his Soleheart stance, two exceedingly strong defensive techniques, which he was able to use to ward off this tough foe. This was the reason why Ning had survived this trial.

“Time to go.” Ning drilled the ground as well, passing through it to the next, deeper level and the abyss-world it contained.

……

Ning continued to go downwards through the levels of the Abyss of Fiends. The next few levels were quite simple, as he only had to deal with a few fiendlords. And so, just like that, he made it to the twenty-fourth level.

On the twenty-fourth level, he saw a prominently placed blood-colored estate. Before the estate stood the azure-armored figure, and there was an entire group of fiendlords which surrounded the estate, all of whom appeared to revere the azure-armored figure greatly.

“Greetings again, senior.” Ning flew over then bowed towards the azure-armored figure.

“Mm.” The azure-armored figure nodded, then pointed to an enormous vortex off in the distance. “That over there is the exit tunnel. You can pass through it to reach the outside world. For you to have made it to the twenty-fourth level is already quite impressive. If you choose to leave now, you’ll earn one of my master’s treasures as well as one of his sword-art legacies.”

“A treasure?” Ning asked, “Is it one of the swords?”

“It is not.” The azure-armored figure glanced sideways at Ning. “Those nine swords were my master’s most important treasures, and they will be given to his true successor. You? I suppose you could just barely qualify as an honorary disciple. I’ll give you one of the various random treasures which Master had on him.”

Ning asked, “Senior, isn’t it true that the Abyss of Fiends has a total of thirty-six levels? I’m only at the twenty-fourth level.”

“What, you want to keep going downwards?” The azure-armored figure smiled coldly. “The lower levels are far more dangerous. Be satisfied with one of my master’s treasures and a sword-art legacy.”

Ning shook his head. He had experienced many hardships in order to travel to this alternate universe, including ten thousand years of wandering before even reaching the Genesi Lands! Was he supposed to just leave after merely becoming an honorary disciple of an Eternal Emperor? Ning would have agreed if the man had been willing to give him those nine swords, as a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush, but for one of the random treasures the Eternal Emperor had been carrying?

Ning had acquired an enormous amount of darkspace flamestones. He really didn’t care about other treasures. In addition, Emperor Mirrorsnow had given Ning four incredibly valuable golems! The ‘random’ treasures of this deceased Eternal Emperor probably wouldn’t be worth that much.

“I choose to continue,” Ning said. “I’ll head downwards now, senior.”

Whoosh. Ning transformed into a streak of light and disappeared without a trace. His Shadowless evasion skill allowed him to easily pass downwards to the next level.

“This kid…” The azure-armored figure frowned as he watched Ning drill downwards. “He’s too self-confident. He insists on going down a path of no return, and I can’t even stop him.”

Swoosh. The azure-armored figure immediately disappeared as well, moving far faster than Ning had.

……

The thirty-first level of the Abyss of Fiends.

This place was a place of incredible beauty, filled with singing birds and fragrant flowers. There were no devils here.

A white-robed man was seated at the peak of a towering mountain, a triad of gold-hilted, white-hilted, and violet-hilted swords on his back. He sat there in the lotus position, gazing upon this vast, beautiful world.

“Second brother.” A voice rang out. Moments later, the azure-armored figure appeared out of nowhere.

“Third brother. Long time no see.” The white-robed man smiled. “Why have you suddenly come to visit me?”

“I met this kid. He really is quite talented in the Dao of the Sword, and I did exactly as Master instructed. I held nothing back, but I still wasn’t able to kill him.” The azure-armored figure shook his head. “I had a good opinion of him. I felt the kid had a lot of potential, and was good enough to become one of my master’s honorary disciples.”

“Not even you could kill him?” The white-robed man revealed a smile. “Not bad! It is rare for us to encounter such a talented figure.”

“But he insists on going deeper,” the azure-armored man said impatiently. “He obviously doesn’t care about becoming my master’s honorary disciple!”

“I bet he’d listen to you if you were willing to give him those nine swords,” the white-robed man teased.

The azure-armored figure said angrily, “All Master really had were those nine swords. I absolutely won’t give them to anyone until I find the perfect successor for him. This kid isn’t bad, but he’s not even close to being the ideal candidate I’ve been hoping for.”

The white-robed man shook his head. “Well, if he insists on going downwards… what am I supposed to do?”

“Stop him, second brother. Stop him and make him go back,” the azure-armored figure said immediately. “The thirty-sixth level was left behind by the Hegemon personally, just before he died. You know how terrifyingly dangerous it is! Over the course of countless years, there have been a number of self-confident geniuses who refused to listen to me and insisted on going all the way down… and all of them died there.”

When the white-robed man thought of the thirty-sixth level, he couldn’t help but frown.

Their Hegemon had personally created that place. It was the most mysterious and most terrifying place in the entire Abyss.

Their Hegemon was such an incredibly strong figure that even their masters, those two Eternal Emperors of the Dao of the Sword, were willing to serve as his retainers.

“Ugh. I’ll do my best to stop him, but if I fail… there’ll be nothing else I can do,” the white-robed man said.

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Chapter 31 – Void Sword Realm

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 31 – Void Sword Realm

Ji Ning quickly fought his way to the thirty-first floor of the Abyss of Fiends.

“Eh?” Thus far, the Abyss had been a place filled with baleful auras and negative energy. Ning couldn’t help but feel somewhat flabbergasted upon suddenly encountering a level that was filled with flowers and birds, a level which was almost like an otherworldly paradise.

Whoosh.

A white-robed man drifted towards Ning from afar, bearing three swords on his back; one violet-hilted, one gold-hilted, and one white-hilted. He emanated an ephemeral, drifting aura which was similar to that of the clouds in the sky.

A serious look immediately appeared on Ning’s face. Him?

Three grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword had perished outside. The muscular man who wielded that deep blue greatsword was the leader, while the other two Eternal Emperors were his retainers. One was dressed in azure armor, while the other looked just like this white-robed man before Ning.

Appearance, bearing, sword-aura… everything was identical.

“Darknorth?” The white-robed man said.

“Greetings, senior.” Ning bowed.

The white-robed man had a warm look in his eyes as he carefully scrutinized Ning, then smiled. “For you to be able to make it past my second brother means that you are probably quite strong. Unfortunately for you, I’m not my second brother.”

As he spoke, he drew forth the violet sword and the golden sword from his back. As for the white sword, it automatically unsheathed itself and transformed into a streak of white light that floated next to him.

“Be careful, senior.” Ning’s body blurred as he manifested his [Three Heads, Six Arms], then drew his six Violetjewels.

Boom!

A fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes as his Dao lightning and Dao water immediately burst forth, roaring through the skies and covering an area of ten thousand kilometers around them. The white-robed man was standing fairly close to Ning and was naturally wrapped up within this as well. The lightning-water Yin-Yang Sword Domain possessed truly remarkable amounts of power, and it constantly launched attacks against that white-robed man.

The white-robed man just stood there, not moving at all. And yet, the blurry sword-light emanating from around his body was like a cloud or a mist that easily absorbed and repelled all oncoming attacks.

“Eh? Not good.” Ning’s heart sank. “The azure-armored man had needed to use those physical nine swords to form a barrier of sword-light to protect him from my domain, but this white-robed man… the light from his sword-intent alone is enough for him to easily defend against me. Clearly, his defensive prowess is far superior to the azure-armored man’s.”

Ning’s guess was correct!

The azure-armored man’s specialty lay in attack, in slaughter! Ning had two Supreme Daos of defense, the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and Soleheart sword-intent, and only by combining them was he able to withstand the onslaught. This was a testament to how ferocious the azure-armored man’s attacks were.

By contrast, the white-robed man seemed much calmer and gentler.

“The Emperor Sword.” The white-robed man instantly transformed into a streak of light as he chopped out towards Ning with the violet sword.

This was an ephemeral, unpredictable chop, but it was so fast that it caused Ning’s heart to be gripped in ice. It was simply too fast. His opponent wasn’t even as strong as an ordinary World God was, but his sword was simply incredibly fast.

Clang!

Ning hurriedly executed his Soleheart sword-intent, manifesting a black hole which had flickers of sword-light swiveling inside of it. He used this stance to defend against the opponent’s chop. It was a good decision. The power contained within the black hole was simply too enormous, allowing it to block the opponent’s lethal attack head-on.

“The Killsword.” The white-robed man spoke out once more.

Whoosh. This time, he struck out with the golden sword which he wielded in his left hands. The sword carried an aura of incredible sharpness as it pierced straight towards Ning!

This stab was actually somewhat similar to Ning’s own Blood Drop stance. However, it was a strike formed from the sword-intent of an Eternal Emperor. When the golden sword struck out, it carried an aura of such terrifying sharpness and destructive power that Ning couldn’t help but shudder. However, Ning knew that although the sword-intent itself caused him to uncontrollably shake in fear, the person using it was so incredibly weak that he probably wasn’t even at the World level in strength. This enormous disparity in physical power was enough to let Ning make a fight out of it.

Whoosh. He once more used the Soleheart stance to form that black hole. Sword-light once more swiveled and circled within that black hole, allowing him to once more forcibly block his opponent’s terrifying attack.

“Your defensive techniques truly are incredible.” The white-robed man shook his head and smiled. “As I expected… for you to be able to withstand my third brother means that my own attacks stand even less of a chance.”

Although he was superior to his third brother in overall power, his third brother was still stronger in raw attack power.

“If you are able to defeat my third sword, I won’t try to stop you,” the white-robed man said. The violet sword and golden sword in his hands began to move at the same time… and as for the most important sword of all, that streak of white light that had been hovering around him? It instantly vanished without a trace.

Whoosh…

The violet sword and the golden sword emanated dazzling amounts of light, putting the sun in the skies to shame with their omnipresent radiance. It was like an enormous gauzy cloak of light had covered the entire world, completely covering Ji Ning within its perimeter.

“Break!” The Dao lightning and Dao water continued to rage around Ning, but himself disappeared without a trace as well. He had just used the Shadowless stance. When he next appeared, he was directly in front of that violet-golden gauze of light, and he furiously struck out with his six Violetjewels against the gauze.

Whoosh!

Six streaks of white light suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of the gauze, easily blocking Ning’s attacks.

“Eh?” Ning felt as though he had just chopped down upon a cloud or a layer of mist. There was nothing for him to exert his power against.

“I refuse to believe it.” Ning once more struck out with his Shadowless stance, launching another silent sneak-attack at another area. Alas, as soon as his attack was about to collide against the violet-golden canopy, streaks of white light once again appeared from the surface of the gauze. The white light was ethereal and ephemeral, giving Ning no way to exert his full force upon it, causing his attacks to fail repeatedly.

……

Ning was completely covered by that gauze canopy of violet-gold light, and the streaks of white light hidden within the canopy rendered Ning’s attacks completely fruitless.

“Haha, well done, second brother! You were able to easily trap that young fellow.” The azure-armored figure appeared off in the distance.

“If Master knew that I was using his most powerful killing technique, the Void Sword Realm to simply trap a foe… he’d probably be so insulted that he’d wipe me out.” The white-robed man’s figure appeared within the violet-golden canopy. When he used this technique, he completely merged himself into the canopy of light itself.

This was the Void Sword Realm, an extremely terrifying sword technique. It was definitely on par with Emperor Mirrorsnow’s most powerful strike, the Heartseal stance. Alas, the white-robed figure was merely using it with Elder God level power, making it much weaker. It was just barely capable of trapping a genius like Ning, who was comparable to a Daolord of the Second Step! If an Eternal Emperor used this technique, the entire violet-gold canopy would become completely ethereal, and it would be simplicity itself to use this technique to cover an entire territory!

Swish.

Suddenly, an incomparably sharp streak of sword-light pierced out from within the violet-gold canopy.

“What?!” A hint of shock could be heard in the white-robed man’s voice. “How could he be able to pierce through my Void Sword Realm?! Third brother, why does he have such a terrifyingly strong sword-art?” The white-robed man roared.

“Ah?! He does have an extremely strong sword-art that carries tremendous destructive, penetrative power,” the azure-armored man said hurriedly. “Even I have to face that attack head-on in order to block it.”

“Damn!” The white-robed man grew furious and frantic.

The Void Sword Realm created an ethereal world which was unmoved by raw power. It could completely absorb even the most savage of strikes! Although the Shadowless stance of Ning’s [Brightmoon] sword-arts was rather strange, it simply wasn’t strong enough to overcome the world’s defenses. As for the Soleheart stance or the Yin-Yang Sword Domain, they were defensive techniques. But the Blood Drop stance… this was Ning’s most penetrating attack of all.

Even if Ning did come up with a Heavenbreaker sword-intent in the future, his Blood Drop stance would still have the greatest penetrative power.

It was an attack which destroyed everything in its path, which pierced through all things which sought to bar its way!

The Void Sword Realm wasn’t truly perfect and flawless. Perhaps only someone on the level of a Hegemon would be able to make it truly perfect… and its one weakness was to attacks that had tremendous penetrative power.

Whoosh!

After Ning discovered that his Blood Drop stance was the perfect counter to the violet-gold gauze before him, he struck out three times in a row. His stabs blasted a hole through the canopy before him, and he immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew out of that hole.

The enormous violet-gold canopy instantly disappeared, transforming back into that white-robed man. The three swords the man had been using all flew back into the sheaths he was carrying on his back.

The white-robed man stared at Ning, a complicated look in his gaze.

The Blood Drop stance truly was the perfect counter to the Void Sword Realm. But of course, at present Ning’s Blood Drop stance was still rather raw and unpolished; the only reason it had succeeded was because the white-robed man’s level of power was limited to the Elder God level. Still, if Ning ever reached the Eternal Emperor level and was able to upgrade his Blood Drop stance to that level as well, he would be able to use it to defeat the Void Sword Realm as used by the Eternal Emperor who had created it.

“There is a counter and a complement for every sword-art.” The white-robed man sighed. “You were actually able to come up with a sword-art that perfectly countered mine. I truly don’t know if this was a blessing or a curse for you.”

“Darknorth.” The distant azure-armored figure spoke out as well. “Both my second brother and I wish for you to stop here. You truly are quite talented. We really don’t want to see you throwing your life away on the thirty-sixth floor.”

“Throwing my life away?” Ning frowned.

The azure-armored man said, “Just listen to me. My sword-arts and my second brother’s sword-arts all come from our respective masters. Although our masters were Eternal Emperors, they weren’t at the Hegemon level. Master’s sword-arts were never truly perfected, but the Hegemon’s… his sword-arts were truly perfect and without flaw.”

“You are skilled in defense, making it so that I can do nothing against you.

“Your sword-arts possess tremendous penetrative power, allowing you to defeat the Void Sword Realm.

“But if you were to go to the thirty-sixth level, you will realize that your sword-arts are all completely useless.” The azure-armored man shook his head. “You’ll die in despair! Over the course of countless ages, there have been quite a few monstrously talented World-level geniuses who were able to make it past myself and my second brother, but all of them died on the thirty-sixth floor.”

Ning was stunned. What?! There had been multiple individuals who had made it past the azure-armored man and the white-robed man, only to die on the thirty-sixth level?

“I urge you to give up,” the white-robed man said. “If you go back now, you can return to the exit tunnel on the twenty-fourth floor. I’ll give you one of my own master’s treasures as well! I’ll also transmit my master’s sword-arts legacy to you.”

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Chapter 32 – The Thirty-Sixth Level of the Abyss of Fiends

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 32 – The Thirty-Sixth Level of the Abyss of Fiends

The white-robed man also viewed Ji Ning with great favor. Although there had been other geniuses who had been able to make their way deep into the Abyss of Fiends, he could count on one hand the number of geniuses who had been able to force their way path both himself and his third brother.

Both he and his third brother wished for Ji Ning to become honorary disciples of their two masters.

“A treasure? And just ‘honorary’ disciple?” Ning asked.

“Yes.” The white-robed man nodded. “According to master’s instructions… he will accept one personal disciple and six honorary disciples. Although I like you, you aren’t even close to meeting the standard necessary to become Master’s personal disciple.”

Ning felt rather disappointed. Still, he understood that because these three Eternal Emperors were already deceased, they would be extremely careful in selecting their legacy disciples. Emperor Mirrorsnow was still alive; even though he was taking on a total of ten personal disciples, every single disciple would only be given a set of four Daolord golems. These three Eternal Emperors, however, were giving all of their most important treasures to a single personal disciple.

“Can you at least tell me what the thirty-sixth level holds?” Ning asked.

“Our masters once followed and served our Hegemon,” the azure-armored figure growled. “Do you know what the exalted title of ‘Hegemon’ means? It means that they are able to rule over all other things.”

Ning nodded. Of course he knew. The Brightshore Kingdom had a Hegemon. His entire homeland of the Endless Territories only had three Hegemons in total!

“To inherit everything a Hegemon left behind… ahaha! I once encountered someone who was even more talented than you in the Dao of the Sword. He had perfectly merged his offenses and his defenses into a truly perfect whole.” The azure-armored figure sighed. “I was willing to let him become my master’s personal disciple, but he was too proud. He chose to go the thirty-sixth level instead.”

Ning was stunned. Apparently, that genius of the Dao of the Sword was on the same level as Bertulu and Eastcult.

“But he still died on that level.” The azure-armored figure shook his head.

“Give up.” The white-robed man looked at Ning.

……

Ning stood there silently.

Should he give up? Even those more talented tham him had perished on the thirty-sixth level.

“A Hegemon’s legacy lies there… the legacy of someone who was on the same level as the almighty Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom.” Ning’s eyes slowly began to blaze with resolve and a desire to fight. “Why have I left the Three Realms and braved the dangers of the Endless Territories? Why have I chosen to gon on so many deadly adventures? It is all for the sake of being able to bring her back to life! I dream of the day when the three of us… her, me, and Brightmoon… will once more be able to live together as a family.”

Ning’s deepest desire was to bring his entire family back again. It was this stubborn desire which kept him going, which made him strive so hard.

“To reverse the flows of spacetime and bring her back to life will be incredibly difficult. If I let myself be filled with fear, I probably won’t be able to make it to the apex of power and won’t be able to convince someone like the Hegemon to bring her back the life.”

“What’s more… even if I fail my attempt at the thirty-sixth level, I’ll merely lose one of my clones. I can rebuild it eventually.” All hesitation vanished from Ning’s gaze.

He was going to charge straight down his path. No one would be able to stop him!

“Darknorth?” The white-robed man and the azure-armored figure both looked at Ning, awaiting his decision.

“Forgive me, seniors.” Ning murmured softly, “I still wish to continue.”

“What if you die? You won’t regret it?” The white-robed man asked.

“No regrets,” Ning replied. He then transformed into a streak of light and tore through the ground, diving through to the next level.

The azure-armored man and the white-robed man both let out long sighs as they watched Ning leave.

“I knew he would choose this path. Every single person who has developed their own Supreme Dao is filled with terrifyingly strong resolve,” the white-robed man said.

In the end, fortuitous occurrences were external sources of power. When the strong rose to power, it was the stubborn will and resolve in their heart which drove them to continue forwards.

If you didn’t have an almost insanely stubborn desire to accomplish a certain something, it was virtually impossible for you to be able to stand at the apex of power in this vast universe. Even if you were incredibly talented and had many tremendous strokes of luck, if you didn’t have a terrifyingly amount of determination there was no way you’d be able to make it to the top.

An infatuation.

A desire.

A regret.

A longing.

All sorts of emotions could be transformed into a determined will.

“Ugh. He’ll probably die on this path he has chosen. But if he doesn’t die, he’ll definitely become one of the most dazzlingly talented figures in this vast universe, someone who countless other cultivators will willingly submit to,” the azure-armored figure said.

……

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning continued downwards through the various levels. These levels in the Abyss only contained fiendlords. In the end, Ning managed to make it all the way to the thirty-sixth level, the deepest level of the Abyss of Fiends.

Whoosh.

Ning stood there gracefully in midair, staring at this bottommost level of the Abyss of Fiends.

Gugugu…

This was a world of volcanos, and Ning was able to see three towering volcanos located in three different parts of this world. Each of the volcanos continuously belched out plumes of fire and lava which flowed out throughout this world. Due to the terrifying degree of heat, the bubbling lava would continue to bubble and hiss for a very long period of time before slowly solidifying into volcanic rock.

“Eh? Where’s the exit tunnel? Why isn’t there an exit tunnel on this level?” Ning was searching for the exit tunnel for this level, but was able to find nothing.

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble.

Ning immediately turned his gaze off into the distance. The vast earth, covered with flowing streams of lava, was shaking. Slowly, the earth began to split apart as an ancient, towering shrine began to gradually emerge from underground. The shrine was a deep blue color, and it was covered with strange diagrams. In front of the shrine stood a towering figure.

The towering figure stood there silently, hands clasped around a deep blue greatsword. He stared at Ning from afar, and his gaze alone made Ning feel as though an entire world was crashing down upon him. That stare alone made Ning feel as though this man was absolutely invincible.

“Him? His aura is absolutely identical to that Hegemon’s aura.” Ning remained very calm and composed.

“Another challenger has come?” The muscular man standing in front of the shrine glanced at Ning, his eyes extremely cold and calm. He said in a flat voice, “Kill him, children.”

“Kill him, children.” His deep voice boomed throughout every inch of this world, echoing again and again.

Ning was stunned upon hearing this. ‘Children’? But it didn’t seem as though the thirty-sixth level had any other living beings within it.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Three booming voices instantly burst forth from within the three towering volcanos.

Those massive volcanos actually began to move, and as they moved they quickly began to transform into similarly towering volcano titans! All three volcanos had transformed into three enormous volcano titans.

The three volcano titans had pitch-black forms, but Ning could sense the blazing, flaming power which filled their bodies. Their eyes were flowing pools of lava, and every single one of them seemed to possess the power of an enormous world. Just looking at them, Ning felt certain that they were far physically stronger than he was.

After the three volcano titans appeared, they first turned towards the distant, muscular, grim-faced man who stood in front of the shrine. All three went down to one knee.

The muscular man nodded.

“Kill!” Only then did the three volcano titans rise to their feet and charge towards Ning.

Their galloping paces caused the earth to tremble. They left enormous footsteps in the ground, and their glares made Ning feel rather startled.

“But so what if they are strong? From the looks of them, they are special lifeforms that were formed from or out of volcanos,” Ning mused. “They are probably much weaker than me in terms of insights into the Dao.”

Ning manifested three heads and six arms, then drew his six Eternal swords.

Rumble…

The seven streams of Dao water and Dao lightning all surged forth, filling an area of ten thousand kilometers with sword-light formed from lightning and water.

Boom! The volcano titan closest to Ning charged into Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain. Although sword-light repeatedly hacked down upon his volcanic form, the attacks were only able to leave behind a few white marks on its rocky skin. It barely paused at all, not slowed in the slightest as it continued to charge forwards with heavy steps.

Ning wanted to see exactly how physically strong these volcano titans were, and so he first chose to fight it in a head-on clash through using his most penetratively powerful attack, the Blood Drop stance.

Six streaks of sword-light shot out like an enormous meteor shower that shot out towards that terrifying stone hand.

Boom! The giant stone hand howled as it flew through the air. It crushed the six streaks of sword-light, then slammed directly onto Ning. This time, it was Ning who was knocked flying backwards like a meteor.

As Ning flew backwards, he forcibly twisted himself upright and landed on the ground. The earth shudder from the collision, caving in for an area of a million kilometers as an enormous basis suddenly appeared.

Ning rose to his feet, his face rather ashen.

“A single volcano titan is already this much stronger than me… and there are three? And these are just the ‘children’?” Ning finally could sense that death was approaching. Finally, he realized why no one had ever been able to survive the thirty-sixth level.

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Chapter 33 – The Five Sword-Intents of [Brightmoon]

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 33 – The Five Sword-Intents of [Brightmoon]

“Kill!” The other two volcano titans howled as they charged forwards, each seeming just as valiant and mighty as the first. Their thunderous steps were as heavy as the mountains, but they moved faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Although each of their punches and strikes seemed rather ungainly to Ji Ning, they carried enough power to truly overmatch him.

“I refuse to believe I can’t even take care of the three ‘children’.” Ning’s body constantly blurred, disappearing and reappearing thanks to the Shadowless stance, and every so often he would rely on his superior agility to throw out rope treasures and other treasures to slow down his foes.

Using your strengths to attack your opponent’s weaknesses. This was the way of combat!

……

The muscular, greatsword-wielding man continued to stand there in front of the distant shrine, a cold look in his eyes as he watched all this happen. Right at this moment, two new figures suddenly descended; the white-robed man and the azure-armored man.

“Big brother.” The white-robed man and the azure-armored man both spoke out.

“Mm.” The muscular man acknowledged them calmly.

“The kid’s able to hold his own against the combined attacks of three volcano titans. He really isn’t bad.” The azure-armored figure glanced at the distant Ning, then smiled. “Big brother, would you agree that this kid is worth us spending some effort teaching?”

The muscular man said coldly, “Far from it. He’s merely relying on a few defensive tricks to stay alive. Once my children unleash their ultimate attacks, he’ll definitely die.”

“Are you just going to watch him die?” The white-robed man asked hurriedly.

“He might’ve developed two offensive Supreme Daos and two defensive Supreme Daos, but so what?” The muscular man said coldly, “He hasn’t been able to truly join them together… he’s not even worth me giving advice to.”

The azure-armored man and the white-robed man exchanged a glance, then shook their heads helplessly.

“Big brother, you really have set your expectations too high. Remember that guy, all those years ago, who had perfectly fused his offensive Dao and his defensive Dao? You ended up personally kill him!” The azure-armored man muttered.

“Hmph. That’s because he was too stupid. I personally gave him pointers on what to do, but he still wasn’t able to improve at all. He deserved to die.” The muscular man continued, “And even if he did have a so-called flawless union of an offensive Supreme Dao and defensive Supreme Dao, what of it? It must be understood that advancing forwards on such a path is incredibly difficult. Each step will be taxing, and the final step of completing the Daomerge and gaining eternity will be unspeakably arduous.”

“Over the course of countless years I’ve seen many dazzlingly talented figures who, as Daolords of the Fourth Step, were capable of killing weaker Eternal Emperors. Almost none of them, however, are capable of succeeding in their Daomerge and gaining the power of a Hegemon.” The muscular man shook his head. “Master is already dead. He can only accept a single personal disciple and two honorary disciples. There’s only three slots total. I have to be incredibly cautious when doling them out. Even an honorary disciple has to be both a perfect candidate as well as have a Dao which is very similar to my master’s Dao. As for becoming a personal disciple? Only someone who can receive the acknowledgment of my master’s Eternal weapon and make it voluntarily wish to serve him is qualified be given that position!”

“You really do have high expectations.”

“Excessively high expectations.”

The white-robed man and the azure armored man both shook their heads. After their masters had perished, they had only met a single genius who had been able to truly and perfectly merge an offensive Supreme Dao and a defensive Supreme Dao… and in the end, the muscular man had personally killed him! He hadn’t even been willing to hand over a position of honorary disciple.

“Master decided to only accept two honorary disciples. I’m willing to bet that the personal disciples of the leader of the Church of Annihilation are given less than my master has prepared for his two honorary disciples,” the muscular man said coldly.

In the end, the term ‘disciple’ was just a titular one. What really mattered was what the teacher and master had prepared! There was only so much a living Hegemon would give; there was no way he would bestow his most important treasures to someone else. Only a dead Hegemon would be so truly selfless as to hand over all of his treasures!

……

The three volcano titans stood in three different directions as they surrounded and attacked Ning. Ning no longer dared to face them head-on, as the volcano titans possessed overwhelming levels of brute strength. Worse, he was completely incapable of damaging their volcanic bodies. Not even his Blood Drop stance could punch through them! For now, he could only rely on his Soleheart sword-intent to buy himself some time. Ning also used his rope-type magic treasures to try and tie down one of the volcano titans. Ning believed this to be his only method for capturing and subduing them.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

They used the most elementary, simple of attacks. Sometimes, they would swing their giant rocky hands. Other times, they would raise their fists high in the air, then smash downwards towards the ground. Every so often, they would bring both arms to their chests, then make a sudden pushing motion towards Ning. The attacks were simple but filled with speed and savagery, causing Ning to be at a complete disadvantage in this fight.

“Mm. Although they use similar techniques, it seems as though there are some differences.” Ning realized that there was something off with these three volcano titans. One of them was faster and more explosive while the second always attacked with both hands. As for the third, he was the slowest of the three; he would spend quite a bit of time building up power before each attack, but the attacks he unleashed were incomparably devastating.

“Although their attacks aren’t exactly the same, they seem to share certain similarities.” Ning was slowly mesmerized by the possibilities. From their attacks, he was able to see some of the things he himself had been searching for but unable to truly master.

Slowly, as the battle continued Ning began to gain a few insights into the various battle stances that the three volcano titans used. But of course, he was only able to gain a few. The three volcano titans were very crude in using these techniques, after all.

“The Heavenbreaker stance…”

Right now, the only stance remaining was the Heavenbreaker stance!

The five stances of [Brightmoon]. He had already developed Supreme Daos based on the other four stances. Only the Heavenbreaker stance was left.

The Heavenbreaker stance was the most ferocious of stances, containing truly wild and berserk levels of power. It used overwhelming power to crush all foes and was Ning’s most physically powerful attack. It was the perfect solution for dealing with foes whose defenses simply couldn’t be pierced through or penetrated.

The Shadowless stance focused on being fluctuating and unpredictable; this naturally caused the power of the actual attacks to be somewhat weaker.

The Blood Drop stance destroyed everything in its path, letting it pierce through all which would oppose it.

These two stances had both reached the apex in their respective fields… but both had made sacrifices in terms of total, raw power! Only by focusing in one area could one reach the apex in that area, after all.

The Heavenbreaker stance didn’t have a terrifying penetrative ability, nor was it unpredictable in the slightest. It was simply an awesome, direct attack that contained the strongest levels of power possible.

“Mm… ah! Is that how it is?” Ning’s battle against the three volcano titans grew increasingly frenzied, and he continued to secretly learn from their striking techniques.

This furious battle persisted for roughly the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea.

“Time for the final attack.” The distant azure-armored figure and white-robed figure both let out soft sighs. They had grown accustomed to seeing this long ago. The strongest attack which these three volcano titans had was actually a single attack that was combined from three different attacks. Once they joined together to form the final attack, they would be able to unleash the most powerful killing strike they were capable of.

The power of that attack was terrifyingly great! If you did not have a truly perfect Dao, it was all but guaranteed that you would perish from it. And even if you did have a perfect Dao… it was likely that their ‘big brother’ would personally attack and kill you!

……

After battling furiously for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, the movements of the three volcano titans suddenly changed.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly.

Whoosh! One of the volcano titans suddenly lifted up his enormous stone hands, preparing to slam downwards towards Ning. The second volcano titan slowly advanced, both hands in front of his chest as he prepared to make a shoving motion. The final volcano titan began to prepare to swing his arms towards Ning…

The rhythm of the battle had changed. The attacks of the three volcano titans had joined together to form a whole, and the power of their attacks actually began to rise.

Ning instantly understood what he was seeing. This was much like how he perfectly merged his six Eternal swords together when using the Soleheart sword-intent. In this moment, the three volcano titans had truly merged together, and the power of this attack would definitely be ten times greater than their previous ones. Ning had already been at a complete disadvantage. For their attack power to increase tenfold… he was going to get crushed!

“AH!” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. “T-this… this is how the Heavenbreaker stance should be!” A look of wild joy suddenly appeared within his eyes as he stared at the three volcano titans.

In truth, the three volcano titans were using one of the techniques which the Hegemon had developed. This technique was 70%-80% similar to Ning’s Heavenbreaker stance.

When Ning had watched and sparred with the volcano titans, he had gained a number of new insights. Given that his Heavenbreaker stance had already reached a bottleneck and only needed one final push to break through to a new level… once the three volcano titans joined forces, Ning suddenly understood it all.

A warhorse needed enough space to gallop before it could reach its maximum velocity.

A bow needed to be drawn to a full arc before it would reach maximum power.

Hints of the truth to this Dao could be seen throughout the mortal world.

The Heavenbreaker stance… if you wanted to release the full, terrifying level of power it contained, you would need to first build up power! For example, in archery you would build up power by drawing your bow… and then let it explode forth with its full might, like a volcano erupting! Only by building up enough might would you be able to unleash the full power of your attack! But just as importantly, the moment you unleashed your power had to be fast, fierce, and compressed into a short instant.

This… this was what a Heavenbreaker stance should look like.

“Heavenbreaker.” Ning made his move. He raised all six of his arms high into the air, filling his Violetjewels with his divine power and causing them to instantly skyrocket in weight.

Ten times. Ten thousand times. A trillion times…

The six Violetjewels each became as heavy as a chaos star! This was approaching the maximum level of weight which Ning was currently able to control. The Heavenbreaker stance was ideally executed with extremely heavy weapons, such as the deep blue greatsword of the deceased Hegemon. That was actually an incredibly dense and unique weapon which was perfect for using the Heavenbreaker stance.

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Chapter 34 – Sword Dao Samsara

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 34 – Sword Dao Samsara

Ji Ning’s six Violetjewels all chopped towards his opponents at the same time, and as they moved forwards they crushed everything in their path, causing space itself to tremble and distort. They moved forwards in seemingly slow arcs, but their power only continued to grow until they reached a crescendo of might, then slammed head-on into the giant stone fists of a volcano titan.

The power now contained with every single one of Ning’s six swords was stronger than when he previously used all six swords combined to execute the Blood Drop stance. This was the difference between the Heavenbreaker stance and the Blood Drop stance!

In terms of penetrative power, the Blood Drop stance was far superior to the Heavenbreaker stance… but it was still useless against these volcano titans, who had bodies that were comparable to precious treasures. But in terms of raw power, the Heavenbreaker stance was similarly far superior to the Blood Drop stance. It was perfect for head-on clashes!

BOOM!

The enormous volcanic body of the volcano titan shuddered violently, and he couldn’t help but stumble back quite a few steps. Even his giant stone hands were visibly trembling.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

Ning was clearly much faster and more agile than the volcano titans. He only had to deal with one of them each time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions rang out as the towering volcano titans were knocked stumbling backwards one by one, thanks to Ning’s overwhelming power. Although the volcano titans bellowed furiously and charged forwards repeatedly, Ning was able to beat them back each time. Ning was physically much smaller than them, but the power of his Heavenbreaker stance allowed him to completely outstrip them and shut them down.

“Eh?” An odd, surprised look appeared on the formerly emotionless face of the muscular, greatsword-wielding man who stood in front of the distant shrine.

“Is that…?!” The white-robed man and the azure-armored man next to him both revealed looks of joy.

“Big brother, that Sword Dao… isn’t that just like the Dao of the Hegemon, a Dao that overwhelms and crushes all foes in a straightforward manner?” The azure-armored man saif hurriedly, “Darknorth is a perfect fit for learning the Hegemon’s Dao of the Sword.”

The muscular man calmly shook his head. “Although he’s developed five Supreme Daos, he hasn’t been able to link them together in a perfect manner. He’s not even qualified to become my master’s honorary disciple.”

The deceased Hegemon would only accept one personal disciple and two honorary disciples. Not even that now-deceased World-level genius who had perfectly fused an offensive Supreme Dao with a defensive Supreme Dao had been able to qualify as an honorary disciple. In fact, the muscular man had personally slaughtered him!

“Big brother, your requirements are too stringent. The Sword Dao this kid has come up with is extremely similar to that of the Hegemon’s,” the azure-armored man said frantically. “There are incredibly few such geniuses of the Dao of the Sword. If you kill him, who knows how long it will be before we encounter another one?”

“I’d rather have no successors at all than poor ones.” The muscular man shook his head. “If I am to choose a successor, I will only choose a perfect one.”

“A perfect one?”

“Big brother, you… ugh.”

The white-robed man and the azure-armored man both shook their heads. But right then, both their bodies trembled. Even the muscular man was somewhat astonished as he stared at what was happening.

“What?!” The white-robed man and the azure-armored man called out this word at the same time.

“How could he have made yet another breakthough so quickly?” A look of true astonishment was on the muscular man’s cold features as well.

After Ning developed the Heavenbreaker stance, he immediately found the battle against the three volcano titans was now much easier than before. Thanks to the Shadowless evasive skill and the Blood Drop evasive skill, he was far more agile than his opponents. Defending was inherently easier than attacking, but now his attacks carried crushing power as well.

It was an absolutely delightful feeling. But just as Ning was battling to his heart’s content, he suddenly had the vague feeling that his five sword-intents could actually be linked together in some manner.

“Is this…” Ning suddenly realized that there were certain aspects of his five sword-intents that resonated with each other and attracted each other. They made up for each other’s weaknesses, and in fact it could be said they all stemmed from the same source.

The Dao of the Sword…

Although it was awesomely vast, different aspects of it could lead to different directions of development. Ning’s starting point was the essence of the sword itself, and he had divided it up into five different aspects that he believed included all types of sword-arts the Dao of the Sword could contain. His five aspects were the Blood Drop sword-intent, the Shadowless sword-intent, the Heavenbreaker sword-intent, the Yin-Yang sword-intent, and the Soleheart sword-intent. These five types of sword-intent, when separated thusly, truly did encompass all possible elements and aspects of all sword-arts.

These five types of sword-intents were, in truth, five parts of the complete Dao of the Sword.

When Ning had developed his first, second, third, and fourth sword-intents, he hadn’t realized this. But now that he had developed his fifth sword-intent, this battle instantly caused him to realize that there were deep, inextricable connections between his five sword-intents.

“The five sword-intents can be completely joined together.” And so, Ning naturally began to do just that.

……

He was unlike all other geniuses. Bertulu, Eastcult, Prince Greatjoy… they hadn’t actually truly understood or mastered all aspects of their chosen paths.

Eastcult had merely come up with a single offensive Dao and a single defensive Dao. When he managed to join them together in a perfect manner, his power increased dramatically! But of course, joining together two Supreme Daos was incredibly difficult.

The same was true for Prince Greatjoy. He too had only comprehended a pair of Supreme Daos, eventually joining them together here in the Genesis Lands of this alternate universe.

As for Bertulu, he was a bit stronger than the other two, having mastered and joined together a trio of Supreme Daos.

But…

Imagine a porcelain plate which had been shattered into five bizarrely-shaped pieces. Eastcult and Greatjoy had merely mastered two of those pieces. Thanks to their tremendous intelligence and wisdom, they had managed to find a way to jam these two pieces together into a complete whole, albeit with great difficult, and use the joined pieces to form their Daos.

Bertulu had been able to take control over three pieces, and had also had to work incredibly hard to join them together.

But Ji Ning?

He had mastered all five pieces, allowing him a degree of understanding of every single aspect of the Dao of the Sword. It was as though he had acquired all five pieces of that shattered porcelain plate. He didn’t need to waste time and effort finding out a way to make them fit together; they fit together in a natural manner, because they represented the five parts of the full Dao of the sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning’s sword… began to change. It was no longer limited to any specific stance.

Whoosh. He unleashed a sword that was almost invisible to the naked eye, a traceless and shadowless sword. And yet, when it appeared before the volcano titan it suddenly transformed into a swirling black hole of sword-light that dragged the volcano titan sideways. This had all happened too suddenly, and the volcano titan couldn’t help but stumble off-balance.

It was like he was toying with a child.

Boom. Whoosh! Boom.

Ning strode amidst the three volcano titans, his five mighty sword-intents having joined together to form a cyclical sword-intent, a Samsara sword-intent. His five mighty sword-intents were like five wooden spokes that now came together to naturally form a perfect wheel! This naturally-forming cycle allowed the different types of sword-intent to mutually reinforce and strengthen each other.

For example, Ning could first initiate the Heavenbreaker sword-intent. Once he built up enough power, he could suddenly transform it all into his Blood Drop sword-intent, giving it an even more terrifying degree of penetrative power.

The Blood Drop sword-intent’s incredible speed, in turn, could be transferred into the Heavenbreaker sword-intent, giving its ponderous strike a terrifying level of speed that only made it even more powerful than before.

Ning’s five mighty sword-intents flowed in a perfect cycle. As the saying goes, where water flows a canal shall naturally form. Just like that, the five mighty sword-intents easily came together to form a perfect cycle, the Samsara sword-intent.

……

“Five Supreme Daos? Just like that, he merged them together?” The azure-armored man muttered to himself, “Don’t you dare fight with me over him. Please oh please, don’t fight with me over him. He’s going to be my master’s personal disciple!”

“Third brother, Darknorth didn’t choose to leave when he reached the twenty-fourth floor. Clearly, he gave up the right to become your master’s disciple. As per the rules that were set down, you are responsible for the first twenty-four floors while our big brother and I are responsible for the final twelve floors,” the white-robed man said immediately. “Our big brother is incredibly strict when it comes to choosing a successor. So what if this kid has perfectly joined his Supreme Daos together? There’s no way our big brother will be interested in him. So, I think the best solution is to have him become my master’s personal disciple.”

Countless aeons ago, those three grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword had perished. For endless years, the three of them had abided by the orders of their master and had waited here in the hopes of finding successors.

However… finding suitable successors was simply far too difficult. Although Ji Ning had displayed a certain degree of talent, none of the three had been truly impressed by him. He hadn’t even been able to perfectly join any of his Supreme Daos together! Give him the treasures left behind by their Eternal Emperors masters? Preposterous!

But now, Ning had perfectly joined together FIVE different types of Supreme Daos! Looks of blazing desire instantly filled the eyes of the white-robed man and the azure-armored man. If looks could release energy, their gazes were so heated that Ji Ning would’ve instantly melted into a puddle.

“Hmph.” The muscular man let out a cold snort.

“Big brother, I’m certain that there’s no way someone as strict as you would be interested in him,” the white-robed man said hurriedly.

“So what if he has five Supreme Daos? So what if he’s perfectly joined them together? In the end, he’s still nothing more than a World-level cultivator.” The muscular man continued coldly, “The more difficult a Dao one choses, the more difficult the path a Samsara Daolord shall have. With each step, a Samsara Daolord must straddle the line between life and death. This is especially true with regards to the Daomerge. Every era has given birth to monstrously powerful Daolords, but how many of them have been able to gain eternity and become Hegemons? Don’t be fooled by how talented this Darknorth kid seems to be; I’m afraid that he has almost no chance of succeeding in his Daomerge in the future.”

There were many monstrously powerful Daolords; every single generation would give birth to a few. But…

Even the Endless Territories had only given birth to three Hegemons over the course of its entire history. The muscular man’s words were spot-on; to succeed in the Daomerge and gain true eternity was simply far too difficult for these monstrously talented geniuses.

“So… don’t be overly infatuated with him,” the muscular man said coldly.

“In other words, big brother, you aren’t interested in him, right?” The azure-armored man said.

“If that’s the case, then he’ll definitely become my master’s personal disciple,” the white-robed man said hurriedly.

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Chapter 35 – A Clash

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 35 – A Clash

“I’m not finished talking!” The muscular man was rather irritated.

The azure-armored man and the white-robed man exchanged a glance, then the azure-armored man said, “Big brother, what are you saying? I thought you didn’t care about this Darknorth kid. Are you seriously going to fight with us over him?”

“Big brother, I’ve memorized every single word you said just now,” the white-robed man said.

It had been far too long. They had been waiting here per the orders of their respective masters for far, far too long. Ji Ning was the first one to truly drive them wild with excitement. Although there had been one person who had perfectly joined an offensive Supreme Dao with a defensive one, that was just two Daos. Moreover, that man’s path wasn’t really a good fit for the path their masters had chosen.

Ji Ning’s Dao of the Sword, however, was a path which literally included everything. It included techniques meant for slaughter, such as the techniques of the azure-armored man’s master. It included ephemeral and inscrutable techniques, such as those of the white-robed man’s master. And it even included straightforward attacks of overwhelming power, such as the ones used by the muscular man’s master, the greatsword-wielding Hegemon. Ning’s Dao included everything and joined it all together perfectly! He was able to study any of their Daos!

“All I said was, don’t be overly infatuated with him.” The muscular man said coldly, “In addition, I’m not the one who will decide whether or not he’ll be allowed to become my master’s personal disciple. In the end, it will be up to the greatsword as to whether or not it accepts him as its master.”

The azure-armored man and the white-robed man were both stunned. The greatsword… it held truly incalculable amounts of might within it. It was a Universe treasure! Even Eternal Emperors dreamed of acquiring such treasures, but alas, Universe treasures chose their wielders, not the other way around. If the treasure refused to acknowledge you, there was no way for you to bind it by force whatsoever.

“The only decision I can make is whether or not he qualifies to become my master’s honorary disciple,” the muscular man said. “The decision of who qualifies to become a personal disciple is up to the greatsword.”

“What? You are planning to let him become an honorary disciple?” The azure-armored man and the white-robed man both ground their teeth in frustration.

“Big brother, weren’t you saying how unworthy he…” The azure-armored man couldn’t help but start muttering under his breath.

“Whether or not he can become an honorary disciple will depend on if he can survive my sword or not.” As soon as the muscular man spoke these words… BOOM! He manifested a total of six arms, all six of which assumed a tightened grip over that single deep blue greatsword! But of course, this greatsword wasn’t actually a Universe treasure, just a Dao weapon facsimile.

Swish!

The muscular man transformed into a streak of sword-light that tore through the skies, moving at an incredible pace of nearly five times the speed of light. It must be understood that normally speaking, only Daolords of the Fourth Step were able to attain such incredible speeds. But of course, different people with different Daos would have different areas of specialty. Ning’s Blood Drop sword-art also allowed him to move at incredible speeds by using himself as a sword while using the Blood Drop sword-intent. This was the so-called Blood Drop evasion skill.

The Blood Drop evasion skill was Ning’s fastest evasion skill. The Shadowless evasion skill was more unpredictable, but it was slightly slower. Ever since Ning had perfectly joined together his five Supreme Daos, his Blood Drop evasion skill had undergone a fundamental transformation, making it even faster and more explosive. In the past, he was roughly able to move at three times the speed of light. Now, he would be able to force his speed to a new limit of four times the speed of light.

“The five sword-intents of my Dao of the Sword have been joined together in a perfect manner, but my evasion skill is still inferior to his?” Ning had been utterly dominating those three volcano titans, but when he saw the muscular man fly towards him from afar he no longer dared to act complacently. He immediately used rope-type magic treasures to separately tie up all three volcano titans, ensuring that they wouldn’t be able to disturb him.

“Receive a blow from my sword!” The muscular man’s voice thundered through the skies, as did his distant sword-light. It transformed into a straight line that chopped downwards towards Ning with furious power. The entire world seemed to turn dark, leaving behind only that single terrifying sword-strike as it chopped downwards. Ning was actually completely unable to dodge this attack. His only choice was to defend against it.

Whoosh.

A black hole of sword-light spun out like a lotus flower in the darkness. It swiveled outwards and unleashed layers of power. For an instant, its swiveling movements became as explosively powerful as the Heavenbreaker stance; in the next instant, it would become as soft and ephemeral as the Shadowless stance.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The deep blue greatsword chopped straight down upon the black hole of sword-light, and the layers of swiveling ‘petals’ sought to transform into other sword-arts while furiously ablating the power of the oncoming attack.

“What a formidable defensive technique.” The muscular man could sense that the offensive power of his deep blue greatsword was being slowly ablated, ground away, and deflected. It was as though it had been trapped within the cycle of Samsara, never to escape again.

“Break! Break! Break!” The muscular man remained quite calm. He held absolute faith in his master’s Dao of the Sword.

No matter how tough you are, I’ll break through with overwhelming power!

This was a Dao of overwhelming force!

BOOM!

Ning was knocked flying backwards. Even when he landed, he had to stumble five steps back before recovering his footing. He stared rather cautiously at the distant, muscular man.

……

“He blocked it! Ahaha! Just like that, he blocked our big brother’s attack in a head-on collision. Absolutely incredible! That other poor bastard… he might’ve had a perfect fusion of his two Supreme Daos, but our big brother’s sword smashed him straight into the ground.” The distant azure-armored man couldn’t help but sigh in amazement when he saw this.

The white-robed man said, “Darknorth has mastered five Supreme Daos, and he’s joined them together in a Samsara-like cycle. His sword-arts have absolutely no flaws at all, and he’s reached an incredibly high level in all five of his Supreme Daos. In terms of tenacity and toughness, Darknorth’s Sword Dao is definitely the most tenacious and toughest Sword Dao there is.”

“There are other geniuses whose Sword Daos involve the perfect fusions of Supreme Daos, but they all have flaws. Darknorth, however, is skilled in every area. If he was to battle against one of them, he would be able to attack their weaknesses.” The azure-armored man sighed in approval. “Incredibly, absolutely incredible. He actually came up with five Supreme Sword Daos! If in the future he can become a Verge-level Daolord, he’ll definitely stand a good chance of becoming the most powerful Daolord there is.”

There was actually a ranking of monstrously powerful Daolords. In the Endless Territories, Palace Lord Dawnstar of the Twelve Palaces was one such Daolord. The major powers of the Brightshore Kingdom all believed that if Bertulu became a Verge-level Daolord, he would probably be comparable to Lord Dawnstar in power. Lord Dawnstar had once slain an Eternal Emperor with just three strikes of his saber… but despite that, he was only ranked as the second most powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories.

All of the most monstrously powerful Daolords had fused Supreme Daos together… but despite that, there were still differences in power amongst them!

“Mm.” The white-robed man let out an approving sigh. “Very true. Unfortunately, we won’t live to see that day.”

The azure-armored man suddenly fell silent as well.

Strictly speaking, they weren’t really living creatures. They also had to stay here perpetually for the sake of choosing suitable disciples for their masters. Although they were very willing to do this, they couldn’t help but feel at least a little bit of yearning towards the vast world outside.

……

The muscular man’s six hands were clenched around the hilt of that single greatsword. When he attacked, his savagery filled the skies. When he defended, he was as unshakable as a mountain.

Facing him in battle was like facing an enormous boulder that was crashing towards you. As it rolled down towards you, it would only increase in power. If you wanted to survive, you’d have to disrupt and shatter the terrifying momentum of his attacks! Fortunately, Ning had many varied techniques, and his ghostly, inscrutable Shadowless stance was able to repeatedly tie down the muscular man’s movements.

“Enough.” The muscular man suddenly came to a halt. Startled, Ning did the same thing.

This lengthy battle had been quite beneficial for him. The terrifying amount of pressure the muscular man had placed upon Ning had helped him learn how to use his sword-arts in a more effective and natural manner. The muscular man eclipsed Ning in both speed and strength. Although Ning’s Dao of the Sword had many different techniques hidden within it, he was only just barely able to fight the man to a standstill.

“When my master was at the World level, he was probably slightly weaker than you are right now.” The muscular man looked at Ning, then nodded slightly. “You are qualified to become my master’s honorary disciple.”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!”

“BIG BROTHER!”

Two furious howls rent the air.

The explosive howl of ‘shut your mouth’ had come from the azure-armored figure, while the one who had called out ‘big brother’ had come from the graceful, refined-looking white-robed man. The two immediately transformed into streaks of light that flew towards Ning. They had been keeping a close watch on this fight and had kept themselves carefully attuned to every little ripple. As soon as they heard their big brother speak to Ning, they became instantly enraged.

“Big brother, you go too far!” The white-robed man was a bit faster and as such was the first to arrive. After descending, he said angrily, “Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in Darknorth?”

“Darknorth.” When the azure-armored figure landed, he stared intently at Ning. “Don’t go be someone else’s ‘honorary’ disciple. What’s the point of being an ‘honorary’ disciple? The nine swords which my master left behind are all incredibly powerful. When they join together, they are all but invincible. Aside from the nine swords, I also have many other treasures which my master left behind for his personal disciple. As I see it, you are perfectly suited for becoming my master’s personal disciple.”

“Oh yeah? In terms of treasures, my master has even more treasures than yours!” The white-robed man said, “Darknorth, why don’t you become my master’s personal disciple instead? Our respective masters loved each other as brothers. The reason my master was ranked as the second brother was because he was second only to the Hegemon in power.”

“YOU…!” The azure-armored figure was infuriated. Who would’ve thought that at a critical moment like this, when they were supposed to be working together against their elder brother, the white-robed man would’ve suddenly ‘backstabbed’ him?

“Don’t blame me. I’ve waited far, far too long to help my master find a suitable disciple,” the white-robed man said in an innocent, ‘helpless’ manner.

“Shut your faces!” The muscular man had an icy look on his face as he finally snapped out at them, unable to keep silent any longer. He then turned to look at Ning. “It’ll be Darknorth’s decision as to who he chooses.”

To become the Hegemon’s honorary disciple, or to become the personal disciple of one of the other two Eternal Emperors of the Sword? Who should he choose?

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Chapter 36 – The Hegemon’s Treasures

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 36 – The Hegemon’s Treasures

Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel his chest tighten as the three stared at him.

When both the white-robed man and the azure-armored man had attempted to stop him from progressing any further, Ning had already decided that he would need to be extremely careful in the thirty-sixth level of the Abyss of Fiends. Even those more powerful than him had perished here, after all. However, Ning was very confident in his defensive skills, and it wasn’t like him to back down without a fight. He was willing to use this main clone of his to take on the risk of challenging the final level.

If he won, he would gain a tremendous fortune. And in the end… things had been much simpler than he had anticipated. Not only had he mastered his Heavenbreaker stance, he had almost automatically joined together the five sword-intents into a Samsara sword-intent!

In truth, it all made perfect sense. Ning had reached the bottleneck in all five stances of [Brightmoon] long ago. He had first broke through in the Yin-Yang stance back in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom, then had broken through in the other four stances with increasing fluidity! The more he trained, the faster the breakthroughs came until finally, they all came together in a perfect whole – the Yin-Yang stance, the Blood Drop stance, the Shadowless stance, the Soleheart stance, and the Heavenbreaker stance!

“Senior.” Ning looked at the muscular man. “I wonder if this junior qualifies to become the Hegemon’s personal disciple?”

If he was going to choose, he would choose the best!

“Personal disciple?” The muscular man was startled, then let out a rare chuckle. “Quite ambitious, aren’t we? However, if you wish to become the Hegemon’s personal disciple you have to be acknowledged by his Universe treasure!”

“Has it refused to acknowledge me?” Ning asked.

“It hasn’t said anything yet. Mm… how about this? I’ll help you ask.” The muscular man suddenly shut his eyes.

……

Back in the outside world of the inner reaches. The 540,000 meter tall corpse of the Hegemon had been silently standing there for countless years without moving. His two hands remained perpetually clenched around the hilt of that deep blue greatsword. Suddenly, a flicker of light appeared on the surface of the greatsword as the sword let out a keening sound.

Swoosh. A figure suddenly appeared in front of the three corpses of the grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword.

“What’s going on? I’m sure I wasn’t just imagining things. I’m sure I felt a ripple just now.” A white-robed, silver-eyed man stared at the three corpses with a solemn look on his face. “Did something strange just happen?”

……

The thirty-sixth level of the Abyss of Fiends.

The three volcano titans had been released by Ning long ago and had returned to their respective positions, transforming into a trio of towering volcanos once more. Ji Ning, the white-robed man, and the azure-armored man stood there upon the devastated earth, staring at the muscular man. All three of them were rather nervous. If the Universe treasure was willing to accept Ning as its master, then there was no question what Ning’s choice would be.

“I’ve asked it.” The muscular man opened his eyes.

“And? How’d it go?” Ning asked. However, he had a bad feeling about what the answer would be. If the Universe treasure had truly accepted him as its master, there would probably be some certain, special signs that would appear.

The muscular man sighed. “Your understanding of the Dao of the Sword truly is perfect, and it does indeed include the path of cultivation which the Hegemon had walked! You have the most perfect Dao of the Sword that I have ever encountered. But… that sword told me that it doesn’t like you.”

“Doesn’t… like me?” Ning was flabbergasted.

“Right. It just doesn’t like you,” the muscular man said. “It followed our master for countless years, and it likes people like Master himself; as vast and bold as the seas, and as deep and steady as the mountains. It doesn’t like your type.”

Ning was speechless.

So this was the reason the sword had no interest in him. Much like how a man might fall for a woman or vice versa, the Universe sword was only willing to accompany someone who it took a fancy towards! Clearly, the Hegemon had left a tremendous impact on it, making it strongly prefer cultivators who had the same type of personality as the Hegemon had.

“It seems that there are no ties of destiny between myself and that sword.” Ning smiled and shook his head. If it didn’t like him, there was nothing he could do. Although he was rather disappointed, he wasn’t crushed by the refusal! It was extremely difficult to convince a Universe treasure to submit to you, after all. Even Eternal Emperors dreamed of acquiring Universe treasures. Ning had mentally prepared himself to be rejected by it.

Still… despite his mental preparations, deep within his heart he couldn’t help but feel a sense of strong disappointment. “You don’t like my type, eh? Don’t like my type? I don’t like you either!”

Still, Ning himself knew that these were nothing more than words of self-consolement. This was the closest he had ever gotten to acquiring an Universe treasure, after all.

“Don’t be too disappointed, Darknorth,” the white-robed man consoled.

“Its just a Universe treasure. Our big brother is very exacting, but that Universe treasure is even more exacting. It also has a weird temper,” the azure-armored man said hurriedly. “I really think you should be my master’s personal disciple instead.”

“Darknorth, have you decided yet?” The muscular man asked.

Ning pondered for a moment. It seemed as though he would have to choose between being the Hegemon’s honorary disciple or a personal disciple of one of the two retainer Eternal Emperors.

“Seniors, can you explain to me as to which treasures I’ll be able to acquire if I become the Hegemon’s honorary disciple or a personal disciple of your respective masters? What techniques I’ll gain? If you can tell me a bit more, I’ll be better equipped to make the right decision,” Ning said.

“Makes sense.”

“Alright, let me explain.”

“Take a look first.”

All three waved their hands. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The formerly empty and devastated ground before them became be filled with images of magic treasures, all of which looked to be quite extraordinarily.

“I’ll go first.” The azure-armored figure pointed at the levitating images of the nine blood-colored swords. “First of all, you’ll gain these nine precious swords. They are incomparably mighty, and it is almost impossible to buy them under normal circumstances. You’ll also gain this suit of armor, this gourd, and this banner. And of course, you’ll also gain Master’s sword-arts legacy as well as his secret arts, divine abilities, etc.”

The majority of an Eternal Emperor’s treasure trove lay before Ning. Ning couldn’t help but be filled with many thoughts as he stared at them.

“My turn.” The white-robed man began to narrate the treasures he had to offer as he pointed at the illusions of the violet-hilted, gold-hilted, and white-hilted swords, as well as the many other treasures he had.

……

The muscular man stood silently there in the rubble. Only after his second brother and third brother finished speaking did he say calmly, “I have two sets of treasures here for the two honorary disciples which Master is willing to accept. You can choose one of your liking.”

“The first set includes fifty million cubes of chaos nectar! It also includes two Dao-seals which the Hegemon personally forged! It also has the sword which the Hegemon used prior to him acquiring his Universe treasure. This sword alone is worth just as much as the armaments which my second brother and my third brother have offered you. In addition, you’ll also gain access to the complete sword-arts legacy which Master left behind, as well as his divine abilities and secret arts.

“The second set also includes fifty million cubes of chaos nectar, two Dao-seals which the Hegemon personally forged, and the suit of armor which the Hegemon wore when he was alive. This suit of armor has many marvelous properties, and it too is worth just as much as the armaments of his two retainers. In addition, you’ll also gain access to the complete sword-arts legacy which Master left behind, as well as his divine abilities and secret arts.”

After finishing his explanation, the muscular man fell silent.

The white-robed man and the azure-armored man both looked at Ning expectantly.

As for Ning, he carefully examined each of the levitating illusions. The white-robed man and the azure-armored man had treated him very well, but this involved a tremendous fortune for him. He absolutely could not treat this decision lightly.

The other two Eternal Emperors had left virtually all of their treasures to their personal disciples. The treasures were staggering in both number and value.

In terms of valuable treasures, the two Eternal Emperors had more. But! What the Hegemon had left behind would be more of use to him! It was highly likely that no one in all the Endless Territories was a match for the deceased Hegemon with regards to the Dao of the Sword. His sword-arts legacy was something which Ning would never have a chance to learn again. The Hegemon had successfully completed his Daomerge… his sword-arts would definitely be of enormous assistance to Ning as a valuable reference.

“The best treasures are the ones which suit you the best. In addition… I’d have to find a way to sell off the treasures of the other two Eternal Emperors. The Dao-seals and chaos nectar which the Hegemon left behind are of more immediate use to me.” Ning nodded.

“Forgive me, seniors,” Ning said apologetically.

The white-robed man and the azure-armored man both let out sighs, looking rather forlorn. The white-robed man shook his head and smiled. “The two of us suspected that this would be your answer. The complete sword-arts legacy of a Hegemon… both of us know exactly how alluring such a thing is to a cultivator of the Dao of the Sword.”

The complete sword-arts legacy of a Hegemon of the Dao of the Sword was absolutely priceless.

You might be able to find a few grandmasters of the Dao of the Sword who were on the general level of Emperor Mirrorsnow, but where would you even begin to start a search for a Hegemon-level figure? Even after Ning became a Verge-level Daolord, no sum of money would be enough for him to locate such a complete sword-arts legacy.

“Congratulations, big brother.”

“Big brother, you’ve finally found an honorary disciple for your master.” The other two both expressed congratulations. They couldn’t help but secretly sigh to themselves. The two of them and their big brother had waited for far too long for a successor. The only difference was that their big brother was even more exacting than they were.

It had been countless years, but their big brother had finally chosen an honorary disciple for the Hegemon! The Hegemon would only accept a total of two honorary disciples, which meant that his honorary disciples would be treated many times better than the personal disciples of Emperor Mirrorsnow were.

The sword which the Hegemon had once wielded, the suit of armor he had once worn… both were truly priceless.

“Darknorth.” The muscular man’s lips parted as he finally revealed a rare smile. “Follow me.” He transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the distant shrine.

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Chapter 37 – The Paragon of Pills

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 37 – The Paragon of Pills

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The muscular man and Ji Ning advanced together into the shrine.

“Eh?” Inside the shrine, Ning saw lakes of flowing lava, next to which were strange trees that seemed to be made out of fine jade. Ning couldn’t recognize where these trees came from.

Next to the lava lakes there was an ordinary-looking stone house, and there was a figure seated in the lotus position within the house. The figure sat there without moving, and from the looks of it had been there for countless chaos cycles already.

“Master.” The muscular man walked over, then said respectfully, “I’ve chosen an honorary disciple for you.”

Ning instantly realized that the figure seated in the lotus position within the stone house was most likely a fragment of the Hegemon’s will and memories which the Hegemon had left behind prior to passing.

The seated figure suddenly opened his eyes, and his eyes shone in the darkness of the stone house like a pair of two vast transversal conduits. Ning was instantly lost within his gaze.

“My disciple… if in the future you succeed in the Daomerge and gain eternity, it is my wish that you repay the grace I shall show you today you unto the Paragon of Pills.” A voice filled with complex emotions and frustration rang out from within the stone room.

Whoosh.

A streak of light instantly shot out of the seated figure and flew straight towards Ning. As soon as it touched Ning, it was instantly drawn straight into his body. As for the seated figure, it now seemed a bit dimmer and paler. Moments later, the door to the stone house rumbled shut.

Ning stood there, a series of images playing within his mind.

These images were of a muscular man who was training in sword-arts in his youth. It also included images of him becoming an Elder God, then a World God, then a Daolord, and finally an Eternal Emperor, as well as the many sword-arts involved…

The sword-arts started off weak, became stronger, and then completely surpassed Ning’s imagination. This Hegemon had reached his level after perfectly joining together two Supreme Daos. Although this wasn’t quite as impressive as what Ning had done, it wasn’t that far off either.

He became a dazzling figure that gained true eternity, and was then given the respectful title of ‘Hegemon’! Not even the most monstrously powerful of Daolords would dare to challenge an Eternal Emperor of such power. This was because he himself was already one of the most monstrously powerful of Daolords in his era. Now that he was an Eternal Emperor, he only became even more powerful than before.

“What a powerful sword.” Ning’s eyes were unfocused and intoxicated, and his thoughts were completely filled with images of inconceivably powerful sword-arts. Some possessed such incredible magic power that they seemed to surpass the limitations of the Dao itself.

A single strike of that sword could pass through the boundaries of spacetime and slay a foe who was a hundred territories away.

A single strike of that sword could cause spacetime itself to flow backwards, allowing the wielder to go back in time. Alas, it wasn’t able to allow individuals who had perished in the past to be brought back to life.

……

The Prime Reaches of the Genesis Lands of the Archaeus region of the alternate universe. This was an incredibly mysterious place, and the thirty-five Eternal Emperors who had perished here weren’t even the most important or most mysterious aspects to it.

The living Eternal Emperors didn’t care too much about the deceased ones. At most, they’d display a bit of interest in the Universe treasures. What the living Eternal Emperors truly cared about were certain mysteries that were hidden within the prime essences of the universe! They were what had allowed the master of the Church of Annihilation to rise to power, becoming the number one expert of this entire universe and unifying it under his banner.

Whoosh.

A black gauzy figure flew through the skies, moving past the primessence chains that led from the outer reaches, then flying directly into the world of the inner reaches.

“What?!”

“How is that even possible?!”

“Isn’t the only way into the inner reaches through traversing the primessence chains on foot?”

There were eighteen World-level cultivators and three Daolords standing at the outer reaches end of the primessence chains. One of those World-level cultivators was Waterlord Firesurge. Firesurge had also spent quite a bit of time wandering the outer reaches, and had also benefited greatly as a result of it. He felt that he had improved significantly, and so he wanted to once more test himself against the primessence chains. Alas, although this time he made it to the nine hundred kilometer mark, he still ended up failing.

“How can someone just fly across?” Waterlord Firesurge stared in disbelief at the gauze-clad figure that had just flown past them.

When the black, gauzy figure flew past them, it was as though spacetime itself had no hold over her whatsoever. She seemed to be drifting slowly, but in reality she moved so quickly that she almost instantly disappeared from the field of vision of the Daolords and the World-level cultivators.

“World-level cultivators and Daolords must tread the primessence chains. If not, they will be drawn into the abyss below and devoured. Only Eternal Emperors would dare to ignore the primessence chains and fly straight into the world of the inner reaches.”

“Right. That had to have been an Eternal Emperor.”

“Who was that Eternal Emperor?”

The Daolords and World-level cultivators quickly were able to guess at the status of that person. Eternal Emperors were incredibly rare and few in number. It must be understood that only two of them resided within the Genesis Lands, with one being Emperor Maniseal and the other being Emperor Northtree. That lithe figure that had flown past clearly belonged to neither of them.

“Which Eternal Emperor is it, then?”

“I’ve seen many people and many things, but I truly have no idea who that was. Could it be that a Daolord has recently completed his Daomerge and become a new Eternal Emperor? But once that happens, the news would quickly spread to the entirety of the Church of Annihilation.” The Daolords and World-level cultivators continued to make their guesses, puzzled at what had just happened, but they all memorized the appearance of that black figure. They wanted to make sure that they remembered this was a person for them to never, ever offend.

……

The inner reaches. The thirty-five ancient corpses still lay scattered around this world.

The white-robed, silver-eyed man continued to stand there, silently inspecting the corpses of the three grandmasters of the sword. “I’m sure I sensed a special ripple just now… could it be that some of the legendary secrets of the prime essences are hidden here?”

The white-robed man carefully searched through every inch of the region. Anything involving the secrets of the prime essences was enough to drive any major power wild with lust. The Church of Annihilation was the perfect example of what it could bring. Who wouldn’t go crazy for something like that?

Whoosh.

A gentle wind blew, and a figure appeared.

“What?!” The white-robed man was so badly shocked that even his face turned pale. “How could someone have appeared right next to me without me sensing anything at all?”

He was a Daolord of the Fourth Step, and an extremely famous one. He had once battled an Eternal Emperor for an extremely long period of time before fleeing. He was definitely strong enough to cause many other Daolords to sigh in amazement.

He slowly turned his head to stare at the nearby figure. Roughly thirty meters away stood a slender figure who was dressed in black gauzy clothes. She emanated an aura of endless coldness and purity, and she stood there as though she herself was the genesis source of this world. Everything around her seemed to naturally submit to her will! Here, she reigned supreme.

“Primordial Starqueen… the Paragon of Pills?” The white-robed man was so horrified that his heart shuddered with fear. He hurriedly fell to his knees with respect. “This junior greets you, Starqueen.”

The highest ranking member in the Church of Annihilation was its leader and master, the one who had unified this entire universe. Second to him were the sixteen Starkings.

The sixteen Starkings were all unfathomably profound individuals, but the most powerful and mysterious members amongst their ranks were the ones known as the three Primordial Starkings! The reason why they were different from the other thirteen and were titled as ‘primordial’ was because they had been alive since the very birth of this universe.

The White Emperor was the teacher of the leader of the Church of Annihilation, and he was one of the three Primordial Starkings. As for the Paragon of Pills, she was also one of the three. She was an extremely mysterious figure who moved in mysterious ways and rarely revealed herself. It was very difficult for even Eternal Emperors to have a chance to meet with her. However, most of the high-status members of this universe all knew what she looked like.

She always dressed in black gauze and had a look of perpetual iciness about her. As for her features, they were forever be masked by a formless barrier of fog. There was no way to see her true features at all.

“What just happened here…” The black-garbed figure stared at the distant corpse of the greatsword-wielding man, complex emotions in her eyes. “Why did I suddenly feel as though something momentous happened?”

“Big brother… don’t grow too impatient. Big brother, second brother, third brother… I’ll reverse the flows of spacetime and bring all of you back to life…” The black-garbed figure murmured softly to herself. She had said these words far, far too many times. Her gaze was completely focused upon the muscular, greatsword-wielding man.

Suddenly, the look on her face changed. The aura around her began to ripple and rumble as well.

It must be understood that this place was the Prime Reaches of the Genesis Lands. This was no ordinary place! Ji Ning and the various Daolords weren’t even able to fly about here, a testament to how powerful the various restrictive forces here were. And yet… just the slightest hint of startlement from the black-garbed figure was enough to cause the aura of the surrounding area to shake and rumble. All Daos were shaking, as though wishing to retreat from her.

Where I stand, all other Daos must bend the knee!

The white-robed man’s heart shook with cold fear as he saw this. She lived up to her reputation as one of the three Primordial Starkings! In fact, according to the legends the only reason why the leader of the Church of Annihilation was able to rise to power was because the three Primordial Starkings had no interest in battle or power. The legends said that in reality, the three Primordial Starkings were just as powerful as their ‘leader’.

Of course, those were just legends! The three Primordial Starkings, however, had indeed existed since the birth of this universe. This was why everyone believed that they knew the secrets held within it.

“What’s going on? Everything was fine earlier. Nothing like this was happening.” The white-robed man was puzzled.

As for the black-garbed figure, the Paragon of Pills, she stared at the treasures placed in front of the muscular man. Others, such as Daolords, might not be able to see anything, but her gaze easily pierced through the restrictive spells and allowed her to realize that a treasure was now missing from the pile.

“A treasure has disappeared? Who took it?” The Paragon turned to scan her surroundings, causing everything within the inner reaches to fall under her gaze.

“Tell me, what happened here?” The Paragon of Pills stared intently at the white-robed man.

“I…” The white-robed man truly had no idea as to what he should say.

Whoosh.

A handsome, white-robed youth who had a longsword on his back suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

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Chapter 38 – The Trileaf Realm

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 38 – The Trileaf Realm

Ji Ning had left the Abyss of Fiends and returned to the inner reaches in a wonderful mood. But then…

“Eh?” Ning stared at the two figures in front of him. Although the white-robed, silver-eyed man had an extraordinary demeanor, Ning wasn’t too surprised by his presence; the inner reaches of the Genesis Lands held quite a few Daolords of renown and power. But when he saw that slender, black-garbed figure… Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of shock in his heart.

He wasn’t too far away from her, but Ning felt like a blind man groping for a flower within the mists. He couldn’t see what she looked like; all he could sense was an aura of incredible coldness radiating from her, so cold that it burrowed deep into his soul and caused him to quiver.

“Who is this person?” Ning was shocked. “Not even Lord Woodflower of our Sword Palace is a match for her.”

The black-garbed figure was staring at Ning as well, weighing him with a judging gaze. Her eyes seemed to see right through him and all of his secrets! Ning could sense that she was staring at him. It was a strange feeling; she was staring at him, but he couldn’t see her at all.

“So it was you.” The black-garbed figure suddenly spoke out, and her voice was just as cold and crisp as he had imagined it to be. Suddenly, she waved her sleeve.

Whoosh. Ning disappeared into thin air.

According to the rules of the Church of Annihilation, all violence was forbidden within the Genesis Lands. To forcibly abduct or teleport someone away was similarly forbidden. The nearby Daolord just stared blankly, not daring to make a sound. “Even if the leader of the Church of Annihilation found out about this, he probably wouldn’t say anything.”

The Paragon of Pills, one of the three Primordial Starkings… even if she chose to massacre everyone in the Genesis Lands, what of it?

……

After making Ning disappear, the Paragon of Pills said calmly, “You may leave now.”

“Yes.” The silver-eyed man immediately assented respectfully, then fled at high speeds.

The Paragon of Pills raised her head, staring at the corpse of the muscular, greatsword-wielding man with an almost dazed look in her eyes. She seemed to forget about time itself as she just stared at him silently.

He had died. Died a long, long time ago. But his corpse looked just like it did when he was alive.

“Paragon of Pills.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Mm?” The black-garbed Paragon turned gracefully, sweeping the area behind her with her dazzling, bewitchingly beautiful eyes. Off in the distance stood a Daoist dressed in deep blue robes and a high crown. He was walking straight towards her.

“Maniseal.” The Paragon’s voice remained as cool as ever. “I hear you are quite talented. You’ve even managed to devise something known as a ‘Lifeblood Dao-seal’?”

Emperor Maniseal was startled. Indeed, his greatest accomplishment in the Dao of Seals was the Lifeblood Dao-seal, but very few people knew of this. In the Church of Annihilation, the only Eternal Emperors who knew of this should’ve been the church’s leader and the White Emperor. How was it that another one of the three Primordial Starkings, the Paragon of Pills, had found out as well?

“It seems you keep a close watch on things, Paragon.” Emperor Maniseal nodded. “Then I imagine you also know why I have come here?”

“You wish to reverse the flows of spacetime to resurrect that disciple of yours?” The Paragon said.

“In terms of mastery over reversing spacetime, you are probably more skilled than anyone else in our universe,” Emperor Maniseal said. “The leader of the Church and the White Emperor have made excessive demands of me. I have no other options, which is why I have come to speak to you and ask if you can consider reviving my disciple.”

“I cannot save your disciple, but the leader of the Church can,” the Paragon said coolly.

“Cannot save him?” Emperor Maniseal was stunned.

“To reverse the flows of spacetime and to bring back to life a being whose truesoul was extinguished… this is a violation of one of the grand Daos that sustains the entire universe,” the Paragon said slowly. “The universe continues to advance towards the future, and so to reverse the flows of spacetime is to go against the will and destiny of the universe.”

“The lord of the Church of Annihilation can borrow some of the power of the prime essences of our universe and so would be able to resist the backlash from the universe. I, however, cannot,” the Paragon said.

A look of disappointment appeared on Emperor Maniseal’s face.

“Didn’t you say long ago that it was much easier to reverse spacetime and bring back to life those who were below the Eternal Emperor level?” Emperor Maniseal felt both impatient and heartbroken.

The Paragon of Pills gave him a cold glance. Emperor Maniseal’s heart shook.

Long, long ago, the Paragon of Pills had already risen to stand at the very apex of this universe. Back then, the leader of the Church of Annihilation had yet to rise to power, and the mightiest figures in the universe were the three Primordial Starkings.

Back then, the Paragon of Pills had done everything she could, paid every price she could pay, to try and reverse the flows of spacetime so as to bring back her big brother. Alas… in the end, she had failed. She had suffered such an incredible backlash from the universe that she herself had nearly perished as well.

Gripped by despair, she had said to the other two Primordial Starkings, “It would be much simpler if I was trying to reverse the flows of spacetime for someone below the Eternal Emperor level. But to revive someone who has gained eternity… it is far, far too hard…”

After that, the Paragon of Pills had left by herself and disappeared for a long period of time. Later on, when the lord of the Church of Annihilation had risen to power and unified the universe, he had invited the sixteen Starkings to join his organization. It was only then that the Paragon of Pills had appeared once more.

“Do not try to reverse the flows of spacetime to revive your disciple. Aside from the lord of the Church of Annihilation, no one can accomplish this task.” The Paragon’s voice was chilly. “I… I cannot bring anyone back at all.”

Emperor Fubo knew that he could no longer ask any more questions. This was the only female member of the three Primordial Starkings, and she was unfathomably strong. All three of the Primordial Starkings were on very good terms with each other. When the Paragon of Pills had sought to revive her brothers, the other two had sacrificed quite a bit in their attempts to help her succeed.

As a matter of face, reversing spacetime to revive someone was something of a taboo topic for the Paragon of Pills. The only reason she had been willing to tell Emperor Maniseal so much was because pitied him as someone who shared the same desires as her, due to his wish to bring his disciple back to life.

“Just now, I sensed that after you came here you abducted a young fellow,” Emperor Maniseal said with a smile. “Is that young fellow your big brother’s successor?”

“Maniseal.” The Paragon gave Emperor Maniseal a hard glance. “I’m warning you right now that you are not to get involved in the affairs of juniors.”

“I know that, of course! If there’s anything you need, Paragon, you can just let me know. I’ll do everything I can to assist.” Emperor Maniseal smiled as he produced a strange jade seal that was a mixture of balck and white colors. “Consider this Dao-seal as my gift to that young fellow.”

The Paragon glanced at it, the corners of her lips curving upwards slightly. She waved her hand, accepting the talisman.

“No need to send me off.” The Paragon of Pills turned and gracefully departed.

Emperor Maniseal watched as the Paragon disappeared off into the distance, then revealed a hint of a smile. “The Hegemon of the Dao of the Sword… it has been countless years since he passed away. This should be his very first successor.”

When the Hegemon had perished, he had set down certain restrictive spells around himself. No one from the outside would be able to see any changes, but those who were able to see through the restrictive spells would be able to see just how many treasures lay hidden behind them.

Long, long ago, the Paragon of Pills had first risen to fame due to her mastery over alchemy. This was why she was respectfully titled the Paragon of Pills. In this universe, she was publicly acclaimed as the number one alchemist, and no one had ever surpassed her in this regard. She was naturally far superior to her big brother in terms of restrictive spells, and so she was able to see through it with ease.

As for Emperor Maniseal, he was the undisputed number one master of the Dao of Seals. As a result, in mastery over restrictive spells at least, he was somewhat superior to the deceased Hegemon.

Both of them were able to see through the restrictive spells and note the number of remaining treasures. However, neither of them dared to take the treasures by force. If they did, they would suffer an attack from the power of the entire Prime Reaches… and the Prime Reaches was where the prime essences of the entire universe lay. This would represent a strike from the entire universe, a strike of incalculable power.

……

Ning was now within an estate-world. This world was merely a few hundred kilometers in size, and there was no way out of it.

“Why was I captured and brought to this place? That woman… did she act with malice in mind, or was she motivated by good intentions?” This had been completely unexpected. He hadn’t even had the chance to celebrate the fact that he had become the Hegemon’s honorary disciple and gained his treasures. Instead, he had almost instantly been abducted by this new power.

Someone actually dared to attack him within the inner reaches? That had to mean she was at least at the Eternal Emperor level.

“What will be, will be. Not like there’s any way for me to avoid it.” Ning understood that given how this major power had been able to abduct him without him being able to put up any resistance at all… there was no way he could fight back against her.

Whoosh.

Ning could sense himself being surrounded by an enormous surge of power. Moments later, the world around him changed.

“Where am I?” Ning stared up ahead. He was in an area of endless darkness. The only thing within this region was a strange, five-colored space bridge. Aside from this five-colored space bridge, there was nothing but darkness. As for Ning himself, he was standing atop the bridge. Next to him was that slender, black-garbed figure.

“We’ve already left the Archaeus region. Soon, we’ll reach the Trileaf Realm.” The black-garbed figure spoke out, and the five-colored space bridge beneath their feet was advancing through the darkness at incredible speeds.

They were travelling countless trillions of kilometers with every moment. They were moving far faster than Prince Greatjoy’s teleporting abilities could handle.

“Left the Archaeus region?” Ning was flabbergasted. Weren’t they in the Genesis Lands just now? He spent nearly ten thousand freaking years travelling through the Archaeus region and into the Genesis Lands. How the hell did the suddenly leave it in an instant? He felt as though it hadn’t even been enough time to boil a kettle of tea. This level of speed was ridiculous.

“Senior, dare I ask… what exactly is this Trileaf Realm?” Ning asked.

“My place.” The Paragon of Pills gave a calm response.

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Chapter 39 – A Half-Month Loan

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 39 – A Half-Month Loan

The five-colored space bridge continued to stretch off into the distance, easily traversing the boundaries of both space and time. Just a short while later, a world that looked like an Immortal’s abode appeared before them, vast and beautiful.

“This place is the Trileaf Realm. Long ago, I chose a location within the Sea of Bitter Darkness and established a world within it. Ever since then, I have been living here.” The Paragon of Pills said in a cold voice, “The Trileaf Realm is a fairly well-hidden place. You probably have never heard of it before today. In the future, you may visit whenever you so desire.”

Ji Ning relaxed slightly. It seemed as though this mysterious major power was treating him quite well. “Senior, are you planning to let me leave this place?”

“Of course. Do you think you’ll be able to succeed in your Daomerge and gain eternity just by sitting here instead of going out adventuring?” The Paragon glanced sideways at Ning. “Don’t worry. I’ve brought you here for certain reasons. Once I’m finished, I’ll naturally let you go on your way. In the future, you can enter and exit this place freely! Although it’s quite difficult for outsiders to enter my Trileaf Realm, things are different for you. You are the disciple of my old friend, and you can thus be considered one of the juniors in my lineage.”

Ji Ning said, “Thank you, senior.” Only then was Ning in the mood to spend some time inspecting this Trileaf Realm. From the outside, it looked like an enormous world that was being held up by a trio of blooming leaves. This world was so vast that it was countless times greater than most of the land masses Ning had encountered thus far.

“Do you know why it is named the Trileaf Realm?” The Paragon of Pills suddenly asked.

“Is it because of those three enormous leaves that are holding up the world? Is that why it is named the Trileaf Realm?” Ning guessed.

The Paragon slowly shook her head, but she didn’t explain.

Swoosh!

The Paragon led Ning to fly downwards into the beautiful fairyland world below them.

……

The Archaeus region. The Genesis Lands. The outer reaches.

A streak of fire suddenly flew out of a secret region. Su Youji was dressed in her usual fiery red robes, and her entire body was bathed in flames that were shaped like a bird of some sort.

“I can’t sense Master’s aura any longer. Why can’t I sense his aura? I could sense that he was in the inner reaches just a short while ago.” Su Youji stared towards the inner reaches, a look of restless unease in her eyes. In the moment that the Paragon pulled Ning away, Su Youji had lost her ability to sense Ning’s location.

Ning had given her a message-talisman, and she had given him one of hers. Theoretically speaking, the two would be able to constantly sense where the other was located and could meet up whenever they chose.

“Why have I suddenly lost all contact with him? What should I do. What should I do?” Su Youji felt extremely uneasy. This uneasy feeling had actually caused her to give up adventuring through the secret region she had been in, and give up on her chances to acquire the treasures within that region.

Su Youji transformed into a streak of light, repeatedly teleporting forwards as she moved towards the inner reaches at high speeds.

A short while later.

“Firesurge!” A group of cultivators was clustered together at the outer reaches end of the primessence chains, and Waterlord Firesurge was with them.

“Fellow Daoist Firesurge.” Su Youji immediately landed, then called out to him respectfully.

“Flamefairy?” Seeing her, Firesurge immediately rose to his feet and asked curiously, “Flamefairy, why have you come here? Judging from the worried look on your face… what exactly has happened?”

“It’s my master.” Su Youji said worriedly, “I can sense that Master vanished. I feel very uneasy, which is why I immediately came over here. Have you seen my master, fellow Daoist Firesurge?”

Firesurge shook his head. “I haven’t seen Darknorth since he entered the inner reaches. Did you just say that you lost contact with him, all of a sudden?”

“Right.” Su Youji nodded hurriedly. “But his message-talisman is still with me, and it’s completely undamaged.”

If Ning had died, then the message-talisman should’ve sensed it and then shattered apart.

“So the talisman isn’t damaged, right?” Firesurge asked.

“It did not.” Su Youji nodded.

“The world of the inner reaches is filled with many different dangers,” Firesurge said. “This is, after all, the place where this entire universe was birthed. It is highly possible that Darknorth might have found himself trapped in some location which prevents anyone outside of it from contacting him. It is highly likely that your master is still alive. But of course, for it to be able to sever all contact means it is definitely an extraordinary location. It’s also possible that your master…”

Su Youji’s heart trembled. This was exactly what she was afraid of. Ji Ning had been in the inner reaches for many years now, and she had been able to sense his presence this entire time! The same was true for Heartlord Solewind and his own retainer, Chaos Immortal Swallowback. Now, even Prince Greatjoy had gone into the inner reaches, with his retainer World Goddess Skywolf able to sense his presence.

But now… all of a sudden, she could no longer sense where Ji Ning was! Something must’ve gone wrong!

“Wait a bit longer. From what I’ve heard, World-level cultivators generally won’t spend too much time in the inner reaches,” Firesurge said. “Let’s just wait a few thousand more years and see if he ends up coming out.”

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded slowly. There was nothing else she could do. “Thank you, fellow Daoist Firesurge.” Su Youji immediately chose a quiet corner and then sat down in the lotus position. Her mind was now restless, and she was in no mood to continue adventuring. Still… she had already made shockingly great gains during her previous adventures in the outer reaches.

“Master, you have to live.” Su Youji’s feelings towards Ning were very complex. Ning was extremely powerful, and he had also saved her on numerous occasions. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of love and admiration for him, but she could also sense that he had someone else in his heart. As a result, Su Youji had always been hesitant and unable to voice her feelings for him.

……

Deep within the Sea of Bitter Darkness, there lay the Trileaf Realm.

A few ripples appeared in front of an ancient, pitch-black building. From the ripples emerged a pair of figures; the Paragon of Pills and Ji Ning.

“This is my estate.” The Paragon of Pills spoke calmly as she advanced.

Ji Ning followed her from behind. Rather curious, he asked, “Senior, why is it that I don’t see any other cultivators within this estate?” There wasn’t even so much as a gateguard. This truly was quite odd.

“I prefer the peace and quiet. I dislike being disturbed by others,” the Paragon said coolly.

“Oh.” Ning nodded.

If any of the other major powers of the Trileaf Realm saw how their exalted, transcendent leader, the Paragon of Pills, was casually carrying on a conversation with a mere World-level cultivator, they would almost certainly be stupefied by this. The Paragon of Pills was famous for her cold indifference! She generally wouldn’t even pay any attention to most Eternal Emperors.

The reason she chatted a bit with Emperor Maniseal was because he was very powerful as well as a person who was struggling hard to revive his beloved disciple. This was why the Paragon of Pills treated him differently.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

In front of them was an enormous pill cauldron. Next to the pill cauldron there was a vast lake that was a hundred kilometers in size, and above the lake there was a waterfall that thundered downwards towards it.

“Is that…” Ning stared at the lakes in utter astonishment. “Is th-th-th-that all chaos nectar?”

A hundred kilometer lake that was completely composed of chaos nectar? Ning was rather dazed. How much chaos nectar was that?!

“Do you understand alchemy?” The Paragon of Pills looked at Ning.

“I do not.” Ning shook his head.

“If you did, you would understand. Chaos nectar is incredibly important to the creation of pills, and it is chaos nectar which gives our pills their various magical properties. Chaos nectar can give birth to life itself; in fact, it can give birth to all things. It is an indispensable part of alchemy,” the Paragon said. “An exceedingly vast amount of chaos nectar is used up with the creation of every highly valuable pill. That’s why I just went ahead and set up an entire lake of it here. It makes it easier for me to withdraw as much as I need when I engage in my alchemy.”

Ning was secretly speechless. Although the deceased Hegemon had prepared fifty million cubes of chaos nectar for his honorary disciples, that sum couldn’t even come close to the amount of chaos nectar in this hundred kilometer lake.

The Paragon of Pills continued to walk forwards. They quickly arrived at a stone dais before the enormous pill cauldron, whereupon she sat down in the lotus position and turned her gaze towards Ning.

“There’s something I would ask of you,” the Paragon of Pills said.

“Pray tell, senior.” Ning nodded respectfully.

“I know that you have gained a legacy from the Hegemon. The Hegemon’s suit of armor should be with you,” the Paragon said.

Ning felt a great sense of shock. Even this was known to her?

“Yes.” Ning didn’t try to play any games with her at all. He immediately nodded.

“That suit of armor…” The Paragon hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Loan it to me for a month.”

“Loan?” Ning was secretly speechless. If she wanted to take it from him, there would’ve been nothing he could do.

Ning willed it, and a streak of light immediately flew out from his body and coalesced within his hands into the form of an ancient, unadorned suit of armor. This suit of armor had an aura that was as deep and profound as that of a fathomless abyss. It was as though an enormous mountain was lying within Ning’s palms.

When the Paragon of Pills saw that ancient suit of armor appear within Ning’s palms, she couldn’t help but tremble.

“Senior.” Ning stretched his hand out, causing the ancient suit of armor to fly out towards her.

The Paragon of Pills slowly accepted the armor, placing it across her lap. She gently stroked it with her hands, her fingers shaking uncontrollably. She murmured something softly to herself, but Ning wasn’t able to hear what she was saying at all.

“Can you tell me if the Hegemon told you anything when he transferred this legacy to you? Did he mention anyone?” The Paragon of Pills asked softly.

“The Hegemon did not say much to me. He only said a single thing.” Ning didn’t try to hide it at all. “He said: ‘My disciple… if in the future you succeed in the Daomerge and gain eternity, it is my wish that you repay the grace I shall show you today you unto the Paragon of Pills.’”

Ning still had no idea that this black-garbed woman was the Paragon of Pills.

The Paragon’s heart shook.

Two crystalline tears suddenly dripped down from her face. They landed on the suit of armor, then broke apart into many tiny fragments. However, the mist surrounding her made it impossible for Ning to see this at all.

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Chapter 40 – [Seven Leafpill Chapters]

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 40 – [Seven Leafpill Chapters]

The Paragon of Pills was silent for a long moment. She then said, “I’m borrowing this suit of armor for half a month, but I will compensate you for it. I can agree to one request of yours, so long as it isn’t too excessive. Think it over. Even if you ask for a golem as strong as a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I can make it happen. Once you decide, simply tell me what you desire.”

Ji Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart. Loaning out the suit of armor brought with it such a high ‘interest’? Senior, why don’t you borrow it for nine or ten years instead? But of course, he didn’t say that aloud.

“You’ll only have a single opportunity to make such a request of me. Choose wisely,” the Paragon said.

“Right.” Ning nodded, lost in thought. What should he ask for? Treasures? But he already had the Hegemon’s armor, fifty million cubes of chaos nectar, and the Hegemon’s Dao-seals… asking for more treasure really wouldn’t make that much of a difference to him. The only thing which really mattered would be something which would have a significant effect on his future growth.

“Senior.” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up as he stared at the enormous nearby cauldron. “Given the enormous cauldron and this enormous custom-made lake of chaos nectar, I imagine you are highly skilled in the art of alchemy, right?”

“Right.” The Paragon nodded. “In terms of alchemy… there is no one in this entire universe who is a match for me. Even in the art of creating golems, I would definitely rank in the top three.”

Ning was badly startled by this. What a tremendous claim to make! Only someone who felt completely confident in their skills would dare to claim that no one else in the entire universe would be a match for them.

“Senior, if you are skilled in alchemy…” Ning nodded. “Can you transmit some alchemy techniques to me?”

“Alchemy techniques?” The Paragon looked at Ning. “In the world of alchemy, such techniques are generally considered secret and are never taught to outsiders. You wish to study alchemy?”

Ning shook his head, willing his Dao lightning and his Dao water to fly out from his body. “Please take a look at them, seinor. This junior has learned a certain secret art that can allow Dao lightning to join together in a marvelous fashion, almost like the formation of a new pill. When mastered, it will allow me to perfectly merge together nine types of Dao lightning into my ‘Novessence Thunder’! It’ll be so incredibly strong that I will be able to slay even Daolords of the Fourth Step with it. However, actually training in this secret art is incredibly difficult, and my understanding of the art of alchemy is too lacking.”

“To use divine lightning as the ingredients for this secret art… the person who created this secret art can be considered as having gained a basic level of insight into the true art of alchemy.” The Paragon of Pills nodded.

Ning was speechless. Daolord Allgod had only gained a ‘basic level of insight’ into alchemy? And the scary thing was… compared to this woman, who proclaimed herself to be the most talented alchemist in this entire universe, Daolord Allgod probably truly had indeed only gained a ‘basic’ understanding of alchemy.

“I almost never teach my alchemy techniques to others.” The Paragon of Pills hesitated momentarily. She once more gently brushed her fingers against the armor in her lap, then said, “And to date, I’ve only taught it to my three disciples. Today, you shall be the fourth to receive my alchemy techniques. Remember – without my permission, you are not to teach it to outsiders. Anyone who spends even a little bit of time training in this technique will become an expert in alchemy, and will be at least as skilled as the person who created this secret art of yours. If you were to spend a bit of time and effort on my technique, you would be able to easily surpass him.”

Ning was speechless once again. Surpass Daolord Allgod in the Dao of Alchemy?

“Memorize this.” The Paragon of Pills waved her hand. Instantly, a deep-green rune that was shaped almost like a bamboo leaf flew out of her and towards Ning. As soon as it touched Ning, it instantly began to burrow its way into Ning’s memories.

A long time later, the process finally came to an end. Everything was memorized.

A new technique was now present within Ning’s mind. Its name was the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], and when Ning looked at it he felt as though he had been enlightened with perfect wisdom. The purest truths and the greatest of Daos could be described very simply. Just by reading through the technique once, Ning’s insights into the Dao of Alchemy began to skyrocket. Most likely, he was now already comparable to World God Pillsaint in alchemy!

The reason for this was mainly because the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] were simply incredible. But of course, it was also because Ning himself had reached a high level of comprehension in his own Daos.

“B-but…” Ning stared at the Paragon of Pills, somewhat at a loss for words. “All this junior wished for was a few pill-making techniques.”

“Just accept what you have been given,” the Paragon instructed. “If you wish, you can spend the free time you have training in alchemy. It might help inspire you with regards to your swordplay as well.”

“Understood,” Ning said respectfully.

The [Seven Leafpill Chapters] constituted a very complete and perfect alchemy system. It included detailed explanations regarding countless marvelous objects, as well as many different ways by which one could concoct alchemical medicines. Pills like the Pseudo Samsara Pill were actually considered fairly common, low-level pills. The types of pill-making techniques which Ning had wanted for his [Novessence Thunder] technique merely constituted a small portion of what the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] contained.

The Paragon of Pills continued, “Now that you have accepted my techniques… in the future, if you meet people who are extremely skilled in alchemy, if you so choose you may transmit the very first chapter of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to them on my behalf! If they are able to completely master the first chapter, you may then transmit the second chapter. If this person is able to master all three of the first chapters, send that person here to me. Remember – when you help me choose future disciples, you are only permitted to teach them the first three chapters. Although the first three chapters are profound and abstruse, they aren’t as valuable as the other four. I have to meet any potential disciple in person and be the one to decide whether or not I will teach them those chapters.”

“Understood,” Ning said respectfully. “This junior has already sworn a lifeblood oath on it.”

The Paragon of Pills slowly shook her head. Due to her connection to the deceased Hegemon, she treated Ning very differently from the way she treated anyone else. She didn’t want to force Ning to swear any lifeblood oaths.

However… although she hadn’t requested it of him, Ning knew what was the proper way to act. This was a truly shocking, earth-shaking technique. If he one day was to encounter a powerful foe who was able to forcibly soulscour him and steal this technique, then Ning truly would have done wrong by her! But of course, Ning also believed that there weren’t many who would be capable of soulscouring him, especially since he would quickly break through to become a Daolord once he returned to the Endless Territories. By then, he would become even more powerful than he was now.

“Take this Dao-seal. This seal was gifted to you by Emperor Maniseal.” The Paragon of Pills tossed a black-white seal made from jade over to him.

Ning accepted it, rather startled. “Emperor Maniseal asked you to give it to me? B-but… I don’t even know him…” Ning was so startled that he forgot to respectfully address her as ‘senior’.

“He doesn’t know you, but he does know me,” the Paragon of Pills said calmly. “This Dao-seal is fairly valuable. It is of no use to me, but it will be of great use to you. By giving you this Dao-seal, he has sown the seeds of good karma with me.”

Ning felt even more puzzled. If he wanted to sow the seeds of good karma with you, why would he give a Dao-seal to me? What exactly was the connection between himself and this mysterious alchemist? Still… for even this woman to refer to this Dao-seal as ‘fairly valuable’ meant that it had to be truly extraordinary.

“Once you send your senses into this Dao-seal, you will know how it is used,” the Paragon said.

“Oh. OH!. T-this…” Ning was shocked by what he uncovered. What a terrifying Dao-seal!

This Dao-seal was named the ‘Lifeblood’ Dao-seal. All one had to do was store a drop of blood within it, then hide it in a safe place. Once you perished, you would instantly be reborn from the Dao-seal and the drop of blood within it, no matter what how far away you had died! This… this was equivalent to an extra life!

Right now, Ning had multiple clones of his true body, true, but once he became a Daolord all of his true body’s clones would have to merge together. By then, he would only have his true body and his Primaltwin. If his true body died after that, it would truly be dead. There would be no way to bring it back at all.

This Dao-seal represented a second life for a Daolord. If you died, you would be able to immediately come back to life. However, the inconceivable power hidden within this Dao-seal would be completely consumed after a single usage.

“This Dao-seal is simply incredible. It can actually offer a Daolord a second life!” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

What he didn’t realize was that this was merely one of the early prototypes which Emperor Maniseal had created. Emperor Maniseal himself had Lifeblood Dao-seals which could give even Eternal Emperors a second chance at life! However, those Dao-seals were incredibly valuable; there was no way Emperor Maniseal would simply hand them out as gifts! All he wanted to do this time was to give Ning a gift and thus befriend the Paragon of Pills.

In the future, if he needed to ask her for help, it would be a bit easier for him. It must be understood that the Paragon of Pills truly had poured tremendous amounts of effort into learning the intricacies of reversing spacetime. In this respect, she truly was one of the most skilled experts of all.

……

“Whoosh.” Suddenly, a golden-robed figure flew over towards them.

“Master.” The golden-robed figure called out respectfully.

“This is my retainer.” The Paragon glanced at Ning, then instructed, “Yuhong, lead Darknorth in finding a residence for himself. Also – you are not to reveal to anyone the relationship between the two of us!”

“Understood,” the golden-robed elder said respectfully.

“Darknorth.” The Paragon looked at Ning. “The Trileaf Realm has a total of five Eternal Emperors within it, and all five of them are my retainers. Spend some time exploring this realm. I trust it will be of some benefit to you! When you wish to leave, simply let Yuhong know and he will escort you away from here. As for the armor, I’ll return it to you within half a month.”

“Understood,” Ning said, but he couldn’t help but feel secretly stunned. Five Eternal Emperor retainers? Even the almighty Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom only had a few Eternal Emperors under his command, right? Was this person before him someone who was on the same level of power as the almighty Hegemon himself?

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Chapter 41 – Rapid Improvements

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 41 – Rapid Improvements

“Go,” the Paragon of Pills instructed.

The golden-robed elder and Ji Ning both bowed respectfully, then departed.

As for the Paragon, she simply sat there in the lotus position, head lowered as she stared at the ancient armor. She murmured softly to herself, “Big brother…”

Long, long ago, the Paragon of Pills had personally fashioned this suit of armor, then given it to the person whom she loved the most, her ‘big brother’. The Hegemon had worn it his entire life. Now, as she gently caressed the armor, she felt as though she could sense his presence.

The Paragon shut her eyes, then casually lay down on the ground and nestled her head against the ancient armor. Just like that… she fell asleep.

She was the only person in that entire ancient estate. It was deathly silent here. Without her permission, not even her retainers would dare to enter this place. Long, long ago, she had lived here alongside the Hegemon. Back then, their second brother and third brother had often teased the two of them for being such a pair of lovebird Dao-companions.

And now… she was the only one left.

……

After departing from the Paragon’s estate, Ning was led away by Yuhong and the two teleported to an estate that was at the top of a mountain.

“This is my own residence.” Daolord Yuhong smiled. “There are quite a few empty manors around here. Choose whichever one you like, Darknorth. Those three over there, the five over there, and also those two over there… all of them are empty.”

Ning swept the area with his gaze, then pointed at a distant manor which was located halfway up a mountain. “That one.”

“I’ll arrange for some servants to go there. Just let me know if there’s anything you need.” Daolord Yuhong smiled. “I’m quite familiar with the Trileaf Realm.”

“Dare I ask…” Ning suddenly asked something which had been puzzling him. “Who was that lady who brought me here to this place?”

“You don’t even know what my master is named?” Daolord Yuhong was quite shocked. His master was an incredibly exalted figure. For her to personally bring a World-level cultivator like Darknorth to her residence meant that she viewed him in a very special way. How was it that this kid didn’t even know what her name was?

“No idea. I didn’t dare ask,” Ning said.

“If you stay here in the Trileaf Realm long enough, you’ll find out. It’s not really a secret. Master was the one who created the entire Trileaf Realm,” Daolord Yuhong said. “My master is one of the three Primordial Starkings of the Church of Annihilation, the Paragon of Pills.”

Ning’s eyes instantly bulged out. “P-P-Paragon of Pills?”

When the deceased Hegemon had transmitted his legacy to Ning, he had said: “My disciple… if in the future you succeed in the Daomerge and gain eternity, it is my wish that you repay the grace I shall show you today you unto the Paragon of Pills.”

So the mysterious, powerful woman was actually the Paragon of Pills!

“No wonder she treated me in such a special manner,” Ning mused. “The dead Hegemon and the Paragon of Pills clearly had a very special relationship! Both he and the other thirty-five Eternal Emperors all perished in the Prime Reaches of the Genesis Lands… I imagine the Paragon of Pills knows all the secrets behind their deaths.”

“My master is extremely skilled in alchemy. In the Dao of Alchemy, she is the undisputed number one expert of our entire universe. The second-ranked figure has perhaps a tenth of Master’s skills in alchemy. The ten most dazzlingly famous pills and medicines in this entire universe were all forged by Master,” Daolord Yuhong said smugly. “You can imagine for yourself how incredibly talented my master is in the Dao of Alchemy.”

“And that’s not her only skill. Although she hasn’t spent as much effort in artificing and golem-making, she still ranks as one of the top three experts in this universe.” Daolord Yuhong suddenly added smugly, “Her retainer, ‘Emperor Gonflame,’ once studied the art of artificing under her. He has now surpassed her in this regard, and is considered the number one expert in artificing within our universe. When Master told you to go explore the Trileaf Realm, I’m sure that her true goal was for you to go pay a visit to Emperor Gonflame. Cultivators need to be able to acquire suitable weapons, after all. The weapons of others will never be a perfect fit for you; only a custom-forged weapon that was made for you personally will be an ideal fit.”

Ning was secretly speechless. Clearly, the Trileaf Realm had a truly transcendent status within this universe.

The Paragon of Pills was this universe’s foremost expert in alchemy. Her retainer, Emperor Gonflame, was its foremost expert in artificing.

But of course, although it had a transcendent status, what really mattered in the world of major powers was power itself! The lord of the Church of Annihilation had been able to unify his universe thanks to his overwhelmingly great power. Emperor Gonflame might be the number one artificer and weaponsmith, but he was still just a retainer. The reason why he and the other four Eternal Emperors were all willing to be retainers to the Paragon was because of her incredible strength! Similarly, the reason why Emperor Maniseal had gifted Ning a Dao-seal via the Paragon in order to befriend her was because of how strong she was.

“Where does Emperor Gonflame live?” Ning asked.

“Take a look over there.” Daolord Yuhong pointed towards a distant inferno that towered through the heavens. The skies themselves were bathed a fiery red color. “That right there is Emperor Gonflame’s residence. Go pay a visit when you have some free time.”

Ning nodded. “Then I’ll go back to my own residence for now.”

“Come find me if there’s anything you need.” Daolord Yuhong smiled warmly. He certainly wouldn’t dare to treat Ning in a negligent manner.

Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew towards his own estate.

……

The estate already had a number of servants within it. When they saw Ning descend from the skies, they all bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Master.”

Ning nodded and smiled at them. “Carry on with your normal tasks. Do not disturb me unless I call for you.”

“Yes, Master,” they all acknowledged.

Ning immediately entered the estate. As he had descended, he had instantly sent out a stream of Immortal energy and bound the estate to him. Cultivators would only feel at ease if they were in complete control of the estate they were residing in! But of course, when Ning left he would naturally disperse the binding seal he had laid upon the estate.

Ning strode forwards through his estate.

Rumble… a stone door within the estate swung open.

Ning entered the room. Past the stone door was a circular stone disc that was covered with many divine runes. Ning immediately walked forwards, then sat down in the lotus position atop the stone disc. He could sense ripples of power emanate out from the disc to cover him and his heart, causing him to completely calm down. Moments later, the giant stone door swung shut once more.

This was the estate’s meditation room.

“Let’s take another look.” Ning closed his eyes as he once more began to mentally read through the contents of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]. He spent five full days in the careful reading process.

The [Seven Leafpill Chapters] provided a slow, systemized guide to the art of alchemy. However, Ning didn’t need to actually concoct pills, as he mainly needed to learn certain alchemical methods to help him work on his [Novessence Thunder]. Althrough the alchemical techniques in the first three chapters were fairly formidable, they were nothing compared to what the final four chapters held! This was especially true for the alchemical techniques held within the seventh chapter. Those were truly incredible, and were most likely the techniques which the Paragon of Pills herself used.

Now that Ning had been able to develop five Supreme Daos and then join them together, he was able to learn technical skills like these quite quickly. Still, he was far from being at the level which the Paragon was at. He had to spend another five full days before he was able to just barely learn and understand the alchemy techniques contained within the seventh chapter.

“Although I’ve only learned half of it, if I used it to actually concoct pills I would be far more effective than if I used all the techniques of the first three chapters.” Ning was in an excellent mood.

“Time to test out the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water], I suppose.” Ning could sense that he now had much more control over his lightning and water. The alchemical techniques which the Paragon of Pills had given him had improved his finesse more a thousand times over. No wonder the Paragon had said that if he spent some time and effort on it, it would be easy for him to surpass the creator of the [Novessence Thunder] in alchemical skill. This alchemical system, the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], truly was the most supremely sacred sutra of the Dao of Alchemy.

Ning shut his eyes and began to visualize his body.

Within his Jindan chaos region.

A towering Dao-tree that was 108,000 meters high was here. This tree symbolized Ning’s insights into the Dao of the Sword. In truth, he could break through to the Daolord level whenever he wanted, allowing his Dao-tree to surpass that limit! Ning had actually already reached the World level in many different Daos, such as wind, fire, lightning, and space, but he hadn’t been able to cause new Dao-trees to form for them within his Jindan chaos region.

Crackle! Boom!

The region was filled with flickering lightning essences and gushing water essences that bubbled with power.

“Arise.” The azureflower mist energy spread out, easily taking control over two streaks of Dao lightning. These were the two easiest types of Dao lightning to control; Watersmoke Lightning and Firecloud Lightning.

“The [Seven Leafpill Chapters]…” Ning immediately began to use the Leafpill techniques. Slender threads of slender golden light began to appear, each thread filled with countless divine runes. The threads slowly manifested into a pair of enormous golden hands that gently grasped the two types of Dao lightning, then began to almost pinch them together with ease, continuously harmonizing them.

Slowly, the two streaks of Dao lightning began to transform. The fire and the water merged together, producing a single stream of deep azure lightning.

He had succeeded in merging two types of Dao lightning!

“Too easy.” Ning himself was shocked at how easy it had felt. It had been as easy as breathing.

“I’ll go straight to three types.” Ning was brimming with confidence. Logically speaking, he should’ve first left behind a ‘seed’ for the dual-essence thunder, but he was so confident that he couldn’t even be bothered to do so. He went straight to a tri-essence thunder.

One of the giant golden hands was gripping the bi-essence thunder, while the other golden hand picked up a strand of Earthfiend Lightning. The two quickly began to merge together…

Completing the tri-essence thunder was more than ten times as difficult as completing the bi-essence thunder.

Still… step by step, Ning managed to use the [Novessence Thunder] technique to finalize his tri-essence thunder! The tri-essence thunder was a streak of deep yellow lightning. When the lightning spread out, it contained so much power that it was clearly significantly than the seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water added together.

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Chapter 42 – Quadressence Water

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 42 – Quadressence Water

A full day passed in the blink of an eye.

For now, Ji Ning resided within a side pavilion within the estate. He just sat there, staring past the railing towards the beautiful scene of the Trileaf Realm outside.

Whoosh. Ning stretched out a finger, causing a strand of deep yellow lightning to jump out from his fingertip. It looked absolutely beautiful, but it contained terrifying amounts of power.

Ning then stretched out a second finger. From this finger, a thin stream of water came pouring out, swirling around his fingertip. The water emanated a beautiful, gemlike aura of green light, but its power was on a slightly lower level than that of the lightning. And yet, a powerful Daolord of the First Step who was touched by this stream of water would be instantly frozen into an ice statue. Even his truesoul would be frozen solid, then crumble into tiny bits.

This was the quadressence Dao water Ning had been able to create.

“Lightning is brutal and wild. To tame and control lightning is more difficult than taming and controlling water.” Ning nodded slowly. “For now, creating tri-essence thunder is my limit. To master quadressence thunder is far too difficult.”

Both the lightning and the water could go up to the ‘novessence’ level. However, the difficulty level would skyrocket with each additional essence. According to what Daolord Allgod had said, a Daolord of the First Step would be able to just barely master the tri-essence thunder. A Daolord of the Second Step had a chance to master the pentessence thunder, a Daolord of the Third Step might be able to master the heptessence thunder, while a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be able to master the complete Novessence Thunder! Ning was still merely at the World level. It was all thanks to the azureflower mist energy and the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] that he was able to master the tri-essence thunder.

“For now, my most powerful killing attack is once more the ‘Yin-Yang Sword Domain’.” Ning couldn’t help but let out a laugh. This was clearly a defensive technique, but because of his upgrade powerful multi-essence Dao water and Dao lightning it was now his most powerful killing technique as well!

“Oh, right.” Ning waved his hand, causing a figure to appear out of nowhere. It was World God Pillsaint, and he had a rather blank look on his face. He was dressed in loose red robes. A smear of grease could be seen on his red lips and his white teeth.

“Oh, Master.” World God Pillsaint started to laugh when he saw Ning. “I was wondering what was going on. I was in the middle of a meal when the world around me suddenly changed.”

“You might’ve been having fun stuffing your face with food, but I’ve been freaking out for quite some time now.” Ning laughed. When he had been abducted by the Paragon of Pills, he truly had felt quite nervous. Thankfully, it had been a good thing in the end.

“What happened?” World God Pillsaint was rather puzzled as he scanned his surroundings. “And where are we? And right, where is Youji? Didn’t you have a number of comrades travelling with you, Master? Why are you sitting here by yourself? Heeeey… and it seems as though you have some servants here as well.”

Ning shook his head. “Good lord, you talk a lot. Just shut your mouth for a moment.”

World God Pillsaint immediately fell silent.

“I asked you to come out because I wanted to bestow some good fortune upon you,” Ning said.

“Good fortune?” World God Pillsaint was puzzled.

“Right. Don’t fight back.” As Ning spoke, he reached out with a finger and tapped Pillsaint on his forehead.

Ning directly transmitted the first chapter of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] directly into Pillsaint’s mind. According to what the Paragon of Pills had said, Ning was at most permitted to transmit the first three chapters to certain people of his choosing! If Pillsaint was able to learn the first three chapters in a fairly short period of time, Ning would be permitted to bring Pillsaint before the Paragon, at which point he might earn a truly great opportunity for himself.

Ning had to do this right away. Once they went back to their own universe, it would most likely be close to impossible for them to return to this universe again.

A long while later…

“Wow. T-t-this is… this is absolutely inconceivable. Inconceivable! This is TRUE alchemy! Absolutely incredible! Compared to this, the crap I learned in the past can’t even be called alchemy!” World God Pillsaint began to scream with excitement.

Ning couldn’t help but start to laugh upon seeing this.

“This is simply marvelous! You can actually use alchemy like this?! A completely new world, a completely new Dao of Alchemy, has opened up before my eyes!” Pillsaint only grew increasingly excited as he spoke. He stared at Ning, his eyes blazing with excitement. “But Master… it seems as though you only transmitted part of a complete technique to me?”

“Yes, this is just the first chapter,” Ning said.

“And the rest?” Pillsaint was extremely excited. Alchemy and pill-making was his area of specialty. He was already delirious with joy upon having received the first chapter of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], a supreme, sacred manual for the Dao of Alchemy.

“After you fully master the first chapter, I’ll naturally transmit the second chapter to you,” Ning said.

“Second chapter? Does that mean there’s also a third chapter? And a fourth chapter?” Pillsaint was so excited that his face had turned beet-red. “Who created this alchemy technique? My master was a Daolord who was extremely skilled in alchemy and quite famous, but compared to what you just transmitted to me… he is way, way, waaaay inferior! I insist on becoming apprenticed to the person who created this technique!”

Ning shook his head. “You might want to become that person’s apprentice, but that person might not want to accept you. Calm down and focus on learning the technique I just transmitted to you, and you might have a chance in the future.”

“Right, right!” Pillsaint nodded repeatedly.

“Master.” Pillsaint suddenly fell to his knees, intending to kowtow.

Ning was stunned. He hurriedly lifted Pillsaint back up to his feet. “Pillsaint, what are you doing?!”

“Master, you might not understand what this alchemy technique represents. To me… this is a new path, a new Dao that leads to the greatest heights of my profession. This… this is the true Dao of Alchemy. I’ll be able use it to become a Daolord… and perhaps rise to even greater heights.” Pillsaint said gratefully, “I, Pillsaint, have no way of repaying you for your gift of the Dao…”

Ning nodded. “All you have to do is study hard.”

This Dao of Alchemy led all the way to the Eternal Emperor level! By using this Dao, Pillsaint might very well become an Eternal Emperor himself.

……

Now that he saw a chance to become a Daolord, Pillsaint began to spend all of his time in frenzied study and training. Ning had merely memorized some of the pill-making techniques, but Pillsaint was thoroughly analyzing and studying every aspect of the technique. He even went as far as to try them out in actual pill-making. Pillsaint truly was quite talented in alchemy, but he never had a teacher as good as this. Although his previous master was quite talented, he was still significantly inferior to even the likes of Daolord Allgod, to say nothing of the Paragon of Pills.

Now that this opportunity had come before him, Pillsaint truly had a chance to soar into the heavens.

Ning knew very well that his foundation was still the Dao of the Sword! He was mainly going to make use of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to learn more about alchemy. Pillsaint was his retainer; it would be of tremendous help to Ning if Pillsaint was to become an incredible grandmaster alchemist.

The day after transmitting the first chapter to Pillsaint, Ning departed from his estate and transformed into a streak of light which flew off into the distance.

“My name is Darknorth. Greetings, fellow Daoist.”

“Greetings, fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

Ning encountered quite a few World-level cultivators on his journey. On occasion, he even met a few Daolords.

The Trileaf Realm was an incredibly vast world, much like how the Brightshore Kingdom itself also contained countless living beings and cultivators.

“Emperor Gonflame?” Ning spent more than six hours flying and teleporting at top speed before finally reaching Emperor Gonflame’s residence.

“This is the Emperor’s residence. Outsidesr are not permitted to enter.” Two novices were guarding the gates to the estate. They immediately barked at Ning upon seeing him fly over.

“This junior has heard of the Emperor’s skill in artificing and thus has come to greet him. I wonder if I might be fortunate enough as to have an audience with him?” Ning asked.

“So you’ve come to purchase treasures?” One of the novices pointed off into the distance. “Enter from the side entrance. Someone will help take care of you. Don’t you even know which door you are supposed to enter through? This here is the main entrance. Generally speaking, major powers who have come to meet with our Emperor will wait here as we send the message to him.”

“Pardon me for my rudeness.” Ning didn’t really mind. He immediately flew towards the side entrance.

As for the two novices, they continued to stand there in front of the estate in a smug manner. Their master was the number one artificer in their entire universe. Quite a few people came to ask to meet him. Even Eternal Emperors came to request a meeting, to say nothing of Daolords. All of them had to first go through the novices. This naturally made them arrogant and dismissive towards a mere World-level cultivator.

“Gah? Are there so many treasures here that they stack them up in front of the entrance?” As Ning flew towards the side entrance, he couldn’t help but feel shocked upon moving closer.

Although it was just the side entrance, it was still dozens of meters wide. There were quite a few servants there, as well as three treasures which hovered above the entrance. One was a pearl that glimmered with fiery light and which emanated faint ripples of might. The second was a white flower that emanated waves of white light, bringing a sense of peace and harmony to those who were bathed in it. The final treasure was a painting depicted a world of mountains and rivers.

“Fellow Daoist, have you come to purchase treasures?” In front of the door stood a female servant with unbound hair who emanated the aura of a Daolord. Most likely, she was a Daolord of the First Step, and she smiled at Ning as she spoke.

“I am.” Ning nodded.

“Please enter, fellow Daoist. Any of the treasures you see inside are for sale.” Although Ning was at the World level, the female servant didn’t show discourtesy as a result of it. The treasures they had here were all for sale, and they were all items which Emperor Gonflame made in a casual manner when testing out certain ideas. Despite that, they were still items which would drive Daolords in the outside world utterly mad with desire.

Ning stepped into the residence, and things immediately changed. As soon as he passed through the doorway, it was as though he entered a vast expanse in outer space, filled with countless twinkling stars.

There were cultivators walking through this region of void-like space, as well as servants and attendants who were waiting on them. They strolled through the void, gesturing at the various stars. Every single ‘star’ was actually a treasure.

“This treasure costs three million? That’s a bit too expensive, right? Can you lower the price a bit?”

“I’ll buy this one!”

The Daolords here all acted in a very humble manner. Emperor Gonflame’s store didn’t hold any treasures which were less than a million cubes of chaos nectar, but what it did have drove countless cultivators mad with desire. As for the World-level cultivators… almost all of them only came for window shopping. They’d browse through the items but not buy them. They were really here just to expand their horizons.

When Ning entered this region of void-like space, the attendants all glanced at him. Although they all had courteous looks on their faces, in their hearts they muttered to themselves, “Ugh, another World-level cultivator, here to look but not to buy.”

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Chapter 43 – Ji Ning’s Sword

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 43 – Ji Ning’s Sword

There were only so many attendants in the store, and the majority of them were busy accompanying the Daolords. As a result, Ji Ning was by himself after entering the place.

“Damned impressive.” Ning stared at the many treasures in the void, all of which gleamed like shining stars. The very first treasure he took a close look at gave him a bad shock.

Every single treasure was protected by restrictive spells, which was why they glittered like stars from afar. By sending your senses out, you would be able to gain some detailed information regarding each treasure. As for this first one, it was a shuttle-type magic treasure.

“Woodfire Azuresun Shuttle. It takes three thousand years and ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar for it to be charged up. After it is charged up, it can be used a single time and unleash the power of a Daolord of the Fourth Step. The cost is eight million cubes of chaos nectar!”

“It can only be used once each time?” Ning was secretly speechless. “It seems you really can’t predict the power of a Daolord just by looking at him. He might look weak, but have a ridiculous treasure like this. Thank goodness that treasures like this are ridiculously expensive.”

……

Ji Ning went through one magic treasure after another. Ordinary Eternal weapons filled with sword-intent and saber-intent were fairly cheap; few of them could breach the million cube price range. The ones which Emperor Gonflame had put out for display all had certain special properties.

All the magic treasures here were special in some way, which was why they exceeded a million cubes in price.

“A Hearteater Clock. It contains a secret art of a Heartforce Cultivator Daolord of the Fourth Step. When activated, it can attack the enemy’s mind and cause weaker enemy’s to completely lose control. The price is fifty million cubes.”

“This is insane.” Ning was truly frightened by this treasure. He knew very well that in a life-and-death battle, to lose focus for even an instant could result in you dying and your Dao vanishing! This item was clearly described as having a secret art of a Daolord of the Fourth Step who was a Heartforce Cultivator. The power of the attack had to be extraordinary! For a non-Heartforce Cultivator to be able to suddenly unleash a heartforce attack of such power… this treasure was truly insane in power.

But the price was insane as well. Fifty million cubes? Very few Verge-level Daolords would be willing or able to buy such a thing.

……

There were evasive-type magic treasures that would allow you to instantly flee at a hundred times the speed of light.

There were formation-type treasures which, when used, would trap the opponent so thoroughly that it would be almost impossible for him to escape.

There was even a sword-formation formed from a total of 216 high-grade Eternal swords of extraordinary power. It was perfect for a Ki Refining Daolord of the Fourth Step, and the more powerful the Daolord was the more power the sword-formation could unleash.

There was also a particularly priceless sin-treasure which contained a total of 999 sinfiends. Every single sinfiend was comparable to a Daolord of the Third Step in might, and once this treasure was unleashed it could decimate ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step. However, this treasure truly was ‘priceless’, in that you could only barter for it with Emperor Gonflame by using incredibly valuable treasures of your own.

……

After Ning saw this treasure, he mumbled to himself, “Once I merge my nine types of Dao lightning into my Novessence Thunder, I’ll be able to wipe out Daolords of the Fourth Step as well. Even if thousands of sinfiends attack me, my lightning will be able to wipe them all out.”

After finishing his viewings, he felt rather speechless. Still, the majority of these treasures weren’t really useful to him, because he already had those five powerful golems! In addition, he would quickly become a Daolord upon returning to the Endless Territories. When that happened, his [Novessence Thunder] and his [Novessence Water] would rapidly grow in power. There really weren’t that many treasures which would attract Ji Ning’s interest.

The ones that did were way too expensive!

The cheapest of evasive treasures, for example, started at ten million cubes… and those only moved nine times faster than the speed of light. As for the ones which allowed you to flee at a hundred times the speed of light, they were similarly priceless and could only be procured through trading treasures of your own.

……

Ning stared at a distant treasure, his gaze rather distant. He murmured to himself, “This is what I really need.”

It was exactly what he needed, and it was also something he could afford.

Off in the distance, a snow-white sword that emanated an aura of endless coldness could be seen hovering in the air. He sent out a slight strand of mental power and was able to immediately know what this sword did.

“A lifeblood weapon. The cultivator can pour all of his insights regarding his Sword Dao into this weapon to charge it with a Sword Dao quintessence. When you use a weapon which is perfectly aligned with your own Sword Dao, it will be able to unleash the most amount of power! You can use it to continuously perfect and upgrade your Sword Dao! In addition, lifeblood weapons are all created from incredibly precious materials and can grow alongside you. If your Sword Dao is strong enough and you feed it enough precious materials, then with a bit of luck you might very well give birth to a Universe weapon in the future. The price is thirty million cubes.”

“So this is a lifeblood weapon,” Ning murmured to himself. He had heard of them long ago, but not even the Sword Palace’s Armaments Valley held any. lifeblood weapons were simply too rare; whenever a grandmaster artificer managed to finally produce one after an enormous amount of effort, other cultivators would immediately charge forwards to purchase it.

Lifeblood weapons were given that name because they truly became one with the cultivators who wielded them, and the quintessence within them would be created and formed by their wielders. But more importantly than that, they could also grow and become increasingly powerful!

They were the perfect weapons for cultivators, the weapons which could truly unleash a cultivator’s maximum potential! If Ning used an ‘ordinary’ weapon, he would probably only be able to unleash 30% to 40% of the amount of power he could unleash if he was using his own lifeblood weapon! This was what made lifeblood weapons so powerful… and they could grow without any limitations.

Generally speaking, top-grade Eternal swords were the best weapons you could buy. But lifeblood weapons could continuously grow alongside you, growing more powerful as you yourself did. In the hands of others, it would perhaps merely be an ordinary top-grade Eternal weapon, but in the hands its true master, it would be countless times more powerful.

Almost all Eternal Emperors used lifeblood weapons… and if evolved and empowered to a sufficient degree, lifeblood weapons had a chance of transforming into Universe weapons!

“The Palace of the Sword is filled with sword cultivators, and whenever any of them discover a lifeblood weapon they will go crazy for it.” Ning’s gaze was blazing with eagerness. “Who would’ve thought I’d run into one such weapon here in this alternate universe?”

Lifeblood weapons could only truly fuse with their very first master. Once that first master perished, they would become nothing more than ordinary weapons.

“This is what I really need. My Sword Dao encompasses all aspects of all sword-arts. It is extremely difficult for me to find a sword which suits my Dao,” Ning mused. “I need a lifeblood sword that will become as powerful as I myself will!”

“Fellow Daoist.” Ning glanced at a nearby attendant and sent him a mental message. The Daolord attendant glanced back at him, puzzled. What did this World-level cultivator want?

“I need this lifeblood weapon,” Ning sent.

“Lifeblood weapon?!” The distant attendant was badly shocked by this request. He hurriedly walked over, stepping through the void of space as he quickly arrived next to Ning. “Fellow Daoist.” The attendant hurriedly smiled at Ning.

“Can you lower the price of this lifeblood weapon a bit?” Ning asked.

“If you are friends with the Emperor or perhaps know his senior disciples, they might cut you a deal. I’m just a lowly attendant; I don’t have that authority,” the attendant said. “This sword is a lifeblood weapon that was forged just a short while ago. If you wait just a bit longer, I imagine other sword cultivators would appear and immediately snatch it up.”

Ning nodded. Sword cultivators were devoted to the sword. All you needed was one sword to be completely devoted to, then use it to destroy all other arts. Foes might use all sorts of strange techniques and spells, but when my sword emerges it shall shatter the heavens and crush the earth, wiping out all in its path! Ning’s own Sword Dao was already quite terrifying. When matched with a suitable lifeblood weapon… that would be adding strength atop of strength.

Any sword cultivator would be willing to sacrifice all of his other treasures for the chance to acquire a lifeblood sword.

“Thirty million cubes…” Ning stared at that snow-white sword, emanating that aura of freezing cold. This truly was a painful price, as the deceased Hegemon had only given him fifty million cubes. His darkspace flamestone hoard was only worth ten million cubes.

“I’ll buy it.” Ning nodded.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll go make a report,” the attendant said. “I don’t have the power to release the restrictive spells binding this lifeblood sword.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded in understanding. One couldn’t be too careful with lifeblood swords. If someone was able to so much as touch them, the sword would be ruined for anyone else and become nothing more than an ordinary weapon. The first binding performed on a lifeblood weapon was critical, as only the first binding could be a true, complete one.

The attendant left to make his report. As for Ning, he just stared at the sword, murmuring to himself, “It’d be wonderful if I could acquire six lifeblood swords. I’d be even stronger.” But of course, if anyone heard Ning’s secret wish, they would probably laugh themselves to death. A single lifeblood sword was already a treasure of incalculable value. SIX of them? Who would even dare think of such a thing?

Just a short while later, the attendant reappeared. Only, he had a rather strange look on his face when he looked at Ning, almost as though he was looking at some sort of monster.

“Uh, Fellow Daoist.” The attendant was noticeably more humble and respectful than he was previously. “Can you please follow me this way?”

“Eh?” Ning glanced at him.

The attendant sent mentally, “The Emperor has ordered for you to go meet him.”

“The Emperor?” Ning was stunned.

“My Emperor, of course… which is to say, Emperor Gonflame,” the attendant sent back. He was truly puzzled. Normally, it was other major powers who would attempt to request a meeting with Emperor Gonflame. Why was Emperor Gonflame actively inviting this young World-level cultivator?

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Chapter 44 – Emperor Gonflame

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 44 – Emperor Gonflame

Emperor Gonflame wished to meet him? Ji Ning hesitated for a moment. He was nothing more than a World-level cultivator. There was probably only one possible reason why Emperor Gonflame wished to meet him in person…

The Paragon of Pills!

Emperor Gonflame was one of the retainers of the Paragon of Pills, while the Paragon had an extraordinarily close relationship with Ning’s deceased Hegemon master. Most likely, she could be considered his master’s wife, almost like a godmother.

“Lead the way,” Ning said.

“Follow me.” The attendant immediately led the way forwards, but in his heart he couldn’t help but feel puzzled at what the relationship was between this young World-level cultivator and his Emperor was.

The attendant led Ning forwards. A short while later, it was an Emperor-level retainer who personally led the way for Ning.

……

A short while later, they reached an enormous, peaceful courtyard. There were two lakes within the courtyard, one of which was filled with a blazing, lava-like liquid. As for the second lake, it was filled with a freezing liquid that was so cold as to cause the surrounding area to be blanketed in frost. Between that blazing lake and the freezing lake was an ancient, stunted-looking tree that was nonetheless large in size.

Beneath the tree, there was a table, a chair, and a man.

The fiery-haired man’s upper body was uncovered, and he sat there while weighing Ning with a judging look in his eyes.

“Emperor,” the retainer said respectfully, “Darknorth has arrived.”

“You may leave,” Emperor Gonflame instructed. The retainer immediately withdrew, leaving behind only Ning and Emperor Gonflame.

“This junior greets you, Emperor.” Ning bowed respectfully.

“No need to stand on ceremony with me, Darknorth. Come, sit.” Emperor Gonflame smiled and gestured towards the seat opposite him. Seeing this, Ning followed his gesture and sat down.

“Have a taste. The wine here was delivered to me by the various Daolords who have asked me to help them create various treasures. I don’t even know the names of half of the wine here, nor do I care. I’ve already spent countless amounts of effort researching and analyzing the properties of various materials and ingredients. I have no interest in doing the same for my food and wine as well,” Emperor Gonflame said.

Ning nodded. “I can imagine how much effort it took for you to rise to the level of being the number one artificer of this entire universe.”

“I actually happen to like being an artificer. When I followed Master, I was nothing more than one of her many disciples and retainers. I was a completely unremarkable figure.” A reminiscent look was in Emperor Gonflame’s eyes. “I was fairly slow in improving as a cultivator, but I really did like working as an artificer, and so I poured all of my efforts into this field instead. Who would’ve thought that I would end up becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step, and then just naturally break through to become an Eternal Emperor? Only later did I realize that Master had been paying close attention to me in secret. She had helped guide me and assist me on numerous occasions without me even realizing it.”

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh. For Emperor Gonflame to have gained eternity was proof that if you truly devoted yourself to a particular trade or craft, you could make miracles happen! But of course, that was also only if you had a major power like the Paragon of Pills guiding your path. The Paragon was one of the three ancient Primordial Starkings who had existed since the birth of this universe, after all. Even though she didn’t spend much time or effort on artificing, she still ranked as one of the top three in this universe. For her to help guide Emperor Gonflame in this was naturally quite simple for her.

If he had just blindly studied without having such a wise teacher, it was unlikely that he would’ve been able to gain eternity!

“I noticed you as soon as you arrived here.” Emperor Gonflame looked at Ning.

“Huh?” Ning was startled.

“Mm. You weren’t overwhelmed with desire despite seeing so many treasures placed before you. In the end, you chose a lifeblood weapon.” Emperor Gonflame smiled and nodded. “Not bad. It seems you understand that in order to become a truly powerful figure, you still have to rely on your own power. To rely on strange curios and ancient artifacts… that path is a path which rarely leads to becoming truly unstoppable.”

“You are a sword cultivator. The sword cultivators who truly were the dominant forces of their era all relied on the nothing more than the sword in their hands, or perhaps the powerful secret arts they might’ve come up with,” Emperor Gonflame said.

Ning nodded, understanding what was being imparted. In the ancient library of the Sword Palace, he had seen quite a few secret arts and thus understood that many of the more powerful Daolords relied on mighty secrets arts they had developed. This was true for virtually all of the monstrously talented ones!

“The most terrifyingly powerful Daolords and Emperors all have their own unique techniques.” Emperor Gonflame sighed. “Some Daolords have such powerful abilities that even I would rather keep my distance from them. For example, there is a Daolord I know named Daolord Otherpath who used his own Dao to create a truly unearthly secret art. He managed to completely merge himself into the Wugang Sea of Glass, something which naturally formed from the primordial chaos. After mastering the Wugang Glass Form, with but a thought he can transform into the vast sea of glass and sent it surging towards you. Upon being trapped by it… even someone like me would probably perish.”

Ning was secretly speechless. Still, it made sense. Shortly after leaving the Three Realms, he had encountered Daolord Badlands. Although he was merely a Daolord of the Third Step, his Numerancy divination powers were simply too incredible. Whenever he divined that danger was near, he would immediately slink away, making it almost impossible to kill him. Even worse – if you offended him but were unable to kill him, he would be able to divine all sorts of ways to deal with you or act against your interests. This was why Daolord Badlands was actually quite a dangerous person.

“Those unearthly Daolords have all trained their own Daos to an absolute apex, giving them inconceivable amounts of power. Even worse, they all but seek out excuses to try and kill an Emperor so as to establish their reputations.” Emperor Gonflame shook his head and sighed. “Gaining eternity is no easy feat, and yet the weaker Eternal Emperors are hunted down so mercilessly that they don’t even dare to show their faces in the world.”

Ning couldn’t help but grin. The same was true in the Endless Territories. Daolord Allgod had chased Emperor Melobo across the entire universe, while Lord Dawnstar of the Saber Palace had once slain an Eternal Emperor with three blows of his saber! This was why there were so few Eternal Emperors around, with the surviving ones all figures of incredible strength. The three Hegemons of the Endless Territories were good examples, as was Emperor Mirrorsnow who was extremely skilled at staying alive. Emperor Trisilk was another figure who was also skilled at survival.

“Magic treasures, bah… one or two is enough. If you spend all your efforts on collecting magic treasures, you’ll never make it too far!” Emperor Gonflame looked at Ning. “Although I am very wary of those monstrously strong Daolords, I have to say that they have chosen the correct path. If they succeed and gain eternity, they shall become Hegemons amongst emperors. They’ll immediately be granted the position of ‘Starking’ within the Church of Annihilation, and they’ll be incredibly strong ones at that.”

Ning couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Aren’t all the Starkings of the Church of Annihilation at the Hegemon level?”

“No way. Impossible!” Emperor Gonflame shook his head. “They are simply strong Eternal Emperors who were chosen to become Starkings. If they were Hegemons, they wouldn’t be ‘chosen’ as Starkings; they simply would BE Starkings. Take Emperor Maniseal for example; I heard he’s ridiculously powerful in the Dao of Seals, but he’s still a ways off from the Hegemon level.”

“Or consider the three Primordial Starkings. They always had transcendent statuses, precisely because all three of them were Hegemons,” Emperor Gonflame said.

“Oh.” Ning nodded. So as he had expected, the Paragon of Pills was indeed a Hegemon.

“The Paragon of Pills is a truly incredible figure,” Emperor Gonflame said. “According to the legends, she was a monster even back when she was merely a Daolord, capable of killing Eternal Emperors with ease. Only after gaining eternity did she become a Hegemon! However… there are no absolutes. The legends supposedly say that a long, long time ago, she wasn’t a Hegemon. Only after training for many years as an Eternal Emperor did she reach the Hegemon level of power.”

“Emperor Maniseal, in turn, was once an unremarkable Emperor who completely focused on his Dao of Seals. By now, he’s become incredibly powerful.” Emperor Gonflame chuckled. “After you become an Emperor, you can still slowly train your way up and become increasingly powerful, and you’ll even have a shot at the Hegemon level. However… actually succeeding in this endeavor is far too difficult. Countless years have gone by, but the only person to succeed in doing so was the Paragon of Pills.”

Ning was shocked. Back in the Brightshore Kingdom, he had heard that Hegemons were only created when the most powerful of Daolords gained eternity! He never would’ve imagined that the Paragon was actually an exception to the rule. It really was an axiom that the path of cultivation was a path where there would always be a ‘final chance’ given.

……

Emperor Gonflame chatted with Ning for quite some time, broadening Ning’s horizons.

“Now, you want a lifeblood weapon, right?” Emperor Gonflame looked at Ning, then laughed. “That’ll be easy. This is our very first meeting, and so I’ll gift you with a lifeblood weapon as my first meeting gift to you.”

“Wonderful.” Ning revealed a look of delight.

He knew that there were differences amongst freshly-forged lifeblood weapons. Some might be incredibly heavy and would be suitable for ferocious stances such as his Heavenbreaker stance. Others might be a better fit for his Blood Drop stance or his Shadowless stance. But of course, lifeblood weapons could be continuously improved and altered. Even if the weapon didn’t start off as a good fit, as more time passed it would become a better and better fit for its master!

But a lifeblood treasure which started off as a perfect fit would naturally grow powerful even faster. For the number one grandmaster artificer in this universe to personally forge a lifeblood weapon for himself… this truly was a rare opportunity.

“Emperor, please take a look at this.” Ning immediately began to put his sword-arts on display. “My Sword Dao is composed of five separate Supreme Daos.”

As Ning put his sword-arts on display, the watching Emperor Gonflame felt a sense of tremendous shock.

“W-what… you’ve even linked them together perfectly? This is something which includes all aspects of the entire Dao of the Sword!” Emperor Gonflame stared at Ning. If this kid continues to grow and develop, he’ll definitely become not just a powerful Daolord, but one of the most monstrously powerful Daolords. He’ll probably be able to kill some weaker Eternal Emperors with just one blow from his sword.

“Emperor.” After finishing displaying his sword-arts, Ning looked towards Emperor Gonflame.

“Um…” Emperor Gonflame rubbed his chin. “Your lifeblood weapon would have to reach the apex of perfection in every single aspect. It won’t be easy to make, and it’ll require a lot of materials.”

It would only cost him around ten million cubes of chaos nectar if he wished to make a lifeblood sword for an ordinary sword cultivator, and if he wished to sell it on the open market it would probably go for around twenty or thirty million cubes. But Darknorth’s Sword Dao was a Dao which covered all types of sword-arts, a Dao which pursued true perfection. The materials alone would probably cost him thirty million cubes!

“Haha. Well, since I promised I’d forge you one, I’ll forge you one.” Emperor Gonflame laughed. “I won’t go broke from just one weapon.”

“Emperor,” Ning suddenly said, “This junior has a rather… outrageous request.”

“An outrageous request?” Emperor Gonflame laughed. “Don’t be shy. Speak.” He had just promised to give away thirty million cubes worth of precious materials. Right now, he was feeling quite generous and magnanimous.

“You’ve already seen this junior’s sword-arts. To be honest… it’d be perfect if I had six lifeblood swords. In that case, my power would multiply many times over.” Ning said hurriedly, “But of course, this junior wouldn’t dare to ask you to gift me with six… if there’s anything you need, just tell me and I will do my utmost to accomplish it. I also have some precious treasures and some chaos nectar. I definitely would never ask you to operate at a loss.”

Ning truly did deeply desire six lifeblood weapons. He wanted six, no matter what it had to cost him. Given how much face Emperor Gonflame was giving him, he’d probably offer those six weapons at a very low cost. Logically speaking, Ning felt he should be able to afford it.

“SIX?!!?” Emperor Gonflame’s eyes bulged out. “Six LIFEBLOOD weapons? Your request really is outrageous!”

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Chapter 45 – Some Interesting Information

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 45 – Some Interesting Information

“Just tell me how much you need, Emperor,” Ji Ning said shamelessly. For a young World-level cultivator like himself to be shameless in front of an Eternal Emperor didn’t really matter that much. If it meant acquiring six lifeblood weapons, a bit of thick-skinned shamelessness was nothing.

Emperor Gonflame was speechless. “Six lifeblood weapons. Let’s put aside the amount of exhausting work that I’d have to put into it. Six lifeblood weapons… do you even know how much the materials alone would cost? Do you have any idea? You actually dare make the wild claim that you’d cover it?”

“How much would it cost, exactly?” Ning asked.

“To make customized swords for you? Your swords would be different from all other lifeblood weapons. Your Sword Dao encompasses all directions, which means that the lifeblood weapon also has to be truly perfect in every single aspect! The materials alone will probably cost at least three times as much as the materials needed for an ‘ordinary’ lifeblood weapon. It would take a total of thirty million cubes of chaos nectar. Six swords would cost a hundred and eighty million cubes!”

Emperor Gonflame suddenly started to laugh uncontrollably as he looked at Ning. “Fine, I promised to give you one for free, so you’ll only have to compensate me a hundred and fifty million cubes. As for all of my time, effort, and labor… we’ll just consider it as being on the house. Heh. Heh heh. You said you will make sure I’m not operating at a loss, right? Can you give me that much?”

Ning was speechless. He truly wasn’t able to say a single word.

A hundred and fifty million cubes?

This was way, way…

Daolord Solesky of Vastheaven Palace was an extremely powerful Verge-level Daolord. In order to procure the assistance of Daolord Badlands, he had put together a collection of nearly twenty million cubes worth of chaos nectar, which represented virtually his entire treasure hoard. But of course, the treasures and weapons which he used in battle and which was part of his own ‘true strength’, he naturally didn’t sell.

For most major powers, even if they sold off all of their most valuable treasures they still probably wouldn’t be able to come up with a hundred million cubes!

“Weeeell?” Emperor Gonflame looked at Ning, then said teasingly, “Weren’t you talking big, just now, about how you’d make it up to me?”

Ning was furiously racking his brain for ideas. What should he do? He had quite a few treasures, but he wasn’t even close to a hundred and fifty million cubes worth of treasure. Emperor Gonflame wished to give the Paragon of Pills face and so was willing to gift him thirty million cubes of ingredients; this was already beyond generous. It must be remembered that when Emperor Gonflame had made that offer, he had only been planning on making an ordinary lifeblood weapon that would cost him around ten million cubes. Who would’ve thought that Ning’s Sword Dao was this incredible? Emperor Gonflame couldn’t go back on his words, and so had been so generous as to promise Ning an appropriate and even more expensive weapon.

But six? Even Ning himself felt that such a request went too far, and the Emperor probably wouldn’t agree. Such a sum of wealth would cause even someone like Emperor Gonflame to feel heartache.

“Eh?!” A thought suddenly flashed through Ning’s mind. “Emperor,” Ning called out.

Emperor Gonflame had been enjoying the intensely awkward look on Ning’s face. He couldn’t help but feel curious upon hearing Ning call out to him. “What is it? Do you actually have enough treasure to make up for it?”

Ning did, of course, have enough treasure. The deceased Hegemon’s suit of ancient armor alone was worth vastly more than six lifeblood weapons. That suit of armor had been labored over by the Paragon of Pills herself, and it truly was of inestimable value. There was nowhere and no way to buy a treasure like that! As for the two Dao-seals which the deceased Hegemon had given him, the deceased Hegemon had poured all of his effort into the creation of each Dao-seal. They similarly could not be found anywhere on any market, and they would indeed more than make up for the lifeblood weapons as well.

But Ning would never sell them, not unless he truly lost his mind. Ultimate trump cards like this simply were not to be sold.

“This junior has a bit of information to trade,” Ning said. “I think… this bit of information should be worth a hundred and fifty million cubes of chaos nectar.”

“Information? What sort of information could possibly be worth that much?” Emperor Gonflame was intrigued.

“Emperor,” Ning said, “When this junior first entered the Archaeus region, I once accidentally encountered a place where I discovered an enormous, mountain-sized vein of darkspace flamestone. This mountain was more than a million kilometers in size.”

Emperor Gonflame had been quite calm, but upon hearing the words ‘million kilometers’ he was completely stunned. He shot to his feet, staring at Ning with round eyes. “What did you just say? A million kilometers in size? A mountain of darkspace flamestone?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded immediately.

“How rich is the vein?” Emperor Gonflame asked.

A ‘vein’ could mean many things. A ‘vein’ of ore in which ten thousand kilograms of rock held roughly one kilogram of pure ore would be considered a ‘vein’, but so too would a ‘vein’ in which a billion kilograms of rock held a kilogram of pure ore! The difference between the two, however, was enormous.

“Please take a look, Emperor.” Ning waved his hand, causing a piece of ore to appear. This was one of the pieces of ore which the golem Moksha had mined.

“This ore…” Emperor Gonflame was instantly excited when he saw that piece of ore. He was a true grandmaster of artificing, and he could immediately tell right away that it came from an incredibly rich vein. “A million kilometers of this… I… I… I’m not strong enough to own such a mountain.”

This mountain of ore was so large and valuable that someone like him truly wasn’t qualified to claim ownership over it. In fact, Emperor Gonflame didn’t even consider trying. He was a retainer of the Paragon of Pills, after all. There was no way he could hide something like this from her. And a mine of this size… if the Paragon of Pills claimed it, there would be no one who would dare to do anything to it.

“But there is something I must tell you. This mine already has an owner,” Ning said.

“An owner?” Emperor Gonflame was stunned.

“Emperor Trisilk,” Ning said.

Emperor Gonflame started to roar with laughter. “Ahahaha! Him? That poor, stupid bastard?” Right now, Emperor Trisilk truly was the most unfortunate Eternal Emperor in this entire universe. Emperor Maniseal was hunting him so relentlessly that he didn’t dare to show his face anywhere.”

“Come, follow me. Let us go meet with my master.” Emperor Gonflame grabbed Ning, then stepped through the void and teleported out of his estate.

……

This truly was a piece of earth-shaking information. Even the Paragon of Pills was shocked upon hearing it, and she immediately led Ning and Emperor Gonflame away from the Trileaf Realm and towards the Archaeus region.

Whooosh.

The five-colored space bridge continuously soared into the distance. The Paragon, Ning, and Emperor Gonflame all stood there atop the bridge. Since Ning had fled from the Sacred Immortal Realm after they had destroyed the formation protecting it, he knew exactly where it was located. This made finding it much easier.

Rumble…

“Here we are.”

The black-garbed Paragon put away her bridge, then stood there in the emptiness of space with Emperor Gonflame and Ji Ning by her side.

The blazing flames in this region weren’t able to even move close to them. The Paragon, Emperor Gonflame, and Ning all stared through the void towards the towering mountain formed from fiery red rock.

“What an enormous vein of ore.” Emperor Gonflame was truly stunned. “Although Darknorth told me about how large it is, actually seeing it is… wow. How could there be a mountain of darkspace flamestone as large as this?”

“It’s too large. There’s no way to teleport it away. Our only choice is to slowly mine it for its ore,” the Paragon said softly. A mountain of ore like this… in this entire universe, the number of people who would dare claim it for their own could be counted on one hand. The Paragon was one of them! But of course, if someone else had been the first to discover it, she wouldn’t have been in a good position to intervene either.

Whoever was the first to discover such a fortune would be the one to own it. This was a shared rule which the supreme powers all abided by.

But of course, if a puny Emperor like Emperor Trisilk was the first to find it, the supreme powers would’ve been in a position to take it away by force! This was much like how Hydragon Mountain of the Endless Territories had been forcibly occupied by the almighty Brightshore Hegemon.

“Trisilk, that idiot… he probably wanted to keep this mountain for himself.” Emperor Gonflame snickered. “He never would’ve expected that Emperor Maniseal would chase after him like this. Poor bastard.”

“Trisilk is a selfish, vicious person by nature. Of course he would want to keep this mountain for himself.” The Paragon of Pills slowly shook her head. “However… right now, there’s no one who can protect him. Maniseal has gone completely berserk. Even if the lord of the Church of Annihilation placed Trisilk under his personal protection, Trisilk would still have to perpetually stay within the lord’s headquarters. He would never be able to leave it ever again. If Trisilk was to ever come out… given how furious Maniseal is, he’ll definitely kill Trisilk.

Trisilk had been able to sense his disciple being killed and knew that the secret of his darkspace flamestone mine had been exposed. He was so terrified by this that he hid himself even more deeply! Right now, his nerves were completely frayed.

A berserk Maniseal truly was a terrifying person to behold. He had reached the true apex in the Dao of Seals. Although he was a bit weaker than the Paragon of Pills or the lord of the Church of Annihilation, neither of them would wish to make an enemy out of him! This was because neither of them felt confident that they would definitely be able to kill him.

“What an enormous mountain of ore. The Trileaf Realm will need to make good use of it and work hard to mine it.” The Paragon nodded. “The value of this ore is truly incalculable. Gonflame, go ahead and help Darknorth forge those six lifeblood weapons. I’ll provide all the materials you need! For us to gain such a mountain of ore at a cost of less than two hundred million cubes of chaos nectar… the more often something like this happens, the better.”

“Alright.” Emperor Gonflame laughed and nodded.

As for Ning, he couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself. In truth, neither he nor any of his fellows such as Solewind or Greatjoy had any designs on this mountain! This was because not even most Eternal Emperors would dare to lay claim over it! In addition, Emperor Trisilk already knew about this place, which meant others would definitely find out as well.

Thus, the number of people in this universe who could fearlessly and openly lay claim to it truly could be counted on just one hand. Ning, Greatjoy, and the others were all from another universe, and were mere World-level cultivators; there was no way they would ever have a chance to meet such supremely powerful figures! Even if they had such a chance, they wouldn’t dare to act on it for fear of their true identities being exposed! What’s more… for a weak figure like them to try and bargain with such supremely powerful figures might simply result in them being forcibly soulscoured.

Due to their many concerns, none of them had ever dared to reveal this secret to anyone else upon leaving the Sacred Immortal Realm.

Ning, however, had a very special relationship with the Paragon of Pills. She had treated him very well, and had even transmitted her [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to him. It could be said that they were family, which was why Ning dared to tell her about this mountain. If it wasn’t for their special relationship, Ning would’ve forever kept this information hidden deep within his memories!

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Chapter 46 – Only Ji Ning Remains

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 46 – Only Ji Ning Remains

The Paragon of Pills, Emperor Gonflame, and Ji Ning all stared at that distant mountain of darkspace flamestone. This was one of the many marvels birthed from the primordial chaos in this universe!

“Darknorth.” Emperor Gonflame suddenly said, “Six lifeblood weapons will take quite a bit of time. Even if I enter my estate and accelerate time, the smelting will still take tens of thousands of years. You’ll have to wait.”

Alchemy, artificing, seal-making, and other Daos all took enormous amounts of time. Major powers would generally carry out the process within estates that had temporal acceleration enchantments!

“Tens of thousands of years?” Ning laughed. “Then I’ll just wait patiently for those six lifeblood weapons.”

……

Tens of thousands of years. This could be said to be a long period of time, but it could also be said to be a short period of time.

When Ji Ning’s group had originally come to this alternate universe, their journey to the Archaeus region alone had taken over ten thousand years! Even if he was still in the Genesis Lands, it would take well over ten thousand years to depart the Archaeus region and then start to head home. Given he was in the Trileaf Realm, he wouldn’t need to traverse the Archaeus region. In that respect, he had saved some time.

“I wonder when Solewind, Greatjoy, and the others will leave the Genesis Lands,” Ning murmured to himself within his residence in the Trileaf Realm.

As for Su Youji, she remained at the outer reaches side of the primessence chains, quietly waiting for Ning to return. Alas, it was guaranteed that she would never see him there!

Roughly six thousand years after Ning’s ‘abduction’, Heartlord Solewind emerged from the inner reaches and walked back to the outer reaches via the chains.

“Brother Solewind.” Firesurge and the others went to greet him.

“Master.” Immortal Swallowback greeted him as well.

“Heartlord Solewind, have you seen my master?” Su Youji immediately asked.

“Darknorth? He entered the inner reaches alongside me. Later on, we separated and didn’t meet again. What’s wrong?” The bald Heartlord Solewind was still dressed in the same loose, fiery-red robes he had been dressed in thousands of years ago. He couldn’t help but feel surprised by the question.

Su Youji immediately explained, “Six thousand years ago, I suddenly became unable to sense my master’s presence, but his message-talisman is still intact.”

“You can’t sense him?” Solewind’s face turned solemn as well. He had experienced many dangers within the world of the inner reaches and had nearly died as a result. In the end, though, he had survived and departed with a great fortune.

“The inner reaches are very difficult. It’s possible that brother Darknorth is trapped within one of its danger zones.” Heartlord Solewind was rather worried as well. “But… for there to be no news of him after six thousand years probably means that he really is in grave danger. Let’s wait for a while longer. He might still be alive.”

Another five thousand years went by.

By now, Prince Greatjoy had also returned from the inner reaches. He hadn’t seen Ji Ning either. This made Su Youji even more disappointed and worried.

More than three thousand years went by. Skyfire Brightshore finally rejoined the others as well. And so… everyone but Ji Ning had returned. Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, Waterlord Firesurge, Skyfire Brightshore, Immortal Swallowback, World Goddess Skywolf, Flamefairy Su Youji… they were all present.

“We were all fairly lucky to make it out in one piece, but… brother Darknorth has gone missing.” Prince Greatjoy frowned.

“He’s been missing for quite some time…” Firesurge slowly shook his head.

“My master is definitely alive,” Su Youji said.

Skyfire Brightshore said, “But we can’t just wait for him. He’s already been missing for ten thousand years. If we just keep waiting like this, who knows how long we’ll be here for? I think we should go back. If he’s still alive, he’ll go back as well once he comes out and realizes that we aren’t here.”

Solewind and Greatjoy exchanged glances. Their mission was chiefly to escort and protect Skyfire Brightshore! If Skyfire wished to go back, they really couldn’t stop him.

“Flamefairy, what Skyfire says makes sense. If brother Darknorth is still alive, he’ll go back on his own.” Solewind looked at Su Youji.

“And there’s no point to you waiting here by yourself,” Greatjoy said. “And… given how Darknorth suddenly disappeared, it’s also possible that he’s already left the Genesis Lands. In fact, he might’ve already gone back.”

“Gone back?” Su Youji stared. That… actually was possible. The Genesis Lands were filled with mysteries. It was entirely possible that some sort of special place might’ve teleported Ji Ning to another place in the universe. If that had actually happened, it wouldn’t make sense for Ji Ning to slowly travel all the way through the Archaeus region a second time! The Archaeus region was simply too large. Even someone as skilled in the Dao of Spacetime as Prince Greatjoy would need nearly ten thousand years to traverse if. If Ji Ning wished to traverse it, it would take him far longer.

“Perhaps brother Darknorth really did encounter a special situation, resulting in him going back to our universe,” Solewind said.

“Let’s go.”

“Let us return together. Darknorth is far stronger than you; he’s entirely capable of making it back on his own.”

“Flamefairy, we just might see Darknorth once we go back.”

They all urged her to return with them.

In all honesty, the many centuries of waiting had taken their toll on the Flamefairy as well, making her feel increasingly nervous. She also felt that it was entirely possible that Ji Ning really had encountered a special event that resulted in him being thrust out of the Archaeus region, and so she immediately nodded. “Alright. Let’s go back.”

All seven of them had reaped great rewards within the Genesis Lands! This was also the reason why they felt certain that Ji Ning had probably encountered something special as well. In the Genesis Lands, everything truly was possible.

Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and the others spent merely three thousand years before they were able to reach the transversal conduit and return to the Endless Territories. Clearly, Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over the Dao of Spacetime had increased dramatically, allowing them to travel much more quickly!

But upon returning to the Brightshore Kingdom, they found out that Ji Ning had yet to return! Su Youji was stunned by this news. She had no choice but to return to the Sword Palace of the Twelve Palaces and quietly wait there.

……

The alternate universe. The Trileaf Realm.

There was no way for Ning to reach out to Greatjoy and the others. All he could do was patiently wait for those six lifeblood weapons to be forged. Only then could he leave the Trileaf Realm and return to the Endless Territories.

In the end, he did have to go back. His family and his friends were all back there, as was the Three Realms.

Within Ning’s estate-world.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The waters of the ocean lapped against the sandy beaches, then receded again and again.

Ning sat there in the lotus position on the beach, his Immortal energy flowing as countless divine runes manifested around him. He was training in the pill-making techniques of the seventh chapter of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters].

Suddenly, a chubby figure flew over, a look of excitement on the man’s face. “Master, I’ve already completely mastered the second chapter you bestowed upon me!” World God Pillsaint excitedly went straight towards Ning.

“Mm.” Ning dispelled his Immortal energy, then looked at Pillsaint. “Then go ahead and produce a ‘Thousand Songs’ pill for me.”

The Thousand Songs pill could be made very quickly, but it was a very complicated pill. It required fine control over a thousand different processes, each of which required tremendous skill and had exacting requirements. The first five chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] all used the ‘Thousand Songs’ pill as a way to test whether or not someone had successfully mastered a particular chapter.

This time, the pill-making process took a total of two days. Pillsaint had always been talented in the Dao of Alchemy, but he was now at least ten times better than he had been prior to coming to the Trileaf Realm.

“Very well. I’ll bestow the third chapter upon you. Do your best to master it. If you can master it… a true fortune might very well be awaiting you,” Ning said.

“A true fortune? What type of fortune?” Pillsaint was quite curious. In recent years, he had been completely focused on training in alchemy within Ning’s estate-world. He had never wandered the Trileaf Realm, and so he had never heard of the Paragon of Pills.

“No point telling you just now.” Ning shook his head. Even if Pillsaint did master the third chapter, it was up to the Paragon of Pills as to whether or not she wished to teach him more.

The Paragon of Pills was an exalted figure with incredibly high expectations. All Ning could do was recommend potential apprentices to her. As to whether or not Pillsaint would be able to grasp this opportunity, that was completely up to him.

Swish. Ning waved his finger, tapping Pillsaint on his forehead and imparting the third chapter of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to him.

“Absolutely incredible! The person who created this alchemy method is absolutely incredible. I’ve only been learning from it for a short period of time, but my improvements in the Dao of Alchemy have been ridiculously high. I can sense that if I make just a few more breakthroughs, I can become a Daolord whenever I choose.” Pillsaint was extremely excited.

Ning warned softly, “Remember our oath!”

Pillsaint was stunned, then immediately nodded. Before returning to the Brightshore Kingdom, they absolutely could not afford to break through into the Daolord level.

……

Life in the Trileaf Realm was quite relaxed. Ning had never been this relaxed before.

In the past, he had been wholly focused on the Dao of the Sword, but he had now completely mastered and linked together his five different Supreme Sword Daos. He could now completely relax, and in fact he had the vague feeling that relaxing was the correct decision. This was why he spent all his time within his estate-world, where the flow of time was a hundred times faster than the ‘normal’ rate of time. Thus, tens of thousands of years in ‘real’ time translated into millions of years of accelerated time.

Thirty thousand years of ‘real’ time went past in the blink of an eye within the Trileaf Realm.

A wild wind was blowing through the estate-world today. The waves of the sea were rolling forwards, with Ning seated leisurely atop the waves, watching as they rose and fell. In the stormy skies, the silhouette of a single sword could be seen flickering through various different sword-arts.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned. “My sword arts… I feel as though…”

Ning had spent over three million years relaxing in his estate-world after mastering and linking together his five Supreme Daos. Now, all of a sudden, Ning felt as though his sword-arts were still lacking in some manner.

“This… this still isn’t the ultimate Dao of the Sword!” This thought suddenly flashed through Ning’s mind. After three million years of training in sword-arts, he suddenly had this premonition. For people who had trained to this level, these premonitions were usually highly accurate.

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Chapter 47 – Kindness and Gratitude

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 47 – Kindness and Gratitude

“I’m still missing something.” Ji Ning frowned as he sat there atop the wave, the sword silhouette in the air continuing to execute sword-arts.

“It doesn’t make sense. I’ve clearly mastered all five Supreme Daos and joined them together perfectly.” Ning tested his sword-arts out repeatedly. “So why is it that I feel like I’m lacking something?”

“What exactly am I missing?”

Again and again and again, Ning used his sword to execute his various sword-arts.

“BAH!” He spent five nights and five days testing things out, only to make no improvements at all. Ning couldn’t help but let out a rather frustrated howl, his voice reverberating within the skies of this estate-world. The wavy waters of the entire sea suddenly fell flat and turned completely still, almost as if it had been frozen in place. Not a single wave could be seen.

“Whew.” Ning drew a long breath, allowing the frozen seas to return to normal and the waves to arise once more.

“Perhaps I’m being a bit too impatient,” Ning murmured softly.

In truth, Ning was not to be blamed. He had felt certain that he had already found his strongest Supreme Daos, but now he suddenly had the feeling that his Sword Dao was still lacking in something. This meant his Supreme Dao wasn’t actually ‘supreme’. Of course he was irritated by this!

“To be able to notice flaws in my Sword Dao is a good thing. It’s certainly better than not even realizing my own imperfection.” Ning regained his normal calm. “I should focus on calmly meditating on my sword-arts again. Perhaps when enough time, I’ll be able to naturally break through to the next level.”

“My five Supreme Daos are already joined together perfectly. If I can make another breakthrough…” Ning was puzzled. “I’ve never even heard of something like this.”

Bertulu, Eastcult, and the other monstrously talented geniuses all generally mastered multiple Supreme Daos, then fitted them together perfectly. This represented the utmost apex of power. This was what many major powers all believed to be true! Previously, Ning had believed it to be true as well… but now, he suddenly discovered that it wasn’t necessarily the apex.

……

Ning spent even more of the coming years on his sword-arts, but of course he spent some time on the pill-making techniques of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] as well.

Soon, more than fifty thousand years had gone past since his initial entry into the Trileaf Realm.

“I’ve finally mastered it. How truly inconceivable! At the World level, I’ve actually managed to master the quadressence thunder.”

Ning stood there at the peak of a mountain, his eyes flashing. Instantly, a streak of golden lightning shot out of him.

This bolt of golden lightning was filled with an aura of sharpness. This was Ning’s newly created quadressence thunder! When Ning had first started to train in alchemy, he had been able to immediately master the tri-essence thunder and the quadressence water. Now that he had spent five million years of accelerated time training in alchemy, he had made tremendous strides in this field. In pill-making, Ning was superior to even Pillsaint. Pillsaint was still working on the third chapter, after all. Ning was working on the seventh chapter!

“Daolord Allgod once said that a Daolord of the First Step would have a chance at mastering the tri-essence thunder.” Ning laughed. “I’m at the World level, but I’ve actually mastered the quadressence thunder. Haha…”

His azureflower mist energy was comparable to a Daolord’s energy, and his pill-making arts were absolutely unearthly as well. This was why he was able to produce such miraculous results.

“Now, I have quadressence thunder and quadressence water.” Ning willed them all to come out.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A dazzling bolt of golden lightning and a crystalline stream of jade green water instantly filled the skies, transforming into an incomparably terrifying domain of sword-intent! The Yin-Yang Sword Domain was now definitely Ning’s most powerful killer attack. The quadressence thunder and the quadressence water could unleash ruinously powerful attacks that would heavily injure even Daolords of the Second Step. When they were used in this domain of sword-intent… they could actually wipe those second step Daolords out!

For now, Ning truly had reached his limit in terms of controlling lightning and water. He had no chance at all of completing pentessence water; most likely, he would have to first become a Daolord.

Roughly a thousand years passed after Ning had mastered his quadressence thunder.

“Master! Master! I’ve succeeded. I’ve succeeded!” World God Pillsaint came flying in search of Ning.

“Follow me.” After ascertaining that Pillsaint had indeed completely mastered the third chapter, Ning immediately led Pillsaint out of his estate-world, taking him to pay a visit to the Paragon of Pills.

……

“Come in.”

Ning couldn’t help but shiver when he saw that dark, icy-cold estate. He couldn’t help but sigh as well. Why did the Paragon have to live by herself in a place like this? Why?

As Ning lamented silently, he led Pillsaint into the estate.

The Paragon of Pills was seated in the lotus position before the enormous pill cauldron, her black gauzy robes spread across her and over the ground.

“Darknorth.” The Paragon glanced at Ning, her gaze turning much gentler than before.

“Greetings, Paragon,” Ning said respectfully. As for Pillsaint, he obediently fell to his knees and kowtowed.

“Sit,” the Paragon instructed.

Although she told them to sit, in reality they merely sat on the ground in the lotus position as well. Pillsaint snuck a glance at the Paragon, but didn’t dare to stare directly at her. He simply felt rather puzzled… he could clearly see her, but why was it that he kept on feeling as though he couldn’t make out her features?

“Paragon,” Ning said.

“If you don’t mind, you can simply address me as ‘Mistress’,” the Paragon of Pills said.

“Mistress,” Ning called out obediently. He already had a vague understanding of what the relationship between the Paragon and the deceased Hegemon had been like, and also understood how the Paragon felt about him as a result.

The Paragon of Pills nodded. “Have you brought this young fellow to me because of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]?”

Ning nodded. “He is my retainer, World God Pillsaint. I have already transmitted the first three chapters to him, and he has mastered them all. That is why I have brought him here.”

“Then refine a cauldron of Thousand Songs pills.” The Paragon glanced at Pillsaint, her eyes quite calm. She didn’t really care that much about so-called ‘alchemy geniuses’; Hegemons rarely were very eager to take on new disciples. They themselves could live for countless years; why would they have to find people to teach their skills to?

Only truly exceptional geniuses that they also took a personal liking to would be accepted as disciples. She treated Ning in a very special manner, and as a result she held a certain fondness for those connected to him. This was why she was willing to give Pillsaint a chance.

“Yes.” Pillsaint understood that this moment was a moment which could change his destiny. In truth, as soon as he saw that enormous lake of chaos nectar he had been rather stunned. He immediately began to work on refining pills.

Pillsaint was extremely careful, and his cauldron of pills was quite good.

“Not bad. Darknorth, how long did your retainer need in order to master the three chapters?” Pillsaint asked.

“He’s been in my estate-world this entire time, where time moves a hundred times faster than normal. Thus… he should’ve spent more than five million ‘accelerated’ years,” Ning answered honestly. Lying in front of a major power like her would be utterly stupid.

The Paragon of Pills frowned slightly. More than five million years to just learn three chapters? Given her standards, this was fairly slow! She generally only accepted the most elite of disciples, people like Bertulu or Ji Ning. Although Pillsaint was extremely talented in alchemy, he still wasn’t quite at her mark.

“You can become one of my honorary disciples, I suppose.” The Paragon said calmly, “I shall transmit the first six chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to you. Swear an oath to never disseminate it to others.”

“Yes.” Pillsaint was actually overjoyed. Being able to learn the first six chapters was already quite incredible.

The Paragon bestowed a golden medallion upon him, and it immediately merged into his body once he touched it, filling his mind with certain memories as well as forcing him to involuntarily swear a lifeblood oath. Clearly, the Paragon wasn’t being nearly as gentle with him as she had been with Ning.

“Thank you, Master.” After fully memorizing the technique, Pillsaint was absolutely delighted. He immediately kowtowed respectfully to express his gratitude.

The first six chapters alone would still allow Pillsaint to vastly outstrip Daolord Allgod in alchemy. Many of the pill formulas included within the first six chapters were actually pills which only Eternal Emperors could create.

As for the seventh chapter, it contained the Paragon’s most elite techniques. She wouldn’t casually teach it to outsiders.

“You are Darknorth’s retainer, yes? Make sure you serve him loyally. If you betray him, do not blame me for showing you no mercy,” the Paragon said.

“Your disciple understands,” Pillsaint said respectfully. In truth, he could tell that this opportunity was most likely all thanks to the Paragon’s relationship with Ji Ning.

“Thank you, Mistress.” Ning felt gratitude as well. The Paragon of Pills truly did treat him well.

“Gonflame should be able to complete your lifeblood weapons within another ten thousand years.” The Paragon looked at Ning. “My divinations are whispering to me that you probably leave upon acquiring those weapons.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded respectfully.

“My divinations indicate that once you leave, it will be a long, long time before the two of us ever meet again!” The Paragon said. “Thus… you must be very careful on your path of cultivation. If you encounter any serious issues, you can use my name to warn those who would harm you. It might be of some use. Also… true major powers have all types of abilities. Don’t rely too much on any single type of life-saving measure.”

“For example… my calculations indicate that you have a Primaltwin. However, certain major powers who wish to kill you can use certain karma techniques to completely annihilate your truesoul, be it that of your true body or your Primaltwin,” the Paragon said. “Karma techniques are extremely formidable, and have effects similar to that of lifeblood oaths. They can follow those secret, hidden connections and wipe out the truesouls of all of your clones and bodies.”

Ning couldn’t help but feel speechless and amazed upon hearing this. Once a lifeblood oath was violated, all bodies would be annihilated, true… but there were actually attack techniques that could achieve the same results? This was utterly terrifying.

“In the future, you shall understand how powerful the ‘major powers’ truly are,” the Paragon said. “Thus, you absolutely must be careful in your path of cultivation. That way, the two of us might have a chance to meet again in the future. You may go now. It won’t be necessary for you to come and say farewell to me when you leave.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Ning respectfully fell to his knees, expressing his gratitude.

Although they had only met each other a few times, Ning could sense that the Paragon of Pills truly held nothing back from him and did not plot against him at all. She truly was doing what she thought was best for him.

In his mind, Ning viewed her as he would a close friend or a beloved senior. He silently memorized the kindnesses she had shown him. For now, though, he was still very weak. Repay her kindness? That was something for the distant future.

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Chapter 48 – The Return

Book 28, Archaeus Region, Chapter 48 – The Return

After bidding the Paragon farewell, Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel slightly emotional. After this parting, who knew how long it would be for them to meet again? The Paragon of Pills lived in a different universe, after all. Ning would be living in the Endless Territories! Alas, he had to go back.

……

More than sixty thousand years after he had arrived in the Trileaf Realm, Emperor Gonflame sent a servant to carry a message to him.

“Emperor Gonflame wishes to meet me?” Ning revealed a look of joy.

“As soon as the Emperor left his estate-world, he immediately ordered me to come meet you, fellow Daoist.” The extremely muscular azure-garbed Daolord continued, “Fellow Daoist, please follow me over right away.”

“Yes, let’s go right away.” Ning had been waiting impatiently for some time now. He had spent more than sixty thousand years for the sake of this lifeblood weapon.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Two streaks of light shot through the skies, heading straight towards Emperor Gonflame’s palace.

Emperor Gonflame’s estate was at the margins of the Trileaf Realm. However, there were many cultivators here. Emperor Gonflame’s treasures were simply too alluring; even though most of the cultivators couldn’t afford to actually by them, just having the chance to look at them was a chance for them to expand their horizons.

“Please come this way.” The azure-garbed Daolord led Ning straight into the estate, and they soon arrived in a private courtyard.

“Master, I’ve brought Darknorth to you,” the azure-robed Daolord said respectfully.

“You can go. Darknorth, come, sit.” Emperor Gonflame was seated, a proud smile on his face. Each time he forged some treasures he particularly liked, he would always feel a bit smug. He always did enjoy forging treasures, and it was that genuine affection for his art, combined with his incredible talent as well as the guidance of the Paragon of Pills, which led him to become the number one artificer of this entire universe.

Ning suppressed his excitement and sat down.

“Look at you. I bet the only thing you care about right now are those swords.” Emperor Gonflame started to laugh. “Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Look. These are your six lifeblood weapons.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and caused a pitch-black scabbard to appear next to him, with six swords ‘folded’ together inside of it.

“One scabbard, six swords.” Emperor Gonflame smiled. “You can carry all of them at the same time. Lifeblood weapons are unlike other weapons. These are freshly forged, and they don’t even have Sword Dao quintessences withim them. They are completely fresh and blank slates; they don’t even have sword-spirits yet. Thus, they’ll be relying on you to pour your own Sword Dao into them to form their quintessences and give birth to their sword-spirits. How far they will be able to develop will be completely up to you.”

Ning stared at the pitch-black scabbard hovering before him and the six swords within them. Ning waved his hand. Whoosh! Instantly, the six swords all flew out.

Every single sword seemed quite ordinary. The blades were very thin but also incredibly sharp.

“Bind them first.” Emperor Gonflame looked at Ning. “You do know how to bind lifeblood swords, right?”

“Fill them with my own blood and nourish them with my own spirit, right?” Ning asked. He was a sword cultivator, after all. Although acquiring lifeblood weapons was quite difficult, he did know how one should bind one if one was lucky enough to acquire one.

“Right.” Emperor Gonflame nodded. “Work hard and take care of those swords. As for the scabbard, you don’t need to spend any effort on it. It’s nothing more than an ordinary top-grade Eternal treasure, with no special properties. I just casually made it into a shape that fits the swords.”

The scabbard and the six swords hovered in front of Ning. Ning stretched out his hand, a wound suddenly appearing within his palm. Blood immediately spurted out. Under Ning’s control, the blood flew out in six streams and covered all six of those swords.

The six swords were all pitch-black in color. Like nursing babies, they absorbed Ning’s fresh blood. The blood spread out over them like a spider web as more and more of it was absorbed into the swords.

To Ning, blood was nothing more than a manifestation of his divine power. After using up more than half of his divine power, his six swords were finally ‘full’.

Whoosh. Ning sent out strands of his divine will towards those six swords. The six swords had absorbed much of Ning’s blood, which contained both his divine power as well as tiny parts of his truesoul. As a result, the swords naturally wouldn’t resist Ning’s will, allowing it burrow deep within their ‘bodies’.

Ning’s divine will completely surrounded the six swords, almost like the embrace of a mother.

Slowly… the six swords began to change internally in a dramatic fashion, almost like how Pangu had been born from the primordial chaos. The six swords were already filled with Ning’s blood. Now, under the guidance and nurturing power of Ning’s soul and will, they began to gain sentience. In truth, this sentience was akin to that of a living being’s; they would be intelligent, grow, and even cultivate independently. This was what the giant bear of Daoist Threelives’ Starseizing Manor had done.

“Whoah.”

“Wow.”

“Ah.”

One voice after another cried out as child-like figures began to appear from the surfaces of the six swords. Because of Ning’s own soul and truesoul having influenced their creation, they were born looking like human children.

All of them seemed quite puzzled. As ‘newborns’ who had just come into existence, they didn’t even know how to speak.

“Hello, kids.” When Ning saw those six sword-spirits arise, he suddenly sensed a powerful sense of kinship towards them. In the past, whenever he had bound magic treasures he would be connected to them as well, but those were just ordinary connections. This time…

It was a feeling almost akin to when he had first seen his daughter Brightmoon. It was a connection that came from the deepest parts of his truesoul, a true connection on the most basic of levels. He felt almost like a father towards them! This was another reason why these weapons were referred to as ‘lifeblood’ weapons.

“Be good now.” Ning smiled as he looked at the six of them. They all looked like babies, and all of them were completely naked. Ning laughed as he used his divine will to convey some information to them. In the end, they weren’t mortal children; they grew and learned quite quickly. As soon as Ning sent them some information, they almost immediately learned how to speak.

“Master.”

“Master!”

“Hey, so you are our master?”

The six young fellows all began to call out simultaneously.

Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. Although they had quickly mastered the concept of language, it would take time for them to grow more intelligent. Right now, they were too young and too innocent.

“From this day forth, you will be ranked in accordance with how quickly you woke up. So you’ll be number one, you’ll be number two, you’ll be number three…” Ning gave all of them rankings.

“Haha.” Emperor Gonflame started to laugh. “Darknorth, have you started to view them as your own children?”

Ning was startled. They were just swords, right? But indeed, he had given them a ‘birth order’ as he might’ve given actual children.

“Many major powers will treat their lifeblood weapons as their own children.” Emperor Gonflame sighed. “It isn’t surprising at all. In the future, it’ll be up to you to help them grow and become stronger. The relationship between you and your swords will only strengthen and deepen. A tiny number of incredible lifeblood weapons will break through to the Universe level, but those Universe treasures will still feel tremendous love and affection for their first master. This is why.”

Ning nodded slowly. The Universe sword belonging to the deceased Hegemon of the sword refused to accept Ning, precisely because it wanted to choose someone whose personality was more similar to the Hegemon’s.

“From this day forth, the six of them shall forever be by your side. They shall venture into battle by your side and brave danger with you,” Emperor Gonflame said. “Treat them well.”

“Understood.” Ning looked at his six swords. This was the first time he truly felt as though his magic treasures were his family members.

“The six of you… you shall be called the Northbow swords,” Ning said.

Northbow. North, because his own Daoist title was Darknorth. Bow, because ‘Rainbowflame Fairy’ was Yu Wei’s Daoist title. His greatest ambition, his purpose behind wanting to become stronger and reach the apex, was in large part because he wanted to bring her back to life. If it hadn’t been for her… even though he would still pursue the path of a cultivator, he wouldn’t be as frenzied as he currently was.

With Northbow swords in hand, he would carve a grand path for himself through the thistles and thorns that filled the path of cultivation.

“Northbow swords? Then I’ll be Boss Northbow.”

“I like that name!”

“I’ll be Northbow Three.”

“I’ll be Northbow Four!”

They all called out, one after the other. However… the final sword, ‘Northbow Six’, just shook his head and let out a disdainful snort.

Ning blinked, then started to laugh. He then sent out his will, causing his sword-intent to pour into the six swords. Ning’s five Supreme Daos began to link together once more as his sword-intents joined together, coiling into the six swords and transforming into their quintessence cores.

Instantly, the auras of the six swords expanded dramatically. Their auras exploded outwards in an awe-inspiring fashion, and the six young fellows revealed looks of delight as well.

“Come in.” Ning willed it, instantly causing all six swords to fly into the scabbard on his back.

“Right now, in terms of quality they are already comparable to top-grade Eternal weapons,” Emperor Gonflame said. “However, they will continue to grow and advance towards the Universe level. Although it is incredibly difficult for lifeblood treasures to grow to become Universe treasures, they’ll continue to strengthen as they grow. Thus, they’ll need to consume various types of materials and ingredients. It’ll be up to you to provide them.”

“Understood.” Ning smiled and nodded. “Helping raise them is part of my responsibilities.”

“Haha, right. ‘Raise’ them well.” Emperor Gonflame smiled as well.

“Emperor, I won’t thank you because mere words will not suffice. I bid you farewell,” Ning said gratefully.

“Mm.” Emperor Gonflame nodded.

……

That very day, Ning had Daolord Yuhong guide him out of the Trileaf Realm.

“Here is a star map of our universe. Our Trileaf Realm has three spacetime tunnels that lead to three different parts of this universe,” Daolord Yuhong explained.

Ning chose the tunnel that led to an exit closest to the place he had to go.

“Here’s the spacetime tunnel which Master constructed. She is the only one capable of creating spacetime tunnels which traverse virtually the entirety of our universe.” Daolord Yuhong pointed at the enormous, pitch-black vortex up ahead.

“Alright.” Ning turned his head to stare off into the distance, then stepped into the black vortex.

At that very moment, a cold, black-garbed figure was standing outside the Paragon’s estate. The black-garbed Paragon of Pills stared off into the distance. She was able to see the white-robed youth with the black scabbard on his back, and she watched as he stepped into the spacetime tunnel and departed her Trileaf Realm.

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Chapter 1 – Spacetime Disc

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 1 – Spacetime Disc

Rumble…

A streak of sword-light was flying through the transversal conduit.

Ji Ning flew incredibly fast when using the Blood Drop evasion skill, but the transversal conduit was simply too long. It had taken their group over three years to fly from the Brightshore Kingdom to the alternate universe. Still, by now Ning flew twice as fast as he had in the past.

“Here I am.” When Ning saw the light up ahead, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of delight as he darted towards it.

In the instant that he flew through, Ning could sense… Su Youji! He could also sense his other true body clone! He could also sense the Primaltwin which was safeguarding the Three Realms.

“I’m back.” Ning laughed. He was home.

……

The Endless Territories. The Badlands Territory. An unremarkable chaos planet.

Whoosh.

A figure suddenly appeared on the surface of this chaos planet. It was yet another white-robed Ji Ning.

“I’ve benefited tremendously from this trip to the alternate universe. I’ve now perfectly joined five Supreme Daos together! Although I can sense that this isn’t the true apex of the Dao of the Sword, I trust I’ll soon be able to break through to that level.” Ning had the feeling for some time now that he was very, very close to the true apex.

He had spent over six million accelerated years in the Trileaf Realm, and during that period of time this feeling had only grown stronger and stronger. It looked as though he hadn’t improved at all, but in reality he had been slowly accumulating experience in his Sword Dao. When it reached a certain level, it would burst forth!

“If I wish to become a Daolord, I must become one with my clone first. It is time for my clone to head off to Vastheaven Palace.” Ning smiled, then strode forwards. Whoosh! He instantly tore a hole in the space around him. By now, Ning’s sword-intent alone was completely capable of tearing a spatial tunnel open for him, allowing him to enter a different spatial continuum and move even faster through space.

His true body and its clone would reunite at Vastheaven Palace!

……

The Brightshore Kingdom. The Sword Palace of the Twelve Palaces. Within an estate located at the very peak of one of the many awe-inspiring mountains in the Sword Palace.

This estate belonged to Ji Ning. Because Ning had yet to return, the gates to the estate remained barred firmly shut. Next to the estate there was a wooden house, with Flamefairy Su Youji having taken up temporary residence here.

Ever since she had returned from the alternate universe she had lived here, waiting for Ning.

“Master!” Su Youji had been meditating in the lotus position, but she suddenly opened her eyes, revealing a look of joy with them.

She could sense that Ji Ning had returned!

……

The lofty peak of a mountain. This was the other end of the transversal conduit. When Ning exited the conduit, he appeared here. Moments later, a snow-robed old man with six horns and a white beard suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Hegemon.” Ning was in an extremely good mood due to having returned. When he saw the Hegemon suddenly appear, he couldn’t help but be badly startled and hurriedly bow.

“You are back.” The white-bearded elder had a smile on his face. “It is good that you are back. You were the last one to return from the alternate universe.”

Ning was stunned. So Greatjoy, Solewind, and the others both returned as well.

“First, return the Archaeus medallion to me,” the white-bearded elder said.

“Yes.” Ning hurriedly produced the Archaeus medallion. It was now of no use to him, but the almighty Hegemon would be able to use it to allow other World-level cultivators to venture through the alternate universe in the future.

“Greatjoy, Solewind, and the others have already narrated what happened in the alternate universe to me. You once saved their lives, which is no small thing. As I said long ago, the better you perform, the heavier I shall reward you.” The white-bearded man smiled. “And I heard that you even managed to enter the inner reaches of the Genesis Lands…”

“It was luck,” Ning said.

“It wasn’t luck. Solewind, you, and Greatjoy all managed to make it inside. In the future, I imagine that the three of you will be every bit the equal of Eastcult and Bertulu,” the white-bearded elder said.

Ning was secretly surprised. So Greatjoy had made it into the inner reaches as well?

“This is a spacetime disc I created myself.” The white-bearded elder produced a strange disc of mixed white and black colors. “Through using this spacetime disk, you can flee through spacetime in a dangerous situation. It contains the power of a secret art which I personally infused into it. However, it can only be used once. After you use it the energy within will be consumed, making it unusable.”

As he spoke, he sent the strange disc towards Ning.

Ning was rather excited. Before going to the alternate universe, the almighty Hegemon had indeed said that if he provided assistance to Skyfire Brightshore, he would be richly rewarded upon his return. Still, he hadn’t expected the reward to be so ample.

“Given my mastery over the Dao of Spacetime, there won’t be many who can chase after you once you activate this spacetime disc.” The almighty Hegemon was completely confident in his abilities. “Still, you have to be careful. Major powers have countless abilities at their disposal, and some are so strong that you won’t even have a chance to use the disc. Thus, you still have to be careful.”

“Understood,” Ning said respectfully. Given how much Emperor Maniseal had doted on his disciple, he had most certainly provided his disciple with life-saving treasures. And yet, his disciple had still died by the hands of Emperor Trisilk.

“Hegemon, I wish to leave the Brightshore Kingdom for a time, but…” Ning said. Per the rules of the Brightshore Kingdom, one was generally permitted to leave only upon becoming a Daolord.

“Permission granted. Just go speak with Woodflower of your Sword Palace.” The white-robed elder nodded. “Be careful when voyaging through the outside world. You can easily die, given how weak you still are. Enough. You can go now.”

“Acknowledged.” Ning bowed respectfully, then used the nearby spacetime tunnel to first travel back to the imperial palace, then head to the Sword Palace.

The white-bearded old man nodded slightly as he watched Ning leave. “These young fellows have all benefited quite a bit, and Darknorth has undergone a truly earthshaking transformation. Now, even I can only barely sense what his destiny will be like.”

The Brightshore Kingdom’s grand strategy lay in the production of elites! The Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom were, on average, much stronger than those of the Dao Alliance. However, they were also much fewer in number! As for Ji Ning, Bertulu, Greatjoy, and the others, they were the elites of the elites, the cream of the crop! The Brightshore Kingdom would naturally protect them carefully.

Giving Ning a spacetime disc as a form of ‘thanks’ was just an excuse! Even if he didn’t have this excuse, the Hegemon would’ve come up with another excuse to give this monstrously talented kid a protective treasure.

……

Ning stood there at the front entrance to the Sword Palace, staring at the beautiful, fiery-robed woman who stood at the other side of the entrance.

“Youji.” Ning smiled.

“Master.” Su Youji’s eyes were brimming with tears. She had actually benefited greatly from her visit to the Genesis Lands, and she had improved significantly as well. She was at the point where she could become a Daolord whenever she wished. However, she was too worried about Ning. When she returned to the Sword Palace, she simply couldn’t calm down and so she didn’t make her breakthrough.

Now, at least, she saw Ji Ning once more.

“Look at yourself! Your master won’t die that easily, you know.” Ning grinned.

“I knew you had to believe. Firesurge and those other bastards said that you…” Su Youji revealed a brilliant smile.

Ning’s gaze suddenly turned to someone who stood behind Su Youji.

“Ah. It seems I’ve disturbed the two of you.” A figure emerged from behind Su Youji, a smile on his face.

“Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower,” Ning immediately called out. The newcomer was indeed Lord Woodflower.

Lord Woodflower smiled as he looked at Ning. “I just learned from the Hegemon that you’ve returned. Solewind, Greatjoy, and the others all returned some time ago. You were the only one left. You really gave me a bad scare.”

When Ning hadn’t returned with the others, Woodflower really had been worried for quite some time.

“I’m back now, right?” Ning laughed.

“I imagine this trip was quite fruitful for you,” Lord Woodflower said.

“Not bad.” Ning grinned.

As far as treasures went, the deceased Hegemon had bestowed upon him a pair of Dao-seals, a suit of armor, and chaos nectar. The most precious treasures, of course, were those six lifeblood swords which Emperor Gonflame had labored over. Still… weapons and treasures, upon being bound, could have their auras restrained, making it so that outsiders couldn’t tell how powerful they were. Not even the almighty Hegemon had noticed how extraordinary Ning’s six swords and suit of armor were.

“As long as you benefited from it. When are you planning to become a Daolord?” Lord Woodflower asked.

“Soon. I need to make some further preparations,” Ning said. “Right. Senior apprentice-brother, I’m planning to leave the Brightshore Kingdom on a trip.”

“No problem.” Lord Woodflower nodded. “If you are going to leave, follow me. We’ll go light a heartlamp first.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

Heartlamps were lit through one’s own truesoul. Generally speaking, one would be able to sense right away when its master perished. Once its master perished, the heartlamp would be extinguished as well. But of course, if you entered an alternate universe or some particularly dangerous ruins, it was possible that the connection to the heartlamp would be severed.

Still, heartlamps and truesoul towers were amongst the best of life-sensing equipment. The connection was almost as perfect as the connection between a true body and a clone. The more casually created items like life-tablets had a much smaller area of effectiveness.

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Chapter 2 – Star Map

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 2 – Star Map

Ji Ning led Su Youji to follow Lord Woodflower into the Sword Palace. The Sword Palace had quite a few cultivators within it, but of course most were black-armored Daolords.

“Swordlord Darknorth has arrived.”

“It’s Swordlord Darknorth.”

“That’s Flamefairy Su Youji standing next to him.”

“He’s been gone for roughly eighty thousand years, right? I’m surprised that Lord Woodflower is actually welcoming him back personally.”

“Eighty thousand years ago, all of the World-level geniuses of the Twelve Palaces who were acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were ordered to return, then challenged the Daolord Cloudworld. After that, Swordlord Darknorth, Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and Waterlord Firesurge all suddenly disappeared. I heard that they had all gained an incredible stroke of good fortune. Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and the others all returned together tens of thousands of years ago, as did Flamefairy Su Youji. I thought that Swordlord Darknorth must’ve died.”

The black-armored Daolords all chatted amongst themselves, while the ones closer to Ning all called out in very modest manners, “Swordlord Darknorth.”

Virtually all of the black-armored Daolords had reached that level through using Pseudo Samsara Pills. It was all but guaranteed that they would forever remain Daolords of the First Step. They thus didn’t spend much time or effort on cultivation, and instead were filled with curiosity about the latest news and going ons.

When the almighty Hegemon had chosen Ning and the others, they were quickly able to deduce what was really happening. In truth, the Hegemon didn’t really care that they knew some of the details; so long as the secret of the alternate universe was kept hidden, that was enough.

“Come on.” Lord Woodflower led Ning towards an ancient pagoda. “Su Youji, you can wait outside.”

“Understood.” Su Youji obediently stood outside the pagoda, while Ji Ning entered.

The interior of the pagoda was simple and unadorned. Deep within it, atop a stone dais, there were a series of heartlamps that were lit. Heartlamps looked quite similar to lotus flowers in shape, and they contained sparks of truesoul flames. So long as the master remained alive, these flames would never die.

There were five levels to the stone dais. There were many heartlamps on the first level, well over two thousand. The second level had far fewer lamps, just sixteen in total. The third level only had eighty-two heartlamps, the fourth level had merely thirty-five heartlamps, and the fifth level only had two heartlamps.

“This stone dais has five levels. The first level is for Daolords of the First Step, the second is for Daolords of the Second Step, and so on and so forth. The fifth level is reserved for Eternal Emperors.” Lord Woodflower looked at the two heartlamps on the fifth level, then let out a sigh. “Our Sword Palace has only given birth to a total of three Eternal Emperors. One has perished, while the other two are out adventuring…”

Ning nodded. The Sword Palace only had around a hundred ‘real’ Daolords. The reason why there were so many on the first level, with over two thousand heartlamps present, was because almost all of them were black-armored Daolords.

“Senior apprentice-brother, our Sword Palace actually has thirty-five Daolords of the Fourth Step?” Ning asked. The fourth step represented Verge-level Daolords; they definitely would be considered incredibly strong major powers.

“Think about Daolord Everstarter, who has been missing for countless chaos cycles. Do you think he is alive, or do you think he is dead?” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “The heartlamp remains lit because it cannot sense him, but whether or not he is actually still alive is hard to say.”

Ning nodded. For example, if he had died in an alternate universe, there would’ve been no way to sense it.

“As for Daolords of the Fourth Step who we are certain are still alive, there are twenty-two of them,” Lord Woodflower said. “The others, we simply cannot tell. Daolords of the Fourth Step are all searching for opportunities and fortunes that will assist them in their Daomerge. For the sake of their Daomerge, they will risk their lives and plunge into some truly deadly regions… and some of them will never return.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh as well. Daolord Solesky was another example; for the sake of his Daomerge, he had chosen to brave the dangers of the Waveshift world.

“Alright. Come, set a heartlamp alight,” Lord Woodflower said. “The normal rule is that only Daolords can leave. However, you are capable of becoming a Daolord whenever you choose, and so we won’t force things. For now, we’ll temporarily keep your heartlamp on the first level.”

A dark, gloomy lotus-shaped heartlamp hovered before Ning. Ning stretched out a finger, sending out a stream of his soul into the heartlamp. Poof! The wick within the flower petals of the heartlamp instantly lit up. Ning could sense the strong connection which now existed between his truesoul and the blazing flames. It almost felt like one of his clones.

With but a thought, Ning sent the heartlamp flying to the borders of the first level of the stone dais, then set it down.

“After you become a Daolord, training will speed up significantly at first. It shouldn’t take you too long to reach the second step! Reaching the third step will take a bit more time, while reaching the fourth step will be the most difficult of all.” Lord Woodflower had a complicated look on his face as he said softly, “As for the Daomerge… it’ll be up to luck.”

Countless monstrously powerful Daolords had perished. Only a miniscule number became Eternal Emperors.

“However… failing in the Daomerge doesn’t mean that much. To be able to roam the universe freely for 108,000 chaos cycles is enough.” Lord Woodflower laughed. “If you stifle yourself and choose a weak Dao… even if you are lucky enough to become an Eternal Emperor, you’ll live in perpetual fear of being killed by one of the powerful Daolords. Even if you live forever, that just means you’ll be pitiful bug forever!”

Ning stared at the ancient, dispirited Lord Woodflower. Suddenly, he could sense a terrifying sword-intent emanate from the man’s body. Ning couldn’t help but nod.

To mortals, cultivators seemed to have unlimited lifespans; upon becoming a Celestial Immortal, it was said that your lifespan would be as long as that of the heavens themselves. However, in reality there was still a limit! Even entire chaosworlds and the heavens within them would eventually perish and be born anew. As for World-level cultivators and Daolords, they could at most live for 108,000 chaos cycles! They had to succeed in the Daomerge within this allotted time span.

If they did not complete their Daomerge, then when the time came they would perish. Thus… even the most powerful of Daolords could only live for 108,000 chaos cycles. This was why the Sword Palace had more than 80,000 powerful Daolords in its records, but only a hundred who were still alive.

Only by succeeding in the Daomerge would they gain true eternity. For the most powerful, such as the Hegemon, time flowed on in an endless stream but they remained at the very apex of the universe. The almighty Brightshore Hegemon had been alive for far longer than even the Twelve Palaces.

……

With the heartlamp lit, Ning left the pagoda.

Su Youji was waiting for him outside. There was actually a green-robed creature with hundreds of tentacles that served as hair and a pair of golden eyes.

“Greetings, Master.” The green-robed creature immediately knelt down and called out with respect when he saw Ning emerge.

“And you are…?” Ning was puzzled.

“This is your servant,” Lord Woodflower said. “A servant which the Brightshore Kingdom has prepared for you.”

“The Brightshore Kingdom is giving me a servant? A World-level servant?” Ning was puzzled. What was the point of giving him a World-level servant?

Lord Woodflower said, “Don’t underestimate his usefulness. He will be extremely important to you! Normally, only real Daolords of the Twelve Palaces will be given access to servants like him. Those black-armored Daolords never will. Every one of them is raised here within the Brightshore Kingdom and possesses both self-cloning abilities as well as incredibly powerful souls. Just one of his clones will accompany you, with another one remaining in the Brightshore Kingdom.”

“Senior apprentice-brother, are you saying…?” Ning was starting to understand.

“Exactly so. He’ll be used to send messages.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “If you you run into trouble and need to ask for rescue, you can tell him and his clone in the Brightshore Kingdom will be able to immediately report it to us! The Brightshore Kingdom will immediately spread the word to all of the Daolords and Eternal Emperors of the kingom who are in the Endless Territories. The ones closest to you will head to you as quickly as possible!” Lord Woodflower laughed.

Ning’s eyes lit up. Absolutely incredible. To use a messenger relay of clones to ensure that the Daolords and Eternal Emperors of the Brightshore Kingdom were in constant contact was an effective way of maintaining communication.

“However, given how truly vast the Endless Territories are, generally speaking it would be difficult for an ordinary World God’s clone to be able to sense past a thousand or so territories. Thus, the Brightshore Kingdom has arranged for this one to work with you. His soul is incredibly powerful,” Lord Woodflower said.

Ning nodded in understanding. There was a limit to the distance at which a clone would be able to sense the presence of another clone. Elder God and Ancestral Immortal clones could only sense each other up to ten territories apart, whereas World-level clones would only function up to a thousand territories apart.

The so-called ‘sensing’ method was actually a type of soul resonance. Thus, the stronger the soul, the greater the distance at which the connection could be maintained! Take Ning as an example. Although he was merely at the World level, his soul was comparable to a Daolord’s! As for these World-level cultivators who had been trained by the Brightshore Kingdom, they all had clones and souls which were far more powerful than that of ordinary World-level cultivators, allowing them to sense at a great distance as well.

“It is quite rare for World-level cultivators to have clones.” Ning sighed with emotion. “Ones with such powerful souls are even more rare.”

“The Brightshore Kingdom doesn’t have that many Daolords. That’s why we can afford to do this,” Lord Woodflower said. “There’s no way the Dao Alliance, for example, could do such a thing. Still, they have methods of their own… but of course, those methods are far slower than ours.”

Ning nodded. The Brightshore Kingdom was able to transmit information at truly shocking speeds.

“When you wander through the outside world, the Brightshore Kingdom shall be the strongest shield available to you.” Lord Woodflower smiled at Ning. “And all of the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom have sworn oaths from the day they joined to never engage in battle against each other.”

Ning chuckled. When he had received the Sword Palace’s medallion, he had also sworn a lifeblood oath. No members of any of the Twelve Palaces could kill each other.

“The major powers of the Brightshore Kingdom are extremely unified when wandering the outside world. If you encounter other Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom who are in danger, you should help them as well.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning.

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“Right. This is the star map of all territories which are known to the Brightshore Kingdom.” Lord Woodflower handed a rolled-up golden star map scroll to Ning.

Ning accepted it. Upon opening it, a look of shock instantly filled his face.

“Amazed, right? The Endless Territories are truly vast, and some of its danger zones are also truly massive. Many cannot even be fully mapped out.” Lord Woodflower let out a sigh.

Ning stared, stunned, at the star map. Good heavens. This… this was far larger than the entire star map of the alternate universe!

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Chapter 3 – The Journey

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 3 – The Journey

The territories occupied by cultivators in the Endless Territories roughly made up around sixty to seventy percent the size of the alternate universe. However, there were many ‘danger zones’.

For example, the region marked down as the ‘Starsea of Worries’ was considered the most dangerous location in all the Endless Territories. It had yet to be fully mapped out, but its known area alone already surpassed the entirety of the rest of the Endless Territories. It was incredibly dangerous, and less than one in ten thousand Daolords would survive a trip into it! Generally speaking, only incredibly powerful Daolords would be lucky enough to survive, and even the majority of Eternal Emperors who entered that place would perish.

The Starsea of Worries, in and of itself, was nearly comparable to the entire alternate universe in size. It was without a doubt the most dangerous place in the Endless Territories. The Endless Territories also had some other similar danger zones which were quite terrifying. Chances of entering and surviving were very slim.

“If we factor in those danger zones, the Endless Territories is far larger than the alternate universe.” Ji Ning was rather stunned as he carefully read through the information the star map contained regarding the Endless Territories.

“Is that…” Ning’s eyes narrowed as he saw an explanation of the six major forces within the Endless Territories.

The Dao Alliance was comprised of virtually all cultivators. It was an enormous behemoth that was also far-flung and dispersed. It had the most Daolords and Eternal Emperors, but it also had so many internecine disputes and took up so much territory that it had always operated under the principle of non-governance.

The Brightshore Kingdom was created by the almighty Hegemon Brightshore, one of the three mighty Hegemons of the Endless Territories!

The Aeonians consumed cultivators, using them as food. They were extremely unified and were incredibly powerful after being Awakened.

The ‘special lifeforms’. They were the hundreds and thousands of strange, unique creatures who had been birthed by the primordial chaos. After Hegemon Windrain rose to power and established the Windrain Kingdom, it became a holy land for all special lifeforms and countless special lifeforms congregated there.

The Ancient cultivators comprised the most mysterious, secretive organization in all the Endless Territories. They were extremely few in number, but each and every one of them possessed incredible power. Their divine abilities and secret arts were powerful beyond measure, and they were led by Hegemon Netherlily.

The Dark Kingdom was comprised of cultivators who had migrated from outside the Endless Territories, and they ruled over the border territories.

“Much more complex than the alternate universe,” Ning mused to himself.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Lord Woodflower smiled as he looked at Ning. “Surprised?”

“I never realized our many danger zones our Endless Territories possess, or that we actually have six major forces here,” Ning said.

“There’s no need for most World-level cultivators to know such things. The Endless Territories are simply too vast and filled with so many dangers that they would never make it far enough to find out,” Lord Woodflower said. “You, however, are different. This is all information you’ll need to know after you become a Daolord.”

Ning nodded.

“As for the danger zones… some are almost infinitely large, especially the Starsea of Worries. Not even the almighty Hegemon has been able to fully explore them,” Lord Woodflower said. “Honestly, the main things you need to keep in mind are those six major powers. The Brightshore Kingdom is rather aloof, and we are on fairly good terms with the Dao Alliance, the Aeonians, and the special lifeforms. We can be considered enemies of the Dark Kingdom, as they are foreigners, after all. But remember… we are mortal foes of the Ancient cultivators!”

“Mortal foes?” Ning was startled.

“Right.” Lord Woodflower nodded somberly. “Thus, you need to be wary of them! But of course, you need to keep an eye out for the other organizations as well. The Dao Alliance, for example. It is so large and filled with so much internal struggles that it wouldn’t surprise me if some of their major powers suddenly assaulted you. Same with the Aeonians; you are a cultivator, after all! Aeonians love eating Samsara Daolord cultivators.”

“Alright. You know everything you need to know.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “In short… have a safe trip.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded heavily.

……

After accepting the servant, Ning led Su Youji in leaving the Sword Palace.

The Brightshore Kingdom was quite similar to the Trileaf Realm, in that it also had three spacetime tunnels.

“These three spacetime tunnels lead to three different parts of the Endless Territories, allowing our cultivators to waste as little time as possible when travelling.” A black-lord Daolord guard who stood outside the tunnel smiled as he explained to Ning.

“Mm.” Ning led Su Youji straight into the spacetime tunnel. In his heart, he couldn’t help but muse that the Paragon of Pills and Hegemon Brightshore apparently were quite similar in their mastery over spacetime.

……

The Badlands Territory and Vastheaven Palace had originally seemed quite distant from one another, but if you looked at the star map of the Endless Territories you would realize that they actually belonged to the same general neighborhood! Given Ning’s strength, a few hundred years would suffice for his clone to go from the Badlands Territory to Vastheaven Palace.

“We should be able to make it in around three or so centuries.” Ning’s true body would be able to move even faster; the spacetime tunnel would save him quite some time.

Swoosh.

A flying shuttle was hurtling through the void, with Ning, Su Youji, and World God Pillsaint within it.

“Master, what sort of a place is Vastheaven Palace?” Pillsaint asked curiously.

“A place I have to go. In fact, I’m technically a member of Vastheaven Palace as well,” Ning said with a smile. Indeed. He had to reach that place before he could fulfill his lifeblood oath and return to the Three Realms. His Primaltwin had been protecting the Three Realms for quite some time now, but it had to remain physically outside within the primordial chaos just beyond it, unable to actually re-enter.

“Youji, Pillsaint, both of you have made tremendous gains. I imagine both of you can become Daolords now,” Ning said.

“Yes.” Su Youji nodded. “After I received the legacy of Feixian the Exalted but prior to visiting the Genesis Lands, I was already comparable to a supreme Chaos Immortal. Thanks to the opportunities the Genesis Lands gave me… even if I don’t use any treasures at all, I am a transcendent Chaos Immortal.”

Ning nodded. To reach that level only through the usage of Eternal weapons wasn’t that impressive. If you were able to reach a transcendent level of power without needing to rely on magic treasures, you would probably be able to break through to the Daolord level whenever you wished.

“Thank you, Master, for that Archaeus medallion. Otherwise, I have no idea how long it would take for me to break through.” Su Youji felt rather excited. She had never imagined that she would become a Daolord as well.

“I have to thank you as well, Master. If it wasn’t for you, I can’t even imagine how long it would take before my Dao of Alchemy would have reached its current level.” Pillsaint was quite excited. “Flamefairy, I can become a Daolord whenever I wish as well.”

Ning laughed. His two most worthy retainers were both able to become Daolords. This was truly pleasing to him.

“Right. Have Solewind, Greatjoy, and the others made their breakthroughs yet?” Ning asked.

“Ah! I was so happy to see you back that I forgot to tell you,” Su Youji said. “Prince Greatjoy broke through to become a Daolord roughly three thousand years after our return! Just two years after that, Waterlord Firesurge became a Daolord as well! Another twelve thousand years after that, Solewind also become a Daolord.”

Ning was startled. All of them became Daolords?

“Makes sense. They had reached their bottlenecks long ago; the only reason they held back was because they had made some gains in the Genesis Lands. Any further improvements would be incredibly difficult. I’m not surprised they broke through to become Daolords,” Ning said.

“Master, when will you become a Daolord?” Su Youji asked curiously.

“Right!” Pillsaint was curious as well.

“It won’t take too long,” Ning said. No matter what, he had to reunite with his clone first. In addition… he could also dimly sense that there was still a slight flaw with his Sword Dao. He had the feeling that he was close to breaking through, but just needed one final stimulus.

“Since the two of you are both ready to become Daolords… how about this. Let’s find a quiet, secluded place and have you two break through there,” Ning said. “Or would you prefer to train for a bit longer and further solidify your foundations?”

“I solidified my foundation long ago. I was just waiting for you to come back, Master. I can break through whenever I wish; there’s no need to wait any further.” The Flamefairy smiled.

“I solidified my foundation back in the Trileaf Realm. I’ve been waiting to make my breakthrough,” Pillsaint said. After acquiring the first six chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], he had spent roughly a million years in accelerated time training. That was how long it had taken for Ning to acquire thise six lifeblood weapons.

“If that’s the case… hm. Let’s just go over there.” Ning willed it, and the flying ship quickly shifted into a different dimensional continuum, then landed on a quiet, desolate chaos planet. This chaos planet had no life on it at all, and its surface was a rocky one.

Ning waved his hand, causing an Immortal estate to descend upon the surface of this planet. With another thought, Ning activated the various layers of restrictive seals and spells on the estate, causing an aura of enormous yet subdued power to cover the entire planet. Anyone off in the distance would never be able to detect any hint of an aura from this chaos planet.

Breaking through to become a Daolord would cause an enormous disturbance. They had to do their best to dampen their auras and prevent themselves from being discovered, which would cause unnecessary trouble.

“Make your breakthroughs here. I’ll stand guard for you,” Ning said.

“Yes, Master.” Both Pillsaint and Su Youji were rather excited and nervous. Although they were confident in their chances, breaking through to become a Daolord was an incredibly important event in the life of any cultivator.

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Chapter 4 – The Brothers of Vastheaven Palace

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 4 – The Brothers of Vastheaven Palace

Ji Ning stood before the railings of the Immortal estate on this chaos planet, staring off into the starry void.

Boom!

Suddenly, a roiling aura of power rocketed into the skies, an aura which was powerful, vast, and utterly exalted. This was not an aura which a World-level cultivator could produce. Even for Ning, only the azureflower mist energy in his body could compare to this aura in power.

“A Daolord’s aura.” Ning smiled. “Pillsaint was the first to break through.”

Breaking through from the World level to become a Daolord required the complete rebuilding of the body, which meant that there was naturally no way to keep one’s aura hidden during the process. It would erupt with abandon. But of course, Ning had long ago set wards on this planet to prevent the Daolord ripples from spreading out.

Rumble…

A dense whirlpool of chaos energy began to form in the void above the planet. The enormous vortex of chaos energy centered around the planet, gathering in large amounts of chaos energy and then continuously transmitting it directly into Pillsaint and letting him make use of it.

A short while later, yet another Daolord aura erupted towards the heavens as the Flamefairy began to make her breakthrough as well. Soon, yet another vortex of chaos energy began to fill the void outside the world.

……

The enormous chaos vortexes swirled around this chaos planet. As for Ning, he just quietly stood guard in front of the estate. A disruption in the flow of chaos energy alone generally wouldn’t attract the attention of major powers, because True Gods, True Immortals, Elder Gods, and Ancestral Immortals would cause similar phenomena when they made their breakthroughs. As a result, fluctuations in the flow of chaos energy was fairly common, and the ripples were also quite weak from a distance.

The breakthrough process took more than an entire day.

Swoosh. A chubby form suddenly rocketed into the skies, then landed before Ning. It was the chubby-face, white-teethed Pillsaint. Pillsaint’s aura was now more natural but also more majestic. Just judging from auras alone, one would believe that he was significantly more powerful than Ning. He had already reached the Daolord level.

“Congratulations, Daolord Pillsaint.” Ning smiled.

“I must thank you, Master. If it wasn’t for you, I truly do not know how long it would’ve taken for me to become a Daolord. Or perhaps I might’ve never reached this level.” Pillsaint was rather moved as well. He was far more talented in alchemy than he was in combat, but to become a true grandmaster alchemist was incredibly difficult. This time, thanks to Ning, he had been lucky enough to attract the attention of the Paragon of Pills in the alternate universe and be bestowed with her techniques, allowing him to find his own path.

The Paragon of Pills had given him the first six chapters, which could guide one directly to becoming an Eternal Emperor. Not even the Brightshore Kingdom had a comparable alchemical technique.

Only after being guided by an eminent master did Pillsaint know what path he should take. Without an eminent master, only a man of utterly dazzling talent, such as Ji Ning, Solewind, and the others, would be able to rely on his own thoughts and ideas to enter the Daolord level. But of course, this would still be much easier if you had many other legacies and techniques to learn from. If you were able to benefit from the wisdom and experience of your predecessors, you would be able to avoid some of their mistakes. If you wished to see far, you had to stand on the shoulders of giants.

Swoosh. Moments later, yet another figured flew into the heavens, her form ephemeral and bewitchingly beautiful. Dressed in fiery red robes, it was indeed Su Youji, and her beauty and aura of seduction was only even more intoxicating than before.

As someone who trained in the Dao of Charm and control, Su Youji’s natural grace and charm was becoming increasingly amazing. A single glance from her would be enough to drive most World-level cultivators insane with love, causing them to be willing to sacrifice themselves for her.

“Master.” Su Youji smiled as she looked at Ning, but she felt a bit disappointed when she saw how Ning’s eyes still remained very calm and tranquil. She said with a hint of resignation, “I thought I’d be able to affect you a little bit. It seems your ability to resist mesmerization is extraordinarily powerful. As expected, given that you were able to go through the primessence chains.”

“If you used your secret arts, I might be affected,” Ning said with a laugh.

“I would never do that to you,” Su Youji said.

In truth, Ning wasn’t sure if he would be able to withstand her. She was now a Daolord, after all. If she used her mesmerization secret arts with her Daolord-level energy… she might not be able to take control over him, but it was likely that she would be able to affect him. She wasn’t an ordinary Daolord, after all; she had trained in the legacy of Feixian the Exalted, a terrifyingly powerful Daolord. But of course, even if she was able to affect Ning, Ning would be able to summon his quadressence lightning and water with a thought, using them to easily extinguish Su Youji. The main problem was that the difference in power between them remained too vast!

The Dao of Charm was not a Dao suited to close combat; it was meant to control and beguile foes.

“Now that you are Daolords, everything has changed for you,” Ning said. “With each step they take, Samsara Daolords walk between life and death. You have only taken the first step on your path! In the future, you must be even more careful and meticulous in your cultivation. I won’t make any unreasonable requests of you, but I do expect the two of you to at least survive to reach the fourth step.”

“Right.” Pillsaint nodded.

“Failing in the Daomerge is one thing, but if I was to fail and die when breaking through to the second, third, or fourth steps… that would be a joke!” Su Youji was quite confident as well.

For Samsara Daolords, every single step they took was akin to groping for a path through the darkness!

Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, as well as World-level cultivators, would be able to sense the prime essences of the universe. The prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, for example, would emanate an aura with extremely detailed information regarding the Dao which would allow cultivators to safely train all the way up to the master-class as a World-level cultivator.

After that… you would be searching through the darkness. A single misplaced step would result in death.

The Daomerge at the end would prove to be the greatest trial. If your Dao held even the slightest of imperfections, there was no way it could gain true eternity. The only result would be you dying and your Dao vanishing. Not even the likes of Su Youji, Pillsaint, or Ning were confident in being able to succeed in the Daomerge. Their goal was to first do their best to become Daolords of the Fourth Step. If they couldn’t even reach that level, they really would become the laughingstocks of the Brightshore Kingdom.

As for the Daomerge? They’d worry about that after actually reaching the fourth step.

……

Now that Su Youji and Pillsaint were Daolords, the journey before the trio would be even smoother sailing than before. Daolords were naturally a powerful deterrent to any would-be attackers, allowing them to easily travel for nearly three centuries in complete peace.

Slumberlake Star was a place with a spacetime transfer array.

Whoosh. The array suddenly lit up.

“The array was activated just a short while ago. Why is it being activated again so soon?” The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were responsible for overseeing this spacetime transfer array were all puzzled and mumbled to each other.

A short while later, three figures suddenly emerged from the spacetime transfer array. The trio consisted of Ji Ning, Pillsaint, and Su Youji.

When the three of them appeared and the Daolord auras of the latter two wafted outwards, the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were so terrified that they didn’t dare say another word.

By now, there was no way Ning would choose to waste time in order to save a bit of travel expenses. They naturally chose to independently activate the arrays each time!

“We’re fairly close to Vastheaven Palace by now. We should arrive in about half a year,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Congratulations, Master.” Su Youji smiled. “You’ve been waiting far too long for this day.”

“Yes. It has been far too long.” Ning nodded slowly. The reason he cared so much about going to Vastheaven Palace… was because he truly missed his mother and father.

Swoosh!

A flying vessel appeared out of nowhere. Ning and the others entered the vessel, which then speedily departed. They needed to fly for roughly half a month, then go through a natural spatial vortex to reach a more distant location. This was how travelling through the primordial chaos was. In truth, very little of the time was spent going through spacetime transfer arrays; the vast majority of the time was spent going through some rather problematic locations.

Rumble…

There was a chaos planet located within a region of primordial chaos that was fairly close to Slumberlake Star. A fierce fight was going on upon the surface of the planet, causing quite a significant disturbance.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly had a strange feeling. At his level of power, these feelings were generally quite accurate. “Stop!” Ning immediately brought his flying vessel to a halt and put it away.

“Master?” Pillsaint and Su Youji were both puzzled. Why had they suddenly come to a halt?

“Let’s take a look up ahead,” Ning said. “A battle seems to be occurring upon that chaos planet.”

Pillsaint and Su Youji were both puzzled. A battle? So what? What was the point of watching? Still, neither would go against Ning’s wishes. They immediately followed Ning in flying over.

Three World-level cultivators and a number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were watching this battle from afar. This place was fairly close to Slumberlake Star, a spacetime transfer array, and so quite a few cultivators had come over to watch.

“Gentlemen, what is happening on that planet?” Ning walked over to them.

The watching cultivators all turned their heads, puzzled, towards Ning’s group. They saw the white-robed youth, then saw the two figures behind him.

Daolords?!?!

“Greetings, Daolords.” The three World-level cultivators were badly shocked. They hastily bowed.

“Daolords.” The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quivering with fear.

Ning instructed, “Tell me about the battle going on upon that chaos planet.” For him to feel an affinity for it meant there had to be some sort of a connection to himself.

One of the World-level cultivators, an elderly man, immediately said, “Right away, senior.” He didn’t dare act negligently towards this white-robed youth. The youth looked like a World-level cultivator, but the two Daolords were standing behind him. Clearly, this youth’s background was extraordinary.

“That planet has a total of six World-level cultivators who are split up into two groups,” the old man said.

“I can tell that there are two sides.” Ning frowned. He was able to see from ten billion kilometers away that atop that chaos planet, there was a single World-level cultivator who was being assaulted by five others. He was just barely able to hold his own.

“On one side is the Clearwind Temple. The five of them are working together to kill a common foe, a World-level cultivator of their mortal enemy, ‘Vastheaven Palace’.” The old man hurriedly sped up his explanation.

Ning’s face tightened. Vastheaven Palace? No wonder he sensed a connection!

“Hmph.” Ning took a step forward, transforming into a streak of sword-light that tore through space. Through the Blood Drop evasion skill, he entered a different dimensional continuum as he charged towards that chaos planet at maximum speed. If one of the brothers of Vastheaven Palace ended up being bullied by others before his very eyes, what a joke that would be!

“Senior, t-that’s Clearwind Temple!” The old man cried out in alarm. He could sense the killing intent radiating off Ning. Clearwind Temple was a force every bit the equal of Vastheaven Palace. For World-level cultivators, such organizations were unfathomably vast and powerful.

“Master!” Su Youji transformed into a streak of light as well. The nearby cultivators were all dazed when they heard her address him as ‘Master’. What was going on? Why would a Daolord address a World-level cultivator as ‘master’?

“So what if they belong to Clearwind Temple? Our master belongs to Vastheaven Palace!” Pillsaint emanated a killing aura as well as he too transformed into a streak of light.

The old man and the nearby World-level cultivators, Elder Gods, and Ancestral Immortals were all completely stunned.

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Chapter 5 – Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 5 – Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace

By the time Ji Ning emerged from the different dimensional continuum, he had already emerged directly outside that chaos planet.

The five World-level cultivators of Clearwind Temple who were surrounding and attacking that lone figure on the surface of the chaos planet immediately noticed the intruder. Their leader, a muscular and tall World-level cultivator, immediately barked out, “Clearwind Temple is in pursuit of a thief. Fellow Daoist, leave immediately!”

“Hmph.” Ning let out a cold snort, immediately transforming into a streak of sword-light. He moved at four times the speed of light as he charged over at maximum speed.

As soon as Ning began to move, the World-level cultivators on the chaos planet were all shocked. Four times the speed of light? It must be understood that most World-level cultivators weren’t even able to move at twice the speed of light, unless they specialized in certain speed-based secret arts. Daolords of the First Step could generally move at double the speed of light, Daolords of the Second Step could move at triple the speed of light, Daolords of the Third Step could move at quadruple the speed of light, and Daolords of the Fourth Step could move at quintuple the speed of light.

Of course, this was just the ‘normal’ speed. If you were skilled in evasive techniques or had a good evasion-type treasure, things would be completely different. Both, however, were extremely rare.

“How can a World-level cultivator move that fast? He must specialize in a movement art.” The five World-level cultivators of Clearwind Temple immediately came to this conclusion.

“I am Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace!” Ning’s cold, baleful voice instantly rang out within the air above the chaos planet, and it struck against the hearts of those five World-level cultivators like thunder, causing their faces to turn pale.

Vastheaven Palace? Not good!

“Is that brother Darknorth?” The belabored and surrounded azure-robed figure immediately called out loudly, “Careful, brother Darknorth! The five of them are not easy to deal with.” He had heard of Darknorth before. Daolord Solesky’s incarnation in Vastheaven Palace had told everyone of Darknorth, letting them know that they had gained a new brother whose name was Darknorth and who was just an Elder God.

“According to what big brother Solesky said, Darknorth is just an Elder God. But that doesn’t seem to be right,” the azure-robed man mused to himself.

……

“Stop him!”

“He belongs to Vastheaven Palace? Capture him as well and imprison them both into Blackwind Prison!”

“Attack!”

The five cultivators of Clearwind Temple, upon realizing that Ning was from Vastheaven Palace, immediately launched their attacks against him as well. Two of them continued their assaults on the azure-robed figure while the other three began to charge towards Ning.

“Hmph.” Ning flew forwards like a streak of sword-light, not even drawing his black swords. He just gave them a cold look.

Boom!

It was as though the heavens themselves were collapsing! A terrifying, awesome sword-intent suddenly appeared on the surface of the chaos planet, crystallizing into streaks of sword-light. Countless streaks of sword-light descended upon the world as the five World-level cultivators stared upwards in terror. In the face of this boundless rain of sword-intent, the five were like nothing more than ants.

“How can he be this strong?”

“Impossible.”

“This sword-intent…” The five World-level cultivators were completely stunned. For the sword-intent alone to be this strong… this man could wipe them out as easily as if they were ants. Utterly terrified, the five all produced white jade seals in their hands, then crushed them to beg for rescue. They didn’t even think about fighting back; all they wanted to do was beg for aid.

Whoosh. The endless sword-intent crashed upon them like a wave, smothering and drowning all five of the World-level cultivators. The sword-intent was as soft as cotton, quickly wrapping around all five World-level cultivators. Ning then took out a gourd and opened it, allowing its opening to exert a tremendous sucking power. Swoosh! All five cultivators were instantly drawn inside.

With but a thought, Ning dismissed the sword-intent from the skies.

As far as Ning was concerned, these five World-level cultivators truly were like ants. The difference in power between him and them was simply enormous. Ning, however, didn’t wish to be rash. He’d first capture them, then decide later whether or not to kill them.

“Brother Darknorth?” The azure-robed man stared blankly at Ning. He was rather dazed right now.

Big brother Solesky, didn’t you say that brother Darknorth was just an Elder God? For him to have reached the World level was one thing. How did he become this powerful?! He didn’t even have to attack; his sword-intent alone was enough to capture all five of those World-level cultivators. Two of them were supreme World Gods!

“My name is Eastherd.” The azure-robed man suppressed his puzzlement as Ning walked towards him, then said, “Brother Darknorth, thank you for saving my life.”

“Brother Eastherd, I just so happened to move past this area on my way to Vastheaven Palace.” Ning smiled. “What, you’ve heard of me before?”

“I have.” The azure-robed man nodded immediately. “Big brother Solesky told us about you long ago. He said that you are an Elder God who has close to a World God’s level of power, and that you’d be making a breakthrough quite soon. But now… it seems that you have not only reached the World level, you are so powerful as to render me speechless.”

Ning chuckled. Indeed. When he met Daolord Solesky, he was just an Elder God.

“Has big brother Solesky returned from the Waveshift world yet?” Ning immediately asked.

“Not yet.” Eastherd shook his head and sighed. “He’s still trapped in the Waveshift world, with his incarnation standing guard over Vastheaven Palace. His incarnation has mentioned you to us before. Ugh… the Waveshift world is an estate-world left behind by an Eternal Emperor, and Eternal Emperor Waveshift was no ordinary Eternal Emperor at that!”

Ning nodded.

The Waveshift world was one of the many danger zones of the Endless Territories. Quite a few Daolords of the Fourth Step had perished in that place, but a steady stream of them continued to enter it. This was because Emperor Waveshift had left behind certain incredible treasures within that place. Emperor Waveshift was no ordinary Emperor; he was incredibly skilled in the art of Numerancy, to the point of being acclaimed as the number one Numerancy diviner in all the Endless Territories.

Later, he had left to go out adventuring. His estate had become an ownerless item, with generations of Daolords venturing into it to seek out their fortunes. Daolord Badlands was also very skilled in Numerancy. He had even erected his own school within the Waveshift Everworld. There were many other major powers who felt certain that he must’ve received one of Emperor Waveshift’s legacies.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Two figures flew in from afar. They were Pillsaint and Su Youji. Although they were both Daolords, they were slower than Ning in both teleporting as well as raw flying speed.

“Two Daolords.” Eastherd was badly shocked.

“Master, what happened to those people from Clearwind Temple?” Pillsaint asked.

“Master, you move too fast.” Su Youji laughed.

Ning nodded, then looked at Eastherd. “Eastherd, let’s leave immediately. This place is very close to Clearwind Temple’s territory; it’ll be dangerous for us to stay here too long.”

Eastherd was stunned upon hearing these two Daolords address Ning as ‘master’. Upon hearing Ning’s words, he immediately nodded. “Right, right, right! Let’s hurry up and leave.”

“Let’s go.”

Ning produced his flying vessel, and all four of them immediately boarded it. The vessel quickly disappeared into the skies.

…..

Aboard the flying vessel.

Eastherd stared at Pillsaint and Su Youji, then looked at Ning.

“Daolords?” Eastherd looked at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, these two Daolords are your retainers?”

“Is that really so surprising? My master can become a Daolord whenever he wishes. Even now, he’s still much more powerful than the two of us,” Pillsaint said.

“You haven’t seen our master’s true power yet,” Su Youji said.

Eastherd was secretly speechless. But it was true; he really had seen nothing at all. Just now, Ning had merely exerted a bit of his sword-intent in order to capture the five foes. That couldn’t even be considered a real attack.

“Brother Eastherd.” Ning immediately asked, “How did you end up in a fight against Clearwind Temple, and on their territory?”

Clearwind Temple was located extremely close to the territory that battle had just taken place in. Vastheaven Palace, however, was still another eleven territories away. It’d still take them another half year to reach it.

Half a year wasn’t a long period of time, given how long most cultivators lived for, but it wasn’t exactly short either. Half a year was enough for you to die countless times in a life-and-death battle.

These two mighty sects were twelve territories away from each other. They had their own territories and nursed old grudges against each other; they could be considered mortal enemies.

“As for this matter, it has to do with one of my disciples.” Eastherd shook his head. “Twenty thousand years ago, when I was wandering the outside world, I encountered a young fellow who was incredibly talented and also very kind-hearted. I took him on as my disciple and watched him grow, providing some occasional guidance in secret. Who would’ve thought that he would end up harvesting a treasure that would attract the attention and pursuit of Clearwind Temple? Of course I had to rescue him! But Clearwind Temple is very close to this place, and many World-level cultivators quickly came to aid their forces. That’s why I ended up being surrounded and attacked by five of them at once. If it wasn’t for you, brother Darknorth, I probably…”

Ning slowly nodded. “When I captured those five from Clearwind Temple, they all shattered jade talismans. Most likely, they were sending out a distress call.”

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Chapter 6 – Love Will Find a Way

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 6 – Love Will Find a Way

“Right. They had to have been calling for reinforcements.” Eastherd’s face turned solemn. “Our return to Vastheaven Palace will probably be a difficult one.”

“Difficult?” Ji Ning looked at Eastherd.

“What difficulties are there?” Pillsaint asked.

“The feud between Clearwind Temple and our Vastheaven Palace is an old one. Both sides have accumulated countless grievances over the course of many years. You could call us ‘mortal enemies’, I suppose. They aren’t any weaker than us,” Eastherd said. “Clearwind Temple has four Daolords, one of which is a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Two are at the third step, while one is a Daolord of the First Step who only broke through thanks to a Pseudo Samsara Pill. Just now, when you attacked, those five World-level cultivators all shattered their jade medallions to send out distress calls. When Clearwind Temple notices so many of its cultivators sending out distress signals simultaneously, they’ll send at least a Daolord of the Third Step. They might even send out their Daolord of the Fourth Step, Patriarch Clearwind himself.”

“A Daolord of the Fourth Step,” Pillsaint murmured softly. The nearby Su Youji looked rather solemn as well.

Ning nodded, then smiled. “No need to worry. Use generals to deal with soldiers, use earth to defend against floods.”

He felt quite confident. He had five mighty golems by his side; he truly wasn’t worried about most Daolords of the Third Step. In addition, the Brightshore Kingdom’s star map was so incredibly detailed that it even included information regarding the Daolords of Clearwind Temple.

Clearwind Temple only had a single member who would pose a threat to Ning. That person was the temple’s founder, Patriarch Clearwind. He was extremely formidable, on par with Daolord Solesky! Even amongst Daolords of the Fourth Step, he was extremely formidable.

“If we really are so unlucky as to encounter Patriarch Clearwind, I’ll have no choice but to use up one of my Dao-seals,” Ning mused to himself. “If that really does end up happening… I’ll just chalk it up to helping Vastheaven Palace get rid of a mortal enemy.”

The deceased Hegemon’s Dao-seals possessed unfathomable power and could easily slay Daolords of the Fourth Step. Alas, Ning only had two such Dao-seals. He wasn’t willing to use them unless absolutely necessary. These items couldn’t simply be purchased anywhere!

……

The flying vessel continued to advance at high speed. Aboard the vessel, Eastherd said with worry, “The Daolords of Clearwind Temple can move much faster than us. It’ll take us half a year to reach Vastheaven Palace, but that’ll be more than enough time for them to catch up to us.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded. He was roughly comparable to ordinary Daolords of the Third Step in speed, but if they elected to pursue him they would send Daolords who were skilled in movement techniques or in the manipulation of space.

“Why don’t we take a roundabout path?” Ning suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Pillsaint said immediately. “Vastheaven Palace isn’t that far off anyhow. I’d rather we take a long detour and spend an extra year or two. That way, we can avoid some trouble.”

“Right.” Eastherd revealed a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “There’s… something else I need to disclose.”

“Please feel free to say anything,” Ning said.

Eastherd waved his hand, causing another figure to appear on the armored deck of the flying vessel. It was a very muscular youth whose skin was tinged with red. Flames were brimming in his eyes, while his head was completely bald. He actually looked like a Fiendgod who had been birthed from flames.

“Master.” The youth immediately fell to his knees.

“This gentleman over here is your uncle-master, Darknorth.” Eastherd introduced the nearby Ji Ning.

“My respects, Uncle-Master.” The youth was extremely respectful.

Eastherd continued, “This is the young disciple I spoke to you about earlier. His name is Sparrow and he’s quite talented.”

“To become an Elder God within twenty thousand years of cultivation… he is indeed quite talented,” Ning praised.

“This disciple of mine offended Clearwind Temple because he sought to harvest a certain treasure to rescue his Dao-companion,” Eastherd said.

“Save his Dao-companion?” Ning’s heart suddenly shook. He once more glanced at the flame-wreathed youth before him, his gaze much softer than before.

“Just now, he begged me to send him back to his homeland and let him save his Dao-companion.” Eastherd looked at Ning rather awkwardly. “But my disciple’s homeland is within a territory that’s close to Clearwind Temple. It’s entirely possible that we’ll run into one of their Daolords.”

Ning laughed. “Haha, I imagine Clearwind Temple wouldn’t expect us to actually dare to double back! And, based on what I understand, none of those four are skilled in Numerancy. We’ve already chosen to take a roundabout path; we might as well first pay a visit to young Sparrow’s homeland.”

“Thank you, uncle-master Darknorth.” Sparrow felt tremendously grateful. He actually knew that this request of his was rather excessive. This had started out as a rather minor matter, but things only grew worse and worse, causing the World-level cultivators of both sides to get involved. However, he truly was worried about his Dao-companion. He was afraid that if he took too much time, his Dao-companion’s truesoul would disperse.

……

A silver flying shuttle gleamed with light as it hurtled through the emptiness of space.

Within this flying shuttle sat a Daolord who was dressed in handsome silver robes. Behind him stood two World-level cultivators who awaited his commands. The rules of Clearwind Temple were actually quite strict.

“Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace?” The silver-robed Daolord sat there, murmuring softly to himself. “Such audacity.”

“This ‘Darknorth’ actually dared to attack within the territory under our control. He really is courting death,” one of the World-level disciples below him said.

“Don’t underestimate him.” The silver-robed Daolord said calmly, “Based on what I saw when I inverted the flows of spacetime, Darknorth was actually able to defeat the five of them with just his sword-intent alone. He even has two Daolords of the First Step as his retainers. He most likely has reached incredible heights in the Dao of the Sword. He may have even mastered a Supreme Dao!”

“But… no matter what, he’s still just a World-level cultivator. When facing me, the only result will be his death.” The silver-robed Daolord was quite confident. He was a Daolord of the Third Step. Not even the likes of Bertulu or Eastcult would be able to match him unless they first broke through to become Daolords of the First Step.

“Given what a high level of enlightenment he has reached, he must have had many strange encounters.” The silver-robed Daolord silently calculated what he should do. “I’ll capture him first. By then, his treasures will be mine.”

……

Swoosh.

A flying vessel landed atop an ice-locked, ice-covered region. The cultivators who emerged from the vessel where Ji Ning, Pillsaint, Su Youji, Eastherd, and Elder God Sparrow.

“This is one of the dangerous areas in my homeland,” Sparrow said. “This entire region is completely ice-locked, up to a distance of eight hundred million kilometers. Below it is an essence of utter cold. I sent my Dao-companion deep into that essence, relying on its power to seal her away into ice and ensure that the poison in her body slows its spread.”

Ning swept out his godsense, only to discover that there was indeed a cave hidden extremely deep within the ice. Within lay a woman who was sealed in ice.

“Go. Hurry up and save your Dao-companion,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Dumb kid, why didn’t you just ask me to come save your Dao-companion? Why did you have to take the risk of harvesting the antidote?” Eastherd shook his head.

“I couldn’t find you, Master,” Sparrow said in a low voice.

Eastherd was speechless. Although he had been occasionally watching his disciple in secret, he had spent the majority of the past twenty thousand years in secluded meditation. As his disciple grew increasingly powerful, Eastherd spent less and less time watching over him.

When Sparrow’s Dao-companion had been in danger, Sparrow had wanted to ask his master for assistance. However, he couldn’t even locate his master.

“Hurry up and go,” Eastherd barked.

“Yes.” Sparrow didn’t dare to say anything else. He immediately used an evasion skill to delve deep into the icy ground.

Enough time passed for a kettle of tea to be boiled. Two figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere atop the ice, one tall and muscular, the other slender and petite. The tall one was naturally Sparrow, while the slender one was a green-robed woman. The affection and love between the two was clearly quite deep, and it would only grow stronger after sharing this tribulation together.

“Thank you, Master. Thank you, Uncle-Master. Thank you for saving our lives.” Sparrow fell to his knees, as did the green-robed woman next to him.

“Hmph.” Eastherd accepted the obeisance in a calm manner. He had nearly died this time, after all.

Ning smiled and nodded, but he had a complicated look in his eyes. These two Dao-companions had been reunited… but how long would it be before him and Yu Wei would be?

Su Youji glanced at Ning, a hint of a blissful smile on her face. “Although the person in Master’s heart is not me, at least I’m the only one who follows him and am the one by his side from dawn til dusk. It is enough.”

“Because of you, I ended up fighting multiple World-level cultivators of Clearwind Temple. In fact, I’m afraid that even their Daolords might be getting involved now.” Eastherd continued, “Sparrow, my disciple, I’m afraid that Clearwind Temple isn’t going to just give up on chasing you. They are now chasing after both me and your uncle-master, and they’ll probably take revenge upon you as well. But… it’s for the best, I suppose. Come with me to Vastheaven Palace. As for your homeland, take what you can with you. The Vastheaven Territory is quite vast indeed.”

“Understood.” Sparrow and his Dao-companion both understood. That very day, the two of them teleported away some large continents, mountains, and rivers, then joined Ning and Eastherd in leaving this land and heading forth towards Vastheaven Palace.

……

In the blink of an eye, more than four years went past since Ning’s clash against Clearwind Temple.

A silver shuttle was halted in midair within the emptiness of space.

“Master, if we advance any further we’ll be in the Vastheaven Territory.” Two of the World-level disciples were rather uneasy.

“Vastheaven Territory.” The silver-robed Daolord, Daolord Blesswind, stared off into the distance. Indeed, the territory up ahead was the Vastheaven Territory!

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Chapter 7 – Ji Ning vs a Daolord of the Third Step

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 7 – Ji Ning vs a Daolord of the Third Step

“Master, what should we do? Should we charge into Vastheaven Territory?” The two World-level disciples both looked towards the silver-robed Daolord.

The silver-robed Daolord smiled coldly. “I have two ideas. Listen to them and tell me which one you would choose. The first is for us to enter the Vastheaven Territory, then wait for them at the spacetime transfer array at the Vastheaven Everworld! That way, it doesn’t matter which territory Eastherd and Darknorth travel from; in the end, they still have to go through the array to go to the Vastheaven Everworld.”

The Vastheaven Everworld was Vastheaven Palace’s base.

“If we just wait for them by that spacetime transfer array, we are guaranteed to catch them,” the silver-robed Daolord said. “Vastheaven Palace is some distance away from the spacetime transfer array. Even if we were to be discovered, we’d be able to flee in time.”

The faces of the two World-level disciples turned pale. They were essentially going to enter the enemy base? That was suicide!

“But of course, Daolord Battlemaster of Vastheaven Palace is skilled in Numerancy. If and when he discovers that we are within the Vastheaven Everworld, he’ll begin to plot against us. His plots are quite terrifying.” The silver-robed Daolord continued, “Even if we escape, he’d probably catch us.”

“R-r-right. If Daolord Battlemaster plots against us, we might not be able to escape.”

“Master, entering the Vastheaven Everworld is too risky.” Both of the World-level disciples urged him to reconsider.

“The second method.” The silver-robed Daolord waved his hand, causing a furled star map to appear by his side in the air. The star map slowly opened up, and the silver-robed Daolord stared at it. “No matter what path they take, they still have to return to the Vastheaven Everworld. Although there are four possible routes back to the Vastheaven Everworld, there’s two main nodes which they have to travel past.”

“One node is right here, at the dimensional storms which we went past. The other is over here, through this vortex tunnel. If they wish to return to the Vastheaven Everworld, they’ll either have to go through either the dimensional storms or pass through this vortex,” the silver-robed Daolord said.

His two disciples both nodded. This was how travel through the vast territories worked. There were many areas you could avoid, but some critical junctures were unavoidable. Your only option was to slowly fly through them or possibly teleport through them.

“But there are two possible places. There’s no way we can stop them.” The two disciples looked at their master.

“So choose one,” the silver-robed Daolord said. “The rest is up to luck.” He chuckled. “If they are lucky and chose the other route, there’s nothing we can do. If they just so happen to choose the place which we are guarding, then we’ll be in a position to block their path. Both of these places are fairly far away from Vastheaven Palace. We’ll be in a position of much greater security.”

The silver-robed Daolord looked at his two disciples. “Shall we go to the Vastheaven Everworld, or shall we go to one of the two nodes on the star map?”

“The nodes.”

“Let’s choose the nodes.”

Both of his disciples immediately chose the nodes.

Even an idiot would know that if they chose the Vastheaven Everworld, they would most likely be forced to wait at the spacetime transfer array for quite some time! Given their master’s power as a Daolord of the Third Step, he’d be able to immediately capture Eastherd and Darknorth once they emerged within the formation, then immediately flee. This solution had a high chance of success, true… but it was simply too dangerous to spend that much time at Vastheaven Palace’s base.

“Then we’ll choose…” The silver-robed Daolord gently tapped at a point on the unfurled star map. “This place.”

The two disciples immediately looked at where he pointed. Their master’s finger was tapping against the vortex tunnel.

……

Ji Ning’s group had taken a very roundabout path, making a journey of half a year become a journey of nearly two years.

“Up ahead is the vortex tunnel.” Eastherd was standing at the ship’s prow, staring at the emptiness of space before them. He pointed at an enormous, pitch-black vortex off in the distance. “Once we go through the vortex, we’ll be able to reach Vastheaven Palace in roughly half a month.”

“Almost there.” Ning revealed a smile. Vastheaven Palace! He had waited far too long for this day.

On the vessel, Sparrow and his Dao-companion had been behaving in a very low-key manner. There were four others on this flying vessel, after all. One was Sparrow’s master, the second was his uncle-master, and the other two were Daolords!

“Disciple.” Eastherd looked at Sparrow as he spoke. “There are no generational hierarchies in Vastheaven Palace. We are all brothers, which is why we are very cautious when accepting new brothers into our fold! Formal members are only given a single talisman of welcome, and mine was given to my first disciple long ago. For now, just stay with me within Vastheaven Palace. This can be considered a new, tempering experience for you.”

“Yes,” Sparrow and his Dao-companion immediately said.

“But of course, the two of you could also beg brother Darknorth for a chance,” Eastherd said with a laugh. “Your uncle-master Darknorth is probably going to become a Daolord soon! Once he does, he’ll be the fourth Palace Lord of Vastheaven Palace. Our Palace Lords have much more authority than the rest of us; they have the authority to directly welcome new cultivators into our ranks.”

Sparrow and his Dao-companion both immediately looked at Ning.

Ning chuckled. Once he became a Palace Lord, he’d have a bit more authority, true… but he still couldn’t just randomly accept in new members. They had to be cautious with every new recruit. Otherwise, Vastheaven Palace might end up like some other organizations which were filled with problems and strife. That would be terrible.

“Uncle-master Darknorth…” Sparrow couldn’t help but call out to him.

“This disciple of mind has a kind disp-…” Eastherd spoke out as well.

“I know what type of a person he is.” Ning nodded. Sparrow was indeed a person who deeply valued his relationships. He was willing to risk his own life in order to save his Dao-companion, something which Ning rather admired. Ning nodded. “I’ll handle Sparrow’s entry into Vastheaven Palace.”

“Thank you, uncle-master!” Sparrow immediately expressed his gratitude.

As for his Dao-companion, Eastherd didn’t say anything on her behalf. Recruiting people to join Vastheaven Palace wasn’t something to be done casually.

In truth, Ning was only willing to help out because he approved of Sparrow’s disposition. As for his Dao-companion? For now, Ning didn’t know what she was like. He naturally wouldn’t promise anything rashly.

Rumble…

The flying vessel flew straight into the howling vortex tunnel.

Within the vortex, space flowed like streams of water which the flying vessel advanced through at high speeds. Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The vortex tunnel linking the Three Realms to the Badlands Territory was riddled with dimensional cracks and tears that would appear at random. It was an incredibly unstable vortex tunnel. Even World-level cultivators, if they were unlucky, might be trapped within one of the dimensional tears and be teleported to a completely unknown location.

This vortex tunnel, however, was an extremely stable one! The vast territories held both stable and unstable vortexes; generally speaking, only the stable ones would be used by cultivators.

“The exit is up ahead.”

The flying vessel spent three days flying through the vortex tunnel. Ning stood at the prow of the vessel, and he was dimly able to see a chaos planet up ahead in the void of space beyond the exit.

Whoosh.

The flying vessel surged out from the vortex tunnel. But right at this moment… boom! It was like it had rammed into some sort of barrier which crackled with dim light.

“Not good.” Ning was in control of the vessel, and his face instantly turned pale.

“Freeze!” A sonorous voice rang out, instantly filling the entire region and causing space itself to be frozen.

A silver flying shuttle flew out from a distant pocket of chaotic space. Ning was able to clearly make out that there was a silver-robed man standing within that silver shuttle. He had a grand, imposing aura and was staring straight at Ning with cold eyes.

“That’s Daolord Blesswind of Clearwind Temple!” Eastherd was shocked.

“Daolord Blesswind?” Pillsaint and Su Youji’s faces tightened a bit as well. The two of them had learned quite a bit about Clearwind Temple on this journey, and they knew Daolord Blesswind to be one of the temple’s Daolords of the Third Step.

“At least it isn’t Patriarch Clearwind.” Ning wasn’t worried at all. The only member of Clearwind Temple who could pose a threat to him was Patriarch Clearwind. But of course, if he appeared Ning would simply have to use up one of his precious Dao-seals to wipe the man out. As for this Daolord Blesswind? No need to use one of the seals at all.

“Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace and Eastherd of Vastheaven Palace, I believe?” A silver-robed man emerged from the distant flying shuttle. He slowly strode through the primordial chaos, his manner grand and imposing. “Darknorth of Vastheaven. You actually have two Daolords of the First Step serving you. Impressive, impressive. But since you’ve chosen to make an enemy out of Clearwind Temple, I’ll have to do what I have to do. I do want to confirm with you, though… are you truly a member of Vastheaven Palace?”

According to Clearwind Temple’s information, there was no one named ‘Darknorth’ amongst the fairly few formal members of Vastheaven Palace. Given that Darknorth had two Daolords of the First Step serving as his retainers, and given that his sword-intent alone was enough to capture five powerful World-level cultivators, he definitely was far too strong to be a irrelevant and nameless figure. Logically speaking, if he was an actual member of Vastheaven Palace, Clearwind Temple would’ve found out about him long ago.

“This is our first time meeting each other. It can be said that we were brought together by karma.” The white-robed Ning just stood there at the prow of his flying vessel, his black scabbard on his back. “I, Darknorth, am indeed a member of Vastheaven Palace. In the future, Clearwind Temple will remember my name well.”

“In the future? I’m afraid you won’t have a future.” The silver-robed Daolord shook his head and sighed. “I just randomly chose a place to wait for you. Who would’ve thought I’d end up actually catching a genius such as yourself? If you have to blame anything, blame your own bad luck.”

“No, no. You are the one with bad luck.” Ning smiled, but his smile was a cold as ice.

Swish.

Ning’s flying vessel instantly charged towards the silver-robed Daolord at high speeds.

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Chapter 8 – Inside Vastheaven Palace

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 8 – Inside Vastheaven Palace

“Impudence.” The silver-robed Daolord laughed coldly. “You really don’t know your own limits.”

As he spoke, he waved his right hand casually through the void of space. His sleeves instantly began to flutter as a black wind flew out from within it, instantly filling the surrounding area for a million kilometers around then sweeping straight towards Ji Ning’s charging vessel.

Aboard the vessel, Su Youji and Pillsaint both had solemn looks on their faces. As for Eastherd, he was panicking. Sparrow and his wife simply watched. Elder Gods weren’t even qualified to take part in a battle at this level.

Ning just let out a cold snort. Rumble… lightning and water suddenly surged out of him.

The golden lightning and the jade-green water instantly burst out into the void, and they actually seemed to twine around each other in a complementary manner as they almost instantly transformed into sword-light! Endless amounts of sword-light furiously merged together, coalescing into the Yin-Yang Sword Domain. At his current level, Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain was now more brutal, savage, and terrifying than ever before.

A Yin-Yang Sword Domain formed from quadressence lightning and quadressence water was more than enough to annihilate a Daolord of the Second Step.

Although there was a big difference in power between a Daolord of the Second Step and a Daolord of the Third Step, it would still be quite difficult for the latter to slay the former with ease. Daolord Blesswind was skilled in the Dao of Wind, and he was able to easily slay Daolords of the Second Step in close combat. He would not, however, be able to wipe them out from a distance merely by using a few secret arts.

In the end, Daolord Blesswind was nothing more than a Daolord of Clearwind Temple. He simply didn’t have any earth-shatteringly powerful secret arts.

Ning’s sword domain of lightning and water was capable of slaying Daolords of the Second Step, but this black tempest was not. When these two surges of power clashed against each other…

Whoooooosh. The dominating sword domain of water and lightning forcibly ripped the black tempest into shreds, then continued to surge towards Daolord Blesswind in a savage manner.

“What?!” Daolord Blesswind’s face instantly turned pale. “Impossible. How could my secret art be defeated by a World-level cultivator’s secret art?” This was an absolute joke!

“B-but…” The two World-level disciples of Daolord Blesswind were completely stupefied.

……

Ning’s vessel. Eastherd, Sparrow, and his Dao-companion had been extremely nervous. Now, they were just as stupefied as Daolord Blesswind’s disciples. The secret arts of a Daolord of the Third Step had been broken, just like that?

Pillsaint and Su Youji glanced at Ning, their eyes filled with veneration and awe. This was a Daolord of the Third Step! Their own master had actually won in a competition of secret arts against this figure!

“It seems you must’ve had some truly lucky encounters. Your Dao-seal was quite powerful… but it won’t be able to do anything to me.” The silver-robed Daolord Blesswind quickly regained his calm. He had immediately decided that Ning must have used a Dao-seal, as he still refused to believe that a World-level cultivator could possess a secret art of such unearthly power.

And in truth, it made sense. This sword-intent domain of lightning and water was a product of many factors. It was created by Daolord Allgod, utilized in accordance with the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] of the Paragon of Pills, and controlled by Ning’s powerful azureflower mist energy. This was why it has such tremendous might!

“Then die beneath my blade.” Daolord Blesswind suddenly produced an enormous long saber in his hands.

Whoosh! His silver robes fluttered as he instantly charged through the skies, holding the long saber in a double-handed grip. Although Ning’s sword domain furiously assaulted him, Daolord Blesswind charged forwards with incredible valor, his divine power flaring outwards and completely resisting the attacks. Clearly, the sword domain wasn’t nearly strong enough to deal with Daolords of the Third Step; all it was able to do was have a bit of constrictive power over him. He moved straight through the sword domain, and his icy gaze was filled with a murderous intent.

Upon seeing this, Ning couldn’t help but sigh. This Yin-Yang Sword Domain was already his most powerful attack, on a slightly higher level than even his close combat abilities. Alas, he still wasn’t able to do anything to his opponent. In the end, he was still just a World-level cultivator, and his attacks weren’t enough against a Daolord of the Third Step. He had no choice but to rely on an outside form of assistance.

“Die!” Daolord Blesswind’s saber-light flashed like the wind, tearing apart everything in its path as he continued to soar towards the vessel.

Whoosh. Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of the flying vessel. It was a white-haired, icy-eyed man who held an ordinary-looking longsword in his hands.

“Go capture him, swordsman,” Ning said.

“Mm.” The white-haired man nodded, his face quite calm. He was the strongest of the four golem servants Ning had acquired from Emperor Mirrorsnow’s legacy! Ning had chosen to summon him out of an abundance of caution, wishing to have a higher chance of success.

“A golem?” As Daolord Blesswind continued his charge, his gaze fell upon the white-haired man’s body. He was able to immediately tell that this was a golem, and a flash of avarice appeared in his eyes. “Not only did he have that incredibly powerful lightning-water Dao-seal, he also has a seemingly strong golem. This World God named Darknorth truly must have had some special experiences. I’ll wager he has quite a few treasures on him. He might even have more than me!”

“Hahaha, golem! You should accept me as your master instead.” Daolord Blesswind’s aura expanded even further. He refused to believe he would encounter a golem comparable to a Daolord of the Fourth Step, as those were far too valuable. He wasn’t worried about this golem at all.

“Hmph.” The swordsman charged towards Daolord Blesswind as well.

Rumble…

Space tore apart as Daolord Blesswind and the swordsman golem began an utterly earth-shaking battle, even as Ning’s sword domain continuously launched attacks against the Daolord.

The swordsman had the power of a peak Daolord of the Third Step, and he was skilled in both unpredictable attacks and assassination techniques. His technique was completely based off of Emperor Mirrorsnow’s [Heartseal] sword-art.

Daolord Blesswind was truly quite formidable in close combat. Although he wasn’t exactly a genius, he still had the power of a peak Daolord of the Third Step. He might’ve been weaker than the swordsman in close combat, making the battle rather difficult, but his secret arts allowed him to hold his own.

“What a powerful golem. How can it be this powerful? I feel as though he’s a bit more powerful than even me!” Daolord Blesswind was stunned to discover that the golem actually had the upper hand. “However… he just barely holds an advantage over me. This golem is using up the chaos jewels inside of him. Once his energy is used up, he’ll lose.”

“Eh?” Ning frowned when he saw this from atop his distant vessel. “The swordsman is already the strongest of my four golems, but he still can’t capture Daolord Blesswind? It seems I’ll have to have the fisherman and the emperor emerge as well.”

But right at this moment, Su Youji suddenly clenched her teeth. She was standing right next to Ning, and her face instantly turned red as a streak of crimson light flickered in her eyes. An invisible ripple of power instantly surged through the skies and shot towards the distant Daolord Blesswind.

The distant Daolord Blesswind, who was still engaged in a battle against the swordsman, suddenly moved sluggishly for a brief moment, as though he had been distracted for a moment.

Swoosh! The swordsman already held the upper hand. In this moment, his longsword suddenly coiled outwards like a whip, instantly wrapping itself around Daolord Blesswind’s body. Daolord Blesswind struggled furiously to break free, but that was no easy feat upon already being bound.

“Come in.” The swordsman produced a gourd in his hand, then caused it to emit a powerful attractive force that drew Daolord Blesswind into it.

The swordsman turned his head to glance at Ning, then was drawn back into the estate-world within the Mirrorsnow Painting once more.

“No.”

“Master!”

The two World-level disciples in the silver shuttle were completely stunned. They were also completely surrounded by that sword domain of lightning and water. They knew exactly how powerful this sword domain was, and so they didn’t dare to fight back at all, allowing Ning to capture them as well.

“We won.” A look of completely disbelief was on Eastherd’s face.

“T-that was…” Sparrow and his wife were both stunned as well. They felt that this uncle-master was simply far too powerful. He was a World-level cultivator who not only had two Daolord retainers, he had even been able to capture a Daolord of the Third Step. They had never even heard of such power before!

Ning chuckled. “I had to rely on the power of my golem. I myself wouldn’t have been able to defeat a Daolord of the Third Step.”

“Golems are part of your total power as well,” Eastherd said hurriedly.

Ning then glanced at the nearby Flamefairy Su Youji. She gave him a very smug wink. Eastherd and the others might not have noticed anything, but Ning was in control of the sword domain that covered this entire region; he was able to sense that ripple of invisible power surge outwards.

“Quite impressive,” Ning congratulated mentally. “You were able to shake a Daolord of the Third Step.”

“Just now, I used the ninth art of Feixian. I’m confident in my abilities to shake Daolords of the Second Step. As for those of the third step, it depends on their mental strength and their heartforce. If I encountered someone formidable in this regard, there would be nothing I could do. From the looks of things, this Daolord Blesswind didn’t have a particularly impressive Dao-heart,” Su Youji sent back.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The legacy of Feixian the Exalted truly was incredible. It allowed the user to actually dominate and control those on the same level of power! Even if the target was on a higher level of power, it would still have an effect on that person. But of course, if you encountered someone with a particularly powerful heart, there would be nothing you could do. Heartlord Solewind, for instance, would’ve been far more impressive against such secret arts than Daolord Blesswind, even when he was merely at the World level.

……

After capturing Daolord Blesswind, Ning continued to advance. Half a month later, he arrived at the Vastheaven Everworld.

“That right there is Vastheaven Palace.” Eastherd pointed at the peaks of a distant mountain range. One could see a cluster of palaces through the many clouds.

“Vastheaven Palace?” Ning stared at the distant Vastheaven Palace, his breathing rather irregular. Some tears had appeared in his eyes as well. Ever since he had left the Three Realms, he had been hoping he would be able to make it to Vastheaven Palace. And now… he had finally made it! His Primaltwin was finally going to be able to make it back to the Three Realms and search for the souls of his parents within the River of Destiny.

Father. Mother…

In this moment, Ning’s mind was not present here in Vastheaven Palace. It was completely focused upon his deceased mother and father.

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Chapter 9 – Within Vastheaven Palace

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 9 – Within Vastheaven Palace

Whoosh. Ji Ning’s group soared through the void as they flew towards Vastheaven Palace.

“I’ve already sent a mental message to the other brothers of Vastheaven Palace,” Eastherd said.

“Alright.” Ning stared towards the direction of the distant palace. As for Pillsaint and Su Youji, both were quite curious as well. What was it like, this place which their master had been planning to go to for so long?

Sparrow and his wife were the most nervous. To them, Vastheaven Palace was absolutely a sacred place.

“Is that…” As they flew closer and closer, Ning realized that there were quite a few figures congregating around the palace gates of Vastheaven Palace. Three of the ones standing at the very front radiated Daolord-level auras.

“Big brother Solesky?” Ning immediately recognized Daolord Solesky, who stood at the very front of the group. “But the aura seems a bit different. Ah, this must be his avatar.”

“Ji Ning!” Daolord Solesky laughed heartily, his laughter echoing within the skies.

“Big brother Solesky.” Ning was filled with delight as he led Pillsaint and Su Youji to descend towards them.

“Long time no see. And you’ve already reached the World level!” Daolord Solesky nodded in a satisfied manner as he looked at Ning, then turned his gaze to Pillsaint and Su Youji. The two were standing behind Ning, but there was no way he could ignore their presence. The two were already Daolords, after all!

Daolord Solesky said, “Youji, it’s only been a short while since we last met. Who would’ve thought you’d train even faster than Ji Ning? You’ve already become a Daolord!”

Daolord Solesky and Su Youji were old friends by now. When he had taught Ning, he had also provided Su Youji with guidance on occasion.

“It was all thanks to Master’s aid that I reached this level,” Su Youji said. “And Master has always been stronger than me. Even though I am now a Daolord, I’m still inferior to Master.”

“Brother Darknorth truly is formidable,” the nearby Eastherd hastily interjected. “I didn’t have a chance to let you know, since I just returned, but I was beset upon by five World-level cultivators of Clearwind Temple. Thankfully, brother Darknorth intervened and helped me out, allowing me to escape that predicament. Just by using his sword-intent alone, he was able to easily capture the five of them.”

“Clearwind Temple?” A white-robed, blue-haired man standing next to Daolord Solesky suddenly frowned.

“Battlemaster, we can discuss these minor matters later,” Solesky interrupted. “The most important thing for us to do today is to formally welcome brother Ji Ning into our ranks.”

Ning felt quite moved. Although he hadn’t spent much time alongside Solesky, the latter truly had treated him in a sincere manner.

“Ji Ning, it wasn’t easy for you to travel all the way here from the Badlands Territory. Back then, Su Youji was an Elder God, but now even she has become a Daolord. I imagine you must have experienced many things,” Solesky said.

“Too true.” Ning shook his head, rather wistful. “Shortly after I found out that you were trapped in the Waveshift world, I elected to leave the Badlands Territory. Logically speaking, I should’ve reached Vastheaven Palace a long time ago, but midway through I was suddenly abducted by the almighty Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom and taken there.”

Ning didn’t hide anything. Given how strong he had become, there was no way to hide such information. Take Lord Dawnstar as an example. Anyone in the Endless Territories who was even slightly well-informed knew who he was. Who could possibly be unaware that he was the Palace Lord of the Saber Palace of the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore?

“The Brightshore Kingdom?” Daolord Solesky was completely shocked. The Brightshore Kingdom was one of the six major powers of the Endless Territories, and the almighty Brightshore Hegemon was publicly acknowledged as being the leader of the three Hegemons! For mighty figures such as Verge-level Daolords, the fact that the Brightshore Kingdom would occasionally abduct a few cultivators wasn’t exactly a secret.

“Being abducted by the Brightshore Kingdom can be incredibly dangerous, but… judging from the looks of things, it turned into quite a blessing for you, Ji Ning.” Solesky looked at him.

“Haha. It was indeed. I encountered Pillsaint in the Brightshore Kingdom.” Ning glanced at the nearby Pillsaint.

Pillsaint felt a bit embarrassed. He immediately said, “I, uh, was probably the first person to fight against Master in the Brightshore Kingdom. Unfortunately, he beat me with ease. To be honest, the Flamefairy and I only gained our freedom thanks to Master’s assistance.”

……

While Ning and Solesky were chatting, the other brothers of Vastheaven Palace were carefully inspecting this new brother of theirs. When they heard the two Daolords address him as ‘master’, they were quite stunned.

Monsters like this only existed in legends. Who would’ve thought that they’d encounter one in the flesh?

“Brother Ji Ning is incredibly talented, but he’s never had a good master.” Solesky chuckled. “In Brightshore Kingdom, you truly would’ve had the chance to soar into the heavens. Hahaha… I’ve been so busy chatting with you that I forgot to make the introductions. Come, come! This gentleman here is our Daolord Battlemaster, and he is also a Daolord of the Fourth Step.”

Ning turned to look at the long blue-haired man dressed in white robes. The man had a warm smile on his face and an extraordinary demeanor. Ning immediately bowed and said, “Darknorth greets you, big brother Battlemaster.”

A Daolord of the Fourth Step had essentially reached the apex of a certain Dao. After that was the Eternal Emperor level. Daolords of the Fourth Step were never easy to deal with.

“I once tried to use Numerancy to divine your future, brother Darknorth, only to find that everything was clouded and far beyond my abilities to see.” Daolord Battlemaster smiled. “Now that I see you have two Daolord retainers, I understand how truly extraordinary you are. If my calculations are correct, these two Daolords should have broken through naturally, rather than relying on Pseudo Samsara Pills.”

“They broke through on their own?” The other brothers of Vastheaven Palace were all rather speechless. When they had seen two Daolords of the First Step, they had assumed that both had relied on Pseudo Samsara Pills.

“The stronger Ji Ning is, the better. Vastheaven Palace has gained yet another powerful brother!” Solesky introduced the next person. “This gentleman next to me is our newly ascended Daolord, Daolord Brightfish. He is now a Daolord of the Second Step.”

“Darknorth.” Daolord Brightfish smiled at him.

Ning felt quite startled, but on the surface he responded in a very calm manner, “Big brother Brightfish.”

Brightfish was absolutely gorgeous! In terms of appearance, he was every bit the equal of Su Youji. It must be remembered that Su Youji trained in the techniques of Feixian the Exalted, and possessed such great charm that her smiles alone were incredibly alluring. Although Daolord Brightfish wasn’t that charming, he truly was shockingly handsome, and he was also had a willowy, elegant form. And yet… judging from his aura, Ning was certain that he was male!

His face and his body was comparable to that of a peerless beauty, but he was a man? No wonder Ning was so flabbergasted!

“This is Brightfish’s avatar,” Solesky said. “Brightfish himself is adventuring in the outside world. He’s far more talented than both myself and Battlemaster.”

“You praise me too much, big brother,” Daolord Brightfish hurriedly said.

Solesky laughed loudly. “Not at all, not at all. Ji Ning, as for our other brothers… I’ll introduce you to them later, over some drinks and conversation.”

Ning nodded but couldn’t help but ask, “What about the three Wujiao Godbeasts?”

Everyone fell silent.

Daolord Solesky let out a sigh. “Northrest… ugh. Those three Wujiao Godbeasts caused Northrest’s death. Vastheaven Palace would never let them off for that. Although they fled long ago, Battlemaster was able to use his Numerancy to divine their location. The three of them were wiped out by us long ago.”

And so a question that had plagued Ning for quite some time was answered.

……

Next was the welcoming banquet, where all the brothers of Vastheaven Palace gathered together.

They all drank wine and chatted happily. Vastheaven Palace had no hierarchies; every single member was a good brother to the others. Even Daolords would merely be respectfully addressed as ‘big brother’ due to their power. This was just the type of atmosphere Ning liked, and he could sense that everyone treated him with sincerity.

Over the course of the banquet, Ning got to know more than half of the brothers of Vastheaven Palace, as well as some who were still adventuring in the outside world.

After the banquet.

“Ji Ning, Vastheaven Palace is quite a large place. We have many residences within it, most of which are empty. This one, this one, that one, and that one… all of them are free for the choosing. Just pick whichever one you like.” After the banquet, Solesky personally guided Ning off.

“Then I’ll choose this one.” Ning made his choice.

“Right. When do you wish for us to hold the formal welcoming ceremony?” Solesky looked at Ning. Technically, Ning simply had the talisman of welcome; he hadn’t actually joined Vastheaven Palace.

“A month from now,” Ning said. Right now, the most important task before him was resurrecting his parents.

“Alright.” Solesky was in no rush. To cultivators, a month truly was nothing.

……

Vastheaven Palace. Within the Darknorth estate.

“Pillsaint, Youji, I need to go into secluded meditation for a period of time. If there’s nothing important, do not disturb me,” Ning instructed.

“Yes, Master.” Pillsaint and Su Youji both acknowledged the order.

Ning nodded, then entered his meditation chambers.

Rumble… the doors to the meditation chambers swung shut. Ning sat down in the lotus position, then closed his eyes. His mind was completely focused on the distant Three Realms.

……

The primordial chaos outside the Three Realms.

A black-robed Ji Ning was striding through the dimensions. He quickly emerged from his own estate and arrived in the void of the Three Realms.

Whoosh.

The black-robed Ning stepped into yet another dimension as he stood there within the Three Realms, sensing the fluctuations rippling through it.

It had been far, far too long since he had entered the Three Realms and the area of influence its essences held sway over. For many years now, this had been a forbidden area for him. If he dared to take so much as a single step into it, he would’ve died and his Dao would’ve vanished.

“The Three Realms.” The black-robed Ning swept his gaze across the three thousand major worlds and the trillions of minor worlds. Even everything within the Celestial Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom was contained within his gaze.

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Chapter 10 – The Three Realms

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 10 – The Three Realms

The black-robed Ji Ning’s gaze was focused upon a river that flowed through the void. This river… was the River of Destiny.

Destiny was omnipresent. All living beings had their own destiny. Even powerful cultivators like Ning or mighty Eternal Emperors had their own destinies as well. So long as you were alive, you would have a destiny all your own! These countless destinies came together to form an endless Sea of Destiny, with the destiny of the living beings of the Three Realms being merely a small rivulet of that endless sea.

This void river was all but indetectible to ordinary living creatures, but Ning was able to see countless truesouls flowing through that great river.

Whoosh. Ning swept the river searchingly with his gaze.

“Father. Mother!” Ning suddenly revealed a look of excitement on his face. He had discovered two truesouls which were located right next to each other, rising and falling through the ‘waves’ of the river together. Ning was very familiar with the auras given off by those two truesouls. He would never be able to forget them.

Those truesouls were the truesouls belonging to his father and his mother.

Only major powers who had personally seen Yuchi Snow and Ji Yichuan would be able to locate their truesouls within the endless flow of truesouls in the River of Destiny.

“Freeze!” Ning sent out his will. Rumble… an invisible, powerful stream of sword-intent that was as gentle as water instantly encompassed the entire River of Destiny, causing it to come to a complete halt.

Merely seeing the River of Destiny was easy, but to draw truesouls out from within it and then revive them was incredibly difficult. This was because such an action represented going against the will of the heavens and changing the flows of destiny; it went against the very laws of the Three Realms themselves. However, Ning was now powerful enough to annihilate the Three Realms with ease; he was naturally able to easily accomplish a task like this.

Still… if Ning’s parents had perished in an Everworld, there would be no way for Ning to retrieve their truesouls from that Everworld’s River of Destiny! This was because the repercussions of breaking an Everworld’s laws were far greater. Most likely, only Eternal Emperors and outlandishly strong Daolords would be able to resist those repercussions.

……

The River of Destiny had been frozen in place. None of the countless mortal denizens in the Three Realms could sense the laws of the Three Realms trying to fight back, but the more powerful Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms could.

The Crescent world. Mount Innerheart. Two figures were seated opposite of each other, holding a casual conversation regarding the world and the Dao.

“Eh? The River of Destiny just came to a halt?” The bearded, azure-haired man suddenly let out a surprised call.

“Most likely, only my disciple Ji Ning is capable of forcing the River of Destiny to come to a halt.” Opposite the first man was a white-haired, white-bearded old man – Subhuti.

These two were currently the two strongest members of the Three Realms. One was Ning’s master, Subhuti, who had been ranked the top master of the Dao of Spacetime in all the Three Realms. Ever since Fuxi, Shennong, Suiren, Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, Houyi, and the others had all sacrificed themselves in the Endwar, Subhuti had become the number one expert of the entire Nuwa Alliance. But of course, that was excluding Ji Ning, who had long ago reached the World level.

The other man was the Lord of All Fiends of the Seamless Gate. He was now their sole leader, ‘Windfiend’… and he had long ago surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos in movement speed.

Both were at extremely high levels of enlightenment and were far superior to most Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals in this regard. Ever since Ning had reached the World level, he began to transmit many techniques back to the Three Realms! With those techniques guiding them, they instantly became far more powerful than they had been in the past. At present, they had reached such a high level of insight that they were able to break through to the World level whenever they wished. This was why they often sat together to discuss the Dao with each other. When all of their arrangements and preparations were complete, they would break through to the World level.

“It really is Ji Ning.” Windfiend’s divine sense instantly spread out across all the Three Realms, discovering the black-robed Ning standing in the void of the Three Realms. He could sense that stately, awe-inspiring aura of majesty radiating out from Ning.

“Let’s go.” Subhuti waved a finger, causing a spatial vortex to appear next to them. Whoosh! The two both entered the spatial vortex, then hastened towards Ning.

……

“The River of Destiny froze?”

Mt. Ling, in the eastern lands of the Celestial Realm.

Buddha Maitreya sat above all others. He was now the new Lord Buddha of the Buddhist Sangha. He had always had a very high level of enlightenment, being just slightly inferior to Lord Tathagata himself. Ever since Ji Ning had transmitted many new techniques to the Three Realms, he had grown much more powerful and was second only to the likes of Subhuti and Windfiend.

……

Fruit-Flower Mountain.

“Heeeey, it’s my junior apprentice-brother!” The Monkey King had been munching away at his food when he suddenly froze, then revealed a look of delight. “Time to go take a look!”

Sun Wukong was an incredibly talented figure, and he was now one of the top ten figures of the Three Realms.

……

Daoist Jade Cauldron, Kuafu, Holyflame, Bloodswan, Amitabha, and the other experts of the Three Realms all sensed the ripples and immediately hastened over there as well.

……

The black-robed Ning stood there amidst the void of the Three Realms. He could sense space rippling in the area around him as one figure after another began to emerge.

His master, Subhuti. His senior apprentice-brothers Sun Wukong and Silvermoon. Buddha Maitreya. Buddha Amitabha. Jade Cauldron. Bloodswan. They all began to appear, one after another, and Ning nodded in their direction. As for these Immortals and Fiendgods, they just watched afar, not moving to intervene. Ever since Ning had broken through to the World level, he had continuously transmitted techniques back to them.

In truth, Ning was quite amazed. The cultivators of the Three Realms weren’t necessarily all monstrous geniuses, but on the whole they were clearly far more talented than cultivators from other chaosworlds! The Three Sovereigns of Mankind, Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, Houyi… without any guidance or legacies, they had reached such astonishingly great heights in enlightenment that they were able to battle against Elder Gods despite merely being at the True God level! This meant they were at a far higher level of enlightenment than most Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

If they were given good techniques or good teachers… the Three Sovereigns of Mankind, Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, Houyi, and the others all could’ve become World-level cultivators! It must be understood that Buddha Jueming originally hadn’t been a particularly impressive member of the Buddhist Sangha; his innate talent was far inferior to the likes of Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others. It had been very hard for him to even reach the True God level! However, after spending many arduous years in Undermoon Lake as an Empyrean God, he had received the legacy techniques of World God Northrest and had thus been able to reach the Elder God level.

This was a testament to how important good techniques and good teachers were.

It wasn’t just the Three Realms; even the experts of the Seamless Chaosworld, such as Everwood, Demonheart, Devilhand, and Windfiend were also extremely spectacular figures who were comparable to Daoist Three Purities and Lord Tathagata.

“The Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld… the cultivators who arose from it are all far more talented and impressive than the cultivators in other chaosworlds.” Ning was secretly amazed. “There has to be a reason behind it.”

The endless primordial chaos was filled with mysteries and secrets. No one would ever dare claim that he or she fully understand it. Not even the almighty Hegemon could make that claim, and so Ning didn’t spend too much time on this question.

“I’ve now perfectly joined five Supreme Daos together. After I become a Daolord, I’ll become much more powerful. By then, I should be able to buy some truly precious legacies and techniques, then transmit them to the Three Realms and strengthen it,” Ning mused to himself.

The techniques he had previously transmitted were all fairly ordinary. He had also transmitted a few ordinary techniques left behind by Northrest. As for the more valuable legacies? Ning had learned quite a few! He had learned from Emperor Mirrorsnow, had viewed the eighty thousand-plus sword-arts in the sword pagodas of the Sword Palace, and had acquired the legacy of a deceased Hegemon as well as the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]. However, he had sworn lifeblood oaths to never divulge any of them to others. Even though he was able to teach the first chapter of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to others, that chapter only pertained to the Dao of Alchemy. How many cultivators truly focused in this Dao? Too few!

If you wished to truly strengthen an organization, you needed all types of techniques and legacies, especially powerful ones. This was no easy task.

“Prior to today, I’ve only been able to transmit fairly ordinary techniques back, but the Three Realms has already strengthened dramatically. Master and Windfiend are about to break through to the World level at any moment, while Maitreya and the others might succeed as well. If I was able to transmit better techniques to them… my homeland might give birth to an entire crop of World-level cultivators.”

Ning eagerly awaited such a day, the day when the Three Realms truly skyrocketed in prominence.

……

Ning continued to focus upon the River of Destiny. His gentle sword-intent moved with incredible softness, but it contained unbelievable power! The gentle sword-intent carefully embraced those two truesouls within its grip.

Rumble…

The entire River of Destiny began to roil about in protest as a backlash began.

Ning was incredibly careful. He obviously didn’t care about the backlash, but he was worried that it might cause collateral damage to his parents’ truesouls. Even the slightest bit of damage might cause those frail truesouls to instantly disintegrate.

“Hmph.” Ning’s sword-intent wrapped those two truesouls in protective layers as it slowly drew them both from the depths of the River of Destiny.

Rumble… the backlash from the River of Destiny grew increasingly powerful. Towards the end, the entire river began to writhe about as it fought to hold onto those two truesouls. Ning’s sword-intent, however continuously protected the truesouls with layers of barriers, taking on the full force of the backlash head-on.

Whoosh! Finally, the mass of sword-light flew out from within the River of Destiny. The River of Destiny had failed, and so it quickly regained its normal calm and continued to function stably as it had in the past.

“Success.” Subhuti, Windfiend, Sun Wukong, Jade Cauldron, and the others all revealed looks of delight when they saw this.

“Darknorth, congratulations.”

“Ji Ning, congratulations.” They all called out to express their congratulations. Now that the truesouls had been drawn out, the next step of restoring their souls and manifesting bodies would be easy.

Ning couldn’t disguise his own excitement either.

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Chapter 11 – Heartforce, Level Five

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 11 – Heartforce, Level Five

Ji Ning suppressed his excitement, then gently waved a finger and sent two streaks of chaos nectar outwards.

His Primaltwin didn’t have much chaos nectar, as it had been here defending the Three Realms this entire time. It did, however, have at least a few drops. Since Yuchi Snow and Ji Yichuan’s souls and bodies weren’t particularly powerful, a single drop of chaos nectar each was more than enough.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The two drops of chaos nectar flew towards the two different truesouls. The two drops quickly encompassed the two souls, then immediately and naturally began to build a soul around each truesoul. Although it was also possible to use the Six Paths of Reincarnation to form souls and bodies, those bodies and souls would be of fairly low quality; at most, they would allow the reincarnated individuals to at most be equivalent to natural-born Xiantian lifeforms.

But if one directly used chaos nectar to rebuild a body and soul, it would result in the creation of a completely perfect body!

The souls were now fully formed.

Instantly, the two souls rose up to stand there within the emptiness of the void. One soul was of Yuchi Snow, the other was of Ji Yichuan. The two had completely regained consciousness, and Ning was using his Immortal energy to help them awaken the memories locked within their souls. At his current level of power, Ning was able to help them reawaken their memories with nothing more than a thought, even though Yuchi Snow and Ji Yichuan had actually died two lives ago.

“Ning. Son.” The two stared at Ning in disbelief.

Ning was rather excited. He immediately said, “Father. Mother. Don’t worry about me right now. Let your fleshly bodies be remade first. All you need to do is wish for it to happen. The chaos nectar around you has marvelous properties and is capable of forming all things.”

Flesh and even clothes were beginning to form in the empty area around their souls; there was of course no way Ning would leave them unclad. Gradually, Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow were able to see many figures off in the distance. Soon, the two had fully materialized. Clad in snowy white furs, the two stood there in the emptiness of the void.

The thing was, Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow actually had an additional set of memories. This set came from the life they had spent as Willowriver Chuan and Eastflow Snow.

“Snow.” Ji Yichuan looked at his wife.

“Yichuan.” Yuchi Snow stared back at him.

They had been together in both the past life and the present life. During her life in Swallow Mountain, Yuchi Snow had died due to illness. Ji Yichuan had suffered heavy wounds as well. In the end, he felt he had nothing else to live for and so had perished as well. The next life had been an even sadder one; in the end, the curs of the Seamless Gate had captured everyone in their city and used them to refine magic treasures, resulting in their souls being shattered.

Ji Yichun and Yuchi Snow held each other’s hands.

“Ning. Son.” They turned their gazes towards Ning.

“W-what’s going on?” Yichuan was completely puzzled. The area around them was filled with empty space, and they were even able to see figures who radiated auras of incredible power off in the distance.

Snow was both excited and puzzled. She had died, as had Yichuan, right? And how was it that they were able to stand there within the emptiness of space as easily as standing on flat land? What was supporting them? But they felt certain that this all had to do with their son.

“Father, Mother. All those bad things have come to an end. Nothing will be able to separate us ever again.” Ning’s voice was trembling slightly as he spoke.

Snow’s eyes immediately reddened and she walked straight forwards to embrace Ning. Ning hugged his mother back as well.

His mother’s embrace… it was as warm as it had been in his memories.

Ning suddenly raised his head. His father, Yichuan, had walked over as well, and Ning reached out to include his father in their joint embrace.

Their family of three was together again.

As for Subhuti, Windfiend, and the other nearby figures, they all sighed as they watched with looks of envy. Many of them had been born from the primordial chaos or from Heaven and Earth; they had never had parents before. However, they could sense how deep the relationship between Ning and his parents were.

……

As he embraced his father and his mother, the tension which had been within his soul for so many years was able to finally be released. And in this moment… Ning’s heartforce broke through to the fifth stage and began to rapidly expand in power.

The Endwar of the Three Realms had resulted in Ning finally understanding the Heartsword Realm and using it to slay Old Man Yuan. Logically speaking, he should’ve been able to step into the fifth stage of heartforce at that time. However, he had too many things weighing down his heart, causing him to be stuck at that bottleneck.

After leaving the Three Realms, he had entered the Endless Territories. He had experienced many things in the Brightshore Kingdom and the alternate universe, eventually linking five Supreme Daos together in a perfect manner. His mind and his heart had both been strengthened tremendously, but he still remained stuck at that bottleneck.

His heart had never been able to see through to the ‘truth’ of life. Now, after reaching Vastheaven Palace and rescuing his parents truesouls from the River of Destiny, Ning was finally able to truly relax. As a result, he naturally reached the ‘truth’ level of heartforce.

Ning did have another firm desire in the deepest parts of his heart… reviving Yu Wei! However, he knew exactly how difficult that would be. Even the number one expert in the Dao of Seals in the alternate universe, Emperor Maniseal, had been unable to revive his own disciple. Ning had never heard of someone successfully doing such a thing, which was a testament to how difficult it would be. But precisely because it was so difficult, Ning was able to face it fairly calmly.

Boom! His heartforce massively expanded. The many things he had experienced in recent years caused Ning’s heartforce to instantly skyrocket and reach the apex of the fifth stage. His heartforce and his sea of consciousness joined together, causing certain changes to arise.

If his heartforce was a bit stronger, the fusion between his heartforce and his sea of consciousness would’ve allowed him to establish a heartworld. Only by establishing a heartworld would one be truly considered a Heartforce Cultivator, and those were truly, incredibly frightening figures. Heartforce Cultivators who had reached the Verge as Daolords would have heartworlds that were as vast as an entire territory. At this point, the descent of their heartworld projection alone would benough to easily crush to death an ordinary Verge-level Daolord.

But using a heartworld projection was merely the crudest way of fighting with heartforce.

True Heartforce Cultivators had certain mysterious secret arts which were truly formidable. Bertulu, Eastcult, and Greatjoy had all mastered and joined multiple Supreme Daos together, but Bertulu was a Heartforce Cultivator! In an actual battle, he would’ve been stronger than both of the others.

If Bertulu had managed to fully learn the [Heartsword] sword-art and learned how to perfectly mesh his heartforce with his close combat abilities, his powers would’ve skyrocketed even further. Alas, the [Heartsword] sword-art was extremely difficult. Ning himself was a sword cultivator who was also skilled in heartforce, which was why he had been able to reach a basic level of skill in it, but Bertulu was not!

……

The void above the Three Realms.

Yichuan and Snow both released their son, then smiled as they gazed at him.

“Ning, son. Tell us what in the world is going on. Your mother and I are both completely confused,” Yichuan said.

“The story is a long one. I trust both of you know about the Seamless Gate,” Ning said.

“The Seamless Gate.” Yichuan and Snow both turned very solemn. “We’ve heard of them. The stories say that they are the ones causing chaos throughout the Three Realms.” The two of them had died due to the machination of the Seamless Gate.

“Right. That had been a true tribulation, and many of our seniors perished during it,” Ning said softly. He couldn’t help but think back to that grand final battle and those figures who had calmly sacrificed their own lives. “But that war ended long ago. The Three Realms is now peaceful once more. I was bound by a lifeblood oath and so I wasn’t able to retrieve your truesouls from the River of Destiny until today. Only then could I bring you back to life.”

“River of Souls? Truesoul?” Both Yichuan and Snow were a bit dazed. Neither of them had reached high levels of cultivation in either of their two lives. They had no idea that someone whose soul had been shattered could be brought back to life.

“Father, Mother. We can discuss these things later in the privacy of our home.” Ning smiled, then turned and looked at the nearby figures. He called out, “Master.”

Subhuti flew over.

“Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow. The two of you certainly gave birth to a wonderful son,” Daofather Subhuti said with a laugh.

“Father, Mother, this person here is my master, Patriarch Subhuti,” Ning said. “If it hadn’t been for Master’s guidance, I never would’ve reached my current heights.”

“Ahaha! Ji Ning, your accomplishments were due to you and you alone. I didn’t help much,” Subhuti immediately said.

Ning continued, “And that gentleman over there is the leader of the Seamless Gate, the Lord of All Fiends.”

The distant Windfiend nodded towards Ning’s parents. With a flicker, he appeared next to Patriarch Subhuti as well. “I was wracked by guilt when I learned that Ji Ning’s parents died due to the actions of my Seamless Gate! Although it was Demonheart who instigated that calamity, I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t act to stop him.”

“The leader of the Seamless Gate?” Yichuan and Snow were both stunned. The Seamless Gate was the major force behind the chaos that had swept the Three Realms. Supposedly, not even the leaders of the Daoist Path or the Buddhist Sangha were able to do anything to them. How was it that their son knew people like this? How powerful had their son become, exactly?!

When the two of them had first perished, Ning hadn’t even gone to the Black-White College.

“This person is Buddha Maitreiya of the Buddhist Sangha. This person is Daoist Jade Cauldron of the Daoist Path…” Ning began to introduce the nearby Immortals and Fiendgods to his parents.

Yichuan and Snow were growing increasingly confused. Although they hadn’t heard of most of these figures, they had heard of a few of them and knew them to be figures whose reputations shook the Three Realms.

“These are now the most elite Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms,” Ning explained to his parents, then turned and said in a sonorous voice, “Friends, I’m going to accompany my parents and leave for a time. In a few days, I’ll invite you all to a grand feast that I will hold.”

“You are far too kind, Darknorth.”

“Haha, this is the first time that Darknorth is hosting an Immortal banquet.”

“We’ll definitely attend!”

Ning smiled, said a few words to his master Subhuti, then led his parents away.

“Father. Mother. Come with me.” An aura of incredible sword-intent covered the three of them, then hurtled them through the void to the home where Autumn Leaf, Brightmoon, Uncle White, Little Qing, and Bluecliff Xiaoyu were residing.

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Chapter 12 – A Foundation for the Three Realms

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 12 – A Foundation for the Three Realms

The Three Realms. The Grand Xia world. Swallow Mountain.

Long ago, Ji Ning had removed the entire Swallow Mountain area from the Grand Xia for the sake of protecting it from the great war. Now that the calamity had come to an end, Ning had established his own major world, the Darknorth world, and had planted the Ji clan into that world.

As for Swallow Mountain of the Grand Xia? This was where Ning had grown up, and so he had rebuilt it. Autumn Leaf, Uncle White, Little Qing, and Brightmoon normally lived here.

Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning, Ji Yichuan, and Yuchi Snow all appeared in the air above Serpentwing Lake.

“It looks just like it did all those years ago.” Yichuan and his wife Snow stood there in the air, staring at the lake. “Serpentwing Lake hasn’t changed at all.”

“One thing that did change was that the Serpentwing monster died long ago,” Ning joked by their side.

“Ning, son, what on earth has happened in recent years?” Snow looked at her son.

“I’ll tell you later. Mom, Dad, look over there. Your granddaughter is coming.” Ning pointed off into the distance.

A black-robed maiden was flying towards them from afar, her face covered with joy. Behind her were Autumn Leaf, Uncle White, Little Qing, Bluecliff Xiaoyu, Mu Northson, and Immortal Diancai.

“Young master.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.”

“Master.” They each called out joyfully towards Ning.

As they flew closer, Autumn Leaf and Uncle White were stunned, especially Uncle White. He stared blankly at the two figures standing by Ning’s side, and his tears suddenly came cascading downwards.

Yichuan stared back at Uncle White, then revealed a smile. “Little White.”

“Big brother.” Uncle White stared at Yichuan. The two were like brothers, and they had ventured through life and death by each other’s sides many times. They were extremely close to each other.

“Big sister Snow.” Uncle White then looked at Snow. “You… you all…”

“Master.” Autumn Leaf was extremely excited as well, and she hurriedly curtsied.

“Autumn Leaf?” Snow smiled and nodded. Ning had two attendants by his side when he was young. Spring Grass had died long ago, but Autumn Leaf had been by his side this entire time.

As for Ning, he stared at the black-robed maiden and barked, “Brightmoon, get over here and pay your respects to your grandmother and grandfather!”

Brightmoon was rather stunned. She had heard of her grandparents, but had never met them before. Upon hearing Ning’s orders, she immediately fell to her knees and said, “Brightmoon greets you, Grandfather and Grandmother.”

“Big brother… big sister Snow… this is Brightmoon. She’s the daughter of Ji Ning and Yu Wei,” Uncle White immediately said.

“Our granddaughter?” Yichuan and Snow were both overjoyed. When they died, Ning had still been quite young. Who would’ve thought that they’d suddenly have a grandchild?

“Rise, rise!” Snow immediately lifted her granddaughter up. The more she looked at Brightmoon, the happier she felt. Brightmoon’s appearance was similar to that of both Ning and Yu Wei. Although she looked more like Yu Wei, she did have some of Ning’s traits as well.

“What a beautiful girl. I have such a beautiful granddaughter! Your mother must be a beauty as well. Ning, son, where’s your wife? Didn’t Little White say that your wife’s name is Yu Wei?” Snow smiled.

Everyone suddenly fell silent.

Snow and Yuchi didn’t know what was going on, but everyone else knew what had happened. Years ago, Yu Wei had been publicly killed during the wars by the black-robed Godking.

Ning responded with perfect calm, “She’s gone.”

Yichu and Snow immediately understood. It seemed as though many things had happened over the years.

“Grandpa, Grandma, there seems to be many things you aren’t aware of. Let me tell you.” Brightmoon immediately began to warmly narrate the story to Yichuan and Snow. “Shortly after you passed away, but before my father had joined the Black-White College; that’s where I’ll start the story. Haha. The two of you are going to be stunned by this…”

Seeing this, Ning just stood there and watched with a smile on his face.

There was no need to hide any of his past history. Yichuan and Snow listened to their daughter, Brightmoon, narrate Ning’s story. Every so often, Uncle White, Little Qing, or Xiaoyu would add in a few words as well. Even Ning’s junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson, would jump in to explain at some parts, as did Ning’s master Immortal Diancai.

Yichuan and his wife Snow were completely stunned by this story. This wasn’t a story; it was an absolute legend.

Although they knew that their son was a genius, how could they have imagined that their talented sword-wielding son of Swallow Mountain would become such a dazzling figure? He not only had reached parity with the highest-level Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms, he had played a decisive role in ending the war! As for his current level of power, it was completely unfathomable.

They also learned about Yu Wei’s death. Unfortunately, when her soul was destroyed ever her truesoul was torn apart. There was no way to revive her at present.

……

A few days later, Ning held a Three Realms Banquet at Brightheart Island of Swallow Mountain. All of the top-level Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms came to take part.

Of course, many of Ning’s old friends came as well, such as the other members of Mount Innerheart, including Crazy Ji, Sun Wukong, and Redsnow. Even the likes of Northmont Baiwei and the Sloppy Daoist, who had been their eldest apprentice-brother at the Black-White College, had arrived. This was Ning’s first time hosting such a sumptuous banquet, and at the end he even expounded upon the Dao, bringing great enlightenment to many of the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms.

……

On the other side of the primordial chaos. Vastheaven Territory. Vastheaven Palace.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed after Ning’s arrival at Vastheaven Palace. This was the day of Ning’s formal welcoming banquet.

“Ji Ning! JI NING!” Daolord Solesky was hollering towards him from far away.

“Big brother?” Ning emerged from his estate, Su Youji and Pillsaint by his side. Ning smiled. “I could hear you screaming at me from far away.”

“I wanted to see you a few days ago, but Pillsaint told me that you were in secluded meditation,” Daolord Solesky said with a laugh.

“My big brother wished to see me?” Ning turned to glance at Pillsaint. Pillsaint hurriedly explained, “Daolord Solesky said that it was nothing important and told me not to disturb you.”

Daolord Solesky nodded as well. “There is no rush, but… Ji Ning, you really did me wrong this time. You captured Daolord Blesswing, a Daolord of the Third Step of Clearwind Temple! A Daolord of the Third Step! And you captured him! How could you hide such an incredible feat from me and not tell me? If it hadn’t been for brother Eastherd giving us a detailed narration a while ago, I would have had no idea whatsoever.”

Ning was startled. He immediately said, “Alright, that was definitely my fault.”

To be honest, Ning truly hadn’t considered the capture to be a big deal. In his eyes, Clearwind Temple wasn’t a threat at all. Even if Patriarch Clearwind himself came, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to Vastheaven Palace itself. If things really did go south, Ning could simply use one of the deceased Hegemon’s Dao-seals to just kill the man.

Ning’s complete lack of concern regarding this matter was why he hadn’t considered it to be relevant. With his mind completely occupied with reviving his parents, he truly had forgotten to tell Vastheaven Palace about this matter.

“It won’t be much of a problem. With my avatar here, we won’t need to fear Clearwind at all.” Daolord Solesky was rather excited. “But for you to have captured a Daolord of the Third Step… hah! I feel giddy just imagining the look on Clearwind’s face.”

“I’ve already subdued the Daolord. Big brother Solesky, you are free to deal with him as you see fit,” Ning said.

“You were the one to capture him. How can I be the one to decide?” Daolord Solesky immediately said.

“Don’t be so courteous, big brother. If you want to use this situation to squeeze and extort Clearwind Temple, feel entirely free to do so.”

Daolord Solesky shook his head. “You don’t understand what type of a man Patriarch Clearwind is. He won’t be easy to blackmail. Ah, forget it. There’s no way Clearwind will just ignore something like this. We’ll wait and see.”

Ning nodded. “Right. Big brother, there’s something I need to ask you to help me out with.”

“What is it?” Daolord Solesky asked.

“I want to collect some techniques, secret arts, and divine abilities,” Ning said. “I need all types of techniques.”

Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “Are you planning to set up your own school?”

Ning shook his head. “No, it’s for the sake of my homeland. My homeland doesn’t have any good techniques. I want to procure some good ones for them,” Ning said.

“Vastheaven Palace has some basic techniques which can be transmitted to others without any issues,” Daolord Solesky said, “But the more powerful ones… we have our own rules about their disposition.”

Ning said, “We’ll do everything in accordance with the rules! I need all types of divine abilities, techniques, and secret arts below the Daolord level, and I’ll pay as much chaos nectar as the rules require.” Even the Dao Alliance was willing to sell its many secret arts and divine abilities, to say nothing of Vastheaven Palace. Even Daolord Allgod’s [Novessence Water] and other such techniques had ended up being sold to the Brightshore Kingdom.

Ning only needed techniques that were below the Daolord level; more profound techniques were not necessary for now. Vastheaven Palace didn’t really have that many powerful legacies either.

“Oh, below the Daolord level? That’ll be easy.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “However… over the course of countless years, Vastheaven Palace has accumulated quite a few techniques. If we were to give you everything we have, it’d cost you three million cubes of chaos nectar! I don’t want to take advantage of you; the rules are the rules. These techniques were accumulated by countless brothers over the course of countless years.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. “Three million it is.”

Vastheaven Palace was an ancient school which dominated the nearby territories and had been around for countless chaos cycles. As a result, it had an ample supply of techniques which were below the Daolord level. This was why this place was considered a holy land for cultivation to many. Now that Ning had purchased all of its techniques, the Three Realms’ foundation had been established. Most of the cultivators in the Three Realms were merely at the Elder God or Ancestral Immortal level, after all. To reach the World level and then become a Daolord was far too difficult.

In truth, if he couldn’t buy what he needed from Vastheaven Palace, he would’ve done so from the Dao Alliance. Only, that would be more troublesome and likely more expensive as well.

As for legacies which Daolords could use? Even Vastheaven Palace only had a very few such legacies, and they had either been left behind by its Daolords or had been acquired by them due to luck; they wouldn’t be casually taught to others. They were not casually taught to others. What Ning was planning to do was to create a few legacies of his own and leave them to the Three Realms! For example, his [Brightmoon] sword-art was definitely one of the most supreme of legacies! But of course, not just anyone would be permitted to study it. The interested parties would have to go through many layers of trials before they could learn the Sword Dao which Ning had so painstakingly created.

“Using Vastheaven Palace’s repository, built up over the course of countless years, to serve as the foundation of the Three Realms shall be enough.” Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart.

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Chapter 13 – Omega Sword Dao

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 13 – Omega Sword Dao

“Hah! You were able to agree to three million cubes with such ease.” Daolord Solesky laughed. “As expected for someone capable of capturing a Daolord of the Third Step. Your resources truly are extraordinary?”

“I just had better luck than most,” Ji Ning said.

“Big brother Solesky, all of our brothers have arrived and are waiting. Are you done chatting?” The Daolord Brightfish’s laughter could be heard from afar.

“Patience, my brother Brightfish! We’ll be there shortly.” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “Come, come! Let us make haste. The welcoming banquet is about to commence.”

The formal welcoming ceremony took place. After the ceremony ended, Ning was now considered a formal member of Vastheaven Palace. This caused Daolord Solesky, Daolord Battlemaster, and Daolord Brightfish to all feel slightly relieved. They could tell that Ning was guaranteed to be an extraordinary Daolord. Although he had a talisman of welcome, it was entirely permissible for him to change his mind prior to actually joining Vastheaven Palace.

Now that he had joined, he truly would be a lifelong friend and brother.

……

Rumble…

Within the darkness of space. A shrine which was emanating ripples of strange azure power was flying at high speeds. As the energy streams surged and flowed around it, it was able to hurtle through space at astonishing speeds.

An old man dressed in handsome black robes stood within the shrine, staring silently into space. His eyes were as calm as the depths of the sea. Beneath him stood seven respectful World-level cultivators.

“He managed to capture Blesswind. This young fellow named Darknorth really is quite daring.” The black-robed elder said calmly, “He’s even more daring than Solesky.”

One of the World-level disciples said immediately, “Patriarch, Darknorth must’ve acquired some special treasures thanks to a stroke of great luck. Daolord Blesswind said it himself, right? He was beaten by a golem which had the power of an apex Daolord of the Third Step, then captured due to a nasty trick they pulled on him. No matter what, this Darknorth is merely a World-level cultivator. He won’t be able to fight back against you at all, Patriarch.”

“Can’t be too complacent,” Patriarch Clearwind said calmly. “These strokes of great luck can sometimes involve truly earth-shattering treasures.”

He was a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Daolords of the Fourth Step were completely different from Daolords of the Third Step. To reach the fourth step meant reaching the Verge of the Daomerge, which meant that you had reached terrifying heights in a certain Dao.

The reason why he was able to feud against Daolord Solesky for so long was because he was at a similar level of power. Both Patriarch Clearwind and Daolord Solesky were extremely powerful, even amongst other Daolords of the Fourth Step. They had both experienced many dangers as well. They naturally were quite skilled in keeping themselves alive and would never underestimate any opponent.

When Heartlord Solewind had shattered that Dao-seal, he had been able to easily slay a Daolord of the Third Step. But if he had encountered Patriarch Clearwind? Forget about a Dao-seal; even if the Palace Lord of the Heart Palace struck out, if he wasn’t careful Patriarch Clearwind would probably be able to escape.

“Solesky. It’s been quite some time since I’ve sparred with him.” Azure light flickered through Patriarch Clearwind’s eyes.

Vastheaven Palace had two Daolords of the Fourth Step, while Clearwind Temple merely had one. However, these two organizations were equivalent in power. This was a testament to how formidable Patriarch Clearwind was.

……

The Three Realms. Brightheart Island.

Within Ning’s study. The study was filled with rolls of jade slips. Ning casually picked up a jade slip, then infused the set of sword-arts he had developed into the jade slip.

“For Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, less abstruse sword-arts are more appropriate.” Ning’s left hand was casually demonstrating one sword-art after another. He had perfectly joined together five Supreme Daos; in terms of creating sword-art techniques for Elder Gods or World Gods, not even the Brightshore Hegemon would necessarily be a match for Ning.

“3600 low-level techniques, 108 decent techniques, and 5 high-level sword-arts; the Yin-Yang stance, the Soleheart stance, the Blood Drop stance, the Shadowless stance, and the Heavenbreaker stance. The coremost technique shall be the perfect junction of these five types of sword-intent.”

The sword-arts which Ning had created included all types of sword-arts, including sword-arts that were more suited for women, sword-arts that were meant to be used with just one arm, sword-arts that suited those who were a bit foolish… all types of sword-arts had been created, and the creation process was actually another way for Ning to analyze and better understand the nature of the Dao of the Sword.

Every so often, he’d raise his head and stare off into the distance. He was able to see to the distant lakeshore, where Ji Yichuan was training in sword-arts himself. Next to him watched Yuchi Snow, while their granddaughter Ji Brightmoon continuously called out words of advice and guidance. Brightmoon had indeed reached a much more impressive level of expertise in the Dao of the Sword than her grandfather Yichuan, and Yichuan actually enjoyed having his granddaughter teach him.

“Haha…” As Ning watched, he couldn’t help but grin. His father, his mother, and his daughter Brightmoon.

Everything was so wonderful.

Ning then turned his attention to his sword-arts, putting more sword-arts on display then recording them into jade slips.

“Eh?” Ning came to a sudden halt. Although his gaze was focused on the distant lakeshore, his heart felt like the rising sun that was appearing above the watery horizon.

“The Sword Dao. That’s all there is to it. The Sword Dao is simply the Sword Dao.” Ning started to laugh. “Why divide it up into so many different ‘types’? Yin-Yang sword-intent, Blood Drop sword-intent, Shadowless sword-intent, Soleheart sword-intent, Heavenbreaker sword-intent… what difference does it make? They all belong to the Sword Dao. So that’s how it is. The question which has puzzled me for millions of years…”

As the saying went, one who suddenly understood the Dao in the morning would be content even if he died in the evening. This was the sort of satisfaction Ning was feeling right now.

It was excitement. It was a sense of contentment. This question had bedeviled him for millions of years in the Trileaf Realm, when he first sensed that his Sword Dao had yet to reach the limit. Now, with his parents and his daughter by his side, he suddenly had a moment of epiphany as he collated all these different sword-arts.

Rumble…

A wave of strange power was surging forth, resonating with the innermost depths of Ning’s soul.

Ning raised his head and stared into the skies. He could trace the sensation back to its origins. He could immediately sense that it was coming from incredibly far off within the primordial chaos. This place was so unfathomably distant that it was many times farther away than the entire size of the Endless Territories or the alternate universe. This was the place where the true prime essences of this universe lay.

That place was the place where the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, one of the prime essences of this universe, resided.

Rumble…

One of the prime essences responsible for stabilizing this entire universe, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, was resonating with Ji Ning!

BOOM!

Within the Three Realms.

Ning was still within his study, but a terrifying aura of the Dao of the Sword suddenly erupted from his body. He himself was like a terrifying sword, and his every movement and motion contained the aura of the Dao of the Sword.

“Am I now the master of the Dao of the Sword?” Ning could sense that the unfathomably distant prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was resonating in tune with him. In this instant, he finally understood that this was the truly ‘supreme’ Dao of the Sword, the true apex of the Sword Dao.

This ultimate Sword Dao, this… this Omega Dao of the Sword… it didn’t have ‘multiple’ versions of itself, such as Supreme Daos did.

The Dao of the Sword, in and of itself, was a complete Dao. It could simply transform into many different things, much like how the single supreme Taiji gave birth to the duality of Yin and Yang, which gave birth to the trigrams that then gave birth to all things.

The five perfectly joined Supreme Daos which Ning had previously developed were like the trigrams; although the three lines of the trigrams were joined together perfectly, they didn’t truly represent the ultimate expression of the Dao of the Sword. Only by truly understanding the ‘single’ source would you be able to truly, completely, and perfectly understand and master the Dao of the Sword!

“This Omega Sword Dao is the true ultimate Sword Dao! Only now can I be considered a master of the Dao of the Sword.” Ning felt as though he had just undergone a complete transformation. Finally, he understood why the difference in power between those who had joined two Supreme Daos, three Supreme Daos, or even five Supreme Daos was fairly small.

It didn’t really matter how many Supreme Daos you were able to come up with… because above them was the complete and full Dao of the Sword. All types of sword-arts and all of the so-called branches… they were nothing more than parts of this true and complete Sword Dao.

“Come forth.” Ning stepped forwards. Whoosh! He instantly transformed into a streak of light which then completely disappeared as he used the Shadowless evasion skill. In an instant, he appeared in the empty space above the Three Realms.

“The Solar Star.” Ning stood there in space, staring at the enormous and scorchingly hot Solar Star off in the distance. He looked very ordinary, with his Sword Dao aura completely restrained, but that was what made him so terrifying. He was now fundamentally different from how he had been before.

“How terrifying. I’m able to tear through space without causing any disturbances at all, and I’m actually able to move ten times faster than the speed of light. Most Verge-level Daolords can only move at five times the speed of light!” Even Ning was frightened by how strong he had become. Previously, his most powerful attack had been his quadressence thunder and quadressence water, but the power of his Sword Dao now completely eclipsed both of those quadressence attacks combined.

“Now that I have comprehended my Omega Sword Dao, it is time for me to break through to become a Daolord.” Ning’s eyes were filled with blazing eagerness.

He had once felt that his chances of reviving Yu Wei were miniscule; not even Emperor Maniseal, an Eternal Emperor who had reached incredible heights in the Dao of Seals, was able to accomplish such a thing. But in the instant that he discovered and comprehended his Omega Sword Dao, he knew that his chances had just increased dramatically!

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Chapter 14 – Patriarch Clearwind

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 14 – Patriarch Clearwind

Vastheaven Palace. The Darknorth Estate.

Whoosh. Ji Ning was holding a tankard of wine, and the wine within it was flowing out from the opening and into his glass.

“Master, you’ve been really relaxed lately. A while ago you were training in the sword every day. Why have you stopped?” Su Youji walked towards them from afar.

“Who says I stopped?” Ning asked. “So long as my heart holds my sword-intent within it, I am still training in swordplay. If my heart is void of sword-intent, all the physical training in the world would be useless. To you, it might look like I’m just relaxing and drinking wine, but I’m actually training right now.”

“Sophistry,” Su Youji muttered.

Ning chuckle. He really did hold his sword-intent within his heart. The awesome Sword Dao that filled his heart and his complete control over it made Ning feel intoxicated. At his current level, the World level, Ning had already advanced as far as he could. Now, what he needed to do was to become a Daolord! Only then would he be able to advance further in his Omega Sword Dao.

The Omga Sword Dao represented that the path which Ning had chosen was truly the most ultimate of paths, but he had just barely began to trod this path. Even so, just starting on this path meant that his insights were already comparable to those of many Daolords of the Fourth Step; in some areas, he actually surpassed them!

In truth, the fact that Ning could move ten times faster than the speed of light was a testament to his skills. He didn’t have to rely on lightning-type skills or light-type skills to accomplish this; he was flying at ten times the speed of light solely through his mastery of the Sword Dao. This proved how profound a level of insight he had truly reached.

“It will be another thirty-plus years before my main body’s clone reaches this place,” Ning mused. “I suppose I’ll have to just wait.”

During the next thirty-plus years, Ning would spend his free time drinking wine and strolling about Vastheaven Palace. He would also memorize various new techniques and secret arts, so that his Primaltwin in the Three Realms would also gain access to them. Ning had spent three million cubes of chaos nectar to purchase all of Vastheaven Palace’s techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts that were below the Daolord level. This was a truly massive amount of techniques, and it would take even Ning an extremely long period of time to memorize it all! Right now, Ning was just spending some of his free time working on memorizing the stockpile; he was planning to become a Daolord before truly memorizing them on a large scale.

Daolords were able to memorize things much more quickly than World-level cultivators were. They were on completely different levels.

“Eh?” Ning’s face suddenly tightened slightly as he lifted up a cup of wine.

“What’s wrong, Master?” Su Youji was puzzled.

“What a powerful sense of danger,” Ning murmured softly. “An enemy has come.”

“A powerful sense of danger? An enemy?” Su Youji was very puzzled. She was a Daolord, but she sensed nothing at all.

Ning rose to his feet. “Come. Let’s take a look.”

“Is there really an enemy?” Su Youji followed behind Ning, confused. However, after taking just a few steps she suddenly raised her head to stare towards the skies, stunned. “What a terrifyingly strong aura.” She couldn’t help but give a shocked glance to her master, Ji Ning. Ji Ning was merely at the World level, but he was actually able to discover this newcomer before she, a Daolord, did.

What she didn’t realize was that ever since Ning had mastered his Omega Sword Dao, a natural Sword Dao domain was around him at all times, and he was the master of this domain! So long as they were still within the reach of the ripples generated by the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, Ning would be able to sense things around him with ease. The closer anyone moved towards him, the more powerful those sensations would be. Given Ning’s accomplishments in the Sword Dao, his sensory powers were already comparable to those of Daolords of the Fourth Step.

……

Moments later, Pillsaint came charging over as well. Ning, Su Youji, and Pillsaint quickly made their way to the main hall of Vastheaven Palace. By now, Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster had both arrived.

“Ji Ning.”

“Darknorth.” Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster both called out to him.

“Did something just happen?” Ning asked as he turned to stare intently towards the skies. Vastheaven Palace’s main hall was the tallest building in the entire palace, and from this location they were able to see the limitless skies above them. Right now, a gray mass was moving towards them from the horizon, blotting out the sun and carrying an aura of such power that simply glancing at it was terrifying.

“That’s Patriarch Clearwind,” Daolord Battlemaster said. “A few days ago, I calculated through Numerancy that he would be coming. However… all we can do is sense his presence. There’s nothing else we can do.”

Daolord Solesky was quite calm. He snickered coldly, “I knew that old bastard wouldn’t just let things slide like that.”

“So he really did arrive.” Ning had a solemn look on his face as well.

“Don’t worry. At most, he’ll just rant and rave from outside. There’s no way he would dare enter Vastheaven Palace.” Daolord Solesky snickered, “Although I merely have an avatar here and do not have the full power of my true self, the formations that we’ve established here over the course of countless years will ensure that I have nothing to fear. Given that Battlemaster is also here to help out… there’s no way he would dare enter.”

The nearby Daolord Battlemaster nodded. “In the outside world, I might not be a match for Patriarch Clearwind, but there’s nothing to fear here in Vastheaven Palace.”

Rumble…

That gray mass continued to expand and reach out from the distant horizon. The other brothers of Vastheaven Palace were beginning to notice it as well, and they all made haste to the main hall.

“What’s going on?”

“W-what’s that?”

“Big brother Solesky, who is invading Vastheaven Palace?” All of them were shocked.

“None of our brothers in Vastheaven Palace are permitted to leave this place. Wait here for my orders,” Daolord Solesky said calmly, his voice echoing within the ears of every single member of Vastheaven Palace.

“Yes.” They all assented, knowing that this wasn’t the time to be careless in their actions.

Soon, a wild gray wind with earth-shaking savagery completely covered the skies above Vastheaven Palace, blotting out the sun and making it so that there was almost no light left in the world. Vastheaven Palace became shadowed in darkness, but some of the formations covering it began to activate. Areas of light began to emerge within various parts of Vastheaven Palace, giving it a rather beautiful glow to it.

“Old man Solesky.” A shrine suddenly emerged within the endless gray wind in the skies, and an old man dressed in gaudy black robes stood in front of the main entrance to it. His voice echoed within this entire world. “You really are quite bold. You actually dared to permit those young subordinates of yours to abduct Daolord Blesswind of my Clearwind Temple. If you know what’s good for you, you shall hand him over along with those five World-level cultivators of his! If you do that, I’ll just let this matter come to an end. Otherwise… hmph!”

His cold snort echoed throughout the skies.

In Vastheaven palace.

“The rest of you should wait here,” Daolord Solesky instructed. “Battlemaster, let’s go chat with that madman.”

“Agreed.” Daolord Battlemaster nodded.

Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster instantly soared high into the skies. Thanks to the barriers formations protecting Vastheaven Palace, someone outside wouldn’t be able to see what was going on behind the formations, but those inside Vastheaven Palace were able to clearly make out what was happening outside.

Only when Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster flew into the skies were the members of Clearwind Temple able to see them.

“Clearwind.” Daolord Solesky let out a little snicker. “Daolord Blesswind of your temple ended up being defeated by one of my World-level brothers. Neither Battlemaster nor I had anything to do with it! I’m actually quite amazed that you have the gall to come here, after one of your Daolords lost in such a pitiful fashion.”

“He did lose, but that was only because that puny little World-level cultivator relied on rare treasures and golems.” Patriarch Clearwind said angrily, “Solesky, hand over Daolord Blesswind and the others or-”

“Or what?” Daolord Solesky interrupted him, then said angrily, “Daolord Blesswind’s life is in the hands of Vastheaven Palace. I can kill him whenever I want.”

“If you want to kill him, kill him.” Patriarch Clearwind said coldly, “I’ll make sure that Vastheaven Palace pays the price for it.”

If he wasn’t able to bring Daolord Blesswind back, then it didn’t matter whether Blesswind stayed alive or not.

“What a nasty, vicious man.” Daolord Solesky snickered. “You know my true body isn’t here, which is the only reason why you had the courage to run here and show off. Hmph! If you are feeling bold, try entering Vastheaven Palace! I’ve already opened up the sealing formation; you are free to come in whenever you wish. Battlemaster, let’s go back and keep drinking our wine. Forget about this madman.”

“Agreed, big brother. Let’s go back and have some wine.” Battlemaster laughed as well.

Swoosh! Both flew back downwards.

Daolord Clearwind had an even uglier look on his face now. Vastheaven Palace had just completely ignored him… but he truly wouldn’t dare to actually barge into Vastheaven Palace! In the outside world, he would hold an advantage over Daolord Battlemaster and Daolord Solesky’s clone. In Vastheaven Palace, however, he would be completely dominated.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace.

“Big brother Solesky, are we just going to let him wait there?” Ning asked.

“Forget about that madman. Let all of our brothers just drink here. Come, come! Let’s drink our wine and just wait to see what that madman will do,” Daolord Solesky said loudly.

Everyone present let out shouts of approval. The brothers of Vastheaven Palace were all quite bold figures, but they also kept a close eye on the outside. They had heard of Patriarch Clearwind’s mighty reputation for countless years, after all.

“Excellent. Excellent!” The skies echoed with Patriarch Clearwind’s enraged voice. “From this day forth, all of the cultivators of Vastheaven Palace can just forget about leaving it! I’ll kill anyone and everyone who exits it! None of the cultivators of Vastheaven Palace shall be able to re-enter this place either. I shall execute anyone who tries to enter Vastheaven Palace! If you refuse to hand over Daolord Blesswind, I’ll stay here and keep everyone trapped within Vastheaven Palace. One chaos cycle… ten chaos cycles… we’ll take it slowly!”

“Let’s wait for my true body to return. I want to see if you would dare try and surround Vastheaven Palace once that happens.” Daolord Solesky’s cold voice rang out in reply as well.

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Chapter 15 – The Clone’s Return

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 15 – The Clone’s Return

The Vastheaven Everworld.

A fur-clad youth was flying through the skies of this place. He stared at the distant gray storm that was blotting out the sun in the distance. That was the direction of Vastheaven Palace.

“I’ve finally made it,” Ji Ning mused to himself.

The fur-clad youth was Ning’s clone, which had travelled all the way here from the Badlands Territory. Now that he knew that Patriarch Clearwind was besieging Vastheaven Palace, he changed his appearance.

“Even though Patriarch Clearwind has never seen me, he probably knows what I look like,” Ning mused.

Swoosh! The fur-clad Ning flew towards Vastheaven Palace at high speeds.

“Fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist!” A black-robed figure suddenly appeared in the distant skies, and he used his Immortal energy to transmit his voice to Ning from afar. “The Daolords of Clearwind Temple have already surrounded Vastheaven Palace for thirty years. From the looks of things, they’ll probably be here for a very long period of time. You must not travel any further, fellow Daoist. Ugh… I personally witnessed a weak little Elder God who was instantly slain once he moved in that direction.”

“Even Elder Gods are slain?” Ning frowned.

“Anyone who dares to travel there will be slain. Not even animals or birds are permitted to enter that region.” The Chaos Immortal shook his head. “Be careful, fellow Daoist.” After speaking, he flew away.

The fur-clad Ji Ning considered this matter, then immediately began to charge downwards. As soon as he touched the ground, he instantly disappeared into thin air.

Using the Shadowless evasion skill, he began to move towards Vastheaven Palace at high speeds. For the sake of hiding his true abilities, Ning merely moved stealthily at just two times the normal speed of light.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace.

Ji Ning, Daolord Solesky, and Daolord Battlemaster were standing before their barrier formations, staring off into the distance.

“Big brother, that clone of mine is about to arrive,” Ning said.

“In order to break through to the Daolord level, you have to merge all of your clones together to form a complete body.” Daolord Solesky shook his head and sighed. “But that madman Patriarch Clearwind has surrounded our palace. It’ll be extremely difficult for your clone to make it inside. As I see it, you should just give up that body. You’ll still be able to become a Daolord, and your strength will only be minimally impacted.”

Ning shook his head. That clone was one of the eighteen clones that had been created thanks to his [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods]. His ‘main body’ was actually created from the merging of seventeen of those clones! If it died, his spare clone would be able to recreate the main body by remaking the other seventeen clones.

If the spare clone died, there was no way his main body would be able to rebuild it. Still… once the spare clone died, the main body would become independent and ‘complete’, but it would have an eighteenth less divine power than its maximum potential. It was true that this wouldn’t have a significant impact.

“Just wait a bit, big brother,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Daolord Solesky laughed. “I’ll eagerly await your display of power, Ji Ning.”

……

Ning was flying low, very close to the ground. The sky-blotting tempest of gray wind blanketed all of Vastheaven Palace, with the shrine having descended upon the peak of a nearby mountain. Patriarch Clearwind’s Immortal energy filled the entire region, with the area around Vastheaven Palace under his complete control. Any cultivator who wished to enter or exit Vastheaven Palace would not be able to escape his detection.

“Eh?” Patriarch Clearwind opened his eyes. His gaze pierced through the walls of the shrine as he stared towards a distant region. He let out a cold smile. “Ah, a young World-level cultivator. He thinks to evade my surveillance through using an evasion skill?”

“You may perish.”

Patriarch Clearwind coldly waved a single finger.

BOOM!

A terrifying amount of natural energy instantly began to manifest, transforming into a blurry gray hand that was three million kilometers in size and which clawed downwards towards the cultivator.

Whooooosh. The swiping motion of that giant gray blurry hand caused the entire area beneath it to be reduced to dust as an enormous gouge was torn into the earth.

Swish! Ning, however, continued to skirt across the surface of the ground. His speed had suddenly increased to four times the speed of light.

“Eh?” Patriarch Clearwind’s face tightened. “How can a World-level cultivator have such a fast evasion skill? He’s comparable to a Daolord of the Third Step.” When he had swiped out at the ground, Ning had suddenly sped up from twice the speed of light to four times the speed of light, avoiding his blow.

“Hmph.” Patriarch Clearwind had a dark look on his face as he once more launched an attack, a second claw.

That giant blurry gray hand carried even more power than before, and it also moved even faster as it swept out towards the ground. The earth trembled as mud and dirt was reduced to dust as an even larger gouge appeared within the ground.

And yet… Ning’s speed skyrocketed yet again. He now was able to move at six times the speed of light, and as a result he dodged even this second attack. By now, he was very close to Vastheaven Palace.

Swish! Patriarch Clearwind didn’t even have a chance to unleash a third strike. Ning almost instantly charged within the protective perimeter of Vastheaven Palace.

“What?!” Patriarch Clearwind shot to his feet, causing his seven World-level cultivators under his command to all be shocked. None of them even knew that a World-level cultivator was using an evasion skill; all they knew was that their Patriarch Clearwind had just clawed twice at the ground.

“He actually escaped, and that final burst of speed brought him to move at six times the speed of light? That’s faster than many Verge-level Daolords!” Patriarch Clearwind had a look of disbelief on his face. “How could a World-level cultivator be that fast? What sort of special encounters has he had!?”

If Ning was riding Chaos lightning , he would be able to move at ten times the speed of light. There were actually quite a few similar evasion skills, but they were all extremely difficult to train in. Many Verge-level Daolords didn’t have access to such evasion skills.

“Given his speed… could that have been the Darknorth fellow which Blesswind spoke of?” Patriarch Clearwind mused to himself, “But logically speaking, that World God named Darknorth should’ve reached Vastheaven Palace long ago. Could it be that Vastheaven Palace has a second World-level cultivator who moves at those speeds?”

Patriarch Clearwind was truly mystified.

……

Vastheaven Palace, however, was a hubbub of celebration.

Swoosh.

The fur-clad Ning charged past the barriers of Vastheaven Palace; in doing so, he had reached a position of perfect safety. He flew straight towards the white-robed Ning, returning to his usual appearance while doing so.

“Impressive, impressive.” Daolord Solesky let out an amazed sigh. “Patriarch Clearwind struck out twice but still wasn’t able to halt your clone. That evasion skill you used at the very end… it let you move at six times the limits of the Heavenly Daos, right?”

“He was overconfident. He didn’t know about my true abilities.” Ning chuckled. He had actually been quite relaxed this entire time, and he had only been forced to move at six times the speed of light. His current limit was actually ten! However, he only needed to move as fast as was necessary to escape and safely enter Vastheaven Palace. There was no need for him to let the enemy know everything.

“If you move that fast, it won’t be an easy thing for him to kill you,” Daolord Battlemaster said.

Ning immediately said, “Big brother Solesky, big brother Battlemaster, now that my clone’s arrived I’m going to merge my clone with my main body and break through to become a Daolord.”

“Right.” Solesky and Battlemaster both turned solemn.

“You must be careful,” Solesky instructed. “Breaking through to become a Daolord of the First Step might be easy for you, but given how formidable your sword-intent is you’ll definitely become at least a Daolord of the Fourth Step. That makes it even more important for you to solidify your foundation. The Dao you develop must be sufficiently solid and stable.”

Ning nodded.

Daolords. With each step they took, they trod the line between life and death.

It was like building a tall building. Becoming a Daolord of the First Step was establishing the foundation for that building! Daolords of the second, third, and fourth steps were like adding more and more floors to that building. If the foundation wasn’t stable, the entire building might collapse! The same was true for Samsara Daolords. Each step they took they risked their lives, and quite a few Daolords ended up dying upon taking their third step. Not every Daolord would be able to reach the fourth step.

In order to build a tall tower, the most important thing of all was to have a sturdy base. As for gaining eternity? Not even the slightest error was permissible. Even the smallest of flaws would ensure that you would never be able to gain eternity!

If your foundation was small, you’d only be able to build a small wooden cabin, which was to say you would become an ordinary Daolord. Each step they took would be easier, and it would be easier for them to become Eternal Emperors. However, they would be weak.

If you had an incredibly deep foundation, you would be ready to build a massive palace atop it. Every floor would be quite difficult to construct, and to gain eternity would be even harder. However, if you succeeded you would be unfathomably stronger than your peers. This was true for Bertulu, Eastcult, Greatjoy, and the others. As for Ning, his foundation was the deepest of them all.

“Don’t worry at all, big brother.” Ning smiled, then both he and his clone both transformed into streaks of light that flew towards his distant estate as Daolord Battlemaster and Daolord Solesky both watched from behind.

“Brother Ji Ning truly has improved by an astonishing amount.” Daolord Solesky sighed. “When I first met him… I thought he was quite talented, but I never would’ve imagined that he would become as powerful as he is today. The evasion skill he used just now was very fast, but it didn’t seem to include any of his lightning or water. I have no idea what evasion skill he used, but just by relying on his sword-intent he was able to capture five World-level cultivators.”

Daolord Battlemaster nodded as well. “I tried to use Numerancy to divine his future, but I wasn’t able to divine anything at all. He’s too monstrously talented, even more talented than Brightfish. Calculating his future is far too difficult.”

Forget about him; even the Paragon of Pills was only able to use Numerancy to get the vaguest of ideas as to how long it would be before they met again.

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Chapter 16 – Becoming a Daolord

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 16 – Becoming a Daolord

Vastheaven Palace. The Darknorth Estate.

The white-robed Ji Ning and the fur-clad Ning were travelling side-by-side.

“Master.” Su Youji and Pillsaint stared in astonishment.

“My clone has already returned from the Badlands Territory. It is now time for me to break through to become a Daolord as well,” Ning said. “Starting right now, do not disturb me unless something very important happens.”

“Understood.”

Both Su Youji and Pillsaint immediately acknowledged the order. They were unable to prevent looks of excitement from appearing on their faces. As they saw it, Ji Ning truly was an incredible figure; once he broke through to become a Daolord, his status would truly skyrocket even more.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The white-robed Ning and the fur-clad Ning both moved into a private room deep within the estate.

……

Within the secluded room.

Rumble…

Formations began to actiate, causing barriers of light to begin to appear around the entire Darknorth estate, preventing any outsiders from looking into it.

The white-robed Ning and the fur-clad Ning both sat in the lotus position. Both shut their eyes, then began to use the [One True Body] technique.

Whoosh. Both bodies began to emanate an aura of blurry light from their bodies, their Jindans, and their souls. They began to draw closer and closer to each other, before finally the fur-clad Ning flew straight into the white-robed Ning’s body, causing the light to expand dramatically.

The two came from the same source. They were identical in soul, truesoul, and body. This was why they were able to rejoin each other and merge into one.

“Now, all eighteen of my clones have been brought together into one.” The white-robed Ning opened his eyes, revealing a smile. He still remembered how he had first acquired the [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] and used it to create eighteen separate clones. Now, he had managed to once more merge all eighteen clones into one! A sense of perfection and contentment came from his very truesoul, causing him to feel a bit intoxicated.

Immortal energy and divine power flooded into the azureflower mist region within his body, and it actually began to transform into more of that mist energy. For eighteen of those bodies to come together meant that his divine body had only become more powerful than it had been in the past! His divine power was also slightly purer than before as well, allowing him to endure and hold a bit more of that mist energy.

“A hundred and twenty drops.” He had accumulated a total of 120 drops of ‘water’ within the azureflower mist region. This was quite a bit more than the 108 drops he had accumulated previously.

……

Within an estate located in the primordial chaos directly outside the distant Three Realms.

The black-robed Ning was seated there, next to another black-robed Ning. They simultaneously used the [One True Body] technique as well and merged to become one.

A short while later, there was only one seated black-robed Ning. His aura, however, was a bit stronger than before.

From this day forth, he would only have one true body and one Primaltwin, with no clones of either.

……

“Let it begin.” Both the white-robed Ning in Vastheaven Palace and the black-robed Ning in his chaos estate nodded, their eyes filled with resolve.

Boom!

The true body and the Primaltwin, though located extremely far away from each other, made their breakthroughs simultaneously. They could even sense a strange resonance between them, and in this moment they both established a Dao that belonged to them and them alone.

Samsara Daolords walked a path of their own devising, and with each step on their Dao they trod the line between life and death.

Each time he made a breakthrough, both his true body and his Primaltwin would have to make the breakthrough at the same time! Trying to break through with just one would result in being stifled by the other; there was no way for it to succeed. Consider the ‘Daomerge’; even a Daolord of the Fourth Step who had a Primaltwin would only have one shot at the Daomerge. There was no way to simply allow the true body to fail the Daomerge, then allow the Primaltwin to use that experience to succeed.

The true body and the Primaltwin would have to face it all together, and with each step they would risk death together. This was how things worked. If you weren’t extremely determined, you would never be able to succeed.

Rumble…

The primordial chaos outside the Three Realms began to rumble and churn with unearthly power, forming a chaos whirlpool of terrifying power and inconceivable size. The ripples caused by it actually affected even the insides of the Three Realms!

“W-what…”

“What in the world?”

“What are these terrifying ripples?”

Patriarch Subhuti, Windfiend, and the other elites of the Three Realms all flew to the void above the Three Realms. They stared towards the distant place where the ripples were coming from. They could sense that the normally calm and tranquil primordial chaos was now rumbling and roaring like a dragon in flight, churning with such power that they were all utterly amazed.

……

Vastheaven Palace. The Darknorth Estate was completely calm.

Although a Daolord’s aura was bursting forth from this place, the barriers which Ning had activated earlier made it so that the aura was completely blocked from escaping. As for the energy which he needed to break through from the World level to the Daolord level, Ning was able to simply generate it from the chaos jewels which he carried with him. This was a decision he had made ever since he comprehended his Omega Sword Dao.

Whoooosh.

The Jindan chaos region within his body. The Dao-tree which had been 108,000 meters tall began to draw nourishment from Ning’s insights into his Sword Dao. It quickly began to grow, and with a rumbling sound it started to expand. Although it was very slow in growing ‘taller’, it was beginning to thicken at an absolutely incredible speed.

The Dao-tree was growing thicker and thicker, but it was growing taller quite slowly.

“The deeper a Samsara Daolord’s foundation is, the thicker his Dao-tree will be. Thanks to my Omega Sword Dao, there should be very few Daolords of the First Step who are a match for me,” Ning mused. There was a fixed limit to how tall a Dao-tree could be. For example, if a Daolord of the Fourth Step trained for many years and reached the Verge, his Dao-tree would grow to become 540,000 meters tall. This was true for all Verge-level Daolords. The thickness, however, was different for each person.

As the Dao-tree grew thicker and taller, the roots would also extend deeper and deeper into the Jindan chaos region, allowing it to become more and more stable and expand even further in size.

The Dao-tree continued to grow until it reached a height of 156,000 meters tall, then finally came to a halt.

The Jindan chaos region, however, was still furiously expanding. Its aura was expanding as well, and the Jindan core at the very heart of the region was becoming increasingly mysterious and profound.

“Time to rebuild the divine body.”

The white-robed Ning sat there in the lotus position. His bones, his flesh, his sinews… they all began to be fundamentally remade and rebuilt, using the Omega Sword Dao as their core. They drew in the chaos energy, using it to remake his divine power itself. His awesome Daolord aura burst forth from his room, and the many chaos jewels in Ning’s possession were being continuously used up and replenished. In truth, not even a Daolord of the Fourth Step would really use up that many chaos jewel in replenishing his divine power. To Ning, such a small amount of chaos jewels was negligible.

……

“A Daolord’s aura. Master is making his breakthrough.” Pillsaint was nervous.

“Right, but the aura is so powerful… it is far greater than the aura we had when we made our breakthroughs.” Su Youji was quite moved, but a puzzled look appeared in her eyes as she raised her head skywards. “Odd. Why isn’t there any disturbance in the local primordial chaos?”

Pillsaint revealed a puzzled look as well. “Right. Is Master not using the chaos energy of the outside world?”

Only when breaking through would you be able to absorb an enormous amount of chaos energy in a very short period of time for ‘free’. When you normally broke through to become a Daolord, you would make use of that free chaos energy from the outside world. Ning, however, was so filthy rich that he didn’t care about that at all, and he had his own reasons for not wishing to draw upon the chaos energy of the outside world.

“Master probably has other things on his mind,” Su Youji suggested.

……

Just two hours later, the true body had completed its breakthrough. Given that he had an unlimited supply of chaos jewels, the breakthrough was naturally incredibly fast. As for the Primaltwin, its breakthrough would take significantly more time, as it was still furiously drawing upon the energy of the primordial chaos outside of the Three Realms.

“So this is what it is like to become a Daolord?” The white-robed Ning sat there, a smile on his face. His aura was noticeably much more powerful than it had been in the past, and it was actually on par with that of Daolord Brightfish, a Daolord of the Second Step.

Anyone who saw Ning and sensed his aura would judge him to be a Daolord of the Second Step.

In truth, this actually wasn’t that impressive. All Ancient cultivators and members of the Brightshore Imperials were comparable to Daolords of the First Step when they were actually at the World level. Once they broke through, their divine bodies would be comparable to Daolords of the Third Step, and their auras would be far stronger than Ning’s! As for Kilostar, who had trained in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra], he would be every bit a match for those Ancient cultivators and the Brightshore Imperials.

However, there were very, very few Ancient cultivators and Brightshore Imperials. As for cultivators who both trained in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] and were able to break through to become Daolords? They were probably even rarer than Brightshore Imperials!

Thus, in the outside world people usually judged a person’s power based on his aura.

Ning used his Omega Sword Dao to serve as the basis and core of his divine power, and had combined eighteen bodies into one; this was why he had a body comparable to a Daolord of the Second Step after making his breakthrough.

“In the future, I’ll just pretend to be a Daolord of the Second Step. In the end, my Omega Sword Dao is simply too powerful, far more powerful than the Daos of Eastcult, Greatjoy, or the others. Based on what I know, not even figures like the almighty Brightshore Hegemon or the Paragon of Pills have encountered World-level cultivators who had as unearthly a Dao as I do.”

Ning knew that in everyone’s eyes, being able to master and then join together multiple Supreme Daos meant that you were the most supreme of geniuses. And yet… he was even more powerful than the ‘most supreme of geniuses’?

If others found out about this, there might be some benefits for him, but… it would also bring quite a deal of trouble! It was better to be cautious; on the surface, being just one of those other ‘supreme geniuses’ was enough.

After making his breakthrough, Ning could sense that he had undergone an earthshaking transformation. He felt certain that thanks to his Omega Sword Dao, even as a Daolord of the First Step he would be comparable to the likes of Greatjoy and Eastcult once they became Daolords of the Second Step. There were very few Daolords of the Fourth Step who could do anything to him! This made Ning feel a sense of uncontrollable heroism and valor.

In the past, any powerful Daolord could pose a threat to him. Now… he would pose a threat to them instead!

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Chapter 17 – Leaving Seclusion

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 17 – Leaving Seclusion

The secluded room was completely silent. Ji Ning simply sat there, visualizing the insides of his body.

His reserves of Immortal energy and divine power were as deep as those of a Daolord of the Second Step. Ning’s focus, however, was on the azureflower region within his body.

“The azureflower mist energy.” This was what Ning was looking at. The azureflower region was a mist of haze. Droplets of golden water were slowly rolling together as the area emanated an aura of fog and mist. There was a total of 1111 of those golden drops! Every single drop contained far more energy than Ning’s divine power and Immortal energy combined.

“It actually evolved once again. My azureflower mist energy is far stronger than my own divine power or Immortal energy. How could it be this much stronger? This should be the power of a Daolord of the Fourth Step!” Ning was truly stunned.

The Nine Chaos Seals seemed like a very ordinary technique, but it was actually inconceivably strong.

For it to be able to convert the energy of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals was one thing. Even the conversion of World-level energy… fine. But it was actually able to convert even Daolord-level energy?! To this very day, Ning still wasn’t able to grasp some of the mysteries behind the conversion process.

“Who? Who created this technique, this ridiculously powerful technique? The deceased Hegemon bestowed numerous techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts upon me as well, but none of them can compare to it!” Ning was secretly stunned. Aside from his Hegemon-level sword-arts, the deceased Sword Hegemon also had numerous divine abilities and secret arts which he had passed on to Ning, and some of them were even stronger than the [Novessence Thunder]. And yet… they were all vastly inferior compared to the Nine Chaos Seals.

“The legends say that the most powerful bodies are those of the Brightshore Imperials, certain top-tier special lifeforms, Ancient cultivators, and cultivators who trained in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra],” Ning mused. “But my Nine Chaos Seals allows me to be on par with them.”

Brightshore Imperials, Ancient cultivators, elite special lifeforms, and practitioners of the [Thousand Bodies Sutra] were all incredibly talented figures; even at the World level, their bodies were comparable to the bodies of Daolords. Once they broke through to become Daolords of the First Step, their bodies would be comparable to those of Daolords of the Third Step!

Most importantly of all, they were able to execute divine abilities and unleash utterly ruinous amounts of force that were probably stronger than even Ning’s azureflower mist energy. There was no way for Ning to use his azureflower mist energy to use any divine abilities at all.

The problem was there were pitifully few Brightshore Imperials. This was why they needed the Twelve Palaces to protect them!

Ancient cultivators, top-tier special lifeforms, practitioners of the [Thousand Bodies Sutra]… all of them were pitifully few in number.

Daolord Solesky, Daolord Battlemaster, Daolord Brightfish, Pillsaint, Su Youji… when they were at the first step, they would have auras of Daolords of the First Step. Once they took their second step, they would have auras of Daolords of the Second Step. This was normal! People like Ning, who had an Omega Sword Dao and eighteen clones, were incredibly rare even amongst Daolords.

“Ancient cultivators and Brightshore Imperials who are Daolords of the First Step might be able to surpass me in power when they fully unleash all of their abilities, but I’m capable of lasting much longer in combat. In addition, the higher a level you reach, the more important the strength of the Dao you have created is.” Ning nodded slowly.

For Samsara Daolords, their Dao was their foundation. It mattered most of all.

Ning, for example, was in control of an Omega Sword Dao. Even without using any divine abilities or techniques, his sword-intent alone would be enough to easily suppress Daolords of the third Step. Thanks to this Omega Dao, he would be able to move ten times the speed of light. His Omega Dao allowed him to enter higher dimensions and move through them at truly astonishing speeds.

This was the nature of the Dao.

If you simply relied on brute force and strength, the end result would be that you would be trampled. This was why certain incredibly powerful Daolords were able to easily slay Brightshore Imperials, Ancient cultivators, and even Eternal Emperors, even though they were nothing more than ‘ordinary’ cultivators without any particularly special bodies!

“The Dao of the Sword…”

Ning was using his Omega Sword Dao to serve as the template for remaking his divine body. Once his Dao-tree stabilized, he was immediately able to vaguely visualize the upcoming path for his Omega Sword Dao.

The higher you stood, the farther you would be able to see.

Many different Sword Daos filled his mind, as did his Heavenbreaker sword-intent, his Soleheart sword-intent, his Yin-Yang sword-intent, his Blood Drop sword-intent, and his Shadowless sword-intent. Ning was beginning to get some insights and ideas into the mysteries they would hold in the future.

“No wonder they all say that going from the first step to the second step as a Daolord is the easiest step.” Ning revealed a smile. “If I was merely in control a single Supreme Dao, I’d probably break through to become a Daolord of the Second Step in just a few hundred years.”

It was very quick for Daolords to go from the first step to the second step. Even the absolute slowest of Daolords would at most take a few chaos cycles, and this would already be considered an incredibly long period of time. According to the stories, there were some who would be able to much move faster, breaking through within a thousand years. However, the later steps would be much more difficult and breaking through would be much slower.

“However, I need to first make further breakthroughs in my five Supreme Daos. Only then will I be able to develop an even more profound Omega Sword Dao.” Ning understood that his path would be a more difficult one. Others, however, would have no idea.

“I’ll stay in seclusion for ten years. Ten years from now I’ll say that I broke through to become a Daolord of the Second Step,” Ning mused.

Ten years. Under temporal acceleration, this would translate into over a thousand years. Given Ning’s level of talent, for him to break through to become a Daolord of the Second Step in roughly a thousand years wouldn’t be that surprising to others.

As a Daolord of the Second Step, for him to possess a Dao on the level of his Omega Sword Dao would make sense. If others knew that a Daolord of the First Step possessed such a terrifyingly powerful Sword Dao, news would quickly spread throughout the Endless Territories. Ning truly didn’t want to see this happen.

“In the next ten years, I need to finish mastering the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water], as well as the protective divine ability the deceased Hegemon gave me, the [Sword Dao Body].” Ning came to his decision. Of the various divine abilities and secret arts which the deceased Hegemon had given him, the only one he could use for now was the protective divine ability.

This was because Ning had already reached the apex of power in the [Golden Idol] technique, and his body was comparable to a supreme Dao weapon. That was the highest limit possible for World-level cultivators. Only now, after becoming a Daolord, was he able to use the deceased Hegemon’s [Sword Dao Body]. When trained to the apex, it would make his divine body comparable to a supreme Eternal treasure.

Given his life would be a life surrounded by battle, if he wished to live a long life he had to be able to take a beating!

The primordial chaos was filled with all types of dangers, and one’s enemies were capable of all sorts of insidious attacks. If your divine body was able to take a beating, your chances of staying alive would improve dramatically. All Daolords of the Fourth Step had extremely powerful and unfathomable techniques. These were terrifying powers gained after your personal Dao had reached an extremely high level.

……

Time continued to flow on, and twelve years passed in the blink of an eye.

The Darknorth Estate. Although Pillsaint and Su Youji continued to train with their main bodies, both left incarnations there to await Ning’s return.

“It’s been quite some time since Master became a Daolord. Why hasn’t he come out?” Pillsaint was quite puzzled. “It’s been twelve years. Even Daolord Solesky has come to ask about this, but all the two of us can do is wait here like fools. Twelve years!”

“Twelve years is nothing. Your true body is using the temporal acceleration treasure inside the estate to train, right?” Su Youji said, “Even if it takes a thousand years or ten thousand years, you have no choice but to wait.”

“I know, I know. I’m just mumbling to myself,” Pillsaint said hurriedly. “Generally speaking, people will quickly emerge from secluded meditation after becoming Daolords. Our master has been in seclusion for far too long.”

“True.” Su Youji nodded. “It has been quite a while.”

Suddenly…

BOOM!

An utterly terrifying Sword Dao aura suddenly surged outwards. However, the restrictive spells surrounding the Darknorth Estate prevented it from leaving the estate, making it impossible for anyone outside to notice what was going on. This Sword Dao aura was so lofty, exalted, and fierce, both Su Youji and Pillsaint couldn’t help but quiver upon sensing it. Faced with this aura, they couldn’t even think about resisting it; the only thing they felt was fear.

“This Sword Dao… this Sword Dao…” Both of them were completely shocked.

A period of time went past, but they remained unable to calm down. Rumble… the doors to the room swung open, and a white-robed youth who carried a black sword scabbard on his back emerged from within.

“Master.” Both immediately rose to their feet.

“Master, you…” Su Youji stared at Ning and the aura around him. It seemed rather different from that of most Daolords of the First Step.

“After I became a Daolord, I suddenly gained many new insights and so I chose to train for a period of time. Who would’ve thought that I’d break through and become a Daolord of the Second Step?” Ning said.

“A Daolord of the Second Step?” Both Su Youji and Pillsaint were quite astonished.

Ning, however, felt a bit ashamed. Since he chose to hide his true power, he had to hide it from everyone; only then would he be secure. Ning’s subconscious had whispered to him repeatedly that pretending to be a Daolord of the Second Step was the best choice; only then would his path of cultivation be a safe one.

“Master… I’ve heard many say that advancing from the first step to the second step is quite fast, with some succeeding in just a thousand years, but I didn’t imagine you would be that fast as well.” Su Youji said excitedly, “Master, you truly are incredible.”

“Alright. No need to tell others about this,” Ning said. He then raised his head to stare towards the skies. With but a thought, he dispelled the formation spells surrounding the Darknorth Estate. As soon as he did so, both Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster sensed it right away.

“Ah, Ji Ning! Congratulations on making your breakthrough.” A wave of godsense swept towards him, bringing a mental chuckle with it. “Oho, this aura of yours… have you become a Daolord of the Second Step?”

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Chapter 18 – The Power to Roam the Endless Territories

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 18 – The Power to Roam the Endless Territories

Just a short while later, Daolords Solesky, Battlemaster, and Brightfish all arrived at the Darknorth Estate. They stared at Ji Ning in astonishment.

“What’s with the looks on your faces?” Ning immediately asked.

“To advance from being a Daolord of the First Step to a Daolord of the Second Step within a thousand years… we’ve only heard of such things in legends.” Daolord Solesky beamed merrily as he looked at Ning. “But today, I’ve witnessed it myself. See that, Brightfish? That’s what a true ‘genius’ is.”

Daolord Brightfish looked at Ning, then nodded and grunted in assent.

Ning raised his head staring at the dark gray wind which was blotting out the skies above them. “Big brother Solesky, what are Patriarch Clearwind’s strengths and weaknesses? You’ve been feuding against him for ages; you should know better than anyone else. Please tell me everything you know.”

“His strengths and weaknesses?” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning, puzzled. “What are you planning to do?”

Ning’s copy of the Brightshore Kingdom’s star map had information regarding the Daolords in each territory, and it also had fairly detailed information on Patriarch Clearwind. Based on that information, Ning felt confident that he could give Patriarch Clearwind a run for his money! However, Daolord Solesky had been battling Patriarch Clearwind for so long that he probably had far more information than the star map did.

This was going to be a big battle. He had to prepare for it as best as he could.

“You…” The nearby Daolord Battlemaster first frowned, then stared towards Ning in shock. “You are preparing to give Patriarch Clearwind a fight?”

“What?!” Brightfish, Solesky, and even Pillsaint and Su Youji were both shocked as well.

Ning gave Daolord Battlemaster a surprised glance, then nodded. “Big brother Battlemaster’s Numerancy skills truly are formidable. Indeed. I’ve become much more powerful and wish to test myself against Patriarch Clearwind.”

“B-but you are just a new Daolord of the Second Step.” Daolord Solesky grew nervous. “How could you be so rash as to challenge Clearwind? He’s every bit a match for me. Even though Battlemaster is also at the fourth step, he’s still a level weaker than Patriarch Clearwind. Do you think you are invincible, now that you have broken through from the World level to become a Daolord of the Second Step? Ji Ning, I don’t want to criticize you, but you have to be cautious when roaming the Endless Territories. If you act this rashly, you will probably die.”

Daolord Solesky really was panicking. Had his brother gone mad?

“Big brother.” Ning didn’t try to argue with him. “Receive a blow from me.”

“Eh?” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning, then nodded. “Very well. Strike with your full power. I want to see how strong you are.”

Whoosh. Ning suddenly disappeared into thin air. Daolord Solesky had been quite calm, but now his face turned pale.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword-shadows formed from finger-strikes suddenly appeared everywhere and stabbed towards Daolord Solesky, every single one of them moving with incomprehensible speed.

“Fast. Too fast! H-how…” Daolord Solesky’s hands instantly transformed into two streams of water that swirled around each other, completely covering the area around him as they strove to defend against Ning’s sword-shadows. Despite that, Daolord Solesky was rendered completely off-balance and forced to take on the attacks head-on, causing waves and splashes of water to explode around him. This caused the nearby Daolord Battlemaster and Daolord Brightfish to both feel tremendous shock.

Whoosh.

Ning’s form appeared once more standing off in the distance.

“How was it, big brother?” Ning looked at Daolord Solesky.

“Well done, my brother!” Daolord Solesky revealed a look of delight, his eyes radiating excitement as he stared at Ning. He roared with laughter, “Well done, my brother! With this stance alone, you have the power to roam the Endless Territories unimpeded. How could you be this fast? In fact, you seem to be even faster in battle!”

“It is due to the Dao which I comprehended,” Ning said.

Ning was able to move at ten times the speed of light. Other Daolords who used flying treasures or rode on lightning or light would also be able to move at ten times the speed of light, but there was a critical difference; for them, that speed could only be obtained when they were fleeing at high speed! The speed at which they could move and dodge in confined spaces in close quarters combat was much slower. Ning, however, had launched more than sixty thousand frenzied attacks within this region in that brief moment… and he was actually able to move and dodge at the incredible speed of ten times the speed of light in battle!

This wasn’t a speed one could reach thanks to treasures or external resources. It depended on the Dao you had comprehended.

Some who trained in the Dao of Lightning, the Dao of Wind, or the Dao of Light would be able to move dozens of times faster than the speed of light once they became Daolords of the Fourth Step! This was what made them so incredibly formidable in battle. But of course, people like them were incredibly rare; less than one in a hundred Daolords of the Fourth Step would have such skills. But of course, the other Daolords might be skilled in other areas.

“Formidable.” Daolord Solesky was extremely impressed.

“Our big brother is right. By relying on this Sword Dao, Darknorth, you do indeed have the power to roam the Endless Territories.” Daolord Battlemaster nodded in praise as well.

“Incredible.” Daolord Brightfish sighed in amazement.

Solesky immediately asked, “Right, Ji Ning. When you were in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom, you should’ve been given the title of ‘Swordlord’, right?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“My master became a Swordlord shortly after he entered the Sword Palace. He was one of the top-ranking ones in the Twelve Palaces, at that.” Pillsaint immediately spoke up proudly.

“Hah! The Brightshore Kingdom is one of the six major powers. You’ve only been training for a short period of time, yet you managed to rank amongst the top World-level cultivators of the Brightshore Kingdom? No wonder you are such a monster despite having just reached the second step.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “You might be a bit weaker than Patriarch Clearwind, but your speed alone guarantees that he won’t be able to take you down.”

As he spoke, he produced a jade slip and immediately sent it towards Ning. “Clearwind and I have battling for ages, and I know the ins and outs of virtually all his techniques. I’ve recorded them all down within this jade slip. Take a look!”

Ning accepted it, then immediately began to read through it carefully.

Right. This information was indeed more detailed than the information included within the Brightshore Kingdom’s star map. Patriarch Clearwind truly was formidable.

“What do you think?” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “Still want to fight him?”

“Of course I’m going to fight him.” Ning nodded. “We can’t just let him continue to blockade the entrance of our Vastheaven Palace, right?”

“Good!” Daolord Solesky smiled. “Now that you are a Daolord, you are the fourth Palace Lord of Vastheaven Palace. This here is one of the central control mechanisms for our barriers and restrictive spells. If you aren’t able to overcome your foe, you can retreat within the palace.”

As he spoke, he handed over a black-gold sawtoothed disc which was covered in complicated divine runes. This thing was part of the core controls of the entire Vastheaven Palace!”

“These core controls can only be bound a single time,” Daolord Solesky said. “After you bind them, they can never be bound by others again.” This was for security reasons. If one of the Palace Lords of Vastheaven Palace died and their opponent managed to take over and bind the core controls… unacceptable! This place had been the headquarters for Vastheaven Palace for countless ages, after all.

After binding the disc, Ning could sense the many complicated and powerful formations covering all of Vastheaven Palace. Their power was indeed astonishing.

“Then I’ll head off.” Ning glanced at the others, then transformed into a streak of light that flew away.

“Be careful!” Solesky called out from behind.

Daolords Brightfish, Battlemaster, Pillsaint, and Su Youji all watched nervously.

“Big brother Battlemaster, Darknorth won’t be in any danger, will he?” Daolord Brightfish asked nervously.

“Overall, he probably isn’t a match for Clearwind. But he’s a sword cultivator! They are very skilled in battle…” Battlemaster paused.

“He might not be able to beat Clearwind, but he’ll definitely be able to keep himself safe. Let him have his fight,” Solesky said with a smile.

“Will he be able to win?” Su Youji couldn’t help but ask this question.

“It’ll be hard. Actually, there’s almost no chance of him winning.” Solesky shook his head.

……

The fierce gray tempest continued to blot out the skies and the sun, causing the entire Vastheaven Palace to be cast in stifling darkness. A streak of light, however, rose up from within Vastheaven Palace. It flew out of the barrier spells, then came to a halt in midair. It was a white-robed youth who was carrying a black sheath on his back.

“Clearwind!” Ning barked out, his voice echoing and reverberating in the air, causing innumerable sword-shadows to appear.

The trillions of sword-shadows all simultaneously shot out towards the distant shrine. When the sword-shadows collided against the blurry gray storm, a series of eruptions could be heard. The blurry gray wind began to splinter and break apart, as did many of the sword-shadows. However, more and more of the sword-shadows were born as they continued to press the attack.

As for the blurry gray wind, it also continued to be remade and surge out as well. The wind was an external manifestation of Patriarch Clearwind’s Dao, while Ning’s sword-shadows were external manifestations of his own Omega Sword Dao.

The two Daos began to clash against each other, harder and harder.

“Eh?” This entire time, the man dressed in handsome black robes had been seated within the shrine, his eyes closed. He suddenly rose to his feet and then walked to the entrance of the shrine, where he stared downwards at the white-robed figure in midair, ensconced by those countless sword-shadows.

“So you are Darknorth?” Patriarch Clearwind immediately recognized the man.

“I am,” Ning replied.

Patriarch Clearwind said, “A Daolord of the Second Step already? Or were you just pretending to be at the World level earlier? Hmph. I will admit that your Sword Dao is extraordinary, and it’s impressive that a weak Daolord of the Second Step like you could have such an incredible Sword Dao. If you choose to pit yourself against me, however… then you truly are overestimating your capabilities.”

“Let’s cut the crap. Eat my sword!” The distant Ning let out a furious bellow. Clang! A Northbow sword immediately flew out from the black scabbard on his back.

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Chapter 19 – Battling Patriarch Clearwind

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 19 – Battling Patriarch Clearwind

Ensconced by trillions of sword-shadows, the mid-air Ji Ning manifested three heads and six arms, with each of his six hands gripping that single Northbow sword.

“Kill!” Ning raised his Northbow sword up high, the swords emanating auras of incomparable dominance and power. He then unleashed a single furious chop directly towards his opponent.

It was like the Northbow sword was cutting an utterly massive yet extremely neat chasm through space. Sword-light immediately filled those chasm, almost instantly chopping directly towards Patriarch Clearwind. The power of this strike suddenly exploded, as though it a volcano that had been building towards an eruption suddenly erupted in an instant.

Ning was using his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker! The Omega Sword Dao could be gentle or savage, insidious or dominating. It was all up to his personal decision. Once the many mysteries of the Dao of the Sword were truly merged together, they instantly exploded in power.

Ning had chosen to fight head on with his first strike, which was why he had merely used a single sword. For such a wild, furious strike, a single sword was actually better. The deceased Hegemon himself had used that single dark blue greatsword! This was because when the power of six arms were completely focused upon a single sword, it would give that sword even more dominating power.

“Hmph.” Patriarch Clearwind remained as calm and unflappable as the winds. He simply narrowed his eyes and snorted, then produced a seemingly slender yet incredibly sharp longsword in his hands. He didn’t understand much regarding the Dao of the Sword, but to him using swords or sabers really didn’t make much of a difference. The slenderness and incredible sharpness of this sword was just highly suited to his own Dao.

“Scram!” Patriarch Clearwind struck out with the longsword in his hands. If one strictly viewed this from the standpoint of the Dao of the Sword, this truly was a rather unsightly stance. But when the longsword in his hands struck out, it instantly began to roar like an endless tempest howling angrily through the lands.

The volcanic eruption from the Northbow sword clashed against the howling, gale-like slender sword. Two surges of terrifying, earth-rending power collided together.

“What?!” Patriarch Clearwind revealed a shocked look. He had actually been knocked backwards by that attack!

An utterly terrifying shockwave spread out in every direction, and space itself rippled as though a black wave had spread across its watery surface. Mountain ranges were instantly reduced to dust, while Vastheaven Palace’s barriers managed to withstand this shockwave. As for Patriarch Clearwind’s shrine, it was actually sent tumbling through the air, and the seven World-level cultivators within it were all filled with horror.

“Master!”

“Patriarch!”

They all stared nervously towards the outside world.

Ning had taken just a single step backwards, while Patriarch Clearwind had been knocked flying. However, the latter quickly found his footing, then turned to stare icily towards Ning. This was the first time he truly viewed Ning as a worthy opponent. “What a dominating Sword Dao. I never would’ve imagined that a Daolord of the Second Step would be able to threaten me.”

Patriarch Clearwind was truly stunned. Although he had delivered just a casual blow, it was still a blow from a Daolord of the Fourth Step. How was it that he had actually lost that exchange?

“You aren’t bad either,” Ning snorted coldly.

“Excellent. Receive another blow from my sword, then.” Patriarch Clearwind’s body transformed, becoming as blurry as the wind as the slender sword in his hand struck out again, once more bringing that terrifying, enraged stormy howl.

As for Ning, he once more valiant and confidently gripped his sword with all six hands, moving forward to welcome the blow head on.

BOOM!

This frontal collision caused a shockwave that was even more terrifying than the previous one, but this time the one knocked backwards was Ji Ning.

“As expected, he’s stronger than me in a frontal clash.” Ning’s face tightened slightly as he was sent flying backwards, and he was only able to come to a halt just before crashing into the barriers around Vastheaven Palace. “However… this strike is roughly on the same technical level as the one that came before it; it was just several times stronger. He probably used some sort of a divine ability.”

Ning’s azureflower mist energy gave him the energy level of a Daolord of the Fourth Step, but he wasn’t able to use any divine abilities. Now that his opponent was, he was at an immediate disadvantage! This was one of the problems of fighting those who were at a higher level than you. Fortunately, Ning was using a lifeblood weapon; otherwise, he would’ve lost even more disastrously. Ever since he had used his Omega Sword Dao to reform the quintessence cores inside his lifeblood weapons, they had grown significantly more powerful.

“You actually managed to block. Hmph.” Patriarch Clearwind’s face tightened slightly as he narrowed his eyes, then leapt forwards to charge towards Ning once more.

“Haha, is this really all you have?” Ning laughed loudly as five more swords came flying out from the scabbard on his back, landing in his other five hands.

Six hands, six swords. All six were lifeblood weapons!

“Let’s fight.” Ning stood there in the air, instantly charging to appear in front of Patriarch Clearwind.

“Die.” Patriarch Clearwind chopped out with the slender sword in his hands, his stances sometimes soft but sometimes ferocious. At all times, it embodied the essence of the wind itself, and it possessed truly incredible power.

Ning, however, had six swords and many different stances available. Some were extremely inscrutable and mysterious, while others seemed to form terrifying black holes that had folded layers of terrifying spatial power. Previously, Ning had to use all six swords together to achieve this effect with his Soleheart stance, but now that he had his Omega Sword Dao he was able to infuse all of those mysteries with but a single sword. It looked like a black hole, but it also seemed to contain some of the mysteries of the Shadowless stance, the Heavenbreaker stance, and other stances.

It was a battle of six swords against one, and Ning’s sword-arts truly were frightening. For now, Patriarch Clearwind was unable to do anything to Ning.

“You are quite impressive. For you to be able to force me to show my divine abilities… you should feel proud of yourself.” Patriarch Clearwind let out a cold snort, then instantly manifested a total of six arms as well as five slender swords.

Six arms, six swords. Once me, he charged straight towards Ning.

“Not good.” Ning’s defenses were breached in a single exchange. The enemy’s attack was simply too overwhelming. This man was clearly quite a bit stronger than him.

“It seems I really can’t just fight against him head-on.” Ning now understand the difference in power between the two of them. Earlier, he used all six arms to wield a single sword while using his most physically powerful strike, but he had still been overcome. With this foe now using six swords as well… there was no way he could win in a head-on fight.

Swoosh.

Ning suddenly vanished into thin air.

“Eh?!” Patriarch Clearwind was momentarily stunned. His white eyebrows shot up in surprise as he swept the area with both his gaze and his godsense, only to discover that someone was circling him at absolutely terrifying speeds.

Sword-light shone once more. Clang! Patriarch Clearwind immediately moved to dodge.

Moments later, hundreds and thousands of streaks of sword-light began to light up. Ning struck simply far too fast, and his dodging speed was incredibly fast as well, so fast that there was nothing Patriarch Clearwind could do. If your advantage in combat speed and agility reached a point where you were dramatically superior to your opponent, you could attack your opponent freely without your opponent being able to fight back.

“How can he be this fast? How can he be this fast in actual combat?!” Patriarch Clearwind was completely stunned.

To be able to move at ten times the speed of light in combat was extremely rare. He never would’ve imagined meeting someone capable of it who was merely a Daolord of the Second Step.

“Where the hell did this freak come from? He must be one of those freaks who has mastered and joined together multiple Supreme Daos… and his Daos must be as freakishly strong as he himself is!” For the first time, Patriarch Clearwind was beginning to view Ning as a true equal, not just as a worthy opponent.

“Darknorth!” Surrounded by Ning’s attacks, Patriarch Clearwind used his six arms to defend in an almost whirlwind-like manner. He called out in a cold and deep voice, “You are indeed a worthy opponent for me. Unfortunately… in the end, you are just a Daolord of the Second Step. Have a taste of my [Six Winds] secret art!”

As his voice echoed in the skies…

Rumble…

Patriarch Clearwind’s long, handsome black robes began to flutter as a series of gales sprang up. There were six types of wind; azure wind, red wind, blue wind, violet wind, white wind, and black wind. The six furious gales immediately began to erupt after appearing, filling the skies as they swept towards Ning. As Patriarch Clearwind saw it, even if he was unable to kill Ning, he’d still be able to shut him down and make it so that he wouldn’t be able to move so quickly.

Seeing this, Ning came to a halt in midair. “Clearwind, parlor tricks like this really won’t cut it.” Ning’s body instantly began to emit streaks of electric light. The lightning was dark-gold in color, so dark as to be almost black with just a few flickers of gold within. At the same time, he also unleash a turgid stream of water that was completely icy-white in color. As soon as it appeared, it emanated an aura of coldness that caused even space itself to freeze.

Septessence thunder, and septessence water!

Ning’s azureflower mist energy was already comparable to the energy of a Daolord of the Fourth Step, and he also had the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to study from. It had been fairly easy for him to master the septessence thunder and the septessence water techniques.

“Go!” Ning’s gaze turned cold as the dark-golden lightning thundered downwards apocalyptically and the infinitely cold stream of water froze all within its path. Even worse, they swirled and coiled about each other, forming an utterly terrifying and enormous vortex-world. This was the power of the Yin-Yang Sword Domain of Ning’s new Omega Sword Dao when used in the form of a lightning-water domain. It was at least ten times stronger than merely using septessence thunder and septessence water normally.

The dark lightning-water domain seemed to be capable of breaking apart everything within its range. As soon as it clashed against the six types of wind, the six types of wind emanated terrifying howls of rage as it began to splinter apart. Clearly, it was actually weaker!

“What?!” Patriarch Clearwind’s face finally turned pale.

Within Vastheaven Palace.

Daolords Solesky, Battlemaster, Brightfish, Pillsaint, and Su Youji had been watching this entire time. All of them were stunned as well.

This battle involved utterly ruinous levels of power, and both sides were using nearly apocalyptic techniques. Patriarch Clearwind had long been a famous figure. Who would’ve thought that Ji NIng would actually be able to fight him to a standstill?!

“Darknorth’s lightning-water sword domain was actually able to break apart that madman’s [Six Winds] secret art.” Daolord Solesky sighed in amazement. “Oh, this is really, really impressive. I thought that he would definitely be at a disadvantage in this fight, and would have to rely on his speed to keep himself alive. Now, it seems as though the difference in combat power between the two of them isn’t that great, and he even has an advantage in terms of secret arts. It won’t be easy for that madman to win this fight. He’ll probably have to unleash his desperation attacks if he wants to win.”

“He’s actually able to find Clearwind to a standstill.” Daolord Battlemaster sighed in amazement as well.

“Master.” Su Youji’s eyes were shining with excitement as she watched this fight.

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Chapter 20 – The Hegemon’s Armor

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 20 – The Hegemon’s Armor

A terrifying vortex-world of lightning and water filled the skies, emanating an aura of absolute annihilation as it swirled around Patriarch Clearwind.

“How could his secret arts be this strong? He’s merely a Daolord of the Second Step. What type of unearthly, shocking legacy did he manage to uncover?” Patriarch Clearwind was truly stunned. His divine body began to turn blurry as gusts of wind began to swirl around him, striving to ablate the crushing power of the septessence thunder and septessence water.

“Kill!” Ning transformed into a streak of light as he once more charged towards Patriarch Clearwind.

“Hmph. You think a minor secret art like that is enough to deal with me?” Patriarch Clearwind let out an angry roar. Although he was being suppressed by the water-lightning domain, the furious winds surrounding him made it so that the lightning and water found it difficult to actually strike against him.

Given Patriarch Clearwind’s power, most likely only the full novessence thunder and novessence water would be enough to injure him. But of course, Ning had never planned on using his sword-intent domain alone to injure his foe. What he wanted to do was to use it to suppress and bind his foe, making his foe slower and allowing himself to further maximize his advantage in speed.

“Die.” Ning stood there within the awesome domain of lightning and water… then suddenly vanished without a trace.

One streak after another of terrifying sword-light began to appear and attack Patriarch Clearwind. Some of the sword-light possessed terrifying penetrative powers, some were unfathomable and mysterious. Given that Ning already had an absolute advantage in terms of speed, for a time Patriarch Clearwind found himself stifled quite miserably. All he could do was rely on his six arms to defend as best as he could.

“You young brat!” Patriarch Clearwind’s eyes suddenly shone with azure light, and the power of the howling gale surrounding him instantly increased, making it so that the lightning and the water were completely unable to penetrate his defenses.

“Not good.” Daolord Battlemaster, watching from within the distant Vastheaven Palace, couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

“The madman’s starting to use his killer attacks.” Daolord Solesky had a solemn look on his face as well. “Brother Ji Ning was able to force this madman into using this attack far sooner than I had expected. Still… brother Ji Ning is incredibly fast. If he chooses to retreat, there’s nothing which Clearwind can do to him. Clearwind can’t maintain his berserk state forever; it uses up far too much divine power.”

“Master isn’t retreating?!” Su Youji was panicking.

“Ah?!” Daolord Brightfish and Daolord Battlemaster began to panic as well.

“That jade slip I gave him contained detailed information on Clearwind’s killer attack. He should’ve been able to recognize it right away!” Daolord Solesky was frantic as well. The battle in the heavens between these two mighty figures was absolutely terrifying; his avatar alone would not be able to make it there in time to help out, nor did it have the strength to.

……

“Die.” Patriarch Clearwind’s eyes were ice cold, and all six slender swords in his hands simultaneously chopped out in a deceivingly simple stance. Once this strike was unleashed, it seemed as though the world itself was falling apart.

The wind howled furiously as countless gales buffeted Ning, completely smashing through the lightning-water domain of sword-intent, which was incapable of stopping them in the slightest. The difference in power was glaring and overwhelming.

It was this killer technique which allowed Patriarch Clearwind to be famous throughout the Endless Territories. Without it, he was just a fairly strong Daolord of the Fourth Step. With it, he was capable of threatening the lives of the vast majority of other Daolords of the Fourth Step! The reason why Daolord Battlemaster did not take part in this battle was precisely because he was worried about being killed by this attack.

Ning was entirely capable of retreating from it at high speeds! Battlemaster, however, didn’t have Ning’s speed.

This sort of killer technique was actually a type of forbidden art which used up an absolutely shocking amount of divine power.

“He isn’t fleeing from it?” Patriarch Clearwind’s eyes grew even colder.

Clang!

Ning valiantly struck out with all six swords in a defensive posture, using the mysteries of the Soleheart stance of his Omega Sword Dao to form a domain of absolute darkness around him.

BOOM!!!!

The terrifying winds blew through his defenses as though they were paper, destroying all in their path. They slammed straight into and through the dark domain around Ning, instantly shattering this abyssal domain apart and then smashing directly against the true body of Ning behind the domain.

“No!” Back in Vastheaven Palace, Su Youji revealed a look of panic in her eyes.

“What?! Why?!” Solesky couldn’t believe it. He refused to believe that Ning would act in such a suicidal fashion. He knew how deadly this killer attack was. Why didn’t he dodge it?

……

Boom!!!

The terrifying blow landed directly against Ning, but the ancient cuirass of armor Ning was wearing was covered in many layers of countless divine runes. When the concussive power of the blow slammed into the armor, much of it was immediately absorbed and ablated, with some of the power actually being transformed into energy that was then thrust back against the blow, weakening it even further. The actual process would be quite complicated to describe, but by the time the power of the blow made it through this suit of armor, it had less than one thousandth of its original power. That remaining amount of power was spread evenly throughout Ning’s entire body, and it caused him a negligible amount of damage.

“This suit of Hegemon armor truly is extraordinary.” Ning was filled with joy. The deceased Hegemon of the Dao of the Sword was naturally an expert in close combat. His most important treasure was naturally that dark blue greatsword, but his second most important treasure was that suit of armor.

The Paragon of Pills had poured all of her blood, sweat, and tears in crafting this suit of armor for the man she loved. It had no special properties at all. It must be understood that most powerful armors had various special properties, such as reflecting damage onto attackers or even containing powerful secret arts. The Hegemon’s armor, however, was very simple. It had only one property – defense!

Virtually all attacks would be reduced to a thousandth of their original power. Perhaps a Hegemon’s attack would do better, but even then it would only have a hundredth of its normal power.

Thanks to this suit of armor, the Sword Hegemon’s body had been completely undamaged!

Ning had chosen to forcibly endure that killing blow precisely because he felt confident in the armor. But of course, even if he didn’t have it he still wouldn’t have been afraid, as he had already trained in the Hegemon’s protective divine ability, the [Sword Dao Body], for over a thousand years. His body was already comparable to a low-grade Eternal weapon. If he wanted to keep training, he’d need to use certain treasures.

To go from being a top-grade Dao weapon to being a low-grade Eternal weapon seemed like a minor improvement, but there was a qualitative difference between Eternal weapons and Dao weapons. For example, Patriarch Clearwind was able to destroy top-grade Dao weapons, but he wasn’t able to cause any damage to low-grade Eternal weapons.

He had the Hegemon’s armor protecting him on the outside, and a mighty protective divine ability on the inside! How could Patriarch Clearwind possibly injure him?

Boom! When the attack landed against him, he couldn’t help but be knocked flying back. It was only thanks to the power of his lightning-water domain of sword-intent that he was able to stabilize himself and come to a halt.

“Pretty strong.” Ning revealed a smile and a praising nod.

“Y-you…” Patriarch Clearwind’s smirk suddenly froze as he stared at Ning in disbelief. “How are you…”

Even if Darknorth didn’t die, he should’ve at least been heavily injured.

“Your killer technique’s not strong enough. You don’t have nearly the power you would need if you want to kill me.” Ning shook his head. Even without the Hegemon’s armor, his divine body’s toughness vastly surpassed that of most Daolords of the Fourth Step. Ning had already paid a steep price to fully master the [Golden Idol] technique, making his body comparable to top-grade Dao weapons. To learn another divine ability that could further upgrade his body and make it comparable to an Eternal weapon, even a low-grade one, was quite difficult. The cost of such an ability would be staggering high, making it so that not even the vast majority of Daolords of the Fourth Step would be able to learn any such technique.

Upon mastering the [Sword Dao Body], your body would become comparable to a supreme Eternal weapon!

This was the Hegemon’s own divine ability, after all. The only reason he had been so selfless as to give it to others was because he was dead! Someone still alive like Emperor Mirrorsnow or the almighty Brightshore Hegemon would always keep a few trump cards hidden for their own private usage when transmitting legacies to others.

“I-I… I’m impressed.” Patriarch Clearwind suddenly waved his hand, causing the distant shrine to suddenly fly towards him. He then flew straight into the shrine.

“Eh?” Ning was startled. The battle was over, just like that?

Still, there was nothing Ning could do. He could leave if he wanted, but since Patriarch Clearwind was actually stronger than him, Clearwind was similarly able to leave as he pleased.

“What, you are planning to leave?” The midair Ning asked.

“Not just yet. I think it’s time for us to have a good chat,” Patriarch Clearwind said from within his shrine. He had been thoroughly intimidated by Ning’s absolutely overwhelming speed. If he stayed hidden with his shrine and relied on its formations, there would be nothing Ning could do to him.

“Solesky! Battlemaster!” Patriarch Clearwind called out loudly, his voice echoing within the skies. “We can have a chat now.”

The furious gray storm had long ago vanished. Ning dispelled his lightning-water domain of sword-intent as well, and the skies became calm and sunny once more.

“Haha, you madman! So you are finally willing to talk?” Two streaks of light flew out from Vastheaven Palace. They were Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster. Daolord Solesky snickered, “Didn’t you say you were going to besiege Vastheaven Palace for one or ten chaos cycles? Why do you want to talk now? What makes you think I want to talk to you? You really are overestimating your own importance.”

“That was all my fault,” Patriarch Clearwind said. “Solesky, my friend, please don’t take offense.”

Daolord Solesky’s eyes bulged out, and Daolord Battlemaster was stunned as well. Even Ning was dazed.

The man was voluntarily admitting fault? He was even addressing Solesky as ‘my friend’?

“Ahaha! It’s rare for you to bow your head to anyone, you madman. But the two of us have been tussling for so long… for you to suddenly address me as ‘my friend’ sends chills up my spine.” Daolord Solesky glanced mockingly at Patriarch Clearwind. “You can’t kill my brother Ji Ning, but he can’t do anything to you either. Are you lowering your head in order to ransom back that Daolord of the Third Step of yours?”

“Ransoming him back is part of it,” Patriarch Clearwind said from within his shrine. “More importantly, I wish for our two sides to reconcile. Let us wipe away all our old grievances with a single handshake and never be enemies again. If you wish to attach any conditions, my friend, you can just go ahead and name them.”

Patriarch Clearwind knew exactly what he was doing.

He didn’t fear Battlemaster. He didn’t fear Solesky. He did, however, fear this Darknorth fellow! Darknorth was already incredibly powerful as a Daolord of the Second Step; there was nothing Clearwind could do to him. Once Darknorth reached the third step or the fourth step… given the feud between the two sides, that would probably be the way when Clearwind Temple would be wiped out. The best decision was for him to immediately resolve this feud, no matter what price had to be paid.

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Chapter 21 – Avatar

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 21 – Avatar

“Name any conditions we want?” Solesky and Battlemaster exchanged a glance, mirth in their eyes.

“The old madman’s finally bowed his head. We’ve been fighting for tens of thousands of chaos cycles. Now, he’s finally bowed his head.” Solesky couldn’t help but sigh. He had been tussling with Clearwind for many years now, and both were famous, respected figures who were unwilling to concede to the other. Since they were enemies, Vastheaven Palace and Clearwind Temple naturally became mortal enemies as well, and the struggle had gone on for tens of thousands of chaos cycles.

To bow the head represented the loss of face as well as the loss of many treasures.

“It is all because of Darknorth.” Battlemaster glanced at the nearby Ji Ning.

“Solesky, my friend… to tell you the truth, do you think I would ever lower my head to you?” The distant Patriarch Clearwind, still within his shrine, shook his head. “Absolutely impossible. However, your Vastheaven Palace has gained yet another fine brother! Although I’m not worried about this Darknorth at present, he’s still just a Daolord of the Second Step. Soon, he’ll surpass me, and your Vastheaven Palace shall become famous throughout the Endless Territories alongside him.”

Solesky and Battlemaster both laughed. In the future, Vastheaven Palace would be guarded by a truly unearthly Daolord, one who would most likely be able to kill even Eternal Emperors! It was obvious that Ning had that type of potential.

However… Clearwind, Solesky, and Battlemaster had no idea that Ning was actually even more terrifying than they thought him to be. In truth, Ning was nothing more than a Daolord of the First Step!

“You praise me too much,” Ning said.

“Not at all. I’m just telling the truth,” Patriarch Clearwind said, then looked towards Solesky. “Go ahead, Solesky. Tell me what you want.”

“Clearwind, if you want to resolve the enmities between us, I don’t mind,” Solesky said. “But I do have three conditions.”

……

The negotiations between Vastheaven Palace and Clearwind Temple went on for over half a day. Daolord Solesky’s initial requests had been truly excessive; even if Patriarch Clearwind had sold off all his possessions, it still wouldn’t be enough.

This was how haggling worked. One side asked for a sky-high price, the other side would counter with a dirt-low offer.

In the end, Patriarch Clearwind paid reparations of twenty million cubes worth of treasure. The feud between the two was thus brought to an end, and the Daolords of both sides swore lifeblood oaths not to cause trouble for each other again.

So long as the Daolords did not fight, the squabbles between their World-level cultivators, Elder Gods, and Ancestral Immortals were nothing more than minor matters.

But of course, Ning also squeezed all of Daolord Blesswind’s treasures out of him, extorting almost every last drop of chaos nectar from the man. In the end, the poor fellow had to swear a lifeblood oath swearing that he really had less than a cube of chaos nectar’s worth of treasure left! Only then did Ning allowe Daolord Blesswind and the other captives to be sent back.

Within Vastheaven Palace. Ji Ning, Solesky, Battlemaster, and Brightfish had all gathered together. They were drinking Immortal wine and were chatting together.

“Hah! Just twenty million cubes.” Daolord Solesky shook his head. “I was planning to at least hit him for fifty million! I know he has an extremely valuable life-saving treasure; that treasure alone is worth fifty million. I blame Battlemaster! You kept on telling me to back off. Otherwise, there’s no way I would’ve let him off the hook that easily.”

“You were being too hard on him.” Daolord Battlemaster sipped some wine from the cup in his hands. “He’s just wary of Darknorth’s future potential, but in truth there’s nothing we can do to him right now. If you pushed him too far, he could just begin to evacuate Clearwind Temple and make it impossible for us to find him… and he might scheme in secret against us to take revenge. That would be nothing but trouble.”

“To him, that life-saving treasure is more important than Clearwind Temple itself.” Daolord Battlemaster sighed. “He only acquired it after experiencing countless dangers over the course of many years. You want him to hand it over? He’d rather you wipe out Clearwind Temple.”

Solesky coughed a few times.

Powerful cultivators would usually expend their wealth on creating secret arts or powerful magic treasures. It was very rare for them to actually trade those things away to others! For example, the treasures which Daolord Solesky and Daolord Clearwind had, all combined, were definitely worth over a hundred million cubes each. The problem was that the actual amount of ‘liquid’ wealth they had was much less, as some of those treasures they needed for combat.

Ning’s six lifeblood weapons, his Hegemon armor, and his Hegemon Dao-seals… they too would not be traded to others.

“It was all thanks to Ji Ning.” Solesky looked at Ning. “Ji Ning, take the twenty million.” As he spoke, he sent a storage treasure flying towards Ning.

“No way.” Ning was badly shocked. How could he accept all this?

“You are just a Daolord of the Second Step. You’ll need more treasures in the future. Just take it,” Daolord Solesky urged, but Ning steadfastly refused.

The nearby Battlemaster said, “Brother Darknorth, you are a brand new Daolord. You’ll need to spend money to create an avatar for yourself. A perfect avatar will cost roughly ten million cubes, all by itself. You’ll need to spend money in other areas as well. Just take it.”

Ning could tell that saying no was not an option. He said, “Then I’ll take half for now. If you keep pressing me, I won’t take anything.”

“Haha! Fine, fine, fine.” Solesky shook his head. “We won’t press you, alright? Brother Brightfish, you are also a Daolord of the Second Step. Take five million! Battlemaster, the rest is yours.”

“Big brother?” Battlemaster immediately protested.

“This isn’t necessary, big brother. You can’t do this,” Daolord Brightfish immediately said.

“My true body is in the Waveshift world. Once I gain what I need from it, I will immediately begin my Daomerge.” Daolord Solesky shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if I succeed or if I fail in my Daomerge; either way, more treasure will be useless to me.”

Ning, Battlemaster, and Brightfish all felt their hearts grow heavy.

Solesky had lived far longer than the rest of them. He was preparing for his Daomerge, and everyone knew that this virtually spelled a death sentence! Far, far too few were able to succeed in this process.

“Come, come! Have some more wine. Now that Vastheaven Palace has Darknorth as a member, I can face my Daomerge with much more confidence.” Daolord Solesky laughed loudly. “And today, my old enemy finally bowed his head before me. What an absolutely wonderful feeling! This feels better than gaining any amount of treasures.”

……

For now, Ning elected to remain within his Darknorth Estate and quietly train inside it.

Ning had earned a total of thirteen million cubes worth of treasure from Patriarch Clearwind and Daolord Blesswind. Ten million would be used to purchase suitable materials for the creation of a perfect avatar for himself!

Within an estate-world.

Whooooooosh. This was a world of icy darkness, a world where a freezing wind howled through the skies. The icy wind filling the estate-world came from a black cave, and deep within the cave there was an ice-locked figure. Next to that figure sat a white-robed youth in the lotus position. The white-robed figure’s entire body was emanating an unearthly level of power that was being poured into the ice-locked figure.

Time slowly flowed on.

Crack! Crack! Crack! The layers of ice around the figure began to crack apart.

Boom! The ice shattered, allowing the formerly ice-bound figure to fly out. His body was completely nude, and he emanated an aura of endless ice and cold. His appearance was identical to Ji Ning’s. Moments later, a layer of golden clothing appeared on his body.

The golden-robed Ning and the white-robed Ning glanced at each other.

“Mm. My avatar has finally taken form. It now has a tenth of my full power. The rest will be a matter of time.” The white-robed Ning nodded slightly, then smiled. “Fellow Daoist Avatar, I’ll have to trouble you to stay in Vastheaven Palace for now.”

“I’ll naturally follow your requests, true body.” This was the golden-robed Ning’s response.

In truth, the two shared the same memories and thoughts. This was nothing more than a bit of an amusing diversion for Ning.

His avatar contained the same Dao as he himself used. However… it didn’t have the azureflower seal! Ning had tested out his avatar. It could use most divine abilities and secret arts, but it was unable to train in the Nine Chaos Seals no matter what!

“When my avatar uses the Hegemon’s divine ability, it is capable of incredible power as well. The only problem is, it can’t sustain it for too long.” Ning shook his head. “Well, since my avatar has been formed, it is time for me to leave Vastheaven Palace.”

……

Ning went to meet with Daolord Solesky in private.

“Leaving Vastheaven Palace? When are you planning to go?” Daolord Solesky wasn’t surprised.

“No point in wasting time. I’ll leave tomorrow.” Ning smiled.

Daolord Solesky nodded. “You are going to be going through a period of explosive growth. This is indeed the best time for you to go out adventuring! But when you are adventuring, you must be cautious, especially of Daolords of the Fourth Step. Don’t underestimate any Daolord of the Fourth Step; one of them might have an ability or Dao that perfectly counters yours.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. The only reason why he had gone out to fight Patriarch Clearwind was because he had a clear understanding of the man’s powers. In the outside world, he would have to be far more cautious.

There were Daolords who could move even faster than ten times the speed of light, after all.

“Big brother, there is one thing I wish to trouble you about,” Ning said.

“We’re brothers. No need to stand on ceremony. Just tell me what you need,” Daolord Solesky said.

“I wish to go to a Sacred City of the Dao Alliance,” Ning said.

The Dao Alliance was the strongest of the six major powers in the Endless Territories. 99% of the territories were controlled by the Dao Alliance. Its only weakness was that it was not tightly governed and was a very loose organization, with many of the ancient, reclusive powers within it being figures with strange dispositions. If the Dao Alliance was truly unified and stood together, there was no way the other five organizations could possibly compete against it.

The Dao Alliance was absolutely unfathomable. Treasures, divine abilities, secret arts… the Dao Alliance was supreme in every area. Over the courses of countless years, many figures like Emperor Heartsword and Daolord Allgod had left behind their legacies to the Dao Alliance.

“Makes sense. We are Palace Lords of Vastheaven Palace, which means we are members of the Dao Alliance.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “You really should go to the Dao Alliance to check things out.”

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Chapter 22 – Trailblazing

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 22 – Trailblazing

“The Dao Alliance covers too much territory. It has a total of eight Sacred Cities and is led by the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals,” Daolord Solesky said. “Daolords normally head to the nearest Sacred City. This makes travel much simpler.”

Ji Ning nodded. The distance between each of the cities was incredibly far, and the journey would be filled with many dangers. To physically travel all the way from one Sacred City to another one across so many territories was simply too taxing.

“The closest Sacred City to us… given that you fly a bit faster than me, you should be able to make it there in around a thousand years,” Daolord Solesky said. “I’ve already reported the addition of a new Daolord within Vastheaven Palace to the Dao Alliance. Once you reach the Sacred City, first go and retrieve a Dao Alliance medallion. Otherwise, there will be many places within the Sacred City which you cannot enter.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. The Dao Alliance did have enemies, such as the Dark Kingdom. There were many places within the Dao Alliance which outsiders simply were forbidden from entering!

“You can enter all eight of the Sacred Cities. The Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals, however, is our true core. No one is permitted to enter unless they are invited by the palace itself. Only then can they enter,” Daolord Solesky said. “Generally speaking, fairly powerful Daolords of the Fourth Step stand a good chance at receiving an invitation. Given how formidable you are, Ji Ning, you should be able to get an invitation in the future as well.”

Ning nodded.

The headquarters of the six major forces were all mysterious, inscrutable places. The Palace of Immortals was the most mysterious and the most powerful of the six. Supposedly, it held the secrets behind the reason why the Dao Alliance had been able to maintain supremacy for so long without falling. However, very few knew the truth behind those secrets.

“There’s one more thing I need to warn you about.” Daolord Solesky suddenly seemed to remember something. He immediately warned solemnly, “The Dao Alliance is simply enormous, and so it is quite chaotic as well. It holds many different organizations within it, and the eight Sacred Cities are all led by different organizations. Every single Sacred City has certain ancient, powerful freaks ruling them from the shadows. No matter what, you must not let yourself get dragged into the internal battles of the Dao Alliance. My guess is, once your true power is revealed, they’ll definitely try to recruit someone as talented as you into their fold.”

“The eight Sacred Cities all belong to different organizations?” Ning was amazed. “So there are at least eight different competing ‘branches’?”

“Nine main ones, actually. There are also many smaller organizations as well. To put it succinctly, the Dao Alliance is incredibly chaotic,” Daolord Solesky said. “Supposedly, this involves some of the deepest secrets of the Palace of Immortals. Daolords of the Fourth Step like me and Battlemaster would never dare to get involved in these matters. Only those old freaks and some truly unearthly Daolords would dare to get involved. Even if you do wish to get involved, you should only do so after becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step yourself. Otherwise, you’ll end up dying without even realizing what is happening. The civil wars that erupt within the Dao Alliance are more vicious than anywhere else.”

Ning was speechless.

The reason why the civil wars within the Dao Alliance were so frenzied was actually because the other five major forces in the Endless Territories were too weak; they might occasionally take a few provocative actions against the Dao Alliance, but they would never dare to launch any large-scale wars.

……

Whoosh.

A vessel was soaring through the space of the primordial chaos. Atop the flying vessel were Su Youji, Daolord Pillsaint, and the white-robed Ji Ning.

They had already departed from Vastheaven Palace and had embarked upon an even greater journey.

“Master, this doesn’t seem to be the way to the Sacred City, is it?” Pillsaint was puzzled.

“We’re going to take a detour first. We’re going to my homeland first.” Ning smiled. “It isn’t too far away. We’ll go to the Sacred City of the Dao Alliance after that.”

“Your homeland?” Su Youji was curious. “Where is it?”

“You’ll know when you get there.” Ning chuckled. “However, you aren’t allowed to tell others as to where my homeland is located.”

“Understood,” Su Youji and Pillsaint both said. Ning nodded.

It would take a thousand years to get to the nearest Sacred City. By comparison, heading back to the Three Realms, given his current speed, would only take a century!

“Master and Windfiend are planning to leave the Three Realms after making their breakthroughs. They wish to go explore the Endless Territories and gain a better understanding of the greater world outside.” Ning frowned. “The spatial tunnel leading from the Badlands Territory to my homeland isn’t very stable, and there are many dimensional tears within it. If they aren’t lucky, they might end up being sucked into one of the tears and be teleported to who-knows-where.”

“It has been so many years, but I’ve heard no news of Mother Nuwa at all. I’m afraid that she must have been trapped within one of those tears and was teleported away.” This was Ning’s hypothesis.

That unstable vortex passageway was extremely dangerous. Given Ning’s level of power, he could use his sword-intent to suppress and stabilize the vortex, but how could Subhuti and the others possibly be strong enough to do the same?

“It seems I’ll have to engage in a bit of trailblazing. I’ll have to establish a safe and secure route from the Badlands Territory to the Three Realms,” Ning mused.

The many ‘safe routes’ on the star maps of the Endless Territories had all been discovered by countless generations of exploring cultivators.

“My Primaltwin is in the Three Realms, while I am outside of it. I can sense its rough location,” Ning mused to himself. “If I continue to go forwards, I’ll reach it sooner or later, and the path I cleared would be safe for future travelers. Since I’m as strong as a Daolord of the Fourth Step and have the Hegemon’s armor on me, a bit of trailblazing shouldn’t be too difficult.”

……

A hundred years later, they reached the borders of the Badlands Territory.

“Forward ho!” The flying vessel ventured deep into the unknown, unexplored parts of the endless primordial chaos.

Trailblazing was quite a dangerous decision, as you might encounter certain dangerous locations along the way. Ning only dared to do this because of how powerful he had become.

Ning sat there in the lotus position on the deck of his vessel. He could sense some of the dangers that were located within a certain distance from him. He was the master of the Omega Sword Dao, which was why he could in fact be titled as the ‘master of the Dao of the Sword’. The prime essence of the Dao of the Sword filled every inch of the universe, and it served as Ning’s ‘eyes’. The stronger Ning’s soul became and the higher level his insights into the Dao of the Sword reached, the greater distance he would be able to ‘see’ using the Dao of the Sword.

After much nurturing from the azureflower mist energy, Ning’s soul was now comparable to that of most Daolords of the Fourth Step.

Ning raised his head to stare off into the distance. “There is some danger roughly sixty trillion kilometers away from us. Most Daolords who enter that place will perish.”

A star map was located across Ning’s legs. Ning put down a marking on that star map.

He was marking down the various chaos stars and dangerous areas he encountered and saw on this journey. That way, those who used this map wouldn’t worry about getting lost.

……

To travel from the Badlands Territory to the Three Realms was quite a long journey. The trailblazing ended up taking more than three hundred years, but along the way Ning was able to sense only one place of incredible danger. The other areas, a bit of vigilance would suffice. But of course, that was only true for someone like Ning; for World-level cultivators, those places were all deathtraps!

“Haha, we’re almost there. We are about to reach the Three Realms.” Ning could sense that his Primaltwin was fairly close now, and he revealed a smile. “We should make it there in just a few more decades.”

Establishing a safe passageway out would benefit the members of the Three Realms for countless years to come. So long as this passageway was kept secret, outsiders would have no idea how to enter and exit the Three Realms securely. Not even Daolords of the Fourth Step would have a way to locate the Three Realms with ease; Ning was only able to accomplish it thanks to his Primaltwin serving as a guidepost for him. He was able to sense where his Primaltwin was at all times, thus ensuring that he wouldn’t get lost.

“Master, in the past three hundred years we’ve discovered quite a few dangerous areas.” Su Youji couldn’t help but raise this issue. “The area around your homeland is a bit too dangerous, isn’t it?”

“It is rather dangerous, yes.” Ning nodded. He too felt that the density of dangerous areas around the Three Realms was abnormally high.

“The universe is vast and mysterious. All things are possible.” Ning smiled. Moments later, his face suddenly turned pale as a strange look appeared on his face.

“Eh?” Ning turned to stare in a certain direction.

“Master?” Su Youji and Pillsaint both noticed that something was off with Ning.

Ning just stared intently off into the distance, and the outlines of the azureflower seal actually appeared on his forehead. The azureflower seal was currently resonating with a distant location. Even the azureflower region with his body was resonating!

“Something actually caused a resonance with the azureflower seal!” Ning was both shocked and nervous.

He had encountered quite a few fortuitous benefactors, such as the Paragon of Pills and the almighty Brightshore Hegemon. Both of them were Hegemon-level figures! He had also received the legacy of the deceased Hegemon of the Dao of the Sword. By now, Ning was a very experienced man… but the [Nine Chaos Seals], its azureflower region, and the azureflower mist energy it generated all remained completely outside of Ning’s level of understanding.

In addition, it had been Daoist Three Purities who discovered the Nine Chaos Seals floating outside the Three Realms. This entire time, Ning had felt certain that the primordial chaos around the Three Realms had to contain many secrets within them. And yet, all these years he had never been able to discover them.

But now… while he was trailblazing a path to the Three Realms, he had encountered something which resonated with his azureflower seal.

“Let’s head over there and take a look,” Ning said. Swoosh! The flying vessel began to fly towards the direction where the resonance was coming from.

“What is it, Master?” Su Youji couldn’t help but ask.

“From this moment forwards, the two of you need to obey every single word that I say.” Ning had a solemn look on his face. The closer they moved towards that location, the stronger the resonance with his azureflower seal became.

After flying for a few dozen days, the primordial chaos in the surrounding area completely vanished, revealing a patch of pure, pristine space. There was no energy at all in this region of space; in fact, even the power of the universal prime essence of the Dao of the Sword had been suppressed and rendered unable to enter this region. And it wasn’t just the Dao of the Sword; none of the other universal prime essences were able to enter this place at all.

“Is that…” Ning stared at the vast patch of empty space before him. It was completely pure and pristine, and at its very end he was able to see some golden mist. Upon seeing that golden mist, Ning had a sudden feeling of incredible danger.

“Youji, Pillsaint, the two of you must wait here. Do not move any closer,” Ning barked.

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Chapter 23 – Deluxe Hellgold

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 23 – Deluxe Hellgold

“Master.” Pillsaint and Su Youji both started to grow nervous. The area up ahead contained a region of pure space, with nothing within it whatsoever; not even the prime essences of the universe held sway there. And yet, when they stared at that region of pure space the two of them felt their very souls shiver in fear. They had the feeling that if they barged into that place, it was virtually guaranteed that they would die.

“Master, I can sense that this is no ordinary place. Don’t enter rashly,” Su Youji said immediately.

“Master, you should first come up with a method to test it out. Only then should you enter it,” Pillsaint agreed.

Ji Ning stared towards the front, a solemn look on his face. He was supremely confident in his abilities to handle even the likes of Patriarch Clearwind. Although the empty field of pure space in front of him seemed rather special, he was certain it posed neligible danger to him. But that region of golden mist… his subconscious was screaming of danger. Ning knew that the depths of the golden mist had to hold something that was terrifyingly dangerous.

“This region of space is quite extraordinary. All techniques and spells have been kept at bay by it! Even the prime essences of the universe avoid this place,” Ning said. “I can’t scan it with my godsense either, nor can I scan it with my Dao of the Sword at all. There are no other options.”

“Then don’t go in!” Su Youji argued.

“Right, Master! Forget it. Don’t go in.” Pillsaint said the same thing. The endless primordial chaos was filled with dangerous places. If you knew it was dangerous, why did you have to go inside? But Ning only shook his head.

The Nine Chaos Seals remained the most inconceivably powerful technique he had ever encountered. Now that his azureflower seal was resonating so strongly with this location, it was obvious that there was something calling to him from the depths of the golden mist. Ning had already placed his Lifeblood Dao-seal by the side of his avatar in Vastheaven Palace. Even if he died, he would be able to use that Dao-seal to come back to life.

Taking on a bit of risk for the chance to learn some of the secrets of the azureflower seal was worth it. “Just wait for me here,” Ning barked.

“Acknowledged.” Pillsaint and Su Youji had no choice but to accept his order. “But be careful!” Su Youji added.

Ning nodded gently. Moments later, a vortex-world formed by dark-gold lightning and icy-white water appeared around in the area around him. Swoosh! Ning stepped into the region of pure space, and everything around him for ten thousand kilometers became drawn into that lightning-snow vortex.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoooosh. As soon as he entered that region, a stream of invisible energy instantly swept towards Ning. This surge of invisible energy was flowing through the empty region at all times. It seemed almost ephemeral as it passed straight through the lightning-water vortex-world, then brushed against Ning’s body. It was able to just barely make it through Ning’s Hegemon armor, but it was dramatically weakened in the process. It then brushed against Ning’s soul itself, but Ning’s soul remained very stable; it was as though a gentle breeze had blown across it.

“A direct soul attack?” Ning was quite wary of this. He immediately turned his head to look backwards, willing his lightning-water vortex-world to stretch out and encompass Su Youji and Pillsaint within it. “No matter what, do not enter this region of empty space. It contains a pervasive force that will directly assault your soul. Ordinary Daolords of the First Step would not be able to endure this type of assault.” Ning’s voice echoed in the area around Su Youji and Pillsaint.

After issuing the warning, Ning continued to fly through the region of empty space, moving at just two times the speed of light. For him, this was fairly slow. As for Pillsaint and Su Youji, they watched Ning leave with worried gazes as Ning moved towards that region of golden mist.

……

A short while later, Ning reached the region of golden mist. This mist completely covered this side of the empty region, and Ning could sense that the thing which was resonating with his azureflower seal was on the other side of the mist.

“What is this mist?” Ning reached out with his hand and formed a stream of sword-light. The stream of sword-light stretched out to become thirty thousand meters long. It delved straight into the golden mist in front of Ning, slicing through it without encountering any impediments at all.

“The mist doesn’t seem to be dangerous or offensive, in and of itself,” Ning mused. “The sense of danger should be emanating from deeper within the golden mist.” Ning then reached out with his right hand, making it expand to become more than thirty meters long before plunging it into the golden mist.

Ning was right to be so cautious. The strong sense of danger coming from his subconscious as well as the marvelous properties of the Nine Chaos Seals ensured that Ning would not dare to be negligent in dealing with this matter. As Ning saw it, anyone capable of creating the Nine Chaos Seals had to be at least as strong as the likes of the almighty Brightshore Hegemon or the Paragon of Pills.

“There really does seem to be no danger here. This is nothing more than a metallic formo f energy.” Ning was unable to use his godsense to scan the place; his only option was to use these fairly crude ways to test everything out. Whoosh! Ning flew into the golden mist.

With the golden mist completely surrounding him, even Ning was only able to see out to a distance of roughly ten million kilometers. He carefully advanced at the speed of light; ten million kilometers might seem like a long distance, but if Ning moved at his full speed of ten tiems the speed of light, he’d pass that distance in the blink of an eye. It’d be too risky.

“Eh?” Ning swept the region before him with his gaze. Within this region of ten million kilometers, he saw a strange beast that looked like a giant golden pangolin. Its entire body was covered in armor plates, and it was gracefully flying through the air. Each time it glided through the air, it moved at three times the speed of light.

Ning couldn’t sense this creature posing much of a threat to him. “Still, best to avoid it. No reason to cause any unnecessary trouble at a time like this.” With but a thought, Ning suddenly vanished entirely.

Ning had just used the Shadowless evasion skill, becoming one with the golden mist and completely invisible to the naked eye. Given how distant that carapaced creature was, it naturally wouldn’t be able to discover Ning.

Ning spent sixteen full hours flying through the golden mist, and the resonance with his azureflower seal only grew stronger. However, he remained within the golden mist region.

“Eh? What’s with all the beasts?” Ning swept the area before him with his gaze, only to discover twenty-three golden beasts congregating together roughly ten million kilometers away from him. Some were large, some were small, but all of them caused Ning to feel a hint of danger. “The sense of danger isn’t that strong. I should probably be able to deal with them, but… the ones I encountered earlier were all by themselves. Why are twenty-three of them here?”

The strangest environments always gave birth to the strangest and most unique lifeforms or animals. Waterwalker, Bertulu, and others like them who were born with sufficient amounts of intelligence could train in the Dao like any cultivator. These beasts before Ning, however, were fairly dumb and more like bugbeasts; there was no way for them to cultivate at all. Still, the universe had given them their own path to growth and evolution. Although it was guaranteed that there was no way this path could let them gain eternity, it still provided them with tremendous combat power.

“Why are they all gathered here? Is this their home?” Ning felt quite curious, and so he used his Shadowless evasion skill to move closer to them. When he reached a distance of two million kilometers, he was able to see them quite clearly.

The beasts were all scattered in a circular fashion around a golden pearl that was slowly spinning in place. The twenty-three carapace beasts were all swallowing in the energy being emanated by that golden pearl. The beasts were dumb, but they knew that absorbing the energy being given off by this pearl would help them grow stronger.

“Is that…” Ning frowned, then stared in astonishment. “Deluxe hellgold? That’s deluxe hellgold! Supposedly, it can be used to serve as the energy core for a golem of the fourth step. D-Damn my luck is good. I actually ran into a pearl of deluxe hellgold!”

Golems with the power of Daolords of the Fourth step were incredibly few in number, primarily because the materials needed to build cores for them were difficult to forge, with all the materials being incredibly rare. Deluxe hellgold was one of the things that could be used to forge such a core. In other words… if you had a pearl of deluxe hellgold, you would have the majority of the ingredients needed to construct a golem-Daolord of the Fourth Step!

There were also a number of other materials that could be used to build an energy core, but all of them were just as incredibly rare.

When deluxe hellgold was used to forge magic treasures, the magic treasure in question could change freely. It could even switch from being a suit of armor to a sharp sword, and it would have the power of a top-grade Eternal treasure in any form. But of course, using such a precious material to forge a magic treasure was a very wasteful act. Generally speaking, people would save it for creating golems! The golem itself would be as tough as a top-grade Eternal treasure, one which could change and transform at will. It would be the perfect meat shield, and Eternal Emperors would use them to keep themselves alive.

“Once I get enough materials, I’ll invite a true grandmaster artificer to work on one for me,” Ning mused. “Many organizations have permanent ‘buy orders’ for deluxe hellgold, with the price set at thirty to forty million cubes of chaos nectar.” There were many major powers who would go out of their way to buy this material, but…

Well. The sellers weren’t fools either. Everyone knew how rare this material was. Generally speaking, sellers would only be willing to trade it for similarly rare treasures. Everyone had chaos nectar; who cared about that? Not everyone, however, would necessarily have high-quality treasures. Some unique ones simply couldn’t be found anywhere else.

If Ning was to acquire this deluxe hellgold, he’d be able to trade it for some treasures which were truly useful towards him. These were treasures that people generally wouldn’t be willing to exchange for chaos nectar, not unless Ning was willing to pay two or three times more than the market price.

“I still haven’t discovered the source of the resonance with my azureflower seal, but I found a pearl of deluxe hellgold.” Ning was rather excited. “The only problem is that it is surrounded by those twenty-three beasts.”

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Chapter 24 – Rooted Down

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 24 – Rooted Down

Ji Ning stared at the twenty-three beasts off in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“Kill!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately began to quietly approach those beasts. Any major power would’ve made the same decision as he was right now, because only a fool would give up the chance to acquire a treasure like deluxe hellgold without even giving it a shot! It must be understood that even the deceased Sword Hegemon had only left Ning with fifty million cubes of chaos nectar, which wasn’t that much more than the deluxe hellgold was worth!

This pearl of deluxe hellgold was far more valuable than even the Eternal blood had been!

Whoosh. Ning used the Shadowless evasion skill as he continued to stealthily advance. One million kilometers. Five hundred thousand kilometers. Three hundred thousand kilometers…

The physically largest member of the carapace beasts that were absorbing energy from the hellgold suddenly turned its head to stare in Ning’s direction, a look of rage appearing within its deep eyes. Moments later, it let out a furious roar. “RAAAAWR!” Its roar was ear-piercing and rent the skies, causing countless streaks of heaven-destroying energy to sweep straight towards Ning.

“Looks like I’ve been discovered. Attack!” Ning’s speed increased dramatically as he sped up to move at ten times the speed of light, and streaks of dark-gold lightning and icy-white water erupted from his body. An awesome vortex-world of water and lightning instantly appeared in front of him, encompassing all of the strange beasts within it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It sounded like stones cracking apart. Explosions appeared on the bodies of eleven of the smaller beasts as the carapace-like bodies burst open. Moments later, they disappeared as their bodies were transformed into dust. Nearly half of the twenty-three beasts had died from Ning’s first strike.

“Kill the invader!” The largest beast let out a frenzied howl as the other carapace beasts all charged furiously towards Ning as well.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning immediately activated [Three Heads, Six Arms]. He wielded his six Northbow swords in his hands as he blocked multiple strikes from the swarming beasts.

While blocking their attacks, Ning was able to sense several streams of strange, penetrating power be transmitted into his body. The power dug through the Hegemon armor and invaded deeper into his body, amking him feel rather numb.

“What a strange attack. Even with the Hegemon armor protecting me, I still feel a bit numb. If I was an ordinary Daolord of the Fourth Step, I probably would actually end up dying here.” Ning relaxed slightly. Different beasts which lived in different environments would have different attacks. Some were born with terrifying illusory powers, while others were born with tremendous skill in formations. Still others were able to move so fast, they could attack at the speed of a hundred times the speed of light.

If Ning encountered a beast whose powers perfectly countered his, he would be in serious trouble. However, although the carapace beasts before him had very strange attacks, Ning feared creatures like them the least. He had a suit of Hegemon armor and a body equivalent to a low-grade Eternal weapon; to harm him through direct attacks was incredibly difficult.

“Kill!” Ning’s sword-arts were arcane and profound, far above the level of these carapace beasts.

Slash! Sword-light flashed, piercing through the head of one of the carapace beasts. Moments later, its head exploded as the internal organs inside of it were reduced to dust.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning’s sword was incredibly sharp, and the Blood Drop stance of his Omega Sword Dao contained tremendous penetrative power. The carapace beasts were able to endure Ning’s lightning-water vortex-world, but they weren’t able to withstand Ning’s sword! Soon, just three of the beasts were left in the air. These were the three largest beasts, and they had the toughest carapaces as well, so tough that not even Ning’s sword was able to pierce through them.

“Grrrr.”

“Invader.”

“Detestable invader.” The three strongest carapace beasts were completely enraged by the deaths of their fellows. They attacked even more ferociously than before, and each time Ning clashed against them he could sense that penetrative power seep into his body.

Ning suddenly put away five of his swords, leaving just one behind. His six hands all gripped that single sword as he raised it high into the air, then delivered a ferocious chop with it. The speed of this blow seemed both as slow as a falling leaf and as fast as a flash of lightning. An endless amount of power quickly became to accumulate, making it seem like a volcano that was about to explode.

BOOM! Ning’s sword seemed to strike out in a head-on blow, but it actually fluttered out in an unpredictable arc that skirted past the claws of the carapace beasts, then smashed one of them on its head.

Ning was taking advantage of the fact hat these beasts had low levels of comprehension and technique. If he was fighting against Daolords of the Fourth Step like Patriarch Clearwind, the latter would be able to block even a maximum-speed attack from Ning.

A low, rumbling explosion rang out and the carapace beast’s body trembled. Although its internal organs were very tough, in the end they couldn’t compare to those of a cultivator who had trained in a protective divine ability. For cultivators, the strength and endurance of every part of their body was identical. As for these carapace beasts, they had incredibly tough shells but somewhat more fragile internal organs.

Under Ning’s most powerful sword-strike, the creature’s organs were reduced to smithereens, and it died on the spot. Its body turned soft as it fell backwards, then simply hovered there in the air, its body twitching every so often as blood flowed out of its nostrils.

“Next.” It was as though Ning was riding on a sharp sword. With a swoosh, he moved at ten times the speed of light and appeared next to another one of the carapace beasts, and the beast bellowed in rage and fear as he approached.

BOOM! Yet another explosion rang out. The beast had tried to fight back, but so what? It was still struck on the head, and it too fell backwards as all signs of life disappeared from its corpse.

“And that leaves you.” Ning turned his gaze towards the largest carapace beast, the one who had been the first to discover Ning.

“Invader, you shall die for invading our racial lands.” The carapace beast let out a low growl. Its armored carapace was clearly thicker than those of the others, and it was noticeably stronger as well.

BOOM! Ning struck out with a furious chop, his six arms clenched around that single sword as he once more delivered a hammering blow to the skull of the beast. An explosion rang out, and even the space around them began to splinter. The carapace beast was knocked backwards by the force of the stunning blow, but it then raised its head calmly to give Ning a murderous glare.

“What?!” Ning’s face tightened. For it to possess unearthly defenses was one thing, but how was it that even a head-on kinetic strike was unable to kill it?!

Whoosh. The carapace beast once more charged forwards, its tail sweeping straight towards Ning. As for Ning, he once more wielded all six Northbow swords as he moved at his absolute maximum speed while using his lightning-water vortex-world to constrain his foe.

Slash! Clang! Boom!

Ear-piercing screeches, low growls, light pants. All sorts of sounds erupted as the space around them was repeatedly torn apart and regenerated as Ning engaged the largest carapace beast in a furious battle.

Whoosh! Two streaks of sword-light shot out almost like a pair of flexible ropes, quickly wrapping themselves around that carapace beast with multiple layers of ‘shackles’.

“No! NO!” The carapace beast had been completely bound. It immediately struggled to break free, only to no avail.

“Even I would laugh at myself if you were able to break free from this.” Ning revealed a smile. “It seems using ‘softer’ methods is more appropriate for dealing with crazed beasts like this.” Ning had indeed used a pair of Northbow swords to tie up this beast.

The Northbow swords had been forged for Ning by Emperor Gonflame himself, and they were lifeblood weapons that were well-suited towards all aspects of the Dao of the Sword. They could be ferocious, could be insidious, could be unpredictable… and they could be both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ in their fighting styles. They could be ‘hard’ in striking like a heavy sword, or they could be ‘soft’ in striking like a whip. This was the nature of the Northbow swords.

“Get in here.” Ning produced a gourd, then unplugged the stopper. Whoosh! Instantly, the roaring and struggling carapace beast was drawn flying into the gourd. Moments later, two steraks of sword-light flew out from the gourd and into the scabbard on Ning’s back. Ning then waved his hand again as he collected the corpses of the other carapace beasts as well. Clearly, their shells could be used as manufacturing components.

“That’s finally done.” Ning let out asigh of relief. It might’ve looked like a quick victory, but Ning had already used all the tools he had available to win this fight. “The deluxe hellgold.” Ning turned his gaze towards that pearl of deluxe hellgold. This was what he really wanted.

Ning stepped forward, reaching out with his right hand and clasping that pearl, then gave it a tug.

Clack clack clack! Countless strands of golden energy in the area around it began to tremble. It was as though invisible ropes were connected to the deluxe hellgold, preventing its removal.

“What’s going on?” Ning stared, then gave it another tug. Once again, the deluxe hellgold seemed to be rooted down and immovable. The golden mist for ten million kilometers around him once more began to shudder. Only when Ning stopped tugging did the golden mist go back to normal.

“It seems the golden mist is connected to the deluxe hellgold.” Now that Ning understood the connection, he tugged at it one final time with all his force.

BOOM! A massive explosion could be heard as the pearl of deluxe hellgold was torn away and entered Ning’s grasp. Ning immediately stored it away into his estate-world.

Rumble…

The endless amounts of golden mist instantly began to roil about as they furiously flooded towards a certain direction, becoming sparser and sparser until it completely disappeared. Soon, the area around Ning became completely pristine, with not a hint of golden mist remaining.

Ning stared at his surroundings in amazement. The golden mist had vanished up to a distance of ten billion kilometers around him. Only outside the ten billion kilometer range could more of the golden mist be seen.

Ning immediately turned to look towards the direction of the resonance with the azureflower seal. Tens of billions of kilometers away, within that golden mist, Ning was able to vaguely make out an enormous silhouette of something that looked like an estate.

“An estate?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

The surrounding area for ten billion kilometers was now completely clear of golden mist. Quite a few carapaced creatures stared at their surroundings in astonishment. Just a few seconds ago, they had been surrounded by golden mist. Why had it all completely vanished? Soon, their gazes turned towards the distant white-robed youth.

“GRWAAAR!”

“An invader!”

“Kill!”

There were thousands of those carapace beasts within this region of ten billion kilometers, and they all glared at Ning as they let out furious roars and charged straight towards him.

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Chapter 25 – Azureflower Estate

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 25 – Azureflower Estate

Ji Ning was badly shocked. There were actually thousands of carapace beasts within ten billion kilometers of him? And several dozen were comparable in size to the leader he had fought a short while ago.

“KILL!” One particular carapace beast whose entire body was enormous and pitch-black let out a furious roar, its head upraised and its glaring eyes filled with murder.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The roars generated shockwaves that were visible to the naked eye that smashed through everything before them, reducing everything a hundred million meters ahead of the creature to be reduced into dust.

When Ning looked at the pitch-black carapace beast, a sense of tremendous danger arose within his heart. The sense of danger was far stronger than the feeling Patriarch Clearwind had given him a short while ago. He realized that if he actually engaged this creature in combat, he would probably lose his life here.

“Time to leave right away.” Ning immediately used the Shadowless evasion skill and disappeared without a trace.

The thousands of carapace beasts were all stunned. Due to the strange force permeating this area, even the prime essences of the universe were held at bay here, and Ning was unable to use his godsense to scan the place at all. This meant that the carapace beasts were similarly unable to scan Ning. Even the beast closest to Ning’s location was tens of millions of kilometers away from him; there was simply no way to lock onto Ning’s precise location from such a great distance.

Swoosh! Ning continued to stealthily flee at ten times the speed of light using the Shadowless evasion skill. He secretly celebrated, “Thank goodness there’s no way to scan this empty area. Otherwise, there’s no way I would’ve been able to escape.”

“GWRAAAAR!” After being unable to locate Ning, the pitch-black carapace beast lifted its head and let out a furious howl that completely shattered space in the area around it. Even carapace beasts which were located close to it all retreated from it in fear.

……

Ning began to use his evasion skill to flee towards the direction where the azureflower resonance was emanating from. Whoosh! He once more flew into a region of golden mist. Through it, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of that towering estate up ahead.

“Is that an estate?” Ning continued to fly forwards.

Somethings, things look deceptively close. He was clearly able to make out that estate from far away, but he spent ten hours flying towards it. During that period of time, he encountered two more pearls of deluxe hellgold. Alas, each of those two pearls had over ten thousand carapace beasts surrounding it, as well as a pitch-black carapace beast.

Just staring at the thousands of carapace beasts surrounding the pearl of deluxe hellgold, Ning felt a sense of tremendous danger. He could sense that as soon as he attacked, he would be almost instantly swarmed and killed by the carapace beasts!

The ten thousand-plus carpace beasts had divine runes glowing above their shells. The runes were humming in unison, and the power emanating them caused even Ning’s heart to quail. Clearly, these beast had a way to join together into a formation. A joint attack from more than ten thousand carpace beasts would probably surpass even one of the most powerful of Daolords!

Previously, Ning had been able to slay those twenty-three carapace beasts because there simply weren’t enough of them around; they weren’t able to join together into a formation that would threaten him.

“It seems that my decision to take away one of those pearls of deluxe hellgold has put the other carapace beasts on high alert,” Ning mused. “Still… to be able to acquire one pearl is already quite lucky.”

Ning became more cautious as well. “What in the world is this place? Even the energy of the prime essences of the universe is forced to avoid this empty region, and the golden mist region holds treasures like deluxe hellgold within it. I’ve found three pearls, but there has to be far more than that.”

“And those carapace beasts! The strongest ones are definitely on par with Daolords of the Fourth Step. As for the ones with the pitch-black shells, they can crush the vast majority of Daolords. If all of them gather together, I suspect that even Eternal Emperors would find it hard to gain victory against them.” Ning was feeling rather nervous. He hadn’t even entered the estate yet, but the outside perimeter was already filled with terrors. What, then, would the estate itself hold?

Whoosh!

Roughly ten hours after acquiring the deluxe hellgold, Ning finally reached the towering estate. The estate itself was emanating an endless aura of golden mist.

“What’s this?” Ning stared at the utterly enormous estate in front of him, and its walls were like mountain ranges. The powerful ripples emanating from the walls ensured that Ning didn’t even think about trying to scale over them.

“The main gates are over there.” Ning immediately flew towards the gates of the estate.

A short while later, Ning reached the main gates. Directly above the main gates there was an image of an azure flower that was slowly swiveling in midair. It radiated a sacred, natural aura which seemed to whisper that even if the universe itself changed or if time itself ended, this flower would remain here forever.

“What in the…” Ning raised his head to stare at the image of an azure flower. He trembled, a look of shock in his eyes. That azure flower? Only after he had managed to combined all of the Nine Chaos Seals had he been able to manifest the azureflower seal, then gain an azureflower region in his body. The azureflower seal ooked absolutely identical to the azure flower image hovering above the gates tot his estate.

“It seems as though there has to be some sort of connection between my Nine Chaos Seals and this estate,” Ning mused to himself. “I wonder how Daoist Three Purities ran into those seals in the past. Given the level of power he was at, there’s no way he could’ve travelled from the Three Realms to this place.”

This place was quite a distance away from the Three Realms, and back then Ning obviously hadn’t blazed a trail out from the Three Realms. In addition, even weaker Daolords would perish within the empty region and within the golden mist.

“The gates…?” Ning turned his gaze from the azure flower to the estate gates. The towering estate gates were covered with carvings that looked like tree roots. The carvings looked chaotic and complicated, but when Ning’s gaze towards them he could sense an invisible power surge out from the diagrams and sweep around Ning’s heart.

Whoosh.

Ning continued to stand in front of the estate gates, but he closed his eyes. The deepest pains within his heart were once more dragged out from where he had hidden them.

……

“I wouldn’t dare beg that you send my senior apprentice-sister back to my side, Godking; all I hope is that she can live a simple, peaceful life. If you can do this, I will be endlessly grateful.” Ning fell to his knees before the Godking.

……

“You are the one who personally consigned her to endless torment within the Infinity Hells! It was you! You personally!!!” The Godking’s furious roars reverberated with Ning’s mind.

……

“Didn’t you say…that she’s already dead, and that you killed her? Haha…then, let me let her truly die.”

……

“Ahahaha…” The towering figure of the Rahu-Ning raised its head towards the heaven, his wild laughter echoing through the Three Realms’ battlefield.

……

“It was my fault. I was the one who consigned you to the Infinity Hells. I was the one who caused your soul to be destroyed.”

……

The most agonizing, wrenching memories in his heart were all pulled out and magnified, and the sense of self-recrimination which Ning felt was amplified ten thousand times over. Ning was completely absorbed in his pain and self-blame. He stood there in front of the estate, his entire body trembling. In this moment, his Hegemon armor, his lifeblood weapons, and his protective Dao-seals weren’t able to help him out at all.

Both his soul and his truesoul were trembling. The same wasn’t true for just him; even the black-robed Primaltwin Ning was shaking back in the Three Realms. As for his avatar in Vastheaven Palace, it was also in the same dazed state. It was as though they had fallen into an endless abyss and were sinking deeper and deeper into it.

“Go ahead and die. Once you die, you’ll be together with her once more.” This was what that invisible surge of energy was whispering to him.

Ning’s soul and truesoul were shaking so hard, they were about to splinter apart. If they really did shatter, his true body, his Primaltwin, and his avatar would all fall simultaneously. Not even his Lifeblood Dao-seal would be able to save him. This was a technique available to the truly major powers who stood at the apex of all life.

“I’ve already made my choice. Even if I had to choose again, I would choose the same thing. That was a war! A war which would determine the destiny of all the living creatures of the Three Realms!

“The war has concluded. Both my father and my mother have returned. I, Ji Ning, shall use all the years of my life and all the power that is available to me to find my wife and bring her back. For her sake, I would willingly sacrifice all that I have.

“Nothing and no one will bar my path!”

Still standing in front of the gates, Ning opened his eyes. His eyes shone with a terrifyingly sharp light that reflected the innermost depths of his heart. Nothing and no one would ever be able to stop him on his path, and he would continue on it until death itself came for him!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s heartforce was surging and growing increasingly powerful as it intersected more and more with his sea of consciousness. Once he experienced a few more things within this universe and accumulated a bit more power, he would be able to break through to the sixth stage of heartforce.

“Thank you, mighty creator of the Azureflower Estate.” The white-robed Ning stared at the gates in front of him. “Thank you for helping me to once more reaffirm my own Dao-heart.”

“This is my Dao, and this is my heart. I will continue on this path until the day I die.” Ning walked forwards.

Boom!

The strange tree-root carvings atop the gates seemed to be able to sense Ning’s terrifyingly strong Dao-heart, a Dao-heart which no one could alter or shake. Only someone with a heart like this would have a chance of truly reaching the apex, would have a chance of standing above all other living beings. The most terrifying of major powers would also need terrifyingly strong Dao-hearts.

The gates to the estate automatically swung open with a rumbling sound. The Azureflower Estate, which had lain silent for countless years, had been opened once more.

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Chapter 26 – Emperors?

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 26 – Emperors?

The gates swung open. Ji Ning stood outside the gates, staring inwards. He was able to see that the insides of the towering estate stretched out at least ten billion kilometers, and an awesome, terrifying aura instantly swept out towards him from inside. The aura of power circulated in accordance with a formation and gathered at three particular spots, where three trees were located.

“Is this…?” Ning’s face turned pale when he looked at them.

Three trees. The first tree was in a corner, and its trunk was twisted like a coiling dragon. The entire tree, including its leaves, glowed with a faint blue light. It had three fruits hanging off its branches, and the fruits were snow-white in color and fist-sized. The fruits were surrounded by surges of flowing blue energy.

The second tree was the largest tree and had the most foliage. It was like an enormous canopy of flowers that covered an area of tens of millions of kilometers, and as soon as Ning saw it Ning realized that this tree only had two fruits on it. Both fruits were completely blood-red, and they looked as though blood would flow out of them if anyone touched them.

The third tree was the smallest one, so small it could simply be described as a sapling. It was roughly just three meters tall, and it looked semi-translucent and as cold as ice. Every single leaf was like a work of art, while the sparse branches held nine fruit that glowed with light. Each fruit was like a miniature sun that glowed dazzlingly.

“Is that one of the eight sacred bloodfruits, the ‘skyjewel bloodfruit’?” When Ning’s gaze fell upon the two blood-red fruits located on the second (and largest) tree, he couldn’t help but feel stunned. This was insane. Insane!

The eight sacred bloodfruits… most likely, people like Daolord Solesky had never even heard of them. Ning only knew of them because of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]. The [Seven Leafpill Chapters] had contained a great deal of information regarding rare ingredients, including the eight sacred bloodfruits. Every single one of the eight was incomparably rare, and a single sacred bloodfruit tree would drive Eternal Emperors wild with lust and could incite warfare amongst Hegemons.

“Skyjewel bloodfruit… that means this is a sacred bloodfruit tree?” Ning stared at the awesomely large tree before him, then turned to look at the other two. The first tree was the one with a twisted trunk that looked like a coiling dragon, while the other tree was the sapling. However, Ning had the feeling that the aura of power emanating from these two trees was every bit the equal of the central sacred bloodfruit tree.

“I only recognize the skyjewel bloodfruit.” Ning shook his head. “I don’t recognize the other two at all.” The only reason he even recognized the former was because of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]. Otehrwise, he wouldn’t recognize any of them at all.

“I wonder… can I take them away?” Ning could feel his heartrate speed up. “Won’t know until I find out.” Ning walked over, quickly arriving at the large tree at the very center. Ning reached out with his right hand, which expanded to become so large that it blotted out the skies itself. His hand was now a million kilometers in size, and it reached out and grabbed the tree by the main trunk, seeking to uproot it! Ning’s movements were very slow; if any danger appeared, he would have ample time to react.

BOOM! Suddenly, a surge of power emanated from the surface of that tree, knocking Ning’s hand aside.

“Seems I can’t take it with me after all.” Ning actually laughed. This was as he had predicted; these three trees had clearly been planted here by the major power who had set up the Azureflower Estate, after all. How could that major power have allowed others to so easily rob him of his trees?

“I wonder if I can harvest the fruit or not.” Ning then reached out to one of the fruits. He was able to easily harvest a completely blood-red fruit. Pop! The fruit fell into his hands.

“So one sacred bloodfruit has fallen into my grasp, just like that?” Ning was rather amazed. He had just wanted to give it a try; he hadn’t expected to actually succeed. “What about another one?” Ning reached out to try and harvest the other bloodfruit, but this time a wave of power swept out from the sacred bloodfruit tree’s trunk, preventing Ning from succeeding. “So stingy! Still, one is enough. Thank you, senior.”

The sacred bloodfruit tree was currently sending surges of power to the location where the first bloodfruit had been harvested, and the power was slowly taking the form of a bloody ball of mist. Clearly, the tree was beginning to give birth to a new fruit.

A single sacred bloodfruit tree could at most give birth to two fruits at once. Now that Ning had harvested one, it could give birth to a second one, but of course that would take quite some time.

The value of a single fruit was naturally much lower than that of the actual tree, which would be capable of giving birth to sacred bloodfruit over and over. Despite that, it was still a rare reassure worth over twenty million cubes of chaos nectar. Treasure like this could be pined for but never planned on!

“What about the other two trees?” Ning headed over to try his luck with harvesting once again.

……

Uprooting the trees? Impossible. He couldn’t break as much as a single twig on the trees. These three ancient, mysterious trees seemed to possess sentience; they would only permit Ning to harvest a single fruit each! After that, they wouldn’t even let Ning draw near them.

“These three fruits…?” Ning waved his hand, causing three fruits to appear and float in the air in front of him. The first was the completely blood-red skyjewel bloodfruit, the second was a snow-white fruit that was covered by swirls of blue energy, and the third was the fruit that shone like a miniature sun. “The major power who built the Azureflower Estate was quite dangerous. I won a fortune as soon as I entered this place!

Ning put away the fruit and continued his explorations. Soon, he saw an utterly beautiful arch bridge, below which was a wide stream of flowing water. The water was clear and pristine, but radiated an aura of iciness which caused a layer of white steam to appear above it.

Ning walked onto the arch bridge. He immediately saw that on the other end, atop the distant grasslands a pair of old men were seated facing each other, a chessboard and some chess pieces before them.

“T-there are other cultivators here?!” Ning was stunned. However, the two old men were dressed in exactly the same clothes; both wore grayish-black robes, and they both turned their heads to stare towards Ning’s bridge.

“Seniors.” Ning immediately bowed towards them. The two elders had restrained their auras, making it so that Ning couldn’t secretly investigate them, but when Ning looked at them he fel a sense of incredible danger from them. He knew that if they were to fight, he would probably be at danger of losing his life.

“An outsider has actually arrived in the estate.” One of the two gray-robed elders chuckled as he looked at ing through his two silver eyes. “It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen an outsider.”

“Hmph.” As for the other gray-robed elder, he had a pair of blood-red eyes. Ning was looking right at him as he stared at Ning, and when their gazes intersected Ning suddenly felt as though he was seeing an endless sea of murder and blood! Ning’s heart shivered when he saw that unfathomable amount of hatred and slaughter. Thankfully, Ning’s heartforce was quite strong and just a step away from sixth-stage heartforce, and so he was able to safeguard his own heart.

“A mere Daolord of the Second Step?” The blood-eyed elder laughed coldly as he swept out with his sleeves.

BOOM! His sleeves suddenly stretched out through the skies, seeming able to sweep away all things and moving so fast that Ning was unable to dodge it before it reached him and struck at him.

“What’s going on?!” Ning had no time to spare. His body immediately blurred as he manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms], and all six of his arms gripped a Northbow sword. His sword-light flashed, then transformed into an enormous black hole. The sky-blotting sleeve lashed down upon Ning’s sword-light, and Ning’s sword-light began to crack as the black hole tottered.

BOOM!

Ning could sense a terrifyingly strong concussive force be applied to his entire body, a force so strong as to completely stun Ning. He flew backwards uncontrollably, flying millions of kilometers past the arch bridge before slamming into the ground with a loud booming sound. He actually rolled over a few times on the ground before slowly beginning to regain consciousness.

“W-what…” When Ning came to his senses, he was terrified by the implications of what had just happened. “Even though I had the Hegemon armor protecting me, I was knocked completely senseless for a few moments. Thankfully, my divine body is comparable to a low-grade Eternal weapon. Otherwise, I probably would’ve died even through the Hegemon armor.” Ning couldn’t help but celebrate his survival. The Hegemon armor had once again weakened the attack to one thousandth of its full power, but that old man had been far more powerful than Patriarch Clearwind when the latter had used his forbidden secret arts!

Ning’s guess was that this had been the attack of someone on the Eternal Emperor level. Ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step would probably be instantly slain by it! Ning himself was only able to survive because of both the Hegemon armor and the fact that his body was incredibly tough as well. Despite that, he had been instantly stunned and dazed by that attack.

“Eh?” Moments ago, the blood-eyed elder had been smirking. Now, however, he revealed a look of astonishment. “He didn’t die? How?! How could a Daolord of the Second Step withstand my killing strike?”

“Kid, get over here. Let me get a good look at you,” the blood-eyed elder spoke out.

“Stay away!” The silver-eyed old man immediately said. “No matter what, don’t step onto that bridge. The area beyond the bridge is forbidden to me and this old man. If you move past it, he’ll definitely attack you again.”

“Big brother!” The blood-eyed elder said angrily, “Whose side are you on?”

“Second brother, he’s just a young Daolord of the Second Step. He can help relieve our boredom for atime. Why must you move to kill him?” The silver-eyed elder was irritated as well. “We are Eternal Emperors, after all. For you to ignore your own status and try to kill a Daolord of the Second Step… have you not noticed that you are going crazy?”

“Emperors? We aren’t even cultivators any longer. Emperors? Ahaha…” The blood-eyed elder laughed wildly. He laughed like a madman, and his laughter was filled with endless hatred and pain.

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Chapter 27 – Withdrawal

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 27 – Withdrawal

The silver-eyed elder’s body trembled when he heard this, and a hint of sorrow appeared in his eyes as he let out a sigh. “We still have a chance at gaining our freedom. In addition, the person who caused us to fall to such a state was the master of this estate. It had nothing to do with this young Daolord of the Second Step! Why must you get him involved?”

“The master of the estate? Yes, he’s the one who caused all this,” the blood-eyed elder howled, “And I know that he’s the one we should hate, but what can I possibly do to him? We stand no chance against him whatsoever. He captured s as easily as capturing ants, then transformed us into our current state. I want to take revenge, but I have no chance of succeeding whatsoever. He said that he would give us our freedom once he returned, but how long has it been?! He left more than thirty million chaos cycles ago. He’ll probably never be back!”

……

On the other side of the arch bridge, Ji Ning was speechless when he heard the conversation between the two. Thirty million chaos cycles? That was an incredibly long period of time! Even Samsara Daolords were only able to live for 108,000 chaos cycles. Eternal Emperors truly were special, capable of living nearly forever.

And, based on the conversation between those two, it seemed as though they had been effortlessly captured by the master of the estate. As they had put it, he had been able to capture them as easily as capturing ants.

“As expected of someone who created the Nine Chaos Seals,” Ning mused. “He really is unfathomably powerful and inscrutable. If he was able to so easily capture Eternal Emperors, he probably is at least at the Hegemon level of power. Is it possible that there’s an even higher level which he was at?”

……

“Kill. KILL. KILL!!! I’ve fallen so hard, why should I show pity for any others? To be able to discover this estate is indeed a tremendous blessing, but I’m going to make sure all of those lucky Daolords end up as dead Daolord!” The blood-eyed elder’s eyes were blazing with that bloody light as his murderous aura surged towards the skies. “That kid had better never step foot on the bridge again. Otherwise, I’ll definitely slaughter him!” His gaze was focused on the distant Ning, and he didn’t disguise his murderous intent at all.

“You… ugh. What’s the point?” The silver-eyed elder sighed when he saw this. As for the blood-eyed elder, he simply snorted.

“Leave, kid. Given that you were able to stay alive when my second brother delivered a killing blow towards you, you probably are one of the most freakishly talented Daolords of your generation.” The silver-eyed elder instructed, “My second brother wishes to stop you, but given your talent you might be able to defeat him once you become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. However, this estate is filled with layers of danger and is much more dangerous than my second brother. I strongly recommend for you to return only after you become an Eternal Emperor y ourself.”

Ning stared at the two from the other side of the bridge. Both his azureflower seal and his azureflower region were shaking from the powerful resonance. Clearly, the thing which was calling to them was emanating from deep within this estate. But given that two Eternal Emperors were guarding the bridge, and that one was filled with the desire to kill him…

“The difference in power is too great. If I tried to force my way through, he’d probably bind and capture me.” Although Ning deeply esired to enter the depths of the Azureflower Estate, the difference in power was quite apparent.

“Go, go,” the silver-eyed elder said.

“Kid, even the outside perimeter held three sacred trees. There are even more treasures inside the estate. Don’t you want to go in? Ahaha, I’m sure you must.” The blood-eyed elder stared at Ning intently. Ning hesitated for a moment, then turned and left. He soon departed from the main gates of the Azureflower Estate.

The blood-eyed elder and the silver-eyed elder both watched as Ning disappeared off into the distance. “The kid is pretty decisive,” the silver-eyed elder praised.

“And what good is that? The master of this estate left behind many fortunes, but he also left behind many dangers. The two of us were nothing more than ants to him, and it was so easy for him to capture us and put us here to serve as his guards. Some of the other Eternal Emperors he caught were much more powerful than us, but all of them were assigned to the deeper parts of the estate.” The blood-eyed elder smirked.

The silver-eyed elder nodded. When he thought about what had happened all those chaos cycles ago, he couldn’t help but once again shiver in fear. They had been the two weakest Eternal Emperors which the master of the estate had caught.

“But that kid was quite talented as well. If he can become an Eternal Emperor, he might just be able to defeat all of the servants which the master of the estate left behind,” the silver-eyed elder said.

“Keep dreaming. Do you know how hard it will be for a freak like him to gain eternity? Hell, if he succeeds he’ll probably become a Hegemon!” The blood-eyed elder shook his head.

……

Outside the Azureflower Estate. Ning emerged from the estate feeling both excited as well as impatient. He really wanted to delve deeper into the estate and find the true source of that resonance with his azureflower seal! Alas, he couldn’t even handle the two Eternal Emperors at the outside perimeter.

“I wish to save Yu Wei, but that path will be a difficult one. This estate, however, might just prove to be one of the major fortunes which I will need to succeed.” Ning turned to stare at the azure flower image once more.

This place was indeed a source of tremendous fortune. Ning’s subconscious was whispering to him that if he succeeded in traversing this place, he would undergo a truly earth-shaking transformation. This place might enable him to ask the most ancient of powers to come and bring Yu Wei back to life.

“Can’t be impatient. Time spent sharpening the axe will be earned back with interest when you go out to chop the wood. I’ll return once I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step,” Ning mused. He didn’t have any confidence in being able to become an Eternal Emperor! This didn’t have anything to do with a weak Dao-heart; rather, it was because far, far too many freakishly talented Daolords had failed in this final step. Ning knew exactly how difficult it was, and it would be even harder for him because his path was that of the Omega Sword Dao. Most likely, it would be far more difficult than the paths which Bertulu, Solewind, and the others were going to walk. For peerless geniuses like them, becoming an Eternal Emperor was incredibly difficult. If they succeeded, they would become Hegemons.

Ning was in control of an Omega Sword Dao. How difficult would his path to eternity be? Still, he was fairly certain in his ability to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. By then, challenging the Azureflower Estate would be much simpler.

“At least…” Ning stared at the azure flower image floating in front of the gates. “Here, at least, I can see a hope of saving her. The next time I come here, I’ll definitely make it into the depths of the estate.”

Ning left, but when he left his heart was filled with hope.

……

The void of the primordial chaos. A flying vessel was advancing through the chaos once more, with Ning seated in the lotus position atop the deck of the vessel, attuning himself to the surrounding area while recording down the various danger zones on the star map in his hands.

Su Youji was seated next to Ning and was pouring his wine for him, a lovely smile on her face. Although trailblazing was somewhat dangerous, it really wasn’t that concerning for someone on Ning’s level. That trip to the Azureflower Estate had been far more dangerous! When Ning had returned from the estate, Su Youji had asked about what he had found. Ning’s response was this: “I nearly died in there.”

Su Youji and the others still felt twinges of fear when they thought back to that answer. Now that Ning was back by her side once more, she felt at peace.

“Master, that place was far too dangerous. In the future, you should avoid places that are excessively dangerous,” Su Youji said.

“Don’t worry. I probably won’t go back for a long time,” Ning said.

“You shouldn’t go at all,” Su Youji said hurriedly.

“Next time, I’ll be confident in my abilities to survive. For now, I’m not good enough.” Ning shook his head. In the Endless Territories, he was definitely one of the major powers now; he had even been able to survive a killing blow from an Eternal Emperor, after all! If word of this spread, his reputation would definitely increase dramatically. However, Ning’s goals were much higher than merely this. Not even the most freakishly strong of Daolords would be able to revive an extinguished truesoul, after all.

Time flowed on, and more than thirty years passed in the blink of an eye.

“Haha…” Still seated in the lotus position within the flying vessel, Ning suddenly put down his star map and rose to his feet with a laugh.

“What is it, master?” Pillsaint and Su Youji were both confused.

“The trailblazing is complete. We’ve arrived.” Ning smiled. “I’m familiar with this region. We have now blazed a trail from the Badlands Territory to my homeland.”

With his Primaltwin serving as his goal, Ning was able to spent three hundred years to reach the Three Realms without getting lost.

……

The primordial chaos outside the Three Realms. Ji Ning’s chaos estate.

A white-robed Ji Ning led the peerless beauty Su Youji and Daolord Pillsaint into his chaos estate, where a black-robed Ning was awaiting them.

“T-this…” Su Youji and Pillsaint both had looks of astonishment on their faces. Before coming, they had both sworn oaths never to divulge anything regarding Ning’s homeland to anyone else. The trailblazing, the region of empty space, the Three Realms… they were not permitted to discuss anything they saw. However, they were still stunned by what was before them.

“What’s wrong, Pillsaint, Youji? Don’t you recognize me?” The black-robed Ning laughed.

“A Primaltwin?!” Su Youji and Pillsaint couldn’t help but blurt out these two words. There were very few Daolords who had Primaltwins.

The white-robed Ning waved his hand, causing a painting to fly out and towards the black-robed Ning. This painting contained an estate-world inside of it, and it was filled with the countless secret arts, divine abilities, cultivation techniques, and other techniques which Ning had acquired from Vastheaven Palace. It also contained the various treasures he had obtained from Daolord Blesswind and the other enemies he had faced, along with chaos nectar, chaos jewels, and more. There was at least ten million cubes worth of chaos nectar and chaos jewels here! Ning estimated that this should be enough to establish a solid foundation for the Three Realms.

“It is time for the Three Realms to truly rise to prominence.” Ning nodded.

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Chapter 28 – Three Realms Archives

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 28 – Three Realms Archives

The world of the Grand Xia. Swallow Mountain. Brightheart Lake.

Ji Yichuan and Yuchi Snow were being accompanied by their granddaughter, Ji Brightmoon. They had started to journey through the Three Realms, with even Uncle White travelling alongside them as well. As a result, Brightheart Lake was now a bit quieter than it usually was.

Whoosh! The black-robed Ji Ning suddenly descended from the skies.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf immediately ran over when she sensed his presence.

“Elder sister Autumn Leaf.” The black-robed Ning smiled merrily as he called out to her. “Where are Little Qing and Xiaoyu?”

“The two of them went out to have some fun as well. I have no idea where they went,” Autumn Leaf said.

“All of them have gone out. Why don’t you join them, elder sister?” Ning continued, “Don’t stay at Brightheart Island all the time.”

“Someone has to stay on the island. Who knows when you might end up paying a visit?” Autumn Leaf smiled. “See? You ended up paying a visit today.”

Ning chuckled. There were some words that didn’t need to be said. Autumn Leaf had taken care of him ever since he was small, and the two were even closer than actual siblings.

“Come with me, elder sister.” As Ning spoke, he began to walk towards the inner depths of Brightheart Island. Autumn Leaf followed from behind, and they quickly arrived at one of the inner mountains on the island. Ning stood there halfway up the mountain, then gestured with his hand. Whoosh! A seemingly ordinary Immortal estate suddenly descended upon the mountain.

“Mm.” Ning stared at the gates to the Immortal estate. Moments later, three words suddenly appeared directly above the gates: Three Realms Archives.

“What’s this?” Autumn Leaf was a bit puzzled by what she was seeing.

“From this day forth, this shall be the most important place in all the Three Realms,” Ning said. “This place is filled with countless techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts. All of them are quite formidable, and those who are weak will find it difficult to understand them.”

“Come forth.” Ning waved his hand. Instantly, a muscular golem wielding a shield suddenly appeared. This was Moksha, the golem comparable to a Daolord of the Third Step which Ning had captured when he was in the Sacred Immortal Realm.

“Master.” The golem immediately called out with respect. After breaking through to become a Daolord, Ji Ning had defeated and tamed even the four golems which Emperor Mirrorsnow had bestowed unto him. This completely convinced Moksha of Ji Ning’s power.

“Your appearance will scare everyone on my island. Change into the appearance of an ordinary cultivator,” Ning ordered with a laugh.

“Yes.” Moksha’s body instantly blurred as he transformed into a bald, gray-robed man.

Ning nodded. “From this day forth, you shall guard the Three Realms Archives! No one is permitted to enter this place unless I have given them permission. This woman here is my elder sister, Autumn Leaf. She is permitted to enter the archives and study all of the techniques within it whenever she wishes.”

“Young master, you can’t just do whatever you want. This will be an important place for all the Three Realms,” Autumn Leaf said hastily.

“I am the creator of the Three Realms Archives. So what if I decide to let you view everything in it right now? Just don’t teach its contents to others,” Ning said. “Right now, there is no specific system or rules for studying in the Three Realms Archives. Later, I’ll chat with my master and set down a few rules. When there are no rules, there’s no such thing as rule-breaking. Later on, though, all of you including Brightmoon and my parents will have to abide by the rules.”

“I understand that much.” Autumn Leaf nodded. Even Ning’s closest family members would have to follow some basic rules. However, they would definitely be given the most latitude, with virtually all of the techniques available for them to study. The only true rule was that they couldn’t teach these techniques to others without a good reason!

This was how things worked in any organization within the Endless Territories. Once your secret techniques were taught to others, it was very possible that unforeseeable and uncontrollable developments would occur.

……

“T-This place… this is a sacred place for studying the Dao.” After Patriarch Subhuti flipped through several of the techniques, he ended up being consumed by them for several days before he regained his normal clarity of mind. The first thing he did was let out an excited sigh.

“Vastheaven Palace built up this collection over the course of countless years. Even in the Endless Territories, a repository like this would be considered a sacred place for cultivators.” Ning smiled. “There are enough techniques here for someone to train all the way to the Samsara Daolord level without pausing. The Three Realms is just a single chaosworld, after all, and I suspect only a few will end up reaching the World level. In the end, very few of us shall end up as Samsara Daolords. I trust that those who do will venture into the Endless Territories and seek out their own fortunes there.”

“Right.” Subhuti’s face was covered with joy. “The Three Realms’ future is absolutely unimaginable. Haha! My disciple, you have established a foundation for the Three Realms. I once thought that after Mother Nuwa left, she would eventually return to us and help us. Who would’ve thought that you got it done before she did?”

Ning said, “I wasn’t able to find any trace of Mother Nuwa in the Endless Territories, and the Badlands Territory and the surrounding territories haven’t seen any powerful female cultivators similar to her appear. My guess is that when she left the Three Realms through that vortex passageway, she was suddenly trapped into a spatial breach that teleported her to a foreign location.

Mother Nuwa, despite having no guidance and no good techniques, had been able to develop her own technique and force her way into becoming a World Goddess! She was definitely every bit as talented as Ji Ning. Once she reached the greater world outside the Three Realms, just a few simple pointers would result in her powers skyrocketing. Logically speaking, she should’ve become a Samsara Daolord long ago. And yet, Ning had found no trace of her whatsoever.

Subhuti had a worried look on his face as well. “Everything is up to destiny. Ugh. For Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, passage through the vortex tunnel will result in almost certain death. Even World Gods will be trapped within spatial tears if they aren’t lucky. We can’t just let our cultivators be trapped here in the Three Realms forever, can we?”

“Do not worry, Master. I spent a few years and used my ability to sense my Primaltwin’s location to blaze a trail from the Badlands Territory to the Three Realms.” Ning smiled as he took out a star map. “Please take a look, Master.”

“From the Badlands Territory to the Three Realms?” Subhuti revealed a look of surprised joy, hurriedly taking the map from Ning’s hands. He was so excited by what he saw, even his white beard began to flutter as he began to roar with laughter. “Disciple, with this route through space the cultivators of our Three Realms shall be able to enter the Endless Territories. Windfiend and I were worrying about this matter just a short while ago. The two of us were planning to explore the Endless Territories after we break through to the World level, but we were worrying about that vortex.”

“Oh, right.” Subhuti immediately said, “This star map is extremely important. Every single person who views it must swear a lifeblood oath to never divulge the existence of the trail you have blazed to others.”

“I absolutely agree,” Ning said. “It’s entirely possible that I might make powerful enemies as I wander through the Endless Territories! Once the Three Realms are revealed, they might suffer reprisals from certain crazed enemies of mine.”

There were some Daolords who were borderline insane, especially the ones who had failed their Daomerge. They would engage in slaughter on such a scale that they might wipe out all of the living things in multiple territories. This wasn’t unheard of! By comparision, wiping out Ning’s homeland in order to take revenge on him was nothing.

“Mm.” Subhuti nodded solemnly.

……

Ning and Subhuti discussed this matter, then set down the rules for allowing the Three Realms to be able to continue to propagate stably in the future. Subhuti and Windfiend both spent a hundred years reading through the Three Realms Archives, and they benefited greatly from it. Finally, they were going to break through to the World level! They could’ve broken through long ago, but the techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts inside the Three Realms Archives were simply too alluring, which is why they delayed for a period of time.

First had come Pangu, Nuwa, and Ning. Now, both Subhuti and Windfiend took that next step and reached the World level. Just a few decades after reaching the World level, they decided to leave the Three Realms together via the route through the primordial chaos which Ning had created to the Badlands Territory.

“Master. Windfiend.” Many of the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms had come to bid them farewell. As for the black-robed Ning, he said, “The Endless Territories are filled with endless dangers. World-level cultivators are not yet at a level where they can go wherever they want. I recommend you stay in the territories around the Badlands Territory for now and temper yourselves first.”

“Don’t worry. I heard that the Badlands Territory has nearly a hundred thousand chaosworlds as well as many ruins left behind by Daolords. That’ll be more than enough for us to roam through,” Subhuti laughed.

“One of us is a master of spacetime, the other is a master of space. We two old farts might not be particularly talented in other areas, but if we work together we should be able to keep ourselves alive,” Windfiend laughed as well.

The two were both very relaxed. The reason why they had nearly fought to the death in the Three Realms was primarily because Old Man Yuan and Lord Demonheart had been causing trouble in secret. Windfiend had wanted to go out exploring long ago, and Subhuti was also filled with this same desire. Long ago, back when Ning had been very weak, the two had already reached the apex of power; one was the number one spacetime master of the Three Realms, the other was the fastest person in the Three Realms. By now, they had reached even higher levels. If they joined forces, there really were very few World-level cultivators capable of killing them.

“Have a safe journey.”

“Be careful, Subhuti.”

“Master.”

The Immortals and Fiendgods all bade them farewell, then watched as they began their journey into the outside world.

……

Time flowed on.

A flying vessel was soaring through the primordial chaos, with Ning’s true body at the helm. After blazing a path to the Three Realms and handing the archives over to his Primaltwin, he had left and led Su Youji and Pillsaint to the next part of their journey. By now, they had spent over a thousand years on this trip to the nearby Sacred City of the Dao Alliance.

“Right. We should arrive in a bit over two hundred years.” Ning sat on the deck of his flying vessel, staring forwards into the endless void before them.

“Master.” Su Youji suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Hm? No longer training?” Ning looked at her.

“I can sense that I am about to break through and become a Daolord of the Second Step.” A hint of excitement was on Su Youji’s face. “Although I wasn’t as impressive as you, I was still pretty fast, right?”

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Chapter 29 – The Sacred City of Skywood

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 29 – The Sacred City of Skywood

Ji Ning blinked, then laughed. “Not bad! I’ll find a place to let you break through in peace.”

“Right.” Su Youji nodded quite joyfully. As for Ning, he felt rather speechless. Oh, Youji… you are breaking through to become a Daolord of the Second Step, but your master is still just a Daolord of the First Step…

……

A short while later, the flying vessel reached a fairly nearby chaos planet, then descended upon it. Ji Ning waved his hand, setting up a simple restrictive formation around the planet. Ning was now on a completely different level of power compared to the past; he would now be extremely powerful even compared to other Daolords, and to encounter a worthy opponent in this region of the primordial chaos was fairly unlikely.

“What?! Youji is about to make her breakthrough?” Pillsaint had a look of astonishment on his face.

“Right.” Ning nodded. “So you have to work hard as well.”

Pillsaint nodded repeatedly. “I need to refine more pills in order to improve my Dao fo Alchemy, but to gain insights from repeated, actual alchemy attempts will require quite some time. Still… since both you and Youji have made breakthroughs already, I really do need to pick up the pace.”

“Samsara Daolords… with each step we take, we walk the line between life and death. Do not be rash or push too hard to make a breakthrough. Speed isn’t the most important thing.” Ning said a few words, then fell silent. Ugh. Judging from the situation, he would probably be slower than both of his subordinates.

Whoosh.

Ning waved his hand, causing an enormous boulder to fly off of a distant mountain of the chaos planet. The boulder landed in front of Ning, who simply looked at it. Crack! The boulder was sheared flat. Ning then sat down in the lotus position atop the boulder, beginning to meditate.

“In the past thousand years, I’ve only been able to improve my Blood Drop sword-intent slightly.” Ning chuckled self-deprecatingly. “It seems I really am going to be slower than both Youji and Pillsaint.” He had to improve in all five of his original Supreme Daos and then recombine them once more into a new Omega Sword Dao; this was how his Omega Dao would improve.

Ning’s eyelids slowly swung shut, but streaks of sword-light could be seen flickering through the cracks of his lidded eyes. Tiny spatial tears repeatedly appeared and disappeared within afew meters of him as well. Clearly, Ning was visualizing and training in sword-arts.

A long while later…

BOOM! A wind arose in the skies above the chaos planet, and an awesome vortex of chaos energy began to form and be absorbed by Su Youji ni large quantities. Clearly, her breakthrough had begun. Pillsaint watched intently, but Ning simply considered to meditate in the lotus position, continuing to visualize his sword-arts.

This breakthrough took more than three days before everything became calm once more.

“Master.” Su Youji put away her Immortal estate and walked over.

“Haha, you really are different now that you’ve reached the second step. You’ve actually become even more beautiful!” The nearby Pillsaint whooped in delight. He truly had the heart of a child, and becoming a Daolord hadn’t changed him one bit. It was actually because of his pure, guileless heart that he had been able to become a Daolord. The [Seven Leafpill Chapters] had assisted him, but at the core was his own Dao-heart.

Su Youji glanced at Pillsaint, and the latter was instantly enraptured. “Pillsaint, address me as ‘big sister’.” Su Youji continued to stare sweetly at Pillsaint.

“Big sister… big sis-” The spellbound Pillsaint suddenly came back to his senses, then pointed at Su Youji and stammered, “H-Hey…”

Su Youji said smugly, “Pillsaint, it seems your Dao-heart isn’t strong enough yet.”

“Oh man. I am doomed. I was enraptured almost instantly. I am going to be in so much trouble in the future.” A miserable look was on Pillsaint’s face.

“It isn’t that Pillsaint has a weak Dao-heart, it’s that he’s still just a Daolord of the First Step.” Ning arose from his boulder, then stepped down. “Pillsaint’s path is the Dao of Alchemy, which means he will indeed be a bit weaker in combat. You, on the other hand, have the legacy of Feixian the Exalted. It would be laughable if you couldn’t enspell a Daolord of the First Step despite having reached the second step. But Youji, you really shouldn’t do that to Pillsaint too often.”

“I know, I know. I was just excited because I broke through.” Su Youji nodded repeatedly, then looked towards Ning with some excitement. “Master, why don’t you give my charm skills a try?”

Ning revealed a smile. “Go ahead and try.”

Su Youji immediately said, “Then Master, you must…” Halfway through her words, she immediately used her secret arts. She had already been beautiful enough to cause the downfall of kingdoms. Now, her smile made her eyes look like the most enchanting things in the universe. Her gaze was unfathomably deep, making it so that Ning couldn’t help but be drawn to them. Even if he wasn’t, those beautiful eyes seemed to be imprinted onto his mind, stirring and beguiling his inner heart…

Ning’s gaze slowly grew more and more distant.

“Master,” Su Youji said softly, “Come here and take Youji into your arms.”

“Yeah…” Ning mumbled softly, and Su Youji revealed a look of excitement.

“Yeah, no thanks.” Ning stared at her. “Is this what you were trying to accomplish by trying to charming your master!?”

Ning’s soul was comparable to that of a Daolord of the Fourth Step, and his heartforce made him superior to many. He was at the cusp of breaking through to the sixth stage of heartforce; just a few slight improvements would result in him becoming a true Heartforce Cultivator. How could a newly ascended Daolord of the Second Step like Su Youji possibly shake his will? However, Ning could sense how truly formidable these secret arts of Feixian the Exalted were. Most likely, once Su Youji became a Daolord of the Third Step she would be able to have a slight affect on Ning for a very brief period of time.

If she reached the fourth step… Su Youji as a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be truly frightening! And yet, this path held both strengths and weaknesses, with the weaknesses being quite obvious; if she encountered a Heartforce Cultivator, she would be in serious trouble.

“I could sense that I wasn’t able to beguile you, so I just wanted to joke around with you a bit, Master,” Su Youji explained hurriedly. She then mumbled to herself, “Can’t I even make a joke?”

“Alright, alright. Time to head out. We’re pretty closed to the Sacred City,” Ning said with a laugh. “Joking around now is fine, but don’t cause any trouble once we enter the Sacred City. That is one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance, after all.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t worry, Master.”

……

Ning once more began to advance with Pillsaint and Su Youji in tow. The travelled for another two hundred-plus years, then finally reached the fabled city of Skywood, one of the eight Sacred Cities.

“So that’s Skywood.” Ning stared off into the distance. Although Skywood was described as a ‘city’, it didn’t have any walls. It was actually a collection of staggeringly large edifices which hovered together above the clouds! It was filled with towering palaces, ancient estates, and strange buildings. Every single building glowed with the light of restrictive spells, causing it to radiate with a plethora of colors.

Most dazzling of all were the completely jade-green city gates, which were three million meters tall. Quite a few figures could be seen soaring through the clouds and into the gates, with some figures flitting into the various palaces and estates.

“One of the eight Sacred Cities.” Pillsaint was rather excited. “It reigns over or directly influences tens of thousands of nearby territories. I hear that an enormous number of Daolords are here.”

“Normally, Skywood City sees over ten thousand Daolords at any given point in time,” Ning said.

In terms of raw numbers of Daolords? The Ancient cultivators, the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aeonian race, the Aberrant special lifeforms… no one could compete with the Dao Alliance in this area. Any of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance held more Daolords than any of the other organizations held in their main headquarters.

The Brightshore Kingdom’s Twelve Palaces had thousands of Daolords (excluding the black-armored ones), but most of them were outside adventuring, and so only a few hundred powerful Daolords were actually within the borders of the Brightshore Kingdom at any point in time. Skywood City, however, held more than ten thousand cultivators who were training in seclusion… and this represented just a tiny fraction of Skywood’s total area of influence.

If all of the Daolords of the tens of thousands of nearby territories were gathered together, there would probably be far more of them! The vast majority of Daolords were wandering the outside world or in their own sects, after all. Only a small amount were within Skywood City.

“Skywood City is controlled by one of the nine great sects of the Dao Alliance, the Skywood Sect,” Ning said. “This place is operated in accordance with the laws of the Skywood Sect.”

“The eight Sacred Cities are all quite interesting.” Pillsaint laughed. “Eight Sacred Cities which are under the control of nine different organizations. The Dao Alliance really is rather chaotic.”

“Master, I hear that the governor of Skywood City is also the sect leader of the Skywood Sect, the legendary Emperor Skywood, right?” Su Youji asked curiously. Eternal Emperor Skywood was extremely famous, and she had heard of him long ago in the Brightshore Kingdom.

Ning chuckled and nodded. On the surface, the Dao Alliance had a total of eight mighty Emperors who were the governors of these eight Sacred Cities. However…

Even the likes of the Brightshore Kingdom and the Aeonians had multiple Eternal Emperors, despite being far smaller organizations. Could the exalted Dao Alliance truly have just eight Eternal Emperors? Who would possibly believe such a thing? However, the eight governors of the Sacred Cities had lived for countless chaos cycles and had reigned over their respective Sacred Cities. Without question, they were incredibly strong even amongst Eternal Emperors.

Not even the most powerful of Eternal Emperors were able to shake the positions of the eight governors! Not only were the governors themselves powerful and given great authority within the Dao Alliance, they were also secretly supported by many reclusive old experts. This was why they were referred to as being the nine major organizations which reigned over the Dao Alliance.

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Chapter 30 – Ji Ning’s Goal

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 30 – Ji Ning’s Goal

The gates of the Sacred City were towering and dazzling to behold. Ji Ning’s group of three flew straight towards the gates. In truth, Skywood City had no walls at all, and so there was no real reason to go through the gates. However, this was the first time Ning’s group had ever come to a Sacred City, and they needed to procure a Dao Alliance talisman. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be considered true members of the Dao Alliance and would be forbidden entry into many places within the Sacred Cities.

“Fellow Daoists.” There was an unprepossessing little pavilion right outside the doors, and a black-robed woman immediately walked out of it with a smile on her face.

“This is our first trip to the Sacred City. We would like to pick up a Dao Alliance talisman,” Ning said. The black-robed woman before him had a very weak aura; most likely, she had relied on a Pseudo Samsara Pill in order to break through to become a Daolord of the First Step. Daolords like her would generally be given fairly menial tasks within the larger organizations and sects.

“Oh, a Dao Alliance talisman? Please follow me.” The black-robed woman guided Ning into the pavilion. Within were a number of white-robed men and women, as well as a few alien Outsiders. Judging from their auras, they were at most at the World level.

“Where have the three of you come from, and what school do you belong to? Are you already registered with the Dao Alliance?” The black-robed woman asked.

“I am Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace,” Ning said while producing his Vastheaven Palace medallion. The black-robed nodded, then waved her hand and produced a little book. She flipped through the book, quickly verifying some information about Daolord Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace, here is your Dao Alliance talisman.” The black-robed woman produced a black talisman and handed it over to Ning, with the talisman having the word ‘Dao’ atop it. It was covered in divine runes that seemed quite mysterious and which ensured the talisman could only be bound once. Ning waved his hand, binding it to him.

“Are these two registered with us already as well?” The black-robed woman asked. Ning shook his head and replied, “They are not. These two are my retainers.”

“Retainers?” The black-robed woman and the nearby World-level cultivators all glanced at Ning with surprise. He had two Daolords as retainers? It seemed as though this ordinary-looking Daolord Darknorth was actually quite an extraordinary figure! They naturally knew nothing of Ning’s battle against Patriarch Clearwind, as neither Vastheaven Palace nor Clearwind Temple had publicized that battle. As a result, very few knew about it.

“If you aren’t already registered with the Dao Alliance, things will be slightly more complicated,” the black-robed woman said. “Please follow me. We need to take some steps to ensure that no spies are able to make their way into the Dao Alliance.”

“I understand.” Su Youji smiled. She and Pillsaint both obediently followed after the black-robed woman. They knew coming here what the rules would be.

Ning’s history was very clean, and Vastheaven Palace had already vouched for him. As a result, he was easily able to acquire a Dao Alliance talisman and be acknowledged as a formal member of the Dao Alliance. As for unknown figures without any backers, they would need to be investigated and swear certain lifeblood oaths to prove their ‘innocence’ before they would be given a Dao Alliance talisman.

……

A short while later, a white-robed elder led Ning’s group of three away from the city gates. The four flew through the clouds, and the white-robed man smiled at them. “Seniors, this is your first trip to a Sacred City, so I will explain a bit regarding the rules here. There are restrictive wards and barriers surrounding all of the palaces and estates inside the Sacred City, and you are forbidden from violence within them. If you engage in violence, you shall perish and your Dao shall vanish.”

Ning and the others simply listened. These were iron rules which no one could breach. This was one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance, after all; no one could violate these rules, unless they had the power to challenge the entire Dao Alliance and live to tell the tale.

“Once you leave the protective wards around those various palaces and estates, no one will get involved no matter how violent the battle becomes.” The white-robed elder chuckled. “For example, the four of us are in midair right now. This airspace is not covered by the barriers or wards of any estate, and so we could theoretically be attacked at any moment.”

“How chaotic,” Pillsaint sighed.

“It is a bit chaotic. Wherever there are cultivators, there will always be chaos,” the white-robed elder said. “Also – please remember this, seniors. In Skywood City, the disciples of the Skywood Sect are not to be trifled with, not even the True Gods or Elder Gods. If you kill a member of the Skywood Sect, then you will also be put to death and your Dao shall vanished.”

Su Youji asked, “How can we tell if someone belongs to the Skywood Sect?”

“That’s very easy.” The white-robed elder smiled. “Members of the Skywood Sect are all dressed in unique robes that emanate the unique aura of the Skywood tree. If for some reason they aren’t wearing their robes and they end up being killed, their killers won’t be blamed.”

Ning and the others nodded. The Skywood tree was the sacred tree that stood guard over the entire Skywood Sect. It served as the foundation for the entire sect! Ning and the others were now able notice that there was indeed a unique, ancient, and eternal aura radiating from the robes of the Skywood Sect disciples they had met thus far. It was immediately recognizable.

“Let me tell you a bit more about the important places within Skywood City. Those hundred thousand-plus estates hovering in the air over there all for cultivators to dwell in. They belong to our Skywood Sect, and the three of you can spend a bit of chaos nectar if you wish to temporarily take up residence in one of them. It’ll be fine even if you want to stay for a hundred chaos cycles; all you need to do is pay a bit of rent in the form of chaos nectar. No one will ever dare to disturb you.” The white-robed elder pointed off into the distance, where there was a group of ancient palaces that radiated mighty auras. “That region over there is where our Skywood Sect is located, and the Eternal Emperor resides there as well. No matter what, you must not trespass there.”

……

The white-robed elder introduced one place after another to the group.

“We’ll go over there.” Ning pointed at a distant hall that was constructed within the clouds.

“The Spellworld?” The white-robed elder was startled.

“Yes, we shall go to the Spellworld first,” Ning said.

The Spellworld contained countless techniques within it. Every single one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance contained a Spellworld within it, and cultivators of the Dao Alliance were permitted to learn many precious techniques and divine abilities within those Spellworlds for a fee. There were even techniques belonging to Eternal Emperors… and supposedly, Hegemons as well! However, the more rare a technique was, the greater a price one would need to pay to learn it. Nothing in this world was free.

“The Spellworld contains countless techniques. You can choose from them as you please.” A guardian golem was standing in front of the hall, and it said in a calm voice, “Come speak to me after you have chosen.”

“This guardian golem was left here by the Dao Alliance. It is incredibly powerful,” the white-robed elder said immediately. In the end, golems were more loyal than anyone or anything else. If they were assigned to guard a place, they would never allow even the slightest of slip-ups.

“Pillsaint, Youji, the two of you should go inside and take a look as well. See if there’s anything you need. I’m going to enter now.” Ning immediately strode in after finishing his words.

“Sure, let’s take a look inside.”

“Let’s see what this place has to offer.” Both Su Youji and Pillsaint followed Ning inside.

……

When Ning stepped into the hall, he felt space twisting around him as though he was entering a different world. This was a world with canyons, with rivers, with towering mountains, and with waterfalls.

Jade scrolls were lying on boulders, floating in the air above deserts, hanging from tree branches, and scattered throughout the world in a casual fashion. This was a world created by an ancient power of the Dao Alliance, and it was quite mysterious and profound.

“Not this one. Nor this one. Nope, not this one either…” Ning stood there at the top of a mountain, stretching out his godsense as he began to scan through the various jade slips. Every single jade slip contained some basic information regarding the techniques which were available as well as the price one needed to pay! Ordinary techniques could be purchased by using a bit of chaos nectar, but truly core techniques were much more difficult to procure.

“Here it is!” Ning suddenly revealed a look of delight. Swoosh! Ning’s body flickered as he instantly flew from the mountain peak to a prairie that was tens of thousands of kilometers away. There was a thatched cottage on this prairies, and there were nine jade slips that had been casually tossed inside that cottage.

These nine scrolls were the [Novessence Water], [Novessence Fire], [Novessence Wood], [Novessence Earth], [Novessence Metal], [Novessence Wind], [Novessence Thunder], [Novessence Light], and [Novessence Void].

“That’s what I need. As a new Daolord, these are the secret arts which fit me perfectly.” ‘ Ning nodded slowly. Although he had gained the secret arts left behind by the deceased Sword Hegemon, it was far too hard for him to make any headway into them. Even if he put all of his efforts into training in them, for now it would be very hard for him to reach a high level of power in them. The nine secret arts created by Daolord Allgod, however, were a perfect fit for Ning.

He had the azureflower mist energy and the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]. This made it so that Ning was able to easily train in the various novessence techniques. He had already been able to reach the level of septessence thunder, and the only thing holding him back was him not having the other types of Dao lightning he needed.

“If I can master the full [Novessence Thunder], I should be able to slay most Verge-level Daolords with it! If I can merge all nine secret arts together, even the likes of Patriarch Clearwind would probably die. Even if he survived, he would be very heavily wounded.” Ning knew that training in the nine novessence arts was the best choice for him right now, which was why he had spent a thousand years hastening to Skywood City.

Daolord Allgod’s nine secret arts were only purchasable within the Dao Alliance. The Brightshore Kingdom had only been able to purchase the five weaker secret arts, with the [Novessence Thunder], [Novessence Wind], [Novessence Light], and the most powerful [Novessence Void] techniques all missing.

Ning glanced at the various techniques, feeling a sense of joy in his heart. These were the nine secret arts which Daolord Allgod had painstakingly created, and when they were used together they were capable of truly unearthly levels of power.

“I’m going to buy them all.” Ning waved his hand, collecting all nine jade slips.

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Chapter 31 – Killer Technique, the Nine Novessence Arts

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 31 – Killer Technique, the Nine Novessence Arts

Of the nine novessence arts, Ji Ning had already acquired the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water]; there was no need to purchase them. He only needed to buy the other seven.

The [Novessence Void] required five million cubes.

The [Novessence Wind] and the [Novessence Light] each cost 1.5 million cubes.

The [Novessence Fire], [Novessence Earth], and the others were all fairly cheap, and the price was the same as it had been in the Brightshore Kingdom – a million cubes.

In total, the cost was twelve million cubes!

“Let’s see if there are any other techniques that are a good fit for me.” Ning continued his search. The nine novessence arts of Daolord Allgod weren’t weak, but they weren’t overpoweringly strong either. This was because, even trained to the absolute apex, the techniques were not able to kill an ordinary Eternal Emperor; at most, they would be able to suppress him! The secret arts which the Hegemon had given Ning, however, were able to slay Eternal Emperors. The problem was that it was too hard to train in them.

……

Ning picked up those seven scrolls, then spent another three days wandering through the Spellworld. This truly broadened his horizons and let him understand how many formidable techniques there truly were. It really was true that the Brightshore Kingdom could not come close to comparing to the Dao Alliance in terms of number of techniques. The countless generations of Dao Alliance experts had left behind plenty of techniques that were far more powerful than the nine novessence arts.

Still, for the present Ji Ning, the nine novessence arts were indeed still the most appropriate art for him to train in, and they would allow him to unleash the maximum level of power possible.

“Why didn’t you spend more time inside?” When Ning exited the Spellworld, he saw Su Youji and Pillsaint waiting for him at the entrance.

“There really weren’t many techniques or spells that we need. Two or three days was plenty,” Pillsaint said.

“The two of us already have our own techniques which we haven’t finished trainng in,” Su Youji said.

Pillsaint was focused in alchemy, and the first six chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] truly was more than enough for him to train in for a long period of time. The same was true for Su Youji. “Master, have you finished choosing your techniques?” Su Youji asked curiously.

“I have.” Ning walked to the guardian golem, then waved his hand and produced those seven jade scrolls. The golem turneds it flaming gaze towards those jade slips ,then said calmly, “These seven secret arts will cost a total of twelve million cubes of chaos nectar.”

“That much?” Su Youji and Pillsaint were both speechless.

“Take it.” Ning produced a jade bottle. The guardian golem accepted it, examined it, then nodded as it waved a finger towards the seven jade slips. Instantly, layers of light appeared on the surface of the seven jade slips; the restrictive spells over them had been temporarily removed.

Ning immediately sent his godsense into the jade slips. He first swore a lifeblood oath not to teach them to anyone else, then begain to memorize all seven of them.

“I’ve finished memorizing them.” Ning returned the seven jade slips back to the golem.

“Good.” The golem accepted the slips, then waved its hand and caused the restrictive spells to reappear. The golem then gave them a toss, returning them into the Spellworld.

“Let’s go.” Ning was in quite high spirits.

……

The World-level white-robed elder belonging to the Skywood Sect had been waiting for them this entire time, and he now continued to lead the way.

“How many places which sell magic treasures does Skywood City have?” Ning asked.

“The best one is naturally the Plumesoar Hall belonging to our Skywood Sect,” the white-robed elder said hurriedly. Engaging in the trade of magic treasures could result in significant profits. Daolords would often risk their lives for a few million cubes, but the auction halls of the eight Sacred Cities earned ridiculous profits every day with comparatively little risk. But of course, in the eight Sacred Cities ordinary organizations weren’t even qualified to enter this lucrative trade.

“My question was ‘how many’,” Ning repeated. The white-robed elder said resignedly, “Three in total. The first one is the Plumesoar Hall of our Skywood Sect. The other two places are the Blackwater Pavilion and the Universal Treasures Hall. However, this place is Skywood City; as a result, our Plumesoar Hall has far more treasures than the other two places.”

“Then let’s go to the Plumesoar Hall,” Ning said with a chuckle. Now that he had the secret arts, he needed to buy the treasures necessary to train in them. He was still lacking in Dao lightning and Dao water, for example!

“Plumesoar Hall of our Skywood Sect is over there.” The white-robed elder pointed towards the extremely beautiful, nine-storied tower which rose up into the clouds. An aura of light rose up thirty thousand meters aboe the tower, and it was protected by layers of protective spells. The Plumesoar Hall was the place where the Skywood Sect stored its countless treasures. It naturally was tightly protected.

“Plumesoar Hall often holds treasure auctions. There will be another one roughly a month from now,” the white-robed elder said. “You can go take a look when the time comes.”

“No need for the treasure auction.” Ning flew straight towards Plumesoar Hall.

Places like Waveshift City of the Badlandss Territory rarely held treasure auctions, but this was Skywood City, one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance. Plumesoar Hall, Blackwater Pavilion, and the Universal Treasures Hall would hold one every so often.

After Ning flew past the protective barriers, he could sense a flood of treasure auras sweep towards him like a tidal wave.

“There really is a mountain of treasures here.” Ning took a glance past the main gates of Plumesoar Hall. He saw an utterly amazing number of magic treasures inside the hall, far more than ten times as much as much as any of the Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom. In terms of raw quality, the Dao Alliance had far more of everything than anyone else, be it cultivators, treasures, or techniques.

“Pillsaint, Youji. Now that you have broken through to become Daolords, you’ll need good treasures so that you can unleash your full potential,” Ning said. “Go buy whatever you need, but keep it under five million cubes.”

“Five million cubes?” Pillsaint and Su Youji were both rather shocked.

“Don’t be shy. Pillsaint, you are an alchemist; you not only need a good alchemy cauldron, you also need many valuable ingredients. Otherwise, how can you improve?” Ning continued, “Youji, you are now fairly powerful, but if you have suitable treasures you can become even more powerful.”

The two had sworn to follow him unto death itself; they would be his eternal retainers. There was no way Ning could be too stingy with him, now that he had sufficient resources. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needed a lot of resources in order to train in the nine novessence arts, he probably would’ve been even more generous with them.

“Go on in.” Ning immediately entered the Plumesoar Hall. The conversation between the three had been a silent mental discussion as they didn’t wish for the white-robed elder to overhear it.

“Seniors, I’m going to leave now. If there’s anything you need, you can seek out the attendants within the Plumesoar Hall,” the white-robed elder said loudly. His main mission had been to send these three to the Plumesoar Hall and ensure that they made a good amount of money off the three.

……

The Plumesoar Hall contained everything within it. Beautiful women were as common as the clouds, and although they weren’t as beautiful as Su Youji they were still dazzlingly and beguiling. Magic treasures and unique items were everywhere, the cheapest being a few hundred cubes and the most expensive ones being priceless!

“Senior, what do you wish to purchase? The Plumesoar Hall has accumulated countless treasures over endless chaos cycles. We have everything here.” A female attendant was standing next to Ning. She had some red fur on her face, but that just made her look even more bewitching.

“This is the list of treasures which I need.” NIng produce a jade slip, then handed it over. “Let me know what the price will be.”

The dazzling female attendant smiled as she accepted the jade slip, then sent her godsense into it. When she did, her face turned pale. She couldn’t help but raise her head to look at Ning. What an impressive fellow! He was apparently a Daolord of the Second Step, but he wished to purchase this many valuable treasures? All combined, this had to be tens of millions of cubes!

“I’ll go make some inquiries. Please wait for a while, senior,” the attendant said in a soft voice. She then departed to go make the report to her superiors.

As for Ning, he spent some time casually strolling through the Plumesoar Hall and admiring its many treasures. His list had included all of the precious treasures needed for training in all nine novessence arts. And of course, he already had seven types of Dao lightning and Dao water. The main issue was that the ones Ning had were the cheaper ones; in the Brightshore Kingdom, the most expensive type of Dao lightning, the Felworld lightning, needed 1.9 million cubes of chaos nectar! The two types of Dao lightning and Dao water which Ning needed were the most expensive ones. As for the other seven novessence arts, he needed everything!

“Fellow Daoist.” A silver-robed Daolord walked over. When he saw Ning, he sent a mental message to him. “You really need a large number of magic treasures. However, Plumesoar Hall can provide everything you need.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded. These items existed in the Brightshore Kingdom as well. Ning wasn’t surprised that the Skywood Sect, the ruler of one of the eight Sacred Cities, was also able to procure them. “How much chaos nectar will it cost?” Ning asked.

“Some of the Chaos fire and Chaos wind, we can just give to you as gifts. The others, though… in total, it’ll cost roughly 38 million cubes of chaos nectar.” The silver-robed Daolord looked at Ning. He was actually quite curious; would a Daolord of the Second Step really be able to produce that much? It must be understood that even when Vastheaven Palace extorted Patriarch Clearwind for his treasures, it had only been able to gain roughly twenty million cubes.”

“That’s too expensive.” Ning shook his head. “I could purchase these things in the Brightshore Kingdom for less than that.”

“The Brightshore Kingdom?” The silver-robed Daolord was startled. He immediately said, “Then how about 36 million cubes? This is a very low price; I think you know, fellow Daoist, what the rough price for these things are.”

Ning was secretly speechless. If he had purchased these items in the Brightshore Kingdom, the price would have indeed been around 36 million cubes.

“I’ll go pay a visit to the Blackwater Pavilion and the Universal Treasure Hall first. I have to find the best price, of course,” Ning said.

The silver-robed Daolord’s face twitched slightly.

……

After haggling for a period of time, they ended up settling on the price of 34 million cubes! There was some competition amongst the three markets, after all; it was indeed possible to lower the price substantially.

“All your treasures are ready. Fellow Daoist, you can simply pay me in chaos nectar.” The silver-robed Daolord looked at Ning.

“Do you accept payment in precious minerals?” Ning suddenly asked.

“Minerals?” The silver-robed Daolord was startled.

Ning nodded. “Right. Minerals. For example, darkspace flamestone.” Ning didn’t really want to do this, but all of his chaos nectar and chaos jewels combined was not enough to reach the price of 34 million cubes.”

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Chapter 32 – What The Hell?

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 32 – What The Hell?

Although the deceased Sword Hegemon had left him fifty million cubes, he had left ten million of them back in the Three Realms! The Three Realms would need that money for its development. As for the money he had gained from Patriarch Clearwind, that was reserved for the creation of his avatar. The total amount of chaos nectar and chaos jewels Ji Ning had totaled roughly thirty million cubes or so… and he had already promised up to five million for Su Youji and Pillsaint for them to purchase what they needed. Thus, Ning was lacking quite a bit; he’d have to throw in his darkspace flamestone ore.

“Darkspace flamestone ore? Of course Plumesoar Hall would be willing to purchase it. Follow me. A different Daolord is designated as the purchaser for special items and valuable treasures,” the silver-robed Daolord.

“Alright.” Ning followed behind the silver-robed Daolord and began to move deeper into Plumesoar Hall. They travelled through a wide passageway, and a short while later a thin, gray-robed man emerged from another part of the passageway. He glanced sideways at the two of them, then walked past them.

……

When the gray-robed man exited Plumesoar Hall, a hint of avarice appeared in his eyes. “That Daolord of the Second Step was actually being invited into the important parts of Plumesoar Hall?” The gray-robed man pondered to himself, “That place is used for selling valuable treasures that are worth more than ten million cubes.” He had been to Plumesoar Hall on multiple occasions, and so he was quickly able to deduce what was happening.

“I never would’ve imagined that a puny little Daolord of the Second Step would have more than ten million cubes worth of treasure.” The skinny gray-robed man narrowed his eyes, both greed and violence filling his thoughts. “I’ve followed Master for countless years and gone into many dangerous locations, but I only have a few million cubes worth of treasure. If I can kill him, all of his treasures will be mine.”

“But the problem is… if he has that much treasure, he definitely must have experienced extraordinary events. Should I attack him or not?” The gray-robed man pondered for a while, then made up his mind. “The path of cultivation is a dangerous path by nature. I am a Daolord of the Third Step, while he’s merely a Daolord of the Second Step. How strong could he possibly be? I’ll attack him. If I win, his treasures will be mine. If I lose, I should still be able to escape.”

After having pondered for aw hile, the gray-robed man decided to give it a try. As he saw it, even if this Daolord of the Second Step was a freakishly talented genius, he should be able to retreat unscathed. The gray-robed man immediately flew towards a nearby cloud-shrouded palace, preparing to keep watch from there. He didn’t plan on asking anyone else for assistance. Asking someone weaker to help out was pointless, while someone stronger than him would probably demand the lion’s share of the loot. He certainly didn’t wish to let that happen.

This was the nature of cultivation. Some cultivators focused on the Dao, tempering themselves through dangerous experiences. Others, however, preferred to plunder the possessions of their fellows. This was the fastest way of accumulating treasures, after all! But this path was a very dangerous path, because you never knew what secret killing techniques or trump cards your target might be holding. There are tradeoffs in all things. Plundering offered great rewards, and so there were still many Daolords willing to engage in such activities. A single successful kill might result in astonishing rewards, after all.

There were a few who were able to keep true to their own hearts and not engage in murder or robbery, with Ning being one of them. If other Daolords didn’t cause him problems, he wouldn’t antagonize them either.

……

Ning had no idea that he had just become a target. He was happily selling off his stockpile of darkspace flamestone for the princely sum of 9.2 million cubes of chaos nectar, and he then purchased a number of things for Pillsaint and Su Youji.

“Now that I have this ‘Heartspiral’, I am much stronger than I was before.” Su Youji happily held the white shell-shaped treasure in her hands, then looked at Ning. “Thank you, Master.”

“Whee hee hee!” Pillsaint was celebrating his new treasures as well. As for Ning, he felt both happy and resigned. The Heartspiral was extremely powerful, and it was a perfect fit someone who walked the path of charm like Su Youji. However, it had cost him 5.8 million cubes of chaos nectar! Su Youji had lingered over the Heartspiral for quite some time, wanting to buy it but knowing that it cost more than the five million cube limit. In the end, after Ning had finished buying the materials he needed for his nine novessence arts, he saw her staring at the Heartspiral and agreed to buy it for her. As for Pillsaint, he had purchased a good furnace and various alchemical materials, which cost a total of around two million cubes.

“Ugh. I only have a few hundred thousand left.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. It really did seem as though he never had enough money on him.

For example, he really wanted to study the full copy of Emperor Heartsword’s [Heartsword] technique, but it was far too expensive. The cost of that technique was many times higher than the nine novessence arts; there was no way he could afford it. In addition, Ning had already acquired the first ten stances of the [Heartsword] stance long ago. The truly valuable aspect of [Heartsword] lay in teaching its wielders the mysteries of how to truly merge one’s heartforce with one’s sword-arts. The first ten stances would already be plenty for Ning to research, especially given that Ning still wasn’t a full Heartforce Cultivator yet. There was no rush.

In the future, as he continued to grow more powerful in his path of cultivation, he would definitely need to perfectly merge his heartforce techniques with his Dao of the Sword. Only then would he grow more powerful. Sooner or later, he would have to acquire the full [Heartsword] manual.

“Time to leave,” Ning said with a smile.

“Right.” Su Youji held the Heartspiral in her hands very happily.

“Where are we going, Master?” Pillsaint asked.

“First, let’s go rent out an estate within the Skywood Sect,” Ning said. Skywood City had more than a hundred thousand estates for rent that were made available to local cultivators; all one needed to do was spent a bit of chaos nectar for them. This really didn’t amount to much; the several hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar which Ning had on hand was enough for him to stay here for more than ten chaos cycles. All Ning really wanted to do was to just reside within the estates, giving him a safe place to master all nine novessence arts.

He now had his techniques and his treasures. It was time to master the nine novessence arts!

……

“He came out.” The skinny, gray-robed man was staring intently at Plumesoar Hall from his distant palace perch.

Ning’s group of three had just flown out of Plumesoar Hall, smiles on their faces. They were chatting as they flew through the clouds. Ning was in an excellent mood, because he had come here precisely for the sake of those nine novessence arts! Although he had all but depleted his store of chaos nectar, he had done everything he wanted to do.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned. A thin, gray-robed Daolord was flying straight towards him. It was normal to encounter Daolords in Skywood City, a Sacred City of the Dao Alliance, but what caused Ning to go on his guard was the fact that this Daolord was the one he had encountered earlier in Plumesoar Palace.

Although he was immediately put on high alert, on the surface he continued to smile as he lead Su Youji and Pillsaint forwards.

BOOM!

A black mist suddenly spread outwards, so thick that one couldn’t see through it with the naked eye. It instantly covered an area of tens of thousands of kilometers around them, and as it di an invisible surge of power swept across Ning. As for Ning, as soon as he saw the black mist coming he immediately drew Su Youji and Pillsaint into his estate-treasure.

The surge of invisible power struck directly at Ning’s soul. If Ning really was just an ordinary Daolord of the Second Step, he would’ve fallen prey to this trick… but unfortunately, the gray-robed Daolord’s opponent was Ji Ning.

“A soul-shaking technique? It doesn’t even match up to Youji’s.” Although Ning didn’t really worry about the attack too much, he was still prepared to unleash his full power in his counter. When a lion hunted a rabbit, it would still strike with full force!

“DIE!” The gray-robed man manifested a total of six arms, each wielding a curved scimitar. The light of his scimitars howled through the air as he chopped towards Ning with them. The area around Ning began to crack and shatter as saber-light appeared everywhere.

“First a secret art to shake my heart, then close combat to ensure my death. What a nasty fellow.” Ning waved his right hand, causing a Northbow sword to appear.

“Break.” Ning stabbed out with his sword. His strike seemed ordinary in every respect. And yet, although the gray-robed man had clearly been the first to strike, Ning’s sword had stabbed through his forehead before his saber-light had even gotten close to Ning.

Fast. Indescribably fast. This was the Blood Drop stance of Ning’s Omega Sword Dao! Of Ning’s five Supreme Daos, the only one which had made further breakthroughs thus far was his Blood Drop sword-intent, and so his Blood Drop stance of his Omega Sword Dao was currently his most powerful strike. He was now a bit more powerful than he had been when he fought Patriarch Clearwind, and the power of this strike was close to Patriarch Clearwind’s killer attack.

“H-how can…” A look of horror and shock appeared in the gray-robed man’s eyes. How could it be that his six scimitars weren’t even able to touch or block this person’s sword? How could his opponent be this fast?

Bang! The Blood Drop stance’s full, penetrating power stabbed deep into the gray-robed man’s body, instantly reducing it into dust. The man died on the spot! It must be remembered that Patriarch Clearwind’s killer attack was able to kill weaker Daolords of the Fourth Step. This attack of Ning’s wasn’t much weaker!

“I never would’ve imagined that I’d be attacked as soon as I left Plumesoar Hall.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the treasures which the gray-robed man had left behind. “Not even cultivators are immune to the allure of treasures…”

BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a surge of terrifying black mist shot out of one of the hundred thousand-plus estates off in the distance. Ning turned to look, only to see a pair of eyes emerge from the mist and stare towards him with a murderous look.

“Seal!” An invisible ripple of power spread out from afar. Although this attack came from a great distance, the region which Ning was in was almost instantly locked.

Ning’s subconscious immediately began warning him that a terrifying threat was approaching, and the level of the threat was every bit the equal of the one posed by the Eternal Emperors Ning had encountered in the Azureflower Estate. Ning’s heart began to tremble. He knew that the situation was dire, and could vaguely sense that the Daolord of the Third Step he had just slain had to have had some sort of connection to a truly major power.

“What the hell is going on?!” Ning had been in a wonderful mood just a few moments ago, but now his face immediately turned pale.

“Hide!” Ning was out of options. He immediately transformed into a streak of light, moving ten times faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos as he charged right back into the nearby Plumesoar Hall.

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Chapter 33 – Daolord Kongsan

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 33 – Daolord Kongsan

Plumesoar Hall was very close, and so Ji Ning was able to almost instantly fly back inside it. Per the rules of the Dao Alliance, it was absolutely forbidden to engage in acts of violence inside the restrictive spells protecting the various palaces and estates within the eight Sacred Cities. Anyone who violated this rule would be slain and their Dao destroyed!

“This fellow is pretty strong, but he probably wouldn’t dare to violate the rules of the entire Dao Alliance.” Ning relaxed slightly after hiding himself within the Plumesoar Hall. Even figures like Palace Lord Dawnstar or historical legends like Daolord Allgod hadn’t dared to challenge the Dao Alliance! The Dao Alliance’s roots were immeasurably deep, and it was the greatest organization of the entire Endless Territories. Challenge the Dao Alliance? The three Hegemons might have the power to do so, but even they wouldn’t actually carry it out.

“What an enormous disturbance.”

“What is going on?”

The customers and servants inside Plumesoar Hall all stared outside. Although the battle between Ning and the gray-robed man had concluded quite quickly, it had caused quite a disturbance as well. As for Ning, he had no time to waste on the gazes of others; his attention was focused on what was happening outside.

Whoosh. Far away, a ball of black mist suddenly appeared at the margins of the frozen space. Moments later, that black mist solidified into a human figure.

This was a man dressed in long, beautiful black robes. He had fiery red hair and fiery red eyes that were filled with an evil, murderous intent. He was currently staring at Ning, hidden away within Plumesoar Hall. Ning was staring right back at this man. Their gazes collided in midair!

“Quite bold. No wonder you dared to kill the disciple of myself, Kongsan.” Daolord Kongsan stood there calmly in empty space, emanating an aura of transcendant dominance. This was an aura that came from overwhelming self-confidence, which was in turn born from a person having reached an extremely high level cultivation that allowed him to roam the Endless Territories without meeting any superiors.

“Kongsan?” When Ning heard this name, his heart turned cold. His star map had some records regarding some of the more famous Daolords of the Endless Territories. Although the records he had on Kongsan weren’t very detailed, he still had a rough idea as to how strong this person was.

“Daolord Kongsan.” Ning remained within the protective embrace of the Plumesoar Hall’s barriers as he said in a loud voice, “I imagine, given your power, you know what happened just now. Your disciple suddenly ambushed me with the intention of killing me. I didn’t cause any trouble for him! Since he struck to kill, I cannot be blamed for killing him instead. I only struck out with a single sword.”

“He ambushed you and wanted to kill you. He failed and you killed him instead. This is all very normal.” The distant Daolord Kongsan stared at Ning calmly, but Ning couldn’t help but feel a cold feeling in his heart. “He was still, however, my disciple. Since you killed my disciple, I am going to kill you. If you have the necessary patience, you should stay in Plumesoar Hall for the rest of your life. As soon as you leave it, I’ll kill you.”

His voice was very calm, but the murderous intent within it was quite clear and heavy. There was nothing to negotiate.

“Hmph.” Ning narrowed his eyes, then turned and left.

……

The cultivators and servants within Plumesoar Hall all watched curiously as they listened to Ning and Daolord Kongsan’s conversation.

“This white-robed Daolord is screwed. He actually pissed off Daolord Kongsan! Given Daolord Kongsan’s temper, he’s going to kill this kid no matter what.”

“Poor bastard.”

“Did he really think he could get away with killing Kongsan’s disciple?”

“But the white-robed Daolord is also quite formidable. He’s clearly just a Daolord of the Second Step, but he was able to kill Daolord Kongsan’s disciple with ease. That disciple had visited Plumesoar Hall on many occasions, often serving as his master’s errand boy. He was still, however, a Daolord of the Third Step. I never would’ve thought that he’d be killed in the blink of an eye. He didn’t even have the chance to beg his master to come save him.”

These cultivators and servants all chatted amongst themselves, with the servants of Plumesoar Hall being especially casual in their words. They might be weak, but they belonged to the Skywood Sect. There was an ironclad rule in Skywood City – disciples of the Skywood Sect were not to be touched! Not even Eternal Emperors would dare to violate this rule within the confines of Skywood City. This type of rule was a joint one shared throughout the eight Sacred Cities.

Whoosh. Ning entered the hall once more. The cultivators and servants turned their gazes towards Ning, and they naturally stopped chattering about him. Ning had a solemn look on his face, and his forehead was furrowed as he frowned. Clearly, he was quite troubled.

To have been targetd by Daolord Kongsan was indeed quite troublesome. Still, Ning wasn’t really afraid of him. The deceased Hegemon had given him two Dao-seals, after all, which contained the power of a full-force strike from the Hegemon. If push came to shove, he would just use one of them up! However, Ning knew exactly how valuable those two Dao-seals were. They were priceless treasures! The Sword Hegemon had only been willing to pay the price necessary to make them once he realized that he was definitely going to die. These two Dao-seals would be protective, life-saving talismans for Ning for a long time to come. Ning wouldn’t use them unless he truly had to.

“Senior.” The female attendant who had received Ning earlier walked over to him once more.

“Right. I heard that in a month from now, Plumesoar Hall will be holding a treasure auction?” Ning suddenly asked with a laugh. The nearby guests and attendants were all secretly amazed. This Daolord of the Second Step was still able to laugh at a time like this?

The female attendant immediately replied, “Yes, senior. A month from now, Plumesoar Cloud will indeed hold a treasure auction. Quite a few treasures will be up for sale this time, and the reserve prices will be much lower than in the outside world. You might find something which is both cheap and useful.” The low reserve prices of the treasure auctions was a main reason why they were so attractive to cultivators.

“I’m being targeted by Daolord Kongsan, so I can’t leave for now. I have nothing better to do, so I figured I’d go check this treasure auction of yours out,” Ning laughed. “Give me a private room. I’ll wait a month for that treasure auction to begin.”

“Done.” The female attendant nodded repeatedly. “Please follow me.”

There were some very cheap seats for each treasure auction, but there were also private, secluded rooms. If you wished to purchase some extremely valuable treasures while keeping your identity private, you would generally use one of those private rooms. No one would disturb you so long as you remained inside – this was one of the rules which Plumesoar Hall had established long ago.

The attendants and guests once more began to speculate as they watched Ning leave with the female attendant.

“The white-robed Daolord looks pretty calm.”

“Agreed. He knows that Daolord Kongsan is outside waiting for him, but he’s still able to relax and take part in the treasure auction.”

“In my opinion, he’s probably going to stay inside this hall for a very long period of time.

……

Ning couldn’t be bothered to respond to the gossip going on around him. Soon, he and the attendant both reached a private room. Daolords lived for extremely long periods of time; for them to arrive a few months early for a treasure auction was quite commonplace.

“Senior, while you are in this private room, no one will disturb you unless you summon them first. Not even the members of Plumesoar Hall itself will disturb you, to say nothing of Daolord Kongsan,” the female attendant said.

“I have faith in the Skywood Sect.” Ning nodded. “Now, there’s something I need you to do for me.”

“Please tell me what you need, senior” the female attendant said.

Ning nodded slowly. “I need an intelligence report regarding Daolord Kongsan’s abilities, the more detailed the better. It needs information on all his techniques and secret arts, as well as information on his previous opponents. I need as much information as your Skywood Sect can provide.”

The female attendant couldn’t help but feel shocked, but she nodded. “As detailed as possible? The price will be quite high. I’tll probably cost around a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar.”

“A hundred thousand is fine.” Ning nodded. The more powerful a cultivator was, the more expensive intelligence reports about them would be. The Brightshore Kingdom’s star map held information on virtually all the Daolords of the Endless Territories, but that information was fairly cursory in nature. To procure much more detailed individual intelligence reports was extremely difficult.

“Give me a moment,” the female attendant said respectfully, then retreated.

Within the private room. Ning was originally there by himself, but moments later Pillsaint and Su Youji appeared by his side.

“Master, what happened?” Su Youji immediately asked.

“Why did you put the two of us into the estate-world?” Pillsaint was puzzled as well.

“We encountered a bit of trouble.” Ning narrated what had just happened to them. Su Youji and Pillsaint’s faces instantly turned pale.

Su Youji said worriedly, “From what you are saying, it sounds as though this Daolord Kongsan is extremely powerful. What should we do?”

“Haha, no need to worry too much. We have all the food and drink we want here. Why worry about him?” Ning picked up a nearby canteen of wine and poured himself a cup, then began to sip it in a relaxed manner as he glanced sideways at Pillsaint and Su Youji. “Don’t just stand there like idiots. Sit down and have a cup with me.”

Su Youji and Pillsaint were both feeling rather nervous, but they still sat down. After a short period of time drinking together, the sound of the door being knocked rang out. “Come in,” Ning said.

The female attendant was outside. She handed a jde slip to Ning, then said respectfully, “Senior, all the information we have regarding Daolord Kongsan is here.” Skywood Sect not only engaged in the treasure trade, it also engaged in the intelligence trade.

“Mm.” Ning put down his wine cup, then picked up the jade slip and began to read it carefully. As he read through the information, he tossed a storage treasure to the outsider woman. “You can leave now.”

The attendant looked through thestorage treasure, then left obediently. “If ther’s anything that you need, just summon me whenever you wish, senior.”

Ning nodded, and she shut the door behind her.

“Kongsan.” Ning picked up the jade slip once more, studying all of the information regarding Daolord Kongsan which was within that jade slip.

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Chapter 34 – Secret Arts Mastered

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 34 – Secret Arts Mastered

Ji Ning began to frown as he stared at the jade slip. What a formidable figure. He was so strong that he was most likely ranked amongst the second tier of Verge-level Daolords.

Based on what Ning knew, the first-tier Verge-level Daolords included the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar, Daolord Allgod, and other similar figures. Palace Lord Dawnstar had once slain an Eternal Emperor with three chops of his saber, while Daolord Allgod had sent Emperor Melobo fleeing in terror.

It must be remembered that Emperor Melobo was not only an Eternal Emperor, he was also an Awakened member of the Aeonian race who was still alive today. Ordinary Eternal Emperors simply couldn’t compare to him in power… and yet, in the face of Daolord Allgod, he was only able to flee. In a true duel, Daolord Allgod was a bit inferior to Palace Lord Dawnstar in ferocity of attacks, but he was actually superior in tenacity and endurance. The Dao of the Sword and the Dao of the Saber were offensive Daos, after all!

“Daolord Kongsan is a bit weaker than Palace Lord Dawnstar, but not even Palace Lord Dawnstar would be able to slay him.” Ning frowned. “He’s skilled in the Dao of Darkness and can transform into darkness itself. He’s virtually unkillable. His ability to transform into darkness means that he has incredible control over space! When fleeing, he’s able to move at thirty-six times the speed of light. The darkness, by nature, is inscrutable and mysterious. This Dao can be used to affect the soul, but its particularly dangerous in close combat.”

“He’s an untamable, unruly figure with no clan and no sects. He is also an extremely selfish person, and at least sixteen Daolords of the Fourth Step have died to him. He’s currently living in an estate within Skywood City.” The more Ning read, the bigger his headache became.

Daolords who were skilled in combat weren’t terrifying. Daolords who were skilled in staying alive were! Kongsan was one such person. His ability to dissolve into darkness made him virtually unkillable, and he was incredibly fast and skilled in spatial teleportation. He could flee whenever he wished, but was also dangerous in close combat. He had no obvious weaknesses!

……

“Master?” Su Youji called out softly.

“Master, is Kongsan a tough nut to crack?” Pillsaint asked.

Ning put away the jade slip, then nodded. “A very tough nut indeed. He’s one of the toughest Daolords to deal with. Not even Palace Lord Dawnstar would be able to kill him.”

“He’s that powerful?” Both Su Youji and Pillsaint were shocked. Palace Lord Dawnstar was the most powerful Daolord of the Brightshore Kingdom.

“No, he’s just very skilled in staying alive. His attacks are nowhere near Palace Lord Dawnstar’s level.” Ning had already come to a decision on what to do. “Pillsaint, Youji, I need to train for a while. Help stand guard over me, and don’t let anyone in Plumesoar Hall disturb me.”

“Understood,” Pillsaint and Su Youji both said in unison. Ning then waved his hand, causing a stooped, thatched cottage to appear next to him.

Ning’s body flickered as he flew into the thatched cottage. This was actually a small temporal acceleration estate-world, and by using up a bit of Immortal energy Ning would be able to maintain a rate of a hundred times the normal flow of time.

Within the thatched cottage. Ning was seated here in the lotus position. With a wave of the hand, he caused a series of black gourds to appear. Each black gourd contained Dao lightning, Dao fire, and other similar materials that he needed to train in the nine novessence arts.

Pop! Pop! The stoppers popped out of two of the gourds. Instantly, two streaks of Dao lightning flew out towards Ning. One was a streak of gray lightning that was filled with endless destructive power, while the other was a streak of white lightning that seemed to emanate an endless aura of hope. These two streaks of Dao lightning instantly surged into Ning’s body and were easily absorbed into their respective lightning bases.

“I now have all nine lightning bases I need. Time to give it a try. If my prediction is correct, I should stand a good chance of mastering the full novessence thunder.” Ning immediately began to try it out.

Crack! Bang! Boom!

It was a scene of utter chaos.

Bang! Boom! Crack!

Explosions rang out unabated.

However, Ning was able to remain very calm. Everything was under his control. The alchemical techniques he had learned from the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] were extremely profound! Lightning was by nature an unruly type of energy, and he was dealing with nine different types of it! The hardest part was perfectly joining the octessence thunder together with the Felworld lightning. The octessence lightning was already incredibly hard to control and was capable of easily wiping out Daolords of the Third Step. As for the Felworld lightning, it was easily the most berserk of the nine types of Dao lightning.

You couldn’t force things when trying to control them; you had to find and follow the flow, then slowly nudge them together, making it so that although they seemed to remain as wild and unruly as ever, they were acting in accordance with the will of an incredibly sly hunter and were drawn into one ‘trap’ after another. Ning spent a full two months guiding and nudging the octessence thunder and the Felworld lightning, and during this period of time he could not slack of in the slightest.

“BOOM!!!” In the end, a sudden explosion blasted out as the novessence thunder was formed! This was a streak of beautiful black lightning, and its black surface was covered with tiny silk strands that were like a layer of fur. The novessence thunder was like a living creature, like a dragon that happily swam through Ning’s Jindan chaos region with ease.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. He opened his eyes, then stretched out his right hand. Whoosh! A stream of soft black divine lightning appeared within the palm of his hands. It looked like a streak of gentle and reserved black lightning, but it actually held an incomprehensible amount of power inside.

“This streak of lightning is able to slay Daolords of the Fourth Step by itself?” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Daolords of the Fourth Step generally possessed incredible divine bodies and were garbed in Dao armor, but the novessence thunder was capable of slaying them! Of course, it could only slay ‘ordinary’ Daolords of the Fourth Step, but that did not detract from how terrifying it was.

“The novessence water is easier to master than the novessence thunder. Time to train in it.” Ning gave himself one day of rest, then continued in his training. This time, he focused on mastering the [Novessence Water] technique.”

……

It had taken him two months to master the [Novessence Thunder], but only half a month to master the [Novessence Water]. He took over a month to master the [Novessence Fire], as Ning wasn’t nearly as talented in fire as he was in thunder and water. The [Novessence Earth] took more than two months, while the [Novessence Metal] took more than three months.

……

Ning mastered one secret art after another, spending the most time on the [Novessence Light] technique, as he knew very little regarding the Dao of Light. This took him nearly two years before he was able to master it. The [Novessence Void], the most powerful and thus the (theoretically) most difficult of the novessence arts, Ning was actually able to master in just eight months.

“I’ve actually mastered all nine of the secret arts?” After finishing the [Novessence Void], Ning himself felt a bit amazed at what he had accomplished. He would’ve been satisfied if he had been able to master the [Novessence Water], which was fairly weak and which he was quite familiar with. He never would’ve imagined that after a bit of effort, he would master all nine of the novessence arts!

Daolord Allgod had used these arts to roam the Endless Territories. They really were a killer combination! And he, Ji Ning, had actually mastered them?

“Thank goodness I had the azureflower mist energy, the Omega Sword Dao, and most importantly of all the [Seven Leafpill Chapters].” Ning quickly understood why he had been able to master this technique.

Daolord Allgod had originally claimed that one would have to first become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, then become extremely skilled in alchemy, lightning, light, water, etc. before one would be able to master this technique! As for Ji Ning?

He had the azureflower mist energy, making him comparable to a Daolord of the Fourth Step in terms of Immortal energy. As far as alchemical techniques went, Ning had spent millions of years by the side of the Paragon of Pills. He hadn’t advanced too much in sword-arts during that period of time, and almost all of his spare time had been spent on the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] and the alchemical techniques included within its most profound seventh chapter. His alchemical technique was superior to even Daolord Allgod’s.

As for the Dao…

He wasn’t exactly skilled in the Dao of Metal, the Dao of Wind, the Dao of Wood, and many of the other Daos. However, the fifth stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, the Shadowless sword-intent, required him to be able to merge himself into all of his surroundings. Thus, when he had been in the inner reaches of the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe, Ning had personally visited all of the corpses of the many deceased Eternal Emperors and had meditated on the auras of their Daos.

He was very familiar with the auras of all types of Daos, and he had learned how to merge himself into them. This was part of the reason why his Shadowless sword-intent allowed him to merge into all things. Thus, although Ning wasn’t skilled in the Dao of Metal or the Dao of Wood, he was at least familiar with them. This familiarity with them, their strengths, their weaknesses… it was all a prerequisite for Ning to be able to merge into them and disappear within them.

This was exactly what the nine novessence arts required, for the user to be very familiar with the various elemental properties. One had to follow their flow and go with the grain in mixing them together like alchemical ingredients in a pill.

……

On this day, within a nondescript private room inside the Plumesoar Hall of Skywood City, one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance, Ji Ning silently and soundlessly mastered all nine of the novessence arts, arts which would cause countless Daolords to blaunch with fear!

“This was rather unexpected. Still… since I’ve mastered all nine of the secret arts…” Ning pondered for a moment. “I might not need to waste the Hegemon’s Dao-seal after all.”

“Right now, those nine mighty novessence arts are my greatest trump card. I need to find a way to make them unleash the maximum amount of power possible,” Ning pondered. The Hegemon’s two Dao-seal were trump cards that could only be used one time each, while the nine novessence arts were his own arts that could be used as many times as he chose. He naturally had to enhance them as much as he could. If he just used them for their raw power, they would still be quite strong, yes, but this wasn’t their full potential. If he could use those nine novessence arts as nine swords and then use his Omega Sword Dao’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain, the power of the novessence arts would be vastly greater.

“My Omgea Sword Dao’s Blood Drop sword-intent has made a breakthrough, but the Yin-Yang sword-intent has not. I hope I will be to make some breakthroughs soon. That way, my nine novessence arts will be able to unleash even greater power. Daolord Allgod was a grandmaster in the art of formations, which was why he was able to use those nine secret arts to form a terrifying formation to attack his foes. This was what allowed him to crush Emperor Melobo.”

Clearly, Ning wished to upgrade the power of his nine novessence arts as best he could.

“However, I’ve just finished mastering these nine arts. I need to rest a bit first.” Whoosh. Ning’s body flickered and emerged from the thatched cottage. He waved his hand, putting it away.

“Master.” “Master.” Pillsaint and Su Youji were seated outside the private room, and they immediately turned to stare towards Ning.

“What is it?” Ning laughed.

“The treasure auction has already begun. It’s gone on for several days,” Pillsaint said, then added worriedly, “Master, how do you plan to deal with Daolord Kongsan?”

“No need to worry.” Ning walked out of the private room, then stared downwards through a window. A this very moment, a loud and exciting treasure auction was occurring below them.

Ning sat down relaxedly, then picked up a nearby cup of wine. He sipped at it as he watched the treasure auction.

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Chapter 35 – An Exchange of Goods

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 35 – An Exchange of Goods

The treasure auction was in progress. In order to attract more Daolords, each treasure auction would have a few incredibly rare and valuable items that normally would never be sold and would only be traded for similarly valuable items. During the treasure auctions, however, they could be purchased for chaos nectar. Only, the price would be incredibly high.

“Haha…” Ning couldn’t help but laugh as he watched. “In the end, there’s a limit to how useful magic treasures can be.” There were some unearthly treasures which would allow a Daolord of the First Step to contend against a Daolord of the Fourth Step, but treasures could only help up to a certain point. Treasures that could unleash the power of a Daolord of the Fourth Step were generally worth more than ten million cubes of chaos nectar, and as their power increased their cost would skyrocket.

Ning noticed one insanely powerful and insanely expensive treasure known as the ‘Kingdom Blade’. This was a formation, and anyone who had this formation could spread it across a hundred million kilometers with a single thought. Within the formation, countless streaks of saber-light would appear, and these attacks were so powerful that ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step would be instantly slain by them. Even Daolords who weren’t killed would still be heavily constrained! Ning estimated that this formation was definitely on par with his own novessence thunder attack.

The bidding for this formation started at the reserve price of eighty million cubes of chaos nectar, and in the end it was sold for 120 million cubes.

“Treasures like this are all external sources of strength.” The nearby Pillsaint nodded sagely. “Artificing and alchemy all have their limits as well. Earlier, I saw a treasure in Plumesoar Hall which could unleash the power of an Eternal Emperor, but treasures like that would never appear in a treasure auction. Without question, they can only be traded for.”

Ning nodded. Treasures could generally be used multiple times, whereas Dao-seals would be consumed after a single use as all they did was unleash the power which had originally been sealed into them. As a result, Dao-seals were much easier to make than magic treasures. The Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seals and the almighty Brightshore Hegemon’s spacetime disc were all single-use items.

……

A few days later, yet another incredible treasure appeared within this treasure auction. Generally speaking, each treasure auction would have ten or so treasures like this.

“Fellow Daoists.” The ancient elder standing before the dais called out in a loud voice, “This treasure is an important item which was personally forged by Emperor Milcloth.”

The many Daolords seated below were all stirred. Even Ning’s eyes lit up as he stared downwards from his private room. Emperor Milcloth was one of the top three artificers of the entire Endless Territories.

Whoosh. A palm-sized black flying vessel suddenly appeared in the air above the elder’s hands. Although the flying vessel was small, it naturally emanated an aura of such terrifying keenness that anyone who saw it knew it had to be incredibly fast.

“This is a flying vessel which is perfectly suited for soaring at high speeds. The Emperor forged it just a short while ago, and has yet to even choose a name for it. The person who purchases it shall have the right to name it.” The elder smiled, but the Daolords didn’t really care about this. What a treasure’s name was didn’t matter; what really mattered was the amount of power it could unleash.

“This magic treasure can move a hundred times the speed of light,” the elder said softly, but his quiet words drove the many Daolords below him into a state of frenzy. “The reserve price is 60 million cubes.”

“60 million cubes.” A deep voice instantly rang out from one of the private rooms up above.

“65 million cubes.” One of the Daolords seated in the corner of the main hall below, a golden-robed man, calmly made his offer.

“68 million cubes.”

This was one of the eight Sacred Cities, after all. It had many Daolords within it. Evasion-type treasures were extremely valuable to begin with, with vessels that could move at ten times the speed of light generally costing more than ten million cubes. Ones which could move at a hundred times the speed of light could generally only be traded for.

Although there were technically a number of master artificers in the Endless Territories who were capable of creating evasion-type treasures that could move at a hundred times the speed of light, the actual creation process was extremely difficult. Powerful Daolords were extremely interested in treasures like this, as there were very few who could move at a hundred times the speed of light. In fact, there weren’t even many Eternal Emperors who could move at that speed.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly rose to his feet within his private room.

“Master?” Pillsaint and Youji both looked towards Ning, but Ning walked towards to the window, then pushed it open. Outside was that female attendant, who had been awaiting his summons this entire time.

“Senior.” Although she had been waiting here for months, she immediately addressed him with respect.

“I wish to use a treasure to trade for that flying vessel which is currently being auctioned off,” Ning said.

The female attendant was startled. That was one of the top ten treasures of this treasure auction! She immediately said, “I’ve already sent your request forwards. A Daolord will arrive shortly.”

Whoosh. Just as she finished saying this, a figure suddenly materialized directly in front of NIng. It was the silver-robed Daolord who Ning had interacted with just a few months ago.

“Fellow Daoist, you truly do business on a grand scale.” The silver-robed Daolord smiled, quite amazed by the white-robed youth in front of him. The man looked like a Daolord of the Second Step, but he was able to kill Daolords of the Third Step as easily as crushing an ant. He had already brought forty million cubes worth of business to Plumesoar Hall. Now, he was planning to acquire that flying vessel?

“Come inside and chat,” Ning said.

“Wait outside,” the silver-robed Daolord instructed the female attendant, then followed Ning into the private room and shut the door.

Within the private room. The silver-robed Daolord walked to the windows as well. He glanced downwards, then said merrily, “That flying vessel can move at a hundred times the limits of the Heavenly Daos. That’s the maximum speed any flying vessel can obtain, and they are generally only exchanged for goods of similar value, never sold. When they do appear during our treasure auctions… the price has already reached seventy million cubes, but I wager it’ll at least hit ninety million cubes. Plumesoar Hall will never engage in a losing business transaction, no matter what.”

Ning nodded. He also felt certain that the final price would be at least ninety million cubes. “I know that Plumesoar Hall has more than a single flying vessel that can move that fast,” Ning said. “I wish to trade for one.”

“Trade?” The silver-robed Daolord’s eyes lit up. He delighted in engaging in this type of trade. Flying vessels of this quality were generally only traded for similarly valuable treasures, as only the most valuable of items could possess such amazing properties.

“Ordinary treasures won’t cut it,” the silver-robed Daolord reminded softly.

“Take a look for yourself,” Ning said, then waved his hand, causing a golden pearl with a flowing surface to appear within it.

“Deluxe hellgold?” The silver-robed Daolord’s eyes lit up. This was a core for creating a golem equivalent to a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Items like this could only be hoped for, not hunted down. “But a single pearl won’t be enough.” The silver-robed Daolord shook his head.

Ning waved his hand again. This time, a small, light green jade bottle appeared within it. A single blood-red fruit that looked like an actual drop of blood flew out from the jade bottle and hung there in the air.

“I-is that…” The silver-robed Daolord’s face began to turn pale as he stared at the item. A sacred bloodfruit? A skyjewel bloodfruit? This thing was even rarer than the deluxe hellgold, because sacred bloodfruit trees were generally controlled by the ancient, truly supreme powers of the Endless Territories. Even Hegemons would fight over such trees! Thus, the sacred bloodfruit which came from these trees would generally fall into the hands of Hegemon-level individuals. Although every single major organization was willing to spend roughly twenty million cubes to purchase a single sacred bloodfruit, those ancient powers who owned them cared little for chaos nectar and would generally only exchange them for other valuable treasures.

“These two treasures combined are still a bit lacking.” The silver-robed Daolord looked closely at Ning.

“A pearl of deluxe hellgold and a skyjewel bloodfruit, if sold on the treasure auction, should have a reserve price of at least sixty million cubes of chaos nectar,” Ning said. “Tell me, what do you think the final price would be?”

The silver-robed Daolord was startled by the question.

“Although flying vessels that can move at a hunndred times the speed of light are rare, there are a number that are available for sale,” Ning said. “If you aren’t happy with my offer, I’ll go take it somewhere else.

“Y-you are seriously such a…” The silver-robed Daolord laughed helplessly. The deluxe hellgold and the skyjewel bloodfruit were indeed quite intriguing, but a flying vessel that could move at a hundred times the speed of light was also extremely valuable. The two really were worth roughly the same.

“Fine. Plumesoar Hall is willing to enter this deal with you.” The silver-robed Daolord nodded, then glanced downwards. By now, the bidding war had already reached a price of 90 million cubes, but the bids were clearly slowing down.

“95 million cubes,” the silver-robed Daolord called out.

“95.5 million cubes,” a different Daolord gritted his teeth and called out.

“98 million cubes.” The silver-robed Daolord wasn’t interested in wasting time; he immediately raised the price once more.

Ning, Su Youji, and Pillsaint were all a bit surprised. The silver-robed Daolord glanced at the three of them, then chuckled. “Making bids on our own treasures is actually quite common. If the real bids on the best treasures aren’t high enough, we’ll just ‘buy’ some of them ourselves.”

Ning and the others couldn’t help but let out startled laughs. It seemed as though Plumesoar Hall really did refuse to lose money on any of these treasure trades.

In truth, to the massively powerful organizations within the Dao Alliance like the Skywood Sect, chaos nectar wasn’t really all that valuable. Deluxe hellgold, sacred bloodfruit, and other similarly rare cosmic treasures were much more worthy of collection. Deluxe hellgold wasn’t that alluring; it was the skyjewel bloodfruit which caused this silver-robed Daolord to agree to this trade, because the Skywood Sect just so happened to need it to go with a number of other valuable ingredients for pill-refining.

In the end, the flying vessel was ‘won’ at the price of 98 million cubes. The deluxe hellgold and the skyjewel bloodfruit was given to the silver-robed Daolord, while the flying vessel entered Ning’s hands.

“If you have other rare items, feel free to bring them to Plumesoar Hall.” The silver-robed Daolord smiled. “We have many precious treasures, including even Dao-seals which mighty Eternal Emperors poured all of their effort into. Those can all be traded for.”

“Not a bad idea.” Ning smiled, then picked up the flying vessel and nodded mentally to himself. Just using the nine novessence arts against Daolord Kongsan probably wouldn’t be enough, as the man was capable of transforming his body into darkness and making it virtually indestructible. But now that Ning had this flying vessel, he would definitely be guaranteed of being able to escape whenever he chose.

Although the deluxe hellgold and the skyjewel bloodfruit were important, one was an artificing ingredient while the other was an alchemical ingredient. Ning neither understood artificing nor specialized in alchemy. Use skyjewel bloodfruit in alchemy? Not even Daolord Allgod would necessarily be qualified to engage in alchemy on such a level.

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Chapter 36 – Into Battle

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 36 – Into Battle

Skywood City. The fiery-haired, fiery-eyed, black-robed Daolord Kongsan was seated in the lotus position within the protective formations of Plumesoar Hall, his eyes closed as he waited quietly. He had been waiting before the doors for more than two years already. So long as Ji Ning dared to emerge, he would immediately sense it.

“Is Daolord Kongsan going to just wait there?”

“What else can he do? That white-robed Daolord has been hiding inside Plumesoar Hall this entire time, refusing to come out. No matter how strong Daolord Kongsan is, he wouldn’t dare to challenge the Dao Alliance.” The attendants inside the hall were all gossiping amongst each other.

“If the white-robed Daolord stays inside Plumesoar Hall for an entire chaos cycle, will Daolord Kongsan wait here for an entire chaos cycle?”

“Hard to say! However, the white-robed Daolord seems to be just a Daolord of the Second Step. This is a critical period of time for him as a cultivator. There’s no way he’s going to just hide in there forever, right?”

“It might slow down his cultivation, but at least he’ll stay alive if he continues to hide in there! If he leaves, he’s dead.”

They all continuously whispered amongst each other about this. These attendants were all World-level figures, and they were quite interested in the grudges which elite Daolords held against each other. Whenever such elite Daolords battled against each other, news of it would quickly spread far and wide. The stories of how Daolord Allgod hunted Emperor Melobo were passed down for countless generations. Although the affair between Ning and Daolord Kongsan wouldn’t be talked about for nearly that long, it would still be the talk of the town for a brief period of time.

On one side was a monstrously strong Daolord, Daolord Kongsan. On the other side was a mere Daolord of the Second Step who was so talented he had easily slain a Daolord of the Third Step; his true power was most likely that of a Verge-level Daolord as well.

Both were at a high level of power, which naturally made for a good story.

“Eh?”

“Is that…”

“Am I seeing things?’

The attendants of Plumesoar Hall all stared in astonishment at the white-robed figure who had just emerged from the inner hallways, carrying a black sword scabbard on his back. That face… those clothes… that aura… it was the person they were talking about, the mysterious white-robed Daolord!

“He actually came out? He actually dared to come out?”

“Is he suicidal?”

“There’s no way he’s coming out to die. He has to have something up his sleeve.” These attendants all watched curiously, alongside a good number of guests. Most of the guests were Daolords, and a few were even Daolords of the Fourth Step. However, none of them dared to get involved in a matter like this. Daolord Kongsan had been waiting here for more than two years already! This alone testified as to how badly he wished to kill the white-robed Daolord.

……

Ning glanced at the attendants and Daolords, chuckled, then flew towards the entrance of Plumesoar Hall. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the black-robed Daolord Kongsan seated in the lotus position by the doorway.

“Daolord Kongsan, you certainly are quite a patient man,” Ning said.

Daolord Kongsan opened his eyes. The sharpness of his fiery eyes would cause ordinary Daolords to feel a sense of oppression in their hearts. He cracked his lips into a cold, strange smile. “I thought you would hide inside for a few chaos cycles, kid. I didn’t expect you to come out so soon.”

“If I stayed inside for several chaos cycles, would you really have waited here the entire time?” Ning was surprised.

“I’m a very patient man,” Daolord Kongsan said calmly. “To me, time doesn’t really matter. When my life is about to end, I shall go and prepare for my Daomerge.”

“You sound as though you really have nothing interesting in your life.” Ning shook his head. Wait here for several chaos cycles? How long had Ning been cultivating for?! Daolord Kongsan might be patient enough to wait htat long, but Ning himself definitely was not.

……

The attendants and guests within Plumesoar Hall all watched curiously as the two figures outside chatted with each other. One was dressed in beautiful black robes, the other was dressed in white clothes. One had a dominating and rather evil aura, while the other looked unassuming and reserved but was clearly a freakishly talented Daolord who had simply hidden away his sharpness.

“The white-robed Daolord doesn’t look scared at all.”

“Their words are tit for tat against each other.”

The customers all listened quietly, and many of them couldn’t help but feel admiration for the weaker white-robed Daolord.

……

“Nothing interesting in my life? You don’t understand. Waiting is a way to temper one’s Dao-heart, and as such is a form of cultivation.” Daolord Kongsan wasn’t the slightest bit irritated, and his eyes remained as cold as ice. “What, are you going to stay within the protective barriers this entire time?” Both of them were inside the barriers of Plumesoar Hall, and combat was forbidden here.

“I’m not as bored as you. I wouldn’t waste time coming out here just to tease you a bit.” Ning shook his head. “I’m going to be leaving now. Follow me if you can.” Swoosh. Ning transformed into a streak of light, instantly flying outside the protective barrier.

“Hmph.” Daolord Kongsan’s aura expanded dramatically as he instantly disappeared into a cloud of black mist which surge out of the barrier formation and swept towards Ning.

Ning, in midair, glanced backwards at the mist. The mist was a roiling mass of darkness that was rolling straight towards him. Just looking at the mist alone caused Ning to feel a powerful sense of danger.

“It isn’t the right time to fight you just yet,” Ning mused to himself. With a wave of his hand, Ning caused a black flying vessel to appear next to him. This vessel was shaped like the tip of a sword, and it emanated an aura of incredible keenness. Whoosh! Ning entered the vessel. “Let’s go.” Now that Ning was in control of the flying vessel, it suddenly exploded with speed and went from zero to a hundred times the speed of light.

“What?” A human face immediately appeared within the roiling black mist behind Ning, and it stared straight at the vessel. “He actually has a flying vessel that can move at a hundred times the speed of light?”

A hundred times faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos. What did speed like this mean?

Even Dao lightning ‘only’ moved at this speed! This was a level of speed which Samsara Daolords generally were unable to aspire to. There were many freakishly talented Daolords who weren’t even close to being this fast, even when they reached the Verge. Kongsan himself, for example, could only move at thirty-six times the speed of light! Palace Lord Dawnstar had reached incredible heights in the dao of the Saber, but if he merely relied on his Dao to travel even he would only be able to move at fifty times the speed of light.

Even those who were skilled in speed-oriented Daos such as the Dao of Lightning, the Dao of Wind, or the Dao of Light were rarely able to reach a hundred times the speed of light. To exceed that level of speed? You had to reach an absolutely unimaginable level of insight into a speed if you wished to do so.

For flying treasures, vessels like the one which Ning had purchased represented the apex of speed possible for treasures! Flying treasures could at most move at a hundred times the speed of light. If you wanted to go faster than that, you’d have to focus on your own trainng and cultivation. The vast majority of Eternal Emperors weren’t able to move that fast!

“A hundred times the speed of light?” Daolord Kongsan was truly stunned, but moments later his murderous intent began to boil once more. “Excellent. It seems this kid has many treasures on him, far more than most Daolords of the Fourth Step.”

It must be remembered that Daolord Kongsan had sixteen verified kills of Daolords of the Fourth Step. He loved to kill others and seize their treasures. “No wonder he dared to come out. Unfortunately… he’s still too young.” Daolord Kongsan smirked. “Activate!”

……

Ning was controlling his flying vessel to advance at high speed. He flew out of Skywood City in the blink of an eye, but suddenly…

“Activate.” A cold voice echoed for countless kilometers around him. Rumble… the formation-bases which had been hidden throughout this area suddenly showed themselves, emanating pillars of light that towered to the heavens. An enormous amount of power began to gather, and this area quickly became a completely sealed region that was separated from the outside world.

“What?!” Ning’s face paled.

“Ahahaha…” The black mist once more reformed into the black-robed Daolord Kongsan. He said with a cold laugh, “Kid, did you really think you were a match for me? I knew that you would only leave once you were fully prepared… but did you really think that you were the only one who could make preparations? I’ve already set up four rings of formations in the area outside of Skywood City. No matter which way you fled, you’d still end up inside one of them. Space has been completely locked within this formation; no matter how fast you are, you won’t be able to escape. The only path still open to you… is the path to hell!”

Ning stood there within his flying vessel. He stared at the distant Daolord Kongsan, then let out a chuckle. “Daolord Kongsan, I didn’t expect that you would surreptitiously set up four sealing formations while keeping watch on the gate.”

“I had thought that you would arrange for attendants of Plumesoar Hall to keep an eye on me, which was why I stayed at the gates.” Daolord Kongsan shook his head. “While keeping them distracted, I ordered my eldest disciple to quietly set up these formations. Now, it seems, the subterfuge was unnecessary. I overestimated you.”

“You certainly went to a great deal of trouble.” Ning shook his head.

“I’m impressed at how calm you are, given your situation.” Daolord Kongsan laughed coldly. “Prepare to die.”

Boom! He shot through the air at high speeds, his robes fluttering with an aura of dark mist that made him move incredibly fast, but no matter how fast he was he still couldn’t move as quickly as Ning did.

Swoosh! The black vessel easily and quickly pulled away from him, and Ning’s voice rang out once more. “Daolord Kongsan, even though we are both inside this formation, you won’t be able to catch up to me or do anything to me.”

“Is that so?” Daolord Kongsan suddenly barked, “Disciple, come out!”

Whoosh. A figure suddenly emerged on the other end of the sealing formation, passing through it and appearing within the sealed region. This was a female green-robed alien Outsider, and the area around her was flooded with green mist that caused space itself to hiss and crackle.

“Disciple, stand guard on the other side while I chase him down from this side. We’ll catch him and kill him.” Daolord Kongsan said these words aloud, not worried that Ning might overhear them.

“Yes, Master.” The green-robed woman immediately assented to his orders.

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Chapter 37 – Captured

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 37 – Captured

“Trapping me between the two of you?” Ji Ning glanced at the two sides. No matter which way he flew, either Daolord Kongsan or his eldest disciple would be able to move closer to him. His free space would slowly lessen no matter what.

“Oh, my dear Daolord Kongsan… your eldest disciple is quite formidable, and if I hadn’t mastered the nine novessence arts I wouldn’t be able to do anything to her… but now?” A cold light flashed through NIng’s eyes.

Whoosh. The green mist twisting around the green-robed woman began to spread out as a number of long ropes began to reach out in every direction, with her at the very center. Every single rope-type magic treasure was able to stretch out a hundred million kilometers, and she was charging straight towards Ning. Clearly, she wanted to use these ropes to further lower Ning’s area of free mobility. As for Daolord Kongsan, he transformed into that endless black mist that billowed straight towards Ning.

“Daolord Kongsan, do you really think your eldest disciple will be able to capture me?” Ning’s voice rang out.

“Even if she can’t, she can at least tie you down,” Daolord Kongsan replied coldly. “There’s nowhere for you to run. No matter where you go, you will die.”

The green-robed woman was quite strong, fairly close to Patriarch Clearwind in power when he wasn’t using his killer attack. As Daolord Kongsan saw it, no matter how freakishly talented this Daolord of the Second Step was, even if she failed in capturing him she would still be able to slow him down.

“Is that so?” Ning smiled coldly. Swoosh! His black vessel began to flee at high speeds, and perhaps by accident it moved closer and closer towards the green-robed woman.

Daolord Kongsan wasn’t surprised in the slightest. In the end, Ning had to choose a direction, and Kongsan’s eldest disciple was naturally a bit weaker than Kongsan himself. It made sense for Ning to move in her direction.

“Disciple, kill him if you can. If you can’t, slow him down. Once I arrive, I’ll crush him to death,” Daolord Kongsan sent mentally.

“I definitely won’t disappoint you, Master,” the green-robed woman replied.

……

The green-robed woman was moving closer and closer to Ning. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Her magic ropes stretched out through the skies like giant pythons which coiled and lashed out against Ning.

“Ahahah!” Ning stood there at the prow of his black vessel, his two hands gripped around a single sword. He struck out, sending a dazzling streak of sword-light out ten million kilometers and striking against one of the ropes.

Daolord Kongsan was skilled in close combat, and for now Ning wasn’t confident in fighting him up close. But this eldest disciple? She was the perfect match for Ning. In the end, his close combat skills had the greatest latent potential for further development. His nine novessence arts were more powerful, true, but they had already reached the level of complete mastery. In the future, he would only be able to strengthen it by making it fit into his sword-arts, but there was a limit to how much stronger they would grow.

“This kid…” Daolord Kongsan couldn’t help but feel shocked by what he was seeing from afr. “What incredible sword-arts.”

Ning and the green-robed woman had moved closer and closer to each other, and the two had entered close combat. The green-robed woman actually reduced the range of each rope to be merely a million kilometers, causing them to grow noticeably more powerful. When the ropes were too long, they would naturally become harder to control and thus would be weakened.

Ning brought out all six of his swords, fighting to his heart’s content and actually holding the upper hand.

“He’s actually slightly more powerful than my disciple?” Daolord Kongsan’s face tightened slightly as he picked up the pace. “Keep him tied down, disciple.”

“Don’t worry, Master. The kid has extremely profound sword-arts, but he’s on par with me at most.” The green-robed woman didn’t want to admit defeat in the face of a Daolord of the Second Step.

……

Time slowly trickled on. The green-robed woman’s techniques were softer and more insidious, and a battle on this level gave Ning a few deeper-level insights into his own Dao of the Sword. Life-and-death battles, especially ones against different types of opponents, were of great benefit to him training in the Dao of the Sword.

“Hm?” Ning glanced backwards, only to see that the fast-moving black mist was about to reach him. “A pity.” Ning turned to look back at the green-robed woman, then laughed, “I wanted to tussle with you for a bit longer, but your Master has arrived.”

“A pity indeed.” The green-robed woman spoke out as well. “You are a freakishly talented Daolord who should’ve been able to rise to the heavens and stun the Endless Territories… but today, you shall die and your Dao shall vanish.”

Ning shook his head. Suddenly… boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! ……

One surge of incredible power after another began to blast out from the area around Ning, each contained unbelievable amounts of force. Generally speaking, Daolords of the Fourth Step would immediately die if touched by a single one of these streaks of power, and there were nine of them roaming around in the skies. Moments later, they swiftly began to twine around each other, transforming into two dazzling streaks of sword-light.

The novessence fire, novessence water, and rest of the Five Elements techniques all joined together under the leadership of the novessence water. Water supported all things without complaint, and was able to tolerate everything.

The novessence thunder, novessence wind, novessence light, and novessence void were led by the novessence void. The novessence void technique was the most powerful of the nine novessence arts, and it was actually capable of commanding all eight of the other arts. For it to merely command three was simplicity itself.

The two groups transformed into two enormous streaks of sword-light, which then gave birth to the Yin-Yang Sword Domain of Ning’s Omega Sword Dao.

“What the hell is that?!” Daolord Kongsan was still trying to catch up, but his face instantly tightened when he saw this. He could tell that this was a technique of incredible power, but for a brief moment he wasn’t able to recognize it. The Endless Territories held far too many secret arts, and in the past he had never battled against experts who had mastered the nine novessence arts.

“B-but…” The green-robed woman’s face turned completely ashen as she called out, “Master, save me!”

“He won’t make it.” Ning glanced at the green-robed woman. Whoosh! The two enormous streaks of sword-light formed into an awesome, enormous vortex that instantly encompassed and surrounded the green-robed woman. She frantically tried to use her ropes to defend against them, but the power of the nine novessence arts when applied through the Yin-Yang Sword Domain of Ning’s Omega Sword Dao was simply too powerful. There was no way she could possibly endure such an attack, and her magic treasures were knocked flying away like duckweed in a raging river.

As for the green-robed woman, she frantically tried to use other spells or magic treasures to buy herself some time, but alas they were all knocked flying away. In the blink of an eye, the enormous whirlpool had ground its way to her body.

“NO!!!!” The green-robed woman let out a resentful howl. She truly couldn’t accept this outcome. Her master was an extremely selfish and vicious man, but for the sake of growing and improving herself she had still chosen to become apprenticed to him.

Now, she was a Daolord of the Fourth Step. She was planning on helping her race survive and flourish. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t die!

BOOM! She had tried everything she had, but there was nothing she could do in the face of this overwhelming disparity in power. Her skills were stronger than those of ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step, but there was no way she could possibly endure Ning’s killer strike. Her body was instantly disintegrated, and as she died a hint of agony and despair flashed through her eyes.

“Eh?” Moments later, she was stunned… because part of her body was actually left undamaged. Although the terrifying vortex of sword-intent surrounded her, it no longer pressed the attack. If it di, she would be totally destroyed.

“Hurry up and get in here. Otherwise, I’ll take your life.” Ning tossed out a gourd which instantly flew to the green-robed woman’s side and sent out a surge of overwhelming strong sucking power towards her. What remained of the green-robed woman’s body didn’t dare to resist, and it allowed Ning to suck her into the gourd. If Ning was going to capture her, at least she wouldn’t die right away.

Ning waved his hand, causing the gourd to return to him. He then turned to look at the attacking Daolord Kongsan. “Daolord Kongsan, your eldest disciple is now in my hands,” Ning said.

“Damn.” Daolord Kongsan had an ugly look on his face.

“Withdraw immediately and I’ll spare her life,” Ning barked.

“Withdraw?” The baleful look in Daolord Kongsan’s eyes only grew stronger. “No one can threaten me. She’s just one disciple. Today, I shall take your life no matter what.”

Seeing this, Ning just shook his head. What a madman. The information which the Skywood Sect had given him was quite accurate; Daolord Kongsan was an exceedingly selfish man who didn’t really care about his disciples, only himself. The reason he had chosen to kill Ning was not because he cared about his disciple or felt sorry for him, but because he felt as though his personal dignity had been affronted by his disciple’s death.

“If that’s the case, let’s fight.” A fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes. “Kill!”

Rumble… those nine novessence arts once more formed into those two enormous streaks of sword-light, and they illuminated each other as they intertwined and lashed out through the skies towards the distant Daolord Kongsan.

“Attacks on this level are useless against me.” Daolord Kongsan was filled with a desire to kill, and he revealed his true form as the black mist roiled around him. He stretched out with his right hand, producing an enormous, pitch-black scimitar within it.

Slash!

The enormous scimitar swept out, carrying a hint of black light on its edge. Space itself parted in a natural way in front of that edge, but not a single iota of his power leaked out. It was like space was nothing more than butter, with his knife cutting neatly through it.

The scimitar chopped out towards those nine rampaging novessence arts as the two began their midair clash.

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Chapter 38 – A Furious Fight

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 38 – A Furious Fight

“What a terrifying scimitar.” Ji Ning could sense that the flows of his nine novessence arts were being parted as though they had been split in half. “But my secret arts were formless to begin with!”

If you cut a stream of water with a knife, the water would continue to flow. Ning’s nine novessence arts of lightning, wind, fire, void, and everything else were all types of formless energy that could assume whatever shape he chose.

In the face of that terrifying scimitar, the rampaging flood of the novessence arts was instantly split in half. Despite that, the power of the secret arts didn’t lessen at all, and two dragon-like streams of sword-light continued onwards towards Daolord Kongsan.

“Not good.” Daolord Kongsan’s face paled, and the black mist around him instantly became far denser and thicker than before. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The sword-light formed by the novessence arts were able to transform into many forms. They instantly transformed into eighteen different streams of sword-light, each of which was violent beyond care. Filled with the sword-intent of the Omega Sword Dao’s Blood Drop stance, they forcibly pierced through the black mist!

In truth, Ning’s nine novessence arts were far stronger than Daolord Kongsan’s darkness-based secret arts, and so penetrating them was very simple.

“Heavenbreaker!” As soon as those eighteen streams of sword-light pierced through the black mist, they suddenly transformed. They became like eighteen whips of flowing water that furiously lashed out, striking Daolord Kongsan on his body.

Ever since Ning had come up with his Omega Sword Dao, he had been able to perfectly join together all different types of sword-arts and Sword Daos. This was why his attacks could seem incredibly soft and yet unleash a dominating display of sword-intent.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! These eighteen streaks of sword-light contained both the criss-crossing power of the Yin-Yang stance as well as the ferocity of the Heavenbreaker stance. Daolord Kongsan was forced to instantly transform his body into darkness itself. The sword-light roamed through the darkness unimpeded, causing his form to shudder a few times, but he was able to easily endure the strike.

“What formidable secret arts. Your sword-intent roams everywhere, letting no opening go untouched.” Daolord Kongsan’s face suddenly appeared from that pool of darkness, and he had a cold smile on his face as he spoke.

“It does indeed leave no opening untouched,” the distant Ning said. “My secret arts are formless like water; of course they flow over and into everything. But precisely because of that, they aren’t particularly powerful when I use them to display these sword-arts.”

You could use a stream of water to stab or to whip someone, but there was no way it would ever hit as hard as an actual weapon meant for those purposes. Weapons were both tougher and sharper.

“Omega Sword Dao, Yin-Yang.” Ning’s gaze turned cold. Rumble… instantly, the energy of the nine novessence arts began to crush and grind down upon everything within a hundred million kilometers. Yin and Yang criss-crossed with each other, grinding away at each other and everything between them. Even though Daolord Kongsan had transformed into darkness incarnate, he could still sense how terrifying this Yin-Yang Sword Domain was, and it was suppressing and restraining him from every possible angle.

“Damn.” Daolord Kongsan felt as though he had been trapped in quicksand. Ning’s secret arts were simply too strong, and they were omnipresent; there was no way Daolord Kongsan could completely block them. Or at least, there was no way he could use his secret arts or magic treasures to block them.

“I had thought that by using my nine novessence arts, I would be able to cause him serious injury even though I probably wouldn’t be able to kill him. Daolord Kongsan truly does have a virtually indestructible body. There’s no way to injure him at all.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. He had already unleashed his most powerful attacks, but all he was able to do was to suppress this foe.

In the end, Ning simply was at too low a level. His Omega Sword Dao might be formidable, but he was still just a Daolord of the First Step

Daolord Allgod was a grandmaster of formations and had reached a much higher level than Ning was currently at. When he used those nine same arts alongside his formations, his power was much greater than Ning’s was.

……

While Ning was sighing to himself, he had no idea just how stunned and furious Daolord Kongsan was. Daolord Kongsan was a venerable Verge-level Daolord who had roamed the Endless Territories for many years… but today, he was actually being beaten down by a Daolord of the Second Step?

“GRAAH!” The endless darkness suddenly released a low, furious growl. Instantly, the darkness quickly began to solidify into a black silhouette that had a noticeably more powerful aura than before, and which was wielding an enormous scimitar.

“Kid, you should feel proud that you’ve forced me to use my supreme attack. Now die!” The blurry black silhouette instantly charged towards Ning as he furiously chopped towards Ning with that enormous scimitar.

This chop caused spacetime to freeze. It was filled with a towering killing intent that struck out from incredibly far away, slamming directly through Ning’s body as it struck against his soul. Ning was still standing at the prow of his distant black vessel, but he could still clearly sense a soul attack of immense power striking at him.

“Hmph!” Within Ning’s sea of consciousness, his soul let out a furious snort. The murderous intent slammed towards Ning’s soul like a wave, but Ning’s soul was completely unmoved. It was comparable to the soul of a Daolord of the Fourth Step, after all, and his heartforce was at the point where he could break through to the sixth stage of heartforce at any moment. Once he did, he would be a true Heartforce Cultivator! Less than 1% of Daolords were Heartforce Cultivators, and so this enormous advantage in terms of heartforce made Ning’s mental and soul defenses incredibly strong.

In addition, Ning had already read an intelligence report stating that Daolord Kongsan had a soul attack, but the attack was only able to confuse and disrupt; it wasn’t all that powerful. In the end, Daolord Kongsan was most skilled in close combat!

“Eh?!” The distant Daolord Kongsan looked at Ning both angrily and expectantly.

“Daolord Kongsan, did you really think you would be able to shake my soul with an attack on this level?” Ning laughed coldly.

Daolord Kongsan was shocked. It was true that soul attacks weren’t his forte, but the soul attack wasn’t a weak one either. Daolord Kongsan felt certain that this mere Daolord of the Second Step had to have a fairly weak soul, even if he did have a fairly high level of insight into the Dao. Logically speaking, the soul should’ve been an enormous weak point. Even Daolords of the Fourth Step would’ve been confused and impacted by his soul attack.

“You aren’t bad at all, kid. But if you are really so tough, stop running and fight me in close combat!” Daolord Kongsan bellowed angrily as he flew towards Ning.

“Haha, I’m just a Daolord of the Second Step! You want me to fight in you in close combat? Do you have any sense of shame? If I broke through to become a Daolord of the Third Step, I’d be more than happy to fight you in close combat.” Riding his black vessel, Ning was able to easily pull away from Daolord Kongsan once more. He also continued to use his nine novessence arts to either slow down or attack Daolord Kongsan repeatedly.

Daolord Kongsan was getting angrier and angrier as this ‘fight’ continued. Ning continued to flee, and he continued to chase. Ning had it quite easy in this battle, as he continued to attack while fleeing thanks to his overwhelming advantage in speed.

……

“If this continues… I really won’t be able to do anything to this kid at all.” Daolord Kongsan shook his head. “If memory serves, the secret arts this kids is using should be the nine novessence arts of the legendary Daolord Allgod.” The reason why hadn’t recognized the technique earlier was because he had never personally battled it before, but he had read the description of the techniques within the Spellworld. After having battled against Ning for so long, he had some insights into what it was that he was up against.

“I really wonder how a Daolord of the Second Step like him was able to master such terrifying secret arts,” Daolord Kongsan mused. “I heard that in order to master those nine novessence arts, you not only need to have certain insights into the likes of lightning, wind, and fire, you also have to be a grandmaster alchemist; if your alchemy skills are even the slightest bit deficient, you will never be able to master the nine novessence arts. Is this Daolord of the Second Step a grandmaster alchemist?!” Even Kongsan was secretly speechless.

“If he is… there’s no way he could’ve learned alchemy by himself. He either won an incredibly powerful legacy or has an incredibly powerful teacher behind him.” After having battled for so long, Daolord Kongsan was starting to grow wary of Ning. This person definitely wouldn’t be as easy to deal with as the other Daolords of the Fourth Step he had slain.

“Screw it. I’ll capture him alive first! If he really does have a powerful figure behind him… hmph. I’m a core member of the Dao Alliance. Very few people are qualified to threaten me. When the time comes, I’ll chat with him a bit. I can force the kid to swear a few lifeblood oaths, then let him go.” Daolord Kongsan mused to himself, “But if he doesn’t have any powerful figures behind him, I can do whatever I want to him.”

Whoosh. Daolord Kongsan sent his will outside the grand sealing formation and towards one of the hundred thousand estates located at the margins of Skywood City. Aside from Kongsan, there were a few other incredibly powerful and ancient Daolords who lived in seclusion in those estates.

“Big brother Shaka.” Daolord Kongsan instantly sent mentally, “I’m embarrassed to say this, but it seems I’ll need to ask you to help me out and capture the kid.”

Within the estate. A handsome man with long golden hair and a golden suit of armor was seated in the lotus position inside a courtyard, staring at the heavens. He looked like an ordinary cultivator, but in truth he was a terrifyingly strong Aberrant. Amongst the ancient figures who lived in seclusion in Skywood City, he was reputedly the fastest of them all. The Dao Alliance was an extremely welcoming and open organization, allowing members of the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrants, and even the Ancient cultivators to live within their cities. Only their mortal enemies, the Aeonians, were refused entry by the Dao Alliance. And of course, the Dark Kingdom.

“Kongsan, he seems to just be a Daolord of the Second Step. You really can’t catch him yourself?” A gleam of purple light flashed through Daolord Shaka’s eyes.

“I really cannot. This kid has way too many tricks up his sleeve, which is why I’ve come to ask you for help, big brother Shaka.”

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Chapter 39 – Summoning Friends

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 39 – Summoning Friends

“Describe all of his abilities to me in detail,” Daolord Shaka said. He wouldn’t agree to a request like this lightly; he had to first see what sort of abilities this Daolord of the Second Step possessed.

“I’ll narrate to them to you.” Since Daolord Kongsan was asking this man to help out, it wasn’t appropriate for him to hold anything back. He gave a quick explanation, then continued, “Don’t worry, big brother Shaka. I also have the feeling that he probably has a significant background, given how talented he is. To be safe, we should first capture him and then see if anyone comes to save him. If an Emperor comes for him, we’ll ransom him for a pretty price. If no one comes from him, we’ll just kill him.”

Daolord Shaka nodded. “Alright.” Neither of the two were the cowardly, trouble-fearing type. Kongsan was a core member of the Dao Alliance, while Daolord Shaka was a high-level member of the Aberrants. The kid might have powerful backers, but so did they. The only reason they were planning to capture Ning first was to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

“I’ll agree to help you here,” Daolord Shaka said.

“Thank you, big brother Shaka.” Daolord Kongsan was delighted.

Swoosh! Daolord Shaka instantly transformed into a streak of light that disappeared into the skies as it hastened towards the grand sealing formation.

……

Within the sealing formation. Daolord Shaka continued to chase after the fleeing Ji Ning as the two continuously exchanged attacks against each other.

“He can’t do anything to me.” Ning was extremely clear-headed despite the battle’s progression. “Daolord Kongsan himself knows this quite well. He won’t just let things drag out like this; he must be coming up with a plan! But it won’t matter what he has up his sleeve; I won’t let him do as he wishes.”

“Mm.” Ning immediately sent a mental message, “Send word to the Brightshore Kingdom right away that I am in a grand sealing formation outside Skywood City and am being pursued and attacked by Daolord Kongsan. I would like to ask the fellow Daoists of the Brightshore Kingdom to help out. The duration of this request is a single day.”

“Yes, Master.” The alien World-level retainer who had with Ning this entire time immediately acknowledged the order. This retainer had another clone in the Brightshore Kingdom, and so was able to make the report almost immediately. Moments later, the Brightshore Kingdom sent word to every single Daolord and Emperor within its ranks.

In truth, in recent years Ning had received quite a few distress calls as well, but they were all too far away from him. This time, for example, Ning himself had said that the duration of his request was a single day! If others couldn’t make it here within a single day, there was no point to them even coming. If they were too far away, they would only find at the end of their long journey that the matter had come to an end long ago.

“But asking for the Brightshore Kingdom to help out is just a precaution,” Ning mused. “In the end, it doesn’t have that many Daolords. The number of Daolords it has who can deal with Kongsan are even fewer. Although this is one of the eight Sacred Cities and there should be quite a few members of the Brightshore Kingdom here, it’s hard to say if there are any who can match Kongsan.”

“I suppose I’ll have to wait and see. If there’s nothing I can do, I’ll use up the Hegemon’s Dao-seal,” Ning mused. You always had to have a backup plan.

The Dao of the Sword was an offensive Dao, and so the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal possessed terrifying offensive power. Even Eternal Emperors would deeply desire an item of such incredible value. However, the path of cultivation was a long one, and this affair with Daolord Kongsan might be nothing more than a minor bump in this long road. Ning wasn’t willing to use up his Dao-seal unless absolutely necessary.

But of course… if it WAS absolutely necessary, then he would simply use it! Once he used it up, he would win all of the treasures which Daolord Kongsan possessed. However, in Ning’s eyes not even all of the combined treasures Daolord Kongsan possessed were as important as his Hegemon’s Dao-seal.

A short while later…

“Hahaha!” Daolord Kongsan suddenly began to laugh. “Let’s see how much longer you can keep fleeing, kid.” Ning’s face tightened. Daolord Kongsan suddenly pointed off into the distance. Instantly, a golden figure flew through the distant barrier, followed by the barrier once more being sealed shut.

The golden figure was that of a handsome, golden-haired man dressed in golden armor. He glanced at Ning curiously, then slowly shook his head and said, “Kid, it’s quite rare and impressive for a Daolord of the Second Step to be as strong as you are. What a true pity.”

“Please help me, big brother Shaka, in capturing him,” Daolord Kongsan said.

“Shaka?” Ning’s face turned pale. “Daolord Shaka of the Aberrants?”

Daolord Shaka was an incredibly famous Daolord of the Aberrants, and that fame came from his incredible speed. He was one of those figures who could go more than a hundred times faster than the speed of light! In speed alone, he was superior to the vast majority of Eternal Emperors. And, as an Aberrant, he was incredibly fast and powerful in close combat as well.”

“It seems I’ll have to use the Hegemon’s Dao-seal after all.” A sharp light flashed through Ning’s eyes.

“Kid, I recommend you give up,” Daolord Shaka said calmly. He had absolute faith in his overwhelming speed.

“Kongsan! Stay your hand!” A cold shout rang out from afar, going through the barrier and reverberating within the world inside it. The people outside the formation were unable to see what was going on inside, but those inside it were able to see and hear what was happening outside with perfect clarity.

“Eh?” Daolord Kongsan and Daolord Shaka both looked outside, as did Ning. Two figures had appeared outside the formation. One was a skinny, white-haired, middle-aged man. The other was a muscular man with a giant greataxe on his back who had a single horn in the middle of his head.

“Kongsan, stay your hand. Release Darknorth!” The skinny, white-haired man said coldly.

“Daolord Soleman? Daolord Skyaxe?” Daolord Kongsan’s face tightened.

“Palace Lord Soleman?” Within the formation, Ning revealed a look of delight as well. Lord Soleman was the Vice Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace! Other Daolords of the Fourth Step might be strong or weak, but every single one who was also a Heartforce Power possessed terrifying power. Daolord Soleman, as the Vice Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom, was also an incredibly powerful figure whose name alone was enough to terrify countless cultivators. Heartforce Cultivator Daolords simply possessed far too many strange ways to kill people. Sometimes, a single glance from them was enough to slay.

As for Daolord Skyaxe, he wasn’t a member of the Brightshore Kingdom; he was probably just accompanying Daolord Soleman and so came over as well. However, Daolord Skyaxe was one of the most freakishly powerful of Daolords who had most likely devised and joined together multiple different Supreme Daos. He was ranked as the number five Daolord of this era in the Endless Territories.

“Darknorth? The kid over here?” Daolord Kongsan laughed coldly.

“Release him,” Daolord Soleman barked.

“Soleman, if I release him just because you told me to, I would have no face left,” Daolord Shaka said coldly.

“Daolord Soleman, Daolord Skyaxe, next to me is big brother Shaka,” Daolord Kongsan said. Soleman and Skyaxe were outside the formation and so weren’t able to see anything inside of it at all.

Although there was a ranking of power in the Endless Territories, ranks didn’t count for everything. For example, an incredibly powerful Daolord’s abilities might be perfectly countered by a lower-ranked Daolord’s abilities! Palace Lord Dawnstar might be in trouble if he encountered an ancient, incredibly powerful Eternal Emperor, but someone like Daolord Shaka would be able to escape thanks to his incredible speed. Everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses; those who stood at the very top ranks amongst Daolords all had their own pride and rarely submitted to others.

If Kongsan encountered Soleman and Skyaxe by himself… he was strong enough to stay alive, but he’d still feel trepidation. Now that Daolord Shaka, a Daolord even more powerful than himself, was by his side… he felt much more confidence.

“Soleman, Skyaxe, the two of you don’t have the right or the power to demand me to release this kid,” Daolord Shaka said.

“Attack!” Daolord Soleman was instantly enraged. “Break this formation apart!”

BOOM! The nearby Daolord Skyaxe was enraged as well. He immediately attacked, and when he did the world itself seemed to tremble, and even Skywood City itself seemed to turn dim. Endless yellow illusions filled the vast area surrounding Skywood City. Moments later, a terrifying greataxe struck out from within the yellow illusions and chopped downwards towards the grand sealing formation. In terms of using raw power to break apart formations, Daolord Soleman clearly wasn’t as strong as Daolord Skyaxe.

“What’s going on? What’s with this terrifying aura?” Quite a few cultivators within Skywood City were surprised by the commotion.

BOOM! The grand sealing formation shook a few times and a few ripples appeared on the surface of the barrier, but it managed to endure the blow.

“Hahaha! Daolord Skyaxe, if I was forced to fight you in combat I would have no choice but to turn tail and flee. It would be a joke, however, if you could overwhelm me even through these formations I’ve set down.” Daolord Kongsan’s voice echoed from within the formation.

“Damn.” Daolord Skyaxe was infuriated.

……

“They won’t be able to help you.” Daolord Kongsan turned his head to stare at Ning, still aboard his black vessel.

“If you aren’t willing to just surrender… then we’ll be forced to simply capture you alive. Let’s see what Soleman and Skyaxe can do about it. Last time we met in the Terror Starsea, he caused me to lose face. Does he really think I’ll just give way to him this time?” Daolord Shaka snickered, then transformed into a streak of light that instantly moved more than a hundred times the speed of light.

Aboard the black vessel, Ning let out a long sigh. “It seems I’ll have to use the Hegemon’s Dao-seal after all.” Murder flickered in Ning’s eyes.

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Chapter 40 – Hegemon’s Dao-Seal

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 40 – Hegemon’s Dao-Seal

Outside the grand sealing formation. Soleman and Skyaxe were both furious but helpless.

Within the grand sealing formation. Daolord Kongsan was smirking from afar. It looked as though things had been settled! Daolord Shaka had transformed into a dazzling, breathtakingly eye-catching streak of golden light as he charged towards Ning. He truly was moving extremely fast, but Ji Ning was able to see him moving with perfect clarity. There was a sensation of time itself being distorted, which caused Ning to feel rather uncomfortable.

Ning continued to calmly fly forwards on his black vessel, and a dark blue crystalline leaf suddenly appeared in his hand.

Crack! A seemingly simple action, the crushing of a leaf… but the terrifying, overwhelming amount of power hidden within that leaf-shaped Dao-seal was finally unleashed! The deceased Sword Hegemon had paid an enormous price to create this terrifying Dao-seal before his death, and the power within it was truly inconceivable.

“What terrifying power. So this… this is is the might of a Hegemon.” When Ning crushed the seal, he instantly sensed a surge of unfathomable power flood through him and come under his control.

He was the guide, the conduit for this power. He had the right to tell it where to strike, and that was where it would strike. He could also allow the power to voluntarily disperse.

“Go, then. Kill them.” Ning turned his gaze to Daolord Shaka, soaring towards him like a streak of golden light, as well as the distant Daolord Kongsan.

……

BOOM! An awesome display of power burst forth. It was like the darkness before the dawn was suddenly split by the first rays of the sun which cast its radiance over the land. The streak of sunlight shone down upon the hearts of both Daolord Shaka and Daolord Kongsan!

“NO!!!!” Looks of utter horror appeared on the faces of both of them. As soon as that overwhelming burst of force first revealed its true, terrifying luster, both of their hearts were filled with the utmost terror. They wouldn’t feel such terror even in the face of death itself, but the overwhelming power of a Hegemon caused them to feel a sense of uncontrollable terror. This was something which came from the very depths of their souls.

……

Outside the formation. The faces of Daolord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe both changed as well. Although they weren’t able to see what was happening inside the formation, a sensation of complete and utter terror filled their hearts.

“Retreat.”

“Retreat immediately!”

This was the only thought which entered their minds: Get as far away from this place as possible!

They could sense that something terrifying was about to happen within the formation! Perhaps the terrifying power within it wasn’t aimed directly at them, but they still couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Both retreated immediately.

…….

Within Skywood City.

Most of the cultivators were too distant from the grand sealing formation, and so when Ning shattered the Hegemon’s Dao-seal they didn’t sense much when its power was unleashed. The two most powerful figures inside the city, however, able to sense it clearly.

“I just sensed an enormous burst of power.” Emperor Skywood turned his head, staring towards the distant grand sealing formation.

“Yes. The power is tremendous.” The old man with tousled blue hair facing him nodded solemnly as well. “I can sense that it is strong enough to threaten the two of us. Skywood, this is your territory. How could there be such a strong burst of power here? It must have been generated from one of those strange treasures that was brought back from the Terror Starsea. That, or it had to be a single-use Dao-seal or another similar type of treasure which was personally crated by a Hegemon.”

Emperor Skywood nodded as well, then chuckled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve sensed anything that could threaten me. Let’s go take a look.”

“Kill!” Ning guided that terrifying surge of Sword Dao power forward.

BOOM! The enormous, terrifying illusion of a greatsword suddenly appeared in the area around Ning. As soon as the greatsword appeared, both space and time were completely squeezed and compressed. Daolord Shaka and Daolord Kongsan were both so terrified that they went numb. This was a level of power which they were completely unprepared to handle!

“Damn, damn, damn! Damn that Kongsan. How could he have offended a freak like this?!” Daolord Shaka’s heart was filled with shock, rage, and resentment. “What sort of incredible fortune did this freak stumble upon. How could he have such a monstrously powerful treasure? Not even the protective treasure which the Hegemon bestowed upon me might not be able to resist this terrifying sword.”

A translucent bottle suddenly appeared out of nowhere within the palm of Daolord Shaka’s hand. Within the bottle was a crystalline speck of sand. Daolord Shaka felt such sorrow that it was as though blood was dripping out of his heart. This was an ancient relic he had acquired after countless years of braving dangerous territories, and was the most powerful protective treasure he had ever acquired. He hadn’t expected that he would have to use it up because of his decision to help Daolord Kongsan.

Crack! The bottle was shattered, and the sand within it instantly emitted a softy, blurry glow that covered Daolord Shaka. Whoosh! The light-covered form of Daolord Shaka instantly disappeared without a trace, as though he had never even been here.

“N-no. How could I, Kongsan, die in a place like this? Impossible.” Daolord Kongsan instantly produced two strange treasures in his hands. He immediately shattered them without even pausing.

These two different treasures, when shattered, produced two different surges of power. The first surge of power sought to influence the local spacetime and change the trajectory of the impending giant sword illusion. Alas, the surge of power instantly disappeared, because it was powerless against the sword. As for the second surge of power, it was applied to Daolord Kongsan himself. It transformed into an enormous globe of water that covered his body.

BOOM!!!

The enormous sword came slashing down. Space and time both came to a halt as all things were sheared away by its power. It chopped down upon the giant globe of water, which was instantly shattered by this overwhelmingly dominating sword. As for Daolord Kongsan, he had already transformed into darkness incarnate within that water globe. But in the face of that terrifying sword illusion… he melted away like snow in summer. His body of darkness incarnate was completely unable to help him. When the sword-light chopped down, the region of darkness dissipated into nothingness.

Daolord Kongsan had perished!

Whoosh! The enormous illusion of a greatsword continued forwards to chop through the grand sealing formation, easily piercing through it and continuing to charge forwards. It then flew into the skies, out of this everworld, and into the distant primordial chaos.

“Dissipate!” Ning willed it, and that terrifying illusion of a greatsword quickly dissipated. Its power spread out into trillions of tiny streams that swept out in every direction, causing the primordial chaos itself to tremble.

“Daolord Kongsan.” Ning’s body flickered as he instantly moved as though by teleportation through the void to appear at the place where Daolord Kongsan died. Ning glanced at the treasures that lay there in midair, then shook his head. “I didn’t imagine that this sword would shatter even Daolord Kongsan’s storage treasures. A few of the items inside remain, though.” Ning waved his hand, gathering all of the remaining treasures of Daolord Kongsan.

Daolord Kongsan actually had several storage estate-treasures. Some of the weaker ones had been crushed, as had many of the treasures stored within them. However, his top-grade Eternal estate-treasures were scarred but still whole.

……

After putting away Daolord Kongsan’s treasures, Ning turned to glance off into the distance. Earlier, he had seen Daolord Shaka flee. Fleeing wasn’t that impressive, actually. For example, Ning himself had that spacetime disc which the almighty Hegemon had given him. If he had been faced with a similar attack, he might’ve been able to flee as well. But of course, Ning wouldn’t dare say that he was completely certain in his chances, and he wouldn’t be so foolish as to actually test it out.

“Darknorth.” Two distant figures flew towards him from afar.

Ning turned to look at them. It was Daolord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe. They had fled in terror moments ago, but now they had flown back.

“Senior apprentice-brother Soleman.” Ning hurriedly flew over and said courteously, “Thank you and Daolord Skyaxe so much for coming here to rescue me.”

The Daolords of Brightshore Kingdom all referred to each other as equals of the same generation. Even when Ning was merely at the World level, he still addressed Palace Lord Woodflower as senior apprentice-brother Woodflower.

“Haha, we didn’t really save you; you saved yourself.” Daolord Soleman glanced at the white-robed youth with quite a bit of curiosity. This was his first time meeting Ning; in the past, he had only heard stories of Ning from Solewind. “Darknorth, you sent a request to the Brightshore Kingdom to ask the other Daolords to help out because you didn’t wish to use up that precious treasure, I assume?”

“That treasure was absolutely extraordinary.” The nearby Daolord Skyaxe sighed in praise as well. “It truly was powerful. Anyone who wants to rely on their own powers to survive such an attack would absolutely have to have the most supreme of protective divine abilities.”

Ning nodded. That attack wasn’t necessarily omnipotent; for example, Daolord Shaka had been able to escape. Certain divine abilities that could make the body comparable to top-grade Eternal treasures might also allow for survival! However, such techniques were incredibly rare and valuable, and to actually reach such a level was extremely difficult. Ning had a Hegemon’s legacy, but had still only been able to train his body to the low-grade Eternal treasure level.

“I really didn’t want to use it up, but I had no choice,” Ning said.

“Come, come! I’ve heard about you from Solewind long ago, and it seems you truly are an incredible figure. Come have some wine at my estate,” Daolord Soleman said with a laugh.

“Perhaps other powers from the Brightshore Kingdom will come here as well.” Ning hesitated a bit. “I should…”

He had notified the Brightshore Kingdom for anyone within a day’s travel of Skywood City to come help him fight against Daolord Kongsan. Some of them might be on their way even now. If they arrived only to be unable to locate Ning… that would be inappropriate of Ning.

“Simple.” Daolord Soleman chuckled. “Just send another message through the Brightshore Kingdom. Just say that anyone who can reach Skywood City within a day should come visit Daolord Soleman’s residence.”

“Haha, I was foolish not to think of this.” Ning immediately sent another message to the Brightshore Kingdom.

“Come, come!” Daolord Soleman urged.

“Absolutely.” Ning nodded.

And so Ji Ning, Daolord Soleman, and Daolord Skyaxe transformed into streaks of light and flew towards Skywood City.

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Chapter 41 – Dao Alliance, Palace of Immortals

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 41 – Dao Alliance, Palace of Immortals

A mysterious place far, far away.

This was a secret realm which was atop a towering tree which was countless kilometers tall. Near this giant tree, there was a lake that was overflowing with spiritual energy, and next to the lake sat a grim-looking man dressed in black imperial robes and who wore a crown on his head. The man was seated in the lotus position. This was Prince Greatjoy, and with every single breath he took he seemed to draw the spiritual energy of the lake into his body.

“Eh?” Prince Greatjoy couldn’t help but reveal a smile when he heard the news his servant brought him. “It seems as though Darknorth has dealt with his problems. How impressive. He was able to hold off Daolord Kongsan long enough to buy time for senior apprentice-brother Soleman to save him.”

“I am now a Daolord of the Second Step. I have gone through many dangerous places and profited from them, but I wouldn’t be able to survive Daolord Kongsan if I fought him head-on. Still… this treasure of mine should allow me to escape through my control of spacetime.” Prince Greatjoy quite smugly produced a fist-sized seed. This seed was quite strange, and it seemed to throw the surrounding field of spacetime into a state of flux.

“All the suffering and trouble I went through in this place was worth it, now that I’ve found this. The real problem for me… is how to get out!” Prince Greatjoy was rather irritated by this. “This is such an enormous place, but there are no other living creatures here save for myself.”

……

The darkness of outer space. An enormous beast was roaring furiously within the void, and opposite it stood Waterlord Firesurge. Firesurge was battling the creature in close combat, using vicious, accurate, and cruel strikes. His two hands would occasionally transform into streams of water that were filled with overwhelming amounts of power.

Crunch! The beast was already so heavily wounded that it could no longer fight back. Waterlord Firesurge managed to grip it by the throat using his enormous, watery right hand.

“Do you submit or not? If you do not submit, you will die!” Waterlord Firesurge’s eyes were filled with a sinister, murderous look.

“I’m willing to submit.” The beast hesitated for a moment, then finally lowered its head. Only then did Waterlord Firesurge produce a silver collar which was covered with divine runes. He casually waved his hand, causing the silver collar to fly out and encircle the beast’s neck. Moments later, it vanished entirely. As for the beast, it immediately became far more obedient.

“Eh?” Waterlord Firesurge frowned. “It seems Darknorth has grown much more powerful. He was actually able to buy himself enough time while being hunted by Daolord Kongsan for Daolord Soleman to save him? It seems that the difference between Darknorth myself is still significant. No… no! I have to be the strongest one. Greatjoy, Solewind, Darknorth… I will surpass them all.”

Whoosh. Waterlord Firesurge waved his hand, collecting the beast. His body then flickered as he disappeared into the void.

……

Within an ordinary mortal city in an ordinary mortal world. There were a number of roving patrols within this city, as well as a number of small-time merchants and commoners. There were quite a few beggars as well. A bald, thin, red-robed youth was walking through the streets of this city.

“Hey kid!” The youth suddenly walked towards a child beggar, then said in a soft voice, “I can sense the endless rage, hatred, and resentment festering in your heart. I’ll give you a special opportunity. Seize it, and you will have a chance to become the ruler of this kingdom, the most powerful figure here. But of course, it’s also possible that you will descend into the deepest hells, never to recover. Are you willing to give it a try?”

The child beggar was speechless. He glanced sideways at the other beggars and even the passerbys, but no one was looking at him. It was as though no one had even heard the treasonous words the red-robed youth had said to him.

“Me? The ruler of this kingdom?” The child beggar’s voice was clear and crisp, but it was also quavering.

“Right.” The red-robed youth nodded.

“I’m willing.” The child beggar gritted his teeth, then knelt down and kowtowed.

“Then go.” The red-robed youth waved his hand, causing a streak of light to fly into the beggar’s body. Moments later, the red-robed youth disappeared.

“Where’d he go?!” The child beggar frantically scanned his surroundings, but was completely unable to locate that youth. “My body…?” The child beggar could suddenly sense that his body was filled with an overwhelming, shocking amount of strength. He lowered his head and used his finger to poke at the rock beneath his feet… and his finger pierced straight through it. He couldn’t help but feel wildly overjoyed. Moments later, his head started to hurt slightly as an enormous amount of information began to flood into it. This was a cultivation technique.

Far away, in the skies. The red-robed youth, Daolord Solewind, was staring downwards and watching all this happen. He nodded slightly. “I’ve already left behind thirty thousand seeds within this chaosworld. Now, let’s see how this world develops.”

Some cultivators needed to go out adventuring through dangerous places. However, other cultivators did not have to. Daolord Solewind’s path was that of a Heartforce Cultivator, and his path was a different one entirely.

For another example, Daolord Badlands’s path was the Dao of Numerancy. Even as a Daolord of the Third Step, he was already one of the top three divination experts in all the Endless Territories. Once he took one more step and became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he’d undergo a fundamental change. Most likely, he would be ranked number one in divination in all the Endless Territories. His close combat abilities might not be overly impressive, but he would be ranked as one of the most difficult foes to deal with in the entire universe.

If you wanted to kill him, he would be able to sense it well in advance and have more than enough time to flee and hide. If he wanted to kill you, he would be able to set the most intricate of plots against you, calculating everything with precision. This was why the Dao of Numerancy was so terrifying. However, Daolord Badlands’ path was clearly an extremely difficult one to travel. Otherwise, how could he have reached such incredible heights in Numerancy despite merely being at the third step? As a result, reaching the fourth step would be extremely difficult as well.

“Oh? It seems brother Darknorth has managed to survive the dangerous situation he was in. Impressive.” Daolord Solewind nodded slightly. “Big brother Soleman is already at the Verge. Compared to him, I’m still lacking as a Heartforce Cultivator.”

……

The two messages Ning sent out to the Brightshore Kingdom caused quite a few of its Daolords and Emperors to become aware of his troubles. Lord Woodflower and the others let out sighs of relief when they heard the good news. They also realized that word of how Daolord Darknorth of the Sword Palace was able to survive Daolord Kongsan’s assault would surely spread. Soon, he would most assuredly stand at the very peak of power in the Endless Territories. He would become one of the most freakishly strong Daolords in existence.

……

Skywood City. The empty space outside and above the city. Two figures appeared within the empty void. It was Emperoer Skywood and the blue-haired elder.

“What a powerful remnant sword-intent.” Emperor Skywood said softly, “This is definitely a Hegemon’s sword-intent.”

“A Hegemon’s sword-intent? But none of the three Hegemons of the Endless Territories are skilled in the Dao of the Sword.” The blue-haired elder was instantly puzzled. “Could it have come from the Terror Starsea?”

“Yes. It most likely was generated from one of the curios that can be found in the Terror Starsea.” Emperor Skywood nodded. “Let me take a closer look.”

Whoosh. The surrounding field of spacetime quickly began to flow in reverse… but as it did, some sort of invisible, terrifying power seemed to disrupt the process, causing the technique to dissipate.

“I’m not able to reverse it.” Emperor Skywood frowned when he saw this. “That surge of sword-intent was simply too strong. It completely disrupted the local fabric of spacetime. There’s no way for me to see what happened in the past here.”

“Then take a look at what happened right afterwards,” the blue-haired elder laughed.

“All I can see is what happened after that burst of power.” Emperor Skywood nodded. The Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal was simply too powerful, disrupting even a temporal inversion spell to scry what had happened here. Everything that had ever happened here since the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal was used had been rendered completely un-scryable. Only someone incredibly talented in the Dao of Spacetime, such as the Brightshore Hegemon, might be able to reverse spacetime here.

Instantly, scenes from earlier began to replay, revealing a shattered formation and a white-robed youth waving his hand, taking away Daolord Kongsan’s treasures.

“Those are Kongsan’s treasures. He was the only one who left anything behind?” Emperor Skywood murmured softly, “It seems Kongsan was the only one to die to that strike.”

The scene of the white-robed youth chatting with Daolord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe played next.

“It seems that Hegemon’s Dao-seal was used by that kid.” Emperor Skywood pointed at Ning’s form.

“Yes. Judging from what they are saying, the kid should be a member of the Brightshore Kingdom.” The blue-haired elder nodded.

Emperor Skywood shook his head and laughed. “The Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom often abducts World-level cultivators from other areas, and he has a good eye for talent; he really can pick out quite a few exceptionally talented fellows! This young fellow named Darknorth is a member of our Dao Alliance, but he still ended up being abducted by the Hegemon.”

“The Brightshore Hegemon knows his boundaries. He doesn’t really abduct all that many, and he only goes after World-level cultivators,” the blue-haired elder said.

“Come over here.” Emperor Skywood suddenly turned his head to stare off into the distance. Whoosh! Space and time twisted, followed by a gray-robed elder appearing. The elder said respectfully, “Greetings, Sectlord.”

“You are responsible for overseeing this everworld. Do you know what happened earlier?” Emperor Skywood asked. This was the territory of the Skywood Sect, and so everything here was under their supervision.

“Sectlord, the white-robed youth was Daolord Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace,” the gray-robed elder said respectfully. “He purchased seven of the nine mighty novessence arts of Daolord Allgod, then went to Plumesoar Hall and purchased many treasures that those nine novessence arts need. Finally, he used two treasures, ‘deluxe hellgold’ and ‘skyjewel bloodfruit’, to trade for a flying vessel that can move a hundred times the speed of light.”

“It seems this young fellow has quite a few treasures.” Emperor Skywood chuckled as he praised Ning.

“He actually found skyjewel bloodfruit? Haha…” The blue-haired elder nodded as well.

The gray-robed elder continued, “Outside Plumesoar Hall, he was ambushed by the disciple of Daolord Kongsan. He was able to slay that disciple, a Daolord of the Third Step, with a wave of his hand. As a result, he ended up being chased and assaulted by Daolord Kongsan, who failed in his pursuit and so asked Daolord Shaka for assistance. A short while later, Daolord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe arrived as well, but they weren’t able to breach the grand sealing formation. As for what happened afterwards inside the formation, there was no way for me to tell. I imagine Daolord Darknorth must’ve used some sort of special killer technique that slew both Daolord Shaka and Daolord Kongsan.”

“Kongsan died, but Shaka probably did not,” Emperor Skywood said. They only saw the scene picking up Daolord Kongsan’s treasures, not Daolord Shaka’s.

“The kid is quite impressive, and he seems to have had some incredible luck.” Emperor Skywood instructed, “Make the arrangements for Daolord Darknorth to be given a Palace of Immortals medallion. He’s qualified to enter it.”

“Understood,” the gray-robed elder said respectfully.

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Chapter 42 – Emperor Blueblaze

Book 29, Daolord, Chapter 42 – Emperor Blueblaze

The gray-robed elder departed.

“You actually chose to proactively hand out a Palace of Immortals medallion. It seems you have taken a liking to the kid?” The blue-haired elder said.

“He’s just a Daolord of the Second Step. Once he becomes a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he’ll be of some use to me. Only then would he truly be worth recruiting and befriending.” Emperor Skywood glanced at the blue-haired elder, then sighed. “Blueblaze, my old friend… you are my true helper, my right hand. We’ve experienced life-and-death battle on numerous occasions. Once again, I want to urge you to reconsider. Don’t go any further into the Terror Starsea! The region you’ve delved into is already quite terrifying. If the two of us go any deeper into unknown territories, we can die at any moment.”

“No.” The blue-haired elder let out a sigh. “Aberrants like us are different from members of the Dao Alliance like you. Your Dao Alliance has an incredibly deep and solid foundation; all five of the other organizations combined still couldn’t match you in this regard. That’s why you can relax. We Aberrants, however, have to fight for every scrap we can get.”

“The Hegemon is the cornerstone and the pillar of our race and kingdom; there’s no way he can go out adventuring. As for those other Daolords, most of them are far too weak. That’s why I was chosen to lead this squad deep into the Terror Starsea. This is the best option available to us. In addition… I’ve had enough of this eternal, endless life. If I’m lucky, I might find something within the Terror Starsea that will allow me to become much more powerful! Haha. By then, Skywood, you won’t be a match for me.”

Emperor Skywood was filled with mixed emotions. Compared to them, Daolords lived extremely short lives. Although they were able to dazzle others for a period of time, in the end they would still perish. Very few were able to become Eternal Emperors, and those who were able to become Eternal Emperors who were his equal and who he could view as friends were even fewer.

Although Emperor Blueblaze belonged to a different organization, they truly did treat each other as bosom friends.

“Blueblaze, your protective abilities are indeed quite powerful,” Emperor Skywood said softly, “But you still can’t be too rash. If things look bad, you should flee right away! As for those Daolords under your command? If they die, they die. There’s no need to concern yourself too much about them. Even if they don’t die while adventuring, virtually all of them will be dead 108,000 chaos cycles from now.”

“Haha! I came here to bid you farewell, old friend. I’ve said everything I need to say. It’s time for me to leave. Once I come back from the Terror Starsea, I’ll find you and drink with you again.” When Emperor Blueblaze saw that look on Emperor Skywood’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Hah! Don’t worry. I won’t die that easily.”

While laughing, Emperor Blueblaze transformed into a single blue streak of fire that disappeared into the horizon.

Emperor Skywood stood there in midair. He was silent for a long moment.

“I want to help you, but I cannot decide for the Dao Alliance.” Emperor Skywood shook his head, then flew towards hiw own estate.

……

Within one of the many estates within Skywood City.

Some of the ancient Eternal Emperors living here had their own worries, but the Daolords were focused on the here and now. They did as they pleased with very few long-term concerns, by comparison.

“You, a Daolord of the Second Step, slew Kongsan! Not even I would be able to kill him. Darknorth, I feel confident that when you become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you’ll be every bit my match. Come, let us drink!” Daolord Skyaxe was bare-chested, and his chest was covered with fur. He picked up an enormous black vessel of wine, and Ning did the same. Ning explained, “I relied on my treasures to win. Big brother Skyaxe, you are ranked in the top five in the Endless Territories. It won’t be easy for me to catch up to you.”

“Top five my ass. I’m simply number five.” Skyaxe laughed loudly. The Daolords continued to chat rather casually with each other. For the most part, Ning just listened and responded as Skyaxe and Soleman spoke. They had experienced far more than he did and had visited many places. Just listening to them, Ning’s horizons were broadened. He repeatedly let out amazed sighs. Although he had visited the Archaeus region of the alternate universe, it seemed as though some of the dangerous regions in the Endless Territories were even more mysterious.

“The more you experience, the more you will understand.” Soleman sighed. “However… although adventuring is a good thing, you still run the risk of losing your life. For example, three of us headed out on our latest journey, but only two returned. My old friend Eastroad lost his life. Ugh.”

“Daolord Eastroad died?” Ning was surprised.

“Yes. He died just a thousand years ago.” Soleman nodded.

“There was nothing the two of us could do. We were fleeing for our lives as well; we simply didn’t have the ability to help him out.” Skyaxe slowly shook his head. “Eastroad was just a bit slower than us, and so he was surrounded and killed there.”

Moments later, Skyaxe let out a hearty laugh. “But so what? Even if we don’t die while adventuring, almost all of us will die after failing our Daomerge. While adventuring through the outside world, we’ve visited many ancient sites in search for good fortune that might help us further perfect our Daos, so that our chances during our Daomerge will be better. And I have to say, the adventuring life really is stirring. Those memories are a joy to think back to.”

“The two of us were in the process of disposing of the treasures we acquired on this trip.” Soleman looked at Ning. “After we finish, we plan to visit Eastroad’s homeland and help him take care of it. We didn’t expect to run into you just as we were preparing to leave, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth. If you sent out your message just a short while later, we probably would’ve already left.”

“That means the two of us were destined to meet with brother Darknorth,” Skyaxe laughed.

“Senior apprentice-brother Soleman.” Ning immediately said, “Are you still planning to go to Daolord Eastroad’s homeland?”

“We are.” Daolord Soleman nodded. “When we were in that deadly trap, we each told the others what our greatest regrets and hopes were. We agreed that the survivor would ensure that the wishes of the deceased were carried out! The one thing Eastroad was worried about prior to dying was what would happen to his homeland.”

Ning nodded. “Senior apprentice-brother Soleman, I’m just journeying through the outside world, with no plans to go to any particularly dangerous areas for now. Leave it to me to take care of Daolord Eastroad’s homeland. I’ll make the arrangements for it.”

Soleman and Skyaxe had helped him out. Although they hadn’t been able to breach the formation and rescue him, for them to hurry over and try was already an act of kindness. Ning naturally wanted to help them out and repay them. As for Daolord Eastroad’s homeland, the ‘Eastroad Territory’, Ning knew about it.

“You?” Daolord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe exchanged a glance.

“If you were an ordinary Daolord, I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable about it.” Daolord Soleman laughed. “We’re planning to send some of the treasures we acquired during our last expedition to his homeland, after all. Given that you killed Kongsan and acquired virtually all his treasures, I feel confident that you probably wouldn’t pilfer any of the treasures we’re planning to gift Eastroad’s homeland.”

Ning let out a resigned chuckle.

“Since you’ve made the offer… I’ll accept it. Thank you for helping out,” Daolord Soleman said.

“Don’t worry about it at all.” Ning smiled.

“I’ll have to trouble you to deliver these treasures. As to what you plan to do with them once you bring them to Eastroad’s homeland, that’ll be up to you to decide.” Daolord Soleman handed over a storage bracelet, which Ning accepted.

A short while later. “An emissary from the Skywood Sect has arrived.” Daolord Soleman turned his head to glance towards the outside region, only to see a gray-robed elder walk towards them.

The gray-robed elder looked towards Ning, then said, “Per the sectlord’s orders, I’ve come to deliver this Palace of Immortals medallion to Daolord Darknorth.” As he spoke, he sent a medallion flying towards Ning.

“What’s this?” Ning reached out to accept it. The medallion was pitch-black and cold. It was covered with many complex runes, but it had only a single word atop it – ‘Soldier’.

The gray-robed elder immediately turned and left. As for Ning, he was quite startled. This was rather abrupt.

“Congratulations, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth. This is a medallion of the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals… but of course, it is only the most basic ‘soldier’ medallion.” Daolord Soleman chuckled. “Once you become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you’ll earn a ‘commander’ medallion. By then, you’ll be allowed to pay a visit to the Palace of Immortals. It might be of benefit to you.”

“Oh? A ‘commander’ medallion?” Ning was curious.

“The Palace of Immortals is quite a special place. The lowest-ranking members all have ‘soldier’ medallions, but almost all of them are formidable Daolords of the Fourth Step. The most talented and powerful of Daolords will have a chance to earn a ‘commander’ medallion.” Daolord Soleman explained, “The Palace of Immortals is a very mysterious place… but for now, you are nothing more than a pawn. There’s no point in you visiting it. Only once you gain a ‘commander’ medallion would it be worth it.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded. All places were the same. The higher your status was, the more would be made available to you.

“Generally speaking, these medallions are only issued by the Palace of Immortals. It sounds as though the sectlord of the Skywood Sect, Emperor Skywood, personally gave you this one. He’s one of the highest-ranking members of the Dao Alliance and has the authority to do this. It seems as though he’s noticed you. This is a good thing for you, but it could also be a bad thing.” Daolord Soleman chuckled. “While you are still weak, you should avoid the internal squabbles of the Dao Alliance.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

……

Ning had come to Skywood City for the sake of the nine novessence arts. He had only spent another two years here due to Daolord Kongsan and all the other accompanying issues. Now that everything had concluded, he departed after spending another two days at Daolord Soleman’s place. He left Skywood City, heading towards the Eastroad Territory.

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Chapter 1 – Border Territory ‘Eastroad’

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 1 – Border Territory ‘Eastroad’

A black flying vessel was soaring rapidly through the Endless Territories. Using spacetime transfer arrays might allow you to skip 99% of the journey, but there were still some areas you had no choice but to slowly fly through. The distance would be comparatively short, but you would still need to fly for decades or even centuries.

Aboard the black flying vessel. Ji Ning, Pillsaint, Su Youji were sipping wine and relaxing here.

“Daolord Eastroad died? He was such an incredible Daolord, and yet he died, just like that.” Pillsaint shook his head and sighed.

“It is probable that after another 108,000 chaos cycles, every single Daolord of our generation in the Endless territories will be dead! If even two or three can survive, I would be amazed,” Su Youji said. To live past 108,000 required you to become an Eternal Emperor, but generally speaking only the weakest, most unremarkable Daolords of the Fourth Step would have a shot at it!

They had very weak Daos, and so the had the best chance at the Daomerge. However… after becoming Eternal Emperors, they would become the punching bags of the Endless Territories! Daolords of great power would furiously chase after them, hoping to kill them in order to make a name for themselves. Thus, all of the weaker Eternal Emperors would soon die. Only the slightly stronger ones or the ones who had special protective abilities would be able to remain alive.

“108,000 chaos cycles is a very, very long period of time. Haha. Ordinary mortals are only able to live a hundred years, while many plants and crops only survive for one harvest.” Ning chuckled. “I’ve been training for far less than even a single chaos cycle; in fact, I’m not even close to 0.01% of a chaos cycle yet. If I can be a dazzling figure for 108,000 chaos cycles, I’ll be satisfied. But of course, if I can succeed in my Daomerge and gain eternity, that would be even better.”

“Haha, Master, if you succeeded and became an Eternal Emperor, you would probably become a Hegemon,” Pillsaint said.

“He would definitely be a Hegemon.” Su Youji’s eyes were shining. “I’m excited just imagining him as a Hegemon.”

“Alright, alright. Don’t get too crazy now.” Ning shook his head. Most likely, more than a few of the most talented cultivators all dreamed of becoming Hegemons, but that really was nothing more than a dream. How many would actually be able to succeed?

“Eh?” Ning suddenly nodded slowly. “Time to deal with that Daolord of the Fourth Step.”

……

Within Ning’s estate-world. There was a grassy area here with a green-robed alien woman seated within it. She had long, graceful green hair and a pair of silken blue eyes which were filled with worry.

“Master actually died. How could this have happened?” Although Daolord Kongsan had died quite a few days ago, the green-robed woman still felt stunned. She had her own direct connection to Kongsan, and so as soon as he died she immediately knew.

“Master had incredible powers aimed at keeping himself alive. Normal Eternal Emperors would be able to do nothing to him.” The green-robed woman was rather restless and nervous. “Then what should I do? Will that white-robed Daolord kill me?”

“No… I can’t just die like this…” The green-robed woman’s heart was filled with fear. Previously, she had been happy to be captured rather than killed, as that meant the enemy might negotiate with Daolord Kongsan and ransom her. But now that Kongsan was dead… there was no one who would come to save her. Her destiny was completely within Ning’s hands.

Whoosh. A white-robed figure suddenly manifested off in the distance. The green-robed woman couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him, only to see him walk towards her. He said calmly, “From that look on your face, I imagine you already know that Daolord Kongsan is dead. You now have two options. One, I kill you. Two, you submit to me and follow me.”

The green-robed woman’s heart unclenched. Her greatest fear was that Ning would kill her without even bothering to speak with her. She hurriedly rose to her feet, then respectfully knelt down in front of Ning. “Naia is willing to submit and forever serve you, Master. All of Naia’s magic treasures are yours to take.”

“Your magic treasures remain your own.” Ning wouldn’t go so far as to take the possessions of this new retainer. He smiled. “From this day forth, you shall be my third Daolord retainer. Also – my Daoist monicker is Darknorth. It’d be rather embarrassing if you didn’t even know the name of the person you were serving.”

“Understood,” Daolord Naia said respectfully. In her heart, she repeated the name ‘Darknorth’ over and over.

From this day forth, Daolord Naia became Ning’s retainer as well.

……

Daolord Naia swore a lifeblood oath and was then summoned out of the estate-world by Ning to the black flying vessel.

“The three of you should get acquainted with each other.” Ning smiled as he pointed at the green-robed woman. “She is Daolord Naia, formerly the eldest disciple of Kongsan. From this day forth, she shall be one of my retainers as well.”

“A Daolord of the Fourth Step?”

“A retainer?” Both Pillsaint and Su Youji were rather excited, and they began to engage Daolord Naia in a casual conversation.

Daolord Naia was a taciturn person, but she wasn’t a bad person by nature. Ning had purchased the most detailed intelligence report the Skywood Sect had regarding Daolord Kongsan, and so he had naturally learned some information regarding his disciples as well. Kongsan’s eldest disciple, Daolord Naia, had been introduced in detail. She had loyally followed and served Kongsan, not causing any trouble or going out of her way to commit sinful deeds. She was a very obedient and loyal subordinate.

“It seems as though she is not a villain by nature. I suppose I can accept it.” This was the reason why Ning had been willing to take her own as a retainer. If she was a very vile person, Ning probably would’ve slain her without a second glance.

And so, Ning led Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia on their journey. They first visited the Brightshore Kingdom, making use of its spacetime tunnels to travel to a very remote part of the Endless Territories which was closer to the Eastroad Territory. This was an extremely long journey. Fortunately, Ning had a vessel which flew at a hundred times the speed of light, and had also saved a great deal of travel time by using the Brightshore Kingdom’s spacetime tunnels. And so, after five hundred or so years they finally reached the distant Eastroad Territory.

“The Eastroad Territory. This puts us at the outermost borderlands of the Endless Territories.” The black flying vessel flew out of a chaos star and into the primordial chaos. Ning and the others were aboard the vessel, and they stared at the vast territory before them. This was the Eastroad Territory!

“Master.” Daolord Naia said respectfully, “The Eastroad Territory, as one of the outermost border territories, is a place of great danger. There are also sinister forces hidden here! When Daolord Eastroad was alive, his fame and reputation sufficed to stun and overawe the entire territory, ensuring that those sinister forces wouldn’t dare to cause any trouble. But now that he is dead… I’m afraid his homeland will never be so stable again.”

“This is the reason why his greatest concern was for what would happen to his homeland after he died,” Ning said.

“The borderlands of the Endless Territories…” Ning glanced off into the distance. “Outside the borderlands is the Great Dark, right?”

“Right. The Great Dark.” Daolord Naia nodded.

“An endless sea of darkness… darkness without end…” Pillsaint let out a sigh as well, and Su Youji had a complex look on her face.

The Endless Territories was the region where countless cultivators, Aberrants, Aeonians, and others all lived. But what was outside of it? Aside from some incredibly dangerous places like the Terror Starsea, outside the Endless Territories lay the endless darkness of the Great Dark. There were no chaos stars there, nor chaosworlds, nor light, nor spacetime transfer arrays. There was nothing more than silent, deathly still darkness. Darkness without end! How long did the darkness stretch? No one knew, because it was simply too vast. Daolords would not dare to traverse it… but Eternal Emperors, who had endless longevity, would.

Emperor Mirrorsnow, Emperor Waveshift, and other mighty figures were all filled with curiosity about the Great Dark, and so they had entered it and began a drifting journey through it. They had unlimited lifespans, which was why they dared do such a thing… but despite that, they had still yet to return.

“More than one Daolord has given it a try,” Ning said softly. “Those Daolords sent their avatars to explore the Great Dark, but to the day they died their avatars were still mired in the endless darkness.”

“How terrifying,” Pillsaint murmured.

“It’s not that terrifying. In the end, the Great Dark is just a dead region,” Daolord Naia said. “By contrast, the Terror Starsea is truly frightening. The Terror Starsea is similarly endless, but it is filled with countless dangers and unlimited possibilities. Not even the three Hegemons dare to barge into it rashly.”

“The Terror Starsea is the number one deathtrap that we know of.” Ning smiled. “But enough of that. When we’re all tired of living, we can go pay the Terror Starsea a little visit. For now, let’s stay away from places we aren’t supposed to visit. Come. Our mission this time is to help Daolord Eastroad pacify his homeland.”

Pacifying this territory would not be an easy feat. This was a borderlands territory, which meant that the Dao Alliance’s influence here was virtually negligible! Some of the surrounding territories being controlled by the Aberrants, the Aeonians, and even some other sinister forces. Some even suspected that outside invaders, such as the Dark Kingdom, were present.

In short, the borderlands were amongst the most chaotic places in all the Endless Territories.

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Chapter 2 – Danger Lurking Everywhere

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 2 – Danger Lurking Everywhere

The Eastroad Territory. The Eastroad Everworld. A black flying vessel was soaring through the air above the Eastroad Everworld.

“The territories controlled by the Dao Alliance will generally have spacetime transfer arrays within the everworlds.” Pillsaint stood at the prow of the ship, staring at the vast everworld before him. He sighed, “But the Eastroad Everworld doesn’t have a single one. We had to fly for years to get to this place.”

Ji Ning chuckled. It was true that all ordinary everworlds had spacetime transfer arrays. The Badlands Everworld, the Vastheaven Everworld… they all had one. But the Eastroad Everworld did not! It had taken them three years of hard flying after entering the Eastroad Territory before they reached this everworld.

“Let’s go to Eastroad City first,” Ning said. Swoosh! The flying vessel tore through space, blinking through it as it advanced rapidly.

A short while later, the most bustling city within the entire Eastroad Everworld, ‘Eastroad City’, appeared within their field of vision. This was an extremely large city with many cultivators in it.

“Restrain your auras, the three of you,” Ning instructed. “Especially you, Naia. You are a Daolord of the Fourth Step; your aura is going to scare these ordinary cultivators silly.”

“Yes, Master,” Daolord Naia said respectfully. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, her aura was as vast and boundless as the heavens themselves. With each step Daolords took, they trod the line between life and death. With each breakthrough, their auras would undergo fundamental transformations! Daolords of the First Step and Second Step were fairly weak, and so even if their auras emanated outwards they would at most caused World-level cultivators to feel a sense of pressure. But a Daolord of the Fourth Step would cause them to absolutely quiver in fear!

Whoosh. The flying vessel soared downwards. A short while later Ning put it away, leading Naia, Pillsaint, and Su Youji towards the gates of the city. There were twelve World-level cultivators at the gates who were standing in two groups to each side, watching the cultivators enter Eastroad City.

“They seem very cautious.” Ning was a bit surprised.

“It might be because this is a borderlands territory, which is why their cities are so strictly guarded,” Su Youji sent mentally.

Ning and the others chatted casually as they entered the city gates. When the twelve World-level cultivators noticed Ning’s group of four, their leader’s face tightened. The leader gestured to a subordinate and said, “Report immediately that four suspicious Daolords have appeared in Eastroad City.”

“Understood.” This subordinate had a clone and so was able to immediately report this to the main sect.

……

Ning began to frown as he walked through Eastroad City. “Something is wrong.” Ning could sense that the mood in this city was off. Many of the cultivators were clearly speaking privately to each other through mental messages. Although Ning couldn’t tell what they were saying, he was able to tell that they were doing this.

Ning swept the area with his gaze, only to see several distant Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who seemed to be sending stealthy mental messages to each other. Ning immediately sent out his godsense, covering them with it. Although he was now a Daolord with powerful godsense, if he tried to use it to scan World-level cultivators they would probably notice something was off. Once they did, they would definitely stop talking.

“The Eastroad Sect is finished.”

“Right. The mighty Eastroad Sect is about to be annihilated, just like that. What a shame.”

“I heard from Master that the founding Patriarch of the Eastroad Sect, ‘Daolord Eastroad’, is already dead. He was someone who stunned and awed the surrounding territories and ruled over the Eastroad Territory for countless years… but he died, just like that.”

“Logically speaking, the Eastroad Sect should’ve hidden the news that Daolord Eastrod had died. How could word have spread so quickly?”

“Who knows? There has to be some sort of plot behind it. However, the news of him being dead is probably true. Otherwise, the Eastroad Sect wouldn’t act in such a craven fashion.”

This was what the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quietly whispering to each other.

When Ning heard this, his face tightened. What? The information had already leaked out? Factoring in the time they had taken to travel tot his place, Daolord Eastroad had died roughly two thousand years ago. To cultivators, two thousand years was an extremely short period of time. Logically speaking, there was no way the Eastroad Sect would’ve so foolishly spread word of this. They would’ve done their best to hide it for as long as they could… but now, even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals knew of it. It seemed as though word had spread long ago.

“The two of you.” Ning suddenly intercepted two nearby World-level cultivators. With but a thought, he completely sealed off the surrounding area while covering them with a flicker of his murderous sword-intent. However, none of the nearby cultivators were able to even see this happening.

“S-senior.”

The two World-level cultivators were so frightened, their legs went soft. One could imagine how terrifying Ning’s sword-intent was. Their hearts quivered just having that sword-light flicker around them.

“Master?” Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia were all rather puzzled.

“You’ll know shortly,” Ning said, then cast his gaze towards the two World-level cultivators before him. “Tell me, what has happened recently in the Eastroad Territory?”

“Senior, did you just arrive here?” The shorter cultivator said hurriedly, “Something major truly has happened. Roughly one or two thousand years ago, it was suddenly reported that Daolord Eastroad, who ruled over the Eastroad Territory for countless years, has already perished.”

“Who made the report?” Ning asked. One or two thousand years ago? So roughly eight hundred years after his death, the word had been leaked already?

“I don’t know the answer to that,” the short cultivator said.

“You don’t know?” Ning frowned, sending a strand of his baleful intent towards the two. The nearby tall and skinny cultivator hurriedly said, “Maybe the Ninedust Sect!”

“Right!” The shorter cultivator hurriedly agreed, “It is very likely that this information was leaked by the Ninedust Sect. The Ninedust Sect has been applying a great deal of pressure in recent years. It seems as though they intend to take over the Eastroad Territory.”

“The Ninedust Sect?” Ning was startled.

Daolord Eastroad had established the Eastroad Sect and then unified this territory, but the surrounding area was still quite chaotic. There were a number of powerful organizations here, wit hthe most dominating one being the Ninedust Sect. The Ninedust Sect already had nine Daolords when it was first established! By now, its sectlord and three of its vice sectlords were all Daolords of the Fourth Step. However, Daolord Eastroad himself was so overwhelming powerful that the Ninedust Sect was unwilling to offend him, even though they didn’t fear him.

“The Ninedust Sect has been causing a great deal of trouble during the past thousand years, and the Eastroad Sect actually lost one of its Daolords during this period of time. It now only has a single Daolord left,” the short cultivator said.

“Another Daolord of the Eastroad Sect died?” Ning’s face tightened. “Which one?” The Eastroad Sect originally had three Daolords; Daolord Eastroad, Daolord Overgold, and Daolord Thunderheat. Daolord Overgold and Daolord Thunderheat were Daolords of the Third Step, with Overgold being a bit stronger.

“It was Daolord Overgold who died,” the shorter cultivator said. “I heard that he died while adventuring, but for him to die just a few centuries after word spread of Daolord Eastroad’s death… how could there be such a coincidence? It is very likely that the Ninedust Sect sent out major powers to kill him outside.”

“So that means the Eastroad Sect only has one Daolord left?” Pillsaint was rather flabbergasted, while Ning, Su Youji, and Naia were all rather surprised as well.

This had originally been a fairly simple mission, because Daolord Overgold was quite strong; with the formation around their headquarters helping them and some treasures Ning’s group was bringing, he should’ve been able to keep himself alive. Now it seemed the situation was much worse than they had imagined.

“The two of you can leave now,” Ning said. He didn’t really care if these two World-level cultivators told others of this conversation.”

“A-a-alright,” they stuttered.

Ning, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia were all rather irritated and frustrated now. “This is going to be a bit more tricky than we expected.” Ning frowned. “Word of Daolord Eastroad’s death spread less than eight centuries after he died. There’s no way the Eastroad Sect itself would’ve been so foolish as to leak this information. An enemy must have done it, after they acquired this information through Numerancy divination or other intelligence-gathering methods. A short while later, Overgold died while adventuring as well. It might’ve been an actual coincidence, but it’s also possible that he was murdered. If he was murdered… then the real goal was to further weaken the Eastroad Sect.”

“Right.” Pillsaint, Su Youji, and Naia all felt irritated as well.

“Let’s gather some more information first.” Ning continued to advance through Eastroad City, and the more he investigated the more he learned. The Ninedust Sect really was about to take voer the Eastroad Territory, and the Eastroad Sect really did only have Daolord Thunderheat protecting it.

……

Half a day later.

“For now, go into my estate-world. Otherwise… if multiple Daolords pay a visit, with one being a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the Eastroad Sect will probably be frightened. They are no doubt quite nervous right now,” Ning said to Su Youji and the others.

“Yes, Master.” Su Youji and the other two acknowledged the order. After they entered the estate-world, Ning flew by himself through the air towards the Eastroad Sect.

Just a short while later, the skies around him turned dark as multiple layers of formations around the Eastroad Sect were activated in a dazzling, awesome display of multicolored light.

Ning soon flew to the main gates of the Eastroad Sect, where he was forced to come to a halt.

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Chapter 3 – Within the Eastroad Sect

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 3 – Within the Eastroad Sect

“Please stop, Daolord!” The Eastroad Sect’s gate-guarding disciple hurriedly called out to Ji Ning.

Ji Ning smiled as he came to a halt, then said, “Hurry up and send word that I come bearing the last will of Daolord Eastroad. I would like to ask Daolord Thunderheat to come meet with me.”

“You come bearing the will of the old Patriarch?” The gate-guarding disciple was shocked. Could it be that the old Patriarch really had prepared something for them? But why hadn’t he said anything to them before he died? Perhaps it was because he had died so suddenly that his avatar didn’t even have a chance to tell them about it. He immediately said, “Wait here for a brief moment, Daolord. I’ll send word right now.”

……

Within the Eastroad Sect.

Daolord Thunderheat had a violet complexion and curly whiskers, making him look like quite a barbarous figure. In reality, he was a very steady and experienced figure who had been running most affairs in the Eastroad Sect for countless years now, while Daolord Eastroad and Daolord Overgold were out adventuring. Who would’ve imagined that both of them would end up perishing, one after the other?

“Ugh.” Whenever Daolord Thunderheat thought of this, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Master, the Eastroad Sect was built up over the course of countless years. We can’t just abandon our foundation like this.” Two yellow-robed disciples were next to Daolord Thunderheat, and the white-haired one was the one who just spoke.

“Anyone who wishes to destroy the Eastroad Sect will pay a heavy price for it.” The other disciple, a pudgy man who was similarly filled with a baleful look in his eyes, agreed.

Daolord Thunderheat shook his head. “The Patriarch was an incredibly, freakishly powerful Daolord. Over the course of countless years, he established an incredibly deep and solid foundation for our Eastroad Sect, but… if we want to protect it, in the end we’ll have to rely on our own power. The Ninedust Sect is just worried about some desperation attacks that we might unleash, which is why they’ve only been threatening us while not actually attacking us. But as more time passes… in the end, sooner or later we will be annihilated.”

“Master…” The two disciples felt both rage and grief.

“The two of you are merely at the World level. You don’t understand how terrifying the Ninedust Sect is.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “Especially Daolord Ninedust himself. He was close to being on par with even the old Patriarch himself.”

The two disciples ground their teeth, unwilling to accept this. The exalted Eastroad Sect had been dazzling and glorious for so many years. Everyone in the surrounding territories had always feared and respected them, with even the mighty Ninedust Sect going out of its way to avoid causing them trouble. But now, with their great sheltering tree gone, the Eastroad Sect was about to tumble.

“Uncle-Master!” Suddenly, a disciple came running towards them. He came to a halt outside the door, then said with breathless excitement, “Uncle-Master, an unfamiliar Daolord has arrived. He said he came bearing the will of the old Patriarch and wishes to meet with you.”

“What?!” Daolord Thunderheat suddenly rose to his feet while looks of excitement appeared on the faces of his two yellow-robed disciples. “He came bearing the will of the old Patriarch?” Daolord Thunderheat felt excitement as well. The existence of their sect, and in fact their entire clan, had been due to Daolord Eastroad! The reason why Thunderheat and Overgold had been able to become Samsara Daolords was partially because of Daolord Eastroad’s guidance. As a result, Daolord Eastroad’s status in the sect was extremely, extremely high.

The white-haired disciple next to him said with delight, “Master, the old Patriarch must have made arrangements before he died.”

“Don’t be impatient. Let me go out and take a look first.” Daolord Thunderheat felt eager as well. His body flickered as he immediately flew out of the door.

……

Outside the main gates of the Eastroad Sect. Daolord Thunderheat immediately saw the white-robed youth bearing that black scabbard on his back who was standing outside the main gates. The white-robed youth’s aura was indeed that of a Daolord’s.

“Eh?” Daolord Thunderheat frowned. The white-robed youth’s aura seemed to be even weaker than Thunderheat’s own aura. He was probably a Daolord of the Second Step.

“Daolord.” Daolord Thunderheat stepped forwards and spoke out to Ning. As for Ning, he saw a figure suddenly appear within the barrier formations surrounding the sect. It was an extremely muscular man.

“Are you Daolord Thunderheat?” Ning asked.

“I am. Dare I ask who you are, fellow Daoist?” Daolord Thunderheat said.

“I am Darknorth.” Ning smiled. “Can we chat inside? Shall you invite me in?”

“Oh, r-right. Please come in.” Daolord Thunderheat’s mind was in a state of chaos right now, which was why he had forgotten even the basic courtesies of welcoming guests. He hurriedly led Ning into the Eastroad Sect.

Within a courtyard inside the Eastroad Sect. A female attendant delivered a flagon of Immortal wine. Daolord Thunderheat sat to one side, with two yellow-robed attendants standing next to him. Ning sat to the other side. Ning was quite relaxed as he drank the wine. He let out a praiseful sigh, then said “What a wonderful flavor.”

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Daolord Thunderheat couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you say you came bearing our old Patriarch’s will?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “With regards to this matter, I have to mention my senior apprentice-brother Daolord Soleman.”

“Daolord Soleman?” Daolord Thunderheat was startled upon hearing this. He had naturally heard the Patriarch speak of Soleman. Soleman and the Patriarch had definitely been good friends, and Soleman had perhaps been only on par with the Patriarchin power, but as a Heartforce Cultivator he had far more bizarre and inscrutable techniques. In the Endless Territories, Soleman definitely had a higher status than Eastroad had.

Ning nodded. “Daolord Eastroad was on an adventure with my senior apprentice-brother Daolord Soleman, as well as Daolord Skyaxe. They ended up in a dire situation. Skyaxe and Soleman managed to survive, but Daolord Eastroad was just a bit unlucky and ended up losing his life.”

“Ah.” Daolord Thunderheat revealed a look of of pain and sorrow, and the two yellow-robed disciples by his side quivered, their hearts filled with pain, sorrow, and regret. Why was it that the other two had survived while their Patriarch had died?

“All three of them knew that it was possible they would perish, and so they all left behind wills for the survivors to carry out,” Ning explained. “Before Daolord Eastroad died, his greatest and only concern was for his homeland. After the other two survived and escaped, they asked me to help deliver some treasures to the Eastroad Sect. Take a look and see if they will be of assistance to you.”

Ning tossed out a storage bracelet, one which Daolord Soleman had used to store various magic treasures. Swoosh. The bracelet flew before Daolord Thunderheat, who accepted it rather excitedly. He quickly bound it, then began to scan the items within as the two yellow-robed disciples behind him waited impatiently.

Just a short while later, Daolord Thunderheat put away the bracelet with a rather mixed expression on his face. This bracelet had also contained a talisman from Daolord Eastroad, one which all three Daolords had left behind with each other.

“And?” Ning asked.

“Seniors Soleman and Skyaxe left behind quite a few treasures.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “They even included two Dao-seals of incredible power; both of them created one, and I can tell they poured many resources and energy into each. There are also a number of formations and other things. In a normal situation, they would be enough for us to protect the Eastroad Sect… but our enemy is now the Ninedust Sect.”

“Master, is it still not enough?” The two yellow-robed disciples behind him grew nervous.

“The Ninedust Sectlord is close to Soleman and Skyaxe in power. Even if they came in person, they would at most be able to defeat the sectlord but probably be unable to kill him.” Daolord Thunderheat continued, “Just two Dao-seals… they might be enough to kill ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step, but they absolutely wouldn’t be of any use against the Ninedust Sectlord.”

Ning nodded. the Ninedust Sectlord was most likely on Kongsan’s level of power. He was slightly weaker than Skyaxe and Soleman, but would be able to stay alive if attacked by them.

“Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, is the Ninedust Sect truly preparing to move against the Eastroad Sect?”

“Yes.” Daolord Thunderheat let out a hate-filled growl. “Brother Overgold was killed by the Ninedust Sect.”

“What?” Ning’s face tightened.

“Brother Overgold’s avatar personally told me this just before he died.” Daolord Thunderheat said with hatred, “Unfortunately, when he was attacked he was very, very far away from the Eastroad Sect. There was no way for us to save him. But of course… I wouldn’t have been able to do so regardless.”

Ning had a solemn look on his face. So it was indeed the Ninedust Sect which had killed Daolord Overgold? Everything was now quite clear.

“My clansmen have been evacuated quite some time ago, to ensure that our line won’t be completely extinguished.” Daolord Thunderheat said softly, “As for us… no matter what, we’ve sworn to defend this place to the death. This is our home, the place where we have lived for countless years. We’ll rely on the formations protecting the formation as well as the treasures the old Patriarch left behind. In the end, we’ll ensure that the Ninedust Sect will lose a few teeth as they devour our clan.”

“We’re going to fight to the death,” the two yellow-robed disciples said furiously.

Cultivators sought their own Daos, their own paths. Once they chose to fight to the death, they would be truly fearless.

“Gentleman.” Ning spoke out. “I’ve already promised senior apprentice-brother Soleman and the others that I will ensure the safety and security of your homeland.”

Daolord Thunderheat and the others stared at Ning, startled.

“Since I’ve promised it, I’ll carry my promise out.” Ning said calmly, “There’s no need for you to worry about the Ninedust Sect. I’ll handle everything!”

“You’ll handle everything?” Daolord Thunderheat and the others stared at this Daolord of the Second Step in astonishment.

Ning waved his hand. Whoosh. Three figures suddenly appeared by his side, each with the aura of a Daolord. They were Pillsaint, Su Youji, and Daolord Naia. Daolord Naia’s aura was particularly overwhelming.

“Master,” Daolord Naia, Su Youji, and Pillsaint said respectfully.

Daolord Thunderheat and his two disciples stared at them in astonishment. A Daolord of the Fourth Step was respectfully calling a Daolord of the Second Step ‘master’?

Ning glanced at Daolord Thunderheat. “Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, I didn’t realize how grim the situation was. However, since I’ve promised senior apprentice-brother Soleman to handle this, I will! If the Ninedust Sect dares to attack, I’ll kill as many as they come!”

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Chapter 4 – The Void Pathway

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 4 – The Void Pathway

Daolord Thunderheat and his two yellow-robed disciples were all rather stunned. These words were a bit too dominating. Kill as many as they come?

“F-Fellow Daoist Darknorth…” Daolord Thunderheat felt both eagerness and nervousness. “Are you saying that this lady Daolord will be able to resist the Ninedust Sect?” As he spoke, he glanced at Daolord Naia.

“Her name is Naia,” Ning said. When Daolord Thunderheat heard her name, he felt a cold feeling crawl past his heart. This was a name he had never heard before! Although he rarely went out adventuring, he knew almost all of the truly famous figures. This meant Daolord Naia wasn’t all that famous.

“Greetings, Daolord Naia. May I ask, if you are supported by the formations which protect my Eastroad Sect, will you be able to defeat the Ninedust Sectlord?” Daolord Thunderneat asked.

“Even with the formations helping me, I would probably be defeated and slain by him in a single strike,” Daolord Naia said.

“Ah.” Daolord Thunderheat was flabbergasted. Daolord Naia was telling the truth; the Ninedust Sectlord was on the same level as Daolord Kongsan. Naia couldn’t even withstand a single strike from Ning, who in turn didn’t dare to fight Daolord Kongsan in close combat. There was an enormous and obvious difference in power between ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step and the truly freakishly powerful ones. The Ninedust Sectlord was one of the latter.

“Senior Darknorth, didn’t you just say that you would kill as many as come?” The white-haired disciple couldn’t help but ask this question.

“I did say just that.” Ning nodded. “But I meant, I would kill them personally.”

“Uh?”

“Personally?”

Daolord Thunderheat and the others all stared at Ning. “It isn’t that I look down upon you, fellow Daoist… but if my judgmene is correct, you should be a Daolord of the Second Step,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

“Yes. A Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning nodded.

“A Daolord of the Second Step, fight against the Ninedust Sectlord?” Daolord Thunderheat couldn’t help but shake his head. Daolords trod a line between life and death with each step, and the difference in power between each step was very apparent. Someone at the second step, challenge someone who was at the fourth step? The Ninedust Sectlord himself was a freakishly powerful Daolord, even amongst his peers at the fourth step. Ning, defeat him? The prospects were remote.

But Daolord Naia said coldly, “My master defeated me in a single blow.”

Daolord Thunderheat and his two disciples were badly shocked by this.

“In the outside world, I probably wouldn’t be a match for the Ninedust Sectlord. But if I was in the Eastroad Sect’s base? I trust that Daolord Eastroad personally established the formations protecting this place, and that they possess extraordinary power. With it reinforcing me, I won’t fear him at all.” Ning chuckled.

“Yes, yes! The old Patriarch personally established all of the formations around the Eastroad Sect, and they truly are incredible.” Daolord Thunderheat felt both excited and ashamed. “Please pardon me, fellow Daoist. I previously didn’t dare imagine that you would be as powerful as this.”

“Generally speaking, even the most freakishly talented of Daolords of the Second Step wouldn’t be at this level of power. I only am due to certain special secret arts,” Ning said casually.

“Secret arts are part of your power as well.” Daolord Thunderheat was extremely excited. Hope! He finally saw hope. He certainly didn’t believe that Ning was nothing more than issuing empty boasts. No one who was capable of making a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be so foolish, because the consequences would arrive alongside the Ninedust Sectlord… and the consequences would be fatal. Thus, it seemed likely that this ‘Darknorth’ fellow really was capable of handling things.

……

A short while later, Daolord Thunderheat prepared a sumptuous banquet for Ning and the others. After the banquet concluded, Daolord Thunderheat personally escorted Ning away.

“Fellow Daoist,” Daolord Thunderheat said softly, “If you were to break through to the third step, would your chances of defeating the Ninedust Sectlord improve?”

“A Daolord of the Third Step?” Ning chuckled as he glanced at Daolord Thunderheat. “If I can reach the third step, my chances will greatly improve. In that situation, even without the assistance of the Eastroad Sect’s formations I still wouldn’t need to fear him. In fact, I might even be able to kill him.”

Ning wasn’t just bragging. If he truly did break through from the first step and become a Daolord of the Second Step… given the power of his Omega Sword Dao, he really would become on par with the likes of Daolord Kongsan and the Ninedust Sectlord. In addition, his Omega Sword Dao was flawlessly perfect in every aspect, making it absolutely perfect for actual combat. So long as the opponent did not flee and chose to continue the fight, the end result would definitely be the opponent getting the worst of it! But of course, no one would be so foolish as to stand there and get beaten down like that. Clever Daolords like Kongsan would retreat as soon as the situation turned south for them.

The reason why he hadn’t been able to flee was because the Hegemon’s Dao-seal was simply too powerful, causing even spacetime to be bound and suppressed. Daolord Kongsan had used two life-saving treasures in a row without being able to escape. It wasn’t that his fleeing abilities were weak, it was simply that the Dao-seal was far too powerful. It would have been easy for him to flee from most Daolords he battled.

“Then how long would it take you to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step, fellow Daoist?” Thunderheat asked.

“I’m not too far off,” Ning said. To go from the first step to the second step was quite quick, and to go from the second step to the third step didn’t take that long either. Reaching the fourth step, however, was a very long process. As for succeeding in the Daomerge and gaining Eternity? Chances were slim, no matter how much time you took.

“Alright.” Daolord Thunderheat clenched his teeth. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, the Eastroad Sect has a sect-guarding treasure which the old Patriarch brought back from the Terror Starsea.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. Something from the Terror Starsea?

“Technically speaking, I shouldn’t divulge its existence to outsiders. However, I am now the sole master of the Eastroad Sect, which is now facing an existential crisis. I’m going to ignore those rules.” Daolord Thunderheat looked at Ning. “This supreme treasure is known as the Void Pathway, and it is extremely beneficial to cultivators. Perhaps, fellow Daoist, you will be able to seize this opportunity to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step.”

Daolord Thunderheat was simply too worried. He hoped that Darknorth would be able to grow even more powerful, as this matter would have an impact on the life and death of the Eastroad Sect.

“Void Pathway?” Ning couldn’t help but begin to feel curious.

“Follow me,” Daolord Thunderheat said solemnly.

……

Daolord Thunderheat led the way, while Ning followed from behind. Thunderheat dispelled one formation after another as he guided Ning to a seemingly ordinary courtyard.

“Do you see that?” Daolord Thunderheat pointed at a decorative sculpture of a mountain located in the corner of the courtyard. The ‘mountain’ even had some vines and ‘trees’ growing from it.

“What about it?” Ning was puzzled. There was nothing unusual about that artificial mountain. In fact, he couldn’t sense any formations from it at all. Daolord Thunderheat stepped forward, then waved his hand. The vines instantly were reduced to dust, revealing what was hidden beneath them. This ‘mountain’ actually had a sculpted stone ‘door’ on it!

“Is that a doorway?” Ning was puzzled.

“Yes. A door. A door that you can open,” Daolord Thunderheat said. “Daolord Darknorth, please follow me.”

Daolord Thunderheaet walked towards one of the sculpted stone doors, then pressed his hand upon it. Instantly, the doorway split open with a rumbling sound, revealing a deep, dark tunnel beneath it. The entrance to this tunnel ebbed and flowed with spatial ripples.

Ning was surprised. Prior to the stone door opening, this had seemed like nothing more than a very ordinary sculpture of a mountain. He hadn’t sensed any thing special or magical about it at all… but it now had a dimensional hallway within it.

“Come in.” Daolord Thunderheat turned to look at Ning, then stepped inside. Ning followed him without hesitation.

……

Whoosh. Space twisted and flowed around Ning as a dazzling, glowing golden region appeared before him.

“What’s this?” Ning and Daolord Thunderheat were standing within a long walkway. The floor was black, and the walkway itself was hanging in empty space, with nothing but the void on each side of the walkway.

“This is the Void Pathway. Everything around this golden region is just empty space; the only thing here is this Void Pathway hanging in space.” Daolord Thunderheat pointed towards the front. This walkway was an extremely long one, stretching off at least ten million kilometers. In front of the walkway stood a number of armored soldiers and guards. Ning’s visual prowess allowed him to clearly see to the very end of the walkway, where there was a royal golden throne.

“There are a total of thirty thousand soldiers here,” Daolord Thunderheat said. “Once you begin advancing through the Void Pathway, you will be impeded by these soldiers. The deeper you go, the more terrifyingly powerful the soldiers will be.”

“Oh?” Ning revealed a smile. This seemed quite similar to the Brightshore Kingdom’s ‘Daolord Cloudworld’.

“These soldiers have very unique combat Daos. Very, very unique.” Daolord Thunderheat looked at Ning. “You’ll see for yourself when you fight them. The weakest of them are comparable to Daolords of the Second Step, which is why only the Daolords of the Eastroad Sect are permitted to enter it.”

“Did Daolord Eastroad manage to reach the throne?” Ning asked.

“The old Patriarch tried twice. He failed the first time. He later gained certain insights, then went all out in a second attempt and managed to succeed. The two final soldiers are all comparable to him in power,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

Ning was stunned. This was much more impressive than the Daolord Cloudworld. Anyone who had reached the threshold of power for a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be able to battle their way to the very end of the Daolord Cloudworld, but it seemed as though this place required the trial taker to be comparable to Daolord Eastroad in power. Daolord Eastroad was already comparable to the weaker Eternal Emperors. How was it that these guards were as powerful as this?!

“Unfortunately, there’s no way to bring out even one of these thirty thousand soldiers. In fact, there’s no way to control them at all.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “If there was, why would we worry about the Ninedust Sect?”

Ning nodded, his gaze focused on the golden throne at the end of the walkway. “What happens once you reach the throne? Anything good?”

“A legacy,” Daolord Thunderheat said. “The old Patriarch didn’t tell me in detail, and so I imagine that the so-called legacy wouldn’t be all that interesting to freakishly strong Daolords like yourself.”

Ning chuckled. He had the legacy of the Sword Hegemon and the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] of the Paragon of Pills. There really weren’t many legacies that would interest him.

“However, when those thirty thousand soldiers fight against you, you’ll benefit from the insights into the Dao you will gain.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “Even the old Patriarch benefited from his first attempt, resulting in him becoming much more powerful.”

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Chapter 5 – Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 5 – Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation

Ji Ning nodded, then suddenly asked, “Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, might I ask if my retainers can enter as well?”

Daolord Thunderheat let out a pained laugh. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, the Void Pathway is the most important treasure of the entire Eastroad Sect. You have vowed to save our entire sect, and the debt we owe you is endless! Your retainers and your closest friends can all make the attempt as well, but I ask that you not divulge anything about it at all.”

Ning was briefly startled, then nodded. “I swear on my very life itself that aside from my retainers, I will not speak of the Void Pathway to anyone else.” His voice echoed within the void and within his very own soul. This was a lifeblood oath.

“That wasn’t necessary. The Eastroad Sect trusts you fully, fellow Daoist Darknorth,” Daolord Thunderheat said hurriedly. In reality, however, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. He did want Ning to swear a lifeblood oath, but he was also begging Ning to prevent his entire sect from being wiped out, which was why he had never proactively mentioned any oaths.

“It was only proper,” Ning said casually. He could tell what the man was thinking. Still, he really wasn’t all that concerned about this opportunity. The cultivators of the Three Realms had their own opportunities to exploit.

“Those three retainers of mine will never spread this information either. I’ll have them swear oaths as well,” Ning said.

“Um…” Daolord Thunderheat chuckled. “Then I won’t bother you any further. Whenever you wish to leave, fellow Daoist, you only need to turn back and you’ll be able to depart.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded, and Daolord Thunderheat departed. Ning chuckled and shook his head. The fewer treasures one had, the more one would value them! Ning had acquired all of Daolord Kongsan’s treasures, and had the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal. Although this Void Pathway was a unique treasure, it wasn’t enough to make Ning feel the slightest bit greedy. Ning also knew that the more powerful he became, the more treasures he would have in the future. In the future, this Void Pathway would be even less meaningful than it was right now.

“But let me take a look and see what’s so special about this thing.” Ning stepped forwards, moving tens of thousands of kilometers in an instant.

Rumble…

An enormous globe of golden light suddenly appeared high in the void above the golden region. The globe of light unleashed two streaks of golden light which shot into the bodies of the two armored warriors directly in front of Ning. Golden light immediately began to shine out of the armored soldiers eyes.

Boom! Boom! The two armored soldiers hoisted their weapons as they transformed into streaks of light, charging towards Ning. “Die!” One of them stabbed out with a longspear, sending it piercing through the skies.

“Kill!” The other armored soldier lashed out with a long whip which moved like a long, agile serpent. These two armored soldiers worked in concert, one charging forward valiantly while the other moved with crafty agility. They moved in perfect harmony, as though they were part of a greater whole.

Ning revealed a smile. “Interesting. No wonder Thunderheat said that these soldiers fight in a very unique manner; they actually have employ a battle-formation Dao, and are able to work together wonderfully…”

Boom! With but a thought, Ning caused his sword-intent to manifest. His sword-intent swept out in an overwhelming wave, smashing against the two soldiers and sweeping them off their feet, then sending them flying.

The difference in power was simply far too greater. These two soldiers were just barely comparable to ordinary Daolords of the Second Step.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning blew through the soldiers like rotting wood, continuing to advance through the pathway. Only after defeating 18,000 soldiers did he finally begin to slow down.

“What a strange feeling.” Ning was surrounded and being attacked by eight soldiers. These eight soldiers used different weapons and different attack styles. Hard, soft, insidious, straightforwards… every single soldier was extremely dedicated to one type of combat style. And yet, they were able to work together through their battle-formation. Ning felt as though he was fighting a major power who was a mastery of many different types of weapons. This was quite a taxing fight.

“The Dao of Wind? The Dao of Lightning? The Dao of Water?” Ning was growing increasingly excited by this battle. As for the globe of light, it continued to hang there in the void. Each time Ning defeated a soldier, it would shoot out even more golden light and activate even more powerful soldiers.

“That light globe should serve as the core of the entire Void Pathway.” Ning lifted his head up to glance at the light globe. All of the soldiers were unliving and inaminate things, but once the light shone down upon them they were given incredible amounts of power.

“The items that can be found in the Terror Starsea truly are marvelous.” Ning was feeling increasingly curious about the Terror Starsea, but it was simply too dangerous a place; not even the three mighty Hegemons dared to go too deep into that place. It was so terrifying that even they stood a chance of dying if they went too far in.

……

Time flew on. Ten thousand years went past in the blink of an eye. To cultivators, ten thousand years was actually a very short period of time. The entire Eastroad Sect remained in a state of disarray and fear of the Ninedust Sect’s arrival.

During the past ten thousand years, Pillsaint had focused intently on training in the Dao of Alchemy. As a result, he had finally broken through to become a Daolord of the Second Step. With the first six chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] serving to guide him, he knew exactly how to progress in his Dao and so made incredibly rapid improvements.

The main hall of the Eastroad Sect.

“What will be, will be.” Daolord Thunderheat’s face turned solemn after he heard his disciple’s reports. A group of disciples had already been gathered here within the hall.

“The Ninedust Sect has finally arrived.” The disciples all felt nervousness in their hearts.

“Lead him in,” Daolord Thunderheat instructed.

“Yes.” The disciple who was responsible for bringing word from outside immediately departed. As he did, Daolord Thunderheat’s avatar appeared in front of the sculpture of a mountain, pushed the ‘door’ open, and entered the Void Pathway.

There was a battle going on in the empty void of space directly above the actually pathway. It was Daolord Naia and Flamefairy Su Youji battling each other! There was a thatched cottage at one end of the area, and Ning was seated in the lotus position within it as he meditated silently. Ning had spent almost the entirety of the past ten thousand years within the Void Pathway. He would often go out to engage in battle, then use his spacetime cottage to train and reflect on his insights.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Daolord Thunderheat’s avatar walked over, then called out to to Ning. Within the cottage, Ning opened his eyes and smiled. “What is it, Daolord Thunderheat?”

“An envoy from the Ninedust Sect has arrived,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

“The Ninedust Sect? They’ve finally come.” A cold glint flashed through Ning’s eyes. He rose to his feet, walked out of the cottage, then waved his hand and put it away.

“The two of you can keep training here. I’ll go take a look,” Ning said loudly.

“Yes, Master.” Su Youji and Daolord Naia both called back loudly.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately accompanied Daolord Thunderheat in leaving.

……

One of the side halls of the Eastroad Sect had been set up to welcome the Ninedust Sect’s envoy. A large number of Eastroad Sect disciples had already gathered here. As for Ning, he was brought in through a side door. He quietly sat down in the back row and watched silently.

“Envoy of the Ninedust Sect, why have you come to the Eastroad Sect?” Daolord Thunderheat spoke out from his position atop the high seat.

“Simple.” The fiery-armored figure standing before him said coldly, “We’re here giving you a chance to stay alive. If you immediately evacuate the Eastroad Territory, all of you will be able to stay alive! But if you fight back, you will be wiped out.”

“Damn him.”

“He dares…”

Instantly, the disciples within the hall all began to roar and shout with fury. They hadn’t imagined that the Ninedust Sect would act in such a brash manner.

“It was the Sectlord who personally told me to convey this message. Either you get the hell out of the Eastroad Sect or you die.” The fiery-armored man said coldly, “I’ve delivered my message. It is up to you what choice you will make. Ten years from now, if the Eastroad Sect is still present in this region, then you can simply wait for death.” Message delivered, he turned and left.

“He wants to leave, just like that?”

“Stop right th-…” An enraged disciple of the Eastroad Sect moved to block his path.

“Let him leave,” Daolord Thunderheat said coldly. The Eastroad disciples had no choice but to swallow their rage.

“Hmph. I train in a cloning technique. Even if you killed me, it would be meaningless.” The fiery-armored man let out a cold laugh, then left with a swagger.

Daolord Thunderheat just watched him leave silently. He wasn’t going to get angry with a World-level cultivator; it was the Ninedust Sectlord he was angry with!

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Daolord Thunderheat looked at the seated Ning.

“I saw everything.” Ning nodded and smiled. “Let them come. I’ve been waiting over ten thousand years here for the Ninedust Sect to come.”

Daolord Thunderheat relaxed slightly. “Your words put me at ease, fellow Daoist.”

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Chapter 6 – Battling Alone

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 6 – Battling Alone

A towering ray shrine was floating there within the dark void of chaotic space, and an awe-inspiring group of cultivators were inside it.

At the highest place within the shrine sat a silver-maksed, silver-robed man. He was the Ninedust Sectlord, and his name was known throughout the many territories of the nearby region. Countless living beings prostrated themselves before him and lived on his suffrage, and his vileness and his power had long ago been made known to the cultivators around him, inspiring terror in their hearts.

Below him stood three figures who were the three vice sectlords of the Ninedust Sect.

“Sectlord.” Daolord Graceful, one of the three vice sectlords, spoke out. “The ten years have concluded, but the Eastroad Sect has refused to leave. What should we do?”

“Do you really need to ask? Of course we are going to attack. We’re going to wipe them out!” Daolord Bruteflame, who had a stone-like body, roared angrily, “Without Daolord Eastroad, how can the Eastroad Sect possibly contend against our Ninedust Sect?”

“Hmph.” The graceful and handsome Daolord Cleversoul frowned as he barked, “Bruteflame, Ptariarch Eastroad was an extraordinarily powerful figure, and his lair is undoubtedly filled with many terrifying formations. We gave coercion a shot, and if we succeeded it would have been nice, but… attack by force? Hmph. Only the Sectlord himself has a shot at that. All three of us would be at risk of dying if we tried.”

The three vice sect-lords were Daolords of the Fourth Step, with Daolord Cleversoul being the strongest and the other two being weaker.

“Enough.” The Ninedust Sectlord said in a cold voice, “Since they have refused to leave, we’ll take them out.”

The three vice sect-lords, especially Daolords Cleversoul and Graceful, were all startled. Daolord Cleversoul barked, “The rest of you, retire for a moment.”

“Understood.” The other Daolords and World-level cultivators standing below them all departed, despite feeling puzzled.

“Sectlord.” Daolord Cleversoul raised his head to look at the Ninedust Sectlord. “Sectlord, are you perhaps being a bit too fixated on the Eastroad Sect? You first slew one of their Daolords, then moved the entire shrine over to the Eastroad Everworld to keep an eye over it… and now, you plan to attack it by force! The Eastroad Sect is already incredibly weak; we only need to besiege it, not actually attack it. Eventually, they will have to come out, unless they choose to never test themselves and never go out adventuring. If that is the case, then their sect will grow weaker and weaker over time. In a few chaos cycles, they’ll be finished. Why must we take the risk of attacking by force?”

“Agreed. Sectlord, are we perhaps being a bit too hasty?” Daolord Graceful asked. They all felt that this was a bit too impetuous. They could just take over the entire Eastroad Territory while keeping the Eastroad Sect trapped here! However, the Sectlord insisted on actually attacking.

“Hm. Now that the old Sectlord has passed away, the three of you must feel that I’m the easygoing, merciful type, yes? You believe there is no need to obey my orders, mm?” The Ninedust Sectlord’s voice was as cold as ice.

“We wouldn’t dare,” the three vice sectlords said respectfully.

“Since you do not dare to disobey, go and carry out my orders. Head out to the Eastroad Sect,” the Ninedust Sectlord barked.

“Acknowledged.” The three vice sectlords had no choice but to obey the order.

“Head out to the Eastroad Sect.” Soon, the order spread to the entire sect, and the towering gray shrine began to fly ever-closer to the Eastroad Everworld.

……

Rumble…

The towering gray shrine pierced through the world-membrane of the Eastroad Sect, then soared through its skies like an enormous levitating mountain as it moved straight to the Eastroad Sect. It made no effort to disguise or hide what it was doing at all.

“That’s the Ninedust Sect’s shrine.”

“The Ninedust Shrine of the Ninedust Sect.”

Quite a few cultivators within the Eastroad Everworld raised their heads to stare at it, their hearts filled with shock. They knew that something big was about to happen!

“Move, move, move! Head out right away!”

“Let’s go to the Eastroad Sect and watch what happens from a safe distance. This battle between the Ninedust Sect and the Eastroad Sect will be the biggest fight in many chaos cycles in these territories. There’s no way we can miss it.”

“The Eastroad Sect is probably going to be wiped out. There’s no way we can miss this spectacle. Given what a deep foundation the Eastroad Sect has accumulated over the years, it probably won’t die without a fight. I’m guessing that one or two of the Daolords of the Ninedust Sect will die as well.”

These cultivators all chatted excitedly amongst themselves as they quietly flew towards the Eastroad Sect, preparing to watch this battle. If they missed a fight like this, they would be filled with endless regrets.

……

“They are coming.”

“The Ninedust Sect is coming.”

“The Ninedust Sect has brought its main base, the Ninedust Shrine.” Word quickly spread like wildefire within the Eastroad Sect, and it was filled with a hubbub of commotion. Many of its disciples were shocked and restless. Although they had long ago known that a day like this would come, and that someone known as Daolord Darknorth had come to assist them… they couldn’t help but feel nervous and fearful now that the day had finally arrived.

The Ninedust Sect’s power was simply too great! Its fame and its might were all legendary throughout the nearby territories.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth! Fellow Daoist Darknorth!” Daolord Thunderheat headed straight to the Void Pathway to ask Ning to assist.

“Have they arrived?” Ning, Pillsaint, Su Youji, and Naia all came out.

“The main base of the Ninedust Sect, the ‘Ninedust Shrine’, is flying straight towards us.” Daolord Thunderheat cleared his throat, obviously rather nervous. “They aren’t trying to do a blitzkrieg through teleportation or anything sneaky; they are just flying straight towards us! I imagine many cultivators have already noticed them. The Ninedust Sect is completely confident in its chances.”

Ning nodded. “No need to panic. From this moment forwards, you must obey all my orders.”

“Alright.” Daolord Thunderheat nodded.

“I’ll go meet the Ninedust Sect outside our sect.” Ning smiled.

“Outside the sect?” Daolord Thunderheat was shocked. “You can’t. If you go outside, you won’t be protected by the formations.”

“If I am not a match for them, then I’ll naturally retreat into the protective embrace of the Eastroad Sect’s formations.” Ning smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t get in over my head.”

Unable to dissuade Ning, Daolord Thunderheat could only say, “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, you must be careful.”

“I’ll leave the defenses and formations protecting the Eastroad Sect to you, Daolord. Maintaining control over its formations will be critical to this fight,” Ning said.

“Don’t worry about that at all,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

Ning turned his head to glance at Naia, Pillsaint, and Su Youji, then smiled. “There’s no need for the three of you to participate in this fight. Would you like to enter my estate-world, or to watch from the outside?”

“I’m watching, of course,” Su Youji said hurriedly.

“How could I miss a fight like this?” Pillsaint shook his head.

Daolord Naia didn’t say anything. She just stood next to Su Youji and looked at Ning.

Ning chuckled. “Might as well. However, if things get dangerous you need to enter my estate-world. All of you are too weak, after all; once the real fight starts, the Ninedust Sectlord will probably wipe you all out with a single strike.”

In the end, they just weren’t strong enough. Ning had both the Hegemon’s armor as well as a powerful protective divine ability, and he also had his nine novessence arts. This was why he dared to clash against figures like Kongsan and the Ninedust Sectlord. Daolords like Naia would be finished in one blow. The difference in power was simply too great.”

“All of us will listen to your orders, Master,” Su Youji promised right away.

“Then I’m going to go now.” Ning nodded as he flew away.

Daolord Thunderheat, Su Youji, and the disciples of the Eastroad Sect all watched as Ning left, their hearts filled with nervousness.

“I’m just worried that this Daolord Darknorth will be killed by the Ninedust Sect in an instant. If that happens, we really will be doomed.”

“There’s nothing else we can do. We have to place our faith in Daolord Darknorth.” The Eastroad Sect’s disciples really were out of options.

……

Ning walked out of the Eastroad Sect, then scanned the surrounding area. Upon seeing a distant mountain peak a few hundred kilometers away, he took a single step forwards and moved to stand at the very top of that mountain.

“So this battle has finally come.” Ning sat down upon a boulder atop the mountain peak, staring at the distant horizons. A hint of fire could be seeing flickering in his eyes… a burning desire to do battle.

“I’ve now made breaks through in all five Supreme Daos that comprise my Omega Sword Dao. However, I’ve failed with each attempt I make to merge them together into an even stronger Omega Sword Dao.” Ning frowned. The Void Pathway had actually been quite helpful to him. Prior to coming to the Eastroad Sect, Ning had only made breakthroughs in two of his Supreme Daos: the Blood Drop sword-intent and the Yin-Yang sword-intent.

The breakthrough in the Yin-Yang sword-intent had come in a natural fashion as he hastened towards the Eastroad Sect after his battle against Daolord Kongsan. As for the other three Supreme Daos, he had made those breakthroughs during the ten thousand years he had spent in the Void Pathway. Alas, to use them to form an even higher-level Omega Sword Dao required that brief moment of epiphany, a eureka moment.

“In the end, one simply cannot reach the apex through cultivation alone. Perhaps this fight will give me a chance to gain the insight I need to make a breakthrough in my Omega Sword Dao. Once I master my second-stage Omega Sword Dao, I’ll be able to become a Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning eagerly awaited that moment. He was slightly more powerful than he had been when he had battled Kongsan, but he hadn’t made any truly transformative breakthroughs. He was in desperate need of something to stimulate him into making a breakthrough.

……

Rumble… the towering gray shrine finally appeared in the horizons as it flew towards the Eastroad Sect.

“There it is.”

“The Ninedust Sect has arrived.”

“They are here.” Many cultivators were hidden off in the distance, having teleported to arrive in advance of the shrine.

The towering gray shrine suddenly came to a halt in midair. The Daolords of the Ninedust Sect and its cultivators all stared off into the distance, as did the Ninedust Sectlord atop his throne. Their gazes almost instantly turned towards the mountain peak which was almost directly in front of the Eastroad Sect. There was a white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back who was on that mountain peak, and the youth rose to his feet and stared right back at them.

“A Daolord of the Second Step?” The Ninedust Sectlord murmured softly, “A puny little Daolord of the Second Step actually dares to block our advance towards the Eastroad Sect… to block my Ninedust Sect?”

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Chapter 7 – Attack!

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 7 – Attack!

“Sectlord.” Daolord Clevermind looked at the Ninedust Sectlord. “This man is a mere Daolord of the Second Step. He knows that we have come, but he actually dares to stand in front of their gates. He clearly is treating us as an enemy. Hmph. Let us send one of our brothers to wipe him out.”

“Mm.” The Ninedust Sectlord calmly assented. Given his status, how could he possibly hold a mere Daolord of the Second Step in any regard?

“Brother Huzhen.” Daolord Clevermind immediately glanced downwards. “I’ll have to trouble you to get rid of this Daolord of the Second Step! You are our first attacker, and as such you need to be decisive in this victory. Shock and awe them. Make sure they know that submission and surrender is the correct decision, and that defiance leads only to death.”

“Understood,” Daolord Huzhen said respectfully. He was one of the sect’s three Daolords of the Third Step, and was quite a formidable fighter. Whoosh! Daolord Huzhen immediately flew out of the Ninedust Shrine and towards the distant mountain peak with Ji Ning on it.

……

“Who is that?”

“That white-robed youth actually dares to stand in front of the Eastroad Sect and block the Ninedust Sect’s path. He’s being a bit too brash, isn’t he?”

“If my senses are correct, he appears to merely be a Daolord of the Second Step.”

The cultivators watching from afar were all staring at Ning curiously. Now that the Ninedust Shrine had descended upon this place, it made no sense for a Daolord of the Second Step to stand in its path. It was like a cricket trying to stand in the path of a carriage.

……

“It’ll all be up to Daolord Darknorth.”

“I wonder if Daolord Darknorth really is as powerful as he claims or if he is just bragging. No matter what, I just don’t feel safe.”

“Ugh.”

“Let’s just watch and see.”

The disciples of the Eastroad Sect were all quite nervous, especially when they saw that towering shrine hang in the air right in front of them. Would Daolord Darknorth really be able to stand up to them?

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth…” Daolord Thunderheat watched silently. He was more nervous than anyone else, as it was up to him to defend and run the entire Eastroad Sect. He was the one who had chosen to trust Ning.

Ning stood there at the top of the mountain peak, watching as a Daolord flew towards him with robes fluttering in the air. The Daolord called out from afar, “I am Daolord Huzhen of the Ninedust Sect. Listen up, kid. The Ninedust Sect has come to tame and subdue the Eastroad Sect. How dare you stand in our way and cause trouble for us? Are you really tired of living? I’ll give you a chance to live; submit to us right away and join us, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise… today is the day you die.”

His voice boomed out and echoed within the skies. Clearly, he was doing this to put on a great show. As Daolord Clevermind had instructed, he was going to shock and awe the Eastroad Sect, with the ideal outcome being terrifying them into surrender.

“Haha…” Ning stood there atop the mountain, a smile of amusement on his face as his own voice echoed through the skies as well. “Daolord Huzhen, yes? If you wish to submit to me, I’ll accept you as a retainer. If you attack, you’ll die here and now.”

“What a joke. Go to your death, then!” Daolord Huzhen let out an angry laugh, then pointed from afar. Boom! A series of wooden planks appeared in the skies, culimating in over a thousand planks. Every single plank was covered with complex divine runes; clearly, this was a set of extremely powerful magic treasures. The divine runes began to tremble, causing the thousand-plus wooden planks to instantly form into a stream of azure sword-light that slashed through the heavens towards Ning.

Ning slowly shook his head. Just as the azure streak of sword-light reached his body, he waved his hand. Boom! The azure sword-light was actually blasted apart.

“What?” The distant Daolord Huzhen’s face turned pale.

“Die, then.” Ning’s gaze turned cold. Instantly, the world around them began to darken as streams of sword-intent appeared out of thin air. The terrifying sword-intent condensed into sword-light that swirled around Daolord Huzhen, and then… swish! The sword-light ground him apart like countless millstones.

“N-no…” Daolord Huzhen had a look of horror on his face. He wanted to use his magic treasures to defend, but… splat. The thousands of streaks of sword-light swirled around him and ground away at his body, splintering his divine body and distintegrating his truesoul. He died on the spot.

Ning took a single step forwards, moving through the skies to stand next to the place where Daolord Huzhen had died. With a wave of his hand, he took the treasures which Daolord Huzhen had left behind. A powerful wind was blowing through the skies, stirring his robes. Ning wanted to make use of this battle to find a way to further improve his Omega Sword Dao. How could he possibly be wary of combat?

The white-robed Ning raised his head to stare at the distant, towering gray shrine. He said in a cold voice, “Ninedust Sect, if you leave right now you’ll be able to keep your lives. Otherwise… I’ll kill as many as dare trespass on the grounds of the Eastroad Sect.”

“Kill as many as dare trespass.”

“Kill as many as dare trespass.”

His voice was filled with Immortal energy and echoed throughout the skies, reverberating throughout the world. The distant cultivators watching this from afar were all stunned by this. The disciples of the Eastroad Sect and Daolord Thunderheat were speechless, and the major powers and cultivators of the Ninedust Sect were the most shocked of all.

“What? He was able to slay a Daolord of the Third Step with nothing more than manifested sword-intent?”

“He didn’t even use those swords in the black sheath on his back. He didn’t even enter close combat, nor did he use any magic treasures. His sword-intent alone was enough to slay a Daolord of the Third Step?”

“B-but…”

“This is terrifying.”

“This is no ordinary Daolord of the Second Step. He’s one of the most freakishly powerful Daolords of the Second Step in existence.”

……

Everyone present was stunned. The Eastroad Sect now understood that Daolord Darknorth truly did have a terrifying level of power! As for the Ninedust Sect, it now understood that the white-robed youth before them would be the greatest impediment to their designs over the Eastroad Sect.

“Brother Huzhen!”

“Huzhen!”

“Master!”

A number of anguished cries rang out from within the Ninedust Shrine, with the cultivators in question filled with rage. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he let out a soft laugh from atop his throne. “Interesting. It seems this Daolord of the Second Step does have a few skills to rely on. Still… in the end, he is just a Daolord of the Second Step. Clevermind, Graceful, Bruteflame, do not be overconfident. We need to smash through the Eastroad Sect like rotting wood. All three of you should simultaneously attack and crush this Daolord of the Second Step.”

“All three of us, attack together?” Daolord Graceful couldn’t help but want to confirm this. They were different from Daolord Huzhen, as the power gap between Daolords of the Third Step and Daolords of the Fourth Step was quite significant. To reach the fourth step meant that you were a major power who had virtually reached the absolute apex of a certain personal Dao. Daolord Clevermind in particular possessed incredible power, and was capable of killing ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step.

“It is enough for Bruteflame and myself to attack,” Daolord Graceful said. “If we work together, we can deal with even the most freakishly powerful Daolords of the Second Step.”

“No.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “Let’s not waste any more time on a Daolord of the Second Step. All three of you should attack simultaneously and let the Eastroad Sect understand that resistance is futile.”

“Understood.” Daolord Clevermind, Daolord Graceful, and Daolord Bruteflame all assented respectfully. If the sectlord had made up his mind, then they wouldn’t dare to argue any further.

“Let’s go,” Daolord Clevermind barked, then transformed into a streak of light that flew out.

“Let’s go.” Daolords Graceful and Bruteflame followed behind him.

“All three vice sectlords are attacking. Even if this Daolord of the Second Step is one of the most legendary of geniuses, he’s definitely going to die.”

“The three vice sectlords are probably enough to crush the entire Eastroad Sect by themselves.”

The many cultivators within the Ninedust Shrine were filled with complete confidence.

……

As the three flew out from the shrine, the skies instantly darkened around them. Rumble… a terrifying, endless streak of saber-light filled the skies, and at its edges was an aura of gray mist as well as boundless flames.

Saber-light, mist, and flames. They filled the skies for countless kilometers around in a manifestation of the might of the Dao of the three. The three vice sectlords had been famous in the surrounding territories for countless years now, and the manifestation of their Dao alone was enough to stun everyone present.

“The Ninedust Sect is actually sending out all three of its vice sectlords at the same time? This is a bit much, isn’t it? For a Daolord of the Fourth Step to fight against a Daolord of the Second Step is already bullying. Three against one?”

“This isn’t bullying. This is a war between the Ninedust Sect and the Eastroad Sect. This Daolord has only himself to blame for daring to get involved.”

“The Eastroad Sect wants to crush this Daolord in an instant.”

Many of the distant spectators, especially the ones belonging to the organizations of the surrounding territories, were scouts who had been placed here long ago. They couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh. They knew just how terrifyingly strong the three vice sectlords of the Ninedust Sect were. Every single one of them was incredibly formidable. All three at once? None of them believed the white-robed kid had a chance.

“Hmph.” Standing there in the air, Ning let out a cold snort. Rumble… endless amounts of sword-light filled the skies like a great flood, blanketing the heavens as they smashed towards the saber-light, the mist, and the flames.

The saber-light, the mist, and the flames were hurtling from one direction, while Ning’s ocean of sword-light came crashing from the other. The two curtains of power quickly collided. The blurry mist and the frenzied flames were instantly suppressed, while the frenzied saber-light clashed repeatedly in the air against Ning’s sword-light, neither able to gain an advantage over the other.

The might of their respective Daos continued clashed against each other. As for the three vice sectlords, they stared in the air towards Ning. By now, they realized that they had encountered a truly tough foe.

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Chapter 8 – Sharpened

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 8 – Sharpened

The two sides stared at each other from afar. This clash of Daos alone let the three vice sectlords know that in terms of insights into the Dao, this mere Daolord of the Second Step was already on par with Daolord Clevermind and superior to the other two vice sectlords! This caused their ardor to cool down. However, they remained full of confidence. There would be an enormous difference in amount of divine power and Immortal energy, after all; one was a Daolord of the Second Step, the others were Daolords of the Fourth Step!

“Attack,” Daolord Clevermind shouted mentally to the other two.

“GRWAAAWR!” Daolord Bruteflame raised his head and let out a bellow as his stony body suddenly expanded. He transformed into an enormous stone titan that was ten million kilometers tall, and his two giant stone legs slammed into the ground like the pillars of heaven themselves, causing the earth to tremble. His two arms seemed to contain the power to annihilate the heavens as he sent them smashing towards Ning.

“Interesting.” One of the Northbow swords flew out from Ji Ning’s back, falling into his hands. He transformed into the [Three Heads, Six Arms] form, all six of his arms clenched around the hilt of this sword. His sword suddenly expanded to become massive as well, and his six arms swung it outwards in a furious chop.

Omega Sword Dao –!

Ning had made breakthroughs in all five of his Supreme Daos. Although he hadn’t been able to merge them together into a higher-level Omega Sword Dao, his total combat power had still improved by a bit. He was now on par with Patriarch Clearwind in every respect, be it in using quick sword-arts, fierce sword-arts, or unpredictable sword-arts. In fact, his perfection in every area was such that his sword-arts would be enough to force Patriarch Clearwind to flee.

BOOM! The massive streak of sword-light slammed into those two enormous, heaven-overturning arms which brimmed with flames. An enormous explosion blasted out, and Ning couldn’t help but take two steps back. As for the giant stone titan, Daolord Bruteflame, he stumbled one step back as well.

“Daolord Bruteflame lives up to his reputation as an Aberrant special lifeform. The star maps of the Brightshore Kingdom described him as an Aberrant famous for his strength. However, he’s weak in terms of speed and technique,” Ning amused.

“What? A Daolord of the Second Step was actually able to fight Bruteflame head on?” Daolord Graceful was astonished.

“Not good.” Daolord Clevermind’s face paled. He knew very well that even if he struck at full power, he would still be at a disadvantage when fighting Daolord Bruteflame head-on.

“It’ll be up to you, Daolord Clevermind,” Daolord Graceful sent mentally. An incredibly dense black mist suddenly arose that instantly covered the surrounding area which could not be dispersed by the aura of Ning’s Dao. Something seemed to be swimming within that dark mist that almost instantly shot out towards the opponent.

“Oh, a competition in using soft, Yin principles?” Ning’s six Northbow swords all shot out of the sheath, and he wielded one in each of his six arms, sending sword-light flowing outwards and easily defending against the technique.

“Die, then.” The most powerful of the three, Daolord Clevermind, charged straight towards Ning with six warhammers in his hands.

Ning’s face tightened. Although Daolord Clevermind’s name implied trickery, his combat style was absolutely savage and dominating, but in a different way from how Daolord Bruteflame merely used brute force. Daolord Clevermind didn’t seem to have any obvious flaws at all.

“Excellent. The Ninedust Sect is giving me just what I want. I was hoping to have a chance to tussle a bit against comparable foes and see if I can’t perhaps evolve my Omega Sword Dao.” Ning revealed a smile. “Who would’ve thought they’d choose to send their three vice sectlords out to spar?” Three of them at the same time would give even Ning some pressure.

“Let’s do this!” Ning charged forwards.

“Kill!” Daolord Clevermind shot straight towards Ning.

“Hmph.” The distant Daolord Graceful controlled his magic treasures from afar, sending long-range attacks against Ning. He was a Ki Refiner and so wasn’t all that skilled in close combat. As for Daolord Bruteflame, he sent his giant fists smashing towards Ning time and time again, each strike comparable to Ning’s Omega Heavenbreaker attack. Ning had to be wary of him as well.

……

For a time, the scene outside the Eastroad Sect was a scene of complete chaos. Black mist swirled everywhere, and an enormous titan was launching frenzied attacks in every direction. At the center of the action was the battle between the number one vice sectlord of the Ninedust Sect, Daolord Clevermind… and a white-robed youth. Thunder and lightning crackled through the air as the giant warhammers linked together into a cage of lightning around Ning, whose six swords struck out with unfathomable, mysterious power. Sometimes, they were as unfathomable as swimming dragons; at other times, they were as explosive as volcanos. In every aspect, he was as strong as Daolord Clevermind.

However, Daolord Graceful and Daolord Bruteflame continued to launch attacks from the sidelines, causing Ning to be distracted and making it so that he seemed to be consistently at a disadvantage.

“This white-robed Daolord really is powerful. He’s actually able to fight the three vice sectlords of the Ninedust Sect to a standstill!”

“Impressive. For a Daolord of the Second Step to possess such power means that he is definitely one of the most freakishly powerful of Daolords around. I’ve heard of such monsters in the past, but I’ve never seen any of them. I’ve really seen something special today.”

“Hm. It seems it won’t be that easy for the Ninedust Sect to take over the Eastroad Sect.”

The distant spectator cultivators, especially the spies from other organizations, all murmured silently to each other. With this white-robed Daolord present, conquering the Eastroad Sect would be no easy feat.

……

“This will be trouble.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned as he watched from afar. Taking over the Eastroad Sect really wouldn’t be that easy. This kid was clearly just a Daolord of the Second Step, but he was already on par with Daolord Clevermind in power. In the outside world, the Ninedust Sectlord wouldn’t care about him at all, but there was no way this white-robed Daolord would be so foolish as to engage the Ninedust Sectlord in close combat. No Daolord of such power could possibly be as foolish as that! Once the Ninedust Sectlord got involved, the white-robed Daolord would probably retreat into the protective embrace of the Eastroad Sect’s formations.

Once he was being reinforced by the formations personally left behind by Patriarch Eastroad, things would be completely different. The Ninedust Sectlord wasn’t confident in being able to slay that white-robed Daolord inside the Eastroad Sect.

Generally speaking, only when the difference in power between two sects was absolutely enormous would one be able to take over the other. Usually, the protective formations covering each set would be enough to offset any difference in power.

……

“Daolord Darknorth truly is powerful.”

“He’s actually able to fight three at once and stop all three of their vice sectlords! With power like this… if he’s reinforced by our formations, he’ll probably be able to stop the Ninedust Sectlord.” The disciples within the Ninedust Sect were all rather excited. Although it looked as though Daolord Darknorth was at a disadvantage in this fight, for him to be able to resist all three at once was a testament to his strength.

Daolord Thunderheat had a look of joy on his face, but he then suddenly frowned. “Wait. I remember Daolord Darknorth saying that he was able to defeat Daolord Naia in a single blow, thanks to his secret arts. Why haven’t I seen him use any secret arts yet?” Ning had mentioned previously that his greatest power lay in his secret arts.

“If he’s already this powerful in close combat, how much stronger will he be once he uses those secret arts?” Daolord Thunderheat didn’t even dare imagine it.

“Wonderful. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Again!” Ning was battling to his heart’s content. He could’ve used the nine novessence arts to end this long ago, but that would be boring. If all he wanted to do was to turtle up, he could’ve stayed inside the sect. The reason he came out was because he wanted to fight, to temper himself, to sharpen his skills and enhance his Omega Sword Dao! This battle against the three vice sectlords was doing just that, and Daolord Clevermind in particular was giving him a great deal of pressure. He naturally was gaining a few insights into sword-arts as the battle continued.

“Hahaha! Wonderful. Just wonderful!” Daolord Clevermind was enjoying the fight as well, battling with incomparable valor. He was a practitioner of the Dao of Lightning, and was skilled in high-speed explosive attacks. “Kid, you might be able to maintain your current level of power thanks to whatever divine ability you are using, but I want to see how long you’ll be able to hold it!”

“Once more time passes, he won’t be able to hold on.” Daolord Bruteflame and Daolord Graceful were filled with confidence as well. They all felt certain that this white-roed Daolord had to be relying on some sort of divine ability which allowed him to release an explosive amount of power… but the more monstrously powerful a divine ability was, the faster it depleted one’s divine power. Generally speaking, this sort of battle strategy could not be used for a long period of time. They had no idea that in a contest of endurance, Ning was superior to all three of them combined because his azureflower mist energy was only used up at an extremely slow rate… and he had an enormous amount of it.

In the blink of an eye, nearly an hour had gone by without the battle slowing down in the slightest. An hour was a very short period of time for cultivators, and the watching spectators were all quite excited by the spectacle. However, the three vice sectlords and the Ninedust Sectlor knew the truth of the matter, and they all felt something was off.

“How could he last for this long?”

“Why has his divine power been able to last this long?”

The Ninedust Sectlord and the three vice sectlords all had a bad feeling. But right at this moment…

“I’m still not quite there.” Ning secretly shook his head. “Although I’ve gained many new ideas regarding my sword-arts, to merge my five Supreme Daos of the ‘second step’ level into a new Omega Sword Dao is still not possible. It seems these three vice sectlords simply aren’t giving me enough pressure.”

Ning didn’t want to continue the fight against the three of them any longer, because they had already put all of their techniques on full display. It was no longer of any use to Ning.

“Let it end!” Ning willed it, and nine absolutely terrifying ‘dragons’ of destructive energy began to fly out from his body…

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Chapter 9 – The Sectlord Attacks

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 9 – The Sectlord Attacks

The nine dragons coiled around each other, manifesting into a series of awesome waves through the mysteries of Ji Ning’s Omega Sword Dao that came crashing outwards…

“Oh no.” Daolord Clevermind had been in close combat with Ning, and his face instantly turned pale. He could sense the terrifying power contained within those nine mighty secret arts. “This white-robed Daolord was actually hiding terrifying secret arts up his sleeve.”

BOOM! Daolord Clevermind’s six great warhammers suddenly shone with complex runes that flowed across its surface, forming shields across the surfaces of each warhammer. Soon, six bizarre shields of lightning had been formed that then joined together, resulting into a complete and seamless shield-barrier of light.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The nine novessence arts came crashing down upon the shield-barrier of light, but the lightning shield was able to hold.

“Thank goodness I had this treasure. Otherwise, I would’ve ended up losing my life! I need to flee right away.” Daolord Clevermind’s face was still pale. He immediate commanded his shields to surround him and quickly soared into the skies, retreating at more than fifty times the speed of light.

These six warhammers were no ordinary treasures. It must be understood that outside the Endless Territories lay the Great Dark. Daolord Clevermind had often enjoyed standing at the borders of the Endless Territories and staring into the Great Dark, because it made him feel calm and at peace, which helped him better understand his own Dao of the Saber. One day, while cultivating at the borders of the Great Dark, he had discovered those six great warhammers just floating there. They had been floating through the Great Dark for countless years, but they remained in perfect condition.

After he had acquired these six warhammers, Daolord Clevermind quickly discovered how incredible and special they were. They were innately heavy beyond compare, and their attacks were utterly ruinous to their foes. It must be understood that if Patriarch Clearwind once more fought Ning in a head-on clash, he would now be forced to flee within a short period of time. Daolord Clevermind was merely on par with Patriarch Clearwind, but he was able to fight Ning to a standstill primarily because of how extraordinary these six warhammers were.

When defending, he could use them to form an absolute defense of lightning. When fleeing, they would envelop him him and allow him to move at a hundred times the speed of light. The only reason why he was moving slower than that was because of the nine novessence arts attacking him.

As soon as he had acquired the six warhammers, Daolord Clevermind understood that they had to have been items of great might left behind by an ancient power, perhaps even a top-tier Eternal Emperor. After acquiring them, his status within the sect became even firmer than it was before.

……

“Not good.” Daolord Graceful was a Ki Refiner and as such battled from afar. When he saw those nine dragon-like streams of novessence energy appear, he instantly understood that he was in mortal danger. Even his magic treasures were blasted away by those nine streams of energy, causing him to lose control over them. “If those things so much as touch me, I’m finished. I need to get the hell out of here.”

Daolord Graceful gritted his teeth, then produced a black disc-shaped Dao-seal which was covered with layers of strange rippling runes, then crushed it. Swoosh. Instantly several streaks of black light circled around him… and just like that, he was teleported away and disappeared.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!” The towering Aberrant stone giant, ‘Daolord Bruteflame’, let out agonized screams as his stony body was rent asunder by those nine novessence arts. He was completely incapable of withstanding the assault, and his towering, ten million kilometer long body quickly crumbled to become nothing more than a boulder-sized head. A look of despair was in his eyes.

……

Ning had almost instantly activated his nine novessence arts. Everything had happened far too quickly, giving the distant Ninedust Sectlord no time to intervene as well.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. “Two actually managed to escape? The battle we were just in caused distortions in spacetime, making it impossible to teleport out through normal means. Daolord Graceful, however, seemed to flee using some sort of Dao-seal. I didn’t expect that someone as unremarkable and low-key as him would actually be hiding such marvelous treasures as well.”

Ning had predicted that Daolord Clevermind might be able to escape from his killing blow; given how strong the man was, he most assuredly had some life-saving trump cards up his sleeves. But who would’ve thought that Daolord Graceful would also be able to produce such a rare item?

“Daolord Clevermind’s six great warhammers are unquestionably weapons of extraordinary power. They were actually able to block my nine novessence arts head-on! For Kongsan or the Ninedust Sectlord to do that would be one thing, but who would’ve thought Clevermind would also be capable of it? Those six warhammers truly are marvelous; they even allow him to flee at incredible speeds!” Ning couldn’t help but sigh at how extraordinary those things were.

Although many thoughts flickered through Ning’s mind, his hands moved at lightning speed as he hurled out a black gourd that flew straight towards the stony form of Daolord Bruteflame.

“Daolord Bruteflame, either submit to me or die to me.” Ning stared at Daolord Bruteflame’s stony head, the only part of him which was left undamaged. “Choose immediately.

“S-submit!” Daolord Bruteflame was utterly terrified, and he made his choice without hesitate. Swoosh! The head flew straight towards the black gourd and the field of novessence energy around it, shrinking as it quickly disappeared into the gourd.

……

“Damn.” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face had tightened as soon as he saw Ning use those nine novessence arts. Battles between Daolords happened at incredible speeds, making it impossible for him to save Daolord Bruteflame.

Boom!

The Ninedust Sectlord almost instantly charge out of his shrine, a dark-red longstaff appearing in his hands and almost immediately expanding over a hundred million kilometers. He swung out with the longstaff, sending it smashing towards the incredibly distant Ning as though it was one of the pillars of the heavens.

BOOM! When the staff swept out, the world itself seemed to turn dark. When it clashed against the nine novessence arts, the energy flows of the novessence arts were thrown into a state of chaos. However, the nine novessence arts were formless to begin with, and so they quickly returned back to normal as the staff continued to smash towards Ning at high speeds.

“What a pity.” Faced with a terrifying staff-strike, Ning merely glanced sideways at the fleeing Daolord Clevermind, who was escaping thanks to his protective cage of lightning. Daolord Clevermind was fleeing at more than fifty times the speed of light right now, but if Ning used his own flying vessel he’d be able to catch the man.

The problem was, given how the thunderhammer cage was able to defend against even the nine novessence arts, it would undoubtedly be hard for Ning to breach it with any of his other attacks. His only choice was to rely on his superior azureflower mist energy to slowly fight a war of attrition which he might win, with time… but there was no time for that. The Ninedust Sectlord had come.

“Come, then. I want to see just how strong figures like the Ninedust Sectlord or Daolord Kongsan are in close combat.” Ning could sense that he had improved somewhat since the battle at Skywood City, while his strengthened nine novessence arts would be able to hamper and weaken his foe’s staff-arts. It seemed likely that Ning would be able to at least give the man a good fight.

“Break for me!” Ning gripped a single sword with all six arms, then unleashed the Heavenbreaker stance of his Omega Sword Dao.

BOOM! The obliterating staff collided head-on with the heaven-breaking sword.

Ning could sense a surge of incomparably vast and powerful energy smash into him from the collision. Even after the Hegemon armor ablated most of the power of the blow, he was still sent flying backwards.

“He actually didn’t die?” The silver-faced, silver-robed Ninedust Sectlord was rather surprised. “Hmph. Then take another hit from me.” He charged straight into the awesome field of novessence energy, and the power of this field caused him to feel even more surprised. He could sense his own speed dropping rapidly, but he was still able to endure the attacks. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. “This is a tough foe. His secret arts are even stronger than mine.”

The battle was simply happening too fast. Daolord Bruteflame was captured alive, Daolord Graceful disappeared without a trace, while Daolord Clevermind had fled in terror. A heartbeat later, the Ninedust Sectlord had attacked.

“What technique was that?!”

“The three vice sectlords were defeated in one strike. Even the Ninedust Sectlord has entered the fray.”

“It has to be some sort of secret art.”

“Or perhaps the unleashed of some ancient power’s Dao-seal.”

The distant spectators as well as the Ninedust cultivators all watched both nervously and intently. This was all happening too fast, and it might end if they so much as blinked.

……

Ning was not surprised by how fearlessly the Ninedust Sectlord charged into the flood of novessence energies. Daolord Kongsan had been able to withstand his nine novessence arts as well, after all. For the Ninedust Sectlord to be able to resist it made sense, as he was on par with ordinary Eternal Emperors in power. “Hmph. Once my Omega Sword Dao reaches a higher level, my nine novessence arts will be dramatically strengthened as well. By then it won’t be this easy for you!”

“However… I’m still much weaker than figures like Kongsan and Ninedust in a head-on fight. His staff had lost 30-40% of its power when it went through my novessence arts, I think.” Ning had been smashed so far back that he had been sent flying to the very edge’s of the Eastroad Sect’s formations. Even his body felt slightly numb… and this was after the Hegemon armor had absorbed most of the impact! If he dind’t have the Hegemon armor, he probably would’ve died or suffered heavy wounds.

“Die.” The Ninedust Sectlord charged straight towards Ning, his eyes burning with rage.

“Haha. Let’s continue this fight inside the Eastroad Sect.” Ning let out a grinning chuckle, then retreated backwards and entered the protective embrace of the Eastroad Sect’s formations. In the outside world, he had been blown backwards even with the support of his nine novessence arts. There was simply no way for him to fight a battle there.

“Hmph. How impressive can the formations which Eastroad set up be?” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t hesitate at all. Longstaff in his hands, he smashed a hole through the protective barriers and charged straight inside the Eastroad Sect.

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Chapter 10 – Breakthrough – Daolord of the Second Step

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 10 – Breakthrough – Daolord of the Second Step

“I’m inside.” A hint of excitement flickered through the Ninedust Sectlord’s eyes after he charged into the Eastroad Sect. He could sense fate calling straight to him. “I can sense it with increasing clarity now. Hmph. I might’ve been afraid to come here when Patriarch Eastroad was alive, but does this puny Daolord of the Second Step really think he can stop me, even if he is freakishly talented? What a joke.”

“The Emperor’s Numerancy divinations were spot on. My destiny does indeed reside within this territory. All the effort I put into seizing the position of sectlord in the Ninedust Sect was worth it.” The Ninedust Sectlord’s mind was filled with many thoughts, but he showed no mercy at all when he attacked.

“Break for me!” The longstaff in his hands swept out. Boom! Boom! Boom! It was like an endless sea of water was bellowing towards the skies, with his longstaff containing multiple waves of destructive energy which wantonly struck out against everything within the Eastroad Sect. His longstaff caused palaces to crumble, walls to collapse, and courtyards to shatter. His entrance and his attack was so sudden that some of the spectating disciples of the Eastroad Sect weren’t able to flee in time. Eleven of them were killed instantly.

“Hide immediately!” Daolord Thunderheat was shocked; the Ninedust Sectlord’s attack had simply been too fast! “Hide behind me!” As he spoke, he hurriedly took control over the formations of the Eastroad Sect.

With a hissing sound, the many formations inside the Eastroad Sect were all simultaneously activated alongside the most powerful defensive barriers. One tendril of golden flame after another began to appear, then converge upon the Eastroad Sectlord like an endless stream of golden serpents. Each individual serpent seemed unremarkable, but the Ninedust Sectlord’s face tightened when he saw them. “Patriarch Eastroad really was willing to spare no expense in setting up such an enormous formation.”

Barging into another major power’s base was an extremely risky maneuver. He had long ago desired to enter this place, but so long as Patriarch Eastroad was alive and his avatar stood guard over this place there was no way the Ninedust Sectlord would dare trespass.

“Get over here, right away!” Daolord Thunderheat hurriedly waved his hand, taking his various disciples and placing them into his own estate-world.”

“The three of you should stop watching as well.” Ning moved next to Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia, a solemn look on his face. “Daolord Thunderheat and I are not certain as to what powers the Ninedust Sectlord possesses. He might unleash some sort of overwhelmingly powerful killer blow that will annihilate you merely as collateral damage.”

“Alright.” Su Youji and the others didn’t want to leave their lives up to luck, and so they all nodded obediently. Ning waved his hand, causing Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia to be instantly drawn into his estate-world.

By now, only three living creatures were left within the Eastroad Sect; all others had been drawn away into estate-worlds. The three were the Ninedust Sectlord, Ji Ning, and Daolord Thunderheat.

“Be careful, Daolord Thunderheat,” Ning sent mentally. Daolord Thunderheat couldn’t hide; he had to stay out here to control the formations.

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay far away from the two of you, and the formations inside the Eastroad Sect will make it impossible for the Ninedust Sectlord to even sense where I am. If I still end up dying accidentally somehow, I’ll have only my poor bad luck to blame.” A frenzied look was in Daolord Thunderheat’s eyes. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, the rest is up to you.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

……

“That direction over there.” The Ninedust Sectlord turned to follow the silent whispers of fate, moving deeper into the Eastroad Sect while continuing to defend against the golden serpents and leaving absolute destruction in his wake.

“Ninedust Sectlord, I might not be a match for you in the outside world… but for you to charge into the Eastroad Sect is far too brash.” Ning once more revealed himself, his nine novessence arts at the ready.

A desire to do battle could be seen in Ning’s eyes. Experts like the Ninedust Sectlord held profound levels of insight into the Dao and gave Ning a completely different type of pressure in battle, making it easier for him to gain insights into his own Dao. However, under normal circumstances a battle against such a figure would be incredibly dangerous; the slightest miscalculation might result in death. The only reason Ning was able to fight him now was because the formations of the Eastroad Sect were helping him out.

Swish! A streak of sword-light flew out towards the Ninedust Sectlord, whose face tightened slightly. “Damn. It’s that irritating Daolord of the Second Step.”

Hisssss! Countless golden serpents swarmed around him, and the nine novessence arts rumbled as they transformed into dragons of energy which furiously hammered down upon him.

A rippling curtain of water appeared around the Ninedust Sectlord’s body, but in the end his defenses were unable to hold. Still, much of the power of the attacks had been weakened. “The power of the formation, combined with this second-step Daolord’s secret arts, means that I’m at best able to unleash at enth of my true power.” The Ninedust Sectlord felt like an ordinary man who was trapped in mud; every single strike and movement was much slower than usual, as was the power of his blows.

Clang! Ning’s sword-light came straight towards him once more. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! His longstaff struck out like a Flood Dragon as it swept forwards, but Ning’s sword-light was formless and traceless, moving without sound and springing towards him from every direction..

“His sword-arts truly are unpredictable.” In the previous battle, the Ninedust Sectlord had overwhelmingly dominated Ning, and so he hadn’t truly realized how tough to deal with Ning’s sword-arts were. Now that his personal power had been dramatically reduced, he came to understand what a tough foe Ning truly was.

“If this continues… fighting in the Eastroad Sect’s base is disadvantageous to me.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a furious roar, and his aura instantly expanded dramatically. The longstaff in his hands actually increased in size still further, allowing him to instantly overwhelm Ning and put Ning back on the defensive.

“So the new sectlord of the Ninedust Sect is as powerful as this, eh?” Ning only grew even more excited. “Perfect. The stronger he is, the better it will be for me. I just hope he isn’t too much for me to handle.” Ning had been itching to find a chance to train his sword-arts, and he needed this sort of terrifying pressure in order for him to gain the insights he needed.

The Ninedust Sect had a former sectlord who had been an extremely vile person. He had been the one to establish the actual sect, and back then Daolord Clevermind and the others had all been his retainers. Later on, the old sectlord had perished and the new one had risen to power. The new sectlord always wore a mask on his face and was a very mysterious figure. Each time he put his power on display, he had shown to the Brightshore Kingdom that he was on the same level of power as the likes of Daolord Kongsan.

……

“Fuck. OFF!” The Ninedust Sectlord was putting more and more pressure on Ning, continuing to advance while Ning was forced to retreat. Slowly, however, the look in Ning’s eyes began to change. First, a hint of puzzlement appeared. Then, a look of insight.

Why did cultivators put themselves in dangerous situations? Why did they walk the fine line between life and death? It was all because they could only make breakthroughs through epiphanies gained when under immense pressure. If they focused all of their time and effort on training in seclusion, it would be difficult for them to become truly accomplished figures.

The Ninedust Sectlord’s staff-arts truly were abstruse and profound. Although Ning trained in the Omega Sword Dao, he was still just a Daolord of the First Step. As a result, the Ninedust Sectlord’s ‘Dao’ completely outstripped Ning’s in raw power, giving him an enormous amount of pressure. Under this immense pressure, Ning became to make some breakthroughs thanks to the accumulated experiences he had gained while walking the Void Pathway for nearly a million years.

“So that is my Omega Sword Dao… level two.” A hint of a smile was on Ning’s lips.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The nine novessence arts had been dominating and awesome to begin with, but they suddenly transformed to become even more abstruse and profound than ever before. They had clearly become much more powerful than just a short while ago, and were now as strong as the restrictive spells protecting the Eastroad Sect. The Ninedust Sectlord blanched when he saw this; moments ago he had been dominating Ning, but now he had to focus all of his energy into resisting the nine novessence arts and those little golden serpents.

The Ninedust Sectlord twirled his longstaff, struggling to defend while dodging nonstop. The shockwaves from this battle were causing the nearby palaces to all fall apart.

“If I can reach the third level with my Omega Sword Dao, my nine novessence arts might be able to reach Daolord Allgod’s level in power,” Ning mused to himself. Based on his calculations pertaining to the power of his Omega Sword Dao, when he was a Daolord of the Third Step his Omega Sword Dao would be roughly on par with the Daos of the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar or Daolord Allgod. By then, when he infused his Omega Sword Dao into his nine novessence arts they should be just as powerful as they had been when Daolord Allgod had personally used them to suppress and entrap Emperor Melobo.

As for right now? He wasn’t able to suppress Emperor Melobo yet, but he was able to force the Ninedust Sectlord to tread lightly, whereas in the past the latter was able to defend against it without too much difficulty.

“The Ninedust Sectlord, eh? When I killed Kongsan, it was all thanks to the Hegemon Dao-seal, not my own power. If I can slay the Ninedust Sectlord with my own abilities… that would be much more interesting.” Ning immediately retreated as he sent his nine novessence arts forward along with those little golden serpents. At this point, he was able to advance and retreat as he pleased.

Ning quickly retreated tens of thousands of kilometers, then stood at an empty area and watched from afar as the nine novessence arts and the little golden snakes besiege the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, why have you retreated?” Daolord Thunderheat asked.

“Haha, I’ve gained certain insights and wish to make my breakthrough,” Ning sent mentally. “After I do so, the Ninedust Sectlord will no longer be a problem.” Swoosh. A black flying vessel appeared, and Ning entered it. With his nine novessence arts and his flying vessel guarding him, he was ready to begin his breakthrough.

However, his breakthrough would be a two-step process. He would first make a breakthrough as a Ki Refiner, upgrading his Jindan chaos region, then make a breakthrough with his divine body as well! He was on a battlefield, after all. If he tried to breakthrough simultaneously in both aspects, he wouldn’t even be able to fight back if he ended up in serious trouble. It was best to be careful. To speed up the process, Ning elected to simply use chaos jewels.

When he had killed Daolord Kongsan, he had acquired a good number of treasures. Other treasures and curios aside, Ning had over two hundred million cubes worth of chaos nectar and chaos jewels! The amount of chaos jewels needed to break through to become a Daolord of the Second Step was negligible for Ning.

Rumble…

The Dao-tree within Ning’s Jindan chaos region began to grow.

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Chapter 11 – Breakthrough – The Ninedust Sectlord’s Goal

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 11 – Breakthrough – The Ninedust Sectlord’s Goal

Every branch of the titanic Dao-tree luxuriated with foliage and stretched skywards like a dragon in flight. They had previously been 156,000 meters high, but now they began to climb once more. The tree trunk grew thicker and thicker, soon climbing to the awesome span of 252,000 meters!

252,000 meters was a limit for Daolords of the Second Step. Ordinary Daolords, when they made their cultivation breakthroughs to the second step, would generally only reach at most a height of 210,000 metres. Only after they slowly gained more insights and further perfected their Dao would they reach 252,000 meters.

Ji Ning, however, was different. His Omega Sword Dao truly was the omega; it would always be at the apex of power for any level he was at, and going past that would represent a fundamental, qualitative change! Similarly, there were some Daolords of the Fourth Step who would need to train for countless years before reaching the Verge, but some would be at the Verge of the Daomerge as soon as they reached the fourth step.

“However… it is much harder for me to train in my Omega Sword Dao. It took forever for me to go from being a Daolord of the First Step to being a Daolord of the Second Step,” Ning sighed.

Su Youji had reached the second step long ago. As for Pillsaint, he had buried himself in his study of alchemy and broken through in a very natural manner. This was the case for most Daolords; moving from the first step to the second step was very, very easy. There were no bottlenecks involved for the vast majority of them… but Ning had technically been trainng for over a million years of accelerated time!

“Still, by comparison breaking through to the second step was fairly simple. Becoming a Daolord of the Third Step will be a hundred times more difficult. As for reaching the fourth step… that’ll be even tougher.” Ning understood that the more difficult a Dao was, the harder it would be for him to break through while training in it. Take Numerancy for example! Even someone who was as incredibly talented in this dao as Daolord Badlands was still just a Daolord of the Third Step! Ning’s Omega Sword Dao was far more powerful than Badlands’ Dao.

Whoosh. As the Dao-tree grew, the Jindan chaos region began to expand as well. Because Ning was using chaos jewels to make his breakthrough, no commotion was caused and no fluctuations in the surrounding primordial chaos could be observed.

……

Ning’s attention was completely focused upon making the necessary breakthroughs, and he spared just ab it of energy on maintaining his nine novessence arts and having them attack the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Damn. Why have these secret arts suddenly become so much more powerful?” The Ninedust Sectlord spun the longstaff in his hands, his body constantly flickering as he swept his weapon out in every direction to block the endless sea of small golden snakes and the nine mighty novessence arts.

“That’s the direction, over there. I can sense the whispers of fate growing louder and louder.” On the surface, it looked like the Ninedust Sectlord was able to fight back against the nine novessence arts and the little golden snakes, but in reality he was ‘accidentally’ moving further and further in a certain direction while dodging. He’d sometimes go left, sometimes go right, sometimes advance, sometimes retreat… but on the whole, he was moving closer and closer to the place which was calling out to him.

“That’s where my destiny lies. I’ve worked so hard to follow the Emperor’s guidance. I’ve taken over the Ninedust Sect and used it to explore all of the surrounding territories… and now, I’ve finally verified that my destiny lies within the Eastroad Sect. I’m going to grasp it, no matter what.” While it looked like the Ninedust Sectlord was being pressed quite hard, in reality everything was still under his control.

Although the formations of the Eastroad Sect and the nine novessence arts were all extremely powerful, they shared a common flaw; both were domain-type attacks. There were simply too many of those little golden serpents, and they had primarily been designed to entrap and encumber a foe, allowing Daolord Eastroad himself to deliver the actual fatal blow.

As for Ning’s nine novessence arts, they were also meant to be used as a domain-type attack. Daolord Allgod had devised this technique to entrap Emperor Melobo! They were meant to serve as a domain for trapping and surrounding an enemy. They would be able to easily smash through weaker Daolords, but only have a restrictive effect on a truly powerful one.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The Ninedust Sectlord continued to silently advance at a glacial pace, afraid of attracting the attention of Daolord Thunderheat or Ji Ning.

……

“Success.” Ning revealed a look of delight within his black flying vessel. He had finally made his breakthrough. His aura was now markedly stronger than before, and his divine power and Immortal energy had both reached a fundamentally higher level than they had before. Ning quickly began to enhance the six Northbow swords on his back, guiding them in improving their quintessence cores of Sword Dao. This was what was good about Lifeblood weapons; you could continuously perfect and upgrade their quintessence cores, allowing them to grow alongside you.

Still… the requirements for the creation of a Lifeblood weapon were quite stringent. None of the treasures left behind by Daolord Kongsan were suitable for conversion into a Lifeblood weapon.

“Next, time for me to upgrade my azureflower mist energy.” Ning’s combat prowess was primarily thanks to the azureflower mist energy. He rapidly poured his divine power and his Immortal energy into the azureflower region, replenishing both with his chaos jewels as necessary. However, his azureflower region was now far larger than before, and so more time was needed to ‘fill it up’ with azureflower mist energy than had been needed for Ning to upgrade his divine body and his Jindan chaos region.

……

“I can sense that it is within a hundred kilometers of me.” A hint of delight flashed through the Ninedust Sectlord’s eyes. “No need to delay any further. Let’s do this!”

The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly struck out with the longstaff in his hands, sweeping aside the domain attacks as though he was parting the waters with them, then charged at full speed towards a certain direction. To someone like him, a hundred meters was nothing.

BOOM! He had reached a courtyard which was protected by a restrictive barrier. The Ninedust Sectlord’s aura once more burst forth; clearly, he was going all-out now. The staff in his hands struck out, piercing straight through the formation and into the courtyard. It struck against a decorative ‘mountain’ in the courtyard which had the carving of a stone door atop it.

“There it is! So it was a treasure of the ancestors.” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t hesitate at all; by now, the call from the statue was so strong that it made his heart tremble. He immediately charged over, pressing his hand against the stone door. Whoosh! The stone door immediately swung open, revealing the passageway within it.

Swoosh. The Ninedust Sectlord immediately dove into the passageway.

……

“Not good.” Daolord Thunderheat was far off in the distance, controlling the formations which protected the base. His face turned grim as soon the Ninedust Sectlord suddenly charged towards the courtyard which held the Void Pathway hidden within it. When the Ninedust Sectlord broke through the formation and charged into the Void Pathway without hesitating, Daolord Thunderheat’s face turned bone-white.

“Fellow Daoist Darknoth!” Unable to stop the Ninedust Sectlord, Daolord Thunderheat had no choice but to call out to Ning.

“On it.” Ning had no time to accumulate any more azureflower mist energy. He only had three drops of it inside his body, but he could sense that something was wrong. The decorative ‘mountain’ hiding the Void Pathway truly was an ordinary object with no aura at all, but the Ninedust Sectlord had actually charged straight towards it as though he knew the secrets which lay hidden inside it… then entered the Void Pathway.

Even though Ning had his nine novessence arts, he had been unable to stop the man. “I’ll go deal with him.” Ning immediately charged forwards, arriving in front of the artificial mountain with a whoosh. He then dove into the Void Pathway. Although it had taken him quite some effort to build up those three drops of azureflower mist energy, they were used up fairly slowly during battle and so three drops probably would be enough. Ning had been planning to build up more, but who would’ve thought that the Ninedust Sectlord would suddenly dive into the Void Pathway? Even in the Eastroad Sect, the secrets of the Void Pathway were only known to Daolord-level experts.

Although Ning was in hot pursuit of the Ninedust Sectlord, he continued to build up more of that azureflower mist energy, hoping to store as much as he could.

Within the Void Pathway.

As soon as the Ninedust Sectlord enterd this place, he immediately saw that pathway as well as the thirty thousand soldiers who stood in two lines on each side of it. Their ancient armors, their solemn auras, and that carving of a throne off in the distance… it all caused the Ninedust Sectlord to quiver in excitement.

“That’s one of the treasures of the ancestors! Of the ancestors! I never thought that I, Redwater, would actually have a chance to come to a place set up by the ancestors. All those years of hard work were worth it, completely worth it! Haha…” The Ninedust Sectlord put away his mask, revealing a cold, grim-looking male face. This face was currently covered with excitement as he carefully reached out with his senses to scan this place’s aura.

“What secrets does this ancestral site hold within it?”

The Ninedust Sectlord’s gaze swiftly turned to that distant golden throne, because it was the throne which was issuing the strongest karmic call to him. “I’ll head there first to take a look.” Longstaff in hand, the Ninedust Sectlord charged straight towards the golden throne.

BOOM! As soon as he stepped onto the golden pathway, an enormous globe of light suddenly appeared in the void above it. The golden globe of light shot out two streaks of light into two of the nearby armored soldiers, causing them to immediately charge towards the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Break!” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t even pause as he struck out with his longstaff, sending both of the soldiers flying far away.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The golden globe of light shot down more and more rays of golden light, causing a continuous stream of soldiers to charge towards the Ninedust Sectlord. However, the sectlord continued to advance at high speed, smashing through all of his opposition.

Swoosh. Right at this moment, another figure appeared within the Void Pathway as well. It was a white-robed youth who bore black swords on his back.

“Ninedust Sectlord!” Ning let out a furious roar, causing all nine of his novessence arts to instantly surge outwards and attempt to constrict the Ninedust Sectlord. They shot out like Flood Dragons, moving with incredible speed and power as they almost instantly caught up to the sectlord, then coiled around him.

“You wish to stop me? I’m at the very end of a long journey. No one will stop me!” The Ninedust Sectlord’s hair flew in the air as azure light flashed within his eyes. It seemed as though he had used some sort of secret art, as he was now even stronger than he had been when battling Ning earlier. Layers of water curtains appeared around him as well, weakening the effects of the nine novessence arts and allowing him to endure all the blows aimed at him as he continued his headlong charge.

“He’s gone berserk.” Ning understood this right away, and so he flew forwards at high speed as well. As for the golden globe of light, it shot out more rays of golden light, causing more and more soldiers to appear in front of Ning and block his path as wel.

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Chapter 12 – Ancestor! Ancestor!

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 12 – Ancestor! Ancestor!

“Break!” Ji Ning immediately activated his [Thee Heads, Six Arms]. Six Northbow swords in hands, he swept through the armored soldiers just as quickly as the Ninedust Sectlord had. The soldiers were completely incapable of stopping him at all.

The Ninedust Sectlord and Ning advanced in succession at high speed through the pathway. By comparison, Ning was actually a bit faster as the Ninedust Sectlord was being slowed down by the nine novessence arts. As Ning chased after the sectlord, he suddenly sent a mental shout, “Sectlord, I imagine the real reason you came to the Eastroad Sect was to enter this pathway!”

“Hmph.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a cold snort from up ahead as he continued to defeat the soldiers in his path.

“I’ve been puzzled, all this time, as to why you are doing this. If you just wanted to take over the Eastroad Territory, there was no need for you to attack the Eastroad Sect itself. It takes up almost no space, after all.” Ning sent mentally, “And there’s no way anyone can notice anything unusual about this pathway from outside… but you breached the formation protecting the area around it, then headed straight for you. You certainly know some of the secrets behind it!”

The Ninedust Sectlord completely ignored Ning, but Ning was starting to understand more and more. Ning himself had only discovered this pathway after Daolord Thunderheat had guided him to it; when he had first seen the decorative ‘mountain’, he hadn’t noticed anything special about it at all. Both Daolord Thunderheat and Ning were extremely puzzled by how the Ninedust Sectlord had flown straight towards the mountain, as though he already knew everything about it.

“You won’t be able to stop me.” The Ninedust Sectlord finally spoke, his voice icy cold.

He had been scheming this ever since Daolord Eastroad had perished. He had released word of Daolord Eastroad’s death, then ambushed and slain Daolord Overgold! He had even sent the Ninedust Shrine to stand guard outside the Eastroad Everworld, and had been keeping a quiet watch on it like a hungry wolf staring at its prey. His goal had been to cause terror and panic, hoping to force the Eastroad Sect to voluntarily flee.

If the Eastroad Sect really had fled, things would be simple. Upon fleeing, the formations within the sect would have to be withdrawn… and he would be able to follow that silent call of fate as it moved away. He would immediately attack and wipe out the fleeing Eastroad Sect! But of course, if that call of fate remained immobile, he would’ve spared the Eastroad Sect and instead headed straight to the source of the call.

In the end, his true goal was the destiny which awaited him! The reason why he hadn’t been willing to fight head-on was because he was afraid that Patriarch Eastroad might’ve left behind some sort of deadly spell or technique for his heirs. In truth, his fears were well-founded; Daolord Thunderheat did indeed have a treasure capable of unleashing a deadly attack which was more powerful than the Dao-seals bestowed by Skyaxe and Soleman. The reason why Patriarch Eastroad had dared to go off adventuring was because he had left behind an incredibly powerful protective treasure in Thunderheat’s hands to protect his home. However, this was a single-use item; since Ning had offered to help out, Daolord Thunderheat naturally forebore from using it.

“I was very careful this entire time; I wanted to make sure that I didn’t drive the Eastroad Sect into a state of true desperation. Although I’m fairly certain I would be able to survive even their most frenzied attacks, I still probably would’ve been forced to pay a heavy price.” The Ninedust Sectlord felt quite smug. “Now, I’ve reached this ancestral site without suffering any injuries at all.”

“Wait, what?!” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face suddenly turned pale. He glanced backwards, only to see Ji Ning drawing closer and closer to him. “How could he be moving even faster than me?!” The Ninedust Sectlord was shocked.

This pathway had a total of thirty thousand soldiers, while the Ninedust Sectlord had already charged past twenty-six thousand of them. By now, every single soldier was vastly stronger than Patriarch Clearwind in his normal state. While the Ninedust Sectlord was still able to advance fairly quickly, he felt certain that the white-robed Daolord’s speed would begin to decline as the more powerful soldiers began to appear.

“This white-robed Daolord is much weaker than me. How is it that he’s moving even faster?” The Ninedust Sectlord couldn’t believe this.

“Hmph.” Ning continued to advance at high speed. Soon, he passed the twenty-six thousand soldier mark as well. He had spent more than ten thousand years in the Void Pathway, but he had never defeated this many warriors before.

“Ninedust Sectlord, was all this for the sake of that golden throne?” Ning sent mentally. He wanted to learn some of the secrets regarding the Void Pathway from watching the Ninedust Sectlord, as Ning himself hadn’t been able to discern much about it despite having spent so many years here.

The Ninedust Sectlord, however, seemed to ignore Ning’s question as he continued to battle, a cold smile on his face. “It seems you’ve made a breakthrough? No wonder your secret arts have improved so substantially.”

“It was all thanks to you. Our last battle allowed me to finally understand what was missing, and I’ve taken yet another step.” Ning continued to smash through all opposition with overwhelming fierceness in his three-headed, six-armed form.

“He really did make a breakthrough.” The Ninedust Sectlord couldn’t help but secretly feel regret. “He was already on par with Clevermind when he was a Daolord of the Second Step. That means that he should now be on par with me! And those damnable secret arts of his are causing me trouble at every turn.”

The Ninedust Sectlord clenched his teeth, continuing his headlong charge. His longstaff swept out with draconic might, causing a series of booms as it smashed and blasted its way through the various enemy soldiers. Unfortunately, Ning continued to move faster than him and was still closing the distance.

Twenty-eight thousand soldiers.

Twenty-nine thousand soldiers.

Both sides were now extremely close to each other.

“Not good. If this continues, he’s going to catch up to me. I have no choice but to use that forbidden art yet again. Ugh!” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly let out a deep growl. His aura once more skyrocketed as an awesome burst of energy manifested around him. His aura was now stronger than even Daolord Kongsan’s aura had been. Auras were generally linked to divine power and Immortal energy; clearly, the Ninedust Sectlord’s divine body was far stronger than the bodies of most Daolords of the Fourth Step.

The first time he had used this forbidden art had been when he had broken through the barriers protecting the courtyard which held the entrance into the Void Pathway. Now, he did so again, and he grew noticeably more powerful as he strove to pull away from Ning.

“What’s this?” Ning was rather surprised by this. “The Ninedust Sectlord really does have quite a few tricks up his sleeves. Still… it won’t be of any use. He’s not escaping me.”

Twenty-nine thousand, five hundred… twenty-nine thousand, six hundred…

The soldiers were growing more and more powerful, and both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were starting to slow down and the distance between the two continued to shrink.

“The last two.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a bellow as he charged against the final two soldiers. The two golden-armored soldiers opened their glowing golden eyes as they stared at the Ninedust Sectlord. BOOM! BOOM! They charged straight towards him as well.

Rumble…

The Ninedust Sectlord started to fight against the two final soldiers. He was actually unable to defeat them right away. “Why are these soldiers this powerful?!” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t know that even Patriarch Eastroad had been forced to go all-out before just barely eeking out a victory. Now that the Ninedust Sectlord was being hampered by Ning’s nine novessence arts, it would be quite difficult for him to defeat these two final soldiers.

“Ninedust, you won’t be able to escape.” Boom! Boom! Two soldiers behind him were blasted aside as a white-robed figure charged straight for him.

“Damn.” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face was ashen. He had been forced to use his forbidden art and as a result had managed to somehow keep himself ahead of the freakishly strong white-robed Daolord, but the strength of the two final soldiers had given his enemy the chance to catch up once more.

“Fuck off!” The Ninedust Sectlord lashed out with his longstaff, striking out towards the attacking Ning in an almost whip-like blow. Thanks to his usage of that forbidden art, he was still able to unleash roughly 80% of his full power despite the encumberance of the nine novessence arts.

Whoosh! When the staff intersected with Ning’s sword-light, it was as though it had become trapped within the gravity well of a black hole and saw all of its strength pushed off to one side.

Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart!

“You won’t be able to escape!” Ning charged forwards, an array of countless streams of sword-light slashing towards the Ninedust Sectlord.

Bang! Due to Ning’s assault, the Ninedust Sectlord revealed a flaw in his defenses, resulting in one of the two soldiers landing an attack on him. The Ninedust Sectlord was actually forced to stumble five steps backwards. He was enraged to the point of lunacy, and he charged forwards again with teeth gritted.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord battled against each other while also fending off the attacks of those two soldiers. Thankfully, the two soldiers treated Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord ‘equally’, launching attacks against both! This was why the battle had entered a stalemate for now.

“It seems you must have used some sort of forbidden art,” Ning sent mentally. “Let’s see how long you can hold it.”

“If you didn’t have your own secret arts, you wouldn’t be a match for me.” The Ninedust Sectlord was furious. Even after having used his forbidden art, he was still in rather dire straits.

Ning, however, understood that there was a limit to how strong the nine novessence arts would be. He had already mastered them as a Daolord of the First Step, and back then they vastly surpassed Ning’s close-combat abilities! Although he could continue to strengthen them as his Omega Sword Dao improved, his close-combat abilities would improve far more rapidly. He was already on par with the Ninedust Sectlord in close combat, which meant that those abilities were already superior to those nine novessence arts.

In the end, all secret arts were a form of external strength! If you focused too much on secret arts and not enough on your Dao, there would be a limit to how much you could improve. Still, it was true that the influence of the nine novessence arts ensured that Ning was in an advantageous position in this battle.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two soldiers who had been furiously assaulting Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord suddenly retreated at the same instant, voluntarily stepping back. Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were stunned by this.

“They are falling back?” The Ninedust Sectlord instantly realized what was happening. A look of wild delight on his face, he charged straight towards the golden throne at the very end of the pathway.

“What?!” When Ning saw the Ninedust Sectlord furiously charge towards that golden throne, he ignored all else and the same thing.

Boom! Boom! The two figures arrived next to the golden throne at virtually the same instant.

“Weng…ba…hu…jiu…” Suddenly, an incredibly ancient and distant voice emanated from the golden globe of light. It seemed to come from the beginning of time itself, and it carried an aura of mystery and almighty power. It almost sounded like the mumbling of an ancient and powerful figure, and it caused the entire region to begin to shake. Every single part of the void around the pathway began to glow with countless strange runes, and layers of golden rippling light began to appear around the golden throne as well which swept Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord into their embrace.

“The ancestors! The ancestors!” The Ninedust Sectlord was unspeakably excited when he heard this voice. As for Ning, he was completely puzzled. He continued to keep his six Northbow swords at the ready, prepared for any danger.

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Chapter 13 – Missing

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 13 – Missing

Every part of this golden region was filled with those strange runes, with the golden throne being at the center of it all.

“What’s going on?” Ji Ning frowned. “Previously, Daolord Thunderheat told me that if you defeat all the soldiers and reach the golden throne, you would gain a legacy… but this doesn’t look like the mere transmission of a legacy. Was Daolord Eastroad lying to Daolord Thunderheat? Or was he lying to me?”

“It seems as though the Ninedust Sectlord knows something. Not only is he not worried, he actually looks excited.” Ning glanced at the nearby Ninedust Sectlord.

The Ninedust Sectlord was indeed excited after having heard that ancient, distant voice ring out from the golden globe of light.

“Ninedust, what is going on exactly?” Ning asked.

“Hmph.” The Ninedust Sectlord glanced sideways at Ning, then smiled coldly. “Do you really think I’ll tell you?”

“If you won’t, then you can forget about achieving whatever goals you have here.” As soon as Ning said these words, he sent a surge of sword-light towards the Ninedust Sectlord, the sword-light seemingly filled with the power to destroy all Daos that stood in its path.

“Stop, stop!” The Ninedust Sectlord called out frantically. The white-robed Daolord in front of him was extremely powerful, on the same level as him; if he wanted to cause trouble, something bad really might happen.

“Speak!” Ning barked. “What secrets does this Void Pathway hold?”

“I don’t know either,” the Ninedust Sectlord said hurriedly.

“Are you screwing around with me?” Ning was about to continue his attack.

“I really don’t know!” The Ninedust Sectlord hurriedly dodged, not daring to fight back for fear that the shockwaves from their battle would cause a disaster to unfold. “I’m not lying to you. I really don’t know!”

Just as Ning was attacking and the Ninedust Sectlord was dodging…

BOOM!

The ringed curtains of golden light emanating from the golden throne suddenly retracted, like the petals of a flower suddenly be drawn back into the pistil. Swish!

A streak of golden light suddenly tore through spacetime. Whoosh! Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had both been covered by that curtain of golden light, and they instantly disappeared without a trace, leaving only the golden throne behind.

No other living beings remained within the Void Pathway.

Rumble…

More and more power emanated from that golden globe, bathing the entire golden region in a layer of golden light.

……

Whoosh. A golden ripple of power suddenly spread out from one of the decorative ‘mountains’ within the Eastroad Sect. Moments later, it completely vanished without a trace.

“What?!” Daolord Thunderheat had been watching carefully from a safe distance. When he saw this, his face instantly turned pale. He appeared within that courtyard in a flash. “Where’s the Void Pathway? Where’d it go? Why did it suddenly vanish?! His godsense had been infused into the formation protecting the sect, and so was able to cover and scour every inch of the region. And yet, he was no longer able to find that decorative mountain.

“Daolord Darknorth and the Ninedust Sectlord have both vanished as well?” Daolord Thunderheat was starting to panic. “I always felt certain that the Void Pathway was holding certain mysteries. Those thirty thousand soldiers were unreasonably powerful, especially the final two; those two were on par with Patriarch Eastroad himself. I imagine that when Daolord Darknorth and the Ninedust Sectlord battled within the Void Pathway, they must have activated some of its secrets.”

“Well… now what should I do? Daolord Darknorth suddenly vanished. If he died, then…” Daolord Thunderheat felt rather guilty, because he did have a trump card which he hadn’t used yet. Still, he couldn’t be blamed for holding it back; the Eastroad Sect would need to conserve all the resources it had if it wanted to survive. It looked as though Daolord Darknorth was strong enough to hold back the Ninedust Sectlord; Thunderheat naturally hadn’t been willing to use up his one and only trump card.

“Daolord Darknorth asked for nothing; he whole-heartedly wished to help my Eastroad Sect. And now, his whereabouts are unknown.” Daolord Thunderheat had a complex look on his face as he murmured softly, “I promise the Eastroad Sect will never forget your benevolence.”

As for the disappearance of the Void Pathway? Daolord Thunderheat felt a bit of regret, but he didn’t care all that much. For it to be able to vanish despite local spacetime being completely distorted thanks to the Eastroad Sect’s formations meant that it was a treasure that was beyond the Eastroad Sect’s ability to control.

If it stayed here, it would only cause more trouble in the future. It was a disaster waiting to happen, not a blessing!

……

Outside the Eastroad Sect. The Ninedust Shrine continued to hover there in the empty skies.

Within the Ninedust Shrine. Daolord Graceful had already fled all the way back into the shrine. Both he and Daolord Clevermind were standing in front of its gates, staring towards the distant Eastroad Sect.

“Eh?” Daolord Clevermind’s face suddenly paled. “Not good.”

“What’s wrong?” Daolord Graceful immediately asked.

“I can no longer sense the Sectlord’s presence.” Daolord Clevermind said frantically, “The Sectlord has one of my talismans on him; I can sense him from several territories away. But now, I can no longer sense his presence at all.”

“What?!” Daolord Graceful’s face paled as well. Daolord Clevermind’s position within the Ninedust Sect was second only to the sectlord’s himself, which was why he was on very good terms with the sectlord. Each had given talismans to the other.

“The Sectlord should still be be alive, but I can no longer sense him.” Daolord Clevermind said frantically, “The Sectlord is probably in a very, very distant place. Alternately, he might be trapped in a dangerous place which prevents any information being transmitted outwards. However, a site capable of blocking off my senses would definitely be an incredibly dangerous place. There shouldn’t be any such place within the Eastroad Territory.”

“It seems as though the Eastroad Sect holds certain mysteries within it,” Daolord Graceful said softly. “That white-robed Daolord was incredibly strong. Now, even our Sectlord is in trouble.”

“Mm.” Daolord Clevermind turned to stare at the Eastroad Sect with great trepidation.

“Let’s keep waiting here for the Sectlord to return,” Daolord Graceful said.

And so, the Ninedust Sect permanently stationed itself outside the Eastroad Sect. They would wait for their sectlord’s return… but even after waiting more than a hundred thousand years, their sectlord still did not returned.

……

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were both rather nervous as the streak of golden light grabbed both of them and sent them hurtling through spacetime.

“Where in the world are we going?”

“How could a spacetime teleportation last for this long?” Ning kept his [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability active, and he continued to warily wield all six Northbow swords in his hands. It was extremely difficult to use spacetime teleportation across such a great distance. Even spacetime transfer arrays were all fairly close to each other, allowing the various formations to interlink and send people from territory to another. The spacetime tunnels created by the almighty Brightshore Hegemon and the Paragon of Pills covered a much greater distance, but this golden spacetime tunnel? Based on Ning’s perception regarding spacetime, they should be hurtling towards an incredibly distant place.

“Ninedust, do you really have no idea where we are being sent to?” Ning glanced at the nearby Ninedust Sectlord.

The Ninedust Sectlord glanced at Ning, then let out a cold snort. “No idea.”

Ning didn’t doubt this at all, because he could sense how nervous the Ninedust Sectlord was.

The two just stood there calmly, neither daring to move. If they got into a fight and disturbed the flows of spacetime around them, who knew where they would end up? They might disappear into the endless Great Dark, where they could fly for thousands of chaos cycles without seeing a single other living being. That would be horrifying.

Whoosh.

The changing flows of spacetime around them suddenly came to a halt, allowing them to vaguely make out what was hidden outside the field of golden light.

“We’ve arrived.” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were even more cautious now. The golden light slowly dissipated, allowing them to clearly see an enormous stone passageway in front of them. A number of boulders were levitating within the stone passageway, which was brimming with blazing flames.

“Eh?” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood there in midair. A curtain of water emerged from the Ninedust Sectlord’s body, blocking off the flames. As for Ning, the nine novessence arts appeared and swirled around him, defending him from the fire.

“Such powerful fire. I imagine they would roast Daolords of the Third Step to death.” Ning was rather amazed.

“What type of fire is this?” The Ninedust Sectlord was puzzled as well. He had seen many things, but still had no idea what these flames were.

“And those boulders?” Both of them turned their attention towards the levitating boulders. These flames were capable of killing Daolords of the Third Step, but weren’t able to damage these boulders at all. Those boulders were definitely extraordinary items.

“Those things have to be treasures.” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord immediately charged forwards. Ning stabbed out with his sword, seeking to carve out a large boulder from the crooked, curved ‘walls’ of the stone corridor. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he swung his longstaff and delivered a fierce below to the stone walls of the passageway.

Bang! Boom!

Two explosrions rang out against the stone walls, which rumbled as invisible ripples spread out across its surface. BOOM! A shockwave burst out and struck Ning, knocking him flying backwards. A second shockwave was applied to the Ninedust Sectlord, whose body seemed to shudder and briefly transform into a flowing stream of water as he flew backwards.

“Such incredible power. The shockwave generated by me stabbing at the sword seemed to be several times stronger than my blow.” Ning rose into the air once more, a nervous feeling in his heart. “And it seems as though all of the stones within this stone passageway are part of one entity.” When he had stabbed out with his sword, he felt as though the entire stone wall had joined together to unleash a surge of counter-force.

“Damn.” The Ninedust Sectlord rose into the air as well. For a moment, his body had transformed into a human-shaped pool of water, but he now returned to his normal appearance as he glanced at the distant Ning. “The kid actually managed to endure that counter-force with such ease? It seems as though he has a protective divine ability that is just as tough as mine.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both had rather blazing looks in their eyes. Both were amongst the ranks of the most talented of Daolords, on the same level as Kongsan… and yet, they weren’t even able to harvest any rocks from this stone wall. This meant the stone here was definitely quite extraordinary… and the more marvelous an item was, the more valuable it was.

Swoosh. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord immediately charged towards the floating boulders and bits of stone, waving their hands and collecting as much as they could.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Although it was quite difficult to collect each of those rocks as they were all incredibly heavy, in the end it was still possible to store them within an estate-world.

“Master! Master! I can no longer sense my clone!” The servant within Ning’s estate-world who was responsible for maintaining contact with the Brightshore Kingdom suddenly sent a frantic mental message to Ning.

“Right.” Ning, however, was quite calm. He had sensed long ago that this was an extraodinary place; in truth, as soon as the teleportation had begun he almost instantly lost contact with both his Primaltwin and his avatar. The last time something like this had happened, he had gone into the alternate universe!

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Chapter 14 – An Unkillable Form

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 14 – An Unkillable Form

Two figures could be seen darting through the blazing flames within that stone corridor, collecting the various stones that were hanging there in the air. A short while later, Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had completely collected all of the levitating stones as far as they could see. After collecting the final pieces, they turned to stare at each other with vigilance in their eyes.

“Our battle has resulted in both of us being trapped in this unknown region. It can be said that the ties of karma bind us together… but I don’t even know your Daoist title,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“I am Darknorth.” Ning revealed a smile. “Given our current situation, there’s no need to continue hiding things from each other. I trust you know much more about this place than I do, Lord of the Ninedust Sect.”

The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “I really know nothing about this place.”

“Oh?” Ning raised an eyebrow. “Well, it truly is an odd place.” Ning scanned his surroundings as he spoke. “These flames… I can’t even tell what type of flames they are. I can’t recognize the stone here either. Even my godsense and my heartforce are constrained, preventing me from exploring any further.”

“Quite.” The Ninedust Sectlord had a solemn look on his face as well as he scanned the area, a restless feeling in his heart. Suddenly…

Whoosh. A fiery-armored figure suddenly flew out of a turn in the tunnel ahead of them. This humanoid figure’s entire body was brimming with flames, and his hair was a blazing red color as well.

“Eh?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord simultaneously turned to look at the blazing figure.

“The two of you truly are daring, to have infiltrated your way to this place without anyone noticing.” The humanoid figure spoke in a cold, piercing voice. “For me to end up stumbling into you two… it seems my luck today is quite decent. Prepare to die.” After speaking, the blazing figure transformed into a streak of blazing light that seemed to draw in the flames which filled the entire stone passageway, forming a fiery halo of energy around him.

Looks of puzzlement appeared on the faces of both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Halt!” The Ninedust Sectlord barked, “We have no idea who you are.”

“Have you mistaken us for someone else?” Ning asked.

“Your lies won’t save you.” The flaming figure let out a furious shout, manifesting a scimitar in his hand.

“If that’s how you wish to behave, go ahead and die.” An angered look flashed through the Ninedust Sectlord’s icy, sinister face. He swung out his longstaff, seeming to manifest an endless ocean of water which carried the roaring song of the sea with it, then struck out against the blazing figure with a boom.

Although the blazing figure used his scimitar to defend, he was blown backwards and smashed against the stone walls of the passageway.

“He didn’t die?” The Ninedust Sectlord was rather surprised. Although he hadn’t struck out with full force, most Daolords of the Fourth Step would’ve perished from that blow. Who would’ve thought that this flaming humanoid would actually have survived?

“It seems you are fairly strong.” The fiery figure growled, “Good. The stronger you are, the better. After I kill you, it’ll feel even better when I feast on your corpses. Die!”

“Feast on me?” The Ninedust Sectlord said furiously, “Die, you imbecile.” This time, he used his staff to strike out with full force.

BOOM! The longstaff caused cracks in space to appear around it as it struck forwards, the power of the blow causing the entire area around them to shake and tremble. This blow was not just fast and savage, it also seemed to carry the cadence of the waves of the ocean, moving sometimes fast and sometimes slow. The flaming creature sought to defend against this attack, but its scimitar wasn’t even able to touch the longstaff. The head of the longstaff smashed directly against the fiery creature’s chest, and it was like the heavens themselves had crashed down upon him. The flaming creature instantly let out a frenzied scream… and with a boom, the creature’s body instantly blew apart.

“Imbecile.” The Ninedust Sectlord showed no mercy at all, striking a second time with his longstaff with the intention of completely annihilating its shattered body. Whoosh! The longstaff swept out, completely smashing apart the shattered remnants of the creature’s body and dispersing it into flames once more.

“Kill me? You want to kill me?! You aren’t able to kill me!!!” A furious voice rang out as a large amount of the flames within the stone corridor gathered together and almost instantly reformed into the flaming humanoid. He still wore that armor around him, and his scimitar was completely undamaged as well.

“What?!” Ning had simply been observing with interest, but now his face began to turn pale. “He didn’t die? His body was completely shattered, but he still didn’t die?”

For normal cultivators, once their bodies were completely destroyed they would lose their lives. Only unique types of cultivation could result in ‘unkillable forms’, such as the virtually indestructible ‘darkness incarnate’ form of Daolord Kongsan. Palace Lord Dawnstar was far more powerful than Kongsan; Kongsan was just barely comparable to ordinary Eternal Emperors, while Palace Lord Dawnstar was able to kill them with ease. The difference in power between the two was obvious… and yet, due to having an ‘unkillable form’, Kongsan could be ground into dust but then transform into darkness incarnate, ensuring that he didn’t die! Very few people had techniques like this, and it was this technique which made Kongsan so famous.

“An unkillable form?” The Ninedust Sectlord had a look of shock on his face.

“Not just an unkillable form; he’s also able to harvest the flames floating around in this region.” Ning frowned. “His aura didn’t weaken in the slightest.”

“Ahahaha! The two of you are dead meat.” The flaming creature once more charged towards them, an angry howl escaping his lips.

“Let me give it a try,” Ning barked.

“Alright. You go!” The Ninedust Sectlord wasn’t certain in his own chances to succeed.

Ning wielded just a single sword, raising it up high with all six arms clutching it by the hilt.

“DESTROY!!”

The entire region began to tremble and shake. It was like a volcano was building up its power, preparing for a final explosion. Ning’s sword-light suddenly slashed through the air, chopping down furiously upon the flaming creature’s form.

BOOM! This was Ning’s most savage and most dominating strike. It caused the creature’s entire body to shudder, then completely break apart.

“Nine novessence arts, go!” With but a thought, Ning sent nine dragons of energy flying out of his body. Rumbling, they transformed into a chaotic Yin-Yang Sword Domain and furiously ground away at the scattered bits of the flaming creature’s body. The creature’s body quickly dissipated into flames, but the nine novessence arts completely covered the entire area with their domain, continuously extinquishing the flames. After a very long period of time, the mysterious flames in the area were finally and completely extinguished.

“Dead.” Ning dispelled his nine novessence arts.

“That took forever.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded slightly.

Hiss…

Suddenly, a spark appeared in the air in front of them. The spark quickly grew in size, transforming into a towering conflagration that then once more coalesced into that blazing, flame-covered humanoid figure.

“What?! Even after being completely annihilated, it can rise anew from the void?” The Ninedust Sectlord could hardly believe it. “B-but…”

“That’s not possible. I had already completely extinguished it, leaving behind not even so much as a trace of its aura. How could it be born anew?” Ning couldn’t believe it either. “This ‘unkillable form’ it has is terrifying.”

“You aren’t able to kill me! You aren’t able to kill me!” The flaming creature let out a low growl. “Come out! All of you, come out!”

Rumble…

As the flaming creature roared, a strange ripple of power quickly spread out. Just one second later, two more flaming creatures came flying out from behind the turn of the stone corridor.

“Not good.” The faces of the two cultivators turned grim.

Two creatures. Three creatures. Four creatures… one flaming creature after another began to fly out from behind the turn of the corridor.

“Not just there. There’s more coming from this side as well.” The Ninedust Sectlord turned to look at the other side of the corridor. Flaming, humanoid creatures were flooding in from both ends of the corridor.

“Let’s leave, immediately!” Ning roared.

“Let’s go!” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t dare to hesitate either.

“Kill.”

“Kill them all.”

“Eat them.”

A total of twelve of flaming humanoids had already appeared at the two ends of the corridor, and their numbers were only growing. They began to launch a furious charge towards the two cultivators, who chose one direction and began to fight their way that way.

After Ning had developed the second level of his Omega Sword Dao, his speed had increased from ten times the speed of light to thirty times the speed of light. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he was a bit faster than Ning. The two quickly beat aside the attacking creatures as they fled for their lives, not daring to tarry whatsoever.

……

Attack! Attack! Attack!

The flaming creatures were completely unkillable; even if you wiped them out, they would be reborn out of thin air. Their ability to draw from the omnipresent flames of this place gave them almost limitless amounts of strength. No one would be able to beat them in a battle of attrition.

“I knew the ancestral lands wouldn’t be so easily traversed. Shit, shit, shit!” The Ninedust Sectlord was starting to worry.

“There’s just too many of them. Why are these flaming creatures everywhere?” Ning was worried as well. The two of them had been fleeing for a full hour by now, and they had thrown off many different packs of the creatures while scurrying through the various stone passageways… and yet, every single stone passageway seemed to contain these creatures, and all of them were filled with the desire to kill the two of them.

There were differences in strength amongst the flaming creatures, with some being very close to Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord in power.

“The two of us need to work together,” the Ninedust Sectlord sent mentally. “We can’t keep such a wary watch on each other; we’ll only have a shot if we truly work together as one. Otherwise, both of us will probably die here.”

“I concur. Let’s swear a lifeblood oath,” Ning immediately agreed.

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Chapter 15 – Ancient Cultivators

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 15 – Ancient Cultivators

The stone passageways branched out like a spiderweb’s web, with some being merely a few hundred kilometers wide and others being tens of thousands of kilometers wide. The widest were as much as a million kilometers wide.

They were in one of the widest stone passageways right now. Flames were blazing everywhere, and there were many of those flaming creatures living in this area. Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were able to sense from afar that these creatures would pose a lethal danger to them. They didn’t even dare to move close to them, instead choosing to fly into a more narrower passageway.

Swoosh.

A flying black vessel was advancing at high speed through the air, throwing behind the fiery creatures behind them. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood at the very prow of the ship, and neither of them dared to relax at all as they vigilantly scanned the horizons.

“They’re coming.” The Ninedust Sectlord gripped his longstaff, readying himself for the assault. As for Ning, he was in his three-headed, six-armed form and wielded all six Northbow swords in his hands. The two stood shoulder-to-shoulder, staring towards the front.

Roughly ten million kilometers up ahead, more than six flaming creatures were waiting for them at the turn of the stone passageway. Their numbers were continuing to grow. Clearly, these flaming creatures had some method of communicating to each other, and they knew that if they didn’t gather in sufficient numbers there would be no way for them to stop these two invaders.

“Kill!”

Boom!

Although they were ten million kilometers away, the flying black vessel moved at a hundred times the speed of light and so passed through that distance in an instant.

“Freeze.” Ning’s nine novessence arts were already activated, and nine enormous dragons of power were surging through the area around him. They transformed into a domain of sword-intent, suppressing and binding the flaming creatures around them. It must be understood that these flaming creatures were extremely tough; the Ninedust Sectlord had been unable to shatter the first one with a half-power blow, and Ning’s nine novessence arts were similarly unable to wipe them out.

Still, the nine novessence arts definitely caused the flaming creatures to slow down substantially.

“Die!” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a low growl as he swept out from left to right with his longstaff, striking with the force of a thunderbolt. Boom! Boom! Boom! One flaming creature after another was blown up.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Silently and soundless, six of the flaming creatures were chopped through in quick succession as the tips of Ning’s Northbow swords were suddenly revealed.

Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless!

“Darknorth, flee immediately! We have to escape this stone passageway as soon as we can,” the Ninedust Sectlord sent mentally. “We can’t afford to waste any more time here. We’ll be in serious trouble if we do!”

“Alright.” Ning agreed with his assessment. After so many battles, they both knew some of the habits these flaming creatures had. They generally kept to the specific passageway they were in, and they had a special way of communicating with each other within the passageway! If they spent too much time in any specific passageway, more and more of the creatures would accumulate until finally, a veritable army of them would be on the attack.

The most disastrous battle they had been in involved more than three hundred of the flaming creatures surrounding and attacking them, three of which were nearly as powerful as the two of them. Ning had been forced to rely on the power of his nine novessence arts and the perfection of his Omega Sword Dao to just barely fend them off. The Ninedust Sectlord’s staff-arts weren’t as defensively powerful as Ning’s sword-arts, and so he had to rely on his forbidden technique instead.

The two had escaped by the skin of their teeth.

……

The two of them grew increasingly crafty as time went on. They’d rely on Ning’s Shadowless evasion technique to avoid discovery for as long as possible, and they’d end or escape any battles they found themselves trapped in immediately, not wasting any time. And yet, they would still occasionally run into some trouble. These flaming creatures truly seemed to be immortal; no matter how hard they hit the creatures, they just wouldn’t die.

“There’s a tunnel over there. Hide inside it.” They flew into a new, untouched stone passageway via the flying vessel and Ning’s Shadowless evasion technique, then quickly dove into a cave opening on the stone walls.

“We can rest here for a short while.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both relaxed slightly. They had been lucky enough to find a cave right after they had fled into a new passageway but before any of the flaming creatures had discovered them. This meant they could rest for a time! Still, they could only spend a few hours, as there would be flaming creatures patrolling the entire area.

“It’s been fifteen days. Fifteen full days of nonstop running.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “These stone passageways are without end. They seem to be limitless! Every single one of them is filled with countless flaming creatures, and every single one of them is completely unkillable. The weakest ones are still comparable to Daolords of the Fourth Step! Considering how many stone passageways we’ve gone through, the number of flaming creatures we’ve fought is simply ridiculous. Why are there so many of them? Logically speaking, there should be very few creatures which have the power of Daolords of the Fourth Step.”

Ning shook his head. “They probably aren’t actual living creatures.”

“Right.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “I was about to say the same thing. They seem to be part of the omnipresent flames of this regioin, as well as the stone walls of the various stone passageways.”

“Right.” Ning nodded as well.

They had once personally witnessed the flaming creatures disappear into the stone walls like water flowing into a desert, leaving behind no trace of its passing. It must be understood that neither Ning nor the Ninedust Sectlord were able to damage the walls at all despite launching repeated full-strength attacks against them.

“Darknorth, do you have any Thousand Origins pills or other similar types of spirit-pills?” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. “If you do, sell them to me. Judging from the way you fight and how stable you are, it doesn’t look like you are relying on some sort of forbidden technique or divine ability that explosively increases your power for brief periods of time.”

Ning chuckled. Thousand Origins pills were used to replenish Immortal energy and divine power. Using extremely powerful divine abilities or forbidden arts in battle consumed divine power a hundred times faster than normal; if the battle went on for too long, one would have to rely on spirit-pills to replenish one’s energy. The rate at which one absorbed energy from chaos jewels was simply too slow, and while chaos nectar was quite fast, using it in this matter was extremely wasteful.

Ning was primarily relying on the azureflower mist energy in battle; at most, he would also use the [Three Heads, Six Arms] divine ability, and so very little of his divine ability was used up. As for the azureflower mist energy, it was also consumed very slowly, allowing him to replenish it with chaos jewels alone. As a result, he didn’t need to rely on using spirit-pills to replenish his energy.

But of course, when the Ninedust Sectlord unleashed his full power he remained a bit stronger than Ning. There was nothing Ning could do about this; the azureflower mist energy simply couldn’t be used to execute divine abilities.

“Are you jealous of my Sword Dao?” Ning smirked.

“Your Sword Dao is indeed formidable; it can be all but described as flawless and perfect. We encountered several dangerous situations earlier, but you were able to perfectly defend against all of them. I, however, was forced to rely on my divine abilities and forbidden arts.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. For once, he was willing to give up a bit of his face. “I imagine you’ve used up very few of your spirit-pills. Sell some to me. Il’l pay double the normal price.”

Ning shook his head.

“Five times the normal price!” The Ninedust Sectlord said hurriedly.

Ning just looked at him.

“Ten times!” The Ninedust Sectlord gritted his teeth. “Darknorth, don’t go too far.”

“Ah, forget it. I’ll sell it to you for ten times the normal price them. I was planning to wait until you were really panicking, then sell them to you at a hundred times the normal price.” Ning let out a teasing smile. To sell a spirit-pill at a hundred times the normal price when the buyer was in mortal danger was quite common.

Ning actually had more than ten thousand Thousand Origins pills and Chaos Spirit pills. He had acquired all of them from the deceased Daolord Kongsan, as Ning himself had never used them before.

The Thousand Origins pills were somewhat cheap; each of them were normally worth around a thousand cubes of chaos nectar. As for Chaos Spirit pills, they were worth ten times as much.

The two completed their trade. The Ninedust Sectlord spent thirty million cubes of chaos nectar to buy some of Ning’s spirit-pills. Finally, he let out a sigh of relief. With these spirit-pills on him, he would be able to use his powerful divine abilities without fear. In truth, he still had a good number of spirit-pills on him, but who knew how long they would be stuck in this place for? These flaming creatures really did seem to be all but endless, and he was forced to use his forbidden arts whenever they ran into a bit of trouble. Otherwise, they’d be swarmed and overwhelmed by the things.

Ning was different. Although he couldn’t use any divine abilities, the unscrutableness of his Omega Sword Dao allowed him to easily escape his foes, and the Soleheart stance of his Omega Sword Dao ensured that the creatures found it nearly impossible to actually reach Ning.

“Oh, right. Ninedust, you haven’t told anything me about yourself yet,” Ning said. “All I know is that you are the sectlord of the Ninedust Sect, and a new one at that. But what did you do before becoming the Ninedust Sectlord? I’ve never heard of you before. It’s odd that such a powerful Daolord as you suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and you don’t exactly seem to be the low-key type.”

“You want to know more about me?” The Ninedust Sectlord glanced sideways at Ning, then said smugly, “I’ll tell you the truth. I’m actually just a Daolord of the Third Step.”

“A Daolord of the Third Step?” Ning was surprised. How could a Daolord of the Third Step be this strong? Didn’t that mean that it was all but guaranteed he would be the equal of Daolord Dawnstar once he reached the fourth step?

“But your divine body…?” Ning frowned. The Ninedust Sectlord’s divine body had an aura of tremendous power, and it was far stronger than the bodies of most Daolords of the Fourth Step. It was highly unusual for a Daolord of the Third Step to have a divine body with such a powerful aura. “Are you some sort of Aberrant, or…?”

“Hmph. Those Aberrant special lifeforms are nothing. I am an Ancient cultivator, the most perfect type of creature to ever exist,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

Ning was surprised. Although the Ancient cultivators were one of the six major organizations in the Endless Territories, they were incredibly few and rare in number, on par with the Brightshore Imperials of the Brightshore Kingdom. He didn’t expect that the Ninedust Sectlord would turn out to be an Ancient cultivator.

“As you’ll find out soon enough, this is one of the ancestral sites left behind by the ancestors of my race.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. “I’m afraid, Darknorth, that you won’t be able to gain anything at all from this place, given that it was left by my ancestors for members of my Ancient race.”

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Chapter 16 – Everything Has Its Bane

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 16 – Everything Has Its Bane

“An ancestral site of the Ancient cultivators?” Ji Ning was slightly startled for a moment, then smiled. “No wonder you insisted on attacking the Eastroad Sect, and were able to discover the Void Pathway right away.”

“Eh?” The Ninedust Sectlord glanced at Ning with surprise. “You don’t seem to be frightened at all. Since this place was left behind by my ancestors, any treasures or legacies here will probably fall into my hands. As for you? You might even die here.”

“What’s the point of being afraid?” Ning said casually. Since they had already come here and were unable to flee, the only choice they had was to face everything head-on.

“Besides. It’s too early to speculate as to which one of us will be the one to die. You were the one getting your rear kicked by those flaming beasts.” Ning looked quite relaxed.

The Ninedust Sectlord really was rather amazed at Ning’s calm aplomb. He hadn’t revealed the truth previously, but now that both sides had sworn a binding oath to enter into an alliance and to not to attack each other or plot against each other, the Ninedust Sectlord was finally willing to divulge the secret of this being an ancestral site for him. As he saw it, towards the end Ning would still find out, so long as he survived.

“Right. Ninedust, did you just say that you Ancient cultivators were the most perfect creatures in the universe? But based on what I’ve heard, the top-tier Aberrant lifeforms like the Brightshore Imperials are on par with you Ancient cultivators,” Ning said.

“Hmph.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a snort. “Aberrants? They are nothing more than a random, motley collection of freaks which were born out of the primordial chaos. There’s far too many breeds of them, which is why they are just collectively known as the Aberrants. How could that motley collection of freaks be compared to us Ancient cultivators? Just mentioning us in the same breath is an insult to us! As for the Brightshore Imperials, they are a race of Chaos Godbeasts that have been around just as long as we have. I suppose they could just barely be considered our peers… but if we really were to compare our two races, they are still significantly inferior to us.”

“Chaos Godbeasts?” Ning was startled. Although he was a member of the Brightshore Kingdom, he knew very little regarding the Brightshore Imperials.

“It seems that you are unaware of many secrets, most likely because you haven’t been a Daolord for long.” The Ninedust Sectlord chuckled. “The Brightshore Imperials consider this information to be a source of humiliation; there’s naturally no way they would’ve told you about this. I, however, will.”

“Humiliation?” Ning was quite curious.

“Long, long ago, there were no such things as ‘cultivators’, and the various Aberrant lifeforms had yet to learn how to cultivate either! Back then, the endless primordial chaos gave birth to two types of perfect lifeforms. The first type was humanoid in shape and was truly flawless. They were born with transcendant talent and tremendous comprehension abilities… and they became known as the Ancients. As for the second type, they were shaped like beasts and so became known as Chaos Godbeasts.”

“The Ancients were the first to discover and invent cultivation techniques! As a result, we became incredibly powerful and ended up unifying the endless primordial chaos and becoming its master… and this is why we are known as the Ancient cultivators.” A look of pride was on the Ninedust Sectlord’s face.

Ning was quite startled. So the Ancient cultivators were actually the first ones to create cultivation techniques?

The Ninedust Sectlord said smugly, “As for those Aberrant lifeforms, we held no interest in them whatsoever. The Chaos Godbeasts, however, made for decent servants. We enslaved them and used them as our mounts, ordering them about as we pleased.”

“What?!” Ning could hardly believe it. The Brightshore Imperials used to be the slaves of the Ancient cultivators?

“Back then, we Ancient cultivators roamed the universe without equal.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a soft sigh. “Every single member of our race is born with incredible intelligence and comprehension abilities, and so we created one new technique after another. Do you know how many Brightshore Imperials have managed to become Eternal Emperors? Just one! The Brightshore Hegemon himself! But many Ancient cultivators have ended up gaining eternity. This is all thanks to our comprehension abilities! Humanoid lifeforms, by nature, are more intelligent than animal lifeforms. If the Chaos Godbeasts hadn’t managed to produce a Hegemon, they would never have reached their current heights.”

“A pity, though. That itme ended long ago. Now, it is the era of you normal cultivators.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “You normal cultivators aren’t nearly as perfect as us, and some of you actually started off as ordinary mortals and slowly crawled up the ranks of power. Unfortunately, there are simply far, far too many of you. Even if you only produce one genius every trillion years, you will eventually accumulate a ridiculous number of powerful experts. Faced with such an overwhelming number of normal cultivators, we had no choice but to retreat.”

The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. “Darknorth, we Ancients do accept ordinary cultivators into our ranks as well. So long as you are just an ordinary member of the Dao Alliance and not a member of the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aeonian Kingdom, or the Dark Kingdom, we’d be willing to recruit you. Join us! If you are as talented as I think you are, you’ll be given the best of resources.”

Ning pursed his lips. They recruited ordinary cultivators? It seemed like everyone was doing this. The Brightshore Kingdom, the Aeonians… they were all recruiting as well, with quite a few ordinary World-level cultivators having been taken on by the Aeonians in particular to serve as their lackeys. The World-level cultivators Ning had encountered in the Allgod Estate were mostly ‘ordinary’ cultivators; most of them didn’t have any Aeonian blood in them at all. Who would’ve imagined that the Ancient cultivators were also recruiting?

But it made sense. The Brightshore Imperials, the Aeonians, and the Ancients all had the same problem – they were too few in number!

“What do you think?” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning eagerly. “Most likely, only the Dao Alliance has as deep a foundation as us Ancients.”

“Forget it. Let me think it over first,” Ning said. He had already joined the Brightshore Kingdom; how could he join their enemies? Still, it was best to keep the fact that he was a member of the Brightshore Kingdom secret, in order to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

“No rush, no rush at all. Here in the ancestral lands, I trust you’ll some come to realize just how incredible we Ancient cultivators are.” The Ninedust Sectlord smiled. “Later on, I’ll make the introductions for you.” He was a peerless genius who had mastered and perfectly joined together two Supreme Daos; even amongst the Ancient cultivators, he was considered one of the elite chosen of his generation.

Long ago, a major power of the Ancient cultivators had engaged in some divination for him, letting him know where he should go adventuring and where his destiny lay. However… in the end, the future would remain unknown. Numerancy divination could only allow you to see a few scraps and glimpses of the future.

……

Time flowed on. Having officially joined forces together, Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord continued to carefully travel through this mysterious region, going from one stone passageway to the next. There really seemed to be no end of them.

The two of them spent another three full months trapped int his place. Thankfully, Ning had sold the Ninedust Sectlord a large number of spirit-pills; otherwise, the latter might not have been able to survive.

Swoosh.

On the final day of the third month.

“Kill them!”

“Kill them and eat htem!”

A large group of the flaming creatures were in hot pursuit of a flying black vessel which was fleeing from them at incredible speeds while nine awesome secret arts billowed around it, preventing anyone from drawing near.

Whoosh. The black vessel flew into a different stone passageway.

“Eh?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were both startled. Moments later, a look of delight appeared in their eyes. Up ahead was an extremely large and empty area that was at least a hundred billion kilometers in size. At the very center of this region was a planet that glowed with light and emanated an aura of endless might. There were no flames at all in this entire empty region!

It must be remembered that thus far, every single place the two of them had passed through had been filled with those terrifying, omnipresent flames. This region, however, didn’t have a single flame within it!

“Have we reached our destination?” Ning murmured silently.

“This place may well be the place which the ancestors wished us to reach.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at the planet in front of him rather excitedly.

During the past three months, all they had seen were stone passageways and endless flames! They had never encountered such a vast, empty region. A hundred billion kilometers, and a planet in the center of it! The aura of power emanating off of this planet was so great that Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both felt rather breathless. This place could very well be the endpoint.

“Kill!” A group of flaming beasts burst out of the stone passageway, seeking to chase down the two of them. However, they suddenly began to slow down as they looked rather hesitantly at the distant planet in the center. The flames covering the bodies of the various creatures all seemed to die down slightly.

“Hurry up and kill them.”

“Don’t let them escape!”

The flaming creatures once more picked up the pace.

Swoosh! The black vessel didn’t hesitate at all as it flew straight towards the star. The flaming creatures continued their furious chase, but the closer they moved towards the planet the more they seemed to be suppressed. The flames disappeared from their body, revealing the fiery armor, hair, and body which lay underneath! The closer they moved to the star, the more their aura weakened.

“Everything has its bane.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh with amazement when he saw this. “These flaming creatures were completely unkillable, but as soon as they started to move towards this planet they began to weaken dramatically.”

“That planet doesn’t seem to have any effect on us at all.” The Ninedust Sectlord glanced at the planet warily as they moved closer and closer to it. “But its aura of power is tremendous. It might hold certain dangers within it.

Ning looked at him. “What of it? Do you want us to go back into the stone passageways?”

“I’d have to be mad to do that,” the Ninedust Sectlord snorted. Clearly, after spending roughly three months in the stone passageways, he had more than had his fill of them.

“In the end, we definitely have to go take a look at this place. Let’s just be careful,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“Alright.” Ning stared at the planet as well.

The black vessel flew closer and closer to it, with the flaming creatures still in hot pursuit but growing weaker by the moment. Finally, they all came to a halt and let out angry, resentful growls. They had no choice but to simply watcha s the black vessel flew ever-closer to the star.

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Chapter 17 – The Prophets Descend

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 17 – The Prophets Descend

The black vessel finally came to a halt outside the star. Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood on the prow of the vessel, able to see the planet clearly.

“What a beautiful star,” Ning praised. The planet was protected by layers of defenses, almost like the yolk of an egg being protected by a shell.

“But also dangerous,” the Ninedust Sectlord warned solemnly.

“Let’s go.” Ning glanced at the Ninedust Sectlord, who did not respond. Whoosh! The black vessel began a slow advance, soon arriving in front of the first barrier protecting the star.

This was a gaseous barrier that was pitch-black in color and extremely solid. When the black vessel sought to advance through it, the two could both sense the first barrier resisting the vessel mightily. The black vessel had to use all of its power in order to just barely advance through the barrier, crackling all the way. After advancing for roughly a hundred thousand kilometers, they left the region of black mist and appeared in front of a region of deep azure mist.

“I imagine that most Daolords of the Fourth Step wouldn’t be able to make it past this,” Ning said softly. “If my judgment is correct, there’s no way this protective membrane could’ve been naturally created. It has to have been man-made.”

“Agreed. Nine out of ten says it was created by a major power that vastly outstrips us in might.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

Swoosh! The vessel continued to advance, passing through one layer of gas after another. There were nine of these gas layers, and they were colored black, deep azure, azure, light azure… the colors continuously lightened until the final layer, which was composed of completely white mist.

By now, the white mist posed almost negligibly low levels of resistance for the black vessel. Starting from the azure layer, a few special lifeforms began to appear. They lived within the gas itself, and were like gaseous entities. They could transform into any shape, with some being strong and others being weak. The most powerful were roughly on par with Daolords of the Fourth Step, while the weakest were on par with ordinary World-level cultivators.

Whoosh. After passing through the ninth layer of mist, Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord saw a brand new open world appear in front of them. This was a vast and beautiful world, filled with cities, villages, and many ordinary mortals as well.

“So this place actually holds living creatures.” Ning let out a moved sigh. “The endless primordial chaos truly is filled with endless marvels. Life can survive in even a dangerous place like this.”

“I suspect that the major power who created those nine layers of protective mist did so for the sake of these mortals.” The Ninedust Sectlord carefully sent out his senses, then said in a soft voice, “This region is filled with invisible laws, preventing ordinary cultivators from beingn able to fly at all. Only Daolords are able to fly here.”

“The skies are sealed?” Ning frowned. “Can it be that this planet holds an Eternal Emperor within it?”

Upon gaining eternity, your very words became edicts of law. You could issue certain edicts that all within a certain region had to follow! However, sufficiently powerful Daolords were capable of completely ignoring these edicts. It must be understood that certain supremely powerful Daolords were capable of suppressing even the might of the prime essences of the Dao, located at the heart of the universe. In comparison, mere edicts issued by Eternal Emperors were nothing.

“Right. This place might have an ancestor of my Ancient race.” The Ninedust Sectlord swept the area with his gaze. “Darknorth, I’m sure you’ve sensed it as well. This vast world gives me an incredibly strong sense of danger. If we aren’t careful, we could easily die here.”

“Yes, I can sense it.” Ning nodded. As soon as he had seen this planet from afar, he had sensed a terrifying danger emanating from it. Now that they had truly entered it, that sense only grew stronger.

……

A total of eight strange-looking four-legged beasts were pulling a giant carriage through the grassy plains directly below Ning. Surrounding the carriage there were three hundred valiant knights, all of whom were advancing at high speeds. The carriage was protected by formations which faintly flickered around it, ensuring it didn’t bump or jostle at all.

The carriage itself was thirty meters long and twenty-four meters wide. Within the carriage sat a young man who was casually dressed in sleek silk clothes, as well as two bewitching women who were cuddling against him while feeding him.

The youth casually ran his hands across the two women, toying with them. His eyes, however, had a faraway look in them.

“Your Highness, Dragonwing City is up ahead. Should we pay a visit to the governor?” The voice of a knight rang out from outside the carriage. Although their lord had already informed them as to which experts they would visit on this journey, the young master wasn’t the type to just do as he was told. There were two experts who he had declined to meet with thus far.

“The governor of Dragonwing is one of my seniors and has always treated me very well. We certainly must visit him,” the youth chuckled.

“Acknowledged,” the knight said from outside.

The youth inside the carriage caressed one of the women by his side, a dreamy look in his eyes. He murmured softly, “So this is the path which Father has arranged for me? I can already see what the rest of my life will be like. I really am not happy with it.”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Suddenly, two figures appeared out of nowhere. One was a white-robed youth who bore a black sheath on his back, while the second was an icy-faced man. However, neither the two women in the carriage nor the noble youth noticed them at all. The youth remained lost in his thoughts and pensively pondering his own future.

“This kid is one of the highest status figures without a million kilometers of this place. He actually has three Elder Gods and five Ancestral Immortals guarding him, while he himself is also an Elder God. And, judging from the way they address him, he should be a prince of some sort,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “He probably knows more about this world than most. Darknorth, shall you do the honors or shall I?”

“I’ll ask,” Ning said with a smile.

No one in the area was able to overhear their conversation. They were simply beings on completely different levels of existence. Although Ning had merely been an Elder God when he left the Three Realms, he could now wipe out untold multitudes of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals with but a single breath.

……

The two of them remained quite cautious. They didn’t randomly start sending their godsense out to investigate, as this world was simply too dangerous for them. It must be understood that not even those innumerable flaming creatures dared to approach this region. If they were too rash, they’d probably die here. Thus, caution was the best decision. This was a principle which all Daolords followed when they were out adventuring.

Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood at the very precipice of power amongst Daolords; they could be considered second-tier Daolords of the Fourth Step by now, comparable to ordinary Eternal Emperors in might. They naturally had to be cautious. The stronger you were, the more careful you had to be.

In a place deep within the underground of this world. This was a place where ancient formations could be seen everywhere.

Roughly 190 million kilometers below the ground, there was a beautiful underground palace. The palace was extremely quiet, and although a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals and even World Gods could be seen walking through it, they were all silent and solemn. None of them dared to speak too loudly, as they felt a natural sense of dread.

Within an ancient, quiet room inside the underground palace. A white-robed old man was seated in the lotus position, his aura comparable to that of a Daolord of the Fourth Step. In front of him was an enormous mirror.

The mirror contained within it images of a black vessel flying through layers of misty barriers before finally descending upon the vast world up above. This scene was playing on a loop over and over within the mirror.

“Elder.” Suddnely, a violet-robed man walked over from afar, emanating the aura of a Daolord of the Second Step. He called out respectfully to the old man, but when he accidentally saw the images being played in the mirror his face turned ashen. He stuttered, “A-a-are those Prophets?”

“Yes.” The white-robed elder let out a sigh. “Prophets! After a million chaos cycles, yet another group of Prophets have descended upon our world.”

“Prophets have descended? Prophets?!” The violet-robed man was shocked and panicked. “B-but… what should we do? Elder, what should we do?”

The white-robed elder waved his hand, causing a black tome to appear before him. The tome opened on its own, and it was filled with the history of this continent.

“Don’t panic.” The white-robed elder said softly, “In the ancient annals of our continent, it is said that Prophets have descended on three separate occasions! The first Prophet taught us cultivation, allowing us to escape our fetters of ignorance and enter the era of Immortal cultivation. This was the First Era of our continent. The second Prophet did even more; he established a foundation for us, setting up the nine sky barriers to protect us and thus ensure that those flamefiends wouldn’t dare to encroach upon our territory. These days, only the most crazed of flamefiends would dare to attack, and they no longer pose much of a threat. As a result, our homeland was able to grow truly powerful. This was the Second Era.”

“But the third Prophet and the Third Era he brought…” The violet-robed man said nervously, “That was the darkest era of our history.”

The white-robed elder nodded. The descent of the third Prophet… that Prophet had simply been too greedy, and he had caused a huge war.

“The third time, we were ultimately forced to unleash the power of the Eighteen Heavens and Hells Mutual Apocalypse Formation. We summoned the enormous power inherent within this land and in the end were able to slay that Prophet… but countless living beings in our world were slain as well, with just the few who hid within the sacred lands surviving.” The violet-robed man was extremely nervous. That battle had been a dire one. The entire world had been completely devastated! It had taken them a million chaos cycles to recover to their current state.

“Whether this is a blessing or a catastrophe, we still have to face it,” the white-robed elder said. “No matter what, the descent of the Prophets means that the Fourth Era has already begun. Inkmind, the task of making initial contact with those two Prophets shall be yours.”

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Chapter 18 – Young Master Skywind

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 18 – Young Master Skywind

Within the carriage. Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord watched as the youth continued to toy with his maids.

Whoosh. Suddenly, both of the maids fainted soundlessly.

“Eh?” The youth’s face suddenly paled as he stared sideways. Two figures were standing right next to him, staring back at him. One was a white-robed youth who bore a black sword sheath on his back, while the other was a grim-looking man. The white-robed youth had a peaceful aura, and he most likely wasn’t an evil man, but the faint baleful aura surrounding the grim-looking man made the youth feel a bit nervous.

He was very confident in his own abilities, and knew himself to be virtually invincible below the World level. However, these two powerful strangers someone managed to enter his carriage without him noticing, and his two maids had silently fainted.

“Seniors.” The youth hurriedly rose to his feet and bowed.

“I have some questions for you, kid,” Ning said.

“Please go ahead, senior,” the youth said immediately.

“Introduce yourself first.” Ning’s voice carried a strange, magical power to it that compelled the youth to speak. My name is Skywind. I’m the ninth young master of Skyfiend City, and the governor of the city is my father. I’ve come on my father’s orders to travel to the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion to become apprenticed to Swordmaster Eastvoid.”

Skywind was shocked as the words came out of his mouth. Why was it that he couldn’t control his own words?

“Is this ‘Swordmaster Eastvoid’ a World-level expert or a Samsara Daolord?” Ning asked. The nearby Ninedust Sectlord listened attentively as well.

Given that the aura of danger emanating from this planet, they felt it necessary that they be low-key in all their actions, which was why they hadn’t acted too brashly. They didn’t know what type of temper the most supreme figure on this planet had; if they accidentally offended and made an enemy out of that person, they could well die if their judgment of this planet’s danger was correct.

They had already suffered more than enough at the hands of the endless flaming creatures in the endless stone passageways.

“Just a World level, of course.” A look of terror was in young master Skywind’s eyes as he heard himself speak uncontrollably. Why was it that he was answering every single question posed? “Samsara Daolords only exist in the legends, and it is incredibly hard to trade or track them down. How could I possibly take one on as my mastery? Swordmaster Eastvoid is nothing more than an extremely than an extremely famous expert of the Dao of the Sword. He’s virtually invincible against other World-level experts, and even my father is far from being a match for him. My father went to tremendous lengths in order to convince him to accept me as his disciple. However, I have to first reach the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion and personally pass a few tests before being admitted.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord exchanged glances. World level? To them, even most Daolords of the Third Step or Fourth Step could be annihilated with a casual wave, much less World-level cultivators. Both were comparable to ordinary Eternal Emperors in power, after all.

“Then do you know where the Samsara Daolords are?” Ning continued to question him. The stronger one was, the more one would know. Most likely, the local Samsara Daolords would know more regarding the secrets of this planet.

“I don’t know. How could someone like me possibly be aware of what the Samsara Daolords are doing?” Young master Skywind explained, “Perhaps some of the most elite World-level cultivators would know a few things.”

……

Ning continued to ask questions, while young master Skywind continued to respond automatically. The latter was at the verge of tears; no matter what the former asked, he was somehow forced to automatically answer with the utmost of truth. This feeling instilled terror in him. He was repeatedly reminded as to how powerless he was in the face of this white-robed, sword-carrying youth.

After a long period of time passed.

“What do you think?” Ning glanced at the Ninedust Sectlord.

“This will be a bit troublesome. From the sound of things this planet should indeed have Samsara Daolords, and several of them at that,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “In the Endless Territories, our Daolords will usually establish their own sects. Here, however, the Daolords all seem to be in hiding.”

“Right. Let’s go find someone higher ranked than this ‘Skywind’ kid,” Ning said.

“That’s our only choice.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

Both of them were quite patient. They would rather spend ten extra days quietly investigating this planet than to blunder rashly into a fight. As the saying went, only when you understood both yourself and your enemies would you be the victor in all your battles. This planet was quite possibly an ancestral site left behind by an ancestor of the Ancient cultivators, after all; they couldn’t be too rash here.

“I have more questions for you.” Ning looked at young master Skywind.

“Please go ahead, senior,” young master Skywind said hurriedly. He had been completely unable to overhear the conversation between Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord. He knew the situation he was in and was behaving quite obediently.

“Who in this general area would possibly have information regarding where the Samsara Daolords are?” Ning asked.

“In this general area, the highest-ranked figure would be the governor of Dragonwing City. He governs this entire region, and all of the countless living beings here prostrate themselves before him. He’s on very good terms with my father, and has been alive for an extremely long period of time. He surely knows a thousand times more than what I know; he might know where the Samsara Daolords hide.” Young master Skywind continued to speak uncontrollably, “I was planning to go pay a visit to him, as he helped out quite a bit and was instrumental in me being able to join the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion.”

Ning chuckled. “Good. Then we’ll accompany you and visit the governor of Dragonwing.”

And so, Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both remained within the carriage. Young master Skywind naturally offered all the fine food and wine he had available. The two maids had awoken by now, and they didn’t dare to say athing; they naturally understood that they had encountered two important personages.

“Glug. Ah, it’s rare for me to have a chance to relax like this.” The Ninedust Sectlord drank some fine wine, then let out a relaxed sigh. “It feels like it has been ages since I had the chance to rest a bit. I wasn’t able to relax at all back in those stone passageways.”

“Yes, a relaxed life is the best life of all.” Ning had also been driven to the point of near-lunacy by the flaming creatures, but he was now feeling quite relaxed as well. Suddenly, Ning’s gaze turned towards the inner walls of the carriage. The walls had some scars carved into them, and Ning was able to see right away that these were sword-arts scars.

The Ninedust Sectlord noticed Ning glancing at the walls, and he followed Ning’s gaze. When he saw the sword-scars on the walls, he let out a laugh. “How could someone be so shameless as to put such crude sword-arts on display?”

The nearby young master Skywind instantly began to blush with embarrassment.

“Everyone knows how amazing my young master’s sword-arts are. Young master Skywind’s sword-arts are famed throughout the lands. It was these sword-arts that resulted in him being allowed to enter the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion,” one of the maids couldn’t help but argue, her face flushed.

Young master Skywind buried his face in his hands. Oh my god, you stupid woman… why did you have to say anything.

“This little girl is pretty devoted to you.” The Ninedust Sectlord chuckled as he looked at the maid. “She’s clearly terrified, but she still wanted to speak up on your behalf. But I must tell you, I was speaking the truth. Your sword-arts truly are crude and ungainly. Hell, forget about your young master’s sword-arts; even that so-called Swordmaster Eastvoid’s sword-arts are unspeakably crude. In terms of sword-arts, the gentleman right in front of you is a true grandmaster of the Dao of the Sword. No, not me! Stop looking at me. I’m talking about this fellow Daoist right here. Can’t you tell he has a sword scabbard on his back? You should be able to tell right away that he’s a swordsman.”

Ning couldn’t help but let out a surprised snort of laughter.

“That ‘Swordmaster Eastvoid’ or whatever he’s called… everything he knows about the Dao of the Sword could probably fit within my friend’s toenails.” The Ninedust Sectlord was clearly in a wonderful mood and so he spoke in a rather casual manner.

Young master Skywind immediately turned his gaze towards Ning, his eyes scorching with eagerness. He was a sword fanatic who was completely devoted to the sword. This was why he had reached such a high level in sword-arts and had become famous in this region. He hadn’t left those sword-scars in the carriage to show off on purpose; rather, even in this carriage he would often ponder on his sword-arts. When he sometimes had an epiphany, he would carve it into the walls.

“Ninedust, you are bragging a bit much,” Ning said.

“I’m doing no such thing. I’m just telling the truth. That East-whatever, he’s a mere World-level cultivator. How could he even know even know as much as 0.01% of what you know regarding the sword?” The Ninedust Sectlord said hurriedly, “I’ve never met anyone with stronger sword-arts than you at your level.”

As the Ninedust Sectlord saw it, Ning was a Daolord of the Third Step who had truly earth-shaking sword-arts. Once he broke through to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he would probably be on par with Palace Lord Dawnstar. In truth, however, Ning’s sword-arts could be fairly described as without peer in all the Endless Territories, because his Dao was that of the Omega Sword Dao!

“Senior…” Young master Skywind looked rather eagerly at Ning.

“You little rascal.” Ning glanced at the carriage walls, then nodded. “I can vaguely see a total of thirty-six sword-stances within those carvings. You are fairly impressive for an Elder God… but there is still area for improvement. You can actually fuse these thirty-six stances into just three stances.”

Ning pointed at the carriage walls in a very serious manner, and three more sword-scars instantly appeared on them. All three pulsed with sword-intent, but very ordinary sword-intent. Ning was just providing guidance, after all; he was teaching the kid the basics of fusing sword-arts together.

“In fact, you can also fuse them into one stance.” Ning pointed again, causing a fourth streak of sword-intent to appear on the walls. This one was extraordinarily powerful, and it was infused with a hint of Ning’s own Omega Sword Dao.

“Right.” The nearby Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “Kid, today is the luckiest day in your life. My friend has just created a brand new sword-art based on your original one. We ate your food and drank your wine, but we don’t want to owe you anything. If you can fully master just one of those first three stances, you’ll be able to reach the World level. As for the final one? If you can master it, you’ll be invincible amongst World-level experts.”

Young master Skywind stared at the walls of the carriage, completely spellbound.

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Chapter 19 – Within the Governor’s Estate

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 19 – Within the Governor’s Estate

Young master Skywind stared at those four sword-scars, especially the three simpler ones. Countless insights suddenly began to arise in his mind, and he immediately understood that these three sword-stances alone would allow his sword-arts to improve dramatically. In fact, they would even allow him to reach the World level.

He turned his head to look at Ji Ning, then kowtowed without hesitation.

Ning just looked at him calmly. For him to accept a few kowtows after having bestowed the Dao upon this young man wasn’t excessive.

“Your disciple greets you, Master.” Young master Skywind said these words while kowtowing.

“Master?” Ning was startled.

“Ah? Ahahaha!” The nearby Ninedust Sectlord started to roar with laughter after a moment of befuddlement. ‘Darknorth, he’s calling you ‘Master’. Are you planning to accept him as your disciple?”

Ning shook his head. “I just gave him a few casual tips. It can’t be considered as me having taken him on as my disciple.”

“Senior, this grand Dao you have taught me will ensure that I should be able to break through to reach the World level within a year. How can such a grand Dao be transmitted without purpose?” Young master Skywind said hurriedly, “I can understand if you look down on me, senior. You’ve taught me sword-arts. I might not be a true personal disciple, but I can be considered an honorary disciple, right?”

“You are quite crafty, junior.” Ning shook his head.

“Senior, do you agree?” Young master Skywind asked.

“Don’t mention it again.” Ning shook his head again. Skywind was quite talented in the Dao of the Sword, but Ning was currently trapped in an ancestral site of the Ancients. He had no desire to take on and teach a disciple at all. Even if he did, he would have to carefully consider the person’s character first.

“Understood.” Skywind nodded obediently. However, he became even more industrious and humble for the rest of the journey. He knew that a truly great blessing had befallen him!

Good heavens. This person was able to casually condense his thirty-six sword-stances into three stances, then fuse the three into a single stance. Supposedly, if he mastered that final stance he would be invincible even amongst World-level cultivators. What unfathomable level had that senior reached in sword-arts? A level beyond Skywind’s imagination, no doubt. He naturally wished to take on such a powerful figure as his master; even being a mere honorary disciple would be enough.

Alas, these two seniors were not so easily moved.

……

A few hours later, young master Skywind’s process reached Dragonwing City.

Dragonwing City was quite a large city, and it had hundreds of millions of citizens dwelling within it. This was the headquarters of a World-level expert, and its streets were three thousand meters wide and filled with many beauty carriages. However, processions like Skywind’s which had more than three hundred knights were considered quite impressive in size.

“Youji, it’ll be up to you in a bit,” Ning said.

“Don’t worry, Master.” Su Youji was quite excited.

Ning, Su Youji, and the Ninedust Sectlord accompanied young master Skywind as he entered the governor’s estate. They went into a guest hall, and none of the guards or servants in the estate were able to notice the three Daolords in the slightest.

The Dragonwing Governor was a World-level cultivator who had been living for an extremely long period of time, and Ning really didn’t have much talent in control. He was able to deal with Elder God Skywind simply because the disparity in power was absolutely overwhelming. Taking control over a World-level cultivator, however, would be a bit tougher. He might succeed, but if the cultivator had a very tough mind he could very well fail.

The Ninedust Sectlord had no talent in this regard either, and so in the end Ning chose to have Su Youji handle things! Su Youji was skilled in the Dao of control and charm, and for her to deal with a World-level cultivator was simplicity itself.

“Haha. Skywind, you came!” Loud laughter rang out from behind the door. Moments later, a yellow-robed elder walked in, emanating the mighty aura of a Chaos Immortal. He did not, however, seem to be a World God as well.

“The Dragonwing Governor?” Suddenly, three figures appeared within the guest hall. One of the three, a woman dressed in fiery red robes, spoke out to him.

“Who are…” The Dragonwing Governor looked at Su Youji. He went stiff, then his eyes slowly glazed over.

“Do you know where the Samsara Daolords are?” Su Youji asked.

“The Samsara Daolords move about unpredictably. Although I’ve met one, I don’t know where he lives,” the Dragonwing Governor said.

Young master Skywind watched with amazement. Good heavens. The woman next to these two seniors was actually able to control the Dragonwing Governor like a golem? What level of people were these people on?!

“Then do you have a way to find a Samsara Daolord?” Su Youji asked.

“There’s a Chaos Immortal known as Immortal Slowseal. His master is a Samsara Daolord,” the Dragonwing Governor said. “It won’t be that hard to locate him. Once you find him, it’ll be easy to find his master.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord revealed looks of delight. Still, this planet truly was strange. The Samsara Daolords were all in hiding! This was completely different from the Endless Territories. They all felt that there had to be some secrets hidden in this place. Only by finding the Samsara Daolords would they be able to discern the secrets of this world.

“Oh?” Su Youji revealed a look of delight. She then used a secret art and sent out a streak of light from her forehead, sending it into the Dragonwing Governor’s forehead. Divine runes glowed within the governor’s eyes. A short while later, he regained consciousness, but a look of dread and fervor was now in his eyes as he looked towards Su Youji.

“Greetings, Mistress,” the Dragonwing Governor said respectfully.

Ning immediately understood that Su Youji must have taken full control over the Dragonwing Governor. In the past, Feixian the Exalted was extremely talented in this regard, and she was able to allow even Daolords to obey her command.

“How long will it take for us to find Immortal Slowseal?” Su Youji asked.

“Anywhere from a week to a month,” the Dragonwing Governor said.

Su Youji glanced at Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord. Ning said, “Governor, you should immediately begin to search for Immortal Slowseal. Once you find him, lead us to him immediately.”

“Hear that?” Su Youji looked at the governor, who frantically nodded.

“Understood,” the governor said. “I’ll go handle this right now.” He then immediately unleashed his Immortal energy, sending mental orders to his subordinates to locate Immortal Slowseal. He had been here for countless years and had many friends. It wouldn’t be too hard to locate the man.

The governor looked at Skywind, then revealed a smile. “Skywind, my dear nephew, I have to thank you. It was all thanks to you that I now have a chance to serve my new master.”

“Once this matter ends, I’ll dispel my secret art,” Su Youji said to Skywind.

“Please don’t, Mistress. I wish to serve you unto death,” the Dragonwing Governor said with agitation.

Skywind was stupefied. The governor’s memories and intelligence hadn’t been affected in the slightest, but he now was filled with the utmost of loyalty and dedication towards Su Youji.

……

Ning and the others took up residence in Dragonwing City for now. They were all quite patient, and it was only through patience that they would ensure they would be able to survive this dangerous place. If they were impatient, they would die quick deaths.

On the fifth day of them being in the governor’s estate.

Whoosh. A giant azure bird that was three thousand meters long was flying through the skies of Dragonwing City. A pavilion was located on top of the bird’s back, and a simian-looking alien man was seated casually within the pavilion. He was surrounded by a large group of female servants, and one of them with the aura of an Ancestral Immortal was in his arms.

“We’ve arrived at Dragonwing City, my pretty. The kid named Skywind is in that city right now,” the alien man said with a chuckle.

“I can’t wait to see that look of rage and grief on his face,” the woman said coquettishly.

In this planet, it was almost impossible to fly via magic treasures as the skies were sealed as though by edict. Most likely, only Samsara Daolords would be able to resist that disruptive power and use their Immortal energy and artifacts to fly. However, there were some natural creatures such as birds which were not bound, and so some cultivators would capture giant birds to serve as mounts.

“Skywind!” The alien man glanced downwards, then spoke out in a booming voice that was backed by his Immortal energy and which shook the governor’s estate.

Soon, both the Dragonwing Governor and young master Skywind appeared in front of the courtyard. As for the giant bird, it slowly began to descend.

“Brother Mountainplume?” The Dragonwing Governor said hurriedly, “Have you come to bring Skywind to the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion? But the appointed date is more than half a year away. There was no need for you to come so soon.”

Skywind glanced at the sharp-lipped, ape-faced man within the pavilion atop the giant bird, and also at the violet-robed woman in his arms. When he saw the violet-robed woman, his face turned pale and a look of grief appeared on his face.

“Skywind this is Immortal Mountainplume. He’s the eldest disciple of Swordlord Eastvoid and has entered the World level already. In the future, he’ll be your senior apprentice-brother,” the Dragonwing Governor said.

“You…” Skywind’s gaze was focused on the violet-robed woman, who merely smiled coldly in response.

“She’s my woman. How dare you stare at her like that?” The ape-faced man said coldly.

“Skywind!” The Dragonwing Governor barked softly.

Young master Skywind shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

“I’ve come on Master’s orders,” the ape-faced man said. “This kid, Skywind, has an impure Dao-heart and is not worthy of joining the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion. Kid, there’s no need for you to waste your time going to the pavilion.”

“What?” The Dragonwing Governor’s face turned pale. He said hurriedly, “We already came to an agreement, and the Windfiend Governor has already sent quite a few gifts…”

“We only said we’d give him a chance. He’d only be formally accepted once he passed our tests . Clearly, the kid failed.” The ape-faced man said coldly, “As for the Windfiend Governor, who gives a damn about him? Would he dare go against my master’s orders?”

The Dragonwing Governor had an ugly look on his face. As for young master Skywind, he ground his teeth, furious at the insult to his father and heartbroken by that woman. This was the only woman he had ever loved… but it had all been nothing more than a sinister ploy. To this very day, she was still causing trouble for him.

“Skywind, compared to Immortal Mountainplume you are absolutely nothing.” The violet-robed woman leaned against the ape-faced man, then let out a cold smile. “You want to become Swordmaster Eastvoid’s disciple? Stop dreaming. Go home and hide in your father’s protective embrace.”

“Become my master’s disciple? Even if you knelt in front of me and begged to be my disciple, I wouldn’t accept you,” the ape-faced man said mockingly.

Skywind’s face grew even uglier to behold.

“Endure it for now. Neither your father nor I can afford to make enemies out of the Eastvoid Sword Pavilion,” the Dragonwing Governor sent mentally.

……

On the other side of the governor’s estate were Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord, who were sipping some wine alongside Su Youji. Their gazes were able to traverse the void and see everything which was happening in front of the estate.

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Chapter 20 – Learning From Heaven and Earth

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 20 – Learning From Heaven and Earth

“Master, I really don’t like the look of that ‘Immortal Mountainplume’ fellow.” Su Youji looked at Ji Ning.

Ning shook his head. “No rush.” He turned his gaze to the distant young master Skywind, then began to scry the young man’s destiny. It was quite difficult to scry the man’s future, as he was an Elder God who would soon reach the World level; to scry his future was extremely difficult. To scry his past, however, was fairly easy.

The future had yet to happen; all things were possible. The past, however, had already ended.

The Windfiend Governor was a World-level cultivator who had been alive for an extremely long period of time. He was a very tyrannical figure who had countless beautiful concubines. Although it was very difficult for World-level cultivators to have children, over the course of many years he sired a total of nine sons and daughters, with Skywind being the youngest of the nine. Skywind’s mother died when he was young, and so he was a very solitary person as a child. After he grew up, he eventually encountered a dazzling beauty known as Fairy Violetlotus.

Fairy Violetlotus was warm and gentle towards him, causing him to feel that the world was truly a beautiful place. He immediately felt certain that she would be his Dao-companion, his eternal Dao-companion.

Who would’ve thought that this most blissful period of his life would transform into a nightmare? The woman suddenly displayed an overwhelming level of power, crippling his cultivation base. She tortured him, sending his body into a hell of pain… but to him, the spiritual pain he suffered was far more nightmarish. His one and only love had transformed into nothing more than a cruel plotter. The only reason she had befriended him was to torment him to get back at the Windfiend Governor.

Later on, the Windfiend Governor found his son, saved him, restored and repaired his body, then helped his son return to the path of cultivation.

But from this day forth, young master Skywind’s heart was forever filled with hidden pain. In fact, he decided that he would never feel love towards another woman again. And so, he began to roam the world, adventuring through its mountains and rivers.

The Windfiend Governor no longer held many hopes for his youngest son; he had always been a solitary figure, and he was very slow in cultivation. As a result, he chose to just let his son do as he pleased. Who would’ve thought that Skywind would suddenly take a liking to sword-arts while out touring the world? He became completely infatuated with sword-arts, taking on the natural world of Heaven and Earth as his master. He developed increasingly powerful sword-arts based on the natural world and soared into the skies. In just a hundred thousand years, he reached the Elder God stage and was virtually invincible within it.

“What?!” Ning revealed a stunned look.

“What’s wrong?” Su Youji and the Ninedust Sectlord both looked towards Ning, puzzled.

“Nothing.” But Ning was still unable to disguise his shock. This ‘young master Skywind’ had never trained under any master at all? He had learned from the workings of Heaven and Earth, yet had managed to reach his current level of cultivation?

Previously, when the Ninedust Sectlord had mocked his sword-arts as unspeakably crude, that was in comparison to Ji Ning. In truth, Skywind had reached an incredible level for an Elder God!

“He’s actually this talented in sword-arts?” Ning glanced at the distant Skywind, then nodded slightly. “And he’s not a bad person.” Ning cared more about character when considering whether or not to take on a disciple; talent was of secondary concern.

……

“Let’s leave.” Immortal Mountainplume and Fairy Violetlotus retired into their pavilion atop the giant bird. While leaving, Fairy Violetlotus glanced sideways at young master Skywind, then smirked. “You’ll never recover from this.”

Young master Skywind just looked at her silently. Although he felt pain in his heart, he bore no hatred for her. Even the most detestable of people had their own pitiable attributes. The reason why Fairy Violetlotus had treated him like that was principally due to the great grudge she bore for the Windfiend Governor.

Whoosh. The flying beast spread its wings, then departed.

The Dragonwing Governor shook his head and sighed upon seeing this. “Skywind, Immortal Mountainplume must’ve caused trouble in secret. He’s Swordmaster Eastvoid’s favored disciple; if he’s insistent on causing trouble, it’ll be impossible for you to be able to enter the Swordmaster’s tutelage.”

“It’s fine,” young master Skywind said. “But Father will be very disappointed once he learns this.”

“Skywind.” A voice suddenly rang out by Skywind’s ears. Skywind was stunned to hear this voice. It was Ji Ning’s. “Come to me, immediately.”

Young master Skywind didn’t dare to tarry; he hurried ran towards Ning’s residence.

……

Ning, Su Youji, and the Ninedust Sectlord all sat down to eat and drink. Right at this moment, young master Skywind came. He immediately bowed respectfully. “Greetings, seniors.”

“Skywind.” Ning looked at him.

“Senior.” Skywind looked back at Ning.

Ning smiled at him. “You’ve been wanting to become my disciple, yes?”

Skywind was stunned for a moment, then was overjoyed and fell to his knees and kowtowed. “Your disciple greets you, Master.”

“Darknorth, you…?” The Ninedust Sectlord was amazed, as was Su Youji. They knew what level of power Ning had reached. If he publicly announced in the Endless Territories that he was about to accept a disciple, countless World-level geniuses would fight over the chance. In fact, there were even some Samsara Daolords who would come apprentice themselves to him.

Ning glanced at the Ninedust Sectlord and Su Youji, then chuckled. “I wanted to take him on, so I did.”

Ning acted in accordance with his heart when he chose disciples. When he had been in the alternate universe, he had taken a liking to ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding and so had taken him on as his second disciple.

When he saw the past of his third disciple, Skywind, Ning felt a hint of empathy for him. Skywind had been hurt by love, while Ning felt remorse and regret towards his own wife Yu Wei. Skywind was incredibly talented in the Dao of the Sword, and so focused all of his efforts on it. Ning suddenly decided to give the kid a chance.

“From this day forth, you shall be my third disciple,” Ning said. “Now that you are under my tutelage, you must obey my commands.”

“Understood,” Skywind immediately said gratefully.

“Mm.” Ning nodded, then stretched out a finger and waved it lightly. The tip of the finger tapped Skywind on his forehead. Instantly, a large amount of information poured into his mind.

There were cultivation techniques! The Dao of the Sword! Everything was transmitted to him!

The Sword Daos which Ning transmitted to him were, respectively, the [Blood Drop] sword-art, the [Shadowless] sword-art, the [Soleheart] sword-art, the [Yin-Yang] sword-art, and the [Heavenbreaker] sword-art. Any of the five would allow him to become a Daolord. Ning also left behind two powerful types of sword-intent; the first was of his first-stage Omega Sword Dao, the second was of his second-stage Sword Dao.

“These five sword-arts can be merged together. Only then shall you see my true Sword Dao. You should constantly meditate on these two types of sword-intent. The amount you can comprehend, however, will be determined by your talent,” Ning said.

All cultivators had to walk their own paths if they wished to become a Daolord. Just teaching a few sword-stances wouldn’t be of much help, and so Ning went ahead and gave him two memories of Ning’s own sword-intent. Skywind was to meditate on them. Perhaps he would one day develop his own Dao of the Sword.

“When you are in danger, you can even summon these two streams of sword-intent forth from your mind. The first stream of sword-intent is capable of slaying most Daolords of the Third Step, while the second stream is capable of slaying of ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step.

“The sword-intent is primarily meant to help you train in the Dao. Unless absolutely necessary, do not unleash them.

“Remember… all divine abilities and secret arts are outside sources of power. You can learn them, but you cannot abandon your own Sword Dao for them. The Dao is the foundation of everything,” Ning sent mentally.

He didn’t transmit any divine abilities or secret arts. This planet was quite an extraordinary one; if his disiciple wished to learn them, he could go adventure for them himself. And, to tell the truth, Ning really didn’t have any good divine abilities or secret arts to pass on. The good ones he did have, such as the ones the deceased Sword Hegemon gave him, were not permitted to be taught to others!

Ning was also correct in stating that the ‘Dao’ was the foundation of all things. The more powerful your Dao is, the less meaningful those divine abilities, secret arts, and what-not were.

For example, when the Ninedust Sectlord used his divine ability, his divine power would instantly become a thousand times more powerful than before. However, his actual combat strength would only increase fractionally! This was because the power of his ‘Dao’ made up for most of his power in combat. If Ning became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, a single glance from him could cause ruinous damage. Thus far, he had merely reached the second-stage Omega Sword Dao, but the power of his sword-intent was more greater than his novessence water and could easily annihilate Daolords of the Fourth Step.

……

Skywind swore a lifeblood oath not to disobey Ning’s commands. After completely receiving Ning’s transmitted memories, a new, vast Dao was visible before him. The two sword-intents of an Omega Sword Dao… they would be lamps that guided him on his path of cultivation.

“Thank you, Master,” young master Skywind said excitedly. These two streams of sword-intent were too unfathomably profound, but the five sword-arts formed a perfect circle that would guide him from all the way from being an Elder God to becoming a Daolord. Every single stance was described in great detail, and it also explained the process by which Ning gained insight into these Daos. They were of tremendous use to him.

“I won’t get involved into your personal issues. You’ll have to handle everything,” Ning said.

“Understood,” Skywind said. He did indeed have some things he wished to do, but in the past he was too weak. Now…

“Also, you need to stay by my side for a period of time,” Ning said. “If you have any questions, I can answer them for you.”

Sooner or later, he would leave this place. He certainly couldn’t take this new disciple with him when he did, as each had their own paths to walk. This was how Ning treated his disciples. Take his second disciple for example; after transmitting the Dao to him, Ning immediately disappeared. That second disciple lived in a fairly ordinary mortal world, after all; this third disciple lived in a somewhat more powerful planet, and so Ning had left those two streams of sword-intent to ensure that he would be protected while he was weak.

As for afterwards? Whether he lived or died would be up to him.

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Chapter 21 – Immortal Slowseal

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 21 – Immortal Slowseal

Nine more days went past before the Dragonwing Governor finally found traces of Immortal Slowseal.

“Master.” The Dragonwing Governor hurriedly came running to report to Su Youji, Ji Ning, and the Ninedust Sectlord. “Immortal Slowseal is currently a guest at the Hiddensea Palace, roughly a hundred million kilometers from this place. He’s quite some distance away. It’ll probably take us some time to get there, and so I’ve made the arrangements for transport birds and mounts to be prepared for us. We can head out whenever.”

“We’ll head out right now.” Ji Ning rose to his feet, then waved his hand and caused a black flying vessel to appear next to him.

“We’ll fly over?” Skywind and the Dragonwing Governor were rather speechless when they saw the vessel. It must be understood that this planet was bound by the edicts of an Eternal Emperor, and the invisible laws made it so that only Samsara Daolords were just barely able to fly. Samsara Daolords, however, were incredibly rare. Neither of the two had ever truly flown in the air before using magic treasures before; at most, they had flown on the backs of giant birds.

“Move it!” Ning, Su Youji, and the Ninedust Sectlord were already aboard the vessel, and they barked impatiently to the others.

“Y-y-yes.” The Dragonwing Governor excitedly followed after them, and Skywind was similarly unable to disguise his excitement.

Swoosh. The black vessel burst into the skies, then immediately disappeared without a trace.

……

Ning and the others had long ago acquired a local map of this planet from the Dragonwing Governor. They knew where the Hiddensea Palace was located, and the planet itself wasn’t that large; at most, it was a bit over one billion kilometers in diameter. The ordinary mortals on this planet were fewer in number than even in the Three Realms, but on average they were more impressive as the rate at which they gave birth to Immortals and Fiendgods was far higher.

Swish! Just a few heartbeats later, the black vessel had already left the Dragonwing Governor’s estate and arrived directly above the top of a cloud-piercing snowy mountain.

“Here we are,” Ning said. “Hiddensea Palace is right below us.”

“What? We arrived?” The Dragonwing Governor and Skywind stood at the prow of the ship, staring in astonishment at the scene below them. The mountain peak below them was covered with snow, with an ordinary-looking palace buried below it. This was Hiddensea Palace.

“We made it there in one breath.” The Dragonwing Governor and Skywind exchanged glances. Both of them felt stunned. That had been simply too fast! To them, Hiddensea Palace was an extremely distant location that would only be reached through riding birds or mounts. The path was a dangerous, twisty one that needed careful navigation, and it would take them at least half a month to reach it.

The nearby Ninedust Sectlord chuckled. “This ship can move at a hundred times the limits of the Heavenly Daos. A hundred million kilometers is nothing to it. You! Whats-your-face, Dragonwing Governor, right? Hurry on down and lead us to Immortal Slowseal.”

“Understood. Skywind, follow me and stay behind me. As for the three of you?” The Dragonwing Governor hesitated.

“We’ll go with you,” the Ninedust Sectlord said calmly. “No one in this puny little palace can possibly see through our illusions.”

“Understood.” The Dragonwing Governor acknowledged the order.

……

The Dragonwing Governor led the party while the other four temporarily followed behind him as he entered Hiddensea Palace. The former was a World-level cultivator, after all. He was on the same level as the Palace Lady and so was received with great courtesy.

“Dragonwing.” The Palace Lady was a black-robed woman who looked quite ordinary but who had an extraordinary demeanor.

“Hiddensea.” The Dragonwing Governor hurriedly rose to his feet.

“What suddenly brings you to my place? Dragonwing City is quite distant from my palace. To think that you made the long, hard trek here in person… might I ask, what is the reason behind this?” The Palace Lady smiled. Her gaze just briefly lingered on Ning and the rest of the four behind the Dragonwing Governor. She noticed nothing remarkable about them at all; the difference in power between them was simply too great.

The ‘long, hard trek’? The Dragonwing Governor couldn’t help but sigh to himself. It had all been done in the twinkling of an eye. However, he didn’t expose this. “Hiddensea, I’ve come to meet with fellow Daoist Slowseal.”

“Meet Slowseal?” The Palace Mistress frowned. “Immortal Slowseal is a rather bad-tempered person. If I didn’t have something important I needed him for, I would never have invited him over. Why are you causing problems for yourself?”

“I have something important to discuss as well,” the Dragonwing Governor said.

The Palace Mistress gave him a hard look, then nodded. “Fine. I’ll help you send word, but you know what Slowseal is like.”

“I do.” The Dragonwing Governor nodded.

A few moments passed as she conversed with Immortal Slowseal. “Let’s go. I just checked and Slowseal agreed to meet with you. I’ll take you to him.” She led the Dragonwing Governor deeper into the palace.

A short while later, they arrived within the most beautiful courtyard within the Hiddensea Palace. A horned, black-haired elder was seated within it, drinking some wine. When the Dragonwing Governor brought Ning and the others in, the black-haired elder’s eyes twitched. He glanced sideways at the four, then frowned and barked at the Palace Mistress, “Hiddensea, bringing in Dragonwing is one thing, but why have you brought in a group of juniors?”

“I’m to blame for that.” The Dragonwing Governor hurriedly smiled. “It has nothing to do with Palace Mistress Hiddensea.”

The Palace Mistress just stood there silently. She knew quite well that Immortal Slowseal was doing this to knock the Dragonwing Governor down a few pegs.

“Hmph.” The black-haired elder let out a snort. “Throw these juniors out.”

“But…” The Dragonwing Governor was stunned. As for Ning, Su Youji, and the Ninedust Sectlord, they revealed looks of resignation.

“Ugh.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a sigh, and as he did an invisible aura of power blasted out from around him, causing Skywind, the Dragonwind Governor, the Hiddensea Palace Mistress, and Immortal Slowseal to all feel their hearts quiver. The entire world seemed to have turned silent. Heaven and Earth had both vanished, leaving nothing else save his voice.

“I wanted to resolve this peacefully and have a nice chat with Immortal Slowseal’s master.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “I didn’t imagine him to be such a fool. It seems we’ll have to do things the hard way.

Ning and the others had indeed been planning on doing things peacefully. This planet was mysterious and inscrutable; they didn’t want to accidentally kick over a hornet’s nest. Unfortunately, this Immortal Slowseal was a bit too arrogant.

“What’s going on? Why is this happening? W-who are they?!” Immortal Slowseal was panicking, and the Hiddensea Palace Mistress was amazed as well.

“Slowseal actually has a Daolord as his master. It’s fine for him to be proud, but his pride goes too far.” Ning shook his head slightly as well. People truly did act differently once they had a powerful backer. In the Badlands Territory, if you encountered a disciple of the Badlands Court you generally wouldn’t dare to attack even if you were much stronger! As for the likes of the Skykwood Sect of Skywood City, one of the eight Sacred Cities? Whenever the weakest members of Skywood Sect so much as mentioned their sect, World-level cultivators and weaker Daolords would be utterly terrified.

This was the good part of having a strong backer. This was why so many World-level cultivators wanted to join major schools, but the Badlands Court and Vastheaven Palace had very high standards. As for the Skywood Sect and other sects on its level, their standards were even more excessive. Thus, the World-level cultivators who weren’t able to join the major sects were forced to hide in one place. When trouble came knocking, they had no choice but to fight head-on… and if they failed, they would die.

If you had a powerful background, even if you couldn’t win the fight you could report your name and thus stay alive in that way.

It was much like what the Paragon of Pills had told Ning: “If you ever find yourself in a life-threatening situation, you can use my name!” Her being his backer would overawe many attackers.

“W-who are you?” Immortal Slowseal was rather panicked. “My Master is Daolord Feng Xian.”

“Kid…” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face was dark, and his voice was cold and grim. Waves suddenly arose in the area around him, swirling around him with torrential voice and filling Immortal Slowseal’s entire field of vision, making him feel as though they were about to drown him. The power held within the waves caused Immortal Slowseal to feel a sense of endless terror. Horrified, Slowseal immediately produced a jade talisman, then crushed it with a cracking sound.

“My master is going to arrive soon! Don’t do anything crazy!” Immortal Slowseal said, terrified.

“Hahaha…” The Ninedust Sectlord started to laugh.

“Haha…” Ning started to laugh as well. “Ninedust, I thought we’d have to threaten him a bit before his master would arrive. I never would’ve thought he’d panic so badly that he’d immediately crush a Dao-seal to summon his master.”

“I was planning to torment him a bit. Now, it seems, he’s quite a clever boy.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a chuckle as the waves around him all vanished.

Everyone else, including Immortal Slowseal and Palace Mistress Hiddensea, felt their hearts quiver as their legs turned to jelly. Prior to this, Ning’s group had shown them no enmity and had completely masked their auras, making it so that Immortal Slowseal could sense no power at all. Now that they fully released their auras, they felt an instinctive, bone-deep terror in their hearts!

“W-where did all these terrifying figures come from?” Immortal Slowseal felt misery in his heart.

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Chapter 22 – Outlander Demons

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 22 – Outlander Demons

At the very peak of a desolate mountain. A gray-robed man was seated here in the lotus position. He had been seated here for more than a hundred thousand years, ignoring the howling of the wind and the beating of the rain.

“In the end, this world is simply too small.” The gray-robed man raised his head to stare into the skies. “I need to do the same thing the other major powers did; leave this world, fight my way through the endless demons of the outlands, and then enter the wider world beyond. According to what the legendary Prophets said, the world beyond ours is vast and filled with countless cultivators. It is a world trillions of times greater than ours.”

“That place is the place I should be in!” A look of desire was in the gray-robed man’s eyes. Leaving this world and entering the outlands carried a high risk of death, but generations of Daolords continued to do just that. In the end, this world was simply too small, even smaller than the Three Realms. For figures as powerful as Daolords, spending a few dozen chaos cycles in such a small place left them with little to no interest in it at all. They wanted to explore the wider, more exciting world outside, especially after they had learned from the Prophets who had descended as to just how amazing that world was.

“But I’m not quite there yet. I should first become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Then, I might perhaps be able to leave.” The gray-robed man nodded slowly.

Suddenly…

Bang! The gray-robed man suddenly turned his head to stare in a certain direction. He frowned. “Why is my disciple suddenly asking for rescue via his message-talisman?”

He truly was puzzled. This world was fairly small, and all the Daolords within it knew each other. As a result, even if they chose to punish his disciple for some reason they would first give him, Daolord Feng Xian, a heads up. This particular disciple, Slowseal, was very attentive and obedient. As a result, Daolord Feng Xian liked him very much. In addition, Slowseal had no chance of becoming a Samsara Daolord, nor did he ever go out adventuring. That was why this didn’t make sense.

He wasn’t out adventuring and Daolords wouldn’t attack him. Why then was he begging for aid?

Swoosh! Although quite puzzled, Daolord Feng Xian immediately flew into the skies towards the direction the plea had come from.

……

A courtyard within the Hiddensea Palace.

Ji Ning, Su Youji, and the Ninedust Sectlord were seated here casually, chatting and drinking wine. Skywind and the Dragonwing Governor stood next to them, while Palace Mistress Hiddensea hurriedly attended to their every need, pouring wine and delivering platters of fruit. As for Immortal Slowseal, he watched from a distance, his heart filled with terror and unease.

A short while later…

Whoosh. A figure suddenly descended from the skies.

“Master.” Immortal Slowseal raised his head, a look of delight on his face.

“There he is.” Ning, the Ninedust Sectlord, and Su Youji all turned their heads to stare at the gray-robed man descending from the skies. The man’s gaze instantly fell upon Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Eh?” The gray-robed man’s face changed. He was a Daolord of the Third Step; there was no way those three Daolords could mask their auras in front of him.

“Who are you?” the gray-robed man roared. He didn’t care about Su Youji, but Ning’s aura was that of a Daolord of the Third Step. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, his aura was even more powerful and terrifying than that of a Daolord of the Fourth Step!

“I’ve never met you three before. You shouldn’t be from our world.” The gray-robed man had an ugly look on his face as he roared angrily, “Are you outlander demons?!”

“Outlander demons?” The Dragonwing Governor and Skywind all stared at Ning’s group, stunned.

Outlander demons… here in this world, those things were creatures of nightmares! Once outlander demons appeared, everyone would pay any price necessary to wipe them out – this was a shared acknowledgement amongst all cultivators in this world! Skywind and the Dragonwing Governor had heard stories of outlander demons since they were young; they knew that every appearance of an outlander demon represented a calamity descending upon their world.

“Impossible. There’s no way my master could be an outlander demon.” Skywind couldn’t, wouldn’t, believe it.

“Outlander demons?” Ning’s group of three exchanged glances. This world was indeed filled with many flaming creatures who were known as outlander demons. They were incredibly powerful creatures, and some of them dared to enter this world. Although they would be suppressed by the might of this planet, ensuring that their power dropped dramatically, the ones who did dare to enter here were always amongst the most supreme of the flaming creatures and were at least at Ji Ning’s level. Some were even stronger!

But of course, upon entering this planet and being weakened by it they would become far weaker than Ning or the Ninedust Sectlord.

The gray-robed man immediately sent a message back to the sacred grounds. “Three strange figures have appeared, and their auras are at the Daolord level. One has an aura even stronger than that of a Daolord of the Fourth Step. I suspect he is a transformed demon from the outlands.”

……

A beautiful underground palace located roughly 190 million kilometers benearth the ground. One of Daolord Feng Xian’s avatars was located here, and it immediately sent out the word.

“Three Daolords? One has an aura even greater than that of a Daolord of the Fourth Step?”

Within an ancient, still room. A white-robed elder was seated in the lotus position here, and by his side was a violet-robed man who was also seated in the lotus position. The walls around them were filled with countless ancient runes.

“They should be the two Prophets and their servant,” the white-robed elder said. “Inkmind, go and pay a visit to those two Prophets.”

“Acknowledged,” the violet-robed Daolord Inkmind said respectfully

Ning’s group was behaving with caution, but the ‘sacred grounds’ which had unified this planet were similarly cautious. The wealth which had been built up in the sacred grounds over the course of countless years was more than enough to stir Prophets with greed! That was exactly what had happened last time, and a disaster had befallen the world as a result. As a result, the sacred grounds behaved very cautiously. At first, they had been able to track Ning’s descent through the nine barriers around their world, but they were unable to track them afterwards.

They could’ve forcibly swept the world through their godsense, but they wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble. They chose to wait and see what the two Prophets would do first, leaving the initiative to them. Given how powerful the Prophets were, it was impossible for them to remain completely hidden within this world.

“You should know exactly how you should deal with the Prophets,” the white-robed elder said. “We naturally wish to act in a friendly manner, but if they leave us no choice then we can choose to battle them and wipe them out.”

“Understood,” Daolord Inkmind said respectfully. Last time, they were only forced to use a world-destroying measure to kill the Prophet because they had been caught off-guard. As a result, virtually all living creatures on the surface of the world had been wiped out as well. Fortunately, the ‘sacred grounds’ still held living beings within it, and over the course of countless years they slowly propagated to the point of allowing the world to flourish once more. This time, if they felt that the Prophets were likely to cause trouble they would choose to immediately kill them!

Whoosh. Daolord Inkmind departed.

“We’ve never experienced two Prophets descending together. I hope things can be resolved peacefully,” the white-robed elder murmured softly in his room.

……

The atmosphere in the courtyard was very tense and heavy. Daolord Feng Xian stared unblinkingly at Ning’s group, certain that they were outlander demons. The only people who came from the outlands were either demons or Prophets. Prophets? From the day this entire planet was created til now, there had only been three times that Prophets had descended. The chances of this happening were incredibly low. Although outlander demons were also fairly rare, they were far more common by comparison.

“There’s no way Master and the others are outlander demons.” The nearby Skywind continued to refuse to believe it.

Swoosh! Just two seconds after the two sides first began to face off, a golden vessel suddenly appeared in the skies.

“They came.” Daolord Feng Xian revealed a look of delight when he saw that flying vessel. The sacred grounds had sent him reinforcements. He truly hadn’t been certain of victory if he had to face this alone.

“They are incredibly fast. That ship moved at roughly a hundred times the speed of light.” Ning and the others raised their heads, watching the flying vessel approach them.

A violet-robed man walked out of the flying vessel, a smile on his face as he descended towards the courtyard.

“Brother Inkmind?” Daolord Feng Xian revealed a puzzled look. Daolord Inkmind had a fairly special position in the sacred grounds, because he was the retainer of their most important leader, the ‘Grand Elder’. However, Inkmind himself was merely a Daolord of the Second Step; he was even weaker than Feng Xian. If even Feng Xian didn’t feel confident in being able to deal with these outlander demons, what good would Inkmind be?

After Daolord Inkmind descended, he turned his gaze towards Ning’s group of three. He had already seen the images of them piercing through the nine barriers and descend to their planet, and so he was able to recognize them at a glance.

“I am Inkmind. Greetings, Prophets.” Daolord Inkmind bowed. “When the two of you passed through the nine celestial barriers, those of us in the sacred grounds immediately realized that you had arrived.”

“Prophets?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord traded glances. So they had already been discovered when piercing through those nine barriers of mist? But they hadn’t noticed anything at all! Still, it made sense; those nine barriers did indeed seem to have been artificially created by a major power.

“They are Prophets?” Daolord Feng Xian revealed a stunned look.

“Yes. To be precise, these two are Prophets.” Daolord Inkmind nodded as he pointed towards Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord. “I’ve come on the orders of the Grand Elder. There’s no mistaking it; these two are Prophets. Prophets, would you be willing to share my ship and journey to the sacred grounds? I trust many of your questions will be resolved once you do.”

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Chapter 23 – Sacred Grounds

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 23 – Sacred Grounds

“Prophets?” The Dragonwing Governor, Palace Mistress Hiddensea, and Immortal Slowseal were all puzzled.

“Prophets?” Skywind looked at his master, Ji Ning, in confusion as well.

None of them had ever heard of the term ‘Prophet’ before.

“Gentlemen?” Daolord Inkmind looked towards Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord.

The two exchanged a glance, then chuckled. The Ninedust Sectlord said, “Let’s go take a look. I want to see what the so-called ‘sacred grounds’ of this planet look like.”

“Youji, you can dispel your secret art now,” Ning instructed.

“Understood.” Su Youji nodded obediently, then released a strange rainbow light from her eyes as she glanced at the Dragonwing Governor. The latter felt dizzy for a moment, but when he regained his clarity of mind he quickly realized that he had spent the past period of time under the dazzlingly beautiful red-robed woman’s spell. Although she had already dispelled it, he still couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of veneration and desire towards her. He wanted to swear to forever server her, but his rational mind told him to stay calm.

“Skywind, follow me.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both walked towards the golden flying vessel.

“Yes, Master.” Skywind and Su Youji both followed the two ‘Prophets’ as they entered the flying vessel.

Whoosh. Daolord Inkmind took control of the vessel, and the group of five quickly disappeared into the distant horizons.

Daolord Feng Xian watched as they left, a frown on his face. “Two Prophets have descended. If they truly are Prophets… I wonder if this will be a blessing or a disaster.”

As for the Dragonwing Governor, he raised his head to stare into the skies. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t wipe out Su Youji’s image from his heart.

……

Daolord Inkmind led them to a wooden house guarded over by a Daolord. A miniature teleportation array was set up within the wooden house, and it sent them directly into the depths of the earth.

190 million kilometers underground. Whoosh. Ning’s group of five suddenly appeared out of nowhere within an enormous plaza that was studded with black gemstones.

“This is a palace of utterly enormous size, especially given that its underground. Judging from the power of the formations protecting it… someone truly impressive must have set this place up.” Ning let out an amazed sigh. He saw endless ripples of terrifying power radiate out from the vast palace, with countless ancient seals and barriers active.

“This is our sacred underground palace which was created by the most powerful of the Prophets, our ‘sacred ancestor’.” Daolord Inkmind’s eyes flashed with pride. “When the Sacred Ancestor descended upon our world, he guided us, taught us, and eventually completed his Daomerge here in our world, gaining eternity for himself. It was all thanks to him that we have had the chance to flourish.”

“An Eternal Emperor?” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were surprised. Even young master Skywind, who was following after them obediently, was secretly surprised. He had earned Ning’s legacy and so he knew what the various levels of cultivation were. He knew that after the World level the next level was that of the Samsara Daolords, where each step represented walking a fine line between life and death. Above them was the level of Daomerged Eternal Emperors! According to what Ning’s legacy had taught him, less than one in a hundred thousand ordinary Daolords would gain eternity and become Eternal Emperors. Their ‘Sacred Ancestor’ was actually one of them?

“Fellow Daoist Inkmind, tell me more. What are Prophets and who was this Sacred Ancestor?” Ning asked.

“Very well.” Daolord Inkmind nodded. “Long, long ago, living beings arose on our planet but knew nothing of cultivation. As a result, they lived brutish, barbaric lives. Every so often, outlander demons would descend upon the world, bringing death and despair to countless living beings. Everyone lived short, dangerous lives, with many being forced to hide deep underground in order to stay alive. But one day, the first Prophet descended from the outlands into our planet. His heart was filled with pity towards all living beings, and so he taught us cultivation techniques, allowing us to embark upon the path of cultivation. Only then did an era of cultivation arise within our planet, allowing our people to finally have the power to fight back against the outlander demons.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord immediately understood. This person who had descended upon this world from the ‘outlands’ was most likely a cultivator of the Endless Territories who had come here, just as they had.

“After a very long period of time passed, the second Prophet descended upon our world. He was the one we call our ‘Sacred Ancestor’! He created the nine celestial barriers, making it difficult for outlander demons to descend upon our world. Eventually, he succeeded in his Daomerge and then established this underground palace, giving us a place for us to pass legacies down from generation to generation and ensuring that we would be able to grow and thrive even more.”

“The third Prophet to descend brought a great disaster upon us. He forced us to fight him, and although we were able to kill him, we suffered horrendous casualties.”

“Prophets.” Daolord Inkmind looked at Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord. “I’m telling you nothing but the truth. We are filled with gratitude towards the Prophets of the outlands. Without you Prophets having descended upon our world, we would still be living brutish and miserable lives.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord exchanged a glance. Both could tell that part of the reason this person had so ‘honestly’ told them the true history of their world was to display friendship, but the other part was to give them a veiled warning: We don’t want to fight you, but if you force us to then we’ll be able to wipe you out.

“I imagine the first three Prophets had their own reasons for descending upon this planet,” the Ninedust Sectlord said in a low voice. Although both him and Ning were quite cautious, neither of them were afraid. Both had valuable treasures they could use, and it wouldn’t be easy for the locals of this planet to deal with them.

“Perhaps the ancestral lands?” Daolord Inkmind suddenly said. The faces of both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord changed.

“So you really are here to visit the ancestral lands.” Daolord Inkmind waved his hand, causing a layer of blurry light to surround Skywind and Su Youji, blocking them off.

“There are some secrets which I cannot let them know,” Daolord Inkmind said. “Please do not be offended.”

“Mm.” Ning glanced at Skywind and Su Youji, then nodded. The barrier of Immortal energy was preventing the two from seeing what was happening on the other side, but they just waited there obediently instead of disrupting the power around them.

“The various generations of Prophets all came for the sake of the ancestral lands.” Daolord Inkmind waved his hand, producing a snow-white scroll. “Before the Sacred Ancestor departed, he left this with us. He instructed us to hand it over to any future Prophets and to let them read what he wrote within it, and that it would explain everything.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord immediately turned to stare at the white scroll. The scroll emanated an aura which was very weak but which had the essence of eternity within it. Time no longer held any sway over this scroll at all; without any question, this came from an Eternal Emperor.

“Please take a look for yourselves.” Daolord Inkmind waved his hand, sending the white scroll before the two of them. It automatically unfurled on its own. The scroll was filled with many words, and both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stared intently at them.

The Sacred Ancestor was an Ancient cultivator known as Emperor Vulturas. He had also been teleported into the endless stone passageways by that spacetime array. Pursued by countless flaming creatures, he had fled until he finally reached this planet. This planet, however, was not the actual site of the ancestral lands! It did, however, contain a treasure that negated the powers of those flaming cratures, a treasure known as the ‘worldsplitter’ stone. The worldsplitter stone could be carried or affixed to the surface of a magic treasure, and it could be used to permanently kill those flaming creatures!

The reason why this planet was resistant to the flaming beasts was the worldsplitter stone, making it the most important treasure the planet had to offer.

“So it was Patriarch Vulturas!” The Ninedust Sectlord revealed an excited look.

“Emperor Vulturas?” Ning’s face changed as well.

In the Endless Territories, the three figures who stood at the very apex of power were without a doubt the three Hegemons! Below them, however, was a host of incredibly powerful Eternal Emperors. They might not be a match for the Hegemons in power, but some were strong enough that not even the Hegemons could slay them! Everyone had their own ‘Dao’, after all. By relying on the area they were strong in, they were able to escape even from Hegemons. But of course, if they were somehow restrained there would be nothing they could do. They were some of the most truly dominating figures of the Endless Territories, and they included the lords of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance! The Aeonians, the Aberrants, the Ancient cultivators… they all held similarly powerful figures within their ranks, and there were some who had gone into seclusion who were even more powerful.

Emperor Vulturas was on the same level as the lords of the eight Sacred Cites. Amongst the Ancient cultivators, he was a person who was viewed as being second only to the Hegemons in power! According to the stories, he was a merciful and kind man. A person could pretend to be kind and virtuous for a period of time, but Emperor Vulturas had been alive for as long as the Brightshore Kingdom had been in existence. There was no way someone could feign virtue for that long. As a result, Emperor Vulturas had an extremely good reputation and was idolized by countless cultivators.

“I never would’ve imagined that even in a strange place like this, he would do so many things for the local cultivators.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in praise.

“I never would’ve thought that Patriarch Vulturas would’ve come to this place, and that he actually achieved his Daomerge here. How ancient is this ancestral site? Can it be the legendary…” When the Ninedust Sectlord thought of one of the Ancient legends, his eyes instantly lit up. He immediately asked, “So you are saying that by retrieving a worldsplitter stone, we’ll be able to leave this world, right? Quick, tell me where they are!”

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Chapter 24 – Underground Tombstones

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 24 – Underground Tombstones

“Worldsplitter stones are born from the very heart of this planet. They naturally are even deeper underground than we currently are.” Daolord Inkmind looked towards Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord. “Do the two of you wish to go now? Would you like to take a stroll around our underground palace and rest a bit first?”

“No need.” The Ninedust Sectlord rejected the offer.

This was the place where Patriarch Vulturas completed his Daomerge. However, the Ninedust Sectlord was an Ancient cultivator and thus knew very well that Patriarch Vulturas had seventy-two Ancient cultivator disciples. Although he was a very kind and beneficent man, he never casually transmitted the most powerful techniques he had developed to outsiders. At most, he’d transmit some of the second-class techniques he possessed… but the Ninedust Sectlord truly had no interest in those.

Just judging from the fact that Patriarch Vulturas completed his Daomerge here but was merely the second Prophet was proof that this ‘ancestral site’ was undoubtedly a terrifyingly ancient place. Most likely, it had something to do with some of the oldest legends of the Ancient cultivators. He could hardly wait to find out.

“Let’s just go down and take a look,” Ning said. He could tell that this so-called ‘sacred ground’ was still rather wary of them. Given the situation, it was best to keep a bit of distance between them.

“If that is your decision, then I’ll lead the two of you down.” Daolord Inkmind waved his hand, dispelling his Immortal energy and allowing Su Youji and Skywind to see and hear what was going on once more.

“Skywind.” Daolord Inkmind’s gaze turned towards young master Skywind. “Since you are the Prophet’s disciple, you are naturally permitted to go deeper underground as well. However, you had best not divulge anything you see or hear.”

“Understood,” young master Skywind said hurriedly. His heart was blazing with eagerness when he thought of how he was about to learn some of the deepest secrets of his homeland.

“Let’s go!” Daolord Inkmind led the way, with Ning and the others following from behind.

Whoosh. They moved through the twists and turns of an ordinary-looking corridor within the palace, quickly arriving at an unfathomably deep downwards tunnel.

They immediately flew down towards the tunnel, with Ning bringing Skywind with him. Skywind certainly didn’t have the ability necessary to oppose the Emperor’s edict! They flew deeper and deeper into the abyss, flying more than three hundred million kilometers before finally landing.

“So beautiful.”

“Simply marvelous.” Ning and the others all stared at what appeared before them. This enormous cavern was filled with all types of colors and sights. The stone walls gleamed like gemstones, with some being fiery red and others being jade green or deep blue. They all emanated faint ripples of power, and as the different types of ripples coursed through them they all felt their souls at peace.

“We’ll be there in a short while.” Daolord Inkmind guided the way deftly up ahead, moving tens of thousands of kilometers with each step.

A short while later…

“What’s this?” Ning, the Ninedust Sectlord, Su Youji, and Skywind all stared at what was before them in astonishment. This enormous cavern was filled with tombstones! There had to be more than ten thousand of the things, and they stretched off into the distance.

Daolord Inkmind pointed up ahead towards the end of the cave, an area which was filled with blurry streaks of rainbow light. Vague humanoid silhouettes could be seen there. “There are flame demons outside. Countless earth devils live at the core of our planet as well, and they are just as powerful as the flame demons. However, because their natural habitat is the center of our planet, they aren’t weakened by our formations in the slightest. If you want worldsplitter stones, you’ll have to find them yourselves. You’ll have to slaughter a path through the earth devils, find the worldsplitter stones, then escape safely. If you aren’t able to escape, then we’ll erect a tomb for you here.”

Daolord Inkmind pointed towards the many tombstones, then said in a soft voice, “These belong to many of our ancestors and built up over the course of countless years. Many came here seeking worldsplitter stones but ended up perishing. We weren’t even able to recover their bodies, so we left behind tombstones for them here.”

“You spoke of earth devils?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both frowned.

“How tough are they?” Ning asked.

“Tougher and stronger than the flame demons from the outlands,” Daolord Inkmind said. “Based on the experience we accumulated… although they are less nimble and agile than the flame demons, they are even tougher to deal with. Amongst my people, only Daolods of the Fourth Step are permitted to enter the depths of this abyss in search of worldsplitter stones.”

“You saw it yourselves.” Daolord Inkmind gestured at the tombstones. “All these tombs? They each represent the death of a Daolord of the Fourth Step.”

“All of them were Daolords of the Fourth Step?” Skywind, at the very back of the procession, couldn’t help but feel shocked. Daolords of the Fourth Step were incredibly rare; how was it that his homeland had produced over ten thousand of time?

“How many Daolords has this world given birth to?” Ning was astonished. “How could so many of them have died here?”

It must be remembered that the Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom had produced less than a hundred thousand Daolords in total despite the passage of so many years.

The nearby Ninedust Sectlord said calmly, “Darknorth, no need to be so surprised. Didn’t you hear what he said? Patriarch Vulturas himself completed his Daomerge here, but he was merely the second Prophet to descend! Patriarch Vulturas completed his Daomerge countless ages ago, which meant that this planet has existed for far longer than the Aeonian race or even the Brightshore Kingdom.”

“Honestly, we don’t have that many Daolords. In each era, we only see twenty or thirty of them,” Daolord Inkmind said. “The total number is high only because of how long we’ve been around for.”

Ning was secretly amazed. The Ancient cultivators truly were the most ancient civilization of them all. The history of this ancestral site ran farther back than the history of the entire Brightshore Kingdom.

“In the end, this planet of ours is too small. The various generations of Daolords all dream of visiting the outside world, and so they’ve all delved into the underground to seek the worldsplitter stones. When each finds one, that person is able to leave this world and visit the vaster world outside.” Daolord Inkmind said softly, “Even though the underground is dangerous and many have perished, successive generations of Daolords have continued on their quest.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both nodded slightly. All Daolords had incredibly determined Dao-hearts. This was true even for vile and demonic figures. If they wished to leave this place, no level of danger could stop them.

It must be understood that in the Endless Territories, the Verge-level Daolords would often venture into the Terror Starsea. Daolord Solesky had entered the incredibly dangerous Waveshift World, which had been left behind by Eternal Emperor Waveshift, the number one expert of the Dao of Numerancy. You could imagine how deadly it was!

“Given how much time has passed… although it might be difficult for this world of yours to give birth to an Eternal Emperor, I imagine it must’ve given birth to many Daolords of incredible power. I imagine some of them must have been able to acquire worldsplitter stones. Why didn’t they take out more? That way, there would be no need for the others to die.”

“Yes, we have indeed given birth to a number of incredible Daolords.” Daolord Inkmind said coldly, “However… the outlands are filled with endless flame demons and many other unknown creatures. If you don’t have the courage to venture underground to find worldsplitter stones for yourself, what right do you have to go to the outlands?”

“This is a tradition of my homeland. If you wish to leave, you must find a worldsplitter stone for yourself first. Only then can you leave.” Daolord Inkmind said calmly, “Over the course of so many years, more than ten thousand Daolords have successfully acquired worldsplitter stones and left for the outlands.”

The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly said, “Have any of the Daolords who left ever been able to return?”

Daolord Inkmind shook his head. “None!”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord felt stunned. Not a single one out of all those Daolords returned?

“Perhaps they were unable to find a way to contact us after they reached the vaster world outside,” Daolord Inkmind said. Ning and the others nodded. This was indeed quite possible.

They might’ve died, but they also might’ve survived but left this spacetime continuum. For example, in this region Ning and the others were unable to maintain contact with the outside world. Those who successfully left this region and entered the Endless territories. would probably also be unable to maintain contact with the ‘sacred grounds’ here.

“Even though the outlands might hold great danger, our Daolords have always wanted to give it a try. All of us are filled with curiosity towards the outlands,” Daolord Inkmind said. “Even if they aren’t able to come back, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Mm.” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed towards the rainbow-lit region at the end of the cavern. “So if we want worldsplitter stones, we should just charge straight inside?”

“No.” Daolord Inkmind shook his head as he stared at the rainbow region and the humanoid silhouettes within it. “I imagine you can see those earth devils yourself. Even from here, I can see more than three thousand of them! Based on the accumulated experiences of our Daolords, the earth devils like to drift about. Sometimes, the number of earth devils in a region will be lower than usual. If you can see less than five hundred from this position, that means they are now fairly dispersed. But of course, even then you’ll definitely encounter more than five hundred when you venture forth, as I’m merely talking about the ones visible from here.”

“If you can see less than a hundred, things will be even safer,” Daolord Inkmind said.

“A hundred? And usually how long does that take?” The Ninedust Sectlord was rather impatient.

“Generally speaking, this will happen once per chaos cycle,” Daolord Inkmind said.

“That’s far too long.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “Lower than five hundred?”

“Roughly once every million years,” Daolord Inkmind said.

“Still too long.” The Ninedust Sectlord truly wanted to charge in right away.

“If you only want to wait for lower than a thousand, ten thousand years should be enough,” Daolord Inkmind said. “But a thousand… that’ll be extremely dangerous. Only the most powerful of Daolords would have a chance of success.”

The Ninedust Sectlord turned to look at Ning. “Ten thousand years. That’s doable. What do you think, Darknorth?”

Ning nodded. “I don’t want to wait too long either. When we can see less than a thousand earth devils, we’ll enter.” Ning had only been training for a short period of time, while the Ninedust Sectlord was filled with eagerness towards the legacy of the Ancient cultivators. As a result, neither wished to tarry here too long. They had spent months surviving in the ‘outlands’; they were quite confident in their abilities to acquire the worldsplitter stones.

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Chapter 25 –Skywind’s Life

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 25 –Skywind’s Life

“The sacred grounds will send people to keep an eye on this place,” Daolord Inkmind said with a smile. “You can come with me to visit the underground palace, or you can wander around our planet and explore it a bit.”

“No need.” The Ninedust Sectlord said calmly, “I’ll wait right here.”

“Yes, there’s no need to trouble anyone. The two of us can simply wait here,” Ji Ning agreed. He then looked at the nearby Skywind. “Skywind, you can go out and engage in some exploration and adventuring. If you have any questions regarding the Dao of the Sword, you may come speak to me about them. After I acquire the worldsplitter stone, I’ll leave this planet. By then, you’ll have to rely on yourself.”

Skywind said respectfully, “Yes, Master. In truth, in the last few days since you transmitted the Dao of the Sword to me, I’ve gained many insights and am prepared to enter the World level already.”

“Skywind.” The nearby Daolord Inkmind smiled. “The sacred grounds have quite a few World-level cultivators. They are the disciples and servants of the various Daolords here. After you make your breakthrough, you can spar with them. You can also go and study from the various Sword Daos which the successive generations of our Daolords have left behind.”

“Understood.” Skywind revealed an excited look.

The nearby Ning nodded in approval. “Disciple, this is a wonderful opportunity for you. Don’t let it slip past you.”

……

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord spent the rest of their time quietly meditating underground, waiting for the right moment. The Ninedust Sectlord simply sat on the ground, while Ning used his temporal acceleration cottage. The sectlord was at a bottleneck and needed an epiphany to break through. Ning, in contrast, had just recently become a Daolord of the Second Step. He needed to seize every moment.

That very year, Skywind broke through to become a World-level cultivator. In the past, he had never had a good teacher; he had relied completely on his own natural talents to cultivate himself. Things were different, now that he had Ning’s guidance. Ning was a perfect teacher for him, with the five sword-arts Ning having transmitted being perfect guides as to five different directions the Dao of the Sword could be developed towards.

Every ten years or so, he would come and ask Ning a question. He would also often leave the underground region to go to the sacred grounds and spar against the other World-level cultivators there.

“He’s improving at a terrifying rate.”

“Who the hell is this kid? I’ve never seen him here before.”

“His name is Skywind. I hear that he’s the disciple of one of the Prophets.”

“A Prophet? No wonder he’s this impressive. I heard that all Prophets are incredibly strong.”

“His Sword Dao is simply incredible. I’ve never seen any World-level cultivator improve this quickly.”

Thanks to Ning’s temporal acceleration treasure, Skywind truly did improve remarkably fast. Three thousand years later, he had become a master-class World God… but of course, he had actually spent nearly three hundred thousand accelerated years within the spacetime treasure.

“No wonder the Prophet took a liking to him.” The Grand Elder’s avatar stared at Skywind from afar as the latter sparred with another opponent. The avatar nodded. “His talent for sword-arts truly is impressive. Inkmind, on my orders all of the Sword Dao legacies within the sacred grounds are to be made available to him.”

“Ah?! B-but Grand Elder…” Daolord Inkmind was rather startled.

“Skywind is a member of our race,” the Grand Elder said with a smile. And so, Skywind began to gain access to some peerless sword-arts legacies.

……

“Master, your disciple has some questions to ask.” Every ten years, Skywind would come and ask Ning some questions. Each time, Ning would guide him through his queries and even personally spar with him to help him out.

Strictly speaking, Ning had spent far more time with Skywind than his other two disciples, Bluecliff Xiaoyu and Green Bamboo. Although Ning’s Primaltwin and Xiaoyu often met in the Three Realms, Xiaoyu was different from Ning; she wasn’t the type of person who was completely enthralled by cultivation. In contrast, Green Bamboo and Skywind were true cultivators.

“Master, your disciple has studied many of the sword-arts of the sacred grounds. Each time, you were able to easily point out the various flaws within them.” Skywind was puzzled. “Should I stop learning these sword-arts?”

“The five sword-arts I taught you represent five different avenues for developing the Dao of the Sword. All the sword-arts in the universe are unable to escape the reach of these five avenues.” Ning chuckled. “The more you study, the more it will benefit your mastery over my five sword-arts.”

“Ah.” Skywind was enlightened. In truth, the more sword-arts he studied, the more amazed he was by his master. Over the course of countless chaos cycles, the sacred grounds had produced quite a few Daolords of the Dao of the Sword. However, whenever he compared their sword-arts to his master’s sword-arts, especially his master’s Omega Sword Dao sword-intent, he always felt that they were much inferior.

Skywind was beginning to understand just how terrifyingly powerful his master truly was! The sacred grounds had built up an enormous collection of sword-arts, yet not a single one of them appeared to be a match for his master’s.

“You have spent five thousand years under my tutelage, and your sword-arts are comparable to that of supreme World Gods. Further instruction will be of limited use to you. What you should do is go meditate and find a Dao which suits you the most, a Dao which you shall use to become a Samsara Daolord,” Ning said. “You can leave now. Go. Explore. Adventure. Here in the sacred grounds, you’ll never have a chance to truly temper yourself.”

“Understood,” Skywind said respectfully.

……

He left the underground world, returning to the beautiful world outside. He resolved the enmities and feuds he had, then went out to adventure through the world!

Skywind slowly began to grow and mature. After two thousand years of adventuring, he possessed the power of a transcendent World God even though he didn’t have any particularly powerful treasures! By now, he was ready to break through to become a Samsara Daolord whenever he wished. However, he did not break through because he kept on having the feeling that the Daos he had developed were not what he was truly searching for.

His master’s five sword-arts all surpassed everything he was able to come up with. As for the Omega Sword Dao’s sword-intent, it was unimaginably superior. And so Skywind continued to search… search for a Dao he would be satisfied with.

The sacred grounds kept a quiet watch on him as well. When they realized he already had the power to become a Samsara Daolord whenever he wished, they showed themselves and began to help him when necessary. Skywind’s status in the sacred grounds quickly skyrocketed, and he was viewed as Samsara Daolords were!

“That’s Skywind.”

“That’s World God Skywind. He’s already come back.”

When Skywind returned to the sacred grounds, he attracted the attention of many of the Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, and World-level cultivators here. The news that he was capable of becoming a Samsara Daolord whenever he wished had long ago been leaked to everyone; this was to ensure that no one would grumble or complain about the special status he had within the sacred grounds. In this planet, the sacred grounds held an overwhelming level of power over the rest of the world. There was no fear that anyone might attempt to harm him out of jealousy.

“Master, World God Skywind is nothing more than a World God. Why is everyone so excited?” A violet-robed woman quietly asked her master.

This woman was Violetlotus. Fairy Violetlotus was an extremely capable woman, and she was capable of doing anything to achieve her goals. After she learned of the existence of the ‘sacred grounds’, she came up with a way to become a member of a Samsara Daolord’s school! Later on, she managed to acquire one of just ten slots for cultivators to be sent into the sacred grounds and become one of them. She had never expected that Skywind had already become a World God.

“Ah, disciple… you don’t know this yet, but Skywind is no ordinary World God. The sacred grounds have many World Gods, but Skywind is the disciple of a Prophet. He is also incredibly powerful, and he has reached such heights in the Dao of the Sword that he can become a Samsara Daolord whenever he chooses.” Her master’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Do you know? The speed at which he became a World God and reached such heights of power is only equaled by some of the most legendary Daolords in the history of the sacred grounds. Given his current level of insight and the fact that he still refuses to make a breakthrough, he clearly wishes to develop an even more powerful Dao for himself and become an absolutely dominating Daolord. I’d be more than willing to become the retainer to a figure like him.”

Fairy Violetlotus was speechless. A complex look appeared on her face as she stared at the distant Skywind.

In truth, Skywind had seen her as well, but he had only given her a glance and then departed.

“Skywind…” Fairy Violetlotus watched silently as he left. Although she had repeatedly caused trouble for him and had actually tortured him, she also felt certain strange, mixed emotions towards him. If it wasn’t for that, she would’ve killed him long ago when he was very weak. The reason why she had tortured him but not killed him was due to the contradictory feelings she had in her heart.

“He just glanced at me, then ignored me? I wouldn’t have cared if he came over to take revenge on me and kill me, but he didn’t even glance a second time at me.” Fairy Violetlotus continued to stare silently, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.

……

Ning was very pleased that his disciple Skywind was searching for a suitable Dao for himself. However, he wasn’t really able to help out; it would all be up to Skywind himself.

He himself had only been able to join together his five Supreme Daos when he was within the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe. Finally, after reviving his parents in the Three Realms, his heart became peaceful and he was able to break through to master his Omega Sword Dao.

This disciple of his would have his own path to tread. Even if his disciple also embarked on the path of the Omega Sword Dao, every single cultivator’s Dao would be different and unique in certain ways. There was no way any Samsara Daolord could completely imitate or train in the Dao of another; only the Dao they themselves created would be ideal for them.

“Darknorth, our chance has come,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“Yes.” Ning rose to his feet and walked out of his temporal acceleration cottage. They had waited here for twelve thousand years; it was now finally time for them to go retrieve the worldsplitter stones.

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Chapter 26 –The Battle in the World’s Core

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 26 –The Battle in the World’s Core

“Prophet.” Daolord Inkmind’s true body had been here this entire time, attending to their needs. Upon seeing Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord halt their cultivation, he hurriedly spoke out to them.

“Fellow Daoist Inkmind.” Ning smiled. “The time has now come for me and Ninedust to enter this place and search for worldsplitter stones. Sorry for making you go to the trouble of watching over us.”

“It was no trouble at all. Are the two of you truly unwilling to wait any longer?” Daolord Inkmind couldn’t help but try to dissuade them: “If you want a few hundred thousand years, the density of the earth devils might drop by a half, and the danger will drop to roughly 10% of what it is right now…”

The Ninedust Sectlord said calmly, “No need to wait any further. Darknorth, let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

The Ninedust Sectlord and Ning simultaneously transformed into streaks of light, flying towards that enormous rainbow-lit region that led deeper underground. There were a number of those humanoid figures flying through that rainbow region. Each of them had tall, muscular bodies, wore black armor, and had faces that were dark yellow in color. They looked like towering mountains, and they emanated an aura of the world’s ponderance. This was a type of strange creature that possessed the power of the vast earth itself.

They were different from the flame demons. The flame demons were more violent and had more powerful attacks, while the earth devils always stayed within their own domain without proactively leaving to launch attacks on the world at large. However, anyone who dared to trespass into their homeland would suffer their merciless reprisals.

“Eh?” As Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord flew into the home of the earth devils, the creatures suddenly turned alert. Moments ago, they had been quite relaxed; now, they all turned to glare towards the two intruders.

“Kill them!”

“Annihilate the intruders!”

Virtually all the earth devils in the area began to move in unison, transforming into streaks of light that shot towards the two of them.

“We can’t waste any time.. Let’s shake them off as soon as possible,” the Ninedust Sectlord suggested.

“Agreed.” As soon as the two entered, they had both sensed the dense and heavy earth energy which permeated this entire region and which applied enormous pressure to them. However, both were able to resist the pressure with ease! They also saw that there were many different stone passageways that led from this region to other places. The core of the world seemed almost like a spiderweb lattice of tunnels with countless short passageways that could be taken.

The passageways were so short that there was no way Ning could rely on his black vessel to flee. In this place, it wasn’t speed which mattered; it was agility! The countless short tunnels forced them to repeatedly change directions.

Boom! Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately unleashing his nine novessence arts and letting them crush outwards towards the encroaching earth devils.

“We Ancient cultivators also have certain secret arts of tremendous power, but the more powerful they are the harder it is to cultivate them.” The Ninedust Sectlord couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous when he saw Ning use the nine novessence arts. Both the Dao Alliance and the Ancient cultivators had many secret arts of incredible power. As for the terrifying secret arts Ning had acquired from the deceased Sword Hegemon, they were far more powerful than these nine novessence arts. However, the more powerful a secret art was, the higher its requirements were!

These secret arts would all require incredibly rare and valuable magic treasures which were almost never sold to outsiders. The bloodfruit which Ning had acquired was a good example; there was no way Skywood City would ever sell any time of sacred bloodfruit. After slaying Daolord Kongsan, Ning had become much wealthier than he had been… but alas, he hadn’t been able to use that wealth to purchase any of the rare treasures he needed to train in the Hegemon’s secret art.

Just gaining a basic level of skill in the Hegemon’s secret art required three exceedingly valuable treasures. To master it, twelve were needed. Thus far, Ning hadn’t found even one!

The same was true for the Ninedust Sectlord. Although he had been alive for far longer than Ning had and knew more secret arts, he hadn’t been able to master even one secret art of tremendous power.

In truth, Daolord Allgod’s nine novesence arts didn’t rely that much on rare treasures; Dao lightning and Dao water were fairly weak and cheap. The true ingenuity of the nine arts lay in the way Daolord Allgod had mixed them together in an alchemical fashion, allowing him to perfectly control the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water]. This was a type of secret art which possessed tremendous power while having fairly low material requirements… but actually training in it was incredibly difficult. Not only did it require one to be fairly proficient in those nine different types of Dao, it also required you to have reached the grandmaster level in alchemy.

“Break!” Ning manifested three heads and six arms, taking his six Northbow swords into his hands. He seemed to completely transform into a black hole, making it very difficult for the attacking earth devils to do anything to him.

Slash! Sword-light sliced through the chest of one of the earth devils. Moments later, the earth devil’s body suddenly exploded with a giant boom. The shattered bits of its body were quickly ground into dust by the power of the nine novessence arts.

“Darknorth, your sword-arts have actually improved.” The distant Ninedust Sectlord still had the presence of mind to jest with Ning. This was mainly because they had been through far more dangerous situations when they had been fighting against the countless flame demons in the outlands.

“Just a little bit,” Ning said. Ning had used his temporal acceleration treasure for the past twelve thousand years, which he had spent almost exclusively in cultivation. However, aside from the Blood Drop sword-intent which he had broken through in quite some time ago, his other four types of sword-intent hadn’t improved in the slightest. As a result, he wasn’t much stronger than he had been in the past, even though his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was now twice as powerful as before. If he wanted to improve overall, he would need for all five sword-intents to make breakthroughs, then merge together into his third-stage Omega Sword Dao.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The earth devils utilized heavy weapons like greataxes, warhammers, and heavy poles. They struck out with brutish power, and although Ning held the upper hand he still found each clash quite difficult to endure.

“Let’s run.”

“Agreed.”

After getting a basic understanding of how the earth devils fought, the two felt their hearts grow heavy. They were able to temporarily destroy the earth devils, but just like the flame demons they had unkillable forms! Fighting them head-on would severely slow down the two cultivators, and these creatures were even more dangerous than the flame demons when massed together. Fortunately, they were comparatively fewer in number.

Whoooosh. The two used agility techniques to flee while blocking, and they quickly darted through the countless web-like tunnels. Both of them were faster than the flame demons, and so they were significantly faster than the slower earth devils.

“Kill!” As they continued to flee, more earth devils were attracted by the sounds of combat and came charging straight towards them. Each time, the two cultivators had no choice but to end the battle as soon as possible as they delved deeper and deeper into the earth’s core.

The two were very experienced and very powerful, and they were working in concert. They were able to ‘wander’ through the underground lattice of tunnels for roughly an hour with ease.

“Over there.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord immediately saw the slick black stone that was hovering in the air off in the distance. It looked extremely smooth and glossy, and seemed to be filled with endless power, almost as though it held an entire massive world within it. Although this was the first time they had seen this stone, they immediately recognized it as a worldsplitter stone based on the descriptions Daolord Inkmind had given them.

“A worldsplitter stone.” The Ninedust Sectlord was closer to it, and so he immediately waved his arm to collect it. He then grinned at Ning. “I’ll hold onto this one for now. Let’s keep exploring until we find a second one.”

“Fine.” Ning didn’t really mind. The two had sworn lifeblood oaths long ago and thus both trusted each other quite a bit by now.

The worldsplitter stones had been birthed from the core of this planet. Although some could be found hovering around in outer regions like this place, most were located far deeper and closer to the heart of the world. Thus, the farther down they went the better their chances would be… but the more dangerous it would be as well, of course. It would also be a longer way back.

More time passed. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord continued to battle and charge their way closer and closer to the planet’s core.

“That’s…” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord’s faces both turned pale. Off in the distance, they saw streaks of light flying about happily. There were a total of four streaks, and they each possessed strange vitality and life energy. All four were of different colors, and their auras were completely different as well. However, they flew together in unison and ‘chased’ after each other.

“Four of the five types of Dragonfish Ki?” Ning immediately recognized recognized those four streaks of light. They were incredibly famous treasures that were absolutely priceless, far more valuable than Dao lightning or Dao water. They were incredibly rare and simply couldn’t be bought on any market. Even if a major power was lucky enough to encounter them, he’d generally only trade it for other treasures of similar value rather than sell them. A single stream of Dragonfish Ki would be worth roughly eighty million cubes of chaos nectar; these things were even more valuable than sacred bloodfruit! One could imagine how rare they were.

“Darknorth, I only need one of those four.” The Ninedust Sectlord was so excited his entire body was shaking. If he acquired the Dragonfish Ki, then even if he found nothing else from this ancestral site he would still be completely satisfied. “This thing is extremely important to me. Brother Darknorth, please assist me. I can promise that the other three will be yours.”

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Chapter 27 – The Core

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 27 – The Core

“Which one do you want?” Ji Ning asked.

“The water-attribute Dragonfish Ki.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. Although the two were working together, they were equal partners; the Ninedust Sectlord didn’t have the right to unilaterally choose which treasures he wanted. If Ning also deeply desired the water-attribute Dragonfish Ki, then it would end up going to whoever moved the fastest. The Ninedust Sectlord truly wasn’t confident in his chances, as the power of Ning’s nine novessence arts was truly great; if Ning was to apply all nine of them in chasing after treasures, his chances would probably be greater.

“To tell you the truth, I truly wish to acquire the water-attribute Dragonfish Ki as well.” Ning grinned when he saw the worried look on the Ninedust Sectlord’s face. “But… even if I did get it, it wouldn’t be of much use to me for now. Fine, fine; the water-attribute one is yours, but the other three are mine. I suppose I technically come out slightly ahead in this.”

“Thank you.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a sigh of relief. Sometimes, quantity wasn’t the most important thing when it came to procuring treasures, nor was the superficial ‘market price’. When you encountered a precious treasure that you were in desperate need of, you would easily be willing to pay five to ten times the ‘normal’ price! The real question was, how badly did you need it?

“Let’s move.”

“Don’t let the Dragonfish Ki escape.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord instantly began to make their moves.

The five types of Dragonfish Ki were aligned to the Five Elements, and four of those five types were before them – metal, wood, water, and fire. Ning’s greatest strength lay in his Sword Dao, with water and thunder in second position. Thus, Ning really did care more about the water-attribute Dragonfish Ki. However, even if he acquired it he would simply store it away for now, because he didn’t really need it for training in any secret arts at present. Perhaps in the future he would obtain a secret art which required such a treasure, but Ning’s focus was on the deceased Sword Hegemon’s secret art. That was a truly powerful secret art! It was quite unlikely that he’d be able to obtain anything more powerful than it.

Soon, the two of them fought through more than ten earth devils and acquired the four types of Dragonfish Ki.

“Hahaha!” The Ninedust Sectlord roared with laughter. “Finally, I’ll be able to make yet another breakthrough in my secret art. The water-attribute Dragonfish Ki… I once offered a bounty of three hundred million cubes of chaos nectar for it, but no one was willing to accept it. Daolord Curveclaw of the Aberrants actually offered it to me for one billion! I was so angry I really wanted to just kill him.”

“Treasures like this can only be hoped for, not counted on.” Ning smiled.

“Thank you, Darknorth. Haha, you know? I’m starting to take a liking to you.” The Ninedust Sectlord laughed merrily. “After we leave this ancestral site, if there’s anything you need me to do I’ll do it, so long as it isn’t anything suicidal.”

Ning immediately felt much more friendly towards the Ninedust Sectlord. Ninedust was the type of person who would do anything to achieve his goals, but he wasn’t truly an evil man. The Ninedust Sect’s evil reputation was primarily due to the evil deeds of the previous sectlord. The current Ninedust Sectlord was an Ancient cultivator and thus rather arrogant and aloof, and he was willing to do anything for the sake of his cultivation, but he would remember even the slightest of kindnesses or debts that he owed.

“If there’s anything you need me to do I’ll do it, so long as it isn’t suicidal.” This was quite a promise. The term ‘suicidal’ referred to something like Ning asking him to help Ning kill a Hegemon – that would be suicide! But if Ning said to him, “Come, let us venture into the Terror Starsea?” The Ninedust Sectlord would fearlessly accompany Ning into it, despite the many dangers involved.

……

As a result of this minor affair, both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord became much more well-disposed towards each other. This often happened when Daolords adventured together. The term ‘lifelong friend’ often came as a result of friendships being forged through shared adversity in life-and-death situations.

“Why haven’t we been able to find a second worldsplitter stone?”

“We’ve spent another full hour in here.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord continued to go deeper and deeper into the planet, and the countless passageways continuously twisted downwards.

Although they had taken many twists and turns, both of them knew exactly where they were. They knew that they were moving closer to the core of the planet. Surprisingly enough, they didn’t encounter all that many earth devils on the way over; in fact, the closer they were to the core, the fewer in number the devils seemed to become.

“A worldsplitter stone.” They saw a levitating worldsplitter stone off in the distance. Ning instantly revealed a look of delight. They were now very deep inside the planet, but there were no earth devils nearby.

Swoosh. Ning immediately flew over and reached out, grabbing the worldsplitter stone with his hands. Moments later, he stared in front of him in surprise. The Ninedust Sectlord was right behind him, and he also stared in disbelief.

Right in front of them was an enormous globe that was pitch-black in color which emanated minute ripples of power. Ning, however, would just barely sense that these ripples were so powerful as to cause their hearts to quaver. Them listening to these ripples was like a pair of ants listening to the heartbeat of an enormous dragon; the terror they felt was innate and heartfelt.

“This must be the core of the planet,” the Ninedust Sectlord said softly. “This is the core of this entire world. It gave birth to all the earth devils, and also to the worldsplitter stones.”

“And the Dragonfish Ki.” Ning pointed off into the distance. The Ninedust Sectlord followed Ning’s gaze, only to see that there were four types of infant Dragonfish Ki being nurtured upon the outermost surface of the world’s core.

“Let’s go,” Ning said softly.

“Agreed. This isn’t a place for us to do as we please.” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t have the slightest intention of trying to take away the core.

When adventuring, if you wanted to live a long life you had to know your limits. This planet was capable of suppressing the countless flame demons of the outlands, ensuring that they didn’t dare to enter. A ripple from its core alone was enough to inspire fear in their hearts. The power of this planetary core vastly surpassed that of an ordinary Eternal Emperor. Both of them had the feeling that if they so much as touched the core, they would probably be instantly reduced to dust.

Whoosh. Whoosh. They quickly departed. On the way back, they encountered a number of earth devils but were able to quickly shake them off. Although the battles seemed fierce, in truth both were still distracted by thoughts of that enormous, pitch-black world core. What an utterly terrifying core that was! Ning estimated that only someone with the power of a Hegemon would have a chance at possibly procuring it.

“No wonder the living beings born on this planet all have such incredible talent for cultivation and are able to train so easily. This world is even smaller than the Three Realms, but in this era alone it has already given birth to twenty or thirty Daolords and a terrifying number of World-level cultivators. No wonder.” Ning secretly sighed.

……

The Grand Elder’s avatar led a group of sixteen Daolords as they waited next to the tombstones. They stared afar at the rainbow region off in the distance which led to the world’s core.

“Elder, the two Prophets have been in there for too long. Is it possible that they…” A Daolord spoke out.

“It has been quite long.”

“Our Daolords rarely spent that much time in there.”

Generally speaking, if one wasn’t able to acquire a worldsplitter stone in a fairly short period of time, one would quickly retreat and wait for another opportunity in the future.

“The Prophets won’t die that easily,” the Grand Elder said. “Wait a while longer. They should be returning soon.”

Just a short while later. “There they are,” Daolord Inkmind said hurriedly.

Swoosh! Swosh! Two streaks of light quickly flew towards them from afar, pursued by a large number of earth devils. Ning’s nine novessence arts swirled around him like nine dragons. With the Ninedust Sectlord’s help, they managed to quickly throw off the pursuit of the earth devils. Even the most rare and powerful of earth devils were merely on par with the two of them, and even then they weren’t as fast.

Whoosh. Whoosh. They flew out of the rainbow region, then landed at the entrance of the cave. They watched calmly as the many earth devils within the region issued threatening growls to the two of them. Slowly, the earth devils turned their attention away. So long as one retreated from their home, the creatures would not pursue them.

“Congratulations, Prophets.” The Grand Elder smiled.

“I need to train for a while.” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t waste words on ceremony. He waved his hand, causing a wooden house to descend before him. He then entered the wooden house, which was in truth an Eternal-class estate-treasure with incredibly strong defenses that were hard to breach. He sent mentally to Ning, “Darknorth, I need to train in my secret arts for a while. Two hours should be enough.”

Ning nodded, then turned to glance at the white-robed Grand Elder. He smiled. “Sory for having troubled you in recent days. Ninedust and I have both acquired worldsplitter stones; this very day, we shall leave this world.”

The Grand Elder and the others all let out secret sighs of relief. It was best if the two left. By now, they were no longer cultivators who need ‘Prophets’ to transmit techniques to them. They had built up an enormous collection of skills after having embarked on the path of cultivation countless years ago. Although they were a bit weaker than any one of the Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom, they weren’t that much weaker.

“I’ll have to trouble you to watch over my disciple Skywind after our departure,” Ning said.

“Don’t worry. Skywind is a member of our sacred grounds and a member of our race. We’ll spare no offense in helping him grow up and become stronger,” the Grand Elder said.

Ning nodded.

……

Skywind was seated at the desolate mountain in an area with no life at all. The only thing in front of him was endless sand, which contained tribal lifeforms within it. He just watched silently, his gaze travelling countless kilometers as he watched the various individuals celebrate and lament.

“I still can’t let it all go.” Skywind shook his head.

“Skywind.” A surge of godsense swept towards Skywind, ringing out by his ears. “Your master, Prophet Darknorth, will be leaving our world today. He’ll be venturing out into the outlands.”

“Master is leaving?” Young master Skywind immediately rose to his feet. He knew very well that everything he had today, he had thanks to Ning’s guidance. Many of the cultivators of this planet had once trained in the Dao of the Sword, but none of them had ever reached the level his master had reached. The information his master provided went to the core of the Dao of the Sword, and it seemed as though there were no sword-arts which puzzled his master. It was also thanks to his master’s guidance that he had been able to improve so quickly.

“Master.” Skywind transformed into a sword-shadow. Thanks to the treasures and divine abilities he had acquired in the sacred grounds, he was already comparable to a Daolord of the First Step. And now, he immediately displayed his sword-arts for all to see as he quickly hid back home.

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Chapter 28 – The Shattered World

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 28 – The Shattered World

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 28 –The Shattered Planet

A vast grassland. The Grand Elder was here, leading a group of Daolords and Skywind in bidding Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord farewell.

“Master.” Skywind looked at Ning, truly unwilling to part with him. Ning had never asked anything of him and had whole-heartedly helped him this entire time. His father had given many costly gifts to convince Swordmaster Eastvoid to teach him, but the Swordmaster was nothing more than a World-level cultivator… and in the end, he hadn’t even accepted Skywind as a disciple. Compared to Ning, Swordmaster Eastvoid was absolutely nothing.

“Haha. Skywind, if destiny wills it, we shall meet again in the future,” Ning smiled.

“Right.” Skywind nodded heavily.

“Let’s go.” Ning glanced at the nearby Ninedust Sectlord, who pursed his lips into a smirk. “I didn’t take on any disciples. I can leave whenever.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Skywind and the other Daolords watched as they instantly shot into the air, quickly charging into the gaseous barriers in the skies.

Skywind watched as Ning disappeared into the distance, tears appearing in his eyes. Would he ever have the chance to meet his master again?

“Your master Darknorth is very, very powerful.” The Grand Elder gently patted Skywind on the shoulders. “Skywind, you have to grow powerful as well if you want to catch up to him. Otherwise, how will you possibly become strong enough to venture into the outlands and search for him?”

“I understand.” Skywind nodded.

……

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord passed through the nine gaseous barriers, finally returning to the empty region surrounding the entire planet.

“What a marvelous place.” The Ninedust Sectlord glanced downwards. “This single, tiny little planet has actually given birth to so many cultivators that each era holds twenty to thirty Daolords. This single planet holds a level of power comparable to quite a few territories combined. It lives up to its reputation as an ancestral site of my Ancient race.”

“This planet might not necessarily be connected to your ancestors.” Ning turned to glance towards the outside. “Pick a direction.”

The area around them was vast and empty. Beyond this empty region were countless stone passageways that led off in many different directions. These stone passageways brimmed with flames; one could only imagine how many of those flame demons were present.

“Every direction seems to be the same. We came from this direction over there, so let’s take the opposite route.” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed to the other side of the planet.

“You read my mind.” Ning grinned, then waved his hand and produced a black flying vessel. The two immediately boarded the vessel. Swoosh! It instantly accelerated to move at a hundred times the speed of light, departing the planet. This entire ancestral site, including the planet they had been in, was dimensionally locked, preventing any form of teleportation or blinking.

“Here we go.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both stared towards the stone passageway as they moved closer and closer to it. Swish! The black vessel dove into one of the stone tunnels and into its roaring flames. When they saw a distant flame demon, both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord instantly used their worldsplitter stones.

Swish! Swish! Their armor and their weaponry all glowed with black light, covered by the effects of the worldsplitter stone.

“Kill!” The distant flame demon bellowed as it charged at them while also sending out an invisible vibration. Soon, many more flame demons appeared in the distance and began to furiously charge towards the two.

“Darknorth, take a look at this secret art of mine,” the Ninedust Sectlord chuckled. His body instantly began to glow with acurtain of watery light that looked almost solid, as though waves had appeared in the area around him. The deep blue waves wildly smashed as the ripples spread beyond him, crashing into the attacking flame demons. The flame demons were all sent stumbling backwards as their speed dropped drastically.

The watery curtain of light surrounded Ning as well. Ning reached into the curtain to touch it with his hand, and as he did he could sense a surge of overwhelming power.

“What do you think?” the Ninedust Sectlord asked smugly.

“It is just as powerful as my secret art,” Ning said with a praising nod.

“Haha. This Ripplewater secret art of mine was created by an Eternal Emperor of my race. I am skilled in the Dao of Water, and so I started training in this secret long ago. Only today have I finally mastered it.” The Ninedust Sectlord was in quite a good mood. “I’m currently a Daolord of the Third Step. Once I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step and reach an even higher level of understanding, my Ripplewater art will strengthen even further. Haha, when I fight against my peers, I’ll start off with this secret art to slow them down. Heh, heh, heh…”

“It seems you really took to heart the way I used my secret arts to suppress you,” Ning teased.

“Your secrets arts pissed me the hell off.” The Ninedust Sectlord had to chuckle as well. “Are you feeling jealous about my new breakthrough? Haha, even if I have to go back to the Endless Territories right now I would feel no regrets.”

As they chatted, more and more of the slowed-down flame demons began to gather around them and attack them. In the past, they would never have dared to let the flame demons congregate in such large matters. Now that they had worldsplitter stones, they wanted to test the stones out for themselves and so they didn’t mind.

Even if they faced more than a hundred flame demons, they wouldn’t find it too hard to escape even if they didn’t have a worldsplitter stone.

“Die.” Ning transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form. Six Northbow swords were in his hands, and each one was covered with a layer of the worldsplitter stone’s power.

Swish! Sword-light howled through the air and chopped straight through the flame demons, cutting giant wounds into their bodies and stabbing gouging holes into them.

“Ahhh!” All of the flame demons who were stabbed through their armor let out miserable, powerless cries. Their eyes quickly turned dull and blank as their auras rapidly vanished. They were like snow melting in the heat of the summer sun. Some of the flame demons had clearly suffered just tiny wounds, but they vanished and their bodies were dispersed into flames, never to be reborn again.

“They die whenever they are so much as touched by the energy of the worldsplitter stones?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were shocked by how powerful the stones were. It seemed as though this was a natural counter for the flame demons; so long as you were able to breach their armor and wound them, they would invariably perish.

“That’ll make things easier.”

“This’ll be a hundred times simpler than I thought.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were both delight, and they quickly began to advance at high speeds.

……

Time passed on, day by day, as the two of them traversed one flaming stone tunnel after another. After finding nothing, they finally opted to enter one of the enormous stone corridors that were a million kilometers wide. In the past, these places were mortally dangerous to them. Now that they had worldsplitter stones, they could give them a try. These corridors had absolutely terrifying numbers of flame demons, with each group clustering in the thousands and some in the tens of thousands.

Even supported by both their secret arts and the worldsplitter stones, they found it incredibly hard to advance.

“These million kilometer tunnels are the main passageways.” Although they were surrounded by danger and often had to fight for their lives, they soon realized the good part of being in these massive tunnels. The smaller tunnels turned and twisted like spiderwebs, making it difficult to progress in any one direction. These main passageways, however, were all linked together in straight fashion, making it so that they didn’t have to twist and turn when trying to advance in a certain direction.

“Careful!”

BOOM. Ning helped the Ninedust Sectlord block a chop but was sent flying as a result. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he took out a Dao-seal. BANG! A wild wind suddenly erupted, blowing back countless flame demons who found that they were completely unable to control their bodies.

“Let’s move!” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord hurriedly fled aboard their black vessel in a rather bedraggled fashion. Although the worldsplitter stones were banes to the flame demons, they had been surrounded and attacked by over a hundred thousand of the creatures, forcing both of them to go all-out and use some of their special treasures.

Bang! The flying vessel shot out of the enormous stone passageway.

“An empty region! Another empty region!” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were overjoyed. Although they had merely spent twelve hours in the super-wide passageways, they had nearly died on three occasions. Each time, they had only survived thanks to their Dao-seals. Ning had used one of the Dao-seals left behind by Daolord Kongsan, while Ninedust had used up two seals of similar power. This was primarily because Ninedust’s protective abilities weren’t as formidable as Ning’s suit of Hegemon armor.

“We’ve finally reached an empty region again.” The two stood on the prow of the black vessel and stared off into the distance as the charging flame demons behind them began to slow down, almost as though they were afraid of something up ahead.

Up ahead was a stream of rainbow light that snaked through an empty region that was over a hundred billion kilometers in size. At the very center of this region was the silhouette of a planet.

“Same as before?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord exchanged a glance. When they had been in Skywind’s homeland, they had seen something quite similar, a planet hidden within a massive, empty voice.

Swoosh. They sent the vessel flying closer. The stream of light filled much of the void and thus covered the planet, making it hard for them to get a close look at it. By the time they were just a few hundred million kilometers away, they were able to see everything clearly. Within the rainbow light, they saw an utterly devastated planet that was covered with countless ‘wounds’. Next to it levitated two enormous fragments of another shattered planet.

“It’s been broken apart?” The two stared in disbelief at the devastated planet.

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Chapter 29 – Golden Sand

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 29 – Golden Sand

The shattered planet still emanated an aura of exalted might, but it would never be able to pose a threat to anyone ever again.

“How could it have been shattered?” The Ninedust Sectlord was in disbelief. “Not even an Eternal Emperor could’ve destroyed something like that. Only a Hegemon would’ve been able to do it. Could a Hegemon have come here and destroyed this planet?”

“Let’s land on the surface and take a look,” Ji Ning said.

“Alright. Maybe there are some leftover treasures,” the Ninedust Sectlord agreed. Both of them were very curious; what type of power could’ve shattered such a planet? It must be understood that first planet had a similar aura of power and had twenty to third Daolords at any given point in time, as well as a terrifying number of earth devils. There was no way such a powerful planet could be destroyed on a whim.

Swoosh. Swoosh. The two quickly flew closer to the planet.

“Careful.”

“Let’s halt here.” The two of them simultaneously noticed the danger up ahead and issued warnings to each other as they halted.

“The rainbow light…” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both stared at the rainbow light before them. The rainbow light spanned an area of a hundred billion kilometers, including the planet. “It… it actually is the remaining presence and aura of someone else.”

“How terrifying.” Ning felt stunned. They hadn’t noticed anything from far away, but upon moving closer they were able to sense and be shocked by the highly withdrawn and reserved aura of the rainbow light.

“That’s not light at all. Those are waves of energy.” After taking a careful look, Ning realized that this was a stream of diffused energy waves that would never, ever dissipate.

“Some inconceivably powerful figure must’ve struck through space and smashed the planet apart, causing it to shatter and crumble. The remnants of the power left behind by that strike have taken the form of this rainbow light and been here ever since.” The Ninedust Sectlord took a careful look, then pointed towards a certain part of the rainbow light. “The rainbow light is denser over there. Most likely, that major power must’ve launched his attack from that direction.”

Ning nodded in agreement. This was indeed a killing blow from a major power, and it had the scent of eternity about it.

“The major power in question was very possibly a Hegemon, or close to it,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “However… given how much time has passed, there shouldn’t be much power left in the remnants of his strike. Let me try it out first.” As he spoke, he stretched out his right arm, which extended more than a thousand kilometers and passed through the rainbow light.

Crackle, crackle, crackle. The remnant energy within the rainbow light instantly began to crush down towards the Ninedust Sectlord’s arm! This caused his face to tighten slightly.

“How’d it go?” Ning asked.

“Not too bad. It’s just a bit of leftover power, after all; I feel like it is merely on par with our secret arts,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “The two of us can take it.”

Ning let out a sigh of relief, then said with amazement, “The remnant power of a single strike that was launched countless aeons ago is still on par with our secret arts… what power is this?!”

“Let’s go take a look at the planet. Although it’s been shattered, we might still find something nice here,” the Ninedust Sectlord said with a smile.

“Let’s go.” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord flew carefully into the rainbow light. The energy within the rainbow light was folded in layers and contained hidden undercurrents to it. Ning activated his nine novessence arts and used them to form the Yin-Yang Sword Domain to protect them, while the Ninedust Sectlord used his own Ripplewater secret art. Together, the two managed to just barely resist the suppressive might of the rainbow light.

“These two shattered halves are both enormous,” the Ninedust Sectlord said with a sigh. One of the two halves was eight hundred million kilometers long, while the second half was over five hundred million kilometers long.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord landed upon the tattered planet. It was in absolutely dire shape, with no living creatures on it at all, nor did it have any flame demons or earth devils or other strange creatures.

“How desolate. Let’s go underground and take a look at the core.” The planet where Skywind lived had a core that could give birth to worldsplitter stones, Dragonfish Ki, and other similar items. The two were naturally quite interested in the core of this planet as well.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Given that the entire planet had actually had essentially been smashed into two giant pieces, one could imagine what bad shape it was in. As a result, the two were able to fly directly into the core of the planet.

“The planet’s core is shattered as well. There’s nothing here capable of giving birth to new treasures,” Ning said. He swept the area with his gaze, unable to discover any treasures akin to worldsplitter stones or Dragonfish Ki.

“Darknorth, this time you are wrong. The planetary core itself is a treasure. Look!” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed towards ad istant rift in the core. “That rift there is leaking a large amount of golden ‘sand’. There’s no way anything leaking from the core of this planet could possibly be anything but extraordinary.”

Ning chuckled, then nodded. The main issue was that there was simply far too much of the golden sand. The entire core was cracked, resulting in much of that golden sand having spilled outside of it. The region of spilled quicksand filled an area of over a hundred million kilometers.

“I still can’t tell what this golden quicksand is.” The Ninedust Sectlord made a grabbing motion towards a handful of quicksand on the ground. Moments later, his face turned pale. He tugged viciously, causing all of the golden sand within the hundred million kilometer region to tremble slightly… but alas he wasn’t able to pull it to him.

“Ninedust, you can’t even pick up a handful of this sand?” Ning was startled by what he saw. He then chuckled teasingly, as he himself was beginning to realize how special and unusual the golden sand was.

“Why don’t you test it out yourself.” The Ninedust Sectlord gave Ning a hard look.

Ning reached out as well. It was quite easy for him to insert his fingers into the sand, but when he tried to pull out a handful of it he felt as though the sand was part of a complete whole.

BOOM! Although Ning used all the power he had, he was only able to cause the sand in the area to slightly tremble. He wasn’t able to pull any out at all.

“Can’t do it either, right?” The Ninedust Sectlord smirked.

“It reminds me of the stone passageways,” Ning said. “When we tried to hack the stones apart, we felt a counter-force emanate from the entire passageway.”

“Right.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “When we try to grab a handful of the sand, all of the sand in this entire area is fighting back against us.”

The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly reached out once more. “Let me try a single grain of sand.” These grains of sand were roughly the size of a fingernail, much larger than ordinary ‘sand’. The Ninedust Sectlord let out a grunt as he pulled with all his strength. Boom! He managed to pull a single grain of sand into his hands.

“Now, let me try two.”

……

Both the Ninedust Sectlord and Ning were analyzing the sand of the planet’s core with interest. Since this sand had filled the entire core, it had to be the core’s primarily element. When undamaged, the planet’s core should’ve possessed enough power to wipe out the two of them with just the slightest of shockwaves. It was almost unbelievable that they managed to find a core of such power that was completely defenseless; there was no way the two would just pass such an opportunity up.

After a period of time, they verified that the more sand they tried to pull out at once, the stronger the resisting power from the rest of the sand would be. The difficulty level would quickly skyrocket.

“If we slowly pick this stuff up one grain at a time, it’ll take us forever. Let me see if I can perhaps hack it apart with my sword.” Ning pulled out a Northbow sword.

“Yes, if you can hack it apart into smaller pieces it’ll be much easier.” The Ninedust Sectlord stood back to watch.

“Chop!” Ning manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms] and gripped a single Northbow sword with all six arms, then unleashed his most powerful attack: Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. BOOM! The sword slammed into the defenseless sand, but when it moved deeper and sought to sever a piece of it, an invisible source of power suddenly arose to stop it. The power of Ning’s sword seemed to have sunk into a quagmire, having been completely absorbed by the endless sand and causing just a few vibrations.

“Won’t work.” Ning shook his head. “I can’t cut it apart. I’m not even close to being strong enough.”

“Master!”

“Master!”

“Hey, Master!”

One clear, child-like voice rang out after another as six adorable children appeared. All of them stared wide-eyed at Ning.

“Why have the six of you come out?” Ning chuckled. These six were the sword-spirits of the six Northbow swords. They were Lifeblood weapons, and so they were connected to Ning’s spirit and essence. Ning almost viewed himself as their father.

“Master, the golden sand…” The first Northbow sword, ‘Boss Northbow’, hurriedly pointed to the flows of golden sand. “That golden sand is very important to us. We can sense it! Can you give it to us?”

“Very important ot you?” Ning immediately understood. Lifeblood weapons needed to grow, but ordinary materials would be of no use to them. Clearly, the golden sand had attracted their interest.

“Yes.” The six children nodded simultaneously.

The nearby Ninedust Sectlord watched with amusement. “You actually have SIX of those Lifeblood swords? Not bad, Darknorth.”

Ning couldn’t be bothered to banter with him for now. He said to the six children, “But there’s no way for me to harvest or mine the golden sand.”

“No need. Master, just insert us into it.”

“Yes, insert us into it. Let us absorb it into us.” All six of the children continued to stare at Ning.

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Chapter 30 –The Growing Northbow Swords

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 30 –The Growing Northbow Swords

Ji Ning was delighted when he heard this. He waved his hand, causing all six black swords to fly out from the sheath on his back and into the sea of flowing sand.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! They all plunged deep into the sand.

“Haha!”

“Here we go!”

“Oh, this is lovely.”

“Mm…”

The six children let out excited cries as they flew back into their respective swords. The six Northbow swords began to glow with a layer of golden light as the sand around them began to lose its luster, quickly changing to become a grayish-white color before then completely disappearing without a trace.

“In the future, if you encounter anything you like you can just let me know,” Ning sent mentally to his six sword-spirtis.

“We don’t know what we like either. We can only sense something we want from a close distance.”

“Right! Master, if you find anything powerful in the future, give it a few whacks with us first and we’ll get a good sense of it,” the six sword-spirits replied in chorus.

Ning laughed, a smile on his face as he watched the six Northbow swords furiously devour the essence of the golden sands around them. A large amount of golden sand was being rapidly converted into white dust and then vanish. In the twinkling of an eye, more than half the golden sand in a thirty meter area had completely vanished.

The nearby Ninedust Sectlord was rather jealous when he saw this. He hurriedly lifted up his longstaff, then plunged it into the golden sand.

“Ugh.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head, putting away his longstaff. He glanced at Ning. “Congratulations, Darknorth. It seems your Lifeblood weapons are able to absorb the golden sand quite rapidly. Why is it that my own Lifeblood weapon can make no use of it?”

“I guess they aren’t a good fit for each other,” Ning laughed.

The Endless Territories were filled with countless marvelous curios, but only a few of them would be suitable for each person. Ning’s six Northbow swords had been personally forged to perfection by Emperor Gonflame, as perfection was needed in order to match Ning’s own Dao. They were already nigh-flawless and thus very picky; thus far, they had shown no interest in anything Ning had encountered.

Whooooosh. Entire swathes of golden dust turned white and then vanished.

“This golden sand can be considered a type of treasure. Actually harvesting it, however, is a pain.” The Ninedust Sectlord laboriously gathered the golden sand to himself, two grains at a time. After more than two hours, he had only managed to gather roughly a washing basin’s worth of sand. By the time he turned to look at Ning, he realized that virtually all of the golden sand around them had been sucked away. He could do nothing but shake his head and sigh. “Compared to how fast your Lifeblood weapons are harvesting these things, I’m moving at a snail’s pace. Mm. Well, I’ll keep harvesting. In the future I’ll ask and find out what type of treasure this is.”

Ning smiled as he watched, his mood excellent. He could sense that his six Northbow swords were slowly growing in power as they themselves began to transform and evolve. They had originally been black in color but now they were starting to be tinged with gold, almost as though their abyssal darkness was now brimming with faint golden light. They were beginning to look like dark gold.

Four hours. Twelve hours. One day. Two days. One month. Two months…

The six Northbow swords remained plunged into the golden sands that had leaked out of the shattered planet, furiously sucking away at the sand’s essence. Not only were they changing in color, they were even changing in shape. They were now even slimmer than before, but their tips and edges were much sharper. Just looking at them, one could sense a terrifying aura of power from them.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had been fairly relaxed at first, but as time passed both of them grew increasingly astonished. As the Northbow swords had continuously drawn in more of the golden sands and evolved, the rate at which they drew in the sand began to dramatically increase as well.

Rumble…

The entire sea of golden sand was rumbling and rolling about, because the golden sands at its deepest depths were being continuously wiped out. As a result, ‘waves’ were sweeping through the sea unceasingly and flowing towards the six Northbow swords that had been inserted into the heart of the shattered planet’s core.

“Your Lifeblood weapons aren’t going to suck up all of the golden sand of this planet’s core, are they? When in perfect condition, the planet’s core possessed such power that neither of us would even dare to approach it. If your weapons somehow managed to absorb all of that power… how strong would they become?” The Ninedust Sectlord stared in slack-jawed amazement. It must be understood that the outer layer of the hundred-million-kilometer sea of golden sand had already completely vanished. The swords were now primarily drawing from the sands deep within the sea.

“The more powerful, the better.” Ning smiled. “This is an ancestral site of you Ancient cultivators; I imagine there won’t be any legacies for me here. I need to get what I can out of this place.”

The Northbow swords had completely transformed by now. They were now extremely thin, completely golden in color, and glowed with a layer of light. If other cultivators saw these new Northbow swords, they never would’ve believed that they were the same swords as Ning had been wielding just a short while ago.

Ning continued to watch eagerly. The planet’s core was truly an incalculably valuable treasure; most likely, its value was comparable to that mountain of darkspace flamestone in the alternate universe. His swords had already absorbed so much of that precious golden sand that they had undergone a fundamental transformation.

Boom. Boom. Boom. A series of booms rang out, followed by the six Northbow swords flying into the skies and towards Ning.

“Master, I’m full.”

“I can’t eat another bite.”

“I feel wonderfully stuffed.”

The six children appeared once more on the blades of the Northbow swords, incredibly excited. With but a thought, Ning sent all six swords flying into the sheath on his back.

“Look! Look over there!” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed at the planet’s core. Your six swords must’ve drained roughly twenty to thirty percent of the golden sand. I daresay that in material quality, they have a shot of becoming Universe treasures.”

Ning waved his hand, pulling out one of the Northbow swords. “Let me test one out first.” Ning felt extremely comfortable when holding that Northbow sword, and its entire body glowed with that golden light.

Swish. Swish. Ning began to display his sword-arts. He first started with his defensive sword-arts, because judging from how thin, slender, and sharp the sword was he felt certain that its offensive properties would have been strengthened. He wanted to savor this and save the best for last, and so he decided to test out his defensive sword-arts first. Upon doing so, Ning discovered to his joy that his sword-arts came out even faster and more fluid than ever before. They were also significantly more powerful as well; most likely, his defensive prowess had increased by fifty to sixty percent.

“Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker!” Ning unleashed a furious chop. BOOM! A stream of sword-light visible to the naked eye flew out from the tip of the sword, slamming down through the rainbow light for several kilometers before finally dissipating.

“It’s merely twice as strong as before.” Ning shook his head slightly; this would be of limited use to him.

“Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless!” Next, Ning chose to test out the Shadowless stance. This instantly caused a look of joy to appear on Ning’s face, as the new Northbow sword was perfect for the Shadowless stance; it was now faster, sharper, more ethereal, and more unpredictable.

“This one is four times stronger than before,” Ning estimated.

“Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop!” Ning struck out with a seemingly casual stab, but in the final instant of the strike the sword-light twisted slightly. It destroyed the local power of the Dao-aura unleashed by the prime essences of the universe, forming a true void.

“What?!” The nearby Ninedust Sectlord cried out in shock, “Y-you… your sword has actually transcended space itself?”

“It’s actually transcended space.” Ning revealed a delight look as well.

The technique which Emperor Mirrorsnow had mastered and used to gain eternity for himself was a sword-art that transcended both space and time, allowing him to pierce through his enmies even from countless kilometers away. Neither space nor time could constrain his sword-arts, and his enemies would be dead before they even had a chance to react. The power of this attack was simply incredible.

To surpass the limits of time was to be inconceivably fast. As soon as Emperor Mirrorsnow struck, his sword would slay his foe; there would be no ‘attack time’ at all, as the attack would be instanteous. This was what made transcending time so terrifying.

As for transcending space, it meant that distance was no longer an obstacle. Emperor Mirrorsnow was capable of using his sword to slay an enemy who wasn’t even in the same territory as him!

Transcending space was comparatively easier. Transcending time was extremely difficult! Ning had originally thought that when he became a Daolord of the Third Step, his sword-arts would be able to transcend space. Who would’ve thought that he’d accomplish it at the second step! But still, when he thought about it in detail, it made sense to him. The essence the Northbow swords had absorbed had caused them to be extremely ‘skewed’ in one area, whereas they had previously been balanced. They were now much sharper and thus better-suited to the Blood Drop stance! The Shadowless stance wasn’t improved as much, while the berserk Heavenbreaker stance was barely improved. As for his defensive sword-arts, they were improved the least of all.

In addition to his swords now being more suited to the Blood Drop stance, Ning had improved the most in the Blood Drop sword-intent to begin with. The Blood Drop sword-intent was highly destructive and thus suited for tearing through the bonds of space and time; it naturally became the first technique he could use to succeed in transcending space.

“Now that you’ve transcended space, ordinary dimensional bindings will no longer have an effect on you. Even if an Eternal Emperor wished to kill you, you would be able to easily pierce through the dimensions and then flee through a dimensional tunnel. Only an Eternal Emperor who is incredibly skilled in the Dao of Space would have a chance of tying you down, with the vast majority of them being helpless against you.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning, then let out a sigh. “Darknorth, from this day forth, you now have a true life-saving measure that you can use when you please. Very, very few people are now capable of slaying you. You’ve transcended the bounds of space… I have to admit, I truly envy you now.”

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Chapter 31 –The Ancient Ancestor

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 31 –The Ancient Ancestor

Ji Ning laughed. When he had been at Skywood City and encountered Daolord Kongsan, the latter had dimensionally locked the area with a formation, making it impossible Ning to escape; his only option would’ve been to use his vessel to slowly fly around inside! But now? His sword-arts surpassed the limits of space and were able to forcibly rip out dimensional passageways, allowing him to easily escape. Only someone who had reached an extremely high level in the Dao of Space would be able to restrict Ning’s movements.

The vast majority of Eternal Emperors would not be able to bar Ning’s path. This was a true life-preserving method he now had!

Kongsan was able to transform into darkness incarnate, a virtually unkillable form. This was his own life-preserving method which ensured that even the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar would be unable to do anything to him.

Ji Ning would be able to use his swords to transcend space, making it so that dimensional shackling would be unable to bind him. He would also be able to tear through space and flee at a moment’s notice. This was a life-preserving method that was every bit a match for Kongsan’s.

There were very few figures even amongst exceptionally powerful second-tier Daolords like Ning and Kongsan who had such incredible life-preserving methods. The Ninedust Sectlord, for example, didn’t have any such technique.

However, the most supreme of Daolords such as Dawnstar or Skyaxe, the ones who stood at the very precipice of power, all had Daos of such incredible power that they had life-preserving abilities similar to that of spatial transcendence.

This was why they were all generally extremely difficult to kill. However, a Hegemon would probably be able to wipe them out with the wave of a hand. Perhaps some of the freakishly powerful ancient figures such as the lords of the eight Sacred Cities, second only to the Hegemons in power and who Hegemons wouldn’t necessarily be able to kill, might be able to slay the supreme Daolords. These figures were far more powerful than even Emperor Mirrorsnow.

However, Hegemons and near-Hegemons were incredibly rare and exalted figures. The three Hegemons belonged to the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrant special lifeforms, and the Ancient cultivators. These three were the rules and sovereigns their entire race. As for the near-Hegemons, they were amongst the most powerful figures each race or organization had. For now, Ning wasn’t at a level where he could get embroiled into fights with them.

“Don’t feel jealous of me. Once you become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I’m sure you’ll have access to a formidable protective ability of your own,” Ning said. The Ninedust Sectlord had merged two Supreme Daos together, which meant that when he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step he would instantly become one of the most powerful Daolords around. None of those Daolords would be easy to deal with.

“True.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “I’m not too far away from breaking through to the fourth step anyhow. With just a few more insights, I’ll be able to break through my bottleneck and reach the final step. By then, my mastery over water will easily allow me to gain an ‘undying waterform body’.

Ning chuckled and nodded.

An ‘undying waterform body’ was a fairly common technique amongst those who had reached an extremely high level in the Dao of Water. This was a technique that was much stronger than Kongsan’s ability to dissolve into darkness incarnate. Kongsan had only comprehended a single Supreme Dao, after all; his ‘darkness incarnate’ form was simply not flawless enough.

“By then, I can just stand there and let you hit me without fighting back, but you still won’t be able to injure me,” the Ninedust Sectlord boasted smugly.

“Oh.” Ning mumbled mentally to himself, you know, I’m actually just a Daolord of the Second Step…

……

The Ninedust Sectlord had mastered his Ripplewater secret art, while Ning had now evolved his lifeblood weapons. Both had benefited significantly from this adventure.

“Let’s go.” Ning stood atop the surface of the shattered planet. “The only thing of value here was the core, but harvesting it is too difficult.”

“It really is, but you made a killing off of it…” The Ninedust Sectlord chuckled as he scanned his surroundings, then pointed to the source of the rainbow light. “Let’s move over there. The rainbow light is denser over there; that should be the direction from which the ancient power launched the strike.”

“Yes, let’s go take a look.”

The two immediately flew off the planet and towards the rainbow light. They flew several hundred kilometers alongside the light stream, moving towards the source. Both of them were quite curious; this was an ancestral site of the Ancient cultivators. Who could’ve been able to destroy a planet such as this? Most likely, only a Hegemon-level figure or someone close to that level of power.

Swish! They traversed through space and reached the end of the rainbow light.

“What’s that?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stared in amazement at the cluster of stone passageways ahead of them. The stone passageways were brimming with flame demons, but the streak of rainbow light flew straight through the stone passageways… and the place it flew through was an absolutely enormous straight passageway that was at least two billion kilometers wide! Based on the other nearby tunnels, it could be ascertained that the ‘rainbow passageway’ was actually once filled with countless stone passageways that had been completely destroyed.

“How terrifying,” the Ninedust Sectlord murmured. “A single strike blasted through countless stone passageways, forming a single enormous one in their stead… and then, after being weakened due to having gone through so many passageways, continued through to blast apart that planet! It had to have been a Hegemon.”

“I agree that only a Hegemon could’ve done such a thing,” Ning concurred.

This level of power was incredible. Both of them had learned for themselves how tough the stone passageways were, but someone had been able to blast through two billion kilometers worth of stone then shatter that planet with a single strike. This level of power was beyond their imagination. As they saw it, only the nigh-omnipotent Hegemons could’ve done such a thing.

“This place must really be that legendary place…” Waves of shock and awe began to fill the Ninedust Sectlord’s heart as he grew certain of his guess.

“Come, Ninedust. Let’s go through and see what lies on the other end of the rainbow passageway,” Ning said.

“Agreed.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. The two then flew into the rainbow passageway.

The rainbow passageway was brimming with remnant power. There was simply no way to avoid it, and so both used their secret arts to resist as best possible. After being ablated by their secret arts, the remnant power no longer posed a threat to them at all when it washed over their divine bodies.

……

The rainbow passageway was two billion kilometers wide and so long that they couldn’t see to the end of it. The two followed the rainbow light, forging a pathway forwards. The closer they moved to the source, the stronger the layers of power became. However, they were both able to hold; for now, they had yet to reach their limits.

The Ninedust Sectlord sent mentally, “If we were pulled into a fight, I’d only be able to unleash around 20% of my full power right now. This is absolutely terrifying. The remnant power from a single strike that was unleashed countless aeons ago is still able to suppress me to such an extent!”

“I’ve been whittled down to a fraction of my full power as well,” Ning said. He had the Hegemon’s armor, allowing him to endure the damage, but the fact that the remnant energy was so omnipresent meant that he would at most be able to pull out 30%-40% of his true power when using sword-arts.

They continued to fly forwards.

“Is that an entrance up ahead?” Ning was rather puzzled. The rainbow light lowered visibility, but he could vaguely see that the end was up ahead.

“It does look like that.” The Ninedust Sectlord gripped his longstaff and sent mentally, “Be careful, Darknorth. Let’s not lose our lives at the very end of this journey.”

“Agreed.” Ning manifested three heads and six arms and wielded his six Northbow swords with great caution.

Swoosh! Swoosh! There really was an exit a the end of the rainbow tunnel. When they simultaneously flew through the tunnel, they suddenly felt their bodies expanding dramatically in size. Ten thousand times, a million times, a billion times…

“What’s going on?!” Both of them felt perplexed and they simultaneously turned to look backwards. They saw a hole directly behind them; this was the hole they had just flown out of. As they had rapidly increased in size, the hole had shrank in comparison.

“T-t-that’s…” Both of them were stupefied. Behind them they saw a towering, pitch-black humanoid figure lying on the ground. The figure was 540,000 meters tall, and a hole that was just a few meters wide could be seen over his chest. Clearly, the hole had punctured straight through his chest and into his body.

As for Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord, they had just flown out of this humanoid creature’s chest wound.

The two landed on the ground. They stared at the fallen, towering giant figure with astonished gazes. “W-w-we were actually inside its body this entire time?” Ning could hardly believe it.

“Those countless stone passageways we went through were just part of its body? Those flame demons and earth devils, and that powerful planet? They were all just part of its body as well?” The Ninedust Sectlord couldn’t believe it either.

A grain of sand, an entire world.

This humanoid creature looked like it was ‘merely’ 540,000 meters tall, but within its body was an endlessly vast space that gave birth to flame demons, earth devils, and even mortal lifeforms! This was truly unbelievable.

“I don’t think it was an actual living being. Actual living beings should have divine power and Immortal energy within their bodies, but it only had those endless stone passageways,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“It doesn’t seem to be a cultivator.” Ning nodded in agreement.

They then began to carefully inspect their surroundings. This was an enormous cave they were in, and they were in just one corner of it. The two began to walk through the cave and inspect it.

“Look over there.” Ning pointed off into the distance, a stunned look on his face. Far away there were two figures who could be seen. One was a white-robed figure who lay on the ground, completely unmoving. The other was seated in the lotus position, a peaceful look on his face. Both of these enormous figures emanated auras of incredible might, the might of a Hegemon. Ning had seen three Hegemon corpses in the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe, and now he had found two more here in this cave.

“Is that…” The Ninedust Sectlord stared at the two figures, his gaze quickly focusing on the man seated peacefully in the lotus position. The Ninedust Sectlord’s body trembled slightly as he murmured, “An ancestor. That’s one of the ancestors…”

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Chapter 32 –The History of the Terror Starsea

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 32 –The History of the Terror Starsea

“Ninedust, so this is an ancestor of the Ancient cultivators?” Upon hearing the Ninedust Sectlord’s mumbles, Ji Ning turned to look curiously at the peaceful-looking man seated in the lotus position. The man seemed to be a world unto himself, and was filled with peace and benevolence. Just looking at him, Ning felt calm and tranquil in his heart. In addition, the ancient figure gave Ning a very strange feeling, a feeling similar to the one which the Ninedust Sectlord gave him.

Perhaps this was due to the fact that members of the same race would all share certain commonalities.

When Ning had first met the Ninedust Sectlord, he had no idea that the man was an Ancient cultivator. Once he met more of them, however, he would probably be able to recognize them at a glance.

“Yes. This is one of our oldest ancestors.” The Ninedust Sectlord walked over in a reverential manner. Ning followed from behind, inspecting the man closely.

There were two deceased Hegemons. The white-robed Hegemon simply lay there on the ground, and just by moving closer to him Ning began to feel as though the world around him was twisting and distorting into hallucinations. Fortunately, his soul and his mind were both very strong, and the effect was nothing more than a natural phenomena caused by the presence of the deceased Hegemon’s body. As a result, Ning was able to endure the effect. By comparison, the Ancient cultivator seated in the lotus position was much more peaceful.

After they moved closer, the Ninedust Sectlord fell to his knees and kowtowed respectfully. “Redwater pays his respects to you, ancestor.”

There was a dark-red longstaff to the side of the Ancient ancestor, and the aura emanating from it shocked Ning. “A Universe treasure?” He had seen the broken sword in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom, and had also encountered the deceased Sword Hegemon’s dark blue greatsword in the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe. As a result, he was able to almost instantly ascertain that the dark-red longstaff next to this Ancient ancestor was also a Universe treasure.

Whoosh. A stream of light suddenly flew out from the dark-red longstaff, transforming into a bald, black-robed youth.

“Gentlemen.” The bald, black-robed youth had a calm, peaceful gaze that seemed to hold all the stars in the night sky, and his voice echoed within the cave.

“Senior,” the Ninedust Sectlord immediately called out humbly, a hint of excitement in his eyes. This was a Universe treasure! And a longstaff at that. He himself used longstaffs!

“Senior.” Ning called out with respect as well.

Any and every Universe treasure was worthy of respect, because every single one was born after experiencing endless trials and tribulations. They were utterly supreme amongst treasures, and they would only submit to those whom they truly acknowledged. Otherwise, there was no way to control them whatsoever.

“You are the fifth and the sixth to come to this place,” the bald, black-robed youth said peacefully.

Ning was secretly stunned upon hearing this. The fifth and the sixth? When they had visited Skywind’s homeland, they had been the fourth and the fifth. It seemed as though there was another expert who had reached this place without entering Skywind’s home.

“Since you have been able to survive and reach this place, it means that you both have had a number of fortuitous encounters in your life. Before dying, Master ordained that all Ancient cultivators would have a chance to earn some rewards from him if they could pass some of his tests. If there is someone capable of passing all the tests, I would be willing to follow that person,” the youth said.

“Pass all the tests?” The Ninedust Sectlord’s eyes lit up. If he passed everything, he would gain a Universe treasure? In the past, he never would’ve even dared to imagine such a thing. It must be remembered that virtually no Eternal Emperors wielded Universe treasures, much less Daolords. Only the most ridiculously lucky of Daolords would ever have a chance to acquire a Universe treasure.

“Emperor Vulturas came to this place before. Did he fail the test?” Ning suddenly asked.

The Ninedust Sectlord was stunned. Oh, right. Patriarch Vulturas had completed his Daomerge in Skywind’s homeland. After gaining eternity, he became a major power who was second only to the Hegemons in might. Had he failed to acquire the Universe treasure as well?

“Vulturas did indeed come here. He was the only Eternal Emperor to make it here, and he gained a prize for himself.” The youth nodded. “But passing the trials requires not just power; it also requires destiny. Vulturas and I were not destined to be.”

“Dare I ask, what are the trials?” The Ninedust Sectlord was rather excited. He was willing to risk everything for this. If he was lucky, he might end up with an Eternal weapon as the prize!

“All you need to do is walk closer to Master. Master set up formations and restrictive spells in the area; once you activate them, the trials will begin,” the youth said. “The better you perform, the more gifts you shall win for yourself. I shall be the arbiter of it all.”

“Understood.” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately walked over, moving towards the peacefully seated Ancient ancestor. Suddenly, he seemed to run into an invisible barrier. A few dimensional fluctuations spread out, and he disappeared without a trace.

The youth then turned to glance at Ning. He said calmly, “You are not an Ancient cultivator. You are not permitted to earn any of my Master’s treasures.”

Ning nodded helplessly.

“I personally don’t have any bias against non-Ancient cultivators,” the black-robed youth said. “However, Master’s dying instructions were that if our side won the Dawn War, his treasures were to be left to Ancient cultivators and Ancient cultivators alone. However, if our side lost the Dawn War, then anyone would be able to win his treasures, be they Aberrants, Chaos Godbeasts, or ordinary cultivators like yourself.”

Ning was puzzled. “The Dawn War?”

“You do not know of it?” The youth asked.

“I do not.” Ning shook his head.

The youth nodded in an uncaring manner. “It was a war that caused the true downfall of the Ancient cultivators as a race. Long, long ago, the Ancient cultivators were born from the primordial chaos as the most perfect of all living beings. They unified the entire universe under their rule! Even the Chaos Godbeasts were enslaved by them, while the Aberrants were all forced to bend the knee.”

Ning nodded. He had heard of this before.

“Afterwards, as time flowed on, more and more ordinary mortal beings came to be born. Ordinary mortals expanded and propagated at incredible speeds, and thus they rose to power at an inconceivable rate. They quickly became a race that was second only to the Ancient cultivators in the endless primordial chaos, and towards the end they actually became close to a match for the Ancients.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The Dao Alliance truly was formidable.

“But then, a disaster happened. This disaster was an extremely large-scale one. Many powerful cultivators in our homeland and even in distant places within the Great Dark were forced to join hands and fight back against this tribulation.”

“A tribulation?” Ning was surprised.

“Look.” The youth pointed towards the slumped humanoid figure off in the distance. “You just came out of its body. You should’ve noticed that it is different from ordinary cultivators.”

Ning nodded. Ordinary cultivators should’ve had divine power in their bodies. How could they have stone passageways, flame demons, earth devils, and strange planets?

“It was a member of our enemies, one of the most powerful of their kind,” the youth said. “If we lost that war, we would’ve been annihilated. If they lost, they would’ve been annihilated as well. This was a war of extermination, a war for survival. Both sides fought like mad, and all of us here joined forces. Back then, our five Hegemons commanded a host of Eternal Emperors to fight back against them! Even experts came from deep within the Great Dark to reinforce us… and in the end, a great battle was fought in the place now known as the Terror Starsea.”

“This battle was known as the Dawn War.”

“Back then, we Ancients had a total of three Hegemons. The Dao Alliance had one Hegemon, while the Aberrants also had one Hegemon. All of them died.” The youth continued, “An incredible number of powerful experts took part in that battle, and a steady stream of reinforcements came from within or beyond the Great Dark. The battle within the Terror Starsea was absolutely terrifying, and in the end I learned that the Dao Alliance, the Ancients, and the others resettled their homeland. This meant that the enemy had been defeated. We had won.”

“The Dawn War was a severe below to the Ancient cultivators. They had lost all three of their Hegemons.” The bald, black-robed youth shook his head and sighed. “The Dao Alliance was actually the quickest to recover, and many of their experts eventually drifted into the endless Great Dark in search of adventure. Do not blame Master for being unwilling to share his treasures with you; he knew that you ordinary cultivators would recover far more quickly than his race would. So long as you were not completely wiped out, there would definitely come a day where you surpassed the Ancients. For him to show a bit of selfishness in caring more about his own race is normal.”

Ning nodded. It seemed as though the Endless Territories had something of a secret history to it. No wonder the Terror Starsea was such a terrifying place; it had actually been the locale of the great Dawn War.

“So the endless Great Dark also holds many experts?” Ning asked.

“Yes, of course.” The bald, black-robed youth nodded. “There are many who have spent ages drifting through the endless Great Dark, which means it holds many powerful experts indeed. However, they are far too distant from us; even if you spent a hundred thousand chaos cycles travelling, you might not be able to reach them. Generally speaking, only Eternal Emperors would ever be so bored as to embark on such a distant journey. It was only due to how vitally important the Dawn War was that our allies hastened to the Terror Starsea, where the battle was to be held. The battle against our foes was so violent that even now the Terror Starsea is filled with countless dangers. Even Hegemons might perish here, if they aren’t careful.”

“Hah. There’s no need for a Daolord like you to know too much. In short, we wiped our enemies out and all the territories now belong to us once more.” The youth let out a chuckle. “In the end, our side on the Dawn War.”

Ning nodded slowly. It seemed as though in the past, the Ancient cultivators were actually an incredibly powerful force within the Endless Territories. They had three Hegemons! Alas, those three had perished during the war.

The Dawn War represented the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The era of the Ancients and their unified rule had ended; the era of the Dao Alliance had begun.

“Senior, am I supposed to just stand here and wait?” Ning asked.

“Yes, you can just wait here. There really is nothing here for you. The only reason you were even able to come here was because you were alongside an Ancient cultivator.” The youth nodded.

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Chapter 33 – Within the Cave

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 33 – Within the Cave

“Nothing whatsoever?” Ji Ning was rather surprised by this. He then turned to glance at the white-robed form. “What about the white-robed Hegemon?”

“He was the Hegemon of the Dao Alliance,” the bald, black-robed youth said. “During that great war, he died in battle but managed to deliver a heavy wound to our enemy. My master managed to follow that up with a lethal blow, but the enemy managed to heavily wound my master before perishing. My master’s wounds were so heavy that he knew he wouldn’t be able to survive, and so he left behind his legacies and his will for future Ancients to inherit. As for the Dao Alliance’s Hegemon, he didn’t have the chance to leave behind any legacies.”

“As for his treasures… well, my master naturally took them all and arranged for them to be given to future Ancients who could pass his trials,” the youth said.

Ning blinked a few times. But those treasures were the treasures of an elder of the Dao Alliance. I’m a member of the Dao Alliance!

Still, Ning could do nothing but grumble mentally. In truth, he understood what the Hegemon must have been thinking. Once the Dawn War ended, the era of the Ancient cultivators would have come to an end as well, and the Dao Alliance would become the new rulers of the Endless Territories. He naturally had to make certain preparations for the Ancient race.

“This place we are in looks like a cave, but it is actually a sealed-off estate-world which Master once used to trap and slay his foes,” the youth said. “There’s no way for you to leave this place on your own. If you wish to leave, I can send you off.”

“No rush just yet,” Ning said. This was a place where two Hegemons had battled an enemy to the death. He naturally had to spend some time inspecting it.

“Oh, right. How long will it be before Ninedust’s trials conclude?” Ning asked.

The youth slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. If he is fast, perhaps a thousand years. If he takes a long time, even ten million years wouldn’t be out of the realm of question. Master truly did make meticulous preparations for his Ancient successors.”

“I have some retainers with me. Can I release them here and let them take a look?” Ning asked. The white-robed Hegemon’s corpse generated a powerful natural field of illusions; it might be of use to Su Youji.

“Yes.” The youth said calmly, “But if they are not Ancient cultivators, none of them will be able to gain any of my master’s legacies! Also, you are not permitted to cause any damage to the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse. He died for the sake of our homeland, and so Master set up spells in the area around him. If any of you try to cause damage to his corpse, you’ll suffer a counter-attack from Master’s spells.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“A final reminder. This cave is filled with quite a few vestigial scars from the battle that was fought here, and they might be of use to you in meditating on the Dao. The others who came here in the past also allowed their servants to come out and inspect the battlefield scars. If and when you are ready to leave, just notify me.” The youth finished his words, then transformed into a stream of light that flew into the dark-red longstaff nearby.

The cave was completely silent once more. Ning scanned his surroundings. This was a place where two Hegemons had died. Ning still felt hopeful that there was perhaps some good fortune waiting for him here.

……

Ning was now all alone within the cave. Ninedust had gone off to test himself against the trials, and so Ning had no choice but to slowly search the area for himself and see if there was anything useful for him here.

“I wonder where this enemy came from?” Ning returned to the pitch-black humanoid corpse that was 540,000 meters tall. “It actually managed to kill two Hegemons. Its entire corpse is probably a priceless treasure,” Ning mused.

A small portion of the ‘golden sand’ from the shattered planet’s core had allowed Ning’s six Northbow swords to undergo an earthshaking transformation. Skywind’s home planet was similarly extraordinary. Ning surmised that the corpse probably held other unique things within it.

“Come here.” Ning waved a finger, attempting to drag the corpse into his estate-world. However, the pitch-black humanoid corpse just lay there slumped, not moving at all. Clearly, there was no way someone like Ning could possibly move it at all.

“Transform.” Ning’s body suddenly blurred as he expanded to become 540,000 meters tall as well. He was now the exact same size as the corpse. Ning reached out with his hands to grab the corpse by its elbows. Given that the target had died long ago, there was no way for it to resist him.

“Get over here!” Hands around the corpse’s elbows, Ning did his best to lift it upwards… but the corpse didn’t even budge in the slightest. Ning felt as though he was an ordinary man who was trying to lift up a massive mountain! There was no way to budge it in the slightest.

“Not even the corpse of a Hegemon should be this heavy. Still, it makes sense. I can’t even budge or shake the planets in its body. How can I possibly move the entire corpse?” Ning tried moving the corpse multiple times, but wasn’t able to so much as budge the thing. In the end, he had no choice but to give up. He couldn’t help but feel even more puzzled; how had this humanoid creature been created? Was it like a golem-type magic treasure, or the Hegemon of some sort of strange, unique race?

Ning spent quite some time pondering over the humanoid corpse. It obviously was an incredibly valuable treasure, but there was nothing he could do at all.

Should he go back inside? But even when he had been fighting alongside the Ninedust Sectlord, they had still been forced to use Dao-seals to escape the corpse. Ning really didn’t want to take on the risk of going back inside! In addition, he had the feeling that he probably wouldn’t be able to find much within the corpse. The golden sand had only come out of the shattered planet’s core because of the fatal strikes delivered by two Hegemons. Otherwise, how would Ning ever had a chance to get his hands on something so valuable?

As far as Ning could tell, the only wound on the black humanoid body was that wound across the chest. The other parts of its body seemed completely undamaged; it seemed unlikely that Ning would be able to gain much from it.

“What about the stone walls?” Just like the others, Ning ended up deciding to give up trying to move the humanoid corpse and instead began to inspect the walls. Might there be any treasures littered here?

None at all! Even if there had been any, the others probably would’ve swept them clean long ago.

Ning used his hand to gently trace some of the scars left behind on the walls. Although this cave was actually a top-grade Eternal treasure, it was covered with ancient scars from that long-ago battle. The emanations of the Dao radiating from those scars caused Ning to fall into a state of intoxication.

“These scars can be divided into representing three different types of ‘intent’. It seems they pertain to the two Hegemons and the humanoid corpse,” Ning mused.

One type of intent was an overwhelming, awe-inspiring, radiant intent.

The second intent was that of a furious, endless flood of water.

The third was that of a baleful metallic will. In terms of aura, the metallic one was actually slightly weaker than the other two intents.

“The intent of radiant light belonged to the white-robed Hegemon. The intent of water belonged to the Ancient ancestor.” Ning was able to quickly verify which belonged to which, as the two Hegemon corpses continued to emanate waves of power and presence as well. “Then that means the black humanoid corpse represented that metallic will. So it actually had a Dao of its own, and its own Dao was second to just that of the Hegemons.” Ning was rather amazed by all of these things.

Ning waved his hand, causing four figures to appear by his side. They were Su Youji, Pillsaint, Daolord Naia, and Daolord Bruteflame. After Ning had captured Daolord Bruteflame, the man had naturally submitted and chosen to serve Ning.

“Master.” All four of them hurriedly called out to Ning with respect as they looked curiously at their surroundings. They didn’t really pay much attention to the humanoid corpse, but the two distant Hegemon corpses caused all of them to feel stunned.

“Is that…” The four could scarcely believe it.

“Those are the corpses of a pair of Hegemons,” Ning confirmed. “Don’t just stand there like idiots. I came to this place alongside the Ninedust Sectlord, but I won’t be able to get any legacies from it. There are some battle-scars on the cave walls that you can examine which might be of assistance to you in comprehending the Dao. Youji, the closer you move to the white-robed Hegemon, the more powerful the field of illusions around it becomes. It might be of use to you.”

All four of them were completely stunned, but they quickly calmed down upon hearing Ning’s instructions. Ning trusted all four of them implicitly, because they had all sworn lifeblood oaths to him.

“Go,” Ning instructed.

“Right.”

“Scars of battle left behind by Hegemons?” They all began to explore the cave and inspect the walls. As for Ning, he lifted his head to gaze at the cave walls as well as he sought to better understand the Hegemon’s Dao. Although this wasn’t the Dao of the Sword, all Daos shared certain commonalities. Daolord Allgod, for example, delighted in training in all types of Daos. He had even trained in the Dao of the Sword! This was because all Daos had a chance to stimulate and enlighten you. There was no way Ning would allow himself to miss the chance to analyze the Dao of a Hegemon.

And so, Ning and his four retainers began to train and meditate within the cave. Su Youji trained in the Dao of Fire, while the white-robed Hegemon was a master of the Dao of Light, but both Daos were highly suited to illusions! Mastery over illusions was not exclusive to Heartforce Cultivators.

“Incredible. This is absolutely incredible. Radiance… free will… how can illusions reach such an incredible level?” Su Youji was completely stunned and dazed by what she found. She was the successor of Feixian the Exalted, and was a true master of the art of illusions and charm. However, she wasn’t even close to being a match for this Hegemon. The mere illusory ripples generated by the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse filled her with indescribable awe.

“Master, Master! Come over here, quickly!” After meditating for five months, Su Youji began to call out for Ning.

“Eh?” Ning had been seated in the lotus position, staring at the cave walls. He turned his head to look at Su Youji.

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Chapter 34 – Allworlds Tribulation

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 34 – Allworlds Tribulation

The cave had been completely silent, with Ji Ning and the other three retainers completely absorbed in the profound mysteries of the Dao contained within the scars on the wall. Su Youji’s sudden shout startled all four of them, and they turned to look at her as she ran towards Ning, her face filled with excitement.

“What is it, Youji?” Ning rose to his feet and began to walk towards her.

“The white-robed Hegemon was absolutely incredible. He’s just… just…” Su Youji was so excited she could barely speak properly. “Master, you have to test it out for yourself.”

“Of course he was incredible. He was a Hegemon!” Ning looked at her. “When I moved towards him, I could sense the field of illusions surrounding him. That’s why I told you to go to him and meditate there.”

“That’s not it!” Su Youji repeatedly shook her head. “Master, you probably didn’t move too close to the Hegemon’s body, right?”

“I did not.” Ning shook his head. As soon as he sensed the field of illusions start to affect him, he immediately elected to keep a safe distance from it.

“Master, if you had moved closer you would’ve found out for yourself.” Su Youji said quickly, “The closer you are, the more marvelous those illusions are. My master, Feixian the Exalted, was skilled in the arts of charm and control, and she was also incredibly skilled in the art of illusions. Do you know what the apex of mastery over illusions is?”

“The apex?” Ning frowned.

“The apex of illusions… is reality!” Su Youji’s eyes were filled with excitement. “With but a thought, you can create illusions that are as real as reality itself. That represents the utmost apex of mastery over illusions, a level at which even most Eternal Emperors wouldn’t be able to tell the illusions apart from reality and thus would easily die within the dream. I feel certain that this white-robed Hegemon’s mastery over illusions must have reached this level.

Ning’s face paled slightly. The apex of illusions was reality? If you couldn’t even tell the illusions apart from reality, then it really would be easy for you to perish.

“The closer I moved towards him, the more real the illusions became,” Su Youji said. “Although this Hegemon died long ago and these illusions are naturally generated by his corpse, I can tell just how terrifying his mastery over illusions must have been when he was alive. I’m fairly weak, and so I wasn’t able to move much closer to him. You are much stronger than me, Master. I’m sure that once you move close to him, you’ll experience for yourself the illusions which are as real as reality itself. Given that the Hegemon has already died, these illusions shouldn’t prove to be much of a threat to you.”

“Master, you have to go test it out for yourself.” Su Youji looked at Ning eagerly.

“Reality, eh?” Ning felt rather intrigued as well.

“After you experience it personally, you have to describe it for me. I have the feeling that my mastery over illusions is already close to that of my own master, Feixian the Exalted. It would be incredible if I could surpass her in this area!” Su Youji let out a sigh. “Thank goodness these illusions cannot attack people.”

Generally speaking, experts who relied on illusions used them to mystify and trap their opponents, then delivered a mortal strike to slay them! The white-robed Hegemon, however, was dead. His illusions could mystify and entrap them, but there was no mechanism for actually killing them; the Hegemon himself was dead, after all.

“I’ll give it a try.” Ning walked towards the white-robed Hegemon.

As Ning moved closer and closer to the white-robed Hegemon, the illusions slowly began to fill his mind. Reality began to gradually dissipated, replaced by illusions which began to seep into Ning’s mind. However, Ning’s azureflower mist energy had only grown even more pure after he became a Daolord of the Second Step, which meant that his soul was naturally on a higher level than that of most Daolords of the Fourth Step. Given that his heartforce was at the verge of the sixth stage, he really was quite skilled in resisting illusions.

“Impressive.” Ning continued his advance. Reality around him was beginning to fade away, while the illusions were becoming increasingly real. Dazzling women appeared by his side, as did rare magic treasures and vile demons…

“I can actually no longer tell apart what is real and what is not.” Ning remained clear-minded, but he could no longer see any flaws in the illusions. He was now completely surrounded by illusory images, with a group of seductive beauties carrying platters of wine and food towards him.

“Break!” Ning’s Dao-heart could not be shaken by such things, and so he forcibly dispelled the illusions around him. But as he continued to advance towards the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse, the illusions came sweeping towards him once more. This time, they were even more persistent and pervasive.

“If I was in an actual life-or-death battle, illusions on this level would be able to affect me for a brief period of time… and during that brief moment, I would probably be struck and even killed.” Ning was secretly amazed. What terrifying illusions! Thankfully, the white-robed Hegemon was already dead. It didn’t matter how long the illusions were able to trap him for; the only thing that mattered was that he could still awaken from them, given enough time.

……

“Master is as impressive as always.” Su Youji watched as Ning advanced towards the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse. She couldn’t help but feel rather excited by his progress. “He really is incredible. He’s made it much farther than I did, and is much closer to the Hegemon’s corpse. I already reached my limit much earlier; if I tried to proceed, my will and mind would’ve grown blurry.”

Su Youji knew very well that when surrounded by passive illusions, she could allow herself to be trapped by them but her soul and her mind had to maintain a minimum level of clarity. If she couldn’t even do that, then she would gradually forget who she even was and would be forever trapped in an illusory world, never to escape.

……

Ning was finding it harder and harder to resist the illusions as well.

“Break. Break. Break!” Ning had to spend two full seconds in order to forcibly dispel the illusions this time. A stunned look was in his eyes. This was absolutely terrifying.

Two full seconds? In a fight at his level, he would’ve died countless times over by now.

“I’m going to keep advancing. I want to see just how powerful these illusions can become.” Ning’s Dao-heart remained unaffected, and his soul and his mind remained quite clear. Even though he was finding it harder and harder to break free from the illusions, he still knew that he was Ji Ning of the Three Realms. So long as his mind was still intact, he could continue advancing. As soon as he felt his mind begin to slip, he would immediately begin to withdraw!

BOOM!

As Ning took another step forward, the surrounding illusions suddenly seemed to explode and transform. The world he was in was a world of singing birds and fragrant flowers. He was in a village within a beautiful mountain valley. The forests had a few villagers within them, and Ning was an ordinary village youth who made his living as a woodcutter…

“This illusion…” Ning was dressed in rough clothes and had a woodcutter’s axe over his shoulders. He stared at his surroundings, puzzled.

Off in the distance was a stream of water that looked clear and refreshing, with a few small fish swimming about in it. He could make out every single scale with perfect clarity.

Next to him was a stalk of bamboo, emanating a fragrant scent. Beneath his feet was a patch of wild grass that was covered in glistening, jewel-like dew.

“Erbao! Erbao!” An old woman’s voice rang out from afar.

“Mom’s calling to me.” This thought suddenly entered Ning’s mind.

“This illusion is absolutely terrifying. I feel as though I’ve been reborn into a new life and a new world.” Ning was stunned. “Everything seems so completely real. The smiles of the villagers, the movements of the fish, the aura of the natural world… everything seems perfectly real.” This really did seem like an actual, real world.

“Break for me!” Ning’s will was roaring loudly. BOOM! The illusory world trembled for a brief moment. The distant woman, the villagers, and even the village dogs all twisted and distorted for a brief instant.

“I said break!” Ning’s will bellowed out again. “Break! Break! Break!” Ning’s will continued to bellow furiously. He was still clear-minded. Although his will was bound and constrained by this illusory world, Ning still had the power to struggle to break free.

Rumble…

Finally, the illusory world shattered into tiny pieces.

“I took eighteen full seconds before I was able to escape?” Ning was rather stunned. He was incredibly strong in terms of resisting illusions, even amongst elite Daolords, but he had still been trapped for nearly twenty seconds before breaking free. This Hegemon was simply terrifying.

“Another step.” Ning took another step forwards. “Hmm. Have I reached the end?” Ning continued to advance, only to find that the power of the illusions had ceased to increase. No matter how further he advanced, the power did no change in the slightest. By now, Ning was less than three meters away from the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse. He was prevented from advancing any further by a formation, but the power of the illusions didn’t increase at all.

“Master, you were able to make it to the Hegemon’s corpse?” The distant Su Youji was rather excited.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I’ll meditate for a time. No need to disturb me.”

“Understood.” Su Youji nodded.

Things were actually still quite tough for Ning, because he was being repeatedly swept up into the illusions and forced to repeatedly break free from them. “These illusions were merely created by the Hegemon’s corpse. If he was still alive, how terrifying would his illusions be? And these illusions truly are marvelous. I can’t see any flaws in them whatsoever; they look just the same as reality itself. Fortunately, my soul is strong enough that I can maintain a modicum of clarity.”

Ning sat down in the lotus position, no longer fighting back against the illusions and allowing himself to be swept into that illusory world. “Each time I enter this illusion, I feel as though I’ve been reborn into a new world. I can’t see any flaws in the illusions at all and have to struggle to free myself. This is a good way to temper my Dao-heart and strengthen my mind. Perhaps it will be of assistance to me in breaking through to the sixth stage of heartforce.”

What Ning did not realize was that this white-robed Hegemon had used his ultimate mastery of the Dao of Light to develop his own technique, the ‘Allworld Tribulation’, and then used it to gain eternity for himself! As soon as he broke through to the Eternal level, he became a Hegemon! As a Daolord, he was a terrifyingly strong figure who had merged together two Supreme Daos. After finally mastering his own ultimate Dao, the Allworld Tribulation, he had become a truly terrifying Hegemon.

After he died, his eternal corpse naturally continued to hold some of the power and aura of his Allworld Tribulation within it. When he was still alive, the natural illusions emanating from his body would’ve completely swept Ning into their grasp. He would’ve forgotten himself, forever lost within the illusions.

The remaining power in his corpse was nothing more than a tiny fraction of the true power this Hegemon had once wielded.

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Chapter 35 – Heartforce, Stage Six – World

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 35 – Heartforce, Stage Six – World

Ji Ning was completely absorbed by the Allworld Tribulation’s illusions.

……

Ning became a fisherman’s child. When he was young, he would accompany his father in fishing on the sea. He eventually fell in love with a rich man’s daughter, but her family looked down upon him. On one seafaring voyage, his father ended up perishing, resulting in Ning braving the oceans by himself. Slowly, the clever Ning learned more and more tricks for catching fish. He gradually accumulated a fortune, then purchased a large ship for himself. As his fishing skills continued to improve, he became a legend amongst fisherman. He eventually had over a hundred sails within his flee, and the rich girl’s family actually came to him to make amends.

This was a world without cultivation. His life was an ordinary one, and it started with him being a youth who slowly grew up, becoming a towering figure by his middle years and the patriarch of an incredibly strong and stable clan in his late years.

……

Ning became a peerless swordsman. His sword was the number one sword of the world, and his speed surpassed everyone’s imaginations.

The reason why he had returned from his drifting adventures on the oceans was because he wished to find his birth parents. Thanks to a medallion he had carried with him his entire life, he finally discovered his parents. When he was young, they had been pursued by a group of enemies and so they were forced to abandon him in front of a rich family’s doorstep. Eventually, his parents had found a place to hide. They had quietly trained until they became incredibly powerful. They killed their foes, then established a mountain villa and had many other children and even grandchildren.

And right at this moment, Ning finally came back to them as well…

……

Ning became a physician’s apprentice, earnestly following his master in the practice of medicine. He lived a very ordinary life, and the physician’s daughter ended up marrying him. His skill in medicine eventually surpassed his master’s, and his fame and reputation quickly spread throughout the world. Although he suffered the occasional setback, with other physicians occasionally slandering him, his influence within the world continued to only grow greater and greater…

……

Ning was a fiend, a true demon. His only ambition was to rule the entire world and force all of its many denizens to prostrate themselves at his feet. All schools and all sects had to bow before him… and those who refused would perish!

The fiendish Ning set up his own organization, and within its domain he was the master of all. No one dared to violate his command! Slowly, his area of influence began to spread as he wiped out the various other schools and sects nearby. His reputation grew greater and greater, as did his power. He became the undisputed hegemon amongst the countless evil figures of the world, and in the final battle he slew the three grandmasters of the righteous path. From that day forth, the entire world fell under his demonic, despotic might. No one dared to disobey him.

……

One life after another. Each time, Ning lived a wonderful live. Even when he became a demonic deposit or a viledoer, he would end up becoming an invincible figure, a leader amongst devils who none could shake.

The righteous path? The evil path? An ordinary mortal? A rural nobleman? A robber baron? A low-key sect farmer who was actually the number one expert in his sect? A brilliant scholar who won the imperial exams and was given the title of ‘zhuangyuan’? A down-on-his-luck scholar who encountered a fox-fairy spirit?

Each illusory life was like a form of rebirth. In truth, all of the illusory worlds were created by the Allworld Tribulation based on Ning’s own memories. For example, becoming a ‘zhuangyuan’ was something exclusive to the world of Earth in the Three Realms. Precisely because these worlds were all created based on Ning’s own memories, they all seemed very comfortable and familiar to Ning, making it easier for him to be drawn deeper into them.

……

It was all so real. Too real. Not only was it comparable to reincarnation, it was dimming his Dao-heart and his will! An ordinary Samsara Daolord’s mind would’ve long ago been fogged over by the endless illusions, and they would’ve forgotten who they were and been forever trapped by the illusions.

If Ning had come here shortly after leaving the Three Realms, even he wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. However, his will and his soul had been tempered and shaped to be even more unshakeable than before. He was always able to maintain at least a modicum of clarity. Although these illusory worlds were very real and held both love and hate, family and ambition and madness… Ning was always able to keep himself at arm’s length. He wasn’t seduced or led astray by the illusions, and his soul and his will watched in a detached manner as this all proceeded.

……

“Flamefairy, Master has spent far too much time in those illusions. It’s been nearly a hundred thousand years. You’ve already become a Daolord of the Third Step, but he’s still in the illusions!” Pillsaint and Su Youji were next to each other within the cave, staring towards the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse and the still-seated Ning.

Su Youji gazed towards Ning. “Master was able to make it all the way to the Hegemon’s corpse. Clearly, these illusions aren’t able to do anything to him. There’s no need for you to worry. Everything will be fine. Let us wait a while longer. If something really does seem to be wrong, I’ll go over there and pull him out.”

Su Youji had broken through as well. Her path had been that of the Dao of Charm and illusions to begin with, and the white-robed Hegemon’s mastery over illusions had indeed given her new insights and epiphanies. She had gained a deeper understanding of the legacy of Feixian the Exalted, and thus her rate of improvement began to accelerate rapidly. Thanks to a temporal acceleration treasure, she finally managed to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step after nearly ten million accelerated years.

If it hadn’t been for the insights she had gained from the white-robed Hegemon’s illusions, she probably would’ve taken ten times as long in order to make this breakthrough.

Pillsaint remained a Daolord of the Second Step. The battle-scars on the cave walls were of very limited benefit to him. He was at a fairly low level of insight, and as such the intent of a Hegemon’s Dao was mostly inscrutable to him.

As for Daolord Naia and Daolord Bruteflame, they were both Daolords of the Fourth Step. Both of them were continued to ardently study those Hegemonic battle-scars, as they were of tremendous help to them.

“After becoming a Daolord of the Third Step, my soul has continuously increased in power. Given my mastery over the art of illusions, I should be more or less able to resist the remnant energy unleashed by the Hegemon’s corpse,” Su Youji said.

“Eh?” Pillsaint’s eyebrows suddenly lifted upwards.

“Master…” Su Youji was startled as well.

An strange aura suddenly shot out from the distant, seated Ning. It was as though something had just been given birth to.

……

One life after another. He threw himself into each life, allowing himself to experience love and hate, life and death. Each life was a wonderful one, as the illusions sought to drag Ning fully into that world and drown him within its lies.

However, each time Ning was always able to extricate himself. In the blink of an eye, thousands of worlds and lifetimes had gone by.

“Master, I’ve grown weary of the red dust of the mortal world. I wish to dedicate myself to the monastic life. Please accept me.” A white-robed youth was kneeling in front of an old monk within a monastery. But right at this moment…

Rumble… the entire world suddenly started to shake. The white-robed youth was briefly startled. He rose to his feet, scanning his surroundings. He looked at the old monk, then looked at the mountains around him. The entire world seemed to be within his gaze.

“It is time to put an end to this unending cycle of reincarnation,” the white-robed youth said.

Rumble…

The entire world burst apart, the illusions have completely collapsed. The world in front of Ning became clear once more. He was still seated in the lotus position within the cave, and roughly thirty meters up ahead of him was the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse. Although the power of the illusions remained as potent as ever, they were no longer able to affect him in the slightest… because the sea of consciousness within his mind had just undergone a fundamental transformation.

BOOOM!!!

A powerful tidal wave of heartforce shot out, drenching reality in its waters. Reality and illusions twisted together, coalescing into a single spot of light. This spot of light was almost like the Worldheart which every single chaosworld was born from.

The spot of light began to grow, and it seemed to contain a thousand planets within it. With a rumbling sound, an entire universe began to manifest inside of it as a new world was established.

This… this was his heartworld!

Heartforce, stage six – World!

Ning’s mind and heart had long ago been at the threshold of this level; all he needed was some more experience and insights, and he would have made his breakthrough. If it hadn’t been for this event, he probably would’ve needed to experience many more things and seen more worlds before finally making his breakthrough. However, the endless illusory worlds of the Allworld Tribulation had allowed him to finally see through to the nature of reality. His heartforce vaulted over that final barrier, allowing him to reach the sixth stage. He finally established his own heartworld, a world where illusions and reality intersected.

The heartworld was to Heartforce Cultivators what the Jindan chaos region was to Ki Refiners! Only if you could establish a heartworld would you be considered a true Heartforce Cultivator!

There were incredibly few true Heartforce Cultivators. The experiences Ning had undergone in the Three Realms had given him tremendous mental fortitude, and he had always had an incredibly high level of comprehension… but in the end, he had still needed the Allworld Tribulation in order to make the final breakthrough.

“From this day forth, I am a Heartforce Cultivator.

“Ki Refiners train in Immortal energy. They are skilled in secret arts and magic treasures.

“Fiendgods train in their divine body. They are skilled in divine abilities and in using weapons in close combat.

“Heartforce Cultivators establish heartworlds. They train in heartforce and know many mysterious powers that can strike at an enemy’s heart, slaying them with a thought.”

Ning nodded slightly. Ki Refiners and Fiendgods focused on reaching ever-higher levels of mastery in the Dao. Heartforce Cultivators, however, were different.

Heartforce Cultivators did not focus on the strength of their Dao; rather, they focused on the stability of their Dao. They needed extremely stable Daos and extremely stable heartworlds, as only then could those heartworlds continuously expand. The vaster a heartworld was, the more terrifyingly powerful a Heartworld Cultivator would be! A Verge-level Heartforce Cultivator could have a heartworld that was comparable in size to an entire territory!

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Chapter 36 – Heartforce Cultivator

Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 36 – Heartforce Cultivator

Within the cave.

Ji Ning turned and left, quickly pulling away from the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse.

“Master?” Su Youji spoke out.”

“Master, what happened just now?” Pillsaint was very curious. Both of them had sensed that unusual aura rippling out just now.

Ning nodded at them. “I just established my heartworld.”

“Heartworld?” Both Su Youji and Pillsaint revealed shocked looks.

“Heartworld?” Daolord Naia and Daolord Bruteflame had been startled by the aura as well, and they were also stunned when they heard Ning say these things.

One only became a true Heartforce Cultivator upon being able to establish a heartworld. Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly rare! A powerful Daolord who also trained as a Heartforce Cultivator? He would definitely be dreaded by the vast majority of other Daolords.

“Yes.” Ning didn’t hide it from them, because they were his retainers. In the future, they’d be able to notice when he used his Heartforce Cultivator abilities to kill his foes.

“Do not disturb me.” Ning waved his hand, causing the temporal acceleration cottage to appear. He then stepped into the cottage.

“A Heartforce Cultivator. Master has become a Heartforce Cultivator.” Su Youji was rather stunned.

“T-this is incredible.” Pillsaint, Daolord Bruteflame, and Daolord Naia could scarcely believe it. What none of them knew was that in the Three Realms, Ning had actually been even more formidable in heartforce than he had been in the Dao of the Sword. Even Subhuti had suspected for a time that he had misjudged his disciple. Was it possible, Subhuti had wondered, that his disciple was actually more suited to the path of heartforce?

And now, he had finally established his own heartworld.

……

Within the thatched temporal cottage. Ning sat down in the lotus position. The task before him was for him to fully construct the heartworld. The larger the heartworld, the more powerful his heartforce would be.

The creation of a heartworld was an extremely intricate task. When he had been next to the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse, he had been constantly assaulted by the illusions and so naturally chose to move away from its area of influence before beginning this task.

“My own heartworld.” With a thought, Ning began to visualize the heartworld inside himself. Although it looked like nothing more than a tiny dot on his forehead, it contained an entire world within itself. The amount of space that could be held within that dot was theoretically limitless; it was entirely possible for it to grow to become greater than even the Badlands Territory. Ordinary Verge-level Heartforce Cultivators would generally have heartworlds that were on par with an ordinary territory in size.

If you wanted to know how powerful a heartforce cultivator was, you could find out by looking at his heartworld. The heartworld of a master-class World-level cultivator would merely be roughly comparable to a chaosworld in size! However, Ning’s Dao was that of a Samsara Daolord’s, and thus he was able to break through and make it far larger.

Right now, his heartworld was a blurry, foggy region.

“Arise.” A voice rang out within the world, causing the mists to begin to vanish. A continent began to emerge and spread out within the void, and a sky began to appear above it which grew higher and higher…

At the same time, his heartworld began to continuously draw in more and more chaos energy. Ning’s chaos jewels continuously replenished his supply of power. Relying on chaos energy from the outside world would be too slow, and he had more than enough chaos jewels. The amount of chaos energy needed to make this breakthrough was nothing to him.

Soon, the world halted its expansion. It was now over ten billion kilometers wide, covering an absolutely enormous amount of space that was comparable to a chaosworld. This entire world brimmed with sword-ki, as this was a world of the sword.

“Grow further.” Ning poured his first-stage Omega Sword Dago into the heart of this heartworld, using it to try and further expand his heartworld.

Rumble… the world seemed to change in color and darken. The land mass at the very center of the heartworld began to bulge upwards as the tallest mountain within this world climbed ever-higher, stabbing like a sword into the skies from within the very center. This enormous sword emanated the aura of the Omega Sword Dao, and it was also the physical representation of this Dao. It was now more than te billion kilometers tall, and the might of its aura washed out throughout the heartworld.

The heartworld continued to expand at a furious pace, growing to be a hundred… a thousand… ten thousand times larger than before. The rate at which it was growing was truly staggering.

“It seems as though my Omega Sword Dao is quite well-suited for the creation of this heartworld.” A figure suddenly appeared at the top of the enormous sword-mountain. It was a white-robed Ning, formed by the manifestation of his will. “A world created using the Omega Sword Dao as the core is extremely stable, making it much easier for it to grow and expand.”

“Mm. It finally hit the limit.” Ning halted the expansion. This vast, endless world was so great in size that Ning couldn’t even see to the end of it.

“Again.” Ning began the final expansion, pouring his second-stage Omega Sword Dago into the core of this world. The heartworld had already been terrifyingly large in size, and now it grew even larger. The heavens grew vaster, while the earth grew deeper. The world stretched outwards unto infinity as the enormous sword-mountain increased in height as well. It rumbled as it stretched upwards until it finally reached a height of more than ten billion kilometers in size.

Ning’s chaos jewels were being depleted at a furious pace as they provided sustenance for his heartworld’s expansion. Thankfully, this wasn’t a real world, and so the amount of chaos jewels used up was still fairly negligible to Ning. If he had to create an enormous real world of this size, even a hundred million cubes of chaos jewels would be far from enough.

After another period of time passed, everything fell still once more.

“T-this is c-crazy big…” Ning himself was shocked as his mental projection stood there atop the giant sword-mountain, staring at this seemingly infinitely large world. Thankfully, he was the creator of this heartworld and knew everything within it… which was why he knew that the heartworld was roughly comparable to a full territory in size!

How vast was a normal territory? You’d generally have to traverse it through relying on spacetime transfer arrays. A single territory was far larger than the entire Brightshore Kingdom! The Badlands Territory had roughly a hundred thousand chaosworlds within it, but the chaosworlds were all extremely distant from each other. As a result, the size of a territory was truly staggering.

“Arise.” Ning pointed off into the horizon, where a heavenly pillar suddenly began to take form. “Arise.” Ning pointed to the other direction, with yet another heavenly pillar taking shape.

Here, Ning was able to create anything at all with his will alone. Soon, five celestial pillars had appeared at the ends of this vast world, and they embodied his Blood Drop sword-intent, his Shadowless sword-art, his Yin-Yang sword-intent, his Soleheart sword-intent, and his Heavenbreaker sword-intent.

“Come forth.” Ning smiled as he stared off into the distance. The earth rumbled as chaos nectar began to appear, quickly pooling together into a lake.

Ning just laughed. He knew that all of this was imaginary, not actual chaos nectar. “According to the legends, when Heartforce Cultivators reach the true apex, their heartworlds shall transform into true worlds. When that happens, the treasures within their heartworld will become actual treasures. If you form a heartforce Eternal weapon, that Eternal weapon can be taken out from your heartworld and used in combat. You could even created precious ingredients and make them real,” Ning murmured softly.

This was the goal of every Heartforce Cultivator… however, thus far no one had ever been able to accomplish it! In truth, the goal was absolutely ridiculous and unbelievable.

……

This heartworld formed by his second-stage Omega Sword Dao was actually the size of an entire territory. In truth, this stunned and delighted Ning considerably, as only Verge-level Heartforce Cultivators were supposed to be able to accomplish this.

Still, it made sense. The heartworld didn’t really require a powerful Dao, it required a stable one! The more stable the Dao, the better. The more stable the Dao, the larger the heartworld!

There were many powerful Daolords who had incredibly powerful and fierce Daos, but those Daos wouldn’t be a good fit for establishing a heartworld. The toughness of a chain depended on the strength of the weakest link! If a heartworld was to be stable, it couldn’t afford to have any weak links at all.

Many Hearrtforce Cultivators often wandered the universe, seeking ways to further stabilize and perfect their Daos. When Ning had come up with five Supreme Daos and linked them together, he had already formed an extremely stable Dao. Now that he had truly fused them into a single Dao, the Omega Sword Dao, he had created the most perfect and stable Dao possible!

The Omega Sword Dao was not only a truly ultimate Dao, it was also the most stable of Daos! It represented the absolute limit with regards to the Dao of the Sword, and it had no flaws whatsoever. A mere second-stage Omega Sword Dao was already comparable in stability to the Daos of many Verge-level Heartforce Cultivators. The third stage of this Omega Dao would most likely put Ning at a level comparable to the most supreme Heartforce Cultivator Daolords in existence.

“There are differences in power even amongst Verge-level Heartforce Cultivators. Daolord Soleman, for example, is much weaker than the Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace,” Ning mused to himself. “Daolord Featherdress, for example, was known as the most powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories during his time.”

When Ning had first been captured and sent to the Astral Islands, he had learned of the ninety-nine legacies it held. The top-ranked legacy was the heartforce legacy of Daolord Featherdress. Daolord Soleman couldn’t compare to Daolord Featherdress in power; the later was once known as the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories! It must be remembered that not even the current Palace Lord of the Palace of the Heart was ranked number one in all the Endless Territories.

Clearly, there could be great differences in power amongst Heartforce Cultivators.

“My Omega Sword Dao is virtually flawless. The third stage might put me close to Daolord Featherdress’ level.” Ning was delighted. In the past, Daolord Featherdress’ legacy was useless to him… but now, he could make use of those heartforce secret arts.

……

As a Heartforce Cultivator, he was on roughly the same level as Daolord Soleman. Even if he was a bit weaker, he wouldn’t be that much weaker. He could be considered a second-tier Heartforce Cultivator Daolord.

In close combat, his sword-arts and his Northbow swords ensured that he stood at the very peak of power amongst second-tier Daolords.

When you combined the two…

Ning knew very well that there were now very, very few Daolords who could match a freak like him.

……

Time continued to flow on. After Ning became a Heartforce Cultivator, he began to train in the terrifyingly powerful heartforce arts which Daolord Featherdress had left behind. His heartworld was built around his Omega Sword Dao, making his heartforce incredibly pure and possess strong offensive powers. Daolord Featherdress’ legacy was a bit softer and more subtle by comparison, and so Ning used the information he gained from it to create some heartforce arts of his own.

In the blink of an eye, more than sixty thousand additional years went past.

“Hahaha…” A loud laugh rang out as the Ninedust Sectlord emerged, appearing to be in an excellent mood.

Ning had been meditating silently within his temporal acceleration cottage. He now opened his eyes.

“Haha, Darknorth, were you in training? I’m really sorry that the ancestor left no legacies behind for you. You waited for me all this time for nothing.” The Ninedust Sectlord smirked.

“It seems you had a fruitful experience.” Ning walked out of his cottage.

“The ancestor’s path was that of the Dao of Water, and he also used staff-arts. I benefited greatly.” The Ninedust Sectlord was extremely smug. “Jealous, Darknorth?”

“Maybe just a bit.” Ning nodded. “This Patriarch of the Dao Alliance left something for me as well.”

“The Dao Alliance?” The Ninedust Sectlord turned his head, puzzled, to look towards the white-robed Hegemon’s corpse. “That one over there? He left something for you?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“But our Ancient Hegemon took all of his treasures. There shouldn’t have been anything left for you.” The Ninedust Sectlord was confused.

Ning just shook his head. If it hadn’t been for the white-robed Hegemon, it would’ve taken Ning much, much longer to become a Heartforce Cultivator. Although he had been at the cusp for some time, it was quite normal for someone to remain on the cusp for a full chaos cycle or even longer.

“Time to leave, Ninedust.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the distant Su Youji, Pillsaint, Daolord Naia, and Daolord Bruteflame.

“Agreed.” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t ask Ning about what he had gained. He instead turned to look at the Universe treasure, that dark-red longstaff, then said respectfully: “Senior, please send us away.”

Whoosh. A streak of light flew out from the dark-red longstaff and transformed into the bald, black-robed youth.

The youth gave Ning a long look. The Ninedust Sectlord had been undergoing the trials and so did not know what had happened, but the youth knew exactly what Ning had been up to. Darknorth of the Dao Alliance had actually established his heartworld. The Universe weapon couldn’t help but sigh. The Dao Alliance truly did have countless geniuses within its ranks.

“I’ll send you off,” the youth said. He waved his hand, causing a wave of power to surround Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord.

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Chapter 1 – Terror Starsea

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 1 – Terror Starsea

Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord instantly disappeared from the cave. Only then did the bald, black-robed youth slowly shake his head. “Although Redwater and Master had very similar Daos and both specialized in staff-arts, Redwater is just a bit too vicious and cruel. I don’t like him. In fact, he hadn’t even become a Daolord of the Fourth Step yet. Forget it. I’ll just wait for a while longer.”

Universe treasures possessed tremendous patience. They truly were eternal and undying, and so they were able and willing to wait extremely long periods of time before accepting a new master. They would rather go without than choose someone who wasn’t a perfect fit.

……

Whoosh. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord felt the world around them blur. Moments later, they found themselves within a dark, empty region of space.

“We’re out.” Both of them revealed looks of delight. They could now both sense the locations of their avatars.

“I can finally sense my avatar and my Primaltwin again.” Ning relaxed slightly. So long as he could sense them, he would be able to orient himself. Moments later, he frowned. “Why do I feel as though they are very, very far away?”

He was separated from his avatar by an incalculable amount of distance. He had previously travelled to Eastroad Territory, one of the border territories of the Endless Territories, and that was already very far away from Vastheaven Territory. However, compared to his current distance that was absolutely nothing.

“I can sense that the distance between myself and my avatar is greater than the size of the entire Endless Territories.” The distance was so great that his senses were rather foggy, but Ning was certain that the distance was definitely vaster than the Endless Territories themselves.

“We…” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face turned pale.

“Ninedust?” Ning looked at him.

“We are in the Terror Starsea.” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face was ugly to behold. “And we are very, very deep inside of it. Extremely deep.”

“Extremely deep?” Ning’s face turned pale as well. Deep inside the Terror Starsea? The Terror Starsea was the most dangerous place that they knew of. In size alone, the explored parts of it already surpassed the size of the Endless Territories! In addition, Ning had learned while in the ‘cave’ that the Terror Starsea was actually the battlefield of the Dawn War, with numerous Hegemon-level figures having died there. The place was filled with countless wards and dangers that were originally meant to kill Hegemons, making them incredibly dangerous.

“Are you sure we are deep inside the Terror Starsea?” Ning immediately asked. He quickly scanned his surroundings. They were in the dark emptiness of space, with a few glimmers of light off in the distance.

“I’m certain, because I’ve been to the border worlds near the Terror Starsea,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “I’ve travelled and adventured through its outer regions, and we are very, very far away from those outer regions. Based on the distance from my avatar… my best judgment is that we are more than half the size of the entire Endless Territories away from the outer regions. We’re definitely deep inside.”

Ning’s heart turned cold. The Terror Starsea was deadly even for Eternal Emperors, while even Hegemons would tread carefully here for fear of dying. Generally speaking, even the most powerful of Daolords wouldn’t dare to venture too deep inside this place. As for their current location? This place definitely qualified as not just deep, but ‘incredibly deep’.

The two stood there within the endless darkness of space, both rather nervous. It would be impossibly difficult to escape the Terror Starsea and go home.

“We still have hope.” The Ninedust Sectlord knew more about the Terror Starsea than Ning. He said seriously, “Darknorth, your sword-arts have transcended space itself. You can easily use it to tear open a dimensional gate and escape incredibly far distances.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. He could indeed slice open dimensional passageways, then travel tremendous distances through them. It wouldn’t be difficult for him to create a dimensional passageway that could traverse more than ten territories. This was far faster than even using spacetime transfer arrays!

In truth, it made sense. Given Ning’s current sword-arts, so long as he was able to lock onto an enemy he would be able to slay that enemy from over a territory away! Spacetime transfer arrays would normally be needed to merely traverse such a great distance, a testament to how terrifying and important the Dao was.

The Brightshore Kingdom’s Hegemon was another good example. He was able to easily appear anywhere within the Endless Territories, an ability that was far superior to Ning’s.

“The explored regions of the Terror Starsea are vaster than the Endless Territories themselves! Since we are only over halfway in, that means that some Hegemons or ancient Eternal Emperors might’ve been here before,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“Would you be able to ask one of those ancient powers to come guide us out?” Ning asked.

“None of them would care about Daolords like us,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “At most they would give us a star map.”

“Agreed. At most, we’d get star maps.” Ning was worried as well. “We’d know what was around us, but we’d still have to face any danger on our own. The two of us would only be considered second-tier even amongst Daolords. To travel such a great distance and escape the Terror Starsea… even though my sword-art transcends space, it’ll be far too difficult.”

“Yes, yes it will.” The Ninedust Sectlord felt an enormous sense of pressure as well. He then muttered, “Why did the Universe treasure send us here?”

“You can’t blame him for that.” Ning shook his head. “The Dawn War was carried out in the Terror Starsea; that cave we were in is probably located deep within the Terror Starsea as well. It might be somewhere right next to us, in fact. The treasure was only able to send us here. No matter what, we can’t just give up and lay down to die. We have to fight our best. Right now, we should first acquire star maps. Perhaps a good star map will be able to guide us through a fairly safe path.”

The Ninedust Sectlord laughed. “Right. Patriarch Vulturas, one of the oldest members of my race, probably came here once as well. He obviously was able to return. I’ll send my avatar to find a star map first, while you should acquire one from the Dao Alliance. The Dao Alliance has the most complete star maps.”

“Look over there!” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly pointed off into the distance, a complicated look on his face. “I think I already know where we are in the Terror Starsea.”

“What is it?” Ning followed the Ninedust Sectlord’s finger with his gaze. Off in the distance, there was a circle of green light.

“Let’s go over there,” the Ninedust Sectlord said softly. “Darknorth, this part is up to you.”

“Alright.” Ning drew his Northbow sword, then with a flicker of sword-light created a dimensional passageway before them. The Ninedust Sectlord and Ning both entered the beautiful rainbow dimensional passageway.

They flew side-by-side through this different spatial continuum, advancing rapidly towards their target.

“Time to exit.” The two flew out from the glowing dimensional passageway, having arrived at another patch of empty, blank dark space. They were already more than ten territories away from their previous location.

“Eh?” Ning stared forwards in astonishment. Up ahead was an enormous green whirlpool that was surrounded by layers of green light. The green light was filled with boundless vitality, and the rocks and boulders that flew close to it quickly turned white in color, then disappeared into nothingness. Next to the green whirlpool there was a similarly sized black whirlpool which was devouring everything nearby it, sucking all stones, shattered corpses, and various items that flew nearby into itself.

A green whirlpool and a black whirlpool. The former was filled with life energy, but it sucked all the life from the surrounding area and destroyed it. The latter was filled with death energy and devoured everything around it.

The two seemed to be parts of a whole. Although they were diametrically different, neither interfered with the other at all.

“What are those?” Ning could hardly believe it. He could sense that they were still very far away, but the two whirlpools looked absolutely enormous. Ning’s best guess was that these two whirlpools were each roughly the size of a hundred territories.

“This is the one thing in the Terror Starsea which terrifies all six organizations… the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels,” the Ninedust Sectlord said softly. “Do you know? Long, long ago, the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels was smaller than a single territory.”

Ning’s face turned pale. “Are you saying that it is growing?”

“Yes. It is growing.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels… the life wheel draws away all vital energy, while the death wheel devours and destroys all. They are stealing and devouring all the life and matter from the area around them, and as they do so they continuously grow larger and larger. The rate at which they are growing is only increasing. In the future, they will grow to encompass the entire Terror Starsea. In fact, they’ll swallow the entirety of the Endless Territories and destroy all within it. It is destined for the Endless Territories to be destroyed one day.”

“What?!” Ning could hardly believe it. The Endless Territories were doomed to destruction?

“When the six powers originally discovered the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, they immediately began to panic. All three Hegemons sought to work together to destroy it.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “Unfortunately, any attacks launched against it were all swallowed. The energy of the attacks just made it grow bigger. There was simply no way to harm it in the slightest.”

“The most supreme Emperor-class cultivators and a few of the most powerful Daolords all know of this.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. “Given your power, I imagine the Dao Alliance would soon inform you of this.”

Ning stared at the distant Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.

They’d continuously grow until the day they wiped out the Endless Territories?

“This is something which was naturally born from the endless primordial chaos. There is no way cultivators can possibly resist something like this,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “However, there’s no need for us to worry too much. Based on our current predictions, it’ll be more than a million chaos cycles before it starts to destroy the Endless Territories. As Daolords, if we fail our Daomerge we’ll definitely die within 108,000 chaos cycles. Let the Hegemons and Emperors deal with this problem.”

Ning stared at the distant Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, still unable to believe what he was hearing. “The Endless Territories… are doomed to be destroyed?”

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Chapter 2 – Travelling

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 2 – Travelling

Those two enormous whirlpools continued to slowly spin in the darkness of space, continuously absorbing and devouring all things around them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Even the empty void of space around them was being continuously shattered and devoured as the power of chaos and all other prime essence ripples were drawn into the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.

“Nothing can stop them at all?” Ji Ning stared at them, murmuring softly to himself.

“Yes. Nothing can stop them.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head.

……

As Ning’s true body was staring, stunned, at the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, his avatar in the incredibly distant Vastheaven Palace of the Endless Territories was off to visit Daolord Solesky.

Within a private courtyard. Daolord Solesky’s avatar was relaxing with some wine while staring at the darkened horizons.

“Big brother Solesky,” the golden-robed Ning called out.

“Ji Ning.” Solesky turned to look at him, then suddenly started to laugh. “This is rather diverting.”

“Why are you laughing, big brother?” The golden-robed Ning was rather surprised.

Solesky smiled. “I’m laughing because both of us are avatars! Two avatars are holding a meeting with each other… haha…”

The golden-robed Ning was briefly startled before letting out a chuckle as well. Both of their true bodies were outside, adventuring. Avatars were much weaker, but they’d be strong enough to stand guard over a school or clan.

“Ever since you created an avatar, you’ve been spending your time strengthening it. Aside from the Kongsan matter, you haven’t come to see me at all.” Daolord Solesky asked, “Why is it that you’ve suddenly come to seek me out?”

“There is indeed something I need help with.” The golden-robed Ning nodded. “I’m currently trapped in the Terror Starsea.”

“Trapped in the Terror Starsea?” Daolord Solesky leapt to his feet, no longer relaxed in the slightest. He said solemnly, “Where in the Terror Starsea?”

“Close to the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels,” Ning said.

Daolord Solesky’s face immediately turned ugly to behold. “W-why the hell did you go there? Even I have only heard of that thing from an old friend of mine. Supposedly, they are the most terrifying things within the Terror Starsea. Even the almighty Hegemons are helpless against them; if they tried to charge into those wheels, they would instantly be obliterated by them! They are still continuing to slowly grow larger. Supposedly, in the distant future they might even sweep over the entire Terror Starsea, then devour all of the Endless Territories and wipe it out completely.”

Ning nodded. “I have heard the same.”

“But that’s something that should only happen a long, long time for now. We probably won’t live long enough to see that.” Daolord Solesky said seriously, “The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels are extremely deep within the Terror Starsea. Not even the most overwhelmingly powerful Daolords would dare to venture that deep. Why did you go there?”

“It wasn’t my choice.” Ning shook his head. “I had an unexpected encounter, resulting in me being transferred there.”

“Transferred?” Daolord Solesky shook his head and sighed.

“Big brother Solesky, do you have a map of the Terror Starsea?” Ning asked.

“I do.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “I reached the Verge long ago, and so I sought out every opportunity possible for succeeding in my Daomerge. As a result, I prepared star maps of the Terror Starsea for myself, and they include the location of the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. However, they are too far away. If you wish to exit the Terror Starsea, you’ll have to traverse a distance equivalent to more than half of the Endless Territories.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll prepare a copy for you.” Daolord Solesky waved his hand, sending his Immortal energy out and forming an enormous star map in the air. This star map was filled with many markings and pathways.

It took roughly the amount of time needed to prepare a kettle of tea before Daolord Solesky finished drawing the complete star map. By then, Ning had silently memorized it all.

“This star map of mine came from the Dao Alliance,” Daolord Solesky said. “It won’t be easy to find a more detailed one.”

“This will be enough.” Ning nodded, his heart heavy.

“Be careful.” Daolord Solesky truly was worried. As he saw, Ning’s chances of surviving this were quite slim.

……

Deep within the Terror Starsea, close to the titanic Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the darkness of space, staring at the enormous representation of annihilation in front of them.

“I have a star map now,” Ning said.

“My avatar has gone out to beg a meeting with Patriarch Vulturas. I trust I shall acquire a map of my own soon,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “Have you looked at that star map of yours yet? What do you think?”

“This is going to be very hard.” Ning shook his head. “I’ve already taken a look at things. The ‘safest’ route will still require us to go through sixty-two dangerous zones. Given our current power, our chances of surviving will be less than ten percent.”

“Sixty-two?” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned. “Darknorth, your sword-arts transcend space itself. We should be able to avoid many of those dangerous regions, no?”

“I’ve already factored that into my considerations.” Ning said helplessly, “Without it, we would have to go through more than five hundred danger zones! That would be certain death.”

“Damn.” The Ninedust Sectlord stared at his surroundings. “How the hell did we end up this deep inside?”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord really did feel rather aggrieved. They had been teleported all the way from the Eastroad Sect, only to find themselves incredibly deep inside the Terror Starsea.

“Ninedust, perhaps Emperor Vulturas will have a better path than the one I found,” Ning said. “My star map isn’t all that detailed.”

“Right. Wait for now. My avatar is now meeting with Patriarch Vulturas,” the Ninedust Sectlord said expectantly.

Ning waited as instructed. A short while later…

“Haha, I have the star map.” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly began to chuckle merrily.

“And?” Ning looked at him.

“There’s hope after all.” The Ninedust Sectlord was extremely excited. He waved a finger, sending out his Immortal energy to form an enormous star map in the void of space. “This is the star map which Patriarch Vulturas bestowed upon me. He once exited the same cave we did, and he also came out in this general area. He was much more powerful than us, and so he was able to return home with ease. However, he made repeated trips back to hear in search of the cave again, and so he is actually very familiar with this region and this route.”

“The safest route for us to take is this one.” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed towards a newly created route on the map. “Other powerful Daolords would find this route a difficult one, but your power over space will allow us to take it.”

Ning stared at the star map of energy hanging in the air, an excited look on his face.

“There are four danger zones in total. We must first pass through Dreamdust Way, then enter the Starflow River. After passing through the entire Starflow River, we’ll exit from this point. We will then traverse two fairly short danger zones… and then we’ll be out safely.” The Ninedust Sectlord said excitedly, “There are four danger zones in total. For three of them, we should be able to traverse them safely if we use the protective resources we have at our disposal. The only tougher part will be the Starflow River.”

Ning nodded. Both of them had multiple life-preserving resources. They might not have enough Dao-seals for traversing several dozen or several hundred danger zones, but three? Both felt quite confident in their chances.

“The Starflow River?” Ning said, worried, “We have to pass through the entire thing?”

“Yes.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “That’s the only real obstacle before us. Based on my calculations, we’ll have to spend at least three hundred thousand years traversing it. The other places, all combined, will only require perhaps ten years. Most of our time will be spent going through the entire Starflow River.”

The Starflow River was an enormous area that was like an enormous river of stars flowing through the darkness of the void. To traverse it would take a very long period of time.

To them it wouldn’t be too dangerous, and both stood a good chance of making it out alive. However, they’d still be in there for quite some time. The more time passed, the more variables might appear and the more danger might arise. The entire Terror Starsea was the battlefield for the Dawn War, after all, and the Starflow River was part of it. It wouldn’t be that easy.

“For us, this truly is the safest route we can try.” Ning nodded. “The route I suggested earlier gave us less than a ten percent chance of surviving. This one, I’d say our chances are fifty-fifty.”

“Agreed.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

Fifty-fifty wasn’t bad at all. Given Ning’s ability to transcend space and the incredibly detailed map and route which Patriarch Vulturas had given them, they now stood a very good chance of surviving.

“Thank goodness Patriarch Vulturas has been here many times. Otherwise, there’s no way we could’ve possibly found such a safe route.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “Time to go, Darknorth.”

“Let’s go. I hope both of us will make it back to the Endless Territories alive.” Ning looked at the Ninedust Sectlord.

“We’ll definitely make it back alive, together!” The Ninedust Sectlord added, “I just received the ancestor’s legacy. There’s no way I’m going to die before making it back.”

Ning and Ninedust shared a smile. Both of them understood that this would be a dangerous, life-and-death journey. “Let’s go.”

Ning and Ninedust both stood at the prow of the black vessel. Northbow sword in hand, Ning tore a black passageway with his sword-arts through the darkness of space. Swoosh! The vessel flew into the passageway, which shut behind them.

The two of them, homeward bound, had just embarked on an incredible journey.

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Chapter 3 – Heartforce Eradicator

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 3 – Heartforce Eradicator

The two advanced carefully, with Ji Ning only opening the tunnels once they found a fairly safe starting point and stopping point. Every so often, they would have to rely on the black vessel to avoid a few special areas that couldn’t be traversed.

Half a month went past.

Rumble… spacetime was distorted here. Space debris filled the region, and countless dangers lurked hidden. A black vessel was paused within this field of chaotic spacetime, enduring the chaotic waves of shattered space.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both stared towards the front. Up ahead of them, right in the middle of that region of chaotic space, was a bluestone road that was ten million kilometers wide. For an extremely beautiful and peaceful road to suddenly appear within this region of dark, chaotic space… they could sense that this stone path had to be hiding some sort of hidden danger.

“The Dreamdust Way.” The Ninedust Sectlord said heavily, “If we wish to go back, we need to go through four danger zones, with the most dangerous one being the Starflow River! It’s so enormous that it’ll take us roughly three hundred thousand years to traverse it. The second most dangerous location will be Dreamdust Way! The final two danger zones are in the outer reaches of the Terror Starsea. Given how strong we are, the danger level it will pose us should be fairly negligible.”

Ning nodded. Dreamdust Way was located very deep within the Terror Starsea and was extremely dangerous!

“I hope we won’t be so unlucky as to die here.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked towards Ning. “Let’s go.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded. Swoosh! The black vessel immediately flew towards that bluestone pathway.

Only by passing through Dreamdust Way would they be able to reach the Starflow River. Although very dangerous, this was comparatively the ‘safest’ path for them to reach the Starflow River.

The Ninedust Sectlord held his longstaff at the ready, his eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings. Clearly, he was quite nervous. He said in a low voice, “Given our vessel’s flying speed, we should be able to exit Dreamdust Way in roughly a month. One month. Just one month. We need to stay on our guard this entire month.”

Ning wielded a Northbow sword in each of his two hands as he maintained a vigilant watch. He couldn’t help but smirk. “Ninedust. You almost seem nervous.”

“Can’t blame me for being nervous. The slightest miscalculation in this pla-… careful!” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face turned pale. An azure scaled beast had suddenly appeared off in the distance. This beast had a pair of armored wings and a pair of protruding golden eyes that seemed to contain a vast world within them. Whoooosh. The azure scaled beast blinked. Moments later, more than ten thousand of similar beasts appeared next to it. All of them let out shrill, ear-piercing screeches.

“Dreamdust lifeforms. Careful!” The Ninedust Sectlord was very dangerous. “Only one of them is real. The rest are all illusory, but it can switch its true body with the illusory ones at will. It could be any of them.”

Ning stood there at the prow of his vessel, watching as the thousands of beasts charged towards them. A cold light suddenly flashed through his eyes.

Whoosh! An invisible ripple swept out like a wave towards the thousands of azure beasts. One beast suddenly let out a low, agonized scream. Its body trembled, then its golden eyes quickly grew dim as it silently collapsed.

The other azure scaled beasts all completely vanished in an instant, leaving behind that single fallen corpse. Moments later, the corpse began to automatically separate into countless motes of azure light which then began to flow into the bluestone path in a very natural manner.

“It died?” The Ninedust Sectlord turned to look at Ning, rather amazed. “Darknorth, w-what just happened? How did that Dreamdust creature suddenly die?”

Dreamdust lifeforms were terrifying creatures that were born from the unusual, unique Dreamdust Way environment. They were born with incredible skill over illusions, and were able to manifest many false bodies which they could ‘swap’ with their true bodies at will. Thus, battling against them was a very tiresome and troublesome task. Even if you were much more powerful than them, you might die to them if you weren’t careful.

“Heartforce,” Ning said.

“I knew it! I sensed it.” The Ninedust Sectlord was rather stunned. “You are a Heartforce Cultivator?” The Ninedust Sectlord had been keeping a careful vigil, wary of more Dreamdust lifeforms appearing. When he suddenly sensed that strange wave blast out, he naturally was able to calculate that it had most likely been heartforce! However, Ning had never before used heartforce techniques, and Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly rare.

“Haha. I told you earlier that the Hegemon of the Dao Alliance left something for me.” Ning smiled. “I became a true Heartforce Cultivator within that cave.”

“Haha…” The Ninedust Sectlord was overjoyed. “Splendid! My greatest worry with regards to Dreamdust Way was that we might actually be trapped by its illusions! That’s why we have to maintain constant vigilance… but I never imagined that you would’ve become a Heartforce Cultivator. Hahaha! To trap a powerful Heartforce Cultivator with illusions is no easy feat. I can finally relax a little bit and not be as nervous as I was earlier. Just keep an eye out on things.”

“Dreamdust lifeforms are skilled in more than just illusions; they can also create many false bodies and are strong in close combat,” Ning warned. “The legends say that the most powerful lifeforms here are comparable to Eternal Emperors in power. Even though I’ll be able to resist their illusions, I’m probably not going to be a match for them in close combat.”

“Mm.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

“If push comes to shove, we’ll have to rely on our Dao-seals,” Ning said.

“No matter what, you being a Heartforce Cultivator means that we’ll have an easier time of it when dealing with illusions.” The Ninedust Sectlord said curiously, “What heartforce art did you use just now? It seemed quite incredible.”

“Heartforce Eradicator,” Ning replied. This was a heartforce art which Ning created himself after studying and modifying the heartforce legacy left behind by Daolord Featherdress. It was highly suited to him and also extremely powerful.

Daolord Featherdress was far more powerful than the current Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace! Daolord Feather had been the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories in that era and had three supreme heartforce arts.

These arts were known as the [Heartforce Eradicator], [Dreamworld], and [Featherdress Soulthrall Song]. Daolord Featherdress had primarily relied on the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song] to become the number one Daolord of that era. The song mesmerized the soul, ensuring that even powerful Eternal Emperors would be caught by it if they weren’t careful. Even many of the most supreme of Daolords were unable to resist such a terrifying heartforce art.

Ji Ning, however, was different from Daolord Featherdress. Ning’s Dao was that of the Omega Sword Dao, an offensive Dao. Featherdress was more subtle and more guileful, and also extremely skilled in the musical arts. This was why Featherdress had been able to create the terrifying [Featherdress Soulthrall Song].

The two walked different paths and naturally had very different styles. Ning had learned just a tiny bit of the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song] and had barely managed to learn 20% of [Dreamworld], but he had mastered the extremely offensive [Heartforce Eradicator] art. He had then modified it to make it better suited to him, resulting it in becoming even more powerful.

His heartforce lashed out like a sword, eradicating the opponent’s soul and truesoul. It was an extremely dominating attack!

However, if his foe was able to endure the attack, this heartforce art would be very ineffective. In other words, it was an ‘all-or-nothing’ type of attack. Daolord Featherdress had been skilled in many areas and thus was much more dangerous. In the end, Ning simply hadn’t been training for long enough. He primarily relied on the power of his Omega Sword Dao. For him to be able to master and then retrofit the [Heartforce Eradicator] was already quite incredible.

“The name makes it sound pretty wild and dominating.” The Ninedust Sectlord said in a resigned fashion, “I had thought that the gifts the ancestor gave me would enable me to beat you. It seems I’m not a match for you anymore.”

“You really aren’t a match for me now.” Ning nodded.

“You little…” The Ninedust Sectlord glared at him. “You don’t know the meaning of ‘modesty’ at all. Just you wait. When I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step… hmph! I’ve already gained many insights during our time in the cave. It won’t take me too long to break through and become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. By then, you’ll know just how awesome I am.”

“It’s quite normal to be stuck at a bottleneck for several chaos cycles. Don’t worry, I won’t abuse you too much in the interim,” Ning teased.

The two bantered back and forth as they advanced on the black vessel. The reason why they were able to relax and banter was because they knew that illusions, at least, would not be a problem! Their only worry would be head-on encounters.

“Outsiders.” An azure beast appeared in the distance, its golden eyes filled with a murderous look. “Die.” Instantly, more than ten thousand duplicates of it appeared, with all of them charging towards the vessel. Neither Ning nor the Ninedust Sectlord could recognize the real one, as every single body could theoretically be the real one.

“Hmph.” Ning turned and swept his gaze across the beasts, his heartforce surging out like a wave. Instantly, all of the beasts vanished save for a single one that fell down dead. The corpse naturally dissipated and merged back into the bluestone road.

“Impressive, impressive. You looked at it and it died! I’m really jealous now.” The Ninedust Sectlord chortled in praise. “I wonder when and if I’ll ever become a Heartforce Cultivator. I’ll stare at people until they die! What a wonderful life that would be.”

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Chapter 4 – Heartworld Projection, Descend!

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 4 – Heartworld Projection, Descend!

This was the most frightening aspect of supreme Heartforce Cultivators! Their attacks were silent, fast, and incredibly deadly. Worse, not even Universe treasures were useful in defending against heartforce attacks. You could only rely on your Dao-heart, your soul, and your mental fortitude! There was no way to counterfeit any of these things. Even if you were incredibly strong in combat, if you had mental flaws then you would still die at the hands of a Heartforce Cultivator.

Long ago Ji Ning, Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and Waterlord Firesurge had journeyed to the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe. Together, they had tested themselves against the primessence chains that led to the heart of that universe. Although all four of them were very similar in power, Firesurge was noticeably much weaker than the others mentally.

This was why Heartforce Cultivators had very special statuses. Even when they were slightly weaker than others, they would still be afforded with the utmost of respect by even the most powerful of Daolords!

“Die, outsider!” Yet another azure scaled beast emerged. A second later, many thousands of illusions appeared around it. This was their standard, innate attack. But Ning just glanced at all of them, then swept out with his heartforce like a sword. Whoosh! They all dissipated like smoke as a single corpse fell down.

……

The first twelve days in Dreamdust Way were extremely relaxed. Sometimes they encountered ten of those Dreamdust lifeforms at the same time, but in each case Ning was able to wipe them out with a single glance. None of them were able to resist Ning’s [Heartforce Eradicator] at all.

On the thirteenth day, they finally encountered a Dreamdust lifeform that was capable of withstanding the [Heartforce Eradicator] and not perishing. This beast was noticeably larger than the previous ones that they had fought. Although it was able to survive the heartforce attack, it clearly was rather dazed by it, giving Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord a chance to charge forwards and slay it in close combat.

On the sixteenth day, they encountered an extremely tough-to-deal-with beast that was able to ignore the [Heartforce Eradicator]! It was also on the same general level of power as Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord in close combat. In the end the two had to join forces, with Ning finishing it off with a blow from his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop.

The two continued to advance on their black vessel, but after the seventeenth day they begin to grow puzzled. “Odd. Why haven’t we seen a single Dreamdust lifeform?” Life had suddenly become quite tranquil, and they didn’t run into any of the beasts at all.

“This is odd. Extremely odd. According to Patriarch Vulturas’ notes, Dreamdust Way should only grow in danger as we move deeper into it, with the Dreamdust lifeforms increasing in number and power.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned. “It should take us roughly a month to traverse the entire Dreamdust Way. We should be at the very center of it right now. Why don’t we see so much as a single one?”

……

The eighteenth day. The nineteenth day. The twentieth day…

Everything was very calm. No Dreamdust lifeforms appeared. Twenty-six days had gone by in the blink of an eye, and they were close to exiting Dreamdust way.

Whoooosh. The black vessel continued to advance at a hundred time’s the speed of light. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood alongside each other at the prow, staring off into the distance. Neither relaxed in the slightest. It had been ten days since they had encountered any Dreamdust lifeforms. Something was very wrong.

“Not good.” Ning’s face suddenly tightened.

“Stop!” the Ninedust Sectlord immediately called out.

The black vessel came to an immediate halt in the darkness of the void. The two of them stared off into the distance, where an entire host of azure scaled beasts had gathered. These creatures all had stooped figures, scaled wings, and protruding golden eyes. In front of them was the largest Dreamdust beast the two had seen thus far, a creature that was at least thirty meters tall. The beast at the very back was the smallest, merely fifteen meters tall.

“This looks like trouble.” The Ninedust Sectlord murmured, “Darknorth, the scaled beasts we saw previously were eighteen meters tall at best. This group is led by one that is thirty meters tall, and there are five beasts that are twenty-seven meters tall and twelve that are twenty-four meters tall. Even the weakest one is fifteen meters tall. In total, there are twenty-one of them.”

“Fifteen meters is the cutoff for surviving my [Heartforce Eradicator],” Ning sent mentally. “Clearly, the Dreamdust beasts have come prepared.”

The two sides stared at each other from afar. Off in the distance, more than a hundred more scaled beasts also stared at Ning’s group, their protruding golden eyes seemingly to hold boundless worlds within them.

“Wonderful… absolutely beautiful…” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly had a sappy, stupid grin on his face.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened. He immediately sent out a surge of heartforce smashing outwards like a ripple-wave that blocked all outside sources of power, allowing the Ninedust Sectlord to immediately regain his clarity of mind.

“I-I was actually trapped by an illusion.” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately came back to his senses, a cold thrill of fear going down his shrine. He stared at the distant beast leader. “I was caught in an illusion without even realizing it. No wonder the Patriarch said Dreamdust Way was dangerous and that I might die here. He told me to be prepared at all times.”

“Prepared?” Ning glanced at him.

“Yes. My original plan was to engage in a continuous mental conversation with my retainers; whenever I stopped talking, that would be a sign that I had been trapped inside an illusion and my retainer would immediately use a Dao-seal to wake me up!” The Ninedust Sectlord continued, “But since I knew that you were a Heartforce Cultivator, I didn’t go through the trouble.”

Ning couldn’t help but nod upon hearing this. This wasn’t a bad idea at all.

“Cultivators…” An ancient voice rang out from afar. “I’m impressed that you were able to resist my illusions. No wonder you were able to slay so many of my compatriots with ease… but the end result of trespassing onto Dreamdust Way will still be death.”

The largest beast’s aura washed out like a tidal wave as it pointed at the two of them. “Kill.”

“Kill.”

“Kill.”

“Kill!” All of the Dreamdust lifeforms let out enraged howls as tens of thousands of illusions appeared around them. All of a sudden, there over a million of the howling figures, and all of them charged straight towards the two.

“Use your secret art,” Ning sent mentally to the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Agreed.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

BOO!M Nine energy dragons immediately flooded out of Ning’s body. These were his nine novessence arts.

WHOOSH! Curtains of rippling water appeared around the Ninedust Sectlord that quickly surged off into the distance.

It took time for secret arts to attack. Generally speaking, even the most supreme of secret arts would still only be able to fly at a hundred times the speed of light. This was a major bottleneck for cultivators and attacks alike. There were many Eternal Emperors who were unable to breach this limit.

The nine awesome secret arts and the waves of water swirled around each other, forming a perfect whole as they smashed towards the million-plus figures charging towards them.

BOOM!

Instantly, the many figures caught within the secret arts began to move much slower than before. However, all of them appeared completely unharmed. This was what made them so terrifying; there was no way to tell which one was real and which one was false.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord’s decision to join forces with their secret arts caused the fifteen meter beast and the eighteen meter beast to be completely locked in place, unable to move at all. The body of the fifteen meter beast actually began to shudder and slowly crumble apart. These two secret arts were simply too powerful. As for the other Dreamdust beasts, their speed dropped sharply as well.

“Die!” Ning focused his gaze upon them. Suddenly, an absolutely enormous world appeared in the void above the bluestone path. This world held tall mountains, deep canyons, and flowing rivers within it. At the very center of this world, there was an absolutely titanic mountain that was shaped like a giant sword. This enormous world was Ning’s heartworld!

Ning’s heartworld projection descended upon the bluestone road.

Heartworld projections were different from secret arts. Secret arts needed time to fly out and strike foes, but heartworld projections required no time at all. They were illusory projections and thus could descend instantly. Ning’s heartworld was absolutely enormous, on the same level as that of Daolord Soleman’s. His heartworld projection was thus just as powerful as his nine novessence arts.

When the nine novessence arts and the water curtain joined together, it had be done in a careful way to prevent them from interfering with each other. The illusory heartworld projection, however, was able to overlap over them perfectly!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The fifteen meter beast was already at the verge of breaking apart, while the eighteen meter beasts had been completely frozen. Both were instantly annihilated when the heartworld projection came crashing down. The twenty-one meter beasts were now completely locked in place, while even the twenty-four meter beasts were dramatically slowed down.

“Let’s flee.” Ning immediately sent the black vessel fleeing at high speeds. There were simply too many of the remaining Dreamdust lifeforms, after all, and there was no way to tell which ones were real. There really was no way for them to kill the creatures.

“Damn. They are forcing me to use some of my own primal essence.” The beast leader had been at the front of its pack. Its tens of thousands of clones all vanished, leaving only it behind. It raised his head, letting out a bellow as a third eye suddenly appeared in its forehead. This was a completely azure light that glowed with blue light, and it stared directly at Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord.

Both of the cultivators immediately sensed that they were in mortal danger.

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Chapter 5 – The Dreamdust Runes

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 5 – The Dreamdust Runes

Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were aboard the black vessel, seeking to flee out of the bluestone road. Their secret arts and the heartworld projection had crushed to death quite a few of the weaker beasts, causing the enraged beast leader to open his third eye in his forehead. When he did so, it seemed as though that eye had become the hegemon and ruler of this entire region of space.

A strange alien script appeared directly above that eye, formed by multiple divine runes. Seventy-two of those runes came together to form a single character.

“What type of script is this?” Ning was shocked upon seeing it. “I’ve never seen this script before.” But although it was his first time seeing it, Ning was still able to sense the unfathomable, limitless power which this script contained within it. It seemed as though the only thing comparable to this ancient script was the azureflower seal that was formed by the Nine Chaos Seals.

BOOM!

The entire vast bluestone road suddenly lit up with dazzling azure light that stretched up ten thousand meters, illuminating the entire region.

The nine secret arts, the Ripplewater secret art, and Ning’s heartworld projection were all suppressed by the power of the azure light. It also reached out to grip the fleeing black vessel, causing it to drop down from a hundred times the speed of light to merely sixty-two.

“The beast leader is going all out. It has activated the Dreamdust Eye!” The Ninedust Sectlord was shocked. “Darknorth, the Dreamdust Eye contains an extremely powerful illusory component. If you can’t withstand it, you need to tell me right away.”

“I can handle it.” Ning gritted his teeth, sending out his heartforce in ringed layers to defend against the invisible attack. While doing so, he carefully scrutinized the strange character which had appeared above the beast leader’s third eye.

He had the feeling that this character contained an absolutely terrifying level of power in the realm of illusions. It must be remembered that Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly strong in resisting illusions, far stronger than the majority of Eternal Emperors! For even Ning to find this Dreamdust Eye to be so hard to defend against meant that other Daolords, even ones as powerful as Palace Lord Dawnstar, wouldn’t be able to fight it head-on. They would have to rely on special treasures in order to stay alive and have a chance to escape.

Eternal Emperors would die here as well if they weren’t careful! Thankfully, Ning was a Heartforce Cultivator. This was why he dared to attack the attack head-on. One could imagine how terrifying this Dreamdust Eye attack was!

“I can sense that strange character is filled with boundless mysteries and illusions,” Ning mused silently to himself. “If I could fully master it, I would be able to reach an even higher level of mastery over illusions.”

Daolord Featherdress’ greatest strength lay in those three mighty secret arts. Ning had only reached a high level of skill in one of them, the [Heartforce Eradicator]. Compared to other Heartforce Cultivators, he was fairly weak in illusions.

“Kill!” As the beast leader opened the Dreamdust Eye, it also transformed into a streak of light that charged straight towards them. Whoosh! It instantly moved at a hundred times the speed of light, while the black vessel was merely moving at sixty-two times the speed of light.

“It’s chasing after us!” The Ninedust Sectlord was startled.

“At least its by itself.” Only the beast leader was able to move at a hundred times the speed of light, with the twenty-seven meter beasts merely able to move at fifty times the speed of light.

Ning stood there at the prow of the ship, Northbow swords in hand. When he stabbed out with his sword, his right arm suddenly expanded to become a million kilometers in size as it pierced through the void. As for the Northbow sword, it expanded to become nearly ten million kilometers long, carrying an aura of overwhelming power as it stabbed towards the attacking beast leader. Ning’s sword was very strange; it seemed to carry an aura of overwhelming power, but it also contained some of the mysteries of the Shadowless stance, making it difficult for the opponent to grasp and predict it.

Boom! The beast leader let out a savage bellow as it lashed out with its sharp claws, sending them directly against the edge of the Northbow sword. A terrifying burst of power was sent through the Northbow sword towards Ning. Although Ning’s marvelous sword-arts allowed him to divert a great deal of the power, the power remaining was still enough to cause his right arm to go numb. He couldn’t help but stumble three steps backwards.

“How’d it go?” the Ninedust Sectlord asked, worried.

“It is too powerful. This thing far stronger than me in close combat.” Ning shook his head. If it hadn’t been for the Hegemon armor, he probably would’ve been heavily injured just now. “It seems we’ll be forced to use up one of our treasures.”

As he spoke, Ning suddenly produced a golden medallion with his right hand. Daolord Kongsan had left behind a number of protective, life-preserving treasures when he died. Right now, Ning only had two remaining. This golden medallion had been crafted by an unknown Eternal Emperor. One crushed, it would form an enormous golden illusory mountain which would crash down upon the opponent. Ning felt certain that this should be enough to slow down the beast leader and ensure that they could flee.

“No need to waste a Dao-seal just yet,” the Ninedust Sectlord said hurriedly. “We only have so many of them. We need to save them up as best we can.”

“Do you have any better ideas?” Ning looked at him. It was indeed true that these Dao-seals were very rare and difficult to acquire. Daolord Kongsan had only gotten them over the course of countless years.

Right now, Ning had four life-preserving items left: Kongsan’s two items, the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal, and the spacetime disc the Brightshore Hegemon had given him. That was it.

“Yes. I think I have a decent shot at this.” The Ninedust Sectlord stared intently off into the distance. “Once it gets a bit closer, I’ll make my move.”

“Oh?” Ning nodded and watched off to the side.

……

The black vessel was surrounded by the nine novessence arts, the Ripplewater secret art, and the heartworld projection. All three combined were able to just barely ablate the pressuring power of the azure light, allowing the vessel to continue to advance at a speed of sixty-two speeds of light. As for the beast leader, it continued to chase after them and draw closer and closer at a hundred times the speed of light.

“Damn.”

“All of you shall die,” the beast leader bellowed as it closed in. It truly was a terrifyingly strong creature with stunningly fearsome illusions. The Dreamdust Domain it had just summoned was a full level higher and more profound that Ning’s novessence arts, and it was incredibly strong in close combat. If they had to rely on their own power to survive this trip through Dreamdust Way, it wouldn’t be easy at all. Most would have to rely on Dao-seals or other such treasures.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The distance between the two continued to narrow.

“This is the right moment!” The Ninedust Sectlord’s eyes lit up as he stretched out his right hand, a strange formation-diagram appearing in his palm.

BOOM! The formation-diagram within his palm instantly flew out and expanded dramatically, sweeping out towards the beast leader like the nets of heaven. The beast leader bellowed furiously, but was still completely enveloped by this enormous formation-diagram. The enormous formation-diagram was round inside but square outside, and it was composed of thousands of layers of strange formations that continuously merged into each other.

The beast leader was trapped within the formation. It let out continuous bellows as it furiously assaulted the formation, causing the entire formation-diagram to tremble and layers of formations to break apart, but new layers were quickly born out.

“It can’t break free.” The Ninedust Sectlord revealed a smug look. “If it wants to break through with raw power, it has to be able to destroy 3500 layers of formations at one go! Otherwise, the formations will be continuously regrown. Only when the energy within the formation is used up will it be able to escape.”

“How long will the formation-diagram last?” Ning asked.

“Probably for a short while.” The Ninedust Sectlord hesitated slightly. “This is my first time using it as well.”

Upon hearing this, Ning immediately sent the black vessel fleeing at full speed.

……

The beast leader trapped within the formation let out furious roars as the two cultivators fled. The distance between them quickly began to grow greater and greater.

“We should’ve shaken him by now.” Ning relaxed just slightly after flying for more than two hours. They had been flying at a hundred times the speed of light this entire time; there should be no way their foe could catch up.

“Ninedust, you said this was your first time using that formation-diagram?” Ning asked, “What made you so confident in its power? You also told me not to use my Dao-seals; didn’t the power come from a Dao-seal?”

“No, it came from a very special formation-diagram treasure.” The Ninedust Sectlord smiled as he waved his hand, producing a medallion above his palm that looked like a circle within a square. The medallion was covered with countless dense clusters of formations. “This formation-diagram treasure was bestowed upon me by the ancestor. All I need to do to fully charge it is to fill it with the energy of ten million cubes of chaos jewels, which allows me to use it one time. When I activate it, even Eternal Emperors will be trapped for quite some time.”

Ning’s eyes immediately it up when he heard this. “What a fine treasure! So you can activate it repeatedly?”

It could be used for the low cost of just ten million cubes of chaos jewels? Sure, that might sound like a lot, but the formation-diagrams it created could be used to trap Eternal Emperors!

“A Hegemon would be able to use it just relying on his own Immortal energy,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “Mine isn’t pure enough, so I have to rely on chaos jewels to make up the difference. It’ll take three days in order for those ten million cubes of chaos jewels to recharge the treasure. During the Dawn War, this treasure was considered an average one.”

Ning was secretly speechless. The Dawn War truly had been a terrifying one, and all the treasures that came from that time were truly wondrous. Dreamdust Way had been nothing more than an unremarkable relic-site during the Dawn War, but the beasts that it produced, especially the three-eyed leader which manifested that strange script, truly stunned and bedazzled Ning. No wonder so many generations of Daolords had dared to venture into this place to seek their fortunes, with even Eternal Emperors delving deep within.

“That script…” Ning had long ago fully memorized the strange character that had manifested above the third eye of the beast leader. He began to turn his attention to analyzing its mysteries.

Whoosh. The black vessel continued to fly at high speed. Three days later, it finally emerged from Dreamdust Way.

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Chapter 6 – A Three Hundred Millenia Journey

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 6 – A Three Hundred Millenia Journey

After emerging from Dreamdust Way, it took them two more months of travel before they reached the most important phase of their journey through the Terror Starsea; the Starflow River.

“What an impressive sight.” Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood at the prow of the black vessel, staring off into the vast and nigh-endless Starflow River. The place was filled with countless stars and planets of varying sizes, with some being negligible and others being even larger than the Solar Star of the Three Realms. All of the stars emitted absolutely identical auras of golden light, making the entire Starflow River look like an enormous world of flowing golden sand.

It was so vast that they couldn’t see any end to it. Supposedly, there had once been a major power who had been able to just barely make out the overall shape of the Starflow River, and it looked like the flows of a river. This was why it had been named the Starflow River.

“Starflow River is far larger than Dreamdust Way. In comparison, Dreamdust Way was nothing more than a short hallway.” The Ninedust Sectlord sighed. “We’ll be in there for three hundred millennia.”

“But it’ll be three hundred fairly safe millennia,” Ning said.

“If we’re lucky. Who knows, we might be able to ford the entire Starflow River with ease.” The Ninedust Sectlord was filled with hope as well.

Dreamdust Way was filled with danger at every turn, whereas Starflow River was comparatively much safer. The reason why the two viewed it as the primary source of danger on this trip was because they’d spend three hundred thousand years here. Even though it was ‘fairly safe’, all sorts of bad things could happen over the course of three hundred thousand years. If they were unlucky, they might stumble upon some truly dangerous creatures or places, and there were some places in Starflow River which was even more dangerous than Dreamdust Way.

However, if they were lucky it was also possible that they would avoid all danger and be able to sail through the river with ease.

It was guaranteed that Dreamdust Way would have an element of danger to it. Starflow River, however, was up to luck.

“Let’s go.” The black vessel flew straight into the awesome Starflow River.

Starflow River was filled with countless stars that emanated golden light. These countless stars were all linked together and resonated with each other, and their invisible power stretched out to cover all of Starflow River. This power was far superior to the power that filled Dreamdust Way. So long as this power was present, not even Ning’s sword-arts would allow him to tear through dimensions and teleport through it.

……

Things proceeded more smoothly than they anticipated. Although the two encountered a few traces of ancient battle sites as they progressed through Starflow River and ran into a bit of trouble, they didn’t face any true danger at all. They didn’t even encounter anything capable of forcing the Ninedust Sectlord to use the formation-diagram in his palm. Just like that, nearly three hundred thousand years went past.

“Things have gone very smoothly. I estimate that in just a few dozen millennia, we’ll have traversed all of Starflow River.” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face was covered with excitement.

“Right.” Ning felt rather eager as well. He hadn’t exactly been wasting his time during the past three hundred thousand years. He had spent a good period of his time analyzing the mysteries held within the Dreamdust character and then used those insights into creating illusory arts for himself. The rest of the time, he spent on his Sword Dao!

By now, he had reached the third stage in three of his five sword-intents: the Blood Drop sword-intent, the Shadowless sword-intent, and the Yin-Yang sword-intent. As for the Soleheart sword-intent and the Heavenbreaker sword-intent, both of them were still lacking a bit. Clearly, to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step would be rather difficult.

As for illusions? The Dreamdust character was simply too profound. The Nine Chaos Seals had guided Ning into understanding and training in the azureflower seal, but the Dreamdust character was simply something of incredible power which had been left behind from the Dawn War. It wasn’t an actual legacy! Ning was only able to learn as much as he could from it, and the power of his illusions increased several times over. Still, amongst other Heartforce Cultivators at his level he was still rather weak in this area! The difference, however, had been lessened.

“Eh? Darknorth, take a look.” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed off into the distance.

Ning followed the Ninedust Sectlord’s gaze, only to see signs of ruined buildings on a distant planet. “Looks like traces from the Dawn War.”

“Let’s go take a look,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“Let’s go.” By now, the two were quite familiar with Starflow River. Ever since Ning had learned that the Terror Starsea had been the battlefield of the Dawn War, he had been able to divine how many of the ruins they encountered had been created. For example, Dreamdust Way. Their prediction was that it had been some sort of formation which had been left behind from the Dawn War, meant to trap enemies and make them fight at a severe disadvantage.

It must be remembered that Dreamdust Way had no one in control of it. The beast leader, acting independently, was already able to summon a terrifying amount of power from Dreamdust Way. If the person who had originally set it up was still alive and in control of it… what a horrifying thought! These two would probably have been almost instantly slain.

In truth, as soon as the two of them saw the humanoid creature and the two Hegemon corpses, they had realized that the Dawn War had been on a far greater scale than the two of them could even imagine.

Whoosh. The vessel flew towards the planet in question. As they moved closer, they were able to clearly see that there were indeed many shattered ruins on this planet. Everything here was in terrible shape, with nothing more than a few stone pillars and battered walls remaining.

“My guess is that a major power must have hidden within his estate here, relying on its layers of barriers to stay alive. However, in the end even the estate was smashed into smithereens,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. The flying vessel landed on the planet, allowing Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord to fly out and inspect the stone pillars.

“There’s still a bit of power left in this estate.” Ning looked at the pillar in front of him. The towering pillar was thirty thousand meters tall, and its top was covered with layers of blurry white light. Even though countless years had gone by, the power of the pillar remained.

“It doesn’t seem as though there are any treasures here.” The Ninedust Sectlord walked around as he inspected the place. “Over the course of three hundred thousand years, we’ve run into quite a few ruins here in Starflow River but haven’t found so much as a single treasure.”

“These ruins don’t have much danger either. They probably were discovered and scoured long ago,” Ning said.

“Eh?” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord simultaneously turned to stare off into the distance. A single figure suddenly emerged from a distant, half-shattered wall. The man had tousled hair, bare feet, and was garbed in tattered yellow robes.

“Gentlemen.” The barefoot yellow-robed man smiled as he walked towards them.

“Are you a cultivator, or…?” Ning was puzzled.

“I belong to the Starflow race. My name is Daolord Laya.” The yellow-robed man smiled.

“The Starflow race?” The Ninedust Sectlord smiled. “I heard long ago that Starflow River has a ‘Starflow’ race within it, but this is our first time actually encountering a Starflow cultivator despite having spent three hundred thousand years here.”

The yellow-robed man laughed. “The Starflow race has many branches that are located deep within Starflow River. Every branch is protected and hidden by formations, making it difficult for outsiders to discover them. Only when we go out adventuring do we interact with the outside world.”

Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord knew a good amount regarding the Starflow race. Both Solesky’s map from the Dao Alliance as well as the map bestowed by Patriarch Vulturas had detailed, thorough notes regarding the Starflow race in the Starflow River. The Starflow race was a branch of cultivators that had drifted to this place from the Great Dark. They were scorned by the other six major powers, and so they elected to make Starflow River their homeland. They found survival difficult despite having been here for countless years, and they usually referred to themselves as members of the Starflow Race due to how long they had lived here.

It must be understood that quite a few cultivator groups had drifted in from the Great Dark. Most were very weak and unable to compete against the local powers. Only the Dark Kingdom possessed significant power, resulting in them becoming one of six major powers. This was also the reason why the Dao Alliance and the others were highly biased and negative towards the Dark Kingdom, resulting in many battles. Weaker races like the Starflow race were still discriminated against, but so long as they played nice and didn’t try to infiltrate the Endless Territories, the various local powers there were all fairly kind towards them.

The Starflow race treated the Endless Territories in a very friendly manner. They lived at the suffrage of the Dao Alliance; how would they dare to not be friendly? Thus, encountering a member of the Starflow race in Starflow River was a good thing, not a bad thing, as the Starflow race member would often provide assistance or guidance.

“Yes. This is our very first time encountering a member of your race, and we’re about to leave Starflow River.” Ning smiled. “If we ran into you earlier, we might’ve had a smoother journey.”

“The two of you are planning to leave Starflow River?” Daolord Laya was curious.

“Yes, we are leaving soon.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

“Starflow River holds many treasure sites within it. Have either of you entered one of them?” Daolord Laya asked.

“Treasure sites?” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “Although we found a few ruins, we didn’t find any treasures.”

“Starflow River is too vast. You’ve spent three hundred millennia here, but you’ve only seen a tiny portion of Starflow River,” Daolord Laya said. “Members of the Starflow race have been in this place for countless eons, and our Daolords and even Eternal Emperors have continuously explored and adventured through it. I’m certain that I know far more about this place than the two of you.”

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Chapter 7 – Thundersouth Palace

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 7 – Thundersouth Palace

Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both nodded.

“Our race has successive generations worth of experience regarding some of the major ruins and relic sites within the Starflow River,” Daolord Laya said. “I was preparing to head to one of them. I’ve already reached the Verge, but actually succeeding in the Daomerge… I don’t feel confident at all. That’s why I’ve come out to adventure and to temper myself in the hopes that I can increase my Daomerge chances.”

“Daomerge…” The Ninedust Sectlord sighed. “The Daomerge is far too difficult.”

“Yes, far too difficult.” Ning shook his head. Whenever the topic of the Daomerge came up, any and every Daolord would feel a sense of pressure, especially the powerful ones.

Although it was also quite difficult to advance from the first step to the second, third, and fourth steps, with a single mistake resulting in failure, this process was comparatively far more secure! For example, once Ning mastered his second-stage Omega Sword Dao he became a Daolord of the Second Step. Once he mastered the third stage of his Omega Dao, he would be able to become a Daolord of the Third Step.

The Daomerge, however, was different! The Daomerge required one to perfectly integrate and fuse all of the insights you had ever gained into your Dao. Success or failure could only be truly determined during the Daomerge itself! There was no one who could say with certainty that he or she would ‘definitely’ succeed in the Daomerge. For example, Ning only needed to gain sufficient insights into the Dao as he advanced through each step, and his chances were virtually assured in this way. The Daomerge, however… he had no idea as to what his chances of success would be.

Daolord Windsource of the Badlands Territory had in the end failed in his attempts to merge the hundred channels of his Dao together. In the future, Ning would undergo a Daomerge of his Sword Dao as well. Even someone as proud as Ning would only claim that he was sure he could become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. As for the Daomerge? Not even he felt confident in his chances.

“The more overwhelmingly powerful the Dao, the harder the Daomerge will be.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to succeed in the future. If I chose a weaker Dao, things would’ve been much simpler for me.”

“Are you actually willing to walk the path of a weak Dao?” Ning rebutted. In his heart, however, Ning couldn’t help but sigh. His Omega Sword Dao would be even more difficult! It must be understood that people like Palace Lord Dawnstar and the Ninedust Sectlord had perfectly joined multiple Supreme Daos together; if they gained eternity, they would become Hegemons. Ning’s Omega Sword Dao was even more powerful than their Daos. If he became an Eternal Emperor, he would be more powerful than even the Hegemons, right?

But Ning had never even heard of anyone who was more powerful than the three Hegemons. It was quite apparent how difficult it would be for him to reach such heights! In the future, the difficulty of his Daomerge would vastly outstrip that of Dawnstar or Ninedust.

“Of course not! What’s the point? Even if I succeeded in the Daomerge for a weak Dao, the only thing awaiting me would be a fate of being hunted and killed by others.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head.

“Since the two of you are within Starflow River, it’s obvious that you are both extraordinary Daolords.” Daolord Laya nodded with praise. “I agree with both of you. As cultivators, we should always strive to be as strong as we can. Otherwise, even if we become weak Eternal Emperors we still wouldn’t have the power needed to protect our race.”

Clearly, all three of them shared the same feelings. They had all chosen the path of becoming extremely powerful Daolords.

“Besides, the higher a level of enlightenment you gain and the more profound your understanding of the Dao is, the better your Daomerge chances will be,” Daolord Laya said. “I’m preparing to head to an extremely dangerous relic site known as Thundersouth Palace. In the Starflow River area, it ranks amongst the top ten ancient ruins and supposedly has legacies left behind by Hegemons. I wonder if the two of you would willing to accompany me on that trip?”

“Thundersouth Palace? Hegemon legacies?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord exchanged a glance. Both of them were intrigued. What was the entire point of adventuring? It was to seek out precious sites and treasures, right? A palace left behind by a Hegemon would definitely be filled with extraordinary things.

“Is that really a good idea?” The Ninedust Sectlord said, “This place is a place which your race discovered over the course of countless years of exploring; I’m sure that it is a secret which shouldn’t be casually divulged to others. If you bring the two of us inside…”

“Don’t worry about that.” Daolord Laya laughed. “Amongst our race, the location and existence of this place is indeed a tightly-held secret. I’m already a Verge-level Daolord who is far stronger than many of my peers, which is why the Emperors of our race informed me of the exact location of Thundersouth Palace. However, our standard policy as a race has always been to provide assistance whenever possible to Daolords of the Endless Territories who venture into Starflow River. All I need to request is that the two of you promise never to divulge this secret.”

“If that’s the case…” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

“Then we’ll accompany you on this journey,” Ning concurred.

They had heard long ago that the members of the Starflow race had always been extremely friendly towards cultivators of the Endless Territories. If Ning or the Ninedust Sectlord really did become Eternal Emperors, they would immediately gain extremely high statuses within the Endless Territories. They would remember the ‘favor’ which the Starflow race had shown them on this day, and they would naturally take care of the Starflow race when appropriate.

“If we’re going to head there… then as always, let us all swear lifeblood oaths,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“Alright. We’ll swear the lifeblood oath right now. That way, we can all work together and challenge Thundersouth Palace with full confidence in each other.” Daolord Laya agreed.

……

Now that lifeblood oaths had been sworn, both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord felt more confidence and faith in Daolord Laya. Even if he really had been plotting against them, now that the lifeblood oath was sworn he would immediately be devoured by it once he actually tried to take any action.

“Haha, I’ve never been so lucky before.” The Ninedust Sectlord laughed. “A random stroke of luck is delivering treasures into my hand.”

“It was destiny that led me to meet with the two of you, Darknorth, Ninedust.” Daolord Laya smiled. “Very, very few of our Verge-level Daolords go out adventuring to temper themselves. For the three of us to run into each other really is an incredible bit of karmic luck, or as I put it just now, ‘destiny’. In addition, our long-standing rules permit me to take you to certain ruins. No need to thank me, gentlemen. At most, I would ask you to remember this bit of kindness I’ve shown you today. If the two of you are able to gain eternity in the future, please help us out every so often.”

Ning and the Ninedust SEctlord both nodded. Their chances of actually gaining eternity were incredibly low; if they truly did succeed, then occasionally helping out the Starflow race would be a minor matter.

……

Ning, the Ninedust Sectlord, and Daolord Laya rode the black vessel as it flew through Starflow River.

“Thundersouth Palace isn’t that far away. Given how fast this vessel moves, we should reach it in just over a century,” Daolord Laya said. “Thundersouth Palace is quite dangerous, but I’m very familiar with it. So long as the two of you follow me, I’m confident that we should be able to stay safe.”

“Don’t underestimate Darknorth and myself, brother Laya,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“Yes, you might end up needing the two of us to save your behind, brother Laya.” Ning grinned.

“Oh? I look forward to seeing your abilities,” Daolord Laya said.

The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly asked, “Oh, right. Brother Laya, I heard that the Starflow race migrated here from the Great Dark?”

Ning glanced at Daolord Laya as well. Ning himself was also quite curious about this.

“Yes.” Daolord Laya nodded. “Quite a few people know this. Long, long ago our homeland, a place known as the Peacock Lotus Realmworld, suffered an unbelievably massive war. The entire Peacock Lotus Realmworld was completely obliterated, and we were forced to flee for o ur lives. We drifted for many years through the Great Dark, with the first-generation Daolords of the Peacock Lotus Realmworld eventually all dying. We spent nearly a million chaos cycles drifting through the Great Dark, after all.”

“As we moved through the Great Dark, our Eternal Emperors held members of our race within their estate-worlds, giving them a place to flourish and prosper. The Eternal Emperors spent nearly a million chaos cycles drifting before finally arriving at the Endless Territories. In the end, they chose Starflow River as the place where our race would set down roots once more. Virtually all of the members of my race are now born and live in Starflow River, with only the original Eternal Emperors having actually come from the Peacock Lotus Realmworld. As for us Daolords, we know nothing of that place at all,” Daolord Laya explained.

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were both rather stunned by this. Nearly a million chaos cycles of drifting? The Great Dark truly was far, far too vast! No wonder only Eternal Emperors would dare explore it. Such an incredibly long journey was enough to bring despair to almost any Daolord. However, even for Eternal Emperors a million chaos cycles of solitude was a terrifying prospect. Only Eternal Emperors such as Mirrorsnow who had long ago grown completely bored of the Endless Territories after having explored most of it would elect to enter the Great Dark and seek out excitement there.”

“Since we have left our homeland, propagating and surviving has been quite difficult.” Daolord Laya sighed. “The Endless Territories is under threat of destruction by the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. Supposedly, in the distant future even the Starflow River will be destroyed by it. When that happens, our race shall be forced to continue our wandering.”

“The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels?” Both Ning and Ninedust sighed. Indeed, in the distant future it was almost guaranteed that all of the various organizations within the Endless Territories would be forced to go off wandering. But of course, if they didn’t succeed in their Daomerge then the two of them would never live to witness that day.

……

The three continued to relax and chat as they advanced through Starflow River. More than a hundred years went past in the blink of an eye.

“Thundersouth Palace is directly ahead. My race has already set up wards to hide everything in the region. Once I connect to them, we’ll be able to see Thundersouth Palace.” Daolord Laya stood at the prow of the ship as he spoke to Ning and Ninedust.

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Chapter 8 – The Thundersouth Guardian

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 8 – The Thundersouth Guardian

Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both let out impressed sighs. The Starflow race truly was crafty; they had actually set up barrier wards to make it impossible for others to locate Thundersouth Palace. However, the two of them both understood this decision; any race or organization would choose to hide such a valuable resource.

Daolord Laya stood at the prow of the vessel. His Immortal energy flooded outwards, condensing into one mysterious rune after another. Soon, a total of nine runes had taken shape. They hung there in the void, emanating waves of blurry white light.

“Open.” Daolord Laya’s voice was cold and sharp. Whoosh! The nine ancient runes all flew towards the void in front of them, and a series of ripples appeared. A void door appeared in the center of the ripples, and through the door one could clearly make out an enormous space palace on the other side.

“Come, let us go in. This void door won’t stay open for long,” Daolord Laya said hurriedly.

“Let’s go.” The three of them transformed into streaks of light that flew towards the void door.

……

After passing through the void door, the three were able to clearly see the enormous golden palace which hung in the empty space before them. The golden palace was extremely beautiful, and it was coverd with innumerable sculptures and diagrams which made it look quite bewitching.

The palace had an an aura of strength, power, and nobility. Above the front gates hung two giant words – THUNDER SOUTH. These two words crackled with streaks of electricity, and the calligraphy was filled with a lofty spirit. The entire palace emanated an invisible aura of presence and might which was strong enough to cause Ning’s heart to shudder.

They hadn’t even entered yet. Just by staring at it from afar, they already felt a sense of danger. This was ac lear warning which the previous master of the Thundersouth Palace had left for future guests!

Daolord Laya smiled. “No need to worry, gentlemen.”

Ning shook his head. “Just by looking at those two characters, I can tell that this should have been a Hegemon’s palace. Even the weakest of traps left behind by someone on that level would be enough to wipe me out a million times over.”

“So long as you avoid being too greedy, you won’t encounter any mortal danger here,” Daolord Laya said.

“Too greedy?” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord exchanged a glance.

“Are you saying we aren’t allowed to touch any of the treasures we see in there?” Ninedust frowned.

Daolord Laya explained, “Before I left our racial headquarters, the Eternal Emperors told me that there are two major dangers which would be awaiting me here. They told me that if I wasn’t careful, I might die, but if I was able to survive them then even if I did encounter a few other problems, those problems definitely wouldn’t be life-threatening. This is why I only know detailed information regarding the first two dangers, as the Emperors did not speak of the later dangers in detail. The main thing they said to me was that I would be fine, so long as I didn’t get too greedy. I was puzzled by this as well; the entire point of me coming to this place was to find valuable treasures for myself. What would be the point if I couldn’t take anything? But the Emperors simply said that I’d understand everything once I actually entered.”

“So we’ll understand everything once we enter?” Ning laughed. “Hah. Fine, then. If we knew everything before going in, then it wouldn’t prove to be much of a challenge or at empering experience.”

“Agreed.” Ninedust nodded as well. “Come, let us go inside.”

Both of them trusted Daolord Laya completely… or to be precise, they trusted the lifeblood oath all three had sworn. Since they were all bound by oaths, there was no way for Daolord Laya to lie or deceive to them regarding this place.

The palace gates were enormous. The three stepped through the gates, and as they did Ning couldn’t help but raise his head to look up once more at the two words that hung above it, ‘THUNDER SOUTH’. He could vaguely sense that it contained certain mysteries within it, but his path was that of the Sword Dao and not that of the Dao of Lightning.

The enormous palace held many rooms, hallways, and even gardens. It truly was graceful and refined… but every single part of it was brimming with that deep azure lightning. Countless tendrils of lightning crackled everywhere, and they were actually quite beautiful to behold.

After they stepped through the gates, they stared somberly towards the front. All of them could sense the power held within those flickers of lightning.

“That is Eternal lightning,” Ning blurted out. Ning had encountered many different types of Dao lightning in his quest to master the [Novessence Thunder], but none of them gave him the sense of power and danger which the lightning tendrils before him did.

“There’s actually Eternal lightning within this palace?” The Ninedust Sectlord blurted out, “Eternal lightning… I’ve never heard of it being naturally birthed from the primordial chaos.”

“Supposedly, only an Eternal Emperor who has reached incredible heights in the Dao of Lightning is capable of creating a streak of Eternal lightning,” Ning said seriously.

“Yes… and this is the first great danger.” Daolord Laya said solemnly, “The lightning fills virtually every inch of this palace, and it is both sentient and intelligent.”

“Sentient and intelligent?” Ning exclaimed with surprise, “Isn’t Eternal lightning sentient to begin with?”

“Just watch for yourself.” Daolord Laya grinned. Just a heartbeat later, the countless streams of lightning in front of them began to wriggle about and gather together, transforming into an enormous lightning humanoid. Its entire body was composed of electricity, and it had a pair of deep azure eyes that stared down upon the three from their lofty heights.

It was Eternal lightning, filled with endless vitality and life energy.

“Greetings, milord Guardian,” Daolord Laya said respectfully.

“Master left me in charge of protecting this palace,” the lightning guardian said calmly. “I will strike you with three palms. If you juniors can survive all three palms, you’ll be granted entry. If you feel confident in your personal power, you can choose to accept my strikes individually.”

……

Within the palace. Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had their weapons at the ready. Daolord Laya said hurriedly, “According to what the Emperors of my race said, the lightning guardian is reinforced by the power of the entire Thundersouth Palace and is incredibly powerful! Each of his three palms is more powerful than the last. If you can’t take them, come hide behind me.”

“No need for that.” The Ninedust Sectlord hefted his longstaff.

“Let’s see just how tough the lightning guardian is.” Ning had two Northbow swords at the ready. He was a very proud man; how could he choose to hide behind another?

The lightning guardian said coldly, “Here comes the first palm.” His right arm swept out, transforming to become a mountain in size as it crashed down towards the three of them.

Ning, the Ninedust Sectlord, and Daolord Laya simultaneously brandished their own weapons. Ning used swords, the Ninedust Sectlord used his longstaff, and Daolord Laya used a greataxe. All three sent their weapons straight towards the lightning guardian’s enormous palm.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The two forces collided with an enormous collision. The three of them had managed to endure this blow head on, but their bodies couldn’t help but tremble from the force of the collision. They quickly managed to stabilize themselves. The Ninedust Sectlord’s face was ashen, while Daolord Laya’s face had a solemn look on it. Only Ning was still fairly relaxed, as his Hegemon armor was able to whittle away the power of any blow until it had only 0.1% of its original force. In terms of defense prowess, Ning was more skilled than Ninedust and Laya to begin with. Although his body trembled from the collision, the shockwave was very little to him and caused his divine body little harm.

“Even if it went up a full level in power, it would be useless against me.” Ning felt quite confident. The Hegemon armor truly was powerful. However, Ning also understood that this was also partially because he himself had become much stronger than before. When he had first entered the azureflower estate, he had nearly been knocked unconscious by as ingle blow. Back then, he was at a disadvantage even when battling against the likes of Patriarch Clearwind.

As for now? Ning was currently stronger than even Kongsan!

“An impressive fellow. Fast and furious.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a growl. “Darknorth, use your secret arts.” As he spoke, waves of rippling water began to emanate from his body.

“Agreed.” Ning nodded. Although he was able to take these hits head-on, the Ninedust Sectlord didn’t have a suit of Hegemon armor, making it rather tough for him. The nine novessence arts flew out of Ning’s body in the form of nine energy dragons.

The Ripplewater art and the nine novessence arts merged together, spreading out throughout the palace.

The lightning guardian’s mouth crooked upwards slightly, almost as though he was laughing. “Interesting. Your secret arts aren’t bad at all… but I’ll use the power of the entire Thundersouth Palace in my third strike. I hope you can survive it.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The hallways, gardens, rooms, and surface of the entire palace began to light up with runic script. The runes all seemed to flow and congregate around the lightning guardian. “Get ready for the third palm!”

Whoosh! The lightning guardian’s palm struck out like the firmament of heaven itself, enveloping the entire palace within it as he attacked the three. There was nowhere to run or hide from this strike.

“Can’t take it head on. Hide behind me!” Daolord Laya barked mentally as he produced a golden bone in his hands.

“I only have one treasure left.” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately dodged behind Daolord Laya. Clearly, he would’ve been forced to use his treasures if he wanted to take this attack head on. If Daolord Laya was going to use his, there was no point in Ninedust wasting one of his own treasures out of sheer pride.

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Chapter 9 – The Second Danger

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 9 – The Second Danger

“Darknorth!” As the Ninedust Sectlord dodged behind Daolord Laya, he discovered to his amazement that Ji Ning wasn’t doing the same. He knew very well that Ning was roughly on the same level of power as him. If he didn’t dare to take it head-on, how was it that Darknorth did? But there was nothing he could do except worry; the final attack of the lightning guardian was already descending upon them.

BOOM! The enormous hand descended upon them like the firmament of heaven itself. This strike contained the full force the lightning guardian was capable of mustering, and it had been reinforced by the wards of the palace itself.

Rings of white light appeared around Daolord Laya and the Ninedust Sectlord, allowing them to endure and withstand the strike.

Whoosh. The lightning guardian withdrew his palm, then glanced at the three and smiled. “I didn’t expect that one of you would be able to endure my palm through his own power. It seems you have quite an impressive protective divine ability, young fellow. One more trial awaits you, set down by my master. I hope you all survive it.”

The lightning guardian took a single step, then dispersed into countless streaks of lightning that quickly scattered in each direction. No more was the path in front of them blocked off by any lightning at all.

“Impressive, Darknorth. You actually took it head-on.” The Ninedust Sectlord walked over to Ning.

“According to my racial records, only the most supreme of Daolords can endure such a blow head-on. I’m impressed, Darknorth.” Daolord Laya truly was amazed. The power of that strike was far beyond what ordinary Eternal Emperors were capable of; that was a full-power strike from the lightning guardian which was reinforced by the palace’s formations!

“Eh, I simply have a decent protective divine ability. My entire body is still numb from that strike, though. My legs are about to give out underneath me.” Ning’s legs really were wobbling, but he laughed. “If that lightning giant launched multiple attacks against me, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”

“Just like that, I used up a boneseal which one of our Emperor’s personally made for me.” Daolord Laya laughed, “If there were multiple attacks, no number of boneseals would’ve been able to protect me.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement as well. His divine body was close to but not quite on par with a low-grade Eternal weapon. He had mainly relied on his Hegemon armor to endure this hit. Alas, the treasures he needed to upgrade his protective divine ability were simply too rare and hard to find. He did acquire Dragonfish Ki, but he needed to find the rest as well. He needed to upgrade his divine body to make it a middle-grade Eternal treasure as quickly as possible.

……

Ning, Ninedust, and Daolord Laya followed the winding hallways of the palace. The Thundersouth Palace was extremely large and quite beautiful. Every so often, they would see a few flickers of Eternal lightning swimming about them, but those lightning streaks all kept a long distance away from them. Clearly, now that they had survived the first trial the Eternal lightning would no longer cause any trouble for them.

“Halt!” Daolord Laya suddenly called out.

“Eh?” Ning and Ninedust came to a halt. In front of them was a lake that emanated an aura of freezing energy, and a faint layer of cold mist could be seen on its surface. There was a crooked wooden bridge which passed through the entire lake.

“The wooden bridge up ahead is the second dangerous trial which we will face in Thundersouth Palace, and the last one which could be life-threatening to us,” Daolord Laya said somberly. “This one is even more dangerous than the first one.”

“More dangerous?” Ning and Ninedust were both startled. Ninedust couldn’t help but frown. “You were already forced to use up an Emperor’s boneseal to survive the first one. Now you are telling me that this one is worse?”

“Yes.” Daolord Laya said somberly, “Quite a few of the more powerful Daolords of my race have visited Thundersouth Palace in their time. Each was given a single boneseal, but nearly half still ended up perishing here! It must be understood that there are two dangerous areas here. If you use up the boneseal during the first danger, you’d definitely survive it… and so the ones who didn’t all perished here.”

Ning and Ninedust felt their hearts clench. Nearly half of the Daolords had perished here?

“Still, I’m confident in my chances.” Daolord Laya smiled. “The Emperor said that I have better than a 70% chance of surviving. Don’t worry at all, gentlemen. I’ll go up there and give the wooden bridge a try. If I really am so unlucky as to die here, then you can simply leave. The invisibility formation my race set up is only directed outwards, not inwards.”

“Brother Laya, what is so dangerous about the wooden bridge?” Ning asked.

“Once you step onto the wooden bridge, you’ll be trapped within an illusory realm,” Daolord Laya said somberly. “A very terrifying one! If you allow yourself to be led astray and accidentally fall into the waters of the lake, then you’ll die without question.”

“I’m planning to use the illusions here to temper my Dao-heart. My chances of making it are extremely high; if I can strengthen my Dao-heart, it’ll be of help to me in my Daomerge in the future.” Daolord Laya had a resolute look in his eyes. He was preparing for the Daomerge. No matter what, he was determined to embark on this path.

“Illusions?” Ninedust blinked.

“A terrifying illusory realm?” Ning stared blankly at Daolord Laya. “And your chances of surviving it are roughly 70%?”

“…What’s with the strange looks on your faces?” Daolord Laya immediately said, “The Emperor felt that my chances were high, but there’s still a chance that I might fail. I can’t give up a chance like this to temper my Dao-heart. Don’t worry, so long as I can make it across safely, I’ll come back and help you across as well. Otherwise, the two of you would fall into the lake.”

Ning and Ninedust blinked again.

“You hear that, Darknorth? The second trial consists of illusions.” Ninedust laughed.

“And to think that I was feeling really nervous just now. Jeeze.” Ning shook his head and chuckled as well.

“What’s with the two of you?” Daolord Laya was puzzled.

The Ninedust Sectlord began to roar with laughter. “Brother Lay, let me give you a formal introduction of our friend Daolord Darknorth.”

“A formal introduction? An introduction of what?” Daolord Laya still didn’t understand.

“Brother Darknorth is exceedingly skilled in sword-arts, but you know that already. He also trains as a Heartforce Cultivator and is an extremely accomplished one.” The Ninedust Sectlord said smugly, “Just now, you were talking about helping a powerful Heartforce Cultivator survive deadly illusions… hah! I laughed so hard my teeth nearly fell out.”

Daolord Laya stared blankly. “A Heartforce Cultivator?” Heartforce Cultivators were pitifully raer; the Brightshore Kingdom was one of the six great powers of the Endless Territories, but it still had less than ten of them, and this was after the almighty Brightshore Hegemon had scoured the Endless Territories for talented World-level experts! The Starflow race naturally had even fewer Heartforce Cultivators. They had more than ten powerful Verge-level Daolords in this era, but not a single Heartforce Cultivator!

“Brother Laya…” Ning chuckled as well. With at hought, he summoned his heartworld projection and brought it down upon the area around them.

“A heartworld projection? Darknorth, you…” Moments later, Daolord Laya started to laugh as well. “Haha, I really made a fool of myself just now, didn’t I? Illusions really are nothing to brother Darknorth. Even if the master of the Thundersouth Palace personally cast his illusions over him, I suspect he still wouldn’t be phased in the slightest.”

Ning laughed. This really was the case. Only someone incredibly skilled in illusions would have a chance at affecting him; for example, an Eternal Emperor who was also a Heartforce Cultivator would be able to trap Ning within illusions. As for Hegemons who occasionally trained in illusions? Those illusions wouldn’t be able to affect powerful Daolords who were Heartforce Cultivators.

But of course, Hegemons wouldn’t need to go to that trouble. The almighty Brightshore Hegemon, for example, could use his mastery over spacetime to wipe out Ning with ease. But if he was to use illusions instead… Heartforce Cultivators really would have very little to fear. Ning’s best guess was that the master of Thundersouth Palace had been primarily focused on the Dao of Lightning.

“Darknorth, I do have one request,” Daolord Laya said.

“If there’s anything you need, just let me know,” Ning said.

“I want to borrow this opportunity to temper my Dao-heart. Supposedly, the illusions are very effective for that,” Daolord Laya said. “If I’m in any danger, please lend me a hand and ensure that I don’t fall into the lake.”

“Easily done.” Ning nodded.

Daolord Laya nodded back at him, then walked onto the wooden bridge. He came to an immediate halt after doing so, staying there for a full hour without moving at all.

Ning and Ninedust both waited patiently. Roughly one hour later, Daolord Laya’s gaze turned clear. A serious expression on his face, he began to carefully advance. However, without even realizing it he began to walk towards the edges of the wooden bridge. He clearly was walking askew, but he himself didn’t realize it. He walked closer and closer towards the lake and its white frozen mist, which seemed ready to reach out and swallow him alive.

“Careful.” Ning reached out with his arm, expanding it by dozens of meters. As his arm reached through the illusions, they immediately began to surge through it and begin to attempt to ensorcere his mind. But it was like the waters of a well splashing against the well’s stones; they had no affect at all. Ning was completely unmoved, and so he latched onto Daolord Laya by the back, then pulled him straight out.

Daolord Laya was stunned as he was pulled out of the wood bridge. “What’s going on?” He was stunned and couldn’t believe it. He turned to look at Ning. “My mind was clear. I had completely shaken off the effects of the illusions.”

“Shaken off? If it wasn’t for Darknorth, you would’ve walked straight into the lake by now,” the Ninedust Sectlord snickered.

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Chapter 10 – Ji Ning’s Illusions

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 10 – Ji Ning’s Illusions

“How is this possible? I could clearly sense that I was quite awake. I wasn’t…” Daolord Laya’s voice slowly trailed off. Moments later, he let out a low sigh. “What a terrifying illusion. It actually was able to seep into my soul without me even realizing it. The things that I thought I saw were actually all illusory. My Dao-heart still isn’t strong enough, allowing my soul and truesoul to be infiltrated without me knowing it.”

“Haha, it seems you are fairly weak. Let me show you what I have up my sleeves.” The Ninedust Sectlord laughed as he walked towards the floating wooden bridge. After taking two steps, he turned to look at Ji Ning. “Darknorth, if I also end up walking astray you need to grab me.”

“Of course.” Ning nodded.

“But of course, I’m convinced that my Dao-heart will render me invulnerable.” Ninedust briskly walked forwards and stepped onto the floating wooden bridge. As soon as he did so, he too suddenly came to a halt and stopped moving.

He stood there for over two hours without moving. “Hmph.” A hint of as mile appeared on the Ninedust Sectlord’s face. “What a formidable illusion. However, in the end I was able to break it.” He began to walk forwards as well, but he actually began to turn and move straight towards the waters of the lake.

Ning was badly startled by his sudden movements. Fortunately, Ning had kept a close eye on him. Ning immediately stretched his arm out by dozens of meters, latching onto the Ninedust Sectlord’s silver robes and grabbed him back.

“Why the hell did you grab me? I was perfectly fine.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning.

“Calm down and think it over again.” Ning didn’t even try to explain.

“I’m sure I didn’t…” The Ninedust Sectlord’s voice trailed off as well. Clearly, he was just now slowly shaking off the effects of the illusion. Moments later, an astonished look appeared on his face. “That was absolutely terrifying. I’ve never encountered an illusion like that. I was trapped by the illusion, and I really did shake its effects off, but… it continued to slowly seep into my soul and truesoul, affecting both.”

“Right.” The nearby Daolord Laya concurred, “This is different from ordinary illusions. It looks dangerous, but all that is just for the sake of allowing it to disguise its soul-seeping abilities.”

“Mm. You were able to last for an hour before having your soul infiltrated.” Ning then looked towards the Ninedust Sectlord. “Ninedust, you lasted for two hours before being infiltrated. It seems your Dao-heart is slightly tougher than brother Laya’s.”

“But still not strong enough.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “I nearly died.”

“I nearly died as well.” Laya shivered with fear.

“Darknorth, I want to try it again. The way in which this illusion seeps into the soul and truesoul truly is an excellent way for one to temper one’s Dao-heart,” the Ninedust Sectlord said immediately. “I can’t give up a chance like this. Help keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t walk into the lake.”

“I wish to give it a try as well, Darknorth. Give me a hand.” Daolord Laya also wanted to rely on this opportunity to temper his Dao-heart.

They had a Heartforce Cultivator watching over them. What had they to fear? And so, the two of them both stepped onto the wooden bridge… and once again they eventually began to walk towards the water of the lake like idiots. In the end, Ning had to drag them back again and again.

“This illusion really is something special.” Ning himself walked onto the bridge, then sat down in the lotus position and allowed the illusions to invade his soul as he began to analyze them.

His heartforce was maintained and nurtured by the power of his absolutely enormous heartworld, one which was comparable to an entire territory in size. There was simply no way an illusion on this level could shake such powerful heartforce, giving Ning the opportunity to closely study from it.

During the past three hundred millennia within the Starflow River area, Ning had often spent time analyzing Daolord Featherdress’ [Dreamworld] technique while researching the Dreamdust runes he had encountered in Dreamdust Way. He was still fairly weak in the art of illusions compared to other Heartforce Cultivators at the same level of power, but he could still be considered a grandmaster in this area when compared to others. The illusory power of this wooden bridge was actually close to that of the [Dreamworld] technique, but of course it was far from being a match for the Dreamdust runes. The Dreamdust runes were comparable to Ning’s azureflower seal in profundity, and the illusions of this wooden bridge were far from being a match for it, making it easier for Ning to analyze and study it.

With but a thought, Ning caused time to accelerate a hundred times normal in the area around him. Given his current level of power, it was easy for him to use his heartworld projection to accelerate time around him.

In truth, many powerful Daolords were capable of this, including the likes of Daolord Solesky. Even a number of Immortals and Fiendgodsin the Three Realms were capable of this; for example, the ‘Bridge of Despair’ in the Underworld Kingdom had this function. However, causing time to accelerate a hundred times faster than normal for himself was extremely difficult, simply because he was extremely powerful. Generally speaking, only a powerful Daolord could accelerate time by that much.

Time continued to flow on. After spending more than thirty years, the Ninedust Sectlord finally managed to completely traverse the wooden bridge. Daolord Laya actually took eight hundred years before accomplishing the same.

“I thought that we had already spent quite some time there. Who would’ve thought that Darknorth would spend even more time than us?” The Ninedust Sectlord stood at the other side of the bridge, waiting helplessly as he looked at Ning.

“Let’s just keep waiting,” Daolord Laya laughed. The reason why Ning was staying at the bridge for so long was because he was analyzing and researching its various illusions. It must be remembered that Ning had rescued Ninedust and Laya on multiple occasions already, and so the two of them now waited for him without complaint. In truth, for Daolords even a wait of ten thousand years was nothing.

……

After nine thousand years had gone past, Ning finally rose to stand up on the bridge once more. “Interesting.” Ning revealed a smile. “The [Dreamworld], the Dreamdust runes, and the illusions of this bridge… in the end, it was the illusions of the bridge that helped me out the most.”

The [Dreamworld] really didn’t suit him very well at all, as it was primarily tailored for Daolord Featherdress’ rather soft and insidious approach. The Dreamdust runes were simply too profound, almost unfathomably so. The bridge illusions were close to the [Dreamworld] illusions in power, but had been created by the master of this palace, the Thundersouth Hegemon. Although the Thundersouth Hegemon’s strongest Dao lay in thunder and he wasn’t particularly skilled in illusions, he was still close to Daolord Featherdress in ability. More importantly, his style was closer to Ning’s own style.

“To use a powerful illusion to attract the enemy’s attention while catching them offguard and infiltrating their souls… and to lead them astray just as they are feeling confident about having defeated the illusions. What a nasty technique.” Ning laughed. “My own illusions have finally started to take shape, thanks to learning some of the tricks of the wooden bridge.”

“Since my illusionary arts have gradually taken form in the Starflow Realm, then let them be called… the [Dreamstar] arts.” Ning was quite pleased. Now that he had developed his [Dreamstar] illusions, they would be of great use to him in battle.

The [Heartforce Eradicator] was simply too brutish; either the opponent resisted it or died outright! If the opponent resisted it and was able to maintain mental clarity against it, the [Heartforce Eradicator] would have no effect at all.

The [Dreamstar] art, however, was able to have a constant impact on the enemy in battle. So long as the enemy was slowed down or distracted even slightly, Ning would have the chance to gain victory.

“The [Dreamstar] still needs further perfecting. If I can learn a bit more from the Dreamdust runes, I might become a figure like Daolord Featherdress, capable of using heartforce abilities to become the most powerful Daolord of my generation.” Ning knew that he was still far off from this goal; his technique was weaker than even the [Dreamworld] technique, to say nothing of Daolord Featherdress’ most powerful technique, the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song].

“Darknorth, you finally stood up.” The Ninedust Sectlord called out to him from the far end of the bridge, “Hurry up. We wanted to go exploring this place years ago, since we know that there’s no more danger inside. The only thing waiting for us is fortune and treasure, but we decided to wait for you instead. Now that’s brotherhood for you, eh?”

“Sure, I guess.” Ning strode towards them atop the wooden bridge. “But I saved you and grabbed you back from the brink of death more than ten thousand times. Now that’s real brotherhood, am I right?”

“Yeah, but did you have to do it in a way where you kept on grabbing me by the neck?” the Ninedust Sectlord groused.

“You sure are picky about how you want your life to be saved,” Ning said.

The nearby Daolord Laya watched as Ning and Ninedust bickered and jested. He knew that his relationship with Ning hadn’t reached such a level yet; the latter two had experienced multiple life-and-death experiences, after all.

The group departed the wooden bridge area. “Based on my race’s records, there shouldn’t be much danger left in the following area,” Daolord Laya said. “However, that’s only assuming we aren’t greedy, whatever that means.”

Whoosh. Suddenly, the tendrils of Eternal lightning off in the distance all began to gather together off in the distance. Soon, an enormous lightning giant was standing in front of them ocne more. The lightning guardian stared at them, then revealed a smile. “I didn’t expect there would be a Heartforce Cultivator in your ranks. Excellent. Your name is Darknorth, yes?”

“Darknorth greets you, milord Guardian,” Ning said respectfully.

“You were able to take my third strike head-on, and the illusions were unable to affect you as well. Mm. You are permitted to choose any one treasure from the Thundersouth Palace. Remember, you are only allowed to take one. As for the two of you, you aren’t’allowed to take any treasures at all,” the lightning guardian said. “Remember, don’t be greedy. Greed leads to death!”

Ning raised his eyebrows. So this was what ‘don’t be greedy’ meant.

“Kid, before my master went off to take part in the great war, he left four of these palaces behind scattered throughout the Terror Starsea. If you can pass the trials of all four, a truly large fortune will await you.” The lightning guardian smiled mysteriously, then dissipated into countless streaks of Eternal lightning that fled off into every direction.

Ning was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. The four palaces were scattered throughout the Terro rStarsea? Perhaps during the Dawn War, the Terror Starsea wasn’t very dangerous yet, but it was now a place where even Hegemons wouldn’t dare tread. How could he possibly go out and search for the other three palaces?

“You are actually only allowed to choose one treasure? The two of us aren’t allowed to choose any?” The Ninedust Sectlord glared at Ning.

“Haha! Remember how you won some treasures in that cave, but I ended up with nothing at all?” Ning smirked. The Ancient ancestor had left nothing for him at all. “What comes around, goes around. This time, it’s your turn to leave empty-handed.”

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Chapter 11 – The Stone Censer of Reunion

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 11 – The Stone Censer of Reunion

Ninedust chatted with Ji Ning as the two walked, while Daolord Laya just stared at Ning with a rather complex look on his face.

“What is it, Daolord Laya?” Ning suddenly became aware of Laya’s stares.

“Brother Darknorth, you probably do not yet understand what being given a chance to take at treasure away from Thundersouth Palace represents.” Daolord Laya hesitated a moment, a complex look on his face. “The Starflow race cares deeply about one particular treasure inside this place. If you were able to bring it out and then gift it to our race, we would be willing to pay you an enormous price for it.”

“The Starflow race would like to trade with me for it?” Ning was stunned. “Has no member of the Starflow Daolords been able to take any treasures away with them when they left?”

“There has.” Daolord Laya nodded. “Just one! Receiving the approval of the Eternal lightning is incredibly difficult. There were others in our history who were able to endure the three blows and also endure the illusions, but they still were not acknowledged.”

Only now did Ning understood that gaining the lightning giant’s approval was no simple task.

“Only a single member of our race was allowed to take a treasure away with him, and he chose a different one,” Daolord Laya said. “My race desperately desires a chance to acquire that particular treasure. If you are willing to garner it and trade it with us… don’t worry. I promise our race will pay almost any price. My avatar is in our headquarters right now, and I can complete the negotiations for you before you choose it and bring it out. You can choose where the trade will be transacted! Even if you wish to carry it out in the Endless Territories, we can make it happen.”

Ning was intrigued. It really did seem as though the Starflow race was in desperate desire of that treasure.

“What treasure is it?” Ning asked.

“The Stone Censer of Reunion,” Daolord Laya said.

“An incense burner?” Ning was rather puzzled.

“Can it be the legendary…” A stunned look was on the Ninedust Sectlord’s face.

Ning looked at the look on Ninedust’s face, then looked at the eager expression on Daolord Laya’s. He instantly started to grow curious about this Stone Censer of Reunion.

“Let me go take a look first. Before doing so… brother Laya, please do not tell your race about the fact that I have a chance to select a treasure.” Ning said calmy, “Once you do, it’s possible that one of your Eternal Emperors would suddenly charge to this place and lie in wait outside. That would be troublesome.”

“Don’t worry.” Daolord Laya nodded repeatedly.

“Mm.” Ning decided to first take a look and see just what made this Stone Censer of Reunion so special. If it was also extremely important to him, then he would probably immediately leave this place with it in tow.

It would take time for the Starflow race to travel here. There was no way to use spatial teleportation within the Starflow River; even Ning’s ability to transcend dimensions was unable to pierce through the local region, thanks to the omnipresent power of the Starflow River. It would take quite some time for any member of the Starflow race’s Eternal Emperors to get here.

……

The three of them quickly arrived at a beautiful, crystalline pavilion. The walls of the pavilion were like white jade and semi-translucent, allowing them to be able to see through to the insides.

“How beautiful.” The three of them walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the pavilion. There were five prayer mats located on the ground, with a palm-sized incense burner located at the very center of the pavilion. The incense burner was both white and black, and it faintly emanated an aura of white smoke that was visible to the naked eye. It wafted out to an area of roughly nine meters that perfectly covered the five prayer mats.

There were also a number of paintings hanging from the walls and unfurled on the tables. Other treasures were on the tables as well. There was a bracelet that was engraved with some sort of bird carving, a pair of scissors that gleamed with black light, a pearl the emanated a freezing aura, and more. In total, there were twelve treasures on the dais.

“So these paintings were made by the master of this palace?” Ning raised his head to look at the paintings. All of them were in the same style, and they naturally contained many of the mysteries of the Dao, primarily of the Dao of Lightning. And yet, they actually contained some elements of the Dao of the Sword as well. However, considering that Ning was the master of the Omega Sword Dao, he viewed this person’s Sword Dao as being rather ordinary, perhaps on par with Emperor Mirrorsnow’s.

There was also the Dao of Illusions, and the Dao of Painting infused into each artwork…

“Quite a few treasures here.” Ning’s attention had been focused on the incense burner in the center as soon as he had come in, but he was in no rush to inspect it. Instead, he first looked at the other twelve treasures on the table.

“An umbrella?” A strange golden metal umbrella lay in front of him. The tip of the umbrella was incredibly sharp. Ning reached out to touch it, filling it with his godsense to learn some of its secrets.

This magic treasure was known as the Golden Ambersky Umbrella. It could be used to attack, but when the umbrella was opened it could also serve as a defensive treasure. It also contained a world unto itself that would be unleashed once the umbrella was opened, making it a domain-type treasure as well. The Ambersky World would manifest in the surrounding area, suppressing the foe. The power of the Ambersky World alone was on par with NIng’s nine novessence arts.

It could be used for attack, defense, and suppression… and in suppression alone it was comparable to the nine novessence arts. It must be remembered that Ning was only able to master those nine arts due to a confluence of lucky factors, and in the end had succeeded only because he had learned an incredibly profound alchemy technique! And of course, given his Omega Sword Dao, once he reached the third step as a Daolord he would be able to unleash even greater power when using those nine novessence arts to execute his sword-arts. He would reach a level comparable to Daolord Allgod at that time.

Despite that… the value of the Golden Ambersky Umbrella was truly unfathomable. Ning was stunned by its worth. The twelve treasures of the Hegemon truly were extraordinary.

“And what’s this?” Ning reached out to touch the bracelet engraved with the carving of a flying beast. This was the Sparrow Formation Bracelet. It could be filled with Hegemon-level energy or chaos jewels, then activated to unleash a mighty Sparrow Formation that could trap foes. Hegemons might be able to burst through the formation through raw force, but any weaker foe would be trapped until the power of the formation was depleted. Ning’s eyes lit up. “This is quite similar to the formation-diagram Ninedust holds in the palm of his hands. It’s actually a multiple-usage formation treasure.”

Treasures like this were incredibly valuable. Even if you encountered the eight lords of the Sacred Cities or the likes of Patriarch Vulturas, you could use this treasure to trap them for a brief period of time, which you could then use to flee! Thus, treasures like this would virtually never be found for sale on the open market. Eternal Emperors cherished them very highly.

Only Hegemons would be willing to bequeath them to later generations. They truly were of incalculable value. “A fine treasure.” Ning was deeply intrigued, but he then looked at the next treasure, a black disc that glimmered with a spot of light that roved inside of it.

……

Every single treasure Ning saw interested him greatly. These treasures were of limited use to Hegemons, but incredibly valuable to most Eternal Emperors. As for Daolords? They were simply unimaginable. For now, Ning was still the most intrigued by the Sparrow Formation Bracelet.

“Now, let me take a look at the Stone Censer of Reunion.” Ning turned his head to look at the palm-sized incense burner located at the very center of the room. He walked over, then casually sat down on one of the prayer mats. Once he did, he sensed a surge of icy energy emanate from the prayer mats and into his entire body, causing his soul to calm down significantly.

Ning wasn’t too impressed by the effects of the prayer mat, as there were quite a few treasures with similar functions. But when the scent of the incense coming from the stone censer wafted into his nose…

Rumble…

The entire world turned silent. Ning’s mind and soul emptied out in an almost prajna-like state of epiphany, and many of his thoughts and questions pertaining to the Dao of the Sword quickly began to flash through his mind. More and more visualizations came to mind as he saw through one bottleneck after another…

After an undeterminable period of time, Ning opened his eyes. Only then did he realize that he had sat here for two days and a full night.

“I actually was able to fully master the third stage of the Soleheart sword-intent.” Ning was shocked. “I’ve almost even finished mastering the new Heavenbreaker sword-intent.”

He had spent three hundred thousand years drifting through the Starflow Realm. His Yin-Yang sword-intent, his Blood Drop sword-intent, and his Shadowless sword-intent had all broken through to the third stage. Now, after just sitting down for two days and a night, he had gained a terrifying number of new insights and breakthroughs.

“This is actually a meditation-type treasure?” Ning stared at the palm-sized incense burner in disbelief. “Although the state it allows you to into isn’t as incredible as the true prajna-state of epiphany, it’s fairly close. This treasure would allow me to enter a state of epiphany at all times?”

To cultivators, what mattered the most? Treasures were secondary; insight into the Dao was what truly mattered!

This was a treasure meant for meditating on the Dao. It was truly pricess. He’d never even heard of one of these things being available for sale. The only reason the Thundersouth Hegemon had left it behind was because he wasn’t sure if he would survive the Dawn War, and so he had left this treasure behind.

The Ninedust Sectlord and Daolord Laya had been in on rush to sit down. They had instead simply watched Ning.

Daolord Laya said quite urgently, “Brother Darknorth, are you willing to choose this incense burner and trade it to the Starflow race?”

“Darknorth, if you are willing to trade it to us Ancient cultivators, we would similarly be willing to pay an incredible price for it,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

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Chapter 12 – Daomerge

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 12 – Daomerge

Daolord Laya and the Ninedust Sectlord both looked at Ji Ning. Ning just continued to sit there, but he reached out with his right hand to gently stroke the stone incense burner in front of him. This censer truly was quite odd; it had a white half and a black half, almost as though two different incense burners, one white and one black, had somehow been merged together. The black side felt as cold as ice, while the white side filled his palm with warmth. It was this strange union of these two marvelous properties that produced that faint white fragrance.

Whoosh. Ning filled his finger with his Immortal energy, beginning the process of binding the Stone Censer of Reunion to him.

“So that’s how it is.” Ning now understood. The Stone Censer of Reunion was able to produce a fragrant scent that would cause cultivators around it to enter a state of constant epiphany. However, the fragrance would eventually be used up… but so long as you could continue to pour more Immortal energy into it, more of the fragrance would continue to be generated. In addition, the amount of Immortal energy it consumed was fairly low. However, the amount of fragrance it produced was only enough for a single cultivator to constantly use.

“No wonder my two days of cultivation caused the surrounding mist to shrink from nine meters to merely six meters.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. This was merely the fragrance which was remaining and unused that was stored within the stone censer.

“Darknorth, are you sure that you will choose this censer?” the Ninedust Sectlord asked.

“Of course I’m certain.” Ning nodded. “A Dao-cultivating treasure like this is incredibly rare and unquestionably priceless.”

“Darknorth…” the nearby Daolord Laya looked anxiously at Ning. “Are you willing to trade it to my Starflow race? The Ancient cultivators have extremely deep roots and won’t care that much about the Stone Censer of Reunion, and so the price that we are willing to pay will definitely exceed that of the Ancient cultivators.”

“You haven’t even offered a price, but you are already claiming that your race will be able to offer more than mine?” The Ninedust Sectlord smirked.

“Gentlemen.” Ning shook his head. “For now, I have no intention of trading this away.”

Ninedust and Laya were both startled.

“It is extremely important to me as well. When the day comes that it is of no further use to me, I might be willing to trade it,” Ning said.

The Daomerge was incredibly difficult. The likes of Bertulu, Daolord Skyaxe, Ninedust, and Palace Lord Dawnstar had joined multiple Supreme Daos together; if they ever succeeded in the Daomerge, they would become Hegemons! However, Hegemons were incredibly rare. Ever since the Dawn War ended in the Terror Starsea, the Endless Territories had only had three Hegemons; no more, no less.

As for Ning and his Omega Sword Dao? It would be even more difficult for him! If he succeeded in his Daomerge, he would probably be even more powerful than a Hegemon… but were there any Eternal Emperors that were above the Hegemon level of power?

Thus far, at least, Ning had never discovered such a thing! In the alternate universe he had been in, the Hegemons were still the most powerful figures. Even the leader of the Church of Annihilation in that universe had once been inferior to the Paragon of Pills. It was only thanks to the enormous gains and good luck he had reaped in the Genesis Lands that he had skyrocketed in power to become the most powerful figure in that universe. However, the ‘Dao’ this superlative lord of the church had used to complete his Daomerge and gain eternity for himself was clearly not that powerful.

Thus far, Ning had already discovered the corpses of several Hegemons. He had never, however, discovered anyone above the Hegemon level!

Ning fully understood that if he wished to become an Eternal Emperor who was superior to even Hegemons, his path would be an incredibly difficult one. To complete the Daomerge with his Omega Sword Dao was virtually impossible.

“In the past, I had no faith at all in my abilities to complete the Daomerge. In fact, I wouldn’t even have dared claim that I felt I had even the slightest chance.” Ning stared at the stone censer in his hand. “But now that I have this Dao-cultivating treasure, my chances of completing the Daomerge have been increased significantly.”

The Northbow swords were very important to him, but the Stone Censer of Reunion… it was even more important!

……

Within the empty crystalline pavilion. The three Daolords all had many thoughts in their minds. Ning was filled with excitement, while Daolord Laya and the Ninedust Sectlord were filled with both regret and envy.

“Ninedust. Laya.” Ning looked at the two of them. “Have you told anyone else that I have acquired the Stone Censer of Reunion? If you have, my only option would be to leave this place immediately.”

“I have not.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “I would never do such a thing. Although the stone censer is important, it isn’t something that we Ancient cultivators would stop at nothing to acquire. Our clan already has other similar Dao-cultivating treasures. Unfortunately, I won’t have a chance to use them for quite some time. When I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I might be able to return to the clan and borrow it for a chaos cycle at best.”

For major clans and organizations, Dao-cultivating treasures were at a level which could be described as paramount to the entire organization. If an extremely powerful Daolord was about to attempt the Daomerge, they might loan it out for a single chaos cycle at most. Both supreme Daolords and Eternal Emperors all had need of Dao-cultivating treasures, and so it would be up to the highest-level members of an organization or a race to decide who would be able to use it.

The decision would generally be based on how to improve the strength of a race as a whole. However, these treasures would generally end up in the hands of Eternal Emperors, because Eternal Emperors were also able to slowly increase their level of strength. The Paragon of Pills herself was an example of an Eternal Emperor who managed to slowly train to the Hegemon level. In the alternate universe, another good example of an Eternal Emperor who slowly became more powerful was Emperor Maniseal; it was only after he became an Eternal Emperor that he slowly reached ever-greater heights in the Dao of Seals.

As for Daolords? Even if they were given Dao-cultivating treasures, the vast majority of them would still fail their Daomerge. In the end, Eternal Emperors made up the foundation of any race or clan! The only ones who didn’t really care about Dao-cultivating treasures were Hegemons.

“Laya?” Ninedust glanced sideways at Daolord Laya. “The Starflow race is rather lacking compared to mine. I don’t think they would necessarily have a Dao-cultivating treasure. I’ll wager that they are in desperate need of one. He might’ve already leaked the information. Hell, one of their Eternal Emperors might be on the way right now.”

“I did not.” Daolord Lay immediately shook his head. “I’m not that type of person, brother Darknorth. Don’t worry.”

“Gentlemen.” Ning looked at them. “Both of you know how tempting a target this Dao-cultivating treasure makes me. Once word spreads, I’ll never know another day of peace; in fact, I might very well die. Thus… brother Ninedust and brother Laya, I’d like to ask the two of you to swear lifeblood oaths that you will never divulge the fact that I have a Dao-cultivating treasure in my possession. You can’t even tell anyone about me having acquired a treasure from Thundersouth Palace. I know that insisting on you two swearing this lifeblood oath is a bit overbearing, but I hope you can understand the difficult straits I am in.”

Ning continued somberly, “What I can promise is that here in Thundersouth Palace, the three of us will share the usage of this stone censer. Consider this a form of compensation from me to the two of you.”

“Given how bluntly you’ve put it, Darknorth, how can I refuse?” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately swore the oath.

“This fortune belongs to you, Darknorth. In the end, it was not meant to be for our Starflow race.” Daolord Laya shook his head, then swore a lifeblood oath as well.

In truth, both of them knew that if they didn’t swear the oath, Ning would probably immediately depart from this place and might even hide this Dao-cultivating treasure somewhere. No matter what, it would be extremely difficult for the Starflow race to ever acquire it.

“Thank you.” Ning let out a sigh of relief, then came to a decision. “This stone censer is now the most important treasure I possess, far more important than even my Northbow swords! I cannot risk it being lost. Since my main body could perish at any time while out adventuring… mm. Once I get back to the Endless Territories, I’ll leave it with my Primaltwin.”

The Primaltwin was permanently stationed in the Three Realms and did not go out adventuring. It was indeed far safer to leave it there. In addition, the Primaltwin had also established its own heartworld and was now incredibly owerful. For it to use the stone censer to train in the Dao was the same as the true body using it, as their souls and truesouls were inextricably linked.

……

After this, the three of them began to take turns using the Stone Censer of Reunion. Every thousand years, they would alternate!

One special property of the stone censer was that there was no way to use it under the effects of accelerated time! Or, to be precise, the fragrance emitted by the censer was simply too mysterious and profound. If you used temporal acceleration, you would need the fragrance to also be increased at a much faster pace, but this would cause the power of the temporal acceleration treasure to be depleted at an enormous pace. Even if one merely tried to train at double speed, the amount of Immortal energy which would be used up would be more than one could bear.

“This Dao-cultivating treasure truly is special.” Ning and the others spent all their time slowly and honestly training in the Dao without using any temporal acceleration treasures at all. Despite that, they still trained far more quickly than they normally did.

When you were stuck at a bottleneck, you would sometimes come to a complete halt no matter how much time you spent training. When you were in a praja-state, however, you would improve far more quickly, allowing you to quickly bypass many bottlenecks.

……

A mere ten thousand years later. Daolord Laya had been seated in the lotus position on the prayer mat, but he suddenly rose to his feet. This puzzled both Ning and Ninedust.

“Laya, you haven’t completed your thousand year mark yet. Why have you halted?” Ning asked, puzzled.

“Even before coming to this palace, I had already reached my limit. Thanks to this Dao-cultivating treasure, my Dao has become even more perfect than before. I cannot find any way to improve it in the slightest. Given how perfect and complete it is, and given how my heart and my mind are in peak condition thanks to this Dao-cultivating treasure… I have decided to attempt my Daomerge here in Thundersouth Palace!” Daolord Laya said.

“Daomerge?” Both Ning and Ninedust were shocked. The Daomerge? This was the most terrifying tribulation which each and every Samsara Daolord would ever face.

“I’ve waited for far too long already. It is time for my Daomerge.” Daolord Laya’s voice was soft, but his eyes blazed with fiery eagerness. This would be the most dazzling moment in his long, long life.

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Chapter 13 – The Flower of Eternity

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 13 – The Flower of Eternity

“When will the Daomerge occur?” Ji Ning asked.

“Right now.” Daolord Laya looked at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, I would like to ask you to loan me the stone censer during the Daomerge process.”

“A minor matter.” Ning immediately nodded in acceptance.

Daolord Laya waved his hand, causing a triangular altar to appear right next to him. The altar had three black bones atop it, and in the center of the bones was a depression. Daolord Laya took out a jade bottle, unplugged the stopper, then poured out a stream of bright silver liquid that quickly flowed into the depression.

Daolord Laya then took one step forward, appearing above the altar. He then sat down in the lotus position at the very center of it.

“I spent quite a bit of effort in preparing this altar as well.” Daolord Laya smiled towards Ning and Ninedust. “Ninedust, I imagine that you Ancient cultivators have even better tools at your disposal.”

“Of course.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “My race has a very suitable Daomerge location, and our Verge-level Daolords will generally return to our homelands for their Daomerge for that reason. Only if some sort of special situation prevents them from coming home would they ever attempt the Daomerge outside.”

“The Ancient cultivators really do live up to their reputation,” Daolord Laya said. “My race does not have the ability to create a special Daomerge location.” As he spoke, he glanced at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, I’d like to ask you to place the stone censer before the altar.”

“Alright.” With but a thought, Ning sent the censer over towards the triangular altar, roughly three meters away from Daolord Laya. This allowed Daolord Laya to be able to absorb and inhale the fragrance which emanated from it.

Daolord Laya waved his hand, causing a second palm-sized jade bottle to appear. After pulling out the stopper, he shook a single round and smooth pill that emanated faint golden light. What looked like serpents could be seen swimming within the golden light. He opened his mouth and immediately swallowed the pill into his stomach.

“A Nethercold Jadedrake pill? Oho! It seems the Starflow race’s resources sare quite ample. Even I don’t have a single such pill,” the Ninedust Sectlord said with praise.

Thanks to having studied the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], Ning knew quite a bit regarding the various pills that could be used to assist in the Daomerge. Nethercold Jadedrake pills allowed one to completely calm and empty out one’s mind and heart, putting both into a state of inconceivable clarity. If used to engage in Numerancy or calculations, one’s mind would be able to move a thousand times faster than normally. The Daomerge was a process that wasn’t exactly short, but no Daolord would describe it as ‘long’. Thus, the faster they were able to engage in the various calculations they needed to engage in during the time allotted them, the better.

Nethercold Jadedrake pills were recorded within the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]. They were ranked eighth amongst the various types of Daomerge-assisting pills. But of course, there were only a total of twelve such pills even recorded down to begin with, and every single type of Daomerge-assisting pill was incredibly valuable. As for the top five, they truly were shockingly rare. The top five pills… even the Paragon of Pills herself had to use all the power and skill available to her to succeed at making the second through fifth pills, and the process wasn’t an easy one. In the end, it was truly a matter of talent. If the Paragon of Pills wished to make the second-ranked pill, she would have to pay an enormous price and spend an extremely long period of time while using up many precious materials.

Ordinary Daolords would kill themselves and still fail to find any of the twelve pills, to say nothing of the top five.

“My race was lucky enough to stumble onto a few. I rendered a few merits and so was rewarded with a pill.” Daolord Laya smiled. “Fellow Daoists, I’m going to begin now. I hope that once my Daomerge concludes, I will have gained my eternity.”

“Gain eternity.” Both Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord quietly looked at him, mentally wishing him luck.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Daolord Laya sat down in the lotus position. He closed his eyes, then took a deep breath. The fragrance in the surrounding area quickly flooded into his body. Slowly, ripples of power began to emanate from within his body, which started to shine with blurry golden light. This was the light of the Dao.

“He has started his Daomerge,” Ninedust said.

Ning watched carefully as well. “I wonder if he will succeed.” Even as a mere spectator, Ning still felt a sense of pressure weighing down on his heart. The Daomerge… in the end, it was the final end which awaited all Daolords.

“His path is the Dao of Metal,” Ninedust murmured softly. “He’s slowly beginning a final fusion of all of his Samsara Daolord-level insights into the Dao of Metal. If his fusion is completely perfect, then he’ll have created a Dao which shall last unto eternity! However, the slightest of imperfections shall result in failure.”

Ning watched silently. His own Omega Sword Dao might be extremely powerful, but it wasn’t anywhere close to the ‘perfect and eternal’ level. This was true for the first stage, the second stage, and even the hypothetical fourth stage.

What did eternity represent? It meant that a particular Dao was completely flawless and perfect. The passage of time would not age that Dao in the slightest; only then could a Dao truly be worth of the title ‘eternal’.

Daolord Laya was on par with the likes of Ning, Ninedust, and Kongsan. Most likely, he had only mastered a single Supreme Dao. His Daomerge would be somewhat easier than Ninedust’s and Bertulu’s, as all he had to do was simply complete the Daomerge on the basis of the Dao foundation he had already set up. Ning was on an even higher level; for him, reaching true perfection in a Dao was almost impossibly hard.

In Ning’s estimation, based on the fact that his first stage Omega Sword Dao was an all-encompassing Dao which had already begun to resonate with the prime essence of the sword, if he did gain eternity with this Dao then it would become on par with the universe’s prime essence of the sword itself. One could imagine how hard that would be to achieve!

……

Time continued to flow on. Ning and Ninedust both continued to watch. Generally speaking, a Daomerge would take at most a total of nine years! It was difficult to estimate how short the ‘shortest’ Daomerge would be. It was possible for failure to appear after just two weeks; this was a sign that one’s deficiencies were very significant.

“I wonder if he’ll be able to crystallize his flower of eternity,” Ninedust murmured softly.

“The flower of eternity.” An expectant look was in Ning’s eyes as well.

When one embarked on the Daomerge, the Dao-tree would once more begin to evolve. Upon reaching the Verge, the Dao-tree within the Jindan chaos region would reach a total of 540,000 meters in height. It must be understood that this was the same height of an Eternal Emperor’s Dao-tree! There was no way for the Dao-tree to grow any larger or any taller. When you began to Daomerge, you would need to perfectly merge together all of the insights of the Dao-tree and form a beautiful, eternal flower.

The flowering of the Dao-tree and the blooming of this beautiful flower of eternity was a sign that the Daomerge had been successful. The flower of eternity would contained the gathered and combined insights of every single scrap of Dao the Dao-tree possessed. But if you failed, the flower of eternity would wither just as it started to bloom.

Boom! Boom! Boom! After Daolord Laya had spent two years in the Daomerge process, the golden light around his body suddenly expanded dramatically, becoming dazzling to behold. His aura began to rapidly increase in power and presence, eclipsing the auras of both Ning and Ninedust. The aura continued to climb, rising above the level of any and every Daolord…

He was someone who had mastered a single Supreme Dao and was significantly more powerful than even Emperor Mirrorsnow had been. Once he gained eternity, he would be on the level of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities.

The Daomerge truly could result in a skyrocketing level of power for any Daolord.

“He’s at the critical time now,” the Ninedust Sectlord muttered softly. “Time to go all out.”

“Success or failure will be determined right now.” Ning watched nervously as well.

The Daomerge had already gone on for two years. Clearly, Daolord Laya had reached the point where he needed to unleash all of his insights. He had to charge through this final barrier. If he succeeded, then it would be a complete success and he would have gained eternity. But if he was lacking in even the slightest… he would fail.

Boom! Boom! Daolord Laya sat there, an agonized look on his face. Golden light radiated from his entire body in awe-inspiring fashion as the power of the Dao of Metal radiated out from him. His aura continued to grow more powerful, but it also began to shudder.

Whoosh. Suddenly, all of the golden light vanished from him, and his aura quickly began to decay as well.

“Failure.” Both the Ninedust Sectlord and Ning slowly shook their heads.

“No…” Daolord Laya mumbled to himself. He had been able to ‘see’ that a flower of eternity had already begun to take shape atop the Dao-tree in his Jindan chaos region, but the flower had withered away before having a chance to bloom.

He had failed.

His soul and truesoul had been in the process of transforming into the Eternal Emperor level. The process had clearly failed, and both began to undergo a final, irreversible crumbling. This crumbling was extremely slow, but there was no way to stop it at all, as the crumbling was occurring at the very center of his being. If he dind’t fight, the crumbling would take an extremely long time to complete, but each time he engaged someone else in battle he would be hastening the end of his own life.

Still seated above the triangle altar, Daolord Laya opened his eyes. He looked at Ning and Ninedust, a hint of grief in his eyes, then let out a pained smile. “Fellow Daoists, the Daomerge truly is harder than all else under the heavens. I had my altar, used spirit-pills, and had the assistance of the Stone Censer of Reunion. I felt extremely good about my chances, but I still failed. The flower of eternity withered away as soon as the bud appeared. It didn’t even have a chance to bloom. Clearly, I wasn’t even close.”

“Laya, failing the Daomerge is normal,” Ninedust said consolingly. “In the end, very few are able to complete the Daomerge, and Daolords on our level of power who can do so are even more rare.”

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Chapter 14 – Daolord Badlands

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 14 – Daolord Badlands

Ji Ning and Ninedust could both understand how Daolord Laya felt right now. Cultivation was like climbing a mountain; you slowly started at the very bottom of the mountain, overcoming many difficulties before you finally reached the top. The final step you took next would determine if you rose into the heavens or fell into an endless abyss. Daolord Laya had failed his Daomerge; clearly, he had fallen into the endless abyss. His soul and truesoul had already begun to crumble, and he could already see his future death. His path of cultivation was about to come to an end. Even though he had mentally prepared himself long ago, he would still feel great pain.

“I’ve cultivated for many years, but it all ends today.” Daolord Laya shook his head, then let out a hoarse chuckle. “When I was young, I fought hard to climb to the very top. Only then did I learn how tough things were for my race. After becoming a Daolord, my every thought was consumed with taking care of my race…

“It’s been too long, and I’m far too tired. I’ve spent my entire long life in the Terror Starsea,” Daolord Laya said. “I’ve never even visited the Endless Territories.”

Daolord Laya rose to his feet, then waved his hand and put away the triangle altar.

“Brother Darknorth. Brother Ninedust.” Daolord Laya looked at the two of them. “I’m going to leave now. I plan to pay a visit to the Endless Territories and learn about it! In fact, I might even go off into the Great Dark. Before I die, I want to see as much as of the universe as I can.”

Ning and the Ninedust Sectlordno longer knew what to say.

“No need to send me off.” Daolord Laya strode quickly towards the exit.

……

The two watched as Daolord Laya left, both filled with regret. Daolord Laya no longer cared one whit about Thundersouth Palace, electing to leave immediately. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord, however, still did care, because the various paintings hanging on the walls of the palace represented various techniques that the lord of the palace had left behind for others.

“Thankfully, he didn’t go crazy.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “I’ve seen Verge-level Daolords go absolutely insane after they failed their Daomerge.”

“He trained since he was young and has cultivated his entire life…” Ning continued to stare in the direction Daolord Laya had left. “He trained tens of thousands of chaos cycles… but all of a sudden he failed his Daomerge and brought his cultivation path to an abrupt halt. This would be extremely disheartening for any cultivator. It makes sense for some to be mentally affected by it.”

“Hmph. There are some evil Daolords who normally keep their worst impulses in check and are afraid to act too rashly for fear of being killed by other major powers. After they fail their Daomerge and are guaranteed to perish, they become absolutely fearless and even more detestful than before.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “But of course, they’ll die in their madness.”

“I wonder what we’ll end up like when we fail our Daomerge?” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly said.

“When we fail our Daomerge?” Ning stared blankly. Would he fail his Daomerge? Right now, there was no way for him to be sure as to how he would react.

“Maybe we’ll both succeed and gain eternity for ourselves.” Ning smiled.

“Haha. Right. We’ll gain eternity for sure.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “I’ll be a Hegemon when that happens. We Ancient cultivators will have two Hegemons! Haha.”

But both of them understood that the path to eternity was an incredibly difficult one. Normally, less than one in a hundred thousand Daolords would be able to gain eternity, and virtually all of them were ordinary Daolords.

……

Ning and Ninedust continued to calmly train within the Thundersouth Palace of the Starflow River, and both improved quite rapidly. Finally, after spending thirty thousand years at the Thundersouth Palace, the Ninedust Sectlord made his breakthrough!

Rumble… an aura of awesome power swept out from the Ninedust Sectlord. He opened his eyes, his face wreathed with smiles. “Haha. I, Redwater, have finally broken through! A Daolord of the Fourth Step… I’ve finally become a Daolord of the Fourth Step! This has been incredibly difficult. Going from the third step to fourth step was a thousand times harder than going from the first step to the third step. Haha… I’ve finally broken through!”

“Congratulations, brother Ninedust,” the nearby Ning said.

“Yes, this is indeed worth celebrating. I was trapped at the third step for far, far too long.” The Ninedust Sectlord smiled as he looked at Ning. “It was all thanks to this Stone Censer of Reunion. If it wasn’t for it, I would’ve wasted another chaos cycle or two before making my breakthrough. I had already gained certain insights in the trial the Ancient ancestor left behind, allowing me to vault to a new level on this trip.”

“With this step you now stand at the very peak of power amongst Daolords, Ninedust,” Ning said.

Ninedust nodded, looking rather pleased. He was someone who had perfectly joined together two Supreme Daos. Now that he had reached the fourth step, he immediately stood amongst the ranks of the absolute most powerful Daolords in the world. He was on the same level as Daolord Skyaxe or Palace Lord Dawnstar. There might be differences in power due to different secret arts and different treasures, but those differences wouldn’t be too great; they were all on the same overall level of power.

The more powerful you were, the more difficult it would be to go from the third step to the fourth step. Daolord Badlands, for example, had also been trapped at the third step for a very, very long period of time.

“Darknorth, you are no longer a match for me,” Ninedust said quite smugly.

“That’s not necessarily true,” Ning replied. “Don’t forget that I’m a Heartforce Cultivator. I’ve gained some insight into the illusions of the Thundersouth Hegemon over these past few years as I’ve studied his paintings. You might not be able to fully resist my illusions now.” If he could trap his enemy in illusions for even an instant, it would have an impact on how any fight would result.

“Uh…” Ninedust blinked, then immediately said, “Hmph, I need a bit of time to solidify my foundation, as I’ve just recently made my breakthrough. Give me some more time to further strengthen my soul and your illusions won’t be able to touch me at all.”

Ninedust’s face suddenly tightened. “My Dao is now strong enough. I’ve reached the Verge of the Daomerge as soon as I reached the fourth step. I should make more preparations as well… right now, I have no confidence in my Daomerge chances whatsoever.”

Ning was startled. Right. Ninedust was now at the Verge as well.

……

The distant Badlands Territory. In the Badlands Everworld, there was a legendary place known throughout the Endless Territories… the Waveshift Realm! This was a realm that had been left behind by Emperor Waveshift himself. He was renowned as the number one Numerancy expert of the Endless Territories, and was far more powerful than the current Daolord Badlands. He was a mysterious man who appeared and disappeared without warning, and even the three Hegemons found it difficult to deal with him as his schemes and calculations were simply too frightening.

Emperor Waveshift had hidden valuable treasures within the Waveshift Realm. This was something he had said publicly before leaving the Endless Territories and venturing off into the endless Great Dark.

Many generations of Daolords had entered this place to try their luck, and Daolord Solesky was one of them.

……

The Waveshift Realm was a place that seemed to be covered by an enormous blurry barrier. The dim light of sunset covered this entire realm, and some cultivators could be seen passing by it on occasion. Most kept a very safe distance, as the Waveshift Realm was simply too dangerous.

Rumble… suddenly, a dazzling streak of green light shot out from the Waveshift Realm. This streak of light stretched out countless kilometers, streaking up into the heavens and piercing through the world-barrier protecting the entire Badlands Everworld.

Rumble… a second dazzling streak of bloody light shot out, just as wide and large as the first one. It shot out towards another direction.

Black light, violet light, azure light… a total of nine streaks of light shot out. These nine streaks of light looked almost like a peacock spreading its feathers as they shot towards different directions. They pierced through everything in their path, be it mountains or mist, but they seemed completely illusory. They caused no damage at all to anything they passed through, leaving even the grass completely untouched.

“What’s going on?”

“What is this? Is something happening?”

The Badlands Everworld was the center of the entire Badlands Territory. Countless cultivators were gathered here, and all of them were puzzled, especially the Elder Gods and True Gods. However, when they saw the light shoot out from the Waveshift Realm they all realized that this was something far beyond their level.

“What’s going on in the Waveshift Realm?”

“Is something happening?”

The Badlands Court was the paramount power within the Badlands Everworld, and its disciples all stared off in the distance.

“Husband.” A married couple was standing together in the skies, staring off into the distance. The beautiful wife turned to look at her husband, concerned.

An azure-robed Daolord Badlands was staring towards the light, a complex look on his face. He shook his head slightly. “I was too proud and rash, too certain in my Numerancy skills. Compared to Emperor Waveshift, I’m still lacking by quite a bit. I just caused a bit of a catastrophe. I don’t think there will be any way to hide this. Ugh. I only have my avatar inside, but big brother Solesky will be in trouble.”

“Caused a catastrophe?” The beautiful wife asked worriedly, “Will it impact our Badlands Court?”

“The two of us should leave the Badlands Territory for now and hide for a time. For now, let us just leave an avatar behind to watch over things,” Daolord Badlands said.

“Hide?” She had never imagined that things would be so grave that they would have to flee and hide somewhere else.

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Chapter 15 – Voidsea Jadeseal

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 15 – Voidsea Jadeseal

“Soon, many Daolords will be charging to this sector,” Daolord Badlands said solemnly. “If my true body remains here, I might very well fall. However, so long as I leave and ensure they cannot find my true body, they won’t dare to cause our Badlands Court any trouble. In the end, my Dao of Numerancy is a Dao for divination, not battle. My skills lie in avoiding trouble and finding fortunes.”

“Mm.” The beautiful woman nodded.

“Let’s go. Right away.”

A short while later, Daolord Badlands and his wife silently departed from the Badlands Everworld, leaving only an avatar behind to guard over the Badlands Court.

The Dao of Numerancy was indeed an extremely troublesome Dao for everyone, but it was highly unsuited for actual battle. Daolord Badlands himself almost never went out adventuring or into battle. As a Daolord of the Third Step who had reached an extremely high level in the Dao of Numerancy, he logically should’ve been on the same level as the likes of Ninedust (at the third step) or Kongsan, but in reality he was much weaker in combat. He was just barely on par with the likes of Solesky and Clearwind.

This was his greatest weakness. However, his skills lay in avoiding trouble; when he encountered enemies he was unable to defeat, he’d quickly move to avoid them.

In the end, the Dao of Numerancy was about divination, not omniscience. As a result, he had suffered greatly for his overconfidence alongside Daolord Solesky in the Waveshift Realm. Clearly, even he fell for the traps left behind by Emperor Waveshift, and so he hurriedly slunk away from his own everworld.

……

“Nine beams of light have appeared in the skies over the Waveshift Realm?”

“Something big just happened.”

No matter what, the Badlands Everworld was still the core of this territory. The Dao Alliance had stationed a number of cultivators here who were responsible for diplomacy with Daolord Badlands and watching over the various treasure auctions! In addition, some of the supreme organizations within the Endless Territories had inserted scouts to watch over the Waveshift Realm. Although these scouts weren’t that powerful, they were only required to keep a long-term watch over Waveshift City. Waveshift Realm was simply an incredibly famous place of the Endless Territories.

“Hurry up and send a report.”

“Something big has happened in the Waveshift Realm.”

The scouts had been waiting here for far too long with nothing to report. Some had been waiting for tens of thousands of chaos cycles, and it was all for the sake of critical moments like this. Thus, none of them dared to slacken off.

……

Soon, the news spread from the Badlands Territory to the rest of the Endless Territories.

A dazzlingly beautiful green planet. This world had countless cultivators living within it. In one corner of this vast world, there was an ordinary wooden house that merely had a single old man seated within it. The old man had curly green hair and a pair of horns on his head, and his eyes were lidded. He had been seated here for more than ten thousand chaos cycles.

He had been alive for far, far too long.

“Patriarch! Patriarch!” A voice rang out from afar. The green-haired elder opened his eyes, and they seemed to contain the boundless vastness of the universe itself within them. His gaze was gentle as he stared outside.

A golden-robed figure was leading a green-haired man who had an exalted aura towards the patriarch. The green-haired man landed, then said respectfully, “Patriarch.” He had become a lord of a Sacred City, and in power he was roughly on par with this particular Patriarch, but he still showed the old man the utmost of respect. The old man had shown him great kindness. Although they weren’t master and disciple, he owed the old man as much as any master. The old man had also done much for their entire homeland, far more than anyone else. Without the Patriarch, their lineage would’ve been wiped out long ago.

“Qixiao, why have you come back to our homeland to meet with me?” The green-haired elder smiled.

“Patriarch.” Emperor Qixiao said seriously, “Do you still remember Emperor Waveshift?”

“Remember him? Of course I remember him.” A nostalgic look appeared on the old man’s ancient face. “After I became an Eternal Emperor, I spent countless years studying the Dao of Numerancy myself. I had once believed myself to be a pre-eminent master of this Dao in the Endless Territories, but after meeting Waveshift and testing myself out I realized that I wasn’t even close to being a match. His skill in Numerancy vastly, vastly surpassed my own.”

“You are being too modest, Patriarch. Emperor Waveshift relied on the Dao of Numerancy to become an Emperor; of course he was skilled in it! You, on the other hand, only started studying it after becoming an Emperor. He’s left the Endless Territories long ago. In the present day, you are number one in this Dao,” Emperor Qixiao said.

“For now, I suppose. There’s a young fellow named ‘Daolord Badlands’ in the Badlands Territory who is even more talented than Emperor Waveshift was in Numerancy. He’s a Daolord of the Third Step but is already incredible at Numerancy. Once he becomes a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he’ll probably surpass me in that Dao and become a king of the Endless Territories.” The old man shook his head. Moments later, his face tightened slightly as the illusion of the cosmos within his eyes suddenly vanished. He raised his head to look at Emperor Qixiao. “Have you come here because of the Badlands Territory… no. To be precise, you have come because of the Waveshift Realm?”

“Impressive, Patriarch.” Emperor Qixiao said hurriedly, “I have indeed come because of the Waveshift Realm! Just now, I received word that something major has happened there. Nine streaks of light shot out from the Waveshift Realm and went through the entire Badlands Everworld.”

“That’s quite a commotion. Can it be… that the Voidsea Jadeseals have emerged?” The old man was stunned.

“That was my first reaction as well. Before Emperor Waveshift departed, he fashioned multiple Voidsea Jadeseals. However, he only left one of them to the Dao Alliance. He put the other five within his own Waveshift Realm,” Emperor Qixiao said.

The old man nodded. “Back then, brother Waveshift told me that if any Eternal Emperor dared to forcibly enter his realm, all five seals would instantly be destroyed. Only Daolords would be permitted to acquire them.”

“Patriarch, these seals are supreme Daomerge treasures!” Emperor Qixiao said hurriedly, “If we can acquire those five seals, we might be able to produce one or two formidable Eternal Emperors for our race.”

“Yes.” The old man nodded. Voidsea Jadeseals… they were described as supreme Daomerge treasures because they were publicly acknowledged as being the best treasures for assisting cultivators in the Daomerge. No treasures surpassed them!

Voidsea Jadeseals were single-use items. After you acquired them and as you prepared for your Daomerge, you could use form an illusory form within the seal, then use that illusory form to test out the Daomerge. The process would be identical to that of the actual Daomerge you would undergo! Even if you failed your Daomerge, it wouldn’t harm your true body in the slightest! It was equivalent to giving you an additional shot at the Daomerge.

This additional experience was more than enough to drive any Daolord mad with lust.

Why was the Daomerge so terrifying? It was precisely because the Daomerge was a one-time event. If you were even slightly lacking, you would fail and never have another shot at it. If you had multiple shots at it, then obviously your second attempt would benefit from your previous experience and give you a far better chance at succeeding in the Daomerge!

However, given how incredible the Voidsea Jadeseals were, they were naturally incredibly rare as well. They could only be fashioned through the usage of a strange treasure known as voidsea jade, and they could only be fashioned by Emperor Waveshift, who had reached truly inconceivable heights in the Dao of Numerancy. Prior to his departure, he had used up his entire supply of voidsea jade to create these six seals.

He had left one seal with the Dao Alliance and the other five at the Waveshift Realm. This was why so many generations of Daolords had ventured off into the Waveshift Realm, but thus far none of them had been able to find the Voidsea Jadeseals.

“The power of the Voidsea Jadeseals is enough to allow a Daolord who has a single Supreme Dao to undergo a single full Daomerge attempt. However, if that Daolord has perfectly fused multiple Supreme Daos together, he’ll only be able to make it halfway through the Daomerge before the power of the seal is used up.” The old man sighed.

This was the limit to what the Voidsea Jadeseal could accomplish. If someone who had joined together multiple Supreme Daos together succeeded into the Daomerge, that person would become a Hegemon! There was no way a Voidsea Jadeseal could fully divine such a process.

However, a Daolord who had a single Supreme Dao would be able to try out an entire complete Daomerge.

It must be remembered that there were incredibly few figures in the Endless Territories who were capable of comprehending and mastering multiple Supreme Daos. Thus, these seals were more than enough for the vast majority of Daolords. Even the most ungodly powerful of Daolords would be able to at least divine half of the Daomerge process.

“Patriarch, can you verify that the disturbance in the Waveshift Realm was indeed caused by the emergence of the Voidsea Jadeseals?” Emperor Qixiao asked.

“Let me take a look.” The old man closed his eyes and began to engage in Numerancy calculations as strange ripples of power appeared around him.

A long time later, the old man opened his eyes and nodded. “Tell the younger members of our race that the Waveshift Realm truly has unleashed its Voidsea Jadeseals. I imagine that brother Waveshift did this deliberately to draw many Daolords to his realm, which is why he didn’t hide anything and allowed me to calculate it all with ease. Any of the top ten Numerancy experts in the Endless Territories is capable doing the same.

“Voidsea Jadeseals?” Emperor Qixiao’s eyes lit up. “If we’re certain, then we have to get them for ourselves.”

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Chapter 16 – Everyone Gathering

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 16 – Everyone Gathering

Within an region of space that was completely cut off from the rest of the universe. This was a region that was filled with endless blood flames that seemed to form an entire ocean. Every single flame possessed awesome might and was capable of easily incinerating a Daolord of the Fourth Step. At the very center of the flames, there was an imperial throne that seemed to have been carved out of white bone. The enormous white bone throne hung there, and above it stood a silver-haired man whose hands were resting on the armrests. The man stared at the endless flames, and his heart and mind seemed to be completely one with the world.

“Gorsch.” A voice suddenly rang out within the empty region. “Come forth.”

The silver-haired man was startled. Ever since learning that his most talented progeny, Gorho, had been recruited by the Brightshore Kingdom, he had felt much at ease. He had temporarily chosen to enter their racial lands to train; why was it that he was now being ordered to come out?

“Coming,” the silver-haired man said respectfully. Whoosh. He disappeared from atop the throne of white bone, which continued to eternally hang there above the endless sea of blood flames.

……

The silver-haired man appeared within a beautiful, ancient palace. The throne of this palace was occupied by an exceedingly handsome youth who was dressed in gaudy black robes and whose eyes seemed to contain the vast cosmos within them.

“Emperor,” the silver-haired man said respectfully.

“Gorsch, I just received word that Voidsea Jadeseals have appeared within the Waveshift Realm of the Dao Alliance’s Badlands Territory.” The icy-faced black-robed youth spoke in an extremely calm voice. Although he looked very young, he was actually the oldest and most venerable Eternal Emperor of the entire Aeonian race. He was perpetually stationed within the core palace of the Aeonian Kingdom, and it was his responsibility to watch over their ancestral lands.

“Voidsea Jadeseals?” The silver-haired man revealed a stunned look.

“You’ve reached the Verge of the Daomerge long ago, and you are fast approaching the great limit,” the black-robed youth said coldly. “You are, at present, the most powerful Daolord of our race! Although the jade seals are not strong enough to allow you to fully experience the complete Daomerge, you’ll at least be able to experience part of it. This is a rare opportunity for you and your Daomerge. However, word of this has already spread and all six of the major powers of the Endless Territories have been informed. I trust that many Verge-level Daolords are already on their way. What’s worse, you are an Aeonian while Emperor Waveshift was of the Dao Alliance. It is entirely possible that he might’ve prepared something nasty for our race there. If you go, you’ll take on a certain degree of risk.”

“You can choose for yourself whether or not you wish to go,” the black-robed youth said.

“Everyone in the outside world refers to me as King Gorsch, but in the end I’m just a king, not an emperor.” The silver-haired man said in a low voice, “My limit approachs, and I have no confidence in my Daomerge chances at all. Although this opportunity is filled with peril, I still have to give it a try. If I can acquire one of those seals, my chances at the Daomerge shall become much greater.”

“Right.” The black-robed youth nodded.

……

The Brightshore Kingdom.

A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere atop an ordinary-looking wasteland. It was a white-bearded old man who was dressed in snowy white robes and who had six horns on his head. He stood there atop the lands, then opened his mouth: “Ninestone.”

Rumble… the vast wilderness began to shake as the earth itself began to bulge upwards. An enormous four-legged stone behemoth that was covered in countless sharp spikes emerged from beneath the ground, leaving behind an enormous crater that was over a hundred million kilometers in circumference. The Brightshore Imperials were all Chaos Godbeasts, and they were legendary for their size.

“Hegemon.” The four-legged stone behemoth stared at the almighty Hegemon.

“You merged yourself into the earth itself to better understand the Dao of Earth. Of the Brightshore Imperials, you are closest to the lifespan limit. Are you confident in your Daomerge chances?” the Brightshore Hegemon asked.

In truth, the almighty Hegemon was quite worried. Although the Brightshore Imperials had many generations of Chaos Godbeasts, thus far only a single one had become a Hegemon – himself. Fortunately, he was powerful enough all by himself to overawe the entire Endless Territories. However, the fact that his race had yet to produce a second emperor meant that he was forced to continuously kidnap some of the geniuses of the other races of the Endless Territories.

Palace Lord Dawnstar, Bertulu, Ji Ning… all of them had been kidnapped. They now belonged to the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore, which were actually more powerful than the Brightshore Imperials themselves. But of course, they were no match for the Hegemon.

“I am not confident,” Ninestone rumbled softly.

“Voidsea Jadeseals have appeared within the Waveshift Realm of the Badlands Territory! You might have a shot at one of them,” the almighty Hegemon said. “However, this will be filled with danger. These seals were fashioned the most skilled Numerancy expert the Endless Territories has ever seen, Emperor Waveseal, and he had to use up his supply of voidsea jade in order to create them. There’s only a few of the seals, and they’ve aroused the attention of quite a few Verge-level Daolords. Many reclusive, normally low-key Daolords have all made their appearances.

“You can choose for yourself whether or not you wish to go.” The almighty Hegemon disappeared into thin air after speaking.

“Waveshift Realm of the Dao Alliance?” Ninestone’s body blurred as he transformed into a human shape. He now looked like an incredibly muscular black-armored man whose eyes were as still as a pool of dead water.

Ninestone was known amongst the Brightshore Imperials as the Ninth King.

……

“Voidsea Jadeseals have actually appeared?” Daolord Skyaxe and Daolord Soleman were seated within a flying vessel in the void.

“What’s this?” Daolord Soleman called out with surprise.

“Voidsea Jadeseals have appeared in the Waveshift Realm,” Daolord Skyaxe said. “I just received word of this. I imagine the Brightshore Kingdom should receive word soon as well.”

“Let me ask.” Daolord Soleman nodded, then soon nodded a second time. “The Twelve Palaces have just received word as well. The jade seals really have appeared.”

“Shall we go?” Daolord Skyaxe looked at Soleman.

“Of course!” Soleman nodded. “This is our best shot at the Daomerge.”

“Let’s go.”

The two immediately changed their plans, turning around their flying vessel and sending it towards the Waveshift Realm instead.

……

Within an ordinary mortal city. Countless mortals lived in this region for up to a hundred years. They lived ordinary lives and had to work hard for their living.

This city had a famous blacksmith who was very skilled in creating weapons, especially sabers. However, he only smithed when he was in the right mood, and his smithy was only occasionally operational.

“I’ll give you two golden vastluck coins. Help me forge a suitable saber for me.” A youth and his servants were present, and they spoke and acted in a very arrogant manner.

“Two golden vastluck coins?” The ordinary-looking blacksmith, dressed in hemp clothes, called out in astonishment, “Each of these are worth as much as ten thousand ordinary gold coins, right?”

“Precisely,” the youth said proudly.

“What a fortune! But… haven’t you heard? When I don’t want to work, no one in the world can force me.” The blacksmith snickered, “Run along home, kid.”

“Two golden vastluck coins aren’t enough? How many do you want?” The youth was anxious now.

The blacksmith was about to speak when he suddenly paused. “The Hegemon is saying that Voidsea Jadeseals have just appeared? This is probably the best chance that I, Dawnstar, will have to improve my Daomerge odds.” The blacksmith’s eyes became as tranquil as the sea as he glanced at the youth and the others. “Cancel it all.”

Whoosh. The entire city – in fact, the entire world – all vanished into motes of glittering, astral saber-light. All of the living beings had been nothing more than incarnations created by saber-light, not actual living beings. This was nothing more than a training mechanism he engaged in.

“Waveshift Realm, eh?” He sheathed his machete into the scabbard on his back. He had a look in his eyes that was calm but which could bring fear to countless cultivators. Moments later, he vanished into thin air after taking a single step.

……

The Dao Alliance, the Aeonians, the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrants, the Ancient cultivators… all of them quickly received word. Even the powerful Daolords of the Dark Kingdom were intrigued.

The Aeonians were on rather bad terms with the Dao Alliance, but for the sake of the Daomerge, King Gorsch and several other Verge-level Daolords decided to brave the risk and give it a shot.

The same was true for the Dark Kingdom. Verge-level Daolords, for the sake of completing their Daomerge, were absolutely fearless. They began to stealthily move towards the Badlands Territory as well.

……

Even the most powerful of Daolords would feel despair when faced with the Daomerge. When the legendary Voidsea Jadeseals, the most supreme Daomerge treasures, suddenly appeared… countless Daolords were intrigued and agitated. There were many Daolords who were low-key, but that didn’t mean they were weak.

Emperor Heartsword was a classic example. He was very low-key, and only fought after becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step due to an irreconcilable grudge. He gained great fame through that battle, and when he succeeded in his Daomerge he became the most dazzling Eternal Emperor in existence. Even now, people whispered stories about him.

Another example was Daolord Everstarter of the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom. He had also been a very low-key figure who lived in the Sword Palace and rarely went out adventuring. However, when the Ancient cultivators went too far in their actions and forced his hand, he slew consecutively three of their Verge-level Daolords and then defeated one of their Emperors. He was publicly acclaimed as the most powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories in his time.

Clearly, the appearance of these seals caused many of the normally low-key but incredibly powerful Daolords to make their appearances.

None of them would hesitate over something which could increase their chances at completing their Daomerge. Not even death could stop them!

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Chapter 17 –Trouble For Vastheaven Palace

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 17 –Trouble For Vastheaven Palace

The Terror Starsea. The Starflow River. Within Thundersouth Palace.Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord were still training calmly here.

“Eh?” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face suddenly turned pale. He opened his eyes and called out loudly, “Darknorth. Darknorth!”

“What is it?” Ning was seated atop a prayer mat and was using the beneficial effects of the Stone Censer of Reunion to train. All five of his Supreme Sword Daos had reached the third stage, but he was stuck at the bottleneck of actually combining them together into the third-stage Omega Sword Dao. Although the stone censer was effective in helping him meditate on the Dao, the toughest bottlenecks would still be quite hard to resolve.

“Something big just happened.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked rather excited. “Have you heard of the Waveshift Realm in the Badlands Territory of your Dao Alliance?”

“I do.” Ning was startled. That place was quite close to his own homeland, the Three Realms. His big brother Solesky was in that realm right now. How could he not be familiar with that place?

“The Voidsea Jadeseals have emerged from the Waveshift Realm.” The Ninedust Sectlord said excitedly, “All six of the major organizations in the Endless Territories already know about this matter. Many Verge-level Daolords have gone crazy. Most who have heard about this have already headed to the Badlands Territory and are going to enter the Waveshift Realm.”

“Voidsea Jadeseals?” Ning was stunned. That was a supreme Daomerge treasure! Any Verge-level Daolord would go crazy over such an item. The entire reason why so many Verge-level Daolords dared to charge into the Terror Starsea and other terrifyingly dangerous place was because they had long ago stopped worrying about the chances of dying; to them, their only goal was to do their utmost to increase their chances in the Daomerge. When word of the Voidsea Jadeseals’ emergence spread, it only made sense that many Verge-level Daolords would immediately charge into the Waveshift Realm.

“Big brother Solesky is there.” Ning’s heart clenched. “Not good.” It was already dangerous for Solesky to traverse the Waveshift Realm to begin with. Now that many Verge-level Daolords had also joined the fray… Solesky simply wasn’t that strong, compared to many of those freaks. He would be in even more danger than before.

“I’m still very, very far away from hitting my lifespan limit. But…” The Ninedust Sectlord’s eyes were glowing with excitement. “Voidsea Jadeseals are legendary, supreme Daomerge treasures! Ever since Emperor Waveshift left, there has been no word of any of these treasures. If we miss this opportunity, we can probably forget about ever having a chance to acquire them. Darknorth, I’ve already decided to go to the Waveshift Realm. How about you? Why don’t we go together? If we join forces, we really would have nothing and no one to fear.”

Now that he was at the fourth step, Ninedust was on the same level of power as Palace Lord Dawnstar, Daolord Skyaxe, King Gorsch, and similar fighters. However, he wouldn’t dare to claim invincibility. For example, he was vulnerable to dangerous illusions and extremely powerful Heartforce Cultivators. It must be remembered that Ning was merely at the second tier amongst Heartforce Cultivators. If the Ninedust Sectlord had to deal with the likes of the Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom… he really wasn’t confident in his chances. However, things were different for Ning. Ning might not be able to do anything to them, but he was more than strong enough to defend.

When dealing with soul and truesoul related attacks, defense was much easier than attack. So long as the difference wasn’t too ridiculously large, Heartforce Cultivators would generally be able to endure enemy heartforce attacks.

“Let’s go.” Ning nodded. “We naturally can’t give up a chance like this.”

“Hahaha! Wonderful. I imagine that the most powerful of the Endless Territories’ famous Daolords will be headed there. And that’s just on the surface. I imagine many of the powerful but low-key Daolords will be headed there as well.” Ninedust said excitedly, “Darknorth, neither of us are all that famous in the Endless Territories, but when we join forces we really will have no one to fear.”

“Agreed. We can deal with any type of attacks.” Ning felt quite confident as well. The two of them weren’t very famous just yet. Ning had killed Kongsan, there were still very few who knew the name ‘Daolord Darknorth’. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he wasn’t that famous either. Both weren’t nearly as well-known as King Gorsch, Skyaxe, Dawnstar, or other such figures.

“Let’s not waste time. Let’s head in that direction immediately,” Ning said.

“Agreed. Let’s move right away. If we are too slow, it might end up being taken by others.” The Ninedust Sectlord didn’t want to waste time either.

……

The Endless Territories. Vastheaven Palace.

Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster were already meeting about this matter.

“What?!” Daolord Battlemaster stared at Daolord Solesky in astonishment.

“Ugh. Neither I nor Badlands imagined that something like this would happen. We were moving quite carefully, and you know how skilled Badlands is in Numerancy. Neither of us expected that we’d end up falling into Emperor Waveshift’s trap. We just kicked over the hornet’s nest.” Daolord Solesky shook his head. “Based on what I know, the top organizations of the Endless Territories already know about this. The emergence of the Voidsea Jadeseals will definitely attract an enormous number of Verge-level Daolords to hasten towards us. Compared to them, we’re nothing.”

“Big brother Solesky, don’t worry too much. My guess is that Emperor Waveshift planned this out long ago. There’s no way he would allow anyone to acquire those jade seals with ease. Anyone who touched them would immediately cause certain spells to be activated that would cause all of this to happen. The entire point was to draw the Verge-level Daolords of the Endless Territories over to the Waveshift Realm to fight over the seals,” Battlemaster said.

“Right. This was indeed part of Emperor Waveshift’s plan.” Solesky acknowledged it as well. “How could any single Daolord possibly be allowed to acquire all five of these legendary seals? Of course their emergence would cause a huge fight and struggle.”

Battlemaster carried out a few calculations, then let out a shocked sigh. “All I can see is a storm of blood and death! The Waveshift Realm is going to become an utter charnel house of frenzied slaughter and murder. I can’t even calculate how many Daolords will die in there.”

“Major powers skilled in Numerancy should be able to calculate how incredibly deadly the Waveshift Realm will be, but no amount of danger will prevent these Daolords from coming,” Daolord Solesky said.

Often, less than one in a hundred thousand Daolord would be able to succeed in the Daomerge, and the vast majority of those who succeeded were extremely ordinary Daolords. The incredibly powerful Daolords… the Endless Territories had been around for countless aeons, but how many powerful Daolords ended up becoming Eternal Emperors?

Based on their calculations, it was highly unlikely that any of the powerful Daolords of this generation would successfully become Eternal Emperors! Thus, everyone would be absolutely fearless in their pursuit of the seals.

“Battlemaster, I suspect that Vastheaven Palace will be in danger as well,” Daolord Solesky said. “This is all my fault. When I went to the Waveshift World, I didn’t imagine what an enormous commotion this would cause. Thus, I didn’t hide the fact that I was heading there. I imagine that a number of people in the Endless Territories know that I entered Waveshift Palace long ago. Those Daolords might come here and seek out trouble for Vastheaven Palace. Your true body should lead our brothers away from here and hide for a time.”

“Hide?” Daolord Battlemaster frowned. “Very well. I can already vaguely sense that trouble will indeed be coming. I’ll immediately lead our brothers somewhere else to hide for a time.”

Of the Daolords of Vastheaven Palace, Solesky, Brightfish, and Ning all had only avatars present. The only Daolord who had both his true body and his avatar here was Battlemaster! Battlemaster was also skilled in Numerancy. Although he was still inferior to Badlands in Numerancy despite having reached the fourth step when the latter was still stuck at the third, he was still someone who had become a Daolord of the Fourth Stance through Numerancy. If he led the brothers of Vastheaven Palace to hide, there probably really wouldn’t be many who could find them.

Just as they were discussing this matter…

“Big brother.” A voice suddenly rang out as a golden-robed youth walked over. It was Ning’s avatar.

“Ji Ning.” Solesky smiled as he looked at Ning. “I was just about to go talk to you.”

“Because of the trouble in the Waveshift Realm?” Ning immediately asked.

“You know about this as well?” Solesky was startled.

“I just heard about this. Does this have anything to do with you, big brother?” Ning was rather worried. In truth, he was still just a Daolord of the Second Step, and he hadn’t spent much time as a Daolord. Thus, the Brightshore Kingdom hadn’t gone out of its way to inform him of this matter! And in truth, there really was no for them to do so. It was extremely difficult for Ning’s World-level retainer to maintain contact with his clone located in the distant Brightshore Kingdom.

“It does have a bit to do with me. To tell you the truth, Badlands and I were the ones who caused this.” Solesky shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. “We ended up taking a beating, but didn’t get any of the seals at all. Honestly, neither of us had really been expecting that we would. I was just hoping to get a ‘heartshift pearl’ and use it to bolster my Daomerge chances. Why would’ve thought that we’d somehow cause the Voidsea Jadeseals to emerge?

Solesky knew his own limits. Given that no one had been able to acquire the seals despite the passage of countless chaos cycles, how could he possibly hope for himself to acquire it? If he had to blame someone, the only one he could blame was Daolord Badlands for being absolutely incredible in Numerancy. The latter had been able to find and solve some of the more critical questions before them, resulting in them activating the protections which Emperor Waveshift had left behind.

“No need to worry too much about this matter,” Daolord Solesky said. “You have enough to worry about in the Terror Starsea. Stay careful!”

“Right.” Darknorth, the Terror Starsea is also quite a terrifying and dangerous place. Big brother Solesky at least has Daolord Badlands’ avatar helping him out. Given the latter’s Numerancy abilities, the two will be able to avoid much trouble. It shouldn’t be hard for them to avoid trouble,” Daolord Battlemaster said.

Ning let out a sigh of relief when he heard this. Right. In terms of protecting others, even Ning himself probably wouldn’t be useful as Badlands’ avatar.The latter was simply too powerful in the Dao of Numerancy.

“Right. Darknorth.” Daolord Battlemaster asked hurriedly, “When your big brother Solesky first headed to the Waveshift Realm, he didn’t really try to hide it. As a result, Vastheaven Palace will probably face some trouble. My true body will hide within Vastheaven Palace alongside ou brothers. Will your avatar stay here or accompany us?”

“Wait, what’s this about Vastheaven Palace facing trouble?”

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Chapter 18 – Daolords Assemble

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 18 – Daolords Assemble

“I should be the only Verge-level Daolord to have entered the Waveshift Realm in recent memory.” Daolord Solesky said heavily, “I didn’t go out of my way to keep my trip a secret. Although not too many know about my trip, there are still a few Verge-level Daolords who know.”

“The only one?” Ji Ning’s face turned pale.

Daolord Solesky explained, “The Endless Territories have many dangerous locations within them, and the Waveshift Realm holds very few treasures! There’s nothing of real interest aside from the Voidsea Jadeseals, making it a much less enticing proposition than the Terror Starsea. Ever since Emperor Waveshift departed, no one has ever been able to find so much as a single one of those seals. Thus, there are now very few Daolords who will brave the dangers of the Waveshift Realm. I should be the only one to have gone inside in recent memory.”

“Then this is going to be trouble.” Ning nodded. “Everyone will be able to guess that someone inside the Waveshift Realm probably caused the enormous stir. If you are the only one who has gone inside lately, you are going to become everyone’s target.”

“Not just me. Even Badlands is going to be in trouble as well.” Daolord Solesky shook his head.

……

Daolord Solesky’s prediction was frighteningly accurate. The Badlands Court was indeed in trouble.

BOOM! A wicked black cloud descended upon the entire Badlands Court. A black-robed woman stood at the center of that black cloud. Her skin was green, her eyes were crimson, and she had a pair of curved green horns on her head. She called out in an icy voice, “Badlands!”

“Fellow Daoist Dustrain.” An azure-robed man stood in front of the Badlands Court. It was Daolord Badlands’ avatar.

“An avatar? Are you actually going to send a mere avatar to meet with me?” Fiendqueen Dustrain let out a cold snort.

Daolord Dustrain was referred to as ‘Fiendqueen’ due to her exceptional strength as well as the fact that she walked a devilish, demonic path. She was publicly acknowledged as the seventh most powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories! But of course, this ranking was only based on the Daolords who had revealed their strength to the outside world. There were many low-key ones who had not, and the outside world knew very little about them. For example, the Ninedust Sectlord was roughly on par with Daolord Dustrain but very few people knew about him.

“I’m quite sorry, but my true body has departed some time ago along with my wife for some sightseeing.” Daolord Badlands’ avatar swept the distant skies with his gaze. “Fellow Daoist Dustrain and the other fellow Daoists off in the distance… I know why all of you have come! The strange and incredible happenings within the Waveshift Realm are indeed related to me. However, I swear on my very life itself that neither I nor Daolord Solesky have acquired so much as a single Voidsea Jadeseal. Haha… Emperor Waveshift plotted all this out in advance. There’s no way he would have let us acquire them with such ease.”

“If you wish to attack, feel free to go ahead and wipe out my avatar. However… I, Badlands, will make it known to all of you that if anyone actually dares to attack, I will repay you tenfold!”

His words complete, Daolord Badlands turned and headed right back into the Badlands Court. He didn’t so much as glance at the many Daolords who had arrived, nor di he pay any attention to Fiendqueen Dustrain in the skies.

“Hmph.” Fiendqueen Dustrain had an ugly look on her face, and the other Daolords off in the distance were all hesitating. They didn’t fear death, but… if Badlands had already decided to ignore them, what were they supposed to do? There was no point in destroying his avatar; that would be a meaningless act.

And, if Daolord Badlands really did elect on taking revenge, he would become a very frightening foe. This would be doubly true once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step. By then, he would be the number one master of the Dao of Numerancy within the Endless Territories. Not even Hegemons would be able to prevent him from taking revenge upon his foes!

“It seems that our only choice is to enter the Waveshift Realm. If we go in ahead of the others, our chances might be a bit higher.” Fiendqueen Dustrain pondered for a moment within the skies, then turned and flew straight towards the Waveshift Realm.

……

Although the Badlands Court was located within the Badlands Everworld, given that Daolord Badlands had made his position clear and had left merely an avatar behind, there really was no one who chose to attack him.

If his true body was here, he probably would’ve been captured long ago. But just an avatar…

In the end, Daolord Badlands had a sufficiently fearsome reputation and was able to deter these people. Vastheaven Palace, however, did not.

……

“I just received word that Daolord Badlands has merely left his avatar to stand guard over the Badlands Court. However, if anyone dares to attack the Badlands Court, he will repay the attacker tenfold in the future.” Two Daolords were chatting as they strode side-by-side through the void. A dimensional tunnel surrounded them, and they were walking straight through it with no need for a spacetime transfer array.

“That was a pretty nasty move!” One of the Daolords was dressed in dark-red armor.

“It seems our only choice is to see if we can get any information from Daolord Solesky.” The other Daolord was dressed in gray robes, and he let out a sigh.

“We’re quite close to the Vastheaven Territory. Given your mastery over the Dao of Space, brother Soletruth, we should be able to get there quite quickly. In roughly two or so weeks, we should reach Vastheaven Palace. We might even be the first ones there.” The dark-red armored Daolord said coldly, “For the sake of the Daomerge, we have no choice but to employ unpleasant means against Vastheaven Palace.”

“Agreed. Daolord Solesky is the only Verge-level Daolord who has entered as of late, and he certainly knows more about the Waveshift Realm than most. Even if he simply gives us an intelligence report regarding the place, it’ll make our trip into the Waveshift Realm much simpler and our chances of acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals much higher,” the gray-robed Daolord said.

With so many Daolords heading to the Waveshift Realm, they really weren’t confident in their own chances at all. There were far, far too many who were more powerful than them. However, if they were able to acquire some information in advance, they might have a shot!

A few days later. “We’re about to reach Vastheaven Palace,” the gray-robed Daolord Soletruth said.

“Vastheaven Palace…” A flicker of cold light flashed through the dark-red armored Daolord’s eyes. They would force the information out of Solesky, no matter what they had to do.

……

The weather was clear this day, and the skies were like an enormous, beautiful bowl of azure porcelain. The wind was blowing through this world, and two figures were slowly walking through the skies. They could already see Vastheaven Palace up ahead.

“We’ve reached Vastheaven Palace.” The dark-red armored Daolord was slightly excited. “Our best chances lie within Vastheaven Palace.”

“Agreed.” The gray-robed Daolord nodded.

“I’ll go call hi out. I refuse to believe that old bastard would dare to refuse us.” A flicker of a murderous intent could be seen in the dark-red armored Daolord’s eyes. They had come here to force Solesky to give them what they wanted.

“SOLESKY!” After having flown slightly closer, the armored Daolord let out a loud call that echoed within the heavens, causing an invisible but baleful aura to spread outwards from him and cover the entire Vastheaven Palace. “SOLESKY! GET OUT HERE!”

……

Within a palace courtyard. Ning, Solesky, Battlemaster, and Brightfish were all present. All four of them had only left their avatars behind, and the vast majority of the Vastheaven Palace’s disciples had departed already. The only ones left behind were some disciples who had many clones, as well as a few servants.

“Solesky! Get out here!” A loud bellow rang out from outside.

“Here they come.” Daolord Solesky let out a cold snort. “So someone has finally arrived.”

Ning, Battlemaster, and Brightfish all had mixed looks on their faces. They had predicted long ago that trouble was coming for Vastheaven Palace, as there would definitely be some Daolords who would come for Daolord Solesky! In addition, some were located fairly close by. Some would move quickly while others would move more slowly, but in the end there would be many batches of them. Clearly, the first batch of Daolords had arrived.

“Let’s go take a look and see who it is.” Daolord Solesky arose and walked outside, with Ning, Battlemaster, and Brightfish following behind him.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. All four Daolord avatars flew out into the skies, remaining within the protective embrace of Vastheaven Palace as they stared at the two distant figures.

“That’s Daolord Soletruth and Daolord Mistbearer.” Daolord Solesky’s face tightened slightly as he sent mentally to the other three, “Daolord Soletruth is skilled in the Dao of Space and is an extremely troublesome foe, while Daolord Mistbearer is silled in close combat. These two are both on par with me.”

Ning understood. These two Daolords weren’t all that powerful; they were merely on the same level as Solesky and Patriarch Clearwind. The weaker ones wouldn’t even try to come here, while there were only a few strong ones; they would need time to make it here.

“Soletruth. Mistbearer. Why have you two come to Vastheaven Palace?” Daolord Solesky barked.

“Stop pretending. Are you trying to tell me that you don’t know why we are here?” The distant dark-red armored Daolord Mistbearer let out an angry snarl.

“Is it about the Waveshift Realm?” Daolord Solesky said, “I can swear a lifeblood oath that I do not have any Voidsea Jadeseals right now.”

“I guessed as much.” Daolord Mistbearer smirked. “There’s no way the jade seals left behind by Emperor Waveshift would be obtained so easily. However… I need all of the information you know regarding the Waveshift Realm. So long as you provide that to us, the two of us will leave immediately.”

Daolord Solesky let out a cold snort. “That’s a nice dream you are having. Do the two of you really think you have what it takes?”

He and Daolord Badlands had spent many tens of thousands of years braving the dangers of that place and searching laboriously for as much information they could find. It was all thanks to Daolord Badlands’ repeated usage of Numerancy divination that hey had learned so many of the secrets of the Waveshift Realm. How could they just send this information out to others?

“This is an item we acquired last time we adventured through the Terror Starsea.” The distant Daolord Mistbearer produced a strange stone globe that was covered with many complex runes that faintly emanated a terrifying aura of power. “If I crush this item, I’ll be able to annihilate the entire Vastheaven Palace. If you refuse to give me the information I need, I’ll have no choice but to use it.”

“Speak!” The gray-robed Daolord said coldly, “Will you give us the information or not?”

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Chapter 19 – For the Daomerge

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 19 – For the Daomerge

“What?” The Daolords of Vastheaven Palace, including Ji Ning, Daolord Battlemaster, Daolord Solesky, and Daolord Brightfish were all shocked. They stared intently at the stone globe held in the hands of Daolord Mistbearer. All of them could sense the faint aura of terrifying power emanating from the stone globe.

“This Daolord Mistbearer actually has an item like this?” Daolord Solesky and the others turned pale.

There were actually quite a number of Dao-seals and other strange curios which had been created by Eternal Emperors and had slowly accumulated over time. This was particularly true for the Terror Starsea, which had been the battlefield of the Dawn War. There were many, many treasures there that were capable of unleashing terrifying levels of power. However, acquiring these treasures was quite difficult. Most Daolords of the Fourth Step did not have access to such treasures.

Daolords on the level of Solesky, Patriarch Clearwind, and Daolord Mistbearer had been alive for quite some time. If they dared to go out adventuring and lived to tell the tale, they would generally end up with one or two of them.

Experts on the level of Kongsan had been alive for even longer. They would generally have nine or ten such items on them.

As for the likes of King Gorsch or Palace Lord Dawnstar, the most powerful of Daolords? They were capable of slaying ordinary Eternal Emperors with ease. A casual blow from them was more than enough to annihilate Vastheaven Palace and held as much power as those strange artifacts and Dao-seals. Thus, those things were of very little use to them! Only precious Hegemon-created items were of interest and use to them, but those were incredibly rare.

These curios were divided into many different types, such as defensive, fleeing, karmic, illusory, offensive, and more.

“Daolord Mistbearer actually has a treasure meant for attacking.” Daolord Solesky was rather anxious now.

“This treasure is very important to Daolord Mistbearer. The handsome Daolord Brightfish sent mentally, “But for the sake of the Daomerge, he’s gone berserk. He really would be willing to use this treasure up! Everyone, what should we do?”

“Let me give it a try first,” Daolord Battlemaster said.

……

The four Daolords of Vastheaven Palace stared at the two enemy Daolords.

“Fellow Daoists.” Daolord Battlemaster called out in a loud voice, “I imagine you have also received word that Daolord Badlands has left the Badlands Court long ago! Vastheaven Palace isn’t staffed by fools either; our brothers have also left long ago. The four of us are merely avatars! Even if you use up that treasure and destroy Vastheaven Palace, you’d at most be able to destroy our avatars. We’re more than capable of enduring such minor losses.”

Daolord Mistbearer and Daolord Soletruth radiated surging, murderous auras from their position in the skies. Daolord Mistbearer said coldly, “The creation of Vastheaven Palace involved you spending enormous amounts of effort in setting up its protective formations. The materials needed to create four avatars were also extremely costly, not to mention the time spent in nurturing them. Would you really just give them up like that?”

“For the sake of the Daomerge, we are indeed willing to give them all up.”’ Daolord Battlemaster smiled. “I have an idea. Let us have both sides take a step back.”

The distant Daolord Mistbearer and Daolord Soletruth exchanged a glance. “Speak!” Daolord Mistbearer commanded coldly.

“Vastheaven Palace is willing to hand over an intelligence report containing information regarding the Waveshift Realm,” Daolord Battlemaster said. “While it won’t include everything big brother Solesky knows, it’ll still be far more than what the rest of the universe knows about the Waveshfit Realm. What do you think? If the two of you accept, we’ll give you the report right away.”

“It has to include everything Daolord Solesky knows!” Daolord Mistbearer shouted coldly. As his voice boomed out, an infinitely vast wave of blood appeared out of nowhere, sweeping through the skies and surrounding the entirety of Vastheaven Palace.

Daolord Mistbearer’s murderous aura flared as he roared, “If you refuse, die!”

“Solesky, stop struggling,” Daolord Soletruth barked as well.

“You are going too far!” Daolord Battlemaster said coldly, “My big brother and Daolord Badlands experienced countless travails in order to find this information. You want them to hand it all over? Impossible!”

“Do you take the two of us for fools? Emperor Waveshift was the creator of the Waveshift Realm. He was and remains the most skilled expert in the Dao of the Numerancy the Endless Territories has ever seen. The Waveshift Realm is filled with many dangers and is incredibly complex. If you just give us a portion of your information, it’ll be of negligible use to us.” Daolord Soletruth said coldly, “Battlemaster, stop playing games with us. We aren’t fools. You have two options before you. To hand it over, or to not hand it over.”

“I will claim the life of anyone who dares to bar my Daomerge!” The distant Daolord Mistbearer raised the stone globe up high with one hand, his voice filled with murder. “I’ll give you three seconds to consider this. If you refuse, I’ll wipe you out!”

“Three!”

“Two!”

Daolord Mistbearer stood there in the skies, surrounded by endless surging waves of blood, the stone globe held up high and flaring in one final warning. For the sake of the Daomerge, he wouldn’t show any mercy at all.

“But…” Solesky, Battlemaster, and Brightfish all turned pale. As for Ning, he had a complex look on his face.

“Everyone shares the same concern – the Daomerge. Why must we be like this? This stroke of Daomerge-related fortune belongs to my big brother. Today, you come to pressure him; tomorrow, others will do the same. Are we to repeatedly give way and just hand this opportunity over to others?” Ning shook his head. “You two should leave. If you refuse to leave, I’ll have no choice but to attack.”

“Attack?” The two distant Daolords were both startled.

Ning’s face gradually turned cold. “Leave.”

The faces of the two distant Daolords turned grim. They were slowly beginning to sense the threat that Ning posed them. Previously, Ning had not yet wished them dead… but now that he did, the sense of danger radiating from him grew significantly stronger. Ning’s avatar was roughly on par with them; if his true body was here, the sense of danger would have been much stronger.

“No one can bar my path to the Daomerge.” Daolord Mistbearer and Daolord Soletruth shared a glance, but neither hesitated.

“Hand over the report or prepare to do battle!” Daolord Mistbearer roared.

A flicker of a murderous light flashed through Ning’s cold eyes. An invisible surge of power instantly sprang out, separating into two streams that smashed directly against the souls and the truesouls of the two Daolords.

Heartforce Eradicator!

“This…” A hint of terror and disbelief flashed through Daolord Mistbearer’s eyes before his gaze turned completely dull and lifeless. His corpse began to fall down from the skies.

“He’s a Heartforce Cultivator!” The gray-robed Daolord Soletruth’s face turned bone-white, but he was able to endure the [Heartforce Eradicator] attack. He stared at Ning in horror. That heartforce attack had been absolutely terrifying; it was only thanks to his strong Dao-heart that he had managed to survive! However, he knew that Heartforce Cultivators possessed many strange and unpredictable techniques, and they didn’t really rely on such brutish attacks. They primarily relied on illusions and bewildering spells… and if this Daolord’s brute-force attacks were already this powerful, how devilish would his illusions be? Even an instant of distraction could very well prove fatal!

“Hurry up and flee.” Daolord Soletruth no longer cared about anything else. He hurriedly waved his hand. Whoosh! A dazzling rainbow dimensional tunnel instantly appeared next to him, and he hurriedly dove into it and began to flee.

……

A tear in space appeared within a region of primordial chaos more than twenty territories away. Moments later, the gray-robed and rather bedraggled-looking Daolord Soletruth jumped out of it, a stunned look on his face. “He’s actually a Heartforce Cultivator. The newest Daolord of Vastheaven Palace, Daolord Darknorth… a completely unremarkable person I’ve heard almost nothing about… is actually a Heartforce Cultivator. And a terrifyingly strong one at that! He was able to kill brother Mistbearer with a thought. Ugh. Brother Mistbearer’s Dao-heart was rather lacking, due to his excessively murderous impulses.”

“I never would’ve imagined that the most powerful member of Vastheaven Palace would be Daolord Darknorth, rather than Daolord Solesky.” Daolord Soletruth let out a soft sigh. “Things are going to be complicated now. Everyone thought that Vastheaven Palace would be easy to deal with, but who would’ve thought such a terrifying figure would exist within it?”

Everyone agreed that Heartforce Cultivators were notoriously difficult to deal with. Unless absolutely necessary, no one would willingly make an enemy out of one.

……

Outside Vastheaven Palace.

The corpse of Daolord Mistbearer continued its descent through the skies. As for Daolords Solesky, Battlemaster, and Brightfish, all three of them stared at Ning in disbelief.

“All this is due to the Daomerge…” Ning shook his head, then waved his hand and collected the falling corpse of Daolord Mistbearer. Ning then turned around, only to see the other three staring straight at him. “Something wrong? I’m just collecting his corpse. We can split the treasures later,” Ning grinned.

“Stop joking.” Daolord Solesky flew straight towards Ning, then grabbed him by the shoulders. “Ji Ning, y-you… you are a Heartforce Cultivator?”

“Right. You are actually a Heartforce Cultivator?” Battlemaster and Brightfish were quite excited as well.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “Right! Previously, I’ve been spending all my attention on strengthening my avatar. As soon as I left seclusion, this happened. I didn’t even have a chance to talk to any of you. However, better late than never!”

“Not late. Not late at all!” Daolord Brightfish was quite excited. “I never imagined that Vastheaven Palace would produce a Heartforce Cultivator! Haha. Who in the outside world would dare to belittle us in the future?”

“I always thought that you were a genius of the Dao of the Sword.” Daolord Solesky stared intently at Ning, also quite excited. “I never would’ve imagined that you’d actually be a Heartforce Cultivator, and that you’d be even more formidable in this area than you are in the Dao of the Sword. You slew Daolord Mistbearer with just a glance!”

Ning couldn’t help but say, “Actually… my Sword Dao is slightly stronger than my heartforce.”

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Chapter 20 – Daolord Darknorth’s Name

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 20 – Daolord Darknorth’s Name

“Your Sword Dao is stronger than your heartforce?” Daolord Solesky stared at Ji Ning in astonishment. He couldn’t help but ask, “Ji Ning, what level have you reached, exactly?!”

“I might not be able to beat the most powerful Daolords, but escaping them should be no problem at all,” Ning said. In truth, Ning now stood at the very peak of power amongst second-tier Daolords. He was now much stronger than Kongsan had ever been.

Even if he fought against first-tier Daolords like King Gorsch, he might win if their Dao-hearts were weak! If their Dao-hearts were weak and they were trapped by his illusions, then he would have a chance of beating them as well. However, the vast majority of supreme Daolords had extremely powerful Dao-hearts, and so he would be unable to do anything to most of them.

Still, Ning had his Hegemon armor and was extremely skilled at staying alive. He also had his nine novessence arts, his heartworld projection, his ability to transcend space, and more. There really were few to no Daolords who could do anything to him.

“B-but…” Daolord Solesky was rather flabbergasted.

“Darknorth, how did you suddenly become a Heartforce Cultivator?” Daolord Battlemaster was quite curious.

“Early on as a cultivator, I actually improved even more quickly in heartforce than I did in the Dao of the Sword.” A reminiscent look was in Ning’s eyes. “Afterwards, some events cast a shadow over my heart, resulting in me being unable to improve my heartforce at all. This time, I had some lucky encounters and was able to break through in heartforce and establish a heartworld. As a result, my heartworld naturally began to expand and grow, allowing me to reach my current level of power.”

“A master of both the Sword Dao and heartforce. Impressive, truly impressive,” Daolord Brightfish said as he sighed in amazement.

Heartforce Cultivators were famous for their bizarre, nerve-wracking techniques. If a Heartforce Cultivator was also skilled in close combat, he’d become absolutely terrifying to deal with. This was just the type of person Ning was.

“Oh, right. Darknorth, why did you release Daolord Soletruth just now?” Daolord Brightfish quickly added, “I could vaguely sense that you only attacked a single time, and you didn’t use any illusions at all?”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “Since he was able to survive my [Heartforce Eradicator], I decided to spare his life. He’ll definitely go tell his Verge-level friends about what happened today and warn them, and those friends will in turn warn their own friends. Thus, word will quickly spread, ensuring that the vast majority of Verge-level Daolords will know better than to come here and cause trouble.”

“Ji Ning’s choice was correct. We can’t be forced to deal with one Daolord troublemaker after another,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Darknorth.” Battlemaster said worriedly, “The vast majority of Daolords might be too scared to come, but those who do dare to come will be tough to deal with.”

“Then I’ll simply kill them.” A murderous light flashed through Ning’s eyes. “We’ll see who is stronger.”

Ning still felt quite confident in his chances. His Daolord avatar was a Ki Refiner, a Fiendgod Refiner, and a Heartforce Cultivator! He was able to use divine abilities and secret arts. However, Ning realized that there was no way to duplicate his Nine Chaos Seals upon his avatar, and his avatar only contained an extremely small part of his soul. This was why his avatar was still significantly weaker than his true body.

Any living being’s core essence came from his soul and truesoul. If the soul or truesoul was extinguished, the cultivator would die. Generally speaking, if your soul and truesoul were weak, the amount of divine power, Immortal energy, and heartforce in your body would also be correspondingly weak. It would be very hard for you to remain in top condition! Thus, you needed to stay in contact with your true body’s soul and ensure that both souls were nurtured.

This was the reason why Daolords generally would at most maintain a single avatar at any point in time. It wasn’t easy keeping an avatar’s soul in peak condition, and it was quite time-consuming as well!

But of course, if you had a Primaltwin, you would be able to maintain a second avatar. Ning had both a true body and a Primaltwin, and his Primaltwin’s soul was just as strong as his true body’s. Both souls were inextricably linked. However, Ning chose to only maintain a single avatar, using both his true body and his Primaltwin’s souls to nurture it.

As a result, Ning’s avatar was comparatively more powerful than that of most Daolord avatars. If the Northbow swords were excluded from the equation, his avatar was roughly 70% as strong as his true body!

His avatar held other advantages as well. Avatars were created from magic treasures that were covered with formations, and they could be infused with prime essences just like lifeblood treasures. Ning’s avatar contained the essence of his Omega Sword Dao, and the special properties which all avatars had ensured that he was able to perfectly link up with the local formations and become part of them. When reinforced by those formations, his power was comparable to that of his true body!

This was the reason why many Daolords had their avatars stand guard over their homes.

……

Ning’s predictions were spot-on. After fleeing for his life, Daolord Soletruth did indeed warn his best friends, who in turn warned their best friends. Word quickly spread at a viral rate, and both Vastheaven Palace and the Badlands Court became centers of attention for the countless Daolords of the Endless Territories.

Daolord Badlands of the Badlands Court had gone into hiding with his wife. Nobody could find them. The only chance the comparatively weaker Daolords had lay in Vastheaven Palace.

“What?! A Heartforce Cultivator?!”

“He was able to slay Daolord Mistbearer from afar with but a thought? Daolord Soletruth was just barely able to stay alive?”

“His avatar alone is already that powerful?”

“What’s the name of this terrifying Heartforce Cultivator of Vastheaven Palace?”

“Darknorth! His name is Darknorth!”

Word quickly began to spread. When Ning had slain Kongsan, he hadn’t gone out of his way to reveal himself, and so there really were very few who knew that he was the killer. As a result, he had little to no reputation in the Endless Territories. However, the incredible results he had displayed with merely an avatar instantly shocked countless Daolords. He hadn’t even really fought! He had wiped out Daolord Mistbearer with but a casual look!

This battle brought him instant fame! Finally, Ning had become truly famous within the Endless Territories. Countless Daolords now knew of a terrifying Heartforce Cultivator known as Daolord Darknorth.

……

An ordinary chaosworld. An ordinary mortal city.

Daolord Badlands and his wife were living within a mountain villa inside this city, living a relaxed life.

“What’s that? Daolord Darknorth has become a Heartforce Cultivator? He wiped out Daolord Mistbearer with just his avatar?” Daolord Badlands had been sipping wine in a leisurely manner, but he suddenly revealed a shocked look on his face.

“What did you just say, husband? Daolord Darknorth?” His beautiful wife was shocked as well.

“Yes, Daolord Darknorth. Remember him? The Ji Ning kid who once stayed in our Badlands Court for a short period of time? As I recall, when he arrived in the Badlands Court he was merely an Elder God. Only after returning from the Allgod Estate did he become a World-level cultivator. It feels like it was just yesterday that he was at the World level! Now, he’s actually able to wipe out the likes of Daolord Mistbearer with a thought while just using his avatar? He’s definitely much more powerful than I am.” Daolord Badlands was quite stunned. He was skilled in Numerancy, but Numerancy didn’t confer omniscience upon him. The more talented and powerful a cultivator was, the harder it would be to divine his fate.

“If his avatar is already this powerful, how impressive must his true body be?” His wife was stunned as well. “He’s reached such incredible levels of power despite having trained for a very short period of time… in the future, he will most assuredly become one of the most supreme Daolords of all the Endless Territories.”

“Even today, there are no Daolords who would dare to underestimate him.” Daolord Badlands shook his head. “Because… he is a Heartforce Cultivator.”

……

The Brightshore Kingdom’s intelligence network was similarly quick,and word quickly spread to them as well. The Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom were filled with commotion as well.

“Daolord Darknorth of the Sword Palace has ended up becoming a Heartforce Cultivator?”

“From what I’ve heard, his Sword Dao is incredibly powerful. How is it that he became so formidable in heartforce as well?”

“Daolord Solewind of the Heartforce Palace might be extremely talented, but I don’t think he’s strong enough to use his avatar to wipe out Daolord Mistbearer with a thought.”

……

“Darknorth has become a Heartforce Cultivator?” Prince Greatjoy had just returned to the Brightshore Kingdom when he heard this news. He revealed a hint of a smile on his face. “Interesting. I never would’ve thought that of the four of us who went to the alternate universe, Darknorth would end up taking the lead. It seems I need to work even harder…”

……

Beneath the leaves of a strange, fiery-red tree that was more than ten million kilometers tall sat a skinny bald youth. The youth had a smile on his face, but his eyes were closed as he trained there silently. His upper body was covered with fiery red divine runes which seemed linked to the enormous flaming tree behind him. The runes would sometimes spread out while at other times clustering together…

“Eh?” Solewind opened his eyes, then smiled. “Brother Darknorth has actually become a Heartforce Cultivator, and a powerful one at that? I had thought that I was doing fairly well for myself, after having created a secret art comparable to the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song]. I didn’t expect that brother Darknorth would not only become a Heartforce Cultivator but become even more powerful than me in this area.”

Solewind was actually incredibly talented in heartforce. When he had been at the World level, he had been on par with monstrously talented figures like Greatjoy and Ji Ning. After becoming a Daolord, he would be able to easily reach the Verge and become one of the most powerful of Heartforce Cultivators.

In the Genesis Lands, he had acquired a legacy left behind by a Heartforce Hegemon. He naturally had an extraordinary destiny ahead of him, and he had already created a secret art that was on par with the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song]. Although he had only created the early stages of it, his foundation was already quite solid.

The more solid your foundation was, the slower and steadier your training would be. At present, Solewind was also just a Daolord of the Second Step.

……

“No. No way. Impossible. How can he be this much more powerful than me?!” Firesurge was located within a tattered shrine, and he was bellowing with rage. “Impossible! I’ve been working so hard. Why is it that he’s pulling farther and farther away from me?!”

Of the four peerless geniuses who had visited the alternate universe, Firesurge had the weakest mind and Dao-heart. He had always felt certain that he would become the strongest, and had been working hard this entire time. He was now quite powerful… but Darknorth, a master of the Dao of the Sword, had somehow ended up becoming a Heartforce Cultivator, and reached incredibly terrifying heights in heartforce at that.

……

The news quickly spread throughout the universe, and everyone had a different reaction to it. Ning’s primary goal was achieved – the vast majority of Daolords shrank back. Very, very few had the courage and confidence needed to fight a Heartforce Cultivator.

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Chapter 21 – Sincerity

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 21 – Sincerity

A dimensional rift appeared within a region which bordered both the Endless Territories and the Terror Starsea. Two figures emerged from it, one a white-robed youth who carried a golden sword in his back, the second an insidious-looking silver-robed man who radiated an aura of power.

“We finally made it.”

“Haha, I didn’t expect things would progress this smoothly.”

Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both sighed in amazement.

“The two of us were so worried about dying at first.” The Ninedust Sectlord laughed. “Thank goodness Patriarch Vulturas gave us that star map, and thank goodness your sword-arts have transcended space, Darknorth. And thank goodness you are also a Heartforce Cultivator!”

“We also need to celebrate our good fortune. The Starflow River was supposed to be the most dangerous part of the journey, but we were so lucky that we didn’t run into anything dangerous at all,” Ning sighed happily.

Their good luck had combined with many other factors, allowing them to survive their return to the Endless Territories.

“Come, come! We need to make haste. We wasted sixty years after leaving Thundersouth Palace, and we’re still quite far from the Waveshift Realm. We’ve already wasted so much time, and if we waste any more the Voidsea Jadeseals will probably end up being taken by those who arrived early on,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

“No rush,” Ning said. “I have a very quick way of travelling straight to the Waveshift Realm.”

“A very quick way?” The Ninedust Sectlord stared at Ning, puzzled.

“Through the spacetime tunnels of the Brightshore Kingdom.” Ning immediately added, “Brother Ninedust, I never spoke to you about this, but… although I am a member of the Dao Alliance, as a World-level cultivator I was abducted to the Brightshore Kingdom. Thus, I’m a member of the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore.”

“The Brightshore Kingdom? You belong to them?” The Ninedust Sectlord was stunned.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. Their journey back from the Terror Starsea had been a dangerous one, with life-threatening situations possibly occurring at any moment. In order to avoid any mistrust and anything that could affect their ability to work together, Ning had stayed silent this entire time about his true status. Now that they had shared so many life-and-death experiences for so long, he truly didn’t wish to keep this hidden.

“Y-you…” The Ninedust Sectlord had a rather complicated look on his face. He then let out a helpless sigh. “Thankfully you are merely a member of the Twelve Palaces. If you were a member of the Brightshore Imperials, I’d really have no clue what to do. The Brightshore Imperials have always been enemies of us Ancient cultivators. We’ve been fighting each other for countless chaos cycles.”

Ning nodded. The Brightshore Imperials had once been the slaves of the Ancient cultivators, which they viewed as the greatest stain on their honor. It wasn’t at all odd that the successive generations of Brightshore Imperials had all viewed the Ancient cultivators as their enemies.

“The Brightshore Hegemon is absolutely shameless.” The Ninedust Sectlord gritted his teeth, hard. “Of the three Hegemons, he’s the most shameless! He relies on his incredible mastery over spacetime to abduct some of the most powerful World-level cultivators of the Endless Territories. If it wasn’t for the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore, the Brightshore Kingdom wouldn’t have the status and standing it currently does.”

Ning had to acknowledge this as being true. In terms of Daolords, the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore had far more members than the Brightshore Imperials. The Twelve Palaces often numbered one or more of the top three Daolords of each era within their ranks… and they even had Eternal Emperors! By comparison, the imperial clan was much weaker.

“It doesn’t matter. You remain a brother for life,” the Ninedust Sectlord declared. “And given my current level of power, I really don’t worry about those Brightshore Imperials at all. Don’t worry. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Ning immediately let out a sigh of relief. If Ninedust ended up in a battle against the Brightshore Imperials, the lifeblood oath Ning had sworn would force him to protect the Brightshore imperials. Ninedust was making his position clear in order to avoid precisely this type of awkward situation. Indeed, given Ninedust’s standing amongst at the very peak of power amongst Daolords, there really were few to no Brightshore Imperials who were a match for him, and not a single one who could truly threaten him.

Now that he was a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the Ninedust Sectlord’s ‘unkillable aquaform’ was far more powerful than Kongsan’s ‘darkness incarnate’ form had been. In a normal battle, no Daolord was capable of annihilating him when he assumed that form. In truth, all of the most supreme Daolords had their own special talents, and all of them were generally quite hard to deal with. The only ones capable of threatening them were the most supreme of Heartforce Daolords, who were able to use techniques that struck at their very souls and truesouls. Those attacks still proved dangerous to them.

Daolord Featherdress had created the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song] and become acknowledged as the most powerful of Daolords. The other supreme Daolords were unwilling to fight against her precisely because of her heartforce abilities.

“Thank you, Ninedust,” Ning said gratefully.

“Cut that out. We are brothers!” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head and smiled. After having travelled with Ning for so long, he truly felt that Ning was a person worthy of being his lifelong friend. “Darknorth, you spoke of using the Brightshore Kingdom’s spacetime tunnels… given who I am, it probably wouldn’t be easy for me to enter them.”

“When we get there, I’ll have to trouble you to hide within one of my estate-world’s for a time,” Ning said.

“Alright.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. The two were very close to each other, and they both naturally swore lifeblood oaths after having decided to go to the Waveshift Realm together.

Even the best of friends would generally rely on lifeblood oaths to bind each other, as it was possible for even lifelong brothers to turn on each other for the sake of treasures involving the Daomerge. To avoid such disastrous outcomes, most would rely upon lifeblood oaths to keep everyone honest.

……

As Ning and Ninedust were hastening to the Waveshift Realm, yet another danger befell Vastheaven Palace.

“Vastheaven Palace.” A white-robed elder had just arrived at the Vastheaven Everworld. He stood at the peak of a mountain, staring at the distant Vastheaven Palace.

“I hear that Vastheaven Palace has gained a Heartforce Cultivator.” A look of absolute self-confidence was in the white-robed elder’s eyes. Due to certain choices he had made in his path of cultivation, he didn’t fear Heartforce Cultivators at all. “My home was too far away from the Waveshift Realm! I’m definitely going to arrive much later than the other Daolords. If I can procure the information regarding the Waveshift Realm which Daolord Solesky has, I might be able to acquire one of those jade seals even though I’ll arrive later than the others.”

The white-robed elder strode forwards through the skies, each step causing ripples of light to spread out. Soon, he arrived in the skies above Vastheaven Palace.

“Darknorth. Solesky. Are you present?” the white-robed elder asked calmly. Rumble… his voice echoed within the skies around the area. A short while later, four figures flew out of Vastheaven Palace. It was Ji Ning, Daolord Solesky, Daolord Battlemaster, and Daolord Brightfish.

“All avatars.” The white-robed elder glanced at them, then shook his head and frowned. Avatars were disposable. Each one represented ten million cubes of chaos nectar and quite a bit of effort, but for the sake of the Daomerge… even fairly poor Daolords like Solesky and Battlemaster would just grit their teeth and bear it.

“Him? The ‘Junior Radiant King’?” Daolord Solesky’s face turned white.

“It’s actually him?” The faces of Ning and the others turned pale as well.

Amongst the supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories, there was a particularly powerful Daolord who had been given the respectful title of the Radiant King. He was a terrifying Daolord who was ranked third in the Endless Territories. As for the ‘Junior Radiant King’, he belonged to the same race as the Radiant King but was slightly weaker, ranking amongst the second-tier Daolords. However, he stood at the very peak of power amongst the second-tier Daolords and was considerably stronger than Kongsan.

The two of them belonged to the same race and used similar techniques. The Junior Radiant King’s true Daoist title was actually Yanmi. He could thus be addressed as Daolord Yanmi, but most simply referred to him as the Junior Radiant King.

“I’m sure you know that my heart is like light itself. You will be unable to shake my heart unless your heartforce skills have reached a truly unfathomable peak,” the white-robed elder said calmly. “For me, wiping out Vastheaven Palace is a very easy task. Solesky, I imagine you know why I am here. Give me everything you know about the Waveshift Realm, or I will have no choice but to attack.”

Daolord Solesky had an ugly look on his face. Battlemaster and Brightfish were both anxious as well. They had guessed long ago that the power Ning had displayed was enough to scare off the vast majority of Daolords, but… this concerned the Voidsea Jadeseals! Perhaps the supreme Daolords who were completely confident in their abilities would head straight to the Waveshift Realm, but the ones who were slightly less confident would all come here to try their luck.

And indeed, it was a matter of trying their luck. Everyone knew that the chances of Solesky handing the information over was quite low… but for the sake of the Daomerge, they would still give a try, no matter how low their chances were.

“Hmph.” Seeing the looks on the faces of the four, the white-robed elder let out a cold snort. Whoosh! He suddenly seemed transformed into a dazzling sun that radiated eye-piercing radiance. His light stretched out into infinity as multiple clones of him seemed to appear. Countless clones of him quickly filled the skies, resulting in what seemed like trillions of white-robed elders appearing above and surrounding the four Vastheaven Daolords.

“If you don’t hand the information over, I’ll have no choice but to wipe you out and destroy Vastheaven Palace!” The trillions of white-robed old men all spoke out at the same time, their voices booming in the skies.

“Daolord Yanmi, if you wish to wipe out Vastheaven Palace, you need to ask me for permission first!” Ji Ning’s cold voice rang out in response.

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Chapter 22 – A Clash

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 22 – A Clash

The countless white-robed elders standing in midair all turned to stare directly at Ji Ning.

“Daolord Darknorth?” The countless white-robed elders smirked. “I’ve heard long ago that the newest Daolord of Vastheaven Palace, Daolord Darknorth, is an incredible figure who is also a Heartforce Cultivator! Then… let me see just how much ability you have, Daolord Darknorth. I have countless clones right now. Are you able to find the real me?”

“Hmph.” Ning let out a cold snort. BOOM! The surrounding area of countless kilometers around began to tremble and rumble as an enormous illusion of a world manifested above. This vast world had valleys, rivers, seas, mountains, and an extremely prominent and utterly enormous sword-shaped mountain at the very center of it. The enormous heartworld projection came crashing straight down!

The countless mountains in the surrounding area were instantly crushed into dust, almost as though an enormous hand had just slapped down upon them. The heartworld projection had descended!

The countless white-robed elders who had been glowing with light were also put under incredible pressure. Ning’s heartworld projection was on par with his nine novessence arts and possessed incredible power. One white-robed elder after another disappeared like popping bubbles, and soon a mere 529 white-robed elders remained in the skies.

“What?!” Looks of astonishment appeared simultaneously upon the faces of the remaining 529 elders. “What a powerful heartworld projection!”

The power of a heartworld projection was a testament to the power of a cultivator’s heartworld. The greater the heartworld, the stronger the projection. Ning’s powerful heartworld projection was incredible even amongst Heartforce Cultivators; he could be considered as having reached the second-tier!

“He’s actually managed to keep a few clones active.” Ning swept the 529 white-robed elders with his gaze. “The Junior Radiant King lives up to his reputation.”

“If the Radiant King himself was present, you wouldn’t be able to wipe out a single one of his clones,” the many white-robed elders smirked.

“Perhaps.” As Ning’s words came out, his heartforce swept out yet again. It lashed out like a wave towards the hundreds of white-robed elders, only to discover that every single one of them stood in the path of this wave. Clearly, every single white-robed elder contained part of the old man’s soul and truesoul. Boom! Boom! Boom! Heartforce Eradicator! Ning’s heartforce crashed directly against the soul and truesoul of the white-robed elder.

“Impressive. However, you won’t be able to do anything to me. Prepare to receive my blow!” The many white-robed elders all waved their hands, causing a total of nine black swords to appear in the skies.

“Big brother, stay far away from me,” Ning warned mentally.

“Understood. Be careful and don’t be reckless!” Daolords Solesky, Brightfish, and Battlemaster all quickly retreated.

All of them felt nervous. This was going to be a dangerous battle. If Ning’s true body was here, he would probably be able to win with ease, but he only had an avatar which had 70% of his true power… and most importantly of all, he didn’t have the Northbow swords! Ever since those swords had drained so much golden sand from the shattered core of that planet, they had evolved to reach a terrifying level of power.

……

The white-robed elders all separated as the nine black swords appeared in the skies.

“Which one is the real one?” Ning was quite puzzled. Without question, the true body was amongst the 529 and was controlling those nine divine black swords.

“Unable to find my true body? Feeling a bit anxious? Haha, I’m able to maintain more than 500 clones, and you won’t know which one to attack. That’s why it is guaranteed that you will lose this fight.” The hundreds of white-robed elders all laughed and then roared, “Kill!”

Instantly, the nine divine black swords in the skies transformed into nine dark streaks of light… or to be precise, they transformed into nine black strands of silk! They moved at incredible speeds, at least fifty-nine times the speed of light. And this was with them being pressured by the heartworld projection! Otherwise, they would strike even faster. According to the stories, the true Radiant King’s flying speed alone had already surpassed the limit of a hundred times the speed of light. The Junior Radiant King was naturally somewhat inferior in comparison.

“I’m able to attack you, but you aren’t able to attack me. You lost this battle before it ever began, haha…” The many white-robed elders all laughed loudly.

“Go.” Ning stood there calmly despite facing the nine attacking black threads. Whoosh! Whoosh! Streams of sword-intent began to manifest in the area around him. All of them began to tangle together like a group of fish, instantly forming an enormous vortex-world of Yin and Yang. This enormous Yin-Yang world was centered around Ning, forcing any and all attacks to go through it first.

This was Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain! However, it was formed purely out of sword-intent and not his nine novessence arts, and so they only had 20% of the power of the original.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The nine black threads plunged directly into the Yin-Yang vortex-world. Although they once more slowed down, they still quickly reached Ning.

“Fuck off!” Ning let out a loud shout as he slapped out with both hands at once. KABOOM! His twin palms were like two enormous mountains slamming outwards as he manifested the Heavenbreaker sword-intent of his Omega Sword Dao. His two palms were indescribably large and filled with overbearing brute force, but also moved in a unpredictable and marvelous way. The Omega Sword Dao was a perfect whole, after all; none of its stances, not even a brute-force one like this, contained any ‘stupid’ or ‘clumsy’ weaknesses. Not only was this attack ferocious, it was also unpredictable and marvelous. The nine black threads were unable to avoid it and so were forced to strike those two enormous palms head on.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A series of explosions rang out as the nine black swords were all knocked flying backwards.

“What?!” The many clones of the Junior Radiant King all had looks of shock on their faces. “My nine swords are centered around the Dao of Light. They are incredibly fast and attacked from different directions… but none of them were able to avoid that attack?”

He could scarcely believe it. But of course, he had no idea that Ning’s true skill lay in close combat, thanks to his Dao of the Sword! The Dao of the Sword was meant for combat, and Ning was the master of the Omega Sword Dao; he had no flaws at all in close combat. Forget about nine swords, even ninety-nine or more swords would be unable to penetrate his airtight defenses. Ning hadn’t even had to use his defensive Soleheart stance in order to deal with those nine swords; he had fought them head-on! Clearly, they had posed no threat to him at all.

“Lightshadow!” A baleful look was in the Junior Radiant King’s eyes. Instantly, the nine black swords in the skies transformed into a total of 320 black swords, every single one of which was able to endure the pressure of the heartworld projection and survive.

“His heartworld projection is incredibly strong. I’m normally able to manifest countless sword-shadows, making my enemies unable to tell which are real and which are fake, but his heartworld projection is making it so that I’m only able to manifest a bit over three hundred.” The white-robed elders all stared intently at Ning. “Try this a second time!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The 320 black swords transformed into black threads that once more shot towards Ning. This time, the old man spread them out even farther, making them attack Ning from every single direction, filling the area around Ning from head to toe with attacks.

Ning stood there in the air. Faced with this omnipresent attack, he simply waved his palms again. Those two enormous palms struck out like two enormous wheels that merged together into a whole, defeating all of the attacking black swords and actually destroying a few of them.

This was his Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang! Although it was primarily a defensive stance, it did have some offensive power built into it.

“What!? He withstood it all?!” The many white-robed elders were all shocked and enraged. “Then I’ll have no choice but to use my forbidden arts to kill him.”

BOOM! The white-robed elder’s many clones all shone brightly. Countless streams of light mixed together, causing the entire Vastheaven Everworld to be illuminated by them! This light was so dazzling to behold that it truly did light up every single corner of this entire everworld! The weaker cultivators of the Vastheaven Everworld all raised their heads to stare at the light in the skies, puzzled.

“He’s going all-out.” Seeing this, Ning realized that the white-robed elder’s repeated failures had caused him to feel so anxious as to go all-out.

“Is he going to use the legendary [Lumislayer]?” This was Ning’s first guess. The legendary Radiant King was ranked third amongst the Daolords of the Endless Territories, while Palace Lord Dawnstar was ranked second. Both, however, were actually on par with each other in power. The Radiant King’s fame in the Endless Territories came from his three supreme killing techniques, and not even ordinary Eternal Emperors would dare receive these three blows head-on.

According to the information on the star map which the Brightshore Kingdom had given Ning, the Junior Radiant King, Daolord Yanmi, was able to use two of those killer attacks.

“My Omega Sword Dao is the perfect Dao for combat. I want to see just how powerful these so-called ‘killer attacks’ are!” Ning felt complete confidence in himself and his chances, but the distant Daolords Solesky, Battlemaster, and Brightfish were all filled with worry as they watched from afar.

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Chapter 23 – The Radiant King’s Three Killer Attacks

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 23 – The Radiant King’s Three Killer Attacks

The many clones of the Junior Radiant King, Daolord Yanmi, all glowed with dazzling light that illuminated the entire Vastheaven Everworld. All of them shouted out in unison: “DESTROY!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! All of the light that had been illuminating the Vastheaven Everworld gathered together to form nine pillars of radiance! The nine pillars of light each contained a sword in the center, and they shot towards Ji Ning with terrifying and destructive power. These nine light pillars didn’t really have anything mysterious or profound to them; what they had was frontal, overwhelming, crushing power! They were so powerful that the three Vastheaven Daolords watching in the distance all turned pale.

“Just what I wanted.” Ning laughed loudly as he once more struck out with his palms. Whoosh! This time, an enormous black hole appeared in the area around Ning that swallowed up everything in its path.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A series of muffled, heavy collisions could be heard, but the black hole around Ning didn’t dissipate in the slightest. “Hah! Is that all you have?” Ning’s loud laughter rang out throughout the world around them.

“What?!” Daolord Yanmi was shocked. “Impossible. How could he have endured my attack that easily? Even if his avatar is comparable to top-grade Eternal treasures, he should’ve been blown backwards and been completely unable to resist the power of my attack!” His plan had been to knock Ning off his feet, then use his light to bind and tie down Ning during Ning’s moment of helplessness.

But… Ning had actually taken his blow head-on?!

“How can his avatar be as powerful as this? If his true body was here, would he be crushing me instead of vice-versa?” Daolord Yanmi could hardly believe it. “This was one of the three killer attacks created by the Radiant King, the [Lumislayer]. Although this is the weakest of the three attacks, this result is still…”

All of the light vanished, and Ning’s true body appeared once more. He stared at Daolord Yanmi, then shook his head. “Daolord Yanmi, you truly have disappointed me. So this is the first of the three legendary killer attacks of the Radiant King? If the Radiant King himself used this [Lumislayer], not even Eternal Emperors would dare to receive it head-on. But you… you are lacking by far.” Ning’s Omega Sword Dao had reached the ultimate apex in both offense and defense. The only way to breach his defense would be through an overwhelming disparity in power. Clearly, although his avatar only had 70% of his true body’s power, it was still roughly on par with Daolord Yanmi.

……

“He blocked it.” Daolord Solesky let out a sigh of relief.

“Darknorth’s Sword Dao truly is on par with his heartforce. He was actually able to endure the [Lumislayer] with ease.” Daolord Brightfish sighed in amazement. “He truly is incredible.”

“But the situation is still quite unfavorable for him.” Daolord Battlemaster frowned. “The Junior Radiant King has manifested over five hundred clones. Darknorth can do nothing but passively accept the man’s attacks. There’s no way for him to counter-attack at all. None of his counter-attacks would land on the Junior Radiant King’s true body.”

Daolord Solesky nodded somberly as well. “Yes. This is going to be a passive, one-sided battle. If he can’t hit back, it won’t be easy to win.”

“According to what I’ve heard, the Junior Radiant King is able to use only the first two killer attacks of the three.” Daolord Brightfish said anxiously, “In comparison, the [Lumislayer] is actually the weakest of the three attacks. Next is the [Lumihilator], with the strongest being the legendary [Lumipocalypse].”

Slay.

Annihilate.

Apocalypse.

These were the three legendary killer attacks. According to the legends, the [Lumipocalypse] was created and practiced by the Radiant King alone. It was this technique which allowed him to be recognized and acknowledged as the third most powerful Daolord of all the Endless Territories. However, the principle of this attack was to first injure the self, then injure the foe!

Ordinary Eternal Emperors would probably be slain in a single blow by this attack. One could imagine how strong it was! Given that even the Radiant King himself would be injured when using this attack, there was no way the Junior Radiant King ‘Daolord Yanmi’ was qualified to use it.

……

“Is that so?” Daolord Yanmi had an ugly look on his face, and he was verily brimming with murderous intent.

“I hear that you can use two of the three killer attacks of the Radiant King. I wonder how strong the second attack is?” Ning’s eyes gleamed with excitement. He wanted to see just how strong the so-called [Lumihilator] was and how it measured up to his own attacks, such as the Blood Drop stance and the Shadowless stance! The Radiant King himself normally just used the [Lumihilator] in combat, as the third killer attack would cause him severe injuries. Thus, he wouldn’t use it without a very good reason.

“Then have a taste of annihilation for yourself.” Daolord Yanmi’s hundreds of clones suddenly all vanished into thin air. Whoosh. They dispersed into motes of light that reformed into a single Daolord Yanmi.

Ning narrowed his eyes.

“I’m fairly weak,” Daolord Yanmi said in a soft voice. “Thus, I’m unable to maintain my clones while using the [Lumihilator]. The Radiant King, however, is able to launch this attack with all of his clones at once, making it impossible to tell which is real and which is false. That is true power! However… against you, my strength is enough.”

Ning immediately grew vigilant. Daolord Yanmi was done to just a single body now, and it didn’t seem all that powerful… and it was precisely the fact that he had reserved all of his power that Ning felt all the more vigilant.

Daolord Yanmi produced a single black sword in his hand. “Annihilate,” he murmured softly. Swoosh! His entire body seemed to merge together with that sword and transform into a dazzling strand of golden light. Even though he was under the pressure of the heartworld projection and the Yin-Yang Sword Domain, he still moved at seventy-two times the speed of light.

“What terrifying speed.” Ning was stunned. He himself was far slower than his opponent. “However… you wish to fight me in close combat? Hmph. Close combat isn’t all about speed.” Faced with the attacking strand of golden light, Ning struck out with both hands, forming sword-fingers with them to block.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

This power of this strand of golden light came from pure speed. Just as it started to clash against Ning’s fingers and be blocked by them, it instantly changed directions. The strand of golden light continuously circled around Ning, moving at terrifying speeds as it attacked him again and again, almost as if it was bouncing between multiple mirrors. Ning was forced to rely on his Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart and pour all of his efforts in to defense.

“How is this possible?! How could his defenses be completely flawless? How can his avatar keep up with my speed?!” Daolord Yanmi was stunned even as he executed this killer attack.

The [Lumihilator] could be described by one word – fast! It vastly surpassed all other techniques in this area, and it was able to continuously change directions. Generally speaking, experts on the same level as the wielder would at most be able to block three or four times before they were no longer able to handle the changes in direction and were defeated! To date, when fighting opponents on the same level, Daolord Yanmi had only ever seen opponents rely on special techniques such as ‘invulnerable bodies’ to endure this attack. In all his life, he had only encountered two figures who were able to actually use their weapons to block this attack… with Ning being the second of the two!

The first was the legendary number one expert of the entire Endless Territories. But of course, back then the man had merely been a Daolord of the Third Step.

“He really is quite fast. Incredibly fast, in fact, and the changes in direction are fast as well. This single attack is virtually all-encompassing and omnipresent. Its speed and agility alone allows the wielder to dominate much of the Endless Territories and defeat the vast majority of Daolords. However, its actual close-combat techniques are fairly weak. Its defenses are quite weak, and its attacks are excessively fixed and not sufficiently unpredictable. I’m able to easily tell where the next attack will be coming from.” This was Ning’s private evaluation. “Anyone faster than him would be able to defeat this attack with ease.”

However, Ning also knew that this current level of speed was in spite of his heartworld projection and his Yin-Yang Sword Domain. Even the most supreme of Daolords like Ninedust would generally be unable to keep up with these attacks. As for the Radiant King, he himself was already able to move at a hundred times the speed of light. One could imagine how fast his [Lumihilate] would be!

“Failed. Failed. Failed again…” Daolord Yanmi was increasingly anxious. He had launched more than a thousand attacks in an incredibly short period of time, but all of them had been blocked by Ning. Ning was clearly much slower than him, but Ning’s defenses were so airtight, flawless, and perfect that he wasn’t able to find a single opening at all.

“I’ve tested out both of your killer attacks, and they seem quite so-so. Time for my counter-attack!” Ning’s heartforce instantly surged out, silently and soundless infiltrating Daolord Yanmi’s body.

At present, Ning had two incredibly powerful heartforce attacks! This was his second one – the [Dreamstar]! The [Heartforce Eradicator] focused on a head-on clash, while the [Dreamstar] focused on illusions!

“Eh?” Daolord Yanmi had been focused on this furious battle, but he suddenly sensed his soul and truesoul being entranced. Illusions began to appear in front of him, but he instantly brought himself back into wakefulness as his mind let out a furious shout, destroying the illusions before him.

BOOM!

However, right at this moment… Ning’s right hand pierced directly through his chest!

“You…” Daolord Yanmi was stunned. He realized that in the end, the illusions had disrupted his concentration after all, albeit for just a brief instant… but he had slowed down during that instant, allowing Ning to seize the opportunity to strike him.

“What’s going on?” Ning was surprised as well. “He should have an Eternal armor protecting his body. Why was I able to so easily pierce into his chest?”

“Daolord Darknorth, you are very powerful. Your close combat skills are just as strong as your heartforce skills.” Daolord Yanmi ignored the heavy injure as he stared at Ning, then sighed. “I imagine it will be difficult to find anyone on our level of power who is capable of defeating you. Most likely, only the most supreme of first-tier Daolords would be able to beat you. You’ve beaten me, and I have no excuses to make.”

Whoosh. Daolord Yanmi’s body instantly dissipated into countless streams of radiant light. The light quickly reassembled into a second Daolord Yanmi off in the distance. He stared at Ning, then smiled. “This is what the true secrets of having a body of light incarnate are all about. Not only can my body transform into countless clones, I’m also virtually invulnerable! Although you are a bit stronger than me, you aren’t able to kill me. Alas… I had been hoping to find a chance to improve my odds, but I ended up running into someone like you. It seems my chances of acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals really are slim.”

After speaking, he turned and took a single step forwards, then vanished without a trace.

Ning continued to stare in the direction Daolord Yanmi had disappeared into. He murmured softly, “A body of light incarnate?” All second-tier Daolords had extremely strong life-preserving abilities. Kongsan, for example, was nigh-invulnerable thanks to his ‘darkness incarnate’ body. Daolord Yanmi’s life-preserving ability was just as strong as Kongsan’s had been. Beating him wouldn’t be difficult, but actually killing him would be very difficult.

And similarly, killing Ji Ning would also be extremely difficult.

……

Within the Waveshift Realm.

A white-robed youth whose long golden hair glimmered with radiance was strolling slowly through the realm. The youth was quite handsome, and none of the other cultivators dared to even look him directly in the eye.

He was the Radiant King, one of the truly supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories, ranked at the very top of the listings.

“I told him long ago. Daolord Solesky would merely leave his avatar at Vastheaven Palace, with all the other disciples having led long ago. Clearly, Daolord Solesky has already decided to let his avatar perish in battle if need be.” The Radiant King shook his head. “Yanmi and the others, however, still harbored their foolish illusions and hoped to gain some intelligence.”

“To Solesky, that information represents his chances of succeeding in the Daomerge. How could he possibly be willing to tell others about it? Only those weak Daolords would harbor any illusions that they would win the information from him. All of the truly powerful Daolords chose to waste no time in heading straight to the Waveshift Realm. Every single moment might give them an advantage in acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals.” A hint of a smile was on the Radiant King’s face.

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Chapter 24 – Entering the Waveshift Realm

Book 31, Starflow River, Chapter 24 – Entering the Waveshift Realm

The three spacetime tunnels of the Brightshore Kingdom were used quite frequently in recent days, because quite a few wandering Verge-level Daolords had hastened back and traversed them enroute to the Badlands Territory.

Whoosh. A white-robed youth emerged from the dark vortex exiting one of the tunnels.

“Daolord Darknorth.” Suddenly, a voice called out to him. Ji Ning turned his head, only to see a smiling, golden-robed elder beam at him. “Daolord Darknorth!”

“Daolord Goldsaber?” Ning recognized the old man.

“That I am. I feel quite embarrassed when I look at you. It took this old man years to reach the Verge as a Daolord. Just a short while ago, you were a World-level cultivator, but now you are more powerful than me! I heard that even the Junior Radiant King, Daolord Yanmi, was unable to defeat your avatar. Impressive, truly impressive,” the golden-robed elder sighed.

Word of the battle between Ning’s avatar and Daolord Yanmi had indeed spread throughout the Endless Territories. In truth, Solesky and Battlemaster had done this on purpose, so as to ensure that the other Daolords would give up their fantasies and withdraw.

“I’ve heard some important information that I’m not sure if you are aware of, Daolord Darknorth,” the golden-robed elder said.

“What is it?” Ning asked.

“Just a few hours ago, Winesage of the Dark Kingdom has appeared in the Badlands Territory. By now, he’s already entered the Waveshift Realm!” the golden-robed expert said solemnly.

“Winesage?” Ning’s face turned slightly pale. Winesage of the Dark Kingdom? He was one of the legends of the entire universe, because he was now publicly acclaimed as the number one Daolord of all the Endless Territories! It was actually something of a joke; the most powerful Daolord of the noble Endless Territories actually stemmed from the outsider organization known as the Dark Kingdom. Alas, no one could deny how terrifyingly strong Winesage was.

Anyone in any era who was publicly acknowledged as being number one possessed truly incredible power. Daolord Featherdress herself had been the number one Daolord of her era.

Winesage was supposedly skilled in the Dao of Darkness… and he was also a Heartforce Cultivator! The legends said that as a child, he was born into and grew up within a world of slaughter. The Dark Kingdom was an outsider organization, making it very difficult for them to truly establish themselves in the Endless Territories. Thus, all of the geniuses who grew up within the Dark Kingdom were extremely violent and brutal, with the Dao Alliance not intervening at all! It was hard to imagine the difficulties and torments which Winesage experienced.

As a result, he became a notorious alcoholic, using alcohol to douse away his worries… but in one alcohol-induced dream, he suddenly came to master an incredible heartforce art known as the [Slaughterfiend Field]!

“It was only expected that Winesage would go to the Waveshift Realm.” Ning was quite calm. “Now that the Voidsea Jadeseals have emerged, I imagine that most of the most powerful Daolords will all go there. Given Winesage’s power, how could he not?”

“That’s not the only thing I have to share,” the golden-robed elder said. “Winesage actually acquired a Universe treasure!”

“What?!” Ning called out in astonishment, “A UNIVERSE treasure?! Are you sure about that?”

“Dead sure. Brother Darknorth, I heard this just a short while ago myself. I imagine that you’ll receive word soon as well,” the golden-robed elder said. “The Waveshift Realm is in a state of chaos right now, and many of the Daolords who aren’t confident in their chances have begun to gather together into groups. More than ten thousand Daolords of the Dao Alliance joined forces to set up a grand formation outside the Waveshift Realm to prevent the Aeonians and the Daolords of the Dark Kingdom to enter the realm! And indeed, they were able to stop the Daolords of both organizations for a time. However, when Winesage appeared and was faced with the grand formation set up by over ten thousand Daolords of the Dao Alliance, he ended up using his Universe treasure and forced a way into the Waveshfit Realm!”

“A Universe treasure?” Ning still couldn’t believe it. He had run into several Universe treasures by now. The first one had been the shattered sword in the Sword Palace, while the second had been the indigo greatsword of the Sword Hegemon in the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe. The third had been within that cave deep inside the Terror Starsea, the longstaff that had been left behind by that ancestor of the Ancient cultivators.

None of them, however, had taken a liking to Ning! There was no way to bind Universe treasures by force. This was a case of the weapon choosing the wielder, rather than the wielder choosing the weapon! Every single Universe treasure contained a truly inconceivable amount of power.

“He was already the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories. If he has a Universe treasure, he’s going to be absolutely unstoppable.” The golden-robed elder sighed. “And… to me, it’s inconceivable that a Universe treasure would ever choose a Daolord. When Daolords fail their Daomerge, death is a certainty. Based on what I know, Winesage has already been alive for an extremely long period of time. I imagine he only has a few thousand chaos cycles left before he reaches the limits of his lifespan.”

Ning nodded. Generally speaking, Universe treasures would only choose Eternal Emperors! The number of Daolords in the Endless Territories who had acquired Universe treasures could be counted on one hand.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, are you planning to go to the Waveshift Realm as well?” the golden-robed elder asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Would you like to travel with me?” the golden-robed elder immediately asked.

“No need. I’ve already made an appointment with a friend,” Ning explained.

“Then I won’t force it.” The golden-robed expert knew that he was much weaker than Ning and would just slow the latter down. “Although my chances are slim, I’m still going to go to the Waveshift Realm. If I go, I’ll at least have a slim chance. Haha! However, I’m definitely going to work together alongside a group of other Daolords. We’re not like those supreme Daolords who dare to travel solo or in small groups.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. For the sake of the Daomerge, even the weaker Daolords were still willing to risk it all.

……

Word quickly spread like wildfire throughout the Endless Territories, stunning everyone.

“Winesage? What an interesting kid.” The Netherlily Hegemon of the Ancient cultivators smiled with praise.

“Every member of the Dark Kingdom is a madman. They are crazy towards themselves and even crazier towards their descendants. Still, they ended up rearing a fine young fellow.” The Windrain Hegemon was perpetually in a state of slumber, but he had woken up due to this business with the Voidsea Jadeseals.

“Darknorth and Bertulu are both Heartforce Cultivators as well. I had thought that they would have a shot at overtaking Winesage once they became Daolords of the Fourth Step, but it seems that hope is gone.” The almighty Brightshore Hegemon shook his head. “Their only chance lies in acquiring a Universe treasure of their own… but that chance is far too slim.”

It wasn’t that the Brightshore Hegemon underestimated Ning and Bertulu. Rather, it was that Universe treasures simply contributed an overwhelming amount of power to their wielders.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace. Ning’s avatar and Solesky’s avatar were holding a meeting.

“Darknorth, are you sure about entering the Waveshift Realm?” Daolord Solesky asked.

“I’ll get there in a few years,” Ning said. “If I miss this opportunity, a second one like it may never come again. Of course I have to go in! I have a friend as well who is a member of the Ancient cultivators and who is even stronger than I am.”

“Mm.” Solesky nodded and said heavily, “If you are going to go inside, take this.” As he spoke, he handed over a jade slip.

“This…” As soon as Ning saw the jade slip, he had an idea as to what it was.

“This is everything which I know regarding the Waveshift Realm,” Daolord Solesky said seriously.

“I can’t accept this.” Ning hesitated. This would give him a faster starting point and let him maintain a lead over this opponents. Daolord Solesky had entered much earlier than the other supreme Daolords had, and he had Daolord Badlands’ incarnation assisting him. Given Badlands’ mastery over Numerancy, the two had no doubt learned a great deal regarding the Waveshift Realm. This information truly would be priceless.

“Two years ago, Badlands and I encountered King Gorsch.” Daolord Solesky said softly, “Fortunately, Badlands managed to take advantage of some of the formations and barriers within the Waveshift Realm itself to trick King Gorsch, allowing us a narrow escape.”

“The Waveshift Realm is now filled with many dangers. Even though I have Badlands helping out, I’m not sure that I can avoid all these dangers,” Daolord Solesky said. “However… you must remember that no one else besides you is permitted to read this. You aren’t allowed to tell a second person about this. We’re brothers, you and I… but I don’t owe anyone else this.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“After you go inside, be careful. From what I’ve heard, the top ten Daolords of the Endless Territories have all gone inside! There are also some low-key, little-known Daolords who are just as powerful as them who have also gone inside,” Solesky instructed.

“You need to be careful as well, big brother. I’ll try to join up with you as soon as I can,” Ning said.

……

After leaving the Terror Starsea, Ning had relied on his dimension-transcending abilities and the Brightshore Kingdom’s spacetime tunnel to hasten towards the Badlands Territory. Despite that, it still took him 112 years before arriving.

Two figures emerged from a dimensional tunnel to appear in the void above the Badlands Everworld.

“Brother Ninedust, you can go to the Waveshift Realm first. I’ll meet up with you in an hour,” Ning said.

“Is there something you need to do?” the Ninedust Sectlord asked.

“I need to make a few arrangements.” Ning didn’t explain.

“Got it. I’ll wait for you, but hurry up. Don’t dawdle! We’re already years behind most of the other Daolords,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

Ning nodded, then opened up yet another dimensional tunnel.

Ning was heading to the Three Realms. The Three Realms was separated from the Badlands Territory by layers of dangers; ordinary teleportation methods were useless against these regions! However, Ning’s ability to transcend space allowed him to move directly to the Three Realms. He was going to place his most important Dao-cultivating treasure, the Stone Censer of Reunion, within the Three Realms alongside his Primaltwin.

……

The skies outside above the Waveshift Realm. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had gathered together here.

“So many people.” Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stared at the vast, seemingly endless cloud-shrouded realm that lay before them. This was the Waveshift Realm… and an endless cluster of figures could be seen outside of it. Daolords, tens of thousands of Daolords! They had set up an absolutely enormous formation which covered the entire Waveshift Realm.

“I heard that Winesage was able to break through this formation and force his way inside. Quite a few of the Daolords of the Dark Kingdom and the Aeonians managed to charge inside alongside him.” The Ninedust Sectlord sighed. “Just looking at the formation, I can tell that I’m far from being a match for Winesage.”

“No confidence in yourself?” Ning smirked.

“Plenty of confidence. The Voidsea Jadeseals aren’t necessarily going to be won by the strongest,” the Ninedust Sectlord quickly said.

“Then cut the crap. Let’s go on in!” Ning urged.

“Let’s go.” The two transformed into streaks of light that flew straight towards the realm before them.

“That’s Daolord Darknorth.”

“Oh, Daolord Darknorth of our Dao Alliance?” The ten thousand-plus weak Daolords who were part of the grand formation didn’t move to stop Ning or the Ninedust Sectlord.

The Aeonians and the members of the Dark Kingdom would all be stopped, but all others were granted entry.

“Hurry up and let’m inside.”

“Daolord Darknorth seems quite confident. He actually dares to go inside with just one other Daolord partner.”

“Daolord Darknorth’s avatar alone is stronger than Yanmi. How strong must his true body be?” The other Daolords all chatted amongst themselves.

Ning and Ninedust… the two were significantly less well-known than the likes of Fiendqueen Dustrain, Winesage, Palace Lord Dawnstar, or the Radiant King. However, when they joined together they were definitely on par with the most elite of Daolords. There were actually quite a few who were like Ning and Ninedust, both incredibly powerful and comparatively low-key.

“I’m more powerful than you, but as of right now you seem to be more famous than me. That kinda pisses me off.” The Ninedust Sectlord sent Ning a disgruntled mental complaint as they flew forwards together.

“That’s because you’ve been too low-key,” Ning sent mentally.

“Yes, yes I have.” The Ninedust Sectlord agreed. “Now that I’ve become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I need to find a suitable opportunity to spread my name throughout the Endless Territories. Hell, I should at least rank in the top ten in the Endless Territories.”

“You’ll have plenty of opportunities in the Waveshift Realm. All you need to do is just pick one of the other top ten and beat them, and you’ll instantly rise to fame,” Ning said with a laugh.

Watched by over ten thousand Daolords, the two flew through the formation and advanced into the Waveshift Realm, shoulder-by-shoulder.

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Chapter 1 – Solesky Begs For Aid

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 1 – Solesky Begs For Aid

The waters of the river gurgled gently. Both sides of the riverbank were verdant green and filled with flowers of all colors.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Two figures descended from the skies. Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood there amongst the wild flowers and shrubbery. The Ninedust Sectlord sighed in amazement, “I never would’ve imagined that the Waveshift Realm would hold such beautiful scenery within it. Everyone speaks of how dangerous the realm is. Can such beauty truly hold danger within it?”

“Emperor Waveshift was a truly extraordinary Emperor,” Ning immediately said. “The dangers within the Waveshift Realm are hidden and invisible. Don’t be fooled by how beautiful the flowers are; if you dare to run around recklessly, you’ll end up trapped in some truly dangerous places.”

“Really?!” The Ninedust Sectlord was startled.

Seeing this, Ning chuckled. “Haha. Don’t worry, we’re in the outermost perimeter of the Waveshift Realm right now. Even if there is any danger here, we should be able to endure it with ease. Come, let us follow this river and move into the core regions of the Waveshift Realm as soon as possible.” As he spoke, he began to walk towards the banks of the river.

“Are we going to follow the river?” The Ninedust Sectlord followed behind Ning, feeling quite puzzled.

“Yes, we’re going to follow it. It’ll be safer this way.” Ning didn’t explain further, because this was something he had learned from big brother Solesky. Clearly, Daolord Badlands had been able to use Numerancy to divine certain secrets here.

“The Waveshift Realm has ten layers to it; seven outer layers and three inner layers.” Ning continued to explain as they advanced. “The three inner layers can be considered the ‘core’ region, and that is where the Voidsea Jadeseals should be. We should move to the core regions as quickly as possible, but we’ll encounter quite a few dangers along the way. Both of us need to be careful and maintain a vigilant watch at all times.”

“Right.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

Ning released his heartworld projection, using it to cover an area of ten thousand kilometers around him. However, he controlled it to ensure that it didn’t launch any attacks, keeping it in sensory mode. The heartworld projection was much more effective as a scanning method than heartforce or godsense.

……

The Waveshift Realm was simply enormous. In the blink of an eye, the two ended up spending more than two hundred years walking through it without reaching the three innermost regions.

“Daolord Darknorth?” A voice rang out from afar.

They were at the peak of a snowy white mountain. The two were crossing the mountain peak when they suddenly saw six figures appear off in the distance, with the leader being a dazzling beauty dressed in faint pink Daoist robes.

“Oh? Daolord Qianfei?” Ning said.

“What a coincidence. I didn’t expect to run into you here, Daolord Darknorth. Have you seen Daolord Solesky?” Daolord Qianfei asked from afar. She glanced sideways at the nearby Ninedust, but didn’t pay him much attention. Ninedust was not nearly as well-known as Ning. Perhaps many people knew the previous Ninedust Sectlord, but very, very few knew the new one.

“Big brother Solesky? If I did, I’d probably be travelling with him,” Ning said.

As the two spoke, they slowly moved closer and closer to each other. Swoosh. The two sides crossed paths then moved past each other, both sides continuing to stare intently and prepared to attack at a moment’s notice.

Ning knew just how tough to deal with this squad of six Daolords would be. Daolord Qianfei looked like a woman but was actually male. S/he was a special lifeform that was skilled in the usage of poison! As for the five other Daolords by her side, all of them were on par with her. All six of them were second-tier Daolords! Six second-tier Daolords… when they joined forces, they were definitely a powerful force to be reckoned with who could give even the most elite of Daolords a good fight.

“Don’t underestimate this Darknorth fellow. His companion probably is also quite strong.” Daolord Qianfei didn’t wish to fight the two of them either. Soon, the two sides moved far away from each other as they continued their respective journeys.

“Whew.” Ning let out a relieved sigh.

“What’s there to be afraid of? If we really ended up in a fight, I’d wipe them out by myself,” the Ninedust Sectlord boasted confidently.

“Really?” Ning glanced sideways at him.

Ninedust chortled awkwardly. “Honestly, if I ran into them in the outside world I really would want to give them a good fight. But as for right now, well… we’re in the seventh layer of the Waveshift Realm. If we can avoid a fight, that’d be for the best.”

Ning glanced at the snowy mountains up ahead of them. He couldn’t help but sigh. Just a short while ago, they had been careless and ended up falling into a trap. They had wasted three years before being able to escape.

The Waveshift Realm was divided up into ten layers; seven outer layers, three core layers. The seventh layer was already quite close to the core region.

“None of the Daolords who run into each other dare to launch rash attacks. All of us are nervous and jumpy. This really is exhausting.” The Ninedust Sectlord pursed his lips. “Running the math through my head, we have to have run into over a hundred squads of Daolords in the Waveshift Realm by now. Some were strong, some were weak, but none of them were willing to get into a real fight.”

“Just wait and see what happens when the Voidsea Jadeseals actually show up. You’ll see for yourself if anyone holds back when that happens,” Ning said. “Everyone’s just biding their time, that’s all.”

Suddenly, Ning’s face turned pale.

“Darknorth! Darknorth! Rendezvous with me as soon as possible. Quickly, quickly!”

Daolord Solesky’s avatar within Vastheaven Palace was beginning Ning to save him, going so far as to give a detailed description of his surroundings.

“Let’s move!” Ning barked.

“What’s wrong?” The Ninedust Sectlord was startled.

“My big brother Solesky is in serious danger. We need to move there right away. This is the first time he’s asked me for aid since we’ve entered the Waveshift Realm!” Ning said.

“Ahahaha! So that big brother Solesky of yours has finally agreed to meet up with us?” Ninedust laughed. Although Solesky treated Ning as he would a brother, everyone was here for the sake of acquiring a Voidsea Jadeseal! If the two joined together but then ran into one of them, who would it end up belonging to? Ning would want it, Solesky would want it, and the Ninedust Sectlord would also want it! Of the three, Ninedust was easily the most powerful! This was why Daolord Solesky had been in no rush to join forces with them.

“This isn’t the time for jokes,” Ning said seriously. “Let’s move as fast as we can. If we move too slowly, we might not make it in time.”

“Don’t panic. If you panic, you might be careless and fall into a dangerous zone and be trapped there for a century. If that happens, you really won’t make it in time,” Ninedust warned.

“I know.” The two of them hurriedly pressed onwards.

……

The eighth layer of the Waveshift Realm. There was a sandy beach here, and a ragged-looking old man was standing on the beach with an ugly look on his face. Next to him was the azure-robed Daolord Badlands.

“The two of you won’t be able to escape.” Standing far off in the distance was a group of three, with the leader being a willowy woman dressed in loose black robes. Her skin was green while her eyes were crimson, and she had a pair of curved green horns on her head. She was the seventh ranked Daolord of the Endless Territories, Fiendqueen Dustrain. The two partners next to her were slightly weaker, but both were second-tier Daolords. They were Daolord Incense Dragon and Daolord Feiting.

“Solesky, be a good boy and tell me everything you know.” Fiendqueen Dustrain’s voice was cold and clear. “Otherwise, I’ll capture you and torture you until you die.”

“Dustrain? The two of us really do run into each other quite often.” Daolord Badlands’ avatar smiled coldly. “Last time, you threatened me in front of my Badlands Court. I didn’t expect I’d run into you again here in the Waveshift Realm. Catch us if you can!”

“Come. Let’s see what you have.” Solesky ground his teeth as well.

The two stood there atop the beach, which seemed quite ordinary, but in truth they were surrounded by thirteen ancient linked formations. This was an incredibly dangerous place they had discovered some time ago but had been afraid to enter! Alas, when they ran into Fiendqueen Dustrain they had no choice but to flee into the formations as soon as possible. Now that they were trapped inside, escape would be quite difficult! Still, hiding within the formation was still better than being caught by the Fiendqueen.

“Hmph.” A murderous look flickered through the Fiendqueen’s eyes. “Damn those two. Incense Dragon, do you have any ideas on how to get inside?” the Fiendqueen sent mentally.

“They seem to be inside thirteen looped formations that are constantly changing. The only reason they were able to make it safely inside was because of how skilled Daolord Badlands is in divination.” Daolord Incense Dragon shook his head. “It’ll be very hard for us to enter. Although I’m skilled in formations, I’m not capable of defeating this one.”

“So there’s nothing you can do?” The Fiendqueen was angered by this.

“There’s nothing I can do.” Daolord Incense Dragon shook his head again.

The Fiendqueen’s crimson eyes were filled with a crazed look. She barked coldly, “Solesky, I’ll give you one last chance. Hand over everything you know about the Waveshift Realm! If you dare to refuse me again, I vow that you will regret it!” But neither Solesky nor Badlands budged in the slightest.

“Fine. Fine!” The Fiendqueen’s body began to faintly emanate a black mist as an aura of power and majesty swept out from her, causing all of the Daolords present to tremble.

“Although Emperor Waveshift was skilled in Numerancy, he was not a Hegemon. Even if was in front of me right now and attacked me, he still wouldn’t be that much stronger than me. I refuse to believe his formations can be all that powerful! I’ll break through them with raw power. BREAK!!!” The Fiendqueen’s voice was filled with madness as her two crystalline hands suddenly expanded in size, crashing down towards Solesky and Badlands like a pair of giant mountains.

BOOM! Instantly, streams of light appeared atop the sandy beach as the ancient formations showed themselves, blocking the dominating power of these two hands.

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Chapter 2 – Fiendqueen Dustrain

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 2 – Fiendqueen Dustrain

BOOM!

An enormous sound rang out. The great beach seemed to sway, as did the waters of the sea behind it. The light of the ancient formation covering the beach shuddered as well, but it managed to endure the hit.

“It survived the blow.” Solesky and Badlands both revealed looks of delight.

“I refuse to believe this formation can stop me.” Fiendqueen Dustrain was only maddened even further by this, and her crystalline hands glowed with endless dark light as she once more struck out towards the formations with blows of incredible weight. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! She struck out repeatedly like a madwoman, a terrifying look in her eyes as she attacked nonstop.

This spectacle caused the two Daolords by her sides to exchange glances, their faces turning pale.

As for Solesky and Badlands, they were incredibly nervous despite being protected by the formations. Even the most powerful and marvelous of formations could be defeated by a single method – overwhelming power! Once the power of your attacks reached a sufficient level, you’d be able to level any formations in your path! Fiendqueen Dustrain was the seventh most powerful Daolord of the Endless Territories, and she truly was unspeakably powerful! When she struck out repeatedly with such power as this, even most ordinary Eternal Emperors would be smashed to death by her blows!

“Die, die, die, DIE!” The Fiendqueen grew increasingly berserk and her attacks actually grew increasingly powerful. The formations were already shuddering under her assaults. Now, they quickly began to reach the brink of collapse as the outermost formation’s runes began to crumble.

“Let’s move!” Daolord Badlands, seeing the situation, sent his friend a furious mental message. “Do what I planned out earlier. Let’s move, now!”

“Let’s move.” Daolord Solesky waved his hand, putting away Daolord Badlands’ avatar. Just as the formation began to break apart, he transformed into an endless stream of water that quickly fled off into the distance.

“You want to flee?” The Fiendqueen’s gaze turned even colder. She waved her crystalline right hand, sending an unearthly amount of power out with her attack. BOOM! The already-shuddering formation was finally, completely destroyed. Her hand swept towards the fleeing stream of water, and the water touched by that hand was all completely extinguished.

However, the stream of water split up into countless rivulets that furiously fled in every direction.

“Solesky’s life-preserving abilities aren’t bad at all.” The Fiendqueen let out a cold laugh as she flickered through the skies, striking out with both hands in hot pursuit.

Daolord Solesky was famous for his fleeing and life-preserving abilities. He was on the same level as Patriarch Clearwind, but his attacks weren’t that strong! His fleeing abilities, however, vastly surpass Clearwind’s, especially his self-created ‘invulnerable aquaform’. Although it wasn’t as perfect and as powerful as that of the Ninedust Sectlord, it shared some of its mysteries and abilities. To kill Daolord Solesky would be fairly difficult.

It was precisely because she knew how good Solesky was at staying alive that the Fiendqueen dared to attack in such a wild manner. Otherwise, her goal would’ve been to capture him with weaker attacks so that she could force him to hand over his information.

……

Daolord Solesky fled in front of the group of three, which chased after him in hot pursuit.

Whoosh! The endless streams of water suddenly burrowed into a grove of trees.

“Another formation!” The black mist roiled around the Fiendqueen as her face turned grim with rage.

“Come on in, if you dare!” The water within the forest reformed into a humanoid shape. It was Daolord Solesky, but his face was rather ashen and his aura was noticeably weaker than before. However, he still refused to bend the knee. “Fiendqueen Dustrain, come break this formation if you are strong enough!”

Daolord Solesky waved his hand, causing Daolord Badlands’ avatar to appear next to him.

“Are you alright, brother Solesky?” Daolord Badlands hurriedly asked.

“Fiendqueen Dustrain is far too powerful. Normally, Daolords who are one level of power above me are unable to harm me, but she’s overwhelmingly stronger than me. In the end, my ‘invulnerable aquaform’ isn’t perfect enough.” Daolord Solesky shook his head. “Roughly 70% of my divine body was wiped out. I can use chaos jewels to rebuild it, but my soul and truesoul were both heavily wounded. It’ll take me at least a century to recover.”

“A century?” Daolord Badlands frowned as well. Countless Daolords had entered after the Voidsea Jadeseals had announced their presence. Ever since then, they had lived miserable lives, because every single squad of Daolords they ran into would furiously chase after them! Given that the Waveshift Realm was quite dangerous to begin with, even someone as skilled in Numerancy as Daolord Badlands was still unable to ensure that they could avoid all trouble. They had repeatedly fallen into dangerous situations, with this one being the worst thus far.

Daolord Badlands only had his avatar present, and it was very weak. If Daolord Solesky had now been injured so heavily as to need a century to recover, they were in serious trouble.

BOOM! The enraged Fiendqueen began to once more launch attacks upon the formation from outside.

“Badlands, are you sure she cannot break this formation?” Daolord Solesky was rather worried.

“Don’t worry, this formation uses this forest as its foundation and is far more stable than the previous one.” Daolord Badlands was quite confident.

“Break! Break for me!” The Fiendqueen launched repeated palm attacks. Her hands were beautifully and as pale as jewels, but they contained terrifying amounts of power. Each time she attacked the forest, runes would appear and flicker above it as the forest resisted her attack. Although the formations were shaking slightly, they still remained quite stable.

“Fiendqueen, it’ll probably be quite difficult if you wish to destroy this formation through raw power,” the nearby Daolord Incense Dragon said hurriedly.

“Yes, it is much tougher to deal with than the previous one.” A layer of frost seemed to be on the Fiendqueen’s face. “They clearly know much more about the Waveshift Realm than we do.”

Some formations could be destroyed through raw force, but some were too strong and could not be! For example, the one that had trapped Ning and Ninedust was too strong. It had taken them three years before they worked out the formation and managed to escape it.

“Incense Dragon, can you unlock it?” the Fiendqueen asked.

“Same tricks as always. I’ll try to find some of its critical points, then you’ll use force to power through,” Daolord Incense Dragon said. If one struck a formation at its critical points, you would be able to achieve ten times the normal effect, giving you a chance to break through it with raw power. “This formation is fairly complicated. It should take me quite some time.”

“Work quickly.” The Fiendqueen nodded, then waved her hand. Whoosh! Dark mist spread out to cover the entire forest. That way, any Daolords passing by would be unable to discover that Solesky and Badlands were hiding here.

“Very well.” Daolord Incense Dragon waved his hand, causing a wooden cottage to descend. He sat down in the lotus position within the wooden cottage, then stared at the formation in front of him and began to carefully analyze it.

……

Time slowly flowed onwards. One year, two years, three years…

The Fiendqueen and the other two Daolords continued to wait outside. Two other squads of Daolords passed by during this period of time, but when they saw the baleful aura of Fiendqueen Dustrain they kept a safe distance away from her. She had earned her deadly reputation, and very few were willing to offend her.

“Fiendqueen, these are three of the critical points of the formation. You need to strike all three at the same time.” Daolord Incense Dragon suddenly emerged from the wooden house and pointed at three of the critical junctions. As the critical points continued to shift positions, the Daolord’s markers continuously shifted with them.

“Mm.” The Fiendqueen’s body blurred as she suddenly manifested six arms. She struck out with three of them, launching three crystalline palm-strikes at those three critical points simultaneously with overwhelming power. With a single massive boom, the runes of the formation immediately began to crack apart.

“What?!” The two ashen-faced Daolords inside the formation began to panic.

“Break apart and disappear.” Fiendqueen Dustrain dismissed her secret art, leaving just two arms behind. It was now time for her to unleash her most powerful attacks, and she continuously rained down strikes upon the remaining formations. The formations trembled and shook, causing the entire forest to sway, but they continued to endure her strikes.

“This grand formation was formed through seven linked formations. We’ve already defeated two layers of formations.” Daolord Incense Dragon said hurriedly, “I think if we can defeat the third one, the remaining four would be unable to resist your power, Fiendqueen.”

“Then hurry up!” The Fiendqueen was clearly growing rather impatient.

“Right.” Daolord Incense Dragon entered the wood room once more. Time flowed a hundred times faster than normal in here, and he continued his research from within. While he did his research, the other two sat in the lotus position outside the forest and kept a quiet watch. Suddenly, two figures appeared off in the distance.

“Eh?” Fiendqueen Dustrain and Daolord Feiting both turned to look, only to see a white-robed youth carrying a golden sword on his back alongside a grim-faced silver-robed man.

“Daolord Darknorth?” Daolord Feiting’s face turned grim. He sent mentally, “Fiendqueen, that’s Daolord Darknorth. He also belongs to Vastheaven Palace!”

“The puny Darknorth wouldn’t dare to fight with me.” The Fiendqueen didn’t hold Ning in any regard at all. She stood amongst the most supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories, after all.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord flew close to them. “Fuck off,” the Fiendqueen barked. “Otherwise, don’t blame me for taking your lives!”

“You and what army?” A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes.

“Don’t waste words with her. Let’s do this!” A longstaff appeared in the Ninedust Sectlord’s hands, and he charged forwards with a mighty roar.

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Chapter 3 – Frenzied Battle

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 3 – Frenzied Battle

Fiendqueen Dustrain was flabbergasted by this. She never would’ve imagined that the two Daolords before her would actually dare to assault her. Enraged to the point of laughter, she said, “Suicidal fools!”

BOOM! A dense black fog suddenly swept out from her and surged towards Ji Ning and Ninedust.

“Is that all you have?” Ninedust’s body became protected by rippling curtains of water that surged forward like waves. They clashed straight against the surging black mist, with both actually being stalemated for a time.

“Descend.” The white-robed youth with the golden sword on his back, Ji Ning, let out a low growl. Instantly, the area around him became filled with a partial illusion of an absolutely enormous world. At the center of this world was an enormous sword-shaped mountain that came crashing down with ferocity! The heartworld projection came down. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The black mist, already stalemated by the rippling curtains of water, actually started to be crushed apart by the force of Ning’s heartworld projection.

“Nine novessence arts!” Nine energy dragons flew out of Ning’s body, howling with rage as they attacked.

The Ripplewater art, the nine novessence arts, and the heartworld projection, all at the same time. The Fiendqueen’s black mist was completely overwhelmed and destroyed, and both her and her two Daolord allies were suppressed and weakened by the effects of the three enemy domains.

“They actually have such powerful secret arts?” The Fiendqueen felt her body grow sluggish, almost as though entire worlds were pressing down against her. She felt as though she was an ordinary person trapped in quicksand, with every single movement and motion being incredibly taxing. She could hardly believe this. “Right now, I’m only able to use perhaps 60% of my full power at most! How could they have developed such powerful secret arts?”

“Ahh! Fiendqueen!” Daolord Feiting let out a horrified cry from next to her. He was suffering the same thing she was, but the repercussions for him were far greater. “Fiendqueen, I’m able to unleash at most a tenth of my full strength. What should we do?”

A look of crazed rage appeared in the Fiendqueen’s crimson eyes. The two sides had yet to actually engage in battle, but these two had already seized the upper hand!

Secret arts were extremely important types of support skills, but in the end they relied on outside sources of power, making it extremely difficult to truly upgrade them! Ninedust only reached his current level of power in his Ripplewater art due to countless years of accumulating resources, as well as him being lucky enough to acquire the Dragonfish ki within the core of the planet he had been in. As for Ning, he had insights into many different Daos and the guidance of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], which was why he had been able to master those nine novessence arts.

The Ripplewater art, the nine novessence arts, and a heartworld projection! When the three were applied in succession, their power was comparable to Daolord Allgod at his peak when he personally used the nine novessence arts.

Daolord Allgod had once been ranked as one of the top three cultivators of the Endless Territories, and his nine novessence arts were an important part of the reason for this. He was able to use these arts to suppress the likes of Emperor Melobo, causing Melobo to be dramatically weakened in combat.

“Feiting is just barely on par with ordinary Eternal Emperors in power, but he’s actually been suppressed to the point where he can barely fight. However… even though I’m only able to unleash 60% of my power, that’ll still be more than enough.” The Fiendqueen’s face became even more savage as she growled, “Die!”

BOOM! She shot straight towards the Ninedust Sectlord, who was also charging straight towards her. The Fiendqueen growled furiously as she struck out with her crystalline hands, a layer of black light covering them as she reached towards the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Hmph.” The Ninedust Sectlord struck out with his longstaff, sending it arcing through the skies in a beautiful line that culminated in a lashing strike against the Fiendqueen’s hands.

Both felt absolute confidence in themselves. Both chose to fight head-on!

BOOM! An enormous explosion could be heard. Both the Fiendqueen and the Ninedust Sectlord were all knocked flying backwards.

“What?! Impossible!” The Fiendqueen could hardly believe it. At her level of power, she should’ve been able to trample over second-tier Daolords even with just 60% of her full strength. How was it that she hadn’t been able to gain any advantages at all just now?

“She’s actually on par with me, even when two secret arts and a heartworld projection are suppressing her?” The Ninedust Sectlord was enraged by this. “Again!” Whoosh! This time, his aura skyrocketed in power as he raised his longstaff high in the air, then delivered a furious frontal strike with it. The Fiendqueen’s face tightened, but she still elected to use her hands to block this blow.

Thud…

This time, the sound of the collision was a very low and deep one. However, Ning could feel his own heart tremble from it. The Ninedust Sectlord’s body trembled as his momentum was halted, while Fiendqueen Dustrain was knocked flying backwards, a few flecks of blood visible on the corner of her lips. She said angrily, “I didn’t expect you to actually be an Ancient cultivator!”

“Yes.” The Ninedust Sectlord was quite proud and confident. “You aren’t bad at all.”

“If you didn’t have these secret arts and the heartworld projection, do you think you would be able to kill me?” A cold light flashed through the Fiendqueen’s eyes.

“What I think is that you should fuck off. You aren’t able to beat the two of us,” Ninedust said.

“Scram,” Ning agreed coldly.

In truth, both of them realized that Ninedust had only been able to seize a slight advantage thanks to his usage of that forbidden divine ability. If they really were to continue this fight, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to Fiendqueen Dustrain.

“Fuck off? Did you actually just tell me to fuck off?” The Fiendqueen’s emerald-colored face was filled with rage. Gritting her teeth, she produced a strange fiery-red globe in her hands. The globe was covered with many twisting, protruding lines. She tossed it high in the air, and the protruding lines on its surface instantly flared with light.

Moments later, it was like a fiery star had appeared in the skies and was emanating streams of blurry red light. The streams of hazy red light covered the entire area. When the nine novessence arts and the Ripplewater art touched the red light, the two instantly could sense their secret arts were dramatically weakened. Ning could even sense that the influence of his heartworld projection was being similarly weakened by the countless streams of red light.

“What type of treasure is this?” Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance.

“Fiendqueen, I’m doing much better now. I’m now able to unleash eighty to ninety percent of my full power.” Daolord Feiting revealed a smile, his body now protected by that blurry red light. Although the heartworld projection still continued to have an impact on him, he was clearly doing much better than before.

“Fiendqueen.” Daolord Incense Dragon, who had been analyzing the formations from far, walked out of his wooden house. Earlier, the power of the secret arts and heartworld projection had been so great that he had no choice but to remain in hiding. “Let Feiting and I work together to fight Darknorth.”

“Fine. The two of you should work together to get rid of him as soon as possible. As for the Ancient cultivator… hmph. He’s going to die as well.” The Fiendqueen once more charged forwards.

“Haha, let’s have a fun fight!” The Ninedust Sectlord once more charged forwards.

Ning stretched out his arms, a Northbow sword in each hand as he slowly strolled towards Daolord Feiting, a smile on his face. “Ninedust, there aren’t as many people as famous as Fiendqueen Dustrain. If you can beat her, you’ll definitely become famous.” As he spoke, he suddenly charged straight towards Daolord Feiting, who was wielding a set of six azure swords as well.

“Kill!” The distant Daolord Incense Dragon waved a finger from afar, causing a thousand golden globes to shoot towards Ning like a storm of meteors. As they flew outwards, they actually came together to form a strange formation-diagram that came crashing towards Ning.

“How laughable.” Just as Ning began to battle against Daolord Feiting, Ning suddenly unleashed a heartforce attack. Two surges of heartforce struck out, smashing against the souls and truesouls of both of them. Both of the Daolords managed to endure the hit, but next came the even more bizarre [Dreamstar] art.

“Ah!” Daolord Incense Dragon stumbled backwards, the formation-diagram formed by the thousand golden beads scattering and breaking apart.

“Not good.” Daolord Feiting saw a series of illusions appear in front of him as well, and he let out a furious growl as he worked to break it.

Slash! A streak of sword-light chopped straight across Daolord Feiting’s body. Although he was protected by a suit of Eternal armor, the terrifying collisive power within Ning’s strike was still enough to cause him to spit out a mouthful of blood as he was knocked flying backwards.

Whooooosh! While flying backwards, Daolord Feiting still managed to strike out with his six azure swords, sending them howling through the air towards Ning.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning used his two swords to clash twelve times against the enemy’s swords, then stabbed past them to strike straight at Daolord Feiting once more.

This time, his strike was delivered using the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. This was the most powerful stance Ning could use with his Northbow swords, especially after they absorbed the golden sand from the shattered world-core. This strike scraped past the six swords and struck Daolord Feiting right on his lower jaw.

Spurt! Blood flew out of Daolord Feiting’s mouth as he was sent flying backwards. For a second, he was completely dazed by the force of this attack.

“Get in here.” Ning’s other longsword struck out, moving to wrap itself around Daolord Feiting and bind him.

“Run, quick!” A formation-diagram descended, blocking Ning’s Northbow sword as Daolord Incense Dragon let out a frantic mental shout from afar.

BOOM! Ning’s sword collided head-on with Daolord Incense Dragon’s formation-diagram. This bought time for Daolord Feiting to come back to his senses, and his face was completely ashen. He knew just how close he had come to dying. He immediately transformed into a gust of wind, moving at fifty times the speed of light as he fled straight towards Daolord Incense Dragon’s direction.

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Chapter 4 – Flight

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 4 – Flight

“Absolutely terrifying. How could he be as strong as this?” As Daolord Feiting fled, his mind was filled with horror and shock. In truth, he was also quite strong. He was a second-tier Daolord who had reached an extremely high level in the Dao of Wind, and in battle his movements were inscrutable and ghostly. His sword was similarly fast and unpredictable.

And yet, just now when he had battled against Ji Ning, he had found himself at a completely disadvantage. During their first clash, Ning had used the [Dreamstar] art against him, not even giving him a chance to use his agility techniques. Right after that, Ning had hit him with a sword-blow.

During the second clash, Ning hadn’t used the [Dreamstar] art. They had competed in close combat alone… and it had only taken Ning two strikes! After twelve clashes of sword-light, Daolord Feiting had been completely defeated! It was clear that the disparity in their close combat skills was simply enormous, and Ning’s sword-stab against his lower jaw had completely dazed him.

Yes. He had been completely dazed. For a brief instant, he had essentially lost consciousness. Normally, in a battle between two experts who were on the same level, one wouldn’t be knocked unconscious by just a few strikes! “The power of that stab of his was simply incredible. There should be few to no second-tier Daolords capable of enduring such a hit.”

“Brother Feiting, what happened?” Daolord Incense Dragon had been attacking with magic treasures from afar. He said anxiously, “Why did you run? Our original plan was for you to fight him in close combat and me to assault him from afar with my treasures.”

“Screw the plan. I’m no match for him at all. Even when he doesn’t use heartforce, there are few to no second-tier Daolords who are a match for him.” Daolord Feiting was both nervous and infuriated by what had happened. He sent mentally, “I was actually knocked unconscious by him just now.”

When the force of a blow exceeded one’s ability to endure it, one would be instantly dazed and rendered unconscious for a brief moment.

In truth, although Ning’s sword-arts were quite powerful and his close combat skills were formidable, he really wasn’t powerful enough to produce this effect by himself. It was primarily because the Northbow swords were perfectly suited to the Blood Drop stance that the power of this particular attack was so great! If Ning had a Universe treasure, he would instantly become at least ten times more powerful than before! Ning’s Northbow swords, after having absorbed a veritable sea of golden sand, had reached an apex in certain areas and had could be said to have reached the foundational level for a Universe treasure. As a result, his Blood Drop stance was more than five times more powerful than it had been in the past.

“Hurry up and run! I can’t stop him either,” Daolord Incense Dragon said.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning sped towards them at high speeds, bursting through and scattering the thousand golden pearls and the formation-diagram they had formed. Next, Ning charged straight towards Daolord Incense Dragon and Daolord Feiting.

“Fiendqueen!”

“Fiendqueen!” Both of the Daolords began to run while sending mental pleas to Fiendqueen Dustrain.

“Darknorth is too powerful. The two of us cannot stop him!”

“Fiendqueen, we can’t hold him any longer.”

……

If the battle between Ning and the two Daolords could be described as a lopsided affair, the battle between the Fiendqueen and the Ninedust Sectlord could only be described as a fierce one! Although the Fiendqueen was a woman, her attacks were clearly more overbearing and dominating, with her close combat skills more perfected. Her hands fluctuated through many different attacks, including finger-arts, palm-arts, and fist-arts.

As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he was also quite fierce and valiant. Whenever he was in a tight spot, he would immediately use his forbidden divine ability. As an Ancient cultivator, his divine body was simply far more powerful than that of any ordinary cultivators. When he also used that special divine ability? Although a common saying is that the higher a level you are at, the more important the Dao would be, his raw divine power was simply too brutal and explosive, generating an enormous amount of strength for him.

In addition, this was the first time for him to fight against an expert on the level of the Fiendqueen. Thus, he was particularly excited and really went all-out, learning quite a bit from the fight as it progressed.

“Fiendqueen, Darknorth is too powerful. We can’t hold him!” Daolord Incense Dragon and Daolord Feiting sent mental messages to her as they fled.

“What!?” The Fiendqueen’s face turned pale. Even when the two worked together, they still weren’t a match for Darknorth?

“Damn. Damn!” The Fiendqueen glared at the Ninedust Sectlord. She knew that there was nothing she could do against this Ancient cultivator. Although she was one of the truly top-tier Daolords and thus didn’t worry about most Ancient cultivators, Ninedust wasn’t just an ordinary Ancient cultivator, he was one whose Dao was incredibly powerful, making him a tough foe.

“Let’s go.” The Fiendqueen turned and charged straight towards Ning’s direction.

“She’s running?” The Ninedust Sectlord was startled by this. Unable to make it to Ning in time, he immediately sent mentally, “Careful, Darknorth! Fiendqueen Dustrain is headed straight for you.”

Ning had already exerted his heartworld projection and thus had a clear picture of the world around him. He didn’t panic in the slightest as the Fiendqueen charged towards him; instead, he felt slightly excited.

“Come.” Ning turned and waited calmly for the Fiendqueen’s arrival, his Northbow swords at the ready.

“You overestimate yourself. Die!” The Fiendqueen chopped out with her two crystalline palms, which descended towards Ning while blocking out the skies above him.

Swish! Swish! Two streaks of sword-light, emanating a terrifying sword-intent of complete annihilation, instantly struck head-on against those two giant crystalline hands.

BOOM! Ning was sent flying backwards. When he landed on the ground, he still stumbled three steps backwards before he stabilized himself. He narrowed his eyes, his body still shaking from that blow.

“He took it head on?” The Fiendqueen had sensed a terrifyingly sharp force seek to pierce through her palms and into her body, but she was able to endure it with ease. She stared at the distant white-robed youth and his two golden swords, a look of surprise in her eyes. “I launched those two palm attacks with nearly full power, but he actually took it head-on.”

“Don’t run!” The Ninedust Sectlord was in hot pursuit from behind.

“Hmph.” The Fiendqueen let out a cold snort, then quickly fled off into the distance as the fiery red globe in the skies flew towards her as well.

……

The two of them didn’t elect to pursue her. After the Fiendqueen, Daolord Incense Dragon, and Daolord Feiting fled a suitably far distance, they began to slow down.

The Fiendqueen glanced at the red globe in her hands, then said in a cold voice, “Most of its power has been used up. Roughly thirty million cubes of chaos jewels was used up.” This precious fiery globe was something which she had traded away an incredibly valuable bottle of spirit-pills for, all for the sake of acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals! That bottle had only held a total of three pills within it, and she had acquired it thanks to a stroke of good fortune when roving the Terror Starsea.

The fiery globe could only be activated directly by Hegemon-level Immortal energy. The only other option was to slowly charge it using chaos jewels, and it took a total of fifty million cubes to charge it up. However, it truly was tremendously powerful!

“The two of you were working together. How did you end up being defeated that quickly?” The Fiendqueen glanced at the two Daolords.

“Darknorth was simply too powerful. The two of us combined were still no match for him at all.” Daolord Feiting shook his head.

“Even if five Daolords on our level joined together, we still wouldn’t necessarily be able to capture him. Just two of us? Forget it.” Daolord Incense Dragon shook his head as well.

Darknorth was powerful in close combat and also a Heartforce Cultivator! He really was a tough foe to face and would be virtually invincible amongst his peers.

“With those two around, it’ll be virtually impossible for us to capture Solesky.” The Fiendqueen let out a sigh.

……

Ning and Ninedust simply stood there, staring at the three distant Daolords as they gradually disappeared.

“What a delightful battle.” The Ninedust Sectlord was very excited. “I’ve never fought against someone on that level before. Delightful, simply delightful! But my staff-arts still need more work. If I can perfect them a bit further, I should be able to crush that Fiendqueen Dustrain. Haha, I’m already able to fight her to a standstill as is! I guess that means I should be ranked within the top seven in the Endless Territories.”

“But… where did she find that fiery globe?” Ninedust was puzzled. “Our intelligence reports didn’t indicate that she was in possession of such a powerful treasure. It was so mighty, it was able to resist both of our secret arts and your heartworld projection.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. “It’s probably something she prepared specifically for this mission to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseals.”

As they spoke, they turned to move towards the distant forest. With the black mist gone, they were able to clearly see Daolord Solesky and Daolord Badlands within the forest grove. Daolord Solesky’s face was still deathly pale, and his aura was much weaker than before.

“Big brother!” Ning called out loudly.

Although Daolord Solesky looked exhausted, he was still in a wonderful mood. He laughed, “I saw everything! Badlands and I saw everything. Darknorth, Ninedust, the two of you truly are powerful. Fiendqueen Dustrain is famous throughout the Endless Territories, and she even had Incense Dragon and Feiting with her… and yet, in the end they were defeated by the two of you. When word of this spreads, quite a few people will be scared silly.”

“Impressive.” Daolord Badlands looked at Ninedust. “Fellow Daoist Ninedust is an Ancient cultivator, correct? He was actually able to fight the Fiendqueen to a standstill. Incredible!”

Ninedust nodded calmly. He was courteous to Ning, partially because he acknowledged Ning’s strength and partially because they had undergone many life-and-death experiences together. Ninedust was by nature an arrogant man; if you weren’t his friend, he wouldn’t pay any attention to you no matter how strong you were. Daolord Badlands was quite famous as well, but Ninedust really didn’t care that much about him.

“Darknorth.” Daolord Badlands turned his gaze towards Ning, then sighed. “When we first met, you were an Elder God, right?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. Indeed, back then he had just left the Three Realms and had visited the Badlands Court alongside his big brother Solesky. He really was just an Elder God at that time!

“No wonder I found it so difficult to use Numerancy to divine your destiny.” Daolord Badlands shook his head and smiled.

“Badlands, big brother Solesky… how long will it take for you two to leave this formation?” Ning asked.

Within the forest grove, Solesky and Badlands exchanged a glance. Good question. How were they supposed to leave? Entering the formation was fairly easy, but breaking it apart was much more difficult. They had chosen to hide themselves within this hard-to-break formation to avoid Fiendqueen Dustrain, and it had taken her many years with the aid of Daolord Incense Dragon, a formation master, in order to destroy the two outer layers. In the art of formations, Badlands and Solesky were inferior to Daolord Incense Dragon.

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Chapter 5 – The Palace of Immortals, Rankings Redone

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 5 – The Palace of Immortals, Rankings Redone

Solesky and Badlands began to work on unlocking this formation while using a temporal acceleration treasure. To enter the formation, they simply needed to find a small opening for them to bore in through! Actually defeating the entire formation was thousands of times more difficult.

In the blink of an eye, more than 120 years went past.

“How is that possible?” Daolord Badlands suddenly let out a startled cry.

“What is it?” The nearby Solesky turned to look at him in confusion, as did Ji Ning and Ninedust from outside the formation.

“I just received word that a short while ago, the Radiant King got into a huge fight with an ordinary and little-known Daolord named Daolord Dreamlore.” A look of disbelief was on Daolord Badlands’ face. “The Radiant King… lost!”

“The Radiant King lost?” Ning, Ninedust, and Solesky were all stunned by this.

There were three figures in the Endless Territories who were acknowledged by all as being absolutely terrifying to face.

The top-ranked figure, Winesage, was a Heartforce Cultivator. He went without saying.

The second-ranked figure, Palace Lord Dawnstar, had reached incredible heights in the Dao of the Saber.

The third-ranked figure, the Radiant King, was the fastest Daolord alive! In addition, everyone knew how deadly his three killer attacks were.

“I knew long ago that there had to be many low-key Daolords of incredible power who hastened here to the Waveshift Realm.” The Ninedust Sectlord said in a disbelieving manner, “But for this ‘Daolord Dreamlore’ to actually be able to defeat the Radiant King is simply inconceivable. The Radiant King is definitely one of the most terrifying Daolords in all of existence, and he moves so fast as to render the vast majority of Daolords helpless before him.”

“What does Daolord Dreamlore’s area of expertise lie in? How was he able to defeat the Radiant King?” Ning asked.

“He used a bloodblade,” Daolord Badlands said quickly. “When his bloodblade left his sheath, it was so incredibly fast that not even the Radiant King could handle it!”

“But the Radiant King is the fastest of all Daolords!” The Ninedust Sectlord truly couldn’t believe this.

“He’s the fastest of all Daolords in terms of movement speed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that his attack speed is also the fastest,” Ning said. Weapon speed and movement speed… these were two different concepts. Ning sighed in amazement, “I really can’t imagine how the Radiant King, the fastest of all Daolords, was actually defeated by this ‘Daolord Dreamlore’ and his even-faster weapon. How fast was Daolord Dreamlore’s bloodblade?”

“It seems the Palace of Immortals needs to release a new ranking soon.” Solesky let out a sigh. “It has been a long, long time since the top three Daolord rankings have changed.”

“Yes. It really is time for a new list.” Badlands was quite eager to see the new list as well.

“Countless Verge-level Daolords have made their way to the Waveshift Realm. The Voidsea Jadeseals haven’t made their appearances yet, but an earth-shaking battle has already occurred.” Ning shook his head. “Once the jade seals do appear, countless Daolords will fight over them and the entire rankings list will be changed.”

“There will probably be more changes in the lower rankings than in the higher rankings. The top three probably won’t change that much.” Badlands chuckled. “In the past, we always viewed Winesage, Dawnstar, and the Radiant King as being unshakable figures. The Radiant King was defeated, but my feeling is that it is very unlikely that Winesage or Dawnstar will lose their positions.”

“Winesage goes without saying. Not only is he also a Heartforce Cultivator, he even has a Universe treasure. He’s vastly outstripped all other Daolords in power. As for Palace Lord Dawnstar, he’s terrifying in close combat. He’s not all that fast, but his saber… his saber is an absolute nightmare to face! Even Winesage had been forced to rely on his heartforce abilities to just barely eke out a win over Palace Lord Dawnstar.”

Ning, Solesky, and Ninedust all agreed with this assessment. The top three had all reached the apex in certain areas. The Radiant King had reached the apex of speed… but alas, he had been defeated. Palace Lord Dawnstar had reached the apex of close combat, and was thus even more powerful than the Radiant King.

……

The most mysterious place in all the Endless Territories… the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance!

The Dao Alliance operated on the principle of governance through inaction. Although many battles took place within its territories, it remained the undisputed number one organization of the Endless Territories! Its roots and its foundation were unfathomably deep.

The Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrants, the Ancient cultivators… these three organizations all had Hegemons! But even the three Hegemons weren’t confident in their chances if they were to face off against the Dao Alliance. In truth, they were quite envious of the Dao Alliance. No one dared to challenge the Dao Alliance’s position.

During the Dawn War, the Dao Alliance had risen to sudden prominence with incredible speed, catching up to the Ancient cultivators in power. After the Dawn War ended, the Dao Alliance quickly outstripped the entire race of Ancients. By now, its power was simply unfathomable. It had many generations of powerful Eternal Emperors, such as Emperor Heartsword and Emperor Mirrorsnow, who the Dao Alliance to go out wandering about freely. The Dao Alliance didn’t try to control them at all, continuing to operate on a laissez-faire basis. In truth, this was also a sign of its supreme confidence. One could only imagine how terrifyingly deep its foundations were!

“Hahaha!” Loud laughter rang out from a bridge located deep within the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance. The laughter came from two people; a bald alien covered in golden fur, and a black-haired, black-robed elder. Both of them radiated auras of incredible power.

“Old brother Blackcloud, your disciple truly is quite astonishing!” The gold-furred alien roared with laughter. “He just amazed everyone and beat the Radiant King!”

“This disciple of mine is an absolute fanatic.” The black-haired, black-robed elder was all smiles as he said, “When he became a Daolord, I allowed him to choose a single treasure from my treasury… and he chose an incredibly evil bloodblade which had been left behind in the Terror Starsea. From that day forth, he became completely infatuated with that bloodblade. In his heart, that bloodblade is probably even more important to him than I am, even though I am his master!”

“Only when one is completely devoted to one’s weapons can one unleash their maximum power,” the gold-furred alien said with praise.

“Yes. At his current level of power, he is capable of threatening quite a few Eternal Emperors.” The black-robed elder nodded and praised, “The appearance of the Voidsea Jadeseals truly is a priceless opportunity for him. If he can acquire one of them, his chances of succeeding in the Daomerge in the future shall become much greater than before.”

“Waveshift, that bastard! He was far too stingy. We watched him rise to power and provided him quite a bit of help, but in the end? He only gave us a single Voidsea Jadeseal. He hid the other five in his own Waveshift Realm! I really don’t know what he was thinking.” The gold-furred alien shook his head. “Thirty thousand chaos cycles ago, my Primaltwin ran into him on accident. He just winked at me before running off. Disloyal brat. I should be considered one of his elders!”

“Waveshift is now far more powerful than the two of us.” The black-robed elder let out a sigh. “His skills in the Dao of Numerancy have reached unfathomable and unreachable heights. Many great powers often beg him for assistance, including those lords of alternate universe and those other ancient powers. For us, travelling through the Great Dark to visit other places is an incredibly taxing journey, but for that brat? He goes wherever he wants to go. We simply cannot compare to him.”

“Yes, we really cannot. Not even the three Hegemons in our Endless Territories have as easy a life as he does.” The gold-furred alien sighed as well. “Those of us in the Endless Territories who want to go out on a trip have to wait a long, long time, but that brat? Ah, forget it. The more I talk about him, the more jealous I feel. I’m starting to wish I would’ve made my Dao the Dao of Numerancy as well.”

“Numerancy? You? Don’t make me laugh my socks off. Hurry up and go work on updating the rankings. Since my disciple was involved, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take part in updating the list. I’ll have to trouble you to do it,” the black-robed elder said.

“You are using this as an excuse to be lazy!” The gold-furred alien glared at the old man.

“Hurry, hurry! Stop dawdling!” the black-robed elder urged.

The gold-furred alien waved his hand, producing a golden book and then opening it. The book was filled with a list of names. The gold-furred alien poured his Immortal energy into the book, causing the rankings to instantly change. When this happened, the subordinates of the Palace of Immortals instantly received notifications, and they quickly began to spread word of this affair.

The new rankings of the Endless Territories was as follows:

The top Daolord: Winesage.

The second Daolord: Palace Lord Dawnstar.

The third Daolord: Daolord Dreamlore.

The fourth Daolord: the Radiant King.

The fifth Daolord: Sectlord Timedream.

The sixth Daolord: Daolord Skyaxe.

The seventh Daolord: King Gorsch.

The eighth Daolord: Fiendqueen Dustrain.

The ninth Daolord: Starking.

The tenth Daolord: Palace Lord Cloudwalker

The eleventh Daolord: King Cliffbank

The twelfth Daolord: King Wu

The thirteenth Daolord: Daolord Shaka

……

The Palace of Immortals was incredibly powerful. Within the span of a day, this information was spread throughout the entire Endless Territories. As for the many Verge-level Daolords within the Waveshift Realm, they received word as well. All of them sighed in amazement. The top three rankings hadn’t changed in over a thousand chaos cycles… and now, one of the positions had suddenly been seized! This truly was unexpected. It must be remembered that the fight over the Voidsea Jadeseals had yet to even begin. In fact, no one knew a single thing about them thus far!

As for the likes of Ning and Ninedust, the only ones they clashed against were Fiendqueen Dustrain and her two allies. The other Daolords they had run into maintained their vigilance but didn’t choose to start any battles. Clearly, everyone was being fairly conservative in the early stages.

“Once the Voidsea Jadeseals actually appear and the fights over them begin… I wonder what new updates to the list the Palace of Immortals shall make?” Countless Daolords were eagerly waiting to see what would happen. Very few of them would succeed in the Daomerge and gain eternity, which made them care even more about this ranking. To the vast majority of Daolords, getting a high ranking on the list would be their crowning moment of glory.

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Chapter 6 – Polo the Realmsoul

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 6 – Polo the Realmsoul

After more than 180 years of hard work, Solesky and Badlands finally managed to break through the formation and emerge from that seemingly-ordinary forest grove.

Whoooosh. A cold wind was howling, with petals of snow drifting about. The forest had already been covered with a thick layer of snow. The Waveshift Realm had various different seasons and different types of weather, such as rain and snow. Ji Ning and the others didn’t dare to interfere with the weather-generating formations, especially since the rain and the snow did very little to them. They simply sighed at how amazing Emperor Waveshift had been in the art of formations.

In truth, those who were skilled in Numerancy were generally also quite skilled in the art of formations. Badlands himself was quite talented in this area as well.

Badlands and Solesky emerged from the snow-shrouded forest, smiles on their faces. They were in excellent moods. “We’re finally out! We were shut up in there for far too long. Now that Darknorth and brother Ninedust are alongside us, life shall be much easier,” Badlands said with a chuckle.

“In the past, the two of us were repeatedly hunted down and attacked by others. Every time we encountered a squad of Daolords, we’d end up being drawn into an ugly fight. That was absolutely horrid.” Daolord Solesky shook his head.

The Ninedust Sectlord had an icy frown on his face. “If the two of you follow us… whenever any other Daolord squads find you, a major battle will probably break out!”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Daolord Badlands said. “Based on what I was able to see with regards to the Waveshift Realm and based on what I’ve learned regarding the Voidsea Jadeseals… I feel certain that Emperor Waveshift has already planned things out perfectly. Despite my Numerancy prowess, I’m completely unable to cause any disturbances to Emperor Waveshift’s plans. There’s no way for me to actually find these seals, and so the two of us shall temporarily hide within Darknorth’s estate-world.”

“Hide in my estate-world?” Ning nodded. Once they were hidden away, the other Daolords they ran into wouldn’t go so far as to cause trouble for them.

“Badlands.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned. “Are you saying that you aren’t going to be of any use to us at all?”

“I might be of use at certain critical moments. As for right now? I admit that I really am of no use.” Badlands nodded and admitted it. “Emperor Waveshift’s abilities far surpassed my own. Even when I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I’ll still be far from being a match for him. So long as the Voidsea Jadeseals remain hidden, there’s no way I’ll be able to locate them at all! If I try to engage in any divinations, I might end up falling for some of Emperor Waveshift’s schemes.”

Ning nodded in agreement. It made sense! Juniors like them had no chance of using Numerancy to disrupt Emperor Waveshift’s intricate preparations. It was best for them to just try their luck alongside the other Daolords. That would actually be safer.

Ning took Solesky and Badlands into his estate-world, then continued to journey through the Waveshift Realm alongside Ninedust. Although they did occasionally encounter a few other Daolord squads, with Solesky and Badlands hidden away the other Daolords did not move to attack them.

……

In the blink of an eye, more than a thousand years had gone past since the Voidsea Jadeseals had made their presences known.

During this millennium, virtually all of the Verge-level Daolords of the Endless Territories had hurriedly made their way to this realm! Some simply weren’t able to come here because they were too far away, but the truly powerful Daolords were generally able to make it to the Waveshift Realm over the course of a thousand years, no matter where they were originally located within the Endless Territories. As for those ranked in the top ten, all of them arrived during the first century or two.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The vast Waveshift Realm suddenly began to tremble as an aura of incredible power began to spread out and cover it.

“What’s going on?”

A squad of Daolords who were walking through a mountain range raised their heads, puzzled.

A black-haired man dressed in an astral robe who was walking through the wilds raised his head to stare towards the skies.

A skinny old man who was seated on the lotus position atop a beautiful boat that was drifting through the oceans suddenly narrowed his eyes and raised his head.

A squad of Daolords who were carefully advancing through a deep gorge all raised their heads to stare at the skies outside the gorge.

……

Daolords throughout the entirety of the Waveshift Realm all raised their heads to stare towards the skies.

Ning and Ninedust were seated atop a boat that was 2400 meters wide that was drifting through a lake. They raised their heads to stare towards the skies as well.

“What’s that?” Ninedust was stunned.

“Something’s happening. Big brother, Daolord Badlands! Something big is happening!” Ning waved his hand, causing Badlands and Solesky to appear next to them. As soon as they appeared, they immediately raised their heads as well.

Blurry streams of rainbow light could be seen in the skies. The rainbow light gathered together in the air, slowly coming together into a humanoid shape. This was a towering male figure dressed in white robes, and he stared downwards towards Ning’s squad.

“Daolords!” His voice rang out, echoing throughout every inch of the Waveshift Realm.

In this instant, tens of thousands of white-robed figures appeared throughout the ten layers of the Waveshift Realm. They filled the skies above the various squads of Daolords, with one figure staring at each squad.

“I… am the spirit of the Grand Waveshift Formation which is comprised of all of the formations and barriers within the Waveshift Realm. You could also consider me to be the realmsoul of the entire Waveshift Realm!” The white-robed man continued to speak from his position in the skies. “You can also refer to me as Polo.”

“Realmsoul?” The tens of thousands of Daolords within the Waveshift Realm all immediately paid close attention. If a formation reached incredible heights in profundity, it was possible for a formation-spirit to be born from it. For example, the Allgod Estate of Daolord Allgod had given birth to a formation-spirit as well! As for the Grand Waveshift Formation which Emperor Waveshift had set up, it was clearly far more complicated. It only made sense that it was able to form a realmsoul as well.

“On my master’s orders, I have been waiting here for countless years.” The tens of thousands of white-robed figures all spoke at the same instant, their voices echoing continuously throughout the realm. “Finally, after countless years, Daolord Badlands has activated certain triggers which my master left behind, causing the five Voidsea Jadeseals to emerge into this realm! Now that a thousand years have gone by, all of the truly powerful Daolords should have already reached the Waveshift Realm. Thus, I can now publicize the location of the Voidsea Jadeseals.”

“A thousand years have gone by?” Instantly, the Radiant King, King Gorsch, Winesage, and the many other Daolords began to silently curse. No wonder they hadn’t been able to find any of the Voidsea Jadeseals. So Emperor Waveshift’s original intention had always been to make them wait a thousand years?

“In truth, all five of the Voidsea Jadeseals are located right here in the Waveshift Realm! Two are within the ninth layer and three are within the tenth layer. For none of you to have found it is simply a sign that your luck just wasn’t good enough,” the realmsoul continued.

“The ninth layer and the tenth layer? B-but…” Ning and Ninedust were instantly rendered speechless. All of the Daolords who had come from the Endless Territories were doing the same thing right now: they were secretly cursing Emperor Waveshift.

When everyone first arrived, they would arrive within the first layer. They’d have to slowly forge their way deeper inside, and even the fastest had only reached the ninth layer by now, because the deeper one went the harder it was to delve any further. The vast majority of powerful Daolords were in either the eighth or the ninth layer. The eighth layer alone held more danger than the first seven layers combined! Thanks to the map Solesky had given them, Ning’s group had been able to quickly reach the eighth layer shortly after they had arrived within the Waveshift Realm. However, despite the passage of a thousand years they were still within the ninth layer.

“Now that a thousand years have gone past with none of you discovering any of the Voidsea Jadeseals… I have no choice but to get involved.” Realmsoul Polo pointed off into the distance. “The first Voidsea Jadeseal is located right there!”

BOOM! A pillar of light suddenly shot into the skies off in the distance.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal!”

“Quick!”

“Right over there!”

The many Daolords who had been cursing just moments ago all turned red-eyed with desire. Realmsoul Polo had just clearly marked out the location of the very first Voidsea Jadeseal to them! If they were just one second too slow, some other Daolord would end up running away with it.

“A Voidsea Jadeseal!” A man dressed in ancient black robes which were covered in complicated runes was relaxing here. His eyes looked dazed, almost drunk, but when he saw that pillar of white light erupt nearby him his gaze instantly sharpened. He almost instantly vanished while at the same time an awe-inspiring heartworld projection descended upon the area. This was a heartworld projection filled with darkness, murder, and death.

……

“Right there!” Ning and the others felt their blood boiling eagerly as well as they turned red-eyed with desire. If they could acquire that Voidsea Jadeseal, their chances at passing the Daomerge would increase more than tenfold!

“Descend!” With but a thought, Ning instantly sent his incredibly vast heartworld projection out to descend upon him. His heartworld projection was filled with mountains, rivers, wastelands, and deserts. At its very center it had an extremely prominent sword-shaped mountain that was absolutely enormous. This heartworld projection was large enough that it covered the entire Waveshift Realm!

……

There were more than a hundred thousand Daolords clustered outside the Waveshift Realm. None of them dared to actually venture inside, and so they waited outside in the hopes of a miracle occurring.

“What’s going on?!” The countless Daolords all stared in shock towards the Waveshift Realm as an absolutely enormous heartworld projection appeared in the skies above it! This illusory world was so vast that it was actually greater than the entire Waveshift Realm in size, and it was filled with an aura of murder and darkness! But moments later a second, third, fourth, and more heartworld projections all appeared in the skies above the Waveshift Realm, each of them vaster than the entire realm.

“Why are there this many heartworld projections?!” The Daolords were all stunned. Every single heartworld projection represented a Verge-level Heartforce Cultivator!

Everyone wanted to determine the exact location of the first Voidsea Jadeseal as quickly as possible, and there was nothing faster than using a heartworld projection to do just that! Heartforce, godsense, secret arts… all of those things would take time as they had to slowly fly out in a straight line! The heartworld projection, however, was the projection of a cultivator’s heartforce. It could instantly cover an area that was as vast as the heartworld itself was.

In other words… if Ning was willing to pay the necessary cost, he could stretch his heartworld projection to cover an entire territory!

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Chapter 7 – The First Voidsea Jadeseal

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 7 – The First Voidsea Jadeseal

To use a heartworld projection to cover the Waveshift Realm was very easy. At present, there were a total of over twenty Heartforce Cultivators located within the Waveshift Realm! All of them sent out their heartworld projections to scan the Waveshift Realm and to clearly scan the region where the first Voidsea Jadeseal was located.

There were many heartworld projections covering this realm, Ning’s included, but none of the heartworld projections contained any offensive elements to them. Thus, none of the heartworld projections interfered with the others! If there was a decision to actually fight with them, the power of the various heartworld projections would clash against each other, and the projections of second-tier Heartforce Cultivators like Ji Ning and Daolord Soleman would’ve been instantly crushed flat.

As for Winesage, Sectlord Timedream, and Palace Lord Cloudwalker, all three of them were supreme Heartforce Cultivators. If they sent their heartworld projections against each other, the end result would simply be that none of them would be able to scan the area at all.

A ‘fight’ with heartworld projections would result in it being impossible for anyone to scan the area. Thus, everyone behaved in a ‘peaceful’ manner and quietly scanned the region.

“Eh?” Ji Ning was able to ‘see’ it now. He saw a tall mountain range which held a dazzling pillar of white light within it. “The Voidsea Jadeseal is located right inside that mountain.” Ning turned to look at Ninedust, Solesky, and Badlands. “The mountain is protected by various protective barriers and seals. There is no way for our heartworld projections to go past those barriers.”

Heartworld projections covered vast swathes of land, but there were certain types of formations and barriers that could disrupt them. In fact, there were some formations that were so strong and so secretive that heartworld projections couldn’t even detect their presence. Other formations, however, were ‘publicly visible’. As for the ones covering this mountain range, it completely blocked out all forms of scrying!

“Let’s move there as soon as possible. If we’re too slow, someone else will probably end up seizing it,” Ning immediately said.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s move right away.”

Ning and the others immediately began to fly as quickly as possible, with Badlands assisting them in using Numerancy to divine the best route to their destination. There were some extremely well-hidden formations here, after all; if they weren’t careful, they might end up trapped within one of them.

……

“The Voidsea Jadeseal is right there! It’s quite close to us.” A seven-man Daolord squad was filled with excitement. The seal really was quite close to them!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! All of them transformed into streaks of light as they flew towards that direction at maximum speed.

“Brother Winesage, brother Timedream, we can’t let the Voidsea Jadeseals fall into their hands. Brother Timedream, your heartworld projection is the strongest. Use it to suppress them or perhaps even kill them if possible,” a mental voice rang out.

“Agreed. Timedream, you do it.”

“Agreed. Sorry for this, my Heartforce Cultivator friends.”

Sectlord Timedream was ranked fifth amongst the Daolords, second only to the Radiant King! But he was different from Winesage. Winesage trained concurrently in heartforce, whereas Sectlord Timedream focused all of his efforts in heartforce! His heartworld projection was much larger than even those of Winesage and Palace Lord Cloudwalker.

“SUPPRESS!” BOOM! A heartworld projection above the seven Daolords suddenly exploded with power. All other heartworld projections, including those of Winesage and Ji Ning, were all instantly crushed apart. Of course, this was only achieved with such ease because everyone had their heartworld projections in scanning mode with no offensive elements to them, making them easy to destroy.

This was a blurry, illusory world which held a single supreme god who was seated up high, with countless living beings prostrating before him in submission.

“Submit. Submit. Submit.” Countless voices rang out in the minds of the seven Daolords as the terrifying heartworld projection pressed down upon them like an infinitely vast mountain.

“Ahhhh!” A gray-robed old lady let out a miserable scream as she was extinguished by the projection.

“How could it be this strong?!” Another Daolord let out a miserable scream as his body disintegrated under the crushing power of the projection.

The other five Daolords, however, managed to survive.

Only a small number of second-tier Daolords had techniques similar to an ‘invulnerable form’; Ning, for example, had no such technique. Not even the Ninedust Sectlord had access to such an ability before he broke through to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. These five had no choice but to endure the heartworld projection head-on.

“What a powerful heartworld projection.” The five Daolords exchanged a glance, their faces pale. They felt as though they were trapped in quicksand. They were now moving at a ridiculously slow pace, and they were perhaps able to at best fly at 1% of their normal speed.

“It must be Sectlord Timedream who has made his move.” The five of them were utterly amazed. They were second-tier Daolords, and thus they didn’t really understand how vast the gap was between them and the most supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories. All they knew was that challenging those Daolords was suicide. It must be remembered that even supreme Daolords different in power. Daolord Shaka, for example, was currently ranked as number thirteen. If some of the more low-key Daolords were included in the ranking, he’d probably be pushed even further back.

Sectlord Timedream, however, was different. He was the most powerful ‘pure’ Heartforce Cultivator.

“Damn.” One of the five, a short and chubby alien, suddenly produced a black metal medallion in his hands. A fierce light flashed through his eyes as he suddenly crushed it.

Boom! A halo of black light appeared around his short and pudgy form, completely protecting him and ensuring that he wasn’t disturbed by the heartworld projection in the slightest.

“Time to go.” The short alien dramatically sped up as he endured the pressure of the heartworld projection.

“Daolord Redgem!”

“Redgem, you bastard!”

The other four Daolords turned pale. Although they had certain treasures as well, they were useless against the weight and pressure of a heartworld projection. Some were meant to flee through transcending spacetime, some were offensive in nature… none of them were useful right now. What would they do with an offensive treasure? Attack the empty space? Heartworld projections were illusory projections of power; only treasures like the one Daolord Redgem had used, a treasure that could completely protect the entire body and prevent anything from affecting it, would be of use. Those treasures, however, were incredibly rare.

Swoosh. Just three seconds later, Daolord Redgem reached that mountain range and charged straight inside it.

“No!”

“Why is this happening?”

“My Voidsea Jadeseal!” The other four Daolords were incredibly anxious. Although they all belonged to the same squad and had long ago sworn lifeblood oaths not to harm each other, none of them were obligated to give up this opportunity to any of the others. All of them desperately wanted to acquire a Voidsea Jadeseal and they would use whatever abilities they had. Whoever was the first to acquire a seal would be the one it would belong to.

……

“Brother Winesage, brother Cloudwalker, I’ve crushed two of the seven Daolords to death. Of the remaining five, Daolord Redgem has used some sort of strange treasure to resist my heartworld projection and has already charged into the mountain range,” Sectlord Timedream sent to the other two.

“Those five don’t matter! We have one major problem right now,” Winesage sent back, “King Gorsch is very close to that mountain. He should make it inside within a hundred seconds.”

“King Gorsch?” Sectlord Timedream instantly spread out his heartworld projection a bit further. Previously, he had kept it tightly focused and concentrated on the seven closest Daolords. As soon as he spread it out, he instantly discovered a silver-robed figure whose entire body was bathed in blazing red flames. King Gorsch had an icy look on his face and a berserk look in his eyes as he charged towards the pillar of light at maximum speed.

“King Gorsch? What should we do? There’s no way we can stop him. Given how strong he is, once he gets there he’ll probably end up grabbing the Voidsea Jadeseal. Once he takes possession over it, it’ll be very hard for us to take it back,” Sectlord Timedream sent back.

“Stop him and slow him down as much as possible.”

“Hmph. Even if he does get it, he can forget about escaping with it.”

Winesage, Timedream, and Cloudwalker were all thinking the same thing. It was very difficult for supreme Daolords to be killed, by all the other supreme Daolords would go all-out in their attempts to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseals. They would all take out their most important life-preserving treasures! Face with such maddened attacks, even experts like King Gorsch could well perish. By comparison, however, King Gorsch would still be a far tougher foe to deal with than the likes of Daolord Redgem.

Boom! In the end, it was Sectlord Timedream once more who reached out to suppress King Gorsch with his heartworld projection. The midair King Gorsch instantly sensed a terrifying power press down upon him, causing his speed to drop dramatically. A savage look appeared on his face as he howled angrily, “Timedream, you dare bar my path?”

“You guessed it.” Sectlord Timedream’s voice rang out by King Gorsch’s ears. “Gorsch, forget about acquiring this Voidsea Jadeseal!”

“No one can stop me! Anyone who tries will die!” King Gorsch endured the pressure of the heartworld projection as he continued his charge, flames continuing to roll off of his body and clash against the heartworld projection. He was still able to move at 70% of his maximum speed, and he continued his headlong charge towards the mountain range.

As this was happening, the other Daolords in the ninth layer were also making haste towards the mountain. Some were far, some were close, but the only Daolord who the likes of Winesage and Sectlord Timedream really cared about was King Gorsch.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal isn’t too far away from me. I have a shot.” A man dressed in thick gray armor was flying forwards at high speed, his eyes glowing with green light. He was an Aberrant special lifeform whose true form was that of a strange boulder. By nature, he liked to live a peaceful and quiet life, which was why he wasn’t very well-known in the Endless Territories. What no one realized was that he was actually the most powerful Daolord amongst all the Aberrants. Only something like the Voidsea Jadeseal was enough to cause a private, peace-loving figure like him to choose to leave his home and come here to the Waveshift Realm.

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Chapter 8 – King Gorsch

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 8 – King Gorsch

Swoosh. A black vessel was flying at through the skies at high speed, with Ji Ning and the others atop the flying vessel. The vessel sometimes slowed down but sometimes sped up. Every so often, it would twist and turn.

“We’re too far away, and the ninth layer is filled with far too many dangers. It’ll probably take us seven or eight months before we reach that mountain. By then, the Voidsea Jadeseal would’ve been taken long ago.” The Ninedust Sectlord was rather anxious.

“We still have a shot,” Ning disagreed. “My heartworld projection has been keeping watch on the world. Winesage, Sectlord Timedream, Fiendqueen Dustrain, and the others are much farther away than we are. They’re furiously trying to get there as soon as they can as well. All of the Daolords close to the mountain are frantically trying to get inside the mountain. No matter who ends up with the Voidsea Jadeseal, it won’t be easy for them to escape.”

“Agreed.” The nearby Daolord Badlands had been seated with his eyes closed as he engaged in some Numerancy. He suddenly opened his eyes and nodded slowly. “I’ve finally finished my divinations.”

“You’ve finished your divinations?” Ning, Ninedust, and Solesky turned to look at him, their eyes lighting up.

“I can vaguely ‘see’ the insane battle which is about to erupt. One Daolord after another will perish,” Daolord Badlands said. “The struggles over this Voidsea Jadeseal will be incredibly intense and lethal! No one will be able to leave with it with ease.”

“Good.” Ning and the others were actually delighted by this. Many Daolords would die? Who cared! All of them wanted to acquire one of the jade seals.

“Hahaha, we might actually be able make it in time after all.” Solesky was excited.

“Considering the size of the ninth layer, our group is actually fairly close to that mountain. Daolord Skyaxe and big brother Soleman are more than ten times as far away as we are,” Ning said. “And we’re much closer than Winesage as well.”

The closer you were, the better your chances would be.

……

Within the mountain. Daolord Redgem had been the first to charge in. He swept the area with his gaze, only to see nothing in the surrounding mountains.

“Where is the Voidsea Jadeseal? Where?!” Daolord Redgem was frantic. He knew that every single second he wasted might result in his death. “Come out!” He swept out his godsense, but the barriers within the mountain range made it so that he was unable to find it at all.

“Break! Break! Break!” The anxious Daolord Redgem manifested a total of eighteen arms, sending all of them to strike out at the nearby mountains in a wanton fashion. Boom! Boom! Boom! Stones split apart and shattered. In virtually just the blink of an eye, every part of the entire mountain range had been blasted and struck. Deep within the mountain, a stone pillar suddenly revealed itself as the surrounding stones were blasted apart. The stone pillar held atop of it a milky-white jade seal that was round and glowed with light. The jade seal was absolutely beautiful and intoxicating to behold.

“My Voidsea Jadeseal!” Daolord Redgem was incredibly excited. He instantly charged forwards as he sent all eighteen of his arms to smash against the stone pillar. BOOM! An enormous sound could be heard as the formations protecting the pillar were destroyed. In truth, the formations on the stone pillar were meant to hide it, and they themselves weren’t all that powerful.

“Ahahah! The Voidsea Jadeseal is mine!” Daolord Redgem grabbed the round seal. It looked like nothing more than an unusual piece of jade. Its surface glowed with incredibly pure light and no runes or patterns could be seen atop it. When Daolord Redgem grabbed it, he sent just a tendril of his Immortal energy into it and instantly could sense that was beginning to form an ‘illusory body’ within the jade seal that was absolutely identical to his true body.

Daolord Redgem immediately put the seal away. He suppressed his joy, his gaze turning cold and baleful. “Now, I need to come up with a way to immediately escape the Waveshift Realm! The realm is protected by the Grand Waveshift Formation, making it impossible for me to use any sort of temporal or dimensional escaping method. If I want to escape this place, my only choice is to physically fly out of it.”

“I’ll go back the same way I came in. I remember the exact path I took, so I won’t run into any dangerous regions. Time to go all out!” Daolord Redgem gritted his teeth, then took out an escape-type Dao-seal and shattered it.

He was an unremarkable figure within the Waveshift Realm, but he was still a second-tier Daolord who was on the same general level as Kongsan or Ji Ning. He had more than ten protective treasures on him, and escape-type treasures were naturally included.

Swish! He instantly transformed into a streak of light and began to charge outwards. When he escaped the mountain, he instantly saw his four Daolord companions off in the distance. They were still being suppressed by Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection and thus were unable to fly at as much as 1% of their normal speed. They still had yet to even reach the mountain!

“Redgem!” Their eyes turned red as they glared at him.

“Hmph. Gentlemen, I found the Voidsea Jadeseal so it naturally belongs to me.” Daolord Redgem’s body was still protected by that barrier of black light. Now that he had also used an evasion-type Dao-seal, he was moving more than a hundred times the speed of light.

Swish! Daolord Redgem completely ignored his compatriots as he hurriedly moved to flee.

“You want to run?” An enraged roar rang out from off in the distance as a figure completely bathed in crimson flames charged towards him, radiating an aura of overwhelming power.

Rumble… the crimson flames suddenly spread out, giving Daolord Redgem no chance to dodge as they instantly surrounded him.

“King Gorsch?” Daolord Redgem’s face tightened slightly, but his eyes were filled with madness. “No one can stop me!” The Dao-seal he had used to resist the heartworld projection still had some power left and thus it was also able to resist the terrifying crimson flames.

Swoosh! Daolord Redgem was simply too fast. Although he was weaker than King Gorsch, in a real battle there was no way King Gorsch would be able to stop him through speed alone.

“Halt!” King Gorsch let out an enraged roar as he waved his hand. Instantly, an enormous illusory formation descended to cover an area of a hundred million kilometers, with Daolord Redgem naturally being caught inside.

“No…” A look of despair appeared on Daolord Redgem’s face when he saw the formation descend, and he let out an enraged howl.

“Did you really think a Voidsea Jadeseal would end up with someone like you?” King Gorsch smirked, his hands suddenly expanding to become incredibly vast. His hands were so large as to blanket the skies, and he delivered a smashing blow towards Daolord Redgem. His hands were so vast that there was no way for Daolord Redgem to dodge at all.

BOOM! As the enormous palms came smashing down, they crashed straight against Daolord Redgem! The barrier of black light surrounding Daolord Redgem’s body began to tremble.

“Die for me.” King Gorsch launched one frenzied attack after another, and Daolord Redgem was able to do nothing but endure the blows despite his despair. Alas, King Gorsch’s attacks were simply far too strong. Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection and King Gorsch’s crimson flames were already comparable to full-force attacks from second-tier Daolords, but the actual, frenzied strikes of King Gorsch were a full level higher!

Boom! Boom! Boom! After taking a total of twenty-one palms, the black light covering Daolord Redgem’s body finally began to dim and fade.

“No…” Daolord Redgem clutched the seal tightly, his eyes filled with despair and resentment. “If I can’t have it, no one can!”

He wanted to shatter it… but alas, he wasn’t able to damage it in the slightest! This was an item created from the incredibly precious material known as voidsea jade, a priceless treasure. Even Emperor Waveshift had been forced to rely on secret smithing techniques to forge it and had been just barely able to slice it apart. There were no Daolords who were capable of actually destroying this thing!

BOOM! Yet another massive palm came crashing down. This time, Daolord Redgem died almost instantly, with both his soul and truesoul being completely extinguished.

“Haha, it’s mine!” King Gorsch waved his hand, collecting all of Daolord Redgem’s treasures and grabbing the Voidsea Jadeseal. He poured just a bit of his Immortal energy into it, verifying that it was indeed what he sought.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal is mine!” King Gorsch’s eyes turned mad with excitement. “No one can take it from me!”

“Time to go!” King Gorsch didn’t waste any time at all, immediately departing from this area.

……

“King Gorsch has already acquired the Voidsea Jadeseal.” The Heartforce Cultivators within the Waveshift Realm were all chatting mentally with each other and thus quickly learned this information.

Although Sectlord Timedream was using his projection to suppress that region, making it impossible for Ning and the others to investigate the area, Sectlord Timedream had to tell all the other Heartforce Cultivators what was going on. Otherwise, they would use their own heartworld projections to cause trouble and interfere with his actions.

“It fell into the hands of King Gorsch?” The Ninedust Sectlord began to worry. “He’s incredibly powerful, and a member of the Aeonians. Once the Aeonians activate their Aeonian bloodlines, they can become even more powerful. It’ll be incredibly hard for anyone to seize the seal from him.”

“Don’t worry. Sectlord Timedream and the others won’t let King Gorsch just do as he pleases,” Ning said.

In truth, Ning was worried as well… but all they could do for now was to hurry.

……

Boom!

Just as King Gorsch was fleeing, a terrifyingly strong heartworld projection came crashing down upon him, suppressing him. Right at this moment, the four Daolords who had been accompanying Daolord Redgem suddenly felt the pressure being lifted off of them, allowing them to instantly relax.

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Chapter 9 – Calamitous

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 9 – Calamitous

“Timedream!” King Gorsch let out a furious howl.

“Gorsch, you can forget about leaving with the Voidsea Jadeseal!” Sectlord Timedream was filled with the desire to kill as well.

Right at this moment, another squad of Daolords arrived in the area. This was a squad of eight Daolords, and their gazes instantly turned towards the enraged King Gorsch.

“King Gorsch has the Voidsea Jadeseal on him,” Sectlord Timedream sent mentally to them.

Redgem’s four companion Daolords shouted frantically from afar, “King Gorsch has the Voidsea Jadeseal!”

“Let’s join forces to kill him!”

“Right. Let’s swear lifeblood oaths to work together and not to attack each other. As for who will end up with the Voidsea Jadeseal after King Gorsch is dead, it’ll be up to whoever is the fastest!”

“Agreed.” The twelve Daolords didn’t hesitate at all, immediately joining together into a new alliance. They understood that Sectlord Timedream was using them, but they didn’t mind being used, because they did indeed want to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal! Once they did, they would immediately flee. Daolord Redgem had a shot at escaping, and he had only died because he had been trapped inside a formation. This type of trap formation treasure was extremely rare; if they were lucky, they’d be able to escape without encountering another one.

“Damn.” King Gorsch found the situation tricky as well. For twelve second-tier Daolords to join forces against him… they would indeed pose a huge threat.

“I need to leave as soon as possible and flee as far as I can. I can’t waste time here.” King Gorsch knew that if he spent too much time here, more and more Daolords would arrive and attack him. There were ‘only’ twelve now, but if he delayed any further there might be twenty or even fifty.

Swoosh! While fighting back, King Gorsch continued to flee and strive to pull away from them.

……

Time continued to pass, one day at a time. King Gorsch’s movements were all fully tracked by the heartworld projections, but just tracking him was of no use. The Waveshift Realm was simply too vast, and it was filled with many dangers! It would take time for others to move towards him, making it difficult for anyone to stop him!

King Gorsch had long ago thrown off the pursuit of the first twelve Daolords. He had suffered seven more attacks along the way, and in his frenzied struggles he had slain six Daolords.

“These Daolords have all gone mad. When they realize they can’t beat me, they immediately start to use their most precious treasures.” King Gorsch had suffered severe injuries and was forced to rely on spirit-pills to recover.

Normally, these supreme Daolords would only use their life-preserving treasures in true life-and-death situations. But now, they were using their most important treasures without any hesitation at all! This caused even King Gorsch to be put in a precarious situation.

“King Gorsch.” A deep, rumbling voice rang out from afar.

King Gorsch was startled. He stared up ahead, only to see a man dressed in heavy gray armor whose eyes glowed with green light. The man said in a low voice, “I’ve been chasing after you for a full day. I’ve finally caught you.”

“You’ve caught me? Then you can die now.” The crimson flames surrounding King Gorsch exploded wildly, instantly reaching out towards the heavily-armored man. The crimson flames crackled around the man, but he seemed to completely ignore them as he strode forward, moving lightning-fast through the skies and causing space itself to shudder around him.

“Die!” King Gorsch waved his right hand, sending a blow of incredible power towards the heavily-armored man.

BOOM!

The heavily-armored man didn’t pull out any weapons at all. All he did was just lower his head and smash right into the palm.

Thud. A deep and low sound could be heard. King Gorsch’s palm-strike hit the heavily-armored man on his neck, but the man’s body just trembled slightly as he continued his headlong charge. King Gorsch himself was sent flying backwards by the terrifying shockwave generated from the collision.

“What?!” King Gorsch immediately turned pale. “Not only did he easily take my full-strength strike head-on, he’s still continuing his charge?”

His attacks were legendary for their dominating nature, but he had already been put on the defensive with the first clash.

“Die.” A giant warhammer suddenly appeared in the heavily-armored man’s right hand. The warhammer was pitch-black in color, and he sent it smashing straight towards King Gorsch.

……

King Gorsch had been tied down. After fleeing nonstop for nine days, he had finally been forced to stop, and the person who stopped him was known as Daolord Tigrone.

King Gorsch did his best to struggle, going so far as to set alight his Aeonian blood. He even used up one of his most valuable life-preserving treasures, but he still wasn’t able to shake off Daolord Tigrone. All he could do was flee as the latter continued the chase. The repeated assaults from Daolord Tigrone, however, ensured that King Gorsch’s escaping speed was dramatically lessened.

“King Gorsch has been tied down.”

“Superb!”

Sectlord Timedream, Winesage, and the other Heartforce Cultivators all felt relieved. They were simply too far away from King Gorsch, and there was no way to stop him merely through their heartworld projections.

“This Daolord Tigrone is quite powerful. He seems to be even stronger than Gorsch.”

“The supreme Daolords who prefer to live low-key lives have all shown up here. It won’t be easy for anyone to acquire a Voidsea Jadeseal.”

“The two in the ninth layer will be comparatively easier. The other three are in the tenth layer.”

The Heartforce Cultivators continued to chat mentally to each other. Actually acquiring a seal was just the first step; escaping with it was what really mattered. In addition, escaping from the tenth layer would be much harder than escaping from the ninth layer. Escaping with the first two seals would thus be comparatively easier, while escaping with the final three seals would be murder.

……

Ning, Ninedust, and the others aboard the black vessel all let out sighs of relief as well.

“Daolord Tigrone is incredibly powerful. His protective divine ability seems to be even more powerful than mine; King Gorsch’s attacks aren’t injuring him in the slightest,” Ning said. “And his weapon is a heavy warhammer. Each time King Gorsch blocks the warhammer head-on, he’s knocked flying backwards. Daolord Tigrone is clearly stronger than even King Gorsch.”

“Where did he even come from?” The Ninedust Sectlord muttered, “How can he be this strong?”

“Supposedly, he’s an Aberrant special lifeform. He had always been quite low-key amongst the Aberrants; who would’ve thought that he had actually reached an incredible level of strength?” Ning was conversing with the other Heartforce Cultivators and so knew quite a bit.

It was guaranteed that this battle would propel Daolord Tigrone to the heights of fame as his name spread throughout the Endless Territories.

Time continued to pass, one day at a time. King Gorsch continued to run, while Daolord Tigrone continued to pursue and attack! Every so often, other Daolord squads would also appear, and all of them sought to kill King Gorsch! In his madness, King Gorsch actually managed to kill another two Daolords.

……

The frenzied pursuit went on for more than seven months.”

“Daolord Tigrone, if you are willing to spare me, you can ask for any treasure you want. In fact, I’ll give you all the treasures I have, save for the Voidsea Jadeseal!” As King Gorsch continued to flee, he frantically tried to dissuade Daolord Tigrone from causing his trouble. Daolord Tigrone’s constant interference made it so that he was fleeing much more slowly than before, allowing Ning’s squad and Winesage to slowly draw closer and closer to him.

If this continued, sooner or later he would be completely surrounded.

“The only thing I want is the jade seal.” Daolord Tigrone completely ignored his offer.

“I’ll give you all of my treasures as well as a billion cubes of chaos nectar. When I get back to my race’s kingdom, I’ll immediately prepare a billion cubes for you!” King Gorsch was frantic. “I can immediately swear a lifeblood oath if you stop causing me trouble!”

He wasn’t able to beat the man. Flee? In truth, Daolord Tigrone was actually a bit slower than King Gorsch, but Sectlord Timedream was continuously using his heartworld projection to suppress King Gorsch, preventing him from speeding up and ensuring that he wasn’t able to shake off Daolord Tigrone.

“Hahaha… King Gorsch, long time no see.” A dazzling streak of light suddenly appeared off in the distance, looking as though a sun had suddenly arisen.

‘Eh?” King Gorsch’s face turned ashen when he saw who it was. It was a white-robed youth who had dazzling long golden hair and handsome features. “The Radiant King.” King Gorsch’s heart shook.

Daolord Tigrone was already tough enough to deal with. Now, the Radiant King had come as well? The Radiant King had once ranked in the top three. Although he had been shoved down to the fourth spot due to Daolord Dreamlore, he was still terrifyingly powerful and the fastest of all Daolords. If King Gorsch wasn’t even able to shake off Daolord Tigrone, there was no way he would be able to shake off someone like the Radiant King, the fastest person in this entire realm.

“Hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal. You are no longer able to keep it.” The Radiant King slowly walked forwards, seeming to move slow but in truth moving far faster than the other two.

“N-no… this Voidsea Jadeseal is mine!” King Gorsch let out a low growl.

BOOM! His aura once more exploded as a bloody pattern appeared on his face, his eyes filled with madness.

“Those who bar my path will die!” King Gorsch had gone mad. He had decided to first kill the Radiant King.

Daolord Tigrone’s protective divine ability was the most terrifying protective ability King Gorsch had ever seen! No other Daolords, not even Winesage, would dare to allow King Gorsch to strike them with impunity, but Daolord Tigrone did… and he wasn’t injured at all!

The Radiant King was incredibly fast, but his defenses were much weaker by comparison.

“Hmph.” The Radiant King let out a cold laugh. Whooooosh. Instantly, a dazzling amount of light was released from him as countless Radiant Kings appeared in the skies.

……

One hour later, a shocking bit of information spread throughout the Waveshift Realm. King Gorsch… had been killed!

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Chapter 10 – A Distant Finger

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 10 – A Distant Finger

King Gorsch had died? The number one Daolord of the Aeonian race, King Gorsch, had actually died? This news swept through the Waveshift Realm and stunned all of the Daolords in it.

“King Gorsch fled for nearly eight months. During this period of time, Daolord Tigrone didn’t injure him all that much; he mainly served to tie King Gorsch down. The ones who truly hurt him and beat him down were the various Daolord squads that interrupted and attacked him throughout his flight. They knew that their chances were slim, and so virtually all of them used the most powerful treasures they had available. Those repeated attacks caused King Gorsch to suffer extremely heavy injuries.”

“The Radiant King and Daolord Tigrone fought him for a full hour. Eventually, King Gorsch’s ignition of his bloodline powers began to have aftereffects, resulting in him weakening. Right at that moment, the Radiant King used an incredibly powerful treasure to kill him with one blow,” Ji Ning said.

“I never would’ve imagined that the legendary King Gorsch would die, just like that.” Daolord Solesky shook his head and sighed.

“It is guaranteed that a large number of Daolords will die in the Waveshift Realm,” Badlands said. “Everyone knows that, but they still came rushing in.”

Swoosh. The black vessel continued its advance.

“A pity. We would’ve caught up to King Gorsch in roughly half a month.” Ning frowned. “Now that the Voidsea Jadeseal is in the hands of the Radiant King… catching up to him will be difficult!”

……

King Gorsch died. The Radiant King acquired the seal, then immediately began to flee. He was simply too fast; even though Sectlord Timedream used his heartworld projection to slow the Radiant King’s movements, the latter was still able to move more than a hundred times faster than the speed of light! There was no way for Daolord Tigrone to catch up. Daolord Tigrone used all the resources he had at his disposal, but the Radiant King did the same. The Radiant King quickly threw off Daolord Tigrone’s pursuit.

Flee! Flee! Flee! This was the only thing the Radiant King cared about. As for Ning and the other Heartforce Cultivators, they were able to clearly lock down upon his position and quickly spread the word to the other Daolord squads, who moved to intercept and attack.

The Radiant King ignored their attempts to stop them, avoiding them and fleeing whenever possible. His only goal was to throw off all pursuers as quickly as possible. When he was unable to do so, he would kill them at maximum speed while sparing no expense! The Radiant King’s three killer moves were all legendary for their speed!

In the blink of an eye, two years had gone by. Given the Radiant King’s terrifying speed, there were no Daolords capable of tying him down! Even though the Starking managed to intercept him, the Radiant King still threw him off! He spent two years to flee from the ninth layer to the eighth layer. Since he was returning via the same way he had come, he was able to avoid many of the dangerous regions he had previously scouted out.

By now, there were virtually no powerful Daolords in the eighth layer. After another half year, he made it back to the seventh layer… and by then there was no one capable of posing a threat to him.

“I didn’t expect that the first Voidsea Jadeseal would end up in the hands of the Radiant King.”

“He’s simply too fast. No temporal or dimensional teleportation abilities can be used in the Waveshift Realm, and so there is no one faster than him here. He held a huge, unfair advantage over everyone.” The other Daolords all felt quite helpless.

Emperor Waveshift had spent an enormous amount of time and effort creating and setting up this Grand Waveshift Formation. All dimensional and temporal abilities were sealed away here!

There were a number of supreme Daolords who had spacetime teleportation devices which were comparable to the spacetime disc which Ning had acquired from the Brightshore Hegemon, but there was no way to use them here. King Gorsch, the Radiant King… all Daolords who acquired Voidsea Jadeseal talismans would be forced to physically flee. If they escaped, the treasure would be theirs. If they failed, they would be doomed.

……

The Twelve Palaces of Brightshore. The Spacetime Palace.

Aside from Prince Greatjoy, the other dazzling genius the Spacetime Palace had recently produced was known as Gorho.

Gorho had been captured alongside Ning, but he was comparatively slower in his cultivation. He had just become a Daolord roughly ten thousand years ago, and had only recently become a Daolord of the Second Step.

“Eh?” Gorho was located within the ‘Spacetime Dreamrealm’ of the Spacetime Palace. He had been seated in the lotus position within a chaos planet and quietly meditating, but he suddenly opened his eyes.

“Father…” Gorho could sense something deep within his very bloodline tremble.

“Father… father…” Gorho’s eyes instantly reddened. “H-how could he have died…” After becoming a Daolord, he had created an avatar which had been stationed amongst the Aeonians. He naturally was amongst the first to receive word of King Gorsch’s death. He was the most promising descendant of King Gorsch, who cared about him greatly and had paved the way for him.

Gorho felt tremendous love and affection towards his father. His father was the most important person in his life.

“Radiant King!” Gorho’s eyes were blood-red but filled with tears. He howled, “Radiant King, I’m definitely going to kill you! I’m going to KILL YOU!”

In this moment, his world was filled with nothing but hatred.

……

Countless Daolords had worked themselves into a frenzy over the first Voidsea Jadeseal. In the end, the Radiant King left with it and successfully escaped, no longer taking part in any of the other battles that were to come. In truth, he himself had been terrified by this experience. When he had fled, he had been waylaid by one group of Daolords after another. He had previously held many of those Daolords in little regard, but when they joined forces they were still tremendously dangerous to him.

“Alas.” Ning and the others shook their heads and sighed. “All that chasing for nothing.” There was nothing they could do. They had been pulling closer and closer to King Gorsch, but the Radiant King had steadily pulled away from them.

“It’s fine. There are five of those Voidsea Jadeseals. That was just the first one,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “We still have a shot.”

“But those two hunts were simply terrifying,” Daolord Solesky said.

“Yes, yes they were.” Ning shook his head and sighed.

Daolord Redgem.

Daolord Qianqing.

Fiendking Nobleguard.

All of them had been famous Daolords. Now, they were nothing. King Gorsch had slain nineteen Daolords during his flight, while the Radiant King had killed seven more after slaying King Gorsch and escaping.

In total, twenty-six Daolords had perished… and that wasn’t including King Gorsch! Of the twenty-six, there were twenty-four who had been on the same level as Kongsan! The other two were on the same level as Solesky and Clearwind.

“So many powerful Daolords have died in an incredibly short period of time. One of the top ten died as well!” The Ninedust Sectlord said heavily, “Of the four remaining seals, one is in the ninth layer while the other three are in the even more dangerous tenth layer. I really wonder how many Daolords will end up dying. Quite a few of the top ten will die, I think.”

Suddenly, a blurry streak of rainbow light appeared in the skies. Ning and the others all raised their heads, only to see a white-robed man’s figure slowly coalesce from the light.

“Realmsoul Polo.” Countless images of Realmsoul Polo had appeared within the Waveshift Realm, and each one of them stared down at a group of Daolords.

“The first Voidsea Jadeseal has already been taken away by the Daolord known as the Radiant King.” The realmsoul’s voice echoed throughout heaven and earth. “It seems as though there is no way any of the other Daolords will be able to take it from him. Thus… I’ll go ahead and make public the location of the second Voidsea Jadeseal.”

All of the Daolords immediately held their breaths. This was the second and final Voidsea Jadeseal within the ninth layer. After their previous experience, they all now knew how deadly the fight over it would be and how hard it would be to take it away safely. The weaker Daolords probably wouldn’t even dare to enter the tenth layer and seek out the seals there.

“The second Voidsea Jadeseal is the last one the vast majority of you Daolords will have a shot at acquiring,” Realmsoul Polo said. “This is because only the most supreme of Daolords have a chance at surviving the region where the final three seals are located. If weaker Daolords attempt to go there, they’ll definitely perish.”

“Definitely perish?” Ning and many of the others were shocked. The vast majority of them were second-tier Daolords or even weaker third-tier Daolords like Solesky and Patriarch Clearwind. Judging from what the realmsoul had just said, even second-tier Daolords would definitely perish if they entered. They wouldn’t even have a chance at the final three seals!

“Thus, Daolords… do your best if you want to earn the second seal. Once this opportunity is gone, you won’t have another one!” Realmsoul Polo seemed to want to cause as much chaos as possible. He waved his finger, then pointed directly towards Ning’s location. “The second Voidsea Jadeseal is right there!”

BOOM! A pillar of light erupted from behind them!

Ning, Ninedust, Solesky, and Badlands all turned their heads, only to see that the beam of light rising up from a nearby river. Obviously, the Voidsea Jadeseal was right inside the river!

“It’s right there!”

“We were that close to it?”

“It’s right next to us?”

Ning, Ninedust, Solesky, and Badlands were all stunned. The seal was incredibly close to them; they would probably be able to dive into the river in less than a second!

“Move, move, move!” Ning sent a frantic mental message to the others. “Be careful of the heartworld projection!” As he spoke, he immediately unleashed his nine novessence arts and also used his own heartworld projection to cover and protect his people. Based on what Ning knew, Sectlord Timedream would probably immediately use his heartworld projection to crush and suppress them. Him and Ninedust would be able to endure it, and Solesky would probably be able to just barely survive it thanks to his invulnerable aquaform, but Badlands’ avatar wouldn’t be able to endure it.

The Ninedust Sectlord immediately unleashed his Ripplewater art as well, then charged straight towards the river. “Do your best, everyone. Whoever is the first one to find the Voidsea Jadeseal will become its owner.”

“Let’s see who is the first to find it!” Ning, Solesky, and Badlands all flew towards the river as well.

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Chapter 11 – The Focal Spot

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 11 – The Focal Spot

“The second Voidsea Jadeseal is the only shot we have. We have to acquire it, no matter what the cost!” This was what the vast majority of the frantic Daolords within the ninth layer were thinking. Realmsoul Polo’s words had let them realize that the final three seals were out of their grasp, with only the most supreme of Daolords having a shot at them. This naturally meant that they were all the more frantic to acquire the second seal!

Moments later, Realmsoul Polo pointed towards a certain direction. “There’s where it is.”

“Let’s go, hurry!”

“We need to go there at maximum speed!”

All of the Daolords within the ninth layer frantically charged towards that direction. As for the Daolords who were in the eighth layer, they all shared the same hope: “Perhaps the ones who acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal will flee in our general direction with it.”

Boom! Boom! Boom! One heartworld projection after another descended upon the location of the second Voidsea Jadeseal.

The most supreme Daolords, including Sectlord Timedream and Daolord Tigrone, were just as anxious as the weaker Daolords. Daolord Tigrone’s displayed prowess in continuously holding the upper hand in his fight against King Gorsch had caused the Palace of Immortals to once more update its rankings. King Gorsch had completely vanished from the list, with Daolord Tigrone assuming his original position at number seventh.

“Daolord Darknorth is the closest to that position.”

“Darknorth and Solesky of Vastheaven Palace are over there!”

The Heartforce Cultivators all conversed with each other regarding this. Prior to this, Ning had been a member of this informal association as well, but with him being the closest to the second Voidsea Jadeseal he was obviously now the common enemy of all other Daolords.

“I’ll suppress them,” Sectlord Timedream immediately sent mentally.

“Delay them and trap them as quickly as possible,” Winesage sent mentally. Winesage was feeling quite frantic as well. Judging from how things were shaking out with the first and second seals, power mattered but luck mattered just as much! Although Winesage was without question the most powerful Daolord present, if he was too far away he would have no shot at acquiring on, no matter how much he wanted one.

……

BOOM!

Although this took time to describe, in truth it happened almost instantly. Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection came crashing down, suppressing Ning, Ninedust, Solesky, and Badlands as they ran.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The nine novessence arts and the Ripplewater art blasted out, fighting back against Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection. Ning’s own heartworld projection came crashing out as well, doing its best to disrupt Timedream’s.

Ning’s own heartworld projection ended up crumbling repeatedly, but the nine novessence arts and the Ripplewater arts were able to hold on despite shuddering and shaking. Ning, Solesky, Ninedust, and Badlands weren’t impeded or slowed down in the slightest, and they charged straight towards that nearby river.

“Everyone, Daolord Darknorth and his squad are closest to this second seal. Their squad includes Daolord Solesky and Daolord Badlands.” Sectlord Timedream immediately sent this information to the squads of Daolords who were closest to that area. “They have incredibly powerful secret arts and a heartworld projection at all, allowing them to just barely negate the power of my heartworld projection. You have to be careful when fighting them, gentlemen.”

“Daolord Darknorth’s squad?”

“Vastheaven Palace truly is lucky.”

“We have to stop them.”

The nearby squads of Daolords all frantically charged towards Ning’s position.

……

“Damn!” Winesage had an ugly look on his face, his black robes fluttering in the wind. “The second one is almost as far from me as the previous one was.”

The first Voidsea Jadeseal had been very far away from Winesage; Ning’s group had been much closer by comparison. The second Voidsea Jadeseal was a bit closer, but as everyone had chased after King Gorsch they had naturally began to draw closer and closer to each other. Compared to where the other Daolords were located, Winesage was still very far away from Ning’s squad!

“What the hell is going on? Am I experiencing bad luck to balance out my overwhelming advantage in power?” An anxious look was in Winesage’s eyes.

Swish! Although he was enraged and anxious, he still charged straight towards Ning’s direction. They were fairly far away, and there were a number of supreme Daolords much closer than him. Despite that, he still moved towards Ning’s direction. So long as he had a chance, he wouldn’t give it up.

……

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The four of them dove into the water, one after the other. Ninedust was the fastest, Ning was second, Solesky was third, and Badlands was last. However, since they were all so close to the river, there really wasn’t much of a difference between them as they dove in.

“Where is it?”

“Where is the Voidsea Jadeseal?”

Ninedust was the first to dive into the water, and he stared downwards as he frantically sought the seal.

“It’s coming from over there!” This river was so incredibly wide and deep it had some underwater mountains and valleys at the bottom. The white pillar of light was coming from one of those underwater valleys.

Swoosh! Ninedust immediately charged towards that gorge.

“It’s over there!” Ning was just a heartbeat slower, and he immediately flew towards that gorge as well. Solesky and Badlands quickly followed right behind him.

They were all very good friends, but this matter involved their chances at the Daomerge. None of them would give up this opportunity for mere friendship! They had agreed long ago that the seal would go to whoever managed to acquire it! Even when Solesky had first asked Badlands to help out, the latter had agreed to send his avatar partially out of a desire to acquire a different treasure known as the ‘Heartshift Pearl’. Heartshift Pearls were also useful in the Daomerge, but it was unfathomably inferior to the Voidsea Jadeseals, which allowed you to artificially induce a Daomerge.

In truth, Badlands didn’t care all that much about the Heartshift Pearl, but he did desperately want a Voidsea Jadeseal.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The four charge deep into the underwater gorge.

“Where is it? Where is the seal?” After charging into the gorge, Ning’s first instinct was to use his heartworld projection to scan every inch of it. Alas, he wasn’t able to find any trace of it at all.

“Break!” The Ninedust Sectlord struck out with his longstaff, sending it outwards in an incredibly powerful smashing blow towards the surrounding area. But of course, he made sure to avoid hitting Ning, Solesky, or Badlands. They had long ago sworn a lifeblood oath not to harm each other.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire underwater gorge began to crumble apart as the water and the stone were both vaporized by the strike.

Solesky and Badlands began to frantically assault the underwater gorge as well, as did Ning.

“Nothing. Nothing!” Ninedust was incredibly anxious.

“It has to be in this gorge. It has to be!” The four continued their furious assault against the gorge.

BOOM! Daolord Solesky delivered a vicious punch, causing the dense stone face of one particular mountain to break apart. Inside there was a stone pillar, and atop the stone pillar hovered a round piece of jade that emanated a milky-white aura of light. It was the Voidsea Jadeseal!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Ning, Ninedust, and Badlands all turned to look towards Solesky’s position.

Daolord Solesky stared blankly for a second, then immediately punched out again and smashed apart the protective formation around the stone pillar. He easily shattered the formation, then reached out to grab the Voidsea Jadeseal.

“But…” Ninedust was stunned.

“Big brother Solesky…” Ning had a mixed look on his face.

“I wasn’t unable to divine any of this through my Numerancy at all…” Badlands shook his head.

Although they were all lifelong friends, this was a supreme Daomerge treasure. None of them would give way.

“I’m the fastest and the strongest… and yet, in the end you were the one to win the treasure, Solesky. I really didn’t expect this.” Ninedust shook his head. “I have nothing to say.”

Daolord Solesky was overwhelmed with delight. The four of them had been working together to destroy the gorge and find the Voidsea Jadeseal, but he just so happened to be right next to it. A single lucky punch from him had shattered the stone pillar hiding the Voidsea Jadeseal! It naturally fell into his hands. Ninedust and Ning didn’t even have a chance to try and intercept him.

“Everyone, I won out of pure luck. However, what really matters right now is escaping with this thing. I’m confident that the nearby Daolords will soon arrive,” Daolord Solesky sent frantically towards Ning and the others.

“What are you thinking? Are you hoping for us to help you in your escape?” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned and said in an icy voice, “The escape will be incredibly dangerous. Even King Gorsch died when trying to flee with the seal! If we try to help you escape, we’ll probably die as well, and even if we survive we won’t be the ones to benefit from the Voidsea Jadeseal. Why the hell should we help you? That’s not even mentioning the fact that you are so weak, you wouldn’t even be able to help us out when fighting those enemies.”

Although they were on the same team and had sworn oaths not to harm each other, that didn’t mean they all had to risk their lives for each other!

“I… I realize I asked for too much.” Daolord Solesky’s face went blank for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

“Big brother Solesky, don’t fight back.” Ning waved his hand, causing Daolord Solesky to be drawn into his estate-world.

“Darknorth, what the hell?” The Ninedust Sectlord was stunned.

“Big brother Solesky once saved my live, and we are both brothers of Vastheaven Palace. How can I just wash my hands of him?” Ning shook his head. “Don’t worry about this, brother Ninedust. I’m not exactly helpless. I’ll flee for as long as I can. If I feel like I really don’t have a chance to escape, I’ll just hand the seal over.”

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Chapter 12 – Fleeing

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 12 – Fleeing

“Y-you…” The Ninedust Sectlord was speechless. He actually had harbored ulterior motives; he wanted to wait for Daolord Solesky to be killed by other Daolords, then counter-attack and take the seal for himself.

In truth, he really didn’t have much of a relationship with Solesky. However, him and Ji Ning and experienced life-and-death experiences for many years, and he really did view Ning as an extremely close friend. He was by nature an arrogant and solitary figure, willing and capable of doing anything and everything necessary to achieve his goals. If he didn’t like someone, he wouldn’t give a damn about them even if they were stronger than him… but once he did acknowledge a person, he would be willing to risk his life for the sake of that friend.

“Damnit. You drive me crazy. Fine, let’s escape together.” The Ninedust Sectlord gritted his teeth.

“You…” Ning was stunned.

“But I want to make my position clear – if I’m unable to hold them off any longer, we need to voluntarily hand the Voidsea Jadeseal over. I’m not gonna commit suicide for someone else.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a cold snort. “For Daolord Solesky to have a brother like you who is willing to risk your life for him… he really has some bullshit luck. If it wasn’t for you, his chances of escaping with the seal would be virtually negligible.”

Ning was both overjoyed and moved by this. This escape would be an incredibly dangerous endeavor. King Gorsch had died just a while ago, and this time the Daolords would probably be even more frenzied in their attempts.

“Thanks, Ninedust.” Ning silently committed this display of friendship to memory. He knew that this would be a day he would never be able to forget.

“When we work together, it won’t be easy for anyone to stop us,” Ninedust sent mentally. “Alright, let’s cut the crap. Time to run.”

Although they had briefly bickered, given their level of power their mental conversations happened almost instantaneously. Less than a single second had passed since Ning had collected Daolord Solesky. It was now time to flee.

……

Splash! The flying black vessel suddenly burst through the surface of the river, with Ning, Ninedust, and Badland atop the vessel. Ning took control over the vessel, not hesitating at all in sending it back the way they had previously come. That way, they would be able to avoid all of the natural dangers within the Waveshift Realm.

“You can’t!” Daolord Badlands opened his eyes and suddenly let out a furious shout.

“What’s wrong?” Ning turned to look at Badlands.

“I engaged in some detailed Numerancy just now. If we go back the same way we came, I think we are destined to fail. I can’t divine any way to survive if we go back that way, and I can foretell that the battles we will encounter shall be far more terrible than the ones King Gorsch endured.” Daolord Badlands pointed towards the left instead. “All other directions will result in guaranteed failure. I can sense that our only chance will come from that direction.”

“Oh?” Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. They had all sworn lifeblood oaths when establishing the squad to tell each other the truth. There was no way Daolord Badlands was lying to them.

In truth, they themselves knew that due to everyone having chased after King Gorsch, all the various Daolord squads were now much closer to each other than before. As a result, there was a very high concentration of Daolords in the area around Ning. Their flight would be much more dangerous than King Gorsch’s failed attempt.

Daolord Badlands was now telling them that all other paths, including the path they had originally traversed to come here, would result in certain failure. This was a testament to how dangerous this would be.

“The heavens always leave a chance; they never seal off hope entirely. It seems our only hope lies in that direction.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately sending the vessel flying at high speeds towards the direction Daolord Badlands had just pointed.

……

“What?!”

“They aren’t going back the same way they came! They’re advancing towards an unexplored area.”

Sectlord Timedream, Winesage, and the other Heartforce Cultivators continued to mentally converse with each other. When they had pursued King Gorsch, they had paid close attention to the path King Gorsch was taking. While doing so, they had also mentally memorized the paths which the various squads of Daolords had taken, including Ji Ning’s. Daolords naturally had terrifyingly good memories, and they thus remembered exactly what route Ning had taken.

“I had thought they would go back the same way they came! I arranged for other Daolords to intercept and attack them, but they’re instead fleeing in a different direction. Quite crafty.”

“Hurry up and stop them.”

“Tie them down! The longer we can tie them down, the more Daolords will be able to make it there.”

Sectlord Timedream began to converse mentally with the various other Daolord squads, arranging them like chess pieces. And in truth, those Daolords were willing to serve as chess pieces for the chance of acquiring a Voidsea Jadeseal.

“Daolord Darknorth is a Heartforce Cultivator and has many unpredictable heartforce attacks we would be forced to take head-on. His avatar was capable of slaying Daolord Mistbearer, and his true body should be even stronger. My Dao-heart is lacking; I’m not going to take part in this ambush. Good luck, fellow Daoists.”

“Alas, it seems like I won’t have any chances this time.”

The weaker Daolords and the ones with flawed Dao-hearts began to slow down. They weren’t willing to face a Heartforce Cultivator head-on!

Although King Gorsch was formidable, they were at least able to see and defend against his attacks when they worked together. Heartforce attacks, however, were invisible and could only be taken head-on. If you were able to endure the attacks, you’d live; if you failed, you would die!

Whoooosh! Many other Daolords, however, continued to rush there at high speeds. Only a fairly small percentage were afraid of Ning! The most powerful second-tier Daolords didn’t really fear each other. As for the supreme first-tier Daolords, they felt no fear at all.

……

Swoosh. Ning continued to flee at high speeds aboard the black vessel. Previously, when he had his heartworld projection active, he had marked down the various paths which the other Daolord squads had taken. This now proved to be quite useful.

“There they are!” Ninedust bellowed.

“The first Daolord squad.” Ning waved his hand and put away Daolord Badlands, then stared intently towards the front. They had fled for roughly the time needed to boil a kettle of tea… and a squad of Daolords had appeared. This was the first one, and there were eight of them off in the distance.

Whooooosh. The sides drew closer and closer.

“Attack!”

“Kill them.”

“Darknorth is nothing.”

The eight Daolords were filled with a murderous intent and had savage looks on their faces. As they saw it, King Gorsch was much stronger than this Daolord Darknorth ever could be.

“Go.”

“Die!”

“Vanish.” Six of the eight Daolords didn’t hesitate in immediately taking out rare treasures. These six were second-tier Daolords, while the other two were fairly weak and were just trying their luck out.

“Kill!” The Ninedust Sectlord was brimming with killing intent as well.

“Dreamstar!” Ning immediately executed his [Dreamstar] art. Given that these eight dared to attack him head-on, the [Heartforce Eradicator] probably wouldn’t be of much use against them! Thus, Ning chose to immediately use the [Dreamstar] instead.

Invisible waves of heartforce instantly surged out towards the eight Daolords.

“Uh…”

“I…”

Even the Junior Radiant King, Daolord Yanmi, had been briefly affected by Ning’s usage of the [Dreamstar] art… and Ning’s true body was even stronger! These Daolords were obviously not a match for the Junior Radiant King, and six of them were instantly driven into an spellbound state. Only two of the Daolords were able to maintain their clarity of mind.

Now that they had fallen into a state of stupor, they obviously wouldn’t be able to activate the power within their treasures. Ning himself would need a moment of time to take out and activate the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal! Its power would be unleashed in accordance with his guidance; without it, it would just burst out in a straight line that would be much more easily dodged.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Terrifying black light, awesome thunder, endless blades of icy light… without guidance from their masters, they began to randomly collide against each other. Even the two Daolords who were able to maintain their clarity of mind were disrupted.

“Fools like them think to stop us?” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a bellow, then struck out with his longstaff. His longstaff stretched out to become a million kilometers long, howling through the skies and splattering apart a dangerous streak of bloody light.

“What?!”

“He was able to shatter the power of that Dao-seal?”

“How is this possible?” The two clear-minded Daolords were shocked by what they saw. Only supreme first-tier Daolords would be able to unleash such power with a casual strike. That attack had more might within it than a powerful Dao-seal!

“Die!” The Ninedust Sectlord charged forwards valiantly.

“Die.” Ning continuously executed the [Dreamstar] while also sending out his nine novessence arts like nine energy dragons towards the eight.

Even though the Ripplewater art and the nine novessence arts were being suppressed Sectlord Timedream, they were still able to strike out across a great distance towards those Daolords!

“Run, quick!” By now, three of the six dazed Daolords had come back to their senses. They immediately screamed mentally to each other, “His illusions are too powerful. Flee!”

Alas, how could they possibly flee more quickly than the nine novessence arts or the Ripplewater art? They were instantly surrounded and bogged down. The three still-dazed Daolords were unable to resist at all, and two of them died on the spot! A heartbeat later, the Ninedust Sectlord’s staff came howling for them…

“Run! Run!”

“He’s a supreme Daolord!”

“A supreme Daolord and a Heartforce Cultivator, working together! We aren’t a match for them!”

They had thought that this squad would be easy pickings, but it was even more terrifying than King Gorsch had been! If they were facing King Gorsch, the six items they had just tossed out would’ve been more than enough to put him in a tight spot. However, against the combined forces of Ning and Ninedust, it had been of no use! They made up for each other’s weaknesses. This was the reason why Daolord Soleman had joined forces with Daolord Skyaxe.

“Hahaha!” The Ninedust Sectlord flew back to the flying vessel. “I enjoyed the hell out of that battle. How absolutely wonderful! If we had enough time, we would’ve finished off those four as well. There’s no way they should’ve been able to escape.” In the end, four of the eight had died. The other four had managed to escape.

In the Waveshift Realm, it was generally fairly easy to kill second-tier Daolords, as normal dimensional/temporal escape methods were of no use. The only choice was to fly, which meant that many of the slower ones would easily lose their lives if they were unable to beat an opponent.

“Darknorth, when the two of us work together, we might just be able to fight our way out after all.” The Ninedust Sectlord chortled with laughter. “Hah! Our reputations are really gonna be spread throughout the Endless Territories.”

“There really aren’t many who can stop us when we work together.” Ning grinned as well. In his heart, he felt tremendous gratitude towards Ninedust.

His big brother Solesky had shown him great benevolence in the past; there was no way Ning would just abandon him, but the same hadn’t been true for Ninedust. Although both of them were in high spirits, they also knew that this would be a very dangerous escape attempt… and the dangers had just begun.

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Chapter 13 – Fight

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 13 – Fight

The ease with which Ji Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord had slaughtered the first squad to attack them, forcing the attackers to flee in disarray, caused the Heartforce Cultivators who were ‘spying’ on the fight to feel stunned.

“What’s going on? Who is that silver-robed man? How can he be this powerful?” Winesage asked anxiously.

“Does anyone know who the silver-robed man is?”

“Does anyone know where he comes from?”

“All I know is that he is an Ancient cultivator who is on par with me,” Fiendqueen Dustrain replied.

“Since when did the Ancient cultivators suddenly give birth to such a terrifyingly powerful Daolord?”

The Heartforce Cultivators instantly began to spread this information to the other Daolords and ask them about it. Of the many Daolords present, there actually were a few who knew about Ninedust.

“The Ancient cultivators do have an incredibly talented Daolord known as Redwater who is skilled in staff-arts and walks the Dao of Water. He has become the new Sectlord of the Ninedust Sect! However, when I knew him he wasn’t nearly this powerful.”

“Yes, when I used my heartworld projection to suppress them, I overheard Daolord Darknorth refer to him as ‘Ninedust’.”

“The Ninedust Sectlord?”

“Daolord Redwater, the Ninedust Sectlord?”

There were simply far too many Daolords clustered within the Waveshift Realm. Even the most low-key of Daolords would still be known to some. All Daolords had to experience danger and train in order to grow more powerful. They’d naturally run into other Daolords during the process.

……

The many Daolords present all understood that to withstand Darknorth and Ninedust would be no easy task! Ninedust was already on par with King Gorsch, while Darknorth was a Heartforce Cultivator. The two complimented each other very well.

……

“Fuck off!” Ning let out a furious roar as his heartforce surged out in a wave via his [Dreamstar] art towards the five Daolords who had come to stop them.

After going through the Ancient Hegemon’s relic site, studying the Dreamdust script, and traversing the Thundersouth Palace as well as using the Stone Censer of Reunion for many years, Ning had reached an extremely high level in the [Dreamstar] art. By now, his illusions were on par with even the illusions that had been within the Thundersouth Palace, and even Ninedust had repeatedly been tricked by the illusions in Thundersouth Palace!

When Ning used this technique, the vast majority of second-tier Daolords would be affected by it. And in truth, this was nothing much. When Daolord Featherdress had used her [Featherdress Soulthrall Song], no non-Heartforce Cultivator Daolord was able to resist it, including the other supreme first-tier Daolords! This was what made Heartforce Cultivators so terrifying.

“Ahhh!”

“Where am I?”

Four of the five Daolords were trapped within illusions. The remaining one, upon seeing this, didn’t dare to attack.

“Let’s go.” Ning and the others didn’t want to waste any time. They immediately used their flying vessel to escape at high speeds.

“What just happened? How could we all have been trapped in illusions?”

“My Dao-heart is incredibly powerful. How did I end up within an illusion as well?”

When the other four Daolords came to their senses, they were so frightened they felt cold sweat drip down their banks.

“If it hadn’t been for Daolord Darknorth, the five of us could’ve joined forces to cause the Ninedust Sectlord quite a few problems. Ugh. They’ve joined forces. Blocking them is going to be extremely difficult.” After personally experiencing the power of this combination, the squad instantly understood how terrifyingly strong the Ning-Ninedust team was.

……

It was true. The Ning-Ninedust team was virtually unstoppable. Both of them had extremely powerful secret arts, and Ning’s heartworld projection was able to push back repeatedly at Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection. Although his own projection was repeatedly destroyed by Timedream’s, their secret arts were strong enough to allow them to endure the rest. Thus, they weren’t slowed down in the slightest.

As far as combat power went? Although they were repeatedly outnumbered by second-tier Daolords, Ning would cast his heartforce illusions upon them from far, and the majority of them would immediately fall for it! There was just no way to slow them down at all.

……

In the blink of an eye, Ning’s group had spent nineteen days in flight. On the way, they had suffered quite a few attacks by Daolord squads, with two of the attacks being quite difficult to deal with. They had fought at maximum speed and managed to kill five of the Daolords.

“Eh?” Ning and Ninedust suddenly stared towards the front.

“Something’s off.” Ning’s eyes narrowed as he stared towards a red-robed youth who was flying towards them from afar. The red-robed youth’s eyes were extremely bright, and they glistened like the stars. Ning had a heavy look on his face. “He actually dares to intercept us by himself. He knows how strong we are, but he still dares to challenge us. He is very possibly a supreme Daolord.”

“Yes. Even worse, he doesn’t seem to be one of the more famous ones. We have no idea what his skills lie in.” Ninedust had a bad feeling as well. This was the first time during their flight that a sole Daolord had moved to intercept them by himself!

“Brother Darknorth. Brother Ninedust. My Daoist title is ‘Snowjoy’. I feel rather embarrassed; this is our first time meeting each other, and we’re about to get into a fight right away.” The red-robed youth laughed brightly. “Why don’t you hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal. Now that I’m here, you won’t be able to escape.”

“You think quite highly of yourself.” Ninedust smirked.

As for Ning, a cold light flashed through his eyes as he immediately sent out his [Dreamstar] art. The red-robed youth, however, just continued to stand there with a smile on his face in front of them. When the [Dreamstar] art swept past the man, the man simply continued to smile. His smile had a strange charisma to it, and his eyes only shone even brighter as he looked at Ninedust. “Brother Ninedust?”

“Hmph.” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a cold snort. “So you are actually skilled in illusions as well.”

“Alas, my illusions can in no way compare to brother Darknorth’s. He is a true Heartforce Cultivator, after all.” The red-robed youth smiled.

Ning’s face tightened as he sent mentally to Ning, “Ninedust, my [Dreamstar] did nothing to him.”

“He is probably a supreme Daolord! Supreme Daolords almost all have incredibly powerful souls and Dao-hearts. Their souls won’t be easily shaken by illusions. Don’t worry. Leave it to me.” The Ninedust Sectlord glared coldly at the distant red-robed youth, then barked, “Daolord Snowjoy? Hmph! Let’s see if you really are strong enough to bar my path.”

“After you.” The red-robed youth smiled gracefully, then flew over.

“Attack!” The Ninedust Sectlord swept through the skies, his longstaff expanding to become ten thousand kilometers long as he slammed it towards the opponent in front of him. The space around him actually twisted into a vortex, with that longstaff being at the center of the vortex as it smashed towards the red-robed youth.

The red-robed youth instantly manifested a total of six ivory-white arms. His six arms spread out like the plumes of a peacock, launching palm-strikes, finger-strikes, claw-strikes, and other attacks towards the Ninedust Sectlord.

Thud! An extremely soft and light collision could be heard. The red-robed youth’s body trembled slightly before he then continued to press the attack against Ninedust.

“Die.” The Ninedust Sectlord spun his staff around his waist as he prepared for another strike. The longstaff was like a Flood Dragon leaving the waters, causing great waves to appear in the area that crashed downwards towards the red-robed youth.

Boom!

Hiss!

Bang!

The red-robed youth’s attacks were extremely graceful. No matter how ferocious the Ninedust Sectlord’s attacks were, the youth was able to defend against them with extremely delicate strikes. He was able to use his six hands alone to defend against Ninedust’s longstaff without suffering the slightest of disadvantages.

Ning grew increasingly anxious as he watched. If this continued, the battle could go on for several days without any resolution.

Swoosh! Ning suddenly vanished as he used his Shadowless evasion skill to move closer to the red-robed youth.

“You wish to ambush me?” The red-robed youth’s godsense had been activated this entire time, and so he naturally was able to notice as Ning drew close to him. He let out a soft laugh. “you are a Heartforce Cultivator. If you hid far away, I wouldn’t be able to do anything to you… but you actually dare to deliver yourself into my hands?”

“Kill!” Six streams of light appeared simultaneously as Ning manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms] and sent his six Northbow swords to attack his opponent.

“Screw off.” The red-robed youth casually waved a single hand to slap back at him.

Bang! The tips of the swords collided against the center of the red-robed youth’s palm. The youth’s face instantly changed. He had thought that he would be able to deliver a heavy blow to Ning with a single hand, but Ning had used the most powerful attack available to him – the Blood Drop stance. This stance, when used with the Northbow swords, contained incredible power!

Although Ning felt the tremendous power contained within that palm-strike, the defensive prowess of his sword-arts allowed him to deflect and ablate much of that power with one sword. He also had the Hegemon armor, allowing him to take on as much of the strike as possible so as to ensure that his other five swords were not disrupted by the attack. Thus, the other five Northbow swords continued to fly mercilessly towards the red-robed youth.

“I told you to screw off!” The red-robed youth was irritated now. He sent three of his ivory-white palms towards Ning in a fierce assault, his palms growing in size as he slapped out towards Ning.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning was knocked flying backwards.

Boom! The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly landed a blow with his longstaff against the red-robed youth’s waist, knocking him flying backwards as well. The youth spat a mouthful of blood out.

“Damn.” The red-robed youth quickly righted himself in midair, a look of anger in his eyes as he smiled coldly towards the distant Ning. “Impressive, Darknorth. I didn’t expect you to be this strong in close combat! You caught me slightly off-guard… and you didn’t even spit out any blood after taking a hit from me! Impressive, impressive.”

Ning was stronger than he had expected. He had to use at least thirty to forty percent of his power to deal with Ning, but this meant that he would no longer be able to fend off the Ninedust Sectlord.

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Chapter 14 – Daolord Shaka Bars Their Path

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 14 – Daolord Shaka Bars Their Path

“The two of you are more powerful than I had expected. I’ve just developed an ultimate attack that I’ve yet to display in front of other Daolords. The two of you shall be the first one to see it.” the red-robed youth said in a cold voice. His body began to glow with rays of astral light that coalesced to his left and his right, forming two starlight bodies.

The red-robed youth and his two starlight bodies looked absolutely identical to each other.

“A Stargod clone?” Ji Ning and Ninedust both exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, these are Stargod clones.” The red-robed youth smiled coldly. “This is the supreme technique of the Starking, the ‘Stargod clones’.”

The Starking was ranked ninth amongst the Daolords, and he was famous for his killer technique, the ‘Stargod clone’. Every single Stargod clone had 50% of the true body’s power! The Starking was able to create a total of seven such Stargod clones.

“The Starking’s ‘Astral Dao’ is an extreme one that has obvious flaws, rendering him weak in close combat. However, it allowed him to develop his Stargod clone technique, letting him be ranked amongst the top ten in the Endless Territories.” The red-robed youth smirked. “My own Astral Dao is more perfect than his. It has no flaws at all. Although I’m only able to create two Stargod clones, I’m vastly superior to the Starking.”

Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. This unknown Daolord Snowjoy was indeed quite formidable in close combat. Although he had been defending this entire time, he was still able to match Ninedust blow for blow. Now that he had two more Stargod clones with him, what were they to do?

“Kill!” The red-robed youth and his two Stargod clones simultaneously attacked the Ninedust Sectlord.

The furious Ninedust Sectlord charged forwards as well, his longstaff lashing directly outwards. His attack looked simple, but it possessed unstoppable power! The red-robed youth dodged slightly, using his palms to brush aside the attack, but the Ninedust Sectlord’s longstaff suddenly twisted and swept outwards to both sides of him, simultaneously striking at the red-robed youth and the two Stargod clones at the same time.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two sides exchanged just a few dozen stances before one of the Stargod clones managed to land a palm-strike directly against the Ninedust Sectlord’s chest, knocking him flying backwards. The Ninedust Sectlord’s chest had partially dissolved into a stream of water before quickly reforming. Although he didn’t have a killer attack like the Stargod clone technique, his invulnerable aquaform was a far stronger supreme defensive technique than Snowjoy possessed.

“He can’t hurt me, but his true body combined with the two Stargod clones can tie me down.” The Ninedust Sectlord gritted his teeth, then struck out with his right hand and produced that strange formation-diagram within his palm.

Rumble! The formation-diagram in his palm immediately flew out and expanded in size to cover an area of ten million kilometers. The enormous formation-diagram was shaped like a square within a circle and filled with layers of flowing barriers. Thousands of layers of formations continuously overlapped with each other.

“A trap formation?” The red-robed youth, who had been extremely confident this entire time, suddenly turned tense. A look of stunned anger appeared on his face.

“Let’s go!” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately pulled Ning with him in a frantic retreat, the layers of formations parting in front of them. Swoosh! They entered the black vessel, then quickly fled at maximum speed.

“Stop running! Stop running!” Trapped within the enormous formation, the red-robed youth was able to do nothing besides roar angrily. He had been so close… so close! The Voidsea Jadeseal had been within reach, but this trap formation had cut off his chances.

“Break! BREAK!” The red-robed youth furiously assaulted the trap formation. He wasn’t that skilled in the art of formations, and when he saw that this one was composed of thousands of layers of barriers he knew that breaching it through raw force was the only chance he had! He had to continuously consume the power within the formation. Only when its power was depleted would he have a chance to escape.

However… he had no idea that this was something left behind by a Hegemon of the Ancient cultivators! This formation was an incredibly strong one. He was trapped in it for a full hour before managing to escape. By then, Ning and the Ninedust had fled far, far away.

……

“The situation looks pretty bad.”

“The Ninedust Sectlord has a trap formation of incredible power.”

“Daolord Snowjoy’s stuck inside it.”

Word quickly spread, and the many Daolords converging on this area began to grow anxious. It took them time to slowly fly through the ninth layer, making it difficult for any group to intercept another group. They had been extremely lucky to have a supreme Daolord manage to intercept Ning’s squad, but who would’ve thought that the Ninedust Sectlord would be able to use a trap formation against him and escape with ease?

……

Flee, flee, flee! Ning’s group continued to frantically flee at maximum speed. Both Ning and Ninedust knew that using a trap formation against such an opponent was an excellent ploy, but Ninedust’s formation treasure could only be slowly recharged through the usage of ten million cubes of chaos jewels! They didn’t really care about money at a time like this, but it would take two or three days for the recharging process to be completed.

Another month went by in the blink of an eye. Daolord Snowjoy was once more in hot pursuit of them, but wouldn’t be able to catch up. For now, the group didn’t encounter a second supreme Daolord.

“It’s only been a month. Based on the path in front of us, we’ll still need another two years before we can escape the ninth layer. I hope things will progress smoothly.” Ning, Ninedust, and Badlands were all standing aboard the deck of the black vessel.

Daolord Badlands suddenly frowned. He repeatedly engaged in his Numerancy calculations, only to shake his head again and again.

“What’s wrong?” Ning and Ninedust asked.

“Things are becoming increasingly dangerous!” Badlands explained, “My calculations are telling me that the situation is going to worsen no matter which way we go!”

Ninedust snickered, “They know where we are and are surrounding us from all sides. Of course things are only going to become increasingly dangerous! Our only chance is for us to escape the ninth layer. But… if they are going to try and stop us, they need to prepare to die!”

“Someone’s coming.” Ning stared towards the front.

“Eh?” Ninedust turned to stare forwards as well. A golden streak of light suddenly appeared off in the distance… and the faces of both Ning and Ninedust instantly changed.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth. Long time no see.” A golden-armored, golden-haired man stood off in the distance, a brilliant smile on his face and violet light shimmering in his eyes. “You’ve improved quite quickly!”

“Daolord Shaka.” Ning had an ugly look on his face. When Kongsan had failed in his attempt to kill Ning, Kongsan had asked Daolord Shaka to help out. Ning had been forced to use his Hegemon Dao-seal to survive!

The Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal was incredibly powerful. It had slaughtered Kongsan outright! Daolord Shaka, however, had managed to survive and escape thanks to using a valuable life-preserving treasure.

“You actually dare to bar my path? Aren’t you worried that I might hit you with a second seal?” Ning said coldly.

“Ahaha!” Daolord Shaka laughed loudly. He naturally had never forgotten the terrifying scene from a few years back. “Are you really trying to tell me you had TWO such treasures? And even if you do have a second one, so what? I knew just how dangerous this trip to the Waveshift Realm would be and so I paid an incredibly heavy price to procure a protective treasure. Even if you use a second Dao-seal, I’ll still be able to escape.”

“Forget him.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned, then sent mentally, “Let’s leave. Don’t waste any time with him.”

“Let’s go.” Ning agreed with this idea. Swoosh! The black vessel instantly sped up to a hundred times the speed of light as the two completely ignored Daolord Shaka.

“Fleeing?” Daolord Shaka instantly sped up to over a hundred times the speed of light, waving his hand and sending a streak of golden light straight towards the black vessel.

“Fuck off!” The Ninedust Sectlord brandished his longstaff, smashing the streak of golden light aside.

“Hahaha…” Daolord Shaka smiled coldly as he flew closer and closer towards the black vessel. “You won’t be able to escape.” One golden feather after another flew out from him, numbering six in total. They all transformed into streaks of golden light that furiously assaulted the black vessel.

“Damn that Daolord Shaka.” The Ninedust Sectlord charged out of the black vessel, but Daolord Shaka was able to easily evade him thanks to his great speed. Shaka moved faster than a hundred times the speed of light; there was no way for Ninedust to catch up to him at all.

“Go!” The Ninedust Sectlord waved his right hand, causing that formation-diagram to fly out once more.

……

Time continued to slowly flow on.

In terms of raw power, Daolord Shaka actually wasn’t a match for Ninedust! However, he was simply too fast. Although he was trapped within the formation for a full hour, he managed to once more catch up to them in under a day! He refused to engage Ning and the others in close combat, simply launching repeated long-distance attacks from afar. This ensured that they would move very slowly, at less than half of their maximum speed.

Running and fighting at the same time… of course they would be much closer! Finally, they managed to recharge the formation treasure with chaos jewels and once more trapped Daolord Shaka, but a day later he once more caught up to them!

“They won’t be able to escape.”

“They aren’t going anywhere.”

All of the Heartforce Cultivators watching knew exactly what the situation was. Ever since Daolord Shaka had managed to catch up to Ning’s squad, they had been dramatically slowed down.

Another five days went by.

“Damn.” Just as Ning and Ninedust were once more dealing with Daolord Shaka, another figure suddenly appeared off in the distance and began to fly towards them. It was the red-robed youth, Daolord Snowjoy.

“You are finished!” Daolord Shaka roared with laughter.

“You won’t be able to escape.” Daolord Snowjoy walked towards them, a cold smile on his face.

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. They didn’t fear Shaka or Snowjoy despite the two both being supreme Daolords, but when these two joined forces they would be able to completely tie down Ning and Ninedust, making their escape even slower. Most likely, even more Daolords would begin to arrive! It must be remembered that thus far, not a single one of the top-ranked Daolords had arrived yet.

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Chapter 15 – Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 15 – Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak

Daolord Snowjoy slowly walked towards them through the skies as he made his way towards the black vessel. As for Daolord Shaka, he attacked from afar using his magic treasures, using his long-distance attacks to tie down Ji Ning and Ninedust.

“Keep moving while fighting. We can’t let ourselves get tied down by them like this,” the Ninedust Sectlord immediately said.

……

Ning remained in control of the black vessel, watching as Ninedust battled against Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka by himself. This was a two-on-one fight, and Ninedust was at a distinct disadvantage.

“Ninedust…” Ning sighed. In truth, there really was no need for Ninedust to involve himself, as he wouldn’t gain anything from it at all. The Voidsea Jadeseal wouldn’t be his, regardless of whether they succeeded or failed!

“What should we do? I can’t get involved in a fight at their level. In the end, I’m still not strong enough.” Ning felt quite resigned as well. Both Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka were able to ignore the effects of his heartforce techniques! As for his close combat abilities, Daolord Snowjoy would be able to overcome and suppress him with just a single one of his Stargod clones.

“We’ve been completely bogged down. Things are going to get worse and worse from now on.” Ning was truly worried.

……

Far off in the distance, there were two figures riding a white vessel that was advancing towards Ning’s position at high speed. The first was an alien man who wore a crown and who was dressed in beautiful golden robes. This man had dark-red eyes and emanated the stately aura of a king. Ordinary Daolords would feel an uncontrollable urge to bow down and prostrate themselves before him. He was Sectlord Timedream! The most accomplished Heartforce Cultivator in all the Endless Territories!

Next to him stood a short, squat, and ugly man who carried an enormous scimitar on his back. He was known as the Kingfreak, and was ranked eighteen amongst the Daolords of the Endless Territories! Although he was ranked fairly low amongst the supreme first-tier Daolords, he was still one of them. No supreme Daolords could be underestimated, as they all had their own specialties.

“Sectlord, we’re closing in on them. We should be able to catch up in under two days,” the Kingfreak said in his hoarse voice.

“Excellent.” Sectlord Timedream’s lips crooked upwards slightly. “Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy have tied them down, but they won’t be able to kill Ninedust or Darknorth. As for Winesage and the others, they are still quite far away. Winesage will have to spend at least ten days before making it here. Hmph. By then, I would’ve acquired the Voidsea Jadeseal long ago.”

“You are the only one who deserves it, Sectlord,” the Kingfreak said hoarsely.

“There are three more seals in the tenth layer.” Sectlord Timedream looked at the Kingfreak. “As soon as I acquire the second Voidsea Jadeseal, I’m going to immediately use it! After that, I’ll accompany you into the tenth layer and fight for one of the remaining three. No matter what, I guarantee that I’ll help you acquire one of them.”

“They will all be yours, Sectlord,” the Kingfreak said.

“No. I’ll take any other treasures, but if we can acquire a second Voidsea Jadeseal it will go to you,” Sectlord Timedream said.

Anyone else who saw this interaction would be completely shocked. Sectlord Timedream had founded an enormous sect and was the exalted leader of it, with countless living beings in his thrall! Those who obeyed him would live; those who disobeyed him would perish. He was supreme throughout his world, and was incredibly skilled in manipulating the hearts of men.

If the ‘Godking’ of the Three Realms could be described as delighting in the torment of others, Sectlord Timedream was even worse. In fact, he had become so incredibly depraved that he truly could be described as a demon amongst demons. Despite his extremeness, he had achieved incredible things in the field of heartforce.

The Dao was neither good nor bad. The good could reach high levels in it, as could the bad.

As for the Kingfreak? He was Sectlord Timedream’s right-hand man. The Sectlord couldn’t be everywhere and do everything, and so many things were left to the Kingfreak to handle. As for the Kingfreak, he was a mass murderer who was legendary for his ruthless callousness, a man of unpredictable temperament! The many disciples of the Timedream Sect were all terrified whenever they saw him, for fear of offending him and thus perishing for the offense.

When the two worked together, they wouldn’t fear even the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar or Winesage! One could imagine what an incredibly famous duo they were in the Endless Territories. Both were fiendish madmen… but they held genuine and deep affection for each other.

The Kingfreak was unswervingly loyal to Sectlord Timedream, and whenever they were out adventuring he always let the Sectlord have the pick of the treasures they encountered! Sectlord Timedream was a bit more selfish and often gave himself the best things first, but in his heart the Kingfreak truly was second only to himself in importance.

……

Two days later.

“Ninedust! Darknorth!” A booming voice rang out in the skies.

They were in a vast, snowy plains right now. A thick layer of snow had fallen over this area, and it stretched off as far as the naked eye could see.

Ning’s group had continued to fight and slowly flee. During the past two days, they had used the trap formation an additional time, but Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy had quickly caught up to them.

“Who is it?” Ning and Ninedust both turned to stare off into the distance, as did Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka.

Two distant figures were walking towards them side-by-side. The first was a red-eyed man dressed in beautiful golden robes who emanated an aura of ineffable majesty. The other was an ugly-looking man who carried an enormous scimitar on his back.

“Sectlord Timedream? The Kingfreak?” Ning and Ninedust both felt their hearts sink.

Of the current top five Daolords, Winesage and Palace Lord Dawnstar had fairly good reputations. Daolord Dreamlore had been fairly low-key before this trip, only becoming famous after defeating the Radiant King. Clearly, he wasn’t the vile sort either.

Sectlord Timedream, however, was a truly demonic figure… and the Kingfreak was his most dangerous of lackeys!

“Ah, Timedream and the Kingfreak have arrived.” Daolord Shaka sent mentally, “Brother Snowjoy, now that they’ve arrived I expect that Ninedust’s group won’t be able to hold out against us. However, we need to work together to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal. Otherwise, it’ll probably end up in Timedream’s hands.”

“Agreed.” Daolord Snowjoy turned somber as well. “Let us work together. Once we seize the seal, we’ll work together to escape, no matter who the seal ends up with!”

“Agreed.” Daolord Shaka nodded. The two immediately swore lifeblood oaths and entered into an alliance.

Even if Daolord Snowjoy did acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal, he would need Daolord Shaka’s speed in order to escape! Right now, fleeing as quickly as possible once the seal was in hand was what mattered the most. The Radiant King had been able to escape precisely because of how fast he was.

As for Daolord Shaka, he needed Daolord Snowjoy’s strength! Shaka himself was fairly weak compared to other supreme Daolords, after all. He wouldn’t be able to resist any of the truly formidable ones.

When the two worked together, they made up for each other’s weaknesses.

“Be good boys and hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal.” Sectlord Timedream slowly walked over, his voice cold. “My calculations indicate that you should only be able to use that trap formation once every two or three days. You won’t be able to activate it again for some time. There’s nowhere for you to run. Hand it over.”

“Haha! Four supreme Daolords. What luck!” The Ninedust Sectlord hefted his longstaff, roaring with laughter from his position atop the flying vessel. “Fighting against four supreme Daolords, all by my lonesome… just thinking about it gets my blood pumping! Come, come! All four you of you can attack at the same time! I want to see just how tough all of you are, and I want to see if you can do anything to me!”

“If that’s the case… let’s attack!” Sectlord Timedream said coldly.

“Kill!” Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy were the first to charge. Everyone was entering into close combat, as they were all fairly close to each other and the first to seize the Voidsea Jadeseal would gain an enormous advantage.

“Kill.” The Kingfreak drew his enormous scimitar from his back-sheath and charged towards the Ninedust Sectlord as well.

“Come on!” The Ninedust Sectlord awaited them, longstaff at the ready.

BOOM! As they fought, ripples of power began to blast out in every direction, annihilating the snow in the surrounding area and spreading out until they were blocked by some barriers off in the distance. Ninedust began to fight Daolord Shaka, Daolord Snowjoy, and the Kingfreak all by himself in a one-on-three fight.

Bang! Daolord Snowjoy landed a palm-strike on Ninedust’s chest.

Slash! The Kingfreak landed a slashing blow with his scimitar on Ninedust’s thigh.

Stab! Daolord Shaka plunged his longspear into Ninedust’s right arm.

Ninedust was sent stumbling backwards by this barrage of attacks, with the injured parts of his body dissolving into water and then reforming anew, completely unharmed.

The distant Sectlord Timedream frowned when he saw this. “This damn Ancient cultivator really is quite valiant, and he’s mastered an invulnerable aquaform. Other supreme Daolords on his overall level of power won’t be able to injure him at all; they won’t even be able to make him use up much of his divine power! Even Winesage would find it difficult to kill him, despite possessing a Universe treasure.”

This invulnerable aquaform allowed Ninedust to transform his divine body into an endless stream of water. You could cut through it, but it would just continue to flow unabated. There was just no way to kill him.

In truth, Daolord Solesky had also mastered a similar aquaform, albeit one based on fragmentary records. However, his Dao was a bit too extreme in being defense-oriented. In attack power, he was weaker than even Patriarch Clearwind! Despite that, his defensive prowess was such that even Fiendqueen Dustrain had only been able to heavily injure him in her pursuit of him.

Ninedust’s invulnerable aquaform was far superior to Solesky’s, allowing him to ignore the attacks of the Kingfreak, Snowjoy, and Shaka. The attacks of the three supreme Daolords were having no effect on him.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal is in my hands. You can forget about taking it from me!” The Ninedust Sectlord roared wildly with laughter. “Stop dreaming! You won’t be able to break my invulnerable aquaform no matter how hard you try.”

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Chapter 16 – The Final Hegemon Dao-Seal

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 16 – The Final Hegemon Dao-Seal

“Ninedust!” The distant Sectlord Timedream suddenly let out a shout. His voice was ephemeral and indistinct, reverberating within Ninedust’s ears and even in his mind and soul.

“Not good.” Ninedust was shocked as a beautiful gorge appeared in front of him, filled with a sea of flowers and rivers. However, he had clearly been in the middle of a vicious fight against three Daolords on a snowy plains.

“Break for me!” Ninedust roared mentally. Boom! He finally managed to break through the illusion and force the real world to appear before him once more.

Bang! Bang! Ninedust felt a terrifying level of power crash against him. Caught completely offguard, he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood and be knocked flying by the strikes. He also felt a chain actually securely wrap itself around his body.

“Ninedust!” The distant Ji Ning was frantic as well. It had all happened too quickly. Battles between Supreme Daolords occurred at incredible speeds. Although Ninedust had been trapped within the illusion for merely a brief instant, it had been enough for him to suffer two strikes and also be caught and bound.

The Kingfreak was holding the other end of the chain that was now securely fastened around the Ninedust Sectlord.

Whoosh. The Ninedust Sectlord’s divine body suddenly transformed into an endless stream of water that flowed through and past the chains, then reformed outside of them.

“What an impressive Timedream.” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face was ashen as he stared hard at Sectlord Timedream. “He really is the strongest Daolord in the art of illusions in the modern era.”

“Unfortunately, I’m still not strong enough. If I was, you wouldn’t have been able to break free from my illusions,” Sectlord Timedream said calmly. He was still not satisfied with his performance. In this day and age, he was the strongest pure Heartforce Cultivator; Winesage was stronger than him overall, but was inferior in heartforce alone. However, this was merely in ‘this day and age’; from a historical standpoint, there had been many other Heartforce Cultivator Daolords who were far superior to him.

The truly supreme Heartforce Cultivator Daolords would almost always be the undisputed most powerful Daolords of their eras.

“Ninedust, are you alright?” Ning sent worriedly.

“I’m fine. Twas but a minor injury! I’m an Ancient cultivator; my divine body is far superior to that of ordinary cultivators,” Ninedust sent mentally to Ning. In substance and in power, his body was indeed unfathomably superior to that of ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step.

“Press the attack and make him suffer more injuries!” the distant Sectlord Timedream sent mentally to Shaka, Snowjoy, and Kingfreak. “Ninedust’s invulnerable aquaform is difficult to deal with; not even Winesage would be able to kill him through direct attacks. I’ll continuously use heartforce illusions against him and make it impossible for him to maintain his aquaform, while the three of you will repeatedly injure him over and over. When his divine power is depleted, he’ll die.”

Shaka and Snowjoy exchanged a glance. Both of them knew that killing a supreme Daolord was far too difficult, especially one with an invulnerable aquaform! They would indeed need Sectlord Timedream to repeatedly disturb Ninedust and cause him to lose control over his body for brief periods of time. When that happened, his body would briefly transform into its original form, that of an Ancient cultivator’s. Only then would they be able to harm Ninedust. If Ninedust was fully awake and mentally alert, he could perpetually maintain his invulnerable aquaform. In that case, there would be no way to injure him at all.

……

Boom!

Bang!

Sectlord Timedream continued to cast heartforce illusions from afar, while Shaka, Snowjoy, and Kingfreak pressed the assault furiously.

“Ninedust!” Ning frantically unleashed his own heartforce, seeking to protect Ninedust. Bang! Sectlord Timedream’s overwhelming surge of heartforce completely crushed through Ning’s protection. At his current level, Ning was completely unable to protect the Ninedust Sectlord.

“I’m fine, Darknorth! I’m fine. Thus far, I’ve used up very little divine power,” the Ninedust Sectlord sent mentally.

Time continued to flow on, one second after another. The four enemy Daolords completely ignored Ning. As they saw it, Ninedust was their true foe, and they also felt certain that the Voidsea Jadeseal was in Ninedust’s hands! They could see that Ninedust was the most powerful member of Ning’s squad, which meant that the seal should logically be in his hands. If it was in someone else’s hands, why would he go so far as to risk his own life to protect the team?

In the blink of an eye, another half-day had gone by.

“Hahaha! Man, the three of you really are starting to sting me with your hits.” The Ninedust Sectlord transformed into an vast stream of water, with the vague outline of a person appearing at the center of this river. Moments later, a spirit-pill appeared in the figure’s hand, followed by the figure swallowing it. “I really did use up quite a bit of divine power over the course of this fight. Time to eat a spirit-pill.”

“Damnit.”

“Ninedust’s divine body is far too powerful, and he also has a tough protective divine ability. We’ve been beating on him for hours but have barely harmed him. He was able to recover with just a single pill.”

“There’ll be no end to this!”

Daolord Shaka, Daolord Snowjoy, and the Kingfreak were all growing anxious.

“Alright, let’s keep fighting. I have to say, Timedream’s heartforce illusions are pretty powerful. They’re serving as a great way to temper my Dao-heart.” The Ninedust Sectlord was in an excellent mood.

“Ninedust, the longer we keep you tied down, the more Daolords will come. Soon, a fifth supreme Daolord will arrive, followed by a sixth! In the end, you won’t be able to handle us all,” Sectlord Timedream said coldly.

“If that’s the case, I’ll just toss out the Voidsea Jadeseal,” Ninedust snickered. “Timedream, multiple Ancient cultivators have died by your hands. Do you really think I would ever give the Voidsea Jadeseal up to you?”

“Damn you.” Sectlord Timedream had an ugly look on his face. It must be remembered that Winesage and the others were hurrying over as well. Once Winesage arrived, who would be able to out-compete him?

“Freako.” Sectlord Timedream sent mentally to the Kingfreak, “Use the redscatter venom on him.”

The Kingfreak couldn’t help but turn to look at the Sectlord Timedream. He sent back mentally, “Sectlord, we only have that one bottle. Are you sure?”

“Use it.” Sectlord Timedream nodded.

The redscatter venom was the most terrifying type of poison the two had ever discovered, and they had found it while adventuring within the Terror Starsea. This was a deadly poison which had been developed during the Dawn War, and it was the greatest killer trump card Sectlord Timedream had available to him. This type of poison was a nightmare to any and every Daolord! Ever since Sectlord Timedream had acquired it, he hadn’t been willing to use it… but for the sake of the Voidsea Jadeseal, anything was worth it!

BOOM! The Ninedust Sectlord was once more struck by the heartforce illusion. The endless flows of water around him instantly halted, then gradually began to reform into his ‘normal’ body, which Shaka, Snowjoy, and Kingfreak continued to attack. Right as the Kingfreak launched an attack, he suddenly produced a bottle of dark-red liquid and shattered it.

Whoosh. A stream of dark-red liquid instantly invaded the Ninedust Sectlord’s body. This stream of liquid was visible to the naked eye, but it also seemed illusory. It seeped directly into his body and pervaded his soul. This was a terrifying type of poison which had been developed during the Dawn War to deal with enemies.

“AHHHH!” The Ninedust Sectlord transformed back into human form, then began to roll around the ground and scream in agony. His face was a mask of pain, with streaks of ugly red lines stretching out throughout his body.

“AHHHHHHH!” Ninedust continued to howl in agony. He had never experienced such incredible, indescribable, terrifying pain before.

“Ninedust!” Ning felt as though his heart had stopped. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what sort of pain and torment could cause a supreme Daolord like Ninedust to scream so miserably.

“Release Ninedust! Release him!” Ning charged out and called out frantically, “We’ll give you the Voidsea Jadeseal!”

“There is no antidote to the redscatter venom. Once it touches you, you’ll suffer utter agony for a total of twelve days. This poison was meant for to be used against powerful Eternal Emperors! There’s no way Ninedust’s Dao-heart or soul would be strong enough to resist it. He isn’t even able to maintain his invulnerable aquaform any longer. Kill him, then take the Voidsea Jadeseal from him,” Sectlord Timedream laughed coldly.

The faces of Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy both turned pale. Redscatter venom? They had never even heard of it, but they couldn’t help but shiver in fear when they saw Daolord Ninedust scream in pain like that.

Ninedust’s screams were echoing in Ning’s ears, but there was no way for him to rescue Ninedust at all. This caused Ning to feel a sense of regret and powerlessness.

As Ninedust continued to scream in agony, he would occasionally turn to glance towards Ning. His eyes were filled with agony and desperation, and his lips trembled as he struggled to speak. “Kill me!”

“Attack!” The Kingfreak charged towards Ninedust.

“Kill him.” Shaka and Snowjoy exchanged a glance. This wasn’t a time to show mercy. They had to seize the Voidsea Jadeseal!

Ning was too weak. There was no way he could stop them at all. He hurriedly sent mentally, “Big brother Solesky! Big brother Solesky! Let’s hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal.”

“Big brother Solesky?”

“Big brother Solesky!!!”

Daolord Solesky was in secluded meditation within Ning’s estate-world, not accepting any communication from the outside world.

“What?!” Ning was frantic. Solesky had actually gone into secluded meditation at a time like this?

“Halt!!” Ning drew his six Northbow swords and charged forwards, grabbing the Ninedust Sectlord. Ninedust continued to scream in agony, his eyes filled with pleading as he stared at Ning. He really did want for Ning to kill him and spare him any more of this. With but a thought, Ning pulled Ninedust away into his estate-world.

Right now, Ninedust was completely defenseless and unable to fight back at all. He would probably die in short order if he stayed out here, and so Ning had no choice but to drag him away.

“Are you looking to die, kid?” The Kingfreak brandished the great scimitar in his hands. BOOM! Ning was smashed flying backwards, while the Kingfreak staggered one step back.

“Die.” As Ning was knocked flying backwards, he produced a deep blue crystalline leaf in his right hand. This was the second and final Dao-seal the Sword Hegemon had bestowed upon him!

Crack. He shattered the deep blue leaf.

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Chapter 17 – The Dao-Seal’s Power

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 17 – The Dao-Seal’s Power

The deep blue crystal leaf shattered, and a flood of terrifying power that had been hidden inside it was completely unleashed! Although it held only a fraction of a full-force strike from the Sword Hegemon, the power of this blow still vastly surpassed a full-power blow from one of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. There was no way even the most supreme of Daolords would be able to resist this level of power!

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!” Ninedust was now within Ji Ning’s estate-world, and he continued to scream in pain. His face remained a rictus of agony as those dark red lines continued to spread throughout his body. Clearly, the terrifying pain he was in hadn’t lessened in the slightest after entering this estate-world.

“Ninedust!” Ning felt both regret and fury in his heart. “All of you can go die!!!” Ning was filled with a murderous intent as he activated that flood of incredible power. Instantly, an enormous, horrifying illusion of a greatsword appeared in the area around Ning!

The illusory greatsword lay horizontal, causing spacetime to freeze and severing karma itself. Its incredible, terrifying presence caused the Kingfreak, Daolord Shaka, Daolord Snowjoy, and even Sectlord Timedream to turn pale.

“How is this possible?! He used up one of those things when he killed Kongsan. How does he have another one?!” This was the second time Daolord Shaka had ever encountered this terrifying illusory greatsword. Gritting his teeth, he immediately produced the most powerful protective treasure he had purchased prior to entering the Waveshift Realm, causing a palm-sized black seed to appear in his hand.

“Brother Snowjoy, don’t move!” Daolord Shaka sent mentally. Crack! The black seed shattered into tiny pieces of dust as the power within it was released. Vine-like tendrils furiously sprouted out the shattered black seed, spreading out in every direction and quickly covering both Shaka and Snowjoy from head to toe, forming a vine cube that was roughly thirty meters in diameter! Shaka and Snowjoy were completely covered and protected by this rattan vine cube.

……

“Ninedust has been poisoned by our redscatter venom and is no longer a threat. After we kill him, the Voidsea Jadeseal will be ours.” Sectlord Timedream had begun to move closer towards Ninedust’s direction as well as Shaka, Snowjoy, and Kingfreak had charged forward. All of them knew that the Voidsea Jadeseal was about to fall into someone’s hands; if he moved closer, his chances would be much greater.

“What?! Darknorth actually pulled Ninedust into his estate-world?” Sectlord Timedream smirked. “He’s courting death. We were completely focused on Ninedust earlier and couldn’t be bothered with him. We should be able to wipe him out in a few seconds.”

Although Ninedust was suffering indescribable torment, the fact that he was able to mouth out the words ‘kill me’ showed that he was able to maintain a modicum of consciousness. Ning was on his side, and so he wouldn’t resist being drawn away into Ning’s estate-world. The others, however, wouldn’t have that chance.

“Die, then.” Sectlord Timedream followed the Kingfreak, Shaka, and Snowjoy in charging straight towards Ning. Much like how Solewind was decent in close combat, Sectlord Timedream was a first-tier Daolord in close combat as well.

BOOM!

The heavens turned dark. The world went silent. Time and space froze. Karma itself was severed.

An overwhelming, awe-inspiring aura of power manifested as a giant illusory greatsword appeared out of thin air. Sectlord Timedream was shocked, his earlier confidence gone. Both he and Kingfreak were vile men who had wandered the Endless Territories for many years. As a result, they had battled against a number of mighty major powers in the past, and had encountered a number of terrifying Dao-seals. However, the illusory greatsword in front of him gave him a sense of terror that was greater than anything he had ever felt before!

The Sword Hegemon’s field of expertise lay in annihilatory attacks, after all!

“FREAK!!!” Sectlord Timedream screamed mentally as he reached out, producing a dazzlingly beautiful snow flower in his hands.

“Sectlord.” The terrified Kingfreak was frantically retreating as well, seeking to reunite with Sectlord Timedream.

Whoosh. The snow flower bloomed, expanding to cover the surrounding area and protecting both Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak.

Generally speaking, the most valuable would be kept in Sectlord Timedream’s hands! Only if they found a second copy would the treasure go to the Kingfreak. Treasures like the redscatter venom that had to be used in close combat, Timedream would let the Kingfreak hold on to, as the Kingfreak was responsible for charging into the fray as the vanguard. This flower, however, was a protective treasure that would cause a formation to appear once activated. The formation could be used to trap foes, but it could also be used to resist outside attacks. This was the most powerful tool Sectlord Timedream at his disposal.

The beautiful flower wrapped itself around the Kingfreak and Sectlord Timedream, protecting them in multiple layers of formations.

……

Not a single one of the four supreme Daolords were able to escape from Ning’s illusory greatsword. They had instead chosen to produce the most powerful protective treasures they had to resist it. Escape on their own? All of them knew this was impossible!

“Die.” Ning stared intently at Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak, as well as that enormous flower around them. He wanted to kill the two of them most of all, because they were the ones who had poisoned Ninedust!

BOOM! The illusory greatsword chopped directly against that enormous flower. The flower instantly began to tremble as it swiveled, its layers of petals furiously shifting aside the force of the attack. As the petals continued to spin, waves of terrifying might began to blast outwards in every direction.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The nearby Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka were protected within their vine globe, and the waves of power smashed against them as well. The vines, however, were incredibly tough and managed to resist the force.

“Absolutely terrifying. We’re facing just a tiny amount of its full power that’s been diverted in our direction. How can it still be this strong?” Protected by the vine globe, Snowjoy and Shaka had ashen looks on their faces.

“How can this be?” Sectlord Timedream’s face turned ashen as well from his position within the flower formation. He was in command of the formation and thus could clearly sense what was happening to it.

The flower formation possessed incredible powers of endurance, and it operated on the principles of shunting aside power and enduring the rest, with more than 90% of any attack being diverted away. And yet, the chopping attack of this illusory greatsword was clearly still unleashing more power than the flower formation could endure. Its petals were already beginning to rip and tear.

“It’s about to crumble.” Finally, one petal completely crumbled apart. A second then crumbled, followed by a third… and as it did, the amount of power that was being shunted to the nearby vine globe began to gradually lessen as well.

“Not good.”

“Quick!”

The Kingfreak and Sectlrod Timedream almost simultaneously produced a pair of unique protective treasures to protect themselves. Although this formation was the only Hegemon-level treasure they had, they did have several treasures that were comparable in might to the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. As for the weaker treasures, those were merely on par with the Kingfreak and Sectlord Timedream themselves and thus were of no use to them.

Rumble… whoosh… whoosh… Finally, the flower formation completely burst apart and shattered apart into small pieces. The remaining power of the illusory greatsword chopped straight towards the Kingfreak and Sectlord Timedream!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The barriers erected around them immediately began to break apart as the two of them were both knocked backwards.

Thud! Sectlord Timedream slammed into the snowy ground, kicking up a wave of snow around him. He spat out a mouthful of blood, but a look of wild joy was on his face. “Survived. I survived!”

“Survived. We both survived.” The Kingfreak was filled with joy as well.

Only those who had faced that strike personally would understand how terrifying it had been. The illusory greatsword of the Sword Hegemon was a frontal, head-on, crushing attack! Even the remaining fragments of its energy had been enough to terrorize and terrify the Kingfreak and the Sectlord.

“It first destroyed a Hegemon-level formation, then destroyed four other protective treasures… and it still had enough power to injure the two of us! What a terrifying treasure.” Sectlord Timedream glared at the distant Ning, his eyes filled with murder. “He destroyed quite a few of our treasures. Kill him, Freak.”

“I will.” The Kingfreak was enraged as well. How could he not be? The puny Daolord Darknorth had brought him to the brink of death! He immediately unsheathed his great scimitar and charged straight towards Ning.

Sectlord Timedream watched from afar, not following this time. In truth, he really had been badly frightened by Ning’s usage of that Hegemon Dao-seal. “He probably doesn’t have a second one… right?” For a person to have a single copy of such a treasure was already incredible. Two? Two would be inconceivable. Three? What, was it as common as dirt?

In truth, given Ning’s level of power it would’ve been extremely difficult for him to acquire such treasures through adventuring. The Sword Hegemon had only chosen to give him two due to taking him on as an honorary disciple! This was because the Sword Hegemon had known that his death was impending and unavoidable, which was why he was willing to spend an enormous price to create these Dao-seals. In normal situations, not even figures like the Brightshore Hegemon would be willing to gift Dao-seals of such terrifying power to mere honorary disciples.

The more power a Dao-seal packed, the harder it would be to craft. In ordinary combat, the Sword Hegemon would’ve been able to unleash ten or twenty full-strength blows with ease, but to compact and compress all of that power into a Dao-seal was incredibly difficult. If he merely put in a small portion of his full power, perhaps the same level of power as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities possessed, things would be much easier… but infusing a full-force blow into a Dao-seal truly required an enormous amount of effort and expense!

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Chapter 18 – Omega Sword Dao – Level Three

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 18 – Omega Sword Dao – Level Three

Ji Ning only had a total of two Dao-seals from the Sword Hegemon. The first had been used up against Kongsan and Shaka, while he had used up the second one here in the Waveshift Realm. He really was out of treasures on this level now.

“Damn.” Hidden within his vine treasure, Daolord Shaka felt a sense of pain in his heart. He had paid an extremely high price for this seed, precisely because he had felt himself to be in life-threatening danger during his last encounter with Ning.

“Daolord Darknorth actually focused all of his power against Timedream and Kingfreak, and I just suffered a few collateral shockwaves? That means I just completely wasted this seed for nothing.” Daolord Shaka felt endless regret. This vine globe’s protective powers were immense, but it was a single-use item. Now, it had been used up without actually making much of a difference.

“Let’s wait a while longer. Darknorth might have a third seal!” Daolord Shaka mused to himself.

“Brother Shaka, why aren’t we going out yet?” The nearby Daolord Snowjoy said anxiously. “The Kingfreak is already attacking. Once he kills Daolord Darknorth, the Voidsea Jadeseal will end up in his hands.”

“Don’t be anxious. Let’s watch for a while longer,” Daolord Shaka said immediately. “Darknorth might have another one.”

“Another one? Could he really have another such treasure?” Daolord Snowjoy didn’t believe it.

“Don’t worry, I’m much faster than Timedream and Kingfreak. I’ll definitely intervene at the critical moment,” Daolord Shaka said.

……

Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy continued to watch from behind the protective vine globe as the Kingfreak charged straight towards Ning.

“Die, kid.” The Kingfreak’s eyes were filled with fury and murder. “I won’t give you any chance this time.”

“No, Kingfreak. You’ll be the one to die.” Ning manifested three heads and six arms, wielding all six of his Northbow swords.

BOOM! The Kingfreak’s enormous scimitar glittered with cold light as it chopped straight towards Ning. Although Ning was skilled in defense, the disparity in power was too great and he was still sent flying backwards! The Kingfreak quickly charged forwards once again in pursuit of Ning.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two battled fiercely, with Ning just barely able to defend. Thanks to his defensive sword-arts and his Hegemon armor, he was able to just barely hold on, even though he was fighting against a higher-tier Daolord.

“He doesn’t have any more Dao-seals with that level of power.” The distant Sectlord Timedream revealed a delighted look as he charged forwards as well. “Freak, this kid is taking you pretty long. Let me help you out.”

“He’s weaker than me, but he has a very powerful protective divine ability,” the Kingfreak sent mentally. “Sectlord, if we work together we’ll be able to defeat and capture him with ease.”

“Attack.”

“Kill.”

Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy charged out of the vine globe they had been watching from as well. Based on how badly Ning was being beaten, they felt certain that Ning didn’t have any more terrifying Dao-seals left. They naturally chose to immediately come out and fight over the Voidsea Jadeseal as well.

……

Ning was in dire straits! The Kingfreak, Sectlord Timedream, Daolord Shaka, and Daolord Snowjoy were all attacking him. They wanted to kill him.

“AHHHHHHH!!!!” Ning suddenly let out an enraged howl as his aura expanded dramatically!

Ninedust had been helping out strictly out of a sense of loyalty to Ning, but he was now suffering unspeakable torment and was in such pain that he begged for death. When Ninedust silently mouthed the words ‘kill me’ towards Ning, Ning felt as though his heart was being stabbed by knives. He was filled with pain, regret, and guilt!

He wanted to hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal to end this battle, only to discover that his big brother Solesky had gone into secluded meditation. He truly had been driven to his wits end!

When he used the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal…

When that overwhelmingly awesome phantom of a giant greatsword had appeared and emanated that terrifying aura of sword-intent, Ning’s soul had suddenly trembled. The bottleneck that had trapped him for so many years had suddenly loosened, with many new insights slowly beginning to enter his mind.

Many years ago, when he had used the Stone Censer of Reunion in the Thundersouth Palace, he had managed to reach the third stage in all five of his sword-intents – the Blood Drop sword-intent, the Shadowless sword-intent, the Soleheart sword-intent, the Heavenbreaker sword-intent, and the Yin-Yang sword-intent. However, he had been unable to fuse them together into the third-level Omega Sword Dao. Right at this moment, however, his mind, heart, and truesoul were all in a completely berserk, frenzied state.

When the illusory greatsword manifested, these many emotions mixed together with the insights he gained from that terrifying sword-intent. And so… although the Hegemon’s Dao-seal hadn’t slain anyone, when the Kingfreak attacked Ning, Ning didn’t move to flee despite having no more seals available to him. Instead, he ‘foolishly’ chose to engage the Kingfreak in close combat… and as he fought, a new surge of sword-intent slowly took form in his mind.

When the sword-intent was completely and fully formed, the third stage of his Omega Sword Dao finally took shape!

The rage, regret, and guilt Ning had suppressed inside his heart fully exploded.

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Ning reared his head to let out a frenzied roar, his primal cry echoing in heaven and earth.

“Prepare to die!” Ning turned his gaze towards the attacking Kingfreak, Sectlord Timedream, Daolord Shaka, and Daolord Snowjoy.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! One energy dragon after another flew out of Ning’s body as his nine novessence arts burst forth, transforming into an utterly terrifying Yin-Yang Chaosworld. His Omega Sword Dao – Yin Yang was already on par with the formations which Daolord Allgod had used at his peak, and when used via his Omega Sword Dao they exploded with terrifying levels of power.

Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection was actually forcibly held at bay!

“Expand, my heartworld!

“Grow, my Dao-tree!

“Evolve, my divine body!”

Ning didn’t hesitate at all, pouring all of his chaos spirit-pills into his body. Chaos spirit-pills were pills that could be used in combat to quickly replenish divine power and Immortal energy. Chaos jewels were far slower in comparison. While chaos nectar was fairly fast, it was quite marvelous and using it in such a way was far too wasteful. For example, if you wished to merely replenish your divine power, a thousand cubes of chaos jewels would have the same effect as roughly a hundred million cubes of chaos nectar! This difference was a shocking one!

Ten spirit-pills that were worth roughly ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar would be enough to achieve the same effect. Although this was more ‘expensive’ than using chaos jewels, they didn’t bring any burden to the divine body, which could rapidly and fully absorb all of their energy.

Ning was currently using the high level spirit-pill known as the chaos spirit-pill, with every single pill being worth ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar!

But of course, replenishing divine power was different from fueling the body with the energy it needed to evolve. The amount of energy Ning needed right now was staggeringly vast, which was why most Daolords would prefer to absorb chaos energy from the outside world instead. If they wanted to be a bit extravagant, they might use chaos jewels! Using spirit-pills would be an even more extravagant method. As for using chaos nectar? That was virtually impossible.

……

Whoooooosh. The towering Dao-tree within his body began to grow. It had originally been 252,000 meters tall, and it now began to grow taller and thicker. Even its branches began to thicken as the entire Dao-tree expanded in size, stopping only when it reached a height of 297,000 meters!

297,000 meters was the absolute limit for Daolords of the Third Step. But of course, although Ning was ‘merely’ a Daolord of the Third Step, his path was that of the Omega Sword Dao. As a result, his Dao-tree was unfathomably thicker than that of other Daolords, which meant that his roots were far deeper and more stable.

……

Boom! His heartworld began to furiously expand. A hundred chaos spirit-pills instantly appeared in the center of the heartworld, and the heartworld began to ravenously devour their power and expand at high speeds.

……

Boom!

When Ning had broken through to become a Daolord of the Second Step, he had relied on chaos jewels and had succeeded after just a few brief moments. This time, he was using the energy of the chaos spirit-pills to make his breakthrough. Thus, his divine body was completely transformed in almost the blink of an eye! Every single cell in his body was evolving simultaneously as there was enough energy to support this, making the process incredibly fast.

……

His divine power and his Immortal energy broke through at the same time as well. His heartworld absorbed the most energy; Ning had prepared a hundred chaos spirit-pills for it, and it took a fairly long period of time to absorb the energy.

The azureflower mist energy began to slowly transform, but it too would take some time. He had a total of 1111 drops of the azureflower mist energy, after all, and every single drop was condensed from all of his divine power and Immortal energy combined. If he was to use chaos spirit-pills to completely replenish his azureflower mist energy… even Ning wouldn’t be able to afford that much.

……

With Ning at the center, nine energy dragons flew out to form the Yin-Yang Chaosworld. This smashed straight into Timedream’s heartworld projection and came crashing towards all four Daolords.

At the same time, streaks of sword-light began to appear in the skies. Some of the streaks looked like towering, dominating mountains. Some looked incredibly, terrifyingly sharp. Still others looked inscrutable and unpredictable, moving about at high speeds.

Thousands of streaks of sword-light appeared. This was the manifestation of Ning’s third-stage Omega Sword Dao! The stronger a Dao, the more powerful an aura it would manifest. The power of the aura of Ning’s Dao alone was already on par with roughly 20% – 30% of his true close combat ability.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The tightly clustered streaks of sword light flew straight into the Yin-Yang Chaosworld, then attacked the four Daolords.

Whoosh. Ning’s aura began to stabilize as it ascended to a higher level. Just a few heartbeats later, his divine power and his Immortal energy had both completed their breakthroughs. Ning’s body blurred as he once more manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms]. Six Northbow swords at the ready, he glared at his foes.

“Kill!” Ning rode the countless streaks of sword-light and commanded his Yin-Yang Chaosworld in a direct attack.

“What?”

“How can this be?!”

The Kingfreak, Timedream, Shaka, and Snowjoy were all supreme Daolords. None of them had viewed Ning as an opponent, and they had only thought to kill him as soon as possible so as to take the Voidsea Jadeseal. They were all wary of each other, as they viewed each other as competitors. As for Ning? He was nothing more than a dead man to them.

However… the aura Ning had just exploded with, along with the terrifying power of his Yin-Yang Chaosworld, was a sign that this Daolord Darknorth had just reached a shocking level of might.

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Chapter 19 – Crushed

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 19 – Crushed

BOOM! The Yin-Yang Chaosworld came crashing down, swallowing the Kingfreak and Daolord Shaka within it. These two had charged to the very front.

“What a powerful secret art.” The Kingfreak and Daolord Shaka both could feel the weighty pressure surrounding them, causing them both to drastically slow down.

“Timedream, hurry up and push this secret art aside!” Daolord Shaka barked mentally.

“My heartworld projection cannot stop it!” Sectlord Timedream was furiously trying to batter the secret art aside, but the nine novessence arts continuously smashed his heartworld projection aside. Although the difference between the nine novessence arts and his heartworld projection wasn’t that great, Timedream’s heartworld projection was still defeated time and time again.

“I’ll have to do this instead.” Sectlord Timedream willed it, and his heartworld projection instantly changed to become illusory and overlap with the nine novessence arts rather than fight them head-on.

Heartworld projections were a unique form of energy that were completely different from the energy which secret arts used! They were completely capable of perfectly overlapping with secret arts and causing their power to increase, but they could also be used to cause trouble from within.

“Tie it down.” Sectlord Timedream’s eyes flashed with cold light. As the energies completely overlapped, the heartworld projection began to furiously wrap its energies around the nine novessence arts, causing them to be weakened so dramatically as to be negligible against supreme Daolords.

“Oh?” Ji Ning could sense each of his nine novessence arts be dramatically weakened and constricted, causing their power to plummet. “The heartworld projection? Hmph. Once my heartworld fully expands to its maximum size, I’ll crush you head-on.” Ning was filled with murderous rage right now, and he attacked the Kingfreak with his six Northbow swords.

Close combat was his true forte! Secret arts were merely meant to assist and reinforce him.

“Hmph. Even if you’ve broken through to become a supreme Daolord, you are merely on par with us. How dare you act so arrogantly? You want to fight the four of us head-on? Even the Radiant King or Palace Lord Dawnstar would choose to retreat in the face of us four.” The Kingfreak smirked. He could tell that Daolord Darknorth seemed to have made some sort of breakthrough, but the four of them were supreme Daolords; why would they fear him?

“Die!” The Kingfreak gripped his scimitar tightly in both hands, then sent it howling through the air with a baleful aura surrounding it. The giant scimitar left a crescent streak of light in the skies as it chopped down furiously towards Ning. If it wasn’t for the Waveshift Realm itself suppressing spacetime effects, his attack would’ve been far more terrifying thanks to certain spacetime elements it normally contained.

Whoosh. Ning’s six arms suddenly moved to grip a single Northbow sword. He lifted it high into the air, then delivered a furious chop of his own, one which caused even spacetime to tremble.

BOOM!!!!

Ning’s sword seemed to contain the ponderance and weight of an ancient god-mountain, and it struck head-on against the Kingfreak’s enormous scimitar.

The Kingfreak felt a surge of terrifying power crash towards him. He couldn’t help but be smashed downwards by this incredible power and be sent hurtling towards the snowy ground beneath him. He crashed into the ground, leaving behind an enormous crater as he landed in a kneeling position. The only reason he didn’t fall down was because he used his hands to prop himself up.

“How can he be this powerful?” The Kingfreak was shocked. He sent mentally to Sectlord Timedream, “Be careful, Sectlord. This Daolord Darknorth’s attacks are incredibly ferocious; my feeling is that he is on par with Daolord Skyaxe in raw strength. I’m at a complete disadvantage in a head-on clash.”

Daolord Skyaxe used a single greataxe and was legendary for his ferocious, overbearing power.

“Die.” After delivering that furious chop, Ning immediately charged downwards, wanting to pursue the Kingfreak.

“Daolord Darknorth, you seem to have become quite strong.” Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy hurriedly intervened, while Sectlord Timedream actually retreated slightly, becoming the most distant of the four Daolords. In truth, Daolord Shaka didn’t really care that much about this; if he was able to seize the Voidsea Jadeseal, they’d immediately be able to escape.

Swish! Daolord Shaka produced a series of golden feathers in front of him. All six of them transformed into streaks of golden light that shot towards Ning. At the same time, he manifested a total of six awl-wielding arms and charged straight at Ning himself.

He was the fastest of the four Daolords, faster than even Daolord Snowjoy.

“Break!” Ning didn’t carea bout Daolord Shaka at all. He manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms] and spun his six Northbow swords slightly, executing the Soleheart sword-intent with all six swords. An enormous black hole immediately appeared before him, devouring and destroying all in its path. When the six golden feathers touched the black hole, they were immediately knocked flying backwards.

“Die!” Daolord Shaka shot towards him, golden awls at the ready, moving faster than a hundred times the speed of light.

Whoosh. Suddenly, six dazzling streaks of sword-light lit up. Every single streak of sword-light looked quite ordinary, but just as they reached Daolord Shaka the tips of the swords began to rotate slightly. Instantly… boom! They tore through all obstacles, moving much faster as well. They actually surpassed a hundred times the speed of light, and their power vastly exceeded Daolord Shaka’s as well.

Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop!

After becoming a Daolord of the Third Step, Ning’s Blood Drop stance, especially when executed via the highly suited Northbow swords, had reached an incredible level of power. Now, not even time could stand in front of this strike. Ning’s sword-arts had now transcended both space and time! They were on par with the most powerful strike Emperor Mirrorsnow had ever devised.

However, the Waveshift Realm suppressed all techniques that transcended spacetime. Still, the Blood Drop stance destroyed all Daos before it, and thus it was still able to forcibly breach the normal Daolord limit of moving a hundred times the speed of light.

When actually flying via the Blood Drop evasion art, however, Ning was only able to move at a hundred times the speed of light. In the end, his own body wasn’t nearly as formidable as his Northbow swords. The main reason he was able to strike faster than a hundred times the speed of light was primarily because of the Northbow swords themselves.

“Ahhh!” Daolord Shaka let out an agonized cry, staring in disbelief as three of the swords stabbed into his body. He then looked at Ning, his eyes filled with disbelief. “How can he be this fast?” He had absolute confidence in his speed, but he was defeated in speed. Daolord Shaka simply couldn’t understand or accept this.

Moments later… whoosh! Daolord Shaka transformed into countless light shadows that reformed far off in the distance.

“What? He actually beat both Kingfreak and Shaka in succession?” The distant Sectlord Timedream turned pale. “And he only needed one blow in each case?”

“Darknorth, it seems you can now rank in the top five. Haha, very well then! I’ve come to the Waveshift Realm because I wanted to fight the strongest in the universe.” Daolord Snowjoy actually charged forwards, and as he did so the starlight emanating from his body began to manifest into a pair of Stargod clones. All three of them surrounded and simultaneously attacked Ning.

“Fuck off.” Ning’s sword-light flared mightily. The battle between the two was absolutely shocking, with Ning clearly holding the upper hand but Daolord Snowjoy and his two Stargod clones managing to hold on.

In an actual battle, even Ninedust had been put on the defense by Daolord Snowjoy! Daolord Snowjoy’s defenses could be described as flawless. Even the Radiant King or Palace Lord Dawnstar wouldn’t necessarily be able to shake him.

“Of the four of us, Daolord Snowjoy is indeed the strongest in close combat.” The Kingfreak, Shaka, and Timedream all admitted to this fact.

“Heartworld, descend!” Ning let out a furious roar. Boom! An incredibly vast heartworld projection suddenly came crashing down from the skies. This world had mountains, rivers, grasslands, deserts, vast oceans, and an incredibly vast sword-shaped mountain at the very center of the world. Its aura and might was now clearly far greater than in the past, and when it came crashing down it merged into a seamless whole with Ning’s nine novessence arts.

BOOM! Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection instantly crumbled, resulting in Daolord Snowjoy, Shaka, Kingfreak, and Timedream all being put under an immense amount of pressure.

Ning’s nine novessence arts and heartworld projection were both terrifying, resulting in Daolord Snowjoy and the others being unable to exert more than 50% of their true power!

“How could his heartworld projection be this strong? Break! Break!” Sectlord Timedream repeatedly tried to cause his heartworld projection to descend, send it crashing against Ning’s projection repeatedly. This really did help relieve the pressure on the three of them! Timedream’s heartworld projection was on par with Ning’s after all; while Ning’s projection was slightly larger, there wasn’t that much of a difference in terms of power.

BOOM! Although the pressure had been somewhat relieved, Daolord Snowjoy was still only able to unleash roughly 70% of his true power. In just a few short clashes, he was smote by Ning’s Heavenbreaker stance six times in a row and was sent flying!

When faced with a flawless defense, the best way to deal with it was to burst through it with raw power.

“Kill!” After knocking Daolord Snowjoy aside, Ning immediately turned to charge towards the Kingfreak. The Kingfreak was the weakest of the four, and Ning wanted to kill him more than any of the others.

“He’s fighting us one-on-four and holds the upper hand?” Shaka, Snowjoy, Timedream, and Kingfreak were all rather stunned. They all felt a sense of a pressure, especially after Ning combined his nine novessence arts with his heartworld projection.

“If this continues, he’s going to break us down one by one. We need to work together to attack him jointly,” Sectlord Timedream sent mentally. “If the four of us join forces, even Winesage wouldn’t have been able to withstand us prior to finding that Universe treasure.”

“Fine.” Daolord Shaka agreed.

“Agreed.” Although Daolord Snowjoy was a very proud figure, he agreed as well.

Rumble… a strange ripple of power shot out of Ning’s body and invaded the Kingfreak’s body. This was the [Dreamstar] art! The [Dreamstar] art had reached a brand new level of power, as it was unleashed via the heartforce nurtured within Ning’s heartworld. The Kingfreak had been holding his scimitar in a double-handed grip, seeking to defend against Ning’s attack, but his movements now clearly slowed down.

Whoosh. Ning was in three-headed, six-armed form, and he sent his six Northbow swords in a series of furious strikes against the Kingfreak.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning launched a total of nine attacks in the blink of an eye, every single attack using the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. This was Ning’s most savage and dominating attack! Although the Kingfreak did have a suit of Eternal armor protecting him, the power of Ning’s attacks continued to hammer down upon him without him being able to defend at all. By Ning’s fifth strike, his divine body had already completely disintegrated, and Ning didn’t stop until his ninth strike.

The Kingfreak’s corpse really had been reduced to dust, with only his armor and his scimitar left behind. A supreme Daolord, the ‘Kingfreak’… had just perished!

“No…” Sectlord Timedream’s eyes bulged out, and he let out an agonized, high-pitched scream.

“How is that possible?!” They were just about to join forces against Ning, but the Kingfreak was almost instantly killed. Both Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy were rather stunned by this.

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Chapter 20 – The Terrifying Darknorth

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 20 – The Terrifying Darknorth

“Timedream!” Ji Ning turned his murderous gaze towards Sectlord Timedream. The more guilt he felt towards Ninedust, the more badly he wanted to kill the Kingfreak and Timedream. “Die!” He howled through the air as he shot towards Timedream.

Sectlord Timedream’s face instantly turned ashen. His forte lay in heartforce; in close combat, he was slightly weaker than even the Kingfreak. How could he be a match for Ning? He frantically retreated while sending mentally to Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy, “Brother Shaka, brother Snowjoy, come and help me! If I die, the next ones to fall shall be the two of you. Given the power of his heartworld projection and the suppressive force of his secret arts, neither of you will be able to fly faster than a hundred times the speed of light. There’s no way he won’t be able to chase you down!”

Daolord Snowjoy charged straight towards Ning, laughing loudly. “Daolord Darknorth, you were actually able to force me to retreat just now, but that was only because you caught me offguard. Let’s try again!”

“Brother Shaka!” Sectlord Timedream continued to urge Shaka onwards.

“Timedream, Ji Ning’s heartforce illusions are extremely terrifying,” Daolord Shaka sent mentally. “I’m afraid to go too close to him.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? Freak had a flawed Dao-heart, which was why he fell so easily. Look at Daolord Snowjoy; does he look the slightest bit worried?” Sectlord Timedream sent back.

The Kingfreak was the only one of the twenty supreme Daolords who was the servant of another. He was willing to serve Sectlord Timedream and was completely loyal to him, viewing the Sectlord’s life as being more important than his own life. This was precisely because Sectlord Timedream had spent countless years slowly guiding him and molding him, resulting in the Kingfreak’s unswerving loyalty. As a result, the Kingfreak’s Dao-heart did indeed have certain flaws… and it was Sectlord Timedream himself who had laid the seeds for that flaw.

“Timedream, don’t try to take me for a fool.” Daolord Shaka sent disdainfully, “I’m not a match for Darknorth. There’s no way I’m going to engage him in close combat… but don’t worry. I’ll help you from afar with my magic treasures.”

A total of six golden plumes appeared, one after the other, then transformed into six streaks of light that shot towards Ning.

……

Ning and Daolord Snowjoy once more began to battle against each other. Rumble… Ning once more cast the [Dreamstar] art.

“It’s useless against me. I’ve tempered myself countless times in life-and-death situations. Your illusory arts aren’t even close to being able to shake me.” Daolord Snowjoy was filled with the urge to do battle, as he truly did love combat. He knew that Sectlord Timedream was making use of him, but he still charged forwards unwaveringly.

“Yes, my illusions still aren’t strong enough.” Ning did understand this. If he wanted to be able to sweep through all supreme Daolords with his illusions, he would have to reach the same level as Daolord Featherdress. Perhaps the strength of Ning’s heartforce was on par with Daolord Featherdress’, but his [Dreamstar] art was a far cry from being on par with the completed [Featherdress Soulthrall Song].

“Even if I don’t use illusions, you still aren’t a match for me.” Ning was incomparably savage in battle, and his six Northbow swords were filled with incredible might as he blew through Daolord Snowjoy’s attacks like they were rotted wood. Although Ning’s Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker was a brute-force attack, it was also ephemeral and unpredictable, making it impossible for Daolord Snowjoy to dodge and forcing him to take the attacks head-on each time.

Bang! Bang! Bang! After receiving several blows in a row, Daolord Snowjoy and his two Stargod clones were all knocked flying backwards.

“Timedream, hurry over here and help me out!” Daolord Snowjoy roared mentally. “I can’t stop him by myself!”

“Brother Snowjoy, at least he won’t be able to kill you. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to temper yourself1” Sectlord Timedream sent mentally.

“If you refuse to come help, I’m going to leave. The person Darknorth really wants to kill right now is you!” Daolord Snowjoy said coldly.

“Damn.” Seeing this, Sectlord Timedream had no choice but to grit his teeth and swallow his rage. “Haha, since you’ve asked for my help, brother Snowjoy… although I’m rather weak in close combat, I’ll still come help out!”

Moments later, both Daolord Snowjoy and Sectlord Timedream attacked Ning together, with Daolord Shaka’s six golden plumes striking towards Ning as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s heartworld projection and his nine novessence arts continued to apply pressure to the two of them, but Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection was able to alleviate some of the pressure as Timedream sent it crashing against Ning’s projection.

Six Northbow swords in hand, Ning faced off against all his foes: Daolord Snowjoy, his two Stargod clones, Sectlord Timedream, and the six incredibly fast golden plumes that moved more than a hundred times the speed of light.

“I refuse to believe that you can hold on forever against the attacks of three supreme Daolords!” The distant Daolord Shaka truly didn’t wish to accept such an outcome. These six golden plumes he was controlling from afar were amongst the most valuable treasures this Aberrant form of his was in control of, and he had already bound them into lifeblood treasures. Generally speaking, when he encountered tough foes he would use them to attack from afar. The plumes were unpredictable and incredibly sharp, allowing him to chop through his foes with howling strikes.

“Damn.” Sectlord Timedream manifested six arms as well, with each arm holding onto a pitch-black claw-weapon. This was a very special type of weapon, and the tips of the claws were covered with spots of white light. When he brandished his claws, they danced out in a dreamlike manner that made Ning feel as though he was daydreaming; in fact, Ning even felt as though he was growing drowsy. However, as one of the most supreme Heartforce Cultivator Daolords, Ning was able to easily endure this special attack.

This fight laid bare the differences between Ning and Sectlord Timedream! Ning simply hadn’t been training long enough; the only heartforce abilities he had were his [Heartforce Eradicator] and his [Dreamstart] art. These were indeed killer techniques, but Ning hadn’t yet spent any time in coming up with ordinary heartforce-infused combat techniques or techniques which could infect the foe with heartforce. He just hadn’t had the time.

“Die, die, die!” Sectlord Timedream’s lips continuously mumbled this word, sending them echoing with Ning’s mind like a demonic chant as he repeatedly used his claws to lash out towards Ning.

“Timedream, my heartworld is even faster than yours! For you to use such puny tricks against me is an absolute joke.” Ning was filled with the desire to kill this man. He used just a portion of his sword-light to defend against Daolord Shaka’s treasures and Sectlord Timedream’s attacks; the only one bringing Ning some real pressure was Daolord Snowjoy.

Daolord Snowjoy, in defenses alone, was ranked amongst the top three Daolords. Even though Ning had the advantage of his nine novessence arts and his heartworld projection, he was only able to knock Daolord Snowjoy back rather than truly defeat him. As for right now, when Ning was surrounded by three opponents? He wasn’t even able to knock Daolord Snowjoy back.

“Wonderful, wonderful!” Daolord Snowjoy and his two Stargod clones continued to furiously assault Ning.

“Daolord Snowjoy, hurry up and depart!” Ning was growing impatient as well. His six Northbow swords flowed outwards in dominating strikes, allowing him to hold a slight advantage even though it was a three-on-one fight! However, if this continued he would have no chance of actually winning this fight. And in truth, Ning didn’t even really want to fight Daolord Snowjoy. Daolord Snowjoy was a worthy foe, but what Ning really wanted to do was to kill Timedream.

Ninedust was still suffering terrifying pain within Ning’s estate-world. He was a supreme Daolord, but he had begged for Ning to kill him! How horrifying was the pain he was in? Ning swore to himself that he would kill Sectlord Timedream, but Daolord Snowjoy was barring his path. “Why won’t you fuck off?”

“Haha, Daolord Darknorth, I’m impressed at your strength. You are able to fight us, one against three! However, with brother Snowjoy here, you won’t be able to harm us at all,” Sectlord Timedream laughed coldly.

“The first one I’m going to kill is you.” Ning didn’t even try to disguise his murderous intent.

“If this continues, even more supreme Daolords will arrive here. In the end, you’ll be the one to die!” Sectlord Timedream didn’t attempt to hide his murderous feelings either. If you raised a dog long enough, you’d eventually grow attached to it. The Kingfreak had been his most devoted retainer and had followed him for countless years. Whenever Timedream found a second copy of a good treasure he already wanted, he was willing to give it to the Kingfreak. This was a testament to how deep their relationship was.

Ning had killed the Kingfreak. Sectlord Timedream was filled with the desire to kill Ning as well!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning repeatedly clashed against Snowjoy and Timedream in midair. Whoosh! Ning suddenly retreated, flying backwards at a hundred times the speed of light.

“Why is he fleeing?” Sectlord Timedream immediately shouted, “Chase him down! Don’t let him escape! Slow him down as much as we can. Once the other Daolords arrive, he won’t be able to hold us off.”

“Chase him down.” Daolord Snowjoy and Timedream all chased after Ning, but they were much slower than him and were quickly shaken off.

Whoosh. The distant, escaping Ning suddenly vanished into thin air.

“How did he suddenly vanish?” Sectlord Timedream’s face turned pale. He couldn’t help but begin to slow down, due to his habitual caution.

“Eh?” Daolord Snowjoy continued the pursuit, studying the area carefully with his godsense.

“Why did he suddenly vanish?” The distant Daolord Shaka was puzzled as well.

……

Sectlord Timedream vigilantly scanned the area. “Eh?” He suddenly sensed a premonition of incredible, life-threatening danger approaching him. His face instantly turned pale.

Slash! An incredibly soft blade struck out, wrapping itself around his waist like a rope and tying him up almost instantly. A heartbeat later, someone appeared in front of Sectlord Timedream.

It was a white-robed youth with three heads, six arms, and murderous eyes.

“Ji Ning!” Sectlord Timedream revealed a look of shock and terror. “How is this possible? Y-you… your evasion arts can avoid even godsense?”

Omega Sword Dao, Shadowless sword-intent!

After becoming a Daolord of the Third Step, Ning’s Blood Drop stance was able to surpass both space and time! As for the Shadowless stance, it had also reached incredible heights and was now able to perfectly avoid even godsense, allowing Ning to catch his enemies completely offguard and then capture them! This was a terrifying killer move. Over the course of countless chaos cycles, every so often one of the elite Daolords would be able to come up with this type of killer move, and in each case they would instantly be ranked amongst the top three Daolords of that era.

This killer move was even more terrifying than the three killer moves of the Radiant King!

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Chapter 21 – The Shadowless Evasion Art

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 21 – The Shadowless Evasion Art

“Die!” Ji Ning’s sword wrapped itself around Sectlord Timedream’s waist, binding him in a soft grasp as his other five swords simultaneously shot towards the Sectlord.

Whoosh. Sectlord Timedream’s entire body transformed to become almost translucent as he became a crystalline shadow, quickly escaping his bonds and fleeing far away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s five swords carried all-encompassing destructive force. This was his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop, and it destroyed all in its path! The five streaks of light pursued after the humanoid streak of light and stabbed it head-on.

Swish! The humanoid streak of light reformed far off in the distance into Sectlord Timedream. His face was ashen, and he clutched at his chest, a few specks of blood appearing at his lips.

Although he had his dreamform technique, it clearly wasn’t as formidable as the likes of the abilities which the Ninedust Sectlord or Daolord Shaka possessed. The Ninedust Sectlord’s invulnerable aquaform was truly formidable, while Daolord Shaka’s was also superior, allowing the latter to transform into endless streams of light. The strength of a protective ability was in large part dependent on the cultivator’s specific Dao.

For example, Ning’s path was that of the Omega Sword Dao. Although it gave him incredible strength in battle, he didn’t have a special ability like aquaform, lightform, dreamform, the ability to transform into darkness incarnate, etc.

Sectlord Timedream’s dreamform was a bit weak, but it was still enough to allow him to escape from Ning’s hands.

“This evasion art…?” The distant Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka all turned pale.

“Run, immediately!” Daolord Shaka bellowed mentally, “Snowjoy, we need to flee right now.”

“Is this one of the legendary assassination arts?” Daolord Snowjoy was still gripped by shock and terror. He immediately followed Daolord Shaka in immediately fleeing off into the distance.

“Help me out, the two of you!” After having just barely escaped the last attack, Sectlord Timedream sent mentally to the two of them, “If you work with me, we might be able to withstand Darknorth. If you are willing to help me, I’m willing to split all of the treasures I own with you two!”

“Sectlord Timedream, please pardon us for being unable to assist you.”

“Brother Timedream, you need to come up with something on your own.”

Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy couldn’t even be bothered to pay any attention to Timedream. They moved in unison, Daolord Shaka ‘carrying’ Daolord Snowjoy in fleeing more than a hundred times the speed of light and quickly disappearing.

Ning glanced sideways at them, not bothering to chase after them. Of the three, Daolord Shaka was the toughest to kill as he was able to move more than a hundred times the speed of light and was also able to transform into light itself; to kill him was extremely troublesome. This was much like how Sectlord Timedream, Shaka, Kingfreak, and Snowjoy had worked together to kill Ninedust, but Ninedust had been able to rely on his invulnerable aquaform to render them helpless. In the end, they had to rely on the redscatter venom to deal with him.

Any and every supreme Daolord was extremely difficult to kill. Generally speaking, they all had extremely powerful life-preserving abilities! Fortunately, the Waveshift Realm served to suppress many spacetime effects, making it difficult for the supreme Daolords to flee. This was the only reason why there was a chance for some of them to perish.

……

As Daolord Shaka flew away, he continued to be surrounded by those six enormous golden plumes. Every single plume was extremely large, roughly thirty or so meters in size. When the six joined together, they curled together into a ball that completely protected him as he fled.

“With this magic treasure surrounding me, Daolord Darknorth won’t be able to breach my defenses and appear right next to me.” Daolord Shaka had an ugly look on his face as he continued to fly at high speed, Snowjoy in tow.

“He actually has an assassination art.” Daolord Snowjoy was still in a state of disbelief. “This type of terrifying evasion art has once more appeared in the Endless Territories.”

The term ‘assassination arts’ referred to arts akin to Ning’s Shadowless evasion art. Many generations ago, there was a supreme Daolord who had come up with this type of evasion art. His evasion arts allowed him to stealthily move close to his foes, and not even godsense was able to detect him. By the time his opponents did detect him, it was far too late! This was quite terrifying, and as a result quite a few supreme Daolords died by this assassin’s hands.

Each time he went out on an assassination mission, his target perished. As a result, the existence of his assassination art had remained a secret. Only much later on did he fail in an assassination attempt, resulting in the existence of his special evasion art being leaked out. As a result, all the other supreme Daolords began to maintain maximum vigilance at all times, making it much harder for him to assassinate any others.

“Starting today, when we’re roaming the outside world we should hide within a flying vessel,” Daolord Snowjoy said. “The flying vessel is protected by wards; even if he wishes to ambush us, he needs to first break the wards apart. There won’t be a way for him to silently sneak up on us.”

“Using secret arts to cover a wide area and assault everything within it is another way to prevent him from drawing too close to us. Unfortunately, Darknorth’s heartworld projection and secret arts are all quite formidable. Even Sectlord Timedream’s heartworld projection was crushed by them.” Daolord Shaka shook his head. “Ugh. This Darknorth fellow is far too terrifying. I’m using my magic treasures to protect us from all sides, but he can stealthily appear right outside them without me being the wiser.”

“Right.” Daolord Snowjoy felt nervous as well. Now that the two of them knew that Ning had an assassination art, both of them felt quite vexed. Anyone who Ning targeted would live in a perpetual nightmare, because by the time they saw Ning, Ning would already be right next to them.

“Timedream is so screwed,” Shaka said.

“Thankfully, his focus is on Timedream and not us,” Snowjoy said.

“If he was to come after us… although we’d stand a good chance of surviving, we’d definitely suffer some serious injuries,” Shaka said.

……

Sectlord Timedream continued to furiously flee as countless strands of silk seemed to swirl around him. Clearly, he wanted to ensure that Ning wouldn’t be able to ambush him again. As he fled, he sent frantic mental please to Ning: “Brother Darknorth, I beg that you spare me. I’m willing to give you all of my treasures.”

“Timedream.” Ning wielded all six Northbow swords in his three-headed, six-armed form as he continued the pursuit. “I was willing to reveal my Shadowless evasion art in front of Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy, precisely because I wish to kill you! There’s no one who can rescue you!”

Keeping the Shadowless evasion art secret was incredibly important to him, as only when it was a secret would it be fully effective. Once word of it spread, all the Daolords would be on their guard. Although it would still be dangerous, it would no longer be lethally effective.

However, Ning felt confident in his chances nonetheless. He not only had heartforce techniques, he also had tremendously strong close combat abilities! The Shadowless evasion art was a killer move of his, but if it had to be revealed it had to be revealed. If he was strong enough, he didn’t have to worry about his techniques being revealed to all. Even if they knew about his techniques, he’d still be able to crush them in a frontal battle.

“Darknorth, I have many life-preserving abilities. It won’t be easy for you to kill me either.” When Timedream saw Ning draw closer and closer to him, he barked mentally, “Don’t push me too far.”

“I’ll pushing you to your wit’s end!” Ning actually sped up the pursuit.

“Then go die!” Timedream’s face turned savage as he produced a black stone which was covered with countless golden spots that came together to form a strage diagram. Sectlord Timedream crushed the black stone, causing an overwhelming torrent of power to instantly flood out and form a dazzling halo of golden light around him.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. Swish! He disappeared without a trace.

“Where is he? Where is he?!” Sectlord Timedream was anxious and angry. His heartworld projection was weaker than Ning’s, and Ning was using his own heartworld projection and nine novessence arts to prevent the Sectlord from scanning the area. As a result, he naturally wasn’t able to find Ning’s true location.

“Die!” Sectlord Timedream let out an enraged roar as he caused the dazzling halo of golden light around him to explode outwards in every direction, striking all within their path.

BOOM! Roughly a hundred thousand kilometers away, some of the energy struck an obstacle. Moments later Ning appeared, Northbow swords at the ready. Sword-light gleamed in front of him, transforming into a black hole that allowed him to easily defend against the attack.

“Sectlord Timedream, even if the full power of that strike was concentrated on me, it would only be able to cause me a few injuries at most,” Ning smirked. “As for when its spread out like this? It poses no threat at all!”

The power contained within that treasure was roughly on par with 60% – 70% of a full-power strike from one of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Ning was now a supreme Daolord and just one stage away from their level. Even if one of the eight lords personally intervened, they wouldn’t be able to kill Ning with one blow, given the fact that he was protected by the Hegemon armor! An area attack? Completely out of the question.

“Damn.” Sectlord Timedream gritted his teeth, then turned and continued to flee at high speed.

“His evasion art is impossible to deal with. Whenever I take out a treasure, he’ll use this ‘Shadowless’ evasion art and I won’t even be able to hit him!” Sectlord Timelord was turning frantic. “Even if I had a Hegemon-level treasure, I still probably wouldn’t be able to kill him.”

Even the most powerful of treasures needed a target. When Ning used his Shadowless evasion art, he was able to completely and totally vanish. Given that he was able to move at a hundred times the speed of light, he would be able to easily move a million kilometers away in the blink of an eye. There was simply no way for him to aim at or hit Ning. When he unleashed the power in a dispersed area attack, it would quickly become a hundred times weaker than normal.

Whoosh. Ning once more flew straight towards him.

“He’s faster than me, and his heartworld projection is stronger than mine. How am I supposed to escape?” Sectlord Timedream was about to go crazy. He was both slower and weaker than his opponent. His strength lay in heartforce, but Ning was also a powerful Heartforce Cultivator.

“Emperor Waveshift. Damn you, Emperor Waveshift!” Sectlord Timedream felt hatred in his heart. “If we were in the outside world, I would’ve torn a hole through spacetime and fled long ago.” He had plenty of treasures that would allow him to flee through spacetime, and more than one at that!

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Chapter 22 – End of the Road

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 22 – End of the Road

Time flowed on, with six hours going past in the blink of an eye. During theses six hours, Sectlord Timedream used a total of nine offensive items, all of which had the power of lords of the eight Sacred Cities. Some were stronger, some were slightly weaker. However, Ji Ning’s usage of the Shadowless evasion art rendered Sectlord unable to aim the treasures. As a result, Ning was able to block the attacks effortlessly; he wasn’t even knocked backwards by them.

“He just disappeared again.” Sectlord Timedream continued to flee in terror. He glanced backwards, unable to discern where Ning had gone.

Boom! An explosive sound rang out as the countless threads surrounding him shuddered as something slammed into them.

“Darknorth’s here again!” Sectlord Timedream stared ashen-faced at Ji Ning, who had just appeared. Ning had already burst through those threads and was charging straight towards him.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Swish! Whoosh! The streaks of sword-light shot towards him, some fast, some slow, some savage.

Sectlord Timedream was being completely dominated. Even Daolord Snowjoy wasn’t a match for Ning in close combat, to say nothing of Timedream. Timedream was, by comparison, much weaker in close combat.

Whoosh. He once more transformed into a stream of light-silhouettes that then reformed off in the distance. This was his dreamform.

“Die.” Ning’s sword-light didn’t slow down in the slightest as it pursued with its chops, stabs, and strikes against the humanoid silhouette. Although Timedream’s dreamform was able to dissipate a great deal of his attack power, it clearly was far inferior to the likes of the invulnerable aquaform.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Sectlord Timedream reformed off in the distance, his face ashen. He hurriedly gulped down a few spirit-pills, a look of despair in his eyes. In six short hours, he had been forced to use his dreamform to flee over a hundred times. Each time, he had been heavily injured and needed to rely on spirit-pills to heal himself.

“I want to see just how many spirit-pills you have.” Ning was still brimming with a murderous intent.

“Daolord Darknorth, spare my life. Spare my life! I’m willing to be your retainer for a chaos cycle, and I’ll give you all of my treasures. What do you think?” Sectlord Timedream once more begged for mercy, and this time he actively offered to serve as a retainer for a chaos cycle. He was an extremely proud man; it was a testament to how much despair he felt that he was willing to serve another as a retainer and hand over all of his treasures. He wanted to save his own life, but he was out of all other ideas. He had used up an enormous number of spirit-pills. If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to last for so much as another day.

“A retainer? You are weaker than me, and your heartforce is inferior to mine as well. What would be the point of taking you on as a retainer?” Ning barked coldly.

“You are going too far!” Sectlord Timedream roared coldly.

“Damn right I am!” Ning didn’t even try to disguise his hatred. Given how long he had chased after Timedream, how could he stop now?

It would be nice, having someone as powerful as Timedream as his retainer… but Ning would never forget that it was Sectlord Timedream who was primarily responsible for Ninedust being forced to suffer such agony. The guilt Ning felt towards Ninedust prevented him from sparing Timedream!

……

“Spare my life!

“Damn you, Waveshift.

“Why, why, why?!

“I can’t accept this! This is ridiculous!

“Ahahaha…

“Winesage! Winesage! Hurry up!

“Why? WHY?!”

As death slowly moved closer and closer to Sectlord Timedream, he began to go completely insane. Although Winesage was moving closer and closer to Ning, he was still a few days ago. Sectlord Timedream wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer. As for the other supreme Daolords, they didn’t even dare to move too close to Ning.

Shaka, Snowjoy, Kingfreak, and Timedream… these four supreme Daolords had attacked Darknorth. And what had happened? Kingfreak died! Shaka and Snowjoy had been terrified into fleeing! And Timedream had been chased to the brink of death!

Something like this was more than enough to terrify the vast majority of Daolords. Second-tier Daolords wouldn’t even dare to think about getting involved, while even the supreme Daolords grew nervous! Most likely, only Winesage felt no fear at all, but he still had to make it here in time.

“How can it be that things will end up with me dying here?” Sectlord Timedream’s aura continued to weaken. He once more transformed into a humanoid light-silhouette, then raised his head to stare despondently at the skies.

Ning’s merciless sword-light once more came howling towards him, chopping towards the humanoid light-silhouette. The humanoid light-silhouette slowly began to dim.

“Darknorth, today I’m going to die by your hand… but in the future, you will die as well! Ahaha…” Sectlord Timedream’s light-silhouette let out a berserk laugh as he continued to grow dimmer and dimmer. In the end his silhouette completely vanished, leaving just a few magic treasures behind.

Ning waved his hand, collecting the left-over treasures. Prior to dying, Sectlord Timedream had used up all of his Dao-seals and other disposable treasures. Since he wasn’t going to be able to escape, he didn’t want to let his death to benefit Ning any more than necessary. Only a few unbreakable treasures and precious materials ended up in Ning’s hands.

Ning stood there in midair, staring at the distant mountain peaks. He remained very calm. He could still sense the Ninedust Sectlord within his estate-world, and a hint of guilt appeared on his face. He murmured softly, “Brother Ninedust, hold on. Keep holding on.”

“And big brother Solesky…” Ning could also sense Daolord Solesky remaining in secluded meditation within a different estate. “Once you come out, I’ll expect an explanation from you.”

He had indeed made a breakthrough, which was why he had managed to turn defeat into victory! He had defeated Shaka and Snowjoy, then slain both Kingfreak and Timedream. But if he hadn’t made that breakthrough, both he and Ninedust would’ve been finished!

Big brother Solesky, I’ll demand an explanation from you!

……

Ning was fairly calm after having killed Timedream, but the countless other Daolords within the Waveshift Realm were all in a state of shock. He had fought four supreme Daolords by himself and won! Two had fled in terror while the other two, ‘Kingfreak’ and ‘Sectlord Timedream’, had died?!

When King Gorsch had died, it had been because he was outnumbered. Ning, however, had been the outnumbered one… and he had instead killed two of his attackers, supreme Daolords both! This was completely different.

“Daolord Darknorth also trains as a Heartforce Cultivator! His heartworld projection is even stronger than Sectlord Timedream’s was.”

“Daolord Darknorth is skilled in one of those legendary assassination arts. Godsense cannot locate him, allowing him to quietly appear in front of you without any trace at all. He’s utterly terrifying.”

“Daolord Darknorth is also extremely strong in close combat. In close combat, he was able to defeat four supreme Daolords at once.”

All sorts of news spread throughout the land. Countless other Daolords were in a state of horror as yet another terrifying supreme Daolord appeared within their midst!

His heartforce was strong enough that all second-tier Daolords were in a state of terror, as well as a few supreme Daolords! Even if you were skilled in escape, so what? If you weren’t able to resist Ning’s heartforce, you’d still perish.

His assassination arts struck fear in the hearts of supreme Daolords, while his close combat skills were without flaw. He was even more terrifying than the Radiant King, Sectlord Timedream, Palace Lord Dawnstar, and the others! He was someone who was so terrifying, he could be spoken of in the same breath as Winesage! If Winesage didn’t have a Universe treasure, his position might be in danger.

……

Virtually all of the supreme Daolords of this era were within the Waveshift Realm, and this naturally attracted the attention of the various organizations, the Palace of Immortals included.

Atop an Immortal bridge which was deep within the distant Palace of Immortals.

A black-robed elder and a bald, golden-furred alien were seated on this bridge, drinking some wine. Next to them hovered a large mirror which was displaying images of what was happening inside the Waveshift Realm. They were able to clearly see the scenes of Ning fighting against four supreme Daolords as well as his slaying of Timedream.

“Old brother Blackcloud, this Darknorth kid is pretty tough. He’s even tougher than your disciple,” the gold-furred alien said in a praising tone.

“In close combat alone, my disciple should be on par with him. The thing is, this Darknorth kid is extremely balanced in every area. He’s without flaw. My disciple’s attacks might be a bit more powerful, thanks to that bloodblade of his…” The black-robed, black-haired man paused momentarily as he gave his evaluation. “Still… only people like him who are balanced and flawless are able to survive for long periods of time. His sword-arts are completely without flaw and are perfect in every aspect.”

“Agreed.” The bald, gold-furred alien nodded.

“This Daolord Darknorth also concurrently trains as a Heartforce Cultivator, and has extremely strong heartforce.” The black-robed elder nodded. “I feel as though I’m seeing the second coming of Winesage. Winesage was like this as well, but he now has a Universe treasure.”

“Without it, it’d be hard for me to say which of the two is stronger; they’d have to fight it out,” the gold-furred alien said. “Now that he does have that Universe treasure, he’s the undisputed number one.”

“A pity. The exalted rank of number one Daolord is ‘owned’ by a Daolord of the Dark Kingdom.” The black-robed elder shook his head. “Although Darknorth is a member of the Brightshore Kingdom, he’s still a member of our Dao Alliance.”

The Dao Alliance was a very relaxed organization. One could join the Brightshore Kingdom or even the Ancient cultivators without causing much of a fuss. However, joining the Aeonian Kingdom or the Dark Kingdom was a no-no; those organizations were mortal enemies.

“I have to change the listings again.” The gold-furred alien produced that golden book once more. “I’ve changed the listings more in the past few years than I have in the past thousand chaos cycles.”

He flipped the book open. The book was filled with lines of names. He filled the book with his Immortal energy, and the names instantly began to change once more. As they did, all of the other subordinates of the Palace of Immortals received notification and began to spread the news.

In the Endless Territories, this was the latest listing:

The top Daolord: Winesage

The second Daolord: Daolord Darknorth

The third Daolord: Palace Lord Dawnstar

The fourth Daolord: Daolord Dreamlore

The fifth Daolord: the Radiant King

The sixth Daolord: Daolord Skyaxe

The seventh Daolord: Daolord Tigrone

The eighth Daolord: Fiendqueen Dustrain

The ninth Daolord: the Starking

The tenth Daolord: Palace Lord Cloudwalker

The eleventh Daolord: King Cliffbank

The twelfth Daolord: King Wu

The thirteenth Daolord: Daolord Shaka

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Chapter 23 – Another Hegemon

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 23 – Another Hegemon

This updating of the Daolord rankings was quickly spread throughout the Endless Territories.

Atop an icy chaos planet. This planet had been frozen into a solid ball of ice for trillions of years, and a cold, knife-sharp wind swept across its surface.

Two figures were seated atop this planet facing each other. The first was a white-bearded old man who had six horns on his head and who was dressed in snowy robes. This was the Brightshore Hegemon. The other person in front of him was a single-horned young man dressed in deep blue robes. The youth had a few scales on his face, and his eyes seemed to contain the stars themselves. He radiated an aura of peace and calm.

“Brightshore, this realmverse of yours really has quite a few incredible Daolords.” The horned youth smiled. “That Winesage is not only a Heartforce Cultivator, he also has a Universe treasure. The only thing that ‘Darknorth’ kid needs is a Universe treasure; once he gets that, he’ll be every bit Winesage’s equal.”

“Haha.” The Brightshore Hegemon began to laugh. “Welkin, do you know how long Darknorth has been training for?”

“How long?” The horned youth was startled. The public ranking didn’t even include each cultivator’s special techniques, much less details such as how long they had been cultivating for.

“Less than a chaos cycle,” the Brightshore Hegemon said. “To be more precise… for less than a hundred million years.”

“What?!” The horned youth said in shock, “How is that possible? I’ve visited countless places while wandering through the vast Great Dark, including quite a few alternate universes. To train to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, especially one of such power… without question, every single person I met spent an enormous amount of time to reach such a level. Samsara Daolords… each step they take is extremely difficult and more difficult than the last! To go from the third step to the fourth step in particular requires an inordinate amount of time. How could he have accomplished it in less than a hundred million years?”

“But it’s the truth. He belongs to my Brightshore Kingdom.” The Brightshore Hegemon grew even more smug. “Impressed yet?”

“Such a short time period.” The horned youth said softly, “He must have encountered some special circumstances, such as entering a region where time naturally flows much, much faster than normal. It might seem to us as though less than a hundred million years have gone past, but in reality he must’ve trained for thousands of times longer.”

“Perhaps.” The Brightshore Hegemon chuckled. “Even if that’s true, that’s still a very short period of time.”

The endless Great Dark contained infinite possibilities. Even Hegemons had to slowly drift through it, and venturing forth to another realmverse was incredibly difficult. There would also be a number of unique, special danger zones within it. Normally, cultivators could at most train a hundred times faster than the normal flow of time, but some of the natural zones produced by the Great Dark could accelerate time to be ten thousand times faster than normal, or even faster! This was the ineffable power of nature.

In truth, no one in the Endless Territories knew that Ning was actually just a Daolord of the Third Step! It actually made sense for him to train this quickly from the first step to the third step, given that he had the help of the Stone Censer of Reunion.

“I didn’t expect to encounter such a monstrously talented Daolord upon visiting you in your realmverse.” The horned youth quickly calmed down, as by now he truly had seen far too many amazing things. “Still, it’s extremely difficult for these supreme Daolords to succeed in the Daomerge. Given how talented they are, if they were to succeed they would instantly reach our level.”

“Right.” The Brightshore Hegemon nodded. Their level… even in the endless Great Dark, they stood amongst the very pinnacle of power amonst experts. It was far, far too difficult for supreme Daolords to reach their level.

“The emergence of the Voidsea Jadeseals within the Waveshift Realm has caused me to hear the whispers of fate, awakening me from my slumber,” the horned youth said. “The Waveshift Realm definitely isn’t as simple a place as you might imagine.”

“I can vaguely sense something as well.” The Brightshore Hegemon also frowned. “I really wonder what Waveshift was planning.”

“Waveshift has reached such a level in the Dao of Numerancy that far, far too many major powers are requesting his assistance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is in command of even more mysteries than the two of us,” the horned youth said. “Let’s just watch and see for now. Let’s see what secrets the Waveshift Realm holds, for it to cause us to sense something! After this matters is resolved, I’ll be leaving.”

“You have recovered from your wounds?” The Brightshore Hegemon asked.

“More or less.” The horned youth smiled. “I’ve spent so much time sleeping within your universe. Now that I’m awake, it’s time for me to leave. It’s a true pity. I was THIS close to becoming master of that alternate universe. If I succeeded, I would have become an Otherverse Lord! Alas, in the end I was surrounded and attacked by others. Fortunately, I managed to flee in the nick of time. Otherwise, I would’ve died there.

“Every time there’s a war over control of an otherverse, a large number of people will perish.” The Brightshore Hegemon shook his head. “I’ve chosen to remain in my homeland this entire time. My information network isn’t as good as yours. To date, I haven’t taken part in so much as a single one of those struggles.”

“Brightshore, given how strong you are, even if you failed you would still be able to escape successfully. Even I’m not a match for your spacetime fleeing abilities,” the horned youth said. “That’s why I told you, long ago, that you should go off adventuring by my side. When you visit more places and make more friends, you’ll naturally have a larger information network. Eventually, you might become an Otherverse Lord yourself. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“I worry too much about my clansmen,” the Brightshore Hegemon said.

“You take too many burdens onto yourself,” the horned youth said. “Look at me. Look at how free and relaxed I am! I’m also a Chaos Godbeast, but I’ve been to far more places than you have. My life isn’t nearly as tiring as yours. We Chaos Godbeasts were meant to venture through the stars by ourselves! Who gives a damn about the others? It’s enough for me to be happy, right?”

“Everyone has their own preferences.” The Brightshore Hegemon smiled.

“Oh, right. Have you found those six materials I asked you to look for?” The horned youth asked, “Those six ingredients once turned up within this universe of yours.”

“I’ve found five of them,” the Brightshore Hegemon said. “These items are all incredibly rare.”

“I’ve visited so many places but still haven’t been able to acquire all six.” The horned youth shook his head, unhappy. “Only when I have all of these ingredients will I be able to fully master my Empyrean Yang-Nine Ki! Ugh… if I had already mastered it during that last struggle, I might’ve become an Otherverse Lord long ago.”

“The Empyrean Yang-Nine Ki is one of the most supreme secret arts in existence. It won’t be mastered as easily as that,” the Brightshore Hegemon laughed. “I fear you’ll need to continue your travels through the Great Dark and visit a few more places.”

“I won’t be the only one. This universe of yours will soon be annihilated by the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels Wheels. By then, you’ll have to lead these young fellows in wandering through the vast world as well,” the horned youth said.

“The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.” The Brightshore Hegemon hesitated, then slowly nodded. “They are one of the most terrifying natural calamities the endless primordial chaos has ever given birth to. Cultivators are not able to resist their power. I’ll try to buy as much time as I can, but if there really is nothing to be done then I really will have to go out wandering as well.”

“Let’s not talk about such depressing subjections.” The Brightshore Hegemon smiled. “Let’s keep our focus on the Waveshift Realm. Given that even you sense something strange about it, it definitely holds a significant secret within it.”

“Quite.” The horned youth grew eager as well.

In front of them was a floating image of the scenes going on within the Waveshift Realm, and at the center was the scene of Ji Ning fleeing at top speed.

……

Right now, Ning was the center of attention of almost all the major powers of the entire Endless Territories. Even some of the reclusive Eternal Emperors were watching him.

Swoosh! Ning didn’t know and didn’t care about this. All he wanted to do was escape the nine layers as soon as possible.

Boom! Boom! Boom! One heartworld projection after another descended upon him, with the strongest one at the center being controlled by Winesage. Ning had no choice but to shrink his own heartworld projection in order to resist theirs.

Ever since Timedream died, there were three Heartforce Cultivators left amongst the most supreme Daolords; Ji Ning, Winesage, and Palace Lord Cloudwalker. Cloudwalker was the lord of the Palace of the Heart of the Brightshore Kingdom, which meant he naturally was a member of the kingdom and bound by the lifeblood oath not to kill another member. Thus, Cloudwalker had yet to do anything to Ning.

In terms of just heartworld projections alone, Ning was actually slightly superior to Winesage! But if he expanded his heartworld projection and made it too large, the power of his projection would drop.

Right now, over twenty second-tier Heartforce Daolords were working together to suppress Ning. Just four or five of them working together equaled a first-tier Daolord in might! However, these heartworld projections were a force of energy that couldn’t actually be ‘merged’ together, and so if Ning shrank the ‘footprint’ of his own heartworld projection, his foes wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

“You won’t be able to escape, Darknorth.” A cold voice rang out far away. “Shaka and the others managed to tie you down for long enough. We’ve already set up an enormous cordon around the surrounding area, and I’m quite close to you. I think you and I should have a little duel. If I’m unable to defeat you, I’ll let you leave and cease my pursuit of you. Without my presence, the other supreme Daolords probably wouldn’t be able to do anything to you at all.”

“Winesage.” Ning continued to flee at a hundred times the speed of light. He barked back, “You want to fight me? Then come catch up to me first!”

Ning certainly wasn’t going to slow down. He wasn’t certain in his chances against Winesage, after all!

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Chapter 24 – Ji Ning and Winesage

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 24 – Ji Ning and Winesage

Ji Ning continued to flee. On the way, he encountered multiple squads of Daolords, but none of them dared to engage him! Everyone knew how he had been able to fight against four supreme Daolords and kill two of them; this meant that Daolord Darknorth definitely was far too strong for them to compete against.

“It’ll all be up to Winesage.” This was what countless Daolords were thinking.

……

Palace Lord Dawnstar’s ranking was now second only to Ning and Winesage’s. He was carrying his giant machete on his back while seated in the lotus position at the peak of a mountain, staring off into the distance as a streak of light flew past. It was Ji Ning. Ning even cast a glance at Dawnstar.

“Be careful, Darknorth.” Dawnstar smiled at him.

“Thank you,” Ning said, then continued to flee.

Dawnstar smiled as he watched Ning depart. He was a member of the Brightshore Kingdom; there was no way he would stop Ning.

“The Palace of Immortals has actually ranked Darknorth above me. I want to see just how tough he is.” Dawnstar transformed into a streak of light that stayed a respectable distance behind Ning. “Winesage was just barely able to defeat me. Now that he has a Universe treasure, I wonder what level of power he has reached.”

Dawnstar was quite eager to see what the results of Ning’s battle against Winesage would be. It must be understood that the ranking given by the Palace of Immortals did contain certain unspoken rules. For example, if you defeated someone in open combat you would take their rank, such as when Daolord Dreamlore defeated the Radiant King!

Another way to gain a ranking was to be acknowledged by countless other Daolords. Ning’s feat of fighting against four supreme Daolords at once and even killing Timedream and Kingfreak was something which Palace Lord Dawnstar and the others would not have been able to do. Thus, the many other Daolords all acknowledged that Ning was second only to Winesage and as such he was ranked number two on the list.

Generally speaking, without a ‘real’ resolution to a fight one wouldn’t be given a ranking. The Ninedust Sectlord and Daolord Snowjoy were both extremely strong, but thus far neither of them had actually defeated one of the top-ranked Daolords! Ninedust had been surrounded by Kingfreak, Snowjoy, and Shaka; he hadn’t actually been able to beat any of them, while his fight with Fiendqueen Dustrain had also been inconclusive. Where should he be ranked at? Eight? Nine? Ten? This was a matter of dispute.

You had to either be publicly acknowledged by the other Daolords, or defeat a ranked Daolord in an open battle!

“He’s publicly acknowledged to be superior to me,” Dawnstar mused to himself. “Given my Dao-heart, his heartforce shouldn’t be able to shake me at all. As for close combat… I really do not fear Darknorth at all! They’ve actually ranked him above me? I’ll have to find a chance to spar with him, then beat him.”

Palace Lord Dawnstar was an incredibly proud person. He naturally didn’t want to accept the results of this new ranking at all.

……

“Winesage and Dawnstar were already ranked above me. Now, even Darknorth is ranked above me.” A red-robed youth clutching a blood-colored blade was glaring off into the distance, a desire to do battle radiating from him. “I actually beat the Radiant King. The only problem is, I haven’t actually run into Dawnstar or Darknorth yet!”

Daolord Dreamlore was very conceited. He didn’t want to bother with challenging ordinary Daolords; the first one he challenged was the Radiant King, despite the fact that none of the treasures of the Waveshift Realm had even appeared! In the end, he had actually won!

Right now, he wanted to challenge Dawnstar and Darknorth! If he won, he would then go on to challenge Winesage!

“No one can stop my saber.” Daolord Dreamlord was filled with the urge to do battle.

Whoosh. He flew through the skies at high speed, but he was still quite a distance aways from Ning and Dawnstar. Right now, Ning and Dawnstar were located close to each other, while Winesage was just two days away from Ning’s position. As for Daolord Dreamlore, he was still more than ten days away.

……

Winesage knew exactly where Ning was, but Ning didn’t know where Winesage was. More than twenty second-tier Heartforce Daolords were using their heartworld projection to suppress his, forcing him to keep it smaller in size and making it impossible for him to actually locate Winesage.

Whoosh. Ning was flying just a few meters above the waters of a vast, turbid river. “Eh?” Ning’s face suddenly tightened slightly. He came to a halt, staring off into the distance.

Another figure had appeared above the surface of the river. This was a man dressed in ancient black robes that were covered with certain diagrams. The man’s hair was rather tousled, and his eyes looked rather bleary. He looked very unkempt, but just by standing there he somehow became the center of this vast world. It was as though he was the hegemon of this land.

“Winesage,” Ning murmured softly.

“Darknorth.” Winesage smiled, his gaze slowly sharpening. “You won’t be able to escape this fight.”

……

“Interesting. The top seed against the second seed.” The Brightshore Hegemon and the horned youth continued to watch things play out from their position atop that frozen planet.

……

“Winesage is approaching the end of his lifespan. He doesn’t have much time left. Once he dies, Darknorth will be ranked number one. A chance to watch the two of them fight is a rare opportunity indeed.” The bald, gold-furred alien and the black-robed, black-haired elder within the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance were watching eagerly as well.

……

In the Endless Territories, everyone from Daolords to Hegemons were paying attention to this fight. Of course, the Daolords wouldn’t be able to actually watch the fight in person or know the details of it, but they were still waiting to see what the results would be.

The top Daolord against the second Daolord! The former had stood atop the rankings for countless years and now was in possession of a Universe treasure. The other had trained for a very brief period of time and had risen to sudden prominence, and had just slain the Kingfreak and Timedream just a short while ago. His momentum seemed unstoppable!

……

Above that vast river. Ning and Winesage stared at each other from afar, neither daring to underestimate the other.

“It has been a long, long time since I have lost to anyone. Dawnstar and the Radiant King were very close to me in power, but they are still a bit weaker.” A desire to do battle burned in Winesage’s eyes. Although his voice was quite calm, it still echoed in the air above this river. “The reason they are weaker is because neither of them are Heartforce Cultivators! You, however, are a Heartforce Cultivator. You stand a chance at beating me.”

“But of course… that’s only in the event that I decline to use my Universe treasure.” Winesage laughed calmly. “Don’t worry. For now, I won’t use it! If you can’t even beat me when I don’t use my Universe treasure, you should just go ahead and hand the seal over. It’s rare for me to encounter a worthy opponent. I don’t want to kill you.”

Winesage’s words were calm but filled with arrogance and invincible pride. Even without his Universe treasure, he was still invincible amongst his fellow Daolords! Now that he had one, he truly did look down upon all of his so-called peers. He now generally spent his time with ancient Eternal Emperors and rarely interacted with Daolords.

“Haha, you don’t want to kill me? We haven’t even fought yet. What makes you so sure you can kill me? Even if you use your Universe treasure, you still won’t be able to do anything to me.” Ning let out a cold snort. “Let’s cut the crap. Take this!”

Whoosh. Ning vanished into thin air.

“That’s the assassination art?” Winesage’s face tightened slightly. Boom! Instantly, an awesome aura of bloody light swept out from Winesage, as well as a heartworld projection that was filled with the essence of darkness and death. The two joined together.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosive sounds rang out.

Ning had merged his nine novessence arts with his heartworld projection, while Winesage had merged his bloodlight arts with his heartworld projection. The two clashed against each other, with Ning holding the slight advantage. However, the bloody halo of light around Winesage was still able to maintain a diameter of roughly ten thousand kilometers.

Ning’s silhouette suddenly appeared outside of that field of bloody light. “Your secret arts are pretty strong,” Ning praised. The energy of the bloodlight art and the heartworld projection worked together seamlessly to destroy all within their path. If Ning was to enter its range, he would be attacked by it. His past opponents, such as Timedream and Shaka, had weaker secret arts and heartworld projections than Ning. As a result, they had suffered for it in battle.

“You secret arts are even stronger, but its auxiliary effects are inferior to mine.” Winesage nodded. “This secret art of mine is known as the Asura Domain, and my heartforce and perfectly join together with it. Foes that clash against me not only have to deal with the pressure from my heartworld projection and the Asura Domain, they also have to endure heartforce attacks from me.”

“Asura Domain?” Ning nodded. He had heard of some of Winesage’s supreme attacks before. When Heartforce Cultivators were unable to effectively use either brute-force attacks or illusions, they would need to use softer and more insidious methods. Winesage’s Asura Domain was a good example of this. This was a technique that combined both secret arts and heartforce, giving it both a terrifyingly strong suppressive effect as well as a corrosive, soul-invading effect. Any cultivator caught within it would grow increasingly irritable as the fight went on. This impact on their emotions would make it difficult for them to stay in top fighting shape and unleash their full power, resulting in them losing.

Ning’s own plan was to master the [Heartsword] technique and do the same. He had gained a basic level of insight into it long ago, but the later stages were extremely difficult. To date, he hadn’t spent enough time on it.

It would take him very, very long to advance from the third step to the fourth step as a Daolord. He would have plenty of time to work on the [Heartsword] art.

“Talk is cheap. All the talk in the world won’t make you one whit stronger. Show me what you actually have.” Ning immediately manifested [Three Heads, Six Arms] and held six Northbow swords in his hands.

Boom! Ning unleashed his nine novessence arts and his heartworld projection at the same time. Ning and Winesage quickly began to move closer and closer to each other, their secret arts and heartworld projections crashing against each other like two worlds colliding.

“Fuck off!” Ning was incomparably valiant as he charged straight towards Winesage, immediately using his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. His six Northbow swords were filled with seemingly inexhaustible power, and all of that power exploded like a series of volcano towards Winesage.

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Chapter 25 – A Duel of Supremes

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 25 – A Duel of Supremes

Winesage continued to stand there. His face remained placid, but his eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t move to dodge the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. Instead, he manifested a total of six arms and slowly raised them up high. All six of his hands seemed to contain a strange, marvelous amount of power within them. If mere World-level cultivators were present, their souls and truesouls could well be wiped out just via watching this attack.

Ji Ning, being a major power on the same level as Winesage, naturally didn’t have to worry about this.

“Exterminate!” Winesage’s six hands simultaneously flipped open and struck outwards.

Bang! Ning’s six Northbow swords furiously struck down as well. It was a head-on collision of frontal attacks.

Boom! Ning and Winesage were both knocked backwards. A terrifying shockwave of power swept out in every direction, causing even distant spectators like Palace Lord Dawnstar to be affected by it. Dawnstar revealed a look of surprise: “Winesage’s [Extermination Palms] are incredibly dominating, but Darknorth was actually able to block it head-on. The two actually fought to a standstill?”

“Not bad at all. Take another attack from me!” Winesage found his footing atop the water, then charged forwards once more as his six arms spread out in a slow, gentle manner like the wings of a roc.

Whoosh. Winesage moved closer and closer to Ning, carrying a surge of ghostly power with him. His body gave birth to a myriad of shadowy after-images, and his six arms seemed to transform into countless blurs, almost as though he had thousands of arms. Every single hand used different stances, such as claws, palms, or gentle pushes…

Winesage glided towards Ning like a ghost or a dream, his countless hands all reaching out towards him. If the [Extermination Palms] represented the utmost in hard, aggressive, Yang-style destruction, then this technique represented the utmost in soft, gentle, Yin-style attacks.

“Bring it!” Ning was overjoyed upon seeing this. He charged straight towards Winesage, his six Northbow swords transforming to become unpredictable, ephemeral, and translucent, vanishing and reappearing without rhyme or reason.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

Each time Ning’s swords and Winesage’s palms collided, the collision was very gentle and soft. Both were using very soft, Yin-style attacks… but each strike was filled with murderous intent.

Ning’s Shadowless evasion art was born from his Shadowless stance. By now, his Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless was able to make use of all types of energy. It was skilled in energy redirection and completely unpredictable, making it the most soft and Yin-style of attacks.

……

The two were like a pair of dancers. Each clash was whisper-soft and the movements were gentle beyond compare, but both moved like incredibly fast blurs. Winesage gave birth to countless fluctuating shadows while Ning would occasionally disappear and then be forced to reappear due to the Asura Domain.

“Interesting.” The distant Palace Lord Dawnstar laughed. “Winesage has three killer attacks; the [Extermination Palms], the [Asura Dance], and the [Awakening Dream], with each attack being more deadly than the last. Although the [Extermination Palms] are very dominating, they don’t contain enough variability and flexibility. The [Asura Dance] and the [Dreamwaker Finger] are more unpredictable… but Darknorth is an extremely powerful Heartforce Cultivator. The Asura Domain is virtually useless against him, making it so that the [Asura Dance] isn’t able to reach its full potential as well.”

The [Asura Dance] was one of Winesage’s most powerful attacks. When he fought against Dawnstar and the others, he would generally first unleash his heartworld projection and his Asura Domain! When the Asura Domain was used in combination with his [Asura Dance], his foes found it extremely difficult to do anything to him.

“It seems he’ll have to rely on the [Dreamwaker Finger].” Palace Lord Dawnstar nodded. “Winesage relied on this stance to become acknowledged as the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories.”

Much like how Daolord Featherdress’ most powerful killer attack was the [Featherdress Soulthrall Melody], Winesage’s most deadly attack was his [Dreamwaker Finger]. Supposedly, it was a killer attack he suddenly came up with after getting drunk and waking up the next morning. In the face of this strike, even the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar and the Radiant King were defeated… and so, Winesage became the undisputed number one Daolord of the Endless Territories.

But of course, Palace Lord Dawnstar and the Radiant King both had terrifying killer attacks of their own. The reason why Winesage was still able to beat them was principally because they would be affected by his heartworld projection and Asura Domain when they fought him! Even before the battle had begun, they would already be reduced to 60% – 70% of their true power. It was understandable for the two of them to lose to him.

This was why, from a historical standpoint, the vast majority of number one Daolords were Heartforce Cultivators! Even though foes might be able to endure their heartforce illusions and other heartforce attacks, the foes would still be weakened by the heartworld projection, which put the two on uneven playing fields.

……

Whoosh. Circular waves rippled out from the surface of the water. Ning and Winesage had just separated after another clash. Winesage stood there on the surface of the water, a smile on his face. “Dawnstar and the Radiant King also managed to just barely withstand my first two killer attacks. My final attack is known as the [Dreamwaker Finger]. If you can withstand it and remain undefeated, that means you are even stronger than Dawnstar and the Radiant King. In that case, I’ll use my Universe treasure to defeat you… but of course, if you fall to the [Dreamwaker Finger], you won’t be worthy of seeing my Universe treasure.”

“The [Dreamwaker Finger]?” Ning said calmly, “I also have a killer attack that I have yet to display. Let’s see whose is stronger.”

Technically speaking, Ning’s three attacking stances (the Shadowless stance, the Heavenbreaker stance, and the Blood Drop stance) were all on the same level. However, his Northbow swords had evolved after absorbing the golden sand from the cracked planetary core, causing the power of the Blood Drop stance to increase fivefold.

Fivefold. What did that mean? As a Daolord of the Second Step, Ning was able to transcend space with ease. As a Daolord of the Third Step, he was similarly able to break past the limit of a hundred times the speed of light with ease. Even Daolord Shaka had been defeated in a single blow by this attack.

Because of the special properties of the Northbow swords, the Blood Drop stance was Ning’s most powerful attacking stance.

“Oh?” Winesage began to move. “Then take my blow.”

Winesage was like a giant roc who flew towards Ning at lightning speeds. His six hands reached out like talons, each hand coming from a different direction! This seemed like a very casual and gentle attack, but spacetime in the local area began to tremble and shake. It must be remembered that the Grand Waveshift Formation caused spacetime within the Waveshift Realm to be extremely stable, preventing even spacetime techniques from tearing the local spacetime apart. For Winesage’s supreme attack to be able to affect spacetime locally was testament to its tremendous power.

Although the attack was very light and soft, it seemed to summon all the might of the local spacetime. Each of the six attacks contained an inconceivable amount of power.

The [Extermination Palms] and the [Asura Dance] both contained certain profound elements of the Dao of Destruction, but the [Dreamwaker Finger] contained the true essence and power of destruction within it. In the instant that it touched the opponent, its full power would be instantaneously unleashed.

“Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately unleashing his most powerful attack. His six Northbow swords all executed this move, flying out like dazzling streaks of light! Every single streak of light seemed to be capable of tearing through space and time, causing spacetime in the area to tremble and shake. In the final instant before contact, the tips of the six Northbow swords began to spiral slightly. Boom! They instantly increased in speed, tearing past a hundred times the speed of light.

“Eh?” Winesage’s face changed. “He broke through the limit and struck faster than a hundred times the speed of light. But Darknorth trains in the Dao of the Sword! Since when was the Dao of the Sword capable of breaching the limits on speed?”

Generally speaking, those who were able to breach that limit and move or strike faster than a hundred times the speed of light actually trained in the Dao of Light, such as the Radiant King or Daolord Shaka! This Dao was a Dao of speed to begin with.

Someone who trained in the Dao of the Sword was able to breach this limit as well? This forced Winesage to feel slightly anxious, but it was too late now. There was no backing out of this attack!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Ning’s six sword-tips drilled straight towards the tips of Winesage’s six fingers. They collided head-on! BOOM!

A terrifying amount of force was released on both ends, resulting in an unbelievable explosion!

“WHAT?!” The distant Palace Lord Dawnstar was so stunned his eyes bulged out. “This is impossible!” He watched as Winesage was actually knocked flying backwards, smashing into the surface of the river and causing the surrounding water to disappear. As for Ning, he continued to pursue Winesage with six Northbow swords in hand!

“The [Dreamwaker Finger] was actually defeated?” Palace Lord Dawnstar could hardly believe it. “He lost in a frontal exchange?!”

……

“If Winesage didn’t have that Universe treasure, Daolord Darknorth should be ranked as the number one Daolord in the Endless Territories. Impressive, truly impressive.” The two elders within the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals both sighed in amazement.

……

“I’ve wandered through many places and have seen many Daolords who have dazzled me. Today, I’ve seen two more. The one named Darknorth… for him to reach such a level despite merely having trained for less than a hundred million years is simply incredible.” Both Hegemon Welkin and the Brightshore Hegemon were watching this fight as well.

……

Winesage slammed into the waters of the river, a look of disbelief on his face. “My [Dreamwaker Finger] was actually defeated?” In the past, prior to him acquiring the Universe treasure, he had reigned undefeated… but today, his supreme technique had actually been defeated? And in a head-on clash, no less. He truly was rendered speechless!

“His swords are not only incredibly fast, they also contain incredible power.” Winesage had a mixed look on his face. “When my life comes to an end, the most powerful Daolord of this era shall be Darknorth.”

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Chapter 26 – Eternal Emperor

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 26 – Eternal Emperor

He had gained the upper hand in a frontal clash, but Ji Ning wasn’t excited or smug about it. This was because he knew that Winesage’s attacks were every bit his equal in terms of profundity. He had an advantage in that his Northbow swords made his Blood Drop stance fully five times more powerful than normal. In the end, however, the Northbow swords were not Universe treasures; they were simply ‘qualified’ to potentially develop into Universe treasures in the future, and they were exceptionally strong when executing the Blood Drop stance.

For him to win was normal. If he had lost, he would’ve been shocked!

Whoosh. Winesage flew back to the center of the river, returning to his normal two-armed form. At the same time, a pair of black gloves appeared on his hands.

“Eh?” Ning’s subconscious began to warn him of tremendous danger. He hurriedly came to a halt.

Winesage slowly levitated to stand above the water, a smile on his face. “I really didn’t expect this. If it wasn’t for my Universe treasure, I wouldn’t be able to keep safe my position atop the rankings. Daolord Darknorth, I admire you very much. You truly are worthy of forcing me to use my Universe treasure.” The black gloves in Winesage’s hands began to emanate a terrifying aura of power.

As for Ning, he warily eyed those black gloves. His Darknorth Swords were only strengthened when using the Blood Drop stance; it didn’t strengthen his other stances nearly as much. True Universe treasures, however, would allow each and every stance to be filled with incredible power.

“Come on.” Ning’s eyes were filled with the desire to do battle. “I’ve heard long ago that Universe treasures are very powerful, but I’ve never tested one out for myself. Show me just how tough a Universe treasure is!”

“As you wish.” Winesage waved his right hand. Whoooosh. His black right glove swept out, causing spacetime to shudder as darkness completely covered the world around them.

“What a terrifying palm.” The distant Palace Lord Dawnstar was stunned. “I’ve heard legends of Universe treasures for countless years, but this is my first time actually seeing the power of one of them in person. In the past, Winesage and I were on par with each other, but I’m now no longer a match for him. The difference in power between us is quite apparent.”

Dawnstar truly felt powerless upon seeing this palm. His saber and his skills were focused on attacking! He was supposedly the best close combat expert in the Endless Territories, an offensive specialty… but when he saw Winesage use his Universe treasure to execute the [Extermination Palms], Dawnstar could sense that the power of this attack was far more terrifying than his own. If he had been surpassed even in his area of specialty, how could he not feel powerless?

“Eh?” An illusory figure suddenly appeared in the skies above the Waveshift Realm. It was Realmsoul Polo. “Winesage has a Universe treasure! Although in terms of enlightenment and understanding he remains inferior to the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, in power alone he’s already reached their level.” Polo had a somber look on his face as he looked at that palm come crashing down. “Such incredible power… it threatens the very stability of the Grand Waveshift Formation. Mm… at least Winesage has the good sense not to cause disruption on a large scale.”

Realmsoul Polo was in charge of overseeing this entire realm. When Ning had used the Hegemon Dao-seal, he had unleashed a level of power that surpassed that of Winesage’s strike. Polo, however, hadn’t cared because that Dao-seal was a single-use item. Winesage, however, would be able to rely on his own power to unleash thousands of chops. If he wished to cause wanton destruction, he could possibly disrupt the stability of the entire formation.

“If he does disrupt the formation, I’ll have no choice but to give him a little warning,” Polo mused silently.

……

This strike was used the same [Extermination Palms] technique as before. Ning already understood the principles it operated off of, but the power had increased to a completely different level. This was the level the lords of the eight Sacred Cities had reached! Six Northbow swords in his hands, Ning immediately executed the Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart to defend. He wasn’t so arrogant as to try to take this attack head-on! The difference in power was simply too great.

BOOM! Ning could feel a terrifying amount of power explode against him. Although his Northbow swords had already deflected much of the force, the remainder of it had slammed into him, sending him flying backwards as the water around him was completely annihilated. Ning continued to fly until he slammed into the riverbed, the water around him completely evaporated!

Whoosh. Ning rose to his feet, his face rather ashen. “What a terrifying strike. Thank goodness I’ve reached the third stage of the Omega Sword Dao, and have the Hegemon armor protecting me. Otherwise, I would’ve suffered a heavy injury or even died!”

Rumble… the ‘surviving’ waters of the river came flooding into to replenish the empty area around him.

“He didn’t even spit up blood?” The distant Winesage was shocked as well. Not only had Darknorth survived, he hadn’t even been injured to the point of vomiting blood?

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, take a few more strikes from me!” Winesage continued to press the attack. Boom! Boom! Boom! He used a series of palm-strikes, fist-strikes, and finger-strikes against Ning. Ning was forced to rely exclusively on defensive stances; given the overwhelming disparity in power, he didn’t have any way to fight back at all.

Ning was hit by one attack after another. This was a crushing assault!

“What incredible defenses.”

“Ji Ning’s defensive prowess equals his offensive prowess.” Palace Lord Dawnstar sighed in amazement when he saw this. He was skilled in offensive attacks, but his defensive techniques were much weaker than Ning’s. “He should also have an incredible strong defensive divine ability. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to take hits like that.”

“So this is what a Universe treasure is like.” After fighting for a while, Ning felt his entire body turn numb from pain. However, he now knew much more about Universe treasures.

Universe treasures provided a tremendous boost in strength, but as with all sources of external power it had its limits. Although Winesage had now reached the level of the lords of the eight Sacred Cities in power, he would definitely be at a disadvantage when fighting them. This was because the eight lords were equal to him in power but superior to him in profundity of technique.

In comparison to the eight lords, the techniques which Winesage and Ning were using would seem a bit clumsy. However, Winesage deserved to be proud; the eight lords of the Sacred Cities stood at the true pinnacle of the Endless Territories and were second only to the three Hegemons in power. Given their status, they normally would never act against Daolords.

Eternal Emperors innately felt a sense of superiority when meeting Daolords, because they knew that even the most supreme of Daolords would eventually die if they failed their Daomerge. There was no way for them to live longer than 108,000 chaos cycles.

“Winesage, your Universe treasure truly is formidable. I’m unable to resist its power at all. Since I’ve experienced it for myself… it’s time for me to say farewell,” Ning said loudly. A heartbeat later, he vanished into thin air. The area around them was still covered by the nine novessence arts as well as Ning’s heartworld projection, but Ning himself had vanished. Winesage was completely unable to locate him and thus didn’t even know what direction to pursue in.

A while later, Ning appeared more than a million kilometers away. “Winesage, farewell,” Ning called out.

After him! Winesage continued to pursue, unwilling to give up, but Ning was able to move at a hundred times the speed of light, the same rate at which Winesage himself flew when using his magic treasure. Given that the two moved at the same speed, and given that Ning was able to use the Shadowless evasion art to disappear at will, there was no way for Winesage to catch up to him at all.

This pursuit went on for a full day. Winesage clearly had no chance at all, but he still refused to give up. His situation was different from Ning’s. For Ning, the 108,000 limit was something which incredibly far off in the future, but for Winesage it felt imminent. He had already been alive for more than 100,000 chaos cycles! This was why he so desperately wanted the Voidsea Jadeseal.

Boom! As Ning was flying past a series of snow-topped peaks, he suddenly felt an aura of eternity manifest out of nowhere and cover the area around him.

“This aura…?” Both Ning and the pursuing Winesage were stunned. This aura was a vast an ancient one that radiated eternity and immortality.

Rumble… radiant, incandescent light suddenly appeared above the Waveshift Realm. The light appeared directly above Ning and slowly began to descend, containing a degree of power that was simply inconceivable. Both Ning and Winesage felt a sense of inexplicable terror; the aura of might around this rainbow light surpassed even that of a Hegemon’s.

The countless streaks of rainbow light began to circle around the region which Ning was in, as that aura of supremacy descended.

“What’s this?” Ning and Winesage exchanged a glance, both looking stunned.

“The prime essences of the Daos of the universe have come to offer their congratulations,” Ning murmured. “Yet another Daolord has succeeded in his Daomerge to gain eternity?”

“Someone succeeded in the Daomerge and gained eternity?” The distant Winesage revealed a look of disbelief. “Someone succeeded in the Daomerge? Yet another Eternal Emperor has been born?”

Although he was an incredible figure, his chances at the Daomerge remained incredibly slim. When he saw the prime essences of the universe descend upon the area in celebration, he understood that a new Eternal Emperor had to have been born.

“The Daomerge gave birth to a new Eternal Emperor!”

“Someone succeeded in the Daomerge?”

“Who completed the Daomerge?”

The countless Daolords of the Waveshift Realm watched as the dazzling rainbow light descended, all of them stunned by that invincible, supreme aura that came with it.

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Chapter 27 – Emperor Solesky

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 27 – Emperor Solesky

“In every generation, only a few Daolords will become Eternal Emperors,” Winesage mused. “I never expected to see one right here!”

“Right.” Ji Ning scanned the area as well.. “I wonder which Daolord made the breakthrough. He’s probably hiding someone.”

The descent of the prime essences of the universe covered the area around them, which meant the new Eternal Emperor should be here as well.

Swoosh. The distant Palace Lord Dawnstar flew over as well. He had been following them this entire time, but now he finally revealed himself. He was dressed in ordinary clothes and carried a great machete on his back. He was the pride of the countless cultivators of the Brightshore Kingdom… but of course, the Brightshore Kingdom now had another idol to be proud of: Daolord Darknorth!

“Dawnstar.” Ning revealed a smile.

“Darknorth.” Palace Lord Dawnstar smiled as well. “Haha. I didn’t have the chance to congratulate you on how powerful you have become. After this matter in the Waveshift Realm is concluded, we’ll be inducting you as the new Palace Lord of the Palace of the Sword.”

The title of Palace Lord of the Twelve Palaces was determined strictly based on power. By now, Ning’s power had already outstripped that of any and all Daolords in the Sword Palace.

“Your Brightshore Kingdom is growing stronger and stronger. Both the second and third positions belong to you,” the nearby Winesage said with a smile.

“If you didn’t have that Universe treasure, you might be thrown off your pedestal by Darknorth,” Dawnstar said, then scanned the area. “Haha, I never would’ve expected for a new Eternal Emperor to be born here in the ninth layer of the Waveshift Realm. Every person in the ninth layer is an extraordinary Daolord. This new Eternal Emperor will be a very powerful one.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

“Agreed. This Eternal Emperor won’t be one of the ones who are killed with ease.” Winesage nodded as well.

Daolords of the Fourth Step were generally divided into four tiers.

The lowest tier was the ‘ordinary’ tier.

The third-tier Daolords included Daolords like like Patriarch Clearwind and Daolord Solesky.

The second-tier Daolords included the likes of Kongsan and Palace Lord Woodflower.

The supreme first-tier Daolords included Winesage, Ning, Dawnstar, Ninedust, Snowjoy, and the others.

Daolords of the Fourth Step who succeeded in the Daomerge and became Eternal Emperors would also result in four different tiers of emperors.

Ordinary Eternal Emperors were the weakest and were virtually unseen, primarily because almost all of them had been wiped out. Alternately, they had gone into hiding or had fled long ago.

The elite Eternal Emperors included the likes of Emperor Mirrorsnow and Emperor Melobo. Most of the living Eternal Emperors in the Endless Territories fell into this category, and they were comparable to the supreme first-tier Daolords in might. Most of them had been alive for extremely long periods of time, and thus they had collected many life-preserving items and techniques. To kill them was very, very difficult.

The next tier consisted of the lords of the eight Sacred Cities and the likes of Patriarch Vulturas.

The most supreme Eternal Emperors were known as Hegemons. There were three of them in the Endless Territories!

……

The one advantage Eternal Emperors had was that of time. They were alive for so long that they were able to accumulate many treasures. For Ning to face off against the eight lords of the Sacred Cities was like a second-tier Daolord facing off against a supreme Daolord! There was an enormous difference in power, and that wasn’t even factoring in the fact that the eight lords of the Sacred Cities were ancient freaks who had acquired treasures similar to Hegemon Dao-seals. Most likely, they all had many terrifying trump cards to use. There was just no way to battle them.

“Eh?” Winesage scanned the area suspiciously. “Who is the Eternal Emperor? Why hasn’t he come out yet?”

“Yes, it’s time for him to come out.” Ning and Palace Lord Dawnstar scanned the area as well.

Suddenly, Ning’s face turned pale.

“What is it?” Both Dawnstar and Winesage noticed the change in Ning’s face.

Ning had a complicated look on his face. It was unclear if the expression was of joy or rage. He waved his hand, causing two figures to appear atop the snowy peaks. The first was that of Daolord Badlands. The other was that of Daolord Solesky… or to be precise, Eternal Emperor Solesky.

“Emperor Solesky,” Ning said.

“Ji Ning.” Solesky still looked as sloppy and disheveled as ever, but his aura was now completely different. He had a stately, eternal majesty to him, as his Dao had gained eternity. Emperor Solesky said hurriedly, “It’s not what you think it is.”

“You used the Voidsea Jadeseal?” Ning asked.

“I used it.” Solesky nodded. “But…”

“Used it?” Winesage looked at Solesky, then interrupted him. “You are the former Daolord Solesky, correct? I really didn’t expect this. Daolord Darknorth and Daolord Ninedust risked their lives, so I felt certain that one of them had the seal. In the end, it was with you all along?”

“Daolord Solesky was already famous for his invulnerable aquaform,” Palace Lord Dawnstar said. “Now that he is an Eternal Emperor, his invulnerable aquaform is assuredly even better than before. Most likely, it will be extremely difficult for even the eight lords of the Sacred Cities to kill him. As for us Daolords, we have no chance at all. Emperor Solesky, congratulations. You have gained true eternity for yourself.”

……

“Daolord Solesky made the breakthrough.”

“Him?”

“He’s legendary for being tough to get rid of.”

The Heartforce Cultivators all chatted mentally to each other, causing news to quickly spread throughout not just the Waveshift Realm but the entirety of the Endless Territories.

Daolord Solesky. In the past, many Daolords wished to capture him and learn more regarding the Waveshift Realm from him. As a result, many knew of him! Although his attacks were fairly weak, his defenses were incredibly strong, allowing him to survive quite a few blows from even Fiendqueen Dustrain. One could imagine how tough his defenses were!

Now that he had become an Eternal Emperor and his invulnerable aquaform had also reached the eternal level, how much tougher would he have become?

……

Many powerful Ancient cultivators resided within a location inside the distant Terror Starsea. The exact location of this Ancient homeland was a mystery, with very few knowing the answer! Even the Ancient cultivators who were granted entry didn’t know the exact location.

An absolutely peerless beauty was seated atop an ancient throne, a royal scepter in her hands. To each side of her sat two rows of Ancients who were all Eternal Emperors.

At the very center of this room was a levitating image that displayed the scene within the Waveshift Realm.

“Who would’ve thought that Daolord Solesky would actually be the one to become an Eternal Emperor?”

“He’s not that strong, but he’s good at staying alive. In the future, we Ancient cultivators will probably need to get along with him.”

“To succeed in the Daomerge is far too difficult.”

The Eternal Emperors of the Ancient race all spoke out in praise.

As for Hegemon Netherlily, she said calmly from atop her high throne, “Emperor Solesky’s emergence is a minor matter. He’s not that powerful, and his existence has no impact on the situation in the Endless Territories at all! The Waveshift Realm… I can vaguely sense that something ten thousand times greater than the emergence of Emperor Solesky is going to happen.”

“Greater?” The Ancient cultivator Eternal Emperors were all rather surprised.

“You are too weak. You won’t be able to sense it,” Hegemon Netherlily said. “The secrets held within the Waveshift Realm are absolutely extraordinary. This is why I’ve been using my attunement to karma to keep an eye on everything happening within it.”

The existence of the Grand Waveshift Formation prevented the other Eternal Emperors from being able to scry the realm in detail, but Hegemon Netherlily was able to accomplish it.

And of course, Hegemon Windrain and Hegemon Brightshore were able to do the same.

……

Within the Windrain Kingdom, the most sacred place of the Aberrant lifeforms, gentle rain fell down from the skies. This truly was a world of wind and rain, and it was filled with creeks, valleys, and beautiful rivers.

“Eh?” An enormous face appeared in the midst of a vast forest filled with countless trees. It was a special lifeform that was so incredibly vast, its body spanned the majority of the Windrain Kingdom. An image suddenly appeared in the air in front of the face. This was an image of what was happening within the Waveshift Realm.

“A new Eternal Emperor was born? Daolord Solesky might’ve broken through to become an Eternal Emperor, but this won’t have an impact on the Endless Territories as a whole, much less cause me to sense something.” Hegemon Windrain continued to watch from afar. “Waveshift… what the hell was he planning? What secrets are hidden within it?”

The Dao Alliance’s roots and foundation were incredibly deep, and its two leaders had a very wide web of influence. Despite that, they weren’t even close to living as relaxed a life as Emperor Waveshift.

Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Netherlily… they were far more powerful than Emperor Waveshift, but for them to go from place to place through the Great Dark was extremely difficult for them, whereas Emperor Waveshift was able to accomplish it with ease. It could be said that the most influential Eternal Emperor to ever leave the Endless Territories was Emperor Waveshift.

……

“Waveshift Realm.” Hegemon Welkin had been slumbering in the Endless Territories for many years in an effort tto heal his wounds. Both he and Hegemon Brightshore were paying close attention to the Waveshift Realm as well. Both of them could also vaguely sense that something big was going to happen there, something which would have an important impact on them.

……

The three native Hegemons of the Endless Territories and the outsider Hegemon Welkin, as well as the most powerful and ancient Eternal Emperors, were all able to sense that something was going to happen. This was why they were so focused on the Waveshift Realm.

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Chapter 28 – Crimsonwave Temple

Book 32, Waveshift Realm, Chapter 28 – Crimsonwave Temple

Despite the relative indifference of the Hegemons, Ji Ning and the other Daolords were paying rapt attention to the fact that Daolord Solesky had succeeded in his Daomerge and become an Eternal Emperor.

“True eternity.” Ning looked at Emperor Solesky, a complicated feeling in his heart. If it hadn’t been for happened to Ninedust, Ning would be celebrating… but instead he was trying to keep a tight lid on his temper and prevent it from exploding. His big brother Solesky really had used up the Voidsea Jadeseal and let him and Ninedust protect him like idiots! For Ning to do this was one thing, but Ninedust didn’t have much of a relationship with Solesky; wasn’t Solesky ashamed to allow Ninedust to die on his behalf in the outside world? They had already agreed to hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal if they were unable to continue the fight. So what the hell happened?

Ning had wanted to ask this question for quite some time now, but for the sake of the Daomerge Solesky had completely entered a state of secluded meditation. Even his avatar had gone into seclusion, completely absorbed with the Daomerge. There had been no chance to speak to him at all.

“Darknorth.” Emperor Solesky wanted to explain.

Winesage barked, “Emperor Solesky, when you claim you used up the Voidsea Jadeseal, are you perhaps trying to help Darknorth and Ninedust out?” He did indeed find this rather suspicious. As he saw it, both Ning and Ninedust were much stronger than Daolord Solesky had been. How could Solesky be the one to end up using it, while Ning and Ninedust risked their lives to defend him? What would be the point? Was it possible that Emperor Solesky was lying in an attempt to deceive them?

“I really did use it up,” Emperor Solesky said hurriedly. “I’m not helping them out. They were helping me out! I swear on my very life itself that I’ve already used up the Voidsea Jadeseal and in the process completed the Daomerge. If anything I just said was false, let my soul be shattered and my truesoul forever dissipate!” Emperor Solesky said in a loud voice.

Winesage shook his head. Given that Solesky had just sworn a lifeblood oath, there was no way he was lying. “Alas… all that for nothing.”

“At least there are three more remaining,” Palace Lord Dawnstar said.

Suddenly, a series of figures began to appear in midair. All of the Daolord squads throughout the Waveshift Realm were able to see a version of this white-robed man appear before them! It was Realmsoul Polo once more.

Realmsoul Polo stared downwards, his gaze focusing on Emperor Solesky. “Emperor Solesky, my master has decreed that Eternal Emperors are forbidden from breaching the Grand Waveshift Formation and entering this realm! However, since you were originally just a Daolord when you entered, your presence here will not be ruled a violation of the rules. Still, you must immediately depart from the Waveshift Realm. I’ll open up a corridor for you to leave through.”

“Realmsoul Polo, please give me half a day first.” Emperor Solesky lifted his head and said in a clear voice, “I definitely will not damage any of the formations within the Waveshift Realm.” He knew that he had to give Ning a satisfactory explanation. Otherwise… although they wouldn’t go from being brothers to being mortal enemies, the relationship between the two of them would be dramatically impacted by today’s events.

“Fine, but only half a day.” Polo agreed to his request.

There were many Daolords in the Waveshift Realm, and virtually all of them were Verge-level Daolords. For them to attempt the Daomerge here was reasonable. If an Eternal Emperor from the outside world dared to enter by force, Realmsoul Polo definitely would’ve launched a counterstrike! His master, Emperor Waveshift, had left quite a few tricks and traps behind. However, if a Daolord within the realm actually made a breakthrough, Polo would simply congratulate them.

“What?”

“Daolord Solesky used up the Voidsea Jadeseal?”

“Not Daolord Solesky; he’s now Emperor Solesky!”

“Ninedust and Darknorth fought all that time just for his sake?”

The many Daolords in the realm were all rather speechless. Both Darknorth and Ninedust were supreme Daolords who had beaten back one squad after another of Daolords. Even Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak had died! The many Daolords in the Waveshift Realm would’ve accepted either of them acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseal, but who would’ve thought that it would be Daolord Solesky who would end up with it?

“Daolord Solesky really is a lucky man, for him to have become lifelong friends with Daolord Darknorth early on. This time, it was Daolord Darknorth who helped him acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal.”

“His lucky truly was incredible.”

The Daolords all sighed in amazement and envy. Given how strong Daolord Solesky had been, as an Eternal Emperor he would no doubt be able to live an extremely long life. There were no Daolords, at least, capable of posing a threat to him.

……

After the airborne Realmsoul Polo finished speaking with Emperor Solesky, the realmsoul continued, “The competition over the first two Voidsea Jadeseals has come to an end. Now, it is time for the final three seals.”

The countless Daolords within the Waveshift Realm all listened intently.

“The final three seals are all located within the tenth layer of the Waveshift Realm.” Realmsoul Polo stared downwards at the Daolords. “I believe that thus far, none of you have managed to reach the tenth layer.”

“Right.” The Daolords all nodded. The Waveshift Realm had a total of ten layers, something which Emperor Waveshift had made known back when he was still around here. However, thus far no one had been able to enter the tenth layer.

“The tenth layer is over there.” Realmsoul Polo pointed towards a certain direction off in the distance.

Rumble…

A distant mountain range began to shake and rumble, then split apart as an enormous edifice began to emerge from deep within it. A terrifying, awesome aura of power emanated from this enormous building, with the aura being so strong that every single Daolord within the Waveshift Realm was able to sense it clearly. Even those who were very far away from it and were unable to see it clearly due to many different formations blocking their vision were able to sense it. It was like a terrifying, slumbering beast that was slowly waking up and making its presence felt.

“How terrifying.” For now, Ning didn’t pay his big brother Solesky any heed as he focused on attuning to that distant, incredible, terrifying aura of power.

The airborne Realmsoul Polo also stared off into the distance, watching as the enormous thing slowly rose. Finally, it made itself fully visible. It was an ancient temple that was a mixture of black and gold, and anyone who looked at it would sense its incredible age.

“The tenth layer is actually that ancient temple over there!” Realmsoul Polo said. “This temple is known as the Crimsonwave Temple!”

“The tenth layer is the Crimsonwave Temple, and all three of the Voidsea Jadeseals are located within it,” Realmsoul Polo said.

……

Hegemon Brightshore and Hegemon Welkin had been seated, but they now both shot to their feet in astonishment, staring at the enormous image in front of them and the scene of the ancient temple’s emergence. The temple had three ancient characters written directly above it. The characters were extremely complicated, much like the Dreamdust language and the azureflower seals.

As for the three characters, they stood for: ‘Crimson’ ‘Wave’ and ‘Temple’.

“Crimsonwave Temple?” Hegemon Brightshore and Hegemon Welkin shared a glance, stunned looks in both of their eyes.

“The legendary Crimsonwave Temple?” Hegemon Welkin murmured softly, “The legendary Crimsonwave Temple has actually appeared within your realmverse… how did Emperor Waveshift manage to move the Crimsonwave Temple into his Waveshift realm?”

“Is it really the Crimsonwave Temple?” Hegemon Brightshore was stunned as well.

……

“It’s the Crimsonwave Temple!” Hegemon Netherlily shot to her feet from her throne, two blurry streams of light emanating from her eyes.

“Crimsonwave Temple?” The ancient Eternal Emperors all had puzzled looks on their faces.

“What’s a Crimsonwave Temple?”

“Hegemon, what is this Crimsonwave Temple of which you speak?”

All of them were puzzled. Hegemon Netherlily, however, just stared at the ancient temple as she murmured softly, “Myself, Brightshore, Windrain… all of our treasures combined are not worth as much as Crimsonwave Temple. Emperor Waveshift… you truly are incredible.”

……

“The legendary Crimsonwave Temple?” The enormous face within the vast forest of countless trees revealed a stunned look as well. “The Crimsonwave Temple was actually relocated into our realmverse, the Endless Territories?”

……

“Impressive abilities. Simply impressive!” The gold-furred alien and the black-robed, black-haired elder within the Dao Alliance were shocked as well. They stared at the levitating mirror in front of them and at the image of that ancient temple within the mirror.

“When did that brat Waveshift manage to relocate the Crimsonwave Temple into his little world, and without anyone noticing to boot?”

“If it wasn’t because he voluntarily exposed it, none of us would know a thing.”

“It must’ve cost him a fortune.”

……

In the Waveshift Realm itself, Ning and the other countless Daolords simply stared expectantly as the tenth layer, the ‘Crimsonwave Temple’, made its appearance. They were eagerly focused on the three final Voidsea Jadeseals, and they didn’t really know what the name ‘Crimsonwave Temple’ represented.

“My master has wandered the endless Great Dark. Crimsonwave Temple was the greatest treasure my master has ever gained, after experiencing countless dangers and travails.” Realmsoul Polo stared downwards, his voice echoing throughout the Waveshift Realm. “The Endless Territories is my master’s homeland and thus he sent Crimsonwave Temple here as an offering to it.”

Realmsoul Polo was extremely proud. These words were meant to be heard by the highest-level members of the six powers. Indeed, Emperor Waveshift had offered his greatest treasure, ‘Crimsonwave Temple’, to the Endless Territories.

“The final three Voidsea Jadeseals are located within the Crimsonwave Temple. Only supreme Daolords will stand a chance at surviving it.” Realmsoul Polo looked downwards at the countless Daolords, a hint of a smile on his face.

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Chapter 1 – Solesky and Ji Ning

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 1 – Solesky and Ji Ning

The tens of thousands of copies of Realmsoul Polo began to disappear from the skies above the Waveshift Realm.

“Let’s go to Crimsonwave Temple.”

“Let’s go.”

“The realmsoul has already made it clear that only supreme Daolords are capable of surviving Crimsonwave Temple. We’re not on that level of power yet. If we go, we’ll die.”

“I won’t be satisfied if we don’t even go take a look! Plus, there’s always a chance, no matter how slim. We might be able to seize that chance.”

“Even if we don’t go inside, we can wait around outside the palace. We still might have a chance.”

Although the realmsoul had made the situation perfectly clear, there were still many Daolords who elected to head towards the Crimsonwave Temple. And of course, none of the supreme Daolords hesitated at all.

“Shall we head to Crimsonwave Temple together?” Winesage asked.

“Let’s. We’re quite a ways away from Crimsonwave Temple, and there will be many dangers along the path. If we join forces, we’ll move faster,” Palace Lord Dawnstar agreed.

“I’m fine with that. Badlands, what say you?” Ning looked at Daolord Badlands, who smiled and nodded: “This is just an avatar. I’ve been prepared for death this entire time. I might as well go to check out the Crimsonwave Temple first.”

“Let’s move.” Winesage smiled slightly. He had naturally heard of Daolord Badlands long ago; the presence of Badlands’ would naturally be of help.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Winesage and Dawnstar simply flew, while Ning road aboard his flying vessel as he wished to have a private conversation with Emperor Solesky. At present, the only ones within that vessel were Ning, Badlands, and Emperor Solesky.

……

Within the flying vessel. Badlands had long ago moved to the front deck to stare off into the distance, allowing Ning and Emperor Solesky to stand at the other end of the vessel.

“Big brother Solesky.” Ning spoke up. “When you were fortunate enough to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal, we agreed that although Ninedust and I would do our best to protect you, if we were unable to do so you would immediately hand the seal over. That way, we’d be able to avoid a true disaster befalling us.”

“Yes.” Emperor Solesky had a hint of embarrassment on his face.

“But in reality? Both Ninedust and I were at the brink of death, but you entered secluded meditation and surrounded yourself with many layers of wards and barriers, refusing to allow anyone to disturb you at all.” Ning looked at Emperor Solesky. “Tell me. Why?”

Although Solesky was now an Eternal Emperor, Ning still viewed him as a brother. He needed an explanation.

“Ugh…” Emperor Solesky shook his head. “I admit, I’m at fault for what happened! We did indeed agree that I would hide inside the estate while you and Ninedust would flee while defending against the attackers! To tell you the truth, when I saw the Voidsea Jadeseal I did indeed feel a strong, selfish desire to keep it for myself and never give it up to anyone else. There are no Verge-level Daolords who would be completely immune to its allure.”

Ning simply listened. He acknowledged this point; otherwise, why would so many incredible Daolords have lost their lives here? Even the likes of King Gorsch, Sectlord Timedream, and the Kingfreak had died due to this struggle.

“I made a certain decision. I chose to immediately use the Voidsea Jadeseal,” Emperor Solesky said in a low voice. “This was my plan. I was going to use the Voidsea Jadeseal to simulate a Daomerge! Since it was a mere simulation and not an actual Daomerge, I could stop it at any moment. I didn’t go into true seclusion!”

“My original plan was to finish using it up, then immediately notifying the two of you. I would then be able to swear a lifeblood oath to the others that I had already used up the Voidsea Jadeseal,” Emperor Solesky said. “Once those pursuing Daolords were certain that I had already used it up… although they wouldn’t be happy about it, they wouldn’t continue the pursuit.”

Ning nodded. “What you say makes sense.” If the seal was used up, then Ning, Ninedust, Badlands, and Solesky could’ve all sworn lifeblood oaths and informed Daolord Shaka, Daolord Snowjoy, and the others that the seal had been consumed. Their opponents would’ve been forced to give up, as further battle would’ve been pointless; the seal would’ve already been gone.

“After I came to that decision, I began to use the Voidsea Jadeseal within a temporal acceleration estate,” Emperor Solesky said. “Roughly a month later, it was used up.”

“A month?” Ning’s face tightened. “Then why didn’t you tell me and Ninedust about it?” Back then, he and Ninedust had yet to fall into danger! If they had publicized the fact that the Voidsea Jadeseal had been used up, the ensuing battles would not have occurred.

“I really was planning to make it public…” Emperor Solesky had an ashamed look on his face. “But as I completed a full Daomerge simulation with the Voidsea Jadeseal, the insights I gained were identical to the insights I would’ve gained from the real Daomerge. Certain insights I had spent countless years working on in the Dao of Water began to deepen, and towards the end I entered a very special prajna-type meditation state.”

“I… really did not wish for that state to come to an end. Once the state ended, the flow of insights would’ve ended as well,” Emperor Solesky said. “Thus, I immediately separated myself from the outside world and began the actual Daomerge, allowing myself to engage in the Daomerge while in that prajna meditative state. In the end… I succeeded at one go with my Daomerge and gained eternity.”

Ning was silent.

“Ji Ning, I admit that I was at fault,” Emperor Solesky said in an embarrassed manner. “I was planning to listen to your call and hand it over as soon as you told me to, or immediately publicize the usage of the Voidsea Jadeseal if I was able to use it up, but… do you know how rare it is for one to enter a prajna-state like that? I could sense that I had a chance at succeeding in the Daomerge! I figured, since you had been able to hold on for a full month, you’d probably be able to hold on for another month…”

“Well. I’ve given you a lot of excuses, but in the end I was just selfish and excited. I saw a chance at the Daomerge and so I risked everything to achieve it,” Emperor Solesky said with shame.

Ning turned to stare towards the outside of the vessel, where Winesage and Palace Lord Dawnstar were flying at high speed. His feelings were very complicated right now.

Should he be angry? He simply wasn’t able to get worked up. The Voidsea Jadeseal had belonged to big brother Solesky to begin with; there was nothing wrong with him using it up! The Daomerge simulation could indeed be disrupted, and Solesky hadn’t fully secluded himself; Ning simply had to message him in order to have him come out! But he ended up in that prajna-state, a state which was incredibly rare. Most likely, no one who was about to attempt the Daomerge would choose to voluntarily end a prajna-state upon entering it. Who knew when the next chance would be?

“Ji Ning.” Solesky looked at Ning.

“No one is completely unselfish,” Ning murmured softly. “And the Daomerge is the ultimate tribulation for all Samsara Daolords. I can’t blame you for not wishing to halt a prajna-state upon entering the simulated Daomerge!”

“In the end, I still went against my promise.” Emperor Solesky remained ashamed. “I caused you and Ninedust to fall into a perilous situation.”

“You don’t owe me.” Ning shook his head. “You do owe Ninedust. He was poisoned by Sectlord Timedream’s redscatter venom.”

“Redscatter?” This name caused Emperor Solesky to feel puzzled.

“It is a terrifying poison meant for dealing with Eternal Emperors. Ninedust is suffering endless torment right now, and was in such pain that he screamed for me to kill him,” Ning said slowly.

“What?!” Emperor Solesky’s face turned pale. Ninedust was a supreme Daolord. How much pain did he have to be in, for him to ask for death?

“You were in that prajna-state of yours and refused to end it, choosing to continue with your Daomerge. I can’t blame you for that.” Ning looked at Solesky. “But big brother… you owe me.”

“I owe him, and I owe you,” Emperor Solesky said. “I won’t forget either debts.”

“I suppose the silver lining for me is that I managed to make a breakthrough,” Ning said. “And I didn’t really lose anything.” Ning spoke in a casual manner… but in truth, he had lost quit a bit. He had been forced to use up his final Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal, after all. Not even the likes of Sectlord Timedream or Daolord Shaka had Dao-seals like that! That dominatingly offensive Hegemon Dao-seal was far more rare and difficult to make than the more stable defensive-type Hegemon Dao-seals.

And in truth, Ning had long ago reached the final bottleneck and was about to make a breakthrough at any moment. Even without this near-disaster, he would’ve soon broken through. To go from the second step to the third step wasn’t all that hard, after all.

“Alright. Now I know the situation.” Ning nodded. “Realmsoul Polo won’t let you stay here forever. You should leave.”

“Alright.” Solesky nodded. He really didn’t know what else he could say.

“Oh, right. Big brother, I haven’t congratulated you yet.” Ning smiled. “Congratulations on succeeding in your Daomerge! Countless Daolords have fallen to this great tribulation, and its rare for even a single powerful Eternal Emperor to emerge in each generation of Daolords. Big brother, you are now strong enough to truly wander the universe without fear for all eternity.”

Solesky revealed a slight smile as well. In his heart, he also felt quite excited… but the guilt he felt towards Ning and the others prevented him from displaying any of it. “I’ll leave now. I’ll wait for you outside the Waveshift Realm,” Emperor Solesky said.

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

Whoosh. Emperor Solesky immediately flew out of the flying vessel and towards the outside world. A rainbow tunnel soon appeared above him; clearly, Realmsoul Polo had opened it up just for him. Emperor Solesky immediately flew into the rainbow tunnel and flew out of the Waveshift Realm.

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Chapter 2 – The Fruits

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 2 – The Fruits

Less than half a day after Winesage, Palace Lord Dawnstar, and Ji Ning joined forces to travel together, Ning received a message from his servant.

“Master, I just received an order from the Hegemon.” The green-robed alien located within Ning’s personal estate called out respectfully to Ning. He was responsible for maintaining contact between Ning and the Brightshore Kingdom.

“The Hegemon?” Ning asked.

“Yes. The Hegemon ordered me to deliver a message to you,” the green-robed alien said respectfully.

“Speak,” Ning said solemnly. In all these years, the Hegemon had only spoken to Ning twice. The first time was when the Hegemon had asked himself, Solewind, Greatjoy, and Firesurge to help protect Skyfire Brightshore on his journey to the alternate universe. The second time was when the Hegemon had given Ning that spacetime disc. Other than that, the Hegemon had never reached out to him.

“The Hegemon said that aside from the Voidsea Jadeseals, the Crimsonwave Temple also contains many precious fruits. The Hegemon hopes for you, Master, to harvest as many of those fruits as you can. The more the better! After you do so, the Hegemon would be willing to buy them from you using either chaos jewels, chaos nectar, rare ingredients, precious Dao-seals, rare treasures… anything is up for trade.”

Ning narrowed his eyes.

“The Hegemon also said that any treasure within the Brightshore Kingdom is up for trade. In fact, he’ll also help you negotiate for treasures held by the other organizations, including Universe treasures! So long as you have enough fruit, the Hegemon will help you trade for them,” the green-robed alien said.

“What?” No matter how calm Ning normally was, he was truly stunned now. Apparently the Brightshore Hegemon was absolutely willing to pay any price for the sake of the fruits within the Crimsonwave Temple.

Of course, despite the enticing offer there was still no way for anyone to forcibly bind a Universe treasure. The Universe treasure had to approve of its next master! The Brightshore Kingdom’s Sword Palace already had a Universe treasure, the shattered sword in its storeroom. However, to date no one had been able to bind it or be acknowledged by it. Thus, in truth that Universe treasure was of very limited value.

“The Hegemon emphasized for you to do your best to harvest as many of the fruits within the Crimsonwave Temple as you can,” the green-robed alien repeated.

Ning pondered silently for a moment, then nodded slightly.

……

Time went on, one day after another. Ning and the others continued to advance before finally, Ninedust completely recovered from the poisoning. In truth, he had already stopped screaming in agony by the ninth day of his torment. Clearly, his Dao-heart was slowly growing stronger in response to the agony, allowing him to repress the pain and prevent him from screaming by the ninth day.

“Come, come, come! Brother Ninedust’s Dao-heart has been rendered truly incredible by this misfortune. In the future, your chances at the Daomerge shall be significantly better than they were before this. Cheers!” Palace Lord Dawnstar offered a toast.

Aboard the flying vessel where Ning, Dawnstar, Winesage, Badlands, and Ninedust. They were seated in a circle and drinking together.

In truth, this journey was quite an exhausting one for Dawnstar and Winesage. The closer they moved to Crimsonwave Temple, the more dangerous the path became, after all. Thankfully, Ning, Dawnstar, and Winesage all joined together. This alliance of the top three Daolords allowed them to advance much faster than they otherwise would have.

“Haha.” Ninedust roared with laughter. “This was indeed a blessing in disguise for me. My Dao-heart was strengthened by quite a bit. However, to tell you the truth… when I think back to the torment I suffered, I would rather have gone without this ‘blessing’. Ugh. What torture that was! Right, Darknorth. Where’s Solesky? Where the hell is he? I have one hell of a bone to pick with that guy!” A cold light flashed through Ninedust’s eyes.

“He’s succeeded in his Daomerge and gained eternity,” Winesage said with a sigh.

“He gained eternity?” Ninedust stared.

“Envious, right?” Palace Lord Dawnstar said. Clearly, he felt quite jealous as well.

“Darknorth, how did he end up gaining eternity? Did he use up the Voidsea Jadeseal when we were fighting for our lives?” Ninedust immediately asked.

“This is what happened…” Ning began to narrate the details of what had happened to Ninedust.

Ninedust ground his teeth as he listened. “That son of a bitch. He entered a prajna-state, then went into a secluded meditation and attempted his Daomerge. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle, but he completely screwed me over.” Although he was still quite furious, the rage he felt towards Solesky didn’t blaze quite as hot as it had in the past.

“He’ll definitely repay you for what he owes you,” Ning said.

“Right, what happened after that? Your aura seems to be far more powerful than it was in the past! And how did you end up alongside Winesage and Palace Lord Dawnstar? What the hell happened?” Ninedust asked.

“After you were hit by the poison, Darknorth immediately charged out to face those four supreme Daolords by himself… and he broke through to become a supreme Daolord as well, sweeping all four of them away! He beat Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy into a retreat, with the Kingfreak and Sectlord Timedream perishing to him,” Palace Lord Dawnstar said with a smile.

“Whaaaat?” Ninedust was shocked. He couldn’t help but turn and smack Ning on the chest, then say with a laugh, “Not bad! You actually killed Kingfreak and Timedream? Nice, nice, nice! At least you took revenge on my behalf. Heeeey… doesn’t that mean you are now stronger than me?” Ninedust stared at him.

“The current Daolord rankings have brother Winesage ranked as number one, Darknorth as number two, and me having fallen to number three,” Palace Lord Dawnstar said with a laugh.

“The three of you are the top three Daolords of all the Endless Territories. I’m now the weakest one?” Ninedust rubbed his jaw, then glanced sideways at the nearby Badlands. “Oh wait. There’s one guy weaker than me here.”

“My skills lie in the Dao of Numerancy, not in battle,” Daolord Badlands said calmly. “If I chose to go into hiding, you wouldn’t even be able to find me, Ninedust.”

……

This group of Daolords continued their advance. More than a year went by, with them moving closer and closer to Crimsonwave Temple.

The Endless Territories. Vastheaven Territory. Vastheaven Palace.

“Darknorth.” A sonorous voice boomed out within Vastheaven Palace.

“Eh?” The golden-robed avatar of Ning, along with the avatars of Emperor Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster, all flew into the air and into the skies. They saw a gold-furred alien slowly walk towards them, causing space to tremble and ripple around him like streams of water. He seemed to walk slowly, but his movements were terrifyingly fast, far faster than the movements of Daolord Shaka or the Radiant King. He reached Vastheaven Palace in the blink of an eye.

“Milord Emperor…?” Ning spoke out.

“Mind if we sit down to have a chat?” the gold-furred alien said.

“Of course! Please come in and sit down, fellow Daoist.” Emperor Solesky’s avatar immediately felt a sense of pressure; clearly, this gold-furred alien was far more powerful than them. Soon, Ning’s avatar and Solesky’s avatar led the gold-furred alien into the palace.

“My name is Goldisle,” the gold-furred alien said. “Solesky, now that you have become an Emperor, I’m certain that you’ll soon be paying a visit to the Palace of Immortals. Darknorth, as a supreme Daolord, once this matter in the Waveshift Realm is over you should also come pay the Palace of Immortals a visit. By then, you’ll both know who I am.”

Ning and Solesky exchanged a glance. They knew that this person was most likely a high-ranking member of the Palace of the Immortals.

“The foundation of the Palace of Immortals is far mightier than that of the other five powers.” The gold-furred alien looked at Ning. “Darknorth, based on my estimations, you should have already been contacted by Hegemon Brightshore of the Brightshore Kingdom. He probably wants those fruits in the Crimsonwave Temple very badly! I’ll tell you this – the Palace of Immortal wants those fruits just as much.”

“Why can’t you go harvest it for yourself?” Ning asked.

“Only Daolords are able to enter Crimsonwave Temple,” the gold-furred alien explained, then continued, “In truth, Crimsonwave Temple was sent here by Emperor Waveshift. It should technically belong to our Dao Alliance, but since Emperor Waveshift established a rule that only Daolords may enter, we shall follow the rules he set. The Dao Alliance has the most Daolords, and I am confident that we are able to pay the best price.”

“Any treasure! We’ll make available any of the treasures within the Palace of Immortal’s treasury for you to choose from. So long as you have enough of the fruit, you can trade for whatever you wish.” The golden-furred alien continued, “Even if the treasure you seek is outside of the Endless Territories and is in the hands of other organizations in otherverses, we’ll work to help you find whatever it is you tell us you need, no matter how rare it is. But of course, you have to procure enough fruit for us.” The golden-furred alien looked at Ning.

Ning felt stunned. This was one hell of a struggle!

“I can promise to you that the Dao Alliance will give you a higher price than any of the other five organizations can offer.” The golden-furred alien smiled. “Based on what I know, Darknorth, you are quite talented in the [Heartsword] art as well, yes? Here’s a copy of the complete [Heartsword] sutra; consider it a show of sincerity from the Dao Alliance.”

Ning was secretly amazed. Not at being given a free copy of the [Heartsword] sword-arts; although it was valuable, giving him a copy for free cost the Dao Alliance absolutely nothing at all. For them to know that he was skilled in the [Heartsword] sword-arts, however… this was impressive. It must be remembered that he had relied on the [Heartsword] sword-arts to attain the rank of Swordlord within the Sword Palace! Very few people even in the Brightshore Kingdom knew of this. The Dao Alliance’s intelligence network truly was incredible.

“The Dao Alliance won’t force you to do anything. Let it all be of your own free will,” the gold-furred alien said with a smile.

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Chapter 3 – Separate Paths

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 3 – Separate Paths

“I’ve said everything I came to say.” The golden-furred alien rose to his feet. “I’ll be waiting for you outside the Waveshift Realm, Darknorth.” He then turned and took a single step forwards, space twisting and distorting about him as he completely disappeared.

Ji Ning was quite shocked. This sort of dimensional teleportation was something vastly beyond his capabilities. He mused to himself, “This Eternal Emperor named Goldisle has to be at least on the same level as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities.”

“However… I really will have to acquire as many of the fruits within Crimsonwave Temple as I can. My protective divine ability, the Sword Hegemon’s secret art, and the ingredients I need for the Northbow swords… most likely, I’ll have to rely on the Crimsonwave Temple’s fruits to procure what I need for them.” Ning calculated silently to himself, “I need to upgrade my protective divine ability a bit more, while the Northbow swords are currently only providing a significant enhancement to the Blood Drop stance. My weaknesses are quite glaring. A true Universe treasure is perfect in any manner.”

“And the Hegemon’s secret art. My nine novessence arts are no longer cutting it; they are of increasingly limited use to me,” Ning mused.

The nine novessence arts had been created by Daolord Allgod. When Ning had been at the first step, he had no access to any formations and thus used them in brute-force attacks of incredible power.

Upon becoming a Daolord of the Second Step, Ning’s Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang became of tremendous use to him. Even when Ning didn’t actually use the nine novessence arts, the sword-intent of the Omega Sword Dao – Yin Yang had reached twenty to thirty percent of the power of the arts.

Now that he was a Daolord of the Third Step, the might of his Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang was roughly at sixty to seventy percent of the power of his nine novessence arts.

As Ning’s level of insight increased, his Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang would grow increasingly powerful. The nine novessence arts themselves, however, wouldn’t change at all. He’d eventually have to discard them.

“I’m already a Daolord of the Third Step! For now, the nine novessence arts are still of use to me, but once I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step… by then, they’ll be of negligible use,” Ning mused. “I need stronger secret arts.”

“My protective divine ability… the Sword Hegemon’s secret arts… the Northbow swords… all of them require rare materials!” Ning felt rather eager. “Perhaps these fruits might even move me closer to reviving my wife.”

Reviving Yu Wei. This was what Ji Ning truly wanted above all else.

……

The Waveshift Realm. Ning, Ninedust, Winesage, Dawnstar, and Badlands made for a truly formidable alliance. With Daolord Badlands helping guide them away from many dangerous areas, they were actually the first group to arrive before Crimsonwave Temple.

“There it is. Crimsonwave Temple.” Ning and the other four raised their heads to look at the ancient temple before them. The temple was a mixture of gold and black, and they could sense the aura of age which emanated from it. Three strange characters hovered in the air above the temple, and they seemed quite similar to the azureflower seal script as well as the Dreamdust script. Anyone who saw them would immediately understand that the three characters represented the name ‘Crimsonwave Temple’.

Ning stared at the three characters for a long period of time. He could sense that every single character contained boundless mysteries within them.

“The azureflower seal gave me access to the azureflower mist energy. The Dreamdust script was of assistance to my mastery over illusions. As for the Crimsonwave Temple… I can sense that these three characters are also filled with endless mysteries. Analyzing them, however, will be quite taxing.” Ning carefully examined them. The ‘crimson’ character seemed to fill the skies with a blazing red aura. The ‘wave’ character made Ning feel as though he saw an endless sea of waves. The ‘temple’ character seemed to emanate an extremely solemn and stately aura, almost as though Ning was standing at the helm of an endless swarm of soldiers.

This script was an extremely advanced, high-level one that was far more advanced than any language which was commonly used in the Endless Territories. Every single one of these three characters contained extremely high-level mysteries of the Dao within them.

“So we were the first to reach Crimsonwave Temple.” Ninedust roared with laughter. “Everyone, I imagine you all know by now how precious the fruits within Crimsonwave Temple are! We Ancient cultivators also wish to acquire these fruits. I hope that you’ll be willing to sell us any of the fruits you find, but of course it’ll all be up to you.”

“Everyone seems to want the fruits within the Crimsonwave Temple.” Palace Lord Dawnstar said casually, “But for us Daolords, what really matters is still the Voidsea Jadeseals.”

“Agreed.” Ning, Winesage, Ninedust, and Badlands all nodded. The fruits were probably of grave importance to Eternal Emperors, but Ning and the others here were all Daolords! To them, the supreme Daomerge treasure known as the Voidsea Jadeseal was what truly mattered.

“Come, let’s go take a look.”

“We are the first to arrive. We need to seize this opportunity to find the seals.”

“First come, first serve.”

They all laughed merrily as they entered Crimsonwave Temple.

……

Crimsonwave Temple was an incredibly vast place. As soon as the five of them entered, they turned pale.

Right in front of them sat two incredibly large corpses, each 540,000 meters tall. Their enormous black feet were pointed directly at the group, the toenails looking dagger-sharp. The two corpses were completely black in color and completely nude, covered only in light green fur. Their faces were very ugly, while their eyes were flecked with a dark-gold color. The skin on their heads, however, looked almost like a strange hat formed by scales. The awesome auras emanating from the two corpses were so powerful as to cause Ning and the others to tremble.

“These are Hegemonic auras!” Ning, Ninedust, Dawnstar, Winesage, and Badlands traded glances, their faces pale.

“Were the two of them Hegemons?” Ninedust spoke out.

“The auras are so strong that even in death, they bring me a sense of pressure.” Ning said solemnly, “They should be Hegemons.”

“Why don’t they have any armor or clothes on them at all?” Dawnstar was puzzled.

“Were they perhaps looted?” The nearby Winesage chuckled. “The armor used by Hegemons are undoubtedly extraordinary.”

“Something’s wrong.” Daolord Badlands frowned. “These two corpses look absolutely identical!”

“Right.” Ning and the others noticed this as well. There were some members of the same race who looked very similar to each other, and thus Ning and the others hadn’t paid too close attention to their appearances. But as Daolord Badlands had pointed out, these two corpses truly were absolutely identical. Even the wrinkles on their faces were identical!

Whoosh. Suddenly, a streak of rainbow light appeared in front of the entrance to Crimsonwave Temple, reforming into a towering white-robed man’s figure.

“Realmsoul Polo.” Ning and the others turned to look at him.

“Your group was the first to reach Crimsonwave Temple.” Realmsoul Polo weighed Ning’s group with his gaze, then pointed to the two corpses. “As for these two corpses… if you wish to call them ‘Hegemons’, I suppose they could just barely qualify as having reached that level. They are very close to being comparable to Hegemons in power, after all. On the other hand, they truly can’t be considered ‘real’ Hegemons! This is because they are the most powerful guardians which were produced by the Sithe race. The Sithe created them at enormous expense to watch over important locations, with Crimsonwave Temple definitely being one of them. That’s why it had two of these guardians here! They were eventually slain and Crimsonwave Temple was conquered. After a series of twists and turns, it ended up in my master’s hands.”

Ning and Ninedust were secretly startled. These were the most powerful guardians produced by the Sithe? It was possible to create Hegemon-level guardians?!

Ninedust and Ning couldn’t help but think back to that corpse they had seen within that cave in the Terror Starsea. That corpse had been filled with countless stone tunnels and many powerful planets. For the sake of killing that thing, two of the Hegemons of the Endless Territories had fallen!

“This is the most valuable possession my master has ever acquired, and he only gained it after experiencing countless dangers and hardships.” Realmsoul Polo looked quite proud. “The other organizations of the Endless Territories could work together and still fail to acquire this Crimsonwave Temple.”

“Alright. Now look over there.” Realmsoul Polo pointed off into the distance.

Whoosh! Previously, the palace interior had been so dark that they were unable to see what lay at the other side of it. Crimsonwave Temple was extremely large, after all, and it was filled with many regions. Now, three tunnels filled with dark blue light suddenly appeared.

“These three tunnels lead to three different locations within Crimsonwave Temple. You can try them out for yourself… and if you are lucky, perhaps you’ll be able to obtain the fruits within Crimsonwave Temple.” Realmsoul Polo said calmly, “However, acquiring those fruits is extremely difficult, just as difficult as acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals will be.”

“Let’s go.” Ning and the other four didn’t hesitate at all, immediately moving towards the three tunnels. For now, it was still the Voidsea Jadeseals which truly enticed them.

“Everyone, we should part ways here. Otherwise, if we jointly acquire the jade seals, there will be no way to divide them up,” Winesage said. “I’ll choose this tunnel.” He chose one of the three and moved towards it.

“It’ll be up to your own respective skills.” Palace Lord Dawnstar chose the leftmost tunnel.

“Ninedust, let’s take the right one,” Ning said.

Ninedust hesitated. “Darknorth, there should be a Voidsea Jadeseal in each tunnel. If we go together, how should we split it?” They were good brothers, but they had to agree on something in advance. Otherwise, this might end up harming their relationship.

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Chapter 4 – Nine Sections

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 4 – Nine Sections

“If it wasn’t for you, there’s no way we would’ve been able to protect the first Voidsea Jadeseal, and big brother Solesky wouldn’t have become an Eternal Emperor,” Ji Ning said. “This next Voidsea Jadeseal will be yours! Haha, but of course if we find a second one it’ll go to me.”

Ninedust frowned. “Darknorth…” There were only three Voidsea Jadeseals left. It was virtually impossible for them to acquire two of them, especially seeing as how Winesage and Dawnstar had already gone into those two tunnels. Later on, even more supreme Daolords would arrive. For them to even acquire a single Voidsea Jadeseal would be a stroke of tremendous fortune. Two? Their chances were very, very low.

“Darknorth, you’ll also need a Voidsea Jadeseal in the future when you attempt the Daomerge in the future,” Ninedust said. “I think it’s better for us to just leave it up to speed and strength. May the best man win?”

“Enough, Ninedust. If you view me as your friend, then stop standing on ceremony with me,” Ning said seriously.

Ninedust looked at Ning. A moment later, he smiled. “Alright!” In this moment, Ninedust felt true gratitude in his heart. The Daomerge was, without question, the greatest tribulation any and every Daolord would ever face! He firmly memorized this moment of grace and buried it deep within his heart.

Ning relaxed as well. Finally, he had convinced the man! Ever since they had entered the Waveshift Realm, Ninedust had been their mainstay in battle. The fight against Fiendqueen Windrain, the escape with the Voidsea Jadeseal in tow… each time, it had been Ninedust who had taken the brunt of the fighting and done the most work. Was Ning supposed to just take the next Voidsea Jadeseal for himself, now that he had broken through in power? Ning simply couldn’t do such a thing! It would violate his Dao-heart!

In addition, of the various supreme Daolords who had gathered here, Ning cared the least about the Voidsea Jadeseals. This was because the Voidsea Jadeseals were not omnipotent. Second-tier Daolords would be able to use a Voidsea Jadeseal to fully simulate a Daomerge, but supreme first-tier Daolords would only be able to do a partial simulation!

As for Ning himself? He was just a Daolord of the Third Step. When he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, his Omega Sword Dao would become even more overpowered; he would most likely be at the same level of power as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. If he succeeded in his Daomerge, he would eclipse even Hegemons in power!

If the Voidsea Jadeseals weren’t able to do a full simulation for even the other ‘supreme’ Daolords, it probably wouldn’t even be able to simulate a tenth of his own Daomerge.

However… although he cared the ‘least’ about the Voidsea Jadeseals, that wasn’t saying much; he still cared immensely! Even though a jade seal would only allow him to simulate a very small portion of his Daomerge, it would still save him a bit of time when he attempted the real Daomerge. That extra window of time and opportunity could well determine whether his Daomerge would succeed or fail!

“Let’s find and seize the Voidsea Jadeseal first. As for the fruits, we’ll worry about them later after we learn more about them,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Ninedust nodded. Right now, even if Ning asked for all the fruits to go to him, Ninedust wouldn’t mind.

Swoosh! Swoosh! They quickly flew deeper into the tunnel of dark blue light they had chosen.

……

Rumble… as they flew through the dark blue tunnel, they felt almost as though they were flying through a dimensional doorway. Whoosh! An enormous world appeared in front of them as they flew out of the tunnel.

The enormous world had a dimensional walkway within it, with countless armored soldiers clustered on each of the two sides of the tunnel. At the end of this levitating pathway was an ancient throne, while a golden globe of light hovered above the entire pathway.

“Eh?” Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. A dimensional walkway?” Ning was surprised. When he and Ninedust had been in the Eastroad Territory, they had traversed a dimensional walkway and ended up being teleported into that estate deep within the Terror Starsea. Who would’ve thought they would encounter another one here in Crimsonwave Temple?

“There are some differences.” Ninedust stared off into the distance. The dimensional walkway within the Eastroad Sect had been surrounded by empty space, which was why it had been named the Void Pathway! But this vast world before them seemed far more real, and its aura was far more powerful. The area around this dimensional walkway was covered with dark soil and dirt, with many strange trees sprouting from the ground.

The trees were all very short and stooped, and the branches were twisted like the bodies of sea serpents. Only a single tree would grow within a million kilometer region, and every single tree only bore dark blue fruits. The fruits emanated an enticing fragrance that spread out in every direction.

“This enormous world has a total of 108,000 of these trees,” Ninedust said. As he spoke, he reached out with his right hand. Whooooosh. His right hand expanded to become a million kilometers long as he reached out towards the closest tree, seeking to pluck some of the fruit..

Suddenly, a barrier of light that seemed like the heavenly firmament itself sprang up. When Ninedust’s right hand touched the barrier, he was completely unable to move past it in the slightest.

“Realmsoul Polo already said that harvesting the fruit will be just as hard as acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals,” the nearby Ning said.

“This barrier is quite strong. I wasn’t able to shake it at all with my attempt just now.” Ninedust shook his head.

Whoosh. Rainbow light gathered next to them, forming into a white-robed man. It was Realmsoul Polo, who smiled. “So the two of you have reached the first world.”

“Realmsoul.” Nine and Ninedust both looked at him.

“Look over here.” Realmsoul Polo pointed towards the left, then waved his hand. Instantly, the mist far off in the distance to the left began to dissipate, revealing yet another dimensional hallway that was also covered with countless warriors. Winesage was standing right there, with a second Realmsoul Polo by his side.

“Winesage?” Ning and Ninedust were both surprised.

“Now look here.” Realmsoul Polo now pointed towards the right, causing the mist off in the distance to once more dissipate and reveal a third dimensional walkway. This one was filled with just as many of those armored warriors, with Dawnstar standing amongst them.

“Palace Lord Dawnstar?” Ning and Ninedust were starting to understand.

“The two of you, along with Winesage and Dawnstar, have separately entered three of the major sections within the first world of the Crimsonwave Realm,” Realmsoul Polo said. “The different regions within the first world are all linked together, and so the two of you should move to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseals as quickly as possible. If you waste too much time, the others might end up winning it.”

“Where is the Voidsea Jadeseal?” Ning asked.

“Look at the throne over there.” The realmsoul pointed towards the black throne at the end of the dimensional walkway. “When you finish breaking through the many waves of warriors barring your path and reach that throne, you’ll be teleported to the second world. The Voidsea Jadeseals are within the second world.”

“Understood.” Ning’s eyes lit up, as did Ninedust’s.

“Then the fruits here…” Ning immediately changed to the next topic of conversation.

“If you wish to harvest the fruit, you must first acquire one of the command seals,” Realmsoul Polo said. “The command seals are in the third world.”

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. The Voidsea Jadeseals were in the second world, while the command seals needed to harvest the fruit were in the third world? That meant that harvesting the fruit would probably be more difficult than acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals.

“Let’s move.” It didn’t really matter; they had to seize every moment. Winesage was more powerful than both of them, and he would probably advance more quickly. After he won a Voidsea Jadeseal, he’d probably go after one of the others.

Boom! A pillar of golden light descended upon them, illuminating the six armored warriors in the first row before them. The six warriors opened their eyes, now glowing with golden light, then charged towards Ning and Ninedust with weapons at the ready.

Ning transformed into his three-headed, six-armed mode and drew all six of his Northbow swords. As for Ninedust, he brought his longstaff to the ready and immediately charged forwards as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! As soon as the battle erupted, Ning and Ninedust felt a sense of pressure. “Every single one of these warriors is comparable to a second-tier Daolord.” Ning immediately came to this conclusion. An attack from six second-tier Daolords was more than enough to cause most supreme Daolords to feel a sense of pressure.

“Heartworld projection, descend! Novessence arts, manifest!” Ning didn’t hesitate or hold back in the slightest. His mighty heartworld projection came crashing down, suppressing his foes. As for his nine novessence arts, they followed the principles of his Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang as they furiously wrapped around the warriors, rendering them almost immobile. However, right at this moment even more of the golden light rained down from the skies. This time, it covered virtually the entire dimensional walkway… and as it did, it seemed to completely block off the power of Ning’s nine novessence arts and his heartworld projection, rendering them useless.

“What the hell? It actually blocked off my heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts?” Ning raised his head to stare at the golden globe of light above them.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The six armored warriors let out furious, murderous shouts as they began to launch attacks at Ning and Ninedust without any hesitation at all.

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. The warriors they had fought in the Void Pathway within the Eastroad Sect had been much weaker. Even the warriors they had encountered at the very end were merely equivalent to the lowest-ranked second-tier Daolords in power, and they weren’t able to ignore the nine novessence arts like this.

“Even the first warriors here are already comparable to second-tier Daolords,” Ning sent mentally. “And they are clearly far more numerous as well. All of them are fighting like madmen, seemingly intent on our deaths. Even my heartworld projection and nine novessence arts have been nullified. No wonder Realmsoul Polo said that only supreme Daolords even stand a chance at surviving this place! It won’t be easy at all for us to survive this first world.”

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Chapter 5 – The Grovekeepers

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 5 – The Grovekeepers

Ji Ning and Ninedust clearly surpass the six warriors in power, but the six warriors had bodies comparable to top-tier Eternal treasures. Each time they were knocked backwards, they would quickly regroup and charge towards the two once again.

“Why the hell are they continuing to attack?” Ninedust sent mentally.

“We’re clearly overpowering them, but they continue to press the assault.” Ning frowned as well. “Let’s just keep advancing. Forget about them.”

“Alright.” Ning and Ninedust clearly held the upper hand, and so they smashed their way through and continued the advance. As they did, however, six more rays of light shone down from that golden globe above them. Instantly, six more warriors opened their golden eyes and began to charge towards them. The six original warriors didn’t let up the pursuit either, continuing to press the assault. Now, there were a total of twelve warriors assaulting them.

“That’s not good.” Ning and Ninedust both turned pale. “We’re clearly stronger than them, but they aren’t even alive. Their bodies can’t be damaged in the slightest. If they continue to harass us like this, if we advance we’ll have to face eighteen of them, then twenty four of them. More and more of them will come to life and start attacking us.” Ninedust began to grow anxious. “Even if we work together, we won’t be able to last for very long if a hundred of these things attack us.”

“Agreed.” Ning was worried about the same thing.

Boom! Ning attacked in a ghostly manner, his six arms striking out with six Northbow swords and striking one of the warriors. That warrior was knocked flying backwards until it flew outside the dimensional walkway. Its golden eyes instantly dimmed. Moments later, some sort of invisible string seemed to jerk it back into the dimensional walkway where it rejoined the other warriors. This time, however, it no longer attacked.

“Aha!” Ning’s eyes lit up. “Knock them off the walkway. That’s all we need to do!”

“Oh, is that it?” Ninedust was delighted as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two of them were clearly much stronger. Now tha they knew what to do, they began to focus on knocking the armored warriors out of the dimensional walkway. In each case, the eyes of the warriors would go dim before they were pulled back into the ranks of the other warriors, now completely immobile.

……

Ning and the others continued to press the advance. Each time, they faced a total of six warriors! Some specialized in sword-arts, some specialized in whip-arts, some specialized in staff-arts, some specialized in axe-arts, some specialized in long-distance attacks… Ning and Ninedust were faced with all sorts of varied attacks.

Ning and Ninedust continued to press the assault for more than three days. Finally… from this day forth, they had to fight seven warriors each time!

Seven warriors… eight warriors… the number slowly began to rise. Each warrior continued to merely have the power of a second-tier Daolord, but the way they worked together became increasingly intricate and marvelous! Knocking them off the dimensional walkway became harder and harder, especially given how incredibly large the walkway was. The width alone was roughly a million kilometers! Each time, Ning and Ninedust had to fight with their full power.

……

Nine months later.

Twenty-six of the armored warriors were surrounding and assaulting the two of them in perfect concert. Their bodies were completely invulnerable, allowing them to focus on attacks without neededing to defend at all. Ning and Ninedust worked together as well, slowly driving one warrior after another to the ends of the dimensional walkway. They fought for more than two hours before finally sending the last one flying.

“I’m so done right now. I’m exhausted.” Ninedust slumped to the ground. “I need a break. I can’t take any more, I really can’t.”

Ning sat down as well, staring at what lay ahead of them. They had only traversed roughly half of the dimensional walkway, and the further they advanced the more difficult it would be.

“This is torture.” Ninedust shook his head. “We’ve been fighting nonstop for nine full months, and I’ve been using chaos jewels to replenish my energy. Sure, I have plenty of them, but fighting at full power for this long is mentally exhausting. I’m more tired right now than I ever have been in my entire life. How about you, Darknorth?”

“I’m kind of tired as well,” Ning said. In truth, he wasn’t nearly as bad off. He was a Heartforce Cultivator, after all, and his close combat skills were exquisite. This was why he wasn’t as exhausted as Ninedust was. Still, Ning elected to rest alongside Ninedust for a time, as the two were able to advance faster when fighting together. If he tried to fight by himself, he’d move much more slowly.

“Hahaha…” Suddenly, a deep, rumbling laugh rang out from the distant black soil. Ning and Ninedust sat up straight in surprise as they turned to stare at the black soil off in the distance.

Suddenly, the black, earthy ground began to slowly bulge upwards, forming into a humanoid figure of dark soil. The black earth golem was the size of a mountain, and he cracked his mouth into a grin. “Haha! Tired already, kids? Honestly, the two of you really don’t know your limits. Why have you come to attempt this pathway by yourselves? You should work in groups of four or five. Wouldn’t that be much faster?”

“Who are you, senior?” Ninedust called out.

“Me? I was manufactured by the Sithe. I’ve been here my entire life, taking care of these trees. The Sithe called me the ‘Grovekeeper’.” The black earth golem boomed with laughter. “But the Sithe were wiped out long ago, and my current master is Emperor Waveshift. Of course, my mission remains the same – to take care of these trees. The nine regions within Crimsonwave Temple have a total of nine Grovekeepers, and I’m one of them.”

Ning and Ninedust both nodded slightly.

“Senior,” Ning called out, “Who were the Sithe, exactly? They seem to have been quite powerful.”

“Powerful? Hah! Of course they were powerful! Their war encompassed countless realms. I don’t even know how many of you cultivators died as a result of it.” The black earth golem continued, “But of course, the Sithe were still defeated in the end. They were wiped out! The Crimsonwave Temple experienced quite a few things before ending up in Emperor Waveshift’s hands.”

Ning and Ninedust were intrigued. So the great battle in the Terror Starsea known as the ‘Dawn War’ had been fought against the Sithe race?

“The Sithe paid an unbelievable price to create Crimsonwave Temple,” the black earth golem said. “Crimsonwave Temple holds more marvels than you can imagine, and it was used to plant all of these divine trees around us! The nine regions here represent nine different types of divine trees, and each type is incredibly useful. The Sithe were completely wiped out, with their most powerful experts being completely slaughtered and their treasures taken away. That was also what happened to Crimsonwave Temple.”

“Their most powerful experts were all wiped out?” Ning and Ninedust couldn’t help but sigh. The Sithe had been incredibly powerful, so powerful that they were able to create Hegemon-level guardians and locations like Crimsonwave Temple! And yet, all of their supreme experts had been wiped out, essentially driving their race to extinction. In the end, for any race, what truly mattered was the presence and existence of their supreme experts.

“Did Emperor Waveshift set down the dimensional walkway, or did the Sithe?” Ning asked.

“The Sithe, of course.” The black earth golem explained, “Emperor Waveshift certainly doesn’t have the ability to do so! The Sithe used these dimensional walkways to train and temper their Daolords. All of these varied golems here provide an excellent source of combat experience, after all.”

Ning and Ninedust were startled. Right. It made sense. This place was indeed a superb place to train. Ning had only recently become a Daolord of the Third Step, but he was lacking in actual combat experience. As he fought against all of these warriors, Ning had accumulated more and more actual battle experience and as a result was able to discover some of the weaknesses still inherent to his sword-arts. Upon discovering those weaknesses, he was able to find a way to improve his sword-arts and thus more quickly move towards becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step.

As for Ninedust, he would be able to come up with even more powerful techniques. Daolord Shaka, the Radiant King… these ‘supreme Daolords’ all had reached the same level of enlightenment into the Dao, so why was it that they varied so much in power? It was because they all had developed different attacks!

Ning’s Dao was that of the Omega, and thus it represented the true apex of what was possible. This was why, whenever he wanted to truly upgrade his technique, he would have to first reach a higher level of enlightenment. This wasn’t true for the others.

“I believe the Sithe had many similar locations which they used to train Daolords,” the black earth golem said. “Their Daolords were all extremely powerful, with many reaching the ‘supreme’ level of power. Unfortunately, their ambitions were too vast. They sought to enslave all cultivators and take control over the destinies of all living things.”

“And so, in the end they had to be wiped out.” The black earth golem shook his head. “Let me give you another word of advice. It’ll be virtually impossible for the two of you to fight through to the third world by yourselves. I urge you to work together with a few more supreme Daolords.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Both Ning and Ninedust nodded. At present, what they really cared about was the Voidsea Jadeseal in the second world. The command seals in the third world were of secondary concern.

“The various fruit trees within the nine major regions all ripen at different intervals, going from every 30,000 chaos cycles to every 100,000 chaos cycles,” the black earth golem said. “This is why Crimsonwave Temple will only be opened up once every 30,000 chaos cycles at most! However, this is the first time Crimsonwave Temple has been opened up in a very long time, and so all of the fruits in all nine regions are ripe for the harvesting. Seize the opportunity! If you miss it, you’ll have to wait another 30,000 chaos cycles… and by then, you’ll only have access to the fruits in two of the regions.”

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Chapter 6 – Command Seals

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 6 – Command Seals

Anywhere from 30,000 chaos cycles to 100,000 chaos cycles? Ji Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance, the same thought running through both their minds: when the competition over the Voidsea Jadeseals concluded, the two of them would definitely have to do their best to acquire some of the fruit.

Ji Ning felt particularly eager. Although the Voidsea Jadeseal was perhaps more valuable, Ning also knew that it would be of limited use to him. The Daomerge for his Omega Sword Dao was simply going to be so incredibly difficult that he felt zero confidence in his abilities to succeed in it. As a result, he viewed the fruits with great importance as well.

Given how badly the various Hegemons and the Dao Alliance wanted the fruits, they might be of use to him in reviving his wife. As for the Daomerge? If he failed, he’d die. By now, Ning had seen past both life and death. If he could revive his wife and then happily live together alongside her and their daughter Brightmoon for over 100,000 chaos cycles, he really wouldn’t mind failing his Daomerge. His greatest wish was to bring his wife back. Ordinary mortals were only able to live for a hundred years; to be able to spend over 100,000 chaos cycles alongside his loved ones was a true blessing. What did he have to complain about?

“Dare I ask, senior,” Ning said, “How many of those fruit-picking command seals are there?”

“A total of nine in total, and they are each attuned to one of the nine regions,” the black earth golem said. “Each of the nine regions holds a different types of tree within them. Once you earn a command seal, you’ll be able to see all of the divine trees and fruits located within a certain region.”

“How much fruit is within each region?” Ning and Ninedust were surprised.

“Well… let’s use this current region, the third region, as an example. If you can acquired the third command seal, then I’ll harvest all 108,000 fruits on your behalf and give them to you,” the black earth golem said.

Ning immediately decided that he had to do his absolute utmost to acquire the command seals! Every single command seal represented an enormous number of fruits.

“Senior,” Ninedust immediately asked, “What good are these fruits? What can they be used for?”

“Pill-making!” The black earth golem explained, “They can be used to forge certain legendary pills that will drive any Eternal Emperors mad with desire.”

Ning asked, “Senior, which of the fruits in the nine regions are the most valuable?” Since there were nine command seals in total, he’d definitely have to try and find the most valuable one.

“Hey, this kid’s pretty smart.” The black earth golem chortled. “Then I’ll go ahead and tell you – the ninth command seal is the most valuable one. The fruits in the ninth region ripen once every 100,000 chaos cycles! The sixth, seventh, and eighth command seals are equivalent in value; those fruits ripen once every 90,000 chaos cycles! The third, fourth, and fifth command seals correspond to fruits that ripen once every 60,000 chaos cycles, while the fruits for the first and second command seals are the least valuable, ripening once every 30,000 chaos cycles.”

Ning’s eyes lit up as he memorized this. “Thank you, senior.”

“Darknorth, if we join forces we should be able to seize at least a few of those command seals,” Ninedust said.

“Haha…. quite a few supreme Daolords will be taking part in this. Count your blessings if you can even seize one of them,” the black earth golem laughed merrily. He then quickly dissipated, his body reverting to chunks of dirt that fell down to the ground.

“That little chat with the Grovekeeper really brought my spirits up,” Ninedust chortled. “Let’s keep charging.”

“Right.” Ning was filled with eagerness as well. “Attack!” The two charged forwards, side-by-side.

After chatting with the Grovekeeper, Ning now understood more about this place. This was a place which the Sithe had used to train their Daolords and give them more combat experience, helping them discover flaws in their techniques. Naturally, there was no way they would allow heartworld projections or secret arts to be used, as that would defeat the entire purpose.

From this alone, it seemed clear that the many varied techniques these warriors used would indeed give Ning many new insights into his Omega Sword Dao.

……

At the entrance to the Crimsonwave Temple.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! One figure after another charged through the entrance, not even wanting to waste time admiring the characters ‘Crimson’ ‘Wave’ ‘Temple’ above them.

“Eh?” There were seven figures in total, and they all stared in shock at the two hideous, towering, black-skinned, green-furred, golden-eyed figures in front of them. The aura in particular caused all seven of these supreme Daolords to shudder.

“Hegemons?” All seven of them were stunned.

Streams of rainbow light manifested next to them, resolving into a white-robed man who smiled at them. “Do not be alarmed. These two are not Hegemons, but they did have power comparable to a Hegemon’s. They are the most powerful guardians which were produced by the Sithe race, who created them at enormous expense to watch over Crimsonwave Temple. However, the two of them were killed and Crimsonwave Temple ended up in my master’s hands.”

The seven supreme Daolords were just as stunned as Ning had been when he had heard this information. Realmsoul Polo couldn’t help but feel smug; he was extremely proud of his master.

“Where are Winesage and Darknorth?” A silver-robed figure amongst the seven spoke out. This was Palace Lord Cloudwalker.

“They’ve gone inside to seek out the Voidsea Jadeseals. These three corridors head to three different places, and there is a Voidsea Jadeseal at the end of each.” Realmsoul Polo pointed towards three deep blue hallways that appeared at the other side of the temple. The seven supreme Daolords instantly turned anxious upon hearing this. The realmsoul continued, “But don’t be impatient; the Voidsea Jadeseals are not so easily won. Although you’ve arrived nearly a year later than them, you still stand a very good chance at earning the seals. But of course, that’s only if you work together.”

“Which tunnels did they choose?” Daolord Dreamlord, bloodblade in his arms, spoke out in a cold voice.

“They separated and chose to go through all three tunnels,” Realmsoul Polo said. “The rest is up to you and luck.” After finishing his words, he dissipated.

The seven supreme Daolords in the temple exchanged a glance. “Damn the two of them. Winesage and Darknorth repeatedly used their heartworld projections to slow us down, forcing us to gather together to resist them in unison. Otherwise, we would’ve reached Crimsonwave Temple long ago.”

“Let’s cut the crap. What should we do next?”

“Have you decided where we should go?”

“We arrived later than them to begin with. If we work by ourselves, we won’t have any chance at all.”

The seven supreme Daolords weren’t fools. They quickly decided to separate up into two squads. The first squad consisted of Ninestone, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Shaka, and Snowjoy.

The second squad consisted of Dreamlord, Tigrone, and Skyshatter.

“Which one should we choose? They’ve already gone up ahead of us. I wonder which path Winesage choose?” Both squads worried the most about running into Winesage. Even someone as incredibly powerful as Ning, who was able to suppress the ‘old’ Winesage in might, had been completely crushed by Winesage when the latter had used his Universe treasure. Ning’s only choice had to been to rely on the speed and concealing properties of his Shadowless evasion art in order to escape.

“If we run into Winesage, we’ll be in serious trouble.” This is what both squads were worried about.

“Based on my understanding of Winesage…” Daolord Skyshatter had an ugly scar on his face, and his voice was very cold. “Although he looks calm and collected, he’s an extremely arrogant and domineering person who views himself as without peer amongst Daolords! Now that he has a Universe treasure, he’s only going to feel even more arrogant than he did in the past. He would naturally choose the central hallway.”

“Mm. Then let’s avoid that one.” There really was no other options; the Waveshift Realm placed tight restrictions on spacetime techniques, and the situation inside Crimsonwave Temple was even worse. It was completely impossible for them to use temporal inversion to see what happened here.

“Then we’ll take the left,” Palace Lord Cloudwalker said.

“We’ll take the right,” Daolord Dreamlore said.

……

The dimensional walkway of the first world inside the Crimsonwave Temple. Ning and Ninedust had already battled their way past countless warriors, but more waves of those warriors continued to assail them. Right now, there was a total of twenty-nine warriors surrounding and assaulting them.

Whoooosh. The Ninedust Sectlord transformed into an enormous wave of water, his invulnerable aquaform having transformed into a vast sea. If he so chose, he would be able to easily transform into a sea that covered hundreds of millions of kilometers, if not more. The vast sea swept through all of the warriors, slowing them down and making it difficult for them to effectively work together.

In terms of impeding these armored warriors, the Ninedust Sectlord’s ‘invulnerable aquaform’ was far superior than the techniques Ning had available to him. No matter how strong Ning was, he was only able to block a few of the warriors at once, whereas Ninedust’s invulnerable aquaform was able to have an impact on all of them.

“Kill!”

“Kill!” This was a site which the Sithe had used to train their Daolords; a mere ‘invulnerable aquaform’ wouldn’t be able to defeat it that easily. The warriors moved closer to each other and the golden light in their eyes shone even more brightly, causing golden light to spring up amongst them and cause them to join together into a whole. This caused the impact of the vast waves to be greatly lessened.

As for Ning, he remained the mainstay in this fight. He furiously and laboriously seeking out opportunities to smash one warrior after another off of the dimensional walkway, despite the formation the warriors were using.

“Eh?” After knocking yet another warrior off, both Ning and Ninedust noticed something behind them. Three more figures had suddenly appeared at the other end of the dimensional walkway.

The first figure was a red-robed youth who was carrying a bloodblade in his arms, surrounded by a towering, baleful aura. This was Daolord Dreamlore, a man who had been very low-key up until he had defeated the Radiant King in his first major battle.

The second man was a muscular man dressed in extremely thick gray armor whose eyes glowed with green light. This was the most powerful Daolord the Aberrants had, Daolord Tigrone. His divine body was so tough that not even King Gorsch had been able to injure him in the slightest. Daolord Tigrone had been the main reason why King Gorsch had died.

The last one was an insidious, scar-faced man who looked extremely mysterious. All Ning knew was that he was a Daolord of the Dark Kingdom known as Daolord Skyshatter. His real level of power was a mystery.

“Darknorth!”

The gazes of Daolord Dreamlord, Daolord Tigrone, and Daolord Skyshatter all fell upon Ning.

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Chapter 7 – Heartsword Art

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 7 – Heartsword Art

“It’s them.” Ji Ning’s face tightened slightly.

“Darknorth, this will be troublesome. Daolord Dreamlore’s power is unfathomable, while Daolord Tigrone’s defenses are superior to any I’ve ever seen. As for Daolord Skyshatter, he’s a Daolord of the Dark Kingdom but was accepted by Daolord Dreamlore and Daolord Tigrone as a partner. He must be incredibly strong as well.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned.

“Don’t worry about them. They were a full year behind us. It won’t be that easy for them to catch up to us,” Ning said. “Seize every moment and do your best to push as many of the warriors out of the dimensional walkway.”

“Alright.” Ninedust nodded.

The two paid no more heed to the three Daolords behind them and began to focus on attacking the warriors up ahead.

……

“The Voidsea Jadeseals are in the second world, while the command seals needed to harvest the fruit are in the third world.” Realmsoul Polo once more gave detailed instructions to the new arrivals. These supreme Daolords were amongst the most incredibly talented figures alive in the endless Territories; it was important for him to give them good guidance. His master, Emperor Waveshift, was doing this for the sake of tempering these supreme Daolords and make them even better. The realmsoul naturally had to keep them fully informed.

“Got it.”

“Let’s move.”

Daolord Tigrone, Daolord Dreamlore, and Daolord Skyshatter began to advance as well, and they immediately began to suffer the attacks of the armored warriors in front of them.

“Hmph. Darknorth and Ninedust are fools. Why aren’t they using their secret arts or a heartworld projection? Are they trying to use this as a training exercise?” Daolord Skyshatter frowned. Instantly, he sent a tri-colored surge of energy sweeping out to surround the area, wrapping itself around the warriors around him. However, the golden light covering the entire dimensional walkway immediately swirled forwards to cover it.

In raw power alone, Daolord Skyshatter’s secret arts were actually slightly stronger than even Ning’s nine novessence arts!

“What? My secret arts were nullified?” Daolord Skyshatter was shocked.

……

Ning and Ninedust ignored the three behind them. They were very experienced in fighting against these warriors, and were able to work together perfectly. Ninedust was responsible for tying down and slowing the warriors, while Ning was responsible for delivering the final blow that knocked them off the walkway.

Time continued to flow on. Another year passed in the blink of an eye, with Ning’s team slowly advancing. The further they advanced, the more warriors assaulted them. Knocking the warriors off the dimensional walkway became increasingly powerful, as there was now a total of thirty-two warriors assaulting Ning’s team. This represented a force of thirty-two second-tier Daolords who were able to work together perfectly and who were invulnerable to all harm!

Just beating them wasn’t enough. You had to knock them off the dimensional walkway. It was simply too difficult! By now, Ning’s team needed to spend five or six days in battle before defeating a ‘wave’..

Whoosh! Ninedust transformed into a massive wave, but the upper half of his body was still visible. He continued to wield his longstaff, sending it smashing through the waves and knocking one enemy aside after another, doing his best to give Ning enough space to work in. As for Ning, he was even fiercer than he had been in the past, with each of his six Northbow swords containing astonishing amounts of power.

“Haha, Darknorth, these warriors are becoming increasingly difficult to defeat, but this process has been quite beneficial to my staff-arts. I’ve come up with a supreme technique of my own!” The Ninedust Sectlord let out a loud laugh as he swept out his longstaff. Whoosh! The water around him instantly formed into a whirlpool that was centered around his longstaff, causing layers of spatial illusions to appear around it.

Crimsonwave Temple placed extremely tight restrictions on spacetime techniques, but Ninedust was still able to cause spatial illusions to appear. In the outside world, the power of this strike would’ve been inconceivable!

BOOM! The staff smashed against an armored warrior, sending it flying away as if it was nothing more than a tiny little shrimp.

“Come up with a few more ‘supreme techniques’ like that,” Ning said with a laugh. “Later on, you can let these other Daolords get a taste of them.”

“Right. I’ll make sure they know that I’m not easy to deal with.” Ninedust had been intoxicated by this life of battle. These fights were helping him to discover many of his flaws and allowed him to perfect them. When he was able to reach a certain level of perfection, he was naturally able to come up with a new supreme technique.

“The other supreme Daolords have either fused two Supreme Daos or three Supreme Daos…” Ning mused silently to himself, “But they still have room for improvement. They can gain new insights and thus come up with more and better supreme techniques. I, however, have already reached the apex! It’ll be very hard for me to improve in the near future.”

“Mm. I suppose I should focus on the [Heartsword] for now.” Ning was beginning to realize how hard it would be for him to upgrade his Omega Sword Dao any further. None of his five stances had been able to reach the fourth stage, and so he immediately chose to work on the [Heartsword] sword-art instead.”

“The [Heartsword]…” A complete copy of the full [Heartsword] sutra appeared within Ning’s mind. The golden-furred alien had given it to Ning’s avatar during his visit to Vastheaven Palace, and Ning’s avatar had immediately studied it.

The [Heartsword] art was an incredibly marvelous and miraculous sword-art! In importance, it actually succeeded the legacies of Hegemons! Although it was ‘merely’ a sword-art, the Dao Alliance absolutely refused to transmit it to any other organizations. Even the Brightshore Kingdom was only able to procure the first ten stances after paying an utterly enormous price. If you wished to learn the full thing, you had to be a member of the Dao Alliance and pay an incredible price for it.

Ning’s performance in the Waveshift Realm had been simply dazzling. He had risen to prominence by slaughtering Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak, and his power was second only to Winesage! The Dao Alliance was naturally going to invest its resources in him. Given that they also had a favor to ask of Ning, they chose to just go ahead and gift the entire [Heartsword] to Ning! But of course, Ning was not permitted to transmit this to any others.

“How marvelous.” The more Ning learned regarding the [Heartsword] art, the more stunned he felt. The [Heartsword] art was a supreme sword-art that represented the perfect combination of Ki Refining principles, Fiendgod Refining principles, and Heartforce Cultivation principles.

Emperor Heartsword’s sword-arts, on a stand-alone basis, were merely on the same level as Emperor Mirrorsnow’s! However, this perfect combination of all three paths of cultivation made it so that his rather unremarkable sword-arts were able to unleash astonishing levels of power that surpassed even the likes of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, putting him incredibly close to the Hegemon level! He was known as the Emperor who was closest to the Hegemons in power! How terrifying a concept was this?

“My current sword-arts have already transcended both space and time, putting me on par with Emperor Mirrorsnow’s level,” Ning mused. “If I can master the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword], I’ll have eclipsed the eight lords of the Sacred Cities and be very close to the Hegemons as well.”

Moments later, Ning chuckled. That was nothing more than a fantasy. Ever since Emperor Heartsword had departed, there had never been a second cultivator capable of mastering the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword]! This was because this sword-art was simply too arcane and abstruse.

The first stance was known as the ‘Heartsword’ stance. The second stance, the ‘Killsword’ stance. The third stance, the ‘Great Firmament’ stance. The fourth stance, the ‘Horizon’s Edge’ stance. The fifth stance, the ‘Silent World’ stance. The sixth stance, the ‘Unicorn’s Heart’ stance. The seventh stance, the ‘Cosmic Heart’ stance.

The first six stances were at least understandable. Starting from the seventh stance, however, the technique became increasingly abstruse. Thankfully, Ning was incredibly talented in sword-arts and thus he mastered the seventh stance in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom. It could be said that he had gained an elementary level of mastery in the [Heartsword].

However, this was still nothing more than an elementary level of mastery. The later stances were even more difficult to comprehend!

The eighth stance was named ‘Ineffable’.

The ninth stance was named ‘Blissheart’.

The tenth stance was named ‘Killheart’.

The eleventh stance was named ‘Teardrop’.

The twelfth stance was named ‘Swordtide’.

The thirteenth stance was named ‘Snowland Blood’.

The fourteenth stance was named ‘Remorseless Unto Death’.

The fifteenth stance was named ‘One Sword, One World’.

These stances were all incredibly abstruse, but they could be divided into several different tiers. The eighth stance to the tenth stance represented the first ‘tier’! Most cultivators skilled in the [Heartsword] were stuck here in the first tier, unable to advance any further.

The eleventh and twelfth stances represented the second tier. Supposedly, cultivators who reached this level would see the power of the [Heartsword] technique skyrocket, but in every generation the number of cultivators who could reach this level could be counted on one hand.

The thirteenth and fourteenth stances represented the third tier. According to the records, only a single major power aside from Emperor Mirrorsnow had ever reached this level, but his name was a mystery! The records stated that at this level, one’s level of power would skyrocket by such a level that using the [Heartsword] art provided an even greater boost in power than using a Universe treasure!

The fifteenth and final stance! Only Emperor Heartsword, the creator of this technique, had ever reached this level! By relying on this stance, he had been able to unleash quasi-Hegemon levels of power from his fairly mundane sword-arts.

“If I can even reach the third tier, I might be able to give Hegemons a good fight once I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step,” Ning mused. This truly was an unearthly, incredible set of sword-arts, but it was also the hardest of all sword-arts to train in. The actual movements to each stance were not that important; what really mattered was the ‘heart’.

“Time to begin.”

Even the tallest of buildings have to start from the ground floor. Ning held all six Northbow swords as he fought, occasionally injecting some of the ‘Cosmic Heart’ elements into his stances. At other times, he’d attempt to replicate the eighth stance, ‘Ineffable’. The [Heartsword] art focused on the heart, not on the actual stances, and so it was incredibly difficult to train in. Ning was incredibly talented in heartforce and had the largest heartworld of all the supreme Daolords in the Endless Territories, but he still found training in this technique to be extremely laborious. Despite that, he was still able to at least generate part of the ‘feeling’ of the eighth ‘Ineffable’ stance.

The ‘Ineffable’ stance couldn’t be manufactured intentionally. One had to follow one’s own heart and completely infuse it into one’s sword-arts. Everything had to follow the natural flow… and when you were able to sense it, it would have been completed.

The eighth stance actually wasn’t that bad. The later ones were even more abstruse and more difficult to study.

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Chapter 8 – Ineffable, Blissheart

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 8 – Ineffable, Blissheart

“Ineffable.” When this sword-stance struck out, an invisible current of heartforce would naturally merged into it; there was no need to ‘force’ it or do it on purpose.

A layer of thin, invisible, mist-like heartforce appeared on the surface of the sword, causing the power of the attack to immediately increase and even speed up.

“What a strange feeling.” Ji Ning’s six Northbow swords howled forth, knocking down all of the warriors before him. Some were sent flying backwards, others were bowled over. “This is the first time I’ve felt something like this. When I use this sword-art, I feel as though I’ve transformed into a sword. What a wonderful, enjoyable feeling. I feel as though the power of my sword-arts has risen by 20%.”

Mastering the seventh stance, ‘Cosmic Heart’, merely represented gaining a basic grasp of the [Heartsword]; it was of negligible benefit to him. The eighth stance, ‘Ineffable’, already allowed him to increase the power of his sword-arts by 20%! It must be remembered that Ning trained in the Omega Sword Dao; improving upon the power of his sword-arts was extremely difficult.

“Darknorth, you found a way to enhance the strength of your swords?” Ninedust had been working alongside Ning, and he immediately sensed Ning’s transformation.

“Haha, you’ve found ways to improve yourself. Why can’t I?” Ning was in a delightful mood. After just five years of researching the [Heartsword] art, he had become proficient in the eighth stance. This was actually much faster than he had predicted. According to the records he had reviewed, the [Heartsword] was supposed to be extremely difficult to train in.

Ning had forgotten, however, that his sword-arts were derived from the third-stage Omega Sword Dao, while his heartforce made him the strongest Heartforce Cultivator in all the Endless Territories.

“After entering Crimsonwave Temple, I’ve developed two consummate techniques,” Ninedust said smugly. “I’ve grown much more than you have.”

“You won’t be smug for much longer.” Ning began to work on the ninth stance, the ‘Blissheart’ stance.

“This feeling truly is absolutely marvelous.” Ning actually closed his eyes as he continued to execute his sword-arts, but he maintained in complete control of himself and his surroundings. “I understand. This sword-art really can throw the wielder into a state of utter contentment and bliss.”

He immersed himself in this feeling. Just six short months later…

“Blissheart.” Ning’s sword-light transformed once more. In the past, every strike had been covered with a mist-like layer of heartforce. Now, the mist was clearly much denser than before, and with each strike it was like a fog drifted in alongside it.

Whoooosh. No sword-shadows could be seen around Ning; the only thing visible was a series of mist-streaks.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s power increased dramatically, allowing him to blow through the warriors like rotted wood. The warriors, however, gathered themselves and continued their furious attacks.

“Darknorth, y-you… you grew stronger yet again?” Ninedust was flabbergasted.

“Haha…” Ning laughed loudly. “I told you a while ago that you won’t be smug for much longer. Now do you know how badass I am?” He had mastered the ‘Blissheart’ stance, and his sword-arts increased 50% in power!

……

“What’s going on?”

“Impossible.”

“How can they be advancing this quickly?”

Daolord Tigrone, Daolord Dreamlore, and Daolord Skyshatter were in the same dimensional walkway, and they were also fighting the endless hordes of warriors. They were stunned by what they saw. Given that the three of them working together, they technically should’ve held the upper hand over Ning and Ninedust! A while ago, they had been slowly but steadily narrowing the gap between them and Ning’s team. Their initial calculations had indicated that they would be able to catch up in five or six years.

Ning’s mastery of the ‘Ineffable’ stance didn’t have too much of an impact on their calculations… but now that Ning had mastered the ninth stance, ‘Blissheart’, the difference was apparent!

“Daolord Darknorth is already incredibly strong. How could he have grown even stronger?” Daolord Skyshatter frowned.

“Daolord Darknorth has been training for less than a full chaos cycle, but he’s already become a supreme Daolord.” Daolord Dreamlore said coldly, “He naturally has plenty of room to improve. I imagine he’s come up with a new supreme technique for himself.”

The Radiant King, Palace Lord Dawnstar, and the others had all slowly developed their supreme techniques after becoming Daolords of the Fourth Step. The same was currently true of Ninedust as well. As Dreamlore saw it, Ning was most likely searching for the ultimate attack which would fit himself the most.

“Daolord Darknorth truly is difficult to deal with,” Daolord Tigrone growled. “To beat the two of them and seize the Voidsea Jadeseal won’t be easy.”

“There’s only two of them but three of us,” Daolord Dreamlore said coldly. “We aren’t idiots like Kingfreak and Timedream.”

“Right. When we work together, only Winesage is a threat to us.” Daolord Skyshatter felt quite confident as well.

Tigrone felt certain he possessed the strongest defensive abilities of all the supreme Daolords.

Dreamlore felt certain he possessed the strongest attacks of all the supreme Daolords; he had actually beaten the Radiant King in a head-on fight!

Daolord Skyshatter was equal to the other two in might.

The deceased Timedream and Kingfreak were ranked well below the top ten in close combat power, while Timedream’s heartforce techniques were useless against Ning. The Tigrone-Skyshatter-Dreamlore alliance was completely different! The only one they worried about was Winesage; they didn’t care about any other Daolords at all!

“Winesage has a Universe treasure, but I have to admit that Darknorth is a truly dazzling figure,” Daolord Dreamlore said coldly. “We have to fight with all our power. Otherwise, we’ll probably be defeated by the two of them.”

“Right.” Tigrone and Skyshatter both nodded. Upon seeing how quickly Ning’s team was advancing, not even Dreamlore dared to underestimate them.

……

The dimensional walkway of the first world. Ning’s group was currently battling against a final group of warriors. This time, there were thirty-nine warriors surrounding and attacking them. This meant they had to deal with thirty-nine second-tier Daolords at the same time!

If Ning was fighting by himself, he would’ve been beaten long ago.

Rumble… Ninedust transformed into a vast wave that swept across all thirty-nine warriors, his upper body still visible and wielding that longstaff as he furiously assaulted those around him. The warriors, however, were assembled into a war-formation and were valiant charging towards the two.

“Break!” Ning was fighting the armored warriors head-on. Streaks of mist flew out with his swords, and the warriors were knocked aside each time the mist connected with them. Even the slightest scrape would cause them to be sent flying backwards. Unfortunately, there were still thirty-nine of them; when some were pushed back, others would immediately charge forwards and take up their positions, allowing the ones who had been pushed back to regroup and then charge as well.

They had to find a chance to create an opening!

Ning and Ninedust had to battle furiously for more than a month before they were finally able to knock the thirty-nine warriors out of the dimensional walkway.

“Aaaaaaaah.” Ninedust stared at the black throne, then lifted his head up and let loose a loud howl. “We finally beat’m!”

“Whew.” Ning smiled as well, but he felt a bit of regret in his heart. He had spent neary ten years battling within the first world, but he still had yet to master the tenth stance of the [Heartsword], the ‘Killheart’ stance.

“Keep having fun back there, the three of you.” Ninedust turned back to glance at Daolord Skyshatter, Daolord Dreamlore, and Daolord Tigrone. The three of them were surrounded by thirty-six armored warriors.

“Damn.”

“They’ve made it to the second world.”

“These warriors are too tough to deal with, and any Dao-seals we use are actually cancelled out.” Daolord Skyshatter and the other two were starting to grow anxious. They went so far as to use Dao-seals, but the dazzling golden light radiated by the golden globe above them quickly suppressed and wiped out all the effects of the Dao-seals they used. The Sithe used this place to temper their Daolords; no cheating would be permitted here.

Ning gave the three a long, final glance. If he hadn’t been able to master the ninth stance, ‘Blissheart’, it probably would’ve taken him another ten years to traverse the dimensional walkway. The three probably would’ve caught up to him.

“Those three cannot be underestimated,” Ning mused.

“Let’s go, Darknorth,” Ninedust said.

“Let’s go.” Ning nodded.

Ning and Ninedust both walked straight towards the black throne. Instantly, the golden globe above them shot down a streak of dense light which covered the black throne and an area of thirty meters around it. Boom! Both the sword-wielding, white-robed Ning and the staff-wielding, silver-robed Ninedust disappeared without a trace.

“Faster, faster, faster! Fight harder! We need to make it to the second world as soon as we can!” Daolord Skyshatter and the other two were going crazy.

……

The world twisted and changed around them before reality reset itself around Ning and Ninedust.

“Eh?” Ning glanced at what was up ahead. In front of them was an enormous palace that was held up by a series of black pillars. The pillars were covered by many carvings and diagrams, including sword-arts diagrams, saber-arts diagrams, flame diagrams, wave diagrams, golden light diagrams, flaming chariot diagrams, animal diagrams… all sorts of diagrams were here, and they all emanated auras of mystery and power.

“Hmph.” Six golden-armored warriors were standing in front of them, with three more crimson-armored warriors standing shoulder-to-shoulder off in the distance. Very far away, a black-armored general was seated on a distant throne. The general was playing around with a palm-sized chunk of jade.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal.” Ning and Ninedust both stared at the palm-sized chunk of jade in the hands of the black-armored general who was seated on the distant throne. They had both seen a Voidsea Jadeseal before and thus recognized it right away.

“Daolord Darknorth. Daolord Ninedust.” Rainbow light gathered next to them, coalescing into a white-robed figure. It was Realmsoul Polo. The realmsoul smiled and said, “Congratulations on making it to the second world… but you two need to hurry it up. Winesage was able to make it to the second world after just a single year in the first world.”

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Chapter 9 – The Second World

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 9 – The Second World

“Just one year?” Ji Ning’s heart sank. After he had mastered the ninth ‘Blissheart’ stance, he and Ninedust had taken nearly ten additional years.

“Thus, your opponents shall not merely consist of Daolords behind you like Dreamlore. Winesage shall be your opponent as well. Once he acquires the first Voidsea Jadeseal, he’ll definitely come for yours.” Realmsoul Polo pointed in front of them. “This palace holds a total of 134 pillars, with each pillar containing multiple formations left behind by the Sithe race. If you have enough time, you can go study them.”

Ning and Ninedust glanced sideways at the realmsoul. Study? They were fighting for every scrap of time. Who had the time to waste on studying? In addition, the majority of supreme Daolords merely dabbled in non-core techniques.

“In this palace, you’ll need to defeat the six golden-armored warriors, the three crimson-armored warriors, and then finally defeat the black-armored general. Only then shall you be able to seize the Voidsea Jadeseal.” The realmsoul smiled. “Oh, right. The runic cores at the center of their chests are their weak spots. If you can stab it, they’ll admit defeat.”

“Move as fast as you can. If you move fast enough, you might even be able to seize the other Voidsea Jadeseals… and if you are too slow, you’ll lose even yours.” The realmsoul grinned, then vanished.

“Let’s go.” Ning and Ninedust transformed into two streaks of light that charged straight forwards.

“Just two Daolords? And you dare attack?” The six golden-armored warriors standing next to each other shared a smile, then began to move in unison. Whoosh! Each of them brandished a long golden halberd as they strode forwards.

Ninedust wielded his longstaff and charged straight towards them. As he reached them, he instantly transformed into an enormous flood of water.

Ning transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form as he shot forward with all six Northbow swords, then suddenly vanished.

Whoosh! The halberds in the hands of the six golden-armored warriors struck out simultaneously. Smash! Smash! Smash! The waters in front of them exploded as an invisible burst of power spread out in every direction, causing Ning to reveal himself after having used his ‘Shadowless’ evasion art.

“Fuck off!” Ning flew forwards with incomparable valor, immediately using his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker and sending six massive fog banks crashing down. Boom! Boom! Boom! The strikes landed on the halberds of the six golden-armored warriors, causing all of them to stagger backwards from the strikes.

“He’s very strong.”

“He’s able to suppress us by himself?” The six golden-armored warriors shared a glance.

“Careful,” Ning sent mentally to the Ninedust Sectlord. “All six of them are at the supreme Daolord level of power.”

“Six supreme Daolords. Interesting.” The Ninedust Sectlord charged once more, carrying the vast ocean with him. As for Ning, his actions were even more dominating; his sword-light transformed into streaks of dense fog and lashed out at his foes. It must be remembered that the Northbow swords enhanced all of Ning’s sword-arts. Now that he also had the [Heartsword] sutra enhancing them, his combat power was truly astonishing.

Ninedust was able to tie down two of the golden-armored warriors, while Ning battled the other four by himself.

Swish! Every so often he would suddenly disappear, followed by that strange, fog-like sword-light emerging out of nowhere. This was the Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless. A sword stabbed straight into the dazzling runic core located over the golden-armored warrior’s chest!

“Eh?” The golden-armored warrior’s face tightened. He lowered his head to take a look, then let out a snort. “Nice sword-arts.” He immediately stepped back.

When the six of them worked together, they complimented each other very well and made for a formidable team. Ning’s sword-arts, however, moved more than a hundred times the speed of light and was unfathomably unpredictable, making it difficult for even their tough defenses to withstand it.

“Hahaha…” Ninedust laughed loudly. “Darknorth, let’s move fast. We need to get that first Voidsea Jadeseal quickly, so that we can go for a second one.”

Ning smiled as well. Now that one warrior was down, beating the others would be much easier. They quickly defeated the other five in succession. All six of the warriors retreated, moving to one side.

……

There were six golden-armored warriors, three crimson-armored warriors, and one black-armored general. With the golden-armored warriors defeated, it was the three crimson-armored warriors who now stood in Ning and Ninedust’s path.

“You two are pretty strong. You were able to beat those six idiots fairly easily,” one of the tall, crimson-armored warriors snickered.

“You are the idiot!”

“If you try to fight us six-on one, we’d beat you until you went crying to your mother.” The six distant golden-armored warriors immediately began to unleash a torrent of curses, while the three crimson-armored warriors just smirked at them.

“You’ve already been beaten. Stop bragging.”

“Looks like it’ll be up to us brothers. Hah!” The three crimson-armored warriors seemed quite smug as they looked at Ning and Ninedust. “Let me tell you a little story. In the other area, that ‘Daolord Winesage’ was able to beat the six golden-armored warriors in one strike, but he was stymied by the three crimson-armored warriors for six full years. Right now, he’s still trying to figure out how to deal with the black-armored general.”

“Oh?” Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. They knew just how strong Winesage was. Given his Universe treasure, there was no question that he could crush the six golden-armored warriors effortlessly. Despite that, the three crimson-armored warriors had held him back for six years?

“Let’s go,” Ning ordered. Whoosh! Whoosh! Both he and Ninedust charged forwards.

Boom! With the very first strike, a crimson-armored warrior landed a cleaving blow with his warblade, causing Ninedust’s body to crumble apart into a wave of water. “Darknorth, I can’t block these hits. They are too strong.”

Bang! Ning started fighting against a crimson-armored warrior as well. That particular warrior wielded a war club, and he delivered a furious blow downwards at Ning, almost as though he was crashing down from a mountain. The two collided head-on, and an incredibly dense wave of energy smashed into Ning, causing him to stumble three steps back. As for the crimson-armored warrior, he took a single step back.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened. “He’s just as strong as me?” He had grown significantly more powerful, but even now he was merely on par with the crimson-armored warrior. If the three joined forces… no wonder Winesage had been stymied for six full years!

“Daolord Darknorth has a few tricks up his sleeve. Big brother, third brother, let’s fight together!” the crimson-armored warrior shouted, and the other two immediately charged towards him.

Rumble… all three of the three crimson-armored warriors were Ning’s equal in might, and they were extremely skilled in working together. Ning was being completely suppressed in this battle. Although Ninedust was able to occasionally cause some trouble and disrupt the enemy formation, he wasn’t able to have a material impact on the fight.

“Darknorth, their teamwork is flawless. There’s no way for us to stab the runic cores on their chests,” Ninedust said anxiously.

“They are too strong. When the three of them work together, there’s nothing I can do to them.” Ning frowned. “The only way we can win is through greater numbers. If more Daolords come and work with us, we might be able to find a chance to strike the runic cores.”

They needed either superior numbers or overwhelming power a la Winesage.

“Perhaps I’ll have a chance to master the tenth stance, the ‘Killheart’ stance.” Ning was surrounded and attacked by all three of the three crimson-armored warriors, but his defensive sword-arts were very strong and thus he was still able to hold on. He began to take advantage of this enormous pressure to think on the tenth stance of the [Heartsword], the ‘Killheart’ stance.

……

Time continued to flow on, with a half-year passing by in the blink of an eye. Ning and Ninedust remained locked in combat against the three crimson-armored warriors, but of course they continued to be at a disadvantage in the fight. In short, they were being completely dominated.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion caused the entire Crimsonwave Temple to shake. Everyone in the temple heard and felt it, be it the Daolords battling in the second world such as Ning, Ninedust, Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Shaka, and Snowjoy, or the Daolords still stuck in the first world such as Daolords Dreamlore, Tigrone, the Starking, the Radiant King, Skyaxe, Dustrain.

“Daolords.” Realmsoul Polo’s voice boomed out, filling every inch of the Crimsonwave Temple. “Winesage has already acquired one of the three remaining Voidsea Jadeseals. Be careful – he’ll be coming for yours next!”

“What?”

“Shit!”

The faces of Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Shaka, and Snowjoy all turned pale. The path Cloudwalker’s team had chosen was the path which Dawnstar had originally taken! The four of them joined forces upon entering the first world and thus moved even faster than Ning’s group had. This was the advantage of raw numbers! The fact that Ninestone and Snowjoy were exceedingly strong defensive specialists made them very well-suited for dealing with the first world.

“We need to move faster.”

“Not good.”

“We need to speed it up.”

“Everyone, let’s work together.” The supreme Daolords who were still within the three dimensional walkways of the first world were beginning to grow anxious. They were still in the first world while Winesage had already acquired a Voidsea Jadeseal!

……

Ning and Ninedust felt their hearts turn cold as well. They hadn’t even beaten the three crimson-armored guards, while Winesage had already acquired a seal?

“He might be headed straight here for yours,” the three crimson-armored guards teased in amusement.

“Don’t be worried though. If Winesage comes we’ll attack him as well, and the two of you can focus your attacks against him. The two of you plus the three of us… that should shut him down, right?” the three crimson-armored guards suggested. They had spent unfathomable lengths of time being bored and lonely here in Crimsonwave Temple. The happiest days of their lives were when supreme Daolords came to visit.

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Chapter 10 – Killsword

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 10 – Killsword

“Darknorth, what should we do?” Ninedust was anxious as well.

“Seize every moment and try to beat these three crimson-armored warriors as soon as we can,” Ji Ning said immediately. “Winesage’s actions have probably driven all of the supreme Daolords into a panic. Seven, eight, or even more of them might well work together to blow through the first world as soon as possible. Once they reach the second world, we probably won’t be able to deal with these three in peace.”

“Alright.” Ninedust agreed with this assessment.

In the Endless Territories’ rankings of Daolords, there were over twenty publicly acclaimed ‘supreme’ first-tier Daolords! If you factored in the low-key ones that very few had heard of, there had to be at least thirty or more.

Although the warriors in the dimensional walkway of the first world were tough to deal with, they were still just equivalent to second-tier Daolords. If seven or eight supreme Daolords joined forces against them, they’d be able to burst past with ease.

“We don’t have much time left,” Ning said anxiously.

“Kill!” Both Ning and Ninedust fought even more frantically.

“Haha, the two of you aren’t bad, but you aren’t strong enough to beat us.”

“It is useless! You should wait for the other Daolords to arrive, then join up with them.” The three crimson-armored warriors continued to crush the Ning-Ninedust combination.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Ning only grew more and more frantic. He knew that they were running out of time; his only chance lay in mastering the tenth stance of the [Heartsword], the ‘Killsword’ stance. He had already spent many years studying it again and again, but hadn’t been able to master it thus far.

“Haha… Winesage has gone to Palace Lord Dawnstar’s dimensional walkway. However, five supreme Daolords including Dawnstar have joined forces against him. My guess is that Winesage is going to give up. He’ll be coming straight for your walkway instead,” the three crimson-armored warriors said.

“Palace Lord Dawnstar’s tunnel has five supreme Daolords in it, but the two of you are by yourselves. It’ll be quite tough for you to deal with Winesage. He might actually take the Voidsea Jadeseal away from you.”

The crimson-armored warriors clearly knew exactly what was going on elsewhere as well.

“Are we out of time?” Ninedust grew increasingly anxious.

“Break!” Ning’s streaks of foggy sword-light suddenly transformed. The foggy mist suddenly condensed and solidified into clear streaks of sword-light, and the power of Ning’s sword-arts once more skyrocketed! They became even faster and were filled with even greater power!

“So this is the ‘Killsword’ stance?” Ning finally understood the essence of the tenth stance of the [Heartsword] – the Killsword stance.

It required one to not only feel intoxicated and blissful, but to also feel a sense of incomparable resolve and determination! Only when this determination and resolve reached a certain level of strength could heartforce be woven more perfectly into one’s sword-arts. One’s heartforce would move in a more natural way and achieve a greater level of harmony, allowing the power of one’s sword-arts to increase. This was reflected in the real world by the dense fog solidifying into the shape of a sword!

Slash! Slash! Ning executed the Blood Drop stance. The Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop! This was Ning’s most powerful attack, as the Northbow swords increased its power fivefold! Now that even more heartforce was infused into it via the ‘Killsword’ stance, its power doubled yet again!

The ninth stance, ‘Blissheart’, increased his power by 50%.

The tenth stance, ‘Killheart’, increased his power by 100%!

Thanks to his [Heartsword] and the Northbow swords, Ning’s Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was now ten times more powerful than it had any right to be! It was a technique that focused on obliterating everything in its path with unstoppable speed, and now it had sped up even more and reached an incomprehensible level of might.

Clang!

Slash!

The crimson-armored warrior used his warblade to execute the same stance as he had in the past to block Ning’s sword-arts, but his face suddenly turned pale. He was able to just barely block two strikes from Ning, but he wasn’t able to withstand the third strike. Slash! The tip of the sword stabbed straight into the runic core at the center of his chest.

“I lost?!” The crimson-armored warrior was stunned.

“Big brother!” The other two crimson-armored warriors were stunned as well. Even when the three of them were fighting together, their big brother had been stabbed in his runic core? How were the two of them supposed to hang on?

“How could this have happened?”

“Impossible.”

The two remaining crimson-armored warriors continued to struggle, unwilling to give up.

“Excellent!” The Ninedust Sectlord was delighted and surprised by this. Moments ago, he had been at the brink of despair. Now, he felt as though he had been given a new lease on life. A short while later, the runic core on the chest of a second crimson-armored warrior was pierced through. A heartbeat later, the final crimson-armored warrior was defeated as well.

“Too fast. His sword is too fast!”

“Winesage is overwhelmingly strong, but at least we could take his attacks head-on. Darknorth’s sword is simply too fast, so fast that we can’t even defend against it.” The three crimson-armored warriors were thoroughly convinced by their defeat.

Overwhelming strength or overwhelming speed… which was better?

These represented two extremes. If your power reached certain heights, you could brute-force through anything you wished and nothing could stop you. However, if your speed reached certain heights, your enemy wouldn’t even be able to touch you while you would be able to launch attacks with ease.

Winesage relied on his Universe treasure to reach incredible heights of power, allowing him to actually send the crimson-armored warriors flying with each blow. However, their defensive teamwork was so tight and perfect that even when sent flying they could avoid giving Winesage the chance to stab their runic cores. This was why Winesage had been stymied for six full years by the three crimson-armored warriors.

As for Ning? When he had battled against Daolord Shaka, his attack speed had already surpassed Shaka’s. Now that he had mastered the ‘Killsword’ stance, his speed once more broke through its previous bottleneck to reach a brand new level!

He was simply too fast, making defending against him an incredibly difficult task. As a result, the three crimson-armored warriors were all consecutively defeated in short order.

“You won.” The three crimson-armored warriors all retreated.

“Impressive, Darknorth. Impressive! Your sword is simply too fast, far faster than Daolord Shaka’s. My guess is that not even the Radiant King is necessarily a match for you in speed. Your attack speed might be the fastest amongst all Daolords,” Ninedust said excitedly.

“To be faster than the Radiant King isn’t all that impressive! Only when I’m faster than Daolord Dreamlore would I be the fastest of all Daolords,” Ning said. Daolord Dreamlore’s usage of the bloodblade had surpassed the Radiant King in attack speed, allowing him to gain victory.

“Let’s hurry up and defeat the final black-armored general.” Ning didn’t have any time to waste, and he immediately charged towards the seated black-armored general.

“Right.” Ninedust hefted his longstaff and charged towards the final challenge as well.

……

Within another hall within the temple.

Palace Lord Dawnstar, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Snowjoy, and Shaka were here. They had joined forces and had already fought their way to the black-armored general, but the general was simply too fearsome.

“Haha, this black-armored general is roughly on par with the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Even if the five of you work together, it’ll be virtually impossible for you to stab his runic core,” Winesage said with a laugh.

“Winesage, one Voidsea Jadeseal is enough; don’t get too greedy!” Dawnstar and the others were working together, assisting the three crimson-armored warriors and preventing Winesage from advancing. All newcomers would be assaulted by all of the warriors upon reaching the second world.

“Winesage, you have no chance at all.” The combined forces of Dawnstar, Ninestone, Shaka, Cloudwalker, and Snowjoy brought Winesage a tremendous amount of pressure. Given the situation, there was no way he could defeat the three crimson-armored warriors at all.

“Hmph.” After battling for a short while, Winesage realized that he really had no chance at all. He let out a calm laugh and said, “The black-armored general is far too strong. You’ll need to find more helpers to work with you. As a group, you have to exceed the level of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities in at least one area, be it speed or power or something else, if you wish to have a chance at succeeding.”

In raw power, Winesage was still somewhat weaker than the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, but the Universe treasure brought him up to par. As a result, he was able to battle the black-armored general for a long period of time while seeking out a mistake or error. All he had to do was touch the runic core across the black-armored general’s chest and he was able to claim victory.

There was a big difference between just touching the chest and actually winning, after all!

For example, Ning and Ninedust stood no chance of truly defeating those three crimson-armored warriors. But merely touching the runic cores? Ning, via the speed of his Blood Drop stance, was able to succeed in this mission.

“Haha. I won’t play around with you any longer. I’m going to go see how Darknorth is doing.” Winesage let out a laugh, then gracefully retreated and moved towards the other region at high speed.

In the second world, the three major regions were all interlinked.

“Whew!” Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and the others all let out sighs of relief.

“Winesage is heading towards Darknorth,” Ninestone said.

“Darknorth’s going to be in trouble, but we don’t have any time to spare with helping him,” Dawnstar said. “We need to try to seize every moment and try to find a chance to strike the black-armored general on the chest. As long as we can touch that runic core, we’ll have won.”

“Agreed.” They all understood that more and more supreme Daolords would begin to arrive, which meant that their chances would grow increasingly slim.

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Chapter 11 – Winesage Arrives

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 11 – Winesage Arrives

Ji Ning and Ninedust jointly charged towards the black-armored general.

The black-armored general seated on the throne was toying with the Voidsea Jadeseal with one hand, seeming quite relaxed. He put the seal down next to him on the throne, then rose to his feet.

“Aside from Dao-seals and similar treasures, you are permitted to use any secret arts or domain-type effects,” the black-armored warrior said calmly.

“Oh?” Ning and Ninedust were both stunned. Secret arts and heartworld projections were both permissible? In their previous battles, all such techniques had been suppressed! Ning had actually tried to use his heartworld projection and secret arts against the golden-armored warriors and the crimson-armored warriors, but alas the effects had been neutralized.

As for Dao-seals, of course those would always be forbidden. This place was created by the Sithe to train and temper their Daolords; using Dao-seals would completely and truly make the entire exercise pointless.

“Nine novessence arts and heartworld projection, descend!” Ning didn’t hesitate at all in executing these two techniques, causing an awe-inspiring Yin-Yang Sword Domain to descend along with the manifestation of his heartworld projection. Both came crashing straight down against the black-armored general.

The black-armored general gripped the warblade by his side. “Your heartworld projection and your secret arts aren’t bad.” The black-armored general suddenly manifested a total of three layers of black light over his body. The black light completely covered and protected him from the might of the nine novessence arts and the heartworld projection. “Unfortunately, they aren’t quite enough to do anything to me.” He instantly drew his warblade.

Whoosh! A streak of dazzling black saber-light instantly sliced across the skies and chopped towards Ning. It was simply too fast; as soon as the saber was drawn, the saber-light had reached Ning! When Ning saw that terrifying saber-light appear before him, he felt his heart tremble.

“He’s at the level of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities.” When Ning saw the saber-light, he instantly understood how strong the black-armored general was. The streak of saber-light vastly surpassed a hundred times the speed of light, and in power it was just as strong as a strike from Winesage. It completely surpassed the level which supreme Daolords were capable of reaching.

Swish! Ning suddenly vanished without a trace. Slash! The saber-light sliced through the position Ning had previously been in, carving a deep gouge within the field of sword-intent generated by the Yin-Yang Sword domain. Moments later, the gouge quickly disappeared but Ning was nowhere to be found.

Of Ning’s five Omega Sword Dao stances, two were defensive while the other three (Heavenbreaker, Shadowless, Blood Drop) had various special effects.

The Shadowless stance allowed him to turn completely invisible and evade even godsense.

The Blood Drop stance, when used with the Northbow swords, was Ning’s most powerful attack.

Although his heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts were unable to harm his opponent, they at least rendered him unable to defeat Ning’s Shadowless stance.

“Eh? Where’s he hiding?” The black-armored general frowned as he immediately swept out with his warblade, launching an omnidirectional attack.

“Hahaha! You won’t be able to find him.” Ninedust laughed loudly as he transformed into an awesome wave that furiously surged out towards the black-armored general and coiled around him.

The black-armored general’s saber-light was impeded by Ninedust’s waves and also slowed down by Ning’s heartworld and the nine novessence arts. With Ning already knowing where the saber-light would land, he was naturally able to avoid it with ease.

Slash! A mist-formed sword suddenly struck out from nowhere and stabbed against the outermost layer of black light covering the black-armored general. Slash! All three layers were pierced through, but the speed of the sword was lessened as well.

When Ning struck, his strike would appear in front of you instantaneously!

“Eh?” The black-armored general’s face tightened as he immediately struck out with his own warblade to block Ning’s strike. His defensive saber-arts were quite flawless, allowing him to block Ning’s strike almost instantly.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

As the black-armored general’s warblade clashed against Ning’s Northbow sword, the other five Northbow swords suddenly appeared as well, having transformed into five streaks of sword-shaped fog that stabbed straight through the three layers of black light.

“What?!” Because his warblade had just clashed against Ning’s first Northbow sword, the black-armored general’s reaction wspeed was just a little too slow… and Ning’s other five Northbow swords were just too fast.

Whoosh! The black-armored general’s warblade sliced out a beautiful arc in the air. As the defender he always held a certain advantage, because he only had to defend a fairly small area, allowing him to deflect many attacks from the enemy with ease. However… his warblade had been weakened and slowed down by its impact against Ning’s Northbow sword! This had an impact on his defensive stance.

Slash! One of the streaks of sword-shaped fog stabbed straight into the black-armored general’s runic core.

“What?” The black-armored general was stunned. He just stood there blankly. “I lost? I lost that fast?” He had lost so quickly that he couldn’t even believe it.

“B-but…” The six golden-armored warriors and the three crimson-armored warriors who had retreated early on all stared dumbly. The black-armored general was on par with the eight lords of the Sacred Cities! But of course, he had certain flaws compared to the actual lords… with the main flaw being that he only had a single weapon! Most true Emperors would manifest at least six arms to fight against foes, whereas the black-armored general would only use a single warblade against his foes as this was what had been designated by the Sithe.

The difference in power was too great, after all. Generally speaking, supreme Daolords would be crushed by the black-armored general. Many ‘ordinary’ supreme Daolords found it impossible to even penetrate the three layers of black light!

The Shadowless stance made it impossible to predict where the attack would come from. As soon as Ning attacked, his swords would have already gone through the three layers of black light, making it difficult for the general to defend.

The worst part was, Ning’s sword was incredibly fast. All six of them were incredibly fast, and they were also extremely unpredictable! Given that the black-armored general only had a single warblade to deal with the six Northbow swords, and given that the Shadowless stance allowed Ning to close in on him unhindered… alas, he was defeated at the first go.

“I can send you flying with a single blow from my saber.” The black-armored general shook his head in disbelief.

“But your saber-light wasn’t able to touch me, not even once.” Ning shook his head as well. In the end, the black-armored general wasn’t a true Eternal Emperor; he didn’t even have domain-type secret arts. Winedust, for example, was able to use both a heartworld projection and secret arts to prevent Ning from moving too close to him via the Shadowless stance; if Ning attempted to do so, he would be exposed by the domain.

“I’m able to silently approach you without giving you any hint as to where I am! Given how fast my six Northbow swords are… if I’m still unable to touch your runic core despite all these advantages then that would mean I’m ridiculously weaker than the eight lords of the Sacred Cities.” Ning was in quite a good mood, both at how strong he had become as well as at his final success.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal…” Ninedust stared at the jade seal atop the throne, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This was a legendary treasure, the most powerful Daomerge treasure available. It had drawn the attention of virtually all of the supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories. Today, it would become his?

“What are you looking at? Go take it!” Ning barked.

“T-then I’ll really go grab it…?” Ninedust felt rather embarrassed, as Ning was primarily responsible for their success. But in truth, he had played a major role as well. His invulnerable aquaform was very tough for foes to deal with, and the way in which he had transformed into waves that hindered their foes made things much easier for Ning. Otherwise, Ning by himself would’ve taken forever to overcome even the first world.

“We agreed early on that it’d be yours. Stop wasting time! If you delay any longer, I’m gonna fight you for it,” Ning said.

Swoosh! Seemingly panicked, Ninedust reached out with his right hand, moving lightning-fast as he grabbed the jade seal atop the throne.

“Ninedust, you…” Ning stared at him. “Was it really necessary to grab it that fast? You moved more than a hundred times the speed of light!”

“Yeah, just keep laughing. I really don’t care right now. Ahaha!” Ninedust was in quite a good mood. Even if Ning was to stab him with a hundred knives, he’d still continue to chortle.

Ning smiled as well. He had felt quite guilty towards Ninedust this entire time, but now he felt much better.

Whoosh. A streak of light appeared off in the distance, then flew straight towards them. It was Winesage.

“Fellow Daoists.” A sonorous voice boomed out, echoing throughout every inch of the Crimsonwave Temple. “The second of the three final Voidsea Jadeseals has been acquired by Daolord Ninedust!”

Winesage trembled slightly, looking almost like a bloodlusted mortal who suddenly had a bucket of icewater poured over him. He landed on the ground, staring dazedly at Ning and Ninedust and the throne next to them.

“You…” Winesage couldn’t believe it. This was simply too fast! He had just acquired his a short while. Somehow, Ning and Ninedust had successfully acquired one as well?

“Haha, it’s on me. Come and take it, if you can.” Ninedust was quite smug. Given his invulnerable aquaform, he really didn’t fear any Daolords at all.

Ning stood by Ninedust’s side, a smile on his face as he looked at Winesage. “Winesage. You arrived too late.”

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Chapter 12 – The Third World

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 12 – The Third World

Winesage narrowed his eyes, then let out a smile. “Darknorth, I truly admire you. Without a Universe treasure and with just brother Ninedust assisting you, you were able to defeat all of these warriors… and then you gave the Voidsea Jadeseal to Ninedust!”

The way in which Winesage viewed Ning had changed. During the last competition, the jade seal had ended up in Daolord Solesky’s hands. This time, Ning had been the main contributory to their victory against the black-armored general, but he had ended up giving the Voidsea Jadeseal to Ninedust! Winesage knew that if Darknorth was able to act in such a way despite the allure of the Voidsea Jadeseal, he would definitely be a friend worth making.

“You were literally just a few seconds too late. Otherwise, Ninedust and I would’ve been in serious trouble,” Ning said.

“Palace Lord Dawnstar and the others haven’t taken away their Voidsea Jadeseal yet. Why don’t we join forces to take it from them? Neither of us have any chance if we go by ourselves, but our chances are significant if we join forces. The fastest one shall be the one to win the Voidsea Jadeseal,” Winesage said.

Dawnstar and the other four alone were enough to tie down Winesage! Once you added the three crimson-armored warriors and the black-armored general into the mix, it would be no easy feat at all. Even if he and Ning joined forces, they only stood a chance and were not assured of victory. The main reason why Winesage wanted to try working together with Ning was because he had decided that Ning was a friend worth making.

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

“You aren’t going to take part?” Winesage was surprised.

“Not taking part,” Ning said.

“Once someone ends up with the Voidsea Jadeseal, it’ll be a hundred times more difficult to pry it out of their hands,” Winesage said. Of all the Daolords present, the only one he cared about was Ji Ning.

“No need to try and persuade me. I’ve already made up my mind,” Ning said.

“Then I won’t force things.” Winesage transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Dawnstar’s direction at high speed. He was a supreme Daolord; a single Voidsea Jadeseal would only allow him to partially simulate the Daomerge. He naturally felt that the more seals he had, the better!

In the eyes of Daolords, although the local fruit was valuable it was of no use to the Daomerge. None of those things truly mattered. The Daomerge was what supreme Daolords like Winesage cared about the most, and so they paid much less attention to the third world.

“Let’s go.” Ning looked at Ninedust.

“Are we really not going to take part? Darknorth, if we go we’ll at least have a chance,” Ninedust said. Now that he had acquired a Voidsea Jadeseal for himself, he naturally wanted to help Ning fight for one as well.

“More and more supreme Daolords are arriving. What they can’t have, they won’t let others have either,” Ning said. “The fight over the last Voidsea Jadeseal will be a furious one; our chances are less than one in ten.”

Ninedust argued, “But even if our chances are slim, we should still give it a shot.”

“We can do that later. Push comes to shove, we can take it from the person who wins it.” Ning walked straight towards the throne. Ninedust nodded then followed him as well.

Boom! A surge of power spread out from the throne and encompassed both Ning and Ninedust. Swoosh! The two of them vanished without a trace.

……

There were a number of reasons as to why Ning had opted not to take part.

First of all, there were simply too many supreme Daolords present. Even if they weren’t able to beat Ning, they’d be able to obstruct him.

Second, Ning belonged to the Brightshore Kingdom. Brightshore Kingdom members had all sworn oaths not to fight against other members of the kingdom! Ninestone, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Palace Lord Dawnstar… Ning wasn’t even able to battle against them! In a wild group melee like this, it would be like him fighting with a handicap. This further lowered his chances of winning a Voidsea Jadeseal.

Third, the Voidsea Jadeseals were of very limited use to Ning. Once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the power of his Omega Sword Dao would reach an incredibly terrifying level; most likely, the Voidsea Jadeseal would only be able to simulate a tiny, tiny portion of the Daomerge for his Omega Sword Dao. Other supreme Daolords would be able to simulate half of the Daomerge, which would be of invaluable assistance, but for Ning the benefit would be fairly minimal.

Fourth, Ning cared more about reviving his wife Yu Wei. If he could reunite his family again, he’d be satisfied with merely living 108,000 chaos cycles! The Daomerge wasn’t something others could help him with, but saving Yu Wei was. He needed to acquire enough treasure so that he could ask some truly mighty figures to assist him! Given that even the Hegemons and the Dao Alliance had gone crazy over the fruits of Crimsonwave Temple, he naturally had to harvest as much as he could.

Whoosh! Ning felt a cold breeze stir past him. He hurriedly inspected his surroundings.

He stood atop a cold, ancient-looking stone island, and in front of him was an unfathomably deep abyss. A long, icy set of seven-colored chains stretched off into the distance, where it connected to another distant and levitating stone island. That second stone island had a gold-black octahedral command talisman levitating above it, with some strange runes right above it. Ning immediately recognized the runes as symbolizing the word ‘three’.

Behind that stone island was yet another deep abyss. A tri-colored set of chains stretched out from the stone island and across the abyss to a sacrificial altar that had another command talisman at the bottom. This one had runes symbolizing the word ‘five’ hovering right above it. The altar had a series of steps leading up to it, and at the very top of the altar there lay a command talisman that had strange runes symbolizing the word ‘eight’ above it.

“Three, five, and eight?” Ning was intrigued.

“Darknorth, the Grovekeeper said that there are nine command talismans in total. The ninth one is the most valuable, with the second most valuable being the sixth, seventh, and eighth talismans. Next in value come the third, fourth, and fifth talismans, while the first and second ones are the least valuable,” Ninedust said. Ning nodded.

Whoosh! Rainbow light coalesced next to them, resolving into the form of a white-robed man. It was Realmsoul Polo, and he smiled at Ning and Ninedust. “The two of you moved quite quickly. You came straight to the third world! The battle in the second world is still proceeding quite fiercely; given your power, the two of you might stand a chance.”

“We’ve decided to try and acquire as much fruit as we can instead,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Realmsoul Polo explained, “The rules in the third world are a bit different. Each Daolord can only choose a single corridor to proceed through.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and caused the mist at the horizons to vanish, revealing two other places. Once again they saw floating islands, abysses, and altars.

“The third world has three passageways,” Realmsoul Polo said. “Once you enter one of the passageways, you cannot enter any of the other ones. This is a mechanism to prevent any single Daolord from acquiring too many of the command talismans.”

Ning and Ninedust nodded slightly.

“But can we take them from others by force?” Ning suddenly asked.

“Haha. If you are strong enough to seize command talismans from other Daolords, go for it. I won’t mind even if you manage to acquire all of them,” Realmsoul Polo said. “The command talismans for these three passageways are of varying values, but on the whole the difference between the three passageways isn’t that great. Go ahead and choose one of the passageways. Oh! As the first to reach the third world, I’ll give you one piece of advice; the ninth command talisman is extremely, extremely valuable.” After speaking, the realmsoul let out a chuckle and vanished.

“Darknorth?” Ninedust looked at Ning.

“Let’s go take a look at the other passageways to take a look,” Ning said.

“Let’s go.” Ninedust and Ning immediately transformed into streaks of light that flew towards one of the other passageways. Soon, they had passed through the other two regions and reached their destination.

Ning and Ninedust possessed astounding ocularity clarity and were thus able to see the three command seals within this passageway right away. They were the first, the fourth, and the ninth.

“The ninth talisman is here.” Ning said solemnly, “Then that means the final passageway holds the second, the sixth, and the seventh talismans.”

The three passageways were separated thusly:

The first passageway held the first, fourth, and ninth command talismans.

The second passageway held the second, sixth, and seventh command talismans.

The third passageway held the third, fifth, and eighth command talismans.

“The total value in each of three passageways is roughly the same, but since the fruits harvested by the ninth command talisman ripen once every 100,000 chaos cycles, they are more valuable than all other fruits. The rarer a fruit is, the more irreplaceable it is,” Ning said. “I choose this passageway. I have to get the ninth command talisman.”

After studying the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], Ning knew a great deal regarding the Dao of Alchemy. Some alchemical materials were interchangeable with others, with just the price being changed slightly. The rarer an item was, however, the more important it generally was as a principal ingredient.

The ninth command talisman allowed the harvesting of the only fruits which ripened every 100,000 chaos cycles. Most likely, it was of the most interest to Eternal Emperors! They might be able to pay several times more than the ‘market’ rate for it. Ning’s hopes of reviving Yu Wei rested on this fruit.

“Then I’ll choose the other tunnel, the one with the second, sixth, and seventh command talismans,” Ninedust said.

“If we move separately, then…” Ning was a bit hesitant.

“Don’t worry.” Ninedust smiled. “I have my invulnerable aquaform; no one can kill me! And every single Daolord can only choose a single passageway; if you choose this one, that means the two of us can at most acquire three of those talismans. If we move separately, we can perhaps acquire a total of six! Haha. So long as I acquire any of them, they’ll all belong to you, Darknorth! You helped me acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal; now, it is my time to help you acquire the command talismans. Although these things aren’t nearly as valuable as Voidsea Jadeseals to us Daolords, I really don’t have anything better to offer you. There’s no way I’m handing out the seal I acquired to anyone, you included.”

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Chapter 13 – Speechless

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 13 – Speechless

“Haha, done.” Ji Ning understood what his friend was trying to do; Ninedust didn’t feel comfortable accepting the Voidsea Jadeseal without doing anything for Ning in return. At their level, Daolords were unwilling to do actions that went against their basic nature and caused them to feel guilty. They would strive to repay any favors that were owed.

But of course, there were some truly vile Daolords whose Dao-hearts were as vile as they were. Backstabbing, betrayal, robbery, deceit… they could do anything, because this was the nature of their Dao-heart! As a result, these evil Daolords generally had few to no truly good friends. Timedream was a good example; he had relied on applying heartforce techniques to the Kingfreak when the later was young and weak, slowly guiding the Kingfreak into being utterly devoted to him.

“We’ll probably spend quite a bit of time here in the third world,” Ning said. “You can spend a month using up the Voidsea Jadeseal first. That way, you can publicly swear a lifeblood oath that you’ve already used it and thus will no longer be pursued or attacked by the other Daolords.”

“Right.” Ninedust nodded. “Understood. I’ll be leaving now.” Whoosh. Ninedust flew towards a different passageway, with Ning watching as he left.

Ning then turned towards his own passageway. This was what mattered the most to him; he had to walk to the end of this passageway and acquire the ninth command talisman.

“That stone pillar…?” Ning stared at a rhomboid-shaped pillar at the edges of the abyss. The pillar was covered with many dense runes. These runes didn’t seem nearly as profound as the Dreamdust script, the azureflower runes, or the ‘Crimson Wave Temple’ runes, but they were still unlike any script that Ning had ever seen before. Despite that, Ning immediately understood what they meant.

“If I wish to pass through the first abyss, I must first learn the [Vitalis] technique…” Ning was dazed by what he read.

All living creatures had their own, distinct life auras. These auras came from the distinctive characteristics of their souls and truesouls. No type of divine ability or transformation could truly disguse this. The likes of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and other similar techniques could mask or simulate certain aura ‘leaks’, but the intrinsic life aura itself could not be changed! The aura each soul and truesoul had was the best way of verifying or attesting to who a person was.

“B-b-b-but… this [Vitalis] technique can actually change a truesoul’s life aura?” Ning could hardly believe this. “If even a truesoul’s life aura can be changed… then they could use a casual disguise and I would be completely unable to recognize them!”

Terrifying, utterly terrifying. For example, if someone transformed into Patriarch Subhuti and appeared in front of Ning, if even the truesoul life aura was imitated then Ning would be tricked. If caught off-guard in such a manner, Ning could very well fall for a sneak attack!

“The Sithe were utterly terrifying. How could they have come up with a technique like this? I’ve never even heard of such techniques in the Endless Territories, but the Sithe put it within the third world. Clearly, many of their supreme Daolords must’ve known this technique.” Ning was secretly terrified. If even their Daolords were this terrifying, how deadly had their Eternal Emperors had been?

No wonder the Sithe had once sought to conquer and enslave all other cultivators. Apparently, even the Terror Starsea was nothing more than one of many battlefields where the Dawn War had occurred.

“Whew.” Ning quickly read and memorized the [Vitalis] technique. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. The [Vitalis] technique wasn’t completely flawless; for example, close friends and loved ones could often tell what their counterparts were thinking from a single glance or gesture. If someone else had merely transformed and used the [Vitalis] technique, that person would be unable to duplicate that sort of tacit understanding. This was one of the most basic flaws.

However, if one wasn’t aware of the [Vitalis] technique and also sensed that the truesoul life aura was that of a loved one’s, one generally wouldn’t think too much of it even if their counterpart was acting rather oddly. They’d think that their counterpart was probably worried or frustrated about something and thus was acting rather differently. This wasn’t that big of a flaw.

The true, major flaw with the [Vitalis] technique was that of karma!

Karma was a system of cause and effect that linked all things! This was one of the highest level and yet most understated webs that tied and bound all individuals. There were some who were so skilled in karma that when they slew a foe, they would be able to use their karmic senses to trace down that enemy’s Primaltwin and avatars and wipe them out as well!

Anyone you had befriended or even so much as spoken to would be connected to you by karma. Ning, for example, was very tightly bound to his friends and loved ones by karmic threads. He was even connected by karma to the Brightshore Hegemon and Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance, as he had met and spoken with both separately.

If anyone dared to imitate Ning and appear before Hegemon Brightshore… given how strong Hegemon Brightshore was, he was probably able of karmic scrying! He would be able to instantly tell that there were no pre-existing karmic ties between him and the person in front of him and thus could be certain that it definitely was not Ji Ning.

“There are almost no Daolords capable of sensing and scrying karma.” Ning shook his head. “Not even the majority of Eternal Emperors are capable of this. You have to be a specialist in karma or have reached an incredible level of power.”

All Daos shared certain commonalities. Ning didn’t specifically study the Dao of Time or the Dao of Space, but he had reached such inconceivable heights in the Dao of the Sword that he was able to transcend both space and time. Similarly, the power within the Sword Hegemon’s Dao-seal was so great that it could freeze and suppress both spacetime as well as karmic scrying.

“This [Vitalis] technique is still an incredible technique,” Ning mused to himself. If he managed to learn this technique, he could for example imitate someone else and go pay a visit to Hegemon Netherlily of the Ancient cultivators! Since Hegemon Netherlily had never seen him before and there were no karmic ties between them, Ning probably would be able to deceive her.

Thus, this technique was a superb and terrifying technique for disguising one’s self and infiltrating other organizations.

“The Sithe probably relied on this technique to arrange for many Daolord spies to be sent into the various cultivator organizations,” Ning mused. “However, the Sithe have already been destroyed. Even their techniques have fallen into the hands of us cultivators.”

……

Each of the seven colors of the rainbow chains which stretched across the first abyss represented a type of truesoul life aura! One had to be able to transform one’s life aura to match those chains in order to safely traverse them. If the truesoul aura was not imitated perfectly, then one would be swept into that endless abyss and perish!

The Sithe used very brutal methods to train their Daolords.

“[Vitalis]…” After learning this technique, Ning felt more and more certain that the Sithe had reached truly inconceivable heights in certain areas. For example, their mastery of truesoul-relaetd techniques clearly surpassed that of the Endless Territories by a significant amount. Otherwise, they would never have been able to create a technique such as this.

What Ning didn’t know was that although the Sithe had been exterminated, the many treasures and techniques they had left behind were furiously fought over in countless places. Crimsonwave Temple was nothing more than one of the many relic sites left behind by the Sithe.

“Focus.” Ning made use of his temporal acceleration treasure. Years passed inside although just half a month or so had gone by outside. He was now able to use a tiny amount of his truesoul and godsense to form a ‘lifecloak’ around him, with the lifecloak capable of simulating any truesoul aura Ning had met before.

This amount of his truesoul and godsense was of neglible impact to Ning. He was a heartforce cultivator, after all, and a very high-level one at that. Learning this technique was thus quite easy for him.

“Success.” Ning put away the spacetime cabin and turned to stare at the stone pillar. He sighed silently, “Their abilities were utterly unearthly, but their ambitions were simply too vast. In the end, they were wiped out!”

Ning understood that the little he knew about the Sithe came from what Realmsoul Polo and the Grovekeeper and told him. He realized that this was nothing more than the tip of an iceberg, and that he still knew very little as to what the truth was.

The Grovekeeper had merely been an artificial construct created by the Sithe race in order to take care of the trees here in Crimsonwave Temple. He had never been able to leave this place. As for Realmsoul Polo, he was nothing more than a servant of Emperor Waveshift’s.

……

Ning stood there atop the seven-colored chains, every single colored chain containing a different truesoul aura. The different colors all stretched out across several meters, allowing the Daolords enough time to falsify their truesoul auras.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Ning continuously transformed. First he was a terrifying demon, then he became a suave and graceful cultivator. If they closed their eyes, not even Brightmoon or Patriarch Subhuti would be able to recognize that this aura came from Ji Ning.

Soon, Ning traversed the entire set of chains reached the giant rocky island on the other side.

“The first command talisman.” Ning stared at the octahedral black-gold command talisman levitating in the air, then reached out to grab it. The command talisman’s surface was warm on one side but cool on the other, and the temperatures on each side continuously alternated. This first command talisman, along with the second command talisman, were amongst the least valuable of the command talismans. However, the fruit they gave access to only ripened once every 30,000 years. Given that the Sithe were willing to place such valuable trees here in Crimsonwave Palace, the fruit would definitely still be extraordinary.

“One talisman down. Keep going.” Ning stared off into the distance towards the tri-colored chains leading across the second abyss. At the end of the tri-colored chains was the altar which held the fourth command talisman at the bottom! At the very top of the altar was the ninth command talisman.

“Eh?” Ning stared at the stone pillar which stood deep at the ends of the second abyss. “If I wish to pass through the second abyss, I must master the [Daoheart] technique…” This stone pillar was also covered with dense runic script that explained yet another mysterious, ancient technique of the Sithe race.

He had been stunned when he saw the [Vitalis] technique. This time, he had already mentally fortified himself, but upon seeing the [Daoheart] technique he was still completely dumbfounded.

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Chapter 14 – [Daoheart]

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 14 – [Daoheart]

Whoosh. A cold wind blew out from the deep abyss in front of Ji Ning. Ning however just stood there blankly, not seeming to even notice it at all.

The [Vitalis] technique allowed one to disguise one’s truesoul aura. It could merely be described as a rare technique that wasn’t really of much use for either the Daomerge or cultivation in general. This [Daoheart] technique, however, was of enormous benefit to cultivators!

For cultivators, the Dao-heart mattered more than anything else! Without a sufficiently strong Dao-heart, you couldn’t even so much as become a Celestial Immortal. Once your Dao-heart collapsed, you might even fail to control the powerful Immortal energy coursing through your body, resulting in death via self-detonation! All Samsara Daolords, especially supreme ones, had incredibly formidable Dao-hearts.

Usually, the stronger a person was the more powerful his Dao-heart would be as well, which meant that on average Eternal Emperors had stronger Dao-hearts than Samsara Daolords did. But of course, there were a few extremely rare exceptions.

When Ninedust had been poisoned by that redscatter venom, he had been in such agony that he wanted Ning to kill him. The redscatter venom had originally been devised for usage against powerful Eternal Emperors, who had very strong Dao-hearts. It would weaken them, but it wouldn’t incapacitate them to the point where they would beg for death. This alone was a testament as to the difference in Dao-hearts between Ninedust and powerful Eternal Emperors.

However, as more time passed Ninedust’s Dao-heart had been tempered and strengthened by the redscatter venom. Towards the late stages of his poisoning, he had no longer screamed in pain. If someone was to apply redscatter venom to him again, he might be dramatically weakened but he wouldn’t beg for death. This signified that his Dao-heart had improved!

“Redscatter venom is terrifying, but it’s also a good treasure for tempering one’s Dao-heart. Alas, the effect only lasts for twelve days,” Ning mused. In the end, twelve days simply wasn’t long enough, especially given how incredibly rare and expensive redscatter venom was. When applied at the right time in a duel between Eternal Emperors, it could allow in one being able to slay a foe outright. Hence, no one would be so wasteful as to use it to temper the Dao-heart.

“This [Daoheart] technique… once you use it, you’ll suffer such tremendous agony that you’ll feel as though you’ve been hit by redscatter venom!” Ning was truly stunned.

It sounded quite simple; it was nothing more than a pain technique, right? But it must be understood that supreme Daolords had such incredibly formidable Dao-hearts that they would calmly smile in the face of death itself! To cause them to feel such agonizing pain that they would be at the verge of suffering a mental breakdown was incredibly hard to do. That was what made the redscatter venom so valuable! This [Daoheart] technique, however, was able to cause increasingly terrifying levels of pain. This sort of technique was completely unheard of in the Endless Territories!

According to the records, the [Daoheart] technique was divided up into seven levels of heart purgatories. Even the very first level was enough to cause tremendous agony to a supreme Daolord, and the higher levels were even worse. The seventh purgatory was so agonizing that supreme Daolords could instantly see their truesouls shattered and destroyed from the pain!

Ning stared at the stone pillar before him. “This stone pillar has only recorded down the first three purgatories; only Eternal Emperors will have the chance to learn the fourth to seventh purgatories! It seems as though even the Sithe Daolords were only able to train in the first three. I have to be able to master the first three purgatories if I wish to be able to traverse the tri-colored chains.”

Each of the three colored sections of the tri-colored chains in front of him would cause an agonizing amount of pain to fill his body. One had to have mastered the first three purgatories in order to safely cross the chains.

……

“Time to begin!”

A cold wind howled past the white-robed Ning as he waved his hand, causing the temporal acceleration cabin to appear next to him. Ning entered the log cabin, then began to train.

“Mo…ya…ta…” Ning’s soul began to recite the words to this technique. This was a soul voice with a strange cadence and profound melody to it. Slowly, Ning began to feel an increasing level of pain. This pain filled every inch of his body and began to grow stronger and stronger as Ning continued the chant. The longer he chanted, the greater the pain he felt. After an hour had passed, Ning’s forehead was creased in a frown and a fierce look was in his eyes.

“…kong…la…luo…Sithe.” Ning finished chanting through the first purgatory and opened his eyes, his forehead matted with sweat.

“How terrifying. It has been a long, long time since I’ve felt as much pain as this… but it was still within the realm of what I could tolerate.” Ning immediately shut his eyes and began to work on the second purgatory.

Ning was the most powerful Heartforce Cultivator of the Endless Territories and the master of the Omega Sword Dao. His Dao-heart was already incredibly strong!

Even if he wasn’t a Heartforce Cultivator, his Dao-heart still would’ve been quite strong. Long ago, he had been stuck at the fourth stage of heartforce, ‘mortal dust’, because of his stubborn attachment to his parents. As a result, he had been unable to calm his mind and heart enough to reach the fifth stage of heartforce, ‘truth’. However, his determination to revive his parents was so strong that his Dao-heart was still incredibly strong even then. Similarly, there were many Eternal Emperors and even Hegemons who were not Heartforce Cultivators but who had Dao-hearts of inconceivable strength.

But of course… Heartforce Cultivators would by definition have extremely strong Dao-hearts! Even then, however, there were variations amongst Heartforce Cultivators. Some were stronger, some were weaker. Ji Ning, Timedream, Cloudwalker, Winesage… their Dao-hearts naturally were ranked in this order from first to fourth.

……

“…tian…fu…can…Sithe.” Ning’s face was completely red, and his veins were bulging out of his trembling body. Despite that, he still managed to forcibly and fully recite the second purgatory.

“I’ve finished the second purgatory as well.” Ning wasn’t very happy. The fact that he was able to master the first and second purgatories so easily meant that they would be of little to no use to him.

“Time for the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique… the Jinayi purgatory.”

Ning took a deep breath, allowing his protruding veins to settle back down and the color of his skin to go back to normal. “Zi…mi…shi…ya…” Ning began to recite the words to the third purgatory.

Agony!

It was like a colossal mountain of pain had just come crashing down upon his fragile body. He almost immediately felt as though he was about to suffer a mental breakdown. Although Ning had a powerful Dao-heart and things he cared immensely about, he currently had a feeling of incredible weakness, as though he wasn’t able to hold on for much longer and was about to collapse.”

Clack clack clack clack… Ning just sat there in the lotus position, but sweat was pouring down his face and the bones in his body were clacking and cracking. His muscles and his tendons were at the point of tearing apart, and even his gums were beginning to ooze blood that began to drip out from the corners of his lips. Ning, however, didn’t notice any of this at all.

His Dao-heart was completely focused on guarding his spirit and his beliefs while his soul continued to chant the words to the technique. The pain continued to increase! Everything in front of him began to turn black as all sound disappeared from the world. There was nothing aside from the endless pain!

“Ah…” Ning suddenly felt his entire mind go blank. His soul naturally stopped chanting the words to the technique and the agony quickly receded, allowing him to regain consciousness.

He lowered his head to look at himself. His arms and his crossed legs were all matted with sweat, with a few rivulets of blood splattered in.

“I was in such pain that I couldn’t even continue to chant that mantra.” Ning actually smiled delightedly at this discovery. “Hahaha! Good, good! That means my Dao-heart isn’t strong enough yet. I wasn’t even able to master the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique on my first try. Since the Sithe used this to train supreme Daolords, that means the most powerful Sithe Daolords had even stronger Dao-hearts than me.”

“Haha. At least the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique is of use to me.” Ning was delighted. If he had passed on his first try, that would’ve meant that the third purgatory was similarly useless.

“Let’s do this again. The pain I felt was less than what Ninedust went through,” Ning mused. It wasn’t that the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique was weaker than the effects of the redscatter venom; Ning wasn’t able to judge that. All pain, however, was relative. The redscatter venom and the agony it brought had been enough to cause Ninedust to scream in agony and beg for Ning to kill him! However, if it had been Hegemon Brightshore who had been struck by the poison, he would’ve been able to continue smiling and laughing without seeming to feel a thing. Pain was a relative concept. The pain brought by the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique was at most able to prevent Ning from continuing his chanting.

However… the redscatter venom caused Ninedust endless pain without end, pain for a full twelve days.

“Continue.” Ning once more began to chant the mantra. The seven stages to this [Daoheart] technique were known as the seven purgatories of the heart. Amongst the Sithe, even the most supreme of Daolords were only able to master the first three purgatories.

The first three purgatories were viewed as nightmares by even those supreme Sithe Daolords! They generally would spend countless years training before each abyss, suffering endless mental torment. If they were unable to completely master the technique within a single chaos cycle, the Sithe would forcibly remove them from this place. Only some of their supreme Daolords were able to master all three of the purgatories.

……

One attempt after another. Ning’s soul continuously chanted the mantra to the technique, enduring the endless agonizing that descended upon him. Each time, the agony caused him to despair and drove him unconscious. The pain was simply beyond what he could endure, and so he failed again and again. Each time, his only goal was to increase his limit further and further.

While training, Ning set up fairly simple barriers and wards around him. Once anyone came, Ning would naturally be alerted by it. Thus, he was able to completely invest himself in training.

……

Time continued to flow on. As Ning continued to suffer more and more torment, he was able to recite the mantra for longer periods of time. After a total of twenty-one years…

“…qian…fu…la…jie…na…yi…Sithe.” Ning finally completed his recital of the third purgatory’s mantra. Although he was wracked by agony, he was at least able to maintain the presence of mind to finish the recital.

“Success.” Ning opened his eyes.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, putting away the temporal acceleration cabin. He then stared at the stone pillar for a moment, then walked towards the tri-colored chains.

By now, a large group of supreme Daolords had descended upon the second world, where the furious fight over the final Voidsea Daoseal continued.

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Chapter 15 – Nine Hundred Years

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 15 – Nine Hundred Years

As Ji Ning walked across the tri-colored chains, he could sense throbs of pain reach out to him from his feet and then spread throughout his body. He continued to advance one step at a time, but his body began to quiver. He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.

“For these chains to be able to cause so much pain for so many years to so many people… they must be valuable treasures.” Although Ning was agonized, he maintained enough clarity of mind to murmur softly to himself.

Finally, he finished traversing the tri-colored chains.

“The fourth command talisman.” Ning stared at the ancient black-gold talisman, then reached out and grabbed it. Ning raised his head to stare upwards at the steps that led to the top of the altar. At the very top levitated the extremely precious ninth command talisman.

Swoosh.

Ning strode forward towards, beginning to move up the various steps. There were a total of 8003 steps to this great altar. Rainbow light suddenly manifested at the very top of the altar, resolving into a white-robed figure. Realmsoul Polo smiled as he walked downwards towards Ning.

“Realmsoul Polo?” Ning was startled.

The realmsoul glanced at Ning, then smiled. “Darknorth, you are quite fast. You were able to master both [Vitalis] and [Daoheart] quite quickly.”

“Are there any other new techniques in this altar?” Ning asked.

“None.” The realmsoul shook his head. “You should celebrate the fact that you learned two such exquisite techniques. How numerous do you take them for? As for the altar… this altar has a total of 9000 wards and barriers. If you can defeat all 9000 of them, you’ll be able to acquire the incredibly precious ninth command talisman.”

As he spoke, he waved his sleeves. Swoosh! Triangular motes of golden light immediately appeared at the top of the altar. The light spread out to form multiple layers of barriers that repeatedly folded in on each other, forming a dazzling golden barrier. Ning could immediately tell that there were indeed thousands of layers to this formation; although he couldn’t count the exact number, 9000 was a distinct possibility.

“Will the barriers automatically regenerate?” Ning asked. If they were to immediately regenerate, then he would have to break through all 9000 in a single strike.

“Hahaha, if they automatically regenerated, you could be ten times as strong as you currently are and still fail to break through.” Realmsoul Polo relaxed off to one side as he watched.

“Good.” Ning immediately manifested three heads and six arms. All six of the golden swords on his back came flying out and landed within his hands.

“Let’s go.” Ning willed it, and a barrier immediately appeared next to him which quickly expanded to cover the entire altar.

Temporal acceleration… 100x acceleration!

The altar was not alive and thus it didn’t cause too much energy to be used up to accelerate time for it.

“Oh, quite clever.” Realmsoul Polo smiled as he watched from the side.

“This is the final challenge in the third world, after all. I’ll wager it won’t be that easy to beat,” Ning said. Moments later, a sharp light flashed through his eyes. “Suppress!”

Ning willed his massive heartworld projection to come crashing down. A heartbeat later, his nine novessence arts came out in the form of energy dragons, coiling together to form a Yin-Yang Chaos Domain in accordance with the principles of the Omega Sword Dao – Yin Yang which furiously pressed down against the altar. Even though the altar was now suffering the combined pressures of the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts, the 9000 barriers were still able to easily endure.

“Break!” Ning immediately executed his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop while applying the [Heartsword] technique.

Sword-light flashed through the air as Ning’s mist-formed sword stabbed against the barrier, moving faster than a hundred times the speed of light. The first barrier was pierced through like paper, but the power of the strike was greatly reduced. In the end, the mist-formed sword was unable to stab through the second barrier.

“Eh, just so-so. This speed indicates that it’ll take me perhaps one day to break through all 9000 barriers. It seems setting up a temporal acceleration field was overkill.” Ning spoke in an intentionally arrogant manner while giving Realmsoul Polo a meaningful glance.

“Don’t get cocky.” Realmsoul Polo watched from afar, an amused smile on his face. “The ninth command seal won’t be so easily acquired.”

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning struck out repeatedly against the barriers, piercing through a total of 151 barriers. The next time Ning struck out, he wasn’t able to break through the barrier.

“The barriers are increasing in strength.” Ning frowned, then revealed a smile. “Still, at least the barriers weaken each time I attack them. They don’t regenerate even when they are weakened but not breached.” For example, although the 152nd barrier was not destroyed by Ning’s full-strength strike, it had dimmed and was clearly much weaker than it had been previously.

So long as the barrier didn’t recover its energy, then he would eventually be able to break through the 9000 barriers given enough time.

“Break! Break! Break!” Ning quickly struck out with his six Northbow swords, applying the Blood Drop stance each time. The Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop’s greatest strength lay in its penetrative power!

When dealing with barriers, this sort of penetrating attack was the best type of attack to use. In addition, the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was Ning’s most powerful attack! This naturally made the breaching process quite fast.

Slash! Slash! Slash! The six Northbow swords continuously struck out as fast as illusions. One mist-formed sword after another struck out against the barriers, causing the barriers to quickly disperse under the weight of the barrage of attacks.

……

After roughly half a day, Ning broke through the 1000th barrier.

After roughly six days, Ning broke through the 2000th barrier.

After roughly half a month, Ning broke through the 3000th barrier.

After roughly nine months, Ning broke through the 4000th barrier.

After nearly half a year, Ning broke through the 5000th barrier.

“I underestimated these 9000 barriers.” Ning was furiously assaulting the 5001st barrier with his six Northbow swords. This barrier was extremely tough; when Ning first assaulted it, he felt as though he couldn’t breach it at all, that the barrier wasn’t even weakening in the slightest. Only after more than ten thousand strikes did the barrier slowly begin to weaken, and once it did it began to weaken at a very fast rate. In the end, it finally collapsed.

“These barriers… they are strong enough that not even a full-strength blow from the eight lords of the Sacred Cities would be able to breach them,” Ning mused.

The barriers were so much more powerful than his attacks that his strikes were like drops of water sprinkled across stones, having virtually no impact at all. However, given enough time the wind and the rain could wear down even the mightiest of mountains! When the barrier finally dropped down close to Ning’s level of power, Ning would naturally be able to sense it begin to weaken and break down.

“I still haven’t been able to master the eleventh stance of the [Heartsword].” In recent days, Ning had been working on the eleventh stance of the [Heartsword] technique, the ‘Teardrop’ strike.

The eighth to tenth stances of the [Heartsword] represented a tier, while the eleventh to twelfth stances represented a different tier. Each tier represented a qualitative transformation!

Ning was so incredibly talented that in just a few short decades he was able to go from the eighth stance to the tenth stance, but these three stances belonged to the same tier. The difficulty of the eleventh stance, however, was on a completely different level from the tenth.

“I was over-confident. No wonder the records regarding the [Heartsword] stated that the number of people in each generation who could master the eleventh or twelfth stances could be counted on one hand! Even the most talented of swordsmen who have been alive for 108,000 chaos cycles find it hard to reach this level, while I’ve spent just ten or so years on it.” Ning regained his normal calm, then smiled. “In recent years, I’ve been focusing on my Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. I feel as though I’ve gained quite a few insights into it. Perhaps I’ll break through with it.”

In the past five years, Ning had unleashed countless strikes with the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. By now, he had more insights into the Blood Drop stance than any of the other four stances, and so it stood the best chance of reaching the fourth stage. If he could reach the fourth stage with his Blood Drop stance, then the power of his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop would increase yet again.

“Continue.” Ning continued to furiously strike out with his sword, even though he felt almost like an ant trying to move a mountain.

……

After nearly twenty years, Ning broke through the 6000th barrier.

After nearly a century, Ning broke through the 7000th barrier.

After nearly three centuries, Ning broke through the 8000th barrier.

……

Ning’s [Heartsword] and his Blood Drop stance had yet to make any breakthroughs. Although he had gained some insights, especially after having used the Blood Drop stance so many times and after having spent so much time working on upgrading it, he still hadn’t been able to reach the fourth stage. His improvements were rapid, but it still wasn’t enough. This was a sign as to how hard it would be to reach the fourth stage with all five stances. As for fusing them together into a fourth-stage Omega Sword Dao? How difficult would that be?”

Slash! Slash! Slash! A furious barrage of mist-formed sword energy lashed out in an illusory fashion, stabbing against the final barrier. Finally, an explosion boomed out!

After more than 900 years here at the altar, Ning had finally managed to defeat the final barrier.

“I finally breached it.” Ning revealed a delighted look. He had spent over 900 years furiously assaulting the barrier nonstop. Ning had never done something like this before!

“The ninth command talisman.” Ning walked to the ninth command talisman, then reached out and grabbed it.

“Hahaha…” Realmsoul Polo began laughing from up high, his voice echoing throughout every inch of Crimsonwave Temple. “Daolords, the ninth command talisman for harvesting fruit has already been acquired by Daolord Darknorth! The rest of you need to hurry up!”

“You actually…” Ning raised his head to stare at Realmsoul Polo, shocked.

“The command talismans won’t be won that easily.” Realmsoul Polo looked down at Ning, a smile playing on his lips. “You can rob others of them, but others can rob you of them as well.”

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Chapter 16 – Consecutive Deaths

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 16 – Consecutive Deaths

“They can try.” Ji Ning really wasn’t afraid at all. He then raised his head to look at the realmsoul and asked, “Senior, how am I to return to the second world?”

“Simple. Every single world has a map diagram covering the ground.” Realmsoul Polo pointed towards the great floating island Ning had started off on. It was true that the floating island did indeed have a inky circular diagram that was roughly nine meters in diameter, and the diagram was covered with black runes that seemed quite mysterious.

“Just step into that diagram. In ten breaths worth of time, you’ll be transported straight to the throne of the second world. The second world and the first world both have similar diagrams in them,” Realmsoul Polo said.

“Oh?” Ning thought back to what he had seen. Indeed, it was true. However, since Crimsonwave Temple was covered with so many sculptures, paintings, and diagrams, at the time Ning hadn’t realized the inky circle had meant anything.

“To the second world, then.” Ning put away the ninth command talisman, then immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew down the dais. He first walked past the tri-colored chains, enduring the pain they bought him, then continuously shifted his truesoul aura as he walked past the seven-colored chains.

“The last Voidsea Jadeseal has been seized by Daolord Feich!” Realmsoul Polo’s voice reverberated throughout every inch of Crimsonwave Temple. “All three of the remaining Voidsea Jadeseals have been collected. Daolords, hurry up and do your best to acquire the command talismans. They are far more valuable than the Voidsea Jadeseals, and every single talisman is more than valuable enough to drive Eternal Emperors mad with desire. They represent enormous amounts of valuable fruits… and right now, only five of them remain!”

Ning was still walking on the seven-colored chains. When he heard Realmsoul Polo said this, he couldn’t help but feel so angry that he ground his teeth until they nearly broke. The realmsoul really wanted to just see the world thrown into chaos!

However, the realmsoul had merely spoken the truth. The fruits truly were more valuable than the Voidsea Jadeseals! Even Hegemons grew excited over these fruits, while the Dao Alliance was dazzled by the prospect of acquiring them. In terms of price and value, they were indeed far more valuable than Voidsea Jadeseals! To Daolords, however, supreme Daomerge treasures were naturally more important than anything else, no matter how valuable.

“Only five of the command talismans remain? It seems Ninedust has acquired one as well.” Ning had been planning to head to the second world, but after exiting the seven-colored chains he immediately flew like a streak of light towards the Ninedust Sectlord’s location.

……

Whoosh. “Ah, good. They haven’t arrived yet,” Ning mused to himself as he reached Ninedust’s passageway.

At present, the only person within the passageway was Ninedust and Ninedust alone! What Ning didn’t realize was that when Realmsoul Polo had publicly announced that he had acquired the ninth command talisman, all of the supreme Daolords who had been fighting over the Voidsea Jadeseal in the second world began to grow anxious. “That means Darknorth is probably going to come here and fight with us over the Voidsea Jadeseal as well. His assassination arts are extremely terrifying to deal with. We need to end this faster!”

The battle had already been ferocious to begin with. Once word that Ning might be arriving spread, the battle reached a fever pitch before finally Daolord Feich ended up seizing the Voidsea Jadeseal.

Although he had managed to acquire it, he was a low-key supreme Daolord who was only on par with Fiendqueen Dustrain and the others. The other Daolords weren’t willing to accept this result and so the battle continued.

“Eh?” Ning arrived at Ninedust’s passageway. He immediately saw the rhomboid stone pillar and the words atop of it introducing the [Vitalis] art. When he then looked at the seven-colored chains and the tri-colored chains, he immediately understood that all of the passageways contained the same techniques with them.

Ning had been hoping that perhaps the three passageways would all contain different techniques!

“Ninedust is still inside.” Ning stared at the temporal acceleration cottage in front of the tri-colored chains. Ninedust was inside that cottage. “It seems he has yet to master the [Daoheart] technique.”

In terms of Dao-heart strength, Ning was indeed significantly superior to Ninedust; Ning was a Heartforce Cultivator, after all!

……

The third world, Ninedust’s passageway. Ning sat there on the rocky ground in the lotus position by himself. Due to the barrier in front of him, there was no way for him to step onto the rainbow chains. Each supreme Daolords was only permitted to choose one passageway; there was no way to enter the other ones.

After waiting for four full hours, Ning suddenly opened his eyes.

Whoosh! A streak of light flew towards him, resolving into the form of a black-robed figure who looked at the seated Ning. The black-robed figure said, “Brother Darknorth, I must congratulate you. If I had known things would end up like this, I would’ve joined you in fighting over the command talismans.”

“Brother Winesage, my guess is that most of the other supreme Daolords have joined forces.” Ning rose to his feet. “It looks as though you are still on your own. Why don’t you join forces with me and Ninedust?”

“Haha, why should I join forces with anyone?” Winesage scanned the area. “Darknorth, can you tell me which passageway still has all of its command talismans?”

“That one.” Ning pointed towards the third passageway.

“Thank you.” Winesage immediately flew in that direction.

Just a short while later, Ning saw a large group of individuals be teleported into the third world atop the stone island before him. There were a total of twelve supreme Daolords, with the leader being a devilish violet-robed figure whose eyes gleamed with violet light and who had long, unbound black hair. The other eleven supreme Daolords were clearly following him.

“Darknorth?” When the violet-robed devil saw Ning, he smiled a cold smile. “What a coincidence. We actually ran into Daolord Darknorth.”

“King Paleos?” Ning was surprised. After entering the Waveshift Realm, he had never heard anything that indicated King Paleos was a particularly powerful Daolord. King Paleos was a member of the Aeonian race! He was very low-key, and everyone in the outside world belonged him to merely be a second-tier Daolord. The most famous Daolord of the Aeonian race had been King Gorsch… but now, it seemed, King Paleos was also quite powerful.

Boom! Rainbow light swirled around the air above them, forming into the towering figure of a white-robed man.

“All surviving Daolords have reached the third world. Let me explain… the third world has a total of three passageways! Every single Daolord is only permitted to challenge a single passageway. Originally, each passageway held three command talismans within them, with the total value in each being roughly the same! But of course, only five command talismans remain.” Realmsoul Polo’s voice echoed throughout the world.

As the realmsoul was speaking, Ning received certain news from the Brightshore Kingdom. “What?!” Ning was shocked. The Dao Alliance had issued a new Daolord ranking!

In recent years, the Daolord rankings had changed to a shocking degree.

“Daolord Dreamlore ranks number three?”

“King Paleos ranks number six?”

“Daolord Skyaxe died?”

“King Cliffbank died?”

Ning was completely stunned when he saw the new rankings. A total of six supreme Daolords had died in the fight over the final Voidsea Jadeseal, and the Daolord rankings had completely changed. The first was Winesage, the second was Darknorth, the third was Dreamlore, the fourth was Palace Lord Dawnstar, the fifth was the Radiant King, the sixth was King Paleos, the seventh was Daolord Owlblack, the eighth was Ninestone, the ninth was Daolord Skyshatter, and the tenth was Daolord Tigrone…

A brand new group of supreme Daolords had arisen! Many had been very low-key in the past and not very well known, but in the fight over the Voidsea Jadeseal they had revealed their fierceness.

……

King Paleos’ violet eyes were focused on Ning. He said coldly, “Only five of the nine command talismans remain. You, Darknorth, should’ve acquired three of them. Your ally, the Ninedust Sectlord, seems to have acquired one as well… but the twelve of us haven’t acquired so much as a single one, nor have we acquired any Voidsea Jadeseals. Daolord Darknorth, don’t you think this is a bit unfair?”

“Daolord Darknorth.” Fiendqueen Dustrain was behind King Paleos, and she spoke out in a similarly cold voice, “We don’t ask for me. We can forget about the other two talismans, nor will we force the Ninedust Sectlord to hand over his. The ninth command talisman, however… you must hand it to us! Hand us the ninth command talisman and we won’t cause you any trouble.”

“Hand over the ninth command talisman.”

“Hand it over, Daolord Darknorth.”

“Not even Winesage is a match for us. Darknorth, you should go ahead and hand it over.”

King Paleos and the other supreme Daolords all stared at Ning. They were all supreme Daolords. If they were in a smaller group of just four or five, they might be very nervous when facing Ning, but there were twelve of them right now; they wouldn’t be afraid of even Winesage! In fact, they had already battled against Winesage earlier. Why would they fear Daolord Darknorth?

Thus far, the twelve of them had acquired nothing at all. If they were able to harvest the fruits of the ninth command talisman, they would be able to split the harvest and trade for some rare materials from the various Hegemons or the Dao Alliance. In that way, at least, their visit to the Waveshift Realm wouldn’t have been in vain.

Ning frowned. The command talismans represented the fruits of the Crimsonwave Temple, so valuable that the Dao Alliance and the Hegemons were going crazy over them. The ninth command talisman was the most valuable and an absolutely priceless item. Ning was planning on using them to rescue Yu Wei!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning’s body blurred as he manifested three heads and six arms. Six streaks of golden light immediately shot out from his back and landed in his hands.

The three-headed, six-armed, white-robed youth stared coldly at the supreme Daolords, six Northbow swords at the ready. “Cut the crap, you pack of fools. Come and die!”

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Chapter 17 – Furious Battle

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 17 – Furious Battle

“Quite bold. Daolord Skyaxe was similarly bold when facing me… but in the end, I killed him. A pity. I haven’t had the chance to battle against the Radiant King or Dawnstar yet. If I had, I wouldn’t be ranked merely number six. Come and show me how strong you are, oh mighty second-ranked Darknorth.” King Paleos manifested six arms as well, each arm wielding a strange sawtoothed weapon.

“Surround him and kill him,” Fiendqueen Dustrain barked coldly.

“Darknorth doesn’t have an invulnerable form; it’ll be much easier to kill him.”

“Since he’s courting death, let us give it to him. Once we kill him, we’ll be able to take all of his command talismans.” The supreme Daolords were all boiling with the desire to kill.

Ning’s face tightened as a fierce light shone from his eyes. He glared at King Paleos and said coldly, “So you were the one to kill Daolord Skyaxe?”

“Yes. Otherwise, how would I be ranked at number six?” King Paleos asked.

“Damn you.” Ning was infuriated. There were very few supreme Daolords he was friends with, but Daolord Skyaxe was one of them. When he had been weak and besieged by Daolord Shaka outside Skywood City, one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance, he had begged the Brightshore Kingdom for aid. Palace Lord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe had immediately come to his aid, and as a result Ning had become friends with both of them.

Although the relationship naturally wasn’t nearly as deep as the one he shared with Ninedust, who he had shared life-and-death experiences with, they were still good friends.

“Afraid?” King Paleos smirked.

“DIE!” Ning was boiling with murderous rage.

BOOM! A terrifying wave of invisible force instantly lashed out towards them from Ning, striking against the souls and truesouls of the twelve supreme Daolords.

“Ah!” “Ahhh!” Two of the supreme Daolords instantly turned pale, followed by their heads drooping downwards. The faces of many of the other Daolords also tightened slightly, but at least they were able to maintain their clarity of mind.

“What a terrifying heartforce art.” King Paleos’ face tightened as well.

“Kill!” Just now, Ning had used the [Heartforce Eradicator] art. It was linked to his Omega Sword Dao, and so now that Ning had reached the third stage of his Omega Sword Dao the power of his [Heartforce Eradicator] had also significantly improved. However, to directly slay a supreme Daolord was still no easy feat.

And yet, Ning’s goal wasn’t to actually slay any of them outright. His goal was to crush their morale and douse their bravado.

Boom! Next, his vast heartworld projection came crashing down. At the center of that massive, illusory world was that enormous sword-shaped mountain, and it came plunging straight down towards all of the supreme Daolords, causing their bodies to stiffen. As far as heartworld projections went, at present there was no Daolord who was a match for Ning!

A heartbeat later, nine energy dragons came howling out of Ning’s body, forming the Yin-Yang Chaos Domain around him.

“One person wants to suppress the twelve of us by himself? He’s too arrogant.”

“He doesn’t know his own limits.”

“Break!”

King Paleos and the others used their own secret arts as well. Some were strong, some were weak, but when joined together they vastly outstripped Ning in power. The difference was, Ning’s heartworld projection and his secret arts were able to merge together seamlessly! These supreme Daolords weren’t able to merge their secret arts together; if they tried, they would begin to interfere with each other.

However, they had gained some experience from their previous battle against Winesage. There were some secret arts that could work together, such as Five Elements arts or Yin and Yang arts. In this way, their secret arts could be improved in power as they worked together to suppress Ning.

However, since Ning’s heartworld projection was also capable of restricting and suppressing part of the secret arts. The two sides began a battle of secret arts and heartworld projections. Ning was forced to shrink the radius of his secret arts, but he was still able to hold.

“Kill!” Six Northbow swords in hand, Ning charged straight towards the strongest foe, King Paleos. King Paleos might be strong, but Ning held him in no regard at all. Ning would dare to battle even Winesage in solo combat; why would he fear King Paleos?

“He didn’t pick the weakest member but instead went after me?” King Paleos’ long black hair fluttered behind him as he sent his six serrated blades howling towards Ning. As he did, a thick black fog spread out from him.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Six streaks of mist-formed swords appeared before him with incredible speed, so fast that King Paleos’ face instantly turned pale. “How can he be this fast? He’s even faster than the Radiant King. In fact, perhaps only Daolord Dreamlore is a match for him in speed!” He had yet to truly battle against the Radiant King or Daolord Dreamlore, but during the previous fights over the Voidsea Jadeseals he had watched both of them strike with despair-inducing speed.

Darknorth’s swords were just as fast… no, they was even faster than the Radiant King’s strikes! Perhaps only Daolord Dreamlore and his dazzling, blood-streaked bloodblade strikes were on par with Darknorth.

Clang! Clang! Clang! King Paleos furiously defended himself against Ning’s onslaught. His six serrated blades were quite strange and unpredictable. When used for defense, they were quite formidable.

“What?!” King Paleos could sense that every single one of his blades were enduring a terrifying amount of power with each strike. His fingers were turning numb and his body was trembling.

Fast and furious!

The Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was the fastest and most penetrating attack Ning had to muster. But of course, in raw power alone it wasn’t even close to the Heavenbreaker in might. Although the Northbow swords boosted the Blood Drop stance the most, this stance was still weaker than the Heavenbreaker stance. Despite that, it still contained quite a bit of power! This was especially true after Ning had mastered the tenth stance of the [Heartsword], as this allowed Ning to infuse every single strike with incredible weight.

King Paleos felt as though every single strike brought him incredible pressure. If it was just a matter of speed, he would have a solution. If it was just a matter of power, he would also have a solution! The problem was, Ji Ning’s swords not only surpassed the Radiant King in speed, they actually surpassed King Paleos’ ultimate attacks in power as well!

“How is this possible? How could he be this much stronger than me? I-impossible… I’ve reached a perfect level of power. I’m not a match for Winesage, but that’s because Winesage has a Universe treasure. None of the other supreme Daolords could dominate me like this!” King Paleos couldn’t believe it, nor did he want to believe it. He had always been very proud of himself and had been very dissatisfied with his ranking as the sixth Daolord. As he saw it, any Daolord who didn’t have a Universe treasure would only be on par with him at most.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning’s swords were simply too fast! Mist-formed swords flew everywhere, creating an almost illusory dreamscape.

For the sake of destroying the 9000 barriers as quickly as possible, Ning had grown accustomed to launching a furious barrage of attacks. Now that he was boiling with the desire to murder the man before him, he was able to strike 129 times with unmatchable speed. King Paleos’ defenses were quite impressive and he used all six serrated blades to defend at the same time… but perpetual defense would result in defeat. In the end, one strike from Ning slipped past his guard.

Slash! A streak of sword-light stabbed straight into King Paleos’ body, but King Paleos transformed into a blood-tinged black fog.

“An invulnerable form?” Ning frowned. Dealing with cultivators who had invulnerable forms was quite taxing. Ninedust was an example of someone who had an invulnerable aquaform.

“Attack together and kill him!” With the billowing black fog, streams of bloody light reformed to manifest into King Paleos. He bellowed loudly, “Daolords, no one can beat him in a one-on-one fight. Join forces to kill him!”

“Surround him and kill him!”

“Don’t get greedy.”

“Careful!”

King Paleos had been defeated in a single exchange by that furious barrage of sword-mist and had only survived thanks to his invulnerable form. This instantly frightened all of the other supreme Daolords. This Darknorth was simply too terrifying! For him to be able to fight against four supreme Daolords and kill both Timedream and Kingfreak was one thing, but King Paleos was far stronger than the Kingfreak or Timedream in close combat. Despite that, he had also been defeated in a single exchange?!

What they didn’t realize was that Ning had mastered the tenth stance of the [Heartsword] in Crimsonwave Temple. If it hadn’t been for this technique, he still would’ve been able to beat King Paleos but he wouldn’t have been able to do it just through a simple barrage of Blood Drop stance strikes.

“Careful?” Ning swept them with his gaze. “It doesn’t matter how careful you are.”

Whoosh. Ning vanished without a trace.

“That’s his assassination arts! Careful, he can appear anywhere!”

“Be careful, everyone.”

“Attack! Attack! Don’t let him get close to us!”

The supreme Daolords began to blindly launch attacks in every direction. Ning’s heartworld projection and nine novessence arts ensured that so long as he remained within their range, there would be no way for his enemies to find him once he used his assassination arts.

Whoosh. Ning appeared out of nowhere, then struck at the supreme Daolord closest to him.

“Block, quick!”

“Join forces!”

Some used magic treasures, others used secret arts. All of them threw attacks towards Ning as quickly as possible.

Boom! Slash! Ning’s six Northbow swords executed varying sword-arts as he blocked the attacks and continued his charge. His defensive abilities were far stronger than King Paleos’.

“Dodge, quick!”

“Dodge!”

The supreme Daolords were so terrified that they frantically retreated, moving closer to their peers. Only when five of them worked in unison would they be able to resist Ning.

“He’s utterly terrifying.”

“Darknorth’s sword-arts are completely flawless. He’s able to easily defend himself against our combined attacks while continuing to charge at us!” This was the first time these Daolords experienced the terror of Ning for themselves.

Ning was already incredibly strong to begin with. Now that he had the Northbow swords and the tenth stance of the [Heartsword], Ning’s advantage over the other supreme Daolords had only grown. Winesage was able to dominate the other supreme Daolords, and so too was Ji Ning. The difference was, Ning’s ‘Shadowless’ evasion art was so unpredictable and mysterious that the other supreme Daolords were terrified of it and him.

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Chapter 18 – One Man Army

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 18 – One Man Army

“What?” King Paleos, Fiendqueen Dustrain, and the others were all shocked. Things were turning out completely contrary to what they had expected. Not even Winesage had put them in such dire straits! Although Winesage was able to crush any supreme Daolord in a head-on fight, when the twelve of them worked together they were able to dominate him. Faced with their combined attacks, even Winesage was in rather bad shape.

But Daolord Darknorth was actually beating them silly? Was Darknorth even more powerful than Winesage?

What they didn’t realize was that Ji Ning was indeed better than Winesage in dealing with group attacks! Ning’s sword-arts were more perfect and flawless, allowing him a truly airtight defense against mass attacks! His Shadowless sword-arts allowed him to vanish without a trace, making it so that his enemies couldn’t focus their fire against him while he was able to launch counter-attacks as he pleased.

All of these factors combined to ensure that at any given moment, no more than five supreme Daolords were able to fight against Ning! This was why Ning had the advantage and held the initiative. These supreme Daolords were all so frightened that they began to cluster closer to each other, no longer daring to launch attacks.

“Darknorth, let’s call it off,” King Paleos roared mentally.

“Call it off?” Ning rebutted coldly, “Acceptable, but you need to get the fuck out of this passageway.” Ning knew that not even Winesage would be able to kill these twelve Daolords now that they were working together, much less himself.

“By what right are you denying us entry to this passageway? You can already harvest the fruit you need; this passageway is meaningless to you. If we want to force our way in, you won’t be able to stop us!” King Paleos said furiously.

“Hmph.” Ning came to a halt as well. He just stood there, the area around him covered by his heartworld projection as the nine energy dragons coiled around him in accordance with his Yin-Yang sword-intent. “I cannot enter this passageway, true, but if you wish to enter it you must first master the [Vitalis] art… and so long as I am here, you can forget about quietly meditating on it and mastering it.”

“King Paleos, Darknorth is telling the truth. The rhomboid stone pillar does indeed say that one has to master the [Vitalis] art and learn how to disguise one’s truesoul aura before one can safely pass through those seven-colored chains.”

“Darknorth isn’t going to let us train in peace.”

“Damn.” The twelve supreme Daolords all felt resigned. Ning wasn’t able to kill them, but he was entirely capable of disrupting them while they attempted to train, making it impossible for them to master this technique.

“Let’s go.” King Paleo gritted his teeth. He had no choice but to retreat.

“Go.” Although the other supreme Daolords felt insulted and humiliated, they all ended up retreating. In truth, these Daolords were all ranked towards the bottom of the first-tier, which was why they agreed to fight under King Paleos’ banner in a group of twelve. In the past, Fiendqueen Dustrain might’ve ranked in the top ten… but now? So many powerful, low-key supreme Daolords had emerged that she had long ago been shoved out of the top ten.

“Hmph.” Ning watched as the supreme Daolords flew away, then dispelled his heartworld projection and his secret arts. He continued to silently stand guard over this region.

He had to help Ninedust… or to be precise, he had to help himself. Ninedust had said early on that he would give Ning all of the command talismans he acquired! Thus, Ning naturally had to do his best to prevent any of the other Daolords from entering this passageway.

……

“Darknorth has reached an incredible level of power. He and Winesage have clearly surpassed the rest of us by a tremendous amount.” King Paleos’ group of supreme Daolords quickly arrived at a new passageway. This was the passageway which Ning had already traversed.

“Are we going to give up, just like that?” Fiendqueen Dustrain sent mentally. She was the second-in-command of this squad.

“Hmph…” King Paleos let out a cold snort. His eyes suddenly lit up when he stared at the rhomboid stone pillar. “The [Vitalis] art.”

Fiendqueen glanced at it as well, then shook her head. “The command talismans in this passageway have already been taken. It must have been Darknorth who did it.”

“Doesn’t matter. The [Vitalis] art can be learned here.” King Paleos pointed at the rhomboid pillar. “Let’s memorize the technique then begin to train! Once we master it, we’ll head to the passageway the Ninedust Sectlord took. So long as we can make it past the rainbow chains, Darknorth won’t be able to attack us.”

“Right.”

“King Paleo speaks the truth.”

All of them agreed with this plan. They could learn the technique but decline to actually enter the passageway. Later on, they could choose to challenge the Ninedust Sectlord’s passageway or perhaps a different on.

……

Three passageways. More than thirty supreme Daolords.

Because Ning’s original passageway had already been cleaned out, everyone’s attention turned towards the other two passageways.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Four figures came flying over.

On the stone island, Ning raised his head to look at them. His eyes narrowed. The new arrivals were Daolord Dreamlore, Daolord Tigrone, Daolord Skyshatter, and Daolord Owlblack.

“The four of them?” Ning didn’t dare to feel the slightest bit of arrogance. All four of them were ranked in the top ten, and the current top ten was much stronger than the previous top ten. Many Daolords who had been previously low-key had emerged, and every single one was difficult to deal with.

Dreamlore was ranked number three and was second only to Ning himself. Both Dawnstar and the Radiant King had been defeated by him, a testament to his power.

“You wish to stop us and to assist your good friend Ninedust?” Daolord Dreamlore smirked as he glanced at Ning. “Darknorth, you’ve already helped him acquire a Voidsea Jadeseal; are you going to help him again? What a selfless man you are.”

“I’m actually helping myself,” Ning said calmly.

“What, you actually plan on stopping the four of us?” the heavily-armored and muscular Daolord Tigrone spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.

“Heh heh heh…” Daolord Owlblack laughed, his voice grating and piercing to the ear. “He really doesn’t know his own limits.”

“There’s one of me and four of you… but you still won’t be able to do anything to me,” Ning said icily.

Dreamlore and the others frowned. The four of them could suppress even Winesage in a frontal attack, but they had to admit that if Ning wished to hide they wouldn’t even be able to track him down. He had a heartworld projection, his nine novessence arts, and even that assassination art.

“So long as I am here, there’s no way you’ll be able to train in the [Vitalis] art in peace,” Ning said. “Leave. Go somewhere else.”

“Nice one,” Daolord Owlblack smiled coldly.

“That’s a nasty move.” Daolord Skyshatter ground his teeth.

There really was nothing the four of them could do. Cultivation required silence and focus; if Ning was causing trouble for them, how could they possibly train?

“Darknorth, there are only three passageways in total. You’ve already cleaned out one of them, so there really are only two left. The other is current being challenged by Winesage, Dawnstar, Ninestone, and Cloudwalker, and the others. The other Daolords probably won’t be able to catch up to them and so many of them will come here instead. They’ll master the [Vitalis] art and then charge through in mass. I want to see how many of them you can stop!” Daolord Dreamlore said coldly, “We’re leaving now.”

The four of them smiled coldly as they flew away.

……

Ning knew that a ‘one man army’ like himself wouldn’t be able to hold everyone off forever. However, every moment he held them off for was an extra moment for Ninedust. Ninedust was helping him out, after all; the more command talismans he acquired, the more fruit he would be able to harvest and the better his chances of reviving his wife were.

“Hmph.” Ning radiated an eager desire to do battle.

Time continued to flow on, with Ning standing a silent guard. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he was still stuck on the [Daoheart] technique. More than a month went by.

Whoooosh. An awe-inspiring group of figures flew over from afar.

Ning raised his head, his face tightening. The arrivals were Daolord Dreamlore’s group of four and King Paleos’ group of twelve.

“Kill!”

“Charge onto the seven-colored chains!”

The sixteen supreme Daolords charged forwards, executing their secret arts and sending out a flood of magic items to attack. Ning’s face had turned solemn long ago, and he hurriedly used his heartworld projection and his nine novessence arts to attack while using his Shadowless evasion art to vanish without a trace. In the face of such a gathering of power, he didn’t dare to fight head-on.

“Tigrone, Skyshatter, the two of you stand guard for now while the two of us charge through the chains. As agreed, the four of us will evenly split any fruit we acquire,” Dalord Dreamlore sent mentally. He knew very well that he himself wouldn’t be able to keep a command talisman safe by himself. The four of them would have to continue to work together.

“Agreed.” Daolord Tigrone and Daolord Skyshatter both nodded as Owlblack and Dreamlore both charged towards the seven-colored chains.

“Stop right there!” Ning’s heartworld projection and nine novessence arts were compressed to a smaller region, serving as a ‘bottleneck’ in front of the seven-colored chains. If anyone wished to cross through the chains, they would have to first cross this region.

Ning revealed himself, six Northbow swords at the ready within the ‘bottleneck’.

“You wish to block all of us?” Dreamlore smiled coldly. “King Paleos!”

“Attack!”

“Let’s attack!” King Paleos’ led six of his supreme Daolords to press the assault as well. It had only been a month or so, after all. Even though they had temporal acceleration treasures, only some of them had mastered the [Vitalis] art.

“You won’t be able to stop us.” King Paleos led the six supreme Daolords, joining Daolord Dreamlore and Daolord Owlblack as they charged towards Ning.

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Chapter 19 – Triage

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 19 – Triage

King Paleos, Fiendqueen Dustrain, Daolord Owlblack, and Daolord Dreamlore led the group of nine supreme Daolords in charging straight towards Ji Ning.

One against nine? Not even Winesage would be able to pull that off, to say nothing of Ji Ning. Not only that, even the other supreme Daolords hanging back such as Daolord Tigrone and Daolord Skyshatter were charging towards Ning, seeking to tie him down.

“He won’t be able to stop us.”

“Nobody can stop this many Daolords.”

“Haha, we’re going to make it through.” The supreme Daolords were filled with confidence.

The three-headed, six-armed Ning stood there by himself at the beginning of the seven-colored chains. His six Northbow swords were at the ready, while the nine novessence arts and the heartworld projection covered the surrounding area. He just watched calmly as the host of supreme Daolords charged towards him.

Whoosh! Ning suddenly vanished without a trace.

“Careful, don’t let him ambush you. His assassination art is extremely unpredictable.”

“Be careful.”

They all began to wildly blast the entire area while sending their own secret arts and heartworld projections to contend with Ning’s head-on. As they did so, they continued their charge.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

“We made it!”

“I made it as well.” One supreme Daolord after another landed on the seven-colored chains. As soon as they did so, they were able to sense an invisible force wrap around them that protected them from the battle raging just outside. No combat was possible on the chains.

“Let’s go!” King Paleos charged forwards as well. Clang! Suddenly, a black hole appeared directly in front of him. A moment later, he was blasted backwards with a huge booming sound.

Clang! Daolord Owlblack fought in a barehanded style and was extremely strong in close combat, but just like Paleos he was blasted backwards with an explosion.

“Careful! That’s Darknorth!” King Paleos and Daolord Owlback were both furious.

Ning had to briefly reveal himself while attacking, and he swept the group with a cold gaze. A heartbeat later, he vanished once more. It was very difficult for Ning to kill them, but his defensive sword-arts were so superlative and the [Heartsword] technique so formidable that it was very easy for him to stop them in their tracks and knock them flying, one after the other.

“I refuse to believe it.” Daolord Dreamlore’s youthful face had a look of cold malice on it as he struck out with his massive two-handed bloodblade.

“Fuck off.” Whoosh! An incomparably dazzling streak of bloody light suddenly appeared. It was like a scene of peerless beauty that would cause those who saw it to be intoxicated by it. Even Daolord Dreamlore himself was completely absorbed and entranced when he executed this attack. This ‘bloodblade’ was a very mysterious and unique weapon. He had been entranced by it, and his Dao was able to truly and fully merge with it.

“Fast! Even faster than me!” Ning was shocked. His swords were incredibly fast, but when he saw that dazzlingly beautiful streak of bloody light he knew that his attacks were still significantly slower in comparison.

Ning’s six Northbow swords struck out in unison. Ning had been able to use merely a single sword to knock Daolord Paleos, Daolord Owlblack, and Fiendqueen Dustrain back, but he didn’t dare to be the slightest bit overconfident against Daolord Dreamlore’s dazzling strike.

Six streams of mist-formed swords struck out, each of them moving faster than a hundred time’s the speed of light.

Clang! Clang! Clang! In the end, he had an advantage in that he only needed to focus on defense. Although the Radiant King and Palace Lord Dawnstar had been defeated by Daolord Dreamlore, they were still able to preserve their lives. In comparison, Ning’s close combat abilities could be described as truly perfect and flawless!

Although he was using the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop, in the instant that his sword-light collided it transformed into the Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart. After truly developing the Omega Sword Dao, Ning’s offensive techniques could transform into defensive techniques, and vice versa. All techniques could be instantly converted into different techniques without even the slightest trace or opening.

Boom! Daolord Dreamlore only felt an enormous shockwave sweep past his body, sending him stumbling backwards. A look of shock appeared on his face. This was the first time that his attack had been crushed head-on!

Although Dawnstar and the Radiant King had been able to survive his assault, they had been left in very bad shape. Even if Winesage was to face off against this attack of his, Winesage would be forced to simply defend, given that Winesage was just too slow. Darknorth, however, was able to crush him!

“Impossible. Impossible!” A berserk look appeared within Daolord Dreamlore’s eyes. “Again!” He was filled with the utmost devotion and sincerity towards his bloodblade.

Swoosh! Yet another dazzling streak of bloody light filled the skies.

“Hmph.” Ning’s six streaks of mist-formed sword energy once more appeared as well. They were like the spokes to a giant wheel, and when they stabbed out the quickly began to swivel together to form a massive black hole that smashed directly against bloody streak of light, destroying it and knocking Daolord Dreamlore flying backwards.

“Daolord Dreamlore, you might be faster than me… but you only have a single bloodblade. If you had six, I’d probably find it much tougher to deal with you.” Ning’s voice rang out.

His sword wasn’t as fast as Daolord Dreamlore’s, but at least he was closer to Dreamlore’s speed than any other Daolord. The difference wasn’t as great as it was for the likes of Winesage and Dawnstar! Given that he was able to defend with all six Northbow swords at the same time while using incredibly tough defensive sword-arts, he was naturally able to endure the blow and knock his opponent backwards.

“Damn that Darknorth.” The nearby King Paleos, Daolord Owlblack, and Fiendqueen Dustrain all began to grow anxious. Dreamlore was knocked flying back, an ugly look on his face. After he had defeated the Radiant King and Dawnstar, he had felt extremely confident in being able to challenge the second-ranked Daolord Darknorth… but reality had just slapped him in the face! He could sense the enormous disparity in power between the two of them.

What he didn’t know was that ever since Ning had mastered the tenth stance of the [Heartsword] art, Ning had already closed the gap between himself and Winesage! This meant there was now a huge gap in power between Ning and all other supreme Daolords which was only worsened by how balanced and flawless Ning’s sword-arts were!

“What should I do?”

“The other Daolords have already made it across. The only ones left here are us.”

“Damn that Darknorth. He’s quite crafty.”

Dreamlore, King Paleos, Owlblack, and Fiendqueen Dustrain were all frantic with impatience. Nine of them had started this charge, and Ning truly wasn’t able to stop all of them at once… but he was more than capable of tying down four of them.

Whoosh. Ning once more reappeared in front of the seven-colored chains. “You shall not pass.” Ning looked at the four of them.

“What should we do? When we attack, Darknorth just hides and ignores us.” Tigrone, Skyshatter, and the others who were holding back and not planning to cross the chains began to grow anxious as well.

Ning completely ignored them. His attention was focused on the four.

Ning knew that it was fairly hard to master the [Daoheart] technique. As for defeating the 9000 barriers? Those weaker first-tier Daolords wouldn’t pose Ninedust any risk at all.

……

At this very moment, Ninedust was within the floating stone island in front of the second abyss. He was training in the [Daoheart] technique with his temporal acceleration cottage. He had failed time and time again, and thus he knew exactly what was going on outside thanks to those moments of clarity. “I n eed to speed up. Darknorth is buying me as much time as he can. I need to speed it up!”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Five supreme Daolords appeared before him.

“Ninedust, hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal!”

“Hand it over, Ninedust!”

The five supreme Daolords immediately surrounded and attacked Ninedust. To them, the Voidsea Jadeseal was what truly mattered. The command talismans might technically be more valuable, but they were only of use to Eternal Emperors. No amount of treasures the Eternal Emperors might give them would make any difference if they weren’t able to complete the Daomerge! To them, all nine command talismans weren’t as valuable as a single one of those Voidsea Jadeseals.

Whoosh. The temporal acceleration cottage vanished, while Ninedust transformed into an endless sea of water that filled the surrounding area. Part of the sea coalesced into a humanoid figure that spoke out: “I, Ninedust, swear on my very life itself that I have already used up the Voidsea Jadeseal I acquired. If I violate or betray this oath, may my soul and truesoul be shattered and dispersed.”

His booming voice filled the entire world around them.

“Uh?”

“But…”

The five supreme Daolords who had been permitted by Ning to enter this island were all stunned. Even Daolord Dreamlore and the others on the first island were all stunned.

He already used it up? One of the main reasons why they had so frantically attempted to make it onto the second island was because they wanted to take Ninedust’s Voidsea Jadeseal from him! This was what truly drew their attention.

None of them wanted to believe it, but Ninedust had already sworn a lifeblood oath. That meant this was definitely true.

“Damnit.”

“He actually used it.”

“Just what I was afraid of…”

“He must’ve used it up when we were busy fighting over the final Voidsea Jadseal in the second world…”

“Sly bastard.” All of them felt resentment and regret. Still, all that resentment was of no use. Since Ninedust had already used it up, they didn’t want to waste any more time on him. He had an invulnerable aquaform, after all; he wouldn’t be easily defeated.

“This [Daoheart] technique… it’s absolutely marvelous. Absolutely inconceivable!”

“The [Daoheart] technique?” After a brief moment of disappointment, the five supreme Daolords turned their attention to the [Daoheart] technique. All of them were stunned and wildly delighted, and they quickly began to memorize and train in the technique. Techniques which could be used to strengthen the Dao-heart were truly priceless. This technique alone made their visit to Crimsonwave Temple worth it.

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Chapter 20 – The Final Command Talisman

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 20 – The Final Command Talisman

“What’s a [Daoheart] technique?” King Paleos called out loudly.

“A technique that can be used to enhance the Dao-heart,” one of the five supreme Daolords immediately shouted back.

King Paleos, Daolord Dreamlore, and the others instantly grew excited.

“Gentlemen, if you are willing to choose a different passageway I’d be willing to transmit the [Daoheart] technique do you,” Ning said.

“No need. They’ve already sworn lifeblood oaths to share any and all techniques we find,” Daolord Tigrone said in a gravelly voice. The reason why he was willing to forgo charging into the passageway was precisely because the others had all sworn lifeblood oaths to share any techniques they found as well as to split any fruit they acquired.

“Oh?” Ning said calmly, “It doesn’t matter. The four of you can forget about making it across.”

Ning’s defensive prowess was such that not a single attack had landed on him yet. In truth, even if he had been hit his Hegemon armor would’ve been able to absorb the blow. Tying down four supreme Daolords was entirely within Ning’s capabilities.

“The four of us won’t be able to make it across,” King Paleos sent mentally. “Tigrone, Skyshatter, the two of you need to train in the [Vitalis] art as soon as possible. Once you master it, you can join the four of us in our attempts. If all six of us work together, he probably won’t be able to stop us.”

“Alright.” The main reason why Tigrone, Skyshatter, and the rest didn’t join the attempt was because they hadn’t mastered [Vitalis]. Ning could simply ignore them and thus was able to easily focus his efforts on stopping just the other four.

For a time, the battlefield grew silent. Ning continued to stand there by himself in front of the seven-colored chains, a single man who could stop even an army in its tracks.

Another five days went by.

“Hahaha…” Loud laughter rang out as the Ninedust Sectlord stepped onto the tri-colored chains and began to stride across them.

“Damn.” The faces of Daolord Dreamlore, King Paleos, and the others all turned pale.

“Excellent.” Ning revealed a delighted look.

Ninedust walked across the tri-colored chains. Although the level of pain increased as he continued to advance, he was still able to endure it and make it across to the altar, where he acquired the sixth command talisman at its base.

“Haha, Darknorth, it took me forever to master the ‘Dao-heart’ challenge. I really feel a bit embarrassed.” Ninedust turned to stare at Ning, calling out to him.

“Stop wasting time and words. Hurry up and crack the altar open! Remember, use a temporal acceleration treasure! This challenge is the hardest of all,” Ning called out loudly.

“Got it!” Ninedust responded.

……

Although King Paleos and the others were very anxious, there was nothing they could do. Ning had focused on the four of them with laser-like precision. Given that the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts were all aimed at them, there really was no way for them to get across.

Another half month went past. Finally, Tigrone and Skyshatter both mastered the [Vitalis] art as well.

“Let’s go together.”

“I want to see how he’ll stop this many of us!”

Dreamlore, King Paleos, Owlblack, Dustrain, Tigrone, and Skyshatter joined forces to charge towards the seven-colored chains.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Daolord Tigrone found out that… nothing happened at all. No one impeded him as he charged onto the seven-colored chains.

“Eh? I made it?” Fiendqueen Dustrain was stunned as well.

The two hurriedly crossed the seven-colored chains. However, Dreamlore, King Paleos, Daolord Owlblack, and Skyshatter were all stopped by Ning.

“The four of you aren’t allowed to cross.” Ning’s voice rang out. He had specifically decided on which Daolords he could let across. In the end, he just wasn’t strong enough and wouldn’t be able to block everyone, and thus he had to pick and choose who he would and would not let cross.

The five he had initially let onto the seven-colored chains were all supreme Daolords who ranked at the back of the line. They posed no threat at all.

As for Fiendqueen Dustrain? When Ninedust had first arrived at the Waveshift Realm, he had already been on par with her! However, back then Ninedust had only recently become a Daolord of the Fourth Step and hadn’t come up with any ultimate attacks for himself yet. Thanks to the legacy of the Ancient Hegemon as well as his experiences in Crimsonwave Temple, he had already come up with a total of three killer attacks and had definitely surpassed Fiendqueen Dustrain in power.

It must be remembered that breaking through the 9000 barriers was all about attack power! Ninedust’s attack power was definitely above Fiendqueen Dustrain’s, and so she wouldn’t prove to be much of a threat. As a result, Ning let her across.

As for Daolord Tigrone? His defensive prowess was truly unrivalled, but his attacks were much weaker. He also wouldn’t be much of a threat.

But Dreamlore, Owlblack, Skyshatter, and Paleos were the four most dangerous Daolords present. Ning naturally would have to stop them!

“You fight dirty, Darknorth.”

“Daolord Tigrone and Fiendqueen Dustrain, do your best to acquire that command talisman. If you can kill Ninedust, all the better.”

“It’ll be up to the two of you.”

Dreamlore and the others had to give up, even though they didn’t wish to.

“Let’s go find the Radiant King, Daolord Feich, and the others. The final Voidsea Jadeseal is on Daolord Feich,” Daolord Dreamlore ordered. He immediately led Owlblack, Skyshatter, and King Patreos as well as the other Daolords in leaving. These nine supreme Daolords began to charge towards the other passageway in search of Daolord Feich.

……

Everything fell silent.

Dustrain, Tigrone, and the rest of the supreme Daolords were all focused on the [Daoheart] technique. As for Ninedust, he had already reached the altar. He first used the temporal acceleration treasure to cover the entire thing, then began to assault the 9000 barriers.

“No one’s coming?” Ning’s life was now quite relaxed. “Maybe I should go take a look and see how the other passageway is doing.” Ning flew towards the direction of Winesage’s passageway. When he reached the edges of the passageway, he stared at the distant islands.

“Wow!” Ning was stupefied by what he saw.

The situation in this passageway was far more chaos. Winesage, Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone were at the peak of the altar, working together to assault the 9000 barriers while also assaulting each other.

As for the situation on the levitating stone island in front of the second abyss? It was even more chaotic! The Radiant King, Daolord Snowjoy, Daolord Shaka, the Starking, Daolord Feich, and a number of other supreme Daolords were battling each other, with Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka working together but surrounded and assaulted by the other five.

“Daolord Feich!” A furious shout rang out, followed by King Paleos, Daolord Dreamlore, Daolord Owlblack, and Daolord Skyshatter arriving. They easily traversed the seven-colored chains and joined the wild melee.

“Damn.” The faces of the Radiant King and the others turned pale.

……

It really was a wild, chaotic battle. The wild battle at the top of the altar was over the third command seal in that passageway, while the wild battle in front of the second abyss was over the Voidsea Jadeseal.

The only peaceful place was at the outermost region, where the supreme Daolords were all trying to calmly train in the [Daoheart] technique and thus couldn’t be bothered to fight with each other.

“This passageway really is quite chaotic.” Ning stood at the intersection between the two regions, keeping a watch on both sides. He couldn’t be bothered to take part in the battle, as once he did everyone would be wary of him. In fact, they might gang up on him!

……

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, another year went by. The wild battle continued, with two more supreme Daolords perishing. Both were fairly weak ones, and both died by Daolord Dreamlore’s hands. His bloodblade was simply too vicious and cruel.

Boom! A sonorous explosion rang out as the 9000 barriers atop the altar simultaneously shattered. Ninestone howled with rage as he charged towards Winesage. Much like Tigrone, Ninestone possessed terrifying defensive abilities.

“Get it!” Cloudwalker and Dawnstar simultaneously charged forwards as well.

“Beat it.” Winesage was doing the same.

BOOM!

“Hahaha… brother Winesage, you’ve already acquired the other two command talismans in this passageway. You are being a bit too greedy, don’t you think?” Palace Lord Dawnstar was the one to seize it, delighting Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Snowjoy, and Shaka. The five of them were part of the same time; they had agreed long ago to split the fruits they acquired evenly!

“Damn.” Winesage frowned. He had been the first to arrived and had long ago mastered the [Vitalis] art and acquired the first command talisman. He had also been able to master the [Daoheart] technique with a single try, as the tempering process the Dark Kingdom subjected its Daolords to was utterly terrifying. Given that he was also a Heartforce Cultivator who had been alive for an extremely long period of time, his Dao-heart was indeed superior to Ning’s. This was why he had been the one to acquire both of those talismans.

However, the 9000 barriers were simply too difficult to deal with.

Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone had quickly arrived at the altar as well. By then, Winesage had already shattered the first 8000 barriers… but alas, in the end it was Dawnstar who picked up the trophy.

“The eighth command seal has already fallen into the hands of Palace Lord Dawnstar.” The towering image of a white-robed man appeared above the chaotic battlefield, staring down at the Daolords as his voice echoed throughout the Crimsonwave Temple. “At present, only a single command talisman remains unclaimed, the seventh talisman. Daolords, this is the last one! If you miss it, you probably won’t have another chance like this.”

……

When Ning heard the realmsoul’s voice, he hurriedly looked towards Ninedust’s passageway. Right now, Ninedust, Daolord Tigrone, and a little-known Daolord were simultaneously attacking the 9000 barriers together. Ning truly hadn’t expected that Daolord Tigrone and that fairly weak first-tier Daolord would both have such powerful Dao-hearts.

These command talismans mattered to Ning more than anything else right now. He had already done everything he could for Ninedust. The rest would be up to him.

“Ninedust…” Ning watched anxiously. These fruits would be the basis for his negotiations with the major powers. The more he could acquire, the better.

……

Thankfully, Winesage and the others didn’t take part in the fight over the final command talisman. In truth, there was no way for them to take part even if they wished to. Every single Daolord could only choose a single passageway, after all.

In their eyes, the Voidsea Jadeseal mattered the most!

“The Voidsea Jadeseal.”

“Quick.”

“Go for it!”

As if by silent agreement, Winesage, Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone all hurried onto the tri-colored chains and charged back to the flying stone island in front the second abyss, taking part in the wild battle.

Of the five Voidsea Jadeseals, one had been used up by Emperor Solesky, one had been used up by the Radiant King, and one had been used up by Ninedust. Only two remained untouched. One was in Winesage’s hands; everyone knew that there was no way to take it from him. The last one was in Daolord Feich’s hands.

“Go for it!”

“Kill him!”

The more chaotic a battle became, the more berserk the weaker Daolords grew. They knew that their only chances would be during wild battles like this. As supreme Daolords, they all had tough life-preserving abilities, ensuring that if they acquired the seal they would stand a good chance of keeping it.

……

Time flowed on and the battle continued.

Daolord Feich was indeed good at staying alive. He was aided by the fact that some of the Daolords had long ago sworn oaths to join into true alliances together and help each other resist their foes, no matter who won the seal. Thus, even though another five supreme Daolords perished, Daolord Feich remained alive.

Boom!

The altar within Ninedust’s passageway. By now, a total of four supreme Daolords were assaulting the 9000 barriers. Finally, with a loud explosion, the barriers came crashing down.

Whooooosh. A flood of water instantly swept towards the talisman.

“Ahahaha!” Ninedust roared with laughter, his voice echoing in the world around him. “Darknorth, I have it!”

When the distant Ning saw this, he was so excited that his aura flared mightily, causing energy waves to appear around him. He laughed loudly, “Haha, the heavens have chosen to aid me! The heavens have chosen to aid me!”

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Chapter 21 – Harvesting the Fruit

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 21 – Harvesting the Fruit

Given Ji Ning’s personality, he generally wouldn’t lose control of himself like this. The fact that he did was a testament to how excited he was. Ninedust had been competing against three other supreme Daolords; there was a very high chance that he would fail. Of course Ning was excited by his success!

“He was actually the one to obtain it?” Daolord Tigrone was so angry he gnashed his teeth.

“I was just about to stop him when he transformed into an endless wave.” Fiendqueen Dustrain ground her teeth angrily as well. She had arrived at the altar at just the nick of time, but she still hadn’t been able to intervene.

Whoosh. After acquiring the talisman, the Ninedust Sectlord transformed into a vast wave that surged out and reformed into human form atop the tri-colored chain. He endured the pain as he quickly walked across the tri-colored chains to the seven-colored chains where Ning was awaiting him.

“I didn’t let you down, Darknorth. Haha! I, Ninedust, am quite capable,” Ninedust said smugly. As he spoke, he handed the three command talismans he had in his position over to Ning. “Here, take’m.” Ninedust was in an excellent mood right now. He had owed Ning a huge favor when the latter had let him take the Voidsea Jadeseal; given his arrogant temperament, he really felt rather uncomfortable owing Ning so much. Now that he was able to make some reparations, he immediately felt much better.

“Thank you.” Ning immediately accepted all three talismans without being shy. They truly were quite important to him.

Whoosh. Rainbow light appeared in the skies above them, condensing into the towering and white-robed figure of Realmsoul Polo. The realmsoul stared down at them and boomed, “Daolords, the Voidsea Jadeseals and the command talismans needed for harvesting the fruit have all been taken. If you wish to fight each other for them, feel free. Those who wish to harvest the fruit can take the command talismans to the corresponding Grovekeepers, who have already come. If you wish to leave, you can do so upon exiting the Crimsonwave Temple. I’ve already set up a spatial tunnel outside Crimsonwave Temple that lets you exit from the Waveshift Realm.”

“We have to be careful. Let’s go trade for the fruit right away,” Ning said cautiously.

“Yes, let’s go.” Ninedust nodded.

……

Ning’s worry was that everyone else would fight him over his command talismans, as he had a total of six of them. However, his guess was wrong. Those weaker supreme Daolords were not capable of tying him down; they simply weren’t powerful enough to take things from him. As for the stronger ones, all of them went to fight over the Voidsea Jadeseals.

“So even the final command talisman has been taken? I need to speed this up.” Winesage frowned. A large number of Daolords had gathered atop the stony island before the second abyss, including the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Snowjoy, Shaka, King Paleos, Daolord Skyshatter, Daolord Owlblack, Daolord Dreamlore, and even the Radiant King, who had returned to try his luck.

In short, a large group of the most elite Daolords in the Endless Territories had arrived.

Boom!

Winesage had been shoved to the sidelines. He was so powerful that no one else wanted to work with him, putting him in an awkward situation.

“This is the right moment!” Winesage suddenly produced an extremely ordinary-looking dart that was roughly half the size of his palm. The dart didn’t seem unusual in any way; in fact, none of the battling Daolords sensed anything amiss at all.

Swish!

The dart suddenly shot out, bringing with it a terrifying aura of power that caused all of the many battling supreme Daolords to feel their hearts tremble.

“Not good.”

“Careful.”

“Dodge!” The subconscious terror they felt caused all of them to know that something bad was happening. By now, all of them saw the object which had inspired terror in them… that streak of dazzlingly fast light.

As soon as the dart had shot out, Winesage had shot out as well behind it.

“No!” Daolord Feich’s face turned ashen as he stared at the terrifying dart fly towards him. He almost instantly produced a round, glowing mirror in his hands. Crack! The surface of the mirror shattered, causing a much larger mirror to appear right in front of him.

Ever since he had acquired the Voidsea Jadeseal, he had been hunted by others. Although the Radiant King and the other Daolords in his group had all sworn lifeblood oaths to defend each other regardless of who acquired the seal, there was a limit to how hard they had to fight. As a result, Daolord Feich had encountered quite a few dangerous situations. This was his very last life-saving treasure.

Swish! The streak of light shot into the mirror. The mirror instantly cracked and then completely shattered into tiny pieces. The streak of light continued to shoot forwards, stabbing straight into Daolord Feich’s body.

Whoosh. Daolord Feich’s immediately transformed into a mass of gray mist.

“Ahhhhhhh! W-what the hell is this?!” An agonized scream rang out from the gray mist, followed by the mist reforming into a corpse. Daolord Feich’s corpse.

Winesage had been flying directly behind that streak of light. As soon as Daolord Feich’s corpse appeared, Winesage waved his hand and immediately collected it.

“Hmph. You should feel proud to have died to my ‘cycleseed dart’.” Winesage hadn’t really been willing to use this treasure, as it was the most powerful killer weapon he had at his disposal. Even people as powerful as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities would probably be heavily wounded if struck! After he acquired the Universe treasure in the Terror Starsea, the Universe treasure had guided him to another ancient battle-site of the Dawn War, where he had acquired two mighty relics. The ‘cycleseed dart’ was one of the two, and it was an extremely venomous and insidious treasure.

Daolord Feich hadn’t been strong enough, and so he had almost instantly died once hit.

“For the sake of the Voidsea Jadeseal, everything is worth it.” Winesage only felt a sense of jubilation. He had been alive for far too long, over a hundred thousand chaos cycles. He had braved many dangers over these years for the sake of his Daomerge! Now that the Voidsea Jadeseals had appeared, he would be willing to pay any price to acquire them.

“With the help of two Voidsea Jadeseals, my chances at succeeding with the Daomerge shall be greatly improved.” Winesage turned to sweep his gaze across the many Daolords. All of them, including Dawnstar, the Radiant King, Dreamlore, and Paleos were all staring at him nervously.

That treasure he had displayed was far too terrifying! Although Daolord Feich only had an imperfect ‘invulnerable form’ which had merely been on par with that of Timedream, one must remember that Ning had spent an inordinate amount of time before he had killed Timedream! Just now, however, Daolord Feich had been slain in an instant. How could everyone not feel stunned?

“It’s impressive that he had even a single treasure like that. I refuse to believe Winesage has another one,” the Radiant King sent mentally.

“Right.”

“And we’re much stronger than Feich.” Daolord Owlblack’s eyes glowed with savage light.

“I would’ve knocked that streak of light aside with just a single strike.” Daolord Dreamlore’s eyes gleamed with madness as well. “Winesage has TWO of the Voidsea Jadeseals, and he hasn’t had the chance to use any of them. Both of them are still on him. Attack!”

“Attack!”

“Kill him.”

All the Daolords moved at the same time. They didn’t care about Ji Ning at all right now. Six command talismans? Even if Ning had all nine, they would still view a single Voidsea Jadeseal as being far more valuable… and Winesage had two of them!

“They actually are attacking?” As soon as the Daolords began to attack, Winesage gritted his teeth and began to flee.

……

A black earth golem was chatting with Ning and Ninedust.

“Senior, here is the ninth command talisman.” Ning produced the relevant talisman.

“Yes.” The Grovekeeper lowered his head to look at it, then reached out to accept it. Instantly, one arm after another began to emerge from the vast black earth back in the first world and started to harvest the fruits from the many large, semi-translucent trees nearby. The black arms pulled the fruit into the earth, then caused them to reappear next to the Grovekeeper. Every single tree only had a single fruit. The fruit was semi-translucent as well, with a faint reddish tinge to them. When Ning and Ninedust looked at the red glow, they felt their hearts grow peaceful.

“A total of three hundred fruits.” The Grovekeeper looked at Ning. “These are known as the coldflame cauldron fruits, and they are priceless beyond compare. Even in unique places like Crimsonwave Palace, they take 100,000 chaos cycles to ripen.”

“Understood.” Ning stared at the three hundred fruits flying towards him, then waved his hand and collected all of them.

“Come, let’s go over there.” Ning led Ninedust towards yet another one of the Grovekeepers who had appeared in the third world.

‘Darknorth, look over there!” Ninedust hurriedly pointed off into the distance.

“Wow.” Ning was surprised. “What’s going on with Winesage? How’d he piss off all the Daolords and get them to attack him?”

Every single Daolord was pursuing and attacking Winesage! This was primarily because Winesage had never chosen to ally with any of the other Daolords. Ning had once invited Winesage to join forces with him, but Winesage had been too proud to do so.

Poor Winesage.

“Forget him. Let’s go harvest that fruit,” Ning said. As he spoke, he and Ninedust flew towards the seventh Grovekeeper and asked him to harvest the fruit from the seventh command talisman.

Boom! Winesage was incredibly strong, and his Universe treasure gave him the strength he needed to endure. With each clash, four or five supreme Daolords were sent flying. However, the other supreme Daolords continued their pursuit, even tossing out Dao-seals and other treasures.

“I have to stand within this diagram for ten seconds before I’ll be sent back to the second world?” Winesage ground his teeth. “Why do I have to wait this long?”

“Winesage, there’s no chance you’ll be able to stand there for ten seconds.”

“You won’t be able to escape.”

The many supreme Daolords were all working together to assault Winesage, giving him no chance to defeat them individually at all. Given how many people were assaulting him, it was simply impossible for Winesage to stand there without moving for ten seconds. How was he supposed to escape? If this continued, he’d eventually be defeated. But was he supposed to actually hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal? He wasn’t willing to!

Winesage suddenly saw two figures off in the distance who were chatting with the Grovekeeper in a leisurely fashion. It was Ning and Ninedust.

“Darknorth, give me a hand!” Winesage sent frantically.

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Chapter 22 – Ji Ning’s Request

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 22 – Ji Ning’s Request

“Here are five hundred and sixty of the golden sandsifter fruit.” The Grovekeeper delivered one gleaming golden fruit after another to Ji Ning, who waved his hand and accepted them.

“Darknorth, give me a hand!” Winesage’s voice rang out within Ning’s mind.

“Eh?” Ning frowned as he turned to look at the furious battle raging off in the distance. There were more than twenty Daolords encircling and attacking Winesage, but Winesage was so incredibly strong that he was able to ensure his enemies weren’t able truly work together flawlessly. Each time, Winesage ‘only’ had to deal with ten of them at most.

“What’s wrong, Darknorth?” Ninedust asked.

“It’s Winesage. He asked me for assistance.” Ning smiled. “He’s just barely hanging on right now, but with so many Daolords attacking him he’s unable to remain within the teleportation diagram for ten seconds. There’s no way for him to leave the third world, much less Crimsonwave Temple.”

Ninedust laughed. “It’s his own fault for hogging two of the Voidsea Jadeseals, and not even rushing off to use them! He was too self-confident.”

“Agreed.” Ning nodded. In truth, using the seals in the Waveshift Realm was indeed a bit wasteful. Daolords would generally make plentiful preparations before using up the Voidsea Jadeseal, but for safety’s sake Ninedust had used his up long ago. That way, he could ensure that he wouldn’t be attacked by everyone else.

“Darknorth, give me a hand! Just tell me what you want!” Winesage sent frantically.

“Why should I help you?” Ning and Ninedust stood off in the distance, watching relaxedly from afar. Ning sent back placidly, “You are being assaulted by numerous Daolords, and you aren’t able to escape them. You are locked into combat. Before you die, you’ll probably be able to kill a few of them. I could simply go in then and mop up the rest.”

“Before I die? I’m not going to commit suicide for the sake of these seals,” Winesage sent back. “If the situation truly turns dire, I’d rather offer one of them up and ensure that I stay safe.”

“Then go ahead and hand me one of the Voidsea Jadeseals, both of your command talismans, and some of your other treasures. If you do, I’ll help out,” Ning sent mentally.

“That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Winesage replied mentally, “All I need to do is hand a Voidsea Jadeseal over to King Paleos! If I do that, King Paleos and his group of eight Daolords will be willing to swear lifeblood oaths not to attack me and even help me out! With the eight of them helping me instead of attacking me, I’ll be able to escape with ease.”

Ning couldn’t help but nod when he heard this. Right. The attacking Daolords weren’t all on the same page either; they were divided up into multiple ‘factions’. The Daolords under King Paleos constituted one faction, the Radiant King led a second faction, Daolord Dreamlore’s four-man team made up a third faction, while Palace Lord Dawnstar’s five-man squad made up a fourth faction.

Any of the four factions could be bribed using a Voidsea Jadeseal! So long as one of the four joined Winesage, Winesage would be able to break this stalemate.

“It seems I won’t have a shot at winning the Voidsea Jadeseal,” Ning mused to himself. In truth, he didn’t even really want it that much; he had intentionally started off with a very high ask. “Well, give me all the treasures you own, aside from the Voidsea Jadeseals and your weapons. Do that and I’ll help you,” Ning sent back.

“All my treasures? Those two talismans are enough!” Winesage was growing rather angry. “Darknorth, I’ve been alive for more than a hundred thousand chaos cycles and have experienced countless dangers. Am I supposed to just give you all of my treasures? Don’t you feel that you are asking for a bit much?”

“Not at all. Compared to the Voidsea Jadeseals, those things are worthless.” Ning shook his head.

“Two command talismans. That’s it.” Winesage ground his teeth. “There’s no way I’ll give you anything else! I need to at least be able to keep myself safe. There’s no way I can just give you all of my treasures. Those treasures are enough for me to bribe a few of those Daolords into joining me.”

“Hmph.” A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes. “True, you need to stay alive. Fine! I can agree to let you keep two life-preserving treasures. Aside from those two treasures, the Voidsea Jadeseals, and your weapons, everything else you own now belongs to me! If you agree, I’ll immediately come over and help out. If you refuse… then I’m going to join in and attack you as well!”

“You…!” Winesage’s face turned gray. Ning was going to attack as well? Ning was a tremendous threat to him. When Ning had defeated the black-armored general in the second world, Winesage had immediately understood that Ning had grown much more powerful and was now close to him in might! Once Ning intervened, the situation would immediately turn even grimmer.

“You can keep the Voidsea Jadeseals, your weapons, and two life-preserving treasures. I’ll wager that you only have a few valuable ones anyhow,” Ning sent back. “Letting you choose and keep two of them isn’t a bad offer.”

Winesage ground his teeth. What a nasty piece of work this Darknorth was, kicking him when he was down! However… Winesage belonged to the Dark Kingdom, while Darknorth belonged to the Dao Alliance and the Brightshore Kingdom. They belonged to enemy organizations to begin with, and Winesage had even attacked Ning previously! Everyone was doing this for the sake of the treasures they wanted. Personal feelings had nothing to do with it.

“Fine.” Winesage gritted his teeth and accepted Ning’s offer, but his heart was bleeding.

He was the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories and had braved many dangerous areas, earning even a Universe treasure for himself. He had naturally accumulated an enormous number of treasures! Now, he had to hand nearly ninety percent of them over to Ning… how could he NOT feel heartache at the prospect?

Still… his lifespan was coming to an end. The Daomerge was what truly mattered!

“Good.” Ning revealed a smile. “Shall we swear a lifeblood oath?”

“Of course we have to swear a lifeblood oath!” Winesage said frantically.

……

Ning knew that acquiring a Voidsea Jadeseal was rather unlikely. In truth, he was different from the other Daolords; he never really wanted one of the seals that much to begin with. He was perfectly happy earning two of the command talismans. For him to earn the many other treasures which Winesage had accumulated over the years made him even happier.

“Ninedust, I just negotiated a little something with Winesage.” Ning quickly explained what had happened to Ninedust.

“Ah?!” Ninedust revealed a delighted look. “Hah! Savage! Too bad, though, that you weren’t able to get one of those Voidsea Jadeseals. Still, if he was willing to part with one of them he wouldn’t hand over all these other treasures.”

“The two of us will split those treasures once we get them,” Ning sent.

“Split them?” Ninedust was startled. “No way. No way! You go help him out. I won’t be of much use.”

“Both of the command talismans are mine, but we’ll split all the other treasures. I’ve already taken the lion’s share,” Ning said with a calm smile. Winesage certainly had many treasures, but all of them combined probably weren’t worth as much as the fruits! Even Hegemons and the Dao Alliance had gone crazy over those fruits! Winesage had ‘only’ been alive for a hundred thousand chaos cycles; compared to the mighty Hegemons, that was nothing. The Hegemons certainly had far more treasures by far! Thus, his treasures were probably worth just a fraction of what the fruits were worth.

Ninedust had already given Ning three command talismans. How could Ning not give him some treasure in compensation?

In addition, it was likely that they would acquire a number of life-preserving treasures from Winesage. As good friends, splitting them was nothing. Even Sectlord Timedream had given quite a few treasures to the Kingfreak! In addition, at Ning’s level these treasures were generally of very little use to him. What he needed was truly stunning treasures such as the Crimsonwave Temple fruits, treasures which would drive even Hegemons wild with lust.

“Let’s go. Follow me.” Ning transformed into a streak of light.

“Time to attack?” Ninedust immediately grew excited. Thanks to his invulnerable aquaform, he was even better at staying alive than Ning was. He naturally felt eager to take part in this fight!

“I don’t think that’ll even be necessary,” Ning said.

Boom! Ning transformed into a streak of light that charged over from afar. His heartworld projection came crashing down, as did his nine novessence arts. Ning was like an enormous comet blazing through the skies towards the battlefield, while the Ninedust Sectlord roared with laughter by his side. “Daoloooooords! I’m coming for you all!” He transformed into a vast wave of water that swept through the world like a tidal wave towards the enemy Daolords.

“Is that Darknorth?”

“That’s Daolord Darknorth!”

The faces of the many Daolords assaulting Winesage all tightened, with Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone in particular frowning unhappily. These three were of the Brightshore Kingdom and thus weren’t worried about Ning attacking them, but they wouldn’t be able to attack Ning either.

“Daolord Darknorth, we didn’t go to cause you any trouble. Why are you getting involved?!” King Paleos roared angrily.

“Darknorth, we don’t want your command talismans. Don’t interfere!” Daolord Dreamlore snapped.

All of them were furious. Darknorth had already acquired quite a few command talismans, attracting their envy. They all knew just how valuable those things were! However, for the sake of the Voidsea Jadeseal, they didn’t want to get into a lengthy altercation with him.

“So what if I DO interfere?” A thunderous voice rang out from the heavens as the vast comet of heartforce and energy came crashing down into the battlefield. The Yin-Yang Chaos Domain began to merge together with Winesage’s secret arts as the two joined forces, striking out at their foes.

Swish! Ning disappeared into thin air. He had just used his Shadowless evasion art to move within range of Winesage’s secret arts! Winesage and him were in the same region now. Although Winesage knew that Ning had entered that region, he didn’t force Ning to reveal himself; instead, he aided Ning as best he could.

“He vanished.”

“Darknorth just vanished. Be careful!”

The other Daolords all had ugly looks on their faces.

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Chapter 23 – Adventure’s End

Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 23 – Adventure’s End

They would rather surround and attack Winesage than have to deal with Darknorth. Although Winesage was slightly stronger than Darknorth, he fought in a direct and aboveboard manner. The Daolords all knew where he was, at least! This made surrounding him and attacking him much easier. If Winesage wanted to attack one of them, the others would see it coming and be able to prepare for him accordingly. Daolord Darknorth, however, was another story.

He had assassination arts that allowed him to vanish without a trace, keeping all of the Daolords on their toes. This sort of feeling was quite uncomfortable!

Whoosh. Ning appeared out of nowhere close to two of the Daolords.

“He’s over there!”

“Retreat, quick!”

“Don’t take him head-on!”

The two Daolords were so terrified that they turned pale. By now, everyone knew that Winesage and Darknorth stood at the very apex of power amongst the supreme Daolords. Even the third-ranked Daolord Dreamlore had been blasted back by a single strike from Darknorth! The difference in power was quite apparent.

Swoosh. Ning charged straight forwards, easily deflecting the secret arts and treasures that were assaulting him.

Swish! Swish! Two streaks of mist-formed sword energy tore through the air. Although those two supreme Daolords strove to defend, they were still both knocked flying back from this single clash. One had been struck on the body while the other had been able to block with a shield-type treasure, but even then he was sent flying from the tremendous power of Ning’s sword.

“Everyone, let’s pause for a moment.” Ning’s voice rang out.

The twenty-plus attacking Daolords all had ugly looks on their faces, but they did indeed pause as they all stared at Ning.

Whoosh. Only now did the vast waveformed Ninedust reach Ning’s side, where he quickly returned to his human shape once more.

Winesage, Ning, and Ninedust stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

Ning smiled as he looked at the Daolords before him. “Daolords, you should know quite well that with Winesage, myself, and Ninedust working together, we would be able to defeat even ten supreme Daolords… and given my assassination arts, I imagine that it wouldn’t be too hard to actually kill a few of you.”

“Hmph.” These supreme Daolords were extremely unhappy to hear this, but they all knew that Ning was telling the truth. Just now, he had merely struck out with two swords against those two supreme Daolords. If he had focused all six swords on one of them, he probably would’ve been able to smash that supreme Daolord to death! By himself, he might not be that grave a danger, but with Winesage and Ninedust assisting him, Ning would be an utter terror to deal with. This was only worsened by the fact that Dawnstar, Ninestone, and Cloudwalker couldn’t even attack Ning.

“Darknorth,” Palace Lord Dawnstar called out.

“Brother Dawnstar, treasures go to the strong and the deserving,” Ning said. “All of us have come here to compete over the treasures, and we do that based on how strong we are as well as how lucky we are. Winesage has promised me enough treasures to agree to help him out. If this battle continues… you won’t be able to harm us, but some of you will probably die.”

“Hmph.” Daolord Dreamlore and the others all had ugly looks on their faces.

“Darknorth ended up taking advantage of the situation.”

“Winesage won two of the Voidsea Jadeseals, while Darknorth acquired almost all of the command talismans. These two bastards.” The supreme Daolords felt rather resentful at this outcome.

“What, do you really want to keep fighting instead of bringing this to a close?” Ning said calmly, “I really don’t care one way or the other.”

“Gentlemen, shall we keep fighting?” Winesaid said coldly

All of the Daolords were prepared to act without remorse for the sake of these treasures… but alas, they had encountered the even more remorseless Ji Ning and Winesage.

The supreme Daolords exchanged glances. Although they didn’t want to accept this, they could read the writing on the wall. Winesage himself was far stronger than all other Daolords. As for Darknorth, he had already been strong prior to entering Crimsonwave Temple, and he had now grown to become even more terrifying. Once these two terrifying Daolords joined together, they truly would be a deadly force to reckon with.

“You two really are nasty pieces of work.” Daolord Dreamlore turned and started to walk away. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s leave.” One supreme Daolord after another began to step into the teleportation diagram.

Ninestone looked at Ning. “Darknorth, I imagine you ended up making a killing off of Winesage. Impressive.”

“King Nine.” Ning nodded. “It was all luck.”

“I want to have your luck,” Palace Lord Dawnstar muttered.

“Let’s go. We have some fruit to harvest as well,” Palace Lord Cloudwalker said.

There were a total of nine command talismans. Ning had eight of them, while Dawnstar’s group had acquired one as well… the eighth command talisman!

……

The Daolords were all quite intelligent. They’d only fight if they felt that had a chance at victory. If their chances were nil, who would be so foolish as to get into a fight and possibly die? Thus, once Ning and Ninedust showed themselves, Ning only had to display a bit of his power in order to let them know that it was time to leave.

“You utter savage.” Winesage turned to look at Ning, a mixed look on his face. “You didn’t have to do a damn thing, but now I have to give you all my treasures.”

“Cut the crap. Hurry up and hand’m over,” Ning said with a grin on his face.

There was nothing Winesage could do. Still, although he looked quite helpless and unhappy, he was actually in an excellent mood. His lifespan was coming to its end, after all! If he failed his Daomerge, what would be the point of keeping all those treasures? If he succeeded, he would become a Hegemon, making the treasures of even less use to him! This was why the Voidsea Jadeseal and the Universe weapon truly were the only things that really mattered to him right now.

“Take it. I’ve killed quite a few supreme Daolords and collected all of their treasures. Now, all of it will belong to you.” Winesage handed over a round disc.

Ning accepted the disc. Once he scanned it, he immediately revealed a look of delight. Due to the lifeblood oath binding them, Ning didn’t worry about Winesage holding anything back at all; if Winesage had, he would’ve already seen his truesoul shattered by the lifeblood oath.

“Come, come, come! Ninedust, this portion is yours.” Ning swept through the disc with his godsense, then quickly split the treasure up into two portions. One portion, Ning put into a storage gourd which he then handed to Ninedust.

“Fine.” Ninedust didn’t decline, electing to accept the gourd. Once he scanned it: “My goodness, that’s a lot of treasure! That’s far more than I had originally.” Ninedust was delighted.

“This is Winesage we’re talking about! How could you and I compare to him when it comes to wealth?” Ning smirked.

The nearby Winesage couldn’t help but let out a cold snort when he heard this. Still, he chose to stay next to Ning and Ninedust. Only by travelling alongside them would his safety be guaranteed.

……

Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage travelled together to each of the Grovekeepers, using up the various command talismans to acquire the fruit they needed. Crimsonwave Temple had a total of nine types of fruit, and Ning managed to acquire eight of them.

In truth, this was primarily because he had chosen from the beginning to give up on the Voidsea Jadeseals and instead focus his time and attention on the third world. That was why he had acquired so many command talismans… especially seeing as how it was his decision to let Ninedust take a jade seal that resulted in Ninedust giving him all three command talismans! But of course, the other reason was that Ning was indeed strong enough. He and Winesage completely eclipsed all other Daolords in power.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three streaks of light flew out of Crimsonwave Temple. They included a white-robed youth with a golden scabbard on his back, a black-robed man, and a silver-robed man bearing a staff.

“We finally made it out.” Winesage smiled.

“Let’s go. Let’s leave this place.” Ning stared forwards towards the giant spatial tunnel in front of them that traversed the skies. Clearly, the realmsoul had established this tunnel as a way out of the Waveshift Realm.

“Time to leave.” Ninedust revealed a delighted look as well.

All three of them had won many things here.

Winesage had acquired two of the Voidsea Jadeseals.

Ninedust had won a Voidsea Jadeseal and had also acquired many treasures.

Ji Ning hadn’t acquired any of the seals, but he had harvested the priceless fruits of eight command talismans.

“Time to go.” The three transformed into streaks of light that soared into the skies, quickly departing from the Waveshift Realm.

……

A large host of figures were waiting outside the spatial tunnel that exited the Waveshift Realm. These were all ancient Eternal Emperors. They normally were secluded in different parts of the Endless Territories, but they had all gathered here today.

At the very front of the vast host, there were six groups of tremendous power. These were the leaders of the Dao Alliance, the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aeonians, the Aberrant special lifeforms, and the Ancient cultivators. All of them stared towards the tunnel with anticipation.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. One Daolord after another flew out.

“They’re coming out.”

“Here they come.” Quite a few of the ancient Emperors had been waiting anxiously.

“Owlblack,” a white-ahired elder called out.

“Ah? Patriarch!” Daolord Owlblack immediately called out respectfully upon seeing this man.

“Do you know who ended up with the coldflame cauldron fruits?” the white-haired elder immediately asked.

“The coldflame cauldron fruits. Who took them?”

“Where are they?”

“Who acquired the coldflame cauldron fruits?”

Quite a few ancient Eternal Emperors echoed this question. However, the truly high-status figures like the Hegemons were quite calm, because they had received word long ago that Ning was the one to acquire the ninth command talisman.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. More Daolords continued to arrive. Finally, three more streaks of light flew out. They were Winesage, Ninedust, and Ji Ning.

This entire time, the three awesome Hegemons known as Netherlily, Windrain, and Brightshore had been quite calm and quiet, as had the leaders of the other three major powers. Upon seeing the white-robed youth who had a golden scabbard on his back appear, they immediately flew in unison towards him.

“Darknorth.”

“Daolord Darknorth.”

“Darknorth, my young friend.” One call after another rang out. The most supreme Emperors of the Endless Territories were all staring at Ning, smiles on their faces and looks of incomparable friendliness in their eyes. Even the leaders of the Dark Kingdom and the Aeonians were beaming towards him.

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Chapter 1 – Reviving Yu Wei

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 1 – Reviving Yu Wei

Ji Ning, Winesage, and Ninedust were all rather dazed as they watched the three Hegemons and numerous supreme Eternal Emperors fly towards them. Ning immediately recognized the white-bearded old man with six curved horns on his head as Hegemon Brightshore.

As for the other two Hegemons, one was a dazzlingly beautiful scepter-bearing woman; when Ning saw her, he felt as though he had seen the most beautiful creature in all of existence and felt the uncontrollable desire to venerate her. It was impossible for anyone to feel any untoward thoughts regarding her at all! The second Hegemon was a man with long green hair and a big green beard. His hair, his eyebrows, and his beard were all extremely long.

“Darknorth.” Brightshore Hegemon smiled. “Let me make the introductions. This gentleman here is Hegemon Windrain of the Aberrants.”

Ning looked at the green-haired, green-bearded man. Hegemon Windrain had a very unusual aura. When Ning looked at him, he felt as though he was staring at a vast forest of trees. “Greetings, Hegemon Windrain,” Ning said respectfully.

This person stood at the very apex of power within the Endless Territories. How could Ning dare to be disrespectful in the slightest?

“Darknorth, my young friend, you really are quite impressive. There are only nine command talismans in there, but you acquired eight of them. Impressive, impressive!” Hegemon Windrain praised.

“What?” Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage were all stunned. They looked at each other. None of them had publicized the fact that Ninedust had given Ning three talismans while Winesage had given Ning two.

“Don’t feel so surprised,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “Realmsoul Polo informed us.”

“Oh.” Now Ning and the others understood.

“Let me continue with the introductions.” Hegemon Brightshore’s voice turned a bit cool as he glanced at the woman: “This is Hegemon Netherlily of the Ancient cultivators.”

“My young friend Darknorth.” Hegemon Netherlily was surpassingly beautiful and her voice was extremely soft; one couldn’t help but feel friendly towards her. She smiled as she looked at Ning. “You are such an impressive talent, but you ended up joining the Brightshore Kingdom. What a pity! It’s all because this old fellow Brightshore is so completely shameless as to randomly abduct cultivators throughout the Endless Territories and bring them to the Brightshore Kingdom. If it wasn’t for that, given the relationship between you and Ninedust, I feel confident that you might choose to end up joining us.”

The Ancient cultivators, much like the Brightshore Kingdom, did allow certain cultivators to join them.

“Jealousy. That’s just jealousy talking,” Hegemon Brightshore said coolly.

Although Ning had been abducted by the Brightshore Kingdom, he didn’t feel any resentment towards Hegemon Brightshore. If it hadn’t been for the guidance provided by the Brightshore Kingdom, the many sword-arts he had given access to within the Sword Palace, and the chance to visit the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe he visited, he might not have been able to develop his Omega Sword Dao!

“This gentleman right here is Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance.” Hegemon Brightshore was slightly nervous, as the Dao Alliance would definitely be his greatest competitor in bidding for the fruits which Ning had acquired. “Emperor Goldisle is one of the two leaders of the Dao Alliance.”

“Darknorth and I have met.” The gold-furred alien smiled as he looked at Ning.

“Mm. And this gentleman is Emperor Islehide of the Aeonians.” Hegemon Brightshore didn’t want to give Emperor Goldisle the chance to chat too much with Ning, and so he immediately began to introduce the others. Emperor Islehide was a peerlessly handsome man who was even more attractive than Hegemon Netherlily was beautiful. He had long red hair and dim red eyes that were filled with a strange charisma.

“Darknorth.” Emperor Islehide smiled slightly as he glanced at Ning.

Ning immediately replied, “Emperor Islehide.”

“The last one is Emperor Severfive of the Dark Kingdom.” Hegemon Brightshore glanced sideways at the rather bizarre-looking alien elder, whose long blue hair flowed up from his head like a pair of wings.

“Daolord Darknorth.” Emperor Severfive looked at Ning with a very sincere and modest gaze. Those who actually interacted with the Emperors of the Dark Kingdom all knew that the Dark Kingdom was actually quite low-key and modest. They were outsiders and foreigners who were despised and ostracized by the native organizations of the Endless Territories and thus couldn’t afford to be too brash.

“The people I’ve just introduced you to are more than capable of representing the six organizations in the Endless Territories,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

Aside from the six, there were also a number of retainers and servants present. For example, Hegemon Brightshore had a single-horned youth who had a very ordinary aura standing by his side, while Emperor Islehide of the Aeonians had an ordinary looking white-robed woman standing next to him.

“Come over here, Winesage,” Emperor Severfive instructed.

“Coming.” Winesage obediently walked over to Emperor Severfive’s side.

“Redwater.” Hegemon Netherlily looked at Ninedust, who immediately and obediently flew over to her side as well.

……

Faced with the supreme leaders of the six greatest powers in the Endless Territories, Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of pressure… but he also felt excitement! These were the people who might have the answers as to how he could revive his wife. Even if they couldn’t do it, they would definitely know much more about it than he did.

“Darknorth, we need some of the coldflame cauldron fruits,” Emperor Severfive of the Dark Kingdom said hurriedly. “Just tell me what you need.”

“Don’t be so hasty.” Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance said calmly, “Why don’t we let Darknorth list what he needs first. The side which can assist him the most shall be the side Darknorth chooses.” The Dao Alliance was able to speak so confidently due to their great wealth.

“Agreed.” Hegemon Brightshore nodded.

“Yes, let our young friend Darknorth tell us what he needs,” Hegemon Netherlily agreed.

“My young friend?” Hegemon Windrain looked at Ning.

The three Hegemons were the strongest experts in the Endless Territories and had been alive for extremely long periods of time. As a result, they were also quite wealthy, which was why they dared to compete against the Dao Alliance in this manner.

“Seniors…” Ning said respectfully, “There is indeed something I would like to request.”

“Speak,” Emperor Goldisle said confidently. The three Hegemons as well as Emperor Severfive and Emperor Islehide all looked at Ning.

“I once had a beloved Dao-companion,” Ning said slowly. “Long ago, she perished. The main reason why I’ve trained so hard is primarily because I wish to bring her back to life.”

When Winesage and Ninedust heard this, they stared at Ning in shock. Revive a Dao-companion? None of them had ever imagined that Ning held a secret like this in his heart.

“Revive?” Hegemon Windrain’s green brows furrowed in a frown. “I imagine her soul and truesoul were shattered?” If her truesoul was still around, reviving her would be extremely easy.

“Correct.” Ning nodded.

All three of the Hegemons exchanged glances, as did the three Eternal Emperors.

“I’ll ask the questions,” Hegemon Netherlily said. The others all nodded towards her.

“Darknorth, when your Dao-companion died, had she reached the World level of power?” Hegemon Netherlily’s gaze was very gentle, as was her voice.

“She had not.” Ning immediately explained, “She was merely a Celestial Immortal.”

Hegemon Netherlily nodded slightly. “Mm. Fairly weak. There’s still a chance at reviving her.”

Ning was wildly overjoyed upon hearing this.

“My next question is, where did she die?” Hegemon Netherlily asked, “Did she die in an everworld? A chaosworld? In the emptiness of space? Or in an alternate universe?”

“She died in my homeland, in a chaosworld,” Ning explained.

“In a chaosworld?” Hegemon Netherlily frowned. “That makes things difficult.”

“Difficult?” Ning’s heart clenched.

“Reviving those who died in everworlds is the simplest; any Hegemon is capable of doing this,” Hegemon Netherlily explained. “Reviving those who died in alternate universes, also known as otherverses, is a bit more difficult. Reviving those who died in chaosworlds or in the emptiness of space is the most difficult of all. Although she was merely a Celestial Immortal, this still isn’t something the likes of us are capable of.”

Ning’s face turned pale.

“Darknorth.” The nearby Hegemon Brightshore explained, “Everworlds contain the rules and laws established by the Eternal Emperors who created them. You can view them as basic, rudimentary versions of the prime essences. For example, if the founding Emperor established a law that ‘the skies are dark’, the skies in that everworld shall forever be dark. If he says that ‘flying is impossible’, then no one will be able to fly in that everworld. The only way to get around this is through possessing so much brute force that one can resist the binding effects of those laws.”

“Everworlds have elementary prime essences within them, and those who die in an everworld shall return to those everworld prime essences. If you wish to twist spacetime and revive a Celestial Immortal, you would only need to resist the backlash from the everworld. Everworld’s are fairly weak; most Hegemons are capable of doing such a thing.”

“Otherverses are generally the same size as a realmverse. You’ve visited one of them in the past,” Hegemon Brightshore explained. “I think you understand that these otherverses have their own prime essences, and their prime essences are far more perfect than the ones within the everworlds!”

Ning nodded.

“The various otherverses all have their own prime essences. If a cultivator dies in one of those otherverses, his or her truesoul shall return to the prime essences of that otherverse. If you wish to revive someone, you must be able to endure the backlash generated by that entire alternate universe,” Hegemon Brightshore explained.

“As for chaosworlds or the void of space? They don’t have any prime essences they belong to, and so whenever a truesoul in a chaosworld is extinguished, its energy shall revert back to the Chaosverse itself. If you wish to revive such a person, you’ll need to be able to endure the backlash generated by the entire Chaosverse! This is a terrifying concept,” Hegemon Brightshore explained.

Reviving someone in an everworld was easy?

Reviving someone in an otherverse was hard?

Reviving someone from the Chaosverse was nearly impossible?

Ning’s face grew uglier and uglier as he absorbed this information. “What exactly is a ‘realmverse’? And what is the ‘Chaosverse’?”

He remembered that the Starflow race which lived in the Terror Starsea had once lived in a place named the Peacock Lotus Realmverse. A grand war had destroyed that realmverse, resulting in the Starflow race fleeing and moving to the Endless Territories.

“Our home, the Endless Territories, is a realmverse,” Hegemon Brightshore explained. “Its true name is the Flamedragon Realmverse.”

“As for the Chaosverse, it is the source of all things and is truly infinite beyond measure…” Hegemon Brightshore explained, “It is like a vast, endless sea. Realmverses are like small reefs within that vast sea! Otherverses are another type of reef, a fairly special type. All reefs are located extremely far from each other, and so the Great Dark is the vast emptiness between reefs. All realmverses are very, very far away from each other.”

The sea? Reefs? Ning was rather dazed by all this. The alternate universes and the ‘Endless Territories’ were nothing more than ‘reefs’, while the Chaosverse was an ocean?

“Then who is strong enough to resist the backlash from the Chaosverse and revive my Dao-companion?” Ning grew increasingly anxious.

“Your Dao-companion was only a Celestial Immortal. Although reviving her will be difficult, at least there is hope,” Hegemon Netherlily said.

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Chapter 2 – Autarch

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 2 – Autarch

“Hope?” Ji Ning’s eyes lit up.

Hegemon Netherlily, Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Emperor Severfive, Emperor Goldisle, and Emperor Islehide all secretly shook their heads. Hegemon Netherlily continued, “There is no way for an Eternal Emperor to resist the backlash from the Chaosverse. Only those legendary figures who are even more powerful than Eternal Emperors can accomplish it… only they can reverse spacetime and revive your Dao-companion.”

“Even more powerful than Eternal Emperors?” Ning was stunned, as were Ninedust and Winesage. There was a level of power beyond that of the Eternal Emperors?

“The Chaosverse is vast and without end, filled with realmverses and otherverses.” Hegemon Netherlily’s voice was soft and drifting. “The most powerful figures who stand at the apex of each realmverse or otherverse are almost always the Hegemons! However… the vast Chaosverse has figures of even greater power. We respectfully address them as ‘Autarch’.”

“Autarch?” Ning immediately engraved this title into his heart.

Hegemon Brightshore nodded, a look of eagerness in his eyes. “Yes. Autarchs! Everworlds are created by Eternal Emperors… and otherverses are created by Autarchs.”

“They created the otherverses?” Ning was stunned. He had been to one of those alternate universes before. It had contained a complete set of prime essences, such as the Dao of the Sword and many other Daos. All of those things could be sensed! How could such a universe have been artificially created?

“Autarchs are the true and absolute rulers of the Chaosverse who stand above all other living beings,” Hegemon Netherlily said. “We Eternal Emperors have developed our own eternal Daos… but that isn’t the true apex of cultivation. Only by making repeated breakthroughs and raising your Dao to a level where it can become one of the prime essences of the universe can a cultivator be capable of creating an otherverse.”

“Autarchs are incredibly rare. I’ve never met any of them in my entire life.” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head, while the other two Hegemons revealed looks of envy and admiration. They hadn’t met any Autarchs either; they had only heard of them.

“When the Sithe launched that war, it encompassed a great many places. The main reason why we cultivators were able to gain victory over them was because we had our Autarchs,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “Although the Sithe were extremely strong and incredibly advanced in many areas, the Autarchs led us to completely wipe the Sithe out in the end. If it wasn’t for the Autarchs, we probably would’ve been annihilated or enslaved long ago.”

Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage were all speechless. Autarchs? So the highest level of cultivation in the Chaosverse was the Autarch level?

“They are capable of reversing spacetime and roam through the Chaosverse with ease! They are even capable of creating those alternate universes…” Hegemon Brightshore continued, “If an Autarch was willing to spend the time, he would be able to destroy even the likes of the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels that threaten and will eventually annihilate our Flamedragon Realmverse.”

“Autarchs are capable of destroying the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels?” The nearby Winesage couldn’t help but ask, “Then why don’t we invite them to help out? Are they really going to just watch as such a vast realmverse is annihilated?”

“You are mistaken,” Hegemon Windrain replied. “Autarchs view things through a completely different lens than the rest of us. An Autarch once said that all things and all creatures in the universe must follow the natural cycle of life and death. The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels were born from the primordial chaos for the express purpose of wiping out the Flamedragon Realmverse. In other words, it is part of the laws and functioning of the Chaosverse. If they were forcibly destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, they would suffer a backlash from the Chaosverse itself, and an incredibly strong one at that. The Autarchs are not willing to do such a thing.”

“Autarchs have truly transcended beyond all things. They are absolutely invincible, and neither spacetime nor karma nor anything else have any impact on them at all.”

“To them, the birth and destruction of entire realmverses is nothing more than the blooming and withering of a flower. I have never even seen an Autarch in my entire life.” Hegemon Windrain looked at Ning. “Darknorth, my young friend… only an Autarch is capable of rescuing your Dao-companion.”

Ning’s heart sank. He had to ask an Autarch to intervene? The three Hegemons had been around for countless years, but none of them had even seen an Autarch. One could only imagine how difficult it would be to actually get an Autarch to help out!

“Are these fruits enough?” Ning asked.

“Haha…” Emperor Goldisle laughed. “Not even close. Not even close! A hundred times this amount of fruit still wouldn’t be enough.”

“If you want an Autarch to revive your Dao-companion… if you actually owned the Crimsonwave Temple and offered it to an Autarch as a gift, you might succeed.” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head and laughed. “The fruits you have ripen every few thousand chaos cycles. Crimsonwave Temple can produce more and more fruit unto perpetuity.” Crimsonwave Temple itself was worth far more than a hundred times as much as all of the fruits Ning had acquired.

“Ah!” Ning instantly understood.

“So there’s nothing I can do right now, right?” Ning asked.

“Right. None of us can do what you ask. Only an Autarch can.” Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning. “But at least there is hope. If your Dao-companion was at the World level or was a Samsara Daolord, the backlash generated by reviving them would be exponentially greater. By then, you would have no chance at all.”

“Right.” Ning quickly calmed down again. Prior to speaking to these major powers for the first time regarding the revival of Yu Wei, Ning had already mentally prepared himself for failure. Others might feel despair at this response… but Ning was actually filled with vigor! This was because he was still just a Daolord of the Third Step. Once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step and further improved his [Heartsword] arts, he might indeed be able to acquire treasures that were as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple.

“What if I was really able to acquire something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple?” Ning couldn’t help but ask this follow-up question. “How would I go find out an Autarch then?”

“You wouldn’t need to,” Emperor Goldisle said. “The Dao Alliance would help you send the word to the Autarch.”

“Oh?” Ning glanced at Emperor Goldisle in surprise. The Dao Alliance’s resources truly were unfathomable. It was actually capable of sending information to an Autarch?

“But remember, given that Crimsonwave Temple is capable of giving birth to a new crop of fruits every few thousand chaos cycles or so, its value is far greater than that of the fruits you have acquired thus far. In fact, it’s worth much more than all of the treasures I’ve accumulated over the course of countless years.” Hegemon Brightshore smiled as he looked at Ning. “Darknorth, it won’t be easy for you to acquire something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple. You need to mentally prepare yourself for this task.”

“If you wish to reap great rewards, you’ll need to be prepared for taking on great dangers,” Hegemon Windrain said. “For example, the Terror Starsea. The Terror Starsea was part of the Dawn War’s battlefield and is filled with many leftover relics and treasures, but it’s also filled with countless dangers. If you are willing and able to take on the necessary risk, you might be able to find Hegemon-level relics or even powerful treasures left behind by the Sithe race. It’s entirely possible that you’ll find something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

The three mighty Hegemons didn’t dare to take on too much risk without a good reason, as they were the pillars of their respective organizations. The Terror Starsea was simply too dangerous; even Hegemons might die in there if they were unlucky. The negative repercussions were simply too grave, which was why it was generally only the Daolords who dared to risk it. Daolords only stood an ephemeral chance of succeeding at the Daomerge anyhow!

“Autarchs, eh?” Ning silently reflected on this term. Autarchs, the most supreme existences of the cultivation world, the leaders who led the cultivators to victory over the Sithe…

“We are unable to reverse spacetime and revive your Dao-companion. Darknorth, what else do you plan to trade your fruits for?” Hegemon Brightshore asked.

“Speak, Darknorth. What do you need?”

“Just state your requests.”

Emperor Goldisle, Hegemon Windrain, and the others all looked at Ning as they spoke.

Since reviving Yu Wei was impossible for now, he would have to focus on further strengthening himself. Only then would he stand a chance at acquiring a treasure equivalent to Crimsonwave Temple in value.

“Seniors.” Ning waved his finger, causing a series of runes to fly out. The many runes listed the various materials needed for Ning to train in the second and third levels of the [Sword Dao Body], the protective divine ability Ning had acquired from the deceased Sword Hegemon. There were four levels to this divine ability, and once reached it would allow Ning’s body to become comparable to the best Eternal treasures.

“Seniors, take a look at these materials. How much fruit do I need to give up for them?” Ning asked.

“Eh?” The three Hegemons and three leading Emperors all stared at the list, as did some of the other Eternal Emperors behind them who had yet to even speak.

“Hm. I’ll only need sixty of the coldflame cauldron fruits for this,” Hegemon Netherlily said.

“I’ll only need forty-five of the same.” Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance smiled. The three mighty Hegemons and the other Emperors instantly looked at him in irritation. The items which Ning had requested were all extraordinary; as they saw it, at least fifty coldflame cauldron fruits would be necessary.

“Emperor Goldisle, you are going a bit too far. Yes, your Dao Alliance has many treasures, but how can you give such a low offer?” Emperor Islehide frowned.

“How are we even supposed to compete if you are going to act like this?” Hegemon Windrain complained in a rumbling voice as well.

“Haha…” Emperor Goldisle laughed loudly. “We agreed early on that we’d compete fairly with each other. I’m doing just that.”

Ning gawked at the sight. He also noticed that although Crimsonwave Temple had produced nine types of fruit, all of the Emperors were focused on the ninth fruit, the coldflame cauldron fruits. This made Ning realize just how especially attractive these particular fruits were.

“Seniors, I’ve harvested eight types of fruit on this trip,” Ning said. “I’m willing to use the ‘purepeace fruit’ to trade for the materials I just requested. Might I ask how many are necessary?”

The purepeace fruit ripened every 30,000 chaos cycles. Ning had 108,000 of them!

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Chapter 3 – Entering the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 3 – Entering the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals

“Purepeace fruit?” The three Hegemons and three Eternal Emperors exchanged glances. Although all nine of the types of fruit in Crimsonwave Temple were valuable, there were still differences between them.

The purepeace fruits, for example, ripened every 30,000 chaos cycles. There were 108,000 of them in each harvest. They were fairly numerous, and so the Flamedragon Realmverse’s six major powers were still able to acquire it through other channels. As a result, they weren’t all that desperate to acquire it. The coldflame cauldron fruits, however, only ripened once every 100,000 chaos cycles… and each time, only 300 were available during each harvest. As a result, people who acquired them would usually keep and use them for themselves! Very few were willing to trade them away, making them quite a hot commodity.

“For the materials you need? 80,000 of the purepeace fruits will do,” Emperor Goldisle said with a chuckle. “These things are still quite rare. They have their uses.”

The three Hegemons, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide were silent. Seeing this, Ji Ning understood that Emperor Goldisle had offered him quite a decent price.

“Alright.” Ning revealed a smile. “Then I’ll give 80,000 of the purepeace fruits to Emperor Goldisle. Seniors, there are other treasures I need as well.”

Another block of text appeared in midair. This list included the materials needed to train in the first two stages of the secret art which the Sword Hegemon had provided to Ning, the [Grand Diffraction Sword] technique. To Ning, although a protective divine ability was very important, a strong secret art was even more important. Ning had already pretty much squeezed as much power as he could out of the nine novessence arts; by the time he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, they simply wouldn’t be able to keep up.

The [Grand Diffraction Sword] consisted of three stages. The cost to fully master it would place a heavy burden upon even Hegemons; Ning felt that he probably didn’t have enough fruit.

In addition, to master all three stage one had to have reached an extremely high level of skill in the Dao of the Sword. Most likely, one would have to reach a level comparable to that of the deceased Sword Hegemon first. Thus, the first two stages were more than enough for Ning for now.

“Oh?”

“These materials…”

The three Hegemons and three Emperors all hesitated.

“Give me all 300 of the coldflame cauldron fruits and I’ll help you collect them,” Emperor Islehide said in a low voice.

“Emperor Islehide is able to acquire all these items? Impressive!” Hegemon Netherlily laughed softly. “298 coldflame cauldron fruits, my young friend Darknorth, and I’ll help you collect them.”

“Seniors, I’m willing to use these types of fruit to trade for them instead.” As Ning spoke, he caused seven different types of fruit to appear before him. These were the fruits corresponding to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh command talismans.

“Clever.”

“What a clever boy.” The three Hegemons and the three Emperors all laughed. They could tell that Ning realized how enticing the coldflame cauldron fruits were to them and thus wasn’t in a rush to sell them off.

……

After extensive negotiations the Dao Alliance, the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrants, and the Aeonians jointly produced the materials necessary, taking away more than half of Ning’s fruits in recompense.

Now, all Ning had were:

300 of the coldflame cauldron fruits from the ninth talisman;

28,000 of the purepeace fruits from the first talisman;

230 of the golden sandsifter fruits from the seventh talisman;

310 of the darkheaven yin-fruits from the sixth talisman.

……

“Seniors, I’ve pretty much listed all the treasures I need,” Ning said. “I plan on paying a visit to the Palace of Immortals to see what they have in their treasury.”

“Haha, our treasury in the Palace of Immortals has everything within it. The Dao Alliance definitely has more treasures than anyone else,” Emperor Goldisle said with a smile.

“You aren’t going to trade anything else?”

“Darknorth, my young friend…”

The three Hegemons, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide were all startled. Ning was going to stop trading and instead go straight to the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance? It must be remembered that thus far, he hadn’t produced a single one of the coldflame cauldron fruits, the most valuable of the nine fruits!

“Darknorth.” Hegemon Brightshore looked towards Ning.

Ning hurriedly explained, “Hegemon… seniors… my lifeblood weapons need to grow and to consume more materials, but I don’t know exactly what they need. That’s why I wish to go to the Palace of Immortals, so that I can test out the various materials! Once I’ve selected the materials I need, I’ll naturally notify all of you and allow the auction to proceed fairly.”

“Lifeblood weapons?” All of them now understood, as they had lifeblood weapons as well.

“No point wasting time. Come, let’s go to my Palace of Immortals right away,” Emperor Goldisle said with a smile. He then glanced at the others. “Hegemons, Emperors, you can come along with us… the Palace of Immortals will treat you with the utmost of courtesy.”

“We wouldn’t dare enter the Palace of Immortals.”

“We’ll wait outside of it.”

“Let’s go.”

The various figures immediately began to depart.

“Darknorth, follow me.” Emperor Goldisle smiled as he sent a spatial bubble out to cover Ning, then tore through space and departed with Ning in tow.

……

The Palace of Immortals was an incomparably mysterious place. Ning had heard of it long ago, but he had never seen it.

“Here we are, Darknorth.” Emperor Goldisle’s voice rang out. Ning stared towards the front, stunned. In front of him was an absolutely enormous group of palaces that hung in the middle of space, radiating blinding light and a mighty aura. The radiance was so dazzling that Ning was truly dazed by it, while the power contained within the aura caused Ning’s heart to tremble.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. One figure after another appeared next to Ning. They were Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide, as well as the subordinates they had brought with them. Ninedust and Winesage had been brought over as well.

“Darknorth.” Ninedust’s voice rang out within Ning’s ears.

“Ninedust.” Ning glanced at Ninedust.

“I’m embarrassed to say this, but…” Ninedust revealed an awkward look. “The Hegemon instructed me to ask you to at least sell some of the coldflame cauldron fruit to us Ancient cultivators.”

Ning revealed a smile as he sent mentally, “Got it. Don’t worry.” Ninedust was his brother; since he had made the request, Ning knew what to do.

“Darknorth.” Winesage sent a mental message as well, a similarly awkward look on his face. “Darknorth, our Dark Kingdom is constantly beset by dangers. Just staying alive is difficult. I’d like to ask you to sell some of those coldflame cauldron fruits to the Dark Kingdom.”

“So long as the Dark Kingdom has the items I need, that won’t be a problem,” Ning replied.

Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning as well. “Darknorth.”

“Don’t worry, Hegemon. I know what to do,” Ning replied.

……

Favors and friendships were important, but being fair and even-handed as possible was just as important, as was growing more powerful.

“Let me lead you inside, Darknorth.” Emperor Goldisle guided Ning in, with Ning staring everywhere in curiosity as they flew into the Palace of Immortals.

None of the Hegemons or Emperors present were worried that the Dao Alliance would play a dirty trick like killing Ning to steal his treasures.

First of all, although these fruits were rare they weren’t so important as to cause Hegemons or the Dao Alliance to not care about face. Only something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple itself could possibly do that.

Secondly, only Daolords could harvest the fruits that ripened every few tens of thousands of chaos cycles from Crimsonwave Temple! If the Hegemons or the Dao Alliance dared to murder Ning, which Daolords in the future would be willing to take on the risk of helping them go harvest fruit?

Lastly, these things were a gift from Emperor Waveshift to his homeland. It was also a way to help his homeland temper its Daolords! If the Hegemons or the Dao Alliance dared to act rashly and angered Emperor Waveshift through their actions, Emperor Waveshift could very well take the entire temple back and ensure they would gain nothing at all in the future.

For all of these reasons, everyone knew that everyone else would play by the rules.

……

The insides of the Palace of Immortals were absolutely lovely. The light of formations glimmered everywhere, while their aura was so mighty as to ensure that even Hegemons wouldn’t dare to trespass within.

“Treasures of the Flamedragon Realmverse aside, the treasury of the Palace of Immortals has collected many treasures from other realmverses as well,” Emperor Goldisle said with a smile. “It’s hard to even count how many treasures we have. Choose whatever you like, Darknorth. We’ll give you what you need for those fruits.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“So this is Daolord Darknorth?” A deep voice boomed out from afar as a black-robed, black-haired old man walked towards them across the celestial pathways.

Emperor Goldisle made the introductions: “Darknorth, this is Emperor Blackcloud! The two of us jointly administer the Palace of Immortals for the Dao Alliance.”

Ning was secretly speechless. So it was these two Emperors who were in control of the Palace of Immortals? Perhaps they were a bit weaker than the Hegemons, but they were actually even more influential.

“Daolord Darknorth, you’ve only trained for such a short period of time but have reached such incredible heights in power. Impressive.” Emperor Blackcloud smiled. “Goldisle and I shall open the treasury for you to peruse as you please.”

“Sorry for the trouble, seniors,” Ning said modestly.

While chatting, these two leaders of the Dao Alliance led Ning to the location of the treasury.

“Open.” Emperor Blackcloud waved a finger.

Rumble…

The white stone door in front of him began to split apart, revealing a dark passageway inside.

“The treasury is an important place, and so this passageway is filled with many barriers and wards. Not even Hegemons would dare to trespass here,” Emperor Blackcloud said smugly.

“Come, Darknorth.” Emperor Goldisle led the way, with Ning following from behind. In truth, the reason why they dared to open up the treasury like this for Ning was because Ning was weak; if a Hegemon had actually come here, there was no way they would’ve dared to let the Hegemon actually enter the treasury.

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Chapter 4 – Treasures the Northbow Swords Need

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 4 – Treasures the Northbow Swords Need

Ji Ning followed Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Blackcloud through the dark passageway. After walking for a short while, he finally saw yet another stone door.

“Open,” Emperor Blackcloud command. The stone door instantly sank downwards, revealing the vast treasury behind it.

“Wow.” Ning felt dizzy when he saw what was behind the stone door. He was able to sense many varied auras, some brutal, some cold, some stately… countless treasures were hanging there, so numerous that at a glance Ning was able to see tens of millions of treasures just with the naked eye alone.

“All treasures stored within our treasury are quite extraordinary.” Emperor Goldisle smiled. “Many treasures here are one-of-a-kind! But of course, there are also some that are quite numerous, in which case we’ll just put a single sample item here.”

“Seniors,” Ning said hurriedly, “My lifeblood weapons need to personally touch the treasures in order to sense if they can make use of them or not.”

“Just touching is fine,” Emperor Goldisle said solemnly, “But don’t damage anything. Some of the treasures here are incredibly valuable.”

“Please don’t worry. My lifeblood weapons wouldn’t dare,” Ning said.

The nearby Emperor Blackcloud laughed. “Go, then. Inspect them to your heart’s content.”

Ning nodded. “Come out,” Ning willed mentally. Swish! Swish! Swish! All six Northbow swords flew out from their scabbards, and as they did so an adorable child appeared from each of them.

“Master! Master!” All six children began to call out repeatedly.

“Listen up. This treasury is filled with countless treasures. You can touch them to sense which are of use to you,” Ning said, “But remember, you absolutely must not damage any of them, nor are you allowed to absorb any of them. After the inspection is complete, with any luck, I’ll be able to give you some treasures to absorb.”

“Alright.”

“Haha, don’t worry.”

“Leave it to us!” All six Northbow sword-spirits were quite excited.

“Go.” Ning immediately sent them flying into the skies towards the various treasures, which they began to sscan.

This vast treasury was filled with long stone tables that were covered with countless treasures. There were also incredibly long twelve-layered treasure shelves, with each layer filled with many treasures. The ones placed on the shelves were clearly less valuable! There were also individual stone daises that held only a single treasure each.

This place had all sorts of weapons, even Universe weapons! There were all sorts of marvelous treasures here, including many strange curios that had been collected from the Terror Starsea…

……

Time slowly passed on, one minute at a time. Ning continued to furiously send his six Northbow swords flying everywhere, touching the various treasures. After roughly the time needed to boil a kettle of tea…

“Master! Master! I can sense that if I ate this flower, it would be of big use to me,” Northbow Five called out spiritually to Ning.

Ning’s eyes lit up as he immediately looked towards the sword. This was a semi-ethereal flower that was surrounded by a faint gray aura. There was a jade slip next to it that introduced it as the ‘shadowless six-thief flower’. It was capable of hiding itself amongst other objects, making it extremely difficult to find. It was an incomparably marvelous item.

“How many of those can you eat?” Ning asked spiritually.

“I’m not sure. At least ten thousand,” Northbow Five replied.

“Got it.” Ning nodded, silently memorizing this flower. He then continued to search for other treasures. This treasury most likely had copies of almost all of the decent treasures located within the Flamedragon Realmverse! When would he ever have another chance like this to just scan them as he pleased? Even if he wasn’t able to acquire what he needed due to not having enough fruit, he could at least memorize them for future collection.

……

Outside the Palace of Immortals. Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide continued to wait patiently alongside their retainers.

“Brightshore,” Hegemon Windrain said hurriedly, “The Dao Alliance wouldn’t be playing a trick on our young friend Darknorth, would they? If he ends up trading with them without giving us a chance…”

“Agreed. Brightshore…” Emperor Islehide said hurriedly, “Darknorth belongs to your Brightshore Kingdom.”

“Don’t worry.” Hegemon Brightshore smiled. “I can reach out to Darknorth at any time! He’s currently within the treasury of the Palace of Immortals, scanning the countless treasures there. This process will take some time, so don’t be impatient. Once he knows which treasures he needs, he’ll publicly announce it.”

“Good. At least we can compete fairly,” Emperor Severfive said. All of them were truly the most elite figures of the Endless Territories, but this competition over the coldflame cauldron fruits still made them nervous.

There was a rough, accepted ‘value’ to these fruits, but they were simply never available for sale. Very, very few were willing to sell these fruits, which was why in normal times the Hegemons were willing to pay multiples of the ‘accepted’ value for the few coldflame cauldron fruits which appeared from time to time! Now that Crimsonwave Temple was going to be located within the Endless Territories indefinitely, they’d be able to harvest 300 of the fruits every 100,000 chaos cycles. This was why they hadn’t offered excessively high prices in their negotiations with Ning.

However… they also understood that the future couldn’t be predicted. Who knew when Emperor Waveshift would end up taking the temple away again?

……

Within the treasury of the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance.

Ning continued to control his six Northbow swords, sending them flying about like streaks of light towards various treasures, then gently brushing against them.

“Master! Master! I can sense that this stone is going to help me out a lot!” Northbow Three called out as well. Ning immediately memorized the stone in question.

By the time he had nearly finished a complete scan of all the treasures within the treasury, he had already discovered a total of twelve treasures that would be of use to his Northbow swords! However, the Northbow swords would devour absolutely enormous amounts of material as they grew. Ning worried as to whether or not this would even be enough.

Finally, after roughly ten hours of scanning, Ning had finished his first review of all the treasures.

“How’d it go?” Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Blackcloud both looked at Ning.

“There really are quite a few treasures that are useful to my lifeblood weapons,” Ning said.

“Which treasures do you need? Go ahead and tell us and we’ll try to help you collect them as best we can,” Emperor Goldisle said.

“I should probably say it outside,” Ning replied hurriedly. “The Hegemon reminded me long ago that we have to keep things fair.”

“Oh. Right, right. Fair.” Emperor Blackcloud and Emperor Goldisle exchanged a glance, rather resigned. In the end, Ning belonged to the Brightshore Kingdom, making Hegemon Brightshore’s instructions quite effective.

Emperor Blackcloud and Emperor Goldisle didn’t really worry too much. Given how filthy rich the Dao Alliance was, they were quite confident in their chances.

“Let’s go.” Emperor Blackcloud and Emperor Goldisle led Ning in departing from the treasury.

……

Outside the Palace of Immortals. Ji Ning, Emperor Blackcloud, and Emperor Goldisle flew out at the same time.

“There they are.” The three Hegemons, Emperor Severfive, Emperor Islehide, and the various retainers all looked towards Ning, their eyes lighting up.

The time for the final negotiations over the coldflame cauldron fruits had come.

“Darknorth, did you find any suitable treasures?” Hegemon Brightshore asked.

“I found twelve,” Ning said. The Hegemons and Emperors were all rather startled by this answer. Twelve? It seemed likely that everyone would be able to provide Ning with something he needed.

“The first is known as the ‘shadowless six-thief flowers’,” Ning said. “I need at least ten thousand of them.”

“The shadowless six-thief flowers?”

“Over ten thousand?”

“But…”

The three Hegemons and the various Emperors exchanged glances, all feeling rather resigned.

“What is it?” Ning was puzzled.

“Darknorth, even if we scraped up all of the shadowless six-thief flowers that the Flamedragon Realmverse has accumulated over the countless years of its existence, we would probably only be able to find a few hundred of them,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

Emperor Goldisle nodded as well. “The shadowless six-thief flowers are invisible, hidden throughout the cosmos. They are extremely hard to find. Although they aren’t that useful, they really are quite rare.”

Ning felt quite helpless upon hearing this. If the Northbow swords were to grow, they needed materials in sufficiently large quantities. For example, they had absorbed a terrifying amount of that golden sand! Based on what the Northbow sword-spirit had predicted, he would need at least ten thousand of those flowers, but it seemed as though Ning wouldn’t even be able to acquire a tenth of that. Such a small amount would be of limited benefit.

“The second type of treasure is known as the flamebearer tathata-metal,” Ning said. “I’ll need a mountain of it, a mountain which is roughly thirty thousand meters tall.”

“Thirty thousand meters tall?” The Hegemons and Emperors sighed again.

“You are asking for too much. Flamebearer tathata-metal is used in palm-sized chunks for forging treasures. You want a mountain of it?” Emperor Goldisle shook his head. “There’s no way to get that much in the Flamedragon Realmverse. If the Dao Alliance was willing to pay incredible prices to have other realmverses help out and deliver them, we might be able to do it… but the coldflame cauldron fruits in your possession aren’t nearly enough to trade for a mountain of the tathata-metal.”

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Chapter 5 – Stone Hellephant Wall

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 5 – Stone Hellephant Wall

Ji Ning was speechless. It was clear that everyone wanted his coldflame cauldron fruits, but the first two items he had requested, the ‘Six Bandits Shadowless Flowers’ and the ‘flamebearer tathata-metal’, weren’t available in the quantities he needed in the Endless Territories.

What Ning didn’t fully understand was that the Northbow swords needed balance in order to grow to their maximum potential. They had absorbed such an enormous amount of that golden sand that they would need similarly prodigious amounts of other materials to gain that balance and reach their apex.

“You have twelve types of treasures you can use, right?” Emperor Islehide said, “Keep talking. We might be able to provide you with the other treasures.”

“Alright.” Ning had no choice but to continue with his requests. “The third type of treasure is known as astral forgestones. I need a three thousand meter mountain of it.”

“Don’t have it.”

“Don’t have enough.”

“Where would you even find that many astral forgestones?”

The Hegemons and Emperors, along with their retainers, all shook their heads. Most of the retainers were also Eternal Emperors and as such had seen many things.

Helpless, Ning had no choice but to continue listing the things he needed. The fourth type, the fifth type, the sixth type… nothing, nothing, nothing!

Ning simply needed too much; there was no way to acquire that much at all. The more valuable an item, the rarer it was, after all. When Ning had visited that alternate universe and had discovered that vast mountain of darkspace flamestone, it had been a momentous find, not because of how valuable the stone itself was, but because of how utterly enormous that mountain had been.

The same principle applied here. The various treasures Ning sought were far more valuable than darkspace flamestone, and he needed an enormous amount of them; there was just no way to acquire that much!

“The eighth type is known as the frozen ninesong pith,” Ning said. “I’ll need a lake of it that’s three hundred meters long, wide, and deep.” The numbers he listed out were still quite shocking.

“Three hundred coldflame cauldron fruits,” Emperor Severfive immediately called out.

“Two hundred and ninety,” Emperor Goldisle said.

“Two hundred!” Emperor Islehide growled.

“A hundred and ninety,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

Ning had been feeling increasingly despondent. Now, he stared blankly as the Eternal Emperors furiously bid down the price. Was this frozen ninesong pith a very common item?

Emperor Goldisle interjected, “Gentlemen, I think we should stop fighting against each other as there will be no ‘winner’. Since he’s asking for frozen ninesong pith, I’m sure that all of us will be able to provide it in enormous amounts. How about we split it evenly? Darknorth, give us a hundred and fifty coldflame cauldron fruits, a hundred and fifty golden sandsifter fruits, and a hundred and fifty darkheaven yin-fruits. All six of us will jointly procure the necessary frozen ninesong pith you need! We’ll give you double what you ask for; a lake of it that’s six hundred meters wide, long, and deep!”

“Agreed.” The others all nodded after a brief pause. They understood and agreed that no one would really ‘win’ this auction.

“What’s going on?” Ning asked.

“Long ago, our Flamedragon Realmverse discovered a river that swirled around a strange star,” Emperor Goldisle explained. “This river is roughly a hundred thousand kilometers long and hundreds of kilometers wide… and it was filled with frozen ninesong pith. As a result, all six of us have large stocks of it.”

Ning was stunned. A river that was a hundred thousand kilometers long and hundreds of kilometers wide? The tiny ‘lake’ he needed was in comparison just a tiny fraction!

“We can give you six hundred meters of it. If you need more, we can easily give you a bit more,” Emperor Goldisle said. They really didn’t care about the frozen ninesong pith that much.

“Go ahead and continue listing what you need,” Emperor Islehide said. “We might have it.”

“Alright.” Ning smiled as he continued to list the items he needed. The ninth, the tenth, the eleventh… the twelfth.

“The twelfth is known as deepfire blackstone. I need a mountain-sized pile roughly three hundred thousand meters tall.” Ning looked eagerly at the three Hegemons and the various Hegemons. Thus far, the only treasure they were able to provide had been was still just the frozen ninesong pith. The other treasures simply weren’t available.

“Three hundred thousand meters?”

“He’s pretty crazy.”

“Are you sure your lifeblood weapons can swallow that much?” The various Emperors present couldn’t help but mutter amongst themselves.

They knew that the deepfire blackstone was the last of the twelve types of treasures Ning needed, but the amount was just staggering.

“Can’t do it. Deepfire blackstone isn’t all that useful; it’s mainly used for smelting a few treasures. However, the Endless Territories only has perhaps a three thousand meter mountain of it.” Emperor Goldisle shook his head. “You want a three hundred thousand meter mountain. The difference is just too great.”

Three thousand. Three hundred thousand. This was a hundredfold difference in height, and a millionfold difference in total mass!

“Ugh.” Ning shook his head. Three thousand meters? Even if he gained all of it, it probably wouldn’t be all that beneficial to his Northbow swords.

……

After all was said and done, he had acquired all of the materials he needed for the second and third stages of his [Swordbody] divine ability as well as the first two stages of the Sword Hegemon’s secret art, [Grand Diffraction Sword]. Alas, he had only acquired the frozen ninesong pith for his Northbow swords.

“I guess that’s that.” Ning was out of options. He had already negotiated with the six most powerful organizations in all the Endless Territories, but had only been able to acquire one of the treasures he needed. One could imagine how difficult it would be for his Northbow swords to grow!

“Darknorth, my young friend,” a voice suddenly called out.

“Eh?” Ning glanced over, as did the three Hegemons and the Eternal Emperors. The speaker was an ordinary-looking horned youth who stood behind Hegemon Brightshore. When the horned youth spoke his aura immediately changed, exploding in might and reaching an utterly astonishing level. The terrifying, awe-inspiring aura around him was definitely that of a Hegemon.

“A Hegemon?” Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage were all stunned.

“Eh?” The other Eternal Emperors of the Flamedragon Realmverse were all astonished as well. Everyone knew that the Flamedragon Realmverse only had three almighty Hegemons within it. Where did this one come from?

The horned youth glanced at the assembled Emperors of the Flamedragon Realmverse, then explained, “My name is Welkin. I’ve wandered through the Great Dark and visited many realmverses, and I ended up slumbering within the Flamedragon Realmverse for a period of time due to having sustained a few injuries. The only reason I woke up was because of Crimsonwave Temple’s emergence.”

“Brother Welkin was planning to leave secretly,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “It was Crimsonwave Temple that drew him out of hiding.”

“Hegemon Welkin? So you are Welkin?” Hegemon Netherlily smiled. “I’ve heard of your illustrious name long ago, but I never had the chance to meet you.”

“Ah, Welkin!” Hegemon Windrain revealed a smile as well.

All Hegemons naturally felt respect for their peers. They all stood at the very peak of power amongst Eternal Emperors! But of course, those who were lucky enough to take control over an alternate universe and become known as Otherverse Lords were somewhat more powerful than even Hegemons in power.

A good example was the alternate universe Ning had visited. The lord of the Church of Annihilation hadn’t been at the Hegemon level; he had merely been comparable to the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. After a stroke of tremendous fortune, he had ended up in control of that otherverse and as a result become an Otherverse Lord, resulting in his status and his power skyrocketing.

“I didn’t want to get involved in this,” Hegemon Welkin said with a smile, “But since our young friend Darknorth spoke of deepfire blackstone… I’m actually able to help you out here.”

“Ah!” Ning revealed a look of delight.

“Give me a hundred coldflame cauldron fruits, and I’ll give you plenty of deepfire blackstone ore,” Hegemon Welkin said. “I’m not asking for much.”

The other three Hegemons and other Eternal Emperors all felt rather resigned. They simply weren’t able to provide enough of the deepfire blackstone! Hegemon Welkin, however, was different; he was a wanderer who had visited many places and who knew much more than them. They weren’t surprised by the fact that he was able to provide this much deepfire blackstone.

“Agreed.” Ning nodded. “A hundred coldflame cauldron fruits it is.” Hegemon Welkin was the only person who could provide the ore in question. Even if he had requested all of the remaining fruits, Ning would’ve been in a difficult position to bargain from. The Hegemon was being quite courteous by only requesting a hundred.

“Mm. The deepspace blackstone can be found in a place known as the Stone Hellephant Wall. This is a strange, curious place that I stumbled upon while I was travelling to your Flamedragon Realmverse, and it’s quite close by it. But of course, if I didn’t guide the way you’d never be able to find it.” Hegemon Welkin smiled. “I’ll personally escort you there. It’ll take roughly nine years.”

“You aren’t playing a trick on Darknorth, are you?” Emperor Goldisle frowned.

“I’ll naturally swear a lifeblood oath,” Hegemon Welkin said. Upon hearing this, the other Eternal Emperors fell silent.

Ning began to feel a sense of eagerness in his heart. The ‘Stone Hellephant Wall’, eh?

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Chapter 6 – Arrangements

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 6 – Arrangements

A full two years went by as the six major powers of the Endless Territories gathered the various treasures which Ji Ning needed, at which point in time Ning gave them the agreed-upon fruits. This was actually quite fast, given how vast the Endless Territories were. There were quite a few treasures which the three Hegemons and the various Eternal Emperors didn’t actually have on hand, with the collection process naturally taking some time.

After acquiring all of the materials needed, Ning and Ninedust accompanied Hegemon Welkin on the journey.

Whoosh. Ning, Ninedust, and Hegemon Welkin were seated within a dazzling deep-blue vessel that was flying through the darkness of space at high speeds.

“Senior Welkin.” Ning glanced outside. They were now quite close to the Badlands Territory. “Can we halt for now?”

“Hm?” Hegemon Welkin immediately brought the vessel to a halt.

“I have a few things to take care of,” Ning said. “After going to this Stone Hellephant Wall and acquiring enough of the deepfire blackstone, Ninedust and I will continue our adventures. I need to make some arrangements for my retainers and take care of some things.”

Ninedust had only recently become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Although he had used a Voidsea Jadeseal, he still wasn’t confident in his Daomerge chances and thus had to continue his adventures.

As for Ning himself, he wanted to acquire a treasure that was comparable to Crimsonwave Temple in value, so that he would be able to request an Autarch to revive Yu Wei. It must be remembered that Crimsonwave Temple was worth more than the total networth of an average Hegemon. If he wanted to acquire something like that… where else but through adventure would this be possible?

“Alright.” Hegemon Welkin nodded.

Ning took a single step out of the flying vessel and appeared in the empty space outside. He waved his hand. Whoosh. Four figures immediately appeared next to him. These were Su Youji, Pillsaint, Daolord Naia, and Daolord Bruteflame. The four retainers looked at Ning, then called out respectfully, “Master.”

Ning looked at them, a rather complex look on his face. He said with a sigh, “You have all accompanied for many years now. Youji, you started following me when I was an Elder God. Pillsaint, we met when we were World Gods in the Brightshore Kingdom…”

“Master.” Su Youji couldn’t help but interject, “Why are you saying…”

“Mm. I can sense that the places I am going to go visit are far too dangerous for you,” Ning said. “That last trip to the Terror Starsea was a good example, as was our visit to the Waveshift Realm. Both places were incredibly dangerous. If I survived them, you would be fine, but if I didn’t then you probably would’ve all died there.”

Su Youji and Pillsaint seemed to want to say something. Daolord Naia and Daolord Bruteflame exchanged glances.

“Pillsaint, for example, has chosen the path of the Dao of Alchemy. There’s absolutely no need for him to go out adventuring,” Ning said with a smile. “He should find a good place to peacefully train in alchemy. And you, Youji… by following me like this you yourself aren’t adventuring at all.”

“As a result…” Ning looked at the four of them. “The four of you should all go out adventuring. If you wish to speak to me, go to Vastheaven Palace. My avatar will be there permanently.”

“Oh, right. Take these treasures. You can consider them lifesavers.” Ning waved his hand, causing four gourds to fly out towards Su Youji and the others. Ning had won quite a bit from this trip to the Waveshift Realm. He had killed the Kingfreak, Sectlord Timedream, and quite a few second-tier Daolords… and had also gained many treasures from Winesage. As a result, he had a prodigious number of treasures on hand!

Ning gave Su Youji the best treasures and Pillsaint the second-best treasures, with Daolord Bruteflame and Daolord Naia gaining the least. There was a difference in how much he cared about them, after all.

“Master.” Su Youji and Pillsaint were rather unwilling to part from him, while Daolord Naia and Daolord Bruteflame were rather calm. The latter two had been alive for extremely long and had experienced many things.

“Go,” Ning instructed.

Su Youji, Pillsaint, Naia, and Bruteflame traded glances. In the end, they had no choice but to leave. They too understood that this was the best choice for them.

“Pillsaint, where shall you go?” Su Youji asked.

“I’m going to Vastheaven Palace,” Pillsaint said. “All I need is a place to concoct pills. Since our master’s avatar will be in Vastheaven Palace, that’s the best place for me.”

“Mm. I’ll go there as well.” Su Youji nodded. Avatars shared the same thoughts and memories as true bodies, after all. Su Youji wanted to stay a bit closer to Ning if possible.

……

Ning watched as Su Youji, Pillsaint, and the others left. With them gone, he relaxed slightly. Bidding them farewell was the most responsible thing he could do for them.

Whoosh. Ning waved his finger, causing a blurry, rainbow spacetime tunnel to instantly appear in front of him. Ning took a single step into the tunnel, immediately vanishing.

“Eh?” Ninedust, still seated within the vessel, glanced outside in surprise. Just a few moments ago, he had seen Ning bidding his four retainers farewell. Now, Ning had suddenly entered a spacetime tunnel and vanished. “Where’d he go?” Ninedust said with some surprise.

“Off to take care of some random tasks, no doubt.” Hegemon Welkin was quite calm. “My guess is that Darknorth’s home is within the Badlands Territory, as we’re fairly close to it. Given his ability to transcend spacetime, he should be able to reach that territory in just a few seconds.”

“Right.” Ninedust nodded. A few moments later, a rather mixed look appeared on his face as he murmured softly, “At least Darknorth has random tasks he needs to take care of and a beloved Dao-companion he has to revive. I… don’t seem to have any family, nor do I have a Dao-companion.”

Ancient cultivators did not have parents, as they were born from the primordial chaos itself.

A short while later… whoosh. A spacetime tunnel appeared, with a white-robed youth bearing a golden sheath on his back stepping out of it.

“There you are.” Ninedust cast away his pensive thoughts and called out towards Ning.

“Mm.” Ning nodded. Just now, he had paid a quick visit to his Primaltwin in the Badlands Territory. He had handed many of the treasures he had acquired within the Waveshift Realm over to his Primaltwin, as many of them were now of no use to Ning but of tremendous use to the Three Realms. There were many valuable pills, including the ‘Soleheart World Pill’ that could allow someone to forcibly break through to the World level. There were even Pseudo Samsara Pills that could allow someone to break through to become to Samsara Daolords! To truly powerful Daolords like him, these pills truly were nothing.

Given Ning’s current status, for him to forcibly uplift a number of World-level cultivators was quite an easy task. However, he wouldn’t do so without cause. Only those who broke through on their own with hard work would be able to walk farther along their chosen paths. Those who made their breakthroughs via relying on Pseudo Samsara Pills to become Samsara Daolords were virtually guaranteed to remain Daolords of the First Step.

“Sorry to have troubled you.” Ning looked at Hegemon Welkin. “I’ve finished everything I need to do. I can now go out with some peace of mind.”

“I really envy youngsters like you.” Hegemon Welkin sighed. “Long, long ago, when I was still very weak, I had some friends who accompanied me as well. However… all of them died. None of them were able to succeed in their Daomerge. They died far, far too long ago… and I’m the only one left. That’s why I’ve gone out wandering through various realmverse and otherverses. Only by seeing many new places do I feel that life has any meaning.”

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. Indeed… in life, one needed to have goals. Otherwise, eternal loneliness would be a form of torment.

Hegemon Brightshore, for example, was completely focused on his imperial clan and his descendants. Although it was tiring work, it gave him something to do. As for Samsara Daolords… they focused on adventuring and the Daomerge.

To Eternal Emperors, their endless lifespans were a source of frustration. This was why many of them, such as Emperor Mirrorsnow and Emperor Heartsword, had ended up leaving and going off wandering. Their curiosity towards what else lay within the Chaosverse was what sustained them and gave them energy.

“Actually… we Daolords envy you as well,” Ning said.

“Right. Even in my dreams I fantasize about succeeding in my Daomerge and becoming a Hegemon,” Ninedust said.

“Hahaha…” Hegemon Welkin laughed loudly. “Every single stage of cultivation has its own sights to enjoy. Life as a Samsara Daolord is one of the most glorious, exciting stages of them all. Work hard, youngsters. If you can break through to become Hegemons, we might meet again in the future.”

“Might meet again in the future?” Ning was puzzled.

“After I send you off to the Stone Hellephant Wall, I’ll leave and continue my wanderings,” Hegemon Welkins aid. “Wandering through the Chaosverse and seeing everything there is to see… to me, that’s the most interesting thing there is. It’ll be long, long time before I come back to the Flamedragon Realmverse. If you don’t become Hegemons, it’s unlikely that we’ll meet again.”

“Right.” Ning and Ninedust both nodded. To someone who was as infinitely long-lived as Hegemon Welkin, 108,000 chaos cycles really was a short period of time.

……

Hegemon Welkin once more took control over the flying vessel, sending it tearing through spacetime. As for Ning, he secluded himself within his own estate-world and began to train once more. It would take nine years to reach the Stone Hellephant Wall, after all. This would be more than enough time for him to grow significantly more powerful yet again!

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Chapter 7 – The Stone Wall in the Darkness

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 7 – The Stone Wall in the Darkness

Within the estate-world.

“Open.” Ji Ning was standing at the peak of a mountain, staring down at the vast wilderness before him. He waved his finger, and with a boom an invisible surge of pressure slammed down upon the wilderness, causing an enormous indentation to appear on the ground. The indentation was nine hundred meters deep! Ning then reached out with his right hand, causing a small little black gourd to appear. He pulled out the stopper, causing a stream of deep blue water to flow out from the gourd. The stream of water grew in size as it flew out until it became many meters thick, almost like a watery dragon as it soared out to fill the indentation.

Whoooosh. The liquid continuously poured out, quickly filling nearly half of the indentation. This was the frozen ninesong pith Ning had just recently acquired.

“Go ahead, children.” Ning smiled as the six Northbow swords on his back instantly flew out of the sheath, each one of them manifesting a child.

“Haha, frozen ninesong pith!”

“That’s the frozen ninesong pith.”

“There’s so much of it! We can eat as much as we want.” The six Northbow swords were all extremely excited. Each of them transformed to become nine hundred meters long, plunging themselves into the pool like sword-shaped mountains that then began to furiously devour the frozen ninesong pith.

Ning waved his hand, causing his temporal acceleration cabin to appear next to him. He entered the cabin, then begain to train in the [Swordbody] divine ability. He now had all the materials he needed, but the actual training process was very slow because this sort of cultivation technique placed enormous burdens on his body. He had to take it slowly and allow the power to slowly seep through. However, at least these protective divine abilities didn’t require him to focus too much of his attention on it.

Thus, he was able to devote most of his time to meditating on his Omega Sword Dao and the [Heartsword] art.

……

Nearly three months went past. Ning could sense that his lifeblood weapons had already finished evolving, and so he walked out of his temporal cabin.

“Northbow swords.” Ning looked at the six enormous mountain-sized Northbow swords, still stuck into that giant indentation. Their appearances had changed as well. They previously were a dazzling pure golden color, but now they had the color of blue gold. The surfaces of the swords were now very glossy, with the light of the sword being rather reserved. They looked almost like pure spring water.

“Come out.” Ning willed the six Northbow swords to fly out, and they quickly flew towards him while shrinking to their normal size. Five of the Northbow swords flew into his sheath, while the sixth landed in his hands.

“Let’s see just how they’ve changed after absorbing the frozen ninesong pith.” Ning immediately began to execute his sword-arts, causing sword-light to shine everywhere and transform the empty area around him into a realm of the sword. The aura of the Dao of the Sword pervaded every inch of the area as he began to execute the five stances of the Omega Sword Dao.

“Mm.” Ning revealed a look of delight. “The Northbow swords are now both fierce and flexible, making them of great use to my defensive sword-arts. Both the Yin-Yang stance and the Soleheart stance have improved significantly; I imagine that both of them are five times as powerful as previously.”

The Yin-Yang stance could be used to execute the Yin-Yang Sword Domain with all six swords, making it an excellent area defense.

The Soleheart stance was focused on single-target defense.

“If I was to fight against Winesage again, I could fight him head-on. My defensive sword-arts would be able to easily ablate and deflect his power. At least I wouldn’t be sent flying this time!” Ning revealed a look of delight. In a deadly situation, defensive sword-arts were even more important than offensive attacks. The power of your attacks would determine the fate of others, but the power of your defenses would determine the fate of yourself.

“We’ll be reaching the Stone Hellephant Wall soon. By then we’ll be able to absorb plenty of the deepfire blackstone, and my Northbow swords should only grow even more powerful.” Ning grew increasingly eager to see what would happened.

The growth of any lifeblood weapon would be tied to the treasures they devoured. The majority of supreme Daolords all used lifeblood weapons, but very few of them would be able to acquire as many treasures as this!

Ning wasn’t a good example; neither the sea of golden sand nor the lake of frozen ninesong pith were things which ordinary supreme Daolords were capable of acquiring. However, Eternal Emperors had very long lives, with Hegemons possessing tremendous power; as a result, their lifeblood weapons were usually very powerful. Daolord Dreamlore’s bloodblade, for example, had once been a lifeblood weapon that had reached an incredible level of power. From a material level, it absolutely had the potential to become a Universe treasure… but alas, the Dao inside it was slightly lacking and thus it wasn’t able to reach this level.

……

Hegemon Welkin’s flying vessel had long ago departed from the Flamedragon Realmverse and entered the endless Great Dark.

The Great Dark… there were no stars here, no light… nothing at all. There was nothing but darkness! Darkness, enough of it to cause even Eternal Emperors to feel despair.

In truth, the Great Dark did have some foreign objects floating about within it. Daolord Clevermind of the Ninedust Sect, for example, had seen those six great warhammers floating about within the Great Dark as he had travelled around its borders. This was why he had been lucky enough to acquire them. Thus, the Great Dark wasn’t truly devoid of all things.

“Here we are.” Hegemon Welkin finally brought the flying vessel to a halt. It had indeed taken nine years.

“The two of you can come out now.” Hegemon Welkin glanced at the two estate-treasures next to him. Ning and Ninedust had both secreted themselves into their estate-worlds. With a giant booming sound, an invisible spatial wave slammed straight into the two estate-treasures, causing the estate-worlds to tremble. Soon, Ning and Ninedust both emerged.

“The two of you really do seize every moment,” Hegemon Welkin said with a laugh. “You’ve been furiously training for every day of the past nine years.”

“I gained quite a bit from my visit to Crimsonwave Temple. I naturally had to seize this chance to train,” Ninedust said hurriedly. He then looked at Ning. “Darknorth, you traded for quite a few treasures from the Hegemons and Eternal Emperors. You’ve probably grown quite a bit stronger as well.”

“I’m doing alright.” Ning nodded. He had only been able to train his body to make it comparable to a middle-grade Eternal treasure, primarily because the protective divine ability placed incredible demands and burdens on the body. He had to take it slow; if he did it too fast and tried to force things, his divine body would crumble and his truesoul would crumble with it. Thus, he had to train slowly even though he already had all the materials needed.

“We’re not too far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Hegemon Welkin said. “The two of you should still be able to sense it.”

“We can.” Ning and Ninedust both nodded. Ning could sense exactly where his Primaltwin was.

“Darknorth, my young friend, your sword-arts have transcended spacetime. I brought you here to the Stone Hellephant Wall, but I think you should be able to slowly return under your own abilities. Given your power, you should be able to return within a thousand years,” Hegemon Welkin said.

“A minor matter.” Ning nodded. A thousand years was a very short period of time for supreme Daolords; he wouldn’t force Hegemon Welkin to wait by his side for a trifling matter like sending him home.

Whoosh. The flying vessel disappeared, causing the three of them to appear within the empty space of the Great Dark.

“There really is nothing but darkness here.” Ning scanned the area, only to see absolute darkness all around him. There was no light at all; only by using godsense was he able to ‘see’ the surrounding area, and there really was nothing whatsoever around him.

“Senior.” Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Factoring in my ability to transcend spacetime… if I were to go drifting through the Great Dark, would 100,000 chaos cycles be enough for me to reach the closest realmverse?”

“The realmverse closest to the Flamedragon Realmverse is known as the Multilight Realmverse. Although your ability to transcend spacetime is impressive, it will still take roughly a million chaos cycles before you get there,” Hegemon Welkin said.

Ning and Ninedust shared a glance. Yeah, forget that. Samsara Daolords could spend their entire lives travelling without making it to the Multilight Realmverse.

“Let’s go to the Stone Hellephant Wall,” Ninedust said immediately.

“The Stone Hellephant Wall is just up ahead. Follow me.” Hegemon Welkin emanated a bubble that encompassed both Ning and Ninedust, ‘carrying’ them with him as he flew forwards at high speed.

Whoosh. Hegemon Welkin was simply too fast, so fast that Ning and Ninedust both felt their hearts trembled. They were starting to truly understand how terrifyingly strong Hegemons were. Their speed alone ensured that supreme Daolords wouldn’t even have a chance to react before dying.

A few moments later, they had flown tens of billions of kilometers. “See that?” Hegemon Welkin pointed up ahead. “That right there is the Stone Hellephant Wall.”

Ning looked towards the front. A colossal object was up ahead, hanging within the endless darkness. It emanated a natural but dim aura of light that was enough for supreme Daolords like Nine and Ninedust to make it out clearly.

The thing up ahead was roughly a million kilometers long and shaped like a giant elephant. Only, it had what looked like an incredibly sharp horn coming from its ‘head’. The entire thing was black… or perhaps an incredibly deep red!

“At first glance, it rather looks like a demonic elephant, doesn’t it?” Hegemon Welkin said, “But if you move closer, you’ll see that it is actually very, very thin.”

“Oh?” Ning and Ninedust hurriedly moved closer. Indeed, although this enormous thing was over a million kilometers long, it was merely a thousand kilometers thick. The thickness was very even.

“It… looks almost like a wall carving someone did,” Ninedust said.

“Right. It looks like a detached wall carving of an enormous, hellish elephant,” Hegemon Welkin said. “That’s why I named it the Stone Hellephant Wall. This thing has been floating in the Great Dark for an extremely long period of time, and the entire thing is composed of deepfire blackstone. I was overjoyed when I saw it and wanted to take it with me, but it was just too big. Some sort of invisible power made it so that I just couldn’t take it away by force. Your lifeblood weapons wish to absorb deepfire blackstone, right? Go ahead and let them absorb as much as they want from this enormous wall of deepfire blackstone. Now… we agreed on a hundred coldfire cauldron fruits. Go ahead and give them to me.”

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Chapter 8 – Mining

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 8 – Mining

Ji Ning glanced at the enormous Stone Hellephant Wall. “Senior, please let me first see if I can even absorb it.”

“Go ahead.”

One of the Northbow swords flew out from the sheath on Ning’s back and stabbed straight towards the Stone Hellephant Wall. Crack! The Northbow sword didn’t damage the wall in the slightest, but as it hung there with the sword tip touching the wall, everyone present could see that a small ‘crater’ was slowly beginning to appear and expand at the point of contact.

“Master, this is deepfire blackstone. We can absorb it!” a child appeared on the surface of the Northbow sword and called out excitedly towards Ning.

Ning couldn’t help but reveal a smile. He turned his head to look at Hegemon Welkin. “Thank you, senior. Here are your hundred coldflame cauldron fruits.” Ning sent out a jade bottle with a hundred fruits within it.

Hegemon Welkin accepted it, scanned it with his godsense, then accepted it.

“You can just take your time absorbing the deepfire blackstone. I’m off.” Hegemon Welkin’s gaze turned towards the Northbow sword that had slowly plunged deep into the Stone Hellephant Wall; by now, quite a bit of the deepfire blackstone had disappeared from around it. “Even I am not able to take away this enormous chunk of deepfire blackstone, but your swords are able to absorb it… haha. Still, upgrading lifeblood weapons is an incredibly difficult process. Even if you can let them absorb an enormous amount of materials and upgrade them to their material limit, if you wish to transform them into Universe treasures then they will need quintessence cores that are at a similarly incredible level. I’ve reared lifeblood weapons of my own, but alas I haven’t been able to create any Universe treasures.”

Ning nodded upon hearing this. Creating a Universe treasure was no easy feat.

“To me, searching for an ownerless Universe treasure is a better use of my time,” Hegemon Welkin said. “There are still some who would be willing to acknowledge me as master.”

“That, senior, is because you are a Hegemon!” The nearby Ninedust interjected, “It is normall for Universe treasures to be willing to submit themselves to Hegemons. Daolords like us though? Unless we stumble into some truly incredible luck, it’s almost impossible for us to be able to make Universe treasures submit to us.”

Ninedust was a good example. He was an exalted member of the Ancients and was a master in staff-arts who had studied the legacy of that ancestor Hegemon of the Ancient race, but the ancestor’s Universe longstaff had refused to follow him.

“Universe treasures possess infinite lifespans, while Daolords only live for 108,000 chaos cycles.” Hegemon Welkin sighed. “If they follow a Daolord and that Daolord fails the Daomerge, they would have to bear the pain of eventually parting with him. This is why Universe treasures generally only choose Eternal Emperors, unless a particular Daolord is extremely intriguing to them.”

“Right.” Ning and Ninedust both nodded. Final farewells were indeed painful to make. The relationships between lifeblood weapons and their masters were almost familial in nature, and the same was true for the relationship between Universe treasures and their masters. This was why so many Universe treasures longed for their original deceased masters despite the passage of many, many chaos cycles. In fact, they would often choose to follow new masters based on similarities between their new master and the old one. They had to have similar personalities, characteristics, and even Daos!

“Alright. You two youngers should train hard. I hope that in the distant future I’ll be able to meet the two of you again,” Hegemon Welkin said with a laugh. He then waved his hand, causing that flying vessel to appear once more. He entered his vessel, then tore through spacetime and immediately disappeared.

Ning and Ninedust watched as Hegemon Welkin left with mixed feelings. They understood that the chances of them meeting him again were very, very low.

“Hegemon… I absolute must succeed in my Daomerge and become a Hegemon.” Ninedust ground his teeth.

“Succeed in the Daomerge!” Ning’s eyes were filled with resolution and desire as well.

Neither Ning nor Ninedust were confident in their chances at the Daomerge. Anyone who had mastered a fused Supreme Dao would become a Hegemon upon completing the Daomerge… but alas, this was simply too difficult. As for Ning? His Omega Sword Dao was far more difficult than even that!

Although they didn’t feel confident, they still felt desire and eagerness. The Daomerge was the ultimate goal for any and every Daolord. But of course, in Ning’s heart what mattered the most was still reviving his wife Yu Wei. His cultivation goals and the Daomerge were second to that.

……

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ning stood there within the empty darkness. He waved a finger, causing the other five Northbow swords to fly out from the sheath on his back towards the great Stone Hellephant Wall in front of him. They joined with the first Northbow sword to form a circular pattern that was roughly a thousand kilometers in diameter.

“Children, do your best to ‘eat’ your way around this area and dig out thousand-kilometer spheres of deepfire blackstone,” Ning called out with a smile.

“Yes, Master.”

“Haha, our master is so clever! He wants us to help him dig out the deepfire blackstone ore!”

“Leave it to us.”

The children atop the six Northbow swords immediately let out excited calls.

Ninedust was standing next to Ning within the darkness. He said in amazement, “D-Darknorth, are you planning on…?”

“Since the Northbow swords are able to devour the deepfire blackstone, I’m going to use them to harvest as much of the Stone Hellephant Wall as I can,” Ning said. “Not even the Hegemon was able to move this massive thing in its entirety, but if I can segment them into smaller pieces I might be able to do so. If I can, it’ll be worth a quite a pretty sum.”

“True.” Ninedust revealed a look of delight. “All that deepfire blackstone… wow. That really would be a fortune! Haha, I think Hegemon Welkin never would’ve imagined that you could use the Northbow swords to segment the Stone Hellephant Wall. If he did, he wouldn’t have walked away like that.”

“It’s not as much as you think.” Ning shook his head. “Deepfire blackstone doesn’t have that many usages. The reason why it is sold for a fairly high price in the Dao Alliance is because it is fairly rare; the Endless Territories only have three thousand meters of it. Even if I do successfully harvest the entire million-kilometer Stone Hellephant Wall, who am I supposed to sell so much deepfire blackstone to?”

When supply was limited, prices would remain high. When the supply suddenly skyrocketed, the price would drastically crater. This was even more the case given how deepfire blackstone wasn’t very useful. If it was more useful, this wall would’ve been a true fortune! Hegemon Welkin probably would’ve paid any price necessary to invite other major powers to help him out and somehow take away the Stone Hellephant Wall.

“To Hegemons, it isn’t all that valuable. To us, though, this is still a nice sum,” Ning said with a laugh.

Crack, crack, crack. The six Northbow swords continuously devoured the deepfire blackstone ore, doing their best to carve out a sphere of ore from the Stone Hellephant Wall.

It must be remembered that the six Northbow swords needed to absorb roughly a three hundred thousand meter mountain of ore, an astonishing amount. For them to merely carve out a thousand-kilometer globe of deepfire blackstone meant that they were basically just ‘eating’ a surface portion. It actually wasn’t much at all.

A mere hour later.

“Master.”

“Master, we can’t harvest any more.”

“There’s no way to dig any deeper.” The children atop the six Northbow swords all started to call out towards Ning.

“No way to dig any deeper?” Ning was startled.

“Why can’t they dig any deeper?” The nearby Ninedust also said, “Is there something inside that isn’t deepfire blackstone?”

“Right.”

“It isn’t deepfire blackstone.”

“It’s something else. We can’t absorb it,” the six children called out in unison.

Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. They both had the feeling that the Stone Hellephant Wall perhaps held more secrets than they had expected. It must be remembered that it was over a million kilometers long but just a thousand kilometers wide, making it very ‘flat’. They had thought that it was completely composed of deepfire blackstone, but it seemed as though it held a core of something else.

“Then carve out as much as you can within the thousand-kilometer radius,” Nin ginstructed.

“Got it.”

“Alright.” All six children called out in unison, working together to slowly move closer and closer to each other. A short while later, the children called out, “We’re finished!” “Master, we’re done carving!”

“Oh?” Ning sent out his will, using his six Northbow swords to apply a bit of power. Boom! The large round chunk of deepfire blackstone was actually knocked free from the rest of the Stone Hellephant Wall. This chunk of ore was spheroid in shape. It was a thousand kilometers long but only two hundred kilometers ‘deep’.

“Get in here.” Ning walked forwards and grabbed the large chunk of ore, trying to pull it into his estate-world. He immediately sensed how incredibly heavy it was, but he still gave it a try. Boom! The thousand-kilometer chunk of deepfire blackstone was pulled by Ning into his estate-world in its entirety.

“Deepfire blackstone is a valuable natural material. At my current level of power, I’m only able to draw in thousand-kilometer chunks,” Ning said with a laugh. Experts like him were able to gauge their own abilities with a certain type of foresight. The reason he had instructed the Northbow swords to carve out thousand-kilometer chunks was precisely because he could sense that this was a size that would suit him. The entire Stone Hellephant Wall was a thousand times longer than the chunk he had just carved out and much thicker, making it easily a million times more massive. It also had other materials in its core. This was why not even Hegemons could draw it in through force.

“Darknorth, look!” Ninedust had already flown over, and he immediately called out to Ning. Ning flew over as well. When he did, he was able to see that underneath the carved-out pit of deepfire blackstone was some sort of silvery-white material that was covered with many runes. These complicated runes seemed to be part of a single, utterly massive character.

“This script… it seems quite similar in style to the azureflower seal, the Dreamdust script, and those three characters I saw at Crimsonwave Temple.” Ning narrowed his eyes.

“Darknorth, this Stone Hellephant Wall seems to contain a great secret within it.” Ninedust was excited as well.

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Chapter 9 – Heavenbreaker Stance

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 9 – Heavenbreaker Stance

With the deepfire blackstone carved away, a strange silvery-white material of unknown origins was revealed beneath it. The silvery-white material was completely sealed and seamless, and the countless runes covering it caused Ji Ning and Ninedust to feel a sense of alarm.

“No openings at all.” Ning frowned, sending out his will. Swish! A fog-formed sword sliced out using the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop and struck against the silvery-white material. Clank! The power of this stsrike caused the entire vast Stone Hellephant Wall to tremble, but it wasn’t able to leave the slightest mark behind on the silvery-white material. The Northbow sword launched consecutive attacks against other parts of the silvery-white material, only to fail each time.

“There’s no way to break it at all, and there’s no way for the Northbow sword to absorb it.” Ning shook his head.

“The Stone Hellephant Wall has an outer layer of deepfire blackstone and an inner core of silvery-white material… can it be that the core is completely solid? What in the world was this thing meant for?” Ninedust was puzzled.

“Let’s keep digging!” Ning grinned. “I want to see if the silvery-white object inside the Stone Hellephant Wall really has no openings whatsoever. Even if we end up being unable to discover its secrets, the deepfire blackstone ore alone is still worth quite a sum.”

Ning was quite calm, mentally. He embraced good fortune and misfortune alike! When encountering strange, unknown secrets while adventuring, one could easily fall into danger if one lost mental balance. Death would soon follow.

……

Ning and Ninedust continued to watch from within the endless darkness as the six Northbow swords continuously devoured more and more of the outer layer of deepfire blackstone, chopping the Stone Hellephant Wall up into multiple cubes and spheres that were roughly a thousand kilometers in length. Each time, they only ‘ate’ a thin superficial layer of the ore. Only by doing so would they be able to completely ‘eat’ their way through the entire wall and carve it up.

Time passed, one day after the other. Ning collected every single chunk of deepfire blackstone his swords harvested, causing the outer layer of the Stone Hellephant Wall to continuously shrink in size and reveal more and more of the silvery-white core within. As time passed, the Northbow swords only began to increase the speed at which they ‘ate’.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. By now, half of the Stone Hellephant Wall had been carved up.

Clank! Yet another giant chunk of deepfire blackstone was revealed.

“Quick, look over there! There’s an entranceway!” Ninedust pointed while exclaiming in surprise.

“An entrance?” Ning’s gaze instantly fell upon the silvery-white core as well. Previously, the giant silvery-white object had been completely seamless. Now, however, they saw a wide passageway that was nearly thirty meters long and sixty meters high! It was completely dark and rather windy, preventing Ning and Ninedust from seeing what lay within.

“There’s actually an entrance?” Ning immediately looked at the opposite end of the chunk of deepfire blackstone that he had just carved out. The ore actually had a passageway within it as well, ending in a door. From the outside, however, there would’ve been no way to see anything at all.

“It seems this is the way inside,” Ning said.

“What should we do, Darknorth? Should we enter?” Ninedust asked. Even a fool could tell that the Stone Hellephant Wall had been artificially created; otherwise, how could it have such a neat and symmetrical entrance?

However, not even Hegemons could produce the vast quantity of deepfire blackstone which made up the outermost layer of the Stone Hellephant Wall. Both of them could sense that the mysteries hidden within had to be absolutely terrifying.

“This was a massive feat in engineering. No ordinary Hegemon could’ve created this wall.” Ning frowned. “Let’s not rush into things. It’s not going anywhere, and it seems unlikely that anyone else in the Great Dark will just so happen to stumble upon this place. Let me finish fully harvesting the deepfire blackstone, then we’ll decide.”

“Alright.” Ninedust nodded as well.

……

The Northbow swords were devouring the ore faster and faster. After merely another month, the entire outer layer of deepfire blackstone ore covering the Stone Hellephant Wall had been completely chopped up into thousand-kilometer pieces and put away.

“Mining complete.” Ning revealed a smile. “Children, have you absorbed enough?”

The six Northbow swords flew towards Ning, six children seated open them. “Almost full.” “Master, I need just a bit more.” “A little more and I’ll be full.” By now, the Northbow swords had changed yet again in appearance. They now looked almost black in color, with just a faint sheen of golden light and blue light covering them.

“Alright. Eat your fill first. After eating, accompany me inside to take a look.” Ning looked curiously at the completely harvested Stone Hellephant Wall. It was now completely silvery-white and covered with countless runes which formed a single character. Although he had never seen this character before, he understood that it represented the term ‘Tigerhill’.

The Stone Hellephant Wall only had a single entrance, and it had been so well-hidden that not even Hegemon Welkin had been able to discover it. Ning had only been able to find it thanks to his swords being able to carve the deepfire blackstone apart.

The six Northbow swords plunged deep into the final chunk of deepfire blackstone ore, furiously eating away at it. Just half a day later, they had reached their utmost limit.

“Master, I’m completely full. I can’t eat another bite.”

“I’m not able to eat any more of the deepfire blackstone.” The six Northbow swords were happily satiated and flew straight towards Ning.

Ning grabbed one of the Northbow swords to inspect it. They were now noticeably heavier than they had been in the past, and even the pommel was a bit thicker. The blade, however, was as sharp as ever.

“Let me give them a try.” Ning immediately began to execute the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao while Ninedust watched enviously off to one side. He had a lifeblood weapon as well, but it clearly wasn’t developing as nicely as Ning’s was.

BOOM! Ning delivered a chop with a double-handed grip, causing the dark space around him to completely shatter apart. Even time itself broke apart, rendering spacetime a completely meaningless concept in the region around him! This terrifying strike carried a dense mist with it as it struck, crushing through all things that opposed it. It almost instantly vaporized everything within ten billion kilometers, including spacetime itself. This strike was so terrifying that even ten thousand Daolords facing Ning would perish to it.

“How terrifying!” The Ninedust Sectlord was shocked upon seeing this. “T-t-this strike… even Winesage and his Universe treasure are merely on par.”

“Good!” Ning revealed a look of delight as he clenched his sword. This strike was the most powerful attack Ning currently had… the Heavenbreaker stance!

It must be remembered that previously, the Northbow swords had only enhanced the Blood Drop stance to a significant degree, but even then the raw power of the Blood Drop stance was inferior to that of the Heavenbreaker stance! The Blood Drop stance specialized in speed and penetrative power, while the Heavenbreaker stance truly relied on overwhelming might. Ning had relied on successive strikes from the Heavenbreaker stance to overwhelm and completely destroy the Kingfreak, literally beating him to death.

Now that he had infused his Heavenbreaker stance with the power of the [Heartsword] art and absorbed a prodigious amount of deepfire blackstone with his Northbow swords, his Heavenbreaker stance was comparable to his Blood Drop stance. In raw power, this strike was on the same level as the strikes of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. This was Ning’s most dominating, devastating strike to date!

“This feeling of overwhelming, crushing power is absolutely wonderful.” Ning felt quite delighted. It wouldn’t matter if his foes used intricate techniques; he would be able to smash through them with dominating force! This was what Winesage had done and how he had been able to force all the other Daolords to bow their heads before him. Even Ning had been beaten to the point where he didn’t dare fight the man head-on.

“Darknorth, your lifeblood swords have improved quite a bit after devouring all that deepfire blackstone,” Ninedust said enviously.

“Yes.” Ning gently stroked the flat of the sword. “This was of great help to my Northbow swords… but the [Heartsword] art helped quite a bit as well.”

“The [Heartsword] art? The sword-art which Emperor Heartsword created?” Ninedust was shocked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“You actually succeeded in training in the [Heartsword] art? I had no idea. Is that why your strikes seem to be filled with sword-shaped mist now? I’ve heard of it long ago, but I’ve never seen it in action myself.” The Ninedust Sectlord was instantly intrigued by this, as the [Heartsword] art was incredibly famous. Unfortunately there were very, very few were able to gain any level of skill in it; thus far, Ning hadn’t encountered a single Daolord capable of using the [Heartsword] art.

“No wonder you are so strong, Darknorth! Ugh, I need to work harder. I can’t let you get too far ahead of me.” Ninedust was filled with a strong competitive desire.

Ning walked over, reaching out to grab what remained of the final piece of deepfire blackstone and putting it into his estate-world. “Let’s go. Time to go inside the Stone Hellephant Wall and see what lies within it.”

“Yes, let’s go inside.” Ninedust looked at the distant passageway as well, his eyes blazing with eagerness. “It definitely holds some incredible secrets within it. Maybe I’ll find a Universe treasure that will acknowledge me as its master! Haha… I would have my invulnerable aquaform for defense and a Universe treasure for offense. I’d probably be even more powerful than you, Darknorth!”

“If there really are Universe treasures, make sure I get one as well,” Ning said as he flew forwards alongside Ninedust. Laughing and smiling, the two moved closer and closer to the entranceway.

After going inside, their faces slowly turned solemn. Ning manifested three heads and six arms and held all six Northbow swords at the ready, while the Ninedust Sectlord advanced carefully with his longstaff in hand.

“I’ll scout the path ahead,” Ninedust said.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. Ninedust’s invulnerable aquaform was indeed far better at keeping him alive than what Ning had at present.

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Chapter 10 – Tigerhill

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 10 – Tigerhill

The two flew forwards together into the entrance passage. The silvery-white passageway’s walls were lined with mysterious runes. Ninedust glanced at them and said, “Those should be barrier formation runes.”

“An invisible field of energy is protecting the core of the Stone Hellephant Wall,” Ji Ning said solemnly. “I can sense an invisible, omnipresent form of pressure. Even my godsense is affected by it and rendered inoperable.”

“Same.” Ninedust grew even more cautious as well. Both moved forward with great care, ready to unleash their power at a moment’s notice.

After following this passageway for roughly three kilometers, they reached a fork in the road.

“Let’s choose this one,” Ninedust said.

“Alright. No matter what, the two of us need to stick together. Don’t give them any chance to pick us off separately.” Ning’s expression grew increasingly solemn. When he saw those runes on the walls, he understood that these barriers definitely possessed incredible power.

“Look over there!” A short while later, Ninedust called out excitedly from a corner up ahead as he pointed towards something in front of him. Ning hurriedly charged over, only to see a gaping ‘wound’ in the silvery-white walls that emanated an aura of terrifying power.

“What in the world?” Ning and Ninedust both moved closer to inspect it carefully.

“Wow.” Ninedust stared.

“How is this possible? The entire passageway is formed from this silvery-white substance. I can’t even scratch it with a full-force blow. Could it have been completely torn open like this?” Ning stared at the jagged, gaping wounds in the walls of the passageway up ahead. There were five of the tears in total, and all of the runes within the passageway had been completely wrecked.

Every single tear was over three hundred meters long and more than thirty meters deep, thoroughly destroying the formations and script which had covered the passageway walls. In fact, there was some silvery-white debris littering the walls as well.

“Those five tears… they look like they were made by someone using his hand.” Ninedust had a look of disbelief on his face.

“His hand?” Ning couldn’t help but say, “Let me try again. Perhaps the silvery-white substance here is weaker than elsewhere.” As Ning spoke, he set up a barrier to block out any trembles generated in this area, then put away five of his Northbow swords. He gripped the single remaining Northbow sword with all six hands, then struck out with his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker, sending it directly against a palm-sized silvery-white fragment on the ground.

BOOM! A boundlessly savage blast of power smashed out along with his sword against the silvery-white debris, sending it flying off the ground and smashing directly into the nearby walls.

“Hm.” Ning waved his hand, catching the ricocheting piece of rubble. “Completely undamaged?” Ning stared at the slick piece of debris. The only damage visible was the damage at the very edges, which had been generated when it had been originally torn off the walls by that unknown major power.

“The eight lords of the Sacred Cities might be a bit stronger than me, but this is on a completely different level.” Ning carefully scrutinized the piece of rubble. “It seems someone who was at least as strong as a Hegemon caused the damage here.”

“Right.” Ninedust agreed with this assessment.

Hegemons were far more powerful than them. Their Eternal divine power and their Daos were all far superior… and they generally had Universe treasures at their disposal!

“The runes and barriers in this tunnel have all been wrecked. Come, let’s keep searching,” Ning said.

“Can’t let the rubble go to waste. They might be useful.” Ninedust waved his hand, collecting the bits of silvery-white rubble laying on the ground.

……

They continued to advance through the passageway. Ning and Ninedust soon saw another hall that had a strange sacrificial altar within it, but the terrifying claw-marks appeared atop the altar as well. The entire altar had been torn asunder.

They also saw a round, fiery-red pillar that was also covered with countless runes. Clearly, these had been part of a powerful and mysterious formation… but alas, the pillar had also been clawed open as well.

“There clearly was a battle here,” Ninedust said while walking. “An unknown major power caused all of this destruction, wrecking many of the formations here. The person in charge of the Stone Hellephant Wall was completely unable to fight back… but why is it that we don’t see any corpses at all?”

“Look up ahead.” Ning pointed towards the path up in front of them. A completely empty void was there.

“Have we reached the end?” Ning and Ninedust quickly reached the opening, then stared into the void. The vast void was filled with a faint, light blue mist that covered an area of over a hundred billion kilometers. At the very center of this vast void was a dazzling planet that was billions of kilometers in diameter.

“Ninedust, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Ning asked.

“Ah, so you are thinking about that as well?” Ninedust laughed.

“Right.” Ning nodded. “This style… it should be the Sithe race’s style.” When they had been in that giant humanoid’s body, they had seen that it was filled with countless stone passageways as well as vast planets. Ning had acquired his third disciple in one of those planets, the young man named ‘Skywind’. That giant humanoid had been Sithe, and it had slain one Hegemon outright while injuring a second one so gravely that the second Hegemon, a member of the Ancient race, had passed away from his wounds.

“The creator of the Stone Hellephant Wall was able to manipulate both deepfire blackstone as well as this unknown silvery-white material in its creation. This really does seem like something the Sithe might do,” Ning said.

“Yes, the Sithe greatly surpassed us cultivators in many areas,” Ninedust agreed. Although the Sithe had been wiped out, their power was undisputable. It was precisely of how powerful they were that the Autarchs had been forced to lead all cultivator civilizations to war against them. The flames of war had filled countless places, causing the Flamedragon Realmverse to lose all of the Hegemons it had at that time. One could only imagine how miserable that war had been!

“Given how it was floating through the Great Dark, my guess is that the Stone Hellephant Wall was left behind from the Dawn War,” Ninedust said. “It shouldn’t hold too much danger.”

“But it’s completely filled with that invisible aura of power… and I have the feeling that it is even more dangerous than that humanoid creature we were in,” Ning said. “Although it logically shouldn’t be dangerous, even the slightest bit of remaining power might be enough to wipe us both out.”

“Right.” Ninedust narrowed his eyes. “Screw it. Let’s give it a try. We might just find a huge treasure trove inside.”

“Alright, let’s fly over.” Ning was the first to fly towards the planet.

The treasures the Sithe left behind often represented a vast fortune. Crimsonwave Temple was but a single relic, but it was more valuable than the combined networths of all three Hegemons of the Flamedragon Realmverse! Perhaps the Stone Hellephant Wall had something inside that was comparable to Crimsonwave Temple in value. How could Ning possibly shrink back from it?

“There might be living beings inside this planet,” Ninedust said while flying next to Ning. “Last time we entered the homeland of your disciple, Skywind, we were almost immediately discovered by those locals. Should we perhaps mask our auras this time?”

“Yes, yes we should. Let us pretend to be Daolords of the Second Step,” Ning said.

“Agreed.” Ninedust agreed with this idea.

“Change.” “Change.” Ninedust and Ning immediately changed their auras through the [Vitalis] art. This was the most formidable masking technique they knew, capable of changing even their truesoul’s aura. Ning was simulating the aura which Daolord Pillsaint had back when he was a Daolord of the Second Step, while Ninedust did the same for a different Daolord he knew. The simulation was only effective when used to emulate you actually knew. After masking their auras, the two quickly reached the region outside the planet.

“That invisible aura of power is growing stronger.” Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. Swoosh. Swoosh. The two carefully flew towards the planet.

The planet was surrounded by a thick layer of clouds and mist. They flew through the multiple layers of clouds, slowly beginning to see the world beneath them.

This was a vast world filled with many mountains, and it was teeming with countless living creatures.

“There’s life here. They look humanoid.” Ning’s vision was frighteningly sharp, allowing him to see them with clarity. “Judging from their auras, the living beings here are all quite strong. There are many Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, and I can even see Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.”

Boom! They could sense faint, violent ripples of power emanating from off in the distance. “There’s a fight over there.” Ninedust stared towards the direction of the battle. “Let’s go take a look.”

The two immediately flew over. From their midair position, they were quickly able to see the great battle which was occurring off in the distance. The forces of both sides were fighting furiously against each other.

“All World-level cultivators,” Ninedust said casually. To them, World-level cultivators truly were nothing more than ants. “Nearly sixty of them battling, divided up into two sides.”

“Someone capable of commanding so many World-level cultivators should be fairly strong,” Ninedust said. “We should be able to learn quite a bit regarding this planet from them, and thus more quickly divine the mysteries of this Stone Hellephant Wall.”

“Right.” Ninedust nodded. Both of them remained extremely cautious; just a fraction of the power originally held within the relic sites left behind by the Sithe was enough to claim their lives. How could they NOT be careful?

Ning and Ninedust immediately flew towards the group of battling World-level cultivators.

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Chapter 11 – Tianello

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 11 – Tianello

Ji Ning and Ninedust flew quickly towards the mist to the battlefield. Meanwhile, the battle between the World-level cultivators was reaching a fever pitch.

Slash! Saber-light chopped through a World God’s body, slicing him in half. A heartbeat later, his body was ground into dust. The white-robed machete-wielding man then charged towards another World-level cultivator, a hate-filled look on his face. He was clearly the most powerful person on the battlefield. He was extremely fast and his saber-arts were exceptionally brutal.

“Maji!” The other World-level cultivator was clearly in dire straits.

“Maji, stop this!”

“Maji, you despicable lowlife. How dare you assault us members of the Tianello clan!” the other World-level cultivators bellowed furiously.

“You refused to give my clan a way out, so I’m not giving you a way out either! Kill them, my clansmen! Wipe them all out! If a single one of them escapes, we’ll be in big trouble. If we can wipe them out, we can relocate our tribe and join one of the Tianello clan’s enemies!” Maji had a savage look on his face as he bellowed.

“Kill!”

“Kill these Tianello clansmen!”

“Wipe’m out!”

Although the total combat power of the Tianello clansmen was higher overall, the one named Maji was simply too powerful as an individual. Thus far, he had already killed a total of twelve World-level cultivators by himself in this clash! He had been able to force the warriors of the Tianello clan to the brink of withdrawal, with only their fear of the strict laws of the clan holding them back from a complete retreat.

They had come on the orders of the Tianello clan to take away a treasure this minor clan had acquired, a certain bugbeast core component. They were so accustomed to behaving in a domineering fashion that they had been planning to massacre the minor clan and then offer the treasure to the high-level members of the clan. As for the other treasures the minor clan had owned? They were going to split them internally.

They had first set up a formation, planning to trap and massacre everyone. They never would’ve imagined that this weak clan’s leader, Maji, was so incredibly powerful that he had been able to burst the formation apart, then lead his clan’s World-level cultivators to fight their way out.

“Damnit.”

“They actually dare to kill the members of the Tianello clan! Let’s leave and report this to the clan immediately! We’ll have the clan send out the entire army to wipe them out and leave none of them behind.” By now, the Tianello clansmen had been shaken by Maji’s assaults. In the end, they chose to retreat. Although they would be punished upon their return for failing in their mission, at least they wouldn’t lose their lives.

“Let’s go.”

“Flee.”

Instantly, the World-level cultivators all began to flee frantically. But just as they began to do so, a calm voice rang out. “Don’t be in a such to run.” The fleeing World-level cultivators all felt their bodies turn soft. Their movements began to dramatically slow down before coming to a complete halt… and then they began to slowly fly backwards.

Right at this moment, two figures descended from the skies. One was a silver-robed man, the other was a white-robed youth who bore a sword sheath on his back.

“Daolord!” The World-level cultivators led by Maji all turned pale. The difference in power between World-level cultivators and Daolords was insurmountable.

“The Tianello clan, eh? They seem to be pretty powerful.” Ning grinned.

“Then let’s start with them,” Ninedust offered.

“Agreed.” Ning’s heartforce had already completely pervaded the souls and truesouls of the Tianello clan’s World-level cultivators, allowing him to easily rifle through their souls. Ning’s heartforce was now so powerful that he was ranked number one amongst Daolords in the Endless Territories; manipulating World-level cultivators was simplicity itself for him. Soon, Ning had completely reviewed the memories of these cultivators.

“What did you find?” Ninedust asked.

“This planet is quite interesting.” Ning smirked. As he chatted with Ninedust he made sure to block out the sound of their voices, ensuring that no one aside from the two of them could hear anything.

“Interesting?” Ninedust was puzzled.

Ning said, “This planet is quite extraordinary. It’s far more powerful than that other planet we visited, Skywind’s homeland! The cultivators here are all divided up into clans, with blood lineages determining their statuses.”

“These clans are divided into the great clans, standard clans, and lesser clans. Lesser clans are the weakest, with standard clans generally having a Daolord and several golems standing guard. As for the great clans, they each have at least one ‘royal golem’ protecting them.”

“Supposedly, this planet has nine great clans, twenty-one standard clans, and countless lesser clans,” Ning explained. This was what he had learned through rifling the memories of the World-level cultivators. “Different clans can vary immensely in power. A great clan can easily wipe out one of the standard clans with a fraction of their full power, while standard clans can do the same to lesser clans. The lesser clans are viewed as of a lower caste, almost subhuman.”

Ninedust was startled. “So just how many Daolords live on this planet?”

“More than thirty at the very least,” Ning said. “Possibly sixty, possibly eighty… these World-level cultivators have no clue.”

“Wow.” Ninedust was surprised. A single planet was capable of giving birth to dozens of Daolords in each given generation? This was a frightening concept.

“The Tianello clan is a standard clan and it has a single Daolord protecting it,” Ning said. “So let us start from them.”

“Alright.” Ninedust nodded.

“You can die now.” Ning swept his gaze towards the dull-eyed World-level cultivators. Instantly, their eyes turned completely lifeless as they fell to the ground. He left just a single World-level cultivator alive, allowing the man ‘Tonkee’ to regain his clarity of mind as well.

“What just happened? What’s going on?” Tonkee stared at the surrounding area in panic. How did all of the others all suddenly die?

“Go back and tell Tianello,” Ning barked, “That I, Darknorth, killed these World Gods! Now beat it!” When Ning had rifled through their memories, he had learned that they were all Tianello’s lackeys and were so evil as to wipe out lesser clans for greed alone. Tonkee was slightly better, morally speaking, than the rest. Still, the only reason why Ning spared him was because he needed someone to send a message for him; otherwise, he would’ve killed Tonkee as well.

“Y-you killed them?” Tonkee stared at Ning in terror.

“I said… beat it.” Ning released a hint of his killing intent.

Swoosh! The terrified Tonkee immediately fled far away.

……

Maji and his clansmen stared in shock as they watched this happened, completely stunned by Ning and Ninedust’s power. What stunned them even more was what Ning had just said: “Go back and tell Tianello that I, Darknorth, killed these World Gods! Now beat it!” This clearly was a direct challenge to Tianello!

Tianello was the name of the Tianello clan’s leader, and he was on extremely good terms with the nine great clans. He was one of the high-level members of this world. He wasn’t an easy person to deal with!

“Senior” Maji said, forcing down his fear and nervousness. Looks of panic were on the faces of all the World-level cultivators behind him.

“What, are you scared now?” A hint of a smile was on Ning’s face.

Maji hurriedly said, “For us to fight back against them when they tried to kill us was a minor matter; the exalted Tianello would never deign to act against minor figures like us, giving us a chance to survive if we joined an enemy of the Tianello clan. But by doing this, seniors… you’ve just completely insulted him! He’s not going to rest until he resolves this matter, and his rage will be directed towards us as well.”

People lived for their reputations. There were only a few dozen Daolords on this planet, making them exalted figures. How could Tianello possibly just accept Ning brazenly slapping him in the face like this?

“Are you trying to say that we caused trouble for you?” Ninedust glared at them.

“N-no…” Maji began to sweat heavily.

“Ahahaha!” Ning started to laugh. “Ninedust, stop scaring these kids.” Indeed, Maji and the other World-level cultivators all felt rather uneasy now. “Just keep watching,” Ning instructed. “I’ll guarantee your safety.”

Maji and the others felt resigned. “I guess that’s that.” If they followed these two powerful Daolords, they might stand a chance at staying alive… but once they were on their own, it would be far too easy for Tianello to eradicate them.

Just one hour later, a giant vessel appeared in the skies. A white-haired old man stood at the prow of the vessel, staring towards their direction. He had a group of subordinates behind him.

“Tianello has arrived.”

“It’s Tianello.” Maji and the others felt nervous and cold.

Ning and Ninedust raised their heads to glance at the vessel. Ninedust grinned at Ning: “He’s a mere Daolord of the Third Step, but he seems pretty full of himself.”

The grand vessel slowly flew through the skies towards them. The white-robed elder stood at the prow of the ship, staring down at them. When he saw that Ning and Ninedust merely had auras of Daolords of the Second Step, he relaxed slightly. He barked out coldly, “You dared to wipe out Tianello clansmen and then insulted me? It seems that it has been far too long since I, Tianello, have displayed my pow-.”

“So shut up and do it already,” Ninedust said from below.

“Eh?” Tianello was further incensed by this interruption, and cold light flickered in his eyes. “If that is what you wish… then I will send you off to die!”

Whoosh. A giant bird that was at least three thousand meters long suddenly appeared in front of Tianello. This bird was covered in azure feathers and had a fiery red tail, as well as an awe-inspiring aura. It was actually just as powerful as Tianello, and it immediately swooped downwards.

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Chapter 12 – Sithe?

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 12 – Sithe?

Maji and the other World-level cultivators behind Ji Ning and Ninedust had started to panic long ago. If you have to hit someone, you aren’t supposed to slap them in the face! Not even Daolords would brazenly provoke other Daolords for no good reason. Ning’s provocative actions were designed to force Tianello out. If he hid back despite all of this, he would probably become the laughingstock of this world.

“Now that’s rather interesting.” Ninedust waved his right hand, causing it to dramatically expand in size. It blocked out the skies and the sun as it clawed out towards the avian. The avian let out a furious screech as it tore at Ninedust’s hand with its clans.

Whoosh! As an Ancient cultivator, Ninedust had an incredibly powerful divine body. Given that he was now a supreme Daolord, even a casual swipe from him was far beyond the likes of a golem which was merely equivalent to a Daolord of the Third Step. His giant fingers closed in around the avian, which sought to struggle but was completely unable to break free.

“What?!” Tianello was shocked when he saw this from his position aboard his ship. His golem was equivalent to him in power, but it had been captured by a casual swipe?

“He’s absolutely terrifying. They’re definitely not people that I can fight back against. I need to run.” Tianello immediately fled, not worrying about anything else at all.

Ning was standing on the ground, head raised and watching this with a smile. “Come on down.” An invisible surge of power instantly swept out to cover the entire vessel.

All of the cultivators on the vessel, Tianello included, were instantly trapped within an illusory world. The entire vessel began to descend from the skies and landed on the ground. One figure after another began to walk out of the vessel, their eyes blank. The leader of the group was the white-haired elder Tianello, whose gaze was equally vacant. He wasn’t able to fight back at all.

“T-this…” Maji and the other World-level cultivators stared at this in astonishment. The mighty Tianello had been mentally dominated before even having a chance to fight in close combat? This was inconceivable!

“Tianello,” Ning called out. “I ask you this: who are the most powerful people within this world?”

“The top three clans of the nine great clans are the Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan. These three great clans are far more powerful than the other six great clans.” Tianello’s gaze was vacant as he continued, “The Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan are incredibly powerful. Any of them could wipe out the other six great clans with ease.”

“They call themselves members of the ‘Sithe’ race. All other clans have to submit to them, and they are the true rulers of this world,” Tianello said numbly.

Ning and Ninedust turned pale when they heard this. What?! The three most powerful clans in this planet actually referred to themselves as ‘Sithe’?

“They call themselves ‘Sithe’? Why?” Ning asked.

“Don’t know. They are the most ancient and most powerful clans on this planet. No one can resist them,” Tianello said. “Those who try to do so all died.”

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance.

“Darknorth… is it possible that a few scattered members of the Sithe actually survived?” Ninedust said. Both he and Darknorth suspected that the Stone Hellephant Wall had been created by the Sithe! It wasn’t impossible that some Sithe survived to live on this planet.

“Entirely possible.” Ning was much more somber now as well. “If it really is the Sithe… we’re in a great deal of danger.”

“Do the three great clans have any Eternal Emperors? Does this world hold any Eternal Emperors?” Ning asked.

“None.” Tianello replied robotically, “It has been a long, long time since any Emperors have appeared within this world. The annals of history do contain records of an Eternal Emperor who launched a grand war against the three great clans, but they joined forces and managed to kill him.”

“They killed an Eternal Emperor?” Ning frowned. “Was that Emperor an ordinary Daolord who broke through, or was he an incredibly powerful one?”

“He was an ordinary Daolord who broke through,” Tianello replied.

Both Ning and Ninedust let out sighs of relief.

“Should we hit’m?” Ninedust looked at Ning.

“Of course.” Ning nodded. “If they title themselves ‘Sithe’, then they are actual Sithe survivors or inheritors of the Sithe legacy. No matter what, they definitely know some of the secrets of the Sithe! If all three great clans had to work together to deal with an ordinary Daolord who broke through to become an Eternal Emperor, they shouldn’t be all that powerful.”

“At least they don’t have any Eternal Emperors at present.” Ninedust nodded as well. If they didn’t have any Eternal Emperors, it didn’t mater if they had access to Sithe technology and techniques. Ning and Ninedust were both supreme Daolords! They were both capable of slaying ordinary Eternal Emperors, especially Ning; Ning was now close to being on the same level as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Perhaps he was still rather lacking when compared to them, but he would be able to utterly dominate any Daolords.

……

As Ning and Ninedust discussed this secretive matters, they didn’t let Maji or the others overheard them. Maji and his World-level companions only watched as Tianello stared blankly as he spoke words they couldn’t hear.

“Awaken,” Ning commanded softly. Tianello immediately came back to his senses, as did the subordinates behind him. When he did so, he instantly felt terrified. He could clearly remember what he had just told Ning.

“Y-y-you…” Tianello couldn’t believe it. There was actually a person in this world capable of controlling him and forcing him to reveal some of his secrets.

“Self-claimed Sithe… interesting.” Ning looked at Ninedust. “Let’s do it.”

“You first,” Ninedust grinned.

There was a limit to how strong the three great clans were. They didn’t even have a single Emperor! They did, however, claim themselves to be the ‘Sithe’, which meant they definitely were in command of certain Sithe mysteries. Given that it shouldn’t be all that dangerous, how could Ning and Ninedust just leave?

“Heartworld, descend!” Ning immediately unleashed his heartworld projection.

……

The vast heartworld projection came crashing down, filling every single inch of this entire planet. The powerful sense of pressure brought terror to all of the countless living beings in the planet… but of course, Ning didn’t use it to attack any of those weaklings.

“What’s going on?”

“Why do I feel as though an illusory world just fell upon us?”

The countless living creatures all raised their heads to stare upwards.

……

“This must be a Heartforce Cultivator’s heartworld projection.”

“It has been a long time since a Heartworld Cultivator has appeared in our planet. Has a new one arisen?”

“This heartworld projection is far too powerful. Even I feel a sense of fear! If it releases just a bit of its power, it could kill the two of us with ease.” A male and female pair of Daolords raised their heads to stare into the skies, a look of shock on their faces.

……

“Who is it?”

“Who dares to act with such arrogance, using a heartworld projection to suppress my Nonti clan!” A furious roar rang out from a beautiful golden palace.

……

Everyone on this entire planet, from the three great clans to the countless ordinary living creatures, all raised their heads to watch as the awesome heartworld projection descended. A short while later, the image of a white-robed youth who had a sword on his back appeared within the heartworld projection. He was absolutely towering in size, and he stared down upon the great earth, his gaze seeming to fill every inch of it.

“I hear that the Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan are the three most powerful great clans of this world and have unified it under their rule! But… no matter how hard I try, I can’t discern anything particularly impressive about these three great clans. I was planning to wipe them out, but their Daolords are so weak that I can’t even be bothered to do so.”

“Listen closely. I can’t be bothered to wipe your three clans out, but from this day forth you should obediently listen to my commands. If you do so, I’ll let you live. Otherwise… hmph!”

“Impudence!”

“He’s courting death.”

“Where did this fool even come from?” Three enraged roars rang out from the three great clans, shaking the entire planet. The leaders of the Fumo, Juwah, and Nonti clans had been thoroughly enraged. They had ruled this planet for countless years. No one dared to challenge them… but this mysterious Heartforce Cultivator was being far too arrogant.

“Haha, you seem rather bold. I, Darknorth, shall be waiting for you at the Cranesoar Mountains. If you insist on coming to your deaths, feel free to come find me here.” The illusory white-robed youth within the heartworld projection peered downwards at the three great clans. “But I really suggest that you not come. You’d simply be throwing your lives away if you did… because all of you really are quite weak. Aha, ahaha, ahahahahaha!” Ning’s laughter echoed throughout every inch of this planet.

The wilderness at the base of the Cranesoar Mountains.

Maji and the other World-level cultivators stared at Ning and Ninedust, completedly dazed. Tianello and the World-level cultivators behind him were dazed as well. All of them had seen that heartworld projection and had heard Ning’s provocations.

“He’s… actually challenging the three great clans?” Tianello’s voice was trembling.

“W-who in the world are they?” Maji and the others were petrified as well.

Ning and Ninedust, however, remained quite calm. “All done.” Ning nodded at Ninedust. “Given the status these three great clans hold, there’s no way they’d just take that lying down. They’ll definitely attack.”

“Agreed.” Ninedust concurred. “That way, this battle is at a time and place of our choosing. That’s of benefit to us.”

Given that these three great clans called themselves the Sithe, Ning and Ninedust were concerned that their headquarters probably wouldn’t be easily destroyed. Thus, they would choose a different place for the battle! Ning’s deliberate provocations were aimed at forcing his enemies to come to the Cranesoar Mountains, as there were no dangerous formations here to worry about.

Although Ning was talking tough, he wasn’t so foolish as to actually charge straight into the headquarters of the three great clans.

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Chapter 13 – Emperor Golems

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 13 – Emperor Golems

The challenge having been issued, Ji Ning and Ninedust entered the Cranesoar Mountains and awaited the arrival of the three great clans. In truth, Ning was right to be cautious. This planet held many mysteries within it.

Deep within the planet’s core. There was a bubbling lake of lava here, and there were three figures seated next to it. These three figures all had silver skin, and the auras they emanated were different from the auras of normal cultivators. They were quite bizarre and inscrutable.

One of them, a particularly muscular silver man, let out a growl: “He actually dares to challenge all three of our clans simultaneously. My fellow clan leaders of the Juwah clan and Nonti clan, have either of you heard of this ‘Darknorth’ before?”

“Never heard of him.” “I have no idea where he came from.” the two other silver men responded.

“This ‘Darknorth’ is extremely arrogant, and his heartworld projection is incredibly powerful. In heartforce, at least, he’s reached the utter apex.” The muscular silver man said, “I find it very likely that he’s a supreme Daolord.”

“A supreme Daolord? Haha, after so many years, this planet of ours has finally given birth to yet another supreme Daolord,” the skinnier silver man said.

“The birth of every supreme Daolord is rather diverting to our three clans,” the long silver-haired man said. “To our three clans, there is nothing in this planet that can pose a threat to us. That makes life rather boring. The other six clans are only ‘great clans’ because they have some small portion of our bloodlines and lineage, and so we’ve bestowed the title of ‘great clan’ upon them. If it wasn’t for that… hmph.”

“How can those other lowly clans compare with us, the exalted Sithe?” The muscular silver man said coldly, “Since this supreme Daolord has chosen to challenge us and is an extremely strong Heartforce Cultivator… how do the two of you think we should response?”

“I’ll go personally kill him,” the skinny silver man said.

“Both of us have undergone the ‘Ritual Sacrificium’, making us the only true Sithe in this entire planet.” The silver-haired, silver-skinned man shook his head. “For noble Sithe like us to lower ourselves to fight against these lowly races is demeaning. Sending golems is enough.”

“I also feel that sending golems should suffice. My recommendation is that each of our three clans should send out two Emperor-class golems. What do you think?” the muscular silver man asked.

“Fine.”

“Sending two Emperor-class golems is more than enough.” The other two silver men agreed with this proposal. Their clans possessed exalted power. Even a tiny fraction of their full might was enough to completely dominate this entire world.

Over the course of countless years, their world had actually given birth to an Eternal Emperor. However, that Eternal Emperor had been extremely weak. In comparison, there had been far more supreme Daolords in the history of this world. There was usually at least one in every generation! Some of them dared to try and challenge the status of the three great clans… and all of them died!

Nobody could resist them! They were the true, indisputable, unshakeable rulers of this planet. They always had been and they always would be! In truth, the power they had revealed to wipe out those upstart challengers had always been nothing more than a fraction of their full power.

……

Within a dark room in the Fumo clan. There were six pitch-black figures seated with their eyes shut, completely unmoving. Suddenly, two of the pitch-black figures opened their eyes. Their eyes gleamed with green, crystalline light.

“Master.” both golems called out respectfully.

“There’s a Heartforce Cultivator known as Darknorth. He seems to be a supreme Daolord, and he’s chosen to challenge the Sithe. The two of you shall head to the Cranesoar Mountains and kill him.” The muscular silver man’s voice boomed out, echoing throughout the room.

“Understood,” both figures said respectfully. The other four pitch-black figures opened their eyes as well.

“The two of us are going to go out and have some first, brothers. Hahaha…” The two golems laughed quite smugly.

“Hurry up and kill this Daolord Darknorth, then come back and tell us all about it.”

“Yeah, I’m bored senseless.”

“A pity that Master has only sent the two of you.” The other four golems spoke out as well. As golems, they possessed eternal lifespans. This world wasn’t all that large; they knew every inch of it by now! This was why they normally preferred to spend their time in slumber. Only when the clan encountered some fairly troublesome opponents like ‘supreme Daolords’ would they be sent out.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two Emperor-class golems immediately left the room and soared into the skies.

……

The Cranesoar Mountains. Tianello, Maji, and the others all watched nervously. Ning and Ninedust, however, simply waited patiently.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly as he stared off into the distance.

“What’s wrong?” Ninedust was puzzled.

“The three clans have sent their troops out towards the Cranesoar Mountains.” Puzzled, Ning continued, “But… they each only sent a pair of golems. All combined, there are six of them.”

“Six golems against the two of us?” Ninedust was puzzled as well. “Darknorth, the heartworld projection you revealed should’ve alerted them that you are probably at the supreme Daolord level. Why have they only sent six golems? Based on what I know, most golems are merely comparable to fourth-step Daolords at best.”

“There ARE some golems that are stronger than the Daolord level,” Ning said.

“True.” Ninedust nodded. The major powers of the Endless Territories were only able to create golems comparable to Daolords of the Fourth Step at best. However… some particularly dangerous regions sometimes held golems that had been left behind since the Dawn War which surpassed this level. Ning had personally seen those two mighty golems which stood guard over the palace of the Brightshore Imperials. One looked like a humanoid statue while the other was a bestial statue, but both were actually golems which held the power of Eternal Emperors. No one knew where the Brightshore Hegemon had found them.

“You are talking about Emperor-class golems,” Ninedust said. “We Ancient cultivators have some, but they were passed down to us from many, many years ago. The Endless Territories have very few Emperor-class golems, and the number we Ancient cultivators have can be counted on one hand. Are you telling me that all six golems attacking us are Emperor-class? Since when did they become as common as the grass?”

“I find it hard to believe as well,” Ning said with a sigh. Emperor-class golems… they could only be found in truly dangerous zones such as the battlefield of the Dawn War. They were incredibly rare… but now, six had appeared at the same time?

“But if they aren’t Emperor-class, how would the three great clans dare to send just six of them against us?” Ning shook his head. “They should know that I have the power of a supreme Daolord; sending Daolord-class golems against me is tantamount to just gifting me with treasures. Thus… although I still find it hard to believe, it does seem as though these should be Emperor-class golems.”

“Six Emperor-class golems.” Ninedust revealed a wary look. “Can we handle them?”

“There should be differences in power amongst Emperor-class golems; some are strong, some are weak. We should be able to handle them,” Ning said.

The creation of every Emperor-class golem was extremely difficult. The Endless Territories weren’t even able to make them, with only fourth-step Daolord golems being forgeable! Thus, every single Emperor-class golem had their own unique traits. They all had invulnerable bodies, and in accordance with the wishes of their makers they often knew certain ultimate attacks as well! Even Ning felt nervous at the thought of fighting six at once.

If he was still ‘merely’ at the supreme Daolord level, he would probably be even more nervous. However, the Northbow swords and the [Heartsword] art put Ning close to the level of the lords of the eight Sacred Cities. Thus, he still felt fairly good in his chances.

“What’s going on with them?”

“Those two… something seems off with them.” Tianello, Maji, and the others all noticed the somber looks appear on the faces of Ning and Ninedust, who had appeared quite relaxed just a short while ago.

Tianello shook his head and sighed, “None of the three great clans are easy to deal with. Ever since the earliest annals of recorded history, the three great clans have always jointly ruled over our planet together. No one has ever been able to threaten them. Ugh. These two Daolords might be very powerful, but they were too over-confident. They are courting death.”

Ning and Ninedust couldn’t even be bothered to talk to the cultivators behind them. They simply stared into the skies, somber looks on their faces.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The six distant golems soared through the skies, emanating auras of incredible power as they flew towards Ning and Ninedust.

“This level of power…” Ninedust murmured softly, “The aura emanating from them as they are flying is already far beyond what Daolords of the Fourth Step are capable of. They are definitely Emperor-class. Darknorth, this is going to be seriously troublesome. I didn’t expect the three great clans to be this strong.”

Emperor-class golems were far more difficult to deal with than ordinary Eternal Emperors. They were virtually indestructible! Ning had only trained his body to make it comparable to a middle-grade Eternal treasure, but Emperor-class golems were all top-grade Eternal treasures. The techniques they used were based on the designs of their makers.

“Since the three great clans are connected to the Sithe and even call themselves the Sithe, it’s not that surprising that they have a few tricks up their sleeves.” Ning’s eyes radiated an eagerness to do battle.

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Chapter 14 – Surrounded And Attacked

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 14 – Surrounded And Attacked

“Move a bit farther away,” Ji Ning suddenly said, his voice ringing out by the ears of Tinello, Maji, and the other cultivators.

“Huh?” The cultivators were all stunned.

“He’s telling you to run the hell away.” Ninedust turned to stare at them. “Once the battle starts, even the smallest of shockwaves will be enough to claim your lives. We certainly won’t be able to pay attention to you and keep you safe.”

“Let’s go.”

“Quickly.” Tianello, Maji, and the others immediately reacted, transforming into streaks of light that flew far away.

Ning raised his head, watching as the six figures flew towards them at high speeds. He manifested three heads and six arms, then drew all six Northbow swords. “Here they come. Good.”

“I’m also curious as to just how tough Emperor-class golems are.” Ninedust had his longstaff at the ready and was also watching.

The six golems in midair all came to a halt. They hung in the air, staring downwards as if they were looking at ants. As Emperor-class golems who had been working for the three great clans since the clans had been established, they had killed many supreme Daolords over the course of countless years. Thus, they were completely confident in their chances.

“Which one of you is Daolord Darknorth?” The swordsman golem stared downwards. Of the six golems, this one was the only one wielding a sword.

“Me,” Ning said.

“You actually dared to challenge the three great clans. Poor kid… do you have any clue as to how powerful they truly are? You really didn’t know your own limits.” The swordsman golem stared at Ning in a rather sympathetic way, then glanced at Ninedust. “And this Daolord next to you. Is he with you? If he leaves immediately, we can spare him. Otherwise, we’ll have to wipe him out as well.”

Back on the ground, Ninedust and Ning exchanged a glance, then smiled. Ninedust said with a cold laugh, “You want to kill me? Give me your best shot and show me what you have.”

“I wanted to give you a way out of this. Oh well. If this is what you choose…” The swordsman golem sighed and shook his head, then said in a cold voice, “Let’s kill them, brothers!”

“Attack!”

“Let me go first!” The six golems moved in unison.

Ning, however, let out a cold snort. Boom! The heartworld projection that had been covering this entire planet instantly shrank down to merely cover an area of a million kilometers, causing its power to skyrocket! It pressed down upon the six golems, causing all of them to feel their bodies stiffen. At the same time, Ning allowed nine energy dragons to fly out of his body, forming into the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and sending the pressure of the domain out towards the golems as well.

“What a powerful binding spell.”

“Why do I feel this heavy?” Upon being suppressed by the heartworld projection and the Yin-Yang Sword Domain at the same time, the six golems were just barely able to stay afloat. They felt as though trillions of mountains had just come crashing down upon them, weighing them down immensely.

These Emperor-class golems had been around for an extremely long period of time and had encountered both supreme Daolords and Heartforce Cultivators. However, the local ‘supreme Daolords’ had always been limited to this fairly small region; there was simply no way for them to find the materials necessary to create truly powerful secret arts! Thus, Ning’s combination of his nine novessence arts and his heartworld projection constituted the most powerful bindings which the Emperor-class golems had ever encountered.

“Heavy.” The six golems exchanged glances.

“Kill him!” one of the golems bellowed, leading the way with a charge.

Crack! A streak of golden lightning lashed out through the skies, instantly appearing before Ning. Ning was quite surprised as well; this attack was incredibly fast! The speed of this golden lightning had completely surpassed the ‘normal’ limit of a hundred times the speed of light, almost instantly appearing right in front of Ning. Within the streak of golden lightning, a sharp saber could be seen chopping straight towards Ning with incomparable speed and savagery.

“Beat it.” Ning didn’t back off in the slightest. A streak of mist-formed sword energy clashed against the saber. Boom! The golden lightning was knocked flying backwards, reforming into a humanoid shape off in the distance. The creature was dressed in golden armor and had jade green eyes; it was the ‘lightning golem’ of the six golems.

Ning glanced sideways at the lightning golden. Judging from the clash, the lightning golem was roughly on par with ordinary supreme Daolords; its main strength came from its speed. Ning’s own sword-arts were also incredibly fast, allowing him to crush this golem.

“Move!”

“Attack!”

“Join forces to kill him!” The other golems began to strike as well.

Boom! An awesome flood of flames manifested, then condensed into a flaming serpent that slithered towards Ning. It suddenly opened its mouth as if about to hiss, sending a black whip coiling straight towards Ning.

“A flame golem?” Ning used his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop yet again. His sword was fast enough that defeating enemy techniques was fairly easy, unless the attacks contained a ridiculous amount of power. It was clear that the whip-strike from the flame golem was merely on par with that of a supreme Daolord, and so Ning’s mist-formed sword energy was able to easily disperse it.

……

Aside from the lightning golem and the flame golem, there was also a strange mist golem that was able to block detection via heartforce or godsense. Fortunately, Ning’s heartworld projection and nine novessence arts were not affected. The supreme Daolords of this world rarely had powerful secret arts or heartworld projections, and so once the mist surrounded them they wouldn’t be able to see what was happening around them. As a result, they would be easily defeated and slain.

There was also an extremely deadly eight-armed knife golem. The knife golem had eight arms, and each of its arms was like a deadly knife. It was fast and furious in battle, and each knife-arm struck in an extremely unpredictable manner. When all eight knives struck together, even Ninedust wasn’t able to overcome the attacks in a head-on fight. However, Ning was a sword cultivator who was incredibly skilled in close combat, allowing him to easily defeat the eight-armed knife golem.

There was also a barbarous and dominating golem whose skin was like stone. This stone golem was massive in size and had six arms, with each arm sculpted like a statue. It possessed incredible strength and powerful defenses and was able to take on Ning’s Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop without being forced back. Its six arms smashed out like giant maces, and it was the physically strongest golem.

Still, Ning was able to use the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. Now that his Northbow swords had absorbed so much of that deepfire blackstone, the power of this stance had skyrocketed to a shocking new level, allowing him to defeat the stone golem head-on as well.

The final golem was the leader of the group, the swordsman golem. The swordsman golem transformed into part of an enormous sword when using its sword-arts. The sword pierced through the skies with absolutely terrifying power, and it was the most dangerous attack Ning had to face. Despite all that, it was still staved off by Ning’s Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop.

The difference in power between the two sides was quite apparent. The six golems each had their own special abilities and were all comparable to supreme Daolords; if they were to work together against the likes of the Radiant King or Daolord Dreamlore, they would’ve won with ease. But against Ning? Clearly, they weren’t enough.

……

Although the above battle took time to describe, the attacks from the six golems and Ning’s counters all happened almost instantaneously. Ning matched each of them blow for blow and defeated them all.

“Daolord Darknorth is much stronger than any other supreme Daolord we have ever encountered. Brothers, attack simultaneously to defeat him!” the swordsman golem shouted mentally to the others.

“Join forces.”

“Same as always.” These Emperor-class golems were quite familiar with each other, and they had a joint attack they used. They almost instantly began to move in unison.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. A dazzling streak of golden light, a flaming serpent, and a ribbon of mist coiled around each other, forming a tri-colored rope that then swirled towards Ning. As for Ninedust, he transformed into a vast sea of water which the golems were completely unable to do anything to.

The three great clans did have some techniques they were able to use against supreme Daolords who had invulnerable forms, but these six Emperor-class golems didn’t view Ninedust as being that much of a threat. The real threat was Darknorth, and he was their principal opponent in this fight.

“Damn.” Ning immediately could sense how troublesome this tri-colored rope was. He used his sword-arts to cut through the rope, but the flames, lightning, and mist joined together once more to reform the rope. Ning’s strikes didn’t have any effect on the terrifying binding power of the tri-colored ropes at all. Ning had no choice but to amplify the effects of his novessence arts and his heartworld projection upon the tri-colored ropes, but he was still only able to partially weaken their power.

“This thing really is quite difficult to deal with.” Ning had been completely surrounded by the lightning, mist, and flame-forged rope. Because these things were noncorporeal, Ning was still able to move about and fight, but his combat power had clearly been affected.

If the ropes had been corporeal, this would’ve been much easier. Ning’s sword-arts would’ve sent the ropes flying long ago.

“Catch him, Stone!”

“Give’m a big hug.”

“Make it so that he can’t fight back!” the other golems called out as the six-armed stone golem came bounding straight towards Ning. Its six arms grew incredibly thick and long as it reached out, seeking to grab Ning! Ning knew just how strong this stone golem was; it had been able to endure Ning’s Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop without even having to stagger backwards at all. If it really did manage to grapple Ning, Ning wouldn’t be able to break free at all.

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Chapter 15 – Captured

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 15 – Captured

The tri-colored ropes coiled around Ji Ning, affecting and encumbering all of his movements.

“I did this in the past to others. Now, the same is happening to me. I can at most unleash 70% of my full power.” Ning was secretly stunned. This was despite the fact that the fire, lightning, and mist were being weakened by his heartworld projection and nine novessence arts. If it hadn’t been for the latter two, he would probably be weakened even more.

“Beat it!” When Ning saw the stone golem bound towards him and seek to grapple him, he immediately used his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. BOOM! The stone golem was sent flying backwards.

“What? Even when we bind him, he’s still able to send Stone flying?”

“How can he be this powerful?” The other Emperor-class golems were all stunned.

“Stone, try again. You have to be able to grab him. We’ll help you!”

“If you can grapple him, he’ll be dead for sure.”

“Alright. I will try again.” The stone golem once more bounded forwards. This time, the swordsman golem also transformed into a single sword that hovered above the eight-armed knife golem. The eight-armed knife golem charged towards Ning as well, with the sword ready to strike at any moment. As for the stone golem, it also charged forwards at the same time.

“Need my help, Darknorth?” The Ninedust Sectlord was still in his oceanic form, but he wasn’t in a hurry to intervene just yet.

“No need,” Ning sent back. “I’ll feign weakness for now. Wait for a critical moment before intervening.”

“Alright,” Ninedust replied.

……

The tri-colored rope coiled towards Ning as the swordsman golem, the eight-armed golem, and the stone golem attacked simultaneously.

A fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes. “This is the right moment.” Swoosh! Ning flew straight towards the eight-armed knife golem and the swordsman golem. The two golems naturally struck out at him, sending streaks of mysterious knife-light and sharp sword-light slicing towards him.

Boom! Boom! Ning responded with just two streaks of mist-formed sword energy; this was his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

This stance seemed clumsy and straightforward, but it contained the profundity of his Omega Sword Dao and his other stances, allowing him to easily strike his foes head-on.

These two strikes from his two Northbow swords contained power that was comparable to that of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. The eight-armed golem and the swordsmen golem were both sent flying backwards. It must be remembered that even the strongest golem, the stone golem, was unable to withstand this stance. How could these two possibly do so?

“Now come here.” Ning’s lips split open into a grin as he faced the stone golem that was charging towards him, arms spread wide. The swordsman golem and the eight-armed golem had already been knocked flying backwards; for the next few moments, they wouldn’t be able to assist the stone golem.

Whoooosh. Ning’s sword-light drifted out in an ephemeral, mysterious fashion. This was his Shadowless stance!

Although the tri-colored ropes were slowing him down, preventing his sword-light from being truly traceless and shadow less, it was still incredibly unpredictable. Although the stone golem was extremely strong and ferocious, it had major flaws as well; namely, its speed and agility! When Ning executed this Shadowless stance and infused the [Heartsword] arts into it, the stone golem was only able to block a single one of Ning’s swords with its six arms. It was unable to withstand the others.

Swish! The Northbow swords furiously and rapidly began to coil around the stone golem like a soft rope, tying dozens of knots around it.

“No!” the stone golem let out a furious bellow. It had wanted to grapple Ning, but instead it had been captured.

“Get in here.” Completely bound, the stone golem was unable to fight back at all as Ning sent out his will, forcefully drawing the golem into his estate-world.

“Ninedust, move to block the swordsman golem.” Ning turned, focusing his gaze on the nearby eight-armed golem which was once more seeking to charge at him.

“Alright.” Ninedust was excited as well. The other five Emperor-class golems, however, began to panic!

Ning’s initial clashes against them had been nothing more than probes designed to help him understand what the golems were skilled in, so as to prepare a proper battle plan! The initial clashes had let him understand that the flame golem, lightning golem, and mist golem all had abilities that were similar to ‘invulnerable forms’; there was nothing he could do to them at all. Thus, Ning turned his attention to the other three golems.

The stone golem had seemed to be the strongest and most ferocious, but its flaws were also the most obvious. In the end, it was the easiest one to deal with.

“Not good.”

“Stone’s been captured.”

“This Daolord is too powerful.”

“Master commands us to retreat immediately!”

“Master has commanded a retreat.”

“Withdraw!”

The three clan leaders had immediately received word that even though their six Emperor-class golems had assaulted Daolord Darknorth in unison, one of them had ended up being captured. They immediately issued an order to withdraw! The loss of every single Emperor-class golem, to the three great clans, was quite painful.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The eight-armed golem and the swordsman golem immediately began to flee.

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Ning’s heartworld projection and nine novessence arts were completely focused on suppressing the eight-armed golem and swordsman golem.

Ning’s first target was the eight-armed golem, and he charged towards it by himself. Both sides were being slowed and restricted, but Ning was faster than the eight-armed golem to begin with! The difference between them in power was apparent.

“Run! Run!” The eight-armed golem was panicking.

“You aren’t running anywhere.” Ning caught up, then used his Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless to once more launch an unpredictable sword-art attack against the golem.

The eight-armed golem was clearly quite agile, and its eight arms set up a mysterious defensive pattern to defend. As for Ning, he alternated between the Shadowless stance and the Heavenbreaker stance, sometimes also switching to the incredibly fast Blood Drop stance! Just three breaths of time later, the eight-armed golem’s defenses had been penetrated. One of Ning’s swords wrapped directly around the eight-armed golem’s waist, the Northbow sword having transformed to become long and soft as it wrapped itself around the golem like a ball.

“Come here.” Ning drew the eight-armed golem into his estate-world as well.

“How can this be happening?”

“How can this Daolord be so powerful?”

“Daolord Darknorth, you really are courting death!” The three golems which made up the tri-colored ropes were howling furiously, but they were even weaker than the eight-armed golem in close combat. When used to bind and slow Ning, they were quite effective, but once they stopped doing so and Ning was able to unleash his full power… their defeat would be swift and sure.

“Ahahaha! None of you are escaping!” Ninedust transformed into a sea of water as he furiously battled against the swordsman golem. The water coiled around the golem, with Ninedust’s upper body visible as he used his longstaff to batter the swordsman golem at will. Given that the swordsman golem was being affected by both the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts, Ninedust was able to completely dominate it. It had no chance to flee at all.

“No, no, NO! Get the hell away from me!” The swordsman golem was furiously struggling but unable to shake off Ninedust. Finally, Ning arrived. With Ning and Ninedust fighting together the swordsman golem was caught in literally a single second, then drawn into the estate-world.

The three elemental golems realized that there was nothing they could do. They had no choice but to quickly flee and retreat.

……

Tianello, Maji, and the others hadn’t moved too far away. They were able to watch this fight from afar. Truth be told, their situation was quite grim; they were terrified that the three great clans would view them as being a party to this and blame them, and thus they didn’t dare to move too far away.

“How terrifying.” They stared at the battlefield, the Cranesoar Mountains having been reduced to rubble long ago. The few mountains that remained were covered with the vicious scars of battle. All of this had been caused by the shockwaves generated from the earlier clashes. It must be remembered that this was a planet the Sithe had created and placed within the Stone Hellephant Wall. This planet was extremely stable and sturdy, but the shockwaves from this battle alone had been enough to annihilate most of the nearby mountains. This was more than enough to terrify Tianello and the others.

“Those two Daolords actually won. They actually won. They beat the three great clans.” Tianello, Maji, and the others could hardly believe it.

……

“Ahaha, we actually acquired three Emperor-class golems.” Ninedust said delightedly, “How absolutely wonderful. I hope they send a few more over for us to capture.”

“Don’t get cocky.” Ning had a serious look on his face. “Even though I had my heartworld projection and my nine novessence arts active, the restrictive effected generated by just three of those golems was enough to drop me to 70% of my maximum power. I doubt the three great clans sent their full forces against us. If they were able to drop me to 40% of my full power, things will get dangerous.”

“Agreed.” Startled, Ninedust immediately nodded. “How strong are these three great clans, exactly?”

“I’m not sure.” Ning shook his head, then grinned. “But those three golems should know.”

“The three golems?” Ninedust’s eyes lit up.

“We need to bind them immediately and have them spill the secrets they know regarding the three great clans,” Ning said. “Only when you understand both yourself and your enemy shall you be the victor in all your battles! Based on what I can see thus far, the three great clans are much more powerful than we had predicted.”

“Agreed.” And so, Ning and Ninedust immediately began to bind the three captured golems to themselves.

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Chapter 16 – The Three Great Clans

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 16 – The Three Great Clans

Deep within the subterranean underground of this world. The three silver men were once again standing by the bubbling lake of lava, but they were no longer as calm as they were before this.

“This Daolord Darknorth not only managed to defeat six Emperor-class golems by himself, he actually captured three of them.” The muscular silver man said seriously, “This level of power has completely surpassed that of any ‘supreme Daolord’ we have ever heard of. Something like this has never happened since our three great clans have started our joint rule over this planet.”

“Yes. Even though a few supreme Daolords arise from time to time, all of them were completely crushed when facing six Emperor-class golems.” The silver-haired man’s eyes were filled with murder. “This Daolord Darknorth is definitely the most powerful Daolord our three clans have ever encountered.”

“One on six, he managed to capture three Emperor-class golems…” The skinny silver man shook his head as well.

This man was powerful, more powerful than any ‘Daolord’ should be. Still… this was what they believed because their horizons were limited. In the Endless Territories, a vast horde of Daolords would arise every era of 108,000 chaos cycles, and there were occasionally one or two who were able to completely eclipse all other Daolords. In this era, those two were Winesage and Ji Ning.

“It seems we have to personally intervene if we wish to defeat Daolord Darknorth.” The skinny silver man’s eyes were filled with the desire to do battle. “How about this? I’ll spar against this Daolord Darknorth first. If I’m able to kill him by myself, I will. If I’m not, you two can join in.”

“We can’t be the slightest bit overconfident against a foe like this. Let’s use our full power immediately,” the silver-haired man said.

“Agreed. We need to go to maximum power immediately. This Daolord Darknorth was actually able to defeat six Emperor-class golems… that means he is already on our level,” the muscular silver man said. “We have to completely overwhelm and crush him in order to kill him. Not only should all three of us work together, all of the Emperor-class golems in our three clans which possess invulnerable forms should be activated as well.”

“What?”

“We’re going to activate all our golems with invulnerable forms?” The other two silver men were shocked by this. Any of the three were capable of fighting Darknorth; for all three to work together was already an incredible show of power. Were they really going to send an group of Emperor-class golems as well?”

“If we’re going to go at him full-force, then let’s make sure he has no chance at all,” the muscular silver man said. “Daolord Darknorth is the most powerful enemy our three great clans have ever encountered in our history. Thus… let’s give him the respect he deserves. All three clan leaders and all invulnerable Emperor-class golems are going to attack simultaneously. Hmph. He should be proud, even in death.”

“Agreed.”

“To die to such a force is indeed prideworthy.” The other two both laughed.

……

“On my orders, activate all 156 clan-guarding formations and activate the Sithe disc. Be on maximum alert.”

“On my orders, activate all 180 formations and activate the Sithe disc.”

“Everyone is to be on maximum alert. Activate all formations and activate the Sithe disc.” The three clan leaders send orders to their clans. Their first goal was to protect and ensure the safety of their clans. If their clans were doomed, their own survival wouldn’t matter. After having undergone the Ritual Sacrificium they were no longer real ‘cultivators’ and were unable to have any progeny of their own. Thus, if the other members of the clan all perished it would represent the true and final destruction of their lineage… and once they reached their lifespan limits they would die as well.

Thus, the protection of the clan superseded everything.

“What’s going on?”

“All clan-protecting formations have been activated? Even the Sithe disc is being activated? I’ve never heard of the clan entering such a state of readiness.”

“Is the Daolord Darknorth who just challenged our three great clans truly that powerful?”

All three clans were thrown into a state of confusion, with the elites and high-level members of the clans feeling rather stunned. This was definitely the highest possible level of vigilance the three clans had ever activated!

……

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!! A total of elven figures shot through the skies, with the three silver men at the head. Behind them were a series of Emperor-class golems that all looked different, including the mist golem, fire golem, and lightning golem which had attacked Ning earlier. These eight Emperor-class golems were all of the invulnerable golems which the three great clans possessed.

“Daolord Darknorth’s sword-arts are inscrutable and mysterious, and he’s skilled at capturing golems. However, this time we’ve only brought golems with invulnerable forms with us; he won’t have a chance to capture them at all,” the skinny silver man said with a cold smile. “Eight Emperor-class golems and the three of us… hmph!”

“He’s going to be absolutely demolished.”

“After undergoing the Ritual Sacrificium, the three of us have become true members of the Sithe race and gained incredible power. Even though we are the lowliest, most ordinary members of the Sithe race, we’re still far beyond these Emperor-class golems in power. Any of us three can fight Daolord Darknorth on equal footing and perhaps even kill him.”

The three silver men were extremely confident in their chances. They had no equals in this world and so they only sparred against each other and the Emperor-class golems. As a result, they knew that any of them would be capable of easily defeating six Emperor-class golems.

They represented the true apex of combat power in this world.

……

The Cranesoar Mountains had long ago been reduced to rubble. The battle between Ning, Ninedust, and the six original Emperor-class golems had completely annihilated the area.

Atop the rubble was a temporal acceleration cabin. Within the cabin, Ning and Ninedust were busy binding the golems while accelerating the flow of time. Binding Emperor-class golems was no easy task, and they had no time to waste. Ning and Ninedust both knew that the next attack from the three great clans would come quite soon, and so they had to immediately work to learn more about the three great clans and thus prepare accordingly.

The three Emperor-class golems were all comparable to supreme Daolords. Fortunately, Ning and Ninedust were both strong enough to bind them by force.

“Success.” Ning was the first to take command over an Emperor-class golem. A look of respect instantly appeared in the green eyes of the six-armed stone golem. “Master.”

“You successfully bound one?” Ninedust turned to glance at Ning. He himself was still busy using all his power to try and bind his.

“Hah! I was faster than you,” Ning grinned, then began to work on the swordsman golem. “I have some questions for you.” Although Ning’s full energy was focused on binding the swordsman golem, this wasn’t too mentally taxing and so he began to question the stone golem. “How strong are the three great clans, exactly? How much hidden power do they have?”

“Master,” the stone golem said respectfully, “All Emperor-class golems had their memories of life prior to joining the three great clans completely wiped! Or to be precise… the previous golem-spirits were eradicated while our souls were slowly nurtured and strengthened by the three great clans. Thus, we don’t know much about their most important secrets. Over the course of countless years, however, we have learned a few things based on our observations.”

“Speak,” Ning urged. These Emperor-class golems had simply been living with the three great clans for far too long; no one in the clans themselves had been alive for as long as they had! Although some of the most important clan secrets would never be divulged, a few traces would inevitably spill out over the course of many years.

“Long, long ago, this world was in a state of chaos before the three great clans had risen,” the stone golem began, “But then three people who referred to themselves as ‘Sithe’ established three mighty clans. They managed to capture one or two Emperor-class golems from a secret place, then wiped out the original golem-spirits…”

“In each generation, the strongest members of the three great clans have always been those three clan leaders. Each time, they start off as normal cultivators, but once they become clan leaders they will be transformed into silver men who will gain inconceivable power,” the stone golem said. “And every so often, the three great clans are able to capture another Emperor-class golem or two from that secret place.”

“Thus… over the course of countless years, every single one of the three great clans has gained a total of at least five Emperor-class golems. Emperor-class golems are what the three great clans usually use to tame their foes! But their greatest power lies in the clan leaders themselves. The clan leaders are all incredibly powerful, and each one of them is on par with you, Master,” the stone golem said.

Ning turned pale when he heard this. “All three of the clan leaders are able to defeat six Emperor-class golems by themselves?”

“Yes!” The stone golem replied, “They often spar against us and so we know how powerful the clan leaders are.”

Ning felt a sense of shock upon hearing this. Judging from the sound of things, the three clan leaders were what truly gave the three clans power! The successive generations of clan leaders would occasionally enter that mysterious place to capture a few Emperor-class golems, allowing them to build up quite a stockpile over the course of many years.

Since this mysterious place held Emperor-class golems within it, Ning suspected that it probably held the secrets of the Sithe within it.

“And where is this secret place?” Ning asked.

“I don’t know. Although we were all captured from that place, our original golem-spirits were all wiped out,” the stone golem said.

Ning nodded slowly. They really were being quite careful, wanting to ensure that no information leaked out.

Time continued to pass, one minute at a time. Ninedust managed to bind the eight-armed golem as well, while Ning completed the binding of the swordsman golem. The information they gained from these two golems was essentially the same.

Whoosh. Ning put away the temporal acceleration cabin. He stood next to Ninedust, the three Emperor-class golems behind them.

“Here they come.” Ning stared towards the distant skies, where eleven streaks of light were flying towards them. Leading the group was indeed a trio of silver men.

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Chapter 17 – The Silver Men

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 17 – The Silver Men

The three silver men all had very distinct auras. They weren’t like actual living beings; rather, they seemed almost like golems. Their entire bodies were composed of silver, and Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel as though he was looking at that onyx humanoid creature he had encountered in that cave within the Terror Starsea! That onyx humanoid had been 540,000 meters tall and pitch-black in color, and it had a giant hole in its chest which Ning and Ninedust had flown out of.

“These three silver men make me think of that onyx humanoid we encountered previously,” Ning mused. “However, there’s an enormous difference in the aura of power. The onyx humanoid had been able to slay a Hegemon on the spot and critically injure a second one, causing the second one to die later on. It was far, far more powerful than these silver men.”

“Darknorth.” The nearby Ninedust had a solemn look on his face as well as he sent mentally, “Those three silver men remind me of that black creature we found in the cave.”

“Yes, they are quite similar,” Ning sent back. “It seems these three clans truly do have a deep connection to the Sithe.”

“They should be significantly more powerful than us. What should we do?” Ninedust asked.

“Let’s follow the first plan for now,” Ning said.

Boom! His awesome heartforce projection came crashing down, bringing with it its illusory mountains, rivers, and the dazzling sword mountain in the center! The giant heartworld projection pressed down furiously against the three silver men and the eight Emperor-class golems, causing the eight golems to instantly slow down. The three silver men, however, were still able to move at a hundred times the speed of light.

“The three of them weren’t slowed down at all by the pressure of my heartworld projection?” Ning was secretly shocked. “Then take this as well!” Ning willed nine energy dragons to come thundering out of his body, coiling around each other.

In truth, Ninedust’s Ripplewater art was incredibly powerful as well, especially now that Ninedust had reached an even higher level of expertise. Given his mastery of the Dao of Water, his Ripplewater art was on the same level as Ning’s nine novessence arts. However, there was no way for him to ‘fold’ it over Ning’s arts; if they tried, they would interfere with each other.

Boom! The nine energy dragons swept outwards. The three silver men could feel the pressure, but they were still able to maintain a speed of a hundred times the speed of light. The eight Emperor-class golems behind them, however, slowed down dramatically. They were now able to move at less than fifty times the speed of light; just flying through the skies was quite difficult for them.

“The eight of you should join forces,” the silver man who was the leader of the Fumo clan said.

“Acknowledged.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Acknowledged.” The eight Emperor-class golems were looking rather bedraggled, but they immediately transformed into streaks of energy that formed a five-colored rope and a tri-colored rope! For five Emperor-class golems to work together perfectly was the apex of coordination possible for them. The five-colored rope was extremely powerful in particular. Still, with the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts weighing down on the two ropes, they still flew quite slowly. They held back the entire squad as a result.

“Are the three of you sure that you wish to take on such a dangerous task? I don’t want you to be taken away right after I spent all that effort binding you,” Ning sent mentally to the three Emperor-class golems behind him.

“Don’t worry, Master. We can hold on,” the swordsman golem said.

“Ninedust, if the situation looks grim you should immediately take the three away. Emperor-class golems aren’t easily acquired, after all,” Ning said.

“Leave it to me.” Ninedust nodded.

Ning immediately manifested three heads and six arms. Six Northbow swords in hand, he immediately disappeared without a trace.

……

The three silver men flying through the skies were shocked by this.

“He suddenly vanished?”

“Daolord Darknorth just vanished.” The three of them discovered, to their amazement, that they couldn’t find any trace of Ning at all.

Ning was able to use his Shadowless evasion art to its full potential within the domain of his heartworld projection and his nine novessence arts.

“Careful. This Daolord Darknorth is even more powerful than we expected. He didn’t use this strange evasion art earlier,” the muscular silver man sent mentally in a serious voice. The other two clan leaders grew cautious as well. Although they remained extremely confident in their abilities, the fact that they couldn’t find any trace of Ning caused them to feel a headache oncoming.

“Hurry over here. Let’s force him to reveal himself,” the silver-haired man sent mentally to the eight Emperor-class golems.

“Acknowledged.” Whoosh! Instantly, the five-colored rope began to expand dramatically in size. Much like how Ninedust was able to transform into a sea-sized wave, the five-colored rope was able to transform into a five-colored ocean. With expanded size came lessened power, but only by covering enough of the surrounding area would they be able to force Daolord Darknorth to reveal himself.

Rumble… the five-colored sea furiously spread outwards to cover a million, ten million, a hundred million kilometers. It continuously expanded, quickly covering the area around the three silver men.

“Hmph.” A cold snort rang out as a white-robed youth showed himself. He had three heads, six arms, and wielded six Northbow swords in his hands. His figure looked like a sword as he used the Blood Drop evasion art, tearing through the five-colored ocean as he shot towards the nearest silver man, the skinny one.

“Right on cue.” The silver man revealed an excited look as he readied the silver spikes in his two hands.

Swish! Swish! The spikes released ear-piercing screeches as they stabbed towards Ning in an almost dreamlike manner.

“Sithe, eh?” Ning was filled with the intent to do battle. His six Northbow swords transformed into six streaks of mist-formed sword energy as he began to launch a furious assault against the silver men.

Clank! The mist-formed sword clashed directly against the sharp spike, the terrifying collision generating rippling shockwaves that could be seen with the naked eye and which spread out in every direction. A giant crater was blasted into the land beneath it, while the few remaining parts of the Cranesoar Mountains were smashed into dust by the shockwave.

As for the distant Tianello and Maji, they and the other cultivators who were watching were completely stunned.

“Utterly terrifying.”

“This is t-t-terrif… is this the true power of the three great clans? So they had forces even more powerful than those Emperor-class golems!”

“Is this the power of the one named Daolord Darknorth?”

All of them felt stunned. They had already been amazed by how Ning had been able to defeat the six Emperor-class golems by himself, but that extended battle had only resulted in the partial destruction of the Cranesoar Mountains. In this battle between Ning and the three clan leaders, however, the very first exchange of blows had already completely destroyed what remained of the mountains. Even the ground around the mountain had begun to crack into a spiderweb of crevices!

This show of force was enough to terrify anyone. Even Daolords of the Fourth Step who dared to move in closer would be instantly annihilated.

……

In truth, others on this world aside from Tianello and Maji were paying attention to this battle! Ning’s direct challenge to the three great clans had drawn quite a bit of attention, especially after he had defeated the first six Emperor-class golems that had been sent against him. This had stunned every clan in the world, causing all of them to hasten to the mountains and watch what would happen next.

“So this is the true power of the three great clans!” The other six ‘great clans’ and the weaker clans were all stunned as they watched from afar. They felt completely breathless. There was no way at all for them to fight back against the overwhelming power of the three great clans.

In their heart of hearts, many of they had dreamed of one day defeating the three great clans and becoming the rulers of this world… but now, they felt a sense of complete powerlessness. The difference in power was simply too vast!

“That Daolord Darknorth is ridiculously strong as well.” They were amazed by the power of the three great clans, but they were also stunned by the strength of Daolord Darknorth. Daolord Darknorth was so strong that he was able to easily annihilate any of the clans in this world, aside from the three principal clans.

……

Ning and the skinny silver man began to furiously battle against each other, and the terrifying shockwaves generated by their blows blasted out in every direction.

“What incredible power… but what a low level of insight!” Ning and the skinny silver man exchanged over a hundred blows in that brief instant but only fought to a standstill.

In strength alone, Ning’s opponent was actually quite a bit stronger than him; Ning was only able to match him through usage of the Heavenbreaker stance. In terms of speed, the silver man moved at a hundred times the speed of light! Even with Ning’s nine novessence arts and heartworld projection active, the silver man was still able to maintain this speed. This was because the man was simply too powerful; he was completely capable of resisting the pressure and maintaining this level of speed.

However… the silver man’s level of insight into the Dao was just too low! Ning felt that it was perhaps weaker than that of many second-tier Daolords. It was perhaps just barely on par with the likes of Patriarch Clearwind!

It must be understood that for cultivators who made it into the higher ranks, their power generally stemmed from their mastery of the Dao. Ning had an incredibly high level of insight into the Dao, the [Heartsword] art, and the Northbow swords… that was why he possessed such power! The silver men had a much lower level of insight into the Dao, but they were much like golems; their speed and strength were incredible, allowing them to fight Ning to a standstill.

“He has an overwhelming amount of power but is only able to put a fraction of it to good use. If I had such speed and strength, I’d be able to take down ten of them.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. “No wonder those three Emperor-class golems we just bound said that so long as Ninedust helps them out while they are working together, they won’t be captured.

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Chapter 18 – All Abilities Unleashed

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 18 – All Abilities Unleashed

Ji Ning had been able to easily capture the Emperor-class golems because he had a high level of insight into the Dao. His Shadowless stance was completely unpredictable, while his Blood Drop stance was incredibly fast, making it hard for the golems to defend against them.

As for the silver men? Although they were strong and fast, their strikes were too direct and clumsy! Although these clumsy strikes were very forceful, it wasn’t too hard to block them; at most, you would be knocked flying from the power. In a one-on-one fight, they might be able to capture an Emperor-class golem, but all three of them were working together and were being assisted by Ninedust and Ning. It was highly unlikely that any of them would be recaptured.

“I’m clearly stronger than him, but I’m unable to dominate him.” The skinny silver man sent mentally, “Hurry over here. Surround him and kill him.”

“Coming.”

“Let’s go.” The other two silver men charged forwards as well.

Surrounded by the five-colored sea of energy, Ning was weakened and only able to unleash 80% of his full power! Despite that, his high level of insight into the Dao allowed him to fight the skinny silver man to a standstill.

“Attack!” The muscular silver man wielded two silver warhammers while the silver-haired man wielded a pair of long silver sabers. All three of the silver men began to surround and furiously attack Ning.

“Die.”

“Die!”

“He’s dead meat.” The three silver men were brimming with killing intent. At the same time, the tri-colored rope snaked over towards Ning as well. However, the three Emperor-class golems and Ninedust immediately transformed into streaks of light that shot towards the tri-colored ropes.

“Your opponent is us!” Ninedust transformed into a vast wave that wrapped itself around the tri-colored rope, while the three Emperor-class golems launched repeated attacks that caused the tri-colored rope to break apart, reform, and break apart again repeatedly.

……

The tri-colored rope had been tied down by Ninedust and the three Emperor-class golems.

The five-colored rope had transformed into a five-color sea that was weakening Ning.

The three silver men were attacking Ning at the same time.

This was an utterly apocalyptic battle! Massive shockwaves blasted the surrounding area repeatedly. The nearby mountains had long ago been annihilated, while the earth itself had caved in. The other six great clans and the standard clans who were watching from afar were in a state of shock. This was a battle that engendered both admiration and despair in their hearts. They weren’t even close to being able to fight against foes like this.

“Ahaha! You are too weak. You clearly possess tremendous power, but you are only able to put a fraction of it to good use.” Ning was in his three-headed, six-armed form as he fought against the three by himself, but he wasn’t at any disadvantage at all.

“How can this be?”

“How is this possible? Why can’t we even suppress or dominate him?”

“How can he be this strong?” The three silver men were all stunned. Just one of them was enough to fight Ning to a standstill… so why was it that all three of them working together were only achieving the same effect?!

This was because when Ning was fighting against the six Emperor-class golems and the skinny silver man, his strategy was to fight them head-on and meet them attack for attack! Now that three silver men were fighting him at the same time, Ning primarily relied on his defensive sword-arts and only launched the occasional attack. His Soleheart stance and his Yin-Yang stance were simply too powerful, especially after the Northbow swords had absorbed all of that frozen ninesong pith. His defensive sword-arts had reached an incredible level of prowess.

Ning’s defensive sword-arts were so perfect that he would be able to hold out against anything save for an utterly overwhelmingly superior level of power. Given how clumsy these silver men’s attacks were and how low a level of insight into the Dao they had, Ning found it very easy to defend against them.

“Forget about three; I’d probably be able to defend against six of these silver men,” Ning mused.

“Take rope form and bind him!” the muscular silver Fumo clan leader sent mentally to the five-colored sea. Instantly, the five-colored sea began to rapidly shrink in size. It once more transformed into the five-colored rope and coiled towards Ning.

“Rope?” Ning immediately moved. Whoosh! The five-colored rope was only able to move at less than fifty times the speed of light due to the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts, while Ning was able to move much faster. He was able to effortlessly dodge the five-colored rope and immediately used his Shadowless evasion art to disappear without a trace.

“Damn.”

“Once our golems take rope form and shrink in size, Daolord Darknorth is able to easily avoid it.” The three silver men were beginning to grow anxious. Ning was no fool; he wasn’t just going to stand there like an idiot and allow the five-colored rope to bind him. The reason why he had done so against the tri-colored rope in his first battle against the six golems was because he was so completely sure in his chances that he didn’t even want to bother with dodging, instead choosing to exchange attacks. Now, however, Ning didn’t dare to act with such arrogance.

“Golems, maintain a size of ten million kilometers,” the silver-haired man was forced to order.

……

At a size of ten million kilometers, the combined attacks of the three silver men ensured that there was nowhere for Ning to run. This size was enough to keep Ning at just 70% of his maximum power.

“There’s just nothing we can do to him.” The three silver men furiously assaulted Ning, but even at 70% power Ning’s defenses were airtight, even though he was now forced to completely focus on defense and was only able to launch the occasional attack.

Even if another silver man came, Ning would still be able to hold on.

“Nonti clan leader and Juwah clan leader, the three of us have done everything we can. This Daolord Darknorth’s defensive sword-arts are even more formidable than his offensive sword-arts. There is nothing we can do to him,” the muscular silver man sent mentally. “The three of us and these golems are completely unable to kill him. There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Yes, we’re out of other options.”

“I really didn’t want to do this… but we’ll have to use it.”

The three silver men exchanged a glance. This Daolord Darknorth was the most dangerous disaster to ever befall their three great clans! All three of them were on par with him, but even working together with the assistance of the five-colored rope they were still unable to do anything to him. Their failure to kill him was already shaking their control over this world. They absolutely could not permit this to continue.

“Die.” The muscular silver man produced a deep-blue oval treasure that was covered with layers of wriggling runes.

“Daolord Darknorth, you should feel proud to die to this Sithe treasure.” The skinny silver man produced an ancient banner that was blood-red and covered with a strange, evil-looking beast diagram.

“Die.” The silver-haired man took out a black bottle.

Ning immediately felt a sense of danger. “Not good. Come forth!” Ning produced a snow-white lotus flower in his hands. The lotus instantly bloomed, with Ning standing at the very center. The layers of lotus leaves which appeared around Ning began to swivel, while Ning was within the bud at the very center which was completely covered by the first layer of petals. Ning was able to see through the semi-translucent petals and sense what was happening outside.

It must be remembered that Ning and Ninedust had acquired Winesage’s vast hoard of treasures as well as the treasures owned by Timedream, Kingfreak, and numerous second-tier Daolords. Some of the weaker ones that weren’t very useful, he had left behind for the Three Realms or to Su Youji and the others, but the useful ones he had kept on him. This one was one of the three most supreme defensive treasures in Ning’s possession.

Screeeech! The layers of wriggly runes on the deep blue oval disc in the hands of the muscular silver man suddenly began to light up, emanating an ear-piercing screech as they did so. At the same time, a light blue sonic wave burst forth from the treasure and shot towards Ning.

The light blue sonic wave easily pierced straight through the snow-white lotus; the lotus wasn’t able to defend against it at all. Ning struck out with his sword, but it didn’t make any contact with the sonic wave at all.

Rumble…

The sound dove into his body, smashing straight against Ning’s soul and truesoul. Ning’s truesoul and soul were protected by the azureflower mist energy; although both trembled slightly, they didn’t suffer any harm at all and managed to endure the hit head-on.

“What a strange attack. It struck at the soul and truesoul?” Ning was secretly stunned. He stared intently at his foes.

Whooosh. The attacks from the other two silver men arrived as well. The black bottle had already shattered, a black flame erupting from it which quickly ‘glued’ itself over the snow-white lotus flower. Hissing crackles could be heard as the snow-white flower immediately began to tremble, but then the lotus began to swivel once more. Although the black fire which had been ‘pasted’ on the petals were enough to cause them to tremble, the other petals helped spread the pressure and thus the flower withstood the attack.

Finally, the power of the black flames was completely used up. The snow-white lotus flower had dimmed considerably as well and was rather wobbly.

The strange beast depicted on the ancient blood banner suddenly let out a furious bellow. Boom! A blood-red beast came flying out from the banner, which evaporated in its wake. The blood-red beast’s eyes gleamed with brutal, murderous red light. It seemed to represent the incarnation of slaughter itself as it charged straight towards the snow-white lotus.

Boom! The snow-white lotus continued to swivel as it strove to hold on, but in the end it was still broken apart. After shattering the lotus, the blood-red beast charged straight towards Ning.

“Hmph.” Ning no longer sensed much danger, and so he struck out with his sword to defend. Boom! A terrifying explosion rang out.

The blood-red beast repeatedly struck out with its sharp claws while Ning used his swords to defend. In the end, Ning was able to survive thanks to his powerful defensive sword-arts, with the Hegemon armor also having helped him endure the many blows.

“AWOOO!” The blood-red beast grew dimmer and dimmer, first turning an ordinary red, then turning pink. Finally, it unhappily raised its head to let out a resentful howl before completely vanishing.

Ning landed on the ground, a hint of blood on the corner of his lips. He glanced at the three silver men in the distance, looks of shock on their faces.

“Come, let’s do that again,” Ning growled. “Let’s see if you have more treasures or if I have more treasures.” As Ning spoke he waved his hand and caused one treasure after another to appear in front of him, not suppressing their auras in the slightest.

“B-but…” The three silver men exchanged glances. They weren’t able to beat Darknorth in a straight fight. Now, it seemed as though Daolord Darknorth had quite a few treasures of his own. Every single treasure they possessed had been laboriously acquired from that secret place and had been left behind by the Sithe. There were very few of them, and each one they used up represented a permanent loss.

“What should we do?” The three silver men felt rather lost. They suddenly realized that there was nothing at all they could do to this Daolord Darknorth.

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Chapter 19 – Darknorth Palace

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 19 – Darknorth Palace

“Haha, treasures? We brothers have plenty of’m!” Ninedust had transformed into a vast wave, but he now manifested his upper body and sent out one powerful treasure after another to appear in front of him. The Daolords of this world didn’t have that many treasures, but Ninedust and Ji Ning came from the Endless Territories. As a result, they had quite a few.

“What?!” The three silver men saw the many treasures hovering in front of the distant Ninedust and could sense the terrifying ripples of power emanating from them.

“Even the weaker Daolord has that many treasures on him?”

“Where the hell did they find so many treasures? Isn’t the secret location accessible to our three clans alone? We’ve completely searched through every corner of this entire world; the only place with many treasures secreted within it is that secret place. The other places shouldn’t have that many treasures. Where did these two Daolords find so many?”

The three silver men were extremely anxious. They exchanged glances at each other. “Fall back for now,” the muscular silver man commanded. Whoosh. Whoosh. The five-colored rope and the tri-colored rope began to retreat, moving towards the three silver men.

Ninedust and the three golems flew towards Ning. The two sides stared at each other from afar.

“If you want to fight, let’s fight,” Ninedust called out loudly. “What’s the point of just standing there blankly? It’s gonna be a war of attrition via treasures, right? Come on! You use one, I use one… let’s see who has more. I want to see if you end up dead or if we end up dead!”

“Damn.” The three silver men were absolutely enraged. They were exalted figures who were the absolute rulers over this world. They have never been challenged and mocked like this before! They were enraged, but after this battle they realized that there was nothing they could do in battle to this Daolord Darknorth. His defenses were incredibly tough and airtight, giving them no chance to win at all; if they wanted to win, they would have to use the treasures the Sithe had left behind. Unfortunately, they had extremely few of those treasures! Their treasures possessed great power… but it seemed as though these two Daolords also had quite a few treasures of similar power.

“If we really do compete against them in treasures, once we clean out their stockpile we might be able to kill… but what if we’re the ones who are cleaned out instead? What should we do?” the skinny silver man sent mentally.

“If we use up all the treasures, we won’t be able to pose any threat to Daolord Darknorth at all.” The silver-haired man sent back mentally, “By then, he’ll have nothing to fear at all and will become even more of a problem.”

“Agreed.”

The many treasures they had accumulated were the final cards they had to play. They weren’t willing to use them all up. If they did, they might win… but they might also lose! They weren’t willing to accept what losing would entail.

“Daolord Darknorth… let’s just wait and see who has the last laugh.” The muscular silver man let out a cold snort. “Let’s go.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The three silver men led the eight Emperor-class golems soaring through the skies as they departed.

Ning watched from afar as they left, a hint of a smile playing around his lips.

“Darknorth, what should we do next?” Ninedust began to worry. “They are more powerful than us, after all. Your sword-arts are defensively strong enough to ensure they can’t do anything to us, but we can’t do anything to them either. If this stalemate continues, there’s no way we’ll be able to find the treasures hidden within this Stone Hellephant Wall.”

Ning nodded. The reason why they were fighting and risking their lives was to gain the treasures of the Sithe! Just from the Emperor-class golems and the three silver men alone, both Ning and Ninedust felt absolutely certain that there was definitely a Sithe treasure trove here!

“Let’s establish ourselves in this world first,” Ning said. “Then we’ll search for that secret place.”

“That’s our only choice.” Ninedust nodded.

“Arise.” Ning turned to glance at the land behind him. The Cranesoar Mountains had been leveled long ago, but with but a thought Ning caused his heartworld projection to descend, using it to take control over the local earth and stones to establish a new, towering mountain that was ten thousand kilometers tall. At the very peak of the mountain, a top-grade Eternal estate descended in the form of an Immortal’s palace. At the very top of the palace gates, two characters could be seen: ‘DARK’ ‘NORTH’!

“I, Daolord Darknorth, on this day do establish the Darknorth Palace here. I do not seek hegemony; I only seek to cultivate the Dao. Those who stand in the way of my Dao shall end up like the mountains and rivers around the three great clans… destroyed!” Ning flew towards the entrance of the Darknorth Palace, sending his voice out to fill every single inch of this entire world. At the same time, he enveloped the entire planet with his heartworld projection, sending it smashing downwards towards the three great clans.

The three great clans were protected by layers of formations and barriers, but the surrounding mountains and rivers were instantly annihilated by the tremendous force of Ning’s heartworld projection, strong enough to slay even Daolords of the Fourth Step with ease. The area around the three great clans was instantly obliterated and rendered incredibly unsightly.

Everyone in the world from ordinary mortals to the three great clans all heard his voice.

“H-he actually dares to trample over our…” the silver-haired silver man’s face was ugly to behold.

“Damn him. Damn him!” The skinny silver man was enraged as well.

Ning was trampling over the three great clan’s dignity, so as to establish his own power. This was a way for him to show that the Darknorth Palace didn’t give a damn about the three great clans at all!

“He claims that he doesn’t seek hegemony and only seeks to cultivate the Dao?” The muscular silver man sent puzzledly to the others, “If he only seeks to cultivate the Dao, why has he chosen to challenge our clans?”

“I think his true goal lies with that secret place of ours,” the skinny silver man said with a cold smile.

“Yes, that has to be it.” The silver-haired man’s voice was equally cold. The secret place was what the three great clans relied upon and was for their use only. There was no way any other cultivators would be permitted to so much as find it. As they saw it, given how Daolord Darknorth already stood at the very apex of power in this world and had nothing to fear, he definitely was coveting their secret place.

……

Ning’s voice echoed throughout this entire world, with even mortal children able to hear it clearly. Everyone knew that this ‘Daolord Darknorth’ was incredibly powerful and had established a place known as the Darknorth Palace. He didn’t even hold the three great clans in any regard at all.

“I can’t believe this was the end result of it all.”

“The three great clans are transcendent, supreme entities that have governed this world since time immemorial. The three clan leaders in particular are unfathomably powerful; supposedly, they are far more terrifying than even Emperor-class golems. They can cause hurricanes with a flick of their fingers that can annihilate even Daolords of the Fourth Step… but they actually weren’t able to do anything to this Daolord Darknorth.”

“He established Darknorth Palace… that means our world is no longer completely under the control of the three great clans.”

“The heavens themselves are changing before our very eyes!”

……

The many clans in this world all understood exactly what was happening… and just as they expected, the rise of Darknorth Palace really did symbolize that there were now two supreme powers within this world! This was now a bipolar world. On one side were the three great clans; on the other, Darknorth Palace.

The advantage of the three great clans lay in the fact that they had extremely deep resources and tremendous power. Darknorth Palace, however, had an advantage in that Ning’s heartworld projection was able to instantly encompass this entire planet… in other words, if he wanted to attack, he had the power to annihilate everything outside the headquarters of the three great clans!

This power of absolute, instantly annihilation caused quite a few clans to fear Darknorth Palace even more. Some particularly ambitious clans chose to make a rather risky bet… they chose to submit to the rule of Darknorth Palace. Ning didn’t refuse any comers.

“Haha, leave these matters to me. I used to command the Ninedust Sect; organizing and commanding these minor clans is simplicity itself.” Ninedust was quite eager to take on this task. “If we can’t find the secret place ourselves, we might be able to learn some information about it from these clans.”

……

Under Ninedust’s leadership and with more and more clans joining their ranks, Darknorth Palace began to grow in power at an exponential rate. This was quite a troubling matter for the three great clans.

“We have no choice but to bear it for now. Those weaker clans are nothing; if and when we choose to attack, we can wipe them out with ease. Our greatest foe remains Daolord Darknorth.” The three clan leaders forebore from taking action.

“From this day forth, once our clans enter the secret place we need to spare no expense in finding a treasure that can be used against Daolord Darknorth.”

……

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, two thousand years passed after Ning had established Darknorth Palace in this world. He had continuously searched for the secret place this entire time, while Ninedust had coordinated the many clans under the banner of Darknorth Palace to do the same.

Nightfall. A cold wind was howling through the skies. Ning was seated atop a dais within Darknorth Palace, staring at the vast world before him as he trained in the [Heartsword] art.

“Palace Lord, the Hallmaster of the First Southern Hall has something important to report,” an attendant said respectfully.

“Something important?” Ning opened his eyes.

In recent years, Ninedust had divided Darknorth Palace up into many different branches, with the First Southern Hall being one of them.

“Have him come see me,” Ning instructed.

“Yes, Palace Lord.” The attendant immediately left.

A short while later, a black-armored man walked in, then fell to his knees and said respectfully, “Your subordinate greets you, Palace Lord.”

“You may rise. Speak. What is it?” Ning asked.

The black-armored man rose to his feet, a hint of eagerness in his eyes as he looked at Ning. It was Palace Lord Darknorth who was able to ensure that the three great clans were helpless against them, after all.

“Your subordinate has come into possession of certain information… and I think there is at least an 80% chance that it has to do with that secret place,” the black-armored man said respectfully.

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Chapter 20 – The Secret Place

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 20 – The Secret Place

“An 80% chance?” Ji Ning stared at the black-armored man. For a subordinate to dare claim an 80% chance of being correct meant that he was almost virtually certain; he had to factor in a bit of modesty, after all. “Go ahead and tell me.”

“Palace Lord, please take a look.” The black-armored man produced a scroll in his hands which he offered respectfully to Ning. Ning waved his hand, causing the scroll to fly over towards him.

Ning unfurled the scroll, which was covered with dense clusters of tiny characters. These were the last words of a free-spirited Daolord whose lifespan was coming to an end. It included some of his supreme legacies as well as the secrets he knew about.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened. “This Daolord actually entered the borders of a mysterious place by accident. He was almost discovered but thankfully was lucky enough to escape detection… and that place had an incredibly powerful garrison stationed there?” Ning nodded. This information the deceased Daolord had written down almost certainly referred to the secret place Ning was searching for! Aside from the three great clans, there were no other forces capable of stationing such a tremendously powerful garrison.

“So it is in a standalone dimension. No wonder my heartworld projection filled every inch of this planet but still was unable to find it.” Ning revealed a trace of a smile. He had finally found it. After two thousand years here on this planet, he had finally found information regarding the secret location.

It made sense. No matter how careful the three great clans were, a few traces would eventually slip through over the course of countless years.

“Excellent.” Ning looked at the black-armored man, then smiled. “You’ve done quite well, and I certainly need to reward you for your great accomplishment.” As Ning spoke, he waved a finger, sending a stream of light into the black-armored man’s body. The black-armored man instantly felt his sea of consciousness tremble as an enormous amount of information began to flood into him.

Ning had taken many precious items away from Sectlord Timedream and the other Daolords, including good cultivation techniques. He casually chose a decent one which would guide this man to becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step.

Once the black-armored man came back to his senses, he was so excited he immediately fell to his knees. “Thank you, Palace Lord.”

The three great clans were so exalted precisely because they maintained an extremely strict level of control over their cultivation techniques. Lesser clans would never have access to the knowledge of the ancestors, and so they were forced to train blindly. This made becoming a Daolord extremely difficult, much less one capable of reaching the fourth step.

Now that he had this technique from Ning, not only would he become a Daolord, even his other clansmen would stand a good chance at it.

“Go,” Ning instructed. When searching for information regarding the secret place, these subordinates had sworn lifeblood oaths in advance that they were only able to divulge this information to their superiors and not to any outsiders at all.

“Ninedust.” Ning sat there atop the dais, staring into the dark night sky as he sent a mental message to Ninedust.

Whoosh. A figure manifested next to him. It was the Ninedust Sectlord. Ninedust said with some surprise, “It’s past midnight. Why did you suddenly call for me? Want to grab a drink?”

“Take a look at this.” Ning tossed the scroll to him.

Ninedust accepted it and gave it a read. A look of delight instantly appeared on his face. “Haha, we brothers have finally found this so-called ‘secret place’! But from the looks of it, the three great clans guard it very tightly.”

“The Daolord who wrote down this scroll only entered the outermost border regions by accident,” Ning said. “I believe that the three great clans must have set up layers of protective mechanisms and defenses; there’s no way an outsider would be able to easily penetrate it.”

“Agreed.” Ninedust nodded. The secret place was most likely what allowed the three great clans to rise to prominence!

“I’m planning to head out tonight to inspect this location,” Ning said. “I’ll used the Shadowless evasion art and avoid discovery as best as I can! As for you, if you wish to join me you’ll have to enter my estate-world treasure for now.”

“Of course I’m going with you. The entire reason why I’m in this world is because I’m interested in the Sithe’s local treasury,” Ninedust said hurriedly. “Those three clan leaders are at a lower level of insight than me, but they are incredibly strong in battle and have all those Emperor-class golems… how could I give up a chance to acquire such a fortune?”

“Haha, I knew you’d come. Let’s go.” As Ning spoke, he sent mental messages to his four highest-ranking subordinates to temporarily take control over Darknorth Palace.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Ning and Ninedust quietly slipped away from Darknorth Palace that very night.

……

Ning had scanned this world many times with his heartworld projection, and so he knew its geography very well! Now that he had that scroll, Ning was able to guess as to approximately where this place was located.

In the end, this planet was still a few billion kilometers in diameter. If Ning had been forced to search through every inch of it, ten million years wouldn’t have been enough. This place was something which even a heartworld projection was unable to discover… even if he was just a meter away from it, he probably wouldn’t be able to recognize it for what it was.

“There’s a tree roughly nine meters thick. Once you touch it, you’ll immediately be able to enter that secret place.” After pulling Ninedust into his estate-world, Ning immediately activated the Shadowless evasion art.

Whoosh. Ning silently and soundless arrived in the rough location mentioned by the Daolord. He quickly eliminated the more slender trees from consideration. He was looking for something at least nine meters thick… as Ning saw it, this so called tree which held the secret location within it probably wasn’t an actual tree, just something disguised as one. It probably would never change in appearance.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Ning silently reached out to tap one tree after the other. His fingers were very gentle, ensuring that he generated no sound at all. He ended up spending two full days within the general region.

Tap. Ning casually tepped on the trunk of yet another large and leafy green tree in front of him… but his finger went straight through it. A sucking power was suddenly applied to his entire body as well. Ning was overjoyed and didn’t seek to resist, allowing himself to be drawn inside of the great tree.

Space twisted and turned around him. He was surrounded by emptiness, with only a giant towering mountain in front of him. Ning had appeared at the base of the mountain.

“Eh?” Ning kept the Shadowless evasion art active as he carefully scanned his surroundings. “This massive mountain is actually hanging in empty space… was this done by the Sithe?” He was able to vaguely gaze through the void around him and see the forest outside. Clearly, outsiders weren’t able to discover this place but those inside were able to see who was outside at any time. In fact, just a single step was needed to leave this place and return to the forest in the outside world.

“Hmph. The garrison stationed here really is powerful.” Ning immediately saw an garrison stationed roughly a thousand kilometers away from him. This garrison had two Emperor-class golems, six Samsara Daolords, and a very large number of World-level cultivators. There was also a giant cave entrance halfway up the mountain which led deep into its heart.

The mountain cave was dark and unfathomably deep, and it was covered by layers of ancient formations that glowed with hazy light. When Ning saw the barriers, he felt a vague sense of danger from them.

“These barriers are meant to prevent people from going inside the mountain,” Ning mused “Most likely, the Sithe treasury is located within it.”

“The barriers protecting the three great clans were already quite strong. There’s no way this place isn’t just as well protected. I probably won’t be able to force my way through the barriers.” Ning knew this to be true; logically speaking, he shouldn’t be able to breach the barriers. The vague sense of danger he sensed from the barriers had already testified to that.

Forcing his way through wouldn’t work. It seemed that the only option was to play a few tricks.

“Eh?” Ning turned, his gaze falling upon an enormous tower-shaped formation next to the garrison. At his current level power, he was able to recognize it right away. “A spacetime transfer array? It seems so intricate and marvelous.”

“No wonder I kept watch over the three great clans for so many years without discovering how the three great clans entered this place. So this spacetime transfer array is directly linked to the headquarters of the three great clans.” Ning couldn’t help but shake his head. This world was a vast one; the chances of one stumbling upon this particular tree were incredibly low. Even if someone did enter, the garrison stationed here would be able to easily slaughter that person. In the event of failure, the barriers surrounding the mountain cave would prevent any entry.

However… time grinds away at all things. Eventually, there will be a leak. The Daolord who had left that scroll behind had been able to enter through a lucky streak of fortune, and he had immediately left carefully. He had only survived because his luck really was incredible.

“What should we do? How are we supposed to go inside? Going inside by force isn’t an option. It seems we will have no choice but to wait.” Ning stared at the spacetime transfer array, then secretly shook his head. “Yes, just wait.”

Waiting was a clumsy method, but sometimes the simplest methods were quite effective!

……

“Darknorth, did you go inside yet?” Ninedust asked from within the estate-world. A white-robed incarnation of Ning appeared next to him.

“Don’t be impatient. I’ve already entered the secret area, but I’m in the outer regions of it. The entrance leading into the heart of this region has been blocked off by a barrier. It should’ve been the three great clans who set this barrier up; I really doubt I can breach it by force.” Ning shook his head. “Our only choice for now is to wait. Once the Daolords enter the heart of the region, I might be able to come up with a way to sneak through as well.

“They really are quite carefully. They actually set up a formation of barriers inside the secret area’s passageways as well?” Ninedust was speechless.

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Chapter 21 – The Sithe Disk

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 21 – The Sithe Disk

Time continued to flow on. Ji Ning kept the Shadowless evasion art active the entire time and patiently waited outside for more than fifty thousand years. When it came to acquiring a Sithe treasury, he had patience in abundance.

Within the Nonti clan.

Creaaak. A stone door swung open and a grim-faced Daolord of the Third Step walked out from within it.

“Daolord!” The armored soldier outside the door said respectfully, “The clan leader has send orders. All Daolords must immediately head to the ancestral grounds whenever they leave their secluded meditations.”

“Oh?” This Daolord of the Third Step, Daolord Joyquill, narrowed his eyes. “What’s with the urgency? Don’t you normally have to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step before being able to visit the ancestral grounds?”

“Daolord, the clan leader has now changed the rules. Even Daolords of the Second Step are allowed entry,” the armored soldier said hurriedly.

“Even Daolords of the Second Step are allowed in?” Daolord Joyquill was shocked. “How can this be? The ancestral grounds are incredibly dangerous. Success brings great rewards, but the weak will most likely perish. Although some Daolords of the Second Step have succeeded in the past, this is just too dangerous.”

“Daolord, you’ve been in secluded meditation for many years so you don’t know what has happened. Our three great clans have encountered a deadly opponent,” the armored soldier said. “Over fifty thousand years ago, a Daolord named Darknorth suddenly rose to power. His might was unmatched and he challenged our three clans all by himself. The Emperor-class golems we sent out were all defeated, with him capturing three of them. The three clan leaders then led a force of eight golems to attack him, but in the end they still weren’t able to subdue him.”

“What?!” Daolord Joyquill was astonished. “Impossible.”

“Daolord Darknorth then established the Darknorth Palace. By now, he is in control of quite a few clans. He has set himself up in opposition to our three clans!” The armored soldier continued, “The three clan leaders have already sent word that we are to charge deep into the ancestral grounds, regardless of the risk! We need to find as many treasures as we can from the ancestral lands, so that we can deal with Daolord Darknorth.”

……

After gaining a more thorough understanding of what had happened recently, Daolord Joyquill felt even more stunned. He never would’ve imagined that the clan would’ve fallen into such dire straits during this session of secluded meditation.

Rumble… Daolord Joyquill stood there within a spacetime transfer array. He mumbled to himself with a frown as the array started to light up, “Where the hell did this Daolord Darknorth come from? How did he become this powerful?”

Whoosh. Space and time twisted around him. By the time everything was clear, he found himself within the ancestral lands.

“The ancestral lands.” Daolord Joyquill stared at the area around him. Next to him was a great garrison, while outside was the vast emptiness of space. Beyond even that was the great forest in the real world outside.

“Brother Joyquill.”

“Daolord Joyquill, you came as well?” The six Daolords stationed here walked out to welcome him.

“Yes.” Daolord Joyquill nodded. “I received the order right after I left my meditations and so I immediately came here.”

“Ugh. I wonder how Daolord Darknorth trained and how he became so powerful. All of the Daolords of the three great clans are now risking their lives inside.” The six Daolords in charge of the garrison sighed.

“Most of them will probably end up dead soon.”

“How could someone like Daolord Darknorth have suddenly emerged from those other lowly clans?”

They all shook their heads. They had grown accustomed to feeling superior to all others, and they didn’t even hold the other six ‘great clans’ in any regard. As they saw it, all others who were not members of the three great clans were lowly figures. They were the absolute rulers of this world, and they had ruled it fearlessly since time out of mind. How could they not feel enraged at how Daolord Darknorth had suddenly shaken their positions?

However, they could do nothing but sigh and lament at his appearance. The difference in power between them was simply too great; they weren’t capable of doing anything to him at all.

“I’ll head on in,” Daolord Joyquill said.

“Be careful, brother Joyquill.”

“Hopefully, brother Joyquill will reap great rewards from this.” The six Daolords all said a few words of encouragement.

……

Swoosh! A silent figure moved close towards Daolord Joyquill.

“Finally, a new Daolord has arrived. And, from the looks of things, he’s about to enter the inner regions.” Ning watched as Daolord Joyquill moved towards the mountain cave. Ning quickly moved closer to Joyquill, with no one discovering his presence.

“Soulthrall.” By now, even the Kingfreak would be affected by his soul-mesmerizing abilities, to say nothing of a weak Daolord of the Third Step like this. Joyquill was instantly swept into a state of unconsciousness.

While doing this, Ning set up a thirty meter barrier around them which warped and distorted light. If anyone glanced towards them, they would see Daolord Joyquill continuing to walk normally.

“Get in here.” Ning instantly drew Daolord Joyquill into his estate-world. “And… here I go.” Ning appeared out of nowhere, but he now looked just like Daolord Joyquill. No… not just looked alike. Even his soul and truesoul were identical to Joyquill’s.

Ning immediately released the barrier around the surrounding area, then glanced around him before letting out a sigh of relief. The process of setting up the barrier, catching Daolord Joyquill, then replacing him had happened almost instantaneously, but if there was a Daolord specifically keeping a careful watch on this area then it would’ve still been possible for his actions to be noticed. Thankfully, he hadn’t been.

After having put away Daolord Joyquill, Ning immediately released a small amount of his energy into his estate-world to question the man. Alas, Daolord Joyquill had long ago sworn a lifeblood oath regarding this ‘secret place’; even though his soul had been mesmerized, he wasn’t able to say a thing.

Ning questioned Joyquill for quite some time but didn’t gain much from it. “There’s nothing for it.” He had no choice but to grit his teeth and walk forwards! Ning quickly reached the region covered by layers of barriers.

“Brother Joyquill, I’ve already taken control over the Sithe disk. You can come in,” a voice rang out from behind the layers of blue barriers of light.

The ‘Sithe disk’? Ning silently memorized this term. On the surface, he just nodded slightly as he continued forwards. Indeed, the layers of blue light were like curtains of water. Ning was able to easily walk in without the slightest disturbance at all. This barrier-filled region was tens of thousands of kilometers long, but Ning walked incredibly fast and was able to quickly bypass it.

“Daolord Joyquill has arrived.”

“It is Daolord Joyquill.”

The three Daolords in charge of the Sithe disk all laughed. They carefully inspected every person who came in, but they did so primarily through inspection of the truesoul aura. They weren’t worried about Daolord Joyquill secretly bringing anyone else inside, because every single Daolord of the three great clans had long ago sworn lengthy lifeblood oaths. The part of the oath pertaining to the ancestral lands were particularly severe and exacting.

For example, even though Ning had used a soul-mesmerizing technique on the man, he still wasn’t able to learn any secrets regarding this place!

“Daolord Joyquill.” The three seated Daolords looked at him. One of them, an old man with a large beard, called out in a loud voice, “Be careful after you go inside. This place is filled with danger, and many of the golems are filled with enmity towards our clans. All of them are Emperor-class golems; if they manage to ambush you, you’ll be doomed.”

“Thank you.” Ning nodded, many thoughts flashing through his mind. He absolutely had to acquire the Sithe treasury! However, it seemed as though there was only one way inside this mountain… and it had been protected by layers of barriers.

“If I wish to take the treasury for myself, I’ll probably end up revealing myself! They will be able to use these barriers to ensure that I’m unable to leave.” Ning stared at the three Daolords who were controlling the distant Sithe disk. “I won’t feel secure unless and until I get rid of them first.”

“Daolord Songfloat,” Ning said while walking towards the three. As the lord of Darknorth Palace, he held a very high status and thus knew almost all of the Daolords within this world.

“What is it?” The bearded elder smiled as Ning walked towards him, completely unafraid.

Whoosh. Ning cracked a smile as well, sending an invisible wave of power towards them. Instantly, the three seated Daolords felt a wave of pressure come crashing down towards them, causing them to go dizzy. Their bodies slumped to the ground, powerless. Ning instantly moved to stand next to them, grabbing the strange disk which had been rotating around the three. The round disk was a deep brown color and covered with many extremely complex runes.

The ripples emanating from the disk spread out to cover tens of thousands of kilometers. The surrounding formations and barriers all had this Sithe disk as their core.

“Arise.” Ning reached out to take a firm grip over the round disk, clasping his hands around it. Rumble… instantly, the layers of formations and barriers for tens of thousands of kilometers around them began to rumble.

The guards stationed at the garrison outside the cave couldn’t help but turn their heads to look backwards.

“What’s going on?” Some of the Daolords stationed inside the mountain were able to sense the ripple as well.

“Not good.”

“That was the Sithe disk!” The three silver men immediately transformed into streaks of light that shot out from the mountain and charged towards Ning.

Ning had grabbed at the Sithe disk twice without being able to pull it to him. He immediately waved his hand and produced the Northbow sword, executing his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. This was his most penetrating attack, and it was the best attack he had for disrupting formations. Slash! Slash! Slash! It was hard to defeat a formation from the outside, but breaking it through when you were already inside it was much easier.

One streak of mist-formed sword energy after another stabbed into the Sithe disk, causing some of the supportive formations to immediately break apart.

Rumble… Ning finally managed to dislodge the Sithe disk from its orbit, breaking it free from the many mysterious formation-runes that had been binding it. Ning then sent the Northbow sword in his hands to deliver furious chops towards the world around him, destroying all the formations one by one.

“Get in here.” When Ning saw the three silver men fly towards him, he immediately drew the Sithe disk into his estate-world.

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Chapter 22 – Ancestral Proscriptions

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 22 – Ancestral Proscriptions

Only after putting away the Sithe disk did Ji Ning feel marginally at ease. Otherwise, the many barriers it served as the focal point for would’ve been very problematic for him. Even if he did acquire treasures from within the mountain, there would’ve been no way out for him.

“It’s you!”

“Daolord Darknorth!”

“How were you able to disguise yourself as Joyquill? You even managed to emulate his truesoul’s aura!”

The three silver men flew towards Ning. They had been shocked when they saw Daolord Joyquill seize the Sithe disk, but when they saw the Northbow sword appear in Ning’s hand they immediately knew who he was. They certainly wouldn’t believe that Daolord Joyquill had the power to seize a Northbow sword from Daolord Darknorth!

“Haha…” Ning laughed as he transformed back into his own appearance. “You found out too late,” Ning said as he summoned his awe-inspiring heartworld projection to cover both this tunnel as well as the garrison outside. Even the inner depths of the mountain were completely covered by it… and as it descended, the other Daolords of the three great clans were stunned.

“What’s going on?”

“W-w-what’s happening?”

“Is this the legendary ‘heartworld projection’? Could it be Daolord Darknorth?”

“This place is our ancestral grounds, a place hidden from all others and which is protected by the Sithe disk. How could the heartworld projection have invaded it?” They all began to panic.

Ning just frowned slightly. He could sense that although his heartworld projection covered an extremely large region, there was some sort of energy deep within the mountain which was able to resist and block his heartworld projection, making it unable to penetrate any deeper.

“Soulthrall.” A wave of heartforce swept outwards. This was Ning’s soul-hypnosis technique, and it instantly struck all of the Daolords within the range of his heartworld projection. None of them were able to resist it at all! Even the Daolords of the Fourth Step were instantly drawn into a dazed state.

“What are you doing!” The three silver men were shocked and enraged.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Ning looked back at the three silver men. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to kill them. If I wanted to do so, I would’ve been able to easily eradicate them through my heartworld projection alone. I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of putting them under my control instead…”

“You…!” The three silver men were enraged and anxious. The vast majority of the Daolords of their three clans were all located here! There were one or two standing guard over their clan, and a few had ventured so deep into the mountain that they weren’t covered by the heartworld projection. However, Ning had at least thirty-one Samsara Daolords under his control.

“Don’t worry. If you can agree to my requests, I’ll release all of them completely unharmed.” A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes. “But if you refuse, then don’t blame me for what I’ll be forced to do.”

The three great clans viewed themselves as the absolute rulers of this world, believing all other living creatures to be beneath them. They viewed themselves as the ultimate arbiters of life and death for the others. This mentality was pervasive in the three great clans, shared by the clan leaders and clansmen alike. They had always believed this, and after becoming Samsara Daolords they had only become even more fearless and lawless. And in truth, they were indeed the rulers of this world. No one had ever been able to challenge or shake their authority! Only, the descent of Daolord Darknorth upon this world had shaken their status.

“Speak!” the muscular silver man commanded with a growl.

“Speak. Don’t ask for too much,” the silver-haired man said, teeth clenched.

“My conditions are simple,” Ning said. “First, you are not permitted to attack me… but of course, I won’t do anything further to you either. We shall coexist peacefully. Second, you must tell me all the secrets you know pertaining to the Sithe, including everything you know about this mountain. If you agree to both conditions… we still won’t be friends, but at least we won’t be enemies any longer.”

The world of cultivators was a world of slaughter and strife. The three great clans were protected by many formations and barriers; there was no way for Ning to wipe them out at all. Even if he did, the only result would be a different organization would rise to rule over this world.

As a result, Ning couldn’t even be bothered to get into a real war against these people. His ultimate goal was to obtain the Sithe treasury! Once he did, he would immediately leave this place. There really was no need for him to become enemies with these three clan leaders. They were far too strong, after all; he wasn’t able to defeat any of them. Right now, he knew nothing about the depths of this mountain whatsoever. The three great clans, however, had spent countless aeons searching and exploring the place. They definitely knew a great deal about it.

His enemies knew a great deal regarding this mountain, while he knew nothing at all. His enemies were also stronger than him; if they wanted to scheme against him here, he would probably be in a great deal of danger.

……

The three clan leaders exchanged glances as they secretly conversed mentally. Soon, they clenched their teeth and came to a decision.

“That’s a nice little fantasy you you.” The muscular silver man, the clan leader of the Fumo clan, growled out: “Daolord Darknorth, we aren’t able to accept your conditions due to our ancestral proscriptions. Every single member of the clan was long ago forced to swear lifeblood oaths regarding this.”

Ning’s face tightened. Ancestral proscriptions?

“But we’ll make it up to you in other ways.” The Fumo clan leader suppressed his rage as he spoke: “First, as you’ve requested, we agree to live in peace with you. Second, you must leave our ancestral lands. We will never allow anyone who is not a member of our three clans to enter this place. Third, we’ll give you a gift of three Emperor-class golems in compensation. In return, we wish to regain our clansmen.”

“How generous,” Ning said dryly. “Three Emperor-class golems.”

“Our three great clans have only acquired a few of these golems despite having spent countless eras scouring this place. To trade you three golems for the lives of our clansmen is a show of great sincerity,” the skinny silver man, the Juwah clan leader, said in a sharp and shrill voice.

“I agree that you are being quite sincere… but unfortunately, my goal is the Sithe treasury.” Ning shook his head. “Emperor-class golems? I really don’t care too much about them.”

His ultimate goal was a treasure that could intrigue even an Autarch; only then would he have a chance at reviving Yu Wei. He needed treasures on par with Crimsonwave Temple in value. Emperor-class golems weren’t even close! It must be remembered that the two overseers who had stood guard over Crimsonwave Temple were Hegemon-class figures!

“There is no way we’ll permit anyone outside of our three clans to enter the ancestral grounds,” the silver-haired man said in a cold voice.

“Absolutely not.” The muscular silver man’s voice was ice-cold as well. “I strongly recommend that you accept our conditions…”

“So I should go ahead and kill them?” Ning asked.

“Kill them.”

“Go ahead.”

“They are just Daolords; even if all of them died, we’d be able to raise a new generation of them in time.” The three silver men didn’t hesitate at all.

The ancestral grounds served as the foundation for the entire clan. There was an enormous treasury here, and despite having spent countless years scouring the place they had only acquired a fraction of the treasures in the outermost layer. If Daolord Darknorth entered, he might find things that were even better than what they had acquired. He might’ve sworn an oath not to kill them, but his descendants might use those treasures to wipe out the three great clans.

Why were the three great clans so formidable? It was because of the three silver men, right? But the treasury held things that were even more terrifying and powerful than the silver men! If Ning acquired them, he would be able to establish a clan that was even more terrifyingly powerful than theirs.

“So I really should go ahead and kill them?” Ning’s voice was cold as well. Swish! The Daolord who was located closest to the three clan leaders instantly had his truesoul snuffed out. His eyes turned completely blank and dead.

“You-!” The three clan leaders were instantly driven into a state of fury.

“The two of us will hold him back. You go and rescue as many of our clansmen as you can.” The muscular silver man and the skinny silver man howled with rage as they charged towards Ning, while the silver-haired man turned to fly deep into the mountain, seeking to pull away the Daolords.

“Too late.” A flicker of something baleful flashed through Ning’s eyes. If their negotiations had fallen through… then so be it. Let them die. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! One truesoul after another was extinguished by Ning’s [Heartforce Eradicator]. Not a single person was able to withstand this attack.

In the blink of an eye, every single one of the Daolords had perished.

“Daolord Darknorth, you are dead meat!”

“Die, Darknorth! Die!” The two clan leaders went berserk. In the past, they had always been the ones to hold the power of life and death over others. There had never been a situation where so many Daolords of their clans had been instantly annihilated by others.

“Even all three of you working together weren’t able to do anything to me. What’s the point of even trying with two?” Ning manifested three heads and six arms as he drew his six Northbow swords. With his heartworld projection and his nine novessence arts swirling around him, he was able to defend against the attacks of the two clan leaders while moving deeper and deeper into the mountain. Although the two clan leaders managed to slow him down greatly, he was still able to move deeper within.

“Hm. The Nonti clan leader flew out of the range of my heartworld projection?” Ning frowned. His heartworld projection merely covered part of the mountain; deep within the mountain, there was some sort of unknown energy which was able to resist his heartworld projection. The third silver man had flown deeper into the mountain and outside of the range of Ning’s scans.

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Chapter 23 – Another Onyx Humanoid

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 23 – Another Onyx Humanoid

The silver-haired Nonti clan leader ventured deep into the mountain by himself. When he flew beyond the range of the heartworld projection, he roared angrily, “All of you, come back! Come to me and stay away from the heartworld projection!”

“Understood.”

“Coming.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Five figures flew straight towards him, moving quite fast as they retreated from the depths of the mountain.

The silver-haired man looked at the five Daolords in front of him, sighing secretly to himself. These five were the only Daolords left of the many who had entered the ancestral grounds… and that was counting all three clans! Even if they factored in the ones standing guard over their clans, each clan now had just two or three Daolords left.

“What happened, clan leader?”

“What’s going on with that heartworld projection?” They couldn’t help but query him.

“It’s Daolord Darknorth. He’s already wiped out all of the other Daolords in the ancestral grounds.” The silver-haired man’s voice was cold as ice. “Enough, there’s no time for questions. The other two clan leaders and I will join forces to kill him inside the ancestral grounds. Since he came here, he has only himself to blame for his death.”

“Understood.” The other five Daolords were shocked and enraged. They all ground their teeth and nodded, filled with hatred towards Daolord Darknorth and faith in their clan leader. This was because the ancestral grounds truly were terrifyingly dangerous.

The silver-haired man waved his hand, collecting all five of them. As of right now, the three great clans had almost no Daolords left; every single one of them was a precious resource.

……

Ning continuously moved deeper and deeper into the mountain. Soon, the silver-haired man returned and joined forces with the other two clan leaders in attacking Ning. Alas, it was useless; they hadn’t been able to do anything to Ning even when they had eight Emperor-class golems assisting them. Their chances were even slimmer now!

“They are more familiar with this place than me. I can’t let them trick me.” Ning was secretly on maximum alert as he slowly delved deeper into the mountain. Palaces and other buildings gradually began to appear within the mountains, a mixture of black and gold elegance. However, the buildings were all completely shattered and destroyed, with giant claw marks occasionally seen. It was as though a single sharp set of claws had been used to tear through these buildings.

“We saw these claw marks in the outer layer of the Stone Hellephant Wall as well,” Ning mused. “It seems as though the same person fought his way all the way here. This should be the true core of the Stone Hellephant Wall.”

Those elegant palaces had some treasures floating in the air above them. Although the treasures and the palaces had both been wrecked, they still emanated auras of incredible power.

The three clan leaders had originally been launching attacks nonstop against Ning. They gradually began to slow their attacks, but they continued to circle around him with smirks on their faces as they looked at him.

“We have visited the ancestral grounds countless times over the course of countless generations. This Daolord Darknorth truly is courting death, for him to dare barge into this place.”

“We have to kill him as soon as we can. Once more time passes and he grows familiar with this place, it’ll become much harder to scheme against him.”

“Yes, let us kill him quickly.” The three clan leaders secretly planned out their next stratagem, allowing Ning to advance as he pleased in the meantime. As for Ning, he remained vigilant; he wouldn’t dare to be overconfident here in a Sithe relic site!

Boom! Boom! Ning used his nine novessence arts to attack the surrounding area with wild abandon. If there were any traps here, he wanted to use his nine novessence arts to activate them at a distance!

Boom! Whoosh! Some barriers did indeed flare with power, but Ning’s nine novessence arts had activated them from ten million kilometers away and so they didn’t harm Ning in the slightest.

“Daolord Darknorth is being quite careful. By relying on his secret arts, he’s able to avoid many dangerous places.” The three clan leaders were so angry their teeth hurt.

“It’s fine. Once he goes deeper inside, his heartworld projection and his secret arts will be useless,” the skinny silver man said through clenched teeth.

……

“What’s this?” Ning suddenly saw a corpse that had been split in half. The corpse was so large, it was like a pair of mountains lay there amidst the palatial rubble.

He saw a pitch-black humanoid figure whose midsection had been sliced in half. Judging from how the wound had been torn open, the person had clearly been torn in half by a pair of sharp claws. Ning could even see the many countless stone passageways located deep within the body itself. He could immediately recognize that this bisected onyx humanoid was the same as the onyx humanoid he had seen in the Terror Starsea, the one which had caused the deaths of two Hegemons of the Endless Territories in the Dawn War. Their auras were absolutely identical and gave Ning the same sense of pressure and might.

“He was a-actually torn in half?” Ning was stunned. “This creature was capable of bringing down Hegemons with it! Even the Ancient Hegemon was only able to just barely pierce a hole through that onyx humanoid’s chest… but this one was actually torn in half?”

Ning clearly remembered just how terrifyingly powerful the first one had been. The golden sand from the planet within its body had been enough to cause his Northbow swords to evolve and transform!

Whoosh. Ning reached out to grab at the upper half of the black humanoid’s corpse.

“Hmph.” The three clan leaders circling around him didn’t move to stop him. They just watched with cold smiles.

Ning felt like he was an ordinary mortal seeking to move a mountain; there was no way for him to budge the corpse in the slightest.

“This thing is dead; perhaps its core regions are damaged as well. Last time I encountered one of these things, my Northbow swords were able to drink from the golden sand to evolve. This corpse might have a similar effect on my swords.” This was the thought that flashed through Ning’s mind… but a heartbeat later, he understood that with the three clan leaders present, there was simply no way he’d be able to slowly upgrade his Northbow swords and let them feed.

“When I have a better opportunity, I should come back and explore the insides of this corpse.” Ning continued his advance, leaving it behind.

……

The vast, palatial ruins must have had many living creatures within it in the past, but all of that was gone now. Ning wasn’t sure as to how many corpses had been destroyed and how many had been carted off by the three great clans. Perhaps the only immovable one was this onyx humanoid corpse.

After spending half a day, Ning finally reached the core regions of this enormous palace complex.

Rumble… a surge of unkwown power was flowing through this place. It completely blocked off Ning’s secret arts and heartworld projection, making it impossible for them to spread out.

“Eh?” Ning could vaguely see a few golems flickering around in front of him. Clearly, they had retreated into this place.

“The Emperor-class golems are all here?” Ning stared at the unknown power flowing through this area. He could sense, however, that the power was quite weak. He stared off into the distance, where a series of enormous pillars could be seen generating waves of power that fed this unknown energy. Many of the pillars had toppled or been destroyed, and many more were damaged as well. Only a tiny fraction were undamaged.

“They are of no threat to me. They shouldn’t be able to harm me.” After testing things out, Ning stepped straight into the region.

The three clan leaders exchanged a glance, then followed Ning in. They didn’t even attack Ning, just followed him from behind. As for Ning, he ignored them. There was no point in fighting them, as he was always on the defensive.

“This Daolord Darknorth is quite a cautious man.”

“All the caution in the world won’t do a damn thing for him.”

“He’ll be dying soon enough.” The three clan leaders continued to plot against Ning.

As for Ning himself, he carefully inspected the surrounding area. From the looks of it, this was once an enormous Sithe palace complex! The residences of the highest-ranking members should’ve been in the centermost area, and that was where the defenses should’ve been tightest. Only, everything along the way had been destroyed by that claw-attacking figure.

Soon, Ning reached the very center of this palace complex.

“What’s that?” Ning stared off into the distance, through a number of shattered walls. He was able to see a hill-sized onyx humanoid corpse lying slumped on the ground… in fact, Ning saw a total of three of them.

“Three more onyx humanoid corpses?” Ning was awestruck. This place was definitely an extremely important place for the Sithe!

Suddenly… swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!! Four figures suddenly flew towards him at high speed from afar. Each of the four moved faster than a hundred times the speed of light, causing Ning to turn pale! It must be remembered that the three clan leaders themselves merely moved at a hundred times the speed of light. Ning himself had yet to breach this limit! Even amongst Eternal Emperors, moving faster than a hundred times the speed of light was incredibly difficult.

However, the four figures attacking Ning had each surpassed this limit. Ning immediately sensed his subconscious screaming at him about the danger he was in. He understood that these four figures were far more powerful than the three clan leaders.

“Any outsiders who barge into Sithe lands shall be slain without exception!”

“Kill!”

“The three of you, help us stop this intruder!” The four figures called out commands as they flew towards Ning at high speeds.

“Yes, milords!” the three silver men called back. They had become members of the Sithe race after undergoing the Ritual Sacrificium and thus had been acknowledged by the Sithe; this was why they weren’t attacked.

“Kill!” One of the figures was completely gray in color, and he wielded a short spear in his hands. Swirls of gray light manifested at the tip of the spear as he arched his entire body backwards, then threw it forwards furiously.

Swoosh! The short spear shot through the air, moving far faster than the four figures themselves and carrying a terrifying level of power within it as it shot straight towards Ning. Ning instantly understood that if he allowed himself to be surrounded by these foes, he would definitely die.

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Chapter 24 – Invitation

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 24 – Invitation

“Here’s our chance.” The three clan leaders had been following Ji Ning this entire time, never letting him get too far away from them. Now, they all excitedly charged straight towards him.

“Slow him down.”

“If we can tie him down for a short period of time, he’ll be doomed.” The three clan leaders were filled with confidence, because it was quite easy for them to tie down Daolord Darknorth.

Boom! The short spear had already arrived in front of Ning. Ning produced a golden gem in his hand. The golden gem had strands of golden silk within it. He instantly crushed it, causing a wave of awesome power to spread out and cover his entire body as it was surrounded by layers of silken gold light. This was one of Ning’s life-preserving treasures, and it was designed to allow one’s speed to skyrocket!

“Die!” The skinny silver man shot straight towards Ning with his sharp spike in hand.

Whoosh. Ning moved in a ghostly manner, instantly skyrocketing beyond a hundred times the speed of light and only leaving a golden streak of light behind him. He was simply too fast! With the treasure supporting him, he was able to move even faster than the Radiant King.

The short spear still arrived in front of Ning; it had actually been able to change direction mid-flight. Clang! Ning didn’t dare to take it lightly. He used all six Northbow swords to block simultaneously, only to sense a powerful surge of might transmit to him from the strike. Ning couldn’t help but stumble a few steps backwards as he hurriedly retreated, transforming into a streak of golden lightning that fled.

As for the short spear, the collision knocked it to one side. It went flying straight towards the Fumo clan leader, forcing the muscular silver man to hurriedly dodge to one side.

“Don’t let him escape!”

“Slow him down.”

“How can he be this fast?” Although the three clan leaders were extremely anxious, they could do nothing but watch as Ning transformed into an incomprehensibly fast speed of golden light that seemed to be even faster than the four figures chasing behind it.

Swoosh! Ning pulled farther and farther away as he flew off into the distance.

“He actually escaped.” The three clan leaders exchanged glances, feeling anxious, angry, and helpless. They knew that given their own speed, they stood no chance of catching Ning at all.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The four figures flew towards them and came to a halt, watching with ugly looks on their faces as Ning fled off into the distance.

“You three useless pieces of trash.” One of the figures glanced disdainfully at the three clan leaders. “You couldn’t even handle such a simple task. If you were able to slow him down for just a few seconds, we would’ve been able to surround and kill him for sure! Hmph. Any of the Silver Daolords of the old, true Sithe were far more powerful than you. You are the weakest Silver Daolords we brothers have ever encountered.

Not just every Sithe was permitted to become a Silver Daolord. One had to first reach the supreme Daolord level. Given Sithe training methods, they proportionally had far more supreme Daolords than the cultivators. The three clan leaders’ weakness was their low level of understanding of the Dao. If they were at the supreme Daolord level, Ning would’ve been finished long ago.

The three clan leaders smiled ingratiatingly and didn’t argue, but in their hearts they secretly grumbled. These four were nothing more than golems. By what right did they act so arrogantly?

Indeed. These four figures were all Emperor-class golems, but they were noticeably much more powerful than the others. Every single one of them was on par with a lord of the Sacred Cities! Although Ning had just barely reached that level as well, he was still lacking in many respects; if he was to actually fight against a real lord of a Sacred City, he would be completely dominated. These four golems, however, were each capable of fighting a Sacred City lord to a standstill.

“Four seniors, Daolord Darknorth has barged into our forbidden grounds and should be killed,” the silver-haired man said. “We should hunt him down and kill him.”

“Our responsibility is to watch over and guard this forbidden region. Since he has already escaped and left this region, we naturally will not pursue him any further. If you wish to do so, that is your business.” The four figures glanced coldly at the three clan leaders, then turned and flew away. They truly did look down upon these three clan leaders. Although they were members of the Sithe thanks to having undergone the Ritual Sacrificium, they were really far too weak when compared to true Sithe experts!

“Those four idiots.” The three clan leaders ground their teeth in rage.

“They are nothing more than golems. They shall forever do nothing more than obey the orders of the Sithe race. This area has clearly been completely destroyed, but they continue to guard it and regard it as a restricted area. Why bother getting angry with golems?” The three clan leaders turned and left.

The Emperor-class golems they had caught in recent years were all fairly weak ones that were comparable to supreme Daolords. They wouldn’t dare to even fight against the four strongest golems, much less capture them and bind them by force.

……

Thanks to the speed boost provided by the treasure, Ning quickly outstripped his pursuers.

“Oh, they actually didn’t chase?” After fleeing quite a distance, Ning turned to see the four figures chatting with the three clan leaders, followed by the four figures returning to the core areas.

“Judging from what I saw, those four figures should’ve been golems.” Ning nodded. “Golems actually managed to become this powerful… the Sithe’s mastery over golems far surpassed ours.” Based on the golems the six powers in the Endless Territories had acquired, it seemed as though there were different levels of power amongst Emperor-class golems. The ones he had fought had all been weak, while this time he had finally stumbled across strong ones.

“I’ve already found four of those onyx humanoid corpses here. These things held an advantage over Hegemons in single combat!” Ning sighed with amazement. “Even Crimsonwave Temple merely had two of these Hegemon overseers protecting it, but I count four dead ones here already!”

“That means this place is probably even more important than Crimsonwave Temple!” Ning was intrigued. Given how much combat power had been focused on this place by the Sithe, it probably held treasures which were far more valuable than the treasures inside Crimsonwave Temple!

“However… this place seems to have been wrecked by that claw-attacker. He butchered countless Sithe and probably took away the most valuable treasures,” Ning mused privately. “I hope he left a few things behind.” He didn’t even consider the possibility that the claw-attacker had died, as anyone capable of easily ripping those onyx humanoids in half had reached a level of power that was far beyond his imagination.

Hegemons definitely weren’t capable of thus. Then… Otherverse Lords, perhaps? Or even… the legendary Autarchs?

Whoooosh. The three clan leaders flew towards Ning from afar. “Those three fellows have come to cause trouble again.” Ning frowned, then began to dart forwards while maintaining as much distance from the three clan leaders as he could.

While flying, Ning continuously scanned through the towering palace ruins around him. He didn’t dare to fly about randomly, for fear of accidentally activating some traps or mechanisms the Sithe had left behind. Thus, the three clan leaders were able to quickly catch up to him.

Ning gave them a sidelongs glance.

“Count yourself lucky for having escaped that,” the muscular silver man said with a cold laugh.

“You survived once, but you won’t survive every time. I urge you to leave our ancestral grounds immediately. Otherwise, you’ll probably die here. The Sithe left behind many terrifying barriers and guardians. Although the vast majority were ruined and only a few survived, any of them would be enough to claim your puny life. Leave the ancestral grounds and live for a bit longer,” the skinny silver man said.

Ning completely ignored them. He might not be able to beat them, but they weren’t able to do anything to him either. “I just need to stay careful at all times. Can’t give them any opportunities.” Ning carefully scrutinized his surroundings, visualizing how the palace ruins must’ve looked in the past and thus predicting where certain treasures might lay.

“Judging from the layout, there should’ve been a secondary nexus over there.” Ning continued his search, quickly discovering a bestial stone statue within a pile of rubble. This stone statue looked rather similar to a three-headed lion!

“Eh? The style of this statue seems rather different from that of the Sithe buildings.” Ning was puzzled. He stared carefully and cautiously at the stone statue as he slowly moved towards it.

Whooosh. The central head of the three-headed lion statue suddenly opened its mouth. Its mouth seemed to be filled with an infinite universe in it, and an awe-inspiring amount of power suddenly swept out from the lion’s mouth.

Boom! A terrifying sucking power was applied to Ning, who was shocked to find that he couldn’t resist it at all. He felt like an ordinary mortal who had been trapped in an ocean whirlpool as he was drawn inexorably into the lion’s mouth. Ning shrank in size as he was drawn in closer and closer before finally becoming ant-sized as he entered the lion’s mouth.

“He went inside.” The three clan leaders who had been following Ning were shocked, and they hurriedly went over to inspect the lion.

“Such incredible power. There has to be a major treasure inside.”

“The Sithe left many hidden rooms with countless treasures. This place has to be one of them.”

“Daolord Darknorth didn’t seem to be attacked; it looks as though he’s just flying deeper inside.” They could clearly see from outside the lion’s mouth how Ning was continuously flying deeper and deeper.

“We can’t let Daolord Darknorth acquire those treasures. He’s already incredibly powerful; if he acquires even better treasures, we’re going to be doomed.”

“We’re the Sithe! Sithe treasures belong to us.”

“Come, let us go inside.” The three hesitated for a while outside before transforming into streaks of light that flew towards the lion. They did this partially because they naturally felt the need to prevent Ning from acquiring any more treasures, and partially because they didn’t really worry about danger. They were Sithe! Even if they entered some incredibly important restricted areas, they would at most be unceremoniously kicked out. Over the course of all these years, not a single clan leader had perished within the ancestral grounds.

“Where am I?” Ning stared at the rainbow region around him. The aura emanating from this region was incredibly exalted, and the power flowed everywhere. Clearly, this truly was an exceptional place.

“Eh?” Ning’s face suddenly tightened as he glanced backwards. “They came inside as well.”

The three silver men flew over, excited looks on their faces. As soon as they sensed the aura and power held within this region, they understood that this was an extraordinary place.

“Daolord Darknorth, all thanks to you!”

“If it wasn’t for you, we never would’ve discovered this place.” The three clan leaders were quite smug.

Right at this moment, a humanoid figure suddenly coalesced in the center of this bright ranbow region. This figure was dressed in long black robes, was pale-faced, had blood-red eyes, and looked both handsome and evil. He stared at the three clan leaders, an icy look on his face as his voice boomed out, shaking the entire world: “I invited this cultivator to come in, but how dare you three Sithe barge in as well! Do you think you are worthy of entering an Autarch’s territory? Die.”

Boom! Suddenly, a ripple of spatial power swept across the three silver men. They instantly turned pale, but before they could so much as say a word their bodies were split in half at the waist. A heartbeat later, their eyes turned dull as they perished.

The six parts of the three silver men’s corpses just hung there in midair.

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Chapter 25 – Autarch Bolin

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 25 – Autarch Bolin

Ji Ning was rather stunned when he saw this. Those three silver men had been incredibly strong… how had they been so easily slain?

Still, when he thought of the three words ‘an Autarch’s territory’ he began to understand. Anything that had even the most tenuous of connections to an Autarch was guaranteed to be extraordinary. Autarchs were the most supreme leaders of the entire cultivator civilization! They were even able to create those alternate universes which Eternal Emperors fought over like rabid dogs, seeking to take control over them and become Otherverse Lords!

Those otherverses were nothing more than constructs devised by the Autarchs. This was a testament to how mighty the Autarchs were.

“Senior.” Ning stared at the wicked black-robed figure. He couldn’t help but ask, “This place is an Autarch’s territory? Are you saying that one of the legendary Autarchs set this place up?”

“Correct.” The black-robed man revealed a hint of a smile as a flicker of pride appeared in his eyes. “My master was named Bolin. The countless cultivators of the Chaosverse reverentially refer to him as Autarch Bolin. Aside from the few other Autarchs who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, there is no one in all the Chaosverse who is his equal. Young fellow, you are currently just a Daolord; you can’t even imagine just how powerful an Autarch is.”

Ning could since the benevolent intentions radiating from this man. In truth, when he heard the words ‘I invited this cultivator to come in’ Ning immediately realized that this person was a friend, not a foe. Given how he was able to annihilate the three clan leaders with ease, there was no need for him to deceive Ning.

Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Senior, are Autarchs capable of reversing the flows of spacetime within a chaosworld to revive a Celestial Immortal whose truesoul was destroyed?”

“Of course! Forget about Celestial Immortals, even World-level cultivators can be rescued if the Autarch was willing.” The black-robed man shook his head. “However, being ‘able’ to do so is one thing; being ‘willing’ to do so is another. Reversing spacetime to revive someone will cause the Autarch to endure a backlash from the prime essences of the entire Chaosverse. Not even an Autarch would suffer something like this lightly. You would have to pay a high price, a price which would sway even an Autarch.”

Ning nodded slowly.

“Come with me,” the black-robed man instructed. He glanced sideways at the corpses of the three silver men. “Right, go ahead and collect those corpses. They probably have a few treasures on them.”

“Alright.” Ning waved his hand, collecting all three corpses.

“Instead of being actual cultivators, they chose to undergo the Ritual Sacrificium and serve as the pawns of the Sithe.” The black-robed man shook his head. “And the most unsightly Sithe pawns I’ve ever seen.”

“The most unsightly?” Ning was surprised.

The black-robed man nodded. “True Sithe are extremely powerful! Generally speaking, the stronger a Sithe is, the more unwilling he is to undergo the Ritual Sacrificium. Although the ritual will allow them to rapidly increase in strength within a short period of time, they lose all hope of making any further breakthroughs. This is why strong Sithe disdain such an act.”

“As for these three fools? They can’t even compare to real Silver Daolords in power, while Silver Daolords represented the most common footsoldiers in the Sithe army. During that great war, Hegemons served as the mainstays in each army! Long ago, our five Autarchs united the forces of all cultivators in the entire Chaosverse to fight that great war. The Autarchs served as the vanguard, the edge of the blade that tore through all of the important Sithe locations,” the black-robed man said. “For example, this entire thing was once a Sithe warship.”

“Warship?” Ning had never imagined that the ‘Stone Hellephant Wall’ was actually a warship!

“Well, I suppose it would be more appropriate to describe it as a terrifying war-fortress! It was capable of easily tearing through spacetime and going from realmverse to realmverse. This warship was so powerful that it was able to slay Hegemons in the blink of an eye,” the black-robed man said.

“Not even a squad of ten Hegemons working together were able to fight this thing to a standstill. Thus, when my master discovered this thing he continued to pursue it without pause. It fled at high speed, tearing through spacetime repeatedly as it tried to escape, but my master was able to enter it and then slaughter a path through it. He ruined this entire warship, slaying more than thirty thousand Sithe and destroying all of the golems. He destroyed everything, leaving nothing behind!”

Ning was breathless upon hearing this. So this was how powerful an Autarch was?! “All the golems were destroyed?” Ning was puzzled. “But I still saw plenty of Emperor-class golems outside.”

“To my master, those golems posed no conceivable threat at all. He let out a casual strike, destroying all the golems and then immediately departing this place. He had to hurry off to a different battlefield and continue the war against the Sithe,” the black-robed man said. “In truth, however, these Sithe golems all possessed self-repair mechanisms.”

“They looked like they had been destroyed, but some were able to regenerate. As more time passed, some slowly were able to rebuild themselves. Some actually scavenged for parts from other golems that had been destroyed. Thus, a fraction of the golems are still alive, but they pose no real danger at all.”

Ning was speechless. ‘No real danger at all’? He had been forced to flee in pathetic fashion by those four Emperor-class golems which were comparable to the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Still, it made sense; to Autarch Bolin, those creatures were nothing more than ants. Any Hegemon would’ve been able to destroy them with ease. They really didn’t pose any danger to the cultivator civilization in general.

“Follow me,” the black-robed man instructed as he flew forwards.

“Yes.” Ning followed from behind.

……

By now, the three great clans were in a state of utter panic. Although they had been extremely stunned by the deaths of so many Daolords, they still felt fairly calm because they knew that the Silver Daolords were the true foundation of power for them! Every single clan leader was able to inherit the legacy of a Silver Daolord.

But now…

“How is this possible?”

“The clan leaders died?”

“How could they have died? How could the clan leaders have died?”

“Impossible. No clan leader has ever been killed since the establishment of the three great clans.”

They were all completely dumbfounded. The three great clans didn’t even know what they should do next, because they had never encountered a situation like this since they had been created. Clan leaders always died when their lifespans came to an end! None had ever been killed. Now that they had been killed, the ‘Silver Daolord’ legacy had clearly been lost as well. How would they be able to protect themselves without any Silver Daolords?

“What should we do? The entire Fumo clan only has a single Daolord left!” They were all utterly terrified.

“Go to the ancestral grounds! Go now and seize back the Silver Daolord legacy!”

“You idiot! Seize it? Seize it how?! All three clan leaders were slain; if I went, I would be instantly annihilated by Daolord Darknorth!”

“We can’t afford any further losses at all.”

“Everyone… the three great clans have been defeated. Defeated! The only thing we can do is protect our clan as best we can, using the Sithe disks and the many barriers left behind by our ancestors! So long as Daolord Darknorth can’t breach our barriers, he won’t be able to enter. All we can do is delay as long as we can. Once Daolord Darknorth lifespan comes to an end and he dies, we’ll use our Emperor-class golems to rise to power once more.”

“Yes, delaying is all we can do.”

The three great clans simultaneously came to this same decision. Right now, they each only had one or two Daolords left. It must be remembered that only Daolords were capable of syncing with the Sithe disks that maintained the clan barriers. Once the clans lost their Daolords, they would be completely doomed!

……

The black-robed man flew into the sky, leading Ning behind him.

“During that great war, the Autarchs made contingency plans in the event of defeat,” the black-robed man said. “If they were defeated, we would need to be able to raise a new ‘crop’ of experts who would continue the struggle against the Sithe. Thus, my master Autarch Bolin set up many beastworlds. He put estate-worlds in every single beast statue, and the Daos he put into them were Daos which could lead to Autarchy!”

“Lead towards Autarchy?” Ning’s heart trembled.

“Don’t get too excited. It only ‘leads’ towards Autarchy, but actually reaching the Autarch level is far too difficult.” The black-robed man laughed. “Although the Sithe were extremely powerful as a group, they didn’t have any individuals who could match our Autarchs in power, which was why they were defeated in the end. Autarchs are just too powerful. Just look at this warship! It was incredibly powerful, but it was viewed as nothing more but a plaything by the Autarchs.”

“Generally speaking, only Eternal Emperors are qualified to enter these beastworlds. I generally have no interest in Daolords at all, and they aren’t qualified to enter.” The black-robed man smiled. “But just now, I noticed that you were actually able to battle those three pathetic Silver Daolords to a standstill. I was quite surprised by this. You were just a Daolord, after all, and I can tell that you aren’t wielding a Universe treasure. For you to be able to unleash such might is quite rare indeed, which was why I permitted you to enter. I hope you will not disappoint me.”

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Chapter 26 – Daobirth

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 26 – Daobirth

“Here we are.” The black-robed man pointed off into the distance. Ji Ning followed his gaze, only to see a Daoist altar hanging in the air with nine pillars above it.

“How odd. This region is enormous, but it is completely empty. This Daoist altar is the only thing here.” Ning was rather puzzled, but he still followed the black-robed man as they flew towards the altar.

Whoosh. As soon as they landed atop the altar, Ning immediately smelled a certain fragrance pervade his nostrils. His mind grew sharper, and even his thinking speed began to quickly skyrocket. This was a marvelous effect that seemed quite similar to the Stone Censer of Reunion.

“This altar has the effect of helping you focus your mind and meditate on the Dao,” the black-robed man said. “An Autarch’s Dao is unfathomably profound and mysterious, after all. It would be extremely difficult for Eternal Emperors to even memorize it without help.”

“Sit here in the lotus position within the center of that circle.” The black-robed man pointed towards a circle that was roughly nine meters in diameter. “Sit in the lotus position there and view the surrounding area. There you shall find the Autarch’s Dao.”

“Yes, senior.” Ning felt his heartrate speed up. There were very, very few things which could make him feel so nervous and so eager. He walked into the circle, sat down in the lotus position, then stared at his surroundings.

“Eh?” Ning turned pale. The vast region around him, which had formerly been empty and devoid of all things, suddenly began to manifest traces and vestiges of a Dao.

Boom! A fiery red bird suddenly appeared in the empty void in front of him, spreading its wings and soaring towards the skies. Its Dao was vast and awe-inspiring, burning through all things and reducing them to ash. Nothing could withstand such a thing! This was a physical manifestation of a Dao.

In the past, Ning had once seen something similar when he had seen Daolord Windsource’s ‘Hundred Streams of the Windsource’. Compared to this firebird manifestation of the Dao, however, it was unfathomably punier. If the visualization of the ‘Hundred Streams of the Windsource’ was like a stream, then the fiery bird was like an endlessly vast sea!

“What’s that?” Ning turned his head slightly to glance towards a different direction. There he saw a pitch-black long saber that was extremely thin and sharp. The blade was aimed towards the heavens, and the saber was so vast that it was on par with that giant fiery bird. Its power was stately and reserved, but the edge of the blade seemed to be brimming with explosive power. This was a Saber Dao which inspired utter terror in Ning, a Dao that was just as capable of annihilating all in its path.

“The Sword Dao?” Next to the ‘Saber Dao’ hanging in the air, Ning also saw a similarly massive sword. This was a strange rapier-like sword that had had no blade at all, just an incredibly sharp tip. This rapier was massive and also pointed straight towards the heavens. This was a Sword Dao that focused on one aspect of the sword to the extreme. Given Ning’s mastery of the Dao of the Sword, he was immediately able to recognize that this ‘Rapier Dao’ was a path that represented the fusion of his Blood Drop stance and his Soleheart stance, and in both the wielder had completely eclipsed Ning’s current level of mastery. It represented an absolutely incomparable level of might.

……

A giant flaming bird, a long black saber, a rapier, a black mist, a feather, a blood-colored stream, a golden sun, a vast gray sky, a dazzling rainbow… these were the nine manifestations of the Daos that appeared in the vast void. All of these Daos were on par with each other.

“This is…” Ning raised his head to stare towards the skies above him.

In the heavens above him, he saw an incomparably massive hand. The fingers on this hand were extremely slender, while the fingernails were extremely sharp. The hand was formed into a claw-stance! This great claw was filled with an incomparably exalted and absolutely tyrannical aura that filled the heavens themselves. Ning could feel his very truesoul shuddering when he simply looked at the thing. Compared to that single massive hand, the other nine Daos were unfathomably weaker.

If those nine great Daos were like vast oceans, then that great hand was like the countless stars of the cosmos themselves. It truly was incomprehensibly more powerful.

“Do you understand now?” The black-robed man spoke out when he saw Ning raise his head upwards.

“I do not.” Ning suppressed the excitement he felt and halted his viewings. These Dao manifestations were of tremendous benefit to him. “However, this junior can tell that Autarch Bolin’s claw-arts were so powerful as to be completely unfathomable.”

“Ehehe.” The black-robed man laughed, “Long ago, my master Autarch Bolin relied on his claw-arts to become a Hegemon! However, he remained trapped at the Hegemon level for many years, unable to make a breakthrough, and so he began to meditate on other Daos as well. The Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of the Saber, the Dao of Darkness… he mastered nine Daos in total on his own, reaching the Hegemon level in all of them.”

Ning was awestruck upon hearing this. To be able to reach the Hegemon level in a single Dao was already terrifyingly impressive. Autarch Bolin had done that for nine other Daos as well?!

“All Daos are linked; the more Daos he mastered, the deeper Master’s insights into the Dao of the Claw grew. Finally, all of those insights burst forth like water crashing through a shattered dam, and my master reached the Daobirth level, the level where ‘one Dao births many Daos’. He became an Autarch,” the black-robed man explained.

“One Dao births many Daos?” Ning was puzzled.

“Eternal Emperors must gain eternal Daos for themselves. As for Autarchs, they must reach the level where ‘one Dao births many Daos’, what we call the ‘Daobirth’ level,” the black-robed man explained. “At the apex, all Daos are linked together, which is why once you reach the Autarch level you will naturally gain insight into many Daos you had never even trained in before.”

“My master, for example, managed to reach the ‘Daobirth’ level through his Dao of the Claw. He established an alternate universe with the Dao of the Claw as its original prime essence, which then unfolded through the form of countless other Daos,” the black-robed man explained.

Ning now understood. How incredible. Did this mean that once he reached the apex of his Omega Sword Dao, it would be able to give birth to many other Daos, such as the Daos of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, spacetime, darkness, and light? The mere thought of it stunned him. How strong would his Omega Sword Dao have to become, for it to naturally give birth to countless other Daos?

“To go from the Hegemon level to the Autarch level is far, far too difficult,” the black-robed figure said. “Enough. I’ve already told you everything you need to know. Calm your mind and go back to your viewings. Memorize all of this as quickly as you can. That way, even after you leave this place you can still meditate on what you have seen.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. He did indeed have to memorize all of this, but doing so would be extremely difficult. The Dao of an Autarch was truly inconceivable; just memorizing its appearance was as difficult as asking an ordinary mortal to memorize a language with hundreds of millions of characters. Still, Ning understood that he had to memorize it despite its difficulty, because he couldn’t stay here for the rest of his life. Only by memorizing it would he be able to train in it whenever he wished.

“Senior,” Ning couldn’t help but add, “This junior does have a request.”

“A request?” The black-robed man was puzzled. “Go ahead.”

“This junior has an extremely good friend who is also a supreme Daolord. Can he come out and view this Dao and be guided by it as well?” Ning asked.

This Dao might not be of tremendous use to him in meditating on the Dao, but there was another aspect to it. The path of a cultivation was an extremely long one, and there were many hidden pitfalls and problems which cultivators could fall into. This Dao would serve as a lamp post which would illuminate the path to Autarchy, resolving the questions cultivators would have. Ning and Ninedust were lifelong friends; he naturally wanted to help Ninedust out.

“A supreme Daolord?” The black-robed man chuckled. “Listen, kid… I already told you that I really don’t have any interest in Daolords at all. I’m generally only interested in particularly powerful Eternal Emperors! You, however, are far stronger than other supreme Daolords despite not even having a Universe treasure. This is why I’ve given you a special chance. As for ‘ordinary’ supreme Daolords, they can forget about it.”

“Forget about it?” Ning was rather anxious but he didn’t know what to say to persuade the man.

“It’s not that I’m stingy.” The black-robed man shook his head. “The greatest barrier any and all cultivators shall face is the Daomerge!”

“To advance from Hegemony to Autarchy is perhaps just as difficult as the Daomerge, but at least there isn’t a danger of dying,” the black-robed man said. “But the Daomerge is not only difficult, it is also fatal when failed. If you fail, you are destined to die and your Dao shall vanish.”

“Thus… the cultivator civilization as a whole doesn’t care that much about Daolords. New crops of Daolords arise in every generation, with the previous crop of Daolords having perished. Far, far too few supreme Daolords are able to skyrocket to the Hegemon level of power,” the black-robed man said. “Thus, it really isn’t worth us wasting too much time or energy on supreme Daolords.”

Ning was speechless. He had to admit that the man made sense. To this very day, the Endless Territories only had three Hegemons! One could already imagine how this current crop of supreme Daolords, including Winesage, Dawnstar, the Radiant King, and even Ning himself would eventually perish. For even one Hegemon to emerge from their ranks would be a stroke of incredible luck. The most likely outcome was that all of them would fail and all of them would die.”

“You, however, are a bit special. If you really do succeed in the Daomerge, you will definitely be more powerful than most Hegemons,” the black-robed man said. “That’s the only reason why I’m giving you a chance. There’s no need for me to waste my time on other ‘supreme’ Daolords.”

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Chapter 27 – 120 Million Years

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 27 – 120 Million Years

“All things and all beings are given a chance,” Ji Ning couldn’t help but rebut.

The black-robed man paused slightly. These words had indeed moved him, as they were a bedrock of faith which all cultivators believed in. There were no absolutes in the world; there was always a chance, no matter how slim.

“Hah! What you say makes sense.” Intrigued, the black-robed man turned to grin at Ning. “Then I’ll give that friend of yours a chance.”

“Truly?” Ning was delighted.

“All he has to do is capture an Emperor-class golem without relying on any outside sources of help or a Universe treasure If he can do that, I’ll let him meditate here,” the black-robed man said.

Ning was stunned upon hearing this. Capture an Emperor-class golem? All of the golems within these Sithe ruins were at least at the supreme Daolord level. It would be incredibly hard for the Ninedust Sectlord to capture one of them.

“There lies his chance and his opportunity,” the black-robed man said. “I’ve given him the chance. If he can seize it, I’ll give him the opportunity to train here. If he cannot… then there’s nothing for it. I really have no interest in ordinary, unremarkable Daolords at all.”

“Understood. Thank you, senior.” Ning didn’t dare to press his luck. He immediately said, “My friend is within my personal estate-treasure. Should I…?”

“I’ll send you out. Make some arrangements for your friend, them re-enter,” the black-robed man said.

“Acknowledged,” Ning assented.

The black-robed man waved his sleeves. Whoosh. Ning immediately was sent flying backwards as space twisted around him.

……

The ant-sized Ning came flying out from the mouth of that stone lion statue, regaining his normal size once he exited. The lion’s mouth, however, remained open. He would be able to re-enter whenever he chosen.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, allowing Ninedust to come out.

“How did it go, Darknorth?” Ninedust immediately queried Ning upon exiting, scanning the surrounding area as he did so. He was instantly stunned by what he saw. “What is this place? What’s with the rubble? Wait, I see a few statues over there; they seem absolutely incredible! Is this the secret place you were talking about? Why isn’t there anyone around here? Where are the three clan leaders?”

“Calm down and relax,” Ning said. “One question at a time. Listen to me explain.” Ning started to narrate the situation from the beginning, even telling Ninedust everything about the Autarch’s territory.

“The senior has said that if you can capture an Emperor-class golem by yourself without needing to resort to a Universe treasure or outside sources of power, he’ll let you train as well.” Ning said helplessly, “That’s the only way he’ll let you in.”

“Autarch? One Dao births many Daos? Just thinking about it is inconceivable.” Ninedust said excitedly, “Haha, I was wondering who would be incredible enough to cause this sort of damage. So it was an Autarch who ruined this place! Thank you so much, Darknorth; helping me get this slim chance was already a blessing. I’ll do my absolute best. Given my current level of power, I should still have a chance to capture one of those Emperor-class golems.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. Still, he knew that Ninedust was significantly weaker than any of the three clan leaders had been! The three clan leaders were generally able to capture Emperor-class golems in solo fights. Still, Ninedust did have advantages of his own. His Dao was far more profound than theirs had been; their attacks were extremely clumsy and straightforward. Ning was merely on par with the three clan leaders, but he had been able to easily capture three Emperor-class golems when surrounded by six. This was precisely because Ning vastly outstripped those golems in both power and insight into the Dao.

“Go ahead. Don’t worry about me. Haha, now that the three clan leaders have died, there’s no one capable of threatening me,” Ninedust said.

“Remember, don’t get too close to the core regions,” Ning said.

“Don’t worry. You have escape-type treasures, so do I.” Ninedust smirked. “And I won’t go too far; I only need to find one of the ordinary Emperor-class golems, after all.”

“Alright. You have to be careful.” After speaking, Ning walked towards the mouth of that stone lion. As he did, his body shrank in size before being drawn into the lion’s mouth.

“Alright, kid. Your friend won you a chance to earn yourself a shot at entering this place. The rest is up to you. Let’s see if you are able to capture an Emperor-class golem. The most talented of supreme Daolords are generally capable of this.” A rumbling voice rang out from the lion’s mouth. Moments later, the lion’s mouth shut.

Ninedust immediately said respectfully, “Yes, senior.” His eyes gleamed with light. He knew that this person’s words were correct; extremely talented first-tier Daolords all were capable of succeeding in this task.

The Radiant King, for example, would be able to rely on his overwhelming superiority in speed to capture an Emperor-class golem, while Palace Lord Dawnstar would be able to use his raw power. “I’ll be able to do it as well.” Ninedust immediately began to search for those Emperor-class golems who were in hiding.

……

Ninedust remained outside, beginning his hunt for an Emperor-class golem. As for Ning, after entering the beastworld he began to once more view the Autarch’s Daos. Ning only had a shot at memorizing these Daos because of the incredible effects of the altar, and so he had to remain inside of it. If he was anywhere else, these Daos would completely eclipse the bounds of Ning’s memorization abilities. Thus, Ning didn’t use any temporal acceleration treasure; if he entered his cottage, he would be unable to make full use of the effects of the altar.

“How absolutely incredible. Nine incredible Daos and that awesome Dao of the Claw. As a Hegemon, Autarch Bolin was able to master a total of ten Daos to the Hegemon level. No wonder he was able to become an Autarch in the end.” The more Ning learned and memorized, the more awe he felt.

The ‘impressions’ of the ten Daos began to grow clearer and clearer within his memories. What he needed to do was to perfectly engrave all of them into his mind.

Time flowed on. During the very first year, Ning was able to fully memorize the Dao of the Sword. In fact, because the Sword Dao which Autarch Bolin had devised felt similar to a fusion of the Blood Drop stance and the Soleheart stance, the memorization process caused Ning to accidentally break through to the fourth stage with his Blood Drop stance!

This was primarily because his Blood Drop stance had already made incredible gains in Crimsonwave Temple, more gains than any of the rest of the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao. In this place, the influence of the Autarch’s Daos and Sword Dao resulted in Ning shooting to the fourth stage almost immediately.

After another thirty years, Ning finished memorizing the other eight Daos as well. With that, all nine of the Hegemon-level Daos had been memorized.

Ning raised his head to look upwards, finally beginning to stare at the vast claw-stanced hand which hung in the heavens above him. This hand seemed to blot out the skies themselves and were as vast and endless as the cosmos. It was supremely exalted, a Dao which birthed many other Daos. Just staring at the palm and the Dao of the Claw, Ning was able to vaguely make out a quietly gurgling stream of water, a roaring blaze of fire, saber-light and sword-shadows, as well as the threads of karma…

Daobirth.

The core of it remained the Dao of the Claw… but actually memorizing it was incredibly difficult for Ning.

……

When meditating on the Dao, one would not notice the passage of time. Ning was completely absorbed in silently meditating on the enormous claw-hand which hung in the skies above him. He continuously memorized everything he saw, not stopping for a single instant as he borrowed from the power of the altar. Not just him; even his Primaltwin and his avatar were completely focused on the memorization process. The Primaltwin used the Stone Censer of Reunion and thus was able to memorize at 30% the speed of his true body.

Clearly, this altar was purpose-designed and thus was incredibly effective in helping one memorize things.

……

The white-robed youth sat there within the levitating altar, those nine stone pillars slowly revolving around him. The passage of years hadn’t left the slightest of marks behind on him.

“I’ve finished memorizing it.” Ning opened his eyes. Within his mind appeared perfectly clear images of the nine Hegemon-level Daos and the awesome Autarch-level Dao of the Claw. Their forms had been fully engraved into his mind… but of course, this was just their form alone. Thus, they could only serve as guideposts!

In truth, this was already enough. Ning knew that every cultivator had a different path to follow; to have guideposts was sufficient. If he tried to force himself to master the Autarch’s Dao, it would probably actually hinder his own path.

Ning rose to his feet.

“Hahaha… just 120 million years. Your comprehension abilities aren’t bad. You managed to memorize it quite quickly.” The black-robed man suddenly appeared next to Ning.

“Ninedust…?” Ning glanced around, only to find that he was still alone.

“Your friend? He’s still outside battling against those Emperor-class golems. He looks as though he’s improved quite a bit; a few more breakthroughs and he might actually be able to capture one of them.” The black-robed man smiled. “Darknorth, per my master’s instructions, every single person who came in here to meditate will be given a treasure based on how well they performed.”

“Bestowed a treasure?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“My master, Autarch Bolin, did this because he was worried about being defeated. As a result, he spared no expense in arranging for later generations of cultivators to rise to power,” the black-robed man said. “Go ahead into the outside world and battle against those golems the Sithe left behind. Let me see how strong you have grown. The better your performance is, the better a treasure I will give you.”

Ning began to feel rather excited.

“Go. Show me just how powerful a ‘mere’ Daolord can become,” the black-robed man said quite eagerly. After a person forcibly memorized the physical manifestation of an Autarch’s Dao, he would be able to rapidly make actual use of those insights in combat. After 120 million years of memorization, it was time for an explosive period of growth in power.

Still… as the black-robed man saw it, given how strong Daolord Darknorth was, the man was most likely extremely close to his lifespan limit. He probably wouldn’t have grown all that much.

“I’ll definitely do my absolute best,” Ning said.

Whoosh. The black-robed man waved his arm, causing a spatial ripple to surround Ning and deliver him out of this beastworld and into the Sithe ruins outside.

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Chapter 28 – The Emperor Golems

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 28 – The Emperor Golems

The palace ruins stretched far off into the horizon. There seemed to be no end to them.

“More than thirty thousand true Sithe once lived here.” Ji Ning stared at the ruins, rather moved. “I really wonder how different the Sithe civilization was from our cultivator civilization.”

“Darknorth.” A delight cry rang out from far away as a streak of light quickly shot towards Ning and descended. It was Ninedust.

“You finally came out. I’ve been fighting like an idiot for millions of years, all by myself,” Ninedust said with an overjoyed look on his face.

“You really disappoint me. All this time, and you haven’t caught a single Emperor-class golem?” Ning said.

“Hey, don’t blame me for that. I managed to make some improvements after inspecting those claw-marks left behind in the palace ruins, but…” Ninedust said anxiously, “But there are more than a hundred of those Emperor-class golems, and they all hide behind the remaining barriers set up by the Sithe. There’s no way for me to force them out at all. My only choice is to wait for a chance. One time, I damn near caught one of those things, but the other golems jumped into help the first one out.”

Ning now understood. The golems weren’t so foolish as to fight in solo combat! When the situation turned grim for one of them, the others would step in to help out! This was why the three great clans had labored for so long to capture Emperor-class golems, and yet only had a few in each clan.

“I have an idea.” Ning mentally transmitted his suggestion to Ninedust.

Ninedust’s eyes lit up when he heard this. “Haha…”

“That’s the only real thing I can do. If you STILL cannot capture an Emperor-class golem, there’s nothing else I can do,” Ning sent mentally.

“Don’t worry.” Ninedust suddenly thought of something. He said hurriedly, “Oh, right. I almost forgot! I’ve been battling in these ruins for countless years and have discovered quite a few dangerous regions within it. Fortunately, I have an invulnerable aquaform; otherwise, I would’ve died long ago. Here’s a map of all the danger zones I’ve discovered thus far. I prepared it for you long ago; I was just waiting for you to come out.” As Ninedust spoke, he tossed a rolled map to Ning.

Ning accepted it and gave it a glance. There was a detailed map of the palace ruins here, with markings for the various danger zones. Ning revealed a delighted smile. Without this map, he would have to carefully explore for a very long period of time if he wanted to get a sense of what dangers lay here.

“Come, let’s go catch us some golems,” Ning said.

“Let’s go.” Ninedust was filled with eagerness as well.

……

After a full month, Ninedust found another chance to engage an Emperor-class golem in a battle.

Whoosh. A vast wave swept out to encompass an area of over a million kilometers. The Ninedust Sectlord’s upper body was visible and utterly massive. He wielded that longstaff in his hands, smashing it outwards like a stream of water that completely embodied the essence of the word ‘entangle’.

No matter how the golem struggled, Ninedust’s longstaff continued to circle around it, preventing it from fleeing no matter how it tried.

“In the past, Ninestaff’s staff-arts were more explosive and dominating; now, they are much softer.” Ning was hiding off in the distance using his Shadowless evasion-art, and he nodded at what he saw. If one was capable of both hard and soft techniques, one would be able to unleash still-greater power in combat.

“Although he’s not able to completely defeat that golem, he can at least ensure the golem won’t be able to flee. After enough time passes, the golem’s energy reserves will run low. That’s when it will be defeated.” Ning could already guess what was about to happen.

A short while later… “Help!” The Emperor-class golem finally let out a furious call for aid.

Swoosh. Swoosh. The battle had long ago attracted the attention of quite a few golems. Upon hearing their comrade plea for aid, two Emperor-class golems immediately charged over towards Ninedust.

Ning cracked a smile. “Here they come.” Ning transformed into a streak of light, clearly moving faster than a hundred times the speed of light as he flew towards the two golems. Prior to receiving the guidance of the Autarch’s Dao, Ning had already been at the limit of a hundred times of speed of light. Ever since his Blood Drop stance broke through to the fourth level, the power of his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop had doubled. This upgrading of his Dao resulted in Ning understanding many new things, and so his flying speed was also able to break past the bottleneck of a hundred times the speed of light.

“Who is that?”

“Where did he suddenly come from?” The two Emperor-class golem reinforcements were shocked. Ning had been maintaining the Shadowless evasion art the entire time and thus they hadn’t noticed him.

“Fight!” “Attack!”

“Friends, come and help out.” Although the two Emperor-class golems were shocked at first, they quickly calmed down. It was hard for even the three clan leaders to catch them when all three were working together; what did they have to fear? Instantly, all of the other watching golems charged towards them as well.

Whoosh. Ning had already reached the two Emperor-class golems, [Three Heads, Six Arms] active and six Northbow swords at the ready.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Streaks of mist-formed sword energy struck out with terrifying speed. Now that the Blood Drop stance’s power had doubled yet again, the attack was even faster than it had been before! The two Emperor-class golems frantically tried to defend, but they weren’t even able to touch Ning’s sword before it gently coiled around them and bound them in multiple layers.

“In you go, and you too.” These two Emperor-class golems didn’t have invulnerable aquaforms, and so they were easily taken away forcibly by Ning.

“What?!” “How is this possible?!” The other five Emperor-class golems who had been charging over to reinforce their comrades were all terrified, as was the golem which was battling against Ninedust.

This newcomer had instantly captured two Emperor-class golems? How could he be so terrifyingly strong?

What they didn’t understand was that although the three clan leaders were extremely powerful, their attacks were clumsy and limited in speed to a hundred times the speed of light. Blocking their attacks was naturally quite easy! Ning, however, was different; his sword-arts were so incredibly fast that he far outstripped the Emperor-class golems in speed. Given how unpredictable his attacks were, he naturally was able to defeat and capture the golems in just a single clash.

Forget about two; even if five or six golems were attacking him, he would be able to easily defeat and capture at least half of them in a twinkling, then in the next twinkling catch the rest. This was what made Ning so dangerous!

Swoosh. After putting away the two golems, Ning turned to charge straight towards the reinforcement golems.

“Not good!”

“Hide.”

“Don’t fight him head-on!” The golems were all terrified. These golems were all roughly on the same level of power; if two of them had been captured in just a single clash, how could the others possibly dare to engage? They naturally were terrified into a hasty retreat.

“This Daolord is too powerful. He’s absolutely terrifying! Even worse than the three clan leaders.”

“What should we do?”

“Even if there were ten of us working together, we still wouldn’t be a match for him. He’d just capture us all, one after the other! I think we need at least thirty working together if we want to kill him.”

The golems quickly retreated behind some of the few remaining barriers. Neither Ning nor Ninedust dared to touch them, but since the golems belonged to the Sithe side they wouldn’t be attacked.

“Everyone, we have to hurry up and join forces against him,” the golems discussed internally.

The main problem was that the palace ruins were simply far, far too vast. The golems were all scattered across it by a distance of tens or even hundreds of millions of kilometers. To gather them all together would take time. If they tried to hastily gather together in smaller numbers, the end result would just be that Ning would defeat them one-by-one.

And so… the sixteen Emperor-class golems that were close to Ninedust’s battlefield were all so terrified that they didn’t dare to come and reinforce their ‘comrade’. After spending the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ninedust finally managed to deplete the Emperor-class golem’s energy reserves and caught it.

Actually, this was the exact same method the three great clans had used to capture those Emperor-class golems with invulnerable forms. This was why they had quite a few of them. All combat consumed energy, and golems didn’t have spirit-pills. Their regenerative speed was also far lower than that of cultivators! A short battle was fine, but a long battle they couldn’t escape from would result in capture once their energy stores were depleted.

“I finally caught one!” Ninedust was ecstatic.

“Congratulations.” Ning flew over.

“I only managed to catch one because you blocked the others. Does this even count?” Ninedust was still a bit worried.

Ning said with a laugh, “That senior only said that you aren’t allowed to use Universe treasures or outside sources of help; you had to capture an Emperor-class golem on your own. And… that’s exactly what you did! Me fighting a few others is a separate issue entirely. It should be fine. Let’s go and ask.”

“Alright.” Ninedust rather nervously flew towards the lion statue. Thankfully, the treasure-spirit within that beastworld didn’t stop him. Instead, it granted Ninedust entry.

“Haha…” Ning started to laugh. “With this bit of luck under his belt, brother Ninedust’s chances at the Daomerge shall be a bit better now.”

The Daomerge was far too difficult. If one wished to succeed in it, one needed to fight for every scrap of karmic fortune available. Ning wasn’t confident in his own Daomerge chances, but he wished for his best friends to succeed in theirs.

“Emperor-class golems, eh? C’mere.” Eager to do battle, Ning once more charged towards the golems. Wanting to capture them was part of his eagerness, but he also had the feeling that he was gaining new insights into the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao through combat. His Soleheart stance in particular felt as though it was just one step away from the fourth stage. Clearly, the 120 million years he had spent memorizing the Autarch’s Dao had given Ning a wealth of experience to draw upon.

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Chapter 29 – The Plan

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 29 – The Plan

Within the beastworld. Ninedust was seated in the lotus position within the altar, staring at the giant claw-hand hanging in the heavens that surpassed and transcended everything else that was here.

“Whew.” Ninedust let out a long breath, then closed his eyes and revealed a smile. “Success. Finally, I see a glimmer of hope for myself regarding the Daomerge.”

When Ninedust had used up the Voidsea Jadeseal, he had been able to simulate a Daomerge. Although the simulation was partial and incomplete, he had still benefited from it enormously… but alas, he still didn’t feel good about his chances at the Daomerge. Now, however, he felt as though he had a shot.

“Autarchs… they truly are incredible.” Ninedust couldn’t help but let out a sigh of praise as he rose to his feet.

“Eh? You’ve memorized everything already? It’s only been five hundred million years. Not bad at all.” The black-robed figure materialized right next to him.

“Yes.” Ninedust smiled. “Not too shabby, but I wasn’t as fast as Darknorth.” He was an Ancient cultivator; when he was a Daolord of the First Step, his divine body and soul were already comparable to those of most Daolords of the Third Step. Now that he had reached the fourth step, his body and soul were unimaginably powerful. This was why he had managed to memorize it all in just five hundred million years.

“Ah, right. Master once instructed that every single cultivator who was able to memorize these Daos would be given a treasure based on their performance; the better they perform, the better a treasure they receive. Darknorth, for example, has improved significantly! Once he comes back here, I’ll definitely give him a superb treasure. Ninedust, go out and pick a few fights. Show me how much you’ve improved.”

“Treasure?” Ninedust grew excited.

“Yes, treasures the Autarch gave me to hand out.” The black-robed man had an enigmatic smile on his face. “An Autarch’s treasures are naturally extraordinary.”

“Alright, then let me leave right away.” Ninedust was eager to do battle. The black-robed man waved his hand, causing a spatial bubble to encompass Ninedust and teleport him outside the beastworld.

……

As soon as Ninedust emerged, he saw the white-robed youth seated in the lotus position next to a shattered wall that was within the ruined palaces.

“Darknorth!” Ninedust called out.

The distant Ji Ning opened his eyes and smiled. “You finally came out. I’ve been waiting forever for you.”

“You call that ‘forever’? Verge-level Daolords have all spent tens of thousands of chaos cycles training before they go attempt their Daomerge. In comparison, the amount of time I just spent was absolutely nothing.” Ninedust transformed into a streak of light that flew over towards Ning, landing right before the shattered wall. He asked, “You must’ve improved quite a bit in recent years, eh?”

“Not bad.” Ning grinned. His improvements weren’t exactly minor, but neither were they extravagant. More than five hundred million years had just gone past! During this period of time, Ning had slowly absorbed the insights he had gained from memorizing the teachings of the Autarch. He had broken through to the fourth stage with the Blood Drop stance early on, but now he had done the same with the Soleheart, Yin-Yang, and Shadowless stances. However, the Heavenbreaker stance had yet to make the breakthrough.

Going from being a Daolord of the Third Step to being a Daolord of the Fourth Step was incredibly difficult to begin with. Ninedust and Badlands had both spent many chaos cycles doing just that, with Ninedust only succeeding thanks to the legacy he had gained from that ancestral Hegemon of the Ancient cultivators. As for Badlands, he still had yet to reach the fourth step. As for Ning? His path was that of the Omega Sword Dao; it wa far more difficult than Ninedust’s.

To be able to make so many breakthroughs in just a few hundred million years was already terrifyingly fast, much faster than Ning had originally anticipated. It was all thanks to the Stone Censer of Reunion as well as the Autarch’s guidance.

“Based on this level of speed… if I’m lucky, I might be able to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step after a chaos cycle.” Ning felt quite eager. “If I’m not lucky, though, I could well be bottlenecked for a ten or a hundred chaos cycles.”

Once heh did take that final step and became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the last great barrier awaiting Ning would be the Daomerge. That would be the true test, the deadly trial which he felt he had less than a 0.01% chance of passing.

……

“Darknorth,” Ninedust said excitedly, “That senior said that he would give each of us a treasure based on how well we perform. He also said that you’ve improved quite a bit. You’ll definitely get one extraordinary treasure!”

“He praised my improvements as being significant?” Ning revealed an excited look.

“Yes, that’s exactly what he said.” Ninedust nodded.

Ning grew excited. He himself didn’t know if his improvements counted as ‘major’ or ‘minor’ in the eyes of the treasure-spirit! Prior to memorizing the Autarch’s guidance, he had yet to break through in any of the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao. Now, however, he had reached the fourth stage in four of those five stances. Was this ‘major’? He wasn’t sure, but upon hearing Ninedust’s words Ning felt greatly relieved. He now eagerly awaited what would be coming next.

In truth, the spirit of the beastworld had believed that Ning had long ago reached the apex of power as a Daolord and that Ning thus had very little room for improvement. Given how much stronger Ning had become, of course he viewed Ning’s improvements as being incredible!

“Haha, good! Ninedust, you need to make your breakthroughs as soon as possible as well,” Ning said hurriedly. “The Autarch’s guidance truly is of incredible help in cultivation.”

“Yes, after seeing the Autarch’s Dao, I finally understood what petty, irrelevant figures we are,” Ninedust said. “I’ve already gained many new insights, and I trust I should be able to make a breakthrough soon. Haha, I’ve fully memorized the Autarch’s Dao-guidance! If I still can’t beat the likes of Dawnstar, the Radiant King, or Dreamlore, even I would feel ashamed of myself.”

“Haha, that’s the spirit!” Ning laughed as well.

“My improvements are nothing. I imagine even Eternal Emperors and Hegemons would love to have a chance to gaze into the Dao-teachings of an Autarch.” Ninedust shook his head. “Alas, blessings like this can only be hoped for, not counted on. I’ve always felt that I’m incredibly talented… if even this blessing isn’t enough to propel me past the Radiant King and the others, I would view myself as nothing more than a joke.”

“Hurry up and train,” Ning urged. “Improve as much as you can. After we pick up our treasures, we’re going to leave this world and return to the Endless Territories.”

“Alright.” Ninedust nodded. “I’m gonna go find those Emperor-class golems and fight them again.”

“You should probably stay away from me. Otherwise, those golems will refuse to engage with you,” Ning said with a laugh.

“What? Why?” Ninedust was surprised. “Did you beat them up that badly?”

“Kind of,” Ning said.

“Darknorth… how many golems have you caught, exactly?” Ninedust asked rather excitedly. Emperor-class golems were definitely quite valuable; only the Sithe had them in fairly large numbers.

Ning shook his head. “I caught a few early on, but all of them are quite clever; once they saw they couldn’t beat me, they refused to battle me any further.”

“So how many have you captured, exactly?” Ninedust asked again.

“When you first entered the beastworld, the Emperor-class golems began to assemble. A total of thirty-two of them joined forces against me.” Ning shook his head. “They really were quite cautious. Even I was put in rather dire straits by their combined powers! However, I intentionally held back some of my power, using them to temper my sword-arts. After I managed to make a new breakthrough, I suddenly struck out with full power and caught them offguard, capturing eight of them in a row. The others were frightened off at that point… and ever since then, they haven’t dared to approach me.”

“Eight?! If we factor in the two you caught when helping me out, then add in the two you took when we captured three from the three great clans… that means you have a total of twelve Emperor-class golems?!” Ninedust had a state of disbelief on his face. “I only have two!”

“Getting envious?” Ning smirked.

“No wonder they don’t dare to approach you any further.” Ninedust shook his head. “Fine, I’ll go hunt them down and fight with them. When I feel I’ve improved as much as I can, I’ll come find you.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. Swoosh! Ninedust quickly soared into the distance, flying hundreds of kilometers away into an ruin-filled region. The golems knew exactly how strong Ninedust was; as a result, they feared Ning but not Ninedust! Three of the Emperor-class golems immediately appeared and surrounded the Ninedust Sectlord.

……

Ning watched this all happen from before. A few seconds later, he leapt forwards and transformed into a streak of light that shot towards the core Sithe residential zone.

“This is the place.” Ning immediately came to a halt when he reached the borders of the core region.

“You again?”

“You actually dare to invate the Sithe grounds yet again?” Four figures appeared in the distance, roaring furiously at Ning as they transformed into streaks of light and moved towards him faster than a hundred times the limits of the Heavenly Daos.

Ning just stood three, watching from afar. Ever since the weaker Emperor-class golems had refused to battle against him, Ning began to harbor designs upon these four stronger golems, each of which was on par with the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Over the course of five hundred million years, Ning had already battled against them countless times.

Each time he would go to the very margins of the core residences. Once the battle started to go against him, he would quickly retreat. So long as he left the core residential region, these four golems would cease their pursuit. They were golems, after all; now that their original masters were died, they would forever carry out the final tasks their masters had ordered them to do without any deviations. Only if they were forcibly bound would they follow a new master.

“The Sithe must’ve hidden quite a few treasures in the core regions, but these four won’t let me get even close to them. I can see some of them but I can’t acquire them,” Ning mused to himself. “I’ll see if I can get Ninedust to come up with a way to capture a few more of those Emperor-class golems. He can lead them and assist me in assaulting the core regions.

The Sithe truly had left quite a few treasures here. Almost all of them had been shattered, but over the course of time they had slowly healed and recovered. All of them were under guard.

Ning was quite intrigued by them, but he just wasn’t strong enough to take them; he needed help! Alas, the Emperor-class golems refused to even go near him, giving him no chance at all. The rest was up to Ninedust. Ninedust was viewed much less dangerous, which meant he actually had a shot as he was able to lure the Emperor-class golems out of hiding. He might actually be able to capture a few more.

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Chapter 30 – Attack

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 30 – Attack

Within the Sithe ruins.

“That ‘Ninedust’ fellow is much weaker than Darknorth. Its been a few million years, but he hasn’t been able to catch any of us.”

“That’s normal! Did you think that every Daolord was as much of a freak as Daolord Darknorth is?”

The Emperor-class golems were excited to battle against Ninedust. Ninedust had indeed improved, and quite a bit at that! But with the Emperor-class golems all helping each other out, Ninedust had not been able to catch any of them during the past few million years.

“Endless.” Ninedust spun the longstaff in his hands, his staff surrounded by thousands of whirlpools as it furiously swept towards the four Emperor-class golems attacking him. Two of them had assumed invisible forms which tied NInedust down, whiel the other two fought Ninedust head-on.

“Traceless!” Ninedust let out a furious shot, his longstaff dramatically expanding in length as he lashed downwards at the warhammer-wielding golem in front of them. The golem hurriedly lifted its warhammer up above its head, seeking to block the attack.

Boom! The longstaff twisted slightly in an almost whip-like fashion as it smashed towards the warhammer. An invisible ripple of power was transmitted from the longstaff to the warhammer, slamming directly into the golem’s body. Instantly, the golem’s entire body trembled as it was sent stumbling backwards, then fell into a seated position on the ground.

“Careful, Warsky!” Another one of the Emperor-class golems hurriedly ran over to help.

It was one against four, but Ninedust wasn’t at any disadvantage at all! The two sides had battled evenly for quite some time, with Ninedust clearly being much more powerful than before.

“Haha…” Ninedust suddenly began to laugh loudly as a formation-diagram suddenly appeared with his palm. The formation-diagram quickly flew out and expanded in size to cover an area of ten million kilometers!

“What?!”

“We’ve been trapped.”

“A formation?”

The four Emperor-class golems were all shocked. As for the distant golems who were just watching, they were stunned as well. Ninedust had battled against them for many years, but he had never used such an insidious technique like this before! It was rare for them to encounter a worthy opponent, and so they quite enjoyed the chance to battle against Ninedust… but who would’ve thought that they’d suddenly fall into a trap?

“Daolord Ninedust, I didn’t realize you were such a despicable person.”

“Damnit.” The four golems were incomparably enraged. In the past, they had heard Ning address the Ninedust Sectlord as ‘Ninedust’, and so they naturally believed that Daolord Ninedust was his proper title. Ninedust himself naturally didn’t bother to explain or correct the misunderstanding.

“Despicable? Hah! How am I despicable? Because of the orders the Sithe gave you, you’ve been stuck here guarding this rubble for countless aeons. Aren’t you bored out of your minds yet? When the three clan leaders caught your comrades, they would wipe out your golem-spirits and instill new ones. I, however, can guarantee that I won’t wipe your spirits out when I take you out of here,” Ninesoul said loudly. “You’ll be able to see a much more colorful world. It’ll be a helluva lot better than guarding this place for sure!”

“Don’t waste time talking to him.”

“Come on then.”

“Get ready to die!” The golems were blindly loyal and devoted; although they were curious about the outside world, as golems they would never think to disobey the orders of their masters. This was the tragedy of golem lifeforms… and if their new masters chose to wipe out their souls, their end would only become even more tragic. It was a form of death, with the new golem-spirit representing a completely different and new sentience.

“Darknorth!” Ninedust called out loudly. Swoosh! The distant Ning had already transformed into a streak of light that was flying towards this place at high speed. Although he was hundreds of millions of kilometers away, he moved faster than a hundred times the speed of light and thus was quickly able to reach and move into the formation area, passing through the barriers with ease.

“You finally made your move,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Hurry up and help me catch them!” Ninedust urged.

The two would naturally be able to capture these four Emperor-class golems much more quickly if they worked together. Two of the golems had invulnerable forms and would be a bit tougher to deal with, but Ning’s attacks were now so powerful that he was able to deplete their energy stores quite quickly. Before the formation even had a chance to dissipate, they had already been exhausted and captured ‘alive.’

After putting away the golems, Ninedust willed the formation around them to dissipate.

“Look at those golems over there.” Ning pointed off into the distance, where a number of golems were hiding behind a barrier. The golems were staring towards the two of them with mixed looks in their eyes; their gazes were filled with eagerness, anger, and indifference.

“In their heart of hearts, they would love to leave this place with us.” Ninedust nodded as well. “But they are not only afraid of having their spirits wiped out, they are also bound by their original orders to stay this place. Alas…”

“If they continue to hide inside, there’s certainly no way for us to take them out of here.” Ning shook his head. As Ning and Ninedust saw it, they were helping these golems out by taking them away from this place! Eventually, Ning and Ninedust would die after they most likely failed their Daomerges, but the golems possessed perpetual life; they would be given to new masters and would continue to live exciting lives. To be trapped here within the Sithe ruins was far too meaningless an existence.

“We aren’t strong enough yet.” Ning shook his head. “We can’t help them.” Ning had tested himself against the barriers long ago, but even though only a few fragmented barriers remained, the likes of him remained unable to damage them in the slightest.

“Right. I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you on finally mastering those ultimate attacks of yours,” Ning said. The plan he and Ninedust had settled upon was for Ninedust to first use these golems to temper his staff-arts. Only after truly mastering his new ultimate attack would Ninedust actually move to capture them.

“I came up with a few killer attacks back in Crimsonwave Temple, but each had their own flaws. After having a chance to view the Autarch’s Daos, I was able to perfect those killer attacks and then come up with my three ultimate attacks: ‘Boundless’, ‘Endless’, and ‘Traceless’. These three ultimate attacks of mine are just as strong as the three ultimate attacks used by the Radiant King… and perhaps they are stronger!” Ninedust said confidently, “Who knows? I might be able to defeat Daolord Dreamlore and be ranked as the third Daolord in all the Endless Territories.”

Ning nodded. He agreed with this assessment. Ninedust definitely was on the same level as Dawnstar and Dreamlore by now. As for who would win in an actual fight? That could only be determined on the field of battle.

“Rest for a bit. After your formation-treasure has regenerated its power, we’re going to go attack the core regions of the ruins,” Ning said.

“Agreed.” Ninedust turned solemn. Attacking the core region would be extremely dangerous, the entire reason they had come here was in search of a Sithe fortune to claim. They had gained quite a bit from the Autarch’s Dao, but that wasn’t the reason they had come here.

……

Another three days went past. Finally, Ning and Ninedust simultaneously arrived at the outer borders to the region which held the core Sithe residential ruins.

“No one is permitted to trespass within Sithe territory! Daolord Darknorth, you’ve already trespassed repeatedly… and now, you are bringing another Daolord with you?” The four figures flew over, eyes filled with murder. These were the four golems comparable to the lords of the Sacred Cities. These were the four most powerful golems in all the Sithe ruins.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Long ago, these four golems were nothing more than ordinary guard-golems stationed to the core regions. Those onyx humanoids had Hegemon levels of power and were the mainstays in battle! Alas, the strongest had been either completely destroyed or taken away by the Autarch. In the end, only four of the ordinary guard-golems were able to slowly repair themselves and recover. These four ‘ordinary’ golems, however, posed an enormous degree of danger to Ning and Ninedust. They were on the level of the lords of the Sacred Cities, after all!

“Daolord Darknorth, you’ve always been quite careful.”

“You’ve never dared to truly risk it all.”

“How about this? Only two of us four will participate in this battle. You can fight us in a two-on-one fight, but we’re going to fight over there, rather than here in the border areas,” the four golems said. By now, they knew Ning far too well.

Ning just shouted back, “The four of you are extraordinarily strong. I really need to act with more caution instead.” The four golems were truly strong; even when Ning was focusing on defensive sword-arts, he could easily die from their blows. Thus, he only challenged them in the outer regions where he could immediately retreat once things started to go south.

“Attack!”

“Kill Darknorth’s companion first.”

“Darknorth’s been here countless times. Let’s remind him of just how fearsome we can be.” The four figures had been thoroughly pissed off by Ning quite some time ago.

Ning and Ninedust stood shoulder-to-shoulder. “You ready?” Ning sent mentally.

“No worries,” Ninedust replied. “I’m more than ready.” In truth, Ninedust was feeling quite nervous as well.

“We’ll succeed,” Ning said. He was a bit anxious as well.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The four golems howled through the air, moving at different speeds but all surpassing a hundred times the speed of light.

“This is the perfect moment. Attack!” Ning shouted mentally. A black rune-diagram suddenly appeared within Ning and Ninedust’s palms. This was a single-use formation treasure! An enormous black whirlpool appeared and rapidly expanded, with over a thousand layers of energy swirling around it. Every single layer of energy was filled with countless complicated formations, and the entire black whirlpool quickly covered the two golems who were the fastest and had charged closest to them.

Ning and Ninedust both used one of the black formation-diagrams, which meant two of the black whirlpools had appeared. One was aimed inwards while the other was aimed outwards, simultaneously trapping and repelling their foes.

“Go!” Ninedust then took out normal formation-diagram treasure, the single-use one he had acquired from the ancestral Hegemon of the Ancients which could only be used after charging.

Boom! An enormous formation that was round within and square without suddenly appeared, filled with countless layers of dense barriers. This formation immediately surrounded the outermost black whirlpool barried.

A total of three formations were being used to trap these two Emperor-class golems!

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Chapter 31 – The Estate-Spirit’s Treasures

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 31 – The Estate-Spirit’s Treasures

“Damn!”

“Formations?”

“Break! Break! Break for me!” The two trapped golems bellowed with rage as they furiously assaulted the formation. Multiple layers of formations began to tremble, with a few of the innermost layers actually beginning to split apart. However, they quickly managed to regenerate.

Ninedust was stunned by what he saw. He sent mentally, “They really are strong. Darknorth, these two golems are way too strong.”

“That’s why I came up with the idea of using a trifecta of formations against them. We need to trap them there as long as we can. Speed is the name of the game here!” Ji Ning stared at the two slower golems who were charging straight towards them. He certainly didn’t dare to trap all four golems at once, because they had a way to merge their power together. In that situation, the formation would probably last only ten to twenty percent as long as it should!

“Let’s go!” Ning roared angrily. Swoosh! He charged forwards by himself, moving towards the tall, skinny golem wielding a pair of enormous scimitars.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning immediately began to battle against the tall, skinny golem. Saber-light flashed everywhere, and each blow was incredibly heavy. Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of extreme pressure.

“You won’t be able to stop us, Daolord Darknorth!” The fourth and slowest golem was a muscular golem who wielded an enormous greataxe, and he came charging straight towards Ning.

“Go!” Ning willed it. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A total of twelve Emperor-class golems suddenly appeared in the empty void next to him. These were all the Emperor-class golems Ning currently owned. As for Ninedust, he also let out a furious shout as he released his four Emperor-class golems. Although he had six total, two of them had other assignments to take care of.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning’s twelve golems and Ninedust’s four launched a simultaneous attack against the greataxe-wielding golem. Swoosh! Five of the sixteen golems had invulnerable forms, and they transformed into a five-colored rope that began to coil around the greataxe-wielding golem. As for the other eleven, they began to surround and attack as well.

……

Ning was able to fight against thirty-two Emperor-class golems simultaneously thanks to his Shadowless evasion art, his Soleheart stance, and his Yin-Yang defenses. This greataxe golem, however, relied primarily on brute force! Thus, the sixteen Emperor-class golems were actually able to tie it down once they entered battle against it.

“Ninedust, hurry up and go get those treasures!” Ning sent mentally.

“Leave it to me.” Ninedust immediately charged towards the core regions with his two remaining golems by his side.

“Stop! STOP!” The two golems trapped within the formation-diagram were enraged.

“You won’t be able to escape.” Ning continued to battle against the tall, skinny golems. These golems all had their own strengths and weaknesses, and Ning had incorporated them into his calculations for this plan! The slow, greataxe-wielding golem was the strongest, and thus Ning left it up to his sixteen golems to fight against it. This was because all Emperor-class golems had incredibly tough bodies and didn’t fear brute-force attacks; what they truly feared were sly, crafty attacks.

Ning, for example, was dealing with just that as he fought against the golem wielding two giant scimitars. Saber-light was flying everywhere in an unpredictable manner! Sixteen golems probably wouldn’t be enough to tie it down, and so Ning had taken on that responsibility fearlessly.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Sword-light and saber-light clashed against each other repeatedly. Ning’s sword was faster and more unpredictable, but it was slightly weaker. However… he was using a total of six swords! Thus, he was able to tie this tall, skinny golem down and ensure that it was tied down as well and unable to escape.

……

With the formation-diagrams, Ji Ning, and the sixteen Emperor-class golems working in harmony, all four guardian golems were temporarily tied down. Right at this moment, Ninedust led his two golems in search of treasures.

“Go over there!”

“Try over here.”

“Smash that apart!” Ninedust gave out one order after another, sending his golems into the more dangerous areas he encountered. The golems were all top-grade Eternal treasures and weren’t easy to damage.

“Haha! Nice treasure.”

“This treasure is actually able to affect spacetime?”

“Take this one with us.” The central residences were littered with formation-diagrams, strange gemstones inlaid in stone pillars, and strange mechanisms which had unknown purposes. The Ninedust Sectlord took every single thing he saw! It didn’t matter if he saw an immediate use for them or not; he’d worry about that once they got out of this place. For now, his goal was to take away everything he could.

After just twenty seconds, Ninedust had swept away virtually all of the items in the territory protected by the four golems, with the exception of two places which were protected by residual barriers and which couldn’t be entered.

Swoosh! Ninedust immediately fled at maximum speed. “Darknorth, let’s go!” Ninedust’s voice echoed within the ruins.

“Haha, thanks for everything!” Ning led his sixteen golems in a rapid retreat. Although the two golems attacking him tried to pursue him, there was simply no way for them to catch up. After Ning fled out of the central regions, the golems immediately halted their attacks and went to help their other comrades break free from the three layers of formations.

By now, the formations had already been mostly destroyed. With all four golems working together, it took merely five seconds to completely wreck it.

“Daolord Darknorth ended up getting what he wanted.” The four golems all sighed amongst themselves.

“The Sithe in this place died out long ago; those treasures weren’t doing any good. If he took them, he took them.”

“Ugh. We’re supposed to guard this place, but what are we guarding? Our masters died long ago…”

The four golems had to guard this place and follow the final orders they were given, which was why they had repeatedly intervened to stop Ning. In truth, they personally didn’t care about the treasures at all. In fact, they had long ago felt that their solitary life was boring and pointless.

“Life had been much more interesting lately with Darknorth around.”

“Agreed.”

“Now that he has the treasures he wants, he’s probably going to leave. We’re about to go back to our normal, boring life.”

“I thought that we’d be able to hold him back and we’d fight each other for a couple thousand chaos cycles. Who would’ve thought he’d get the treasures so soon?” The guardian golems all felt rather regretful. It had been a long, long time since they had felt challenged.

……

The Sithe who had been living in the ruins had died long ago, with the golems bound by the final orders they had given before dying. Only if someone was able to forcibly abduct and bind the golems would their destinies be changed.

The lion statue’s mouth suddenly opened. Ning and Ninedust flew into the mouth, entering the beastworld within.

“Greetings, senior.” Both Ning and Ninedust bowed respectfully towards the black-robed man standing in the void before them.

“You’ve both improved quite a bit, especially you Darknorth. There’s a limit to how strong Daolords can be, and you had already reached an extremely high level of power… and now, you’ve made great gains yet again. Impressive,” the black-robed man nodded in praise. Although he had been left behind by the Autarch to safeguard this beastworld, he had never heard of an Omega Sword Dao and thus had reached a wrong estimation of Ning’s abilities.

Once Ning became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he would become truly powerful.

“I’ll give each of you a treasure.” The black-robed elder waved his hand, causing a blood-red medallion with the imprint of a claw atop it to appear.

“Ninedust, this is for you.” The black-robed elder handed the item to the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Thank you, senior.” Ninedust excitedly accepted the strange blood claw-medallion, but once he gained it he couldn’t find anything special about it no matter how he scanned it. He glanced at the black-robed man with some confusion: “Senior, might I ask what this treasure…?”

“Haha, I’ll also give you a copy of a chaos star map.” The black-robed man waved his hand, causing an astral scroll to appear. He unfurled the astral scroll, which mapped out an enormous region of darkness as well as three realmverses around it.

“Here are the three closest realmverses,” the black-robed man said. “This is the Multilight Realmverse. This is the Redcastle Realmverse. And this is the Flamedragon Realmverse. This Sithe warship we’re in has been drifting through the Great Dark for endless ages. Based on the trajectory and speed at which we were moving, I imagine we should be close to these three realmverse by now. The two of you should be from one of these three realmverses, right?”

“Senior, how is it that you know we are from the outside and are not cultivators local to this planet?” Ninedust asked curiously.

“Haha, as soon as you broke through the outermost layer of deepfire blackstone surrounding the vessel, I was able to sense you.” The black-robed man nodded and smiled.

Ning and Ninedust now understood. “We came from the Flamedragon Realmverse; this place is fairly close to the Flamedragon Realvmerse,” Ninedust said.

“What a coincidence. The Flamedragon Realmverse has a special place within it that was created and left behind by my master.” The black-robed man continued, “If you bear this medallion… so long as you are close enough to that place, you’ll be able to sense it through this medallion. You’ll be able to use it to teleport yourself directly inside.”

“Where is it?” Ning and Ninedust were both curious.

“Around here.” The astral map rapidly zoomed in on the Flamedragon Realmverse, revealing a specific place.

“Is that…?” Ning and Ninedust were both shocked. “Inside the Aeonian Kingdom?!”

Both of them had extraordinarily high statuses within the Endless Territories. Thus, they naturally knew where the headquarters of the Aeonians, one of the six great powers of the Endless Territories, was located! The place the black-robed man had just marked out was within the Aeonian Kingdom. The Aeonian Kingdom was an incredibly mysterious place; although there were very few Aeonians, especially strong ones, the Aeonian Kingdom allowed them to sit securely as one of the six major powers of the Endless Territories.

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Chapter 32 – Verdant Azuresoul

Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 32 – Verdant Azuresoul

Ninedust said helplessly, “Senior, you might not know this, but the place you just pointed out is within an inconceivably powerful treasure known as the ‘Aeonian Kingdom’! The Aeonian Kingdom is an extremely dangerous place; not even Hegemons dare to charge into that place.”

The Dao Alliance and the Aeonians were mortal enemies; Aeonians relied on devouring countless Daolords to awaken the Aeonian blood within their veins! The more they devoured, the more powerful they would become! If it wasn’t for the fact that they could take shelter within the Aeonian Kingdom, the Aeonians would’ve been completely genocided by the Dao Alliance long ago!

“Haha…” the black-robed elder laughed. “It doesn’t matter how dangerous it is; you don’t need to worry at all. This medallion will tear straight through spacetime and teleport you directly inside. If the situation turns grim, you can use it to immediately tear through spacetime and leave again. This medallion was personally forged by my master, Autarch Bolin. Not even Hegemons would be able to trap you.”

Ninedust let out a sigh of relief, then immediately asked, “Would I be able to bring Darknorth with me?”

“The medallion can only be used by one person,” the black-robed man said. “It can also only be used to bring one person in escaping from that place.”

“Ah?!” Ninedust was startled.

“Buuut, you can pull Darknorth into your estate-world before using the medallion. That solves, it yes?” The black-robed man laughed.

Ninedust immediately looked at Ning. “Darknorth, things are going to be quite dangerous inside the Aeonian Kingdom. Accompany me?”

“For sure.” Ning knew that in truth, Ninedust was actually helping him out rather than vice versa. With that medallion in hand, Ninedust wouldn’t need to even fear an entire host of Hegemons. What sort of ‘danger’ would he be afraid of?

“Right. You must remember this.” The black-robed man said sseriously, “The power contained within this medallion is only enough to activate it twice in a row; after that, the power will be used up and it’ll shatter. Thus, the medallion is only good for a single entry and exit. Treasure this opportunity and do not waste it.”

“It’ll be exhausted after just two uses?” Ninedust was started, but he then let out an uncaring smile. “A single such opportunity and blessing is already more than enough.”

The black-robed man nodded slightly. He was quite approving of Ninedust’s attitude. He then turned to look at Ning. “I didn’t expect for you to be able to improve so dramatically, given how powerful you already were. Even I am now eager to see what you will be like if you succeed in your Daomerge. Given your power, once you suceeed in the Daomerge you will definitely surpass any ‘ordinary’ Hegemon. You’ll probably be on par with Otherverse Lords.”

“Are Otherverse Lords very powerful?” Ning asked curiously.

“Yes. They are in control of alternate universes and are assisted by the prime essences of those universes. How can they NOT be strong?” The black-robed man continued, “And you helped me out as well. Given how much you improved… let me think about what I should give you…”

“Helped you out?” Ninedust glanced at Ning, puzzled. Ning was puzzled as well; since when did he help this estate-spirit out?

“You didn’t know this,” the black-robed man explained, “But when my master Autarch Bolin entered this place, he used an evasion art to directly bypass the deepfire blackstone and enter the vessel. He furiously massacred all of the Sithe, wrecking all of their defenses and destroying everyone and everything here. Afterwards, he tossed me here and then immediately tore through spacetime to depart. He was hurrying off to other regions to take part in the battles there.”

“But… Master forgot that the entire vessel was encased in a shell of deepfire blackstone. There was no way for me to leave!” The black-robed man said helplessly, “Ugh… master created so many beastworlds and he scattered them casually throughout the Chaosverse. He probably didn’t think too much of it when he tossed me here, and he had to seize every moment because war had spread throughout the realms. He didn’t take the time needed to actually break through the deepfire blackstone, as it would take some time even for someone as strong as him to tear through it by force.”

Ning and Ninedust now both understood. Deepfire blackstone was almost indestructible; even Hegemons like Hegemon Welkin were completely unable to do anything to it. It would take even an Autarch some time to forcibly break through the outer ‘wall’ protecting this Sithe warship. Autarch Bolin wasn’t willing to waste any time and so had used an evasion art to teleport straight inside.

“Darknorth, when you used your lifeblood weapon to drain away the deepfire blackstone, you also gave me the chance to leave.” The black-robed man smiled. “That naturally means you helped me out. I’ll now be able to move through spacetime to visit other places and search for other lucky people to bestow good fortune upon.”

“Mm…” The black-robed man was silent for a moment. “And you really have improved dramatically. I suppose giving you that treasure would be a decent choice.”

Whoosh. A round, fist-sized object suddenly appeared out of nowhere within the black-robed man’s hands. It looked like a giant egg, and it emanated strange ripples that caused both Ning and Ninedust to feel entranced by it. Their Dao-hearts were both influenced by this effect, causing them to feel the urge to devour the thing.

“My master, Autarch Bolin, has left behind some treasures in each beastworld… and this is the most valuable of the treasures I have.” The black-robed man looked at Ning. “This is known as a ‘verdant azuresoul’! Any and every Hegemon would go absolutely crazy over this.”

Ning and Ninedust were both startled.

“Later, both of you must swear oaths not to divulge any information about what has happened here,” the black-robed man said solemnly.

“Understood.”

“Don’t worry, senior.” Ning and Ninedust both hurriedly assented, while Ning stared at the egg-shaped object with an eager look in his eyes.

“The various realmverses of the vast Chaosverse are not truly eternal. There are certain destructive forces of nature within the Chaoseverse,” the black-robed man said. “There are certain terrifying celestial bodies, such as the ‘Ship of Mirrors’, the ‘Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels’, the ‘Apocalypse Star’, and more. Even Hegemons are helpless in the face of these naturally occurring celestial bodies, and they can easily annihilate entire realmverses. Even Autarchs need to pay enormous prices if they wish to be able to deal with them.”

Ning and Ninedust were both surprised. They knew that the Flamedragon Realmverse was facing a grave danger from the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, but who would’ve thought there were multiple celestial bodies in the Chaosverse akin to the Wheels?

“The Ship of Mirrors, the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, the Apocalypse Star… they are not living entities,” the black-robed man said. “However, the Chaosverse can also give birth to supremely terrifying creatures known as ‘Chaos Primordials’ that are just as deadly. Supposedly, these great beasts are born from the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Once they leave the prime essences, they’ll voyage through the Chaosverse… and they love to eat the realmverses they encounter.”

“Chaos Primordials are born with nigh-indestructible bodies and are incredibly few in number. They are also fairly unintelligent, perhaps on par with mortal children. However, they are so incredibly strong that only Autarchs are capable of killing them. Even Otherverse Lords are only able to just barely fend them off.”

“This ‘verdant azuresoul’ is what Chaos Primordials love to eat beyond all other types of food.” The black-robed man looked at Ning and Ninedust. “My master, Autarch Bolin, has made some special modifications to this one, converting it into a magic treasure. Darknorth, you’ll be able to bind it with ease just by dripping your blood onto it. After doing so, if you ever manage to encounter a Chaos Primordial, you can toss the verdant azuresoul over to it and let the beast eat it… and once it does so, the modified verdant azuresoul will take control over the Chaos Primordial and make it a servant that obeys your commands.”

Ning and Ninedust were both speechless upon hearing this. “Can I use the ‘verdant azuresoul’ as payment to have an Autarch reverse the flows of spacetime to revive a Celestial Immortal?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“You cannot. A single verdant azuresoul isn’t valuable enough,” the black-robed man explained. “However, if you can find a Chaos Primordial and have it eat the verdant azuresoul, then give that Chaos Primordial to an Autarch? That would be enough to convince the Autarch to intervene.”

“Chaos Primordials are simply too rare, while the endless Chaosverse is far too vast. Finding one is a matter of luck,” the black-robed man said. “Alright. I’ve already given you each what you deserve. Remember – you are not permitted to tell others of what you encountered here,” the black-robed man instructed.

“Understood.”

Ning and Ninedust both immediately swore lifeblood oaths. Ning and Ninedust then felt space twist around them, followed by them reappearing within the Sithe ruins.

“I’m leaving now,” the statue said. Suddenly, it transformed into an actual three-headed leonine beast that transformed into a streak of light that flew out of the mountains. “If you can succeed in your Daomerges, perhaps we might meet again.”

Ning and Ninedust both watched as the statue flew away.

……

A short while later, Ning and Ninedust left the Sithe ruins as well, returning to the surface of the planet.

Hundreds of millions of years had gone by. By now, Darknorth Palace had reached an utterly towering level of strength, while the three great clans remained hidden within their headquarters and not daring to come out.

The three great clans were simply terrified. They had always relied on their clan leaders, who had been completely wiped out. They naturally didn’t dare to take any further risks, and thus they had come to a decision: “After 108,000 chaos cycles, our three great clans will once more make our presence known within the world. By then, Daolord Darknorth would’ve definitely died. I refuse to believe that such a freakishly strong Daolord can succeed in the Daomerge.”

Ning and Ninedust secretly inspected the world for a period of time, then quietly slipped away without causing any damage to the barriers or wards surrounding the three great clans.

“Time to leave.”

“Let’s go back to the Endless Territories.” With the treasures they had acquired from the Sithe lands in tow, Ning and Ninedust embarked upon their return journey.

By now, Ning had reached an even more profound level in his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. It was now much more powerful, and thus as the two tore through spacetime in the Great Dark they only had to spend a total of a bit over three hundred years before they reached the Endless Territories again.

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Chapter 1 – Realmship

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 1 – Realmship

Within the Endless Territories.

A dimensional gateway was suddenly torn in the empty void open next to an enormous, blazing star. A white-robed youth and a silver-robed man stepped out from within it.

“We’re back! Haha, we’re back in the Endless Territories.” Ninedust laughed jubilantly, “We travelled through the Great Dark for so long without seeing any other living creatures at all. We didn’t even see any stars or chaosworlds. That sense of loneliness was truly stifling and oppressing. I can’t help but shiver when I think about how those Eternal Emperors choose to spend a million years traversing the Great Dark enroute to another realmverse.”

“Once we succeed in our Daomerges and gain eternal life, perhaps we might come to the same decision.” Ji Ning smiled.

“Yes… we have to succeed in the Daomerge. We have to! We made a killing off our visit to the Stone Hellephant Wall; to me, this place was just as beneficial as the Waveshift Realm was.” Ninedust was in high spirits.

Ning nodded as well. He had indeed gained greatly from this trip. The greatest benefit lay in how they had the chance to memorize the Dao-guidance left behind by that Autarch. Next came the verdant azuresoul Ning had acquired and those six Emperor-class golems… and then there were the various Sithe relics they had swept out of the Sithe ruins.

“Unfortunately, that realmship we found was damaged. Otherwise, we really would’ve won a fortune,” Ninedust sighed.

“It wasn’t just damaged, it was in pieces. It would’ve been wonderful if Autarch Bolin had held back just a little bit and didn’t destroy the shuttle.” Ning sighed as well. “Still… if he really hadn’t destroyed it, he probably would’ve taken it with him when he left.”

“Yes.” Ninedust felt resigned as well.

Realmships… according to what the golems Ning had captured and bound had told them, these were flying shuttles that had been created by the Sithe which allowed them to travel between realmverses. Using these vessels, it was possible to spend less than a hundred thousand years in travelling from one realmverse to another! To powerful cultivators, this was a negligibly short period of time.

Even Hegemons found the trip from one realmverse to another a taxing one which required an extremely long period of time. Realmships, however, were able to accomplish it in a fraction of the time. They truly were incredibly fast, which meant they were incredibly precious as well!

There had been more than thirty thousand Sithe within the Stone Hellephant Wall, but only the two highest-ranking Sithe owned realmships, one each. One had been taken away by Autarch Bolin, while the other had been destroyed in the fierce fighting. Because realmships possessed regenerative capabilities, some of its parts had managed to slowly recover… but alas, the other parts were so totally trashed that they were completely unable to heal.

There were two parts of the shuttle which were in fairly good shape. Ning and Ninedust had each taken one of the two parts.

“A pity how severe the damage was. Less than half of it was remaining. There’s no way to use it at all.” Ning shook his head.

“We would’ve struck it rich if it was usable,” Ninedust sighed.

“Let’s not get too greedy,” Ning replied. The two continued to chat while separating themselves from the surrounding area, ensuring that no one was able to hear their conversation.

……

The golems they had bound had all existed since the days of the Sithe. They naturally knew a great deal about the Sithe race! Ning and Ninedust learned a great deal after interrogating the golems, including many Sithe secrets. At first, they hadn’t really even understood how important the realmship fragments they had collected were; it was only after the golems helped them sort through the treasures that they knew what a realmship was.

“Darknorth, didn’t we agree to go to the Aeonian Kingdom? This doesn’t seem to be the right way,” Ninedust said with some surprise.

“We’re taking a slight detour,” Ning said. “It’ll only take a day or two.”

“Something you need to take care of?” Ninedust asked.

“The two of us have been visiting some truly extraordinary places recently. Although we’re both confident in our skills, it’s also true that we can die at any moment.” Ning sighed. “I’m planning to leave a few of these Emperor-class golems behind in my homeland. That way, even if I do fail my Daomerge and perish, my homeland will be at least somewhat protected with those Emperor-class golems present.”

Ninedust felt a mixed bag of emotions upon hearing this. He asked, “Darknorth, is your homeland very weak?”

“Yes. I can be considered the strongest person from my homeland, I suppose,” Ning said.

The Three Realms… hundreds of millions of years had gone past, and it had grown quite a bit… but it was still quite young in the grand scheme of things. Thus far, it didn’t even have any other Samsara Daolords aside from Ning himself! How could Ning not focus his attention on it?

“That’s quite a heavy burden to bear.” Ninedust sighed. “I’ve never had that sort of experience before. Although I acquired six Emperor-class golems, they really don’t mean that much to the Ancient cultivators as a race. These are all fairly weak Emperor-class golems, after all.”

“The Ancients are one of the six major powers of the Endless Territories. If you had to be responsible for the entire Ancient race, you would have to at least be a Hegemon,” Ning teased. “If the Three Realms could ever rise to become one of the top organizations of the Endless Territories, I would feel plenty proud.”

Whoosh. Ning and Ninedust emerged from yet another void tunnel, with a black-robed Ning standing at the other end of it.

“What’s this?” Ninedust stared at the distant black-robed Ning with surprise.

“My Primaltwin,” Ning explained. Not even the Dao Alliance or the Brightshore Kingdom knew that he had a Primaltwin; Ning had never made it public before! However, Ninedust was his friend for life; why should he hide it from Ninedust?

“Primaltwin?” Ninedust was stunned. “You have a Primaltwin? I’ve never heard of this before.” Moments later, he felt extremely moved; the existence of a Primaltwin was definitely a huge secret which generally wouldn’t be made public.

“You hid this very well indeed! I really can’t help but envy you. We Ancient cultivators are never able to have a Primaltwin,” Ninedust said.

“Primaltwins can only be created when you start cultivating as a mortal. All of you Ancient cultivators are born at the World level; how could you possibly have one?” Ning sighed. “Countless mortal cultivators would dream of one day reaching the World level, but you start off being born at this level with bodies comparable to Daolords… and you complain about envying us?”

As Ning spoke, he flew towards his black-robed Primaltwin. He sent a jade gourd flying out towards the Primaltwin. His Primaltwin accepted it, turned and tore open a spacetime tunnel, then departed.

The jade bottle held a total of six Emperor-class golems, the Sithe disk, and some other treasures. Emperor-class golems were of some use to Ning, after all, which was why he kept half for himself and gave half to the Three Realms.

……

After spending thirty more years traversing through the Brightshore Kingdom’s pathways, Ning and Ninedust finally reached the Aeonian Kingdom.

“The Aeonian Kingdom.”

Ning and Ninedust stood atop a chaos planet, staring off into the distance. At the opposite end of the vast void was an enormous, roling sea of blood. Above the sea of blood was an enormous citadel that glowed with dazzlingly beautiful golden light. This castle had to be trillions of kilometers in size and emanated an aura of unspeakable power that washed out in every direction. Even at Ning and Ninedust’s current level of power, they felt a breathtaking sense of pressure.

This… this was the Aeonian Kingdom! It was this great castle which had kept the Aeonians alive for so long. Not even Hegemons would dare to barge into the Aeonian Kingdom, the homeland of the Aeonians!

“I’ve always heard of how mysterious the Aeonian Kingdom is, but I’ve never had a chance to actually enter it,” Ninedust snickered. “I now finally have a chance.”

“Is the Autarch’s medallion resonating with anything?” Ning asked.

“It started to do so half a year ago,” Ninedust laughed.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I kept on pulling you closer and closer through spacetime teleportation.”

“I wanted to get an up-close view of the Aeonian Kingdom with my own eyes. It really is rather stunning.” Ninedust stared at the view before him contentedly.

“So I spent the past half year doing all that for nothing, eh?” Ning enjoyed the view as well. The Aeonian Kingdom truly was a stunning and beautiful site to behold. The two viewed it carefully for quite some time before deciding to go inside.

Swoosh. Ninedust waved his hand, pulling Ning into his estate-world. He then held the Autarch’s medallion up high as he activated the power within it.

Boom! An exalted aura of blood-colored power covered Ninedust. Swoosh! It tore straight through spacetime, causing him to instantly disappear.

……

The Aeonian Kingdom was a place filled with many secrets. The most mysterious, secretive place was within a certain world. This was a place which even the Aeonians found difficult to enter… and each time they did manage to enter, they had to first pay an enormous price.

A rift suddenly appeared in the void above this mysterious world. Swoosh! The Ninedust Sectlord’s figure flew out from the rift.

“We arrived.” Ninedust scanned his surroundings, rather puzzled. His face suddenly tightened. He waved his hand, causing a white-robed youth to appear next to him. “We’ve already been teleported inside, Darknorth. Look over there, quick!” Ninedust pointed off into the distance.

Ning followed his gaze, only to see an absolutely enormous and dazzling astral river. There was a flying vessel within the flows of the astral river, and in front of the vessel was a strange tower-shaped flying object. At the very tip of the tower there were three royal thrones and three onyx humanoids seated atop them. The tower had a total of nine levels, and each level had silver-robed Daolords standing on them.

A total of three hundred of those silver-robed Daolords could be seen!

“The Sithe?” Ning was rather surprised.

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Chapter 2 – Bazu

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 2 – Bazu

The flying vessel and the strange tower were facing each other. Atop the tower were three onyx figures and three silver-robed Daolords?

“Wait, something’s wrong.” Ji Ning and Ninedust quickly noticed how something was off.

“Their auras seem off. They don’t seem like the Sithe we saw before,” Ning said softly.

“Let’s go take a look,” Ninedust said. Ning agreed, and the two began to quietly creep forwards.

As they moved closer and closer, the two were able to see the stone stele hanging right next to the flying vessel. “That stele…?” Ning and Ninedust hurriedly inspected it, quickly recognizing and reading the characters on the stone stele. The stele said:

I am Bolin.

I had five personal disciples. My fifth disciple, Bazu, was the most talented and the strongest of the five, far surpassing ordinary Hegemons. However, he was the first to die by the hands of the Sithe, and he was actually the third Hegemon to perish after the Sithe revealed their fangs and claws. In that battle, the Sithe sent out an entire regiment commanded by three of their Black Emperors to ambush and kill my disciple.

In that battle, my disciple Bazu slew a hundred and twenty-six Silver Daolords and a Black Emperor, but in the end he was surrounded and slain as well.

Although I hurried to him as fast as I could, I still arrived just a bit too late.

By now… war has begun! If our cultivator civilizations are defeated in this war, my hope is that our many worlds will continue to give birth to more and more cultivators, who can test themselves against the Silver Daolords and the Black Emperors here. That way, they can gain a sense for just how strong the Sithe are. Remember, these are just common footsoldiers of the Sithe race; they cannot be considered the true Sithe elites. You absolutely must not be overconfident against the Sithe; when you fight, you must go all-out.

The 318 nearby planets within the astral river next to us each hold a legacy within them which was left behind by one of the Hegemons who follow me. None of us know how many of them will survive this war, and it is possible that all of them will be doomed, representing an end to the cream of the crop of the cultivator civilizations and an end to a force that was built up over countless aeons. They have all left their legacies here in the hopes that our cultivator civilizations shall never fully perish.

Even if we cultivators end up losing this battle, I still believe that our worlds shall give birth to an endless stream of resistance fighters. One day, the Sithe shall be eliminated.

These are the words of Bolin!

……

Ning and Ninedust were stunned for quite some time after reading the characters on the stone stele. They could sense the stately yet determined fighting will which was inherent within those words; although Autarch Bolin had been in great pain upon seeing his disciple perish, when he wrote upon this stone stele he was completely focused on preserving the cultivator civilizations as a whole.

“Fortunately, we ended up winning that war,” Ning murmured.

“Yes. For Autarch Bolin to leave behind so many precautions… I really can’t imagine just how powerful the Sithe once were,” Ninedust sighed.

“The Autarch said that we can spar against these ‘Silver Daolords’ and these ‘Black Emperors’,” Ning said.

“Are they capable of fighting?” Ninedust glanced at the distant tower. “I’ll give it a try first.” As he spoke, he immediately flew over.

Once Ninedust moved closer towards the flying tower, one of the Black Emperors standing atop the tower suddenly glanced downwards and said coldly, “Go and kill that enemy.”

“Yes, Emperor!” Instantly, one of the Silver Daolords on the bottommost levels of the tower immediately acknowledged the order. His aura of power quickly expanded and grew in might as he flew towards the Ninedust Sectlord.

As for Ning, he just watched from afar. He wasn’t too worried; Ninedust was much better than him at staying alive.

Whoosh. The Silver Daolord charged straight towards Ninedust with a longspear in its hands.

“I want to see just how strong a ‘real’ Sithe Silver Daolord is!” Ninedust was eager to do battle, and he sent his longstaff towards the oncoming attack, causing a seemingly endless series of ripples to appear around it.

Boom! The tip of the spear clashed head-on against the longstaff. Ninedust immediately could feel his longstaff tremble to the point where he nearly lost control of it. As for the longspear, it continued its downwards stab towards him. Slash – it stabbed Ninedust on his chest! Ninedust’s eyes widened in disbelief. With a whoosh, he transformed into a vast wave that quickly retreated backwards.

“You want to run?” The Silver Daolord pressed the attack, his longspear striking at more than a hundred times the speed of light.

Ninedust immediately transformed into water once more as he continued his hurried retreat. Slash! Slash! Slash! The Silver Daolord launched one attack after another, the tip of his longspear gleaming with incomparably sharp light. Ninedust let out a miserable cry, “I can feel the pain even through my invulnerable aquaform! This is terrifying.” While howling, he continued to flee.

“Need my help?” Ning shouted to him.

“Not yet, not yet!” Ninedust immediately replied. However, after Ninedust fled a certain distance away the Silver Daolord suddenly came to a halt. The Silver Daolord glanced coldly at Ninedust, then flew back to the tower and returned to its original position on the bottom level. Its aura of incredible power quickly dissipated as it seemed to go back to normal.

Ninedust fled over next to Ning, transforming back into human form. “Whew.” Ninedust let out a sigh of relief.

“You were beaten in just one clash?” Ning smirked.

“They were definitely much more powerful than the three clan leaders,” Ninedust said quickly. “That Silver Daolord had extremely formidable spear-arts; I imagine he was on par with me! Given that he had also undergone the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Silver Daolord, he naturally is much stronger than I am.”

“So this is what true Silver Daolords are like. Those three clan leaders were at far too low a level of insight.” Ning nodded. “Those three Black Emperors are in charge of a total of three hundred Silver Daolords… how terrifying. These Silver Daolords are all comparable to the eight Archons, the lords of the Sacred Cities. Three hundred of them working together… not even a Hegemon would be able to withstand them.” Three hundred Silver Daolords truly was a terrifyingly strong force!

“Autarch Bolin’s personal disciple, Hegemon Bazu, was quite strong; even though he was surrounded, he was able to kill 126 Silver Daolords and a Black Emperor.” Ninedust sighed in amazement.

Ning felt admiration towards Hegemon Bazu as well. During the Dawn War, both of the Hegemons of the Endless Territories had perished in order to take down that Black Emperor. Clearly, Hegemon Bazu was much more powerful than they had been… but alas, he had still died.”

“I’ll go try it as well.” Ning manifested three heads and six arms, then charged forwards with six Northbow swords at the ready.

……

The flying tower continued to hover there in the void. Once Ning moved closer to it, one of the Black Emperors at the top of the tower glanced down at Ning and then ordered, “Go and kill the invader.”

Instantly, the spear-wielding Silver Daolord at the very bottom of the tower acknowledged: “Yes, Emperor.” As it spoke, it flew towards Ning.

“These aren’t actual living beings; they are nothing more than simulacra.” Ning could tell that they weren’t alive, but he still couldn’t help but feel admiration for the Autarch; to be able to create simulacra of three Black Emperors and three hundred Silver Daolords was absolutely incredible. Autarchs truly were unfathomably strong! It was thanks to the leadership of the Autarchs and countless cultivators sacrificing themselves that they had been able to eliminate the Sithe in the end, albeit at enormous cost.”

“Hah!” The Silver Daolord swept out with his longspear, spinning it in a circular arc as he swept it towards Ning in an indomitable fashion.

Clang! Ning moved to dodge while gently striking out with his sword using the Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart to affect the Silver Daolord’s attacks.

Although the Silver Daolord’s was on par with Ninedust’s staff-arts, Ning was still slightly superior to him. However, the difference wasn’t that great, and the Silver Daolord’s other advantages more than compensated for it.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Boom! The two continued to fight, causing shockwaves to blast out in every direction which caused the void to tremble.

Ning and the Silver Daolord were evenly matched in the fight.

“Eh?” One of the Black Emperors at the top of the tower frowned. “Even after this much time has passed, he still has yet to be captured? Another one of you, go and kill him!”

“Yes, Emperor!” Instantly, a Silver Daolord wielding a pair of hatchets charged out as well, forcing Ning to slowly begin to withdraw.

“Don’t even think about fleeing!” the spear-wielding Daolord and the hatchet-wielding Daolord shouted in unison. The two had surrounded Ning and were attacking him from a pincer position. Ning immediately was at a disadvantage, but thanks to his defensive prowess and his six Northbow swords he was able to hold on. While defending, he continued to retreat at high speed.

“Eh? Another one, go.” The Black Emperor at the top of the tower issued the order yet again, causing a third Silver Daolord to charge forwards. This one bore a giant warblade on its back. However, before it managed to arrive Ning had already moved beyond the critical distance, at which point all of the Silver Daolords withdrew as well. This was something which Autarch Bolin had implemented; he had done all this to help temper and train these juniors, not kill them after all.

“What a tough challenge. If one doesn’t do the job, send two. If two can’t hack it, send three…” Ning shook his head.

“If we’re ever able to force all three hundred Silver Daolords and all three Black Emperors to attack in unison… now that would be truly something,” Ninedust said eagerly.

“Haha, that’ll have to wait for after you complete your Daomerge,” Ning said. “Oh, right. Autarch Bolin said that the 318 planets nearest to us all have legacies left behind by the various Hegemons. Let’s go take a look.”

“Right.” Ninedust was curious as well.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The two quickly flew towards the planet located closest to the stone stele.

This planet wasn’t all that large, just ten thousand kilometers in circumference. As soon as they landed atop the planet, they immediately sensed a ripple of power transmit into their minds. They could vaguely ‘see’ the mental image of a four-legged beast towering before them, its voice booming within their minds.

“I am Hegemon Thousand Rhinos, a retainer of Autarch Bolin! The war against the Sithe has already begun, and all of us Hegemons are following Autarch Bolin into battle against the Sithe. No one knows what the end result will be, and so I have left all of my insights and supreme techniques behind in this place. The cultivator civilizations shall not perish! The Sithe shall one day be exterminated!”

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Chapter 3 – A Heavy Feeling

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 3 – A Heavy Feeling

Ji Ning felt rather moved and inspired. He could sense how Hegemon Thousand Rhinos had been completely determined to battle the Sithe to the death, and could also sense how much hope the Hegemon had placed towards the cultivator civilizations as a whole.

“I wonder if this senior was able to survive the Dawn War or not.” Ning knew just how brutal the Dawn War had been, because all of the Hegemons of the Endless Territories during that era had perished in the Dawn War. “No matter what… in the end, our side won. The sacrifices of all those slain cultivators were not in vain.”

Boom! A wave of power shot out as a large amount of information flooded into Ning’s mind. This was the legacy of Hegemon Thousand Rhinos.

Ning trained in the Omega Sword Dao and had received guidance from the Autarch’s Daos; by now, he had a far broader vision than many. These Hegemon-level legacies were of use to him in comparing to his own Dao, but the secret arts were of more help to him.

……

Some time later, Ning and Ninedust woke up from their reverie atop the small planet. They exchanged a glance.

“Incredible.” Ninedust’s voice was rather hoarse.

“Yes, quite incredible.” Ning nodded. “For the sake of ensuring that the cultivator civilizations will continue, he held nothing back at all. He didn’t even require us to swear any lifeblood oaths when learning these legacies.”

“Yes.” Ninedust nodded. It was true; neither had been forced to swear lifeblood oaths! It must be understood that the more valuable a legacy was, the more likely it was that the successor would have to swear a lifeblood oath in order to learn it.

The Sword Hegemon in the alternate universe, the Paragon of Pills, the Brightshore Hegemon… they had all required lifeblood oaths that their teachings would not be taught to outsiders. Even fairly ordinary sects like Vastheaven Palace required these oaths. Ning had been forced to pay a significant price just to transmit those fairly ordinary techniques and divine abilities of Vastheaven Palace back to the Three Realms.

But… Thousand Rhinos had been an exalted Hegemon! And yet, he had unstintingly passed down all of the legacies he had developed over the course of countless aeons to Ning and Ninedust without even requiring them to swear lifeblood oaths.

“Let’s go to that other planet,” Ning said.

“Let’s go.” Ninedust nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The two flew next to each other like streaks of light as they moved to the planet closest to them. This planet was also fairly small, just ten thousand kilometers in size. When their feet landed atop the planet, they once more sensed that ripple of power be transmitted into their minds. This time, Ning felt as though he could see a snowy-winged man who emanated a halo of white light.

“I am God Emperor Helong, a retainer of Autarch Bolin and a master of an otherverse. I established my own church, and over the course of countless years I spread my organization across three entire realmverses. I had thought that I would be able to continue my campaign of conquest… but the appearance of the Sithe brought me back to my senses. Only then did I understand that to the Sithe, I was nothing more than an easily crushed ant.

“The Sithe seek to enslave all cultivators. Those like us who refuse to submit are all subject to death. Although I have been alive for countless years and have conquered for countless years, when I think of how all cultivator civilizations might one day be enslaved by the Sithe, I have only one thought in my mind… to exterminate them!

“I, God Emperor Helong, shall do everything in my power to slay all Sithe. Future cultivators, if we fail in our task, you must take it up in our stead. Kill, kill, kill! You must exterminate every single Sithe!”

The lofty, noble voice of the snowy-winged man was filled with murderous malice that was so strong it shook even Ning’s Dao-heart. Moments later, a large amount of information began to flood into his mind. This was all the legacies which God Emperor Helong had to offer.

A long time later, Ning and Ninedust opened their eyes and exchanged a glance.

“Such power.” Ninedust was stunned.

“I thought that the [Heartsword] art was quite unique, but who would’ve thought that God Emperor Helong would’ve come up with a similar technique, the [God Emperor’s Apocalypse] art?” Ning nodded. This was another technique that allowed for the perfect fusion of heartforce with divine power; thanks to this technique, God Emperor Helong had reached a level of power that surpassed that of ordinary Hegemons! This was what gave him the strength needed to take control of an otherverse and then spread his organization across three separate realmverses. His church had a total of eight Hegemons within it!

“I wonder if this mighty figure was able to survive,” Ninedust said.

“Given how strong he was? It is entirely possible that he did.” Still, Ning didn’t feel confident in this guess. The information they had learned regarding the Sithe from the Emperor-class golems they had bound had completely shocked them… and that was probably just the tip of the iceberg!

God Emperor Helong had been very strong, yes. But compared to the Sithe? Just as the God Emperor had said; he was nothing more than an ant.

……

They visited one planet after another, flying from legacy to legacy and collecting them all. This vast astral river contained trillions of planets and stars, but only the 318 planets closest to the flying vessel had legacies.

A grand total of 318 Hegemonic legacies!

They listened to the exhortations these Hegemons had left behind for posterity. They could sense the boundless wisdom and indescribable hard work which permeated each and every legacy… and in every case, neither Ning nor Ninedust were forced to swear lifeblood oaths.

“Whew.” Ning let out a long sigh. He felt as though he was releasing a pent-up sense of pressure which had been weighing on his heart.

“None of them required lifeblood oaths. In other words, we are allowed to transmit all 318 Hegemonic legacies as we please.” Ninedust sighed in amazement. “We’re actually given free reign.”

Ning was excited as well. So many techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts… and they were allowed to transmit them as they pleased! His homeland, the Three Realms, would now have a true foundation for it to grow to incredible heights!

“These seniors probably WANTED us to transmit them,” Ning said. “If the cultivator civilizations were truly defeated in that great war, there would naturally be a need to produce more cultivators of great power. For the sake of this war, they had already cast off even their fear of death; they naturally wouldn’t mind others transmitting their legacies.”

“But in the end, our side won the war.” Ninedust sighed with emotion. “Thus, every single modern-day organization is extremely protective of its precious legacies and absolutely refuse to transmit them casually to others.”

“In the past, the cultivator civilizations were facing a total war against the Sithe. The Sithe have been destroyed long ago, and so the cultivator civilizations naturally turned against each other instead.” Ning shook his head. An outside threat would prompt internal unity, but once the threat was dealt with? The internal strife would appear once more.

Even a place as small as the Three Realms had fierce civil wars. Hell, even tiny clans had internal strife, to say nothing of a place as vast as the Endless Territories! The various realmverses most likely battled against each other as well. For example, the Dark Kingdom consisted of refugees who had fled from another realmverse. As a result, they were ostracized and oppressed by the locals of the Endless Territories.

“Darknorth,” Ninedust said solemnly.

“Eh?” Ninedust looked at him.

“We absolutely cannot just hand out these legacies willy-nilly,” Ninedust said. “Once a major power realizes what we have, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Agreed. Every single organization’s foundation rests upon its powerful experts and its precious legacies.” Ning nodded solemnly.

“After we leave, I’m planning to take a trip back home,” Ninedust said seriously. “I’m going to write down and transcribe all of the legacies we’ve acquired. I’ll let my avatar hold onto them, and I won’t make them public. Only if I die or after I complete my Daomerge attempt will I transmit these things to the rest of the Ancients.”

Ninedust let out a sigh. “These legacies will have an absolutely enormous impact. If I make them public too soon, it’ll probably have certain repercussions for me. After I complete my Daomerge, I’ll have nothing else to worry about… and if I die, I also won’t have anything to worry about.”

“I won’t be in a hurry to transmit them either.” Ning nodded. “My homeland is still far too weak.” In the end, he was going to give these legacies to the Three Realms, but it couldn’t be rushed. Ning was preparing to first slowly introduce to the Three Realms the more shallow techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts that were suitable for Daolords of the First Step! As for the more profound ones? He would take it slow. If he died, then he would naturally arrange for the full transmission.

Legacies from over three hundred Hegemons… this brought an enormous sense of pressure to both Ning and Ninedust. Neither dared to transmit them casually. In the end, they were still too weak; only if they reached Hegemony themselves would they have nothing to fear.

……

Atop a planet. Ning and Ninedust were in secluded meditation within a temporal thatched cottage and a temporal log cabin. Both needed time to properly ‘digest’ these legacies.

The towering battle-intent which the Hegemons had infused into their messages was actually a form of tempering for them as well, causing both of their Dao-hearts to change slightly.

“With these things, my chances of succeeding in the Daomerge have increased once again.” Ninedust walked out of the temporal log cabin, a smile on his face.

A Voidsea Jadeseal, an Autarch’s Dao-guidance, and over three hundred Hegemonic legacies. Ninedust was starting to feel more and more confident.

“Eh? Darknorth is still meditating? He’s quite a bit slower than me.” Ninedust chuckled, then turned to glance at the flying tower. “Time to test out those Silver Daolords again.”

Swoosh. Ninedust soared into the skies. Although he was still far weaker than a Silver Daolord, he would at least be able to keep himself safe. This was a good opportunity for him to temper himself.

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Chapter 4 – The Strange Planet

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 4 – The Strange Planet

Ji Ning needed much more time to ‘digest’ these legacies than Ninedust, because Ninedust had already reached the Verge as a Daolord. All he needed to do was to perfect his Dao and accumulate more experience so as to improve his odds of succeeding at the Daomerge. Ning, however, was different. He was just a Daolord of the Third Step, which meant he needed many more insights. He naturally had to carefully immerse himself in these Hegemonic legacies.

“We really have gained tremendously from this visit.” Ning emerged from his temporal cottage, then stared at the flying tower off in the distance. “Legacies from over three hundred Hegemons… this will be of enormous help to both me and the Three Realms.”

The divine abilities were useless to Ning, but the secrets arts were extremely useful. Although he did have a secret art bestowed by that dead Sword Hegemon from the otherverse, these three hundred-plus Hegemons bestowed far more. In fact, there were four who were focused on the Dao of the Sword! Ning ended up choosing a secret art that suited him the most.

“Once I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I’ll simultaneously train in both of these secret arts! Once I use the two of them via my Yin-Yang Sword Domain, they’ll mutually reinforce and support each other…” Ning was quite eager to see what would happen. There was a certain finesse to choosing secret arts, and the more powerful a secret art was the more requirements it had with regards to the level of the wielder’s insights into the Dao.

The nine novessence arts, for example, needed one to be able to perfectly master and merge together nine types of Dao lightning. Ninedust’s Ripplewater art required incredible insight into the Dao of Water. The Sword Hegemon’s secret art and this new secret art which Ning had chosen were both focused on the Dao of the Sword. Both required the wielder to know a great deal regarding that Dao.

“Ninedust,” Ning called out loudly. His voice traversed the flows of space and passed into the ears of the distant Ninedust, who was battling more than a hundred million kilometers off in the distance.

“Haha…” Ninedust hurriedly retreated, pulling away from the Silver Daolord as he glanced backwards. “Darknorth, you finally came out.”

“Judging from the way you just fought, you’ve perfected your ultimate attacks even further. That supremely aggressive staff-stance, you executed with water-like fluidity. This shows that your mastery of the Dao of Water has improved.” Ning flew over like a streak of light, quickly arriving next to Ninedust as he spoke in praise.

“Twenty-five out of those hundreds of Hegemons were skilled in the Dao of Water, allowing me to benefit greatly from their insights. I feel as though my chances at the Daomerge are growing better and better,” Ninedust said smugly. “I feel as though I have a ten percent chance.”

Ten percent. It sounded puny, but Daolords normally had less than a hundredth of a percent at completing the Daomerge!

“Congratulations!” Ning revealed a delighted look. He truly did feel happy for Ninedust. As for himself, although he had gained the Autarch’s Dao-guidance and also reviewed the many legacies of the Hegemons, his path was still that of the Omega Sword Dao; it was a path that was untold times more difficult than the one which Ninedust had chosen! There was a limit to how much benefit these other legacies would be to him. None of those Hegemons had chosen an Omega Dao, and so his chances at the Daomerge still remained as infinitesimally small as ever.

If he failed his Daomerge while Ninedust succeeded, he would ask Ninedust to help take care of the Three Realms. If a Hegemon watched over it, its inhabitants would have a much easier life.

“How about you? You must’ve gained even more insights than me,” Ninedust said.

“I’m not quite there yet, but I feel close to a breakthrough,” Ning said. After distilling the experiences of over three hundred Hegemons, Ning had gained quite a few new insights into his Heavenbreaker stance. He wasn’t too far away from reaching the fourth stage of it.

“That’s enough chatting. I’m gonna go spar a bit against those Silver Daolords.” Ning immediately manifested three heads and six arms, then charged towards the flying tower with six Northbow swords at the ready.

A few moments later, an onyx humanoid standing at the top of the flying tower ordered for three silver Daolords to attack.

“He dares to come again?”

“Kill him.”

“Kill this Daolord.” The three Silver Daolords charged towards Ning, with Ning coming to a halt close to the outer perimeter and engaging them in a battle there. When he sensed that he wasn’t able to hold on any longer, he would immediately retreat outside of the perimeter. That way, the Silver Daolords would withdraw as well.

……

Ning and Ninedust both understood what Autarch Bolin’s intentions were. Autarch Bolin had created this world, then had his hundreds of Hegemon retainers leave down their legacies, precisely so that he could ensure the future cultivators would have access to good Immortal techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts.

He had even gone so far as to make simulacra of the Sithe’s Black Emperors and Silver Daolords… all of this was for the sake of improving the combat power of the cultivators!

“He truly poured his heart into this,” Ning sighed with emotion.

“Darknorth! Darknorth!” After several years of battling, Ninedust suddenly called out, “We haven’t paid that flying vessel a visit yet. Shouldn’t we go inside and take a look?”

“Autarch Bolin didn’t say that the vessel held any treasures within it,” Ning said. The stone stele had only mentioned that one could spar against the simulated Sithe and acquire legacies from the Hegemons.

“We should still go take a look. Doing nothing but sparring against Silver Daolords is kind of boring anyhow; by now, I understand every single technique they use,” Ninedust said.

“True. Battling is rather pointless by now.” Ning agreed with this assessment. When fighting against three Silver Daolords, he often found himself unable to hold on and thus was forced to retreat! But this wasn’t due to him being at a lower level of insight; in fact, he was on a higher level than all three of them. The problem was that his foes were incredibly fast and strong, and there was no answer for that. This made sparring against them of limited use to Ning.

“Let’s be careful,” Ning warned.

“It should be fine. Autarch Bolin wouldn’t have set up traps for us,” Ninedust said. Still, he chose to send one of his Emperor-class golems to scout first.

The flying vessel was completely empty inside. There were no traps inside, nor were there any treasures. There was just a line of words left behind on the inner walls:

“The only way to break through from Hegemony and reach Autarchy is to accumulate sufficient experience. Aside from this, there are no other paths.”

This line of words was filled with stately majesty. Clearly, they had been left behind by Autarch Bolin himself.

“Accumulate sufficient experience?” Ning and Ninedust stared at the line of words for a long time.

“Let’s not dwell on it too much. The greatest challenge standing in front of us is the Daomerge.” Ning smiled. “Let’s worry about this after succeeding in the Daomerge.”

“Agreed.” Ninedust nodded. “Oh, right. Darknorth, we’ve spent this entire time in the area around the flying vessel; we haven’t explored the other parts of this world. To tell you the truth, there’s a limit to how much this place is going to be use to us. I’m planning to explore this area a bit; if there’s nothing else here, I’m going to leave! But of course, if you want to dally here a bit longer I can wait on a nearby planet and train there until you are ready to go.”

“This place isn’t of much use to me either.” Ning agreed. “Come, let’s walk around and see what there is to see. After that, we’ll leave.”

……

This world which the Autarch had created was extremely large. Ning and Ninedust stood within the void above it.

“Heartworld, descend!” With but a thought, Ning send his vast heartworld projection rumbling downwards. It quickly spread out in every direction to encompass the entire planet.

“And?” Ninedust asked.

“The other parts of this world are completely empty and devoid of all things.” Ning pointed off into the distance. “The only exception is over there. The astral river seems to pass through this entire world, and there’s something inside it that radiates an aura of incredible power. Not even my heartworld projection is able to infiltrate it at all.”

“Oh? It seems we need to spend a bit of time looking into this astral river.” Ninedust was filled with excitement.

“Let’s go.” Swoosh! Swoosh! The two immediately entered the astral river and began to fly through it. The flying vessel, the flying tower, and the 318 small planets had been nothing more than a small part of this vast astral river which permeated the enormous world they were in.

“There are countless stars here, but they all seem quite ordinary.” Ninedust was rather disappointed by what he found. By now, they had already been flying for more than three months and had searched through nearly half the astral river.

Rumble…

Far away, there was an enormous planet that was slowly revolving in place, emanating an aura of oppressive majesty. Ning and Ninedust were able to vaguely sense it even from a great distance, causing their eyes to narrow. It must be remembered that all of the other planets were tiny, merely ten thousand kilometers or so in size. The vast planet they could vaguely see off in the distance, however, had to be at least ten billion kilometers in diameter.

“What an enormous planet, and what a powerful aura! So the astral river actually has such a special locale inside of it?” Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance, then immediately flew towards it. As they moved closer, they were able to see it with increasing clarity.

This planet was quite unique. On one side, it had a blazing red sea of flames that emanated an aura of incredible heat. The flamewaves which roiled that side were actually filled with the ripples of the Dao itself, with every single wave containing an amount of force comparable to a full-strength strike from a Daolord of the Fourth Step. This caused Ning and Ninedust to feel shocked.

The other side of the planet was an endless stream of deep-blue water that emanated an aura of infinite cold. This cold similarly radiated Dao-ripples of equal power to the other side.

“What an unusual planet.” Ning was rather surprised. One side was filled with a sea of flames, the other was filled with an icy sea of water. Both sides emanated the profound mysteries of the Dao. As for the hemispheric intersection where the hot and cold energies met and clashed against each other, an endless dense line of mist appeared.

Deep within the mist, they could vaguely make out the crown of a massive tree, as well as see a few long, skinny, fiery-red fruits hanging from the top.

“Judging from those leaves… that should be one of the eight types of sacred bloodfruit, the ‘omnigeddon bloodfruit’. But… these fruits look rather strange. And, generally speaking, a single omnigeddon bloodfruit tree should have just three fruits per harvest. I can already see roughly six of those fruits sprouting from the crown of the tree, and that’s with the rest of it shrouded by mist.” Ning was puzzled. “Is it some other type of fruit? Ninedust, can you recognize this fruit tree?”

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Chapter 5 – Surrounded by Observers

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 5 – Surrounded by Observers

“Judging from the trunk, the branches, the leaves, and the aura of the fruit…” Ninedust frowned in puzzlement as well. “Yeah, that should definitely be an omnigeddon bloodfruit tree.” He was an Ancient cultivator who had a very high level of status within the race; as a result, he knew most of the precious materials and ingredients in the Chaosverse.

“But something feels off.” Ji Ning frowned.

“Yes, omnigeddon bloodfruits are round and slick; they don’t look long and skinny like that. In addition, there’s way too many fruits… and the tree itself seems to be a bit too large,” Ninedust said.

Ning blinked. Right. He hadn’t noticed it earlier, but ordinary omnigeddon bloodfruit trees were roughly just thirty meters tall. The crown of the mist-shrouded tree off in the distance, however, had to be over three million meters tall!

“Although it does look a bit odd, this tree is definitely a priceless treasure.” Ninedust’s gaze turned heated with eagerness. “Judging from the auras of those bloodfruits, they have to be quite extraordinary.”

“Let’s go take a look,” Ning said. The two didn’t hesitate, immediately flying carefully into the deep mist. Soon, they descended upon the area just outside the fog-shrouded region, the place where blazing heat met scorching cold and produced that mist. Ning and Ninedust were still able to see several tens of thousands of kilometers into the fog-shrouded region.

Whoooosh. Scorching waves of flaming heat washed over them from one side, while frigid waves of icy energy swept towards them from the other side. Ning and Ninedust descended upon the thin, narrow strip of land where the two elemental seas met and collided.

“Oh, a few more kids have come to test their luck.” A hoarse, grating voice that sounded like knives and swords grinding against each other suddenly rang out.

Ning and Ninedust were both badly startled. They hurriedly turned to look towards the direction of the voice, only to see the distant fog quickly begin to dissipate. A streak of deep blue light which was even denser than the fog came surging out of it, tearing the fog apart. Ning and Ninedust soon saw a strange deep blue creature that looked like a sea dragon crawl onto the thin ‘bank’ between the two sides of the world. It stared straight at Ning and Ninedust with its dark-gold eyes.

This dark blue dragon seemed to have been completely sculpted out of freezing ice, and it radiated a cold aura of incredible power. Most likely, even second-tier Daolords would end up having their truesouls frozen solid and then shattered, resulting in their deaths, unless they had particularly powerful life-preserving methods.

“Haha, intriguing. Two young fellows, come to play. Things are finally getting interesting.” A deep, rumbling laugh rang out from other side as well, and Ning and Ninedust both hurriedly turned to look.

The dense mist split apart once more, and from the other side of the bank appeared a muscular, four-hooved equine of fire which began to walk towards Ning and Ninedust.

The deep blue dragon and the fiery equine looked at Ning and Ninedust with some curiosity.

“Darknorth, this place definitely holds some secrets.” Ninedust grew rather nervous as he sent mentally, “These two are incredibly strong and pose an incredible threat. I’m worried that I won’t be a match for them at all.”

“We’ll match them blow for blow.” Ning remained quite calm. These two strange beasts brought a sense of pressure to him as well, but he still felt confident in his abilities to stay alive.

Ninedust suddenly called out loudly, “Greetings, seniors.”

“Oh, how nice. A junior who understands the proper way to behave.” The deep blue dragon lowered its giant draconic head to peer downwards at Ning and Ninedust. “After all these chaos cycles, the Aeonians have finally sent another Daolord over! But… you two don’t look like Aeonians. Have the Aeonians realized that they are outmatched and elected to ask outsiders for help?”

“The Aeonians truly are useless.” The flaming equine said with a snicker, “They have this world all to themselves, but they haven’t been able to produce so much as a single truly powerful expert. As far as Emperors go? They don’t even have a Hegemon! As for Daolords, all of theirs are mediocre.”

“Since the two of you are Daolords, we’ll follow the same rules as always. If you can defeat the two of us, we won’t bar your path,” the deep blue sea dragon said.

“You only have to defeat the two of us.” The flaming equine was quite eager as well.

Ning and Ninedust both were intrigued by this. They were starting to understand. “Seniors,” Ning said, “Do we have to defeat you individually, or shall we fight in a group?”

“You two kids can come against us, one at a time.” The sea dragon let out a chuckle. “Fight me first, then against the fiery guy over there. If you can defeat the two of us separately, you’ll be allowed to do as you please.”

“AWOOO! Stop sleeping! All of you, get over here!” The flaming equine lifted its head up and let out a mighty howl which echoed throughout every inch of this planet.

Whoooooosh. The entire vast planet suddenly began to tremble and rumble as the two great seas on both sides began to shake.

One deep blue sea dragon after another began to fly out of the deep blue seas, while more and more flaming equines flew out of the sea of flames. They differed in size and strength, with the large ones having auras that were even more terrifying than the two in front of Ning. The smaller ones were a bit weaker.

Nearly a hundred of the sea dragons and the flaming equines ended up appearing. They all looked over to this area, watching rather excitedly.

“This is utterly terrifying.” Ninedust was badly frightened by this. He immediately sent to Ning, “There were actually this many creatures hidden within this planet? If they were all to attack in unison… I’m afraid that only Hegemons would be able to survive.”

“Yes.” Ning sensed the terrifying danger the two groups posed. These beasts were simply too strong; neither he nor Ninedust could possibly resist them.

To be surrounded and watched by so many of those beasts… Ning and Ninedust both felt a sense of great pressure.

“These are members of our race,” the deep blue sea dragon in front of Ning said. “Don’t worry. Since you two are merely Daolords, they will only stand off to one side and watch. If an Emperor came, they would have to defeat both of our races in order to proceed! As mere Daolords, beating the two of us will suffice. Otherwise, you can forget about leaving with any of the treasures on this planet.”

“Which of you two will be the first to attack?” The flaming equine was starting to grow impatient.

Ning and Ninedust both felt rather stunned. Ninedust sent mentally, “The Aeonians do not have any Hegemons. It seems as though they are not able to defeat these two races, and I can’t even imagine how long it would take before they are able to give birth to a Daolord capable of defeating these two beasts without assistance.”

“Yes. I’ll go first and see just how tough these beasts are,” Ning said.

“It’ll be up to you. I have no shot at all,” Ninedust said helplessly. His subconscious was screaming danger at him, ensuring that he understood that he was no match whatsoever for these two beasts.

……

The two massive beasts standing at each end of the thin strip of land squinted at the tiny little dot in front of them. Far away, within the two vast seas, the two races of nearly two hundred terrifying beasts all watched with interest.

“I’ll go first,” Ning said aloud.

“Good.” The deep blue sea dragon grinned widely. “Come forward, young fellow.”

Ning instantly manifested three heads and six arms, bringing his six Northbow swords to the ready. Swoosh! Ning instantly charged into the skies, moving far faster than a hundred times the speed of light.

“Heeey. Pretty fast!” The sea dragon’s eyes lit up. It instantly and excitedly waved its right paw, sending it striking towards Ning at more than a hundred times the speed of light. This claw-strike emanated a bone-chilling cold that pierced towards Ning’s tiny little frame.

Ning moved in an almost ghostly manner. He merely had to gently rap the flat of his blade against the right claw to force it aside, then charged straight towards the sea dragon’s flank.

“This Daolord isn’t bad.”

“He’s pretty tough.”

“The Aeonian Daolords themselves are far too weak. I wonder where they managed to find such a formidable young fellow to help them out?” The two races of beasts watched from the distant seas with interest, commenting as the battle proceed.

“Break!” Ning stabbed straight towards the sea dragon’s flank, his Northbow sword immediately executing his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. A mist-formed sword tore through the skies, stabbing straight at the deep blue flank. The sea dragon didn’t just look as though it had been sculpted out of an enormous piece of ice, it actually WAS covered by layers of thick, dense ice.

Slash! The tip of the sword stabbed into the ice, just barely managing to leave behind a tiny little wound on the outermost layer of the ice. Moments later, cold energy flowed forwards and quickly restored the damage down.

Whooosh. The deep blue sea dragon’s vast body suddenly flew backwards, coiling like a whip then snapping forward through the skies as it caused a vast illusory wave to appear in the skies.

It was simply too fast and too massive. There was no chance for Ning to dodge at all. He immediately used his six Northbow swords to defend as the sea dragon slammed its massive bulk straight against Ning.

BOOM! It was like using a giant whip to swat a tiny mosquito. Ning felt an enormous amount of power spread throughout his entire body, sending him flying backwards uncontrollably. He smashed into the distant ground, creating a giant crevice that was more than a thousand kilometers long.

“Eh? He didn’t die, did he?” The deep blue sea dragon hovered there in the skies, peering downwards with concern. Only when he could sense that Ning was still unharmed did he relax slightly.

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Chapter 6 – Understood

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 6 – Understood

Ji Ning had already flown out of the long crevice and landed next to it. Naturally, he was completely unharmed; after spending hundreds of millions of years within the Sithe ruine inside the Stone Hellephant Wall, he had long ago trained his body to make it comparable to high-grade Eternal weapons. On top of that, he also had his Hegemon armor! Even if he didn’t use sword-arts to block, he’d still be able to take this hit. When you factored in how powerful his defensive sword-arts were… the only reason he had even been sent flying was because the sea dragon had snapped its body like a whip, generating such enormous momentum that he couldn’t help but fly backwards.

“Such power.” Ning raised his head to stare seriously at the deep blue sea dragon in the skies.

“Haha, I’m glad you didn’t die. I was afraid I would’ve beaten you to death with a single whap. That would’ve been boring.” The sea dragon coiling in the air peered downwards at Ning, its voice booming.

“Darknorth, can you beat it?” Ninedust asked mentally.

Ning had a solemn look on his face. “It’ll be a bit difficult. It’s not so bad when it stays still, but when it starts to move its entire body strikes like a supple, long whip. Its movements are extremely unpredictable, and I wasn’t able to dodge in time. That’s why I was knocked flying.” He had reached the fourth stage of his Shadowless stance long ago, and his movements were extremely unpredictable… but he had still been knocked flying by the sea dragon. Ning understood that this meant the sea dragon’s movements were every bit as ghostly and unpredictable as his own!

“Grow!” Ning roared loudly. Whoosh! Ning’s divine body began to dramatically grow in size, towering to become a titanic mountain-sized giant with three heads and six arms. Each of the six Northbow swords in his hands transformed to become utterly massive as well.

“Oh, he grew bigger?” The sea dragon watched curiously.

“We’re too close to each other at my normal size; I don’t have enough time to dodge.” Ning’s voice boomed out, “My only choice is to grow bigger and stay a good distance away from you; that way, I might be able to avoid some attacks.”

The farther away they were from each other, the more space Ning would have to maneuver in.

“You know, young fellow, I’m most confident in my agility and in my unpredictability. Come, let’s dance again.” The sea dragon suddenly charged downwards. Whoosh! Its sinuous body lashed out like a whip, leaving behind an arc in the skies as it charged straight towards Ning.

Ning hurriedly moved backwards while using one of his mist-formed swords in a ghostly block. Clank! The sword-light clashed against the sea dragon’s claws.

Whoosh! The sea dragon’s tail came lashing towards Ning with shadowy speed! Space itself seemed to be torn apart by this strike, which was so fast as to render Ning speechless.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning hurriedly retreated while executing his Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart. Fortunately, he himself was also quite unpredictably agile and he also moved more than a hundred times faster than the speed of light.

The sea dragon let out a mighty roar as it coiled around itself. Is tail swept outwards as its upper body dove downwards, sending its fierce draconic claws straight towards Ning.

Boom! Boom! Fortunately, Ning had three heads and six arms, allowing him to just barely block this draconic strike. However, the sea dragon suddenly opened its massive draconic maws and then bit down towards Ning! Ning hurriedly retreated backwards to avoid this terrifying bite. Boom! The sea dragon charged headfirst-towards Ning, delivering a headbutt against the fleeing Ning and sending him flying even further backwards. He only came to a halt after flying a great distance, at which point Ning flew back to the field of battle.

“Too fast and too slippery.” Ning’s head was starting to hurt. The sea dragon’s entire body was covered with extremely thick layers of frozen ice, which meant that there were no weaknesses to exploit at all. Every single part of its body could be used as a weapon! It was also incredibly fast and slippery, capable of unleashing consecutive combination attacks without pause.

“I’ve always relied on my speed and unpredictable attacks to achieve victory, but this sea dragon just so happens to be superior to me in these areas…” Ning frowned. “It seems my only choice is to break through using raw power. I suppose I’ll give it a try.”

Break through with overwhelming, raw power in a frontal strike! It didn’t matter how unpredictable the enemy’s attacks were if you could just barrel straight forwards with an unstoppable strike; so long as the attack landed, the enemy would be defeated!

The reason why Ning had yet to use his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker was because of what had happened during his first clash against the deep blue sea dragon. His Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop had only been able to drill a tiny wound into the thick layers of ice covering the sea dragon’s body. Ning had gotten a vague sense of how terrifyingly tough that armor of ice was, and thus he didn’t feel confident in his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker and its chances.

However, he was out of options. He had to give it a try.

……

“This kid is pretty fast, and his sword-arts are also quite ghostly. Although he’s at a disadvantage, at least he’s able to put up a good fight.”

“It’s quite rare for us to encounter such a formidable Daolord.”

“Interesting, interesting.”

“It seems as though his protective divine ability is also quite formidable. He has yet to take any injuries at all.”

The nearly two hundred beasts who were watching in the two vast seas were all quite interested in this battle, and they chatted while watching.

“Darknorth’s been shut down.” Ninedust was starting to grow anxious. “We actually ran into something that has even weirder attacks than him and which is just as fast as him.”

……

“Again!” Ning bellowed. This time, his demeanor was completely different. He put away his other five Northbow swords, leaving just one sword behind. All six of his arms tightly clenched the sole remaining sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning began to run across the ground. His speed wans’t that fast, less than a hundred times the speed of light, but as he ran his aura seemed to grow increasingly powerful. The most important aspect to the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker lay in the accumulation of power! Only after accumulating enough power could you then unleash it in a terrifying blow; only then could Ning unleash his true, most powerful strike.

“Eh?” The airborne sea dragon was slightly startled upon seeing this, then grew excited: “His aura seems to have become quite savage! But I’ll have to test it out myself to see just how strong he is. I hope he doesn’t disappoint.” The sea dragon let out an excited roar, then swooped downwards and charged straight towards Ning. It didn’t move to dodge, nor did it feel the need to.

Ning continued to bound forwards, his momentum and aura having reached an apex. Riiiiiip! The sea dragon struck out with a pair of draconic claws, tearing downwards through the sky at Ning.

“Now… BREAK for me!” Ning roared loudly. All six of his hands were clenched tightly around his sword as he raised it up high, pouring more and more energy into it. It had already transformed into a thick, blurry pillar of mist-formed sword energy of incredible weight and density. Ning then delivered a furious downwards chop, causing the thick pillar of mist to suddenly explode! It was like the bursting of a volcano, with all of his power and might exploding forth from the strike.

The stately thick pillar of mist-formed sword energy seemed to have suddenly exploded and transformed into a dazzling star that had gone supernova. All of its power was unleashed in an instant as it smashed directly against the draconic claws.

BOOOOM! A terrifying shockwave of force blasted out, causing Ning to be knocked backwards. This time, he was sent flying even faster than before!

The sea dragon had previously been quite excited, but the terrifying collision caused even its body to tremble. The mighty shockwave swept across its entire body, flipping it upside down and sending it flying backwards as well. Moments later, a series of cracking sounds could be heard as the ice over its body began to splinter and crack, making it look almost like a turtle shell. Some of the shattered pieces of ice actually began to fall off of it!

Alas, the creature quickly righted itself and brought itself to a halt in the skies. Its body had previously glistened beautifully, but it was now covered with countless ugly cracks and scars that spanned its entire body. However, a dense aura of cold energy quickly spread out to cover its body, causing the cracks and tears to quickly heal. In less time than was needed to take a single breath, the many ugly wounds had been completely healed.

“It healed that fast?” The spectating Ninedust was speechless. “This is going to be trouble.”

“Haha, again!” Ning had been blown backwards, but he charged straight forwards with an indomitable aura, roaring with high-spirited laughter.

He still held just a single sword in his six arms, and like Pangu cleaving apart Heaven from Earth he once more delivered a furious frontal chop with endless might!

“Excellent, excellent! It’s been so long since I’ve had this much fun.” The deep blue sea dragon charged forwards as well. This time, it lashed out with its massive tail in a swatting blow at Ning, smashing it straight against Ning’s sword. BOOM! The two were once more sent flying backwards. This time, the sea dragon was prepared and thus it suffered slightly fewer wounds and cracks to its body. The ones that did appear once more healed quite quickly.

“Again.”

“Yes, again!”

Ning was filled with the desire to do battle. He charged forwards repeatedly, using raw, overwhelming force to clash straight against the deep blue sea dragon. The sea dragon started off quite excited by this fight, but it quickly grew resigned and bored… it didn’t want to fight head-on against Ning, but it simply had no way to avoid Ning’s straightforward and dominating Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. Ning was far less agile than it was, after all.

“I want to see just how long your divine power and Immortal energy will be able to hold on for!” The deep blue sea dragon started to grow angry, and it rammed straight against Ning time and time again.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two clashed repeatedly, causing the two groups of beasts watching from the two seas to become rather puzzled.

“What’s going on with that Daolord? He knows there’s no way to win like this, so why is he doing this?”

“It does seem rather odd.”

“He won’t be able to win like this. He won’t be able to win unless he can smash open the frozen ice with a single blow.”

……

Ning was no fool, of course. However, when he had first used his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker to clash head-on against the deep blue sea dragon, the furious yet exhilarating feelings had caused him to gain a spark of insight! He began to gain more and more insights, which was why he continued to furiously unleash his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker against the sea dragon, hoping to be able to finally catapault his Heavenbreaker stance to the fourth stage.

BOOM! With the ninety-eighth collision, Ning’s face lit up with excitement as he flew backwards. “I understand now! I finally understand!”

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Chapter 7 – Autarch’s Decree

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 7 – Autarch’s Decree

Ji Ning finally saw the light, and his Heavenbreaker stance broke through to the fourth stance. Now… his Blood Drop stance, Shadowless stance, Heavenbreaker stance, Yin-Yang stance, and Soleheart stance had all broken through to the fourth stage. These five stances were linked together and reinforced each other, giving Ning a sense of perfection and completeness. However… he knew that this sense of perfection wasn’t the true apex! Only when he perfectly fused these five stances into his Omega Sword Dao – Stage Four would they undergo a qualitative breakthrough.

“I’m just one step away… once I take that step, I’ll be a Daolord of the Fourth Step! When that happens, my only consideration shall be whether or not I should engage in the Daomerge.” Ning was filled with excitement.

The Daomerge? He felt as though his chances were slim; he didn’t dare put too much hope into that! But once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he’d become dramatically more powerful. As his understanding of the [Heartsword] art slowly improved, he’d probably surpass the level of the Archons of the Sacred Cities and close in on the Hegemon level! Emperor Heartsword had been inferior to Ning in his mastery of the Dao of the Sword, but thanks to his full mastery of all fifteen stances of the [Heartsword] art he had been extremely close to the Hegemon level.

Ning had a much greater grasp of the Dao of the Sword, and he had also reached an extremely high level in the [Heartsword] art; it was entirely possible for him to one day become equal to Hegemons in power!

With that level of power, he would be able to go off adventuring… and perhaps he might be able to find something that he could use to convince an Autarch to reverse the flows of spacetime and revive Yu Wei.

“Once I take that final step and become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, I’ll go and challenge the Azureflower Estate once more! The destiny which awaits me there is definitely an extraordinary one.” Ning eagerly anticipated the coming of that day… but everything had to wait for him to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step first! Although he had already reached the fourth stage in all five of his stances, he had to merge them together into his final Omega Sword Dao.

How long would this step take? It could be as fast as the next instant… but could also be as slow as a chaos cycle or even a hundred chaos cycles!

……

“Eh?” The airborne sea dragon peered downwards at the white-robed youth, realizing that the youth had come to a halt. It let out a rumbling shout, “Kid, you tired from all the fighting? You were fighting me head-on like crazy. I imagine you must’ve used up a great deal of your divine power and Immortal energy.”

The distant Ning smiled slightly. “Let’s do it again. If you can still withstand my strike, I’ll stop the fight.” His voice echoed throughout the air.

“Darknorth… did he…?” The distant Ninedust was truly shocked as he watched this.

“Why is this young fellow suddenly saying something so bold?”

“Did he come up with a way to gain victory?”

“Let’s see just what he’s planning.”

The two races of beasts in the two seas watched curiously from afar. They wanted to see just what technique Daolord Darknorth would use in this final clash.

Boom! Ning suddenly moved with incomparable savagery, transforming into a streak of light that shot straight towards the distant deep blue sea dragon. The three-headed, six-armed Ning once more wrapped all six hands around the hilt of the Northbow sword, filling it with an aura of overwhelming might as he transformed it into a dominating mist-formed sword.

“This technique again?”

“Isn’t that what he used previously?”

Everyone was puzzled. Even the sea dragon fighting against Ning was confused, but it didn’t hesitate; it let out an enraged howl and charged forwards. Ning’s own agility and sword-arts made it hard for it to dodge, and so it chose to meet the attack head-on.

Whoosh! As the sea dragon charged towards Ning, it suddenly swept out with its tail, using it to lash out at Ning like an enormous long whip. Crack!

Ning suddenly let out an earth-shaking howl! The ethereal, mist-formed sword in his hand suddenly exploded with power, instantly becoming millions of times brighter as it exploded against the sea dragon’s tail.

BOOM!

As soon as the sea dragon collided against Ning’s sword, it immediately knew that something was wrong! The power of the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker was only evident in the very last instant, when it released its stored power. A slumbering volcano was very ordinary and unremarkable; one could only understand how truly terrifying it was in the moment of its explosion. The sea dragon could sense a terrifying surge of power instantly spread out to cover his entire body.

Bang! Its entire icy carapace was only able to withstand the force for a brief instant. A heartbeat later, the entire carapace shattered apart. No… more than just the icy carapace, the body inside cracked apart as well! The entire deep blue sea dragon shattered apart like a piece of ice, instantly breaking apart into countless little pieces.

As for Ning, he stumbled just thirty meters backwards. He stared intently at the shattered bits of eyes, watching as a stream of energy flew out from the freezing ice region and gathered into a blurry figure which looked much like that of the sea dragon. The illusory sea dragon looked at Ning, then let out a laugh: “My frozen form was built up over the course of countless years, but you broke it apart just like that? Impressive, impressive. You’ve won!”

Ning let out a sigh of relief. He watched as the illusory sea dragon continued to draw upon the icy energy of the area, slowly rebuilding its body. However, the full recovery process would take at least ten thousand years. The creature continued, “Still… even though that stance of yours was useful against me, it’ll be useless against the fiery fellow over there. My forte lay in agility and unpredictability, but the fiery fellow’s skills lie in overwhelmingly fierce attacks.”

After speaking, the creature retreated into the deep blue seas, flying into it and then hovering above its surface. A large amount of watery energy swirled around its body, which it constantly drew upon and absorbed.

……

“Won.”

“He actually won.”

“That sword-strike was quite ferocious. He smashed the frozen form apart.” The hundreds of spectator beasts were all quite surprised.

Ninedust was extremely excited. He flew straight towards Ning: “Darknorth, Darknorth, you won! Haha! These two beasts should be two matching pairs; one emanates an aura of endless cold, the other is formed from endless flames. They should be on par with each other in power! Since you were able to beat one, you should be able to beat the second one as well. I can already see your victory!”

“We can’t get careless.” Ning stared at the distant flaming equine, then said in a low voice, “They might be on par with each other, but one might be much easier to defeat than the other.”

For example, defeating Ning would be extremely difficult. Anyone skilled in defense or who had extremely formidable protective divine abilities would all be quite difficult to defeat. Given that the sea dragon came first and the flaming equine was the second challenge, it seemed likely that in some way, shape, or form, the flaming equine would be even tougher to deal with.

……

“If you can defeat me, then our two races will no longer move to bar your path.” The flaming equine’s voice was deep and dominating. “But I’m not as easy to deal with as the frozen fellow; although those beasts have extremely hard bodies that can be used as weapons, their bodies are too easily shattered. Excessive hardness can result in brittleness. To create bodies formed from frozen ice was a fool’s choice to begin with.”

“No, you fire beasts are the true fools.” Instantly, one of the many spectating sea dragons in the air bellowed in disagreement: “Every part of our frozen bodiescan be used as weapons. We only sent out one of the most common members of our race to spar against that young fellow. If our clan leader entered the fray, his sword wouldn’t be able to leave as much as a mark behind on our leader’s body!”

“Defeat is defeat.” The flaming equine glanced sideways at the sea dragon, not even wanting to bother with him.

“You idiot.”

“No, you guys are the idiots.”

“You wanna start a fight? You wanna fight again?”

“Bitch, let’s go!” The two races quickly began to squabble against each other. Both sides were boiling with the eagerness to do battle, a sight which stupefied both Ning and Ninedust.

What Ning and Ninedust didn’t understand was that this planet had no other living beings, and so the two races which lived on it had nothing better than to do when bored than to battle against each other! They’d fight until the skies themselves turned dark and the world itself turned old. To them, fighting against each other was as normal as eating or drinking.

“Let’s not be too hasty.” An ancient voice rang out from one of the deep blue sea dragons in the skies. This sea dragon looked quite ordinary, but its aura was so reserved and stately that Ning hadn’t even noticed it earlier. The sea dragon continued, “The Autarch’s decree was that we were to live here and prevent cultivators from entering that place! If you want to fight, you can fight later; we have business to finish first.”

“Agreed. We have business to finish first.” A similar order came from a stately flaming equine on the other side of the planet.

The two races quickly calmed down and fell silent. As for Ning and Ninedust, they were intrigued; the ‘Autarch’s decree’? It seemed as though this place had also been set up in accordance with an Autarch’s plans… but why had none of it been written down on the stone stele?

“Come, then.” The flaming equine stood in the air above that narrow strip of land, its body blazing with flames so hot that the air around it was bubbling.

“Let’s.” Ning instantly transformed into a streak of light as he shot over towards the flaming equine.

The flaming equine moved as well, its four hooves galloping across the air itself as it suddenly sped up. It immediately moved more than a hundred times the speed of light… and in fact, it was even faster than the sea dragon. Its flying speed was absolutely ferocious! It lowered its head slightly, pointing its horns straight at its foe.

BOOM! Ning once more used his most savage strike, the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. His sword shot out, smoting furiously upon the flaming equine’s skull! As for the equine, it didn’t dodge at all; it just continued its headlong charge.

An enormous explosion rang out! The flaming equine trembled slightly as it staggered more than three hundred meters backwards, while Ning was actually blasted more than a thousand kilometers away before Ning came to a halt. Ning was secretly shocked: “Just like the sea dragon said… this beast specializes in overwhelmingly ferocious attacks. It really is ferocious; it’s even stronger than my Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker! Perfect! Only foes like this are strong enough for me to temper my sword-arts.”

What he needed to do was to take that one final step and become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. To do that, he needed sufficient challenges to face!

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Chapter 8 – Daolord Coldsky

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 8 – Daolord Coldsky

“Gwaaaaaar!” The flaming equine’s entire body was covered in flames as it galloped across the skies towards Ji Ning with frenetic momentum.

BOOM! Ning transformed into a streak of light, clashing against the flaming equine time and time again in midair. Sometimes he fought it head-on, sometimes he used unpredictable movements, and sometimes he completely disappeared into thin air… but once he moved closer to the creature, he was forced to show himself by its blazing flames!

……

This was an incredibly exciting battle. The shockwaves generated by the repeated collisions blasted out in every direction, causing Ninedust to repeatedly move backwards as he watched.

“Such power! Darknorth is growing stronger and stronger.” Ninedust was excited by what he saw.

“Interesting.”

“They’ve fought to a standstill?”

“The flame beast holds an advantage in power, while the kid holds an advantage in unpredictability. Still… based on what I can tell, this battle should be depleting quite a bit of the kid’s divine power and Immortal energy. Once a bit more time passes, it’ll be hard for the kid to stay in top fighting form, whereas his opponent can draw from the energy of the endless sea of flames. It’d be easy for him to stay in battle for ten years or even a hundred years without resting. If things proceed like this, the kid’s probably going to die.”

“Yes, if the young fellow wishes to win, he needs to win as soon as possible. The longer this drags out, the greater his chances of losing will be.” The two races of beasts watching from the sidelines all commented with interest.

One day… two days… three days… Ning continued to battle against the flaming equine in midair, the two landing on the ground every so often to continue the battle there.

“He’s definitely going to lose.”

“Look! His sword-arts aren’t able to maintain that mist-form from before.”

“He probably has depleted too much divine power and Immortal energy. He’s unable to maintain it.”

“It’s been too long. He’s lost.” The majority of the watching beasts all came to this conclusion.

……

The battle between Ning and the flaming equine lasted for an extremely long period of time. By the third day, Ning gave up on using the [Heartsword] art! This was because the [Heartsword] art allowed Ning to fight the flaming equine to a standstill… and Ning had quickly discovered the flaming equine’s flaws! Whenever Ning wished it, he would be able to quickly defeat the creature.

However… Ning’s greatest goal was to break through to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. What he needed was a good opponent to temper himself against! This was why, after the third day, he pretended to be exhausted and stopped using the [Heartsword] art. Without it strengthening him, his power instantly dropped by half! This caused him to immediately be at a disadvantage and be suppressed by the flaming equine.

“This is perfect. Now, I can truly test out my sword-arts. Mm… yes, I see many more flaws in my sword-arts that I previously had not discovered. I need to perfectly master and merge the mysteries of these five stances into a whole. Only then will my sword-arts be truly flawless and complete.”

Ning was being dominated and beaten down, but this only showed him more clearly the weaknesses in his sword-arts. His mind was now filled with many new insights… but these insights weren’t enough! He would need far more if he wished to merge his five stances into the fourth stage of the Omega Sword Dao and then become a Daolord of the Fourth Step.

In the blink of an eye, nineteen days had passed with Ning and the flaming equine locked in combat. This caused the many watching beasts to feel puzzled: “The kid’s actually been able to hang on for nineteen days?”

“That couldn’t have been easy. He’s clearly much weaker now, but he’s still been able to hold on… not bad at all.”

“This will end in defeat, but an honorable one.”

……

Ning continued to dodge and stumble about while defending with his six swords. Suddenly, his movements changed as a sharp light flashed through his eyes. “Time to bring it to an end.”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sword-light once more formed into streams of mist as the power of his strikes increased twofold! With a boom, Ning’s strikes collided against the flaming equine, catching it off-guard and sending it stumbling.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning’s six swords suddenly disappeared without a trace, reappearing much closer to the equine when its flames forced them to manifest. The six swords were like a peacock unfurling its plumage. They were absolutely incandescent yet completely ghostly in their movements.

Although the flaming equine was quite valiant and doughty, Ning had used the Heavenbreaker stance and the Blood Drop stance to break through its guard, then used the Shadowless stance to quickly wrap his swords around its bodies. The divine swords transformed to become long and flexible, coiling around the flaming beast and quickly tying the entire thing up securely.

“Impossible.” The trussled flame beast had a look of disbelief on its face. “How could this have happened?”

It clearly recalled what had just happened. It had endured the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop, Heavenbreaker, and Shadowless multiple times by now; those techniques were of no threat to it. How was it that this time, it had been defeated?

In truth, if Ning had merely used those three stances by themselves, he wouldn’t have been able to pose a threat to the creature at all. However, when he used all three together in a manner where they reinforced each other, he was able to capitalize on a weakness in the flaming equine’s movements and thus capture and bind it.

An effective combination of attacks could cause one to become quite a bit more dangerous.

“Again! Let’s do it again! I can’t accept this outcome.” The flaming equine was furiously struggling against its bonds, twisting and turning while it roared angrily, “You got lucky just now! I was over-confident. Let’s fight again!”

“Hmph.” When Ning saw the uncowed look on the flaming equine’s face, Ning silently muttered to himself, “If I didn’t want to use you to temper my sword-arts, I would’ve captured you on the very first day.”

“A defeat is a defeat,” an ancient voice rang out. The stately clan leader flew out from within the ranks of the hundred or so flaming equines.

“Clan leader.” The tied-up equine was still rather unwilling to accept this outcome. “I-I…”

“Just look at yourself. You’ve been tied up like a baby.” The flaming equine turned to look at Ning. “This young fellow’s sword-arts can switch between being supremely hard and supremely soft, between being fast and being slow, and is defensively impenetrable. It truly has no weaknesses at all. As soon as he unleashed his full power, he instantly captured you. Although it was partially because of your own over-confidence, even if you were careful you still probably wouldn’t have been able to hold out too long.”

Ning was secretly startled. The clan leader really had good judgment. It was true that part of the reason why he had been able to instantly capture the flaming equine was because he hadn’t used the [Heartsword] art during the past ten-plus days. His sudden usage of it and the corresponding increase in power had caught the flaming equine off-guard, allowing him to catch it with ease. If his foe was prepared, Ning still would’ve been able to capture him, but it wouldn’t have been nearly this easy.

“Alright.” The captured equine nodded submissively. The clan leader’s prestige was quite high and had a suppressive effect on it.

“Young fellow, you won. From this moment forth, our two clans will no longer stand in your path.” The flaming equine leader looked at Ning.

Ning waved his hand, retracting the Northbow swords which had been wrapped around the flaming equine and drawing them back into his hands.

“These two battles have benefited me tremendously,” Ning said with a respectful bow.

Whoosh. The similarly stately and reserved leader of the sea dragons flew out of deep blue sea and towards Ning. It landed next to Ning, then let out a laugh: “Hah! It has been a very, very long time since a Daolord has passed the trials.”

“When was the last time a Daolord passed the trials?” Ning asked curiously.

“Very long ago, more than nine hundred thousand chaos cycles ago.” The sea dragon leader peered at Ning. “I think his name was Daolord Coldsky.”

“Coldsky?” Ning was puzzled.

“Daolord Coldsky? Who?” Ninedust was puzzled as well.

Anyone capable of passing this trial had to be just as strong as the current Ning. By all rights, he should’ve been an incredibly famous figure. Even though nearly a million chaos cycles had gone by and very few would’ve remembered him, people like Ning and Ninedust who had access to many historical records and secrets should’ve heard of him. They knew all of the most dazzling and most talented Daolords in history. Neither, however, had ever heard of an incredibly talented Daolord by the name of Daolord Coldsky.

“Back then, Daolord Coldsky said that he belonged to a different branch of the Aeonian race. He had been invited here to help out the Flamedragon branch,” the sea dragon leader said.

“A different branch?” Ning and Ninedust were both shocked.

“Other realmverses also have Aeonians?” Ning was puzzled.

“The Aeonian race has quite an extraordinary background.” The sea dragon leader smiled. “The ones in the Flamedragon Realmverse represent nothing more than a single branch of that race. Otherwise, how could they possibly have acquired a treasure like this ‘Aeonian Kingdom’?”

Ning and Ninedust were both enlightened. Indeed, the Aeonian Kingdom was a place which not even Hegemons dared to trespass within. It really wasn’t a treasure which the local Aeonians, a race which merely had a few Eternal Emperors, would’fe been able to create on their own. Ning had always believed that the Aeonians must’ve acquired it somewhere when adventuring. Now, it seemed, it was actually created.

“Daolord Coldsky had already failed his Daomerge, but before his death he was invited to come here to the Flamedragon Realmverse. Ignoring the cost to his vitality, he consecutively defeated two of the younger members of our two races. By the time the battles concluded, his truesoul’s collapsed had been hastened to the point where he only had less than a hundred thousand years to live.” The sea dragon leader shook its head and sighed. “The more monstrously talented a Daolord, the more difficult the Daomerge. A pity, what a pity.”

Ning felt mixed emotions in his heart. If he failed his Daomerge, he would probably do everything he could to help the Three Realms.

Once the Daomerge was failed, one’s truesoul would slowly crumble apart. If one actively avoided using divine power and Immortal energy, one might be able to live for a bit longer… but engaging in combat would result in hastening the truesoul’s collapse! The more times one fought, the more quickly one’s truesoul would decay and the shorter one’s lifespan would become. When the truesoul finally, truly collapsed… one would die.

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Chapter 9 – Omnigeddon Bloodfruit Tree

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 9 – Omnigeddon Bloodfruit Tree

“The Flamedragon branch of the Aeonian race will generally send people once every million chaos cycles to harvest some fruit from this omnigeddon bloodfruit tree.” The sea dragon leader’s voice was quite calm: “That’s because every million chaos cycles, this omnigeddon bloodfruit tree will be filled with a complete harvest of fruit. They’ll either send their own Daolords or ask some extremely powerful Daolords to help out.”

Ji Ning and Ninedust both nodded. Generally speaking, every two or three ‘eras’ there would be a Daolord on par with the current Ning. Some would have techniques like the [Heartsword] art, some would have Universe treasures, some would have other special weapons. Daolord Dreamlore, for example, had a very unique ‘bloodblade’, while Ning had an incredibly powerful Hegemon armor which was on par with the bloodblade in might. However, the Hegemon armor was obviously meant for defense. Another good example would be the six lifeblood weapons which Ning wielded; all of them had been raised to incredibly high levels.

Powerful Eternal Emperors lived extremely long lives and generally were able to raise their lifeblood weapons to extremely high levels, but Daolords had short lives. It was generally very hard for them to upgrade their lifeblood weapons significantly… but every so often, there would be a freak like Ning. Ning’s Northbow swords were incredibly powerful weapons; by now, they made his Heavenbreaker stance and Blood Drop stance five times more powerful than normal! If the Daolord himself was also quite powerful, it was entirely possible for the Daolord to reach the same level as the Archons of the eight Sacred Cities.

“If my guess is correct… you weren’t invited here by the Aeonians, were you?” The sea dragon leader smiled.

“What?”

“They weren’t invited by the Aeonians?”

“How is this possible?” Quite a few of the airborne beasts were astonished. Most of them had assumed that Ning and Ninedust had to have been invited here by the Aeonians.

Ning and Ninedust felt their hearts lurch.

“From the moment you arrived,” the flaming equine leader added, “I could tell that you know almost nothing about this place. If the Aeonians invited you here, you should be quite familiar with this place and its rules… but you didn’t even know the basics about the trials and its rules.”

Ning and Ninedust felt resigned. They really didn’t know anything about this place. Ninedust sent mentally, “Darknorth, if these beasts attack us I’ll lead you in an immediate escape.”

“Don’t worry, you two. We’re here on the Autarch’s orders to protect this place and will bar any Daolords or Emperors who seek to approach,” the sea dragon leader said with a laugh. “We won’t stop any who pass our trials. Whether you are an Aeonian or not is none of our business.”

“Don’t worry, if we wanted to kill you, we would’ve done so long ago.” The flaming equine leader could also tell that Ning and Ninedust both had misgivings.

……

Ning and Ninedust were confident in their abilities. They were carrying the treasures they had acquired from the Sithe ruins, and they had the Autarch’s medallion on them; their chances of fleeing were quite good.

“As juniors, we naturally will believe your words, seniors. Dare I ask… is that fruit tree over there truly an omnigeddon bloodfruit tree?” Ning asked.

“Of course it is,” the flaming equine leader said.

“But… why does it seem different from the ones I’m aware of?” Ning was puzzled. “I’ve heard that omnigeddon bloodfruit trees are much smaller and only have three fruits at most.”

“This omnigeddon bloodfruit tree is a hundred times more precious than ordinary ones,” the flaming equine leader said. “Every single fruit is also far more marvelous than the ones from ordinary trees in the outside world. Haha… words don’t suffice. Once you harvest the fruit and give it a close examination, you will understand.”

Ning and Ninedust were speechless. Moments later, Ning grew excited. A hundred times as valuable? A single true omnigeddon bloodfruit tree was a priceless treasure that even Hegemons would go crazy over! Something a hundred times more valuable… Ning estimated that it had to approach the value of Crimsonwave Temple in worth. Even if it wasn’t quite that much, it wouldn’t be too far off.

“This tree is probably worth more than the networth of most Hegemons, right?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course! The Aeonian race in the Flamedragon Realmverse treat this fruit tree as something more valuable than their very lives,” the flaming equine leader said.

Ning immediately came to the decision that he not only was going to harvest the fruit, he was going to uproot this tree! He was going to uproot this mysterious, unique omnigeddon bloodfruit tree and take it away with him at all costs! This mysterious tree might be enough to ask an Autarch to revive his wife. His goal was within his sight; there was no way he wasn’t going to give it his all.

“Darknorth, are you thinking of uprooting the tree to save your Dao-companion?” Ninedust sent mentally.

The fact that Ning wished to rescue his lover wasn’t exactly a secret. When Ning had met the leaders of the six major organizations after exiting Crimsonwave Temple, he had already asked about the price needed to reverse the flows of spacetime and revive his beloved Dao-companion. Ninedust had been present and had heard everything.

“Yes. This omnigeddon bloodfruit tree sounds as though it is quite valuable; I should be able to use it to ask an Autarch to help out! I have to take this risk!” Ning sent mentally, “Let’s keep this a secret for now. If I mention taking the tree away, these two races might move to stop us. I’m planning on uprooting it at the very end. After doing so, we’ll leave right away.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you!” Ninedust felt happy for his friend. The omnigeddon bloodfruit tree might be quite valuable, but Ninedust really didn’t care that much about it.

……

Ning and Ninedust began to walk towards the tree. The two clan leaders led the way in front of them, with the sea dragon leader rumbling, “We won’t move to stop Daolord Darknorth, but Daolord Ninedust, you haven’t passed our trials yet. We’ll only permit you to stand next to him and watch. You are forbidden from taking part, much less harvesting any of the fruit. If you dare to do so, don’t blame us from moving to exterminate you.”

“I understand,” Ninedust acknowledged. In his heart, he felt quite resigned… because his title was Daolord Redwater, not Daolord Ninedust! Alas, he didn’t want to argue over it. They were going to leave soon and most likely would never meet again. Why even bother?

Soon, Ning and Ninedust arrived before the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree. “Whoah.” Both of them felt quite stunned. The entire tree had to be over three million meters high, and its trunk was as thick as the pillars of heaven. As for its twisted branches, they were like sinuous dragons that were covered with glowing, vitality-filled leaves. And the fruits? It must be understood that the two of them were able to sense the rippling auras of the fruits from far away. Now that they were much closer, those ripples surged straight into their hearts and minds. Even their breathing was affected by it.

“What a fine treasure,” Ning said with a praiseful sigh.

“This is far more stunning than the fruit trees we saw in Crimsonwave Temple.” Ninedust sighed in amazement as well. The feeling this mysterious fruit tree gave him surpassed even the majestic aura of Hegemons!

“Only by combining all of those trees would you have something which surpassed this one. Of course it is stunning!” Ning’s heart was surging with excitement.

The nearby sea dragon leader said, “The Aeonians have set up many layers of barriers around this tree. Do you have a technique to open those barriers up?”

Ning and Ninedust were startled. Ning waved his hand, sending a wave of Immortal energy out and causing the formerly invisible and hidden barriers to immediately light up. Countless runes flowed on the surfaces of those barriers, causing Ning’s face to tighten. They weren’t invited here by the Aeonians; they naturally had no method for opening it up.

“But they don’t seem to be too strong,” Ning suddenly realized with surprise. Based on what he just saw, he should be able to destroy these barriers within a short period of time with his sword-arts.

“Of course they aren’t. Only Daolords have come here, and so these were personally set up by the Daolords who did make it inside,” the sea dragon leader said. “They brought many formations and barriers, but unfortunately they are on automatic mode. No one is actively managing them, which weakens them even further.”

Both Ning and Ninedust nodded. Formations which were actively controlled would be far more powerful. Without a controller present, they would be set to automatic and would thus naturally be much weaker.

There was nothing the Aeonians could do. Were they supposed to send Daolords to guard this place? Daolords only lived for 108,000 chaos cycles at most! Send Emperors? Eternal Emperors had zero chance of passing the trials.

“Although they aren’t all that strong, there are quite a number of them. Based on what I know, the Aeonians have set up a total of over 80,000 formations here,” the sea dragon leader said. “If you know the technique for unlocking the barriers, you can go through with ease. If not, you’ll have to break through all 80,000+ barriers before you can move next to the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree.”

“If you can’t break through the formations, you won’t be able to harvest so much as a single fruit,” the flaming equine leader said with a laugh.

Both the clan leaders smiled as they looked at Ning. They wanted to see just what this young fellow would do.

“More than 80,000?” Ning’s face tightened. Just now, he was able to sense that the outermost formation was quite weak. He would probably be able to destroy it with his sword-arts, but… 80,000? How long would that take? If some of the inner barriers were tougher, things would be even more difficult.

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Chapter 10 – Uprooting the Tree

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 10 – Uprooting the Tree

The nearby Ninedust sent mentally, “Darknorth, should we use our Hegemonic treasures?”

“No, we don’t have that many of them to begin with. Once we use them up, we’ll be out,” Ji Ning refused mentally. “We’re keeping those to keep ourselves alive at critical moments. I’ll try a few things out first. Even if it takes me a million years or a hundred million years, that’ll be better than wasting a Hegemonic treasure. Besides… even if we did use it, it wouldn’t be of that much use to us!”

Ning knew that by now, he might be at a disadvantage when fighting against an actual Archon of the Sacred Cities but he was definitely on their overall level! His Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker was capable of unleashing enormous power with a full-strength spike… and yet, it still probably wouldn’t be able to burst open one of those barriers instantly. Although the Hegemonic treasures were formidable and on a higher level of power than Ning, and they would most likely be able to shatter through a number of barriers, it was likely that they would at most be able to shatter through just a thousand barriers with each go. Unfortunately, there were over 80,000 barriers here!

“Let me try first.” Ning’s body blurred as he transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form and drew his six Northbow swords. Ninedust stepped back to watch from the side; all he could do was watch and wait. There was nothing he could do to assist.

“Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop!” A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes as he immediately executed his most penetrating attack.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Six streams of mist-formed energy consecutively stabbed against the exact same spot upon the barrier in front of Ning. The powerful piercing force instantly caused the outermost layer of formations to flicker with light as countless runes began to flow over its surface.

“Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker!” Next, Ning switched to a different stance. There were differences amongst barriers as well; some were extremely flexible and soft, making brute force useless and requiring penetrative power to break through. Others were extremely rigid and unyielding; in this case, the overwhelming power of the Heavenbreaker stance would be the most appropriate and effective. Some barriers were actually illusory!

This was very different from when he had to defeat the formations at Crimsonwave Temple. Those formations were there as part of a test! The formations here, however, had been set down by the Aeonians as a defensive measure to prevent others from stealing their treasures. They naturally poured everything they had into these formations.

“Haha, without anyone controlling these formations, they won’t be able to heal as quickly as I deplete their power. The end result will definitely be their destruction.” Ning quickly discovered a weakness in the formation, then immediately used his Blood Drop stance as the primary attack to break through it.

Just a single hour later, the barrier fell. Although it was able to automatically regenerate, it wasn’t able to keep up with the rate at which its power was being depleted. After breaking through the formation, Ning casually destroyed one of its formation-bases! If he didn’t do so, the formation would quickly regenerate and trap Ning inside of it.

……

One formation after another. Some were actually linked together, making it very hard for Ning to break through them. He was actually forced to use his Immortal energy to control the Northbow swords in attacking different formations in different regions simultaneously.

……

Break, break, break… one layer of barriers after another was breached by Ning’s attacks. Although the Aeonians had paid enormous prices to set up these barriers, they were weakened by the fact that they were unmanned.

Time slowly passed on. One year, two years, three years… ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years…

While breaking through the formations, Ning continuously worked on his sword-arts. He felt as though he was virtually sparring with these many generations of departed formations masters. Some of these formations had been set up by the Aeonians themselves, while others they had purchased from the outside. Every single formation was difficult to breach, and while doing so Ning gained more and more insights into his sword-arts.

“A pity that my [Heartsword] art has yet to make a breakthrough. It seems as though going from the tenth stance to the eleventh stance truly is difficult,” Ning sighed.

Every single strike of his was reinforced by the [Heartsword] art, which showed itself as a mist-formed layer of sword energy. It must be remembered that when one truly trained in the [Heartsword] art, the eighth to tenth stances were considered part of the first stage. The eleventh and twelfth stances were part of the second stage, the thirteenth and fourteenth stances were part of the third stage, and the fifteenth stance was the final stage.

Ning was still stuck in the first stage, and breaking through to the second stage was very, very difficult. Although the three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies he had gained included a few similar techniques which also involved fusing heartforce with divine power and Immortal energy, in the end Ning was an expert of the Dao of the Sword; studying through this Dao was the fastest solution, making the [Heartsword] art the most appropriate art for him. The others could at most be used as references to use.

After reviewing the other techniques, Ning understood that gaining true mastery of the [Heartsword] art was possible only through one way – true and utter devotion to this Dao!

However, knowing and doing are two completely separate concepts. He knew what he had to do, but he still was unable to make the necessary breakthroughs. If breaking through was that easy, Emperor Heartsword wouldn’t have been the only person in all of history to have been able to truly master this [Heartsword] art.

……

More than eighteen million years went by.

The six Northbow swords were hanging in the air, furiously stabbing downwards in an illusory manner. Finally, with a popping sound, the last barrier was broken through by Ning.

“Success.” The distant Ninedust revealed a delighted look.

“He was actually able to break through over 80,000 barriers with just sword-arts.” The two clan leaders were both rather startled. These formations encompassed every type of barrier possible, including bewildering and illusory ones. Thankfully, Ning was a Heartforce Cultivator and thus wouldn’t be misled by them. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have been able to resolve those formations.

The white-robed Ning just stood there, his six Northbow swords hanging in the air. The swords descended in unison, flying back into the sheath on his back.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. He could sense that the past eighteen million years of formation-breaking had been a form of tempering for his sword-arts. He now had gained quite a few new insights into them.

“But I still have no clue as to how I am going to reach the fourth stage with the Omega Sword Dao. Becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step truly is difficult,” Ning sighed to himself. He really didn’t have much hope; all he could do was to continuously advance. Sooner or later, he would break through.

“My young friend Darknorth, these fruits are all quite extraordinary. They are far more valuable than ordinary omnigeddon bloodfruits,” the sea dragon leader said.

Ning turned to glance at it. The two clan leaders were both staring at Ning, as were the nearly two hundred beasts off in the distance. To them, the past eighteen million years had been nothing at all.

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. Both of them knew what had to be done.

“Be careful,” Ninedust sent mentally.

“Don’t worry,” Ning replied mentally.

Boom! Ning’s body blurred as it suddenly expanded dramatically in size. He instantly became the size of a towering mountain that was three million meters tall, the same height as the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree itself.

“You grew pretty big,” the flaming equine leader said with a laugh.

“It makes harvesting easier.” Ning reached out with his hand, easily plucking one of the flame-colored fruits at the very crown of the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, then putting it away.

There were some fruits which could only be harvested in certain ways; for example, there were certain fruits which would vanish when touched by the hand. The omnigeddon bloodfruit, however, could only grow if they underwent ten thousand tribulations during their growing process! It was fine to harvest them by hand; they weren’t delicate at all.

Soon, the thirty-six fruits growing throughout the tree were completely harvested. Ning lowered his head to harvest the final fruit located at the base of the tree. He pulled the fruit into his estate-world with a thought, then reached out with both hands to grasp the trunk of the omnigeddoon bloodfruit tree. He immediately sent out his divine power to cover every inch of the tree, protecting its roots and branches.

“Get up.” Ning exerted his power, allowing his full might to be unleashed. Boom! In the end, the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree was nothing more than a tree; the Azureflower Estate world’s fruit trees had been warded by the master of the estate, which was why Ning was unable to damage them. In fact, he had been restricted to harvesting just a single fruit. The omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, however, was ‘only’ protected by those 80,000+ barriers. By now, Ning had long since destroyed those barriers, and without them blocking his path he was able to easily harvest all of the fruit from the tree.

Whoosh! The entire massive omnigeddon bloodfruit tree was uprooted from the earthy ground. Countless roots began to rise up out of the earth, but the layer of divine power covering the tree ensured that it was completely undamaged.

“Ah?”

“This…”

“He’s…” the two clan leaders and all of the spectating beasts stared in amazement at this sight. The massive tree had just been uprooted by the similarly massive Ji Ning, who moved so fast that they weren’t even able to react in time.

“In you go.” With but a thought, Ning easily drew the uprooted omnigeddon bloodfruit tree into his estate-world.

“Ah?!” After putting away the tree, Ning had been feeling quite excited and planning to flee alongside Ninedust. In fact, Ninedust had already flown towards him like a streak of light… but the look on Ning’s face had changed.

Boom! After he uprooted the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, an enormous crevice had revealed itself underneath him. This enormous crevice was extremely deep, and at the very bottom of it there was a small pool of red liquid! This small pool of what looked like congealed blood was also thirty thousand meters in size! It rolled about like a miniature red sun.

Previously, the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree had been blocking it out, with Ning not having sensed its aura at all. Now that Ning had already uprooted the tree, he could sense a stately and ancient power instantly emanate outwards.

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Chapter 11 – Autarch’s Blood

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 11 – Autarch’s Blood

Ji Ning felt as though he was an ant who was facing the vast, starry night sky. Ning instantly turned pale, finding it hard to breathe as that aura of power swept outwards. It was simply terrifying. The aura of that glob of blood… it vastly surpassed the auras of any of the Hegemons Ning had met thus far! Although Hegemons had incredible auras, they couldn’t even compare to the blood-red ‘sun’ that was glowing before him.

At Ning’s current level of power, he was strong enough to smile and jest in the presence of Hegemons. But when faced with this pool of red blood, he felt utter terror from every fiber of his very being!

“What is that?!” Ninedust came charging over. He had been planning to take Ning away and flee, but he was instantly dazed when he saw that large pool of blood-red liquid, roughly thirty thousand meters in size.

“Darknorth, my young friend… it is useless for you to take away that omnigeddon bloodfruit tree.” The sea dragon leader began to laugh. “The reason why that tree was so marvelous was all due to this drop of blood.”

Ning and Ninedust stood next to each other. They could leave this world whenever they wished, and so they were in no haste to flee just yet.

“I uprooted the bloodfruit tree. Don’t you care?” Ning asked.

“Why should we care?” The sea dragon leader laughed, “Long ago, this world didn’t even have the bloodfruit tree in it. For you to uproot it does nothing to us at all.”

“If this world originally didn’t have a bloodfruit tree in it… where did it come from?” The nearby Ninedust asked, “And… did you just say that this giant pool of liquid is a drop of blood?”

“Yes, a drop of blood. This is a drop of blood which Autarch Bolin created after pouring tremendous amounts of work and essence into it, and it is filled with boundless mysteries,” the sea dragon leader said.

“An Autarch’s blood?” Ning and Ninedust were enlightened. This wasn’t just a random drop of blood from Autarch Bolin; it was something which Autarch Bolin had spent tremendous effort in refining. No wonder it was so terrifying!

“Long, long ago, Autarch Bolin left behind this drop of blood. We have been here on the Autarch’s orders, and we are to prevent all cultivators from reaching it. Daolords, Emperors… everyone must pass the trials before gaining access to this drop of blood,” the sea dragon leader said. “Later on, the Aeonians discovered this place and came here.”

“They realized that the Autarch’s blood was simply too powerful! Thus, they came up with a way to graft the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, a tree with tremendously strong vital energy, on top of it. The tree naturally rooted itself around the Autarch’s blood, and over the course of many years it began to slowly evolve and transform before it finally managed to draw some of the essence from the blood.”

“After absorbing some of the Autarch’s blood, it began to grow larger and larger while giving birth to more and more fruit. Now, it has finally reached a size of three million kilometers and can give birth to a crop of thirty-six fruit at a time,” the sea dragon leader said. “Every single fruit is far more special than ordinary omnigeddon bloodfruit, because they were grown from an Autarch’s blood.”

“This tree has spent more than thirty million chaos cycles absorbing the blood and has already transformed. It shall always produce thirty-six fruits with each harvest. However, now that you have uprooted it, it no longer has access to the Autarcvh’s blood and so the fruit it produces shall most likely be nothing more than ordinary omnigeddon bloodfruits. That makes the value of this tree much lower than before.”

Ning’s face tightened. True. Ordinary omnigeddon bloodfruit trees produced three fruits per harvest, while this one produced thirty-six! This made it comparable to twelve ‘ordinary’ bloodfruit trees. However, the fruit only possessed miraculous properties due to having absorbed blood from the Autarch. That was the reason why the tree could be described as having a hundred times the value of an ordinary tree!

“Just ten or so times?” Ning knew that he couldn’t be too greedy, but he still felt rather disappointed. This sort of treasure was not nearly enough to ask an Autarch to help out.

……

The sea dragon leader suddenly said, “The Autarch said that if one day, someone arrives who is capable of taking away this drop of blood, our two races shall regain our freedom. Darknorth, my young friend, you can try for yourself whether or not you can take the Autarch’s blood away.”

“Yes, if you can take it away, we shall regain our freedom.” The flaming equine leader grew excited as well, as did the hundreds of beasts within the world. Life here was simply too boring. Many of them had been born here, but the oldest ones had been sent here by Autarch Bolin himself. They knew just how lively the outside world was, whereas this place was incredibly dull and lonely.

“Take it away?” Ning and Ninedust were intrigued.

“It was created by the Autarch, who poured all of his effort into its creation. It is incomparably precious, far more than a hundred times more valuable than the tree you just uprooted. Most likely, even other Autarchs would very much desire to acquire this drop of blood and learn some of Autarch Bolin’s secrets from it.” The sea dragon leader continued to describe how valuable this drop of blood was, causing Ning to feel even more eager.

“Darknorth, give it a shot.” Ninedust looked at Ning and sent mentally, “You’d definitely be able to revive your Dao-companion if you acquire this drop of special Autarch’s blood.”

“I’ll give it a shot.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately flying into that enormous crevice. As he moved closer to it, he saw that the round pool of blood was beginning to swivel and emanate auras of increasing power. Ning had to clamp down upon his fear.

Although he couldn’t prevent himself from feeling terrified, he didn’t feel any sense of danger at all. This meant that this blood drop wouldn’t cause any harm to him. Autarch Bolin had left it behind for future generations of cultivators to benefit from, not die from.

Whoosh. Ning exerted his will, causing a divine power clone to appear next to the pool. The clone reached out with its right hand to touch the giant pool of blood. Ning wanted to be careful; this way, he would at most lose a bit of his divine power rather than his own life.

“Eh?” The drop of blood was incredibly cold, but it didn’t cause Ning’s clone any harm at all. “Arise.” The divine power clone tested out applying a bit of power to it.

Rumble… the drop of blood immediately began to shake and shudder. Silken lines began to appear all across this entire vast planet, with all of the lines converging upon the drop of blood. Ning’s divine clone was completely unable to move it at all.

“Arise!” Seeing this, Ning moved his true body over to the pool. He manifested three heads and six arms, then reached out with all six arms while using his Hegemon armor to cover and protect his hands as they delved into the pool of blood.

Ning pulled, hard. Boom! It was like an ant trying to shake a tree; the countless lines across the world connecting to this blood drop fought against him. If Ning wanted to move this blood drop, he would have to be able to overcome the might of this entire planet.

“Lift it up! Move it away!” The two clan leaders and the hundreds of beasts all watched eagerly. The day this drop of blood was taken would be the day they completed their responsibility to test the cultivators who came to this place. Only then would they be able to leave.

“Arise. Arise. Arise!” Ning did his utmost, but there was no way he could overcome the full power of this entire planet. This was an estate-world which had been created by an Autarch, after all; it was incredibly stable and not something which the likes of him could shake.

……

Inside the Aeonian Kingdom. There was a beautiful, ancient palace here which served as the central temple for the entire kingdom.

A handsome youth was seated atop the royal throne within the temple, dressed in elegant black robes. His aura was awe-inspiring and remote. He was the true supreme leader of the Aeonian race… Emperor Anchen. He had been protecting this place since time out of mind, because this temple was connected to the five most important ancestral grounds of the Aeonian race. Every single one of the five was extremely important… but of course, the most important was the ‘first ancestral ground’. This was because it had been left behind by Autarch Bolin himself.

Rumble… suddenly, a tremor swept through the palace. Emperor Anchen was connected to all five ancestral grounds as their protector; he naturally noticed it and immediately turned pale. “The first ancestral ground! Its shaking!?” This was a world which had been created by Autarch Bolin, and the Aeonians knew it well; the only thing which could cause that entire world to shake was if someone was acting against the Autarch’s blood, the most important treasure of all.

“Emperor Islehide, Emperor Duug, there may be invaders within the first ancestral ground. Come right away!” Emperor Anchen sent frantically.

Just a few seconds later… swoosh! Swoosh! Two figures simultaneously appeared. One was the handsome, red-haired Emperor Islehide; the other was the tall, skinny, and pale-faced Emperor Duug. The two had been shocked by what they had just heard and had immediately hastened over.

These three were the three most powerful Emperors of the Aeonian race here in the ‘Endless Territories’.

“There are invaders in the first ancestral ground?” Emperor Islehide and Emperor Duug were both anxious and filled with murderous intent.

“Yes, go in right away,” Emperor Anchen shouted.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.” The bodies of the three Emperors began to blaze with flames. These flames were generated by the igniting of the Aeonian blood. To open the link to the first ancestral ground was extremely difficult; an enormous price would have to first be paid. However, now that something strange was going on inside they could no longer afford to worry about it.

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Chapter 12 – Devastating Rage

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 12 – Devastating Rage

The three most powerful Emperors of the Aeonian race were all covered in blazing flames which began to reach out and connect to each other, slowly forming a strange diagram of a giant claw-shaped hand. This looked like the technique which Autarch Bolin had left behind in that beastworld.

Rumble. The flames from the ignited Aeonian blood instantly reached out to cover all three Emperors. Swoosh! They were teleported straight into the estate-world.

“Let’s move as fast as we can.” The three Emperors stared at the void around them, then turned to look at the astral river. They knew that they had already arrived, and Emperor Anchen shouted anxiously, “If we’re late, things will be even more difficult.”

“Let’s go.” Whoosh! Emperor Anchen generated a dimensional wave and led the other two Emperors with him as he instantly vanished.

This world was extremely stable; not even Hegemons would be able to forcibly tear through spacetime, much less them! However, mere dimensional teleportation was much simpler, as it was merely an evasion-art which rode dimensional waves across fairly short distances.

“There we are.” After the third dimensional wave, they appeared in the skies above that enormous, strange planet within the astral river.

“No…!” Emperor Islehide’s face instantly turned pale, and his scarlet eyes instantly turned blood-red. “The tree! Our omnigeddon bloodfruit tree has vanished!”

Emperor Anchen and Emperor Duug stared as well. They saw that off in the distance, there were ripples of energy spreading outwards and pushing aside the surrounding mist. The three of them were able to see that nothing more than a giant crater was left where the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree had been, and within the crater was a giant figure which was holding onto the Autarch’s blood and seeking to take it away.

“Not only did he take away our omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, he also wants to take away the Autarch’s blood?” Emperor Anchen was so enraged that he ground his teeth to the point of shattering.

“That’s Daolord Darknorth and the Ninedust Sectlord!” Emperor Islehide immediately recognized that Ji Ning was the one holding onto the Autarch’s blood, while the figure next to the crater was that of Ninedust. Emperor Islehide had met the two of them after the Waveshift Realm adventure, and he had even purchased some fruit from Ning. Now, however, they had become mortal enemies!

“These two are nothing more than Daolords… yet they dare to try and steal one of the foundations of our Aeonian race?” Emperor Anchen only grew even angrier. “Kill!”

“Kill them both,” Emperor Duug growled as well.

“Kill.” Emperor Islehide felt just as murderous as the others. They held these two Daolords in no regard at all. They were the three most powerful Emperors of the Aeonian race! They normally viewed Daolords as young children; they were so powerful that eating Daolords was of very little help to them. Weaker Emperors like Melobo, however, did like to eat the Daolords of the Dao Alliance, as did the other Daolords of the Aeonian race. This was why the Dao Alliance and the Aeonians were mortal enemies.

……

Ning had transformed to become utterly titanic, and his six arms had reached out to grab the drop of Autarch’s blood as he sought to seize it. With each attempt, he saw those countless connecting lines appear throughout this entire world.

“These threads?” Ning stared at them carefully. He wanted to try and discern just how this drop of Autarch’s blood was connected to the rest of the world and how he could separate them. If he could come up with a way to sever the connection, it would be much easier for him to take away that drop of Autarch’s blood.

Ning had spent over 10 million years breaking through those 80,000+ formations. He had already grown accustomed to analyzing and dissecting his problems.

“The Aeonians!” Ninedust let out a startled cry from the skies above Ning.

Ning was startled upon hearing this. He turned his head, only to see three figures charging through the skies towards him with looks of absolute murder on their faces. Ning immediately recognized one of the three as Emperor Islehide, who had negotiated with him previously. Although he had never met the other two before, he had learned of them long ago and knew them to be extremely powerful Emperors of the Aeonian race named Emperor Anchen and Emperor Duug.

Emperor Islehide, Emperor Anchen, and Emperor Duug. These three were all comparable to the eight Archons of the Sacred Cities. But of course, much like ‘first-tier’ Daolords there were differences in power within this general stratum and amongst these three Aeonian Emperors.

Different weapons, different secret arts, different ultimate attacks… in short, there were many things that could cause a difference in power. Thanks to their Aeonian bloodlines, all three of these Aeonian Emperors were extremely strong. The youthful-looking black-robed Emperor Anchen was the strongest of the three, the most powerful member of the Aeonian race! Supposedly, his techniques were incredibly frightening and he had access to a Universe treasure. He probably wasn’t much weaker than a Hegemon in might.

“Clan leaders,” Ninedust sent anxiously, “You said that any cultivators who come here must pass your trials. The three Emperors of the Aeonian race should also have to pass the trials, right?”

“Of course.” The sea dragon leader nodded.

“Agreed.” The flaming equine leader nodded its massive head as well.

The sea dragon leader flew into the skies, coiling around itself in midair as it let out a deep, rumbling bellow: “Halt, Emperors.”

“If you do not halt, you shall be attacked by both of our races at the same time.” The flaming equine stood there on the ground, its entire body blazing with flames as it let out a furious, awesome roar.

“HALT!” There were nearly two hundred beasts in this area, and they roared out this word in unison with unstoppable majesty.

Swish! Swish! Swish! The three Emperors who had been diving downwards through the skies came to a screeching halt, ugly looks on their faces.

“He’s uprooted our omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, and now he wants to take away the Autarch’s blood!” Emperor Anchen stood there in the skies, staring angrily at the distant sea dragon leader as he bellowed, “We Aeonians are definitely going to kill these two thieves! Daolord Darknorth, Ninedust Sectlord… the two of you really are quite bold! How DARE you steal treasures from the ancestral grounds of the Aeonian race?!”

“Ancestral grounds?” Ning flew over to Ninedust, and the two stared back at the three Emperors. With the two races of beasts standing guard over them, they didn’t panic.

“Our two clans are here on the Autarch’s orders to protect this place. Anyone who wishes to benefit from the Autarch’s blood must first pass our trials. Our young friend Darknorth has done so, which means that we are in compliance with the Autarch’s orders. Even if he wishes to take the blood away, there’s nothing wrong with that,” the sea dragon leader said. “But you three? If you also pass the trials, we won’t interfere if you want to kill these two… but if you cannot, we have no choice but to protect our young friends.”

“B-but…” Emperor Islehide spluttered furiously.

“Just pass the trials. Easy, right? Come one at a time and defeat both of our races, that’s all you have to do,” the sea dragon leader said.

Emperor Anchen and the others had ugly looks on their faces. Defeat the two races in succession? Every single one of the flaming equines and sea dragons had reached the Archon level, with the clan leaders being even stronger. Only a true Hegemon would have a chance at surviving an assault from so many of these creatures. Emperor Anchen had already given it a try long ago, but he wasn’t even close to being able to succeed.

“But we are the Aeonians. This is our territory!” Emperor Anchen said furiously.

“No, this is the AUTARCH’S territory. The only thing we know and care about is the Autarch’s command,” the sea dragon leader said.

“B-b-but… but that omnigeddon bloodfruit tree belongs to our Aeonian race!” Emperor Anchen said.

“Hahaha! You were all too weak and unable to make much use of the Autarch’s blood, which was why you planted that omnigeddon bloodfruit tree here all those years ago. Over the course of countless aeons, you have harvested countless fruits from this tree… and the value of those fruits vastly exceeded the value of the original tree itself.” The sea dragon leader continued, “You’ve earned enough. Since our young friend Darknorth has passed our trials, he gets to decide what to do with the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, not you.”

“But its ours! It belongs to the Aeonians!” Emperor Islehide was growing anxious as well. The omnigeddon bloodfruit tree had undergone a thorough transformation. Even if it lost access to the Autarch’s blood, it was still comparable in value to twelve ordinary trees. It truly was a marvelous treasure.

Most importantly of all… when it was able to absorb essence from the Autarch’s blood, the unique fruits it gave birth to were more than ten times more valuable than normal ones, making the tree close in value to Crimsonwave Temple! The Aeonians absolutely viewed it as important as life itself. Once they lost this tree, they’d have to wait millions of chaos cycles before any new tree they planted over the blood would have absorbed enough essence to transform.

But… in roughly a million chaos cycles, the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels would destroy the Endless Territories! There was no way they could rear a second tree. This marvelous tree was literally one of a kind. They had already started to accumulate fruits long ago, as once the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels destroyed everything this entire world would probably be devoured and destroyed as well. They would no longer have access to any more fruits! In the final million chaos cycles, they were planning to absorb as much of the essence from the Autarch’s blood as they could… and they were even planning to shatter the tree apart and drain the essence the tree had taken in from the Atuarch’s blood.

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Chapter 13 – Mortal Enemies

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 13 – Mortal Enemies

The essence of the Autarch’s blood would greatly benefit the Aeonian bloodlines of the Aeonian race. To normal cultivators, this tree which Ji Ning had just taken away was nothing more than a tree that would allow for larger-than-normal harvests of fruit. To the Aeonians, however, the Autarch’s blood essence within it was worth more than ten million chaos cycles worth of fruit! It was something they absolutely could not afford to lose.

“No point talking too much. Our young friend Darknorth has passed the trials, which means we shall protect him. If you want to act against him, you can simply attempt the trials as well,” the sea dragon leader said coldly.

“If you want to fight, let’s start. Otherwise, hurry up and beat it,” the flaming equine leader roared as well.

Emperor Anchen and the others were enraged, but there was nothing they could do. Ning and Ninedust both let out sighs of relief when they saw this.

“It seems there’s nothing they can do to us,” Ninedust said with a laugh.

“Once we leave, they’ll probably do everything they can to hunt us down,” Ning said.

“The Endless Territories are vast, while the Aeonians are mortal enemies of the Dao Alliance! These three Emperors wouldn’t dare to act too rashly.” Ninedust was quite relaxed.

Ning nodded. Once they left this place, they would be like wild geese disappearing into the skies. Given that the two of them had access to the [Vitalis] art, they could easily mimic the truesoul auras of others. They could literally go anywhere they pleased; there was no need for them to fear these three Emperors at all.

Suddenly…

“Good, good… good!” An utterly enraged laugh rang out, echoing in the heavens.

Ning and Ninedust both raised their heads, surprised, to stare at the three leading Emperors of the Aeonian race. The leader of the three, Emperor Anchen, was so enraged he was laughing. He let out a furious growl, “If that’s the case… estate-spirit, come out immediately!”

Whoosh. A ripple of power manifested, causing the light in the skies to coalesce into the form of a white-haired woman with an extraordinary aura. An enigmatic smile on her face, she asked, “What is it?”

“The spirit of the estate?” Ning and Ninedust were both shocked. Suddenly, they remembered that when they had been in the beastworld with the Autarch’s Dao, that world held an estate-spirit within it. It wasn’t unreasonable for this world to have an estate-spirit of its own as well.

“Spirit of the estate, this was a world for us created by our ancestor. These are our ancestral lands! But these two outsider Daolords have not only stolen away our omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, they even seek to steal the Autarch’s blood. Please intervene and slay these two interloper Daolords, estate-spirit!” Emperor Anchen said loudly.

“Ancestor?” Ning was surprised.

“Emperor Anchen, did you just say ‘ancestor’? Was this place created by Autarch Bolin?” Ninedust called out loudly with surprise.

The distant Emperor Anchen glanced downwards, a hint of a cold smile on his lips. “The members of the mighty Aeonian race are the descendants of Autarch Bolin!”

Ning and Ninedust were both rather stunned. The descendants of Autarch Bolin? Were the Aeonians really this incredible?

“Any member of the Aeonian race who has been Awakened shall possess the bloodlines of our almighty ancestor, Autarch Bolin!” Emperor Anchen said proudly, “The Aeonian bloodline is special… because it is the bloodline of an Autarch! This is a world which Autarch Bolin created for us; it is our ancestral lands. The Autarch’s blood was left behind for us by the Autarch as well.”

Ning and Ninedust were both stunned. It made sense. The Aeonians did possess an incredible bloodline; supposedly, after becoming Eternal Emperors they could use their bloodline to slowly improve in power even further. It must be understood that for most Emperors, improving in power was incredibly difficult.

“Spirit of the estate, you can go ahead and slay these two interlopers.” Emperor Anchen looked anxiously at the estate-spirit.

The white-haired woman let out a cold snort. “I am unable to intervene.”

“Unable to intervene? How can you be unable to intervene?” Emperor Anchen was starting to grow frantic. He knew just how powerful the estate-spirit was; within this estate-world, the estate-spirit was virtually invincible! Even Hegemons would probably be weaker than it in power.

“I must inform you that this world was not, in fact, created for you Aeonians,” the white-haired woman said. “During the Dawn War against the Sithe, Autarch Bolin was worried about our side being defeated and so he left behind many backup plans to help the cultivators rise to power again in the future. He created this estate-world for that purpose, and those three hundred-plus Hegemons willingly passed down their legacies as well. This was all for the sake of the countless cultivators who would be born in the future. It wasn’t just for you Aeonians!”

Emperor Anchen was stunned.

“Afterwards, we won the war. Autarch Bolin’s life grew peaceful once more, but he eventually grew lonely and so developed the Aeonian bloodline, creating your Aeonian race. The Autarch left behind a single undiluted drop of the original Aeonian blood in this place, hoping that some of the many descendants of the Aeonian race would be able to grow powerful enough to absorb it. Alas… this branch here in the Flamedragon Realmverse is far too weak. Despite the passage of countless years, none of you have been able to absorb this blood.” The estate-spirit chuckled.

Emperor Anchen, Emperor Islehide, and Emperor Duug all felt rather ashamed.

“Are you saying this isn’t the Autarch’s blood?” the distant sea dragon leader asked, puzzled.

“It is the Autarch’s blood, but it was formed after countless unique processes were applied to it. This blood was part of the original blood which gave birth to the Aeonian bloodlines and race, which was why I referred to it as the ‘original Aeonian blood’,” the white-haired woman said. “If any of the Aeonians were able to reach Hegemony, he would more or less be able to absorb this drop of Aeonian blood. Once he did so, he would finally and truly be qualified to refer to himself as a true child of Autarch Bolin, and he would be far stronger than ordinary Hegemons in power.”

“Unfortunately… this lot here is completely useless.” The white-haired woman shook her head, then turned to look at the still-stunned Ning and Ninedust.

“As for you two? You came into my estate-world using the Autarch’s medallion,” the white-haired woman said. “This naturally counts as being here with the Autarch’s commission. I won’t act against you two! However, the Autarch’s blood was the font for the entire Aeonian race. Ordinary cultivators like yourselves cannot absorb it, no matter how hard you try. Also… Daolord Darknorth, there’s no need for you to waste your efforts trying to move it. I am in control of this estate-world, and I absolutely will not permit anyone to take it away!”

“If someone wishes to take it away, the only method permissible is absorption… but only Aeonians can accomplish it. Hegemon-level Aeonians, at that.” The white-haired woman glanced sideways at Emperor Anchen. “You were given every advantage in the world, but you made nothing of it. The exalted Aeonians actually ended up having such useless progeny… what a pity. Hmph.” As she spoke, she began to vanish.

“Wait! This realmverse is about to be destroyed soon!” Emperor Anchen called out frantically, “When that happens there will be no way for this estate-world to exist by itself.”

“Relax. An estate-world which was laboriously created by Autarch Bolin will not be so easily destroyed,” the white-haired woman said. “However… when the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels destroy this area, this estate-world shall vanish from it. The ties of destiny which link us together shall have come to an end, and I will go search for a different branch. Hmph… Autarch Bolin left behind many branches throughout the vast Chaosverse, and many of those branches were given no chance to absorb any of the Autarch’s blood. I gave you more than thirty million chaos cycles, but you weren’t able to make the best of this opportunity. Don’t blame anyone but yourself.”

Emperor Anchen and the others began to grow frantic. Become a Hegemon? Easier said than done! There had been quite a few supreme Daolords in the history of the Aeonian race in this realmverse, but their chances of succeeding in the Daomerge were absolutely miniscule. Thus far, not a single one of them had ever succeeded in the Daomerge and becoming a Hegemon.

As for existing Emperors who were at the Archon level to reach the Hegemon level? That was even harder. The Aeonians knew a great many things, but they had only heard of a single Hegemon known as the ‘Paragon of Pills’ who had started off as an ordinary Eternal Emperor but then managed to train all the way up to the Hegemon level.

“Haha, the beastworld we visited previously ended up flying away as well. It seems as though this estate-world is also capable of independent movement,” Ninedust sent mentally. “The Autarch’s blood truly is terrifying, though… apparently, only Aeonian Hegemons are capable of absorbing it. How powerful would they become upon doing so?”

“So this is what an Autarch is capable of.” Ning stared at the swirling globe of blood inside the massive crater. Its aura dwarfed that of any Hegemon; how strong would one become after absorbing it? Alas, Autarch Bolin had left it behind for the Aeonians alone.

“So what should we do next?” Ninedust sent mentally.

“What can we do? Since we cannot earn the Autarch’s blood, we might as well leave,” Ning sent mentally.

Right at this moment, Emperor Anchen’s voice rang down from the skies above: “Daolord Darknorth, Ninedust Sectlord… all you need to do is leave behind the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree and swear a lifeblood oath not to divulge any of those three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies to outsiders! If you are willing to do this, then the three of us would also be willing to swear oaths to never attack or pursue you through any means at all.”

“The Hegemonic legacies? Haha, I’m a member of the Ancients! For the sake of all these legacies, the Ancients would definitely do everything in their power to protect me. Do you really think I’m afraid of you Aeonians?” Ninedust snickered.

Ning raised his head to stare into the skies as well. If he eventually failed in his Daomerge, these Hegemonic legacies were the most important thing he could leave behind for the Three Realms in the future.

“Darknorth, are you going to reject our offer as well?” Emperor Anchen growled.

“These three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies were left behind for all cultivators, not just you Aeonians. By what right do you demand an oath from us?” Ning replied coldly. Not even the Hegemons themselves had demanded Ning swear a lifeblood oath; what made the Aeonians think they had that right?

“Damn them.”

“They are courting death.” The nearby Emperor Duug and Emperor Islehide were infuriated as well.

Emperor Anchen said furiously, “This is your final warning. Hand over the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree and swear the lifeblood oath! Otherwise, we Aeonians will use everything at our disposal to hunt down and kill you two. We won’t stop until you are dead!!!”

Whoosh.

Ning vanished into thin air. As for Ninedust, he lifted the Autarch’s medallion up and activated the power within it. A ripple of might surrounded him… and a heartbeat later, he vanished without a trace, having left this estate-world.

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Chapter 14 – Secluded Cultivation

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 14 – Secluded Cultivation

Emperor Anchen, Emperor Duug, and Emperor Islehide were all stunned. They had just issued a dire threat to pursue Darknorth and Ninedust until they were dead… but they had left without even saying a word in response? This attitude indicated that they truly felt no fear towards the Aeonians at all.

“Estate-spirit, how could they have just left like that? Did you let them out?” Emperor Anchen turned to glare furiously at the distant white-haired woman. When Aeonians wished to leave this estate-world, the estate-spirit had to teleport them through spacetime out of it.

The white-haired woman said calmly, “I already stated that they came in via the Autarch’s medallion. They left using the same method! It had nothing to do with me at all. Besides, even if I did send them away I would at most be able to send them to another world within the domain of the Aeonian Kingdom! However, they used the Autarch’s medallion to flee far, far away.”

“The Autarch’s medallion?” Emperor Anchen and the others felt both enraged and helpless. They had never heard of this medallion before, but the estate-spirit’s words were beyond question. They couldn’t help but sigh to themselves. Oh, Autarch… since you made this world, you should’ve just left it to us, your children. Why did you have to leave behind a medallion for outsiders to use?

In truth, however… Autarch Bolin had first created the medallions, and only then had created the Aeonian race!

“Please send us out,” Emperor Anchen said.

“Very well.” The white-haired woman nodded. “You still have over one million chaos cycles left. Your branch still has a chance at absorbing the Autarch’s blood. When this realmverse is destroyed, it’ll be time for me to leave.”

“We understand,” Emperor Anchen said, although in his heart he was unwilling to accept this. Whoosh. The white-haired woman waved her arm, causing a dimensional ripple to spread out and cover all three Emperors. They were teleported through spacetime to the planet outside of this estate-world.

……

The three Emperors reappeared within the ancient temple.

“Eh?” Emperor Anchen closed his eyes, sending out an invisible ripple of power which completely merged into every part of the Aeonian Kingdom.

“The Aeonian Kingdom just informed me,” Emperor Anchen said as he opened his eyes, “That no living beings have entered it via the first ancestral ground. It seems as though the estate-spirit was right; Darknorth and Ninedust have already teleported away to an extremely distant place thanks to their Autarch’s medallion.”

“Damn.”

“I’ve never heard of this medallion. They’re able to enter and exit our first ancestral ground by using it?” The other two Emperors didn’t want to accept this either.

“The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels are going to destroy the Flamedragon Realmverse soon. To successfully absorb the Autarch’s blood in the next million or so chaos cycles… our chances are quite low,” Emperor Anchen said. “We’ve harvested many fruits over the years, but we’ve used up many of them to help rear all of those Daolords. We absolutely have to acquire the large amount of Autarch’s blood essence which was distilled into the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree.”

“Agreed.” The other two Emperors nodded as well. The Autarch’s blood was the wellspring for the Aeonian bloodline, and the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree had drawn upon the essence of that blood for over thirty million chaos cycles. This had caused the tree to undergo a fundamental transformation. When they fully absorbed all of the essence within it, it would be of tremendous benefit to them. This mattered to the Aeonians more than anything else.

“Duug,” Emperor Anchen commanded, “Immediately mobilize all the forces we have available to find as much information as we can regarding Daolord Darknorth and the Ninedust Sectlord. Once we find any trace of them, move to kill them and take that tree back.”

“Agreed.” Emperor Duug said seriously, “I’ll oversee this matter personally!”

“Islehide,” Emperor Anchen instructed, “You’ve made quite a few friends amongst the Emperors of the various races. Come up with a way to convince them to help us track down Darknorth.”

“Very well.” Emperor Islehide nodded. Although the Aeonians and the Dao Alliance were mortal enemies, the Aeonians were still the weakest of the six powers. The Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrants, and the Ancient cultivators each had a Hegemon, while the Dark Kingdom consisted of many cultivators from another realmverse who had all gathered together, allowing them to survive despite being ostracized by all five of the other organizations. This was a testament to how deep the Dark Kingdom’s foundation was.

Winesage, Daolord Skyshatter, Daolord Owlblack… they all belonged to the Dark Kingdom. The number of elite Daolords they had was another testament to their power.

As for the Dao Alliance? That went without saying. 99% of the Endless Territories was under their control, and they had countless Daolords and many publicly acknowledged Emperors, with even more being in seclusion. The Dao Alliance didn’t care about the other powers at all.

The Aeonians were different. At the top end, they had no Hegemonic cultivators. In terms of raw numbers, they had very few people! It was all thanks to the Aeonian Kingdom that they hadn’t been wiped out. But of course, if a particularly incredible figure arose within their ranks who succeeded in the Daomerge and became a Hegemon, that person could absorb the Autarch’s blood and vault the entire Aeonian race to become the pre-eminent power in the Flamedragon Realmverse. Alas, the Aeonians had never been able to produce a Hegemon.

As a result, the Aeonians were the weakest of the six major powers… and the enmity between them and the Dao Alliance was deep and unabiding. As a result, the high-level Aeonians did their best to try and befriend high-level members of the Dao Alliance, trading them treasures and so forth. This was one of the reasons why the Dao Alliance hadn’t declared an all-out war against the Aeonian race.

In fact, the high-level members of the Dao Alliance held a certain belief; they viewed the existence of the Aeonians as a good way to help temper the countless Daolords under their rule.

Emperor Islehide was the primary point of contact for making friends with the Emperors of the other races and organizations.

“Legacies from over three hundred Hegemons, and the essence of the omnigeddon bloodfruit tree! Both things are supremely important to our Aeonian race.” Emperor Anchen’s eyes flashed with sharp light. “From this day forth, Darknorth and Ninedust shall be the greatest enemies of the Aeonian race. We have to find them.”

“We won’t let them escape,” Emperor Duug said.

“Sooner or later, they’ll fall into our hands.” Emperor Islehide narrowed his eyes as well.

……

Whoosh. Ninedust appeared out of nowhere within an empty patch of space which was incredibly far away from the Aeonian Kingdom. He then waved his hand, allowing Ning to appear next to him.

Crack. The medallion in Ninedust’s hand began to break apart. “The power’s been used up.” Ninedust shook his head helplessly. “A pity. Even if we weren’t able to use it to re-enter the Aeonian Kingdom, it still would’ve been an excellent escape mechanism. It’s gone now though.”

“Yes, it is indeed an incredible treasure for escape. Not even a host of Hegemons would be able to stop it,” Ning said. “And it really does allow one to teleport quite a long distance through spacetime.” If Ning had to rely on his own powers to traverse spacetime, it would probably take him half a year to travel such a great distance.

“Darknorth, what are you planning to do next?” Ninedust asked.

“We’ve really won quite a few things for ourselves,” Ning said with a laugh. “Those three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies are particularly important! The Aeonians are going to go all-out in searching for us, be it for the sake of those legacies or for the sake of that omnigeddon bloodfruit tree. In the end, they are still one of the six top organizations in the Endless Territories, and they’ve been around for a very long time. They’ll probably have quite a few methods they can use to search for us.”

“Agreed.” Ninedust nodded solemnly as well. “Right. We have to be careful. We shouldn’t tell anyone at all where we are.”

Ning agreed: “Only the two of us can know where we are. We can’t tell anyone at all. As for those legacies… we didn’t have enough time in the estate-world to really meditate on them properly. We should find a suitable place to go into seclusion and train.”

“Very well.” Ninedust laughed. “I also feel that we need more time to train.”

The two quickly departed. After traveling for another ten-plus years they were deep within the Dao Alliance’s territory, at which point they chose a planet to go into.

“Let’s pick that planet.” Swoosh. Swoosh. Ning and Ninedust descended upon the surface of that planet.

“Clouds, come!” Ninedust stood at the top of that planet, letting out a loud shout. Instantly, a thick layer of clouds began to manifest over the planet, with a series of runic seals beginning to appear within the clouds. This separated them from the outside world, creating an independent local realm. Ning and Ninedust wanted to avoid their auras from leaking outsides. Powerful World-level cultivators and Daolords would often do something similar when they established an estate within a particular planet.

Fogstone, one of the planets Ning had visited when he had first entered the Badlands Territory, was a good example.

“Rain, descend!” Ninedust let out another loud shout. Instantly, a large amount of rain began to cascade downwards. Soon, lakes and even oceans began to form atop the formerly parched planet.

Given Ning and Ninedust’s abilities, it took them just three days to completely transform this planet. It now had an atmosphere, clouds, lakes, oceans, countless types of vegetation, and even some simple insects and bugs were beginning to take form.

“Go.” Ninedust waved his hand, instantly causing some of the living beings he carried within his estate-realm to emerge into this new world. This included tens of thousands of ordinary humans, as well as many types of animals, fish, and birds.

Now, this planet truly was suitable for them to reside within.

“We didn’t spend enough time within the Autarch’s estate-world; we didn’t really analyze many of those Hegemonic techniques in detail.” Ninedust said eagerly, “After we do so, we might make great gains. Perhaps my chances at the Daomerge can be improve even further.”

“I might be able to make some breakthroughs as well once I meditate on these Hegemonic legacies.” Ning was stuck at the final step and had been unable to break through to the last stage. Once he did, he would become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, at which point he truly would be able to roam the Endless Territories with impunity. Most likely, only the three mighty Hegemons would be stronger than him… but that final step was incredibly hard to take.

They were now being pursued by the Aeonians. As a result, they decided to thoroughly study all of the three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies and entered secluded meditation.

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Chapter 15 – The Modern Three Realms

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 15 – The Modern Three Realms

Shortly after Ji Ning entered secluded meditation, he received word that his master Patriarch Subhuti had returned to the Three Realms alongside Windfiend. The two were planning to break through to the Samsara Daolord level.

The Three Realms. Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

The black-robed Ning, Subhuti, and Windfiend were seated close to each other, drinking wine and chatting.

“Brother Windfiend and I have spent hundreds of millions of years wandering the outside world. We have benefited greatly from our experiences and feel that it is time for us to break through to become Samsara Daolords,” Subhuti said with a laugh.

“Haha… we’ve wandered the Badlands Territory and even a number of the nearby territories. I don’t want to brag, but it is quite hard for us to find any World-level cultivators who are our equals.” Windfiend seemed quite smug as well.

“Oh?” Ning was surprised. “Windfiend, Master… can the two of you give me a demonstration and show me the level you have reached?”

“Very well.” Windfiend smiled as a series of additional Windfiends began to appear in the area around them. Dozens of them appeared, all with different expressions and postures.

Seeing this, Ning nodded slowly. “For you to have reached such a level in the Dao of Wind… you must have mastered a Supreme Dao.”

“Now watch Master’s abilities.” Subhuti put down his wine cup. Instantly, spacetime in the surrounding area abegan to ripple. Space itself seemed to transform as though this area was severed from the rest of the universe, and the speed of time began to change as well. It was like the three of them were aboard a small vessel, with the outside world being a river of spacetime.

“Given Master’s mastery over the Dao of Spacetime, he probably mastered a Supreme Dao as well.” Ning was rather stunned. It must be remembered that he had only left quite ordinary techniques to the Three Realms in the past. Those were all techniques he had acquired from Vastheaven Palace, and there was nothing particularly impressive. For example, there were no Hegemonic legacies! How was it that his master and Windfiend had both mastered a Supreme Dao each?

It must be remembered that Ning had only gained his Omega Sword Dao thanks to his experiences in Vastheaven Palace, in the Archaeus Region, and many other places. If it hadn’t been for all of those things, he probably would be just slightly superior to Subhuti and Windfiend.

“Master and Windfiend truly are monstrously talented,” Ning sighed secretly in amazement. In truth, all of the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realm were freakishly talented. Originally, they had no legacies at all… but they had managed to develop their own incredible techniques. Three Purities, Tathagata, the Three Sovereigns of Mankind, Houyi, Subhuti… they had all developed techniques that allowed them to fight those at a higher level, which meant that they vastly surpassed those on the same level in terms of insight into the Dao. Even the slightly weaker ones like Sun Wukong, Daoist Jade Cauldron, or Maitreya were still at a higher level of enlightenment than those in the outside world.

“Windfiend, Master… do not be in a rush to break through just yet,” Ning said solemnly. “I have just left a few truly top-tier techniques within the Three Realms Archives! Go and check them out first.”

“Truly top-tier techniques?” Subhuti and Windfiend were both startled.

“The techniques you gave us previously were already quite good.”

“Are there even better ones now?” The two both looked at Ning. The two were incredibly talented, and as soon as they reached the World level they immediately reached a level of power where very few of their peers were able to defeat them. However, their experiences simply weren’t as incredible as Ning, nor did they have as many fortuitous encounters. Thankfully, Ning had gifted the Three Realms with many techniques; otherwise, their talents would’ve gone to waste.

“You’ll know once you go take a look,” Ning said with a laugh. He didn’t explain in detail.

“Alright.”

“We’ll go take a look first.” Both of them were deeply intrigued by Ning’s secretive attitude, and they both hurried over to the Three Realms Archives to take a look.

The new additions Ning had just added into the Three Realms Archives… included the World-level parts of the Hegemonic legacies which Ning had gained!

Ning watched as his master Subhuti and Windfiend departed. His body flickered. Whoosh! He arrived in the void outside the Three Realms, where he stood by himself.

“More and more, I’m beginning to get the feeling that the Three Realms is an extraordinary place.” Ning stared at the many spread-out planets in the Three Realms, including the three thousand major worlds and the trillions of minor worlds.

“When I was out adventuring through the outside world, I began to understand how unique the Three Realms are… but I didn’t realize just how amazing it was. After a few hundred million years, though… the Three Realms have completely changed,” Ning sighed in amazement.

The Three Realms had undergone a gradual transformation, which was why Ning hadn’t noticed anything at first. After hundreds of millions of years, however, the difference was quite drastic and apparent.

Many years ago the most dazzling figures of the earlier eras, such as Daoist Three Purities, the Three Sovereigns of Mankind, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Houyi, and Demonheart had all perished in battle. The survivors who were on par with them, Subhuti and Windfiend, were now close to becoming Samsara Daolords… and extraordinary ones at that!

As for the many elite figures like Sun Wukong, Buddha Maitreya, or Yang Jie? After hundreds of millions of years of cultivation, they had all broken through to the World level as well. Even Brightmoon had improved! Although she wasn’t quite that talented, she had still been able to break through to become a Celestial Immortal thanks to her own efforts. Under Ning’s guidance, she had actually reached the Elder God level.

What’s more… the success rates for Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms breaking through to become Celestial Immortals was skyrocketing! Although some would fail and become Loose Immortals, many would reincarnate and eventually succeed in becoming Celestial Immortals. Only a small percentage were unlucky enough to actually perish to the Celestial Tribulation!

The change was all-encompassing. Celestial Immortals, True Immortals, Ancestral Immortals, Chaos Immortals… after the Three Realms gained so many legacies, the breakthrough rates at every single level had skyrocketed.

“Everyone in the Three Realms is much talented than in the outside world,” Ning sighed. “The same was true for the Seamless Chaosworld. The Immortals and Fiendgods from the Seamless Chaosworld were on par with that of the Pangu Chaosworld.” Ning grew increasingly curious. “What made them so special?”

By now, Ning was definitely one of the major powers in the Endless Territories. He had reached the Archon level of power, and thus had a much broader vision than many. He knew that there were some chaosworlds, including the ones which Hegemons had labored over or ones like the Sithe worlds, which were quite special and which gave birth to living beings who were noticeably more talented than those in the rest of the world.

What made the Three Realms so special?

“Perhaps it has something to do with the Azureflower Estate,” Ning mused. He then shook his head and chuckled. Only with enough strength could one act with confidence. Only when he took the final step and became a Daolord of the Fourth Step would he have reached the apex. When that happened, in all the Flamedragon Realmverse the only ones more powerful than him would be the three Hegemons!

……

Windfiend had been the Lord of All Fiends of the Three Realms, the supreme leader of the Seamless Gate. He was the fastest person in all the Three Realms.

Subhuti was a master of the Dao of Spacetime. His mastery of it had been supreme within the Three Realms.

These two were exceedingly talented figures. After studying the World-level parts of the Hegemonic legacies, they immediately began to seek to merge multiple Supreme Daos together!

After training for 120 million years (which translated into 10 billion ‘accelerated’ years within his temporal acceleration treasure), Windfiend finally managed to merge three Supreme Daos together… and he broke through to become a Samsara Daolord at one go!

Subhuti was a bit slower. He had to train for over 300 million years, also using a temporal acceleration treasure. Finally, he also succeeded in merging multiple Supreme Daos and became a Samsara Daolord.

But of course… only the two of them reached such heights. The other Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realm were a bit weaker.

“Windfiend, Master… these legacies are critically important. I shall personally watch over these legacies, and anyone who wishes to study them must swear lifeblood oaths. If I perish, I will entrust them to you and Windfiend to watch over,” Ning said solemnly. These were the copies of the hundreds of Hegemonic legacies, and his Primaltwin had spent an extremely long period of time memorizing them.

“These legacies…” Subhuti and Windfiend were absolutely stunned by the enormous repository of legacies in front of them. These legacies were of limited use to Ning, who trained in the Omega Sword Dao, but they would be of tremendous use to all other cultivators. This was far more valuable than anything Ning had acquired in the Brightshore Kingdom or the Archaeus Region.

“The existences of these legacies cannot be divulged in the slightest.” Subhuti looked at Ning, his heart aching for his disciple. “Disciple, don’t put yourself under too much pressure when adventuring. Take things slowly, one step at a time. You’ve already done enough for the Three Realms.”

“Darknorth, be careful when out adventuring. Subhuti and I are still too weak; the Three Realms needs you standing guard over it,” Windfiend said. After seeing the legacies, he understood just how weak he was. He was still just a Daolord of the First Step; in the Endless Territories, he counted for absolutely nothing.

……

All of Ning’s loved ones were in the Three Realms. His father, Ji Yichuan… his mother, Yuchi Snow… his daughter, Ji Brightmoon… Subhuti, Uncle White, Little Qing, Immortal Diancai, Mu Northson, Sun Wukong, and more were all here.

Although Ning was often adventuring with the hope of reversing the flows of spacetime and reviving his wife, he also cared tremendously about his other loved ones. Only if he could absolutely ensure their safety would he be able to truly lay rest to his concerns and go out adventuring!

“Brightmoond.” A black-robed Ning was standing on the surface of Serpentwing Lake.

“Father.” The white-robed Brightmoon was standing on the surface of the lake as well. Her life truly was relaxed and leisurely; with a peerless master of the Dao of the Sword like Ji Ning being her tutor and guide, everything was so simple. In fact, Ning even occasionally arranged for her to go out and explore the Badlands Territory. Given Ning’s current level of power, a single step was all it took for them to reach the Badlands Territory.

“Let me see if your sword-arts have improved or not,” Ning said.

“Yes, Father.” Brightmoon smiled, followed by her sword-light lighting up. A total of 3600 Immortal swords hung in the air around her. This was a terrifyingly powerful sword-formation technique which Ning had passed down to her. For some reason, Brightmoon simply had no talent for training as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and so she was focused on being a Ki Refiner.

Whooooosh. Sword-light covered the entire world.

Ning began to spar against his daughter. He had been at the side of his daughter and his parents for hundreds of millions of years now. He had always dreamed of having Yu Wei by their side one day as well, accompanying him and watching as he taught their daughter swordplay. If that day ever came, he truly would be able to die with no regrets.

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Chapter 16 – A Calamity Descends

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 16 – A Calamity Descends

The black-robed Primaltwin Ji Ning spent all of its time within the Three Realms, accompanying his family members and enjoying a life of leisure. Ning’s true body, however, continued to fearless advance and improve, not slacking off in the slightest! If he had, he wouldn’t have reached such a terrifying level of power.

……

A young man and a woman were standing at the prow of a large ship that was cruising through the waves of a vast sea.

“Senior apprentice-brother, you’ve grown much more powerful and have reached the Foundation stage. You’ll definitely be ranked in the top three within our clan’s tournament. In fact, you might even take first place!” the green-robed woman said excitedly.

“I was able to reach the Foundation stage, but the others might have made breakthroughs of their own. The clan competition will have three thousand disciples competing within it. Seizing first place is not going to be an easy task,” the black-robed youth said. His words were modest, but a hint of a smile was playing at his lips.

He truly had made tremendous gains this time. He had no idea who that old fisherman was, but the man was incredibly powerful. That casual finger-wave had contained unfathomably profundity within it.

The black-robed youth stroked his chest, where an ordinary-looking little rock was hanging from a necklace. The old fisherman had given it to him, and it contained an extremely profound set of staff-arts within it.

“The clan competition? At my current level of power, the clan competition is nothing. My level of comprehension has skyrocketed so much that I should be able to break through to the Core Formation stage with ease.” The black-robed youth’s eyes gleamed.

……

Far away, within a flying ship that was hidden in the mists above the world. Ji Ning and Ninedust were seated aboard this ship.

“An old fisherman? Really? Ninedust, you aren’t exactly handsome, but there was no need for you to transform yourself into a rheumy-eyed, white-haired old man,” Ning said with a laugh. “And you went out of your way to give that mortal some guidance. What, is he very talented? Why didn’t I notice it?”

“He’s decent for a mortal, but to people like us he truly is nothing special.” Ninedust sighed. “But… when I saw him, I felt as though I saw myself from long ago. That’s why I decided to guide him.”

Ning was startled. Ninedust was a very arrogant and solitary person who killed without blinking and was unscrupulous when pursuing his goals. However, he was willing to risk his own life to aid those he viewed as friends. That young mortal youth was similarly a solitary and lonely figure, but he was just as willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of that junior apprentice-sister of his.

“He’s a lucky kid,” Ning said.

“You and I remade this world when we chose to set up our estate here, bringing countless living beings into existence,” Ninedust said smugly. “Thus, we are responsible for guiding and teaching them.”

“You? Guide and teach?” Ning shook his head.

The living beings on this world had already gone through the earliest barbarian days, discovered primitive cultivation techniques, experienced a dazzling golden age, suffered through a great apocalypse, and finally entered the current, fairly stable era. Ning truly did work attentively to guide this world… but Ninedust? He was a much harder-hearted figure than Ning. He didn’t give a damn about whether the living beings here lived or died.

Ninedust occasionally taught some people, but it was strictly due to sudden spurts of interest. For example, just now he transformed into a fisherman and transmitted a set of staff-arts to the kid, then tossed him a stone. That was it! He didn’t even teach the kid an actual cultivation technique.

“Eh?” Ning and Ninedust’s faces suddenly tightened.

“Let’s go,” Ning barked. Whoosh! The flying vessel disappeared as Ning and Ninedust instantly departed from this planet and arrived in the void beyond it.

“What’s going on? Why are the realmship fragments we found in the Sithe ruins resonating?” Ning frowned.

“Mine is resonating as well. My realmship fragment is trembling right now, as though it wants to fly in a certain direction.” Ninedust pointed towards a direction which led into the chaotic void.

The two each had part of the shattered realmship. Both of those parts were shaking right now, wanting to go flying off in a certain direction.

“Something’s wrong,” Ning said. “When we scavenged the realmship wreckage in the Sithe ruins, we each collected a fairly undamaged piece. There’s never been a resonance like this before! Now that there is a sudden resonance… it has to have something to do with the Sithe.”

“Shall we go take a look?” Ninedust asked.

“Yes, let’s go take a look.” Ning nodded. Both of them were bold due to their power. This thing which was resonating with their realmship fragments could very well be a great fortune! Realmships were treasures which even Hegemons would go wild over, after all.

Ning led Ninedust in tearing through spacetime and advancing. “Wait, something’s wrong.” As soon as they exited the spacetime tear, Ning’s face tightened. “I can sense that the distance between us and the resonance is rapidly decreasing. They’re moving towards us as well.”

“Yes, they are headed in our direction.” Ninedust’s face turned grim as well. For the resonance to grow stronger and stronger meant that the distance was clearly decreasing.

……

A skinny man with white eyebrows and deep green eyes was standing within the chaotic void. He was dressed in long white robes and had white hair. His oily green eyes emanated an insidious coldness that was more than enough to inspire terror in the hearts of other cultivators. He was one of the most awe-inspiring members of the Dao Alliance, one of the eight Archons of the Sacred Cities… Archon Silksnow.

Silksnow… this sounded like a woman’s Daoist title, but he was indeed a man. Archon Silksnow was an extremely evil individual. Comparing Sectlord Timedream to him was like comparing an innocent baby with a demon who had mass-murdered over a trillion people!

According to the legends, Archon Silksnow had been born within a great apocalypse where countless living beings had died. As a rain of blood fell from the skies, an infant came crawling out of the torn-open belly of his deceased mother. The child was savage and bloodthirsty by nature, and he was inconceivably talented when it came to cultivation. His path of cultivation was one of slaughter and an endless sea of blood.

Nobody could stop him! Nobody! He actually trained all the way up at one go, succeeding in his Daomerge and becoming one of the eight Archons of the Sacred Cities! He was definitely a dominating and overwhelmingly powerful figure, and the countless bloodthirsty, violent cultivators of the Endless Territories all submitted to his rule. In fact, there were quite a few extremely violent Emperors who chose to follow him! In the Dao Alliance, he was ranked third amongst the eight Archons of the Sacred Cities! He was one of the truly terrifying figures of the Dao Alliance.

“Eh?” Archon Silksnow stared towards a certain direction with his oily green eyes. “It’s coming from over there! My realmship is resonating powerfully with something in that direction.” An excited look flashed through Archon Silksnow’s eyes.

“Master, Master! It’s another part of a realmship. It’s another part!” The vessel-spirit of his tattered realmship was extremely excited.

“Excellent.” Archon Silksnow’s white eyebrows fluttered. “I’ll take it for you.”

In all the Endless Territories, the only ones Archon Silksnow feared were the three mighty Hegemons. He held no fear towards any of the other experts at all. It must be remembered that he had slaughtered his way to becoming a dominating figure. How could he possibly fear others?

Swoosh! A streak of snow-white saber light tore through spacetime. Archon Silksnow stepped into the tunnel, traversing through spacetime towards the direction of the resonance.

……

“It’s moving closer to us… and it’s moving incredibly fast. Much faster than me when I tear through spacetime!” Ning turned pale. “Ninedust, we need to leave immediately.”

“Even faster than you?” Ninedust was startled as well. The difference in speed at which one tore through the void in order to travel was a testament to a difference in insight. Ning immediately led Ninedust in a frantic retreat.

“They are starting to run?” Archon Silksnow gently stroked his long, droopy white eyebrows. “They won’t be able to flee.” He continued to tear through spacetime in hot pursuit.

Ning fled at full speed, wanting to flee somewhere safe such as the Brightshore Kingdom or one of the Sacred Cities.

“He’s too fast. We won’t be able to make it.” Ning gritted his teeth. “It seems our only choice is to pick a battlefield to fight him head-on.”

“Ninedust, set up your formations right away,” Ning sent. “We need to pick the battlefield, then set up formations and await his arrival.”

“Fine.” Ninedust nodded. Judging from how fast the person was, that person should’ve reached a higher level of enlightenment than Ning. How strong he actually was, however, would only be determined through actual combat.

“Focus.” Ninedust immediately tossed out a black globe. As the black globe flew out, it quickly flew towards a distant, desolate planet. It merged itself into the planet, causing a layer of black light to appear on the planet’s surface. Countless runes could be seen flickering over the surface of the black light.

“Hide,” Ninedust growled. The countless black runes all turned reserved and stately.

Ning produced a treasure as well. This was a treasure he had acquired from the Sithe ruins, a deep blue necklace that looked broken. Ning tossed it out, and it immediately flew towards that planet and merged into its depths.

Ning and Ninedust both flew towards that planet and landed on its surface. They only had enough time to set up three layers of defenses before they sensed a powerful aura appear off in the distance. A white-robed, white-haired, white-browed man tore straight through the void and appeared before them, his eyebrows fluttering in the astral wind. He turned to stare in their direction with his oily green eyes. Although he was very thin, Ning and Ninedust didn’t feel that he was small at all; they only felt an utterly terrifying and dominating aura spread out towards them.

“Archon Silksnow!” Ning and Ninedust both turned pale. They never would’ve imagined that their opponent was the most savage and brutal of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities… Archon Silksnow!

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Chapter 17 – Negotiations

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 17 – Negotiations

Archon Silksnow’s eyebrows fluttered, a look of surprise flashing through his oily green eyes. He then let out a cold chuckle: “You fled quite fast. I had thought that it was an Emperor… who would’ve thought it was you two kids?”

“Greetings, Archon Silksnow,” Ji Ning and Ninedust both bowed modestly.

“Hmph.” Archon Silksnow let out a cold snort. Instantly, a blurry aura of light appeared which covered an area of ten billion kilometers. Spacetime in this region was completely severed from the outside world. This caused Ning and Ninedust to turn pale. Archon Silksnow then made his move.

Whoosh. He suddenly charged downwards, leaving a streak of light behind in the skies as he arced downwards like curved saber-light. An aura of supreme coldness pierced towards them, seeming to penetrate their souls and truesouls.

It was simply too fast. This strike was the fastest saber-strike Ning had ever seen, so fast that Ning felt a sense of panic.

It was also too cold. The saber-intent from this strike caused Ning’s very truesoul to shiver from the cold. This was the level which a true lord of the Sacred Cities was at! The golems Ning had previously encountered, as well as the flaming beasts and sea dragons he had encountered in the estate-world, were extremely strong and extremely fast but much inferior when it came to actual insights into the mysteries of the Dao.

In terms of insight and understanding, this Archon Silksnow definitely surpassed Ning in every regard!

“What?!” Ning and Ninedust were both shocked. They didn’t expect for Archon Silksnow to almost immediately attack after saying just a few words. Clearly, he wanted to take their lives!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ning immediately manifested three heads and six arms, drawing all six Northbow swords and executing his Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart in a full-power defense. Faced with such a terrifying strike, Ning didn’t even think about counter-attacking. His only thought was to hold and defend first! Three of his swords just barely managed to intercept the saber-light, and as they did a surge of cold energy seemed to slam into and through him like a giant hammer, crushing him with its power.

BOOM! Ning was immediately knocked flying backwards. He slammed into the ground of the planet, causing the planet to shudder and enormous crevices and gorges to appear on its surface which were hundreds of kilometers long. The planet now looked like a cracked turtle shell.

“He’s too powerful.” Ninedust didn’t even dare to block, instead transforming into a wave of water which frantically retreated.

Swish. Archon Silksnow used the saber in his left hand to strike at Ning. As for the saber in his right hand, he hacked at Ninedust with it. Slash!

The vast stream of water that was Ninedust was cut in half from the very center, and a low growl could be heard emanating from within it. Moments later, the two streams of water quickly began to flee. Only when they fled next to Ning did they reform into a single fleshly body.

Ning had flown out of the gorge. He stood alongside Ninedust, ugly looks on their faces. “I’ve already reached the Archon level, but I never imagined that the difference between me and an actual Archon of a Sacred City would be so great.” Ning’s heart was shaking.

“Too powerful. He’s too powerful. My invulnerable aquaform has been highly perfected, but he was still able to heavily injure me with one blow.” Ninedust’s face was rather ashen. He sent mentally, “Darknorth, this Archon Silksnow is too powerful. He’d probably be able to kill me in just ten or so blows.”

Ning nodded slightly. Invulnerable forms weren’t truly invincible! When Emperor Solesky had been a Daolord, he had been heavily injured by Fiendqueen Dustrain. If an enemy was at a sufficiently high level of power, not even an invulnerable form could completely nullify the attack.

“Hm. Daolord Darknorth… no wonder you rose to pre-eminence in the Waveshift Realm.” Archon Silksnow stared at Ning with his oily green eyes. “Your friend, the Ninedust Sectlord, has an invulnerable aquaform, but I was able to injure him heavily. You, however… you weren’t injured by my strike at all. Haha… given your level of power, you should’ve reached the Archon level by now.”

“However… you are still far from being a match for me.” Archon Silksnow smiled a cold, blood-curdling smile. “I’ve always had the habit of striking with full power when I attack, even if my target is a Daolord. The two of you can die now.” Archon Silksnow suddenly manifested a total of six arms, with each arm gripping a saber.

“Wait!” Ninedust called loudly.

“Oh?” Archon Silksnow looked coldly at Ning and Ninedust. “Is there something which the two of you wish to say?”

“Archon Silksnow, we are just Daolords; there’s no way we can match an Archon like yourself. If there’s something you want, you can just tell us,” Ning said.

“Yes, Archon. If there’s something you want, we can negotiate,” Ninedust agreed hurriedly.

Although the two had set up quite a few formations on this planet, they still weren’t confident in their chances. They had quite a few treasures, yes… but would the most savage of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, Archon Silksnow, possibly have fewer treasures than them? He probably had more than ten times as many as they did! Even worse, their earlier clash had already shown Ning and Ninedust how huge the power gap between them was.

Ninedust would probably be slain within just ten strikes! As for Ning? He knew just how big the gap between him and his foe was. Archon Silksnow was highly ranked even for one of the lords of the Sacred Cities, and he was incredibly powerful. He had also been alive for an extremely long period of time. Although he didn’t have a Universe treasure, he did have lifeblood weapons! Those lifeblood weapons had grown over the course of many years to become just as powerful as Ning’s Northbow swords.

Ning didn’t even have an advantage in weaponry! As for insight into the Dao? He was superior to supreme Daolords, yes, but there was a clear difference between him and the Archons! That saber-strike from earlier… it was superior to Ning’s sword-arts in every single aspect. Ning’s Soleheart stance was able to mitigate some of his disadvantages, but the difference in power was still great.

……

The difference in power was so great that Ning might not be able to escape even if he used up his treasures. It really wasn’t worth it for him to risk and sacrifice so much just for a battered piece of a realmship.

Ning and Ninedust stared at the blurry glow surrounding them for ten billion kilometers. Archon Silksnow had immediately used a treasure to block out the surrounding spacetime continuum; from this, they could tell how determined Archon Silksnow was. He was definitely going to acquire the realmship parts, no matter what the cost! Ning could also sense that his sword-arts were no longer capable of tearing through spacetime. If he used the Hegemon’s spacetime disc, he might be able to succeed… but he also might fail in his attempt to flee.

His foe was a lord of the Sacred Cities, after all! Ning truly wasn’t confident in his chances.

“Negotiate? You wish to negotiate with me?” Archon Silksnow stared downwards at Ning and Ninedust.

“Yes, negotiate.” Ninedust said hurriedly, “Archon, you probably came for the sake of our realmship parts, right? To tell you the truth, we brothers sensed the resonance as well. That’s why we immediately fled.”

“If there’s anything you wish from us, Archon, just tell us,” Ning said. Faced with such a legendary tyrant, they had no choice but to lower their heads.

Archon Silksnow’s most famous action came during a gathering of Emperors in the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals. Archon Silksnow ended up being angered by a dispute caused by clashing interests with the other Emperors! He had suppressed his rage when still inside the Palace, but after they all left he actually consecutively killed the twelve Eternal Emperors who had offended him. This was something which had rendered everyone in the Endless Territories completely speechless.

To occasionally kill a few enemy Emperors due to personal feuds was one thing… but to kill twelve of them because of a fit of pique? This was absolutely crazy! This was why he was famous for being the most savage and bloodthirsty of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. He was a madman! He was also incredibly strong and had many trump cards ready to play. He had offended and angered many with his actions, and had incurred the displeasure of the other Archons as well. As a result, there had been a great battle which had spanned multiple chaos cycles and resulted in innumerable casualties, but in the end the matter was simply dropped.

“Realmship?” Archon Silksnow glanced at them, a not-quite smile playing at his lips.

“The two of us would naturally keep this information completely secret,” Ninedust said hurriedly. “We are willing to swear oaths that we will definitely keep this secret.”

“You two are quite clever. When you sensed how fast I was moving towards you, you immediately chose to flee.” Archon Silksnow glanced at Ning. “Daolord Darknorth is extremely powerful; if I was just slightly weaker, I probably wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. However… the difference in power between us is too great for you to overcome.”

Archon Silksnow nodded. “Since you are willing to bow your heads, I’ll give you a way to survive.”

Ning and Ninedust both looked at Archon Silksnow.

“First, you must give me all of your treasures, save for your weapons and your armor,” Archon Silksnow said. “Second, you are not to resist and must allow me to read through your memories and your soul. Don’t worry, I’ll swear an oath not to harm your souls or truesouls in the slightest; I simply wish to scan them.”

Ning and Ninedust turned grim. Ninedust said angrily, “Archon, don’t go too far.” Ning’s face turned as cold as ice as well.

Scan their memories? The two were incredibly proud figures. How could they be willing to allow others to rifle through their memories? Ning wasn’t willing to hand over all of his treasures either. The omnigeddon bloodfruit tree and the verdant azuresoul were both incredibly precious treasures. The latter had been personally fashioned by Autarch Bolin and was capable of controlling a Chaos Primordial!

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Chapter 18 – Spacetime Disc

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 18 – Spacetime Disc

“Hmph. Once I kill you, I’ll still end up with your treasures,” Archon Silksnow said coldly. “I’m at least willing to let you keep your weapons and your armor; this is an unusual display of mercy from me. As for searching through your memories… I merely wish to learn where you acquired the realmship parts from.”

Realmships were relics created by the Sithe. Since Ji Ning and Ninedust had somehow acquired realmship parts, Archon Silksnow felt certain that they must have visited Sithe ruins . Every single Sithe ruins was akin to a treasure trove; Archon Silksnow naturally wished to learn everything he could above such a place.

“Search through my memories? I’d choose death over that,” Ninedust said coldly.

“Archon, we can give you the realmship parts! We can also swear to keep it all a secret,” Ning said coldly. “If you accept, we’ll hand over the parts right away. If you refuse… our only choice will be to do battle.”

“Hahahaha…” Archon Silksnow raised his head and began to laugh loudly, his laughter echoing throughout the sealed region of ten billion kilometers. “You dare to try and haggle with ME?” A savage, murderous look appeared in his oily green eyes: “Then die!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Six streams of dazzling, enormous saber-light chopped downwards towards Ning and Ninedust like curved moons.

“Let’s do this.” Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance, no longer hesitating at all.

“Arise!” Ninedust growled. Instantly, a layer of black light filled with countless flickering runes erupted on the surface of the planet. Space in the area around the planet seemed to have been completely frozen, causing the six curved streaks of saber-light to slow down.

Moments later, blood-colored formation-flags appeared throughout the planet, causing it to descend into a sea of blood.

Finally, a series of roaring beast phantoms appeared. A total of nineteen beast phantoms charged straight towards Archon Silksnow.

“Go.” Ning activated the treasures he had set down as well. Clank clank clank! A series of deep blue chains appeared out of nowhere behind Archon Silksnow, coiling towards him in an attempt to bind him.

A massive formation appeared as well, transforming the skies into an enormous white chessboard. Directly below the planet, an enormous black chessboard appeared within the void. These two giant chessboards slowly swiveled, causing endless streams of light to connect them together in a cage around Archon Silksnow.

Crack! Boom! Dark-gold lightning flickered and crashed downwards towards Archon Silksnow as well.

……

“Quite a few treasures.” Archon Silksnow smiled coldly.

Ning and Ninedust truly were being quite cautious. They had set up treasures and formations of tremendous power. Although Archon Silksnow was extremely strong, these things would still tie him down for a period of time.

“Break!!!” Archon Silksnow let out a savage laugh as a golden disc flew out of his body. The disc rose vertically, its edges incredibly sharp. It emanated a ripple of terrifying power.

Tiiiiiiiiiiing! The disc emanated an ear-piercing sound that caused the hearts of Ning and Ninedust to tremble. It suddenly expanded in size, becoming almost as large as the planet itself as it spun in a chopping manner at the planet.

Clang! Archon Silksnow wielded a warblade in each of his six harms, effortlessly blocking the deep blue chains that were coiling towards him from behind.

Slash! The giant spinning disc was able to forcibly cut through everything in its path, breaking through all of the various formations! It must be remembered that even Archon Silksnow would have been able to spend quite some time and energy breaking through these formations if he was relying on his own power. Now, however, he used the disc to blow through them like rotting deadwood.

All of the formations atop the giant planet were instantly destroyed, and even the planet itself was chopped in half before the remaining power of the disc was used up. Finally, the disc crumbled apart and dissipated.

Ning and Ninedust were both rather caught offguard. “Our formations clearly weren’t capable of killing him. Why did he have to use a treasure to tear through them like that?” Ning’s face was ashen.

“Archon Silksnow is famous for his overbearing manner. I finally understand what that entails.” Ninedust felt a sense of grief.

“Die!” After having destroyed the entire planet the two were on, Archon Silksnow charged straight towards Ning and Ninedust.

Ning waved his hand, pulling Ninedust into his estate-world. “Ninedust, I’ll come up with a way to escape. I think I have a chance of fleeing, but if I cannot… just pray.”

“Darknorth.” Ninedust gritted his teeth after being drawn into the estate-world. However, he knew that the difference in power between him and Archon Silksnow was simply far too great. Ning might be able to struggle for a bit, but it would be suicide for Ninedust to try and fight as well.

……

After putting Ninedust away, Ning immediately charged into the skies and began to fly even higher. “Break!” Ning attempted to tear through space, but the blurry golden light which covered an area of ten billion kilometers around them caused spacetime to stabilize to such a degree that there was no way to tear through it at all.

“Let’s go.” Ning produced a strange black-and-white disc in his hands. This was the spacetime disk which Hegemon Brightshore had given him all those years ago. He instantly activated the power hidden within it, causing a terrifying ripple of might to descend and envelope him, then tear forcibly through the frozen spacetime.

Rumble… the vast halo of golden light began to shudder as though it was trying to suppress the effects of the item.

“What?!” Archon Silksnow revealed a look of shock. “Is that… a spacetime disc? Hegemon Brightshore’s spacetime disc?” Given how long he had been around for, Archon Silksnow was naturally quite familiar with this type of spacetime disc. In truth, all of the top-tier elites of the Endless Territories knew how much Hegemon Brightshore cared about his royal clan, the Brightshore Imperials, and how much he cared about the Daolords of the Twelve Palaces.

For Hegemon Brightshore to bestow a spacetime disc upon a Daolord was a sign that the Hegemon viewed that person with great favor. Most major powers would give face upon seeing it and not act against the person in question.

“Hmph. For the sake of the realmship and the Sithe legacies, I’ll just bear the consequences,” Archon Silksnow said with a cold smile.

The power of the spacetime disc was doing its best to tear through spacetime, while the ten billion kilometers of blurry light was doing its best to stabilize and suppress it. The two were battling against each other.

Crack! The black-white disc in Ning’s hands suddenly and completely shattered apart. The blurry light covering the surrounding area was now much dimmer… but it was still there.

“It failed.” Ning was stunned. This was the most formidable escape treasure he had available to him… but he still hadn’t been able to breach the frozen field of spacetime. “What should I do now?”

Ning’s heart was ice-cold. His most formidable fleeing treasure had failed, while he wasn’t strong enough to overcome his opponent… what was he to do?

“If Hegemon Brightshore was here in person, he might be able to breach this field… but that treasure of yours was nothing more than something he created and infused with part of his power. He’s gifted them to quite a few Daolords! If that’s all you have, you won’t be able to escape… and if you won’t be able to escape, you are going to die. That Ninedust Sectlord hiding in your estate-world will die as well.” Archon Silksnow’s voice boomed outwards. He surpassed Ning in every single aspect, save for the [Heartsword] art! Ning’s [Heartsword] art was still took weak; he had merely reached the tenth stance and was still at the first ‘stage’ of it. It simply couldn’t make up of the overwhelming disparity in power between the two.

If Ning was like Emperor Heartsword and had mastered all fifteen stances, he would be truly and freakishly powerful. Alas, breaking through each stage of the [Heartsword] was simply too difficult, as was making a breakthrough with the Omega Sword Dao.

“I can’t die. If I die, Ninedust is doomed as well.” Ning felt a powerful urge to stay alive. If he died, he would be revived thanks to the Dao-seal he had acquired in that alternate universe… but his weapons and treasures would all be gone. The nine novessence arts and the protective divine ability he had trained in would be lost as well!

The loss of the treasures was secondary, as he would be able to come back to life. Ninedust, however, could not. Ninedust didn’t even have a Primaltwin!

“Die then.” Archon Silksnow had already appeared in front of him.

“I cannot lose. I cannot be defeated. I still have a chance, a tiny chance!” A terrifying blaze of light appeared in Ning’s eyes. “Time to go all out. This sort of deadly battle is extremely effective in helping one understand sword-arts better. I’ve been training in seclusion for hundreds of millions of years, but I still haven’t been able to reach the fourth stage of my Omega Sword Dao. Perhaps if I gain enough insights from this fight, it’ll aid me in making my breakthrough.”

“If I can reach the fourth stage of the Omega Sword Dao… not only will I be able to stay alive, I’ll be able to win!” Ning’s eyes were blazing with unshakable resolve.

“Die.” Archon Silksnow’s saber-light descended. It was so cold as to freeze Ning’s heart, so fast as to cause Ning to shudder. This time, Archon Silksnow struck out at Ning with all six sabers at the same time. Clearly, he wanted to leave nothing up to chance at all and was seeking to slay Ning with one attack.

“I absolutely have to block this.” Ning strove to execute his sword-arts, generating an enormous black hole around him which sought to devour all of the saber-light.

BOOM! This collision was far larger than the last one. Ning was sent flying through the air, a line of blood leaking out from the corner of his lips.

“Haha, you really have some power after all. I used six sabers and struck at you with my full power. I thought that I’d be able to reduce you to dust… but you only suffered a few light wounds. Your protective divine ability truly is formidable.” Archon Silksnow’s voice echoed through the void as he continued to charge after Ning, not pausing at all.

“Thankfully, his strikes are within the realm of what I can endure.” Ning licked the blood from his lips. “Although he’s strong, he won’t be able to kill me. Given my Hegemon armor and my protective divine ability, only a real Hegemon should be able to crush my body in one shot. I still have a chance. I still have a chance!”

“You were able to block me once… but will you be able to block ten times? A hundred times? You are doomed.” Archon Silksnow’s oily green eyes were filled with an awesome savagery.

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Chapter 19 – A Single Tear

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 19 – A Single Tear

Ji Ning wasn’t a fool, nor was he foolishly overconfident. Although he hoped to be able to make use of this deadly battle to break through his current bottleneck, he knew that there were too many variables in play here. He might actually be able to make a breakthrough… but it was more likely that he would fail! Breaking through the bottleneck to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step was no easy task, after all. Ning’s path was that of the Omega Sword Dao; if he wanted to break through, it would be even harder than it had been for Ninedust and harder than it would be for Badlands.

He didn’t dare to completely entrust all his hopes into making a breakthrough. Thus, as soon as the spacetime disc failed he immediately asked Hegemon Brightshore for aid.

“Send word to Hegemon Brightshore. Tell him that Daolord Darknorth is willing to give him fifty of the coldflame cauldron fruits and all the remaining fruits from Crimsonwave Temple, in order to request the Hegemon to intervene and save his life. Archon Silksnow is currently trying to kill him, and he can die at any moment,” Ning instructed the servant who was in charge of maintaining contact between him and the Brightshore Kingdom.

“Yes, Master.” The servant was shocked upon hearing how grim the situation was, and he immediately sent word over to the Brightshore Kingdom.

“I hope the Hegemon will intervene,” Ning mused to himself. The Hegemon was an exalted figure who was the supreme leader of the entire Brightshore Kingdom! To the supreme figures of the Endless Territories, a Daolord really didn’t count for much, no matter how monstrously talented the Daolord was. This was because the more talented a Daolord was, the lower his chances of succeeding in the Daomerge would be. The Brightshore Kingdom had its Twelve Palaces, but in all of its years of existence none of its supreme Daolords had ever succeeded in the Daomerge. Hegemon Brightshore remained the one and only Hegemon of the Brightshore Kingdom.

Thus… Hegemons generally didn’t care about whether Daolords died or not. For them to perish while out adventuring was quite normal. They’d calmly watch as one generation of Daolords after another rose to power, followed by one generation after another perishing…

“But fifty coldflame cauldron fruits might be enough to convince the Hegemon to intervene. Although the Hegemon managed to trade for some of that fruit after our trip to Crimsonwave Temple, I don’t think he got fifty,” Ning prayed.

“Master, Master! The Hegemon sends word that he is heading towards you with my clone. However, he is going to need some time. He asks you to hold on for a bit,” the servant immediately replied.

Boom! Right at this moment, Ning had been knocked backwards with blood leaking from the corner of his lips. He couldn’t help but feel delighted upon hearing this. “Good.”

“I need to hold on for a bit. If I can hold on for a while, the Hegemon will be able to make it here,” Ning thought eagerly. He knew that since the Hegemon wasn’t sure as to where he was exactly, the Hegemon needed his servant to guide the way. That delay, combined with what a great distance the Hegemon had to traverse via tearing through spacetime, meant that the Hegemon did need some time before he could arrive.

Normally, such a short period of time was meaningless. However, Ning was in the middle of a life-and-death battle against someone who was one of the lords of the Sacred Cities. That short period of time was quite long in this situation, more than enough for Archon Silksnow to strike a hundred times.

……

“Arise.” Archon Silksnow’s long hair fluttered behind him as he let out a loud shout. Boom! Countless streams of saber-ki flew out from around him, forming a vast world of saber energy that crashed down upon Ning. Clearly, Archon Silksnow wished to end this battle as quickly as possible.

“Come forth!” Ning didn’t dare to hold anything back at all. Nine energy dragons immediately flew out of his body, forming the Yin-Yang Chaos Domain as his awesome heartworld projection came crashing down as well. The heartworld projection merged into the Yin-Yang Chaos Domain, then clashed straight against the surrounding world of saber-ki.

The two domains collided against each other… and the saber-ki domain was actually at a slight disadvantage. This caused Archon Silksnow to feel rather flabbergasted. He then smiled coldly: “So you have a few tricks of your own. However… you are still going to die.”

Archon Silksnow charged straight towards Ning with pure, unadulterated savagery! His six sabers executed his exceptionally brutal and valiant Dao of the Saber. Before his sabers, even spacetime was frozen and even karma was severed!

Attack! Attack! Attack!

“I have to survive. For Ninedust’s sake if nothing else, I have to survive.” Ning labored to defend himself.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The battle between the two caused the skies to darken. Archon Silksnow lived up to his reputation as one of the top three Archons. His attacks were incredibly ferocious, which only made sense; the Dao of the Saber was an offensive Dao, after all. Ning was completely unable to fight back, but when he focused completely on defense his six swords were able to form a truly airtight defense. Still, he was knocked backwards again and again.

“This Daolord Darknorth really is pretty formidable.” Archon Silksnow struck out ten times in a row, but Ning was able to endure all ten attacks. This caused Archon Silksnow to narrow his eyes. “Everyone says that Winesage is the most powerful Daolord, but it seems as though this Daolord Darknorth is actually more powerful than Winesage! I can hardly believe that there’s a Daolord capable of taking ten blows from me in a row.”

In truth, Ning was only able to accomplish this thanks to his [Heartsword] art, which had increased his strength dramatically and made his sword-arts even faster and more ferocious! Without it, Archon Silksnow probably would’ve been able to blast Ning’s six swords out of his hands and then kill Ning right away!

“He’s too resilient. If this continues, I don’t even know how many attacks it’ll take to kill him.” A cold light flashed through Archon Silksnow’s oily green eyes. “Forget it. I’ll make an exception for him and use my [Icesnow] saber-arts.”

Whoosh! Archon Silksnow’s six sabers began to move in unison. Three of them became incredibly savage and overbearing, while the other three actually became unpredictable and ephemeral, almost like the dancing of the snow. Their movements were very soft and extremely difficult to see through.

When Ning saw this, his face turned extremely pale. Although the earlier attacks were savage and powerful, they were fairly easy to block as a result. Now that Archon Silksnow was using this strange combination of savagery and softness, merging the principles of Yin and Yang together, blocking the attacks became far more difficult than before. The snow-like saber-arts didn’t have as much power behind them, but they were much more troublesome for Ning to defend against.

It was much like how the Heavenbreaker stance was much more powerful than the Blood Drop stance, but the Blood Drop stance was far superior in speed thanks to having sacrificed a degree of power. The most powerful attack wasn’t necessarily the best attack.

Clang! Clang! Slash! Slash! Swords and sabers collided nonstop. Ning was forced to use four of his swords to defend against those three sabers executing the unpredictable [Icesnow] saber-art, leaving him only two swords to defend against the other three extremely savage sabers.

BOOM! Using just two swords to defend clearly wasn’t enough. A savage burst of power rocked Ning’s entire body, causing it to tremble as he was sent flying backwards. Ning vomited out a mouthful a blood, his face ashen. His divine power was being depleted far too quickly. Ning’s hands were numb, and even his soul was beginning to feel a bit woozy. Clearly, his sword-arts weren’t able to ablate enough of his enemy’s attack power, causing his divine body to endure most of it. As a result, his injuries were now much heavier than before.

“After I became one of the Archons of the Sacred Cities, on the occasions when I acted against Daolords I always used my most powerful and overwhelming attacks to crush them directly. You are the first Daolord I wasn’t able to crush in such a manner, forcing me to use my [Icesnow] saber-arts. Normally, I’ll only use it when I battle against other Emperors. You should feel proud to die these saber-arts,” Archon Silksnow said as he once more charged forwards.

His saber-arts fell upon Ning like the snow, drifting and ephemeral.

His saber-light flashed like lightning, piercing directly into one’s heart.

These were two diametrically different types of saber-arts, making it far more difficult to defend against them.

Slash! Ning was starting to grow dizzy from the hits he was taking. His divine body found it hard to endure these attacks, and he was starting to decline from peak condition.

“No. If I let this continue, I’m going to die!” Ning understood that each time he blocked, he was walking on a fine line between life and death. In less than ten stances, he would perish to this opponent.

“If I die, I can be revived thanks to my Dao-seal… but Ninedust will be dead for sure.” A surge of indomitable will and resolve came out of Ning’s soul. This resolve was absolutely unshakable, a form of power that came from his very spirit… and Ning’s sword-arts suddenly changed.

Previously, his strikes had taken the form of mist-formed swords. All of a sudden, the mist began to condense and transform into drops of water. The countless water drops condensed into a sword that looked as though it was made out of water. The watery swords rippled with absolute beauty but emanated a mesmerizing level of might… and both the speed and power of Ning’s strikes skyrocketed.

[Heartsword], stance eleven… ‘Teardrop’.

Boom! Boom!

The two forces collided. Ning was still knocked flying backwards, and he was still at a disadvantage… but this time, he didn’t spit out any blood at all. Clearly, the force of the collision was not enough to cause him any injuries.

“What?!” Archon Silksnow’s face completely changed. “The eleventh stance of the [Heartsword] art?!”

“Yes.” The distant Ning revealed a smile. “Archon Silksnow, you live up to your reputation. You recognized my technique at a single glance. This is indeed the eleventh stance of the [Heartsword] art.”

The reason why it was comparatively easier for cultivators to make breakthroughs in near-death situations was because those situations placed the soul and truesoul under enormous pressure, causing them to enter a special state that made it easier for one to have epiphanies and then make breakthroughs. Ning wasn’t just in a life-and-death situation, he was also under the pressure of being responsible for Ninedust’s survival. This made his desire to win even stronger, and those strong emotions and tremendous desire to survive caused his [Heartsword] art to finally break through.

In the instant that he made his breakthrough, he finally understood. The eleventh stance of the [Heartsword] art, the ‘Teardrop’, required incredible resolve and willpower! Long ago, Emperor Heartsword had been facing certain death for the sake of protecting those he loved. He had smiled into the face of death as tears spilled down his face… but in that instant, he had a sudden epiphany and managed to develop the eleventh stance.

Each cultivator had their own paths to take if they wished to create such profound, abstruse sword-arts. God Emperor Helong, for example, had created his [God Emperor’s Apocalypse] technique, a technique similar to the [Heartsword] art in that it perfectly merged heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy together. It also required a terrifying amount of resolve and strong emotions, but the emotions involved had to be a feeling of benevolence and care towards all living beings.

“Only such a blazing level of determination can allow heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy to merge together in a more perfect manner.” Ning finally understood.

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Chapter 20 – Hegemon Brightshore

Book 35, The Aeonian Race, Chapter 20 – Hegemon Brightshore

“How is this possible? How could his [Heartsword] art have advanced to the eleventh stance? That means he’ll reach the twelfth stance soon!”

The ‘first stage’ of the [Heartsword] art consisted of the eighth to tenth stances, while the second stage consisted of the eleventh and twelfth stances.

Ning had made consecutive breakthroughs in the ‘first stage’ back when he was in Crimsonwave Temple. Breaking through between stances within the same stage was quite fast, while breaking through from one stage to another was far more difficult. Since Ning had already reached the eleventh stance, the twelfth stance wouldn’t be too far behind.

“Daolord Darknorth’s sword-arts are extremely well-rounded and extremely durable. If he can master the twelfth stance… he’ll be on par with even me.” Archon Silksnow’s killing intent began to grow stronger.

Emperor Heartsword, even after becoming an Eternal Emperor, was only comparable to supreme Daolords when it came to his actual insights into the Dao of the Sword. He was actually weaker in this regard than the current Ning. However, thanks to his mastery of the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art, he had completely eclipsed all other Archons and was second only to the Hegemons. He was known throughout the Endless Territories as the only Emperor who was comparable to Hegemons in power.

Now that Ning had mastered the eleventh stance, the power of his strikes was three times as much as it was ‘normally’. Soon, when he mastered the twelfth stance, his strikes would be comparable to six times his ‘normal’ power! How incredible would this be?

It was all thanks to this terrifying technique that Emperor Heartsword had been able to battle those who were two levels of power above him and be able to battle the three mighty Hegemons!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two continued to battle furiously. Ning was knocked flying repeatedly, but he was able to endure the blows with ease. This was because his sword-arts were faster and fiercer than before, allowing him to completely defend against his foe’s attacks. “A hundred strikes? I can block even a thousand strikes from him. He might hold the upper hand, but if I completely focus on defense I can endure fairly easily.”

“Die, die, die!” Archon Silksnow’s oily green eyes grew colder and colder as his saber-arts fluctuated between incomparable savagery and snow-like unpredictability. Ning was completely unable to fight back at all, and with each strike he sent Ning flying away. He was completely dominating Ning, forcing Ning to focus exclusively on defense… but Archon Silksnow really was completely unable to do anything to the defense-oriented Ning.

“His defenses are completely without flaws. His sword-arts have no weaknesses whatsoever.” Archon Silksnow was extremely vexed by this; foes with perfect defensive abilities were extremely difficult to deal with. Even those more powerful than Ning would find it hard to breach his defensive sword-arts. “Am I really going to have to use one of my treasures to deal with a single Daolord?”

“Given his current level of power, not even common Hegemon-level treasures are certain to kill him. I would have to use one of my most important treasures.” Archon Silksnow felt a bit of heartache at the prospect. “I’ve only accumulated so many of them despite the passage of countless years… I was planning on using them in critical situations to defend against Hegemons.”

Archon Silksnow continued to hesitate as the two exchanged blows. Archon Silksnow was vacillating; he really didn’t want to use up his most important treasures. His more ordinary treasures such as ‘common’ Hegemonic treasures might be precious to Daolords, but Archon Silksnow had quite a few of them. However, those treasures generally only held twenty to thirty percent of the full power of a Hegemon’s strike. It wasn’t enough to kill an Archon of the Sacred Cities, nor was it enough to kill the current Ning.

……

While Archon Silksnow hesitated, he continued to hope that his furious barrage of attacks would be enough to kill Ning. If he could avoid using one of his life-saving treasures, he would do so; he wasn’t going to use those things up casually.

Riiiiiip. Far away, within the empty void that was beyond the area of ten billion kilometers covered by the blurry light, a tear in spacetime suddenly appeared. This tear was enormous in size, and from it emerged the enormous head of an absolutely titanic beast. The eyes on this head looked like blazing stars, and they turned to stare at the distant field of combat, locking in on both Archon Silksnow and Daolord Darknorth.

Archon Silksnow sensed this new present, and he immediately turned to look.

“Archon Silksnow, stay your hand,” the titanic beast said in a rumbling voice.

“Hegemon Brightshore!” Archon Silksnow’s face immediately turned pale. Hegemon Brightshore had actually charged over here in person, using his true body?

Archon Silksnow had been hesitating, but a savage look immediately appeared on his face. He produced an ordinary-looking black hammer in his hands, then immediately tossed it out. The black warhammer transformed into an enormous streak of golden light which smashed straight towards the distant Ning. As it flew, the black warhammer’s light began to increase dramatically as it became golden in color.

The warhammer was dazzling to behold, and its aura alone caused Ning to feel the desire to prostrate himself before it. Ning forced down that thought, but he still felt a sense of shock in his heart. He hurriedly crushed two protective treasures, causing a barrier of water to appear around him as well as a strange river to cover him.

“Silksnow!” Hegemon Brightshore was enraged. His enormous body stretched out a single claw which tore straight through the blurry light. Boom! The barrier was completely ripped open. However… by the time he tore through it, the dazzling golden warhammer had already reached Ning.

BOOM!

A terrifying wave of power smashed against Ning, blasting through the river around him and shattering the watery barrier. Although Ning strove to use his Northbow swords to defend, the power of this strike vastly surpassed the strikes which Archon Silksnow had unleashed previously. Ning’s six arms were immediately torn apart, and his six Northbow swords were sent flying as the terrifying power from the strike swept through Ning’s entire body.

The power was simply too great.

“I-I… am going to die?” Ning only had enough time to turn his head to glance at the distant Hegemon Brightshore. As Ning stared at the titanic beast, his lips moved slightly. He wanted to say: “Save Ninedust.”

Alas, Ning didn’t have a chance to say a single word. His body was completely crushed into dust, leaving only a few magic treasures and his armor behind, floating in the void.

……

“NO! Damn you!” The blazing, star-like eyes of Hegemon Brightshore were filled with fury. He had already spoken, but Archon Silksnow had actually chosen to kill Ning right in front of him.

Riiiiiip. He had already torn straight through the blurry barrier of light. Now, the Hegemon’s claw tore straight towards Archon Silksnow.

Archon Silksnow had immediately transformed into a streak of light and flown towards Ning in the same instant that he used up one of his trump cards. He wanted to take away the treasures which Ning had left behind. He knew that Ninedust and the realmship parts were all within Ning’s estate-world treasure.

“And you actually think you are going to take the treasures as well?” This enraged Hegemon Brightshore even further. His eyes emanated an aura of blurry light which caused spacetime to congeal in the surrounding area. A wave of invisible pressure crushed down upon Archon Silksnow, causing him to dramatically slow down. As for Hegemon Brightshore’s claws, they tore straight through space itself as they reached out towards Archon Silksnow. Previously, that aura of blurry light had condensed local spacetime… but now that it had been destroyed, Hegemon Brightshore’s attacks were able to almost instantly reach the target.

“So fast! The old man really lives up to his reputation as the premier Hegemon amongst the three Hegemons in our realmverse.” Archon Silksnow hurriedly used his saber-arts to defend against that terrifying claw.

BOOM! The terrifying claw-strike came, filled with such power that it was equal in might to the black warhammer treasure which Archon Silksnow had just used. Archon Silksnow was instantly shattered into tiny pieces of snow, but that snow quickly reassembled far away into Archon Silksnow once more.

When Autarch Bolin was a Hegemon, he had trained and mastered a total of ten Hegemonic Daos! All that accumulated experience had allowed him to break through to become an Autarch. Emperors possessed endless lifespans and thus would generally train in many Daos, hoping that these other Daos might stimulate and inspire them! Emperor Silksnow himself was skilled in both the Dao of the Saber and the Dao of Snow.

He had undergone the Daomerge via his Dao of the Saber and reached the Archon level of power. Over the course of countless years, he had slowly upgraded his Dao of Snow to that same level. Clearly, he wanted to use these two Daos to inspire him and slowly train to the Hegemon level via them.

It was possible for Emperors to train and cultivate, but improving was extremely difficult. Every single person who had been alive for that long, however, had life-preserving abilities available to them. The difference in power between Archons and Hegemons was quite apparent, and in a real head-on battle the Archon would definitely perish.

However, some Archons had defensive techniques like invulnerable forms, while others were extremely skilled in other ways. For example, if one was extremely proficient in the Dao of Numerancy, one would be forewarned of danger and flee early on. Alternately, if one had an extremely formidable evasion art then one would be able to rely on it to escape and prevent even Hegemons from catching up to them and killing them.

Ning had already reached the Archon level, true… but he had merely trained in the Omega Sword Dao and didn’t have an invulnerable form. In addition, he had only been training for a very brief period of time and had not accumulated enough treasures yet. There was simply no way for him to compete against the likes of Archon Silksnow. The elder Archons had accumulated many treasures of the years, some of which could have an impact on even actual Hegemons.

……

“Hegemon Brightshore, are you really going to interfere over me killing a mere Daolord?” Archon Silksnow stood off in the distance. Although he was unhappy, he suppressed his anger. “You and I have both lived in the Endless Territories for countless years. These Daolords come and go; there are nothing more than passerbys in our life. Daolord Darknorth angered me, so I decided to kill him; this is a minor matter. You, an exalted Hegemon, actually decided to interfere? This is a bit much, isn’t it?”

Hegemon Brightshore’s voice boomed out sonorously from afar: “Archon Silksnow, this was indeed a minor matter… but since I spoke out, you should’ve been willing to discuss things peaceably. You actually dared to kill Darknorth right in front of me!”

“This little thief was lucky enough to steal an item I needed,” Archon Silksnow said. “Hegemon Brightshore, I don’t want any of his other treasures, but I do want that little thief’s estate-world. If you are willing to give it to me, you can list any conditions you want.”

“Hmph, you killed Darknorth in front of me… and you think you’ll earn his treasures?” Hegemon Brightshore said coldly, “Fuck off. If you don’t… don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

“You…!” Archon Silksnow had an ugly look on his face.

“I said FUCK OFF!” Hegemon Brightshore’s voice deepened even further.

“Fine. A Hegemon really is a Hegemon. I’ll accede to your request this time.” Archon Silksnow ground his teeth, then turned and disappeared within a dimensional ripple.

The reason why Archon Silksnow had chosen to kill Ning at that critical moment was partially for the sake of the realmship… but more importantly, he wanted to pull up grass by the roots! He understood that so long as Ning survived, Ning would quickly be able to master the twelfth stance of the [Heartsword] art. By then, the difference in power between the two would be very small. There was already a feud between them. If Ning failed his Daomerge, it would be guaranteed that Ning would die. If he went crazy before dying… while Archon Silksnow himself would be able to keep himself alive, the foundations of power he had spent countless aeons establishing might be completely annihilated by the maddened Ning.

If Ning succeeded in the Daomerge? Things would be even worse! Thus, he had to kill Ning right away. Taking the treasure was just a secondary benefit. Alas… the Hegemon had stopped him.

……

Hegemon Brightshore watched as Archon Silksnow left, neither chasing nor attacking. Killing Archon Silksnow would be no easy feat.

The Hegemon’s titanic figure blurred, transforming into a humanoid figure. He returned to his normal form of a snowy-robed, white-bearded old man with six curved horns on his head. He waved his hand, collecting the Northbow swords, estate-world, armor, and other treasures Ning had left behind. He murmured softly to himself, “These treasures actually still have an owner? Daolord Darknorth actually didn’t die… can it be that he has a Primaltwin?”

Hegemon Brightshore revealed a smile. He felt rather apologetic towards Ning for not having been able to rescue him, but now he felt much better. “He really does have a few tricks up his sleeve. Since he didn’t die… his avatar should be at Vastheaven Palace. I’ll pay it a visit.” Hegemon Brightshore took a single step forward, tearing through spacetime as he travelled towards Vastheaven Palace.

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Chapter 1 – Revival

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 1 – Revival

Vastheaven Palace.

Within a hidden estate-world, there were beautiful valleys filled with fragrant flowers and birdsong. A golden-robed Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop the grass, and in front of the grass before him was a black-white piece of jade. This jade talisman was the ‘Lifeblood’ Dao-seal which Emperor Maniseal had once bestowed upon Ning in order to curry favor with the Paragon of Pills. However, it wasn’t one of his most valuable ones, as it was only able to revive Samsara Daolords. Next to the piece of black-white jade was a giant, mountain-sized pile of countless chaos jewels.

In the exact instant where the distant Archon Silksnow slew Ji Ning…

Rumble… the black-white jade talisman instantly lit up with dazzling light. The strand of truesoul which Ning had left behind in the talisman slowly began to rebuild itself from the talisman’s energy, almost like an infant gestating within his mother’s belly or like life taking shape within an egg. Ning’s strand of truesoul slowly began to recover and reform within that white-black jade talisman, and as more of it recovered he slowly began to gain mental clarity as well.

“Just now, I was killed… and I could sense my consciousness descend into infinite darkness. Now that I’ve come back… I feel as though I have been brought back into endless light.”

This experience of dying and coming back to life had truly and completely stunned Ning. Ning instantly gained a fresh perspective on what the nature of the Dao truly was.

Thruuuuum! Ning’s consciousness instantly began to absorb energy from the outside world. The many chaos jewels which his avatar had prepared long ago were instantly activated and their energy was drawn into Ning nonstop.

Whoooosh. As Ning began to actively drawn in energy, his body quickly began to reform around him as the black-white jade talisman disintegrated soundlessly. The figure of a white-robed youth began to coalesce in the empty air within the gorge, his body glowing with light and looking rather ethereal. However, as more time passed his body gradually began to grow increasingly solid. By the time he had absorbed more than half of the mountain of chaos jewels, his aura was completely restored and reserved once more.

The white-robed Ning descended from the skies, exchanging a glance with the golden-robed Ning. Both had joyless looks on their faces; the only expression they had was that of worry.

“My true body was reformed thanks to the Dao-seal, but brother Ninedust…” Ning was worried. “Archon Silksnow saw the Hegemon appear, but he still chose to kill me no matter the cost. He probably went after the treasures I left behind. Ninedust was hiding inside my estate-world. I hope he doesn’t end up in Archon Silksnow’s hands.”

Whoosh. With but a thought, Ning exited from this estate-world.

……

Outside the estate-world was Ji Ning’s residence within Vastheaven Palace.

“Master.” The fiery-robed woman seated by herself atop a distant boulder revealed a smile.

“Youji.” Ning smiled back at her.

“Master, why has your true form returned?” Su Youji was quite surprised. She had spent almost all of the past few years in Vastheaven Palace, but she generally only saw the golden-robed avatar.

Ning chuckled. “I got beaten back.”

“Who was able to beat you, Master?” Su Youji didn’t believe it. Her master was virtually amongst Daolords, right?

“Haha, I’d rather not discuss such an embarrassing event in detail. Where’s Pillsaint? Still making his pills?” Ning asked.

“Yes, Pillsaint’s gone absolutely pill-crazy,” Su Youji said.

Suddenly, a spacetime ripple swept across the entire Vastheaven Palace. Su Youji didn’t notice, but Ning revealed a nervous look on his face. He was worried about Ninedust’s safety, and so he immediately bowed respectfully in the direction of the ripple. “Greetings, Hegemon.”

A pitch-black tear in spacetime appeared in front of Ning, followed by a snow-robed, white-bearded old man with six horns on his head emerging from it. When he saw Ning, he revealed a surprised look: “Darknorth, you are actually still alive?”

When Ning saw the Hegemon, he let out a sigh of relief. This was because he could sense that his weapons and treasures were all on the Hegemon; clearly, the Hegemon had picked them up for him.

“Long ago, Hegemon, you arranged for me to enter that alternate universe. I was fortunate enough to acquire a ‘Lifeblood’ Dao-seal forged by Emperor Maniseal,” Ning said. “It was all thanks to that Dao-seal that I was able to survive.”

“A Lifeblood Dao-seal from Maniseal?” Hegemon Brightshore nodded slowly. “No wonder you survived. Maniseal is an extremely arrogant and solitary figure; if you were able to attract his interest, you must have had quite the experience.”

Ning secretly muttered to himself. It had nothing to with him attracting Maniseal’s interest; in fact, he had never even met Emperor Maniseal! It was all because the man wanted to gain favor with the Paragon of Pills. That was why he had bestowed the Dao-seal upon Ning.

“Oh, right. Here are your treasures.” Hegemon Brightseal waved his hand, causing the six Northbow swords, the Hegemon armor, the estate-world, and the many other treasures to fly towards Ning. The six Northbow swords in particular began to shiver; clearly, they were extremely excited upon seeing their master again.

Ning waved his hand, accepting all of the treasures. Some he stored away and some he wore. As fo the six Northbow swords, they re-entered the sheath on his back.

Ning finally relaxed after acquiring these treasures. He had only acquired them after many dangerous adventures; if he lost them all, he really would be heartbroken. Ning could also sense that the Ninedust Sectlord was still safely within his estate-world. This caused Ning to reveal a smile.

“Thank you, Hegemon. These are the fruits from Crimsonwave Temple I promised.” Ning immediately offered a jade green gourd which was filled with all of the remaining fruits from Crimsonwave Temple.

“I cannot accept this.” Hegemon Brightshore smiled and shook his head. “You asked me to save your life, and if I had done so I would’ve accepted these fruits. But… I was just a bit too slow, and Archon Silksnow didn’t show any mercy even though I was there. I wasn’t able to save you; you saved yourself thanks to that Dao-seal, coming back to life. How can I accept?”

“These fruits are nothing more than a portion of the treasures I own,” Ning said hurriedly. “Hegemon, you sent all of my treasures over to me. They are very important, especially my lifeblood weapons! Darknorth is filled with tremendous gratitude towards you.”

“A failure is a failure.” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head. “I’m not going to be greedy over the treasures of a young fellow like yourself.”

Ning was rather speechless. Still, high-level figures generally had exceptional levels of pride. Everyone had bottom lines they would not cross without a very good reason! But of course, a sufficiently tempting treasure might be a good enough reason for them to cross their bottom line. A completely undamaged realmship, for example, would be enough to drive any Hegemon crazy. Ning, however, was just a Daolord; Hegemon Brightshore really didn’t have much interest in his items. Even if he knew that Ning had an omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, he still wouldn’t care. The verdant azuresoul might interest him slightly, but he still wouldn’t go crazy over it.

This was because one would have to first find a Chaos Primordial before one could use the verdant azuresoul to take control over it. One had to remember that even for Autarchs finding a Chaos Primordial was an incredibly difficult task, much less for someone like Hegemon Brightshore who had always resided within the Flamedragon Realmverse.

In other words… even if he knew all of the treasures Ning possessed, he still wouldn’t be so shameless as to pilfer from Ning. And of course, he had no idea that Ning had treasures like the verdant azuresoul.

“T-then…” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately said, “Darknorth has something to ask of you.”

“Oh?” Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning.

“I need some precious materials.” Ning waved his hand, causing a large number of characters to immediately appear in the air next to him. The text narrated the many materials Ning needed to reach the third level of the [Sword Dao Body] technique. His previous body had been destroyed, after all. Although he had rebuilt his true body, his restored body was just his ‘ordinary’ body.

His protective divine ability? His nine novessence arts? They were all gone. He didn’t care about the nine novessence arts, as they were already getting to be a bit too weak… but the protective divine ability was still of use.

Previously, when Ning had battled against Archon Silksnow, the reason why he hadn’t died when he was getting blasted back prior to his [Heartsword] breakthrough was precisely because his protective divine ability was quite powerful! But of course, if he wanted to train to the fourth level, where his body would be comparable to a top-grade Eternal treasure, the amount of treasures he would have to expend would cause even a Hegemon some pain. Ning suspected that not even his omnigeddon bloodfruit tree would be enough.

“I remember you buying these things last time?” Hegemon Brightshore chuckled.

“I have to re-train this divine ability,” Ning said helplessly. “If I use my remaining fruits to trade for them, it should be enough, yes?”

“It is enough.” Hegemon Brightshore smiled. He was starting to like the kid more and more. He really did want to acquire those fruits, but he absolutely was not going to take advantage of Ning, a mere Daolord. The materials which Ning had requested were in fact of equal value to these fruits! However, if Ning wished to trade his fruits, he would’ve been able to trade with either the Dao Alliance or the Ancient cultivators for them… and he probably would’ve gotten a better deal. These fruits were rarer and more important to Eternal Emperors, after all.

“I’ll accept these fruits and will immediately assemble the materials. I’ll arrange for them to be sent to Vastheaven Palace within one month.” Hegemon Brightshore accepted the jade green gourd. “Also… you should keep the fact that you at Vastheaven Palace a tight secret. Do not let Archon Silksnow find out.”

“Understood,” Ning said immediately. He still was not a match for Archon Silksnow just yet.

“If he really does attack, you can immediately ask me for assistance. I’ll tear straight through spacetime and immediately arrive at Vastheaven Palace,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “Last time, I was a bit slow because I didn’t know where you were, exactly; I had to rely on your servant’s clone guiding the way for me. I’ll be much faster next time, because I can descend directly upon Vastheaven Palace. However, I’ll only intervene on your behalf once. Any other dangers you encounter, you’ll have to resolve yourself.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. To Hegemons and Archons, Daolords really didn’t matter that much. Even though some Daolords were incredibly talented, once their lifespans ended they would almost all perish.

Hegemon Brightshore, for example, still viewed Archon Silksnow as a peer despite being far more powerful than him! But when he viewed Daolords, he viewed them as being kids. No matter how much of a fuss they kicked up, they would still just be kids. There had never been a Daolord who was qualified to treat with Hegemons and Archons as equals.

Whoosh. Hegemon Brightshore tore a hole in spacetime, then stepped into it and departed.

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Chapter 2 – Farewells

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 2 – Farewells

“W-was that Hegemon Brightshore?” Only now did Su Youji dare to speak.

“Yes.” Ji Ning nodded.

“Master, just now, you said Archon Silksnow…” Su Youji had overheard quite a bit and now knew much of the story.

Ning immediately instructed, “You cannot make this information public, nor can you reveal the fact that I came back to life thanks to a Dao-seal! Once Archon Silksnow finds out… given his temperament, there’s no way he’ll let this matter rest. Although Hegemon Brightshore promised to help out, for him to assist me once is already giving me great face. In the end, I’ll have to rely on my own skills to deal with Archon Silksnow.”

“But we’re talking about Archon Silksnow! T-this…” Su Youji was extremely worried. No matter how powerful her master was, he was still just a Daolord. How was he supposed to fight against one of the eight awesome lords of the Sacred Cities, Archon Silksnow?

“That’s not for you to worry about,” Ning instructed. He then waved his hand, causing a silver-robed man to appear next to him. It was the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Darknorth.” When Ninedust saw Ning, he immediately revealed a look of delight. “You are unharmed? Thank goodness. I was worried about something happening to you.”

“Haha, you were worried about something happening to me and you being unable to escape, right?” Ning teased.

“You jackass, I really was worried about you,” Ninedust said, feigning anger.

Ning chuckled, then let out a sigh: “Your worries weren’t unfounded. I really did end up being killed by Archon Silksnow.”

“What? You died?!” Ninedust was shocked.

“I once acquired a special treasure which can allow a Daolord to be brought back to life.” Ning didn’t hide what actually happened as he pointed to the surrounding area. “Look, we’re already in Vastheaven Palace! As for you? It was technically Hegemon Brightshore who intervened and rescued you.”

Ninedust started to understand. Moments later, he let out a chuckle. “Hegemon Brightshore? He’s always been filled with enmity towards us Ancient cultivators; there’s no way he would’ve gone out of his way to save me. I imagine he intervened because of you. When it comes down to it, the person I owe a debt to is still you.” Clearly, the long-running feud between the Brightshore Kingdom and the Ancient cultivators made it so that Ninedust didn’t feel any goodwill towards Hegemon Brightshore.

“Oh, right. There’s something I want to make clear to you,” Ninedust said, his face suddenly turning solemn.

“What is it?” Ning asked.

Ninedust glanced at the nearby Su Youji. Suddenly, he used his Immortal energy to form a barrier that completely blocked them off from the outside world.

Ninedust had mixed emotions on his face when he said, “Darknorth, we’ve experience life and death on numerous occasions together. At the beginning, we were on par in terms of power… and even later on, you were only slightly more powerful than me. Slowly, though, you’ve become more and more powerful. When we were in the Autarch’s estate-world within the Aeonian Kingdom, I could do nothing but watch when you fought against the flame beasts and the sea dragons. Later on, I could only watch when you battled against Archon Silksnow. More and more, I can sense how great the gap between us has become.”

Ning was stunned.

“Slowly, without me even realizing it, you have completely surpassed me in power. Even if we were to keep adventuring together, it really wouldn’t work out. A good test for me would be far too easy for you, while an adventure suitable for you would be absolutely lethal to me.” Ninedust sighed. “If this continues… it won’t be good for either of us.”

Ning nodded slowly. He understood what Ninedust was saying, but… were the two of them, lifelong brothers, about to separate?

“I have used a Voidsea Jadeseal and gained guidance from an Autarch’s Dao, then studied over three hundred Hegmeonic legacies. Thanks to all of these fortuitous encounters, I can sense that my chances at the Daomerge are getting better and better.” Ninedust’s eyes blazed with eagerness. “That’s why I can’t let myself just come to a halt. I have to keep adventuring and keep testing myself, so that I can improve my Daomerge chances.”

“Either I’ll succeed in the Daomerge, or I’ll die in my adventures. Darknorth!” Ninedust looked towards Ning. “Let us part ways here. You have your cultivation path to walk, and I have my Daomerge path to embark on…”

Ning was silent for a long moment. Finally, he nodded. “Very well. My avatar shall continue to reside here at Vastheaven Palace. If you need anything, you can simply send word here.”

“It’ll be just as easy for you to reach me. You merely need to send word to the Palace of Ancient Truth,” Ninedust said. “The Palace of Ancient Truth has branches throughout all eight of the Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance. In truth, we Ancient cultivators are behind it. Once you send a message to the Palace of Ancient Truth, it’ll naturally send word to the Ancient cultivators and my avatar will immediately be notified.”

Ninedust had a very complex look on his face, but he forced a wide smile: “Darknorth, where do you plan to go adventuring next? Deep into the Terror Starsea, or…?”

“I’m in no rush for now. I’m going to quietly meditate for a period of time. I was just slain by Archon Silksnow slew me and then brought back to life by that Dao-seal, after all. This process of death and rebirth… it caused me to gain many new insights which I wish to meditate on,” Ning said.

“Understood.” Ninedust took a deep breath, then said solemnly: “Brother, I’m going to leave now. Be careful, and be especially wary of that Archon Silksnow fellow. He’s definitely not going to give up, if only for the sake of acquiring that realmship part.”

Ning looked at Ninedust. He knew that once they parted today, it was possible that they would never see each other ever again. “You also need to be careful on your adventures. Make sure you don’t die an early death. I believe in you. You’ll definitely succeed in your Daomerge!” Ning said.

“Haha, right. I’ll definitely succeed in my Daomerge. In fact, both of us will! Haha. I’m leaving now. No need to show me off!” Ninedust immediately flew into the skies.

Ning raised his head, watching as the barriers in the sky automatically parted and let Ninedust leave. A streak of light shot through the skies, followed by a dimensional ripple appearing off in the distance. The streak of light flew into the ripple, then disappeared without a trace.

Ning continued to watch silently, head upraised. “Take care.” After a long moment, Ning finally murmured these final words.

“Master,” Su Youji said. She hadn’t been able to hear any of that conversation due to the barrier of Immortal energy which Ninedust had set up.

“It’s fine.” Ning was feeling rather frustrated and disheartened. Indeed, he had his own path of cultivation to walk, as did Ninedust. Ninedust wanted to focus on the Daomerge, after all.

As for Ning himself, his chances at the Daomerge were still too slim. Voidsea Jadeseals were of little to nuse to him, while the Hegemonic legacies were only useful as references. None of those Hegemons had Daos that were as complex as Ning’s Omega Sword Dao, after all! Even the Autarch’s Dao was merely of use as a guidepost, as the Autarch had not embarked upon an Omega Dao as a Daolord.

“For now, my goal should be to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step as soon as possible. Once I reach that level, I’ll be qualified to fight against my foes… and I’ll even have a chance to acquire enough treasures to ask an Autarch to reverse spacetime and revive my wife.”

“Ninedust’s goal, however, is the Daomerge. I hope he succeeds in it.”

……

The first thing Ning did in the upcoming days was to visit Emperor Solesky. Emperor Solesky had immediately noticed when Ning had allowed Ninedust to leave, after all, and so Ning had to advise Emperor Solesky that he absolutely cannot divulge the fact that Ning’s true body was at Vastheaven Palace.

Soon, after half a month, a Daolord of the Brightshore Kingdom came delivering treasures.

That very day. Vastheaven Palace. Darknorth’s estate.

“I’m planning to go out wandering for a bit. Right now, the only ones who know that I am at Vastheaven Palace are you, big brother Solesky, and the two of you. You absolutely must not reveal this information; otherwise, a calamity shall descend upon us.” Ning glanced at Emperor Solesky, Su Youji, and Pillsaint.

“Don’t worry.” Emperor Solesky nodded.

“Master, I wish to go by your side,” Su Youji said immediately. Pillsaint opened his mouth, wanting to agree.

“No need,” Ning interrupted. “I’m just going to search for new insights and meditate on the Dao. Travelling alone will be better.”

Su Youji and Pillsaint could only nod.

“I’m leaving now. If there’s anything you wish to tell me, you can simply inform my avatar.” After finishing his words, Ning took a single step forwards and disappeared gracefully, passing through Vastheaven Palace’s barriers and vanishing within the skies.

……

Vastheaven Palace was located within the Vastheaven Everworld, which as an everworld was naturally an incredibly gigantic place. Countless living beings were here, and there were some places where experts were as common as the clouds. There were even a few Ancestral Immortals and even Chaos Immortals who arose from this place! There were other places where, due to special geography, only had mortals and had no cultivators whatsoever.

Whoosh. Ning strode slowly through the everworld. Although there were quite a few dangerous places within it, given how strong Ning was there really was nothing within it which could pose a threat to him. In fact, even the Emperor who had originally established this everworld was significantly weaker than the current Ning!

“This region is quite interesting.” Ning stared off into the distance at a vast region which was hundreds of millions of kilometers in size. This was a region that was completely surrounded by a titanic, barren marsh. As a result, it was completely separated from the outside world. This was a land of ordinary mortals, and even the most supreme of cultivators were at most at the Celestial Immortal level. There was simply no way for them to pass through the great marsh and reach the outside world, and so it was a self-contained realm unto itself.

The desolate marsh had probably been naturally formed when the everworld was first created. Not even some of the weaker Daolords were capable of traversing it.

“Seven kingdoms fighting for supremacy.” Ning stared at the vast land, then nodded slightly. “Countless living beings are dying at any given moment in this place. Very well then… this shall be the place! Here, I shall search for the secrets of mortality, the secrets of life and death.”

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Chapter 3 – Boulder Transformation

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 3 – Boulder Transformation

In this vast realm, seven nations were striving for dominance. The cultivation system here was completely different from that of the outside world. There were three major stages known as ‘warriors’, ‘masters’, and ‘grandmasters’. Reaching the ‘grandmaster’ level was akin to becoming a Void-level Earth Immortal in the outside world. Ji Ning transformed himself and entered this realm, beginning to truly experience it and live in it as he watched countless living beings be born and die.

“Waaaaaaa!” An infant was born within a large manor, bawling his lungs out.

The white-robed Ning appeared outside the manor. His body blurred, then transformed into a middle-aged man bearing a flag. On the flag were two simple characters which meant ‘fortune teller’. He walked in front of the manor, then said to the two manor guards, “This young master is connected to me via destiny.”

“A filthy fortune teller like you is connected to him?”

“Beat it! Fuck off!” The two guards immediately shouted at this fortune-teller, shooing him away.

Ning didn’t let himself grow angry. When he was pushed away and sent stumbling back, he called out loudly, “But we really are connected by destiny?”

The child who was born on this day within this manor was the manor-master’s only child. His name was ‘Xuhu’.

……

Three years later. The white-robed Ning once more appeared outside this estate. He stared at the ten-plus children playing in the mud from afar, then smiled slightly. His body blurred as he transformed into a four-year-old child as well dressed in red clothes, then ran barefoot towards the others.

“Where are you from? Why haven’t I ever met you before?” The child who spoke was surnamed Wang, and he was the only son of the lord of the manor. Wang Xuhu had a very high status, and he stared puzzledly at the red-lipped, white-toothed child in front of him.

“None of your business.” The red-clothed child spoke in a very overbearing manner. “Hey, that’s some nice mud art you made. Lemme see!” As he spoke, he reached out to grab the horse-shaped mud sculpture. Plop! The thing completely broke apart.

“Y-you…” The child, Wang Xuhu, stared wide-eyed. Tears were beginning to appear, and he was so angry he gritted his teeth. “Give it back!” As he spoke, he ran forwards to punch the red-clothed child.

“Beat him up!” The other children all joined him in picking on this new, strange child.

“You want to hit me?” The red-clothed child moved like a blur, landing a kick on Xuhu’s butt and sending him sprawling on the ground.

“Waaaaaaaah!” Xuhu was both ashamed and enraged. Still sobbing, he clambered to his feet as he continued to charge towards the red-clothed child.

“What’s going on? Why are you all fighting?” Some of the manor guests had noticed what was going on over here. The red-clothed child immediately began to run, soon charging into the distant forests and disappearing.

Xuhu was the only son of the manor lord. That very night he was struck by a severe fever which drove him delirious. This terrified the manor lord into immediately sending for a physician, but three days later Xuhu miraculously recovered on his own. He began to quickly grow in strength, and his talent for cultivation became increasingly astonishing as well. At just eighteen years of age, he stepped into the ‘master’ stage.

Warriors, masters, grandmasters… the three principle stages of cultivation in this realm. Warriors were ordinary mortals who trained physically, making it slow for them to increase their power. At their peak, they were at most comparable to the Xiantian lifeforms of the Three Realms.

Masters began to accumulate a core within their bodies… they were comparable to the Zifu Disciples and Wanxiang Adepts of the Three Realms.

Grandmasters began to establish a world within their bodies… they were comparable to the Primal Daoists and Void-level Earth Immortals of the Three Realms.

Those who surpassed the grandmaster level were comparable to Celestial Immortals. This realm only occasionally gave birth to a new Celestial Immortal, and thus their numbers were extremely low.

……

Ning continued to watch as Xuhu grew up. When Xuhu turned eighteen, he had already become the number one hero in the surrounding area, with no one his equal in a million kilometer area! He was extremely powerful and ferocious. However, bandits and robbers began to pour into the region. Xuhu led soldiers to attack them, but ended up being defeated in battle. He fled to a mountain village, and there he met the love of his life… ‘Rose’.

“Sir, I’d like to buy two pounds of pork.” The girl led the sickly Xuhu out to purchase some food.

“Wait a bit.” The butcher was a pudgy, white-robed grandpa who was extremely muscular-looking. He picked up his saber, then began to hack through the pig bones and carve apart the meat.

When Xuhu saw this, his eyes began to lit up. “Rose, you can go home first,” Xuhu instructed. The girl did just that with those two pounds of meat.

“Sir, please teach me your saber-arts.” Xuhu immediately fell down to his knees.

“Ahaha! I don’t know any ‘saber-arts’! All I know is how to kill pigs and butcher them,” the elderly butcher said with a loud laugh.

“Then I want to learn how to kill pigs and butcher meat,” Xuhu said hurriedly.

“I’m not gonna pay you a salary.” The old man looked at him.

“I don’t need one,” Xuhu replied.

From that day forth, the old butcher gained an apprentice. Half a year later, the old butcher suddenly vanished. No matter how Xuhu searched for him, he couldn’t find the old man. He had no choice but to bring the girl back to his homeland.

“Ahahaha… I’ve cultivated for many years, but I’ve never been a pig-sticking butcher before. That really was a first.” The old butcher had transformed back into the white-robed Ning and was standing at the peak of a mountain, watching as Xuhu led his wife away.

……

After learning that set of saber-arts, Xuhu began to develop at an unstoppable pace as his level of insight grew deeper and deeper. When he went back home, he slew those bandits with ease. As his insight increased even further, he actually stepped into the ‘grandmaster’ stage. When the emperor of his nation heard the news, the emperor personally sent someone over to confer the title of ‘general’ upon him!

He had established his reputation, bringing glory to clan and ancestors alike. He became one of the pillars of the entire nation, commanding over three hundred thousand soldiers to guard the borderlands. He spent more than eight hundred years serving in this capacity.

He had a total of three sons and one daughter, and a plethora of grandchildren.

……

Finally, the internal situation of the nation took a turn for the worse as they lost battle after battle. Xuhu did his best to hold on, leading his army in an orderly retreat, but the overall situation had already been set in stone. There was simply no way for Xuhu to reverse it. He was ambushed and surrounded by eight enemy grandmasters, causing him to suffer severe injuries. In the end, he didn’t die on the battlefield but was about to perish in bed due to the wounds suffered during that assassination attempt.

Xuhu lay there in bed, surrounded by the aura of death. Within the room stood the emperor, the senior ministers, and Xuhu’s children and grandchildren.

“Your Majesty, your old servant is about to depart.” Xuhu’s voice was hoarse and his face was ashen.

“Old general… my beloved old general… you can’t just go like this!” The young emperor was completely terrified. The old general had been his final source of support, and it was thanks to him that their nation had been able to resist for over two hundred years despite the situation being so grim. Once the old general died, everything really would come to an end. Their enemy nations were quite vicious; they had been willing to sacrifice eight grandmasters, sending them into the capital to engage in an assassination attempt.

“Flowers bloom, then shrivel; the grass grows verdant, then shrivels. This is the cycle of life.” Xuhu turned to look at his sobbing, kneeling children and grandchildren. He was quite relaxed, feeling as though he was on the verge of release.

Suddenly, a white-robed youth appeared in front of the emperor before the bed. The white-robed youth looked at him.

“You are…” Xuhu looked at the white-robed youth. Suddenly, he turned stiff – he couldn’t help but think of the red-clothed child who had given him a kick so many years ago and caused him to enter a three-day fever. That child had exactly the same eyes as the youth before him.

He then thought of his teacher, that old, grandfatherly butcher who had taught him saber-arts. His teacher had the same eyes and the same look on his face.

“Life is a cycle, and your cycle has come to an end.” Ning smiled. “I have been by your side for nearly a thousand years. It can be said that the ties of destiny linked us together. I shall ensure that you keep your memories and allow you to be reborn into the cycle of reincarnation… but our karmic ties shall have come to an end. From this day forth, everything shall be up to you.”

“Master… Master…” Xuhu called out, but his aura grew weaker and weaker.

“Go on. Go.” Ning nodded.

That day, Ning personally escorted Xuhu into the cycle of reincarnation, ensuring that he was reborn into the belly of a woman who lived in a village located within a secluded mountain paradise.

“It is time for me to go find the next person I am destined to meet.” Ning smiled and took a step forwards, leaving the general’s estate. He once more transformed into a middle-aged man who bore a flag with the words ‘fortune teller’ on it, then began to amble through the streets.

“Buns for sale! Steamed buns for sale!” The street he was on was filled with meat bun stalls, and there was a child hunched over the ground playing a game.

The flag-bearing Ning walked over to the child. “Hey kid!” Ning called out.

“Huh?” Puzzled, the kid lifted his head up to look at Ning.

“You and I are linked by destiny,” Ning said.

“You swindler, do you think to deceive my child?” A burly woman immediately charged out from behind the meat bun stall with a dough-roller in her hands. The flag-bearing Ning was frightened into a hasty retreat, but as he fled he called out loudly, “No, we really are linked by destiny!”

……

Fortune teller. Innhouse keeper. Coffin maker. Brothel owner. An old deathsworn soldier who lived his life out on the battlefield…

Ning took on one form after another, watching from up close as countless mortals struggled through life. Their lives… their deaths… their rises… their falls.

Time flowed on. The seven warring states ended up as a war between three states, and in the end it was the Qian state which unified the world. However, the Qian dynasty then broke apart in a civil war, with the Southern Qian and the Northern Qian battling against each other.

Eventually, the Qian dynasty fell and another arose.

Ning lived through each and every dynasty, continuing to search for the secrets of life and death. Given his wisdom and intelligence, he slowly began to gain more and more of the insights he sought.

“This… this should be the secret for my Omega Sword Dao to make its next breakthrough.” By now, he had lived in this realm for over 130 million years. On this day, Ning was standing at the peak of a towering mountain, gazing down at the world with a feeling of joy in his heart and a smile on his lips.

Whoosh. Ning transformed into a boulder that was many meters tall. The boulder landed upon the mountain peak, looking quite unremarkable. He just sat there, allowing the wind to blow against him and the sun to bake him. There was even an occasional passerby who would write a few words on him.

After transforming into the boulder, Ning just sat there and quietly stared at the vast world as well as the countless living beings who were born and reborn within it. In his heart, his five major sword stances began to merge. Blood Drop, Yin-Yang, Soleheart, Heavenbreaker, Shadowless… they slowly began to become one.

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Chapter 4 – Omega Sword Dao, Stage Four

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 4 – Omega Sword Dao, Stage Four

Millions of years went by after Ji Ning transformed into that boulder atop the mountain peak. One day, a thick mist suddenly arose around the great mountain. The mist was so thick as to block out the skies and the sun. It covered an area of tens of thousands of kilometers, including every single part of the great mountain.

“What a massive fog.”

“What’s going on? Why am I walking in circles? I keep on ending up here.”

Some of the ordinary mortals who passed through this place quickly discovered how bizarre the mist was. Word quickly spread and some experts began to arrive and explore the mist. Alas, anyone who entered the mist, no matter how powerful, would quickly end up walking out of the mist just a short while later. At first, everyone was quite startled, but after more time passed everyone grew accustomed to it.

……

Within the thick mist. Thousands of streams of sword-light were roving about in the air above the boulder at the peak of the mountain, fluctuating and vanishing in an unpredictable manner while being as dominating and exalted as the heavens themselves. At other times, the sword-light transformed into endlessly vast black holes which ground through everything nearby.

The boulder suddenly transformed into human form. A white-robed youth appeared at the peak of the mountain. He raised his head to look into the skies.

“My Dao has been completed.” Ning said in a soft voice.

BOOM! The towering Dao-tree within his body began to grow, rumbling and trembling as its branches and trunk stretched outwards. The branches coiled like the bodies of sinuous dragons, while the trunk grew even thicker. The countless leaves on the tree were all trembling. This towering Dao-tree was unfathomably stronger than the Dao-trees of ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step. Clearly, Ning’s foundation was far, far more stable than theirs.

The Dao-tree continued to grow taller as well before finally topping out at 540,000 meters. The Dao-tree had finally reached its true, absolute limit in size! The next step would be the Daomerge, which would result in the Dao-tree giving birth to a flower of eternity.

Rumble… the giant pile of chaos jewels continued to crumble apart and shatter as a veritable ocean of energy surged into Ning. His divine body and Immortal energy began to transform and evolve, while his heartworld began its final expansion…

The reason why he completely separated this place off from the rest of the world and elected to absorb energy from chaos jewels rather than from the primordial chaos of the outside world was to prevent anything unexpected from happening! The disturbance which would be caused by Ning drawing upon chaos energy from the outside world in making his breakthrough to the fourth step would definitely shock everyone. News would quickly spread! Moreover, absorbing chaos energy from the primordial chaos was extremely slow. Archon Silksnow or the Aeonians might be able to make it here and attack Ning before he finished his breakthrough!

Archon Silksnow and the Aeonians had been searching for Ning this entire time. At first, Archon Silksnow wasn’t sure if Ning was dead or not, but he quickly received word that Ning was actually alive! In truth, this was quite easy to discern; Ning’s heartlamp within the Sword Palace of the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore remained lit. This meant that Ning wasn’t dead yet! Given how strong Archon Silksnow was, it was very easy for him to befriend a few Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom and have them help him examine Ning’s heartlamp.

Although the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom were forbidden from engaging in fratricide, something as minor as inspecting a heartlamp was nothing more than sending a bit of information forward. It didn’t count.

“Whew.” Ning stood at the peak of a mountain, a smile on his face. It had only been a short period of time, but the chaos jewels had allowed his divine power and Immortal energy to complete their transformations. He now truly was a Daolord of the Fourth Step in every way, shape, and form! He was now simply accumulating energy from the chaos jewels in order to generate more of the azureflower mist energy and expand his heartworld.

“A short while from now, I’ll have completely transformed. Archon Silksnow and the Aeonians will no longer pose any threat to me.” Ning could sense how his body had changed. With his Omega Sword Dao having reached the fourth stage, his Dao had broken through to a brand new level. Ning himself had been catapaulted into a higher level of power.

Ning glanced downwards, his gaze piercing through the mist as he stared at the vast land beneath him. The land was filled with countless ordinary mortals, and Ning was able to see the tiny threads of fate which connected those ordinary mortals together.

“Karma?” Ning nodded slowly. Although he had never trained specifically in the Dao of Karma, anyone who reached a sufficiently high level of insight in any Dao would be able to engage in karmic scrying. Given Ning’s current level of enlightenment, there were now many ‘hidden’ places in the vast universe which could no longer hide from his gaze! If he wished to slay a foe, he could use his sword to follow the threads of karma to slay all of his his foe’s clones and Primaltwin!

In truth Archon Silksnow was able to do this as well, but the problem was that he wasn’t able to rely on his own power to kill Ning; he had to rely on a powerful treasure he had acquired in the Terror Starsea. The power of the treasure was tremendous… but since it didn’t truly belong to him, he could at most control the direction in which the power was released. There was no way he could control it to follow Ning’s karmic threads and kill Ning’s other bodies.

Whoosh. Ning’s body began to move. Whoooooosh. Countless Nings appeared above the mountain peak. He was moving at such an incomprehensible level of speed that ordinary matter wasn’t able to impede him in the slightest; in fact, not even spacetime was able to impede him! In terms of speed, Ning was definitely superior to the likes of Archon Silksnow by now. He truly had reached an incomprehensible level.

Boom! Ning’s body suddenly blasted apart, dissolving into countless motes of light. The light then reformed into a glowing humanoid figure. The glowing humanoid figure then blasted apart, transforming into an endless black fog which drifted away… then suddenly transformed into a stream of water. A while later, the stream of water vanished and a towering inferno replaced it.

“I am the world. The world is me.” In the end, the inferno transformed into countless specks of flying sand which reformed into Ning’s figure. Ning murmured softly to himself, “Shadowless and traceless, I manifest and disappear as I please. So when the Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless reaches the fourth stage, it can actually produce a terrifying invulnerable form…”

Ning had always envied the other cultivators for their various invulnerable forms. Upon gaining an invulnerable form, it would be difficult for foes to slay you unless the gap in power between you and them was ridiculously large.

For example, Archon Silksnow’s invulnerable form made it so that even Hegemon Brightshore would find him difficult to kill. But of course, ‘difficult’ didn’t mean ‘impossible’; if Hegemon Brightshore was willing to pay any price, he would still be able to accomplish it. The price, however, would be huge.

“My invulnerable form should be even more perfect than Archon Silksnow’s.” Ning laughed. His Omega Sword Dao was truly perfect and without flaw. In the past, he didn’t have an invulnerable form primarily because he hadn’t reached the proper stage of cultivation yet. Not that he had, it was naturally unlocked for him.

Archon Silksnow’s Dao of the Saber was offense oriented, and so there was no way he could use his Saber Dao to generate an invulnerable form for himself. This was why he had spent so much time and energy training in the Dao of Snow. The Dao of Snow, the Dao of Light, and other similar Daos were Daos which could be used to generate invulnerable forms with (relative) ease. Archon Silksnow had used this method to cover up this particular flaw, lowering his overall weaknesses.

……

Boom! Ning’s heartworld finally expanded to a completely new level as well, causing his massive reserve of heartforce to become even more powerful.

Ning smiled slightly. When his Omega Sword Dao had been at the third stage, his insights into the Dao were already comparable to the insights of ‘ordinary’ supreme Daolords. The difference was, he was extremely well-rounded and flawless in every aspect, which was why he ranked at the very top of the supreme Daolord ranking.

Now, his Omega Sword Dao had broken through to the fourth stage. In terms of insight, he was at the Archon level… and a highly ranked one at that! This was especially true now that his [Heartsword] art had reached the twelfth stance, which meant that Ning’s sword-arts were now six times stronger when using the [Heartsword] art! During his fight against Archon Silksnow, he had only mastered the eleventh stance, but since the eleventh and twelfth stances belonged to the same ‘stage’, it was very easy to break through from the former to the latter. Ning had already spent 130 million years wandering this mortal world; he naturally was able to break through to a new level during this period of time.

“Given my current Omega Sword Dao and my twelfth stance of the [Heartsword] art… there might be Archons capable of defeating me, but they can probably be counted on one hand.” Ning smiled. “Even the three mighty Hegemons… they are worthy of my respect, but I no longer need to live in terror of them.”

Ning’s protective abilities were far superior to Archon Silksnow’s. He had already mastered his own invulnerable form, the Shadowless form. It allowed him to become one with the world and for the world to become one with him. Injuring him would be very, very difficult.

“With this level of power… I now have a chance at acquiring treasures which are valuable enough to persuade an Autarch to help me out.” Ning was in high spirits. After countless years of cultivation, he had finally reached this new height.

……

After becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step, Ning continued to sit by himself at the peak of the mountain, calmly and quietly training in the secret art known as the [Grand Diffraction Sword]. This was a secret art left behind by the Sword Hegemon, and was a Hegemon-level secret art! Even the current Ning was merely able to master two of the three stages of this art, as he was still at a somewhat lower level of insight than that of a Hegemon. For now, he was unable to master the third stage… and in truth, the third stage required so many treasures that not even a Hegemon would necessarily be able to scrounge up all the items necessary.

Hegemon Welkin, for the sake of training in a Hegemonic secret art, had wandered many realmverses and otherverses in search of the materials he needed… but to this very day, he was still lacking a few items. As a result, Hegemon Welkin had only mastered part of his Hegemonic secret arts!

Truly mastering Hegemonic secret arts was just too difficult. If Ning could master just two of those three stages, he would have reached the same level of power in secret arts as Hegemon Welkin had reached.

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Chapter 5 – Ji Ning Appears

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 5 – Ji Ning Appears

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Arcs of sword-light flew around Ji Ning in an orderly process while growing increasingly powerful.

The Jindan chaos region inside of Ning’s body was currently making use of various treasures to establish a ‘sea of diffracted light’. This sea would in turn birth and hold the energy needed for the [Grand Diffraction Sword]. Like the nine novessence arts, this was a type of outside power! However, to train this technique was extremely difficult, requiring an extremely high level of insight into the Dao. Ning was finding it quite laborious and taxing to establish this diffraction sea.

The deeper the sea became, the more powerful his [Grand Diffraction Sword] would become! If he could truly master this Hegemonic secret art, he would be able to beat Archons senseless with casual strikes from it.

……

Fortunately, Ning’s mastery of the Dao of the Sword had no weaknesses. Although this secret art had high requirements in many different aspects of the Dao of the Sword, Ning was able to slowly master it. After spending over a thousand years, Ning finally finished establishing his diffraction sea. This sea of diffracted light was now more than thirty thousand kilometers wide, signifying that he had mastered the first two stages of the [Grand Diffraction Sword]. The very first stage of this technique was already comparable to the nine novessence arts. The second stage was much more powerful.

Ning rose to his feet, dispelling the mist which had surrounded the mountain for so long, then stared at the world about him. “Now that my secret arts are mastered, it is time to go back.”

“Focus.” Ning pointed from afar. Instantly, part of his will containing his sword-arts legacy shot out of his finger. Although this wasn’t the Omega Sword Dao, it was still something which would allow someone to establish the most stable foundation possible in the Dao of the Sword. It would allow cultivators to walk the path most suitable for them… and in this realm, where the highest skilled cultivators were merely Celestial Immortals, it would allow practitioners to become invincible with ease.

“I, Darknorth, meditated on the Dao in this place and became a Daolord of the Fourth Step here. It can be said that karma binds us together, and so I have left a fragment of my will. The one who passes my trials and acquires this fragment of my will shall gain my legacy and become my personal disciple, the fourth disciple under my tutelage.” Ning had already set up a number of trials within the mountain with ease. Anyone who came would have to first follow Ning’s trials as he set them up.

If someone wished to breach the trials through raw force? Even supreme Daolords could well die unless they had incredible life-preserving abilities!

Whoosh. Ning took a single step forwards, disappearing from the mountain.

……

Although Ning had spent over a hundred million years in seclusion, in truth all of those years had been spent within the Vastheaven Everworld.

Within Vastheaven Palace. As soon as Ning returned to his own residence, Emperor Solesky hurried over to meet him.

“Master.” Just as Su Youji called out in delight, she saw Emperor Solesky fly towards them. She hurriedly bowed: “Greetings, Emperor.”

“Step back for now,” Emperor Solesky instructed.

“Alright.” Although Su Youji was a bit puzzled, she immediately retreated.

After Su Youji left, Emperor Solesky said hurriedly, “Darknorth, why have you come back? I told you to go into hiding and not reveal yourself! Although no one in Vastheaven Palace would leak this information, we still need to be careful. There might be Eternal Emperors scrying on us from outside. If they see that your true body has returned, we’re going to be in serious trouble.”

“No need to worry that much, big brother,” Ning said.

“The situation is extremely grim,” Emperor Solesky explained. “I already told you last time… Archon Silksnow has arranged for many different organizations to track your whereabouts. Some of my friends, however, have told me that someone else just as powerful as Archon Silksnow is also trying to trace your whereabouts. For now, I haven’t been able to find out just who it is, but judging from the amount of manpower he’s been able to move, there’s no question that he’s at least as strong as Archon Silksnow.”

“It is the Aeonians,” Ning explained.

“The Aeonian race?!” Emperor Solesky was shocked.

“They aren’t just searching for me in the Dao Alliance, they are also searching for me in the Brightshore Kingdom,” Ning explained. “Hegemon Brightshore has warned me long ago.”

“Archon Silksnow is famous for being a savage madman. It is ‘normal’ for him to behave in such a frenzied manner… but why are the Aeonians searching for you?” Emperor Solesky was puzzled.

Ning smiled calmly. “Because of a treasure.”

“You aren’t worried at all?” Emperor Solesky was rather flabbergasted.

“Worried? Why should I be worried? They should be the ones to worry.” Ning smiled. He was at a different level of power now, and so he was also in a different state of mind.

He had been weaker than them in the past, and he didn’t have an invulnerable form, nor did he have any powerful protective treasures. He was constantly at risk of dying! Even his Lifeblood Dao-seal had been used up. Of course he had to be in hiding.

Now, he was much stronger and more confident in himself. Why would he fear Archon Silksnow or the Aeonians?

“You…?” Emperor Solesky was rather puzzled.

“Big brother Solesky, I’m planning to pay a visit to the Brightshore Kingdom. After that… I’m planning to attack the Sacred City of Silksnow and kill Archon Silksnow.” A murderous look flashed through Ning’s eyes. “It’s going to cause a bit of a stir, so I wanted to give you advance notice. No need to worry.”

“You are going to attack the Sacred City of Silksnow and kill Archon Silksnow?!” Emperor Solesky was stunned.

“Well. I might not be able to kill him, but I’ll uproot him and everything he’s ever established.” Ning’s eyes flickered icily. He was going to ‘kill a chicken to frighten off the monkeys’, warning any others that he was not to be messed with. Archon Silksnow was nothing more than a chicken for him to use in this plan!

In the coming days, there would be cases where he would occasionally reveal his strength. This would definitely surprise and puzzle many. Previously, for him to be able to rely on the [Heartsword] art and other art to just barely reach the Archon level was already a freakish display of strength in talent… but it was still within the realm of believability! But when he now revealed an even more terrifying level of power, it would truly stun everyone.

How could a Daolord reach such a level of power? This was completely illogical. It made no sense at all! And yet, it had happened. How? Perhaps the Hegemons and the other ancient cultivators would try to capture Ning and force him to hand over his secrets.

For the sake of personal power, anything and everything was possible. Ning didn’t want to go through all that trouble… and so he was going to go out of his way to show everyone just how hard he could hit! He was going to dominate Archon Silksnow in a display of absolute power! That way, no one would dare to plot against him. Even if they did want to learn some of Ning’s secrets, they wouldn’t make an enemy out of him without a good reason. No one in the Endless Territories, after all, would want to offend someone who could dominate Archon Silksnow!

“Archon Silksnow… you’ve searched for me again and again, unwilling to give up on your plans. Then… I’ll force you to give up, and I’ll make an example out of you in the process!”

“Darknorth, you… you plan to uproot his foundation?” Emperor Solesky could hardly believe it. “He’s one of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities! He’s so legendary for his savagery that he has numerous bloodthirsty Emperors serving as his retainers. All of the Emperors under his command are powerful, and it is said that he has other ancient Archon-level figures who are supporting him from behind. If you are going to act against him, that means you are going to have to fight all of those Emperors!”

“That’s what makes it fun.” Ning smiled. Archon Silksnow was no threat to him at all. He wanted to uproot Archon Silksnow’s entire foundation; that was what would truly stun everyone around.

“Darknorth, you are still just a Daolord!” Emperor Solesky’s anxiety was beginning to transform into rage. “Those Emperors have been around for an unfathomably long period of time, and Archon Silksnow stands at their very peak. He’s not going to be that easy for you to deal with!”

“Big brother.” Ning frowned.

“I know what type of temper you have, and I know that I can’t stop you. Fine. I’ll go with you,” Emperor Solesky said. “I might not be able to kill Archon Silksnow, but I’m skilled in staying alive. I should stand a good chance at fleeing with you in tow.”

Ning shook his head, then stretched his hand and waved a finger. Whoosh. A streak of sword-light appeared in the air, arcing out and brushing past Emperor Solesky. This caused Emperor Solesky’s face to turn pale, and he couldn’t help but tremble.

“B-but…” Emperor Solesky could hardly believe it. Wasn’t his brother just a Daolord? How could he be this powerful?

“Big brother, just wait for the news.” Ning turned and left.

……

The Brightshore Kingdom. The Palace of the Sword. A white-robed youth appeared right in front of its main doors and walked towards it.

“Is that…?”

“That’s Palace Lord Darknorth.”

“Isn’t that Palace Lord Darknorth?” The World-level cultivators and black-armored Daolords in front of the Sword Palace all stared in amazement at the white-robed youth who appeared before them. Ever since Ning had shocked everyone with his performance in the Waveshift Realm, he had become acknowledged as the Palace Lord of the Palace of the Sword.

“Greetings, Palace Lord.”

“Palace Lord.” They all bowed respectfully as he walked past, but the black-armored Daolords began to secretly spread the word. Archon Silksnow and the Aeonians were still searching for him, after all.

Soon, word was sent from the Brightshore Kingdom and began to spread out throughout the Endless Territories. Daolord Darknorth had appeared within the Palace of the Sword in the Brightshore Kingdom!

……

“He’s finally come out. Hegemon Brightshore was willing to help you out once, but I refuse to believe he’ll help you out a second, third, or fourth time. How could an exalted Hegemon lower himself to helping out a Daolord that many times?” Archon Silksnow immediately grew excited upon hearing this information, and his oily green eyes were filled with murderous malice. “This time… as soon as you leave the Brightshore Kingdom, I’m going to claim your life.”

……

“You’ve hidden yourself for quite some time, but now you’ve finally shown yourself. The only thing that little thief is capable of is running around and hiding. If we can find him, we’ll crush him with ease.” Within the Aeonian Kingdom, Emperors Anchen, Islehide, and Duug were filled with the desire to kill as well. They didn’t believe Ning would pose any risk to them at all.

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Chapter 6 – Refusal

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 6 – Refusal

Ji Ning walked into the Palace of the Sword. All of the cultivators he passed would all address him respectfully as ‘Palace Lord’ or as ‘senior apprentice-brother’. Clearly, Ning’s status was supreme amongst those inside the Palace of the Sword.

If Ning revealed his true power? The only person whose status was higher than him in the Brightshore Kingdom would probably be Hegemon Brightshore himself.

“Armaments Gorge.” Ning walked through the air to descend up on the building located deep within a gorge. This was Armaments Gorge.

“Palace Lord.” The two golems responsible for overseeing Armaments Gorge, ‘Swordfive’ and ‘Swordsix’, both called out respectfully.

“Long time no see.” Ning smiled.

“A mere billion years or so has passed since you first entered our palace, Palace Lord. And yet, you have now become the preeminent power of the Sword Palace,” Swordfive said.

Ning couldn’t help but think back to those early years. When he had first entered the Palace of the Sword, he had merely been a World-level cultivator, awed and dazed by what he was seeing. He had been filled with excitement and desire towards cultivation! In the blink of an eye, a billion years had gone by. He now stood amongst those who were at the very apex of power within the Endless Territories. The only ones who were truly stronger than him were the three Hegemons. Who would’ve ever thought he would rise to such heights?

Ning casually walked into the Armaments Gorge, glancing at the many treasures inside. To the current Ning, they were of very little interest.

“The Halfsword.” Ning’s gaze fell upon the broken sword lying on the table. An awesome sword-intent emanated from the broken sword which surrounded the area, making it impossible for any cultivator who entered to miss it.

“A Universe treasure.” Ning smiled as he walked over. When he was thirty meters away, an invisible field of energy sought to stop Ning in his tracks. Ning paused momentarily, then easily brushed aside the surge of energy and continued to walk over. He walked next to the table, then looked down upon the broken sword resting upon it.

“I didn’t want to let you get close to me, but you actually forced you way over.” A figure suddenly appeared directly above the broken sword. It was a pink-robed, icy-faced woman.

“Treasure-spirit,” Ning said, “Aren’t you bored by life in Armaments Gorge? Why don’t you accompany me in roving through the outside world. What do you say?”

“So you are now the new Palace Lord of the Palace of the Sword.” The icy-faced woman said coldly, “I remember you from back when you were still just a kid, unable to withstand even my aura. You’ve become fairly powerful, but you are still just a Daolord. Successive generations of Palace Lords have sought me out, but I was not interested in any of them. You can leave now. I will not follow any Daolord.”

Ning was speechless. He had come to the Brightshore Kingdom on serious business; he had only come to visit the Halfsword to try his luck. If he really could acquire a Universe treasure, his power would be increased by quite a significant amount.

“Aren’t you setting your requirements a bit too high?” Ning smirked.

“I’m not interested in ordinary Eternal Emperors either, only in sword cultivators who have at least reached the Archon level. A Hegemon would be even better,” the icy-faced woman said coldly.

“Haha, the entire Flamedragon Realmverse doesn’t even have a single sword-wielding Hegemon.” Ning teased, “And the number of Archons who wield swords can also be counted on one hand. It seems it’ll be quite hard for you to find a new master.”

“Hmph. You are far too weak. Even if you did have a Universe treasure, you’d just end up being easily beaten and losing it to a powerful Eternal Emperor.” The icy-faced woman snickered, “Giving a Universe treasure to a Daolord is a waste. I heard that someone named Winesage did end up with a Universe treasure. I think that Universe treasure must’ve been crazy for him to choose to follow a Daolord.”

Two streams of sword-light suddenly shot out of Ning’s eyes. Boom! Boom! These two streams of sword-light carried an aura of terrifying power which spread out in the area around the Halfsword, but it didn’t contain any offensive power to it. All of the treasures within Armaments Gorge were protected by barriers which Hegemon Brightshore himself had set down. The other major powers who had come afterwards had set down barriers as well. It was impossible to take away any of the treasures here by force.

“Your Dao of the Sword…?” The icy-faced woman was stunned. “Y-y-you… how could you have…”

She was a Universe-level sword! Her senses were keenly attuned to the auras of sword cultivators, and she could instantly tell how exquisite Ning’s Dao of the Sword was. It had completely surpassed the Daolord level; it was at a level which only some Archons could match.

“Follow me and adventure by my side. You should be able to tell how strong I am; there is no one in the entire Flamedragon Realmverse who can do anything to me.” Ning looked at her. “Even if I truly do end up dying one day, you’ll just regain your freedom once more. Come adventuring with me. Life here is far too boring and meaningless.” Ning was trying to ‘seduce’ her.

The icy-faced woman hesitated slightly. She actually did want to go out adventuring as well… but her innate pride forced her to let out a cold snort. “Your Sword Dao is excellent, but you are still just a Daolord. If you can succeed in your Daomerge, I’ll agree to follow you.”

Ning couldn’t help but feel speechless. Succeed in his Daomerge? That was incredibly difficult. If he really was able to succeed in the Daomerge and make his Omega Sword Dao eternal… he couldn’t even imagine what level he would be at by then. By then, even Universe treasures would probably be of limited use to him.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out with me?” Ning asked.

“You are just a Daolord.” Clearly, the icy-faced woman wasn’t willing to lower her head.

“Ah, forget it then. It seems that we are not destined to be a match.” Ning turned and left.

The icy-faced woman watched as Ning left, gritting her teeth. A Daolord who had reached such a high level in the Dao of the Sword truly had been quite enticing for her. “Bah. In the end, he is just a Daolord. Once he fails his Daomerge, it will all be over. We’ll talk again once he succeeds in his Daomerge.” The icy-faced woman put Ning out of her mind, returning into the Halfsword.

……

Ning flew out of Armaments Gorge, feeling slightly regretful. “Winesage is weaker than me, but he found a Universe treasure willing to follow him… but even now, I’m still unable to take the Halfsword away. Ah, forget it, forget it. Haha.” Ning was fairly relaxed about this. His Northbow swords were lifeblood weapons which also helped him out significantly, after all.

By now, his six Northbow swords and the sword quintessence within them had also evolved alongside Ning reaching the fourth stage with his Omega Sword Dao, giving them an even deeper foundation than before.

“My Northbow swords aren’t THAT much weaker than Universe treasures by now.” Ning transformed into a streak of light, quickly arriving at the peak of a mountain within the Sword Palace. Moments later, an Immortal estate descended upon it.

This was where Ning had resided in the past. Now that he was back, he was going to take up residence here for now. “Help me send word to Hegemon Brightshore. Inform him that Darknorth has a trade he wishes to make,” Ning instructed his servant.

“Yes, Master,” the servant replied.

Within the Immortal estate. Ning was within one of the towers, gazing down at the beautiful Palace of the Sword while leaning against the railings.

“Darknorth.” A figure suddenly materialized next to him. It was a snow-robed, white-bearded old man with six curved horns on his head.

Ning turned and immediately bowed: “Darknorth greets you, Hegemon.”

Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning. “You are quite bold. You know that Archon Silksnow and the Aeonians are both searching for you, and yet you dare to show your face here publicly?” Ning didn’t wish for his enemies to know that he had made a breakthrough, and so he was using the [Vitalis] art to modify his aura and ensure that it was identical to before the breakthrough.

“Hegemon, do you know why the Aeonians have been searching for me?” Ning smiled.

“I asked you previously, but you weren’t willing to explain in detail.” Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning. “Ready to tell me?”

Ning nodded, then waved his hand and produced a fiery fruit within it.

Boom. Boom. Boom. The rumbling aura of the fruit was capable of pervading the hearts and souls of cultivators. Even at his current level, Ning felt his heartrate speed up slightly.

“Is that…?” Hegemon Brightshore’s eyes lit up. “Is that an aeonfruit?”

“Aeonfruit?” Ning was startled. Wasn’t this the mutated omnigeddon bloodfruit which had some of the Autarch’s blood within it?

“It seems you don’t really understand… which makes sense. Aeonfruits are far too rare and far too valuable,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “Aeonfruits are only available to the Aeonian race! The Aeonians view them to be as important as their very lives, and do not trade them to outsiders unless they have an extremely pressing need. Based on what I know, the Aeonians in a few other realmverses also have access to aeonfruits.”

Ning nodded slightly. Prior to the great war starting, Autarch Bolin had set up estate-worlds in quite a few realmverses. Most likely, after the battle concluded he had left behind a drop of Autarch’s blood within most of those estates for his Aeonians to acquire.

“However… none of the Aeonians in any of those realmverses are willing to trade them,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “I’ve heard of only three instances in which they were willing to trade aeonfruits, and in each case it involved something which the Aeonians were desperate to acquire as soon as possible.”

“Is this fruit truly that special?” Ning asked.

“They are fairly similar to omnigeddon bloodfruits, but they are more effective when used to create spirit-pills and medicine. As you are probably aware, a 30% increase in medicinal strength translates into a tenfold increase in value,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “A single aeonfruit is generally worth more than twenty omnigeddon bloodfruits. Right… so this means that the Aeonians have been searching for you because of this aeonfruit?”

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Chapter 7 – Success

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 7 – Success

“You stole their aeonfruits?” Hegemon Brightshore asked.

Ji Ning silently mused to himself, “I didn’t just steal their fruit, I uprooted their tree.” Still, Ning didn’t feel much sympathy or guilt towards the Aeonians. This was a race that delighted in devouring cultivators! He really had no idea why Autarch Bolin had created such a race of progeny.

“I wish to trade aeonfruits to you,” Ning said, “But I need certain materials.” As he spoke, he waved his hand. A vast list of characters appeared in the air next to him. These were the materials needed to master the first two stages of the [Lumisword Godwings]. Ning had viewed over three hundred Hegemonic legacies, and from them he had chosen this secret art as being the best match for his [Grand Diffraction Sword] art. He was planning to train in both secret arts at the same time. That way, when he used the Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang in the future, he would be able to use them together and further increase the power of this technique.

“The materials you need are all extremely valuable and rare.” Hegemon Brightshore frowned upon seeing them. These were materials for a Hegemonic secret art; of course they were rare!

Ning chortled: “That’s why I’m offering aeonfruits for them.”

“I’ll need half a year,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “I’ll also need fifteen aeonfruits.”

“Alright.” Ning accepted without haggling.

Hegemon Brightshore glanced at Ning, surprised, then laughed: “Darknorth, how many aeonfruits did you take from the Aeonians? They value every single of them highly, but it seems you were able to snatch away fifteen of them with ease. No wonder they are searching for you like crazy.”

“Not that many, actually,” Ning said.

“I have to remind you to be careful. Neither Archon Silksnow nor the Aeonians are easy enemies to face,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “I promised you to help you out once! If you are willing to trade me more aeonfruits, I’ll help you out a second time for ten more of them.”

Ning blinked. Ruthless. Absolutely ruthless. Ten?! The Aeonians were only able to harvest thirty-six aeonfruits every million chaos cycles. They were only created thanks to an Autarch’s blood!

“Very well.” Ning still smiled and nodded, but he murmured mentally to himself, “Oh, Hegemon… I’m afraid you won’t have that chance any longer. Neither Archon Silksnow nor the Aeonians are of any threat to me.”

……

The vast Sacred City of Silksnow was perpetually covered by drifting flakes of snow. At the very top of a towering palace within the city. A skinny, white-robed, white-haired man was standing in front of the railings, his long eyebrows fluttering in the wind. He stared off into the void of space, three Eternal Emperors behind him.

“Hmph.” Archon Silksnow was boiling with killing intent. “I’ve received word that Daolord Darknorth is currently hiding within the Brightshore Kingdom,” Archon Silksnow said coldly. “I don’t know if it is a Primaltwin or if he managed to revive himself somehow, but I’m absolutely not going to let him survive again.”

“He’s probably going to spend quite some time in the Brightshore Kingdom,” the red-haired, red-robed woman said hesitantly.

“There’s no way he’ll hide there forever. Sooner or later, he’ll come out. Daolords only live for 108,000 chaos cycles; he needs to go out adventuring, and he needs to attempt the Daomerge. There’s no way he’ll hide inside forever,” Archon Silksnow said.

“But where would he flee to?” The other Emperors were all hesitating. They felt that trapping Ning was going to be extremely difficult.

Archon Silksnow, however, felt quite confident: “Once he leaves the Brightshore Kingdom, there are two possibilities. The first is that he will go through one of the three spacetime tunnels as he leaves. The tunnels which Hegemon Brightshore personally established can send him a tremendous distance, and they lead to three different regions. The second possibility is that he’ll leave on his own power.”

Archon Silksnow smiled coldly. “I’m going to ask the three of you to stand guard in front of those three spacetime tunnel exits. I will personally stand guard outside the Brightshore Kingdom! So long as he dares to exit it, I’ll immediately kill him.”

“Very well.”

“Archon, it’ll be easy if you merely wish for us to watch the spacetime tunnel exits, but you’ll have to watch over the entire Brightshore Kingdom.” The three Emperors all felt rather worried.

“I have my own plans.” Archon Silksnow didn’t explain in detail. He had that damaged realmship, but it was in good enough shape that it even had a ship-spirit. The realmship was usable, it just wasn’t able to cover long distances; in fact, it couldn’t even match up to the distance Hegemon Brightshore could teleport through spacetime. Despite that, Archon Silksnow still didn’t dare to divulge the fact that he had it. He truly wanted to kill Ning and Ninedust so that he could repair it a bit further.

As soon as he moved close to the Brightshore Kingdom, he would be able to sense Ning’s location based on the resonance between the parts. If Ning wanted to slowly fly away… impossible!

“We’ll keep watch over the three spacetime tunnels and the area outside the Brightshore Kingdom. Daolord Darknorth… you have nowhere to run.” Archon Silksnow narrowed his oily green eyes, cold light flashing from them.

……

Ning, however, didn’t care at all. Nearly five months went by. Hegemon Brightshore visited quite a few places, finally acquiring all the materials which Ning needed.

Thankfully, Ning had only requested the materials needed for the first two stages of the [Lumisword Godwings]. If he wanted to fully master it, the materials needed would cost tens of time as much. The entire Flamedragon Realmverse probably didn’t have enough; he’d have to go elsewhere to slowly search for it.

“Lumisword Godwings.” Ning sat in the lotus position within a flat plains within his estate-world. Above his head hovered an absolutely dazzling pair of golden wings which radiated an aura of incomparably sword-ki.

The wings were spread out revealing countless feathers. Each feather radiated an absolutely staggering amount of power. The wings and the feathers were all formed by sword-light which had taken material form. Within Ning’s Jindan chaos region lay the actual golden wings, which were akin to a type of magic treasure. All the precious materials that had been consumed were used to forge this set of wings.

This pair of wings hung there within the Jindan chaos region. As Ning carefully molded and remolded it over and over again, a large number of materials were continuously consumed and transformed into feathers which flew into the wings.

As more time flowed on, the wings began to grow more and more complicated as well as larger in size. Clearly, its power was increasing as well. The Godwings above Ning’s head began to glow with absolutely dazzling light. Most likely, ordinary supreme Daolords who saw it would be so terrified their legs would turn to jelly.

The [Grand Diffraction Sword] and the [Lumisword Godwings] were somewhat different in nature. The [Grand Diffraction Sword] was rather unpredictable and ephemeral, almost like the waves of the sea in that it came crashing down upon foes in an endless cycle. Its power was spread out across countless streams of sword-ki. The [Lumisword Godwings], however, focused all of its power into that pair of wings.

The first scattered its power, the second condensed it. This was why Ning had determined that these were the two secret arts which would be most appropriate for him to use in forming his Yin-Yang Chaosworld.

“It truly is complicated. It really does require an extremely high level of insight into the Dao of the Sword.” This was an extremely complicated secret art. Ning had spent over thirty thousand years training in it… and if one factored in his usage of a temporal acceleration treasure, he had actually spent over three million years before succeeding! The complexity of this secret art was self-evident.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Up above the sea of diffracted light within Ning’s Jindan chaos region, a simple yet beautiful golden pair of golden wings could be seen flying about. Its power was now completely restrained and reserved, unlike before when it was plainly visible.

“I’ve finally mastered it. I’ve now mastered both of my secret arts; the [Grand Diffraction Sword] and the [Lumisword Godwings].” Ning revealed a look of delight.

“Time to test out their power.” Ning stood there on the plains, staring into the empty skies. With but a thought from him, a large amount of power began to flood out of his body and form a pair of golden wings in the air. The wings were absolutely dazzling, a veritable work of art, but they didn’t emanate any sword-ki at all.

A moment later, yet another flood of power surged out of his body. This time, a large amount of arcing sword-light appeared. Soon, the countless arcs of sword-light completely filled an area of tens of thousands of kilometers around Ning. They swept through each other, sometimes merging together and sometimes bouncing off each other as they flew about. As for the golden wings, it flew within this storm of sword-light with incredible speed. The golden wings flew more than ten times faster than Ning himself could fly. This was a level of speed which one could not achieve through ordinary movement alone.

Swish. Swish. Swish. The golden wings seemed to be present everywhere within the region. They were absolutely beautiful, yet also simple and plain without emanating the slightest hint of sword-ki at all. As it flew, however, it cut through everything in its path. It was so powerful that even Ning himself was a bit shocked by it.

“Yin-Yang Chaosworld.” Ning immediately controlled the two secret arts together, mixing Yin and Yang to manifest a world of his Sword Dao!

BOOM! The golden wings were like an exalted emperor, flying through every part of the region with abandon. Wherever they appeared, countless streams of arced sword-light surrounded them, and the two seemed to form a natural, perfect whole.

“If I then combine my Yin-Yang Chaosworld with my heartworld projection… any foes would probably be scared senseless even before I personally attacked! With this technique at my disposal, I’m no longer vulnerable to group attacks, no matter how many come at me!” Ning was quite delighted. His nine novessence arts actually hadn’t been a very good fit for his Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang, as they had been primarily elemental in nature. Using secret arts based on the Dao of the Sword was the most appropriate choice! As for the two secret arts Ning chose, one just so happened to be Yin-attribute while the other was Yang-attribute.

“Now that I’ve mastered my secret arts… it is time to attack.” That very day, Ning put away his Immortal estate. Then, under the watchful gazes of all the cultivators of the Sword Palace, he left by himself.

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Chapter 8 – Emperor Nightwell

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 8 – Emperor Nightwell

“Palace Lord Darknorth.”

“Palace Lord.”

The various cultivators of the Twelve Kingdoms who Ji Ning passed by all called out to him with great respect. Soon, Ning reached the spacetime tunnels. Ning chose one of the three tunnels, then entered it and disappeared without a trace.

“Daolord Darknorth has already headed out. He’s heading towards the Flydust Star.” Some of the black-armored Daolords as well as the other cultivators began to spread the word. They didn’t know who was actually seeking this information, but given that Archon Silksnow and the Aeonians were both searching for Ning, they were naturally able to use the many channels available for them to accurately and quickly track Ning’s whereabouts.

……

In the void outside the Brightshore Kingdom. Archon Silksnow was standing guard, his white eyebrows fluttering. Suddenly, a hint of surprise appeared on his cold face. “The spacetime tunnel which Daolord Darknorth chose is actually the one which exits the closest to Silksnow City? Hmph… how clever. He intentionally chose the one which no one else would’ve suspected. Unfortunately for him, I’ve arranged for an Emperor to watch over all three of the exits!”

“Brother Nightwell, Daolord Darknorth is about to appear at the Flydust Star. All you need to do is to tie him down for a period of time. I’m heading out immediately.” Archon Silksnow immediately began to issue orders.

“Don’t worry, Archon!” Emperor Nightwell was filled with confidence in himself. All of them belonged to the Sacred City of Silksnow, and they all had avatars back home within the city. As a result, the avatars were able to instantly communicate with each other.

……

Flydust Star had once been an ordinary, desolate star. Ever since Hegemon Brightshore had set up his stable spacetime tunnels, it had become one of the three tunnel exits. As a result, it naturally became quite a special place. This area was now protected by ancient and powerful barriers, and there were black-armored Daolords as well as more powerful Daolords protecting it.

“Daolord Darknorth?” A pudgy old man was in the chaotic void outside Flydust Star. He had strange white skin and was extremely fat, and he was dressed in loose robes. He had a pair of soft horns growing out of his forehead, and a pair of corrosive-looking eyes that gleamed almost like the cold eyes of a viper. This pudgy, snowy-skinned old man was Emperor Nightwell, famous for his savagery.

Archon Silksnow could be described as ‘evil and brutal’ in an open and visible manner. Emperor Nightwell, by contrast, was ‘insidious and cruel’ in a shadowy manner. His reputation was absolutely terrible, and everyone knew him to be a truly maleficent man. Even other Emperors had once pursued him and attempted to kill him. Once Archon Silksnow had risen to power, he had immediately joined Archon Silksnow as a subordinate. Many savage and cruel Emperors had done the same, and they had joined together and then taken over one of the Sacred Cities. They were so strong that their organization as quite difficult to dislodge.

Although evil and brutal cultivators were often hated, there was no way to truly wipe them all out. Now that they had Archon Silksnow as their leader and other ancient monsters supporting them in secret, they became an extremely formidable force.

“There he comes.” Emperor Nightwell’s gaze was focused upon the tunnel exit at Flydust Star. He watched as a white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back suddenly emerged.

“According to what the Archon said, Darknorth should’ve reached the Archon level of power and is just slightly weaker than him. Not even the Archon was able to kill him; he had to rely on a treasure.” Although Emperor Nightwell held Daolords in disdain, he didn’t dare to underestimate Daolord Darknorth too much. The man was probably significantly more powerful than him, after all.

“All I need to do is to slow him down as much as I can and make sure he doesn’t break free.” Emperor Nightwell felt quite confident in his chances.

Whoosh. Ji Ning appeared in the void above the Flydust Star, then quickly flew out of it.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly slowed down, frowning as he stared off into the distance at the pudgy, bizarrely white-skinned old man who had suddenly appeared before him. “Emperor Nightwell?” Ning recognized the man.

“I didn’t expect you to know of me, Daolord Darknorth. I’m flattered and honored.” Emperor Nightwell’s eyes crinkled as he beamed mirthfully. “I imagine you know why I am here, Daolord Darknorth. I’ve been standing guard in this place because I wish to invite you, Daolord Darknorth, to come pay a visit to the Sacred City of Silksnow. Our Archon truly wishes to meet with you.”

“Invite me?” Ning smiled coldly. “Very well. Lead the way.”

“If I’m up ahead leading the way… what if you suddenly run off, Daolord Darknorth? Wouldn’t that be troublesome? I think you should enter my estate-world. That way, we can move more quickly and more conveniently.” Emperor Nightwell continued to beam at Ning.

Ning had already decided that he was going to uproot Archon Silksnow’s entire organization! He had naturally done his research on the Emperors belonging to the Sacred City of Silksnow. Aside from a few reclusive old fellows who were hard to find information about, Ning had essentially gotten full reports on almost all of them. As for Emperor Nightwell… this pudgy, bizarrely white-skinned old man was rotten to the core.

Of the Emperors belonging to the Sacred City of Silksnow who Ning was planning to kill, Emperor Nightwell definitely ranked in the top three.

“If I enter your estate-world, my life would be in your hands.” Ning shook his head. “Pardon me for not obliging.”

“Daolord Darknorth… given the situation, do you really think you’ll be able to escape?” Emperor Nightwell’s eyes flashed with cold light.

“Escape from who? You?” Ning chuckled.

“I might not be able to beat you, Daolord Darknorth, but you can forget about escaping.” Emperor Nightwell smiled. The reason why Archon Silksnow had chosen the three of them was because they were highly skilled at tying down opponents.

Ning suddenly said in a soft voice, “I’ve heard, Emperor Nightwell, that for the sake of training your self-created [Nightwell] secret art, you slaughtered every single infant within a total of 381 territories.”

“They were nothing more than infants. More are being produced every day,” Emperor Nightwell said softly.

“Hegemon Brightshore is a Chaos Godbeast. Hegemon Netherlily is an Ancient. Hegemon Windrain is an Aberrant. None of them had parents, as all three were born from the primordial chaos.” Ning said softly, “But I, however, was born in the mortal world and slowly trained my way up. When I see someone like you, who used the lives of little babies to master your secret arts, I have only one thought in my mind… to kill you! I was worried about being unable to find you, but you actually delivered yourself right to my doorstep.”

There were many evil cultivators who used babies to train in secret arts or divine abilities; infant placenta, for example, was used in countless evil techniques. This was because newborn infants represented the genesis of new life; they were filled with tremendous vitality and infinite potential.

Ning was filled with the utmost of loathing for these types of cultivators. Whenever he encountered one, his response could be summarized in one word: Kill!

“Ahahaha! There are plenty who wish to kill me, even amongst Eternal Emperors… but so what? I’m still doing perfectly fine.” Emperor Nightwell roared with laughter, his deep Immortal energy causing his laughter to echo throughout the chaotic void around them. “There are only a few who can actually kill me, and I stay the hell away from them. As for you? Daolord Darknorth, you are still just a Daolord. You, kill me? Hah! Archon Silksnow himself isn’t able to kill me, but you think you can? Haha…”

Emperor Nightwell similarly detested people like Ning who wished to kill him just because he was ‘evil’.

Snick. Snick. Snick…

Ning’s six Northbow swords simultaneously flew out of their sheaths. Ning manifested three heads and six arms, holding all six Northbow swords at the ready.

……

“Daolord Darknorth is standing right in front of me, and he’s actually going to attack me. Don’t worry, Archon; there’s no way I’ll let him escape.” Emperor Nightwell sent word to Archon Silksnow while immediately executing his legendary [Nightwell] secret art.

Rumble… his bizarrely white skin suddenly extended in every direction like a giant sack, with the opening of the sack aimed directly at Ning and sending a surge of sucking power straight towards him. Inside the giant white sack, only endless darkness could be seen.

Ning held all six Northbow swords as he quietly watched his opponent charge towards him. The giant white sack quickly flew towards Ning, seeking to swallow him within the opening. An enormous, hideous face suddenly appeared at the opening as well. This was Emperor Nightwell’s face, and that face opened its giant mouth, the teeth glistening like a hell of countless knives as he bit down towards Ning, seeking to swallow Ning whole.

“You can die now.” Ning showed no mercy at all.

BOOM! A pair of dazzling wings suddenly appeared in the air above Ning. At the same time, countless arcs of sword-light appeared as well around Ning. The two instantly combined to form an enormous Yin-Yang Chaosworld which completely trapped the giant sack within it.

Rumble… a titanic heartworld projection came descending as well. The heartworld projection had mountains, rivers, lakes, grasslands, and prairies that could be seen with clarity. The giant ‘sword mountain’ at the very center caused a particularly strong sense of awe and dread. The heartworld projection merged together with the Yin-Yang Chaosworld perfectly.

Slash! Slash! Slash! The white sack was instantly torn asunder.

“How is this possible?” Emperor Nightwell reappeared in his original form, but faced by the double dangers of the Yin-Yang Chaosworld and the heartworld projection, he only felt a sense of tremendous fear.

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Chapter 9 – Slain

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 9 – Slain

Prior to accepting this mission, Archon Silksnow had gotten a clear understanding of Ji Ning’s strength. An old, insidious fellow like him would naturally memorize everything. He had never dared to show the slightest bit of overconfidence; if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to survive all these years! But no matter how careful he had been, he had never imagined that Daolord Darknorth’s secret arts alone would have reached such a terrifying level of power.

He had never encountered such powerful secret arts or such a powerful heartworld projection before! In fact… he felt that it was highly likely that there were no Archons whose secret arts could match up to Daolord Darknorth, even if he factored in all of those old freaks who had gone into seclusion! Even if there were some who were a match, there were only three at most!

Whoosh. Faced with such a terrifying Sword Dao world, Emperor Nightwell was unable to maintain his divine body. He immediately transformed an inky-black mist that was filled with vileness and which immediately began to flee. This was Emperor Nightwell’s invulnerable form, and the reason why he had been able to survive for so long.

“I need to escape.” He immediately moved to tear through spacetime as he fled. “…What’s going on?! Why can’t I escape?” He could sense that spacetime around him had been completely locked down. What he didn’t know was that Ning’s Omega Sword Dao had allowed him to easily tear through spacetime, even at the third stage. Now that Ning had reached the fourth stage, his Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang gave him tremendously powerful control over spacetime, allowing him to completely suppress it. Only someone whose Dao surpassed Ning’s in this regard would be able to tear through spacetime; no one else would.

To surpass Ning? Perhaps only a Hegemon could accomplish it.

“My treasures.” Emperor NIghtwell immediately sought to try and activate his treasures meant for fleeing… but it was too late.

“Exterminate.” Ning transformed into a streak of light that charged straight towards Emperor Nightwell. At the same time, he executed his [Heartforce Eradicator] technique.

Whoosh. The soundless [Heartforce Eradicator] instantly sliced through the void and struck against the fleeing black mist.

“Ahhh!” Emperor Nightwell could sense the terrifying, eradicating will collide straight against his soul and truesoul. Ning’s current heartforce was on a completely different level of power than before. There was likely no way that an ordinary supreme Daolord would be able to resist it. However, Emperor Nightwell was someone who had relied on vile techniques to become an Eternal Emperor and had been alive for an extremely long period of time. As a result, his Dao-heart was extremely powerful and he was able to completely endure Ning’s strike.

Whoosh. The [Heartforce Eradicator] was immediately followed by the [Dreamstar] art! This time, Emperor Nightwell wasn’t able to endure the attack and he was drawn into an illusory world.

The frantically fleeing black mist suddenly slowed down dramatically, and the mist even began to slowly condense. Clearly, Emperor Nightwell’s mind had been swept into the illusions. Without his mind controlling his invulnerable form, it began to slowly disperse.

“Die.” By now, Ning had already caught up, and he showed no mercy at all as he delivered a fatal strike with all six of his Northbow swords.

Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

Heartsword, stance twelve – Swordtide!

Each of Ning’s swords truly did seem like a tidal wave of power, like a detonating volcano. The strikes rumbled through the black mist… and right at this lethally dangerous moment, Emperor Nightwell’s strong Dao-heart finally allowed him to break free of the illusions.

“What’s go-” In the exact instant that he broke free from the illusions and regained his clarity of mind, Emperor NIghtwell saw the six terrifying sword-tsunamis sweep towards him.

Emperor Nightwell instantly felt despair, and his invulnerable form began to break apart under the terrifying attack. Before he regained consciousness, he had already lost a total of 30% of his invulnerable form! Now, he had regained consciousness, true… but though he strove to defend, he realized that he was completely unable to resist this killer attack.

“Emperor… you lied to me. You said he’s slightly weaker than you? He’s far more powerful than you are! Not even my invulnerable form can endure his strikes. He’s definitely at the level of a supreme Archon. Most likely, only the two leaders of the Dao Alliance are on par with him.” Emperor Nightwell felt despair. He was completely unable to defend against this type of sword-stance, and his invulnerable form was unable to ablate enough of the attack power. It was simply beyond what he could endure.

It was much like how Ninedust’s invulnerable form would only be able to protect him against ten or so strikes from Archon Silksnow before Ninedust would perish. Emperor Nightwell’s invulnerable form was a bit better than Ninedust’s, but those six strikes Ning had just unleashed… they were simply terrifying. Emperor Nightwell wasn’t able to resist them at all.

Whoosh.

This all took time to describe, but in reality Ning struck with incredible speed. The six sword-tusnamis swept through the black mist, completely annihilating it. Emperor Nightwell continued to struggle in the face of death, but it was to no avail. He was completely eradicated.

Emperor Nightwell, a legendary demon who had lived for countless years, died just like that by Ji Ning’s hands! He became the first person to lose his life as Ning revealed his true brilliance to the universe.

“Hmph.” The swords flew back into the sheath, completely clean and unstained. Everything was calm once more, and everything had vanished. The only one left behind was the white-robed Ning.

……

“What’s going on?”

“What in the world was that enormous world of sword-light?” The Daolords responsible for watching over the tunnel exit at Flydust Star had all raised their heads to watch the great battle in the skies. They had all seen Ning run into Emperor Nightwell in the void, followed by a battle beginning. As for exactly what had happened in the battle, they weren’t able to see any of it with clarity. They only saw the countless streaks of sword-light generated by the enormous Yin-Yang Chaosworld.

A short while later, the world of sword-light disappeared… and Emperor Nightwell had disappeared with it. Only the white-robed Ning was left.

“Time to go.” Ning tore through spacetime and departed.

“Where’s Emperor Nightwell?”

“I saw Emperor Nightwell just a few seconds ago. Why has he suddenly vanished?”

“Could Emperor Nightwell have been defeated?”

“Yes, that must be it. He was probably defeated and knew that he couldn’t beat Darknorth, and so he immediately fled.” This was what the Daolrods of Flydust Star believed. None of them dared to believe that Emperor Nightwell had been slain. Emperor Nightwell had been alive for far, far too long after all. To slay an old fellow like him would be far too difficult. Most likely, only the few who truly stood at the peak of power in the Endless Territories had a chance to kill him.

However… in truth, Ning already stood at the true peak of power in the Endless Territories. He was already a match for the two leaders of the Dao Alliance.

……

Within a palace inside the Sacred City of Silksnow. Four figures were seated around a table here. These were the avatars of Emperor Silksnow and the three Emperors he had sent off on this mission! Their avatars were gathered here so they could instantly communicate with each other.

“Brother Nightwell, all you need to do is tie him down for a time.” Archon Silksnow’s avatar was quite relaxed and at ease.

“Haha, easy.” Emperor Nightwell’s avatar laughed as well. A heartbeat later, Emperor Nightwell’s face turned pale.

“What’s wrong?” Archon Silksnow and the others were startled.

“He…” Emperor Nightwell’s avatar began to speak, but his eyes then turned cloudy and distant as he entered a dazed state. Clearly, he had just been trapped within Ning’s [Dreamdust] illusions. Moments later, Emperor Nightwell regained his clarity of mind. A look of terror and hatred appeared on his face as he cast Archon Silksnow a venomous glance and growled, “You lied-”

But before his words were finished, his aura completely vanished. The death of the true body resulted in the death of the avatar as well. Emperor Nightwell’s avatar slumped over to one side, falling from his chair onto the ground. This caused Archon Silksnow and the other two Emperors to turn pale.

“He DIED?!” Archon Silksnow was stunned.

“How is this possible? How could Emperor Nightwell have died?!” The other two Emperors had turned pale as well. Emperor Nightwell had been alive for far too long; he had already been an Emperor for many, many years back when Archon Silksnow had attempted his Daomerge. An old fellow like him certainly had many powerful life-preserving abilities… but he actually died, just like that? At the hands of a Daolord?

Archon Silksnow had an ugly look on his face. After a few moments of silence, he said, “Brother Nightwell was momentarily dazed. He probably fell to an illusion! Most likely, after he recovered he didn’t have enough time to activate his invulnerable form before Ji Ning slew him.”

“Agreed.” The other two Emperors nodded. Neither of them could believe that Emperor Nightwell would be slain while his invulnerable form was active. In addition, they saw for themselves that Emperor Nightwell had indeed fallen to an illusion.

“No matter what… the end result was that Emperor Nightwell died,” the red-robed, red-haired woman said softly. Utter silence met her words.

True… he had died. The exalted Emperor Nightwell had died, just like that. Died by the hands of a Daolord.

“His illusions are actually as strong as this?” Archon Silksnow murmured softly, “Last time, when we fought, he shouldn’t have been this strong… could he have come up with an even more profound illusion technique?” Daolord Featherdress’ [Featherdress Soulthrall Melody], for example, would’ve been capable of affecting Emperor Nightwell. Ning’s illusions weren’t actually that profound, but his heartworld had reached a far higher level and so his illusions had become much more powerful than before.

“I’m going to head to the Flydust Star right away.” Archon Silksnow’s oily green eyes flashed with fierce light. “I won’t let him escape.”

……

Whoosh.

Archon Silksnow was so enraged that he immediately used his battered realmship, using it to fly straight to the Flydust Star.

“Where? Where is he?!” The skinny, snowy-robed old man’s white eyebrows fluttered as he scanned the surrounding void with his oily green eyes. “Where is Daolord Darknorth? Why can’t I sense him?”

“Did he flee? You slew Emperor Nightwell. There’s no way I’ll let you escape!” Archon Silksnow was burning with rage… but he had no idea that after slaying Emperor Nightwell, Ning had immediately flown towards the Sacred City of Silksnow at maximum speed!

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Chapter 10 – Descending Upon Silksnow City

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 10 – Descending Upon Silksnow City

The Sacred City of Silksnow was an extremely beautiful place.

“How beautiful.” Two Daolords were flying side-by-side, staring at Silksnow City from afar. The entire Sacred City was composed of countless palaces and estates that were connected to each other, each built atop a cloud. It truly was surpassingly beautiful. In addition, Silksnow City was perpetually covered by countless drifting snowflakes, giving it a pristine and holy appearance.

“Big brother Ironshow, didn’t you say that Silksnow City is one of the eight Sacred Cities and is governed by the bloodthirsty Silksnow Fiend Palace? The disciples of Silksnow Fiend Palace are all incredibly evil and demonic in nature. All of them are tremendous sinners… is it really possible that these demons are in charge of this beautiful Sacred City?” the young violet-robed Daolord transmitted mentally.

“Haha, nothing can be judged by appearances!” The muscular and heavily armored Daolord Daolord Ironshow laughed as he responded mentally, “Silksnow Fiend Palace is indeed an extremely evil sect, but this is still their home, one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance. They naturally have to take good care of it! Look at the snow. It looks beautiful as it drifts through the air, right? But amongst cultivators, there is a legend that every single one of the snowflakes drifting through Silksnow City was formed from the blood of countless murdered victims…”

The violet-robed youth glanced at the beautiful snow drifting through the skies. When he thought of how they were formed by endless amounts of blood, his face couldn’t help but pale slightly.

“Violetflame, you are a new Daolord. This is your first visit to a Sacred City.” Daolord Ironshow continued to fly forwards while pointing from afar: “I’ll explain some of the rules of the Sacred City to you. Look at those palaces over there. Whenever you are within an area covered by those barriers, all violence and combat is forbidden no matter how strong you are. If you do attack someone, that means you are challenging the authority of the Dao Alliance… and challenging the authority of Silksnow Fiend Palace! As the rulers of this Sacred City, they’ll send a large number of major powers to slay any who violate the laws.”

The violet-robed youth hurriedly nodded upon hearing this.

“Thus… the Sacred Cities are quite safe. Many Daolords have set up residence in them and engage in secluded meditation, because not even Eternal Emperors would dare to break the rules,” Daolord Ironshow said.

“Got it.” The youth nodded again. Break the rules? Challenge Silksnow Fiend Palace? Provoke the Dao alliance? How would a new Daolord like himself even dare to imagine such a thing?

Outside of the barriers surrounding the palaces, everything is fair game,” Daolord Ironshow said. “That’s why we have to be careful.”

“I’ll just keep following you, big brother Ironshow,” the violet-robed Daolord said. He then asked curiously, “Have there ever been any major powers who have started a fight within a Sacred City and broken its rules?”

“The three legendary Hegemons would definitely dare to do such a thing,” Daolord Ironshow said, “And the Dao Alliance does have internal struggles! The Dao Alliance is simply far too vast, which is why there is quite a bit of combat amongst its most powerful member organizations. Archon Silksnow is legendary for how many he has massacred and slaughtered, and a large number of Emperors belonging to the Dao Alliance have died by his hand. It was slaughter and murder which gave him his current position and the right to rule over this Sacred City. He even renamed it ‘Silksnow City’ after himself!”

The eight Sacred Cities all had extremely long histories. Every so often, their rulers would change. For example, prior to Archon Silksnow succeeding in his Daomerge, this city had been ruled by a different organization and had a different name. Archon Silksnow’s rise to power resulted in many great sinners following him, giving him a powerful organization of his own. As a result, he was able to take control over this Sacred City.

“Big brother Ironshow, look! Quick!” The violet-robed youth’s face turned pale as he pointed off into the distance. Puzzled, Daolord Ironshow followed his gaze.

They watched from afar as an inky-black tear in space appeared. A white-robed youth bearing a black sheath on his back emerged from the spatial tear. The youth stared off into the distance, scanning the area with his gaze. As he did so, a surge of terrifying power and presence descended upon the region. It was an enormous heartworld projection, and it instantly crashed down upon the entire Sacred City of Silksnow.

“B-but…” The violet-robed youth and Daolord Ironshow both turned ashen. When they looked at the heartworld projection around them, they felt a sense of terror that came from the innermost depths of their souls.

The power of the heartworld projection had yet to be truly unleashed, but even so it was enough to inspire terror in them. If it was unleashed… they knew that they would be instantly annihilated.

Their senses were correct! Given how strong Ji Ning’s heartworld projection had become, even Eternal Emperors would turn pale before its might, to say nothing of Daolords.

“Who?!”

“Who dares to suppress the Sacred City!?”

“Who dares to challenge us, the Silksnow Fiend Palace?!” The Fiend Palace was located in one particular corner of Silksnow City, and auras of tremendous power instantly shot into the skies as various figures began to fly out. The leader was Archon Silksnow’s avatar! Behind him were the other Emperors. Some of the Emperors were here in person, some had their avatars present. In total, an awe-inspiring process of over twenty Emperors had gathered together. This was a terrifying array.

“Silksnow!” the white-robed youth called out icily, his voice shaking the heavens and the earth.

“What’s going on?”

“What is this?”

“Why have so many Emperors appeared?” The many Daolords who were in secluded meditation within their personal estate all emerged, as did the various attendants, Daolords, and weaker World-level cultivators who were within some of the public palaces. They all raised their heads, stunned and curious, to see what was happening afar. Most likely, this was something which they would never see again.

A white-robed youth was facing off against twenty-plus Eternal Emperors led by Archon Silksnow. The two sides gazed at each other from afar.

“Big brother Ironshow, d-didn’t you just say… that this place is very safe? That only the thre Hegemons and the most elite organizations within the Dao Alliance would dare to challenge Silksnow Fiend Palace?” The violet-robed youth was rather dazed.

“There are very few who dare challenge them… but that doesn’t mean there are none.” Daolord Ironshow was rather shocked as well. He hurriedly pulled his brother away and hid within one of the nearby palaces that was within the area protected by the barriers. “Let’s hide for now. We’ll be finished if we get caught up in a battle between major powers like them.”

“Right, right.” The violet-robed youth nodded repeatedly, but a look of excitement was in his eyes.

“Hey… isn’t that white-robed youth Daolord Darknorth?” A voice rang out from nearby. It was one of the other watching Daolords.

“Oh, right!” Daolord Ironshow was stunned and puzzled as he stared from afar. “He looks identical to the figure I saw in the intelligence report I purchased. That white-robed youth is Daolord Darknorth! How is it that he dares to challenge the Silksnow Fiend Palace? No matter how powerful a Daolord is, he’s not even close to being a match for the Archons of the Sacred Cities. T-this makes no sense at all.”

“Big brother Ironshow, is that guy over there really Daolord Darknorth?” the violet-robed youth asked curiously.

“From his appearance, he should be… but it doesn’t make sense for Daolord Darknorth to challenge the entire Silksnow Fiend Palace.” Daolord Ironshow was puzzled. “I really can’t be sure if that is actually Daolord Darknorth at all.” But right at that moment…

“Darknorth, you really are suicidal.” The leader of that distant group of Eternal Emperors, Archon Silksnow, spoke out in a booming voice that echoed in the world. All of the countless puzzled cultivators within Silksnow City instantly realized that the white-robed youth was in fact the legendary ‘Daolord Darknorth’.

“He’s incredible! A Daolord actually dares to challenge all of Silksnow Fiend Palace in such a dominating manner? They are one of the eight organizations which rule over the Sacred Cities!”

“Daolord Darknorth?”

“He’s absolutely incredible.”

“What a bold man! Even if he ends up being defeated, I’ll still feel nothing but admiration for him.” Countless cultivators sighed in shock and awe, and many of them naturally sided with Ning. This was because no matter how much they trained, for them to become Eternal Emperors was an almost hopelessly impossible task. They would at most become Daolords of the fourth Step… and so they felt absolutely exhilarated that a Daolord like them would dare to challenge Silksnow Fiend Palace. Sheer pleasure coursed through their veins at the very thought.

Yes, we Daolords might be weak! But the strongest of us, the strongest Daolords, still dare to challenge even one of the eight rulers of the Sacred Cities!

The countless watching cultivators all mentally supported Ning. However… they all believed that Daolord Darknorth had no chance to actually win. Even his chances to survive this would be extremely slim.

……

Ning had travelled here at maximum speed. Given his high level of insight into the Dao, he was able to tear through even greater distances through spacetime. Finally, he reached the Sacred City of Silksnow… and he had immediately unleashed his heartworld projection without hesitation. He wanted to immediately make a show of strength! Instantly, an entire host of Eternal Emperors had come flying out. He counted a total of twenty-six of them! However, Ning could sense that most were merely avatars. Even the leader, Archon Silksnow, was merely an avatar.

“Silksnow,” Ning called out.

In front of the awesome, distant group of Eternal Emperors standing in midair was their leader, Archon Silksnow. Silksnow, however, was in a rather dazed state of disbelief. He couldn’t believe that Ning had come to his headquarters to attack him. Was the man suicidal? Moments later, the Archon let out a laugh: “Darknorth, you really are suicidal.”

“If you think you can kill me, come and try.” Ning swept his gaze across the group of Eternal Emperors, each of them flaring out their auras mightily. Ning smiled. “Do you plan to all come at once? That’s fine as well. It’ll be fun for me to beat all twenty-six of you Emperors at once.”

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Chapter 11 – Inexplicable

Chapter 11 – Inexplicable

Ji Ning’s heartworld projection covered the entire Sacred City, and so his voice naturally echoed throughout every part of it.

In truth, Silksnow Fiend Palace wanted to contain and minimize this disturbance as much as possible. Just the very fact that Daolord Darknorth dared to so flagrantly attack them was already a loss of face, even though they would kill him in the end. They naturally wanted fewer people to know about this matter! Alas, as soon as Ning’s heartworld projection descended they knew that there was no way to keep this secret.

Ning, however, wanted to ‘kill a chicken to scare the monkeys’ in a display of force. He wanted to let everyone know just how powerful he had become. Naturally, there was no need to keep anything secret.

“Absolutely dominating.”

“This is exhilarating! Just listening to him talk makes me excited. Will I ever reach a level where I would dare to stand in front of over twenty Eternal Emperors and tell them that I’ll fight them by myself? If I can ever have such a crowning moment of glory, even dying away the next instant would be worth it.”

“There’s never been a Daolord this powerful before, right?”

The countless cultivators within the Sacred City all felt their blood begin to boil with excitement when they heard Ning’s words. They all felt that for a Samsara Daolord to be able to act like Ning just did was simply incredible. Anything would be worth it.

“Daolord Darknorth has actually attacked the Sacred City of Silksnow. He’s facing off against twenty-six Emperors from Silksnow Fiend Palace.”

“The battle is about to start right away.”

“This is probably the last fight Daolord Darknorth will ever be in. He’s probably going to die here.”

“Move, move, MOVE! If you don’t get here in time, you won’t be able to see this battle.” Word quickly spread out. News of this incredible event almost instantly spread throughout the most elite organizations within the Endless Territories.

……

“What?!” Hegemon Brightshore was shocked as well when he heard this. “He actually attacked Silksnow Fiend Palace? He’s a Daolord! What gives him this sort of courage?”

……

“He’s actually attacked Silksnow Fiend Palace?” Emperor Anchen and the other Emperors of the Aeonians were shocked as well. They had been frantically searching for traces of Ning, wanting to kill him and take back that unique omnigeddon bloodfruit tree. “Daolord Darknorth… what the hell is wrong with him? Has he lost his mind? Or does he have some special item he’s planning to rely on? But he’s still just a Daolord, and he’s facing off against one of the eight Sacred Cities!”

“Let’s go, quick! We’re going to go watch.”

“I’m heading off right now.” Emperor Islehide immediately prepared for departure.

“My avatar will accompany with you. I want to see with my own eyes what this Daolord Darknorth character is up to.” Although Emperor Anchen had always stood guard over the Aeonian Kingdom, even he elected to send his avatar off to watch this fight.

……

News quickly spread throughout the Endless Territories. The three mighty Hegemons, some of the more famous Emperors, and some of the reclusive, lesser-known Emperors all grew curious and began to hasten towards Silksnow City. No one had ever heard of any Daolord ever daring to challenge one of the eight Sacred Cities; this was something that had never happened in all of history! Curious, they all hurried to the scene of battle. Alas, the distance was quite great; to actually get there would take some time.

……

“Quite bold, audaciously so. Do you really think that you merit all of us Emperors working together to kill you?” Instantly, a droopy-browed and ugly-looking Emperor began to shout at Ning.

“He doesn’t know his own limits.”

“He wants to die under our combined might? In his dreams.” These ancient Eternal Emperors all stared at the distant white-robed youth with disdain.

If they joined forces, even if they killed Ning they would have gained no face. For Emperors with eternal lifespans, face was of paramount importance.

“Even if you want to die, you still aren’t worthy of twenty-six Emperors doing the honors together,” Archon Silksnow laughed coldly. He glanced backwards at an Emperor who had a pair of black wings on his back and sent mentally, “Brother Blackrot, Emperor Nightwell died by the hands of Daolord Darknorth. Daolord Darknorth is extremely strong, just slightly weaker than myself. His illusions are particularly powerful; Emperor Nightwell died because he fell to Darknorth’s illusions. You were born with tremendous skill over illusions; you shouldn’t be susceptible to his heartforce illusions. You go first and test his power out.”

“Very well.” Emperor Blackrot narrowed his eyes as they gleamed with cold light.

“Brother Bloodcloud.” Archon Silksnow sent another mental message to the black-robed elder who stood virtually side-by-side with him. “Daolord Darknorth is probably just a bit weaker than me, but my true body is still on the way back from the outside world. My avatar doesn’t have any good weapons on it; it’s probably not a match for Darknorth. Of all the Emperors present, you are the only one capable of defeating him in a head-on fight. You shall be the one to decide how we are to deal with Darknorth.”

Emperor Bloodcloud was one of the old freaks who supported Archon Silksnow from the shadows. He was Silksnow’s equal in power.

“He doesn’t have an invulnerable form, does he?” Emperor Bloodcloud asked.

“He does not,” Archon Silksnow responded with certainty. He had used a treasure to kill Ning, and back then Ning hadn’t revealed a invulnerable form. Archon Silksnow felt certain that Ning didn’t have an invulnerable form! In addition, he had never heard of anyone developing an invulnerable form based on the Dao of the Sword. Alas, he had no idea that while it was indeed extremely difficult for the Dao of the Sword to produce an invulnerable form… there was always an exception. After Ning’s Omega Sword Dao had reached the fourth stage, he had finally gained an invulnerable form for himself… the Shadowless form.

“If he doesn’t have an invulnerable form, I’m confident in being able to kill him.” Emperor Bloodcloud nodded.

“I’m sending Emperor Blackrot to go first and test him out. Watch carefully,” Archon Silksnow said.

“Very well.” Emperor Bloodcloud nodded.

……

Just by standing there, the group of Emperors inspired terror in the countless cultivators who were watching… but Ning was completely unphased.

“Daolord Darknorth, was it you who killed brother Nightwell?” A cold voice rang out, followed by an ugly, black-winged alien Emperor flying out of the group, filled with murderous malice.

“It was.” Ning’s voice filled the entire region covered within his heartworld projection. “And you are Emperor Blackrot. Have you decided to throw your life away, just as Emperor Nightwell did before you?”

To use the terminology of the Three Realms, Emperor Blackrot belonged to the ‘Diremonster’ category. He had been born as a winged monster who was born with a fondness for eating rotten meat. He had an extremely strange and evil disposition, and his favorite hobby was massacring people, waiting for their bodies to rot, and then eat their rotting corpses. That was it – he murdered people to eat them. This fiend had long ago offended many other cultivators who wished to kill him, and so he joined the auspices of Silksnow Fiend Palace.

“Throw my life away? To you?” Emperor Blackrot was enraged. “Prepare to die.”

“Hmph.” Ning’s body flickered slightly as he manifested three heads and six arms, then brought his six Northbow swords to the ready.

Emperor Blackrot transformed into an enormous tornado of black mist which swept straight towards Ning. This wasn’t a simple invulnerable form; in truth, this was the attack which Emperor Blackform was most skilled in using. Anything touched by this black mist would immediately rot away until nothing was left. Even supreme Daolords would be unable to withstand this attack.

In addition, a terrifying illusion was hidden within the black mist. Anyone trapped within it would smile and seek out death without even trying to fight back.

“Daolord Darknorth has started to fight against Emperor Blackrot.”

“Emperor Blackrot is an extremely terrifying Eternal Emperor. Not even supreme Daolords dare to offend him.” The countless cultivators within the Sacred City all watched.

“Suppress!” Ning let out a cold shout. The formerly-restrained energy of the heartworld projection instantly flared in the area where the black mist was located! The terrifying heartworld projection was like a cage that completely trapped the black mist, causing its flying speed to lessen dramatically.

“You can die now.” The six swords struck out like tidal waves, carrying an aura of utterly destructive power with them. Countless tsunami-swords swept through the black mist which so many Daolords were terrified of. Although it contained extremely strong corrosive and poisonous properties and was filled with terrifying illusions, it wasn’t actually less effective than Emperor Nightwell’s invulnerable form in terms of ablating the power of enemy attacks.

“NO!!!” Emperor Blackrot instantly felt despair, and he let out a horrified scream. The last thing he felt before perishing was regret… and venomous hatred towards Archon Silksnow. It was Archon Silksnow who had warned him that Darknorth’s illusions were very powerful, but that Darknorth was slightly weaker than the Archon himself.

Blackrot had felt certain that even if he had to fight Archon Silksnow, he would still be able to block a few dozen attacks. Daolord Darknorth, however, had just annihilated him with just a single attack. Weaker than Archon Silksnow? He was clearly much, much more powerful!

Whoooosh. His black mist form was completely extinguished by Ning’s sword-shadows… and Emperor Blackrot became the second Emperor to perish under Ning’s sword since Ning’s decision to reveal his brilliance.

The world returned to its normal calm. Ning called his swords back and sent them back into their sheaths. He stood tall and simply stared at the twenty-five completely awestruck Emperors. Archon Silksnow in particular had a look of utter disbelief on his face. He truly couldn’t believe what had just happened. Just a ‘short’ while ago, he had completely dominated Daolord Darknorth… how had the man become this powerful? This was completely impossible!

“No. No. This makes no sense whatsoever.” Archon Silksnow couldn’t understand it. How could a Daolord be THIS powerful?

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Chapter 12 – All Together!

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 12 – All Together!

Archon Silksnow and all of his Eternal Emperors were dazed and in a state of disbelief. They had been accustomed to being exalted figures for countless years, and they were used to holding Daolords in disdain! There was a qualitative difference between Emperors and Daolords, and the chasm between the two was as great as the gap between Heaven and Earth. Ever since the most ancient of times, there had never been a Daolord who could stand at the very apex of power in the Endless Territories.

What did the apex of power mean? It didn’t mean you were necessarily the strongest… but it meant that you did not need to fear anyone.

The Archons of the Sacred Cities were capable of making this claim. They might not be able to defeat the three Hegemons, but at least they were confident in staying alive in the face of a Hegemonic attack! Unless, of course, the three Hegemons were willing to pay the enormous price needed to kill an Archon. Otherwise, killing them would be extremely hard.

These people made up the very apex of power in the Flamedragon Realmverse… and Daolords had never, ever joined their ranks.

“H-he’s a Daolord… how can he be this powerful? He slew Emperor Blackrot in just one strike?”

“He’s so strong! He should be even stronger than Archon Silksnow.”

“None of the eight Archons are necessarily a match for him.”

“Can Daolords really become as powerful as this?”

“Can he have succeeded in his Daomerge and become an Emperor? Given how powerful he previously was… if he really did succeed in his Daomerge, he’d definitely become a Hegemon. He’s extremely powerful, but he doesn’t give me that sense of Hegemonic pressure… he probably isn’t a Hegemon yet. He’s still a Daolord. But how can a Daolord be this powerful?”

These Emperors were filled with many different things. This had completely overturned their worldview, overturned common sense itself. When Ning revealed his fierceness, he had completely overthrown the notion that Daolords weren’t worthy of any consideration!

……

“Eh?” Far away within the void outside Silksnow City was Hegemon Brightshore. He had secretly hurried here and was watching from afar.

“Darknorth is actually this powerful?” Hegemon Brightshore was surprised, delighted, but also puzzled. He was surprised at delighted by the fact that the Brightshore Kingdom had finally gained a new major power (aside from himself) that was capable of overawing the various organizations within the Endless Territories. His confusion, however, stemmed from the fact that not even he understood how Ning had reached such a level of power.

……

Ning faced Archon Silksnow and his Emperors, not even bothering to disguise the murderous look in his eyes at all. His gaze focused on Archon Silksnow, and he growled: “What… Archon Silksnow, are you afraid now? Too afraid to fight me? Do you want to send all of your Emperors out to surround and attack me?”

Archon Silksnow had an ugly look on his face. His white brows fluttered, and his oily green eyes were filled with cold light.

“Why are you hesitating? What are you afraid of?” Ning stared at him. “Haven’t you been doing your best to track me down? I’ve come right to you, and we’re in front of your base… and NOW you are afraid?”

They were indeed afraid. Of the twenty-five Emperors, only Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud were able to remain fairly calm. The others felt a sense of intense fear when they stared at the distant white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back. They did indeed fear him, because they understood that he could probably kill them with just one blow! He was even considerably more powerful than Archon Silksnow himself. How could they not be afraid of him?

“What should we do, Silksnow?” Emperor Bloodcloud sent frantically, “This Daolord Darknorth is much more powerful than you claimed. He’s stronger than both of us! You want ME to deal with HIM? How?!”

“Don’t panic. Don’t panic!” Archon Silksnow hurriedly sent a mental message to calm his old friend: “I didn’t expect him to be this strong either. Back when we fought, he really was weaker than me. In fact, he died once by my hands! I have no idea how he suddenly became as strong as this! But don’t worry, my true body is already returning at maximum speed and will soon arrive. We’ll work together to command the other Emperors to set up a formation together to deal with him.”

“Set up a formation to deal with him?” Emperor Bloodcloud hesitated. “Using that against a Daolord… we’re going to lose a lot of face once people hear about it.”

“Face doesn’t matter at a time like this! Daolord Darknorth is indeed powerful, and he’s qualified to force us to do this.” Archon Silksnow’s eyes glimmered with cold malice as he sent mentally, “Since he’s attacked our home and headquarters, the Silksnow Fiend Palace, then we should give him what he asks for. All of us shall join together into a formation to kill him. He walks the path of the Dao of the Sword; he shouldn’t have an invulnerable form! That means we have a chance to kill him.”

“He’s very powerful. Even if we do set up a formation, we won’t necessarily succeed.” Emperor Bloodcloud still wasn’t convinced by this plan.

“Let’s give it a shot. We still have a chance,” Emperor Silksnow sent. “All Daolords are madmen when they fail their Daomerge. If Daolord Darknorth fails his in the future, he’ll act even more berserk than he is today. If he doesn’t die? We’ll probably have to hide for the rest of our lives and avoid him. Are you willing to live a life like that?”

“Fine, we’ll give it a try.” Emperor Bloodcloud agreed.

“My true body has just arrived.” Archon Silksnow revealed a delighted look. His avatar was still significantly weaker than his true body, especially since it didn’t have any formidable lifeblood weapons on it.

……

Although this all took time to describe, only a few seconds had passed since Ning had slain Emperor Blackrot and said a few words. Right at this moment, a dimensional ripple appeared off in the distance. Ning couldn’t help but turn his head, only to see a skinny, white-robed man fly towards the city at high speed, his white brows fluttering. It was Archon Silksnow.

“You came quite fast.” Ning chuckled softly. “Killing your avatar is meaningless. I’ve been waiting for your true body to come.”

“Quite audacious.” Archon Silksnow immediately flew forwards, joining together with Emperor Bloodcloud and the others as he roared angrily, “Fellow Emperors, Daolord Darknorth has actually dared to assault us, the Silksnow Fiend Palace. Let us send him to his death. Everyone, attack!”

“Attack!”

“Attack!” Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud were both filled with the desire to do murder. As they were the leaders of the group, the other Emperors all joined together, following their lead to attack. Although some were here in person, most were mere avatars. However, Emperor-class avatars had incredibly strong Immortal energy, and when used to set up a formation they weren’t much weaker than their true bodies. All of a sudden, an enormous blood-colored wheel appeared and began to slowly turn as it surged towards Ning.

This killing formation was incredibly famous in the Endless Territories. It was known as the ‘Seven Killers of the Blood Disk’ formation. It had been created by a reclusive and ancient Emperor of the Dao Alliance, and the Silksnow Fiend Palace used it to guard themselves and fight against their opponents.

“What a terrifying killer formation.” The countless cultivators in the Sacred City all held their breaths. They could sense that this time, Daolord Darknorth was in real danger. Who could possibly resist such a grand formation when set up by Archon Silksnow and so many other Emperors?

Ning laughed. “A formation? Is that all you got?” An invisible surge of power swept out from Ning. [Heartforce Eradicator]!

Ning’s Omega Sword Dao had already reached the fourth stage, making his heartforce eradication art even more profound than before. Ning’s [Heartforce Eradicator] had always been based off the secrets of his Omega Sword Dao. Now, a terrifying will of annihilation swept out and struck against the souls and truesouls of all of the twenty-plus Emperors. Although the formation was formidable, it didn’t hinder Ning’s heartforce in the slightest.

Eradication!!!

The twenty-five Emperors all felt their souls and truesouls suffer a powerful strike, and they hurriedly relied on their Dao-hearts to resist the strike.

“Ahhhh!” A series of screams rang out. Of the twenty-plus Emperors, five of them perished on the spot, their souls exterminated.

Ning was rather surprised. His [Heartforce Eradicator] was now far more powerful than it had been in the past, giving him a chance to slay even supreme Daolords. However, he knew that these Eternal Emperors had all been alive for extremely long periods of time, and their Dao-hearts had been tempered to be incredibly strong. To use the [Heartforce Eradicator] to slay them should’ve been quite difficult. How did he just kill five at one blow?

“It makes sense. The ones which died were all avatars; avatars only have part of the true body’s godsense within it, after all.” Ning suddenly understood.

Avatars contained part of their owner’s godsense within them. Their souls were much weaker than the souls within true bodies, and so they were much weaker when resisting heartforce attacks. Thus, five of them instantly perished to Ning’s [Heartforce Eradicator].

“Not good.”

“Our formation’s been broken!”

“Quick, assemble into a different formation.” Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud immediately realized that they were in trouble. Now that five Emperors’ avatars had been exterminated, their formation had been blown apart. They immediately changed into a different variation of the formation to make up for their losses. The ‘Seven Killers of the Blood Disk’ formation had to have at least seven people within it in order to set up the formation, but it could scale up indefinitely. All they had to do was to change the formation slightly, and they’d be able to make up for the breaches. However… things wouldn’t develop as smoothly as they had hoped.

“Dreamstar art.” After unleashing the [Heartforce Eradicator], Ning immediately executed his [Dreamstar] illusions.”

The [Dreamstar] art was even more insidious than the [Heartforce Eradicator]. It was harder to defend against and completely undetectable, capable of causing Emperors to be drawn into illusions before they even knew what was happening. It must be remembered that Emperor Nightwell had an extremely strong Dao-heart, but he was still caught by the illusions. One could imagine how powerful Ning’s [Dreamstar] art had become! The Archons who were at the same level as him might be able to resist it, but those who were a level lower than him would find it quite hard to defend against.

Of the surviving Emperors, a total of sixteen were instantly trapped within the Dreamstar illusions. Five had died, while sixteen had been trapped within within the illusions. The entire ‘Seven Killers of the Blood Disk’ formation crumbled apart before a single blow was struck.

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Chapter 13 – Absolute Massacre

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 13 – Absolute Massacre

“Our formation! Our formation!” Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud were both flabbergasted. Right now, only five Emperors were still able to maintain their clarity of mind, the two of them included. There was no way they could continue to form the ‘Seven Killers of the Blood Disk’ formation.

“Attack!” After executing the [Heartforce Eradicator] and the [Dreamdust] illusions in succession, Ji Ning made his move.

Rumble… countless arcs of light appeared in the area around Ning. At the same time, a dazzlingly beautiful pair of golden wings appeared above Ning as well. Under the direction of the golden wings, the countless arcs of sword-light began to form into a chaosworld generated by the Dao of the Sword. The golden wings then howled through the air, instantly flying over towards the Emperors.

The golden wings simply flew far, far too fast. They had to be at least ten times faster than Ning’s flying speed!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang! This domain had been created via a pair of partially-mastered Hegemonic secret arts, and its power was so great as to be inconceivable.

The golden wings howled through the air as they sliced at the divine bodies of the Emperors who were present in person. The avatars all had bodies comparable to peak Eternal treasures, making them impossible to kill… but the ‘real’ Emperors had fairly frail bodies in comparison. Even though Ning had a precious Hegemonic legacy, he had to use up an absolutely enormous amount of treasures in order to train his body to the high-grade Eternal treasure level.

Most of these Emperors had bodies comparable to low-grade Eternal treasures. A few had reached the middle-grade Eternal treasure level, and extremely few had reached the high-grade Eternal treasure level. If they were able to focus their efforts on defending, they would be able to do so… but they were trapped in illusions and completely incapable of fighting back. Ning was able to attack them with impunity; how could they possibly endure in a situation like this?

It was much like what had happened when Ning was still very weak and paid a visit to the Azureflower Estate. Although his body had been comparable to a low-grade Eternal treasure at the time, he had nearly been beaten to death by one of the two overseers. Thankfully, he had a suit of Hegemon armor on him! These Emperors, however, certainly didn’t have Hegemonic armor on them.

Slash! Slash! Slash! In the blink of an eye, the sharp feathers of the golden wings sliced through six of the Eternal Emperors. They were chopped apart, then ground into dust by the countless arcs of light. They died on the spot. Two Eternal Emperors, had sufficiently strong protective divine abilities that they managed to survive.

“Six more down.” Ning showed no mercy at all; he felt nothing save the desire to kill the Emperors under the banner of Silksnow Fiend Palace. All of them had gone beyond the bounds of mere dispassionate selfishness and into the level of being true ‘demons’. That was why so many Emperors hated them and wished to kill them. However, these demons had joined forces to form a powerful organization, making it so that the other Emperors didn’t dare to offend them.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Sword-light continuously clashed against the avatars, creating clanking sounds. The avatars, however, managed to endure the strikes.

As for the three Emperors who were able to maintain their mental clarity, they were completely stunned by this. Six of them had died almost instantly? Only now did they understand that Daolord Darknorth had the power to kill them with ease.

“Archon, we can’t fight him head-on.”

“Archon, we’re going to leave now.”

“Ah?!” “B-b-but…” The two who had been trapped by the illusions but who had sufficiently strong protective divine abilities and thus survived Ning’s attacks now finally came back to their senses. They were terrified by what they saw, and they immediately began to flee. There was no time for them to show sympathy to others; they immediately used their best escape-type treasures to flee. The twin suppressive effects of the Sword Dao chaosworld and the heartworld projection caused their flying speed to be dramatically lowered, and they didn’t want to spend a minute longer than was necessary.

……

Just a few moments ago, Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud had been leading the Emperors in surrounding and attacking Ning… but in the blink of an eye, six of the Emperors had perished, five of the avatars had been destroyed, and the remaining avatars had all been trapped by illusions.

The surviving Emperors all began to flee. Only Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud remained safe and sound… for now.

“This secret art…?” Emperor Bloodcloud had an ugly look on his face as he stared at the countless arcs of sword-light and the golden pair of wings. “Silksnow, you actually tried to tell me that he’s slightly weaker than you? These secret arts alone are already vastly beyond our level of power.”

“How the hell could I have known that he’s this powerful?!” Archon Silksnow was feeling frustrated and frantic as well. “Eh?” Archon Silksnow’s face tightened. “Where’s Darknorth? He suddenly vanished.”

“An assassination art. I’ve heard of his assassination arts.” Emperor Bloodcloud’s face tightened as well. He also realized that Ning had vanished, and this was something which shocked both of them.

“Let an endless sea of blood come forth,” Emperor Bloodcloud growled, immediately unleashing his invulnerable form and transforming into a vast sea of blood that filled the surrounding area and protected Archon Silksnow.

Slash! A streak of sword-light tore through the bloody waves. “It’s Darknorth!” Emperor Bloodcloud and Archon Silksnow both turned pale as the three-headed, six-armed, white-robed Ning suddenly appeared.

Ning used his six Northbow swords to tear through the waves of blood as he shot straight towards Archon Silksnow. He snapped coldly, “Silksnow, prepare to die.”

Ning’s Godwings were truly ridiculously fast. Ning himself was a bit slower, but he was still faster than Archon Silksnow, especially now that the Archon was being suppressed by the heartworld projection. However, Archon Silksnow refused to admit defeat. He also manifested six arms, holding a warblade in each as he charged towards Ning.

Whoosh. Ning’s swords flowed like water, bringing a tsunami of sword-light with them. They possessed the explosive power of tidal waves but were also incredibly gentle, almost like the caress of a lover.

“Eh?” Archon Silksnow’s face changed. He strove to use his six warblades to block the soft and nearly invisible sword-arts Ning was using, but Ning’s upgraded [Heartsword] made his sword-arts even more ghostly than before. His attacks were also noticeably faster, giving Archon Silksnow no chance to block them at all.

Two of the streaks of sword-light coiled around his body like fingers, beginning to tie him up in knots. Whoosh! Archon Silksnow immediately transformed into countless snowflakes that fled and then reformed off in the distance.

“Running?” Ning felt a bit unsettled as well. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to kill Archon Silksnow, as his opponent had an invulnerable form. Good invulnerable forms were just too hard to deal with.

“How can he be this strong? His sword-arts are simply too fast. He beat me in just one exchange!” Archon Silksnow was running around while panicking. It must be remembered that he previously had been able to dominate Ning with ease; if it hadn’t been for the Hegemon armor, he probably would’ve killed Ning already. Now, however, the difference in power between him and the current Ning was just as great as the difference between him and the past Ning… except reversed.

In fact… Ning’s advantage was actually a bit greater.

“Be destroyed!!!” Ning put away five of his Northbow swords, then gripped the sixth with all six of his hands. He unleashed his most powerful attack with all the power he had available to him… the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

BOOM!! The entire region of empty space above the Sacred City seemed to have completely shattered apart. A savage tidal wave seemed to have appeared in the pitch-black space, a tidal wave which had the power to destroy all in its path. This was a tsunami of sword-light, and it caused those who viewed it to feel a sense of powerlessness. Even Hegemon Brightshore, who was watching from afar, was stunned: “What powerful sword-arts.”

In this instant, even karma was suppress. Spacetime froze, with all dimensional and temporal bubbles freezing in place. Even Emperor Bloodcloud, still in the form of a sea of blood, felt a sense of terror. This was absolute power, and it inspired more terror than anything else.

“Impossible.” Archon Silksnow could hardly believe it. He strove to use his six warblades to defend.

BOOM! He was like a praying mantis trying to use its arms to block a chariot. Archon Silksnow was instantly dominated and crushed by the terrifying tidal wave of sword-light, and his divine power was instantly crushed apart into countless snowflakes. The snow fluttered away, reforming far away into an ashen-faced Archon Silksnow. He wasn’t injured, but the psychological blow he had just suffered had an enormous impact on him.

“Silksnow, Darknorth is far too powerful. There’s no way for us to fight him. Let’s leave!” Emperor Bloodcloud began to move to flee.

“Leave? And go where? His strike just now was so powerful that it compressed even spacetime. There’s no way for us to even tear through spacetime to flee.” Archon Silksnow seemed to have gone mad. He roared mentally, “We have to use our most important treasures if we want to escape. Since we are already going to use at least one of them… let’s use them up and try to kill him! Each of us will use one of them. We might be able to kill him.”

Emperor Bloodcloud was stunned.

“If we can’t kill him, we’ll have to hide for as long as he is alive,” Archon Silksnow said. “Let’s give it a shot! He doesn’t have an invulnerable form; we might be able to kill him.”

“Fine.” Emperor Bloodcloud also felt that this type of life would be far too craven. If the two were so frightened as to immediately flee… then so long as Ning was alive, they would have to remain hidden.

Better to go all-out and give it a shot. Perhaps they’d actually succeed in killing this terrifying Daolord.

“Go.” Archon Silksnow produced a broken gray longspear, sending it flying through the air. It looked quite ordinary and didn’t have any special aura to it, but the countless cultivators within the Sacred City who saw it felt a sense of absolute horror when they saw it. They all knew that just the tiniest portion of the power hidden within the spear would probably be enough to kill them all.

“Kill!” Emperor Bloodcloud produced a curved, glowing object. It was hard to see the object’s true appearance. Emperor Bloodcloud gritted his teeth, then sent it flying outwards.

Whoosh! A dazzling crescent moon immediately appeared in the skies, its light blurry and gentle. This absolutely beautiful crescent moon flew towards Ning in a seemingly slow manner, but it actually moved a bit faster than even the gray longspear.

“He has to die.” Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud both watched eagerly. This was their last hope.

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Chapter 14 – Spread Far and Wide

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 14 – Spread Far and Wide

The light of the crescent moon seemed very slow, but it was actually ridiculous fast. In addition, the light it released completely covered Ji Ning, making it so that he couldn’t even evade it via his ‘Shadowless’ evasion art.

“So this is a Hegemon’s power? Perfect for me to test myself out.” Ning was brimming with the desire to do battle, and his three-headed, six-armed form wielded all six Northbow swords with defensive sword-arts.

Whoosh. The crescent moon instantly slashed towards Ning, an object of supreme beauty that was filled with terrifying danger.

Ning’s sword-light flared up as well, transforming into gentle tsunami that swirled around him, forming a whirlpool that then transformed into a black hole. However, at the borders of the black hole a few ripples of tsunami sword-light could be seen.

Slash! The crescent moon ‘gently’ flew into the black hole. BOOM!!!! The skies above the Sacred City suddenly exploded as spacetime itself split apart, generating multiple laters of cracked and distorted dimensional continuums. Even Ning was knocked backwards uncontrollably by the force of the shockwave.

Ning could sense how the attack burned through his layers of defenses, then slammed against him. Ning revealed a smile. His entire body was feeling a bit numb, but it actually felt nice. All the training he had undergone and all of the many legacies he had acquired had finally let him reach a level where he could easily block a Hegemonic strike. Although the attack still dominated him, his body was quite stable. He hadn’t even spat out any blood! This meant that the difference in power wasn’t all that great.

“Now, I stand at the very apex of power amongst the Archons. I’m very close to the Hegemons, while my sword-arts are highly defensive… the treasures which Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud are launching at me aren’t of much threat to me any longer.” Ning smiled.

Whoosh. Right at this moment, that plain-looking gray longspear flew towards him. The longspear’s tip was filled with an extremely terrifying destructive force.

“Judging from how it looks… it should’ve been a relic left behind by the Sithe.” Ning watched as the spear flew towards him, feeling quite relaxed as he evaluated its power. “I wonder what technique the Sithe used to infuse a spear-tip with such terrifying power.” The sword-tsunami once more appeared around him, then transformed into a black hole that began to defend against the attacking gray spear.

Crack! Spacetime began to shatter around him, revealing a jagged wound in the fabric of reality as a surge of gray power tore straight through it. Ning was once more knocked flying backwards by the strike.

……

Although this took time to describe, the consecutive attacks by the crescent moon and the plain longspear were actually nearly instantaneous. Ning was knocked flying backwards and clearly at a disadvantage, but he didn’t even vomit any blood, much less suffer serious injuries!

“What? B-but… how is this possible?!” Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud were now completely stunned.

“He was actually able to face a Hegemonic strike head-on! And he wasn’t even injured?!” Archon Silksnow felt a sense of a rage and disbelief… but he also understood that the difference in power between himself and Daolord Darknorth was now simply enormous. Not only did Daolord Darknorth have formidable attacks, he had even more terrifying defenses. He had defended against a Hegemonic strike, just like that!

“Silksnow, we’ve lost. We were defeated. We can’t beat him! We have no chance at all!” Emperor Bloodcloud was filled with pain, but he tore open a spacetime tunnel and fled into it like a giant wave of blood.

Right now, Archon Silksnow’s mind was filled with many thoughts. Just a short while ago, he was one of the most elite figures of the Flaemdragon Realmverse, one of the eight Archons of the Sacred Cities. Today… a mere Daolord had beaten him into a sorry state where he was forced to retreat. Archon Silksnow understood that his power was not even close to being enough to battle Ning.

“I lost. I lost. However… this doesn’t end here. I’m definitely not going to just give up.” Archon Silksnow cast Ning a deep look. The Daolord he had once held in contempt had now become the most terrifying foe he had ever made. Archon Silksnow then cast all other thoughts aside, tearing open a spacetime tear and fleeing into it. Ning had been blasted back by the Hegemonic strikes, resulting in his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker losing its suppressive effect upon local spacetime. This was why Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud were able to easily tear through spacetime and flee.

Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodcloud both understood the difference in power between them and their foe. They wisely chose to retreat.

……

Ji Ning once more stood up within the empty void of space. There were no longer any cultivators around him; Silksnow and Bloodcloud had already torn through spacetime to flee, while the surviving avatars of the Emperors had taken advantage of the moment when Ning was being assaulted by the crescent moon and the plain longspear to flee in every direction. Creating a powerful avatar wasn’t easy or cheap, after all; they weren’t willing to give themselves up.

And so… the only person in the air above the Sacred City was the white-robed youth.

The countless cultivators within the Sacred City, including tens of thousands of Daolords, all stared at Ning. They were completely stunned. None of them had imagined that this would be the final result.

“Archon Silksnow fled. The other Emperors either died or fled as well.”

“Death or flight… the only one left is now Daolord Darknorth.”

“He’s too powerful.”

“Daolord Darknorth… he beat over twenty Emperors into utter submission.”

“Not even the eight Archons are a match for Daolord Darknorth.”

The countless cultivators were so excited, they were about to go crazy. They all hurried to send word of this result to their friends. This sort of unprecedented, unheard of result spread throughout the Endless Territories like mad. Every single Daolord who received word was completely stunned, as were the reclusive Emperors.

What? A Daolord had actually defeated Silksnow Fiend Palace, the rulers of one of the eight Sacred Cities?

“What? H-he’s actually this strong?” Emperor Islehide and Emperor Anchen’s avatars were still in the process of hurrying over from the Aeonian stronghold, but they were completely stunned by what they heard.

“Let’s move there immediately.”

“Quickly!” Both moved at their maximum speed.

……

“A Daolord actually beat Silksnow and Bloodcloud into flight? He actually blocked Hegemonic attack-treasures head-on?” A white-haired, black-winged elder walked out of the highest tower within a palace that was located inside a beautiful world of boundless light. A stunned look was on his face. “I’ve been in seclusion, hoping to train to the Hegemon level… I never would’ve imagined that the Flamedragon Realmverse would give birth to such a powerful Daolord. How could a Daolord become this powerful? Perhaps I’ll learn something from him that can give me a better chance at reaching Hegemony.”

The black-winged, white-haired elder took a single step forwards, transforming into a streak of light that shot through spacetime and disappeared without a trace.

……

“Impossible. Did you perhaps mishear things? How could a Daolord be that powerful? But… even the Emperors of the Dao Alliance are telling me the same thing. How can a Daolord be this powerful!?” A wrinkly-faced old granny walked out of a wooden house. A number of ordinary mortals were living in the area as well. The old granny’s appearance quickly changed to become noble and regal, while her robes became beautiful to behold.

The graceful old lady waved her hand, tearing a hole in spacetime and then stepping into that hole.

……

Many ancient Emperors who had been in seclusion for many years and who were thought to be dead were coming out of hiding. They normally preferred not to get involved with the outside world and at most kept in touch with some of their oldest friends… but once they heard the news from those friends and they learned of what had happened in Silksnow City, they began to grow restless.

The reason why they had gone into seclusion was because they didn’t want to be bothered by mundane affairs. They wanted to quietly train in peace and live the type of life they wanted. They all sought to one day reach Hegemony. There had been some Emperors, after all, who had slowly trained until they had one day reached the Hegemon level!

Now that they heard how powerful a Daolord had become, they naturally all grew quite curious.

Hegemon Brightshore had been the first to arrive, and he had watched everything personally from hiding. Although surprised, he was still fairly calm at first… but when he saw how Ning managed to defend against the crescent moon and the plain longspear in a head-long clash, Hegemon Brightshore was truly stunned.

“Those were treasures left behind by the Sithe which were comparable in might to a Hegemon’s full-power strike.” Hegemon Brightshore was rather shocked. “Although they were a bit weaker than a full-power hit from me, it had reached Windrain and Netherlily’s levels. Darknorth actually managed to rely on mere sword-arts to block two consecutive attacks from incredible Sithe treasures.”

“He was overpowered, true… but he still managed to endure the strike head-on. He is now at a level of power where he is on par with the most supreme of Archons. Most likely, he’s on par with the two leaders of the Dao Alliance.” Hegemon Brightshore was stunned. “Unbelievable, simply unbelievable. His only flaw is that he probably doesn’t have an invulnerable form. Those who train in the Dao of the Sword generally do not have invulnerable forms… and without one, his life-preserving abilities will be slightly lacking.”

What he didn’t know, obviously, was that Ning DID have an invulnerable form… the Shadowless form. However, a ‘mere’ Hegemonic strike wasn’t enough to force him to use it.

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Chapter 15 – The Most Powerful Daolord

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 15 – The Most Powerful Daolord

“His defensive sword-arts are far too powerful. He can probably rely on his sword-arts to defend against attacks from Netherlily and Windrain. As for me? He’s a member of the Brightshore Kingdom; there’s no way I’d act against him.” Hegemon Brightshore suddenly laughed. “I really never would’ve imagined that this kid Darknorth would reach a level where he needs fear no one at all within the Flamedragon Realmverse.”

“He’s a Daolord. How did he reach this level of power? I have never, ever heard of a Daolord as powerful as him, not even in the legends. He must have some secret about him.” Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ji Ning, an inquisitive look in his eyes. Even he was deeply intrigued and wanted to learn Ning’s secrets, as they might be of use to him in growing stronger as well.

Hegemon Brightshore was the number one Hegemon of the Flamedragon Realmverse, yes, but there were other realmverses and otherverses to worry about. There were still many who were stronger than him.

……

The white-robed Ji Ning was the only person left within the skies above the Sacred City. Ning swept the area with his gaze, then glanced in a certain direction. He could vaguely sense that it was most likely Hegemon Brightshore who was hiding over there, and that there were a number of other major powers watching from the shadows.

“Silksnow Fiend Palace.” Ning’s gaze finally turned to the towering palace which was the seat of Silksnow Fiend Palace.

Boom! Ning suddenly transformed to become a three million meter titan. He reached out with his two hands to claw at Silksnow Fiend Palace, trying to tear it upwards. This instantly caused many runes to light up as the barriers around the palace sought to protect it. When the runes lit up, Ning began to analyze them carefully. The reason why he was using brute force at first was so that he would have a chance to better analyze all of the mysteries contained within the barriers. That would make it easier for him to defeat the barriers and then annihilate the entire Silksnow Fiend Palace.

“Wow.”

“Daolord Darknorth is trying to uproot Silksnow Fiend Palace.”

“Is he really going to tear out the entire palace?” The countless cultivators of the Sacred City only grew even more excited. Low-level cultivators like them naturally delighted in chaos; to them, the more Emperors died, the more interesting topics of conversation they would have.

Rumble… as Ning tugged at Silksnow Fiend Palace, he manifested three heads and six arms. Four of those arms wielded Northbow swords as he prepared to breach the barriers through raw power.

“Daolord Darknorth.” A voice rang out. The titanic three-headed, six-armed Ning raised his three heads to stare into the skies. A furry gold alien had appeared in the skies. The alien’s entire body was covered with glowing golden fur, and his aura was so mighty as to be on par with Ning’s.

“Emperor Goldisle,” Ning said.

“Daolord Darknorth, you killed many Emperors and sent Silksnow and Bloodcloud fleeing… that’s enough,” Emperor Goldisle said. “There’s no need for you to annihilate Silksnow Fiend Palace. It is, after all, one of the eight organizations which rule over the eight Sacred Cities in accordance with the pact they made with the Dao Alliance. Even though you have defeated them, if you fail your Daomerge then 108,000 chaos cycles from now they will once again rise to power.

Ning frowned. He wasn’t certain of his Daomerge chances. If he failed his Daomerge, he would eventually die… and indeed, Archon Silksnow and the others would once more reappear.

“Whether Silksnow Fiend Palace rises or falls 108,00 chaos cycles from now… is something for them to worry about 108,000 chaos cycles in the future.” Ning’s voice was sonorous, shaking both Heaven and Earth: “So long as I, Darknorth, am alive I shall be working to destroy Silksnow Fiend Palace! If I hear word that anyone dares to proclaim himself as a disciple of Silksnow Fiend Palace, I’ll definitely kill him and show no mercy.”

“So long as I, Darknorth, am alive I shall be working to destroy Silksnow Fiend Palace!” These words echoed throughout the world around them. Ning was openly proclaiming the decision he had just made. He was now someone who stood at the very apex of power in the Flamedragon Realmverse. Not even Hegemons would be able to do anything to him! Few would be willing to challenge his decisions, and that only after careful consideration.

“Alas.” The midair Emperor Goldisle shook his head slowly upon seeing this. “If you’ve already made up your mind, then I won’t try to dissuade you. Let me remind you, however, that Silksnow Fiend Palace still has a large number of Eternal Emperors within its ranks. You might be able to kill a few, but many are scattered throughout the territories. They can avoid you while you are in your prime, but once you die your children will probably be in danger…”

A cold light flashed through Ning’s eyes. Archon Silksnow and his Emperors were all devils! If Ning was to die, they would come for revenge… and they would most likely take their vengeance upon the Three Realms and Vastheaven Palace.

Still, the reason why Ning dared to do this was because he didn’t fear these devils. First of all, the Three Realms were hidden quite securely. Its location had never been made public, and no one knew that his Three Realms was his homeland.

Second, he was planning to make another visit to the Stone Hellephant Wall and take away those four Archon-class golems as well as some of the Sithe discs. He was going to place them all in the Three Realms.

No matter what… if he truly did fail in his Daomerge and perish, he would ensure that things were taken care of. As for Vastheaven Palace? There was no need for him to worry about it. Emperor Solesky’s greatest forte was his invulnerable aquaform; not even Archons would be able to do anything to him.

“Take revenge upon me?” Ning looked at Emperor Goldisle. If they want to take revenge… they need to stay alive until the day I day.”

Emperor Goldisle’s eyebrows raised slightly. He couldn’t help but sigh in amazement: “Daolords! Most of them really don’t care about life and death, and they are absolutely crazy. I pity Silksnow Fiend Palace for having offended Daolord Darknorth, the poor bastards.”

Ning’s eyes were filled with coldness. He had certain options available to him. He had only trained for a brief period of time and had already reached his current level of power. It wouldn’t necessarily be impossible for him to succeed in the Daomerge! Besides, his [Heartsword] art had more room for improvement, as did his heartforce secret arts. It must be remembered that his heartforce illusions were actually still weaker than the Daolord Featherdress’; the reason his heartforce attacks had already become this powerful was purely due to how strong his heartforce was.

Once he upgraded his heartforce and secret arts further… Ning’s heartforce abilities would definitely inspire terror in countless Eternal Emperors. If they were attacked by Hegemons, they might be able to flee… but once they were trapped in Ning’s illusions, they would have no chance to escape. This was what made Eternal Emperors who were Heartforce Cultivators so terrifying.

“I’ll take things one step at a time.” Ning was quite relaxed, continuing to try and uproot Silksnow Fiend Palace with two of his arms as countless runes flickered over its surface. As for his other four arms, they wielded the Northbow swords, executing sword-arts as Ning started to break the formations and barriers apart.

By now, not a single Emperor remained within Silksnow Fiend Palace; all of them had fled. If an Emperor was left, it probably would’ve been a bit more difficult for Ning to break these barriers apart… but since no one was actively managing them, Ning was able to forcibly tear through them with his overwhelming power.

Whoosh! Boom! A large number of formations began to be torn apart by force.

Rumble… the servants and retainers throughout Silksnow Fiend Palace began to flee in terror as Ning began to rip the palace out from its foundation. After just ten or so breaths of time, Ning’s Northbow swords managed to tear apart all of the formations.

Whoosh. Ning managed to uproot the entire Silksnow Fiend Palace just like a giant carrot.

The three-headed, six-armed Ning was over three million meters tall, and the sight of him uprooting Silksnow Fiend Palace caused all of the countless cultivators in the Sacred City to sigh in amazement. They would probably never be able to forget this sight… and they would forever celebrate the fact that they had witnessed this with their own eyes. This was, without question, the most freakishly powerful and talented Daolord who had ever existed in the annals of history.

“Come here.” With but a thought, Ning drew Silksnow Fiend Palace into his estate-world. The Sacred City of Silksnow looked just as peaceful and calm as before… but the place where Silksnow Fiend Palace had once been was now completely empty.

“Silksnow Fiend Palace is finished.”

“They’re doomed.”

“No one will dare to claim membership in Silksnow Fiend Palace for at least 108,000 chaos cycles.” The cultivators all sighed with emotion. Most of the members of Silksnow Fiend Palace were ordinary cultivators, after all; there were only thirty or so Emperors to begin with! Eight had died today, leaving only twenty-plus Emperors. The rest were all Daolords or World-level cultivators, but there was no way they would be able to live past 108,000 chaos cycles.

Thus… for the vast majority of cultivators, the formerly awe-inspiring Silksnow Fiend Palace was truly and completely finished, its foundation destroyed. Only the Emperors were left, but all of them had gone into hiding in fear of Ning discovering them.

……

The skies above the Sacred City. Ning, who had just uprooted Silksnow Fiend Palace, was standing face-to-face with Emperor Goldisle. “Daolord Darknorth, please follow me,” Emperor Goldisle said.

Ning turned to glance at him. He saw a gold-colored world rapidly expanding within the void, and within it Ning was able to vaguely make out the forms of Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Nightlily, Hegemon Windrain, and a number of other figures who emanated auras of incredible power.

“The three Hegemons and quite a few of the more reclusive Emperors have all shown up. They wish to meet with you, Darknorth.” Emperor Goldisle smiled. “You truly are the most powerful Daolord to ever exist since the ancient days. All of these old fellows wish to meet you.”

“I do indeed need to meet them.” Ning nodded.

“Come on over, Darknorth. There’s nothing for you to worry about,” the distant Hegemon Brightshore sent mentally from within that golden world. No matter what, Ning was a member of the Brightshore Kingdom; as the Brightshore Hegemon, he was definitely going to stand on Ning’s side.

“Coming.” Swoosh. Swoosh. Ning and Emperor Goldisle immediately flew towards the golden world. As the two flew inside, the golden world became completely sealed off. The world had been established just a few billion kilometers outside the Sacred City of Silksnow, but ordinary Eternal Emperors would never be able to discover it.

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Chapter 16 – The Great Flamedragon Conference

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 16 – The Great Flamedragon Conference

Ji Ning swept the golden world with his gaze after entering it. In front of him were nine clouds, and each cloud had upon it a table covered with precious Immortal wine and fruit.

Seven of the clouds were occupied by seven major powers who were seated in the lotus position. They included the white-robed, white-bearded Hegemon Brightshore, the green-haired Hegemon Windrain, the dazzlingly beautiful Hegemon Netherlily, and the black-robed, black-haired Emperor Blackcloud of the Dao Alliance. As for the other three, Ning had never met them before. Their auras, however, were quite extraordinary.

“Incredible.” Ning’s heart clenched. “The reclusive old experts of the Flamedragon Realmverse have probably all come out.”

“Darknorth, sit.” Emperor Goldisle pointed at the two clouds which were still empty.

“After you, Emperor Goldisle,” Ning said modestly. Emperor Goldisle was one of the two leaders of the Dao Alliance, after all. The two flew forwards together, then parted to sit down atop each of their respective clouds. Now, all nine major powers were present.

“Haha… it’s rare to have such a lively gathering.” Emperor Goldisle swept the others with his gaze after sitting down, then let out a ringing laugh: “It has been a long time since I’ve seen my old friends here… and now, I’ve seen you all.”

“It has indeed been quite some time.” A gold-haired, gold-robed man seated off in the distance smiled. “It is all thanks to fellow Daoist Darknorth that all of us have a chance to meet today. Haha… I suppose we can consider this a new Great Flamedragon Conference.”

“Of course it is. All of the major powers who usually take part in the conference have all gathered here today.” Emperor Blackcloud nodded and smiled. “All of you normally spend your time in seclusion; it isn’t easy to meet you! Today, however, all of you have come on your own volition.”

“Given how impressive fellow Daoist Darknorth is, how could we not come out to meet him?” The graceful, noble-looking woman smiled as she spoke.

“Of course we came for the sake of fellow Daoist Darknorth. I’ve seen your tired old faces plenty of times already,” a silver-haired, black-robed youth said.

Emperor Goldisle turned to look at Ning, then smiled. “Darknorth, let me make the introductions. I’m sure you already know the three Hegemons over here: Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, and Hegemon Netherlily. I don’t need to introduce Emperor Blackcloud either…”

Ning nodded, continuing to listen.

“This gentleman,” Emperor Goldisle pointed towards the gold-robed, gold-haired man, “Is pretty much the longest living Emperor of the Dao Alliance. His name is Emperor Goldface, and long ago he was once an Archon of a Sacred City! However, he later gave it up and retreated into seclusion. He now rarely shows himself, and very few people even know about him.”

“Emperor Goldface!” Ning immediately said, “So you are Emperor Goldface. Although Darknorth has heard of you before, I knew very little about you. Today, I finally have the chance to meet with you.”

Emperor Goldface was definitely an awesomely famous Emperor. He was the most dazzling figure of an era, the most illustrious Emperor of his time. Later on, for some unknown reason, he had become a very low-key figure and had disappeared without a trace. He was so ancient and long-lived that he was already quite famous when the Dawn War first began.

“Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning.” Emperor Goldface felt quite smug, but he spoke in an artificially humble manner.

“Let me make another introduction…” Emperor Goldisle pointed at the graceful and noble-looking woman. “This is Empress Jade Phoenix. She is actually the youngest member of of our little group.”

“Greetings, Empress Jade Phoenix,” Ning said.

“No need to be courteous, fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Empress Jade Phoenix nodded and smiled at him.

Finally, Emperor Goldisle looked at the silver-haired, black-robed youth. “This is Daoist Bluestone. He is, without a question, the number one expert of our Dao Alliance.”

“You praise me too much,” the silver-haired, black-robed youth said.

Ning was briefly startled. Bluestone? He couldn’t help but think back to Spring Grass and her little brother, but in the next instant he focused on what Emperor Goldisle had just said. The number one expert of the Dao Alliance? If he was making that claim in front of all these people… it was probably true.

Ning suddenly heard the voice of Hegemon Brightshore ring out in his mind: “Darknorth, all of these ancient members of the Dao Alliance have gathered here today because of you. That’s why you need to be careful. Emperor Goldface and Empress Jade Phoenix are nothing to worry about, but you have to be wary of Daoist Bluestone. He is incredibly strong. Although he’s not a Hegemon, he’s strong enough to stand as equals to the three of us.”

Ning was rather shocked upon hearing this. “Then why have I never heard of Daoist Bluestone before?” Ning sent back.

“Because of the five Emperors of the Dao Alliance before you, Daoist Bluestone has the best temperament and is the most low-key. He doesn’t care about empty titles and reputation; his focus is purely on the Dao. Although he is the undisputed number one figure within the Dao Alliance, there are very few who even know about him. That’s why, although you need to be careful with you, you don’t need to worry too much. He’s an extremely even-tempered and amiable man,” Hegemon Brightshore sent.

“He’s not a Hegemon. Why is he able to stand alongside Hegemons in power?” Ning sent back.

“Daoist Bluestone rose to power as a mortal cultivator, and so he has both a true body and a Primaltwin. After succeeding in his Daomerge to become an Emperor, he focused all of his efforts on secluded meditation and training, resulting in him becoming one of the most elite members of the Dao Alliance. He sent his true body roving through the outside world… and roughly three hundred thousand chaos cycles ago, he found a Sithe relic site. He allowed his Primaltwin to undergo the Ritual Sacrificium, converting it into one of the Black Emperors of the Sithe race while his true body remained ‘normal’.”

“Now, his true body continues to train in seclusion while his Black Emperor Primaltwin goes out exploring. He has more treasures than anyone else in the entire Dao Alliance. You absolutely cannot make an enemy out of him. He might be an extremely amiable person, but if you really do manage to somehow piss him off, the consequences would be absolutely unimaginable.”

Ning was speechless. Black Emperor? That referred to those onyx humanoid figures, right? Those things definitely had Hegemonic levels of power! During the Dawn War, a single one of the onyx humanoids had been enough to drag two Hegemons to their deaths. Daoist Bluestone had converted his Primaltwin into one of them? No wonder he was able to sit alongside the three mighty Hegemons as peers!

……

The two communicated in secret quite quickly, and now Ning had a better understanding of those who were before him.

Emperor Goldface looked at Ning, a smile on his face: “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, you truly are impressive. You were able to defeat over twenty Emperors as a Daolord! Even when Silksnow and Bloodcloud joined forces, they still weren’t able to withstand so much as a single blow from you. I’ve never even heard of a Daolord like you. I rarely admire others, but I have to say that I truly do admire you, fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

“You praise me too much,” Ning said.

“No need to be humble, Darknorth.” Hegemon Netherlily spoke out in praise as well. “You are indeed the most powerful Daolord I have seen or even heard of. My horizons have truly been broadened. I now know that even Daolords can reach such an incredible level of power.”

“Yes, all of our horizons have been broadened,” Daoist Bluestone said with a sigh. “For a Daolord to reach this level of power… if you can succeed in your Daomerge, you’ll probably be far stronger than other Hegemons. You might even become comparable to an Otherverse Lord.”

Otherverse Lords were generally Hegemons who managed to seize control over an alternate universe and who were able to control the prime essences of that universe, borrowing from it to dramatically strengthen themselves.

“But I’m quite puzzled.” Hegemon Windrain spoke out as well. “Darknorth, my young friend… why is it that despite being a Daolord, you have reached such an incredible level of power?”

“I’m puzzled as well.” Emperor Goldface looked at Ning. “Would you be willing to relieve us of our confusion, fellow Daoist Darknorth?”

All of the Emperors, including Daoist Bluestone and the three mighty Hegemons, were all staring straight at Ning. Even though Hegemon Brightshore stood on Ning’s side, he was still curious about Ning’s Dao. Every single cultivator hoped to be able to walk as far along the path of the Dao as they could, and so they were naturally interested in Ning’s Dao.

How could a Daolord be this powerful? What was the reason behind it? If they knew the reason, perhaps they would be inspired by it. Perhaps it would be of help to them. Naturally, every single one of the major powers were extremely intrigued in it.

Ning wasn’t surprised by this. Everything was as he had expected. He himself was a cultivator; he knew just how much cultivators cared about the Dao. It was precisely because he knew that his sudden explosion in power would attract quite a bit of trouble and that many other major powers might appear to cause trouble for him. Although he wasn’t afraid of them, if he ended up fighting and offending a large group of people then things would become troublesome for him the future.

That was why he had decided to just ‘kill a chicken to scare the monkeys’, stunning and warning everyone, especially the weaker ones, that he was not to be trifled with. In the end, only the most elite major powers of the entire Flamedragon Realmverse were qualified to come speak with him about it… but even then, they had to behave with courtesy and treat him as an honored guest! This was indeed the best possible outcome which Ning had hoped for.

A nice, peaceful discussion; how wonderful would that be? He would be able to resolve his potential future troubles at one go. Even if a few ended up becoming his enemies, it would be within the realm of what he could handle.

This group could indeed be described as the most powerful force within the entire Flamedragon Realmverse. The only ones here aside from the leaders of the Dao Alliance were the three Hegemons! Figures like Emperor Anchen, the supreme leader of the Aeonians, were individually comparable to the likes of Emperor Goldface… but the Aeonians as a race were far too weak. They were also mortal enemies of the Dao Alliance. As a result, they were naturally excluded from this event.

Thus… the only ones invited to take part were the five supreme Emperors of the Dao Alliance and the three Hegemons.

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Chapter 17 – Omega Sword Dao

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 17 – Omega Sword Dao

Ji Ning swept his gaze across the eight supreme experts of the Flamedragon Realmverse, then smiled: “Since you are all curious, I’ll chat a bit about it. However, this involves some of my personal secrets. I hope that you will not casually spread it to others; the fewer who know about it, the better.”

“That goes without saying,” Emperor Goldface said hurriedly. Was the kid joking? The fewer who knew a secret, the more precious the secret would be. If everyone knew it, the eight of them wouldn’t have any advantage at all.

The other major powers were all delighted as well. None of them had expected Ning to be this easy-going about it.

“The path of cultivation is a stratified one; there are greater Daos and there are lesser Daos,” Ning said. “World-level cultivators must develop their own Daos and use them to become Samsara Daolords. Some gain insight into ordinary Daos, some gain insights into formidable ones, and a few will gain insight into Supreme Daos. At the very apex are those who fuse multiple Supreme Daos together into a perfect whole.”

The three Hegemons and the five Emperors of the Dao Alliance all nodded slightly. Ning continued, “So fusing multiple Supreme Daos is the apex, the highest level of power possible, right? This is what almost all cultivators believe… but I did not believe this.”

“Are you telling me this isn’t the case?” Hegemon Windrain rumbled.

“Fusing multiple Supreme Daos has to be the apex, right?” Daoist Bluestone said, puzzled. Normally, they would state with absolute certainty that it was the apex, but facing them was Ji Ning! All of them spoke rather hesitantly; clearly, they weren’t as confident as they had been in the past.

Ning smiled. “It is not the apex!”

“What?!”

“There are even stronger Daos than that?”

“But…” The three Hegemons and the five Dao Alliance Emperors were all stunned when they heard the certainty in Ning’s response. The fact that fusing multiple Supreme Daos together was the apex of cultivation was considered common knowledge and believed unquestioningly by countless cultivators. This was the most difficult path possible… and once one succeeded in the Daomerge, one would become a Hegemon! However, Ji Ning was now telling them that there was something above that, an even more difficult and even more exalted path.

“Above fused Supreme Daos is an even superior Dao… and it is this type of Sword Dao that I used to become a Samsara Daolord,” Ning said.

“So that’s the reason.” Hegemon Netherlily nodded slowly. “As a Daolord, I did realize that my Dao was able to slowly grow and improve in strength as it drew upon the mysteries of the other Daos I trained in, allowing me to develop increasingly powerful ultimate attacks. Even back then, I was slightly puzzled by this… why was it that my fused Supreme Daos could benefit from other mysteries and continue to grow even more powerful? Was it possible that there was something above them? Now that I see Darknorth… I finally understand.”

Ning smiled. Right. Daolords who walked other paths were able to use the mysteries of other Daos to perfect their own while training, allowing them to develop stronger techniques. For example, even someone who had fused three Supreme Daos of Water would not have a Dao that fully encompassed everything pertaining to the essence of water. Naturally, he would be able to drawn more from other Daos to slowly perfect his own understanding of water.

Ning, however, was different. His path was that of the Omega Sword Dao; it represented the true apex! At each individual stage, there was literally nothing further he could learn regarding the sword. This was why, once he made a breakthrough, he gained immediate access to the most perfect versions of the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao and was unable to create better techniques. He was different from other Daolords.

“I have named my Dao the Omega Sword Dao,” Ning said, then laughed. “But of course, I’m just assuming that it is the true apex. Perhaps, after countless years pass, yet another dazzling genius will appear and will tell me that there’s something that’s even superior to to my Dao. Haha…”

“If your Omega Sword Dao surpasses even fused Supreme Daos… it really should be the apex.” Hegemon Brightshore nodded slowly.

“Yes, it’d be ridiculous if there was anything more powerful,” the others agreed.

Ning smiled. When he had developed his Omega Sword Dao, a resonance had been generated with the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. In that instant, Ning had immediately understood that he had developed the most perfect and complete Sword Dao possible. He was a true master of the Dao of the Sword.

……

Above fused Supreme Daos was an even more profound type of Dao! Ning had long ago prepared to divulge this secret. If he said nothing at all, he would only attract even more suspicion from the various major powers. It was better to explain things clearly.

And… just telling them about it wouldn’t impact him personally. So what if they learned that a stronger Dao existed? It must be remembered that there were plenty of World-level geniuses who had fused multiple Supreme Daos together, and quite a few even had Hegemonic legacies. In each era, however, only a tiny number of them managed to become supreme Daolords.

Emperor Heartsword had made his [Heartsword] art available for public dissemination, and many had studied this set of sword-arts… but to this very day, the only person to truly master it remained Emperor Heartsword himself! None of those who had come later had been able to truly master it.

Ning’s ‘Omega Sword Dao’ was even tougher to master than the [Heartsword] art! It was on a much higher level than fused Supreme Daos!

Such a difficult Dao… even if Ning actually made it completely public as the [Omega Sword Dao] manual for others to study, who knew how long it would be before another peerless genius would be able to reach Ning’s level in it? And of course… Ning wasn’t planning to make it public!

……

“The Omega Sword Dao.” This name caused the major powers to all sigh in amazement. It was too late for them to learn of Omega Daos… they had all become Emperors thanks to fused Daos. Once a Dao had been chosen, there was no way to go back on it!

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Emperor Goldface smiled. “Now that I’ve heard of these incredible Omega Daos, I truly feel admiration and awe. I wonder… would you be willing to let me inspect your [Omega Sword Dao] technique and broaden my horizons? Although there’s no way for me to start over on my path of cultivation, it would at least allow me to learn a few things.”

Ning frowned. Let him take a look at it? Broaden his horizons? How could he casually allow others to inspect his Dao? Although there weren’t many who would be able to learn the [Omega Sword Dao], Ning didn’t want to just hand it out to people!

“My Omega Sword Dao shall be transmitted to my disciples in the future. I cannot casually show it to others,” Ning said.

“We can share our Daos and exchange our insights,” Emperor Goldface said. “I’d naturally be willing to share my Dao with you, as well as show you all of the other legacies I have accumulated in exchange, fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

“Goldface, you go too far. How can you compare your Daos with fellow Daoist Darknorth’s? His Dao is that of the Omega Sword Dao; it is completely unique and is superior to even fused Supreme Daos! Not even Hegemonic Daos are comparable to it.” Empress Jade Phoenix frowned and said coldly, “If you want to view his [Omega Sword Dao], you should at least show a bit of sincerity.”

Empress Jade Phoenix then looked at Ning. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, to tell you the truth, I’m stuck at a bottleneck myself. I wish to break through it and become a Hegemon! Alas, breaking through is far too difficult. That’s why I truly wish for a chance to see your [Omega Sword Dao]. Perhaps it would give me new insights that would allow me to break through. I wouldn’t presume to ask to view it for free; I can swear an oath to you that after viewing it, I won’t transmit it to any others… and will accede to any request you make!”

“As far as treasures go, I have plenty as well,” Emperor Goldface said.

“As far as treasures go… I probably have the most,” Daoist Bluestone suddenly said.

Everyone fell silent. Not even the three Hegemons could argue against this statement. They all knew that Daoist Bluestone had once discovered a complete, undamaged Sithe relic site, and had thus let his Primaltwin undergo the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Black Emperor. The other treasures within the relic site had all fallen into Daoist Bluestone’s hands as well. No one knew just how many treasures he had.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Daoist Bluestone looked at Ning. “I only wish to view your [Omega Sword Dao] once, and I’ll swear an oath to never show it off to any others! As for any requests you might have… just name them! I know that a grudge exists between you and Archon Silksnow. Just give me a nod, and I’ll throw the full force of my power against the Emperors of Silksnow Fiend Palace. I’ll wipe all of them out, including Silksnow and Bloodcloud, no matter what the cost is.”

It would be very hard for Daoist Bluestone to kill Silksnow and Bloodcloud, but if he was truly willing to pay the price he still had a chance to accomplish it. Daoist Bluestone looked at Ning, his eyes blazing with eagerness.

He was a man who cared about nothing save the Dao. For the sake of the Dao, he was willing to sacrifice a great deal.

“As for my treasures… aside from a few treasures that are extremely important to me, I’ll hand all of them over to you. In other words, over 99% of my treasures shall be yours,” Daoist Bluestone said. “I only ask that you let me view your [Omega Sword Dao].”

Ning was startled. To tell the truth, his original plan had merely been to divulge the existence of Daos that were superior to fused Supreme Daos. He hadn’t been planning to say anything else. Ning was only planning to leave his [Omega Sword Dao] behind for the Three Realms to study, along with a few select disciples of his. He hadn’t planned to make it public. That way, if he encountered a serious problem in the future, he would perhaps be able to use the [Omega Sword Dao] as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Hegemons.

For example, he could ask a Hegemon to swear an oath to forever help him protect the Three Realms, and so on and so forth. However… all of those things would only happen if he was unable to do something himself. It was a last-resort option! So long as Ning could handle things by himself, he wouldn’t be willing to transmit the [Omega Sword Dao] to others.

But today, Ning began to waver when faced with Daoist Bluestone’s offer. The man truly was sincere! Emperor Goldface had engaged in beautiful sophistry about ‘sharing Daos’ and ‘exchanging insights’, but Ning couldn’t be bothered to negotiate with him. He had over three hundred Hegemonic legacies; why would he care about Emperor Goldface’s?

Daoist Bluestone, in contrast, had been extremely sincere. He was willing to hand out over 90% of his treasures, and he didn’t try to give Ning any pressure at all. In addition… in his heart, Ning deeply desired to find someone to reverse the flows of spacetime and revive his wife. Perhaps Daoist Bluestone’s treasures would be enough to invite an Autarch to intercede.

Ning was going to choose a good number of disciples in the future and transmit the [Omega Sword Dao] to them. Letting Daoist Bluestone view it as well wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

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Chapter 18 – Naked Extortion

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 18 – Naked Extortion

“Daoist Bluestone has far more treasures than the rest of us.” Emperor Goldface smiled when he saw the offer Daoist Bluestone had made. “But… the [Omega Sword Dao] technique is just a technique; showing it off to a few more people won’t cause you to incur any losses, Daolord Darknorth. We naturally will make sure you are properly compensated for it, and you can always use a few more treasures, right? As a Daolord, you haven’t trained for all that long. You probably don’t have many treasures yet, eh?”

Ji Ning frowned. Why was this Emperor Goldface so irritating? “It’s not for you to lecture me on who I should teach my [Omega Sword Dao] to, Emperor Goldface!” Ning’s voice was ice-cold, devoid of his earlier humility.

Emperor Goldface’s face tightened “You…”

“I imagine that the three Hegemons, Emperor Goldisle, and Emperor Blackcloud all know what I want the most.” Ning didn’t even look at Emperor Goldface, instead turning to glance at the other major powers. “The greatest desire I have had ever since my earliest days of cultivating has been reviving my Dao-companion! However… only an Autarch can do it. Thus, if someone can give me enough treasure to ask an Autarch to intervene on my behalf, I’m willing to fully record every aspect of my Omega Sword Dao for him to view.”

“Ask an Autarch to intervene?” The three Hegemons traded a glance while the five Emperors fell silent. Ning watched carefully, only to see that all of the major powers were completely silent.

A while later, the distant Daoist Bluestone finally spoke out: “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, asking an Autarch to help out is no easy task. If all three Hegemons pooled all of their treasures together… they might have just barely enough to get an Autarch to intervene. Although I was fortunate enough to acquire some Sithe treasures, it probably isn’t enough to get an Autarch to intervene. The materials to create a Black Emperor, I already used up. The remaining treasures won’t be enough. Brightshore, Windrain, Netherlily… would you three Hegemons be willing to work with me to come up with the sum needed to approach an Autarch? Darknorth, would that work for you?”

“That’s fine.” Ning pondered for a moment and nodded. “I’m fine with allowing Daoist Bluestone and the three Hegemons to view it together.” For the sake of reviving Yu Wei, anything would be worth it.

“I can probably provide thirty to forty percent of the value needed to ask an Autarch to intervene.” Daoist Bluestone looked towards the other three Hegemons. “Can you three jointly come up with the sixty or so percent needed?”

“That’s too much.” Hegemon Netherlily shook her head.

“That’s a lot to ask. Invite an Autarch to help out? I’ve never even seen an Autarch!” Hegemon Windrain shook his head as well. “The price is too high. I think we’ll pass.”

“Yes, we’ll pass.” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head as well.

Daoist Bluestone was startled for a moment, then nodded his head in understanding. “I’m so embarrassed. I forgot that although this [Omega Sword Dao] is extremely enticing to me, due to my efforts to step into the Hegemon level, it is of much more limited use to the three of you.”

Ning understood what was going on. Daoist Bluestone, Emperor Goldface, Empress Jade Phoenix, Emperor Blackcloud, and Emperor Goldisle all deeply desired to train to the Hegemon level. But the three Hegemons?

Their Daos would need to advance by an absolutely huge amount before they could reach the inconceivably powerful level of Autarchy. This ‘step’ was as vast as the gap between heaven and earth. Although the [Omega Sword Dao] was an extremely profound Dao, Ning had thus far only developed it to the fourth-step Daolord level. A mere Daolord-level [Omega Sword Dao] would be of limited assistance to Hegemons. It was virtually impossible for them to use Ning’s insights to reach Autarchy.

It must be remembered that not even the combined treasures of all three Hegemons would necessarily be enough to invite an Autarch to help out. To have the three of them jointly come up with sixty percent of the necessary funds represented them essentially bankrupting themselves. For them to sacrifice the majority of their treasures simply to view the [Omega Sword Dao]… the three Hegemons weren’t willing to do such a thing.

“How embarrassing.” Daoist Bluestone looked towards Ning. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, I’ve already offered as much as I can! To ask an Autarch to help out is just far too difficult. Perhaps the only person belonging to the Flamedragon Realmverse qualified to do such a thing is Emperor Waveshift, but he’s always been roaming the outside world. There’s no way to even locate him… and even if you somehow found him, he probably wouldn’t be willing to give you that much treasure. He might be weaker than Hegemons in actual combat, but he has definitely reached the Hegemon level in the Dao of Numerancy. Your [Omega Sword Dao] would be of limited use to him.”

Ning understood. His [Omega Sword Dao] was of limited interest to the Hegemons; it was of far more interest to the Emperors who were trapped at a bottleneck and who sought to break through it to reach Hegemony.

“Well, you know my offer. I’m willing to give you the vast majority of my treasures, and I’ll even be willing to do anything you ask me to do.” Daoist Bluestone smiled. “If you decide to accept, you can come seek me out whenever you wish.”

The Dao which Daoist Bluestone had chosen was the Dao of Black and White. Black and white… they encompassed all things, including both evil and good, darkness and light. They were all-embracing. His mindset was quite calm and even – acquire what he could, but not to force what he could not.

As a cultivator, his behavior had to match up to his Dao.

……

Ning could sense Daoist Bluestone’s sincerity. In fact, Daoist Bluestone hadn’t tried to threaten him or give him the slightest bit of pressure. He was someone who even the three Hegemons were wary of, but he didn’t try to threaten Ning at all. Ning couldn’t help but admire him for this… causing him to change his mind! Reviving Yu Wei via reversing the flows of spacetime would be incredibly expensive, and it would be very hard to accumulate all the treasures needed at once.

Since that wasn’t possible… he would slowly accumulate the amount needed. Given that he already had the verdant azuresoul and the mutated omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, if he added in Daoist Bluestone’s treasures… some more time and adventuring would give him a chance at acquiring what he needed.

“Brother Bluestone,” Ning suddenly sent mentally to Daoist Bluestone. Daoist Bluestone’s heart trembled, but he kept his face expressionless to ensure that no one could tell.

“After this conference concludes… let us discuss the Omega Sword Dao in private,” Ning sent mentally.

“Very well. I, Bluestone, won’t forget the kindness you have shown me,” Daoist Bluestone sent back. He was extremely excited. Daoist Bluestone had already reached the maximum level he could reach in secret arts, divine abilities, or treasures. Although he had many treasures, none of them were really useful in increasing his level of power. To further refine and perfect his Dao was just far too difficult, which was why this inconceivable ‘Omega Sword Dao’ had truly stirred his interest.

Ji Ning was merely a Daolord of the Fourth Step, but the power of his Dao was already comparable to that of Daoist Bluestone’s. Daoist Bluestone felt certain that this inconceivably profound Sword Dao would help open up a new path and new horizons for him.

The two spoke mentally in private, agreeing to chat after the conference but not revealing any hint of the decision outwardly. There were far too many who were interested in the [Omega Sword Dao], after all; even if Ning was to agree, he wouldn’t agree publicly.

“Hmph.” Emperor Goldface let out an angry snort as he rose to his feet. He pointed at Ning and yelled, “Fellow Daoist Bluestone has shown you great sincerity, but still you refuse? Where does a mere Daolord like yourself get the gall to act so arrogantly before the three Hegemons and we five Emperors? Hmph. Everyone says that you are powerful, but I haven’t had the chance to witness it myself. I really don’t believe it. Why don’t you show me if you really have the power to back up your arrogance.”

Right after speaking, Emperor Goldface flew off his throne. His entire body began to glow with golden light that swept towards Ning like a crushing wave.

“What, you want to try and take it from me by force?” Ning smiled coldly.

“And what if I do? Let’s see if you are strong enough to keep it for yourself!” Emperor Goldface had always been an extremely overbearing Emperor, far more so than Bluestone or Jade Phoenix. This was why even Ning had heard of him, despite so many aeons having gone past since those early days; he had caused quite a stir!

Jade Phoenix and the strongest of the three, Daoist Bluestone, were both very low-key to the point where Ning had never heard of them.

“Brother Darknorth?” Daoist Bluestone sent mentally to Ning.

“No need to intervene,” Ning sent back. “This Goldface character was already starting to piss me off. I’m going to teach him a lesson.”

“Haha, good! I quite dislike Goldface as well. Help me teach him a good lesson,” Daoist Bluestone sent mentally.

Although Ning had defeated Bloodcloud and Silksnow, the battle had concluded far too quickly. He had defeated all the enemies in an extremely short period of time, and so the only ones to witness it in person had been Hegemon Brightshore and Emperor Goldisle. Even Hegemon Netherlily and Hegemon Windrain had been just a step too slow, much less the other Emperors. None of them had personally witnessed how Ning had defeated Silksnow’s group, they had only watched as he had uprooted Silksnow Fiend Palace.

“Puny Daolord, I’ll teach you a lesson and let you know that there’s a time for arrogance and a time for humility.” Emperor Goldface’s entire body glowed with golden light, but his gaze was as cold as ice. “When I’m around, you’d best show some humility.”

He was Emperor Goldface. Only the three Hegemons and Daoist Bluestone were truly superior to him. He held others in no regard at all.

“Soon, you’ll learn what humility actually means.” Ning rose to his feet as well. His body blurred as he activated [Three Heads, Six Arms] and all six Northbow swords flew into his hands.

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Chapter 19 – Dispersed

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 19 – Dispersed

“And who will teach me? You? You don’t even have a Universe treasure to your name!” Emperor Goldface smirked. “Makes sense, though. You are just a Daolord. It’ll be almost impossible for you to convince a Universe treasure to submit to you.”

“Even without a Universe treasure, I’ll still knock you flat on your ass,” Ji Ning said coldly.

“You’ll lose the attitude soon enough.” The look on Emperor Goldface’s face was growing uglier by the moment. He had already manifested six arms and wielded six long shuttles in his hands, each of which glowed with golden light. One of the six had an especially extraordinary aura. It looked semi-translucent, and the cold aura radiating from it caused Ning to instantly understand that it was a Universe treasure!

Of Emperor Goldface’s six weapons, one was a Universe treasure while the other five were most likely lifeblood weapons.

Of the major powers present, Hegemon Brightshore was on the best terms with Ning. He knew just how powerful Ning had become, as he had watched that earlier battle from start to finish. This was why Hegemon Brightshore did not move to stop this fight, while Ning had personally waved off Daoist Bluestone. As for the other major powers, they naturally didn’t move to prevent the fight. They were all curious and wanted to see just how powerful Ning’s [Omega Sword Dao] was.

Whoosh. Endless flower petals began to appear around Emperor Goldface. Some were red, some were black, some were blue, some where violet… the multi-colored petals all danced through the surrounding area, pressing down upon Ning.

Ning didn’t hesitate at all in unleashing his own secret arts. Countless arcs of sword-light appeared around him, while an incomparably beautiful pair of golden wings appeared right above him. The two worked together perfectly in accordance with the profound principles of the Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang, with the golden wings being escorted by countless arcs of sword-light. It looked like a phoenix being escorted by countless lesser birds, hurtling through the skies and sweeping towards Emperor Goldface. At the same time, a massive heartworld projection descended as well, with a giant sword-mountain at the very center of it.

[Grand Diffraction Sword]! [Lumisword Godwings]! The two had been merged together via the Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang, then reinforced by the descent of Ning’s heartworld projection.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The countless flowers instantly began to crumble. A single strike was all it took for Emperor Goldface’s secret art to begin to crumble.

“My ‘Hundred Flowers Realm’.” A look of rage appeared on Emperor Goldface’s face. “Kill!”

Swish! In the end, secret arts were external sources of assistance. He, Emperor Goldface, was most skilled in close combat. His fame had been gained from his genuine abilities.

“Kill!” Ning charged forwards as well. Swish! Swish! Swish! Six tidal waves of sword-light clashed against the six shuttles. Both sides used very bizarre and rapid attacks. Ning was using his Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless and his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. He was extremely confident in his close combat abilities. However, Ning’s face soon tightened. “He’s fast.”

Emperor Goldface walked the path of the Dao of Light, after all; in terms of raw speed, not even Daoist Bluestone was a match for him! In addition, the Dao of Light was omnipresent and omniscient. There were no openings at all, making it so that even Ning’s unpredictable sword-arts found it hard to break through Emperor Goldface’s wall of shuttle-light.

In addition… one of those six shuttles was a Universe treasure! Thus, some of Emperor Goldface’s attacks were incredibly powerful. This made it quite hard for Ning to battle him.

“Hm? He’s pursued speed to the utmost, focusing all of his efforts on it. Even I am inferior to Goldface in terms of speed… but I didn’t expect for Daolord Darknorth to be able to block these attacks.” Daoist Bluestone laughed as he evaluated the progress of the battle.

“Goldface’s path is that of the Dao of Light, after all. He is indeed highly skilled in speed and agility.” Empress Jade Phoenix nodded as well.

……

Ning and Emperor Goldface continued their furious battle, but this sort of fight was quite uncomfortable for Ning. It reminded him not to underestimate anyone who had nearly reached Hegemonic levels in the Dao. Even though he was suppressing his opponent with a heartworld projection and two secret arts, his foe was still able to move with unbelievable speed.

“Break for me!” Ning suddenly let out a furious roar, and his sword-stances changed. Previously, his attacks had been fast and bizarre, but now they completely changed to become incomparably brutal and explosive. Ning was now using his most overwhelming powerful attack, the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

Boom! Boom! Boom! His attacks exploded with power, causing the surrounding spatial fabric to collapse. The three spectating Hegemons hurriedly moved to stabilize spacetime, calming it down in the area around them. However, spacetime the area where Ning and Emperor Goldface were battling had been completely annihilated.

“What?!” Emperor Goldface suddenly turned pale as he saw a terrifying flood of sword-light crash towards him. This tsunami of sword-light was incomparably ferocious, so mighty as to cause even him to feel a tinge of fear. The only person in the Dao Alliance who had ever given him such a sense of pressure was Daoist Bluestone.

“Block!” Emperor Goldface hurriedly strove to defend against the attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s six swords continued to furiously chop out against him in accordance with the principles of the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. Emperor Goldface was completely unprepared for this avalanche of attacks. He had reached an apex of speed and agility, and there was no one in the Dao Alliance who could compare to him in this regard. However, what he feared the most was having to deal such overwhelmingly powerful attacks that he had to face head-on.

Daoist Bluestone had crushed him in just this manner. Long before Daoist Bluestone’s Primaltwin had been transformed into a Black Emperor, the two had fought a public battle. Daoist Bluestone’s staff-arts had struck down like titanic meteors, causing Emperor Goldface to turn completely pale with fear. This was why he had chosen to go into seclusion and had trained so painstakingly in private. He wanted to one day wipe away the humiliation of that loss.

Alas… he wasn’t able to exceed Bluestone in power. When he heard that Daoist Bluestone’s Primaltwin had been transformed into a Black Emperor, he had instantly felt despair.

“I told you that I’d knock you on your ass, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Ning’s six Northbow swords howled down angrily like an endless storm of strikes. Delightful, truly delightful! No wonder so many cultivators chose Daos that were focused on crushing foes with overwhelming power. But of course, if one purely focused on such techniques then one’s foes would be able to avoid your lethal strikes with superior agility. Ning’s advantage lay in the fact that his Sword Dao was truly perfect. Foes were unable to avoid his strikes… and so even Emperor Goldface was being smashed down to the brink of defeat.

Swoosh! Emperor Goldface’s face turned uglier and uglier to behold. With a swooshing sound, he transformed into a dazzling line of light that quickly retreated far away at incredible speeds.

The battle came to a temporary halt as Ning simply stared at the distant Emperor Goldface.

Emperor Goldface felt incredibly ashamed and enraged. He roared loudly, “Everyone, Daolord Darknorth is nothing more than a Daolord, but his sword-arts have already reached incredible heights. This [Omega Sword Dao] truly is extraordinary! I imagine that it would be very useful even for Hegemons; the three of you might gain much from studying it. However, he asks too much!”

“Daoist Bluestone offered him many treasures, but he still refuses to show us his technique… and he dares act with such gall before us! Since he refuses to give us face, why should we give him any face? I think we should join forces to capture him and force him to hand over his [Omega Sword Dao]! Let’s work together. He won’t be able to escape!” Emperor Goldface roared.

Everyone fell silent.

Empress Jade Phoenix glanced at him, then turned to look at the other Emperors and Hegemons.

Hegemon Netherlily watched silently, not saying a word.

Emperor Blackcloud glanced at his peers as well.

The entire region fell into an unnatural, awkward stillness. Ning’s face tightened slightly. He then turned to glance coldly at Emperor Goldface. If they all worked together, he would indeed be in quite a bit of trouble… but logically speaking, Hegemon Brightshore and Daoist Bluestone probably wouldn’t act against him. If so, he wouldn’t be in that much danger. He had yet to reveal his ‘Shadowless body’. In truth, even if all of the major powers present struck against him simultaneously, the end result would at most be him being forced to disperse his body and reveal his invulnerable form.

“Enough!” Daoist Bluestone barked coldly. “Goldface, you go too far.”

“I’m trying to help you out, Bluestone!” Emperor Goldface was rather irritated.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Daoist Bluestone said flatly. Emperor Goldface instantly felt even angrier.

“Since we weren’t able to come to terms, let us bring the conference to an end.” Hegemon Brightshore spoke up as well, breaking the unnatural stillness. Just now, there had indeed been a few major powers who were intrigued by Goldface’s suggestion… but since Hegemon Brightshore and Daoist Bluestone had both spoken up, that little ploy came to no fruition.

“Darknorth.” Hegemon Brightshore glanced at Ning and smiled. “Come and visit whenever you like.”

“If you are ever willing to let me view your [Omega Sword Dao], anything’s negotiable,” Hegemon Windrain said with a smile.

“We Ancient cultivators would also welcome a visit from you whenever you wish to come, fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Hegemon Netherlily rose to her feet as well. All three Hegemons were quite interested in Ning’s Omega Dao… but there was a limit to how much they were willing to pay for it.

“Hmph.” Emperor Goldface let out a cold snort, then waved his hand and tore a hole through spacetime. He stepped into the hole and then vanished.

Emperor Goldisle, Emperor Blackcloud, and Empress Jade Phoenix said a few words to Ning before leaving. This realmverse conference had come to an end, and the various major powers all departed.

……

Ning and Daoist Bluestone simultaneously appeared at the peak of a mountain.

“Brother Bluestone.” Ning smiled.

“Brother Darknorth.” Daoist Bluestone smiled towards Ning as well. It was time to chat.

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Chapter 20 – Whitethaw

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 20 – Whitethaw

A cool mountain wind howled past the two. Daoist Bluestone immediately began to swear an oath: “I, Bluestone, swear on my very life itself that I absolutely will not show fellow Daoist Darknorth’s [Omega Sword Dao] technique to anyone else…”

The words to the oath echoed within the mountains. Ji Ning smiled, then waved his hand and gently tapped the air. Instantly, a crystal formed from his godsense flew out from his finger. This godsense crystal contained extremely detailed information regarding Ning’s Omega Sword Dao, as well as images of how each stance was used and executed. Since Ning had already chosen to engage in this trade, he wasn’t going to be miserly about it.

“Godsense?” Daoist Bluestone was overjoyed upon seeing this. He immediately said, “Brother Darknorth, I really must thank you.” He had thought that Ning would simply record information about the technique into a jade slip for him to view. Who would’ve thought that Ning would actually use a small portion of his godsense to transmit the legacy to him? This was a form of transmission that was far more detailed than information written within a jade slip could ever be. Jade slip transmissions were via diagrams and characters, but godsense transmissions included many actual demonstrations.

“It is nothing more than a wisp of my godsense,” Ning said.

“Then here are the treasures I promised you.” Daoist Bluestone waved his hand. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Instantly, a series of fist-sized drops of silver liquid appeared next to him. Every single drop was perfectly round. Despite Ning’s visual acuity, he could see no flaws in the perfect spherical shape of the silver drops… but he could vaguely make out light flowing inside the spheres!

“These are the ‘Silver Daolord bodies’ of the Sithe.” Daoist Bluestone pointed at the silver droplets. “If you undergo the Ritual Sacrificium, you can send your soul and truesoul into the liquid and become one with it, transforming yourself into a Silver Daolord! Every single Silver Daolord has a body that contains Archon-level power, but your insights into the Dao will determine how much of it you can bring to bear.”

Ning knew this already. When he had been in the world inside the Stone Hellephant Wall, he had encountered those three clan elders. They had a very low level of insight into the Dao, and thus they weren’t able to unleash the amount of power which Silver Daolords should’ve been capable of.

However… Ning truly felt shocked when he saw those twenty-five drops. Those twenty-five drops represented twenty-five Silver Daolords!

“You have that much?” Ning said in surprise.

Daoist Bluestone nodded. “I originally acquired a total of twenty-nine drops. I gave four drops to others long ago, leaving behind these twenty-five. This is all I have.”

“Brother Bluestone, there’s no need for you to give them all to me,” Ning said hurriedly.

“They are of no use to me.” Daoist Bluestone shook his head. “The friends and family I truly cared about… they died long ago. Given my current level of power, these things are of no use to me.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Indeed, the most powerful person in the entire Flamedragon Realmverse was Hegemon Brightshore. If you wanted to help train and strengthen a cultivator through using external tools, you would at most be able to help that person break through to become a Daolord of the First Step via using certain pills and treasures. However, it would be extremely difficult for that person to make any further breakthroughs. Thus, if one wished to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step then one would have to rely on his or her own abilities and slowly train away.

As for the Daomerge? Nobody could help you there! Not even the legendary Autarchs could help you with the Daomerge. If they could, then they would be able to ‘manufacture’ Hegemons on a large scale. The battle against the Sithe wouldn’t have been so difficult!

It was precisely because no one could help anyone else with the Daomerge that virtually no cultivators could live beyond the 108,000 chaos cycle limit! The major powers who were able to live past that were all generally quite lonely. At most, they would occasionally befriend other Eternal Emperors.

Some of them might feel regret… but most of them were able to see the bigger picture. Take Ning for example; if he was able to accompany his family and friends for 108,000 chaos cycles and then die alongside them, it would all be worth it.

“Aside from these Silver Daolord ‘bodies’, I have an even more important treasure to give you,” Daoist Bluestone said. “Silver Daolord bodies might be viewed as highly valuable by various organizations, but Autarchs probably won’t be interested in them. This treasure, however… even an Autarch might take some notice.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and caused a strange creature to appear at the top of the mountain. This creature was completely covered in slick white fur and was extremely muscular. It looked humanoid, and it had a very honest, amiable look on its face.

“Master.” The strange, white-furred creature bowed respectfully to Daoist Bluestone.

“This is a Sithe Protector,” Daoist Bluestone said. “It is a very special golem.”

“A golem?” Ning nodded slowly. As soon as he saw the creature, he could sense that it didn’t have any lifeforce within it. He had already guessed that it was a golem.

“The Sithe generally created three levels of combat golems. The weakest are comparable to supreme Daolords, the average ones are comparable to Archons, while the most powerful are comparable to Hegemons,” Daoist Bluestone said. “However… there are a few other rare types of golems. Extremely high-status or influential members of the Sithe who were weak would generally be assigned Protectors!”

A reminiscent look was in Daoist Bluestone’s eyes. “Come to think of it… its previous guardian was a fairly high-status individual who was both greedy and afraid of death. That’s why he left behind so many treasures for me to find. A pity… if I had found those things earlier, then my little sister…”

“Haha, but I digress.” Daoist Bluestone came back to his senses and said towards Ning, “You can bind this Sithe Protector. It will recognize you as your master, and it is very good at being a guardian. With it by your side while you are out adventuring, it might be able to save your life if something bad happens. In the more distant future, you can give it to an Autarch. The Autarch would probably be interested in it, as these Sithe Protectors are quite rare.”

Ning nodded.

“Whitethaw, from this day forth your new master shall be brother Darknorth.” Daoist Bluestone looked at the white-furred creature.

“Master…” The white-furred creature was a bit reluctant to part from him.

“Brother Bluestone, this golem should still be of use to you, right?” Ning couldn’t help but speak out. Daoist Bluestone’s Primaltwin was a Black Emperor and was out adventuring; it truly had the power of a Hegemon and didn’t need protecting. Daoist Bluestone’s true body, however, wasn’t that powerful. If this Protector was meant for guarding high-level Sithe, its protective abilities had to be exceptional. Why wouldn’t Daoist Bluestone keep it for himself?

“No need to worry about that. I have other options available,” Daoist Bluestone said. Ning nodded, no longer arguing.

“The main treasures of interest are the Sithe Protector and the Silver Daolord bodies. The other treasures are of little use to you and no use to an Autarch.” Daoist Bluestone casually tossed a gourd to Ning. “There are some Dao-seals and other treasures here of varying power. The best four or five are Hegemonic in power; you can go ahead and gift them to your friends, I suppose.”

“Alright.” Ning smiled and accepted the treasures. These things truly were of limited use to him, as even a strike from an actual Hegemon would not be able to injure him. In fact, it might not even be enough to force him to reveal his invulnerable form! However, they would make fine gifts for friends, family, or disciples.

Ning had acquired quite a few treasures from the Eternal Emperors he had slain. Most of those things would be of limited use to him. At his level, there were fewer and fewer items that were of use to him.

“Is there anything you need?” Daoist Bluestone asked. “If there is, just tell me. I already told you that I can help you deal with Archon Silksnow and Emperor Bloodsnow. It might be difficult, but given enough time I’ll be able to handle it.”

“No need for now.” Ning smiled. “If in the future I fail in the Daomerge… then before I die, there will be a few things I would like to request of you, brother Bluestone. I hope, when the time comes, you won’t refuse.”

“A minor matter.” Daoist Bluestone nodded.

“Oh, right. Brother Bluestone, do you have a detailed map of the Terror Starsea?” Ning asked. He needed to accumulate treasures… which meant in the future he would definitely adventure through the Terror Starsea! The most detailed maps were kept highly secret by the various major powers, and they wouldn’t casually reveal those maps to others. During the Dawn War, the cultivator civilizations had been very unified. Now, however, the Sithe had been extinguished. There was no external pressure to force the various cultivators to share everything selflessly with each other.

“Haha, you are asking the right person!” Daoist Bluestone laughed loudly. “That great fortune I encountered, I encountered while adventuring within the Terror Starsea. My Primaltwin often adventures within the Terror Starsea as well. I’m not sure if I know more about the Terror Starsea than everyone else in the Flamedragon Realmverse, but I definitely rank in the top three for sure.”

“Here. Here’s a detailed map of the Terror Starsea.” Daoist Bluestone tossed out a golden scroll. He added, “But you have to be careful. The Terror Starsea was one of the battlefields where the Dawn War was fought. Many major powers on both sides fought there and fell there. Even Hegemons perished in large numbers! The place is filled with danger, and many of those dangers can annihilate even Hegemons with ease. You have to be cautious.”

“Understood.” Ning unfurled the star map and took a look at it, quickly memorizing its contents.

“Haha. If there’s nothing else, let us part ways now. If there’s anything you need, you can seek me out through the Dao Alliance.” Daoist Bluestone waved his hand, causing the distorted field of spacetime to return to its normal calm. He then ripped open a dimensional hole next to him.

“Farewell,” Ning said. He watched as Daoist Bluestone stepped into the dimensional tear.

Ning stood there by himself atop the mountain. He nodded slowly. “It is time to visit the Azureflower Estate… but prior to that, I need to pay a second visit to the Stone Hellephant Wall.”

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Chapter 21 – Archon Silksnow’s Plan

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 21 – Archon Silksnow’s Plan

The conquest of the Sacred City of Silksnow had concluded long ago. As time flowed on, word began to spread through the Endless Territories. By now, even many ordinary Daolords had gradually begun to hear the word. By now, even the World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom had heard the stunning news about Daolord Darknorth.

Countless cultivators had been completely stunned by this this revelation. News of the battle had stirred waves in the realmverse. Everyone was talking about how ‘Daolord Darknorth crushed over twenty Emperors by himself’ and how ‘Darknorth blew through eight Eternal Emperors and annihilated them with ease, then sent Archon Silksnow fleeing and the others fleeing for their lives’. They spoke of how ‘Daolord Daolord is close to the Hegemon level of power’, how ‘Daolord Darknorth has surpassed the eight lords of the Sacred Cities in power’, and how he was the ‘number one Daolord to ever exist’.

All sorts of flattery could be heard. All of the cultivators felt proud that one of them, a Daolord, could achieve such a level of power.

At first, those who heard the news were rather puzzled. They couldn’t believe that it was true. However, as more and more information spread out, they began to understand that all of these stories were real! They naturally began to spread the stories even more vigorously, and the legend of Darknorth began to spread even more energetically than the legends of Emperor Heartsword had! Emperor Heartsword had been an Eternal Emperor, after all… but Darknorth was just a Daolord!

How was it that a Daolord had reached such an incredible level of power? It could be said that within just a few short centuries, everyone within the Endless Territories was talking about the legendary Daolord Darknorth! He was the topic of every get-together. It could be said that Daolord Darknorth’s fame and reputation was now second only to the three legendary Hegemons!

……

A desolate, barren planet. Every so often, a few flickers of flame would appear on the surface of the planet.

The skinny, white-browed Archon Silksnow had hidden himself within a valley inside this planet. When the flames moved close, they would naturally part before him. He sat there in the lotus position within the valley, a cold and dark look on his face.

“Damn him. He’s forced me to go into hiding at the very margins of the Endless Territories.” Archon Silksnow’s face was downcast, but there was nothing he could do. If he was a bit closer to Ning, both would be able to sense each other due to the resonance between their realmship parts! His only choice was to hide far, far away. He knew that he absolutely could not reveal the fact that he owned a realmship.

Even Nign and Ninedust merely believed that Archon Silksnow also had a realmship part… they had no idea that what Archon Silksnow had was a complete, albeit damaged, realmship that was actually usable!

This was a secret which Archon Silksnow had never made public. He was the only person who knew this secret. If it was ever made public, he would be in serious trouble. Most likely, even the three Hegemons would hunt him down with all the resources available to him, seeking to kill him no matter what the cost. A complete realmship would allow one to easily travel between realmverses and otherverses. It was definitely every bit as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple!

But of course, Archon Silksnow’s realmship was damaged and needed repairing.

“Darknorth. Darknorth!” Archon Silksnow’s eyes were filled with hatred and malice. He was by nature a savage and violent man. It was this brutal nature of his that caused so many evil Daolords and Emperors to choose to follow him.

Emperor Bloodcloud was just as strong as him, but he wasn’t as decisive. He wasn’t determined enough or ruthless enough when necessary. Only Archon Silksnow was ruthless and dominating enough to become the leader of their group.

“No rush, no rush. What I need to do is to repair the realmship as soon as possible. Once I repair it, I’ll be able to use it to escape with ease. Not even Hegemon Brightshore would be able to stop me, despite his unparalleled mastery of the Dao of Spacetime.” Archon Silksnow felt quite confident, because a fully operational realmship was truly unmatchable in terms of tunnel through spacetime. It vastly surpassed Hegemon Brightshore in this regard.

“Right. If I can’t handle Darknorth, I should go find Ninedust. Ninedust has a realmship part on him as well.” Archon Silksnow nodded slowly. “Perhaps the part he holds will be enough to repair my realmship.”

“Ninedust… hmph. He seems to be extremely good friends with Darknorth. If I can’t kill Darknroth, I’ll kill Ninedust. Hmph. Let’s see what Darknorth can do about it.” Archon Silksnow’s eyes flickered with dangerous light, but he then frowned. “However… I need to first locate Ninedust. Based on the information I uncovered, he entered the Terror Starsea a long time ago. How suicidal of him! Still… the places he would dare enter would probably be of no danger to me.”

“To the Terror Starsea I go!” Archon Silksnow decided to head to the Terror Starsea to hunt down Ninedust and take the realmship part.

……

For now, Ning had left all his troubles and worries behind… because he had already left the Flamedragon Realmverse. He had entered the Great Dark and was hurrying towards the Stone Hellephant Wall.

“Here we are.” Now that he was a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he was far faster than before. Just a short while after heading out, he reached the Stone Hellephant Wall.

The entrance to the enormous silver Stone Hellephant Wall remained open. Prior to Ning and Ninedust’s original arrival, the local cultivators had long ago searched the insides of the Stone Hellephant Wall and had realized that there was no way out. Thus, even though it had been hundreds of millions of years since Ning had left the Stone Hellephant Wall, not a single one of them had exited via the entranceway! Even if they did, though… when faced with the endless darkness of the Great Dark, they probably would’ve been completely lost.

Whoosh. Ning flew into the passageway, quickly descending upon that world inside. Darknorth Palace remained the preeminent power of this planet… and no one even realized that Ning had already left and then returned.

Boom! The headquarters of the Fumo clan, one of the ‘three great clans’. This was a place protected by many barriers and a Sithe disc, but an enormous explosion suddenly rang out as a terrifying, watery streak of sword-light tore straight through the layers of barriers with overwhelming power.

“What?!”

“W-what’s going on?!” The countless Fumo clan members were all shocked and terrified.

Sithe discs were used by the Sithe to construct and stabilize large-scale barrier formations. They were generally used in sets of nine, twelve, or more in order to set up the formations. These locals, however, didn’t really know how to use them properly. They didn’t have enough of the discs anyhow, and so they merely used a single disc… and with Daolord-level energy, at that! Despite that, the barriers were still strong enough to defend against ordinary Archon-level foes.

If they had eleven more discs and used them properly with an Emperor controlling them, not even ten Hegemons working together would be able to burst through the barriers! Alas… the original attacker had been Autarch Bolin. He had blown trhough the formations with ease, destroying everything with impunity. Quite a few Sithe discs had been destroyed by his assault. Autarch Bolin wouldn’t even bother to look at ordinary treasures; he only took away the precious ones, such as the complete realmship.

“Spare us!”

“Spare us, Lord Darknorth!” The Fumo clan members finally saw the white-robed youth standing in midair.

“Hand over all of your Emperor-class golems,” Ning called out from the skies. “You are permitted to keep a single royal golem.”

“Understood.” Although the Fumo clan members were both terrified and reluctant to comply, no one dared to voice an objection. In the past, they had been the rulers of this planet… but they were completely unable to fight back against Ji Ning. Even their protective Sithe disc had been torn apart. How could they even think about resisting?

Soon, Ning departed with the Emperor-class golems and the royal golems (comparable to Daolords of the Fourth Step) in tow. He also took away many of their magic treasures. The Fumo clan now only had a single royal golem left to them. This was now the most powerful force they had to muster. With it, they would probably be able to stay strong… but if they spread themselves too thin and attracted an entire host of enemies, they would still be doomed.

Ning couldn’t be bothered with intervening in the lives of the local cultivators on this planet. He was now on a completely different of level compared to before. He simply blew through the barriers protecting the three great clans, then swept them clean of their Emperor-class golems, royal golems, and treasures.

……

Now that no one had access to any Emperor-class golems, no clan on this planet was overwhelmingly more powerful than any other clan. No one was invincible any longer… and so, the planet entered a brand new era.

Ning once more entered the secret Sithe ruins located within this planet.

“Whitethaw, guard the entrance.” Ning waved his hand, causing that honest-looking Sithe Protector to appear by his side.

“Yes, Master,” Whitethaw said respectfully, then stood in front of the entranceway to the ruins.

Ning nodded. He had once sparred against this golem… and even when he fought with all his power, he still wasn’t able to seize any advantage over it! Whitethaw was like an immovable mountain. Even if a Hegemon came, he would still be able to protect Ning for a time. With Whitethaw watching the entrance, there was no way any of the golems within the ruins would be able to escape.

Whoosh. Ning transformed into a streak of light as he flew into the shattered palace ruins. A number of Emperor-class golems secretly watched him from behind the barriers that were still active within the vast ruins. For now, Ning ignored them as he flew straight towards the core regions.

“You again?!”

“Darknorth, how dare you return!” Four streaks of light flew over towards Ning. It was the four Archon-class golems.

Ning slowed down when he saw them, then smiled. “My four old friends, join me in leaving these ruins. Life here is far too boring. The outside world is much more interesting.”

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Chapter 22 – Sparrowfiend Crystals

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 22 – Sparrowfiend Crystals

Even Ji Ning had to sigh in amazement at the aura which the four golems off in the distance emanated. All those years ago, he had been forced to fight with all his power to just barely tie down one of them, and by relying on defensive sword-arts at that! Every single one of the four golems brought him a tremendous sense of pressure, even though they were slightly weaker than Archon Silksnow.

Back then, that had been more than enough power to truly crush Ning.

“Darknorth, you actually dare to return? Do you have a new trick up your sleeve or a powerful helper?” The four golems flew over, actually feeling quite excited inside. Life without any opponents to fight was truly boring and lonely, and they were never permitted to leave the restricted area they were guarding.

“No helpers. I just wanted to invite you to come out with me.” Ning waved his hands, causing two of his Northbow swords to fly out from the sheath and into his palms. Ning then strolled forwards, almost like he was taking a walk through a park.

“Let’s go.” The four golems exchanged a glance, then immediately charged towards Ning.

Ning’s twin swords transformed into two streams of water, easily piercing past his enemy’s scimitars and defenses. The Northbow swords became extremely soft and flexible, easily wrapping around and completely tying up one of the golems. Ning murmured softly, “In you go.” The golem was drawn into his estate-world.

This caused the other three golems to immediately feel shocked. One against four, Darknorth was able to capture one of the golems with ease? The difference in power between them was enormous!

It must be remembered that Ning was able to defeat even Archon Silksnow with a single blow! When faced with these four golems who had weaker techniques and weaker insights into the Dao, gaining victory was simplicity itself.

……

Ning fought for the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea before finally capturing the last of the four golems. The reason it took this long was because two of the golems had transformed into invulnerable forms, making them quite difficult to catch. Ning was forced to use his secret arts and his heartworld projection to furiously deplete their energy stores. Only when their energy stores were depleted was he able to capture them.

Ning bound all four of the golems to himself, making himself their master.

“Master, you aren’t going to wipe out our golem-spirits, are you?”

“Haha, no need to worry. The three great clan leaders of this world were worried about their secrets leaking out, which was why they wiped out those golem-spirits in the past. I’ve already wiped these ruins clean; what would be the point of doing that? And, if I did, the new golem-spirits would start at a very low level of intelligence and insight. It would take forever for them to reach your current level of power.” Ning smiled. “I’m not going to cause trouble for myself like that.”

Only then did the four golems calm down. In truth, they were indeed willing to accompany Ning. That way, they wouldn’t be forever trapped within this tiny little area! However, they had to obey the orders of their masters to resist any intruders with all their might. To be able to leave would be absolutely blissful! However, it would be a tragedy if their golem-spirits were erased; to them, this was the equivalent of a cultivator losing his truesoul.

“Master, when can we leave?” the tall, skinny golem asked.

“Soon. I’m going to do an in-depth sweep of this place and take away all of the Emperor-class golems. After that, I’ll go with you,” Ning said with a laugh. “Ninedust and I already swept through all of the treasures in the ruins, including the various corpses. There probably isn’t much left.”

Last time, Ning and Ninedust had done a fast sweep of the area before leaving. This time, they were planning to do a more thorough inspection.

“Master, this warship was named Tigerhill. It was an extremely powerful weapon of war which the Sithe used in their conquests. However, the main systems of the warship have been completely destroyed, and many of its critical components have been takean away,” the axe-bearing golem said. “Although not many valuable treasures are left, based on what we know there should be one of exceeding importance.”

“Exceeding importance?” Ning’s eyes lit up. These four golems were responsible for guarding the restricted areas; they naturally knew quite a bit.

“Yes. Master, as you may know this place used to house over thirty thousand Sithe. There were many barriers protecting it, but the barriers stretched out to cover a great amount of area and were extremely strong. They had to have energy sources, right?” The tall, thin golem continued, “The energy source is located below the entire palace complex.”

Ning revealed a look of delight. “Lead the way!” Ning instructed.

“Yes.” Golems were absolutely loyal and devoted to their masters. They previously were completely devoted to the Sithe. Now that Ning had bound them, they were completely devoted to Ning.

“Master, the energy sources for the barriers consisted of a total of eight ‘sparrowfiend gems’. They are located in eight different parts of the palace complex. This place here is the very first one.” The tall, skinny golem pointed to a tattered palace off in the distance. “If you dig through the ground, you should be able to find a sparrowfiend gem somewhere within a hundred kilometer radius.”

“Ah.” Ning nodded.

“Let me do the digging.” The spear-wielding golem looked at Ning, who nodded. The spear-wielding golem immediately plunged his spear into the ground, breaking through the layers of stone and tearing through the ground. The palace had already been in very bad shape. Soon, an enormous crater had been dug in its foundation, revealing a sparrowfiend gem at the bottom.

The giant crater held a black altar which was covered by countless runes, and the runes all led to a completely blood-red gem. The vague outline of a bird could be seen flying within it.

“When Autarch Bolin wrecked this place, he destroyed all of the formations, making the energy sources irrelevant.” Ning nodded slowly. “Right. Tell me more about the sparrowfiend gems. Are they very valuable?”

“Highly valuable,” the spear-wielding golem said. “The Tigerhill was divided into a ‘combat zone’ and a ‘habitation zone’. We are currently within the habitation zone, and it was powered by this sparrowfiend gem! The outer layer was the ‘combat zone’ and it was more important, meant for combating against opponents. Thus, it used the even more powerful ‘dragonprime stones’. A single dragonprime stone is worth more than ten sparrowfiend gems, and the combat zone had a total of ten of them. They made the Tigerhill completely invulnerable, allowing it to easily travel between realmverses and slaughter countless foes.”

“Dragonprime stones?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“I imagine the dragonprime stones were taken long ago. They are simply too obvious and eye-catching. Amongst the Sithe, a single dragonprime stone is enough to trade for a Black Emperor body,” the spear-wielding golem said. “However, it is probably impossible for cultivators to unleash the true power of a dragonprime stone. All you can do is perhaps plant them into some of the Sithe warships and vessels which the Sithe left behind.”

Ning nodded slowly. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why are the Sithe so much more advanced than us cultivators in so many areas?”

“The Sithe had an extremely stable foundation. Artificing, construct-making, blacksmithing… they vastly surpassed the cultivator civilizations in all these areas. They created countless golems on our level! However, the ‘Autarchs’ of the cultivators were simply too powerful. Although the Sithe did have supreme powers who were capable of battling Autarchs, they were still weaker… and the cultivator civilizations continued to give birth to more and more experts. One batch would die, followed by the rise of another batch. If the war dragged on for long enough, the Sithe would invariably be the ones to lose.” The greataxe-wielding golem chuckled. “This is what we conjectured when we chatted amongst ourselves. To be honest, the Tigerhill was wrecked long ago by one of those Autarchs, and so we aren’t sure why or how the Sithe ended up losing. All we know is that the Sithe feared the Autarchs very much, and they also feared how quickly the cultivator civilizations propagated.”

Ning nodded. Every planet and star was capable of giving birth to extremely large numbers of cultivators. If one chose to transmit the best legacies and techniques to them while holding nothing back, it would definitely be possible to allow a large number of powerful cultivators to arise from each world.

Now that the cultivator civilizations had actually won, they became stingy and miserly in transmitting techniques to others! Acquiring supreme legacies was extremely difficult, which was why the rate at which powerful cultivators rose had slowed down dramatically compared to before.

……

The barriers here had long ago been destroyed, making it quite easy for Ning to take away the sparrowfiend gems. Six of them were acquired in rapid order, with the seventh taking a bit more time. As for the eighth, the barriers protecting it were in fairly good shape, and they had the ‘damage reflection’ property. Ning had his most powerful servant, the Sithe Protector Whitethaw, personally attack the barriers. Whitethaw was sent flying back from the explosion, but had of course managed to endure the damage with ease.

“There we go.” After six hours of hard work, all eight sparrowfiend gems were in Ning’s hands. Ning revealed a look of delight. This was the greatest fortune he had acquired within the Stone Hellephant Wall. The eight sparrowfiend gems were probably close to a Black Emperor in value.

“An unexpected windfall.” Ning was very happy. He then had his Sithe Protector and the four other golems to work together and quickly capture the various Emperor-class golems who were hiding throughout the runes. The Emperor-class golems were simply too weak. Ning didn’t even want to bother with them himself… but he still cared about them.

After spending over half a month destroying quite a few barriers, Ning managed to capture a total of eighty-six Emperor-class golems. There were only six places within the ruins that he was unable to destroy, and the few remaining golems were all hiding within these final six places of refuge.

“Haha, what a fortune.” Ning was jubilant. Virtually every single Sith ruin was a treasure trove. Ning’s gains from this one were perhaps just a bit less than what Daoist Bluestone had gained from his, since there was no ‘Black Emperor body’ here. Yes, the sparrowfiend gems were quite valuable, but that was in the eyes of the Sithe. In the eyes of cultivators, Black Emperors were more valuable. Still… he had gained quite a bit.

“Mm. Now, it’s time to head off to the Azureflower Estate. If I can gain another fortune from there, I might just be able to ask an Autarch to help out.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

The Azureflower Estate was definitely another treasure trove. However, whether or not he would actually be able to take any treasures out of it was up to his own abilities. The natives of the three great clans had long ago discovered the Sithe ruins here, but they had been unable to take much from it. Ning himself had only acquired these four Archon-level golems and the eight sparrowfiend gems because of his dramatic increase in power.

“Let’s go.” Ning once more silently departed from the Stone Hellephant Wall. It would be a very long time before he would ever return to this place. As for the internal struggles within this place… he would leave it to them to resolve.

……

He tore through spacetime repeatedly as he headed back to the Three Realms.

Outside the Three Realms. The white-robed Ning and the black-robed Primaltwin Ning were facing each other. Ning waved his hand, tossing out a mirror. This was an estate-world treasure that held the four Archon-class golems as well as many Emperor-class golems and Sithe disks, as well as other treasures. Ning was leaving them here for the Three Realms. Ning gave the four Archon-class golems permission to wander through the Three Realms. If he was to perish, these four Archon-class golems would serve as a hidden trump card for the Three Realms.

The Three Realms held far too many friends and family who he cared about. His parents and his daughter were incredibly important to Ning. He naturally had to leave some treasures behind in the Three Realms to protect it. Only then would he feel confident in going out adventuring.

“The Azureflower Estate.” Ning stared off into the primordial chaos of the void, his eyes filled with the desire to do battle.

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Chapter 23 – Returning to the Azureflower Estate

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 23 – Returning to the Azureflower Estate

The Azureflower Estate wasn’t that far away from the Three Realms. Given Ji Ning’s abilities to traverse spacetime, he was able to reach the region of pure emptiness that was outside the Azureflower Estate.

Rumble… an invisible wave of power was fluctuating and sweeping through this area, forcing even the prime essences of the universe to stay away. Ning couldn’t help but feel stunned once again when he beheld this sight. He had seen it before, and he was now much more powerful than before… but he still felt this was utterly inconceivable.

“To be able to permanently repel the prime essences of the Chaosverse…” Ning now was at a much higher level of understanding with regards to the Dao and was beginning to understand: “This sort of ability vastly surpasses anything a Hegemon could possibly accomplish. Most likely, not even Otherverse Lords are capable of it. Could it be that an Autarch created the Azureflower Estate? That means the origins of the Nine Chaos Seals are even more incredible than I believed.”

At the same time, Ning was puzzled. Early on, the Nine Chaos Seals had been tremendously useful to Ning. Now that he was a Daolord of the Fourth Step, his divine power and his Immortal energy had become even purer, as had his azureflower mist energy. However, at the highest levels of cultivation, cultivators primarily relied on their insights into the Dao. By now, the azureflower mist energy was of fairly negligible assistance to him.

So… why did the Autarch create a technique like this, then work to guide cultivators of the technique to this place?

Swoosh. Ning flew through the emptiness of the void at incredible speeds. He passed through it, entering the region of golden mist. Although he still saw deluxe hellgold on his way in, he was now in a much different place financially than before. He had already slaughtered quite a few powerful Emperors; the deluxe hellgold was of no interest to him anymore.

“Here we are.” Ning slowly decelerated before coming to a halt in front of the gates of the towering, ancient estate. The words ‘azure’ ‘flower’ continued to hang right above the gates to the Azureflower Estate, radiating an aura of beautiful sanctity.

“Here I am again.” Ning smiled as he advanced. Ruuuumble. The gates to the ancient estate once more opened by themselves as Ning advanced.

Ning strolled inside. He glanced at the three fruit trees within the estate, then waved his hand and caused his Protector golem, Whitethaw, to appear. Whitethaw’s massive body appeared right next to Ning. The golem called out respectfully, “Master.”

“Stay behind me.” Ning said rather seriously, “This place is probably filled with many dangers.” This was most likely a place which an Autarch had spent time and effort constructing, going so far as to capture a large number of Emperors and bring them here. Clearly, the creator of this place had put much more effort into the Azureflower Estate than Autarch Bolin had into the various beastworlds.

“Understood,” Whitethaw said respectfully.

Ning advanced with Whitethaw watching his back. The two quickly reached that bridge once again.

“Milord Emperors! Long time no see.” Ning smiled as he looked at the two gray-robed elders who were seated facing each other within the grasslands up ahead.

“Eh?” The two gray-robed figures turned to glance at Ning. The blood-eyed elder smirked: “Kid, you came back.”

“That was pretty fast. We barely had time to finish a few games of chess before you came back, my young friend.” The silver-eyed elder was quite courteous.

Ning was speechless. A few games of chess? Fine… for immortal Emperors who were trapped here for all eternity, perhaps he really hadn’t spent much time cultivating.

“The Azureflower Estate has continued to attract my interest. After cultivating for many years, I felt that I was perhaps strong enough to pass its trials, and so I came to give it another try,” Ning said.

“Judging from your aura… you haven’t completed the Daomerge and become an Emperor yet, have you?” the silver-eyed elder asked.

“I have not.” Ning shook his head. Eternal Emperors all had auras that were tinged with the hint of inextinguishable eternity.

“Ugh. I already told you last time, although a few extremely talented Daolords of the Fourth Step might be able to defeat the two of us, things will only become even more dangerous as you advance! If you aren’t careful, you will die. I really urge you to at least complete the Daomerge before you try your luck again.” The silver-eyed elder let out a sigh. “You are being far too rash.”

“I want to give it a try.” Ning chuckled. “Maybe I’ll succeed. If I don’t, I’ll come back later.”

“Hmph. If you insist on dying… let me see just how strong you have become.” The blood-eyed elder walked straight towards Ning as he was saying these words.

“Sure, let’s give it a try.” Ning walked towards him as well.

“Last time, you were completely unable to resist my power. Quite a few years have gone by since then. I hope I’ll be pleasantly surprised by your improvements. Otherwise, this will be boring.” A baleful look flickered in the old man’s blood-red eyes.

The silver-eyed elder didn’t try to stop him this time. As he saw it, Ning should’ve already learned just how powerful the two of them were from his first visit. Given that the kid was back, the kid was probably was confident in his chances. If the kid still ended up being killed, he’d have no one to blame save his own dumb self.

Ning walked past the bridge and onto the grasslands.

“Go.” The blood-eyed elder waved his right sleeve, sending it sweeping through the skies and sending a surge of overwhelming power towards Ning.

Ning responded by casually waving his palm as well. Boom! Ning’s palm struck out very casually, but it contained the dominance of his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

Both attacks were extremely dominating in nature, and they came together in a thunderous clash. The blood-eyed elder was instantly sent flying backwards like a streak of light, smashing hard against a distant mountain. The barrier protecting the mountain instantly flickered but was completely undamaged. The blood-eyed elder, however, was ‘planted’ into the barrier in an extremely ungainly manner. It took him a full second before he landed.

He stared at Ning in disbelief. “Y-you…”

“Ah, a golem body?” Ning nodded slightly. He didn’t have any desire to kill these two Emperors at all; they were rather pitiful, after all, having been captured and imprisoned here for so long.

“You were able to reach such a level of power?” The silver-eyed woman walked over as well, stunned.

“I do alright.” Ning nodded. These two guardians were significantly weaker than even Ninedust. Ning was able to effortlessly defeat them with just a few punches and kicks.

“You didn’t use any treasures. You don’t even have glove-type treasures on your hands!” The blood-eyed elder stared at Ning in disbelief. “You were able to crush me with ease using your palms alone. Not even the most powerful supreme Daolords are able to do such a thing. You should be the most powerful Daolord of the current era.”

Ning nodded. “I am.” But it wasn’t just of the ‘current era’; he was the most powerful Daolord to have ever existed.

“I’m completely convinced by your power.” The blood-eyed elder pointed at the passageway behind him, then said coldly, “Go on inside. The estate is filled with even greater dangers. Beating me doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily survive them.”

“Be careful, my young friend. If you feel that you cannot overcome your foes, you should immediately retreat and flee,” the silver-eyed elder said. “So long as you survive, you’ll have other chances in the future.”

“Understood.” Ning said, “Whitethaw, let’s go.”

“Yes, Master.” The Sithe Protector silently fell in line behind Ning. The blood-eyed elder and the silver-eyed elder watched as the two of them headed into the passageway.

“Do you think the kid will make it?” the blood-eyed elder said softly.

“He’s extraordinarily powerful, even amongst supreme Daolords,” the silver-eyed elder said. “It’ll be extremely hard for him to make it into the depths of the estate… but he should be able to keep himself alive.”

“Hard to say.” The blood-eyed elder smirked. “Overconfidence can easily lead to death.”

……

As Ning walked along the passageway, he soon reached a point where he saw an azure stone plaza off in the distance… and in front of the plaza was a giant palace.

The plaza was covered with over a hundred figures who were broken up into groups of two or three. Some were seated, some were facing each other, some were drinking, some were chatting. When Ning and Whitethaw appeared, all of them turned to stare at him. The invisible aura of might emanating from them caused even Ning to tremble. He could instantly tell that these hundred-plus Emperors were all extraordinary figures.

Whoosh. A white-bearded elder suddenly appeared on the stairs before the plaza. The white-bearded elder was dressed in deep blue robes and emanated an aura of ice. He looked at Ning: “I am the spirit of this estate, and have been guarding it on Master’s orders.”

Ning was briefly startled. Still, almost all ‘major powers’, including both weaker ones like Emperor Waveshift as well as supreme ones like Autarch Bolin or the creator of the Azureflower Estate would generally leave behind estate-spirits. This was the best way to ensure that their goals and orders were followed.”

“This estate is protected by three deadly trials, each one deadlier than the last. The one you just passed on the outside was the simplest trial, the first trial,” the white-haired elder said. “If you can pass all three trials, you will encounter no further dangers.”

“According to what Master said, you’ll earn certain things each time you pass a trial.” The white-haired elder tossed out a jade-green leaf towards Ning. “This is a ‘Lifeblood’ Dao-seal; it can revive virtually all Daolords.”

Ning was startled. It seemed as though there were others besides Emperor Maniseal who were capable of creating these types of Dao-seals.

“However… Daolords of the Fourth Step who trained in one of the legendary Omega Daos have completely surpassed all other Daolords and are on a completely different level. A Samsara-class Dao-seal of this kind is unable to revive them. They must use an Eternal-class ‘Lifeblood’ Dao-seal if they wish to be revived,” the white-bearded elder said.

Ning narrowed his eyes. Omega Dao? The spirit of the Azureflower Estate actually knew of the existence of Omega Daos?

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Chapter 24 – Another Daolord

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 24 – Another Daolord

“This ‘Omega Dao’,” Ji Ning began to say, but he was interrupted.

“Don’t ask any questions. If you pass the second trial, you’ll learn about it… and if you fail, you aren’t worth of learning about it.” The white-bearded elder remained as cold and distant as ever: “You are a Daolord. To pass the second trial, you need merely face and pass through ten of the weakest Emperors here. As long as you can make it to the palace gates up ahead, you’ll have passed. Also… your golem is not permitted to interfere. If it does, it’ll count as your loss.”

Ning nodded slowly. “Understood.”

The white-haired old man transformed into an illusory blur, flying across the entire plaza and landing in front of the gates of the palace. There, he watched what would unfold with calmness.

“So these are trials which an Autarch left behind for posterity, eh?” Ning was quite relaxed. It was much like the trials which he himself had set down for those who wished to acquire his legacy. Not just everyone was qualified to receive his techniques; they had to pass very stringent tests. The Autarch must’ve put quite a bit of effort into constructing this giant Azureflower Estate; it only made sense for him to put down a few trials as well.

Those who were too weak would die. Being able to survive and flee was also a form of strength… but only those who were able to truly pass the trials would earn the rewards which the master of the Azureflower Estate had left behind.

Whoosh. Ning stepped forward, moving up the stairs and towards the plaza with the muscular Whitethaw behind him. Ning instructed, “Whitethat, you are not to intervene unless directly ordered to.”

“Understood,” Whitethaw said respectfully.

“So it is a Daolord…” The hundred-plus Emperors in the plaza were clearly a bit disappointed when they saw the white-robed youth stride towards them.

“A mere Daolord. Only ten of us are allowed to fight, and the weakest ten at that.” An evil-looking Emperor who had azure eyebrows and emanated the strongest aura out of the group shook his head. “When will an Emperor come? That way, all of us would be allowed to have some fun.”

“Booooring.”

“We’ve been here forever, unable to leave this plaza.”

“How long will it be before we are granted our release?” The Emperors chatted casually amongst themselves. They had once been filled with rage and venom, as they had been restricted to this plaza for tens of millions of chaos cycles by now… and it was possible that they would be for all of eternity. This sort of loneliness would drive even Eternal Emperors insane. However… time dulls away all things. By now, they were quite relaxed and simply waited silently.

Besides… the master of the Azureflower Estate did arrange for certain conditions by which they could be released.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The other Emperors continued to chat while ten of their peers flew over at high speed, preventing Ning from advancing.

“Hey kid, don’t blame us if we end up killing you. Everything is as the master of the estate has ordained.” One of the Emperors was a skinny old man with cold eyes, and a deep green mist begin to emanate from him as he spoke.

“It has been a long, long time since I’ve seen a Daolord. Let’s not be hasty, gentlemen. Let’s take the fight against this kid slowly. If we move too fast, it’ll be boring. We’ll want to to enjoy killing him, slicing him apart one cut at a time. Oh my… I can hardly wait,” a youth with a ruddy face and long, blood-red hair said, his tongue forked like a snake’s.

“Let’s do it.”

“Don’t let him escape. Surround him.” The ten Emperors were all quite evil-looking, and they emanated murderous auras.

The white-robed Ning nodded slowly when he saw this. “Ah. I now understand why the master of the Azureflower Estate captured you and sentenced you here as punishment. If I was the master, I would’ve killed you long ago.”

“Hmph.”

“You? Kill us?”

“Such arrogance.” The ten Emperors were instantly enraged at being criticized by a Daolord in this fashion. They couldn’t help but feel both embarrassed and angered by his words.

“Spirit of the estate.” Ning glanced at the white-robed elder standing in front of the distant palace entrance, then called out: “Can I capture them?” If he was permitted to capture them, it would be up to him if he wanted to kill them or not.

The distant white-robed elder’s voice remained as cold as ever: “If you kill them, I’ll kill you!”

Ning blinked. Moments later, he understood. After the lord of the Azureflower Estate captured these Emperors, he had apparently ‘modified’ them in some way. They weren’t true cultivators any longer; they were more like golems! They had been placed here to test future trial-takers, and Ning was just one of them. If he captured the Emperors, how would those who came after him be tested?

“Haha… if that’s the case, I’ll just wrap it up quickly.” Ning stretched out his hands, causing two of the Darknorth swords to fly out of the sheath on his back and into them.

“Arrogant brat.” The ten Emperors instantly transformed into mist, light, flames, and other things as they started to surround Ning, wanting to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to escape.

Ning casually sauntered forwards, with Whitethaw behind him.

Boom. Boom. Boom. All sorts of various attacks filled the skies as they flew towards Ning. Ning could immediately tell that these ten Emperors were roughly at the supreme Daolord level! Ning couldn’t help but shake his head: “They really are the ten weakest Emperors.”

Ning’s twin swords began to move. Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap! Whap! The Northbow swords transformed into ferocious streams of water, striking backagainst the attacks like waves slapping against the shore. The streams of water struck straight upon the bodies of the Emperors, sending them flying backwards like swatted mosquitoes. Even though they had transformed into their invulnerable forms, Ning was able to beat them back into their original forms.

The difference in power was simply too great. Ning was able to crush even Archon Silksnow, who was in turn able to slaughter supreme Daolords with ease. One could imagine how puny these ten Emperors were compared to Ning.

“This Daolord… h-he…”

“Has he succeeded in his Daomerge? But he clearly doesn’t have that whiff of eternity about him.”

The many other Emperors who had been watching from afar were all stunned as well. A Daolord was able to crush ten Emperors like this? How?!

In truth, prior to the trip to Crimsonwave Temple, Ning would at most be able to fight them to a standstill. Now, however, Ning had made breakthroughs in his [Heartsword] art… but even more importantly, he had reached the fourth stage with his Omega Sword Dao. He truly was one of the most supreme powers of this realmverse, and was naturally able to dominate these common Emperors with ease.

The Emperors all stared, stupefied, at Ning as he casually strolled across the plaza and arrived at the entrance to the palace. As for Whitethaw, he continued to walk straight behind Ning with incomparable calmness.

Boom. The white-haired and elderly estate-spirit watched in shock as Ning stretched his hand out and pushed at the palace gates. With a deep booming sound, the giant palace gates swung open.

“You…?” The white-haired elder stared at Ning, rather puzzled.

“Estate-spirit.” Ning looked at the white-haired elder respectfully.

“A tri-force fusion technique?” the white-haired elder murmured softly.

Ning was startled for a moment before realizing that he was referring to the [Heartsword] art. “Precisely.” Ning nodded.

The [Heartsword] art was a technique which perfectly merged heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy together. In truth, even if Ning hadn’t made a breakthrough with his Omega Sword Dao, his mastery of the twelfth stance of the [Heartsword] art would’ve still put him on par with Archon Silksnow. That by itself was enough to effortlessly sweep these Emperors aside. Now that he HAD broken through? He was probably invincible against anyone save for the Hegemons, and of course Daoist Bluestone.

“A tri-force fusion technique…” The white-robed elder’s gaze grew distant. “Heartforce is indeed incredible. Even though the technique which Master created is capable of transforming and merging all types of energy, heartforce is still special and unique. The legends say that if a heartworld can truly reach the apex of power, the treasures formed within it will become real and can be actually used. The heartworld shall become a real world that you can manipulate at will. If someone could reach that level, that person would become truly invincible.”

“The heartworld… a real world?” Ning deeply desired to reach that level, but he knew just how ridiculous and inconceivable it was. It meant that if he imagined a hundred realmships into existence within his heartworld, then a hundred real realmships would be formed. If he willed an army of Black Emperors into existence, all of them would be real as well.

The level of power that would represent…

Yes, from a theoretical standpoint once a heartworld reached the true apex of power, it was possible to manifest real objects within it… but no one had ever been able to accomplish such a thing. The cultivator civilizations had its Autarchs, but there had never been a Heartforce Autarch!

“For you to have mastered a tri-force fusion technique is a sign that you are quite talented.” The white-haired elder nodded slowly. “Since you have passed the second trial, take your second reward.” The old man tossed out a rolled-up jade scroll.

Ning immediately accepted it, then asked, “What is this?”

“You were asking about Omega Daos, yes?” The white-haired elder explained, “This jade scroll was left behind by a truly dazzling Daolord which my master once encountered. He was so unspeakably, monstrously talented that he was able to enhance his Dao of Fire to the absolute apex, and then train to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step with his Omega Fire Dao! Alas, the Daomerge for an Omega Dao is far, far too difficult, far more difficult than for those supreme Daolords who seek to become Hegemons.”

“In the end, that Daolord failed his Daomerge as well. After he failed his Daomerge but before he died, he ran into my master… and he passed down the secrets of his self-created Omega Fire Dao to my master,” the white-haired elder said.

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Chapter 25 – Knockout

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 25 – Knockout

Ji Ning felt a surge of excitement as he listened. His path was that of an Omega Dao as well, and he had also become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. The next step to take was that of the Daomerge. As Ning knew, for the Daomerge he would need to take every single insight he had ever gained into the first, second, third, and fourth stages of his Omega Sword Dao, and then completely transform them into a truly perfect Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

If he succeeded in the Daomerge, his Omega Sword Dao would become truly perfect to the point where it wouldn’t be affected in the slightest by the passage of time. Only a Dao such as this was qualified to be called ‘eternal’.

Thus, every single successful Daomerge would result in the new Emperor skyrocketing in power by two full levels! Second-tier Daolords would be catapulted to the Archon level of power, while supreme Daolords would rise straight to the Hegemon level of power!

There would be a similarly incredible rise in power for a successful Daomerge with the Omega Sword Dao… and the increase would be due to the power of a Dao that was truly eternal! Thus, what Ning needed to do was to create an Eternal Omega Sword Dao… and that was going to be indescribably difficult.

“That fellow Daoist died. Will I be able to succeed?” Ning asked himself. He wasn’t sure of what the answer would be.

“Omega Daos are extraordinary and unfathomable. They are truly above all other Daos and are the ultimate Daos.” The white-bearded elder looked at Ning. “You might not train in the Dao of Fire, but you can still study this Omega Dao. It might help inspire you and be of use to you, increasing your own chances at the Daomerge dramatically.”

Ning clenched the jade scroll, sending his godsense into it. There were certain barriers within it, forcing him to swear a lifeblood oath not to transmit it to others in order to study it.

Ning immediately swore the oath. Instantly, a large amount of information flooded into his mind as the jade scroll in Ning’s hands transformed into bits of dust.

It was unspeakably profound. This was the Dao of Fire, but visualized to the utmost apex. It included every single type of fire possible, including blazing flames, icy flames, negative-energy flames, explosive flames… all types of flames could be controlled by it.

The Daolord who created this ‘Omega Fire Dao’ was capable of releasing flames that were truly terrifying.

“He truly was the embodiment of fire, the master of all flames,” Ning sighed in amazement. It made sense. When he created his Omega Sword Dao, there was an instant resonance with the prime essence of the sword. In that instant, he immediately understood that he was now the master of the Dao of the Sword. As for the deceased creator of the Omega Fire Dao, he was most likely the master of the Dao of Fire.

……

When the white-haired elder saw Ning open his eyes, the dler said in a icy voice, “You have already passed the first two trials. Only one more remains before you, and if you can survive it you won’t face any more danger. In addition… you will earn something which is far more valuable than even the Omega Dao you were just shown!”

“Far more valuable?” Ning’s eyes lit up. Something that was far more valuable than an Omega Dao… what could it be? What had the master of the Azureflower Estate prepared?

“This reward will naturally be the most valuable thing within the entire estate. My master would’ve have wasted all this time and effort for just the Omega Dao of a single Daolord of the Fourth Step,” the white-haired elder said coldly. “However… not just anyone is worthy of the true treasure. You must pass the third trial first. If you die in the attempt, you can only blame yourself and your own uselessness. Alright. Time to go in.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded, then stepped into the palace.

From the outside, the palace had been blocked by an invisible screen of energy that prevented him from seeing anything inside it. As soon as he stepped inside, everything became clearly visible. He saw that the great palace had a total of sixteen giant golden pillars within it, with a royal throne located at the highest part of the palace.

Ning turned his gaze to glance at the two figures seated in the lotus position at the edges of the palace. One figure was a figure dressed in long violet robes and who emanated an aura of incredible power that was comparable to that of Hegemon Brightshore or Hegemon Windrain! The other had a significantly weaker aura and was dressed in black robes. He was thin and had long, slender eyes that were brimming with cold malice.

“Hm?” The two figures simultaneously opened their eyes.

“A Daolord?” The violet-robed man glanced sideways. “How boring. It is time for you to go to work, disciple.”

“Don’t worry, Master.” The skinny black-robed man narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ning, cold malice flashing within them. “I’ll definitely take ‘good care’ of this young Daolord.”

Ning frowned slightly. He could sense that the black-robed man was brimming with murderous intentions.

The white-haired old man had walked in alongside Ning. The old man now said in a cold voice, “You are a Daolord, and so your opponent shall be someone who has reached a level of power comparable to the Archon-level Eternal Emperors of your Flamedragon Realmverse! All you need to do is defeat him by knocking him out of the palace, and you’ll have succeeded.”

“Knock an Archon out of the palace?” Ning was rather surprised. This trial wasn’t too hard for him, but it was almost impossibly hard for a Daolord.

“Do you feel this is difficult?” The white-haired elder said coldly, “If you were an Emperor, you would have to defeat the Hegemon and knock the Hegemon out of the palace in order to win. These two, master and disciple, are limited in their movements because they aren’t able to leave the palace. If you can force them out, then the formations will activate and slay them.”

“So you are telling me that if I succeed in passing through the third stage, the guardian will definitely die.” Ning was secretly stunned at how ruthless the master of the Azureflower Estate was. If Ning was an Emperor, he would’ve had to defeat the Hegemon by knocking the Hegemon out of the palace? Not even a true Hegemon would necessarily be able to succeed! Only one of the more elite Hegemons would be able to accomplish it. The Flamedragon Realmverse only had three Hegemons to begin with!

As for a Daolord capable of knocking out an Archon of the Sacred Cities? That meant the Archon had to either train in an Omega Dao or have reached an extremely high level in a technique similar to the [Heartsword] art. Only then would they be capable of such ludicrous levels of power. How many monstrous Daolords of that level had the Flamedragon Realmverse ever even given birth to?

“This trial is ridiculous,” Ning muttered silently to himself.

“If you aren’t a truly peerless and azzling figure, you are not worthy of challenging the third trial. Not even average Hegemons are worthy,” the white-haired elder said coldly. “Alright. Time to begin.”

“Heh heh heh…” The black-robed man slowly sauntered forwards, not disguising his murderous intent in the slightest as he let out an odd laugh. “Daolord boy, if you must blame someone, blame the master of this estate for his callousness. I once enjoyed a wonderful, carefree life roaming through the outside world, killing whoever I pleased. No one dared to stand in my way! Now, I’ve been forced to stay within this estate forever… but don’t worry. I won’t kill you too quickly. I’ll let you die a slow, agonizing death. I’ll take my time enjoying a delicate little morsel like yourself.” The black-robed man’s eyes were filled with excitement.

Ning stretched out both hands, causing two Northbow swords to fly out of the sheath and into his grasp. He was an incredibly talented Daolord who had reached the fourth stage of his Omega Sword Dao, and he also had his [Heartsword] art. Even if he had to fight the Hegemon, Ning was certain he would be able to leave this place safely.

“Kill.” The black-robed man made his move. Whoosh! A long black serpentine shadow appeared in the skies, moving with ghostly speed as it instantly charged towards Ning.

Boom! Ning casually tossed out one of his swords. Sword-light flew outwards like a surging tsunami, slamming into the black serpentine shadow with overwhelming and crushing power. The shadow was instantly destroyed, revealing the figure of the black-robed man within it. The man was wielding a long saber in a two-handed grip, and the blow smashed him into the ground with a loud boom.

The earth trembled violently. Only after a moment passed was the black-robed man able to rise to his feet.

“Another golem-body?” Ning shook his head. His opponent was no longer a true cultivator.

“Y-you…” The black-robed man stared at Ning in shock.

Boom! Boom! Ning continued to swing his Darknorth swords, sending one blow after another towards his opponent. His opponent wasn’t able to dodge the attacks at all and was sent flying repeatedly by Ning! After a mere five strikes, Ning was able to send his foe flying out of the palace gates.

“No…!” The black-robed man let out a terrified scream. The power of Ning’s strike was simply too great, and he was sent flying backwards while completely unable to control his body.

In the instant that he flew out of the palace gates, a blurry golden light suddenly appeared at the gates and brushed past his body. The black-robed man’s aura instantly vanished, his body separating into multiple different components that were whisked away by the golden light, which they vanished as well.

“He died.” The violet-robed Hegemon within the hall watched as his disciple died, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

He had once been an exalted Hegemon, a man of great glory and honor. He had an entire host of Emperors serving him, and no one had ever dared to oppose him!

But then the master of the estate had shown up. The Hegemon had been captured with nothing more than the wave of a hand. It was as easy as capturing a little baby chicken! He and his disciple had then been transformed into golem-like creatures who would forever stay here and obey the orders they had been given. Now, his disciple had died… and even the final remnants of his soul and truesoul had vanished.

“When will it become my turn?” the violet-robed Hegemon mused. A fierce light flashed through his eyes. “I won’t make it easy. I’m a Hegemon, and I’ve been training here for many years. I’m much more powerful now than when I was first captured. And… the master of the estate promised that I would have a chance to regain my freedom in the future.” The violet-robed man looked at the distant white-robed Ning. “Given how powerful this Daolord is… perhaps he is the hope which was promised to all of us captured Emperors?”

Ning had easily passed through all three trials. This stunned the white-robed elder.

“I passed the third trial, right?” Ning glanced at the white-robed elder.

“You passed.” The white-robed elder nodded. “Follow me, then.”

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Chapter 26 – As Vast as the Sea

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 26 – As Vast as the Sea

The white-haired elder led the way as Ji Ning and Whitethaw followed from behind.

“Put away your golem. There will no longer be any danger here,” the white-haired elder instructed.

“Yes, senior.” Ning waved his hand, putting away the Protector golem. This trip to the Azureflower Estate had been much smoother than he had anticipated… but when he thought about it, it made sense. The master of the estate had left behind two levels of challenges; one was meant for Daolords, the other was meant for Emperors. The Daolord-level trials had already been quite ridiculous; if Ning hadn’t mastered the [Heartsword] art, even the fourth stage of the Omega Sword Dao wouldn’t have been enough for him to win with ease.

The white-haired elder led the way until they reached a great palace. Boom! The palace walls parted before them, revealing a doorway. They entered through this side passageway and quickly reached a private, quiet hall.

“What is this place?” Ning looked about, rather stunned. This giant hall was filled with enormous bookshelves which leaned against the walls. Every single bookshelf was at least thirty kilometers long, and there were hundreds of layers for each one. Every single layer was filled with jade slips, and they truly were numerous beyond measure. Ning could see no end of them!

Ning was rather dazed. Just a cursory scan indicated that there had to be over a hundred billion scrolls here… and that was just a rough estimate! This was a staggering, unheard-of figure.

“These are all of the more powerful techniques which my master acquired after scouring virtually the entire Chaosverse.” The white-haired elder had a rather complex look in his eyes as he continued slowly, “It doesn’t just have cultivator techniques, it also has Sithe techniques. Master collected and modified them all, making them suitable for us cultivators to use.”

“In other words… this place holds all of the countless elite techniques which were created by the cultivator civilizations and the Sithe civilization.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “What you need to do… is to read through all of them.”

“All cultivator civilizations? The entire Sithe civilization?” No matter how steady Ning normally was, he couldn’t help but begin to tremble inside. This was simply inconceivable.

In his original planet of ‘Earth’ in the Three Realms, there was a saying: ‘After you read over ten thousand books, you can write like a god.’ The creation of every single technique represented the accumulated wisdom and insight of one particular cultivator! The reason why Ning was able to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step was in large part due to Ning having the chance to inspect the three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies which Autarch Bolin had left behind within that special region. They had been incredibly important, as they had broadened Ning’s horizons and let him gain many new insights and epiphanies.

And now?

The fruits of all cultivator civilizations were before him. Even the techniques belonging to the Sithe had been modified and retrofitted so that cultivators could make use of them. Countless techniques were gathered here. Their value was truly incalculable! They would be of far more help to him in understanding the Dao than any other treasure. This library was far more valuable than the Voidsea Jadeseal had been; even a Hegemon would go crazy for a chance like this!

“He scoured virtually the entire Chaosverse for these techniques, and even overhauled the techniques of the Sithe civilization…” Ning murmured softly. “Senior, can you please tell me who the master of this estate was?”

“My master didn’t plan to accept any disciples,” the white-haired elder said. “This is nothing more than the inheritance he has entrusted to later generations. Since you have passed his trials, you are deserving of what is here.”

“Inheritance?” Ning narrowed his eyes.

“Your guess is correct. Master is dead.” The white-haired elder glanced at the countless jade scrolls. His face was still cold and calm, but his gaze was rather distant and his voice very soft.

“Dead?” Ning could hardly believe this. “H-he… did he die in battle against the Sithe?”

“Hmph. You overestimate their abilities.” The white-haired elder laughed coldly. “The cultivator civilizations ended up winning our great war against the Sithe! But even if we lost the battle, as an Autarch my master would never have died to them.”

“Then how is it that he died?” Ning truly couldn’t believe it. An Autarch, someone who stood at the very apex of all cultivator civilizations, had somehow died?

“It was a form of suicide.” The white-haired elder shook his head. “Enough questions.”

Ning was rather dazed. A form of suicide? Autarchs had to have incredible Dao-hearts; how could one possibly choose to commit suicide? But then, Ning quickly understood. A ‘form of suicide’… that meant it wasn’t true suicide! Otherwise, why would the estate-spirit add the qualifier ‘a form of’? However, since the estate-spirit didn’t wish to speak further, Ning no longer pursued this line of questioning.

“Senior, you tell this junior who the master of this estate was? Given the grace he has shown to me, I simply must know his name,” Ning said.

“My master’s Daoist title was simply ‘Awakener’. He was referred to as Autarch Awakener.” The white-robed elder’s eyes shone with light.

Ning immediately turned and knelt down towards the countless jade slips in front of him as though he was facing his master. “This junior is named Darknorth. Senior, although you are not my master in title, you are my master in practice! This junior shall forever remember the benevolence you have shown me.” Ning then kowtowed nine times solemnly, wishing to express the gratitude and excitement he felt. Ning then rose to his feet.

“You are quite conscientious.” The white-robed elder nodded slowly when he saw this. “The benevolence Master has shown you vastly surpasses that which most teachers show their students. Not even most of Master’s actual students were permitted to see this techniques; only two were granted access.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded and then asked curiously, “Are you saying that Sithe techniques are not appropriate for us cultivators to train in? They have to be retrofitted first?”

“There are certain fundamental differences between us and the Sithe,” the white-haired elder said. “We are simply completely different on the most basic of levels. They were a different type of lifeform, a very unique type of lifeform, and they had a civilization and culture which belonged to them and them alone! We are not able to use the majority of their techniques, with just a few minor tricks available to us.”

Ning nodded.

“Enough. Go ahead and read through these first,” the white-haired elder instructed. “Also – before doing that, go ahead and swear an oath that you will not transmit anything you see here.”

Ning nodded. The lord of the Azureflower Estate, Autarch Awakener, hadn’t even permitted most of his personal disciples to view this place. Ning was lucky to even have a chance to read in this place; how could he possibly be permitted to transmit these techniques as he pleased? It had taken even Autarch Awakener an incredible amount of blood, sweat, and effort to accumulate all these techniques.

……

And so, Ning began a new life devoted to reading. He buried himself in the countless jade slips while surrounded by a field of accelerated time that was a hundred times faster than normal time. He memorized one jade slip after another.

This truly was a sea of techniques, and they came from different races, different realmverses, and different otherverses. They represented the accumulated wisdom of countless mighty cultivators, and Ning’s horizons were truly broadened. In fact, he was beginning to rapidly gain tremendous amounts of insight into the other Daos he was fairly skilled in, such as the Dao of Water and the Dao of Lightning! He was even gaining more insights into the [Omega Sword Dao] and the [Heartsword] art, both of which had already reached incredible heights.

The reading alone was enough to help him upgrade his insights. This was because he was reading and absorbing the accumulated wisdom of countless cultivators.

……

Ning began to feel himself change and transform as he subsumed himself within this sea of techniques. A new foundation was being established. Reading and memorizing all of these countless techniques was a way for him to dramatically expand his foundation of understanding! Right now, he had merely done some cursory reading; later on, he would train in each technique in detail. He would improve even more then! These countless techniques represented an inconceivable treasure in terms of cultivating the Dao. This was why Ning hadn’t hesitated at all in kneeling down and kowtowing as though he was in front of his master. He truly felt grateful.

For the first time… Ning began to feel that he had a chance at succeeding in the Daomerge.

By now, Ning was incredibly powerful and was able to read incredibly fast. It took him merely 130 million years to completely read through everything once. But of course, if one factored in the usage of temporal acceleration then Ning had actually spent over 13 billion years reading.

“I’m done reading.” Ning put down the final jade slip. His very aura itself had begun to change a bit. He had become more reserved and more ordinary-looking.

Over the course of reading for the past millions of years, Ning felt as though he had gained a picture of all cultivator civilizations as well as the entire Sithe civilization. He had bathed in the accumulated wisdom of two entire civilizations, and he no longer felt the slightest bit of pride in himself. So what if he had developed an Omega Dao? What was so pride-worthy about that? He was nothing more than someone who, prior to becoming a Samsara Daolord, had a few special ideas and encountered enough fortunate experiences that he was able to embark upon the path of the Omega Dao.

The Hegemons weren’t necessarily less talented than him, just not as lucky… and the likes of Emperor Heartsword, who had developed the [Heartsword] art, was also a freakishly talented figure.

The cultivator civilizations, as a whole, had far too many incredibly talented figures.

“Done reading?” The white-robed elder’s voice rang out.

Ning raised his head to look at the elder, then nodded. “I’m done reading. I feel as though the pride I felt previously was absolutely laughable.”

“In the great sea of the various cultivator civilizations, only Autarchs are truly supreme and transcendent. All others are quite common and ordinary.” The white-robed elder waved a finger, causing countless streams of light to appear midair within the palace. The light surged forward and opened a door which led to a hidden dimension… and from that hidden dimension flew out a series of jade slips as well as a single dazzling and eye-catching godsense crystal.

This godsense crystal was far more dazzling than any gemstone. It caused even Ning’s heart to shudder.

“Here are eleven scrolls of Omega Daos as well as my master’s own Dao,” the white-haired elder said.

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Chapter 27 – The Second Palace

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 27 – The Second Palace

Ji Ning was stunned. A godsense legacy… and ten scrolls filled with Omega Daos? The master of the Azureflower Estate, Autarch Qi, didn’t have a master-disciple relationship with Ning, but in truth he had done far more for Ning than any ordinary master would.

“These eleven scrolls of Omega Daos represent eleven absolutely dazzlingly Daolords,” the white-haired elder said. “All of them trained to become Daolords of the Fourth Step… but unfortunately, they all failed in the Daomerge. Despite that they left behind their Daos to posterity. Factor in the first one you received earlier, and you have won for yourself a total of twelve Omega Dao scrolls. These are all of the Omega Dao techniques which my master has collected.”

“They all failed in their Daomerge?” Ning felt a tremendous sense of pressure.

“If my guess is correct… your path should be that of the Omega Dao as well.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning, who nodded. Given how easily Ning had knocked the Archon-level guardian out of the palace, the white-haired elder had quickly come to this conclusion.

“The Daomerge for any Omega Dao is extremely, extremely difficult,” the white-haired elder said. “Anyone who succeeds in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao would gain inconceivable power, after all. It only makes sense that its Daomerge is incredibly difficult.”

Ning nodded in understanding. Samsara Daolords all chose different Daos. It was much like constructing a building. Ordinary Daolords who walked ordinary Daos merely had to build a thatched cottage! Even if they succeeded in the Daomerge, they would always remain within that cottage. They would be correspondingly weak.

The Omega Dao, however, required the construction of a giant palace that was tens of thousands of meters tall! That meant it needed a far more stable foundation… and even if the cultivator failed the Daomerge, he would still be able to easily dominate those weaker Emperors.

To become a Daolord of the Fourth Step meant that all of the basic preparations had been completed. One could attempt the Daomerge at any time. If you failed the Daomerge, your palace would begin to crumble. If you succeeded, it would be completed and eternal.

But of course, this was just a metaphor. To master an Eternal Omega Sword Dao was far more complex than creating any so-called palace.

……

Ning fully mastered all eleven scrolls of the Omega Dao, then accepted the crystal of godsense.

Whoosh. The godsense surged into his body, causing an awesome scene to appear within his mind.

A graceful youth dressed in a white robe with blue trims appeared in Ning’s mind. The youth looked ordinary at first, but the more one stared at him the more one would feel that he was deadly attractive. After becoming an Autarch, every single inch of his body had become naturally filled with the unspeakable aroma of the Dao! This sort of Dao-aroma would naturally generate feelings of irresistible attraction to weaker cultivators.

The graceful youth was standing within an ordinary-looking study, teaching a group of children. Ning had become one of the children as well, and he listened obediently as the young Awakener taught him.

Soon, the image changed to become that of an army camp. A military officer was drilling his soldiers with the spear. The military officer was the graceful youth, while Ning had become one of the soldiers.

Then, the scene transformed to become a barbarian tribe. The witch-doctor who led this tribe was teaching the young tribesmen, with Ning one of the tribesmen and the graceful youth the witch-doctor.

……

One scene after another played out. They all seemed ordinary, but they carried an ineffable, indescribable aura to them. Time flowed on for what felt like a trillion years. Ning started as a mortal, became a cultivator, and now was a Hegemon.

The graceful youth stood there in the void, a group of cultivators standing behind him. All of their auras were at the Hegemonic level, with Ning amongst them.

Whoosh. The graceful youth waved his sleeves, sending an ordinary-looking gust of wind towards Ning and the other cultivators. However the power of this gentle wind suddenly skyrocketed to become a billion times more powerful. The wind instantly reached an absolutely inconceivable level of power, instantly annihilating Ning and the other cultivators. However, Ning and the others then reappeared once more.

“This is my Dao. All of you have seen what there is to see. You may leave, now. Shoo.” The graceful youth smiled as he waved gently at the group.

……

Ning suddenly came back to his senses.

“You woke up?” The white-haired elder looked at Ning.

“I’m up,” Ning said. “I feel as though a trillion years have gone by… but I can sense from the local spacetime that only a day has actually gone past.”

Ning felt indescribable emotions in his heart. In the process of accepting the legacy, he had been ‘trained’ from a child to the point of becoming a Hegemon. Autarch Awakener had indeed displayed his Dao… but he had done so through countless demonstrations over the course of what felt like trillions of years. Ning felt a strong sense of attachment to him, as though the Autarch truly was his master and elder. When he thought of how Autarch Awakener had already perished, Ning felt a sense of sorrow in his heart.

“You’ve already viewed everything there is to view in the first palace. You can now enter the second palace, which is the final palace,” the white-haired elder said.

“The second palace?” Ning was startled. The first palace already contained the countless techniques which belonged to the cultivator civilizations, and even included countless retrofitted Sithe techniques. It even held Omega Daos and Autarch Awakener’s own Dao! What could the second palace possibly hold?

“Follow me.” The white-haired elder walked forwards.

“Yes.” Ning followed from behind. They walked to the end of this palace hall, where a passageway appeared in the walls. They entered the passageway, arriving at a second hall.

Ning could see that the second hall was clearly much smaller, roughly three hundred meters in size! It was laid out in accordance with the principles of the Eight Trigrams, and the four walls were filled with bookshelves and jade scrolls. However, the jade scrolls here numbered in the tens of thousands at most. There truly were far fewer here than in the previous hall.

“Are there even better techniques here?” Ning was puzzled.

“You’ve already seen all of the techniques of two different types of civilizations. What ‘better techniques’ are you expecting?” The white-haired elder gave Ning a glance.

“Then these jade scrolls…?” Ning stared at the surrounding area.

“You’ll know soon enough.” The white-haired elder pointed at the very center of the second hall, at the center of the Eight Trigrams. As he pointed, the ground in the center began to bulge upwards, transforming into a stone dais that was shaped like the Eight Trigrams and clearly meant for use as a meditation mat. The stone dais was black with a few specks of white light glowing on its surface. “Sit there.”

Ning didn’t hesitate. Given how might Autarch Awakener was and how powerful the wards within the Azureflower Estate were, it would be easy for the estate-spirit to kill him. Hell, even Hegemons would be slain with ease. Ning didn’t worry about any tricks or traps at all.

Ning walked over, then sat down in the lotus position atop the stone dais.

Whoosh. A bone-chilling cold instantly pervaded his entire body. Ning shivered. He could sense that the speed at which his truesoul ‘thought’ had just skyrocketed. He was now able to think unfathomably faster than before.

“My master spent untold amounts of effort to construct this Azureflower Estate… and its heart is this stone dais,” the white-haired elder said as he pointed at the stone dais. “The countless formations in this estate have pooled their power within it, ensuring that it has an absolutely incredible supportive effect! Sitting on it is akin to being in a prajna-state of constant epiphany.”

Ning nodded. When he sat atop this stone dais, the effect was indeed much stronger than that of the Stone Censer of Reunion. Ning couldn’t help but lower his head to look at the stone dais. This was simply too incredible and marvelous. With this stone dais, he would be able to cultivate the Dao much more quickly than before. Most likely, even his chances at the Daomerge would be improved by a bit.

“My master originally constructed this stone dais for himself. He spent his time cultivating atop it, and he paid an absolutely astronomical price to create it. Now, he has left it to those who are linked to this place by karma and destiny.” The white-haired elder watched as Ning excitedly lowered his head and gently stroked the stone dais, then continued; “Now that you have passed the trials, you can come use this stone dais for as long as you are alive. I suspect that it is highly unlikely a second destined person will make it here in the next 108,000 chaos cycles.”

Ning nodded excitedly. This was definitely a truly supreme and peerless treasure.

“Calm down first. Once you’ve completely calmed down, I’ll talk to you about something else,” the white-haired elder said.

“Alright.” Ning could sense that his heart was still trembling. He had first viewed the countless techniques belonging to two different types of civilizations, then discovered this stone dais which vastly surpassed the Stone Censer of Reunion. Ning naturally was in a state of shock!

……

A long while later, Ning finally began to calm down. He looked at the white-haired elder, his heart tranquil.

“Now that you are calmer, I’ll explain.” The white-robed elder said, “The reason why my master left behind so many arrangements and even permitted you to view all of these techniques… is because of a final, dying wish he had.”

“A final wish?” Ning was stunned.

“Yes.” The white-robed elder nodded. “You should have already trained in the ‘Ninespace’ technique, yes?”

“The ‘Ninespace’ technique?” Ning was startled.

“Those Nine Chaos Seals,” the white-haired elder explained. “My master created the Nine Chaos Seals. They allow you to establish a brand new space within your sea of consciousness where an azure flower will bloom. This is the ‘ninespace’ region. It can convert Immortal energy, divine power, heartforce, and all other types of energy into a single mist-like form of energy. Of all the techniques which my master created in the countless years after he reached Autarchy, this is his proudest… but also his greatest regret. Even when he died, he still felt regret over this technique.”

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Chapter 28 – Creating Ten Techniques

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 28 – Creating Ten Techniques

“His greatest regret?” Ji Ning was rather puzzled. The Nine Chaos Seals were indeed quite marvelous. They were capable of transforming his heartforce, his divine power, his Immortal energy, and even the chaos energy of the outside world. It made the energy inside his body far more pure, and was extremely nourishing to the soul and truesoul. Wasn’t it perfect?

“Yes… his greatest regret. Master had always felt regret over this technique and was unhappy with it,” the white-haired elder said with a nod. “The ‘Ninespace’ technique has many inherent flaws. For example, one can only master it before reaching the World level! Otherwise, there will be no way to establish the ninespace region within the sea of consciousness. For another example, there’s no way the mist-energy can leave the body.”

Ning nodded. This was true, and the reason why in the past he had always relied on close combat. However, the more powerful one became, the more important one’s mastery over the Dao would be. By now, the additional strength granted to him by the azureflower mist energy was negligible.

“But these are all small flaws. If Master spent a bit more effort, he would be able to perfect them,” the white-haired elder said. “The fatal flaw to this technique… is that the ninespace region is at most able to convert the power of Samsara Daolords! The divine power, heartforce, and Immortal energy of Eternal Emperors cannot be converted at all.”

Ning was stunned. “Eternal-level energies cannot be converted?”

“Right. Thus, this technique is only useful to cultivators below the Eternal Emperor level.” The white-haired elder shook his head and sighed. “My master’s original plan was to create a total of twelve of those chaos seals! Not only would this technique be able to convert the energies of Eternal Emperors… it would even be able to convert the energies of Autarchs! Only then would this technique be considered perfect. If it could convert an Autarch’s energy, it would be of huge benefit to even the Autarchs!”

Ning could only nod. He didn’t really understand what Autarchs were truly capable of, but being able to convert their energies had to be quite helpful.

“The reason why my master created this technique was because the Sithe race relied upon a source of energy that was very pure and similar to this mist energy,” the white-haired elder said. “Every member of the Sithe race, from the weakest to the strongest, all used something akin to your mist-energy.”

“Ah?!” Ning was stunned. “They don’t use divine power or Immortal energy?”

“They do not.” The white-haired elder shook his head. “Their energy source can be used the same way as divine power or Immortal energy is used, but is even more powerful. Why would they need divine power or Immortal energy?”

Ning was truly stunned now. It seemed as though the Sithe truly were fundamentally different from cultivators; even their techniques were completely different! Perhaps there were justa few simple techniques like the [Daoheart] or the [Vitalis] arts which both sides could use. This was the reason why Emperor Waveshift had moved Crimsonwave Temple to his home without destroying the [Daoheart] or [Vitalis] techniques.

“To create an entirely new system of cultivation is unspeakably difficult. Master labored by himself for untold aeons to find a way to merge divine power, Immortal energy, heartforce, and all other types of energy into this mist energy,” the white-haired elder said. “This was Master’s greatest goal, and he poured all of his effort into it.”

“He scoured the cultivator civilizations for techniques, and even retrofitted countless Sithe techniques for us to use… but his true goal was still to create the Nine Chaos Seals.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “Master is dead now, and his dying regret was this technique. Thus, he hopes that his successors will be able to create a tenth chaos seal… and perhaps help him realize his hypothesized eleventh and twelfth chaos seals.”

Ning nodded slowly. He couldn’t help but ask, “If even the Autarch failed, how could we successors possibly succeed?”

“Do not underestimate any cultivator. Master was able to become an Autarch due to his talent, but also due to the countless strokes of good fortune he encountered. You juniors aren’t necessarily less talented than my master… and in fact, you yourself were able to develop an Omega Sword Dao at the Samsara Daolord level. When my master was a Samsara Daolord, he wasn’t even close to being a match for you,” the white-haired elder said. “There are some things which you can do which my master might not be able to.”

Ning was enlightened. Indeed, every single extremely talented cultivator had their own experiences and insights, and they would create techniques with those different thoughts in mind. Autarch Awakener had failed, but that didn’t mean that all cultivators would fail.

……

“Master once lived here for many years, coming up with all sorts of techniques.” The white-haired elder pointed at the stacks of jade scrolls. “These are the various cultivation techniques which Master collected. They include many techniques meant for mortals. These are meant for ‘Foundation’, ‘Golden Core’, and ‘Nascent Soul’ cultivators… those over there are meant for the ‘Yin God’, ‘Thunder Tribulation’, and ‘Yang God’ cultivators… and those are meant for ‘Core Formation’, ‘Nine Cycles’, and ‘Truth’ level cultivators. All sorts of cultivation techniques are here, and they represent different paths of cultivation. However, everything eventually points towards the path of divine power and Immortal energy.”

“Master’s original plan was to create a completely new system of cultivation from scratch, but it was simply too difficult. Thus, in the end he developed the Nine Chaos Seals instead. These jade scrolls include many of Master’s thoughts about creating new techniques as well as other avenues he had considered.”

Ning stared at the tens of thousands of jade scrolls on the bookshelves around him. He couldn’t help but imagine how Autarch Awakener had once sat on the stone dais, meditating on how to create better techniques.

He was an exalted Autarch… and his dying regret was this technique? Ning couldn’t help but sigh emotion. However, it made sense. As an Autarch, Awakener had been completely and truly invincible. He was able to create even alternate universes with ease. Autarch Bolin had created the Aeonian race! As for Autarch Awakener, he had poured his efforts into creating a technique that could convert Autarch-level energies. Alas, the Autarchs had to be incredibly lonely; to be invincible truly did mean to be lonely.

“As a Daolord who was able to pass the trials, you are a truly dazzling figure amongst your peers.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “I hope you can help my master accomplish his greatest dream.”

“I won’t ask much of you. If you can create a tenth chaos seal, that’ll be enough,” the white-haired elder said.

Ning nodded. Ning was in a state of constant epiphany thanks to being seated on the state dais, and countless insights were flashing through his mind. However, the more he thought about the Nine Chaos Seals, the more unfathomable and marvelous he found it to be. Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of true veneration. Anyone capable of creating such a technique was truly inconceivable… how was he supposed to make a further improvement to it?

Ning pondered there for many hours, then finally spoke: “It’s too hard.”

“Haha, of course it is hard! Master spent countless hours working on it to no avail. How could it be so easily accomplished?” The white-haired elder continued, “That is why master left a treasure behind to help you.”

Ning listened attentively.

“However… prior to me givng it to you, you must create ten different techniques!” the white-haired elder said. “As you are a Daolord… the complexity and profundity of every single technique must reach the Archon level.”

“Ten different techniques, each of which must be at the Archon level?!” Ning was flabbergasted.

“Right!” The white-haired elder nodded. “As a Daolord, if you can create ten different Archon-level techniques, it will be considered proof that you are quite talented when it comes to creating new techniques. In that case, I can give you the other treasure which Master left behind, and it will be of great use to you.”

“I need to create ten techniques for just one treasure?” Ning felt as though Autarch Awakener’s requirements were far too high. “But creating a tenth chaos seal to add onto the original Nine Chaos Seals will be of no use to me.” Ning shook his head.

The tenth chaos seal would allow Eternal Emperors to convert their energies… but the greatest problem facing Ning right now was the Daomerge!

“This treasure is an extremely valuable one. It is of great use to cultivators, especially those facing the Daomerge like yourself.” The white-haired elder added mysteriously, “Even the Autarch was extremely reluctant to part with it, which is why he insisted that you create ten techniques to prove your worth. Only then will he give you the treasure. Otherwise, it would be wasted on you. My master isn’t going to waste his resources like that.”

“It is of great use to those facing the Daomerge?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“Right.” The white-haired elder laughed. He knew that this was what intrigued Daolords the most. Every single Daolord was unable to resist the allure of something which would aid them in the Daomerge.

“It is ranked number one in the entire Chaosverse with regards to help cultivators cultivate… and that naturally extends to the Daomerge as well,” the white-haired elder said.

“It is ranked number one? What about the Voidsea Jadeseal?” Ning asked.

“I’ve heard of those things. They can only be created by Emperors who are extremely talented in the Dao of Numerancy, but they are of no use to cultivators like yourself, because you train in the Omega Sword Dao. Right?” The white-haired man continued, “No number of Voidsea Jadeseals would be of as much use to you as this treasure. However, you have to first prove yourself in terms of your skill in creating techniques before I’ll give it to you.”

“Ten techniques, all Archon-level?” Ning nodded. “Fine, then. I’ll create ten techniques.”

……

And so, Ning began to create new techniques all by his lonesome within the Azureflower Estate just outside the Three Realms.

He had already reached the fourth stage with his [Omega Sword Dao], and so it counted as his first Archon-level technique.

His [Heartforce Eradicator] technique was also extremely powerful and at the Archon level in might, but its underlying mysteries were based on the Omega Sword Dao and so it did not count. The [Dreamstar] art, however, was a type of illusory art which was merely at the supreme Daolord level. It was far too weak; it didn’t count.

Thus… at present Ning had only created a single Archon-level technique, the [Omega Sword Dao]. He needed to create nine more before he would be acknowledged as a gifted technique-creator by the spirit of the estate.

Luckily, Ning had been given the chance to see countless techniques which had been created by the cultivators as well as the Sithe, and was seated atop that stone dais. He was constantly in a prajna-state, and so he began to focus on his meditations. His first goal was to perfect his [Dreamstar] art, as it had already reached the supreme Daolord level. He only needed to upgrade it by one full level and it would be at the Archon level of power.

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Chapter 29 – One Chaos Cycle

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 29 – One Chaos Cycle

Planning was easy. Actually carrying it out was extremely difficult.

Since Autarch Awakener, master of the Azureflower Estate, had decided that creating ten Archon-level techniques was the trial which Daolords needed to pass, there was no way that it would be easy for Ji Ning to accomplish it. Daolord Featherdress had been an incredibly dazzling Heartforce Cultivator and Daolord, but she had only created a single supreme technique, the [Featherdress Soulthrall Melody]! Ning now needed to do the same, but this would require a sufficiently deep foundation in the art of illusions. If he hadn’t build up enough experience, there would be no way he could possibly create such a technique.

“Illusions…” the white-robed Ning sat there on the stone dais, runes swirling over its surface as time moved a hundred times faster than in the outside world. His eyes were closed as he continued to meditate, with one technique after another flashing through his mind. These were all the various heartforce illusion techniques which the cultivator civilizations and the Sithe civilization had created.

Heartforce was a very mysterious type of energy! It was able to merge with other types of energy and allow one’s power to increase by an explosive level. Ning was merely at the Archon level of enlightenment, but the twelfth stance of the [Heartsword] art allowed him to stand above virtually all other Archons. He was extremely close to the Hegemon level of power. This was what was so marvelous about heartforce! Heartforce illusions, in turn, were extremely common as well.

The cultivators and the Sithe had both created many different types of heartforce illusions.

“Illusions can be used like this?” Ning continuously analyzed and dissected one illusory technique after another. The weakest were at the Archon level, the stronger ones were at the Hegemon level, and a few were even more profound than that. Previously, Ning had merely read through them and memorized them; now, he was truly analyzing them. As his analyses grew deeper and deeper, Ning began to accumulate a steadily deepening foundation in the art of illusions, and his [Dreamstar] art naturally began to slowly improve as well.

……

Every single illusory art had profound mysteries hidden within them. Even though the stone dais let him remain in a constant prajna-state, it still took Ning an extremely long period of time to fully analyze and dissect every single technique. The easier ones took as little as a million years, while the longest took over a hundred million! And this was with him only analyzing them up to the Archon level; for now, he was completely unable to analyze the more profound mysteries.

In total, it took Ning over fifty-six billion years to finish analyzing all of the illusory arts. If it hadn’t been for the stone dais, it probably would’ve taken him ten thousand times as long!

Next, Ning began to sort out and arrange the various insights he had gained. He began to merge them together, seeking to create an illusory art that belonged to him and him alone! After gaining so many new insights, he immediately concluded that his [Dreamstar] art was far too simple and crude; in fact, Ning felt that there were some fundamental problems with its most basic underpinnings. Thus, he chose to completely start from scratch and create his own illusions.

Another three billion years went by, at which point Ning finished sorting through and merging all of his many insights together into a new illusory art, which he named the [Unfettered Dreamlands].

……

Within the second hall inside the palace. Atop the stone dais. Ning was still seated in the lotus position, but his demeanor and aura had both somewhat changed. In the past, this white-robed youth’s aura had been stately and reserved, almost like a blade that had been hidden within a sheath; when drawn, his sharpness would be on full display! Now, however, Ning’s aura had become a bit more ephemeral and ghostly. He was like a drifting cloud, a gust of wind, a fluttering leaf, a ray of warm sunlight that broke through the darkness.

Cultivators who saw him would feel a very comfortable feeling, and in their hearts they would naturally feel very well-disposed towards Ning. Even cultivators who had originally been nervous or depressed would feel much more relaxed just by looking at Ning.

“To be free and unfettered… for cultivators, this is far too rare. In my illusions, however, I can find perfect, unfettered freedom.” Ning smiled.

The [Unfettered Dreamlands]… as the name suggested, the crucial parts to it lay in the words ‘unfettered’ and ‘dreamlands’.

‘Dreamlands’ – Ning would set up an artificial world of dreams within the illusions, with Ning being the one to envisage and design the elements within this world! In fact, Ning could even set up a special region within his actual heartworld and use it to simulate the appearance of his ‘dreamlands’. Ning’s goal was to make the dreamlands as real-looking as possible, while also filled with fatal allure. He would then adjust it slightly in accordance with each target.

‘Unfettered’ – This referred to how the goal was to cause the opponent to unconsciously be seduced by the illusions. There were some things that simply couldn’t be forced; only when you managed to lower the natural resistance generated within the depths of your foe’s Dao-heart would you be able to make it more difficult for the foe to escape your illusions.

Think about it; why was it that even the more shallow illusions were often focused on the flaws in people’s hearts? For example, Ning deeply desired to revive his wife, and so illusions targeted at Ning would often conjure up images of Yu Wei and allow Ning to ‘reunite’ with her! This was because Ning wanted to see this more than anything else, making his Dao-heart less resistant to it. If Ning’s Dao-heart was weak, he might succumb to the illusions and be trapped in them for longer, increasing the chances of him dying.

In a battle between experts, a second of slumber could result in death. The words ‘unfettered’ and ‘dreamlands’ served as the nucleus of the [Unfettered Dreamlands], which then transformed into countless arcane and profound illusions.

“Senior,” Ning said.

“Hm?” The distant seated white-robed elder opened his eyes to look at Ning.

“Here is the second technique.” Ning pulled out a jade scroll upon which was recorded the information regarding the heartforce illusion technique which Ning had created, the [Unfettered Dreamlands]. The jade scroll flew over to float in front of the white-robed elder.

The white-robed elder accepted it, inspected it carefully, then nodded. “You spent just over half a chaos cycle and have managed to create an Archon-level illusory art. Not bad, not bad. It seems you might have a chance to actually create the ten necessary techniques.”

Ning explained, “I’ve always been skilled in heartforce, which made analyzing those illusions fairly easy! As for the other Daos… there are some which I’m not skilled in at all. Creating techniques for them shall definitely be far more difficult.”

He was the most highly skilled in the Dao of the Sword. He had already created the fourth stage of the [Omega Sword Dao] before arriving at the Azureflower Estate.

He was just slightly less attuned to heartforce, but thanks to the effects of the stone dais he had been able to create the technique after nearly sixty billion years. However, if you factored in temporal acceleration, he had actually spent over half a chaos cycle! 1 Finally, he had been able to develop the [Unfettered Dreamlands] technique.

When cultivators calculated their lifespans, they calculated based on the ‘real’ time they had spent, excluding the benefits of accelerated time. By now, Ning had spent more than half a chaos cycle in ‘real’ training.

Next, Ning needed to accumulate insights into the Dao of Water and the Dao of Lightning. After that would come the Dao of Fire, and then would be the Daos of Space, Time, Earth, and a few others.

In truth, cultivators generally focused on a single Dao and wouldn’t waste time on multiple other Daos. If you reached an extremely high level in a single Dao, you would gain access to movement techniques, invulnerable forms, defensive abilities, offensive abilities, and more. This was true for all Daos, and so there was no need to diversify. The Ninedust Sectlord, for example, focused exclusively on the Dao of Water.

However… from another perspective, it could be said that training in multiple Daos had its own benefits as well. The differences between the Daos could bring inspiration, as all Daos were linked together!

“With the stone dais helping you, you should be able to do it.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “Creating these ten techniques will be of help to you as well. The Daomerge for the Omega Daos is simply too difficult… creating multiple Archon-level techniques will only benefit you, not harm you.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. He had to admit this was true.

……

And so, Ning began to focus on analyzing the Dao of Water.

The Dao of Water was a vast Dao which many, many people trained in. Ning began to analyze one technique after another. There were many major powers who had become supreme Daolords thanks to the Dao of Water. Some had become Archons, while a few had become Hegemons! However, everyone had a different interpretation of the Dao of Water, even though the Dao itself was the same.

Alas, Ning felt tremendous regret that despite there being countless techniques pertaining to the Dao of Water, there was no ‘Omega Water Dao’.

Obviously, Ning would need to spend much more time on the Dao of Water than he had on illusions. And so, time slowly flowed on.

In the blink of an eye, Ning had spent over an entire chaos cycle of ‘actual time’ training within the Azureflower Estate… and he was still absorbed in his studies.

……

Everything was so peaceful and calm. No one in the Flamedragon Realmverse knew that during the past chaos cycle, an utterly terrifying Heartforce Cultivator had arisen.

Ever since the Flamedragon Realmverse had lost its Heartforce Hegemon, it had never given birth to another Eternal Emperor who was also a Heartforce Cultivator. And indeed, it was extremely rare for Eternal Emperors to be Heartforce Cultivators.

Although Ning’s heartforce was quite strong upon him becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step, allowing him to easily trap a large number of Emperors with illusions during the battle for Silksnow City, his actual skill in illusions was rather low. He had completely relied on his powerful heartforce to gain victory. Ning’s illusions had been completely ineffective against Archon-level opponents.

Now, however… Ning’s weakness in illusions had been addressed. He had truly skyrocketed to a brand new level, the Archon level.

The stability of the Omega Sword Dao ensured that Ning’s heartworld was probably second only to that of a Heartforce Hegemon’s! This made his heartforce indescribably powerful. Now that both his heartforce and his illusory arts had reached incredibly high levels, even a number of the Archons of the Sacred Cities would fall to his illusions. In a life-and-death battle, being trapped in an illusion for even a brief instant would make it so that you lost control over your invulnerable form… and Ning would take advantage of that moment to slay his foe with ease.

1. Finally, we have specific information on how long a chaos cycle is! Since we know temporal acceleration was at 100x, this means six trillion years is roughly ‘half a chaos cycle’, meaning a full chaos cycle is ten trillion years!

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Chapter 30 – Heading Off

Book 36, Daolord of the Fourth Step, Chapter 30 – Heading Off

It was difficult for the three mighty Hegemons to slay Archon-rank Emperors, precisely because the Emperors could use their invulnerable forms to flee. However… if they were trapped in illusions, they would be unable to escape or to maintain their invulnerable forms. Their minds would’ve been drawn into the illusions, allowing them to be killed.

Heartforce Emperors were the terrifying stuff of legends. The entire Flamedragon Realmverse didn’t have a single Heartforce Emperor in it at present. For Heartforce Cultivators to succeed in the Daomerge was far more difficult than for those who trained in any other Dao; most likely, it was second only to those who walked the path of the Omega Dao. Heartforce Cultivators had to have extremely large and stable heartworlds if they wished to have a chance at the Daomerge.

Thus, Heartforce Cultivators would generally improve themselves to at least the supreme Daolord level. Only then would they have sufficiently large and stable heartworlds for them to even consider the Daomerge.

When Ning had visited the alternate universe, he had seen the corpse of a Heartforce Hegemon. He had also seen the Heartforce Hegemon who had died in combat against the Sithe. Both of those were Emperors!

It was virtually guaranteed that a Heartforce Cultivator who succeeded in the Daomerge would become a Hegemon-rank Emperor! Only a tiny, tiny fraction of them would end up as Archon-rank Emperors.

Ning, however, was already comparable to Archon-rank Heartforce Emperors in power! Although he wasn’t able to threaten Hegemons, he was more than capable of threatening the other Archons.

……

While Ning was training, other things were happening within the distant Terror Starsea.

Rumble… countless streams of fire formed a giant whirlpool that surrounded and filled this vast territory. The flames were incomparably beautiful, and they actually converged to form flowers.

A skinny white-haired, white-browed man simply stood there at the edge of the beautiful vortex of flames, staring into it. His white brows fluttered as his oily green eyes stared intently into the very center of the vortex.

“Hmph. Ninedust… no matter how crafty you are and how much you struggle, you’ve still fallen into my trap.” Archon Silksnow smiled coldly. “It took me a hundred million years, but I’ve finally found you. Did you think I really want you dead? No… killing you is just a perk. The person I really want to kill is Daolord Darknorth?”

A frenzied, murderous look was in Archon Silksnow’s oily green eyes. “You have chosen a path of death. You are actually helping me out tremendously by charging into the ‘Jadefire Realm’! Haha… all I need to do is send word of your predicament, and I trust your dear friend Daolord Darknorth will come here to rescue you. I’m not able to kill him… but the Jadefire Realm is!”

“The two of you will both die here.” Archon Silksnow’s eyes burned with savage hate. In truth, when he had first entered the Terror Starsea, his plan had been to kill Ninedust and steal his treasures. He had carefully searched through many places within the Terror Starsea. He was much more powerful than Ninedust and had the assistance of his realmship, which meant that he was able to escape from some of the more dangerous places thanks to its help. Even though the Terror Starsea was a vast place, he was still able to find the Ninedust Sectlord.

Ninedust had felt that he was already quite deep within the vast Terror Starsea. Logically speaking, it wasn’t very likely for Archon Silksnow to be able to locate him. This was why he had chosen to carry the realmship part alongside him in a rather casual manner… but who would’ve thought that thanks to luck and the realmship resonance, Archon Silksnow had really ended up finding him?

Ninedust had immediately fled in terror. He moved fairly slowly, and so he immediately used his escape-type treasures to flee! Archon Silksnow was forced to pursue him, and this pursuit lasted for quite some time.

No matter how he tried, Ninedust was unable to shake his pursuer. In the end, he had gritted his teeth and charged straight into the legendarily lethal ‘Jadefire Realm’. “Hmph, I want to see if Archon Silksnow would dare to come in as well.” All Daolords were possessed of a certain defiant and fearless madness.

“He thought I wouldn’t dare to go in? Of course I would. I’d rather die than live such a miserable life… but it won’t be me who dies. Not only will you die, Daolord Darknorth will die as well.” Archon Silksnow was legendary for his savagery, even amongst Emperors. He was savage to others but even more savage to himself. He immediately road his realmship straight into the vast flaming vortex.

……

Nightfall. Vastheaven Palace.

The golden-robed Ning was seated at the peak of a mountain. The mountain wind blew past him as he sipped some wine. Su Youji was next to him, seated upon a large boulder and sharing the wine.

Ning’s true body was training within the Azureflower Estate with the help of the Autarch’s stone dais. This allowed him to train at a terrifyingly fast speed. Whether or not Ning’s avatar ‘assisted’ didn’t really matter, as it was of little help in speeding up his cultivation further. As a result, he now had a chance to relax and enjoy life.

The two drank together, exchanging a few casual words in conversation from time to time.

“Master… can you tell me about your Dao-companion?” Wine gourd in hand, Su Youji suddenly asked this question.

Ning smiled. “She was my senior apprentice-sister. When I first joined our sect, she was more powerful than me.”

“More powerful than you?” Su Youji was surprised. In her eyes, Ning had always been a dazzling figure. He was the most powerful Daolord in the history of the Flamedragon Realmverse!

“Yes. Back then, she held a very high status within our sect,” Ning said. “The two of us actually took part in the Conclave of Immortals together. She really was quite talented. Unfortunately… she concealed a great secret within her heart which prevented her from fully and truly devoting herself to cultivation.” Ning let out a sigh. “Come to think of it… she was a truly tragic figure in both her past life and in this life.”

“Her happiest days were most likely when she was pregnant and living together with me in peace.” Ning smiled. He would never forget those days, never forget how he trained in sword-arts while the pregnant Yu Wei watched him, a merry smile on her face as she gently stroked her protruding belly. Those days of peace and bliss, when the war had yet to truly erupt, were the most beautiful memories he had.

“Our daughter is all grown up, and the plotters are all dead. My homeland is at peace… but she is gone.” Ning raised his head to gulp down the wine, then put down his gourd. “I’ve focused on the Dao my entire life. Part of it is because I wish to gain a grander understanding of the universe and see more of its sights… but the other part is because I wish to one day be able to resolve those regrets and have our family of three be reunited once more.”

“You’ll definitely succeed, Master,” Su Youji said.

“In the past, it was just a wild dream… but now, I can feel that I’m closing in on success.” Ning smiled. “This is proof that even the wildest of dreams can be made real.”

“If the three of us can be reunited, everything will have been worth it, haha. So what if I pass the Daomerge? So what if I become a Hegemon or an Autarch? I’ll still just be living a life of solitude.” Ning raised his head up high to drink more wine.

The wind continued to blow, but the night was very calm. Su Youji just watched Ning silently. She could sense that Ning’s innermost heart had already been filled. There was no way at all for another person to enter it.

“Darknorth! Darknorth!” A cry rang out from afar.

“Big brother?” Ning turned, only to see a figure fly towards him from afar. It was Emperor Solesky. “Come, come! You came at just the right time. Let’s drink!”

“I have important news to report!” Emperor Solesky landed on the top of the mountain, a worried look on his face.

“Important news? Tell me about it,” Ning said.

“The Ninedust Sectlord has been trapped within the ‘Jadefire Realm’ of the Terror Starsea! His life could end at any moment,” Emperor Solesky said frantically.

“What?!” Ning turned pale as a solemn look appeared on his face. “The Jadefire Realm of the Terror Starsea?”

The Jadefire Realm was a deathtrap which the Sithe had set up during the Dawn War. Countless Emperors of the cultivator civilizations had died there during that great war! In the end, the Sithe had been defeated and the Jadefire Realm badly damaged… but it remained a place of great danger. Not even Hegemons dared to go too deep within it.

However, Ning wasn’t afraid of it. He had his Shadowless form as well as his Sithe Protector golem, ‘Whitethaw’. Hegemons were able to enter and scout the outer areas safely, which meant that he was strong enough to deal with the dangers as well.

“Yes, the Jadefire Realm.” Emperor Solesky nodded. “This information is absolutely trustworthy. My good friend, Daolord Badlands, sent me the same information a while ago. He said that he engaged in some Numerancy to test it, and found it to be genuine. The Ninedust Sectlord is indeed in great peril. However… Badlands told me to warn you that you are the real target. He was unable to calculate if you will be in danger or not.”

“I’m the real target?” Ning nodded slowly. “Help convey my thanks to brother Badlands.”

“Ninedust didn’t ask me for help. That means he is worried about implicating me in this affair… but somehow, news of it still spread. That means this is likely an enemy plot.” Ning nodded. “If Badlands’ Numerancy says that this is a plot targeting me… the person who holds the greatest grudge against me is Archon Silksnow and the Emperors under his command. Alternately, it could be the Aeonians.”

“Darknorth, the Jadefire Realm is a legendary deathtrap of the Terror Starsea. Not even Hegemons dare to go too deep into it,” Emperor Solesky said worriedly. “Don’t let yourself fall for their schemes.”

Ning nodded: “Don’t worry, big brother.”

……

The Azureflower Estate. The second hall. Ning stood up on the stone dais.

“Hm?” The nearby white-bearded elder opened his eyes. He said with surprise, “You’ve developed the third technique already?”

“Not yet.” Ning shook his head. “Not even close. Right, senior… I need to leave on some business. My Primaltwin can come here and train, right?”

“Of course! I told you, so long as you are still alive, you may come and train whenever you please,” the white-haired elder said with a nod.

“Good.”

A short while later, the black-robed Ning arrived at the estate. He entered it, sat down on the stone dais, then continued the training process. This was an Autarch’s training chambers, after all; it was far more effective than the Stone Censer of Reunion, which Ning had already left in the Three Realms for his master Subhuti, his daughter, and his parents to use. In the future, it would be the supreme treasure of the Three Realms.

As for Ning’s true body? He left the Azureflower Estate by himself, beginning to advance through the Flamedragon Realmverse towards the Terror Starsea.

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Chapter 1 – Avatar

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 1 – Avatar

As Ji Ning began to head towards the Jadefire Realm of the Terror Starsea, his avatar sent word to Ninedust via the Palace of Ancient Truth.

“Ninedust, you are in the Jadefire Realm? I’m on my way.” This was the simple message which Ning sent.

The Palace of Ancient Truth had branches within all eight of the Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance, and the mighty Ancients were the power behind it. Ning’s words quickly made its way to the Ancients and thus to Ninedust’s avatar.

“What?!” Ninedust was shocked. He never would’ve imagined that Darknorth would find out that he had entered the Jadefire Realm. In his heart, he couldn’t help but feel gratitude; everyone knew that the place was a deathtrap! Darknorth knew it as well, but he still rushed towards it without hesitating.

“Darknorth, I’ve been chased by Archon Silksnow into the Jadefire Realm but I never made that information public. If you’ve found out… that means it must be Archon Silksnow who spread the news. This is his plot!” Ninedust sent word back to Ning as well. “No matter what, don’t come here. Archon Silksnow is a madman. This is definitely a plot aimed at you.”

His message made it back to Ning’s avatar in Vastheaven Palace… but alas, it was of no use.

“Ugh, Darknorth is so…” Ninedust knew that he wouldn’t be able to dissuade Ning, and so his avatar within the Ancient stronghold immediately headed off to Vastheaven Palace.

……

Outside Vastheaven Palace.

A man dressed in fluttering gray robes emerged from a tear in space, then stared at the distant Vastheaven Palace.

“Here I am.” The gray-robed man looked weatherworn, with anxiety written on his face. “I hope I made it in time.”

The gray-robed man waved his hand, causing countless drops of rain to appear in the air. The rain sprinkled down upon every inch of Vastheaven Palace, but the power within the rain was completely blocked by the barriers protecting the palace itself. The blocked power generated ripples which immediately attracted the interest of Emperor Solesky and Ji Ning’s avatar.

“Eh?” Both emerged from the barriers, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they stared off into the distance.

“Ha.” Ning’s avatar grinned. “You can head on back, big brother Solesky. Let me have a chat with my old friend.” Ning’s avatar then strode into the skies towards the gray-robed man.

Emperor Solesky smiled as well. He was also able to recognize who it was, as the gray-robed man had discarded his disguise and revealed his true appearance. It was indeed the Ninedust Sectlord.

“Ninedust.” Ning’s avatar walked over to stand next to the gray-robed man.

“Darknorth.” Ninedust looked at Ning, his feelings rather mixed. Although he didn’t wish for Ning to know that he was in great danger, he also felt very grateful for the way in which Ning had reacted upon finding out. This was what true brothers were like!

“I’m not too late, am I?” Ninedust asked. “Your true body hasn’t entered the Jadefire Realm yet, has it?”

“Not even close. I need to be careful when traversing the Terror Starsea. I can’t just blink about willy-nilly like here in the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Ning said with a smile. “It’ll take me at least another thousand years or so before I make it there.”

Ninedust let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness… eh?” Ninedust peered at Ning intently, rather surprised. “Why do I feel as though your aura has changed a bit?”

Although both were merely avatars, their auras were generated by their truesouls and their Daos. An evil cultivator’s very aura would become evil and malicious! Since the true body and the avatar were linked together and analogous, the aura of Ning’s avatar had indeed changed and become more powerful since last they met.

In the past, Ning was reserved and stately, like a blade that would reveal its sharpness when unleashed. Now, however, he seemed as vast and ineffable as the starry sky, but also as gentle as a drop of water. One couldn’t help but like him upon seeing him. He possessed a certain deep magnetism.

“It was caused by an illusory art I created,” Ning said.

“Illusory art?” Ninedust was surprised. “You’ve already reached such profound heights in the Dao of the Sword. How is it that an illusory art could have changed you this much?”

If one focused on illusions, one would generally gain tremendous charisma. Su Youji was a classic example of this. Ordinary cultivators who saw Su Youji would be uncontrollably intoxicated by her to the point of willingly following her as her servant. For those who had reached incredible heights in the art of illusions, their natural auras alone could seduce others without them even actively trying to do so.

Ning’s [Unfettered Dreamlands] technique was an illusory art Ning had spent over half a chaos cycle working on. He had created it with the assistance of the Autarch’s stone dais after he had delved into the many mysteries of the countless techniques he had studied. For it to have affected him was only normal.

“I was focusing on illusions recently and managed to make some progress.” Ning smiled smugly.

“Alright. Enough about your illusions.” Ninedust immediately said, “I came over here at full speed because I want you to avoid entering the Jadefire Realm. You already know that this is Archon Silksnow’s plot; why must you fall into it?”

Ning shook his head. “Plot? What sort of plot could he possibly have? Ninedust, why don’t you tell me what you think he can be plotting?”

“Don’t underestimate him. He’s crazy.” Ninedust revealed an anxious look. “I was chased by him through the Terror Starsea. I fled in panic and used up pretty much all of my treasures. When we moved past the Jadefire Realm, I gritted my teeth and dove into it to save my own skin.”

Ning nodded slowly. Faced with certain death, it only made sense that Ninedust had jumped into a deathtrap. At least that way, he had a chance, no matter how tiny. If he didn’t, he would be doomed once Archon Silksnow caught up to him.

“I thought that once I dove into it, he would be afraid to follow me inside.” Ninedust shook his head. “I was wrong. That madman actually charged in right behind me.”

“Oh?” Ning narrowed his eyes. “He went in as well? Does he have a death-wish?”

“That’s why I said he’s crazy!” Ninedust said seriously, “The Jadefire Realm is a deathtrap which the Sithe set up during the Dawn War. Even though we beat them in the end, many of our major powers died in it during the war! Even though I charged inside, if I’m careful and take my time, I should still have a chance to find an escape path and be able to leave it… but now that Arhcon Silksnow has charged inside as well, I’m forced to continue my headlong flight. I’m being forced to straight for the more dangerous-looking places inside the Jadefire Realm… but he’s still chasing me! In the end, I ended up being trapped in a place that looks like some sort of prison.”

“Prison?” Ning frowned.

“I’m not too sure myself. All I know is that I’m trapped within a small area of just thirty or so meters.” Ninedust sighed. “Thankfully, there’s no danger inside the cell for now… and Archon Silksnow didn’t dare to continue his pursuit.”

“A prison-like place, eh?” Ning frowned pensively. He was a member of the Brightshore Kingdom, after all; he had immediately set off to acquire a map of the Terror Starsea from the Brightshore Hegemon. He was planning to use treasures to trade for it, but Hegemon Brightshore had just given it for free. He now had maps from both the Hegemon and Daoist Bluestone, and as a result, he knew a bit about the Jadefire Realm. The Jadefire Realm was a deathtrap the Sithe had set up… and at its very center lay the prisons!

Quite a few major powers of the cultivator civilizations had been trapped within the Jadefire Realm. Many of them were unable to escape! Once the Sithe had trapped enough major powers, they would unleash a single ‘Decimatus Wave’ and annihilate all of the prisoners! Hegemon Brightshore’s records stated it thusly:

“The Jadefire Realm’s prisons are primarily spread across seven regions, and there are differences in them based on importance. However, the Sithe are all dead. I once scanned them from afar and found no signs of life within them… but the place is still filled with countless dangers. Although the Jadefire Realm has been badly damaged, rendering its apocalypse wave unusable, there are still many formations and barriers that are strong enough to cause even Hegemons to die.”

“The prisons?” Ning frowned. “Damn that Silksnow!” Even the ordinary prisons within the Jadefire Realm were incredibly dangerous places!

“Don’t worry, I’m fine for now,” Ninedust said hurriedly. “I’m merely restricted to a thirty-meter region. So long as I don’t touch any of the barriers, I won’t be in any danger.”

“But you are still in one of the Jadefire Realm’s prisons!” Ning was worried.

“That’s why you need to stay away, Darknorth.” Ninedust said hurriedly, “Archon Silksnow was crazy enough to charge in because he wants to use it to get rid of the two of us. He’s cast all caution to the wind. He’s already been inside for quite some time; by now, he probably knows quite a bit about that place. He has probably prepared traps for you! Once you go there, you’ll be in a new and foreign place. It’ll be easy for him to trick you.”

“I’m no fool,” Ning laughed.

“But he has the advantage!” Ninedust argued.

“Don’t worry. I’m not completely ignorant of the Jadefire Realm.” Ning shook his head. He had star maps from Daoist Bluestone and Hegemon Brightshore. As a result, he was quite familiar with the Jadefire Realm by now. “And… I’ve been wanting to get rid of him for some time now. If we just let that vile madman do as he pleases, he might end up causing some real trouble in the future. Best to get rid of him soon.”

“You…!” Ninedust was extremely anxious. “How can you…”

“It’s not like you don’t know what sort of temper I have.” Ning grinned.

“I knew I wouldn’t be able to dissuade you, but I still had to try.” Ninedust felt quite resigned. “Ugh. After all that talking, I still wasn’t able to budge you in the slightest! No matter what, safety first!”

“I’m not a hot-headed kid anymore,” Ning said with a laugh. “The only way I’ll be able to save you is if I keep myself alive.”

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Chapter 2 – Unexpected Surprise

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 2 – Unexpected Surprise

Ninedust had failed to dissuade Ji Ning, but he decided to temporarily reside within Vastheaven Palace. That way, he would be able to keep in constant contact with Ning and be able to report details regarding his situation. This would be helpful to Ning in Ning’s efforts to rescue him.

Within the Terror Starsea. Ning’s true body was hastening through the region, his Protector in tow. This place was far too dangerous; even Ning had to advance through it with great caution. After roughly eight hundred years, the two finally made it to the Jadefire Realm.

“We arrived.” Ning stared off into the front at the enormous, nigh-infinite vortex of fire which had appeared in the void. The flame vortex took up an enormous amount of territory. Each petal of fire was very beautiful, but filled with tremendous danger.

“Master.” Whitethaw’s eyes suddenly lit up and he spoke out.

“Yes?” Ning glanced at Whitethaw.

“I’ve been here before,” Whitethaw said.

“You’ve been here before?” Ning was delighted. He suddenly remembered that Daoist Bluestone had acquired this Sithe Protector in the Terror Starsea! Whitethaw had been charged with protecting an extremely high-status Sithe, which in turn meant it wasn’t that surprising for them to have visited the Jadefire Realm before.

“Yes.” Whitethaw nodded. “My original Sithe master was invited here before. This place which you cultivators call the ‘Jadefire Realm’ was known to the Sithe as the ‘Seven Flaming Hells’.”

“What else do you know?” Ning was overjoyed. This truly was an unexpected surprise. The more he learned about the Jadefire Realm, the easier his visit to it would be.

Whitethaw held nothing back from his new master: “This is a deathtrap which the Sithe laboriously built up. My master was merely invited here to view it, and so I only have a cursory knowledge of it! The heart of the Seven Flaming Hells are the seven core prisons within it. Those seven prisons are paramount, but there are a large number of ordinary cells as well! All of them, together, form the ‘Seven Flamehell Annihilation Formation’ which can generate a type of destructive black flames. Aside from Autarchs, virtually anyone touched by these destructive black flames will perish.”

Ning was in awe as he nodded slowly. “Those black flames… we cultivators refered to them as a wave of ‘Decimatus Flames’.”

“However, the Sithe ended up being defeated in the war. That means the Seven Flaming Hells were probably attacked and destroyed, along with its formation,” Whitethaw said. “Thus, Master, there’s no need for you to worry about the Decimatus Flames.”

Ning listened as Whitethaw continued: “Part of those prisons are damaged, but part are probably intact. If you wish to save your friend, Master, you must first find out where he is. If he’s trapped in a damaged prison, you’ll have a chance to rescue him! But if he is within an intact prison… rescuing him will be very, very difficult.”

“In addition, your enemy ‘Archon Silksnow’ is also present. Based on what you said, Master, he’s not inside the prisons. There are a large number of passageways outside the prisons,” Whitethaw said. “These many passageways are filled with many traps and barriers. The Sithe once controlled them to ensure that cultivators were unable to escape. Many died in those passageways or were blasted into a prison during the battles. My guess is that Archon Silksnow is definitely planning to use those mechanisms to trap you, Master.”

“Passageways? Prisons?” Ning nodded.

“When my original Sithe master was invited to come here, the receiving Sithe warned him never to fly within the passageways! He was only to walk on the ground. That way, even if he did run into some of the barriers, at least he wouldn’t be sent into the prisons.” Whitethaw smiled. “No matter how dangerous the situation on the ground might seem, he was not to fly at all.”

“The ground is filled with many dangerous barriers and formations, but they aren’t capable of killing Hegemons. It is precisely because of how dangerous the ground looks that many cultivators choose to fly instead, seeking to avoid those dangers.” Whitethaw continued, “But while it is true that you will encounter much fewer dangers while flying… the ones that you will encounter are lethally dangerous ones! Even Hegemons might perish.”

Ning nodded slowly. If it hadn’t been for Whitethaw telling him this, Ning would never have been able to guess at all of these secrets.

“You have to be careful, Master. I’ve only been to this place once with my original Sithe master before,” Whitethaw said, “And I’m only familiar with a few of the passageways which my Sithe master once took. As for the more important secrets of the prisons, I wasn’t privy to those.”

“You’ve told me enough. This is excellent.” Ning smiled.

Even when the Jadefire Realm was in perfect shape, so long as one walked without flying one wouldn’t encounter any dangers which could threaten Hegemons! Now that the Jadefire Realm was in bad shape, things would be even safer. Neither Archon Silksnow nor the Ninedust Sectlord had died in the passageways, after all.

“Hmph. Silksnow, so long as you stay outside the prisons, you won’t be able to threaten me no matter how you plot.” Ning felt much more relaxed, and a cold light flashed through his eyes. “I’m not going to die here, but you are.”

“Let’s go inside, Whitethaw,” Ning said. Whoosh. The two of them immediately flew into that enormous vortex of fire.

……

The enormous vortex of fire was pitch-black inside. After Ning and Whitethaw entered, they felt as though they had entered a completely different world.

“Eh?” Ning saw clusters of fiery passageways up ahead. The countless fiery passageways were all interlinked, almost like an enormous beehive.

During the Dawn War, this had been a Sithe base. The Sithe would be able to retreat here and recuperate in safety… but the cultivators who dared barge inside would all perish.

“I can sense them.” Ning stared towards a certain direction, then reached out with his right hand and pointed. “Silksnow is right over there.”

“Master, these passageways are all interlinked. You’ll be able to reach any prison from any passage,” Whitethaw said.

“If that’s the case, then we’ll choose that passageway.” Ning began to fly towards the passageway up ahead, the one which he felt would lead him towards Archon Silksnow.

……

“He’s here?” A skinny, white-haired, white-browed man was seated in the lotus position within an empty space that was merely three hundred meters in size. Archon Silksnow was able to sense that his realmship was resonating with a realmship part. A look of excitement flashed through his oily green eyes: “Daolord Darknorth actually came. Heh heh… they really are good friends.”

Although he felt that Ning would probably come, this place was still the Jadefire Realm. Not everyone would be willing to brave such great danger for the sake of a friend.

“Good. Daolord Darknorth… I might not be able to beat you, but the Sithe can.” Archon Silksnow stared towards the flames, a smile playing on his lips. “I’ll wait for you right here. Let’s see what you can do. I’m completely surrounded by lethal traps. So long as you come towards me, you’ll definitely activate them. Once you do, you are dead.”

The destruction of the Sithe had resulted in many of the barriers and mechanisms being revealed. There was no longer anyone in charge of them, which was why they could no longer remain hidden!

Archon Silksnow had chosen this region because there was a terrifyingly strong formation here. It was so mighty that just staring at it would cause one to shudder. Archon Silksnow knew that if he touched it, he would instantly perish! Thus, he carefully skirted the formation and then hid himself within the void besides it. He then set up a few formations of his own to help mask and disguise the truly dangerous one.

“I’ve already disguised the trap. There’s no way you’ll notice it at all.” Archon Silksnow revealed a smile. “You’ll definitely touch it… and even if you don’t, I’ll arrange for you to do so.”

He knew that someone like Ning would definitely be quite crafty. It wouldn’t be easy to trick him, and so he had made many plans to ensure that Ning would fall into at least one of them.

His advantage lay in the fact that he had been the first to enter the Jadefire Realm!

“Heh. You want to save your friend, eh? Heh heh heh… you are dead. Dead!” Archon Silksnow eagerly awaited Ning’s arrival. It had been a long, long time since he had felt this excited! The most dazzling Daolord in all of history was coming, someone who had destroyed the Silksnow Fiend Palace… and today, Archon Silksnow was finally going to get rid of him.

……

Whoosh. Ning flew into the passageway, then stepped onto the ground.

“Be careful, Master. As you follow the passageway, you’ll run into a fairly high number of barriers and traps.” Whitethaw was by Ning’s side, protecting him at all times.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. Ning began to carefully advance through the twisting, flaming passageways. The passageways were a thousand meters in diameter, and a number of mechanisms were clearly visible within them. Ning and Whitethaw were able to easily avoid touching them.

After walking for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning suddenly blinked. He then glanced at the nearby Whitethaw. “Whitethaw, didn’t you say there were plenty of dangers and mechanisms here?” They hadn’t encountered anything dangerous at all.

“Uh…” Whitethaw felt rather awkward. “I guess… maybe the Sithe are all dead and no one is in control… which is why there are no dangers?”

“Heh.” Ning laughed when he saw the awkward look on Whitethaw’s face. “Alright, let’s go.”

The two of them continued to traverse the passageways with ease, moving closer and closer towards Archon Silksnow.

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Chapter 3 – Ji Ning and Silksnow

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 3 – Ji Ning and Silksnow

The winding, flaming corridors stretched off for countless kilometers. They had been nightmares for cultivators during the Dawn War, but now that they were damaged and were no longer actively controlled, the barriers within had been dramatically lessened in number.

The flames beneath the feet of Ji Ning and Whitethaw suddenly transformed to form a giant flaming head that was three hundred meters long. The flaming head opened its great mouth, preparing to swallow Ning and Whitethaw whole.

“Break!” Whitethaw stomped down angrily towards the ground with his white, fur-covered feet.

Boom! The furry stomp delivered a strike of inconceivable power, instantly crushing the flames below and shattering the flaming head.

Ning chuckled when he saw this: “We finally encountered a trap. This was the first one for us.”

“Don’t worry, Master. Leave these mechanisms to me,” Whitethaw boomed sonorously.

“Haha, I’m not worried at all.” Ning laughed, but he couldn’t help but sigh secretly in amazement as well. No wonder the highest-ranking Sithe had all wanted Sithe Protectors like this. Whitethahw was definitely comparable to supreme Archons in power! Even when Ning fought against it with all his might, Ning was still unable to gain any advantage at all.

And this wasn’t the most impressive thing about it. What was really impressive was the fact that the golem was meant to protct and defend. In raw power alone, it was comparable to Hegemons in might! This was the reason why Ning wasn’t able to gain any advantage even when using his Heavenbreaker stance with all his power.

Aside from possessing overwhelming power, it was also capable of soft and flexible attacks. It was capable of tying down any foe, even Hegemon-level ones. It could also stand in front of its master, helping its master face any dangers.

It must be understood that not even an actual Hegemon would necessarily be as effective as a Sithe Protector when it came to actually guarding someone.

……

Ning and Whitethaw continued to follow the passageway. Whitethaw used his absolute, overwhelming power to block and crush any of the traps they activated. In truth, these mechanisms weren’t all that powerful; they weren’t even able to force Whitethaw to enter his ‘flexible’ mode.

Whoosh. Countless flames suddenly sprang up beneath Ning’s feet, surrounding him from every direction and from above him as well. Flames were spinning everywhere, almost as though they had just been trapped in a cage of flames. The spinning flames came together to form a strange script which was clearly accumulating a surge of terrifying power.

Ning’s face tightened slightly. This was the first time since entering this place that he felt a bit of danger. Clang! Ning pulled a pair of Northbow swords from the sheath on his back, bringing them to the ready.

“Master, leave it to me!” Whitethaw let out a low roar, slamming his giant furry palms in every direction in a series of furious strikes.

Boom! Boom! Boom! It was like a wave of palm-strikes striking out everywhere. Each palm was actually slightly stronger than even Ning’s full-force Heavenbreaker stance! More than ten palm-strikes were unleashed in the blink of an eye, causing the cage of flames to start to crack and crumble. Moments later, the cage exploded violently and then completely collapsed.

The Protector lowered his hands, a stolid and straightforward look on his face as always.

“Pretty impressive.” Ning was beginning to like the golem more and more. When Daoist Bluestone had traded this golem to him as part of the deal for the Omega Sword Dao, Bluestone had said that these Sithe Protector golems were extremely rare and of slight interest to even Autarchs.

“I’ll probably have to rely on Whitethaw if I want to rescue Ninedust,” Ning mused to himself. “It is much better at facing danger than I am, after all.”

As they continued to advance from one fiery passageway into another, Ning could sense that he was gradually growing closer to Archon Silksnow.

Six days passed in the blink of an eye.

“Almost there.” Ning turned solemn. Although he had the absolute advantage in power, Archon Silksnow had proven his determination when he had chosen to risk his life and enter the Jadefire Realm. Ning wouldn’t be the slightest bit over-confident against such a crazy foe.

Ning watched carefully as he continued to walk forwards. “Over there!” Ning’s eyes narrowed as he saw the man. A few hundred million kilometers away, a skinny white-robed, white-browed man was seated in the lotus position in a tiny empty space that was surrounded by flames. His oily-green eyes were fixed upon Ning as well.

Although flames and other things were between them, to experts like them mere matter was unable to block their line of sight. Previously, they were unable to see each other because they were too far away and too many mechanisms were present. Now that they were less than a billion kilometers away from each other, they were able to see each other clearly.

“Silksnow,” Ning said as he walked forwards.

“I really do admire you.” A gravelly voice rang out in the area around Ning: “You threw yourself into the Terror Starsea and then into the Jadefire Realm, all for the sake of just a single friend! Daolord Darknorth, I already admired you for your strength. Now, I admire you for your courage as well.”

“I admire you greatly as well. You are an Eternal Emperor, but you were willing to risk it all in diving into this deathtrap. If I chose not to come, it is possible that the end result would be that you and Ninedust would both die in here,” Ning said. “For an Eternal Emperor to be willing to enter into a suicide pact with a Daolord… I’m truly awed by your madness.”

Entering the Jadefire Realm was easy. Leaving was difficult! In the past the Sithe had allowed countless cultivators to enter without impeding them, then killed them once they were inside! Thus, although Archon Silksnow had been able to survive his entrance, actually leaving alive would be a thousand times more difficult. It wouldn’t be possible to simply take the original route back, after all.

“Suicide pact? You underestimate me too much,” Archon Silksnow said with a cold smile. He had a realmship, meaning that he was much better at staying alive than other Archons.

“You drew me here for the sake of trapping me, yes?” Ning continued to walk forwards, a smile on his lips. “You aren’t strong enough to do it yourself. Your plan is probably to use some of the terrifying mechanisms within the Jadefire Realm to do it yourself. If my guess is correct, you should be surrounded by incredibly terrifying traps.”

“Indeed. I’m surrounded by terrifying traps. Tens of them. Hundreds of them!” Archon Silksnow laughed wildly, “And that’s why you should stay far, far away from me. The closer you get to me, the sooner your death will come.”

The two continued to speak from a great distance, while Archon Silksnow concealed his true thoughts and his true plan against Ning. Closer, closer… just a little bit closer… Archon Silksnow eagerly awaited Ning’s arrival. He knew that given how proud Daolord Darknorth was, there was no way he would flee without even seeing the traps.

……

Archon Silksnow had his schemes, but Ning had plans of his own. If Whitethaw hadn’t told him some of the secrets of this place, Ning would be proceeding with much greater caution. Now, however, Ning knew that so long as he didn’t fly into the air he wouldn’t be attacked by any of the truly deadly mechanisms of this place.

“Silksnow, in the end your schemes will all amount to nothing,” Ning mused. However, he still instructed Whitethaw cautiously, “Whitethaw, stay ahead of me.”

“Acknowledged.” Whitethaw led the way, while Ning followed Whitethaw from behind. He was being cautious for the added security it would provide, but also for the sake of lulling Archon Silksnow into a sense of complacency.

The distance between the two began to shrink. Eighty million kilometers. Sixty million kilometers. Fifty million kilometers. Thirty million kilometers…

“The closer, the better. That way, Daolord Darknorth will suffer even greater repercussions from the shockwave.” Archon Silksnow felt his formerly-calm heartrate begin to pick up, hammering against his chest like meteors. “Closer…”

Ten million kilometers. Eight million kilometers. Five million kilometers…

“Eh? Why isn’t he attacking me yet? Hurry up and attack!” Archon Silksnow waited eagerly. “Once he attacks, he’ll definitely hit the barrier in front of me.” If Ning didn’t attack, he would have to come up with a way to trick him into touching the barrier.

The distance between the two had shrunken down to merely a million kilometers.

Whoosh. Suddenly a wave of invisible heartforce swept out, instantly passing the distance between them and falling upon the white-browed Archon Silksnow. This was the [Unfettered Dreamlands], and a beautiful dream-world appeared before his eyes.

“I’m finally invincible! Hahaha… I’m the ruler of this realmverse! Hahahah!” Archon Silksnow was seated upon a throne. Below him were Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, and the other major powers. They were all waiting on him subserviently, causing him to laugh with delight.

However, a moment later a look of terror appeared in his eyes. He realized that he had been trapped inside an illusion!

“Break! Break! Break!” He furiously struggled mentally, but he could sense the world around him clinging onto his mind like mud, making it hard for him to escape. He continued to struggle, and finally with a ‘pop’ he managed to break through.

He had shaken free from the [Unfettered Dreamlands], regaining his mental clarity and control over his body.

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Chapter 4 – Eruption

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 4 – Eruption

“Capture him.” As soon as Ji Ning had unleashed his heartforce illusions, he had ordered the Sithe Protector to advance.

“On it.” Whitethaw transformed into a streak of light, running through the flaming passageway at high speed. They were less than a million kilometers away, an extremely short distance to the likes of them. Whitethaw had almost instantly charged over to Archon Silksnow, his feet still firmly planted on the ground. He hadn’t flown a single time! He reached out with his great furry right hand, clawing towards Archon Silksnow. But right as he did so…

Swoosh. The blurry-eyed Archon Silksnow suddenly vanished into thin air, a strange vessel appearing in his place. This was an ancient and unadorned vessel, covered with specks of rust and decay that spoke to its great age as well as the tremendous damage it had suffered. Despite that, it was still able to move at incredible speeds. It instantly retreated at high speeds, avoiding Whitethaw’s strike with ease.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened. He could sense that when Whitethaw had reached out, Archon Silksnow had still been trapped by the illusions. “Is there someone else here besides Silksnow?”

Inside the fleeing realmship were two figures. The two figures looked absolutely identical; both were white-haired, white-browed copies of Archon Silksnow. One of them had a lost look on his eyes, while the other was quite clear-headed.

“Erupt!” the clear-minded Archon Silksnow commanded.

Boom! Archon Silksnow had long ago set up a masking formation to hide the terrifying trap present, as well as a few other simple formations that would be able to activate the trap. Now that Archon Silksnow actively chose to detonate his formations, they instantly erupted with their full fury! The powerful detonations instantly smashed against the truly deadly trap, causing an absolutely enormous eruption of power.

Rumble… a terrifying burst of destructive power instantly sprayed out in every direction like a dark-red wave of flames. Everything it touched was evaporated, including even spacetime and karma itself.

Although Archon Silksnow had first fled in his realmship before detonating the attack, the dark-red flames almost instantly crossed the ten million kilometers of distance and smashed against the realmship.

BOOM! Not even the realmship was able to continue to fly steadily, with the force of the blast sending it tumbling. As a vessel meant for flying between realmverses, it was extremely valuable and generally only owned by extremely high-ranking Sithe. When Autarch Bolin had assaulted the Stone Hellephant Wall, only two of the many Sithe there had been in possession of realmships.

Autarch Bolin had taken one away, while the other had been destroyed in the fighting. However, only Autarchs were capable of destroying realmships with ease. They were built to be extremely sturdy. Thus, even though the realmship was hit with a terrifying amount of power and was sent careening through the air, it remained undamaged.

……

“Not good.” Ning sensed that terrifying wave of destructive power wash out towards him from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. The dark-red wave of flames instantly swept through the area with such power that even Ning shuddered.

This wave of power was enough to cause even Hegemons to perish.

“Master!” Whitethaw immediately began to run towards Ning.

Just as Ning was about to defend against it, he noticed something odd. He immediately sent mentally to the Protector, “Don’t panic. It can’t hurt me.”

The massive, dark-red wave of fiery power blasted out in every direction… but it maintained a distance of roughly thirty meters from the ground. Although it blew straight past Ning, it merely swept past him and the ground of the passageway. This region of thirty meters above the ground was completely safe.

Northbow swords at the ready, Ning raised his head to stare at the dark-red wave of flames as it swept through the skies above him.

“So it’s true. As long as I continue to simply walk on the ground, I’ll be perfectly safe.” Ning grinned. “The Sithe were probably worried about misfires, as these traps don’t differentiate between friend or foe.”

“Master!” Whitehaw arrived next to Ning.

“Come, let’s go find Archon Silksnow. Don’t let him escape,” Ning barked. Swoosh! Swoosh! The two continued to run forwards across the surface of ground. Soon, they were able to see the distant realmship bathed in those dark-red flames.

“What!? That vessel remains undamaged despite suffering an attack of that magnitude?” Ning revealed a puzzled look. He carefully inspected the vessel, examining what it was made out of. It seemed to be quite similar to his own realmship part, and the resonance was coming from that direction as well.

Could it be an actual realmship? Did Archon Silksnow have an undamaged realmship!? Ning was rather stunned by the implications. Both he and Ninedust knew that Archon Silksnow probably had realmship parts of his own, as that was the only explanation for the resonance, but neither of them had even dared to imagine that the Archon might have an actual realmship part! The thing looked damaged, but it was at least serviceable. The price of the realmship was truly incalculable!

“Master, that’s a realmship! I’ve seen them before. My master wanted one, but he couldn’t afford it,” Whitethaw sent mentally. “One realmship is worth twenty of me.”

This was no joke. Whitethaw didn’t have to explain why realmships were so valuable! It must be remembered that it was extremely difficult and time-consuming for even Hegemons to travel between realmverses. Realmships, however, made the passage extremely easy and simple. Any Hegemon would be willing to pay almost any price to acquire a realmship. In fact, four or five Hegemons would be willing to join together into a consortium to buy a realmship! In reality, however, they were never for sale.

Emperor Waveshift was willing to be generous enough to offer the Crimsonwave Temple to his homeland, but he would never have been willing to hand over a realmship. Only Autarchs were wealthy enough to give those things away!

“Silksnow actually has a realmship!” Ning’s eyes turned bloodshot with excitement. “I have to get it! I have to!” Ning had originally simply been wanting to get rid of a potential future threat, but now he felt great desire for the realmship as well.

……

The realmship was sent spinning through the air by the dark-red flames, but it quickly managed to stabilize. The two bodies Archon Silksnow were both on their feet.

“I didn’t expect that Daolord Darknorth’s illusions would’ve reached such a level of power. Not even my avatar was able to resist it. It took a full second before it woke up. Even my true body was trapped for an instant!” Archon Silksnow glanced at his avatar. “How terrifying. Daolord Darknorth is improving at a terrifying pace.” His oily green eyes flashed with cold light. “I have to kill him right away.”

“Unfortunately… things went to hell. My plans were completely wrecked.” Archon Silksnow shook his head. His plan had been to let his avatar wait there by itself, while his true body was aboard the realmship and hiding within an estate-treasure carried by the avatar. He wanted to use his avatar to lure Ning in, while his true body lay in wait.

He didn’t expect that Ning would immediately use illusions to attack. When the illusions struck, both his avatar and his true body were simultaneously trapped by it! Generally speaking, if a true body was trapped by an illusion the avatar would be trapped as well. This was because avatars were weaker to illusions than true bodies were! However, the reverse wasn’t necessarily the case.

In this situation, the avatar had taken a full second before regaining consciousness. Archon Silksnow’s true body, however, had almost instantly woken up after briefly falling for the illusions. By the time Whitethaw had reached out to grab the avatar, Archon Silksnow’s true body immediately made his move.

Only one thought had been in Archon Silksnow’s mind at that time: “I absolutely cannot fight Darknorth in close combat. If I do and he traps me in his illusions, even for a heartbeat, I’ll suffer a heavy wound or even die.”

“Screw it. I’ll set the blast off now.” Archon Silksnow no longer dared to try any other tricks. He was terrified of Ning’s illusions, and so he immediately detonated the nearby trap. Given how powerful that trap was and the fact that Ning was just a few hundred thousand kilometers away, he felt that it was very likely it would be able to kill Ning!

“He’s dead, right? He has to be dead.” Archon Silksnow put away his avatar and then took control over the realmship as he turned to carefully scrutinize the area he had just fled.

Suddenly, two figures appeared. One was a youth carrying a sheath on his back, the other was a furry white creature. These two were moving in pursuit of the realmship at terrifying speeds on the ground, the flames just overhead above them.

“Daolord Darknorth?!” Archon Silksnow was shocked. “He didn’t die?!” The Archon didn’t understand it. He managed to survive the blast because of his realmship, but how did Daolord Darknorth survive? Even top-grade Eternal treasures would’ve been instantly shattered by such a blast. Even Hegemons would’ve perished!

“Flee.” This was the only thought in Archon Silksnow’s mind. He immediately controlled his realmship and sent it into a headlong flight.

“Silksnow, don’t run!” Ning let out a furious shout when he saw the realmship begin to accelerate.

By now, Silksnow didn’t dare to let Ning get close to him. The illusory art Ning had used had truly frightened him, and he was completely focused on using the realmship to throw Ning off his track.

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Chapter 5 – Foreordained Results

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 5 – Foreordained Results

“Chase him down!” Ji Ning and his Whitethaw both transformed into streaks of light, chasing at high speed while staying on the ground-level of the flaming tunnels. However, the escaping realmship was moving farther and farther away from them.

“It’s too fast. The realmship is able to fly much faster than we can.” Ning stared off into the distance, his face tense as he continued the pursuit.

“Don’t worry, Master. The passageways are filled with traps and mechanisms. If he moves slowly and carefully he can avoid some of them, but he’s flying like a madman! He covers a hundred million kilometers in an instant without even looking at what’s up ahead. He’ll definitely run into some of them. Once they activate, they’ll slow him down if not kill him outright,” Whitethaw said.

Ning nodded. They were supposed to travel through a dangerous place like this with caution. The only reason why Ning dared to run forward at full speed was because Whitethaw was blocking for him up ahead.

“Archon Silksnow is protected by the realmship. That’s why he dares to fly about like a madman,” Ning mused.

Boom! Suddenly, a blast of power burst out from up ahead. Ning saw that a region of ten thousand kilometers up ahead had been trapped within a spatial vortex. The rippling spatial vortex manifested circles of light that howled through the area and chopped through everything within it. Each circle of light was like an incredibly sharp buzzsaw.

The howling buzzsaws of light turned that entire region of ten thousand kilometers into a deathtrap.

“Good.” The distant Archon Silksnow noticed what had happened behind him. He instantly felt a great sense of delight: “Die! Die! The only reason why I dare to move so fast is because I’m in a realmship. How dare the two of them chase that quickly? They tripped a trap, eh? A pity that only the golem fell into that trap. It’d be perfect if Daolord Darknorth fell in as well.”

“GWAAAAR!” Faced with all those buzzsaws of light, Whitethaw raised his head and let out a furious bellow. He then lifted his fists up high, them brought them smashing down towards the ground with his full power.

BOOM! The rippling region of space began to shudder after receiving this titanic strike. As the space began to crumble, even the buzzsaws of light began to vanish.

“What?!” The fleeing Archon Silksnow was unable to accept this. “Even his golem is that powerful?!”

……

Whitethaw led the way and Ning followed from behind. Whitethaw was able to attack with both dominating power as well as supreme flexibility. Even Hegemons would envy his physical gifts! He was simply incredibly good at staying alive. This was why he had survived even though his original Sithe master had perished. Although he was perhaps inferior in terms of power and attacking techniques when compared to Black Emperors, he was even tougher and more resilient than them. This was why the Sithe named these types of golems ‘Protector’ golems.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Whitethaw barreled through one barrier after another, and none of the eight he rammed through were able to do anything to him.

BANG! Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out from afar as a jade-green burst of light erupted. It was like dazzling jade moonlight, filled with satin-like gentleness. When the fleeing realmship rammed into into the jade-green light, the power of the jade moonlight was fully released. The jadeship was instantly smashed backwards and sent tumbling through the air.

“That’s more like it. We already ran into eight of those things. How could you run into none while flying through the air?” Ning was delighted upon seeing this. “The most dangerous traps the Sithe created were all placed in the skies.”

The realmship continued to careen backwards through the air. The traps in the air truly were incredibly powerful. “W-what the hell was…” As the realmship was smashed backwards, Archon Silksnow was briefly dizzied by the force of the collision as well. After recovering, he hurriedly took control of the realmship once more to continue his flight.

“He’s catching up.” Archon Silksnow couldn’t help but frown when he saw the two figures chasing after him from behind. “I was able to pull away from them, but they just closed the distance in an instant. Ugh… Daolord Darknorth’s golem is incredibly strong. Its able to rip through all of those formations with raw force, while my realmship has no offensive capabilities and can only endure those attacks passively.”

Whitethaw actively attacked and destroyed the traps and barriers he encountered while continuing his advance. The realmship, however, could do nothing but passively endure the attacks it encountered. Each time, it would be sent flying backwards. This had a dramatic affect on its speed. Was Archon Silksnow supposed to charge out and attack the traps like how the golem had? He didn’t have that level of courage.

“I refuse to believe it. The Jadefire Realm is filled with many dangers. The Sithe filled this place with mechanisms and traps! There’s no way that a single golem will be able to burst through all of them. Once his golem is destroyed, he’ll have to rely on himself to take on those dangers.” Archon Silksnow still felt that success was within his grasp. In truth, this was part of his plan as well.

He had prepared multiple plans to deal with Ning. The first was for him to wait for Ning to launch the attack! Alas, Ning’s sudden usage of the illusory [Unfettered Dreamlands] had completely ruined that play, forcing him to actively set off the trap in advance. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t been able to kill Ning.

His second plan was to rely on the realmship to flee. The realmship was incredibly sturdy and good at keeping its occupants alive. If Ning dared to chase, if he wasn’t careful he would hit one of the traps and would end up dying. Archon Silksnow’s realmship, however, would be able to endure the hits.

And of course, he had a third ‘desperation’ plan…

“I hope I never have to use the third plan.” Archon Silksnow looked at the two streaks of light chasing after him, a mixed look in his oily green eyes. “Daolord Darknorth has always outperformed my expectations. I made so many preparations to set up the stage for his death, but he actually reached an incredibly terrifying level in illusions! He’s also gained an insanely strong golem. Judging from how it has burst through those traps with such ease, this golem is definitely far more powerful than me. Where in the world did Daolord Darknorth find such a golem?”

……

The realmship continued to flee. Ning and Whitethaw continued to chase.

Given how both sides were moving at maximum speed without carefully examining the dangers up ahead, they naturally ran into one trap after another. Ning and Whitethaw ran into more of them, and the realmship ran into fewer. Ning, however, wasn’t slowed down by the traps he found. The realmship, in contrast, was. As a result, the realmship hadn’t been able to shake Ning off, and the two remained fairly close to each other.

This pursuit lasted for two full days.

Whoosh. As the speeding realmship passed through the flaming passageways, it suddenly encountered some sort of invisible power that was extremely sticky in nature. It instantly wrapped itself around the realmship, causing it to dramatically slow in speed before finally coming to a complete halt… and then be pulled backwards and then forwards as if it was oscillating.

After just two oscillations, it came to a complete halt and was stuck there in midair.

“What’s going on?” Archon Silksnow stared in shock from within the realmship. “Move! Move! Hurry up and move!” He tried to will the realmship into moving, but he felt as though the entire ship had been trapped by some sort of invisible force that prevented it from moving at all.

“Have I been trapped?” Archon Silksnow grew anxious. “Break through!” With but a thought, he summoned a saber to manifest outside the realmship. He didn’t dare to go outside the realmship himself, as the realmship had clearly been trapped; if he exited it, he might very well die. He used the saber to try and tear through the invisible force binding him from outside, but as soon as the saber appeared it also became bound by the invisible power, rendering it completely immobile.

“B-but…” Archon Silksnow was stupefied when he saw this. “The realmship isn’t moving, and my treasures won’t move either.” Archon Silksnow turned to look behind himself. He had previously pulled away slightly from Ning and Whitethaw, but both were drawing near yet again.

“If they catch up… given how terrifying Daolord Darknorth’s illusions are, I’ll probably die. If so… then it’s time to go all out.” Archon Silksnow narrowed his eyes, immediately manifesting six arms with six sabers in them. With but a thought, he appeared outside the realmship as he struck out with all six sabers.

The invisible power once more swept over him. “Break!” Archon Silksnow struck out with all six sabers, but they were only to strike out to a distance of thirty meters before they brought to a halt by that invisible power, which had continuously pulled at them.

That invisible power wrapped itself around Archon Silksnow as well. He tried to struggle, only to find that he couldn’t move at all.

“W-what the hell type of trap is this?!” Archon Silksnow was furious and frantic.

“Silksnow.” Ning’s voice was calm now. “This time, there’s no escaping.”

Ning and Whitethaw both walked over, raising their heads to stare at the airborn realmship and Archon Silksnow. Both of them had been ‘stuck’ in midair and were unable to move.

Ning wasn’t surprised. They had remained on the ground and so there was no way they would encounter any excessively powerful barriers, but Archon Silksnow had been flying through the air this entire time. Sooner or later, he would fall victim to a powerful trap! As soon as the two sides had begun this chase, the result had been foreordained.

“Come over, if you have the courage to do so.” Archon Silksnow was completely unable to move, but he was still able to circulate his Immortal energy and cause his voice to echo in the air.

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Chapter 6 – Archon’s Fall

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 6 – Archon’s Fall

“I’ll wait for you right here. Come over and kill me,” Archon Silksnow said with a cold laugh.

“I wouldn’t dare follow you inside.” Ji Ning stood off in the distance, staring at him. “It’d be pretty miserable to be trapped there for all of time.”

“Hmph. If you don’t come in… I might be trapped here, but I’ll continue to live. I’ll be able to live a very, very long time. After 108,000 chaos cycles, you’ll probably have failed your Daomerge and perished. I, however, will still be alive! My friends will probably come here and figure out a way to rescue me. Sooner or later, I’ll break free!” Archon Silksnow stared downwards at Ning, his white brows fluttering and a look of madness flashing in his eyes. “So why don’t you come over. Come over and kill me!”

“I’m not going to… but you are still going to die today.” Ning shook his head.

“Eh?” Archon Silksnow’s face tightened, his gaze turning colder. “Oh? I’m quite curious as to just how you think you are going to kill me.”

Ning stood there within the flaming passageway, head raised. He waved his right hand, causing a Northbow sword to appear.

“Break!” Ning stabbed out with his sword, causing sword-light flow like a wave of water. The sword-light came together in overlapping layers which stabbed straight towards the distant midair Archon Silksnow. In the instant that the Northbow sword stabbed it, it transformed to become a million kilometers long! It seemed to pierce through the skies themselves as Ning struck out with his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. This was his most penetrative attack, and the attack which Ning decided was best-suited for dealing with this sort of invisible binding power.

Slash! When the sword struck out, it pierced straight through the binding area and was immediately impeded by that invisible force. Ning’s sword began to move slower and slower; after stabbing in a mere hundred kilometers, it came to a complete halt and was unable to advance any further.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. What an odd trap that was. His sword was only able to stab partially into the field, with Archon Silksnow still tens of thousands of kilometers away from it. Although the trap had bound Archon Silksnow, it also made it very hard for Ning to kill him.

“Haha, you aren’t even close. You can’t even touch me!” Archon Silksnow laughed coldly.

“You’re trapped inside and wrapped up so tightly in the air that you can’t even move… but you can still laugh? I really do admire you,” Ning said as he began to consider his options.

“Hmph.” Archon Silksnow let out a cold snort. In truth, he did feel quite miserable. He was completely bound in midair and wasn’t even able to move a finger. It was as though he had been paralyzed into a statue. He couldn’t even move his mouth to speak aloud and was forced to rely on using Immortal energy. How miserable a life would this be?!

And so the skinny, white-haired, white-browed Archon Silksnow just stood there frozen in the air, that tattered and ancient realmship next to him while Ning considered how to defeat the formation.

“Come out!” Ning tried to physically push the Northbow sword deeper, but the sword didn’t budge at all. Raw force was of no use! Archon Silksnow wasn’t even able to move. If Ning used some of his sword-stances to unleash his most powerful attacks, he might be able to make a bit of progress, but with his sword stuck like that he wasn’t even able to use any stances.

“Get back here.” Ning willed for the Northbow sword to shrink, and it quickly began to grow smaller in size. “Grow!” Ning tested out expanding the Northbow sword in size, but within the trapped region the sword was constantly being impeded by that invisible force. He could shrink it, but he couldn’t expand it.

Ning shook his head. He had no choice but to shrink his sword and to put it away.

“Master, this trap is meant to bind foes. After the foes are trapped inside, the Sithe would come to either capture them or kill them with ease,” Whitethaw said. “However, we’re unable to assert control over the trap and so we have no choice but to burst through it forcefully.”

“Do you have a way to do that?” Ning said.

“Let me try brute force first,” Whitethaw said.

“Brute force?” Ning’s eyes lit up as he glanced at the golem with surprise. “Right. Give it a try.”

Whitethaw was a golem and had brute force in spades; in strength alone, he was at the Hegemon level. Neither Ning nor Archon Silksnow had a chance to break through with raw power. They were cultivators, after all; they primarily relied upon their insights into the Dao, not raw strength! Golems, however, generally had ridiculous amounts of power, as they primarily relied on the overwhelming physical might of their golem-bodies. To them, the Dao was secondary.

“Break!” Whitethaw reached out with his furry right hand. His hand expanded dramatically as he reached into the trapped region and began to be impeded by that invisible force.

Ning watched closely, as did the distant and immobilized Archon Silksnow.

Boom! The hairy white hand slowly forced its way in, tearing past the impeding power.

“What?!” Archon Silksnow was shocked.

“Good!” Ning was delighted.

A smile appeared on Whitethaw’s stolid face. He then reached out with his other hand as well, appearing quite confident. His two large furry hands travelled nearly a hundred kilometers in an instant.

“How is this possible? How?!” Archon Silksnow was beginning to panic.

Ten thousand kilometers… the two giant furry hands moved closer and closer towards Archon Silksnow and the realmship, with the Archon’s face becoming grimmer and grimmer.

“I’m… actually going to die here.” Archon Silksnow’s facial expressions twisted. He knew that once he was drawn into the estate-world, he would definitely perish.

Time flowed on. Finally, one of the giant furry hands reached the realmship and latched onto it. The hand was so large that it was able to completely cover the vessel, separating it from that invisible binding power.

“Come here.” After getting a firm grip over the realmship, Whitethaw forcibly drew it into his own estate-world treasure.

“Now it is your turn.” Whitethaw turned to look at Archon Silksnow, reaching towards him as well.

“Brother Silksnow, I’d like to invite you into my estate-world. Let’s have a little chat.” Ning sent out his heartforce which easily pierced through the invisible power of the trap, surging forward to completely surround Archon Silksnow. Ning was worried that Archon Silksnow would transform into his invulnerable snowform when Whitethaw moved to grab him, making it impossible for Whitethaw to get a hold on him.

“I lost.” A forlorn look appeared on Archon Silksnow’s face as he sensed Ning’s heartforce take effect on him and watched that giant furry hand stretch out to him. He was still bound by that invisible power and completely unable to escape. His voice echoed throughout the empty area, “Daolord Darknorth, I lost. I have roamed the Flamedragon Realmverse for countless years, and I never thought that I would’ve died by your hands. However… you are the most powerful Daolord in all of history. To die by your hands is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Darknorth, today I shall die… but soon, you shall die as well. Without question, you will die.” Archon Silksnow’s oily green eyes stared at the distant Ning, a crazed smile on his face. A moment later, his gaze grew dull and flat as all signs of life fled his body. Clearly, he had committed suicide by collapsing his own soul and truesoul.

……

Within Archon Silksnow’s estate-world. Two figures were seated there in the lotus position. One was Archon Silksnow’s avatar, the other was Emperor Bloodcloud’s avatar.

The aura of life began to vanish from Archon Silksnow’s avatar. The death of the true body meant that the avatr would perish as well. “Brother Bloodcloud, I lost. You know what to do.” This was the final thing Archon Silksnow’s avatar said before dying.

“Silksnow…” Emperor Bloodcloud’s avatar watched him die, then nodded slowly. “Yes, I know what to do.”

Emperor Silksnow’s avatar suddenly exploded into countless tiny pieces, the godsense contained within it being completely extinguished as well.

His avatar had committed suicide by self-detonation to ensure that there was no way Ning would know who he had been. Once an avatar broke apart, it was nothing more than a compilation of treasure fragments; there was no way to tell what they had originally belonged to.

……

An ordinary-looking chaosworld at the very margins of the Flamedragon Realmverse. Black clouds rolled about this world. Many Emperors were present here. This was where the Emperors of Silksnow Fiend Palace had chosen to hide. This place was filled with many barriers, ensuring that even if Ning did attack they would have ample time to flee.

“He died.” Emperor Bloodcloud sat at the peak of a mountain, a look of grief in his eyes. “Brother Silksnow died.”

Archon Silksnow had simply been far too crazy. Emperor Bloodcloud wasn’t willing to accompany Silksnow in his madness, but had been willing to help Silksnow out. Thus, Emperor Bloocloud had sent an avatar alongside Silksnow in the latter’s scheme to kill Ji Ning.

The end result, however, was that Silksnow failed.

“Daolord Darknorth… do you think you’ve reaped a great fortune now that the realmship is in your hands?” Emperor Bloodcloud smield coldly. “Soon, the realmverses and otherverses closest to the Flamedragon Realmverse shall all learn that you, Daolord Darknorth, are in possession of a realmship as well as many other treasures.”

“Hmph… sometimes, owning too much treasure can be fatal.” Emperor Bloodcloud’s voice was cold. He was absolutely certain that the Hegemons and other major powers of the various realmverses would go crazy over the chance to acquire a realmship.

“This is the last gift which Silksnow prepared for you… a fatal gift.” Emperor Bloodcloud had an eager look in his eyes. He eagerly awaited the day where Darknorth would be killed.

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Chapter 7 – Realmship

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 7 – Realmship

Ji Ning stared at Archon Silksnow’s corpse as it lay there in the air above the flaming passageway. Ning would never have been able to feel at ease, knowing that some a crazed demon was still around and alive… but after actually killing him, Ning didn’t feel much much joy, only a sense of relief.

At least one potential future source of trouble had been gotten rid of.

“One of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities,” Ning murmured softly, “Just died in this place.” The eight Archons of the Sacred Cities… they were figures of legend. The first time Ning had visited a Sacred City, he had felt a sense of awe, admiration, and veneration. And yet, one of the awe-inspiring Archons had died, just like that. True, he had technically committed suicide, but in reality he had been forced to do it.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” Ning waved his palm gently. It looked like a casual strike, buti t actually encompassed the power of his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. The power of the strike was like a wave of water that swept across the entire corpse. With no treasures protecting it, it was easily crushed into dust by the power of Ning’s palms.

Ning waved his hand again, collecting all of the treasures which Archon Silksnow had left behind. Ning revealed a smile. He wasn’t particularly happy about killing Archon Silksnow, but he was excited and delighted by the fact that he had just acquired a realmship.

“An unexpected benefit. This has now become the most valuable treasure I own.” Ning waved his hand, causing the realmship to be pulled into it. After acquiring the realmship, Whitethaw had naturally handed it over to his master immediately.

The realmship was now within Ning’s hand, and it was merely the size of a palm. It looked quite shabby and ordinary, and it was covered with marks and scars. In fact, someone who merely looked at it would probably doubt if it could even fly! However, Ning had chased after Archon Silksnow for quite some time, and he knew that it could indeed fly.

“Time to bind it.” Ning sent a strand of godsense into the realmship. It was now ownerless and thus he was able to bind it with ease.

“Master! Master!” The vessel-spirit immediately sought to ingratiate itself with Ning, for fear that Ning would kill it. This was the sad fate which awaited some treasure-spirits and golem-spirits and made them rather pitiable.

“Given the amount of damage this realmship has taken, is it capable of teleporting through spacetime?” Ning asked. The damage really did look quite severe, causing him concern.

“It can!” The vessel-spirit said hurriedly, “It’s completely capable of teleporting through spacetime, but it can’t go too far. It’ll take many blinks to move within a single realmverse, primarily because it has suffered quite some damage. Although the core components are in good shape, many of the other parts have suffered varying amounts of damage. Some parts are completely missing, which is why the ship can only unleash a low level of power.”

Ning nodded. He didn’t feel disappointed. If the realmship had been completely undamaged, Archon Silksnow would’ve escaped long ago. There’s no way Ning would’ve been able to tie him down, resulting in him eventually falling into a trap and being unable to escape.

“Master, I can sense you have a component on you which I desperately need,” the vessel-spirit said quickly.

“Oh?” Ning laughed and waved his hand, causing a part which was more than sixty meters long to appear next to him. This part was a strange component made up of multiple layers of metal that had many divine runes carved within it. It was vastly more complicated than any Hegemon-class golem, and as someone who didn’t understand the Dao of Artificing, Ning didn’t understand it at all.

“Wow, this piece is huge!” The vessel-spirit grew excited. “Master, can I swallow it?”

“Go ahead.” Ning nodded.

Whoosh. A wave of invisible power instantly swept across the sixty-meter component, which rapidly began to shrink until it was just thumb-sized. While it shrank, it flew towards one of the damaged areas of the realmship. The part was pulled into the realmship, followed by the realmship’s surface instantly beginning to glow. The surface of the realmship began to spread out, with some of the damage being automatically healed.

“Realmships possess regenerative powers, but there are certain important core materials they need. With this fairly complete part added into me, some of the other formerly-missing components can be used to regenerate and repair some of other parts.” The vessel-spirit was extremely excited. “Master, now that I’ve been able to repair a critical component, many of the minor damages are being healed as well. I can now move nearly a hundred times farther than in the past. Now, I can teleport through more than half a realmverse with just one blink!”

Ning stared at the realmship in his hand. It now looked much better than it had in the past. Although it still was covered with scars and wounds, it didn’t look as ragged as it had.

A single blink to teleport through more than half a realmverse? This was simply shocking.

“How far are you from perfect status?” Ning asked.

“Extremely far.” The vessel-spirit instantly appeared to be rather deflated. “Although I’m at 90% condition, some of the minor parts which I’m missing are having a major impact on me as a whole. That’s why I’m still not able to teleport nearly as great a distance as I would if I was at 100%.”

Ning couldn’t help but nod in agreement. When he had been a Daolord of the Third Step, he was comparable to supreme Daolords as well as fairly powerful Emperors. Back then, it would take him roughly a million chaos cycles to move via teleportation from one realmverse to another realmverse! Even Hegemons needed to spend extremely long periods of time. Realmships, however, merely needed a few myriads of years.

A few tens of thousands of years… to travel a distance which Ning normally needed to spend a million chaos cycles to traverse? Its teleporting powers were unfathomably superior to Hegemon Brightshore’s.

“However, Master… I can sense that not too far away from me is another important component which I need desperately. If I can absorb it, I should be able to repair a great deal,” the vessel-spirit said immediately.

“That’s a part which my friend has.” Ning nodded, then waved his hand and put the realmship away for now.

Whoosh. Ning bound and scanned all of the treasures which Archon Silksnow had left behind. Although there were a few valuable things, none of them were of much interest to the current Ning.

Despite that, Ning still felt quite excited. A single realmship was more than enough! “This realmship has to be far more valuable than even Crimsonwave Temple. It’s enough to ask an Autarch to help out.” Ning was extremely excited. “Autarchs possess incredible power and can create even alternate universes with ease. They are more than capable of reversing spacetime to rescue Yu Wei.”

“With this realmship, I can bring her back to life. Hahaha… finally, finally, finally! I’ve finally done it!” Ning stood there within the twisting flaming passageway, so excited that his blood was boiling. The excitement he felt was simply indescribable.

Trading away the realmship to revive Yu Wei… Ning wouldn’t even hesitate to make this choice!

Although a realmship would allow him to travel from one realmverse to another with ease, doing so by himself would be far too boring. This was something which Emperors who had lost all their loved ones and who were curious about the outside world would choose! Ning had been training for a much shorter period of time. There were many, many places just within the Flamedragon Realmverse which he had never visited. And, as a Daolord, his lifespan was limited to just 108,000 chaos cycles. There was simply no need for him to wander about other realmverse and enjoy the sites there.

If he could revive her… if he could speak with her once more… that would the happiest moment of his life. He had no interest in wandering the outside world by himself. The realmship was meaningless to Ning; the only thing it was good for was in trade for asking an Autarch to help him out.

“I’ll have to ask Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Blackcloud to help out and invite an Autarch over,” Ning mused. The Dao Alliance had certain links to the other realmverses. Through the Dao Alliance, he would be able to send word to an Autarch.

“I’ll go visit Ninedust first.” Ning suppressed his excitement and led Whitethaw to continue the advance. Thanks to the realmship resonance, Ning knew the rough area Ninedust was in and thus was able to find him fairly quickly.

……

Things were quite calm on Ning’s side… but a storm was about to erupt within the Endless Territories. All the major powers, reclusive Emperors, and countless Daolords had just received word of something absolutely shocking… one of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, Archon Silksnow, had perished!

Archon Silksnow had been one of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, which meant he had a lifeblood tower within the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance. In the exact instant that Ning had forced him to commit suicide, his lifeblood tower had crumbled! This news quickly stunned the entire Palace of Immortals, and word quickly spread out.

There was no need for this news to be suppressed or hidden. All the Emperors found out, as did the countless Daolords.

Archon Silksnow had died? An exalted Archon of the Sacred Cities… it was possible to beat them, but to kill them was far, far too difficult. Even Hegemons found it extremely hard to kill one of them.

Who killed him? How did he die? The entire Endless Territories was in a state of turmoil.

……

Ning didn’t care about any of this. He continued to advance through the Jadfire Realm, following the realmship resonance. Finally, he passed through the flaming tunnels and reached the prison region, arriving directly at Ninedust’s prison.

“Ninedust.” Ning immediately saw a silver-robed man seated in the lotus position within a cage of flames. It was the Ninedust Sectlord. Ning couldn’t help but to laugh loudly and call out to him.

“Darknorth.” When Ninedust opened his eyes and saw Ning, he immediately revealed a look of delight.

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Chapter 8 – Prison Region

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 8 – Prison Region

“Just look at yourself,” Ji Ning grinned. “Trapped in a cage and unable to escape.” As he spoke he carefully inspected the flaming cage, hoping to find a way to break it open.

“And just what was I supposed to do? I had nowhere to go and nowhere to run. I had no choice but to hide inside here!” Ninedust laughed helplessly. “I might be trapped, but at least I avoided death. It’s kind of funny, actually… I didn’t die, but Archon Silksnow did! Darknorth, you are simply incredible. You actually forced him into committing suicide!”

Ninedust’s avatar was at Vastheaven Palace. Thus, as soon as Archon Silksnow had died Ninedust’s avatar had asked Ning’s avatar what had happened, resulting in him gaining a general idea of what had happened.

Ning chuckled. “Don’t praise me. It was mainly thanks to my golem over here.”

“To be able to command a golem of such strength is a testament to your power as well. Why don’t I have a golem like that? Archon Silksnow was alive for all those years, but he never acquired a golem like that. Why? Why did you have one instead of him? Because you are strong!” Ninedust said, seated in the lotus position inside the flame cage.

Ning had acquired this golem in a trade from Daoist Bluestone. It was precisely because Ning walked the path of the Omega Sword Dao that Daoist Bluestone had been willing to hand over such an incredibly powerful golem to trade for it. Yes, it was indeed due to Ning’s strength.

Strength was needed to acquire any and all treasures. Even if you were lucky enough to stumble across a treasure of incredible power, if you yourself weren’t strong enough you would quickly lose it to someone stronger than you.

“Everyone in the Endless Territories is talking about how Archon Silksnow is dead. It has been a long, long time since any of the lords of the Sacred Cities have perished,” Ninedust said excitedly. “I rather want to tell everyone in the Endless Territories that you forced him to commit suicide! Haha…”

“Don’t do that. What really matters right now is getting you out of there before something unexpected happens.” Ning continued to carefully examine Ninedust’s cage.

“Any ideas?” Ninedust was rather eager.

“Don’t be so impatient.” Ning scrutinized the cage while analyzing it. It looked quite ordinary, and it was easily entered… but there was no way out! Not even Hegemons would be able to escape this cage. The Ninedust Sectlord had charged into it because he didn’t know anything about it. Archon Silksnow had been alive for very long and knew that the most dangerous parts of the Jadefire Realm were its prisons, and so he didn’t dare to follow Ninedust inside.

“This cage is part of an extremely large formation,” Ning said slowly. “I can sense some of its ripples in the air. Wait a moment, I’m going to go take a look at some of the other parts.”

Swoosh. Ning flew off into the distance while following the spatial ripples, with Whitethaw immediately following behind him.

“Be careful. I’m in no rush; I have plenty of time. Don’t let yourself get trapped as well!” Ninedust called out loudly. He knew how dangerous the Jadefire Realm was and was worried about Ning’s safety.

……

Ning followed the ripples and soon reached another flaming cage in the air. This one was completely empty.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Ning continued to advance while following the ripples. Soon, he encountered yet another cage…

The cages were all formed of flames, and they scattered throughout the area in a disorderly and irregular manner. However, they seemed to be connected to each other by invisible threads.

“Eh?” Ning’s eyes narrowed. The flaming midair cage up ahead was devoid of all life, but there were some magic treasures inside of it. There was a greataxe, a suit of aromr, an estate-world, and other treasures. The greataxe was double-bladed, and a lightning-shaped scar was on its edges. It emanated an aura of power that was simply shocking; it had to be a Universe treasure.

“A Universe treasure? Generally, only Emperors can take possession of Universe treasures. Even if the Emperor was trapped here during the Dawn Wars, he should still be able to be able to stay alive…” Ning pondered. “Perhaps some of the cultivators were trapped here during the Dawn Wars were killed by the ‘Decimatus Wave’, but the Sithe didn’t have a chance to collect their treasures.”

Ning’s guess was spot-on. After enough cultivators were trapped within the many flaming cages within the Jadefire Realm, the Sithe would activate a single ‘Decimatus Wave’ to wipe them all out in one go! They would similarly sweep through the cages and collect all the treasures at one go as well.

However, what happened was that when the Jadefire Realm had been attacked and breached, the despairing Sithe had chosen to unleash one final ‘Decimatus Wave’ before dying. The treasures of the dead cultivators were naturally left within the cages.

The one who had breached the Jadefire Realm had been an exalted Autarch! There was no way someone like an Autarch would slowly pick through one prison cell after another to loot the various treasures inside. To Autarchs, such treasures were of minimal interest, and this one in particular was in a hurry to hasten off to another battlefield.

……

After spending a full day, Ning finished inspecting the entire prison region. The prison region consisted of many flame cages which were clustered together like the stars in the night sky. The cages were all linked together as part of one massive and incredibly profound formation which was divided into seven primary regions! Each of the seven regions had extremely large cells at their center, with three of them having been completely destroyed. As a result, the prison as a whole was no longer able to unleash the ‘Decimatus Wave’.

“How does it look?” Ninedust immediately asked as Ning flew back to him.

“Some of the cages in the prison area have been damaged, and three of the seven primary cages have been destroyed.” Ning looked at Ninedust. “However, the cage you are in is completely undamaged. I don’t think even a Hegemon could burst through it with raw power! As for finding its flaws… I haven’t been able to find anything yet. This prison formation is simply far too complicated.”

Ninedust couldn’t help but feel both startled and despondent.

“Ninedust, let me think on this. There’ll definitely be a way to bring you out.” Ning thought furiously. Even his Primaltwin, seated atop the Autarch’s stone dais in the second hall of the Azureflower Estate, was focusing its efforts on finding a solution.

“Darknorth, don’t try to force things. This is nothing.” Ninedust smiled. He didn’t know much about the Jadefire Realm at first, but after his avatar had met with Ning’s avatar he had learned quite a bit of detailed information regarding the Jadefire Realm from Ning. Only now did he understand how terrifying the prison region was and how dangerous his situation was.

“As you yourself said, even if Hegemon Brightshore and the others came they wouldn’t necessarily be able to breach the prison region. This was a place used to imprison cultivators during the Dawn War!” Ninedust said. “Don’t force yourself. I don’t mind be trapped here. If push comes to shove, I’ll just slowly train here and then initiate my Daomerge within this cell!”

If I succeed, I’ll be a Hegemon with an infinite lifespan. I’ll have plenty of time to slowly work away at this cell. Sooner or later, I’ll succeed,” Ninedust consoled Ning.

“The central components of the prison region have been destroyed. This cell might be undamaged, but there’s still a chance to break it open.” Ning gritted his teeth. He certainly didn’t wish for Ninedust to stay here until the time came for his Daomerge.

Time passed, one day after another. Ning spent a total of nine days in silent meditation, but still was unable to come up with any ideas.

“Master,” Whitethaw suddenly said.

“Hm?” Ning glanced towards him.

“There’s another place in the Jadefire Realm which might be of use to you in unlocking this cell,” Whitethaw said.

“What place?” Ning was delighted. “Lead the way immediately.”

“Follow me, Master.” Whitethaw immediately led the way.

……

The many cells within the prison region were scattered haphazardly, and the seven core cages were arranged in a strange pattern in seven different places. Three of them had been completely destroyed, of course.

Whitethaw led Ning in flying towards the most central region of the prison cells.

“Master.” Whitethaw pointed towards the empty area up ahead. “I was once invited over there along with my Sithe master. We entered a special space over there from where the Sithe controlled the entire Jadefire Realm.”

“Controlled the entire Jadefire Realm?” Ning revealed a look of delight. “Right! I should’ve thought of this long ago. Given how vast it is and how many flaming passageways and cells it contains, there has to be a central control mechanism. Whitespace, where is that region?”

“I’m not sure either.” Whitethaw pointed towards the front. “It should be within a three hundred meter radius up ahead. I followed my master inside, and when we entered that region I felt space twist around me. We immediately appeared inside it.”

“Oh?” Ning nodded slowly, then walked through the air towards that region while keenly scanning it.

Whoosh. His body suddenly broke apart into countless pieces as he assumed his Shadowless form, closely attuning himself to the dimensional ripples nearby.

“Ah, there are some flaws after all.” Ning quickly found the traces of the dimensional ripples and their strange cadence. His Shadowless form was able to merge into them and attune to them.

“Arise.” Ning waved a finger, causing a streak of sword-light to tear through that region by force. A dimensional tear appeared before him.

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Chapter 9 – Sixteen Realmverses Alliance

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 9 – Sixteen Realmverses Alliance

Ji Ning led Whitethaw into the dimensional tear, going through it and reaching a sealed pocket dimension. This pocket dimension merely covered an area of thirty thousand meters, and it had an enormous black altar within it. Ning and Whitethaw both descended upon the black altar.

“Master,” Whitethaw said. “The Sithe used this place to control the entire Jadefire Realm. Every part of it was under their control.”

“Oh?” Ning swept the area with his gaze. The black altar was quite large, the size of a enormous plaza. Its surface was covered with incomparably complex and marvelous vein lines, all of which came together to form an absolutely enormous flower in full bloom which was surrounded by blazing flames. The pattern of the flames continuously changed at all times, never quite seeming to duplicate a previously used pattern.

“Eh?” Ning was instantly intrigued by it. “That’s the formation-diagram,” Ning murmured softly. “The flames surrounding the outermost layer are being used to represent the pathways that can be taken out of the Jadefire Realm! The pathways are continuously changing and will never repeat… if you aren’t able to find the way out, you’ll be trapped inside forever! This is why it is so easy to enter but so hard to leave.”

“The petals… they represent the countless flaming passageways! They are filled with various traps and mechanisms that can probably be controlled through this formation diagram. As for the stamen… I can vaguely make out seven colors which must represent the countless cells of the seven prisons inside this place.” To try and rescue Ninedust, Ning had spent quite some time examining the prisons of this place in detail. Thus, as soon as he saw the formation-diagram he immediately understand what it represented.

“Master, is this of use to you?” Whitethaw immediately asked.

“Of some use, but this formation-diagram is far too complex. It seems to hold some of the mysteries of the Dao of Fire… but it also involves mysteries of the Dao of the Void. It merges the two together! But that’s just secondary. What really matters is that it represents an extremely high level of mastery of the Dao of Formations.” Ning shook his head. “The problem is, these are based off unique formations which only the Sithe know. They are completely different from the ones we cultivators use.”

It was extremely strange. Just looking at the formations, Ning could sense a dark, clammy aura sweep towards him and generate an aura of uncontrollable fear. This was a terrifying formation, a formation capable of unleashing a ‘Decimatus Wave’. In truth, even the Sithe had to rely on special techniques to assert control over this formation-diagram, and the controller didn’t understand it all that well.

The problem was, Ning didn’t know those special control techniques. That meant he would have to truly understand it and then unlock it, which would be as hard as anything.

“If I want to save Ninedust, I have to master this formation-diagram,” Ning said softly. Previously, Ning had already completely searched through the cells. He felt that the formations within the prison were simply too complex; there was no way he could make any head or tail of them at all. Everything was shrouded in mist! Now, the formation-diagram controlling everything was before him, and he was able to inspect it in detail… but this only inspired even greater despair. “The prison region…” Ning stared at the ‘stamen’ part of the prison region, increasingly aware of how complex it was.

Ning shook his head, then stared at the flames which flickered at the outermost areas of the giant formation-diagram. These represented the exits from the Jadefire Realm.

“Eh?” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. “These… these flames…” A light went off in Ning’s head as he thought back to something he had seen before. In the first palace of the Azureflower Estate, Autarch Awakener had gathered together countless techniques from both the cultivator civilizationas well as the Sithe. Ning had memorized all of those techniques, and one of the Sithe techniques which Autarch Awakener had retrofitted had included many different formations. Ning immediately recognized that these flames were a fairly simple variant of the recorded formation!

In truth, the Seven Flaming Hells’ formation-diagram was one of the most secret and hidden formation-diagrams of the entire Sithe race. There was no way they would publicize its internal secrets. Not even Autarch Awakener had been able to acquired detailed information about such a thing. However… Autarch Awakener had acquired many other formations from the Sithe, including some that belonged to the same ‘school’.

“Ah…” Ning began to grin openly, revealing his pearly white teeth. “Hahaha. A glimmer of hope when all hope seems lost.” Ning quickly began to sort through the details of that technique he saw, as did his Primaltwin.

In just the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning was able to completely comprehend and see through the outermost layer of flames which covered the entire vast formation.

“So that’s how the exits work.” Ning casually waved his finger at one part of the flames. The flames there continued to change and twist about, but now everything was under Ning’s control.

“Freeze.” Ning’s will entered the formation-diagram, and with but a thought the flames that had been twisting and distorting freely began to move and change in accordance with Ning’s will.

Rumble… a series of images began to appear in the empty space surrounding Ning. These were illusory projections from the countless flames which represented the outer layer of the entire Jadefire Realm, including its entrances! All of the countless flames in the outmost layer were now under Ning’s complete control, including the various exits. The flames rumbled and thundered under Ning’s control as he guided them to change formations and locations. Clearly, by thoroughly understanding the outermost layers of flames, it was possible to take control of the outermost formations even if the special control techniques had not been studied.

“Congratulations, Master! Felicitations!” Whitethaw said hurriedly.

“I’m not even close to where I need to be. I’ve only taken control over the outermost layer.” Ning shook his head. “I have to control the entire thing if I want to be able to rescue Ninedust.”

“This formation-diagram is divided up into three parts. The outermost layer are the flames, the central layer includes the flower petals, and the ‘stamen’ lies at the core.” Ning stared intently at the formation-diagram. “The closer to the core we go, the more difficult it will be. That tiny little flower stamen shall be the most difficult to master of all; once I master that, I’ll have the entire formation-diagram under my control.”

“Now, I’ve defeated the outermost layer of flames. What of the flower petals?” Ning looked at the flower petals, which corresponded to the countless flaming passageways. “This is clearly going to be much more difficult…” Ning frowned.

……

Ning began to analyze the Sithe formation techniques he had available. Although his Primaltwin was assisted by the Autarch’s stone dais and was able to train incredibly quickly, the ‘flower petals’ formation was clearly thousands of times more complex and profound than the ‘writhing flames’ formation.’

Time passed on, one day after the other. Ning’s Primaltwin had temporarily brought a halt to its training in the Dao of Water as it focused completely on the Dao of Formations, specifically the branch of it pertaining to the formation-diagram of the Seven Flaming Hells.

“This ‘flower petal’ formation will take me a few hundred thousand years to comprehend.” After spending some time on it, Ning began to understand. Although Autarch Awakener had collected many Sithe formations which could be compared with each other, and although Ning was both talented and had the Autarch’s stone dais which allowed him to be in a constant prajna-like state, it would still take him hundreds of thousands of years to understand this thing.”

“Then what of the ‘flower stamen’ formation which represents the prison region? That’s the real core of the Seven Flaming Hells.” Ning stared at the ‘flower stamen’ at the very center of the enormous, beautiful blooming flower formation before him. Only by mastering that would he be able to take control over the prisons and rescue Ninedust.

The coiling flames were easy. The flower petal formation was hard. The flower stamen formation was the hardest, so much so that Ning couldn’t even estimate how long he would need to master it. One chaos cycle? Ten? Ning still wasn’t sure if that would be enough.

“Seven Flaming Hells, eh?” Ning closed his eyes and started to meditate. “One step at a time.”

……

While Ning focused on training in the Sithe’s Dao of Formations, the Endless Territories remained in a state of tumult due to Archon Silksnow’s death.

Within a vasteverworld. This was a place where countless races lived and thrived, all of them winged. They soared through the skies, the undisputed lords of this everworld.

Whoosh. A figure descended from a dimensional rift. It was a blood-robed elder who emanated the foul odor of blood as he swept the vast everworld before him with his evil gaze.

“Goldisle, my old friend,” the blood-robed elder called out, sending a stream of godsense out to encompass this entire world.

“Eh?” A streak of golden light appeared, forming into a bald, gold-furred alien. This was one of the two supreme leaders of the Dao Alliance of the Endless Territories, Emperor Goldisle. Emperor Goldisle had established this everworld for the members of his race to live in, and his avatar was permanently stationed here. Given his power and how his avatar could link into the many formations protecting his home, most likely the only ones in the Endless Territory who would dare to cause trouble here would be the Hegemons.

“Bloodcloud.” Emperor Goldisle frowned as he looked at the man.

“Brother Goldisle.” Emperor Bloodcloud smiled, which just made him look even fiercer and savager than usual. “I’ve come because there’s something I need to ask you to help me out with, brother Goldisle.”

“Need my help?” Emperor Goldisle chuckled. “What, now that Silksnow is dead, you Emperors are leaderless and rudderless. Are you frightened and wish for my protection?” In truth, Emperor Goldisle had no desire to bother with these evil men.

“Afraid? You think I would feel afraid?” Red light shone in Emperor Bloodcloud’s eyes as he growled, “I, Bloodcloud, swear on my very life itself that what I’m going to report is complete true and without falsehood…”

Emperor Goldisle was startled.

“Do you know how Silksnow actually died and why?” Bloodcloud looked at Emperor Goldisle. “I’ll explain in detail…” And so, Emperor Bloodcloud explained the entire sequence of events from start to finish.

“…So the realmship is now in Daolord Darknorth’s hands?!” An astonished look appeared in Emperor Goldisle’s eyes. “I-i-is this for real?” But he immediately fell silent; the man had just sworn a lifeblood oath in front of him! “So that’s the real reason. Silksnow actually had a realmship, and now it has actually fallen into Daolord Darknorth’s possession.” The implications of this were simply far too stunning.

A realmship! Who wouldn’t be intrigued by it, driven mad with lust for it? The combined treasures of all three Hegemons of the Flamedragon Realmverse weren’t even close to the value of a realmship. Archon Silksnow had been unspeakably lucky to aquire it, and he had been extremely low-key, ensuring that no one found out. Now that he was dead, it had fallen into Ji Ning’s hands. In truth, the reason he fell was that he was unable to escape from within all of those barriers and traps. Knowing that his death was certain, he had chosen to tell Emperor Bloodcloud all about it.

“Emperor Goldisle, I wish for you to spread this information to the other realmverses the Dao Alliance is in,” Emperor Bloodcloud is. “Make it public.”

“You—!” Emperor Goldisle’s face tightened.

“All you need to do is to make it public. I trust those Hegemons and major powers will definitely travel towards us at maximum speed, sparing no expense.” Emperor Bloodcloud smiled, a look of madness in his eyes. “Brother Goldisle, we Emperors are also members of the Dao Alliance. It should be able to help us send this information out, yes?”

“Yes.” Emperor Goldisle nodded. As the leader of the Dao Alliance, he had to follow certain rules which the Dao Alliance had long ago laid out. All Emperors of the Dao Alliance could request for him to send out messages on their behalf.

“I’ll send word of this to all sixteen of the realmverses in our alliance,” Emperor Goldisle said. “However, Darknorth is also a member of the Dao Alliance. I’ll notify him as well.”

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Chapter 10 – Realmslord Windgrace

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 10 – Realmslord Windgrace

Extremely far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse was another realmverse known as the Hiddenfiend Realmverse. Countless cultivators lived here, and the cultivator civilizations flourished every bit as the ones in the Flamedragon Realmverse.

The Hiddenfiend Realmverse had on particularly special star within it known as the Blacksun.

The Blacksun was more than a billion kilometers in diameter and completely black in color. Although it was named ‘Blacksun’, it was actually a war machine which the Sithe had once paid an unspeakable price in blood and treasure to assemble. It was vastly more valuable than any realmship! When the Sithe had lost the Dawn War, this vast, mighty war machine had fallen into the hands of a major power who was known as Realmslord Windgrace.

Whooosh.

Every so often, a streak of light could be seeing flying into our away from the surface of the Blacksun. Space for ten billion kilometers around the Blacksun was under invisible pressure and restrictions, forbidding anyone from using spacetime techniques to teleport through it. Flying was the only option!

Whoosh. A streak of light flew into the Blacksun, landing on the ground and coalescing into the form of a white-robed elder.

The white-robed elder raised his head to look at a distant mountain peak, where a few courtyards could vaguely be seen. He took a single step forwards, his body flickering as he instantly arrived at the base of the mountain. He then called out towards a strange stone statue of an animal, “Second apprentice-brother, please send word! I wish to meet Master!”

“Seventh apprentice-brother, you are back?” The stone statue’s eyelids twitched, voice coming out of its lips: “I’m with Master right now. We’re drinking together. Uh, Master just said for you to come over as well.”

The white-robed elder smiled. Only then did he climb onto the mountain and advance at high speeds towards the top. Courtyards were sprinkled across the peak of this mountain, making it look rather like an ordinary mountain village of mortals. He soon reached the courtyard at the very top, at which point a voice rang out from inside: “Come on inside, Skylight.”

“Yes.” The white-robed elder pushed the door open and stepped inside. There was a table within this quiet, secluded courtyard, as well as two people next to the table. One was old, the other was young. The old man had tousled hair and a messy beard, and even his eyebrows looked rather unkempt and scruffy. As for the youth, he was a chubby-looking fellow who was shoving meat into his mouth with one hand and pouring wine into his mouth with the other. His face was covered with oil.

“Master. Second apprentice-brother,” the white-robed elder called out respectfully. These two unassuming figures, the sloppy old man and the fat kid, were actually the most supreme figures in all the Hiddenfiend Realmverse.

The sloppy old man was a famous and awe-inspiring man who was acknowledged by all the major powers of the Sixteen Realmworlds Alliance as their supreme leader… Realmslord Windgrace, master of the Blacksun!

Realmslord Windgrace was an incredibly powerful Otherverse Lord. During the Dawn War, he had accomplished great deeds during a critical battle, reversing the entire flow of events. He had managed to survive the Dawn War and had won for himself the terrifyingly destructive Sithe war machine known as the Blacksun. Given his power as well as the Sithe treasures he now had, no one dared to take him lightly, and so he was given the paramount position within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

In terms of overall strength, he was also the undisputed number one figure in all sixteen realmverses! Most likely, only Autarchs could truly eclipse him in might.

As for the chubby kid? He was the only disciple under Realmslord Windgrace who had managed to become a Hegemon as well! His Daoist title was ‘Wuye’.

Realmslord Windgrace was an exalted figure with many disciples, but the only one to succeed in becoming a Hegemon had been the unremarkable ‘Daolord Wuye’, who had spent all of his time studying constructs. Hegemon Wuye… he had no interest in fighting for supremacy, and so he continued to accompany his master here, living a simple and plain life while spending his time analyzing the strange, bizarre Sithe artifacts and constructs that he found. Thankfully, Realmslord Windgrace had many treasures for him to pore over; after they had won the war, Windgrace had acquired quite a few Sithe golems, and he let his disciple obsess over them.

Hegemon Wuye was completely obsessed with golems… but in reality, he had actually become a Hegemon through the Dao of Fire. This was something which truly rendered countless cultivators completely speechless. In fact, he didn’t even really do much in preparation for the Daomerge! One day, when he was in secluded meditation while working on some golem parts, he simply succeeded in it.

As Hegemon Wuye had put it, “I suddenly had the feeling that I’d definitely succeed in the Daomerge, so I went ahead and tried it out… and it really worked.”

These words caused countless cultivators to feel both jealousy and despair.

“Seventh apprentice-brother, what is it?” Hegemon Wuye asked casually while drinking.

“Why does it have to be something, second apprentice-brother? Can’t I just be missing you and master?” the white-robed elder said helplessly.

“You? Pshaw. You only ever come when there’s business,” Hegemon Wuye snickered.

Realmslord Windgrace chortled, “Come, Skylight. Sit, sit. Sit and we’ll talk.”

“Yes, Master.” Only then did the white-robed elder sit down and pick up a glass of wine, accompanying his master and his senior brother for a few cups before continuing. “Master, I am indeed here on business. You asked me to watch over the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, yes?”

Both of the other two men looked at him. Both of them were extremely high-level figures who were unwilling to get involved in mundane management affairs, and so they let those with steadier dispositions such as Emperor Skylight to manage many things in their stead.

“Word has spread from the Flamedragon Realmverse that someone known as Daolord Darknorth has managed to acquire a realmship,” the white-robed elder said.

“A realmship?” Both Realmslord Windgrace and Hegemon Wuye were surprised.

“I don’t even have a realmship! How does a Daolord have one?” Hegemon Wuye stared wide-eyed. “Is this for real? Are the three Hegemons and the many ancient Emperors in the Flamedragon Realmverse just going to watch without taking it for themselves?”

“The news is definitely real. It was passed on by an extremely powerful Emperor who swore a lifeblood oath that this information is true,” the white-robed elder said. “Daolord Darknorth isn’t easy to deal with; he may be a Daolord, but he is incredibly strong. Most likely, he stands at the very apex in the Flamedragon Realmverse’s Dao Alliance. Over there, only Daoist Bluestone might stand above him. Supposedly even ‘Archon Silksnow’, one of their ‘eight lords of the Sacred Cities’, was forced by Daolord Darknorth to commit suicide. Even Hegemons would find it very difficult to slay him.”

“He was able to kill one of the lords of the Sacred Cities?” Hegemon Wuye was rather surprised.

“A Daolord?” Realmslord Windgrace murmured, “Can it be an Omega Dao?”

“Omega Dao?”

“What’s an Omega Dao?” The two disciples looked at their master, puzzled.

“I’ve never mentioned this before, because not even I have personally encountered a Daolord who has developed an Omega Dao,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However, when I was chatting with an Autarch, he once mentioned the ‘Omega Daos’ to me.” Realmslord Windgrace gave a brief explanation of how formidable Omega Daos were, causing both Hegemon Wuye and Emperor Skylight to feel rather stunned.

“For Daolord Darknorth to become second only to Daoist Bluestone in power means that not only has he developed an Omega Dao, he also has other things he is relying upon.” Realmslord Windgrace laughed. “I didn’t imagine that our Sixteen Realmverses Alliance would produce such a genius.”

“Has this information already been spread out?” Realmslord Windgrace asked.

“Master, you already approved of the rules by which the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance were established. Since word was sent from the Flamedragon Realmverse, all fifteen of the other realmverses have found out about it. Even the alternate universe you are in control of is probably aware of this,” the white-robed elder said. “I came to speak to you about this because I wanted to ask if we should intervene as well? That’s a realmship, after all.”

“Wuye, any interest in it?” Realmslord Windgrace asked.

Wuye shook his head. “My focus is on researching golems. What am I going to do with a realmship? And besides… you already have one, Master. If I wanted to use one, I’d just borrow yours, right?”

“You lazy pig.” Realmslord Windgrace laughed. This was what he actually liked the most about this disciple, his obssessive nature. Windgrace had met many major powers in the past, and the ones who managed to amount to anything were often obsessive by nature. The fact that this disciple constantly stayed by his side meant that Windgrace couldn’t help but view his second disciple almost as an actual child. If Wuye wanted to borrow his realmship, he wouldn’t decline.

“Master, what should we do?” the white-robed elder asked.

“There’s no need for us to get involved into this. All things in the Chaosverse come and go in a cycle; if he’s strong enough to keep it, then it will be his. If he is not, then he has no one to blame but himself,” Realmslord Windgrace laughed.

“Master, is it possible that other Hegemons or Emperors will come and ask you to activate the Blacksun to send them over to the Flamedragon Realmverse?” Hegemon Wuye suddenly said.

To travel from one realmverse to another was extremely arduous and time-consuming. The normal method of travel was to slowly teleport through the Great Dark, which would generally take an extremely long period of time.

A better option would be to travel via a realmship, but even faster would be to have an Otherverse Lord blaze a path relying on the otherverse’s prime essences. This would be even faster than using a realmship, but it was extremely taxing. Generally speaking, Otherverse Lords would not be willing to do such a thing. Yes, the Otherverse Lords could slow down a bit and use up less energy, but that would mean travelling slower than a realmship.

The fastest option of all was to rely on the power of the Blacksun, which could allow one to instantly teleport from one realmverse to another. Once the Blacksun was activated, it would be able to connect to extremely distant places and, for an exceedingly brief period of time, form a spacetime conduit would allow instantaneous teleportation! However, the energy needed to activate the Blacksun was unspeakably vast. The cost of such a thing was more than enough to beggar or bankrupt an ordinary Hegemon.

The Blacksun had other capabilities as well. Aside from being able to connect two distant realmverses together via a transversal conduit, it could be used to launch terrifying attacks as well. It was truly one of the most deadly Sithe war machines available.

“Over just the chance to win a realmship? There’ll be many competitors, and they won’t necessarily be the victors in the end… I don’t think there are many who are determined enough to ask me to activate the Blacksun,” Realmslord Windgrace said with a laugh. Even he himself rarely activated the Blacksun. It had remained sealed ever since the end of the Dawn War, and it now rarely revealed its true power.

……

This information from the Flamedragon Realmverse quickly spread throughout the other fifteen realmverses as well as the otherverse. All of the major powers were stunned to hear that a Daolord could be this powerful… and they were all covetuous of that realmship!

“How strong can a Daolord be, really?”

“I became a Hegemon countless years ago. How could I be unable to kill a Daolord?”

This information quickly drew many Hegemons and a few Emperors out of seclusion. A realmship was simply far too enticing an object… and Daolords were simply viewed as being of no threat at all.

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Chapter 11 – Heading Off Soon

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 11 – Heading Off Soon

Vastheaven Territory. Vastheaven Palace.

Emperor Goldisle had come to visit this place once more, and both Ji Ning’s avatar and Emperor Solesky had come out to welcome him in person.

“Darknorth,” Emperor Goldisle immediately began, “I’m embarrassed to have to tell you about this.”

“Brother Goldisle, come inside and sit. We can discuss things slowly.” Ning was rather surprised; why was Emperor Goldisle professing to be ‘embarrassed’ as soon as they met?

Emperor Goldisle nodded, holding back for now. Ning and Solesky led the way for him as the three entered a secluded side-hall within Vastheaven Palace.

The three then sat down, some fine wine placed in front of each of their tables. The aroma of the wine wafted through the entire hall, but Emperor Goldisle was in no mood to relax. He shook his head and sighed, “I’m embarrassed to be telling you this, but… just today, Emperor Bloodcloud went and sought me out.”

“Bloodcloud?” Ning frowned. Emperor Bloodcloud was definitely the main pillar of the evil forces left behind by Archon Silksnow! “What, does he want to beg for mercy?” Ning asked.

“That’s where you are wrong, Darknorth.” Emperor Goldisle shook his head. “He didn’t ask for mercy. Instead, he sought to send word through the Dao Alliance to the other realmverses about something he had discovered… and by now, it’s probably made its way to all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.”

“Sixteen Realmverses Alliance? What’s that?” Ning was puzzled.

“A great alliance that was originally established and led by Realmslord Windgrace. It consists of the Dao Alliances of the sixteen nearest realmverses which have joined together to ensure stability, peace, and allies in the event of outside invaders. We can notify each other of various dangers or important information we discover. In times of crisis, the sixteen realmverses will be in absolute lockstep and will not fear any outside forces. Realmslord Windgrace was chosen as the paramount leader by all sixteen realmverses, and is acclaimed as the most powerful expert of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.”

“Realmslord Windgrace?” Ning sighed in amazement.

“The strongest in sixteen realmverses?” The nearby Emperor Solesky sighed in amazement as well. That meant he had to be far stronger than even Hegemon Brightshore.

“He’s in control of an alternate universe and is incredibly strong. During the Dawn War, he rendered incredible merits in battle and ended up in control of the terrifying Sithe war machine known was the Blacksun…” Emperor Goldisle continued, “But that’s enough about him. I’m here because of what Emperor Bloodcloud instructed our Dao Alliance to send to everyone else. This is something that will be of deep concern to you, Darknorth.”

Ning and Solesky exchanged a glance.

“What did he say?” Ning had a bad feeling already.

“Emperor Blackcloud said that it was you who hunted down Archon Silksnow, forcing him to commit suicide in the end… and that his realmship is now in your hands.” Emperor Goldisle continued, “Emperor Bloodcloud asked me to send this information outwards. As you know, the Dao Alliance is a very loose structure and has just a few basic rules. There were no grounds for me to reject this proposa… and even if he didn’t go through me, he would’ve been able to go through the numerous other Emperors who are connected to the other realmverses.”

“No need to say anything more, brother Goldisle. I understand.” Ning’s face was tight. “Give me a moment to think.”

“Yes, you do need to think this over,” Emperor Goldisle agreed, a heavy look on his face. “Now that word has been sent to all sixteen realmverses was well as the otherverse which is under Realmslord Windgrace… I’m worried that quite a few Hegemons and powerful Emperors will hasten to our Flamedragon Realmverse and try to take that realmship from you.”

Ning was lost in thought. Nasty. A truly nasty shot. Archon Silksnow was just as hard-hearted towards himself as he was towards his foes. He had never dared to reveal the secrets of the realmship prior to his passing, so why was it that Emperor Bloodcloud had found out immediately after he had died? Why was it that Emperor Bloodcloud also knew that Archon Silksnow had been hunted down by Ning and forced to commit suicide?

Who would know all these little details? Aside from Ning himself, only the deceased Archon Silksnow knew.

“Nasty move, Silksnow… so this is the final card up your sleeve to kill me?” Ning slowly shook his head. “You risked your life to delve into the Jadefire Realm, all for the purpose of trying to draw me inside and kill me… and you even came up with a final backup plan to use the realmship to kill me if you yourself could not.”

Emperor Solesky and Emperor Goldisle both looked at Ning, waiting for him to make a decision.

“Darknorth, why don’t you give the realmship up?” Emperor Solesky couldn’t help but suggest.

“Give it up?” Ning shook his head. “If I trade the realmship to others, I’ll still be in possession of a vast amount of treasure. That treasure will continue to attract greedy eyes from some other major powers…”

“Then don’t ask for any treasures at all. Just hand it over as a gift,” Emperor Solesky said.

“And why do I have to give away my treasures?” Ning shook his head, a cold smile on his lips and a chilling gleam in his eyes. He then looked at Emperor Goldisle. “Brother Goldisle, there’s something I’ll have to trouble you with.”

“Just go ahead and say the word.” Emperor Goldisle felt a bit embarrassed himself, but there had been nothing he could do; the Dao Alliance’s rules were binding! In addition, quite a few Emperors were connected to the outside world. Many of them spent their days wandering and adventuring but kept their avatars back home! Thus, it was extremely simple to ask these Emperors to help spread the word.

There was no way to stop it at all, and so Emperor Goldisle wasn’t willing to disobey the laws of the Dao Alliance.

“As you know, I’ve always wished to reverse spacetime to revive my Dao-companion.” Ning smiled. “Now that I have this realmship, I wish to use it to ask an Autarch to do just that.”

“Ask an Autarch?” Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Solesky were both stunned. They had both heard of Autarchs, but not even the majority of Hegemons were ever able to actually meet one.

“Fine.” Emperor Goldisle nodded repeatedly. “That’s a good solution. If your treasures ends up in the hands of an Autarch, nobody would be able to do anything about it! But Darknorth, I have to warn you… the Dao Alliance can only help you send the word to the Autarch as soon as possible. As for how long the Autarch will take, we can’t be sure. To Autarchs, realmships might be nice little toys, but they still won’t care enough to drop everything for one. They’d only accept your offer to ensure that the most basic laws of fairness in the universe are maintained.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded. Autarchs were at the apex of power amongst cultivators, capable of creating even otherverses with ease. When the Sithe had been defeated, the Autarchs must’ve acquired countless spoils of war. Even if that wasn’t the case, at their level these treasures really held almost no meaning for them at all.

They weren’t truly completely uncaring towards the weaker cultivators… but they couldn’t just help everyone who asked willy-nilly either! That wouldn’t be appropriate. Thus, Autarchs operated off a simple principle… if you wanted one of them to help you out, you had to pay a corresponding price, even though they themselves didn’t care about treasure per se.

“Right. I’ll go send the word now,” Emperor Goldisle said. “I’ll get you a response as soon as I can.”

“Good.” Ning felt excitement swell in his breast. He was asking a favor of an Autarch! A favor for a realmship… when would the Autarch come?

……

Word quickly spread to Realmslord Windgrace’s territory. He possessed a pre-eminent status; he was the only one in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance who was capable of contacting an Autarch.

“He wishes to use a realmship to ask an Autarch to revive his Dao-companion? This Daolord Darknorth is quite the romantic.” Realmslord Windgrace laughed when he heard this, then immediately helped send the word.

……

A distant region of great darkness. Within the emptiness of the void, there was an enormous triangular region with a series of dazzlingly beautiful palaces in the very center, each of which emanated specks of golden light.

At the very center was a particularly towering palace, the greatest of them all.

“Master.” An azure-robed youth who emanated the aura of eternity moved to stand respectfully outside a private room within the palace.

Inside the private room was a bald, black-robed old man who had a pair of fleshy antennae growing from the top of his head. His golden eyes were focused intently on the skull-sized round gray globe in front of him, and the countless runes and patterns the globe was covered with.

The fleshy antennae waved about above the bald old man’s head, but his eyes were filled with excitement. He gently reached out to tap the gray globe once, causing the countless patterns to instantly change and an aura of power to build.

“Still not right.” The bald old man shook his head, then reached out with his ashen white right hand to give it another tap, bringing it back into quiescence.

“Master.” A second call rang out from outside.

“Xian’er. Why are you bothering me?” Only now did the old man notice the distraction and respond.

“Realmslord Windgrace sent word that someone named Daolord Darknorth in the Flamedragon Realmverse wishes to use a realmship to ask you to help him reverse spacetime to revive his Dao-companion,” the azure-robed youth outside said respectfully.

“Another lovesick man.” The bald old man nodded. “Alright, fine. Got it. Stop bothering me, I’ll head over there soon!”

“Soon?” The youth outside the door murmured softly, “Master, the last time you said you would go ‘soon’, you delayed by over 600,000 chaos cycles…”

The bald old man’s antennae instantly begin to twist in embarrassment and irritation. “How dare you mock me, you brat! This time, it really will be soon! I’ve pretty much finished repairing this treasure. It needs just a tiny bit more work. Once I’ve finished repairing it, I’ll head over! Alright, don’t bother me again before I finish this project.’

“Alright.” The azure-robed youth had no choice but to leave, then send this response back to his good friend ‘Realmslord Windgrace’.

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Chapter 12 – Escorted

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 12 – Escorted

After helping Ji Ning send word, Emperor Goldisle didn’t immediately hurry to depart. He instead continued to remain at Vastheaven Palace as he wanted for the Autarch’s response. Just half a day later, that response came.

“Darknorth.” Emperor Goldisle immediately sought Ning out. Ning was seated silently at the peak of a mountain. When he saw Emperor Goldisle fly towards him, he couldn’t help but feel nervous: “Do we have an answer?”

Whoosh. Emperor Goldisle alighted on the mountain top next to him. “We have an answer. Ever since the war against the Sithe concluded, it became hard to locate the Autarchs and virtually no Hegemons know where they are! We had to rely on Realmslord Windgrace and his extraordinary status to accomplish it. He rendered major accomplishments during the Dawn War and is the only person in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance who can contact the Autarchs… but this time, he was only able to reach out to Autarch Titanos!”

“Autarch Titanos?” Ning grew eager with anticipation. All Autarchs were transcendental figures. After the war, Autarch Bolin had created the Aeonian race and then disappeared. Autarch Awakener was an even more mysterious figure; he had wandered the entire Chaosverse then disappeared without a trace as well. It was only thanks to Ning’s encounter with the Azureflower Estate that he knew Autarch Awakener had perished in a way which ‘could be considered suicide’.

To contact an Autarch was no easy feat!

“The other Autarchs roam about too much. Only Autarch Titanos stays in his estate at most times. Supposedly, Autarch Titanos spends all of his time analyzing the Sithe civilization and is thus the easiest Autarch to reach. When we need an Autarch to do something, he’s apparently the one we usually manage to contact,” Emperor Goldisle explained.

“Did the Autarch accept?” Ning asked.

“Autarch Titanos did accept, yes. He said he’d come ‘soon’.” A resigned look was on Emperor Goldisle’s face.

“Soon?!” Ning was overwhelmed with joy.

“Don’t get too excited. Last time he said the same thing, but he delayed for over 600,000 chaos cycles,” Emperor Goldisle said. “You understand, I’m sure. We’re lucky the Autarch agreed to help out at all; there’s no way to demand them to come here immediately.”

Ning stared. “Did you just say 600,000!?” He would probably be long dead by then! Daolords only had lifespans of 108,000 chaos cycles.

“Realmslord Windgrace asked Emperor Yuxian to nag him a bit…” Emperor Goldisle shook his head. “Autarch Titanos promised that this time, he really would come ‘very soon’. He’s extremely close to finishing some repair work on a Sithe treasure.”

Ning was helpless. “How soon is ‘very soon’? Alright, I understand. I have no choice but to wait.”

“Realmslord Windgrace said that he’ll do his best to try and contact a different Autarch as well! But for now, he hasn’t been able to find any,” Emperor Goldisle said.

“Help me relay my thanks to Realmslord Windgrace,” Ning said. And in his heart, he truly did feel grateful. No relationship existed between him and the Realmslord, the most paramount expert of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. The man needed nothing from him; for him to work so hard on Ning’s behalf was already a show of great goodwill.

Ning felt a mixture of nervousness, excitement, and disappointment. It was quite rare for Ning to feel such an emotional potpourri, but this was simply too important to him. Reviving his wife was the greatest desire he had.

“Autarch Titanos knows you are a Daolord. He probably won’t delay for too long,” Emperor Goldisle said consolingly.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. He had already done everything he could. Hopefully, Autarch Titanos really would arrive ‘soon’.

“Next, I need to worry about how I am going to deal with the Hegemons and major powers who come from the other realmverses.” There was no way Ning was going to hand his realmship over to these outsiders.

……

Hiddenfiend Realmverse. The Blacksun.

Three figures were standing atop a deserted plains. One was the chubby youth, ‘Emperor Wuye’, while the other two were also major powers.

“Wuye, you are being too greedy. It’s just a trip to the Flamedragon Realmverse. Why are you asking for that much?” One of the two was a skinny old man whose skin was covered with a layer of azure scales. He spoke in an unhappy voice as he looked at his comrade, a tall, muscular man who had two black wings on his back.

“I not only have to send you there, I have to bring you back as well!” Hegemon Wuye stared at him. “That’s a round trip!”

“But why do you have to insist on Hegemons costing three times as much as other Emperors?” the skinny old man continued to mutter unhappily.

“How can I treat them equally? All of you are going to the Flamedragon Realmverse to fight over the realmship, right? Hegemons naturally stand a much better chance than all the other Emperors.” Hegemon Wuye grinned. “Azurefiend, cut the crap already. You should be counting your lucky stars! You don’t even belong to the Hiddenfiend Realmverse, you were just passing through. That’s the only reason you even have a chance to get involved in this opportunity… and you are even so lucky as to be in the first batch of people I’m delivering. That means you’ll be amongst the first to get there.”

Whoosh. Whoosh. Two streaks of light flew towards them from afar. “Hurry up!” Hegemon Wuye called out to the two. “We’re waiting on you two!”

“Wuye, I can’t believe how much you are charging, given how long we have been friends for.” One of the two figures flying over was a three-eyed, golden-robed old man who shook his head as he spoke.

“Either pay the price or figure out a way to go on your own,” Hegemon Wuye muttered. “It’s pretty rare for me to have a chance to make some money with this realmship, so cut the moaning.” Hegemon Wuye often took advantage of his master and used his master’s golems to make money, but this time he wanted to earn a few more treasures than usual. This was why he had borrowed the realmship from his master, offering to send people forward but demanding a high price for it. He charged Hegemons one price and all other Emperors a different price.

“Dawnruler, the fact that we both belong to the Hiddenfiend Realmverse means that you are going to be the first group of people to arrive at the Flamedragon Realmverse. Just celebrate your good fortune quietly! Alright, now that everyone is here we’re going to head off!”

Hegemon Wuye waved his hand, leading Hegemon Azurefiend, Hegemon Dawnruler, and the other two Emperors into his realmship. He then left the Hiddenfiend Realmverse and began to advance through the endless Great Dark.

……

The only people belonging to the Hiddenfiend Realmverse who wanted to take part in this expedition were Hegemon Dawnruler and the two Emperors! As for Hegemon Azurefiend, he was a wandering Hegemon who wasn’t native to this place.

Hegemon Wuye’s responsibility was simply to serve as a ferry. He had three batches of people he was going to deliver in total. Some realmverses were nearby while others were far away, after all. For the first batch, he would take a few detours on the way to the Flamedragon Realmverse, moving through two other nearby realmverses and picking up a few more people. Thus, he would bring a total of three realmverses worth of major powers to the Flamedragon Realmverse.

For the second batch, he would leave the Flamedragon Realmverse and make a roundabout trip, bringing the major powers of three more realmverses to the Flamedragon Realmverse.

For the third batch, he would only be able to bring the major powers from two of the most distant realmverses over.

This made for a total of eight realmverses! The reason why he was only responsible for eight was because someone was competing for the same business. In the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, there was someone else known as Hegemon Fogsun who also had a realmship and was doing the same thing he was. Based on their respective locations, they had ended up carving out the sixteen realmverses in half, with one side responsible for eight while the other was responsible for seven.

Hegemons were charged one price while other Emperors were charged a different price. The people in the first batch would be charged a higher price, while those who went later would be a bit of a discount. However, the difference wouldn’t be that great. They all knew that given how Daolord Darknorth had been able to force an Archon to his death, it would be no easy task for them to force him to give up a realmship.

……

The Terror Starsea. The Jadefire Realm. Within that hidden dimensional control center.

Ning remained seated in the lotus position in the air above the altar, staring down at the formation-diagrams below.

“Eh? Hegemon Wuye and Hegemon Fogsun are each in control of a realmship and are responsible for ferrying the people over?” Ning nodded slowly. “I wonder which Hegemons and major powers will end up getting involved.”

Some information remained highly confidential. Clearly, these major powers wished to keep as much secret as they could, so as to catch him off-guard.

“Fifteen realmverses and an otherverse…” Ning calculated silently to himself, “How many major powers will take part, all combined?” By now, he had learned quite a bit from Emperor Goldisle.

Rumors said that even foreign Hegemons were taking part, and more than one at that. Other rumors whispered that no one within the otherverse was going to take part. Still other rumors said that as many as three Hegemons and four Emperors from the Windnest Realmverse were coming for him. It must be understood that the Windnest Realmverse only had a total of four Hegemons; that meant that the majority of its elite experts were all coming…

All sorts of rumors were flying around, some real and some false. This caused Ning to feel a tremendous sense of pressure.

“I need to master the ‘flower petal formation’ as soon as possible. By then, I’ll be able to control the countless flaming passageways and use them against my foes.” Ning stared downwards, his Immortal energy pouring into the formation-diagram and causing the flower petals on the giant formation below to light up, revealing projections of the countless flaming passageways in the air around him.

Every single flaming passageway projection seemed extremely real, and they were all covered with countless traps and mechanisms.

“I have to figure out how to defeat the control mechanisms if I want to take control over the traps.” Ning shook his head. He had just barely been able to make some progress in the past few days, which was why he was able to cause the entire region to appear in the air around him. However, he was unable to actually control any of it.

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Chapter 13 – Control

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 13 – Control

Time flowed on, one day at a time. Ji Ning’s Primaltwin remained at the Azureflower Estate, relying on the Autarch’s stone dais to furiously meditate on the various techniques that belonged to the same school as the ‘Seven Flaming Hells Formation’.

Ten years. A hundred years. A thousand years…

In the blink of an eye, over nine thousand years had gone by.

“Haha…” The white-robed Ning seated in the lotus position in the air above the giant Seven Flaming Hells formation-diagram began to laugh loudly as he rose to his feet, a look of delight on his face. Immortal energy surged from his entire body, flooding into the formation-diagram and flowing towards the flower petals.

Boom. Boom. Boom. The projections of the countless flaming passageways once more appeared in the air around him. Each passageway was as thin as a strand of silk, and each strand-like passageway was filled with countless mechanisms and traps. In truth, Ning could see them all clearly with the naked eye, and he was now able to control every single one of them as well.

“After meditating for over 900,000 thousand years, I’ve finally managed to comprehend the flower petal formation.” Ning revealed a look of delight. Although only nine thousand years had gone by in the ‘real’ world, his Primaltwin had spent this entire period of time under 100x temporal acceleration.

Clack clack clack clack…

Boom boom boom boom…

The Jadefire Realm was absolutely enormous, and the flaming passageways made up the largest part of it. Every single flaming passageway was incredibly long, and the countless flaming passageways formed an enormous nest which led to the prisons at the very heart!

By now, all of the countless flaming passageways were trembling. Some of the previously-revealed mechanisms suddenly went into hiding once more, while damaged traps began to automatically repair themselves, with quite a few returning to perfect condition. However, there were many other areas which had been forcibly torn apart; even though Ning was able to perfectly control those areas, he wasn’t able to repair them.

“Roughly 30% of the area has been wrecked.” Ning nodded slowly as he swept his glance across the countless illusory passageways in midair. “The Jadefire Realm was damaged so heavily during the war that it is now a flawed creation. However… in the remaining 70%, the countless mechanisms and traps are all under my control. It’s now far more dangerous than it was previously.” Ning’s eyes flashed with the desire to do battle.

Previously, he was dreading the major powers who were attacking the Flamedragon Realmverse. Now, he was merely somber and careful. He was confident in his chances to deal with them, in his chances to fight back!

Previously, many of the mechanisms and traps within the countless flaming passageways were exposed due to there being no one in control; this made it extremely easy for them to move past the mechanisms. Now that they had a master again, things were different. Even if you didn’t activate a trap, Ning could cause it to activate with a thought to enevelop you! There were some extremely powerful mechanisms that, when unleashed, would releases blasts that would cover over ten billion kilometers. There would be no way to dodge them at all.

“Hmph.” Ning mused to himself, “Many Hegemons have come against me… but I, Darknorth, won’t necessarily lose.”

Although Ning was more confident in his chances now that he was in control of the tunnel passageways, he still didn’t dare to be overconfident. He knew just how powerful his foes were, and they all knew how dangerous the Jadefire Realm was. There was no way they would be easily trapped.

“The only thing left is the ‘flower stamen formation’ at the core.” Ning began to work on analyzing the most difficult-to-understand part of the formation, the one governing the prison regions.

Controlling the ‘flower stamen formation’ meant controlling all of the prisons within the area, allowing him to save Ninedust. Alas, many of the prisons had been destroyed. If they were all perfectly undamaged, control over them would give him ability to unleash a Decimatus Wave.

……

Time flowed on. More than 80,000 years had gone by in the blink of an eye. A rip in spacetime suddenly appeared in a region of empty primordial chaos within the Flamedragon Realmverse, followed by an invisible bubble of power pushing out of it with an ancient ship.

“Haha, everyone, we’ve reached the Flamedragon Realmverse.” A loud laugh could be heard, followed by the flying vessel disappearing into thin air and a group of figures appearing in its place.

There were a total of ten figures in total. One was Hegemon Wuye, the others were all various major powers he had picked up. “I’ve already brought you all to the Flamedragon Realmverse.” Hegemon Wuye looked at the nine. “You can decide for yourselves if you wish to wait here for the next back of Emperors or if you wish to go off and hunt down Daolord Darknorth on your own. In short, once this is all concluded I’ll be back to bring you back to your respective realmverses. Alright, I’m off! I have to go get the next two batches of Emperors.”

“Thank you, brother Wuye.”

“Brother Wuye, just take your time with the others. The more you delay, the better.” The nine major powers were all in a good mood. Judging from time and distance, they shuld’ve been the first to arrive.

Hegemon Wuye took control over his realmship and departed.

“Let’s go. Let’s head to the Terror Starsea and the Jadefire Realm,” the skinny azure-scaled old man, ‘Hegemon Azurefiend’, said in a low voice. Of the nine Emperors present, five were Hegemons while the other four were quite powerful in their own right. Only those who were extremely confident in their abilities would dare to come here, with Hegemon Azurefiend being the strongest of the group.

“Let’s go.”

“We aren’t too far away from the Terror Starsea.”

“I travel the fastest. I’ll lead everyone with me,” an man dressed in graceful azure robes said with a smile. His fingers were as smooth as alabaster jade, and as he waved his finger he easily tore a path through spacetime.

“Since Hegemon Oldgem has chosen to guide us, let’s just go ahead and accept his kind offer.” The other major powers didn’t reject.

……

Although he wasn’t quite familiar with the Terror Starsea, Hegemon Oldgem truly was a formidable figure when it came to travelling. It took him merely a century or so to arrive outside the Jadefire Realm.

“The Jadefire Realm. How beautiful.” Hegemon Oldgem stared at the enormous vortex of flames before them, each of the flames looking like the petal of a flower. “Supposedly, this was a nightmare for our people during the Dawn War. Many major powers were imprisoned in here, and all those who went inside perished.”

“Everyone, we’ve already collected quite a bit of information regarding the Jadefire Realm. Based on what we know, entering is easy but leaving is difficult.” Hegemon Dawnruler said in a cold voice, “Daolord Darknorth went in a fairly short while ago. I imagine he probably hasn’t been able to flee just yet. Shall we wait for him outside or shall we go inside?”

“Go inside of course,” Hegemon Azurefiend said, a glimmer of terrifying red light flashing in his eyes. “We were the first to arrive here. If we waste any time, Hegemon Fogsun’s realmship will probably arrive with another batch of Emperors. By then, we’ll have lost our first-mover advantage and it’ll be even harder to acquire the realmship. The more time we waste, the more Emperors will arrive and the more difficult things will become.”

“Right.” A bald, grim-looking red-robed man nodded slowly.

“I agree that we should all go in together right away as well,” a silver-haired elder with a stone sword on his back agreed.

Since the five Hegemons were all in occurrence, the other four Emperors simply exchanged glances but said nothing.

“Haha… what a pity! I hear that the most powerful figure in the Flamedragon Realmverse is Hegemon Brightshore. He should know quite a bit about this Jadefire Realm, but he wasn’t willing to tell us anything about it at all.” Hegemon Azurefiend chortled. “Still… we were able to accumulate quite a good amount of intelligence. It should be enough. The Jadefire Realm was shattered long ago and should no longer pose of much a danger to us. Come, come! Let’s go inside.”

Hegemon Azurefiend immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew inside.

“Let’s go,” Hegemon Oldgem said.

“All together now.”

“Let’s go.” The nine Emperors began to charge into the vast vortex of flames, either singly or in pairs. Soon, all of them had entered the Jadefire Realm.

“There are this many flaming passageways?” After entering the Jadefire Realm, the Emperors saw the countless flaming tunnels off in the distance.

“Which one should we choose?”

“We? Gentlemen, are we still planning to travel together? Haha, I’m more accustomed to moving by myself. I’ll go in first. If I’m the first one to find Daolord Darknorth, the realmship will be mine,” Hegemon Azurefiend laughed wickedly. He immediately charged into one of the flaming passageways next to him. He was the most powerful member of this group of Emperors and thus naturally wasn’t interested in working together with the others.

He refused to believe that he wasn’t able to kill a mere Daolord!

“Let’s go.” Hegemon Dawnruler scanned the area with his three eyes, then took a single step forwards and transformed into golden light that burrowed in a distant flaming passageway.

“Let it all be up to fate.” The bald, grim-faced man dressed in red robes revealed a hint of a smile as he flew into one of the flaming passageways as well.

“Brother Oldgem, let’s travel together?” the silver-haired elder with the ancient stone sword on his back asked.

“Let’s.” Hegemon Oldgem smiled. These two Hegemons flew towards one of the flaming passageways together. These two came from the same realmverse and were on extremely good terms with each other; if they acquired the realmship, they would share it. It wouldn’t really matter who owned it.

“The five Hegemons have all gone inside. We should go as well.” The four remaining Emperors exchanged glances. Soon, they formed into two squads of two which flew into the flaming passageways as well.

……

The hidden control region within the Jadefire Realm. Ning remained seated in midair above the altar, scanning the surrounding area with his gaze. The area around him manifested projections of the flaming passageways of the Jadefire Realm, as well as the nine figures making their way through those passageways. These nine figures had entered the Jadefire Realm together, then had separately entered different passageways. Ning had watched all of this carefully.

“Have they come?” Ning murmured softly, “This first batch is already putting me under quite a bit of pressure.”

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Chapter 14 – Bait

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 14 – Bait

Since Ji Ning knew that a host of major powers was coming from the various realmverses for him, he had naturally acquired quite a bit of material and information on his foes. Hegemon Brightshore and Emperor Goldisle had been particularly helpful, introducing detailed information regarding the most famous Hegemons and extremely powerful Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance to Ning.

Thus, when Ning ‘saw’ those nine figures appear through the formation-diagram, he was able to recognize them at one go.

“Five of these nine are Hegemons. Hegemon Oldgem and the Paragon of Swords are actually working together? They are all being extremely cautious.” Ning shook his head slowly. “Hegemon Dawnruler… Hegemon Everworry… hey, this should be Hegemon Azurefiend.”

Ning’s gaze focused upon the figure of the latter. Hegemon Azurefiend was flying carefully through the flaming passageways, his eyes glowing with cold light as he carefully scanned the area in front of him. Hegemon Azurefiend was even using a pair of rope-type magic treasures to scout the path ahead for himself.

“Supposedly, Hegemon Azurefiend is one of the several foreign Hegemons taking part in this escapade.” Ning carefully scrutinized Hegemon Azurefiend. Based on what he knew, there were differences in power between Hegemons; Hegemon Brightshore, for example, was the number one Hegemon of the Flamedragon Realmverse! Even in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, Hegemon Brightshore was powerful enough to rank in the top five.

But of course, there was no way to rank anyone in greater detail than that, as most of the Hegemons had never actually battled each other. Rough rankings could only be based on the performance they had shown in the past, which was why Realmslord Windgrace was acknowledged to be the absolute strongest. Next came the likes of Hegemon Brightshore.

Hegemon Windrain and Hegemon Netherlily were considered fairly ‘ordinary’ Hegemons in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

“Hegemon Azurefiend is extremely famous! Supposedly, he was born a Chaos Godbeast and has a strange temperament. He’s extremely powerful and ranks highly even amongst Hegemons,” Ning mused. “Based on what the intelligence reports tell me, he should be even stronger than Hegemon Netherlily and Hegemon Windrain. He should be the strongest of the five Hegemons in this batch.”

In the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, there were only a few figures capable of suppressing Hegemon Azurefiend in power! “Hegemon Azurefiend, eh?” Several thoughts flickered through Ning’s mind.

“I’ll feign weakness first. These five Hegemons only constitute a small percentage of the Hegemons who will be coming, after all. The only trump card I have up my sleeve is my control over the flaming passageways; once I reveal it, the Hegemons and Emperors who arrive later will only be even more careful. They might even all travel together. That’ll make things very troublesome for me,” Ning mused.

Only by feigning weakness could he lull his foes into underestimating him. Only then would his foes move independently on their own, as only when they felt that Ning was not a threat would they be truly concerned about competing agaist the other Hegemons. This would be of benefit to Ning.

“My control over the flaming passageways is a killer trump card. I have to save it for a moment of maximum effect. That’s my only shot at reversing the situation.” Ning’s gaze was focused on the nine illusory figures advancing through the countless passageways. Every single action they took was within his field of vision.

……

“This Jadefire Realm really is in terrible shape. A few mechanisms have appeared, but I was able to discover them all from afar.” Hegemon Azurefiend continued to fly forwards, two billion-kilometer sized ropes scouting the way up ahead for him.

“According to the legends, the Jadefire Realm was absolutely terrifying when intact. It’s very weak now. No wonder so many Emperors of the Flamedragon Realmverse were able to come in, scout the place, and then leave safely.” Hegemon Azurefiend shook his head and chuckled. He felt increasingly relaxed; things were much simpler than he had anticipated.

This place might be of danger to weaker Emperors, but he was an exalted Hegemon. How much of a danger could these damaged, unmanned traps and mechanisms possibly pose him?

“Daolord Darknorth, eh? You’ll definitely be mine. Heh heh… I’ll kill him and then take his realmship, allowing me to easily rove across the various realmverses. It won’t be as difficult as it is now.” Hegemon Azurefiend felt quite eager. He was a temperamental character, but was born liking to wander about by himself and adventure through the void.

Swoosh. Hegemon Azurefiend continued to advance at high speeds through the flaming passageways, using the many tools he had available to scout out the path ahead and avoid them with ease.

……

“This is easier than expected.” The bald, red-robed, grim-faced man strolled through the skies, his body emanating with gray light that illuminated the area ahead of him and laid bare all of the hidden dangers.

……

Each of the major powers felt as though the Jadefire Realm wasn’t as dangerous as they had thought. So long as they were careful, they would be able to advance with ease.

Time passed, one day after the other.

“Soon. Hegemon Azurefiend is the fastest; he’s about to go through the flaming passageway area and reach the prison region. It is time for me to make my own move as well. I can’t let them get into and explore the prison region.” Ning was still seated in the lotus position above the altar, but a streak of light suddenly flew out of his body, manifesting into a second ‘Ji Ning’ in the air. This was a divine power clone.

“Whitethaw, let’s go,” Ning barked.

“Alright,” Whitethaw said respectfully. Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing the ancient realmship to appear next to him. It was now in much better shape than it had been when Archon Silksnow had owned it. Ning and Whitethaw both entered the realmship, then quietly snuck away from the hidden region, leaving behind just the divine power clone inside.

Rumble… Ning’s divine power clone remained seated above the altar and the formation-diagram, using its Immortal energy to manipulate the formation-diagram and maintain control over things from afar.

Controlling the formation-diagram took very little power. Although this divine power clone was fairly weak, for it to use Immortal energy to control the formation-diagram was simplicity itself.

With his clone present, Ning would be constantly aware of the locations and behaviors of the nine Hegemons and Emperors.

……

Within the darkness of the void. An ancient realmship was hovering in the skies next to a flaming cage, with Ning’s true body and Whitethaw inside the realmship.

Whoosh. Ten billion kilometers up ahead, an azure-scaled figure suddenly flew out from one of the flaming passageways. This figure emanated an extremely strange aura; it didn’t seem that dominating or overbearing, but based on Ning’s intelligence reports it definitely belonged to a terrifying figure who was ranked highly even amongst other Hegemons.

“Hegemon Azurefiend!” Ning grinned. “Let’s move.” Swoosh! Ning controlled his realmship to immediately fly into a nearby flaming passageway.

“Eh?” Hegemon Azurefiend had just reached the prison region after leaving the flaming passageways when he suddenly sensed a ripple from afar. Turning his head, he immediately saw that realmship.

“The realmship!” Hegemon Azurefiend was instantly overjoyed, so excited that his eyes lit up. “Haha, I really am lucky. I actually ran into the realmship as soon as I arrived here, and it seems as though the other Hegemons haven’t discovered it yet.”

“You want to run? Heh heh…” Hegemon Azurefiend’s speed skyrocketed as he furiously chased after the fleeing realmship.

Ning sent the realmship fleeing into the flaming passageways, beginning a ‘panicked’ flight through the area. Hegemon Azurefiend naturally followed him into the flaming passageways as well from behind.

“You won’t be able to escape. You aren’t going anywhere!” Hegemon Azurefiend spoke out, his voie carrying a strange, magnetic cadence that caused the area around Ning to shimmer.

“Azurefiend, don’t try to show off such meager skill in illusions before me. Hmph.” Ning’s voice echoed within the flaming passageways as well.

“Hand the realmship over to me and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise, you are doomed!” Hegemon Azurefiend chased frantically from behind.

“You think you can doom me? Hmph. I’ll show you just how incredible a realmship truly is.” Even as Ning’s voice echoed within the flaming passageways, the realmship suddenly skyrocketed in speed. Swoosh! It instantly pulled away from Hegemon Azurefiend, throwing him off and making it so that he could do nothing but watch as Ning disappeared from his field of vision.

“T-that fast?!” Hegemon Azurefiend was briefly stunned, but his eyes then flashed with savage light. “Good. What a fine realmship.” Realmships were meant for travel. When Archon Silksnow had used it, it was in terrible shape but still far faster than Ning. Now, it had been repaired considerably and was even faster than before, allowing Ning to easily throw Hegemon Azurefiend off his trail.

……

Time flowed on. A few months after the last encounter.

“A realmship!” Hegemon Everworry had just arrived at the prison region, and his eyes lit up as he saw the distant realmship.

“Another Hegemon?!” Ning’s enraged sound rang out from within the realmship. “Hegemon Everworry… don’t you feel that you are all being too shameless?” As he spoke, he sent the realmship diving into the flaming passageway.

……

Three years later.

“The realmship is over there!” Hegemon Oldgem and the Paragon of Swords were both in hot pursuit of the realmship, which was fleeing in panic. Every so often, it would blast into certain traps that would send it spinning, but each time it was able to quickly stabilize itself and continue to flee at incredible speeds, shaking off both of them.

……

Time flowed on. All nine Emperors and Hegemons were thoroughly enraged; it was as though the only thing Daolord Darknorth could do was flee! Given how fast the realmship was, it was extremely hard for them to catch up to it.

“Daolord Darknorth is extremely familiar with the flaming passageways, allowing him to avoid many of the most dangerous mechanisms with ease. Even if he does occasionally run into one of them, his realmship is able to take the damage.” The nine Hegemons and Emperors all felt rather helpless.

Every single passageway was extremely long, and the countless passageways were filled with even more mechanisms. The Emperors had to move with care, and for now there really was no way for them to catch Ning as the latter dove here and there.

Still, they continued to waited excitedly. At least the realmship was remaining within the flaming passageways this entire time. Sooner or later, they’d catch it.

……

“Mm. For now, I’ll keep the most terrifying mechanisms of the passageways under wraps and keep them off their guard.” Ning remained quite calm from within his realmship. “I’ll keep their attention completely focused upon the flaming passageways for now. That way, so long as they avoid the prison region it’s unlikely they’ll be able to discover that hidden area.”

The reason why Ning had used himself as bait to repeatedly lure them out was because he was worried that if he just remained in hiding, the Emperors and Hegemons would begin to search the area with such care that they might scour every inch of the prison region. The hidden region was extremely difficult to locate, and Ning himself had only found it thanks to the guidance of Whitethaw… but his foes were Hegemons!

If an entire host of Hegemons chose to slowly and patiently search a region, they might one day be lucky enough to discover it. Once they did, they’d be able to take over that hidden region, at which point Ning would no longer be able to control the formation-diagram!

The chances of this happening were quite low, but Ning didn’t dare to take the risk.

“I need them to know that I’m in the flaming passageways. I need to focus their attentions on me. That way, they won’t search the prison region. Once a few more Hegemons and Emperors arrive, it’ll be time for me to make my move.” Ning was more than patient.

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Chapter 15 – The Second Batch

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 15 – The Second Batch

Within the realmship, located inside one of the flaming passageways inside the Jadefire Realm. Ji Ning was seated inside the realmship, drinking some wine. The fragrance of the wine filled the entire vessel, while the Protector stood solemnly by his side.

“Whitethaw, sit down and have some wine?” Ning said with a relaxed smile.

“I’m a golem. I don’t need to drink wine,” Whitethaw said flatly.

Ning shook his head. “That’s where you are wrong. I don’t ‘need’ to drink wine either, but I still ‘like’ to drink wine. We still need to have hobbies, you know. Come, come! I have plenty of precious wine stored up. Have a taste of all of them.”

“No need.” Whitethaw continued to stand there by himself.

“I order you to sit down.” Ning frowned.

“Yes, Master.” Whitethaw sat down obediently.

“Drink.” Ning pointed at the wine goblet in front of him.

Whitethaw picked up the goblet and dutifully drank the wine, then frowned and said in a low voice, “I don’t like it. I tried it back when I followed my previous master, ‘Daoist Bluestone’. I didn’t like it then, I don’t like it now.”

“Eh?!” Ning was truly surprised. He waved his hand, causing a hundred different wine goblets to appear before him as well as more than a hundred gourds of wine. Wine flew out from each gourd, filling each one of the goblets.

“Try them all. I refuse to believe this. Your body should’ve been constructed perfectly, including your senses. How could you have no taste for wine whatsoever? I wager Daoist Bluestone just didn’t let you try enough types, which is why you didn’t run into anything you like,” Ning said. “Drink them all up, one cup at a time.”

Whitethaw dutifully picked up one goblet after another, draining them in succession. A look of bewildered resignation was on his straightforward face. Why was this master of his forcing him to drink wine?

“All done.” Whitethaw quickly finished all of the wine. He remained quite calm.

“Again.” Ning refused to believe this. Cultivators drank wine when they had nothing better to do, and so Ning had plenty of wine on him at all times. He had acquired large reserves and stockpiles from the Daolords and Eternal Emperors he had defeated as well.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Ning continued to pour, while Whitethaw continued to drink. After drinking for over two hours, Whitethaw suddenly shivered when he took a sip of wine and said, “Master, this one is good! I like this one!”

“Oh?” Ning was surprised. He waved his finger, causing some liquid to fly out of a gourd of wine off in the distance and into Ning’s mouth. A pungent, sour, acidic taste instantly overfilled his mouth, followed by an absolutely foul aftertaste. It was so rancid that Ning couldn’t help but twitch, and he immediately shut his mouth and turned to stare at Whitethaw: “This one? You like this one?!”

Ning liked all types of wine. Some wine was lightly flavored but had lasting aftertastes, others had flavors that permeated the entire body. He also enjoyed wine that would plunge his body and soul into a cool state of refreshedness… but he absolutely hated sour, acidic, and incredibly pungent wine like this. Even Ning himself wasn’t sure where he had found this wine; today was the first time for him to even bring it out of storage.

“That’s absolutely disgusting.” Ning shook his head.

“It’s good!” Whitethaw stared at Ning, wide-eyed.

“…Fine. The Chaosverse truly is filled with all sorts of marvels, including golems who like to drink wine like this. And who would even create this type of wine?! Ah, forget it. Come, let’s drink together!” Ning laughed. He finally had someone to drink with him now. Life had been quite boring recently. Hide-and-seek with these Hegemons and Emperors was extremely boring. It was too simple, given that his divine power clone was in perpetual control of the flaming passageways.

“Master, do you have the feeling that something seems off?” Whitethaw quickly began to grow more loquacious as the happy feeling from the wine flooded his body.

“Something seems off?” Ning was startled. “What do you mean?”

“The Hegemons in the flaming passageways here in the Jadefire Realm aren’t working as hard as in the past in trying to hunt you down,” Whitethaw said.

Ning laughed. “Of course. It has been eighty thousand years! By now, they’ve realized that catching me will be virtually impossible. There’s no need for to chase as frantically as they would’ve in the past.”

“But they haven’t exactly relaxed either. They’ve started to set up a few small traps in the various passageways, such as masking formations that hide some of the terrifying mechanisms inherent within the passageways. They’ve actually put down a few special-purpose formations to deal with me.” Ning shook his head. “They don’t realize that all of their movements are under my observation and control.”

“Master, there are already eight Hegemons and ten other Emperors present. In the end, how many of them will have arrived in total for the sake of the realmship?” Whitethaw said, worried.

Ning nodded slowly. He felt a sense of pressure as well. 80,000 years… Hegemon Wuye and Hegemon Fogsun were both controlling realmships and thus both had delivered a first batch of Hegemons and Emperors to the Flamedragon Realmverse during this period of time. Hegemon Wuye’s first batch had included five Hegemons and four Emperors, while Hegemon Fogsun’s first batch included three Hegemons and six Emperors.

“Based on my calculations, the second batches should arrive soon,” Ning said seriously. “I hope they will separately enter the flaming passageways as well. If they do so, I’ll have a chance to stop them. My fear is that they will join forces and advance as one unit.”

Hegemons had many and varied techniques. If four or five of them worked together, even if Ning unleashed the full power of the mechanisms in the flaming passageways he still wouldn’t necessarily be able to stop all five of them!

After all, there were Hegemons who were extremely skilled in defense, so much so that they were a match for Otherverse Lords in this regard! Others specialized in speed, while still others specialized in karma. When they pooled their talents together, they would become extremely difficult to deal with.

……

120,000 years after the public revealing of the existice of the realmship. Hegemon Wuye was sending the second batch of Hegemons and Emperors over on this date.

They had arrived next to a blazing star that looked like a fiery ball of heat. A spatial tear appeared in the void next to the star, followed by a realmship blinking through and coming to a halt next to it.

“Gentlemen, we have arrived. Based on our latest information, Daolord Darknorth has remained in hiding within the Jadefire Realm this entire time, while none of the Hegemons or Emperors who have already reached the Jadefire Realm have been able to take the realmship from him. You all still stand a very good chance,” Hegemon Wuye said with a laugh.

“Regardless of who ends up with the realmship, you’ve already made a fortune in treasure from this escapade, brother Wuye,” one of the eight figures said upon flying out of the realmship.

“I borrowed this realmship from my master. I’m going to give most of the treasure to him!” Hegemon Wuye glared at him. “Not gonna waste words with you. I need to go pick up the final battle. I have a long road ahead of me.” As he spoke, he took control of the realmship and flew off into the distance.

Eight figures remained there within the void, their auras mighty. One of them, a devilishly handsome man who radiated an aura of cold insidiousness, let out a cold snort: “Everyone, you can go to the Jadefire Realm. I’ll be there shortly.” As he spoke, he took a step forwards and teleported through the air, vanishing.

“Where is Hegemon Winterflame going off to?”

“Where do you think? Given the type of person he is, he’s probably off to capture any and all of Daolord Darknorth’s friends and family.” The speaker was a bearded man dressed in simple gray robes who carried eight strange azure planks of wood on his back.

“Winterfire always does stupid shit like this.”

“Brother Blackwood, don’t worry about him. I’ll tear through spacetime and lead the way.” Of the group of eight who had just arrived, four were Hegemons, with Winterflame one of them. In truth, his status was the highest of the eight.

“Let’s go.” Hegemon Blackwood, who was the bearded man with those eight pieces of azure wooden planks on his back, nodded.

……

Whoosh. Tearing through spacetime at maximum speed, Hegemon Winterflame quickly arrived outside the Vastheaven Everworld. “Here we are.” Hegemon Winterflame stood there within the misty skies, staring at the distant Vastheaven Palace.

Hegemon Winterflame was dressed in white robes that glowed with blurry white light. His features were handsome to the point of appearing devilish, while his skin was so translucent and fine that one could almost see his blood vessels and veins. His eyes emanated an aura of terrifying coldness.

“Based on the intelligence records I acquired, Archon Silksnow probably chased someone called ‘Ninedust’ into the Jadefire Realm, then intentionally released word of this. Daolord Darknorth really did choose to ignore the danger and charge straight into the Jadefire Realm. He probably fought against Archon Silksnow inside, with Archon Silksnow eventually being defeated and force to commit suicide.” Hegemon Winterflame nodded slowly. “From this, we can tell that Daolord Darknorth is the sort of person who cares immensely about personal relationships.”

“He knew it was a trap, but for his friend’s sake he was still willing to risk his life and enter the Jadefire Realm… hmph. Headstrong, sentimental fools like him are the easiest to deal with.” Hegemon Winterflame’s eyes glowed with cold light. “The Ninedust Sectlord has probably already been rescued from the Jadefire Realm by Darknorth… and the other friends Darknorth care about all probably reside in his clan, Vastheaven Palace!”

Hegemon Winterflame stared at the distant Vastheaven Palace: “All I need to do is to abduct everyone in Vastheaven Palace. The World-level cultivators, the Daolords, the Emperors… I’ll abduct them all and force Daolord Darknorth to give me the realmship in exchange for them. Given his personality, there’s a chance he’ll accept.”

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Chapter 16 – First Meeting with Winterflame

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 16 – First Meeting with Winterflame

“Those other Hegemons and Emperors arrived much earlier than I did, but they accomplished nothing at all. Those fools… all they know is to try their luck in the Jadefire Realm. I really wonder if they have any brains at all.” Hegemon Winterfire shook his head and smirked.

It was normal for Hegemons to get involved in a competition for a realmship, much like how Daolords would plunder a World-level cultivators who somehow managed to acquire the fruits of Crimsonwave Temple. Amongst cultivators, if you weren’t strong enough then you didn’t deserve to hold good enough treasures.

But… Hegemons stood at the very apex of power in any major organization! They generally had their own sense of pride and cared tremendously about face. Realmships were incredibly valuable, and for them to attack with a Daolord for the sake of winning a realmship was nothing. But to go capture that Daolord’s friends and then use them to coerce him? This was absolutely shameful! Figures as exalted as Hegemons generally did not have the face to do something like this.

Slightly less elevated figures such as Archon Silksnow might well decide to carry out such shameless acts, but it was clear from Ning’s power that there was no chance for non-Hegemonic Emperors to do anything to Vastheaven Palace! In addition, even if they did make the attempt they wouldn’t necessarily succeed; could it be that Daolord Darknorth wouldn’t make any arrangements of his own?

This sort of behavior was both shameful as well as unlikely to succeed, which was why the Hegemons chose to head to Jadefire Realm rather than Vastheaven Palace. Only truly shameless and insidious figures like Hegemon Winterflame would choose such a course of action.

Hegemons generally were extremely prideful figures who cared tremendously about face, but every so often there would be an exception! Hegemon Winterflame was one such exception.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace. The brothers of Vastheaven Palace were all gathered together, drinking and eating and discussing the Dao with each other. Ning’s avatar, Ninedust’s avatar, and Emperor Solesky all sat off to one side.

Boom! Suddenly, a terrifying level of power descended upon the palace. Ning’s avatar raised its head, only to a see a snow-white silver-scaled claw descend upon them from the skies, emanating an aura of endless, invisible frost. Even spacetime had been completely frozen by the pressure, and a bone-piercing chill instantly pervaded the entire palace. This caused Ning’s face to turn completely pale.

“Someone came!” Ning shouted mentally, “Enter my estate-world for now.” As he spoke, he waved his hand. Emperor Solesky, Ninedust’s avatar, Daolord Battlemaster… none of them fought back at all, allowing Ning to draw them into his estate-world. Ning had already made preparations for this eventuality, after all.

He had attracted attention from fifteen realmverses and even some itinerant wandering Hegemons; he naturally had to make complete preparations for both Vastheaven Palace and the Three Realms. Ning had actually gone so far as to create a second avatar!

It must be remembered that Ning’s true body and his Primaltwin were each capable of maintaining a ‘peak’ avatar! Thus, he chose to create a brand new avatar to stand guard over the Three Realms as well.

Boom! The countless runes and barriers covering Vastheaven Palace began to crack and shatter as the enormous silvery-white scaled claws rent through the skies. Ning’s avatar flickered slightly as he used his Shadowless evasion-art to arrive in the air outside.

Cold energy billowed everywhere, forcing Ning to reveal himself despite his Shadowless evasion-art. Ning stood there in the air, gazing at the devilishly handsome man in the distance with alabaster skin who radiated an aura of coldness.

“So it is Hegemon Winterflame,” Ning said. “Hegemon Winterflame, why have you come to Vastheaven Palace?”

“Hmph.” Hegemon Winterflame’s eyes were fllled with cold malice. “Daolord Darknorth? So you’ve taken away all your friends and put them into your estate-world… do you really think there is nothing I can do to you now? And I think you should know exactly why I am here.”

Hegemon Winterflame let out a cold snort: “Hand over the realmship immediately and I won’t cause any trouble for you. Otherwise, your comrades are all dead.”

“The realmship is with my true body, which is at the Jadefire Realm.” Ning shook his head. “I merely have an avatar here. How am I supposed to hand over the realmship?”

“Simple. Swear a lifeblood oath to hand it over to me and I’ll immediately leave.” Hegemon Winterflame stared at Ning.

Ning raised his head slightly, glancing off into the distance towards some spacetime ripples which had just appeared, then let out a cold smile. No longer interested in wasting time on words, he said, “Keep dreaming.”

“Hm?” Hegemon Winterflame glanced backwards as well, only to see that spacetime was beginning to split apart.

“Reinforcements? No reinforcements will make it in time,” Hegemon Winterflame roared angrily. Whoosh! He manifested a ball of white fire out of nowhere, sending it sweeping through the skies. In front of the ball of white fire were a series of eight silver-scaled claws, each of which held some of the white fire as they tore towards Ning.

The surrounding world had been completely sealed and locked away, while the aura of frigidity emanating from the white faire caused even Ning’s avatar to feel amazed.

Boom! Faced with those eight silver-scaled claws and the white fire they brought, Ning felt a sense of tremendous danger. The white fire in particular was something unique to Hegemon Winterflame alone; it was known as the ‘winterflame’.

Hegemon Winterflame had been born an Aberrant special lifeform. His true form was that of a sentient ball of fire that had slowly cultivated and increased in power until it finally became a Hegemon. The ‘winterflame’ technique was unique to him, and it could be described as an unspeakably cold ball of fire. Once it touched anyone weaker than it, it would almost instantly reduce its target to ash.

“Halt!” a low, fierce growl rang out as a titanic head appeared in the distant spacetime rift. It was Hegemon Brightshore. By now, Ning was on extremely good terms with Hegemon Brightshore. He was worried about Vastheaven Palace’s safety and thus had mentioned this matter to Hegemon Brightshore.

In the past, Hegemon Brightshore hadn’t really cared if Ning died or not, but ever since Ning had revealed his true power Hegemon Brightshore had begun to view Ning as he would his own right arm.

Whoosh. The silver-scaled claws and the flames tore through everything they touched. Ning’s avatar was almost indestructibly tough, comparable to a top-grade Eternal treasure, but it was still completely torn asunder. This was the power of a Hegemon.

“You want to stop me?” A face appeared within the midair ball of flames, a cold smile on its features. “Even though Hegemon Brightshore has arrived, he was just a step too slow. I have more than enough time to kill you and then seize all of your friends in Vastheaven Palace.”

He was a Hegemon, after all; although he was weaker than Hegemon Brightshore, he didn’t fear the man.

Boom! By now, Hegemon Brightshore’s massive bulk had exited the rift. He had six curved horns on his head, and his vast body seemed to be formed from incredibly thick layers of twisted stones. He reached out with one of his pillar-shaped arms, striking out towards Hegemon Winterflame.

Hegemon Winterflame’s eight silver-scaled claws hurriedly moved back to block the attack. An enormous explosion rang out as a shockwave of indescribable power spread out more than ten billion kilometers… but outside the ten billion kilometer range, there was no damage caused whatsoever. Clearly, Hegemon Brightshore wanted to protect the mortal lifeforms here.

“Eh?” The eight silver-scaled claws were destroyed, melting back into that pool of white fire which then resolved into a humanoid shape.

“What’s going on? I wasn’t able to grab anything?” Hegemon Winterflame had a stunned look on his face. He felt certain that he had destroyed Ning’s avatar. He wanted to seize Ning’s storage treasures, but hadn’t been able to find anything at all.

“Looking for me?” Far off in the distance, light flowed together to form a humanoid figure. It was Ji Ning.

“An invulnerable form?” Hegemon Winterflame’s face tightened. “You, a cultivator of the Dao of the Sword, have mastered an invulnerable form?” He had sought out much information regarding Ning and felt certain that Ning didn’t have an invulnerable form, which was why he was so confident in his chances.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. His true body was so powerful that not even Hegemons would necessarily be able to force him to use his invulnerable form. His avatar, however, had been forced to use it almost immediately. This was his very first time exposing it in combat!

“Not bad, Darknorth.” The towering Hegemon Brightshore reverted to human form as well, and the snow-robed old man smiled as he looked at Ning. Hegemon Brightshore really was liking Ning more and more. Now that Ning had an invulnerable form, killing him would be no easy feat at all. It was entirely possible that Ning would survive Jadefire Realm after all.

But of course, Hegemon Brightshore had no hidea that Ning had already taken partial control over the formation-diagram of the Jadefire Realm.

“Hegemon Brightshore, thank goodness you made it in time,” Ning said.

“Hmph.” Hegemon Winterflame glanced coldly at Ning, then gave Hegemon Brightshore a look as well. “You might be able to hide for a time, but you won’t be able to hide forever. You won’t be able to dodge me within Jadefire Realm.” Swoosh. Hegemon Winterflame turned and moved to depart.

“Indeed, Hegemon Winterflame. We’ll meet again in the Jadefire Realm,” Ning called out to him.

“Hmph! Quite arrogant. Very well then, we’ll meet again in the JAdefire Realm!” Hegemon Winterflame’s voice was filled with cold malice as he tore through spacetime and departed.

Ning silently watched as Hegemon Winterflame departed.

“Something wrong?” Hegemon Brightshore walked over.

“Since Hegemon Winterflame has appeared, that means the second batch of Hegemons and Emperors should have arrived,” Ning said softly. The first batch held eight Hegemons; how many would the second hold?

Given how many Hegemons were present… would he really be able to use the flaming passageways to stop them?

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Chapter 17 – Divining Danger

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 17 – Divining Danger

“More and more Hegemons are arriving from the other realmverses.” Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ji Ning. “Darknorth, have you come up with a plan to deal with them?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Let’s go, then. Accompany me back to the Brightshore Kingdom,” Hegemon Brightshore said. Ning didn’t decline. This time, Hegemon Winterflame attacked; next time, it might be an even more shameless Hegemon. In the end, his avatar was just much too wea. Without the Darknorth swords, his avatar was merely on par with Archon Silksnow. This was why he had been so easily forced to reveal his invulnerable form. A Hegemon who was willing to pay an extremely high price would be able to kill his avatar; to reside in the Brightshore Kingdom would be the safest decision.

Riiiiiip. A spacetime tear appeared in the starry cosmos, followed by Hegemon Brightshore leading Ning into the tear and disappearing without a trace.

……

The Terror Starsea. The Jadefire Realm.

Whoosh. Seven figures flew into the giant vortex of flames and entered the Jadefire Realm. These seven figures belonged to the seven Hegemons and Emperors who had accompanied Hegemon Winterflame on this journey to the Flamedragon Realmverse.

“Hegemon Blackwood, what should we do next? Should we enter separately?” a gaudily violet-robed man spoke out.

“Brother Blackwood?” the alien Hegemon, a large and muscular man, spoke out as well.

Only three of the seven were Hegemons. Clearly, they all cared quite a bit about Hegemon Blackwood’s views. This was because Hegemon Blackwood was a Hegemon who was extremely skilled in the divination arts of Numerancy! Although he was much weaker in Numerancy when compared to Emperor Waveshift, he had still reached a level where he could be considered number one in the Dao of Numerancy amongst those who still resided in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

As for Emperor Waveshift himself, he had long ago disappeared to parts unknown. He was doted on and shown great favor by many Otherverse Lords and other major powers, all of whom treated him with tremendous friendliness.

Generally speaking, everyone wished to befriend a major power of the Dao of Numerancy. No one was willing to offend such a figure. If you wished to try and kill him, he’d be able to divine it and flee before you even arrived. Conversely, if you encountered certain dangers or troubles you might need him to assist you in a bit of Numerancy divination.

“Let me give it a try,” the bearded Hegemon Blackwood said, adjusting the eight azure wooden planks on his back. “However, as you all know this struggle over the realmship involves numerous Hegemons as well as Sithe relics; to apply Numerancy to it shall be extremely difficult. I tried on the way over but failed each time. Now that we’ve already entered the Jadefire Realm… perhaps I shall succeed.” The closer they were to ‘reality’, the easier Numerancy was to engage in.

The other six figures didn’t dare to intervene. They watched as Hegemon Blackwood stood there, eyes closed as the eight azure wooden planks flew out from behind his black and surrounded him. They levitated there, circling around him nonstop and circulating with azure light. Countless runes appeared on their surfaces as an invisible ripple of power spread out.

In the blink of an eye, a full hour had gone by.

“Eh?” Hegemon Blackwood frowned as he opened his eyes.

“Brother Blackwood?” the alien Hegemon immediately asked.

“How did it go?” the violet-robed Hegemon asked as well.

“Don’t be impatient,” Hegemon Blackwood said. “Follow me into one of those flaming passageways. Remember, we’re going to stand in front of the passageway. We’re not going to actually go inside.” As he spoke, he flew over towards a passageway. The other six figures hurriedly followed from behind. They soon reached the nearest passageway, where they all came to a halt.

“None of you are to disturb me,” Hegemon Blackwood instructed. He then sat down in the lotus position and began to calmly focus his entire mind on Numerancy. The eight pieces of azure wood continuously swiveled around him, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, carrying a strange cadence to them.

……

As soon as Hegemon Blackwood and the others appeared, Ning was immediately made aware of it. He watched these Hegemons closely from afar.

“E? Not good. They are moving together. Wait, why are they pausing at the entrance without going any deeper inside?” Ning was puzzled. To merely be at the entranceway meant they could retreat whenever they chose; Ning’s control over the flaming passageways wouldn’t give him any power of them.

……

Hegemon Blackwood spent a total of three years engaging in Numerancy. His face was rather ashen as he finally opened his eyes, an exhausted look in his gaze.

“Blackwood?” The other six looked at Hegemon Blackwood, with the violet-robed Hegemon calling out to him.

“The dangers of the Jadefire Realm primarily reside within the prison regions and the flaming passageways. So long as we avoid the prison region, we won’t be in any danger,” Hegemon Blackwood said. “Thus… the main things for us to be concerned about are the flaming passageways! After physically entering one of them, my divinations became a bit clearer than before. There are many invisible forces disrupting my Numerancy, and those disruptions are extremely strong.”

What Hegemon Blackwood didn’t know was that Ning trained in the Omega Sword Dao. Divining anything which was related to Ning in any way was guaranteed to be a ridiculously difficult task. Given how many Hegemons were involved as well as the Sithe ruins known as the ‘Jadefire Realm’, those who didn’t have nigh-perfect mastery over the Dao of Numerancy wouldn’t be able to see anything clearly at all.

“So what’s the conclusion?” the alien Hegemon immediately asked.

“This is going to be extremely dangerous,” Hegemon Blackwood said softly. “I feel as though we are heading into a world of mist. Right now, I can only come to one vague conclusion… only if we stay together will we have a chance at being safe. Once we separate… we could very well die.”

“What?!”

“Very well die?!”

“As terrifying as that?” the other six were all shocked. Based on what they knew of this place, the Jadefire Realm was once deadly but had now fallen into disrepair. It also had no one in control of it, which meant that it shouldn’t be nearly as dangerous as it once was. To Hegemons and extremely powerful Emperors, it shouldn’t post much of a threat.

“If we separate… we might be safe, but we might also die,” Hegemon Blackwood explained. “But if we stay together, there will be almost no danger at all. Go ahead and decide; should we move together or separately? If you agree to travel alongside me, I’ll accompany you inside as a group. Otherwise, I’ll wait for the next group of Hegemons and accompany them instead.”

“Together.”

“Together, of course.” the violet-robed Hegemon and the others all immediately spoke out in unison. With Emperor Waveshift permanently ‘missing’, Hegemon Blackwood was now the number one expert of the Dao of Numerancy in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. Moving alongside someone like him would be the safest choice.

“Should we wait for Hegemon Winterflame?” an Emperor spoke out.

“Why the hell should we?”

“Hmph, traveling alongside him is a disgrace.”

“Let’s go. Given the detour he took, he’ll be at least two centuries behind us,” Hegemon Blackwood said calmly. “I certainly don’t have the patience to wait for him.” Hegemon Blackwood was an extremely proud figure, far more prideful than even your average Hegemon. He had never held Hegemon Winterflame in any respect!

Since Hegemon Blackwood had spoken, no one else argued the matter. Whoosh. The seven Hegemons immediatey joined forces to advance through the flaming passageways together, each using their own techniques to keep everyone safe. Spacetime techniques, special treasures, secret arts… they were put on full display as they advanced.

……

“Eh? They actually have chosen to advance as a unit?” Previously, Ning had been relaxing with Whitethaw within a flaming passageway inside the Jadefire Realm, sipping some wine from inside his hidden realmship. Now, however, he could no longer relax.

“Hegemon Blackwood, eh? I didn’t expect this many major powers to get involved, or that one of them would be able to divine a correct path of action despite my Dao being that of the Omega Dao,” Ning mused. He was on good terms with Daolord Badlands and thus knew a bit about the Dao of Numerancy. The more variables that were involved, the more difficult the divination would become.

Ning trained in an Omega Dao; each time Daolord Badlands tried to engage in Numerancy divinations regarding Ning, he saw nothing but blank fogginess. It was extremely difficult.

If (for example) an Autarch was somehow involved in a matter, most likely not even Emperor Waveshift would be able to divine anything whatsoever.

“The Dao of Numerancy truly is incredible,” Ning sighed. If his foes had chosen to travel separately, they would be like meat for his butcher’s block. Now that they were moving together, there wasn’t much he could do to them.

“Since Hegemon Blackwood and the others have started to move, it’ll be time to draw in my web soon.” Ning then pondered for a moment, “Wait, not just yet. I’ll wait for Hegemon Winterflame to arrive as well.”

Hegemon Winterflame had sought to use Vastheaven Palace to threaten Ning; how could Ning let him off the hook?

Soon, after roughly 180 or so years, Hegemon Winterflame arrived at the Jadefire Realm. He randomly picked a flaming passageway, then entered it. As he did so, Ning finally put down his winecup and rose to his feet within his realmship.

“The Jadefire Realm’s flaming passageways now have a total of twelve Hegemons within them!” Ning was able to clearly track the actions and movements of all the Hegemons and Emperors. “Once I move against one of them, I’ll be exposed and the rest will be forewarned. Thus… I’ll probably only be able to actually capture one of them.”

“Which one should I choose?”

Ning suddenly grinned. “The strongest one, I suppose!”

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Chapter 18 – Captured

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 18 – Captured

If he was going to rely on the flaming passageways and their traps to capture a Hegemon, he was going to capture the strongest one. Of the twelve Hegemons, the strongest had to be Hegemon Azurefiend!

“Damn that slippery Daolord Darknorth. He must have gained an extremely detailed intelligence report regarding the Jadefire Realm; otherwise, how could he have been able to throw me off with ease so many times in a row?” Hegemon Azurefiend sat there in the lotus position in the air, two rope-type treasures coiling around him. He just quietly sat there, his senses keenly attuned.

“However… sooner or later, he’ll make a mistake,” Hegemon Azurefiend with with a cold laugh. “The flaming passageways no longer have just the original traps in them, they also have the traps set up by the other Hegemons and Emperors. One instance of bad luck and he’ll hit one of them. My chance will come them.”

Hegemon Azurefiend was extremely patient. The fact that he was willing to spend such incredible amounts of time drifting between realmverses on his adventures was testament to his patience. Even if he had to spend a thousand chaos cycles here in the flaming passageways, he’d still be more than patient enough to do it.

“Eh?” Hegemon Azurefiend’s ears twitched slightly. He opened his eyes to stare towards the front, where he soon saw a realmship carefully advancing through the air.

“There it is. The realmship.” Hegemon Azurefiend was delighted. Swoosh! He immediately transformed into a streak of light that shot after Ning. He had spent more than a hundred thousand years in these flaming passageways, and was already quite familiar with the ones in the area he was in. He knew where the ‘native’ traps were and were the traps placed by the Hegemons were, making it easy for him to chase after his foe.

“Hegemon Azurefiend!” The occupant of the realmship seemed to be badly shocked, immediately turning to flee in a different direction.

“You aren’t going anywhere!” Hegemon Azurefiend roared as he chased from behind.

The realmship continued its panicked flight. Boom! Suddenly, with a loud explosion, a large amount of boulders appeared out of nowhere and furiously began to spin and smash against everything within the reach of the trap. Although the realmship was able to endure the attacks, it was still smashed flying backwards.

“A perfect opportunity.” Hegemon Azurefiend was overjoyed upon seeing this and immediately chased over. However, the realmship quickly escaped from the confines of the trap and began to accelerate once more as it fled.

The realmship fled while the Hegemon pursued. Hegemon Azurefiend used his ropes to blaze a path for him, sweeping away all dangers. Although he furiously chased after Ning and felt quite familiar with his surroundings, he still remained quite cautious. This was one of the reasons why he was still alive despite having visited so many dangerous regions in so many realmverses.

“Perfect. Come closer.” Ning smiled merrily as he glanced backwards from within his ‘fleeing’ realmship. He knew the exact locations of all passageways, all ‘native’ mechanisms, and all Hegemon-emplaced traps. When he occasionally activated one of them by mistake, it was nothing more than a pretense!

“We’re arriving up ahead.” Ning felt quite eager… because a terrifying trap was not too far away from him. This was one of the most deadly traps located within the endless flaming passageways. The Sithe had once used it to trap cultivators, then sent them off to the prison regions. The power of this trap was so great that it could capture a Hegemon with ease. Even two or three Hegemons in a group would be caught.

However, a larger group of Hegemons meant that one Hegemon might fall into the trap while the others were still far away, due to them moving at different speeds. That would be troublesome, which was why Ning chose a single target this time.

“Time to catch a Hegemon.” Ning felt quite excited. In the past, he never would’ve dared to even imagine such a thing, but now that he was in control of the flaming passageways he did.

Swoosh! The realmship instantly flew past that dangerous mechanism, which remained unactivated. In recent years, Ning had maintained control over all of the most dangerous mechanisms and kept them in a deactivated state, not allowing them to unleash their full power. This was why the Hegemons hadn’t encountered any serious problems thus far. The ones that they did see were the ones which had been revealed long ago by others.

“Don’t even think of escaping. Your realmship is mine!” Hegemon Azurefiend furiously chased from behind, attempting to use his ropes to coil around the realmship from afar. Alas, Daolord Darknorth was simply too fast in escaping.

“And here we are. Right there.” Surrounding by the countless illusions of flaming passageways, Ning’s divine power clone had been watching this entire time from above the formation-diagram altar. It had watched as two specks of light had progressed through the passageway, the first being the realmship while the second being Hegemon Azurefiend.

“Activate!” Ning’s divine power clone instantly activated the terrifying mechanism via the formation-diagram, causing the power that had been hidden for all these years to suddenly explode forth with terrifying might.

Whoosh! Swish! Hegemon Azurefiend had been chasing after Ning at high speed, and he slammed right into the area of the mechanism.

Boom! A strange ripple of dimensional power suddenly appeared. Eight different places in that flaming passageway began to glow with light which came to form a vast, illusory cage in midair. The void cage completely trapped the charging Hegemon Azurefiend, who continued to fly forwards only to ram straight into the ‘membrane’ of the cage.

BOOM! Hegemon Azurefiend was sent staggering several steps backwards.

“Eh? What’s going on?” Hegemon Azurefiend suddenly turned pale, a look of shock and horror appearing on his face as he scanned his surroundings. He could clearly sense that he had been trapped within a void cage and see the continuously changing and transforming membranes around him.

“Break!” Hegemon Azurefiend reached out with his right hand, transforming it into a terrifyingly destructive claw that rent towards the void membrane. The void membrance made no sound at all. It simply flexed slightly like a bubble, easily deflecting his power without suffering any damage whatsoever.

Hegemon Azurefiend’s heart turned ice-cold. He had visited many places and seen many things, and so he instantly realized that even if he was ten times more powerful than he was right now, he still probably wouldn’t be able to defeat this void cage.

“How could there be a void cage here? This is impossible. I’ve traversed this passageway over ten times, and I’ve scouted out this place with my ropes right after the realmship flew past it. Neither the realmship nor my ropes activated the trap. Why did it activate as soon as I walked past it?” Hegemon Azurefiend could hardly believe it. “And I didn’t encounter it in the past either. Why did such a terrifying mechanism suddenly activate without any warning?”

It had been over a hundred thousand years. None of the Hegemons or Emperors had run into any trouble upon entering this place! If there were any particularly deadly traps here, then logically speaking some of the other Hegemons and Emperors should’ve been trapped long ago. However, there had been no word from anyone else in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, which meant that the other Emperors were all fine.

“Why has it suddenly activated now when it wasn’t activated previously? Is there someone in control of them now?” Hegemon Azurefiend could think of no other possibilities.

Whoosh. The ‘fleeing’ realmship suddenly turned and flew back, coming to a halt outside the void cage. Two figures emerged from the realmship. One was a white-robed youth with a black sword sheath on his back, while the other was a furry, white-furred Sithe Protector.

“Daolord Darknorth.” Hegemon Azurefiend stared at the white-robed youth.

“Hegemon Azurefiend. This should be our first time actually meeting face-to-face.” Ning smiled.

“What, have you come to gloat now that I’ve fallen into this trap?” Hegemon Azurefiend said coldly.

Ning shook his head slowly. “No. I’ve come to rescue you.”

“Rescue me?” Hegemon Azurefiend’s face tightened.

“Right. I’d like to ask you a question. Would you like to live, or would you like to die?” Ning smiled as he looked at Hegemon Azurefiend.

These words stnnned Hegemon Azurefiend. He immediately called out in shock, “Y-you?! It was you?! The person controlling the mechanisms is you? I thought that some other Hegemon or major power was behind this trap. I didn’t expect it to be you, you puny little Daolord.”

As soon as he had fallen for the trap, he had calculated that it was most likely for someone to have actively unleashed thie mechanism. Otherwise, why would it have remained dormant for so long, ignoring both his ropes and the realmship but activating when he flew past? It had to be a formation that could be activated or deactivated as needed, which meant there had to be someone controlling it.

“Hmph. What price must I pay to leave this place?” Hegemon Azurefiend stared at Ning, his eyes flickering with cold light. His voice, however, remained quite calm.

“Simple. Be my retainer. I won’t ask for too long; 108,000 chaos cycles will do,” Ning said. “To a Hegemon like yourself, spending 108,000 chaos cycles wandering the outside world is nothing.”

“I… a Hegemon… serve you, a Daolord, as a retainer?” A furious look appeared in Hegemon Azurefiend’s eyes as he growled, “Don’t you think you are overestimating yourself a bit much?”

“I am indeed nothing more than a mere Daolord, but your fate, exalted Hegemon, is now under my control.” Ning stared intently at Hegemon Azurefiend.

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Chapter 19 – Death Over Submission

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 19 – Death Over Submission

“My fate is in your hands?” Hegemon Azurefiend stared past the void cage imprisoning him: “If my guess is correct, this is nothing more than an immaterial cage of barriers. It can at most capture me, not kill me. So long as I continually assault it, I’ll be able to deplete its power. I refuse to believe that a single mechanism can give birth to a permanent force-cage of such power.”

Ji Ning nodded slowly. “Impressive deductions, Hegemon. Your words were correct; if you were to fight back, this void cage wouldn’t be sustained for too long. But… didn’t you think that the Sithe would have taken this into consideration?”

“Hrm?” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Ning.

“With but a thought, I can create a void link between this cage and the prison regions,” Ning explained. “I’ll send you off to be imprisoned there! You should know just how deadly the Jadefire Realm’s prison region is.”

Hegemon Azurefiend was a man who had seen many things. He knew that the Sithe wouldn’t be so foolish as to expect such a void cage to perpetually trap their foes; it was entirely possible that there really was a mechanism by which one could be sent through a void link off into the prison regions!

“The prison regions? The prisons are rather damaged, and the entire region as a whole has been breached. It isn’t nearly as dangerous as it once was.” Hegemon Azurefiend laughed coldly, “Given my power, with enough time I should be able to escape. Even if I’m not able to escape immediately, I’ll be able to ask other major powers for succor. You won’t be able to threaten me.”

“You are wrong. There are differences even amongst prisons. There are seven central prisons in particular,” Ning explained, “And although three of them have crumbled apart, four of them remain in perfect shape. I’ll send you into one of those four. Forget about you, not even Otherverse Lords who are trapped within would stand any chance at escape.”

Hegemon Azurefiend’s face tightened. He had read the intelligence reports regarding the Jadefire Realm and knew of the seven central prisons. Given how badly damaged the prison regions were in general, they really wouldn’t necessarily be capable of holding back an Otherverse Lord. Ning claiming otherwise was probably just a boast… but imprisoning a Hegemon was entirely possible.

“Have you decided?” Ning asked. “Being my retainer isn’t exactly embarrassing! Don’t worry, I won’t make this public. I’ll tell everyone else that the two of us are extremely close friends who have known each other forever, which is why you chose to help me.”

“And who do you think would believe that?” Hegemon Azurefiend said coldly, “Who in the world would believe that? Everyone knows I came to the Jadefire Realm because I want your realmship, and everyone knows the type of person I am. Give up the realmship and instead become friends with you, then going so far as to fight to protect you? Do you really think those Hegemons are absolute imbeciles? Even a genuine imbecile would be able to tell that I was forced to become your retainer.”

Seeing this, Ning frowned. “Then what do you propose?”

“Being a retainer for a puny Daolord like yourself would be the greatest humiliation of my life. There’s no way I would accept.” Hegemon Azurefiend shook his head, his words completely uncompromising.

Ning felt a bit troubled. He didn’t expect that the temperamental Hegemon Azurefiend would actually care so much about face that he would discard even his life.

“How about this? Ten thousand chaos cycles!” Ning said.

“Hmph.” Hegemon Azurefiend shook his head.

Ning’s gaze grew cold. “A thousand chaos cycles. This is my last offer! I only need you to serve me for a thousand chaos cycles. To a Hegemon like yourself, this is an extremely brief period of time. I’ve already shown mercy to you, considering that you came to try and steal my treasures. If you refuse even my offer of a thousand chaos cycles… hmph.”

In truth, a thousand chaos cycles really was the final offer Ning was willing to make. This was because his Primaltwin was consistently using the Autarch’s stone dais within the Azureflower Estate while under the effects of 100x temporal acceleration. Thus, a thousand chaos cycles for his true body would become equivalent to over 100,000 chaos cycles for his Primaltwin… or in other words, time for the Daomerge. Regardless of whether he succeeded or failed in his Daomerge, Hegemon Azurefiend would no longer be of much use.

“Give me an answer.” Ning looked at him.

Hegemon Azurefiend could sense the killing intentions rise in the Daolord before him, but this only caused him to laugh: “Hahaha! I never thought that I, Azurefiend, would be put in such dire straights by a Daolord.”

“I, Azurefiend, have roamed for countless ages and have lived for countless years. I’ve killed as I pleased and plundered as I pleased. Lower my head before a puny Daolord and become his retainer? I’d rather die!” Hegemon Azurefiend glared at Ning. “Plus… you aren’t even capable of killing me. Go ahead and lock me up. Go ahead and send me into the most central prisons within the Jadefire Realm! When the time comes, I’ll pay an incredible price to Realmslord Windgrace and have him personally use the Blacksun to attack the prison and break me out.”

Ning’s face tightened. Realmslord Windgrace? The Blacksun was a truly terrifying weapon the Sithe had left behind from the Dawn War! Normally, it could be used to briefly create spacetime conduit that allowed for instantaneous travel to incredibly distant places, but it also had more savage abilities. It could be used to attack! Once the accumulated energies were unleashed via the Blacksun, the power would be so great that even Otherverse Lords might perish before it.

Realmslord Windgrace was both an Otherverse Lord and in charge of the Blacksun. Thus, he possessed a transcendent status even amongst his peers in the Chaosverse.

The foundation of the Jadefire Realm had already been wrecked, causing it to be dramatically weakened, whereas the Blacksun was undamaged. If Realmslord Windgrace really did come, he’d probably be capable of breaching the core jails and rescuing Hegemon Azurefiend.

“I hear that the price needed to establish a spacetime conduit via the Blacksun is absolutely enormous,” Ning said. “None of the Hegemons or Emperors chose to make such a request in order to have a better chance at the realmship! To have Realmslord Windgrace come here in person and use the Blacksun to breach a core prison to rescue you is probably going to cost even more than just creating a spacetime conduit. Are you sure you can pay such a price?”

“I cannot.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s gaze was cold while his voice was growling: “But I’d be willing to serve him as a servant in recompense!”

“As a servant?” Ning laughed. “You’d rather be a servant to Realmslord Windgrace than be a retainer for a mere thousand chaos cycles to a Daolord like myself. It makes sense. Realmslord Windgrace is an exalted figure, while I’m nothing but a mere Daolord… but Azurefiend, are you sure he even needs a servant like you?”

“If he doesn’t want a servant like me, then in the future I’ll wander through other dangerous regions to acquire treasures and slowly repay him,” Hegemon Azurefiend said. “Based on my understanding of his temperament, he should probably accept such an offer! Even if he really isn’t willing to come rescue me, I’d rather remained trapped here within the prisons.”

“Once the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels reach this place, you’ll perish,” Ning said.

“If I die, I die. I, Azurefiend, have roamed the Chaosverse and have seen everything there is to see. Although I do not welcome death, I welcome humiliation even less! Daolords are as puny as meaningless as ants. How dare one of you even think to have me, Azurefiend, serve you as a retainer?” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Ning mockingly. “Laughable. Laughable!”

……

Ning stared at the icy-faced Hegemon Azurefiend from outside the cage. In his heart, he couldn’t help but sigh. His greatest worry had never been whether or not he would be able to capture a Hegemon. His greatest worry was… would he be able to convince the Hegemon to submit?

“You called me as a weak as an ant?” Ning said. “Do you really look down on Daolords that much?”

“What, do you think you are strong? All you could do was to trick and trap me thanks to your control over a few mechanisms. If it wasn’t for the terrifying traps the Sithe left behind in the Jadefire Realm, do you think you really would have the chance to boast like this before me? I’d crush you into dust with one claw.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s eyes glowed with savage light. “All you can do is hide outside the cage and brag from a position of safety. How laughable.”

Ning shook his head. “You underestimate Daolords too much.”

“Oh? I heard you managed to force Archon Silksnow into committing suicide, right? You probably trapped him in another one of these mechanisms.” Hegemon Azurefiend truly was filled with rage towards the Daolord before him. This puny Daolord was insulting him from outside the cage! How long had it been since a Daolord had ever dared to behave like this before him?

“How about this, Azurefiend? Let’s have a little bet,” Ning said.

“A bet?” Azurefiend looked at Ning. “What bet.”

“I’ll enter the void cage and have a fight against you,” Ning said. “I’ll rely on my own real power to fight against you, and I’ll give you an hour. If you cannot beat me in that hour, you’ll have lost. You’ll have to accept the results of our wager and become my retainer!”

“You are willing to come inside to spar against me?” Hegemon Azurefiend’s eyes lit up. He had been thoroughly infuriated ages ago, but the void cage made it so that he wasn’t able to injure Ning in the slightest. That was the only reason why he had managed to hold onto his temper and waste so much tie talking instead. Now, upon hearing that this puny Daolord was being so reckless and foolish as to come on inside, he was instantly delighted.

“Fine, I’ll take that bet! But I don’t need an hour. Just stand in front of me and rely on your own power to survive for ten seconds. Do that, and you’ll have won!” Hegemon Azurefiend’s eyes turned red with bloodlust. He truly did not believe that an exalted Hegemon like him, highly-ranked even amongst other Hegemons, would be unable to annihilate a puny Daolord like Darknorth.

“Agreed. No backing out?” Ning said.

“I’d rather die than break my word! Just don’t regret dying by my hands, you brat.” Hegemon Azurefiend licked his lips, his eyes flashing with blood light.

Whoosh. With a flicker, Ning flew past the invisible walls and inside the void cage.

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Chapter 20 – Ji Ning Battles Hegemon Azurefiend

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 20 – Ji Ning Battles Hegemon Azurefiend

Hegemon Azurefiend was slightly startled when he saw Ji Ning head straight inside the void cage. His lips parted into a strange smile: “Daolord Darknorth, I originally had rather looked down upon you; you merely caught me thanks to these traps, but you dared to request for me to serve you as your retainer! Now, however, I feel a hint of admiration towards you. At least you have the courage to head straight into this void cage!”

“Thank you for your praise,” Ning said with a laugh. “Soon, Azurefiend, you’ll know that I have power to go with my courage.”

“You might have courage, but it is foolish courage.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s face turned icy once more as he said solemnly, “Kid, are you ready? Once you are prepared, I’m going to make my move.” Given his pride, Hegemon Azurefiend felt absolute confidence in his own superiority. There was no way he would lower himself to launch a sneak attack; he was going to crush Daolord Darknorth with overwhelming, straightforward power.

The void cage wasn’t all that large, just three hundred meters or so in diameter. Ning and Azurefiend stood within it, staring at each other in midair.

“You can make your move whenever you please.” Ning’s body flickered as he manifested three heads and six arms, all six Northbow swords flying into his hands.

“Before we begin, we need to make the stakes clear,” Hegemon Azurefiend said. “You have to rely on your own strength to battle against me. If I cannot beat you in ten breaths, I lose. If I lose, I’ll be your retainer and follow you for a thousand chaos cycles! But if I win…”

“If you win, I’ll be dead. Once I die, this mechanism will dissipate,” Ning said.

Hegemon Azurefiend blinked, then smirked. “Good.” At first, he had an extremely poor impression of Ning, but now it began to improve. At least the kid was straightforward!

“Use your most powerful attacks against me. Go ahead. If I attacked first, you probably wouldn’t have a chance to show your abilities off.” Hegemon Azurefiend stood there, his posture stately and his aura reserved.

“Very well.” Ning stared at his opponent. Hegemon Azurefiend was covered with azure scales. He looked like a skinny old man, and his body seemed wizened and weak, but he was in truth a breathtakingly savage Chaos Godbeast who had reached Hegemony! He was probably close to even Hegemon Brightshore in power and was ranked highly even amongst his Hegemonic peers.

Ning stared fixedly at his opponent, while Hegemon Azurefiend kept a close watch on Ning’s movements as well. Although Hegemon Azurefiend was supremely confident in his skills, he couldn’t afford to lose this battle! Thus, he was going to use all his power and not slacken off in the slightest.

Suddenly… whoosh! Ning disappeared without a trace.

“Where’d he go?!” Hegemon Azurefiend’s face changed. He swept the entire void cage with his godsense, but it was as though Daolord Darknorth had completely disappeared. Not even godsense could locate him.

Although stupefied, Hegemon Azurefiend’s pride kept him from immediately attacking. He continued to stand there confidently without moving… because he had already promised to let Ning launch the first attack!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The calm region of three hundred meters within the void cage was suddenly filled with explosions. Six Northbow swords appeared out of nowhere, as did Ning. The six swords instantly unleashed an utterly shocking amount of power, transforming into sword-tsunamis that simultaneously slammed against Hegemon Azurefiend. One struck him on the head, two struck him on the back of his knees, one struck him on his chest, one struck him on his neck, and one struck him on his face.

Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker!

“How arrogant. My Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker is my most powerful attack, and its power is close to the Hegemonic level. I might not be able to crumble top-grade Eternal treasures into dust with this attack, but I’d at least be able to crack them apart. He dares to use his body alone to endure this attack without even trying to block it? He is being far too overconfident.” Ning was rather irritated and offended by his opponent’s arrogance.

The explosions rang out, followed by a stunned look on Hegemon Azurefiend’s face. He couldn’t help but be sent flying backwards by the attack, smashing into the void cage wall behind him and coming to a halt in midair. His body, however, was completely unharmed. Even his face, which had been hit head-on, didn’t have the slightest scratch on it.

“A Daolord like yourself is actually capable of such power?” Hegemon Azurefiend was born a Chaos Godbeast and thus held tremendous advantages in terms of defensive strength. In this regard, he was actually comparable to an Otherverse Lord. He could stand there without moving and allow other Hegemons to attack him without suffering any injuries at all! His body had long ago been crystalized and refined to the extreme, and his innate abilities gave it a perfect blend of toughness and suppleness. To injure him was extremely, extremely difficult.

However, Hegemon Azurefiend didn’t feel the slightest bit smug. All he felt was shock, shock at the power of Ning’s sword-stances.

“But… it is now my turn!” With a furious bellow, Hegemon Azurefiend exploded forth as well.

Boom! Rings of dimensional power rippled out from around him, spreading out like waves of water that generated tremendously strong ‘pushes’ that swept out in every direction. This was Hegemon Azurefiend’s secret art, a truly powerful Hegemonic secret art known as the ‘Azurefiend Fiefdom’. He had spent countless aeons slowly creating and perfecting this secret art.

The dimensional rings spread out, seeking to encompass the entire void cage.

“Break!” Ning immediately executed his own secret arts. A pair of golden wings appeared in the air, ensconced by countless arcs of sword-light. Together, they formed the Omega Sword Dao – Yin Yang, and they swept towards the enemy secret art with incomparable sharpness.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Faced with those strange dimensional ripples, the golden wings and the countless arcs of sword-light began to crumble and break apart.

“Heartworld, descend!” Ning executed his heartworld projection as well, but he still wasn’t able to prevent his secret arts from crumbling. Ning’s secret art/heartworld projection combination was fairly strong amongst Emperors, but compared to the fully-mastered secret arts of a Hegemon like Azurefiend, he still wasn’t able to keep up.

“A heartworld projection?” Hegemon Azurefiend glanced at the illusory world which had manifested around him. He was beginning to gain a higher opinion of this ‘Daolord Darknorth’ kid.

“Die!” Hegemon Azurefiend waved his right arm, reaching out with his five fingers. They stretched out like a giant sun-blotting hand, tearing through all opposition and causing space itself to bend and compress before them. Entire world seemed to be born and then instantly destroyed within those fields of compress space. This was a killer technique which Hegemon Azurefiend often favored, the ‘End of Days’.

He had no time to waste and thus immediately chose to use his killer attacks. Ten breaths was an extremely long period of time, but Hegemon Azurefiend had to use all his power to maximize his chances of victory.

“How terrifying.” Ning’s face completely paled when he saw this giant hand reach for him. He was unable to dodge, nor was there anywhere he could dodge to! Faced with such a dazzling strike, he had only one option – face it head-on!

This was the very first time he actually engaged a Hegemon in a life-and-death battle. Hegemon Azurefiend, based on the reports Ning had acquired, was most likely stronger than even Hegemon Windrain or Hegemon Netherlily. Only when actually battling a Hegemon, however, would one fully understand how terrifying they were.

All six of Ning’s swords moved simultaneously. The sword-tsunamis of water began to spin, transforming into whirlpools of water that then became a black spinning vortices of darkness. Ning himself seemed to have transformed into a terrifying black hole that was devouring everything in the surrounding area. Hegemon Azurefiend himself couldn’t help but secretly sigh at how profound Daolord Darknorth’s insight into the Dao was. How was it that a Daolord had reached such heights? Was this why he dared to battle Hegemons in solo combat?

Slash! The giant hand struck straight against the black hole, and an extremely soft sound could be heard. It sounded much like a bubble being popped.

The black hole broke asunder, while the three-headed, six-armed Ning was sent flying backwards. He smashed against the walls of the void cage, which trembled slightly and dissipated the force of the attack. However, the counter-force from the collision was enough to cause Ning to stumble a few steps more.

“Eh?” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Ning in astonishment. “He actually blocked it. He wasn’t even injured?”

Ning, however, felt as though his blood was in a state of disarray. His entire body felt numb.

“Die for me!” Hegemon Azurefiend exploded with fury. There was no way he was going to admit defeat. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! One giant claw after another struck out toward Ning, creating illusions that they then destroyed with incredible power and speed.

Ning had no choice but to defend. In just a single breath’s worth of time, Hegemon Azurefiend had unleashed hundreds of claw-attacks, each of which was filled with his maximum power.

“Ugh!” Blood finally sprayed out of Ning’s mouth, and even his skin was beginning to turn red. He had been defending furiously against the barrage of attacks, but even just one of them had been enough to throw his internals into a state of disarray. Several hundred in a row was just getting to be too much.

“What?! His divine body still hasn’t broken apart?” Hegemon Azurefiend began to grow impatient. Whoosh! His body suddenly transformed. He previously had looked like a skinny, azure-scaled old man, but he now transformed into a great beast. This was a hooved beast with four legs which was completely covered in azure scales. His head was triangular-shaped, while his body was sleek and long. The azure scales even covered his long tail, which swayed behind him like a metal whip.

This… this was Hegemon Azurefiend’s true form! He was a Chaos Godbeast. Only when he reverted to his true form would he be able to unleash his true, maximum power.

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Chapter 21 – Retainer

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 21 – Retainer

“Die.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s entire body glowed with black light as a terrifying aura of destruction swept out from him. His eyes were cold and unforgiving. This was a terrifyingly deadly Hegemon! This was the true face of the mercurial-tempered Hegemon Azurefiend. Hegemon Azurefiend had no intentions of losing, which was why he revealed his true form and unleashed his most powerful, desperation attack.

Whoosh. The beast suddenly flew forwards, pouncing towards Ji Ning with claws outstretched. Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of innate terror when faced with this terrifying pair of claw-strikes. These claws seemed to contain the power to annihilate all things before them, as if they were the source of destruction itself. They were the source, the very essence of space and matter!

This was the most powerful strike Hegemon Azurefiend had at his disposal, the trump card he had infused all the insights he had gained while wandering the countless realmverses! Even when he battled other Hegemons, he rarely displayed this ultimate attack. In battles between Hegemons, it was rare for fights to end up being to the death, which meant there was no need to go all-out like this. This time, however, was different.

This was his most powerful attack, an attack which had fused the Dao of Space and the Dao of Destruction together in a supremely terrifying attack… ‘Genesis Annihilation’! It was an attack executed with his true body!

Clang! Although Ning was unable to completely suppress the innate fear which snaked out from his heart, his Dao-heart remained calm and he was able to face this strike with all of his power. First, he used his illusory arts. Only then did he use his defensive sword-arts!

Hegemon Azurefiend’s soul and truesoul were both incomparably strong, as was his Dao-heart. Ning’s illusions were completely incapable of shaking him.

Boom! A massive explosion rang out. As Ning blocked the attack, he could sense the terrifying force behind the strike and he instantly understood the principles behind it. The power pervaded countless different spatial continuums, seeping through karma itself. Faced with such a strike, even clones and Primaltwins would perish. There was no way to hide or avoid an attack like this.

“I can’t block it!” Ning instantly exploded into countless streams of liquid water. Invulnerable form… Shadowless form!

Since he was unable to attack this attack head-on, he would deflect its power instead! As the saying goes, if you cut water with a blade the water will continue to flow. The same was true for an invulnerable body, which was constantly changing and mercurial in shape and nature. This was what allowed it to almost perfectly deflect any force applied to it. Archon Silksnow was able to perfectly deflect the power of even Hegemon Brightshore with his invulnerable form. Only an absolutely overwhelming disparity in power would be enough to breach someone’s invulnerable form.

Hegemon Azurefiend was indeed much stronger than Ning, but he clearly wasn’t strong enough to wreck Ning’s ‘invulnerable form’.

Whoosh. Ning transformed into countless streams of water that reformed into a humanoid shape off in the distance. The three-headed, six-armed Ning looked cautiously at his opponent.

“An invulnerable form?” Hegemon Azurefiend, still in his true form, stared blankly from afar. He just stood there, completely unmoving and not pressing the attack.

Ning continued to nervously inspect Hegemon Azurefiend. Upon seeing that his foe wasn’t moving, he couldn’t help but call out, “Azurefiend?”

The two battled at extreme speeds. Thus far, they had yet to finish the ten breaths of battle.

“I lost.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s voice suddenly seemed much older than it had been just a while ago, and a rather dispirited look appeared on his formerly ferocious triangular face. He returned to his skinny, elderly human form, a slightly forlorn look on his face as he said softly, “I didn’t expect that my full-power strike would only be enough to force you to reveal an invulnerable form. Based on what I know, you’ve only trained for an extremely short period of time and have focused exclusively on the Dao of the Sword. I never would’ve thought that a Daolord who focused on the Dao of the Sword would be able to acquire an invulnerable form. I lost. I have nothing more to say.”

As soon as Ning had revealed his invulnerable form, Hegemon Azurefiend had realized that it would be impossible for him to slay Ning. Ning had already reached a level of power which was on par with that of the supreme Emperors who were just barely weaker than the Hegemons themselves! Aside from the twelve Hegemons, there had been fourteen supreme Emperors who had come to the Jadefire Realm. Most of them were on the levels of Emperor Goldisle and the other leaders of the Dao Alliance. They might not be able to defeat Hegemons, but Hegemons were not capable of killing them.

When Hegemon Azurefiend had first seen Ning’s power, he hadn’t been dispirited. This was because he felt that Ning must’ve focused on the Dao of the Sword; given how briefly he had trained for, Ning shouldn’t have an invulnerable form.

Now, however, Ning had actually revealed an invulnerable form! That meant that there was no chance that he, Hegemon Azurefiend, would be able to actually kill Ning.

“Can you tell me how it is that you, a Daolord, have reached such power? You clearly train in the Dao of the Sword; why is it that you have an invulnerable form?” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Ning. “AT least let me understand why I lost.”

“I am indeed just a Daolord, but my Dao is that of the Omega Sword Dao,” Ning explained.

“Omega Sword Dao?” Hegemon Azurefiend was puzzled. He didn’t understand.

“There are differences amongst Daos. Some Daolords have chosen the most common of Daos…” Ning didn’t hide anything, telling Azurefiend about the truth of the Omega Dao. In truth, Ning wasn’t the only person in the vast Chaosverse who had developed an Omega Dao. Despite that, there were very, very few who had reached such heights. Although on occasion a Daolord would be able to accomplish this, they would quickly fail their Daomerges and die. Their lifespans were all extremely short, and so very few even knew about them.

The vast majority of Hegemons had never even heard of ‘Omega Daos’.

“So that’s how it is. Everyone knows that there are differences amongst Daos, but I never would’ve imagined that the highest-level Dao is that of the ‘Omega Dao’. All this time, I’ve been puzzled as to why a Daolord of the Fourth Step like yourself would have reached such heights in the Dao of the Sword. You might not be at the Hegemon-level, but you are just half a step beneath that level. Now, I finally understand. So it is because of your superior Dao, your Omega Sword Dao.” Hegemon Azurefiend laughed, and his laughter caused Ning to feel shocked.

“Something wrong?” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Ning.

“You look a lot nicer when you laugh. Why do you usually keep such an icy look on your face?” Ning asked.

“Hmph.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s face instantly turned icy once more. “Don’t get cocky with me, boy. Your Omega Sword Dao isn’t bad, and you are pretty strong. Per our wager, I’ll be your retainer… but only for a thousand chaos cycles!”

“I’ll have to trouble you to help me out in the future, brother Azurefiend.” Ning smiled.

“Hmph.” Hegemon Azurefiend let out a cold snort, then said: “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. When you trapped me in the void cage and yammered about making me your retainer, I was so pissed off that I immediately told everyone about how you caught me. All of the Hegemons and Emperors from the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance are probably aware that you are in control of the flaming passageways by now! Hmph. That means you won’t be able to use this trap a second time.”

Ning chuckled. “That actually went without saying. A short while ago, all of the Hegemons and Emperors inside the flaming passageways stopped moving and no longer dared to enter other ones. I immediately knew that you probably had spread the word to them! But it is of no consequence. For you to become my retainer, brother Azurefiend, means that it was all worth it.”

Hegemon Azurefiend was instantly irritated again. He couldn’t even gain a verbal advantage over Darknorth. This Daolord really was a pain in the ass. Still, Hegemon Azurefiend couldn’t help but secretly chuckle as well. He was no longer feeling quite as upset and stifled as he was earlier. Previously, he had felt enraged primarily because he felt as though he was being insulted. Now that Ning had revealed his true power, Hegemon Azurefiend had lost his wager. There was nothing more for him to complain about. Finding out that Ning walked the path of the Omega Sword Dao had actually resulted in him feeling some admiration towards Ning.

He had lost his bet, and so he would temporarily become the retainer to a Daolord who walked the path of an Omega Dao. This wasn’t so bad. Dazzling Daolords like on this caliber were even rarer than Hegemons, after all.

“Go ahead and give me an oath to swear,” Hegemon Azurefiend said. “Hurry up and set up an oath. After swearing it, I’ll be your retainer for the next thousand chaos cycles.”

“Very well.” Ning felt a surge of joy in his heart.

……

“What? Daolord Darknorth is actually in control of the mechanisms and traps inside the flaming passageways of the Jadefire Realm? Hegemon Azurefiend fell into one of them?” Hegemon Dawnruler, Hegemon Everworry, Hegemon Oldgem, Hegemon Blackwood, Hegemon Winterflame… all of the Hegemons and the many Emperors were all scared silly by this.

“No wonder we weren’t able to capture him despite spending so much time here.”

“He’s actually secretly in control of the flaming passageways?”

“Is this information real? Is it perhaps a deception?”

The Hegemons and Emperors all had their own responses to this information. The Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, however, was in a state of absolute bedlam. An entire host of Hegemons and Emperors had charged into the Jadefire Realm to capture Daolord Darknorth. Everyone felt certain that he was nothing more than a fish for the fisherman to catch! Who would’ve thought that he was actually a sea monster in disguise? Now that he revealed his fangs and his claws, he stunned all sixteen of the realmverses.

If he was in control of the flaming passageways, didn’t that mean that the Hegemons and Emperors inside the flaming passageways were in serious trouble?

“I know what type of person Hegemon Azurefiend is. Although he’s temperamental, he’s extremely proud. There’s no way he’d make up a lie like this.”

“Be careful, everyone. Stay right where you are and don’t move. So long as we don’t move around, Daolord Darknorth won’t be able to use those mechanisms against us.”

“Are we supposed to just sit here forever without moving?”

The major powers were all connected to the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance in their own ways. They were naturally able to send messages to each other as well.

Suddenly…

“Greetings, Hegemons and Emperors…” a booming voice suddenly rang out through every single one of the countless flaming passageways. Ning’s divine power clone had sent its Immortal energy into the formation-diagram, causing his voice to echo through every part of every passageway.

The faces of the Hegemons and Emperors inside the flaming passageway all tightened when they heard this voice.

“I’m Daolord Darknorth, the person all of you have come here to kill.” Ning’s voice echoed sonorously through every inch of the flaming passageways. “In the past, no feuds or grudges existed between us, and I never wished to be your enemies. However… all of you have travelled all the way here from your respective realmverses, delving into the Jadefire Realm to kill me and seize my treasures. Am I suppose to just let this slide, gentlemen? Everyone in the outside world would say that I, Daolord Darknorth, am a spineless pushover. Gentlemen… what do you view as being the best solution to this?”

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Chapter 22 – Price

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 22 – Price

The Hegemons and Emperors were scattered throughout the various flaming passageways. They were all able to hear what Ji Ning said, but none of them were in a rush to respond. Instead, they began to use their Primaltwins, avatars, retainers, and various communication methods back in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance to discuss this matter amongst themselves.

“I heard Daolord Darknorth’s voice. He seems to be threatening us.”

“I heard it as well.”

“Right, I also heard him.”

“We were all able to hear him. It seems as though Daolord Darknorth’s voice has permeated every single part of the flaming passageways! This is proof that he does indeed exercise control over the flaming passageways.”

“Everyone, what do you think we should do? The flaming passageways are filled with such danger that even Hegemon Azurefiend was trapped. Any of us might fall as well. The only thing we can do seems to be stay where we are and not move at all.”

“Are we supposed to just bend over and admit defeat?”

“Don’t worry. We have so many Hegemons here, while Darknorth is nothing more than a single Daolord. He won’t dare to go too far.” The Hegemons and Emperors continued to discuss this matter amongst themselves.

……

Ning’s voice continued to echo through the flaming passageways: “Hegemons and Emperors, by now you should have already verified that I’m telling the truth.”

“Then what do you wish of us?”

“Go ahead and tell us what you want.”

The Hegemons and Emperors were all able to maintain their composure. They were all powerful lords and rulers in their own rights, after all.

“Haha, I, Daolord Darknorth, am not the wild and unbridled sort.” Ning’s laughter rang out within the ears of every single Hegemon and Emperor. “I won’t ask for too much. You’ve come here to kill me and take my treasures, and I hear that you all came via realmship. I imagine you already paid quite a price just to make it here. All you need to do is pay me the same price you paid to travel to the Flamedragon Realmverse, and I’ll permit you all to leave.”

“This bit of price might pain you a bit, but it’s not too excessive. If you are willing to pay the price, I’ll immediately let you leave. If you are unwilling to pay any price whatsoever… well, then there’ll be nothing I can do. I can’t just let you leave like this. I, Daolord Darknorth, am not someone to be abused by others without repercussion.” Ning’s voice echoed throughout every part of the flaming passageways.

This was a request which Ning had put quite a bit of thought into. Hegemon Azurefiend had already publicly revealed Ning’s abilities, making it so that all the Hegemons and Emperors would be on their guard. Some would even be temporarily immobilized, making it impossible for Ning to attack them for now. If pushed too hard, they could simply pay the price needed to ask Realmslord Windgrace to come over and rescue them one-by-one.

“Hmph. Daolord Darknorth… I’m impressed that a trifling Daolord like yourself was able to control the flaming passageways. However… now that we already know what you are capable of, you are no longer a threat to us.” Hegemon Dawnruler stood in the air within a flaming passageway: “If you are wise, you would immediately swear a lifeblood oath not to act against us and let us leave safely. That way, it can be even be said that we are on friendly terms with each other! Otherwise… if you choose to antagonize all these Hegemons and Emperors, the repercussions shall be far beyond what a trifling Daolord like yourself can endure.”

“Daolord Darknorth, you might be forgetting something.” Hegemon Winterflame said in a cold voice, “Only part of the Hegemons and Emperors are trapped within the flaming passageway! A large number have yet to arrive. Once they do get here, they will travel together and work together. There’s no way the flaming passageways will be able to withstand the combined might of that many Hegemons and Emperors working in concert. They’ll be able to rescue all of us with ease, and you’ll be faced with over twenty Hegemons and many Emperors working together to hunt you down. You won’t even have a place to run. Even the flaming passageways of the Jadefire Realm will probably be rent asunder once more!”

“Daolord Darknorth, you should know your own limits.”

“Trying to threaten all of us Hegemons and Emperors at the same time? You really are quite bold.”

Quite a few of the Hegemons and Emperors began to speak out. Clearly, they were unwilling to bow their heads before a Daolord. If they were on their own and had been captured, they probably would’ve lowered their heads, admitted defeat, and then handed over some treasures. But given how many of them were trapped here together, they felt certain that Daolord Darknorth wouldn’t dare to offend them.

“Gentlemen, you came for me and are now trapped in the flaming passageways that I control. I need but nod and all of you can depart safely… but you aren’t willing to pay any price at all for that? Do you really think that I’m someone you can so easily mistreat? Hmph. Very well, then. I’ll meet you all one-by-one.” Ning fell silent, having nothing further to say.

……

Another part of the flaming passageways. Ning and Hegemon Azurefiend were seated together within Ning’s realmship, drinking some wine together.

“Hm? Not bad.” Hegemon Azurefiend took a sniff of the wine in his glass, a relaxed look on his face. He then took a single small sip.

“How’d it go? Didn’t work, did it?” Hegemon Azurefiend smirked.

“They are all tough old bastards. They weren’t willing to pay any price at all.” Ning drank some wine, a cold light flashing through his eyes. “It seems I’ve been too nice to them. They really do think I’m a pushover.”

“So you’ve finally thought it through, eh?” Hegemon Azurefiend lidded his eyes as he continued to drink the wine.

Ning glanced at Azurefiend. The skinny, shriveled old man looked so vulgar and obscene as he enjoyed his wine, but he was actually an incredibly powerful Chaos Godbeast Hegemon who was close to Hegemon Brightshore in power! Still, Ning was in a superb mood. Now that Azurefiend was his retainer, it would be much easier for him to deal with Archon Silksnow’s final act of revenge.

“Let’s go and meet with them. Let’s visit Hegemon Dawnruler first,” Ning said.

Swoosh. The realmship transformed into a streak of light that advanced through the flaming passageways, darting through the winding paths at incredible speeds without encountering any mechanisms at all.

“I never would’ve imagined that one would be able to travel through these flaming passageways in such a smooth, unimpeded fashion. We didn’t run into any problems at all.” Hegemon Azurefiend stared at the outside, then sighed, “When I was chasing after you, it appears you intentionally ‘ran into’ a few traps. I was quite excited when I saw it, back then. It appears you were playing with me the entire time.”

“I had no choice. I wasn’t strong enough to deal with you head-on, and so I had to play a few tricks with my control over the flaming passageways. Now that I’m strong enough, there’s no need for me to continue to play hide-and-seek.” Ning sighed. “With you here, brother Azurefiend, I can finally bring a true end to this matter.”

“Mm.” Hegemon Azurefiend nodded in a self-satisfied manner, showing not one ounce of humility. “Now that I am your retainer… once word spreads, the Hegemons and Emperors will all be dissuaded from even harboring designs on your realmship.”

If a Hegemon held a realmship, the other Hegemons wouldn’t think to try and take it. This was because killing a Hegemon was simply far too difficult. Generally speaking, it would take either an Otherverse Lord or an entire host of Hegemons working together to accomplish such a feat. Kill a Hegemon who had a realmship? That would be even more difficult.

“Here we are.” Ning stared towards the front.

“Ah, that’s Dawnruler.” Azurefiend grinned as he glanced towards the front as well. “That old fellow has always been quite proud.”

Ning relaxed a bit upon seeing this. He was worried that Hegemon Azurefiend would care so much about his face that he wouldn’t cooperate. Ning’s worry was that even after becoming his retainer, Hegemon Azurefiend would feel embarrassed upon encountering other Hegemons that he would feel a bit uncomfortable and out-of-sorts. This was something Ning didn’t wish to see! In truth, however, as a Hegemon Azurefiend had an incredibly powerful Dao-heart. Since he had already come to a decision, he was going to accept it with a calm heart.

“Come, let us go out,” Azurefiend said.

“Let’s go.” Ning rose to his feet as well. Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw simultaneously flew out of the realmship.

……

A golden-robed elder with three eyes was standing there, a solemn look on his face as he stared at the halted realmship. Hegemon Dawnruler was an extremely inflexible, grim, and dominating Hegemon. This was why he had immediately led the other Hegemons in immediately refusing Ning’s request for a price to be paid.

“Eh?” Hegemon Dawnruler frowned slightly when he saw three figures fly towards him from afar.

Ning and Azurefiend were shoulder-to-shoulder, while Whitethaw was slightly behind Ning.

“Azurefiend?” Hegemon Dawnruler frowned as he spoke.

“Dawnruler.” Hegemon Azurefiend said, “You already know the request which Darknorth has made. I urge you to be a good boy and accept it. That way, you’ll be able to leave safely and without any problems.”

“You are speaking on his behalf?” Hegemon Dawnruler frowned, completely mystified. “Is this the price he demanded of you? Based on my understanding of you, there’s no way you would’ve agreed to the demands of a Daolord.”

“I’ve already sworn a lifeblood oath to become Daolord Darknorth’s retainer,” Hegemon Azurefiend said. “As his retainer, I naturally must assist him whole-heartedly.”

“Y-you…” Hegemon Dawnruler’s third eye bulged out in disbelief. He had been alive for countless aeons, but he had never even heard of such a thing. He stared at Hegemon Azurefiend in disbelief. “Azurefiend, you are a Hegemon… but you’ve become a retainer to a trifling Daolord?”

Once word of this spread, it would undoubtedly cause an enormous stir in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. In fact, word might spread to even more distant realmverses and otherverses!

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Chapter 23 – Word Spreads

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 23 – Word Spreads

This was completely and utterly unheard of!

Hegemons stood at the very apex of every realmverse and every otherverse. An exalted Hegemon… serve as a retainer to a Daolord? What sort of a joke was this? Everyone felt as though this was an absolute joke which simply wasn’t conceivable.

“Your third eye is about to pop out from all the bulging,” Hegemon Azurefiend said with a frown. “What’s there to be surprised about? Darknorth is extremely strong, second only to Hegemons in power! I had a wager with him, and I lost. I, Azurefiend, am not the sort to welch on my bets. I lost and so I will pay my debt. I have willingly joined Darknorth as his retainer.”

“Y-you…” Hegemon Dawnruler was completely stunned by Hegemon Azurefiend’s words.

“Any other questions?” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Dawnruler.

“Impressive. Quite impressive.” Hegemon Dawnruler shook his head. “Brother Azurefiend, I’m impressed by your tolerance levels.”

“Cut the crap. Now that I am Daolord Darknorth’s retainer, none of the Hegemons or Emperors heading this way will have any chance of taking the realmship from him. They probably won’t even come,” Azurefiend said. “Darknorth didn’t ask for all that much from you, and he hasn’t put any of you in any actual life-threatening danger at all. Even if you went to ask Realmslord Windgrace to help out… given his personality, he probably wouldn’t intervene over such a minor matter and come help you out.”

“So… just go ahead and pay the price for freedom. Otherwise, you can just keep sitting here.” Azurefiend looked at Dawnruler, who was silent. Dawnruler knew that Azurefiend’s words made a lot of sense.

Azurefiend himself was a Hegemon; he understood Hegemonic thought-processes quite clearly. Realmslord Windgrace was such a transcendental figure that he didn’t get involved in any power squabbles at all. He would only intervene in situations which were truly lethal for the local Hegemons! There was no way he would come here just because Ji Ning was asking these Hegemons and Emperors for a few treasures!

“Darknorth isn’t asking for that much either. The combined amount from all of you Hegemons and Emperors is probably comparable to just the networth of one or two Hegemons,” Hegemon Azurefiend said calmly. “There’s no way Realmslord Windgrace would be so shameless as to come here for such a small amount of treasure.”

“Ugh. Enough, Azurefiend. I’ll accept the conditions.” Hegemon Dawnruler looked at Hegemon Azurefiend, then shook his head. “The price we are paying is nothing. You, however, are the unluckiest bastard out of all of us. If there’s anything you need me to help you out with, just say the word.”

“Don’t even start.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s eyes flashed with cold light. He was an incredibly proud figure who had wandered through countless places. Hegemon Dawnruler’s intentional show of ‘pity’ had rather angered Azurefiend.

“Alright, alright! Calm down. My mistake,” Hegemon Dawnruler said hurriedly. But when he looked at Azurefiend, he couldn’t help but continue to sigh secretly.

An exalted Hegemon serve as a retainer for a Daolord? Word of this would quickly spread with wildfire speed! The Hegemons would all spread this shocking information to their peers, which would then spread even farther away.

……

Hegemon Dawnruler obediently handed over the requisite treasures. Hegemon Wuye and Hegemon Fogsun had long ago publicized within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance as to what they would need in order to ferry Hegemons via their realmships. Thus, Ning knew what the price had been.

Ning swore a lifeblood oath as well, ensuring that Hegemon Dawnruler would feel at ease. Hegemon Dawnruler’s greatest worry was that once he began to move, Ning would suddenly activate a mechanism to trap him.

……

A short while later, Hegemon Oldgem and the Paragon of Swords were staring in astonishment at Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw.

“Brother Azurefiend, you’ve become Daolord Darknorth’s retainer?” As the conversation progressed, the two Hegemons turned to stare at Hegemon Azurefiend in absolute astonishment.

“What’s with all the fuss? Go ask Dawnruler for the details,” Azurefiend barked with a frown. “Hurry up! You two are pretty strong, but with me here it’ll be quite hard for you to defeat all of the mechanisms and traps present.”

“Fine, fine. We’ll pay.” Hegemon Oldgem nodded.

“Impressive, Daolord Darknorth.” The Paragon of Swords glanced at Ning. The two truly were stunned by this. They also understood that with Azurefiend supporting Ning, there was no way they’d be able to fight through the flaming passageways by themselves.

……

Word quickly spread, causing an utter storm of amazement to sweep through the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. Many learned the rough details of what had happened; Hegemon Azurefiend had been trapped within the flaming passageways, then had lost a bet to Daolord Darknorth and was thus his retainer for a time.

Whoosh.

A realmship had been accumulating power as it was preparing to tear through the Great Dark, but it suddenly came to a halt.

“Gentlemen.” Within the realmship, Hegemon Fogsun turned to stare at the other five Hegemons and the other six Emperors. “You should’ve received word as well that Daolord Darknorth is in control of the flaming passageways of the Jadefire Realm! Hegemon Azurefiend was trapped by him and has now become his retainer. There’s no chance that you’ll be able to win the realmship from him. What are you planning to do next? Shall you still go and try your luck?”

“How could something like this have happened?”

“Hegemon Azurefiend really is a disgrace of a Hegemon. He was so afraid of dying that he chose to go serve a Daolord? How preposterous!”

“I feel rather ‘impressed’ by Azurefiend. I never would’ve been able to force myself to bow my head like that. I would’ve rather died than to swallow such a disgrace.” This was what the Hegemons and Emperors were all saying amongst themselves.

Although they had all paid a price in treasures to board the realmship, and although it had all come to naught, they didn’t feel too disappointed. This had been a free-for-all amongst many Hegemons and Emperors, after all; only one would succeed while the rest would fail. They had long ago mentally prepared themselves for failure. Thus, it didn’t really matter now that they really had ended up empty-handed.

However, they couldn’t help but sigh with commiseration. Hegemon Azurefiend was an extremely powerful Hegemon, far more powerful than the vast majority of them… and yet, he had lowered his head to serve a Daolord as retainer?

Quite a few of them actually began to view Azurefiend with contempt, feeling that he truly was a shameless craven.

“Gentlemen, we need to decide what the next plan of action is,” Hegemon Fogsun said.

“What else can we do? We’ve already paid upfront. Are you going to refund us our treasures?”

“I agree. Brother Fogsun, you should refund us half. We haven’t gotten anything out of this visit,” the five Hegemons and six Emperors all chorused.

“Cut the jokes,” Hegemon Fogsun said hurriedly. “You were all lucky! If you made it in there, you’d probably be threatened and extorted by Daolord Darknorth as well. You’d probably end up paying even more!”

“Haha, enough, enough. Brother Fogsun, we’re already quite close to the Flamedragon Realmverse, while you need to take the other Hegemons and Emperors back from the Flamedragon Realmverse. How about this? Let’s just all head there together and see if there’s a chance for us to meet Daolord Darknorth. All of us are quite curious about him.”

“Hmph. Curious? A Daolord who was actually able to convince a Hegemon to be his retainer… what an audacious fellow.”

“He succeeded, didn’t he?”

“Only because Azurefiend is a coward who fears death! Hmph!” The Hegemons and Emperors continued to discuss this amongst themselves.

“Very well, then, I’ll continue to head towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.” Hegemon Fogsun shook his head and sighed. “What a pity! This was just my second delivery. There were Hegemons and Emperors in two other realmverses who should’ve been in the third delivery. There’s no way they are going to pay me nor. Jeeze, Daolord Darknorth… why did you have to be so hasty? Why couldn’t you have waited until all the Hegemons and Emperors arrived before making your move?”

“This time, the only ones to come out a winner were yourself, Wuye, and Daolord Darknorth.”

“Yes, all the rest of us suffered huge losses.” The Hegemons and Emperors continued to drink, chat, and merrymake amongst themselves.

……

Word quickly spread. None of the Hegemons and Emperors in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance harbored any further desires on the realmship. When they had merely found out that Ning was in charge of the flaming passageways, they had still felt hope. After all, Ning would have to hide within the flaming passageways, but a sufficient number of Hegemons working together while backed by powerful Numerancy would be able to calculate his location and then capture him safely.

As they saw it, all they had to do was to stop him in his tracks. An entire host of Hegemons and Emperors would be able to kill this Daolord with ease. Now, however, Hegemon Azurefiend stood by Daolord Darknorth’s side as his retainer. This meant there was now no chance at all for them to win the realmship.

“Azurefiend actually became a Daolord’s retainer.”

“No matter how impressive a Daolord is, he’s still just a Daolord. Azurefiend is a Hegemon!”

“I can’t believe what a coward Azurefiend is.”

“He’s willing to do anything so long as he can stay alive.” This was what everyone was saying.

Emperors felt an intrinsic sort of superiority towards Daolords. Daolords simply didn’t live long enough, and there was a limit to how strong they could become! Hegemons were supreme amongst Emperors… but now, one of them had become a retainer to a Daolord.

Even the likes of Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, and Hegemon Netherlily were stunned by this, despite being very familiar with Ning. As for the Emperors of the Flamedragon Realmverse, they were completely stupefied by these rumors.

These rumors spread across the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance like wildfire, then reached out to spread to even more realmverses. This was considered a fascinating bit of gossip by major powers. As a result, there were now many major powers in distant realmverses who had never visited the Flamedragon Realmverse but who had heard of a Daolord named Darknorth… as well as a Hegemon named Azurefiend who had actually chosen to be a Daolord’s retainer!

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Chapter 24 – Meeting Winterflame Again

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 24 – Meeting Winterflame Again

Ji Ning continued to lead Hegemon Azurefiend and Protector Whitethaw through the flaming passageways via his realmship, entering ‘negotiations’ with one trapped Hegemon and Emperor after another. Each flaming passageway was extremely long, while the Hegemons were all scattered in various places. As a result, it would take months to fully sweep through all of them.

“Hmph. Those fools.” Hegemon Azurefiend sat within the realmship, drinking some wine. A dark look had long ago appeared on his face. “All of them are saying that I’m afraid of death. Ugh…”

Hegemon Azurefiend didn’t even know how he was supposed to refute these rumors. Was he supposed to commit suicide to show that he wasn’t afraid of death? That would be truly idiotic.

“Brother Azurefiend, why bother with them?” Ning smiled. “If a dog bites you, are you really going to bite back? Just let them jabber.”

In truth, Ning felt a bit awkward about all this, because the person Hegemon Azurefiend was serving as himself! There was no way he could simply ‘give up’ a Hegemonic retainer, and so all he could do was just try and console the Hegemon as best he could.

“Yes, they are nothing more than dogs. I shouldn’t waste my time with them.” Hegemon Azurefiend lifted his head up to drink some wine, only to realize that his cup was empty. An awkward look appeared on his face. Clearly, he was so focused on what everyone in the outside world was saying about him that he hadn’t even noticed he was out of wine.

Seeing this, Ning grinned. “Let me fill that up for you.”

Hegemon Azurefiend watched as Ning poured the wine. He couldn’t help but stroke his pointed, ape-like jaw as he murmured, “I’ve been alive for many years. I don’t care about what those weaker cultivators say, but the Hegemons who are on par with me… I can’t help but care! I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Darknorth. My Dao-heart still is not strong enough.”

“So long as we are alive, there will be things we care about. Otherwise, we’d be nothing more than zombies.” Ning smiled. “Caring about face is quite normal.”

“Darknorth, there’s something I hope you can do for me.” Hegemon Azurefiend looked at Ning.

“Oh? Tell me what it is. I’ll do my absolute best,” Ning said immediately.

“I hope… that you will succeed in the Daomerge!” Azurefiend looked at Ning, a hint of eagerness in his eyes. Ning couldn’t help but feel slightly stunned by this. “If you succeed in the Daomerge, your Omega Dao will ensure that you vastly surpass the level of Hegemons. You will reach a level which I cannot even imagine. When that happens, I will only feel proud for having served someone like yourself as a retainer.”

Ning finally smiled. “Thank you for your kind words. I’ll absolutely do my best.”

The Daomerge… in truth, Ning was finally daring to feel a bit of optimism regarding it, primarily because the Autarch’s stone dais truly was shockingly effective with regards to meditation. He also had the countless techniques of the Sithe and the cultivator civilizations which the Autarch had left behind, giving him a much deeper foundation and level of understanding. Once he created ten Archon-class techniques, he would then gain another treasure the Autarch had left behind which would be of tremendous assistance to cultivators partaking in the Daomerge.

Thus… although it would be extremely difficult for a Daolord of the Fourth Step to succeed in the Daomerge with an Omega Dao, at least he now had a chance. If he really was able to succeed in the Daomerge, what new heights would he reach?

……

The Hegemons and Emperors all obediently handed their treasures over. In the end, even the group of Hegemons led by the Numerancy-focused Hegemon Blackwood chose to bow their heads and hand over the treasures. Hegemon Blackwood’s divinations had told them that it would be impossible for their group to securely leave this place with Hegemon Azurefiend causing trouble for them.

The Hegemons made certain requests of Ning as well. In exchange for handing over their treasures, they all wanted Ning to swear oaths guaranteeing their safety. They wanted to make sure that Ning couldn’t suddenly backstab them as they began to leave. Ning, in turn, asked the fleeing Hegemons and Emperors to swear oaths not to come back in the future for revenge.

Both sides swore the relevant oaths. Only then did each feel faith in the other.

In the blink of an eye, more than two months had gone by.

“Just one Hegemon left,” Ning said.

“There’s one more left? Who?” Azurefiend asked.

“Winterflame.” Ning grinned.

“Hegemon Winterflame?” Azurefiend nodded slowly. “He’s an extremely shameless fellow, but he’s quite strong. He’ll be hard to deal with.”

Ning sent the realmship towards the direction of Hegemon Winterflame. While flying over, Azurefiend suddenly realized that something was wrong: “Darknorth, why are we going backwards? Aren’t we going to meet Winterflame?”

“Yes, we’re moving straight towards him right now,” Ning said. “Winterflame is located at the very end of this passageway, right after that turn in the corridor!”

“What? He’s right there? But we went past here earlier. Why didn’t we go speak to him and instead moved around him? That was unnecessary.” Azurefiend was puzzled. He didn’t really care about having ‘wasted’ a day or two, but this entire time Ning had ‘swept’ through the Hegemons and Emperors using the most direct paths possible. Why had they wasted a day or two on Hegemon Winterflame?

“Because he’s different from the other Hegemons and Emperors,” Ning said coldly.

“What, is there a feud between the two of you?” Hegemon Azurefiend could sense a hint of anger emanating from Ning.

Ning nodded. “He once assaulted my avatar and tried to abduct my clan, ‘Vastheaven Palace’, to use its disciples as hostages against me.”

“Hmph. Winterflame lives up to his reputation. As shameless as ever, I see.” Hegemon Azurefiend let out a cold snort, then frowned: “If I had a way to help you get rid of him, I would, but he’s a Hegemon who can transform into countless flames. So long as his invulnerable flamebody is active, my attacks will be of no use against him.”

“We might not be able to kill him, but we can’t let him off easily,” Ning said.

……

The flaming passageways. The handsome, pale-skinned Hegemon Winterflame was frowning slightly, his skin so crystalline that one could see the vessels beneath them. “Damn. Daolord Darknorth actually managed to reverse the situation! Not only did he take control over the mechanisms in the flaming passageways, he even managed to onvince that idiot Azurefiend to be his retainer. The Hegemons and Emperors have all given up on fighting for that realmship.” Hegemon Winterflame frowned, his heart filled with resentment: “What should I do? What are my options? The flaming passageways are filled with dangers. I can’t move at all.”

“Forget it. I’ll bow my head and just endure it for now. Escape is the most pressing issue,” Hegemon Winterflame mused silently. “A pity that Daolord Darknorth is going to profit by it.”

Whoosh. An ancient, rather damaged-looking realmship suddenly flew towards him from afar. “Here they are.” Hegemon Winterflame raised his head to stare towards the realmship.

The realmship came to a halt, and three figures emerged from it. They were Ji Ning, Hegemon Azurefiend, and Protector Whitethaw.

“Hmph.” Hegemon Winterflame suppressed his anger and said coldly, “Daolord Darknorth, you really are quite impressive. All these Hegemons came attacking, but in the end you cleared the board! You even convinced one of them to become your retainer. I have to admit some admiration for you. Here are the treasures you requested. I can give them to you, but I need you to swear an oath not to attack me while I leave the Jadefire Realm. I must be allowed to leave in peace.” Hegemon Winterflame held out a bracelet as he looked at Ning.

“Hegemon Winterflame. We meet again.” Ning finally spoke out in a leisurely voice.

“Meet again?” Hegemon Winterflame was briefly startled before his face went blank and hard.

“I told you that we’d meet again here in the Jadefire Realm.” Ning smiled. “I’ve always been a person who keeps his word. I’ve had you on my mind for quite some time now, ever since you attempted to take away all of Vastheaven Palace to try and threaten me.”

Hegemon Winterflame growled, “What do you want?”

“The other Hegemons only needed to pay a minor figure in treasure, but you are different,” Ning said. “I won’t claim your life. However, if you wish me to let me go then you must give me all the treasures you are currently carrying.”

“You won’t claim my life? As if you could.” Hegemon Winterflame was rather angry. In terms of raw power, most likely only Otherverse Lords had any chance of slaying him.

“You can choose to refuse.” Ning looked at him.

“You…!” Hegemon Winterflame stared hard at Ning. “You ask too much. Half! I’ll give you half of the countless treasures I’ve accumulated over the aeons.” He was legendary for his shamelessness, but it was this very shamelessness that had allowed to build up such a prodigious stockpile of treasures.

“Either accept my offer or decline it,” Ning said coldly.

“You…!” Hegemon Winterflame was so furious, his teeth hurt from all the clenching. Still… when he considered his situation, he realized that all the other Hegemons and Emperors had fled. The Jadefire Realm was simply too dangerous; the only person in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance who would be able to come here to save him was Realmslord Windgrace. But not only did Realmslord Windgrace rarely intervene in matters like this, the Realmslord didn’t even like him. The two weren’t on very good terms.

“Fine! Take them!!!” Hegemon Winterflame had a rather savage look on his face as the bracelet in his hand trembled slightly. Clearly, he had just moved many treasures into that bracelet.

“I already told you… I want ALL of your treasures.” Ning looked at him. “The armor that you are wearing and the Universe weapon you are wielding… give them to me as well.”

“You even want my armor and my weapon?!” Hegemon Winterflame’s eyes bulged out.

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Chapter 25 – Time Flows Like Water, the Three Realms Perish

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 25 – Time Flows Like Water, the Three Realms Perish

To cultivators, their weapons and their armor were their most valuable possessions. Generally speaking, when cultivators spoke of ‘trading treasures’ or ‘handing over treasures’, they were excluding the weapons and armor which they normally used! A Universe weapon which acknowledged you and was a good fit for you… such a treasure was incredibly hard to find. And how much blood and effort would have to be poured into a suit of Lifeblood armor, allowing it to grow over the aeons?

Other treasures might be valuable, but the loss of them would not have too much of an impact on Hegemon Winterflame’s actual level of power. It would’ve hurt, but he would’ve bit his tongue and accepted. His weapons and his armor? Once those were lost, his power would dramatically drop.

“Yes, I want both.” Ning looked at him. “I want all of your treasures! You must hand over every last drop of chaos nectar and every last chaos jewel, to say nothing of your Universe treasures.”

“Y-y-you…!” Hegemon Winterflame was absolutely livid.

“Are you handing them over or not?” Ning looked at him.

“Impossible! How could I give you my armaments?” Hegemon Winterflame glared furiously at Ning. “I’ve already lowered my head before you, but you push me too far. Hmph. D you really think I’m afraid of you? I can simply sit in this tunnel without moving, and your control over the mechanisms will be of no use to you. There can’t be that many which are capable of actually trapping and/or killing Hegemons. I refuse to believe one of them is right next to me.”

“There’s nothing you can do to me! If push comes to shove, I’ll just stay here for 108,000 chaos cycles. Let’s see if you’ll survive past that date!” Hegemon Winterflame glared at Ning.

“Don’t worry. If I fail my Daomerge and perish, I’ll pass the control techniques over to others and require them to swear oaths to never release you,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Then let us wait and see!” Hegemon Winterflame’s face was ruddy with rage.

“Excellent. Honestly, I don’t even care about your piddling treasures. Brother Azurefiend, let’s go.” Ning turned and immediately walked towards his realmship. Azurefiend smirked coldly as he glanced at Winterflame, then joined Whitethaw in walking towards the realmship.

“Azurefiend, you aren’t worthy of looking down upon me, you craven. No matter how ‘shameless’ I am, I, Winterflame, would never lower myself to becoming a retainer to a Daolord,” Winterflame said mockingly.

“Winterflame… by my decree, you shall be trapped here forever until the day you perish!” Ning came to a halt, turned and said these words, then entered the realmship.

“Let’s see if I die first or if you die first!” Hegemon Winterflame roared angrily, watching as the three disappeared into the realmship.

“Darknorth, Winterflame’s completely shameless. He’s capable of saying anything at all. Don’t waste your time with him.” Hegemon Azurefiend smiled coldly. “Just enjoy the sight of his perpetual imprisonment.”

“Agreed.” Ning nodded.

……

The storm caused by the news that a Daolord had acquired a realmship gradually became to calm down. However, the news that a Hegemon had actually chosen to serve a Daolord as a retainer was slowly spread to ever more distant realmverses and otherverses.

“The core of this formation-diagram is ridiculously complicated.” Ning’s divine power clone was still above the altar, carefully analyzing it. Ning’s Primaltwin was still on the Autarch’s stone dais in the Azureflower Estate, meditating on the formation-diagram as well.

The core of the formation-diagram… it required one to have reached incredible heights in the Dao of Fire and the Dao of Space, as well as extreme mastery of the Dao of Formations. Only then would you have a chance to solve it.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse returned to its usual calm, and time slowly began to flow on. One chaos cycle, two chaos cycles, three chaos cycles…

Back in Ning’s homeland of the Three Realms.

CRACK!

The golden-robed Ning was by the side of his daughter Brightmoon. The two were aboard a rowboat floating atop Serpentwing Lake. The golden-robed Ning raised his head to stare at the heavens. He saw a bolt of lightning tear through the skies, spanning trillions of kilometers in size. This bolt of lightning didn’t just pierce through the Grand Xia, it also pierced through the majority of the three thousand major worlds.

“The Three Realms are finally about to face the apocalypse,” Ning murmured.

“What?” Brightmoon was stunned. She stared at her father, shock apparent in her bright eyes. “Father, did you just say that the Three Realms are about to be destroyed?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “Normal chaosworlds will only last for a single chaos cycle. After being destroyed, they will coalesce into ‘Worldhearts’ that will then give birth to a new world and a new cycle of life. Long ago, Mother Nuwa led our Three Realms to defeat the Seamless Chaosworld. A total of nine chaos cycles have gone by since then. Nine! This represents an absolute limit. It is indeed time for the Three Realms to be destroyed.”

“Then what should we do? Should we move to stop it?” Brightmoon asked.

“Why should we? Destruction and rebirth are all part of a cycle, the natural functioning of the Chaosverse.” Ning smiled. “And the major powers of the Three Realms have long ago established their own chaosworlds. We’ll simply relocate Swallow Mountain to one of them.”

“Alright.” Brightmoon nodded. These days, experts were as common as clouds in the Three Realms. It had a decent number of even Samsara Daolords. Ever since Ning had brought back the three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies to the Three Realms, it had undergone yet another golden age. Its cultivators had exploded with power, and the rate at which the Three Realms gave birth to experts was even more ridiculously high than for the planet within the Stone Hellephant Wall.

……

In the primordial chaos outside the Three Realms. There was a region here that was tens of thousands of times vaster than the Three Realms themselves, and chaosworlds were scattered throughout this region in accordance with an incredibly complicated formation.

There were a total of 3900 chaosworlds here, and they were linked together in a massive formation which Ning had developed based on his insights into the Dao of Formations. The Sithe discs had been emplaced within the formation, becoming part of it! Ever since Ning began to truly analyze the Sithe formations, he finally began to be able to make perfect use of the Sithe discs.

The power of the formations and the Sithe discs was such that it would be extremely hard for even Hegemons to breach the local defenses.

Over the course of countless years, the three thousand-plus chaosworlds had given birth to countless living beings. As a result, the denizens of the Three Realms had truly thrived.

“And there it goes.” Many figures stood there within the void, staring towards the distant Three Realms. The golden-robed Ning, Subhuti, and Windfiend stood at the front of this group. Ning was the number one expert of the Three Realms; that went without saying. Subhuti and Windfiend were incredibly talented as well; after having analyzed over three hundred Hegemonic legacies, they had merged multiple Supreme Daos together and become Samsara Daolords. By now, both Subhuti and Windfiend were both Daolords of the Third Step.

Maitreya, Crazy Ji, Sun Wukong, Jade Cauldron, Kuafu… a total of nineteen had become Samsara Daolords. However, none of them had been able to fuse multiple Supreme Daos together. Maitreya was one of the more impressive ones, having at least mastered a single Supreme Dao.

As for World-level cultivators? They were ridiculously abundant. There were over ten thousand of them by now! Even Brightmoon had been able to train to the World level under her own power. Alas, Ning’s father and mother were much weaker when it came to cultivation. Even though Ning personally guided them, they still weren’t able to reach the World level. In the end, Ning had to rely on using medicines to forcibly uplift both his father and his mother to the World level.

“The Three Realms is in a golden age. We have over ten thousand World-level cultivators, which is just slightly less than the Badlands Territory itself. However, we have far more Samsara Daolords than the Badlands Territory.” Subhuti sighed emotionally. “The more I wander the outside world, the more I feel that the Three Realms are truly incredible.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “However, the Chaosverse is a vast place. There are more than a few other locations which have given place to a high density of experts.”

“The techniques which Darknorth brought back were of great help as well. On average, the cultivators of the Three Realms have all risen by a complete level,” Windfiend said. “Otherwise… there’s no way we would have this many Samsara Daolords, while Subhuti and I probably wouldn’t have fused Supreme Daos together.”

Ning agreed with this assessment. A good reservoir of techniques was extremely important, which was why the Aeonians viewed those three hundred-plus Hegemonic legacies as priceless treasures. Alas, Ning was now so powerful that the Aeonians didn’t even dare to voice a word in protest. All they could do was pretend that none of it had ever happened.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The distant Three Realms was slowly collapsing. One world after another began to crumble as the rivers and the mountains began to break apart.

Ning and the major powers who had been born from the Three Realms all watched from afar, their hearts filled with emotions. However, all of them were at peace, because they had already relocated everyone and everything they cared about away from the Three Realms.

“Quick, look over there! The new Worldheart is beginning to take form.”

“The Worldheart of the Three Realms.” The various Daolords and World-level cultivators were all chatting amongst themselves. Ning watched intently as well.

The vast Three Realms continued to collapse until its very core became an invisible black hole that devoured everything in its path. All of the shattered bits of world-rubble were all drawn into that invisible hole, causing it to slowly stabilize and become solid. An invisible surge of power began to spread out from it, causing even Ning to feel a vague sense of awe.

This was the power of the very essence of the Chaosverse itself.

“It has finally taken form. Is that over there the new Worldheart of the Three Realms?” Ning stared from afar. The Three Realms had already completely vanished, leaving behind a pair of glittering gemstones that were embedded into each other. Normally, Worldhearts were supposed to consist of a single, perfect gem. However, the Worldheart of the Three Realms was very unique, as it was formed from the collision of those two chaosworlds. Both gems had been damaged and lost certain parts, but each just so happened to compensate for the losses of the other, allowing the two to form a perfect whole.

The embedded double-Worldheart was dazzlingly beautiful and absolutely marvelous. Ning had never seen a Worldheart like this before. “How beautiful.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in praise.

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Chapter 26 – The Complete Seven Flaming Hells

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 26 – The Complete Seven Flaming Hells

“So this is the Worldheart of our Three Realms? I’ve never seen one as beautiful as this one,” Subhuti said as he sighed in astonishment, staring intently at the Worldheart.

“It has a special magnetism to it, as though it is filled with infinite vitality and possibilities.” The nearby Windfiend nodded in amazement as well, an intoxicated look flashing through his eyes. “Every single ray of light coming from that gem is absolutely beautiful.”

Ji Ning nodded slowly as well. All three of them were incredibly talented figures. Ning’s experiences went without saying; just think about how much treasure he had forced the Hegemons and Emperors to hand over within the Jadefire Realm! He had seen all types of treasures by now. Subhuti and Windfiend were now incredibly talented Daolords of the Third Step who were on the same level of power that Ninedust had been when Ning and Ninedust had battled for the first time. All of them were highly experienced figures… and all three of them were truly stunned by how beautiful the Worldheart was. It was completely different from other Worldhearts.

“This should be the reason why our Three Realms has given birth to cultivators of such incredible power,” Ning said.

“Given how extraordinary the Worldheart is, the chaosworld born from it will naturally be extraordinary as well.” Subhuti smiled.

“Let us see what the ‘new Three Realms’ will end up looking like,” Windfiend agreed.

……

Time slowly flowed on. Ning, Subhuti, Windfiend, and the other major powers all continued to watch silently as the Worldheart continued its transformation. The Worldheart slowly melted away, its power dispersing into nine thousand different parts, with a much smaller remnant core left behind where the original Worldheart had been. This was the largest of the nine thousand ‘pieces’.

36,000 years went past. 9000 Gods and Fiends of Primordial Chaos were born. These Fiendgods were at different levels of power based on how much of the Worldheart’s power they had each absorbed. The weakest were merely at the Empyrean God level, while the strongest was the Fiendgod born from the remnant core that looked like a miniature Worldheart. This one was born at the World level of power.

This World-level Fiendgod was born with such overwhelming power that the other Fiendgods didn’t dare to approach him. This caused him to feel great loneliness, and on one day he rose to his feet and lifted his hands up, using them to tear through the primordial chaos and establish a vast chaosworld around him. His body began to grow in size as he poured all of his energy into sustaining and strengthening this chaosworld, making it grow as well.

“This Chaos Fiendgod should be even stronger than Pangu once was.” Subhuti stood off in the distance, watching as the new Three Realms were born. This was his evaluation.

“Pangu was once the most powerful of the Chaos Fiendgods of the Pangu Chaosworld, but the Pangu Chaosworld’s Worldheart was merely a single unblemished gem,” Windfiend said. “The new Three Realms are different. Its Worldheart was formed from the collision and merger of the Worldhearts of the Seamless Chaosworld and the Pangu Chaosworld. It only makes sense for it to give birth to a Chaos Fiendgod who is stronger than even Pangu.”

“But once he establishes Heaven and Earth, he shall die.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh when he saw this. That incredibly powerful Chaos Fiendgod was being guided by invisible laws; its very existence was for the sake of establishing this chaosworld.

Finally, the Chaos Fiendgod died of exhaustion… but he had already completely established an incredibly vast new chaosworld! The old Three Realms had been shattered into countless pieces, but the new Three Realms was a perfect whole.

The Fiendgods warred across the new Three Realms for supremacy, and all sorts of new lifeforms were born. More and more mortal lifeforms emerged, and eventually cultivation techniques were invented which allowed them to embark upon the path of cultivation.

……

The new Three Realms, as a fairly extraordinary type of chaosworld, was destined to live a fairly long life. Two chaos cycles went past, but it remained extremely stable.

“Odd.”

“Although we haven’t taken too heavy a hand in guiding the new Three Realms, we have left behind many legacies in the void around it. We’ve even accepted some of the most talented cultivators of the new Three Realms into our tutelage, and have transmitted our most precious techniques to them. Why is it that not a single one of them has been able to fuse multiple Supreme Daos together?” Subhuti, Windfiend, and Ning were having another get-together. Suhbuti was quite puzzled by the state of the Three Realms.

Ning nodded slowly as well. “I noticed it as well. It seems as though, compared to the old Three Realms, the cultivators of the new Three Realms have on the whole a lower level of potential! However, they are still quite impressive compared to the outside world.”

“We’ve secretly guided the new Three Realms for two chaos cycles, allowing it to give birth to more than a hundred World-level cultivators. There are no Samsara Daolords yet, but this is still an impressive haul.” Windfiend smiled. “To be honest, we had to undergo a process of slowly increasing our power as well. Prior to the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld colliding, Subhuti and I weren’t all that strong! It was when faced with the threat of annihilation that I suddenly had an epiphany which allowed my flying speed to surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Once the ‘Three Realms Era’ began, Subhuti and I began to grow much more powerful as we spent more time training. His mastery Dao of Spacetime became even more unfathomable, while I learned to more perfectly merge ‘Wind’ and ‘Space’ together. More time had to pass, followed by you bestowing us with those incredible techniques, before we truly rose to power.”

Ning nodded. As his own level of insight increased, he began to gain a better sense of attunement towards the future and towards fate. Ning now had the feeling that the ‘Three Realms Era’ that came about as a result of the collision between the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld would be the most powerful era for the Three Realms. The later generations would all be significantly weaker, and not even the most supreme of legacies would change that.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly revealed a look of delight.

“It seems Darknorth just received some good news.” Windfiend smiled.

“I just found the way to rescue a good friend of mine,” Ning said.

……

The Terror Starsea. The Jadefire Realm. The hidden control room.

Ning’s divine power calm remained seated above the altar, staring downwards at the enormous flower-shaped ‘Seven Flaming Hells formation-diagram’.

“After training for over a thousand accelerated chaos cycles, I’ve finally gained mastery over this formation-diagram.” Ning was absolutely delighted.

This had been an extremely difficult task. To fully unlock the formation-diagram, one needed to have reached extremely profound levels of insight into the Dao of Space and the Dao of Fire… and of course, the Dao of Formations.

Thus, Ning had first spent quite a bit of time analyzing the Dao of Fire. Fire and water mutually opposed each other but also reinforced each other. Ning thus chose to spend some time on the Dao of Water as well, so as to more quickly and thoroughly understand the Dao of Fire.

It took Ning a full chaos cycle to reach the Archon-level in the Dao of Water, even with the aid of the Autarch’s stone! As for the Dao of Fire, it took three entire chaos cycles.

Next, Ning focused on ‘space’. Ning wasn’t really talented in this regard, and ‘space’ was an incredibly difficult Dao to comprehend. While focusing on the Dao of Space, Ning also spent part of his time analyzing the Dao of Thunder, because he discovered that the Dao of Thunder was intimately connected to the Dao of Space.

Ning was quites killed in the Dao of Thunder. It took him only two chaos cycles for him to reach the Archon level in this Dao. Only after finishing his work on the Dao of Thunder did he focus all of his attention on the Dao of Space once more.

It took him more than two hundred accelerated chaos cycles before he was able to create an Archon-level technique pertaining to the Dao of Space!

Now, he had reached sufficient heights in both fire and space. Ning turned all of his attention to the art of formations itself.

The Dao of Formations was an extremely complicated and awesome Dao. Ning spent more than eight hundred chaos cycles in accelerated time before he was finally able to reach a high enough level that he could understand how the Seven Flaming Hells’ formation-diagram worked! Thankfully, Ning had access to the many Sithe formation records which Autarch Awakener had left behind. Those techniques had included many descriptions on them, allowing Ning understand their fundamental principles and then take control over the formation-diagram.

“The Dao of Formations truly is insanely difficult.” Ning was speechless. “I had the Autarch’s stone dais helping me out, but I still spent over eight hundred accelerated chaos cycles working on it! If I didn’t have the stone dais, I could’ve spent a thousand times as much time in training without being able to succeed. In other words, there would’ve been no chance that I would’ve been able to finish mastering it during my 108,000.”

Ning felt a bit celebratory. Thank goodness he had the Autarch’s stone dais! That was why he had ‘only’ spent eight hundred chaos cycles to solve the Seven Flaming Hells formation-diagram.

This was proof that it was best for Daolords to focus on their areas of expertise. Ning was skilled in the Dao of the Sword, and so he trained in it quite quickly. He was also skilled in water and thunder, and thus he trained fairly quickly in those two Daos as well. Fire was a bit slower, while space had been ridiculous; it took him two hundred chaos cycles to reach the Archon level in it. As for the Dao of Formations? That went without saying.

“For me to have found the Autarch’s stone dais was a stroke of tremendous luck. Oh, Ninedust… you have no idea how lucky you are as well, to be able to make it out of this place.” Ning chortled. He really was delighted! After spending over a thousand chaos cycles in total, he had finally solved the Seven Flaming Hells formation-diagram. This sense of excitement and accomplishment truly was joyful.

“Let me see if I can control it all.” Ning’s divine power clone stared downwards, sending out a tendril of its will.

Rumble… the enormous flower-like diagram of the Seven Flaming Hells began to light up. Countless shadow images appeared throughout the hidden control room, and the images represented the entire Jadefire Realm! Every single flaming passageway and prison appeared, all of them under Ning’s control. He was now able to activate any prison cell with but a thought.

“Eh?” Ning’s divine power clone suddenly narrowed its eyes, turning to stare at the very center of the Jadefire Realm projection. There was actually another hidden region located directly beneath the prison region.

“There’s ANOTHER secret region?” Ning frowned.

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Chapter 27 – Flamewing God

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 27 – Flamewing God

The hidden control room at the very center of the prison region was meant to control the formation-diagram which governed the entire Jadefire Realm. What, then, was this second hidden room directly beneath the prisons meant for?

“Turn!” Ji Ning sent out a strand of his will, causing the entire outer layer of the Jadefire Realm to rumble as it began to turn and swivel. Every single prison cell began to swivel as well as it switched to a new configuration.

“As I thought. This hidden room is actually the energy source for the entire Jadefire Realm.” Ning revealed a smile. How was it that the many mechanisms of the Jadefire Realm had been maintained for so long? Where did that energy come from? Although the Jadefire Realm was able to absorb energy from the outside world, it must be remembered that the Jadefire Realm was once capable of unleashing unleashing a Decimatus Wave of terrifying power. There was no way that the amount of energy absorbed from the outside world alone would be enough to unleash such an attck; it had to have an internal energy source to do this.

As soon as Ning discovered the second hidden room, he immediately surmised that it had to be the energy source for the Jadefire Realm. When he tested ‘turning’ the Jadefire Realm, he immediately discovered that energy began to flow out from that hidden room.

“What sort of energy well is capable of unleashing a ‘Decimatus Wave’?” Ning was rather intrigued and curious about this.

……

Ning’s realmship was parked peacefully in the air at the center of the Jadefire Realm’s prison region. The white-robed Ning was seated atop a prayer mat in the lotus position, silently meditating. As for Azurefiend, in his boredom he was drinking and eating by himself.

“We’re going to make a short trip,” Ning said as he opened his eyes.

“Have other Hegemons come?” Azurefiend asked, puzzled.

“No. We’re going to another part of the prisons,” Ning said. He was going to go check out the hidden room first, then save Ninedust; Ninedust had already waited for quite some time, a few more minutes wouldn’t kill him.

Swish. The realmship quickly began to descend through the prison region. After flying for a full hour, it reached a region of absolute empty darkness at the very bottom of the prison region.

“Open up.” Ning was in control of the Seven Flaming Hells formation-diagram. With but a thought, he caused the hidden room to open up before him.

Whoosh. A giant red copper gate suddenly appeared in the darkness and slowly began to open. As it did, a surge of blasting heat swept out from the other side, causing the void in the surrounding area to twist and distort like steam.

Ning was able to see the blazing heat and fire on the other side of the red copper gate.

“Ohoho!” Hegemon Azurefiend was quite excited. He said with a laugh, “I thought that the Jadefire Realm was already quite a hot place, given the many flames which fill its passageways… but there’s no way to compare those flames with this place. Let me out of the ship, I want to go take a look and see just how hot those flames are. They actually have caused space to twist and distort!”

“Alright.” With but a thought, Ning put away the realmship. Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw all stood there in the emptiness of the void. The realmship gone, they could now directly sense the waves of heat which washed across them.

“That’s hot.” Ning felt as though he had been dropped into a cauldron of fire. It was so hot that he couldn’t help but tense up, but his body was naturally capable of enduring this level of heat.

“This heat wave alone would reduce Daolords of the Second Step to dust in a flash.” Hegemon Azurefiend smiled. “Let’s go in and take a look.”

“Master, let me go inside first,” Whitethaw said.

“Alright.” Ning nodded. In terms of survivability, the Sithe Protector was probably superior to even Hegemon Azurefiend.

Swoosh. Whitethaw immediately flew through the giant red copper gate. Once he did, a look of disbelief appeared on his simple face. He then turned his head and called backwards, “Master, you can come inside. It’s very hot in here, but it won’t be of any danger to you.”

“Alright, we’re coming in as well,” Ning said. Azurefiend, however, still took the lead in charging through the gate.

Swoosh. Swoosh. The two passed through the giant red copper gate. With but a thought, Ning closed the gate behind them once more.

“Eh?” As soon as Ning flew in, he was stunned by what he saw before him. The ground was pitch-black in color; Ning immediately recognized it as being deepfire blackstone. Far off in the distance, there was an enormous winged beast that was a hundred kilometers in size which was bathed in flames. The creature’s entire body was fiery red, and it had a pair of dazzling and enormous wings on its back. Its body looked somewhat similar to that of a fiery red bear’s, but it was completely covered with countless flaming scales.

Boom! Whoosh! A deep sound rumbled across the area. It was the sound of this beast snoring in its slumber.

Its fort short legs were covered with black chains, while its wings were wrapped in chains as well. These six black chains extended off into the void, while a large amount of flames was being slowly drawn through the chains into the void.

The flames covering its body formed a rhythmic series of heat waves that swept out in every direction.

“The flames it is generating unconsciously while it sleeps is hot enough to cause the temperature in the area to be so high as to instantly wipe out Daolords of the Second Step.” Hegemon Azurefiend was rather stunned. “The actual flames themselves have to be several levels higher in power; they could probably wipe out ordinary Eternal Emperors.”

“Even in slumber, its flames possess such power? What type of beast is this?!” Ning was rather stunned as well. He had thought that the energy well for the Jadefire Realm would be something akin to a sparrowfiend gem. Who would’ve thought that it would actually be a living creature?

“Can that be a Chaos Primordial?” Hegemon Azurefiend suddenly said.

“A Chaos Primordial?” Ning was stunned. Chaos Primordials were the most terrifying lifeforms of the Chaosverse, birthed from the prime essences of the Chaosverse themselves. They were born with virtually indestructible bodies, and they possessed inconceivable levels of power. However, they were rather unintelligent, perhaps comparable to ordinary mortal children at best. They wandered the Chaosverse alone, and when they occasionally ran into a realmverse they would devour the entire realmverse whole.

As a result, quite a few realmverses had been destroyed by Chaos Primordials over the course of aeons! Alas, there was nothing that could be done; even terrifying Otherverse Lords would only at best be able to stay alive in the face of a Chaos Primordial attack. There was nothing which could stop them save the Autarchs.

Even if a major power like Realmslord Windgrace ran into a Chaos Primordial which was devouring a realmverse, he would have no choice but to just watch powerlessly as it all happened.

“Chaos Primordials love to eat verdant azuresouls.” This thought suddenly came to Ning’s mind. He had acquired a verdant azuresoul from that beastworld, one which Autarch Bolin had transformed into a magic treasure. So long as a Chaos Primordial ate it, it would fall under Ning’s control and become his servant.

“It has to be a Chaos Primordial, right? I can’t think of any other creature that would be this powerful.” Hegemon Azurefiend wasn’t certain either, because he had never encountered a Chaos Primordial before either.

“Yes, that is a Chaos Primordial. It called itself the ‘Flamewing God’,” the nearby Protector Whitethaw suddenly said.

“Flamewing God?” Ning and Azurefiend both turned to look at Whitethaw.

“Yes.” Whitethaw nodded. “Prior to the Dawn War, when the Sithe were in the prime of their power, they discovered this Chaos Primordial. Some of the most terrifying and powerful Sithe experts set off to capture it, then imprisoned it within an enormous Sithe prison that was meant for imprisoning major powers. I once entered that place with my master and saw the ‘Flamewing God’ myself. Back then, one of the prison gaolers introduced it to us and sait that it was incredibly strong. Three Sithe Exalts had to work together in order to capture it.”

Ning nodded. Having chatted with Whitethaw in the past, he knew that the most powerful members of the Sithe race had been the ones known as the ‘Exalts’. They were far more powerful than even the Otherverse Lords of the cultivator civilizations! But of course, they still were far from being a match for the Autarchs.

The most powerful experts on the side of the cultivators had been the Autarchs, and it was the Autarchs who had led them to victory in exterminating the Sithe and their Exalts.

“I didn’t expect for the Flamewing God to have been brought here,” Whitethaw said.

Ning sighed in approval. To use a Chaos Primordial as an energy source… no wonder the Jadefire Realm had been so terrifying in its prime! Every single Decimatus Wave was capable of annihilating anything below the Autarch level of power with ease. This was something that was even more terrifying than a Chaos Primordial itself, and it was thanks to the power of the formation that drew from its energies.

“Then the six chains binding it…” Ning stared from afar. The six chains ensured that this powerful Chaos Primordial was unable to fight back, and it also drew energy from it.

“It seems to be some sort of suppressive formation that also has energy absorption effects.” Ning scrutinized the six chains intently, studying the countless runes and patterns that covered them. He was now a grandmaster of the Dao of Formations, but he still found this formation to be quite complicated. This was because Ning’s path was that of the Seven Flaming Hells formation-diagram, while these chains belonged to a completely different school of formations.

“It’ll be a bit tough to break these chains and release this Chaos Primordial… but given my skills in the Dao of Formations as well as the records regarding Sithe formations which Autarch Awakener left behind, I still have a chance to succeed,” Ning mused. “However… prior to releasing this creature, I should first have it eat the verdant azuresoul.”

He only had a single verdant azuresoul. Ning was worried that if he tossed it out, the Flamewing God might just slap it apart into dust. That would be troublesome.

Rumble… the slumbering Flamewing God suddenly stretched its wings, causing the black chains covering it to clatter. It opened its fiery red eyes, staring angrily at the distant trio.

Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw all felt a sense of invisible pressure. They hurriedly retreated, while Whitethaw moved to stand in front of Ning.

“You three keep on babbling on and on in front of me. This is starting to piss me off. How am I supposed to sleep like this?” The Flamewing God’s ursine face was filled with rage.

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Chapter 28 – Flames

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 28 – Flames

The Flamewing God’s entire body was rippling with flames, but its gaze was a bit distant, almost as though it hadn’t completely woken up yet.

“Fuck off and don’t bother me,” the Flamewing God barked irritably. But then, its blurry gaze suddenly focused and narrowed as it glared intently at the Sithe Protector, Whitethaw, standing in front of Ji Ning. The scales on the creature’s body seemed to stand up, and its gaze became filled with rage as it ground out the word: “SITHE!”

“Not good.” Azurefiend paled as he hurriedly moved to stand in front of Ning as well.

“Be careful, Master!” Whitethaw had a solemn look on his face.

Boom! The Flamewing God moved to charge forwards, sweeping out with its giant paws. Its massive bear-shaped body was filled with such power that a wave of terrifying pressure was generated by the most basic of movements. All spacetime ripples came to a complete, frozen halt. Ning even felt as though his thinking speed had turned sluggish, and an inexplicable sense of fear filled his heart.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The six black chains around the Flamewing God instantly began to tighten from the strain. The charging Flamewing God was instantly pulled back into its original position by the power of the chains.

“GRWAAAAAH!” The Flamewing God let out a frustrated howl, furiously struggling to break free. Its wings were fluttering, and its entire body was trembling. The six black chains clanked furiously, but no matter how hard the creature tried to struggle the chains didn’t suffer the slightest bit of damage. The Sithe had put quite a bit of effort into building these chains and ensuring that this place would be able to draw from this Chaos Primordial’s energy.

“Damn you, Sithe! Damn you! Damn you! You’ve once more appeared before me, you damned Sithe!” The Flamewing God’s eyes were bloodshot with absolutely berserk rage.

Ning and Azurefiend both let out sighs of relief. “Thank goodness those chains are binding it. Otherwise, we would’ve been in serious danger.” Ning still felt a sense of fear. Chaos Primordials were terrifying creatures that were capable of devouring entire realmverses with ease. Even Otherverse Lords were unable to defeat them; they would at most be able to survive the creatures with difficulty. If Hegemon Azurefiend was to actually attempt to battle one, the end result would be him being smashed to death.

“Too terrifying. A mere wave of its claws caused me to feel as though I was in mortal danger,” Hegemon Azurefiend said with some lingering fear. “In the past, I’ve only heard of these creatures; I’ve never seen one of them in person. Now, I finally understand just how terrifying Chaos Primordials are.”

“Don’t let your guard down, Master.” The Sithe Protector continued to stand protectively in front of Ning.

The furious howls of the still-struggling Flamewing God echoed throughout the entire hidden region. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and spat out a ball of dark-red fire. The fire shot through the air and swept out to encompass all three of them.

“Not good!” Ning instantly felt a sense of nervousness. His subconscious was screaming to him that he was in danger, letting him know that even a supremely talented Daolord like himself would immediately perish if he let that dark-red fire touch him! Not even his invulnerable form would be able to save him.

Whoosh. Whitethaw’s body suddenly expanded dramatically in size as his body seemed to liquefy, allowing him to transform to become a giant metal barrier that completely covered Ning and Hegemon Azurefiend.

Whoooosh! The dark-red flames swept over every inch of the golem, but the barrier-shaped Whitethaw was able to block out every single flame. The fire continued to blaze away against him, but he was able to endure it.

“Whitethaw,” Azurefiend called out, “Are you going to be able to hold on?”

“Don’t worry. These flames cannot harm me.” Whitethaw’s voice echoed inside the protected region.

“Impressive, impressive!” Azurefiend sighed in amazement. “Sithe Protectors truly are incredible. There’s no way we cultivators can compare to you golems in terms of toughness. Although I have a formidable divine body, I wouldn’t dare to make the claim that I could face those flames and be completely unscathed.”

Ning nodded and smiled. “Any halfway-decent golem is comparable to top-grade Eternal treasures, while my own body is currently only comparable to high-grade Eternal treasures at best. As for Whitethaw… he is a Protector golem designed and created by the Sithe, an extraordinary golem that is both tough and flexible. It is very difficult to damage him.”

“Master.” Whitethaw’s voice echoed within the barrier once more. “If the Flamewing God wasn’t chained down, it’d probably be able to rip me apart with ease, given how strong it is. But since it thankfully is chained down… if all it has is these flames, it won’t be able to harm me at all.”

Ning stared through the semi-translucent metallic barrier towards the distant Flamewing God. The Flamewing God was clearly still in a berserk state as it continued to furiously belch out those terrifying flames.

This creature had the power to annihilate entire realmverses with ease, and even its flaming breath was enough to inspire dread in Hegemons. It took three Sithe Exalts, the most powerful members of the Sithe race, working together to capture it.

“What an irritable creature. It seems it truly does hate the Sithe,” Ning mused.

The Flamewing God continued to belch fire for a full hour before coming to a halt after realizing that it wasn’t damaging the barrier in the slightest.

Whoosh. Whitethaw returned to his normal form and reappeared next to Ning.

“I remember you, you Sithe!” The Flamewing God bellowed once more as it glared intently at Whitethaw.

“Wait a moment!” Ning hurriedly called out.

“Eh?” Only then did the Flamewing God turn its attention towards Ning and Hegemon Azurefiend. “A cultivator? A cultivator who serves the Sithe?” The Flamewing God seemed to grow even angrier.

“Flamewing God, the Sithe were wiped out countless aeons ago,” Ning said hurriedly. “After the Sithe were defeated, their treasures and relics fell into the hands of our cultivator civilizations. As for this Protector golem, it fell into my hands and is now my servant. I have no connection to the Sithe at all.”

“The Sithe? Wiped out?” The Flamewing God was startled, a look of puzzlement within its narrowed eyes.

Once, it had lived a carefree life of freedom… but then a nightmare had descended out of nowhere. Three Sithe experts had appeared, and they were simply far too powerful. The Flamewing God had sought to fight back, but the three worked together to capture it. From that day forth, it had lost its freedom! In the end, it had been imprisoned here and every so often its energy would be extracted. Although it was not very intelligent, it would never forget the hatred it felt towards the Sithe. When it saw Whitethaw, it immediately recognized the golem. Its intelligence level was low, but its memory was perfect.

“Yes, wiped out. The Sithe have already been wiped out,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Wiped out ages ago. Haven’t you noticed that you’ve been sleeping for an extremely long period of time without any Sithe bothering you?” Hegemon Azurefiend said.

“Uh…” The Flamewing God blinked. “I really did take a very, very long nap this time.”

“It’s been a long time since those six chains have drained a significant amount of your flames, right?” Ning said.

“Right!” The Flamewing God’s eyes turned round with surprise as it nodded seriously, then gave the black chains binding it a hateful glare. “Long, long ago, these chains would constantly drain large amounts of my flames. Each time, they would drain so much that I would feel extremely miserable. But ever since that last nap I took… it is true that they haven’t drained anything from me for quite some time. And now, two cultivators come to visit me… does this mean the Sithe truly have been wiped out?”

“They really have been wiped out,” Ning and Azurefiend said simultaneously.

“But the Sithe were really powerful. There’s no way they would’ve been wiped out that easily,” the Flamewing God mumbled to itself. Having suffered quite a bit at the hands of the Sithe, it continued to harbor a healthy dread of them.

……

Ning and Azurefiend were both cultivators, and so the Flamewing God didn’t feel much enmity towards them. Although it had been quite some time since any Sithe had come to visit it, the creature still harbored doubts about whether or not the Sithe truly had been wiped out.

“Let’s sit and chat, Azurefiend.” Ning suddenly waved his hand, causing two wine-laden tables to appear before them. Ning sat down before one of the tables.

Azurefiend was rather puzzled. Why did Ning suddenly want to eat and drink? Still, Azurefiend was a bit of a glutton to begin with, and so he didn’t complain. He immediately sat down in front of his own table and picked up a large haunch of meat with one hand and a goblet of wine in the other.

“Darknorth, why did you suddenly want to feast?” Azurefiend said while munching away.

“I’ve spent chaos cycles meditating on formations. It’s been ages since I’ve had anything nice,” Ning said. He then smiled as he glanced off into the distance: “Flamewing, you need anything to eat or drink?”

His real goal right now wasn’t to eat or drink… it was to tame this Flamewing God! He needed to come up with a way to convince the Flamewing God to eat the verdant azuresoul. He would never be able to forgive himself if he didn’t at least try to tame the Chaos Primordial trapped before him.

“I already have food.” The Flamewing God sat back down, then waved a paw. This paw had a bracelet around it, and the bracelet suddenly lit up.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Basins of delicacies began to fly out, including both meats as well as spirit-fruits.

The Flamewing God gave Ning and Azurefiend a smug glance, then began to chomp down on its own food.

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Chapter 29 – You Are The Best

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 29 – You Are The Best

“Darknorth, the stories say that Chaos Primordials wander through the cosmos by themselves. They are fairly dumb and are easily angered… and the only thing they like to do is eat!” Azurefiend sipped his wine, glancing sideways at the distant Flamewing God as he spoke mentally to Ji Ning. “These things supposedly will eat almost anything. When they run into a realmverse, they’ll go so far as to slowly work its way through and devour the entire realmverse and everything within it. While they wander the Chaosverse by themselves, they’ll generally create their own estate-treasures and put living creatures inside, having those creatures provide food and wine for them to eat and drink whenever they so desire.”

Ji Ning nodded. He knew all this, of course. Ever since he had acquired the verdant azuresoul, he had immediately searched for every scrap of information regarding Chaos Primordials that he could find. How could he possibly not know that Chaos Primordials loved to eat? This was the reason why Autarch Bolin had modified that verdant azuresoul with the goal of using it to control a Chaos Primordial.

“Brother Azurefiend, I acquired many different types of spirit-fruit and rare delicacies from the Hegemons and Emperors who came to the Jadefire Realm last time. Want to try some?” Ning said.

“You’d be willing to share?” Azurefiend’s eyes lit up. Rare spirit-fruits and delicacies were of tremendous interest to major powers, but many were so rare that major powers would only eat them sparingly. They would generally unwilling to eat them casually and in large amounts.

“Of course! Come, sample some of this wine. This came from Hegemon Blackwood,” Ning said as he picked up a large gourd and unstoppered it.

Whoosh. An aroma of fragrant wine immediately spread out to fill the entire hidden region. Hegemon Azurefiend’s eyes gleamed with a greedy light as he stared at the gourd. “Haha, it seems that looting from Hegemons and Emperors really is the fastest way to acquire treasures. I’ve only tasted this ‘Six Bandit Caves’ spirit-wine a single time in the past. Hegemon Blackwood truly is impressive in the Dao of Numerancy; someone must have asked him for help and used this wine in trade. Quick, let me taste some of it!”

“I don’t have much of this wine. You have to drink it slowly! Once we finish this gourd, we won’t have any more left,” Ning said.

“Heh heh, I’ll definitely savor it.” Hegemon Azurefiend was truly excited. He really was a glutton.

The distant Flamewing God sniffed the air, then lifted its head and turned to stare in their direction. A chunk of meat fell out of its open mouth and onto the ground, but it didn’t even notice. It stared intently at the gourd of wine on Ning’s desk, the smell of the wine driving it crazy.

Although its estate-treasure held many living creatures inside who were devoted to providing it food and drink, only ordinary types of sustenance could be provided. Truly rare spirit-fruits and delicacies could only be harvested from extremely unique environments, as they were formed based on drawing upon various unique types of energy from the Chaosverse. How could an estate-treasure possibly create good food?

“We each drink one glass at a time. Take it slow and don’t even think about trying to hog it for yourself,” Ning said in a stingy manner.

“Fine, fine!” Hegemon Azurefiend was feeling quite impatient. Ning nodded, pouring them each a glass. Whoosh. A deep red liquid that was almost ruby-colored came dribbling out of the gourd and into the two wine glasses. It looked absolutely mouth-watering.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly seemed to sense something, and he turned to stare off in the distance. The Flamewing God’s mouth was open, and it was literally drooling onto the floor.

“T-this wine…” The Flamewing God swallowed, then immediately said: “Can I have some of it?” It was born with a love of food and wine, but it had been ages since it had enjoyed such fine wine. It was completely unable to resist the urge.

“No way! We only have just one gourd. There’s not even enough for the two of us,” Hegemon Azurefiend said hurriedly.

“You aren’t going to share?” The Flamewing God was growing rather angry.

“Stop trying to scare me. You are bound inside that cage, and your flames can’t harm us at all.” Hegemon Azurefiend was a glutton as well. There was no way he was going to share the little wine they had.

“Y-you…!” The Flamewing God’s eyes turned round with indignation. It wasn’t very intelligent, and it usually just took whatever it wanted! Now that it was trapped, however, taking by force was no longer an option… but it really did want to drink some of that fine wine!!! When it smelled that wine, it no longer had any appetite for the basins of food that lay in front of it.”

“Azurefiend, this is our first time seeing a Chaos Primordial. To be able to eat and drink with one of them is a lucky event. Let’s not be stingy,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Right, right!” The Flamewing God instantly grew excited.

“What’s the point of feeding it? It’s pointless! Better to feed me instead,” Azurefiend argued.

“YOU…!” The Flamewing God glared furiously at Azurefiend, feeling an increasing level of distaste towards that skinny old man. It said furiously, “I’ll EAT you!”

“Come and try,” Azurefiend snickered.

“Enough, enough. Let’s not fight. Flamewing was captured by the Sithe, while we cultivators fought a bloody war against them. If you view it from that perspective, we’re actually all on the same side,” Ning said.

“Right, right! Your name is Darknorth, right? I agree with what you say, one hundred percent. You are spot on! The two of us are on the same side,” the Flamewing God said.

In his heart, Ning felt rather ashamed. He was swindling something with the intelligence of a child! Still, he would eventually be saving the creature by releasing it from its prison. It could be said that he was helping it out as well.

“I’m very happy to be able to feast alongside a Chaos Primordial. Here, have another gourd.” Ning tossed out a gourd towards the Flamewing God’s direction, causing it to fly straight towards the creature. The Flamewing God was instantly excited upon seeing it, and it sent out an invisible hand of energy which caught the gourd, pulled out the stopper, and then poured out the wine.

The Flamewing God opened its mouth wide and immediately began to guzzle the wine down.

“You are seriously…” Hegemon Azurefiend felt rather speechless about all of this.

“Ah, it’s fine. I have plenty of things to eat and drink. Those Hegemons brought me quite a bit of spirit-fruit and other treasures.” Ning waved his hand, causing a large amount of spirit-fruit and other special foodstuffs to appear on the tables. Spirit-fruits were unique fruits which by some mechanism were able to take in some of the essences of the Chaosverse. Some were even used in alchemy to refine pills. Others were used to make wine, while still others could be eaten raw!

The ones Ning had just brought out were all delicious when eaten. They were unfathomably more delicious than the legendary ‘Peaches of Immortality’ of the Three Realms had been.

“Haha…” Azurefiend began to laugh loudly when he saw this. He immediately reached out with his large but scrawny hand to grab some fruit, then began to munch down on it. Juice from the fruit splattered across his mouth, and a look of contentment was in his eyes.

“Can I have some of the fruit as well?” The distant Flamewing God looked at Ning in a pitiable manner. It had already finished the wine; Ning had only given it a single gourd, after all. Azurefiend had only taken tiny sips of the wine, while the Flamewing God had guzzled it down like water. Yes, the feeling had been great, but it was over in the blink of an eye.

The Flamewing God felt as though every single one of the fruits on the table was absolutely eniticing to it, and the fragrance was driving it mad. Normally, it would’ve seized all the fruit for itself, but it currently was only able to beg for alms.

“Haha, I have plenty of fruit as well.” Ning waved his hand, causing a large basin of fruits to fly over. This basin had a hundred different types of fruit within it, and they all emanated different yet charming auras. One of them was a large egg-shaped item… the ‘verdant azuresoul’ which Ning had acquired.

The large basin of fruit flew over towards the Flamewing God. Ning laughed: “You have to eat a bit more slowly this time. If you swallow it all in one gulp, I’m not going to be able to afford giving you much more.”

The Flamewing God drooled as it stared at the basin of fruit in front of it. It wanted to eat all of it, with the verdant azuresoul being of especial interest. Its eyes reddened with excitement and gratitude as it turned to look at Ning. It felt as though this cultivator was the best person in the entire Chaosverse, and it immediately said: “You are absolutely the best! If I can escape this place, I’ll definitely help you out.” After speaking, it lowered its head and began to eat the fruit.

Ning seemed quite relaxed, but in truth he was watching intently. It has to eat it. It has to eat the verdant azuresoul!

“Wow, this is delicious! Its been a long, long time since I’ve had so much good food.” The Flamewing God was incomparably excited. Even before the Sithe had captured it, it would only very rarely have a chance to encounter such delicious food. After being captured, its life became even duller; the Sithe hadn’t given it anything to eat at all. It could only rely on its own food and drink the ordinary wine which the living beings in its estate-world created for it.

“I’m going to eat this one first. It smells so good!” The Flamewing God opened its mouth and chomped down at the verdant azuresoul, which was the most alluring.

Crunch! Crunch! The Flamewing God devoured the verdant soul at one go, its mouth filled with absolute bliss as it slowly chewed away at the fruit before finally swallowing it down.

Ning, seated off in the distance, quickly sensed a ripple emanate from the beast. The invisible ripple had completely merged into the Flamewing God’s body and permeated through its soul and truesoul.

“Success.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. It had all seemed so very simple, but he had been more nervous than during any battle in recent memory.

The Flamewing God lowered its head to eat some more fruit, but it couldn’t help but look up towards Ning every so often. It felt increasingly well-disposed towards Ning; the man was simply too good to it. It suddenly felt a strong sense of attachment towards Ning, as though Ning was the person it trusted and liked the most in all the Chaosverse. It didn’t even realize that its truesoul had been dominated; all it knew was that it felt a sense of bone-deep love and veneration towards Ning.

As for Ning, he picked up a glass of wine and began to walk straight towards the Flamewing God.

“Master!” Whitethaw was shocked.

“Don’t move too close to it.” Azurefiend was shocked as well.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine,” Ning said. He moved towards the six chains and began to inspect them. He had to come up with a way to break the formations securing these chains. Only then would he be able to rescue the Flamewing God. If he wasn’t able to do that, then taming it would’ve been a pointless act.

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Chapter 30 – Friends For Life

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 30 – Friends For Life

“Darknorth.” Azurefiend had been seated in the lotus position, but he hurriedly jumped to his feet to pull Ji Ning back. The Flamewing God was capable of killing even Hegemons with ease; a puny Daolord would be nothing to it. How could Azurefiend not be worried?

Unfortunately, Ning moved far too fast. With a single step, he appeared right next to the Flamewing God, who turned to look at the tiny little speck that had just appeared next to it.

“Be careful!” Azurefiend and Whitethaw both held their breaths. Ning was now so close that they wouldn’t be able to intervene in time!

“You want some too?” The Flamewing God looked at the tiny human before it, a happy look in its eyes.

“From this day forth, why don’t you stick by my side?” Ning raised his head to stare at the titanic beast before him.

“Hm. Alright. But you have to give me food,” the Flamewing God said.

“No one would be able to give you this much spirit-fruit every day. However, I promise that you’ll have much more and much better food than you have in your estate-treasure,” Ning said.

The Flamewing God felt delighted for a moment, but it then turned to look helplessly at the black chains behind it. “But I’m trapped here. I want to leave with you, but I’m unable to.”

“Let me take a close look.” Ning flew over as he spoke, landing on the Flamewing God’s giant body and moving towards one of the black chains attached to its wings.

Azurefiend and Whitethaw both stared blankly at this sight. “B-but…” Azurefiend was dazed. “Flamewing is a Chaos Primordial. Why is it being so obedient? Aren’t Chaos Primordials supposed to be easily angered and moved to eat anything that approaches them?”

Taming a Chaos Primordial was an incredibly difficult task. It had a child’s intelligence and a child’s temper. It was entirely possible that it would be happily jesting with a cultivator one moment, then devour that cultivator in the next. Not even the Sithe were able to tame it; the only thing they could do was send three Exalts to capture it with overwhelming power.

“I don’t know. All I know is that it seems to be very obedient towards my master.” Whitethaw felt puzzled as well. He transformed into a streak of light, wishing to move closer to Ning and protect him.

“Eh?” Flamewing had been squatting there while eating fruit, but now he raised his head to glare at the approaching Whitethaw in a baleful manner.

“Be good, Flamewing. He’s my Protector while the other guy is my retainer. Don’t hurt them,” Ning said from his position atop Flamewing’s back.

“Eh, alright.” Flamewing immediately calmed down and ignored Whitethaw. The terrified Whitethaw finally landed on Flamewing’s back as well.

“Master, you have to be careful. This Flamewing God might be playing nice now, but it might very well turn on you in the next moment,” Whitethaw said hurriedly.

“That won’t happen.” Ning was very calm, and his gaze continued to be focused on the black chains.

“But this is a Chaos Primordial!” Whitethaw still didn’t feel safe.

Ning shook his head. He turned to sweep Whitethaw and the distant Azurefiend with his gaze, then said: “Starting today, Flamewing shall be one of my followers as well.”

“Master, you…?” Whitethaw instantly understood.

“Darknorth, are you saying that the Flamewing God has already submitted…” the distant Azurefiend sent a stunned mental message to Ning.

Ning nodded. No longer paying any further attention to their astonishment, he focused completely on analyzing the black chains.

……

Protector Whitethaw and Hegemon Azurefiend truly were stunned by this. Ning had tamed a Chaos Primordial? This was absolutely inconceivable. Chaos Primordials were incredibly rare, and not even Hegemons knew how to tame them. The Sithe weren’t capable of it either. Most likely, only the supremely exalted Autarchs were capable of such a thing!

To tame a Chaos Primordial, one had to both be lucky enough to encounter one while also having a method of taming it. Clearly, their master ‘Ji Ning’ had one such method which had allowed him to tame it without anyone being the wiser.

“He’s tamed the Flamewing God… absolutely incredible. Simply incredible! A pity that the Flamewing God is trapped here. If he could come up with a way to release it… haha, the Flamewing God would ensure that Darknorth’s reputation would skyrocket to incredible heights. Who would dare cause trouble for him? He could simply order Flamewing to attack and wipe that person out.” Hegemon Azurefiend sighed in awe.

Not even Realmslord Windgrace would be able to withstand Flamewing’s retribution. No one would ever dare to antagonize a major power who commanded a Chaos Primordial.

Whoosh. Azurefiend flew over as well. Now that he knew that Flamewing had been tamed, he no longer felt as worried as he had previously. “How does it look, Darknorth? Are you able to break these chains?” Azurefiend asked. If Ning was unable to breach the chains, then this would all be for naught, and the tamed Chaos Primordial would not be able to overawe the outside world.

Ning frowned as he stared intently at the black chains. The chains were actually formed from countless black threads that were woven together, each of which was covered with countless tiny formations. The formations weren’t that complicated; given Ning’s current level of mastery in the Dao of Formations, he would be able to resolve them with ease. The problem was that the seeming-ordinary formations engraved upon the chains were all wrapped together and merged into a larger and even more complicated formation.

Every single chain had a suppressive effect as well as an energy absorption effect. The suppressive effect caused the Flamewing God to be completely tied down, preventing it from even changing in size.

“What marvelous formations.” Ning suddenly moved. Swish! Swish! Swish! He flew to one black chain after another, this time moving quite quickly as he carried out his inspections.

“Mmm. As I thought, all six of the black chains are virtually identical, and they also work together.” Countless thoughts flitted through Ning’s mind as he sought to come up with a way to resolve this formation.

In truth, he already had certain ideas when he saw the chains from afar. Now that he was able to inspect them closely, he completely understood how all of the formations operated. However, understanding was one thing; resolving the formations was another.

“How does it look?” Azurefiend asked again. “Can you solve it?”

“Azurefiend, you are even more impatient than I am,” Ning teased with a laugh.

“How can I not be? That’s a Chaos Primordial! If you came bring this Chaos Primordial into the outside world, you can literally do whatever you want.” Azurefiend was quite excited. “It’ll belong to you, but as your retainer… ahaha! Hurry up and tell me if you can solve it or not!”

Ning nodded. “I can!”

Azurefiend was delighted. “Incredible! Impressive indeed. My head hurts just looking at those black chains and their formations… but you think you can solve them? There probably are very few Hegemons who are a match for you in the Dao of Formations.”

Ning laughed. Of course! His mastery of the Dao of Formations had already reached the Archon level. Only someone who had relied on the Dao of Formations to complete the Daomerge and become a Hegemon would be able to surpass him in this regard! But to do that was no easy task. No one in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance had ever been able to do such a thing!

“How long would it take, approximately?” Azurefiend asked.

“Hard to say. A few chaos cycles, probably,” Ning said.

“That’s fast! You can complete it in just a few chaos cycles?” Azurefiend praised.

Ning secretly muttered to himself. It might be just a ‘few’ chaos cycles, but that was because his Primaltwin was under the affects of accelerated time. It would be equivalent to a few hundred ‘accelerated’ chaos cycles!

These chains and their formations were extremely complex. The only reason why he stood a chance at breaking them was because he had access to many other similar Sithe formations and a very high level of insight into the art of formations, as well as the assistance of the Autarch’s stone dais. Despite that, it would still take him a few hundred chaos cycles!

Still, Ning didn’t really mind. By now, he was finding it extremely difficult to make any breakthroughs in his Omega Sword Dao. The only step waiting for him was the Daomerge! Thus, his goal right now was to focus more on other Daos, including formations, water, fire, time, space, etc. The more insight he gained into these Daos, the more assistance they would be to him in the Daomerge. All Daos shared certain commonalities, after all.

“Flamewing, I’m going to leave for a short while. I’ll be back soon,” Ning said as he flew off its body.

“Oh?” The Flamewing God suddenly raised its head to stare at Ning’s departing figure. “You aren’t going to abandon me, are you?” For some strange reason, it truly wanted to stay by Ning’s side.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon,” Ning said. In his heart, he couldn’t help but sigh. Flamewing was a Chaos Primordial, born with incredible strength but no true understanding of how to use it. It had never ‘trained’ before, and it didn’t even notice that Autarch Bolin had used a technique to invisibly infiltrate its soul and truesoul. Still… to live a life of ignorant bliss was a form of joy as well.

Whoosh. The giant red copper gate appeared once more, with Ning, Whitethaw, and Azurefiend both flying through it.

“Why are we leaving?” Azurefiend asked while flying out.

“It’ll take quite some time for me to breach those chains. Before beginning, I need to go release Ninedust,” Ning said.

“Ninedust? Oh, that friend who you risked your life for in jumping into the Jadefire Realm?” Azurefiend laughed.

“Yes. We’re friends for life.” Ning nodded.

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Chapter 31 – Soon

Book 37, Flamewing God, Chapter 31 – Soon

Ji Ning sent the realmship flying towards Ninedust’s location at high speeds. The silver-robed Ninedust was seated in the lotus position, surrounded by those whirling flames.

“Eh?” Ninedust noticed a streak of light moving towards him from afar. It quickly flew near him, resolving itself into the form of a rather tattered-looking realmship. Three figures emerged from the realmship, with the leader being a white-robed youth who bore a black sheath on his back. It was his good friend, Daolord Darknorth – Ji Ning.

“Darknorth.” Ninedust was happy to see him, but felt mixed emotions as well. As the original instigator of all the events which had occurred in the Jadefire Realm, the Ancient cultivators had kept him up to date on everything which had happened since. Ji Ning had successfully slain Archon Silksnow in order to rescue him! Alas, he had fallen for Archon Silksnow’s last act of revenge. Hegemons and Emperors from many other realmverses had come here, seeking to take his realmship.

Thankfully, the results weren’t so bad; Ning had managed to take on Hegemon Azurefiend as his retainer and force everyone to retreat! In his heart, Ninedust felt tremendous gratitude towards Ning. He knew how much risk Ning had undertaken on his behalf. A single misplaced step would’ve resulted in Ning’s death.

“Ninedust.” Ning smiled as he walked over towards the man.

“Why have you suddenly come to see me? Have you gotten bored working away on that formation?” Ninedust laughed. Ning had told him many years ago that he would have to first completely disrupt the formation-diagram in order to take control over the prisons.

“I’m here out of success, not boredom,” Ning said. “You can come out now.”

“Come out?” Ninedust was stunned. Was he really going to be able to escape this nightmarish prison cell?

Ning gently waved a finger. Whoosh! The flames around the flaming cage instantly parted, revealing an exit. “Hurry up and come out… or are you planning to complete your Daomerge inside?” Ning smirked.

The stunned Ninedust immediately transformed into a streak of light and scurried out.

“I’m actually out.” Ninedust stood within the empty space outside the cage. He stared at himself, then at the flaming cage by his side in disbelief. “It was actually as simple as that. I came out with no fuss at all.”

“Yeah, it was simple for YOU. Breaking the formation wasn’t simple at all for me,” Ning immediately said. He had needed both the Autarch’s stone dais as well as the many records regarding Sithe formation techniques. Both were absolutely critical to his success!

“I know you worked hard. Hey, your realmship is still missing some parts, right? Take it! Consider it your wages for the past few years. Don’t even think about asking me for more.” As he spoke, he tossed a realmship part over to Ning.

Seeing this, Ning didn’t move to decline. They were good friends; he naturally understood how Ninedust felt right now.

Clack clack clack! The realmship immediately swallowed the entire part, and some of the superficial damage began to be repaired once more. Soon, the realmship was in a state where only a few small parts of it remained damaged.

“Master, I’m almost completely repaired now. My internals are in good shape, with just a few missing parts preventing me from fully repairing my exterior,” the realmship-spirit sent mentally. “However, I should be able to teleport and blink just as effectively as if I was in 100% shape.”

Ning nodded. He was planning to give the realmship to the Autarch. Ning had been worried that the Autarch would be unhappy if the damage to the realmship was too great.

“This gentleman here must be Hegemon Azurefiend.” Ninedust turned to look at the skinny old man standing next to Ning. Not daring to be disrespectful, he said with a touch of respect, “Ninedust greets you, Hegemon Azurefiend.”

“Mm. It seems Darknorth and you truly are very good friends. To be able to find a few true lifelong friends on the path of cultivation is worth any price.” Hegemon Azurefiend had a rather complicated look on his face, but when he realized it he hurriedly smiled: “Darknorth kicked up quite a storm when he came here to rescue you. Quite a few Hegemons and Emperors came.”

Ninedust felt rather moved by all this. He truly had been the cause of this great affair.

“Darknorth, now that I’m out, shall we leave the Jadefire Realm?” Ninedust asked.

“I still have some business here in the Jadefire Realm. I can’t leave just yet,” Ning said.

“Oh, then I’ll leave on my own.” Ninedust laughed. “My greatest goal right now is to complete my Daomerge. I need to go out and experience more things. If I stay here with you in the Jadefire Realm, it’ll be detrimental to me with regards to the Daomerge.”

Ning nodded. “Alright. Be careful out there.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be so unlucky as to need rescuing again.” Ninedust suddenly walked forward and gave Ning a tight hug, then turend and left. “Train hard. I’m planning to start my Daomerge soon. We brothers must both succeed in our Daomerges!”

Ninedust’s voice still echoed in the air, but he himself had already vanished. Ning could sense the determination in Ninedust’s voice when the latter spoke of the Daomerge.

“Succeed in the Daomerge together, eh?” Ning turned and went back the way he came. Friends for life didn’t need to actually be together for their entire lives; it was enough for them to keep each other in their hearts.

……

Time flowed on like water. Ninedust continued his adventures through the outside world, encountering quite a few strokes of karmic fortune. As for Ning, he remained within the Jadefire Realm and focused on analyzing those black chains and their formations. But of course, he had also swept the prison regions clean of all the treasures it held… and this time, he truly made a killing!

Although he had acquired a few treasures from threatening the Hegemons and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, the combined value of those treasures was perhaps at best comparable to a single Hegemon’s networth. The treasures within the prison regions, however, were far more numerous… and Ning had swept through all of them.

……

In the blink of an eye, another five chaos cycles went past.

Within a dark region in the Great Dark which was incomparably distant from the Flamedragon Realmverse. This was a dark void which held an enormous triangular region within it that was filled with dazzlingly beautiful palaces, each of which emanated blinding golden light. This was the residence of one of the truly supreme leaders of the cultivator civilizations… the home of Autarch Titanos.

Autarchs were extremely difficult to track down. Autarch Titanos was one of the easier ones to find, because he almost always resided within his estate.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. A howling sound could be heard coming from within a private room inside the largest, most towering palace in the region.

A skull-sized gray globe which was covered with countless runes was levitating up and down in the air, emitting a strange whooshing sound as its internals continuously changed.

“How beautiful. How lovely.” The bald, black-robed old man next to the globe was staring at it greedily, his golden eyes filled with joy and the two fleshy antennae on his head quivering in excitement.

“It truly is perfect. Just a small amount of power is needed. Once the insides of the globe continuously guide the power and transform it, its able to unleash absolutely terrifying levels of destructive power. Sithe frabrication techniques were simply incredible. Although we had an overwhelming advantage in individual power during the Dawn War, we still nearly ended up being defeated by the Sithe. The Sithe truly were and are incredible. To this very day, I still don’t fully understand their technologies.” The bald old man stared greedily at the orb, as though he was staring at the person he loved the most.

“Heh heh… last time, I wasn’t careful and put in too much power, wrecking this treasure. Thank goodness that I, Titanos, am awesome. Although I still don’t fully understand this thing, I was still able to repair it! Ahahaha…” The bald old man stared at the continuously changing runes on the surface of the globe, feeling increasingly delighted as he did so. His gaze was able to see through everything, allowing him to observe the intricate transformations occurring within the gray globe.

These transformations were absolutely beautiful to him. Suddenly, the gray globe lifted up into the air and floated in front of him. The fleshy antennae on top of the bald old man’s head reached out to gently stroke the globe.

“Although I managed to successfully repair one, I’m still not able to create them from scratch.” The bald old man shook his head. “The Sithe’s underlying foundation of knowledge remains far superior to that of our cultivator civilizations. I can’t even imagine how long it would take for us to fully repair all of their shattered treasures.”

The bald old man waved his hand, causing the gray orb to vanish into thin air. Whoosh. He pushed open the door to the private room, then strolled out with his long black robes dragging behind him.

“Master.” When he reached the palace gates, an azure-robed youth immediately came to greet him. The youth said joyfully, “Master, you repaired it?”

“Of course! When have I ever failed? Don’t you know who I am? I’m an Autarch!” the bald old man said smugly.

“Right, right,” the azure-robed youth said hastily.

“Xian, my boy… that Daolord Darknorth from the Flamedragon Realmverse asked me to help out just a few dozen chaos cycles ago, yes? I told you I’d be done soon!” the bald old man said smugly.

“It was pretty quick, this time.” The azure-robed youth nodded. This was one of the faster response times for Autarch Titanos.

“Well, I’m off to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” the bald old man said, then waved his sleeves. Whoosh. Space rippled before him like water. The bald old man stepped into the rippling space, then disappeared without a trace.

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Chapter 1 – First Autarch Meeting

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 1 – First Autarch Meeting

Vastheaven Palace.

Ever since the Jadefire Realm affair had concluded, the disciples of Vastheaven Palace had returned to their headquarters. Vastheaven Palace was now even more bustling than it had been in the past.

“Ji Ning.” Emperor Solesky called out as he hurried towards Ning’s residence. Emperor Solesky’s true body was now within the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals as one of their members, and he was on quite good terms with Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Blackcloud.

“Big brother Solesky, what has you in such a rush?” The golden-robed Ning was fishing relaxedly by himself.

“Something big just happened!” Emperor Solesky’s eyes were huge and round as he whispered, “The Dao Alliance just received word and told me to inform you about this right away. Autarch Titanos has already left his estate and is heading towards the Flamedragon Realmverse. He could be arriving any moment now!”

“WHAT?!” Ning’s entire body trembled for a moment before he came back to his senses. He tossed down the fishing rod, jumped to his feet, then said frantically: “When is Autarch Titanos arriving and where?”

“We can’t be sure. His estate is extremely far away from us, but as an Autarch he moves incredibly fast. No one knows how long it would take him to get here!” Emperor Solesky continued, “He might appear in the next instant, but if he takes a few detours on the way it might take him a few chaos cycles.”

Ning felt his entire body tense up. Even though his Dao-heart was tremendously resilient, he still felt extremely nervous. “He’s finally coming.” Ning let out a long breath, his eyes filled with excitement. “I’ve waited so long and fought so hard. Finally, this day has come.”

Not even the Daomerge would’ve inspired such excitement in Ning. He truly was eager to be able to bring Yu Wei back to life and reunite with her. With his wife by his side, he would be more than satisfied with living a life of a hundred thousand chaos cycles. This would be far better than an endless life of loneliness.

“Right, right! The realmship.” Ning suddenly came back to his senses. “I need to go bring the realmship back and be ready for him at any moment.” Autarch Titanos needed Ning to give him the realmship in exchange for his help. It would be extremely awkward if Ning didn’t have the realmship on him!

……

The Terror Starsea. The Jadefire Realm. The Flamewing God remained trapped within the second hidden room, while Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw were by its side.

“Flamewing,” Ning called out.

“Master,” Flamewing responded obediently. After spending five chaos cycles with Ning, it had grown accustomed to addressing Ning as ‘master’.

“I need to go out and handle some business. It shouldn’t take too long,” Ning said.

“You are going to come back, right?” Flamewing felt a strong sense of attachment towards Ning.

Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit of a headache. The legendary Chaos Primordial was like a child! All Ning could do was to say, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely come back. Just take a quick nap. I’ll be back by the time you wake up. The next time I see you, it’ll be time for me to deal with those chains of yours.”

“Alright.” Flamewing nodded repeatedly.

“We’re off.” Ning immediately turned and left through the giant, ancient copper gate, with Azurefiend and Whitethaw flying out by his side.

Flamewing watched as Ning left. Once the great gate swung shut, it finally sat back down once again. However, it had long ago grown accustomed to loneliness, and so it quickly shut its eyes and entered a state of slumber once more.

A short while later, Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw reached the other hidden room within the Jadefire Realm.

“So this is the Jadefire Realm’s formation-diagram?” Hegemon Azurefiend stared at the enormous flower-like formation-diagram on the altar.

“Yes. What, are you capable of understanding and mastering it?” Ning laughed.

“I don’t understand it at all. This formation seems very odd; it’s completely different from the other formations I’ve analyzed.” Hegemon Azurefiend shook his head.

Ning smiled. The Sithe had indeed embarked upon a unique path with regards to the art of formations, a path that was very different from the ones which cultivators walked. Without knowing the proper techniques, it truly would be extremely difficult to even understand how these formations worked.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing a stream of fire to instantly descend from him and form into the body of an Emperor-class golem. This was one of the many golems which Ning had acquired from the Sithe ruins in the Stone Hellephant Wall.

“This is the control technique which governs the flaming passageways and the outermost areas in the Jadefire Realm.” Ning tossed a jade slip over. “Hurry up and master it. Once you do, take control over the Jadefire Realm for me.”

“Yes,” the flaming Emperor-class golem said respectfully. Ning had only given it the most basic of control techniques. Now that Ning fully understood how the technique worked, it was easy for him to develop a new control techniques of his own. However, this technique could only be used to control the outer perimeter and the flaming passageways. The techniques governinig the prison regions were all quite complex. For now, not even Ning was able to tell them apart.

“Remember, there is a Hegemon within the flaming passageways.” Ning pointed at a tiny little dot located in one of the countless passageways. “Keep a close watch on him! Once he starts to run around, immediately activate some of the most powerful mechanisms and kill him, or at least trap him and send him into the prison regions.”

“Understood,” the Emperor-class golem responded.

“But of course, he’s so terrified of dying that I expect he won’t move around.” After making the necessary arrangements, Ning relaxed slightly. “This place is now in your hands. Azurefiend, Whitethaw, let’s go.”

Ning didn’t feel the need to hold things back from Azurefiend, as the lifeblood oaths binding a retainer were quite strong. He had to go back to the Flamedragon Realmverse, which meant he couldn’t continue to use a divine power clone to maintain the formation-diagram. As a result, his only option was to rely on his golems. Emperor-class golems were extremely intelligent, and it wouldn’t be hard for them to control some basic formations. It must be remembered that when major powers died, they’d often use formation-spirits, treasure-spirits, or powerful golems to control their legacy sites and await their successors.

Golems had infinite lifespans and would never betray their master unless they were forcibly bound. Thus, both the Sithe and the cultivators delighted in using golems.

……

After having finished with his other arrangements, Ning led the two in flying in the realmship and departing from the flaming passageways. The Jadefire Realm simply had far too many of those flaming passageways, and they were all extremely long. Even though the realmship had been repaired and was able to fly quite quickly, it still took them two days to pass through the flaming passageways.

“There’s the exit.” Ning was quite familiar with the formation-diagram and thus knew where the breaches in the Jadefire Realm were. It had been thoroughly wrecked, after all. Ning was able to easily exit while following the breaches.

Swoosh. The realmship charged through the flames, quickly discovering a giant, cavernous gap which it was able to exit through. After flying for roughly an hour and repeatedly changing directions, they managed to leave the Jadefire Realm.

“We need to get back to the Flamedragon Realmverse as soon as possible. Autarch Titanos could come at any moment.” Ning was so excited that his eyes were slightly bloodshot. This was the most important goal in his path of cultivation, after all.

“Hey kid! Calm down, there’s no rush.” A voice suddenly rang out by his ears.

Ning had just flown out of the Jadefire Realm. He couldn’t help but turn his head, startled, only to see a bald black-robed elder standing in the void in front of him. This bald old man had a pair of golden eyes and two fleshy antennae growing out of his head. The antennae waved at him in an amused fashion, while the old man had a smile on his face as well. Anyone who saw him would feel the urge to laugh.

Whoosh. The bald old man suddenly vanished into thin air.

“Eh?” Ning was startled. “Where did he go?”

“I’m right here,” the bald old man said merrily.

Ning turned his head, only to realize that the bald old man was standing right next to him. Ning couldn’t help but feel speechless. The old man had been able to enter the realmship without him even realizing it… this was a level of ability that vastly outstripped Ning’s imagination. It must be remembered that he was the master of the realmship, and that he was in complete control of it… and yet, this person had suddenly appeared right before him inside of it.

“Darknorth greets you, Autarch.” Ning hurriedly bowed respectfully.

“Azurefiend greets you, Autarch,” Hegemon Azurefiend said respectfully as well.

Whitethaw stood right next to Ning. He bowed respectfully as well, but he didn’t say a word.

Both Ning and Azurefiend were major powers of extraordinary power ability. They had seen far more than most, and they naturally saw right away how terrifying this bald old man was. For example… they couldn’t see any lines of karma binding this bald old man at all. It must be remembered that any cultivator who was alive would be linked to others by karma, but they weren’t able to sense any karma lines at all on the old man. This was absolutely inconceivable.

“Quite clever.” The bald old man chortled as he turned his gaze towards the Jadefire Realm. “The Seven Flaming Hells. Truly impressive. The Sithe truly were formidable, to be able to capture a Chaos Primordial and use it as their energy source for this facility and then absorb its power with such ease. Judging from that Chaos Primordial’s truesoul… it should already have a master. Is it you, kid?” The bald old man looked at Ning.

Ning was stunned. He had always heard of how incredible Autarchs were, but he never would’ve imagined that an Autarch would be able to simply glance at the Jadefire Realm and immediately know that there was a Chaos Primordial there, AND know that Ning was its master. No wonder even the mighty Sithe had ended up falling before the Autarchs and the cultivator civilizations. The Autarchs were simply incredible. They had all reached utterly inconceivable levels of power.

To Autarchs, even Chaos Primordials were nothing. They were capable of slaying the creatures with ease.

“Yes, I am its master,” Ning said.

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Chapter 2 – Ning’s Nervousness

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 2 – Ning’s Nervousness

“Chaos Primordials are born from within the prime essences of the vast Chaosverse. They are blessed by the prime essences and born with tremendous karmic luck. The vast majority of cultivators will never have a chance to even encounter one of these creatures.” The bald old man looked at Ning, a smile on his face as he offered his congratulations: “Although you also have tremendous karmic luck, you still can’t compare to that Chaos Primordial. I imagine it wasn’t easy for you to run into it.”

Ji Ning was briefly startled, but he quickly understood. It was indeed true that running into Chaos Primordials was incredibly rare, due to how much the prime essences of the Chaosverse doted upon them. Indeed, Ning himself had entered the Jadefire Realm many chaos cycles ago, but he had to undergo countless hardships before managing to solve the formation-diagram and thus have the chance to meet the Chaos Primordial.

However, from another perspective, this was also proof that in the long run, being ‘blessed with karmic luck’ and ‘beloved by the prime essences’ didn’t count for THAT much. The Chaos Primordial had still been trapped by the Sithe for countless years, right?

“I had to solve the Jadefire Realm’s formation-diagram before I was able to meet the Chaos Primordial,” Ning said.

“Treat it well. It will be of great help to you. Come, let us go to your homeland,” the bald old man said.

Whoosh. As soon as these words came out, spacetime twisted around them and everything became illusory and dreamlike. By the time spacetime went back to normal, Ning immediately saw a chaosworld off in the distance.

“We’ve already left the Terror Starsea?” Ning was immediately able to sense the location of his avatar and Primaltwin and thus knew where he was. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe, but he was able to keep his expression calm.

“I’ll take you to my homeland right away, senior,” Ning said.

“Wait, wait. Not just yet. I teleported your realmship here because there’s a young fellow that needs rescuing,” the bald old man immediately called out. With a swoosh, he flew out of the realmship and towards that distant chaosworld.

“Needs rescuing? Needs rescuing by an exalted AUTARCH?!” Ning and Azurefiend shared a glance, both feeling rather puzzled.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Ning put away the realmship for now, then flew towards that chaosworld as well. Azurefiend and Whitethaw followed close behind. Once they flew into the chaosworld…

“Haha, Daolord Cleardust, you’ve been trapped with my formation and have nowhere to run. In a mere thirty thousand years, the power of my formation will have ground you into dust and wiped out your truesoul. Did you think, young fellow, that you would be able to defeat me just because you broke through to become a Samsara Daolord? This chaosworld shall remain mine. No one can violate my will!” A red-haired old man was seated at the peak of a mountain, staring downwards into a valley.

The valley was filled with rolling black clouds and billowing flames. Every so often, one could see a fragile-looking you seated in the air in the lotus position. He was suffering all sorts of torment. The youth sat there in the lotus position, murmuring a chant while completely ignoring the red-haired elder.

“I established this chaosworld as my estate, and thus all the living creatures within it are subject to my will. All shall be as I will it! I never would’ve imagined that this chaosworld would actually give birth to a freakishly talented genius like yourself. You actually managed to reach the Samsara Daolord level because of a few so-called legacies I left behind out of boredom.” The red-haired elder was in a good mood, as victory was clearly at hand. “You, a Daolord of the First Step, actually managed to fight me to a standstill even though I am a Daolord of the Third Step. I truly admire you very much. In the outside world, someone as talented as you would probably be recruited by one of the major organizations. Unfortunately, you shall die here.”

“Yes, you shall die here!” A voice suddenly rang out, followed by a giant foot descending from the heavens. Sploosh! The giant foot stomped down upon the red-haired old man, smushing him into the ground. The red-haired man instantly stopped moving.

The owner of the foot descended from the heavens. It was a merry-looking bald old man. Moments later, Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw all descended as well.

“No wonder this chaosworld was protected by so many barriers. I imagine most Daolords of the Second Step and even Daolords of the Third Step would be unable to pass through them,” Ning sent mentally. “So this was the estate of that deceased Daolord over there.”

“Autarch Titanos intervened for the sake of that kid?” Azurefiend glanced downwards at the valley.

The bald old man had already walked down into the valley, easily tearing apart and destroying the formations. He was chatting with that fragile-looking youth, whose gaze was calm and distant. It was as though the youth had long ago seen and suffered countless torments and had endured everything one could endure.

“Hahaha. That Daolord over there… just judging from his gaze, I can sense that he has experienced much pain,” Azurefiend said.

“This chaosworld is an absolute hell.” Ning swept the area with his gaze, seeing everything there was to see within this chaosworld. That demonic Daolord had clearly delighted in tormenting and abusing all the living creatures of this chaosworld, treating them as his playthings.

A short while later… “Time to go.” The bald old man returned to Ning’s side.

“Alright.” Ning and Azurefiend cast a final glance to ‘Daolord Cleardust’, who remained within the gorge. Daolord Cleardust looked back at these foreign cultivators, a slightly confused look in his eyes. He had no idea who was before him. One was a terrifyingly powerful golem, one was a supremely talented Daolord, the third was a Hegemon, and the old man was an Autarch, supreme amongst the cultivator civilizations.

“Autarch.” While flying away from the chaosworld, Azurefiend couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you intervene to save a Daolord of the First Step?”

“Couldn’t you sense how much karmic luck swirled around him? Of course I had to aid him,” the bald old man said with a merry grin.

“You have to help him because of his karmic luck?” Ning was puzzled. Karmic luck was just a side benefit; personal power was what truly mattered. No amount of karmic luck would protect you in the face of overwhelming power!

“Of course!” The bald old man said hurriedly, “You clearly don’t understand. Each time I help someone like him out, my own karmic luck increases as well. When I act in accordance with the will of the prime essences of the Chaosverse, my own karmic luck will continuously increase. Do you know what will happen once your karmic luck reaches an incredibly high level?”

“What will happen?” Ning was curious.

“All sorts of rare and incredible treasures will appear out of nowhere, almost as though they are throwing themselves at me. I could choose a random boulder to sit on, and then I’d find out that it was part of an incredibly rare ore vein. Any random tree I chose to take shade under could possibly be a spirit-fruit tree of great value.” The bald old man sighed. “All sorts of treasures will throw themselves at me. It is quite the pleasant experience.”

“Buuut… I’ve come here to help you reverse spacetime to revive a Celestial Immortal. That goes against the will of the Chaosverse.” The bald old man sighed again. “Looks like my karmic luck is going to drop by quite a bit.”

An awkward look appeared on Ning’s face.

“Haha, I’m just teasing you. Honestly, karmic luck doesn’t matter all that much. Once you’ve trained to my level, it really makes no difference at all. It’s just a little game we play to keep score.” The bald old man swept the area with his gaze. Boom! Suddenly, the space around them seemed to retreat as karma, spacetime, and luck all withdrew from them. A field of absolute void was formed around them, a region of complete stillness.

Ning and Azurefiend could both sense that they were completely unable to move. This invisible pressure had forced away even the prime essences of the Chaosverse, to say nothing of them.

“See this? This area is now devoid of the prime essences of the Chaosverse. This is now my absolute domain.” The bald old man laughed.

Ning suddenly remembered how the area around the Azureflower Estate was similarly devoid of all outside types of energy. But of course, the effect wasn’t as strong as it was right now, where Autarch Titanos was personally and actively maintaining the effect.

“In the end, personal power is what matters the most. Kid, as a practitioner of an Omega Dao, if you somehow manage to succeed in your Daomerge you’ll probably understand.” The bald old man continued, “Alright, hurry up and bring out your realmship. Lead me to your homeland.”

“Alright.” Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw could sense that they were able to move again. They immediately entered the realmship. Whoosh! After just a short spacetime blink, the realmship appeared within the void outside the new Three Realms.

The bald old man stared at the distant Three Realms, then let out a surprised breath: “What an impressive chaosworld! Just by looking at it, I can tell that it is extraordinary. No wonder it was able to produce a freak of a Daolord like yourself, someone who trains in an Omega Dao!”

“It has already been destroyed once.” Ning pointed at the void next to the new Three Realms. “That place over there used to be my homeland, a world within the Three Realms which was known as the ‘Grand Xia world’. My Dao-companion used to live by my side there.”

The original Three Realms took up much more space than the new one, as it had been shattered and splintered into countless pieces. There had been a Celestial Realm, a Netherworld Kingdom, and three thousand major worlds that had been scattered across an enormous amount of space. The new Three Realms was a single complete entity which took up much less space. The location the Grand Xia had been in was now just an empty patch of psace.

“Oh. Over here, right?” The bald old man walked over and chuckled while spacetime churned around him and began to reverse at increasingly high speeds.

Whoooooosh. Spacetime continued to reverse, and they quickly reached the scene of the old Three Realms.

“Slow down a bit,” Ning urged.

“Don’t worry. I’ll find the old you first,” the bald old man said. “Oh. There you are.” A projection of the Grand Xia had appeared, centered around the old Black-White College. The scene was that of Ning, who had just entered the Black-White College. He was about to begin his duel against Yu Wei.

“The Black-White College?” The bald old man pointed towards Yu Wei’s image. “That should be your wife, yes?”

“Yes.” Ning felt as though his blood was boiling from nervousness. It had been a long, long time since he had been this nervous.

“It seems she really did have a big impact on you.” The bald old man laughed. “Wait for me to reverse the flows of spacetime and bring her back to life!”

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Chapter 3 – Origins

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 3 – Origins

“Oh, right. Where’s the realmship? I conduct business fairly. I have to take your realmship in payment for reviving your Dao-companion.” The old man looked at Ning.

“Here it is.” At a time like this, the realmship meant absolutely nothing to Ji Ning. He immediately waved his hand, sending the palm-sized realmship flying over. Hegemon Azurefiend watched with a rather agonized look in his eyes, but all he could do was sigh to himself: “Darknorth truly is willing to sacrifice anything in order to revive his Dao-companion. A realmship has been lost, just like that.”

The bald old man cared as little about the realmship as Ning did. He waved his hand to accept it, then said solemnly: “None of you are to disturb me. Stay far away from me as well.”

“Alright.” Ning, Azurefiend, and White that all immediately retreated off into the distance.

“Chaosverse, I’ve come to steal yet another truesoul fragment from you.” A hint of a smile appeared on the bald old man’s lips. He then reached out with both hands, the fleshy antennae on his head wriggling as a terrifying amount of power began to spread out from him. He became the absolute master of this area of space.

“Condense.” The bald old man waved a finger, causing the illusory phantom of the black-robed Yu Wei to begin to light up.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Countless specks of light began to appear deep within the incredibly distant prime essences of the Chaosverse. They flew into the illusory phantom of the black-robed Yu Wei, pulling at her.

“It has begun.” Ning watched nervously. The illusory Yu Wei was nothing more than a phantom of the past. In order to make the phantom real, it had to have a truesoul within it! However, when the living beings of the Three Realms lost their truesouls, those truesouls would return to the where they came from – the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

“To reverse spacetime and revive someone who perished… this is my first time seeing an Autarch do such a thing,” Hegemon Azurefiend sent mentally. “Look at how nervous your master is!”

Whitethaw looked at Ning, then nodded and sent back, “This is my master’s deepest desire. Of course he is nervous.”

“For an ordinary mortal to train to such heights and then be able to ask an Autarch to help him out… I truly do feel a great deal of admiration for him.” Azurefiend sighed.

Both Azurefiend and Whitethaw were fairly calm. They watched this rare sight with interest and appreciation, but the only thing Ning felt was nervousness.

In that empty region of space, the bald old Autarch Titanos had already completely unleashed his power. The black-robed Yu Wei was glimmering with countless specks of light, and she was becoming increasingly ‘real’. However… gradually, the gathering of the light seemed to slow down. Some of the light actually started to disappear.

“Eh?!” The bald old man’s face tightened, while Ning’s heart shuddered.

“Get over here!” A hint of anger flashed past the bald old man’s face, and more light instantly began to gather around Yu Wei’s phantom once more. The bald old man’s face became increasingly ugly to behold, but Yu Wei’s body began to become more and more real. Slowly, the light that gathered over her eyes caused a look of sentience to appear within her eyes.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning looked at Yu Wei.

The light-bathed Yu Wei looked back at Ning. A hint of life flashed through her eyes. She was no longer a phantom of the past; it was as though a real person was looking back at Ning. Their gazes met… and in that instant, Ning suddenly felt as though it was all worth it. Anything was worth it, so long as she could come back to life.

“Ugh!” The bald old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was ashen, and Yu Wei’s phantom immediately began to crumble apart as the countless specks of light began to dissipate.

“No…!” Ning frantically reached out, wanting to claw back the dissipating light. Alas, the power of the prime essences of the Chaosverse caused all the specks of light to disappear into nothingness.

“DAMNIT!” The bald old man’s face was ashen. He was so angry that even the two fleshy antennae on his head were quivering with rage. He howled furiously, “Prime essences of the Chaosverse, the truesoul fragments of countless living beings have returned to you upon death. All I want is to bring a single one of them back! A single truesoul is nothing to you! Why must you fight me to the death like this? Why must you seize it back!”

The binding power of the prime essences of the Chaosverse was simply too great. Normally, Hegemons and even Otherverse Lords did not have the power to try and resist it. Only Autarchs were qualified to make the attempt.

“Is it worth it?! Is it worth it for you to spend so much effort in fighting me?!” The old man’s entire body was trembling from rage. The area around him, however, remained completely silence. The prime essences of the Chaosverse made no response at all.

The bald old man forced down his rage, then turned to look at Ning.

“Autarch.” Ning looked at Autarch Titanos.

“Where did your Dao-companion come from? I should be able to revive even a World God with ease, to say nothing of a Celestial Immortal like her.” The bald old man stared at Ning. “Just now, when I tried to reverse spacetime and revive your wife, the prime essences of the Chaosverse fought me so hard, I felt as though I was trying to revive a Hegemon! Even if I killed myself trying to bring her back, I still wouldn’t stand much of a chance.”

Ning’s face turned ashen as well. What?! An Autarch could kill himself trying to revive Yu Wei? Ning knew that there was no need for Autarch Titanos to lie to someone like him. In fact, Autarch Titanos had tried so hard that he had suffered an injury because of it, vomiting blood as a result.

“How is this possible? She’s nothing more than an ordinary Celestial Immortal of the Three Realms. There was nothing special about her.” Ning couldn’t understand either. “Why can’t you revive her? This makes no sense.”

“Let me take a closer look at things.” The bald old man turned to stare at the surrounding void. Rumble… countless images began to flicker through the void. These images included what had happened in the new Three Realms, the events of the old Three Realms, the collision between the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld, and even the images of what had happened prior to the Pangu Chaosworld being born.

Countless images flashed through the void around him…

“So that’s how it is.” The bald old man nodded slowly.

“Autarch?” Ning looked at the bald old man.

“During the Dawn War, when we fought against the Sithe… we had a number of Autarchs on our side,” the bald old man said. “One of them was named Autarch Awakener.”

“Autarch Awakener?” Hegemon Azurefiend had a puzzled look on his face.

Ning, however, turned pale. He naturally knew that Autarch Awakener had been the master of the Azureflower Estate. He immediately said, “This has something to do with Autarch Awakener?”

“You seem to have heard of Awakener before.” The bald old man laughed. “The number of people in the vast Chaosverse who were able to become Autarchs can be counted on just two hands! Autarch Awakener died long ago. It could be considered a form of suicide.”

“He died? Suicided?” Azurefiend became increasingly confused. Ning, however, had heard this long ago and thus simply continued to listen attentively.

“Darknorth, kid… Worldhearts can be naturally birthed from the primordial chaos, but there is also a second way a chaosworld’s Worldheart can be formed. Do you know what that way is?” The bald old man looked at Ning.

“An Eternal Emperor’s godgems,” Ning said. This was a secret, but Ning had studied the countless techniques Autarch Awakener had acquired from the Sithe and the cultivator civilizations. Thus, he knew these secrets long ago.

A Samsara Daolord could have at most a total of 108,000 godgems in his divine body. Once he completed hisDaomerge, those godgems would become Eternal godgems and be filled with miraculous powers.

If an Eternal Emperor perished, each of his godgems could give birth to a new chaosworld. The living beings in this chaosworld would generally be fairly special, and it would give birth to experts at a slightly higher rate. However, the difference between these chaosworlds and ordinary chaosworlds wasn’t all that great. However, the godgems left behind by a deceased Hegemon could give birth to extremely special chaosworlds.

“Correct.” The bald old man nodded. “As you may know, your Three Realms was born from a collision between the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld… but what you didn’t know was that each was formed from a godgem.”

“A godgem?” Ning immediately thought back to the fused and dazzlingly beautiful Worldheart he had seen when the old Three Realms had been destroyed.

“Yes. Godgems from Autarch Awakener!” the bald old man said.

“What?!” Azurefiend called out in shock.

“An Autarch’s godgems?!” Ning was stunned as well.

“Autarch Awakener died, but he made preparations prior to his death. He made arrangements for all 108,000 of his godgems,” the bald old man said. “Two of them were sent into the void and ended up becoming a chaosworld.”

“The living beings in these two chaosworlds were all blessed with incredible talent. These two chaosworlds vastly outstripped all other chaosworlds, and each of them gave birth to as many geniuses as an entire territory might,” the bald old man said.

Ning was starting to understand. No wonder the Pangu Chaosworld and Seamless Chaosworld had so many freakishly talented people! They didn’t have any good techniques or legacies, but they were still so talented that they were able to fight at a higher level of power than they were at. Once they were given good techniques, they skyrocketed in power.

“Later on, these two chaosworlds collided against each other. Their Worldhearts smashed together as well, and parts of their Worldhearts were actually broken off and splintered,” the bald old man said. “The shattered Worldheart bits were completely melted away and their power was dispersed upon the countless living beings of the new world.”

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Chapter 4 – A Graceful Departure

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 4 – A Graceful Departure

Ji Ning immediately remembered that the Worldheart of the Three Realms was indeed composed of two damaged crystals that had somehow managed to fuse together. Both were indeed incomplete, but they had managed to come together and form a perfect whole.

“In other words… small parts of an Autarch’s godgems were completely dispersed into energy which was bestowed upon the living beings of that era. That was why all of the living beings in that first era underwent certain changes,” the bald old man said. “This was why the woman known as ‘Nuwa’ was able to suddenly break through to become a World God during that war. She had no techniques and no teachers, but she was still able to break through! The one known as Windfiend was also dramatically strengthened during the course of that battle!”

“All living creatures below the World-level in that chaosworld were blessed by the Autarch’s energies,” the bald old man said. “This was why your master Subhuti, as well as many of those other major powers, continued to slowly grow more and more powerful. Their potential continued to deepen as well.”

“As for the countless ordinary mortals of the Three Realms, all of them possess tremendous talent. You used to be nothing more than an ordinary mortal. Back then, the amount of karmic luck you had was vastly inferior to the amount your master Subhuti and the others had.”

“Eventually, you rose to sudden prominence! As your power skyrocketed, you gained more karmic luck and thus many of the blessings of the Three Realms became focused upon you. During that battle against the Seamless Alliance, you finally broke through to a new level of power, draining away a large amount of karmic luck from the Three Realms.” The bald old man looked at Ning. “You were blessed with tremendous potential, becoming the most powerful figure of the Three Realms Era.”

“However… in the end, karmic luck is secondary. It was primarily your own hard work which brought you to this point,” the bald old man said.

Ning was beginning to slowly understand. He had indeed been blessed by luck, which was why he was able to make it this far… but every single powerful cultivator had his own lucky encounters! Take Archon Silksnow as an example. Although he was a fiendish figure, he had also experienced many lucky encounters in his life… but in the end, he had still been forced by Ning to commit suicide.

The more powerful you became, the less of an impact the prime essences of the Chaosverse would have upon you. There were evil figures who had butchered entire territories, but they were still living happy lives, yes? The prime essences of the Chaosverse weren’t able to do anything to them.

“The Three Realms Era ended, and the new Three Realms began. By now, the Worldheart is in good shape. There are no longer any godgem fragments, and so it is impossible for the generations to come in the new Three Realms to be quite as monstrously talented as the generation of the Three Realms Era.” The bald old man laughed. “Your era was a special one which gave birth to special figures. If you missed it, you missed it.”

Ning nodded. That era was an era where two Autarch’s godgems had collided and given birth to a brand new world. It had indeed given birth to many major powers, including over ten thousand World-level cultivators and numerous Samsara Daolords, with Ning himself being the strongest of them. But of course, the vast majority of the living beings continued to live and die in an unending cycle of life and death.

“Every single living being born from a chaosworld formed by an Autarch’s godgem is unique,” the bald old man said. “This is because they all have a tiny amount of the Autarch’s own essence within them. Once their souls and truesouls are destroyed, their truesoul fragments will be immediately taken away by the prime essences of the Chaosverse and hidden within its depths.”

“You must understand, long long ago the vast Chaosverse didn’t have that many living beings within it. It was the prime essences themselves who gave birth to all things. However… after doing so, as the living creatures grew stronger the prime essences themselves grew weaker.”

“This is because, when we cultivator and grow stronger, what we do is draw upon the energy of the prime essences of the Chaosverse,” the old man explained. “And when an Autarch rises to power? This is an incredible event. The rise of every single Autarch is a momentous occasion for the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Once an Autarch dies, the prime essences will immediately do their best to absorb as much of the Autarch’s power as possible.

“Thus, although it is very easy to revive a living being from an ordinary chaosworld, to revive a living being from a chaosworld formed by an Autarch’s godgem is far more difficult. The problem facing us is that the Three Realms Era was an era where the living beings were blessed with the energies of TWO fragmented godgems. Every single living being of that era is incredibly special.

“Your Dao-companion was a Celestial Immortal of that era. To revive her truly will be even more difficult than reviving a Hegemon!” the bald old man said. “The prime essences have already swallowed her truesoul fragments; there’s no way they will spit it back out again. They will never agree to release your Dao-companion’s truesoul fragments. They’ll use their full power to oppose anyone who tries.”

Ning now completely understood. He was a major power himself, and he had seen the countless techniques of two mighty civilizations. He knew far more than the vast majority of Hegemons.

When living beings were born, they would draw upon the energy of the primordial chaos to grow more powerful. If this process continued unabated, giving birth to more and more powerful experts… where would all of that energy come from? From the Chaosverse itself! Thus, the Chaosverse needed to reclaim its energies as well, and one of the most basic ways to do that was to draw upon truesoul fragments. The so-called destruction of the truesoul was nothing more than completely shattering a truesoul into fragments which would then be swallowed up by the Chaosverse.

It was akin to the cycle of reincarnation. New experts would rise to power, while dead ones would see their truesouls swallowed up by the Chaosverse. It formed a complete cycle.

Everworlds had their own basic essences, which was why when living beings died in an everworld their truesoul fragments would remain within the everworld. Reviving them would be quite easy.

Individuals who lived in otherverses would see their truesouls remain within the otherverse when they died. For example, the ‘Sword Hegemon’ who was the big brother of the Paragon of Pills – when he died, his truesoul was taken away by the prime essences of that alternate universe. To revive him would be comparatively easier, but he was still a Hegemon; the prime essences of that otherverse would fight tooth-and-claw to keep his truesoul fragments. Only an Autarch would be able to bring him back, but an Autarch would not casually revive a Hegemon. The price for such a thing would be far more than a mere realmship.

Chaosworlds were the most problematic! Alas, Yu Wei was a Celestial Immortal who had been born and died within a chaosworld birthed by one of Autarch Awakener’s godgems.

“There’s nothing I can do.” The bald old man looked at Ning, then waved his hand and tossed the realmship back to Ning. “I wasn’t able to carry out your request. Here’s your realmship.”

“If not even an Autarch can accomplish this, who can?” Ning was rather frantic.

“Hmph! If an Autarch can’t do it, no one can. Duh!” The bald old man let out a laugh, but then he suddenly noticed the look on Ning’s face. He instantly understood that reviving this woman had been this talented Daolord’s strongest desire, and he couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “It is just too difficult. If even I would risk my life in the attempt but still probably fail… who else could possibly succeed?”

Ning was rather dazed.

“Ehhh…” the bald old man looked at Ning, then suddenly laughed. “There IS one possibility.”

Ning’s eyes lit up as he immediately stared at Autarch Titanos.

“All of us Autarchs were originally Hegemons who broke through to the next step and became Autarchs.” The bald old man looked at Ning. “You, however, train in an Omega Dao. If you can succeed in the Daomerge, you’ll become a completely unprecedented Eternal Emperor who will vastly outstrip other Hegemons in power! Not even I would dare claim to understand the level of power you would reach.”

“If you can succeed in the Daomerge to gain eternity, then make another break through to reach Autarchy…! An Omega Dao Autarch would probably be far more powerful than the rest of us. I suspect that such a person would be capable of reviving your Dao-companion without any difficulties,” the bald old man said.

Ning was speechless. He now felt a tremendous to succeed in the Daomerge and then advance from Eternity to Autarchy.

“Haha, but that’s just a hypothetical possibility. There’s never been anyone to succeed in the Daomerge in an Omega Dao, to say nothing of reaching Autarchy.” The bald old man began to walk away into the void as he spoke. “Foolish child… sometimes, you have to learn when to let go. On the path of cultivation, excessive obsession can sometimes result in self-destruction.” As he spoke, he disappeared into the distance.

Just like that… Autarch Titanos was gone.

Ning stood there, completely unmoving.

“What should we do?” Whitethaw sent mentally to Azurefiend.

“How should I know? Reversing spacetime to revive his Dao-companion was his most ardent desire. Now that he’s lost all hope… who knows what will happen?” Hegemon Azurefiend shook his head. “Autarch Titanos was worried that his Dao-heart would collapse, which was why he gave Darknorth one final glimmer of hope… but Omega Daos are incredibly difficult! Even the Autarch himself stated that there has never been anyone to succeed in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao, much less reach Autarchy with it!”

“He has to first become an Emperor, then become an Autarch. Every step is so difficult as to be completely impossible.” Azurefiend shook his head. The Hegemons of the various territories and realmverses all dreamed of becoming Autarchs, but it was all for naught.

Ning wished to use his Omega Dao to become an Autarch? Did he think all the other Hegemons were fools who didn’t just ‘want it enough’? Becoming an Autarch was no easy feat!

“Actually, there’s no need for him to waste too much time thinking about this stuff. Right now, the greatest problem facing him is still the Daomerge!” Azurefiend said, “Only if he succeeds in the Daomerge shall he have a future! Tell me, do you think your master will succeed in it?”

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Chapter 5 – Remorseless Unto Death

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 5 – Remorseless Unto Death

“He can,” Whitethaw said solemnly. “I have faith in my master.” He knew that Ji Ning had been blessed with tremendous good fortune within the Azureflower Estate, and also that his master had only been training for an extremely short period of time. Ning had a chance to succeed at the Daomerge.

“Bah, I don’t even know why I’m wasting time talking to a golem like you.” Azurefiend shook his head and turned to stare at the distant Ning. “But of course, I personally hope that he succeeds as well. An Emperor who completed the Daomerge with an Omega Dao… how powerful would he become? I can’t even imagine it. He’d probably be far more powerful than even Otherverse Lords. He might even approach the Autarchs themselves in power!”

The distant Ning suddenly sent a hoarse mental message to them: “Whitethaw, Azurefiend, I wish to be alone for a time. Do not disturb me.”

“Yes, Master,” Whitethaw said.

“Some alone time would do you good. Think things over. Cultivation is a way of life; if your Dao-heart is not resolute enough, you won’t be able to make it far along this path, much less master the Omega Dao,” Azurefiend said.

Ning didn’t respond. He simply strode away into the skies. Rumble… the void around him suddenly began to change. The primordial chaos flexed and trembled as a new world began to be born. Mountains rose, rivers appeared, and an indescribably vast sea took shape as well. Earth appeared, forming continents which were then covered with grasslands and marshes. Even cities and forests began to appear, causing the world to becoming increasingly beautiful.

Soon, a completely new world had been created around Ning… the world of the Grand Xia.

All it took was a single thought from Ning and the Grand Xia world was quickly remade.

“Stillwater City.” Ning strode through the skies, surrounded by clouds. He stared off into the distance, where a great city had appeared. This was Stillwater City, a place of many memories for Ning. This Stillwater City even had a Black-White College within it.

“The Dao Debate Palace of the Black-White College.” Ning walked into the Black-White College. It was just as it had been in his memories, except there were no living creatures within it at all. He soon reached the Dao Debate Palace. Ning sat down at the entranceway to the Dao Debate Palace, then picked up a gourd of wine and began to drink, his gaze distant as he stared into the palace.

He still remembered what had happened that year. He had been very young and had joined the Black-White College alongside Mu Northson. He had been a dazzling figure, and had defeated many senior apprentice-brothers during the Dao Debates. In the end, it had been Yu Wei who had intervened and defeated him effortlessly. He still remembered what the wager for their fight had been – a hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquid essence.

“A hundred black-white pellets and five kilograms of liquid essence. Senior apprentice-sister, why is it that the path to our reunion is such a difficult one?!” Ning murmured to himself, then raised his head and drank some more wine. He drank too quickly, causing himself to cough. The wine splattered all over him, but he didn’t care. He wanted to give vent to his pain.

He felt a sense of rage and resentment in his heart, a sense of pain which he had suppressed for too long. Why? He had clearly succeeded and had even seen her coming back to life. When they had shared gazes, he had known that everything was going to be perfect. He was about to embrace her again at long last… but in the end, it had been a failure!

Why!?

“I’ll keep walking down this path for as long as I must.” Ning stared into the Dao Debate Palace as he murmured to himself. He felt as though he could see those duels he had fought against Yu Wei and the others.

He had never hesitated, never given up. If the Autarch said that this would only be possible if he completed his Daomerge with his Omega Dao and then became an Autarch… then that would be what Ning’s goal would become!

This would be an extremely difficult path to take. Ning wouldn’t shirk back from it, but he did understand how low his chances of success were.

“Perhaps I shall one day collapse on this path.” Ning smiled. “When I collapse, my truesoul will scatter and then return to the prime essences of the Chaosverse. There, the two of us shall be together once more.”

There was still wine left in the gourd, but Ning was already drunk. Not from the wine; from his hopes. Ning rose to his feet and began to walk outside.

Whoooosh. Suddenly, large plumes of snow began to fly through the air. Ning walked through the snow, carrying the wine gourd in one hand while using a Northbow sword to train in sword-arts with the other. It wasn’t an intentional display of sword-arts, it was just a way for his spirit to give vent.

All he wanted to do was to remain drunk. He continued to drink while executing his sword-arts. Ning felt himself growing drunker and drunker.

The vague outline of a person appeared before his eyes. It was Yu Wei. She was as beautiful as ever. It felt as though they were meeting again for the first time.

“Overwhelming sorrow from farewells… but it is naught but one parting of many.” Ning smiled.

Whoosh. Ning’s sword suddenly manifested a blood-colored light that shot out through the skies. He had just unconsciously and naturally executed the thirteenth stance of the [Heartsword], ‘Snowland Blood’.

This sense of overwhelming sorrow, of the heart transcending all mortal concerns… when Ning struck out with his sword, he felt as though his sword was his lover. It was different from the eleventh stance, ‘Teardrop’, or the twelfth stance, ‘Swordtide’. Those were frenzied attacks of overwhelming power. This attack had a sense of melancholy to it, a sense of pain stemming from heartache.

The melancholy had caused him to pour all of his heart into the sword, and thus the thirteenth stance had been mastered.

“Emperor Heartsword… I wonder what sort of mental state you were in when you first created this thirteenth stance of the Heartsword, ‘Snowland Blood’.” Ning smiled as he waved his sword about. “The fourteenth stance of the Heartsword is ‘Remorseless Unto Death’.” Ning raised his head to take another gulp of wine, then let out a loud cry as he struck out with a new, changed streak of sword-light.

When his sword struck out, it became ephemeral and transcendant. It was hard to even see his sword; it was as though the sword itself had vanished. However, a few vague traces could be seen. Those hard-to-see traces were indistinct but completely unblockable. It would continue to advance, and if anyone tried to stand in its path then that person would be slaughtered. The traces of this sword were enough to inspire utter terror in any who saw it.

This was the fourteenth stance of the Heartsword – Remorseless Unto Death.

In the Flamedragon Realmverse, there had only ever been a total of two cultivators who had mastered the fourteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art, including Emperor Heartsword himself. Now, Ning had become the third!

The thirteenth stance of the Heartsword, ‘Snowland Blood’. The fourteenth stance of the Heartsword, ‘Remorseless Unto Death’. These two were on the same general ‘level’. So long as one could learn the thirteenth stance, it wouldn’t take too long for the fourteenth stance to be mastered as well.

Emperor Heartsword’s experiences truly had been remarkable. Although he had different experiences than Ning, they had reached a very similar mental state. Ning felt a similar sense of sorrow and melancholy; he knew that the chances of reversing spacetime and reviving his wife were impossibly low. And yet… he would have no regrets at all for pursuing this path, even in the face of death! No matter how low the chances were, he would still continue on this path.

……

Ning danced with the sword as snow flew around him. Slowly, the skies turned dark. Ning lay down on the snowy ground and went to sleep. It had been a long, long time since he had slumbered.

The ‘snow’ and the ‘darkness’… these were nothing more than reflections of his mental state. He had created this world, and so its weather was invisibly influenced by his state of mind.

He slept for a long period of time before finally reopening his eyes. By now, a morning sun was rising from the horizon, bathing the world with its warm rays of light. There was some fog, but it was unable to block out the sunlight which pierced through everything as it illuminated the world.

Ning glanced at the gourd and the Northbow sword, both of which lay fallen next to him. He smiled, then picked them up.

“I’ve woken up. The Daomerge, eh?” Ning stared at the distant dawn sun, then murmured to himself: “Then I’ll deal with the Daomerge first! I’ll take things one step at a time. After the Daomerge, I’ll then become an Autarch.”

“Senior apprentice-sister… don’t blame me if I fail.” Ning chuckled, then soared into the skies. Rumble… the Black-White College and the city of Stillwater both began to break apart. The entire Grand Xia began to break apart, quickly dissipating into nothingness.

Ning stared the two figures waiting for him in the distant void.

“Master,” Whitethaw called out respectfully.

“Darknorth.” Hegemon Azurefiend was slightly startled. He could sense that Daolord Darknorth seemed to have undergone a tremendous transformation. His very aura had changed. In the past, Ning had a certain radiant dynamism to him. He had been a dazzling figure who was filled with hope… but now, his gaze was much calmer and more distant. It was like an endlessly deep sea. There was nothing which could shake his heart.

Reversing spacetime to revive Yu Wei had been a failure. All of that was over now, and he only had one thought in his mind… to continue walking his path of cultivation with no remorse and no regrets, unto death itself.

Either he would succeed in reuniting with Yu Wei, or he would fail and die, reuniting with her in the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

“Azurefiend, do you think I’ll succeed in the Daomerge?” Ning laughed.

Azurefiend was startled upon seeing Ning’s smile. He immediately said, “It’ll be extremely hard… but then again, the number of people who became Daolords of the Fourth Step via an Omega Dao is miniscule. The fact that they failed doesn’t mean you will fail as well, Darknorth.”

“Just so.” Ning laughed.

“But you are too stubborn and attached. Remember what Autarch Titanos said; excessive obsession can result in self-destruction,” Azurefiend said.

Ning nodded and smiled. “But you know, he left out part of the saying. The full saying is, excessive obsession can result in great accomplishments, but it can also result in self-destruction. I have the feeling… that I’m the type who will have great accomplishments.”

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Chapter 6 – Icepeak Army

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 6 – Icepeak Army

“Haha, I also believe that you’ll accomplish great things!” Azurefiend looked at Ji Ning approvingly. He knew that some cultivators with deep obsessions who suffered setbacks would be so damaged by them that their Dao-hearts could crumble. This wasn’t rare! Even Autarch Titanos had been worried that this dazzlingly talented Daolord would perish out of despair, which was why he voiced that final possibility of using an Omega Dao to become an Autarch. However, everyone knew how remote those chances were.

“I wish to remain in the Three Realms for a period of time,” Ning said. “After I have fully mastered those formations, I’ll return to the Jadefire Realm.” The Flamewing God was in a state of slumber; to such a creature, a nap lasting one or two chaos cycles was nothing special at all. In the end, Ning would have to rely on his Primaltwin in the Azureflower Estate to unlock those formations.

“As you desire,” Azurefiend smiled. “I’m going to spend some time wandering your homeland as well. It has been quite some time since I’ve experienced the mortal life.”

Ning nodded. “Remember, you are not permitted to kill.”

“Then what if someone tries to bully me?” Azurefiend stared.

“Capture them first. You can kill them if I give the nod,” Ning said. He refused to allow a Hegemon to run wild within his homeland.

“Fine. As you insist.” Azurefiend felt quite helpless. As a retainer, he had to obey orders.

Ning chuckled, then began to walk towards the ‘Three Realms Domain’ with Whitethaw behind him. The Three Realms Domain referred to the region of 3900 chaosworlds which had been established by Ning, Subhuti, Windfiend, and the other major powers.

“How beautiful.” Ning stared at the thousands of chaosworlds that were organized into that enormous triangular formation. They were like a host of flickering stars in the sky, glowing with dazzling light. Ning nodded slowly. “Later, it’ll be time to further perfect this formation.” Stabilizing the Three Realms Domain was a long-term endeavor.

……

A territory that was extremely far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. An endless black fog had spread out to cover a deep chasm, and at the bottom of the chasm was the residence of a famed Otherverse Lord known as ‘Lord Skyjade’.

Swoosh. Swoosh. An enormous tear in space appeared above the abyss, with three towering figures exiting the tear.

They were all onyx humanoids with icy expressions on their faces. Unlike ‘ordinary’ humanoids, their bodies were covered with strange silver-white diagrams. Just standing in the air above the abyss, they emanated an endless aura of cold that swept out and caused even the endless black mist below them to freeze over.

“We finally arrived.” The three onyx humanoids all smiled slightly.

“Lord Skyjade, come out and meet with us,” one of the onyx humanoids called out loudly. His voice boomed out, echoing into the abyss deep within them.

Swoosh. A man dressed in dark golden robes walked out from the abyss, emanating an aura of endless might which suppressed the freezing cold. Lord Skyjade had handsome features and an extraordinary aura. He was the master of this realmverse and a nearby otherverse, making him far superior to ordinary Otherverse Lords.

“Hmph. Why have you sought me out?” Lord Skyjade’s voice held a tinge of distaste, but he managed to suppress much of his anger as he spoke.

“What’s wrong, Lord Skyjade? Do you detest the Icepeak Army?” one of the onyx humanoids mocked.

“If you don’t wish to speak with us and wish to put on airs in front of us, we can have our general, ‘Lord Wulf’, come and speak to you instead,” another onyx humanoid said.

Lord Skyjade frowned. He did feel a great deal of trepidation when dealing with the legendary Icepeak Army. “Cut the crap. What do you want, exactly?”

“While the three of us were out adventuring, we suddenly heard word of a distance place known as the Flamedragon Realmverse. Supposedly, an incredibly talented Daolord has managed to procure a realmship. Alas… as you might know, our Icepeak Army is extremely powerful and has multiple realmships, but our general Lord Wulf doesn’t have one despite his incredible power. Now, a Daolord does. Isn’t this quite irritating? Thus, we are planning to head to the Flamedragon Realmverse and force that Daolord to hand the realmship over,” a skinny onyx humanoid said.

“I heard that the Icepeak Army has a total of five realmships, while your general Lord Wulf is incredibly strong. Why doesn’t he have a realmship to call his own?” Lord Skkyjade feigned surprise.

“Hmph.” The three onyx humanoids snorted, not wanting to explain. Clearly, even the mighty Icepeak Army had its own internal squabbles.

“Lord Skyjade, we’ve come here to ask you to help send us to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” a muscular onyx humanoid said. “The Flamedragon Realmverse is too far away. It would take us far longer than tens of millions of chaos cycles to reach it if we were to fly towards it. Daolords have short lives; we don’t have the time to waste.”

“The Flamedragon Realmverse? I don’t have a realmship.” Lord Skyjade shook his head. “Are you actually expecting me to use up the energy of my otherverse to send you there?”

“We’ll compensate you appropriately, Lord Skyjade,” the cyclopean onyx humanoid said. Although they were extraordinary figures of great power, they still had to show a basic level of courtesy to an Otherverse Lord.

“You wish for me to take you all the way to the distant Flamedragon Realmverse? That’s far too exhausting.” Lord Skyjade shook his head. “How about this? I’ll ask one of my friends who has a realmship to help you out and take you to the Flamedragon Realmverse, but of course you’ll have to compensate him as well.”

“Naturally.”

“Understood,” the three onyx humanoids said.

Lord Skyjade remained quite displeased. He was an exalted Otherverse Lords; normal Hegemons had to treat him with great respect. These three were nothing more than minor soldiers in the Icepeak Army, yet they dared to behave so insolently towards him!

Alas, when he thought of the supreme leader of the Icepeak Army, that towering figure seated upon that mighty throne, Lord Skyjade couldn’t help but shudder. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh for Daolord Darknorth, who he had never met. “A minor Daolord was able to convince a Hegemon to become his retainer. News has spread throughout the Chaosverse. Even the Icepeak Army has heard of him.”

“Remember, that place is under the sway of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. That is Realmslord Windgrace’s territory,” Lord Skyjade said. “Realmslord Windgrace’s ‘Blacksun’ is not easy to deal with.”

There were differences in status amongst Otherverse Lords as well. Realmslord Windgrace, as the master of the Blacksun, was definitely a terrifying figure even amongst Otherverse Lords.

“We know. We’re only there for Daolord Darknorth, not to cause a war. I don’t think Realmslord Windgrace would choose to make an enemy out of the Icepeak Army for such a matter,” the three onyx humanoids said.

“Fine. Wait a while. Roughly a hundred thousand years from now, my friend shall arrive and take you towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.” Lord Skyjade turned and flew back into the deep abyss.

The three watched him leave. “Hmph. Lord Skyjade is quite a prideful figure.”

“The three of us are Black Emperors. If we worked together, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to us even though he is an Otherverse Lord. The only reason he dares to behave so arrogantly before the Icepeak Army is because he can hide within his otherverse whenever he pleases.” All three of them were rather disdainful towards him.

“Oh, right. Realmslord Windgrace of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance is not a man to be trifled with. This won’t be a problem, will it?” the muscular onyx humanoid frowned as he spoke.

“Don’t worry! Old man Windgrace is a clever fellow. He wouldn’t dare launch an actual war against the Icepeak Army. He’s all by himself, while we have an entire host of Hegemons on our side, as well as his Majesty! Hmph. So long as we don’t go too far and merely act against that Daolord, this won’t cause too much of a stir. Realmslord Windgrace knows his limits.”

“Agreed.”

……

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, a ten million years had gone by, and a realmship finally reached the Flamedragon Realmverse.

“Thank you, Hegemon Thunderstar. Wait for us here, just in case… but we don’t think a mere Daolord would dare to go against our will. He’ll probably hand the realmship over to us, and so we’ll probably just fly back in the realmship without needing to trouble you again.” The three onyx humanoids flew towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Hegemon Thunderstar had become a Hegemon via the Dao of Thunder. He was terrifyingly fast and an extremely famous figure.

“Emperors will bide their time, but Daolords are different. They have such short lives that they are usually quite temperamental,” Hegemon Thunderstar said with a laugh. “Given that he has Hegemon Azurefiend as a retainer… if he really does fight back and chooses to hide within Hegemon Azurefiend’s estate-world, you won’t necessarily be able to win the realmship from him.”

“We trust he wouldn’t dare to make enemies out of us.” The three onyx humanoids were quite confident in their chances. As for Hegemon Thunderstar, he secretly smirked.

The vast majority of the supreme powers of the Chaosverse all disliked the Icepeak Army! It was, however, an extremely formidable force, and so even Otherverse Lords were forced to give way before them.

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Chapter 7 – The Lonely King

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 7 – The Lonely King

The Flamedragon Realmverse. Vastheaven Territory. Within the Vastheaven Everworld.

Whoooosh. An enormous tear in space appeared, with three towering onyx humanoids emerging from within it. Each of them radiated auras of tremendous power that showed them to be at the Hegemon level.

“That is Vastheaven Palace,” one of the onyx humanoids said.

“Thankfully, Hegemon Winterflame has long ago spread word regarding Daolord Darknorth. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to acquire such detailed information regarding him with such ease,” the skinny onyx humanoid said with a laugh.

“I hear that Hegemon Winterflame remains trapped within the Jadefire Realm.”

“That’s why he hates Daolord Darknorth so much. However… the Jadefire Realm truly is a terrifying place. Not even the three of us would dare to barge into it; only the general himself would dare to do such a thing! However, I trust Daolord Darknorth will be wise enough not to fight us head-on.” The three onyx humanoids flew through the skies towards Vastheaven Palace.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace.

Daolord Pillsaint was working on his alchemy, while Su Youji, Ji Ning, and Solesky were both watching.

“I can smell the fragrance of the pill,” Su Youji said eagerly.

Crack. Sizzle. Pop. The flames continued to sizzle away at the alchemy pot as Pillsaint focused all of his efforts on controlling the fire.

“Not bad.” The nearby Ning nodded. “Pillsaint is getting to be increasingly impressive in the Dao of Alchemy. He can now be considered a legendary grandmaster in alchemy in the Endless Territories. I have to admit, I’m far from being a match for him.”

“Master, that’s because you didn’t put any effort into alchemy,” Su Youji immediately rebutted. In her mind, Ning was the most talented in every aspect.

In truth, Ning was at such a high level of enlightenment with regards to the Dao that he had reached incredible heights in both the Dao of Formations and the Dao of Fire. In truth, he was better at controlling the alchemical flame than Pillsaint, but he lacked experience with regards to understanding how the medicinal properties of the various materials were mixed together. This required countless trials and experience.

Boom! Suddenly, a terrifying wave of power swept across the area. Bang! Startled by this, Pillsaint lost control over the fire, causing the alchemy pot to explode and the pill within to be destroyed.

“What’s going on?” Su Youji and Emperor Solesky both stared towards the outside, stunned.

“Such power… a Hegemon’s aura? Since when did Hegemons become this commonplace?” Ning frowned. Hegemons were extremely rare; they were supreme within their realmverses. For Hegemon Winterflame to attack was one thing; it had only been a few dozen chaos cycles, but yet another Hegemon had come. Judging from the way the Hegemon had flared his aura, he clearly had come with bad intentions.

“Let’s go take a look.” Ning remained quite calm. With a swoosh, he flew into the skies with Emperor Solesky flying right behind him.

The two flew into the air of Vastheaven Palace and stared outside. Ning’s face immediately turned solemn. There were three towering figures standing in the air… and their bodies were not of cultivators but the onyx humanoids he had encountered in the past. There were three of them! However, they were different from the Sithe onyx humanoids which Ning had encountered in the past. These three onyx humanoids were all covered with silver diagrams and emanated an aura of endless cold.

“Black Emperors of the Sithe?” Ning was shocked. “Three of them?” Black Emperors were terrifyingly strong. Their bodies were much tougher than the bodies of most Hegemons, which was why they had an advantage in combat. In the cave which Ning and Ninedust had visited all those years ago, they had found a Black Emperor who had perished in battle while taking two Hegemons with it.

“You are Darknorth?” the skinny onyx humanoid said.

“Yes I am,” Ning said. “Dare I ask why the three of you have come to Vastheaven Palace?”

“Haha, we’ve come to visit you on business, of course. Why else would we come all the way here to the Flamedragon Realmverse?” the muscular onyx humanoid said with a snicker.

“Darknorth, I hear you have a realmship,” the skinny onyx humanoid said.

Ning’s heart trembled. As he had suspected, this was about his realmship. Realmships were simply of tremendous interest to Hegemons, but he never would’ve expected them to attract three Black Emperors. Still… he hadn’t feared even an entire host of Hegemons from the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. Why would he fear these three onyx humanoids?

“So what if I do? So what if I don’t?” Ning asked.

“You dare act with such arrogance to our face? Quite bold.” A cold light flashed through the skinny onyx humanoid’s eyes. “Hmph. If you do have it, hand it over and we’ll spare your life. If you don’t have it… then you are useless to us and shall die right now.”

“Hand over the realmship,” the cyclopean onyx humanoid commanded coldly.

“If you don’t hand it over, everyone connected to you will perish.”

Riiiiip. A tear in space appeared off in the distance. The three onyx humanoids all turned to look, only to see an ancient realmship fly out of the tear.

“The realmship.” They immediately revealed looks of delight.

“Haha, the kid’s pretty straightforward.”

“Not bad, not bad. You are a smart boy. Hand over the realmship and you can all survive.”

“Give us the realmship.” The three onyx humanoids nodded approvingly at this. They had acquired quite a bit of intelligence regarding Ning and knew that he wasn’t easy to deal with. If Daolord Darknorth had chosen to remain hidden within the Jadefire Realm, there would’ve been nothing they could do; their only option would’ve been to ask their general, Lord Wulf, to intervene. But if they did that, they wouldn’t have rendered any real merits to the organization.

Given that this Daolord had Hegemon Azurefiend by his side, if he wanted to flee and hide there really wouldn’t have been much they could do to him. If Ning was willing nto hand it over, though, they would be so magnanimous as to spare his life.

Whoosh. A white-robed youth, an honest-looking white-furred golem, and a shriveled-up old man emerged from the realmship.

Ning’s avatar and Emperor Solesky’s avatar both retreated for now.

“And who are the three of you?” Ning asked. “Why have you immediately demanded my realmship?”

“The three of us are soldiers from the Icepeak Army,” the skinnier black humanoid said calmly. “While wandering through the various realmverses, we heard word of you and so came here as quickly as possible. We wish to take your realmship and offer it to our general, ‘Lord Wulf’. Kid, as a Daolord you will only live a short period of time. You probably haven’t even finished exploring the Flamedragon Realmverse. This realmship will be of little use to you. Hand it over to us, and you’ll have avoided calamity.”

“The Icepeak Army?” Ning frowned.

“It really is the Icepeak Army.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s face tightened slightly.

“Azurefiend, you’ve heard of the Icepeak Army before?” Ning sent mentally.

“Darknorth, as you might know, when we defeated the Sithe during the Dawn War the Sithe left behind many treasures which ended up falling into our hands,” Hegemon Azurefiend sent mentally. Ning just continued to listen.

“Some of the most powerful Sithe weapons of war, such as the ‘Blacksun’, ended up in the hands of people like Realmslord Windgrace. That is why Realmslord Windgrace is so famous and has such a higher status than other Otherverse Lords. Not even the Icepeak Army would go cause problems for him.”

“The leader of the Icepeak Army is generally referred to respectfully as the ‘Lonely King’. He was born an Ancient cultivator and has an eccentric personality. He always has a cold look on his face, and he delights in slaughter! It is said that he only ever smiles when he kills. The Lonely King once acquired a Sithe treasury which was filled with Sithe war machines and weapons. He is personally in control of the most powerful war machines, but he also acquired four ‘Golden Emperors’ and sixty-nine ‘Black Emperors’. He used one of them to undergo the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Golden Emperor, while allowing three Hegemons who joined him to do the same! Over the course of countless years, he allowed some of his Eternal Emperors to be transformed into Black Emperors. As a result, he now has a terrifyingly powerful army under his control, with him at the lead. This army is named the Icepeak Army.”

“Although the name sounds rather ordinary, it is legendary for its savagery. It will battle ot the death anyone who offends the Lonely King! They’ve caused many great wars and have even destroyed an otherverse, causing three Otherverse Lords to die by their hands. But of course, they suffered certain losses during those wars as well. Supposedly, they now only have sixty-one Black Emperors left.”

Ning was stunned upon hearing this. Even three Otherverse Lords had died by their hands? “Aren’t Otherverse Lords able to hide within their alternate universes?” Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t that mean they had to destroy the entire alternate universe?”

“There are two supremely powerful war machines publicly acknowledged to be under the Lonely King’s control. One of them can be instantly activated, which was why two of the Otherverse Lords were slain before they even had a chance to run,” Azurefiend sent mentally. “The third managed to hide within his otherverse, but the enraged Lonely King continued his pursuit into the otherverse. No one knows what exactly happened inside it, but the end result was that the otherverse was completely destroyed and the Otherverse Lord died. It was that battle which truly allowed the Lonely King to rise to fame and for the Icepeak Army to become known as one of the most terrifyingly powerful organizations in the Chaosverse.”

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Chapter 8 – Ji Ning Battles Black Emperors

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 8 – Ji Ning Battles Black Emperors

“An Otherverse Lord had escaped into his otherverse, yet had still been killed and his entire otherverse had been destroyed.” Azurefiend sent a mental sigh: “That is why everyone suspects that in addition to the two war machines the Lonely King has made public, he should also have a third Sithe war machine of incredible power. Thus, Darknorth… I really do urge you to reconsider how you wish to treat the Icepeak Army. They aren’t easy to deal with. I’m a solitary wanderer who doesn’t have that many treasures, and so the Icepeak Army won’t expend too much resources on hunting me down… but you, Darknorth, have a realmship. The Icepeak Army isn’t going to just give up.”

Azurefiend was quite a proud man, but he felt that Ji Ning had to consider what was best for his sect and his homeland.

“Azurefiend, aside from the Lonely King, do the other three Golden Emperors of the Icepeak Army have especially powerful war machines?” Ning asked.

“They do not.” Azurefiend’s response was quite succinct. “The Icepeak Army has caused quite a few wars, but I’ve never heard of the three Golden Emperors employing any war machines of repute.”

Ning let out a sigh secretly. Given how exalted the Lonely King was, he wouldn’t go so far as to act against a Daolord for the sake of a mere realmship.

“Oh, right. The Flamewing God vs the Lonely King… which should be stronger?” Ning asked mentally. He had his own thoughts, but Azurefiend had been alive for much longer and had seen many things.

“Hard to say who is stronger. Flamewing is just a bit too dumb. It was born with tremendous vitality and has a virtually indestructible body, but Otherverse Lords should be able to stay alive against him,” Azurefiend said. “The Lonely King, however, is different; he’s able to use war machines and is thus a greater threat.”

“What if Flamewing fights the Lonely King?” Ning asked mentally.

“Flamewing won’t be able to kill the Lonely King, but there’s no way the Lonely King would be able to kill Flamewing. I’ve been alive for an extremely long period of time, but I’ve never heard of any major power who was capable of subduing a Chaos Primordial, save for the Autarchs themselves. Kill one? Impossible,” Azurefiend sent mentally. “Darknorth, as you know, the most powerful members of the Sithe race were their Exalts, and it took three of them in order to capture Flamewing… and it remained completely unharmed. Amongst cultivators, everyone knows that only Autarchs are capable of killing Chaos Primordials!”

“Good to know.” Ning came to a decision. Based on the information he had, he also felt confident that no one save for an Autarch would be able to kill Flamewing. Perhaps the Sithe during their glory days were capable of capturing Chaos Primordials when they sent out their most powerful members, and perhaps they might even be able to kill Chaos Primordials via their unique technology… but the Sithe were dust. Although the Lonely King was terrifyingly strong, he had merely gained access to a single war machine treasury the Sithe had left behind.

“What do you plan to do?” Azurefiend sent back.

“Azurefiend, will you be frightened if I refuse them?” Ning sent mentally.

Azurefiend glanced at Ning, rather surprised. “I’m a solitary Hegemon who wanders alone. What do I have to be afraid of? Have you really decided?”

“Yes. I’m confident in my chances.” Ning nodded.

……

The three onyx humanoids simply stood there and waited as Ning and Hegemon Azurefiend spoke mentally to each other. They were in no rush. They could tell that Darknorth and Azurefiend were discussing this matter. They felt that once this weak Daolord learned the truth of the Icepeak Army’s might, he would make the wise choice.

“So do you know a bit more about the Icepeak Army now?” the skinny onyx humanoid looked at Ning.

“I’m a Daolord who is unlearned compared to my Hegemonic peers. I’ve only heard of you for the first time today. Impressive, truly impressive,” Ning said.

“Cut the crap.” The cyclopean onyx humanoid was growing a bit impatient. Frowning, he barked out, “Hurry up and hand over the realmship. Otherwise, we’re going to attack. When that happens, both you and your sect shall both perish.” He had long ago grown accustomed to acting as he pleased. He had originally been a fairly powerful Eternal Emperor, and after he underwent the Ritual Sacrificium to become a member of the Icepeak Army he had received deference from even Hegemons and Otherverse Lords, all of whom feared the Icepeak Army’s reputation.

Originally, his greatest worry was that this Daolord would cause trouble due to the Daolord’s ignorance of the Icpeeak Army’s might. That was why he had held back. But now? Now, he was naturally going to press hard.

Ning stood there, flanked by Azurefiend and Whitethaw. “I don’t wish to make an enemy out of the Icepeak Army, and I’m not qualified to do that either. However, realmships are incredibly precious. You wish for me to simply hand it over for nothing? I might be a mere Daolord, but I have my pride.” Ning smiled. “I have a simple, mutually beneficial solution which will result in me handing over the realmship willingly.”

“A mutually beneficial solution?”

“Speak.” The three onyx humanoids were rather irritated. The Icepeak Army was so incredibly famous that even Hegemons were terrified of them. Only a few solitary Hegemons who wandered alone would dare act so arrogantly before them.

“Simple. The Icepeak Army can buy the realmship from me,” Ning said.

“Buy?” The three onyx humanoids exchanged a glance. “Very well. This estate-world of mine has quite a few treasures inside. I’ll give it to you in exchange for the realmship.” The skinny onyx humanoid casually handed over a golden palm-sized disc which was actually an estate-treasure. The two onyx humanoids were quite calm as well; they felt certain that this Daolord simply wanted a way to save face. It didn’t really matter if they tossed out a few treasures.

Ning shook his head. “The value has to be on par with the realmship.”

“On par?” Finally, the looks on the faces of the three onyx humanoids changed. For the first time, they began to realize that this Daolord wasn’t looking for a way to save face; he was going to be a tough nut to crack! Realmships were incredibly valuable; not even treasures like Crimsonwave Temple were even close in value to a realmship. Even if the three onyx humanoids pooled all of their treasures together, they still wouldn’t be able to afford one. Most likely, their general Lord Wulf would have to trade all of his treasures to just barely afford a realmship.

Trade for something of equivalent value? This would be a fairly good deal if it was between two figures who were on par with each other, such as the Lonely King and Realmslord Windgrace. This was because generally speaking people were completely unwilling to sell realmships; to merely ask for treasures of equivalent value was already a good bargain.

However… Realmslord Windgrace was in command of the Blacksun. He was on the same level as the Lonely King. How was it that a mere Daolord dared to demand treasures of equivalent value?

“Are you looking to die?” the skinny onyx humanoid’s eyes flashed with cold light.

“I’ve already taken a step back and given face. If you accept, we’ll carry out the trade. If you refuse? I can’t just hand over my realmship for nothing.” Ning’s own aura began to sharpen as well.

“You…!” The three onyx humanoids stared at the Daolord before them, stunned. He actually was going to face them head-on?

“He’s courting death.”

“Kill him.” The cyclopean onyx humanoid was the first to attack. He instantly transformed into a streak of light who shot towards Ning. He struck out with his right hand, sending it piercing towards Ning like a long spear, with his fingernails being the tip! Black Emperors all had incredibly powerful bodies; every single part of them was like a weapon.

The arm-spear pierced straight through the void, so powerful as to cause Ning’s eyebrows to rise slightly. “Hmph.” Whitethaw, by Ning’s side, let out an angry snort and immediately charged forwards. While charging, he transformed into an enormous white cloth that swept out towards his foe.

“A mere golem seeks to block me?” The cyclopean onyx humanoid felt some disdain. He was at the Hegemon level of power! Although his insights into the Dao were a bit inferior to true Hegemons, his Black Emperor body gave him tremendous power and allowed him to match Hegemons in battle. His body was so incredibly tough and resilient that in a real battle of life and death, he actually had an advantage.

Bang! This terrifying Hegemonic strike stabbed straight into the enormous white cloth, but the white cloth was incredibly resilient and dispersed all of the attacking energy.

“What?!” The cyclopean onyx humanoid was shocked. The golem had actually blocked his attack?

“Kill them all.”

“Kill them and take the realmship.” The two other onyx humanoids began to attack as well. Whoosh! Whoosh! Both moved with incredible speed. Although Whitethaw had blocked one of them, that was already his limit; there was no way he could block the other two.

“Hahaha…” Azurefiend laughed loudly as he transformed into his bestial form. His entire body became covered with azure scales, and his head became triangular in shape. His scale-covered tail waved menacingly like a whip, and his entire body glimmered with dark light. He let out a furious howl as he charged through the air, moving to engage.

“The Daolord actually isn’t hiding in Hegemon Azurefiend’s estate-world.” The skinny onyx humanoid was delighted by this and sent mentally, “I’ll tie down Azurefiend. You go kill the Daolord.”

“Alright.” The muscular onyx humanoid was delighted as well. Neither of them had imagined that the Daolord wouldn’t go into hiding.

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Chapter 9 – A Tough Nut

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 9 – A Tough Nut

The skinny onyx humanoid was skilled with the saber, but for the sake of tying down Azurefiend he didn’t use any weapons at all. He used his bare hands, and since every part of his body was akin to a weapon he was able to tie down Azurefiend as best he could.

Whoosh. He sent his right palm out, his arm stretching to become more than ten thousand kilometers long.

Whap! Azurefiend, in his true form, struck out with his tail against the incoming black palm.

Crack! The vast black arm suddenly changed directions, lashing out in a strange whip-like manner as the arm seemed to transform into an arc that built up power and then struck out once more. The skinny onyx humanoid’s entire body seemed to have transformed into a bow-like shape.

“This Black Emperor really is tough to deal with.” Hegemon Azurefiend had a complete advantage in power, and was significantly superior to his opponent in terms of insights into the Dao, but his attacks were doing absolutely nothing when being landed upon the Black Emperor’s body. This allowed the Black Emperor to continuously tie him down.

“Darknorth has chosen to fight the other Black Emperor by himself. He should be able to keep himself safe, right?” Azurefiend cast a sideways glance at the distant Ning as he battled. A look of shock suddenly appeared on his face.

……

“Puny Daolord, you truly are arrogant. However, your arrogance has given us a chance to deal with you. Otherwise, we’d probably have to massacre everyone here to coerce you into complying, starting with all the disciples of Vastheaven Palace. And yet, that might not be enough.” The muscular Black Emperor was clearly in a good mood. “Now, we simply have to kill you and we’ll have won the realmship.”

“You might be celebrating just a bit too early.” Ning stood there in the air, staring calmly at the onyx humanoid before him.

“If you are in such a hurry to die, then die you shall.” The muscular onyx humanoid suddenly struck out with a giant black palm that blotted out the skies as it swept out towards Ning. Whoosh! Ning suddenly moved, disappearing from the onyx humanoid’s field of vision.

“He disappeared?” The muscular onyx humanoid’s palm-strike missed. He immediately struck out in every direction with his palms. As he saw it, even if Ning did vanish he would only be able to hide with his evasion-arts. There was no way he would’ve been able to escape too far.

“I’m over here.” A voice rang out from behind him. The muscular onyx humanoid stared backwards in astonishment, only to see the white-robed youth with the black sheath on his back standing far behind him.

“He’s fast.” A feeling of trepidation appeared within the onyx humanoid’s heart.

“The Black Emperor’s body is a waste on you. Your insights into the Dao are too low. You have some innate advantages in a life-or-death battle, but if I wanted to leave you wouldn’t be able to stop me at all.” Ning slowly shook his head. He suddenly couldn’t help but sigh a bit in his heart. When he had first seen that onyx humanoid’s corpse, he had felt absolutely stunned. He never would’ve imagined that he would have reached that same level of power as well.

In terms of the Dao of the Sword, Ning was on a full level higher than Emperor Heartsword had been. Now that Ning had mastered the fourteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art, he was just a single stance behind Emperor Heartsword, who had created just fifteen stances in total. On the whole, Ning was now far more powerful than Emperor Heartsword. He truly had reached the Hegemon level of combat power.

“Puny Daolord, you are far too arrogant. Die for me!” The muscular onyx humanoid was rather embarrassed and angered as he charged through the air at Ning. Each step he took caused the void around him to shudder as he once more struck out furiously with his giant palms.

Swoosh. Ning moved again. This time, he transformed into a streak of sword-light that dodged hundreds of thousands of kilometers to one side. “You can’t even touch me.” Ning shook his head slowly. This was far too easy.

When he had first relied on his Omega Sword Dao to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he hadn’t been this fast. However, it had been more than ten chaos cycles since then. He had reached the Archon level in the Dao of Thunder, giving him an even more terrifying level of speed. He had also reached the Archon level in the Dao of Space, giving him a tremendous amount of skill in manipulating space.

Thus, Ning had now reached a brand new level of speed. Only a Hegemon who was completely focused on speed would be able to catch up to Ning.

“You can’t even capture a Daolord?!” the distant skinny onyx humanoid sent a frantic message message.

“Puny Daolord!” This time, the muscular onyx humanoid truly was angry and embarrassed. He raised his head, letting out a furious roar. Boom! A thick black fog spread out from him to cover an area of nearly ten million kilometers around him. Everything in this area was mired as if in quicksand, causing Ning’s speed to dramatically lessen.

“Ah, I knew Black Emperors of the Sithe couldn’t possibly be THIS week.” Ning’s body flickered as he transformed into his three-headed, six-armed mode. All six of the Northbow swords flew out from the sheath on his back and into his hands. “Come on.” Ning cracked a smile.

Slash! Slash! Slash! The onyx humanoid struck out with extraordinary strength, delivering one furious palm after another in an effort to slay Ning as quickly as possible. Alas, he had merely reached the Archon level in terms of insights into the Dao. His weaknesses were quite apparent.

Ning was still able to easily maneuver around the onyx humanoid despite the black fog. Ning didn’t even use his own secret arts! Although his speed was lessened, his sword remained incredibly fast.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning’s sword-light pierced through the skies, each streak of sword-light being ephemeral and nigh-invisible. The hints of sword-light were hard to detect, but they carried a terrifying amount of power and seemed capable of chopping through anything which stood in their path. This was a terrifying level of power that came from the combination of the fourteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art and a fourth-stage Daolord’s Omega Sword Dao. Each strike was ghostly and unpredictable. The onyx humanoid felt as though the blows were drilling straight through its body.

Slash! Slash! Slash! In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged more than a hundred blows against each other. The onyx humanoid wasn’t able to land a single attack against Ning; in short, he was being utterly dominated! However, Ning couldn’t help but frown as well: “His body really is incredibly tough. Even when I use my full power, I remain unable to injure him.”

“What the hell? He’s no Daolord, he’s clearly a Hegemon!” The muscular onyx humanoid suddenly pulled away as he shouted furiously, “I can’t do anything to him!”

“Go all out and burn your essence. End it quickly!” the skinny onyx humanoid, pressured by Hegemon Azurefiend, sent a frantic mental message.

“You try! I haven’t been able to even touch him a single time. His sword-arts are completely flawless. Even if I really did go all out, he could just flee over to Azurefiend.” The Black Emperor wasn’t willing to go all-out. Unlike normal cultivators, they healed and recovered quite slowly. Once they went all-out, they would be at risk of energy exhaustion. Once they exhausted their energy reserves, their bodies would grow weak and they could even be defeated and then destroyed.

“Withdraw!” The muscular onyx humanoid issued an order to withdraw, and the three quickly rejoined each other.

Azurefiend and Whitethat moved to stand by Ning’s side. The two sides stared at each other from afar.

The three onyx humanoids were all rather angry, but they also felt stunned. How was it that a Daolord had actually reached such a level of power? He definitely had the power of a Hegemon! Thankfully, the three onyx humanoids all had extremely tough bodies; ordinary Emperors would’ve been slain with ease by Ning’s current level of sword-arts.

“Formidable. I truly do admire you, for a Daolord like yourself to have reached such a level of power.” The skinny onyx humanoid stared at Ning. “However… are you absolutely sure that you wish to become an enemy of the Icepeak Army?”

“I do not wish to become an enemy of the Icepeak Army. However, there is no way I’ll hand over a realmship for nothing.” Ning shook his head.

“Bold. These actions, however, are tantamount to declaring us your enemy!” The skinny onyx humanoid laughed coldly, “I’ll give you one more chance! Hand over the realmship. Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to go ahead to report to our superiors that you are being defiant. In the end, the result shall be your death.”

Ning just smiled.

“Very well then.” They saw the look on Ning’s face. The skinny onyx humanoid barked, “Let’s go! Next time we come, we’ll kill them all.”

“Let’s go.” The three onyx humanoids immediately entered the spatial rift, vanishing without a trace and leaving just Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw behind.

Azurefiend glanced at the white-robed youth by his side. He could sense that Ning had grown tremendously more powerful since their battle in the Jadefire Realm. By now, Ning truly had reached the Hegemon level of power.

“Darknorth, you have now become an enemy of the Icepeak Army,” Azurefiend said softly. “The Icepeak Army is not an easy foe to deal with. Given their disposition, they will definitely launch a war against you.”

“They aren’t easy to deal with, but neither am I.” A flicker of killing intent appeared in Ning’s eyes.

“You?” Azurefiend was stunned.

“Soon, I’ll have solved the formations and freed Flamewing,” Ning said.

“You are confident in being able to resolve the formations soon?” Azurefiend was overjoyed.

“More or less. Even if I end up taking longer than I expected, I should be able to buy myself the time needed via the Jadefire Realm. If necessary, I can also run around in the realmship and buy myself some more time,” Ning said. “However… I don’t think we’ll need to go to all that trouble. By the time they come back, the Flamewing God will be waiting for them.”

“Hahaha! If the Flamewing God comes out…” Azurefiend was absolutely overjoyed and excited by this prospect. “You really will be able to do whatever the hell you want. That is a Chaos Primordial! Hahaha! With a Chaos Primordial at your beck and call, who would dare cause trouble for you? If you gave the order, the Chaos Primordial would charge straight into the Icepeak Army’s base and wreck it. The Lonely King would be able to do nothing but stare, dumbstruck, as it happened. There’s nothing he can do to the Flamewing God. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! I was so afraid that I thought we’d have to go wandering through the cosmos.” Azurefiend stared at Ning.

“Without Flamewing, I wouldn’t have dared to take such a tough line against them.” Ning smiled as well. “Let’s cut the chit-chat. Starting today, I’m going to put all of my time and effort into solving the formations and breaking them as soon as possible.”

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Chapter 10 – Lord Wulf

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 10 – Lord Wulf

An area at the borders of the Flamedragon Realmverse. Countless bolts of thunder were crackling throughout this region. Suddenly, three onyx humanoids appeared and moved towards that area at high speeds. “Hegemon Thunderstar,” the skinny onyx humanoid called out.

Whoosh. The countless bolts of thunder merged together into a humanoid shape, finally resolving into a violet-robed man. This was Hegemon Thunderstar, who had brought them here via the realmship.

“So do you have the realmship?” Hegemon Thunderstar smiled at them.

The three onyx humanoids had no traces of amusement on their faces. Previously, they had spoken so confidently… but who would’ve thought that they’d come slinking back in disgrace? They had to once again ask Hegemon Thunderstar to bring them back.

In truth, Hegemon Thunderstar had asked them that question on purpose. He could clearly tell that they didn’t have the realmship! He was quite pleased, however, to have the chance to mock a few Black Emperors of the Icepeak Army.

“We do not.” The skinny onyx humanoid said coldly, “Hegemon Thunderstar, your guesses were spot-on. That puny Daolord truly is fearless. He actually dared to defy our will.”

The cyclopean onyx humanoid growled, “Daolord Darknorth is far too arrogant. He actually dares to make an enemy out of the Icepeak Army! I’ll definitely report this to the general. Hmph. We ran all the way for nothing. In the end, we’ll need to ask the general to personally intervene. He’s definitely going to die, and that Vastheaven-whatever will be annihilated as well!”

“We have to make sure that he regrets this.” The muscular onyx humanoid was filled with a killing rage as well.

Hegemon Thunderstar couldn’t help but mutter beneath his breath. You failed in your attempts to take it by force, but you still act with such bravado. The Icepeak Army really did live up to its reputation. Who would’ve thought that Daolord Darknorth truly was made of such stern stuff?

“Where to next?” Hegemon Thunderstar asked.

“To the general’s residence, Mount Doom,” the skinny onyx humanoid said.

“And where is Mount Doom?” Hegemon Thunderstar was puzzled.

“It is the general’s estate within the Skywolf Realmverse.” The skinny onyx humanoid said rather unhappily, “Hegemon Thunderstar, don’t you know already?”

Hegemon Thunderstar didn’t argue. He truly hadn’t been to the Skywolf Realmverse before, but he had heard that ‘Lord Wulf’s mountain’ was within the Skywolf Realmverse. However, the true name of the place was ‘Mount Doom’; ‘Lord Wulf’s mountain’ was nothing more than a nickname for it.

“Come, I’ll send you over there.” Hegemon Thunderstar waved his hand, causing the realmship to appear.

“We need to travel quickly. We need to report this to the general as soon as possible. Otherwise, I don’t know how I’m going to get this taste out of my mouth,” the muscular onyx humanoid said rather angrily. They had long ago grown accustomed to acting as they pleased. As a result, when they occasionally encountered someone who resisted them they couldn’t help but feel annoyed. In this case, the person in question was a mere Daolord! This made them feel truly insulted.

Alas, the Flamedragon Realmverse was incredibly far away from the Skywolf Realmverse. There was no way for them to contact the Skywolf Realmverse directly! Not even a Daolord’s true body and Primaltwin would be able to sense each other from such a vast difference. One had to at least be an Archon-class Eternal Emperor with an incredibly powerful soul in order for your true body and Primaltwin to be able to sense each other from such a great distance.

Alas, it was far too difficult to convince an Archon-class figure to follow them like a retainer. Most would prefer death to such a life of servitude.

Whoosh. The realmship tore through spacetime, departing at high speeds towards the Skywolf Realmverse.

……

18 million years later. Hegemon Thunderstar’s realmship had finally reached the Skywolf Teritory.

“That over there is Mount Doom.” The three Black Emperors stared from afar at the towering mountain that jutted within the void. Looks of delight were on their face. This was their base.

Mount Doom was completely gray and covered with countless runes and patterns. At the very tip of Mount Doom was an area that glowed with blurry silver light. The silver light illuminated the beautiful palaces below. This was where Lord Wulf resided with his subordinates.

“General.”

“General.”

“General.” The three Black Emperors called out loudly after exiting the realmship, their voices echoing in the air above Mount Doom.

“Ah, Sealaw and the others are back.”

“It is brother Sealaw and the others.” Figures began to fly out of Mount Doom. All of them were onyx humanoids, their bodies covered with silver diagrams and emanating auras of boundless cold.

Hegemon Thunderstar couldn’t help but mutter to himself. They had all been ordinary cultivators, but they had all chosen to undergo the Ritual Sacrificium. They had abandoned their bodies, becoming freakish creatures. Still, he understood that these Black Emperors had originally been fairly mediocre Eternal Emperors. Now that they were Black Emperors, they at least had Hegemonic levels of power.

“What’s that? Is that a realmship?”

“Is that our new realmship?” The onyx figures all turned to stare at the distant realmship. Realmships were incredibly valuable; not even their general, Lord Wulf, had access to one. Hegemon Thunderstar had dared to come here because the three onyx humanoids had long ago sworn lifeblood oaths guaranteeing his security. If they did not, all three of them would die! Hegemon Thunderstar was also certain that he would be able to escape safely.

“Cut the crap. Hurry up and take us to the general! Where is he? There’s something important we need to report to him.”

“What do you need to speak to me about?” A cold voice rang out, followed by a golden figure emerging from the peak of Mount Doom. His entire body seemed to have been composed out of gold, and his body was similarly covered with silver diagrams. The aura emanating from him was so powerful that it vastly outstripped the auras of the Black Emperors serving him. He was one of the legendary Golden Emperors, someone who had undergone the most powerful Ritual Sacrificium the Sithe had to offer.

As for the so-called ‘Exalts’? That level could only be reached through a mixture of cultivation and look. They were supreme amongst the Sithe and were the most powerful members of the entire race. Hegemons could become transformed into Golden Emperors with ease and ‘manufactured’ in large numbers; there was naturally no way they could be compared to the Exalts. Despite that, Golden Emperors still had a level of power that was comparable to that of Otherverse Lords, and their bodies were even tougher. To destroy their bodies was nearly impossible.

“General.” The three Black Emperors who had just arrived immediately bowed respectfully.

“Speak. You actually rushed over here in a realmship. What is this all about?” Lord Wulf’s gaze was icy-cold. He glanced at the distant realmship, then at his three subordinates.

“General, we were on patrol as ordered,” the skinny onyx humanoid said respectfully, “And we suddenly heard that in the Flamedragon Realmverse, there was a Daolord named Darknorth who somehow managed to take control over a Sithe site known as the Jadefire Realm. He even managed to convince a Hegemon to serve him as his retainer.”

“A Daolord with a Hegemon as a retainer?” Lord Wulf was quite shocked, as were the Black Emperors by his side. Although this news had spread quite far, it hadn’t quite made it to the Skywolf Territory. These two territories were simply too far away.

“More importantly, Daolord Darknorth actually has a realmship!” The skinny Black Emperor said hurriedly, “The Hegemons of the surrounding territories all wanted to take it from him, but in the end, he actually managed to use the Jadefire Realm to take one of them under his control. Once we heard the news, we immediately travelled to the Flamedragon Realmverse. We wanted to force him to hand it over so that we could offer it to you, General.”

Lord Wulf narrowed his eyes as he continued to listen.

“But… he actually refused!” The skinny Black Emperor gritted his teeth and growled, “He actually dared to refuse! We attacked him, but he was so incredibly powerful that he was at the Hegemonic level of might.”

“A Daolord comparable to Hegemons?” No matter how calm Lord Wulf normally was, he couldn’t help but feel stunned. He nodded slowly. “It seems he must have mastered one of the legendary Omega Daos, and has had some other lucky experiences as well. Hmph… even if he is a Daolord who is comparable to a Hegemon, he is still nothing compared to our Icepeak Army. Are you sure that he dares to make an enemy out of us?”

“Yes.” The skinny Black Emperor nodded, as did the other two. The cyclopean Black Emperor explained, “He holds us in no regard at all. He actually dared to say that he was willing to give us the realmship, but only for treasures of equivalent value.”

“Does he have some sort of special status?” Lord Wulf frowned. “For example, is he an Autarch’s disciple? The Flamedragon Realmverse should be under Realmslord Windgrace’s command. Could it be that he has some sort of connection to Realmslord Windgrace?”

“We haven’t heard of him having any special status. He shouldn’t be connected to Realmslord Windgrace at all! Previously, he attracted an entire host of Hegemons and Emperors who attempted to kill him and take his realmship, but Realmslord Windgrace didn’t intervene. Clearly, there isn’t much of a relationship there. In the end, he only survived because he took control over the Jadefire Realm,” the skinny Black Emperor said.

“If he doesn’t have some sort of special background… no Daolord, no matter how monstrously talented, is anything more than an ant in the face of our Icepeak Army.” Lord Wulf swept the three with his icy golden gaze, then turned to stare at the distant realmship. “If my guess is correct, it should be Hegemon Thunderstar in command of that realmship.”

“Thunderstar greets you, Lord Wulf.” Hegemon Thunderstar flew out of the realmship and bowed.

“I wish to lead my Black Emperors to the Flamedragon Realmverse. I’d like to trouble you to send us over there,” Lord Wulf said. “Of course, we’ll make it worth your while.”

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Chapter 11 – Chain Weapons

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 11 – Chain Weapons

“Helping you make a trip is a minor matter,” Hegemon Thunderstar said. The Hegemons and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance had been in a race against time to reach the Flamedragon Realmverse first, which was why they had all been forced to pay exorbitant prices! Going by normal prices, travelling the great distance from the Skywolf Territory to the Flamedragon Realmverse was still going to be quite expensive, but it was nothing to someone like Lord Wulf, who had massacred and looted countless people.

“All Black Emperors, assemble and move out alongside me!” Lord Wulf ordered. “We are going to the Flamedragon Realmverse to take that realmship.”

“Acknowledged!”

“Let’s take that realmship.” A total of nine onyx humanoids flew out from Mount Doom by his side.

Aside from their supreme leader, the Lonely King, the Icepeak Army only had a total of three generals! These three generals each commanded a total of twelve Black Emperors. Normally, they would each have six Black Emperors accompanying them. The other six would be assigned into two squads responsible for patrolling the Chaosverse. Once they heard anything important, they were to immediately come and report it to their general!

The three generals and the Lonely King operated in the same way. They would have part of their soldiers with them, with the rest patrolling the Chaosverse on a long-term basis. This ensured that the Icepeak Army had a strong information network and was able to get involved in any of the momentous events within the Chaosverse on short notice.

This time, Lord Wulf had the three returned patrolling Black Emperors and his six personal Black Emperors with him, making for a total of nine Black Emperors.

“One Golden Emperor and nine Black Emperors. A force like this is enough to massacre the Flamedragon Realmverse ten times over.” Hegemon Thunderstar mumbled to himself, “All I’m doing is earning a bit of treasure by sending them over. Even if I declined, there would be other Hegemons willing to help out. Daolord Darknorth, you are nothing more than a Daolord but you dare to make an enemy out of the Icepeak Army. I admire you for your courage… but the reason why the other major powers were unwilling to act as you do is because the consequences are too terrifying to bear.”

Hegemon Thunderstar couldn’t help but sigh a bit. He felt as though he could see the end of the line for this genius Daolord. Golden Emperors all were at the Otherverse Lord level of power! Nine Black Emperors working in concert were equivalent in power to an Otherverse Lord as well! How could the Flamedragon Realmverse possibly withstand this level of power?

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse remained as calm as always. Ning didn’t make public the fact that he had faced off against three Black Emperors belonging to the Icepeak Army. There was no point. Hegemon Brightshore and the others wouldn’t be of any use, and so it was best not to bother them about it.

The Terror Starsea. The Jadefire Realm.

“Darknorth, it’s been twenty million years. The Icepeak Army could arrive at any moment. How much longer is it going to take for you to break these formations?” The skinny old man, Hegemon Azurefiend, was seated in the lotus position on the deepfire blackstone floor, a frantic look on his face.

“I was just estimating the time earlier!” Ning was standing atop the Flamewing God’s back, focusing his efforts on the black chains in front of him. “I wasn’t exactly sure as to how long it would take for me to break these formations. I thought it would be quite fast, but I ran into a few problems. Don’t be impatient and relax! The Icepeak Army hasn’t even arrived yet. By the time they do arrive at the Jadefire Realm, I’ll first use its defenses to tie them down for quite some time.”

“This is Lord Wulf we are talking about! He’s supposedly a Golden Emperor with an entire group of Black Emperors serving him. Your flaming passageways won’t be able to withstand a force like his,” Hegemon Azurefiend said hurriedly. “Why don’t we leave the Jadefire Realm for now? Once you’ve fully mastered the formations, we can return here. Otherwise, we’ll be caught here with nowhere to run.”

“Just look at how freaked out you are. You are a Hegemon!” Ning raised his head to glance sideways at Hegemon Azurefiend. “You look scared out of your mind!”

“I’m just trying to be cautious,” Azurefiend immediately rebutted.

“Don’t worry. The flaming passageways might not be able to kill them, but they’ll definitely be able to slow them down.” Ning smiled. “When I’m in the flaming passageways, I’ll be able to travel unimpeded. I can shake them off with ease and escape as I please.”

Ning no longer paid any further attention to Auzrefiend, focusing all of his efforts on the countless formations covering the black chains before him. Although he had memorized them all long ago, when he viewed them in person and saw how the formations changed and flowed, it was still of some help to him.

Time continued to flow on. Azurefiend could do nothing but wait. The feeling that the Icepeak Army was about to arrive at any moment was quite an uncomfortable one. “Actually fighting to the death would be better than just waiting here like this,” Azurefiend muttered.

“Not even my master is as worried as you,” the nearby Whitethaw said.

“You…!” Azurefiend glared at him. “H-he’s completely focused on his formations, while I have nothing to do. Of course I’m going to be miserable!”

“To put it plainly, you are a coward. You are scared.” Whitethaw glanced sideways at Azurefiend.

“Puny golem, how dare you mock me!” Azurefiend glared at him. Whitethaw just shut his mouth, paying Azurefiend no heed. Azurefiend was so angry that his teeth hurt. Whitethaw only obeyed Ning’s orders and didn’t seem to care about Azurefiend at all. There really was nothing Azurefiend could do to the golem. He might be able to completely dominate Whitethaw in a fight, but he wasn’t able to actually injure Whitethaw.

……

Ning’s true body and Primaltwin were both consumed with their meditations. Countless formations were flashing through their minds, circulating nonstop and merging together. Some of the formations would then vanish, replaced by other formations.

The art of formations relied heavily upon visualizations and divinations! This was why the Dao of Formations was a legendarily complex one. Anyone capable of becoming a Hegemon via the Dao of Formations would definitely have a far higher level of status than ordinary Hegemons.

Whoosh. The countless formations were tweaked again and again. Suddenly, the black-robed Ning in the Azureflower Estate and the white-robed Ning within the hidden room in the Jadefire Realm both opened their eyes. Their eyes were gleaming with shocking levels of light.

“I understand!” Ning murmured softly, his voice filled with suppressed excitement. “These Sithe elders truly were incredible. They actually managed to use formations in such a manner! Even though I had all those Sithe techniques to serve as references, it still took me an incredibly long period of time to understand and solve these formations.” The more Ning researched the Sithe, the more impressed he felt, even though he was currently just focusing on formations. No wonder the Sithe had been so daring as to try and enslave all the cultivator civilizations!

“How is it?” The distant Azurefiend had been taking a nap while seated. He opened his eyes to look at Ning, a hint of excitement in his gaze. “Have you solved it?”

“Master?” Whitethaw looked at Ning as well.

“I think I have.” Ning nodded.

“What do you mean, you THINK you have?” Azurefiend stared at him.

“My mental visualizations should be correct, but I need to actually try them out.” Ning took a deep breath, manifesting three heads and six arms as his aura grew markedly more powerful. All six of his arms expanded in size as they simultaneously reached out to the six black chains.

Each of the fingers on Ning’s six hands turned crystalline in color as he drew hand-seals with them. His fingers began to naturally come together into a series of formations. The formations around his six palms began to naturally merge together, almost like a marvelous mechanism that was coming together in layers. Then, Ning’s six hands separated to touch the black chains on six different spots. Some moved slowly, some moved quickly, but there was a certain natural beauty to the cadence.

Clack! One of the black chains let out a series of clattering as it began to move. The black chains began to undergo certain changes, transforming to become significantly thicker in size. The thickened black chains began to reach out towards one direction, moving alongside the Flamewing God’s leg.

Clack! The black chain covering the leg suddenly expanded and then naturally separated from the others. Once this happened, the second black chain began to stretch out as well…

All six black chains seemed to be influencing each other. In the end, all six of the chains imprisoning the Flamewing God began to naturally separate from each other.

“Get over here.” Ning reached out with all six hands, his crystalline fingers once more tapping the six chains on six different locations. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. All six black chains were released from their void anchors and flew over towards Ning. Ning dispelled the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique. He reached out with his right hand, causing all six chains to become very fine and delicate as they coiled obediently around his arm like a bracelet.

“This is a fine treasure, a unique weapon which the Sithe used in war.” Ning smiled. “Once these chains coil around someone, they can fully suppress it. Even Chaos Primordials can be suppressed by them! Most likely, anyone below the Autarch level of power who is trapped by them would be unable to break free.” However, Ning also knew that no one would be so stupid as to allow the chains to just coil around them.

“Flamewing. Flamewing!” Ning lept off the Flamewing God’s back and moved to stand in front of it, then gave one of its paws a little kick.

“Eh?” The slumbering Flamewing God opened its gigantic bleary eyes, then stared downwards at the tiny white-robed figure standing in front of it. Rather unhappy, it said, “Master, I’m still sleeping! Call me once you break the formations.”

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Chapter 12 – The Flamewing God Descends

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 12 – The Flamewing God Descends

Ji Ning secretly smirked. You are a Chaos Primordial! But all you do is eat and sleep. You have no gravitas whatsoever. “Hurry up and get up. Haven’t you noticed that the chains are gone?” Ning shook his head.

“The chains are gone?” The Flamewing God’s eyes turned huge. He hurriedly turned his head to stare at his two wings, then stared downwards from his flank to look at his four stubby legs.

“Hahaha! They’re gone! They’re really gone! Those damnable chains are finally gone!” The Flamewing God jumped to its feet, its giant body quivering in excitement. “I’ve been trapped here forever. I couldn’t even change my size or appearance, or find anything good to eat! I didn’t have a good meal until you came, Master! That was absolutely agonizing. Now? Ahahahaha!”

Flamewing raised his head and let out a delighted laugh. His laughter echoed within the hidden room, forcing Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw to all press their hands over their ears. The laughter was simply far too large.

“Change!” Flamewing boomed loudly. Whoosh! His large and winged frame instantly transformed to become the same size as Ning and Azurefiend. He was just slightly taller and very chubby. His skin was ruddy, and his eyes were rather vacant-looking, as though he wasn’t all that clever. His aura was completely reserved; he didn’t look like he posed the slightest threat to anyone at all.

“Whoah. It’s been ages since I’ve taken human form. This feels nice! None of those cultivators or Sithe would be able to recognize me like this.” Flamewing smugly shook his rear a few times. In his normal form, he was like a giant winged giant bear who loved to stretch his wings. In human form, he naturally liked to shake his rear.

“Human form?” Intrigued, Ning asked, “Flamewing, can it be that you normally spent the majority of your time in human form?”

“That’s right!” Flamewing nodded. “I only use my true form when I was wandering in the Great Dark. That allowed me to travel faster. When I reached a realmverse, I’d occasionally feel so hungry that I’d eat the entire thing. The vast majority of the time, however, I wouldn’t want to do that. That’s because there are a lot of things in realmverses which are unappetizing.”

A thought suddenly entered Ning’s mind. Birth and death, destruction and creation… this was a form of natural rhythm the Chaosverse went through. Chaos Primordials had the intelligence levels of children… that made them perfect tools for the prime essences of the Chaosverse to exert their will. Powerful cultivators had incredibly strong Dao-hearts, making it very hard for the Chaosverse to guide them. However, guiding a Chaos Primordial was far simpler. When they felt a sudden, powerful desire to eat, they’d eat entire realmverses!

Natural destructive celestial bodies like Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels were terrifying, but they took time to be born. Even the Chaosverse needed time to create them, as well as many other factors.

“No wonder the Flamedragon Realmverse is threatened by the ‘Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels’, but the Autarchs won’t intervene. If they intervene, they’ll suffer a backlash from the Chaosverse.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh.

Flamewing continued, “When I’m not in the mood to eat the realmverse, I’ll secretly take human form. No one will be able to discover my true entity, and I can just relax and wander through the various places within that realmverse, searching for delicacies to eat. Eheheh… when I accidentally reveal my true identity, I’ll immediately slip away!”

“I’m able to sense when powerful cultivators appear nearby. It is a form of precognition, and I’ll immediately slip away to ensure they cannot find me,” Flamewing said smugly.

Ning nodded. No wonder so few had ever encountered a Chaos Primordial!

“Unfortunately… the last time, I sensed danger coming and immediately fled, but the Sithe were still able to catch up to me. After that, they caught me.” The Flamewing God ground its teeth. “If I ever see another Sithe, I’ll eat him alive.”

“The Sithe were wiped out long ago. Even if a few of them are still around, you wouldn’t have a chance to kill them. The Autarchs would’ve intervened long ago,” Ning said. “Alright, now that the formations have been disrupted, you are free to leave. Come, accompany me in a visit to my homeland.”

“Alright!” Flamewing’s ruddy face was covered in excitement. “I wanna go right now! It’s been so long since I’ve visited a realmverse.”

The nearby Azurefiend and Whitethaw both felt rather embarrassed. It really was like talking to a child.

Flamewing glanced sideways at Azurefiend and Whitethaw. Suddenly, Flamewing narrowed his eyes and sauntered over to them. He soon reached Azurefiend, who stared at him, rather puzzled. “Eh?”

“Burp.” Flamewing suddenly used his rear to shove Hegemon Azurefiend to one side. “Starting today…” Flamewing slapped his chest with a pudgy hand. “I’m the boss of Master’s servants. Whitethaw, you are second. As for you, you ugly old man? You are ranked third?”

“What the hell?” Azurefiend was instantly irritated by this. The Flamewing God was like a child but was terrifyingly strong. For it to be ‘above’ him was one thing… but why the hell was the Sithe Protector golem also ranked above him?

“Because I said so, and because I don’t like you!” Flamewing glanced sideways at Azurefiend. “Don’t think I’m too stupid to notice. I can tell just from the way you look at me that you look down at me. Hmph! I’ve visited countless realmverses and seen countless cultivators. I can tell at a glance who likes me and who dislikes me. Whitethaw’s much better than you!”

The nearby Ning let out a startled laugh. At the same time, he couldn’t help but sigh. Flamewing wasn’t very smart, but he had the pure heart of a child. He could immediately tell who was good to him and who wasn’t.

“Did you hear me? I’m the boss, Whitethaw’s second, and you are third! If you don’t agree, I’ll beat you up until you do.” Flamewing tapped his pudgy white finger against Azurefiend’s chest.

“I hear you.” Azurefiend was speechless. “Fine. You are the boss, Whitethaw’s second, I’m third.” There was no point squabbling with a Chaos Primordial.

“That’s more like it.” Flamewing walked over to Ning, then said in a very fond manner, “Let’s go, Master.”

Ning rubbed his head. He felt as though he had suddenly adopted a child. “Alright. Let’s go back to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Ning said.

“Darknorth, should we finish off Winterflame first?” Azurefiend suddenly said.

“No rush. Winterflame is like meat that’s already on the chopping block, but we would need Flamewing to actually kill him. One Flamewing attacks, Winterflame would definitely spread the news to everyone before he dies.” Ning shook his head. “Best not to introduce too many variables into the mix for now. I’m planning to use Flamewing against the Icepeak Army.”

“The Icepeak Army dares to attack you, Master? Hmph. Leave them to me. I’ll eat them all.” Flamewing held the Icepeak Army in no regard at all. Aside from the Autarchs and the Sithe Exalts, Flamewing truly feared nothing and no one whatsoever.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse. An empty region within the imperial palace of the Brightshore Kingdom. Hegemon Brightshore’s vast form was located here.

“Eh?” Hegemon Brightshore slowly opened his eyes, a hint of confusion in them. “Why do I suddenly have a strange premonition that something major has just happened within the Flamedragon Realmverse? The last time I felt something like this was when Crimsonwave Temple appeared. The fruits within it were quite useful to Hegemons and Emperors, and the temple itself is tremendously important.”

“This time… it doesn’t feel as though a treasure has emerged. Rather, I can sense a strange sort of pressure.” Hegemon Brightshore was puzzled. It was as though something had just happened which caused a wave of invisible pressure that pressed down on his heart, causing him alarm.

……

When one had reached certain heights in cultivation, one would be able to sense when something incredibly important to them had just happened! Hegemons were second only to Autarchs when it came to actual insights into the Dao. The so-called ‘Otherverse Lords’ were nothing more than Hegemons who had managed to take control over an otherverse. With regards to the Dao, Hegemons and Otherverse Lords were on the same level. This was true even for figures like Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King, who had managed to take control of terrifyingly powerful Sithe war machines.

“Eh? What just happened in the Flamedragon Realmverse? I feel my heart clenching for no reason, as though something terrifying just happened.” Hegemon Windrain of the Aberrant special lifeforms was awoken from his meditations. He began to worry.

……

“My senses can’t be deceiving me. Something has to have happened in the Flamedragon Realmverse. I’ll go talk to Brightshore and Windrain and see if they know what just happened.” Hegemon Netherlily of the Ancient cultivators felt rather uneasy. In the past, the truly supreme powers of the Flamedragon Realmverse had always been the three of them. They would always discuss any major events that happened.

……

Ning had successfully resolved the formations, unshackling the Flamewing God and bringing it to the Flamedragon Realmverse with him into Vastheaven Palace. The only ones in the Flamedragon Realmverse who could sense that this had happened were the three Hegemons.

The major powers of other realmverses were simply too far away, and this matter was of negligible impact to them. They naturally couldn’t sense anything at all. However… there was one major power in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance outside the Flamedragon Realmverse who was able to sense something. This was the true leader and most powerful member of the alliance… Realmslord Windgrace!

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Chapter 13 – Emperor Waveshift Returns

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 13 – Emperor Waveshift Returns

The Hiddenfiend Realmverse. The Blacksun.

An old man was seated atop an extremely slick boulder within a secluded courtyard. This old man had a large, tousled beard and mussed-up hair. His eyebrows were so messy that they were growing into a unibrow, giving him a very unkempt appearance. However, his face was extremely calm. His eyes were closed, and he just sat there silently in the lotus position. Each time he entered this form of silent meditation, it would last for varying amount of times. Sometimes, he could sit there for more than ten thousand chaos cycles.

Realmslord Windgrace enjoyed sitting quietly like this. When meditating, his spirit felt free and unencumbered. All sorts of thoughts and insights flowed through him. It was like both thinking and not-thinking at the same time.

At his level of insight, treasures which assisted in cultivation were of no further use. He had simply been for training for far too long; he had already made breakthroughs in everything he possibly could. Right now, what he needed was a true epiphany… but true epiphanies could not be achieved via any treasures at all. The Autarch’s stone dais which Ning used simply allowed him to emulate a quasi-ephiphany state that allowed him to train at incredibly faster speeds, but there was nothing it could do to allow him to breach a true bottleneck.

Once one had reached a bottleneck, no treasures would be of any use in assisting you in the breakthrough. Only insights and epiphanies would suffice.

“Eh?” An invisible tendril of power suddenly snaked its way through his empty spirit like a premonition. Realmslord Windgrace suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise within them. Moments later, he regained his usual calm, but he frowned in thought: “I have the feeling that a terrifying force has just emerged, one which even I am incapable of controlling. And yet, I can sense that it should be connected to me. Is it within the Hiddenfiend Realm? Or is it elsewhere in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance?”

The Sixteen Realmverses Alliance was his territory. Even a force as arrogant as the Icepeak Army wanted to first verify that Daolord Darknorth didn’t have a connection to Realmslord Windgrace before taking action. Even then, they chose to sneak into the Flamedragon Realmverse and would only act against Ji Ning and Ji Ning alone! They didn’t want to cause too much trouble. This was a testament to what a preeminent power Realmslord Windgrace was.

Generally speaking, the likes of Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King wouldn’t get involved in minor squabbles. Avoiding causing too much trouble was the key!

“If even I am incapable of controlling it… what could it be?” Realmslord Windgrace was puzzled. He immediately began to engage in some Numerancy divinations.

He had been a Hegemon for far, far too long; he was far more ancient that even Hegemon Brightshore. He had been a legendary figure even during the Dawn War, and he had been given guidance by more than one Autarch. He had reached an incredibly high level of insight into multiple Daos, and had mastered three Hegemonic Daos! However, the Dao of Numerancy was simply far too difficult to master. He had yet to reach even the Archon level in Numerancy; in fact, he was far from it. Most likely, he was merely on par with the level which Daolord Badlands would reach once the latter became a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Still, he was able to divine a few things.

“It is connected to me, and it is indeed something within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. However, no further details can be divined.” Realmslord Windgrace frowned. The uneasy feeling in his heart made it impossible him to meditate calmly any further.

“I have no idea where Emperor Waveshift is. My only choice is to ask Blackwood to help out,” Realmslord Windgrace mused. Emperor Waveshift had obviously reached terrifying heights in the Dao of Numerancy; he had actually reached the Hegemon level in this Dao! Although he was a bit weak in actual combat, he had reached the apex of Numerancy for anyone aside from the Autarchs! Thus, not even the likes of Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King were willing to offend Waveshift. Everyone treated him with the utmost of respect.

Realmslord Windgrace’s first reaction was to seek out Waveshift… but alas, he was unable to find him and thus could only ask Blackwood for assistance. Although Hegemon Blackwood only trained in Numerancy as a secondary Dao, he had at least reached the Archon level in Numerancy and thus was still incredibly skilled.

……

A planet that was 900 million kilometers in diameter. This planet was surrounded by eight gigantic azure wooden boards, each of which was 1.8 billion kilometers tall, 36,000 kilometers wide, and 9000 kilometers thick.

There were no living creatures on this planet, just a single bearded man who was seated on the vast earth. This was Hegemon Blackwood.

Rumble… the eight titanic wooden boards slowly swiveled around the planet. They moved like the functioning of the cosmos itself, carrying a strange, unique cadence to them.

Whoosh. Hegemon Blackwood suddenly opened his eyes. His face was a bit ashen. The eight azure wooden boards surrounding the planet quickly flew towards him and landed on his back.

“My calculations are complete. It happened in the Flamedragon Realmverse.” Hegemon Blackwood nodded slowly. “A terrifying new power has emerged, so strong as to be completely impossible. My subconscious is warning me that it is even more dominating than Realmslord Windgrace himself.”

“Who does this new force represent? Can it be that a Hegemon has discovered yet another Sithe war machine?” Hegemon Blackwood couldn’t help but come to this conclusion. Terrifying Sithe war machines were capable of terrifying amounts of power. Some were stronger, some were weaker; for example, although Ning’s chain weapons had incredible suppressive and absorptive powers, they had to first be wrapped around a cultivator successfully. This meant that they were fairly unique, but of limited use in combat.

The Blacksun, however… it was just a single item, but it was capable of changing the results of an entire battlefield during the Dawn War. Realmslord Windgrace had just one Sithe war machine while the Lonely King had several, but the two were equal in status. This was why.

……

“The Flamedragon Realmverse?” After Realmslord Windgrace received Hegemon Blackwood’s response, he immediately sent a message: “Brightshore, Netherlily, Windrain, I believe a terrifying new force has emerged with your Flamedragon Realmverse, one which is beyond my abilities to control. You need to keep a close eye on your realmverse. Once anything unusual happens, you need to immediately inform me and I’ll head there right away.”

“Understood.”

“We sensed something as well, a terrifying sense of pressure.”

“We’re already searching for it.” After receiving the word from Realmslord Windgrace, all three Hegemons felt slightly more confident. If even Realmslord Windgrace was able to sense it, then that meant that they could ask him to intervene and help out if something happened.

And so Brightshore, Netherlily, and Windrain, alongside the Dao Alliance (which also received orders from Realmslord Windgrace), began to scour the Flamedragon Realmverse in an attempt to find any hints about what the premonitions entailed. Alas, the Flamedragon Realmverse remained extremely peaceful. Nothing happened at all.

……

Time flowed on. More than six million years went by after the Flamewing God’s release.

Whoosh. A realmship suddenly appeared at the borders of the Flamedragon Realmverse. Just one person was within the realmship. This person was dressed in azure robes and stood tall. He didn’t have any weapons on him at all, and his gaze was warm and calm, seemingly capable of seeing through to the truth of everything. When he saw the Flamedragon Realmverse appear before him, he revealed a hint of a smile: “I’m back. Flamedragon Realmverse… I, Waveshift, am back!”

This was the legendary Emperor Waveshift! In the vast Chaosverse, his web of connections was far superior to even Realmslord Windgrace. Although Windgrace was much stronger than him, the major powers located in distant realmverses and otherverses didn’t care about Windgrace at all because they would probably never meet the man! There would never be anything they would need from Realmslord Windgrace… but there were many who needed favors from Emperor Waveshift.

“The feeling of coming home…” Emperor Waveshift commanded his realmship forwards, joy in his heart as he stared at the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Emperor Waveshift had a very unique aura. It was quite transcendent, almost as though he was a spectator viewing the vast Chaosverse from a lofty height.

“I never would’ve imagined that my homeland, the Flamedragon Realmverse, would’ve produced such an incredible figure that even I would sense it from afar.” Emperor Waveshift had a smile on his face. He had reached such incredible heights in the Dao of Numerancy that he would have premonitions whenever anything momentous happened in his homeland, the Flamedragon Realmverse. He could sense when a new Hegemon was born, and could also sense when the Flamewing God came out alongside Ning.

“Time for me to visit this incredible newcomer.” Emperor Waveshift smiled. Swoosh! His realmship tore through spacetime and began to advance towards Vastheaven Palace.

Given Emperor Waveshift’s skills in Numerancy, he was able to divine where the terrifying new force was currently located. Thus, he was able to continuously move closer towards it with ease! He couldn’t even be bothered to engage in repeated divinations. Instead, he tore through spacetime and went straight to the Vastheaven Everworld. He used the information he knew regarding the entire Flamedragon Realmverse to engage in reverse-divination, skimming through the countless lines of karma to find what he wanted to know.

“It is highly probable that this incredible newcomer is that genius Daolord, Daolord Darknorth, who has managed to develop an Omega Dao.” Upon reaching the Flamedragon Realmverse, Emperor Waveshift quickly came to a few rough conclusions. If his conclusions were wrong, he would then engage in a few more divinations to come to a more detailed level of understanding.

Emperor Waveshift stood there within the void outside the Vastheaven Everworld, staring at everything within it. “Ah. My guesses were correct.” Emperor Waveshift nodded slowly.

The Chaosverse was filled with countless lines of karma. Although Ning was able to ‘see’ karma, it must be remembered that even ordinary mortals were bound by countless lines of karma. Think about how many people lived in everworlds! Everworlds were filled with so much karma, they were like seas of smoke; there was simply no way to make anything out clearly. Emperor Waveshift, however, was different. When he viewed the Waveshift Everworld, he knew that his guesses were correct.

“This new power is indeed within the Vastheaven Everworld. Daolord Darknorth, eh? I want to see just how terrifyingly powerful this new force is.” Emperor Waveshift took a single step forwards and entered the Vastheaven Everworld.

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Chapter 14 – Ji Ning and Emperor Waveshift

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 14 – Ji Ning and Emperor Waveshift

Within the Vastheaven Everworld.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position next to a bridge, a few swirls of sword-light flowing around him. Not too far away, a chubby man was lying on the ground within a patch of flowers, crushing quite a few of them beneath his bulk. The chubby man had a haunch of meat in his hands, and he was enjoying a wonderful meal. He continuously rolled right and left while he ate, almost as though he was in a rocking cradle.

Hegemon Azurefiend was eating and drinking in a distant pavilion while occasionally casting extremely unhappy looks towards the ruddy-skinned fat man. As for Protector Whitethaw, he quietly sat in a corner. He would always be on guard for Ning.

“Life is great!” the chubby Flamewing mumbled while eating.

“Bastard Flamewing. He keeps taking my food. If it wasn’t for the fact that I can’t outfight him… bah!” Azurefiend muttered to himself as he ate, but made sure to keep up a barrier of Immortal energy to ensure that his voice did not carry. Azurefiend really was irritated. He was a glutton as well, but whenever he brought out any good food it would be taken away by Flamewing.

He was unable to outfight Flamewing. All he could do was to privately insult the Chaos Primordial, but he had to ensure that Flamewing didn’t hear it.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” A voice suddenly rang out.

“Eh?” Ning opened his eyes.

“Fellow Daoist, your formations certainly are formidable. Ordinary sect formations are unable to bar my path, and I’m able to bypass them with ease. The formations you set up, however, are inscrutable and unfathomable. I’m not able to breach them yet.” A voice rang out from outside Vastheaven Palace.

Ning turned to look, only to see an azure-robed man standing in the air outside the formations. Ning couldn’t help but feel shocked when he saw this man, who gave Ning a very unique feeling. The man radiated a transcendent aura, almost as though he was beyond all worldly concerns. Ning could even ‘see’ that the karma surrounding this person was extremely calm and warm. The karma lines were all neat and orderly, as though they were under the azure-robed man’s complete control. This was because this azure-robed man was not bound by his karma; instead, he used it as a form of tool.

Of all the people Ning had ever encountered, only Autarch Titanos surpassed this man. Autarch Titanos had completely surpassed karma itself, which didn’t even touch him.

“Please come in, fellow Daoist.” Ning immediately opened up the formations and invited the azure-robed man in. The azure-robed man walked through the air to come in, then entered Ning’s estate.

“A Hegemon… the legends said, Daolord Darknorth, that you have a Hegemonic retainer by your side. This must be Hegemon Azurefiend.” The azure-robed man cast a sidelong glance at the distant Hegemon Azurefiend, then turned his gaze to the still-feasting chubby man who was rolling around within the flowers. A hint of surprise finally appeared in the azure-robed man’s eyes, and he let out a shocked laugh: “So it is a Chaos Primordial! Impressive, truly impressive! Judging from its karma lines… Daolord Darknorth, you actually managed to tame a Chaos Primordial? I truly do admire you.”

Ning was speechless. The karma lines connecting him and Flamewing were indeed quite thick, but how was it that this person was able to immediately recognize Flamewing as a Chaos Primordial? It must be remembered that Flamewing’s transformation ability was an innate gift; not even Ning himself was able to see any flaws in it.

“And who are you?” The skinny old Hegemon Azurefiend walked over, an unhappy frown on his face. This newcomer had immediately called him a ‘Hegemonic retainer’ and didn’t seem to have much respect for him. This naturally displeased Azurefiend greatly… and he didn’t feel as though this person was much of a threat to him.

“My name is Waveshift,” the azure-robed man said. Ignoring the shocked look which appeared on Hegemon Azurefiend’s face, he turned to look at Ning. “I was previously wandering the outside world when I suddenly sensed that a new power had emerged within my homeland. Thus, I immediately hastened back. I was able to divine that the new power was within the Vastheaven Everworld and thus came to your residence, Daolord Darknorth. I never would’ve imagined that this new power would be a Chaos Primordial! Truly praiseworthy, Daolord… with a Chaos Primordial at your command, you are now an incredible figure of the Chaosverse.”

Ning felt rather stunned, but was able to maintain an outwards appearance of calm. “Emperor Waveshift, you truly do surprise me. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be able to meet you today. Come, come! Please have a seat. Let us chat.”

“Very well.” Emperor Waveshift nodded.

……

Ning was filled with admiration and curiosity towards the legendary Emperor Waveshift, while Emperor Waveshift also viewed Ji Ning as a truly legendary Daolord.

Anyone capable of becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step via an Omega Dao could be described as a legendary figure. Incredibly few had ever accomplished this; there were far more Otherverse Lords than Omega Daolords. As for a Daolord capable of convincing a Hegemon to become a retainer? That was even rarer… and now, this Daolord had even tamed a Chaos Primordial! Emperor Waveshift truly did feel admiration towards Ning.

The two chatted and laughed together, quickly finding out that they were birds of a feather.

“Ah, so that’s how it is.” Emperor Waveshift nodded. “The Icepeak Army truly is famous for its arrogance and overbearing behavior. As they see it, you are a Daolord with a limited lifespan. Once you fail your Daomerge, people will end up fighting over the realmship anyhow. It only makes sense for them to want to get a head start on it. Given that you also embarrassed them… there’s no way the Icepeak Army is going to let things rest. Still, this time they should merely be sending one of their Golden Emperors, ‘Lord Wulf’, and the Black Emperors under his command. Given that you have a Chaos Primordial, they are of no threat to you whatsoever.”

Ning nodded in agreement.

“Oh, right. When I arrived at Vastheaven Palace, I saw that the formations protecting it truly are marvelous,” Emperor Waveshift said. “Although the Dao of Formations is a secondary Dao for me, I’ve still reached the Archon level in it. Given my skills in Numerancy, I’m usually quite skilled in dissecting formations, but I found your formations to be quite difficult and complex.”

Ning laughed. “Big brother Waveshift, you truly are formidable. You were able to recognize them as being set down by me with just one glance.”

“A minor parlor trick. Divination is the only thing I am good at,” Emperor Waveshift said. By now, the two were already on such good terms that they were referring to each other as ‘brother’.

“My formations primarily stem from two completely different schools of thought which belong to the Sithe lineage. Their power stems from the combination of these two schools of thought,” Ning said.

“No wonder.” Emperor Waveshift nodded, then said, “You’ve only trained for a brief period of time, but you’ve reached such heights in the art of formations. You truly are a genius who has mastered an Omega Dao! Although we’ve only known each other for a short period of time, I feel that we are quite similar. I must remind you, now that you have a Chaos Primordial there is no one capable of posing a threat to you. You need to focus on your cultivating. To you, the greatest problem shall be the Daomerge! If you fail the Daomerge… ugh. Well. But if you succeed, you’ll gain eternal life and we’ll be able to meet often.”

Cultivators each had their own unique personalities. Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily… they all had their own unique temperaments. Ning was on fairly good terms with them, but he wasn’t exactly close friends with them.

The experiences he had shared with Ninedust had resulted in them slowly becoming friends for life. As for Emperor Waveshift? They shared extremely similar personalities, resulting in both taking a liking to the other right away. As a result, they became friends as well. It wasn’t easy for major powers to become friends with each other. Now that they were friends, Emperor Waveshift couldn’t help but worry about Darknorth’s chances at the Daomerge.

“The Daomerge… all I can do is try my utmost with no looking back. As for whether I succeed or not… so long as I do my best, I’ll have no regrets,” Ning said.

……

Time flowed on. To Emperors, two chaos cycles was a very short period of time. Thus, Emperor Waveshift decided to temporarily take up residence in Vastheaven Palace. Later on, when Emperor Solesky learned that the legendary Emperor Waveshift was actually within his own palace, he was scared silly. He only kept it secret after being requested to do so by Ning and Waveshift.

Emperor Waveshift would only meet those he wanted to meet. There were many he did not wish to meet; they would just bring too much trouble.

Ten million years after Emperor Waveshift’s arrival.

“Darknorth.” Emperor Waveshift and Ning were seated next to each other, playing a game of chess. As a master of formations, Ning was quite skilled in chess, while Emperor Waveshift was naturally even better. It was rare for them to encounter such excellent opponents and so they often played chess against each other.

“Hm?” Ning glanced over at Emperor Waveshift.

“The Icepeak Army should be arriving soon,” Emperor Waveshift said. “Let us go and welcome them.”

“They’ve arrived?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“The Icepeak Army?” Hegemon Azurefiend and the chubby Flamewing were eating and drinking together off in the distance. Both turned to look at Ning.

Ning immediately rose to his feet and called out, “Let’s head out and give the Icepeak Army a proper welcome.”

“They’ve finally come. Grrr… I’m going to eat them all!” Flamewing was quite excited. He had been waiting for this day for quite some time.

Whoosh. Ning, Emperor Waveshift, Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw all boarded Ning’s realmship, then flew out to the margins of the Flamedragon Realmverse.

“Let’s wait for them here.” The azure-robed Emperor Waveshift stared off into the endless Great Dark. “In roughly the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, the Icepeak Army shall arrive.”

Ning felt a sense of absolute reverence for this level of Numerancy-fueled precognitive foresight.

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Chapter 15 – Kill!

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 15 – Kill!

“Here they come,” Emperor Waveshift suddenly said.

Ji Ning also saw how a series of ripples began to appear at the margins of the Great Dark. Moments later an enormous spacetime tear appeared within the darkness, followed by a realmship flying out of it.

“Hmph!” An angered snort rang out from within the realmship as an aura of tremendous might swept outwards, causing Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw to turn slightly pale. Emperor Waveshift and the Flamewing God remained as composed as ever.

Emperor Waveshift wasn’t all that powerful, but he had experienced many, many things. He had met some truly terrifying figures and had been to many mysterious places, far more than even the Lonely King or Realmslord Windgrace. He truly was the embodiment of the term ‘highly experienced’; naturally, he was able to maintain his equanimity when encountering a single Golden Emperor.

As for Flamewing? Most likely, only Sithe Exalts or the Autarchs were capable of inspiring dread in him.

“How bold. You actually dare to appear before me.” A series of figures began to fly out of the realmship, with a humanoid figure that glittered like gold at their head. Behind him was a total of nine black humanoids, each of whom had auras of transcendent power.

A single Golden Emperor was equivalent to an Otherverse Lord in power! Nine Black Emperors fighting in concert were also a match for an Otherverse Lord! The amount of pressure they brought to their foes was truly incredible.

“Waveshift?” The Golden Emperor, Lord Wulf, turned to look at Emperor Waveshift. A hint of astonishment flashed past his eyes. He snorted coldly, “No wonder Daolord Darknorth just so happened to be waiting for us right here. So he has you standing behind him, Emperor Waveshift! I’ve heard of you long ago, but today is the first time we’ve met. Are you here to stop me?”

Emperor Waveshift laughed. “If I asked you to leave, would you actually leave?”

“Of course not.” Lord Wulf had a more baleful and more dominating aura than anyone Ning had ever encountered, and he held Emperor Waveshift in no regard at all. “Those who like you, Emperor Waveshift, will flatter you… but to those who don’t like you, you aren’t worth half a damn!”

Lord Wulf was an incredibly proud figure. There was nothing he wanted from Emperor Waveshift, and this was actually the very first time the two had met despite both having lived for countless years. He naturally felt no respect for Waveshift, an Emperor who didn’t even have the combat power of a Hegemon.

“Yes, I’m quite weak; my talents lie in Numerancy and Numerancy alone. My friends flatter me, but to those who have no need of my talents I truly am worth very little.” Emperor Waveshift remained quite calm and composed.

Lord Wulf’s face was a mask of icy arrogance, but many thoughts flitted through his mind. “Emperor Waveshift is actually here… can this be a scheme of some kind? But as a Golden Emperor, I’m even better at staying alive than actual Otherverse Lords. Given my power and the power of the nine Black Emperors who serve me, the only person in this area who would pose a threat to me should be Realmslord Windgrace! Even if Emperor Waveshift is plotting against me, he won’t be able to do anything to me at all.”

“I’ll overwhelm them with raw power. In front of absolute power, all schemes are nothing more than jokes.” Lord Wulf was extremely confident in his abilities.

“Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Wulf stared at the distant white-robed youth who bore that black sheath on his back. Ning was looking at him as well, and their gazes met in the air.

“General Wulf,” Ning responded.

“You are an impressive Daolord. Truly, you are incredible,” Lord Wulf said. “I’ve been alive for a very long time, but you are the only Daolord I have any respect for.”

“You praise me too much, General,” Ning said.

“Don’t be modest. A Daolord who can reach Hegemonic levels of power and even command a Hegemon retainer truly is incredible.” Lord Wulf glanced sideways at Azurefiend, who was by Ning’s side. “However… your retainer is a bit too cowardly. I would’ve committed suicide long ago.”

Cold light flickered through Azurefiend’s eyes.

“My contempt is reserved for those who commit suicide,” Ning said.

“Hm?” Lord Wulf frowned as he looked at the white-robed youth, then said coldly, “You really don’t know what’s good for you. No wonder you dared to make an enemy out of our Icepeak Army! Daolord Darknorth, as a Daolord you shall merely live for 108,000 chaos cycles. This is an incredibly short period of time! Once your lifespan comes to an end, you shall perish and your realmship will fall into the hands of others. In fact, there might even be a great battle over it. Emperors like myself who possess limitless lifespans can use it to wander the many realmverses and see more things… but for you to hold a realmship is an absolute waste! I urge you to hand it over. That way, you’ll at least remain alive,” Lord Wulf said.

He had been planning to attack immediately, but when he saw Emperor Waveshift… he still felt extremely confident in his chances, but he chose to be just a bit more cautious than he otherwise would have been.

“Hand it over?” Ning shook his head. “Why should I just hand my treasures over to you?”

“Are you sure you are going to refuse me?” The baleful aura surrounding Lord Wulf began to froth and churn. The hint of caution he had felt upon seeing Emperor Waveshift was beginning to dissipate, and his innate brutal disposition was beginning to reveal itself once more.

“I refuse.” Ning shook his head.

“You are courting death.” Lord Wulf’s gaze turned cold. He pointed angrily at Ning as his voice echoed throughout the surrounding area: “Kill them all, and exterminate Vastheaven Palace! Let everyone know what happens when they make enemies out of our Icepeak Army!”

“Acknowledged,” the nine onyx humanoids simultaneous said respectfully. “Kill them all!”

“Kill!” Murderous looks appeared on the faces of the nine Black Emperors, and their auras began to flare with awesome power. They were like nine streaks of black light that split apart the void as they shot forward. They had long ago grown accustomed to warfare and conquest! They had completely uprooted and destroyed quite a few powerful organizations; to them, an organization that was merely headed by a Daolord was nothing worth mentioning at all.

“Flamewing, kill them all!” Ning pointed towards his foes and issued an order as well.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.” Flamewing had been standing restlessly by Ning’s side. Upon hearing the order, he wagged his big butt excitedly, then let out an excited roar. This ordinary-looking fatty suddenly transformed into a dazzling ball of blazing fire which had a strange creature inside of it, a creature that looked like a fiery-winged bear.

The nine attacking Black Emperors all revealed looks of nervousness and puzzlement. They could sense incredible danger, but they had no idea what it was they were looking at.

“Eh?” The distant Lord Wulf suddenly turned pale.

“GWAAAAR!” Flamewing let out a shocking roar, and as he did so he belched forth a torrent of dark-red flames from his mouth. It almost instantly covered the surrounding void, including the nine Black Emperors who were charging in their direction.

“What’s that?!”

“ARGH! Not good, those flames are too powerful. Quick, run!”

The nine Black Emperors felt tremendous pain as soon as those dark-red flames touched them. Even their black skin began to slowly melt away! Although they were a bit more powerful than Whitethaw, they were still just Black Emperors; in other words, they were living beings who had used the Ritual Sacrificium to inherit a certain level of power. In contrast, Whitethaw was a ‘pure’ golem who was designed for defense; his survival abilities were far superior to theirs.

“What terrifying flames. These flames are far more powerful than even a Hegemon’s flames,” Waveshift said with an amazed sigh.

“Ordinary Hegemons would be burned to death by those flames,” the nearby Azurefiend said. “These Black Emperors have incredibly tough bodies; they are just melting slightly from the heat.”

Whoosh. As Flamewing belched out those terrifying dark-red flames, his wings fluttered and sent him streaking forwards like a bolt of terrifying light.

“That’s fast!” Ning was shocked. Flamewing was flying far faster than even a realmship!

“That creature is far too fast!” Hegemon Thunderstar, hiding off in the distance within his own realmship, was shocked by this as well. He had become a Hegemon via the Dao of Thunder and could be described as having reached the very apex of speed amongst cultivators, but he still felt astonishment. “He’s far, far faster than me. How can he be this fast?!”

Why was Flamewing known as the Flamewing God? It was precisely because of how incredibly fast he flew. This was why many classified him as a bird, as his prowess lay in his flight speed. Attacking techniques were of secondary importance.

Riiiip. Flamewing transformed into a streak of light and almost instantly shot towards a Black Emperor. He reached out with one of his chubby paws and swiped at the Black Emperor with it, causing the Black Emperor’s arm to twist unnaturally. A large wound appeared on the Black Emperor’s chest as well, so deep as to expose the countless stone passageways located within his chest. One of the planets inside his body completely exploded. This was a lethal blow for the Black Emperor, who instantly lost his life as a result.

Slash! Yet another paw-strike, this time aimed at the head of a Black Emperor. Although Black Emperors had incredibly sturdy heads, it was still possible for one to shatter those heads with enough power. As a result, this second Black Emperor died as well.

“Retreat, quick!” Lord Wulf could do nothing but watch as this all happened, his eyes threatening to leave their sockets. As soon as he had seen those dark-red flames, he knew something was wrong and so he immediately charged forwards to rescue his subordinate… but compared to Flamewing, his flying speed was far, far slower. They were on completely different levels.

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Chapter 16 – The Shocking Chaos Primordial

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 16 – The Shocking Chaos Primordial

These Black Emperors moved far more slowly than the Flamewing God, and the terrifying dark-red flames had only caused them to slow down even further.

As for Lord Wulf coming to reinforce them? They immediately gave up that notion. Given his speed, by the time he flew over, the Flamewing God would’ve pretty much killed them all. Thus… they had to take care of themselves!

“Join forces.”

“Work together to buy some time.”

“We only need to hold on for an instant.” The onyx humanoids were all absolutely terrified. It was as though they had met their natural predator! Fortunately, the nine of them had charged over together and thus were quite close to each other. By the time the Flamewing God had killed two of them, the other seven had already quickly gathered together.

“Hide inside this estate-treasure first.” One of the Black Emperors tossed out an estate-type treasure.

Crack! The dark-red flames were powerful enough to kill even Hegemons. This top-grade Eternal estate-treasure instantly began to crack apart, followed by the treasure being completely destroyed.

Whoooosh! Bathed in flames, the Flamewing God’s wings fluttered a single time, sending it straight towards the seven Black Emperors.

“Block!” The seven Black Emperors simultaneously swept out with their palms as the silver diagrams covering their bodies began to light up. An awesomely cold aura swept out from them as ice began to form over their gigantic black palms, sweeping towards the attacking Flamewing God.

“Grrr… die!” Flamewing was a dominating force of nature; it naturally chose to meet their attacks head-on! It flew straight towards its opponents, its giant bear-like paws smashing downwards with such power that even Ning and Azurefiend felt their hearts tremble as they watched from afar. Its attack collided head-on against the giant black palms of the seven Black Emperors.

BOOM! This was a collision of incredible power, and it instantly caused space around them to completely collapse and crumble.

When the seven Black Emperors joined forces, they were able to unleash an amount of power that was equal to that of an Otherverse Lord’s. Although they were clearly at a disadvantage when battling the Flamewing God, they were at least able to briefly pause it in its tracks.

As for the seven Black Emperors themselves, they were knocked flying backwards, their bodies trembling and crackling as a large amount of tears and injuries appeared on them. They had suffered incredibly heavy injuries; even they would need quite a long period of time to completely recover.

Whoosh. The Flamewing God was enraged at having been briefly stopped in its tracks. It once more fluttered its wings. Swoosh! It instantly swept through the void and charged at the Black Emperors, who were still in the process of being blasted in each direction. They didn’t have the chance to recover yet.

“Not good.”

“Flee separately.”

“Save yourselves!” The Black Emperors had all suffered heavy injuries, and they had been blasted backwards with such force that they had lost control over themselves. It was impossible for them to once more join forces to block the Flamewing God, and so they simply followed the momentum of the previous blast and began to flee for their lives.

Riiiiip! The Flamewing God was able to move at incredible speeds. Its claws swept past the body of one of the fleeing Black Emperors, instantly tearing the Black Emperor’s chest open. Quite a number of critical systems lay within the chest, and so this strike was a lethal one.

“GWAAAAR!” Flamewing opened its giant maw and bit down, crushing a Black Emperor to bits with its teeth, then crunching through the remains and swallowing them.

This was one of the most terrifying beasts in existence in the Chaosverse… a Chaos Primordial! They would often eat entire realmverses when hungry. In comparison, these onyx humanoids were devoured with ease by Flamewing. In fact, Flamewing rather enjoyed the chewiness.

“Stop that immediately!” Lord Wulf had finally arrive. Slash! Lord Wulf had moved to bar Flamewing’s path, but Flamewing was still able to land a clawing blow to a Black Emperor’s back, causing his spine to completely cave in and a series of crackling sounds to emanate from his body. The Black Emperor’s aura instantly whittled away into nothingness.

“DIE, damn you!” The enraged Lord Wulf suddenly drew a saber in each of his two hands. SLASH! SLASH! A pair of rainbow-like streaks of saber-light chopped through the skies, filled with Lord Wulf’s boundless rage and murderous will. The twin blows chopped straight towards the Flamewing God, who simply fluttered its wings and used them to block the two strikes like a shield. BOOM! The shockwave from this collision was even more powerful than the one generated by the clash between Flamewing and the seven Black Emperors.

Lord Wulf was sent flying backwards, while Flamewing came to a halt as well. It glanced at Lord Wulf, slightly surprised.

“Damn, damn, damn!” Lord Wulf glanced behind himself, only to see the four heavily wounded surviving Black Emperors fleeing towards the distant realmship. This caused Lord Wulf to feel a sense of pain in his heart. “I had nine Black Emperors… and now, I’ve suddenly lost five of them. The Icepeak Army has never, in all its history, suffered such catastrophic losses before!”

The Icepeak Army had conquered all within its path, stirring up one war after another, but even then its total losses had merely been eight Black Emperors. This time, they had been planning to slay this puny Daolord with ease… and yet they had instantly lost five of their Black Emperors?!

“You are pretty strong. You should be on par with those Otherverse Lords. I probably won’t be able to kill you,” Flamewing growled. “So you can go ahead and fuck off. Can’t be bothered to fight you! If it wasn’t for the fact that those seven were able to block me briefly, I would’ve wiped them all out by now.”

Indeed. Given the Flamewing God’s terrifying speed, he was in fact capable of killing all of the onyx humanoids before Lord Wulf had arrived. However, that extra moment of time the seven Black Emperors had bought themselves by joining forces had caused the Flamewing God to briefly slow down, resulting in ‘just’ five perishing and four escaping.

“Y-you…!” Lord Wulf felt even angrier. He had never suffered such catastrophic losses before, and felt as though he was about to go crazy. “DIE!”

“I can’t beat you to death so I was planning on not beating you up at all… but you insist on attacking ME?” Flamewing let out a furious roar as he charged over.

……

Space for ten billion kilometers around them completely collapsed, with the void itself having been ground up into countless tiny scorching pieces of space-sand as the titanic Flamewing battled furiously against that golden figure.

This was combat on a completely different level, a clash of the titans. Flamewing had the advantage and was completely dominating the golden figure, smashing it backwards over and over again! However, Golden Emperors simply had incredibly durable bodies; not a single scratch could be seen on Lord Wulf’s golden form, and so Lord Wulf continued to attack again and again with his indescribably exquisite Hegemonic saber-arts.

The terrifying clashes caused Ning and Azurefiend to both tremble.

“So this is what a battle between Otherverse Lords looks like?” Ning nodded slowly. Flamewing was indeed quite a bit stronger than an Otherverse Lord, but it was still incapable of actually killing them. In the end, its insights into the Dao were simply too weak. It completely relied on its innate gifts to do battle, and thus Otherverse Lords were able to stay alive in the face of its onslaught. However, there was no way they could actually overpower Flamewing in a frontal clash.

Even someone whose body was as durable as Lord Wulf, a Golden Emperor, was sent flying backwards with every single clash. However, rage caused Lord Wulf to continue to press the futile attack.

It truly was a scene of apocalyptic might. Even Hegemons would perish before attacks like these! “And this is just one of the Icepeak Army’s generals…” Azurefiend let out an amazed sigh.

“He is a Golden Emperor. Even the Lonely King himself is just a Golden Emperor,” the nearby Emperor Waveshift said. “The Lonely King’s advantage lies in his war machines, but those war machines would barely tickle your Flamewing God; there’s no way they can damage the Flamewing God’s nigh-indestructible body. Thus, even if the Lonely King came he would still be dominated and abused by your Chaos Primordial. This is what makes those creatures so terrifying.”

Ning nodded. Suddenly, a spacetime ripple appeared off in the distance, followed by a white-robed, white-bearded elder with six curved horns on his head emerging from a spacetime rift. It was Hegemon Brightshore.

“What terrifying shockwaves!” Hegemon Brightshore stared ashen-faced at the apocalyptic scene before him. This was a level of combat which was vastly beyond him, and these shockwaves were on a completely different level as well.

“Such power! Is this the terrifying force which Realmslord Windgrace spoke of, the force which is beyond even his ability to control?” Yet another figure appeared in the distance. It was Hegemon Windrain.

“A Golden Emperor? One of the legendary Golden Emperors, who are supposedly on par with Otherverse Lords, is being completely dominated in battle? Where the hell did this beast come from?!” Hegemon Netherlily appeared as well. The terrifying shockwaves from this battle had been sensed by all three of the mighty Hegemons of the Flamedragon Realmverse, and so they had all hastened over here.

On one side was Hegemon Thunderstar and his realmship, along with the four surviving Black Emperors. On the other side was Ning’s party and the three newly arrived Hegemons. All of them stared, stunned, as the battle progressed between Flamewing and the crazed Lord Wulf.

“Damn, damn, DAMN! AAAAAAARGH!” Lord Wulf let out an infuriated bellow which rang out in every direction, his voice filled with rage, resentment, and humiliation. He had never been as angry as he was right now! He had launched countless attacks, but he wouldn’t be able to continue fighting like this. This was because the energy stores in his body would begin to be exhausted if he kept this up, at which point he would be in mortal danger.

“Daolord Darknorth, I won’t forget this. I won’t forget this!” Lord Wulf turned to glare at the distant white-robed youth, his eyes filled with terrifying hatred and malice.

“Let’s go!” Lord Wulf immediately began to flee.

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Chapter 17 – Pursuit

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 17 – Pursuit

“Oh, NOW you want to flee?” By now, the Flamewing God had been thoroughly enraged by Lord Wulf as well. Its wings fluttered, sending it soaring through the void at terrifying speeds as it instantly caught up to the fleeing Lord Wulf. Flamewing once more sent its clawed paws against Lord Wulf: “So you think you can just attack and run as you please?”

BOOM! A titanic explosion rang out. Lord Wulf remained undamaged, and the warblades in his hands seemed to spin like circles of light. He himself arced outwards, borrowing from the momentum of the shockwave to continue fleeing. His body was so tough that it was completely undamaged.

Lord Wulf continued to flee, while Flamewing pressed the attack.

“Chase him down, Flamewing!” Ning ordered mentally.

“Leave it to me. This guy thinks he can just flee whenever he wants? It wont be that easy!” Flamewing chased furiously, giving vent to his rage.

“Let’s follow them!” Ning waved his hand, producing his realmship. Ning, Azurefiend, Emperor Waveshift, and Whitethaw all flew into it.

“Darknorth, let us watch as well!” Hegemon Brightshore flew over, followed by Hegemon Netherlily and Hegemon Windrain. They were extremely interested in watching a battle between Otherverse Lord-level combatants, especially since they themselves were in no danger. The brief part of the battle they had seen earlier had already caused them to learn a few things. Without question, the mysterious and terrifying beast which had completely dominated the Golden Emperor had to be on Ning’s side.

“Alright, let’s go together.” Ning didn’t refuse them. And so Ning, Emperor Waveshift, Azurefiend, Brightshore, Windrain, Netherlily, and Whitethaw all rode the realmship as it chased after the two combatants. Although in raw speed alone Ning was unable to make the realmship move as fast as the Flamewing God, Lord Wulf was much much slower than both of them. As the Flamewing God continued to hunt after and beat down upon Lord Wulf, Ning and the others were able to keep up with ease.

“Waveshift!”

“Long time no see, Waveshift.” Hegemon Brightshore and the other two Hegemons all greeted Emperor Waveshift. Like them, Emperor Waveshift was a native of the Flamedragon Realmverse; he had naturally met all three of them long ago. They chatted amongs t themselves as they watched the distant, high-level battle occurring before them.

“Darknorth, is this creature one of those legendary ‘Chaos Primordials’?” Hegemon Brightshore soon asked the question he wanted to ask the most. The nearby Hegemon Windrain and Hegemon Netherlily were both curious as well.

Ning nodded. “It is indeed a Chaos Primordial. Its name is the ‘Flamewing God’.”

“No wonder.”

“I knew it. Only the legendary Chaos Primordials could possibly possess such a level of power.” Hegemon Brightshore and the others were enlightened. Although they had their guesses, they had never actually seen a Chaos Primordial before. Those were legendary creatures which were never seen.

“Incredibly, simply incredible! Flamewing God, a Chaos Primordial, is battling against the Icepeak Army. It must have been tamed, right?” Hegemon Windrain asked.

Hegemon Netherlily turned to look at Emperor Waveshift. A smile on her face, she said, “Waveshift, did you tame this Chaos Primordial?”

All of them felt amazement and awe. The legendary Chaos Primordials were incredibly rare, and taming one of the creatures was something out of the myths! Still, for Emperor Waveshift to accomplish this was shocking but believable to them. Emperor Waveshift was often invited and feted by the most supreme of major powers, who asked them to accompany them to some incredibly mysterious places. It was believable for him to have been lucky enough to tame a Chaos Primordial on one of those trips.

“I don’t have that sort of ability.” Emperor Waveshift shook his head. “It was Darknorth who tamed it.”

“Darknorth?” Hegemon Brightshore and the others all turned to stare at Ning in disbelief. For a moment, none of them knew what to say.

Daolord Darknorth was an absolute monster! They had never heard of such a terrifying Daolord. It would be understandable if a power Emperor like the Lonely King or Hegemon Windrain had tamed a Chaos Primordial, but a Daolord?! This was truly miraculous.

“Nothing more than lucky.” Ning calmly watched as the battle proceed, his gaze focused on the enemy realmship that was following from behind like a streak of lightning. “That realmship really is fast. It flies far more quickly than even my own realmship. I can sense from its sudden bursts of speed that its even faster than Flamewing.”

“Hegemon Thunderstar became a Hegemon via the Dao of Thunder. He’s extremely skilled in speed, and when he is in command of a realmship he’s able to more perfectly draw out its full power than many, allowing it to move much faster,” the nearby Emperor Waveshift said. “Thus, personal insights truly do matter. Different treasures in the hands of different major powers will be capable of unleashing different levels of might.”

Ning nodded.

……

Whoosh. Hegemon Thunderstar kept his realmship at the margins of the battle, hiding far away and watching as the Flamewing God continued its pursuit.

“Thunderstar, hurry up and go rescue our general!” the other four Black Emperors urged desperately.

“There’s no way for me to save him.” Hegemon Thunderstar shook his head. “That Chaos Primordial is too fast. Although I’m skilled in flying, my speed still isn’t even close to being on par with that creature’s. Even though I’m in command of a realmship which is famous for its speed, I’m still just slightly faster than it. The problem is, your general Lord Wulf is far too slow, even slower than me flying normally! The Chaos Primordial continues to circle around him. Once I go nearby, I’ll probably be captured by it as well… and once it captures us, we’re doomed.”

“Ugh.”

“Damn.” The four Black Emperors were utterly enraged as well. They had suffered severe mental and physical blows from this, but they knew just how terrifying the Flamewing God was. It had slain five of their comrades in the blink of an eye, after all! If they had been just a heartbeat slower, they would’ve died as well.

“Don’t worry. I can tell that Lord Wulf is more than capable of keeping himself alive,” Hegemon Thunderstar said.

“Yes, the general has stopped launching all those crazy attacks. If all he needs to do is keep himself alive, he’s able to dramatically lessen the amount of energy he uses up. He’ll be able to keep fighting for an extremely long period of time.”

“Although that Chaos Primordial is very strong, its insights are too weak. Its attacks are all quite clumsy, making it easy for the general to stay alive.” All four of the Black Emperors nodded.

However, they also knew that Lord Wulf was only able to keep himself safe thanks to the fact that he had an Otherverse Lord’s combat prowess! Black Emperors like them? Yes, the Chaos Primordial might have an extremely low level of insight into the Dao, but it would still crush them with contemptuous ease. No amount of insights would be enough in the face of such an overwhelming disparity in power.

……

Boom!

Slash!

Whoosh!

Lord Wulf was being battered around like a ball. Each time, he was able to exquisitely time his defenses to make use of the momentum generated by the Flamewing God’s attacks to flee, allowing him to use up just a small amount of his energy even though he was sent flying repeatedly. Lord Wulf remained quite calm, and he continued to pay close attention to the realmship following behind them. “Daolord Darknorth. I won’t forget about this. Just wait and see.”

Time flowed on, with the pursuit lasting for tens of thousands of years. Ning continued to pursue the two in his realmship, but the frown on his face was beginning to deepen.

He was continuing the pursuit because he didn’t wish to give up the chance to kill a Golden Emperor. His Chaos Primordial was born with tremendous karmic blessings and had a virtually indestructible body as well as unearthly amounts of strength with it replenished incredibly fast. This was why the Sithe had chosen to use it as a power source for the Jadefire Realm! Golden Emperors, however, replenished their energy stores much more slowly. Ning had been eagerly awaiting the sight of Lord Wulf exhausting his energy stores, at which point he would probably perish.

Alas, his foe was no fool. Lord Wulf had ceased his frenzied attacks and was instead borrowing from the momentum of Flamewing’s own strikes. As a result, he was keeping energy expenditures low enough that he was able to replenish whatever he used up, allowing him to resist for an extremely long period of time.

“Its been tens of thousands of years, but Lord Wulf remains able to defend with ease.” Ning frowned. “It seems clear that his energy expenditure rates are below his replenishment rates.”

“Come back, Flamewing.” Ning finally issued the order.

“GWAR!” Flamewing let out a final, proud roar within the Great Dark. For it, pursuing an opponent for tens of thousands of years was nothing. It could spend an entire chaos cycle just taking a nap!

The fleeing Lord Wulf was briefly startled. Moments later, he realized that the Flamewing God had finally ceased its pursuit. Only then did Lord Wulf turn to fly towards Hegemon Thunderstar’s realmship.

Swoosh. He quickly flew into the realmship, which then sped up dramatically and transformed into a dazzling streak of electric light and disappeared into the Great Dark.

Ning quietly stared into the darkness. The nearby Emperor Waveshift said, “In terms of energy stores, Chaos Primordials vastly outstrip Otherverse Lords. Alas, its insights into the Dao are too low-level. It is like a child, capable of just the most basic forms of combat! Thus, all of its overwhelming power is of no use; it’s only able to suppress, not kill, Otherverse Lords in combat. The legends say that there has never been an Otherverse Lord or a Golden Emperor who has perished to a Chaos Primordial.”

Ning nodded. “It does not make efficient use of its power. The Sithe were able to take all of its terrifying energy to set up the Jadefire Realm, then transform it into a ‘Decimatus Wave’ which could kill Otherverse Lords with ease.”

If Flamewing had reached Ning’s level of insights into the Dao, it would be able to kill Golden Emperors with ease. Alas, its insights into the Dao were negligibly low, and it possessed just the most basic of animalistic instincts. All it knew was the most basic forms of attack.

“A pity that we had to let that Golden Emperor escape,” Azurefiend mumbled.

“We can’t chase after it any longer. If we did, then we’d be in trouble once the Lonely King commanded the rest of the Icepeak Army to come and reinforce them,” Emperor Waveshift said. “By then, we’d have no choice but to hide behind the Flamewing God’s protection.”

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Chapter 18 – Two Competing Sides

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 18 – Two Competing Sides

Ji Ning nodded. The entire Icepeak Army had a total of four Golden Emperors, with the most powerful being the Lonely King due to his possession of multiple Sithe war machines. He had destroyed even otherverses with those machines! The Flamewing God was all by itself, after all; it would be very hard for it to fight that many people at once. If it had to protect others as well, the only way for it to do so would be for them to hide within its estate-world as it fought.

Of course, Ning could’ve ordered for the Flamewing God to charge straight into the Lonely King’s base. In other words, if this battle truly got out of hand it wouldn’t be good for anyone involved.

Whoosh. Flamewing transformed back into a ruddy-faced fatty and re-entered the realmship. “That was a good fight! Its been ages since I’ve had the chance to fight like that. Whew!” Flamewing was quite delighted with itself. “That Lord Wolf or Wolfe or whatever, he sure can take a beating! I can’t even count the number of times I whacked him, but I just couldn’t put him down.”

Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Netherlily, Hegemon Windrain, and Azurefiend all stared at the fatty with a look of some dread. This harmless-looking man was capable of butchering Hegemons with ease when he fought. Even Otherverse Lords would be completely dominated, albeit still capable of staying alive.

“And who are these three?” Flamewing glanced at Hegemon Brightshore and the other two, then licked its lips. “Master, should I eat them?”

“Don’t!” Hegemon Brightshore and the others were badly frightened by that offhand comment.

“They are my friends, Flamewing. Stop causing trouble,” Ning immediately said.

“Oh.” Flamewing nodded, then casually slouched over a nearby chair. It then waved its hand, causing some food to appear which it began to munch down on.

“Chaos Primordials truly are exceptional!” Hegemon Brightshore let out a relieved breath. All of them unconsciously moved closer towards Ning, wanting to keep a safe distance away from the Flamewing God.

“My horizons have been expanded after seeing that battle,” Hegemon Windrain said with a sigh. “I’ve often heard of how terrifying the battles between Otherverse Lords can be, but I’ve never witnessed one myself. Experts on that level rarely fight, after all! This was the very first time, and it truly was an incredible sight. They really do completely surpass us in power.”

Ning nodded. He had also been stunned by this recent fight. The Flamewing God’s flames alone would’ve been enough to roast him to death, while the Golden Emperors lived up to their reputation; Flamewing had unleashed everything it had but remained unable to harm Lord Wulf.

Ning was slowly beginning to understand that Flamewing had slightly more attack power than Otherverse Lords, but wasn’t capable of actually killing them! In terms of defensive strength, however, Flamewing was completely indestructible, and its strength was nearly limitless as well.

The Lonely King’s Sithe war machines allowed him to actually slay Otherverse Lords! And yet, he still wouldn’t be able to harm Flamewing in the slightest, and his defensive strength was merely on par with other Golden Emperors. Most importantly of all, he was unable to fight an extended battle. Much like how Realmslord Windgrace would expend an enormous amount of energy with each activation of the Blacksun, the Lonely King’s Sithe war machines also consumed a terrifying amount of energy.

Thus… even though some major powers clearly had greater attack power than a Chaos Primordial, they still remained completely unable to harm those creatures. Flamewing could slaughter all of the Lonely King’s subordinates with impunity, and the Lonely King would be able to do nothing but watch.

This battle truly had been quite stunning for everyone involved. Ji Ning, Azurefiend, Brightshore, Windrain, Netherlily… they were all Hegemonic figures, and today they realized how terrifying the higher-level Otherverse Lords were. The others were also envious of the fact that Ning had actually managed to tame a Chaos Primordial.

……

“Damnit.”

Multiple figures were scattered throughout the realmship. All of them were silent, and the golden humanoid was the first to speak and disrupt the deathly silence.

Lord Wulf stood there, his eyes cold and filled with murder. The air around him seemed to have frozen solid. He had never suffered a humiliating defeat like today’s.

“General?” The other four looked at Lord Wulf.

“We definitely cannot just let things end here.” Lord Wulf gritted his teeth. “We have to invite his Majesty to help out.”

……

Whoooooosh. An endless aura of cold emanated out to cover the surrounding void.

A giant iceberg was hanging in the middle of the void, and the iceberg was filled with frozen mountain peaks. A figure was levitating in the air above the peak of one of those mountains.

This figure was seated on a giant levitating silver throne and dressed in beautiful silver robes. His hands, his neck, his face, and the other exposed parts of his body were all golden! The silver-robed golden humanoid sat there atop his throne, his arms resting against the throne’s armrest. A blood-red gemstone was affixed to the middle of his forehead like a third eye, and it brimmed with might.

This man was staring into the distant void silently.

Everyone in the Icepeak Army knew that the Lonely King would often sit there by himself and stare off into the void. The Lonely King always had a cold look on his face, a look that inspired terror in those who saw him. With but a thought, he could rescind the Golden Emperor and Black Emperor bodies of his subordinates, then give them over to others. Thus, all of the soldiers of the Icepeak Army were filled with dread towards him. They were terrified of incurring his displeasure.

The only time he ever revealed the hint of a smile was when he was engaged in battle and slaughter.

“Majesty.” A gray-robed figure flew over, then bowed respectfully.

The Lonely King turned his golden gaze across the gray figure. “You are Lord Wulf’s retainer?”

“I am,” the gray-robed figure said respectfully. “My true body has accompanied the general for many years now. Just now, I received orders from Lord Wulf to report some news of grave import to you, your Majesty.”

“Speak,” the Lonely King commanded calmly, his gaze focused upon the infinite void once more.

“This matter involves a Daolord known as Darknorth.” The gray-robed figure began to respectfully narrate the entire affair in detail, not exaggerating anything at all. He described things exactly as they had occurred.

The Lonely King listened to the entire story without interrupting a single time. When he heard that Ji Ning had the power of a Hegemon, his only response was a blink. It wasn’t until he heard the words ‘Chaos Primordial’ that he turned to look at the gray-robed figure.

“A Chaos Primordial?” The Lonely King murmured softly, “And who does it serve? Waveshift?”

“No. Lord Wulf said that he saw Daolord Darknorth issue an order to the Chaos Primordial. He said, ‘Flamewing, kill them all’,” the gray-robed figure replied. “This Chaos Primordial should therefore be named ‘Flamewing’, and its master should be Daolord Darknorth.”

“This Chaos Primordial’s master is Daolord Darknorth?” The Lonely King’s lips curved upwards slightly.

He was smiling.

This scene inspired terror in the gray-robed Emperor. Whenever he saw the Lonely King smile, he felt a sense of terror.

“Good. It is good that he serves a Daolord.” The Lonely King nodded slowly, seeming to be quite pleased.

“Lord Wulf said that he lost five Black Emperors,” the gray-robed figure said hurriedly. “What should we do? We’re waiting for your orders, Majesty.”

“Let bygones be bygones. Let this matter come to an end,” the Lonely King said calmly.

“Then what of our five slain Black Emperors?” the gray-robed figure asked.

“If they died, they died.” The Lonely King remained quite calm and indifferent. “Let this matter come to an end. This ‘Daolord Darknorth’ deserves his reputation as an unbelievable genius. He now has a Chaos Primordial at his beck and call… and most Daolords are madmen! Best not to fight against this Daolord Darknorth. If we fight against him and he orders his Chaos Primordial to attack our base, who can withstand it?”

The gray-robed figure continued to listen obediently.

“Send my response to Lord Wulf. He and his subordinates are to be stationed permanently in the Flamedragon Realmverse!” A hint of anticipation was in the Lonely King’s eyes. “Let him wait and collect every bit of information he can find about Daolord Darknorth. Once he receives word that Daolord Darknorth has failed his Daomerge, have him notify me.”

“Understood,” the gray-robed figure said respectfully.

“Remember! From this day forth, you are not to antagonize Daolord Darknorth. Do not speak to me of him until he fails his Daomerge,” the Lonely King commanded. “Now go.”

The gray-robed figure bowed respectfully, then immediately departed.

The Lonely King continued to sit there atop his levitating silver throne, staring quietly into the void. A hint of anticipation was within his eyes. “So its master is a Daolord? Daolords have such short lives. Once the Daolord dies, it’ll be time for the creature to accept a new master.”

……

The Hiddenfiend Realmverse. The Blacksun.

Realmslord Windgrace had received the reports from Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, and Hegemon Netherlily.

“A Chaos Primordial? And its master is Daolord Darknorth?” The disheveled-looking old man walked out of his little courtyard, his eyes brighter than ever.

“So one of the legendary Chaos Primordials has appeared.” Realmslord Windgrace immediately barked, “On my orders, ensure that no news regarding the Chaos Primordial is divulged to outsiders. All Hegemons within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, as well as the visiting Hegemons and Emperors, are all under strict orders to not spread this information to anyone.”

“Yes, Master,” the two nearby disciples both said respectfully.

Realmslord Windgrace mused softly, “Once word spreads, even more of those old fellows will be drawn over here. Daolords have such short lives. Once this Daolord dies… if he issued an order for the Chaos Primordial to follow another, it would quickly come to accept its new master.”

“Master, the Lonely King should be aware of this matter as well,” Hegemon Wuye said.

“I know the Lonely King. He would never divulge this information to others.” Realmslord Windgrace shook his head. “As for what happens when Darknorth fails his Daomerge… if the Lonely King tries to fight with me over it, he’ll learn that he cannot beat me. Hmph!”

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Chapter 19 – All Grows Calm Again

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 19 – All Grows Calm Again

“Master, what should we do next?” Hegemon Wuye said softly. He had once been one of Realmslord Windgrace’s least remarkable students, but in the end he had become the most successful. Hegemon Wuye looked rather foolish, but how could a Hegemon who devoted to his life to analyzing Sithe golems possibly be foolish? At critical times like this, he was able to maintain a level of incredible calm. Wuye knew that the question of who the Chaos Primordial belonged to was a question which would impact his own master’s status.

Unlike Daolord Darknorth, his master was going to be around for an extremely long period of time. Daolord Darknorth had a limited lifespan, while his master had won eternity for himself. If he could also tame a Chaos Primordial, then his status in the vast Chaosverse would rise up once more to new heights. The Lonely King would no longer be on the same level as him.

“Do nothing at all.” Realmslord Windgrace shook his head. “There’s no need for us to try and force things. Daolord Darknorth is an intelligent man. He has his own plans.”

“Alright.” Wuye nodded.

“The more you try to force something, the less likely it will work out as you hoped. The only result would be that Daolord Darknorth might feel a sense of enmity towards us. The Lonely King’s subordinates have already caused the seeds of enmity to be sown between him and Darknorth. Based on my understanding of his personality, he’s definitely going to try and force things…” Realmslord Windgrace smiled. “We cannot try to rush this matter. We must be patient. Daolord Darknorth has to willingly hand over control. Once he fails his Daomerge, he’s eventually going to have to come to a decision about what he will do.”

The nearby Emperor Skylight asked, “Master, what if Daolord Darknorth succeeds in his Daomerge?”

“Succeeds?” Realmslord Windgrace laughed. “He trains in an Omega Dao. I once heard from an Autarch that there has never been a Daolord who has successfully completed the Daomerge for an Omega Dao! If he does succeed, he’ll reach such a terrifyingly high level of power that he’ll probably be far stronger than even the Chaos Primordial. By then, the Chaos Primordial won’t matter; what would matter would be Darknorth himself.”

Hegemon Wuye and Hegemon Skylight couldn’t help but begin to silently speculate as to how powerful an Omega Dao Emperor would be!

“Stop thinking about it. The cultivator civilizations of the vast Chaosverse have given birth to a number of Autarchs, but it has never given birth to so much as a single Omega Dao Emperor.” Realmslord Windgrace shook his head. “His chances of success are very, very low.”

……

Since Realmslord Windgrace had issued orders, everyone in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance immediately moved to obey.

In truth, realmverses were all extremely distant from each other. It was quite difficult for news to spread across multiple realmverses, and the only ones within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance who were capable of contacting the outside world were the Hegemon-class Emperors. So long as they kept their mouths shut, there was no way word would spread.

But as for within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance? Word had already spread! Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, and Hegemon Netherlily had only managed to contact Realmslord Windgrace by going through several other Hegemons and Emperors! They didn’t have Primaltwins or avatars in the Blacksun, and so they had to convey their messages through others, who then conveyed the message to Emperor Skylight to give to Realmslord Windgrace.

Given how many had been informed, word naturally began to spread within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

……

A realmship suddenly appeared at the borders between the Flamedragon Realmverse and the Great Dark. This was the realmship which Hegemon Thunderstar commanded. Within it were a total of six figures. One was a golden humanoid, four were onyx humanoids, and the final figure was a violet-robed, violet-haired man.

They were Lord Wulf of the Icepeak Army, four Black Emperors, and Hegemon Thunderstar, respectively.

“Swear the oath right away.” Lord Wulf cast the violet-robed, violet-haired man a cold look.

“Sure, sure.” Hegemon Thunderstar immediately smiled. “I would never dare to go against the Lonely King’s orders. I, Thunderstar, swear on my very life itself…” Hegemon Thunderstar had been forced to swear an oath not to divulge any information regarding the Chaos Primordial known as the Flamewing God.

“You can leave now.” Lord Wulf tossed out a storage-type magic treasure, then left alongside his four Black Emperors.

Whoosh. The realmship quickly departed, leaving Lord Wulf and his four Black Emperors at the borders of the Great Dark.

“General?”

“Are we really supposed to just swallow this crap?” The four Black Emperors remained unwilling to accept this. They had just suffered a huge loss; were they to take this lying down? The Icepeak Army would generally launch frenzied reprisals against any who dared to challenge them! This was why the Lonely King had gone so far as to kill three Otherverse Lords.

“You already know what his Majesty has commanded,” Lord Wulf said coldly. “What his Majesty commands, we shall carry out! Right now, his Majesty doesn’t care about this ‘Daolord Darknorth’; the only thing he cares about is that Chaos Primordial. If he can take control of it in the future, then our Icepeak Army shall become far more powerful than it is right now.”

When the four Black Emperors thought back to how terrifying the Flamewing God had been, they couldn’t help but shudder.

“In the coming days, we shall remain hidden within the Flamedragon Realmverse and keep a close watch on Daolord Darknorth. We shall wait for him to fail his Daomerge.”

……

The news that a Chaos Primordial had appeared was like a bomb exploding within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance! It shocked all of the Hegemons and Emperors. As for the Lonely King and Realmslord Windgrace, they just waited quietly. Both of them were waiting for Ning to fail his Daomerge.

“Let’s go.” A vile, blood-robed elder who radiated a reeking aura of blood stood there in the air. He let out a sigh. Behind him was an entire host of evil Emperors.

“Are we… are we really going to just leave like this?” The Emperors were rather unwilling to go.

“We lost.” The blood-robed Emperor shook his head. “Daolord Darknorth has survived many attempts against his life, and he now has both a Hegemon retainer and a Chaos Primordial. There’s no way we can possibly be a match for him. If we stay in the Flamedragon Realmverse… given his influence and power, we’ll probably be wiped out soon.”

“Now… our only chance for survival lies in departing from the Flamedragon Realmverse,” the blood-robed elder said.

“Let us go our separate ways and begin to wander through the Great Dark. Only by leaving can we survive.” The blood-robed elder let out a sigh. “I, Bloodcloud, simply am not strong enough. I feel ashamed.”

Whoosh. The legendary Emperor Bloodcloud, a man who had reached the Archon level of power, tore through spacetime and departed on his own.

The other Emperors traded glances with each other. All of them were truly unwilling to accept this. It would take them at least a million chaos cycles to travel another realmverse, after all. This would take an incredibly long period of time!

“In the end, there shall be other places in the chaosverse where we can live and thrive. Let us go.” The Emperors quickly came to the decision to depart. Singly and in small groups, they began to depart from the Flamedragon Realmverse and begin to wander through the Great Dark. Ji Ning had once sworn to slay every single one of the demons of Silksnow Palace. How could they possibly dare to remain here any longer?

……

Vastheaven Palace.

By now, Hegemon Brightshore and the others had departed. Now, Emperor Waveshift had come to bid Ning farewell as well.

“Big brother Waveshift, you are leaving as well?” Ning was rather surprised and unwilling to part from him.

“The main reason I came back was to see just what new power has arisen within my homeland. Now that I know it is the Flamewing God and have met with you, Darknorth, I’m satisfied.” Emperor Waveshift smiled. “I have other business to attend to in the outside world.”

Ning nodded.

“Now that you have Flamewing under your control, the only ones you need to keep an eye out for are two people. One is the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army, and the other is Realmslord Windgrace.” Emperor Waveshift smiled. “The Lonely King’s temperament is a bit too bloodthirsty, and in comparison he isn’t quite as experienced as the Realmslord. He was simply someone who was lucky enough to find a Sithe armory and thus rose to power! Realmslord Windgrace is different. He rendered great merits during the Dawn War and has been guided by multiple Autarchs. He has seen far more things, and as a result he has chosen to be low-key.”

“It’s hard to predict what Realmslord Windgrace will do. If you do fail the Daomerge, you can entrust your final wishes to Realmslord Windgrace. That old man is quite trustworthy,” Emperor Waveshift said.

Ning was slightly startled by this.

“Of course, I hope you succeed in the Daomerge.” Emperor Waveshift let out a long sigh. “You’ve only seen a tiny fraction of what the Chaosverse holds; you haven’t even left the Flamedragon Realmverse! Countless marvels are waiting for you, and there are countless secrets waiting for you to uncover them. Darknorth, I truly do hope that you succeed in the Daomerge. When you do, I’ll ride your coat-tails and have you take me to some places I would never dare to visit on my own.”

Ning said with some surprise, “Countless marvels are waiting me?”

“You’ve barely visited any places.” Emperor Waveshift shook his head.

“I’ve visited an alternate universe before!” Ning said. “And also many places here in the Flamedragon Realmverse.”

“As I said, you’ve barely visited any places. Otherverses are created by Autarchs for amusement, and they hold nothing special within them,” Emperor Waveshift said. “The Chaosverse… now THAT is truly something. Even the Sithe were nothing more than part of the Chaosverse. Only those who truly understand how marvelous the Chaosverse is will know how tiny they themselves are!

“This is why Realmslord Windgrace, who has served and followed Autarchs in the past, is such a low-key figure, while the short-sighted and ignorant Lonely King is so arrogant and brash. His only claim to fame stems from those Sithe war machines. In terms of real power, those Otherverse Lords who managed to merge their heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy together are the truly terrifying figures of the Chaosverse. They truly do stand at the very peak of power, save for the Autarchs.”

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Chapter 20 – Regret

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 20 – Regret

Ji Ning nodded as well. If an Otherverse Lord managed to merge all of his types of energy together, he would truly become a force to reckoned with.

Ning had received legacies from over three hundred Hegemons, with God Emperor Helong being one of them. God Emperor Helong had been an Otherverse Lord who had created the [God Emperor’s Apocalypse] technique, a technique akin to the [Heartsword] art. As a result, he had been far more powerful than most Otherverse Lords, and was strong enough to fight Chaos Primordials head-on with his own power.

“However… on the other hand, Sithe war machines come in varying levels of power as well. The Lonely King has multiple war machines and is capable of slaying ordinary Otherverse Lords and destroy entire otherverses.” Emperor Waveshift nodded. “Although he is rather short-sighted, he’s still not someone to trifle with. Sithe war machines are simply terrifying to behold. You need to be wary of him.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

“Train hard and succeed in the Daomerge.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. “The Chaosverse holds far too many marvels which you have yet to see. For example, the most stunning sight I’ve ever seen is a Sithe Exalt who is kept in perpetual imprisonment. That terrifying presence he had… even though I only saw his blurred outlines from afar, I still felt completely shaken. Well, that’s enough of that. Here’s a treasure for you.”

Emperor Waveshift suddenly waved his hand, causing a cube-shaped treasure to appear within it. He gently flicked this crystalline cube over towards Ning. “All you have to do is shatter it, and I’ll be able to sense it.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. “I’ll then head back to the Flamedragon Realmverse at top speed.”

“Thank you.” Ning felt rather moved.

“I feel like we are old friends, even though we have just met.” Emperor Waveshift let out a sigh. He scanned the area with his gaze, then used his Immortal energy to block the sound of their voices from the outside world. “Before I leave, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

When Ning saw how cautious Emperor Waveshift was, to the point of not even wanting Flamewing or Azurefiend to overheard the conversation, Ning couldn’t help but feel rather surprised.

“In recent days, I secretly used all the power and skill I had to engage in Numerancy divination on your behalf,” Emperor Waveshift said.

Ning’s heart lurched.

“Your Daomerge… it will have a tremendous impact on the world. Even though I did everything I could, I was still only able to see a tiny amount.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. He elected not to mention the fact that he had used up an incredibly important treasure to carry out this divination; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to see anything at all.

“You saw a tiny amount?” Ning listened carefully.

“A tiny, blurry amount.” Emperor Waveshift nodded. “All I can say is… I saw nothing but darkness!”

“What do you mean?” Ning’s face paled slightly.

“It means that there was no life at all!” Emperor Waveshift shook his head. “Based on what I saw just now… you will definitely fail your Daomerge!”

“Are you absolutely certain?” Ning found it hard to accept this.

“Don’t be hasty or disheartened. Remember… the Dao of Numerancy involves divination and probability, not ironclad prophecy; nothing is fixed! The future is always filled with infinite possibilities,” Emperor Waveshift said. “Thus… you need to seize every single possibility, every single bit of karmic luck. You have to fight for every scrap of every chance, for every treasure and every legacy you can find. Do everything you can to improve your chances… because if you do not, you will fail.”

“If you do your utmost, perhaps you may stand a chance.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. “That’s all I have to say. I’m going to leave now.” After speaking, Emperor Waveshift turned and departed into the skies.

Waves of emotion were rocking through Ning’s heart. He had felt certain that he had reached a sufficiently high level of insight into the Dao. He never would’ve imagined that Emperor Waveshift’s divinations would suggest that he had no chance whatsoever at succeeding.

“He’s right. If I want to succeed in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao, I truly do have to do everything I can. I can’t let myself relax in the slightest.” Ning nodded slowly.

“Master, has Waveshift departed?” Flamewing sauntered over lazily.

“He left.” Ning nodded. “Life shall become rather peaceful and uneventful for a time. No one will come to disturb us.”

Ning was planning to continue his training. He had multiple other Daos he needed to train to the Archon level, so as to fulfill the requirements Autarch Awakener had laid down. That would allow him to gain a treasure which the Autarch had left behind, a treasure which the Autarch had believed to be supremely useful for the Daomerge. He absolutely had to acquire that treasure.

“So there’s nothing else to do for now?” Azurefiend asked. “Darknorth, are you planning to remain in secluded meditation here at Vastheaven Palace?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “However, before I go into secluded meditation, I’m planning to pay a visit to the Jadefire Realm. There’s still a Hegemon imprisoned there.”

“Winterflame!” Azurefiend’s eyes lit up.

……

By now, the only person remaining in the flaming passageways of the Jadefire Realm was Hegemon Winterflame.

The silver-robed and devilishly handsome Hegemon Winterflame was seated in the lotus position within a flaming passageway. He was quite patient, and ever since he had ended negotiations with Daolord Darknorth he had begun to wait. He was waiting for Daolord Darknorth to fail his Daomerge, at which time he would stand a chance at surviving and escaping.

“What?! A Chaos Primordial?!” Hegemon Winterflame’s face turned completely pale. “Impossible! That’s absolutely impossible.” A look of terror was in his eyes. He finally began to panic, and it was impossible for him to remain calm any further.

By now, the entire Sixteen Realmverses Alliance was frothing after receive word that Daolord Darknorth had tamed a Chaos Primordial. Hegemon Winterflame’s avatar was in the outside world and he thus received word of it as well. To the other Hegemons and Daolords, this was nothing more than a bit of entertaining news… but to Hegemon Winterflame, it was a sudden pronouncement of doom!

He had always been a vicious and unscrupulous man, which was why he had planned on kidnapping everyone in Vastheaven Palace to threaten Ning. He had even battled against Ning’s avatar, and Hegemon Brightshore had to intervene to stop him.

In the end, he had been unwilling to completely accede to Ning’s demands within the flaming passageway. He wanted to await for the day that Daolord Darknorth failed his Daomerge and perished, and so he had been waiting… but who would’ve imagined that this terrifying news of a Chaos Primordial would suddenly descend upon him?

“Is this real? The Chaos Primordial is named the ‘Flamewing God’, and he easily butchered five Black Emperors of the Icepeak Army? Lord Wulf of the Icepeak Army was beaten so badly he had to flee in terror?” The more Hegemon Winterflame heard, the more terrified he became. If even Black Emperors had been slain, how could he, Winterflame, pose any threat to the creature at all?

“How could this have happened? He’s just a Daolord! H-how is this possible? I-I… I’ve always been so careful.” Hegemon Winterflame was rather dazed. He had never been so foolish as to make an enemy out of any truly formidable figures. Although he was unscrupulous and capable of anything, causing many to hate him, he had still been able to remain alive.

Alas… if one always walks by the riverside, sooner or later one’s shoes would get wet! Daolords were usually nothing more than bugs to be crushed… but this time, one of them had just given him a huge ‘surprise’.

“N-no… I can’t accept this…” Hegemon Winterflame’s face turned completely red as countless thoughts flitted through his mind. He asked for more and more information from those in the outside world before, finally, he gave up.

“Flee!” Hegemon Winterflame’s eyes were bloodshot. “I have to flee! Since Daolord Darknorth is now fighting against the Icepeak Army, his true body isn’t present. Perhaps the Jadefire Realm is unguarded for now.” Hegemon Winterflame felt a thin tendril of hope.

Swoosh! He immediately transformed into a streak of white fire and began to flee.

“It really is safe now.” Hegemon Winterflame flew for several seconds without activating any traps. He immediately felt a sense of delight. “Daolord Darknorth must have left. There’s no one in control of the Jadefire Realm.”

BOOM! Right at this moment, a wave of terrifying power swept towards him with terrifying destructive power. Hegemon Winterflame immediately retreated in a blind panic, but the flame still split his body in half.

Slash! After putting up a struggle, half of his flaming body was completely destroyed by that wave of power. The other half quickly reformed into Hegemon Winterflame’s appearance. His face was ashen, and a look of horror was in his eyes. He had very nearly died just now.

“Hegemon Winterflame. On Master’s commands, I’ve been watching over you.” A voice boomed out, echoing within every part of the surrounding area.

Hegemon Winterflame lifted up his head to scan the surrounding area, a feeling of dread in his heart.

“You were pretty lucky this time, but next time you are dead meat. The flaming passageways are quite long. You’ll have to fly for very, very long before you can escape them. You survived the first time, but I refuse to believe you’ll survive a second and third time,” the cold voice said. This was the Emperor-class golem which Ning had ordered to remain here and watch over this place.

“Y-you…” Hegemon Winterflame was panicking. He called out loudly, “Is your master Daolord Darknorth? Hurry up and help me send word to him. Let him know that I’ll accept his terms. I’ll give him all of my treasures, including my armor and my Universe weapon. I’m willing to offer all of them to Daolord Darknorth, so long as he is willing to let me go and spare my life.”

“Hmph. So NOW you choose to beg for your life?” the cold voice boomed out.

“Just hurry up and tell your master!” Hegemon Winterflame said frantically. “I don’t want to be enemies with him!”

“Just wait. He will be arriving soon,” the cold voice replied.

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Chapter 21 – Of Little Use

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 21 – Of Little Use

A realmship appeared within a spatial tear outside the Jadefire Realm.

“And here we are.” Ji Ning stared at the vast blazing whirlpool of blazing flames and smiled: “Hegemon Winterflame has probably heard the news by now.”

“He definitely has.” A look of excitement was on Azurefiend’s old face, and his eyes were gleaming. “Based on my understanding of him… he’s probably scared out of his mind. He might immediately beg for mercy once you arrive, Darknorth.”

“Let’s go and take a look.” Ning was looking forward to seeing that panicked look on Hegemon Winterflame’s face. In the past, Winterflame had always behaved in an arrogant and domineering manner.

Whoosh. The realmship flew into the Jadefire Realm at high speeds, descending into the flaming passageways.

“Master.” A voice rang out from the surrounding area. This was the voice of the Emperor-class golem in control of the flaming passageways.

“Is Winterflame still in the same old position?” Ning asked.

“Master,” the voice rang out, “Hegemon Winterflame attempted to flee, but I took control over the mechanisms in accordance with your orders and nearly killed him. This frightened Hegemon Winterflame so badly that he no longer dared to flee again, and he’s very close to where he originally started.”

“He actually tried to flee?” Azurefiend grinned and said, “He finally knows the meaning of fear. He has an invulnerable form, which means that even though I am a bit stronger than him I cannot kill him… but now that we have Flamewing, killing him will be simplicity itself. If he tries to run, the mechanisms in the flaming passageways are also capable of claiming his life! Both fleeing and not-fleeing will both spell doom. Haha, I’m looking forward to seeing that look on his stupid face!”

Ning laughed as well. He also felt delighted! After they flew for a period of time, they finally saw Hegemon Winterflame. Hegemon Winterflame was seated in the lotus position in the void. He still looked as devilishly handsome as ever, but his aura was rather chaotic.

“Eh?” Hegemon Winterflame turned his head as the distant realmship approached him. He hurriedly rose to his feet.

Four figures flew out of the realmship, with the leader being the white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back. Next to him was the chubby Flamewing and Hegemon Azurefiend, with Protector Whitethaw standing behind them all.

“I greet you, Daolord Darknorth,” Hegemon Winterflame said. His attitude was very humble, and he cast Flamewing a glance as he spoke. Flamewing was chomping through some food he was holding as he glanced sideways at Winterflame as well. Winterflame couldn’t help but feel as though he himself was being devoured bit-by-bit, and his mental state grew even more chaotic.

“Hah! Look at how respectful our dear Hegemon Winterflame is being.” Azurefiend roared with laughter as he clutched his sides: “He’s being as humble as a servant! Last time we saw him, he was quite arrogant and proud, no? Winterflame, do you remember the final words you said to us when we last met?”

Hegemon Winterflame’s face was ashen as Azurefiend continued to speak: “I think you’ve forgotten, but I haven’t. I recall it all quite clearly. Watch, Winterflame!” Azurefiend waved his hand, causing an illusory image to appear next to them. This was the scene of their previous meeting, and in the illusory images Winterflame was snarling with hatred as he roared, “Let’s see if you die first or if I die first!”

Winterflame gritted his teeth.

“Enough, Azurefiend,” Ning said.

“Fine.” Azurefiend fell silent as instructed.

Winterflame relaxed slightly. Although he was completely unscrupulous, as a Hegemon he still cared about face. He felt miserable suffering such mockery from Azurefiend. Upon hearing Ning order Azurefiend to halt, he was suddenly filled with hope. Perhaps Daolord Darknorth wasn’t going to hold a grudge and would release him?

“He’s about to die soon. There’s no need to go too far.” Ning’s voice rang out once more, and Winterflame’s face instantly turned bone-white.

“DAOLORD DARKNORTH!!!” Hegemon Winterflame let out a throat-rending howl. Even Ning was badly startled by the grief and rage in Hegemon Winterflame’s voice.

“Daolord Darknorth, I was wrong! It was all my fault! I was being too arrogant and ruthless.” Hegemon Winterflame stared at Ning, then said in a begging manner, “I know I made a huge mistake. I beg you to give me a chance, Daolord Darknorth. Everyone should be given a chance. Give me one!”

“In your dreams,” Azurefiend muttered.

Hegemon Winterflame gritted his teeth. “I’m willing to be your retainer. So long as you spare my life, I’ll serve you.”

Ning just watched quietly, while Azurefiend chuckled: “Didn’t you look down at me for becoming his retainer?”

“I’d be honored to be given the chance to serve Daolord Darknorth as his retainer,” Hegemon Winterflame said hurriedly. Upon seeing that Ning appeared completely unmoved, he began to panic even further. “I’m willing to be an eternal retainer. Even if you fail your Daomerge and die, Daolord Darknorth, I’d be willing to swear an oath to follow your orders to the end of my days. Uh, I don’t mean to suggest that I hope you will fail the Daomerge, Daolord Darknorth. I obviously hope that you will succ-”

Halfway through his babbling, Ning suddenly shook his head. “Flamewing, get rid of him.”

“Haha, I was waiting for you to say that!” Flamewing let out a strange howl, transforming into his normal form of a giant blazing winged bear as he charged straight towards Hegemon Winterflame.

Hegemon Winterflame had a terrified look on his face, but moments later it was replaced by a look of savagery. He glared at the distant Ning with a hate-filled look in his eyes, then howled, “Daolord Darknorth, you’ll die too! You’ll die too!”

Riiiiiip. Flamewing destroyed everything in its path with its overwhelming power. Even though Hegemon Winterflame was able to transform into a sea of fire, he was still extinguished by the Chaos Primordial’s might. Nothing was left save a few scattered treasures.

Azurefiend shook his head when he saw this. “Darknorth, Winterflame was still a Hegemon. Taking him on as a retainer wasn’t a bad idea. I thought you’d choose to accept him in the end.”

Ning stared at the scattered treasures floating in the air. “I did briefly consider taking him on as a retainer, but… for some reason, he just disgusted me far too much. I already have the three of you; an extra Hegemon retainer really wouldn’t make much of a difference. Better to keep my surroundings clear of such filth.”

Azurefiend was speechless. He never would’ve imagined that Ning would have declined a Hegemonic retainer for a reason like this.

“Let’s go.” Ning had already made certain plans for the Three Realms. By now, Hegemon Winterflame truly was of little use to him, as Ning simply wouldn’t trust a Hegemon like Winterflame to watch over the Three Realms.

……

Hegemon Winterflame died, and his avatar perished alongside him. This news quickly spread throughout the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

The Hegemons and Emperors of the alliance all knew long ago that Hegemon Winterflame had been trapped within the flaming passageways. They all suspected that the killer was Daolord Darknorth, the controller of the Jadefire Realm! All of them couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread towards him. They knew that Daolord Darknorth was not the benevolent, merciful type… and they secretly celebrated the fact that they handed over their treasures and had been able to leave the Jadefire Realm safely.

And so, the Hegemons and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance now feared a total of two people. The first was Realmslord Windgrace, while the second was the monstrously talented Daolord who had tamed the Flamewing God – Daolord Darknorth. These two people were mighty enough to cause even Hegemons to fear the approach of death.

……

Ning didn’t really care about what was happening in the outside world. His focus was on cultivation. He had to come up with those ten Archon-class techniques as soon as possible, so that he could earn the precious reward which Autarch Awakener had left behind. Even the Autarch viewed that treasure as valuable and not to be casually handed over to others.

According to the estate-spirit, this treasure was the number one most helpful cultivation treasure in all the Chaosverse, and it was number one in assisting during Daomerges as well!

Ning absolutely had to acquire such a supreme treasure. The Daomerge for the Omega Dao would be incredibly difficult; even Emperor Waveshift said that he saw no hope at all for Ning in attempting it. In addition, the path of the Omega Dao was the only path available for Ning if he wished to revive Yu Wei. Only through this path would he have a chance to surpass the Autarchs and take back Yu Wei’s truesoul fragments from the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

Of course, it was highly likely that he would fail and perish… but he still had to do his absolute utmost!

……

Time flowed on.

Vastheaven Palace. Within Darknorth’s estate. Ning was seated by himself in quiet meditation atop a mountain. Next to him was a hot stove that had a flagon of wine atop it, while there was some snow on the boulder nearby.

Ning’s Primaltwin remained in secluded meditation atop the Autarch’s stone dais, while Ning’s true body lived a fairly relaxed life. This dichotomy of harsh training and relaxedness actually caused many insights to flicker through Ning’s mind. He broke through a number of bottlenecks in this way.

“I’ve finally reached the Archon level in the final Dao, the Dao of Earth.” The white-robed Ning’s eyebrows were covered in snow. He suddenly opened his eyes to stare at the nearby flagon of wine. This wine had been kept warm for an extremely long period of time, because Ning only permitted himself a single drink of wine when he finished completing a Dao. Thus, it had been countless years since he had last drank from the wine.

“Now, all ten techniques have been developed.” An eager look was in Ning’s eyes. “I wonder what sort of precious treasure Autarch Awakener has left behind for me?”

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Chapter 22 – Stonefire Pearl

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 22 – Stonefire Pearl

Within the Azureflower Estate.

The black-robed Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop the stone dais. He had already been in this position for more than ten chaos cycles without moving at all.

“Success.” The black-robed Ning suddenly opened his eyes and smiled. He waved his hand, causing a series of jade slips to appear next to him. Ning had filled every sigle one of the jade slips with all sorts of techniques which he had devised over the course of many years. Although only ten chaos cycles had gone past in the real world, he had spent that entire period of time under 100x temporal acceleration. In other words, for him over a thousand chaos cycles had already gone by.

Ning had come up with a total of ten Archon-class techniques. These techniques were based on his Omega Sword Dao, his heartforce illusions, the Dao of Fire, the Dao of Water, the Dao of Thunder, the Dao of Space, the Dao of Formations, the Dao of Metal, the Dao of Wood, and the Dao of Earth. There were ten Daos in total.

After slaughtering Hegemon Winterflame, Ning had chosen to work in simpler Daos such as that of Metal, Wood, and Earth, so that he would more quickly acquire the treasure reward. He personally wanted to study the Dao of Time, but judging from how he had spent more than two hundred chaos cycles working on the Dao of Space, he felt likely that he would need to spend even more time on Time.

In the end, he was a sword cultivator. As a result, he was quite quick with the Dao of Metal, making his breakthrough in just twenty or so chaos cycles. He wasn’t very talented in the Dao of Wood, and so he spent more than fifty chaos cycles on it. As for the final member of the Five Elements, ‘Earth’? Thanks to the fact that he had already mastered the first four, he had actually managed to complete his mastery of it in just ten or so chaos cycles.

In just ninety ‘real’ chaos cycles (900 chaos cycles for him), he had actually managed to create three Archon-class techniques.

“Senior,” the black-robed Ning called out. The distant white-haired elder, also seated in the lotus position, slowly opened his eyes.

“Senior, you already know about my Omega Sword Dao and my illusions. Here are the other eight techniques.” Ning pointed at the eight slips levitating in the air behind him. “Please take a look at them.” The eight jade slips all floated over to the white-haired man.

“That fast?” The white-haired old man’s eyes lit up as he immediately stared at the eight slips. After analyzing them, he nodded: “Not bad. You’ve mastered all five of the Five Elements, and you actually made tremendous progress in even the Dao of Formations. You truly do have an incredibly high level of comprehension of the Dao. In truth, just judging from how quickly you were able to create your Omega Sword Dao and then reach the Fourth Step as a Daolord, I felt certain that your comprehension skills were exceptional. However, I still had to obey my master’s orders.”

“Of course.” Ning nodded. In truth, one’s comprehension skills could change. For example, even the most ‘talented’ of newborns wouldn’t be able to comprehend much. The many experiences you went through in life would mold you like metal in a forge, either breaking you or making you stronger, harder, and more dazzling. Ning’s heart had been completely focused on the Dao of the Sword, and he had experienced many exceptional things before reaching his current heights. Now that he had reached the fourteenth stance of the [Heartsword], his heart and his will were both incredibly pure, allowing him to train even more quickly than before.

“You’ve created ten techniques, which means I can give that treasure which Master left behind.” The white-haired old man waved his hand. Whoosh. The hall suddenly seemed to ripple as rays of light appeared, causing a tiny fist-sized space to appear at the very center of the room. After this tiny space appeared, one could vaguely make out two objects levitating within it.

The first object was a completely round and slick pearl. It looked to be roughly the size of an egg, and it emanated incorporeal ripples that could be seen with the naked eye. Ning could sense the waves of power sweeping across him, causing him to feel more relaxed and comfortable than he ever had before. He felt almost like a child in his mother’s embrace; that was how incredibly warm and soothing this felt.

The second object was also round, but it was covered with countless lines and runes.

“Come here.” The white-haired man waved his hand, causing both objects to float over towards him. “Darknorth.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “This first treasure was named by my master and the Autarchs as the ‘Stonefire Pearl’. All of them concur that it had to be a naturally-occuring treasure manifested by the Chaosverse, and that it is the number one most helpful cultivation treasure. Master focused all of his efforts on completing the Nine Chaos Seals, and so he found these types of treasures to be invaluable. As a result, he paid a fairly significant price to convince the other Autarchs to let him have it.”

Ning was shocked. So Autarch Awakener had personally used this treasure in the past?

“Let me tell you about its history.” The white-haired elder laughed. “Our story begins when the Sithe were at the prime of their power. They had yet to launch the great war against the cultivator civilizations, but my master and the others were already secretly on guard against them, keeping a vigilant eye on them at all times. One time, Master and the others suddenly sensed a hint of danger appear and so they hurriedly joined forces to go to that location. They discovered that the Sithe had captured and were escorting a strange stone lifeform who was completely covered in flames. My Master and the others did not hesitate at all; they immediately attacked! The Sithe either fled or died. As for the ‘stonefire’ lifeform? It was actually on par with my Master and the other Autarchs in might!”

“On par with Autarchs?!” Ning was amazed. “The Sithe are actually in control of creatures with such power?”

“That creature probably wasn’t a Sithe. None of us know where the Sithe found the thing and how they took control over it,” the white-haired elder said. “Master and his peers spent tens of thousands of years battling it before it finally ran out of energy and died. As soon as the strange stonefire creature died, its body crumbled apart and revealed this pearl within it.”

“This pearl has marvelous properties and is of tremendous use to cultivators when training,” the white-haired elder said. “We found a total of just two creatures which had reached this level of power. One was this stonefire creature, the other was an iceberg creature that was also controlled by the Sithe and fought for them during the Dawn War. The Autarchs killed both of these creatures. I imagine they should know more about where these creatures came from, but they’ve never discussed it with me.”

Ning sighed in amazement. Living creatures who were on par with Autarchs in power? “Can the Sithe have created them?” Ning asked.

“Impossible. They were actual living beings,” the white-haired elder.

“Autarch Awakener didn’t provide any additional information about them?” Ning asked.

“No. He did once say that with the Sithe having been annihilated, these creatures will no longer be seen ever again,” the white-haired elder said.

Ning nodded, but he was still completely puzzled. Why was it that these terrifying creatures would no longer appear now that the Sithe were gone? Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. In the end, he simply hadn’t visited enough places. He hadn’t even seen a fraction of what Emperor Waveshift had seen, to say nothing of the Autarchs. He knew far too little about the vast Chaosverse.

“This Stonefire Pearl is now yours.” The white-haired elder handed it over to Ning while saying, “But of course, you are not allowed to give it to others. If you die in the future, it’ll fly back to the estate and await its next destined owner.”

“Fly back?” After accepting the pearl, Ning at first felt as though it was rather cool. Soon, however, the warmth of his hand began to heat it up.

Ning sent his divine power into the pearl to investigate it. “Eh, it’s not a magic treasure?” Ning was surprised. This was just an ordinary item, not a magic treasure; how was he supposed to bind and use it?

“This is a natural treasure. All you need to do is to send a strand of your godsense into it and you’ll be able to activate it,” the white-haired elder said. “This estate also holds the stonefire creature’s corpse within it. If no one is in control of the pearl, it’ll pass through spacetime and then come back.”

“How incredible.” Ning was shocked.

“The Autarchs destroyed the stonefire creature and shattered its bodies into tiny bits, but the Stonefire Pearl would fly back towards the shattered bits of its body and quickly bring it back to life.” The white-haired elder laughed. “In the end, Master and the others had to destroy its soul and truesoul before it stopped trying to revive itself. By now, the corpse has been ensorcered by Master and remains suppressed in here, and so once you die, Darknorth, the Stonefire Pearl will come back to this place.”

Ning nodded. As soon as he had sent a strand of his godsense into the pearl, he was able to sense that it seemed to have become part of himself and had become completely one with him.

“Come in.” Ning willed the Stonefire Pearl to enter his body. A faint warmth spread throughout every part of him, and his soul and truesoul both felt incredibly at ease. When Ning attempted to meditate on the Dao of Time in this state, he immediately felt as though a wellspring of insights began to flow through his mind.

“This is incredibly useful for cultivation.” The white-haired elder smiled. “It is the number one cultivation treasure, which means it is naturally also the number one Daomerge treasure.”

Ning felt a sense of excitement in his heart. Hegemon Brightshore and the others had actively contested over Crimsonwave Temple’s fruits. Why? Because those fruits could be used to forge spirit-pills which when eaten would be of tremendous use for cultivation.

The Stonefire Pearl was the supreme cultivation treasure which had been used by Autarch Awakener himself, and the same was true for the stone dais. Now… both had been inherited by Ning.

“I’m sure you know what Master was hoping for when he left these things to you.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning.

“I understand. Autarch Awakener’s greatest wish was for the Nine Chaos Seals to be perfected,” Ning said.

“Yes. This was his greatest regret in life.”

The white-haired elder nodded, then gently waved a finger and caused the second floating sphere to fly over towards Ning as well.

Ning saw that this sphere was covered with countless runes and patterned lines which flowed across its surface. He immediately had the feeling that it was connected to the Nine Chaos Seals somehow. The white-haired elder explained, “This is the Heart of Eternity. It is covered with layers of runes, all of which must be deciphered and resolved. Darknorth, you should continuously work at solving these layers of runes. Once you’ve completely mastered all ninety-nine layers of runes which cover the Heart of Eternity, you will have reached Master’s level of insight into the Nine Chaos Seals.”

“But solving and comprehending the Heart of Eternity merely means you have reached his level in just a single aspect!” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “My master’s hope is that someone can improve this technique to the Eternal Emperor level, which was why he named this sphere the Heart of Eternity. Learning to solve it will be of some assistance to you in the Daomerge. Although the assistance will be fairly minimal, Master left behind a final treasure within the core of the Heart of Eternity. If you can fully solve it then the treasure inside it will be yours, and I can promise you that it is just as valuable as the Stonefire Pearl.”

Ning felt both joy and sorrow. Autarch Awakener truly had spared no expense in trying to ensure that his ‘heirs’ would complete the Nine Chaos Seals. He had even gone so far as to seal away a treasure inside the Heart of Eternity! If someone wanted to acquire it, they would have to first completely deconstruct the Heart of Eternity and reach Autarch Awakener’s level of insight in the Nine Chaos Seals. This would truly require an enormous amount of effort.

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Chapter 23 – Difference

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 23 – Difference

“Senior,” Ji Ning asked, “Might I ask what other external treasures exist in the Chaosverse which are of major benefit to someone attempting the Daomerge?”

Success in the Daomerge was a combination of two factors; internal and external. Internal referred to one’s self and one’s insights! Only if one reached a sufficiently high level of comprehension would one’s chances increase.

External factors referred to special treasures which would improve one’s chances, such as the Autarch’s stone dais or the Stonefire Pearl.

What Ning was attempting was something which had never been successfully carried out… a Daomerge in an Omega Dao! No one in the history of the entire Chaosverse had ever successfully done such a thing, and so he naturally had to both perfect himself as well as acquire all external sources of help he could find. That way, his chances at the Daomerge would improve slightly.

“External treasures?” The white-haired elder glanced at Ning in surprise, then pointed at the Autarch’s stone dais beneath Ning. “This serves as the core for the estate, and Master spent countless amounts of effort in forging it. You’ve already acquired a Stonefire Pearl as well, which is the essence core of a creature which was comparable to an Autarch in might. These were treasures which my master himself used to assist him in cultivation. With them, what other external treasures could you possibly want?!”

“I understand,” Ning said hurriedly. “The Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl are both tremendously helpful in cultivation. They will provide me with sustained, long-term benefits while I am training. What I was referring to just now is another type of external treasure, something akin to the ‘Voidsea Jadeseal’ or the ‘Nine Orifices Void Pill’, treasures which can generate an astonishing effect for a brief period of time.”

“Ahh.” The white-haired elder nodded. Many talented Daolords would create magic altars and seek out special spirit-pills in preparation for their Daomerge. Those spirit-pills, when eaten, would cause the truesoul to be tremendously stimulated. As for the Voidsea Jadeseal, it actually allowed for a complete Daomerge simulation.

“You walk the path of the Omega Dao, and so there is no way to simulate your Daomerge,” the white-haired elder said. “As for special spirit-pills… they probably wouldn’t even be as useful as the state you are normally in when using the Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl.”

Ning immediately asked, “Isn’t there something particularly special which I could use?” Ning would go for anything and everything which was of use to him.

The white-haired old man pondered for a while, then said, “If you absolutely HAVE to have something… I do remember an incredible single-use Daomerge treasure which can instantly unleash a tremendous amount of power for an extremely brief period of time. Master once mentioned it briefly to me and described it as one of the top three treasures in its class!”

Ning’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.

“The number one treasure is known as the ‘Daomerge Firecloud Flower’. The second-ranked treasure is known as the ‘Incense Spirit-Fruit’. The third is known as the ‘Cloudworld Jade’.” The white-haired elder said resignedly, “But I’ve only heard of them because my master once chatted casually about them with other Autarchs. They didn’t speak in detail and so I know very little about them.”

“But Darknorth, these are all limited-time objects. Once you use them up, they are gone. They aren’t even close to being comparable to the stone dais or the Stonefire Pearl in value.” The white-haired elder shook his head. “And, I recall my master once saying that the Cloudworld Jade’s effect only lasts for roughly three months or so, but the effect is merely as strong as the Stonefire Pearl’s constant effect.”

“It can only be used for three months, while the Stonefire Pearl is constant and can be used long-term.” The white-haired elder looked at Ning. “Finding the Cloudworld Jade would be enormously difficult. Why bother?”

Ning just silently memorized all of this information. There clearly was no reason to seek out the third-ranked treasure, the ‘Cloudworld Jade’. The other two, however, were worth searching for. Anything that might increase his chances at the Daomerge by even a smidgeon was worth hunting for.

“Senior, where should I go to find these things?” Ning asked.

“No idea.” The white-haired elder shook his head. “I never asked Master about them.”

“Oh.” Ning pondered for a moment. In the past, he had never even heard of ‘Incense Spirit-Fruit’ or ‘Daomerge Firecloud Flower’. It seemed as though only truly experienced and worldly figures would know of them. A pity that he hadn’t asked his big brother Waveshift about them! In all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, perhaps the most worldly figure outside of Emperor Waveshift was Realmslord Windgrace.

Realmslord Windgrace had served and been taught by more than one Autarch!

“Darknorth. I have to warn you,” the white-haired elder said solemnly, “Treasures of such rarity are all extremely hard to find. Not even the Autarchs know everything there is to know about the vast Chaosverse! The technology of the Sithe, the two slain Autarch-level creatures… they are all testament to the fact that the Chaosverse holds many terrifying secrets within it. You are still just a Daolord; so what if you are strong? There are some truly dangerous places which would cause even Hegemons to fall, to say nothing of you.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded. However, since he had the Flamewing God he felt that he was still able to give it a good shot. Chaos Primordials were famous for its virtually indestructible body, after all.

“The Flamedragon Realmverse is nothing more than a tiny part of the Chaosverse. It is best for you to harbor a healthy fear of the universe,” the white-haired elder said with a sigh. “I hope that you won’t overestimate yourself prior to completing your Daomerge. If you succeed in it, you’ll probably become far more powerful than even an Otherverse Lord. You can go and wander the Chaosverse them; only then will you be assured of staying alive.”

“Thank you, senior.” Ning could sense that the estate-spirit remained worried, and so he quickly explained, “Actually, I’ve already tamed a Chaos Primordial.”

The white-haired elder instantly turned speechless. “You… wha…? Ahem. Well, enough of that.” The white-haired elder didn’t seem to know what to say, and so he immediately began to vanish into thin air. His voice echoed for one final time within the second hall: “Remember, for you to solve the Heart of Eternity is the one final wish my Master had. It will be of tremendous benefit to all cultivator civilizations as well.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

……

The black-robed Ning was seated atop the Autarch’s stone dais, toying with the runed Heart of Eternity with his hands.

“Oh, Autarch Awakener…” Ning looked at the Heart of Eternity. “So this is your final wish, eh? But… my only wish is to complete the Daomerge and then become an Autarch in the future.” Ning’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.

His wish and Autarch Awakener’s wish… they involved heading down two different paths. Ever since they had gained victory in the Dawn War, the Autarchs had stood at the very apex of the universe and were without equal. As a result they were quite lonely, and they often searched for things to do. Autarch Bolin had created the Aeonians, while Autarch Awakener had spent his efforts on analyzing the Nine Chaos Seals and creating a type of cultivation technique similar to what the Sithe used.

The cultivation technique the Sithe used created something similar to the azureflower mist energy, but it was clearly even more profound. Alas, they were completely different types of living creatures than cultivators, and thus there was no way for cultivators to use their cultivation techniques.

Autarch Awakener put all of his efforts in creating something similar. If he truly succeeded, it would’ve benefited all cultivator civilizations. Alas, he was only able to at most create something which allowed for Daolords of the Fourth Step to convert their divine power and Immortal energy. There was no way to transform Emperor-class energy.

“Autarch Awakener, I’ll give it a try. If I turn out to have incredible talent for this, I might be able to help you.” Ning remained quite clear-minded. As a Daolord, his time was limited. There was no way he could spend all of it on researching the Nine Chaos Seals. But if it looked like he might somehow managed to succeed in a short period of time due to having an incredible affinity for it, he didn’t mind spending that time.

“Break.” Ning looked at the runes covering the sphere. Ning was able to break through the first layer of runes with ease.

“Break again.” Ning was at an incredibly high level of insight and had trained in the Nine Chaos Seals before. Thus, he found it quite simple to break the second layer of runes.

He broke through one layer after another, but the difficulty level began to gradually increase. Ning began to need more and more time for each layer. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred million years went by.

“Time to give it a rest.” Ning suddenly came to a halt. The Heart of Eternity had a total of ninety-nine layers, and solving all of them would represent having reached the same level of insight into the Nine Chaos Seals as Autarch Awakener had reached.

“I’ve only solved nineteen layers.” Ning felt a sense of misery in his heart; the difference between the two of them was simply too great. Things would only grow more difficult as he progressed, and for now nineteen layers was his limit. If he spent an extremely long period of time, he would at most be able to just barely solve the twentieth and twenty-first levels. Ninety-nine? Far too hard!

“Autarch Awakener, you created your stone dais and procured the Stonefire Pearl, yet still spent countless years to reach your final level of insight into the Nine Chaos Seals. How can I possibly compare?” Ning shook his head. “Even if I spent another hundred thousand chaos cycles on this, my chances of successfully breaking through all ninety-nine levels are still very low.”

“I need to complete the Daomerge. Even if I did manage to somehow create this technique, it would be of no use to me in the Daomerge.” Ning secretly sighed to himself. “I’m sorry, Autarch Awakener.”

He had no choice but to put aside this mission of solving the Heart of Eternity for now. To occasionally spend some time on solving the Heart of Eternity to balance out the time spent on other things, but if he focused all of his efforts on it it would make the already-difficult Daomerge completely impossible. The end result would most likely be what big brother Waveshift had divined… certain doom.

“Ninety-nine levels… nineteen levels…” Ning could only laugh at the difference between the two. He then waved his hand, putting the Heart of Eternity away.

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Chapter 24 – Life Training

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 24 – Life Training

Ji Ning didn’t hesitate at all. He was completely focused on his own path… the path of the Daomerge! With regards to the Daomerge, all external sources of help were still of secondary use. In the end, his own insights were what counted for the most!

Ning was unable to make further strides with his Omega Sword Dao. Even though he occasionally gained a few insights, they were scattered rather than systemized. This was why he had decided to emulate Autarch Bolin. Back when Autarch Bolin had been a Hegemon, he had gone out of his way to train in many other Daos. As he had raised nine different Daos to the Hegemonic level, he had gained so many scattered insights into the Dao of the Claw that in the end, they had allowed him to suddenly burst through his bottleneck and reach Autarchy, becoming one of the paramount leaders of the cultivator civilizations.

“I am quite similar to how Autarch Bolin was. I’m unable to make any further advancements in my Omega Sword Dao, and it’s also quite difficult to gain even scattered insights. However, all Daos are linked together. The more I train in other Daos, the better my chances of succeeding in the Daomerge for my Omega Sword Dao.” Ning calmed his mind and began to train in other Daos.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Formations, Space, Thunder, Illusions… he was quite accomplished in all of them already. Ning’s next target was the Dao of Wind.

Amongst Daos, there were certain groupings. For example, the Five Elements were viewed as one group, while ‘Wind Earth Fire Water’ was yet another grouping. Ning found it quite simple to train in Wind, especially after having acquired the Stonefire Pearl. He needed merely a single Chaos Cycle to train the Dao of Wind to the Archon level. Time, however, was even more difficult than Space.

……

Time flowed on like water. Ning’s black-robed Primaltwin constantly trained, while Ning’s true body began to rove the universe alongside Azurefiend, Whitethaw, and Flamewing. He had visited fairly few places within even just the Flamedragon Realmverse, after all. There were many dangerous places he had yet to visit. By visiting more places and seeing more things, he would be stimulated and have a better chance at an epiphany.

Ning had a realmship, was at the Hegemonic level of power, and also had Flamewing for protection. He only needed to spend around eighteen chaos cycles to completely go through all of the special ‘danger zones’ of the Flamedragon Realmverse. However, he had yet to truly traverse the Terror Starsea, which was filled with far too many dangers. That had been a battlefield of the Dawn War, after all. Even Flamewing would find itself easily caught by some of the dire traps located there.

After finishing his wanderings through the danger zones of the Flamedragon Realmverse, Ning began to wander through some ordinary chaosworlds and everworlds, living amongst ordinary mortals and countless aliens. Ning viewed them all from afar and up close.

……

Within an ordinary chaosworld. Thirty thousand years ago, a tremendous calamity had descended upon this world, causing its denizens to suffer countless casualties. This world had lost virtually all of its experts and many of its clans, and it was now thousands of times more difficult for mortals to cultivate to become Immortals.

“Old man, what do you think you can do? You are merely at the Houtian level, while I am as well. I’m just twenty years old but still couldn’t make the cutoff. Look at how old you are! What makes you think you can succeed?” A young man dressed in brocade who was within a teahouse was laughing and teasing an older man.

“The age cutoff this time is just fifty years, and one has to have reached the Xiantian level. You don’t fit either of the two criteria,” some of the longtime customers teased the teahouse owner.

“I heard that countless unaffiliated cultivators have been gathering within Pureplume City, located at the base of the mountain which houses the Pureplume Sect. By now, there are hundreds of thousands of them present. Just a few months remain before the great ceremony… most likely, by then nearly a million cultivators will have arrived to fight over the slots.”

“A million Xiantian experts fighting over a thousand honorary disciple slots? Uh… I can count the number of Xiantian experts in our little city on two hands. It is truly unfathomable that the Pureplume Sect can attract nearly a million cultivators when it openly recruits for new disciples.”

They all shook their heads and discussed this topic eagerly.

Several figures were seated in the corner of this teahouse. One was a white-robed youth, one was a chubby man, one was a skinny old man, and another was a muscular, honest-looking man who was clearly the bodyguard. The skinny old man looked like a steward, while the chubby man had to be a retainer. As for the white-robed youth, he had to be a young master of a clan. However, judging from how they dressed they had to be quite ordinary. It seemed unlikely that they were from a major clan or family.

The four were Ning and his three followers. Ning continued to eat while listening attentively.

“Don’t go, big brother.” A young man and woman were seated at a nearby table. The maiden was lively and dressed in green robes, and she was begging the man: “Big brother, you just broke through to the Xiantian level a short while ago and are merely at the early stage of it. Didn’t you hear? Nearly a million Xiantian experts have gathered there and all of them want to enter the Pureplume Sect! Peak-level Xiantian experts might stand a chance, while late-stage Xiantian experts can at least give it a try, but you are just an early-stage Xiantian cultivator! Going will be suicide!”

“Even if I risk my life, I have to go.” The youth gritted his teeth. “If I go, at least I have a chance at one day clearing the names of our parents and clan. If I don’t go, I’ll probably never be strong enough to gain revenge, and our clan shall forever bear the infamy of those lies. Father… mother… all the seniors of the clan… none of them will be able to rest in ease.”

“Big brother…” the green-robed maiden begged, “Let’s just find a quiet little place and live a peaceful life. What’s wrong with that?”

“You want me to swallow this feud and live a peaceful life? I can’t endure it.” The youth shook his head. “Give it up, little sister. We’re already quite close to Pureplume City. We’ve already spent three years on the road, and we’re finally about to reach our destination. You know you won’t change my mind.”

The green-robed maiden gnawed at her lips. “I… I only have you left, big brother.” The youth’s eyes reddened in response.

The two of them were also in a corner, and they spoke in hushed whispers. The people next to them were unable to hear what they were saying.

“Live a good life. If I can enter the Pureplume Sect, I’ll come find you one day.” The youth rose to his feet, then walked over to Ning’s table and said, “Brother Ning, we’ve travelled together for half a month. Today, we must part ways. Today’s drinks are on me! If fate wills it, we will meet again.”

“If fate wills it, we will meet again.” Ning smiled as he lifted up his own cup. “Brother Qu, I hope you will succeed in joining the Pureplume Sect.”

“I definitely will.” The youth’s eyes shone with great determination.

“Come, let me offer you a final toast prior to our parting.” As Ning spoke, he picked up two cups of wine and offered one to the youth.

The youth was slightly startled, but he still accepted it. “Cheers.” The youth immediately raised his head and drank the wine. As he did, a faint stream of light within the wine flowed into his body, invisibly and naturally coming to nest within his sea of consciousness.

“Time to go.” The youth put down the cup of wine, then turned and left.

Ning revealed a hint of a smile as ‘brother Qu’ left. He had spent nearly twenty chaos cycles wandering through various ordinary chaosworlds, and he rarely revealed his power. He chose to act just like an ordinary mortal. Ning had met this youth previously while riding a ship alongside him. The two had shared a spirited conversation while drinking one night on the ship, and thus they had travelled together until today.

“Little sister Qu.” Ning walked over to the young maiden’s table. The young maiden’s eyes were rather red and wet.

“Big brother Ning,” the green-robed maiden said.

“Your big brother will definitely join the Pureplume Sect, and he might become one of the most incredible cultivators in their history. He’ll definitely come back and find you,” Ning said. “I want to offer you a toast as well.”

“Alright.” The green-robed maiden shared a cup with Ning as well, and once more that invisible essence of light slipped into her body via the wine.

A short while later, the green-robed maiden bade Ning farewell as she departed from the teanhouse. She was going to Pureplume City as well to watch what happened. She was worried about her big brother.

“Darknorth.” Azurefiend watched as the green-robed maiden departed, then walked over to Ning. Puzzled, he asked, “You’ve spent nearly twenty chaos cycles wandering through various ordinary worlds. You rarely show your power, and even when you do choose to help someone you merely provide them with a tiny bit of guidance. Why did you go out of your way to help these two so much? Not only did you begin an invisible process of completely transforming their bodies, you even bequeathed each of them them with a legacy.”

Ning laughed. In the past, he had merely provided a bit of guidance through karmic magic, using it to change a few mortal destinies. This time, however, he had indeed provided the two with an enormous amount of help. The help he had just provided was enough to allow these two to reach the absolute apex of this chaosworld with ease, and they would even have a chance to reach the World level.

“Haha, this is because today is the final day of my twenty chaos cycles of voyaging,” Ning said with a laugh. “Why can’t I have a bit of fun on my last day?”

“Last day?” Azurefiend, Whitethaw, and Flamewing all stared at Ning in surprise. They had spent nearly twenty chaos cycles wandering through mortal worlds. Why was today suddenly the final day?

“Yes. I’ve more or less finished my training.” Ning nodded.

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Chapter 25 – The Dao of Karma

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 25 – The Dao of Karma

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning rose to his feet, departing the teahouse with Azurefiend, Whitethaw, and Flamewing by his side. As they walked, their forms gradually dissipated into nothingness. None of the ordinary mortals in the teahouse noticed a thing at all. They continued to live their ordinary lives.

Whoosh. Ning and the other three appeared out of nowhere in the void outside this chaosworld.

“So it’s all over? You don’t need to train any further?” Azurefiend asked.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I’ve already succeeded in training in the Dao of Karma. Everything has been completed, and at my current level of mastery of the Dao of Karma I can subconsciously sense that even if I trained in other Daos, it would be of no use in attempting the Daomerge for my Omega Dao.”

Ning had trained for nearly 38 chaos cycles after acquiring the Stonefire Pearl. Given that his Primaltwin had constantly been under 100x temporal acceleration, he had actually spent over 3000 chaos cycles training.

The Dao of Wind had been completed incredibly fast, while the Dao of Time had cost him over 300 chaos cycles. The rest of the 3000-plus chaos cycles had all been spent on the Dao of Karma.

The Dao of Karma was legendary for its complexity. Generally speaking, Eternal Emperors would at most learn how to follow karma lines to slay all of an enemy’s clones and avatars. Their mastery of karma would be limited to simply that. Of all the Hegemons and Emperors which Ning had met, Emperor Waveshift had reached the highest level of insight into ‘karma’. Emperor Waveshift had organized all of the karma lines surrounding him in a very neat and orderly way, ensuring that he was no longer bound by it and instead was in control of it and able to make use of it. However, Emperor Waveshift had actually merely reached the Archon level of mastery in the Dao of Karma.

Ning had the Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl, as well as incredible powers of comprehension, but it had still taken him nearly 3000 chaos cycles in order to reach the Archon level. This was a testament to how difficult this Dao was.

Once one mastered the Dao of Karma, one would surpass even Hegemons in understanding how all living things were connected to each other.

“Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth… the Five Elements. They are supported by the Storm of wind and thunder, while Spacetime envelopes them all. Formations and Illusions merge them into one whole, while Karma serves as the heart.” Ning nodded. Nine represented the apex of numbers, while ten represented perfection. After mastering the Dao of Karma, Ning understood this concept. Now that he had reached the apex in these ten paths, he had already reached the level of full perfection.

He could train more in other Daos, such as the Dao of the Saber, Dao of Snow, or the Dao of Ice, but it would be of no use. They wouldn’t allow Ning to gain any more fragmentary insights into the Omega Sword Dao at all.

……

“Karma.” Ning stood there in the void outside the chaosworld, gazing at everything around him. He had just mastered the Dao of Karma, and he was attuning to the many new insights into the universe it was bringing him. He was gaining many new ideas into the Omega Sword Dao. Although they weren’t systemized, they would be of use to him when the Daomerge came.

Ning turned to scan the surrounding area. Spacetime could no longer bar his gaze, and he saw countless distant chaosworlds, planets, and even everworlds. He was able to see through over a hundred territories around them.

He saw the grass emerge from the dirt of a distant world…

He saw how a mortal lived for a hundred years, then returned to the embrace of the earth…

He saw a mortal embark upon the path of cultivation, completely focused on becoming an Immortal…

He saw monsters struggling in terror, fearing that they would be found and slain by cultivators…

He saw Diremonsters claim hegemony over a region, devouring and massacring countless humans within it…

He saw aliens propagate to become legion in number, becoming the rulers of a land…

These were all things which Ning had personally experienced and witnessed at close range during the past twenty chaos cycles.

He had seen many powerful Fiendgods and Immortals wander the lands unimpeded. He had seen ‘mighty’ World-level cultivators who rose to dominate their respective chaosworlds and become the undisputed overlords of them. He also saw them battle against other World-level cultivators for supremacy, with some dying in those battles.

He saw World-level cultivators focus on their cultivation. He saw Samsara Daolords experience all sorts of tempering experiences. Some fearlessly went out adventuring and finally attempted the Daomerge. Even though they all perished, they continued to charge towards the Daomerge like moths towards the flame. Every so often, a few would succeed and gain Eternity for themselves, but perhaps 99,999 out of every 100,000 would fail the Daomerge and perish.

“Everyone from ordinary mortals to Samsara Daolords have their own paths,” Ning murmured softly. “This is the nature of the cultivator civilizations.”

“How wonderful.” This was how Ning summarized it all. He liked how the cultivator civilizations worked. Thank goodness they had won the Dawn War! Otherwise, all living beings would’ve been enslaved by the Sithe.

“All living beings within the cultivator civilizations should feel gratitude towards the Autarchs.” When Ning thought of this, he could immediately but subconsciously sense that all living beings were connected to the Autarchs by karma. They all owed the Autarchs. However, the Autarchs were so overwhelmingly powerful that karma had no power over them any longer.

“I hope the cultivator civilizations will be able to survive and thrive unto eternity. I hope we won’t be destroyed by the Sithe or other similarly terrifying groups.” Ning then smiled. “Not really for me to worry about, though. I’m not even as strong as Flamewing right now.”

Ning put this out of his mind and began to make the karma lines around him more orderly. He hadn’t been alive for too long, and so although the karma lines around him seemed complicated he was able to realign them and smooth them out in short order.

“Eh? Two knots?” Ning frowned upon realizing that there were two ‘knots’ in his karma. If he didn’t solve these knots, he would definitely fail his Daomerge!

The first knot was the lifeblood oath he had once sworn. Prior to attempting his Daomerge, he had to accept ten honorary disciples on behalf of Emperor Mirrorsnow. This was something he was bound to do by his lifeblood oath, and Ning knew of it.

The second knot was what truly surprised Ning. It was his promise to slay Emperor Melobo.

When Ning had first left the Three Realms and was merely an Elder God, he had visited the Allgod Estate. He had been bestowed with the [Novessence Thunder] technique by the formation-spirit, which was one of the nine novessence arts. As the formation-spirit had put it, it was ‘sowing the seeds of good karma’ with Ning. It had said to Ning: “I won’t force you to do it; I merely hope that you can help,” and had also said that “I’m just planting seeds to sprout in the future. I don’t expect all of them to blossom.”

Back then, the formation-spirit would never have dared to imagine that one of its many seeds would blossom in such a manner. It only hoped that if Ning did become powerful in the future, that he would slay Emperor Melobo.

Ning had felt this to be an impossible and impossibly distant task, but he had still been rewarded the [Novessence Thunder] technique.

“I’ve now reached the Hegemonic level of power; killing Emperor Melobo would be extremely simple,” Ning mused. “Indeed, now that I think back to it, I do owe both the formation-spirit and Daolord Allgod! During my Daomerge, even the slightest of karmic debts can cause me to be negatively impacted. An Omega Daomerge cannot accept even the slightest of such impacts. It would definitely cause me to fail.”

“Right. I absolutely must complete these two tasks before the Daomerge.” Ning nodded. “It’ll take time for me to track down Emperor Melobo, and it’ll also take time for me to accept ten honorary disciples,” Ning mused. “I’ll go visit Realmslord Windgrace first, then take care of these two matters.”

……

“Sorry for the trouble, Hegemon Brightshore.” Ning had come to ask Hegemon Brightshore to assist him in tracking down Emperor Melobo. Hegemon Brightshore was the number one Hegemon of the Flamedragon Realmverse, after all, and he was skilled in the Dao of Spacetime. He also had a strong web of relationships. It would be easy for him to locate Melobo.

“A minor matter,” Hegemon Brightshore replied casually.

“Please keep this secret. Don’t let Melobo find out and then flee the realmverse,” Ning said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle this matter personally and will ensure that no mistakes happen. If you don’t mind, I can help you kill him,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

“It would be best if I did it personally,” Ning said.

“Mm, very well. Go ahead and visit Realmslord Windgrace. By the time you are back, I’ll have handled everything.” Hegemon Brightshore was quite confident. He knew that Emperor Melobo was definitely within the Flamedragon Realmverse. Where, exactly? He didn’t know, as it was difficult to find where an Emperor was hiding… but if Hegemon Brightshore personally investigated this matter, he would definitely be able to find Melobo within a hundred thousand years.

……

After having asked Hegemon Brightshore for help, Ning, Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw rode the realmship out of the Flamedragon Realmverse and towards the Hiddenfiend Realmverse.

These two realmverses were fairly far away from each other. The realmship needed to engage in extremely long-distance spacetime teleports, and it needed as much time as was needed to boil a kettle of tea in order to build up energy between each teleport.

Sixty thousand years later. Whoosh. A realmship suddenly appeared from a spatial tear within the void outside the Hiddenfiend Realmverse.

“And here we are.” Ning stared at the world outside the realmship, his eyes lighting up. This was his first time visiting another realmverse. In contrast, Whitethaw, Azurefiend, and Flamewing were all quite calm. They had all visited many places; Ning was the only inexperienced one present.

“Mm. This place is fairly close to the Blacksun. A single teleport will take us there.” Ning had already acquired a star map of the Hiddenfiend Realmverse prior to arriving.

One more spacetime teleport later, Ning found himself staring at a beautiful and distant star. To be precise, it was an absolutely enormous war machine that was riddled with channels and canals that made up complicated rune-paths. The Blacksun was a terrifying war machine that was capable of changing the destiny of entire realmverse sectors. Just by looking at it, Ning felt an ancient aura of power sweep across him, pressing down upon him like an invisible threat.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.” A voice rang out, followed by a chubby youth appearing on the Blacksun who stared in Ning’s direction. Although they were over a hundred billion kilometers away, the two were able to see each other with ease.

“Hegemon Wuye.” Ning put away his realmship.

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Chapter 26 – Jade Slip

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 26 – Jade Slip

Prior to visiting Realmslord Windgrace, Ji Ning had long ago sent word via the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance that he would be coming. Realmslord Windgrace was quite willing to meet with Ning as well.

The Blacksun. Ning’s group of four was led to a courtyard within it.

Hegemon Wuye smiled: “Master has been waiting for quite some time. When he heard that you were coming, he was quite excited. I felt quite eager as well. I’ve heard of your illustrious reputation long ago, Darknorth, and I’ve also heard of Flamewing God the Chaos Primordial. Today, I’ve finally met you two.” He was unable to disguise his interested glance towards the nearby Flamewing.

Flamewing was quite chubby, but was much larger than Wuye. When he saw Wuye, he mumbled, “He looks yummy.”

Hegemon Wuye’s face turned pale and he hurriedly pushed the door open and called, “Master!”

There was a withered tree inside the courtyard. Below it was a prayer mat, with a disheveled-looking old man seated atop it. The old man’s eyebrows looked quite messy, but his gaze was extremely calm. He had a smile on his face, and he pointed to the prayer mats next to him. “Darknorth, my young friend. Sit.”

“Thank you, Realmslord Windgrace.” Ning walked over and sat down on a prayer mat. Azurefiend and Whitethaw did the same, while Flamewing lazily sauntered over to a boulder and lay down on it while shaking his rump.

“Chaos Primordials truly are extraordinary,” Realmslord Windgrace praised. He then glanced at Ning. “Darknorth, my young friend… I’m sure you didn’t come to visit me just to show off your Chaos Primordial.”

“There is indeed something I wish for you to help me with, Realmslord,” Ning said.

“Go ahead and explain.” Realmslord Windgrace was quite willing to help Ning out; the more he helped Ning out, the greater his chances of acquiring the Flamewing God after Ning failed the Daomerge would be.

“I’ve heard legends of two marvelous items that are of tremendous use during the Daomerge. One is known as the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, while the other is known as the Incense Spirit-Fruit,” Ning said. “Are you aware of them, Realmslord?”

Realmslord Windgrace looked at Ning in astonishment, then sighed. “Impressive, truly impressive. Daolord Darknorth, how is it that you know of such incredibly rare items? Even I only learned of them due to a lucky encounter.”

Ning was delighted. He immediately asked, “Realmslord, do you know where they can be found?”

“Daomerge Firecloud Flowers and Incense Spirit-Fruits should be considered legendary treasures for Daolords attempting the Daomerge,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “When I served Autarch Titanos, we once discussed Daomerge treasures, with the topic focusing on the treasures that provided incredibly marvelous effects for short periods of time. Autarch Titanos praised the Daomerge Firecloud Flower as being best, with the Incense Spirit-Fruit being second.”

“Both of these two items vastly surpass the Voidsea Jadeseals. During the Daomerge, someone who has eaten an Incense Spirit-Fruit will enter a truly profound state where his body is divided into nine different incarnations. All nine of them can test out a simulated Daomerge while the true body undergoes the real Daomerge. So long as one of the nine incarnations succeeds, the true body can succeed in the Daomerge as well,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “As for the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, it’s even more remarkable. It can allow for the creation of eighty-one incarnations that will all simulate the Daomerge at the same time!”

“But of course, what I’m saying only stands true for ordinary Daolords. The more talented a Daolord is, the more energy each incarnation consumes from an Incense Spirit-Fruit or a Daomerge Firecloud Flower. Those who have fused multiple Supreme Daos will only be able to create a single incarnation after eating an Incense Spirit-Fruit, while a Daomerge Firecloud Flower can at most maintain a total of nine incarnations. These two treasures have a similar function, which means you can only choose to use one of them. You can’t mix and match… and they only have these marvelous effects when you use them during your actual Daomerge.”

Realmslord Windgrace looked at Ning and smiled. “What, Darknorth… do you need the Daomerge Firecloud Flower?”

Ning was amazed. So this was the effect these items had? The Voidsea Jadeseal allowed for just a single simulated Daomerge, but it didn’t have to be used during the actual Daomerge! The problem with it was that it just wasn’t all that powerful in comparison. For supreme Daolords who had fused multiple Supreme Daos, it would only allow for a small part of the Daomerge to be simulated.

In comparison, the Incense Spirit-Fruit was clearly far more powerful, while the Daomerge Firecloud Flower was ridiculously effective. The problem was, they could only be used during the actual Daomerge!

“So someone who has fused multiple Supreme Daos can have nine incarnations assisting him when he uses the Daomerge Firecloud Flower?” Ning mused to himself, “Then my Omega Dao… I wonder if I’ll have even a single incarnation.” As for the Incense Spirit-Fruit, Ning had already mentally discarded it.

“You train in an Omega Dao, yes?” Realmslord Windgrace asked.

“Yes.” Ning acknowledged it.

“Daomerges for Omega Daos are incredibly difficult. I imagine only the top Daomerge treasure, the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, will be of some use to you.” Realmslord Windgrace shook his head. “And its use will probably be highly limited. I’ve heard of Omega Daolords who have used it but still failed. There has just never been anyone successful in an Omega Daomerge.” Realmslord Windgrace let out a sigh.

Every single realmverse had a few Hegemons, which meant that the vast Chaosverse had a large number of them… but it had never seen so much as a single successful Omega Daomerge!

“As long as it helps out, I’ll take it.” Ning laughed. “Anything that can increase my chances by even a sliver is a good thing. Perhaps that’ll be the sliver that pushes me over to success during the Daomerge.”

“That’s a nice way to view it. You need that sort of attitude when you attempt the Daomerge. If you are panicking, you’ll have lost half the battle before it even starts,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

“Realmslord, do you know where Daomerge Firecloud Flowers can be found?” Ning asked.

“I do. They can be found in several places,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Daomerge Firecloud Flowers are incredibly valuable to Daolords, but to us they are nothing more than fairly unusual treasures that are generally used to create pills.”

Ning was overjoyed. His eyes lit up as he asked, “If the Daomerge Firecloud Flowers are used to create pills, will they perhaps be of even greater assistance during the Daomerge?”

“No, no! If you use them to make pills, you’ll actually waste the special effect they have during the Daomerge,” Realmslord Windgrace said hurriedly. “Daomerge Firecloud Flowers are naturally endowed with those unique properties, but once you use it to create a pill the properties are lost. In addition, they can only be used within a thousand years after they first bloom! After a thousand years go by, their aura will completely vanish and their medicinal value will drop by over 90% as well.”

Ning nodded. “Then where can they be harvested?”

Realmslord Windgrace frowned. “Are you still going to go for one? The place they are located is incredibly dangerous. I know where they can be found, but even I wouldn’t dare to go there without a good reason. Generally speaking, several of my friends would join forces in venturing there.”

“The place is that dangerous?” Ning was surprised.

“The Chaosverse is filled with countless marvels as well as many incredibly dangerous places. However, the Chaosverse is so fast that it’s hard to even locate those places unless you know exactly where they are,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Ordinary realmverses and otherverses would never be able to give birth to something like a Daomerge Firecloud Flower. Only some of the truly marvelous places of the Chaosverse, places which gather together countless different types of universal essence, can possibly give birth to such remarkable treasures.”

“All of these places, however, are tightly protected by the prime essences of the Chaosverse,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “The Sithe attempted to invade and conquer many of these places and take their contents by force, but the result was that they suffered tremendously heavy casualties.”

“So what type of dangers do those places hold?” Ning asked.

“A type of being known as a ‘Sourcewalker’,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Let me put it to you like this. Normally, the Chaosverse can give birth to two extremely perfect types of beings. The first are known as the ‘Chaos Godbeasts’, while the second are known as the ‘Ancients’.”

Ning nodded slowly. Hegemon Brightshore was a Chaos Godbeast, while Ninedust was a member of the Ancients. They were born at the World level and had incredibly perfect divine bodies.

“Chaos Godbeasts have comparatively lower levels of comprehension, while Ancients take human form and have much higher comprehension skills,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

Ning smiled. The only member of the Brightshore Imperials to succeed in the Daomerge was Hegemon Brightshore himself. It was incredibly difficult for Chaos Godbeasts as a race to succeed in the Daomerge. Azurefiend and Welkin were both Chaos Godbeasts, but they were the only Hegemons to have ever arisen from their race. They had no colleagues at all. They were unable or unwilling to spend their entire lives taking care of weaker Chaos Godbeasts as Hegemon Brightshore did, and so they wandered by themselves through the Chaosverse. This was something they had been accustomed to since youth. In contrast, Ancients were far more intelligent and thus had far more Eternal Emperors in comparison.

“Chaos Godbeasts and Ancients… they are present in virtually every realmverse. They are quite common,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However… two types of living beings are born within the prime essences of the Chaosverse, and they are even more elite. One type is fairly unintelligent, and they are known as the ‘Chaos Primordials’. The other is fairly intelligent and also has human form, and they are known as ‘Chaos Essence Walkers’, or ‘Sourcewalkers’ for short.”

“Chaos Primordials and Sourcewalkers are born with far more exalted bloodlines than Chaos Godbeasts and Ancients,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However… they represent even greater extremes as well.”

“Chaos Primordials are as unintelligent as mortal children, but are born with virtually indestructible bodies. In contrast, Sourcewalkers are very intelligent and have incredible comprehension skills. They are incredibly solitary and proud figures who do not dwell in ordinary places. They delight in dwelling in treasured places where countless streams of essence from the Chaosverse gather together, and they treat those places as their own territories,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Unlike Chaos Primordials, they cannot be ‘tamed’; they are simply far too intelligent. There is no way one can force them to submit.”

“If you wish to go to one of those sacred places where Daomerge Firecloud Flowers can be harvested, that means you are going to steal treasures from a Sourcewalker’s territory. You will enrage them.” Realmslord Windgrace shook his head.

Ning pondered this matter. He wasn’t surprised at all. Although this was his first time hearing of ‘Sourcewalkers’, he had already heard of strange beings that were on par with the Autarchs themselves. Why would he be shocked to hear that there were certain creatures on par with Chaos Primordials in might?

“Sourcewalkers are all extremely intelligent, which means they do have a weakness; their bodies aren’t nearly as indestructible as that of the Chaos Primordials, and they are born with much lower levels of strength. However, they can slowly cultivate and grow with time! Thus, there are varying levels of power amongst Sourcewalkers. The weaker ones are perhaps merely at the Hegemonic level, while the most powerful were supposedly on par with the Sithe Exalts, capable of killing us in an instant,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

Ning relaxed slightly. If even the most powerful were ‘merely’ on par with Sith Exalts, that meant they were still much weaker than the Autarchs. It must be remembered that it took three Sithe Exalts working together to capture the Flamewing God; a single one wasn’t able to do the trick. Plus, he wouldn’t be so unlucky as to run into literally the most powerful type of Sourcewalker in existence, right?

“When the Sithe furiously invaded those sacred places to loot the treasures, they enraged the prime essences of the Chaosverse with their greed. The prime essences allowed the Sourcewalkers to borrow from the inherent power of those sacred places, resulting in them becoming much more powerful. This was why the Sithe suffered greatly for their actions,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However… you must be cautious if you do go.”

Realmslord Windgrace suddenly waved his hand, causing a jade slip to appear. He then filled it with his godsense, imprinting it with a great deal of information.

“This is one of the closer locations. If you ride on your realmship, you should reach it in just a few hundred thousand years. As I recall, this place has Daomerge Firecloud Flowers within it. This slip now contains all of the information I know regarding that place.” As Realmslord Windgrace spoke, he delivered the jade slip to Ning. “Remember, the information I provided covers just the vast majority of situations, not all situations. I didn’t delve too deeply into that place either. You really must be careful.”

“Thank you, Realmslord.” Ning accepted the slip.

……

After having received the intelligence he needed, that very day Ning bade Realmslord Windgrace farewell and embarked on a return journey.

He had to first deal with Emperor Melobo, then take on ten honorary disciples for Emperor Mirrorsnow. Only then could he go adventuring with a calm heart. Anything was possible while out adventuring, after all. He might be forced to initiate the Daomerge for some reason, which would be disastrous if these karmic knots were not resolved.

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Chapter 27 – Emperor Melobo

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 27 – Emperor Melobo

After sixty thousand years, Ji Ning returned from the Hiddenfiend Realmverse to his homeland in the Flamedragon Realmverse, at which point his first course of action was to go meet with Hegemon Brightshore.

Whoosh. Hegemon Brightshore noticed right away when Ning and the others entered the Brightshore Kingdom. He appeared at the peak of a tall mountain, having set a banquet in welcome.

“Darknorth!” Hegemon Brightshore called out loudly. Ning and the others turned to look, then all flew over and landed. They sat down, with Flamewing naturally beginning to eat and drink with delight.

“I’m embarrassed to say this…” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head, stroking his beard after downing two cups of wine, “I thought I’d definitely be able to find Emperor Melobo within a hundred thousand years, but this Aeonian Emperor truly is slippery. I’ve been tracking him in secret, but I haven’t been able to find his true body. Recently, I asked Netherlily to help out as well. Only when the two of us worked together did we managed to find him roughly ten thousand years ago.”

Ning let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the words ‘managed to find him’. “I’ll have to thank Hegemon Netherlily,” Ning said.

“A minor matter. The three of us are usually quite bored,” Hegemon Brightshore said with a laugh. “Honestly though, Emperor Melobo really did hide his tracks quite carefully. He’s afraid that the Dao Alliance will discover him devouring some of their Daolords of the Fourth Step, and so he has been cautious to the extreme. Not even the other Aeonians know his whereabouts.”

“If you truly wish to go into hiding, you need to ensure that not even your allies know where you are. That’s the safest way to handle it.” Ning asked, “Oh, right. So where is Emperor Melobo currently?”

“The Orchidfall Everworld of the Orchidfall Territory,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

“The Orchidfall Territory?” Ning nodded slowly.

……

The Orchidfall Territory was an ordinary territory located within the Dao Alliance. Inside the Orchidfall Everworld was a powerful sect known as the Sacred Orchidfall, with the most powerful member being a Daolord of the Fourth Step who had quite a few disciples.

“You aren’t Daolord Orchidfall. Who are you?” An alluringly beautiful woman stared angrily at the plainly dressed man before her.

“Haha… my aura is Daolord Orchidfall’s aura, and my appearance is his appearance. How could I possibly not be him?” The man’s voice seemed quite strange and sinister.

“Daolord Orchidfall isn’t as powerful as you are. There’s no way he could’ve destroyed my avatar in just one strike, then caught me with such ease.” The woman’s forehead was creased in anger. “Who are you?!”

The man laughed, his laughter becoming even more evil and piercing to the ear. It echoed within the vast palace, but there was no one else in the entire palace aside from the two of them. “Who am I?” The man’s appearance slowly began to change, as did his aura. Soon, he had transformed into a evil-looking man with long red hair. His eyes were staring greedily at the woman in front of him, as though he was caressing her with his gaze.

“You…” A puzzled look appeared on the woman’s face. “An Emperor?”

“Oh, it seems you do not recognize me.” The long red-haired man let out a smile. “I am an Aeonian, the mighty Emperor Melobo. I am your savior, the one who shall rescue you from your doomed path as a Samsara Daolord.”

“What do you want?” The woman was rather nervous. Her power had been completely sealed away, making it impossible for her to fight back.

“You are absolutely beautiful. Whew. Such beauty…” the long red-haired man said, a blissful look on his face, “I have to say, Emperor Waveshift has truly been a blessing to the Flamedragon Realmverse. He gave us Crimsonwave Temple, and even techniques like [Vitalis]. As a result, I can now easily simulate the auras of others, allowing me to infiltrate the Dao Alliance and catch beautiful Daolords like yourself with increasing ease.”

“Y-you… you are an Aeonian. Are you….” the woman began to panic.

“Daolord Yu, do your best to fight back and struggle against me. That’ll make things more fun.” Emperor Melobo walked towards her one step at a time, licking his lips.

Aeonians were a very special race. They devoured cultivators like food, which allowed their Aeonian bloodline to evolve. However, after completing the Daomerge and becoming an Eternal Emperor, eating Daolords became of negligible assistance no matter how many they ate. Alas, there were some Aeonians who simply liked to eat cultivators. Not for the sake of growing stronger, but just for the taste; it was just an intrinsic hunger they had! Emperor Melobo was one who delighted in devouring surpassingly beautiful female Daolords. Their auras made him feel extremely comfortable, which was why he viewed them as perfectly delicious morsels.

Long ago, Emperor Melobo had devoured Daolord Allgod’s Dao-companion. Daolord Allgod had gone completely crazy, with killing Emperor Melobo becoming his strongest desire.

“Aeonians…” the woman felt shock, horror, and anger. And yet, there was nothing she could do.

“We view you cultivators the same way you might view wild animals! You, however, are the most delicious of morsels.” Emperor Melobo enjoyed the horrified look on the woman’s face. “Don’t worry. More and more female Daolords will accompany you in my belly.”

“The Dao Alliance will definitely discover you. You’ll definitely die!” The woman was filled with hatred.

“Impossible.” Emperor Melobo shook his head. “Prior to acquiring the [Vitalis] technique, I already moved with great care for fear of the Dao Alliance… and now that I have it and can disguise myself? It’ll be completely impossible for them to find me. I only act when all factors are completely under my control, and I never make any mistakes. Even if they try to reverse spacetime to scan for what had happened, they won’t find me.”

Emperor Melobo was very confident in his own cautious nature. He felt certain that although a Hegemon who whole-heartedly searched for him via multiple channels might be able to find him, it was virtually impossible for anyone else. Only the most supreme powers of the realmverse would be able to find him, and that only if they were using all of their resources.

“Y-you…” Daolord Yu felt a sense of sorrow and grief in her heart. There had to be a reason why Emperor Melobo had been able to stay alive for so long. How much longer would it be before he died?

“That look of despair on your face is simply delicious.” Emperor Melobo continued to slowly walk towards her, extending a hand to gently stroke her face. Daolord Yu wanted to dodge, but her power had been completely sealed away; how could she possibly avoid him? A twisted, excited look appeared on Emperor Melobo’s face, and he began to open his mouth.

Right at this moment, a foot was suddenly planted right in his face. This kick was lightning fast, giving him no time to dodge at all. A muffled boom could be heard as Emperor Melobo was knocked flying backwards, smashing into the distant dais at the end of the palace. He bounced off the dais, then smashed into an enormous pillar before finally falling to the ground. He was bleeding from every orifice, and his face had been completely wrecked.

“Who?!” Emperor Melobo stared forwards in shock and horror.

“Who is this?” Moments ago, Daolord Yu had been gripped by despair. Now, her eyes lit up as she saw that white-robed youth who had a black scabbard on his back had appeared in front of her. Next to him were four figures. The first was a white-bearded, white-robed old man who had six curved horns on his head. The second was a wizened old man. The third was a muscular, white-furred creature. The fourth was a fat man who was eating some meat.

Daolord Yu didn’t recognize any of the other four, but she instantly recognized the white-robed youth who had kicked Emperor Melobo. “Daolord Darknorth!” she cried out in delight. This was the most legendary Daolord to have ever existed in the Endless Territories.

Ning turned to glance at her. He recognized her as well. Long ago, when he had first gone out exploring, he had acquired information on all of the known Daolords of the Flamedragon Realmverse. He immediately smiled and said, “Daolord Yu, everything has come to an end. There will no longer be an Emperor Melobo in this world.”

Daolord Yu immediately understood what this meant. She said with grateful excitement, “Thank you, Daolord Darknorth.” When she looked at him, she felt for some unknown reason that his aura truly was special. In fact, she couldn’t help but begin to feel stirred by him. She was a female Daolord of the Fourth Step, but she had never had a Dao-companion in her life. This was her first time meeting Ning, and she could feel her heart stirring.

“NO!” The heavily-bleeding Emperor Melobo hurriedly crawled to his feet, frantically smiling and bowing. “Daolord Darknorth, Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Azurefiend, Flamewing God… I’ve never offended any of you! Daolord Darknorth, please spare me. I’ll never dare to enter the Dao Alliance’s territory again. Never again!”

Just now, when Ning had said that there would ‘no longer be an Emperor Melobo in this world’, Melobo had felt truly terrified. In truth, Daolord Darknorth’s very appearance had terrified him. Daolord Darknorth was now an exalted figure who had a Hegemon as his retainer and a Chaos Primordial as his servant. Even the other Hegemons dreaded him. Who would dare to antagonize him? There were now two transcendent figures in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. One was Realmslord Windgrace, the other was this monstrously talented Daolord, Darknorth.

“Hegemon Brightshore? Hegemon Azurefiend?” Daolord Yu was stunned. She didn’t know the secret identity of the Flamewing God, but she was shocked to hear that there were actually two Hegemons standing before her.

“Darknorth.” Hegemon Brightshore chuckled and said, “Don’t waste words on Melobo. Just go ahead and kill him.”

“Don’t kill me!” Emperor Melobo was at the verge of tears. He was an ordinary Emperor and didn’t have all that much courage. He begged, “I’ve never caused trouble for any of you. If there’s something you want, just tell me, Daolord Darknorth! I’ll definitely obey you.”

Ning said, “Melobo, there’s a reason I didn’t just kill you with that earlier kick. There’s something I need to tell you first.”

Melobo’s face turned pale. And indeed, Ning was telling the truth. Given his Hegemonic power, he was easily capable of annihilating Emperor Melobo with a single kick.

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Chapter 28 – Daolord Darknorth’s Era

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 28 – Daolord Darknorth’s Era

“I-I…” Emperor Melobo really did begin to cry. Begging was useless. What was he to do?

Ji Ning continued, “The reason why I’m going to kill you… is because of Daolord Allgod.”

“Daolord Allgod?” Emperor Melobo’s already-pale face turned completely ashen. Of course he remembered that madman! Daolord Allgod had been willing to pay any price in his efforts to kill Melobo, and he had nearly succeeded. Emperor Melobo had only been able to escape by the skin of his teeth.

“He died! He died long ago! There’s no way you could’ve ever met him.” Emperor Melobo was panicking.

“True. I never met him. When I was an Elder God, however, I received a bit of kindness from him. His formation-spirit bestowed me with a secret art,” Ning said, “And then expressed the hope that if I ever grew strong enough, I would help Daolord Allgod exact revenge upon you and kill you. Although this was nothing more than the dying will of a man who had already lost himself to despair… since I have benefited from him, I’m naturally going to help him carry out his wishes.”

“The reason I’m telling you this is so that you’ll understand that you… are now dying because of Daolord Allgod,” Ning said.

“I-I…” Emperor Melobo now understood everything, and his mind was in a state of chaos. Daolord Allgod had once been an extraordinarily talented figure, and he and his Dao-companion had been like a pair of truly divine lovers. Alas, Emperor Melobo’s devouring of his Dao-companion had driven him completely mad. Daolord Allgod had been filled with resentment and hatred until the day he died, and even when he died his eyes remained open and filled with rage.

Neither Emperor Melobo nor Allgod ever would’ve imagined that the Allgod Estate he casually set up before dying would result in an Elder God, Ji Ning, owing him a debt… and then coming to repay it. Today, Emperor Melobo would die!

Slash. Ning waved his hand, causing a streak of sword-light to appear in the air. The sword-light was ephemeral and indistinct, hard to see with the naked eye. It instantly slashed across Emperor Melobo’s body, and as it did so it spread out alongside the Aeonian’s karma lines. Everything which had any of his soul or truesoul within it was completely severed!

Emperor Melobo’s gaze grew dim. His soul was shattered, and he perished on the part. Now that Ning had reached such incredible heights in the Dao of Karma, he had learned some new and truly terrifying ways of killing people.

“Fine sword-arts,” Hegemon Brightshore said in praise.

“A pity.” Ning glanced at Emperor Melobo’s corpse, then murmured softly, “Daolord Allgod was a true genius, but he spent most of his life a madman because of this Aeonian. Not even death was an escape for him.”

“If Daolord Allgod knew what you did for him, he would feel relieved,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

“But he has died and his Dao has vanished. There’s no way for him to know.” Ning sighed, then turned to leave.

Daolord Yu continued to stare at Ning, her eyes shining. Ning gently waved a finger at her, causing a stream of Immortal energy to fly into her body. It easily undid the seals that were inside of her. Given Ning’s current level of mastery of the Dao of Formations, unlocking seals like these was incredibly simple.

“Let’s go,” Ning said. Hegemon Brightshore and Hegemon Azurefiend both glanced at Daolord Yu, and then they followed Ning in stepping into the void and vanishing.

Daolord Yu stared as Ning vanished before her very eyes. “Daolord Darknorth… Daolord Darknorth…” she murmured repeatedly. He had appeared in her hour of need, when she had been gripped by complete despair. Then, with unbelievable power, he had killed Emperor Melobo as easily as squishing an ant. All of this had intoxicated her. Even Hegemon Brightshore and Hegemon Azurefiend, two mighty Hegemons, had clearly accepted Ning as their leader in this affair.

His power, his voice, his sword-light… all of these things stirred her heart. However, she also knew that this was nothing more than a bit of infatuation. “It feels like a dream.” Daolord Yu smiled. A dream was enough for her.

She suddenly turned and saw the various treasures which Emperor Melobo had left behind. A long-lived Emperor like Melobo had many treasures, but Daolord Darknorth and the others had left without touching them. Clearly, they had left the treasures for her.

“For me?” Daolord Yu rose to her feet. “Daolord Darknorth left them behind for me?” She felt a surge of joy in her heart.

In truth, Ning had already swept through the Jadefire Realm’s prisons and possessed an incredible amount of treasures. Emperor Melobo wasn’t even at the Archon level; how could Ning feel any interest towards his treasures? Ning didn’t even want to bother going through them, and the same was doubly true for Azurefiend and Brightshore.

……

Within the Aeonian Kingdom. An avatar was lying within an ancient palace. This was Emperor Melobo’s avatar. Moments ago, he had been begging for help. Now, his aura had vanished.

Emperor Anchen, Emperor Islehide, and Emperor Duug all stared at his avatar’s corpse. “It was Daolord Darknorth who did the deed,” Emperor Islehide said softly.

“What can we do?” Emperor Duug said helplessly.

“Nothing but just stare.” Emperor Anchen laughed bitterly. “We should feel thankful that Daolord Darknorth has chosen not to cause trouble for us Aeonians. There’s no way we would ever dare to go find him! All we can do is hide here in the Aeonian Kingdom and keep ourselves alive.”

All three of them felt quite resigned. Emperor Melobo had begged them for help, but who were they supposed to beg? It was Daolord Darknorth who had killed Melobo! Who in the entire Sixteen Realmverses Alliance would dare stand in his path? Realmslord Windgrace, perhaps… but if he knew of this matter, he’d probably come help Darknorth out!

All of the Hegemons and Emperors were quite intelligent. By now, they could all guess that Realmslord Windgrace and the Lonely King, two truly terrifying figures, were both waiting for the day Daolord Darknorth failed his Daomerge! Neither of them wished to make an enemy out of Darknorth at a time like this. If they pressed him too hard, it would be of no benefit to them but could possibly bring disaster upon themselves. Nobody could stop a rampaging Flamewing, after all!

“I told them all long ago, given that we aren’t on good terms with Daolord Darknorth, we Aeonians need to stay low-key during this era, the era of Daolord Darknorth. Don’t cause trouble!” Emperor Anchen muttered, “Melobo actually dared to secretly infiltrate the Dao Alliance. He has no one to blame for his death but himself. Send word once more to all the elders that they need to be good boys! Daolord Darknorth isn’t as reasonable as the other major powers, and there’s no one who can stop him if he attacks.”

“Agreed.” All of them understood that so long as Daolord Darknorth was alive, this era would belong to him. He was the most dazzling figure in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, and even Realmslord Windgrace would stand on his side.

……

“Darknorth, if my visions serves, that female Daolord seems to be a bit smitten with you.” After leaving the Orchidfall Everworld, Hegemon Brightshore began to tease Ning a bit.

“Haha…” Ning laughed. “Nothing more than a bit of infatuation. It doesn’t count for much.” By now, the only person in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance who was on par with Ning in the Dao of Karma was Emperor Waveshift himself. Ning had naturally been able to discern Daolord Yu’s interest in him through his mastery of karma. But it was nothing more than a bit of interest; it wouldn’t have any true impact on her at all.

“Hegemon Brightshore, next I plan to scour the entire Flamedragon Realmverse to accept disciples on behalf of my master,” Ning said.

“Accept disciples on behalf of your master?” Hegemon Brightshore was puzzled.

“Yes, on behalf of my master, Emperor Mirrorsnow,” Ning said. “I need to accept ten! Although I’m technically accepting on his behalf, given that he is adventuring in the outside world I’ll naturally have to teach them myself.” He would be their senior apprentice-brother in name, but their teacher in truth.

“I might be taking on disciples on his behalf, but I still cannot be casual about this,” Ning said. “I’m planning to divide the Flamedragon Realmverse into nine ‘regions’, and will pick out ten World-level cultivators from each region. I’ll then select ten disciples from those ninety World-level cultivators. If I meet a few I’m truly interested in, I might even accept them as my own personal disciple.”

Only after this concluded would he go out adventuring. He would be fully prepared for the Daomerge by then, and so he would also have to select a few more heirs in the event of his failure.

The Three Realms was simply too small of a place. Although he was leaving his Omega Sword Dao behind in the Three Realms, he had yet to find anyone he felt truly worthy of passing his technique down to.

“You accepting a disciple would be a momentous occasion.” Hegemon Brightshore grew a bit excited. “Haha, a Daolord who has the power of a Hegemon… this is truly unprecedented. Your Dao has to be far stronger than ours! Perhaps I’ll send a few geniuses from the Brightshore Kingdom to take part as well.”

“That’s fine.” Ning nodded. “Everyone in the Flamedragon Realmverse is invited, save for the Aeonians.”

Ning didn’t feel any enmity towards the Dark Kingdom. In truth, it consisted of cultivators who had escaped a destroyed realmverse. There was no need to truly treat them as enemies. As Ning had grown more powerful, his view of the universe had changed as well. The only ones he continued to harbor enmity towards were the Aeonians.

Aeonians treated cultivators as food. Ning felt a tremendous amount of distaste towards them. However, since he knew that Autarch Bolin had been the one to create the Aeonians, Ning elected to simply ignore them. There was no way he would go accept one of them as his disciple.

……

Ning also told Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, and the Dao Alliance about his plans to accept disciples on behalf of his master! He informed them that he would be accepting ten disciples and could possibly even choose a few personal disciples. However, all candidates had to be skilled in the sword and be at the World level of cultivation!

The entire Flamedragon Realmverse was thrown into a state of chaos by this news. It must be understood that Ning would never casually transmit his Omega Sword Dao to others; to date, the only one he had shown it to was Daoist Bluestone. Everyone knew how incredibly powerful Ning was, and every organization hoped that one of their geniuses of the Dao of the Sword would have the chance to inherit Daolord Darknorth’s supreme technique.

And so, word of how the Flamedragon Realmverse was being divided into nine ‘regions’ quickly began to spread. Even many of the independent cultivators heard of this, and they all began to hasten towards the region closest to them.

The countless World-level cultivators all wished to become apprenticed to the most peerless Daolord to have ever existed, Daolord Darknorth.

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Chapter 29 – Sword Shack

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 29 – Sword Shack

Within a private room inside Vastheaven Palace. The white-robed Ji Ning was seated alone. Waving his hand, he caused ten stones to fly towards him and then hang there in the air before him.

Crackle, crackle, crackle. Ning waved his finger gently, causing flames to appear around the ten levitating stones and blaze away against them. The stones slowly began to melt, with runic patterns beginning to gradually appear on their surfaces. Everything was Ning willed it, and so the runic patterns joined together into a complex runic formation that caused the ten stones to transform into ten black loops. Ning then picked out a few other precious materials and infused them into the loops.

Ning had reached incredible heights in both the Dao of Fire and the Dao of Formations. As a result, creating simple Eternal treasures like these was incredibly easy for him. As for the materials he used, they were valuable enough to drive many Eternal Emperors mad with greed… but to Ning, he had literal mountains of them.

“Success.” Ning smiled. All ten bracelets glimmered with golden, silver, and violet lines that emanated strange ripples of power.

“Top-grade Eternal treasures. Given the ingredients I put into them, only Hegemons should be able to destroy them.” Ning then took control over the ten loops, sending his godsense into one of them.

Whoosh. A space that was ten thousand kilometers in size appeared before him. These loops were all estate-type treasures! However, they were limited in size to ‘just’ ten thousand kilometers because they were exceptionally stable.

“Let the earth form.” A vast earth began to emerge from the bottom of the space, quickly covering up all ten thousand kilometers of the estate-treasure.

“Let the mountains arise!” Soon, a vast mountain range thundered up from the earth, stretching upwards for nearly ten thousand kilometers.

In accordance with Ning’s will, this ten thousand kilometer world became primarily filled with mountain ranges as well as a few rivers.

“The Sword Shack.” Ning’s godsense incarnation waved a finger, causing an ordinary looking thatched cottage to appear within the largest mountain valley.

Another hour went past. By now, Ning’s true body had created a prayer mat which he put within the Sword Shack. The most valuable item in this entire estate-treasure was this prayer mat, something which even many Eternal Emperors would pine for as they cultivated. Cultivators would find that their hearts and minds would grow very calm as they sat there, and they would be able to train and meditate much more quickly than normally. Ning had emulated the Autarch’s stone dais in his creation of this prayer mat.

Although he wasn’t even close to the Autarch’s level of insight, his prayer mats still had roughly 5% of the effectiveness of the Stone Censor of Reunion; thus, they could be considered rare and valuable treasures.

“This world shall be a world of the Dao of the Sword.” Ning’s godsense incarnation swept the world with his gaze. Rumble… every single part of this world, including the mountains and the deep crevices, all became filled with sword-arts. There were many of them, all of them varied and complex.

These were the various sword-arts which could be discovered once one researched and dissected Emperor Mirrorsnow’s [Heartseal] sword-art. By now, Ning had reached a higher level of insight into the Dao of the Sword than Emperor Mirrorsnow ever had. He had first dissected all of the many sword-arts which were the underpinnings of the [Heartseal] sword-art, and then used the [Heartseal] sword-art as the basis for formulating eight even more profound sword-arts that were focused in different areas. Ning had now reached a high level of mastery over karma, giving him even greater powers of deduction reasoning. Given that he already had the Omega Sword Dao as his foundation, it was quite simple for him to formulate multiple Archon-class sword-arts.

If Ning merely wished to attempt the Daomerge via a single Supreme Dao, he would probably find the Daomerge to be much easier. However, his path was already set. Once it was set, there was no way to go back, no room for regret.

Besides… all things were relative. Ning’s path was that of the Omega Sword Dao. He had seen and experienced many things, and had also created multiple Archon-class techniques for the Daos of Space, Formations, Space, Time, Karma, and more. This was why he was able to create so many Archon-class sword-arts with ease. If he had chosen to embark upon a simpler path, he would’ve been much more limited in his abilities and would never have reached his current heights.

“The Sword Shack is perfect for meditation, allowing one to train quite quickly.” Ning nodded. “Within the world of the Sword Shack, those who wish to acquire rare and exceptional sword-arts must first pass a few tests.”

“Alright. The Sword Shack will be more than enough to guide them on their paths.” Ning revealed a smile. Since he had chosen to accept disciples on behalf of his teacher, he naturally had to give these ‘fellow disciples’ some treasures.

It was guaranteed that he wouldn’t have much time to personally teach them, which was why he had put all this effort into creating the Sword Shack. This was a treasure that was far more valuable than the godsense legacy which Emperor Mirrorsnow had provided him when Mirrorsnow had taken him on as a disciple. Ning had a higher level of insight into the Dao of the Sword, after all, which meant that he also had better ways of teaching. He truly did hope that these ten ‘junior apprentice-brothers’ or ‘junior apprentice-sisters’ would be able to surpass what he was able to offer them.

……

It took Ning half a day to create these ten Sword Shack worlds, then another eighty-plus years creating five more Silver Sword Shacks. Thanks to his mastery of the Dao of Karma, Ning had the vague feeling that he would at most take on a maximum of nine disciples.

He had previously already taken on Bluecliff Xiaoyu, ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding, and young master Skywind; three disciples in total! If he factored in the legacy he had left behind after becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step, it was guaranteed that he would have a fourth disciple as well.

Ning had the feeling that he would at most take on five more disciples. This time, he would see if there was anyone who interested and intrigued him enough so that he would take them on as a personal disciple instead of an honorary disciple on behalf of his master. He wouldn’t try to force things; it would all be left up to luck and fate. If he found someone interesting, he would accept them.

These five Silver Sword Shacks were meant for his personal disciples. Thus, Ning spent much more effort on them. They were quite similar to the other sword shacks, but Ning used even more precious ingredients on the prayer mats, and also put much more effort into the creation of the formations. Every single one of the prayer mats was almost 20% as effective as the Stone Censer of Reunion! More importantly, the Silver Sword Shacks were not centered around Emperor Mirrorsnow’s [Heartseal] sword-art; rather, they were centered around Ning’s own [Omega Sword Dao].

But of course, he couldn’t simply transmit his Dao to them. Rather, he used many different sword-techniques to serve as guides, and also left behind imprints of the sword-intent of the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao.

“I’ll have given them all I can give. Even the ten ordinary Sword Shacks have been filled with all the foundations they need; with those foundations, they have enough to develop the Omega Sword Dao on their own if they have the talent.” Ning nodded. He himself had slowly gained bits and pieces of insights which he had gradually used to make up for the deficiencies in his foundations, then finally been tempered into developing his Omega Sword Dao.

……

After finishing the creation of his gifts, Ning waited for another nine million years before the grand event which spanned the entire Flamedragon Realmverse began! Everyone was filled with excitement.

“It’s said that many powerful Daolords of the Fourth Step have come to watch the competitions. Even if we cannot end up being apprenticed to Daolord Darknorth, we might be able to become apprenticed to other powerful Daolords.”

“There are even some legendary Eternal Emperors and other ancient figures who have come to watch. They might take the opportunity to accept a disciple as well.”

“That’s nothing! All three of the almighty Hegemons have come alongside Daolord Darknorth! To be apprenticed to one of the three Hegemons or Daolord Darknorth would be truly incredible.”

This event was simply on far too vast of a scale. The six major organizations in the Flamedragon Realmverse were normally in a state of balance, and so it was impossible for anyone save Ning to cause the entire realmverse to be thrown into such a state of upheaval. This sort of tournament and selection process was far grander than the ones which the Brightshore Kingdom utilized! But of course, there were many major powers and Emperors who were watching intently, wanting to take advantage of Ning’s event to perhaps choose a few genius disciples for themselves.

……

The nine major regions were each governed by Archon-class major powers as well as their subordinate Emperors. There was an orderly process that had been implemented.

However, the number of independent cultivators who came was simply enormous. Thus, the first year was just the pre-selection competition, where all those who didn’t reach a certain minimum level of power were washed out. Ning was naturally the one who set the ‘minimum threshold’, which was simply the ‘supreme World God’ level. This alone washed out 99% of the cultivators.

Next, he teleported the remaining elites into the Vastheaven Everworld, to a place Ning had personally created… the Stairway to Heaven! The next trial would be the process of ascending the Stairway to Heaven.

The Stairway to Heaven were unfathomably high. If you wished to advance farther along the Stairway to Heaven, you would have to go through one contest after another. One side had to be killed or surrender before the other side could advance.

The Emperors, Hegemons, and Ning all watched intently as the battles in the Stairway to Heaven proceeded.

“This kid isn’t bad. I want him.” One of the Eternal Emperors in the Dao Alliance laughed, then waved a finger gently as he caused a strand of Eternal power to reach out and evelope the World-level cultivator who had nearly died just now.

Ning and the three Hegemons sat upon the highest thrones, watching from afar. They didn’t move to interfere. Only Emperors were qualified to select disciples from those who were on the Stairway to Heaven… but even then, they could only choose those who had failed! Only Ning and the three Hegemons were permitted to choose successful competitors.

“Interesting.” Ning’s gaze pierced through the void, coming to a rest atop of two figures who were walking side-by-side through the titanic Stairway to Heaven.

“Darknorth, have you taken an interest in those two kids?” Hegemon Brightshore asked.

“I want to watch for a bit longer and see how they perform. I do quite like the two of them, though.” Ning revealed a smile, causing Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Netherlily, and Hegemon Windrain to all laugh. It must be remembered that there were several peerless geniuses on the Stairway to Heaven who had fused multiple Supreme Daos together. The two Ning were staring at had each mastered just a single Supreme Dao.

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Chapter 30 – Fifth Disciple, Sixth Disciple

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 30 – Fifth Disciple, Sixth Disciple

A young man and woman were standing side-by-side upon the Stairway to Heaven. The stairways were incredibly vast and covered with vague sword-scars. Ji Ning had left them here in order to benefit the World-level cultivators who were selected to take part in the tournament. As for how much benefit they would gain from it, that would be up to their own comprehension abilities.

“Absolutely incredible.” The youth and the maiden were staring upwards at the sword-scars above the stairs.

“Boundless, even the sword-scars which Daolord Darknorth left behind in a casual manner are filled with unfathomable profundity. Even if we don’t manage to become apprenticed to him or the other major powers, just having viewed them here at the Stairway to Heaven means it was all worth it,” the white-robed maiden said.

The youth nodded. Both of them knew their own limits. Although they were excellent figures in the world at large, here at the Stairway to Heaven they were ranked close to the bottom. However, as they ascended the Stairway to Heaven and viewed more and more of the sword-scars they were beginning to skyrocket in power.

As the controller of the Stairway to Heaven, Ning made sure that they weren’t given ridiculously powerful opponents. Only the weakest would be washed out, while the strongest would be able to walk farther and farther. Ning wanted to make sure that the strongest wouldn’t run into each other and then be washed out early.

Time passed on, one year after another. The World-level cultivators all moved quite slowly up the Stairway to Heaven, as all of them wished to meditate on the mysteries hidden within the sword-scars. Each battle meant that they might lose and be forced to leave, and so they were all quite slow and cautious.

……

Ten thousand years had passed since their arrival at the Stairway to Heaven.

“Boundless, you’ve now mastered two Supreme Daos? You were faster than me!” the maiden said jubilantly.

“Muse, you were one step ahead of me in mastering the first Supreme Dao.” The youth smiled as he looked at the maiden. Everyone could easily tell how deeply they loved each other.

The two had arisen together step-by-step from the mortal world. The maiden had once been young master Boundless’ maidservant, and she had been given the name of ‘Muse’. Muse had been born with an incredible soul-physique and had been selected and taken away by an Immortal to a so-called ‘Immortal Realm’. As for young master Boundless, he continued to struggle his way through the mortal world, eventually clambering into the path of Immortal cultivation as well.

After countless battles and tempering experiences, he managed to dazzle everyone as he ascended into the Immortal realm, where he finally met his former maidservant ‘Muse’ once more. The two even had a child together! Eventually, the two ascended to the World-level almost simultaneously, and to this very day they were the only World-level cultivators their homeland had ever produced.

Muse was a Chaos Immortal, while young master Boundless was a dual refiner; both a Ki Refiner and a Fiendgod Body Refiner. As a result, both had Primaltwins which they had left behind in their homelands.

They were a pair of divine lovers, and together they departed from their homeland to wander the Chaosverse, encountering quite a few fortuitous events in the process. The story of how the legendary Daolord Darknorth was going to accept disciples on behalf of his master was an earth-shattering piece of news, resulting in them deciding to take part as well.

“I admit defeat!” Muse’s sword-formation had been overcome by her opponent. She knew that she no longer had any chance, and so she immediately and voluntarily admitted defeat.

After the battle. “Boundless, I lost. Be careful as you proceed up the Stairway. If you are unable to win, just admit defeat.” Muse could sense how the Stairway to Heaven was becoming increasingly difficult, and so she wanted to admonish her Dao-companion.

“I know.” Boundless nodded.

……

Half a month later, Boundless and Muse reunited at the base of the Stairway. “He was just too powerful. Not only was he an Ancient cultivator, he had even reached a higher level of comprehension than I did. I was thoroughly convinced by my defeat.” Boundless shook his head, then said helplessly, “I thought that the two of us could be considered quite talented and would attract some attention from one of the major powers watching, or perhaps a Daolord of the Fourth Step… but who would’ve thought that not a single one would reach out to us?”

“I waited for half a month at the base of the Stairway without anyone coming to meet me either.” Muse nodded.

Both were proud and talented figures, the only World-level cultivators their homeland had ever produced. They had benefited greatly from this experience, but in the end no major powers had come to take them on as disciples.

“Let’s wait for a while longer. Perhaps there will be a Daolord who takes interest in us,” Boundless said.

“Alright, let’s wait.” Muse held onto hope as well. Having a good master could make all the difference in the world. Neither Boundless nor Muse had received any guidance from a Daolord, and thus they knew almost nothing at all about the Endless Territories as a whole.

“Hey there, kids.” A voice suddenly rang out. Boundless and Muse both turned to look, rather excited and eager. Had a major power just chosen them? Who was it? Was it a Daolord of the Fourth Step, or perhaps even an Eternal Emperor? Or could it be a Hegemon… or perhaps even Daolord Darknorth? Although they knew rationally that it was unlikely someone particularly powerful had chosen them, they still clung onto their hopes and dreams.

They saw a white-robed youth walking towards them from afar. His aura was quite unique, and he didn’t give them any sense of pressure at all. He seemed quite… ordinary.

“A Daolord?” Both Boundless and Muse felt rather disappointed. It was still fairly easy to distinguish a Daolord’s aura from an Eternal Emperor’s aura. Every single Eternal Emperor emanated an aura that had the scent of ‘eternity’ about it, an aura that whispered that time had no hold over this person.

Moments later, they quickly regained their usual calm. They were still quite pleased, to tell the truth; perhaps the Daolords who chose disciples here were the weakest masters available, but at least the two of them had been chosen! If no one had chosen them at all, they really would’ve felt saddened.

“You two have superb comprehension of the sword,” Ning congratulated with a smile. Indeed, they were quite impressive.

As far as growth went, Boundless and Muse could actually be ranked in the top ten amongst the World-level cultivators who had come here and learned from the sword-scars. It must be remembered that he knew that the other powers would also be interested in taking on disciples, which was why he had merely required all of the World-level cultivators be ‘skilled in the sword’, rather than exclusively focus on the Dao of the Sword. Thus, there were (for example) some incredibly talented figures who were skilled in swordplay, but whose true forte lay in the Dao of Spacetime, in the Dao of the Saber, or even heartforce!

Of those who focused on the Dao of the Sword, Muse and Boundless had grown and improved faster than everyone else. Ning was able to tell at a glance that the two hadn’t received the proper tutelage, which was why they had improved at such a rapid pace. When Ning saw them, he felt like he saw the mirror images of himself when he had first left the Three Realms.

It was only after Ning had joined the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore that he developed a Supreme Dao, and it wasn’t until he had entered the alternate universe that he had mastered fused Supreme Daos.

In addition, Boundless and Muse were so close to each other that Ning couldn’t help but think back to the feelings he and Yu Wei had shared for each other. “What a pity,” Ning sighed to himself. If she was still alive, perhaps the two of them could adventure the Chaosverse together, just like Boundless and Muse.

“Are the two of you willing to enter my tutelage?” Ning asked.

“Senior, are you skilled in the Dao of the Sword?” Muse asked.

Ning nodded. As he did so, he caused a terrifyingly powerful aura of sword-intent to emanate from his body, an aura so strong that both Boundless and Muse felt their hearts quiver. However, they didn’t truly understand what this aura entailed. They were merely a pair of inexperienced World-level cultivators, after all; in their eyes, all Daolords of the Fourth Step were terrifyingly powerful. They only felt that Ning was terrifyingly strong, capable of wiping them out with just a fraction of his might.

Boundless and Muse exchanged a glance, then immediately knelt down: “Your disciples greet you, Master.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded. “Follow me, then.” An invisible dimensional ripple swept across the two of them. Ning took a single step forwards, shuttling through spacetime and arriving back at the place where the Hegemons and the Emperors were all gathered together.

“Daolord Darknorth.”

“Darknorth.”

“Congratulations, Daolord Darknorth, on having accepted some fine disciples.” The Hegemons and Emperors were all laughing and congratulating Ning as they glanced at the two young fellows standing behind them. They couldn’t help but secretly sigh at how incredibly lucky those two young fellows were! Instead of choosing more powerful cultivators, Ning had actually ended up choosing this pair of Dao-companions.

Ning returned to sit in the lotus position atop his cloud, with Hegemon Netherlily, Hegemon Windrain, and Hegemon Brightshore by his side. The four of them were seated the highest.

“B-but…” Boundless and Muse continued to stand behind Ning. They stared at the three awesome Hegemons next to them, then at the many Eternal Emperors below them. Every single person here emanated an aura of eternity. Even the most foolish of World-level cultivators would immediately understand that the many major powers standing subserviently before them were all Eternal Emperors… and so, Boundless and Muse instantly understood that they had just become apprenticed to the legendary Daolord Darknorth.

“W-we…” Boundless and Muse exchanged a glance. Both felt rather light-headed. The auras of the Hegemons and the many Eternal Emperors present were simply too oppressive.

“Master,” Boundless whispered softly.

“From this day forth, you shall be the fifth and sixth disciples under my tutelage,” Ning said.

Boundless and Muse instantly felt excited. Boundless asked, “Master, I heard you are taking on ten disciples in total?”

“No. Misinformation certainly spreads quickly.” Ning shook his head.

“All of you young fellows have been spreading all sorts of wild rumors around.” Hegemon Brightshore laughed merrily, “For this event, Darknorth is accepting disciples on behalf of his own teacher, which means those ten are technically just his junior apprentice brothers and sisters who he will teach in his teacher’s stead. As for the two of you? You are Daolord Darknorth’s personal disciples.”

Boundless and Muse turned to stare at the white-robed, white-haired old man next to them. They felt a sense of closeness and warmth radiating from him.

“Darknorth, how many disciples do you plan on selecting?” Brightshore asked. “If you are done picking, I’m going to start.”

“I’m done.” Ning nodded. “I’ll only choose these two from this event. I’ll pick ten junior apprentice-brothers and sisters at the very end.”

Although quite a few geniuses had taken part in this event, the only ones who had truly moved and intrigued Ning were Boundless and Muse. He felt as though he saw himself and Yu Wei in them, and so he had taken them on as his disciples! At Ning’s level, taking on a disciple was more a matter of personal feelings than anything else. For example, his second example ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding had been nothing more than an ordinary mortal.

Ning didn’t keep his words private at all, allowing everyone to hear them. All the Emperors below him turned to stare towards Boundless and Muse with changed looks in their eyes. These two lucky kids! They don’t even know how lucky they are. Their master was someone who no one in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance would dare to offend, a peerless Daolord who caused even Hegemons to feel dread. He had set up this great tournament which covered the entire Flamedragon Realmverse… and in the end, the only two disciples he had chosen were the two of them.

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Chapter 31 – A Distant Journey

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 31 – A Distant Journey

Finally, this great Flamedragon Realmverse event came to an end. The Hegemons and Emperors all departed one by one, with the Vastheaven Everworld regaining its usual calm.

Within Vastheaven Palace.

“Greetings to you, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth.” Ten World-level cultivators were present. There were youths, elders, aliens, Aberrant special lifeforms, and even an Ancient cultivator. They all bowed respectfully, their gazes filled with unabashed excitement. They had finally been selected! It must be remembered that there were some geniuses who took part in this competition that were just as talented as them. A few were even more talented!

“From this day forth, you are now honorary disciples of Emperor Mirrorsnow,” Ning said. “Our master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, has long ago departed from the Flamedragon Realmverse and gone off adventuring, which is why I shall teach you in his stead. However, in the end cultivation must come from the self. Thus, I will only provide each of you with ten sessions of individualized guidance. After the ten sessions are over, I will not provide you with any further guidance until you become Daolords. Understood?”

“Understood.” Although these World-level cultivators were all secretly surprised, they remained quite calm. They were all geniuses and all quite proud. They usually weren’t all that impressed by most major powers, but they were filled with almost fanatical devotion towards Daolord Darknorth. This was why they had striven so hard to become apprenticed to him. It certainly wasn’t because of ‘Emperor Mirrorsnow’! Not even the chance to become Emperor Mirrorsnow’s personal disciples, rather than just honorary disciples, was nearly as attractive as the chance to have Daolord Darknorth personally instruct them.

Ten sessions? They felt certain that there was a reason why Daolord Darknorth had said this!

“Good.” Ning smiled upon seeing their reactions. “The ten of you are all extremely talented in the Dao of the Sword. Three of you have fused Supreme Daos together, while the other seven have all mastered multiple individual Supreme Daos. All I really need to do is provide you with some guidance. In the end, it will be up to you to walk the path between life and death as you become Samsara Daolords.”

Disciples weren’t necessarily capable of learning everything a teacher had to offer; in life, you had to make do with what materials you had to work with. Every single Samsara Daolord had to find his or her own Dao. Ning felt that it would be quite incredible if even a single one of his personal disciples or ‘junior apprentice-brothers’ and ‘junior apprentice-sisters’ ended up embarking on the path of an Omega Dao. The far more likely result would be that none of them would find that path.

The Omega Dao simply couldn’t be taught. You had to go find it on your own! As a wise teacher, Ning knew that all he could do was guide them on their paths. Fortunately for them, Ning’s own path was that of the Omega Sword Dao. His Dao was like a tall, sturdily-built house, and his guidance was the best guidance possible.

“This is the world of the Sword Shack.” Ning waved his hand, causing ten black loops that glowed with runic lines to fly towards the ten.

“The Sword Shack is filled with countless sword-arts. Aside from the [Heartseal] sword-art of our master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, it also includes all foundations for the Dao of the Sword,” Ning said. In other words… it contained the foundations for his own Omega Dao. This was why he dared to make the claim that it contained ‘all foundations for the Dao of the Sword’.

“You can train in seclusion within the Sword Shack, but you must be tempered via adventuring through the outside world. Perhaps you will then be able to understand and find a path which truly belongs to you.”

“Thank you, senior apprentice-brother.” The ten disciples were all delighted.

“You are the only ones permitted inside the Sword Shack. If anyone else tries to bind it, the estate-world inside will be automatically destroyed,” Ning said. “Thus, you must not give it to anyone else.”

“Understood.” Many of the ten mused that only a fool would give something like this to another!

Ning waved his hand again, causing a number of Dao-seals to fly out towards the ten as well. “These are Dao-seals which I personally forged. Some involve the Dao of the Sword, some involve the Dao of Space, some involve the Dao of Time, some involve heartforce, some involve the Dao of Karma… each of you shall have nine seals total, and they come in varying levels of power. Some are meant for escape, some are meant to kill foes, and some are used to scout and explore. Just three of them can be used to attack foes head-on,” Ning said. “When you go out adventuring, you must be careful and also conserve your Dao-seals. If you use them all up, I’m not going to just remake them for you.”

These ten disciples were all overjoyed, but they also felt stunned. Daolord Darknorth had personally forged them? Forging Dao-seals was fairly easy, and many major powers were capable of it, but the cost was quite high as only valuable materials could be used to store such incredible levels of power. And… more importantly, the creator of the Dao-seal had to understand the Daos he was infusing into each seal.

In other words… if their senior apprentice-brother Darknorth created that many Dao-seals for them, he must have reached inconceivable heights in the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Dao of Karma, and multiple other Daos!

“Here are a hundred million cubes of chaos nectar for each of you.” Ning waved his hand, causing a few more storage-type treasures to fly out.

“Here are some top-grade Eternal swords which have been made in accordance with your own specific insights into the Dao of the Sword. Each of you can have six.” Ning waved his hand again, causing a total of sixty swords to fly out towards the ten.

Top-grade Eternal treasures? Ning had a literal mountain of these things. In truth, every single Hegemon had piles and piles of top-grade Eternal treasures. Ning was far wealthier than most Hegemons. Not only had he blackmailed multiple Hegemons and killed Hegemon Winterflame, he had also accumulated a terrifying amount of treasure when he had swept through the Jadefire Realm. He had a total of six Universe treasures! Alas, none of them were swords.

“I’ve already given you everything I can and should. Sword-arts, divine abilities, secret arts… you’ll find them all within the Sword Shack,” Ning said. “If you want to earn them, go into the Sword Shack and fight for them. Go now. I’ve already set up estates for you within Vastheaven Palace. Calm your minds and train hard. You can come find me if you have any questions… but remember, each of you will only have ten opportunities!”

“Understood.” The ten fellow disciples all departed excitedly.

“What an absolute fortune.”

“Each of us was given a hundred million cubes!”

“Perhaps ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step might feel pain at giving away a billion cubes of chaos nectar, but senior apprentice-brother treats with Hegemons as equals. He’s able to toss out such sums without batting an eye.”

“Ah! The Sword Shack has a prayer mat inside. When my Primaltwin sat down upon it, its cultivation speed increased dramatically. This thing is far more valuable than the cubes of chaos nectar!” While journeying towards their estates, these ten ‘fellow disciples’ began to discover how marvelous the prayer mat was. All of them were stunned by it. There were many Eternal Emperors who would be envious of such a treasure!

……

Most of the treasures which Ning had prepared for his fifth disciple Boundless and his sixth disciple Muse were on par with what the other ten had been given. The only difference lay in the Sword Shack.

“Before you become Samsara Daolords, the two of you shall also have ten chances to come ask me for instruction,” Ning said. “Therefore, you should train hard within the Sword Shack. Do your best to resolve your questions on your own. If you find that you can make no progress at all, come find me.”

“Understood.” Boundless and Muse were incredibly respectful.

“You can go now,” Ning instructed, and the two immediately departed obediently.

Upon seeing everyone finally leave, the nearby Hegemon Azurefiend finally spoke up: “Darknorth, don’t you think you are just a bit too casual when it comes to teaching your students?”

“I can guide them, but providing them with overly detailed tutelage will actually constrain their growth,” Ning said. “It’ll be far more helpful for them if they can find answers to their questions on their own, rather than come to me for everything. Besides… the ‘Sword Shack’ I created for them can be viewed as half a teacher as well.”

“You might be overestimating your disciples a bit. Most of them have merely devised multiple Supreme Daos and have yet to even fuse them together. Not everyone is as freakishly talented as you, you know.” Azurefiend shook his head.

“Well… if they just can’t progress, then they can live in mediocrity.” Ning smiled. By its very nature, the Dao of the Sword required one to advance without looking back and to act in accordance with one’s own nature. How could one possibly become a major power if someone was always yammering at him about what he should do? Even though he was their teacher, he couldn’t interfere too much in their choices.

Besides… the more famous a teacher was, the greater his influence would be on his students. He had to be careful, and he couldn’t provide them with excessive guidance. If he did, he might end up causing his students to depart from the path which actually suited them the most. The path which was best for Ning wasn’t necessarily the path which was best for his students.

However… just letting them roam freely wasn’t an option either. This was why Ning had chosen to create the Sword Shack, which he had infused with the foundations of virtually all paths one could take in the Dao of the Sword. He would let his disciples choose the path which suited them the most.

Although it looked as though Ning was acting in a casual fashion, in reality he had put a lot of effort and consideration into how he was going to teach the disciples he had chosen. This was true for both his personal disciples and the disciples he had chosen on behalf of Emperor Mirrorsnow. Yes, he was technically just their ‘senior apprentice-brother’, but in reality he was like their master. This was why Ning had worked so hard to create all those different types of Dao-seals for them, which would be enough to allow them to deal with all sorts of strange predicaments. They were more than enough for the types of adventures which World-level cultivators would get into.

……

After having accepted all these disciples, Ning led Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw in departing from the Flamedragon Realmverse once more. This time, they were going to go on a very distant journey to a place outside the demesnes of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

As for his disciples? Ning’s avatar would be permanently stationed at Vastheaven Palace and would keep on eye on everything which happened in Flamedragon Realmverse. Thus, it could also teach and guide the disciples.

Whoosh. The realmship continued its advance through the endless Great Dark. Inside the realmship, Azurefiend and Flamewing were gorging on a veritable sea of food, while Whitethaw quietly stood guard over Ning. Ning, in turn, was pondering while holding onto a jade slip.

Realmslord Windgrace had given him this slip, and it included all the information he had acquired regarding the dangerous place he was about to visit.

“The Icewind Sea?” Ning mused silently. The Icewind Sea was a place which Realmslord Windgrace and his peers had scouted out in the place, and they were the ones who had chosen this name.

The Icewing Sea could be described in one word – cold! However, it was a place which gave birth to quite a few fire-aligned treasures, with the Daomerge Firecloud Flower being one of them. This was also the treasure which Ning valued the most highly.

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Chapter 32 – Icewind Sea

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 32 – Icewind Sea

“Realmslord Windgrace and his peers have ventured inside the Icewind Sea in the past, and they encountered a Sourcewalker who was at the Otherverse Lord level of power when they were there.” Ji Ning nodded. “Within the realms of what we can handle. Although he’s beyond myself and Azurefiend, so long as we have Flamewing with us we can deal with him with ease. However, this Sourcewalker has lived within the Icewind Sea and is able to make use of its local environs. It’ll be quite difficult to deal with.”

“We have to be careful. If we let it catch us offguard and ambush us, both I and Azurefiend will both be at risk of dying,” Ning mused.

……

The realmship warped through spacetime for over half a million years before finally reaching the distant ‘Icewind Sea’.

“How beautiful.” Ning, Azurefiend, Whitethaw, and Flamewing stood within the realmship, staring in amazement at the beautiful scenes outside.

The endless Great Dark should be filled with nothing but darkness. It was an empty, lonely place without even a hint of light… but now, an enormous silvery-white vortex-world had appeared before them. A fierce, icy gale was howling throughout the region, forming an icy maelstrom of absolutely inconceivable size around it Although Ning’s group was able to see it with the naked eye, they were actually still extremely far away from it. This vortex had to be comparable in size to an entire territory!

“The Icewind Sea,” Ning murmured softly.

“What an enormous sea of cold energy. I feel as though endless amounts of freezing energy have gathered around this area,”Azurefiend said with an amazed sigh. “Although I’ve visited many realmverses and seen quite a few dangerous places, this truly is my first time seeing such an enormous conglomeration of cold energy.”

Ning concurred, “Normal realmverses are filled with lightning, wind, light, darkness, and all types of other energy. That’s why life is able to flourish and take root! In addition, the various streams of energy will be fairly docile and not too agitated… but the cold energy here has spread out to cover an entire territory in size! We could take all of the cold energy out of the Flamedragon Realmverse and put it here, and it still wouldn’t be as dense as this.”

“Weaker Eternal Emperors would probably be frozen to death,” Azurefiend said with a laugh. “That’s why this place, filled with such freezing might, is capable of giving birth to so many inconceivable treasures. Realmverses are quite plain and ordinary by comparison, which means they are unable to give birth to truly remarkable treasures.”

“I don’t like this place,” the nearby Flamewing muttered.

“We’ll leave right after I harvest the Daomerge Firecloud Flower,” Ning consoled.

Whoosh. The realmship began to engage in short-distance warps. It soon arrived at the borders to the Icewind Sea.

Slash. Slash. Slash. The furious wind howled against the realmship, striking against it as though it was formed from icy knives. The realmship was in peak condition and thus was able to endure the attacks with ease, but its flight path became slightly twisted.

“This wind is far too powerful,” Azurefiend muttered.

“We learned long ago from this jade slip that we must pass through this tempest layer if we wish to reach the continent inside the Icewind Sea,” Ning said.

The Icewind Sea was called a ‘sea’ but it wasn’t an actual sea. It was actually an absolutely enormous iceberg which naturally attracted all of the surrounding cold energy of the Chaosverse in an extremely large area. This was why such a terrifying vortex had appeared around it. This terrifying vortex was capable of killing even weaker Eternal Emperors. This sort of extreme environment was highly inhospitable for ordinary lifeforms to enter or live in.

Only Hegemons and Otherverse Lords and other major powers on or above their level would dare to enter a place like this.

……

There was no way to teleport through spacetime within the tempest layer. The only option was to slowly fly through it.

Under Ning’s control, the realmship slowly stabilized as it followed the wind inwards. Given Ning’s mastery over the Dao of Wind and the Dao of Thunder, the realmship was able to maintain its incredible speeds as it pressed onwards. Alas, the tempest layer was simply so vast that flying through it would take time.

They flew at top speed for over ninety thousand years.

“Look! There’s a planet up ahead,” Azurefiend called out.

“A planet?” Flamewing turned to look, then smirked. “That’s not a planet, that’s just a hunk of ice.” Indeed, it was a piece of ice that was billions of kilometers in diameter which was flying through the tempest layer at high speeds.

“Let’s move over and take a look. According to Realmslord Windgrace’s records, these planet-sized hunks of ice all broke free from the main Windsea ‘continent’ and often have marvelous treasures hidden within them.” Ning smiled. “If we’re lucky, we might even find a Daomerge Fircloud Fruit.” Ning and the others were quite patient; even if they spent a few dozen chaos cycles hunting for the Daomerge Firecloud Fruit, it would be fine.

Rumble… as the realmship drew closer, a wave of chaotic force suddenly swept across the realmship, causing it to tremble. It took Ning nearly an hour before they were finally able to successfully land on the ice ‘planet’.

This ice planet had its own gravitational field which repelled the tempest outside of it. As a result, things were quite calm on the surface of the planet.

“Whew. We finally made it out.” Azurefiend flew out, rather excited. Ning put away the realmship and then descended as well. This was a world of nothing but ice; even the ‘ground’ was solid ice!

“The ice…?” Ning made a casual grabbing motion towards the ground, causing a claw-shadow to sweep out against the icy ground. He wanted to forcibly tear out a chunk of it, but the only result was a clacking sound as a few scratches appeared on the ice.

“It’s that tough?” Ning was rather amazed. It looked as though he would have to put some real effort into it. He waved a finger, causing a streak of sword-light to fly out and carve a large hole in the ground, digging out a large chunk of ice. The ice then flew straight towards Ning, who reached out to touch it. He could sense the terrifying cold within the ice.

Ning couldn’t help but feel speechless. This was far colder than some of the famous types of mystic ice which existed in the Flamedragon Realmverse, and it was far tougher as well. His claw-strike had failed to pull anything out of it. In the end, he had been forced to exert 50% of his full power to carve this piece out.

Azurefiend’s voice suddenly rang out from off in the distance: “What the hell type of ice is this? It’s incredibly tough! I’m a freaking Hegemon, but I wasn’t able to break it apart by stomping on it!”

“This ice is everywhere. Don’t worry about it for now. Hurry up and search this place. Let’s see if we can find any treasures,” Ning said.

“Yes, Master,” Whitethaw said.

“I’ll go search as well.” Flamewing returned to his usual form, excitedly spreading his wings and then flying into the air. It had been quite some time since he had flown about in such a manner.

As for Ning, he began to search this place using his powers over spacetime. Godsense was of no use; every part of the Icewind Sea was filled with such an overwhelming aura of limitless cold that even godsense was suppressed, making it impossible for him to search too far with it.

“Eh?” Ning scanned the area, his gaze seeing past space and time as he scoured the place. “That’s a lot of treasure.” Ning quickly found certain treasures which lay within some fairly well-hidden places.

He saw a completely crystalline-looking tree of ice, a warm jewel, a fiery-red clump of grass, and more. Ning was able to name some of them, but most were completely foreign to him. All of them were clearly quite valuable. However, Ning was so incredibly wealthy by now that he didn’t really care about these treasures. Most likely, all of the treasures he had discovered would be at most compared to the networth of an ordinary Eternal Emperor. Still… this was a testament to what an incredible place the Icewind Sea was and how many treasures it held!

However, this was a place so dangerous that even someone like Realmslord Windgrace would only enter after calling a few friends to help out.

“Master! Master!” Flamewing let out an excited cry, his voice forcibly tearing through the suppressive effect of the terrifying aura of cold. Ning was able to hear him clearly from afar.

“Flamewing, what happened?!” Ning immediately moved, transforming into a streak of light as he flew straight towards Flamewing. Flamewing was standing within an icy gorge.

“Master, take a look! Do you see that?” Flamewing was rather excited, and he flapped his wing a few times as he pointed towards the front.

Ning hurriedly looked, only to see a series of long slender green leaves that were each three meters long. They were all growing slanted alongside the distant, icy-jade walls of the gorge. There had to be hundreds of those leaves, and there was a fruit at the very center of them. This fruit was completely azure in color, and it emanated a particularly pungent smell.

“Incense Spirit-Fruit?” Ning was rather amazed. This fruit was the second-ranked Daomerge treasure, but it clearly wasn’t ripe yet. Fully ripened Incense Spirit-Fruit was flecked with red and would emanate an absolutely alluring aroma which would cause even Hegemons to drool. For many major powers, Incense Spirit-Fruit was primarily considered a delicacy to be eaten. How many Daolords could possibly procure such a treasure, after all?

“So the Icewind Sea has Incense Spirit-Fruit within it?” Ning was very surprised. When Realmslord Windgrace had come here, he hadn’t found any Incense Spirit-Fruit. However, the Icewind Sea was a very large place; there had to be many places here which the Realmslord had yet to visit.

“Haha.” Hegemon Azurefiend flew over as well. He stared at the Incense Spirit-Fruit, then laughed, “Darknorth, your luck isn’t bad. We’ve just entered the Icewind Sea and haven’t even landed on the main continent, and you’ve already discovered some Incense Spirit-Fruit on an iceberg planet floating at the very outskirts. Given your crazy luck, you will probably be able to find the Daomerge Cloudfire Flower after all.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. Judging from the information Realmslord Windgrace had provided, Incense Spirit-Fruit would probably be of very limited use to him. However, it was still far more valuable than a Voidsea Jadeseal and still could be considered a valuable treasure.

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Chapter 33 – Descending Upon the Continent

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 33 – Descending Upon the Continent

After an hour, Ji Ning and his team had finished fully scouting out this ice planet. They didn’t find any Daomerge Icecloud Flowers, while they only found a single Incense Spirit-Fruit. They did find quite a number of other marvelous items.

“There was nothing?” The Flamewing God continued to fly about the skies like a streak of light, unwilling to admit defeat as he continued the search.

“Forget it, Flamewing. This ice planet was nothing more than a tiny fragment of the Icewind Sea continent. We should feel lucky that we even found a single Incense Spirit-Fruit,” Ning called out loudly.

Whoosh. Flamewing descended and transformed into human form. He stared at the floating azure fruit before them, then muttered, “It isn’t even ripe yet. I wonder how long it would take for it to fully ripen.”

“Judging from the looks of it, it’ll take roughly ten thousand chaos cycles to fully ripen,” Ning estimated with a smile. “But that’s simple.” Ning stepped forward to set up a formation around the spirit-fruit, causing spacetime to accelerate. As time began to speed up around the spirit-fruit, it began to absorb increasingly greater amounts of energy from the surrounding area.

Ning couldn’t just harvest it right away, as fruits like this could only develop in highly specific environments! Even if Ning moved it over to another part of the Icewind Sea, he still might not be able to ensure its survival.

“I’ll accelerate time around it by a rate of 3000x. If I increase it any further, the rate of energy absorption will destroy the entire frozen gorge,” Ning said. Powerful cultivators were living beings, making it extremely difficult to accelerate time for them. The Incense Spirit-Fruit, however, was just a type of unique vegetable. Given Ning’s mastery over the Dao of Time and the Dao of Formations, he would be able to easily accelerate time by even a rate of 10,000,000x. Slowing down time wasn’t too hard either. His main worry was that if he accelerated time too fast, the environment wouldn’t be able to provide the Incense Spirit-Fruit with enough energy.

“Thankfully, the Incense Spirit-Fruit will maintain its potency indefinitely after ripening.” Ning shook his head. “If it was like the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, which must be used within a thousand years after it ripens, it would be a pain to deal with.”

“The Daomerge Firecloud Flower has a far more powerful effect. Of course it also comes with more stringent requirements,” Azurefiend said.

Ning scanned the area one final time, then said: “Let’s go. If we have enough time, we can come back after a few chaos cycles.” Ning and the others boarded the realmship, then departed from this ice planet and entered the tempest once more.

Because Ning had personally set up a formation on the planet, he was able to sense its location even as they flew farther and farther away from the ice planet.

……

Whooooosh. A wild wind howled ravenously through the void, causing even Ning and the others to have a limited field of vision. All of them were staring at the outside, but there was nothing but a haze blocking their sight.

Still, judging from how powerful the infinitely cold aura radiating from icy sea of energy was in each direction, they were able to sense the general direction of the main continent.

Time flowed on, one year at a time. The realmship continued to fly forwards at maximum speed, while Ning and his team remained within the warm interior, eating and drinking. Ning and Azurefiend often discussed the Dao with each other. Ning’s advantage was that he was skilled in many Daos, while Azurefiend was a Hegemon. They occasionally gained insights from their discussions with each other.

They spent over 150,000,000 years slowly flying through the tempest. During this time, they only encountered one additional ice planet. Alas, this one didn’t have any treasures which intrigued Ning at all, and the total value of the materials they found on it was perhaps at most comparable to an Archon’s networth. Ning naturally didn’t care at all.

“Here we are.” Ning revealed a smile as he rose to his feet.

“We’ve made it already?” Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw all looked otwards the outside, only to see an utterly vast iceworld that was a bit hard to make out due to the storm. This was a world that was unfathomably vaster than the two planet-sized pieces of ice they had encountered previously.

“Starting from today, all of us must be careful. Especially you, Flamewing; don’t cause any trouble!” Ning instructed. “The Icewind Sea is quite massive; so long as we remain cautious, we might be able to avoid detection by Sourcewalkers.”

“What have we to fear?” Flamewing was unhappy. “Master, based on what Realmslord windgrace told us, the Sourcewalkers of the Icewind Sea are at most comparable to Otherverse Lords in power. I can beat the crap out of any of them!”

“Obey my commands.” Ning frowned. He was afraid of Flamewing causing trouble. Azurefiend was a Hegemon; he would definitely be extremely cautious in such a terrifying place as the Icewind Sea. The Protector Whitethaw went without saying; he would obey all orders unquestioningly. Flamewing, however… Ning might have tamed him, but he was still like a child. He might just go crazy and start causing chaos.

Flamewing lowered his head and started to mumble to itself.

“The Sourcewalkers might be a bit weaker than you, but they’ve lived in the Icewind Sea for an extremely long period of time and understand it much better than us. They might use the local environment against us. If Azurefiend and I aren’t careful, they might end up ambushing and killing us before you can do anything,” Ning explained.

“I’ll make sure to protect you and keep you safe, Master,” Flamewing said hurriedly.

“Also keep in mind that Realmslord Windgrace and the others only explored a small part of the Icewind Sea. There might be other unknown dangers here,” Ning said seriously. “That’s why you have to obey my orders.”

“Oh.” When Flamewing saw the serious look on Ning’s face, he nodded obediently. “I’ll do exactly what you tell me to do. If you tell me to fly, I definitely won’t walk on the ground. If you tell me to walk on the ground, I definitely won’t fly.”

Ning secretly let out a sigh of relief. Without Flamewing, he and Azurefiend would never dare to enter a place like the Icewind Sea. That’s why he had to make sure that Flamewing obeyed all of his orders; if they weren’t careful, they could very well die.

“Come, let’s keep going,” Ning said.

“The Icewind Sea!” Azurefiend was quite excited as well.

By now, the realmship had already landed upon the infinitely vast continent of ice. Ning and the other three flew out, then scanned their surroundings.

As far as they could see, the vast icy world around them seemed quiet and calm. However, a few vortexes rising into the skies could occasionally be seen. Given their ocular prowess, they were able to see to a distance of a trillion kilometers. Even there, they saw over ten thousand vortexes spiraling into the skies and merging into the tempest layer above.

“Scout the area out and find all treasures that are hidden here. Remember, stay close to each other and don’t run around,” Ning said. The four began to scout the place carefully by themselves…

……

This vast continent of ice had gorges, canyons, mountains, and more. However, everything was completely made out of ice!

The ice continent was almost as large as an entire territory in size. As a result, it had its own systemized ‘laws’, to the point where it had its own prime essences! Much like how the (much-smaller) everworlds had their own laws and essences, this vast continent did as well. Although it was merely the size of the Badlands Territory or Vastheaven Territory, its total energy levels surpassed that of entire otherverses!

It had its own laws and its own prime essences. Once a cultivator took control over the prime essences of an otherverse, that cultivator would become known as an ‘Otherverse Lord’. However, there was no way for anyone to take control over the prime essences of the Icewind Sea. Not even the Sourcewalkers who had lived in here since time immemorial were capable of it! The Sourcewalkers had merely been blessed by the prime essences of the Chaosverse, who had been enraged by the manner in which the Sithe had invaded and looted so many sacred sites. As a result, the Sourcewalkers were able to borrow some of the power from the sacred sites, causing the Sithe to suffer great losses as a result.

“If a Sourcewalker was able to take control over the entire Icewind Sea, then even Flamewing would be of no use. It might be able to stay alive, but the rest of us would probably be wiped out instantaneously.” After wandering the Icefire Sea for just a single year, Azurefiend found enough treasures to rival an ordinary Hegemon’s networth. This caused him to feel stunned as to how marvelous the Icewind Sea was.

“The Sithe were too proud and too ravenous, causing even the prime essences of the Chaosverse to feel enraged. That’s why the Sourcewalkers were granted power from these sacred places.” Ning smiled. “Ever since the Sithe were destroyed, there have been no further tales of Sourcewalkers being able to control such power.”

Suddenly, Ning’s Immortal energy flared out. Swish! It grabbed the other three, then brought them with Ning as he warped to the edges of a distant gorge.

Even ice planets had their own chaotic gravitational fields, preventing Ning and the others from warping through spacetime. The great ice continent, however, was extremely stable and had its own system of laws. The only places where things were chaotic were those vast vortexes which rose into the skies; there, warping through spacetime was impossible. Thus, Ning and the others engaged in fairly short warp teleports, ensuring that they were able to avoid those places. This process was still far faster than flying normally.

“Hm?” When the four arrived in the air above the canyon, they all peered downwards into it.

“I don’t see a Daomerge Firecloud Flower.” Azurefiend shook his head.

“I don’t sense any Fire-type energy at all,” Flamewing agreed.

This gorge was the place where Realmslord Windgrace and the others had discovered that Daomerge Firecloud Flower. Ning and the others had been making haste towards it, although of course they would’ve been pleased to find another flower midway.

One years… two years… three years. Ning and his team continued to advance through the Icewind Sea, searching for the flower Ning needed. They encountered and picked up a number of valuable fruits, but most were unripe. In addition, they were afraid to harvest too much, for fear of being discovered by the Sourcewalkers.

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Chapter 34 – Sourcewalkers

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 34 – Sourcewalkers

Another 129 years went by in the blink of an eye.

Whoooosh. A vortex could be seen rising into the skies in the distance, causing spacetime to be twisted and distorted. Ji Ning and the other three were in a cave close to the margins of the vortex, peering towards it.

Azurefiend murmured softly, “According to what Realmslord Windgrace said, the most precious materials are all located deep inside the vortexes, which connect to the very deepest underground tunnels. Darknorth, shall we go in and take a look?”

“No need. Our target is the Daomerge Firecloud Flower! There’s no need for us to enter the depths of those vortexes,” Ning said. “If we do go in, we would be easily discovered by the Sourcewalkers.”

“Alright.” Azurefiend didn’t argue, even though he really did want to go in and give it a try. They hadn’t picked up many treasures in the past few years, as they were afraid that scouring too much would result in them being discovered, but even so the few treasures Azurefiend had picked up were worth two or three times more than his previous networth. Thus, he wanted to go into the depths of the abyss and search for even rarer treasures… but the only way he could do that was if he relied on Ning’s Flamewing God.

“The other valley Realmslord Windgrace mentioned isn’t too far away. We should be able to reach it in around thirty years,” Ning said. “Let us continue.”

Daomerge Firecloud Flowers were simply too rare. They had searched for many years but found nothing at all. They did find another Incense Spirit-Fruit, but unfortunately it was yet another unripened one.

Ning and the others had only walked for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea when suddenly… boom! A blurry black light suddenly appeared beneath their feet, oozing out of the icy ground and forming into curved lines that stretched out trillions of kilometers.

“Not good. That’s a formation.” Ning’s face tightened. “An alarm formation.”

“We’ve been discovered.” Hegemon Azurefiend was shocked as well.

Rumble… an enormous earth-shaking boom rang out in the distance as the ground began to crack apart. A titanic mountain-sized ice humanoid emerged from the ground, using his two hands to tear through it as rose from the depths.

Ning’s gaze narrowed. The ice here was so tough that if he didn’t use his Darknorth swords, he’d need to use roughly 50% of his full power to break through it. Most likely, fairly powerful Archons would have to use 100% of their full power to just barely break through the ice. This person, however, had been able to instantly tear through the ground with his bare hands. This terrifying level of strength alone showed that this creature was vastly stronger than Hegemons. Most likely, he was at the Otherverse Lord level of power.

“That’s the Sourcewalker,” Ning sent mentally.

“Sourcewalker?” Azurefiend’s face turned pale.

“He finally came!” Flamewing, on the other hand, was excited. It really hated the Icewind Sea, as every single part of this place was filled with uncomfortable icy energy. When it saw the Sourcewalker, it instantly grew excited.

The Sourcewalker before them was covered in a layer of extremely thick ice which served as a form of icy armor which glowed with azure light. His head was covered with a helmet that had two icicles protruding from it, and he had long azure hair which fell down to his waist. He had an great deal of facial hair, and his gloomy azure eyes were filled with rage and violence.

“More of you thieves, come to steal my treasures!” The Sourcewalker let out a furious bellow, his voice transforming into a wind of terrifying power which swept out in every direction. The endless might in his voice alone caused Ning and Azurefiend to quail. The difference in power was simply too great.

“We ran into a Sourcewalker before we even found a Daomerge Firecloud Flower. What terrible luck.” Ning felt rather resigned. They hadn’t even gone into any of the vortexes or deep underground, where the treasures were more abundant and more valuable. That was where the Sourcewalkers usually resided.

“Sourcewalker,” Ning called out loudly, “We’ve come here just for the sake of finding a Daomerge Firecloud Flower! Its not all that valuable, and we’re willing to use our own treasures to trade for one. We’ll leave immediately after acquiring the flower.”

Daomerge Firecloud Flowers were incredible treasures for Daolords, but they were fairly ordinary when compared to the other treasures of the Icewind Sea. There were treasures here which would drive even Hegemons and Otherverse Lords mad with excitement.

“A Daomerge Firecloud Flower?” The ice-armored Sourcewalker was 540,000 meters tall. It stared downwards at Ning’s group and said angrily, “You can forget about taking away so much as a piece of ice from my turf! All you cultivators are nothing more than damnable thieves. This is my territory!”

“We can trade for it with our treasures!” Ning said frantically.

“Treasures? What use do I have for your miserable treasures?” The Sourcewalker took a furious step forwards, then shot forwards through the air: “Just die instead!”

Ning felt speechless. This Sourcewalker was just as Realmslord Windgrace had described; a berserker!

Whoosh. The Sourcewalker wielded a long frozen halberd which gleamed with azure light, sweeping it towards Ning’s group with such power that Ning had no choice but to instruct Flamewing to defend. “Flamewing, go!”

“Haha… I was at the verge of losing my patience!” The chubby Flamewing instantly let out an excited cry as it reverted to its true form, transforming into the titanic Flamewing God. Its giant flaming wings spread out fully as its body became bathed in furious flames that were so powerful, even the frigid energy of the surrounding area was pushed away. Everything within ten billion kilometers began to grow blazingly hot.

Otherverses had their own prime essences, as did the Icewind Sea… and in a sense, the Flamewing God itself had its own prime essences! Its energy levels truly were virtually inexhaustible, and its body was virtually indestructible. Ever since it was born, it had wandered the Chaosverse and had devoured entire realmverses with ease. Truly, its power was inconceivable. Its only weakness was that its level of insight was extremely, extremely low. If it was just a bit more clever, it would be able to massacre even Otherverse Lords with ease.

Still, all things came in balance. There was no way even the prime essences of the Chaosverse could give birth to creatures as powerful as Chaos Primordials which also had the comprehension skills of Sourcewalkers. This was completely impossible.

“A Chaos Primordial?” The attacking Sourcewalker was rather stunned when it saw those vast wings unfurl and the flames spread out in every direction around the Flamewing God.

“Haha, I’ve never eaten a Sourcewalker before!” Flamewing howled through the skies, while Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw all immediately moved to hide within the realmship. They weren’t qualified to get involved in a battle of this magnitude.

“This is my first time meeting a Chaos Primordial as well. Let’s do this!” The Sourcewalker was just as eager to do battle, and he valiantly charged forwards with his halberd at the ready.

Swoosh! His halberd suddenly pierced forwards, howling through the skies with incredible speed… but Flamewing was even faster! The strike missed, just barely managing to scrape past Flamewing’s claws but not injuring Flamewing in the slightest.

“Up you go!” The Sourcewalker suddenly changed his stance. Previously, he had been using the halberd to ‘stab’ at Flamewing; now, he suddenly lifted it upwards!

This was a strike that seemed to split even the heavens in twain. Not even Flamewing was able to avoid this strike… but of course, Flamewing wouldn’t deign to do so.

Boom! Flamewing had already been flying through the air; this strike sent it stumbling a few hundred kilometers higher.

The Sourcewalker was shocked. When he had used this killer technique against the cultivator Otherverse Lords he had fought, they had all been knocked backwards and suffered heavy injuries. The Chaos Primordial had merely stumbled a bit?

“Grwaaaar!” Flamewing excitedly flapped its wings, instantly charging downwards while using its enormous and thick claws to strike at the Sourcewalker. The Sourcewalker hurriedly brandished his halberd, spinning it into a circle that defended against the approaching attack.

Flamewing completely ignored the profundity of his opponent’s attack, just striking down with its claws in an absolutely savage blow. BOOM! An enormous collision rang out as the earth itself began to split apart. As for the Sourcewalker, half of its body had just been hammered into the ground from this collision.

“I ablated over 90% of its power, but it still suppressed me completely?” The Sourcewalker was rather speechless at this result. Moments later, the look within its eyes grew even more frenzied. “Again!”

Boom. Boom. Boom! The Sourcewalker was incredibly valiant. At first, it chose to meet all of Flamewing’s attacks head on, but later on it began to choose to dodge instead in an effort to win through technique. In terms of comprehension, it was already at the Archon level of insight. Due to its innate gifts, this level of insight was already enough for it to unleash the Otherverse Lord level of power in battle! Supposedly, the legendary Sourcewalkers who could fight even Sithe Exalts were actually just at the Hegemonic level of insight.

Then again, the Hegemonic level of insight was an incredibly high level. Realmslord Windgrace, the Lonely King, and the other major powers were all at this level of insight. The only thing above this level was Autarchy.

Every so often, the Sourcewalker was sent slamming into the nearby mountains, hammered into the ground, or smashed so hard that it created deep craters and gouges in the earth beneath it.

Clearly, after Flamewing became a bit more accustomed to the way in which the Sourcewalker fought, Flamewing became able to completely dominate it in battle. The Sourcewalker had even lots his helmet, and his azure hair fluttered about wildly. He continued to roar with fury, but it was clear that he was being crushed in this fight. However, the icy armor that covered his upper body remained completely unscathed. It was quite a marvelous item.

“Darknorth, the Sourcewalker can’t hold back Flamewing.” Azurefiend chuckled merrily as he watched from within the realmship. “The Sourcewalker will probably retreat soon. If this fight continues, it’ll be nothing but bad news for him.”

Ning smiled and nodded as well. He was still going to be able to find the Daomerge Firecloud Flower.

Boom! Boom! Boom! At first, the Sourcewalker had been filled with a towering desire to do battle, but after being dominated for so long it was beginning to feel rather miserable. It had been a long, long time since it had felt this miserable.

His body wasn’t nearly as tough as a Chaos Primordial’s, but it was still vastly better than the bodies of cultivators. Thus, when he encountered cultivators like Realmslord Windgrace, he was able to chase down the cultivators and beat them down as he pleased. It had been quite some time since it had suffered in a fight like this.

After being slammed into a mountain yet again, the Sourcewalker angrily raised his head. His long azure hair fluttered in the wind as he roared, “Big brother! Hurry up and come out, I’m getting killed here!” His roar was like thunder, and it shook the world around them.

“Big brother?” Within the realmship, Ning and Azurefiend’s eyes both bulged out. “He has a big brother?” Ning couldn’t help but feel rather dazed.

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Chapter 35 – Clash

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 35 – Clash

“I thought you enjoyed fighting and causing a ruckus. Why are you asking me for help this time?” An icy voice rang out, shaking the world around them as the icy ground off in the distance suddenly split apart. An enormous crevice appeared, followed by a similarly towering figure emerging from it. This figure was dressed in long black robes that had silver patterns embroidered on them. His black hair fell down to his waist. He looked fairly handsome, but his eyes were ice cold. It felt as though there was nothing capable of stirring or shaking his heart.

He slowly walked over, causing an invisible wave of pressure to push down upon Ji Ning and Azurefiend. Both turned pale.

“This black-robed Sourcewalker is far more powerful than the other one,” Ning mused.

“Gwaaaaar! Another one? I’ll eat this one, then I’ll eat you!”

The fire blazing around Flamewing’s towered ever-higher as the boundless sea of flames around him swept outwards. He flapped his wings, once more charging towards the increasingly-battered armored Sourcewalker.

“Big brother!” The armored Sourcewalker was terrified, hurriedly dodging while flying towards his big brother. The black-robed Sourcewalker took a single step forwards, moving to block in front of his little brother.

“Fuck off!” The black-robed Sourcewalker stretched out both hands simultaneously, causing a strange, gloomy black light to appear from his palms which seemed capable of devouring everything in the world. As for Flamewing, he continued to charge forwards with brute force as he sent his giant fleshy claws towards the black light.

BOOM! The twin palms met the twin claw head-on. Both were extremely confident in their abilities.

The black-robed Sourcewalker’s face tightened slightly as he hurriedly took a few steps back, each step causing the icy ground beneath him to crack and shatter. He had to retreat a total of eight steps before coming to a halt. As for Flamewing, it was also knocked flying backwards. It had to hurriedly flap its wings a few times before stabilizing itself in midair.

“What?! He’s actually able to fight Flamewing head-on to a standstill?” Ning, watching from within the distant realmship, felt rather stunned. Although Flamewing seemed to have a slight advantage, the difference in power was clearly minimal.

“This Sourcewalker is as powerful as that?!” Azurefiend was shocked as well. “Chaos Primordials can effortlessly dominate even Otherverse Lords and Golden Emperors! It took three Sithe Exalts working together to catch the Flamewing God. For this Sourcewalker to be able to fight Flamewing to a standstill means that it is probably quite close in power to the Sithe Exalts.”

“Be careful, Flamewing!” Ning immediately sent mentally. “Don’t be overconfident.”

“Wow!” Flamewing let out a strange cry in midair, the scales on its body standing up like the hair on a cat. An excited look was in its eyes as it howled, “You are pretty strong, Sourcewalker! The only foes I’ve ever met who are stronger than you were those Sithe Exalts. However… you still aren’t a match for me!”

“I’ve long heard of how powerful Chaos Primordials are… but now, it seems, you aren’t all that impressive.” The black-robed Sourcewalker remained quite confident in his chances. He leapt forwards, once more charging towards Flamewing.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Both transformed into blurs as they fought against each other at high speeds. The black-robed Sourcewalker had clearly chosen to stop using the clumsy method of meeting Flamewing blow-for-blow, as that was simply too exhausting. Unlike the Chaos Primordial, he didn’t have endless reservoirs of energy. However, he clearly was highly superior on a technical level, and so he chose to use his superior techniques to deal with Flamewing, using all sorts of defensive techniques to ablate and draw away Flamewing’s power, causing Flamewing to begin to struggle a little bit.

“You still aren’t a match for me!” Flamewing let out a loud bellow as it finally went crazy. SWISH! Its speed instantly skyrocketed to its absolute maximum.

“That’s fast.” The black-robed Sourcewalker’s face tightened.

Riiiiip! Flamewing pounced towards its foe at terrifying speeds, its fierce claws tearing through the air. The black-robed Sourcewalker hurriedly moved to defend. Just as it was about to counter-attack, Flamewing suddenly flew away, then arced back from afar to once more assault him.

Swish! Swish! Swish! The skies became filled with countless streaks of flaming light. Flamewing was so incredibly fast that this was all that could be seen of him. There was no need for it to allow the black-robed Sourcewalker to fight back against it. It relied on its raw speed to launch repeated and unanswered attacks, causing even the black-robed Sourcewalker to feel quite frustrated. Flamewing was simply too fast!

Flamewing’s speed vastly surpassed the speed of any Hegemon. Even Hegemon Thunderstar, who was extremely skilled in speed, was far from being a match for Flamewing; only when Hegemon Thunderstar was riding in his realmship was he able to just barely surpass Flamewing in speed. As for Ning, he was slower than Flamewing even in a realmship.

“It’s too fast. Although I have a realmship, I still wouldn’t be able to outpace it,” the black-robed Sourcewalker mused. In the end, it had yet to reach Hegemony in terms of its insights. In contrast, Hegemon Thunderstar had become a Hegemon via the Dao of Thunder.

“Master! Master!” Flamewing sent mentally to Ning, “This Sourcewalker is a pain to deal with. I’ve yet to harm him at all, despite hitting him with everything I have. It doesn’t look like he’s using up too much energy. If this continues, he’ll probably be able to continue holding on against me.”

Although Flamewing had the initiative thanks to its speed, the black-robed Sourcewalker had reached such a high level of insight that he was still capable of protecting himself.

Ning instantly began to frown. What were they to do? Flamewing was extremely strong, having completely the first armored Sourcewalker and injuring him, causing his energy to deplete rapidly. As a result, the first Sourcewalker chose to flee after a brief bout! But this black-robed Sourcewalker… its only weakness lay in its speed. In all other aspects, it was Flamewing’s equal; in fact, it actually had an advantage in close combat.

“You are pretty strong after all, Chaos Primordial. You’ll make a good mount for me!” The black-robed Sourcewalker suddenly let out a laugh. “Arise!”

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Light began to shine all around them as power began to circulate through the area. Countless runic lines appeared in the icy earth around them as an enormous formation began to reveal itself. The entire area became blanketed in blurry light; clearly, this was a trapping formation.

“If I had to deal with you anywhere else, it’d probably be quite hard… but this is my turf. Admit defeat, Chaos Primordial.” The black-robed Sourcewalker was extremely self-confident.

“Retreat, Flamewing,” Ning sent mentally. Flamewing immediately flapped its wings and charged back towards Ning.

“Store the realmship into your estate-world, then obey my orders with regards to breaking this formation apart,” Ning sent.

“Alright, Master.” Flamewing was quite unhappy after having been trapped within the opponent’s formation. It didn’t really understand formations, given how low its level of insight was. All it could do was try to overwhelm the formation with raw power! Given that it was strong enough to dominate even Otherverse Lords, ordinary formations were no match for it. However, this was a formation that was controlled by a Sourcewalker that was every bit as strong as Flamewing; overpowering it probably wasn’t an option.

Whoosh. Flamewing put away the realmship. Even though Ning was now within Flamewing’s estate-treasure, his gaze was still able to see past the dimensional barriers and into the world outside. This was primarily because Flamewing was in control of the estate-treasure. It didn’t move to oppose Ning, and so Ning was able to see what was happening outside.

“This trap formation is a bit interesting, but defeating it won’t be hard. Flamewing, given how strong you are, this is actually going to be easy.” Ning felt quite confident. “Obey my commands.”

The Dao of Formations was an incredibly difficult one, but Ning had reached terrifying heights in it. In all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, there was probably no one superior to him in this regard! When he had first unlocked the secrets behind the Jadefire Realm’s formation-diagram, he had already reached the Archon level in the Dao of Formations. He had then spent another long period of time studying formations in order to unleash Flamewing, and as a result his insight into the Dao of Formations had deepened even further.

Swish! Flamewing transformed into an arced streak of light, flying through the blurry formation at high speed. It repeatedly changed directions, sometimes choosing to ram through certain points with raw force.

To break the entire formation through raw power was impossible for Flamewing, but Ning’s level of mastery over the Dao of Formations was so high that he was able to find its weak spots with ease. To locate and then break through those weak spots was naturally quite simple.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A number of explosions could be heard in succession. The formation which the black-robed Sourcewalker had spent quite a bit of time setting up was instantly disrupted, and the surrounding area returned to its usual appearance. It was once again possible for everyone to clearly see the vast, icy world around them.

“Why did it break?! Big brother, your formation was so powerful than when I was trapped inside it, I had no idea how I was supposed to escape. How was it breached like that?!” The armored Sourcewalker was rather dazed.

“You idiot. All you know how to do is fight. You know nothing of formations.” The black-robed Sourcewalker stared towards the fleeing Flamewing, his eyes shining. “It was actually able to disrupt my formation in the blink of an eye. There’s no way that Chaos Primordial could’ve accomplished it on its own; those things are legendary for their stupidity. That means that it had to have been one of the two cultivators in that realmship. So one of them is actually a grandmaster in the art of formations!”

……

After breaking through the formation, Flamewing instantly grew excited. It let out an earth-shattering roar, then said: “Hey, Sourcewalker! Wasn’t your formation supposed to be really awesome? Why don’t you activate a few more and let’s see how they do?!”

Formations had to be set up in advance. The black-robed Sourcewalker had detected Ning’s group early on and thus had set up this formation before revealing himself. How could he suddenly manifest another powerful formation out of thin air?

“Gentlemen.” The black-robed Sourcewalker had an excited look in his eyes, and he said with a smile: “Do you think you can escape simply because you breached my formation?”

“Without your formations, do you think you can stop me?” Flamewing howled back, “Be good and hand over the Daomerge Firecloud Flower. Otherwise, I’m going to loot the entire Icewind Sea completely clean.”

“This place is my territory. You should play nice and listen to what I have to say.” A strange, rhomboid-covered globe suddenly flew out from the black-robed Sourcewalker’s forehead and into the air. Boom! A strange power which belonged to the Dao of Space suddenly swept out and covered the entire area, moving at such incredible speeds that it completely covered a trillion kilometers in the blink of an eye.

The entire region covered by this power completely changed. It had transformed into a world of the starry skies, with Flamewing and the two Sourcewalkers both located within it.

“This is a weapon which I acquired from a Sithe who once attacked this place.” The black-robed Sourcewalker’s voice echoed throughout every part of the starry skies.

“Flamewing.” Ning immediately issued an order from within the estate-wrold: “War machines might be powerful, but activating them uses up an enormous amount of energy. Don’t worry about him. You have a virtually indestructible body and limitless energy; focus all of your efforts on tearing through this astral world. Rip it to pieces with your power!”

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Chapter 36 – Easily Accomplished

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 36 – Easily Accomplished

“Yes, Master.” Ji Ning’s command was perfectly suited to the Flamewing God’s temperament. It immediately unleashed an earth-shaking howl as it flapped its wings, leaving behind a jagged scar in the air as it soared towards the limits of this astral world.

The black-robed Sourcewalker simply watched calmly: “The forceful response, eh?”

BOOM! The ‘membranes’ of this astral world rumbled as the charging Flamewing’s giant fleshy claws slammed into them, with the explosion filling the entire starry realm. However, this astral world remained quite stable; it didn’t even budge in the slightest. Instead, it was Flamewing who was knocked flying backwards by tens of thousands of kilometers.

“Sithe war machines truly are impressive,” Ning sent mentally. “This black-robed Sourcewalker may be far more powerful than most Hegemons, but there’s no way it can possess limitless power like you, Flamewing. Ignore all else and just launch repeated attacks. A hundred attacks, a thousand attacks, ten thousand attacks… I want to see how long the Sourcewalker can resist you!”

“Fine.” Flamewing’s confidence was soaring thanks to its master’s words, and it once more sent itself slamming into the edges of the realm.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Flamewing used all of its power to slam into the edges of the realm, moving in a fairly rhythmic manner. Seeing this, the black-robed Sourcewalker slowly shook his head.

Whoosh. The Sourcewalker willed it, and the strange energy that had covered this area of a trillion kilometers instantly dissipated, flying back into the globe in front of the Sourcewalker. The world around them once more reverted to the normal icy world.

“He gave up.” Ning felt a sense of delight.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not afraid of you.” The black-robed Sourcewalker’s voice boomed out, echoing through the skies: “The dimension formed by this Sithe war machine is incredibly stable and is not easily breached. I, Daoist Towerdawn, have wandered the Chaosverse for countless years and have many tricks up my sleeve. Even if I cannot kill you, it would be very easy for me to keep you trapped here! If you wish to leave this place, you must go through the tempest region. Even if no one is bothering you, it will take you a hundred million years to fly through it! If I chose to interfere, you might be able to stay alive but you’ll never be able to escape.”

Ning’s heart sank. Indeed, the only way out was to slowly fly out rather than warp through spacetime. The black-robed Sourcewalker was probably telling the truth. However, thanks to Flamewing’s power it wouldn’t be that easy for him to trap them either.

Whoosh. The realmship appeared next to the Flamewing, with Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw inside of it. They didn’t dare to leave it, for fear of being ambushed.

“You talk a big game,” Azurefiend called out. “Why did you put away that Sithe weapon, then?”

“Haha…” Daoist Towerdawn actually let out a rare laugh. This caused the armored Sourcewalker to stare at him in astonishment. His big brother almost always had an icy look on his face, and he rarely laughed.

“You were able to defeat my formation with ease. I refuse to believe this Chaos Primordial learned the art of formations! That means one of you two has to be a formations expert.” Daoist Towerdawn’s gaze was cold and calm as he stared at Ning’s realmship. “That’s why I feel that there’s no need for us to fight.”

“All you want is a Daomerge Firecloud Flower, right? Those things are of no use to us at all. I want your help in breaching a formation. If my guess is correct, you need the flower for the white-robed Daolord inside the realmship, yes? So long as you help me breach that formation, I’ll gift the flower to you! Not just that; I’ll give you other Daomerge treasures as well, like the Spirit Incense-Fruit. I’ll give them all to you!”

“But big brother! The Spirit Incense-Fruit is delicious!” the armored Sourcewalker couldn’t help but interrupt. Daoist Towerdawn cast him a cold gaze, causing him to instantly shut his mouth and fall silent.

“Breach a formation?” Ning and Azurefiend were both intrigued as they considered this from within the realmship. If they could avoid a fight, they would prefer to do so. Clearly, this Sourcewalker wasn’t easy to deal with! Azurefiend sent mentally, “Darknorth, the Daomerge Firecloud Flower and the Spirit Incense-Fruit are only useful to Daolords; they aren’t all that valuable to Sourcewalkers or Eternal Emperors! He probably won’t try to cheat you.”

“This works for me. However, you must swear a lifeblood oath on this,” Ning said.

“Very well. However, I do want to let you know something; the entire Icewind Sea only holds a single Daomerge Firecloud Flower, and it is still growing. I estimate that it’ll take tens of thousands of chaos cycles before it ripens! Even if you accelerate time, you’ll only be able to accelerate it by a ratio of 1000x; otherwise, you’ll impact its growth cycle. In other words, you’ll have to wait a minimum of a few dozen chaos cycles before you can actually obtain it.”

“That’s fine.” Ning had suspected this would be possible, as Daomerge Firecloud Flowers had to be used within a thousand years of ripening. Thus, any ones he encountered were likely to be unripe. These marvelous flowers needed extremely long periods of time to grow. A few dozen chaos cycles… this was a fairly long period of time, but he needed to make other preparations for his Daomerge as well. Once the flower bloomed, he would need to immediately begin the Daomerge.

“Very well. I need you to unlock the restrictive seals covering this shield.” Daoist Towerdawn waved his hand, causing a bronze shield which was roughly nine meters long to immediately appear before him. This shield had the enormous face of a beast as its motif, and it emanated a mysterious yet dominating aura.

“This is something I came across by accident when I was wandering the borders of the Sithe homelands, but I’ve been unable to defeat the formations sealing it,” Daoist Towerdawn said.

“The Sithe homelands?” Ning and Azurefiend were both surprised.

“Yes, the homeland of the entire Sithe race,” Daoist Towerdawn said. “Don’t ask any more questions; the only task before you is for you to unlock these seals.”

……

Ning and Daoist Towerdawn both swore lifeblood oaths. Only then did Ning exit his realmship.

Whoosh. Daoist Towerdawn rapidly shrank in size from 540,000 meters to a height equivalent to Ning’s. He glanced at the armored Sourcewalker, who obediently shrank down as well.

Ning, Azurefiend, Whitethaw, and Flamewing all walked over as well.

“What cowards,” the armored Sourcewalker mumbled.

“They are simply being cautious,” Daoist Towerdawn said, then glanced at Ning and the other two. “If you can breach the restrictions covering this shield, it shall be as I swore. If not, you can forget about acquiring those treasures.”

Ning walked straight over to the shield as he said, “Don’t worry, if I can’t break it we can just keep fighting if that is what you wish. There’ll be plenty of time for that.”

“Grr…” Flamewing let out a low growl towards the two Sourcewalkers.

“Hah! You really do have a Sithe treasure here.” Ning nodded. “It is actually covered with seven layers of restrictive seals. This has to be an extremely important treasure.”

“Early on, one of my friends guessed that since it is shaped like a shield, it is probably meant for defense,” Daoist Towerdawn said. There were many types of Sithe war machines. Some were strong, some were weaker. The chains which Ning had acquired had suppressive effects and could absorb energy, while the one Daoist Towerdawn had just used was able to create a dimension of its own. Realmslord Windgrace’s ‘Blacksun’ was capable of allowing instantaneous teleportation across great distances and also had incredibly powerful attacks. The Realmslord’s single war machine was so powerful that it could influence entire sectors, making it incredibly precious.

Ning nodded, then lowered his head to carefully inspect the shield. He smiled. “Interesting. The person who set down this formation can be considered an expert, I suppose.”

The formations over the shield served to suppress and seal its power, making it quite similar to the chains which had imprisoned the Flamewing God. However, it was clearly much less complicated. The Flamewing God had been incredibly important to the Sithe; they had sent three Sithe Exalts to capture it, then had fashioned the chains which kept it imprisoned. There was no way this buckler was equivalent to a Chaos Primordial in value, and the person who created the seals over it hadn’t been at the Sithe Exalt level.

The seals over the chains that had been around the Flamewing God? Now those had been complex! If it hadn’t been for the fact that Ning had a detailed library of many Sithe formations, there was no way he would’ve been able to solve them.

He had been at a very high level of insight into the Dao of Formations, and also had many detailed guides. Despite that, he still had to spend hundreds of chaos cycles analyzing the chains before managing to succeed.

In comparison, the formations before him were far simpler. Ning had reached a high level of mastery over Sithe-style formations, and the formation before him was actually something which was written down within that library of Sithe techniques.

“No need to rush things. Let’s take it slow. So long as you can finish before the Daomerge Firecloud Flower ripens, it’ll be fine. You have dozens of chaos cycles,” Daoist Towerdawn said.

“Dozens of chaos cycles? I’m gonna take a nap, big brother. Wake me when it’s over.” The armored Sourcewalker turned, preparing to go take a nap.

“No need for all that trouble.” Ning simply reached out and gently tapped the surface of the buckler. Instantly, a unique type of Immortal energy flowed out from Ning’s finger and began to silently break through the layers of formations covering the shield. In just the blink of an eye, all seven layers of formations were instantly breached. The azure shield immediately began to emanate with a terrifying aura that seemed to have the weight of mountains. Ning himself felt as though he could use all his power but still be completely unable to budge the shield at all.

“…big brother, didn’t you say that the formations were really tough?” The armored Sourcewalker stared in shock.

Daoist Towerdawn was rather surprised as well. Moments later, an overjoyed smile appeared on his face, and he actually slapped Ning on the shoulders in a very friendly manner. This caused Ning to feel rather surprised himself.

Daoist Towerdawn said with a joyful laugh, “You aren’t bad, you little Daolord tyke! I thought it was the skinny old man standing behind you who was the one skilled in formations. When I saw that it was you, I actually lost hope. I never would’ve imagined you’d break it almost instantly! You really are incredible. Feel free to take the Daomerge Firecloud Flower and the Incense Spirit-Fruit! Haha. Oh, right. I have a few other Incense Spirit-Fruits here in my estate-treasure. I was planning to serve them to any friends who came calling, but I’ll just give them to you instead.”

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Chapter 37 – Fifty Chaos Cycles in the Icewind Sea

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 37 – Fifty Chaos Cycles in the Icewind Sea

Daoist Towerdawn waved his hand as he spoke, causing a jade green box to open in front of him. Within the box was five fiery red fruits that emanated such succulent auras, Ji Ning couldn’t help but begin to drool.

“Thank you.” Ning gladly waved his hand and accepted them all. Although these fruits might be of limited use to him, they would be of tremendous use to the likes of his good friend Ninedust or his master Subhuti when the time came for their Daomerge.

“No need for thanks. This is just like candy to me; the only thing it is good for is the taste. It’s only useful to you Daolords.” Daoist Towerdawn’s attitude towards Ning had clearly improved quite a bit. “Come, let me take you to the Daomerge Firecloud Flower.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. He immediately led Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw to follow Daoist Towerdawn and the armored Sourcewalker in quickly delving deep underground.

The depths of the Icewind Sea were filled with frozen tunnels. Daoist Towerdawn quickly led Ning’s group before a spacetime formation.

“This realm of mine has many tempests within it, causing spacetime to be unstable. Even I am unable to warp through spacetime,” Daoist Towerdawn said. “That’s why I spent quite a bit of effort in setting up all these formations to stabilize spacetime in certain areas. I was able to create a total of eight stable spacetime tunnels that allow me to travel to various parts of the Icewind Sea quite quickly.”

“Prior to this, we were forced to slowly fly normally,” Azurefiend said with a laugh.

“Haha, when cultivators see us they are usually terrified and will flee immediately,” Daoist Towerdawn laughed. “Very few are unafraid of us. Come, let us enter the formation.”

Whoosh. The formation stabilized spacetime, creating a stable spacetime tunnel that allowed Ning’s group to be quickly transported to a different part of the Icewind Sea. Soon, Daoist Towerdawn led them to the location which held the Daomerge Firecloud Flower.

Deep within the earth, there was a freezing pool of water that glowed with azure light. At the very center of the pool was a flower that was slowly swaying. The flower had yet to bloom, but it was already tinged with a pink color. It had three leaves, and all of them were a fiery red color and seemed to be kissed by flames.

“That right there is the Daomerge Firecloud Flower.” Daoist Towerdawn pointed as he spoke: “Once the Daomerge Firecloud Flower blooms, it’ll be truly magnificent.”

“So this Daomerge Firecloud Flower is located underground?” Ning was rather startled. “Daoist Towerdawn, is it really true that there are no other Daomerge Firecloud Flowers in the Icewind Sea?” The one which Realmslord Windgrace has spoken of was located in a valley. But of course, that was a long, long time ago; that flower had long ago bloomed and been harvested. Still, Ning felt that there should be others above ground as well.

“Daomerge Firecloud Flowers are very unique, and only a place as unique as the Icewind Sea can give birth to them. More importantly, the Icewind Sea can only give birth to one at a time.” Daoist Towerdawn laughed. “Sometimes, it’ll bloom underground; other times, it’ll bloom on mountain peaks or halfway up a mountain. It can bloom anywhere in the Icewind Sea, but only one can ever exist at any point in time! This is my territory, and I know it quite well.”

“It’s true, there’s only one at any point in time,” the armored Sourcewalker agreed. “And it causes quite a disturbance when it blooms. There’s no way we’d miss the telltale signs of it. My big brother is often roaming the outside world, but I always reside here in the Icewind Sea. I’ve seen hundreds of Daomerge Firecloud Flowers bloom, and each time the process is the same.”

Ning nodded. Even if they had been able to sneak in undetected, they wouldn’t have been able to find the flower even after scouring the entire surface of the Icewind Sea. As for the underground area? The frozen underground tunnels were all incredibly winding and complex; it’d be even harder to find the flower down here, and their chances of being discovered would increase dramatically.

It seems that them being discovered early on and being forced into battle against Daolord Towerdawn was actually a good thing. It ensured they didn’t waste too much time, at least!

“It only has a bud and stem; it’ll be tens of thousands of chaos cycles before it blooms.” Daoist Towerdawn looked at Ning. “Will you set up a formation, or shall I do it for you?”

“Allow me.” Ning immediately stepped forward.

“Your formations are stronger than mine, and you are more detail-oriented as well.” Daoist Towerdawn smiled merrily as he watched from nearby. He normally always had an icy look on his face, but today he was in an exceptionally good mood. This Sithe weapon which had puzzled and frustrated him for countless aeons had finally been unsealed! He had already bound it in secret and now knew how it was used. With this weapon at his disposal, he was now significantly more powerful than he had been in the past, and his status amongst his friends and peers would probably rise a bit.

Ning carefully and attentively set up a temporal acceleration formation around the entire freezing pool. Although Daoist Towerdawn had stated that the maximum was 1000x temporal acceleration, Ning only gradually and carefully increased the temporal acceleration rate.

100x… 300x… 500x…

Ning was afraid that he might disturb the Daomerge Firecloud Flower’s growth patterns, but in the end Daoist Towerdawn was right; Ning was able to upgrade the temporal acceleration all the way to 1000x without any instability at all.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. The Daomerge Firecloud Flower was at hand. For now, he could think of nothing else he needed for his preparations. As far as external sources of support went, he had the Autarch’s stone dais, the Stonefire Pearl, and a Daomerge Firecloud Flower. It could be said that his preparations were perfect.

……

Ning temporarily took up residence in the Icewind Sea. Daoist Towerdawn and his brother welcomed him warmly, and eventually Ning learned that the armored Sourcewalker’s Daoist title was ‘Fireflame’. The Sourcewalker had clearly chose to live in a place like the Icewind Sea, and yet chose ‘Fireflame’ as his title. Ning really didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

Ning ended up spending more than fifty chaos cycles in the Icewind Sea! This was an extremely long period of time for Ning. His Primaltwin continued to remain within the Azureflower Estate, maintaining a 100x rate of temporal acceleration atop the Autarch’s stone dais as he meditated on one technique after another, wasting not even a single moment of time. He spent a total of over 5000 accelerated chaos cycles in training.

In truth, given Ning’s mastery over spacetime, formations, karma, and his Omega Sword Dao, it was quite easy for him to study other techniques. Even the most difficult of Daos, the Dao of Numerancy, Ning managed to learn after spending less than half the time he had needed for the Dao of Karma. This was because the Dao of Formations and the Dao of Karma both had many links to the Dao of Numerancy.

In truth, there were many Daos which overlapped with each other in important ways. For example, the Dao of Ice and the Dao of Water! ‘Ice’ was considered part of the Dao of Water, but the Dao of Ice was a purer extension of it which would allow one to walk farther along this path.

One Dao after another… Ning reached the Archon level in many of them, allowing him to gain many new insights as to how the vast Chaosverse functioned. However, as he suspected, he was unable to gain even a single new insight into his Omega Sword Dao.

There was no technique, no cultivation path, no insights which would be of use to him in his Omega Sword Dao.

“I am making no progress whatsoever. All I can do is throw everything into the Daomerge,” Ning mused.

……

The many years he spent in the Icewind Sea served to temper his heart, making his Daoheart even purer than before. All other thoughts had fled from him; his only thoughts were of the Daomerge.

……

Ning, Daoist Towerdawn, the Flamewing God, and the others had all assembled deep underground next to the flaming pool.

“Almost. It’s going to bloom at any moment.” Daoist Towerdawn and Daoist Fireflame, the two Sourcewalkers, watched with looks of expectation in their eyes.

Ning stared intently at the flower in the middle of the pool. It was in the process of budding. Compared to before, the amount of marvelous energy gathering inside it had grown markedly more dense, almost as though it was about to explode at any moment.

Whoosh! Suddenly, without any preamble, the flower bloomed. Flaming energy swirled out around the surrounding area, forming a beautiful flaming flower.

Flaming clouds circled the area, ensconced by leaves. The flower had bloomed, releasing its beauty unto the world for all to see.

“The Firecloud Flower.” Ning murmured softly, “The Daomerge Firecloud Flower.”

“Hurry up and harvest it, Darknorth!” Daoist Towerdawn said.

Ning immediately stepped forwards and dispelled his formation, then sent his Immortal energy towards the flower. It easily covered the entire Firecloud Flower and then pulled it out by the roots. At the same time, Ning caused a jade box to manifest in front of him. The jade box opened, and Ning placed the flower into the box while setting up a temporal deceleration formation over it.

The flow of time continued to slow. Once it reached the rate of a millionth of the normal rate of time, Ning realized that the amount of energy it took to maintain the formation suddenly skyrocketed to the point where even he couldn’t endure it.

“Don’t try to force it,” Daoist Towerdawn said. “Once the Daomerge Firecloud Flower blooms, it has to be used within a thousand years. Otherwise, its marvelous energies will completely evaporate. You can cause time to slow down around it, but its energies will naturally try to resist. That’s why it’s impossible for you to completely freeze time around it.”

Ning nodded in understanding. It was impossible for anyone to completely stop the Daomerge Firecloud Flower’s energies from dissipating. If one could simply stop time around it, then it would be easy to harvest and then store Daomerge Firecloud Flowers for Daolords to use. However, at most one would be able to slow down time to a millionth the normal rate; in other words, at absolute most the flower could be preserved for roughly a billion years. No major power, no matter how mighty, would be able to accumulate a large supply of Daomerge Firecloud Flowers.”

“It’s enough. I’ll have enough time to bring it back to my homeland.” Ning smiled as he looked at Daoist Towerdawn. “Brother Towerdawn, I’ve bothered you quite a bit in recent days. It is time for us to leave.”

“The Daomerge is the greatest obstacle you cultivators must face. You must be careful. If you succeed, we’ll be able to meet again in the future,” Daoist Towerdawn said.

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Chapter 38 – The Night Before the Daomerge

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 38 – The Night Before the Daomerge

Back down on the vast ice continent, Daoist Towerdawn and Daoist Fireflame stared with heads raised as the realmship rapidly advanced into the great tempest high up in the skies.

“Big brother, do you think he will succeed in the Daomerge?” Daoist Fireflame asked.

“He trains in one of the legendary Omega Daos. His Daomerge will be very difficult.” Daoist Towerdawn shook his head. During the many chaos cycles Ji Ning had spent in the Icewind Sea, the two had naturally discussed the Dao with each other. “He is the only Daolord friend I have ever made. I hope he succeeds in his Daomerge.”

……

Ning’s group spent more than a hundred million years in slowly flying through the tempest layer, then began to hasten back to his homeland.

The Daomerge Firecloud Flower was the most important treasure Ning had acquired in the Icewind Sea. However, he had also acquired fifteen Incense Spirit-Fruits on top of that!

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse. Vastheaven Territory. Vastheaven Palace.

Whoosh. A realmship passed through the barriers protecting the palace, then descended upon the Darknorth Estate. Usually, the only people in the Darknorth Estate were Su Youji and Pillsaint. Ning’s disciples generally didn’t dare to come disturb them.

“Ji Ning.”

“Master.” Emperor Solesky, Su Youji, and Pillsaint all came out to greet him.

Ning and the others flew out of the realmship. Ning stored the realmship away, then turned and smiled. “Big brother. Youji. Pillsaint.”

“You succeeded?” Emperor Solesky asked expectantly.

“I found the Daomerge Firecloud Flower,” Ning said. “I’m planning to spend the next year preparing for it. I’ll also remake the formations and barriers protecting Vastheaven Palace! After that, I plan to initiate the Daomerge.”

“The Daomerge?” Solesky, Su Youji, and Pillsaint were all shocked.

“Master, you are going to attempt the Daomerge this soon?” Su Youji said frantically, “Master, you aren’t even close to your lifespan limits yet. There’s no need for you to rush! You can wait another hundred thousand chaos cycles before attempting the Daomerge.”

“What you don’t realize is that the Firecloud Daomerge Flower must be used within a thousand years of harvesting it,” Ning said. “More importantly… even if I delayed for a while longer, it wouldn’t be of any benefit to me in the Daomerge.”

There were literally no improvements he could make. He couldn’t even get a hint of a new insight with regards to the Omega Sword Dao. Waiting would be a pure waste of time. In addition, Ning knew just how difficult the Daomerge for the Omega Sword Dao would be. He had to be completely decisive and resolute in facing it; he couldn’t show the slightest bit of cowardice. His only chance was in charging through remorselessly and then succeeding!

“Master, you…” Su Youji’s eyes were filled with concern. “Be careful.” She had wanted to attempt the Daomerge alongside Ning, but she herself had just recently become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Her Dao wasn’t all that strong, and as a result she hadn’t even reached the Verge of the Daomerge yet. Pillsaint was also a Daolord of the Fourth Step, but he also needed a great deal of time to prepare for it.

“Don’t worry.” Ning looked at Su Youji. “Youji, let me know when you are planning to engage in the Daomerge. I’ll have a present waiting for you.”

Ning could sense who truly cared about him. This was even more true now that he had reached such great heights in the Dao of Karma. Of the three present (Solesky, Pillsaint, Su Youji), without a doubt Su Youji cared about Ning the most, and the karmic lines binding the two of them were extremely deep. She probably wouldn’t even hesitate to sacrifice her own life to protect him, and so Ning naturally felt closer to Su Youji.

“Ji Ning, should we tell Hegemon Brightshore and the others that you are attempting the Daomerge?” Solesky asked. “All three Hegemons have requested me to inform them in advance if you are planning to engage in the Daomerge.”

“No need to tell them.” Ning shook his head. “I don’t want to cause too much of a fuss.”

“Fine. It’ll be as you choose.” Solesky nodded. Solesky knew that there were two reasons why Hegemon Brightshore and the others wished to be notified of Ning’s Daomerge attempt. The first reason was because Realmslord Windgrace had requested it. The second was because they wanted a chance to prepare themselves! Once a Daolord failed his Daomerge, his truesoul would begin to disintegrate, but this was a fairly slow process. The more powerful a truesoul was, the more time would be needed before it fully disintegrated.

It must be remembered that even World God Northrest’s truesoul managed to survive for nearly a chaos cycle before disintegrating. Given Ning’s current level of insight, even if his truesoul did disintegrate it would probably be able to last for an extremely long period of time. Given that he was guaranteed to die and given how much time he had, who knew what he might do? Would he cause any trouble?

Many Samsara Daolords who failed the Daomerge would lose themselves and do as they pleased, doing some things which they normally would never dare to do. Some would become so crazy that they would massacre people in great numbers.

It must be remembered that Ning had the Flamewing God on his side. The more powerful a Daolord was, the more terrifying that Daolord could be when he went crazy. If Ning failed the Daomerge and truly became a demonic figure, then led the Flamewing God on a rampage… who could possibly stop him?

“All I wish for during my Daomerge is peace and quiet,” Ning said calmly. “I know exactly what Realmslord Windgrace is attempting, as well as the ‘Lonely King’ of the Icepeak Army who has been slowly biding his time. However… I shall be the one to decide who I will give Flamewing to, if I give it to anyone at all.”

Ning knew that both were waiting for him to fail his Daomerge and then die! In truth, in his heart, Ning wasn’t willing to actually force Flamewing to serve someone else in the event that he failed his Daomerge and died. He wanted for Flamewing to be able to make a choice for itself.

“We’ll wait and see.” Ning had made some decisions regarding this long ago. If he failed his Daomerge and began to die, he would become an object of terror to others. If he succeeded? The results would go without saying.

“I don’t need to worry about any of that. I only need to do one thing… complete the Daomerge!” Ning was filled with a terrifying degree of focus on the Daomerge.

……

Ning had mastered many different Daos during the chaos cycles he had spent in the Icewind Sea, including the Dao of Numerancy. He had also spent a great deal of time further perfecting the Dao of Formations for the sake of the Three Realms and Vastheaven Palace. He had studied many formations from both the Sithe as well as the cultivator civilizations, then used them as references in order to perfect a terrifying complicated grand formation.

This grand formation was formed by a total of fifty-two separate formations. Ning was preparing to set it up in both Vastheaven Palace as well as the Three Realms. This grand formation was incredibly profound; most likely, even a Hegemon who had reached that level via the Dao of Formations would not find it easy to reach this formation. This was because this was a formation that combined the essences of many ancient grandmasters; Ning was just setting them up in accordance with their wisdom, then using his own insights to merge all fifty-two of them together.

These two different schools of formations were like Yin and Yang, merging together to form a whole. Even a Hegemon of the Dao of Formations who wished to technically solve and then breach it would find it to be quite difficult; most likely, he would need an extremely long period of time before succeeding.

As for using raw force to overpower it? Ning had so many treasures that he was certainly using only the finest energy sources for these formations. These tremendously powerful energy sources, when matched with these mighty formations, would ensure that not even ten Hegemons working together would be able to shake this formation. Ning himself was at the Hegemonic level of power, and so he knew just how strong this formation was.

However, Ning wasn’t confident in his formation being able to stand up to Realmslord Windgrace’s legendary ‘Blacksun’ weapon. The Blacksun was able to easily connect two extremely distant places together and was also able to unleash attacks of incredible power.

“The location and existence of the Three Realms has always been a secret. Everyone who knows of it has long ago sworn a lifeblood oath not to divulge its location,” Ning mused. “If I fail the Daomerge, I’ll do my best to leave behind something else for the Three Realms. However, there’s a limit to what I can do. The rest will be up to future generations.”

Ning felt quite calm and relaxed about this. He had seen both great joy and great sorrow. If he failed the Daomerge, he would die. The future of the Three Realms would indeed be up to the cultivators of the Three Realms themselves.

……

Time flowed on, one day after another. Ning established formations in both Vastheaven Palace and the Three Realms, with the materials and energy sources he used being equivalent in value to the networths of three Hegemons! To Ning, however, these things weren’t really all that important.

The atmosphere within the Darknorth Estate in Vastheaven Palace was extremely quiet and peaceful. Su Youji, Pillsaint, Hegemon Azurefiend, and even the normally-rambunctious Flamewing were all exceptionally quiet. All of them knew that Ji Ning was going to attempt the Daomerge the following day.

“Tomorrow…” Ning raised his head to stare into the night sky. “Flamewing.”

“Master.” The chubby Flamewing immediately walked over.

“Tomorrow, I shall attempt the Daomerge. If anything happens or if anyone comes to interrupt me, take me into your estate-world treasure,” Ning said.

“Understood.” Flamewing immediately said, “Don’t worry. I’ll eat anyone who tries to cause trouble.”

Ning smiled. This was nothing more than a backup plan. In truth, it was his Primaltwin which would be the most important part of his Daomerge, as it was in the Azureflower Estate and would be completely safe. It also had the Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl; that meant its chances at the Daomerge would be the highest. Ning had even sent over the Daomerge Firecloud Flower to his Primaltwin. Since his Primaltwin and his true body were all part of one whole, they would both engage in the Daomerge together. Thus, if anyone came to bother Ning’s true body it actually wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“Alright.” Ning stared into the night sky, his heart feeling exceptionally at peace. After his experiences in the Icewind Sea as well as the year he had spent quietly preparing formations, he had focused his entire Dao-heart upon the Daomerge.

Suddenly, a certain desire flashed through his heart; before he began the Daomerge, he wanted to take a look at the Three Realms. He decided to follow through on this desire.

“I’m going on a small trip. No need for you to follow me,” Ning said. He then took a single step forwards and vanished without a trace.

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Chapter 39 – Seclusion

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 39 – Seclusion

Ji Ning arrived at the Three Realms by himself. Given his mastery over the Dao of Karma and the Dao of Numerancy, it was virtually impossible for anyone to see him if he did not wish to be seen.

“The Three Realms.” The white-robed Ning sat there within the void in the lotus position, staring off into the distant emptiness of the primordial chaos. Long, long ago, the original ‘Three Realms’ had been located here. However, the ‘new’ Three Realms had been destroyed and reborn numerous times by now as a complete chaosworld. It was never again divided into the Celestial Realm, Mortal Realm, and Netherworld Kingdom, or the three thousand major worlds and trillion minor worlds.

Ning sat there in the lotus position, staring silently into the void. His spirit, however, was pulsing rapidly. He felt as though he could see the Three Realms of old. Countless scenes flashed through his mind.

His thoughts turned to how the Netherworld Kingdom had suffered an attack from the Seamless Alliance, resulting in Ning being reborn into the world without having drunk from Granny Meng’s soup. He had been born into the Ji clan…

He had been born to his father Ji Yichuan and his mother Yuchi Snow. He had then become apprenticed to the Black-White College, met his first master Immortal Diancai, befriended Mu Northson, then met Ninelotus and Yu Wei.

Ninelotus was a straightforward person who dared to choose the person she loved for herself, but she was also a person who was extremely decisive. The problems with the Youngflame clan had resulted in them separating, while Yu Wei had always silently supported him.

During the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, Lu Dongbin and the Xia Emperor, along with countless other Immortals and Fiendgods, all watched as Ning and Yu Wei finally ended up being together.

Alas, shortly afterwards Ning had been taken to the Tristar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart, where he had entered the tutelage of Patriarch Subhuti. By the time they next met, the Seamless Alliance and the Nuwa Alliance had already launched a furious war against each other…

“Yu Wei.” Ning continued to reminisce on the past. He truly did feel great sorrow and pity for his departed wife.

Those days, Ning had roamed and dominated the Three Realms. During the Endwar, he had personally reversed the entire outcome of the war, then departed the Three Realms to continue his adventures elsewhere. He had now reached such heights within the vast Chaosverse that even Hegemons felt dread towards him. Not only had he taken on a Hegemonic retainer, he had even tamed a Chaos Primordial and had Hegemonic power as a Samsara Daolord.

Given all of this, Ning could truly be described as a dazzling figure. He was far more dazzling than Emperor Heartsword or even Hegemon Brightshore had ever been!

But his wife? Her destiny had been far more calamitous and pitiful. During her previous life, she had been born into a minor grasslands tribe. Calamity had descended upon that tribe, resulting in her suffering endless torments which had transformed her into a female asura-demon. She had lived a hellish existence, with the Godking secretly manipulating her from afar. Although she was reborn as an Immortal in her next life, her soul had remained under the Godking’s control. She had been his pain, and as a result her heart had been filled with such worry and fear that she initially had been afraid to even confess her love to Ning.

In the end, Ning had come to her. Yu Wei had decided that she would rather accept her soul being shattered than bring harm to him, and so the two had ended up together.

Alas, the Godking had continued to threaten and coerce her. Yu Wei knew that she would eventually be exposed, and so she had a child with Ning. Soon after that child had been born, Yu Wei had been consigned to the hells and eventually had her truesoul extinguished.

Her life had been a calamitous, miserable one. The only bright spot in her life had been the time she had spent with Ning and her giving birth to a daughter for him. Unfortunately, that moment of happiness had been a brief one.

……

Ning spent that night seated by himself within the emptiness of space, quietly thinking back to days past. His thoughts were chiefly of the time he had spent with his wife, Yu Wei.

As a powerful cultivator, he was able to remember every single one of his previous memories with perfect clarity. Not even the passage of time could dim them in the slightest.

He didn’t feel too many complicated or mixed emotions. All he felt was a tinge of heartache for his wife.

Whoosh. Ning rose to his feet, then turned to stare at the enormous flaming ball off in the distance. This was the Solar Star, and its light illuminated Ning’s face.

“Senior apprentice-sister… I have already come this far on my path of cultivation. Today, I shall begin my Daomerge. This shall be my last gambit. Wait for me. One way or another, we will be together again,” Ning murmured softly.

His Dao-heart, the entirety of his soul and truesoul… all of it was waiting in peak condition. The night he had just spent in solitary, silent reflection had caused them all to reach the greatest apex possible.

Riiiiip. Ning tore through spacetime and took a single step forwards, disappearing from the Three Realms.

……

Dawn. Vastheaven Palace. The Darknorth Estate.

Emperor Solesky, Hegemon Azurefiend, the Flamewing God, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Whitethaw were all up. None of them had rested the previous night. All of them were waiting, and the more they waited the more nervous and impatient they became. All sorts of mixed emotions filled their hearts, as all of them knew what the Daomerge represented for any Daolord.

Whoosh. Ning appeared out of thin air, manifesting within the Darknorth Estate.

“Ji Ning.”

“Master.”

“Darknorth.” All of them rose to greet him.

Ning swept them with his gaze, then revealed a smile: “All of you came? What’s with all the long faces? It’s like I already failed the Daomerge!”

“Master, you’ll definitely succeed in the Daomerge!” Flamewing was rather teary-eyed. Of the people present, it had the least amount of control over its emotions. It emotionally relied on Ning much like how a child would rely upon a parent. It hurriedly said, “Master, you are much more powerful than any and every Daolord I’ve ever encountered, and more of a genius than any of those Hegemons. An Omega Sword Dao is nothing to you. You’ll definitely succeed!”

“Flamewing.” Ning walked over, patting Flamewing on the head. When he had first tamed Flamewing, his only thought had been to acquire a powerful servant. However, as time had passed and as the two got to know each other over the course of many chaos cycles, Ning had realized how implicitly the beast trusted him. Flamewing truly was like a child and was incapable of complex schemes. After so much time, Ning felt a deep sense of affection for Flamewing… and as a result, he felt a degree of revulsion towards Realmslord Windgrace and the Lonely King for harboring designs on Flamewing.

“Darknorth, you must succeed in the Daomerge! I swore an oath to follow you for a thousand chaos cycles. It has only been a hundred! We’re not even close to being done with each other.” Hegemon Azurefiend’s wizened old face smiled, causing even more wrinkles to appear.

“Don’t worry. Once the thousand chaos cycles are over, you’ll probably be begging and crying for the chance to continue following me,” Ning said with a laugh. “When the time comes, I’ll have to think long and hard on whether or not I want you.”

Ning turned to look at Emperor Solesky, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Whitethaw. He smiled once more. “Alright, no need to waste time on words. I’m going to go into seclusion and initiate the Daomerge,” Ning said.

“You are much more formidable than me. You’ll definitely succeed,” Emperor Solesky said immediately.

“Master…” Su Youji said hurriedly, “I want you to be by my side when I attempt my own Daomerge in the future.”

Ning nodded. He then patted Pillsaint and Protector Whitethaw on their shoulders, then turned and entered his estate. Pillsaint didn’t know what to say, while Whitethaw just watched silently. Although he was just a golem, he was sentient and extremely intelligent.

All of them watched as Ning’s figure disappeared past the great gates of the estate. Rumble! The gates to the estate swung shut, sealing it completely.

Flamewing transformed back into its true form, that of an enormous, flaming, winged ursine: the ‘Flamewing God’. It lay down in front of the estate, continuously sweeping the area with an icy cold look in its eyes. Clearly, it had chosen to immediately carry out Ning’s order to protect the estate! Starting from this moment, it wouldn’t permit anyone to disturb Ning’s Daomerge.

“Youji, relax a little. Being nervous isn’t going to help Master at all,” Pillsaint said consolingly. “It’ll all be up to him now. Supposedly, a Daomerge can last for a total of nine years.”

“Yes. It’ll all be up to Master now.” Su Youji sat down in the lotus position, closing her eyes and taking up a silent vigil.

Solesky, Whitethaw, and Azurefiend all began to wait as well. To them, waiting for nine years was an extremely short period of time.

……

Within the estate.

The white-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position atop a golden altar. This magic altar was something which Ning had poured all of his efforts into after researching the Autarch’s stone dais to the best of his ability. It was all thanks to Ning’s mastery of the Dao of Formations that he was able to emulate the stone dais as much as he had, and he had paid a fortune in treasures as well. Despite his efforts, success in the Daomerge would still primarily be up to his Primaltwin.

His Primaltwin had the original stone dais, the Stonefire Pearl, and even the Daomerge Firecloud Flower. It was far better resourced than Ning’s true body, but of course Ning did his best to outfit his true body as well. That way, his chances at the Daomerge might be slightly improved. He had given his true body some valuable spirit-pills, as well as the Stone Censer of Reunion. Perhaps his true body was only going to be 0.1% as effective as his Primaltwin, but every little bit helped.

But of course, once the Daomerge actually began the insights and experiences shared by the two sides would be identical. The two were two parts of a whole, and their souls, truesouls, and memories were all as one. As far as the Daomerge was concerned, there was no difference between a true body and a Primaltwin.

If he succeeded in the Daomerge, his true body and his Primaltwin would both gain eternity at the same time. If he failed, his truesoul would begin to crumble.

The white-robed Ning sat there atop his altar, while the black-robed Primaltwin Ning sat upon the Autarch’s stone dais in the distant Azureflower Estate. As for Ning’s two avatars, they went into silent seclusion as well. An avatar contained part of the truesoul and godsense as well; if the Daomerge failed, the godsense within the avatars would quickly begin to crumble, causing the avatars to perish. However, since the true body and the Primaltwin both had complete souls and truesouls, they were able to ensure that the process of decay was dramatically lessened.

“Let it begin,” the white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning both said at the same time.

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Chapter 40 – The Daomerge Begins

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 40 – The Daomerge Begins

Within the Azureflower Estate.

The elderly white-haired spirit of the estate watched silently, feeling both worried but hopeful: “I hope this kid can succeed. If he can succeed in the Daomerge with the Omega Sword Dao, he will have achieved something which no one has ever done before. Perhaps Master’s final wishes will then be completed.”

The Autarch’s wishes were simply too hard to achieve. After becoming an Autarch, Awakener had reached a level of tremendous insight and understanding, and he had many treasures aiding him. He had been alive for unfathomably more times longer than Ji Ning had, and he had reached incredible heights in his mastery of the Nine Chaos Seals.

There were a total of ninety-nine layers to the Heart of Eternity!

Even after having returned from the Icewind Sea, Ning had only been able to solve the first twenty-two layers of the Heart. He was far, far away from being able to completely solve it! In truth, the spirit of the estate also knew how unlikely it was that Ning would succeed, because even the other dazzling geniuses who had come before Ning had fallen far short of the mark of completing Autarch Awakener’s wishes.

“The Daomerge Firecloud Flower.” The black-robed Ning waved his hand, causing a jade box to appear before the stone dais. The jade box opened on its own, followed by a perfect Daomerge Firecloud Flower that was still attached to its roots and leaves to fly out.

“Let the Daomerge begin!” The black-robed Ning closed his eyes. Over in Vastheaven Palace, the white-robed Ning in Vastheaven Palace swallowed his own spirit-pills, activated the incense from the Stone Censer of Reunion, and then closed his eyes.

He began to visualize the inside of his divine body, formed from a total of 108,000 godgems. Each godgem contained his divine power, his soul, his truesoul, and more. They also contained Ning’s insights into his Omega Sword Dao.

Ning visualized the Dao-tree within his Jindan chaos region. The towering Dao-tree’s branches and leaves were the material representations of Ning’s insights. Countless insights began to resonate through his mind and soul.

What he needed to do was to gather together all of these insights, then transform them all and cause his Dao-tree to give birth to a beautiful Flower of Eternity! His divine body would then transform to become a truly eternal body. If he became an Eternal Emperor, every single one of his godgems would transform into a Worldheart, even if his truesoul was somehow extinguished. The godgems would forever give birth to new chaosworlds.

“The Flower of Eternity… an eternal body…” Ning exerted his will. Boom! Every single godgem in his body began to tremble. The godgems, previously coalesced with his fourth-step Daolord energies, began to disassemble and then advance to a completely new level of existence! The towering Dao-tree within his body was shaking as well, as all of the insights represented by those branches and leaves began to gather together.

If someone was standing nearby, that person would quickly discover that the white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning were both beginning to glow with blurry sword-light. Countless streaks of sword-light emanated from Ning with such power as to cause even Hegemons to shudder. This was the light of the Dao! Or to be precise, this was the light of the Omega Sword Dao, and its power was covering him and protecting him.

Every single Daolord would emanate the light of the Dao when they began the Daomerge. This would be the most dazzling moment of their life, and it was only in this state that the Daomerge would even be possible. This was also the state one needed to be in order for the Daomerge Firecloud Flower to unleash its true potential.

“Arise.” The black-robed Ning opened his eyes, staring at the Daomerge Firecloud Flower within the jade box.

The blurry sword-light emanating from Ning’s entire body illuminated the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, causing it to levitate into the air. Guided by Ning’s will, the flower began to be surrounded by clouds of fire that gathered together into a half-translucent humanoid figure directly above the flower. This figure looked identical to Ning.

“My incarnation! The incarnation formed by the Daomerge Firecloud Flower.” Ning immediately took control over the flow of time, having the incarnation complete a simulated Daomerge as quickly as possible.

If a Daolord like Ninedust used the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, a total of nine incarnations would be formed. In other words, one would have nine chances to simulate a Daomerge! If one took control over the flow of time and accelerated time for the incarnations, these nine simulated Daomerges would at most take perhaps two or so hours, at which point the Daolord could begin the true Daomerge.

“I hope this incarnation can last long enough to attempt a complete Daomerge.” Ning felt hopeful. “Let’s begin.” The incarnation immediately initiated a simulated Daomerge, with a towering Dao-tree appearing within its body. The reason why it didn’t form a complete divine body was because Ning wanted to conserve power; there was a limit to how much energy the Daomerge Firecloud Flower held within it.

Time passed, one day after another. The incarnation continued to carefully carry out the Daomerge, with the Omega Sword Dao insights embodied by the Dao-tree all slowly gathering together. Finally, a series of thick trunks began to emerge from the very center of the Dao-tree. These trunks began to manifest a total of two new leaves. One of the two leaves emanated an incredibly profound and abstruse aura, while the other emanated an aura that was incredibly titanic and vast.

Between these two leaves, an unremarkable little flower bud began to emerge as well. The flower bud began to slowly grow larger and larger…

“So far, so good. My path is the correct one. This is just how it should be.” Ning felt a tremendous sense of confidence in himself and how things were progressing. The Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl helped ensured that he was in absolute peak condition for this Daomerge, and he was in a prajna-like state of epiphany. All sorts of scattered insights were rapidly coming together to form a perfect whole, with no flaws that could be discerned whatsoever.

One year. Two years. Three years. By now, the flower was so large that it could no longer grow any further. All of Ning’s insights into the Omega Sword Dao, as well as the other scattered insights he had gained, had been infused into the flower bud.

“Time to let it bloom.” Ning knew that the blooming process was the most dangerous part of the Daomerge. Many, many Daolords had attempted to make the Flower of Eternity bloom, only to see it wither halfway through.

Suddenly, his incarnation began to tremble.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly. Only now did he turn his attention to the Daomerge Firecloud Flower. He realized that the flaming clouds around it had almost all vanished. As the final cloud was depleted, the materialized incarnation suddenly vanished as well. As a result, the simulated Daomerge came to an end as well.

“Its over? The energies were all used up?” Although Ning was briefly startled, he quickly regained his equanimity. “Omega Daos truly are the hardest of Daos. I wasn’t even given a chance to attempt to cause the Flower of Eternity to bloom via a simulated Daomerge,” Ning mused. The Daomerge Firecloud Flower had enough power to allow a Daolord who had fused multiple Supreme Daos to simulate the Daomerge nine times, but he hadn’t even been able to do it a single time! This had at most been half of a simulated Daomerge… and strictly speaking, it was the simpler first half. Even if Ning hadn’t had a Daomerge Firecloud Flower, Ning wouldn’t have made any mistakes during the first part.

“However… it still helped me save three years of time.” Ning didn’t let himself feel dispirited. Saving three years of time meant that his chances at succeeding in the Daomerge had increased considerably.

“And so… let the true Daomerge begin!” Thanks to the wonders of temporal acceleration, the three years of time which the simulated Daomerge had taken had, in reality, been nothing more than a few minutes for Ning’s true body and Primaltwin.

The white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning simultaneously began to speed up the Daomerge process. Whoosh! The transformation process of the godgems began to speed up rapidly, advancing in the blink of an eye.

As for the Dao-tree in his body, it began to give birth to a new trunk upon which two leaves grew. A flower bud quickly appeared and began to grow larger, and it quickly reached its maximum size in just a few seconds. Now, it was ready to bloom whenever Ning chose.

“Let it bloom…” Ning knew just how the Daomerge worked. The Flower of Eternity was safe when it was merely a bud. Once the initial blooming process began, it was extremely easy for cultivators to make mistakes… and a single mistake would result in a failure in the blooming process, causing the flower to wither away! That would represent the Daomerge having failed. The truesoul would immediately begin to crumble.

If the initial blooming process was successful, the flower would slowly bloom more and more. This middle part would be comparatively safer, and the Flower of Eternity would grow more and more beautiful. When it reached its most dazzlingly beautiful form, it would gain true eternity for itself! This final part of the blooming process was the most difficult part of the Daomerge.

Ning had met Daolord Laya in the Starflow River. When Daolord Laya had failed the Daomerge, he had failed during the initial blooming process; in other words, the Flower of Eternity hadn’t been able to bloom at all.

In truth, the blooming represented the process by which Daolords crossed beyond that final threshold to become Eternal Emperors! That moment when the Flower of Eternity reached maximum beauty was the moment in which both it and the Dao stabilized. This represented success, with the Daolord having become an Eternal Emperor.

Whoooosh. The petals slowly began to extend up the stem of the Flower of Eternity, laboriously seeking to reach out and bloom. As for Ning himself, he began the process of leaping into a new level of existence.

BOOM!!! The Dao-light surrounding both the white-robed Ning in Vastheaven Palace and the black-robed Azureflower Estate began to dramatically increase in intensity. The countless streaks of sword-light began to skyrocket in power, instantly ascending beyond Hegemony. In just the blink of an eye, it actually surpassed even the Otherverse Lord level of power!

Rumble…

This terrifying aura of power instantly swept through all that sought to contain it. The formations around Vastheaven Palace were completely incapable of containing this terrifying aura, a supreme aura of power that vastly surpassed that of Hegemons and even Otherverse Lords. This was the most terrifying aura generated by the Dao of the Sword which had ever appeared in the Chaosverse… the aura of an Eternal Omega Sword Dao!

Emperor Solesky, Su Youji, Pillsaint, Azurefiend, Whitethaw, and everyone else all felt so terrified by this aura that their hearts trembled. It was as though every single cell in their bodies were screaming in fear.

Even the Flamewing God felt a sense of fear when this mighty aura swept past it!

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Chapter 41 – The Critical Moment

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 41 – The Critical Moment

Within the Azureflower Estate.

Boom! The black-robed Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position. Suddenly, the sword-light coming from his body dramatically increased in luminosity and power! The might of his aura spread out in every direction, causing even the elderly white-haired spirit of the estate who was watching nearby to feel a tinge of fear. The spirit couldn’t help but lower his head and hunch over. This was an intrinsic fear that came from the very core of his being. In truth, estate-spirits could be considered a special type of lifeform.

“Such power…” the white-haired elder tamped down his fear and struggled to raise his head to look at Ning.

The black-robed Ning was emanating countless streams of sword-light that were filled with an aura of utter dominance and exaltedness. The only time the long-lived white-haired elder had ever seen anyone like this had been when he had served his almighty master, Autarch Awakener.

“The Omega Daos live up to their reputation. If he succeeds in the Daomerge, perhaps the only people who will be a match for him in the entire Chaosverse shall be the Autarchs,” the white-haired elder mused silently.

Once an Omega Dao became eternal, how powerful would it become? No one knew. This was because no one thus far had ever been able to accomplish such a thing. The vast Chaosverse had given birth to numerous Autarchs, but it had never given birth to an Emperor of an Omega Dao!

The Hegemons and Otherverse Lords, no matter how talented, were at most only at the Hegemonic level of insight. Beyond that was the level of Autarchy! However, one who made an Omega Dao eternal would surpass all Hegemons in terms of profundity of insight into the Dao!

“Only two beings can surpass Hegemony. The first are the Autarchs; the second would be an Omega Eternal Emperor.” The white-haired elder stared rather eagerly at the black-robed Ning, who continued to glow with that aura of infinitely awesome light. “Darknorth, there has never been an Eternal Omega Dao before! If you succeed, all of Master’s efforts would’ve been worth it.”

……

The Azureflower Estate had been the Autarch’s personal, private training grounds. It was filled with barriers and restrictions of such might that it naturally was able to block out all auras, including that of Ning’s Daomerge.

Vastheaven Palace, however, was completely incapable of the same. The white-robed Ning within the Darknorth Estate of the Vastheaven Palace was also emanating blinding amounts of sword-light, and the power from his aura surged straight out of Vastheaven Palace and reached out to spread across the entire Vastheaven Everworld. In fact, the ripples spread out into the vast void outside as well. However, the farther the ripples spread, the fainter and harder-to-detect the ripples became. They quickly spread out to cover the entire Flamedragon Realmverse and then spread out into the endless Great Dark as well.

“What’s going on?”

“What is this sense of awe and pressure?”

The countless living beings within Vastheaven Palace, from the mortals and animals to the Eternal Emperors, all felt a sense of terror stemming from the very fiber of their being.

None of these living beings were injured, but in this instant the entire everworld fell completely silent. All of them instinctively knelt down towards the direction from whence this aura came, almost as if they were prostrating themselves and displaying submission towards an emperor.

This aura was the aura of an Eternal Omega Sword Dao! No one would dare to stand against this terrifying aura.

“Such power! Such might! This aura is far more powerful than mine. Not even the Sithe Exalts were this powerful!” Flamewing was able to instinctively judge the power of this aura. There had never been an Emperor who reached that level via an Eternal Omega Dao. Someone who did would be more powerful than Otherverse Lords, Sourcewalkers, and even Sithe Exalts! Only the unfathomably powerful Autarchs would be on this level of power.

“So this is the power of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao?” Emperor Solesky, Azurefiend, and the others all felt completely stunned. This level of power was far beyond the Hegemonic level of power.

……

Whoosh! A dimensional tear appeared at the very margins of the Vastheaven Everworld, followed by a snowy-robed, white-bearded old man appearing. This was Hegemon Brightshore. A heartbeat later two more tears appeared. A man with long green hair and a green beard emerged from the first, while a dazzlingly beautiful scepter-wielding woman appeared from the second. They were Hegemon Windrain and Hegemon Netherlily.

Riiiiip. Another dimensional tear appeared off in the distance, followed by five figures emerging. The first was a golden humanoid figure, while the other four were all onyx humanoid figures. This was Lord Wulf of the Icepeak Army and four of his Black Emperors.

“Such power.” Everyone’s gazes were focused towards the distant Vastheaven Palace. Vastheaven Palace was the source of this incredible, exalted aura. Simply looking at Vastheaven Palace caused them to all feel a sense of tremendous pressure! If Ning himself appeared, staring at him would cause them all to feel a sense of terror. This was something you would innately feel when you encountered someone who was at a higher level of existence than you.

“So this is the power which comes from an Omega Dao which has gained eternity?” Hegemon Brightshore murmured softly, “This aura is utterly terrifying. I’ve never sensed anything as terrifying as this.”

“Daolord Darknorth’s ‘Flower of Eternity’ has probably already begun to bloom,” Hegemon Windrain said. “If he can succeed in making it fully bloom, he’ll gain true eternity.”

“Will he be dazzling for an instant, or dazzling for all eternity? The answer will come soon,” Hegemon Netherlily said.

They had witnessed many Daolords undergone the Daomerge and thus they understood the process. The aura of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao which they could all sense wasn’t being consciously produced by Ning; rather, it was something which naturally manifested as the Daomerge began. Only if he succeeded in the Daomerge and truly gained a complete Eternal Omega Sword Dao would he gain control over that terrifying level of power! If he failed? Everything would disappear like mist, and his brief moment of brilliance would amount to nothing more than a testament to how powerful an Eternal Omega Sword Dao truly was.

“He has begun the Daomerge.” Lord Wulf stared from afar, a look of dread in his eyes. “How terrifying. If he succeeds in the Daomerge, not even the Lonely King would stand any chance against him.”

“There’s no way something as unearthly powerful as this can exist,” one of his Black Emperor subordinates said.

“Agreed. If he succeeds in the Daomerge, he’ll probably be invincible unless an Autarch intervenes,” Lord Wulf murmured softly. “But if he fails… that’ll be when he becomes truly troublesome. No one can guess what a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge would do. More importantly, the Lonely King also will be competing against Realmslord Windgrace. The struggle over the Flamewing God will probably be the greatest battle which our Icepeak Army has ever engaged in…”

Although the Icepeak Army had taken part in numerous great wars, it had never faced off against an opponent of Realmslord Windgrace’s caliber. In addition, there was a third party to this conflict… Ji Ning and the Flamewing God who served him. Lord Wulf spoke the truth when he described this conflict as the ‘greatest battle’ the Icepeak Army would have ever engaged in.

“Daolord Darknorth won’t go crazy, right?” The four Black Emperors were rather nervous. They had all witnessed the Flamewing God’s power.

“Who knows what a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge might do?” Lord Wulf stared at the distant Vastheaven Palace. “However… we must give it our best shot, no matter how dangerous it is! There’s no way Realmslord Windgrace or our Lonely King would give up a chance to control the Flamewing God. They’ll throw every resource they have into it.”

The Flamewing God was more valuable than all the combined value of all the treasures Realmslord Windgrace and the Lonely King possessed. There was a limit to how powerful a Sithe war machine could be, after all… and the greater the power, the greater the cost of activating it. Each time Realmslord Windgrace wished to use the Blacksun to fire off an attack, he had to pay an enormous price. But Flamewing? It had a virtually indestructible body and could fight without rest. The Flamewing God was more valuable than the entire Icepeak Army.

However, only the likes of the Lonely King and Realmslord Windgrace were actually interested in trying to take control over Flamewing. The ordinary soldiers and generals of the Icepeak Army, along with the likes of Hegemon Brightshore, simply felt fear! This was because no one could predict how wide-ranging and destructive such a war would become. A war on this level could easily result in the deaths of Hegemons and Black Emperors. Even the likes of Lord Wulf would perish under the might of a fully-powered Blacksun!

The only ones who stood a good chance at surviving were the Lonely King, who had numerous Sithe war machines at his disposal, and Realmslord Windgrace, who had his Blacksun. Everyone else could very well perish!

Oh, right. Daolord Darknorth would be safe, as he could hide behind the Flamewing god. However… if Daolord Darknorth had failed the Daomerge, he might go crazy and become an even greater threat than Windgrace or the Lonely King.

“Ugh.”

“Let’s pray that he succeeds in the Daomerge.” In truth, some of the Black Emperors were silently hoping for Ning’s success. They would be nothing more than cannon fodder in a battle at this level, after all. Still… all of them knew in their hearts how unlikely it was that Ning would succeed.

……

The white-robed Ning in Vastheaven Palace and the black-robed Ning in the Azureflower Estate meditated silently as the Flower of Eternity began to bloom with excruciating slowness.

“This is correct. No errors thus far.” Ning was being incredibly careful. As soon as the flower had started to bloom, his Eternal Omega Sword Dao had begun to take form. Everything seemed so perfect and flawless… but if he made so much as a single mistake, the Flower of Eternity would instantly begin to wither and his truesoul would begin to crumble away.

He couldn’t afford a single mistake! Thus, Ning proceeded very slowly with the Daomerge.

Time passed on, one day after the other, and more Eternal Emperors appeared around the Vastheaven Everworld. Ning’s exalted aura had covered all of the Flamedragon Realmverse and had even stretched out into the Great Dark. Although the aura grew increasingly weak with distance, the majority of Eternal Emperors in the Flamedragon Realmverse were able to sense it. However, realmverses were so far from each other that the aura spread just a comparatively short distance into the Great Dark before becoming completely indetectable.

“Eh?” Roughly half a year after the Flower of Eternity began to bloom, the faces of the white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning simultaneously turned pale.

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Chapter 42 – Sword-Heart

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 42 – Sword-Heart

“Now this is a deadly problem.” Ji Ning had just encountered the greatest obstacle within the Daomerge thus far.

Why was it that Daolords all wished for the chance to completely simulate the Daomerge? It was so that they would have sufficient experience for the real thing. A mistake in the simulated Daomerge could be fixed in the real one.

Alas, even the Daomerge Firecloud Flower could only simulate a partial Daomerge for an Omega Dao. It could only simulate the Daomerge up to the point where the bud first formed! In other words, the only real benefit it brought to Ning was that it had saved him three years worth of time; it hadn’t given him a chance to actually compensate for any mistakes or errors! And now, as a result, the completely unprepared Ning now encountered an enormous problem which he had to resolve.

“If I wish to succeed in the Daomerge for the Omega Sword Dao, I must also master the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art!” After spending half a year slowly blooming his Flower of Eternity, he immediately realized this problem.

Ning had originally thought that the [Heartsword] art was just a type of special technique that combined heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy. He didn’t believe that it had anything to do with his Omega Sword Dao… but now that he had actually initiated the Daomerge, he realized that he was wrong!

It was connected! In fact, it was connected in a very important way!

Ordinary Emperors and even Hegemons didn’t need to worry about techniques like the [Heartsword] art during their Daomerges, but Ning was different; his path was that of the Omega Sword Dao!

“The [Heartsword] art focuses on training the heart, the heart of the sword. The more sincere one’s heart is towards the sword, the more perfectly one can merge heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy. I was only able to master the fourteenth stance of the [Heartforce] art because I realized that Yu Wei would not come back to life, and thus I came to understand the essence of ‘Remorseless Unto Death’. I poured everything into the sword without any remorse… but that isn’t enough. Although a sword-heart like this is enough to merge divine power, heartforce, and Immortal energy to a very high degree… it still isn’t enough.”

“I need a truly perfect and complete sword-heart! Only then can I also have a perfect, Eternal Omega Sword Dao.”

He only came to understand this during the Daomerge itself. The many insights he had gained into the Dao of the Sword would form the ‘body’ of his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, while his perfect sword-heart would form its ‘soul’. Only then would it be fully formed! Only then would it become a true and truly terrifying Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

This was why the [Heartsword] art was so marvelous, and why it allowed for one to merge all types of energy together, resulting in every single attack increasing explosively in might.

“There’s a limit to how long the Daomerge can take. I have to comprehend the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art. If I cannot, I’ll definitely fail the Daomerge.” When Ning came to understand this, his face instantly turned pale. There wasn’t enough time! The fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art was incredibly difficult.

In truth, the [Heartsword] art was just a sword-focused energy-combining technique which Emperor Heartsword had created. There had been other major powers in the vast Chaosverse who had done the same. Ning didn’t really need the technique itself; what he needed to do was to truly perfect his sword-heart.

Whoosh. One technique after another flickered through Ning’s mind. These were the various similar techniques which had been created by the cultivator civilizations as well as the Sithe.

“What should I do? How should I make the breakthrough to the next level?” Although the state he was in during the Daomerge allowed breakthroughs to come much more easily, he still wasn’t able to find the key to the fifteenth stance.

“Wrong. Wrong. Wrong! The [Heartsword] art and the other techniques all came as a result of the unique hearts and minds produced by the experiences these various major powers had.” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. “In the end, they reached perfection… but they each walked their own paths! Every single cultivator will have different mental and spiritual experiences. If you try to force yourself to emulate their paths, you might be able to reach an extremely high level but you’ll never reach perfection.”

“This is why, despite the passage of so many chaos cycles, there has been no one save Emperor Heartsword who was able to master the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword] art. That’s because one has to find one’s own sword-heart in order to reach this stance!”

The prajna-state Ning was currently in was an extraordinary one, and he was able to quickly identify where the problem lay.

In the early stages, the [Heartsword] art might’ve allowed him to walk faster along his path, but the farther along the path Ning went, the more of an obstacle the [Heartsword] art became. Thus, he had to discard it… because it represented Emperor Heartsword’s sword-heart!

“Then what of my own sword-heart?” Ning began to reminisce about all the experiences he had undergone through countless years of cultivation, as well as the many times he had trained in the sword.

Slowly… Ning began to understand.

One day. Two days. Three days. One month. Two months. One year. Two years…

The Daomerge allowed for a Daolord to enter the most incredible and marvelous meditative state known to cultivators. This wasn’t the first time Ning had thought back to his memories and his life, but now that he was in the middle of the Daomerge the insights he gained were naturally different.

“Yes… long, long ago, I once lived a life that was without worries and carefree. That was back when my mother and father were teaching me. In the West Prefecture City of the Ji clan, I trained with them in sword-arts. I was so happy back then. I simply loved sword-arts; that was all there was to it.

“When did it all change? All kinds of different competing desires arose in my heart and in my cultivation of the sword. I sought to train in the sword to take revenge for my parents, to become famous in the Grand Xia, to kill the Godking and take my revenge, to revive Yu Wei… I entrusted all of my hopes to the sword, wishing to use it to make all of my hopes real. In doing so, my sword-heart actually became impure.”

“Even when I reached the stage of ‘Remorseless Unto Death’, my remorselessness stemmed from my emotions and my love of Yu Wei, not for the love of the sword itself. But…

“In truth, I really do love the sword as well.”

If he didn’t love the Dao of the Sword from the very depths of his being, there was no way he could’ve embarked upon the path of the Omega Sword Dao and reached his current heights. However, all of the many hopes and fears he had entrusted to the sword had resulted in his sword-heart becoming impure.

Ning suddenly thought of something which Autarch Titanos had told him: “Foolish child… sometimes, you have to learn when to let go. On the path of cultivation, excessive obsession can sometimes result in self-destruction.”

Ning had suddenly awoken to the truth. It was a true moment of epiphany! After spending three years of the Daomerge going through his many memories, he felt as though he had revisited his entire life… and as a result, he had truly awoken.

“Even if I cast aside everything, including all of my hopes and fears, I would still love the sword. I love it simply because I love it; there’s no need for any other reason. The Dao of the Sword is a vast and boundless one which allows me to experience many new things. Of course I love it. Why wouldn’t I?”

Both the white-robed Ning and the black-robed Ning opened their eyes to stare forwards.

In front of each of them, a stream of sword-light manifested. The sword-light flew out in a beautiful, natural, and transcendent way. There were no strong emotions attached to it, no grief, no sorrow, no madness… it simply flew forward, illuminating everything around it with its brilliance.

“One Sword, One World.” Ning smiled. He knew that his sword-heart had reached the level of true perfection. In fact, he now suspected that Emperor Heartsword himself must have mastered the ‘One Sword, One World’ stance during the Daomerge as well. For those who had chosen a weaker Sword Dao, simply possessing a perfect sword-heart would allow for one to succeed in the Daomerge, even if one’s Dao of the Sword was flawed!

Emperor Heartsword’s Sword Dao wasn’t a particularly impressive one, but he had a perfect sword-heart and as a result had succeeded in the Daomerge.

Ning now had a perfect sword-heart as well… but he was attempting to master an Eternal Omega Sword Dao. A perfect sword-heart was just one component!

“My sword-heart has been perfected.” Ning immediately continued to the next stage of his Daomerge, causing the Flower of Eternity to continue its blooming once more. Now that he had a perfect sword-heart, the Flower of Eternity seemed to have gained a spirit, and it rustled in his soul much like a true flower would in the outside world.

……

“It’s nearly been nine years.”

“The Daomerge can at most last for nine years. Daolord Darknorth’s Daomerge must be coming to an end soon.”

“I wonder if he will succeed or fail.” Within the Vastheaven Everworld, the Hegemons and the Icepeak Army were all waiting. The other Eternal Emperors, such as Daoist Bluestone, Emperor Goldisle, and Emperor Blackcloud were all waiting nervously as well.

It had indeed been nearly nine years since Ning had unleashed that wave of terrifying presence.

“Perhaps the Daomerge time limit for Omega Daos is longer than normal?” Hegemon Netherlily suggested curiously.

“Who knows?” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head.

“Let’s just wait. We’ll see a result soon,” Hegemon Windrain said.

All of the Hegemons and Emperors were waiting, as were Hegemon Azurefiend, Flamewing, Emperor Solesky, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Ning’s disciples and fellow apprentices within Vastheaven Palace. All of them were extremely nervous.

……

“I’m almost out of time.” The white-robed Ning in Vastheaven Palace and the black-robed Ning in the Azureflower Estate both knew that they only had nine years for the Daomerge. The Daomerge Firecloud Flower had saved them three years of time, but they had wasted three more in perfecting the Dao-heart.

The Flower of Eternity slowly continued to bloom. There could be no mistakes at all right now.

“Time for the final push.” Ning could sense the growth of the Flower of Eterniety within the Dao-tree in his body, and could also sense how his godgems had reconfigured themselves. It was time to take the final step.

In his heart, he already had a complete structure for his Eternal Omega Sword Dao. Whether or not it was the correct one could only be ascertained through actually using it in the Daomerge.

“There are no mistakes. Such a perfect Dao has to be worthy of eternity.” Ning was filled with confidence, but since he hadn’t had the chance to simulate a Daomerge he had to be absolutely correct in order to succeed. The slightest of errors would result in failure.

“I’m out of time. There’s no way to stop the Daomerge. Time for the final step!”

Ning willed it, and with a rumble his Flower of Eternity went into full bloom, revealing dazzling amounts of radiance. The godgems in his body instantly went into a brand new configuration as well.

Would the result be eternity? Or a withering?

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Chapter 43 – The Curtain Falls

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 43 – The Curtain Falls

The Flower of Eternity bloomed with incandescent light, striving to achieve eternity… but then, its light began to slowly shudder. The transformed and reconfigured godgems also sought to stabilize, but they slowly began to tremble as well.

The awesome aura of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao emanating from Ji Ning’s body suddenly began to decay, with Ning’s own life aura weakening as well.

“No! I was too hasty!” In the final instant that his Flower of Eternity fully bloomed, Ning immediately understood where the error lay in his Eternal Omega Sword Dao

If he had been given a chance to simulate the Daomerge, he would’ve been able to actually test out some of the assumptions regarding his Dao and discover its flaws. But he hadn’t had that chance, and so he had to forge ahead without it!

Samsara Daolords took a total of four steps, and each step represented them treading the line between life and death! However, these four steps were all fairly short steps. They only led the Daolord to rise to a slightly higher level each time, which was why almost all of the truly talented Daolords were able to reach the fourth step. However, the Daomerge represented an enormous chasm!

Even when ordinary Daolords succeeded in the Daomerge, their power would rise by two full levels. As for supreme Daolords like Ninedust or Winesage, they’d immediately become Hegemons. Those slightly weaker would still reach the Archon level of power.

Ning’s Omega Sword Dao would have an even more incredible result. The mysteries of the Sword Dao alone would result in him improving by two full levels of power, but he also needed to infuse it with a perfect sword-heart. In other words, advancing from the fourth-step Daolord Omega Sword Dao to an Eternal Omega Sword Dao would result in an increase of more than three full levels of power!

This was an enormous step he had to take, and there was no chance at all to test it out in advance! Even though Ning’s preparations had been quite plentiful, in the end he had still made a tiny mistake.

“This must be the true Eternal Omega Sword Dao.” Ning opened his eyes. In front of him was a faint sheen of sword-light. It looked very ordinary, with nothing special about it at all. It seemed to have no aura, no presence… nothing.

Rumble…

Unfathomably far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse, there existed a place. This place was where the prime essences of the entire Chaosverse were located, including the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword.

“So this is the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword?” Ning’s mind could clearly and distinctly sense it from afar… and it was identical in nature to the Eternal Omega Sword Dao he had just understood.

Suddenly, a surge of invisible power swept out and surrounded Ning’s consciousness. This power was vast and overwhelming but also as gentle as a mother’s embrace.

Ning instantly understood. This surge of power was the power of the prime essences of the Chaosverse. The power was embracing his mind and… comforting him. It was as though the Chaosverse itself felt a sense of regret and sympathy towards this cultivator.

“So I am the only one who has ever comprehended an Eternal Omega Dao?” Ning understood what the Chaosverse was whispering to him.

There had been others who had embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao, but all of them had failed during the Daomerge! The vast majority of the failures didn’t even have a technique like the [Heartsword] art available to them. Much like Ning, they had only realized how stringent the requirements for their Dao-hearts were during the actual Daomerge itself. Most of them had failed due to this. Occasionally, there were a few incredibly talented Daolords who did in fact have perfect Dao-hearts, but in the end there were quite a few errors in the Eternal Omega Dao they devised. Even though they eventually realized what their mistakes were, there was no way for them to discover what the right answer was.

Ning had the Autarch’s stone dais, the Stonefire Pearl, the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, and other external sources of support. He also had a perfect sword-heart and was at a level of talent that was every bit the equal of anyone who had come before him.

In the end, he had still failed the Daomerge… but immediately afterwards, he had instantly realized what the true Eternal Omega Sword Dao was. Alas, it was too late! He was now in control of and the master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, but he had already failed his Daomerge. Each person would only have one chance at the Daomerge. If you failed it, you failed it. Even the prime essences of the Chaosverse couldn’t help but sigh on his behalf. Alas, there was nothing they could do; all they could do was function in the way their nature instrinsically demanded. Everything they did was simply an expression of their intrinsic nature, and in truth they weren’t fully ‘sentient’ by the normal definition of the word.

All they could do was feel and express an innate sense of sorrow and sympathy for this poor soul.

……

The Flower of Eternity withered away, its petals crumbling apart and falling.

It had been just a single tiny mistake, but that mistake was still enough to cause everything to crumble. There was no way for it to gain eternity.

Divine power and Immortal energy could be instantly recovered; they didn’t count for much. The truly lethal aspect of failing the Daomerge was the dissipation of the soul and truesoul. There was no way at all to halt or reverse the crumbling of a truesoul. No one was capable of it whatsoever. Not even Autarchs were able to do this!

The white-robed Ning within Vastheaven Palace and the black-robed Primaltwin in the Azureflower Estate were both filled with Ning’s truesoul. Their failure in the Daomerge caused the truesoul to begin to crumble. Ning’s soul and truesoul had become incredibly powerful over his countless years of cultivation, and the Nine Chaos Seals technique had further strengthened it to the Archon level… but it was of no use.

Hairline fractures had already appeared throughout every part of Ning’s truesoul.

Crack! A tiny, crystalline piece of truesoul broke free. This fragment was translucent and dazzlingly beautiful, but as it floated away it gradually disappeared into nothingness, returning to the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Those who had their truesouls destroyed in a chaosworld would see their soul fragments be reclaimed by the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Those who failed the Daomerge would see their truesouls slowly and naturally fragment apart, also to be reclaimed by the Chaosverse. When the final pieces of truesoul were gone, they would die.

They could do nothing but watch as they slowly died. This was a very cruel end, and there were some Daolords who would be driven mad as a result.

The aura of life disappeared from both of Ning’s avatars, and the truesoul within Ning’s main body and Primaltwin both began to crumble…

……

Ning arose from the altar. Even before the Daomerge had began, he had already prepared himself for the possibility of failure.

“For one who has found the Dao in the morning, death in the evening is nothing. I may have failed, but my failure has allowed me to find the true Eternal Omega Sword Dao. Compared to many other cultivators, I’m quite lucky. Nothing in the universe will go exactly as one hopes.” Ning’s gaze was distant. He murmured, “Yu Wei… sorry. I still failed in the end…”

Ning didn’t care too much that he had failed the Daomerge and would perish. Given how long he had cultivated for, why would he fear death? As for his family, he had already spent an extremely long period of time by the side of his parents and his daughter. The only one he felt a debt towards was his wife, Yu Wei.

“I thought that I was invincible, that I could do anything and everything. But in the end, there was a limit to what I could accomplish. My road has come to an end.” Ning waved his hand, causing a black jade stone to appear before him. This jade stone had already been cut to be roughly as tall as Ning himself.

Ning stretched out his right hand, gently stroking the surface of the jade. Sword-light appeared from the tips of his fingers, and as it swept past the jade, tiny bits of jade dust flew everywhere.

Slowly, the figure of a black-robed maiden became formed from the jade stone. Her features truly were dazzlingly beautiful, and her aura was quite extraordinary.

A hint of a smile appeared around Ning’s lips. His wife, Yu Wei, truly had been a dazzling and beautiful person. She had been the most beautiful member of the Black-White College.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Ning’s fingers continued to flicker across the jade stone, causing the sculpture to become more and more distinct. The jade Yu Wei’s hair seemed to flutter, and her eyes stared lovingly at Ning.

Suddenly, Ning came to a halt and stepped back.

The white-robed Ning and the black-robed Yu Wei stared at each other, their gazes meeting in the air. It was almost as though she was still alive.

Moments later, Ning regained his composure. With but a thought, he caused the sculpture of the black-robed Yu Wei to fly towards him while shrinking to become palm-sized. As it flew towards Ning’s chest, a string suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pierced through it. It hung inside Ning’s clothes like a necklace, pressed against his bosom.

Ning gently stroked his chest. “Yu Wei… accompany me on the final steps of my journey.” Ning then waved his hand, causing all six Northbow swords to appear before him.

“Quintessences, arise!” With but a thought, Ning transformed the quintessences within his six Lifeblood weapons, upgrading them from the fourth-step Daolord-level Omega Sword Dao to the Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The six Northbow swords all emitted a keening sound as sword-light flared around them, revealing a terrifying sharpness. The light circulated across them, revealing that each and every one of them was changing and evolving from inside out. They immediately skyrocketed to the Universe treasure level! A good while later, the light completely vanished from them. Their power was now so reserved that they were like ordinary pieces of wood… but in truth, they had already become the deadliest weapons in all the Chaosverse.

This was because the quintessence cores within them had been created by the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, something which had never existed before. The Dao of the Sword was a Dao meant for battle and slaughter. In terms of killing power, these six swords had already vastly outstripped all other Universe treasures.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! All six swords flew back into the sheath on Ning’s back.

……

Vastheaven Palace.

“That aura of might is weakening.”

“How can this be?”

“But…” Emperor Solesky, Hegemon Azurefiend, the Flamewing God, Pillsaint, and the others were all shocked. Su Youji’s face was completely ashen and devoid of all color.

“Master.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Ning’s students and ‘fellow disciples’ were all frantic as well.

In the air outside Vastheaven Palace were Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Lord Wulf, the Black Emperors, Daoist Bluestone, Emperor Goldisle, and the other Eternal Emperors. Some sighed. Some shook their heads. Some smiled with delight. Some had ugly looks on their faces.

All of them had their own thoughts and considerations… but all of them knew that Daolord Darknorth had just failed the Daomerge.

They had seen far too many Daolords attempt the Daomerge. If a Daolord succeeded, there was no way his aura would plummet like that. In addition, they would also sense an aura of true eternity about that cultivator.

“Darknorth, a dazzling and peerless Daolord, has come to an end just like that.” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head and sighed.

“Daomerges for Omega Daos are simply too difficult,” Hegemon Windrain said.

“Go ahead and report it to Realmslord Windgrace,” Hegemon Netherlily said.

The three of them had long ago received orders from Realmslord Windgrace to monitor the situation, and so they all began to send word back.

“Hurry up and inform his Majesty that Daolord Darknorth has already failed the Daomerge.” The distant Lord Wulf could already foresee the grand war that was about to erupt, but he didn’t dare to delay in the slightest.

……

The Hiddenfiend Realmverse. The Blacksun.

A bearded, disheveled-looking old man walked out of a courtyard. He raised his head to stare into the void, his eyes filled with light. “Daolord Darknorth… he was such an incredibly talented figure, but he still failed. The war against the Lonely King shall come next.”

……

The endless Great Dark.

A large group of onyx humanoids were clustered together within a realmship. Alongside them were two golden humanoids who were standing to each side of a silver throne… and a third golden humanoid dressed in silver robes who was seated on that throne.

His gaze was as cold as ice, and the blood-red diamond in his forehead was beginning to change.

In truth, this man had long ago led the entire Icepeak Army to a place within the Great Dark that was extremely close to the Flamedragon Realmverse. He had been silently waiting for the signal, as he knew that if he was to fight against Realmslord Windgrace he couldn’t afford to get there late.

“Your Majesty, Lord Wulf sends word. Daolord Darknorth has failed the Daomerge!” a gray-robed Emperor said respectfully.

“As expected, he failed.” The Lonely King rested his arms on the armrests of his throne, then said softly, “Windgrace… let’s see if you win or if I win.”

“Head out!”

BOOM! The realmship tore through spacetime and immediately began to warp towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.

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Chapter 1 – A Daolord Who Failed the Daomerge

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 1 – A Daolord Who Failed the Daomerge

Vastheaven Palace. The Darknorth Estate.

Emperor Solesky, Su Youji, Hegemon Azurefiend, and the Flamewing God were all staring at the sealed gates to Ji Ning’s estate.

Rumble… the gates to the estate swung open, followed by a white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back emerging from within.

Everything seemed so ordinary, as though nothing at all had happened… but Solesky, Azurefiend, and the others all sighed silently. All powerful experts were able to sense the tiny ripples generated by a decaying truesoul. Even though the ripples were incredibly minute, they were constant and continuous. Even though Ning’s truesoul was unfathomably more powerful than an ordinary mortal’s, given enough time it would still be extinguished.

“Master.” Flamewing raised its giant head to stare at Ning rather desperately.

“Darknorth.” Solesky and Azurefiend wanted to say something, but both hesitated. Su Youji’s eyes were completely red, and she was using her Immortal energy to evaporate her tears as soon as they appeared.

“Look at all of you.” Ning laughed. “Everyone who has chosen the path of cultivation knows how difficult a path this is. The Daomerge for an Omega Dao is the most difficult of all! I’ve failed my Daomerge, but I was mentally prepared for that long ago. It is no big deal.”

“Good.” Azurefiend’s eyes lit up and he called out, “Darknorth, you have only trained for a fairly brief period of time, but I must confess that my Dao-heart is inferior to yours. If I had failed my Daomerge, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it. Given my temperament, I probably would’ve gone crazy. Even if I managed to eventually calm down, it would’ve only happened after I vented for an extremely long period of time. I can’t promise anything else, but I’ll definitely continue to serve you. So long as you are alive, I will follow you and be by your side. I’ll also carry out to the absolute best of my ability any tasks you wish me to do in the future.”

“Thank you.” Ning smiled. Some people who were forced to become retainers would feel resentment, but Ning and Azurefiend had known each other for so long that Azurefiend knew what type of person Ning was. Ning was an open, straightforward man who was benevolent to his friends and terrible to his foes. Azurefiend enjoyed his relationship with Ning, and he couldn’t help but feel heartache upon seeing Ning fail the Daomerge. He couldn’t help but sigh at how such a peerless Daolord was about to vanish from this universe.

“Darknorth, your students and fellow disciples are all waiting outside. Shall you…?” Solesky spoke out.

“Don’t worry about them. This can be considered a lesson to them as to how cruel and brutal the Daomerge is,” Ning said with a laugh. “Come, come! All of you, sit and drink with me. We’ll have guests arriving soon.”

“Guests?” Azurefiend and Solesky were briefly startled, but then they immediately understood. The Lonely King and Realmslord Windgrace had been biding their time. Now that Ning had failed the Daomerge, they would probably make their move.

“We’ll drink over here while awaiting our guests.” Ning turned to stare towards the outside, where a number of figures were flying over to Vastheaven Palace. He smiled. “Brother Brightshore, since you’ve arrived, share some wine with us.”

Whoosh. The protective barriers around Vastheaven Palace split apart, allowing Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Daoist Bluestone, Emperor Goldisle, Emperor Blackcloud, and some other Hegemons and Emperors who were on good terms with Ning to fly inside. Everyone knew each other and could be considered friends. Now that Ning had failed the Daomerge, all of them felt great regret and wished to meet with him.

When they saw how the white-robed youth greeted them all with a smile, the Hegemons and Emperors couldn’t help but secretly sigh once more. How many of them would be able to so quickly regain their calm after failing the Daomerge and suffering the most grievous blow a cultivator could possibly suffer? No wonder Daolord Darknorth had reached such impressive heights.

A pity. Such a pity.

His path was that of the Omega Dao. If he had chosen a simpler path, such as fusing multiple Supreme Daos, he probably would’ve already become a Hegemon.

“Let’s not chit-chat too much today. Drink up!” Ning said.

Hegemon Brightshore and the others all understood. An expert like Ning didn’t need the pity of others. “Alright, let’s just eat and drink!”

“Darknorth, don’t blame me if I end up cleaning your entire stock of wine!”

“Drink as much as you like. Our guests will probably interrupt us soon and prevent us from drinking,” Ning teased.

“Guests?” Hegemon Brightshore and the others all quivered. They knew that Ning was referring to Lonely King and Realmslord Windgrace. They couldn’t help but sigh. The only ones present who could truly maintain their uncaring calm were Flamewing and Ning himself.

……

The Hegemons, Emperors, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Flamewing all casually sat down alongside each other. Some sat down on the grass, some sat down on the stone bridge, some sat down within the pavilion. Everyone had a wine-laden table before them, and the estate was filled with the sound of jesting and laughing.

Just a short while later, a rumbling sound could be heard. Ning raised his head fractionally, glancing off into the distance. His gaze pierced through the void and allowed him to see a streak of azure light that had just reached the Vastheaven Everworld and making its way over here. This streak of azure light was the bearded, disheveled old ‘Realmslord Windgrace’.

No one aside from Ning noticed the Realmslord’s arrival.

“The Blacksun truly is remarkable. The Hiddenfiend Realmverse and the Flamedragon Realmverse are quite far away, but he was able to arrive in an instant.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. “The Sithe truly are remarkable.”

Realmslord Windgrace walked through the air within the Vastheaven Everworld, quickly arriving outside Vastheaven Palace. “My young friend Darknorth.” His voice suddenly rang out from outside.

“Realmslord Windgrace has arrived. Come and share a few cups of wine with us,” Ning said. The barriers parted before the Realmslord, giving him a passageway inside. Realmslord Windgrace walked through the skies, following the passageway into Vastheaven Palace.

The Hegemons and Emperors within the Darknorth Estate all rose to their feet. Even the irascible Hegemon Azurefiend rose. The only ones to remain seated were Ning and Flamewing. “Greetings, Realmslord Windgrace,” everyone said respectfully.

When Realmslord Windgrace saw that Ning remained seated, he felt quite intrigued. His face, however, remained completely unruffled.

“Realmslord Windgrace. Please have a seat.” Ning pointed at a table located atop a patch of grass.

“This wine certainly smells nice.” Realmslord Windgrace walked over to the table, then sat down in the lotus position. He picked up the gourd of wine and began to guzzle it down. “Delicious, delicious! Darknorth, my young friend, I hurried here as soon as I heard that you failed the Daomerge. Alas… the Daomerge for an Omega Dao must have been incredibly difficult. The Autarchs once told me that no one has ever been able to succeed in the Daomerge with an Omega Dao.”

The entire area quickly fell silent. The many Hegemons and Emperors no longer dared to say a word. Su Youji and Pillsaint both sensed how oppressive and gloomy the atmosphere had become! For Realmslord Windgrace to immediately raise the topic of Ning failing the Daomerge meant that he had clearly come on business.

“I imagine you already know why I have come here, my young friend Darknorth.” Realmslord Windgrace looked at Ning. “It would be very difficult to convince the Flamewing God to willingly serve me… but if you, his master, agreed to help out then things would be much simpler. I won’t force you to agree; in the end, it will be your own choice. If there’s something you desire from me, you merely need to let me know what you want! I, Windgrace, will definitely do everything within my power to accomplish it. In fact, I can even swear a lifeblood oath on it.”

“Even if you do agree, I won’t take the Flamewing God away immediately. I’ll wait until you die and your Dao vanishes before doing so.” Realmslord Windgrace looked at Ning.

“GWAAAAAAR!” Ning was quite calm, but the happily-eating Flamewing was enraged upon hearing this. It let out a vicious roar as it transformed into its true form of a winged, flame-bathed bear, then moved to charge straight towards Realmslord Windgrace.

“Be good, Flamewing.” Ning’s voice caused Flamewing to come to a sudden halt. It turned to look rather unhappily at Ning. “Maaaaster!”

“Be good. Just keep eating. Don’t worry about this stuff,” Ning said.

“Oh.” Flamewing once more transformed into human form, then sat down and began to eat. Just two mouthfuls in, he once more turned his head to stare at Ning. “Master, the only one I’ll follow is you. I don’t like any of the others.”

“WINDGRACE!!!” A cold, clear voice filled with frigid might suddenly rang out, shaking the skies above Vastheaven Palace.

Ji Ning, Realmslord Windgrace, and the others all turned to look. They saw an enormous rift in spacetime appear in the skies above, with an entire host of figures flying out of it. There were more than fifty of the titanic onyx humanoids, and they were lined up in orderly rows. At their head was a pair of golden humanoids, who stood to each side of a giant, levitating silver throne.

A silver-robed golden humanoid was seated atop the silver throne. He stared downwards at the distant Vastheaven Palace with a cold look in his eyes, and the blood-colored diamond in the middle of his forehead glared like an icy third eye.

Lord Wulf led his four Black Emperors to immediately reunite with the others. Lord Wulf couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, his Majesty had arrived quite quickly. If he had been just a few minutes slower, things would’ve become troublesome.

“You came quite fast.” Realmslord Windgrace’s voice echoed within the skies above the palace. “And you brought the entire Icepeak Army! It seems you must’ve been waiting outside the Flamedragon Realmverse for quite some time now. But… ‘Lonely’, you should probably know that the soldiers of the Icepeak Army would be throwing their lives away if they got involved in this. You should have them hide and avoid getting involved in this.”

“And who would take their lives? You?” The Lonely King stared down at him from atop his throne.

The Hegemons and Emperors inside Vastheaven Palace, the disciples of Vastheaven Palace, the Eternal Emperors who were watching from within the Vastheaven Everworld… all of them were completely stunned. Nobody dared to make a move.

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Chapter 2 – Struggle

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 2 – Struggle

“T-that many legendary Black Emperors?!” The Eternal Emperors who had simply been drawn over by the aura Ji Ning had emanated during the Daomerge were utterly terrified out of their wits when they saw the Icepeak Army appear. Even the basic soldiers were all at the Hegemonic level of power, capable of wiping out the ordinary Emperors with ease… and the three generals had also come, alongside their leader the Lonely King himself!

“Is that the legendary leader of the Icepeak Army, the Lonely King?”

“I heard that Daolord Darknorth led the Flamewing God in attacking and killing quite a few Black Emperors of the Icepeak Army! However, the Icepeak Army hasn’t responded at all. Now, the Lonely King has finally appeared.”

“Both the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army and Realmslord Windgrace of our Sixteen Realmverses Alliance has appeared as well. Hmph… they must have all come for the Flamewing God.”

“It is a legendary Chaos Primordial. Who WOULDN’T want it? Daolord Darknorth is just a Daolord, but no one would dare to offend him with the Flamewing God by his side. Now that he has failed his Daomerge, the Lonely King and Realmslord Windgrace have come out to fight over the beast.” This was what the Eternal Emperors were whispering mentally to each other.

In truth, they all wanted to just flee, but they were simply too slow. As for tearing through spacetime? The Icepeak Army emanated invisible ripples of such incredible power that they simply didn’t have the courage to do so, for fear that the Icepeak Army might kill them out of irritation.

……

“Long ago, during the Dawn War, I encountered and fought far more Sithe than you have in your puny little Icepeak Army. If I activate the Blacksun, I’d massacre them all.” Realmslord Windgrace’s voice was filled with danger: “Lonely, if you are also interested in the Flamewing God, let’s sit down and have a peaceful little competition over it. But for you to bring the entire Icepeak Army… if we actually got into a fight, it’d probably impact the entire Vastheaven Everworld. If we aren’t careful, the shockwaves might hit Vastheaven Palace.”

“Don’t worry. If I wasn’t able to control my power, there’s no way I would’ve been able to live as long as I have.” The Lonely King continued to sit atop his throne as he said coldly, “As for massacring my Icepeak Army? The only reason you were able to render so many merits during the Dawn War was because you had many other major powers helping you out and fighting alongside you.”

“Gentlemen, let’s sit down and talk this over,” Ning said, wine cup in hand. His voice echoed out and shook the air above the everworld, but did so via riding alongside the natural ripples of the Dao. He would no longer use divine power or Immortal energy unless truly necessary.

“Don’t get involved. Windgrace and I will decide amongst ourselves who is superior,” the Lonely King replied coldly. “Come on out, Realmsgrace. If you don’t come out, I’m going to batter my way inside.”

“Hmph.” Realmslord Windgrace let out an angry snort, then rose to his feet. “Darknorth, my young friend, let me shoo the Lonely King away.”

“Go ahead.” Ning didn’t stand on ceremony. Wine cup in hand, he simply watched as Realmslord Windgrace flew away.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Lonely King’s silver throne suddenly glowed with dazzling light which flew out towards the right and left sides of his throne. There, a second and third Lonely King appeared, all seated on silver thrones of their own. There were now three Lonely Kings seated on three silver thrones, and they all looked identical and had identical auras.

“Assemble the formation!” the Lonely King ordered. Whoosh! The silver diagrams covering his three Gold Emperor generals all lit up, as did the silver diagrams covering the many Black Emperors. They had always emanated dense, frigid auras, but now the aura swept out to form an entire silver-white wave of ice which roared out in every direction. The three generals and the many soldiers came together to form a strange silver formation-diagram, with their bodies being covered by a layer of silver armor.

“Come. Let’s see if my Icepeak Army is stronger or if you are, Windgrace,” the Lonely King said coldly.

Realmslord Windgrace strode out of Vastheaven Palace, his eyes narrowing slightly. In truth, he was quite wary of the Icepeak Army. It wouldn’t be too hard for him to deal with the Lonely King, but the Icepeak Army represented an enormous number of opponents. If he wanted to deal with them, he’d have to activate the Blacksun multiple times! In addition, to actually kill a Black Emperor would require the Blacksun to unleash a high level of power each time… and this would cost him greatly.

He felt a 50% degree of confidence in dealing with the Lonely King and was 100% certain in being able to stay alive… but now that the entire Icepeak Army was here as well, his chances of victory were 10% at best, while his chances of staying alive dropped down to 80%-90%. Fortunately for him, the Lonely King felt rather nervous when faced with the Blacksun as well. This was why the Lonely King had immediately used a protective ability to divide himself into three.

“You split yourself into three bodies? So long as I wipe out all three of you, you’ll probably die,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

“Kill me? Go ahead and try.” The Lonely King’s voice remained as arrogant and domineering as ever. As soon as he spoke, the blood-red diamonds in his three foreheads simultaneously shot out rays of light.

Swish! Swish! Swish! The three blood-red rays of light flew even faster than Flamewing as they struck out towards Realmslord Windgrace.

Realmslord Windgrace remained quite calm. In front of him, a small fist-sized planet suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This planet was covered with countless runes, and it rapidly expanded to become thirty meters in diameter. Boom! Boom! Boom! It effortlessly deflected the attacks of the three blood-red rays of light. Realmslord Windgrace then walked straight inside the small planet.

“The Blacksun.” The Lonely King couldn’t help but feel frustrated. He had more treasures, but Realmslord Windgrace’s Blacksun was a terrifying war machine which had allowed the Sithe to influence and control an entire sector of the battlefield. The controller of the Blacksun could remain hidden within it in perfect security.

“He might have the Blacksun, but he isn’t an actual Sithe; he doesn’t have their limitless reservoirs of energy. I, on the other hand, have many tricks up my sleeve. I can have the entire Icepeak Army attack him. So long as they can surround and entrap the Blacksun, even if he remains hidden inside it’ll be like he’s in a prison. The only result will be death,” the Lonely King mused. However, he also knew that his chances of actually killing Realmslord Windgrace were quite low, while the cost would be quite high.

“So long as I can force Realmslord Windgrace to flee with the Blacksun, I’ll have won.” The Lonely King knew exactly what he needed to do. If the Realmslord fled, he felt certain that Daolord Darknorth would know what decision to make.

“Attack!” the Lonely King commanded.

Boom! The three Lonely Kings on the three silver thrones began to build an aura of increasing and terrifying power. This aura was so strong that even Ning, who was calmly drinking wine below them, to grimace slightly. He raised his head to stare into the skies, then murmured softly, “The legends say that the Lonely King was once able to annihilate an entire otherverse. Was this the technique he used? I can’t let them continue like this. If this fight progresses, they might accidentally destroy the Vastheaven Everworld.”

“Halt!” Ning shouted as he rose to his feet, his voice tinged with a hint of anger.

Up above him were Realmslord Windgrace, the Lonely King, and the Icepeak Army. They were just about to engage in combat, but all of them turned to stare blankly.

“Are you afraid?” The three Lonely Kings stared downwards and laughed coldly: “Realmslord cannot kill me, and he doesn’t even know all the tricks I have available. Faced with my Icepeak Army, he’ll probably have no choice but to flee. Thus, Daolord Darknorth… I recommend that you simply go ahead and hand the Flamewing God over to me and let it serve me. I am the most appropriate master for it.”

Although the Lonely King had heard of the Blacksun long ago, when he actually saw Realmslord Windgrace produce it he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

The same was true for Realmslord Windgrace. When actually faced with the entire Icepeak Army, he could sense that this would be a truly vicious battle. It would be best for them to end this without a fight. Once Daolord Darknorth came out to openly support one side, the battle would becoming meaningless, because the side who had the help of the Flamewing God would be the side to win. The Flamewing God was virtually indestructible, and nothing could withstand its charge. Even the Blacksun would be knocked aside, while the Icepeak Army would be torn asunder.

“Darknorth, you can choose for yourself.” Realmslord Windgrace looked at Ning.

“Hmph. Windgrace made you some promises, I expect?” The Lonely King said coldly, “But you should know what type of a person I am. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do. If anyone offends me, I’ll pay any price needed to exact my revenge.”

The entire area descended into a deep silence. All of the Hegemons and Emperors were quivering inside. They all knew of the Icepeak Army’s brutal reputation. The Lonely King truly was a terrifying figure when angered.

“I’ve been waiting a long, long time for that Flamewing God,” the Lonely King said coldly. “You have failed the Daomerge. Even if you live with the utmost of caution, you will still be nothing more than a puny Daolord with at most a thousand chaos cycles of longevity left. If you make an enemy out of me… I swear that I will annihilate any friends or family who have any connection to you whatsoever, and I’ll wipe out your homeland as well. Based on the reports I uncovered, you first appeared within the Badlands Territory, yes? Back then, you were just an Elder God! I imagine a puny Elder God couldn’t have travelled all that far, which means your homeland should be near the Badlands Territory. Given my power and the power of the Icepeak Army, we’ll definitely be able to locate it.”

The three Lonely Kings stared intently at Ning, the diamonds in their foreheads glowing with that eerie, evil blood-red light.

“I trust you know what the right choice is.” The Lonely King all but palpitated with malevolence.

Originally, Ning had been quite calm… but when he heard the Lonely King threaten to ‘annihilate any friends or family who have any connection to you whatsoever’ and say that Ning’s ‘homeland should be near the Badlands Territory’, a cold look flashed through Ning’s eyes.

Snick. Ning drew a sword from the black sheath on his back.

“What, are you about to go crazy? I hear that some Daolords who failed the Daomerge will cast caution to the wind and go berserk… but not even your Flamewing God is able to harm me in the slightest. No matter what, I’ll be able to annihilate everyone and everything you care about!” Murder all but radiated from the Lonely King’s eyes.

Whoosh. Ning took a single step forwards, his body flickering as he moved so fast he vastly surpassed both the Flamewing God and the light which had shot out of those blood-red diamonds. He appeared right next to the left-most Lonely King, and he delivered a casual chopping blow with his Northbow sword.

Swish. It was an ordinary strike which even the distant Hegemons and Eternal Emperors were able to see with clarity. It seemed so very slow, but it sliced through the Lonely King’s neck with ease, cutting through his silver robes and even his golden body as though they were made out of tofu. The cut was so clean that one couldn’t even see a wound actually appear on the Lonely King’s neck.

The attack looked slow, but that was just a deceptive illusion caused by the temporal disruption inherent to this strike. In truth, it was so fast that no one was able to react at all.

“Y-you…” the Lonely King’s eyes bulged out. An invisible power struck at him through karma, instantly wiping out his soul.

At his current level, Ning didn’t need to worry about which of the three was the ‘real’ one; Ning’s sword was connected to karma itself. Even if the ‘true’ Lonely King was hidden away in a completely different realmverse or otherverse, he still would have perished.

The Lonely King’s bulging eyes suddenly softened. A look of release appeared in his gaze, and his lips actually curved upwards in a smile. Moments later, his aura completely vanished.

All three Lonely Kings slumped downwards. Two of them completely vanished, while the other lay fallen atop his silver throne.

Ning glanced sideways at the already-perished Lonely King, then murmured softly, “You are right. As a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge, there’s a limit to how long I can live. I really didn’t want to use up any energy… but once you made those threats, I had no choice but to respond.”

Snick. Ning resheathed the Northbow sword back into the scabbard on his back.

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Chapter 3 – Accept Punishment

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 3 – Accept Punishment

Ji Ning stared weighingly at the Lonely King’s silver robes, his blood-red diamond, and the silver throne he had been seated on. These were all extremely powerful Sithe weapons. They were of little use to him, but of incalculable value to others. He immediately waved his hand, collecting the Lonely King’s corpse, throne, and treasures.

The entire area was completely silent. The skies above Vastheaven Palace had previously been the arena for the face-off between Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army. Moments ago, their auras had been flaring… but now, all of them held their breaths.

The terrified Emperors who were watching from afar were all staring in disbelief. Even the people inside Vastheaven Palace such as Emperor Solesky, Hegemon Azurefiend, and the Flamewing God all stared with heads upraised.

In this moment, every single cultivator’s attention was completely focused upon the white-robed youth with the black sheath on his back.

His aura was quite ordinary, the aura of a Daolord. One could even sense that his truesoul was continuously crumbling away in tiny amounts. He was nothing more than a pitiful Daolord who had failed the Daomerge, but…

They all watched blankly as the white-robed figure collected the Lonely King’s Sithe weapons. No one dared to stop him, even though they were deeply interested in those treasures.

“Master… h-he…” Su Youji stared with her head raised. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her face was red with excitement.

She felt excited for Ning! She could still remember the first time they had met. Back then, he had been an Elder God while she had been an Ancestral Immortal. She had already been incomparably beautiful, with many cultivators wooing her in the hopes of becoming her Dao-companion. When she had met Ning, she had watched as Ning battled above his class against World-level cultivators, and thus she had immediately chosen to voluntarily join him as his retainer.

She had followed him, watching him grow from up close. He had become increasingly dazzling, becoming the number one Daolord in all the history of the Flamedragon Realmverse. He had taken on a Hegemonic retainer and even tamed the Flamewing God… but in the end, he had still failed his Daomerge.

She felt a sense of great heartache and sorrow as she watched her master’s truesoul slowly but surely crumble away… but then she saw that single, dazzling sword-strike. The Lonely King, someone who even Hegemons viewed with reverence, had collapsed supinely beneath that strike. First, Su Youji had felt stunned. Then, she had felt a true sense of excitement and delight for her master.

“Even though he has failed the Daomerge, he’ll become the most dazzling star in all the night sky. Even though he will one day perish, his light shall illuminate countless realmverses and otherverses, and be forever whispered unto the end of time. He shall become one of the most unbelievable of legends.” Su Youji stared upwards at him, her eyes blazing with eagerness.

“Such power! H-how could he have… how…” Emperor Solesky mumbled nonsensically to himself as he stared.

“The Lonely King? Finished with just one strike of the sword?” Hegemon Azurefiend’s wizened old face was contorted with shock. “I’ve wandered the vast Chaosverse for many years, but I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Most likely, only the exalted Autarchs or perhaps the supreme members of the Sithe race, those Exalts, would be capable of such a thing.”

In the cultivator civilizations, the only ones capable of such an act were the Autarchs. Although the Sithe Exalts were weaker than the Autarchs, they were still definitely above the Otherverse Lords in power. They were unfathomably powerful and even faster than the Flamewing God. In a direct clash, the Flamewing God would be suppressed by a Sithe Exalt even though Flamewing had an indestructible body! Three Exalts working together had actually managed to capture it alive. In the cultivator civilizations, only Autarchs were capable of capturing Chaos Primordials.

Now… a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge had actually reached that same, terrifying level of power?

How powerful was he? Was he comparable to those Sithe Exalts, or was he even stronger than them and close to the Autarchs in might? The Hegemons and Emperors had no idea, and it didn’t really matter. The only thing that mattered was this truth: Hegemons and Otherverse Lords would all perish with just one strike from Ning’s sword.

……

After Ning collected the Lonely King’s treasures, he swept the area with his gaze, then smiled. “Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army, please follow me. As for the other Emperors and Hegemons, you’ll have to pardon me; I won’t be able to accompany you for now.”

“You are being far too courteous, Daolord Darknorth.” The ordinary Eternal Emperors off in the distance all felt surprised and delighted by his courtesy. They all relaxed quite a bit. Normally, they had to behave with great reverence when they were in the presence of Hegemons. This truly peerless Daolord had just slain the Lonely King with ease and was so powerful that even Hegemons wouldn’t dare to breathe too loudly in front of him, and yet he spoke with such courtesy!

“Daolord Darknorth, I truly have never even heard of sword-arts like yours.”

“Impressive, truly impressive. I, Daoist Violetstar, have truly been enlightened today. I’ve wandered for over ten million chaos cycles and visited many realmverses, but I’ve never been as stunned as I am right now. Even if I died the very next instant, I would still feel that it would all have been worth it.”

“Daolord Darknorth, we won’t bother you any further.”

“We’ll leave now.” The Emperors still felt a mixture of reverence and fear. Right now, they were even more nervous when facing Daolord Darknorth than they had been when facing Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King.

Ning simply smiled, watching as the Emperors all departed.

Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Daoist Bluestone, and a number of others all flew over. The others all felt rather nervous, but Hegemon Brightshore had always been on very good terms with Ning. As a result, he felt a bit more relaxed. His ancient eyes were filled with a look of amazement, and he let out a sigh: “Darknorth, after seeing your sword… I still feel panic in my heart.”

“I didn’t want to draw my sword,” Ning said. “But the Lonely King was protected by Sithe artifacts. If I didn’t draw my sword, I wouldn’t be able to kill him. Using my weapons and exerting my energy will result in my truesoul crumbling even faster.”

“Correct.” Hegemon Brightshore nodded. “From now on, you should avoid fighting whenever possible. Your sword-arts truly are dazzling to behold! A pity that we won’t be able to see it too many times in the future.”

“You win some, you lose some. All you can do is meet it with a calm heart,” Ning said with a smile.

“Darknorth?” Daoist Bluestone smiled. “You said that you had to draw your sword if you wanted to kill the Lonely King. Are you saying that you wouldn’t even need to draw your sword to deal with us?”

Ning nodded. “Correct.”

“You might not need to draw your sword, but you’d still need to use up a bit of energy to deal with us,” Emperor Goldisle said with a chortle. “So it’s best if you don’t just go crazy and start killing everyone, Daolord Darknorth.”

“Goldisle, I won’t go crazy anytime soon, but… generally speaking, I should be able to kill my foes just by activating the might of my Dao. There’s no need for me to actually use up any of my divine power or Immortal energy,” Ning said. If one didn’t use one’s weapons, divine power, or Immortal energy, the amount of power that one could summon simply from the might of his Dao itself was quite low.

But… Ning’s Dao was the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and it represented the true prime essence of the Dao of the Sword itself! The domain generated by his Dao might not be able to kill the likes of the Lonely King, nor would it be enough to kill Otherverse Lords who were protected by the prime essences of their own otherverses, but it was more than capable of killing ordinary Hegemons. Ning wouldn’t need to use up any of his own power at all.

“You…!” A sour look appeared on Goldisle’s face. “Can’t you let us save just a tiny bit of face?”

“Haha, enough chit-chat. I need to go speak with Windgrace and the Icepeak Army,” Ning said.

“Right. We’ll head off then.”

“If there’s anything you need, just send word. We’ll definitely help out.”

“We’re off.” The supreme powers of the Flamedragon Realmverse began to leave, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

In truth, by now they were able to guess that the reason why Ning was so strong was most likely due to him being in control of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. But… he had also failed the Daomerge. There was no doubt about that.

“What a true pity. A peerless major power is going to slowly fade away, and there’s nothing anyone can do.” Hegemon Windrain sighed.

“We won’t be able to see his dazzling sword-arts many more times in the future. It will eventually become nothing more than a myth,” Hegemon Netherlily said.

……

Ning simply stood there. It was for Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army to come meet him.

“Daolord Darknorth.” A look of shock was in Realmslord Windgrace’s eyes, and he actually bowed slightly. “I truly am stunned by the sword-arts I just saw. The Autarchs might be powerful, but their power comes from their Daobirth, where ‘one Dao births many Daos’. As far as the pure Dao of the Sword goes… you, Daolord Darknorth, are number one in all the Chaosverse. I was a bit too arrogant when I came and asked for the Flamewing God; I’d like to ask you to pardon me. If there’s anything you need, just let me know. If you wish to punish me for my impertinence, I’m willing to accept it.”

Ning nodded. No one had ever gained eternity for an Omega Dao in all of history; he was the first. That meant he was naturally the first to be the master of an Eternal Omega Sword Dao. He truly was the number one master of the sword in the entire history of the Chaosverse!

“Windgrace. Icepeak Army.” Ning’s gaze turned to the nearby members of the Icepeak Army. The three Gold Emperors and the many Black Emperors of the Icepeak Army all felt very nervous.

“Respectful greetings, Daolord Darknorth. We truly are ashamed to have offended you by our actions, and we too are willing to accept any punishment you may mete out. Now that you have slain the Lonely King, we actually feel a sense of gratitude in our hearts,” Lord Wulf said respectfully. “Myself, brother Wei, and brother Solefinger, along with the many Black Emperors under our command… although we gained the power of Gold Emperors and Black Emperors and became much more powerful, we lost something as well. Our lives fell under the complete control of the Lonely King, and we have never dared to oppose his commands. Now that you have slain the Lonely King, we have finally been released.”

Ning nodded. “I won’t punish any of you… but there is something I need you all to do for me.”

“Please tell us what you need, Daolord Darknorth.” The three generals and the many Black Emperors all respectfully awaited Ning’s orders.

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Chapter 4 – Searching For Nuwa

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 4 – Searching For Nuwa

“I wish to find a female cultivator,” Ji Ning said.

“Find a female cultivator?” The three generals and the Black Emperors were all rather puzzled, as was the nearby Realmslord Windgrace. They all knew that Ning had trained for a fairly brief period of time and hadn’t travelled to many places; it should be easy for him to find a female cultivator. There was no need to send the entire Icepeak Army to carry out a task like this.

“Her name is Nuwa,” Ning said. “She hasn’t trained for very long either, and she should be incredibly talented. She might be a Daolord, but she might also have become an Eternal Emperor. She is most likely located in a place which is extremely far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse.”

Ning hadn’t visited too many places, but he had accumulated records on all the Daolords and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. There had been no records of Nuwa at all!

Clearly, ever since Nuwa left the Three Realms she had never again appeared within the territory of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. After Ning had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he had reached an inconceivably high level of insight. He was now in control of one of the prime essences of the Chaosverse, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. In other words, he now had a vague understanding of how the entire Chaosverse itself functioned, giving him a greater degree of insight into fate! Mother Nuwa and Ning were connected to each other by karma, because the very first step Ning had taken as a mortal… was to study the [Nuwa Painting]!

After Ning had completed and mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he was able to sense through the whispers of fate that Nuwa was still alive in an extremely remote part of the Chaosverse!

“Nuwa?” The three generals, Realmslord Windgrace, and the Black Emperors all revealed puzzled expressions.

“None of you have heard of her?” Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed when he saw the looks on their faces. Realmslord Windgrace had many friends but was permanently stationed in the Hiddenfiend Realmverse; it wasn’t surprising that he hadn’t heard of Nuwa. The Icepeak Army, however, roved the Chaosverse and visited many places. Ning had thought that they might have heard of her, especially since Ning felt certain that Nuwa’s level of talent must have led her to accomplish great things!

It must be remembered that when the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld collided, that represented the smashing together of two Autarch-level godgems. In the resulting battle, Nuwa had broken through to the World level! Karmic luck had descended upon her, resulting in a great deal of the essence fragments of the Autarch’s godgems to swirl around her as well.

It was incredibly rare and marvelous for a cultivator to break through to the World level without any guidance whatsoever. Even Ning had merely been at the Elder God/Ancestral Immortal level when he left the Three Realms. True, Ning had only trained for a fairly brief period of time… but Mother Nuwa was definitely in a class of her own during the ‘Primordial Era’ of the Pangu Chaosworld. She had definitely surpassed the Three Sovereigns, Tathagata, Three Purities, and Subhuti, and she was the unquestioned leader of the Nuwa Alliance. By now, even Subhuti and Windfiend had fused multiple Supreme Daos together. Ning felt certain that Nuwa wouldn’t be inferior to any of them.

That meant that Nuwa would probably be quite famous in the region she was currently in! If the Icepeak Army had visited her region, it was highly likely that they would’ve heard mention of the name ‘Nuwa’.

“Haven’t heard of her.” Lord Wulf shook his head, then turned and barked, “Have any of you heard of a ‘Nuwa’ before?”

“No.”

“We’ve roamed through many places, but we’ve never heard of a powerful female cultivator named Nuwa.”

“Haven’t heard of her.” They all shook their heads.

Ning turned to look at Realmslord Windgrace, who immediately shook his head. “I haven’t heard of her either. Daolord Darknorth, the Icepeak Army has visited many places. If even they haven’t heard of her, she’s not going to be easy to find.”

Ning frowned. “Nuwa has only trained for a short period of time; perhaps she isn’t well-known yet. Icepeak Army, the mission I have for you is for you to ride realmships to one realmverse after another. Spread the word on my behalf! Say that I, Daolord Darknorth, am searching for a female cultivator named ‘Nuwa’. She should have only been training for roughly a hundred chaos cycles of ‘normal’ time. You can also make it known that I, Daolord Darknorth, will owe a debt to the first person to find Nuwa for me. I can use treasures to pay off my debt, but I can also help deal with someone… such as the Lonely King, who I slew!”

“This…” Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army were shocked. This offer was a crazy one. The Lonely King had been an incredible figure in the Chaosverse, a mighty ruler in his sector. Daolord Darknorth’s promise was definitely enough to drive many major powers wild with excitement.

A favor from Daolord Darknorth was definitely something worth having!

“Hurry up and spread the word to as many realmverses as you can. This is the only task I have for you,” Ning said. “Once I find Nuwa, you’ll gain your freedom. If I cannot find her, then you’ll be released from this oath after I die and my Dao vanishes.”

“Very well.”

“Don’t worry, Daolord Darknorth.” The three generals and the Black Emperors all immediately agreed. This was an incredibly simple task; all they had to do was serve as a messenger! Daolord Darknorth wasn’t going to be around for much longer; at most, he’d survive for another thousand chaos cycles. This was quite easy. The Icepeak Army immediately swore the requisite lifeblood oaths.

“Go now. If anyone discovers Nuwa, they can immediately inform Windgrace. When he knows, I’ll know,” Ning said. In the end, he himself simply didn’t know enough people. Even if someone did locate Nuwa, it would be quite difficult for that person to find Ning. Windgrace, however, had a wide network of friends; it would be far easier for others to reach him.

“Understood.” The members of the Icepeak Army all assented to his order, then excitedly departed.

How could they not be excited? This wasn’t the calamitous punishment they had expected; in fact, it was a huge blessing in disguise! Now that the Lonely King was dead, their lives were their own again. They would truly be free once more. How many major powers were truly willing to serve as pawns and footsoldiers for another? Long ago, they had been weak and thus lusted after the power which becoming a Black Emperor or Gold Emperor would grant them, which was why they had gritted their teeth and accepted servitude.

Now? They didn’t lose any of the power they had gained, nor was their fate in the hands of another. They were all free. Wasn’t this a wonderful thing? And once they helped Daolord Darknorth locate ‘Nuwa’, they would become truly and perpetually free.

“Windgrace.” Ning looked at Windgrace. “You can probably guess what I need you to do.”

“A simple task. I’ll send the word out as widely as I can,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

“Good.” Ning nodded. “Sorry to trouble you, Realmslord.”

“Tis nothing at all.” Realmslord Windgrace secretly let out a sigh of relief as well. Daolord Darknorth truly was an easy-going person. Many cultivators in his position would behave much more ruthlessly! Given that Ning had already failed the Daomerge, no one would’ve been surprised if he had turned ruthless and chose to simply kill Windgrace. If that happened, Windgrace wouldn’t even have had a chance to feel regret! Thus, he had waited nervously for Ning’s judgment, not daring to argue in the slightest. But now, it seemed, Ning’s request was quite simple. All he had to do was to spread the word.

……

The story of the legendary battle which occurred after Daolord Darknorth’s attempted Daomerge was quickly spread by Realmslord Windgrace, the Hegemons and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, and the Icepeak Army. The latter rode realmships in every direction, spreading the news far and wide. As a result, word spread like a tempest!

Although the Chaosverse was so vast that spreading information was usually quite difficult, this particular bit of news was utterly astonishing, especially given how famous the Lonely King was. As a result, news truly did spread quite fast.

……

“Old man! Old man! A giant foot came crashing down through the clouds and slamming against the surface of an enormous planet, causing the earth to tremble. The towering figure to which the giant foot belonged continued to bellow, “Hurry up and wake up, you blind old man!”

“FUCK OFF!” a hoarse, ear-piercing voice rang out from deep underneath the earth.

“Hurry up and wake up! Something big just happened. Stop sleeping! This time, the towering figure stomped down on the ground using his two bare feet, causing the earth to shudder and shake.

“One day, I’m going to EAT you,” the hoarse, unpleasant voice said. A boom rang out, followed by the entire planet exploding as an ugly black bird appeared in its center. This bird had just a single eye, but the eye was shut. It looked rather like an owl, but it had a pair of extremely large black wings.

“I’ve got some good news for you, you blind old man! A while ago, the Lonely King sent the Icepeak Army after you and forced you into fleeing, right?” The speaker was an alien Hegemon dressed in simple armor and who had two furry heads. “The Lonely King died!”

“Why are you mentioning this again? I TOLD you to never… huh? Did you just say the Lonely King died?” The black avian let out a startled, ear-piercing screech.

“It’s true! Word has spread to our Fivebug Realmverses. You’re probably the only one who doesn’t know because you spend all your time sleeping!” the two-headed Hegemon said.

“How’d he die?” the black avian immediately asked. “Given how strong the Lonely King was, so long as he didn’t do anything suicidal there shouldn’t be anyone capable of killing him.”

“Heh heh heh… I have to tell you a story about someone truly remarkable named Daolord Darknorth.” The two-headed Hegemon immediately began to narrate the story.

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Chapter 5 – Arrangements

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 5 – Arrangements

In a different, incredibly distant part of the Chaosverse.

A vast layer of golden clouds could be seen here within the emptiness of space. Above the clouds, there were many divine palaces that emanated rays of golden light. The palaces were all connected together and emanated such incredible light that it illuminated the cosmos.

Within a side room inside the tallest, most towering palace. A white-winged man was standing by himself, staring into the endless darkness outside his window. He said calmly, “Demon Empress, why have you come here?”

Another person was within the room, a blood-winged woman with a single horn. She had a smile on her face that was filled with strange, beguiling charisma. “God Emperor Helong, we were once Dao-companions. Why must you be so heartless to me? For the sake of your Dao, of your [God Emperor’s Apocalypse], you were willing to give up even your Dao-companions. Even if you do succeed in becoming an Autarch, would it all be worth it?”

“Karma brought us into each other’s path, then took us away from each other. Our ties are ended,” God Emperor Helong said calmly. “No need to waste time on such nonsense. Why have you come here?”

“You’ve always thought of yourself as being an extraordinary figure,” the blood-winged woman smirked, “But have you heard of someone known as ‘Daolord Darknorth’?”

“Daolord Darknorth. A Daolord?” God Emperor Helong was puzzled.

“Hmph. I knew you wouldn’t know.” The blood-winged woman said, “While meeting with a few of my friends, I heard some interesting news. You should’ve heard of the Lonely King of the Icewind Army, yes?”

God Emperor Helong said coldly, “He was destroyed by his love and went insane. He’s not worth discussing.”

“But he was still fairly strong,” the blood-winged woman laughed. “Are you able to kill him?”

“He engaged in the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Golden Emperor, and is also protected by multiple Sithe war machines. I heard that he once destroyed an otherverse. I admit that he’s quite strong. Killing him would be very difficult… but someone like him, who purely focuses on power, will have a Dao-heart which is riddled with flaws,” God Emperor Helong said disdainfully.

“The Daolord Darknorth I just mentioned to you? He killed the Lonely King with just one swing of his sword,” the blood-winged woman said.

“Impossible!” God Emperor Helong’s face completely changed. “Impossible. There’s no way it could be done with one strike, and no way it could be done by a Daolord! One would at least have to have the power of a Sithe Exalt to accomplish this!”

The blood-winged woman said, “Let me finish. Daolord Darknorth is an incredibly talented figure, and he trains in one of the legendary Omega Daos. He convinced a Hegemon to follow him as a retainer, and also tamed a Chaos Primordial! Not long ago he finally attempted the Daomerge! Although he failed in the Daomerge, the failure allowed him to truly understand and comprehend the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and so he used just one strike of his sword to slay the Lonely King, who had come to take his Chaos Primordial from him. Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army were so terrified that they immediately moved to obey all his commands.”

“Eternal Omega Sword Dao?” God Emperor Helong was stunned.

“There’s always someone stronger than the strongest! Even in the cultivator civilizations, there are now those aside from the Autarchs who are more powerful than you, such as Daolord Darknorth.” The blood-winged woman smirked. “Do you still think you are all that extraordinary? You aren’t even close to being his equal.”

“An Omega Dao can actually be perfected into eternity?” A stunned look was in God Emperor Helong’s eyes. “Incredible, simply incredible. I truly am not a match for him. I, Helong, have only ever admired the Autarchs. Now, I also feel admiration for Daolord Darknorth.”

The woman was stunned. She had wanted to use the story of Daolord Darknorth to belittle the endlessly arrogant God Emperor. Who would’ve thought that Helong would immediately begin to feel admiration for Daolord Darknorth?

“If I could borrow his Eternal Omega Sword Dao and study from it, how wonderful that would be!” the God Emperor murmured softly, eagerness in his eyes.

“Stop dreaming. The Dao is not to be casually taught to others, and only Daolord Darknorth has ever successfully mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao! You can stop dreaming about it,” the woman mocked. However, she didn’t see any anger or frustration on God Emperor Helong’s face. This displeased her greatly, causing her to turn and leave. Still… at least she had achieved her goal of mocking the man.

……

The Twelve Palaces of Brightshore, especially the Sword Palace, were filled with just as many excited discussions as the outside world.

“I heard that our Palace Lord Darknorth has already been praised as the number one expert of the Endless Territories.”

Right. The Eternal Emperors all seem to be talking about this. Palace Lord Darknorth failed in the Daomerge, but he has actually reached an inconceivable level of power as a result of it. Even Hegemons are far beneath him!”

“Even Hegemons are far beneath him? How powerful must he be?!”

Although the Daolords of the Sword Palace didn’t really know the details or what the Icepeak Army was, there had been so many Emperors present watching the battle that details of it had quickly leaked. Thus, the Daolords all knew one thing – Daolord Darknorth might have failed the Daomerge, but he was so powerful that he surpassed even the Hegemons by a great amount. He was able to kill Hegemons with a flick of his wrist! This caused the countless Daolords to feel stunned, and the Daolords of the Sword Palace were especially proud.

“Even Hegemons are far beneath him?” The Universe treasure within Armaments Gorge, the broken sword, suddenly manifested a pink-robed woman above the sword. She was the sword’s spirit, and she couldn’t believe this news. “How can someone be more powerful than a Hegemon? Are we talking about that silly Daolord who visited me twice?”

“Hmph. Even if it’s true… so what? He failed his Daomerge, which means he will die soon,” the sword-spirit murmured to herself. “Besides… given how he asked me to join him last time, he probably still doesn’t have any Universe treasures. Hmph.”

……

The many major powers in the vast Chaosverse, including the Hegemons, the Emperors, and other incredibly famous ancient figures who were on par with Realmslord Windgrace and the Lonely King, were all stunned by the news they heard regarding this ‘Daolord Darknorth’.

The weaker ones were able to gain a general sense of how terrifying Daolord Darknorth was… but only the strongest ones truly understood what the ‘Eternal Omega Sword Dao’ truly represented! All of them knew that Daolord Darknorth was most likely second only to the Autarchs in all the parts of the Chaosverse ruled over by the cultivator civilizations! Even though he failed the Daomerge and his life would be brief as a result, no one would dare to challenge him so long as he was alive.

The legend of Daolord Darknorth only continued to grow… as did a second person’s name. ‘Nuwa’.

Daolord Darknorth was searching for a female cultivator called Nuwa. The first person to find her and send word of her to Daolord Darknorth would be owed a favor by the Daolord! Such a favor had tremendous uses and implications.

“Nuwa?”

“Have you heard of a powerful female cultivator named Nuwa?”

“An incredible Daolord or a powerful Hegemons? Never heard of her.”

“Based on what Daolord Darknorth has told us, Nuwa has probably only trained for a hundred chaos cycles or so. She can’t be all that strong. Maybe she’s already dead?”

“Impossible. Think about the level which Daolord Darknorth has reached; he’s second only to the Autarchs! How could he be mistaken about her being alive?”

News continued to spread.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse.

Rumors continued to bubble and froth in the outside world. By now, Vastheaven Palace had become something of a holy place, the most unique power in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.

Ning, however, was busy taking care of many things he had to handle.

Whoosh. Ning and his team rode the realmship into the Terror Starsea.

“Master?” Flamewing looked at Ning, puzzled.

“Here we are.” Ning stared up front.

“Here we are?” Hegemon Azurefiend stared towards the front as well, puzzled. The only thing in front of them was an area of jumbled primordial chaos. “There’s nothing in front of us.”

“A cave is hidden there,” Ning said with a laugh, “And it holds a world where my third disciple, Skywind, resides. I’ll go in first.” As he spoke, he took a single step forwards and disappeared from the realmship.

Ning’s mastery over the Dao of Spacetime was such that he was able to easily enter the cave within that hidden pocket of spacetime, while his sword-light was even more easily capable of cutting a hole into it.

“Same old cave.” Ning swept the area with his gaze. He saw the two Hegemon’s corpses as well as the Black Emperor’s corpse.

“Disciple.” Ning stared into the Black Emperor’s corpse. His gaze pierced through the dimensions, allowing him to see Daolord Skywind within a planet inside that corpse.

“I have several disciples… but you, alas, have the toughest destiny,” Ning sighed softly. His mastery over the Dao of Karma had long ago reached the Archon level. Now that he had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he was able to see even farther into the future.

The future was in a constant state of flux, but he was now able to see the vast majority of possible futures. Now that he had failed his Daomerge, he turned to focus on preparing things for his family and friends. As for the Three Realms, he had naturally spent even more effort there. He was searching for Nuwa for the sake of the Three Realms. As Ning saw it, Mother Nuwa had to be fairly powerful and was most likely capable of helping out and protecting it. Ning was planning to give the Sithe war machines he had acquired from the Lonely King over to Nuwa.

As for his disciples? His first disciple, Bluecliff Xiaoyu, lived a carefree life, but as a result she had accomplished the least. There was no need to discuss her.

His second disciple was ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding. Ning had engaged in some divinations on his behalf and had discovered that Yang Quding was a person of remarkable mental prowess. He would be able to solve even the most dangerous of problems, and he was surrounded by great luck. His future potential was virtually limitless; most likely, he would become the most accomplished of Ning’s disciples.

His third disciple was Skywind. Skywind was the best-suited to the Dao of the Sword, but he was stubborn and antisocial, and he was the most vicious of his peers. That stubborn, eccentric personality would bring him many problems. Ning had scried the future, and it appeared as though Skywind would be incredibly dazzling amongst the other Daolords of the Fourth Step, but he would be constantly surrounded by trouble. The ties of karma surrounding him indicated that he would actually fail his Daomerge without question.

This was much like how Emperor Waveshift had once divined that Ning would definitely fail the Daomerge.

His fourth disciple… to this very day, no one had acquired the legacy Ning had hidden, the legacy which would result in that person becoming Ning’s fourth disciple. Ning had the vague feeling that his fourth disciple would not be born for a long, long time.

His fifth and sixth disciples were both at Vastheaven Palace and so were blessed with many advantages. There was no need for Ning to worry about them.

“Skywind,” Ning murmured softly, “Everyone chooses their own paths in life. The only thing I can do to help you is this.”

Ning waved a finger. Countless streams of sword-light began to gather together, coming to form a formation. Ning placed some presents inside the formation, which had many illusions and other tempering techniques within them. It also included various techniques involving the Dao of the Sword, some spirit-fruits and treasures, as well as treasures which were unremarkable to Ning but which would be of tremendous help to Skywind.

“Of all my disciples, the one I worry about the most is you.” Ning shook his head slowly. “However… in the end, I’ll still have to eventually let go.”

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Chapter 6 – Nuwa’s Trail

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 6 – Nuwa’s Trail

There was a limit to how much longer he would live. He certainly wouldn’t be able to hold on until Skywind’s Daomerge.

The Lonely King had said that if Ji Ning was extremely careful, he’d be able to live a thousand chaos cycles… but in truth, Ning knew that his Eternal Omega Sword Dao was actually the same thing as the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, one of the prime essences of the Chaosverse. This Dao had a nurturing effect on his soul, which meant that the truesoul’s crumbling speed would be fairly slow.

Different Daos would have different effects. For example, those who trained in the Dao of Water would have stronger protective abilities and invulnerable forms. In turn, the destructive Daos such as the Dao of the Sword were superior in offensive power.

Different Daos had different strengths. Although the Eternal Omega Sword Dao was quite incredible, it still represented the Dao of the Sword and thus it didn’t have an exaggeratedly massive effect on the soul. Still, there was something else that was special about Ning – the azureflower mist energy! This was a very unique type of energy which Autarch Awakener, the master of the Azureflower Estate, had devised based on the cultivation methods of the Sithe race. It was a technique that allowed for divine power, Immortal energy, and heartforce to all be transformed into azureflower mist energy. It had marvelous effects on the truesoul and made it much stronger.

“If I can avoid using up my energy, I can live a maximum of eight thousand chaos cycles,” Ning mused. “But if I have to use my energy, my lifespan will dramatically lessen to just three or four chaos cycles.”

……

Ning spent the rest of his time in Vastheaven Palace training his students and fellow disciples. Every so often, he’d go roaming through the Three Realms.

While he wandered through the many chaosworlds of the Three Realms, Ning ended up choosing a seventh disciple. His seventh disciple was an Ancestral Immortal who had been known as ‘Grand Immortal Almonder’, and who had been a plant-spirit who had trained to the point of understanding the Dao.

It must be remembered that after such a long period of development, the Three Realms now had so many chaosworlds and experts that a single Ancestral Immortal truly didn’t count for much. Grand Immortal Almonder had a very eccentric personality who rather reminded Ning of his old friend, Patriarch Lu Dongbin… because the man loved to play matchmaker!

He tweaked events to ensure that lovers met with each other, and when he encountered people he didn’t like he would play all sorts of tricks on each other. In fact, he would sometimes make people he truly disliked end up attached to each other.

While wandering the Three Realms, Ning stumbled upon this ‘Grand Immortal Almonder’. He followed Almonder in secret, watching for some time. Almonder seemed to be eccentric and rather lazy when it came to cultivation. It seemed obvious to many that he would have no future prospects, which was why none of the Daolords or World-level cultivators of the Three Realms had taken him on as a disciple or had taught him.

However, Ning had the feeling that this ‘Grand Immortal Almonder’ was an extraordinary figure. When Ning scried his future, Ning came to understand that Almonder truly was a piece of unpolished jade. Given that Ning had slowly grown fond of the young fellow, Ning chose to take him on as a seventh disciple.

News that Daolord Darknorth had taken on a seventh disciple, ‘Grand Immortal Almonder’, stunned the Three Realms and caused quite a few Immortals and Fiendgods to stare blankly in confusion.

……

Ning lived a relaxed life, waiting for news of Nuwa.

Roughly 69 million years after Ning’s Daomerge attempt. Within an alternate universe.

A giant boulder was levitating within an empty patch of space. Two major powers were seated in the lotus position atop this boulder, drinking wine and making merry. The empty area around them was displaying images of various things occurring within this otherverse.

“Isn’t Daolord Darknorth just incredible?” the muscular man with tousled golden hair said with a sigh.

“He really is. If you didn’t tell me about him, I wouldn’t even know about it. I really cannot imagine that someone was able to kill the legendary Lonely King of the Icewind Army with just one blow of the sword. He truly is incredible.” The bald, red-robed Hegemon Goodsong nodded and sighed, “I was stunned when I heard this. I wish I was there to witness it all in person! Haha.”

“Haha, Daolord Darknorth is in the Flamedragon Realmverse. That place is way, way too far away from us. You’d have to travel through several incredibly vast stretches the Great Dark to get there. I’m surprised the news even made it this far. I’m an Otherverse Lord with quite a few friends, which is why I heard about this,” the muscular man said.

“It really is far.” The bald, red-robed man nodded. Some realmverses were fairly close to each other; realmships could allow you to travel between them in just a few tens of thousands of years. Others were hundreds of times farther away, separated by that endless darkness with no realmverses inside which many cultivators referred to as the Great Dark. To Emperors who weren’t willing to pay for travel via realmship, traversing the Great Dark would simply take too much time; tens of millions of chaos cycles, or even longer! Most weren’t willing to travel too far.

“Oh, right! There’s something I forgot to tell you. Daolord Darknorth is searching for someone called Nuwa.” The muscular man laughed. “He said that he would owe a favor to anyone who does find Nuwa. He’d be willing to hand over a treasure, or even help carry out a task… including a task like killing major powers on the level of the Lonely King.”

“Nuwa? Who is Nuwa?” Hegemon Goodsong asked.

“A female cultivator who supposedly has only trained for a hundred chaos cycles. Daolord Darknorth says that she’s probably an incredibly talented Daolord or an Eternal Emperor,” the muscular man said.

“Oh.” Hegemon Goodsong began to feel excited.

……

One hour later, the red-robed Hegemon Goodsong left the otherverse and reached another realmverse which was connected to the former via a spacetime tunnel. By now, he was no longer able to suppress his excitement.

“Nuwa? A female cultivator who has only trained for a hundred chaos cycles?” Hegemon Goodsong narrowed his eyes. “Last time, when I met with Patriarch Treewind of the Bluesky Realmverse, he brought a female disciple named ‘Nuwa’. Back then, he praised her multiple times and described her as being incredibly talented. She was just a Daolord of the Third Step back then; I wonder how she is doing now.”

“I’ll go and take a look. She’s probably the person Daolord Darknorth of the Flamedragon Realmverse is searching for.” Hegemon Goodsong immediately went off to go hire a realmship.

……

Realmship owners generally charged the same for a hundred million year flight as they would a hundred thousand year flight. They were only hired every so often, after all; they had to make the most of it. Thus, this trip ‘merely’ cost Hegemon Goodsong roughly 30% of his networth. Although he felt sorrow over the cost, it was within the limits of what he could accept.

“Hegemon Goodsong, we just reached the Bluesky Realmverse.”

“Wait for me here as I go test out the information I heard.”

“Don’t worry. It only took me three million years to get here; I’ll fly you around until the hundred million years are up.” The Hegemon in command of the realmship was quite relaxed; to earn so much treasure in exchange for merely a hundred million years of his time was an absolute steal.

Hegemon Goodwong went off searching. Soon, he found Patriarch Treewind’s residence. A handsome young disciple was in front of Patriarch Treewind’s tree palace, and this disciple respectfully welcomed Hegemon Goodsong inside.

“Hegemon, the Patriach has gone off on a trip to the Blazesun Domain,” the disciple said respectfully. “His avatar has left this place to go meet with the avatars of his friends to ensure that they are in constant contact. Almost all of them have gone off to the Blazesun Domain.”

“The Blazesun Domain? Your Patriarch is quite bold. Where is that female disciple of his, ‘Nuwa’?” Hegemon Goodsong immediately asked.

“Senior apprentice-sister Nuwa?” The youth was startled. He immediately responded. “Don’t you know? Half a chaos cycle ago, she completed her Daomerge and became a Hegemon. It was her recommendation that they visit the Blazesun Domain. After the Patriarch and the other major powers agreed, they joined together to accompany her there.”

“She became a Hegemon?” Hegemon Goodsong’s eyes bulged out. “But she’s so young! She hasn’t been training for too long, has she?”

“Senior apprentice-sister Nuwa’s experiences have been extraordinary. Supposedly, the Patriarch discovered her in the Blazesun Domain and brought her back here,” the disciple said. “I’ve only known her for around a hundred chaos cycles.”

“A hundred chaos cycles?” Hegemon Goodsong felt a sense of excitement. He asked curiously, “You say that she was discovered in the Blazesun Domain?” This was new to him.

“Yes. Many people know this. For her to appear there means that she probably has an extraordinary background. She truly is a monstrously talented figure. She became a Hegemon in just a hundred chaos cycles! This is unbelievable even to me,” the disciple said.

The more Hegemon Goodsong heard, the more excited he became. This was right, this was definitely right. The legendary Daolord Darknorth said that Nuwa was either an incredible Daolord or had succeeded in the Daomerge. No wonder he had spoken with such certainty! Nuwa truly was incredible… but Daolord Darknorth was even more incredible. He had killed the Lonely King as if the latter was just a chicken, which meant that in the cultivator civilizations he was second only to the Autarchs.

“I was right. She’s the one. She’s an incredible figure, but Daolord Darknorth is even more incredible. There’s no way this could all be a coincidence. It has to be her!” Hegemon Goodsong mused silently, “And she actually came from the Blazesun Domain. It seems that she and Daolord Darknorth must know each other.”

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Chapter 7 – First Mention of Darknorth

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 7 – First Mention of Darknorth

After verifying that Nuwa of the Bluesky Realmverse was indeed the same person Daolord Darknorth was seeking, Hegemon Goodsong felt both delight and nervousness. “I need to hurry up and notify Realmslord Windgrace of this. If I’m too slow, someone else might report it ahead of me! Ugh… we’re incredibly far away from Realmslord Windgrace’s territory. It won’t be easy to get this information over to him.”

The Bluesky Realmverse was indescribably far away from Realmslord Windgrace’s ‘Hiddenfiend Realmverse’. Even though word of Ji Ning and his request had spread like wildfire, it had still taken sixty million years before Hegemon Goodsong had found out and then been the first to locate Nuwa. If he had to fly over to the Hiddenfiend Realmverse via realmship, just passing through the numerous special zones of the Chaosverse which lay between them would probably take several billion years! This was probably more than enough time for another major power to also discover Nuwa and then notify Windgrace.

“Realmslord Windgrace is quite famous. He rendered incredible merits during the Dawn War and has been taught by numerous Autarchs,” Hegemon Goodsong mused. “He’s even able to contact the legendary Autarch Titanos. Grand Emperor Skydeep is the closest person to the Bluesky Domain who is also able to contact Autarch Titanos. I should be able to quickly notify Realmslord Windgrace through him.”

“Grand Emperor Skydeep… I need to hurry up and go visit him.” Hegemon Windgrace used his hired realmship to hurry towards Grand Emperor Skydeep’s residence.

……

Contacting an Autarch was an extremely difficult task. All of them were mysterious and hard to locate; most Hegemons were incapable of reaching out to them. The only one who permanently resided in his own estate was Autarch Titanos, who was the easiest one to contact. However, even then the only ones who were able to reach out to him were supremely powerful figures who were favored by the Autarch due to having rendered great merits in the past! For example, even though Ji Ning had met Autarch Titanos in person, he didn’t have any way to reach out to the Autarch.

The Lonely King was extremely strong, but he still wasn’t able to contact Autarch Titanos. If he wished to do so, he would have to ask other major powers to send word on his behalf.

Only those who had rendered truly great accomplishments in the past, such as Realmslord Windgrace, Grand Emperor Skydeep, or God Emperor Helong were able to reach the Autarch. But of course, even then they would only reach out to the Autarch’s personal disciples! That was equivalent to reaching the Autarch himself.

In the end, there were very, very few people who had rendered great enough deeds that they gained access to an Autarch.

Hegemon Goodsong had to fly for over fifty million years before reaching God Emperor Skydeep’s abode! In contrast, the Flamedragon Realmverse was much farther away; it would’ve taken him billions of years to reach it.

And so, roughly 120 million years after Ning had made his Daomerge attempt, Hegemon Goodsong managed to send word to Realmslord Windgrace via Grand Emperor Skydeep.

……

In truth, roughly 90 million years after Ning’s Daomerge attempt, word of ‘Daolord Darknoth slaying the Lonely King with one strike of the sword’ and ‘Daolord Darknorth is searching for Nuwa’ had already finally made its way to the Bluesky Realmverse, and thus to Nuwa in the Blazesun Domain.

Within the Blazesun Domain.

Rumble… a series of explosions could be heard coming from that distant, blazing star as countless flaming meteors continuously blasted out from its surface.

A silvery-white ship was flying through the void with five figures within it. All five had extraordinary auras, with the most extraordinary auras belonging to an old man and a young man. The old man had long, fiery red hair, a stooped body, and was dressed in robes made out of fiery leaves. He had a fiery tree branch growing out of his head as well. This was the awesome, legendary Patriarch Treewind.

As for the young man, he looked extraordinarily cold and remote. He was dressed in beautiful robes, and he was known as Imperator Jade Rainbow. He was the only person in this squad who was the equal of Patriarch Treewind. For him to style himself as ‘Imperator’ rather than merely ‘Emperor’ was a testament to his arrogance and self-confidence… but right now, his eyes were filled with smoldering rage.

“Our luck has been terrible. We fought for so long and that otherverse was almost in our grasp… but we ended up being ambushed by Palegrace and an entire host of Hegemons. This pisses me off.” A furry alien youth let out a low growl, his entire body crackling with fiery power. He was a Hegemon as well.

“Master.” A woman was located right next to Patriarch Treewind. She was dressed in unusual green robes which were also covered with leaves, but her leaves were all green. Her master’s robes were covered in red leaves. She was incredibly beautiful, and when she smiled anyone who saw her would feel their hearts grow peaceful.

“If we lost, we lost. We ran into that otherverse by accident anyhow,” Nuwa said with a laugh. “Besides, an extra otherverse wouldn’t make much of a difference to our upcoming explorations.”

“Agreed.” Patriarch Treewind nodded slowly. “Although it was disappointing and frustrating, to see an otherverse be stolen from right in front of us, Nuwa is right. Brother Jade Rainbow and I already have otherverses, while Nuwa has a Sithe weapon. This otherverse wouldn’t have made too much of a difference to us. We’ve joined forces to enter the Blazesun Domain, and our true goal is the Sithe armory Nuwa spoke of! That otherverse was nothing more than something on the side.”

“Forget it.” The dazzlingly handsome Imperator Jade Rainbow still had a cold look on his face as he snorted, “I’ll spare that stupid bitch Palegrace this time. Next time I see her, I’ll teach her a lesson. Nuwa, how far are we from the Sithe armory?”

“When I discovered that Sithe armory, I was still just a World-level cultivator,” Nuwa said. “I was lucky enough to somehow survive, but I only have a vague idea of where it was located. Based on what I know, we should be fairly close to it now.”

Nuwa had appeared in the Blazesun Domain as a World-level cultivator. Back then, she had discovered a Sithe armory but was too weak to fully obtain it. She had barely managed to drag away a single treasure, then had immediately fled. She had nearly died on multiple dangerous occasions before eventually running into Patriarch Treewind, who had taken her on as his disciple. He had led her out of the deadly Blazesun Territory and over to the Bluesky Domain.

Nuwa had never truly understood what the ‘Sithe armory’ she had discovered truly represented. Only when she became a Daolord of the Fourth Step did she understand, but she didn’t dare to make it public. Only when she succeeded in her Daomerge and became a Hegemon did she mention it, electing to invite a large number of Hegemons to join forces and search for those treasures.

“Eh?” Imperator Jade Rainbow suddenly revealed a look of shock as his face actually turned pale.

“What’s wrong, brother Jade Rainbow?” Patriarch Treewind was rather surprised. What could have happened, for the perpetually cold and arrogant Imperator Jade Rainbow to lose control of his emotions like that?

“Something huge just happened.” Imperator Jade Rainbow was no longer as cold and grim as he usually was. Even his voice was rather shaky.

“Something huge?” Nuwa listened with curiosity. She had trained for the shortest period of time out of the five, and she was filled with great admiration towards Imperator Jade Rainbow, who was as strong as her master. Without question, he was an incredible figure.

“Old man Treewind, you know the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army?” the Imperator asked.

“I know of him.” Patriarch Treewind nodded.

“He’s dead.” Imperator Jade Rainbow said somberly, “He was killed by a single sword-strike from a terrifying person known as Daolord Darknorth.”

“What?!” Patriarch Treewind revealed a look of shock. “How is that possible?”

“Wait, there’s more. I don’t know the full details yet. Give me a moment,” the Imperator said. His Primaltwin was in another extremely distant place, and it was chatting with some other major powers about Daolord Darknorth. Eventually, the Imperator was given the full story… and then he heard that Daolord Darknorth was searching for Nuwa.

“Huh?!” Imperator Jade Rainbow turned to stare at Nuwa in astonishment.

Nuwa blinked, puzzled at the look on the Imperator’s face as he stared at her.

“What’s going on, brother Jade Rainbow? What’s the story behind Daolord Darknorth? The Lonely King used the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Golden Emperor; his body was tougher than even yours, and he was protected by multiple Sithe war machines. Most likely, the only cultivators capable of killing him in one blow are the legendary Autarchs.”

“Daolord Darknorth is very powerful.” Imperator Jade Rainbow stared at Nuwa as he continued to speak: “Based on what my friends have deduced, he has most likely managed to master the Eternal Omega Dao of the Sword! He’s at an unfathomable level of might. The Lonely King died before even being able to react to that single sword-strike from him.”

Patriarch Treewind was stunned upon hearing this.

“Darknorth?” Nuwa had never heard this name before, but for some reason she had the vague feeling that he was connected to her in some way. It was as though some blurry lines of karma were linking them together. Alas, Nuwa’s skill in the Dao of Karma simply wasn’t strong enough for her to fully investigate every single karmic thread attached to her… but she was still able to at least sense it.

“He’s been publicly acclaimed to be second to only the Autarchs amongst the cultivators of the Chaosverse. He’s so powerful that he can wipe the two of us out with just a wave of his hand.” Imperator Jade Rainbow stared at Nuwa. “And… he’s currently looking for a cultivator named Nuwa.”

“Nuwa?” Patriarch Treewind and the other two Hegemons all turned to look. Now, all four of them were staring at Nuwa.

“He said that Nuwa is an incredibly talented female cultivator who has probably trained for roughly a hundred chaos cycles. He said that she is either a freakishly powerful Daolord or possibly an Eternal Emperor.” Imperator Jade Rainbow stared intently at Nuwa.

“That’s a huge coincidence.” All of them were stunned by this. As for Nuwa herself, she didn’t say anything, but a puzzled look appeared in her eyes.

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Chapter 8 – One Last Thing

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 8 – One Last Thing

Who was this ‘Daolord Darknorth’? She definitely didn’t know him… but how could he possibly know that she had trained for roughly a hundred chaos cycles? She had encountered many profound encounters; when factoring in temporal acceleration, the actual amount of time she had spent training was far longer than just a hundred chaos cycles. And yet, it was true that she had only spent a hundred chaos cycles of ‘normal’ time in training!

“Daolord Darknorth is incredibly talented,” Imperator Jade Rainbow continued, “And based on what I know, he should have trained for roughly the same length of time as you have, Nuwa! Unfortunately, he failed his Daomerge. He must have immediately mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao after failing the Daomerge. His sword-arts are unequalled throughout the entire Chaosverse. Nuwa, he knows you and has trained for roughly the same length of time as you. Do you know him?”

Nuwa frowned slightly.

“Nuwa,” the nearby Patriarch Treewind asked hurriedly, “Do you know Daolord Darknorth or not?”

“I’ve never heard of him. There’s no way I can be mistaken about this. None of the old friends I used to know were named ‘Darknorth’.” Nuwa slowly shook her head.

“Odd.” Patriarch Treewind was puzzled. “Is it possible that the ‘Nuwa’ he is looking for is someone else?”

“There are countless beings with same names, but the chances are very low that there is a second person who just so happens to be Nuwa who is also incredibly talented and has trained for just a hundred chaos cycles.” Imperator Jade Rainbow was puzzled as well. “Is it possible that this really is just a crazy coincidence? Is there really a second incredibly talented female cultivator named ‘Nuwa’ out there?”

Nuwa pondered silently to herself. She had the strange feeling that the person this ‘Daolord Darknorth’ was searching for was her, even though they had never met before. “Daolord Darknorth… who is he?” Nuwa mused to herself.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse was indescribably far away from the Blazesun Domain. A white-robed Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop a solitary mountain within Vastheaven Palace. In front of him was a table, while the red-robed Su Youji was by his side, pouring his wine.

Ning gulped down one cup of wine after another, a hint of a smile on his lips as he analyzed the boulders placed in front of him. Some were jagged, some were slick, and some had plants growing next to them. There was even a little bug that was clambering up a plant quite slowly, even though it was furiously working its tiny little claws.

“Haha…” Ning watched as the beetle managed to climb atop one of the leaves. Its weight caused the leaf to droop downwards, resulting in the beetle falling back down to the ground again. Ning couldn’t help but laugh when he saw this.

“Master, you seem to be quite happy just watching the bugs.” Su Youji continuously poured wine for Ning.

Ning smiled as he pointed at the bug. “Bugs need to fight for food and mates. Their lives are short, but spectacular. Ordinary mortals might live for a bit longer, but they generally only last a hundred years. I seem to have been sitting here drinking some wine for quite a long period of time.”

“Master, you’ve already been drinking wine here for exactly 32,822 years,” Su Youji said.

“Oh.” Ning laughed. “I’m a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. All the Eternal Emperors sigh at how short my life will be, but I still have thousands of chaos cycles left. I have far, far more time than those bugs or those ordinary mortals. Hell, ordinary chaosworlds rise and fall within the span of a single chaos cycles. If you look at it from that perspective, I actually have a lot of time left. I wonder, though… will I be able to last long enough to find any word of Nuwa?”

“You definitely will, Master,” Su Youji said hurriedly.

“Mm.” Ning nodded. Ever since he had failed the Daomerge, he had focused his efforts on making preparations for the people he cared about. He had mostly finished his preparations for his disciples; the rest would be up to them. Success or failure, life or death… it would all be based on their own efforts. As the saying goes, the master can show the way, but the student must walk it himself.

Right now, Ning still worried about the Three Realms more than anything else! This was because the Three Realms held his parents, his daughter, his master, his fellow disciples, and many of his good friends. It was also his homeland!

“The final task I have is to find a good protector for the Three Realms.” In the past, he had borne this burden by himself. Alas, he didn’t have much time left. Ning was entrusting all of his hopes to Nuwa.

If he couldn’t find Nuwa, he was entirely capable of forcing a few major powers to swear lifeblood oaths to protect the Three Realms! However, someone who was doing something willingly would be far more effective than someone who was acting out of compulsion. There was a limit to how effective a compulsory lifeblood oath would be; the best solution was for him to find someone who truly cared about the Three Realms and would be willing to sacrifice for it.

Ning trusted Nuwa. She had once been the true leader of the Three Realms, with the Three Sovereigns, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, and the others all serving by her side. This was a testament to her personal charisma.

Whoosh. Ning could sense a ripple manifesting outside. He turned to stare, his gaze piercing through the dimensional walls and allowing him to see a streak of azure light descending into the emptiness of space outside the Vastheaven Everworld. Realmslord Windgrace had arrived via the Blacksun!

“Daolord Darknorth.” Realmslord Windgrace quickly arrived at Vastheaven Palace. He descended, then walked over to face Ning.

“Sit,” Ning said calmly.

“Daolord Darknorth, we’ve found Nuwa,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

Ning’s eyes instantly shone with utterly dazzling light. The entire world around him seemed to have been bathed in infinite joy, and even Realmslord Windgrace couldn’t help but be caught up by it.

“Where is she?” Ning asked.

“She’s currently in the Blazesun Domain, but she was previously living in a realmverse,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “That realmverse is extremely far away from us. It’s actually fairly close to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse! Its name is the Bluesky Realmverse.”

“It’s fairly close to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse?” Ning was rather surprised. His will was connected to the incomparably distant prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, and thus he knew just how incredibly far away it was.

Realmslord Windgrace nodded. “Oh, right. Nuwa is a Hegemon of the Bluesky Realmverse. She recently succeeded in her Daomerge and gained Hegemony, and is the disciple of Patriarch Treewind. She’s only trained for a hundred chaos cycles, yet has already reached Hegemony; in terms of talent, she is probably second only to you yourself!”

Ning felt even more excited upon hearing this. Nuwa had become a Hegemon after training for just a hundred chaos cycles! This had to be her! And she was a Hegemon? That meant she would be capable of truly protecting the Three Realms. Weaker cultivators weren’t capable of using the Sithe weapons Ning had acquired from the Lonely King.

“Why is she all the way over there?” Ning was puzzled. He immediately asked, “Do you know anything about her?”

“I heard that she first appeared in the Blazesun Domain, all by herself. She experienced many dangers before being discovered by Patriarch Treewind, who accepted her as his disciple. Thus, she’s technically a foreigner and not native to the Bluesky Realmverse,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

“A foreigner?” Ning now felt absolutely certain it was her… and his subconscious was whispering the same. She was Mother Nuwa of the Three Realms!

“You said she is currently in the Blazesun Domain?” Ning frowned. “Why is she in the Blazesun Domain?”

“I heard that she is accompanying Patriarch Treewind and several other major powers in an alliance to explore its depths,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “I heard this information from someone named Hegemon Goodsong.”

Ning frowned. “The Blazesun Domain… that’s one of the Eight Domains next to the place where the prime essences of the Chaosverse are located.”

The prime essences of the Chaosverse were located in a marvelous place known as the Quintessence. You couldn’t simply find them through normal means; not even Hegemons or Otherverse Lords were able to locate them by simple ‘searching’. The Quintessence was the font for all things in spacetime, and it resided in the very core of the Chaosverse itself. Only those who were at a sufficiently high level of enlightenment would be able to find them! Autarchs were able to locate the Quintessence, but Hegemons were not. Ever since Ning had taken control over the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, he knew that he too would be able to discover the location of the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

The land of the prime essences… the Quintessence was a truly marvelous place, capable of giving birth to Chaos Primordials, Sourcewalkers, and many other living beings.

Chaos Primordials were born as gluttonous wanderers. They would slowly drift away into the vast Chaosverse, making it quite rare for someone to encounter one… but Sourcewalkers were different. They were highly intelligent and thus generally preferred to stay in the general vicinity of the prime essences! The region around the prime essences would be naturally blessed with an incredible density of treasures, and every so often even armories of Sithe weapons left over from the Dawn War would appear, as well as otherverses.

The eight domains around the Quintessence with the highest concentration of treasures were all incredibly famous. Ning had never been there before, but he had heard of them long ago.

“If Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, and the others have joined forces, they should be able to keep themselves safe,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “According to the legends, those eight domains are incredibly dangerous to us but of no danger at all to the Autarchs. I imagine they should be of no danger to you either, Daolord Darknorth.”

“Agreed.” Ning nodded. “If Nuwa is at the Blazesun Domain, then I’ll go pay it a visit.”

“The Blazesun Domain is far too distant from us. It’ll take you several billion years to get there by realmship,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Although my Blacksun is able to tear open spacetime tunnels and allows for instantaneous transportation, there’s a limit to what it can do. The farther the tunnel must stretch, the greater a cost must be paid… and at a certain point, it just can’t stretch any farther.”

“I understand.” Ning smiled. “If that wasn’t the case, the Sithe would’ve been able to spread out throughout the Chaosverse without any limitations.”

“If it takes a few billion years, it takes a few billion years. Doesn’t really matter.” Ning was in a superb mood. He had found Nuwa and had discovered that she was a Hegemon! This absolutely delighted Ning. He now had a chance to bring a final resolution to the last thing he was worried about.

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Chapter 9 – Travelling Together

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 9 – Travelling Together

At the peak of that solitary mountain. Ji Ning and Realmslord Windgrace remained seated facing each other, while Su Youji poured their wine.

“Master,” Su Youji suddenly said.

“Hm?” Ning turned to look at her.

“I’m going to go with you on this trip to the Blazesun Domain,” Su Youji said hurriedly. She knew that since Ning had failed the Daomerge, there was a limit to how much longer his lifespan would be. He might end up in a battle, resulting in his lifespan depleting even more quickly. She wanted to accompany Ning in his final days for as long as she could.

Ning hesitated for a moment. He knew what Su Youji was thinking. In the end, he nodded: “Very well. However, you need to stay with me and listen to my orders.”

Su Youji immediately smiled radiantly. “Alright.”

“Daolord Darknorth, shall I use the Blacksun to help speed you on the first part of your journey?” Realmslord Windgrace was rather hesitant.

“If you poured in all the treasures you own, how far would you be able to send me via the Blacksun?” Ning said with a laugh.

“Tearing through space consumes an enormous amount of energy! The Hiddenfiend Realmverse is fairly close to the Flamedragon Realmverse, which makes things easy for me. But if I did that a few hundred times, I’d completely use up all of my treasures,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

Ning was surprised: “A few hundred times? Not bad! You live up to your reputation, Realmslord Windgrace. I didn’t realize you had that much treasure.”

“I probably don’t have as much as you, Daolord Darknorth,” Realmslord Windgrace said with a laugh. “The Lonely King plundered his way through the Chaosverse. He had many foes, but he also had many more treasures than I do.”

Ning admitted to it. The Lonely King had an entire army pillaging on his behalf, and had killed three Otherverse Lords. He had also acquired a complete Sithe armory… and now, all of it belonged to Ning.

“In other words, even if you used up all your treasures on the Blacksun, it’d only save me less than a hundred million years of flight time via realmship.” Ning shook his head. “This trip to the Blazesun Domain will take billions of years. Saving a bit of time won’t be of much use.”

His lifespan was limited, but it was still calculated in chaos cycles. ‘Short’ was relative to the lifespans of Eternal Emperors and Daolords!

“Thank you, Daolord Darknorth,” Realmslord Windgrace said gratefully. He couldn’t help but feel rather nervous before Ning, who was capable of killing him with ease. He previously had designs on Ning’s Flamewing God, after all!

……

The next day, Ning led Flamewing, Hegemon Azurefiend, Protector Whitethaw, and Su Youji in boarding his realmship and departing from the Flamedragon Realmverse. They were heading off to the distant Blazesun Domain.

Within the endless Great Dark. Hegemon Azurefiend was helping to steer the realmship. There were two ways to ensure that a realmship could continue to proceed at incredible speeds. The first was to use chaos jewels to replenish it’s power; the second was to have a Hegemonic figure use his Immortal energy to keep it activated! This journey would last billions of years, and they’d be travelling every day. It would be quite hard to come up with enough chaos jewels to meet the consumption need.

Hegemons, however, could constantly replenish their Immortal ki and were completely capable of restoring it at a rate which surpassed what the realmship used up.

“Thank goodness we have Azurefiend.” Ning stood there, staring into the endless Great Dark.

“Haha.” Azurefiend squeezed an exaggerated smile onto his withered, gnarly old face. “It is my honor and my blessing to be able to serve the almighty Daolord Darknorth. Other Hegemons would beg for this opportunity on their knees, to no avail. O, almighty Daolord Darknorth, if you were willing to give me just a few pointers, I would benefit endlessly from your wisdom.”

“Knock it off,” Ning said with a light groan.

“Heh heh heh,” Azurefiend snickered.

“Your smile looks ugly as all hell,” Flamewing said, casting a sidelong glance at Azurefiend while eating.

Azurefiend’s old face tightened as he pointed at Flamewing: “You glutton, it’s none of your business if I wish to flatter my master!”

“What’s that?” Flamewing glared at him. “Azurefiend, you wanna go outside the ship and have a little sparring competition?”

“I’m just kidding with you!” Azurefiend immediately shifted tacts and smiled ingratiatingly at Flamewing. By now, everyone had known each other for quite some time. At the beginning, Azurefiend would never have dared to jest with Flamewing like this. By now, they were just teasing each other. Everyone understood everyone else.

Su Youji smiled as she watched from nearby. As for Whitethaw, he stood by Ning’s side with that honest look on his face as always.

“Enough. I’ll give you some guidance on our way over. Focus on controlling the realmship,” Ning said. His mastery over the Eternal Omega Sword Dao had allowed him to reach a brand new level. All other Daos instantly seemed so much simpler to Ning! Ning’s insights into the other Daos were continually increasing. He didn’t have to train like crazy; all he had to do was spend the occasional period of time in meditation, and he would begin to skyrocket in his understanding of those Daos.

It must be remembered that Autarch Bolin, as a Hegemon, had to spend an extremely long period of time before managing to upgrade all those other Daos to the Hegemonic level. Ning was now far more powerful than Autarch Bolin had been as a Hegemon, and it could be said that there was now only a small difference in insight between himself and the Autarchs.

The Autarchs were born off the principle of ‘One Dao Births Many Daos’. Ning, in contrast, was a pure ruler of the Dao of the Sword. In terms of the Sword Dao, he was the absolute number one expert in all the Chaosverse. Given enough time, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to reach Hegemony in the Dao of Water, the Dao of Lightning, the Dao of Formations, and his other Daos. Alas, there was a limit to how long he would be alive for and thus there was no way he could study the other Daos as he pleased.

“Don’t worry, Master,” Azurefiend chortled. By now, he also addressed Ning as ‘Master’, and even he didn’t notice the change. Ning was simply so powerful that Azurefiend no longer felt the slightest bit of pride when facing Ning. All he felt was a sense of submission. By now, there were probably many Hegemons who would be willing to serve him. A casual bit of tutelage from Ning would represent an enormous karmic blessing for those Hegemons.

……

Time flowed on. More than 3.9 billion years went past in the blink of an eye. Ning had acquired a detailed star map from the treasures he had taken from the deceased Lonely King, and he had also gotten another star map from Realmslord Windgrace. Although it was impossible for anyone to fully map out the entire Chaosverse, he now had fairly complete records on most of the places cultivators had visited.

On this journey, Ning had continuously used the Dao of Numerancy to divine the most appropriate paths forward, as well as the safest route through some places with distorted spacetime. This allowed them to easily pass through even the most dangerous of environments.

“Master! Master!” Azurefiend said hurriedly, “The Squaremix Realmverse is up ahead. That’s the place Hegemon Goodsong asked to meet with us. He should be in the ‘Grand Void Canyon’ of the Squaremix Realmverse.”

“Hegemon Goodsong?” Ning nodded slowly. “He informed me of Nuwa’s location. I owe him a debt and should go repay it.”

“Hmph. I’m sure he wouldn’t dare to ask for too much,” Azurefiend said with a cold snort.

“If he does, I’ll eat him!” Flamewing called out, his mouth covered with grease.

“Enough, you two. Pipe down,” Ning said. “Let’s go meet Hegemon Goodsong.”

Swoosh. Just a short while later, the realmship arrived in the ‘Grand Void Canyon’ of the Squaremix Realmverse. This was a very unique place with distorted spacetime that came together in layers, forming an enormous spatial canyon that could be seen with the naked eye. The depths of the canyon led to another mysterious realm that was filled with tremendous danger. This was a place that had been created during the Dawn War, and the depths of the canyon were filled with many relics. However, by now Ning didn’t care about such relics or legacies.

“Here they come.” A bald, red-robed man was standing directly above the Grand Void Canyon, scanning the area anxiously. Moments later, a spacetime rift appeared and a realmship came sailing out of it. The red-robed man was overjoyed and immediately flew over to welcome them.

Several figures came flying out of the realmship. The leader was a white-robed youth who had a black sheath on his back. Others could dimly sense that his truesoul was slowly but surely fragmenting apart, generating unique ripples as the fragments disappeared into the void. Next to him was the furry Sithe Protector Whitethaw, as well as a peerlessly beautiful woman. There was also a skinny, shriveled old man and a fatty who was holding onto a haunch of meat.

The fatty was Flamewing. It was a born glutton who was capable of devouring entire realmverses with ease. It truly did have a terrifying appetite… and it suddenly glanced sideways at the bald, red-robed man.

“Eek!” The red-robed man instantly quivered as his subconscious screamed to him that he was in terrible danger. He knew that the fat man was the legendary Chaos Primordial which Daolord Darknorth had tamed, a creature which could kill Hegemons like him with ease.

However, Hegemon Goodsong also knew that the most terrifying member of this team wasn’t the Chaos Primordial. Rather, it was the harmless-looking white-robed youth standing in front of him.

“Goodsong greets you, Daolord Darknorth.” Hegemon Goodsong bowed respectfully, not daring to show the slightest bit of disrespect.

“I have to thank you, Hegemon Goodsong. Thanks to you, I finally know where Nuwa is. If I didn’t find her, I would probably harbor regrets until the day of my death.” Ning smiled. “I promised long ago that I would owe a favor to the first person to help me locate her. What do you wish of me, Hegemon Goodsong? I’ll do anything I’m capable of doing.”

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Chapter 10 – Request

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 10 – Request

Hegemon Goodsong instantly began to grow nervous. The moment of truth had come! He had spared no expense and even hired a realmship, all for the sake of this favor! If Daolord Darknorth hadn’t been willing to offer anything at all, it wouldn’t matter how strong he was; no one would’ve been willing to work so hard for him!

However, Hegemon Goodsong couldn’t help but feel nervous. He was worried that his request would be too excessive and anger Daolord Darknorth.

In the end, a favor was just that; a favor. If Hegemon Goodsong asked Ji Ning to do something that would result in Ning’s truesoul crumbling even faster, Ning would probably refuse immediately. Thus, there was a limit to what he could ask for. Hegemon Goodsong himself was rather nervous, but he had long ago decided on what he needed. He felt certain that Daolord Darknorth wouldn’t attack him.

“Daolord Darknorth,” Hegemon Goodsong said respectfully, “I reached the level of Hegemony long ago, longer than even I can remember. I have many friends, and a good number have become Otherverse Lords! But I remain a mere Hegemon, unable to improve in power.”

Ning continued to listen.

“Daolord, as you know, we are quite close to the Eight Domains. Although Hegemons are quite powerful, there are also many people here who are stronger than Hegemons,” Hegemon Goodsong said sadly.

Ning had to agree. This was a place that was completely unlike the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance he resided in. The Eight Domains… they were closer to the prime essences of the realmverse than any other place. Aside from the prime essences themselves, which were almost impossible to find, the Eight Domains represented the most central region of the entire Chaosverse! It was filled with countless treasures and experts, which was the major powers of neighboring realmverses would often go exploring and adventuring within them. Many major powers had died in the Eight Domains, but some would successfully acquire the treasures they sought.

Every so often, an otherverse would appear within the Eight Domains, as would Sithe weapons and other things. Even Nuwa, who had merely been at the World level, had somehow reached the Blazesun Domain from the Three Realms, then stumbled across a Sithe weapon there. The Blazesun Domain was one of the Eight Domains, and it truly was a special place.

In comparison, the Flamedragon Realmverse was extremely far away from the prime essences. It could be viewed as something of a peripheral backwater, a place where very few Otherverse Lords resided. It was simply too far away from the core!

“So what are you asking for exactly?” Ning said.

Hegemon Goodsong gritted his teeth. “Daolord, I wish to increase my power to the Otherverse Lord level!”

“Hah! You actually dared to make a request like this?” The nearby Hegemon Azurefiend let out a cold snicker. “Generally speaking, there are three ways in which one can reach the Otherverse Lord level of power via external methods. The first is to take control of an otherverse! However, the appearance of every single otherverse will result in a frenzied struggle and competition that is far more cruel than you can imagine. The second is to obtain a ‘Golden Emperor form’ and to use it via the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Golden Emperor… but do you know how rare and valuable those things are? Even the Lonely King chose to transform himself into a Golden Emperor. Who the hell are you and why do you think you deserve one?”

“The final method is to acquire extremely powerful Sithe weapons that can let you unleash the power of an Otherverse Lord. Some Sithe weapons are strong, some are weak. A Sithe weapon that will increase your power to the Otherverse Lord level is probably going to be just as valuable as a Golden Emperor form!”

Ning frowned as well. Could he accomplish this? He could! The Lonely King had a total of six extremely powerful Sithe weapons, but he himself normally only used three of them. The most valuable of the six was the silver throne, which could create illusory dopplegangers and allow one to flee by warping through spacetime. It could also build up power to unleash an attack that was so terrifying it could destroy an entire otherverse.

The other Sithe weapons were a bit weaker, but they were still enough to raise a Hegemon to the Otherverse Lord level of power… but Ning was planning to give them to Nuwa and the Three Realms.

“I’m a cultivator. My only goal is to increase my personal power as much as I can. Aside from this, there truly is nothing else that I need.” Hegemon Goodsong looked at Ning.

Ning was silent for a long moment, then said: “Otherverses are blessings that can only be hoped for, not counted on. I can’t just find one for you! Sithe weapons… although I have some, I already have plans for them. As for Golden Emperor forms, I don’t have any.” The Lonely King had long ago used up all of the Golden Emperor forms he had acquired.

“Daolord Darknorth, you might not have one… but someone nearby known as Divine Sovereign Goldsun does,” Hegemon Goodsong suddenly said.

“Divine Sovereign Goldsun?” Ning frowned.

“Are you asking my master to go and get it from him?” Azurefiend stared.

“If Daolord Darknorth went to ask for a Golden Emperor form, I imagine Divine Sovereign Goldsun wouldn’t dare to decline,” Hegemon Goodsong said.

Ning began to ponder on this. Although the star map which Realmslord Windgrace had provided Ning was fairly incomplete, it did record information about the supreme powers of various regions.

The Sixteen Realmverses Alliance was something of a backwater, but the area around the Eight Domains could be considered part of the core of the Chaosverse. Experts were incredibly common here, and the people who were able to become local rulers were all extraordinary. Divine Sovereign Goldsun was someone who was unquestionably as powerful as the Lonely King. If the Lonely King could be described as a madman, then Divine Sovereign Goldsun was like an emperor who had unified this entire region under his rule.

Divine Sovereign Goldsun controlled a total of eight nearby realmverses. He himself was an Otherverse Lord, and he also had acquired Sithe armories in the past! He had once bestowed two Golden Emperor forms to his subordinate Hegemons, and had promised that anyone who had rendered great merits would be given one as well.

“You are quite daring,” Ning said. “But aren’t you afraid that Divine Sovereign Goldsun would come for you later?”

“No.” A frenzied look appeared in Hegemon Goldsun’s eyes. “Once I become a Golden Emperor, it’ll be very hard for anyone to kill me. I have no kith or kin who can be used against me, and I’ll be far more powerful than I was in the past. What do I have to fear?”

“Very well.” Ning nodded. “I owe you a favor. I’ll go pay Divine Sovereign Goldsun a visit.” As Ning saw it, visiting the Divine Sovereign might end up being a good thing.

“Let me lead the way!” Hegemon Goodsong was delighted. It was incredibly difficult for a Hegemon to increase another level in power. For the sake of becoming more powerful, many Hegemons would be willing to risk their lives. Alas, very few would have a chance like this. Hegemon Goodsong had successfully grasped his!

……

It took them more than five million years to fly from the Squaremix Realmverse to the Goldsun Realmverse, the central region of Divine Sovereign Goldsun’s rule.

Whoosh. Before them was an enormous flaming star that was emanating endless amounts of heat and light. The surface of this fiery star was actually covered with many beautiful palaces. This was the Goldsun Palace of Divine Sovereign Goldsun, and there were more than ten Hegemons who resided here! There were also two Golden Emperors and sixteen Black Emperors.

“This flaming star is actually a marvelous Sithe weapon as well,” the white-robed Ning evaluated as he stared at the star. They had used the realmship to warp through spacetime and come to this place. “The formations covering this entire cluster of palaces is quite abstruse and profound. It won’t be easy to attack this place.”

“But it would be nothing for you, Daolord Darknorth,” Hegemon Goodsong flattered.

“Come, let us go meet with Divine Sovereign Goldsun. I’m quite curious about him.” Ning had a rather favorable impression of Divine Sovereign Goldsun, as the man was truly committed to the Dao. He clearly had access to Golden Emperor forms, but he didn’t undergo the Ritual Sacrificium; from this, one could see that he was still committed to attempting to become an Autarch.

Whoosh. Ning immediately flew out towards the surface of the fiery star with Su Youji, Whitethaw, and the others by his side. Right as they landed…

“Halt!” A loud shout rang out, followed by an onyx humanoid flying over in a fierce manner. When he saw Ning’s group, he barked, “This place is the Goldsun Palace. Trespass is not permitted!” As a guard of the Goldsun Palace, he had long ago grown accustomed to behaving arrogantly in carrying out his duties.

“Hmph.” Flamewing let out a cold snort. Its aura flared malevolently, causing the guard to instantly feel a terrifying sense of danger.

“Send word to Divine Sovereign Goldsun. Tell him that Daolord Darknorth has come to visit him.” Ning smiled.

“Daolord Darknorth has come to visit him?” The guard stared blankly for a moment. In the next moment, his face turned completely ashen. When he thought of the many rumors swirling around this man, his voice began to quiver as he said respectfully, “Please wait a moment, Daolord Darknorth. I’ll go send word right now.”

Ning nodded, and the guard instantly flew off.

“Master, why are you so courteous to him? Just fly right on in. I’d like to see what Divine Sovereign Goldsun would do about it!” Hegemon Azurefiend said.

“I already have an overwhelming advantage in power. There’s no need to use it to bully others.” Ning shook his head.

……

Within the Goldsun Palace. Divine Sovereign Goldsun was being waited upon by two female attendants. He held a jade slip in his hands and was viewing and meditating upon it.

“Divine Sovereign! Divine Sovereign!” A frantic cry came from outside as the Black Emperor guard came rushing into the room.

“Hrm?” A hint of annoyance could be seen in Divine Sovereign Goldsun’s eyes as he glanced at the guard. The Divine Sovereign was someone who cared tremendously about propriety and status. He naturally felt rather irritated that this guard actually dared to barge into his private meditation room.

“Divine Sovereign, Daolord Darknorth has arrived!” the guard called out frantically.

Divine Sovereign Goldsun snapped, “And so what if Daolord Da-… eh? Did you say Daolord Darknorth?” His face instantly turned ashen, and his heart began to quiver. He naturally didn’t feel the slightest bit of pride or arrogance when faced with someone who could slay him with ease. In fact, he felt a hint of terror. Why had Daolord Darknorth suddenly come to visit him without any preamble? Could it be that Daolord Darknorth had come to kill him and take his treasures?

“Where is he?” Divine Sovereign Goldsun could feel that his heart was shaking.

“He’s right outside the palace gates,” the guard said.

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Chapter 11 – Houwu City

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 11 – Houwu City

“You WHAT? You actually had Daolord Darknorth wait outside the palace gates?” Divine Sovereign Goldsun instantly cast the guard a furious glare as he hurriedly rose to his feet. Swoosh! He instantly disappeared without a trace.

Ji Ning, Su Youji, Whitethaw, the Flamewing God, Azurefiend, and Hegemon Goodsong were all waiting outside the gates to the Goldsun Palace.

Swish! A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was the beautifully dressed Divine Sovereign Goldsun. His face was now covered with smiles. As soon as he saw Ning, he could immediately sense that this Daolord whose truesoul was slowly splintering apart had to be the legendary Daolord Darknorth! This was because Divine Sovereign Goldsun could sense that unique aura emanating from this white-robed youth, an aura that was profounder than profound.

This aura actually had a whiff of the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword itself. Ning wasn’t trying to hide his aura, but even so ordinary Hegemons would not be capable of detecting it. Divine Sovereign Goldsun was focused on becoming an Autarch and had trained for many years. He had reached an extremely high level of power and had gained tremendous insight into many different Daos. As a result, his senses were even more acute than the likes of God Emperor Helong.

“Goldsun greets you, Daolord Darknorth.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun instantly bowed respectfully, then said with a smile, “I never would’ve imagined that you’d come to visit me. I’m absolutely overwhelmed and delighted.”

“I’ve come here because there’s something I need to trouble you about, Divine Sovereign,” Ning said.

“Please come in first. We can discuss it shortly,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said hurriedly. “If there’s anything I can help you out with, I’ll do everything I can. Daolord Darknorth, please come in.”

Ning followed him inside. Su Youji and Whitethaw followed from behind, with Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Hegemon Goodsong bringing up the rear. Hegemon Goodsong felt particularly delighted, while Flamewing gave Divine Sovereign Goldsun a provocative stare.

“What a savage, bloodthirsty aura! It is probably just as strong as I am. This should be that legendary Chaos Primordial.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun glanced at Flamewing as well, but continued to warmly guide Ning deeper into his estate.

He had long ago ordered for his subordinates to prepare a banquet. A feast had been laid out at the main hall of the Goldsun Palace, with many servants and maids all waiting to serve them.

Ning and Goldsun sat down in the lotus position in the highest seats. Divine Sovereign Goldsun intentionally set his table slightly lower than Ning’s.

“I’ve heard of your illustrious name long ago, Daolord Darknorth. I’ve always admired you, but I live too far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse. I’ve regretted being unable to visit you, but today you’ve overwhelmed me with delight by coming to visit my Goldsun Palace instead.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun smiled. “Come, come! Let us share a few toasts first. I wish to celebrate your visit to my palace.”

The other major powers of Goldsun Palace all raised their cups in unison as well. Ning smiled and lifted his own cup, downing it on the spot.

“Mm. Fine wine,” Ning couldn’t help but speak out in praise. When he drank the wine, he felt as though a ball of fire was going all the way down his throat into his belly. The tremendous heat instantly filled his entire body to the point where he felt it was going to burst out of his skin. Moments later, a cool and refreshing feeling spread out from his stomach and encompassed his entire body. This alternating process of heat and cool resulted in him feeling as though his body had just undergone a baptism of sorts, almost as though it had been transformed and remade.

“This is a special product of the Goldsun Palace, the ‘Triflame Jewel Brew’. I have quite a bit of it stockpiled away in my palace. If you like it, Daolord, you can take some with you and enjoy it in the future as well,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said with a laugh. He knew very well that he had to be extremely careful when dealing with someone like Daolord Darknorth, who now stood at the very apex of power in the cultivator civilizations… and who had failed his Daomerge! The slightest bit of discourtesy could result in irreversible repercussions.

Ning smiled and said, “Then I’ll accept some. Divine Sovereign Goldsun, I’ve come because there is something I need to bother you about.”

“Pray tell, Daolord,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said hurriedly. The entire room turned silent, with Hegemon Goodsong listening the most attentively.

Ning waved his hand, causing a storage bracelet to appear. He handed it over and said, “I wish to use some of the treasures within this estate-world to trade for a Golden Emperor form from you, Divine Ruler.” Ning had quite a few treasures by now. He had looted the Jadefire Realm clean and had stripped the Lonely King of all his treasures. Ning had left behind the ones he thought would be of great use to the Three Realms, then chose some other rare materials that were of limited use to him right now. There were around ten or so which, all combined, were more or less equal in value to a Golden Emperor form.

“Is that it? A Golden Emperor form? Daolord, for you to visit me in person and show such courtesy shows that you hold me in esteem. How could I possibly be so stingy as to hold back a Golden Emperor form from you?” Divine Sovereign Goldsun waved his hand as he spoke, causing a head-sized ball of golden liquid to immediately fly out. This golden liquid was shaped like a perfect globe, and it was covered by a layer of continuously flowing light. It seemed quite mysterious.

“As for your treasures, Daolord, I don’t need them.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said hurriedly, “This Golden Emperor form is my gift to you, Daolord.”

He was able to bestow these things to even his subordinates. To him, a Golden Emperor form actually wasn’t all that valuable. He cared far more about the Sithe weapons he used to keep himself safe. He actually felt relieved that Daolord Darknorth had merely asked for a Golden Emperor form; the loss wouldn’t have any impact on his own personal power.

Ning waved his hand to accept the golden globe of liquid, then smiled: “Go ahead and take it.” The storage bracelet continued to hover in front of Divine Sovereign Goldsun.

“Umm…” Divine Sovereign Goldsun hesitated for a moment, then said, “Daolord Darknorth, there really isn’t any need for you to give me the treasures inside this bracelet. I have cultivated for many years and have many treasures; a few more really won’t make any difference to me. But… Daolord Darknorth, would you be willing to perhaps give me some guidance?”

The Dao was not to be casually transmitted to others. Divine Sovereign Goldsun didn’t dare to ask Ning to actually transmit the Eternal Omega Sword Dao to him; all he asked for was some guidance.

Ning nodded. “Very well. I’ll give you three days worth of guidance in order to repay you.”

……

Within a vast hallway, Divine Sovereign Goldsun manifested a pair of wings and wielded a semi-translucent saber in each of his two hands. The sabers were as thin as the wings of a cicada.

Ning stood off in the distance, facing him. A single streak of sword-light manifested in the air between them. This sword-light was generated from the external manifestation of the aura of the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. Unless absolutely necessary, Ning wouldn’t use any of his own divine power or Immortal energy.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword-light danced in a ghostly, dream-like manner, almost like moonlight playing across the darkness. Divine Sovereign Goldsun fought with tremendous savagery and in an extraordinarily dominating style, but faced with Ning’s sword-arts his stances became filled with countless flaws. Each time, Ning was able to break apart his attacks with ease.

Whoosh. The sword-light came to a halt right in front of Divine Sovereign Goldsun’s forehead, causing him to awkwardly halt his attacks.

“I lost again.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun shook his head and sighed. “I always thought that my saber-arts were impressive. I’ve never suffered such catastrophic losses after becoming a Hegemon.”

He had been completely outclassed in a battle of technique! Autarchs could do this as well, but Autarchs couldn’t be bothered to guide him. Generally speaking, they would only provide a bit of guidance to figures who they liked AND who had rendered great merits.

By now, there were countless Hegemons who deeply desired to be given a bit of guidance by the peerless Daolord who had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, but this required luck and karma. Divine Sovereign Goldsun had decisively rejected any treasures and instead asked for guidance from Ning.

“These past three days have been more helpful to me than the past ten million chaos cycles of solitary training. I now realize that my saber-arts are actually flawed in many ways.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said gratefully, “Thank you, Daolord Darknorth.”

“Since the three days have come to an end, it is time for me to leave,” Ning said.

After spending three days with Ning, Divine Sovereign Goldsun no longer felt as much fear as he had in the past. He now had the feeling that Ning was quite easy-going. He said warmly, “Daolord Darknorth… dare I ask, have you come here from the distant Flamedragon Realmverse because you are searching for Nuwa?”

“Yes.” Ning didn’t deny it. Word of his search for Nuwa had long ago spread to countless places.

“If you wish to find Nuwa, I should be able to help out a bit,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said with a laugh.

“You can help out?” Ning was surprised.

“Daolord Darknorth, you are probably aware that Nuwa is currently accompanying her master, Patriarch Treewind, and other major powers in a journey through the Blazesun Domain,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said. “But… you probably don’t know that Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, and the others are currently within the city of Houwu in the Blazesun Domain.”

Ning’s eyes lit up when he heard this. The city of Houwu? The Blazesun Domain was enormous; it would actually be quite tricky to locate Nuwa within it. He had been planning to first locate Nuwa and Patriarch Treewind’s avatars, then find them in person.

“Haha, I have a bit of a reputation in the area around the Blazesun Domain,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said with a laugh. “I’m kept quite up to date with news in this area, and I’m good friends with Lord Houwu. All I need to do is send word to Lord Houwu and ask him to inform Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa and have them wait for you in Houwu City! That way, you can just meet them there and save yourself some trouble.”

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Chapter 12 – Blazesun Domain

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 12 – Blazesun Domain

“They are currently at Houwu City?” Ji Ning was delighted. This really would make things much simpler.

“I received this information just a short while ago. Usually, cultivators will spend an extended period of time resting at Houwu City once they reach it. Let me reach out to Lord Houwu once more.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun immediately sent out his godsense to contact with one of his subordinates: “Help me immediately contact Lord Houwu and ask if Nuwa and Patriarch Treewind are still at Houwu City. If they are there, I would like to ask Lord Houwu to keep them here! Tell them that Daolord Darknorth will be arriving in around twenty million years and wishes to meet Nuwa.”

“Yes, Divine Sovereign.” This Hegemon servant of his had a Primaltwin in the distant city of Houwu.

……

Houwu City. Within the Blazesun Domain.

Houwu City was an enormous levitating city that saw several estates sprinkled throughout the city. Very few cultivators came here; generally speaking, only Eternal Emperors would ever dare to come here.

“Haha…” Loud laughter rang out, followed by a green-robed elder and two retainers flying into the skies above an estate.

“Brother Treewind! Brother Jade Rainbow!” the green-robed elder called out loudly, his voice shaking the entire estate. Soon, a total of five figures came flying out from within the estate, including Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and Nuwa.

“Lord Governor, why have you come to our residence? If there’s anything you need from us, all you needed to do was send word.” Patriarch Treewind and the others were all quite courteous, and they hurriedly moved to welcome their guest.

The green-robed elder chortled as he turned his gaze towards Nuwa: “I come on important business, after all. This must be Nuwa?”

Nuwa said, “Nuwa greets you, Lord Governor.”

“Impressive, truly impressive. You were able to complete the Daomerge and reach Hegemony in just a hundred chaos cycles,” the green-robed elder praised. “No wonder Daolord Darknorth has come to seek you out.”

“You praise me too much. I made use of temporal acceleration treasures when I trained. My actual amount of time spent cultivating was far more than a hundred chaos cycles,” Nuwa said with a smile.

“Mm.” The green-robed elder said, “I’ve come to help Daolord Darknorth send you a message.”

“Help Daolord Darknorth send a message?” Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, and Imperator Jade Rainbow were all stunned.

“Daolord Darknorth has sent word to me via Divine Sovereign Goldsun. He hopes that you will remain at Houwu City, because he’ll be arriving soon. Daolord Darknorth shall be descending upon Houwu City in person in twenty million years to meet with you, Nuwa.” The green-robed elder looked at Nuwa and smiled. “Nuwa, congratulations. Countless Hegemons and Emperors desperately desire to have a chance to meet with Daolord Darknorth, but never will. For you, however, Daolord Darknorth has flown all the way here from the incredibly distant Flamedragon Realmverse. It seems that he views you as being incredibly important! Haha, even I can’t help but envy you, Nuwa. If I need to ask for your help in the future, I hope you won’t refuse me.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to assist you.” Nuwa was rather puzzled. “I’m embarrassed to admit this, but… I don’t believe Daolord Darknorth and I know each other.”

“Haha, if you don’t know each other, why would he go to such great lengths to meet with you? I imagine you’ll know who he is once he actually arrives.” The green-robed elder continued, “Alright, I’ve already conveyed his message. Just wait for him here in Houwu City; you’ll only need to pause for a few tens of millions of years! Also… please don’t make things difficult for me. Since Daolord Darknorth asked for me to keep you here, I wouldn’t dare to let you leave.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll wait at Houwu City for Daolord Darknorth,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said immediately.

“Good!” Lord Houwu smiled and nodded. “I’m off, then.” Patriarch Treeind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and Nuwa all watched as Lord Houwu left.

“It seems we have to stay here for a time,” Patriarch Treewind said with a chuckle. “If we tried to leave, Lord Houwu would probably trap us here by force.”

“Hmph.” Imperator Jade Rainbow smiled coldly. “Lord Houwu has always been an arrogant and overbearing bully. He only spoke to us with courtesy for the sake of Daolord Darknorth. He wouldn’t dare to refuse to convey Daolord Darknorth’s message.”

“We were planning to hide in Houwu City for a time anyhow,” Patriarch Treewind said. “Let’s make use of this opportunity to meet with the legendary Daolord Darknorth. Nuwa, when that happens I might need to ask you to say a few words on my behalf.”

Nuwa said self-deprecatingly, “I still have no clue who this Daolord Darknorth really is.”

“Don’t be impatient. A mere twenty million years will go by like nothing. You’ll know soon enough,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said.

……

Time flowed on. Ning’s team left the Goldsun Palace and began to advance through the endless Great Dark. After a total of over twenty million years, they finally reached the Blazesun Domain.

Whooosh. Endless flames were flying through this entire region, as were blazing rocks. In front of them was an incredibly vast and dazzling realmverse which was filled with planets and stars that all looked like giant balls of fire.

“The Eight Domains.” Hegemon Goodsong was dressed in red robes, and his entire body gleamed like gold. He smiled and immediately began to introduce the place: “In the vast Chaosverse, there are many sacred places which are formed by the convergence of certain types of energy! This place is the closest region to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse, and it is divided into eight incredibly marvelous domains. The Blazesun Domain is filled with the power of countless flames.

Ning nodded while the nearby Azurefiend said, “The ‘Icewind Sea’ we visited in the past was a place which was formed from a convergence of freezing energy that was roughly comparable to a territory in size! The Blazesun Domain, however, is unfathomably vaster in size and scope than the Icewind Sea. It is one of the Eight Domains, the most supreme of sacred lands, and it is comparable in size to more than half of a realmverse.”

The Icewind Sea was an ‘ordinary’ sacred land, while the Eight Domains were the most supreme sacred lands of the entire Chaosverse. All sorts of unique living beings had gathered here, including Sourcewalkers, the occasional Chaos Primordials, and more.

“Daolord,” Hegemon Goodsong said warmly, “There are two ways for us to travel into Houwu City. The first way is fairly safe; it involves us avoiding many dangerous locations, and it’ll take us tens of millions of years to get there. The other method is to just blaze our way straight through. We might run into quite a great deal of danger in doing so, but we’ll only need five hundred thousand years or so.”

“We’ll go straight through,” Ning said.

“Right on!” Hegemon Goodsong continued hurriedly, “We might encounter some danger when going straight through, but I should be able to resolve any dangers myself. If we encounter something really serious, we can then have the Flamewing God intervene as well. There should be no need for you to personally intervene, Daolord.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. Goodsong was now a Golden Emperor; between him and the Flamewing God, the vast majority of dangers could be easily resolved.

Whoosh. The realmship flew straight into the Blazesun Domain, charging towards Houwu City at maximum speed.

The Blazesun Domain was a place where an incredibly vast amount of flaming energy congregated. Its vast size actually gave it superior stability, resulting in it being a world unto itself. It was filled with fire, but there are also places with earth, water, stone, and more. There were many empty pockets of space where the temperature was a bit higher than in ‘normal’ realmverses, but Celestial Immortals and Empyrean Gods would still be able to survive.

The more stable a region was, the more hospitable for life it would generally be.

But of course, the Blazesun Domain also had some incredibly dangerous places within it, places which were far deadlier than the Icewind Sea. The Icewind Sea merely had two Sourcewalkers in it; the Blazesun Domain had far more! However, they were scattered throughout the entire domain, making chances of running into them quite low.

……

Whoosh. A dark-red river could be seen surging through the emptiness of space, stretching off into infinity. This dark-red river had to be many millions of kilometers long, and it emanated an aura of endless heat. Every so often, a few serpentine beings could be seen swimming through the river.

“Gwaaaaar!” A long black serpent lifted its head and half of its enormous body above the surface of the river, focusing its flaming gaze on Ning’s realmship, which was advancing through the region at high speeds. Its eyes were filled with malevolence, and it raised its serpentine head high as it let out an earth-shaking roar.

The roar actually generated a ripple of power that caused space around it to twist and distort. Instantly, additional giant blackflame serpents lifted their heads up as well. Cultivators were actually trespassing here? They were courting death!

The environment here was extremely inhospitable to ordinary life. There was no way to warp through spacetime here, and so Ning’s group had to physically fly through this region. If they wanted to avoid it, they would have to take a detour that would last millions of years.

“Blackflame River has dozens of these giant blackflame serpents living within it. All of them are unique creatures born from the Quintessence of the Chaosverse, but only three of them have reached the Otherverse Lord level of power. Most of the others are Hegemons; they are of little danger,” Hegemon Goodsong immediately explained. “Once Flamewing appears, they’ll be so terrified that they won’t dare to move.”

“Mm.” Ning said, “Flamewing, go out with Goodsong and give these little black snakes a good scare.”

“Heh heh heh… they look delicious, actually.” Flamewing immediately flew out of the realmship, letting out an excited howl as it transformed into its true form. Bathed in flames, the Flamewing God flapped its giant wings and immediately swooped down towards the nearest blackflame serpent. Clearly, Flamewing enjoyed being in the fiery environment of the Blazesun Domain. Being here excited it, and as a result it moved with such incredible speeds that the giant blackflame serpent was terrified. Its malevolent aura vanished and it immediately moved to flee… but how could it possibly escape?

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Chapter 13 – They Finally Meet

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 13 – They Finally Meet

Crunch! The Flamewing God’s giant maw came crunching down upon the blackflame serpent. As Flamewing began to chew, the blackflame serpent’s writhing body suddenly began to erupt with flames. Soon, it became burnt to ash.

This sight completely terrified the other blackflame serpents in the flaming river.

“Chaos Primordial, hurry up and leave our territory!” an exceptionally large blackflame serpent roared furiously, but it didn’t step forward. It knew that perhaps the only members of the race who would survive a fight against Flamewing would be him and the other two leaders. The others were completely incapable of battling against a Chaos Primordial. If an actual battle erupted, they would simply be throwing their lives away.

“Grrr…” Flamewing let out a loud and smug growl.

“Impressive. If I tried to go up by myself, I’d definitely be surrounded by them,” Hegemon Goodsong said enviously. Flamewing had a virtually indestructible body and possessed incredible speed; surrounding it was useless. Most likely, only Sithe Exalts would be able to effectively surround and threaten it.

“Let’s leave.” Seeing this, Ning knew that the blackflame serpents would no longer try to bar their path.

……

With Hegemon Goodsong and the Flamewing God clearing a path for them, their journey was simple and uneventful. Ning didn’t need to intervene a single time.

They did encounter several unique and bizarre types of lifeforms, all of whom were birthed from within the Quintessence of the Chaosverse! The most powerful creatures birthed from the prime essences were the Chaos Primordials and the Sourcewalkers, but both were incredibly rare. Chaos Primordials were born with immense power, while Sourcewalkers were a bit weaker but had incredible powers of insight and thus had more room to grow.

The other creatures born from the prime essences were blessed with far less power than the Chaos Primordials and far weaker levels of insight than the Sourcewalkers. They were much more numerous, but on the whole the Sourcewalkers remained the most powerful creatures birthed from the prime essences! This was because the most powerful Sourcewalkers were actually comparable to Sithe Exalts in terms of power.

For example, the Blazesun Domain had one of these supreme Sourcewalkers within it who was comparable to Sithe Exalts in power! But of course, he was the only one in the entire domain who had reached such a level of power.

……

520,000 years went past in the blink of an eye.

“Master, Houwu City is up ahead,” Azurefiend called out as he controlled the realmship.

“Houwu City?” Ning stared at it from afar. This was a city covered in countless mysterious runes that levitated within the emptiness of space. It rippled with formations, and it was surrounded by numerous levitating continents as well.

“Daolord Darknorth,” Hegemon Goodsong said quickly, “We cultivators only have this single city in the entire Blazesun Domain! This is a place where we can hide and rest while we are adventuring through this region. The entire city itself is actually a powerful Sithe war-fort and it is capable of easily defending against any dangers, so long as the Ruler of the Blazesun Domain doesn’t come and attack in person.”

“The Ruler of the Blazesun Domain?” Su Youji couldn’t help but ask, “Who is that?”

“Youji,” Ning smiled as he explained, “The term ‘Ruler of the Blazesun Domain’ refers to the most terrifying Sourcewalker located in the Blazesun Domain. The legends say that he is as powerful as a Sithe Exalt. His overwhelming power means that he is honored with the title of ‘Ruler of the Blazesun Domain’. However, in the end he’s still just a Sourcewalker; he won’t get involved in the affairs of the cultivator civilizations.”

“Right. So long as you don’t offend the Blazesun Ruler, he won’t make trouble for us either,” Hegemon Goodsong said. “After all… we have the invincible Autarchs on our side! As a result, the supreme Sourcewalkers don’t dare to go too far. Even if he does become so crazy as to assault the city of Houwu, the city should be able to hold on for a while albeit at great cost. Given enough time, most of the cultivators should be able to flee.”

As they spoke, the realmship continued to move towards the levitating city at high speeds.

“Halt!” a loud shout rang out. The city’s entrance was guarded by a golem guard.

“Hurry up and send word,” Hegemon Goodsong barked back, “That Daolord Darknorth has arrived!”

“Daolord Darknorth?” The golem guard was shocked. “I’ll send word to Master right away.”

……

The entire city of Houwu was in a state of uproar. News spread quite quickly amongst cultivators, and just a few seconds later the news that Daolord Darknorth had arrived at the city was known by a majority of the cultivators here. The Hegemons and Eternal Emperors, as well as the few fearless Samsara Daolords who had chosen to adventure in the Blazesun Domain, all came flying out to see what the legendary Daolord Darknorth looked like.

“Daolord Darknorth has arrived?”

“Where is he?”

“Look over there! Daolord Darknorth is flying within the realmship above the city.” More and more cultivators came pouring out from every direction, and they all hastened to stare at the main gates in front of the city.

“Quick! Quick! Brother Treewind, Brother Jade Rainbow, Nuwa… all of you, hurry over here and accompany me in meeting with Daolord Darknorth!” Lord Houwu was the most impatient of them all. Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa had been meditating silently, but they were immediately startled awake and hurriedly came running over.

“Hurry up and go welcome them!”

“Daolord Darknorth has arrived?”

Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and Nuwa all grew nervous right away, with Nuwa being the most nervous of them all. Daolord Darknorth had come all the way here from the distant Flamedragon Realmverse for the sake of meeting her!

The green-robed Lord Houwu was the first to fly into the skies, with Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, Nuwa, and the others all following by his side. The cultivators around the gates all parted before them, not daring to bar their path.

Lord Houwu was at the head of the delegation. Behind him was Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa, and at the very rear were the other Hegemons and Emperors. They exited the city gates in an awesome procession. Houwu City, as a war-fort, was covered with barrier spells. Generally speaking the barriers would remain sealed, preventing people from simply flying out.

Above the city hovered that realmship.

“I am the Governor of Houwu City, and I respectfully welcome Daolord Darknorth!” The green-robed Lord Houwu immediately bowed respectfully, his face covered with joy. His Daoist title was ‘Houwu’, and so he had named this war-fort after himself after acquiring it.

“We respectfully welcome Daolord Darknorth!” The surrounding Golden Emperors, Otherverse Lords, Hegemons, Eternal Emperors, and Samsara Daolords all bowed respectfully as well.

Faced with the legendary Daolord Darknorth, these major powers were as nervous as Ning himself had been when he had first met Autarch Titanos. The difference in power was simply too great! Even the most powerful person here would probably be slain by a single blow from Ning’s sword. How could any of them dare to show the slightest bit of incivility towards him?

“Who is this Daolord Darknorth?” Nuwa was standing behind Lord Houwu. She stared into the skies, her heart filled with curiosity.

“No need to stand on ceremony.” A wave of power surged out, pressing against Nuwa’s arms and preventing her from bowing down.

For the others to show Ning such respect was one thing, but Nuwa was different. Ning felt a sense of tremendous respect for Mother Nuwa. Perhaps he was now much stronger than her, but Patriarch Subhuti was his master. Mother Nuwa had shown great favor to Patriarch Subhuti in the past, and indeed had done great things for the entire Three Realms. How could he possibly allow Nuwa to bow towards him?

“This aura…” Nuwa was secretly startled. In fact, all of the cultivators were shocked. For his aura alone to be so powerful meant that Daolord Darknorth lived up to his reputation.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Three additional figures came flying out from the realmship. The first was the chubby Flamewing, the second was the red-robed Hegemon Goodsong, and the third was Hegemon Azurefiend. After flying out, they stood slightly behind the white-robed youth who bore the black sheath on his back. In addition, Ning was flanked by the simple, muscular Protector Whitethaw and the dazzlingly beautiful Su Youji.

This white-robed youth had appeared with his entire entourage. His aura wasn’t all that powerful, and his truesoul was slowly fragmenting and dissipating. If he was an ordinary Daolord who had failed his Daomerge, these major powers wouldn’t care about him at all… but he wasn’t. This white-robed youth caused all of them to feel nervous and breathless due to the great difference in power between them!

“Lord Houwu, sorry for the trouble.” Ning stepped forward, landing on the ground and smiling.

“It was nothing more than conveying a message. It was my honor to be able to serve you, Daolord Darknorth,” Lord Houwu chortled. A thought came to his mind, and he hurriedly turned to glance at the nearby Nuwa: “Daolord Darknorth, this is Nuwa.”

Ning’s gaze turned towards Nuwa as well. In truth, he already knew for certain that she was the person he sought, as there was no way to fake the karma ties between them. When he saw her just now, he felt absolutely convinced… because he was very familiar with her appearance. He had spent his entire youth visualizing the [Nuwa Painting], which was a depiction of Nuwa. How could he NOT be familiar with her?

The woman before him was the legendary Mother Nuwa of the Three Realms.

Ning stared at Nuwa, and she stared at him as well, her heart filled with many questions. She had the vague feeling that there had to be some sort of connection between them, but she simply couldn’t remember ever having met this Daolord Darknorth before.

“Darknorth greets you, Nuwa.” Ning smiled.

Nuwa was startled. For the legendary Daolord Darknorth to speak so courteously to her had caught her offguard.

Ning chuckled, and as he did a voice suddenly rang out within Nuwa’s mind: “Pangu established Heaven and Earth, while Nuwa repaired the heavens!”

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Chapter 14 – Transmitting the Dao

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 14 – Transmitting the Dao

Nuwa instantly trembled. She stared with disbelief at the white-robed youth standing before her.

“H-he…” Waves of emotion rippled through Nuwa’s heart. She instantly understood that Daolord Darknorth knew of her past! Either he came from the Three Realms or he knew of its history; in short, Daolord Darknorth definitely knew where the Three Realms was located! Nuwa had been searching for many years to return to the Three Realms, but she still had no idea where it was located!

Which realmverse was the Three Realms in? She had no idea! She spent a great deal of time searching, but the Bluesky Domain was simply too far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse. Even a trip via realmship would take billions of years; even Otherverse Lords and other major powers would rarely drift to such a great distance. Such a journey would entail many dangers, after all, and they could easily get lost or even die. Unless there was an extremely compelling reason, few would venture to such a great distance.

“Haha, it seems as though this Nuwa before us must be the person you are searching for, Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Houwu immediately laughed and said, “To be able to meet at last after being separated by such a great distance is a joyful thing indeed. There’s no need for us to speak here outside the city; let’s hurry on inside! I’ve already prepared a fairly humble banquet to welcome you, Daolord Darknorth. I hope you’ll show me a bit of face and sit down for a time.”

Ning nodded. “Very well.” Since he had found Nuwa, there was no need for him to rush into a conversation with her right in front of the gates.

“You…” Nuwa stared at Ning, her heart filled with both excitement and confusion.

“We can chat at length later. You have many things to say to me, and I have much to say to you,” Ning said.

“Disciple, let’s invite Daolord Darknorth into the city first. There’ll be plenty of time to chat with him later.” Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow both behaved with great friendliness as well.

“Understood.” Nuwa was able to make herself be patient.

Led by Lord Houwu and surrounded by many major powers, Ning entered Houwu City and travelled to the Lord Governor’s estate. The palace had already prepared a banquet for them, with the maids quickly assembling and making themselves up in order to welcome Daolord Darknorth.

“Please come in, Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Houwu immediately led Ning to the highest seat.

Ning didn’t decline, walking up and sitting down in the lotus position. He smiled: “Gentlemen, please be seated.”

“Nuwa, you can sit over here.” Lord Houwu spoke with great friendliness, arranging for Nuwa to in the first seat located directly to Ning’s left. As for Lord Houwu himself, he sat in the first seat to Ning’s right.

It must be remembered that multiple Otherverse Lords were present. Lord Houwu himself was an Otherverse Lord; for him as the Lord Governor to be seated second only to Ning was one thing, but for Nuwa to be seated similarly? Some of the major powers present couldn’t help but mumble to themselves, “Lord Houwu truly is going out of his way to curry favor with Daolord Darknorth.” These major powers were all treating Ning the same way they would treat an Autarch… and in truth, many of them had never even met an Autarch in all their lives!

Ning was close to an Autarch in terms of insight, and he had failed his Daomerge. It was guaranteed that his life would be a brief one, and so they wanted to seize this chance to befriend him. If they missed this chance, they would probably never get a second one. Some simple pointers from Ning would probably be more effective than countless chaos cycles of training on their own. Most of them had been trapped at the Hegemon level for many years without making any improvements at all.

“My friends, you have all come here to welcome Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Houwu’s face was all smiles as he spoke: “As a result, Houwu City has also been given a chance to host a truly rare banquet. To be able to meet with Daolord Darknorth is our good fortune. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was searching for Nuwa, we would probably never have a chance like this. Let us first offer a toast to Daolord Darknorth in honor of the karma which brought us together.”

“A toast to the Daolord!” Instantly, all of the major powers lifted up their cups.

Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow were considered ordinary powers here. Only those who were at least at the Hegemon level of power were seated, while the weaker ones weren’t even permitted to take part. But of course, Daolord Darknorth’s retainer Su Youji was able to take part. She was even seated close to the front.

Ning lifted up his own wine cup, downing the wine before replying with a smile, “No need to be so courteous. Everyone, be more relaxed and casual. This is my first visit to the Blazesun Domain, which is filled with countless dangers, many strange lifeforms, and Sourcewalkers of incredible power. It isn’t easy for cultivators to stay alive here, and I’ve long heard that the one and only city which we cultivators have here is the city of Houwu. This place is a place where we cultivators can rest and be sheltered, and now that I’m here I can tell that it truly is extraordinary.”

“It is nothing more than a resting stop,” Lord Houwu said humbly. “In the end, we’re still the weaker party here. Everyone still acknowledges that the Blazesun Ruler is still that Sourcewalker.”

……

The major powers all chatted in high spirits during this banquet, telling Daolord Darknorth of all the marvels they had encountered within the Blazesun Domain. Ning was quite curious as well; although he had heard of some of the Blazesun Domain’s secrets from Hegemon Goodsong and Realmslord Windgrace, he still knew very little. As he listened to one secret after another, he began to gain a clear understanding of just how marvelous the Blazesun Domain was. As the major powers continued to converse, they all gradually began to grow more familiar with each other as well.

“What?! A Sithe Exalt is trapped here?” Ning said in shock.

“Just so.” Lord Houwu laughed, “The Blazesun Domain does indeed have a Sithe Exalt imprisoned within it. An Autarch captured him during the Dawn War and sent him into the Blazesun Domain, where he has suffered all sorts of torment ever since.”

“Not just the Blazesun Domain; five of the other seven domains all have a Sithe Exalt within them!” Next to Lord Houwu was a silver-browed old man who held a fan in his hands, and he said with a smile, “A total of six Sithe Exalts have been trapped in the Eight Domains. All of them were captured during the war and have been tormented ever since.”

“Oh?” Ning truly was surprised by this. He had heard long ago from Emperor Waveshift that there were Sithe Exalts trapped somewhere, but he never would’ve imagined that six of the Eight Domains each had a Sithe Exalt imprisoned within them!

“Do you know why the Autarchs captured them instead of killing them?” Ning asked, puzzled.

“No idea.”

“The Autarchs must have their own plans.”

“However, the Sithe Exalts truly are being constantly tortured. They suffer a fate worse than death and constantly let out miserable bellows,” the major powers reported.

Ning nodded slowly when he heard this.

“Daolord, if you wish to pay a visit, when you are free I’ll lead you there myself,” Hegemon Goodsong said. “Although I’ve never visited myself, I know where it is.”

“Very well.” Ning did indeed wish to pay a visit. He had the feeling that there had to be a profound reason behind the Autarchs imprisoning the Sithe Exalts here. In fact… why didn’t the Autarchs imprison them within their own estates rather than in the Eight Domains?

“Perhaps I’ll know once I visit them,” Ning mused. The other major powers weren’t able to see through the secrets behind the Sithe Exalts, but Ning was at a much higher level of insight than them. Perhaps he would be able to see through to the truth that they could not.

Ning glanced at the nearby Nuwa. This entire time, Nuwa didn’t seem to really care for the food she was eating. This entire time, she was trying to guess just who Ning was. Ning laughed, then said in a loud voice, “I think we should call it a day.”

Lord Houwu was caught offguard. He hurriedly rose to his feet and said, “Daolord, there’s one thing I would like to ask of you.”

“Pray tell, Lord Governor,” Ning said.

“I’ve heard long ago that your Dao of the Sword is unfathomably profound and abstruse, Daolord,” Lord Houwu said. “I, Houwu, am focused on cultivation. I go out adventuring and brave many dangers, all for the sake of finding new insights. I wasn’t able to become much more powerful, but I did find this city! To me, however… what I truly desire is to be able to walk farther along the path of the Dao. I’ve always wished to become apprenticed to an Autarch, but never had the chance. Now that you are before me, Daolord, how could I give up a chance like this?”

As Lord Houwu spoke, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed towards Ning, then said respectfully, “Houwu is willing to follow you, Daolord, and obey your orders. I only beg that you are willing to transmit the Dao unto me and let me see a vaster, more profound Dao.”

“Transmit the Dao?” Everyone in the hall fell silent. All of the major powers turned to stare at Lord Houwu in a rather unhappy manner.

If Lord Houwu had merely asked for Ning to provide him with some guidance, that would be fine. It was a bit much for him to curry favor with Ning in order to gain from it, but Ning would’ve been alright with that. The problem was, Lord Houwu had actually requested that Ning ‘transmit the Dao’ to him!

What did ‘transmit the Dao’ mean? It meant for Ning to actually transmit his full Dao to Lord Houwu in its entirety!

Divine Sovereign Goldsun had given Ning a Golden Emperor body, and even then Ning had only given him three days of guidance without actually transmitting his Eternal Omega Sword Dao to him. This was the only Eternal Omega Dao which had ever existed in the entire Chaosverse; its value was truly incalculable! Daoist Bluestone had paid an enormous price just to view the Daolord-level Omega Sword Dao… and now, Ning had upgraded it to become an Eternal Omega Sword Dao! How was it that Lord Houwu even dared to make a request like this?

Ning sat there on his seat, staring down at the kowtowing Lord Houwu. His gaze grew cold. “And why the hell should I transmit my Dao to you?”

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Chapter 15 – Private Talks

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 15 – Private Talks

“And why the hell should I transmit my Dao to you?” Ji Ning’s icy voice continued to echo within the silent hall.

The atmosphere within the entire hall seemed to have frozen over. The other major powers were secretly speechless at how rash Lord Houwu was behaving! Although Daolord Darknorth was supposedly an amiable person, he was still a figure of terrifying power who could wipe them out with ease. How could someone behave so impetuously before a person like him?

None of the major powers here would dare to do such a thing. Only someone who was as crazy as Lord Houwu would!

Lord Houwu continued to kneel there on the ground, his heart shaking. He was rather afraid as well! He was afraid that Daolord Darknorth would kill him… but he still chose to take this action. By his very nature, he was a risk-taker. That was why he had established a city for cultivators within the Blazesun Domain!

The entire Blazesun Domain only had a single city in it. Logically speaking, someone who had acquired a Sithe war-fort would put it within his own citadel or realmverse; that was normal and made sense. Lord Houwu, however, had insisted on putting it within the Blazesun Domain instead. This was a testament to his personality and the type of person he was; he dared to do the things which others did not!

As Lord Houwu saw it, even if he failed in his request, the warm way in which he had welcomed Daolord Darknorth should at least ensure that he wouldn’t be killed out of hand.

Lord Houwu knelt there, suppressing his terror as he spoke, “Daolord, I haven’t been able to improve in the Dao despite the passage of countless years. I simply cannot accept this. Now that you have appeared, I finally see hope. I am willing to give up everything for this opportunity.”

“Give up everything?” Ning’s face had been icy cold, but now a hint of a smile played across the corner of his lips. The kneeling Lord Houwu, however, was unable to see it. “Very well. Give me your city and all of your treasures, including your Universe treasures. Only then would I accept you… and even then, I’ll only teach you whenever I’m in the mood. Do you accept?”

Lord Houwu was stunned. He was to give up everything? He had risked his life countless times to acquire his treasures, to have the foundation and fortitude needed to establish a city here in the Blazesun Domain. Without his Sithe treasures, he would merely been an ordinary figure amongst the other major powers. Lord Houwu’s body felt limp and weak. Was he really able to give up all of these things?

He was not! Even if he did acquire the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to improve all that much. He would, however, lose all of his Sithe treasures. He simply couldn’t accept this.

“Clearly, you aren’t able to ‘give up everything’.” Ning calmly rose to his feet, then began to walk towards a side room. “There’s no need for any of you to follow.” As he spoke he nodded towards Nuwa, who immediately moved to enter the side room with him.

Only after Ning left did sound return to the hall.

“Whew.”

“Brother Houwu, you truly are bold. I’d never dare to act as you just did.” Some other major powers walked over, while Lord Houwu rose to his feet.

“You dummy.” The only person in the hall who was still eating was the Flamewing God, and it raised his head to glance at Lord Houwu.

“Dummy?” Lord Houwu looked back at Flamewing.

“I know exactly what type of person my master is. There’s no way he’d take advantage over one of his students like that! If you really said that you were willing to offer everything to Master and obey him in all things, I can guarantee that there’s no way he’d actually take your crappy treasures.” Flamewing snickered as it shook its head. “A pity. You missed your chance, and you won’t get another one.”

“Ah?!” A look of regret and sorrow appeared on Lord Houwu’s face. Alas, he wasn’t really familiar with the type of person Daolord Darknorth was, and he truly wasn’t able to give up all of those treasures.

Most importantly of all, when Ning spoke he had infused his voice with a sort of natural illusion which ensured that Lord Houwu would be completely focused on this choice. If he truly was determined in pursuing the Dao at any cost, Ning probably would’ve nodded and accepted him. However, he had failed the test. This was proof that his Dao-heart was insufficiently resilient.

……

Within the side hall. Only two people were here; the first was Ning, while the second was Nuwa.

“Sit. We can speak at length now.” Ning felt rather emotional as he stared at the woman before him.

Nuwa… she was a legend to the Three Realms. But of course, Ning himself was now a legend of the Three Realms as well. Back when he was very young and weak, his first step on the path of cultivation had been him visualizing the [Nuwa Diagram]. Now, the two most dazzling cultivators of the Three Realms had come together in the Blazesun Domain, a place which was incomparably distant from the Three Realms. Destiny truly was a marvelous, unfathomable thing.

“Daolord Darknorth, can you tell me where the Three Realms is located?” Nuwa asked the question which she wanted to ask above all others. Cultivators were blessed with long lives, but spending all that time without even knowing where home was located was a source of pain and torment.

If she had been born a Chaos Primordial, a creature who was born into solitude and lonely wanderings, that would’ve been one thing… but she had been born into the Pangu Chaosworld and then lived in the Three Realms. She had fought for that place, and that was where all of her friends were.

“The Three Realms is located in the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Ning said.

“So it really is there!” Nuwa nodded. “When I heard that you came from the Flamedragon Realmverse, Daolord Darknorth, and that you were searching for me, I immediately began to suspect that the Three Realms might be located there. However, the Flamedragon Realmverse is extremely far away from the Blazesun Domain. When I left the Three Realms, I encountered a spatial tempest within that dimensional corridor and ended up being lost. I appeared here within the Blazesun Domain. I never would’ve dared to imagine that I had drifted so far from home.”

Ning was rather surprised: “Really? So you really did lose your way within the dimensional passageway and end up arriving in the Blazesun Domain?” It took billions of years when travelling by realmship to cross such a great distance. How could she have ended up in such a distant place just because she was ‘lost’? This was crazy.

“Yes.” Nuwa nodded. “Back then, I was merely a World-level cultivator. How could I, all by myself, have travelled from the Three Realms to the Blazesun Domain?”

“The Blazesun Domain…” Ning was intrigued. “Actually, on this journey to the Blazesun Domain I had the vague feeling that this place is truly quite extraordinary. Now that you tell me that you came here from the Three Realms after being lost in space… the secrets within the Blazesun Domain are most likely even greater than I suspected.”

“Secrets?” Nuwa was curious.

“If I can discover them, I’ll let you know,” Ning laughed. “I’ve failed my Daomerge, after all. That means I’m going to die. There’s no need for me to hold anything back from you.” Ning had already decided that Nuwa would be the one to protect the Three Realms on his behalf.

“Daolord Darknorth… can you tell me who you are, exactly?” Nuwa couldn’t help but ask, “Why is it that you know of me?”

“Haha…” Ning laughed. “My master is Patriarch Subhuti of the Tristar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart.”

“Subhuti?!” Nuwa was stunned. “Y-you are Subhuti’s disciple?!”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“I n-never would’ve imagined that you…” Nuwa had a complex look on her face. She remembered those years, those battles she had experienced alongside those lifelong friends. Back then, none of them had any guidance from the outside world at all. They had to blindly find their own paths for cultivation. Pangu had perished after establishing Heaven and Earth, and so Nuwa had become the leader of the group.

“Subhuti, Three Purities, Tathagata, Suiren… are they doing well?” Nuwa asked.

Ning blinked, then shook his head. “My master Subhuti is still alive, but Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Suiren, Shennong, Fuxi, as well as many of the other Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms have perished, as have Keeper Everwood and Daomother Devilhand of the Seamless Gate.”

“What?!” Nuwa was stunned. She had been born from the primordial chaos itself. To her, those ancient Fiendgods were her family, her kith and kin who she had fought alongside. How was it that they had all died?

“There were two instigators behind their deaths. The first was Patriarch Demonheart,” Ning said, “While the other was Old Man Yuan.” Ning immediately narrated the tale of what had happened during that era.

Nuwa was surprised to hear that the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms, Daofather Fuju, had actually been World God Northrest. She was enraged to hear of what the Seamless Gate did! She felt regret that she hadn’t slain Patriarch Demonheart, while she felt pain over Houyi’s death. Most of all, she felt incredible sorrow when she heard of how many of her old friends in the Three Realms had chosen to perish via self-detonation in an attempt to take out Old Man Yuan. Tears began to fill her eyes.

“Alas.” Nuwa let out a gentle sigh.

“That battle truly was a calamitous one,” Ning said softly. “I simply hadn’t been training long enough back then. In truth, I’ve always been hoping to be able to revive them all in the future as well… but when they self-detonated, their souls and truesouls were shattered. To bring them back to life is far, far too difficult.”

Ning didn’t go into detail as to why. If even a Celestial Immortal like Yu Wei was very difficult to revive, Three Purities and the others would be nearly impossible to bring back. All of them had been incredible figures who had been blessed with the essence of Autarch Awakener’s godgems. How incredibly hard would it be to revive them?!

“In the end, I failed my Daomerge. I failed by just a thread.” Ning shook his head. “Ever since I failed the Daomerge, I’ve been wanting to find news of you. I could sense that you were still alive! I’m going to die, and the one thing I cannot help but worry about is the Three Realms. I wish to find a protector for the Three Realms, but I just cannot trust anyone else with it. But if you, Nuwa, were present… I wouldn’t feel nearly as worried as I do currently.”

As Ning spoke, he waved his hand. A series of treasures appeared before them, with the most important one being a jade slip. This jade slip emanated a terrifying aura of power even though it simply levitated there in the air, and its aura was so strong that Nuwa could barely breathe.

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Chapter 16 – Soldiers Descend on Houwu City

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 16 – Soldiers Descend on Houwu City

A total of four treasures were hovering in front Ji Ning. The first was a silver throne, the second was a set of beautiful silver robes, , the third was a blood-colored diamond, while the fourth was a jade slip. The first three were the Sithe weapons which the Lonely King had often used.

“These three Sithe weapons, I acquired after I slew the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army,” Ning said with a laugh. “The silver robes are protective in nature, while the blood-colored gemstone can instantly unleash attacks of incredible power which are so fast that even Otherverse Lords might perish if caught off-guard! In fact, there truly have been Otherverse Lords who have perished to the Lonely King as a result of this gemstone. The silver throne, however, is the most important treasure. It allows one to warp through space, create multiple illusory clones, and even launch attacks. At full power, its attacks can destroy an entire otherverse.”

Nuwa was shocked upon hearing this. These three treasures truly were extraordinary! If all three were used together, even most Otherverse Lords would feel a sense of fear. The Lonely King had relied upon them more than anything else.

“Starting today, these three Sithe treasures shall belong to you.” Ning looked at Nuwa.

“I can’t accept this,” Nuwa rejected instinctively. Although they had adventured to a Sithe armory and she had acquired a treasure, any of the treasures which the Lonely King had used to dominate the Chaosverse was vastly superior to hers.

“Don’t decline. I’ve failed the Daomerge and won’t use energy without a good reason,” Ning said. “And… a casual blow from me would be more powerful than these treasures by far. In the Three Realms, my master Subhuti and the others are incapable of using these treasures. The only person in the Three Realms who can use them is you, Nuwa! With these treasures, you’ll be strong enough to protect the Three Realms. Accept them.”

Nuwa wasn’t the wishy-washy type. She immediately nodded: “Very well. I’ll accept them. The Three Realms is my home; of course I’ll protect it!”

Ning smiled. “As for this slip, it contains my Eternal Omega Sword Dao. I’ve recorded it all here, and no one has ever viewed it before.” Ning chuckled. “Take a look and see if it can give you a few new ideas.”

“Eternal Omega Sword Dao?” Nuwa stared at the levitating jade slip. Its aura continued to cause her to feel a sense of shock. She knew that compared to the first three treasures, the jade slip was the most valuable treasure of them all!

“Thank you.” Nuwa didn’t decline, nor could she decline. She reached out to gently touch the jade slip, then instantly sent out her godsense.

A flood of information entered her mind. The first thing Nuwa did was to swear a lifeblood oath that she could only allow members of the Three Realms to study the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. But of course, if she herself was able to glean certain insights from the Eternal Omega Sword Dao she wouldn’t be limited in her ability to transmit them to others.

“This Sword Dao…” Nuwa was stunned when she sensed how vast and overwhelmingly powerful the Eternal Omega Sword Dao was.

“Accept the jade slip. You can view it and ruminate on it as you please,” Ning said. The Eternal Omega Sword Dao was simply far too profound; not even a direct transmission into one’s mind could allow one to brute-force memorize it all! If you read through it quickly, you’d soon begin to forget it all. Your memories would grow blurry… because this was something which vastly surpassed your ability to understand it! You had to have the jade slip by your side and constantly meditate on it and study it. As a result, the jade slip itself was incredibly important. This was why Ning had requested that Nuwa only allow the members of the Three Realms to be trained in it.

“Alright.” Nuwa accepted the jade slip, then sat down in the lotus position and began to meditate on it. She was completely consumed by it, completely intoxicated by this truly grand Dao. As for Ning, he sat down next to her as well.

“Darknorth, this sword-art seemed to have its own spirit. Why is it that it is so marvelous and agile?” Nuwa raised her head and asked, her fingers demonstrating as she spoke.

Ning began to demonstrate his sword-arts while answering each of her questions. Ning held nothing back from Nuwa at all, because once he died and his Dao vanished, Nuwa would become the most powerful expert of the Three Realms.

Ning had been able to vaguely scry parts of the future. He was able to see that Nuwa would indeed continue to safeguard the Three Realms and that she was definitely worthy of his trust. But of course, there were many other images that had appeared as he scryed the future. In the end, the future was in a state of flux. Since it had yet to actually happen, all things were technically possible.

In the blink of an eye, Ning had spent more than half a year guiding Nuwa as she trained. Nuwa was completely absorbed with training in the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and for Ning to personally instruct her and resolve her questions was a truly rare opportunity. Ning wouldn’t even be this detailed when teaching his own students! As for Lord Houwu or Patriarch Treewind, none of them dared to disturb the two.

Rumble… a terrifying wave of power suddenly spread out into the city from afar. Ning frowned and rose to his feet. He walked over to the entrance to take a look towards the distant horizons. He could sense that a vague, malevolent aura was surging towards them from afar.

“What’s going on?” Nuwa rose to her feet and walked over to the entrance as well. “Something feels wrong.”

“I can sense that a force is drawing near,” Ning said. “And it is quite strong. Let’s go take a look.” Ning and Nuwa flew out side-by-side. In truth, figures were flying out from residences throughout Houwu City. These Hegemons, Emperors, and Samsara Daolords could all sense the increasingly powerful ripples generated by the encroaching power.

“Master.” Flamewing, Su Youji, Whitethaw, Azurefiend, and Hegemon Goodsong all immediately flew towards Ning.

“Daolord.” Lord Houwu flew out as well, behaving as warmly as before.

“Lord Governor,” Ning asked, “What’s going on?”

Lord Houwu hesitated slightly. Suddenly, a figure appeared at the horizons. This was something who had four hooved legs but the upper body of a human. This strange creature was as crimson as blood, and it galloped through the skies. These creatures were wielding all sorts of weapons, including greataxes or heavy warhammers. They all radiated auras of tremendous power.

“Crimson bloodfiends?” Lord Houwu growled, “Over a hundred crimson bloodfiends have appeared at the same time?”

Rumble… the hundred-plus crimson bloodfiends galloped towards them. Moments later, towering eight-armed giants whose bodies were as white as snow suddenly began to appear as well. The many eight-armed giants each had just a single eye, and they let out furious roars as their awesome auras spread out as well.

These were all unique lifeforms… but what truly surprised Ning was that all the members of these two races had reached the Hegemon level.

“These are incredibly powerful races… and for the two to appear at the same time?”

Ning was surprised. “Lord Houwu, does this happen often here?”

“No. We rarely see such powerful beings.” Lord Houwu was puzzled as well.

Suddenly, the two races of creatures split apart into two sides, revealing three figures in their midst.

To the left was a towering crimson bloodfiend whose entire body was covered with golden armor. The fiend wielded a double-edged battleaxe which was covered with runes and emanated a shocking aura of power; clearly, this was a very unique Sithe weapon.

To the right was an eight-armed giant who was holding a set of fiery chains. Most of the fiery chains were wrapped around him, and his aura was just as terrifying as the fiend’s.

Finally, there was a red-robed maiden in the center.

The faces of quite a few cultivators turned gray when they saw these three appear. “Them?!” Lord Houwu’s face tightened as well. “Where did they come from?”

Ning frowned as well. Although he didn’t know who these three people were, he could roughly estimate how strong they were. The three leaders… two were unique lifeforms, while the other was a Sourcewalker. All three of them were extremely strong, significantly stronger than most Otherverse Lords.

The red-robed maiden stepped forward to stand in front of her allies. She said: “All cultivators of Houwu City, hear my commands!” Her voice was ice cold and it shook every part of the region.

“I have come on orders from the Ruler of the Blazesun Domain. I have come to Houwu City to capture five cultivators.” The red-robed maiden waved her hand as she spoke, causing a scroll to instantly unfurl and reveal a total of five images. These were images of Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, Nuwa, and the other two. In the images, Patriarch Treewind and the others were advancing carefully.

“Same rules as always.” The red-robed maiden actually glanced at Patriarch Treewind, then at Nuwa who stood behind Ning. “Hand the five of them over and we won’t harm anyone else. If you dare to refuse… then that means Houwu City shall enter yet another war against us!”

A total of more than two hundred Hegemonic creatures were hovering in the air behind the three leaders. The pressure they brought upon the cultivators was quite enormous… and they were backed by the even more powerful Blazesun Ruler. This was a threat which another type of civilization was levying against the cultivators… and here in the Eight Domains, the cultivator civilizations were clearly the weaker party.

“Walker Scarletbind,” Lord Houwu called out loudly, “Can you tell us how they have offended the Blazesun Ruler?” The Blazesun Ruler was one of the most supreme of Sourcewalkers, comparable to Sithe Exalts in power. So long as an Autarch didn’t intervene, these creatures were invincible.

“Hmph. These five thieves actually dared to barge into one of the Ruler’s hidden residences. They caused an enormous amount of damage and wiped the place clean. They even destroyed one of the Ruler’s favorite treasures, the Jadeheart Lamp! The Ruler was infuriated by this, and so he sent the order to capture them and bring the back. They are to be tortured to death! Otherwise, there’s no way he can give vent to his rage,” the red-robed maiden said angrily.

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Chapter 17 – Battle Erupts

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 17 – Battle Erupts

Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, Nuwa, and the others all turned pale.

“A fine disciple you have, Treewind!” Imperator Jade Rainbow instantly sent a frantic mental message: “A ‘Sithe armory’? It was actually one of the Blazesun Ruler’s hidden estates. We’re in serious trouble now!”

“What’s the use of saying all of this now? When we broke through layers of formations and penetrated to the very depths of the estate, we already suspected that this was actually a place which belonged to the Blazesun Ruler, right? You still chose to take the Sithe treasures away with you. The entire reason we chose to hide within Houwu City was because we wanted to see what would happen next!” Patriarch Treewind said angrily.

“Damnit.” Imperator Jade Rainbow was extremely nervous. He glanced at the white-robed youth standing next to Lord Houwu, then sent mentally, “Old man Treewind, do you think Daolord Darknorth would be willing to help us out? And… do you think he can beat the Blazesun Ruler?”

“Hard to say,” Patriarch Treewind sent back. “If he was in perfect shape with unfettered access to his divine power and Immortal ki? Given how he was able to slay the Lonely King with just one strike, he definitely wouldn’t need to fear the Blazesun Ruler. Even if he wasn’t able to win, Daolord Darknorth would definitely be able to defend against him! The problem is that he has failed his Daomerge, which means he can’t battle for too long. It’ll probably be very hard for him to fight against the Blazesun Ruler, who is in perfect shape.”

“Ugh.” Imperator Jade Rainbow said nervously, “I hope Daolord Darknorth cares about Nuwa to defend her.”

……

Ning frowned. Of course he had to protect Nuwa! He’d protect her even at the cost of his own life.

“Flamewing, release a bit of your aura,” Ning sent.

“Need me to attack?” Flamewing asked rather eagerly.

“Don’t be impatient,” Ning instructed.

“Fien!” Flamewing immediately flew into the air while returning to his true form. The enormous, flame-bathed body of the Flamewing God appeared in the skies, emanating an aura of inexhaustible power. As a Chaos Primordial, its energy stores were virtually limitless, and its body was all but indestructible. Even Sithe Exalts had to attack in numbers; a single one wouldn’t be able to do anything to it.

“A Chaos Primordial!” The mighty experts serving the Blazesun Ruler were all shocked, while the three leaders felt a sense of trepidation.

“Chaos Primordial, why are you standing with cultivators?” the crimson bloodfiend leader roared angrily.

“We’ve come on orders from the Blazesun Ruler. Are you going to make an enemy out of him?” the eight-armed chain-bearing giant roared angrily as well.

“You two idiots,” the red-robed maiden muttered.

“Who the hell is the Blazesun-whatever? I don’t know him!” Flamewing bellowed back.

The red-robed maiden secretly felt helpless. All Chaos Primordials had the intelligence of children, and they were born completely fearless. Nothing and no one could control them! Yes, the Blazesun Ruler might have the power of a Sith Exalt and was indeed stronger than Flamewing… so what if he was? He still wouldn’t be able to capture Flamewing, much less kill it! There was nothing the Blazesun Ruler could do to this troublemaker.

“Chaos Primordial, why must you interfere? This is an affair between us and these cultivators,” the red-robed maiden said.

“What’s with all the questions?!” Flamewing bellowed.

Ning said, “It is true that the five of them offended the Ruler by trespassing on his estate, but they weren’t aware that it belonged to him. They thought that it was a relic site of some sort. Although they are in the wrong, capital punishment would not be fitting. I’ll have them return all the treasures they took to the Blazesun Ruler and have this matter be brought to the end. Is that acceptable?”

“Is that a puny little Daolord speaking?” the red-robed maiden glanced downwards with a smirk. “And one who failed the Daomerge at that. You actually dare to speak?”

“He’s my master!” Flamewing bellowed, turning to look at Ning. “Master, let me eat them!”

“Don’t be impatient.” Ning continued, “A minor matter like this isn’t worth starting a war with us over.”

“Hmph. A Daolord was actually able to tame a Chaos Primordial? This Chaos Primordial truly is a fool.” The red-robed maiden chuckled. “As for this being a ‘minor matter’? Hmph. The Jadeheart Lamp was something which the Ruler loved dearly. If all they had done was steal a few treasures, this matter would be at an end after they returned them… but they caused a large amount of wanton destruction and even wrecked the lamp! No one can save them now. Lord Houwu, don’t hide in the back! Speak! Are you going to hand them over or not? If not, we’re going to attack.”

“B-but…” Lord Houwu turned frantically towards Ning. Based on how he normally handled things, he would lower his head and endure the threats while trying to come up with a way to let Patriarch Treewind and the others flee. As for whether or not Patriarch Treewind would perish during their flight, that was up to luck.

……

“Make your choice!” the red-robed maiden barked coldly, while the two leaders by her side emanated auras of murderous malice.

Seeing this, Ning frowned. He immediately instructed, “Flamewing, attack with all your power.”

“Hahahaha!” Flamewing had been waiting for just this order. Delighted, it immediately charged forwards while belching out that dark-red fire from its mouth. The flames covered the entire region, spread out in every direction.

The crimson bloodfiends and the eight-armed giants were all instantly swept up within the flames. Although it felt rather painful, they were still in fine shape. These special beings were born with more powerful bodies than cultivators, after all! More importantly, they had always lived within the Blazesun Domain and thus were born with a fondness and affinity to fire. As a result, fire wasn’t all that harmful to them.

Their bodies were extremely sturdy, but they would still die if the fire made its way inside of them. But of course, there was no way they would allow the flames to enter their bodies.

“Stop that Chaos Primordial!” the red-robed maiden commanded.

“Alright!”

“Leave it to us!” The crimson bloodfiend leader and the eight-armed giant leader both charged forwards, but they were clearly quite a bit slower and wouldn’t be able to catch up to Flamewing.

Slash! Slash! Two of the eight-armed giants were torn into tiny pieces in the blink of an eye, the pieces then burnt to ashes by the flames.

“Damnit!” The two leadesr were stunned and enraged.

“It is quite fast, much faster than the last Chaos Primordial I saw.” The red-robed maiden frowned slightly as a semi-translucent dirt-colored gemstone appeared in her palm. She waved her hand, casuing a series of black tentacles to appear out of nowhere and reach out towards Flamewing. These black tentacles were incredibly tough and took no damage from the flames which Flamewing belched out. A total of eight tentacles were created, and they came from all directions, making it impossible for Flamewing to avoid them.

Riiiiip! Flamewing used its sharp claws to tear them apart by force while also biting at them. One tentacle after another was severed, but they continued to tighten around them. Flamewing had so much brute force that it was still able to split the tentacles apart, but they would then regrow to coil around it once more. This caused Flamewing’s speed to drop drastically.

“Damn Sourcewalker!” The enraged Flamewing moved to pounce towards the red-robed maiden.

“Stop it in its tracks,” the red-robed maiden instructed.

Boom! The crimson bloodfiend leader struck out with its giant double-bladed battleaxe towards Flamewing, while the eight-armed giant sent its chains flying out and lashing towards Flamewing like a whip.

Boom! Bang! The crimson bloodfiend leader and the eight-armed giant leader continuously attacked Flamewing, while the red-blooded maiden continued to use her tentacles to bind and slow Flamewing down. For a time, Flamewing found itself surrounded and unable to break free.

“Goodsong, go and help Flamewing out,” Ning instructed.

“Got it.” Hegemon Goodsong was filled with the desire for battle, and he transformed into a streak of golden light that flew straight towards the four. However, halfway there he was slapped back by a black tentacle. That single black tentacle was enough to completely tie him down for a time. Hegemon Goodsong was just barely able to break it apart, but it then quickly regrew. Clearly, he was still quite a bit weaker than the Sourcewalker was.

Ning frowned when he saw this. The two armies of strange creatures had yet to attack. If all of the cultivators of Houwu City all took part in this fight, they would naturally be able to defend against this attack! However, their foe still held the upper hand in the Blazesun Domain. If the Blazesun Ruler gave the order, even more Sourcewalkers and strange creatures would appear.

“Darknorth,” Nuwa sent mentally, “Perhaps we should back down and pretend to negotiate with them, then immediately flee. Given our fleeing abilities and your assistance, we should be able to escape.”

“This is the Blazesun Domain. The Blazesun Ruler’s influence is too great,” Ning sent back. “Even if you are able to temporarily flee, you’ll probably be caught soon. Resolving this matter here is the best solution.”

Right at this moment, the red-robed maiden glanced downwards and shouted, “Did you think you’d be able to resist us just because you have a Chaos Primordial? The Blazesun Ruler has always been courteous to you cultivators, but do you really think that he is someone to be trifled with? You wrecked his estate and destroyed his beloved lamp. The five of them have to die! Obey my orders and attack!”

“Attack!”

“Attack!” The crimson bloodfiends and the eight-armed giants simultaneously let out earth-shaking bellows, then began to swoop down from the skies. An aura of endless might enveloped the entire city of Houwu.

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Chapter 18 – Ji Ning Attacks

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 18 – Ji Ning Attacks

When the cultivators inside Houwu City saw that swarm of creatures swooping down towards them, they couldn’t help but start to panic slightly. In truth, they were unwilling to fight with these creatures to the death. According to the customary rule, everyone would just help out a bit to give the person who caused the problem a chance to flee; that was as far as everyone was willing to go.

The problem was, this time the one standing behind Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa was Daolord Darknorth. Thus, they hesitated.

“All of you, enter the city!” Lord Houwu immediately barked mentally, then turned to look at Ning desperately. “Daolord Darknorth, what should…”

If it wasn’t for Ning, Lord Houwu would’ve followed the usual rule. There was no way he would be hesitating for this long.

Ning raised his head to stare upwards at the throng of creatures swooping down towards them. Suddenly, the ‘ordinary’ aura surrounding Ning began to dramatically skyrocket in power!

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The skies above the city of Houwu began to shake as countless streams of sword-light appeared out of nowhere. Many millions of swords manifested with Ning at the center, and all of them hung up high. In a single instant, the entire region had transformed into a world of swords.

The creatures which had been furiously swooping down towards Houwu City came to a sudden, startled pause. The crimson bloodfiends and eight-armed giants stared at the sword-light in terror, not daring to move at all. They could sense how sharp the sword-light was, and in fact some of them were nicked by the sword-light, causing wounds to appear on their bodies.

They all understood that the omnipresent sword-light was able to annihilate them all with ease.

“This…”

“This is…” the crimson bloodfiend leader, the eight-armed giant leader, and the red-robed maiden were all stunned as they stared at the countless streams of sword-light in the world around them.

This was a world of the sword. Some of the sword-light seemed lively and joyful, some seemed moody and ghostly. Some were filled with malevolence, others were ephemeral and drifting. The countless streams of sword-light combined to form a perfect world of the sword.

“Commander?”

“Clan leader!” The crimson bloodfiends and the eight-armed giants all turned to stare at their leaders. They were filled with terror that sprang from within their very bones.

The red-robed maiden swallowed, hard. Her face was rather ashen, and she stared with a degree of fear at the white-robed youth who continued to stand there calmly. “He’s too terrifying. He hasn’t even attacked; all he’s done is unleashed his domain, and it’s already terrifying. T-t-this domain… most likely, there’s no way Hegemons can survive it at all. They’d be wiped out instantly.”

This was indeed Ning’s Sword Dao domain! Or, to put it another way, this was a domain formed by the prime essences of the Dao of the Sword! Anyone who wasn’t powerful enough would be slaughtered with ease by this domain. Ning didn’t wish to intensify the problems between him and the Blazesun Ruler; otherwise, the terrified creatures would’ve all been wiped out long ago, save for perhaps those three leaders. It wouldn’t have cost him a single scrap of his own power.

……

This scene stunned all of the cultivators within Houwu City.

“So this is the power of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao?” They stared at the omnipresent streaks of sword-light in the skies. They could sense how terrifyingly powerful the sword-light was. Daolord Darknorth had reached such a terrifying level of power that he didn’t even need to personally strike; his domain alone could effortlessly annihilate anyone below the Otherverse Lord level of power.

“Now THIS is the real Daolord Darknorth!” Patriarch Treewind said with a sigh.

“It seems we’ll survive this,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said, still filled with awe and fear.

Lord Houwu raised his head to stare at the skies, his gaze filled with envy. “If Daolord Daolord was willing to transmit the Dao to me…”

“Master.”

“Darknorth.” Right now, there were two people who cared about Ning the most. The first was Su Youji, while the second was Nuwa.

The two of them truly cared about Ning’s life. For him to merely release a Dao domain was one thing, but if he truly wished to kill the three leaders he would have to use his own energies… which was akin to Ning using up his own lifespan! Su Youji’s feelings towards Ning went without saying, and while Nuwa had only met Ning a short while ago she already viewed him as one of her closest friends.

Her homeland had produced such a dazzling genius… someone who, even after failing the Daomerge, cared enough to then seek her out to ensure that she would safeguard the Three Realms. Nuwa felt a sense of admiration towards Ning; she naturally didn’t wish for Ning to use up any more of his life energy. This was doubly true because Ning was getting into this dispute for her sake!

……

The two hundred-plus Hegemonic reatures all stood in midair, terrified. None of them dared to move at all.

“S-s-s-senior!” The double-bladed battleaxe-wielding crimson bloodfiend leader was the most frightened of them all. Even his voice quavered when he spoke.

Ning turned to sweep them with his gaze, and as he did the three leaders felt a sense of terror rise in their hearts. This Dao domain had completely enveloped the surrounding area and suppressed everything here.

“Scram!” Ning barked coldly, his voice echoing for countless kilometers around. The crimson bloodfiend leader lowered his head and gulped, so terrified that he immediately turned tail and fled. As for the other crimson bloodfiends under his command, they all followed him in fleeing.

The ashen-faced red-robed maiden took two steps back. She was hesitating. As a Sourcewalker, she was extremely intelligent and possessed tremendous skills of comprehension. She could naturally tell how terrifying this Daolord was… but the Blazesun Ruler truly was extremely angry. She wanted to try and negotiate and see if a better resolution was possible.

As for the eight-armed giant, he stared intently at Ning without backing down in the slightest.

The red-robed maiden spoke out: “I am Walker Scarletbind, and I serve the Blazesun Ruler. Dare I ask who you are, senior?”

“Darknorth,” Ning said.

“Scarletbindgreets you, Daolord Darknorth.” For the first time, the red-robed maiden bowed her head with great respect. She showed nothing but disdain when meeting with other cultivators, but as soon as she saw the sword-light flooding the skies she understood just how terrifying this cultivator Daolord was, and how worthy of respect he was. His skill in sword-arts alone vastly surpassed the Blazesun Ruler she served.

“Walker Scarletbind.” Ning nodded. “I imagine you understand what I am intending. I do not wish for a battle to arise between the Blazesun Ruler and myself. A minor matter like this isn’t worth it.”

“I do understand,” the red-robed maiden said respectfully, “But… this time, the Ruler is extremely angry. I’m afraid that he won’t just let things rest.”

“Scarletbind, why are you wasting time on him? You there! Cultivator Daolord!” The eight-armed giant let out an earth-shaking shout: “What technique did you use to unleash this domain of swords? However… this thing isn’t a threat to me at all! Your sword domain is harmless to me. I’ll kill you with one lash of my chains. Let’s see how long you can maintain your arrogance then!”

“Eight-Armed Hill, do NOT be rude,” the red-robed maiden said frantically.

“Don’t be fooled, Scarletbind! This cultivator Daolord is just putting up an false front of bravado. Cultivators love to lie, cheat, and steal, but all of them are very weak. He’s just a Daolord! How strong can he be?” The eight-armed giant leader forced down the fear he had felt earlier, transforming it into rage at the thought of having been deceived by Ning.

“DIE!” the eight-armed giant leader howled as he ran through the air towards Ning.

“You…!” The red-robed maiden hurriedly waved her hand, sending out one of the black tentacles and intending to use it to catch the eight-armed giant. However, the eight-armed giant’s chains began to clatter and clack, smashing the black tentacles apart. The eight-armed giant howled loudly, “Scarletbind, do you think I don’t know all your little tricks?”

The eight-armed giant turned towards Ning once more. “DIE!” His chains clanked with terrifying power that was nearly equivalent to the Flamewing God’s as he struck out at Ning.

The red-robed maiden felt both frantic and helpless. These creatures all had a far lower level of intelligence. Chaos Primordials weren’t so bad; they simply had childlike personalities. These creatures, however, had personalities as bizarre as their appearances. Some were sly, some were sinister, some were stupid, some were brutish… and as for this eight-armed giant, he was famous for his explosive temper. He easily went berserk… and now, he had just gone berserk again.

“Master, I’ll go stop him!” Flamewing moved to charge out.

“Leave it to me!” Ning commanded coldly. Flamewing stared wide-eyed at Ning, as did Nuwa and Su Youji from behind.

“Do not!” Nuwa said hurriedly.

“Flamewing won’t be able to dispose of him. It’ll keep causing trouble for us.” Ning stared at the distant eight-armed giant, which had almost instantly charged towards him. A murderous look was in Ning’s eyes which caused all the major powers present to hold their breaths. At his current level, Ning was invincible in all the Chaosverse against everyone save the Autarchs. How could he not feel a degree of pride in himself?

Whoosh. Ning stepped forward as well. All the cultivators in Houwu City raised their heads to look, with Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa staring particularly intently.

In this instant, time itself seemed to have froze. Ning stepped forward in a graceful and casual manner, and as he did so space itself seemed to have shrunk between him and the eight-armed giant. He instantly appeared in front of the giant, whose eyes had been filled with berserk savagery… but in the next instant, the look in the giant’s eyes was replaced by a hint of shock.

Swoosh. Ning struck out with his sword. All of the cultivators present were able to see with clarity how Ning drew a single black sword from the sheath on his back, and then as part of the same motion delivered a chopping blow downwards.

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Chapter 19 – Blazesun Ruler

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 19 – Blazesun Ruler

The godlike sword carved through the air, leaving behind streaks of sword-light that looked like petals frozen in the air. The streaks of sword-light then all connected to each other into a beautiful arc, and it was as though the dazzling, snow-white sword-light had come alive. It was like a dazzling snow flower that had bloomed with breathtaking beauty, and the petals of that flower just so happened to pass through the eight-armed giant’s body, leaving behind a single giant wound.

Ji Ning’s sword-intent spread out through the power of karma, instantly annihilating every scrap of truesoul the eight-armed giant possessed. The giant’s life energy instantly vanished… but the dazzlingly beautiful snow flower of sword-light continued to hover there in the air.

Clink! Ning once more returned his sword into the sheath on his back… and with that, time seemed to return back to normal once more.

“Ah?!”

“This…”

“He twisted time?”

“That scene… it’s been forever burned into my memories.” The cultivators of Houwu City were all shocked. That sword-strike had been so beautiful! In addition, they had been able to see everything with perfect clarity. The drawing of the sword, the chopping, the flower of sword-light, the re-sheathing… it had all been clearly visible.

It must be remembered that it was extremely difficult to see the attacks of Hegemons with clarity! And to be precise, it wasn’t that they had really seen Ning’s attacks clearly; rather, Ning’s sword-arts had emblazoned themselves into their memories, making it impossible for them to forget any detail.

Boom! The eight-armed giant fell down from the skies, landing on the ground below.

“It has a Sithe treasure on it!” Quite a few cultivators instantly grew excited. Everyone could tell that those chains were quite extraordinary… but none of them dared to go and take it.

“Ugh. A major power like him would never suffer insults lightly.” The red-robed maiden couldn’t help but sigh as she watched from afar. She had wanted to stop the giant, but failed. “They are fine when calm, but when angered the end result shall be calamity. He had always been an idiot, but how could he be such an idiot in front such a major power?”

It was much like how no one would dare to offend an Autarch, or even an Autarch’s friends, family, and servants. There was no one who could endure the consequences of enraging an Autarh! The red-robed maiden could see that Daolord Darknorth was also someone who couldn’t be offended by the likes of her.

“The Eight-Armed Hill was simply too stupid. He deserved to die for offending you, Daolord Darknorth,” the red-robed maiden said hurriedly. “As for those cultivators the Ruler seeks to capture… Daolord, what do you think?

“There’s no way I can hand them over to you,” Ning said. “Go ahead and tell the Blazesun Ruler that there’s no way I’ll hand them over. That’s my bottom line! Anything else is negotiable, but if we cannot come to an agreement and he insists on killing them… then there’s nothing I can say or do. Your Ruler can come by himself or bring his army; I, Darknorth, will be waiting for him.”

The red-robed woman’s heart trembled. What a fierce thing to say. There really were very few cultivators who would dare to say something like this to the Blazesun Ruler.

“I’ll inform the Ruler about this. I’ll be leaving now, then,” the red-robed maiden said. As she spoke, she turned and immediately departed alongside the remaining creatures under her command. No one paid any attention to the eight-armed giant’s corpse, nor did they dare to go pick up the Sithe weapon he had left behind.

Ning watched from afar as those creatures hurriedly departed into the horizons.

“Darknorth,” Nuwa said, a hint of apology in her eyes, “Because of me, you…”

“Haha, I’m someone who failed the Daomerge. Even if I’m extremely careful, I only have a few thousand chaos cycles left. A few less years won’t make any difference,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Then what of the Blazesun Ruler?” Nuwa was worried.

“Daolord, the Blazesun Ruler is a truly supreme Sourcewalker,” the nearby Hegemon Goodsong said.

Ning slowly nodded. “The Blazesun Ruler’s power cannot be underestimated. If we can avoid battle, that would be the best solution. Everyone, make your preparations. This very day, we shall depart from Houwu City!”

“Alright.”

“We’ll head out today.” Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow had come over as well, and they fully supported Ning’s decision. Although they knew Daolord Darknorth was incredibly powerful, they still felt a degree of fear towards the Blazesun Ruler! It was better to avoid battle.

……

That very day, Ning led Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, and the others in departing from Houwu City.

“Be careful on your journey, Daolord.” Lord Houwu watched from afar as the realmship vanished from his demesnes.

“Lord Governor, you were far too rash! If you had merely asked Daolord Darknorth for some pointers, he would’ve agreed to give you some guidance,” the nearby silver-browed elder said.

“Forget it. That ship has already sailed. Just being able to witness that dazzling sword-strike was all worth it,” Lord Houwu said. “That sword-strike… I will probably never be able to forget it. It was simply too incredible.”

That dazzling, snowy-colored, flower-like sword had already surpassed the limits of sword-arts. It truly was unsurpassably beautiful.

……

The Blazesun Domain was a truly mysterious place. It was filled with many Sithe treasuries, Sourcewalkers, Chaos Primordials, strange creatures, and multiple otherverses. It was one of the most marvelous places of the Chaosverse, one of the Eight Domains.

Swoosh! The red-robed woman and the crimson bloodfiend leader flew through the void side-by-side, finally landing upon a long walkway of frozen ice.

For a walkway of frozen ice to appear within the blazingly hot Blazesun Domain was truly a marvelous thing. Thanks to its vast size, the Blazesun Domain was a self-contained system unto itself that was extremely stable, and filled with places that had both mud and water. Ice, however, was still very rare, much less an entire walkway made out of ice.

The frozen walkway was semi-translucent and stretched off for countless kilometers. It was lined with stone columns to each side, and each column had a ball of fire blazing on top.

The red-robed maiden and the crimson bloodfiend leader walked across the walkway of ice. After walking for a time, they saw an enormous altar that had been sculpted out of ice. It had many layers of frozen steps which led to a frozen throne at the very top.

Atop the frozen throne sat a muscular man whose entire body was black. He was dressed in black armor, and his eyes were two blazing balls of fire. He rested his jaw on one hand as he stared downwards and said calmly, “The Eight-Armed Hill’s lifestone has shattered, which means it is dead. How did it die? I do not believe the Lord Governor of Houwu City has the courage to launch a war against me! In addition, I’ve never humiliated or made things too difficult for their city. This time, they went too far in destroying something which I loved.”

The crimson bloodfiend leader shivered, not saying a word. The red-robed maiden, however, bowed respectfully: “Ruler, we went on your orders to apprehend those five cultivators. As you said, the Lord Governor of Houwu City would never dare to make an enemy out of you… but those five cultivators have a powerful backer.”

“A backer?” The muscular black figure stared downwards at them.

“Yes.” The red-robed maiden said hurriedly, “Their backer is named Daolord Darknorth!”

“A Daolord?” The muscular black figure was instantly astonished. In truth, neither the red-robed maiden or the Blazesun Ruler had heard the name ‘Daolord Darknorth’ before! Although the legend of Ning had spread quite far by now, it had only spread amongst the cultivators. No one would go out of their way to share news like this to Sourcewalkers or the other civilizations! In addition, the Sourcewalkers were located quite far away from each other; it was generally quite hard for them to send word to their fellows. Thus, there were very few Sourcewalkers who knew the legend of Daolord Darknorth.

“Are you joking with me?” the Blazesun Ruler said coldly.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“We would never dare to lie to you, Ruler!” the crimson bloodfiend said hurriedly. “It truly was a Daolord, an extremely powerful one. He didn’t even use any techniques at all; he simply manifested countless streaks of sword-light in the world, and every single streak of sword-light was capable of slaying Hegemons with ease! He was utterly terrifying. I was completely dazed when I saw this.”

“What? He manifested countless streaks of sword-light, each of which could slay Hegemons?” The Blazesun Ruler rose to his feet in shock.

“Yes.” The red-robed maiden said hurriedly, “It should’ve been a domain formed by the Dao of the Sword! A terrifying one at that. The Eight-Armed Hill, that fool, actually thought that Daolord Darknorth was just faking it and putting on a false front, insisting on charging towards Daolord Darknorth and attacking him. I couldn’t even stop him! Daolord Darknorth used just a single blow of his sword to kill the Eight-Armed Hill. In addition, Daolord Darknorth is a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. I can sense that his soul and truesoul were slowly dissipating with every passing breath.”

The Blazesun Ruler murmured softly, “I’ve never even heard of such a terrifying Sword Dao domain. Can it be… a legendary ‘Eternal Omega Dao’, one of the sword?”

Omega Daos were all legends. The Blazesun Ruler knew of them, but he also knew that no one had ever succeeded in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao, and that no one had ever mastered an Eternal Omega Dao! But when he heard of how Ning had created such a terrifying Sword Dao domain, and that Ning was a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge… save for the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, the Blazesun Ruler couldn’t think of any other possibility.

“Interesting.” The Blazesun Ruler’s eyes lit up, and the flames that served for his eyes suddenly glowed brighter. “A Daolord who has failed the Daomerge but mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Finally, something interesting has appeared to break up the monotony of life.”

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Chapter 20 – A Strange Feeling

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 20 – A Strange Feeling

“Scarletbind.” The Blazesun Ruler began to walk down from his altar of ice, his blazing eyes burning brightly. He ordered in his sonorous voice, “Come, accompany to Houwu City. I can’t wait to meet this Daolord Darknorth!”

“Yes.” The red-robed woman immediately assented to the order.

“Sparring against those other seven Domain Rulers is completely pointless. Daolord Darknorth is a cultivator who has mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao… the first in the entire Chaosverse!” The Blazesun Ruler was filled with eagerness and a desire to do battle.

He stood at the very apex of power amongst Sourcewalkers. Each of the Eight Domains had a Domain Ruler, and all of them were at the level of the Sithe Exalts! There might be a few other supreme Sourcewalkers located in other incredibly distant parts of the vast Chaosverse, but there truly were very, very few of them.

……

Just half a day later, the Blazesun Ruler reached Houwu City.

Rumble… a black warship which was completely made out of deepfire blackstone tore through spacetime and appeared in the skies above Houwu City.

“Huh?!”

“What IS that?” The Hegemons, Emperors, and other cultivators of Houwu City all stared in shock at the enormous black warship which had just appeared in the distant skies. They felt a sense of pure terror from the oppressive aura generated by this vessel. This was a powerful warship which was similar to the Stone Hellephant Wall, and it was the most powerful Sithe treasure which the Blazesun Ruler possessed. This was far more powerful than a mere realmship!

“That’s the Blazesun Ruler.” Lord Houwu and a few of the more experienced cultivators immediately recognized this ship, and they all flew into the skies.

Whoosh! The surface of the giant warship rippled as a door appeared, followed by two figures flying out of it. The first was the red-robed maiden, Walker Scarletbind, who had been here just a short while ago. The other was undisputably the most terrifyingly powerful figure of the entire Blazesun Domain… the Blazesun Ruler.

When Lord Houwu saw the muscular black-colored figure appear, he immediately bowed respectfully: “Respectful greetings, Blazesun Ruler.”

“Respectful greetings, Blazesun Ruler.” The cultivators felt shock and fear, but on the surface they showed nothing but respect. They knew that the Blazesun Ruler was on a completely different level of power than them!

When adventuring through the Chaosverse, they had occasionally battled against Sourcewalkers and other marvelous creatures, but none of them would dare to contend against the Blazesun Ruler! He was simply far too powerful. Even dominating cultivators like the Lonely King or Lord Houwu would have no choice but to bow their heads in his presence.

The Blazesun Ruler was comparable in power to that of the most supreme Sithes. Even an Autarch wouldn’t be able to slay a Sithe Exalt with just two or three full-power attacks. But of course, given enough time they could still accomplish it; in the end, there was a degree of difference in power between the Autarchs and the Exalts.

Still… to all other cultivators, the Blazesun Ruler was someone vastly beyond their level. This why the Blazesun Ruler himself generally didn’t deign to battle against cultivators; at most, he would only show his might against those foolish cultivators who had offended him. In this case, Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa had barged into his estate, completely wrecked it, looted it clean, and destroyed one of his beloved items. Of course he would be angry, and of course he had to make clear the weight of his displeasure!

“Daolord Darknorth. Where is he?” The Blazesun Ruler stared downwards, his voice booming out to shake the entire city of Houwu. As he spoke, he scanned the city and searched it. Although he was able to find a few Samsara Daolords, he wasn’t able to find one who had failed the Daomerge.

“Domain Ruler,” Lord Houwu said, bowing once more, “Daolord Darknorth left Houwu City after defeating Scarletbind.”

“He left?” The Blazesun Ruler was startled. He shook his head and murmured, “Can it be that he’s afraid of me? He’s the only cultivator in the entire Chaosverse who has ever mastered an Eternal Omega Dao… and he actually chose to flee instead of fighting? I truly am disappointed.”

None of the cultivators below him dared to say a thing. They were afraid of Daolord Darknorth, but they were also afraid of the Blazesun Ruler! In fact, they were even more afraid of the Blazesun Ruler, because there was a limit to how long Daolord Darknorth would be around for. Sooner or later, he would die and his Dao would vanish. The Blazesun Ruler, in contrast, possessed an endless lifespan.

“Where did Daolord Darknorth go?” the Blazesun Ruler growled.

“None of us dared to ask,” Lord Houwu said hurriedly. “Daolord Darknorth and the others left quite quickly. They could’ve gone anywhere.”

The Blazesun Ruler laughed coldly. “This is my Blazesun Domain. They won’t be able to escape it. Let’s go, Scarletbind.” The Blazesun Ruler turned and walked back towards his black warship. “Let’s go find this Daolord Darknorth.”

“Yes, Domain Ruler.” The red-robed maiden immediately followed behind obediently.

The giant black warship left with a rumble. All of the cultivators below finally let out sighs of relief. Even Lord Houwu still felt a hint of lingering fear.

“Thankfully, the Domain Ruler didn’t make us the object of his ire. If he did, we’d probably all have to run for our lives. Even though we have the citadel protecting us, it’s likely that only a few of us would make it,” the silver-browed elder said.

“Daolord Darknorth on one side, the Blazesun Ruler on the other. I cannot afford to offend either one.” Moments later, a startled look appeared on Lord Houwu’s face. “That’s odd. Why is it that the Blazesun Ruler only asked about Daolord Darknorth and didn’t ask about Nuwa and the others? It was Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa who wrecked his estate. Logically speaking, his main target should be Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa, right?”

“Right.” The silver-browed elder was puzzled as well. “Can it be that he was able to foresee that Nuwa’s group is travelling alongside Daolord Darknorth? But I’ve never heard anyone say that he is particularly accomplished in the Dao of Numerancy.”

“That IS odd.” Lord Houwu was similarly puzzled.

What none of them realized was that by now, the Blazesun Ruler no longer cared about Nuwa’s team at all. His ‘beloved item’ was nothing more than a trinket he was fond of. What the Blazesun Ruler really wanted to do was to find Daolord Darknorth and have a good fight with him!

……

The Blazesun Ruler gave the order, fully mobilizing all of his forces to begin a search for Daolord Darknorth.

……

More than 300,000 years after Ning and Nuwa had first met.

Whoosh! A realmship was flying through a sea of fiery clouds. Inside the realmship was the white-robed Ning and a silver-robed Nuwa, who were having a cvonersation with each other. Nuwa was now dressed in longer silver robes, and a red diamond was affixed to the middle of her forehead. When the Lonely King had wielded these weapons, they had emanated icy and evil auras, but on Nuwa they looked noble and beautiful. The silver robes glowed with a holy aura that looked like moonlight, while the red diamond put Nuwa’s alabaster-white skin on full display.

Nuwa and Ning spent much of their time discussing the Dao. Ning held nothing back, unstintingly sharing his own experiences in detail. This caused Patriarch Treewind and the others to feel a sense of tremendous jealousy! However, Ning occasionally provided them with a few pointers as well… but he naturally didn’t put as much effort into it as he did into teaching Nuwa.

“Treewind, Jade Rainbow… based on my calculations, we should be arriving soon, yes?” Ning suddenly asked.

“Daolord,” “Daolord,” Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow answered at the same time. After sharing a glance, Patriarch Treewind was the one to answer: “We should arrive in just three more months. By then, you’ll be able to see the imprisoned Sithe Exalt.”

Ning smiled and nodded. The reason why Ning had been unwilling to meet the Blazesun Ruler and spar against him was because the more he battled, the faster his truesoul would dissipate. And yet, it would take nearly half a million years to use a realmship to fly from Houwu City to the outskirts of the Blazesun Domain. Given how much time even this ‘fastest’ path would take, it was entirely possible that the Blazesun Ruler would be able to intercept them!

Thus, Ning had chosen to take a roundabout path that would make it harder for the Domain Ruler to find them. And since they had already chosen to take a roundabout path, Ning decided to go ahead and pay a visit to the imprisoned Sithe Exalt! Ning had never seen a Sithe Exalt before and was quite curious about them. He also had the vague feeling that there had to be a secret hidden behind the fact that the six Sithe Exalts had been imprisoned in six of the Eight Domains at the very center of the Chaosverse!

The realmship continued to advance, occasionally encountering a few creatures who Hegemon Goodsong or Flamewing quickly dispatched. Another month went by in the blink of an eye as they drew closer and closer to the imprisoned Sithe Exalt.

“Halt!” Ning suddenly shouted.

Hegemon Azurefiend, who was responsible for controlling the realmship, immediately halted the ship and brought it out of its spacetime warp. Everyone in the realmship turned to stare at Ning.

“Master, what is it?” Flamewing was rather puzzled.

“These ripples…” Ning closed his eyes, sensing as those faint ripples washed over him. These ripples were constantly changing and transforming, but on the surface they seemed quite ordinary. Given how much fire elemental energy the Blazesun Domain held, for there to be a few energy ripples was quite normal. “These ripples… in this area, they’ve actually scattered apart into a total of over three hundred million ripples, but they should all come from the same source.”

Ning murmured softly, “Vast, ancient, and powerful…”

The nearby Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, Azurefiend, Goodsong, and other Hegemonic figures were all puzzled. They could hear what Ning was murmuring, but they didn’t sense anything at all.

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Chapter 21 – The Path to Becoming the Strongest Autarch

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 21 – The Path to Becoming the Strongest Autarch

“Listen to my commands.” Ji Ning opened his eyes, which were shining brightly. He used his left hand to point towards a certain direction: “Advance towards that direction.”

“Understood,” Hegemon Azurefiend acknowledged.

The Blazesun Domain was filled with too many dangers. Not even a realmship could be used to engage in long-distance warps through spacetime; at most, only short warps were possible. Sometimes, ordinary flight was necessary as well.

“Now this direction.” Ning’s finger suddenly moved to point a different location. “Now over there.” Ning followed his senses, and as they moved closer he continuously had them change directions.

Whooooosh. A strange but subtle sound, almost like the roaring of the waves of a river, was beginning to pervade this entire region. Although everyone within the realmship remained puzzled, the sound of the ‘roaring river’ was enough to let them know that Ning was leading them to some sort of secret place.

“It continually shifts through spacetime, moving from one continuum to another. Its almost like a maze…” Ning smiled. “It’s hidden quite well, but it still won’t be able to evade my senses. Advance!”

Ning continued to point, guiding the realmship to fly up, left, down, right… the directly constantly changed, and every so often they would even warp into a different continuum. As time flowed on, the echoing sound of the ‘river water’ began to grow increasingly loud as well. Five months went by in the blink of an eye, and by now the sound roared like thunder.

BOOM! The realmship suddenly rammed into an invisible barrier, which bulged inwards. The realmship continued to press inwards, quickly piercing through the invisible membrane. As it did so, the environment around it completely changed.

“Wow.”

“What in the…” The cultivators in the realmship were all stunned, as was the Flamewing God. Su Youji’s eyes turned completely round with shock. The calmest was Ning, but even he narrowed his eyes as he stared at their new surroundings.

They were now in the midst of an enormous, fiery-red sea. If one took a close look at the fiery liquid within the sea, one would see that it was actually composed of incredibly dense and concentrated flames! The countless flames all flowed together like a liquid, coming together to form an indescribably vast sea. At the very center of this sea was an enormous whirlpool that was continuously twisting and churning, causing all of the fiery ‘liquid’ within the sea to move and generate those rumbling roars. This was a sound that surpassed the limits of spacetime and spread out in every direction.

“What in the world IS this place?” Hegemon Azurefiend sighed with astonishment. “This entire sea is composed of countless flames that have been…liquefied? And the flames… I feel as though they are on par with the flames which Flamewing belches out.”

“Yeah… what is this place? How is it that a place like this can exist in the Blazesun Domain? I’ve never even heard of it!” Patriarch Treewind didn’t understand either.

“I like this place, Master! I want to dive right in.” Flamewing looked excitedly at Ning.

“Go ahead.” Ning smiled and nodded.

Swoosh! Flamewing immediately exited the realmship and transformed into his true form, then dove straight down towards the flaming sea. Even in his true form, it was nothing more than a tiny little dot in the great sea. Plop! It plunged into the flaming sea, kicking up some ‘spray’! As the ‘water’ shot up in Flamewing’s wake, it quickly dissipated into flames.

“Whoah. Whoaaaaah! This is nice! Ahahaha! This feels great!” Flamewing delightedly swam through the flames, growling and howling happily, “Master, come and try it out for yourself! It feels great! The last time I felt this comfortable was when I was born.”

Ning and the others all flew out of the realmship, then stood in the empty void and stared at the great sea. “When it was first born?” Ning’s face twitched. “Flamewing was born in the Quintessence of the Chaosverse. That means that this place is actually quite similar to the Quintessence? But there’s no way this place can be the location of the prime essences.”

Ning’s will was able to maintain constant contact with the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, and so he had a rough idea as to where the prime essences were located. This place was not it.

“Such an enormous amount of fire energy… I’ve never seen anything like this,” Hegemon Goodsong mumbled.

“If my guess is correct,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said, “This place should be the true nucleus of the Blazesun Domain.”

“The true core?”

“Are you saying that the entire Blazesun Domain in all its vastness… originated from this place?” they all spoke out simultaneously.

Ning continued to scrutinize the place carefully. His gaze fell upon the very center of the giant whirlpool, seeing through it as he scanned the many traces and scars within. They actually brought Ning many new insights, and he immediately said, “Jade Rainbow speaks the truth. This place is indeed the wellspring of the Blazesun Domain! The reason why the Blazesun Domain has such an enormous amount of energy within it is because of this place. It all stems from here. Stay here; I’m going to go take a look. No one is to disturb me.” As he spoke, he flew straight towards the whirlpool.

“Be careful, Master,” Su Youji called out with worry.

“Just wait for me here. I’ll be fine.” Ning’s voice echoed in the air, while he himself had already reached the area directly above the giant whirlpool.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The giant whirlpool was filled with limitless amounts of power, and the rumbles emanating from it were especially loud here.

The region around Ning began to be filled with his Sword Dao domain, which served to protect him. It must be remembered that Ning’s domain was able to slay even Hegemons with ease; to use it to repel the ‘water’ of the whirlpool was quite easy.

Whoosh. As Ning slowly descended, the Sword Dao domain ensured that the liquid flames were repelled and pushed aside.

“So that’s how it is.” Ning slowly sank deeper into the whirlpool. The region around him for three hundred meters was completely empty, with the liquid flames unable to move into it. The deeper Ning sank, the more stunned he felt as he saw how the giant whirlpool had been formed.

“So fire in liquid form can possess such tremendous power…” The more Ning saw, the more thoughts filled his mind. His Primaltwin had temporarily returned to the Azureflower Estate, and was making use of the Autarch’s stone dais to completely focus on understanding the profound mysteries behind the whirlpool.

A mere two days later, Ning had reached the Hegemonic level in the Dao of Water!

This was primarily because his Eternal Omega Sword Dao had propelled him to simply incredible heights of insight. It was like a towering skyscraper, allowing him to understand other Daos with far more ease. In recent years, he had continuously improved in many other Daos. This time, he was able to break through to the Hegemonic level in the Dao of Water with just one ‘blow’. However… even though he had reached the Hegemonic level, it still couldn’t compare to his Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

“The Blazesun Domain is filled with the power of the element of fire. Who would’ve thought that its wellspring is actually able to form a liquid stream which holds so many secrets of the Dao of Water? The way it has naturally formed has resulted in it completely merging the secrets of the Dao of Fire and the Dao of Water into itself. There’s no way to tell them apart.” Ning laughed, then his eyes suddenly lit up: “Why do I have the sudden feeling that I can merge the Dao of Water into my Sword Dao as well?”

Ning immediately sat down in the lotus position. His Sword Dao domain once more spread out to three hundred meters, pushing aside the liquid fire.

After Ning had reached Hegemony in the Dao of Water, he suddenly had the feeling that he was completely capable of infusing it into his Omega Sword Dao. This was something which happened as a matter of course, and as soon as he spent a bit of time meditating on it he immediately knew why.

“So… my path to Autarchy is actually different from that of the other Autarchs.” Ning was stunned. For the first time, he understood how he should break through to Autarchy. His lifespan was now limited, which meant he probably wouldn’t have the chance to do it… but he now know what he should do!

From Hegemony to Autarchy… the paths which Autarch Bolin, Autarch Awakener, and all other Autarchs had taken were identical. They had first become Hegemons, then reached the Hegemonic level of understanding in other Daos as well! After gaining enough insight into Hegemonic Daos, they would finally and naturally break through to become Autarchs. At that point in time, they would reach the Daobirth level of ‘one Dao births many Daos’. It would naturally form a ‘Daobirth Essence’ which was capable of forming the prime essences of a universe.

Using this ‘Daobirth Essence’, the Autarchs were able to create alternate universes which would have prime essences that came from the ‘Daobirth Essence’ which the Autarch had devised.

“But I’m different from them,” Ning murmured. “Autarch Bolin… for him, his ‘one Dao’ which was was the Dao of the Claw, while his ‘many Daos’ referred to all other Daos. They came to form a ‘Daobirth Essence’ which could also be referred to as a ‘Claw Daobirth Essence’. As for Autarch Awakener, his Dao was the Dao of Wind. He used it to reach the Daobirth level, and his ‘Daobirth Essence’ was the ‘Wind Daobirth Essence’.”

Ning had received Autarch Awakener’s legacy and had seen the Dao-guidance of Autarch Bolin. Thus, he knew that Autarchs were strongest in their own specific Daos. Autarch Bolin’s had been that of the ‘Claw Daobirth Essence’ as he was strongest in the Dao of the Claw; his ‘many Daos’ were only at the Hegemonic level. As for Autarch Awakener, he was most powerful in the Dao of the Wind, whereas all his other Daos were merely at the Hegemonic level.

“When they were Hegemons, all the Hegemonic Daos they mastered were all on equal footing. I, however, am different!”

Ning took a deep breath. “My Eternal Omega Sword Dao is simply overwhelmingly powerful. It far surpasses all other Daos, to the point where Daos such as a Hegemonic Dao of Water can be infused into it, making the Dao of Water part of my Eternal Omega Sword Dao! The more Hegemonic Daos I infuse into my Eternal Omega Sword Dao, the more massive and powerful it will become. After it accumulates enough, it will then undergo a fundamental evolution and catapult to a new level… an Autarch-level Omega Dao.”

Ning finally understood. If he became an Autarch, he would be an Omega Dao Autarch, the most powerful of all Autarchs! Alas… Ning knew that this would be an extremely difficult path to walk. The other Autarchs ‘only’ had to master multiple Hegemonic Daos, then gain an epiphany and then break through. He not only needed to master those Daos, he also needed to figure out how to fully infuse them into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao! The process of infusion would be far more difficult than merely mastering those Hegemonic Daos.

If he wanted to infuse those other Daos and then evolve his Eternal Omega Dao, it would take time, luck, and many insights. The problem was, his lifespan was extremely limited; he only had a few thousand chaos cycles left. This wasn’t going to be even close to enough!

“Although I know how I can become an Autarch, I don’t have enough time. What a pity.” Ning slowly shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll first completely fuse the Dao of Water into my Eternal Omega Sword Dao.”

Ning immediately closed his eyes and focused all of his efforts into this task.

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Chapter 22 – Arrival

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 22 – Arrival

Time flowed on one day at a time.

“How long is Daolord Darknorth going to be training for?” Patriarch Treewind stared at the wellspring of fire at the very center of that giant flaming sea. There was an absolutely enormous vortex there, and at the center of the vortex there was a white-robed figure seated in the lotus position a few hundred meters deep.

“As I see it,” Imperator Jade Rainbow sent mentally, “Given that Daolord Darknorth has failed the Daomerge and has a limited lifespan, what’s the point of training? By now, he’s probably second to only the Autarchs themselves in power. If I was Daolord Darknorth, I’d spend the rest of my days wandering about and visiting all of those places of legend. I’d especially want to visit the legendary Sithe homelands. I’d definitely wander through that entire place. After doing so, I would be able to die contentedly.”

“Hmph. That’s why you aren’t Daolord Darknorth,” Patriarch Treewind snickered.

Imperator Jade Rainbow was startled by this comment, but moments later he nodded in agreement: “That’s true. He’s already failed his Daomerge, but he’s still intoxicated by cultivation… no wonder he was able to reach such heights.”

“Woohoo! Master, this place is awesome! C’mon, let’s have fun together!” The Flamewing God was happily rolling around in the sea of fire. Every so often, it would swim over to Ning, but when it saw how Ning was still meditating silently it didn’t dare to actually disturb Ning. Instead, it turned to wander through the other parts of the great sea.

Azurefiend, Hegemon Goodsong, Nuwa, Su Youji, and the others all watched this marvelous scene from afar.

“Such an awesome amount of power. If someone was able to take full control over it, most likely not even an Autarch would be able to withstand him,” Hegemon Goodsong said with a sigh.

“There’s no way it can be controlled. That’s the natural energy of the Chaosverse itself,” Su Youji said.

“Darknorth truly is formidable,” Nuwa praised. “He’s able to force the ‘water’ of the flaming sea to a distance of three hundred meters, just by using his Sword Dao domain.”

“But three hundred meters is nothing,” Azurefiend said, “Nothing more than a tiny little part of the entire flaming sea.”

……

They also benefited from their observations, but only Ning was at a high enough level of insight that he could understand the functioning and the mysteries of this place, the wellspring of the Blazesun Domain. Thanks to this place, it had taken him merely two days to improve his mastery of the Dao of Water to the Hegemonic level.

“The Dao of Water has now been infused into my Sword Dao. So this is the result…” As Ning slowly gained a greater level of understanding, his Sword Dao had become even vaster.

If a Dao was to be described in physical size, then Ning’s Eternal Omega Sword Dao had already reached an incredible height, the same height which an Autarch’s Daobirth was at, but it was even purer. Ning’s Dao was comparable to an Autarch’s Dao. The only problem was, it was a bit inferior in terms of its ‘breadth’! Autarchs had to upgrade multiple Daos to the Hegemonic level in order to reach Autarchy; in comparison, Ning was lacking in this regard.

Now, Ning was slowly infusing his Dao of Water into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, causing its ‘breadth’ to slowly improve as well. Although its raw attack power didn’t increase by that much, it did change in certain other areas! For example, Ning’s Dao of the Sword was now as gentle as water, making it softer and more elastic when defending. Most important of all, after Ning infused the Dao of Water into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, his Dao was even gentler in nurturing his soul and truesoul, causing the disintegration process to slow down by quite a bit.

“I understand now. As I slowly infuse more and more Daos into my Sword Dao, it’ll change as well. It’ll become more lingering, more dominating, have more vitality… or perhaps be able to pierce through even greater amounts of spacetime…” Ning was slowly comprehending the way forward. It would be hard for him to make his Dao any ‘higher’, but he could continuously ‘broaden’ it. As he made use of the mysteries of countless Daos, there would come the day when he gained that moment of sudden insight… at which point, he would undergo a final evolution and become an Omega Autarch! When that happened, he would completely surpass all the other Autarchs.

Alas… Ning himself could tell that he would need an extremely long period of time if he was to succeed. What he lacked most of all right now was just that – time!

“Although I’ll fall, at least I’ll fall while trodding the path towards Autarch.” Ning didn’t feel the slightest bit dispirited. As he continued upon his path, he would at least have the chance to see the glorious light at the apex from afar. Even though he didn’t have much time left, every extra step he managed to take would bring him a sense of accomplishment and gratification.

……

Time flowed on. Soon, Ning had spent over five hundred million years training within the vortex at the center of the flaming sea. Nuwa and the others, as cultivators, were naturally quite patient. None of them, not even a Daolord like Su Youji, would care about a short period of time like a mere half-billion years.

“What’s going on?” The Blazesun Ruler was seated atop the frozen throne on the altar, narrowing his eyes pensively. Below him stood a total of eight figures. These were his most important generals.

“Domain Ruler,” a stooped and short figure spoke out brightly, “We’ve laid down scouts in all of the likely locations throughout the entire Blazesun Domain. So long as Daolord Darknorth is still here, we should be able to find him. My guess is that he hasn’t left; he’s still in the Blazesun Domain.”

“But we’ve already searched the entire Blazesun Domain. We’ve gone everywhere there is to go and have questioned all the various races. There are no traces of him at all.”

“The Blazesun Domain is enormous. They might’ve fled into some particularly remote region.” The various generals began to argue and debate amongst themselves.

“Shut your mouths,” the Blazesun Ruler barked coldly. Everyone below fell silent right away.

“Could Daolord Darknorth truly have left?” A resentful look was in the Blazesun Ruler’s eyes. He had been lonely for a very, very long time. The only ones who could pose a challenge to him were the Sithe Exalts and the cultivator Autarchs! Alas, the Sithe Exalts had all been imprisoned and weren’t available for sparring, while the Autarchs were completely transcendent. There was no way to find an Autarch who didn’t go out of his way to reveal himself… and even if the Blazesun Ruler did manage to find an Autarch, he would never dare to issue a challenge!

“There is one last possibility.” The Blazesun Ruler’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Could he have gone there?” Even the Blazesun Ruler himself had only discovered that place thanks to a lucky coincidence. Every so often, he would go there by himself and train. He felt certain that he was the only person in the entire Blazesun Domain who had ever discovered it.

“Daolord Darknorth is someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. He might actually have discovered it as well. I’ll go take a look.” The Blazesun Ruler’s eyes lit up as he said, “I’ll go take a look.” He suddenly rose to his feet, then entered his vast black warship by himself and quickly departed, with all of his subordinates watching.

……

The Blazesun Ruler spent a total of three years as he passed through all the various obstacles. Finally, he arrived.

Rumble… a giant black warship suddenly pierced through a distant membrane and appeared.

“Eh?”

“What’s that?” Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, Azurefiend, Su Youji, and the other cultivators were either silently meditating or chatting and laughing as they waited for Ning next to the realmship. They could all sense an enormous disturbance and couldn’t help but turn to stare into the skies. There, they saw that enormous warship appear, radiating that aura of terrifying power.

Nuwa and the others all jumped to their feet. “Not good!” Patriarch Treewind’s face turned ashen. “That’s the Blazesun Ruler’s warship.”

“Hahaha!!!” A deep, sonorous laugh rang out like the waves of the ocean, shaking every inch of the vast sea of flames, right down to its very depths. “I knew that Daolord Darknorth had to be hiding here! Hahaha… as I thought, Daolord Darknorth truly lives up to his reputation. He actually found the Wellspring Sea.”

As the laughter echoed throughout the area, the surface of the giant warship flowed apart to reveal an opening. A muscular, black-skinned man came flying out through the opening. The aura emanating from this man caused everyone present to feel a sense of fear. All of the cultivators trembled. None of them would be able to resist him; the only result would be a slaughter.

“That’s the Blazesun Ruler.”

“He’s caught up to us!” Imperator Jade Rainbow’s face was completely ashen.

Whoosh! The Flamewing God, which had been swimming within the sea of fire, suddenly soared into the skies, its wings spread and its entire body bathed in flames. Its scales stood up straight like the hair on a cat as it stared intently at the black-skinned man. Although the Flamewing God’s body was much larger, it was clearly in a state of maximum wariness right now. It could sense that the black-skinned man standing before it was a danger to it.

The feeling was much like when it had faced that Sithe Exalt! Perhaps Flamewing would be able to keep itself safe thanks to its indestructible body, but if it actually tried to fight this man then it would be completely dominated.

“Chaos Primordial, eh?” The black-skinned man glanced towards Flamewing, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Chaos Primordials who like fire are quite rare. Young fellow, you should join me after I dispose of your master.”

“In your dreams,” Flamewing howled, but it didn’t dare to attack. It knew that if it did, it would be utterly dominated.

The black-skinned man couldn’t even bother to glance at the others. His attention was fully focused on the white-robed figure that lay hidden deep within that giant vortex. His grin grew wider. He truly had picked the perfect opponent; the man was able to force away the flaming waters of the sea merely through a Sword Dao domain!

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Chapter 23 – Ji Ning and the Blazesun Ruler

Book 39, Nuwa, Chapter 23 – Ji Ning and the Blazesun Ruler

“Daolord Darknorth, get your ass out here!!!” the black-skinned man shouted loudly. BOOM! A ripple that could be seen with the naked eye suddenly swept out and blasted at the distant vortex. This scene caused Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, and the others to all feel shock – the man was far too powerful!

Without question, Chaos Primordials and Sourcewalkers were the most favored children of the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Chaos Primordials were born with bodies that were unfathomably stronger than the bodies of the Golden Emperors of the Sithe, and they had more energy reserves than entire realmverses. If a Chaos Primordial managed to somehow train to the Hegemonic level, it would probably be stronger than even the Sithe Exalts!

As for Sourcewalkers, although they had weaker bodies and energy levels than Chaos Primordials, they were still far superior to cultivators in both respects! Even the weakest of Sourcewalkers who never trained at all would still be at the Hegemonic level of power, a testament to their might. Just a bit of effort and they would become comparable to Otherverse Lords in might… and if they managed to upgrade their insights into the Hegemonic level, then they would have the power of Sithe Exalts!

Alas, both Sourcewalkers and Chaos Primordials were extremely, extremely few in number. Thus, the entire race of Sourcewalkers ‘only’ had around ten or so members who were at the Sithe Exalt level of power.

Everything in the Chaosverse was fair. Cultivators were blessed with far fewer gifts, but the most dazzling cultivators had absolutely incredible powers of insight and comprehension, such as Ning and the Autarchs. In fact, even the likes of God Emperor Helong or Nuwa vastly surpassed all Sourcewalkers in terms of comprehension.

BOOM! The vortex of liquefied fire suddenly exploded as the wave of power slammed into Ji Ning’s Sword Dao domain.

A white-robed youth with a black scabbard on his back came rising from the sea. He walked through the empty air until he reached a high point in the skies, then turned and stared at the muscular black-skinned man aboard the distant black warship.

“Blazesun Ruler.” Ning had a smile on his face.

“Why the hell were you running?” The Blazesun Ruler was palpitating with malevolence, and the two fiery globes that served as his eyes glowed with dazzling light. “I can’t believe you actually hid here for so long.”

“I was intrigued and drawn here by the Wellspring Sea,” Ning said with a laugh. “As for wishing to avoid battle? I’m a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. When I fight, I’m using up my own lifespan. I naturally wish to avoid combat when possible.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” The Blazesun Ruler stretched out with his right hand, causing a giant fiery axe to appear within it. The axe’s surface actually glimmered with scorching black flames.

“I’m impressed, Blazesun Ruler. This axe looks quite extraordinary.” Ning then glanced at the giant black warship. “I once saw another warship which was also completely covered with deepfire blackstone. That warship was named the Tigerhill, but it was already ruined. Domain Ruler, your warship seems quite similar to it.”

“You can jabber as much as you like, but you aren’t going to be able to avoid this battle.” The Blazesun Ruler was filled with the desire to do battle, and flames were beginning to actually fly out of his eyes. “Die, Daolord Darknorth!”

All his life, the one thing he loved the most was to engage in exhilarating battles against other apex experts! Alas, ever since he had become the Blazesun Ruler he had never again experienced such a battle. Today, however, he was going to get exactly what he wanted. He even shouted out the word ‘die’ because Daolord Darknorth would only fight with full power when his own life was on the line. That was the type of battle which would get the Blazesun Ruler’s blood pumping! A mere sparring match would be completely meaningless.

“Eh?” Ning could sense the murderous intent raging within his opponent. Ning couldn’t help but frown: “Blazesun Ruler…”

“Cut the crap. Fight or die!” The Blazesun Ruler could no longer hold back, and he immediately charged straight towards Ning.

“I guess that’s that.” Ning truly didn’t want to fight and waste his remaining lifespan here. It just wasn’t worth it; the Blazesun Ruler was overwhelmingly powerful, and there was no way Ning could simply dispose of him in just one or two attacks.

“You are forcing my hand, you battle-crazed maniac. Very well, then. I’ll teach you a lesson.” Ning reached out with his right hand, drawing forth a Northbow sword from the sheath on his back. There was no way he would use all six swords at the same time… because that would use up his lifespan even faster!

“Fight!” The Blazesun Ruler charged through the skies, leaving behind a fiery-red streak behind him. He raised his axe up high, transforming it into an arc of flaming energy that seemed capable of chopping anything apart. The axe was a savage weapon by nature, and the Blazesun Ruler’s mastery over the Dao of Fire made it even more explosive.

“He truly is blessed with an incredible body and natural talents. He’s merely at the Hegemonic level of insight, but he’s able to unleash an utterly terrifying level of power,” Ning murmured softly as he lifted his Northbow sword up.

Rumble… countless streaks of sword-light spread out in every direction. This was his Sword Dao domain! The sword-light from his Sword Dao domain was able to kill Hegemons with ease. Its power was so great that it was on par with an Otherverse Lord’s full-force attack! Under Ning’s control, the flood of sword-light moved to bar the Blazesun Ruler’s path, serving as layers of obstacles that continuously stabbed at every part of his body, disrupting his movements and the mysteries behind his axe-attack.

This axe-attack was clearly a powerful one, but with Ning’s Sword Dao domain continuously disrupting the Blazesun Ruler’s movements the axe turned sluggish. The mysteries behind its movements were disrupted, causing its power to lessen dramatically.

“Mediocre insights.” Ning shook his head. If this person was a cultivator, Ning would be able to slay him with a single strike.

“Impressive, Daolord Darknorth! Your Sword Dao domain is truly powerful, and your sword-arts are truly marvelous. You were able to disrupt my technique with ease. I once battled against a Sithe Exalt during the Dawn War, but not even he was as tough as you.” The Blazesun Ruler stared at Ning. “But I have yet to unleash my full power.”

The Blazesun Ruler let out a furious roar, his body beginning to be covered with flames. At the same time, the black armor covering his body began to flow like water, transforming to cover every single inch of his body. As for the fiery axe in his hands, the runes on the surface of the axe-handle suddenly lit up as flaming light appeared on the axe-edge. The power of this axe was rising to a level which caused even Ning to feel a hint of danger.

“Now THIS is my full power. DIE!” The Blazesun Ruler, covered by that black liquid armor, went completely berserk as he charged forwards, using his giant axe to carve a path through the Sword Dao domain. The domain was now no longer able to affect him at all.

“How brutish. Now this is the definition of the ‘brute-force method’,” Ning murmured softly. He took a single step forwards. Whoosh! He instantly warped through space and appeared right in front of the Blazesun Ruler.

“That’s fast!” The Blazesun Ruler was shocked. Ning was simply far too fast; this was an enormous advantage which Ning had thanks to his overwhelmingly superior level of insight into the Dao! “But fast alone is useless.” The Blazesun Ruler immediately chopped downwards with his giant axe with tremendous power. He felt confident that even if his opponent was the Sithe Exalt he had battled so long ago during the Dawn War, the only choice would be to use a ‘soft’ technique to ablate the power of his strike.

Ning, however, just waved his sword. His strike seemed quite ordinary, but it was bizarrely fast, so fast that the Blazesun Ruler’s giant axe was completely unable to block it. Ning’s sword slammed directly against the Blazesun Ruler’s body… and in that instant, the power of Ning’s sword suddenly erupted. In this instant, Ning’s sword became the most dazzling thing in this entire realm, and his sword-light blazed with a light that shone thousands of times brighter than the giant axe.

Now THIS was Ning’s full-power strike!

SLASH! The sword pierced straight through the layer of liquid black armor and cut deep into the Blazesun Ruler’s body, piercing all the way through and coming out from his back.

“What an impressive ‘invulnerable form’.” The power of this sword-strike was causing enormous internal destruction to the Blazesun Ruler’s vital energy, but Ning could sense that the Blazesun Ruler’s ‘invulnerable flameform’ was resisting it fiercely. The power of Ning’s strike was used up after merely destroying 5% of the Blazesun Ruler’s truesoul.

This had been a full-strength strike from Ning! If Ning wanted to actually kill the Blazesun Ruler, it would take him twenty such attacks… but if the Blazesun Ruler had other protective abilities up his sleeve, it might take fifty attacks or even more. The black warship was a good example; Ning had the vague feeling that it was powerful enough to completely disrupt the tempo of this battle. If it was factored in, it would probably take Ning more than a hundred strikes in order to kill the Blazesun Ruler.

It must be remembered that this would not be a hundred ordinary strikes; this would be a hundred full-force strikes! That could well cost Ning nearly half of his life force… and if his opponent was more difficult to deal with than anticipated, Ning could actually die from this fight.

“W-what…” as the Blazesun Ruler’s body was chopped through, his body transformed into fire and furiously strove to defend. He was at the Hegemonic level of insight, after all; his body was incredibly tough and he possessed a formidable invulnerable form which made it so that even the Sithe Exalt he fought had been unable to injure him.

“He managed to injure me heavily with just one strike!” The Blazesun Ruler’s face was completely ashen. If a single strike could wipe out 5% of his truesoul… this was terrifying. This was his truesoul!

Not even the supremely exalted Autarchs would be able to kill him with just one or two strikes. It would take the Autarchs a somewhat extended battle in order to kill him. It was likely that they weren’t much more powerful than this Daolord Darknorth.

In truth, his guess was spot-on. In terms of profundity, the Eternal Omega Sword Dao was on par with the Daobirths of the Autarchs; the only difference was that the Eternal Omega Sword Dao wasn’t quite as ‘broad’. However, Ning was currently wielding what could be described as the number-one offensive treasure of the entire Chaosverse, the Northbow swords. This meant that his full-force attack was indeed on par with an Autarch’s attack.

“Flee. Flee!” All other thoughts fled from the Blazesun Ruler’s mind as he immediately turned tail and fled. What he wanted was a fun and exciting battle, not to be massacred and killed!

Whoosh! The Blazesun Ruler quickly fled into his black warship, then immediately sent it tearing through the membrane surrounding Wellspring Sea and fleeing far away. Ning didn’t move to stop him, just watching as he fled.

“Master, are you really going to let him run away like that?” The Flamewing God finally regained his usual aura of bravado. “You should’ve just killed him and taken his warship away. That thing looks better than our realmship.”

“Let’s leave as well,” Ning said.

“Leave?” Nuwa, Su Youji, and the others all flew over. Su Youji asked in confusion, “Why do we have to leave?”

“If I really wanted to kill him, it’d probably cost me half of my own life,” Ning said. “Let’s hurry up and leave. I scared him off with that attack, but he’ll quickly realize that I won’t be able to kill him that easily. He might even go and invite four or five of the other Domain Rulers to come with him. If that happens, we’ll be in trouble.”

Su Youji and Flamewing had been feeling excited, but now they came back to their senses. They remembered that their master was a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge; each strike he used was consuming his own life force.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately led them into the realmship and hurriedly left the Wellspring Sea.

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Chapter 1 – The Imprisoned Exalt

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 1 – The Imprisoned Exalt

Spacetime around the Wellspring Sea was in a state of constant flux. It had taken even the Blazesun Ruler a full three years of travel via his warship before he had managed to pass through it. Ji Ning was at a higher level of insight than him, but it had still taken Ning a full five months before passing through the region of dangerous, distorted spacetime.

If you made a mistake when passing through a region of distorted spacetime, you could end up within a spacetime fragment and be forever unable to escape! If you were ‘lucky’, you might simply be teleported to an incredibly distant place… which might end up being a death trap.

This was why the Blazesun Ruler had felt so certain that he was the only person to discover the Blazesun Wellspring Sea. At first, he didn’t even consider the possibility that Ning would be there. It was only after his forces had searched the entire Blazesun Domain to no avail that he had thought of this place and came here to test us luck.

“Head in that direction,” Ning ordered as he used his Sword Dao domain to chop a spacetime tunnel open for the realmship to pass through.

“This Wellspring Sea truly was hidden quite well,” Hegemon Azurefiend mumbled to himself.

“I often visit the Blazesun Domain, but I’ve never even heard of this place,” Patriarch Treewind said.

They continued to advance through the twisting, changing spacetime continuum. They constantly changed directions as they advanced, and after a full month Ning suddenly called out, “Halt!”

“Master, we haven’t left yet,” Hegemon Azurefiend said.

“I’m preparing to train here for a period of time,” Ning said with a smile. “This is currently the safest place in the entire Blazesun Domain.”

“Huh?” Everyone present looked flabbergasted.

“The Wellspring Sea is like a boulder which is sitting within many currents of chaotic spacetime,” Ning said. “It doesn’t matter which way we go; we’ll still run into those streams. The Blazesun Ruler is at a lower level of insight than me; even if he came back with four other Domain Rulers, he would still just follow the pathways he is already familiar with. There’s no way he would search and scan all of the possible routes. At his current level, if he dared to do so he’d probably get lost! My guess is that the reason why he was even able to find the Wellspring Sea was because he had the warship helping him out; otherwise, he would never have been able to find this place.”

Ning’s guess was correct. The warship was even more tightly attuned to spacetime than ordinary realmships were, and it was primarily thanks to the warship that the Blazesun Ruler had been able to find the Wellspring Sea.

“They won’t be able to find me as I train here,” Ning said. “Their chances might improve if there are three or four of them, but eventually the other Domain Rulers will have to go back. There’s no way they’ll stay in the Blazesun Domain the entire time.”

Ning partially wanted a quiet place to train, but he also wanted to be cautious. Battling against the likes of the Blazesun Ruler was truly pointless for him. They were merely at the Hegemonic level of insight; their primary advantage lay in the fact that they were truly blessed with incredible gifts. Ning had only been able to destroy 5% of the Blazesun Ruler’s truesoul with a full-power strike; a battle against a Domain Ruler would literally be nothing more than Ning pitting his truesoul against the Domain Ruler’s in a war of attrition. Ning truly couldn’t be bothered to take part in something like this.

“Darknorth speaks the truth. It is best to be cautious,” Nuwa agreed.

“Yes, yes. Let’s spend some more time here.” Su Youji was similarly worried about Ning exhausting too much energy.

……

And so, Ning began to train within a small spacetime pocket located within the chaotic spacetime surrounding the Wellspring Sea. Every day, he was able to hear the whooshing, rumbling sound of the Wellspring Sea. Even Su Youji, who walked the path of the Dao of Fire, began to gain many insights and began to train. Ning himself continued to focus on slowly merging his Dao of Water into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao. After spending a total of 1.2 billion years, he finally completed the process and fully integrated his Dao of Water into his Sword Dao.

“Supremely kind and gentle, and filled with all the secrets of water… I suppose I can call this the Water Sword Dao.” Ning smiled as he opened his eyes. He could sense that his sword-heart was a hair more calm and peaceful than it had been in the past. This was the nature of water; it struggled against nothing and accepted everything. Thanks to the Dao of Water, his soul and truesoul were now significantly calmed and began to disintegrate much more slowly than before.

“I killed the Lonely King and the eight-armed giant, then struck out against the Blazesun Ruler. These actions caused my truesoul to disintegrate more quickly, but integrating the mysteries of the Dao of Water into my Sword Dao caused the process to slow down once again. These things actually ended up cancelling each other out. I still have roughly eight thousand chaos cycles left to me.” Ning laughed, but he knew that there was no way to make up for what he had lost during those three battles.

If he had never fought at all, then the full integration of the Dao of Water would’ve resulted in his lifespan being extended to ten thousand chaos cycles! It must be remembered that his other Daos, such as the Dao of Lightning, would be of little use to him in preserving his truesoul. Ning had the feeling that the Dao of Water was the most effective in this regard… but alas, its benefits had been cancelled out by the battles he had taken part in.

These battles had an effect akin to creating cracks on a dike. Each battle would cause those cracks to become greater and greater, hastening the day when the dike crumbled apart in its entirety.

Boom! Ning stretched out his right hand, causing a sword to manifest in the palm of his hand. This was an unadorned sword that looked extremely ordinary.

“Eh? This sword…” Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, Azurefiend, Goodsong, and the others inside the realmship couldn’t help but feel intrigued and enticed by that sword. It looked quite ordinary, but in their hearts they couldn’t help but feel that this sword somehow embodied all the mysteries of the Dao of the Sword.

Ning smiled as he then reached out with his left hand. A second sword appeared within the palm of his left hand, but this one was covered with a layer of flowing watery light that made it seem calmer, more beautiful, and more gentle.

“On one side is the ‘pure’ Eternal Omega Sword Dao,” Ning said with a laugh, “And on the other is the Eternal Omega Sword Dao that has been infused with the mysteries of water. I suppose you can call it the Water Sword Dao. Can you sense the differences between the two?”

“The first seems purer; save for the sword, there is nothing else,” Nuwa said. “I can sense a gentle stream of water coming from the other… but it also feels like a vast, completely calm ocean.”

“Is purity better, or is infusing other mysteries better?” Patriarch Treewind couldn’t help but ask.

Ning nodded in response to the question. “In the early stages of cultivation, purity is better! But when you reach the utmost apex in purity and are unable to advance any further, that’s when you’ll need to broaden your base. Alright, I’ve already completed my task. Given that it has been 1.2 billion years, my guess is that even if the Blazesun Ruler did invite other Domain Rulers to come help him out, they’ve probably left by now after all these years of fruitless waiting. Let’s head out and go towards the place where that Sithe Exalt has been imprisoned.”

“Let’s go!” Flamewing said excitedly. Finally! It had grown bored long ago.

“I’ve never seen a Sithe Exalt either.” Azurefiend was filled with anticipation as well.

“The Sithe Exalts of legend…” Nuwa and Su Youji had never seen one of them either.

……

Whoosh! Thanks to Ning’s guidance, the realmship spent another three months before finally exiting the region of distorted spacetime and returning to the normal spacetime continuum. Next, Ning’s group spent another month riding the realmship before finally reaching the place where the legendary Sithe Exalt was imprisoned.

“The place where the Sithe Exalt has been imprisoned is known as the Earthfire Continent,” Patriarch Treewind explained. “Anyone who sees a Sithe Exalt will feel a sense of awe. The feeling they give us is completely different from the feeling which the Blazesun Ruler gives us.”

“Completely different?” Ning was startled. “But aren’t the Sithe Exalts on par with the Blazesun Ruler in power?”

“You’ll understand when you see him,” Patriarch Treewind said.

“The Sithe Exalts are rather pitiable creatures,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said. He shook his head and sighed. “Everyone who sees them feels sorry for them, but none of us dares to go too close to them. This is because the Sithe Exalts remain as crazed and berserk as ever. If you go too close, you might end up dead.”

As they chatted, a vast continent suddenly appeared in the void in front of them. This continent was so gigantic in size, it was impossible for them to see to the ends of it. The realmship flew into the skies above the vast continent, with Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow guiding them closer and closer to the prison.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! Even though they were still very far away, Ning was already able to vaguely hear a series of booming sounds. He was also able to see with the naked eye a hint of fiery light flickering from far away.

As the realmship flew closer and closer, the fiery light became increasingly dazzling to behold. It was actually a vast field of fiery light that stretched off to cover an area of ten billion kilometers. It was like a field of divine punishment that was crushing and suppressing a blurry figure at the very center of the field. The blurry figure was seated in the lotus position, its body emanating an aura of tremendous power that was fighting back against the endless field of fiery light.

“What?!” Ning turned pale. The vast field of fiery light clearly concentrated its power at the center, where an endless series of explosions continued to burst out against the blurry figure. The power of each explosion vastly surpassed the full-strength strikes of the Blazesun Ruler… and the aura emanating from the blurry figure was clearly superior to the Blazesun Ruler’s as well!

“Didn’t they say that the Sithe Exalt was on par with the Blazesun Ruler in power?” Ning immediately felt puzzled by this.

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Chapter 2 – Crazed

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 2 – Crazed

The realmship continued to fly towards the prison. Ji Ning could see that within the fiery field of ten billion kilometers, there were actually a series of other figures who were either seated in the lotus position or located within small buildings. These cultivators were scattered in the region around the Sithe Exalt, with even the closest maintaining a minimum distance of ten million kilometers.

“Daolord Darknorth,” Patriarch Treewind immediately explained, “The Earthfire Continent is extremely famous. Quite a few cultivators come here to visit, and every so often the imprisoned Sithe Exalt will provide them with some guidance.”

“Guidance?” Ning was surprised. “The Sithe are our mortal enemies. Why would it be so kind-hearted as to provide us with some guidance.”

“Can it perhaps be a trick?” Nuwa guessed.

Imperator Jade Rainbow laughed. “The Sithe Exalt has been imprisoned here for countless years. It is possible that to him, the occasional interaction with cultivators is a form of temporary release. How can there be any ‘tricks’ when pointing out the flaws in their Daos? If they were wrong in their Dao, they were wrong. Quite a few cultivators have already perfected their Daos thanks to this Exalt’s guidance.”

“Oh?” This was the first time that Ning, Su Youji, Nuwa, and many of the others within the realmship had heard such a thing. All of them felt that this really didn’t make much sense.

“Master,” Hegemon Azurefiend said, “There are other cultivators here. I’m afraid that they’ll immediately recognize you once you appear, and then word will probably spread out quite quickly. Is it possible that the Blazesun Ruler would head over here?”

Ning said, “Don’t worry; I wager that the Blazesun Ruler wouldn’t dare to come here on his own! It would take him time to summon four or five of the other Domain Rulers and then make it all the way over to the Earthfire Continent. All I wish to do is visit the Sithe Exalt; half a day will be more than enough! By the time the Blazesun Ruler arrives, we’ll have left long ago.”

Whoosh. Watched by many cultivators, the realmship finally descended upon this great continent. This entire region was covered by fiery light, but the pressure wasn’t all that great; the centermost region where the Sithe Exalt resided suffered the vast majority of the pressure.

“Which major power has just arrived?”

“He actually descended upon the Earthfire Continent via realmship. It seems an extraordinary figure has just appeared in our midst.” The scattered cultivators all stared towards the descending realmship. They watched as a large number of people flew out from within the realmship, with the leader being a white-robed youth who bore a black sheath on his back. Next to him stood the dazzlingly beautiful Su Youji as well as the honest-looking Protector Whitethaw. Nuwa, Hegemon Azurefiend, Hegemon Goodsong, the Flamewing God, Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and the others all appeared next to them as well.

“That’s Patriarch Treewind!”

“It’s actually Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow? I heard that they left this place alongside Daolord Darknorth. I even heard that the Blazesun Ruler had gone to Houwu City to hunt them down.”

“That white-robed Daolord at their head… his truesoul is slowly crumbling away. That should be the legendary Daolord Darknorth, right?”

“A white-robed youth who bears a black sheath on his back and who failed the Daomerge… Hegemon Goodsong is by his side, as is a dazzlingly beautiful red-robed woman… yes, that has to be Daolord Darknorth.”

“That almost certainly has to be Daolord Darknorth.”

The formerly-calm cultivators suddenly all grew excited. A violet-robed elder who was an old friend of Patriarch Treewind’s actually reached out to him mentally: “Brother Treewind, is that the legendary Daolord Darknorth?”

“It is indeed,” Patriarch Treewind said proudly.

……

“Respectful greetings to you, Daolord Darknorth,” the violet-robed elder hurriedly rose to his feet and bowed as he said these words.

The other Hegemons and Emperors present emerged as well and all bowed respectfully towards Ning: “Respectful greetings to you, Daolord Darknorth.”

Although Ning wasn’t the type to stand on formal ceremony, all of the cultivators he had encountered recently had spoken to him in this very respectful manner, and so Ning no longer tried to dissuade them. In fact, if he was excessively courteous to them, many of them would actually begin to feel nervous!

“Carry on, gentlemen. I’ve merely come to take a look at the Sithe Exalt,” Ning said.

“Understood,” the cultivators all assented.

……

The cultivators had all come out to greet Ning respectfully. Some of the other creatures residing here quickly noticed this behavior. This was an important place where the Sithe Exalt was imprisoned, after all; the Blazesun Ruler had naturally arranged for some of his subordinates to be permanently stationed here and watch over it.

“Daolord Darknorth?” Multiple creatures emerged. Some popped their heads up from beneath the earth while some manifested out of bonfires. All of them stared at the distant white-robed youth in astonishment.

“The Domain Ruler has been searching for Daolord Darknorth this entire time… who would’ve thought that he’d suddenly appear in the Earthfire Continent?”

“Notify the Domain Ruler right away.”

“Hurry up and notify the Domain Ruler!” None of the creatures dared to approach Ning, but since they were responsible for keeping a watch over the trapped Sithe Exalt, they naturally had ways to send information up the chain of command. They all sent word in almost the same instant.

……

As Ning arrived, he didn’t just attract interest from the cultivators and the other creatures; he also attracted the attention of the Sithe Exalt.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions continued to blast away at his body. All of the power of the fiery light was concentrated here and continuously hammered away at him. These attacks all seemed quite ferocious, but in truth they were all quite different.

Some were like countless needles that stabbed into his body, piercing into his very soul and truesoul. They caused truly soul-tearing agony! Others were like knives that continuously cut away at his skin; they didn’t cause any real injuries at all, but the pain was excruciating! Still others carried illusory effects. In short, all of these attacks served to torment it to the extreme! Although the Sithe Exalt was dressed in gray armor, the exposed parts of his arm, neck, and face were all covered by strange formation-diagrams.

Beneath his feet, there was an enormous formation-diagram that was ten thousand kilometers in size which was identical to the ones covering him. The formation-diagram was imprinted on every part of his body, ensuring that he was perpetually trapped, suppressed, and tormented.

“Ahhhh!” He let out a screeching roar. He had three curved horns growing out of his head, and a pair of azure eyes that stared intently at the distant Ning. “DIE! EVERYONE SHOULD DIE!” He continuously raved, repeating these words over and over again.

He had been trapped here for far too long. He had been imprisoned here since their defeat in the Dawn War. The Autarchs had used their full power to set up this sealing formation-diagram, then established the most tortuous methods available to them to force him to suffer perpetual torment. The suppressive effects of the formation-diagram made it impossible for him to even commit suicide! There was nothing save endless torture, unless he was willing to lower his head and choose a humiliating path…

“Everyone should die…” he mumbled. He had repeated these words far, far too many times.

“All of them are craven and afraid to move too close to me.” He stared off into the distance, his azure eyes filled with malice. He truly did wish to squish these bugs and kill them all! Alas, the little bugs were all quite cautious. After having been sealed away, his attack distance had become limited to a mere million kilometers. After he had successfully killed a few of those ants, the rest had grown cautious and stayed at least ten million kilometers away from him.

“Respectful greetings to you, Daolord Darknorth!” The distant cultivators all bowed towards Ning with tremendous respect.

“Eh?” The Exalt’s attention was drawn to this. It had been a long, long time since he had seen these cultivators treated someone else so respectfully; the last time had been when the Blazesun Ruler had come to this place. Yes, the Autarchs also received this sort of reception when they came, but there was no way any other cultivators would. This was because the cultivators here consisted of Hegemons and Otherverse Lords; it was extremely hard for someone else to convince them to display such respect!

“Daolord Darknorth? Huh? He’s a Daolord of their civilization?” He was puzzled. “Daolords should be weaker than Emperors in their system, right? Why are so many of them being so respectful?”

Although word that Ning had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao had spread like wildfire across the cultivator civilizations, the imprisoned Sithe Exalt had not been informed.

“That feeling he gives me… wait. Something’s wrong. That’s no ordinary Daolord.” He focused his gaze on Ning. “And… he’s failed his Daomerge? In their civilization, the Daolords who fail the Daomerge shall face certain death. This Daolord has failed the Daomerge, but they are all so respectful to him… and he gives me a strange feeling, almost as though he is a match for me…”

Suddenly, his eyes widened as an enormous suspicion swept through his heart like a tidal wave. “Can it… is he… yes. There’s no mistaking it. That’s the only possibility!”

“A Daolord who can inspire such respect from even Otherverse Lords and who is a match for even myself… there’s only one possibility!” His azure eyes suddenly blazed with incredible luminosity. “Can it be that their civilization has finally given birth to someone who is in control of an Eternal Omega Dao? Thankfully, he’s a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. He doesn’t have much time left; otherwise, he’d be a major problem.”

“A Daolord who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao, eh?” The Sithe Exalt quickly came to this conclusion solely based off the scene appearing before him. It was an easy guess to make. The only way a Daolord who failed the Daomerge could be so powerful as to eclipse even Otherverse Lords was if that Daolord was in control of an Eternal Omega Dao. There were no other possibilities!

“Haha… if they’ve given birth to one, they’ll probably give birth to a second, a third, a fourth. Haha… are we finally going to lose? I hope we do. Let’s lose and end it all! Everyone should die. Everyone should die!” he mumbled, his eyes turning even more crazed than before.

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Chapter 3 – Exalt Dauber

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 3 – Exalt Dauber

“The rest of you can stay here. No need to get too close to him,” Ji Ning said. “I’ll go and chat with the Sithe Exalt.”

“Be careful, Daolord,” Patriarch Treewind said hurriedly. “The Sithe Exalt can attack at any moment. Even though he has been imprisoned, he can launch attacks out to a range of one million kilometers.”

The nearby Imperator Jade Rainbow said, “Treewind, not even the Blazesun Ruler is close to being a match for the Daolord, much less this imprisoned Sithe Exalt. However… Daolord, Treewind speaks the truth. It wouldn’t be worth it if you ended up in a fight against this Exalt.”

“Haha, thank you for your advice.” Ning smiled and nodded, then began to walk towards the centermost region of this field of flaming light.

Nuwa, Su Youji, and Azurefiend all watched as he left. Flamewing hesitated for a bit, in the end deciding not to follow. In its heart, it couldn’t help but feel a bit of aversion towards Sithe Exalts.

……

This field of flaming light had accumulated all of the fire elemental energy of the surrounding area, concentrating it into a series of terrifying attacks at the center.

“Every single one of these strikes surpasses the maximum power of the Blazesun Ruler… but the Sithe Exalt is able to endure them with ease. No matter how I inspect him, I keep on having the feeling that he should be stronger than the Blazesun Ruler… but everyone in the outside world agrees that the Blazesun Ruler is on par with Sithe Exalts in power.” Ning stared at the Exalt, his heart filled with suspicions. Suddenly, his gaze focused upon the incredibly complicated formation-diagram that covered the area of ten thousand kilometers around the seated Sithe Exalt. That formation-diagram was the center and core of this entire field of flaming light!

The exposed parts of the Sithe Exalt’s skin were also covered by identical imprints of that formation-diagram.

“Now THAT is a nasty trick!” Ning sucked in a cold breath. “The person who set up this formation-diagram vastly surpasses me in the Dao of Formation.” Ning continued to stare. “And… this formation-diagram includes the Dao of Fire, the Dao of Illusions, the Dao of Darkness, and many other instruments of torture. Many are meant to attack the soul and truesoul. In all the Chaosverse, only the Autarchs could possibly set up a formation-diagram which contains so many Daos.”

Autarchs were at the Daobirth level, where ‘one Dao births many Daos’. Autarch Bolin had reached Autarchy via the Dao of the Claw, and he had also reached Hegemony in all of the other Daos! Formations, illusions… even Daos he had never trained in; he had reached Hegemony in all of them upon gaining Autarchy! Thus, Autarchs were naturally able to employ many different Daos in setting up formation-diagrams. The person who had set up this formation had mixed the various Daos together perfectly. It seemed as though the Autarchs weren’t just the strongest cultivators in the Chaosverse, they were also the most terrifying torturers.

“How much hatred must the Autarchs hold towards them? Why is it that they continue to torment the Sithe Exalts, even after the war has come to an end?” Ning mused to himself, “And this punishment is eternal and unending… wouldn’t just killing them be easier? Why spend so much time and effort in creating these formation-diagrams?”

“Or perhaps… the Autarchs have plans of their own?” Ning mused. As he pondered this question, he continued to draw closer to the Exalt. Eight million kilometers. Five million kilometers. Three million kilometers. Two million kilometers. One million kilometers…

Ning didn’t hesitate at all as he advanced. Although he was now within the range of the Sithe Exalt’s attacks, he didn’t worry at all. Even though he had the feeling that the Sithe Exalt was more powerful than the Blazesun Ruler, Ning had outstripped the Blazesun Ruler in both power and insight into the Dao. He was probably at the Autarch level of power, and if it wasn’t for the fact that his truesoul was continuously crumbling, Ning would’ve dared to actually take an Autarch on in a sparring match. How could he possibly fear an imprisoned Sithe Exalt?

“Eh?” The Sithe Exalt, seated in the lotus position with his head lowered, finally let out a little snort. The gray armor covering his body seemed rather rusted and old. He raised his head up, the curved horns on his head looking wicked sharp as he glared intently at Ning. A rumbling sound rang out from his throat: “You actually dare to approach me?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Ning continued to walk towards him, only halting when he was roughly a hundred thousand kilometers away. At this distance, the two were able to clearly see each other’s features.

“Hah! You truly are someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. Haha… I, Dauber, feel admiration towards very few members of your cultivator civilizations. You’ve just joined that list.” The Sithe Exalt stared intently at Ning, his features occasionally twitching from pain but his voice quite calm and steady. “A pity that you failed the Daomerge. Death will be coming for you soon. A true pity. You are the first member of your civilization to master an Eternal Omega Dao, but you are about to die soon.”

“Where there is life, there is death.” Ning smiled. “There’s no reason to fear death, and death is far better than what awaits you. You literally are living a life worse than death.”

“Damn you.” The Sithe Exalt let out a low growl, his eyes flickering with savage light. “Kill me, Daolord. Kill me. I know you have the power to kill me.”

“The Autarchs must have imprisoned you for a reason. Why should I interfere and cause trouble?” Ning shook his head. “Besides… the Sithe are the mortal enemies of us cultivators. I am a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge; if I was to kill you, I’d have to use up my own lifespan. There is no relationship between the two of us which would impel me to make such a sacrifice.”

The Sithe Exalt was intrigued. It seemed as though this terrifying Daolord didn’t know why he had been imprisoned.

“Graaaaaah!” The Sithe Exalt let out a short, ragged growl of pain. Clearly, he was in a great deal of agony. A short while later, he suppressed the agony and continued to speak: “We Sithe were defeated, true. This was a war of civilizations, a war to the death; either you had to die, or we would die! We lost the war, and I’m willing to accept death as being the result of that. Why must you torment me like this?!”

Ning just listened silently.

“If I, Dauber, had been free and up to my own devices, I never would’ve wanted to launch such a cruel and deadly war. There was no way to avoid this war; if you cultivators remained in power, then we Sithe would’ve perished. That is why I HAD to take part in the war. Both our sides suffered greatly in the war. Why must you feel such hatred for me? Why must you torment me so?”

“Kill me. Grant me release. I’ve had enough of this endless torment.” The Sithe Exalt Dauber stared intently at Ning, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Ning couldn’t help but feel a sudden impulse to charge over and kill the man, releasing him from his torment. However, Ning quickly regained his usual calm.

“He was actually able to affect my thoughts?” Ning glanced at the Sithe Exalt, secretly shocked. From a certain perspective, the Sithe was telling the truth. Even Ning himself felt that wiping out the enemy after winning the war was enough; there was no need to perpetually imprison and torment the survivors. However, the reason why Ning had felt that sudden impulse was primarly because the Sithe Exalt’s voice had managed to bewilder him. This Sithe Exalt had definitely reached a terrifyingly profound level in the art of bewilderment; Ning had a truly perfect sword-heart, but he had still been briefly influenced by the Exalt’s voice, even though he had quickly recovered from it.

A hint of disappointment flickered through the Sithe Exalt’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and said resentfully, “Are you really not going to grant me release?”

“The Autarchs must have imprisoned you for good reason. They are the leaders of the cultivator civilizations, and they could well have done this because of some secret they know which has a major impact on the war between our two civilizations. There’s no way I would intervene,” Ning said.

“Damnit. I was so close.” The Sithe Exalt Dauber instantly grew even more berserk and growled, “This is unfair. UNFAIR! An Eternal Omega Dao? If I had also embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao long ago, then regardless of whether I succeeded or failed I never would’ve ended up like this. My destiny would’ve been completely changed. This is utterly unfair!”

Ning could feel the deep emotions which filled the man’s roar. It was a feeling of deep and intense regret, mixed with resentment! Ning couldn’t help but mumble to himself, “So what if you had embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao? Even if you had embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao, you still would’ve taken part in this war as a member of the Sithe.”

Whoosh! Suddenly, the growling Sithe Exalt reached out with both hands. His arms expanded dramatically in size, causing even the formation-diagram imprints on them to twist and distort. As he attacked, he finally spat out a murderous, hate-filled cry: “If you don’t help me, you can go die.”

The two arms almost instantly expanded to become over a hundred thousand kilometers long. His hands were filled with tremendous power, and he reached out to tear Ning apart. As they swept out towards Ning, they were infused with such strange, profound mysteries that Ning wasn’t even able to dodge them; it seemed as though he absolutely had to face this attack head-on.

“Eh?!” Ning turned ashen, and his heart shook with shock. Ever since he had mastered an Eternal Omega Dao, he had always had a feeling that he was in complete control of his surroundings. Every so often, something would surprise him, but nothing truly caught him off-guard.

In this moment, however, Ning truly felt stunned, so stunned that his heart was shaking. Even his sword-heart had become rather unsteady. It was as though he had seen something that was completely impossible before him.

“But…” Ning had no time to think this matter over, because those two giant palms had already reached him.

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Chapter 4 – Completely Stunned

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 4 – Completely Stunned

Boom!

With but a thought, Ji Ning immediately summoned the awesome Sword Dao domain around him. Countless streams of sword-light descended upon this place, filling it with attacks that were all comparable to full-strength blows from Otherverse Lords. The sword-light quickly moved in a marvelous way to block the murderous palms that were crashing down towards Ning, doing their best to slow the palms down.

Each of the fingers on the twin palms began to slowly change, as they changed they caused spacetime to change with them. Boom! Boom! Boom! Every single finger completely suppressed the streaks of sword-light that they touched!

This was a truly ferocious attack from the Sithe Exalt. If Ning wished to merely rely on his Sword Dao domain to defend against it, he would have to use the principles of using ‘four grams of force to redirect a thousand kilograms of power’. However, his opponent was clearly at a far higher level of insight than the Blazesun Ruler was; thus, Ning’s attempted block didn’t truly succeed.

Riiiip! The twin palms appeared in front of Ning and then slammed straight through Ning’s body, tearing it apart into two pieces. Ning’s body gradually faded away into nothingness, followed by a white-robed Ning reappearing over a million kilometers away.

“He’s fast!” Exalt Dauber immediately halted his attacks, because Ning had already moved past his maximum attack range. Due to the suppressive effects of the formation-diagram, he was only able to launch attacks to this distance.

“The Eternal Omega Daos truly are impressive. I can’t help but envy his incredible speed. It would’ve been wonderful if I managed to master an Eternal Omega Dao.” Exalt Dauber couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “To be honest, I knew I wouldn’t be able to kill you. I just wanted to lessen your lifespan by a bit. Unfortunately, I wasn’t even able to force you to draw your sword.”

Ning stood a million kilometers away, a solemn look on his face. “I didn’t draw my sword, but I had to use up a bit of divine power in using that evasion-art.”

Eternal Omega Daos were as profound as the Daos of ordinary Autarchs. Thus, Ning actually had access to many truly incredible techniques, techniques which one would naturally gain access to upon reaching certain levels of insight. For example, when Ning had become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, he had reached such a high level of insight into the Dao of the Sword that he had gained natural mastery over the ‘Shadowless form’, an invulnerable form. His Dao of the Sword had gained the power to pierce through spacetime and sever karma, and he had reached incredible heights in many different areas.

Nowadays, Ning’s abilities were even more unbelievable than before. If he was truly willing to exhaust his life energy, he could increase his speed to truly unbelievable heights. For example, when Ning had killed the Lonely King, he had taken a single step to move an extremely great distance to slay the Lonely King without the latter even being able to react! This was a testament to Ning’s true speed. Similarly, he had been able to heavily injure the Blazesun Ruler with one strike, and the Blazesun Ruler hadn’t been able to block at all!

As far as warping through spacetime went, if Ning chose to use his sword to tear through spacetime, he would actually be able to travel a greater distance than even the Blacksun was capable of! The Autarchs were able to easily tear through spacetime and warp tremendous distances… but alas, these incredible techniques all consumed enormous amounts of energy. Ning had to be extremely stingy with his energy usage.

Every single scrap of energy and power represented his vital energy. Just now, he had simply used an evasion-art to dodge a single step backwards, ensuring that the Sithe Exalt wasn’t able to touch him. This didn’t take up too much of his divine power, but it still wasn’t nothing.

……

“What?!”

“The Sithe Exalt just attacked Daolord Darknorth!” The distant cultivators and the creatures serving the Blazesun Ruler all stared in astonishment.

The Sithe Exalt’s attack was as savage and overbearing as ever. It was strange. The Blazesun Ruler and the Sithe Exalt were clearly on the same level of power, but when they saw the Sithe Exalt attack, they felt a much greater sense of fear!

They had already witnessed the Sithe Exalt attack on numerous occasions, and several cultivators had died as a result. Daolord Darknorth, however, was naturally different. He took just a single step back and was able to dodge with ease.

“One side struck with full power, the other dodged with calm and unhurried grace. Daolord Darknorth truly is more powerful!”

“Incredible,” the cultivators murmured. As for Nuwa, Su Youji, and the others who were close to Ning? They only felt nervous. Given how fast Ning had just moved, it was obvious that he had been forced to use some of his own power.

……

“I was only able to force you to use an evasion-art. How much energy could that possibly consume? You’d probably have to use it to take ten steps back in order to match the amount of energy you would use up from a sword-strike,” Exalt Dauber said coldly.

Ning’s face remained as solemn as ever. He stared intently at the Sithe Exalt, as though he was trying to see through to some hidden truth. After staring for several long seconds, Ning finally said, “The claw-arts you just used…”

“Ahaha! So you noticed, eh?” The Sithe Exalt laughed madly. “Ahaha, it makes sense… you are someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. Of course you would be able to notice!”

“Tell me everything.” Ning stared at him.

“Haha… the only thing I’ll tell you is that you saw exactly what you thought you saw.” The Sithe Exalt, Dauber, continued to laugh with wild abandon. “I won’t tell you anything else, ahaha! I’ll let you worry away and wrack your brains trying to find an answer. Hah! I’m having fun just thinking about it. To be able to mystify the very first master of an Eternal Omega Dao in this Chaosverse… what a wonderful feeling!”

Ning frowned upon hearing this. The Sithe Exalt continued, “Unless… you were willing to kill me and grant me release. Only then would I tell you everything.” Exalt Dauber stared hungrily at Ning.

“Impossible.” Ning shook his head. After seeing the Sithe Exalt’s claw-arts, he felt increasingly certain that there was an enormous secret behind the Exalt’s imprisonment. The Autarchs had to have imprisoned them for an extremely important reason.

“Then you will NEVER know the answer,” Exalt Dauber said viciously.

“Tell me… do you think the Autarchs know the answer?” Ning suddenly smiled.

“You…!” The Sithe Exalt was stunned.

“I’ll go and ask the Autarchs. I was planning to visit them a final time before dying anyhow,” Ning said. He then turned and left.

Exalt Dauber gnashed his teeth as he watched Ning leave, but there was nothing he could do. Use an illusion? That terrifying Daolord had an incredibly powerful Dao-heart, one which was truly perfect. It was already quite incredible that the Sithe Exalt had been able to have even a slight effect on Ning earlier; there was no way he would actually be able to actually influence Ning’s actions. Other methods would be equally futile; there was no way such a major power as Ning would succumb to the likes of mere curiosity.

“I’m going to be imprisoned here forever… tortured forever…” Dauber raised his head, his azure eyes staring into the endless fiery light in the skies. His gaze was filled with hatred and regret… and then he mumbled with a hint of exhaustion, “When will it come to an end? I really don’t want to hold on any longer…”

……

Ning turned and left, returning to Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind and the others with a belly full of suspicions. The images of the Sithe Exalt using claw-arts to assault him continually replayed in his mind.

“How is it possible… how could that be? Is this the real reason why the Autarchs have imprisoned them?” Ning continually pondered this question.

Suddenly, Ning’s face turned slightly pale as he raised his head and stared towards the skies. Whoosh! A bolt of thunder suddenly appeared, tearing through the heavens and warping through spacetime, causing a stable but temporary passageway to form.

Right at this moment, eight towering figures appeared within the bolt of thunder, with one being the muscular black-armored Blazesun Ruler. The other seven all had different auras; one was as cold and remote as an endless sea of ice, a second seemed to represent the destruction of space itself… but all of them were of equal magnitude.

“The eight Domain Rulers!!!” Ning’s face turned completely pale. “Have they gone mad? The Blazesun Ruler must be insane!”

Ning had considered the possibility that the Blazesun Ruler might be able to recruit four or five of the others to work with him, but he never would’ve imagined that the legendary eight, the most powerful Sourcewalkers of the Eight Domains of the Chaosverse, would all appear en masse! All eight! Ning would probably exhaust himself and die without being able to do anything to the eight of them; there was simply no way he could fight at full-power for an extended period of time.

“The eight Domain Rulers?! B-but…” Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, and the others were all shocked.

“That one over there is the Blazesun Ruler. Why is it that I have the feeling that the other seven are just as terrifying as him? Their auras seem to be of equal power.”

“The other seven are also Domain Rulers?”

“What?! The eight Domain Rulers are all here?!” Given that even Ning was shocked, the other cultivators present were all completely scared senseless. They had never even heard of all eight Domain Rulers appearing at the same time!

“They’ve gone mad! Stark raving mad! All eight have rushed over right away? I’m certainly not sticking around!” Ning took a single step forwards and reappeared in front of Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, and the others. He pulled them into his estate-treasure with a wave of his hand.

Riiiip! Ning brandished the Darknorth sword a single time, generating a streak of sword-light that tore a rift through spacetime. Ning leaped into that spacetime rift, which quickly closed and healed behind him. By now, only the Autarchs could surpass Ning when it came to tearing through spacetime. There was no way the eight Domain Rulers could possibly stop him at all.

The eight Domain Rulers had just used a valuable treasure to instantly teleport here. They could do nothing but stare, stupefied, as Ning disappeared from right in front of them… and they could find no traces of where he had gone at all.

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Chapter 5 – The Castle

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 5 – The Castle

If Ji Ning wished to, he could’ve used his sword to tear through spacetime and let him exit the entire Blazesun Domain! However, as one of the Eight Domains, there were many places within the Blazesun Domain which were extremely hard to traverse via a spacetime warp; to forcibly tear through via the Dao of the Sword would require an enormous amount of energy. Ji Ning wasn’t willing to waste his lifespan on something like this. He was able to sense that there was something strange happening in spacetime nearby, and so he chose the exit tunnel to be placed there.

Whoosh. Ning vanished from the Earthfire Continent and followed the sword-formed spacetime tunnel to arrive at an extremely distant place within the Blazefire Domain. “Eh?” Ning swept the area with his gaze, slightly surprised: “I sensed from afar that the spacetime continuum here was quite unique. So this is what this place looks like?”

Ning was currently standing in empty space, facing a distant dimensional whirlpool. Battered bits of debris were flying out of the whirlpool, including some shattered pieces of golden metal, strange mechanical parts, and even an enormous but tattered-looking castle. These bits and fragments were all flying out of the whirlpool, while the whirlpool itself was starting to spin more slowly, almost as though space was going back to normal.

“It seems my luck isn’t bad. I managed to find a Sithe trove after just a single teleport,” Ning laughed. Ning waved his hand, releasing Nuwa, Su Youji, Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, the Flamewing God, and the others. As soon as this awesome group of experts appeared, they began to scan their surroundings. They quickly noticed the dimensional whirlpool and were duly astonished by it and the Sithe treasures floating out of it.

“A Sithe treasure trove?”

“There’s actually a treasure trove here?”

“And, by the looks of it, it looks like it just appeared.” Patriarch Treewind and the others were all quite stunned.

As for Ning, he laughed. “I heard that otherverses and Sithe treasuries will often appear out of nowhere within the Eight Domains. Is that so?”

“It is.” Patriarch Treewind nodded. “When wandering through the Blazesun Domain, you’ll occasionally stumble across an otherverse which has no owners in it, and Sithe caches will sometimes appear out of nowhere as well. However, the ones we find have usually been floating around in the Blazesun Domain for quite some time. I’ve only heard stories about actually seeing them appear from dimensional whirlpools; this is my first time witnessing it in person.”

“Otherverses are created by Autarchs,” Ning said, “But the Sithe caches were left behind from the Dawn War. Why would they appear here out of nowhere?”

“Not sure.”

“The Autarchs are probably behind this for some reason.” Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and the others who were familiar with the Blazesun Domain all shook their heads.

Ning continued to ponder this question. The giant, battered-looking castle off in the distance was in a more-or-less complete shape, but it had clearly experienced the ravages of battle. Otherwise, why would it be riddled with so many ‘wounds’? But it had been an extremely long period of time since the Dawn War had ended. Why had it and all these other treasures suddenly appeared now? Ning had only sensed that something strange was happening in spacetime in this location while he himself was warping through spacetime, which was why he had exited here.

Over the years, there had been other instances in the Eight Domains where Sithe treasure caches had appeared out of nowhere. In fact, even Nuwa had somehow vanished from the Three Realms and then appeared in the Blazesun Domain!

And the otherverses… those were personally hand-crafted by the Autarchs. Why would they appear here as well?

“Master, we have an entire Sithe treasury in front of us!” Hegemon Azurefiend was rather excited.

“Darknorth.” Nuwa remained quite calm, and she immediately asked, “Are the eight Domain Rulers still in pursuit of us?”

Ning laughed. “Don’t worry, they aren’t able to track us down at all. However… I really don’t understand what the eight of them were thinking. I still can’t believe all eight of them joined forces…”

“They probably have plans of their own.” Nuwa felt quite frustrated as well. Anyone faced with all eight Domain Rulers at once would feel a sense of tremendous pressure.

“They can keep searching if they want. I have no desire to waste my time on them.” Ning didn’t wish to waste any of his vital energy; otherwise, if he truly went all-out, he’d be able to dominate all eight of them. All they would be able to do would be to endure his attacks as best as they could, relying on their innate gifts; if they managed to tank the hits, they would live, but if they failed they would perish! Ning himself felt that if he was lucky, he would at most be able to kill one of the eight if all eight joined forces.

But why? What was the point? Ning naturally preferred to stay far, far away from the eight of them.

“Master, let’s go take a look at those floating Sithe treasures.” Flamewing stared quite curiously at the distant castle and the other relics floating in space.

“Darknorth?” Nuwa looked at Ning as well. She, too, felt curious about this treasure cache.

“Daolord.” All the others were also intrigued, but as they saw it, since Ning had discovered this cache its contents would naturally belong to him.

“Go ahead and take a look.” Ning laughed. “Just be careful. Don’t just rummage through things blindly; there might be traps hidden there.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s go.”

“Don’t worry, Daolord. We’ll be careful.”

“Master, I’m going to go take a look as well.” Not even Su Youji could refrain from taking a look. All of them flew towards the Sithe cache, with only Protector Whitethaw continuing to solemnly stand guard over Ning.

By now, the dimensional vortex had already vanished, allowing space to go back to normal. Ning didn’t really care that much about the Sithe treasury; he was already close to the Autarchs in power! Why would he care about Sithe treasures or armaments?

“What did I just see earlier, though?” Ning pondered by himself, his mind thinking back to the Earthfire Continent and the sneak-attack the imprisoned Sithe Exalt had launched against him. “It’s completely impossible, but I can’t explain it any other way…”

To this very moment, Ning still felt quite stunned by the implications. This was also part of the reason why he had no interest in exploring the Sithe treasure cache.

“I definitely wasn’t seeing things. That imprisoned Sithe Exalt… it had definitely reached the Autarch level of insight!” Ning was shaking inside. That Sithe Autarch had probably reached Hegemony in the Dao of Bewilderment, but the twin claw attacks he had launched against Ning had been incomparably profound. Ning hadn’t been able to disturb it or shake it at all with his Sword Dao domain.

Other cultivators might not be able to tell, but Ning had already reached a level of insight which was comparable to that of the Autarchs, and had also received guidance from legacies left behind by Autarch Awakener and Autarch Bolin. That brief moment of combat was enough for Ning to ascertain that the Sithe Exalt, Dauber, had definitely employed Autarchy-level mysteries in launching his twin claw attacks!

“The Autarch level of insight… that means he should be an Autarch!” Ning simply didn’t understand. “B-but… he ended up being imprisoned, just like that?”

“If he really was an Autarch, it would be incredibly easy for him and his peers to capture the Flamewing God… but instead, three of them had to work together to accomplish this.

“In fact, the Sithe once had multiple Exalts. If the Sithe Exalts truly were Autarchs, they would’ve been able to overwhelm the cultivator civilizations with ease… but instead, their performance in combat proved that they were inferior to our Autarchs.

“And when Exalt Dauber battled against me… I could sense that although he had reached an incredibly high level of insight, the power of his attacks were vastly inferior to mine.”

Ning truly was puzzled. He felt certain that Sithe Exalt Dauber had reached the Autarch level of insight, but the amount of power the Exalt had unleashed in battle was much lower than that level; at most, it was on par with the Blazesun Ruler’s. Ning had only been forced to use a tiny bit of his energy, and a single backwards step had allowed him to dodge the attack with ease. Clearly, Ning had completely outstripped the Exalt in power.

“How odd. There’s no way I was wrong; he has to be at the Autarch level in insight, but for some reason he’s only able to unleash a fraction of their power.” Ning mused to himself, “It felt as though his techniques were only able to employ a tiny amount of the power of the Dao.”

For major powers, the power of the Dao was paramount. The higher a level of insight you reached, the more important the power of your Dao. Ning, for example, was able to form a Sword Dao domain with just a thought. He didn’t even need to use up any of his own energy, but the domain would be filled with streaks of sword-light that were comparable to full-strength strikes from Otherverse Lords! This was the power of the Dao, not Ning’s own internal power! When he himself fought in battle and used his sword-arts, his sword-arts were so profound that they were capable of unleashing many marvelous effects. This happened because he would use a fraction of his own energy to fully command the power of the Dao and unleash even more devastating amounts of might.

But… the Sithe Exalt was completely different. Ning could tell that he had clearly reached the Autarch level of insight into the Dao, but his techniques were only able to unleash a fraction of the Dao’s power. As a result, the overall power of his attacks was merely at the Blazesun Ruler’s level.

“So what’s the reason for this? As far as I can tell, he should be an Autarch… but he’s dramatically weaker than the Autarchs. Or perhaps these Sithe Exalts are pseudo-Autarchs? Perhaps they have inherently flawed Daos, which is why they are unable to unleash much power from them?”

Ning was filled with many questions. Why did these Exalts have such a high level of insight into the Dao? Were they truly Autarchs, or were they pseudo-Autarchs? Why was it that the true Autarchs did not kill them and instead chose to torture them forever?

“I imagine only the Autarchs know the answer to these questions,” Ning mused.

“Darknorth! Hurry over here!” Nuwa suddenly called out from nearby that distant, levitating castle.

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Chapter 6 – Formation

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 6 – Formation

“What’s wrong?” Ji Ning took a single step forwards and warped through space, rippling through it to appear right next to the battered, scar-covered castle.

Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, the Flamewing God, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and the others all stood next to the castle, completely helpless. Nuwa pointed at the giant castle, which was fully fifteen thousand meters long. “We’ve already completely searched the place, and we’re sure that there’s a dimensional space within it… but we haven’t been able to open it up, no matter what we do, nor can we find a way to get inside. This castle seems to be quite complicated.”

“Let me take a look.” Ning scrutinized it carefully. The enormous castle just hung there in space, covered with many scars and with a number of damaged parts floating around it. Ning slowly flew in a circle around the castle, inspecting every part of it with care. He also took a look at the damaged parts.

“How does it look?” Flamewing couldn’t help but ask, “Master, are you able to open it up?”

“Even if I was, you wouldn’t be able to do anything to it. Why are YOU in such a rush?” Ning teased.

“I’m just curious!” Flamewing chortled. In truth, Su Youji and the others were quite curious as well.

Ning continued to inspect the castle for as much time as was needed to boil a kettle of tea. Suddenly, he waved his hand and caused two distant fragments to fly into his hands. One was roughly three meters long, while the other was merely fist-sized.

Clack! Clack! Ning placed the two fragments into two different locations on the castle. Rumble… instantly, the entire castle began to slowly swivel on its base, which looked like a series of leaf-shaped mechanisms. The center of this towering castle suddenly parted, revealing an entrance way.

“It’s open! It’s open!” Flamewing said excitedly.

“Daolord, you truly are impressive,” Hegemon Goodsong flattered. He was quite skilled in this regard. Ever since he had become a Golden Emperor, he had shamelessly chosen to follow Ning and flattered him nonstop. Ning had been in need of someone who was familiar with the Blazesun Domain, and so had nodded and accepted his service. Hegemon Goodsong had done his utmost to serve as Ning’s pathfinder, and so Ning had naturally decided to give him some tips from time to time. There were countless Hegemons and Emperors who envied Hegemon Goodsong, but alas… Ning wouldn’t accept a retainer without a good reason.

“This Sithe artifact seems to be usable… and generally speaking, castle-shaped Sithe weapons are incredibly powerful,” Patriarch Treewind said with praise. Due to the war, many powerful Sithe war machines had ended up being completely destroyed or rendered inoperable. The ‘Stone Hellephant Wall’ which Ning had once discovered, which had originally been known as the Sithe warship ‘Tigerhill’, was one example of an unusable Sithe war machine.

“This Sithe castle is probably comparable in value to Houwu City,” Imperator Jade Rainbow agreed.

Ning agreed as well. It was generally quite easy to tell from just a visual inspection as to how powerful Sithe weapons were. Chains, axes, shields… these were held items that generally wouldn’t be all that powerful! The Blacksun, Houwu City, the ‘Tigerhill’, and this giant castle in front of them… these were all large-scale war machines and generally were incredibly potent.

With but a thought, Ning summoned his Sword Dao domain and used it to completely cover the entire castle, as well as its internals. “Nothing dangerous inside. Let’s go take a look.” Ning immediately flew into the entrance.

Nuwa, Su Youji, Patriarch Treewind, and the others all followed Ning inside.

……

The passageway was very deep, dark, and gloomy. From the outside, the castle looked as though it was merely fifteen thousand meters long, but on the inside it was absolutely enormous. Ning’s group flew more than a thousand kilometers along the hallway before they finaly reached an open, empty region. This region was divided up into three different levels, with each level representing three different core controls used to operate the castle.

There were Sithe corpses floating above the altars which existed in all three levels. The corpses all emanated the auras of Eternal Emperors. There were also some Black Emperors and Golden Emperors who had undergone the Ritual Sacrificium; all of them had perished here.

Ning slowly descended upon the bottommost layer, then glanced at his surroundings. Nuwa and the others came flying over as well, also landing on the altar at the very bottom.

“The insides of this castle are intact. How did they all die?” Azurefiend glanced at the corpses in astonishment. “I don’t see any wounds on these corpses.”

“Someone managed to kill these Golden Emperors through the protection of the castle.” Nuwa and the others were all quite stunned.

“A total of thirty-two Sithe are inside here,” Ning said. “It had to have been an Autarch who used either karmic techniques or truesoul destruction techniques to bypass the castle walls and slay the Sithe inside.”

The Autarchs had chosen different Daos and thus had different areas of specialty. Some, like Autarch Bolin, specialized in frontal attacks. Others had techniques which were more mysterious and harder to understand.

“There are actually three command centers.” Ning raised his head to look at the other two, a frown on his forehead.

“The bottom command center has an enormous formation within it which can be used to reach out from the base of the castle and connect it to an enormous area around it! This castle can be used to command, consolidate, and protect an entire region. It will gather chaos energy from the area around it.”

“The middle command center is comparatively simpler. It controls a scanning formation, ensuring that any opponent who appears will find it almost impossible to escape. It tremendous control over dimensional power, allowing it to scan an incredibly vast area and discover even the most minute of spatial ripples. Even I would probably be unable to avoid its detection,” Ning said with a surprised sigh.

“As for the top command center… it is also quite complicated. It involves a powerful offensive formation that gathers together the power of lightning, focusing it together into an attack of incredible power. Even Golden Emperors would probably perish before it,” Ning said slowly as he continued to inspect the insides of the castle.

“Is it really that impressive? That means this is a perfect weapon of war,” Hegemon Azurefiend said with a shocked sigh.

“During the Dawn War, it was probably just as important as the Blacksun,” Ning said. “This, too, is a war machine that is capable of affecting the flow of battle in an entire region. I’m amazed that we were lucky enough to stumble upon such an important war machine.”

“Haha, given your incredible prowess, Daolord, it is only natural that your luck is also extraordinary,” Patriarch Treewind praised.

Ning himself felt rather puzzled. Luck, eh? It was true that he was held in high favor by the prime essences of the Chaosverse. When he had failed his Daomerge, he could sense that the prime essences had sighed on his behalf. If the reason that he had just stumbled upon an incredibly valuable war-fort was because he was ‘lucky’ thanks to being favored by the prime essences… even Ning could do nothing but sigh.

Sithe war machines of this level of power were incredibly hard to find. Lord Houwu had only become known as the ‘Lord Governor of Houwu’ after finding Houwu City, while the Blacksun had made a ‘Realmslord’ out of Realmslord Windgrace.

“I would need at least three people to take control of the formations in order to operate this castle.” Ning frowned. “And all three need to be Hegemons.”

“Me and my avatar can account for two, but that won’t be enough.” Nuwa felt rather worried.

“What about me?” Azurefiend volunteered.

Ning shook his head. “I’m planning to leave this castle in my homeland. Azurefiend, are you really volunteering to stay in my homeland forever?”

Azurefiend was speechless. He loved freedom and loved adventuring. He really wouldn’t be able to endure staying in Daolord Darknorth’s homeland forever.

“The formations within this castle are quite complicated. Nuwa, you probably wouldn’t be able to take direct control of them either,” Ning said. “Let me take a closer look.” Ning was planning to modify the central command centers of this castle, making it more suitable for the Three Realms.

……

Ning himself was able to easily control all three formation-diagrams, but modifying them even slightly would be difficult. Ning actually ended up creating a fourth formation-diagram inside the castle, one which would serve as the ‘master controls’. Thanks to this fourth formation-diagram, a single Emperor would be able to simultaneously control all of the castle’s functions. This took Ning over eight hundred million years to accomplish.

“Ahah! Finally, I’ve succeeded.” Ning let out a loud laugh, his laughter echoing within the empty space. Nuwa, Su Youji, and the others who had been quietly meditating all immediately stopped their training.

“Nuwa,” Ning said with a smile, “I added an additional formation-diagram that simplifies the process of controlling this castle! Once the castle has been activated, it will be able to scan to a distance of over a trillion kilometers, and it’ll be able to stand guard over this region. When I go back, I plan to modify the formations protecting our homeland and make this castle the centerpiece of our defenses. If anyone dares to attack our home, they’ll have to endure an assault from the castle.”

“My modifications have resulted in a decreasing in its scanning range, and have also resulted in it only being able to focus its firepower on a single target… but I think it should be enough,” Ning said. “Besides, if we have enough Hegemons in the future, you can just ignore my fourth formation-diagram and take direct control over the three original ones.”

“Understood.” Nuwa nodded.

Ning waved his hand, causing a jade slip to appear with instructions on how to control the castle. “Take it.” Ning handed the slip over to Nuwa. “Test it out and see how strong it is.”

“Alright.” Nuwa scanned the slip, quickly memorizing the information.

“Let’s go out,” Ning said, “And take a look at the castle’s power.” The group of cultivators immediately left the castle, leaving only Nuwa behind. They all stood outside in the void, staring at the castle.

Rumble… the very tip of the castle suddenly began to light up. BOOM! An invisible dimensional ripple suddenly spread out to cover an area of a trillion kilometers, making it so that nothing within this area could escape its sensors.

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Chapter 7 – Acting On Orders

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 7 – Acting On Orders

There was a round disk located at the ‘neck’ of the castle, which was divided into a black side and a white side. Flickers of terrifying lightning could be seen gathering around that location. According to the castle’s original configuration and power, it was capable of shooting out two bolts of thunder simultaneously, each one carrying a tremendous amount of power. In order to simplify the controls, Ji Ning had made it so that just a single bolt of thunder could be unleashed. However, this had the beneficial side effect of reducing energy costs by 50%. Attacks of such power consumed enormous amounts of energy, after all.

“That looks absolutely terrifying. I can sense that the power of that thunder is more than enough to wipe me out,” Azurefiend said with a sense of lingering fear.

“You? Even I would find it hard to survive.” Patriarch Treewind felt fear as well, as did Imperator Jade Rainbow and the others.

These types of Sithe war machines were absolutely terrifying. During the Dawn War, they were used to stabilize entire regions; so long as an Autarch didn’t intervene, these things spelled certain doom for any cultivators who faced them! However, they had to build up power before launching each shot, and so during the Dawn War the cultivators who were faced with these terrifying war machines used their own lives to ‘block’ their attacks and buy time for their peers.

BOOM! A streak of lightning suddenly shot out, causing both space and time to congeal into a liquefied state.

A distant, fiery-red boulder which was levitating in the distance suddenly disappeared, silently and soundlessly. The bolt of lightning briefly showed itself as the boulder was destroyed, followed by it immediately continuing its forwards surge. The power of this attack was so great that everyone save for Ning and the Flamewing God felt utterly stunned. This attack was more than enough to wipe them all out.

“That attack was too fast. Space wasn’t just twisted, it was liquefied! Anyone within a range of ten billion kilometers would find it almost impossible to dodge,” Patriarch Treewind said with a frown.

“The only option would be to stay out of its range. In the future, I’ll have to remember to stay at least fifty billion kilometers away from that thing,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said with a laugh. “If I’m too close, I won’t even be able to dodge. Treewind, your disciple is now even more powerful than you are.”

“Nuwa has always been far more talented than me. Even without Daolord Darknorth’s help, she would eventually grow to eclipse me in might,” Patriarch Treewind chortled. Daolord Darknorth was whole-heartedly helping out Nuwa, and Nuwa was his disciple. As a result, Treewind himself would benefit from the process. The more powerful this female disciple of his became, the more influential he himself would become.

Whoosh. The silver-robed Nuwa flew out from the castle. She waved her hand, causing the castle to quickly shrink to become palm-sized and fall within her palm. Clearly, she had already fully mastered the control technique Ning had given her and was in full control of this castle.

“It really is powerful. With this castle under my control, our homeland shall be impregnable,” Nuwa said, her face covered with joy. “Given how mighty its attacks are, its defensive prowess should be even better. Even the likes of the Blazesun Ruler would find it difficult to break through.”

Ning felt delighted as well. After fleeing from the Earthfire Continent, he had actually warped to this place and discovered a treasure that he was in desperate need of! He had actually been planning to spend some time finding a treasure which would be suitable for the Three Realm’s defense; now, one had just appeared before him.

“Darknorth, this castle is still riddled with damage. What should we do?” Nuwa looked at Ning.

“There’s nothing that can be done. I’m certainly not able to repair Sithe artifacts,” Ning said with a laugh. “Thankfully, at least its interior is in perfect shape. The damage on the outside makes it look a bit ugly, but all we need to do is add another protective layer on top and it’ll look as good as new.”

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned and turned to stare off into the distant. Boom! A faint dimensional ripple appeared, followed by a strange creature with a sharp head and furry tail appear. It stared curiously in their direction.

“These creatures again?” Nuwa said.

“That thunderbolt you launched was probably so powerful it attracted their attention. We’ve been discovered,” Patriarch Treewind said. “These creatures seem quite weak; the strongest of them are perhaps just barely comparable to ordinary Hegemons.” Patriarch Treewind and the others naturally wouldn’t care too much about a squad of such weak creatures.

“Daolord, these creatures are often under the Blazesun Ruler’s command,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said hurriedly. “Now that they’ve seen you, they’ll probably send word to the Blazesun Ruler and he’s probably going to rush over here again.”

“The Blazesun Ruler…” Ning felt resigned. There was nothing he could do against the eight Domain Rulers. “Let’s go.”

“Daolord Darknorth!” A voice suddenly rang out, followed by the most powerful of the tailed beasts flying towards Ning at high speed.

“Eh?” Ning glanced at the strange creature, puzzled.

“My name is Stoneblade.” The strange creature bowed respectfully, then said, “My humblest greetings to the mighty Daolord Darknorth.”

“Oh, so you actually recognize me?” Ning smiled.

“The Blazesun Ruler long ago spread word that he is searching for you and provided a great deal of information about you. When I also saw Nuwa and Patriarch Treewind by your side, I naturally was sure that it was you,” the creature said respectfully.

“The Blazesun Ruler certainly is persistent. It seems everyone has been notified about me, including you and your peers. Speak. What do you need from me?” Ning asked.

The strange creature said respectfully, “The Blazesun Ruler sent word long ago that if we encountered Daolord Darknorth, we were to immediately inform you that they bear you no ill-will at all, nor do they intend to fight you. Instead, there is something important they must inform you.”

“Oh?” NIng was puzzled. “Something important? What is it?”

“That I do not know. After discovering you, I immediately sent word back. I imagine the Domain Ruler will soon be notified, and they’ll probably hasten here at full speed. Once you see him you’ll know the answer, Daolord,” the creature said.

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

The strange creature then bowed respectfully a second time before retreating.

“Darknorth, the Blazesun Ruler and the other Domain Rulers have important business with you?” Nuwa was puzzled. “What important business could it possibly be?”

“Could it be a scheme of some sort?” Flamewing immediately asked.

Ning laughed. “Flamewing, when did you learn about ‘schemes’? Haha! However, I don’t think it is a trick or a trap… because I’m powerful enough that if I wish to leave, the eight of them are completely unable to stop me. There’s no need to lie to me either! And, when I saw all eight of them last time, I felt quite puzzled. For all eight Domain Rulers to join forces against me is quite odd. Now, it seems, they have other business with me.”

“We shall wait here for a time. Let’s wait for the eight Domain Rulers to come and see what they want,” Ning said.

“Very well.”

“We fled so quickly last time, I didn’t even have a chance to see what the other seven looked like.”

“Me neither.”

“I saw two of them. This time, I’m going to see what all eight of them look like.” Hegemon Goodsong, Treewind, Jade Rainbow, Azurefiend, and the others all felt quite relaxed. With Ning present, they had nothing to fear at all. In any other situation, they would’ve been utterly terrified by the prospect of facing the eight Domain Rulers.

Roughly an hour later.

Whoosh! A bolt of thunder appeared, splitting through the void and creating a temporary but stable spacetime tunnel. Eight figures appeared within the tunnel. It was the Blazesun Ruler and the rest of the eight. When they saw the distant Ning, they revealed looks of delight and hurriedly flew towards him.

“It really doesn’t seem as though they come with bad intentions,” Nuwa sent mentally.

“Let’s see just what they want, exactly. They have infinite lifespans and should be living without any worries or concerns whatsoever. There shouldn’t be anything they need me to do for them,” Ning said. And of course, if they came for his ‘Eternal Omega Sword Dao’, there was no way he would transmit it to them.

Soon, the eight Domain Rulers arrived. They all shrank down to human size as they met with Ning and his team.

“Respectful greetings, Daolord Darknorth.” All of them spoke quite courteously.

“Respectful greetings, Domain Rulers.” Ning smiled. “Last time I saw you, Blazesun Ruler, you were thirsting for battle and completely mad with bloodlust. This time, all eight of you have appeared but are so courteous… and I hear there is something important you wish to tell me? Might I ask what that is?”

The eight Domain Rulers traded a glance. The Blazesun Ruler voluntarily stepped forward and said, rather embarrassed, “Daolord Darknorth, I was rash in my actions. As soon as we fought, I immediately knew that I was no match for you. A while ago, when we came to speak to you at the Earthfire Continent, it wasn’t for the sake of continuing the fight. Rather, we came on orders.”

“On orders?” Ning was startled.

“Yes.” A Sourcewalker dressed in deep blue armor respectfully replied, “After you appeared in the Blazesun Domain, word of your presence quickly made its way to the Autarch. The Autarch is within the Quintessence of the Chaosverse and is too busy to come out, and so she instructed the eight of us to find you and bring you to meet with her.”

“We’ve been searching for you this entire time. Last time, we found you, but you left so quickly that we weren’t able to catch up,” a Sourcewalker dressed in fiery armor said.

Ning was enlightened. “The Autarch is located amongst the prime essences and wishes to meet with me? Might I ask, which Autarch is it?”

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Chapter 8 – Entering the Quintessence

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 8 – Entering the Quintessence

The Blazesun Ruler said hurriedly, “It is Autarch Skyfeeder. Ever since the war against the Sithe concluded, the Autarch has spent almost all of her time within the Quintessence of the Chaosverse. We were lucky enough to have received some guidance from her.”

“Skyfeeder?” Ji Ning nodded slightly. The only Autarchs he knew of were Autarch Bolin, Autarch Awakener, and Autarch Titanos. He didn’t really know much about the others.

“Go ahead and lead the way,” Ning said.

“Daolord…” The Sourcewalker dressed in deep blue armor glanced rather hesitantly at the many cultivators behind Ning. “The Autarch is within the prime essences, a place filled with tremendous power. There is no way ordinary cultivators can enter there! You need to have either reached the incredible level of the Autarchs, which you Daolord have, or be like us and the Chaos Primordials. We’re able to endure the power of that place with our powerful bodies. Weaker cultivators are completely incapable of moving about within the prime essences. I’m afraid that we would at most be able to bring you and your Chaos Primordial.”

“Don’t worry about us at all.”

“The Autarch wishes to see YOU, Daolord. We wouldn’t dare go,” Patriarch Treewind, Azurefiend, and the others said hurriedly. They had all but stopped breathing when they heard that an Autarch had summoned Ning. How could they possibly dare to get involved in a meeting between Daolord Darknorth and such a supremely august presence?

“Darknorth, go ahead and go. Don’t worry about us,” Nuwa concurred.

“Very well.” Ning nodded. Even if he did bring them, there was no way for them to move about inside the prime essences. “Stay here within the Blazesun Domain. Once I return, I’ll reunite with you.”

“Very well.”

“Understood.” Su Youji and the others hurriedly assented.

“Darknorth, you must be careful,” Nuwa instructed.

“Don’t worry.” Ning smiled. The eight Domain Rulers wouldn’t dare to cause trouble, which meant that Nuwa’s team of cultivators had nothing to fear.

“Take me with you, Master! Take me with you!” Flamewing said eagerly. “It’s been forever since I was back inside the prime essences!”

Ning laughed and nodded. “Very well. Follow me.”

“This way please, Daolord Darknorth.” The Blazesun Ruler took out his warship and invited Ning and Flamewing inside. Moments later, the warship tore through spacetime and disappeared without a trace.

……

The eight Domain Rulers used all the considerable tools at their disposal. Just three days later, they exited the Blazesun Domain and entered a silent, empty region of space. There was a total of ten people in this group, and they all stood there within the empty region.

“This Sithe warship is useless once we go inside the prime essences. Once we go inside, we’ll have to slowly fly on our own,” the Blazesun Ruler explained.

“Open up!” One of the Domain Rulers stepped forward and made a slashing motion with his hand. Swoosh! A gateway was torn within spacetime, and at the opposite end of the gateway was a region filled with an incredible, awesome amount of power and energy.

“After you, Daolord,” the eight Domain Rules said very respectfully.

“Let’s go.” Ning was the first to step into the spacetime door, with Flamewing and the eight Domain Rulers following from behind. After they entered, the spacetime door vanished without a trace, leaving behind a very ordinary-seeming region. Ordinary cultivators who came here, including Otherverse Lords, were completely incapable of finding the prime essences.

……

The region they entered was filled with overwhelming power. Imagine a mortal falling into an ocean; the entire area around him would be surrounded by endless waves of suffocating might. The pressure from these waves could easily cause even Hegemons to perish, while Otherverse Lords would find it too difficult to take as much as a single step here.

Rumble…

The eight Domain Rulers and the Flamewing God were all under tremendous pressure as well. They had powerful bodies and thus were able to endure it, especially Flamewing whose body was virtually indestructible and who could thus completely ignore the pressure. However, they still had to use all the power they could muster in order to advance through this region. Thankfully, Flamewing had such an endless source of power that this wasn’t of concern.

“Which way shall we go?” Ning was the most relaxed of the ten. The Sword Dao domain emanating from him was enough to cause the surrounding pressure to instantly vanish without a trace.

This was because the Dao of his Sword Dao domain was the same as the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. The prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was naturally part of the collection of prime essences, and so Ning was able to move through this region as easily as a fish moving through water. He didn’t suffer any pressure or sense of rejection at all.

Unfortunately, Ning wasn’t able to protect anyone else. The power of the prime essences was omnipresent, while the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was merely one part of them. If Ning pulled Flamewing and the others into his estate-world, they would be protected. Otherwise, they would simply have to endure it on their own.

“Just follow us, Daolord,” the Blazesun Ruler said respectfully.

“If you feel tired, you can rest inside my estate-world for a time,” Ning said with a chuckle.

“No need.”

“Don’t worry about us, Daolord. We’re used to this place.”

“Haha, this bit of pressure is nothing at all, Master!” The eight Domain Rulers and Flamewing continued to advance rapidly, but they were all using their full power to do so. As for Ning, he was able to effortlessly follow from behind.

Ning scanned at his surroundings. The Quintessence itself was like a place that was divided into many different ‘lakes’, with each lake representing a prime essence. He saw the prime essence of thunder, the prime essence of water, the prime essence of ice, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword… every single prime essence was here and overflowing with might. Through them, Ning was able to more clearly scry some of the secrets of the various Daos.

The prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was nothing more than one of many prime essences.

“This is the true foundation of our entire Chaosverse,” Ning murmured softly. “Even I am only able to control a tiny part of it.”

……

All of them flew very fast, but even so it took them a full five days before they flew past the many different prime essences. Finally, they arrived at an ordinary-looking wooden cottage that was floating in midair. There was a small courtyard surrounding this wooden cottage which looked rather like a small crop field.

“Here we are.” Looks of delight appeared on the faces of all eight Domain Rulers. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! They hurriedly flew closer, stepping into the courtyard around the wooden cottage. Ning and Flamewing followed them from behind.

Invisible barriers had been placed here which kept out the natural pressure of the Quintessence. Only now did everyone finally relax.

“What a marvelous formation.” Ning scanned the formation, then let out a sigh of approval. A formation capable of completely blocking out the pressures of the Quintessence is impressive indeed. Ning then glanced at the surrounding area. He could sense that no one was here aside from them. He immediately turned to the Blazesun Ruler and asked, “Where is the Autarch?”

“This is a place where the Autarch often rests,” the blue-armored Sourcewalker said. “She’s cultivating nearby. As soon as we entered her residence, she would be immediately notified. She’ll be coming soon.”

“Cultivating nearby?” Ning glanced at the area around them. “Eh?” Soon, Ning was able to detect a strange ripple of power emanating from a place off in the distance. This was a temporal ripple, and it contained utterly savage levels of power. It was almost like a terrifying apocalyptic demon that sought to devour all before it. Ning couldn’t help but turn slightly pale; how was it possible that ‘time’ itself could become so terrifying?

However, the ripples quickly calmed down. A short while later, an ephemeral figure began to drifted towards them, quickly leaving the prime essences and arriving in front of the wooden cottage.

This was a willowy woman whose features Ning wouldn’t describe as exceptionally beautiful. In the Three Realms, her features would be considered quite common and ordinary. Her face was slightly plump, her gaze was gentle, and her aura was both awesome and mysterious, tinged with the ripples of time. Time itself was like an obedient child which swirled around her. She was the only female Autarch in all the Chaosverse… Autarch Skyfeeder.

“Darknorth greets you, Autarch,” Ning said immediately.

Autarch Skyfeeder walked barefoot into her courtyard, then smiled merrily at Ning and said, “Skyfeeder greets you, Daolord Darknorth.”

Both spoke quite courteously. As soon as they glimpsed each other, they were able to sense the level of insight the other had reached.

Ning could sense how tremendously powerful this Autarch’s ‘Temporal Daobirth Essence’ was, while the Autarch was able to sense how incredible Ning’s ‘Eternal Omega Sword Dao’ was. They had embarked upon different paths, but they had now reached the same heights of power.

Autarch Skyfeeder and the other Autarchs had all first become Hegemons after fusing multiple Supreme Daos together, then broke through to become Autarchs!

Ning had embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao, and he had eventually come to master the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. Although strictly speaking he was still just an ‘Eternal Emperor’, he truly had reached the same heights of insight as the Autarchs possessed; his only weakness was that the breadth of his understanding wasn’t quite as wide. In actual combat, however, their blows would be incredibly close to each other in might… but of course, as someone who failed the Daomerge, Ning wasn’t able to fight for too long.

“Darknorth, let’s chat inside,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. She pushed the door to the wooden cottage open. The cottage was quite plain, with a few seams appearing between the wooden logs that allowed one to clearly see what was inside.

Autarch Skyfeeder sat down on the ground in front of a table. Ning did the same in front of another table. Each table had a flagon of wine, and the fragrant aroma of the wine instantly caused Ning’s eyes to light up. This was, without a doubt, the finest wine he had ever seen.

Although the two of them were merely separated from the eight Domain Rulers and Flamewing by a thin wooden door, the nine were completely unable to hear a word of the conversation within.

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Chapter 9 – The Autarchs

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 9 – The Autarchs

When Ji Ning smelled the aroma of the wine, he couldn’t help but pour himself a cup and taste it first. He then nodded and sighed happily, “What fine wine. My soul itself is uplifted by it; in fact, I can sense that even the disintegration of my truesoul slowed down for a brief instant.”

“Unfortunately, the disintegration of the truesoul is irreversible.” Autarch Skyfeeder slowly poured herself a cup, her voice tinged with regret. “Otherwise, our civilization would have given birth to a truly incredible figure. To tell you the truth, your rise is far more more important to our civilization than the rise of a new Autarch. You are, after all, the very first who truly mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. Sadly…”

“I can only blame myself for not having trained well enough,” Ning said with a laugh. “Perhaps if I was just a bit better, I would’ve succeeded in the Daomerge.”

“The path is always the most perilous for the first trailblazer,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “There has never been anyone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao before you, and so there were no guideposts or experiences you could draw upon. If you did, you probably would’ve succeeded in the Daomerge.”

Ning was startled. Indeed. He had been so very, very close. If he had just a few extra months worth of time, he probably would’ve been able to find the flaws during his Daomerge and he would’ve been able to discover the true Eternal Omega Sword Dao before it ended. Alas, he had wasted three entire years on perfecting his sword-heart.

Ning let out a chuckle. “Well, there always has to be a trailblazer. To serve as the trailblazer for the Eternal Omega Daos isn’t a bad destiny to have.”

Autarch Skyfeeder smiled and nodded. “I just heard about you a short while ago. When I found out you were in the Blazesun Domain, I immediately sent the eight Domain Rulers out to search for you. I have something important to discuss with you, something which involves the very existence of all cultivator civilizations in the Chaosverse. We need your help.”

“Something involving the very existence of the cultivator civilizations?” Ning was startled. This sounded serious. “Is there something which is capable of threatening us?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

“There is indeed.” Autarch Skyfeeder nodded. “Just now, I informed the other Autarchs of your arrival. They are all hastening here as fast as they can. When the others arrive, we’ll discuss this matter. It is a blessing that the cultivator civilizations have finally given birth to someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. Unfortunately, you failed the Daomerge. If you had succeeded, we would be even more overjoyed.”

“The other Autarchs?” Ning was rather shocked.

“The cultivator civilizations currently have a total of six surviving Autarchs. One of them is permanently stationed in front of the Sithelands and won’t be able to make it. The other four will all be coming,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

Ning nodded slowly. Six Autarchs in total, with five of them coming to meet him. This was indeed a weighty affair they wished to discuss.

……

Autarch Titanos’ residence.

Autarch Titanos was almost always secluded away within his private chambers, analyzing the marvelous parts and artifacts which floated in the center. “Huh?” Suddenly, Autarch Titanos’ face turned pale.

“WHAT?!?!” The two fleshy antennae on top of Autarch Titanos’ head suddenly stood up straight, and his golden eyes bulged out. “An Eternal Omega Dao? Someone from our civilization has finally mastered an Eternal Omega Dao?!” Autarch Titanos was truly stunned. “And his name is… eh? Darknorth? Wasn’t that kid I saw a while ago also named Darknorth? Back then, he had merely improved his Omega Dao to the level of a Daolord of the Fourth Step. He actually mastered an Eternal Omega Dao?”

“This is huge! How did it happen that the old biddy Skyfeeder actually ended up being the one to find out and notify me?!” Autarch Titanos completely ignored the Sithe artifacts floating around in his room. He immediately charged outside in a fine rage, slamming open the door with a boom.

“Master.” The azure-robed youth immediately moved to welcome him.

“XIAN!” Autarch Titanos said furiously, “Have you heard about the Daomerge of that kid who once asked me for help? Daolord Darknorth?”

“Heard? Of course I heard.” The azure-robed youth nodded repeatedly. “This was major news which quickly spread everywhere! He failed his Daomerge, but he still managed to master an Eternal Omega Dao. Even the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army was killed by a single slash of his sword. He went out searching for Nuwa, and Realmslord Windgrace did everything in his power to help spread the word. He even asked us to help out! I told quite a number of my friends about this. By now, I imagine the major powers in most of the realmverses and otherverses all know about him.”

“BUT I DIDN’T KNOW!” Autarch Titanos stared at him, eyes bulging. “Why the hell didn’t you tell MEEEE!!!”

“B-but…” A baffled and miserable look was on the azure-robed youth’s face. “Master, didn’t you forbid me from disturbing you while you were analyzing those Sithe weapons unless something really big happened?”

“This IS big! This is literally BIGGER THAN ANYTHING ELSE!” Autarch Titanos exploded.

“Daolord Darknorth failed his Daomerge. He’ll probably die soon, leaving behind nothing more than a legend. Why would this be ‘big news’ to you, Master?” The azure-robed youth was completely puzzled. To him and the other Hegemons, this was a stunning piece of gossip, but in the end it was nothing more than that – gossip. He didn’t feel there was a need to bother the Autarch over it.

“For the love of…” Autarch Titanos felt helpless.

There were six Autarchs in total. One was permanently stationed in front of the Sithelands and thus didn’t know of Ning. The other four were almost impossible for Hegemons to find, which was why they didn’t know of Ning even though Ning’s legend had long ago spread far and wide amongst the Hegemons and Emperors.

The only Autarch who was in fairly constant contact with the Hegemons and Emperors was Autarch Titanos, but he had been researching in seclusion and his subordinates didn’t dare to disturb him. As a result, he didn’t find out either. It wasn’t until just a short while ago that the Autarchs found out about Ning, with Autarch Skyfeeder who was located within the Quintessence being the first to find out. She had notified the other Autarchs, and only then did they realize what had happened.

“…forget it.” Autarch Titanos shook his head. “I’ve really embarrassed myself this time. I am usually the first to find out about things, but this time I was the last.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and immediately warped through spacetime and departed.

He couldn’t help but feel angry. The Autarchs had agreed long ago to a division of labor, and Autarch Titanos had agreed to be the one responsible for maintaining contact with the Hegemons and Emperors; he was to serve as a the bridge linking the Autarchs to the rest of civilization. If anything major happened amongst the Hegemons and Emperors, news of it would quickly make its way over to him, and he would then notify the others.

This time, the news involved the rise of someone who controlled the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. This was news of incredible importance… but he ended up being the notified party rather than the notifying party. Of course he felt humiliated by this!

……

An empty, barren region. The stars and chaosworlds here seemed to have sunken into the silence of death. This entire region, which was the size of dozens of territories, was completely and utterly still. No life could rise here, nor would anyone dare to draw near here! If Hegemons did dare to draw near this place, they would sense the terrifying power of death seep into their bodies… and if they came any closer, they would die.

And so, this region was in a perpetual state of death and silence.

There was an enormous planet here that was roughly a hundred billion kilometers in diameter. This entire planet was a dark gray color, and an incredibly dense aura of death surrounded the entire planet. This planet was the source of the deathly energy which pervaded this entire region, and even the stones here had been completely broken apart into countless grains of dark gray sand.

Rumble… the earth began to tremble, and the endless aura of death began to change. The ground slowly began to turn fertile and full of life. Soon, countless blades of green grass began to appear on the surface of the earth as the power of life began to emanate from this planet, and the aura of death that surrounded this region slowly began to dissipate.

Rain began to fall from the skies, resulting in rivers, lakes, and seas appearing. The earth began to change, with mountains and valleys taking shape. Vegetation began to grow rapidly, with prairies and forests appearing.

This transformation from utter death to brimming life happened in just a single breath’s worth of time! In this single instant, time itself seemed to have somehow twisted. An incredibly long period of time seemed to have gone past, more than enough time to allow this place to become brimming with life.

Whoosh. A figure suddenly appeared on the surface of this planet. A sorrowful look was in his eyes, and he slowly shook his head. “I trained for very long this time. Why is it so difficult to gain insight into a Daobirth Essence from the line that separates life from death? If I mastered an additional Daobirth Essence, there would probably be a new transformation. Ugh. I failed yet again. Perhaps cultivators are only capable of mastering a single Daobirth Essence? Perhaps all the efforts of myself, Bolin, are for naught?”

“However… Skyfeeder just sent some good news. It seems our civilization has finally given birth to someone in control of an Eternal Omega Dao. His name is Daolord Darknorth, eh? A pity, truly a pity… how wonderful would it be if he had succeeded in his Daomerge? Still, no matter what, at least he has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao.” He took a single step forwards, causing space to ripple around him, then vanished without a trace.

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Chapter 10 – The Autarchs Gather

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 10 – The Autarchs Gather

Within the sea of the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Inside the wooden cottage.

Ji Ning and Autarch Skyfeeder were seated in the lotus position. They were going to patiently wait for the other Autarchs before talking business. While waiting, Ning began to discuss the Dao and its myriad mysteries with Autarch Skyfeeder.

Over two hours went past in the blink of an eye.

“Haha…” A thunderous laugh rang out, followed by the door swinging open and a muscular man dressed in loose green robes walking in. He had a pair of curved horns on his head, and his eyes were like an endlessly dark abyss. He emanated an aura of terrifying pressure that caused Ning to feel shocked, and his palms were quite large and thick.

“Daolord Darknorth.” The muscular man smiled when he saw Ning.

“Darknorth, this would be Autarch Ekong,” Autarch Skyfeeder introduced with a smile. “He is the only Autarch who rose from our civilization after the Dawn War against the Sithe concluded. He was incredibly talented and rose to become a Hegemon in a very short period of time. He caused quite a stir in his youth, and he has a rather special title – he is known as the Autarch of Annihilation.”

“I’m actually a fairly nice guy and I rarely kill people, but my path was that of the Destruction Daobirth Essence. That’s why I’m known as the ‘Autarch of Annihilation’,” the muscular Autarch Ekong said with a booming laugh. “You can just call me Ekong.”

“Ekong, hurry up and sit down,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “Sit and chat with us.”

“I can’t help it! I’m so happy to meet Daolord Darknorth. Our civilization has finally given birth to a master of an Eternal Omega Dao.” Autarch Ekong sat down.

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh in approval. Every Autarch truly was an extraordinary figure. For example, Ning felt as though Autarch Skyfeeder was a transcendent figure that was quite unlike ordinary living beings; she was like the mother of all things who benevolently watched over all creation.

As for Autarch Ekong, he emanated a heroic aura that was tinged with a terrifying, all-encompassing dominance that whispered of a hidden potential for destruction.

“Ekong, you little drakeling! I can’t believe you actually got here faster than me.” The door swung open once more, followed by a bald, black-robed old man walking in with a smile on his face. The two fleshy antennae on his head twirled around, seemingly quite delighted.

“Old man, can you knock it off with the ‘little drakeling’ thing? Just because you started training a bit earlier than me…” Autarch Ekong said helplessly.

“It’s your own fault for calling me ‘old man’.” Autarch Titanos gave him a ‘hard’ look, then turned and beamed at Ning. “Darknorth, my young friend… we meet again.”

“Respectful greetings, Autarch Titanos.” Ning smiled.

“You’ve met?” Autarch Skyfeeder and Autarch Ekong were both surprised. Autarchs were quite hard to meet, and Ning had only trained for a fairly brief period of time. They had thought that Ning had never met with any Autarchs before.

“Yes indeed. My young friend Darknorth once asked me to help him reverse spacetime to revive his Dao-companion.” Autarch Titanos let out a sigh. “Alas… the chaosworld his Dao-companion resided within was a world that was created from the godgems left behind by ol’ Awakener after he died. In fact, it was a world created from TWO godgems that collided together. I’d probably kill myself trying to bring her back to life, and it still probably wouldn’t work.”

Skyfeeder and Ekong were both startled. As for Ning, he fell silent for a moment before letting out a chuckle: “What’s past is past.”

“Come, let me offer you a toast.” Ekong lifted up his wine cup. “I’ve had quite a few Dao-companions in the past and thus have experienced the travails involved in reversing spacetime to bring them back. Thankfully, my Dao-companions resided in a mundane chaosworld, making reviving them much easier. I was a bit luckier than you, I suppose. Let’s drink together.”

Ning lifted up his own cup and drank some of the wine.

“I didn’t expect that you would actually have a connection to Awakener, Darknorth.” Autarch Skyfeeder let out a sigh. “Awakener was tremendously talented and was actually one of the first Autarchs to rise to power. The only one remaining from the oldest days is you, old man Titanos.”

“That’s because I’m not tired of living yet!” Autarch Titanos stared at her. “But you, Skyfeeder… you’ve trained for a shorter period of time than me. Are you thinking of taking the same route which Awakener and Entropos took?”

“There are no other paths to take. That was the same conclusion they came to. However… thankfully, our civilization has finally given birth to someone like Daolord Darknorth, a master of an Eternal Omega Dao. As a result, I can relax a bit and won’t rush off to give it a try.” Autarch Skyfeeder smiled as she glanced at Ning.

Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Awakener and ‘Entropos’; who were they?”

“Two other old fellows,” Autarch Titanos chortled. “The three of us were the originals, the ones who lived the longest – Entropos, Awakener, and myself! A great deal of time passed before Skyfeeder and the others made their breakthroughs. Alas, Awakener and Entropos have already died.”

“Both of them died? How did they die?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

Autarch Titanos, Autarch Skyfeeder, and Autarch Ekong exchanged a glance. Autarch Titanos then let out a chuckle and said, “Darknorth, my young friend, don’t be impatient. We’ll discuss this matter later, and I’m sure you’ll come to understand. This actually is connected to the reason why we need your help. Let’s wait for the other two to arrive. Actually… hah! They’ve already arrived.”

Ning and the others all turned to look towards the outside. The seams between the wooden logs were quite large, allowing one to clearly see what was going on outside. Right now, two figures were walking side-by-side towards the cottage. These were the two remaining Autarchs of the five who were meeting today.

The eight Domain Rulers and the Flamewing God continued to wait outside in the courtyard, their eyes growing wider and wider. “They just keep coming…” they mumbled breathlessly.

Every single person who came was an Autarch. Each time, the nine could sense that invisible aura of might and pressure. Even the normally brash Flamewing was now on his absolute best behavior.

“Two more Autarchs?” Flamewing and the others all stared as two figures emerged from the sea of prime essences and walked into the courtyard. The two glanced at the eight Domain Rulers and Flamewing but didn’t say a word, simply walking straight inside the cottage.

“Five Autarchs.” Flamewing muttered to itself, “What do these five Autarchs want from my master?”

“I’ve been alive for an eternity, but I’ve never seen five Autarchs together.”

“Even I have only seen three of them.”

“Five Autarchs have gathered together. How rare must this be?!” The eight Domain Rulers were all speechless. Autarchs were incredibly hard to find; even during the Dawn War against the Sithe, the Autarchs had commanded separate troops of Hegemons. Some of the eight Domain Rulers had taken part in this war, but none of them had seen all of the Autarchs.

All eight of the Domain Rulers and Flamewing stared towards that wooden cottage with curiosity. That ordinary looking cottage actually held five Autarchs and a Daolord who was the first person in the Chaosverse to master an Eternal Omega Dao. All nine of them were curious… what was being discussed inside?

Inside the room. The two final Autarchs walked in alongside each other, and Ning couldn’t help but smile when he saw them. Compared to Autarch Ekong or Autarch Titanos, Ning could be considered quite handsome. Even Autarch Skyfeeder wasn’t all that attractive… but the final two Autarchs who had just arrived were both ravishingly handsome men of empire-toppling beauty. Ning could use every single superlative in his vocabulary to describe their appearance, and it would all be completely justified.

The one on the left had white hair. He had a rather tired aura and his face was unshaven, but he was without a doubt a truly handsome man. He seemed to be walking the line between life and death; he seemed like the font of all life, but he also seemed like the final resting place of the dead. All living creatures would feel an uncontrollable sense of yearning towards him… but of course, major powers like Ning wouldn’t be affected.

As for the one on the right, he was an incomparably noble figure. He had black hair, bore a smile on his face, and seemed to be a truly perfect person. Even someone whose Dao-heart was incredibly strong like Ning couldn’t help but feel somewhat attracted to this man, who seemed to embody the very essence of beauty itself.

“This is Bolin.” Autarch Titanos pointed at the tired-looking white-haired man, then smiled: “This fellow has been ruminating on life and death, or something like that. That’s why he looks so terrible. When I first met him, he was quite a dashing and imposing figure. He’s the master of the Claw Daobirth Essence, but now he looks like this… tsk!”

“Eh?” Autarch Bolin looked at Ning, rather startled. “The two of us are actually connected by karma?”

“There is indeed some karma between us,” Ning said with a laugh. “Autarch Bolin… you don’t know me, but I actually benefited through your actions. That Chaos Primordial outside? I actually tamed it due to the verdant azuresoul you left behind in one of your beastworlds, Autarch.”

“Oh?” A hint of a smile appeared on Autarch Bolin’s face. “Yes, long ago I did in fact leave behind quite a few estate-worlds throughout the Chaosverse. I was worried that we would lose the final battle and wanted to ensure that the seeds of rebirth and resistance would be planted for our civilization. However, we ended up winning, making the estate-worlds of limited use. I stopped paying attention to them as a result. I didn’t expect that they would end up helping you out, Daolord Darknorth. It seems my work wasn’t wasted after all.”

Ning felt a sense of tremendous admiration for Autarch Bolin. Autarch Bolin clearly walked the path of the Claw Daobirth Essence, but he had reached such incredible heights in the Dao of Life that he had been able to create an entire race… the race of Aeonians!

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Chapter 11 – The Source Of Everything

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 11 – The Source Of Everything

Ji Ning had just heard Autarch Titanos say that Autarch Bolin was studying the secrets of life and death, which was why his aura had changed so dramatically. Based on this, Ning surmised that the Aeonians probably represented certain accomplishments Autarch Bolin had reached in understanding the mysteries of life. What, then, were his accomplishments in the mysteries of death? And… why was an Autarch even researching the principles of life and death?

“And this gentleman is Stonerule.” Autarch Bolin pointed at the perfectly beautiful man next to him and chuckled, “Stonerule become an Autarch via the Dao of Illusions. His divine body is filled with boundless magnetism and charm. Those of us who have perfect Dao-hearts aren’t affected too much, but Hegemons and Otherverse Lords who run into him would be instantly charmed and would willingly do whatever he commanded.”

“Illusions?” Ning was shocked. So Autarch Stonerule’s path was that of the Illusion Daobirth Essence? How impressive!

“Respectful greetings, Daolord Darknorth.” Autarch Stonerule smiled. “My little parlor tricks are nothing to you, Daolord. We have been waiting a long, long time for someone to finally master an Eternal Omega Dao, but we never knew when it would finally occur! Very few can even become Daolords of the Fourth Step through an Omega Dao, while the Daomerge for one would be even more incomparably difficult!”

“It truly was hard.” Ning nodded.

“Although you failed, Daolord, you still managed to master an Eternal Omega Dao. This truly is a blessing for our civilization,” Autarch Stonerule said.

“All of you, sit down. Look at how antsy you all are,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

Autarch Bolin and Autarch Stonerule immediately sat down. Now, all five Autarchs and Ning were all seated. Ning felt a sense of anticipation. He knew that it was finally time to discuss business.

“Shall I go first?” Autarch Titanos swept the others with a glance.

“Go ahead, old man,” Autarch Ekong said. The other Autarchs all nodded.

Autarch Titanos looked straight at Ning. “Darknorth, by now you should be aware that the Sithe have not been truly exterminated, right?”

“They haven’t been truly exterminated?” Ning was astonished.

“You didn’t know?” Autarch Titanos was rather surprised. “Haven’t you visited the legendary Sithelands?”

“I’ve heard of the Sithelands but haven’t visited them yet,” Ning said. The Sithelands were indeed quite famous. Ning had heard Emperor Waveshift speak of them and had discussed them with several major powers. The Sithe had arisen from that place, and to this very day it held more Sithe treasures than any other place. Major powers often went there to go adventuring.

“Weren’t the Sithe exterminated after losing the war?” Ning asked.

Autarch Titanos chuckled. “I would’ve assumed that after you failed the Daomerge, you would’ve gone to visit as many of the famous places in the Chaosverse as you could prior to dying. I thought you visited the Sithelands already. If you had… given your current level of insight, you probably would’ve seen the truth. You would’ve understood that the Sithe are not truly extinct. Rather, we’ve completely sealed them away, making it impossible for them to return once more.”

Ning continued to listen attentively.

“Long ago,” Autarch Titanos said, “The vast Chaosverse arose, giving birth to countless living beings. Slowly, some embarked upon the path of cultivation. Entropos was the first Autarch, and he was followed by Awakener, then by myself. Next came Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Bolin, Autarch Stonerule, and Autarch Mogg.”

“Back them, we lived without any worries or concerns. Entropos died trying to take the final step, but that didn’t matter; everyone was seeking their own paths, after all. But then… all of a sudden, and without any warning, the Sithe emerged.

“The Sithe were both mysterious and powerful. The prime essences of the Chaosverse sent us a warning, ensuring that we could subconsciously sense that the Sithe posed an enormous threat to us,” Autarch Titanos said. “Have you seen any Sithe Exalts yet?”

“I have.” Ning’s eyes lit up and he immediately said, “I saw the Sithe Exalt imprisoned in the Earthfire Continent. If I’m not mistaken… that Sithe Exalt had the insights of an Autarch. Logically speaking, he should’ve been an Autarch… but his actual power level was far lower. He was probably just on par with the Domain Rulers outside this cottage.”

Autarch Titanos nodded. “Yes. They are Autarchs.”

Ning was stunned. “They really are Autarchs? B-but their power…”

“They aren’t Autarchs from this place,” Autarch Titanos said. “Although our Chaosverse is almost infinitely vast… outside the Chaosverse there is a truly infinite and endless region which has other living creatures within it. The Sithe race stems from another Chaosverse located within the Infinite Void!”

“A different Chaosverse?!” Ning had yet to even leave this Chaosverse.

“Once we became Autarchs, we were able to glean some secrets from the prime essences of the Chaosverse,” Autarch Titanos said. “The vast and endless void is filled with a number of enormous celestial bodies, with the largest being the Chaosverses! But even in the Infinite Void, Chaosverses are incredibly rare and few in number. The most powerful and most invincible of all beings in the Infinite Void are the Lords of Chaos, the controllers of the Chaosverses!”

“If you wish to become a Lord of Chaos and master a Chaosverse, you must first become an Autarch! Then, you must master and bind the entire Quintessence of that Chaosverse, which would give you full control over all the power that Chaosverse has.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “You should understand by now how much strength would be needed to take full control over the power of the Chaosverse.”

Ning was stunned. Of course he knew! The power hidden within the vast Wellspring Seas of the Eight Domains was already vastly beyond the power which Autarchs could command. The power of the entire Chaosverse? That would be insanely, indescribably vast. Taking control over all of it was completely inconceivable.

“The Sithe come from a different Chaosverse which already has a supremely exalted Lord of Chaos controlling it! This was why their civilization has reached such incredible heights, and why they have so many marvelous techniques at their disposal,” Autarch Titanos said. “But because their Chaosverse already has a person in control of it, there’s no way for a second Chaoslord to arise… and so they have invaded our Chaosverse and seek to dominate it instead!”

“But they are foreign invaders, while this is our home. Here, they will suffer invisible pressure which ensures that they aren’t able to gain any additional power from the Dao here. Even their Autarchs are weakened by this invisible pressure. Without the power of the Dao supporting them, they are naturally much weaker than they should be,” Autarch Titanos said.

“They are completely different races from us, because they were born in a completely different Chaosverse… but once they are able to take control over our Chaosverse, they can transform it and make it suitable for them. As for those of us who were born here? All of us will perish! From that day forth, all creatures born from our Chaosverse shall be like them – Sithe.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “This is literally a war of survival. We cannot shirk our duty.”

Ning asked, “So the enemy Lord of Chaos is afraid to come here?”

“He wouldn’t dare.” Autarch Titanos explained, “The wellspring of his power is his Chaosverse! He’s able to make use of that power anywhere in the Infinite Void, which is why he is invincible. But… if he was to enter our Chaosverse, he would lose access to that power and would be suppressed, just like everyone else. That’s why he wouldn’t dare to enter himself.”

Ning nodded.

“And besides… why would he? He already stands at the very peak of power in all the Infinite Void, capable of accomplishing anything he desires.” Autarch Titanos sighed. “Alas, the other creatures within his Chaosverse wish to become Lords of Chaos as well. Their only choice is to leave their Chaosverse and invade other ones… and so, we ended up becoming a target for them.”

“We’ve already killed sixteen Sithe Exalts and trapped six of them. There are probably other Exalts sealed away within the Sithelands as well. In other words… tens of ‘Autarchs’ from their Chaosverse have invaded ours. From this, you should be able to tell the difference in power between them and us.”

Ning nodded. The difference was clear, obvious, and enormous.

“They surpass us in many ways, such as in fashioning treasures and techniques,” Autarch Titanos said. “We were able to suppress them during the war thanks to our geographical advantage and managed to lock them away into their ‘homelands’, making it impossible for them to invade us again… but in the end, they will always pose a threat. Even worse, if enough time passes we might be invaded by other civilizations as well!”

“Thus… the only way to forever get rid of all these problems is to produce a Lord of Chaos ourselves!” Autarch Titanos said. “If we can take control over our own Chaosverse, then we’ll be able to make full use of its power. When that happens we would have the power to invade others, but no one would dare to invade us.”

Ning agreed with this assessment. Their Chaosverse was without a ruler, but they had still managed to fight back for so long. Once they did gain a Chaoslord, then they would become truly invincible.

“Alas, taking control over the Chaosverse is simply too hard.” Autarch Titanos shook his head. “Entropos gave it a try, but he died. Awakener also tried, but he also died.”

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Chapter 12 – Help

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 12 – Help

“The power of the Chaosverse is too overwhelmingly mighty. Although we were born from this Chaosverse and thus the prime essences do not reject us, we still cannot withstand their incredible might.” Autarch Titanos sighed. “Trying to accomplish this task through raw force simply results in us imploding under the weight of the Chaosverse’s power. It’s sheer suicide! Entropos and Awakener were both extremely powerful, but neither of them were able to endure the weight of that power. Before they died, they sent us messages to never try it again; the difference was simply too great.”

The other four Autarchs all fell silent, while Ning himself nodded slowly. It was like death through over-eating. Sometimes, accepting an excessively heavy burden would result in you being crushed to death by it! Even the most powerful figures in the Chaosverse, the Autarchs, were unable to withstand even the minimum pressure required to take control over the full power of the Chaosverse. This must have been why the estate-spirit of the Azureflower Estate had stated that Autarch Awakener had essentially commited suicide.

“But we had no other choices available to us,” Autarch Titanos said. “This is the only method we had available for ensuring the perpetual security of our Chaosverse. There really are no other options available to us. That’s why Skyfeeder was planning to make the attempt as well.”

“I’ve spent an incredibly long period of time training in the Quintessence,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “I’ve tried a few low-level mock-bindings. I think I have a shot.”

“Awakener and Entropos both felt the same way.” Autarch Titanos shook his head.

“That’s the allure of it all.” Autarch Ekong chuckled. “Stop playing the fool. There’s ALWAYS a ‘shot’, but we’d probably all die chasing after that flitting chance. Now that we have Darknorth, our civilization has a real shot. There’s no need for us to foolishly go off and commit suicide.”

Puzzled, Ning asked, “Are there really no other options? Is becoming a Lord of Chaos truly the only path which is available to us? If we’ve already defeated the Sithe and sealed them away, why don’t we just kick them all out?”

“If we could kick them out, we would’ve done so long ago.” Autarch Bolin chuckled softly.

“We’re not able to do that,” Autarch Stonerule said.

Autarch Skyfeeder smiled and explained, “Daolord Darknorth, as you know the Sithe have incredibly powerful weapons at their disposal. The deeper you go into their ‘homeland’, the stronger their defenses become and the more powerful their weapons are! Their homeland is the most dangerous place in all the Chaosverse. During the Dawn War, what we did was to attack their bases throughout the Chaosverse. We didn’t fight them in their lair!”

“We had a geographical advantage when fighting in the other parts of the Chaosverse. The Sithe were confident in their chances at first, and if they wished to bind the Quintessence they would have to kill us all,” Autarch Skyfeeder explained. “That is why they came out of their main base and fought against us throughout the Chaosverse. In the end, we won an extremely narrow victory.”

“If they wish to bind the Quintessence, they must kill you all first?” Ning didn’t fully understand.

Autarch Titanos nodded. “Correct.”

“Early on, during the first days of the Chaosverse, there were actually extremely few living beings. Later on, life began to flourish. More and more living beings came into existence… but there’s a limit to how much energy the Chaosverse has! Cultivators learned to take in the power of the Chaosverse for themselves, becoming more powerful. By now, I estimate that the majority of the power of the Chaosverse has actually been concentrated within the bodies of the countless cultivators currently alive.”

“Thus, when cultivators die and their truesouls collapse, all that energy shall return to the Quintessence or the local everworlds and otherverses. However… the Sithe knew a way to kill us and then take away our truesoul energy!” Autarch Titanos continued, “The more of us they killed, the weaker our entire Chaosverse became. If it loses enough power, the Quintessence itself will become so weak that even foreign outsiders like the Sithe will be capable of binding it.”

Ning finally understood. As in all other areas, the Sithe undoubtedly had binding techniques that far surpassed what the local cultivator civilizations possessed! However, they were still outsiders; they would be suppressed and rejected by this Chaosverse. They had to first weaken it and bleed it before they would stand a chance at success.

“The most powerful creatures in our entire Chaosverse are the Autarchs. Us. If they can kill even a single Autarch, it would be considered a great success.” Autarch Titanos chuckled. “A pity for them that killing us is extremely difficult. Below us are the Hegemons, and the Sithe are quite happy to kill them as well. What they needed was slaughter on a vast scale, and in order to achieve that they had to come out from their main lair and attack us throughout the Chaosverse. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to achieve their aims.”

“In the end, we won. However, during our final assault against the Sithelands, we were only able to take control over their outer perimeter. We could sense that tremendous danger lay hidden at the center of their lair, and we could subconsciously sense that if we dared to attack, we could very well perish. Thus, we decided to instead seal them away and ensure that they cannot come out,” Autarch Titanos said.

“Since their goal was to weaken our Chaosverse, we naturally had to come up with a way to replenish it and strengthen the Quintessence. We chose to use the imprisoned Sithe Exalts for that task. The ‘torture’ those Sithe Exalts are enduring is actually serving to slowly assimilate them in order to replenish the energies of the Chaosverse. The goal is to cause them to break down, at which point we would assimilate every scrap of their power. Since their power originally came from outside our Chaosverse, this will allow the total amount of energy belonging to our Chaosverse to grow,” Autarch Titanos explained. “This was a clumsy method, but the only one we had.”

Autarch Ekong smirked. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t really worked at all. Those six imprisoned Sithe Exalts have been resisting our efforts. They’ve been tormented for ages, but their Dao-hearts have yet to crumble and they remain in control of their energies.”

“Sooner or later, they’ll give up. Once they do so, they’ll be assimilated and their energies shall be taken away,” Autarch Titanos said.

Puzzled, Ning said, “During the war, we killed many Sithe Exalts. Were we unable to draw from the truesoul energies of those slain Exalts?”

“Wouldn’t work.” Autarch Ekong laughed, “Things aren’t going to be that easy! Long ago, the Sithe set wards over their truesouls. As soon as they die, their energies will depart from our Chaosverse and return to their own. That’s why we had to imprison those six Sithe Exalts.”

“Thus… our civilization is actually in dire straits,” Autarch Titanos said. “All of us are doing our best to try and solve this problem, because we fear that one day an outside power will take control over our Chaosverse and terraform it to become more hospitable to them, resulting in our complete extermination.”

Ning finally understood. In the past, Ning was without any real worries or concerns; he felt that if there were any existential problems, it would be up to the Autarchs to handle them. There was no need for him to concern himself. But now that he stood amongst the ranks of the Autarchs, he finally understood just how dangerous a situation the Chaosverse was in!

How much longer would the cultivator civilizations be able to last? A few million more chaos cycles? A few billion? Longer? But if they were unable to produce a true Lord of Chaos, then in the end they would still face extinction. Even if they weren’t destroyed by the Sithe, they would be destroyed by other outside civilizations.

“Going against the laws of the Chaosverse is actually causing harm to the prime essences, which is why we rarely reverse spacetime to revive people.” Autarch Titanos sighed. “Your deceased Dao-companion is a good example. Her truesoul contained just the tiniest of smidgeons of Autarch Awakener’s power; reverse spacetime to revive her really wouldn’t cause my harm to the prime essences at all. And yet, the prime essences would fight back with all their might to resist it! This is because they innately wish to stay in peak condition, for fear that outside forces will take control over them.”

Ning nodded slowly.

“Haha. Thankfully, the situation isn’t critical just yet,” Autarch Ekong said with a laugh. “Although there might be more enemies in the future, for now we only have to face the Sithe! We’ve sealed away their homeland, giving us the upper hand!”

“Don’t celebrate just yet,” Autarch Titanos said calmly. “The Sithe have been dormant for far too long. They might receive reinforcements from outside and become even more powerful.”

“But we have Darknorth.” Autarch Ekong continued to smile happily. He was the only Autarch who had risen to power after the Dawn War had concluded. As a result, he was the most confident of the five.

“Darknorth.” Autarch Titanos laughed in a relaxed manner. “Five of the six Autarchs have all gathered here today. Mogg is the only one absent, and that is because he permanently stationed to stand guard over the Sithelands and keep an eye on it. This is because there is something we need from you, something that involves the survival of our entire civilization.”

“Yes.” The other four Autarchs all looked at Ning.

“Pray tell.” Ning nodded. Now that he knew what a dangerous situation his civilization was in, he naturally wouldn’t shirk his duty. As someone who now stood at the very apex of power, he had to help the Autarchs as best he could. As the saying goes, ‘when the skies collapse, let the big guys handle it’; Ning was now one of the ‘big guys’!

“Only when our civilization gives rise to a Lord of Chaos shall we be truly and perpetually safe.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “But taking control over the full power of the Chaosverse is very, very difficult. We stand no chance at all. There is, however, one path that is certain to succeed. That path is… using an Omega Dao to become an Autarch!”

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Chapter 13 – What Do You Desire?

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 13 – What Do You Desire?

“You are on par with us in power. If you became an Autarch through an Omega Dao, you would probably become far, far more powerful than the rest of us, and far more powerful than Entropos and Awakener were. Awakener, Entropos, Skyfeeder… all of them sensed that they had a chance. An Omega Autarch would probably be able to easily annihilate the entire Sithelands with ease! If you also had control over the full power of the Chaosverse, you would become completely invincible.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “And that is what we need your help for.”

“Me? But… I’ve already failed my Daomerge,” Ning said.

“Ah, but you’ve mastered an Eternal Omega Dao,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

“With your Eternal Omega Dao, I feel confident that our civilization will soon give birth to a true Omega Emperor! There are no lethal pitfalls between the ‘Emperor’ stage and the ‘Autarch’ stage, which means that given enough time that person would have a chance. Even if he remained at the ‘Emperor’ stage, he would still be on par with the five of us in power.” Autarch Titanos said eagerly, “In the past, we’ve actually worked to hide the existence of the Omega Daos, preventing word of them from spreading. This was because this path was so difficult, we were afraid that many of our most talented geniuses would die when attempting to trod it.”

“Consider many of the current Hegemons. Imagine if they had known of the existence of Omega Daos when they were at the World level, and even had techniques to guide them! Given their talent and given enough time, many of them would stand a good chance in embarking upon the path of the Omega Dao… but what would the end result be? They would fail the Daomerge, then die!”

“Your chances at the Daomerge are much better if you train by yourself, rather than receive fragmented guidance from others. Those who are good enough to blaze a trail for themselves stand the best chances of all,” Autarch Titanos said.

Ning agreed with this assessment. When you had no guidance, cultivation would be extremely difficult… but as a result, those who nonetheless succeeded were generally possessed of incredible comprehension abilities! The Three Realms was a good example of this. They originally had no legacies or techniques to guide them, making it hard for them to even reach the World level… but those who succeeded were all truly incredible figures!

This was doubly true for the Omega Daos. If you were given guidance, you might be able to embark upon a path you would never have been able to discover on your own… but in the end you would still fail before the Daomerge.

Those who were able to embark upon this path on their own would naturally be blessed with tremendous talent and insight! In all the Chaosverse, only a pitiful handful of people were able to even reach the Fourth Step of an Omega Dao. Every single such person was an incredible genius, and they had a good chance at the Daomerge. Even though they all failed, it merely represented a fairly small loss of life; it wouldn’t have much of an impact on the Chaosverse as a whole. But if cultivators began to train in the Omega Dao on a wide scale? Many geniuses would perish on this path, resulting in the Chaosverse having fewer experts and becoming weaker as a whole.

“But now, things are different!” Autarch Titanos said. “Now that we have an Eternal Omega Dao, we have a complete path which future cultivators can follow.”

“That means we can now truly publicize the existence of the Omega Daos, allowing many cultivators to embark upon this path at the World level. With your Daomerge experiences guiding the way, they won’t make any unnecessary mistakes. Their chances at success will instantly increase a hundredfold or more!” Autarch Titanos explained.

Ning sighed. If a senior had blazed a path for him and let him know what was needed, he himself probably would’ve succeeded. Now that he had become the trailblazer, future cultivators would have a clear understanding of what they needed to do. With enough experience and enough preparation, they would stand a far better chance than cultivators did in the past.

“We need your help,” Autarch Titanos said solemnly. “We would like to ask you to entrust your Eternal Omega Dao to us. We will then impart it to the juniors who have become Daolords of the Fourth Step in an Omega Dao… but of course, we’ll also ask them to swear lifeblood oaths to enter your school and become known as the honorary disciples of Daolord Darknorth.”

“Darknorth.” Autarch Bolin, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Stonerule, Autarch Ekong, and Autarch Titanos all looked at Ning, hoping to hear his answer. However… they also knew that cultivators guarded their supreme techniques with extreme jealousy, treating them as their babies.

Ning had experienced so many setbacks and sorrows. He had experienced countless dangers and seen many things before finally managing to devise his [Eternal Omega Sword Dao], his most supreme technique. Any major power would feel a tremendous sense of attachment to a supreme technique like this! They had sacrificed far, far too much for the sake of their Daos; it could be said that they had poured their entire lives into their Daos.

This is why there was a saying that ‘the Dao is not to be transmitted lightly’. The five of them were asking for Ning to just give them his Dao to them in all of its entirety, allowing every single Fourth Step Omega Daolord to train in it!

“…Very well.” Ning nodded, and looks of delight instantly appeared on the faces of the five Autarchs.

“Thank you, Darknorth.”

“The cultivator civilizations will never forget you.” All of them were tremendously excited. They were afraid that Ning would be stubborn and selfish. If he refused to transmit his Dao to them, there would be nothing they could do.

Ning smiled. “Autarch Awakener and the others have all sacrificed their lives for this, and Autarch Mogg has sworn to eternally stand guard over the Sithelands. I, Ji Ning, have nothing of value to offer; the only thing I have is my Eternal Omega Dao. How can I complain about offering it up? However, I do want to add in a rule; it is not to be transmitted to those who are wicked of heart.”

“There’s no need to worry about that,” Autarch Titanos said hurriedly. “What we’re trying to do is produce a Lord of Chaos who will be in charge of our Chaosverse. How could we possibly dare to let an evil person take that role? He could well become a calamity unto all of civilization!”

“The only reason we even allow those evil cultivators to exist is to ensure that the cultivator civilizations remain in a state of constant combat, which helps to temper cultivators and allow for more powerful cultivators to arise. If it wasn’t for that, I personally would’ve wiped out many of the vilest cultivators long ago,” Autarch Skyfeeder said coldly. By her very nature, she was someone who felt extreme hatred for evildoers.

Ning nodded.

“Haha… now that you’ve agreed, Darknorth, things will be simple.” Autarch Titanos beamed merrily.

“We’ll immediately send word throughout the Chaosverse of the existence of Omega Daos. We’ll even give copies of the various Fourth Step Omega Dao techniques we already possess to the Hegemons of the various realmverses and let them impart them to those they favor.” Autarch Ekong smiled. “We have quite a few Fourth Step Omega Dao techniques. Once one of them becomes a Daolord of the Fourth Step, we’ll transmit your Eternal Omega Dao to them, Darknorth.”

“Very well. I’ll immediately record a copy and also include all the many experiences I had and insights I gained during the Daomerge process,” Ning said.

“Darknorth.” Autarch Bolin looked at Ning. “In doing this, you will have contributed far more to this Chaosverse than any of us ever have. Tell me, is there anything you need? We’ll do whatever we can to help you.”

“Yes, what do you desire?” Autarch Titanos and the others all looked at Ning. They knew that Ning had already failed his Daomerge and wouldn’t have much time left to live. Most likely, he had certain things he wished to ensure were taken care of.

Ning was briefly startled by this. “My greatest desire…” Ning’s mind instantly became filled with images of his homeland, of his wife Yu Wei.

His homeland was the place he cared the most about, a source of warmth… while his wife, Yu Wei, was the person he would never be able to forget about.

“Unfortunately, we aren’t able to reverse spacetime to revive your Dao-companion.” Autarch Titanos let out a sigh.

Ning chuckled. “There is one thing that worries me… the safety of my homeland! But I’ve already sent Nuwa to stand guard over it. If something truly dangerous happens, I’ll have Nuwa ask you to help out, Autarchs.”

“A minor matter.”

“That’s a miniscule request.” The five Autarchs all felt that this was very simple.

“There IS one more thing, but it’ll be a bit trickier,” Ning said. “My homeland is located within the Flamedragon Realmverse! Thus, I don’t wish to see the Flamedragon Realmverse be destroyed. The Terror Starsea is close to the Flamedragon Realmverse, and it has a slowly-growing pair of Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. I’m fairly strong, but I can’t last too long in combat; if I tried to destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, I’d probably die in the attempt due to my truesoul collapsing. Thus, I would like to ask you to help destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.”

“I’ll handle this one,” Autarch Titanos said immediately. Although destroying the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels would be rather taxing even for the Autarchs, it still wasn’t an excessively major request.

Of course, they normally wouldn’t intervene in this manner as they would allow the Chaosverse to develop in its own natural manner! There was no point in them exerting so much effort for something of little benefit… but now that Ning had made the request, they immediately accepted.

“Anything else? These are all simple tasks.” Autarch Titanos smiled. “To be honest, the five of us feel like we have wronged you and owe you a tremendous debt. You have blazed a trail for us and brought hope to our Chaosverse, after all.”

“I really can’t think of anything else for now,” Ning said with a laugh.

His greatest desire was to revive his wife. If he could somehow manage to reach Autarchy with his Omega Dao before his truesoul disintegrated, he’d probably be able to avoid dying… but that was nothing but a foolish dream! The Autarchs weren’t capable of reviving his wife, while Ning himself didn’t have enough time. There was no way he could upgrade his Omega Dao to Autarchy.

“I heard that you were searching for Nuwa,” Autarch Skyfeeder said suddenly. “You’ve now arranged for her to safeguard your homeland. The more powerful she is, the more effective she will be in this task. Based on what I know, she hasn’t become an Otherverse Lord yet, right? There are some unbound otherverses within the Eight Domains. I’ll gift one to Nuwa and let her become an Otherverse Lord.”

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Chapter 14 – A Perfect Technique

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 14 – A Perfect Technique

“Thank you, Autarch Skyfeeder.” Ji Ning revealed a delighted look. Finding an ownerless otherverse was no easy task, but it was quite simple for Autarchs because they were the creators of the otherverses.

“Darknorth.” The calm and stoic Autarch Bolin said, “You failed the Daomerge, resulting in your truesoul crumbling away. I have a treasure that can help fortify and stabilize your truesoul, ensuring that the crumbling speed is somewhat slowed down!” Autarch bolin waved his hand, causing a palm-sized white disc to appear in front of him. This white disc was covered with two golden runes that emanated mysterious ripples of power which caused Ning’s truesoul to feel very comfortable. Just as Ning was sighing in amazement, it flew into his hands.

“With this treasure, I should be able to live 30% longer than I originally anticipated.” Ning didn’t decline, immediately accepting it into his body.

“I have one as well. It might not be as good as Bolin’s, but it should still be of help to you,” Autarch Skyfeeder said immediately.

“Me too,” Autarch Titanos said with a smile.

“I can give you one of these toys as well.” All five Autarchs took out a variety items for Ning. Some were unique Sithe treasures, while others were naturally formed curios that were born from the primordial chaos. All of them were beneficial to the soul and the truesoul. In truth, the Autarchs really didn’t care about treasures like these, because they had truly infinite lifespans; why would they even need these things? They only thought of them after Autarch Bolin raised the subject.

Ning didn’t decline any of the offers. All of the treasures served to firm up the soul and truesoul, but of course using multiple treasures resulted in diminishing returns. All combined, these treasures would slow down his truesoul’s disintegration by nearly half. He would most likely be able to live roughly 60% longer than he had originally anticipated! But of course, if he had to engage in fierce combat then his truesoul’s disintegration would be hastened dramatically.

“Unfortunately, our civilization is far weaker than the Sithe civilization,” Autarch Titanos said with a sigh. “The Sithe have far more profound techniques, and they don’t even differentiate between ‘divine power’ or ‘Immortal energy’. They’ve perfectly merged everything into one type of energy, and their Daolords don’t even face any mortal danger during the Daomerge.”

“Their World-level cultivators become Daolords, their Daolords become Emperors, and their Emperors become Autarchs! None of them face any mortal danger during each step of the process. This is a truly perfect cultivation system they have,” Autarch Titanos said. “Our civilization, however, only has access to cruder techniques. Daolords tread the line between life and death with each step they take. The first four steps aren’t so bad, but the Daomerge is the greatest obstacle all of us face.”

“No danger at all?” Ning was shocked. He knew that the Sithe followed a completely different path of cultivation that was akin to the azureflower mist energy, which Autarch Awakener had created based on his research into the Sithe.

“Correct,” Autarch Skyfeeder agreed. “At the Daolord level, they can make repeated mistakes but still try again. Even if they fail the Daomerge, their truesoul will not disintegrate; they can try the Daomerge a thousand times if they so choose. Their only limitation is that there is a limit to their lifespan; if they cannot succeed before their lifespan comes to an end, they will die.”

“What?!” Ning immediately asked, “Have any of you received the Sithe training techniques?”

“We have. Many of them, in fact.” Autarch Titanos shook his head. “But it is useless. They are completely different types of lifeforms who were birthed from a completely different Chaosverse. There’s no way for us to use their cultivation techniques at all! We tried to make use of them long ago, and Awakener poured his heart into researching them, but to no avail. This was his greatest regret when he died.”

Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Can you give me those Sithe techniques and let me take a look?”

“Absolutely.”

“I have plenty as well.”

“Take a look, Darknorth.” The five Autarchs knew what Ning was thinking. The Sithe cultivation techniques were truly perfect, ensuring that there were no fatal obstacles at any stage of cultivation. In truth, this wasn’t all that surprising. There were no fatal obstacles for World level cultivators seeking to become Daolords, nor were there any obstacles for Emperors seeking to become Autarchs. Why, then, was it so difficult for Daolords to become Emperors? It was precisely because of existing flaws with their cultivation techniques!

The five Autarchs immediately handed over storage-type treasures to Ning, each of which was filled with many jade slips.

“None of these techniques are suitable for us cultivators to train in,” Autarch Titanos said. “You would have to retrofit them in ordre to make use of them. Some technical techniques are usable, but the cultivation techniques are completely unusable.”

“Let me take a look first.” After acquiring all these jade slips, Ning waved his hand and caused oen to appear at random, which he immediately began to read.

The jade slip was filled with the Sithe language. The Sithe script was actually quite similar to the script used to write the words ‘Crimson’ ‘Wave’ ‘Temple’, and they also seemed similar to the azureflower seal-script within the Azureflower Estate. This was an extremely profound and abstruse language. The language alone was a testament to how much more advanced the Sithe were compared to local cultivators. This was why a mere Sithe incursion force had such an enormous number of Exalts within it!

Thankfully, the Autarchs and the local cultivators had the advantage of geography. The invading Exalts were unable to manifest the power of the Dao and were constantly suppressed by the prime essences of this Chaosverse, ensuring that they were ‘merely’ at the power of the Blazesun Ruler. This invasion force had paid an enormous price! Invading another Chaosverse and taking control over its Quintessence was an extremely, extremely difficult task.

“This truly is a perfect cultivation technique.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in awe when he read through the jade slip. There was literally nothing to change or improve on. Every single part of the process, from start to finish, was filled with boundless mysteries. It was profounder than profound and represented true and utter perfection.

This sort of cultivation ensured that the energies produced by cultivation were all one and the same, making it even more complete than the azureflower mist energy Ning used. In the end, the azureflower mist energy still had some flaws. Sithe cultivators, however, were able to use their energies to both control magic treasures and refine their bodies to make them comparable to the bodies of Ancient cultivators. At the Daolord stage, no truesoul crumbling would occur whatsoever.

“Such perfection.” After reading through the technique, Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair. He was completely incapable of creating something like this; the difference between them was incredibly vast.

Autarch Titanos and the other Autarchs had been alive for countless years, but they couldn’t create anything like this either. All of them had given up! Ning felt certain that this technique was probably created by the Chaoslord of the Sithe Chaosverse, as in order to create a technique like this you would first have to create an appropriate language for it! Every single character of this language was filled with the boundless mysteries of the Dao, and the language only completely surpassed Ning’s abilities.

Only with that marvelous, arcane script could such an even more arcane technique be created.

“Once our civilization gives birth to an Omega Autarch, we’ll have our own Lord of Chaos and will also be able to produce such marvelous techniques,” Autarch Titanos said. “We’ll skyrocket in many different ways, and our weapons and treasures shall also rise to become comparable with those of the Sithe.”

Ning nodded. Right now, they were behind in every single area; techniques, weapons, warships, and more. Their only advantage lay in geography! This was their home, and so every single stance they used was filled with the tremendous power of the Dao. In contrast, their opponents were being constantly suppressed and stifled by the prime essences.

“Oh, right. Darknorth, every single Autarch has a message-talisman that allows us to communicate with each other across great distances. So long as we are within the Chaosverse, we’ll be able to speak to each other right away,” Autarch Titanos said as he produced a dark-red jade talisman in his hand. “These talismans aren’t easy to make. Previously, only Autarchs had access to them. You, however, are special. You get one as well. If there’s anything you need, just notify the six of us!”

Ning accepted the dark-red message-talisman. It was so red, it looked like it had been bathed in blood. After binding it, Ning was able to immediately sense the other six who were connected to it. He was able to tell who each of the six was due to their unique auras, with the most unfamiliar one most likely being the Autarch who was in charge of safeguarding the Sithe lair, Autarch Mogg.

……

The Autarchs spent quite some time chatting with Ning. They stood at the very apex of the cultivator civilizations and thus concerned themselves with affairs that involved the entire Chaosverse. Now that Ning had reached the same level, he couldn’t help but sigh at how little he could do. There was a limit to how much longer he would be alive for, after all. In the end, it would be up to the Autarchs and the future Omega Emperors to defend their realm… and the Omega Autarch everyone was waiting for!

That Omega Autarch would catapult their civilization to brand new heights.

Ning used the jade slip to leave behind a full and complete record of his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and also fully explained the experiences he had during his Daomerge. For example, he wrote that one had to have truly perfected one’s Dao-heart as a prerequisite. Even the Autarchs couldn’t help but shake their heads when they heard this requirement. This was incredibly difficult! Only when one’s Dao-heart was perfect could one perfectly fuse heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy together. This truly was very, very difficult.

However, having Ning’s experiences to serve as a guidepost was far better than going in completely blind. If Ning had the benefit of something like this, he would’ve succeeded in the Daomerge long ago.

After spending half a day here, Ning prepared to bid them all farewell.

“Darknorth, let me send you off,” Autarch Ekong said with a smile. “Didn’t you say that once you left the Blazesun Domain, you would head back to the Flamedragon Realmverse? That’s quite a distance away! I’ll save you the trouble and send you myself; that will be much faster. Once I reach the Flamedragon Realmverse, I’ll go ahead and deal with that set of Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you to help out, Autarch Ekong,” Ning said appreciatively.

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Chapter 15 – Autarch Ekong

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 15 – Autarch Ekong

Creeeeak. The wooden door swung open, with Ji Ning and Autarch Ekong walking out side-by-side. Autarch Titanos, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Bolin, and Autarch Stonerule remained inside the cottage, but they rose to their feet to send the two off. As for the eight Domain Rulers, they hurriedly and respectfully parted before the two.

“Master.” The Flamewing God was being exceptionally obedient today. The five Autarchs had given it a rare sense of enormous pressure.

“Let’s go,” Ning said with a smile.

“Done already?” Flamewing blurted out. It was common for major powers to spend a million years gathered together and chatting about the Dao.

“How long did you think it would take?” Ning smiled as he glanced at the eight Domain Rulers. “Shall you come with us?”

“We’re in no rush to leave.”

“Please go right on ahead, Daolord.” It was quite rare that the eight Domain Rulers had a good excuse to come visit one of the Autarchs; how could they simply return like this? They naturally wanted to get some tips or pointers out of Autarch Skyfeeder first.

“Darknorth, just notify us if there is anything you need at all,” Autarch Titanos said.

“If there’s anything we can do, we’ll put all our effort into carrying it out,” Autarch Stonerule agreed.

And so, watched by four Autarchs and eight Domain Rulers, the two departed. Autarch Ekong released a field of power which covered both Ning and Flamewing, then began to advance through the sea of prime essences at high speed. Whoosh! They almost instantly vanished off into the horizon.

“This has been my first meeting with Daolord Darknorth, but it is also most likely a final farewell,” Autarch Bolin sighed. Ning didn’t have much time left. Given how strong he was, he probably wouldn’t need to trouble them for anything he needed. It was naturally quite unlikely that they would ever meet again.

“Although we’ve only met him this once, he’s done something truly incredible for all of civilization,” Autarch Stonerule said.

“Ensure that his homeland is protected. That’s all we can do for him now.”

The Autarchs felt many mixed emotions. In their eyes, Daolord Darknorth was like a dazzling meteor who shone as radiantly as any Autarch, but it was destined for him to fall. And yet… the light of this meteor would illuminate a brand new path for all cultivators to walk! All they could do was take care of Daolord Darknorth as best they could… but at his level, there really were very few things he needed help with.

For Ning, seizing an otherverse from someone else would be incredibly easy. At most it would cost him a bit of extra time.

……

Autarch Ekong continued to flare his around around Ning and Flamewing, allowing them to travel through the sea of prime essences at incredible speeds. In truth, Ning would’ve been able to do the same, but his truesoul probably would’ve fully disintegrated from the exertion before they had even made it out of the Quintessence. Autarch Ekong didn’t have this concern and so was able to move at maximum speed.

Soon, they left the Quintessence. After travelling a great distance, they reappeared within the Blazesun Domain. Here, within an empty region of space, there was a realmship with Nuwa, Su Youji, Patriarch Treewind, Azurefiend, Hegemon Goodsong, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and a number of others inside it. They were all relaxing and discussing the Dao while waiting for Ning to return.

“Master’s back!” Azurefiend, who was in control of the realmship, was the first to notice the three figures who had appeared outside.

Whoosh! Those three figures instantly appeared inside of the realmship. When Nuwa and the others saw the muscular, horned man dressed in green robes who was by Ning’s side, they immediately fell silent.

Ning smiled: “This is Autarch Ekong.”

“The Autarch of Annihilation?” Patriarch Treewind turned slightly pale.

“Respectful greetings, Autarch Annihilation.” Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow were the first to speak out, quickly followed by the others. Ning was able to refer to the man by his name, ‘Ekong’, but most cultivators would respectfully address and refer to him as ‘Autarch Annihilation’. The Autarch of Annihilation was extremely famous, especially since he had arisen after the Dawn War. All learned figures like Patriarch Treewind knew of his name and title.

Autarch Ekong said calmly, “No need to stand on ceremony. I’ll be coming with you for a time, so you can all relax.” But of course, no one present could possibly relax save for Ning himself. Even Flamewing was shifting from side to side.

“Autarch Ekong, let’s go find that otherverse first,” Ning said.

“Very well, let’s go.” Autarch Ekong sent out his will, generating a massive wave of power that scooped up the realmship and then sent it tearing through spacetime. Just a heartbeat later, they were out of the Blazesun Domain and within a region of darkness. A second spacetime warp, and they had arrived in an empty region within another one of the Eight Domains, the Roaring Elepheant Domain.

They moved so fast that Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, and the others were all speechless. The many complicated spacetime obstacles within the Eight Domains were nothing to the Autarchs!

“Is that an otherverse? An ownerless otherverse?” Patriarch Treewind, Hegemon Azurefiend, and the others all called out in surprise. They were able to clearly see an enormous globe off in the distance that looked as though it was merely a hundred billion kilometers in diameter. This globe was covered with a layer of light that distorted time, and it emanated ripples of unfathomable profundity.

Otherverses were incredibly vast inside and were comparable to a realmverse… but from the outside, they weren’t necessarily all that large! When the Autarchs first created them, they were merely palm-sized. If no one was in control of them, they would grow to become a hundred billion kilometers in diameter, and their aura would be clearly visible for any to see. But once someone bound an otherverse, things would be completely different.

BOOM!

“We should be celebrating the fact that we discovered this otherverse. Why do we have to fight to the death? If this battle continues, both of you would probably die before winning this thing. How about this? Why don’t you let me take control over this otherverse. I promise I’ll give you the next one! I’m also willing to give you almost all of my treasures. Why must you be so stubborn?” Five figures were engaged in a furious battle off in the distance.

“You are completely shameless! Give me the next one? Who knows when that will be! We’ve all been cultivating for countless ages before encountering something like this! How can I possibly just let you take it? Either give me the otherverse or give me a comparable amount of treasures. Compared to the otherverse, the treasures you offered are a joke!”

It was quite a furious battle, but the two sides were fairly evenly matched. In a situation like this, it would be difficult for either side to truly defeat or kill the other. This was why neither side was willing to give up. Generally speaking, the battle would only come to an end once one side had completely depleted their reserves of divine power and Immortal energy. In fact, for Hegemons to end up perishing was quite ordinary as well.

“Flamewing, make them stop,” Ning said with a laugh. It would be rather excessive to ask Autarch Ekong to handle this, while the other experts probably wouldn’t be frightening enough to bring an immediate halt.

“Yes, Master.” Flamewing immediately assented to the order, then turned towards the battling experts. “HEY! YOU FIVE! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!” A thunderous roar swept through spacetime as a giant winged bear who was bathed in flames suddenly appeared. Flamewing glowered down towards the five with unbridled arrogance, causing all of them to instantly turn pale with terror. “A Chaos Primordial?!”

If a Chaos Primordial wanted to kill a Hegemon, it would be simplicity itself.

Whoosh! Moments later, an entire host of cultivators came flying out of the realmship, with Ning and Autarch Ekong in the lead. Behind them were Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, Hegemon Goodsong, and the others.

“W-what…”

“Isn’t that Patriarch Treewind?”

The Eight Domains were all located quite close to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse, and so these five Hegemons instantly recognized the incredibly famous Patriarch Treewind and equally famous Imperator Jade Rainbow. Both of them were Otherverse Lords! As for Hegemon Goodsong, they were able to immediately see that he was a Golden Emperor, which meant he also had the combat power of an Otherverse Lord. Any of the three would be able to slay them with ease, as could Flamewing.

The scary thing was, none of these four were the leaders of this group. The two leaders… one was a white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back whose truesoul was disintegrating. A Daolord who had failed the Daomerge, then? The other was a horned, muscular, green-robed man whose aura, even when restrained, was enough to cause them to quiver in their boots. They had never felt terror like this before.

“An Autarch!” Although they had never met an Autarch before, they instantly understood that it had to be an Autarch. Only an Autarch could bring them such a sense of utter terror.

“A Daolord who failed the Daomerge but can stand alongside an Autarch… that has to be the legendary Daolord Darknorth.”

The five Hegemons stood there, shaking with terror. They no longer even thought about fighting over the otherverse! They were stunned by this utterly terrifying squad that had appeared before them.

Ning couldn’t help but secretly sigh. Each Autarch had a different way of dealing with things. Autarch Titanos would generally completely hide his aura, while Autarch Ekong clearly was more dominating and imperious in his actions.

“Bah, Skyfeeder… the ownerless otherverse she picked out for us had actually been discovered by other cultivators already.” Autarch Ekong frowned and shook his head. Given his pride, he really didn’t want to earn a reputation for taking otherverses away from Hegemons. He immediately said, “Darknorth, have your friend go and bind that otherverse, I suppose.”

“Go ahead, Nuwa,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Nuwa didn’t hesitate, immediately flying towards that otherverse.

“As for the five of you.” Autarch Ekong frowned. “This otherverse was never meant for you, so you can forget about it. However… since you managed to discover it, we are bound together by karma. I’ll give each of you some good fortune. You can go now.” He waved his hand, causing a surge of power to grab all five Hegemons and send them through a spacetime tunnel that led to a treasure cache which Autarch Ekong knew of.

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Chapter 16 – Return

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 16 – Return

The light shimmering over the surface of the otherverse rippled with unfathomable, secretive mysteries.

Nuwa entered it all by herself. Just a heartbeat later, the otherverse began to change and transform. The aura emanating from it began to retract, while the ripples were completely restrained as well… and at the same time, a flicker of green vitality appeared on its surface.

“This otherverse seems to have life in it,” Su Youji said with surprise as she stared at the otherverse.

“It is indeed filled with life,” Autarch Ekong said calmly. “Ownerless otherverses will operate in accordance with their intrinsic nature, but they won’t have a will of their own! Now that Nuwa has bound this one, Nuwa’s will shall become the will of this entire otherverse, and her life force shall become one with the otherverse. This otherverse shall become one of her incarnations.”

Moments later, the otherverse began to shrink in size before vanishing almost completely. Nuwa reappeared once more as the tiny little dot flew straight into her body.

“Disciple, where do you plan to station your otherverse?” Patriarch Treewind asked.

“Close to home,” Nuwa said. “That way, the people of my homeland will also be able to enter the otherverse and live there.”

Ning approved of this plan. Once an otherverse was affixed somewhere, it would become a foundation of power. Otherverses also had many uses; for example, one could use the power of an otherverse to warp through spacetime at the speed of a realmship. It could even be linked to the outside world via a stable spacetime tunnel! However, the longer the tunnel was the more difficult its creation would be. Nuwa was definitely going to establish a stable, permanent spacetime tunnel between her otherverse and the Three Realms, and so she had to keep it fairly close to the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Based on what Ning now knew, it seemed obvious that the Otherverse Lord of the ‘alternate universe’ which Ning had once visited, ‘the lord of the Church of Annihilation’, had to have a connection to Hegemon Brightshore! Otherverse Lords were in absolute control over their otherverses, as the otherverses served like their incarnations. There was no way that Hegemon Brightshore would’ve been able to ‘secretly’ establish a spacetime tunnel to it.

The reason why Hegemon Brightshore had claimed otherwise was because he wanted Ning, Skyfire, and the others to feel as though they were in a dangerous place. He wanted to ensure that they would be on their guard at all times; only then would this adventure serve its true purpose. Ning suspected that if the ‘protectors’ had died, nothing would happen… but if Skyfire Brightshore had been at the verge of dying, Hegemon Brightshore or the lord of the Church of Annihilation would’ve intervened to save him!

In other words, that seemingly dangerous adventure had actually been just a tempering experience for Skyfire Brightshore. There had been no real danger at all, and Ning’s group had merely served as his companions.

There had been no real danger… but of course, Hegemon Brightshore couldn’t let Skyfire know that! This was yet another testament to how much effort Hegemon Brightshore put into his race. He truly did pour his blood, sweat, and tears into making it prosper.

“Let’s go. We’re heading back to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Ning said.

Autarch Ekong, Ning, and the others all boarded the realmship and tore through spacetime, once more warping towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Halfway there, Hegemon Goodsong, Patriarch Treewind, Imperator Jade Rainbow, and most of the others all departed. There was no way Ning would keep them around at all times, after all. Nuwa bade her own master farewell for now. She was going to go back home.

……

They continued to advance through spacetime, moving far more quickly than when they had left the Flamedragon Realmverse. The realmship tore through spacetime at frightening speeds, causing spacetime to twist into a dazzling rainbow tunnel around them.

“Darknorth.” Autarch Ekong and Ning were seated facing each other, sipping some wine and chatting casually. Su Youji, Azurefiend, and the others naturally didn’t dare to disturb them.

“What are your plans for after I deal with the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels?” Autarch Ekong asked.

“What CAN I plan? Haha. While I’m still alive, I’m going to wander around the Chaosverse for a while,” Ning said. “But of course, I’ll also analyze those Sithe techniques. Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to create a complete technique that will allow me to somehow survive. If that happens, I’ll stand a good chance of becoming an Omega Autarch. Wouldn’t that be just perfect? Haha. I’m afraid to even imagine how wonderful that would be.”

“Who knows? It might just work.” Autarch Ekong laughed as well.

In truth, both of them knew that this was far too difficult. Even Autarchs would feel despair when they saw the marvelous, perfect techniques the Sithe used. Ning felt the same. He himself had the feeling that if he truly did devote all of his attention to analyzing those techniques, he might have a chance at surviving… but the amount of time needed would be measured in the hundreds of millions of chaos cycles, if not longer.

The short amount of time left to him wasn’t even close to being enough for him to accomplish this. Not even Autarchs could accomplish this! Autarch Awakener had been the most stubborn and had poured the most effort into it, but in the end he had still failed.

“I was joking just now. However… even though I’m going to die, I’m still going to advance along the path of the Dao,” Ning said. “Ekong, the five of you have already given me your techniques, along with the techniques of Autarch Entropos and Autarch Mogg. I’m going to wander the universe and learn as much as I can. I’ll make as many breakthroughs as I can. Even if I am to die, I shall die on the path I have chosen.”

When Ning had recorded his Eternal Omega Dao technique, the various Autarchs had handed over all of their own Daos to Ning as well, hoping that they might inspire him somehow. But of course, Ning wasn’t to transmit them to any others; he was the only one permitted to examine them.

In the Blazesun Domain, Ning had mastered the mysteries of water and then created the Water Sword Dao, which had benefited him quite a bit. Ning was planning to continue along this path and upgrade his other Daos to the Hegemon level, then slowly infuse them all into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao. This was a path towards Autarchy that would require an extremely long period of time. Ning didn’t have enough time, but he would still continue along this path.

“Haha… to be honest, I’m just bored. If I don’t cultivate, what WOULD I do?” Ning smirked.

“Now that’s more like it! When you have as much time to burn as we do, meditating on the Dao is a great idea. Come, let’s drink!” Autarch Ekong lifted his wine cup in a toast.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse. The Terror Starsea.

A group of cultivators were gathered here. Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Daoist Bluestone, Emperor Goldisle, Emperor Anchen, Emperor Islehide, Emperor Severfive… all of them were present. Ning’s Primaltwin was located in the Flamedragon Realmverse, and so he had notified the Emperors and Hegemons early on.

Once they heard that an Autarch was going to intervene and destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, they became incredibly excited. They quickly spread the word far and wide, allowing all of the six major powers within the Flamedragon Realmverse to know what was about to happen!

Everyone was incredibly excited by this news, because the destruction of the Flamedragon Realmverse would result in them being forced to wander the Chaosverse as refugees. Almost all creatures within the realmverse would perish, with only a tiny fraction of creatures who were protected by the major powers and drawn into their estate-treasures being able to survive. Even if they made it to other realmverses, they would be viewed with disdain by the original inhabitants of those realmverses. This was exactly how the Dark Kingdom had been treated by the rest of the Flamedragon Realmverse!

There were also some races who actually lived in the Terror Starsea itself! Thus, everyone hoped for the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels to be destroyed. They all hoped that their homeland would be preserved. To wander as refugees and then be rejected as outsiders was not a good life to live!

Whoosh. A spacetime tunnel appeared out of nowhere, followed by a realmship flying out of it.

“That’s Daolord Darknorth’s realmship.” Hegemon Brightshore and the leaders of the six powers all stared over excitedly.

A group of people flew out of the realmship, led by Ning and a muscular, horned man. Behind them were Su Youji, Protector Whitethaw, Flamewing, and Azurefiend.

“This is Autarch Ekong,” Ning introduced.

“Respectful greetings, Autarch Annihilation.” Hegemon Brightshore led the various cultivators in a deep, respectful bow.

Autarch Ekong nodded. “I’ve been asked to come here by Daolord Darknorth. No need to stand on ceremony. I’ll go and destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels right now.” As he spoke, he glanced at Ning and nodded.

“Sorry for the trouble,” Ning said with a smile.

“Haha, a minor matter… but the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels are rather troublesome to deal with. It’ll take me a bit of time.” Autarch Ekong flew off into the distance, moving through the void towards the distant Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.

“That really was an Autarch!”

“An Autarch really has come to destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.”

“The Flamedragon Realmverse has been saved!”

“We won’t have to evacuate after all.” Everyone present felt tremendously excited. Even Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Netherlily, and Hegemon Windrain were besides themselves with joy. As for the Aeonians… Emperor Islehide and Emperor Anchen felt rather awkward when facing Ning. Although there were a few grudges between them, the difference in power was now so vast that they had long ago admitted defeat. As for Ning, given that Autarch Bolin had been the creator of the Aeonians, he wasn’t going to quibble over ancient matters.

“Once this matter is resolved, we can all relax.” Ning smiled as well. After this was finished, he would be at ease as well.

“Youji, watch closely. Events like this are quite rare,” Ning said with a sigh.

The distant Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels consisted of two enormous symbiotic vortexes that were so vast, each of them was comparable to a hundred Badlands Territories in size!

The enormous green vortex was like a vast and verdant world, bathing the area around it with green light that looked like the surface of the sea. As for the black vortex, it formed a world of light around it as well. As the two vortexes slowly drew closer to each other, all the laws of spacetime began to twist and break apart. It had already reached an inconceivable level of power, allowing it to shatter apart the natural laws governing the universe.

In fact… it was extremely close to Autarchs in power! However, it was just a celestial body. It wasn’t alive, and so it could only passively ‘stand’ there and be beaten down. This was why Autarchs could destroy them, if the Autarch was willing to pay the necessary price.

Rumble…

Autarch Ekong transformed into a giant, but compared to the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels he was still a tiny little figure. He devoured an enormous amount of energy from the surrounding area, then produced a greataxe in his hands.

He first delivered a furious blow with the greataxe towards the green vortex. BOOM! The power of this blow was so tremendous that even the distant Ning sighed in amazement. This truly was an impressive display of power.

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Chapter 17 – Back to the Three Realms

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 17 – Back to the Three Realms

Autarch Ekong furiously slammed his greataxe down again and again, each strike filled with dominating power. BOOM! The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels seemed to sense that they were in danger, and they began to instinctively react and defend themselves. The green vortex and the black vortex simultaneously began to expand in size, almost instantly expanding to become many times greater than they were previously. A moment later, they instantly shrank to become less than half of their original size.

This sudden expansion and contraction resulted in the power of both vortexes skyrocketing. Ji Ning and the others were watching from very far away, but even so Hegemon Brightshore and the others felt their hearts tremble with fear.

A while later, Ning’s eyes lit up: “It’s almost done.”

“Break!” Autarch Ekong roared furiously as he smote down his greataxe. The axe actually transformed into an enormous black shadow that was as large as the green vortex itself!

The green vortex let out a strange, almost ‘groaning’ sound as the greataxe caved its center in, but it quickly managed to repair itself.

“Break! Break! BREAK!” Autarch Ekong attacked with extraordinary ferocity, each strike filled with the power of annihilation. After the Autarch let out twelve furious shouts, the green vortex was beginning to tremble violently. The nearby black vortex was doing its best to devour and tear apart all of the energies around it, but it was unable to shake the Autarch at all. In the end, it could only ‘watch’ helplessly as its companion was annihilated!

BOOM! The green vortex finally disintegrated, resulting in an awesome wave of boundless life energy spreading out in every direction.

The black vortex could not survive on its own. It instantly began to collapse in on itself, with the process causing a tremendous amount of destruction to its surroundings. Even Autarch Ekong had to generate an aura of flowing black light to protect himself against the final, suicidal burst of the black vortex.

Finally, the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels were destroyed. The only things left were a few ripples of power where they had existed.

“Hahaha!”

“The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels have finally been destroyed. The Flamedragon Realmverse is saved!”

“This is absolutely wonderful!”

“The Flamedragon Realmverse shall be able to last for countless more aeons. We won’t have to evacuate!” The Hegemons and Emperors of the six powers of the Flamedragon Realmverse had all been watching nervously. Now, they shook with excitement and their faces were covered with joy.

Hegemon Brightshore turned to look at Ning, who was standing next to him. He never would’ve imagined that the gravest peril the Flamedragon Realmverse faced, the unstoppable apocalypse of the Samsara Wheels, would eventually be resolved thanks to the then-World God he had abducted all those years ago. It all seemed like a marvel, a miracle. That World-level kid had skyrocketed in power at an inconceivable speed, reaching a level where everyone looked up to him.

“Thank you, Darknorth,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

“If you want to thank anyone, go thank Autarch Ekong.” Ning looked at Autarch Ekong, who was flying back with a rather tired look on his face.

“Don’t downplay your role. The entire Flamedragon Realmverse owes you a debt of gratitude. If it wasn’t for you, almost all of the weaker beings in the entire realmverse would’ve died once the apocalypse came! Very, very few would’ve been evacuated and given the dubious honor of wandering homeless through the cosmos. In fact, most of the evacuees probably would’ve died during the wandering… and the few who survived would be hated as outsiders once they reached their new home.” Hegemon Brightshore sighed. “It’s hard for me to even imagine it.”

“My own homeland is located in the Flamedragon Realmverse. I was acting on my own behalf as well,” Ning said. He could sense the tremendous gratitude the leaders of the six powers of the Flamedragon Realmverse felt towards him. Even the Aeonians who had once held a grudge against him such as Emperor Anchen and Emperor Islehide were staring towards him with gratitude. Now that the realmverse was not going to be destroyed, the Aeonians would be able to continually benefit from the estate-world which Autarch Bolin had left behind for them.

Whoosh. Autarch Ekong came flying over, looking rather exhausted. “These Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels really were a pain to deal with. If they had been allowed to grow for another million chaos cycles, even I would’ve been gravely injured in the process of destroying them,” Autarch Ekong said with a sigh.

Ning nodded. The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels were similar to the Wellspring Sea of the enormous Blazesun Domain. They were all bodies of natural energy that actually surpassed the Autarchs in terms of raw power. However, because they lacked true sentience, it wasn’t too hard to deal with them.

“Alright, now that I’ve dealt with the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, I’ll be off,” Autarch Ekong said. “If there’s anything you need, just give me a call.”

“Come to my estate and have some wine first?” Ning felt as though he was being a bad host to let the Autarch leave right away; the man had come all this way to help him out, after all.

“Haha, no need. Honestly, I have much more and much better wine than you.” Autarch Ekong bade Ning farewell, then stepped through spacetime and departed from the Flamedragon Realmverse.

The only person he spoke to this entire time was Ning. He didn’t say so much as a single word to the others. He was by nature a solitary and arrogant person. Those he respected, he’d view as friends and brothers; those he didn’t, he wouldn’t so much as glance at.

……

Word of the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels’ destruction quickly spread across almost all of the supreme figures of the Flamedragon Realmverse. Everyone felt incredibly excited; finally, the looming, creeping apocalypse that had been a threat to all of them had been dealt with!

As for Ning, he led Su Youji, Azurefiend, and Nuwa back to the Three Realms.

“Mother Nuwa!”

“Nuwa!”

“Mother!” The entire Three Realms was thrown into a state of excitement. By now, the ‘Three Realms’ actually consisted of an enormous field of space that held a total of 8100 chaosworlds within it! Ning’s Primaltwin was here, and so he had already spread the word that Mother Nuwa was coming back. Subhuti, Maitreya, Kuafu, and the other major powers who had arisen during the first age were all incomparably excited.

Finally, Mother Nuwa was coming home!

Subhuti, Windfiend, Kuafu, Jade Cauldron, Lu Dongbin, and tens of thousands of other cultivators were all waiting in the emptiness of space in front of the Three Realms Region, staring off into the distance.

Finally, a dimensional ripple appeared, followed by a realmship appearing within it. Several figures flew out of the realmship, led by a white-robed Ning and a silver-robed Mother Nuwa who bore a blood diamond in the center of her forehead. After binding the otherverse she had been given, Mother Nuwa’s aura had become even vaster than ever before, as it whispered of the limitless power of the otherverse itself.

“Nuwa.” Subhuti was so excited that his eyes were starting to fill up with unshed tears.

“Nuwa.” Windfiend revealed a smile. She had been an old enemy of his, but he had never been able to best her. She had been the undisputed leader of the Nuwa Alliance.

“Mother Nuwa.” Kuafu and the others were all incredibly excited.

“Subhuti, Kuafu, Jade Cauldron, Maitreya…” When Nuwa saw all of these old friends, she felt emotions surging through her breast. Many of her oldest friends were already gone, such as Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, or the Three Sovereigns of Mankind. The dazzling Houyi had also perished, as had many of the younger cultivators she had held high hopes for.

However, a few of her old friends were still alive, as were some of the ‘children’.

“Nuwa.” Sun Wukong was incredibly excited.

“Silly monkey.” Nuwa smiled happily. When she saw some of these familiar young faces, she couldn’t help but feel overjoyed. This was her home! This was the place where she had been born from the primordial chaos, and these were the friends she had slowly grown to know. She had been born out of chaos, and so these friends were like her family members.

When she had left the Three Realms, she had wished to see the wider world outside before coming back and using what she had learned to strengthen the Three Realms, making it better than ever. Alas, destiny makes fools of mortals and Gods alike; she was actually teleported to the indescribably distant Blazefire Domain and had only survived thanks to Patriarch Treewind saving her. Now, thanks to Ning locating her, she had finally come back home.

Mother Nuwa’s return was an event of great joy. They naturally held an enormous celebratory banquet for her. The many Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms all came to take part. Not only did even the World-level cultivators come, even many of their Elder God and Ancestral Immortal disciples were permitted to take part. Millions of Immortals and Fiendgods took part in this grand banquet.

Seated at the highest positions within this banquet were Mother Nuwa, Subhuti, Ji Ning, Windfiend, Kuafu, and the other ancient figures. By now, Ji Brightmoon, Ji Yichuan, and Yuchi Snow had all reached the World level, and they were all seated quite high up. They were very happy to be able to see the legendary Mother Nuwa herself.

This was a congregation of countless Immortals and Fiendgods, and Immortal wine flowed liberally. Ning was very happy, and he naturally wouldn’t be stingy with his resources. He naturally had far more treasures than anyone else by now.

“The Three Realms are truly flourishing.” Ning felt a sense of joy when he saw all the cultivators present, and he couldn’t help but sigh in praise.

The Three Realms were flourishing far more than in previous years. Now that an Otherverse Lord like Mother Nuwa was standing guard over it with the assistance of many powerful Sithe treasures, the Three Realms truly had reached an incredibly high level of power. Given even the Autarchs had promised to help watch over it, Ning finally felt completely satisfied with its chances.

“It really is flourishing. Only… a few of our old friends are missing,” Subhuti said from next to Ning.

Ning nodded. “Yes, a few people are missing.” Many of the true, original leaders of the Three Realms were missing, as were some of his friends and his wife.

“If they could all come back and be reunited, how wonderful would that be?” Ning closed his eyes, just imagining the scene.

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Chapter 18 – A Wandering Life

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 18 – A Wandering Life

After the banquet came to an end, Ji Ning led Nuwa and Subhuti out to begin assembling the formation! Ning’s Primaltwin had already assembled roughly 90% of the formation, and it only really needed the powerful castle to merge together with the formation and become its core and command center. This would allow the power of the formation to skyrocket.

No one save for the Autarchs would stand a chance at breaking apart a formation like this. Even the most powerful Sourcewalkers like the Blazesun Ruler would probably find it very difficult to breach this formation. It could be described as truly impregnable!

Clack clack clack… the castle slowly slid into position, moving to become the very center of the entire Three Realms Region. The leaves at its bottom layer began to manifest green ley-lines that looked like the veins of a tree leaf. These green ley-lines reached out of the leaves themselves, stretching out into empty space and then completely disappearing. They had completely linked up to the rest of the grand formation.

Nuwa maintained control over the fort while Ning made the necessary adjustments. After three days, they finally completed the great project.

Boom! The entire castle itself vanished into thin air, as did the formations surrounding the Three Realms. They had all turned invisible, but their power had just skyrocketed to a brand new level.

“I’ll arrange for a golem to stand here and keep watch, ensuring that nothing within the range of the formation’s scanners can avoid detection,” Nuwa said. “If it finds anything, I’ll instantly enter the castle and take control over it.”

Ning revealed a smile. The nearby Subhuti couldn’t help but turn to glance at Ning. He knew just how much this disciple of his had done for the Three Realms. Ning wanted to do everything he could before he passed away.

“Oh, right. Master,” Ning suddenly said, “I’m planning to spend some time with Brightmoon and my parents. I’m going to wander about the Chaosverse with them, seeing the many marvels of the cosmos and allowing them to better understand the Dao. Master, Windfiend, would you like to join me?”

“Wonderful!” Subhuti revealed a delighted look, then asked, “But wouldn’t we be disturbing your family trip?”

“Haha, it’s fine. My retainers will be taking part as well. It’ll make this trip more fun,” Ning said with a laugh. He was planning to spend his remaining years cultivating, but just staying in seclusion and training in isolation was pointless. He didn’t have much time left; he was going to spend at least some of it visiting the marvelous sights of the Chaosverse. Many of those places might be ‘dangerous’, but there were no dangers that concerned him in the slightest!

In the Chaosverse, any naturally-occurring dangers were no longer any threat to him at all; he was on the same level of power as the Autarchs, after all! Even the Eight Domains and the prime essence sea were nothing to him. The only place that Ning felt any true dread of was the Sithelands. There were numerous locations even in the outer perimeter of the Sithelands, which had already been breached by the Autarchs, which were capable of posing a threat to him.

This was because even the Autarchs had to put tremendous effort into breaching the outer perimeter. There were a number of places the Autarchs didn’t actually go inside and had instead simply sealed off. Thus, there were many cultivators who would go exploring the outer reaches of the Sithelands! That was a truly dangerous place, and it was filled with all sorts of Sithe relics, treasures, and traps. Ning didn’t feel that it was a suitable choice for his parents and his daughter to visit.

He’d go take a look when his life was nearing its end. For now, he was going to engage in cultivation instead. He had to infuse all the other Daos into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and he was also going to view many of the natural wonders of the Chaosverse! This would actually be helpful for him in comprehending the Dao. Besides, this was a good chance for him to show his daughter and his parents some truly dangerous places. There were some places where not even Otherverse Lords would dare tread, but for him it wouldn’t be a problem.

“Perhaps Brightmoon will be able to make a breakthrough as a result,” Ning mused. There was no chance his parents would improve any further on the path of cultivation, as they had to rely on pills just to reach the World level. Brightmoon had spent 5 years and 2 months in Yu Wei’s belly before being born, and she was born with such incredible talent that she reached the Celestial Immortal level with ease. Although her path to the World level had been rather bumpy, Ning had patiently and attentively instructed her, ensuring that she was able to succeed without needing to use any pills. Ning had certain expectations of his daughter; he wasn’t going to just let her take the easy way.

……

Ning’s final decision was to bring his family members, his retainers, and the duo of Subhuti and Windfiend! Windfiend was rather hesitant about this, as his relationship with Ning couldn’t quite compare to that of Subhuti’s. However, he was now a member of the Three Realms. The future of the Three Realms would be up to Nuwa, Subhuti, and Windfiend. Ning wanted to help his master and Windfiend as best he could.

“Haha, we’ve finally left the Flamedragon Realmverse!” Brightmoon was quite excited as she stared from within the realmship. Everyone in this realmship was like an elder family member, and so she was able to act in a much more relaxed manner. “I’ve never left the Flamedragon Realmverse before. I hear that realmverses are all extremely far from each other.”

“Calm down. We’re going to visit some of the nearby realmverses first, then we’ll head off to an extremely distant and dangerous place known as the ‘Flamesea Thunderfalls’. That place is highly suitable for training in the Dao of Lightning and the Dao of Fire.” Ning looked at his daughter. “Brightmoon, your greatest affinity is with the Dao of Fire. You’ll be able to meditate and gain keen insights there.”

“Father, didn’t you say that the Flamesea Thunderfalls is a place that can easily kill Emperors, and where even Hegemons would suffer heavy injuries?” Brightmoon asked.

“Yes. It is considered one of the thirty most dangerous locations of the entire Chaosverse,” Ning said.

The nearby Hegemon Azurefiend chuckled, “Little lady, with Master present you have nothing to fear. The Flamesea Thunderfalls is nothing to Master.”

“I’ll protect you too, Brightmoon!” the pudgy Flamewing said, pounding his chest.

Windfiend, Subhuti, Yichuan, and Snow all stared curiously towards the sights outside. None of them had left the Flamedragon Realmverse before.

……

Time continued to flow on. Ning’s group spent quite a bit of time wandering all of the realmverses in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance; in total, they spent over thirty million years here. Ning happily accompanied his family in their wanderings, not worried in the slightest.

Finally, they left the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance and began to wander through the cosmos. They visited many unique locales where the local cultivators were often brutish, powerful, and eccentric. Generally speaking, they weren’t very welcoming of outsiders! But when they saw Ning, they all went on their absolute best behavior.

This was because Ning, to avoid unnecessary trouble, sent Flamewing ahead of them and ensured that the locals would all be sufficiently cowed by the time the realmship arrived. As soon as the locals saw Flamewing, they quickly understood that their visitor was Daolord Darknorth. Who would dare to be disrespectful to him?

“This planet is so beautiful. I’ve never seen a world as beautiful as this one.” Brightmoon loved this place. This was a unique world known as the Immortal Ravine, and Ning’s group ended up spending a million years living here because it truly was quite beautiful. Its lovely but alien environment was completely a product of nature.

“Father, buy this! And that! I want this one also!” Each time Ning reached a new place, he would ask the local powers to bring over some unique treasures which might be of use to his daughter or his parents. Once they found something of interest, Ning would pay a very high price to acquire the items. Thus, the major powers were quite eager to bring out all of the strange and odd treasures they had stored away. They all hoped for Daolord Darknorth to take a fancy to their treasures, as they knew that Daolord Darknorth wouldn’t be stingy in payment.

……

Brightmoon, Snow, Yichuan, Subhuti, and Windfiend all had their horizons expanded considerably. Even Su Youji saw much more than she had in the past. Although she had accompanied Ning to the Blazesun Domain, they hadn’t made any detours and so she hadn’t really seen much. This time, they were on what amounted to a leisurely excursion!

They toured through one place after another, and when they found some unique treasures or saw some unique sights, Ning would seize the opportunity to guide his daughter and help her in her cultivation.

But of course, Ning devoted the majority of his time to his own cultivation. His Primaltwin remained within the Azureflower Estate. Not only had he acquired a large number of Sithe cultivation techniques from the Autarchs, he had even acquired the Daos they used to reach Autarchy! Ning naturally wanted to spend his time analyzing them and perhaps find a way for himself to survive. Although the chances were quite low, he still had to give it a shot. Ning wasn’t the type to just sit there and wait for death.

“The Heart of Eternity.” Within the Azureflower Estate. The black-robed Ning waved his hand, causing the Heart of Eternity to appear and float in the air before him. It remained covered by layers of inscrutable runes.

“It’s been quite some time since I’ve tried to solve it. I should give it another shot.” Ning had reached a much higher level of comprehension, now that he had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. “I’m far more powerful than I was before I attempted the Daomerge. I should be able to solve more levels of it this time.”

Right now, Ning was mainly focusing on two goals in his training. The first was to infuse the other Daos into his Eternal Omega Dao, while the second was to create a perfect cultivation technique. In both cases, his chances for success were extremely slim! As for the Heart of Eternity, Autarch Awakener had poured his heart and soul into its creation. Ning felt certain that spending some more time analyzing it might be of benefit to him.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Ning began to attempt to break through the various layers, and the outermost layers quickly crumbled away before him. Now that Ning had reached a much higher level of insight, he was able to solve the seals much more quickly than before. He blew through the lower levels like rotting deadwood, reaching the fiftieth level almost instantly.

Level fifty. Level sixty. Level seventy…

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Chapter 19 – Three Thousand Chaos Cycles

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 19 – Three Thousand Chaos Cycles

Next to Ning was the elderly white-haired spirit of the Azureflower Estate. The old man watched rather eagerly. “Daolord Darknorth may have failed the Daomerge, but he gained control over the Eternal Omega Sword Dao and reached a higher level of insight. There is some time left before he dies and his Dao vanishes. Perhaps this time will be enough for him to accomplish Master’s final wishes?”

The black-robed Ji Ning stared at the Heart of Eternity floating in front of him and the seals covering them. Each time he broke through one level of seals, he was able to see the next level and get to work on it, and each time Ning gained a few new insights.

This was because each layer of seals represented much of the wisdom Autarch Awakener had gained over the process of devising the Nine Chaos Seals. Ning’s insights were not on Autarch Awakener’s levels, but he had such a high level of comprehension that when he put some effort into it, his talent combined with the Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl ensured that he could resolve the simpler seals with ease.

Seventy-five. Eighty. Eighty-five. Ninety…

Ning was taking more and more time to solve each layer of seals. Each layer of seals now gave him many new insights, making it increasingly difficult for him to solve them.

“There’s nothing else I can do.” Ning finally came to a halt. He had merely spent a bit over five thousand years in solving the first ninety-two seals, but he had then spent over a hundred thousand years without improving even slightly. The boost given to him by his Eternal Omega Sword Dao had done everything it could; he had blown through the earlier levels with ease, but now he would need to slowly accumulate new insights once more.

“Ninety-two levels… a total of ninety-nine.” Ning revealed a smile. “It seems I have a chance at solving it before I die after all. I really do want to see what Autarch Awakener hid in the Heart of Eternity, for him to have put so much effort into setting up these levels of seals. According to what the spirit of the estate said, the treasure inside is just as valuable as the Stonefire Pearl!”

Ning had analyzed many Sithe techniques and also mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. These two different paths had allowed him to reach a very high level of insight, and they would be of use to him in breaking through the Heart of Eternity. He had only reached the ninety-second level, but he had more than ten thousand chaos cycles left to him. He still stood a chance.

……

After leaving the Flamedragon Realmverse, Ning and his family spent a total of over 1.2 billion years touring through the Chaosverse before finally reaching their first ‘target’, the Flamesea Thunderfalls.

Rumble…

Countless bolts of lightning came crashing down from the skies, so dense that it looked like a vast waterfall of electricity. Below the lightning was a layer of twisted spacetime, and when the waterfall of lightning came crashing down upon the twisted spacetime, the resulting collisions resulted in an enormous sea of fire having formed below. This ‘sea’ just lay there in the void, utterly dazzling to behold. As for the giant waterfall of lightning, it was over a hundred million kilometers thick and looked almost like a vertical pool of lightning.

This truly was a stunning and beautiful sight, but it was also a deadly one. The power of this place was so great that even the laws of the Chaosverse were bent and twisted. This place was perhaps a bit weaker than the Wellspring Sea of the Blazefire Domain, but it was mighty enough to heavily injure Hegemons and obliterate Archon-level Emperors.

Suddenly, a tiny little flying ship appeared in the void directly above the flaming sea of the Flamesea Thunderfalls.

“So this is the Flamesea Thunderfalls?” Brightmoon’s eyes widened as she stared at the vast sea of fire in front of her and the endless ‘waterfall’ of lightning above her.

“The Chaosverse truly is filled with endless marvels,” Subhuti sighed in amazement. “The tiniest amount of power from that thing would obliterate me instantly.”

“Come, let’s go inside and take a look,” Ning said. Boom! For the first time in their journey, Ning unleashed his Sword Dao domain, causing it to surround the realmship as they continued to fly forwards. Brightmoon, Yuchi Snow, and Ji Yichuan were all stunned as they watched themselves charge deep into the lightning waterfall.

Ning’s Sword Dao domain stretched out to a distance of three thousand meters, creating a true void which neither the lightning nor the fire could penetrate.

Whoosh. Ning sent the realmship sinking downwards, plunging through the lightning until it reached the point where the lightning clashed against the sea of fire. This was the place where the waterfall of lightning collided against the distorted spacetime at such an incredibly frenetic rate that the flaming sea was formed, something which was just as powerful as the lightning!

The natural power of the ‘Thunderfalls’ came from the primordial chaos and was truly limitless, and the same was true for the Flamesea. However, there was a limit to how far the power of the Flamesea Thunderfalls could extend. At a certain point, the power would dissipate and turn back into primordial chaos.

“This is the place where the Thunderfalls and the Flamesea meet, where the lightning transforms and gives birth to flame. Brightmoon, focus on your meditations. This place will benefit you greatly,” Ning said. “While you are training here, you must remain within my domain. You are not permitted to go beyond it.”

“Understood,” Brightmoon said obediently. Ning nodded.

In truth, he had long ago ensured that this domain of three thousand meters was completely separated from the outside world. There was no way anything outside could come inside, but it was also impossible for anyone inside to exit! He had given his daughter this stern warning simply because he wanted to rein her in a bit.

His daughter’s path was that of the Dao of Fire, and so Ning was planning to stay here for an extended period of time. His daughter was merely at the World level; his concern was that she wouldn’t be patient enough to stay in any one place for an extended period of time.

Ning sat down by himself in the void, assuming the lotus position and beginning to meditate silently. Yichuan and Snow relaxed within the realmship too, sharing some fine food and wine while enjoying the beautiful view in front of them. When they felt bored, they would enter the estate-worlds they carried within them to have some fun.

Su Youji and Ji Brightmoon both trained in the Dao of Fire, and so both of them went into meditation. Subhuti did the same, as he couldn’t help but be filled with questions when he stared at the twisted region of spacetime which actually produced fire when the water of lightning slammed into it. He meditated attentively, and as he did he gained many new insights.

The more you saw and the more of the Chaosverse you experienced, the better you would understand how the Dao functioned in its many myriad ways.

……

Ning trained the fastest of all. It took him just two years of carefully studying the Flamesea Thunderfalls for him to upgrade his Dao of Lightning to the Hegemonic level. The reason why it hadn’t been quite as fast as the Dao of Water was because Ning hadn’t previously accumulated quite as many insights in Lightning as he had in Water. However, his overwhelmingly high level of insight into his Eternal Omega Dao made it quite easy for him to reach Hegemony in any and all Daos.

After another twelve years, Ning upgraded his Dao of Fire to the Hegemonic level as well. Ning then turned his attention to the region of twisted spacetime and began to ruminate on the Dao of Space. However, the mysteries of space here were insufficiently incomplete, and so Ning didn’t spend much time on it. There really wasn’t a need; their next destination was the perfect place for them to meditate on the Dao of Space.

However, simply understanding these Daos was easy. To fully absorb them into his Eternal Omega Dao… now that would be the hard part.

……

Time flowed on. Ning and his family spent a total of ninety-six chaos cycles in the Flamesea Thunderfalls. Only when everyone felt that there were no further insights they could gain did they depart from this place and head towards their next destination. During the past ninety-six chaos cycles, most of them had improved dramatically. Ning had managed to successfully infuse his Dao of Lightning and his Dao of Fire into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

……

They continued their long excursion, going to many dangerous places where they would spend extended periods of time in meditation. They merely spent twenty or thirty chaos cycles in some places, while they spent over a hundred chaos cycles in others.

These places were all quite different. Some were truly dangerous, while others were simply rather unique. In the blink of an eye, more than three thousand chaos cycles had passed since they had departed from the Flamedragon Realmverse.

During this period of time, Daolords Su Youji, Subhuti, and Windfiend had all improved dramatically. Su Youji could sense that she could attempt the Daomerge whenever she wanted… but of course, she wasn’t certain as to whether or not she would succeed.

Subhuti and Windfiend both were Daolords of the Fourth Step. Visiting all these places had been of tremendous benefit to them, as was the guidance on the Dao they had received from Ning and Hegemon Azurefiend.

And of course… there was Brightmoon! She had now visited many places which not even Otherverse Lords would have a chance to visit, places which fully displayed the mysteries of how the Dao worked in keeping the Chaosverse operating. Frankly speaking, Brightmoon had been given far more opportunities than Ning ever had… but alas, she simply hadn’t suffered enough setbacks or danger, and her talent was inferior to Ning’s as well. She was just barely able to master a single Supreme Dao, at which point Ning stopped trying to force things.

Next… Brightmoon used her Supreme Dao of Fire to become a Samsara Daolord, and became a Daolord of the Third Step after a fairly brief period of time! It was fairly easy for Daolords to break through in the early stages, after all.

“Y’know, if Master put this much effort into training any of the true geniuses of the Flamedragon Realmverse, I guarantee that they would probably all reach the level of fusing multiple Supreme Daos together,” Hegemon Azurefiend whispered to Su Youji. “Our little lady’s just not that talented. Even if she succeeds in the Daomerge, she won’t be able to become a Hegemon. Her father’s comparable to the Autarchs!”

“She’s his daughter. Of course he’s going to pour all of his effort into training her. Is he supposed to do the same for strangers?” Su Youji said.

Ning truly did put as much effort as he could into training his daughter. He was also extremely studious in guiding his master Subhuti, Windfiend, Su Youji, and his personal disciples. He also provided some tips to Hegemon Azurefiend from time to time.

As for others?

They might be incredibly talented and have had incredible experiences… but what the hell did any of that have to do with Ning? Ning couldn’t be bothered with them, much like how none of the Autarchs had popped up to guide Ning in the past, even though he was clearly an incredible talent. Cultivators were self-interested at times, after all.

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Chapter 20 – Greatland Planet

Book 40, The Five Autarchs, Chapter 20 – Greatland Planet

Ji Ning was definitely going to do absolutely everything within his power, acquiring treasures like the Daomerge Firecloud Flower, to give his daughter Brightmoon the best possible chance at the Daomerge. If she succeeded, before he died Ning would even ask an Autarch to help find an otherverse for his daughter, letting Brightmoon become an Otherverse Lord! This wasn’t completely unheard of; the lord of the Church of Annihilation, for example, wasn’t a Hegemon.

In this matter, Ning didn’t feel the slightest hint of shame at all. Of course he had to look after his daughter’s interests!

……

In the indescribably distant Wildsky Realmverse, there was a marvelous place known as the Greatland Planet. Ning was training atop this planet, while Brightmoon, Ji Yichuan, Yuchi Snow, Su Youji, the Flamewing God, Subhuti, and Windfiend had all temporarily left to go exploring the area around it.

The reason why the others didn’t stay here was because this place, the Greatland Planet, was quite special. This was a vast planet that was over a hundred trillion kilometers in size. This was the largest planet in all the Chaosverse, and it was formed by an incredibly dense wave of Earth-element energy! The amount of power contained within this single planet was actually comparable to that of the entire Wildsky Realmverse! It was vast, dense, and teeming with life, all thanks to the almighty power of Earth which flowed through it…

Ordinary cultivators would find it impossible to train here, as they would find their mind and body disturbed by the overwhelming power of the place!

This planet was also surrounded by a layer of deep yellow clouds which were so thick and dense, one had to at least be a Hegemon in order to bypass! Thus, there were virtually no cultivators here at all. Although this vast world had given birth to countless living beings, including many humanoids. These humanoids were quite talented, strong, and attuned to the power of the earth, and many were even born with the ability to control the earth.

However… there was no way for them to actually cultivate! This was because all other Daos had to give this place a wide birth. Even the Dao of Earth itself was hidden deep within the recesses of the world. Even Hegemons would find it very hard to train in the Dao of Earth here. Only someone who was at as high a level of enlightenment as Ning would be able to scry the many secrets hidden deep underground. How could the ordinary mortals here possibly embark upon the path of cultivation?

“I’ve completed the Dao of Earth as well.” A white-robed youth was seated on a patch of grass in front of a thatched cottage within a mountain gorge. A smile was on his face as he reached out with both hands. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Swords began to appear out of nowhere, numbering five in total.

The first sword was covered with a layer of flowing, watery light. The second gleamed a faint metallic color, appearing to be indescribably sharp. The third emanated a green aura of life and vitality. The fourth was surrounded by tendrils of flame which gave it utterly explosive power. As for the fifth and final sword, it was covered with a layer of deep yellow light and it seemed weighty beyond measure.

“The Water Sword Dao, the Metal Sword Dao, the Wood Sword Dao, the Fire Sword Dao, the Earth Sword Dao.” Ning nodded. “The Five Elements are now complete. As I thought, it has been somewhat beneficial to my truesoul.” However, Ning also noticed that his improvements in the Dao were suffering from diminishing returns when it came to nourishing his truesoul. This was particularly true now that he had many truesoul treasures; to further slow down the rate of crumbling was becoming increasingly difficult.

“I’ve infused the Dao of Lightning and the Five Elements into my Eternal Omega Sword Dao, making for six in total. The Dao of Space should be finished soon as well.” Ning felt a sense of pressure, because infusing the Dao of Space had been noticeably more difficult. He had long ago reached Hegemony in the Dao of Space, but infusing it was extremely difficult. As for the Dao of Time and the Dao of Karma, those would be even more difficult and would definitely require more time.

“Great Immortal, please save my grandson!”

“Great Immortal, I beg of you, save my grandson! So long as you save him, I’ll do anything you want.”

A faint sound could be heard coming from afar. Ning frowned, glancing past the material obstruction of the mountain to see an elderly white-haired man who was on his knees in front of a cliff.

There were no cultivators in the entire Greatland Planet, and so Ning didn’t see the need to set up any complicated wards to surround his training canyon. He had merely set up something to prevent people from coming in.

“Is he that kid’s great-grandson?” When Ning saw the white-haired elder, he immediately remembered something from two hundred years ago. Back then, there had been a kid who had accidentally fallen down from the cliff and into the gorge where Ning had been training. Ning’s wards were quite benign, but for an ordinary child to fall from that height spelled almost certain doom. Ning had moved to save that little child, who had immediately kowtowed and offered thanks to the ‘Great Immortal’ who had rescued him.

Ever since the child had grown up, he had often come to the mountain to offer sacrifices and pay his respects to the ‘Great Immortal’. Ning really didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry, especially when the kid ended up bringing his own children and grandchildren to do the same!

Ning was able to immediately recognize this white-haired elder as the great-grandson of the original child.

“Ordinary mortals only live for a mere century. Multiple generations of your family have knelt down towards me… and today, I just so happened to finish some of my training. I suppose it can be said that there are karmic ties between us.” Ning took a single step forwards and appeared at the top of the cliff.

The white-haired elder was still on his knees, calling out for mercy. Suddenly, he froze and stare in amazement as a white-robed youth appeared in front of him. The youth was ephemerally graceful and was clearly no ordinary mortal.

“Great Immortal!” The white-haired elder was incredibly excited. “I beg of you, save my grandson!”

“Kid, your hair’s gone all white.” Ning chuckled. “Your grandson, eh? Is that him over there?” Ning was able to see the karmic ties swirling around the elder and was thus immediately able to locate his grandson.

Ning waved a single finger, causing the white mist surrounding the cliff to suddenly condense into an image of a swarthy, muscular youth dressed in tattered clothes within a mine. He was carrying a load of minerals on his back; clearly, he had been working as a miner. The area around him was surrounded with ore, and an overseer was next to him with a whip in hand.

“That’s Rocky! That’s my grandson Rocky!” the white-haired elder said excitedly. “That’s the Mine of Doom! No one who goes in there ever survives to come back. Great Immortal, please save my grandson!”

“No one who goes in can survive?” Ning stared at the images in the mist, then chuckled: “You underestimate your grandson.”

Ning was able to see the youth’s future. If Ning didn’t interfere, the youth would slowly rise to power within the mines and become a powerful expert. He would be extremely hard-working and devoted to his training, and would reach the apex of what little ‘cultivation’ was possible within this planet. In the end, he would die a lonely death.

Although it was impossible for the beings in this planet to engage in true cultivation, there were many who were born with natural power over the earth and who would thus be capable of some simple cultivation techniques… but even at the apex of power, they wouldn’t be even close to the Earth Immortal level of power.

“I daresay your grandson has the unyielding heart of a true cultivator,” Ning chuckled. “A pity that it’ll all go to waste in a place like the Greatland Planet.”

As Ning continued to view the youth’s past and future, he began to take a liking to the kid. In fact, Ning started to consider taking him on as an apprentice… and just a short while later, Ning settled on making the kid his eighth apprentice.

“But there’s no rush. I should let him experience some more difficulties in life first. In the future, his Dao-heart only became decent after he became lonely in his invincibility,” Ning mused.

“Go back and live your life. Don’t worry, I promise your grandson will come back alive and perfectly well. You’ll be able to see him one last time roughly ten years from now,” Ning said. The beings in this world were at most able to live a bit over a hundred years. Ning wasn’t going to make any alterations, but the old man was still going to live a long life.

“Y-y-yes, Great Immortal!” After witnessing the incredible abilities of the ‘Great Immortal’ and hearing his promise, the white-haired elder became hopeful and energetic. He returned to his own home and began to wait for his grandson to return.

……

Ning to watch from afar as this ‘disciple’ continued to grow and develop. Finally, the day came.

“I’ve wandered the four corners of the earth and have visited many countries, defeating all who sought to challenge me. Is this truly it?” A swarthy man dressed in hemp clothes was standing at the peak of a mountain, staring at the vast world below him. He had a thick saber on his back, and a look of loneliness was in his eyes.

After becoming truly invincible, he felt a sense of extremely uncomfortable loneliness. He truly did wish to find a good opponent, but he had been unable to do so.

“Perhaps I should find a good place to bring my life to an end.” The swarthy man shook his head.

“Haha…” A loud laugh rang out, followed by a white-robed youth appearing from nowhere.

The swarthy man stared in shock. Given his control over the earth and his current level of power, how was it that someone could appear next to him without him even noticing?

“You…” The swarthy man stared at the white-robed youth. He suddenly thought of a painting his grandfather had once owned and forced him to kowtow towards. Supposedly, the person in the painting was the legendary ‘Great Immortal’ their clan often spoke of.

“Great Immortal?” the swarthy man said hesitantly, not quite believing it. He then drew his saber with a clanging sound as he stared at Ning: “Senior, you might be more powerful than me… but I’d still like you to give me a few pointers in combat.” After speaking, he delivered a furious saber-chop towards Ning, confident that his control over the saber was enough to ensure that he could bring it to an instant halt without harming the person in front of him.

Ning simply chuckled.

The swarthy man suddenly flew backwards, almost as though time had just gone backwards. Even his saber flew back into his sheath, and he even said in reverse: “Em naht lufrewop erom eb thgim uoy…”

This bizarre scene caused him to be truly stupefied and dazed.

“Are you willing to be my apprentice?” Ning asked.

The swarthy man was indescribably excited. He immediately fell to his knees: “Stonepool kowtows to you, Master.”

Ning nodded. “From this day forth, you shall be the eighth disciple under the tutelage of myself, ‘Darknorth’. If there are any affairs in the mortal world you wish to wrap up, hurry up and take care of it. After doing so, you shall accompany me in departing from this planet… and you shall have the chance to face the true world of cultivation.”

And so, Daolord Darknoth’s eighth disciple, ‘Stonepool’, formally entered his tutelage.

“It is time for me to leave.” Ning raised his head to stare into the skies. He had the vague feeling that something just happened, and that he would no longer be able to continue this relaxed life.

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Chapter 1 – The Church of Annihilation

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 1 – The Church of Annihilation

In the Brightshore Kingdom of the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Whoosh. The black-robed Primaltwin Ji Ning appeared out of nowhere in front of the imperial palace.

A snowy-robed old man had been waiting here for quite some time. It was Hegemon Brightshore.

“Darknorth,” Hegemon Brightshore said hurriedly.

“Hegemon Brightshore, what is this about? You summoned me quite hastily,” the black-robed Ning said with a smile.

“I was asked to do so by a friend.” Hegemon Brightshore smiled in a rather embarrassed manner. “I didn’t want to bother you with this request, but it involves a Hegemon who you are on very good terms with – the Paragon of Pills.”

The black-robed Ning’s pupils contracted: “The Paragon of Pills? What’s this about?”

“You have probably heard of my friend before; he’s the leader of the Church of Annihilation in that otherverse you visited,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “I can’t explain it as clearly as he can; I’ll take you over to see him.”

“I’ll go take a look then.” Ning had the vague feeling that the reason why wouldn’t be able to continue his relaxed, wandering life for much longer was because of the Paragon of Pills and the lord of the Church of Annihilation… and that this matter was of grave import!

The higher a level of insight one reached, the more clearly one would be able to divine the tides of the future. But of course, the future was always in a state of flux; no amount of scrying was guaranteed to be accurate!

……

Hegemon Brightshore led Ning through a spacetime tunnel to quickly arrive at the alternate universe.

“This tunnel again, eh?” Ning glanced at the empty void around him, then at the enormous dimensional vortex. He let out a sigh. “It was me, Skyfire Brightshore, Greatjoy, Solewind, and Firesurge who went on that journey together all those years ago through this otherverse.”

“None of them have achieved as much as you,” Hegemon Brightshore said. “This is doubly true for Skyfire, who has progressed the least out of the five. We Chaos Godbeasts are, as a race, slow in cultivation.”

Ning replied, “You have your boons, and you have your banes. Some things you simply cannot force.”

Of those four friends, Skyfire, Greatjoy, and Solewind had been sincere in their friendships towards him. Ning was able to keenly sense this through the karma which tied them together. As for Firesurge… Ning was able to discover through karma that Firesurge wasn’t all that sincere, and as a result the karmic ties binding them were quite weak. When Solewind, Greatjoy, and Skyfire were ready for the Daomerge, Ning would send over some presents and help them as best he could.

However, that was as much as he could do for them. He couldn’t even guarantee that his own daughter Brightmoon would succeed in the Daomerge; all he could do was prepare the treasures which would be of use to her.

“I wonder if those three and Ninedust will succeed in the Daomerge or not,” Ning mused.

Suddenly, a figure manifested out of nowhere within the primordial chaos in front of Ning. This fugre was extremely skinny and dressed in black armor, and he radiated an icy aura. This person immediately bowed respectfully towards Ning: “Annihilation pays his respects to you, Daolord Darknorth.”

The reason why this person had named his church the ‘Church of Annihilation’ was because his own Daoist title was ‘Annihilation’! This was a Daoist title he had chosen long ago, when he was young and had no idea that one of the exalted Autarchs was also known as ‘Autarch Annihilation’. In truth, this was actually a fairly common Daoist monicker. There were a number of commonly-used Daoist titles which were shared by many cultivators.

“The leader of the Church of Annihilation.” Ning nodded. “I heard of you back when I was a World-level cultivator.”

“Back then, Brightshore asked me to help out. I watched all five of you the entire time, Daolord.” Lord Annihilation immediately squeezed out a smile: “If I had known back then that you would reach such heights, I would’ve done everything in my power to befriend you back then.”

Ning laughed.

“My main goal back then was to temper Skyfire,” Hegemon Brightshore said hurriedly. “That’s why I hid the truth.”

“Don’t worry, I fully understand what you were intending and how much effort you put into it. Chaos Godbeasts are solitary by nature, but you’ve poured all of your energies into building up your clan.” Ning smiled and nodded, then glanced at Lord Annihilation. “Speak, Annihilation. Why have you sought me out… and for that matter, why have you sent a mere incarnation? You didn’t even send your avatar, much less your true body.”

After one bound an otherverse, the otherverse would become akin to a clone. An Otherverse Lord would be able to easily materialize an incarnation anywhere within the otherverse. Even Otherverse Lords would feel slighted by Lord Annihilation sending a mere incarnation to greet them, to say nothing of someone of Ning’s stature!

“Daolord, please forgive me. My true body and my avatar aren’t able to make it back. There’s nothing I can do,” Lord Annihilation explained hurriedly.

“What’s this all about, and why is it connected to the Paragon of Pills?” Ning asked. Ning felt a profound sense of fondness towards the Paragon of Pills, because she truly had treated him very well. Ning could sense that she loved him as she would a family member! Through karma, Ning had previously been able to sense that she was still alive, but was incredibly far away from him… but now, even after entering the otherverse, Ning still felt she was incredibly far away from him. This meant she clearly was no longer inside the otherverse!

For Lord Annihilation’s true body and avatar to also be absent… Ning had a bad feeling about this.

“Let me explain the situation,” Lord Annihilation said respectfully. “Daolord, I imagine you know that the Paragon of Pills has always wanted to revive her three elder ‘brothers’.”

Ning nodded.

“However… all three of them were powerful Eternal Emperors, and one of them was a Hegemon,” Lord Annihilation explained. “If they had died in the outside world, not even Autarchs would be able to reverse spacetime to revive them. Thankfully, they only died within my otherverse, but the backlash that would be generated if I tried to bring them back would probably cause the prime essences of my otherverse to collapse. Only Autarchs are strong enough to prevent this from happening and maintaining my otherverse’s stability while still reviving the three of them. My otherverse would still be badly wounded, but it would remain intact.”

Ning understood this principle. When that Sword Hegemon had died, the prime essences of the otherverse had naturally swallowed his truesoul fragments right away. There was no way to force them to ‘spit it back out’, because those truesoul fragments had already been integrated into the deepest parts of the otherverse’s core, becoming part of it. If Lord Annihilation tried to forcibly bring them back, the damage caused to the otherverse would be enough to cause its prime essences to break apart. The entire otherverse would be doomed!

Only Autarchs were capable of reviving Hegemons in an otherverse without destroying it, because they were the ones who had created the otherverses to begin with. They knew how to protect the otherverses and ensure that they were ‘merely’ injured, not destroyed.

Otherverses… in the end, they were only comparable in size and scope to a realmverse, and so the truesoul fragments of a Hegemon were incredibly important and greatly beneficial to them. The awesomely vast Chaosverse itself was naturally a different story; it was countless times larger than any realmverse, and it was so mighty that no Autarch could endure its power and bind it. Only a mythical Omega Autarch would be capable of binding the Chaosverse, whereas even ordinary Eternal Emperors were capable of binding an otherverse. The difference was enormous!

“She wanted to fin an Autarch to revive the three of them,” Lord Annihilation said, “Because this was her greatest goal, her reason for cultivation.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. Although he had only spent a limited amount of time with her, he was able to sense how deep her feelings were towards those three men.

“Even Autarchs would have to carefully protect and safeguard my otherverse as they worked to revive the three of them. This is a very tiring and very troublesome task,” Lord Annihilation said. “And in general, Autarchs do not agree lightly to revive a Hegemon. The Paragon of Pills once did manage to contact an Autarch, but the demands the Autarch listed were so harsh that even I felt completely stupefied.”

“Harsh demands ?” Ning asked, “What were the demands?”

“He asked for treasures equivalent to a thousand realmships in value,” Lord Annihilation said.

Even Ning turned speechless upon hearing this. However, he knew what the Autarchs were thinking. Cultivation was meant to be a dangerous path; if everyone who died on this path could be brought back to life, wouldn’t it make cultivation nothing more than a game? In addition, reviving destroyed truesouls would have a negative impact on the very fabric of reality and the laws of the Chaosverse. Yes, each revival only had a small impact, but it could quickly add up. This was not a good thing, especially when invaders from a foreign Chaosverse were lying in weight.

On the other hand, if they completely refused to revive anyone, they would probably cause many cultivators to feel absolute despair… and so, they had chosen to instead exact stringent requirements for their aid. You want me to revive a Hegemon and two Emperors? Sure. Give me a thousand realmships worth of treasure.

“I’ll wager not even the Sithe have that many realmships.” Ning shook his head.

“The Paragon of Pills asked the Autarch to guide her in finding enough treasure. The Autarch told her that the Sithelands is filled with treasure; the only problem was, was she woman enough to take them?” Lord Annihilation continued, “And so, ever since she became a Hegemon she began to make repeated trips to the Sithelands. To tell you the truth, I’ve met countless cultivators, but I can count on one hand how many people are as fearless and maniacal as she is in her pursuit of Sithe treasures.”

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Chapter 2 – The Crazy Paragon of Pills

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 2 – The Crazy Paragon of Pills

“The legends say that the Sithelands is the most dangerous place in the Chaosverse,” Lord Annihilation said. “It can threaten even the Autarchs! But it truly is filled with the most treasures as well.”

“There are some who are very stubborn and are willing to place themselves at high risk by repeatedly venturing into the Sithelands for the sake of their goals. Those people are absolutely mad, but they are often quite deadly. So long as they survive, their repeated journeys will usually result in them possessing several Sithe weapons.” Lord Annihilation said helplessly, “The Paragon of Pills is one such madwoman. She’s quite famous, and she has multiple Sithe weapons. Even I am merely on par with her in power! I would only have an advantage if we actually fought inside my otherverse.”

Ji Ning fell silent. For the sake of her goals, she was willing to repeatedly brave danger and tread the line between life and death. Suddenly, the image of a woman clad in black gauze appeared within Ning’s mind. This was a woman who was forever cold and distant.

Although they hadn’t known each other for too long, this woman had treated him as family and had asked him to address her as ‘Mistress’, with the Sword Hegemon being Ning’s ‘Master’. Ning still clearly remembered the final words the Paragon of Pills had said to him when they parted:

“You must be very careful on your path of cultivation. If you encounter any serious issues, you can use my name to warn those who would harm you. It might be of some use.”

“You can use my name to warn those who would harm you,” Ning murmured softly. In the past, he hadn’t really taken this to heart… but now, it seemed, she was known as a ‘madwoman’ who had so many Sithe treasures, even Hegemons would feel a hint of trepidation. She was also quite well-known, given how many trips she had made to the Sithelands. That meant that her name would indeed be quite useful as a protective talisman.

“Where is she now?” Ning asked.

“In the Sithelands,” Lord Annihilation said hurriedly. “My true body is there as well! Although I am Otherverse Lord, I wasn’t a Hegemon prior to taking control over the otherverse and so am weaker than the Otherverse Lords in terms of my insights into the Dao. I’m supported by the power of my otherverse, but in terms of raw power I’m somewhere between a Hegemon and an ordinary Otherverse Lord.”

“Thus, I sometimes find it difficult to slay powerful Hegemons. Brother Brightshore is a good example; it’d be very hard for me to kill him,” Lord Annihilation said. “That’s why many major powers seek to kill me and then take my otherverse, which makes life quite miserable. I spend most of my time hiding inside of my otherverse.

“This time, the Paragon of Pills found a truly remarkable place which she felt certain was a Sithe treasury, but it was also a place of incredible danger. She sent out invitations for people to join her. I thought to myself, ‘Weak Sithe weapons are useless to you. If you are going to take a risk, go all out and take a big one!’ The Paragon of Pills has visited the Sithelands many times and is experienced in navigating it, and so I decided to take part in this trip.”

“Myself, the Paragon of Pills, and two others headed off on this journey together. One of the two is just as crazy as the Paragon of Pills is. As it turned out, the Paragon’s predictions were correct; she truly did find an enormous Sithe treasury, but it was filled with many dangers,” Lord Annihilation said. “In the end, we were defeated and one of us died, leaving just three of us alive; myself, the Paragon, and that other madman. However, all three of us ended up being separated.”

“To be honest, when we headed in we already knew of your illustrious fame. Back then, many of us were actually commenting that the Paragon now stood a very good chance of achieving her goals. If she asked you to help out, she’d probably be able to revive her three brothers.

“However, she refused to send you a message, even after we fell into grave danger. She said that the treasury was far too dangerous, and she knew that if you found out you would probably go there to rescue her… but the end result might be that you yourself would also be trapped.” Lord Annihilation continued, “Now, all three of us have been split apart. All of us are in mortal danger… and so I can no longer afford to respect her decision not to contact you. That’s why I have come to ask you to help out, Darknorth.”

Ning nodded somberly. The Sithelands was indeed extremely dangerous! Even the Autarchs had merely sealed it away rather, not daring to trespass too deeply within it. If they did, even they would be at risk of perishing.

Even the outer perimeter held a number of extremely dangerous areas which had simply been sealed off rather than penetrated and destroyed. Thus, even if Lord Annihilation was to ask an Autarch for help, the Autarch would probably be unwilling to assist. There were some unexplored places which even the Autarchs were unfamiliar with; it just wouldn’t be worth it for them to risk themselves like that.

“Wait. You came here to ask Darknorth to go into the Sithelands to rescue you?” Hegemon Brightshore glared at him, hard. “Annihilation, that’s not what you told me earlier.”

“I was afraid that if I told you too much, you wouldn’t help me.” Lord Annihilation hurriedly apologized, “Brightshore, I’m sorry about this.”

“You son of a…” Hegemon Brightshore was absolutely livid. “The Paragon of Pills is crazy, and you yourself said the third person is also a madman. I don’t really approve of their behavior in general, but I have to admit that all of them are extremely well-versed in the dangers of the Sithelands. If both of them are trapped with no way out, then the area you were in was definitely an incredibly dangerous one.”

“Yes.” Lord Annihilation nodded shamefacedly. It was indeed incredibly dangerous. He could still remember that nightmarish battle which had claimed the life of their fourth party member. The other three had been lucky enough to survive, but had ended up being separated. Even when they had been together, progress had been arduous. Now that they were separated, their chances were exceedingly grim. That was why he had come to beg Darknorth for aid.

All of them were much weaker than Daolord Darknorth, who had slain even the Lonely King with a single swipe of the sword.

“Daolord, I really was out of options,” Lord Annihilation said, rather embarrassed.

“Tell me where you are in the Sithelands,” Ning said. “I’ll go there as soon as possible. Also… do everything you can to protect the Mistress. Otherwise… when I see you, you are still going to die.”

“The Mistress?” Lord Annihilation was stunned. He knew that Ning had a very special relationship with the Paragon of Pills, but he had no idea that Ning would refer to her using such a close and familial term.

“Star map.” Ning looked at him.

“Here’s the star map, Daolord.” Lord Annihilation waved his hand, causing a star map to appear before them. The only parts of the star map which were detailed were the parts involving the Sithelands.

Ning gave it a glance. The five Autarchs had long ago provided Ning with a highly detailed star map of the entire Chaosverse, and they had taken especially detailed notes on the Sithelands, the only place which was a threat to them. Ning had a far more detailed map of the Sithelands than Lord Annihilation, and as a result he immediately knew where they were.

“Alright. I understand.” Ning nodded, then turned and went back into the spacetime tunnel with Hegemon Brightshore.

The two returned to the Brightshore Kingdom of the Flamedragon realmverse. Hegemon Brightshore’s wizened old face was covered with embarrassment: “Darknorth, I had no idea that Annihilation was going to make a request like this one. We’ve known each other forever. I can’t believe he pulled something like this on me.”

Ning shook his head. “His life was at stake. Playing a little trick on you is nothing.”

……

The Wildsky Realmverse. The Greatland Planet.

Ning’s true body was there alongside his eighth disciple Stonepool, Ji Brightmoon, Ji Yichuan, Yuchi Snow, Subhuti, Windfiend, Su Youji, Azurefiend, Protector Whitethaw, and the Flamewing God.

“I’m not going to lie. This trip to the Sithelands will be a bit risky,” Ning said. “I’m not sure I’d be able to keep you all safe, and so all of you shall wait here. I’ve already sent word to Realmslord Windgrace to come and pick you up.”

They only had just a single realmship, and Ning needed it to visit the Sithelands. Thus, he asked Windgrace to come and pick them up. The sooner he went off to rescue the Paragon of Pills, the better his chances would be. His family wouldn’t be in any danger here in the Wildsky Realmverse either.

They originally had two realmships, but Ning had already given the one he had taken from the Lonely King to Nuwa.

“Master, let me go with you,” Su Youji said hurriedly. “I’m not afraid of any danger.”

“Ning, my son…” Yuchi Snow was rather worried.

Ning shook his head. “None of you are to follow me! Flamewing, protect them all.”

“Don’t worry, Master… but make sure you are careful in there,” Flamewing said.

“I will.” Ning glanced at Azurefiend. “Azurefiend, you are more detail-oriented than him. Take good care of my family and my master. Your avatar can come by my side.”

“Understood.” Hegemon Azurefiend revealed a look of delight. A place which even Ning felt was dangerous was a place Hegemon Azurefiend would never dare to visit in person, but his avatar was a different story. Being able to experience a dangerous place like this would be of benefit to him in cultivation. He knew that Ning was trying to help him out.

As for Su Youji and Brightmoon? They also had avatars, but those were back in the Flamedragon Realmverse. More importantly, they were far too weak. Even if they did create new avatars, the distance between this place and the Sithelands was simply too far. There was no way their true body would be able to sense and connect to the avatar at such a distance, which meant that the tiny bit of godsense within the avatar would eventually disappear and dissipate from the lack of reinforcement.

Thus, the only person who was lucky enough to take part in this adventure would be Hegemon Azurefiend.

“Brightmoon, I have a task for you.” Ning looked at his daughter. “This new disciple of mine, Stonepool, has yet to truly embark upon the path of cultivation. I’ll temporarily leave his tutelage up to you. Teach him until you are back at the Flamedragon Realmverse.”

“Don’t worry. I’m a Daolord. Teaching him will be no problem.” Brightmoon was extremely confident. She glanced at Stonepool and said, “Junior apprentice-brother Stonepool, I’ll train you well.”

“Alright,” Stonepool said obediently. Everyone here was at an unfathomably more profound level of the Dao than he was.

……

That very day, Ning led Azurefiend’s avatar in travelling towards the Sithelands via realmship.

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Chapter 3 – Entry

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 3 – Entry

After spending over 12 million years travelling a great distance via realmship, Ji Ning and Azurefiend’s avatar finally reached the outer perimeters of the Sithelands.

“So this is the Sithelands?” Ning stared at the titanic glowing sphere that lay amidst the endless darkness.

They were still quite far away from this sphere, and it was roughly comparable to twenty or so realmverses in size! This was the enormous base which the Sithe had secretly constructed after infiltrating the local Chaosverse. The process had been very fast, too fast to stop, because the Sithe had constructed the main parts outside of the Chaosverse, then brought them inside and assembled them together.

It was like a nail which the Sithe had driven into the body of the Chaosverse, a nail which the cultivators were completely helpless against.

Whoosh. The realmship quickly flew closer and closer towards the Sithelands. Finally, they entered the sphere. Light flashed past their eyes, resolving into a strange, delightfully bizarre world.

The Sithelands was like a self-contained ecosystem, with the world within it being completely different from the rest of the Chaosverse! It even contained a few stars in the sky, although the stars had all been battered and broken to the point where the Sithe machinery underneath could be seen. Mysterious runes continued to flow over the surface of those skeletal stars, and they continued to hum with power. Clearly, they must have been incredibly powerful in the past! There was no way for cultivators to take them away and move them elsewhere; they were simply too large in size. Autarchs might be able to do so, but they wouldn’t deign to collect ‘garbage’ like this.

“When we broke through their outer defenses, the cultivators who were present already took away all the Sithe weapons they could move,” Ning mused. “The only places in the outer perimeter that are still filled with many Sithe weapons are those forbidden regions which were sealed away.”

“Master, we are probably heading into one of those sealed regions, right?” Hegemon Azurefiend felt a mixture of nervousness, excitement, and anticipation.

Ning nodded.

During the Dawn War itself, time was of the essence. Thus, the Autarchs simply did whatever was the most expedient. They sealed away the toughest and most dangerous regions in the outer perimeter, trapping their foes inside. The trapped foes would no longer pose any further threat, after all! They had sealed away many regions during the final invasion. In the end, the heartland regions of the Sithelands had proved to be so deadly that the Autarchs had sealed it away as well, after killing any and all Sithe who dared to come out and fight back!

There had to be many powerful experts who were still alive within the heart of the Sithelands, including a number of Sithe Exalts, but they were no longer able to leave it.

They might be able to win a battle on their own terms and on their own turf, but the Autarchs wouldn’t go inside to fight them. Thus, their only choice would be to fight outside… but without the geographical advantage, the end result would be defeat followed by imprisonment, just like the others.

“There are many barriers in the outer perimeters. Over the aeons since the Dawn During, many have been slowly unlocked,” Ning said. “The Autarchs are not opposed to watching Hegemons unlock the barriers and test themselves inside.” Even if the Hegemons perished, their truesoul fragments and energies would return to the Quintessence. This wouldn’t have much of an impact on the Chaosverse as a whole.

But of course, if for example 70% to 80% of all the Hegemons in the Chaosverse were to perish? This sort of large-scale death would certainly have an impact, in that the Chaosverse would be poorly equipped for dealing with any foreign invaders. It simply wouldn’t have enough defenders! Yes, the Autarchs had played a major role in defending it against the Sithe, but the many Hegemons who had bravely stood up had also played an important role.

In the end, there simply weren’t enough Autarchs to go around.

……

Another month went past. By now, Ning had finally reached the region where the Paragon of Pills had been trapped.

Ning stood there in the air, staring at a planet that was surrounded by a billowing black fog. As for Azurefiend’s avatar, it stood behind Ning to one side.

“This is one of the sealed regions. The Autarchs didn’t attack it, and so it is in perfect shape,” Ning mused softly. “Even from here, I can dimly sense the threat it poses. I imagine the Autarchs were able to sense the same, which was why they sealed it off instead of attacking it. Oh, Mistress… how could you be so impetuous as to challenge a place like this?”

“Powerful Sithe weapons can only be found in undamaged places that were completely sealed off,” Hegemon Azurefiend said. “If you are careful enough, you might be able to avoid some of the dangers.”

“Everyone’s putting all their faith on luck.” Ning shook his head. Some cultivators would succeed, true, but many would end up dying.

“Let’s go inside.” Whoosh. Ning led Azurefiend in flying towards the planet of billowing black fog at high speeds. Hiss… the black mist was so highly corrosive that weaker Eternal Emperors would quickly be rotted away into a pile of noxious water. However, Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was able to easily hold the mist at bay.

The two continued to fly together through the sea of black mist. They flew for over ten billion kilometers before finally passing through to the surface of the planet below. This was a desolate planet whose surface was filled with countless streams of freezing energy. As Ning and Azurefiend landed on the ground, they turned to stare at the world around them.

“Master, where should we go?” Azurefiend asked. “I can feel a powerful sense of danger coming from this place, as though moving in any direction will result in annihilation.”

“The Autarchs sealed away this place because they weren’t willing to spend their energies here, and also because this place can kill Hegemons with ease.” Ning shook his head. As he spoke, he continued to carefully scrutinize the world with his karmic senses.

As soon as he descended upon this world, he was able to use his karma lines to sense and locate both Lord Annihilation and the Paragon of Pills. The karmic connection between Ning and Paragon of Pills went without saying, while Lord Annihilation’s decision to beg Ning to rescue him had also established karmic ties between them.

“They are both in that direction.” After carefully tracing his karmic ties, Ning was able to fix on their location and he turned to stare towards his left. “Both of them are over there.” This freezing wind howled through the entire area with such intensity that not even he was able to see to a great distance here.

“Let’s go,” Ning said. He immediately headed off, with Azurefiend hurriedly following from behind.

Whooooosh! Far away from them, a ghostly humanoid figure suddenly manifested out of thin air within a crevice in the ground. It stared towards Ning’s direction, followed by its body emanating excited ripples.

“Outsiders! More outsiders! Sisters, more outsiders have arrived!” It didn’t speak at all, it simply used those strange ripples to communicate with its underground comrades.

Soon, even more streams of energy began to surge from underground, each of them manifesting into ghostly humanoid figures within the crevice.

“Two outsiders have come, sisters!”

“Let’s eat them!”

“Quick, let’s eat them all!” Dozens of the humanoid creatures had appeared. They all transformed into streams of energy once more, merging into a single awesome stream of energy that flew like the wind in Ning’s direction. The surface of this world was covered with so many gusts of cold wind that they weren’t particularly noticeable at all.

Ning and Hegemon Azurefiend continued to advance via walking on the surface of this planet. Ning was extremely careful with each move he took. He too felt a sense of grave danger as soon as he stepped foot onto this planet, and he knew that rescuing the Paragon of Pills would be no easy task. He had to be very careful with this.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly turned to glance towards the right, his gaze following upon a distant stream of energy. This stream of energy seemed to be identical with the other howling streams of wind energy that filled this place, but Ning was vaguely able to sense that it was filled with malevolence, greed, and murder.

“What’s wrong, Master?” Hegemon Azurefiend didn’t feel anything yet.

“Freeze!” Ning barked. His Sword Dao Domain suddenly expanded dramatically, instantly stretching out to encompass the area where the deadly stream of energy was.

The power of his Sword Dao Domain was capable of unleashing a suppressive effect. The stream of energy instantly trembled, then transformed into a series of humanoid figures. These creatures weren’t even able to maintain their ghostly image and thus were revealed to reveal their true appearances. These were fairly short creatures with grayish-black skin, and their features were fairly handsome… but the nails growing out of their fingers and toes were as sharp as knives.

Trapped by the Sword Dao Domain, the grayish-black creatures all let out agonized shrieks. They struggled fiercely to break free, their claws dancing in the air as they tried to tear the power surrounding them apart.

“So these are the legendary ‘vilefiends’, the most commonly seen creatures within the Sithelands?” Azurefiend was rather excited.

“Yes. They aren’t all that powerful and are the easiest creatures to deal with here, but for this many to attack at once would still be rather problematic to deal with.” Ning glanced at the dozens of contorting vilefiends, then unleashed the power of his Sword Dao Domain with but a thought. The vilefiends let out ear-piercing screams before their bodies shattered apart and disappeared.

Vilefiends were quite unique. They were only able to survive within the Sithelands; even if you managed to capture one, they would instantly dissipate once you took them outside of this area!

Cultivators had noticed something special about these creatures. Generally speaking, the more of them there were in a place, the more dangerous that place was. Ning had immediately encountered dozens of them as soon as he had descended upon this sealed planet; this meant there was an abnormally high concentration of them here.

“I hope the situation isn’t as bad as it looks.” Ning felt even more nervous. The five Autarchs had given Ning extremely detailed maps and notes pertaining to the Sithelands, and Ning couldn’t help but feel increasingly worried for the Paragon of Pills.

“Let’s move fast.” Ning led Azurefiend in advancing towards the other end of his karma lines at high speeds.

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Chapter 4 – Daoguard Tower

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 4 – Daoguard Tower

Shortly after Ji Ning’s group walked past this region, the surface of the ground suddenly became liquid, almost watery. A pair of four-hooved creatures appeared from underneath the ground. Each creature had a golden horn atop its head, while their entire bodies was silver in color. Each was over thirty meters large and extremely muscular. As for their eyes, they were gray and looked as cold and desolate as death itself.

“Outsiders have passed through the territory we control. They are headed in that direction over there.” The two four-hooved creatures stared towards the distant Ning and Azurefiend.

“All invaders must die.”

“Kill them!”

Boom! Boom! The two four-hooved creatures charged through the air at terrifying speeds, moving towards Ning and Azurefiend. They moved far more quickly than the vast majority of Hegemons, with only the most powerful Hegemons who reached Hegemony via the Dao of Lightning or the Dao of Light being able to match up to them in speed. They didn’t try to disguise themselves at all as they galloped towards Ning’s group at maximum speed.

Ning and Azurefiend both instantly were able to sense the furious power which had erupted behind them, and they hurriedly turned to look at the two streaks of light that had almost reached them.

“Those things?” Ning turned pale. “Silver Goldhorns? Not good!”

“DIE!” The two galloping beasts charged straight towards Ning and Azurefiend, their eyes filled with the cold remorselessness of death.

Azurefiend instantly felt a chill go down his spin. These two creatures were definitely capable of killing him!

Ning expanded his Sword Dao Domain, using it to suppress and weaken the two Silver Goldhorns, but the two were able to continue to charge forwards while growling angrily. Moments later, streaks of sword-light began to appear and assault the hooves of those two silver beasts.

How could these two creatures possibly comprehend or defend against the marvelousness of Ning’s sword-arts?

Thud! Thud! The two Silver Goldhorns stumbled to the ground after their hooves came under assault, but they quickly clambered back up. This time, they chose to fly through the air. Although this resulted in them being slowed down, they were still able to fly through the suppressive effects of the Sword Dao Domain.

“Azurefiend.” Ning waved his hand, tossing out six long black chains. “Hurry up and bind them. Use these weapons and wait for my signal.”

“Yes, Master,” Azurefiend acknowledged. He recognized that these six black chains were the chains that had previously been used to bind Flamewing. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel secretly shocked that these creatures were actually able to force his Master to use these chains.

In truth, Ning was capable of easily defeating these creatures if he himself attacked, but that would require him to use up some of his own energy, which meant using up his own lifespan. Thus, unless absolutely necessary, Ning wanted to avoid using any of his power.

“Gwaaaaaar!” “Kill!” The two Silver Goldhorns continued to charge towards Ning, who continued to unleash the power of his Sword Dao Domain against them. Streaks of sword-light shot out in accordance with Ning’s marvelous sword-arts, allowing him to easily toy with them and force them to stumble, stagger, and even be knocked backwards. There was no way for them to approach Ning after all.

The sword-light from Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was capable of slaying even Hegemons with ease; these were blows comparable to full-strength strikes from Otherverse Lords. Even though he wasn’t able to kill the Silver Goldhorns, he was still able to make things incredibly difficult for them.

“They are strengthened by the Daoguard Tower. Although they are strong, in the end they are nothing more than golems. They have a low level of insight, making it easy for me to toy with them.” Ning commanded, “Get ready for my signal to use your chains to trap them and them pull them away.”

“I’ve already bound the chains to myself,” Azurefiend said immediately. His avatar manifested a total of six arms, each of which held onto one of the black chains.

“NOW! Catch the one on the left!” Ning ordered.

Right at this moment, the Silver Goldhorn on the left was knocked down as multiple streams of sword-light converged upon it. Azurefiend immediately hurled out his black chains, sending them flying through the air towards the beast. The Silver Goldhorn hurriedly moved to dodge, but four of the six chains still managed to coil around it and bind it tightly. It struggled to fight back, but was completely incapable of breaking free. Soon, it turned limp and stopped resisting.

“These chains have a powerful sealing and draining effect. Flamewing has an almost limitless amount of energy and so the draining meant very little to it, but the Silver Goldhorns draw their power from the Dao Protector Hall. There’s a limit to how much energy they can use.” Ning shook his head.

“Get in here!” Azurefiend immediately drew the bound Silver Goldhorn into one of his top-grade Eternal estate-treasures. A short while later, he retrieved the black chains.

“Huh. Master, why is it that the Silver Goldhorn seems to be extremely weak within my estate-world?” Azurefiend was surprised.

“Because it can no longer sense the Daoguard Tower.” Ning instructed, “Hurry up and catch the other one.”

A short while later, the tag-team of Ning and Azurefiend captured the second Silver Goldhorn and drew it into the estate-world as well.

“What’s a Daoguard Tower?” Azurefiend asked. “Why have I never heard of it before?”

“The Daoguard Tower…” Ning had a rather ugly look on his face. “It is literally the most dangerous type of location the Sithelands has.”

As soon as Ning saw the Silver Goldhorn, his heart had turned cold. He knew that the situation was even worse than he had thought. Golems like the Silver Goldhorns were extremely powerful, and they were only possessed by Daoguard Towers! Now that he knew that this world was where a Daoguard Tower was located, he knew just how difficult this journey would be.

The Daoguard Tower… as the name implied, it was meant to guard a certain area. Even beings as powerful as the Sithe needed to train and cultivate, and so the most powerful Sithe would generally pay absolutely enormous prices to construct extremely safe, secure, and stable places where they would live and train. These places were known as Daoguard Towers! The powerful Sithe would use everything available to them to reinforce the Daoguard Tower, using it to fight back against foes.

Even the most powerful of foes would generally find it very hard to breach the defenses of a Daoguard Tower, but they did have a weakness – they were completely immobile!

In the Sithe Chaosverse, Daoguard Towers were able to draw upon the natural energies of that Chaosverse. In Ning’s Chaosverse, the Sithe were unable to do the same, and so they had to first pay an absolutely enormous price to set up this place, the ‘Sithelands’! This was a place which held an enormous energy generator within it.

For the Sithe, the ‘Sithelands’ actually served as a ‘miniature’ Chaosverse in many ways. They were able to make use of the energy generator and then build Daoguard Towers throughout the area. Once they were built, they could no longer be moved; this was their main weakness. However, they were tremendously powerful and were perfect for protecting important locations!

Every single Daoguard Tower was extremely difficult to deal with, with the best Daoguard Towers capable of claiming the lives of even the Autarchs! This was why the Autarchs hadn’t fought their way inside. Every single Daoguard Tower represented extreme danger! But of course, they also had a correspondingly great amount of treasure inside of them. It could be said that Daoguard Towers were literally built out of a giant mound of treasures.

“Silver Goldhorns generally are used to patrol the area outside a Daoguard Tower and locate enemy intruders,” Ning said. “As soon as we ran into those Silver Goldhorns, the master of this Daoguard Tower was probably alerted to our presence as well.”

“Alerted?” Azurefiend was worried.

“Yes. In other words, we are now in a great deal of danger.” Ning smiled. “I might not be able to protect you, in which case your avatar will be finished.”

“Don’t worry about me, Master. I would at most lose the materials needed for an avatar,” Azurefiend said.

“Let’s continue.” Ning didn’t waste any more time on words as he led Azurefiend towards the other end of the karmic lies tying him to Lord Annihilation and the Paragon of Pills.

……

Deep within the heart of this planet, there was indeed a tower that was protected by many layers of traps and barriers. This tower had a total of eight levels to it.

A short creature that was merely one meter tall was seated on an altar inside the tower. He was a true Sithe, but he merely had the power of an ordinary Eternal Emperor.

The short creature opened his eyes, staring at the images which had begun to appear in front of him. The images displayed two Silver Goldhorns battling against Ning and Azurefiend. In the end, the two Silver Goldhorns were captured and taken away.

“Cultivators?” The short creature frowned when he saw this. “How odd. Both of these cultivators are odd. One is a Hegemon, but the white-robed cultivator with that black sheath… he looks to be a Daolord. In addition, his truesoul is actually crumbling away, which makes him a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. What’s going on? From the looks of it, the Hegemon is actually subservient to him.”

“And what’s with that odd domain? It was able to defeat those Silver Goldhorns with ease.” The short creature had the feeling that something was off.

“Ugh. Ever since the barriers were breached, Master slipped away and ordered me to stand guard over the Daoguard Tower.” The short creature gritted his teeth, rather unhappy. He had originally been a mere retainer of this Daoguard Tower’s owner. Once the barrier had been opened, it was guaranteed that this tower would eventually be conquered by the cultivators, and so the master of this tower had fled, leaving him behind to stand guard.

“Given how easily they dealt with the Silver Goldhorns, I have to be careful with them. Hm… yes, I’ll put them in the ‘secondary dimension’.” The short creature immediately began to activate the power of the Daoguard Tower.

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Chapter 5 – Hope of Release

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 5 – Hope of Release

The short creature was unable to disguise the excitement in its eyes. Each time he took control of the Daoguard Tower and used it to deal with powerful figures, he felt extremely happy.

This was because if he truly engaged in a ‘fair fight’ against those powerful cultivators, he would probably be annihilated with ease. But with the Daoguard Tower at his disposal, he was able to toy with them instead! By now, this was the only bright spot in his life, the reason for him to keep living. The Sithe had been defeated, after all, and his master’s orders meant he had to stay here forever. His life was one of solitude and despair. If he didn’t have the occasional bit of entertainment, how could he have possibly been able to stay alive? His Dao-heart probably would’ve crumbled long ago, resulting in suicide.

“Those two are the most powerful cultivators I’ve ever encountered. I have to be careful. They won’t be beaten as easily as other cultivators.” The short creature took control over the Daoguard Tower’s powers, watching the scenes of Ji Ning and Azurefiend advancing at high speed.

……

After dealing with the Silver Goldhorns, Ning and Azurefiend continued to advance at nearly maximum speed.

“What’s that?” Ning soon saw some scattered weapons and armor.

“Master, is this connected to the Paragon of Pill’s team?” Azurefiend asked.

“This belonged to their slain comrade.” Ning scanned the area, his gaze causing time to flow backwards. Soon, Ning was able to see the scene of the Paragon of Pills, Lord Annihilation, a short, fat old man, and a silvery-haired woman fight against a total of four Silver Goldhorns.

The four Silver Goldhorns were overwhelmingly powerful. Although the Paragon of Pills and the others had many tricks up their sleeves, their techniques were blown away in the very first exchange. The short and fat old man was the closest to the four and the first to die, while the other three scattered and fled.

The four Silver Goldhorns were about to pursue, but all of a sudden they gave up the pursuit and left. Ning narrowed his eyes. “As I thought. This Daoguard Tower has someone controlling it.”

The Dawn War had ended long ago, and the barrier sealing the Daoguard Tower had also been breached quite some time ago. Logically speaking, the powerful Sithe who owned this Daoguard Tower had probably slipped away long ago, and so Ning had harbored the faint hope that this Daoguard Tower was now unmanned! However, he knew that even if the Sithe who owned this tower had fled, he might’ve arranged for a servant or a golem to control it in his stead.

Ning knew that chances of this Daoguard Tower being unmanned were slim… and now, his hopes were crushed entirely.

“I hope the controller of this Daoguard Tower is a wise man.” Ning shook his head slightly, then waved his hand and collected the armor and weapons lying on the ground.

“Master, where should we go next?” Azurefiend asked.

“That’s odd.” Ning suddenly frowned. “The Mistress and Annihilation clearly fled in two different directions. Why, then, are my karmic senses indicating that they are in the same region right now?”

“Follow me.” Ning trusted his karmic senses, and so led Azurefiend in a high-speed advance towards the Paragon’s location.

A short while later, Ning came to a sudden halt because a series of ripples had appeared in the air before him. The world around him was beginning to twist and contort as well.

“Master of the Daoguard Tower,” Ning said with a frown, his voice echoing within the world around him, “I am simply adventuring in this place and do not intend to enter the Daoguard Tower itself! There is no need for us to fight against each other.”

“Ehehehe…” A low, hoarse laugh rang out and echoed within the air around Ning. “What a formidable Daolord. I am truly rather mystified by you! But this is my territory. Now that you have dared to trespass here, your fate is under my control. Ehehehe… but let’s not be impatient! We have plenty of time. Let’s take it slow and have some fun together.”

“Is this about those two Silver Goldhorns? I can give them back to you,” Ning said.

“Hah! Once I capture you, they’ll become mine again regardless. All the treasures you carry shall be mine! Even you yourself, you diverting Daolord, shall become mine.” The voice was filled with a hint of wicked glee.

Ning’s face hardened slightly. He barked coldly, “So you are a madman. It seems you’ve been alone for so long you’ve gone insane.”

Daoguard Towers were used by powerful Sithe to protect their lairs. Generally speaking, so long as you didn’t try to attack the towers they similarly wouldn’t expend too much effort in attacking you! This was why Ning had tried to be fairly low-key and hadn’t caused too many problems. He had come here to rescue his friends, not to defeat the Daoguard Tower! He had thought that if he didn’t cause a fuss and didn’t infringe upon the Daoguard Tower itself and threaten its controller, the controller wouldn’t start a life-and-death fight against him. Clearly, he was wrong. The controller of this Daoguard Tower was a madman.

The madman by himself wasn’t that frightening, but the Daoguard Tower was!

“Eheheh… no one who has come here has ever been able to escape and survive. You won’t escape either.” As the voice fell silent, the surrounding dimensional ripples quickly began to reach out towards Ning.

“Master?” Azurefiend was a bit worried.

“I’m done playing nice!” Ning’s face hardened and a sharp look flashed through his eyes. “Sword Dao Domain!”

Rumble… countless blades of sword-light appeared throughout this entire planet. Clearly, Ning had just expanded his Sword Dao Domain to an incredible size, using it to cover the entire planet!

“Suppress!” Ning held nothing back at all. In the past, he had kept his Sword Dao Domain reigned in to cover a fairly small area because he didn’t wish to cause too much of a problem with the master of the Daoguard Tower… but since they were already at loggerheads, he wasn’t going to show any mercy at all.

Rumble… the terrifying Sword Dao Domain instantly crashed down, bringing a terrifying amount of power against everything within this planet.

“Damnit!” The short creature within the Daoguard Tower instantly turned pale, and his eyes became filled with both terror and excitement. His body began to quiver. “This is the domain of an Eternal Omega Sword Dao! Ahaha, it’s actually an Eternal Omega Sword Dao! All my defenses have to hold!”

A series of membrane-like barriers appeared across the surface of this entire planet, each of which covered part of the planet in an interlocking way. Thus, when the membranes rose together, they were able to block off all of the sword-light.

“The Daoguard Tower’s energies are being depleted at an incredible rate.” The short creature was rather nervous. Defending against this much sword-light was consuming power from the Daoguard Tower at a shocking rate, but Ning’s Sword Dao Domain drew energy from the power of the Dao itself; in other words, it drew from the power of the Chaosverse! Its energies were limitless.

……

In a different part of this planet, where space and time were both distorted. The Paragon of Pills, dressed in black gauze, was seated in the lotus position within a field of light. Ever since she had been trapped here, she assumed the lotus position and didn’t move around.

“I still haven’t been able to see through the secrets hidden behind this place. The more I move about, the closer I will be to death.” The Paragon of Pills weighed the area around her with her gaze. She had traversed many places in the Sithelands and had quite a bit of experience in this regard. She was also extremely patient and had reached extremely high levels in the Dao of Karma, the Dao of Formations, and the Dao of Spacetime. Thus, in most places she was usually able to discover the mysteries behind the various traps and then escape.

The reason why she had reached such high levels of skill in these Daos was because she knew she would have to rely on them and herself to revive her departed brothers. She had invested enormous amounts of effort into studying spacetime and karma, and they had become her secret weapons in ensuring that she was able to survive her trips into the Sithelands. Otherwise, she would’ve died long ago in one of her crazy expeditions here.

Boom! Suddenly, the entire field of light around her shook violently.

“Eh?” The Paragon of Pills lifted her head to stare into the skies. She could sense that outside the field of blurry light, there were two enormous surges of power that were clashing against each other. Both powers were so vast as to cause her to feel shocked.

“Could it be Darknorth?” The Paragon of Pills had a rather complicated look on her face. Her avatar was alongside Lord Annihilation’s avatar, and so she knew that Lord Annihilation had gone against her will and asked Ning to come save them.

……

“Either we stop now, or we continue until you are gone.” Ning’s voice was cold, and it rang out throughout the entire world. The walls of rippling spacetime around him blocked out his senses, but he knew that the Daoguard Tower had to be using up an enormous amount of power.

“Stop now? Ahahaha! Go ahead and try to attack the Daoguard Tower. Just try to kill me! Hah! If you can’t, you’ll be the one to die! Did you really think you are able to contend against me, puny cultivator? Besides, if I can take out someone who is in control of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, my death would have been worth it!” The short creature had never felt this berserk before, because everyone in his own Chaosverse who was in control of an Eternal Omega Dao would have an extremely high status that was far superior to that of the Autarchs.

This was because Emperors who mastered an Eternal Omega Dao were on par with ordinary Autarchs in might, but the Autarchs had reached the end of the road; there was no way for them to become any more powerful. Omega Emperors, however, still had a chance to take one more step and become Omega Autarchs.

This local Chaosverse was a weak one, and its cultivators were barbaric… which meant that for them, a cultivator who mastered an Eternal Omega Dao would only be even more important!

“If you were a true Emperor, I would probably stand no chance at all. However, your truesoul is crumbling, which means I have a chance to kill you.” The short creature had gone completely berserk, because he knew that if managed to kill an Eternal Omega Sword Dao wielder, he would have rendered incredible merits to his side. Even if he died, his truesoul would return to his homeland, at which point he would almost certainly be revived and brought back to life for his efforts.

He had thought that his only choice was to await death, that there was no longer any hope in his life… that toying with impudent trespassing cultivators was the only thing left. But now? Now he saw hope, hope of release!

“Die! Dimensional Separator!” The short creature no longer chose to be as cautious as he was at the start. His eyes filled with madness, he immediately used a vicious technique that had a serious backlash effect.

Whoosh!

Ning suddenly felt as though this entire planet had suddenly been split apart like a watermelon. It was separated into two parts, which was then separated into hundreds of different parts! The area he was in was just one ‘shard’ of the watermelon, a shard that was in a completely different dimensional continuum that had been completely locked away, trapping himself and Azurefiend within.

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Chapter 6 – They Meet

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 6 – They Meet

“Since I’ve chosen to fight, I’m going to use everything I have and give him no chance at all.” The short creature’s eyes were filled with madness. He knew just how terrifying someone who controlled an Eternal Omega Dao could be! Even his master, the original owner of this Daoguard Tower, was far from being a match for Ji Ning. In their own Chaosverse, this short creature would probably never even be given the chance to meet such an august personage.

And precisely because he knew just how fearsome Ning could be, he immediately attacked with all his power!

“In the end, he’s someone who has failed his Daomerge. Sands of Time, arise!” The short creature held nothing back at all, immediately using yet another one of the Daoguard Tower’s killer techniques.

Spots of sparkling, sand-like grains of light instantly flew out of the Daoguard Tower, falling under the spacetime dominion of the tower which synchronized it with and sent it into the sealed dimension which Ning and Azurefiend were trapped in.

“Now for the killing blow. Charge to the maximum power!” The short creature gritted his teeth, and the very tip of the Daoguard Tower suddenly began to light up as a large amount of energy began to gather together there.

……

By now, this entire planet had been separated into hundreds of sealed dimensional pockets, with Ning and Azurefiend being trapped in one of them. Azurefiend was starting to panic a bit, because he could sense an enormous amount of danger, as though he could die at any moment.

“Azurefiend, go into my estate-world for now.” Ning waved his hand, pulling Azurefiend into his estate. He then scanned his surroundings. “What a vicious technique… he’s actually willing to destroy his own territory for the sake of killing me! What the hell? Why does he hate me so much? This is the first time we’ve ever met.” Ning couldn’t help but feel puzzled at how viciously his opponent was behaving. His opponent’s very first act was to destroy the very world which the Daoguard Tower had been created to protect. The world itself had also served as an additional defensive layer for the Daoguard Tower. Now the world was gone; the only thing left was the tower itself.

This was clearly a technique which was dangerous to both the user and the target. Generally speaking, most people wouldn’t use such a powerful, double-edged technique until things truly grew desperate. Still, the technique was indeed powerful; not even Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was capable of breaking through a completely sealed dimension like this.

Clink. Ning drew a Northbow sword from the sheath on his back.

Whooooosh! Just as Ning was about to use his sword to chop apart this cage of sealed spacetime, the entire region suddenly rippled with rainbow light that twisted time wherever the light appeared. In some places, time sped up a million times over; in other places, it froze completely.

Ning’s face hardened. “The Sands of Time?” The Sands of Time was yet another type of treasure the Sithe had access to, and it was described in great detail in the records which the Autarchs had given Ning. This type of treasure was extremely dangerous when used against most cultivators, but against Ning it was absolutely lethal!

When activated, it was possible that time would be frozen for the upper half of your body, while time would be accelerated a trillionfold for the lower half of your body. This sort of temporal twisting would cause ordinary Emperors and Hegemons incredible discomfort during battle, lessening their combat prowess… but Ning wasn’t an Emperor, he was a Daolord whose truesoul was breaking apart. His truesoul could very well collapse and die from this!

“He first destroyed his own territory, then used the Sands of Time… just to kill me?” Ning had no time to think. He immediately sent a serious, horizontal chop towards the space in front of him.

This blow from his sword seemed to have enough power to completely sever apart everything in Heaven and Earth. The passage of the sword-light was followed by a tiny thread of water, but a heartbeat later the thread of water transformed into a raging river, and then into a titanic wave. Endless waves of sword-light crashed through the skies with absolutely terrifying power, completely overwhelming the onslaught of the Sands of Time and sweeping through all of the rainbow light!

The terrifying sword-intent had completely submerged and annihilated the Sands of Time. This was Ning’s Water Sword Dao!

After destroying the Sands of Time, the wave of sword-light was dramatically weakened as well, but it still continued to sweep forwards and crash against the dimensional membrane of this sealed space.

BOOM! The entire region shuddered violently, as a large amount of cracks began to appear at the margins of this space, both in the skies and deep underground. The cracks spread out like ripples, while Ning stood at the center of the region and watched carefully.

“I thought that strike would’ve been enough to annihilate both the Sands of Time and this pocket dimension I’m in. It seems I didn’t put enough power into that strike. This dimensional pocket is more stable than I thought,” Ning mused. He was extremely miserly with his energies right now, and would hold back power whenever necessary without overusing even the slightest amount.

“Go.” Ning stabbed out with his Northbow sword once more. This time, he himself transformed into a streak of sword-light that shot outwards. The tip of the sword-light was Ning’s Northbow sword, and it easily pierced through the crumbling dimensional seal and appeared outside.

In the instant that he broke through the dimensional membrane, Ning was able to see the hundreds of dimensional shards that hung in the air like lonely little islands. At the very center, there was a clearly visible eight-story tower that was sitting on a foundation of earth that was millions of kilometers in size. The ground was covered with countless runes and ley-lines, allowing it to serve as the foundation of this tower.

It must be remembered that Daoguard Towers were immobile and had to be anchored somewhere. Through the foundation it was anchored to, it was able to maintain contact with and draw power from the energy generator fueling the entire Sithelands.

“Is that…” Ning instantly saw the dazzling light building at the very tip of the Daoguard Tower.

“Die! DIE!” Spittle was flying out of the mouth of the short creature within the Daoguard Tower, and his eyes were completely deranged. The Dimensional Separator and the Sands of Time were two of his killer weapons, capable of slaying even ordinary Otherverse Lords with ease. The Sands of Time in particular should’ve been a perfect counter for a Daolord whose truesoul was crumbling, but it had still ended up failing. He had never fought someone like this before, after all… but everything was as he had expected.

“DIIIIIIIE!” the short creature howled hoarsely.

BOOM! The light on the top of the Daoguard Tower suddenly shot out, moving an absolutely terrifying speed. Ning was roughly a billion kilometers away from the Daoguard Tower; given the short distance and the incredible speed of the attack, not even Otherverse Lords would be able to dodge in time.

Swish. Ning suddenly transformed into a streak of electric light that moved with equally terrifying speed. He was able to dodge the attack with ease and then charged straight towards the tower. As for the attack, it shot past the location Nng had been in and then continued on to pass through the distant black fog behind him.

“He dodged it?!” The short creature was both angry and anxious. “He’s too fast. He’s too strong and he’s too fast!” He wanted to kill Ning and then be rewarded for it; this was his only chance of salvation! Alas… the only tool he had available to him was the Daoguard Tower.

“He’s too fast and his sword-arts are too furious. There’s no way I can kill him at long range,” the short creature mused. “I’ll wait for him to come inside. Once he actually enters the Daoguard tower, I’ll unleash all of the Daoguard Tower’s powers at the same time. He’s a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. He HAS to die from that!”

The farther away two fighters were, the more difficult it would be for one to kill the other. Daoguard Towers were built with layers of defenses. They had roving patrols to keep invaders at a distance, ranged attacks to deal with those who made it past the patrols, and also self-destruct options meant to take out invaders who made it into close range.

……

As for Ning, he couldn’t help but sigh to himself. “The records indicate that the closer you get to a Daoguard Tower, the more dangerous it is, with the insides of the tower being the most dangerous of all. I’ve been quite far away from it, but it was still able to force me to use power thrice.”

The first time was when he used his sword to break through the Sands of Time. The remaining power hadn’t been enough to break through the sealed dimension. He used a fair amount of power in this strike.

The second time had been when he pierced through the sealed dimension and fled, while the third time had been when he used an evasion-art to dodge that strike. He had used up very little power here, with the evasion-art using up the least.

“If I really wanted to break into the Daoguard Tower, I’d probably have to use several times as much energy. In fact, I could well die there,” Ning muttered to himself. He once more turned to follow his karmic senses, quickly using his karmic lines to locate the Paragon of Pills. He immediately turned towards one of the hundreds of sealed dimensions. Now that the entire world had been shattered, he was able to find her with ease.

“The Mistress is located in that region over there.” Ning was certain of it. As for Lord Annihilation, he was located in another dimensional pocket that was quite close to her’s.

Swish! Ning was able to move at incredible speeds when transformed into a streak of electric sword-light. In fact, he was a bit faster than when he had first mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. He instantly appeared in front of the sealed dimensional continuum where the Paragon of Pills was located, then delivered a blow with his Northbow sword.

Whoosh! The sword-light carved a giant gaping hole within the sealed pocket that was thousands of meters long.

Ning had no choice but to do this. These sealed dimensions were so strong and stable that he wasn’t going to be able to breach them unless he used his sword.

Through the gaping hole, he was able to clearly see what was inside that dimension. He saw a cold, austere-looking woman dressed in black gauze who was seated in the lotus position. No matter how calm and collected the woman normally was, she was unable to prevent a look of shock from appearing on her face as she turned to stare at the white-robed youth standing behind the gaping hole in the dimensional wall.

“Darknorth?” She recognized this youth right away.

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Chapter 7 – Playtime is Over

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 7 – Playtime is Over

This was the only disciple her big brother had ever taken. In her heart, Ji Ning was arguably more important than even her own disciples. She had always felt that Darknorth was someone she had to protect… but somehow, without her even realizing it, the kid had grown up. She had received word that the kid had grown to become an absolutely incredible figure, slaying the Lonely King with just a blow of his sword. How unbelievable was this?! She was absolutely delighted to know that her big brother had taken in a truly remarkable disciple.

And today… the young fellow had appeared before her once more, rescuing her from her plight.

“Mistress, let’s hurry up and get out of here!” Ning sent mentally. At the same time, he sent out his Sword Dao Domain to ‘plug’ the gap, preventing it from healing. The Sword Dao Domain was unable to tear through the dimensional seal, but it was able to dramatically slow down the healing process.

“Alright.” The Paragon of Pills rose to her feet, a smile on her face as she transformed into a streak of light and flew out of the dimensional tear. As she did so, she cast a radiant and joyful smile towards Ning. For some reason, she felt even happier than she would’ve if it was her own disciple who had reached such a level of power.

“I was vaguely able to sense that we would meet again, but I never would’ve imagined that the circumstances would be you rescuing me.” The Paragon laughed. “I rather thought that it would be the other way around.”

Ning could sense how happy the Paragon of Pills was. He was quite happy as well. There weren’t that many people who truly treated him as family, but the Paragon of Pills was definitely one of them. In fact, Ning could sense from the Paragon of Pills a sort of motherly love that reminded him of the love which his true mother Yuchi Snow bore him.

“Mistress, you seem quite calm and relaxed. I’ve been worried sick over you! Thankfully, you are alright.” Ning let out a sigh of relief.

“There’s always danger when adventuring through Sithe ruins. I’ve been in situations like this on multiple occasions,” the Paragon said.

“But this place is different. There is a Daoguard Tower here!” Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear. There was no way the Paragon of Pills or any of the others would’ve been able to flee on their own. A double-edged technique like the Dimensional Separator, which had completely shattered the planet apart and divided it up into many different pocket dimensions, were powerful enough to slay even Otherverse Lords… and that was just one of many techniques the Daoguard Tower had access to!

“Daoguard Tower? What’s a Daoguard Tower?” The Paragon of Pills was rather puzzled, but she hurriedly said, “Let’s not waste any time, Darknorth. This place is extremely dangerous. Let’s leave right away. If you can save my two companions, you should do so; if you cannot, don’t try to force it.”

“I’ll rescue them, but they need to wait a bit.” Ning smiled mysteriously.

…….

Within the Daoguard Tower.

The short creature stared at the images of the outside world, puzzled. The white-robed Daolord had easily dodged his attack, then immediately moved to another sealed dimension and used his sword to slice through the dimensional membrane. He had rescued the woman who had been trapped inside that dimensional pocket, and the two clearly seemed quite happy to meet each other.

“He came here to save his friends?” The short creature was puzzled.

“Let’s go.” Ning let out a happy laugh, then led the Paragon of Pills in transforming into streaks of light that flew off towards the horizon.

“What?! They are leaving?!” The short creature was stunned. His original plan had been to wait until Ning attacked the Daoguard Tower, then continue his own assaults. His hope was that Ning would actually enter the tower!

But now… Ning did the exact opposite. After locating the Paragon of Pills, he had immediately moved to depart. Ning had gained a thorough understanding of the Daoguard Tower from the Autarchs; he obviously wasn’t going to be foolish enough to charge into the Daoguard Tower when he already knew how deadly it was.

As a result, the short creature’s ‘perfect plan’ came to nothing.

“Did you really think you could just leave whenever you wanted?” The short creature was completely berserk. This represented his only chance of escape and release. Even though his chances were slim, he was still going to use all his power to fight for it!

“Triple Dimensional Hallway Chains!” The creature ranted in a crazed manner, “All Silver Goldhorns, move out and trap them! Daoguard Tower, release the seals and unleash those monsters!”

Upon seeing that Ning was about to leave, the short creature finally unleashed all the tools at his disposal! There were some traps he was unable to use as Ning hadn’t moved closer towards him, but he had fully unleashed everything else.

……

As Ji Ning led the Paragon of Pills in departing, he sent mentally to her: “That eight-storied tower is known as a Daoguard Tower, a truly terrifying Sithe guard tower. I’m unwilling to actually enter it, but it seems as though the tower’s master is hellbent on killing me. Now that I’m ‘leaving’, he’ll probably grow a bit anxious. Let’s see what he tries to pull.”

Just as his words finished, Ning’s eyes widened. “What the…”

The distant Daoguard Tower began to rumble menacingly as the entire thing began to tremble and crack apart like a turtle shell. Even the enormous foundation beneath it was beginning to split apart.

The overwhelming power of the Daoguard Tower spread throughout every pocket dimension surrounding it. The pocket dimensions that had previously hovered around it like little islands suddenly began to shoot out in every direction, forming a series of dimensional membrane walkways. The only things Ning could see in front of him were those dimensional walkways; he could no longer see the outside world at all.

Ning turned to glance backwards at the Daoguard Tower, which was now filled with innumerable cracks. “He’s wrecking the Daoguard Tower?” Ning could hardly believe it. “Even the foundation is splitting apart!”

The foundation was the most important part of the Daoguard Tower, but even it was beginning to break apart! Ning could tell how terrifyingly determined the Daoguard Tower’s controller was.

A series of thunderous roars rang out, followed by Silver Goldhorns charging out of the various dimensional islands. They were completely unimpeded by the pocket dimensions, coming in threes and fives as they charged towards Ning. All in all, there was a total of sixty-five of the creatures!

Not just that. Two creatures that looked like stone pythons suddenly came flying out of the crumbling Daoguard Tower. When the two stone pythons first flew out, they were quite small, but they quickly expanded in size to many tens of thousands of kilometers long. They were completely formed from stone, and their eyes were a dull gray color. They radiated an aura of life, but their eyes were completely dead.

“They are clearly alive, but they don’t seem to be sentient at all?” Ning was rather shocked.

“Darknorth, can you handle it? Do you need me to help?” The Paragon of Pills couldn’t help but feel nervous when she saw the sixty-five Silver Goldhorns swarming towards them. Her original team had been instantly defeated by four Silver Goldhorns, and so she knew that every single one of them was capable of battling an Otherverse Lord.

It was said that the most dangerous Sithe bases were the ones which held Daoguard Towers, and the number of Silver Goldhorns this place held was proof of it.

This was why the cultivators had been unwilling to actually attack these places during the Dawn War. They had lured the Sithe into the outside world, ensuring that the strongest Sithe bases were taken out of the equation. Only then did they manage to win and decimate the Sithe forces. Only after doing so did they attack the Sithelands, but even then they had only been able to successfully breach the outer perimeter. As for the Daoguard Towers in the outer perimeter, they had merely sealed them away rather than actually assault them.

“Don’t worry.” Ning let out a chuckle as he released his Sword Dao Domain, causing countless streaks of sword-light to fill the entire area and begin to assault the Silver Goldhorns. The Silver Goldhorns began to stumble, stagger, or even be knocked backwards. There was no way for them to close in on Ning at all.

As for the two stone serpents, they were slowed down by the Sword Dao Domain but they still managed to move closer towards him.

Clack! Clack! Clack! The foundation of the Daoguard Tower splintered apart. Ning cast the shattered foundation a glance. The Daoguard Tower had always given him a sense of danger. Now that the foundation had shattered, he felt that the danger level was actually rising.

A massive creature was slowly beginning to arise from within the vast, shattered foundation. Her body was unmistakeably massive, nearly a hundred thousand kilometers in size. This creature had the lower body of a centipede but the upper body of a humanoid female. The nagapede’s face was beautiful and her eyes were shut, and as the foundation and its barriers crumbled around her, the power within her body began to skyrocket.

She slowly opened her eyes. At first, there was a lost look in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced with endless malevolence. She opened her mouth, unleashing an earth-shaking roar of terrifying power that spread out in every direction.

The short creature within the cracked Daoguard Tower stared at the distant Ning, his eyes filled with madness. “Now that I’ve destroyed the Daoguard Tower and released the monster beneath it, I’ll die… but you will die as well. This entire region has been locked by three levels of dimensional walkway chains. You won’t be able to escape. You’ll have to fight… and if you do, you failed Daolord, you won’t be able to withstand her power. You’ll die in battle, and the glory shall go to me! Ahahah!”

BOOM! As the short creature laughed wildly, his body suddenly disintegrated as the shockwave from the nagapede’s earth-shaking roar washed past it, destroying even some of the weapons he was carrying before continuing to blast outwards.

Even Ning turned slightly pale when he saw this. As for the Paragon of Pills, she was completely terrified by this display of power. “Such power!”

“I didn’t expect that I would be so ‘lucky’ as to encounter something like this in my very first Daoguard Tower.” Ning had a solemn look on his face. He had learned many secrets from the Autarchs, and so he knew exactly what this creature which had been imprisoned beneath the Daoguard Tower was.

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Chapter 8 – The Nagapede

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 8 – The Nagapede

The shockwave from the roar blasted outwards from the vast creature, causing space itself to tremble and shudder.

This roar alone was capable of heavily injuring Hegemons, but it was still a bit weaker than Ji Ning’s Sword Dao Domain. Long before it even got close to Ning, it was blocked off by those endless streams of sword-light.

“What is this freak?” the Paragon of Pills asked.

“Many dangerous areas in the Sithelands have been sealed off, and some of those areas are places with Daoguard Towers,” Ning said. “Daoguard Towers vary in power; there’s obviously no way that a Hegemon’s Daoguard Tower would be as strong as an Exalt’s Daoguard Tower. This Daoguard Tower we ran into wasn’t all that strong; the owner definitely wasn’t a Sithe Exalt. However, all Daoguard Towers contain a multitude of attacks, ranging from long-distance strikes, traps to capture foes, close-range attacks, and a final kamikaze attack.”

“A kamikaze attack?” The Paragon of Pills was surprised.

“For example, this Daoguard Tower was used to suppress a creature known as a nagapede,” Ning said with a laugh. “Even back during the Dawn War, our side only encountered a total of nineteen such creatures. I didn’t expect to run into one of them today.”

It was quite rare for a Daoguard Tower to be hiding such a powerful creature beneath it, which was why Ning had mocked himself as being ‘lucky’.

The Autarchs and the cultivator civilizations all lived in a single enormous celestial entity known as their ‘Chaosverse’, while the Sithe hailed from a different Chaosverse. Chaosverses were the largest celestial bodies in the Infinite Void, but the Void did hold some other creatures within it as well. On the whole, these creatures were generally less intelligent than beings who lived within the Chaosverses, as only the vitality of a Chaosverse could give rise to truly perfect beings and the incredible figures who would become the Lords of Chaos.

The creatures who lived within the Infinite Void were somewhat inferior… but many of them were born with incredible strength! However, their low level of intelligence made it easy for them to be manipulated and made use of. The Autarchs had once slain two strange creatures who were comparable to Autarchs in power. Both of them came from the Infinite Void.

When the Sithe invaded Ning’s Chaosverse, they not only lost the benefit of having the Dao empower their strikes, they were also suppressed by the ‘foreign’ Chaosverse itself! This was why the local cultivators were able to make their invasion so difficult. But in the Infinite Void? There, they weren’t strengthened by the Dao but also weren’t suppressed. As a result, they were much more powerful and able to capture many of the strange beings which lived in the Void.

“This creature is fairly powerful. It is probably on par with Sithe Exalts,” Ning said.

“On par with Sithe Exalts? What are we supposed to do, then?” A look of worry appeared on the Paragon’s face.

“Leave it to me,” Ning said.

……

The titanic creature’s lower centipede-body slithered forward slightly, its giant head focused straight towards the area Ning was in. The Silver Goldhorns, Ning, and the Paragon of Pills were all there.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” the nagapede growled.

“Can you tell me your name?” Ning said, his voice transmitting directly into the ears of the creature.

The nagapede stared back at Ning with a savage, maddened look in her eyes. Suddenly, she let out a fierce howl and shot forwards, her centipede-like body scuttling forwards like a crawling streak of light that shot straight towards Ning.

“Yet another one which has been driven mad. Many of these creatures caught by the Sithe end up being driven mad by them.” Ning shook his head. These powerful creatures weren’t very intelligent, but they were at least comparable to ordinary mortal adults. This one, however, was more like a madman.

Whoosh! She scuttled forwards at incredible speeds. Ning and the Paragon of Pills were far away, with countless streams of sword-light barring the nagapede’s path towards them. Thus, she turned her attention towards the Silver Goldhorns.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” She flew next to the nearest Silver Goldhorn, then reached out towards it. Her giant alabaster fingers took a firm grip over the Silver Goldhorn, which howled and struggled fiercely. Alas, it was like a toy that had been firmly gripped by a pair of alabaster pincers. The nagapede clenched her fingers, causing cracks to appear throughout the surface of the Silver Goldhorn’s body.

Clack! Clack! Clack! BOOM! The Silver Goldhorn was crushed to death!

Ning raised an eyebrow when he saw this. “She’s strong.” The Sithe had brought only the most terrifyingly powerful creatures they had found and enslaved in the Infinite Void outside the Chaosverse. Every single one of these creatures possessed absolutely apocalyptic levels of power. Judging from the clench, this nagapede was clearly much stronger than even the Flamewing God. She might be able to rival even the Sithe Exalts!

“Kill! Kill!” She continued to growl this single word as she reached out once more, her fingers moving like a blur to latch onto yet another Silver Goldhorn. Her long, slender white fingers once more clenched tightly, shattering that second Silver Goldhorn.

She was going to kill and destroy everything she saw. By now, she no longer had any clarity of mind; she had gone completely mad. In fact, she had been driven mad and transformed into a creature that only lived for murder even before she had been sealed away by the Daoguard Tower.

“Poor woman.” Ning watched silently from afar as he continued to use his sword-light to keep the Silver Goldhorns at bay.

Time flowed on. Some of the Silver Goldhorns began to flee, but the Sword Dao Domain gave them nowhere to run. Ning drove each and every one of them towards the nagapede, which crushed all of them! There was no point in him subduing and collecting them, after all, as to this very day the cultivators were still unable to find a method for controlling the Silver Goldhorns.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! One of the stone pythons was captured by the nagapede, which latched onto it with both hands and tugged at it fiercely to no avail. The nagapede then lowered her head to bite the stone python. CRUNCH! This time, the stone python was broken into two halves.

After roughly the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, all of the Silver Goldhorns and both of the stone pythons had been slain by the titanic nagapede. As for Ning, thus far he had merely maintained his Sword Dao Domain without actually exchanging blows against the creature.

“Kill!” The nagapede focused her full attention upon the distant Ning and the Paragon of Pills. They were the only living creatures left in the region.

“Mistress, please enter my estate-world for a short while,” Ning said.

The Paragon knew that she couldn’t afford to be a distraction to Ning. She immediately said, “Be careful.” This was definitely the most terrifying creature she had ever seen. She had thought that the Silver Goldhorns were tough, but this giant ‘nagapede’ had crushed them like bugs.

“Don’t worry.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the Paragon into his estate-world.

“Kill! KILL! KILL!!!” the titanic nagapede howled, charging towards Ning. There was simply no way for the Sword Dao Domain to hold her back.

Clang! Ning drew a Northbow sword, then murmured softly to himself, “I hope I’m lucky enough to be able to get rid of her within three strikes.”

The giant nagapede scuttled forwards towards Ning, emanating an aura of earth-shaking power that was far more baleful than even the Blazesun Ruler’s. In the Infinite Void outside the Chaosverses, she had annihilated an entire celestial body in just this manner. She definitely stood at the very apex of power amongst the creatures that resided in the Infinite Void, but upon being captured she had been converted into an insane beast that lived for slaughter.

Unfortunately for Ning, being in this Chaosverse hadn’t lessened her power at all! This was because her power came from her own body, rather than the power of the Dao. As a result, there was virtually no difference in power between when she was in the Infinite Void and when she was in a Chaosverse.

Swoosh! A streak of dazzling golden sword-light appeared, swiping forwards in a completely unblockable manner. It pierced straight into the titanic nagapede’s body, which was unable to impede it despite being extremely tough.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Sword-light appeared a total of six times inside of her body. Finally, she trembled and her eyes turned dim. Her gigantic body quickly began to shrink as it came to a halt in midair. A streak of light flew out from the injury to her chest. It was Ning, Northbow sword in hand.

“I had to attack a total of six times before I was able to land a fatal blow.” Clink! Ning resheathed the Northbow sword back into the scabbard.

“Every part of this creature is an absolute treasure and has many uses.” Ning waved his hand, pulling the giant body of the nagapede into his estate-world. Next, he released Azurefiend and the Paragon of Pills.

“Darknorth, just now I believe I saw the nagapede’s corpse appear within your estate-world.” The Paragon of Pills had a look of surprise and delight on her face when she appeared. She immediately inspected Ning carefully. “You disposed of it quite quickly. It seems you truly have reached an unfathomable level of power.”

“Long ago, the Autarchs informed me of the weak spots these creatures possess. That made it much easier for me to deal with this one,” Ning said. Only a fool would’ve engaged the creature in a ‘proper’ battle. These creatures all had weak spots inside their bodies, but their outer shells were so tough that only Ning and the Autarchs were able to dispose of them with ease.

The short creature who had been in control of the Daoguard Tower had hoped that the powerful creature would be able to exhaust Ning and cause his death in such a manner. In truth, he couldn’t be blamed for this belief. Amongst the Sithe, he was a low status servant who had never before encountered a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge yet was in control of an Eternal Omega Dao. He was operating on guesswork when he believed that the nagapede would be able to exhaust Ning, and indeed if Ning knew nothing at all about the nagapede then she really would’ve proven to be rather troublesome. The nagapede had been the short creature’s only hope of dealing with Darknorth… but it had fallen far short.

“Darknorth, is it time to rescue Annihilation?” the Paragon of Pills asked.

“Not just yet. Right now, it’ll be quite hard to break through those dimensions to rescue them,” Ning said. The sealed dimensions had been rearranged to form the Dimensional Hallway Chains, which were extremely difficult to break through. “These dimensions were all extremely stable because they drew power from the Daoguard Tower. Now that the Daoguard Tower has been destroyed, they will be like rivers which are running dry. They won’t be able to replenish any of the energy which they have used up. Eventually, they’ll transform back into ordinary space which can be torn through with ease.”

“Now… let’s go take a look at what’s inside the ruins of the Daoguard Tower.” As Ning spoke, he began to fly towards the shattered remnants of the toppled Daoguard Tower.

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Chapter 9 – Sweeping the Loot

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 9 – Sweeping the Loot

Ji Ning, the Paragon of Pills, and Azurefiend flew over together. All eight floors of the tower had already crumbled apart, with the shattered remnants of the tower forming a pile of rubble atop a foundation of dirt that hovered there in space.

“Darknorth, why is it that the Daoguard Tower crumbled without you even attacking it?” The Paragon of Pills was puzzled. “I distinctly remember that it collapsed on its own.”

“This Daoguard Tower wasn’t all that strong; I expect that its owner was just a Hegemon,” Ning said. “It would be too difficult for him to personally subdue a nagapede like that, and so he used the entire Daoguard Tower to keep it sealed and suppressed! So long as the tower was in good shape, the creature would be unable to break free… but once the tower began to crumble, the nagapede would appear and massacre everything around it.”

The Paragon of Pills nodded slowly.

“Now, if this was an Exalt’s Daoguard Tower, we really would’ve been in much more trouble.” Ning let out a sigh. “Still, we’re merely in the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. Almost all of the Daoguard Towers owned by Sithe Exalts are located in the heartland.”

“The Sithe heartland?” The Paragon said, “I’ve visited the Sithelands on many occasions. I could sense that spacetime was in a state of complete disorder and that there were many places that were unexplored.”

“Those places were never meant for cultivators to challenge,” Ning said. Very few knew the true details and secrets behind the Dawn War. The Paragon of Pills naturally didn’t know the secrets either. Yes, she had learned a few things thanks to her crazy, repeated adventures within the Sithelands, but the heartland was a place which not even the Autarchs would dare trespass lightly.

Rumble… as Ning flew towards the toppled tower, his Sword Dao Domain rippled outwards, brushing away the pieces of rubble as he closely inspected the remains of the tower.

“Now this is a fun little toy.” Ning removed a dark red globe which had been affixed to one of the top floor. This globe was the object which had unleashed that terrifying attack of light.

“Once it accumulates and stores enough energy, it can unleash an attack of incredible power.” Ning chuckled. “This is a decent Sithe weapon, Mistress. Azurefiend, help me search through the rubble. I want to sweep this place clean.”

“Heh heh, my pleasure! Master, perhaps you would be willing to bestow some of the treasures you are uninterested in upon me,” Azurefiend said, a look of utter shamelessness on his wizened old features.

“Depends on my mood.” Ning chuckled. He wasn’t just going to give this shameless old man what he wanted.

“I never encountered a Daoguard Tower before. In fact, I never even heard of it before you mentioned it.” The Paragon of Pills was filled with curiosity as well. The dangers she had experienced here, especially the terrifying nagapede, had all served to ensure that she understand that this site was very different from the other Sithe ruins she had visited in the past.

The previous ruins she had scoured had been unoccupied. This time, she ran into one with a controller. If it hadn’t been for Ning, she truly would’ve been doomed this time.

Boom! Bang! Rip! Ning, Azurefiend, and the Paragon of Pills happily dismantled the remainders of the Daoguard Tower, taking out all usable Sithe artifacts and even a few unusable ones.

……

Daoguard Towers were exclusively employed by extremely powerful Sithe, who placed many of their treasures inside the towers. Some of the weapons could even come together in incredibly powerful combinations.

During the previous battle, Ning hadn’t even entered the Daoguard tower. As a result, many of the powerful internal defenses hadn’t even been used! None of the external weapons were capable of killing Ning from a distance of a billion kilometers. At this distance, Ning was able to dodge with ease even the quickest of attacks. Otherverse Lords might not be able to dodge, but Ning was a different story.

“Not bad.”

“This one is decent.”

“Now this hammer is scary powerful.” Ning and the other two continued to loot the tower, with Azurefiend and the Paragon of Pills occasionally testing out the items they found.

The Paragon of Pills was fairly blasé, as she had adventured through the Sithelands many times and already owned multiple Sithe weapons. Azurefiend, however, didn’t own any Sithe weapons at all. Even the suppressive black chains were merely on loan from Ning, who had yet to actually ‘gift’ them.

After spending a full hour combing through the runes, the team completely looted the area clean. They even took many fragments which were completely unusable. They found a total of twenty-one usable Sithe weapons, and they all had different effects. Some were actually used to scry and scan.

“That is a lot of fine weapons,” Azurefiend said excitedly.

“We found so much treasure from this one site.” The Paragon of Pills was delighted as well.

Ning, however, was rather disappointed. “Is this it? This is much less than what I expected. We didn’t find a single major artifact at all.”

Realmslord Windgrace’s ‘Blacksun’, the castle that was used to defend the Three Realms, the city of Houwu in the Blazesun Domain, the Blazesun Ruler’s giant warship… all these counted as ‘major artifacts’. In contrast, the treasures which Ning had acquired after combing through the tower were all quite mediocre. There wasn’t even a single major artifact. All of the treasures combined were probably just barely on par with the Blacksun in value.

“This is already a good haul,” the Paragon of Pills said.

“No. According to the Autarchs’ records, even the most ordinary of Daoguard Towers would have more than this,” Ning said. “I suspected early on that the original owner of the Daoguard Tower had slipped away long ago. Now, I’m sure of it. The original owner must have taken the most valuable treasures out of the Daoguard Tower, leaving behind just the ones he was unable to physically remove from the tower itself.”

The Paragon of Pills cast a puzzled glance at the armor and items left behind by the deceased short creature. “Isn’t that dead Sithe the owner?”

“Probably not,” Ning said. “A mere roar from the nagapede was enough to transform him into dust. He probably wasn’t at the Hegemon level of power! Mistress, you might not know this, but amongst the Sithe only Hegemons can build Daoguard Towers. And, to be more precise, only an incredibly small fraction of Hegemons are qualified to do this.”

In the Sithe Chaosverse, weak Eternal Emperors were all permitted to build their own Daoguard towers… but here, they were invaders! They had invaded Ning’s Chaosverse, and their resources were extremely limited. Building Daoguard Towers was extremely difficult, and erecting a weak one was pointless. Thus, only the most supreme of Sithe Hegemons as well as the Sithe Exalts were permitted to build Daoguard Towers, which they used as focal points for massacring unsuspecting cultivators.

“Azurefiend, go and bind the estate-world that Sithe left behind. Let’s see if there are any interesting treasures inside of it,” Ning said.

“Right on.” Azurefiend excitedly flew over and began to bind the estate-world. Right now, he was on his absolute best behavior in front of Ning. This was partially due to Ning’s overwhelming power, partially to convince Ning to give him more pointers, and partially because he hoped that he might be lucky enough to receive a Sithe treasure reward from Ning.

“Whoah.” Azurefiend’s wizened old face suddenly twisted in shock, his eyes bulging out. “That is a LOT.”

“Wipe that freaky look off your face. What treasures does it hold?” Ning laughed.

“So all the treasures were hidden here! Master, take a look at all these treasures!” Azurefiend waved his hand, causing a series of treasures to appear and levitate in the air before them. Light shone from the Paragon of Pills’ eyes, and even the formerly-calm Ning revealed a look of shock.

Twenty… twenty-one… twenty-two… a total of twenty-nine treasures appeared before them. There were even TWO realmships in this cache!

“So all the good treasures were here.” The Paragon of Pills let out an amazed sigh, then turned to stare with shock at a gray spear that was covered with a fiery red floral pattern. “Isn’t that the Exterminatus Spear of the Almighty Seeker of Defeat?”

“The Exterminatus Spear?” Azurefiend was shocked as well. He stared intently at the spear, then said, “Paragon, are you sure? Is it possible that this is another, similar weapon?”

“There’s no way I’m wrong about this. When the Almighty Seeker of Defeat first acquired this spear, it didn’t have that red floral pattern on it. The Seeker added it later on. Supposedly, he put that fiery red floral pattern on every single weapon he used. The floral pattern probably had some sort of special meaning for him.” The Paragon of Pills shook her head. “He died long ago, and I heard he died in the Sithelands. I never would’ve thought that he actually died here.”

Ning nodded. “That explains it all. Most of these treasures were probably left behind by the cultivators who invaded this place over the course of many aeons. That short Sithe collected all of their treasures after killing them. I was wondering why there were TWO realmships in that estate-world. It seems that they came from slain cultivators.”

The Paragon of Pills let out a sigh.

“Mistress, take whatever you need,” Ning said with a laugh.

“To be honest, these are of no use to me.” The Paragon of Pills looked at Ning. “Darknorth, I think you know what I want above all else. As for these treasures? Even if I took all of them, they probably still wouldn’t be enough to convince an Autarch to help me out.”

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Chapter 10 – Space Sword Dao

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 10 – Space Sword Dao

“I have a request to make. I know it is a bit excessive, but I truly am out of options.” The Paragon of Pills looked at Ji Ning. “I have no choice but to shamelessly ask you to help me out, Darknorth. Please ask an Autarch to revive those three brothers of mine.”

The Paragon of Pills rarely begged others. She was, by nature, an extremely proud person. However, reviving her three brothers was virtually her entire reason for existence, something which she wanted above everything else. It was much like how Ning desperately wished to be able to revive his wife Yu Wei!

The Paragon of Pills had repeatedly risked her life in diving into the Sithe ruins, but she still wasn’t even close to having as much treasure as the Autarch had demanded for his aid. The Autarch had asked for a thousand realmships worth of treasure! This was an incredible request, so high as to cause her to feel despair. This was why she had become even more crazed in her pursuit of treasure.

Now, she was able to sense hope when she looked at Ning. She viewed Ning as she would a son, and in her heart she truly didn’t want to ask this of him. However, she really was out of options. Thus, she had ‘shamelessly’ begged him for help.

“Mistress.” Ning knew how the Paragon of Pills felt. He smiled. “Mistress, don’t worry. I’ll definitely go ask the Autarchs to help out. I can’t speak on their behalf, but I can say that there is a 90% chance they’ll agree.”

“90% chance?” The Paragon’s heart swelled with indescribable excitement. Even her face turned ruddy.

She had been waiting for far, far too long. For the sake of this goal, she had nearly driven herself insane. In pursuit of this goal, she had accomplished many things which were viewed as miracles. When she had first gained eternity, she was an ordinary Eternal Emperor, not a Hegemon… but she had managed to slowly train to the Hegemon level, then reach incredibly high levels of skill in many different Daos. All of this was for the sake of reviving her three brothers.

Ning smiled upon seeing this. The reason why he had said there was a 90% chance was merely because he hadn’t actually asked any of the Autarchs yet. In truth, Ning knew that the Autarchs were desperately looking for ways to help him out in order to express their gratitude. Bring something back to life? This was a fairly minor ask. So long as it was possible, the Autarchs would definitely agree!

“Once we leave the Sithelands, I’ll immediately ask the Autarchs to help out,” Ning said.

“Darknorth.” The Paragon of Pills’ entire aura seemed to have transformed. In the past, she was incomparably cold and remote… but now, a hint of lively fire seemed to course through her.

“Haha. Now, Mistress, can you go ahead and choose the treasures you want?” Ning said.

“I already have multiple Sithe weapons. A few more won’t make much of a difference,” the Paragon refused. She felt that she had already taken too much advantage of Ning. She couldn’t accept any further gifts.

Seeing this, Ning nodded. “Ah, but you don’t have a realmship yet, right?”

The Paragon blinked.

“Realmships make life much more convenient. Take this one.” Ning waved his hand, sending a realmship to float in front of the Paragon of Pills.

The Paragon of Pills no longer held back. She immediately said, “Fine, I’ll accept this.” She truly did feel as though destiny was a marvelous thing. When she had led Ning to the Trileaf Realm, he was just a child… and now, this child had completely changed her destiny.

“This suit of armor can be used to cover your entire body. It is highly defensive, but it’ll also increase your attack power dramatically. It’s quite multifunctional. With this by your side, you should be able to survive even an enraged Otherverse Lord.” Ning waved his hand, choosing a heavy suit of coppery red armor and sending it over to Azurefiend.

Azurefiend was rather stunned. He truly did badly desire a Sithe treasure, but he himself felt that he had done too little for Ning to warrant one yet. He felt a bit embarrassed to be given one.

“Master, I’ll accept it.” Azurefiend had a solemn look on his face. “I’ve been alive for so many years, but I never had a Sithe weapon to call my own. I, Azurefiend, shall never forget your benevolence, Master.”

In his heart, Azurefiend silently decided that although his master would one day perish, he would continue to safeguard his master’s family and friends.

“It is just a toy to me. No need to get too emotional.” Ning waved his hand, collecting all of the other treasures. He didn’t really care about them, because his original plan had been to wait until the later stages of his truesoul’s disintegration before doing a bit of adventuring in the Sithelands. Since he was already here, he was going to continue wandering through the Sithelands after asking the Autarchs to revive the Paragon of Pills’ three brothers.

In other words, he would have plenty more treasures coming his way! Hegemons might have to risk their lives to acquire Sithe treasures, but Ning was able to acquire them with ease.

……

After fully looting the Daoguard Tower, Ning turned to stare at the many dimensional hallways barring their path. “These dimensional hallways have been completely sealed off. For now, there’s no way out. If I used all my power, it would take me ten or twenty sword-strikes to carve a path open for us, but it really isn’t worth it. Now that the Daoguard Tower has been destroyed, they no longer have a power source and will quickly use up the little energy they have.”

Rumble… his awesome Sword Dao Domain descended and began to furiously smash against the distant dimensional hallways. The criss-crossing hallways were able to endure the assault, but flickers of light began to appear on their surfaces. Clearly, they were using up a great deal of power to resist.

“Master, how long will it take?” Azurefiend asked curiously.

“How should I know?” Ning laughed. “Less than a chaos cycle.”

Ning was able to keep his Sword Dao Domain continuously activated. It drew from the power of the Chaosverse itself; not one iota of Ning’s own energies were consumed. It would last for as long as he wanted it to last! While doing so, Ning began a period of silent meditation and cultivation, as did the Paragon of Pills and Azurefiend.

Time flowed on, one year after another. The dimensional hallways continued to hold firm; clearly, they had been infused with quite a bit of power. Over eight million years went by in the blink of an eye.

Rumble… a ripple suddenly spread out with Ning at its center. The Paragon of Pills and Azurefiend were seated in the lotus position atop boulders within the tower ruins, and they both opened their eyes as the ripple washed past them. They both felt a thrill of fear go down their spine, and both sighed at how incredible Darknorth was! One was Ning’s retainer, while the other was essentially one of Ning’s teachers, but both marveled at how unfathomably powerful he had become.

At their level, they couldn’t even truly understand how terrifying Ning’s Sword Dao was. Just the tiniest bit of leakage from its aura was enough to cause them to feel fear. When that invisible ripple washed past them, they felt as though invisible blades were slicing at their bodies.

“The Space Sword Dao.” Ning opened his eyes, then reached out with his hand. Whoosh! An ethereal sword appeared above the palm of his hand, emanating ripples of dimensional power.

Prior to coming here, Ning had spent three thousand chaos cycles wandering the Chaosverse with his daughter and had nearly finished infusing his Dao of Space into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao. After seeing the dimensional hallways, he gained new insights into the Dao of Space. This sped up the infusion process, allowing him to break through and master his Space Sword Dao.

The Space Sword Dao was highly suited for dimensional travel, allowing him to tear through space like it was nothing more than tofu.

From this day forth, the amount of distance he could travel when he used his sword to tear through space would skyrocket. The Autarch of Annihilation, ‘Autarch Ekong’, was not particularly skilled in the Dao of Space, and so he wouldn’t be able to travel as far or as fast as Ning!

Ning had reached the Hegemonic level in the Dao of Space long ago, after all. Now, he had infused it all into his Sword Dao and formed the Space Sword Dao.

“Mastering the Space Sword Dao clearly took much more time than the Lightning Sword Dao or the Five Elements Sword Dao.” Ning shook his head to himself. “But the further down this road I go, the more time will be needed. I just don’t have enough time.”

With each improvement, Ning could sense that his foundation was broadening and that he was getting slightly closer to success. Ning felt certain that if he had enough time, he had a very good chance of reaching the ultimate pinnacle via this route.

……

Another half-million years went by after Ning mastered the Space Sword Dao.

Finally… Crack! Crack! Crack! The dimensional hallways that had been for many years just barely able to endure Ning’s sword-light finally began to twist, shudder, and crack.

Looks of delight appeared on the faces of Ning, Azurefiend, and the Paragon of Pills.

“Haha, we’ve finally broken through!” Azurefiend grinned. “I thought that we’d actually spend an entire chaos cycle here.”

“I’m impressed it managed to last as long as it did. I kept my Sword Dao Domain active this entire time, assaulting them without pause, but they still managed to last for many years. Honestly, if I used the brute-force method, I don’t think twenty blows of the sword would’ve been enough. I probably would’ve had to kill myself,” Ning said with a laugh. As he spoke, some of the dimensional hallways began to completely break apart and collapse.

Countless dimensional hallways began to break apart and crumble. The Dimensional Hallway Lock was an extremely complicated technique which not even Ning could solve, despite his mastery of the Space Sword Dao… but now that its energies had been exhausted, it was still going to crumble.

Soon, all of the dimensional hallways vanished without a trace, leaving behind just a few pocket dimensions which hovered in the skies like lonely little islands.

Thanks to the karmic lines tying them together, Ning knew exactly which pocket dimension Lord Annihilation was in.

“Let’s see what the other dimensions hold,” Ning said with a laugh. With but a thought, he sent out countless streams of sword-light to surround and assault the hundreds of pocket dimensions, piercing through them to reveal what lay within.

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Chapter 11 – Tamed

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 11 – Tamed

Ji Ning, the Paragon of Pills, and Azurefiend all stared at the pocket dimensions as the streaks of sword-light pierced through them. They instantly saw that two of them held the two companions of the Paragon. One held Lord Annihilation, whose eyes were filled with murderous bloodlust. The other was filled with a gray-robed woman who had silvery hair.

Lord Annihilation raised his head to stare at the outside world, a murderous look in his eyes. The gray-robed woman turned to stare at Ning as well.

“Annihilation!” the Paragon of Pills barked coldly. “Wake up!”

Lord Annihilation’s gaze slowly returned to his normal calm. Swoosh! Swoosh! Both he and the gray-robed woman immediately flew out of their pocket dimensions.

“Thank you, Paragon of Pills. Thank you, Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Annihilation had a delighted look on his face and behaved with tremendous respect.

“What was going on just now?” Ning was rather surprised.

“Annihilation was being constantly assaulted by illusions. Every so often, he’d be drawn into a berserk state,” the Paragon said. “However, each time he would eventually regain his clarity of mind after giving vent to his rage.”

Lord Annihilation said in a rather embarrassed manner, “But the amount of time I was able to remain clear-minded was slowly shrinking. If I was trapped for a few hundred more chaos cycles, I probably would’ve completely lost myself to the madness. I only escaped that fate because you saved me, Daolord Darknorth.”

Ning continued to keep his Sword Dao Domain active, using it to scan through the secrets of that dimensional pocket. He couldn’t help but secretly sigh in amazement at what he found. The illusions had been set up in a truly intricate and marvelous way which would allow them to silently and soundlessly penetrate a prisoner’s defenses, then affect his mind. However, Ning suspected that many of the formations in this Daoguard Tower had not been personally set down by the master of the tower.

The Sithe had major powers who specialized in formations or artificing. They would mass produce these things, then auction them off. The ‘Dimensional Hallway Lock’, for example, was something which only a Sithe Exalt could create.

“Tia greets you, Daolord Darknorth.” The silvery-haired gray-robed woman flew over and bowed respectfully.

Ning knew that this woman was viewed by many as being just as ‘crazy’ as the Paragon of Pills. She often went adventuring in the Sithelands. However, she was different from the Paragon, who was more distant and cold. Hegemon Tia was calm and tranquil, as though nothing could cause a stir in her soul. She was someone who would react calmly to anything and everything. Even if she herself was about to die, she would respond with this calm equanimity.

“Master, look over there.” Azurefiend pointed towards a distant pocket dimension.

Ning, the Paragon, Tia, and Lord Annihilation all turned to look. This was a dimension filled with black mist. Inside, there was a towering mountain that had a beautiful palace located at the very peak. There were even a few servants in front of the palace.

“It seems rather lavish. I imagine that’s where the Sithe normally resided,” Ning said. “Come, let’s go take a look.” Ning’s group quickly flew through the air towards that floating pocket dimension.

The palace was quite beautiful. Some servants were busy keeping it clean, while others were standing watch. As soon as Ning’s group landed, they all bowed respectfully and called out: “Masters.” All of them, however, seemed rather puzzled.

“They are all Daolords.” The Paragon of Pills was rather startled. She asked, “You’ve never met any of us. Why do you call us ‘Masters’?”

The servants exchanged glances, rather nervous. The Paragon of Pills frowned. “You were able to become Daolords. How is it that you are this spineless?” She pointed at the old Daolord who seemed to be the most powerful. “You. Answer my question.”

The old man said respectfully, “Everyone who comes here is a ‘Master’. We are eternal servants.”

Ning stared intently at them, scrying the pasts of these servants. These Daolords all felt rather terrified when they saw Ning staring at them like this. They felt as though this white-robed Daolord was able to completely see through them. This sensation caused their hearts to quiver.

“They all used to live within the estate-world.” Ning sighed. “Afterwards, they were chosen by the Sithe to come here and serve. All of them have been trained to be incredibly obedient.”

“Since when were Daolords so easily tamed?” Azurefiend was rather surprised. Most Samsara Daolords would rather die than submit.

“Not just Daolords. Even Hegemons have been tamed.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. When he scried the pasts of these Daolords, he was also able to see some other information regarding this palace.

“All of you, come out!” Ning barked, sending out his Sword Dao Domain to press down upon every inch of the palace. The formerly-quiet palace suddenly changed, with five figures flying out of it like streaks of light. All of them had awesome auras of power. They were all either Hegemons or Otherverse Lords, and their eyes were completely dead and devoid of all emotion.

“This is Master’s estate. How dare you trespass here?” The five figures were filled with malevolence.

“Are you… Lord Starbearer?” The Paragon of Pills was able to recognize one of the Otherverse Lords.

“Brother Skypillar?” Hegemon Azurefiend called out in shock, “Y-you… do you recognize me?”

“Azurefiend?” A red-haired man replied coldly, “Of course I recognize you. However, this is my master’s territory. Now that you have come here, you must die.”

“Kill!” All five figures quickly charged forwards, seeking to slay Ning and the others.

“Freeze!” Ning commanded softly. Instantly, four of the five charging figures were completely paralyzed by the suppressive might of Ning’s Sword Dao Domain. Only the Otherverse Lord who the Paragon had called ‘Lord Starbearer’ was able to continue his charge towards Ning, thanks to his entire body being covered by the power of his otherverse. However, Ning was able to send out incredibly powerful blows of sword-light to keep him at bay with ease.

“Azurefiend, chain him down,” Ning commanded.

“Yes, Master!” Azurefiend had been patiently waiting for a good opportunity. When he saw Ning knock down Lord Starbearer with a streak of sword-light, Azurefiend immediately attacked with all six black chains. He quickly bound Lord Starbearer in layers of chains, ensuring that he was no longer able to move at all.

“Brother Skypillar, what’s wrong with you? We journeyed together and adventured together. Have you forgotten?” Hegemon Azurefiend couldn’t believe that this good friend of his would attack him. He had wandered through many places, and Hegemon Skypillar was someone he counted amongst his life-and-death friends.

“All who offend Master must die!” the bound Hegemon Skypillar said through clenched teeth, a frenzied look on his face. As for the others… their eyes remained completely dead, but they also had berserk looks on their faces. They truly wanted to kill Ning and his team.

Ning suddenly understood what was going on. He let out a sigh. “Although they kept their memories, they’ve already lost their sense of self. They’ve been tamed and transformed into a type of special Sithe golem.”

“Golem?” The Paragon of Pills and the others didn’t understand.

“Their bodies were unchanged and they kept all their powers and memories… but they’ve completely lost their id, their ego, their sense of self. They are like golems in that they will simply do whatever their master commands. They will obey any order their master gives them,” Ning explained. “They might be ‘alive’, but in reality they are like golems. Those two stone pythons who attacked me earlier were also living creatures who were transformed into golems.”

Most golems were created via magic treasures. The Sithe, however… they were able to convert living beings into golems.

“For all intents and purposes, they died long ago.” Ning looked at the five powerful cultivators, sighing at the savage, murderous look on their faces. “Let us grant them rest at long last.”

Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash.

All five were ground to dust by Ning’s sword-light. Even Lord Starbearer was slain, due to the black chains suppressing his power and preventing him from fighting back.

A look of heart-ache and grief was on Azurefiend’s old face.

“Hegemons and Otherverse Lords can be transformed into golems?” The Paragon of Pills shook her head.

“It is extremely difficult to convert powerful creatures into golems, and the stronger their Dao-heart is the better. For these five to have been converted is a sign that their Dao-hearts simply weren’t strong enough. In addition, the conversion process requires an extremely long period of time. The process has to be slow and gradual, without the cultivators even noticing anything. If the cultivators knew that their terrifying fate was to be transformed into golems, they would probably commit suicide instead. That’s why the process has to be gradual; not the slightest bit of haste is acceptable! By the time the cultivator realizes what has happened, it is already too late,” Ning said. This was part of the information which the Autarchs had provided to him.

Lord Annihilation was greatly shocked by this. “Then when I was being repeatedly assaulted by those illusions… was that part of the taming and transforming process?”

“Most likely, yes.” Ning nodded.

“I could sense some charming spells aimed at me in my pocket dimension as well,” the Paragon of Pills said. “But I just stayed there without daring to move anywhere. It didn’t seem to affect me much.”

“Given how strong your Dao-heart is, Mistress, there is no way the Sithe would’ve been able to convert you.” Ning glanced at the palace. “I can sense that this palace holds quite a few prisoners inside. Almost all of them are Daolords who refused to obey orders, which is why they were imprisoned and tortured by that short Sithe. I can also sense that a Hegemon has been imprisoned there as well. Most likely, the taming process failed with him.”

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Chapter 12 – Grand Dimensional Formation

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 12 – Grand Dimensional Formation

Ji Ning waved a finger from afar. Rumble… Ning’s Sword Dao Domain actually forcibly excavated the entire prison beneath the palace, causing it fly outwards before settling upon the ground with a boom. The prison cages all shattered apart, revealing the imprisoned Daolords who were inside, all of whom looked to be in terrible shape.

The largest cell had been used to imprison a black-haired man who had a single horn on his head. His hair was tousled, and his entire body was covered with a spiderweb of countless scars.

The black-haired man raised his head and stared towards Ning. His gaze was cold and resolute, as though nothing could shake his will at all.

“Eh?” A puzzled look appeared in his eyes. “The Paragon of Pills? Hegemon Tia?” the black-haired man said in a low, hoarse voice. He recognized these two ‘madwomen’ who often visited the Sithelands.

“Brother Flameleft?” Hegemon Tia was startled.

“Flameleft, you are still alive?!” The Paragon of Pills was shocked as well.

Ning glanced at the mechanisms and barriers used to chain the black-haired man. He immediately sent out streaks of sword-light that quickly shattered them to bits. With those barriers gone, Hegemon Flameleft regained his power and the wounds on his body quickly vanished. Black robes appeared over his body, and he turned to stare at Ning in a rather puzzled manner.

He could sense that this white-robed Daolord in front of him was incredibly terrifying; the sword-light the Daolord had created was capable of slaying him with ease. And yet, the man was clearly just a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge!

“Hegemon Flameleft, this is Daolord Darknorth,” Lord Annihilation said hurriedly. “We all owe our very lives to Daolord Darknorth. He is so strong that he treats with Autarchs as equals; not even the Sithe Exalts can compare to him in power.”

Hegemon Flameleft instantly realized just how incredibly powerful Daolord Darknorth was.

“Flameleft thanks you, Daolord, for saving my life.” Hegemon Flameleft hurriedly bowed respectfully, a grateful look in his eyes. “Flameleft shall never forget the grace you have shown me today.”

No one would ever know how much torment and misery he had suffered. On multiple occasions, he had very nearly broken down. All the others who had been captured had committed suicide early on. Those who didn’t commit suicide in time would see their divine power and Immortal energy sealed away, making future suicide impossible! They were imprisoned and suffered countless torments that were truly indescribable.

Suicide was no longer an option, and they had only two options before them. The first was to submit and become a puppet. The second was to continue resisting. In the end, the only one who managed to continue resisting was Flameleft.

The Autarchs who had seen this in the past actually drew from it, using it as an inspiration for their idea of torturing Sithe Exalts in the hopes that they would finally give up and allow their truesouls and souls to be infiltrated. That way, once the Sithe Exalts died, their truesoul fragments would be absorbed and swallowed by Ning’s Chaosverse.

The Sithe Exalts had nearly been driven mad from the torture, but they clearly were still capable of enduring it.

……

“Flameleft, were any of your weapons stolen by the Sithe? I already killed the Sithe who ran this place and have all of his treasures,” Ning said. He felt a great deal of admiration for Hegemon Flameleft; the man had been able to endure for so very long, even though there was no visible hope whatsoever! This was no easy feat.

“I didn’t have many powerful weapons,” Hegemon Flameleft said. “The only good weapon I had was that axe I always used.”

Ning immediately waved his hand, causing a series of axes to appear before him. There were six in total, and one of them voluntarily flew over to Hegemon Flameleft. Hegemon Flameleft excitedly grasped the axe. The axe itself was shivering!

“It wasn’t easy for you to stay alive,” Ning said with a laugh. “Stay safe and avoid the Sithelands unless you have a compelling reason to be here.”

“Understood.” Hegemon Flameleft was the type of person who always repaid his debts to others. Ning had saved his life, and so he privately swore that he would definitely do everything he could to repay Ning.

“This bracelet is an interesting Sithe trinket. It won’t make you much stronger, but it’ll be useful to you whenever you need to flee.” Ning waved his hand, tossing out a Sithe bracelet. “Don’t be shy and just take it. I feel quite a bit of admiration for you, to tell you the truth.”

Hegemon Flameleft hesitated slightly.

“Brother Flameleft, just accept it,” Hegemon Tia said, as did the Paragon of Pills. Both of them knew that Daolord Darknorth had completely surpassed all other cultivators and was virtually a peer of the Autarchs. Most Sithe artifacts were truly useless to him, while the Three Realms only needed some of the more important ones.

Besides… if Ning really did need Sithe weapons, he could go to any of the ruins and acquire a mountain of them.

“Thank you, Daolord.” Flameleft wasn’t the wishy-washy type, and so he offered a simple thanks while firmly engraving Ning’s kindness into his heart.

“It’s time for us to leave.” Ning glanced at the surrounding area. Daoguard Towers were absolute nightmares for other cultivators, but they wouldn’t be that bad for him if it wasn’t for the fact that his truesoul was constantly crumbling. He had been forced to attack several times here, resulting in his lifespan lessening by quite a bit.

Whoosh. Ning and the others immediately soared into the skies, flying into the endless black mist outside the lonely dimensional islands. After flying for a short period of time, they flew out of it and reached the empty void outside of it.

Ding!

An extremely pleasing sound suddenly spread out from very away in spacetime. Ning’s face hardened slightly as he swept the area with his gaze. Ever since he had mastered the Space Sword Dao, his attunement towards space had become extremely acute. He saw that far off in the distant, there was a total of nine ‘corners’ which held enormous hidden regions within them. Now, all nine corners had suddenly begun to emanate dazzling light.

“What’s wrong, Darknorth?” The Paragon of Pills, Azurefiend, and the others were all puzzled.

“Let’s get out of here right away!” Just as the words were leaving Ning’s lips, space began to twist around them.

Whoosh! The nine distant ‘specks’ of light resonated together to generate a grand dimensional formation that instantly swept across the region Ning was in, forming a black hole that sucked all of them inside.

A heartbeat leater, everything grew calm again. Aside from the fact that Ning’s group had just vanished, everything seemed completely ordinary and unpertubed.

……

Ning’s group reappeared within a blurry region filled by clouds and mist.

“Where are we?” the Paragon of Pills said as they all scanned the region.

“My godsense has been suppressed. I’m unable to see anything at all,” Lord Annihilation said hurriedly.

Ning scanned the area silently. His face was even more solemn than it had been during their battles at the Daoguard Tower.

“What a terrifying formation, and what a terrifying level of mastery over the Dao of Space!” Ning murmured softly. Just now, he had been able to witness with great clarity how they had been forcibly teleported into this place. Those nine incomparably distant and vast dimensions had joined together into an enormous formation of dazzling profundity. This was a level of mastery over space which left Ning breathless. Nobody in their entire Chaosverse was capable of such a thing!

“Darknorth, where are we?” the Paragon of Pills asked.

“Still in Sithe territory,” Ning said heavily. “But this place is probably a hundred times deadlier than the Daoguard Tower we were in.” Although they had arrived just a short while ago, the hints which Ning saw allowed him to quickly understand how dangerous a situation they were in.

“Autarch Titanos. Autarch Ekong…” Ning immediately began to reach out through the message-talismans to all six Autarchs.

“Darknorth.”

“What’s wrong, Darknorth?”

The Autarchs scattered throughout the Chaosverse all immediately responded to Ning, including Autarch Mogg who was responsible for standing watch over the Sithelands. This was the very first time Ning had ever used the message-talisman to contact them.

“There is something I need some assistance with,” Ning sent through the talisman. “I am in the Sithelands and broke through a Daoguard Tower to save some cultivators, but just as I was about to leave I was forcibly teleported elsewhere by a formation of incredible power. This formation was established by linking together nine enormous dimensions and was incredibly complex; I believe it has surpassed the limits of what cultivators in our Chaosverse can accomplish. My companions and I are now trapped here, and we are afraid to recklessly move around.”

“Darknorth, stay right where you are.”

“Stay there and don’t move.” The Autarchs quickly began to send their replies. In dangerous places, the more you moved around the quicker you would die.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. I could sense danger as soon as I arrived. If I tried to escape on my own, I’d probably end up dying here. I don’t really care about my own life, as my truesoul is already breaking down, but someone extremely important to me is here as well as a few other cultivators,” Ning sent. He truly didn’t wish for the Paragon of Pills to die.

“Our avatars are all standing watch over the Sithelands,” Autarch Titanos said. “I’ll have my avatar meet up with Mogg’s and we’ll work together on this.”

Autarchs had incredibly powerful avatars, as they were generally outfitted with many mighty weapons. Most Autarch avatars had nearly 80% of the true body’s power!

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Chapter 13 – The Hidden Dimension

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 13 – The Hidden Dimension

Although the Sithe heartlands had been completely sealed off, they continued to represent a disaster waiting to happen to the cultivator civilizations! Thus, Autarch Mogg stood watch over this place in future, as did his avatar and the avatars of all five other Autarchs.

Riiiip! Space twisted, resulting in a dazzling tunnel of light appearing. Two figures emerged shoulder-to-shoulder from this tunnel of light, with one being the bald red-robed avatar of Autarch Titanos, and the other being a Tall, skinny, azure-robed man who had some scales on his cheeks. The second man was Autarch Mogg, and his eyes were flecked with azure light.

The two stepped out of the tunnel of light and entered normal space. “Darknorth, we’ve already arrived. Let Mogg and I investigate this place first.” Autarch Titanos glanced at the distant region, filled with a billowing black fog which surrounded many pocket dimensions that floated in the air. This was the place where the Paragon of Pills had been trapped previously.

“Alright.” Ji Ning waited from the separate dimension he had been teleported two. Now that the two Autarchs had arrived, he felt a sense of hope.

The reason these two had arrived was because of the specific Daos they followed. Autarch Mogg walked the path of the Space Daobirth Essence and was the Autarch with the greatest amount of control over space. This was why he was responsible for standing guard over the Sithelands; if anything happened, he would be able to sense it thanks to his dimensional mastery.

As for Autarch Titanos, his path was that of the Karma Daobirth Essence, an even more incredible Dao! He had met Ning twice, and as a result the two were connected by karma. It was possible that he would be able to sense Ning’s location thanks to the karma which bound them together.

The avatars of Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos scanned the area vigilantly. “Mogg, what do you think?” Autarch Titanos asked.

“Wait a moment,” Autarch Titanos said, his azure eyes scanning the void around them. Although the grand dimensional formation was now dormant, there were still some traces of its previous activation which allowed Autarch Mogg to calculate some of the secrets behind it.

Space trembled and rippled before his gaze. Suddenly, he stared off into the distance, then turned to look at several other locations as well. Frowning, he said, “Darknorth was right. This formation was activated from nine separate locations, each of which is incredibly far away. This formation is marvelously intricate, and its usage of dimensional mastery far surpasses my own.”

“I cannot find the dimension Darknorth and his team have been teleported to.” Autarch Mogg shook his head. “What about you, Titanos?”

“Darknorth’s too far away. I can’t find him via just karma alone.” Autarch Titanos frowned as well.

……

Clouds lazily drifted nearby. Ning’s group remained atop the clouds, not daring to move about rashly.

“Darknorth, we’re unable to find the exact place you have been trapped,” Autarch Titanos replied. “Our only option is to have your Primaltwin come over here as well. Your Primaltwin should be able to sense your true body, allowing it to find you.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“Mogg will head straight to the Flamedragon Realmverse and bring your Primaltwin over here,” Autarch Titanos stated. “The place you have been imprisoned is most likely an extremely important Sithe nexus point. Given that we didn’t even know it existed, it has to be an incredibly dangerous place to be in. Don’t move about rashly; just stay there and wait for us.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not so rash as to run around wildly,” Ning sent back. The two sides then broke off the connection.

Ning was starting to feel rather grim. Autarch Titanos was skilled in karma, while Autarch Mogg was skilled in space, yet neither was able to locate him. This meant the formation which teleported him here was truly incredible!

“How did it go, Darknorth?” The Paragon of Pills looked at Ning.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. We’ll wait right here. The Autarchs are already on their way, but the place we’re in is fairly stable. It’ll probably take them a bit of time,” Ning said.

Hegemon Tia, Hegemon Flameleft, and the others were all secretly astonished. Daolord Darknorth truly was incredible; as soon as he was trapped here, Autarchs hastened over to help him out. The words ‘the Autarchs are already on their way’ clearly indicated that more than one Autarch had come. Since when were Autarchs so amenable to helping out ordinary cultivators?!

“Why did the Sithe establish this secret location?” Nign glanced at the surrounding area. Thanks to his incredible insight, he was able to vaguely see a vast sea off in the distance. He was quite curious as to what this realm contained, but he knew that if he indulged it too much it would be the death of him. He couldn’t be rash; it was best to wait for the Autarchs to come.

……

It took Autarch Mogg a mere month to find Ning’s black-robed Primaltwin, then bring it all the way over to the Sithelands.

The black-robed Primaltwin Ning was currently standing next to Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos in the air.

“My true body and the other cultivators were teleported away from that location right there.” The black-robed Ning pointed to an area of space, then pointed towards nine different directions. “The nine different sources of that dimensional formation came from those nine directions. All of them were located extremely far away.”

“That’s exactly what I sensed as well.” Autarch Mogg nodded. He had been in a rather contemplative state ever since he had discovered the dimensional formation. Clearly, he had been pondering over this formation.

“Darknorth, where is your true body?” Autarch Titanos asked.

“I can sense its location.” Ning noded. “I’d like to ask you to help me lead the way, Autarch Mogg.”

Autarch Mogg led the way in carving through space, while Ning’s Primaltwin guided him in his path. After spending the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, they had traversed the equivalent of five or six realmverses.

“Halt!”

They had reached a region of empty darkness which held nothing at all. The black-robed Ning stood there in the void, slowly moving forwards and warping through ten billion kilometers of space with each step he took.

Forward. Back. Up. Down. Ning seemed to be walking in circles, while the avatars of Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos watched from afar.

“Now that’s odd.” The black-robed Ning scanned the area. “Autarch Mogg, Autarch Titanos, I can clearly sense that my true body is within a hundred billion kilometers of us! And yet, I’ve discovered that no matter where I go, I cannot move any closer to it. Just now, I even tried to enter other dimensional continuums but still remained unable to move closer to my true body.”

“A hundred billion kilometers?” Autarch Titanos glanced at Autarch Mogg. “Mogg, what do you think?”

A hundred billion kilometers was a very short amount of distance to figures like Autarchs and Ning; a single step through spacetime was more than enough to traverse such a distance. And yet, Ning’s Primaltwin was able to sense his true body’s location but was completely unable to move any closer to it.

“There is an enormous hidden dimension here.” Autarch Mogg scanned the area, his eyes shooting out rays of blurry azure light which caused space to twist and distort. He said calmly, “This gigantic dimension is extremely well-made and perfectly separated from the outside world. No matter what you try, you wno’t be able to move a single step closer to this dimension.”

It was similar to mortals walking on Ning’s old world of ‘Earth’. No matter how much time they spent walking on Earth’s surface, they would never be able to move any closer to Earth’s core. By the same principle, Ning was completely unable to move closer to this hidden region.

“It is absolutely perfect. Although I can vaguely sense that it is here, I can’t find any flaws in its creation at all which would allow me to lock onto it,” Autarch Mogg said. “If the teleportation formation was to activate again and bring another outsider here, I would be able to detect its location during the teleportation process and then open a dimensional tunnel to it. Right now, though, it is completely hidden and sealed away from us. There’s nothing I can do.”

“I have to somehow activate it a second time?” The black-robed Ning felt a bit frustrated.

“This dimensional has completely blocked off karma itself. I can’t locate Darknorth’s true body through karma either.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. “Darknorth, I’m ashamed to say this, but neither of us will be able to solve this problem in a short amount of time. I’ll have Ekong and the others come test it out as well. Perhaps one of them will succeed.”

“It’ll be fine even if you cannot. I might be trapped inside, but not just anyone can bring harm to me,” the black-robed Ning said. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Be careful.” Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg felt rather guilty. They knew that if even the two of them were helpless, it was unlikely the other four would succeed; Autarch Skyfeeder was skilled in the Dao of Time, Autarch Ekong was skilled in the Dao of Destruction, Autarch Bolin was skilled in the Dao of the Claw, and Autarch Stonerule was skilled in the Dao of Illusions.

“The reason my true body entered the Sithelands was to save someone; the Paragon of Pills,” Ning said. “The Mistress wishes to revive her three brothers, one of whom is a Hegemon of the Dao of the Sword.”

“Oh, the Paragon of Pills? I know of her.” Autarch Titanos nodded. “She sought me out, and I told her to come back after she had a thousand realmships worth of treasure.”

Ning said, “Autarch Titanos, I’d like to ask you to help the Mistress complete this dream of hers.”

“A minor matter,” Autarch Titanos said. “But the otherverse she resides in was created by Autarch Skyfeeder. I’ll have her handle this personally. It’ll be much easier for her to keep that otherverse safe while reversing spacetime to revive those three.”

This task was indescribably difficult for Hegemons, but to Autarchs it was nothing more than a bit of extra effort.

“Darknorth, you have to be careful inside there,” Autarch Mogg said solemnly. “We originally thought that we had taken full control over the Sithelands’s perimeter, sealing away the few places we didn’t breach… but clearly, we were wrong. There are hidden areas we were not aware of! I imagine that the Sithe have been watching us in secret, biding their time.”

“Don’t worry. Even if a Sithe Exalt comes, I’ll kill him with a blow from my sword,” Ning said with a smile.

……

Within that blurry, cloud-filled region. The white-robed Ning said to the Paragon of Pills, “Mistress, I’ve already spoken to the Autarchs. Autarch Skyfeeder will personally revive your three brothers.”

Tears appeared in the Paragon’s eyes, and her entire body begin to tremble. Finally, two tears fell down… but a smile was on her face.

This solitary, glacially cold woman was actually, finally smiling. Her smile was radiant and beautiful, and even Ning was rather stunned by it. This was beauty that stemmed from the depths of a soul, beauty and joy which was truly infectious.

“Thank you, Darknorth.” The Paragon of Pills looked at Ning.

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Chapter 14 – The Island Battle

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 14 – The Island Battle

Many people knew of the ‘Mad Paragon of Pills’, including Azurefiend, Hegemon Tia, Hegemon Flameleft, and Lord Annihilation. They all knew how frenzied she could be in the pursuit of her dream… and now, it was finally going to be realized. They could imagine the emotional upheaval she felt! This was a happier moment for her than succeeding in the Daomerge had been. The joy she felt surpassed even life and death!

“Congratulations, Paragon of Pills!” Lord Annihilation said with a laugh.

“Congratulations, congratulations.” Azurefiend chortled as well.

Hegemon Tia smiled as she looked at them, but a hint of sorrow flickered in her eyes. The Paragon’s brothers were about to come back to life, but her beloved, the one who she viewed as more important than life itself? It was completely impossible for that person to be brought back to life. Grief had killed her heart long ago, and the only reason she hadn’t killed herself was because she had promised to keep living. Ever since that day, however, she had no longer truly cared about life, and thus she had dived into one dangerous location after another, earning the nickname of ‘Mad Hegemon Tia’ in the rest of the Chaosverse.

“I’m feeling a bit excited.” The tears quickly dried on the Paragon of Pills’ face, and she smiled brightly. “I was so worried. I feel much better now that I know Autarch Skyfeeder has agreed.”

“Haha, Mistress, once we manage to leave this secret dimension, Autarch Skyfeeder will go with you to the otherverse and reverse spacetime to revive your three brothers,” Ning said.

“Once we leave?” The Paragon suddenly frowned. “Darknorth, didn’t you say this place is incredibly dangerous? Not even the Autarchs will be able to enter here.”

Ning nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll do everything in my power to get you out of here, Mistress.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I trust you. But, it’s not guaranteed that we’ll be able to escape this place,” the Paragon said. “If I die here, my avatar will die immediately as well. I’ll never be able to see the three of them again. Even though I know Autarch Skyfeeder will still reverse spacetime to revive the three of them, if I’m not able to see it in person… I really can’t accept this.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded. “Then what are you suggesting, Mistress?”

“My avatar is alongside Tia and Annihilation’s avatars. I can give you the location. I’d like to ask Autarch Skyfeeder to go find my avatar, then take it with her when she revives my three brothers. Is that acceptable?” the Paragon asked.

“Might as well.” Ning didn’t refuse, because he himself wasn’t completely confident that they’d be able to escape this place. He had been forced to use his own sword-arts multiple times in the Daoguard Tower area, and they were now in a place that was so mysterious the Autarchs couldn’t even locate it. This was definitely a far more dangerous place than the first Daoguard Tower.

Ning immediately sent a message to Autarch Skyfeeder, asking for her help. She agreed, her true body exiting the Quintessence. However, the Chaosverse was so very large that it would take a bit of time for her to go find the Paragon of Pills.

“Let’s scout the surrounding area for now, but make sure to be careful. Let’s not take any risks just yet. We’ll save that for after your three brothers are revived,” Ning said with a laugh. The Paragon of Pills, Hegemon Tia, and the others all acknowledged.

Whoosh. Ning flew into the skies by himself, quickly reaching an altitude of over a hundred million kilometers.

“Eh?” The skies above him were like an enormous azure bowl. Ning frowned when he stared into them, and he released his Sword Dao Domain to apply some pressure to the heavens. Alas, the heavens were incomparably resilient, and they actually pushed back and down against Ning.

“It really is quite stable. It seems there is no chance at all that I might be able to tear through this place through raw force.” Ning quickly came to this determination. As soon as he had arrived here, he had suspected that this might be the case. This was because even the ‘Dimensional Hallway Chains’ formed by a single Daoguard Tower had been incredibly stable. This place was clearly much more dangerous; there was no way he would be able to break through this place with ease. Indeed, his test confirmed his suspicions.

Whoosh. Ning flew back down, descending to rejoin Azurefiend, the Paragon of Pills, Hegemon Tia, and the others.

“What should we do, Daolord?” Lord Annihilation asked.

“There’s no way to break through via brute force,” Ning said with a chuckle. “We’ll need to find some weaknesses in this dimension and then break through via them. For such a large dimension to be so stable means that it has to have an internal energy source of some kind or a formation keeping it together. We’ll be able to escape by destroying either of them.

“I can vaguely sense some living creatures off in the distance.” Ning pointed towards the horizon ahead of them. “Very weak creatures. Let’s go take a look.”

“Very weak?” Azurefiend was startled. “How could a terrifying place like this have weak creatures within it?”

“But they really do seem to be extremely weak. I could probably wipe them out by breathing on them,” Ning said.

Since he had already promised that they wouldn’t do anything dangerous before reviving the Paragon of Pills’ brothers, Ning was going to play it safe for now. Given his current level of insight into the Dao, he was able to sense and avoid danger while seeking out good fortune! However, the central controls or other critical points in a hidden realm like this would generally be extremely dangerous, and so there was no way to ‘avoid danger’ here.

Sometimes, you knew the road ahead of you was dangerous but you still had to take it, because only then would you have a chance at survival!

Whoosh. The group quickly flew into the air. Below them was a vast sea of water that seemed to be truly boundless and without end.

“Right here!” Ning quickly came to a halt and stared downwards. Beneath him was an ‘island’ that was tens of millions of kilometer in size. Actually, in most places it would been described as a ‘continent’, but this dimension and the sea it held was so incredibly vast that this island was nothing more than a tiny little speck. It wouldn’t be wrong for major powers like Ning to refer to it as an ‘island’.

This island had countless living beings thriving within it. Ning stared downwards, his gaze quickly locking onto the most powerful being in this entire island.

Within a wilderness region, three humanoids were battling against a vilefiend who was dressed in long black robes. He was fairly handsome and exuded an aura of charisma, but in battle he was indescribably ferocious and savage.

“You humans have killed me many times, but you’ll never be able to kill me permanently. I’ll come back to life time and time again! Ahaha! I can fail any number of times, but you cannot fail even once… because if you do, I’ll butcher every living person on this entire continent. Ahahaha! Want to know a little secret? I’ve actually already done it on five different occasions in history!” The vilefiend’s voice was sharp and shrill. “This will be my sixth time. If you want to survive, you should bow down to me. I need a few lackies, after all. I don’t like you, but you are fairly strong.”

“Forget about it! This continent belongs to us Sithe! We would never allow a vilefiend like yourself to run rampant here!” The leader of the three was a six-armed man who was furiously attacking with six giant warhammers. Alas, the vilefiend was far too fast and nimble; if it wasn’t for the other two party members, the leader would’ve been defeated long ago.

The second member of the party was a red-haired man who wielded a warblade and whose entire body was bathed in flames. He howled furiously, “The valiant men of the Sithe shall never succumb to a vilefiend like yourself!”

The final member of the party was a gray-robed woman, and she had an icy look on her face as she controlled her magic treasures to attack from afar. She said in a frozen voice, “We Sithe would rather all die in battle than submit to a vilefiend like yourself.”

Ning, the Paragon of Pills, Azurefiend, and the rest all watched from high up in the skies, rather shocked by all of this.

“The ‘valiant men of the Sithe’?” Ning blinked. “Why does that phrase feel so… odd?”

“The ‘Sithe would rather all die in battle than submit to a vilefiend’?” Azurefiend mumbled to himself, “That’s a pretty determined statement! I had no idea the Sithe were so intrepid.”

The three humanoids below them were merely of the Elder God/Ancestral Immortal level, while the vilefiend was an extremely weak member of the vilefiend race. There was an enormous degree of difference between it and the vilefiends Ning encountered near the Daoguard Tower.

This was nothing more than a battle at the Elder God level. To the likes of Ning, the Paragon of Pills, Azurefiend, Lord Annihilation, Hegemon Flameleft, or Hegemon Tia, these four were all very puny! And yet, they were the most powerful beings on this island. Ning was telling the truth earlier when he said that they were ‘very weak’.

“Haha!” Lord Annihilation laughed as well. “To us cultivators as a whole, the Sithe are a calamity, a nightmare, a blight on existence! The Sithe, however, also have weak members of the race who are akin to our mortals. Perhaps they find pride in being Sithe.”

“They call themselves Sithe, but they aren’t actually true Sithe,” Ning said.

“They aren’t true Sithe?” Everyone present stared at Ning, puzzled.

“Master, how is it that you know this?” Azurefiend asked.

Ning didn’t explain any further, because this involved many hidden secrets that would only cause Azurefiend and the others to feel unnecessary consternation.

If they were true Sithe, they would be rejected by all the prime essences of the Chaosverse, making it impossible for them to use the power of the Dao! However, all three of the humans below them were infusing the Dao into each and every strike. They weren’t rejected by the prime essences!

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Chapter 15 – Filthy

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 15 – Filthy

“Did you hear that? That little vilefiend just said he’s wiped out all life on this island several times,” Azurefiend said.

“Unsurprising,” Ji Ning replied. “This hidden dimension is within the Sithelands, which means that vilefiends can arise here! Although they are fairly weak without the power of a Daoguard Tower behind them, they are still enough to be absolute catastrophes for islands like this. In addition, vilefiends have essence springs located in other places. I can kill them with my sword and then locate and destroy their essence springs via karma, but the living beings on this island can only use all their strength to fight and kill the vilefiend time and time again without being able to truly exterminate it. Given enough time, the vilefiend will rise to power once more and then cause yet another calamity to descend upon this island.”

The Paragon of Pills sighed. “Vilefiends are nothing to us, but they represent apocalypse to the countless beings on this island.”

Hegemon Tia said, “Perhaps this is a method the Sithe use to train and temper the members of their race.”

“…Yes, that’s extremely possible.” Ning’s eyes lit up. Applying pressure via vilefiends could result in more powerful experts arising more frequently.

As they spoke, Ning and the others descended onto the island.

“Attack!”

“Let’s launch an all-out assault!” The three humans were beginning to unleash their desperation attacks.

“Hahaha… desperation attacks? I’ll give you one final blow and annihilate any hope that you might still harbor. I’m looking forward to those looks of despair on your face, the despair that stems from the very depths of your soul… I can’t help but feel excited when I see those looks!” The vilefiend was so actually shaking from anticipation.

Suddenly… slash! A streak of sword-light sliced through the vilefiend.

The vilefiend’s face still had that look of twisted joy on it, but a heartbeat later it completely disintegrated into dust. Ning’s sword followed the karma lines attaching it to its essence spring, destroying that as well. From this day forth, the vilefiend which had troubled this island and its many living beings for countless generations was no more.

“Helping you kill that vilefiend is a form of recompense for rifling through your memories.” Ning began to search through the memories of those three ‘Sithe’ humans. The fact that their attacks were infused with the power of the Dao meant that they were also natives of this Chaosverse, and so Ning treated them as humans rather than as Sithe. This was why he wished to ‘repay’ them for what he was doing.

“Master, now that you’ve killed that vilefiend, this island won’t suffer any more attacks. Doesn’t that mean that the tempering trial the Sithe set up is over?” Azurefiend asked.

“I don’t give a shit,” Ning said casually.

Azurefiend blinked. The Paragon of Pills, Hegemon Tia, Hegemon Flameleft, and Lord Annihilation all stared at Ning in shock. ‘I don’t give a shit’… how could words like this have come from the mouth of the peerlessly dazzling ‘Daolord Darknorth’?

There were many Emperors and Hegemons with foul dispositions and even fouler language. However, to the people present, Darknorth was a person of incomparably exalted stature, someone who was very nearly a peer of the Autarchs. They couldn’t help but feel a bit uncomfortable when they heard Ning say this.

In truth, Ning had a completely perfect Dao-heart. He’d say whatever he felt without needing to disguise it.

“Um. So what have you discovered?” the Paragon of Pills asked.

“They are just Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. They know very little… but their memories do contain information regarding a legendary and ‘invincible’ figure who controls all sixty-three islands in this vast territory. That person is known to them as Archfiend Huabo, and he is so ‘unfathomably powerful’ that he has never been defeated and can wipe out an entire island with a wave of his hand.” Ning snickered. “Their memories indicate that Archfiend Huabo should know more about this place than them.”

Ning and the others left, and as they did the three humans regained consciousness.

“What just happened?”

“What’s going on?”

“Where’s the vilefiend?” All three of them were completely puzzled. When Ning had rifled through their memories, it hadn’t had a negative impact on them at all. It was like a brief moment of unconsciousness.

……

Archfiend Huabo was the ruler of sixty-three islands, and in truth he was a Daolord of the Fourth Step. In this era and amongst these weak cultivators, he truly was ‘invincible’! But to Ning and his team? A Daolord of the Fourth Step was still extremely weak, so weak that he could be exterminated with just a breath!

Archfiend Huabo was seated on his royal throne. Below him was a large number of beautiful women who were dancing for him, while at each side of the hall there were many chained beings who were being tortured and tormented.

He had an extremely strange personality and temperament. He was the undisputed hegemon of these sixty-three islands, and countless living beings had been tortured to death by him. He delighted in torture, in hearing their final screams and cries. This was what made him smile, and was the reason why he was known as the ‘Archfiend’.

A smile on his face, he watched the beautiful women dance while listening to the viperous curses and blubbering wails of his prisoners.

“Those fools. All of them ran off to the Sacred Realm, and for what? The Sacred Realm has many powerful experts there; we’d be nothing more than the crust on their boots,” Archfiend Huabo mused. “Staying behind is a much better decision. I’m virtually invincible here and can do whatever I want. Isn’t that wonderful? As for the Daomerge… hmph! Did they really think they would succeed in the Daomerge just because major powers in the Sacred Realm will provide them guidance? I hear that their success rates remain pitifully low.”

“Staying behind is definitely the better choice, ehehe… tomorrow, I’ll go capture a few more people. The ones in the prison have almost all died out by now.” Archfiend Huabo was in a superb mood. As for the beautiful dancers, all of them were quivering in fear, even if none of them dared to reveal it. They did their best to please the almighty Archfiend, for fear of being tortured to death as well.

Suddenly, a total of six people walked into the hall. The dance came to a halt, and the smile on Archfiend Huabo’s face suddenly froze. Even the steam coming from the cup of mulled wine by his side froze in midair. Time itself seemed to stop.

The six figures walking in were Ji Ning, the Paragon of Pills, Azurefiend, Hegemon Tia, Hegemon Flameleft, and Lord Annihilation.

Ning’s Sword Dao Domain had sealed down spacetime itself, causing time to freeze completely. The dancers and the Archfiend would have no recollection at all of what happened in this moment.

“Let’s take a look at their memories.” Ning was able to easily rifle through this Daolord’s memories. He finished after a few moments, then fell completely silent.

“How does it look?” The others all looked at Ning.

“This is going to be troublesome,” Ning said, then chuckled. “But we knew that from the beginning. Simply put, this Daolord’s memories indicate that this hidden dimension has a total of six ‘realms’ where mortals live, as well as an exalted ‘Sacred Realm’ and an evil, desolate ‘Purgatory’.”

“Together, the six mortal worlds, the Sacred Realm, and Purgatory form this entire hidden dimension,” Ning said. “At least, that’s what he believes and his memories indicate.”

“The six mortal realms are all extremely vast and are filled with countless mortals and many cultivators. However, only cultivators who become Samsara Daolords are qualified to enter the Sacred Realm! Of course, there are many Samsara Daolords who choose to stay behind in the six mortal realms instead, but if they DO succeed in the Daomerge and become Eternal Emperors, they are required to enter the Sacred Realm,” Ning said. “If they do not, then major powers shall descend from the Sacred Realm to capture and then punish them.”

The Paragon of Pills frowned: “It seems as though the ‘Sacred Realm’ is where all the major powers of this hidden dimension are gathered. What of this ‘Purgatory’, then?”

“The Purgatory is the place where extremely evil people and people who are being punished by the major powers shall be exiled to! That place is both dangerous and desolate,” Ning said. “My guess is that the most important parts of this dimension reside within the ‘Sacred Realm’!”

The most powerful people present in the six mortal realms were Daolords of the Fourth Step. The Sacred Realm was where the true major powers had gathered, which meant that there was a 99% chance that the core control mechanisms of this hidden dimension were located there as well.

“Are the countless living beings of this dimension truly Sithe progeny? And what is the history of this place?” Hegemon Flameleft asked.

“That’s not information a Daolord of the Fourth Step like him would know,” Ning said with a chuckle. “What we need to do is to head into the Sacred Realm!”

The Sacred Realm… it was undoubtedly filled with many major powers and terrifying Sithe traps. Ning wouldn’t be surprised if it had ten Daoguard Towers within it! Once they headed off to the Sacred Realm, a war would probably break out.

“How can we get there?” Azurefiend asked.

“Through the ‘Realmgate’,” Ning said. “However, now is not yet the time. Let’s wait for the Mistress’ three brothers to be revived before we head off to the Realmgate and enter the Sacred Realm.”

The Paragon of Pills smiled.

“Let’s go.” Ning glanced at Archfiend Huabo, who was still seated on his throne with a frozen grin on his face, then waved a finger. A streak of sword-light shot out, passing through the Archfiend’s skull and destroying his soul and truesoul. From this day forth, Archfiend Huabo, who had been the hegemon of these sixty-three islands for countless years, died as a result of people who literally came out of nowhere. Even as he died, he had no idea what was happening or who was killing him.

“M-master… you already looked through his memories. Why’d you kill him?” Azurefiend stared.

“It was precisely because I looked through his memories that I killed him.” Ning shook his head and muttered, “Absolutely filthy. I really couldn’t help myself.”

Ning’s group quietly slipped away, leaving behind a palace in a state of chaos.

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Chapter 16 – Spacetime Reversal Resurrection

Book 41, Chapter 16 - Spacetime Reversal Resurrection

Roughly five months after Ji Ning’s group had first been sent into this hidden dimension, Autarch Skyfeeder brought the avatars of the Paragon of Pills and Lord Annihilation to the otherverse they resided in. It was time to begin the process of reversing spacetime and reviving those three Emperors.

Lord Annihilation’s otherverse. The Archaeus Region. The Prime Reaches of the Genesis Lands.

This was a place filled with corpses, all of whom had failed in the struggle over the control of this otherverse.

The gentle-eyed and slightly plump Autarch Skyfeeder glanced at the various Emperor-class corpses within the Prime Reaches as the avatars of the Paragon and Lord Annihilation stood respectfully to one side.

“Looks like this was quite a bitter battle,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “This is an otherverse which I created extremely, extremely early on. I didn’t put it within the Eight Domains, which is why only a few Hegemons took part in this struggle.”

The Blazesun Domain and the rest of the Eight Domains had so many experts present that the members of most squads were usually at the Hegemonic level. Every so often, you would also see an Otherverse Lord or someone in control of a powerful Sithe weapon. Thus, when two competing teams found an otherverse to fight over, the battle would involve ten or so Hegemons!

However, the Prime Reaches here only held three Hegemonic corpses, as well as quite a few ordinary Eternal Emperors. It was indeed a bitter battle, but the power of the combatants involved was somewhat lower than what would be seen in the Eight Domains.

“Otherverses are incredibly rare outside the Eight Domains,” the avatar of the Paragon of Pills said softly. “The appearance of this otherverse caused everyone to go wild. The four Hegemons who were the first to arrived each brought subordinates and were willing to risk everything for the sake of this otherverse. A great battle broke out, and in the end Hegemon Dustfall was the one who won. My three brothers covered me, letting me escape, but the ones who were left behind were all suppressed and bound by the power of this otherverse, which now had a master. Nothing awaited them save death, and they knew it. Hegemon Dustfall was kind enough to allow each of the Emperors a chance to leave behind a legacy, and he also let their corpses remain intact.”

An Otherverse Lord who was inside of his otherverse would be dramatically more powerful than when he was outside in the ‘normal’ world. The otherverse was his territory, and the overwhelming power of the otherverse ensured that he himself would also be incredibly strong! This was why the Lonely King instantly became famous after chasing someone into an otherverse, then destroying it.

As for Hegemons? When directly suppressed by the power of an otherverse, they wouldn’t even be able to move a finger!

“However, shortly after Dustfall acquired this otherverse, he died while adventuring in a dangerous place. You ended up lucking out, Annihilation.” The Paragon of Pills glanced at Lord Annihilation.

“It was just a matter of speed, but I admit that my luck wasn’t bad.” Lord Annihilation smiled.

“I’m going to begin now,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “Just stand there and watch.”

“Understood.” The avatars of Lord Annihilation and the Paragon of Pills both nodded respectfully, with a look of excitement appearing in the eyes of the latter.

Rumble…

Autarch Skyfeeder stared towards the Sword Hegemon, still leaning against his enormous dark-blue greatsword. Behind him was the white-robed man who had three swords on his back as well as the azure-armored man who had planted nine blood-colored swords into the ground before him. Time quickly began to slow, stop, and then reverse in the area around them.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Countless images went past, including the images of Ning’s arrival within this region. Just a short while later, it had reversed all the way to the earliest and most ancient days of this otherverse. This was when the three had fallen in battle.

“My beloved friends all died in this battle. There is no way I will pardon you or release you.” In the temporally inverted images before them, they were able to see a valiant old man dressed in silvery-white armor who stood high up on a mountain. “However… I don’t blame you for doing what you did. All of us were trying to take this otherverse. I simply was the one to win. I’ll give you all some time to make your final preparations; make sure you don’t waste this time. I’ll also set down barriers to ensure that your corpses will not be disturbed in the many eons to come.”

None of the Hegemons or Emperors tried to argue with him. This truly had been a bitter battle with many deaths; it was already quite magnanimous that the victor was giving them time to pass down legacies for themselves.

“Big brother… second brother… we were so close! I still can’t believe this,” said the azure-armored man who had planted those nine blood-colored swords in the earth before him.

“It doesn’t matter how close we were. We lost. At least we three brothers will be able to die together.” The white-robed man had a smile on his face. Clearly, he had already accepted his fate.

“This was all my fault.” The muscular greatsword-bearing Hegemon let out a sigh, but his eyes were quite peaceful as well.

When the Paragon of Pills saw and heard this, her eyes turned moist. She tightly clenched her hands together, continuing to watch.

“Freeze!” Autarch Skyfeeder stared at the image before them, causing time to freeze before her. In this frozen moment, the three of them were still alive.

“Spacetime, reverse. Truesouls, return!” Autarch Skyfeeder turned quite solemn as well. The truesoul fragments of this Hegemon, along with the truesoul fragments of the other two Emperors behind him, had all been swallowed by the prime essences of this otherverse and hidden at its very core. They had become one with the otherverse itself! What she was doing right now was akin to tearing out part of a stone tower’s foundation; if not done correctly, it was quite possible that the tower itself would crumble.

It was easy to swallow something and digest it, but very hard to drag it back out. Not even Lord Annihilation, the master of this otherverse, would be able to accomplish it.

Thankfully, Autarch Skyfeeder had been the person who created this otherverse. Even if she did wreck it, she would be able to repair it. Right now, all she needed to do was to keep it stable.

“Gather!” Autarch Skyfeeder barked out a second time. This time, countless truesoul fragments began to fly out from the deepest part of the Prime Reaches, then levitate into the air. The Prime Reaches was the location where the prime essences of this Otherverse were located.

Visually, the truesoul fragments looked like tiny little motes of light. These countless little motes of light all flew towards the three standing Emperors. As more light appeared and as spacetime continued to advance, the bodies of the three formerly-illusory figures quickly began to solidify.

Rumble… the earth throughout the Prime Reaches began to shudder. In fact, the entire massive otherverse began to tremble slightly. Lord Annihilation turned pale as he continued to watch nervously. This was his otherverse; if it collapsed, he would be doomed. But all he could do was look at Autarch Skyfeeder, not daring to make a sound.

Autarch Skyfeeder herself remained quite calm.

Big brother! The Paragon of Pills watched this all excitedly.

The three figures grew increasingly solid as more and more light poured into them, and their auras became increasingly real as well. A hint of light appeared within their eyes, a light which represented life and sentience.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Finally, all three auras completely stabilized, and a look of shock appeared in the eyes of the Hegemon and his two brothers. Alive! They were alive again!

“Big brother. Second brother. Third brother.” Overwhelmed with excitement, the Paragon of Pills charged straight towards them.

Autarch Skyfeeder had made use of their three undamaged corpses to bring them fully back to life. If their bodies were gone, she still would’ve been able to revive them, but it would’ve taken more effort; recreating a Hegemonic body was no easy feat, after all.

“Little sister.” The greatsword-bearing man looked at the Paragon of Pills, then at his two nearby brothers. “Second brother. Third brother.”

The Paragon of Pills wrapped her arms tightly around the muscular man. She had endured many, many things after her three brothers had died.

“Little sister.” The muscular man hugged the Paragon of Pills back, a complex look on his face. They weren’t true siblings, they just referred to each other that way as a term of endearment. In truth, they were lovers.

“Haha, we’ve come back to life! Hahaha, we’ve all come back to life!” The azure-armored man was the most excited of the three.

“Big brother. Third brother. Little sister,” the white-robed man sent mentally to them, his gaze focused on the distant Autarch Skyfeeder, “It was the Autarch who brought us back to life, right?”

He was the calmest of the three who had just been brought back to life. The Paragon of Pills quickly came back to her senses. She hurriedly turned and bowed gratefully towards Autarch Skyfeeder, “Thank you, Autarch, for saving my three brothers.”

“Thank you, Autarch, for saving our lives,” the Hegemon and his two Emperors said.

“Impressive. You were actually able to convince an Autarch to come rescue the three of us… and it looks as though you yourself have become a Hegemon, little sister,” the azure-armored man sent mentally.

Autarch Skyfeeder said with a calm smile on her face, “I came at Darknorth’s request. Of course I took it seriously! Alright, now that this matter is finished, it is time for me to go.”

“Safe travels, Autarch.” Lord Annihilation let out a sigh of relief. Autarchs truly were impressive; his otherverse had been barely affected by this process.

“Safe travels, Autarch.” The Paragon of Pills and the others all bowed respectfully once more. Autarch Skyfeeder took a single step, then disappeared into the void.

“Haha, congratulations, my friends!” Lord Annihilation smiled as he bowed towards the three brothers. “I imagine there are many things the Paragon of Pills wishes to talk to you about. I won’t bother you any further. When you are free, you must come and be my guests at the Church of Annihilation.” Lord Annihilation’s avatar then took a step away, disappearing into the void as well.

“Little sister, you truly are incredible.” The azure-armored man was still extremely excited.

As for the muscular man, he continued to hold the Paragon of Pills’ hand in an affectionate display of love.

“Little sister, the Autarch said that she came on the request of ‘Darknorth’? Who is this ‘Darknorth’? He must be a major power. Is he an Autarch as well?” the white-robed man asked.

“Right. Based on what I know, it is almost impossible to convince an Autarch to help revive a Hegemon.” The muscular man couldn’t help but ask as well: “Who exactly is this ‘Darknorth’ fellow? He was able to have an Autarch carry out tasks for him… and apparently, didn’t even come in person?”

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Chapter 17 – Assaulting the Realmgate

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 17 – Assaulting the Realmgate

If you were going to ask someone to help you out with something, you would at least show up yourself, right? This was doubly true when you were asking an Autarch to help out. How much face were the Autarchs giving this ‘Darknorth’ fellow, for them to show up even when he himself did not?

“Haha.” The Paragon of Pills laughed. “Darknorth is a Daolord, a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge… but he is extremely close to the Autarchs in actual power.”

“What?!” The three were astonished and unable to believe this. A Daolord who had failed the Daomerge? They felt no regard at all for people like that… but one who was close to the Autarchs in power? They couldn’t even imagine how this was possible.

“Hegemons are nothing more than ants to him. He doesn’t even need to strike them in order to kill them! Only someone like the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army is worthy of him attacking, but he only needed to strike a single time to slay the Lonely King,” the Paragon of Pills said. “He is on extremely good terms with the Autarchs, and he was the one who convinced Autarch Skyfeeder to come here.”

Her three ‘brothers’ were truly flabbergasted by this. This Darknorth was truly an incredible figure!

“In fact… big brother,” the Paragon of Pills said with a chortle, “He’s actually one of your honorary disciples.”

“What? Mine?” The muscular man stared at her, his eyes popping wide. “My honorary disciple?”

……

The hidden dimension.

Ever since Ji Ning and the others had discovered that this dimension was divided up into six mortal realms, a ‘Sacred Realm’, and a ‘Purgatory’, they had begun to relax and wander through the mortal realms. The plan was to wait until the Paragon of Pills’ three brothers were revived before risking entry into the Realmgate.

“Congratulations, Paragon of Pills.”

“Congratulations, Mistress.” Ji Ning, Azurefiend, Tia, Flameleft, and Annihilation all offered their congratulations. They even prepared congratulatory gifts.

All of them could clearly sense how the Paragon of Pills’ aura had changed. In the past, she had seemed so solitary, cold, and remote. Now, it was like winter had left and spring had come. She had an uncontrollable smile on her face, and her joy was absolutely infectious.

“Now that I’ve met them again, I truly have no regrets left.” The Paragon looked at Ning. “Darknorth, I have to thank you for everything.”

“If it wasn’t for the insights I gained in the Archaeus Region and the help you provided, Mistress, I might not necessarily have been able to embark upon the path of the Omega Dao,” Ning said. “I wouldn’t have reached my current level of power either.”

If he was allowed to choose again between success in the Daomerge and becoming a Hegemon (via fused Supreme Daos) or failure in the Daomerge but mastering the Eternal Omega Dao, he would probably still choose the latter.

Why? Because… if even the Autarchs were unable to revive Yu Wei, the Omega Dao was the only chance he had! Even though he failed, he would still be an incandescently dazzling figure for over ten thousand chaos cycles. As far as Ning was concerned, this was superior to an eternity of mediocrity.

……

The Paragon of Pills had no further regrets in life. Now, she was able to face all dangers with complete calmness and equanimity, meeting even death with a smile on her face. Ning, however, was even more determined to ensure the Paragon’s safety! She had just reunited with her beloved brothers; if she was to die here, wouldn’t that be a truly painful farewell?

Once Hegemons died, it would be virtually impossible to bring them back to life. Her big brother had only been revived because he had died within an otherverse. If the Paragon of Pills died here, there would be no way she could be brought back.

Whoosh! They soared through the air and quickly reached the location of the Realmgate.

“This here is the Realmgate.” They had spent several months scanning through the memories of many different Daolords. As a result, they were able to recognize it right away.

“Master, we were teleported directly into this dimension. I imagine the true ruler of this dimension was made aware of our appearance long ago,” Azurefiend said. “Prior to this, we were in the mortal realm. There’s nothing in the mortal realm which can pose a threat to us, and so the controller of this dimension was unable to touch us from afar, nor would he dare to actually attack you directly. But once we go through the Realmgate and reach the Sacred Realm, things will be different. We’ll be surrounded by danger.”

“Agreed.” Ning nodded. He had long ago prepared for the likelihood that the master of this place was aware of his presence.

“Travelling to the Sacred Realm is our only hope,” the Paragon of Pills said. “Darknorth, you are so very strong that the Sithe experts hiding this place would never dare to challenge you to a fair fight. That’s why they haven’t attacked yet! Our records indicate that when Daolords dare to disobey orders from the Sacred Realm, powerful experts will descend to seize and punish them. This means it is possible for Sithe experts to descend upon this place… but they have not! Why? Because they fear you, Darknorth. But you failed your Daomerge, which means that you will eventually die from your truesoul crumbling away. Once that happens, the Sithe will probably attack and kill the rest of us.”

“I’m not willing to spend the rest of my life in these mortal realms either,” Ning said with a chuckle. In a fair fight, not even Sithe Exalts were a match for him. Even if four or five Exalts attacked him, given his speed and agility, if he focused on dodging then they wouldn’t even be able to touch his clothes. The difference in ability between them was enormous!

But if their opponents were aided by Daoguard Towers? That would make this extremely difficult.

“Let’s advance via realmship,” Ning said as he produced his realmship. All six of them entered the realmship. They did this not because they needed it to travel, but because they wanted to benefit from the extra layer of protection it provided. Realmships were extremely sturdy, after all; breaching them was no easy task.

The Realmgate was a hundred thousand kilometers high and utterly massive. It emanated dazzling light and was shaped like a giant door, and around it space was twisted and distorted into multiple folds.

Swoosh. Ning and the others flew forwards via realmship, protected and surrounded by Ning’s Sword Dao Domain. As they moved closer to the gate, they could sense that the twisted dimensional folds were impeding their advance. To Ning, however, they were like nothing more than a spring breeze, incapable of barring his path in the slightest.

“We’re heading in. Be careful, everyone.” Ning could sense his subconscious warning him of danger, but there was nothing he could do. This was their only chance to escape and survive this play. Delay and buy time? There was no way he could out-delay the Sithe.

The realmship finally flew into the iridescent Realmgate. It quickly made its way completely inside the gate, only to see an extremely stable tunnel which was formed through many layers of folded dimensional space.

Whoosh. The realmship flew through this stable dimensional tunnel at high speeds. Given Ning’s current level of power, he was able to see past all obstacles and make out the awesome aura of the world off in the distance… the ‘Sacred Realm’. The aura of the Sacred Realm was noticeably vaster and more powerful, and it held far more experts as well.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Suddenly, the formerly-stable tunnel began to shatter apart as two strange triangular weapons appeared in the sides of the dimensional folds off in the instance. Two more appeared within the sides of the dimensional tunnel behind Ning as well. It was their appearance which caused the dimensional tunnel to begin to crack.

“Not good.” Ning’s face tightened. He didn’t hesitate at all, immediately expanding his Sword Dao Domain dramatically in size, causing a large amount of sword-light to appear and furiously assault the four triangular weapons.

The four triangular weapons all had sharp edges which shot out rays of light. These rays of light were extremely thin and allowed them to easily tear through space. There was no way Ning’s Sword Dao Domain could resist the four streaks of light; each streak of light represented an enormous amount of energy and power, and all four of them shot out to Ning’s realmship.

“What a terrifying weapon.” Ning immediately willed the realmship to move in an erratic pattern as it flowed through the crumbling and chaotic tunnel, moving from one position to another. The realmship itself was like a sword which was being used to display a truly marvelous sword-art.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! All four rays of light shot past the realmship, not able to touch it at all. “Thank goodness I mastered the Space Sword Dao.” Ning let out a sigh of relief.

They were within a dimensional tunnel; as the tunnel crumbled, space here became increasingly chaotic. Those four triangular weapons had just launched attacks with extremely thin dimensional blades, and by all rights it should’ve been nearly impossible for someone to dodge them unharmed in such a chaotic environment. Ning, however, had achieved just that thanks to his Space Sword Dao.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Those four triangular weapons suddenly expanded dramatically in size as they charged towards Ning’s realmship. Ning could sense the enormous threat they posed. As for Azurefiend, the Paragon of Pills, and the others within the realmship, they could do nothing save watch. They wouldn’t even able to react in time against attacks of this level!

“Get in here.” Ning instantly emerged from the realmship, then drew it back into his estate-world. There was no way he could simply rely on the realmship to deal with those triangular weapons.

Snick. New drew a Northbow sword from the sheath on his back. “Hm. I can’t let them get close to me. They seem to possess the ability to self-detonate.” At Ning’s current level, he was able to vaguely see what some future possibilities would be. Thus, Ning suddenly tossed his sword out.

Whooosh! Ning tossed the sword out like a whip, sending a gentle stream of sword-light sweeping out like a beautiful creek. The water glowed in a dazzling manner as it lashed through the air, gently rapping against the surface of one of the triangular weapons. That triangular weapon couldn’t help but be nudged off-course to one side, clashing against one of the other triangular weapons.

“No more playing around.” Ning glanced at the nearly-collapsed dimensional tunnel around him. Ahead of them was the end of the tunnel and the Sacred Realm. He immediately used his sword-arts to forcibly charge through all opposition and make it outside.

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Chapter 18 – Dimensional Seams

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 18 – Dimensional Seams

“Seal!” A cold voice suddenly rang out from the Sacred Realm in front of them. A streak of light shot out from the Sacred Realm, forming a membrane in front of it that denied entry. A moment later, the four triangular weapons surrounding Ji Ning suddenly unleashed a blast of utterly terrifying power.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The four triangular weapons released all of the power held within them in a final explosion, blasting apart and sending shrapnel in every direction and creating a zone of death around them! There was no way one could avoid this zone attack, as the entire area was filled with explosive waves of power. Even the Blazesun Ruler would’ve been reduced to dust if enveloped by such powerful explosions.

“They actually detonated such incredibly valuable treasures?” Ning held a single Northbow sword at the ready. Swoosh! He suddenly sent out a swirl of sword-light that chopped through the space surrounding him like tofu, causing it to ripple and form into a dimensional barrier which surrounded and protected him.

“Time to go.” Ning wasn’t going to just stand there like a fool. Swish! Using his Dao of Space, Ning transformed himself into a dimensional shard that fled off into the distance! When any of the explosive power struck him, the dimensional barrier surrounding Ning would simply deflect it with a slight ripple. This level of power might be able to easily breach the defenses of a Sithe Exalt or the Blazesun Ruler, but the defensive power of Ning’s Space Sword Dao was far too great.

However… given enough time, the power would still be depleted and exhausted.

Rumble… the dimensional tunnel had been completely disintegrated, while the four terrifying triangular weapons had exploded apart into countless little shards. Ning rapidly flew away from this region, ensuring that the detonations were unable to harm him in the slightest.

A short while later, Ning came to a halt. Northbow sword in hand and Sword Dao Domain surrounding him, Ning scanned the nearby area.

“So this is the seam between the eight realms, eh?” Ning mused to himself. Now that the dimensional tunnel had been destroyed, Ning was trapped within the seam between the realms. Space was incredibly chaotic and twisted here, but given Ning’s level of mastery he wasn’t impeded by it at all.

Whoosh. Ning used his Sword Dao Domain to separate the surrounding dangers from himself, then quickly advanced towards the front. A short while later, he saw an enormous membrane. Behind it, he could vaguely make out a vast world filled with incredible amounts of power.

“The Sacred Realm.” Ning immediately knew that the world beyond the membrane had to be the ‘Sacred Realm’, but the dimensional membrane was incredibly tough; Ning didn’t even need to test it with his Sword Dao Domain to know that there was no chance of using it to punch through.

“Even the membranes surrounding the six mortal realms of this hidden dimension were incredibly tough and durable. If I couldn’t break through them, I have no chance at all at this one around the Sacred Realm,” Ning mused. “The six mortal realms, the Sacred Realm, and Purgatory have all been completely sealed off. Does that mean I’ve been trapped here permanently?”

“No, that can’t be right. The Sithe wouldn’t do such a thing.” Ning quickly came to this realization. If the Sithe had merely wanted to trap him, they could’ve simply sealed off the Realmgate and kept Ning permanently trapped within the ordinary realm he was in.

“Let’s go check out the other places.” Ning flew through the vast realm-seam, moving towards some of the other realms.

……

The Sacred Realm.

This was the supreme world which was used to control this hidden dimension. Many powerful Sithe were located here, and at the center of this world was a trio of towering mountains. Each mountain had a pagoda at the peak, and each pagoda was exactly twelve stories tall! They all emanated auras of dazzling light that caused spacetime to ripple and twist within the area of their illumination.

These were the three Elder Palaces which the most mysterious and most exalted denizens of the Sacred Realm dwelt. However, the auras of two Elder Palaces were rather dim and weak; only one of them continued to radiate an aura of incandescent splendor.

Within the brightest Elder Palace. A large group of experts were standing within it, staring through the palace gates to the world outside. At their head stood a youth dressed in deep blue robes. His hair was deep blue while his was face grim and cold. He held his hands behind his back, standing ramrod-straight and emanating an awesome aura.

“We failed.” The blue-haired youth frowned. “It really is hard to get rid of someone in control of an Eternal Omega Dao.”

“Exalt.” Some of the Hegemons and Emperors standing behind him had undergone the Ritual Sacrificium, and one of the Hegemons spoke out: “Exalt, where did this white-robed Daolord come from? We detonated four Calamity-class weapons but still were unable to do anything to him.”

“Enough.” The blue-haired youth waved his hand, then turned to stare at the Hegemons and Emperors behind him. He said in a calm voice, “We failed our first attempt, which means it is now up to Purgatory to act! If Purgatory succeeds, this matter shall be at an end. If Purgatory fails, we’ll have no choice but to draw him into the Sacred Realm and resolve this through battle!”

“Master, why? He’s a Daolord who failed the Daomerge. His truesoul is crumbling away! So long as we keep him completely sealed within these eight realms and ensure that he is trapped within the realm-seam, he’ll die of natural causes,” a red-robed youth said.

“If he really did die of natural causes, that would be an absolute waste.” The blue-haired youth shook his head. “I’m not going to explain any further. We have to do everything in our power to kill him, even if it costs us our very lives! No price is too great to pay if it means killing him. This is our responsibility as Sithe.”

“Understood,” the red-robed youth said.

“Send word to Purgatory,” the blue-haired youth said. “Once the white-robed Daolord reaches Purgatory, Purgatory is to send all of the exiles against him. If they can kill the white-robed Daolord, they’ll not only be allowed to come back to the Sacred Realm, they’ll also be heavily rewarded. As for the person who actually managed to kill the Daolord… I’ll give him control over one of the two Elder Halls.”

“Control over an Elder Hall?”

“T-that’s not appropriate.”

“How can an exile be worthy of controlling an Elder Hall?” Everyone in the hall began to speak out in shock.

The blue-haired youth swept them with his icy gaze, quickly silencing them all. He explained calmly, “Tell them that the white-robed Daolord is incredibly powerful; their only option is to kill him through exhaustion and attrition. They also need to remember to keep the Soul-Eating Mantra active at all times! They need to make sure that they swallow all of the truesoul fragments that are breaking off of him.”

Exalts were not to be questioned or challenged. Long ago, this hidden dimension actually had a total of three Exalts. Later on, this dimension had sent out a grand army to take part in the war, with two of the Exalts personally leading that army. This Exalt had been left behind to guard the hidden dimension… but alas, those two departed Exalts had never returned.

The blue-haired youth turned and departed. With his departure, the Hegemons and Emperors left in the hall quickly scattered as well.

After leaving the hall, two Sithe Hegemons began to quietly whisper amongst themselves while they walked out side-by-side. “This is a Daolord in control of an Eternal Omega Dao. If we can somehow kill him, we’ll be given unimaginable rewards.” These two Hegemons were extremely excited. “This is doubly true for the Exalt. Even if he dies, once his truesoul returns home, he’ll be rewarded by being brought back to life via spacetime reversal. No wonder the Exalt is so excited over this.”

Reviving an Exalt was incredibly difficult, but the Sithe Lord of Chaos was capable of it. However, this would cause a degree of injury to the prime essences of that Chaosverse; generally speaking, a Lord of Chaos would be unwilling to make that sort of sacrifice.

However… if one accomplished great deeds, one had to be rewarded for it! Killing someone who was in control of an Eternal Omega Dao was viewed as a slightly greater deed than even killing an Autarch would be! If they were successful, then the Exalt would not only be brought back to life, he would be given many gifts as well. It truly would be a case of him rising to preeminence.

“Unfortunately, that Daolord is terrifyingly strong. Otherwise, we’d charge out and kill him ourselves.”

“Yes, he’s absolutely terrifying. Not even the Exalt dares to challenge him. He’s in control of an Eternal Omega Dao, and this is his Chaosverse. With the support of the Dao, he’s virtually invincible.”

“Thankfully, his truesoul is crumbling away! The more he fights, the faster the truesoul will break apart. That’s why the exiles in Purgatory have a chance.”

“However, the Exalt was quite odd about this. Why did he say that the person who killed the white-robed Daolord would be allowed to take control over an Elder Hall? Many of the exiles were local natives. Is he really going to let a local take control over an Elder Hall? They might be our progeny, but they were born in this Chaosverse, not our own; that makes them native to this Chaosverse, and they are born with power over the Dao. If we let one of them take control over an Elder Hall, that person might become a source of trouble.”

“Don’t worry, our progeny swore long ago not to betray us. And… in the end, they are our children. They share our blood. Why would they view us as enemies?”

“They are still natives; they aren’t true Sithe like us. They belong to this Chaosverse, while we belong to a different one. In the end, this is an insurmountable difference.”

“But we Sithe gave birth to them!”

“Enough, enough. Let’s not argue about this.” These two Hegemons were not native to this hidden dimension. Rather, they had invaded this Chaosverse alongside the grand Sithe army.

Clearly, the true Sithe viewed the ‘Sithe progeny’ in this hidden dimension as being different from them.

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Chapter 19 – Inside Purgatory

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 19 – Inside Purgatory

Purgatory. Many exiled major powers were here, many of whom were Hegemons or Emperors. Although there were many Daolords who would be exiled here, the vast majority of them would fail the Daomerge and die! They might be Sithe progeny, but they were born within this Chaosverse and thus incapable training in true Sithe techniques. The Sithe, in turn, were unable to create a set of perfect training techniques that was suited to this Chaosverse. They were diametrically incompatible with it, after all. They would constantly be suppressed and weakened by the local prime essences, making it hard for them to comprehend the Dao here.

All the Sithe could do was bestow some local cultivator techniques to their Sithe progeny while giving them some advice and guidance.

The skies were dark and gloomy, with some fiery red light off in the horizons. A total of three figures were standing within a wilderness area.

“Haha, our chance has come!” The leader of the three was a black-robed man who had a large amount of grass covering his head, and his ‘beard’ was formed from grass as well. His eyes were dark, green, and grim. “The Exalt has bestowed powerful treasures upon us. If we can kill that white-robed Doalord, we’ll skyrocket in status and even be able to control one of the Elder Halls.”

“Big brother… it is clear from the many gifts the Exalt has offered that he truly wishes to kill that white-robed Daolord. But why, then, would he rather give us so many treasures and so many benefits rather than do it himself? None of those fools in the Sacred Realm wish to take part either! There’s only one possible answer to this – the white-robed Daolord is so terrifyingly strong that even Exalts fear him and are unable to beat him.” An ugly old lady said in a hoarse voice, “We need to treat this white-robed Daolord as we would an Exalt, or perhaps someone even more terrifying than an Exalt.”

“Second sister, you speak sense,” the chubby man by her side said immediately.

“Of course I know how terrifying he has to be… but in the end, he’s still failed the Daomerge. We have a chance! Come, let us first go find that white-robed Daolord,” the black-robed man said with a growl. “I’ve had enough of life in Purgatory anyhow. I’d rather die fighting for this opportunity.”

“Agreed.” Both his companions turned solemn as well. Life in Purgatory truly was a living hell. There was little life here, and it was a dry, desolate place. The environment was extremely inhospitable, forcing even Hegemons to tread carefully. Worse, even if you stayed in one place and didn’t move, some danger would usually descend out of nowhere. Every day spent here was a day spent in fear. This was a miserable life indeed.

……

Ji Ning continued to fly through the realm-seam, inspecting everything in his path as he flew past the eight realms. Six mortal realms, the Sacred Realm, and Purgatory – by now, Ning had located all of them. However, all seven of the other realms were completely locked; only the gates to Purgatory remained open to him. There was no way to enter the others at all!

“So they left just one door open to me?” Ning chuckled after a moment. “It seems the controllers of this hidden dimension have set up a few traps for me. Fine, fine. I’ll go play with you.”

Swoosh. Ning flew over to the Purgatory Realmgate, then gave it a glance. Ning was rather surprised: “No living beings are around it?” There was no way his senses could be off; clearly, there really were no living beings next to the Realmgate at all. What he didn’t realize was that everyone who had been driven into Purgatory was an exile; they were all extremely crafty and selfish. No one wished to be the first to attack, and so they all hid far away, using various scrying methods to watch the action at the Realmgate.

Completely unmolested, Ning slipped through the Realmgate and arrived at the vast world of Purgatory behind it.

“What an impressive ‘Purgatory’ this world truly is!” The white-robed Ning descended upon the dark, foul-looking earth. The world around him was covered in darkness, with some flames flickering far off in the distance that were blindingly bright. Around him were many howling tornados that quickly appeared and then dissipated, while space and time were rippling behind him.

“It really is quite chaotic here. This ‘Purgatory’ is filled with countless natural calamities. Even Hegemons would have to tread carefully here, while Daolords are constantly at risk of imminent death.” Ning chuckled. “But it’s better than the realm-seam, at least.” The realm-seam was even more chaotic, to the point where there was nothing stable there at all. At least this place had an environment.

Flames illuminating the distant horizons… this did make for an eerily beautiful sight. The destructive tornados that constantly swept through this place did as well. As for the evil miasmatic aura of this place that give birth to vilefiends? It was nothing but a bit of amusement to Ning.

“Now this place is rather intriguing. I’m almost finished merging the Dao of Wind into my Eternal Omega Sword Dao. I might as well train here for a time.” Although Ning was surrounded by danger, he remained completely relaxed. He immediately sat down in the lotus position.

The white-robed Ning sat down there on the foul ground, his Sword Dao Domain covering the entire area around him, preventing the various types of natural dangers from moving close to him. The place where Ning sat had become sacred grounds, untouched by the filth of Purgatory.

Whoosh. The wind blew past Ning jubilantly, occasionally revealing a few sparks of sword-light which gathered together, eventually transforming back into wind once more.

Ning had reached the Hegemonic level in the Dao of Wind long ago. Now, what he needed to do was to infuse it into his Sword Dao and create his Wind Sword Dao!

Time passed, one day after another.

“What’s going on?”

“Why has that Daolord sat down without even moving an inch?” The exiles who were scrying this place from afar were all puzzled.

“I have to say, that Daolord is pretty powerful. He didn’t have to do anything; his domain alone was able to block out all the local dangers. The chaotic environment of Purgatory is absolutely nothing to him.”

“He’s probably trying to buy time.”

“If he wants to drag this out, I’m more than happy to oblige. I’ve already been trapped here for over eight million chaos cycles. Let’s see who can last longer! I have plenty of patience.”

“Yes, let’s wait.” The exiled powers were all waiting for the right moment to attack.

The years continued to flow on. In the blink of an eye, over half a million years had gone by. All of the exiled powers continued to wait patiently for a good opportunity. Although they all had powerful Sithe weapons and were confident in their abilities, life in Purgatory had long ago ensured that they had become slippery and crafty.

The local environment here was bizarre but beautiful in a twisted way, and the flames flickering off in the distance caused Ning’s face to flicker with reflected light. Suddenly, Ning’s lips curved upwards slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes. A smiling look was in his gaze.

Ning took a sudden, deep breath, causing the wind streams around him to begin to howl.

“GRAAAAAH!” Suddenly, Ning seemed to let out an enormous roar.

In truth, this was nothing more than a single deep breath, but the breath was so ferocious that it generated a terrifying howling sound which shook the earth. It sounded like the bellowing of a thousand terrifying beasts, and it unleashed countless twisting tornados that were formed from countless streaks of sword-light. The howling wind was like the waves of the ocean, crashing out every which way.

The howling wind shattered everything in its path like a giant shockwave, crushing mountains to dust and shattering even the distant flames. The wind wave spread out with terrifying speed, moving so fast that even Sith Exalts would be caught offguard by it.

This was Ning’s Wind Sword Dao! The terrifying gust of wind caused even spacetime to shudder.

“Flee!”

“Run away!”

Ning’s breath was actually aimed at the five Emperors who were located closest to him. They were hundreds of billions of kilometers away from him, but it wasn’t enough. The Dao of Wind was a fast Dao to begin with, and the Wind Sword Dao in the form of a howling tempest moved with indescribable speed. Hundreds of billions of kilometers was nothing to it! Although those five Emperors frantically sought to flee, spacetime was suppressed here. There was no way to warp through spacetime, and so they could do nothing save just watch as the terrifying wind howled through the heavens and moved towards them with incomprehensible speed. There was nowhere for them to hide at all.

“Ahhhh!”

“Attack!”

“Impossible.”

“Go all-out against him!” The five Emperors felt a sense of despair. Some attempted to use Sithe weapons to fight back, but wind by its very nature is a formless thing. The attacks of the Sithe weapons flew straight through the wind, completely incapable of affecting the wind at all.

The wind swept through the lands like a giant broom, wiping out everything in its path. Those five Emperors were instantly ground to dust, with just a few of their top treasures and Sithe weapons managing to survive.

An area of over three trillion kilometers to Ning’s left had been completely swept clean in a fan-shaped manner. The entire world seemed to have become incredibly, perfectly flat.

The other exiles who were watching this from afar were all scared out of their minds. “He did that with just a shout? H-how powerful is he?!” The exiles were starting to tremble with fear.

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Chapter 20 – Broken One By One

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 20 – Broken One By One

What they didn’t know was that Ji Ning didn’t actually ‘shout’. He had just mastered his Wind Sword Dao, and had given it a little test by blowing some air out of his lungs, but the air had quickly moved at such incredible speeds that all of the exiles were absolutely stunned and terrified by it.

“He’s terrifying.”

“He was able to slay Hegemons with ease from a distant of hundreds of billions of kilometers. He truly is unfathomably powerful. All the Hegemons and Emperors in Purgatory combined might stand a chance, but if we were to fight separately we would be defeated one-by-one.”

“Join forces. Our only chance is to join forces.” The exiles were all extraordinarily talented figures; they instantly knew what they had to do. But… it was already too late!

“Now that I have mastered the Wind Sword Dao, it is time to make my move. I certainly can’t win a war of attrition against them.” Ning rose to his feet, taking a single step forwards and warping forwards to the location where the five slain Hegemons had been at. He waved his hand, collecting all of the fallen treasures and Sithe weapons. These were all fine treasures that he could either leave to the Three Realms or gift to his disciples and friends.

Next, Ning took another step forwards and reappeared next to a lake which was hundreds of billions of kilometers.

Two Emperors were by the lakeside, carefully scrying the area where Ning had been just a moment ago. Suddenly, a dimensional ripple appeared next to them, followed by a white-robed Daolord appearing from it. His appearance terrified the two Emperors so much that their legs went soft. “How is this possible? How did he find us? We set up formations early on to track from very far away if anyone moves close to us. It didn’t look like the Daolord made any preparations either. How did he do this?!”

They couldn’t understand it at all. In truth, this enormous hidden dimension did put Ning under quite a bit of pressure. Godsense was blocked out; his only choice was to use his eyes. However, his vision was also impaired by many types of invisible energy, limiting the distance at which he could see.

“I spent half a million years training next to the Realmgate mastering the Wind Sword Dao, just for this moment,” Ning mused.

If he remained far away from his enemies and was unable to locate them, he would end up in a passive situation where he could only endure attacks from them. This was why he chose to sit down and master his Wind Sword Dao. Ning had previously spent three thousand chaos cycles training in various Daos; if he had chosen to focus on the Wind Sword Dao, he would’ve completed it long ago. However, he had not; he had let things happen normally, preferring to spend more of his time on the more-difficult Space Sword Dao. There was no need to focus that much on a fairly simple Sword Dao.

In Purgatory, he was completely unable to locate any of his foes, and so he chose to focus on the Wind Sword Dao. The wind was something without form or shape, but it blew across the entire world. Thanks to the Wind Sword Dao, Ning was able to ride the wind with his senses and accurately locate every single one of the Hegemons and Emperors! He might not be able to see them with the naked eye, but he could sense them with the wind!

“Flee!” The terrified Emperors hurriedly sought to flee, but Ning glared at them. His gaze seemed to solidify and transform into two streams of wind. At first, the wind seemed quite gentle, but when it blew past the two Emperors it transformed into a raging gale. The two Emperors tried to flee, but the gale was composed of countless tiny streaks of sword-light that effortlessly ground them into dust.

“Next.” Ning didn’t even waste time on picking up their treasures. Instead, he immediately warped through space towards the next squad of enemies.

……

If Ning wanted to actually use some of his energy, he could actually use a Northbow sword to pierce through spacetime and slay them from afar. However, that took up too much of his power. He wasn’t willing to resort to this. If he wanted to kill them while conserving his energy, he had to kill them at close range.

This was because this hidden dimension had a suppressive effect on his Sword Dao Domain, preventing it from expanding to its usual size. When Ning had used his Wind Sword Dao to form a Sword Dao Domain that used a howling wind to assault his foes, he had only been able to strike from a distant of a few hundreds of billions of kilometers. At this distance, Ning was able to use his Wind Sword Dao to suppress spacetime and prevent his foes from fleeing.

The problem was, there were other foes who were trillions of kilometers away. Some were even more distant! Ning was unable to suppress spacetime at such a great distance! When his enemies saw him attacking, they would be able to escape via blinking away. That’s why he had to get close to them, then attack!

……

“The white-robed Daolord is attacking us!”

“He’s warping through space to attack us. Hurry up and join forces! If we stay separated like this, we’re all going to die.” The exiles were absolutely terrified by now.

Whoosh. Ning appeared before yet another squad. This squad had a total of three Emperors. When they saw the white-robed Daolord appear, their hearts were filled with terror. They didn’t hesitate at all, immediately unleashing their most powerful Sithe weapons to battle against Ning. They knew that escape was completely impossible; they had no chance of successfully fleeing at all.

Two of the Emperors each wielded a strange scepter which glowed with a blurry light that swept out to cover Ning. Not even Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was able to block this blurry light, as it was formless and incorporeal. It completely covered Ning.

The third Emperor wielded a longspear. He suddenly threw it forwards, sending it howling through the air like a stream of light that shot through the Sword Dao Domain and stabbed at Ning.

“What a powerful illusion! My Dao-heart is perfect and I have reached a high level of mastery over illusions, but I was still slightly affected by it. It seems I need to upgrade my Dao of Illusions to Hegemony as soon as possible. When I ran into that Sithe Exalt Dauber, I was slightly affected by him as well.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The Sithe truly had reached incomprehensible heights in every single Dao.

Although Ning was slightly affected by the illusions, his remained extremely clear-minded and his will was resolute. As for the powerful longspear shooting towards him? Ning simply stood there, not even moving. He took control over his Sword Dao Domain, transforming countless streams of sword-light into streams of water and gusts of wind that blasted at the longspear. Although the spear was able to tear through the obstruction of the sword-light, its trajectory was slightly changed.

Given the distances at which they were fighting, even the tiniest of adjustments would result in a wide miss. By the time the longspear flew past Ning, it missed by over thirty meters.

“If many of them attacked me at the same time with a variety of attacks, I might be in a bit of trouble. Just three of them? Nothing to fear at all.” As Ning dealt with the enemy attacks, he launched attacks of his own as well. He sent a howling wind towards his foes, and by the time he dodged the longspear his wind had already ground those three Emperors into dust.

Only then did Ning reach out to grab the now-ownerless longspear. “Next.” Ning immediately warped through space, moving towards the next squad.

……

The Sacred Realm. The iridescent Elder Hall. The blue-haired youth and his two disciples were standing before a giant illusory image which was currently displaying the scene of Ning slaying the exiles. As the controller of this entire hidden dimension who was also responsible for keeping an eye on the outside world, he had the complete ability to watch over everything which happened within this dimension. Every action Ning took was witnessed by him.

“Those fools.” The blue-haired youth’s face tightened, and he focused his gaze on the image as he sent his godsense out of the Elder Hall and into Purgatory. “Spacetime, freeze!” The blue-haired youth immediately suppressed spacetime, seeking to block Ning’s advance.

……

After Ning warped forwards to kill two different squads in Purgatory, the Exalt in the Sacred Realm was finally incited to action, suppressing spacetime in the region around Ning. The exiles, however, did not suffer from spacetime suppression. Thus, they were able to quickly warp through space to join together, while Ning was noticeably slowed down.

“I haven’t even picked up any treasures yet. The major power behind this hidden dimension has already chosen to suppress spacetime around me, eh?” Ning chuckled. “But do you think suppressing spacetime will be enough to bar my path?”

Whoosh. Ning once more tore a forcible hole through the void before him, creating a rippling spatial tunnel which sent him hurtling more than six hundred billion kilometers away.

This was the power of his Space Sword Dao! Compared to the might of his Space Sword Dao, even the Autarchs who didn’t specialize the Dao of Space such as Autarch Titanos or Autarch Ekong were slightly inferior when it came to tearing through space. The Sithe Exalt was using the power of the Elder Hall to suppress spacetime around him, but Ning conserved his energy and used just the power of the Dao itself to tear through the frozen spacetime and teleport a fairly short distance!

After teleporting more than six hundred billion kilometers, he was already outside the region of suppressed spacetime. As a result, he was able to quickly teleport towards yet another squad, which he dispatched with ease.

This sight truly shocked the Exalt in control of the Sacred Realm. “I knew that I wouldn’t be able stop him if he went all-out… but he was actually able to warp through spacetime just by using the power of his Sword Dao Domain?” The Sithe Exalt was scarcely able to believe it. “He’s already completely surpassed me in terms of mastery over the Dao of Space? But his Dao is that of the sword… how could he have reached such heights in the Dao of Space as well?”

He didn’t want to believe it, but the display before him was showing him images of Ning dealing with one squad after another. The various squads of Emperors began to flee frantically, and slowly some were beginning to finally join forces together.

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Chapter 21 – Thirty-Six Stone Pillars

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 21 – Thirty-Six Stone Pillars

“Master, what should we do?”

“If we let things continue like this, the Hegemons and Emperors in Purgatory will be so terrified and ineffective that half of them will be massacred before they manage to join forces!” The two disciples next to the Exalt were all rather anxious.

The blue-haired youth calmed down again. He stared at the images within the illusory ‘painting’ and said in a cold voice, “You underestimate the exiles. They might be useless in all other respects, but one thing they are good at is staying alive. That white-robed Daolord will at most be able to wipe out 30% of the Hegemons and Emperors. By then, the rest will have banded together. I’ve bestowed two precious Apocalypse-class treasures to Purgatory. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Daolord died there.”

“Alright.” The two disciples next to him nodded in agreement. Apocalypse-class treasures were the most powerful treasures the hidden dimension had at its disposal, aside from Daoguard Towers. Previously, they had used four triangular Calamity-class treasures against Ning; those were a bit weaker, but they were also easier to control. Apocalypse-class treasures were much more complicated to control.

……

The skies were dark. Flames continued to blaze at the ends of Purgatory, and spacetime remained completely suppressed. Ning tore through spacetime, repeatedly blinking forwards and slaying the Hegemons and Emperors at high speed. However, this process took time. The Hegemons and Emperors who were not destroyed during Ning’s first wave of assaults were quickly fleeing towards each other and banding together.

A short while later.

“They fled quite fast.” The white-robed Ning stood at the peak of a tall mountain. He swept the land with his gaze. Although he wasn’t able to see the anything, he was able to rely on the wind to determine that the remaining Hegemons and Emperors had already banded together into two large squads. They had begun to activate the power of their Sithe weapons and had set up many traps as they awaited Ning’s arrival.

“These two groups will be a bit hard to deal with.” Ning could sense how dangerous these two groups would be, and so he chuckled: “Time to go pick up those treasures first.”

Whoosh. Ning leisurely warped through space, going to the places where he had previously slain Hegemons and Emperors, then picking up their fallen Sithe treasures.

“What’s that terrifying Daolord up to?”

“Has he come yet?”

“Not yet.”

“I found him!” The exiles all had their own special techniques, and some were actually able to monitor all of Ning’s actions thanks to aid from the Sacred Realm. “He’s… actually looting our treasures?”

The exiles were all rather speechless as they watched Ning leisurely saunter from place to place, picking up all of the treasures. He hadn’t done so earlier, as the battles had been very fast and he didn’t want to waste the time. The surviving exiles had all been focused on running for their lives, and they similarly didn’t stop to pick up treasures.

“Nineteen Sithe treasures, each with their own marvelous properties. All of them are quite strong, and some are really powerful.” Ning couldn’t help but grin. The Sithe had naturally prepared many powerful weapons to use against him.

After picking up all the weapons, Ning gracefully warped through space to arrive before the first squad of Hegemons and Emperors.

“Only two squads are left in all of Purgatory, but each squad has a large number of Hegemons and Emperors as well as special weapons. They are actually quite dangerous.” Ning stared towards the desolate wilderness before him, which held an enormous dark-red castle that looked almost like some sort of monstrosity.

The castle had a total of nine towers, and a total of thirty-six strange stone pillars were scattered around it within an area of roughly 1.8 billion kilometers. These stone pillars all had different weapons hovering above them.

“Come over!”

“Come and die!” There were twenty-plus Hegemons and Emperors within the castle, and they all stared murder towards Ning.

This castle was an enormous fort that was meant for war. Thirty-six Emperors were needed to unleash its full power. Although there weren’t enough Emperors present, many had avatars who could help out, and so they were still able to make full use of this castle’s power.

“Hm. Now how should I deal with this castle…” Ning stared at the castle from afar, not daring to move too close to it. He could sense that if he moved within ten billion kilometers of the castle, he would suffer a terrifying attack.

“I wonder what type of attack this castle can unleash. Those thirty-six stone pillars seem to be quite dangerous as well,” Ning mused. He currently had no information at all regarding what type of attacks those castles could unleash; if he wanted to know, he’d have to go test it out. Once he did, however, he might fall to their fury.

“Ahahaha… you there! White-robed Daolord! Aren’t you supposed to be a real badass? Why aren’t you moving?” A loud, mocking, angry shout rang out from within the castle, spreading out tens of billions of kilometers and shaking the world beyond it.

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking! I’m trying to decide how I should deal with this castle of yours,” Ning replied with a laugh.

Ning continued to scrutinize the castle as he spoke. He could sense that an invisible field of energy was surrounding the castle up to a distance of ten billion kilometers. Spacetime was completely suppressed within this region, and those thirty-six stone pillars were rippling with power as well.

“You can stare at this castle for ten or a hundred chaos cycles, but you still won’t be able to see the mysteries which my castle contains,” the angry voice replied. “Just keep watching!”

Ning was neither irritated nor impatient by this response. As for the other squad of Hegemons and Emperors, they watched from afar without moving towards him.

Both Apocalypse-class treasures needed a large number of Hegemons and Emperors working together to control them. There was no real way for them to work together; it was better for them to fight against Ning individually.

……

Ning spent over half a month analyzing the castle and ruminating over the mysterious runes covering the stone pillars. He also carefully attuned himself to the various auras and ripples emanating from the castle. Finally, he was able to come to a simple, preliminary conclusion.

“This castle’s attacks should be of the area-attack variety, while the thirty-six stone pillars will all focus their attacks on me, trying to make it impossible for me to dodge.” Ning nodded to himself. “The Sithe have probably come to a rough estimation of my power and abilities. This castle might actually be a perfect counter for me.”

Ning was extremely fast, but the Sithe Exalt had specifically chosen this castle to counter Ning’s speed.

“Even so, I really don’t have any other choices. I have to advance and break through all obstacles.” For Ning to die was one thing, as his truesoul was already disintegrating. Dying here, however, meant that the Paragon of Pills wouldn’t be able to escape either. Ning was unwilling to see this.

Time to go all out and destroy everything in his path!

Whoosh. Ning suddenly moved, transforming into a streak of light that shot towards the distant castle. He soon entered the range of ten billion kilometers.

“Attack!” The Hegemon inside the ugly castle immediately issued the attack order, and the nine castle towers lit up simultaneously, shooting out nine semi-translucent beams of light that cut through space. The nine beams of light shot out at nine of the stone pillars, then turned and also shot through other stone pillars. The beams of light continued to pass through the various pillars, quickly forming an enormous spiderweb of light. As this happened, the weapons above the thirty-six stone pillars slowly began to build up power.

Ning watched silently as he approached the castle. Six billion kilometers. Five billion kilometers. Four billion kilometers. Three billion kilometers…

Right as Ning moved within three billion kilometers of the castle, some sort of mechanism seemed to be activated.

Hiss! The top of a stone pillar shot out a ray of deep azure light that transformed into an enormous azure serpent which was three hundred thousand meters long. The serpent immediately flew towards Ning.

Crackle! The top of a second stone pillar manifested a giant eyeball with a strange vertical pupil. The vertical pupil shot out a streak of blood-colored light towards Ning.

All sorts of attacks filled the air, including attacks of bone-chilling cold, a miasmatic black mist, a vast and evil palm, and layers of folded spacetime waves. These attacks shot out at Ning from every direction, clearly seeking to surround and submerge Ning, giving him no chance to escape as they sought to annihilate him.

Ning immediately understood what a deadly situation he had just stepped into.

Powerful Sithe weapons were able to attack at incredible speeds. When he was attacked by the Daoguard Tower which had trapped the Paragon of Pills, he had actually been forced to use his own energy to utilize evasion-arts to dodge! In terms of raw speed, these attacks were actually even faster than Ning’s own speed. Dodging just one of them would require energy. Dodging thirty-six attacks of incredible accuracy and which were all coordinated with each other? How hard would that be?

As for destroying the attacks with raw force? If he tried to do so, his own speed would be affected and he would suffer one attack after another. Ning wouldn’t dare to use his own body to resist all these attacks. He would have to rely on his sword-arts, which meant he would have to strike out dozens of times. If even the outer perimeter forced him to strike this many times… this single castle alone would be enough to exhaust him to death.

“Wind! Lightning!” Ning raised his two arms, pulling out a pair of Northbow swords from the sheath on his back. He now had a Northbow sword in each hand, and he sent out two streaks of sword-light at the same time, employing his Wind Sword Dao and his Lightning Sword Dao.

Boom! Boom! Ning’s speed suddenly skyrocketed while two streaks of light appeared behind him. The first streak of light crackled like lightning, while the second was as ghostly as the wind. They seemed to form a pair of wings, with one being of lightning and the second being of wind.

Ning had gained certain insights when he had mastered the Wind Sword Dao. The Five Elements were all able to work together as they were part of a set, and the Wind Sword Dao and the Lightning Sword Dao were also able to work together. The wind and the lightning worked in concert, propelling Ning to the maximum level of speed he was currently capable of.

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Chapter 22 – The Storm

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 22 – The Storm

Whoosh. Ji Ning moved forwards at a terrifying speed, instantly avoiding two attacks that swished right past him.

It really was like dancing on the edge of a knife. Ning himself had never been in such an incredibly dangerous situation, and he wasn’t certain that he would survive it. All he could do was to do his best. His wings of electric sword-light and wind sword-light had granted him incredible speed, allowing him to dodge repeatedly.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Suddenly, the semi-translucent rays of light began to swing over and shoot towards Ning. This caused Ning to immediately grow a bit nervous. Aside from the attacks from the thirty-six stone pillars, he also had to deal with the semi-translucent rays of light. Dodging became even more difficult for Ning now, and the light in this area had long ago transformed into an enormous web.

“Dodge. Dodge. Dodge.” Under tremendous pressure, Ning continuously dodged at incredible speeds and moved in extremely unpredictable, bizarre ways.

“He’s actually dodging?” The Emperors and Hegemons in the castle were all stupefied by this. As they saw it, these attacks were so ridiculously fast that none of them would even be able to react in time. Ning, however, was somehow about to continuously find an empty spot and avoid the furious attacks, evading and dodging past the attacks. Not a single one of them managed to hit him!

“Mixing the Wind Sword Dao and the Lightning Sword Dao together feels absolutely wonderful.” This was Ning’s first time using two different Sword Daos together, and as he continued to dodge the thunder wings and wind wings on his back became increasingly agile and nimble.

He was both fast and unpredictable. The two pairs of wings worked together in an increasingly marvelous way, allowing Ning to become increasingly faster and nimbler as well.

“Wind can support the lightning’s momentum, while lightning can reinforce the wind’s strength.” Ning suddenly transformed into two howling streaks of lightning and wind as his two sets of wings merged together. Now, there was lightning in the wind and a gale in the lightning.

Fast, savage, dominating, unscrutable, mysterious.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The blurry light of wind and lightning flashed past the semi-translucent rays of light. It avoided the attacks from the thirty-six stone pillars with ease as it repeatedly found the openings in the attacks, and it continued to advance towards the castle.

“How is this possible? How is he able to completely dodge all of our attacks? This is impossible!” The Hegemons and Emperors in the castle were growing increasingly nervous. If they were fighting ordinary cultivators, this castle alone would be more than enough to stop their opponents in their tracks. However, Ning was comparable to an Autarch in power! If he managed to get close to their castle, they would lose! This was because Ning was more than strong enough to use his sword-arts to pierce through the castle, and he could also blink straight inside of it.

During the Dawn War, this was exactly what Autarch Bolin and the others had done; they had blinked straight inside the various warships, with the external defenses of no use against them whatsoever. Thus, the only way the castle could be a threat to Ning was by using external attacks against him. The problem was, they could clearly see that those attacks were completely incapable of stopping Ning.

“Go out, go out! All of you, go out! Use every Sithe weapon you have to assault this Daolord!” the Hegemon in charge commanded. “We have to stop him and prevent him from getting close to the castle. If he gets close to us, we’re finished!”

“Everyone, head out!”

“All Hegemons and Emperors on standby must head out immediately.”

“If you can disrupt his tempo even slightly, we’ll be able to land an attack on him. One attack will lead to another, and he might even die by our hands.”

“Let’s do this!” In truth, the Hegemons and Emperors inside were beginning to panic as well. Alas, most of them were needed to control the castle. Even though they had avatars, in the end the castle was only able to send out a total of three Emperors. These Emperors each had two or three powerful Sithe weapons. They stood on the surface of the castle, staring at the distant storm-shaped Ning. Gritting their teeth, they began to attack and attempt to knock Ning off his rhythm.

Swish. A chain flew out towards Ning, seeking to wrap itself around him. Alas, before it even reached Ning it was struck by a semi-translucent ray of light and sent tumbling to the ground.

Clearly, the rays of light could not differentiate between friend and foe. The castle was using many different types of attacks to assault Ning, and these attacks were harmonized with each other to a tremendous agree, ensuring that they wouldn’t cancel each other out. Unfortunately, it was hard for these three Emperors to fully avoid the semi-translucent attacks from the castle.

“Damnit!” The three Emperors were being driven mad with rage.

Alas, their rage was of no use. Ning continued to advance at high speed as he gained more and more familiarity with mixing his Wind Sword Dao and Lightning Sword Dao together. None of the attacks were able to land on him at all. The three Emperors did their absolute utmost to disturb Ning’s movements, but although an occasional attack managed to get close to Ning, none of them were able to actually threaten Ning at all.

One billion kilometers… nine hundred million kilometers… eight hundred million kilometers… Ning moved closer and closer to the castle, and as he did so a full-blown panic began to erupt amongst the Hegemons and Emperors inside. They all knew that once Ning reached the tower, they would die.

“Let’s run!” When Ning reached a distance of two hundred million kilometers from the tower, the Emperors inside began to break down. None of them harbored any further hopes of being able to stop Ning.

Boom! The entire castle transformed into a streak of light that hurriedly began to fly away. At the same time, the castle deactivated its spacetime suppression field as it begin to teleport away.

“Do you really think you’ll be able to escape?” As soon as the castle began to flee, the semi-translucent rays of light all completely vanished. Now completely unimpeded, Ning instantly appeared in front of the castle. He reached out with one hand, touching the castle’s exterior.

“Blink.” Ning used just a tiny amount of Immortal energy to command the Dao to envelop him, instantly blinking him inside. The tough external shell of the castle seemed to have transformed into a gentle curtain of water which Ning easily passed through, arriving inside.

The Hegemons and Emperors inside all revealed looks of despair.

Slash! A streak of sword-light howled outwards, slaying two of the Emperors on the spot.

“Put down all of your treasures and accept capture. I’m willing to spare your lives for now,” Ning said.

“Huh? Spare our lives?” The Hegemons and Emperors were all rather shocked. Ning had pursued them with such ferocity and had instantly slain two Emperors upon entering the castle. This had truly scared them out of their minds.

Ning frowned. “It seems you would rather die than live, then?”

“No, we want to live! Live!”

“All of us want to live!” The Hegemons and Emperors immediately divested themselves of all their treasures and Sithe weapons, then obediently lined up in front of Ning.

Ning waved his hand, pulling them all into his estate-world. He then waved his hand a second time, pulling the treasures into a different estate-world.

“These so-called ‘Sithe progeny’ are still members of our own Chaosverse. I hope that they aren’t absolutely loyal to the Sithe,” Ning mused. When Ning had first arrived at Purgatory, his goal was to weaken the enemy as much as possible; there was naturally no way he would show mercy. But now that he already gained victory and entered the castle? Ning wasn’t going to just murder these people unless necessary.

Ning had been able to immediately recognize two of the Emperors as true Sithe. They were being ignored and suppressed by the prime essences of the Chaosverse, which was proof of their identity! The others, however, were actually ‘Sithe descendants’! They were creatures of this Chaosverse who had been born and bred here.

……

Ning put away the entire castle, then collected the thirty-six stone pillars as well. He was in a superb mood. “I defeated those Hegemons and Emperors, broke into the castle, and managed to avoid using too much power.”

Ning was feeling absolutely wonderful. During this battle, the only thing he had done was use his wind sword-light and lightning sword-light to dodge and evade. Evasion-arts consumed much less of his energy than full-force blows; all that flying which Ning had engaged in was perhaps at most on par with what would be consumed by a single sword-blow. Blinking into the castle used up very little energy as well.

He had been able to achieve his goals with a minimum amount of effort. How could he NOT be happy? He began to warp through space, arriving at somewhere else where the other Hegemons and Emperors were gathered.

“Eh?” Ning stared forwards, rather puzzled. There were a series of palaces off in the distance, with the central palace being the largest one. It was surrounded by a scattering of smaller palaces, and they were all connected into an enormous palace complex. Ning could vaguely sense the auras of many Hegemons and Emperors within the palace complex; there had to be more than twenty of them scattered throughout that place.

“I have the feeling that this palace complex is even more dangerous than the castle.” For some inexplicable reason, Ning shivered. He knew that this was his subconscious warning him of the danger. “Judging from how the palaces have been laid out, this should be some sort of enormous formation.”

Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit of wariness when faced with such a formation.

“There’s no rush.” Ning sat down in the lotus position. “Let me first spend some time meditating on my Wind Sword Dao and Lightning Sword Dao.” When he had been flying forwards at high speed earlier, he suddenly had the feeling that he could merge his Wind Sword Dao and Lightning Sword Dao on a deeper level.

It was similar to how Ning was planning to perfectly join his Space Sword Dao and Time Sword Dao into a Spacetime Sword Dao. Ning now felt certain that he could also perfectly join his Lightning Sword Dao and his Wind Sword Dao together into a ‘Storm’ Sword Dao.

“Perhaps I might find an unexpected surprise from this.” Ning immediately closed his eyes, allowing his awesome Sword Dao Domain to spread out around him as he began to meditate.

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Chapter 23 – Dire Straits

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 23 – Dire Straits

Ji Ning remained seated in the lotus position. Gusts of wind howled past him, occasionally coming together into a mighty storm which was filled with flickers of lightning.

Time passed, one year after the other. The Emperors and Hegemons in the palace complex were all beginning to grow rather anxious and impatient.

“Why hasn’t the Daolord attacked yet?”

“I can’t believe he’s actually in the mood to train.” The Hegemons and Emperors were all panicking. The calmer Ning was, the more panicked they felt. It wasn’t that their Dao-hearts were weak, it was that Ning’s performance in battle had been absolutely terrifying.

“Gentlemen, will our formations be capable of stopping this Daolord? The castle was also Apocalypse-class, but the Daolord managed to defeat it with ease. Although these formations seem quite profound and powerful to us, this Daolord might be able to solve them with ease. If that happens, we’ll be in serious trouble.” Many Emperors were worried.

“Relax. The Exalt himself bestowed it upon us. I imagine he did so for a very good reason.”

“But the Exalt bestowed the Apocalypse-class castle as well, right?”

“Enough, enough. It’s far too late for worrying about things like this. Either we’ll win or we’ll die in battle. There are no other options! Besides, as all of you are aware, the castle was something meant for head-on battles, while we are relying on profound formations. If he can’t solve the formations, he’ll be trapped and perish.”

“You aren’t him. Who knows what tricks he might have up his sleeve?”

“Even if he DOES manage to solve the formations, it isn’t as though you have better ones that can be used! Remember, we’re exiles! This might be extremely dangerous, but it is also our only hope of survival.”

……

This was absolute torture for the Hegemons and Emperors, and the Sithe Exalt in the Sacred Realm wasn’t feeling much better. Ning, however, focused all of his efforts on his training. This time, he meditated for an extremely long period of time. Over half a chaos cycle went past before he finished.

BOOM!

One day, the the anxiously waiting Hegemons and Emperors suddenly heard a loud, rumbling sound appear in the area around the seated white-robed youth. Lightning howled like wind through the skies, while the wind itself flickered with crackling electricity. This awesome storm of lightning and wind possessed incredible momentum and ferocity.

Under the watchful gazes of the nervous Hegemons and Emperors, the white-robed youth finally opened his eyes.

“The Storm Sword Dao.” Ning nodded in understanding. It had been easier than he had expected to master his Storm Sword Dao, even easier than it had been to simply master the individual Wind Sword Dao and Lightning Sword Dao. “Perhaps they are innately meant to be used together,” Ning mused.

The Dao of Space and the Dao of Time were naturally meant to be together. When used simultaneously, they would easily and naturally come together to form the Dao of Spacetime. This was because time and space were indelibly linked together like two spokes on a wheel that fit together perfectly.

The Dao of Lightning, the Dao of Metal, the Dao of Water, the Dao of Space, and Ning’s Eternal Omega Sword Dao were all completely irrelevant to each other. They weren’t really a good way to link them together, making it extremely difficult to join them together.

However, the Five Elements, the Storm, and Spacetime were all ‘sets’ that contained highly compatible Daos.

“It is time.” Ning rose to his feet and stared at the distant palace complex. The entire palace complex was absolutely teeming with formations that were both complex and abstruse, but Ning held no fear of them.

Clink! He reached out to draw a Northbow sword from the sheath on his back, then began to walk towards the distant palace complex.

“He’s coming!”

“He’s headed straight for us.”

“That white-robed Daolord is coming. Quick! Everyone, make your preparations! When he’s trapped in our formations, we need to immediately launch all of our attacks against him and hold nothing back. If we give him enough time to breach our formations, we’ll be finished.”

“It’ll definitely take him some time to defeat this formation. We need to do our best to kill him.” The Hegemons and Emperors all stared at the white-robed Daolord walking towards them, sword in hand. It was as though they were looking at an absolutely terrifying monster. The only thing giving them some confidence was the fact that they were protected by an ancient and powerful Apocalypse-class formation.

Ning slowly sauntered forwards, the power of his Sword Dao Domain on full display as he used it to cover the region before him. It quickly spread out to cover the entire palace complex, which was hardened into a single entity. Ning’s Sword Dao Domain alone wouldn’t be enough to shake it in the slightest. The smaller palaces remained quietly rooted in place, not releasing any of their power at all.

“I want to see just how powerful they are.” Ning suddenly moved, transforming into an illusory shadow that shot towards a pathway which he felt was critical.

BOOM! As soon as Ning stepped into the palace complex, the earth began to shake beneath his feet while the skies began to change. The awesome might of the complex was fully unleashed, and the scenery in front of him completely transformed into a field of blurry light.

Ning was the only person flying through the region of blurry light. Whoosh! He instantly accelerated to fly ten billion kilometers through the light, but found himself still trapped within it.

“Hm. I feel as though I’m flying in place, as though I haven’t actually moved at all.” Ning unleashed his Sword Dao Domain, sending out countless streaks of sword-light but was only able to extend them to a distance of a million kilometers. Beyond this distance, there was no way for them to advance any further!

“What an incredible formation. It actually created its own spacetime continuum.” Ning began to ponder on his next step. Given his mastery over the Space Sword Dao, he was able to see some traces of how spacetime worked here but wasn’t even close to actually being able to solve it.

This place was already a spacetime continuum unto itself, and he was trapped inside it, unable to leave. “So they plan to simply trap me here?” Ning shook his head and chuckled. “If the Sithe truly wished to just trap me, they would’ve kept me locked within the dimensional realm-seam. There would’ve been no way for me to escape on my own.”

Thus, there was no way the Sithe would simply leave him trapped here. If they wanted to do that, they had plenty of other tools at their disposal.

“Eh?” Ning turned his gaze to one side. He could sense that spacetime was changing a bit there.

Boom! A streak of dense and dark astral light shot out, filled with malice and wickedness. It was as though endless amounts of sin had been concentrated in this attack, and it was flying towards Ning at terrifying speeds. Ning could sense that this dark astral light posed a threat to him. If he wanted to actually block it, he would have to use his sword.

The black astral light was simply too fast. Ning’s form suddenly flickered, emitting a thunderous boom as a wild storm behind him which almost instantly pushed him out of the trajectory of the dark astral light aside. The astral light flew past Ning, burying itself deep into the edge of this spacetime continuum and then completely disappearing.

Swoosh. Ning immediately charged towards the place where the black astral light had come from, which was also the place he had sensed spacetime changing.

“Spacetime was temporarily parted there.” Ning charged towards that area with his Northbow sword at the ready, but halfway there he came to a halt because spacetime had gone back to normal. No further fluctuations could be seen.

Just one heartbeat later… riiiiip! Another spacetime ripple appeared somewhere else, followed by yet another attack. This time, the attack was an extremely gentle-looking alabaster finger that shot straight towards Ning, almost instantly appearing right in front of him. Ning once more used his Storm Sword Dao to evade the attack, moving with almost ghostly speed.

“Damn!” Ning’s face paled slightly. He knew what his opponents were intending. He was trapped within this tiny spacetime continuum and unable to escape, while his Sithe opponents were able to use their many powerful weapons to assault him time and time again at extremely close range. His only choice was to use his divine power to execute evasion-arts to dodge these attacks! Thankfully, he had just mastered the Storm Sword Dao, which specialized in speed and agility. As a result, he was able to dodge while using just a tiny amount of energy… but it would still add up.

If this continued, his energy supply would continuously deplete while his truesoul began to crumble apart at an increasingly fast rate. Each time he used any of his power, the cracks across his truesoul would widen and his lifespan would grow shorter!

“How should I handle this? What’s the best way to break through this continuum?” Ning was beginning to grow anxious. He scanned the area around him, but it remained a blur of light. There were no flaws or openings at all for this spacetime continuum. An opening might appear when an attack was launched from the outside world, but that opening would quickly close up and be sealed away. Each time, just a single attack was launched, and so the opening was extremely small in size. The Hegemons and Emperors in the outside world could simply wait for the right moment to attack, giving Ning no chance to flee through the openings at all.

All sorts of attacks began to fly at Ning from within this spacetime continuum, and each time they launched from far away. Ning was forced to repeatedly use his evasion-arts to dodge. This was the most conservative use of his energy possible.

His power continued to deplete. Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency as he pondered over the solution for breaking apart this formation. He never would’ve imagined that Purgatory would be enough to force him into such dire straits.

Just like that, Ning was actually in mortal danger.

“Ahahaha! He has no answer for our formation! He can’t solve it!”

“If he can’t solve it, he’s doomed.” The exiles were overjoyed, all their earlier concerns having vanished like the wind. Apocalypse-class formations truly were incredible. The white-robed Daolord was completely unable to overcome this formation, which meant that killing him would be simplicity itself.

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Chapter 24 – Struggle

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 24 – Struggle

“Is the very first master of an Eternal Omega Dao their Chaosverse has given birth to going to die by my hands today?” The blue-haired Exalt watching the battle from the Sacred Realm felt excited as well. “Both of the Apocalypse-class treasures I gave those exiles in Purgatory are aimed squarely at that Daolord’s weaknesses. The castle had area attacks which that Daolord should’ve been unable to dodge; by all rights, it should’ve exhausted him to death! Who would’ve thought that he would possess such incredible speed. Now that we’ve trapped him within our spacetime formation, I refuse to believe he’ll be able to break free.”

Last time, Ji Ning had indeed very nearly died within that castle. Thankfully, the combination of the Wind Sword Dao and the Lightning Sword Dao had granted Ning a level of speed which surpassed what the Sithe Exalt had expected, rendering all of those attacks useless.

This time, however, Ning wouldn’t be so lucky. He had been trapped within a separate spacetime continuum, and breaking free would be extremely difficult.

……

The Sithe Exalt in the Sacred Realm and the Hegemons in Purgatory were unable to contain their delight at Ning’s impending death.

Within the formation itself, the field of blurry spacetime remained completely separated from the outside world. Ning was still trapped within, and his Sword Dao Domain strained against the continuum to no avail at all. There was nothing he could do.

Far away from him, a spacetime ripple suddenly appeared, followed by a fiery red bird screeching as it shot towards Ning. Even as it attacked, the distant spacetime hole quickly healed and vanished.

Boom! Ning used his Storm Sword Dao to dodge once more. “I’m going to die if this continues.” Ning couldn’t find any flaws to exploit at all, and so all he could do was wave his hand and produce a precious pagoda in front of himself. This was one of the many Sithe treasures Ning had acquired.

Swoosh! Ning instantly entered the tower. “I hope it can last for a fairly long period of time.” For now, Ning’s only option was to rely on the tower’s defenses to buy him some time.

Ning waved his hand, causing Azurefiend’s avatar to appear next to him. “Master?” Azurefiend’s avatar looked at Ning.

“Hurry up and take control over this tower, then put your Immortal energy into it. Focus all your efforts on defending,” Ning barked mentally. It wasn’t worth it for him to waste his own Immortal energy on activating Sithe weapons.

“Understood.” Azurefiend’s avatar didn’t hesitate at all. He could sense from Ning’s grim expression how much danger they were in, and he immediately poured his Immortal energy into the tower, causing the many runes and barriers on its surface to light up.

“He hid inside a tower.”

“The tower won’t be able to dodge effectively. Just destroy it.” The Hegemons and Emperors were out for blood. They weren’t going to give Ning any chance to rest at all.

Slash! A dazzling streak of golden light flew out and appeared in front of the tower, delivering a vicious blow to it.

Although Ning was able to control the tower and use it to fly around, the attacks were simply too fast. Ning himself had to rely on using evasion-arts to dodge. There was no way this type of tower-type treasure would be able to do the same. Even if it could… he would still be using up his energy, right? The entire point of Ning hiding inside the tower was to save as much power as possible.

Boom! The surface of the tower erupted after being struck by golden light, causing a series of ripples to appear. The barrier remained unbroken, even though it looked a bit damaged. These were attacks that could threaten even Ning, after all; they were more than powerful enough to wreck ordinary Sithe artifacts.

“Hurry up and bind this treasure as well!” Ning tossed Azurefiend’s avatar another treasure, one that looked like a star. It seemed somewhat similar to the Blacksun, but it was a bit weaker.

……

“It isn’t breaking apart? Hit it simultaneously at two different places!” The Hegemons and Emperors quickly decided to launch two simultaneous attacks against it.

As these two apocalyptic attacks landed, the barrier covering the tower was finally unable to endure any longer. The runes of the barrier collapsed, followed by the surface of the tower exploding into countless shards that blasted everywhere. Even the insides of the tower began to collapse and fall towards Ning, but before actually managing to hit him they would all be pushed to one side by his Sword Dao Domain.

Ning lifted his head, staring at the many cracks that had appeared to his left. “Release that star,” Ning instructed.

“Yes, Master!” Azurefiend knew that this tower wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, and so he immediately waved his hand, producing a jade-green star that the two of them instantly entered.

BOOM! Soon, the Sithe attacks completely destroyed the tower, causing it to explode and revealing the undamaged jade-green star inside of it.

“He has more treasures? Keep attacking!” The Hegemons and Emperors continued to fight fiercely.

After three attacks, the star destroyed… revealing a realmship! The realmship was even weaker; it was completely destroyed after just two two attacks. Azurefiend couldn’t help but feel aggrieved at how fast these priceless treasures were being used up, but Ning simply frowned. There wasn’t enough time; treasures on this level simply couldn’t hold for long ago.

“No other options.” Ning had Azurefiend’s avatar activate and take control over that Apocalypse-class castle.

This was the most powerful Sithe treasure Ning had acquired to date! It was more powerful than the Blacksun, the Tigerhill, and even the castle which was protecting the Three Realms! Ning had been planning to give it to the Three Realms once he left this place, but he was out of options. His other treasures were too weak; they weren’t able to withstand more than just a few attacks. This meant he wouldn’t have any time to analyze the flaws of this place… and once he died, all his treasures would be lost. Even the Paragon of Pills would die here. Now wasn’t the time to hold back!

BOOM! A strange, monstrous-looking dark-red castle appeared. Ning and Azurefiend’s avatars were located securely within the castle, while Azurefiend was burning up his Immortal energy at a rapid place to maintain the castle’s most basic defenses.

“That’s an Apocalypse-class castle!”

“Wait, that’s the castle from earlier.”

“Attack! Attack! Break through it!” The Hegemons and Emperors continued to attack furiously, raining down blows upon the castle. However, the barriers and runes flowing over the surface of the castle were completely undamaged! An Autarch-level attack would have a chance at breaking through the castle’s defenses, but these Sithe weapons weren’t quite at this level; at most, these attacks were comparable to the Blazesun Ruler’s attacks.

The only reason these attacks were dangerous to Ning was because of how brittle his body was. He was extremely powerful, but attacks from the likes of the Blazesun Ruler would still consume some of his energy. Apocalypse-class castles, however, were extremely stable; they could easily endure the blows head-on.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief.

“Master, if you had such a powerful treasure, why didn’t you take it out right away? We lost so many valuable treasures, including a realmship!” Azurefiend couldn’t help but feel some pain at the thought of all that lost wealth.

“They don’t matter.” Ning didn’t explain, as he was still under tremendous pressure. He knew that hiding inside the Apocalypse-class castle would merely buy them a bit of extra time. There was no way the Sithe would just give up like that.

Ning waved his hand, causing the Paragon of Pills, Lord Annihilation, Hegemon Tia, and Hegemon Flameleft to appear. The four of them instantly sensed how grim the atmosphere seemed to be, and the Paragon of Pills looked towards Ning in a rather puzzled way.

Ning immediately explained, “Please take turns in launching area attacks with the castle.” The castle technically had thirty-six stone pillars as well, but Ning didn’t have the time to slowly lay down all of the stone pillars into formation. Moreover, this Apocalypse-class castle’s most powerful attacks were actually those rays of semi-translucent light! However, those incredibly powerful attacks consumed a similarly incredible amount of power.

Azurefiend’s avatar was enough to maintain their defenses, but what about their attacks? Ning was forced to ask the Paragon of Pills and the others to help out. This castle needed a total of thirty-six Emperors to fully activate it, but it could also be used with a lower number.

“All you need to do is make sure you focus your attacks in the same direction,” Ning instructed.

“I’ll go first.” Lord Annihilation instantly began to pour an enormous amount of Immortal energy into the castle. On top of his natural energy regeneration, he also began to make use of the many Immortal pills he carried with him.

The nine towers of the ugly, dark-red castle all lit up. Nine semi-translucent rays of light began to shoot out, tearing through the surrounding space even though they were unable to tear through local spacetime.

Slash! The nine towers shot out rays of light everywhere, causing the spacetime membrane of this dimension to ripple slightly. Alas, the membranes remained stable and unharmed.

“These rays of light are more powerful than the attacks most Sithe weapons can unleash,” Ning mused. “The problem is that as a type of area attack, the power is diffracted. There’s no way to use them to breach this dimensional space.” This spacetime continuum was extremely stable. Ning had an Autarch’s power, but he had the feeling that there was no chance he could break through via raw power! If all nine rays of light managed to concentrate their power on a single location, they might just barely come close to the necessary power level.

“Continue,” Ning instructed. The ugly, dark-red castle once more began to launch thos repeated attacks. As for Ning, he carefully watched as those distant holes appeared in spacetime with each enemy attack. He was trying to understand the mysteries inherent to this place.

“We can’t break through! The castle is too powerful. We aren’t able to breach it at all.” The exiles were starting to grow anxious.

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Chapter 25 – Remaining Lifespan

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 25 – Remaining Lifespan

Their attacks were completely ineffective against this castle, and each time they attacked they had to temporarily create an opening in the membrane surrounding this field of spacetime. The fluctuations generated by these brief openings was enough to let Ji Ning analyze the composition of the formations. Alas, the fluctuations disappeared so very quickly that he couldn’t actually go close and take a look in person. His only option was to scry them and their secrets from afar.

“Damn.” The Sithe Exalt was watching everything from the Sacred Realm, and he was so angry that his teeth hurt. He never would’ve imagined that the castle he bestowed upon the first group would prove to be so troublesome now.

“He has to die!” The Sithe Exalt knew that they wouldn’t necessarily have another chance like this. He instantly sent down eight more attack-oriented treasures which were strong counters for this castle.

“Here is a diagram of the barriers surrounding the surface of the castle. There are a total of twenty-one critical points in total. If you attack eight of them at the same time, you’ll have a chance to destroy it,” the Sithe Exalt ordered. The reason why he handed out eight was because he only HAD eight of these dark corrosive treasures. These were the only treasures which were strong counters against this particular castle.

……

The exiles began to launch another wave of attacks, while Azurefiend, the Paragon of Pills, Lord Annihilation, Hegemon Tia, and Hegemon Flameleft used all of their power to fight back!

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Suddenly, a series of illusory black longspears shot into the area, slamming against the castle. This time, the barriers of the castle began to tremble and break apart, but thankfully the castle itself was so incredibly thick and sturdy that the attack only blasted out a small crater on its surface.

“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly.

“Master, the barriers were breached!” Azurefiend’s avatar said rather nervously.

“It is fine,” Ning said calmly. “The Sithe created this castle. They know the weaknesses of the barriers, which is why they were able to breach them with ease. However, the castle’s outer layer remains incredibly thick. It won’t be easy for them to pierce through it.”

The strongest defensive strength of this castle lay in the materials it was made from. The Tigerhill, for example, was sheathed in a thick layer of deepfire blackstone! Breaking through via raw power would naturally be extremely difficult.

As for this castle? It was even more powerful than the Tigerhill. Its surface was created from a strange, dark-red metal that seemed to be alive. Ning didn’t really know how to describe it, but what he did know was that it was harder to damage than even deepfire blackstone! Those longspears had been filled with a strange type of corrosive energy, which was why they had managed to erode a small crater onto thesurface of the castle. If it wasn’t for that, the castle probably wouldn’t have even been marked.

“Attack!”

“Attack!” One longspear after another flew towards the castle, breaking through its barriers repeatedly and gouging out more and more craters on its surface.

Ning cast a sidelong glance at the black mist which clung to those craters. The corrosive black energy was continuing to slowly melt through the surface of the castle.

“Those offensive weapons are applying the Dao of Darkness to a truly incredible degree.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh at this. The Sithe truly had reached the apex in virtually every single Dao.

However, Ning didn’t really care. His attention was primarily focused on analyzing the ripples in spacetime which appeared with each attack.

Time continued to flow on. The Hegemons and Emperors attacked nonstop, using up a large amount of Immortal energy. Thankfully, they had prepared a large amount of spirit-pills to replenish their power.

They attacked nonstop for nearly an entire hour. By now, the entire castle was covered with a layer of incredibly dense and corrosive black mist. Everyone inside the castle looked quite nervous, because they all knew that this powerful castle was at the verge of collapse.

“Darknorth, we can’t hold on much longer. What should we do?” The Paragon of Pills felt both anxious and guilty. She blamed herself for this, because Ning had only fallen into this Sithe trap due to having come here to rescue her.

“Master, do you have any ideas?” Azurefiend’s avatar was worried about Ning as well.

“At least it bought me an hour,” Ning said. “Don’t worry about the rest.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and drew away the Paragon of Pills and the others. As they disappeared, a look of worry was visible in theireyes. Some were worried about Ning, while others were only worried about themselves! Once Ning died, all of them would die.

To be precise… the Paragon, Azurefiend, Flameleft, and Tia were not afraid of death. They were worried for Ning. Lord Annihilation, however, very much wanted to stay alive!

“Nothing for it. Life and death shall be determined by this!” Ning suddenly cracked a smile. Both his true body and his Primaltwin had spent this period of time analyzing the mysteries of this dimension, seeking a way to destroy it. His Primaltwin had even made use of 100x temporal acceleration! Alas, this sort of spacetime formation would not be easy to deconstruct; even if Ning had 10,000x more time, it still probably wouldn’t be enough.

“We broke through!” The Hegemons and Emperors outside were excited at their successes. BOOM! The dark-red castle’s outer shell was finally corroded through by that dark mist.

“DIE!” A dazzling streak of sword-light suddenly lit up. In the middle of that sword-light was a white-robed figure whose eyes radiated a towering desire to do battle. Ning had discarded all other thoughts save for one – stay alive! He had to make it out of this place alive! Only if he made it out would the Paragon of Pills and the others survive as well.

“Break! Break! BREAK!” Ning manifested three heads and six arms, simultaneously wielding all six Northbow swords for the first time since his Daomerge. He seemed to have gone completely berserk, and every single attack he used was that of the Space Sword Dao. The destructive yet ephemeral sword-light began to skyrocket in power as all six swords stabbed out at the same time.

Ning attacked using maximum power with each sword, and his swords were the Northbow Swords, the preminent offensive swords in all the Chaosverse. Every single strike he unleashed had power comparable to those of the most powerful of Autarchs! It must be remembered that although Ning had fought for quite some time, he generally didn’t strike with full-force on his attacks, while very little energy was used up when he merely used evasion-arts. The amount of energy consumed when he went all-out was quite shocking!

Sword-light flashed again and again and again.

BOOM! Finally, a hole appeared in one corner of this dimension, revealing the dark world outside. Swoosh! Ning immediately charged outside.

As soon as Ning charged outside the formation, he instantly appeared in front of a palace within the palace complex. He blinked inside the palace, slaughtering all of the true Sithe within it! As for the Sithe progeny, he took confiscated all of their treasures and then locked them up for later testing. If they were truly loyal to the Sithe, they would be put to death in the future.

“Whew.” Ning’s face was rather ashen after he finished mopping up everyone in the palace complex. “Now that sucked. I only have six hundred chaos cycles left,” Ning said with a self-mocking chuckle. He had been forced to use too much power, using maximum-force blows each time as he rained a total of eighteen consecutive blows upon the formation in order to escape it.

And this was after Ning had spent a full hour analyzing the dimension, discovering some of its critical points. Although he wasn’t even close to being able to solve it, by focusing his attacks on those critical points he was able to make his attacks ten times more effective than they otherwise would be. This was why he had chosen to take the risk of launching eighteen full-strength attacks with his Space Sword Dao.

An Autarch who was trapped in a similar situation would’ve been able to escape much more easily. He could’ve simply launched nonstop attacks! An Autarch would not run out of energy, and so after ten thousand attacks the formation would be unable to withstand it any longer and collapse.

“Six hundred chaos cycles,” Ning mused to himself. Based on his original estimates, he would probably die after another hundred full-force strikes… and based on his actual energy usage, the ten-plus full-strength blows he had launched had resulted in his lifespan being reduced from ten thousand chaos cycles down to six hundred!

This was because a Daolord’s crumbling truesoul was like a cracking dam! The more he attacked, the greater the cracks would become. When he first started to fight, the crack would double in size and the truesoul crumbling speed would double. As a result, his lifespan would shorten by half, from around 12,000 chaos cycles to just 6000 chaos cycles!

As he continued to attack, his lifespan would drop by yet another half. The second time, it would ‘merely’ drop from 6000 chaos cycles to 3000 chaos cycles.

After that, 1500 chaos cycles. After that, 750…

It only took four or five ‘rounds’ of attacks for his lifespan to drop from 12,000 chaos cycles to 600 chaos cycles, and it would continue to drop from there on. After another ten or so rounds, his lifespan would be reduced to just half a chaos cycle. Technically, however, those ten rounds would ‘only’ have consumed around 599 chaos cycles, whereas the first few rounds consumed over 10,000 chaos cycles.

Clearly, the more he fought the smaller the absolute value of the effect on his lifespan would be. Alas, once his truesoul crumbled to a certain degree it would completely fall apart! Much like a dam which was riddled with cracks would eventually collapse, Ning would die after roughly a hundred full-force strikes.

“Six hundred chaos cycles… it’ll be enough!” Ning revealed a smile. “At least I’m still alive. It was all thanks to that extra hour that I managed to survive and escape.”

His truesoul was now crumbling at a far, far faster rate than it had been in the past. Ning raised his head to stare towards the skies. “Next will be the Sacred Realm.”

Aside from Ning, Purgatory no longer held any other living beings at all.

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Chapter 26 – Daoguard Tower

Book 41, The Daoguard Tower, Chapter 26 – Daoguard Tower

Although Ji Ning very much wanted to bring the Paragon of Pills out alive, he knew that there was a high chance that he would die on this trip to the Sacred Realm.

“Before going there, I need to first take a look at the cultivation methods these Sithe descendants used.” Ning had always been curious as to how the Sithe had trained their progeny! Their descendants were born and bred within Ning’s Chaosverse, making it impossible for them to train in true Sithe techniques. How, then, did the Sithe teach them? Did they just hand over normal cultivator techniques, or did they use other retrofitted techniques?

Whoosh. Ning willed his Sword Dao Domain to expand outwards, preventing anyone from scrying him. At the same time, he caused a dazed-looking blood-robed Emperor to appear next to him. This was one of the several Emperors and Hegemons Ning had captured.

“Greetings, Daolord,” the blood-robed Emperor said hurriedly with respect.

“Mm. I’m going to ask you a few questions. Be a good boy and answer them for me,” Ning said.

“Go ahead, Daolord. I’ll tell you everything I can,” the blood-robed Emperor replied obediently. Moments later, his gaze turned rather muddled as an illusion took hold of him. He didn’t even try to resist it, and even if he did Ning had reached a far higher level in the Dao of Illusions. The tiny strand of sword-intent which Ning had sent into his consciously was enough to completely suppress his mind, ensuring that the following illusions worked without fail.

It was much like how ordinary mortals might find themselves going totally blank when they saw something that left them absolutely awestruck. They would briefly lose all capability of rational thought.

Autarchs who didn’t specialize in the Dao of Illusions were still able to take advantage of their overall overwhelming superiority to ensure that Hegemons would be unable to resist them. Trapping Hegemons within illusions was extremely simple… but of course, the stronger one’s Dao-heart was, the less effective this mind-suppressive technique would be.

“The Sithe truly are vicious.” Ning continued to flip through this Emperor’s memories. “They actually have forced all of their descendants to swear lifeblood oaths to obey all orders the Exalt gives them. That way, it’ll be extremely difficult for the descendants to break free from the Sithe, even if they wanted to.”

“Huh. They actually train in the exact same types of techniques that we cultivators use.” Ning shook his head. “Even the teaching methods are the same.”

He flipped through some of the memories he cared about the most, but didn’t find any pleasant surprises. Ning then began to review the many memories of the life which this Emperor had lived. This Emperor had been alive for so long and had so many memories that even Ning would need quite a bit of time to process them all. Ning primarily kept his focus on finding hints which would give him a better chance to develop a perfect cultivation path like the one the Sithe used. He wanted to find something that could let him continue to live.

If he could live, why should he seek death? Hope was reserved for the living alone, and so Ning had never given up hope.

He spent a total of three days flipping through this Emperor’s memories at high speed. Suddenly, a look of delighted shock appeared on Ning’s face. “So this is…”

Long, long ago, the Sithe had transmitted certain special cultivation techniques for their progeny to try out! However, many Sithe descendants encountered problems during the testing process. Some self-detonated and died, while others saw their truesouls destroyed. The Sithe tested out a total of nine different types of techniques, but all of them ended up in failure. Even though the ninth and final technique allowed one to become a Daolord of the First Step, upon actually becoming a Samsara Daolord the cultivator’s body would crumble and their truesoul would shatter apart.

From that day forth, the Sithe gave up their research into those nine unique techniques and started to pass down cultivator techniques to their children instead. Much like Ning, they trained in divine power and Immortal energy.

“Nine unique techniques?” A look of delight was on Ning’s face. “The ninth one in particular… it actually allows divine power, Immortal energy, and all other types of energy to join together, strengthening both body and soul. Only, it would fail once the practitioner actually became a Samsara Daolord.”

“Only the most supreme of Sithe could’ve created something like this. I wager it came from their Lord of Chaos, who repeatedly attempted to create a perfect cultivation technique suited for our Chaosverse.” Ning felt rather excited.

“Nine techniques in total, with each cultivator swearing an oath not to pass it down to anyone else? I have to find them.”

Ning felt a sense of excitement and desire for these techniques. The Sithe had failed in their nine special techniques, because they couldn’t truly and directly connect to the Dao of this Chaosverse. Ning, however, could! He might not be at the same level as the Lord of Chaos, but if he acquired those nine Sithe techniques… maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance.

He knew that the chance was extremely low, but he still wanted to give it a shot.

The Hegemons and Emperors who Ning had captured had all been alive for an extremely long period of time. They all knew of the nine secret techniques, but they had all painstakingly followed the normal route to becoming Emperors. Most of them hadn’t even been taught those special techniques! Three of them did know the techniques, but they had sworn oaths not to transmit them; if they attempted to do so, their truesouls would shatter and they would die.

……

Outside the hidden dimension.

The black-robed Ning was alongside the avatars of Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg. They had been searching for many years for a way to break into the hidden dimension. During this period of time, all the other Autarchs had also come over to give it a try, but none of them were able to lock onto the exact location of that hidden dimension.

“Autarch Titanos. Autarch Mogg.” Ning asked hurriedly, “Autarchs, have you heard of nine special techniques which the Sithe once bestowed upon their progeny?”

“We know of this, yes.” Autarch Titanos nodded slowly. “During the Dawn War, we actually fought against a number of Sithe descendants during our war against the Sithe. All of them were completely loyal to the Sithe and they fought like rabid dogs. Most of us were filled with bloodlust at the time and showed them no mercy at all. The only one who actually held back and captured a few of them was Autarch Skyfeeder. When she reviewed their memories, she came to learn that the Sithe had once transmitted nine special techniques to them, but all of those techniques were failures.”

The nearby Autarch Mogg nodded. “Most likely, the Sithe wanted to mass-produce a large number of Hegemons or perhaps even Autarchs! They could have their descendants swear lifeblood oaths to never rebel against them, after all. If they succeeded, they would be able to draw power from our Chaosverse… at which point, they could murder those descendants and steal their power, weakening our Chaosverse.”

Ning nodded.

“But they failed. As for those nine techniques, we wanted to find them to see if there was anything which might inspire us,” Autarch Titanos said, “But after the Dawn War concluded, we were unable to find any traces of Sithe descendants, and so we had nowhere to start.”

“What about the ones Autarch Skyfeeder captured?” Ning asked.

“All of them swore lifeblood oaths to never transmit those techniques. When we tried to forcibly rip the techniques out of their memories, their truesouls crumbled apart.” Autarch Titanos shook his head. “Given that we were unable to find any more Sithe progeny after this, we let the matter rest.”

Ning quickly understood. Sithe progeny were quite rare, and it was also fairly hard to recognize them at a glance. They looked just like ordinary cultivators, after all! The Autarchs couldn’t just spend their time wandering the cosmos and flipping through the memories of cultivators at random, right?

“The Sithe descendants.” Ning knew that many of the weaker Sithe descendants in the hidden dimension had never even heard of those nine techniques, much less studied them! The only ones who might truly know those techniques were the high-status Sithe who had been along for a long period of time. Those were generally at the Emperor level.

“I have to spend some time searching this hidden dimension and do my best to find those nine techniques,” Ning mused.

……

The Sacred Realm. The Elder Hall.

The blue-haired Exalt remained seated upon his throne, with a large number of Emperors and Hegemons gathered before him. Some of them were true Sithe, while some had been raised and trained over the course of countless years within this enormous hidden region. The Sithe had put quite a bit of effort into rearing these descendants, and their success rates were significantly higher than what the native cultivators were used to.

“Ever since the Dawn War ended… I, Exalt Bowenya, have been stationed in this dimension. I have been here for a very, very long time.” The blue-haired Exalt stared downwards, then continued slowly, “I feel a sense of deep attachment to this dimension, and I truly do not wish for trouble to occur here. In fact, I don’t even wish for a second war to begin against the cultivators.”

“However… that isn’t a choice I can make! Nor is that a choice any of you can make!” The blue-haired youth stared downwards at them. “A terrifying Daolord has arisen amongst the cultivators, and we have only one choice available to us… kill him!”

“If we can kill him, even sacrificing this entire dimension would be worth it.” The blue-haired youth let out a sigh. “I know that this place is home for many of you Hegemons… and I view it as home as well. I’ve spent the majority of my long life here. Life here has been peaceful and gentle. I don’t want to give it up.”

“But once this Daolord came here, our peaceful life came to an end.” The blue-haired youth’s voice rang out within the Elder Hall, and all of the silent Hegemons and Emperors began to emanate a murderous aura.

Some wanted to kill the Daolord for the great rewards they would be given… but most hated the fact that he had come here and embroiled them in war once more! They didn’t want to fight… but not even Exalts would dare to violate the standing orders of the most supreme Sithe!”

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Chapter 1 – Hawkfang

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 1 – Hawkfang

“Exalt, who in the world is this white-robed Daolord? Why must we sacrifice everything for the sake of killing him?” One of the many Hegemons below the Exalt, a Sithe descendant, couldn’t help but ask this question. To this very day, the Sithe descendants had no idea what ‘a Daolord who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao’ truly represented for the Sithe. In truth, the Sithe didn’t dare to tell their descendants too much either!

In the end, their descendants were native to this Chaosverse and had grown up here. Strictly speaking, it was destined for them to be unable to walk the same path together, and so they were purposefully kept in the dark regarding many things. As a result, they now felt that this was completely incomprehensible and not worth them losing their lives over!

“Right, Exalt! We had thought that killing him would be very easy, but Purgatory was defeated even after we gave it a pair of Apocalypse-class treasures. This Daolord is too powerful! Aside from the three Elder Halls, we don’t have any treasures that are superior to the ones we already sent down, but the three Elder Halls are immobile. If we want to proactively attack him, we’ll be at a huge disadvantage. Many of us will probably die.”

“We can simply keep him exiled in Purgatory and wait for his truesoul to collapse. He’ll still die, right? Why is it necessary for us to pay such an enormous price?”

“Why do we have to fight with him to the death?”

“Is such an enormous price truly worth it?” The Sithe descendants voiced their arguments, one by one. The true Sithe were silent. They knew the details behind this, but they didn’t dare to expose them! They had been ordered long ago to restrict the amount of contact between them and their descendants, for fear of their descendants learning the ‘truth’ and losing faith.

“Worth it?” The blue-haired youth, ‘Exalt Bowenya’, let out a soft sigh from atop his throne. “Yes… I, too, feel that it isn’t worth it.” Exalt Bowenya stared downwards. “But I’ve already told you everything I can. The things I have left unsaid, I have done so because I am not permitted to! If I told you the truth, I would be violating Sithe laws and my truesoul would be annihilated.”

“All you need to know is this! Our dimension may seem large, but we are nothing more than a small part of the Sithe race and empire. This is nothing more than a small part of Sithe territory.” Exalt Bowenya waved a finger, causing an image to appear in midair of the white-robed Daolord. “As for him… he is of grave importance to the entire Sithe civilization. We have to destroy him and then capture his truesoul. This will be an enormous accomplishment for our race! Sacrificing our entire hidden dimension will be worth it, yes. Even if the sacrifice was greater, it would still be worth it.”

Everyone below fell silent. The Sithe descendants also knew that they were nothing more than a small part of the massive Sithe empire as a whole.

“If we go against our orders, our entire dimension will be punished and annihilated. All of us, including myself, will be put to death.” Exalt Bowenya’s voice was glacially cold, and the Hegemons below him all felt an invisible sense of oppression. If they tried to find a way out, the only result would be death.

“There’s no way out. We have to kill him. If we kill him, we’ll all be rewarded heavily. If we do not… we will all die! If you must blame someone, blame that Daolord for having come to our home,” Exalt Bowenya said. “Now… obey my orders.”

None of the Hegemons voiced any further complaints. The true Sithe knew that there was no way to avoid this, while the Sithe progeny all knew that shirking back meant death.

“Jonnbech,” Exalt Bowenya called out. An extremely muscular four-armed man with curly hair who was three meters tall had been standing close to the front of the throng of Hegemons. He stepped forward and said respectfully, “Exalt.”

“Jonnbech, it is now time for war. We are throwing everything we have into this battle against that Daolord. You have past experience with controlling an Elder Hall, and so from this day forth you shall be the controller of the ‘Iceland’ Elder Hall.”

“Understood.” Jonnbech was a true Sithe and was second only to the Exalt in power. He had a perfect Dao-heart and was highly venerated amongst the Sithe.

“Hawkfang.” Exalt Bowenya’s gaze turned towards another man. Instantly, the entire hall began to stir. Some of the true Sithe began to frown, while others remained quite calm. Most of the Sithe progeny, however, grew excited. Hawkfang was a leader amongst the Sithe descendants and extremely powerful.

“Exalt.” Hawkfang bowed respectfully. His face was calm, and he was dressed in long black robes. His eyes seemed to contain an endless universe of space and time within them.

Exalt Bowenya couldn’t help but secretly sigh to himself when he saw this. Hawkfang was a descendant he held in high regard, and was the son of a friend. The man was extremely talented and had reached Hegemony in a very short period of time. He stood a very good chance of becoming an Autarch in the future! Even the supreme leader of the Sithe paid a great deal of attention to Hawkfang.

Alas, during the Dawn War, Hawkfang’s father (another Exalt) died in battle. Ever since then, Hawkfang seemed to have become filled with many thoughts and worries, resulting in him being unable to progress any further in his path of cultivation. The entire Sithe race sighed at the loss.

It must be remembered that if Sithe descendants became what the locals called ‘Autarchs’, then as natives to this Chaosverse they would gain full control over the power of the local Dao. An extra ‘Autarch’ on the side of the Sithe would be of enormous assistance to them.

As the supreme leader of the Sithe once said: “Hawkfang simply hasn’t experienced enough. The only place he has ever lived is that single small dimension. The death of his father caused his heart to be filled with turmoil. He is unable to perfect his Dao-heart and he no longer has any chance of reaching Autarchy! If he had been able to spend more time wandering the universe, his father’s death wouldn’t have dealt such a deadly bow to his psyche. Now that a shadow has been cast over his heart, it will be very difficult for him to perfect his Dao-heart!”

He had been such a promising figure, but now he was destined to be mediocre! Still… in this dimension, Hawkfang remained the most talented member of the Sithe descendants, and he had reached Hegemony in a total of six Daos!

“Starting now, Hawkfang, you shall be in control of the same Elder Hall your father controlled – the ‘Flameland’ Elder Hall,” Exalt Bowenya said. “Your father died a glorious death in battle for the sake of the Sithe. I hope you will prove to be as fearless as your father was and destroy this Daolord for the Sithe.”

“Understood.” Hawkfang remained completely expressionless as he bowed respectfully.

“Jonnbech, Hawkfang, the two of you should immediately go to your respective Elder Halls and take control over them. Once you do so, the three of us shall decide on a strategy for dealing with this Daolord,” Exalt Bowenya instructed. “As for the other Hegemons, await your deployment orders.”

“Understood.” The throng of Hegemons and Emperors all acknowledged the order.

……

The three Elder Halls were all glowing with white light. One of them was shining brighter than the other two, which were slightly dimmer. They had lain untouched for many years, after all; they were simply functioning on auto-mode.

Whoosh. The black-robed Hawkfang suddenly flew through the air, moving towards the towering, twelve-storied tower which emanated a scorching aura. When he arrived before it, he raised his head and stared upwards, a lost look in his eyes.

“Father,” Hawkfang murmured softly. He still clearly remembered his father bringing him here when he was young. This was his father’s Daoguard Tower, and they had played together here. Life back then had been truly carefree, and he had been so incredibly talented that he had succeeded in everything he tried. His father had arranged him to experience a few setbacks to temper him, but they barely slowed him down at all. He had reached the Daomerge with incredible speed, then completed it and reached Hegemony.

“It’s been so long, but I’ve come again.” Hawkfang reached out to touch the tower. He could still remember that battle clearly.

During the Dawn War, his avatar had accompanied his father in their grand campaign. Towards the end of the war, they had fallen into dire straits. His father had personally destroyed his avatar, not wishing for his avatar to fall into the hands of their cultivator enemies. If the Autarchs managed to capture his avatar, they were completely capable of using karma to slay his true body as well! In contrast, when his father killed his avatar it would have no impact at all. Avatars didn’t matter too much to Hegemons, as they could simply remake them after they were destroyed.

In the end, his father had died during that battle. He had died at the hands of a cultivator known as ‘Autarch Bolin’.

“The cultivators…” Hawkfang mused to himself, “Am I a Sithe, or am I a cultivator?” Hawkfang shook his head. “Let us fight, then. If you can’t even stop someone like me, then you deserve to die. Even if I really am a cultivator, killing some of them in Father’s memory isn’t that big a deal.” He stepped into the tower.

“Young master.” A black golem instantly appeared on the first floor of the great tower, and it bowed respectfully: “I’ve already received orders to hand the entire Daoguard Tower over to you.”

“Mm.” Hawkfang nodded. He immediately took control over the entire Elder Hall and began to make plans to deal with the white-robed Daolord based on the various tricks and traps the hall contained.”

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Chapter 2 – Illusion Sword Dao

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 2 – Illusion Sword Dao

Hawkfang and Jonnbech quickly familiarized themselves with their respective Elder Halls. After doing so, they went to meet with Exalt Bowenya again. The three met within a quiet side hall and began to discuss their battle plans.

“Exalt, these are all the tools which my ‘Iceland’ Elder Hall possesses.” Jonnbech waved his hand, causing a scroll to appear. This scroll was covered with dense scribbling which recorded the various offensive techniques the Iceland Hall possessed.

“These are all the attacks which the ‘Flameland’ Elder Hall can use.” Hawkfang also produced a scroll which was covered with a complete record of what his hall could do.

Exalt Bowenya carefully inspected both the scrolls. “Huh. My old friends certainly put a great deal of countermeasures inside their Daoguard Towers.” Exalt Bowenya chuckled. “My plans for dealing with this Daolord are simple. Let’s fight him openly and use the overwhelming power over our three Daoguard Towers to fight and kill him head-on.”

“Fight and kill him head-on? How?” Jonnbech asked, while Hawkfang simply listened without saying a word.

“Simple. Our three Daoguard Towers shall use all the long-distance attacks available to us, as well as treasures that are strong enough to pose a threat to him! Everyone else will swarm him as we do so, and we’ll wipe him out at the base of the Sacred Mountains,” Exalt Bowenya said.

Both Jonnbech and Hawkfang were startled. This was an extremely vicious ploy! They had been planning on setting down layers of traps to slowly whittle away at the Daolord’s longevity until he finally died, but Exalt Bowenya had a far crueler plan in mind.

They were going to send all the Hegemons and Emperors to attack while the Daoguard Towers launched virtually all of their attacks from afar! They would literally focus all of their firepower in one massive bombardment, using all of their tricks and traps and offensive powers at the same time. This was indeed likely to result in the Daolord’s death, but the maddened Daolord would probably butcher many of the Hegemons and Emperors swarming him. However, Jonnbech and Hawkfang didn’t voice any dissent. The Exalt was the final decision-maker, after all.

“What if he doesn’t die at the base of the Sacred Mountains?” Hawkfang asked.

“How could he possibly survive that many attacks?” Jonnbech frowned.

“And what if he does?” Hawkfang repeated.

Bowenya smiled coldly. “Then the only things left to us shall be our respective Daoguard Towers. Even if it costs us our very lives, we have to kill him… because if we can’t kill him, we will still die.”

“My plan is to have 70% of the Hegemons and Emperors take part in the battle at the base of the Sacred Mountains. The remaining 30% of them will be split amongst the three of us. If it really does come down to a series of final battles involving our Daoguard Towers, we’ll need their help.” Bowenya chuckled. “He’s nothing more than a Daolord whose truesoul is crumbling away. Our three towers should be enough to kill him.”

……

Exalt Bowenya gave the order, and the entire Sacred Realm sprinted into motion. An awesome number of Samsara Daolords were teleported away from it, while some of the most supremely talented Daolords were actually given a chance to take part in the fight as well! They were given Sithe weapons and would be sent out as fodder to exhaust that terrifying Daolord in battle.

Rumble… the levitating Realmgate suddenly activated, once more glowing with the same dazzling light that it had emanated for countless years. The Realmgate was a hundred thousand kilometers tall, and it radiated eye-catching splendor.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position on the ground. He raised his head to glance at the distant Realmgate. “The Realmgate has been activated. However… I’m in no rush to go there just yet.” Ning then shut his eyes again, once more focusing on the Dao of Illusions.

Ever since he had learned of those nine special techniques, he had scoured the memories of all the Hegemons and Emperors he had captured. However, there had been two Hegemons who had extremely powerful Dao-hearts. Ning had been unable to successfully review their memories! Ning was planning to capture more Hegemons during this trip into the Sacred Realm. He had to improve his mastery over the art of illusions, improving it to Hegemony!

Ever since he had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he had been able to quickly master other Daos as well. For example, he had long ago reached Hegemony in the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time. Training to Hegemony was quite simple, but fusing them into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao was fairly difficult.

As for the Dao of Illusions? Ning had yet to upgrade it to Hegemony, much less infuse it into his sword-arts.

Time continued to pass on. He was able to reach Hegemony in the Dao of Illusions after merely eighty thousand years. It could be said that Ning was now at a level where he could easily reach Hegemony in any Dao he desired, even complicated Daos such as the Dao of Numerancy or the Dao of Karma. They might take a bit more time, but he could still do it. To Ning, however, there wasn’t much of a point to doing so. These Daos were only useful when he infused them into his Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

Time continued to flow on. A hundred million years. A billion years. Ten billion years…

The Sacred Realm had finished making its preparations long ago. The Sithe were waiting for Ning… and they began to grow a bit anxious.

“Why hasn’t that Daolord come yet?”

“It has been nearly half a chaos cycle. How much longer does he plan to train for?”

“If this continues, is it possible that he’ll just naturally expire and his truesoul will crumble?” The Sithe were all rather worried.

“Don’t worry. He won’t. The fact that he is still cultivating is proof that he very much wants to stay alive. He wouldn’t be willing to just train until his death.”

“Let’s keep waiting. That’s the only choice we have! He’s the only living person in all of Purgatory right now. There’s no way for us to set up any formations there, and the power of the three Elder Halls would be dramatically weakened if used in Purgatory. We used two Apocalypse-class treasures which were a perfect counter against him, but both failed. There’s no point in sending anyone else with any other treasures to Purgatory. Our only choice is to wait.”

Ning was simply too powerful. In the end, even the ‘perfect counters’ against him had failed. Their only chance was to rely on their Daoguard Towers and wait for Ning to come to them. The Daoguard Towers, however, were in the Sacred Realm! Thus, the Sithe had to remain in the Sacred Realm. They wouldn’t dare go to Purgatory!

……

One chaos cycle. Two chaos cycles. Ten chaos cycles. A hundred chaos cycles…

Ning’s Primaltwin in the outside world was training as well, paying no heed to the Sithe who were being driven mad with impatience.

Finally, the day came when a small smile appeared in Ning’s face. He had been completely absorbed in cultivating for many years now, and today he finally felt the joy of finding the Dao he sought! He slowly opened his eyes, and his gaze seemed to be filled with illusions of the birth and destruction of all things in spacetime.

Boom! A strange surge of power flowed through the Sword Dao Domain around him, causing countless illusions to appear. Countless living beings were born, lived, and fought against each other. Some of them even possessed rudimentary levels of sentience. It could be said that they already had some of the qualities of actual living beings.

“I never would’ve imagined that when the Dao of Illusions came together with my Eternal Omega Sword Dao, its power would skyrocket by such a great amount. My illusions are beginning to become reality.” Ning could sense that the illusory life forms he had created were all ‘real’. They had their own sentience and even some rudimentary emotions; the only thing they lacked was a sense of self-awareness.

Ning now felt rather reluctant to bring this illusion to an end. Once he did, it would represent the annihilation of all the living beings within this illusory realm.

“So the guesses of countless cultivators who came before me were correct. If one can reach an incredibly high level in the Dao of Illusions, one truly can turn illusions into reality,” Ning mused. “If I can make another breakthrough and upgrade my Omega Dao to Autarchy, I’ll probably be able to make everything within my heartworld projection real.”

With another thought, Ning gradually cast the illusory world around him into darkness. The countless beings within that world all fell asleep… and then, the illusion came to an end.

Although he was rather unwilling to part with them, he couldn’t just spend all his time and energy maintaining that illusory realm.

“Illusions… reality… I imagine there are many cultivators who would rather live in an illusory realm.” Ning’s Illusion Sword Dao had reached such a level where many cultivators would willingly allow themselves to be captured by it, because it truly did feel extremely real. Only a tiny little bit of difference remained between it and true reality.

Ning’s truesoul was affected by the power of his Illusion Sword Dao as well. Reality and illusion intersected repeatedly, resulting in his truesoul feeling more comfortable than ever before. Even the truesoul’s crumbling speed was somewhat lessened! Ning’s mastery of the Wind Sword Dao and Lightning Sword Dao had been of negligible benefit to his truesoul, but the Illusion Sword Dao was clearly quite helpful.

“For the sake of this Illusion Sword Dao, I spent a total of 185 chaos cycles in training! However, the Illusion Sword Dao has caused my truesoul to slow down its rate of crumbling. As a result, I still have six hundred chaos cycles left.” Ning couldn’t help but let out an involuntary chuckle. “I guess you really do win some and lose some.”

“Now that I have mastered the Illusion Sword Dao, it is time to review the memories of those two Hegemons.” Ning once more summoned the two Hegemons he had captured.

As soon as the two Hegemons looked at Ning, they instantly fell into a dazed stupor. Ning’s mastery of the Illusion Sword Dao meant only Autarch Stonerule, the master of the Illusion Daobirth Essence, was superior to him in the art of illusions… and only somewhat superior at that. The other Autarchs were all slightly inferior to Ning in this regard! And so, Ning was able to review the memories of the various Hegemons with ease.

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Chapter 3 – Wandering the Sacred Realm Alone

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 3 – Wandering the Sacred Realm Alone

This was another testament to how formidable the path of the Omega Dao was. Mastering the Eternal Omega Sword Dao put Ji Ning on par with the Autarchs, and as Ning infused more and more Daos into his Sword Dao, he began to improve in many other areas as well. Given enough time, he would undergo a final transformation and reach a higher level, the level which the entire cultivator civilization yearned for!

“A pity. Once again, no luck with those nine techniques.” Ning slowly shook his head. “They are all bound by lifeblood oaths. There’s no way to review those techniques at all. Can it really be possible that every single Hegemon and Emperor was bound by a lifeblood oath? Is there really no way at all?”

“No. The probability may be low, but there always is a chance. Mm. Well. Time to go to the Sacred Realm.” Ning lifted his head to stare at the towering Realmgate. It had been glowing with dazzling light for many years now.

Ning took a single step forwards and moved towards the Realmgate. After stepping inside, he entered yet another tunnel that was formed from many different folds of dimensional space. This was the dimensional passageway which led to the Sacred Realm.

This time, he didn’t suffer any attacks within the dimensional passageway. Sneak attacks had clearly proven to be useless against him, after all, and letting him die alone in exile wasn’t worth it. They had been waiting for him for many years now… waiting for him to come to the Sacred Realm.

“The Sacred Realm.” Ning stood at the exit to the tunnel, staring at the Sacred Realm around him. “Odd. I thought that this place would be quite dangerous, that there would be many different traps and formations awaiting my arrival. Who would’ve thought that there’d be nothing here?” Ning was rather surprised. There was no way any ambush could escape his detection. Ning had been planning to rely on his Storm Sword Dao to flee at high speeds if he discovered any traps, but now it seemed as it was all unnecessary.

Swoosh! Ning flew away from the Realmgate and into the skies. He stared down at the vast world around him, quickly seeing the palaces and estates which were located off in the distance. Clearly, there had once been many people who had lived here. Now, the entire Sacred Realm was deathly silent. All the Daolords had been evacuated, leaving their empty estates behind.

Ning took a deep breath, and as he did so a surge of energy flowed into his body, making him feel quite comfortable. An awesome aura of power pervaded this entire place. The energy here was so dense than an entire army of Hegemons could draw upon it and use it to cultivate.

“What a truly wonderful ‘Sacred Realm’,” Ning said with an approving chuckle.

“Daolord.” An icy void suddenly echoed in the skies above the Sacred Realm.

“Is that the Sithe Exalt?” Ning stood there in midair, a smile on his face. “I thought you’d attack me as soon as I exited the Realmgate. I didn’t expect you to behave so courteously.”

“I, Bowenya, have been waiting for you for many years now, Daolord,” the icy void said.

“I, Darknorth, was teleported into this place by you Sithe. Heh.” Ning chuckled. “Honestly, I would really rather not fight you. If you just let me go, that would be the best outcome for both of us! Otherwise, our only option is to fight each other.”

Many of the Sithe descendants were moved by these words. They knew just how powerful Daolord Darknorth was, and they weren’t willing to fight him. If it truly was possible for them to avoid this battle, how wonderful it would be! However, they all knew that this was a fantasy. No one dared to disobey the orders from the supreme Sithe leader! There was no way out of this deadly battle.

“Daolord Darknorth?” The icy voice spoke out once more: “A fine name. There is no need for us to waste time on words. If you wish to leave this place, you must do so through overpowering us. Given how strong you are, I imagine you can tell where the exit path lies.”

“The exit path should lie within the Daoguard Tower in the very rear, I imagine,” Ning said. Ning was able to sense and scan the entire Sacred Realm through the power of his Wind Sword Dao, and he knew of the presence of those three Daoguard Towers.

All three Daoguard Towers had a total of twelve stories. Based on what Ning knew regarding the Sithe, this meant that these were Daoguard Towers which belonged to Sithe Exalts! There was no way they would be as easy to deal with as the Daoguard Tower he had dealt with some time ago. Ning’s acute attunement to space also allowed him to ascertain and verify that the center of the Sacred Realm, the place where all the dimensional controls were located, was within the Daoguard Tower at the very rear.

What he didn’t know was that during the Dawn War, all three Daoguard Towers shared part of the dimensional controls! After two of the Sithe Exalts died, the Daoguard Towers had been modified so that the only one which could be used to control this hidden dimension was the one which Exalt Bowenya controlled.

“Impressive, Daolord Darknorth.” The icy voice continued, “Then come and fight me, if you dare.”

“Hmph.” Ning let out an amused snort. “Be there shortly. Relax.”

……

Ning began to leisurely fly through the Sacred Realm, blinking through the various regions within it and inspecting it carefully.

“Huh.” Ning stood before a mountain wall which was filed with many carvings as well as some cultivation techniques. “Now that’s interesting.” Ning was like a tourist, wandering through the various parts of the Sacred Realm and visiting many of the sects it held.

The Hegemons and Emperors had been waiting for battle for many years now, and they all felt rather speechless at Ning’s behavior. Still… they had already managed to wait for over a hundred chaos cycles. A bit more time would make no difference at all. They could be patient.

Ning spent a total of fifteen days touring the Sacred Realm.

“A pity. I didn’t find any trace of the nine techniques I’m interested in.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. The Sacred Realm had been used to train Samsara Daolords for countless aeons. Many techniques had been recorded here, and not all of them had been destroyed during the evacuation. Ning was able to broaden his horizons by inspecting the remaining ones, but he didn’t find the ones he really needed.

Whoosh. Ning began to fly closer towards the Sacred Mountains. There were a total of three towering Daoguard Towers at the peaks of three of the mountains, and they were all glowing with dazzling light that caused spacetime to ripple around them. The effect of the light extended to a distance of a trillion kilometers, and the effect was continuous. Not even Autarch Mogg, who specialized in the Dao of Space, would be able to teleport through this region, to say nothing of Ning.

This was one of the things which made an Exalt’s Daoguard Tower so incredibly dangerous! Spacetime was completely suppressed here.

“This truly is a beautiful world. A pity that it is about to be torn apart by war,” Ning said.

“Even if it is destroyed, we can remake it in the future,” that icy voice replied.

Ning said nothing further. He drew a Northbow sword from the sheath on his back, then continued to fly forwards as he carefully inspected the area around him. “I can sense danger within every inch of the Sacred Mountains. It doesn’t matter which direction I enter from; I’ll still be face incredible danger. I have no choice but to just charge in.”

Whoosh. Ning continued to fly forwards. Suddenly, the hills below him began to tremble and shake, followed by rippling ley-lines to appear. A massive formation that was a hundred billion kilometers in size began to activate, and it completely separated the surrounding dimension away from the normal spacetime continuum.

“The Dimensional Separator again?” Ning shook his head and laughed. An area of a hundred billion kilometers around him had been completely separated from the outside world. Ning had suffered a similar attack while rescuing the Paragon of Pills. Ning couldn’t help but sigh at how the Sithe seemed to be able to play with space, cutting through it as though it was a cake.

Ning simply stood there in the air, sword at the ready as he calmly glanced at the stand-alone dimension which had been formed around him. He was waiting for them to come to him. If he didn’t fight, how was he supposed to capture more Emperors and search for those nine techniques?

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Vile auras began to appear at the margins of this sealed spacetime continuum, and the vile auras began to come together and form vilefiends. These vilefiends were all extremely powerful, the most powerful vilefiends Ning had seen thus far. They were probably all at the Otherverse Lord level of power.

“Exalt-level Daoguard Towers are able to make use of even more of the power of the Sithe energy generator. As a result, they can give birth to vilefiends of tremendous power. Still, for them to produce a total of 105 vilefiends of such power at once… they’ve probably brought out everything they built up over the course of aeons.” Ning remained quite calm. This was all as he had inspected. These vilefiends would at most be able to slow him down a bit.

“GWAAAAR!” “KILL!” “DIE!”

Cracks began to appear in the ground at the margins of this sealed continuum, and various creatures began to fly out of those cracks. Their eyes were all dead, and they were at varying levels of power. Some had auras comparable to Otherverse Lords, while others were noticeably more powerful. Still, they were all somewhat inferior to the likes of the Blazesun Ruler.”

“Not that strong, but there are certainly quite a lot of them. If they all attack at once, it’ll be a bit troublesome.” Ning frowned slightly. It would consume quite a bit of his energy to kill all those vilefiends as well as those poor mind-controlled living golems.

Moments later, a total of nine figures appeared around Ning.

“Eh?” Ning frowned again. “Daolords?” The nine figures were all Samsara Daolords, but all of them were unspeakably powerful.

“Daolord Darknorth, we’ll be more than enough to deal with you. You aren’t worthy of the Hegemons and Emperors dirtying their hands!” The nine Daolords all had crazed looks in their eyes. Daolords were generally fearless to begin with, and the Sithe Exalt had offered them enormous rewards for this mission. He had also given them control over many vilefiends and living golems. They naturally were going to do their absolute utmost in this battle.

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Chapter 4 – Successfully Surrounded

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 4 – Successfully Surrounded

Within this sealed continuum, Ji Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was only able to extend up to a distance of one billion kilometers. The invisible suppressive power of the Sacred Realm was simply too strong.

“Attack! Once Daolord Darknorth’s domain sweeps over us, we’ll be dead,”a black-winged Daolor sent mentally. Given Ning’s power, even Hegemons and Emperors would fall to his domain unless they were protected by incredibly powerful treasures, to say nothing of mere Daolords. He would be able to toy with them as he pleased.

“You actually want to attack me with such a miniscule amount of power?” Ning made his move, transforming into a streak of light that flew towards the Daolord closest to him.

The nine Daolords were all separated at the margins of this sealed continuum, each in a different direction. That way, if Ning wanted to deal with them he would have to fly to them one-by-one.

“Kill!”

“Kill this Daolord!”

“Kill him!” The vilefiends and the living golems let out crazed roars as they fearlessly swarmed towards Ning, seeking to surround him. As for the nine Daolords, they immediately set up various treasures which were controlled by the power of a Daoguard Tower.

Ning’s answer to this mass attack was to continue flying forwards at high speed while manifesting countless streaks of sword-light within his Sword Dao Domain. They sent the vilefiends and the living golems stumbling backwards, falling to the ground, or even go flying into the air. Only a tiny number of them were able to get close to Ning, with the majority unable to approach him.

This was why a powerful domain was so useful in battle. Ning was able to use it toy with anyone at or below the Otherverse Lord level of power.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Strange edifices began to appear in front of the nine Daolords. They looked like miniature castles, with each being 9,900 meters tall and completely golden. Semi-translucent towers could be seen at the very top of the castles. These nine Sithe treasures were controlled by the Daoguard Tower, and they were powerful treasures which could be used to attack from afar.

The main mission for these nine Daoguards was to get in and then put these nine treasures in position. If they managed to do that, they would have succeeded in their task!

“These Daolords truly are fools.” Ning flew so incredibly fast that he was already within a billion kilometers of the first Daolord. His Sword Dao Domain instantly captured the Daolord, preventing him from moving at all.

“Get in here.” Ning didn’t attack, instead choosing to draw both the Daolord and the treasure into his estate-world, separating it from the power of the Daoguard Tower.

Riiiiiiip! Beams of dazzling, destructive energy spat out from the other eight castle towers, moving with incomprehensible speed and striking with nigh-Autarch levels of power! The attacks were incredibly powerful, but in the end they were generated by treasures. There was no way these attacks could compare with attacks from actual Autarchs in terms of profundity; they relied strictly upon overwhelming speed and power.

Swoosh! Ning used his Storm Sword Dao to evade. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! He evaded all eight destructive rays of light. By the time those eight rays of light had flown tens of billion kilometers and reached Ning, Ning was able to brush past them and let them splatter against the distant dimensional membrane, causing it to tremble.

As for the vilefiends and living golems? The ones touched by the rays of light were instantly and easily chopped apart! However, the vilefiends and the living golems were able to quickly recover. Killing them wouldn’t be that easy.

Rumble… suddenly, yet another rift appeared at the margins of this sealed continuum. A total of fifty-plus Hegemons andEmperors flew out from within this rift! Ning raised an eyebrow, then immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew towards those fifty-plus Hegemons. However, as he did so another rift appeared in the distance. Another squad of fifty-plus Hegemons and Emperors appeared from this second rift as well.

“Eight of the nine treasures remain intact. Good enough.” The Hegemons began to advance. When they saw that eight of the castle towers were once more glowing with destructive light, they couldn’t help but secretly feel a sense of joy.

“This ‘Daolord Darknorth’ is nothing more than a Daolord whose truesoul is crumbling away. We have over a hundred Hegemons on our side and are supported by treasures from the Daoguard Tower. I refuse to believe we cannot kill him.”

“We’ll smash him apart with one coordinated strike. We’ll be rewarded for our victory and this calamity shall be at an end.”

“Attack!” The Hegemons and Emperors were brimming with malevolence. Whether it was because they had to obey orders, wanted to protect their home, or desired the great rewards promised, they had to kill Ning!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A miniature star began to appear in front of each of the hundred-plus Hegemons and Emperors. The hundred-plus miniature stars manifested runes which began to accumulate different but equally terrifying types of power.

“Flameland Astral Chains!”

“Iceland Astral Chains!”

The Hegemons began to launch their various weapons as well. The nine castle-like treasures were fixed in location and didn’t need to be controlled, but the various ‘astral chains’ were more complicated and needed to be controlled. Thus, the Sithe had sent over a hundred Hegemons and Emperors to man them. Each of the miniature stars was drawing power from the Daoguard Towers, then controlled by a Hegemon or Emperor to launch attacks via a formation that made it hard for Ning to dodge.

Whoosh! The fifty-plus Hegemons and Emperors to the left released streams of icy energy from their miniature stars. The icy energy shot straight towards Ning like rays of frozen light, completely freezing even spacetime. The combined power of the freezing energy was absolutely at the Autarch level of power; even Autarchs would be temporarily suppressed by such an assault.

To the right, streams of fiery golden light appeared as well, joining together and shooting towards Ning at terrifying speeds.

To one side, freezing cold. To the other, blazing heat. These were two diametrically different types of energy, and each was capable of threatening even an Autarch. When used in concert, they became even more terrifyingly powerful, especially now that they came together in accordance with an incredibly profound formation. They flew towards Ning in an intricate manner, making it almost impossible for him to dodge.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The eight streams of apocalyptic light continued to attack as well, slowing down Ning’s movements.

“Hmph.” Ning moved like the storm, transforming into a blurry shadow of lightning and wind. However, the ‘Flameland Astral Chains’ and the ‘Iceland Astral Chains’ being used by the Hegemons and Emperors had completely locked onto Ning, and they arced in the air as they continued their pursuit of him.

“I can’t dodge them?!” A look of shock and anger appeared on Ning’s face, while looks of excitement appeared on the faces of the hundred-plus Hegemons and the eight Daolords.

Whoosh! Ning hurriedly retreated backwards, wishing to draw those two terrifying types of energy together and cause them to collide.

“That fool.”

“Did he think that our treasures would interfere with each other?”

“When the two astral chains link up, merging fire and ice together, the power shall only increase!” The Hegemons all smirked as they watched the freezing energy swirl together with the golden flames as both continued to shoot towards Ning. Finally, the energies began to clash together. Tink! Each collision was extremely soft, and the only result was a series of strange dimensional ripples being generated as the attacks became even more powerful.

They watched as Daolord Darknorth continued to retreat, his face ashen as he frantically used the Northbow sword in his hand to execute the Water Sword Dao. A stream of watery light circled around him, striving to block the attacks, but some of the destructive power managed to pierce through the water. Of course, this was with Daolord Darknorth doing his best to conserve his energy.

Daolord Darknorth had clearly been caught off-guard by the hundred-plus streams of energy assaulting him. He executed repeated sword-arts, striving to block as his truesoul began to crumble more quickly.

“Hahaha… the Exalt’s prediction was spot-on!”

“He might be fast, but the astral chains are a perfect counter for him. When the astral chains from the Flameland Elder Hall and the Iceland Elder Hall merge together, they are his absolute nemesis. It’ll be hard for us to kill him outright, but we’ll be able to exhaust a large amount of his energy and hasten the collapse of his truesoul.”

The Hegemons grew increasingly excited. To kill this terrifying Daolord was unrealistic; all they could do was exhaust as much of his power as was possible! Each time the Daolord defended, his lifespan would be shortened. Eventually, he would die without them needing to do a thing.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

“Again!” The Hegemons and Emperors were all in a wonderful mood.

Ning had gotten the worst of his first clash against them. This time, he transformed into a streak of light and shot straight towards them. Clearly, he wanted to try and capture or kill as many Hegemons as he could. If he succeeded, the astral chains would become ownerless and he could take them away with ease.

“Daolord Darknorth, our Exalt has already predicted your every move!” The Hegemons scattered every which way, but as they flew the miniature stars flew with them, allowing them to maintain the astral chain formations.

Boom! Yet another rift appeared at the borders, resulting in thirty-five more Hegemons appearing. After they appeared, they immediately produced their own treasures and joined together into a formation. Soon, a thick black miasma began to sweep out and cover the entire sealed continuum, causing an ominous feeling to arise in Ning’s heart.

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Chapter 5 – Exhaust Him!

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 5 – Exhaust Him!

Ji Ning remained quite calm, because this entire time he had the feeling that this sealed continuum had not finished revealing all of the dangers hidden within it. Although none of these dangers were truly lethal, if he didn’t handle them correctly he would pay a heavy price for it.

……

Inside the brightest of the three Elder Halls in this hidden dimension. Exalt Bowenya was looking nervously at the images in the air before him. The images were displaying the chaotic battle going on within the sealed spacetime continuum. Explosions were occurring everywhere as energy blasted about willy-nilly. Even though he was in control of the Sacred Realm, he wasn’t able to clearly see what was going on in the battle. Clearly, a chaotic and terrifying war was going on, with all three Exalt-class Daoguard Towers focusing their long-distance firepower against Daolord Darknorth, with all the Hegemons working to assist the towers!

“What’s the situation?” Exalt Bowenya barked coldly. He was able to get a vague sense of what was going on from watching the images, and it seemed as though his side held the advantage. They had surrounded Daolord Darknorth and were blasting him with attacks.

“Exalt.” More than twenty avatars belonging to the battling Hegemons and Emperors were gathered next to him. True Sithe did not have avatars, as they were constantly being rejected and suppressed by this Chaosverse. It was impossible for them to use their godsense to keep and maintain an avatar.

In contrast, the Sithe descendants were native to this Chaosverse. They all had avatars. Clearly, then, the avatars located next to Exalt Bowenya all belonged to the Sithe progeny. These avatars belonged to the various squads who had been assigned to take part in this battle. Through them, the Exalt was able to quickly issue new orders as well as be updated how the battle was progressing.

“Exalt, don’t worry. We have an absolute advantage in this battle. We’re definitely going to win,” a horned man said excitedly. “The astral chains have completely countered Daolord Darknorth’s advantages. Each time, he is forced to use his sword-arts to defend against us. He’s constantly using up energy, and his truesoul is crumbling at an increasing pace while we are sending more and more people into the sealed continuum to assault him. He’ll only be able to capture or kill one of two of us within a short period of time.

This sealed continuum was a hundred billion kilometers in size. Ning moved much more slowly due to all of the attacks raining down on him, and he was using up a lot of energy. As a result, he had to slowly move from Emperor to Emperor as he captured them.

“With our grand formation having been established, he won’t have any chance at all of capturing anyone from our team of thirty-five Hegemons and Emperors,” a black-robed elder said confidently.

“He’s already used his sword-arts at least ten times by now, and this is just the beginning! We have many tools remaining that we haven’t even used yet.”

“Exalt, let us use all the tools we have at our disposal.”

“Exalt, let us take part in the battle as well!”

“Alright.” Exalt Bowenya revealed a look of delight. “Hah! I knew it. He’s not going to pull anything unexpected out of his sleeves.”

The Exalt was no fool. Each plan he had used against Ning had a very high chance of success. In Purgatory, the Apocalypse-class castle would’ve stood a good chance of exhausting Ning to death, if it hadn’t been for Ning’s Storm Sword Dao allowing Ning to move much faster than anyone had anticipated.

As for the spacetime formation, the only reason why Ning had survived it was because the Apocalypse-class castle had bought him an extra hour of time to gain insight into a few of the formation’s mysteries. As a result, he had launched eighteen strikes and broke through that formation.

After these past two failures, the Sithe Exalt was actually beginning to lose confidence in himself. This time, however, everything was progressing smoothly in accordance with plan. This caused him to feel quite delighted.

“This attack is much more powerful than the two previous attacks in Purgatory combined.” An expectant look was in Exalt Dowenya’s eyes. “We have three Daoguard Towers working together to rain attacks on him, after all, and we also have a large group of Hegemons and Emperors going all-out against him. Even if we can’t kill him head-on, we can exhaust him to death.”

“Send in the Bloodfiend Maze Formation as well,” Exalt Dowenya ordered.

“Understood!” Two of the Sithe descendants next to him immediately acknowledged the order respectively, then sent their squad of fifty-two Hegemons into battle as well.

“Have all eighteen of the Death Attendants enter as well!” Exalt Dowenya commanded.

Just a short while later… “Exalt, Daolord Darknorth is completely helpless against the Death Attendants. All he can do is rely on his speed to dodge. The more he dodges, the more awkward his movements become. We’re landing more and more attacks from the astral chain formations and the other formations, and he’s forced to use more and more sword-arts to defend.”

“His truesoul is beginning to crumble faster and faster.”

“Exalt, we’re definitely going to win!” All of the avatars of the Sithe taking part in the battle were extremely confident.

“Hahaha, I knew…!” Exalt Dowenya let out a laugh as he prepared to issue his final orders, but then he suddenly hesitated. He asked, “How many of our Hegemons and Emperors have been captured or killed?”

“Around sixty-five of them were taken or slain,” a black-robed elder said. Their formation was in control of the entire battlefield, allowing them to know the casualties they had suffered.

“Quite heavy.” Exalt Dowenya couldn’t help but smile, even as he said these words. Even if all the Hegemons died, it would be worth it if they killed Daolord Darknorth. Right now, just twenty percent or so had perished!

“Yes, our casualties are indeed quite heavy, but Daolord Darknorth is extremely important to the entire Sithe race. If we can kill him, it will all be worth it.” The Hegemons and Emperors were brimming with the desire to do battle. They had known long ago that this would be a calamitous battle, but at least the situation was better than they had expected, even though more and more Hegemons and Emperors were being slain.

“If that’s the case, then send in the final two formation squads as well. All remaining Hegemons and Emperors, use your respective treasures to assist. Don’t let Daolord Darknorth focus his attention on any one area in particular,” Exalt Bowenya said.

“Yes.” Instantly, a large number of Hegemons and Emperors charged forth. This final wave included an enormous number of Emperors; there had to be over two thousand of them!

In truth, there was a limit to how many Hegemons could be used by the three Daoguard Towers. At most, eight hundred Hegemons was enough! More than two thousand of the other Hegemons were simply there to obscure Ning’s vision and to distract him. After all, Ning would continuously counter-attack and either kill or capture these Hegemons! If he managed to kill someone who was in control of a Daoguard Tower treasure, the impact would be significant, but if he only managed to kill one of the screeners, it would have no impact on the Sithe combat power.

Of course, even though these Emperors were merely a screening force, they were also provided with formations and Sithe treasures to slow Ning down.

“It seems I’ll be able to deal with Daolord Darknorth just by sacrificing a few Hegemons and Emperors.” Exalt Bowenya smiled broadly.

Time continued to tick past, second after second.

“We’ve already lost more than ninety Hegemons and Emperors.”

“Daolord Darknorth has used his sword-arts over forty times by now.”

“He managed to capture another thirty Hegemons and Emperors, but most of them were useless pawns. It won’t affect our combat power much. By now, he’s used his sword-arts over fifty times!”

The battle grew increasingly ferocious.

“He’s already captured over two hundred Hegemons and should have used his sword-arts at least eighty times by now. His truesoul is crumbling quite rapidly.” The avatars continued to make detailed combat reports to the Exalt.

“Over twenty Hegemons belonging to the Iceland Astral Chains have been captured. The formation has been destroyed!” Suddenly, this new report came out. The astral chain formations could still be maintained after suffering light casualties, but at a certain point it would still break apart.

“Keep fighting! Daolord Darknorth won’t be able to last much longer,” Exalt Dowenya said calmly. “He’s used his sword-arts many times… even if he didn’t go full-force for most of them, it should still have exhausted him tremendously.”

As time continued to flow on, three more of the major formations were breached as well. By now, Ning had either killed or captured over five hundred Hegemons and Emperors, and had used his sword-arts over 180 times.

“Almost. Almost!” Exalt Dowenya was waiting eagerly. “We’re going to win.” Each strike would consume a significant amount of Daolord Darknorth’s vitality, even if the strikes were not full-force. Based on his calculations, the Daolord would die after a total of around two hundred strikes.”

“We’ve lost over six hundred Hegemons and Emperors, while he’s already used his sword-arts more than two hundred times. We still have over two thousand people left, but we only have three formations remaining. Daolord Darknorth is quite clever; he’s been focusing his efforts on the Hegemons who are in control of the formations.”

“Hold nothing back!” Exalt Dowenya ordered coldly. “He’ll be dying any moment now, while we have over two thousand Hegemons and Emperors left. We’ll be able to exhaust him to death!”

But… for some reason, the closer they came to success, the more uneasy Exalt Dowenya suddenly began to feel. He shook his head, forcing down that uneasy feeling and reassuring himself that it had appeared because he wanted to win too badly.

“Over seven hundred Hegemons and Emperors have been captured, while we only have two main formations remaining; the other formations aren’t important and are just meant to screen the real ones. Daolord Darknorth hasn’t died yet!”

“Over eight hundred have been captured. He’s used his sword-arts over 250 times, but he still hasn’t died! We only have one main formation left.”

“Why hasn’t he died yet?!” Exalt Dowenya was growing increasingly nervous and impatient.

“Not good!”

“Exalt!” Suddenly, half of the remaining avatars turned completely ashen. One of them said frantically, “Exalt, we’ve been counter-trapped!”

“Counter-trapped?!” The Exalt was completely dumbfounded.

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Chapter 6 – Putting On a Show

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 6 – Putting On a Show

Exalt Bowenya’s face tightened. He murmured softly to himself, “Is he actually exhausted, or was he just pretending?”

He was beginning to feel some suspicions. The battle had progressed far too smoothly, causing him to feel a hint of unease deep inside. Each time, however, he had reassured himself that he was simply overthinking things! Upon hearing the remaining Hegemons cry that they had been counter-trapped? Exalt Bowenya’s intuition, tempered by countless years of adventuring and battle, screamed that something was seriously wrong with this battle.

“Are all of you trapped?” Exalt Bowenya asked.

“We’re all trapped. This entire place is filled with black fog. I can’t see the other Hegemons and Emperors.”

“We’ve been trapped as well.”

“We’re trapped.” The various avatars of the Hegemons and Emperors all spoke out frantically, causing Exalt Bowenya to feel increasingly uneasy about this.

……

Within the sealed spacetime continuum of a hundred billion kilometers.

Ning stood there in midair, relaxed and at his ease. Hundreds of millions of kilometers away, some magic treasures and formations continued to rain down attacks upon a second white-robed Daolord Darknorth. This second Daolord Darknorth was doing his best to dodge and evade while using his Water Sword Dao, Storm Sword Dao, and other techniques, with his truesoul at the brink of collapse.

“What is real is false. What is false is real.” Ning murmured softly, “None of these Hegemons are able to see through my Illusion Sword Dao. I’m able to toy with them with ease.” Ever since he had been trapped within this sealed continuum, his ‘frenzied fighting’ and his ‘crumbling truesoul’ had all been falsified by his Illusion Sword Dao!

Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was able to spread out to a distance of one billion kilometers! With but a thought, he caused this entire region to be transformed into an illusory realm. At Ning’s current level of insight, the illusory beings within his domain had gained a basic level of sentience, emotions, and intelligence! This was an absolutely terrifying concept. In comparison, simply faking a battle scene within this domain was incredibly simple. The Hegemons and Emperors only saw what Ning wished for them to see!

If Ning was able to use his Omega Sword Dao to become an Autarch, his illusory domain would reach the level of being able to manifest reality itself. By then, his ‘illusions’ would be real on both the surface and inside. He could create an ‘illusion’ of a Universe treasure, and it would become a genuine Universe treasure. If he created the illusion of an expert, they would become real experts! But of course, this would require him to constantly consume a large amount of power.

Even now, the beings created by his illusions possessed intelligence, emotions, and sentience. Ning’s ‘Illusion Sword Dao’ had become one of his killer techniques. In a battle against an Autarch, it would be somewhat effective but wouldn’t necessarily be the determining factor… but against mere Hegemons and Emperors? The Illusion Sword Dao could toy with them with ease! However, it took Ning time to capture those Hegemons and break their formations, which is why he had continued to put on a show and buy more time.

“Master. We’ve already taken control of this formation,” Azurefiend’s avatar reported.

“Good.” Ning revealed a delighted look, then waved his hand. A formation-base which was ten million kilometers long suddenly appeared next to him. Azurefiend’s avatar, the Paragon of Pills, Lord Annihilation, Hegemon Tia, and Hegemon Flameleft were jointly controlling this grand formation, which was one of the many formations which Ning had taken away. He had let his team choose from the available formations and find one which they could use.

“Assemble the formation and use it to cover everything within a hundred billion kilometers,” Ning immediately ordered. “Trap them all. Let none escape!”

“Alright.”

“Leave it to us.” Azurefiend, Lord Annihilation, and the others were all quite excited. Capture two thousand Hegemons at one blow? They had never done or even seen anything like this before! All of them felt both eagerness and nervousness.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. A large amount of black fog spread out from within the formation. It almost instantly covered the entire sealed continuum, spreading out to a distance of a hundred billion kilometers. This formation had been meant to deal with Ning. It only had a minor effect on him, but it was perfect for dealing with these Hegemons and Emperors.

“I can’t see anything!”

“What a terrifying aura of darkness. I’ve been suppressed!”

“I can’t see anything either.”

“I can’t resist it.”

“We’ve been completely trapped.”

“We’ve been trapped as well!” The two thousand remaining Hegemons and Emperors were all beginning to panic, because Ning had already dealt with the most powerful formations earlier. The remaining Hegemons had just a single powerful formation left, but it was an attack-type formation that couldn’t affect this grand darkness formation at all!

Once the darkness spread out, almost 99% of the Hegemons and Emperors were completely paralyzed. The rest were able to fight back a bit thanks to the treasures they possessed, but there were only around ten or so in total. They wouldn’t be able to make much of a difference.

“Time to bring it to an end.” Ning immediately began to fly towards those remaining Hegemons. His Sword Dao Domain quickly spread out to cover them, completely suppressing them and making it impossible for them to move. With but a thought, Ning drew all the Hegemons into his estate-world and imprisoned them in separate parts of it!

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Soon, all of the Hegemons and Emperors within the sealed continuum had been drawn away.

“Impressive, Darknorth. I never would’ve dared to imagine a result like this.” The Paragon of Pills was incomparably excited, while the nearby Azurefiend, Lord Annihilation, Tia, and Flameleft were stunned as well.

“Now that I’ve taken part in such a great undertaking, I can die with no regrets. I imagine my old friends wouldn’t even believe me when I tell them about this,” Hegemon Flameleft sighed with shock.

“More than two thousand Hegemons and Emperors!” Azurefiend sighed as well.

Ning nodded. “More than two thousand eight hundred, to be precise. However, it was all thanks to you helping out. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to activate that formation on my own.”

“All we did was use that formation in a very simple manner, nothing else.” Lord Annihilation said hurriedly, “In the end, it was all thanks to your unearthly power, Daolord Darknorth. You dealt with the biggest problems, allowing us to sweep up the scattered remnants.”

“Stop flattering me,” Ning said with a laugh. “Go ahead and enter my estate-world. This was merely our first battle in the Sacred Realm. It is far too early to be celebrating.”

“With you by our side, Daolord, we’ll definitely make it out alive.” Lord Annihilation continued his flattery.

“Be careful, Darknorth.” The Paragon of Pills looked at him.

……

The sealed spacetime continuum was now completely empty. The only person left within this region of a hundred billion kilometers was Ji Ning!

“Now that was a fine show we put on.” Ning couldn’t help but grin when he thought about what had happened just now. In order to make the performance seem as realistic as possible, he even used up a few of his Sithe treasures, allowing them to take blows meant for him and then explode in dramatic fashion. He actually made use of them as well, as the fragments would clearly be real even after flying out of the range of his Sword Dao Domain.

Illusions… reality… Ning was now an absolute grandmaster in blending the two together, and so all of the Hegemons and Emperors fell into his grasp.

“I’ll scan their memories first.” He had captured most of them alive, sparing even the many true Sithe he had captured, all for the sake of finding those nine special techniques. This was something which would have an impact on his own chances of survival!

He waved his hand, causing a true Sithe Hegemon to appear before him.

“Daolord Darknorth?” The Sithe Hegemon stared at Ning, shocked. He then gritted his teeth and said, “W-what do you want?”

Ning continued to maintain his Illusion Sword Dao Domain. To the Sithe, it looked as though Ning’s truesoul was crumbling away rapidly. It looked as though Ning was at the very verge of death.

“Do you want to live, or do you want to die?” Ning asked.

“Live? Die?” The Sithe Hegemon was stunned. Who would choose death if life was an option? But as he hesitated, Ning secretly lured his mind into the illusory realm, causing a dazed look to appear in his eyes. Ning then began to flip through the memories of this Sithe Hegemon.

“He also swore a lifeblood oath not to reveal anything?” Ning’s face tightened. “The Sithe truly are cautious. Even the true Sithe were forced to swear lifeblood oaths.”

He wasn’t able to find the nine techniques, and so he turned his attention to the Hegemon’s other memories, carefully viewing them in the hopes of finding something useful.

……

Within the brightest Elder Hall. Exalt Dowenya stood silently on his feet, with the avatars of his servants by his side. All of their true bodies had been captured alive! Clearly, they had already lost the first battle. All the Hegemons and Emperors had been captured, with a tiny fraction having been killed.

“Exalt.” Two figures appeared next to him. It was the incarnations of Hawkfang and Jonnbech.

It was fairly easy for such high-level cultivators to use divine power to manifest incarnations. So long as the incarnations remained fairly close to their true bodies, the incarnations could be maintained with ease! Hawkfang and Jonnbech’s true bodies were both located in the other two Elder Halls, which were quite close. As a result, it was easy for them to maintain incarnations here.

However, incarnations formed via divine power were all extremely weak, negligibly weak when compared to their true bodies! In contrast, avatars were different. Avatars could come close to true bodies in power, with some able to reach 70% or even 80%.

“What should we do next?” Jonnbech’s incarnation asked.

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Chapter 7 – Pity

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 7 – Pity

Exalt Bowenya instructed, “Go ahead and cancel the formations.”

“Understood,” Hawkfang said. The formation which sealed the spacetime continuum around Ji Ning was under the control of his Flameland Elder Hall. The sealed continuum quickly dissipated, allowing the region at the base of the distant Sacred Mountains to go back to normal and reveal Daolord Darknorth at its center.

“Ahahaha! Sithe Exalt, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?” Ning called out loudly from the base of the Sacred Mountains.

From afar, it looked as though his truesoul was crumbling quite quickly.

“His truesoul has crumbled to the point where he is on the verge of death. I’m amazed at how calm he is.” Jonnbech stared downwards from his Elder Hall to the base of the Sacred Mountains, then let out a sigh: “Truly impressive.”

“If I was in his position, I’d probably have gone completely berserk by now,” Hawkfang’s incarnation agreed.

Exalt Bowenya stared from afar, his forehead creased in a frown. “Do you think Daolord Darknorth’s truesoul is truly crumbling that fast? Or is it perhaps a deception?”

“A deception?” The avatars of the Hegemons, Hawkfang, and Jonnbech all stared at him in surprise. They had all reached incredibly high levels of insight. To deceive them would be nearly impossible! They had never encountered something like this after becoming Hegemons and Emperors.

“You haven’t experienced enough. The things you see, the things you sense… it can all be a lie. Even your own intuition can be deceived.” Exalt Bowenya looked at the distant Ning. “We’ve lost the first battle, just like that. I can’t help but feel that something is wrong. If Daolord Darknorth was extremely skilled in the Dao of Illusions, he would be able to put on a show which none of you could see through.”

“A show?” Hawkfang and Jonnbech spoke out at the same time. Both were shocked.

“That’s just one possibility. It’s also possible that he really is at the verge of death.” Exalt Bowenya narrowed his eyes. Unlike these Hegemons and Emperors, when he lived in his own Chaosverse he was an actual Autarch, and his opponents were also Autarchs! In fact, he had even met someone who was even more powerful than the Autarchs. He was much more experienced and knew just how terrifying the Dao of Illusions could be.

Exalt Bowenya said calmly, “I’m just saying that this is a possibility. You have to be wary of it during our upcoming battles.”

“What should we do next?” Hawkfang and Jonnbech looked at Exalt Bowenya.

“What can we do? Use our Daoguard Towers to fight back against him as best we can,” Exalt Bowenya said.

Their Daoguard Towers had already used up virtually all of their many long-distance offensive treasures in the first battle. Exalt Dowenya’s goal had been to focus-fire everything on Ning and destroy him in their first engagement. However, they had already lost that critical battle. As a result, they now had far fewer resources available to him. The only things left were the Daoguard Towers themselves!

Boom! Ning suddenly soared into the skies, then landed down upon the peak of a distant mountain. He then sat down in the lotus position, establishing a Sword Dao Domain that completely separated him from the world beyond. A region of one billion kilometers transformed into a blurry field of light, preventing Exalt Bowenya and the others from seeing anything else.

“He’s started to train again?”

“He’s about to die. He’s still training?”

Everyone, even Exalt Bowenya, felt their hearts clench. When Ning had first entered Purgatory, he had done the same thing. He sat down in the lotus and meditated until he mastered his Wind Sword Dao. After defeating the first castle, he had then entered another lengthy training session which had concluded with his mastery of the Storm Sword Dao! And after breaking through the spacetime formation, he had trained for over a hundred chaos cycles before mastering the Illusion Sword Dao.

Each time Ning concluded a battle, he would begin a training session… and each time, the training session would be quite long. Now that Ning had finished his first big battle in the Sacred Realm, he actually started to train once again. Exalt Bowenya and the others had no idea as to how they should respond!

……

Ning sat there in the lotus position at a peak below the Sacred Mountains, his Sword Dao Domain severing this peak from the world around him.

“Time to continue.” Ning summoned another Sithe Hegemon and began to flip through his memories. Time continued to flow on. Each Hegemon consumed quite a bit of time, ranging from four hours to as long as five days!

Whoosh. Ning willed a Sithe descendant to appear before him. This one was fairly handsome but quite skinny. When he saw Ning, a shocked look appeared on his face. “Daolord Darknorth!” Next, a maddened and hateful look appeared in his eyes.

“Not good.” Ning sensed a bit of danger. He hurriedly retreated while taking out a large astral treasure and placing it before him.

BOOM! The skinny Emperor suddenly exploded, causing a terrifying surge of power to blast outwards. This explosion was on par with the might of the Blazesun Ruler, and it smashed directly onto the astral treasure in front of Ning. The treasure was smashed it backwards and sent flying more than ten million kilometers before Ning managed to regain control over it and bring it back.

“He actually detonated a treasure he was carrying on him to launch one final attack. He knew that his chances of killing me were slim, but he was still willing to sacrifice his life?” Ning shook his head, murmuring softly to himself. He had clearly seen the maddened, hateful look in that Sithe man’s eyes; the man had truly viewed him as a hated foe! Ning, however, didn’t feel any enmity towards them. Strictly speaking, the ‘Sithe descendants’ were actually natives to this Chaosverse who had been born and bred here, just like Ning himself.

Another half-month went by. Ning continued to summon Sithe descendants and flip through their memories. On this day, he summoned at female Emperor. She was similarly startled when she saw Ning appear before her, then moved to self-detonate without hesitate.

“Freeze.” This time, Ning moved much more decisively. Previously, he would chat a bit with his prisoners to shake their willpower. This time, he instantly sent a tendril of the sword-intent from h is Illusion Sword Dao into her body.

The maddened look quickly disappeared from the crazed female Emperor eyes and was replaced by a lost look. Ning shook his head, his mood poor. He began to scan the female Emperor’s memories.

This woman was known as Empress Gracevoid. Her path of cultivation had been one filled with setbacks. She had originally been a mortal physician, but a stroke of karmic luck had set her upon the path of cultivation. Her heart was filled with kindness and benevolence, and she chose the Daoist title ‘Gracevoid’ because her clan’s apothecary shop had been named the ‘Gracevoid Hall’. The title ‘Fairy Gracevoid’ or ‘Daoist Gracevoid’ had accompanied her as she had progressed up the path of cultivation.

She bore love for all life, including even the grass and the plants. Her heart was filled with love for everyone, but most of all she loved the homeland where she had been born and bred.

However… this battle against Ning was a battle which could not be avoided. One side had to die! The Sithe viewed the cultivators as their mortal enemies, and Exalt Bowenya himself had stated that if they lost, this dimension would still end up being annihilated by that cultivator Daolord! Her homeland would be completely destroyed. Empress Gracevoid couldn’t accept this, and so she swore she would kill this demon known as ‘Daolord Darknorth’! She would be willing to pay any price needed to accomplish this.

“The greater the love, the deeper the hate.” Ning let out a sigh. “Hand over all of your treasures,” Ning said, and the illusion-trapped Empress obediently handed over all of her treasures.

Ning didn’t really care about the treasures themselves, of course. His worry was that this Empress would once more attempt to commit suicide! “Now wake up,” Ning said softly.

The Empress trembled slightly, regaining her clarity of mind. When she saw Ning, she once more prepared to launch a desperate assault… but then, she realized she had no treasures on her at all. If she simply tried to self-detonate herself, the resulting blast wouldn’t be enough to threaten even a mere Hegemon, to say nothing of this terrifying Daolord.

“Why must you act like this upon seeing me?” Ning shook his head. “Another Emperor tried to do the same earlier. I was a bit slower and wasn’t able to save him.”

“There’s no need to shed crocodile tears,” the Empress said angrily. “You cultivators are our mortal enemies. Once we lose the war, our home will be finished!”

“I, Daolord Darknorth, swear on my very life itself that even if I do gain victory in the Sacred Realm, I’ll leave without harming any of the six mortal realms here,” Ning swore.

The Empress was stunned. There was no way to falsify a lifeblood oath.

“I never wanted to destroy your world,” Ning said. “And you aren’t even true Sithe. Technically speaking, you belong to the same ‘race’ as me. The Sithe are the outsiders, not us.”

“Huh?!” The Empress couldn’t believe it.

“N-no… I’m a Sithe descendant. There’s no question about that!” the Empress argued.

“Even so, you are fundamentally different from them on an intrinsic level. Haven’t you noticed yet? They treat you as nothing more than a pawn.” Ning felt pity for these Sithe progeny. He held both Empress Gracevoid and the man who had self-detonated in high regard, even though they all wanted him dead.

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Chapter 8 – Battle to the Death

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 8 – Battle to the Death

“Different?” The Empress fell silent. As an Eternal Empress, she was no fool; she had realized long ago that there were some differences between the Sithe descendants and the true Sithe! Over the course of many years, the Hegemons and Emperors within this hidden dimension had slowly diverged into two main camps. The first was led by the true Sithe, while the second was led by the Sithe descendants. There were indeed some true Sithe who held their descendants in contempt. Exalt Bowenya ensured that they didn’t go too far and that conflict didn’t erupt, but everyone could sense the tension.

Still other Sithe managed to hide their contempt, but the more powerful descendants could still sense it. This infuriated them all the more, which was why they ended up following Hawkfang and setting up their own camp.

“We train in divine power and Immortal energy, but they train in a completely different type of energy,” the Empress said softly. “We might both be ‘Hegemons’, but our side completely surpasses them in power. When we strike, the mighty power of the Dao flows through us… but they are dramatically weakened and don’t have the power of the Dao behind them.”

“We descendants know all these things, and we have many suspicions, but… but without a doubt, they are our ancestors.” An anxious look appeared in the Empress’ eyes. “Hawkfang, for example. His father was one of the Exalts. We might have some quarrels with them, but we are definitely their children and grandchildren. There’s no question about this at all… and so without a doubt, we are Sithe.”

“Wrong.” Ning shook his head. “The power of the Dao comes from the power of the primordial chaos, which is omnipresent. They have been rejected by it, which is why they are unable to summon the power of the Dao… and only the true Sithe will be rejected!”

“You, however, are part of our Chaosverse. You are completely different types of lifeforms from them. In this battle… ugh. I have to admit, you Sithe progeny are placed in a rather awkward situation.” Ning shook his head. “You’ll only be truly free once this war comes to an end.”

The female Empress had the vague feeling that Daolord Darknorth was not lying to her. “I understand.” This was her only response. She said nothing further.

“Go then.” Ning waved his hand, sending her back into his estate-world.

……

Ning continued to rifle through the memories of the Hegemons and Emperors. None of the true Sithe attempted to self-detonate, because they all knew the truth! This was an invasion, while they were the invaders and had lost. They did, however, feel some degree of resentment towards Ning. They were unhappy that Ning had come here and disturbed their tranquil lives, embroiling them into a deadly war once more.

As for the Sithe progeny? Nearly 10% of them attempted to self-detonate or launch some other type of attack! They were willing to sacrifice anything for their homes. As a result, Ning immediately captured them with his illusions when he summoned them, then rifled through their memories to know what they were intending. That way, they didn’t have a chance to attack Ning.

“Poor bastards. They’ll be in a rather awkward position until the day that this war ends.” Even if they wanted to join the cultivators… could the cultivators trust them? Of course not! The mighty cultivator civilizations didn’t need a few extra Hegemons or Emperors. They would probably first put them in internment camps somewhere else, not letting them take part in the war to come!

“Once our Chaosverse gains a controller, there will be no more invaders. Only then would our Chaosverse be strong and confident enough to welcome the Sithe descendants without needing to worry about them.” Although Ning felt mixed emotions about them, his decisions would not be impacted by those emotions. He knew that this was just one of many sad stories that came as a result of this clash of civilizations.

If they lost this war, all cultivator civilizations in this Chaosverse would be brought to an end. That would be a true apocalypse! Thus, Ning wouldn’t show any mercy at all to the true Sithe. He killed almost all of them after flipping through their memories, sparingly only those few who Ning felt were quite benevolent in nature and had been forced to take part in this war against their will.

……

Ten years later. On this day, Ning finally finished reviewing the memories of the 2800+ Hegemons and Emperors he had captured.

“Nothing!” Ning frowned. He had expected this result, but he still felt quite disappointed. Everyone who had ever learned the nine special techniques had been forced to swear lifeblood oaths not to transmit them to any others. There was no way to review the techniques at all.

“Exalt Bowenya, perhaps?” Ning rose to his feet, staring at the three glowing Daoguard Towers off in the distance. “Judging from the memories I reviewed, he should be the one in control of this entire hidden dimension! He seems to have some sort of connection to the Sithe heartlands, as the orders to the Sithe are sent via him.”

“But the heart of the Sithelands have been sealed off long ago. How is it that they are still connected to the outside world?” Ning frowned.

During the Dawn War, the Autarchs had commanded countless cultivators to assault and defeat the Sithe. They had occupied the outer perimeter of the Sithelands, then completely sealed away the heartland regions! But this hidden dimension… not only had the Autarchs been unable to discover it, it was even in contact with the Sithe heartlands.

“I wonder if the experts within the Sithe heartlands have a way to escape or not.” Ning was beginning to feel a bit of worry. Being in contact was one thing, but if the Sithe army was somehow able to slip out without anyone noticing… that would be a serious problem!

“Time to go to war.” Ning rose to his feet, then turned and stared at the three distant Daoguard Towers. He took a single step forwards, quickly soaring into the skies towards the Daoguard Towers. His Sword Dao Domain continuously expanded, while he maintained the illusion of his truesoul crumbling at incredible speeds. He looked just like a Daolord who was on the verge of death.

“He’s coming.” Exalt Bowenya and the incarnations of Hawkfang and Jonnbech were gathered together. The other Hegemons and Emperors had retreated; it was now up to the three of them to carry out this battle.

“Bowenya!” Ning’s voice echoed throughout the heavens as he flew towards the Daoguard Tower located at the very rear.

“He’s actually headed straight for my Daoguard tower?” Exalt Bowenya frowned.

“Exalt, what should we do?” Hawkfang and Jonnbech were both rather anxious. Previously, they had been hoping that that Ning would attack their Elder Halls first. The Elder Halls were all Exalt-class Daoguard Towers, and each was filled with countless dangers. They had clung onto the hope that Ning would actually charge inside their Daoguard Towers… but Ning had completely ignored them!

This was because Ning could vaguely sense that the central control mechanisms for this entire hidden dimension were located within the rear Elder Hall.

“If he’s heading straight for me,” Exalt Bowenya said coldly, “Then just go ahead and give him a proper greeting. Hawkfang, you go first. If you fail, Jonnbech will follow you.”

“Understood,” Hawkfang said respectfully.

“Don’t worry. Although I suspect Daolord Darknorth might be feigning weakness, as a Daolord he probably hasn’t been training long enough to reach such a ridiculously high level in the Dao of Illusions! If his injuries are real, then he should be at the verge of death. It’ll be easy for you to kill him,” Exalt Bowenya said.

……

By now, Ning was already very close to the Daoguard Tower in the back. Suddenly, a rumbling sound could be heard. The three towering Daoguard Towers were located on the peaks of three separate mountains. The sound of explosions suddenly emanated from one of them, causing the earth to shake as it began to separate from the mountains beneath it.

“What?!” Ning turned to glance at the distant Daoguard Tower, watching in shock as it slowly separated from the mountain beneath it. “Daoguard Towers are incredibly hard to establish. They were actually willing to discard the foundation for that tower?”

Daoguard Towers were extremely stable after being constructed. Daoguard Towers were extremely powerful, partially because of the treasures they held, but also because of the extremely complicated formations governing their foundations. These formations allowed them to draw large amounts of energy through the earth, ensuring that the Daoguard Tower could function indefinitely!

The complex formations also allowed them to maintain control over an extremely wide region, making that region part of their territory. The technique they had used to trap Ning within that sealed spacetime continuum during the previous battle was just one example of that control. Now, however, the three Daoguard Towers had already exhausted all of their long-range attacks. Their only option was to use the towers themselves to fight.

When the situation was truly dire, or when a tower’s owner was determined to battle to the death, some truly berserk actions could be taken. For example, when Ning had rescued the Paragon of Pills, the controller of that tower had actually allowed the tower itself to crumble in order to release the terrifying being trapped beneath it.

Every single Daoguard Tower was the home base for a powerful Sithe expert. If they were truly driven to the brink, they could separate the Daoguard Tower from the foundation, choosing to either flee or battle with the foe to the end.

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Chapter 9 – Dueling Hawkfang

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 9 – Dueling Hawkfang

“Once the Daoguard Tower breaks free from its foundation, many of its formations will become unusable, and it’ll no longer be able to draw any more energy into itself. It’ll only be able to use whatever energy it already accumulated prior to breaking free,” Ji Ning mused to himself. “Without the foundation supporting its many formations, the Daoguard Tower will be dramatically weakened and won’t last long in battle.”

“And… I don’t even need to go inside that Daoguard Tower.” Ning was brimming with confidence. “I’ll definitely win this battle!”

The frenzied war outside the Sacred Realm had been dangerous to him because there had been 2,800 Hegemons and Emperors attacking him, reinforced by multiple formations and treasures from the Daoguard Towers! If Ning had chosen to fight them squarely, he probably would’ve died in that battle. Thankfully, he was able to rely on his Illusion Sword Dao to put on a fine show without actually using up much energy. Now, things would be much simpler.

The only thing worrying him was the Daoguard Tower controlled by Exalt Bowenya! The other Daoguard Towers would be comparatively easier to deal with.

“I need to conserve as much energy as I can.” Ning watched as the distant Daoguard Tower flew through the skies in his direction. “Based on the memories I searched, this Daoguard Tower should be the ‘Flameland Elder Hall’ which Hawkfang controls. I hear that he’s an incredibly talented genius who has a chance of becoming an Autarch!”

……

After breaking free from its foundation, the Flameland Elder Hall began to fly by itself through the air. This was going to be a battle to the death, a war without quarter. Roughly four hundred Hegemons and Emperors were within the Flameland Elder Hall. The entire Sacred Realm only had a total of around 1,200 Hegemons and Emperors left, and they were divided into three squads controlled by Hawkfang, Jonnbech, and Exalt Bowenya.

The Hegemons and Emperors who followed Hawkfang were all Sithe descendants!

“Hawkfang, Daolord Darknorth is already at the verge of death. There’s no need for you to fight personally. Let us go instead! We’ll exhaust him to death,” a muscular, fiery-armored man said.

“Right! Hawkfang, you have to stay alive. So long as you are alive, the future generations of Hegemons and Emperors here will have someone to protect them and make their lives easier. Let us be the vanguard in this battle. Once we kill that demon, this tribulation will be at an end and we’ll all be able to relax.”

Hawkfang was silent. His heart was filled with many mixed emotions. He didn’t feel much hatred towards Daolord Darknorth, because he had seen too much and knew too much. He had long ago learned the truth when his avatar had accompanied his father in that final battle during the Dawn War.

Is there no way out at all? Hawkfang glanced at his comrades. All of them were native to this dimension. They were powerful experts who had arduously arisen from amongst the countless mortal cultivators born within this realm. He had known them for countless aeons, and they were all linked together by deep bonds of love and affection.

There’s no way out. We’ve all sworn oaths long ago to be loyal to Exalt Bowenya and obey his commands. If we flee, we’ll all die. For the sake of my friends and brothers… Daolord Darknorth, I suppose you’ll have to die in their stead. Cold light flashed through Hawkfang’s eyes.

“Hear my orders!” Hawkfang called out loudly. All of the Hegemons and Emperors turned solemn and let out acknowledging shouts.

“Assemble a total of three Ragnorak Formations! We’ll need a total of 192 Emperors to control them.” Hawkfang swept the area with his gaze, then waved his hand and sent his Immortal energy flying out towards 192 of the figures present. “You shall control these three formations. Hurry up and take control!”

“Understood!”

“Everyone else, focus on offensive formations. We’ll split the remaining Hegemons into six squads which will control these formations.” Hawkfang divided up the remaining Hegemons into multiple squads. He had more Hegemons and Emperors than he needed to fully staff the Daoguard Tower’s formations, and so he assigned them to control other formations instead.

“Hawkfang, what about our avatars?”

“Our avatars will be able to fight as well!” the Sithe descendants said hurriedly.

Hawkfang replied coldly, “Deploy your avatars as you see fit. Prepare all your treasures and get ready for our final battle.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s go!” The Hegemons and Emperors quickly began to take control over the respective formations.

……

Ning’s Sword Dao Domain was continuously maintaining an illusory field within its reach. To the Sithe, it looked as though Ning was soaring through the skies towards them… but in reality, Ning was more than six hundred million kilometers away from his illusory location!

“The Daoguard Tower. If I refuse to go inside, what can it possibly do to me?” Ning stared as that twelve-storied tower flew towards him from afar. This Daoguard Tower radiated a weighty aura of might, and it did give Ning a vague sense of danger. It continued to move closer to Ning’s real location, causing him to frown. He immediately began to retreat, wanting to pull away from it as much as possible.

“Attack!” This cold shout came from the lips of a black-robed man whose eyes were terrifyingly calm. He stood at the entrance to the Daoguard Tower, staring at Ning.

Ning was able to see the opening, but he certainly wasn’t going to charge into it and enter the Daoguard Tower!

“Hawkfang?” Ning immediately recognized this person. He had already ‘met’ Hawkfang numerous times while rifling through the memories of the captured Emperors.

Rumble…

A series of formation-lines suddenly lit up on the ninth floor of the Daoguard Tower, with a large amount of power circulating through it.

Whoosh…

A dimensional wave filled with destructive power swept out towards Ning, moving so fast and covering such a great area that it almost instantly appeared before him.

“Damn! They’ve actually completely boxed me in.” Ning frowned when he saw this. His illusions were so active, but his opponents had launched such a large-scale attack that everything within his Sword Dao Domain was being assaulted, including both the illusory Ning and the real Ning!

There was really nothing Ning could do against such a large-scale area attack. He immediately drew a Northbow sword and lightly sliced the air, causing a dimensional ripple to spread out and surround him. He was going to use his Space Sword Dao to counter these dimensional ripples.

Ning was securely ensconced in a dimensional ‘bubble’ which resisted the all-encompassing attack. Ning could sense exactly how much power was pushing against him, and he made sure that his bubble held just a tiny bit more power. He also continued to maintain the illusions with his Sword Dao Domain, having the illusory Ning also ‘block’ with the Space Sword Dao.

“Attack!” Yet another order rang out. This time, the sixth floor of the Daoguard Tower unleashed a terrifyingly large streak of saber-light that shot out in a fan-shape. This fan of saber-light was composed of countless tiny streaks of saber-light that were densely clustered together. Their power was overwhelming, and they also constitute a vast area attack that completely covered the entire Sword Dao Domain, viciously smashing through everything within it!

There was nothing Ning could do except use his sword-arts to defend once again. Fortunately, it didn’t require too much energy as these untargeted area attacks were much less dangerous to Ning, in that the force exerted against each individual within the area was much lower than in the case of a targeted attack. It was just barely at the Blazesun Ruler level of power, and so Ning was able to block without too much difficulty.

“Attack!” This time, the attack came from the third floor of the Daoguard Tower. It burst forth with the most powerful attack yet, unleashing a stream of golden flames which covered the skies and blazed away at everything within the Sword Dao Domain.

“Have they already guessed that I’m using illusions? Otherwise, why would they exclusively use such large-scale attacks?” Ning frowned. These large-scale attacks weren’t that dangerous, but they still took up some of his energy. Ning couldn’t help but feel worried. “Time to change strategies.”

……

Exalt Bowenya and Jonnbech were carefully watching this battle from afar. It was impossible for Hawkfang to fully control the tower while using his godsense to maintain a connection with an incarnation, and so he had dispelled it for now. The only people remaining here were Bowenya and Jonnbech’s incarnation.

“Watch carefully, Jonnbech.” Exalt Bowenya stared at the distant Ning intently. “I hope Hawkfang can win this battle, but if he loses, you are next! You are one of the most impressive Sithe Hegemons to have come here. I don’t care too much if the others die, but I hope you will survive.”

“Don’t worry, Exalt,” Jonnbech said. Jonnbech was the only Hegemon within this entire hidden dimension who had a truly perfect Dao-heart. He was close to becoming an Exalt himself.

True Sithe were only able to become Exalts in this dimension, but their children could become Autarchs! This was why the Sithe had paid so much attention to Hawkfang. In his heart, though, Exalt Bowenya still felt closer to Jonnbech. He couldn’t help it; the two were both true Sithe.

“It doesn’t matter if Daolord Darknorth really is skilled in putting on a show. We’ll find out the truth soon enough.” Jonnbech stared from afar. “If he can endure even this sort of all-out assault from Hawkfang’s Flameland Elder Hall, we can be all but certain that his ‘injuries’ were a false front.”

“Yes. If he truly is at the brink of death, it’s highly unlikely that he will be able to defeat Hawkfang’s Flameland Elder Hall,” Exalt Bowenya agreed.

“Hawkfang’s quite intelligent as well.” Jonnbech continued to watch, then let out a cold smile: “He’s using up all the remaining power of his Daoguard Tower to launch repeated wide-scale attacks. That was the fifteenth wave of attacks!”

Exalt Bowenya just continued to watch silently. So what if Hawkfang died? So what if even Jonnbech died? He cared, but not that much. So long as he himself survived and managed to successfully kill Ning, he would be a happy man.

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Chapter 10 – Utterly Exhausted

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 10 – Utterly Exhausted

The white-robed Ji Ning was continuing to dodge and retreat in midair, while the Flameland Elder Hall was continuing to launch frenzied attacks against him.

Rumble…

The Flameland Elder Hall launched attack after attack, using those massive streams of golden fire, the enormous fans of saber-light, and those giant dimensional waves. On top of these wide-ranging area attacks, they also launched quite a number of single-target attacks against Ning! These single-target attacks were more focused, and as a result they were more powerful!

“We’ve already launched a total of fifteen wide-range attacks, and also launched nineteen waves of attacks with our other formations. How is he still able to keep fighting?” The Hegemons within the Flameland Elder Hall who were in control of the formations were beginning to grow anxious.

“His truesoul is collapsing even more quickly now. He’ll probably be dying soon.”

“He’s so powerful that he far surpasses any other Daolord. His truesoul is probably much stronger as well, allowing him to stay alive for a longer period of time.”

“Let’s give him another blast.”

“He’ll die any moment now.” Under Hawkfang’s direction, the Hegemons and Emperors in the Flameland Elder Hall launched yet another furious wave attacks, while Ning continued to retreat while blocking as best he could.

Time continued to tick away. Hawkfang watched as the rate at which Ning’s truesoul crumbled away continued to increase. He was clearly in increasingly bad shape. Any ordinary Daolord would’ve died long ago! Ning, however, was able to somehow keep fighting.

More time passed. Ning continued to run around the area, blocking and defending. He looked as though he was in his death throes… but he simply wouldn’t die! By now, the Fireland Elder Hall had used up the majority of its energy stores.

“It’s all an illusion!” Hawkfang suddenly said coldly, a frozen look on his face.

“An illusion?” The avatars of the Emperors next to him were all stunned. As the battle had raged on for longer than they had expected, they too had started to grow increasingly uneasy, but they could tell that the white-robed Daolord’s truesoul really was crumbling away faster and faster. It looked as though they were very close to succeeding in their task of slaying this ‘Daolord Darknorth’. They really didn’t want to believe it was all an illusion.

Hawkfang gritted his teeth. “He was already at death’s door before we even started! By now, the Flameland Elder Hall has used up more than half of our energy stores, yet he is somehow still able to keep up the fight? He’s just a Daolord! How strong could his truesoul possibly be?”

“Then w-we….” the Hegemons and Emperors all started to panic.

……

“So it really is an illusion.” Exalt Bowenya watched from afar. “He is the first Daolord to master an Eternal Omega Dao in this Chaosverse. He truly cannot be underestimated! Still… while I knew his sword-arts were powerful, I never would’ve imagined that his illusions would be so incredible as well. Even I cannot see any flaws in his illusions.”

Exalt Bowenya remained quite calm. He had been alive for a very long time, and the Sithe Chaosverse was a far more advanced place than this one. Back in his homeland, there had been quite a few who had become Eternal Emperors via an Omega Dao! Thus, Exalt Bowenya was able to accurately judge Ning’s power and abilities. However, he felt that since Ning was a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge, by all rights he should’ve been lacking in areas aside from his primary Dao, as he simply hadn’t been alive long enough. Now, it seemed, Daolord Darknorth had reached incredible heights in the art of illusions.

“Then what should I do, Exalt?” Jonnbech frowned.

“Follow our original plan,” Exalt Bowenya said. “I’ll give you every treasure I can spare! There’s no way Hawkfang can win this fight. His Flameland Elder Hall will run out of energy soon, and once it does it won’t even be able to continue flying! This battle will be up to you.”

“Understood.” Jonnbech nodded.

“What a pity.” Exalt Bowenya stared off into the distance. “We have had innumerable progeny, but Hawkfang was quite arguably the most talented one to have ever arisen within this Chaosverse. He had a good chance of becoming an Autarch! If he succeeded, his status would’ve skyrocketed to a level that was much higher than my own. Unfortunately, his Dao-heart was flawed and he has never been able to perfect it.”

To become an Autarch, one needed a perfect Dao-heart. The same was needed to master an Eternal Omega Dao.

“He’ll probably die here.” Exalt Bowenya let out a sigh. Once the power of the Flameland Elder Hall was used up, it would no longer pose a threat to Daolord Darknorth at all, who would be able to capture Hawkfang with ease. Not even Exalt Bowenya would dare to battle Ning head-on without the backing of his Daoguard Tower.

……

Within the Sword Dao Domain. A glowing castle that was merely thirty meters long was stationed here, with Ning and Azurefiend’s avatar located within it. Azurefiend’s avatar was pouring Immortal energy into the castle, keeping it active. As for Ning, he was seated off to one side in front of a table that had a flask of wine and a wine cup on it. Every so often, he would lift up the wine cup and take a sip.

He only needed to spare a bit of attention to maintaining the illusions within the Sword Dao Doman, making the illusory Ning’s performance more convincing! The single-target attacks were powerful and concentrated, with the ones shooting out from this Exalt-class Daoguard Tower being close to Autarch-level attacks in might. However, they all hit the illusory Ning without harming the real one in the slightest.

As for the large-scale attacks, they dispersed their might across an extremely wide area, making it fairly easy to defend against them. However, Ning wasn’t willing to do so and instead took out a Sithe treasure.

It must be remembered that Ning had captured over 2,800 Hegemons and Emperors during the previous battle! They had carried many types of treasures on them, and it could be said that they collectively held roughly over 80% of the total Sithe treasures within this hidden dimension. Now, those treasures were all Ning’s! There were actually over ten items that were on the level of the Blacksun. Ning had pulled out one of them and allowed Azurefiend’s avatar to bind it, then used it to defend against the attacks.

Ning had selected this castle for its sturdiness and defensive strength. It was able to defend against the large-scale attacks that struck it with ease. This castle was on the same level as the Blacksun, and it was specialized in defense. Attacks like this, merely on par with the Blazesun Ruler, were completely unable to breach its thick walls. The only thing they did was to consume Azurefiend’s power.

“Withdraw.” Ning watched the battle proceed while causing his Sword Dao Domain to rapidly retreat and disperse.

“Master, why are you having us retreat?” Azurefiend’s avatar asked. “These Sithe have extremely powerful attacks, but the wide-scale ones are all being blocked by the castle. Why should we withdraw?”

“That’s where you are wrong.” Ning laughed. “Warfare isn’t as simple as attacking and defending. You need to see beyond the clashes to the nature of the battle itself. There’s no need for us to do too much in this battle against the Flameland Elder Hall. Given enough time, they will run out of energy and we will have won.”

Ning’s gaze went through the walls of the castle, allowing him to see the Flameland Elder Hall which continued to pursue and assault them. “Once they broke free from their foundations, they no longer had any chance to retreat. Their only option was to unleash all the power available to them in a final, desperate assault,” Ning explained. “So… why should we actually fight them? I’ll just keep running, while they will keep chasing. It actually takes this Daoguard Tower energy to fly through the air as well.”

There was another unspoken reason why Ning had them continuously retreat. This was because he wanted to stay as far away from the other two Elder Halls as possible! That way, once he captured all the Hegemons and Emperors in the Flameland Elder Hall, he would be able to review their memories without being disturbed. If he was too close to the other two Elder Halls, they’d probably launch attacks at him and disrupt him. If he stayed farther away, it would be harder for them to bother him.

……

Explosions of ruinous power continued to ring out unabated, with Ning continuing to fight while fleeing. Every so often, a streak of Autarch-level golden light would shoot out, tearing through the earth and gouging unfathomably deep tunnels in the ground. As for the wide-scale attacks that covered as much as ten billion kilometers, they would terrify even most Hegemons.

Any other cultivator would’ve perished long ago from a battle like this. Only the Autarchs and Ning were equipped to handle it.

“The Flameland Elder Hall has nearly been utterly exhausted of all its power. It only has enough to keep flying.” Hawkfang gritted his teeth after saying these words. His voice echoed throughout the entire Elder Hall, with every single Emperor and Hegemon inside hearing them. “We have lost this battle. The only thing we have left is a final charge.”

Hawkfang felt pain and sorrow in his heart, because he knew that this final charge would result in his comrades throwing their lives away. The cultivators… the Sithe… Hawkfang wasn’t sure who he truly belonged to, but he knew that the people he cared the most about were his comrades, the other Sithe descendants. And yet, his care alone wouldn’t be of any use. He couldn’t disobey Exalt Bowenya’s orders. Every single Hegemon and Emperor had long ago sworn oaths to obey Exalt Bowenya.

“The final charge.”

“Attack! Even as we die, let’s use up more of Daolord Darknorth’s power. Exhaust him!”

“Kill him, and we’ll bring hope to our homeland. Once we die, it’ll all be for nothing.”

“Kill!”

“Hawkfang, you stay back. So long as you are alive, the others will still have a leader!” The Hegemons and Emperors began to charge out of the Flameland Elder Hall, moving like streaks of light towards Ning as they tried to dissuade Hawkfang from joining the battle.

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Chapter 11 – A Wonderful Surprise

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 11 – A Wonderful Surprise

Streaks of light flew out from the Flameland Elder Hall. The Sithe descendants were absolutely fearless, and they charged out with a mixture of both frenzy and despair.

Hawkfang silently watched from afar. He suddenly had the feeling that those streaks of light were utterly beautiful… yet at the same time, they stabbed against his heart like daggers. In truth, the torment he had felt in his heart over the course of many aeons had been utterly excruciating. This was why he had never been able to perfect his Dao-heart!

“Death is a form of release. My friends… if all of you die, what would be the point of me surviving by myself? To continue being a disposable pawn to the Sithe?” A calm look appeared in Hawkfang’s eyes, and he began to release the two monsters trapped within the Flameland Elder Hall. Clack clack clack clack… the prison cells located within the deepest depths of the Elder Hall began to swing open, awakening two mighty creatures that had existed since antiquity.

Boom. Boom. Boom. The entire Flameland Elder Hall began to shake. After awakening, the two strange creatures instantly entered a berserk state. It was extremely hard to control these creatures, but somewhat easier to drive them so berserk that they would attack all foes before them.

The Sithe generally treated these creatures as their final trump cards. The creatures were sent out to fight only when the Sithe were on their last legs.

“They’ve all gone.” Hawkfang watched those hundreds of streaks of light shot from the Flameland Elder Hall towards the distant region covered by the Sword Dao Domain… but those who entered it disappeared without a trace.

“I’ll go as well.” Hawkfang could sense those two creatures beginning to awaken and cause destruction. The power within his Daoguard Tower had finally been used up. Without any energy to power its artifacts and formations, the Daoguard Tower was completely incapable of restraining these two mighty beasts any further. The two were beginning to tear it apart… and in truth, Hawkfang didn’t care.

He had already committed himself irrevocably to this path once he had split the Elder Hall away from its foundation. Even if the depleted tower wasn’t destroyed, it would be of little use; at most, he could detach a few weapons and use them.

“Attack!” Hawkfang shot out like a streak of light, charging with determination towards the distant Ning. He was the last of the Hegemons and Emperors in his group to attack.

……

Exalt Bowenya and Jonnbech all watched as those hundreds of streaks of light shot out towards Daolord Darknorth, followed by the final streak of light which represented Hawkfang. Both of them were silent.

As for Ning, he was absolutely delighted. He had long ago put away his castle and was actively manipulating his Sword Dao Domain instead. He flew through the air, moving towards those attacking Emperors as his domain moved with him as well. As soon as the Emperors entered his reach, they were trapped by illusions and captured with ease.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Hegemons and Emperors continued to launch frenzied attacks, but none of them landed on Ning at all. At most, Ning would have to exert a tiny bit of power to use evasion-arts to dodge. And so… all of the Hegemons and Emperors, Hawkfang included, were captured in one fell swoop. He drew all of them into his estate-world.

“Now that is that?” Just as Ning was feeling quite satisfied with himself and preparing to review the memories of these Hegemons, he suddenly turned to stare at the crumbling Flameland Elder Hall with a slightly tense look on his face.

BOOM! A giant hole appeared in the side of the Flameland Elder Hall, followed by a creature that looked like a giant fish flying out of the opening. The giant fish quickly expanded in size when it flew out, expanding to become thirty thousand kilometers long. It had long whiskers around its mouth, and those whiskers were all ten thousand kilometers as well. It also had a total of eighteen sets of claws located alongside its flank. As for its tail, the tip of its tail was connected to a series of slender threads which chopped through space with terrifying power as they swished back and forth.

“What an incredible beast.” Ning felt a sense of threat. “I have the feeling that it is even tougher to deal with than the last beast I encountered.”

Squish. Squish. Squish. Right at this moment, another strange creature that looked something like an earthworm began to slowly ooze its out of the main gates of the Flameland Elder Hall. The creature emanated a halo of golden light, and when Ning saw it he immediately had the feeling that its body was incredibly tough. Even if Ning chopped it into ten pieces, it probably still wouldn’t die. Killing it would be no easy task.

“I need to find their essence cores before I can kill them,” Ning mused. “But both are extremely hard to deal with. It’ll probably take me ten or twenty strikes to kill them… but why should I have to?”

Ning exert his will as he landed upon the ground beneath him. He had already flown out of the Sacred Mountains and into an empty plains, and when he landed on the plains he exerted the power of his Illusion Sword Dao, vanishing without a trace. He was using his illusions to blend into his surroundings, completely masking his aura and revealing no traces of his presence at all.

“Kill… kill… kill…” These two creatures came from outside the Chaosverse, and they were born with incredibly powerful bodies. Their eyes were filled with savagery as they scanned the area, searching for living beings to kill. And yet… after doing so, they ended up turning and charging towards the two remaining Elder Halls instead! Both of those two Elder Halls were easily locatable, and they could sense that both held living beings within them.

“Damn! It really was all an illusion. Daolord Darknorth’s illusions are truly…” Exalt Bowenya turned pale when he saw this. These were clearly HIS beasts, but upon being unable to find Ning they chose to charge towards him instead!

They had captured these beasts and driven them berserk. For these beasts to now attack them was a form of karma.

Boom! Squish! The two creatures parted ways, separating as they moved towards the two Elder Hall. They began to launch a frenzied barrage of attacks upon their respective Elder Halls. Their mighty bodies contained an even more massive amount of energy than Flamewing! It gave them all the power they needed to furiously assault the towers to give vent to their hate. They even opened their giant mouths to bite down at the towers… but the two Elder Halls would not be so easily shaken by the likes of them!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two Elder Halls began to counter-attack with near-Autarch levels of might. The attacks left gaping wounds on the bodies of the two creatures. The earthworm creature was able to endure nearly a hundred blows before finally being blasted apart, at which point its essence core was destroyed and it perished. As for the giant fish, when it was on the verge of dying it actually came back to its senses and bored into the earth to flee.

“It regained its mind?” Exalt Bowenya was quite shocked. “We had driven it completely insane, but it somehow managed to come back to its senses. Near-death experiences truly can give birth to miracles.”

He didn’t worry about that giant fish-creature too much, because the Sacred Realm was so stable that there was no way the creature would be able to break free and escape from it. After he dealt with the biggest problem, ‘Daolord Darknorth’, he would have plenty of time to handle the fish and recapture it.

“Daolord Darknorth.” Exalt Bowenya stared off into the distance, his gaze focused upon the plains where Ning had vanished. Daolord Darknorth was a thousand times more dangerous than that giant fish!

……

Ning had hidden himself via his power over illusions. And upon doing so he had immediately summoned Hawkfang.

Hawkfang had been someone whom the Sithe had held great hopes for. He had a chance of becoming an Autarch, and was the son of a Sithe Exalt. Ning had searched the memories of over 2,800 Sithe Emperors to no avail. By now, he felt certain that his chances of finding those nine techniques in the memories of ordinary Emperors were extremely slim. Hawkfang, however, was special. Perhaps he might have something.

Whoosh. The black-robed Hawkfang appeared before Ning. His gaze was calm, and he even smiled slightly when he saw Ning appear before him. “Daolord Darknorth.”

Ning didn’t say anything, immediately drawing Hawkfang into an illusion. He was afraid that Hawkfang would try to commit suicide in the hopes of killing him. If that happened, Ning wouldn’t have a chance to search his memories. They would have plenty of time to chat later. The nine techniques, however, were absolutely critical to him and his hopes of proceeding further along the path of cultivation. He wouldn’t take any risks with that.

“This is certainly a great deal of memories.” Ning began to review Hawkfang’s memories. Hawkfang’s Dao-heart was flawed, and so he wasn’t able to resist Ning’s illusions.

Ning couldn’t help but sigh as he flipped through Hawkfang’s memories. Hawkfang was a rather tragic figure. If he had been born amongst the cultivators, he probably would’ve already become an Autarch.

“What?! He also swore a lifeblood oath not to transmit the nine techniques to anyone?” Ning felt rather speechless when he saw the thought-bubbles surrounding those nine techniques. He had expected this, but he had still been hoping that Hawkfang would be different. In truth, however… every single Sithe given access to these techniques had been forced to swear lifeblood oaths. Hawkfang was no exception.

“Ugh.” Ning felt rather disappointed after being unable to access the nine techniques, but he continued to flip through Hawkfang’s other memories.

Time slowly flowed on. Two hours. Four hours…

“What’s this?” Ning’s eyes slowly began to light up as he began to flip through the memories faster and faster. The more he saw, the more excited he became… and towards the end, he was so excited that his entire body was quivering.

“The [Five Truncheon Chapters]!”

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Chapter 12 – The [Five Truncheon Chapters]

Book 42, Chapter 12 - The [Five Truncheon Chapters]

“Now this is an unexpected surprise!” Due to his repeated failures, Ji Ning was already at the verge of abandoning all hope of finding the nine special techniques. He was simply rifling through the rest of Hawkfang’s memories out of a sense of caution. Who would’ve thought that such an unexpected surprise would pop out!

Hawkfang was the creator of the [Five Truncheon Chapters]. He truly was a genius!

After Hawkfang’s father had accompanied the Sithe army in their first invasion of the Chaosverse, he began to live here within this hidden dimension. Later on, the supreme Sithe leaders sent orders for the Sithe to begin to propagate within this land. As for Hawkfang’s father, he was an Exalt, but the one and only child he had upon reaching this level was Hawkfang. He began to put all of his efforts into rearing his son.

Hawkfang was incredibly talented in every respect, and he skyrocketed in power with no pause at all! However… he was still just a Sithe descendant. The true Sithe couldn’t help but feel a sense of caution towards these descendants, and so they weren’t willing to pass down any information or guidance regarding Omega Daos! If one of their children managed to reach Autarchy via an Omega Dao, it would be their children who would become the rulers of this Chaosverse… which meant that it would still be suited for the current cultivators, not the Sithe.

The Sithe descendants were much like the local cultivators, after all. They were born and bred under the current conditions.

In addition, if someone reached Autarchy via an Omega Dao, not even a lifeblood oath would be able to restrain or affect him. The Sithe were afraid that they would no longer be able to control such a person, and so they didn’t pass down any Omega daos.

Hawkfang was incredibly talented. Guided by the Sithe away from the Omega Daos, he succeeded in the Daomerge and became a mere Hegemon.

In truth, this was perhaps a lucky thing for Hawkfang. Ning didn’t have any guidance as he walked the path of the Omega Sword Dao, but the difficulty of the Daomerge resulted in him failing at it.

Becoming a Hegemon… it was hard to say if it was a ‘good’ thing or a ‘bad’ thing for Hawkfang. After becoming a Hegemon, he had quickly reached Hegemony in five other Daos. His speed of advancement was so shockingly fast that it had amazed the entire Sithe race! Even the highest ranking members of the Sithe paid close attention to him.

Later on, the Dawn War began! Hawkfang’s father, as an Exalt, was required to lead the Sithe forces into battle! Hawkfang insisted on accompanying his father into battle. As one of the most favored Sithe descendants, he had a somewhat special status, and so the highest level Sithe reluctantly agreed to his request. However, they only agreed to let him send his avatar, as they knew the war would be so fierce that Hawkfang could very well die in it.

The entire Sithe race was eagerly awaiting an Autarch arising from within the ranks of their children!

During the war, Hawkfang’s avatar accompanied his father in battling against the cultivators. He saw many things… and slowly, he began to realize the truth!

“You imbeciles! Can’t you feel it? Can’t you sense the difference between you and the Sithe? It was this vast Chaosverse which gave birth to you, nurtured you, supported you! The primordial chaos of this universe accepts you but rejects the Sithe, because the Sithe are foreign invaders and enemies. You are helping your own enemies!

“You are cultivators! Why do you willingly serve the Sithe?!”

Autarch Bolin had charged towards them, roaring with accusation and fury. Hawkfang had long ago suspected the truth… and on that day, he became certain of it.

“Fang, my son.” His father had sought him out that day. “We’re quite unlucky to have run into one of the cultivator Autarchs so soon. We’re going to die today. I’ll destroy your avatar to ensure that this Autarch won’t be able to kill you. Every single one of his strikes is filled with the binding power of karma. If he kills you, he’ll use karma to destroy your true body as well.”

“Father… I am a cultivator, not a Sithe. Right?” Hawkfang asked.

Ning was looking through Hawkfang’s memories and could see through Hawkfang’s eyes. He saw the look on the face of Hawkfang’s father… and that look shook even Ning’s own heart.

Hawkfang’s father had fallen silent for a moment. He then looked at his son, his eyes filled with mixed emotions. Heartache, love, worry, hope…

These were the pure emotions a dying father would feel when gazing at his son.

Hawkfang’s father had then said softly, “I might as well tell you. I was bound by oaths not to reveal this to you, but now you already know the truth. I… I didn’t have a choice. I had to take part in this war and just hope for the best. You don’t have a choice either. The two of us, father and son… we certainly share a sorry fate.”

When Hawkfang’s father had said these words, his eyes had become filled with resentment. He had then let out a sigh: “If you can become an Autarch, the Sithe wouldn’t dare to mistreat you. You’d be considered one of their important thugs… but if you fail to make that breakthrough and remain a mere Hegemon, you wouldn’t even be considered a thug, just a disposable pawn. I was able to protect you, but I’m going to die soon. I won’t be able to protect you any longer. If you ever have the chance… flee. Escape and go to the cultivator civilizations.”

Hawkfang had been stunned. He never would have imagined that his father would tell him to go flee to the cultivators.

“Alright. We’re out of time.” Hawkfang’s father had then reached out and pressed his hand against Hawkfang’s chest, destroying Hawkfang’s avatar with one blow... and that was the last memory Hawkfang had of his father.

The end result of that battle… was Autarch Bolin exterminating the entire squad led by Hawkfang’s father.

……

Eventually, the Dawn War came to an end. Hawkfang continued to live within the Sacred Realm inside the hidden dimension. At first, the Sithe continued to pay close attention to him… but the shadow that had been cast over his heart made it so that he would be unable to cleanse his Dao-heart of all flaws.

He was a cultivator, but he was also a descendant of the Sithe. If the Sithe had treated him with sincerity, he wouldn’t feel so torn… but in reality, he now knew that they were nothing more than cannon fodder and pawns. Even if he worked extremely hard and became an Autarch, he’d be viewed as nothing more than a useful thug.

What was the point of cultivating?

And… he was forever unable to forget his father’s final words: “I didn’t have a choice. I had to take part in this war and just hope for the best. You don’t have a choice either. The two of us, father and son… we certainly share a sorry fate.”

These words tore at his heart. Ever since his mother had died due to her lifespan coming to an end, his father had become the person who he cared about above all others. His father, in turn, had cherished him and loved him.

Only when he heard those words did he realize how miserably unhappy his father had been. His father had the exalted title of ‘Exalt’, but he had been given no choices either. He had only come to take part in this war because he had to, and his fate had been left up to luck.

“Sithe...”

“SITHE!!!!” Hawkfang began to feel hatred towards the Sithe race, which treated both himself and his father as disposable pawns. This hatred cast a shadow over his heart, preventing him from perfecting his Dao-heart. He knew that he had to become more powerful and become an Autarch, as it would give him a better chance of escaping and taking revenge upon the Sithe… but he could no longer perfect his Dao-heart. In fact, he couldn’t improve at all.

……

After no longer being able to progress on the path of cultivation, Hawkfang eventually began to give up on his hopes of Autarchy. However, he then came up with another idea for taking revenge upon the Sithe!

He knew that the Sithe had long ago transmitted nine special techniques to their descendants, wanting to make cultivation easier for them. These techniques allowed divine power and Immortal energy to be merged together, theoretically ensuring that even Daolords would no longer face mortal danger as they took their various steps. Even if you failed in the Daomerge, you would be able to quickly recover and then attempt it again! This was the reason why the Sithe were able to produce so many Hegemons, Emperors, and Exalts.

“The Sithe continuously improved as they created these nine techniques, with the ninth being much better than the first. But in the end? Even the ninth and ultimate technique remained flawed. It only allowed for one to become a Daolord of the First Step, at which point the body would crumble and the truesoul would vanish.

“I can sense that these techniques are somewhat rejected by the natural ‘Dao’ of this Chaosverse. If I can retrofit them, I should be able to produce something better.”

True Sithe were unable to sense or make use of the Dao of this Chaosverse… but Hawkfang could!

It was absolutely incredible that the Sithe Lord of Chaos was able to create a technique which would allow a local cultivator to safely become a Daolord, even though the Lord of Chaos himself was unable to sense the Dao here. Hawkfang had personally viewed all nine of the techniques in the past, and he had watched as the almighty Sithe Lord of Chaos had slowly improved and perfected them. Hawkfang had gained many new insights as he had watched… and so, he had chosen to make use of those insights into creating his own techniques.

He had felt certain that all nine Sithe techniques contained fundamental, foundational errors. The only reason why those errors weren’t apparent early on was because when one was weak, there was a great deal of margin for error.

For example, consider mortal cultivators. ‘Foundation level’, ‘Golden Core level’, ‘Nascent Soul level’… ‘Mortal-ranked’, ‘Earth-ranked’, ‘Heaven-ranked’… ‘Wanxiang Adept’, ‘Primal Daoist’, ‘Void level’… all sorts of techniques and styles could be used, because the weaker you were the less of an impact the Chaosverse’s Dao would have upon you. But the closer to the peak you were, the more demanding the Dao would become.

Hawkfang himself was able to sense the Dao of this Chaosverse. He borrowed some of the technical tricks and ideas used by the nine special techniques, then began to recreate them in his own image, devising the [Mortal Chapter], [Fiendgod Chapter], [World Chapter], [Daolord Chapter], and [Deathless Chapter].

This became the technique which he named the [Five Truncheon Chapters]. The reason why he called it the [Five Truncheon Chapters] was because his father’s favorite magic treasure had been a wooden truncheon. As a child, Hawkfang had loved to play around with that truncheon, and so his father had given it to him. Hawkfang had always carried it by his side, and it became a symbol of the love he bore for his father.

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Chapter 13 – Deathless

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 13 – Deathless

Hawkfang had created this technique in order to take revenge upon the Sithe. He wanted to take revenge for both his father’s sake and his own sake, and for the sake of the countless deceived Sithe descendants! They were viewed as disposable cannon fodder by the true Sithe, while even his father had been forced to take part in the war.

“The two of us, father and son… we certainly share a sorry fate.” These words continued to stab against Hawkfang’s heart like knives. He would never be able to forget that look on his father’s face. This was why he needed revenge.

He wanted to create this technique, then find a way to deliver it to the cultivators! He felt certain that the cultivators would be able to use it to dramatically increase in power, producing many new Hegemons and even new Autarchs. That way, the Sithe would be defeated.

But of course, if the Sithe found out that he was creating this technique, he would be doomed! Thus, he had carried out all of his experiments upon the beings who resided within his own estate-treasure. As a Hegemon, he had many estate-treasures which were filled with countless living beings. He had these beings test out his cultivation techniques, and many ended up dying due to errors in the technique. He had tested them time and time again, then remade them repeatedly.

His talent was put to full effect here. He quickly mastered the [Mortal Chapter] and the [Fiendgod Chapter]. The first was comparable to pre-Celestial Tribulation levels of the Three Realms, while the second included everything post-tribulation to the Elder God/Ancestral Immortal level.

Although it was different from the way in which the nine techniques operated, it was successful and had a similar effect to Ning’s own azureflower seal technique.

The [World Chapter] covered World Gods and Chaos Immortals. It was clearly far more difficult, and it took him a great deal of time… but in the end, he succeeded once more.

The [Daolord Chapter], however, was even more difficult. It must be remembered that even the finest of the nine special techniques only allowed for cultivators to safely train to the World level. Once one became a Daolord of the First Step, the body would crumble apart and the truesoul would be destroyed.

Hawkfang spent untold aeons working on the [Daolord Chapter], and to this very day he was still working on it. Alas, he had only been able to successfully complete the parts for Daolords of the First Step and Daolords of the Second Step. He hadn’t been able to succeed for the third or fourth steps!

Due to being stymied by the [Daolord Chapter], he had turned his attention to the [Deathless Chapter] instead. The [Deathless Chapter] was meant to allow Daolords who had failed in the Daomerge to halt and reverse the crumbling of the truesoul, allowing them to then attempt the Daomerge once more.

All nine of the Sithe techniques were also focused on recovering from a failed Daomerge.

“Mortal cultivators who reach a certain level can be reborn from a single drop of blood. Upon reaching the ‘Fiendgod’ level, they will not die so long as their truesoul remains unharmed. However… if there was a way which would allow a shattered truesoul, the very core of a person’s being, to be repaired after already breaking apart? That would represent true deathlessness. The only thing which could end one’s life would be when the invisible laws that govern everyone’s maximum lifespan in a Chaosverse took effect.” And so, Hawkfang had focused his efforts on the [Deathless Chapter].

He allowed the Daolords residing in his estate-treasures who had failed the Daomerge to test out this technique. He had gone so far as to recruit many disciples in the Sacred Realm. After those Daolord disciples failed the Daomerge, he would have them go into his estate-treasure and test out the [Deathless Chapter]… but of course, he would have them swear oaths not to divulge this to anyone else.

He had refined the [Deathless Chapter] over and over again, but to this very day, it remained a failure! Clearly, it was almost completely impossible to allow a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge to repair his crumbling truesoul.

Thus, only the first three chapters of the [Five Truncheon Chapters] were complete. The [Daolord Chapter] and the [Deathless Chapter] were both flawed and imperfect… but in truth, both were significantly superior to the nine unique techniques the Sithe had developed. It wasn’t that Hawkfang was more talented than the Sithe Lord of Chaos; rather, it was that he was able to use those nine techniques as a reference, and was also able to sense the Dao of this Chaosverse.

If the Sithe Lord of Chaos was also able to sense the Dao of this Chaosverse, he probably would’ve been able to easily create a perfect technique which would allow someone to train all the way to the Autarch level.

……

Ning was extremely excited, especially after reviewing the [Deathless Chapter]. As Ning reviewed the technique, he couldn’t help but get the feeling that there were certain similarities to the mysteries of the Nine Chaos Seals which Autarch Awakener had created.

It was like a brand new door had appeared in front of Ning, one which allowed limitless possibilities in a brand new world.

The Sithe Lord of Chaos was at such an extremely high level of insight that he was able to create these nine techniques just based on guesswork and prediction. He had overhauled them and repeatedly perfected them, but they remained flawed. This, however, was because his understanding of the nature of this Chaosverse’s Dao was limited. If the Dao had operated in the manner he had believed it to operate, the nine techniques would’ve been perfect. Alas, the Dao was different and so the nine techniques were unusable. Hawkfang, however, had managed to use them to create his own [Deathless Chapter].

“I can see hope. There are many ways we can continue to improve the [Deathless Chapter].” Ning was different form Hawkfang. He was the master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, on par with Autarchs in terms of insight. He had reached an incredibly high level of understanding into the Dao, which was why he was able to reach Hegemony in so many Daos with such ease.

“But the path to perfecting it will be a long one. If I let Hawkfang do it, he probably wouldn’t succeed even if he was given ten times as much time as he already had.” Autarch Awakener had attempted to complete this path, but he had approached it from a different angle. He had been able to reach an extremely deep level of mastery in his approach, which was why Ning was certain that the [Deathless Chapter] held many flaws.

However… it was a different approach that would provide many new inspirations. In addition, he was able to see a complete ‘structure’ to the [Deathless Chapter].

“The experiences of Autarch Awakener, combined with the mysteries of the [Deathless Chapter]… if I fused them together and then worked hard on improving them, I might be able to create a perfect technique in my remaining years which would allow my crumbling truesoul to recover.” Ning instantly grew excited. If he could heal his truesoul… then if he attempted the Daomerge again, he would instantly become an Eternal Emperor because he was already the master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao!

But of course… he would first have to create a new technique which would allow the truesoul to become deathless and everlasting.

“I can definitely succeed. I will definitely succeed!” Ning was filled with anticipation.

Prior to acquiring the [Deathless Chapter], Ning had felt that his chances of creating such a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique to be virtually negligible. Now, however? Hope blazed in front of him like a radiant sun. It was still a distant goal, but it was bright enough to illuminate the path in front of it.

Autarch Titanos and the others had felt that there was no hope because they didn’t even know what path to begin embarking on! The [Deathless Chapter], however, was based off the nine special techniques and so it provided an overall framework and ‘path’, even though this path was filled with many pitfalls and dead ends. This was why the Sithe had forced anyone who ever learned the nine techniques to swear lifeblood oaths not to divulge it to anyone else.

They were afraid that the nine techniques would be disseminated to the cultivators, accelerating their research efforts into this same field.

“Hawkfang, I truly have to thank you.” Ning stared at Hawkfang, who was still in a dazed and illusion-bound state in front of him, then smiled. After completely reviewing Hawkfang’s memories, Ning felt that this trip to this hidden dimension had been completely worth it!

“Awaken,” Ning murmured softly.

Hawkfang trembled slightly. Moments later, his eyes regained their usual clarity. He looked at Ning, blinked, and then smiled slightly. “Daolord Darknorth, was I in an illusion just now?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

“You’ve already reviewed my memories?” Hawkfang asked.

Ning nodded.

Hawkfang continued, “I’ve always felt quite torn between the Sithe and the cultivators. The blood in my veins belongs to the Sithe and comes from my father! And yet, I am indeed a local cultivator myself. Life has been quite agonizing… but one thing is certain. I hate the Sithe! I hate them for forcing my father into war, and hate them for sending all of us, their children, to our deaths. Now you have my [Five Truncheon Chapters], a technique I poured my heart and soul into. In the end, I still wasn’t able to truly complete them. However… after you cultivators acquire them, I’m certain that you’ll be able to create a perfect technique.”

“Thank you,” Ning said. “The entire cultivator civilization owes you thanks, and I owe you more than anyone else.”

“You?” Hawkfang blinked, then laughed. “Do you thank me because you have failed the Daomerge? But creating a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique will be extremely difficult. This is the hardest part of the entire set, Daolord Darknorth! You are incredibly talented, but you don’t have much time left, while perfecting the technique will be extremely difficult. The Autarchs weren’t able to accomplish it, while I was only able to do what I did thanks to having studied those nine unique techniques. Even though you’ll be able to learn from what I created… I’m afraid that it’ll still take you a million or even tens of millions of chaos cycles before you are able to succeed.”

“At least I can give it a shot before I die.” Ning smiled. “If I succeed, I’ll be able to keep living.”

Hawkfang smiled as well.

“Is there anything you want from me?” Ning asked. “I’ll do anything which is within my power.”

“I don’t need much. If you do win, take away all of the descendants from my homeland and give them a safe, remote location which will be far away from the terrifying clash of civilizations. I’ll find a quiet place for myself and live out a peaceful life.” Hawkfang smiled. “But of course, that’s only if you win. If you lose, all of this talk will have been for nothing.”

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Chapter 14 – Before the Battle

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 14 – Before the Battle

Although Ji Ning had already acquired the technique he was searching for, the [Five Truncheon Chapters], he still continued flipping through the memories of all the other Hegemons and Emperors he had captured. He wanted to try and find more Sithe secrets that might be of help to the cultivators.

After a full year concluded, Ning once more flew towards the Sacred Mountains…

“He’s coming.” Exalt Bowenya stared from afar, his gaze ice-cold.

“Daolord Darknorth has already appeared. We cannot shirk back from this fight. Our only options are to win glory for ourselves by killing Daolord Darknorth… or dying in battle.” Jonnbach was standing outside the Iceland Elder Hall, radiating the desire to do battle. Behind him were nearly four hundred Hegemons and Emperors, the vast majority of whom were all true Sithe.

“Do you want to die?” Jonnbech’s voice was placid, but it echoed throughout the hall. The true Sithe and the Sithe descendants were all silent, but their eyes were filled with berserk looks.

“Good. Let’s begin.” Accompanying Jonnbech’s orders, the towering Iceland Elder Hall began to shake and rumble as it broke free from its own foundation.

The white-robed Ning was soaring through the skies towards them. Now, the vast Iceland Elder Hall was soaring into the air as well.

……

“At most, they’ll force me to waste a bit of extra time.” Thanks to his Illusion Sword Dao, Ning would be able to win this fight quite easily. None of them could see through his illusions.

His Sword Dao Domain was able cover an area of over a billion kilometers, and this entire area would be transformed into an illusory realm! Wide-range attacks could hit him, but they would be weak enough that Ning could just hide inside his treasures and defend against them with ease. Focused attacks were powerful, but there was no way they would be able to locate the true Ning within this region of a billion kilometers.

“If I had already mastered the Illusion Sword Dao while I was fighting in Purgatory, I wouldn’t have needed to use my Storm Sword Dao to evade those attacks when fighting that first castle. The Illusion Sword Dao would’ve been enough to make it impossible for my opponents to locate me, much less stop me. Same with that spacetime formation; I still would’ve been trapped, but the Illusion Sword Dao would’ve made it impossible for them to injure me.”

Ning couldn’t help but sigh. During the battle in the spacetime formation, he had sacrificed many precious treasures and had to strike eighteen times before he was able to escape. What a waste! If he had already mastered the Illusion Sword Dao, he could’ve relaxed within the confines of that formation. His opponents wouldn’t have been able to touch him!

Alas, Ning had no idea back then that the Illusion Sword Dao would prove to be so effective. It was of very little use against other Autarch-level experts, after all… but against hordes of weaker Emperors and Hegemons? It was absolutely crushing! They wouldn’t even be able to locate him, much less strike him.

“It is nearly time.” Ning sipped from a glass of wine as he stared outside of the star-treasure he was in towards the approaching Iceland Elder Hall.

“Master, it seems as though we stand a good chance at escaping,” Azurefiend’s avatar said excitedly.

“The Flameland Elder Hall and the Iceland Elder Hall both voluntarily abandoned their foundations in order to attack me. That’s why they aren’t that dangerous. But the remaining Daoguard Tower which is owned by Exalt Bowenya… now that is a different story.” Ning shook his head. “The central control mechanisms for this entire hidden dimension are located within that Daoguard Tower, which means I have to actually go inside it. The danger level inside a Daoguard Tower is completely different.”

“You have to be careful, Master,” Azurefiend’s avatar said. The more time he spent with Ning, the more admiration he felt, especially when he saw how almost nothing could shake Ning’s Dao-heart and how calm Ning was in the face of even the greatest of dangers. Azurefiend himself was not capable of this.

“Attack! Kill Daolord Darknorth! Kill him and we’ll be rewarded heavily. Even if we die, we’ll be revived through spacetime inversion and then be graced with many gifts! If we can’t kill him, at least we can tire him out a bit. Next, Exalt Bowenya will personally deal with him! So long as the Exalt succeeds, we’ll still be brought back.”

“ATTACK!” Jonnbech howled. His only hope was to render enough merits to the Sithe that he would be revived via spacetime inversion… because he knew that they were definitely going to die during this battle against this terrifying Daolord.

“Let’s go!”

“Attack!” All the Hegemons and Emperors charged forwards madly, including both the true Sithe and the Sithe descendants. If they charged and attacked, at least they would have a tiny chance at surviving this. Anyone who dared to try and flee would be put to death in accordance to Sithe laws, never to be revived again.

“They clearly know that they have no chance against me. They are like mantises waving their arms in front of a cart and seeking to stop it, but they still show no signs of fear at all.” Ning couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of trepidation when he gazed upon the hundreds of berserk Hegemons and Emperors. “Hawkfang’s memories indicate that even Sithe Exalts like his father were all forced to take part in this war. Life amongst the Sithe certainly is brutal.”

Whoosh. Ning used the power of his Illusion Sword Dao against the rampaging Hegemons who were charging towards him as the battle began.

……

Within the final Elder Hall, the brightest one of the three. The blue-robed, blue-haired Bowenya was standing there, calmly watching the battle from afar.

He didn’t care about the deaths of the Hegemons and the Emperors. He only cared about one thing… success!

“If they die, they die. So long as we can kill Daolord Darknorth and swallow up his truesoul, I’ll have rendered the greatest merit anyone has accomplished since our invasion into this Chaosverse! I’ll be given true freedom, and many other gifts as well.” Exalt Bowenya stared intently at the distant white-robed youth. “This is in accordance with the rules which our leader personally wrote down. There’s no way he would go back on his word.”

“We have to kill him.” Bowenya’s eyes were filled with savagery as well. Hawkfang? Jonnbech? Even if they died… even if this entire hidden dimension was destroyed… he wouldn’t care one bit! The only thing which mattered was killing Ning and then swallowing up his truesoul.

According to what their leader had said, the higher your status and the more karmic luck you had, the more the Quintessence of the Chaosverse would dote upon you! The person before Bowenya was the first master of an Eternal Omega Sword Dao this Chaosverse had ever seen. Even though he had failed his Daomerge, he would remain beloved by this Chaosverse and would be blessed with tremendous karmic luck and tremendous power.

Similarly, during the era of the Three Realms, its most talented experts such as Nuwa and Ning would all be blessed and reinforced by the power of the Three Realms. The same was true for the Chaosverse as a whole. The most talented denizens of the Chaosverse would be blessed with tremendous karmic luck. This was true for both the Autarchs and Ning! If any of them were slain and their truesouls devoured, it would be a tremendous blow to this Chaosverse as a whole!

If Ning had died under ordinary circumstances, such as his truesoul naturally dissipating, then his truesoul fragments would make their way back into the prime essences of the Chaosverse. But if he was killed by the Sithe, then had his truesoul fragments devoured in accordance with those secret Sithe truesoul-swallowing techniques, there would be no way for his truesoul fragments to go back to this Chaosverse.

This was why Bowenya had to kill Ning, rather than just trap him and let him slowly die a normal death. And… killing Ning would be an even greater accomplishment than killing an ordinary Autarch!

This was because the Sithe leadership knew that while ordinary Autarchs were unable to improve any further, those who were in control of an Eternal Omega Dao could very well take that final step and become an Omega Autarch, resulting in a new Lord of Chaos being born. The Sithe would stop at nothing to kill Ning! Even though he had failed his Daomerge, they would still be worried that someone as brilliant as him might be able to come up with a way to devise a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique.

The sooner they killed him, the better.

……

After capturing Jonnbech and the others, Ning inspected all of their memories. However, the only unexpected surprises came from Jonnbech himself. Jonnbech actually had a perfect Dao-heart, and so the illusions formed from the Sword Dao Domain were not enough to control his mind. Ning was forced to use some of his own power and use a secret art in order to draw Jonnbech into an illusion, then rifle through his memories.

Ning was quite delighted by what he found. Jonnbech, as someone who had a perfect Dao-heart, was a very high-ranking Sithe. He was far more important than the vast majority of Hegemons, and was given the best resources in the hope that he would become an Exalt! As a result, he had viewed many different techniques which were meant to aid Hegemons in breaking through to Autarchy. Some required lifeblood oaths to be sworn not to divulge them to outsiders, while others Jonnbech had found on his own. The latter didn’t require any oaths, and so Ning managed to uncover quite a few techniques which not even Autarch Titanos or Autarch Awakener had been able to acquire.

“This is an unexpected surprise. And… it seems that Jonnbech’s home truly had many powerful experts within it.” Ning found quite a few memories pertaining to the Sithe Chaosverse as well. There, the ‘Exalts’ were truly Autarchs in power.

But of course, there were differences in power amongst the Autarchs as well. Some reached Autarchy as Heartforce Cultivators, while others reached Autarchy through the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of Spacetime, the Dao of Space, and more. Some reached Autarchy through the Dao of Metal, while other reached Autarchy through the Dao of the Five Elements.

Different Daos would result in different levels of power. Those who reached Autarchy via the Dao of Space, for example, would be a bit weaker than those who reached Autarchy via the Dao of Spacetime. In turn, those who reached Autarchy via the Dao of the Five Elements would be even more powerful.

Alas, all memories pertaining to the secrets of the Omega Daos were sealed by lifeblood oaths. Even so, Ning’s horizons were considerably expanded. He actually gained new insights into his own path of cultivation as well.

“I don’t have enough time as a cultivator of the Dao of the Sword. Reaching Autarchy via my Omega Sword Dao before my truesoul crumbles is nothing more than a vain dream. I don’t have nearly enough time; in fact, I probably won’t even be able to finish my Karma Sword Dao! I need to focus all of my efforts on creating the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique.”

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Chapter 15 – Deadlock

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 15 – Deadlock

Crunch. Crunch. Clack!

Within a gorge inside the Sacred Realm. Ji Ning was standing next to the Iceland Elder Hall, using his Sword Dao Domain to break it apart and deconstruct it. The Iceland Elder Hall was devoid of all power, and so he was able to break it apart quite quickly.

“Daolord Darknorth, why are you wasting time breaking apart a useless Daoguard Tower? Is it perhaps because of how pathetically impoverished all you cultivators are? During the last war we fought against you cultivators, your kind did the same thing in frantically scavenging for any scraps you could find.” The heavens echoed with a cold, mocking laugh.

“I’m in no rush,” Ning murmured calmly.

“Hmph. Then go ahead and keep on breaking it apart,” the icy voice replied coldly.

That was exactly what Ning did. He continued to break the Daoguard Tower apart piece-by-piece, and he carefully scrutinized every inch of it. This was the first time he had a chance to inspect an Exalt-class Daoguard Tower up close! His next action was to enter Exalt Bowenya’s Elder Hall. Given that all Daoguard Towers shared certain commonalities in construction, deconstructing and inspecting this one was a form of preparation for him.

As the saying goes, if you knew yourself and knew your enemies, you would be blessed with victory in all of your battles. The deconstruction of the Iceland Elder Hall was part of Ning efforts to know his enemies.

“A pity that the Flameland Elder Hall was virtually annihilated,” Ning mused to himself.

Twenty-six days went past in the blink of an eye before Ning had finally finished carefully tearing apart the entire Iceland Elder Hall. During this process, he had also discovered a strange beast which had been slumbering deep within a prison inside the tower. Ning had used his Sword Dao Domain to pick up the sleeping beast, toss it far away, and then use illusions to mask his own location.

As for what happened once the beast woke up? Ning really didn’t give a damn.

He had considered drawing it away into his own estate-world, but the creature was too overwhelmingly powerful. Ordinary estate-worlds wouldn’t be able to contain its might! It would probably be able to tear through Ning’s estate-worlds with ease. Yes, some of the Sithe treasures Ning had might be able to contain it, but Ning didn’t want to go through the trouble of doing so. An insane beast was of little value to him.

“Hm.” Ning stood within that empty gorge, the Iceland Elder Hall having been completely deconstructed and then put away within an estate-world.

“Exalt-class Daoguard Towers truly are marvelously built up. They require an utterly inconceivable amount of expertise with regards to manipulating space and time. I wager that the blueprints for Exalt-class Daoguard Towers were created by the Sithe Lord of Chaos.” Ning was secretly shocked by what he had found. The Iceland Elder Hall had been devoid of all power, and so many of its powerful functions had become inert and hidden… and yet, Ning was still able to see how incredibly powerful and complex it was based on how it had been created.

“Now what should I do? Given my current level of power, if I actually tried to barge my way inside one of these things, my chances would be quite low.” Ning was quite worried. He had never entered a Daoguard Tower before! Now, however, if he wanted to leave this place he would have to pass through the center of this hidden dimension… and that center was located within that Daoguard Tower! He had to enter it… but if he did, he would be in incredible danger.

……

Ning transformed into a streak of light as he quickly flew towards that final remaining Elder Hall.

Exalt Bowenya stood within that Elder Hall, staring intently at the streak of light flying towards him. He murmured softly, “He’s coming. Good. My only fear was that you wouldn’t come.”

A hint of a cold smile appeared on Bowenya’s face. “Get ready, everyone. Once Daolord Darknorth enters the tower, you’ll be responsible for manning your stations and killing him.”

“Understood.” The hundreds of Hegemons and Emperors were all ready for this. Some were berserk, some were filled with hate, and some were filled with desire for glory. They had already sacrificed far too much to kill this terrifying Daolord.

Whoosh. The distant Ning suddenly landed on the peak of a mountain less than a billion kilometers away from the tower. A wine-laden table appeared in front of him as he sat down in the lotus position.

“Eh?” Bowenya was flabbergasted.

“Why isn’t he coming?” The Hegemons and Emperors behind him all grew worried.

“Bowenya.” Between mouthfuls of food and wine, Ning chuckled: “Did you really take me for a fool? This is an Exalt-class Daoguard Tower which has you, an Exalt, in command. You also have hundreds of Hegemons serving as your deathsworn! I’m not so bored with life as to go barging into your Daoguard Tower.”

“So what are you saying?” Bowenya’s voice rang out.

“Not much. I’m simply not planning to go inside, that’s all,” Ning said. “Even if I do end up dying, you can forget about swallowing away my truesoul fragments.”

Ning knew that if he died at the hands of the Sithe, his truesoul would be devoured instead of returning to the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

Bowenya blinked, while the Hegemons and Emperors behind him grew anxious. “Exalt, what should we do?” “If he doesn’t come in, what can we do? He’s too powerful. He managed to deal with both of the previous Elder Halls when they moved to attack him!” “Right, w-what should we do?” They were all panicked.

Exalt Bowenya barked, “Shut up!” Instantly, the Elder Hall fell silent. He then frowned and stared at the distant Ning, then said in a cold voice: “Daolord Darknorth! I admire you for your strength. If I fought you in solo combat, I would probably be defeated by you with ease. I have no chance of defeating you if I exit this tower.”

“I failed my Daomerge. My truesoul has been crumbling this entire time.” Ning sat at the peak of that distant mountain, sipping his wine and smiling. “You are still a Sithe Exalt, after all. It won’t be easy for me to kill you, and my lifespan will be dramatically lessened by battling you. Perhaps my truesoul will crumble to the point of collapsing during our battle, in which case you would have won. If you fight, you stand a chance at winning.”

“If I come out and fight you, I have a greater-than 90% chance of dying,” Bowenya said. “and you, Daolord Darknorth, must know that although killing me won’t be easy due to how tough my body is, capturing me would be much simpler. Hmph. I’ve encountered Omega Emperors before in my own homeland.”

Ning raised an eyebrow. It was true. Killing Bowenya would be fairly difficult, as his body and truesoul were both on the Autarch level! It was only because he was a foreign invader that this Chaosverse rejected him and suppressed his power to the level of the Blazesun Ruler. To kill him would take many blows… but simply capturing him would be easier. Ning had already mastered the Space Sword Dao; he could use a blow to wrap Exalt Bowenya within layers of space and then imprison him.

Ning had many different Sword Daos. The Space Sword Dao would be the easiest one for capturing Bowenya.

“That’s why I won’t go out and fight you,” Bowneya continued. “Either you come inside, or I’ll just watch you die from afar.”

“Watch me die? Then you won’t have the chance to be rewarded for this.” Ning smirked. “You prepared so many plots to kill me, all for the sake of exhausting me and slaying me so you can swallow up my truesoul. If I just die naturally, you won’t get my truesoul.”

“My life is more valuable than any reward. The rewards for killing you are great enough that I would be willing to risk my life if I felt my chances were good… but given how slim my chances would be, I won’t be so foolish as to go out and fight you. You are indeed very powerful; my only chance lies in battling within the Daoguard Tower,” Bowenya said. “You were able to use your illusions to defeat the many other traps and treasures I threw your way. Now, only my Daoguard Tower remains. If you come inside, I’ll battle you to the death. If you do not, you can just die outside.”

Bowenya remained quite calm and focused. He cared intensely about staying alive. He could calmly, emotionlessly watch as over 2,800 Hegemons and Emperors perished, including Hawkfang and Jonnbech, but himself? He wasn’t going to throw his life away. He would rather abandon his chance at glory than to risk himself.

Whoosh. Ning transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the Daoguard Tower.

“He’s coming.” Bowenya and the others began to grow excited. The gates to this Elder Hall were wide open. Ning was on par with the Autarchs in power; to him, whether or not the gates were open was really meaningless. He could simply teleport inside even a completely sealed-off castle.

Ning quickly flew next to the Elder Hall. He stared upwards at the towering, twelve-story tower, then reached out with his right hand and gently pressed it against against the surface of the Daoguard Tower. The surface felt rather cool to the touch. Thanks to his mastery over the Metal Sword Dao and the Earth Sword Dao, Ning could sense some of the internal underpinnings of the tower without even having to enter it.

“As I expected, the most dangerous part of an Exalt-class Daoguard Tower lies in the Dao of Spacetime.” Ning secretly frowned. When he had torn apart the Iceland Elder Hall, he had come to this conclusion. He was hoping that perhaps Exalt Bowenya’s Daoguard Tower was different… but in truth, the situation was essentially the same.

The Daoguard Tower looked like a single entity, but it was actually composed of many different spacetime continuums that were fitted together in extremely marvelous ways. This required an extreme level of mastery of the Dao of Spacetime. If Ning entered, he would need to traverse a veritable maze of spacetime continuums and would probably die midway through.

“If I also managed to master the Time Sword Dao and then merged it together with my Space Sword Dao into the Spacetime Sword Dao, I would be completely confident in my chances,” Ning mused. “Unfortunately, it took me thousands of chaos cycles just to master the Space Sword Dao. The Time Sword Dao is even more difficult. It will probably take me over ten thousand chaos cycles.”

Ning had spend the majority of his three thousand chaos cycles of wandering on the Space Sword Dao, which was why he had been able to master it after entering the Sithelands.

The Space Sword Dao was more difficult than all five of the Five Elements Sword Daos combined. The Time Sword Dao was even more difficult than that!

“I don’t have enough time, but if I go inside while simply relying on the Space Sword Dao, I’m not sure I’ll make it out again.” Ning hesitated.

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Chapter 16 – Charging Into the Elder Hall

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 16 – Charging Into the Elder Hall

In the end, Ji Ning elected to begin silently training in the Spacetime Sword Dao atop that mountain peak within the Sacred Mountains.

“He’s training AGAIN?”

“This Daolord Darknorth is…!”

Bowenya and the others were so angry, their teeth hurt. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t dare to actually charge out and attack.

Ning had long ago mastered his Space Sword Dao and had reached Hegemony in both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time.

“The Spacetime Sword Dao…” Ning silently visualized how it could be manifested. Twenty-six chaos cycles went past without him even realizing it.

Finally, Ning opened his eyes and shook his head slightly. He had made significant improvements at first, but now he had reached a major bottleneck and was stuck. He was far from being able to succeed in this Dao, which would most likely take tens of thousands of chaos cycles. He couldn’t waste all of his time here. The ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique was even more important.

“My true body only has six hundred chaos cycles of life left. I have no chance of mastering the Spacetime Sword Dao.” Ning rose to his feet, his eyes flashing sharply. “Then I suppose I’ll just have to take the risk and try to find a chance for myself.”

Ning turned to stare at the distant, towering Elder Hall. “Twenty-six chaos cycles have gone past, but Exalt Bowenya refuses to come out. He’s quite steadfast.” If the Exalt came out, he would almost certainly be defeated. Bowenya cared immensely about his own life; why would he come out?

“He’s coming! He’s coming!”

“He’s headed our way.” Bowenya and the others had been forced to watch as Ning had trained for multiple chaos cycles. Now, Ning was coming for them once more, but this time they didn’t feel too worried.

“Let’s see what this Daolord is planning to do,” Bowenya said calmly.

Swoosh. Ning reached the Elder Hall, then rested his hand against its outer surface. Moments later, he silently blinked past its outer shell and entered it.

“He came inside!!!” Exalt Bowenya’s eyes bulged out in shock. Moments later, they became filled with wild joy as he ordered, “All Hegemons and Emperors, prepare to follow my previous instructions! Stand guard over your stations and attack Daolord Darknorth. Worsen his injuries and make sure he dies within my Daoguard Tower!”

“Yes, Exalt!” The response came from throughout the Daoguard Tower.

“Ahahaha… Daolord Darknorth, you actually dared to come inside, eh? Even your Autarchs would probably be trapped for an extremely long period of time if they dared to enter my Daoguard Tower. You? A Daolord who failed the Daomerge? Haha… you’ll definitely die!” Bowenya was filled with confidence. He immediately turned and strode into the air, then vanished without a trace.

Within the very center of the Daoguard Tower was a dark and secluded region. This region was filled with an enormous millstone-like formation-base which was slowly swiveling at all times. It emanated ripples of spacetime, and Bowenya was standing atop it. This was the center of the Daoguard Tower, and the main control mechanism for this entire hidden dimension.

“This time… I, Bowenya, shall have accomplished something incredible for the Sithe! I’ll be able to truly transcend my service and gain freedom. Daolord Darknorth, you are going to die!” Bowenya stared towards countless globe-shaped illusions that were in front of him. One of the many globes was displaying a white-robed youth who bore a black sheath on his back – Ji Ning.

The many globe-shaped illusions represented the true shape of this Daoguard Tower. It was a spacetime maze!

……

After blinking into the Daoguard Tower, Ning saw a brand new world appear before him. He was within a dark-red cave that was merely a million kilometers in size. This region was covered with countless flowing runes that brimmed with fiery energy. There was nothing within this region save for Ning himself.

“Up, down, left, right, forwards, backwards…” Ning stood there in midair, scanning his surroundings. He could vaguely sense that this region was connected to six other spacetime continuums.

“It doesn’t seem to matter which direction I choose.” At Ning’s level, his premonitions were extremely accurate. In truth, these ‘senses’ were a reflection of the whispers of the Chaosverse itself. Ning truly was blessed and doted upon by the prime essences of the Chaosverse, and so his senses were extremely keen. Even here in a spacetime maze, his senses would help tell him which was the best path to take.

Rumble… suddenly, all of the mystic runes within this region of one million kilometers began to flare up, producing dark-red flames that swarmed the region as they flew towards Ning. Ning was surrounded by his Sword Dao Domain, but the flames were omnipresent.

“What powerful flames.” Ning drew a Northbow sword. Sword-light spun out as he poured his divine power into his sword, using the Earth Sword Dao. It formed a triple layer of rippling yellow energy which surrounded him and protected him. The flames blazed away against him, but the earthen yellow energy simple rippled slightly while managing to endure.

Of Ning’s many Daos, the Earth Sword Dao was the best suited for dealing with these corrosive dark-red flames. However, its power would quickly be used up at an alarming rate. Most likely, it would be consumed within ten seconds.

“These flames are incredibly powerful. I imagine even the Blazesun Ruler would be roasted to death by them.” Ning quickly began to inspect this spacetime continuum in detail. However, it took him three strikes with his sword to defend against the flames before he was able to locate the critical points to this spacetime continuum.

Boom! Boom! Ning began to furiously attack using his Space Sword Dao. His first sword scissored through space like paper, doing the groundwork necessary to allow his second sword to tear through this spacetime continuum.

Whoosh! A giant gaping hole in spacetime appeared. Ning immediately darted into it, then stared at the void before him.

Ning raised his head to glance at the ‘skies’. These spacetime continuums all seemed to be globe-shaped, and the spacetime globes were all linked together. There were dimensional seams between them as well, and Ning was within one of those seams. As he flew through the seams, he carefully inspected the area around him, but in the end was only able to discover a total of four spacetime continuums. Everything else was completely blocked off by these four.

“So if I wish to advance, I have to enter one of these four?” Ning hesitated. Suddenly… crack! A bolt of lightning shot out from one of the nearby spacetime continuums, striking towards Ning and forcing him to use his Lightning Sword Dao to defend.

“Daolord Darknorth, even if you don’t enter my maze you’ll still die,” a cold voice rang out.

Ning quickly understood that Hegemons were using treasures within the Daoguard Tower to assault him! If he entered one of the continuums, he would have to face the dangers inherent to each continuum. If he remained outside, he would be ambushed and assaulted by the Hegemons and Emperors.

Ning glanced at the spacetime around him. “What a formidable formation.” Swoosh! Ning drilled into one of the spacetime continuums, flying inside. The spacetime membrane didn’t block his path, allowing him to enter with ease.

This particular continuum was one filled with a boundless howling wind which felt as sharp as daggers. The wind cut everything within the continuum to ribbons, and Ning was forced to use his Water Sword Dao to defend.

……

Danger was everywhere. Death was omnipresent. Ning’s only choice was to defend while searching for ways to defeat the mechanisms inherent to each continuum! It must be remembered that within this spacetime maze, every single spacetime continuum contained a powerful offensive formation. As a result, they weren’t exceptionally stable. These Daoguard Towers weren’t built to trap foes; if trapping the foe was the goal, the Sacred Realm and Purgatory was more than enough. They existed to actively kill enemies!

Alas, they were invaders into this Chaosverse. As a result, Sithe Daoguard Towers were only able to draw upon the energy provided by the local generator they had set up. There was a limit to how much power they could draw. Back in their own homeland, they could draw upon the power of the entire Chaosverse. Only then would they be at peak power! Every single spacetime continuum would become dramatically more powerful. Even Autarchs would be attritioned to death.

As for now? It would be hard for this Daoguard Tower to slay an Autarch, but it could certainly trap one for an extended period of time. As for killing a Daolord whose lifespan was limited… Bowenya felt certain that it would be quite easy.

“This one here.” Ning broke out of another spacetime continuum, following his premonitions and advancing without hesitation towards a brand-new continuum.

His senses wouldn’t deceive him. This was definitely the path which led him closest to where he needed to go. If he followed this path, he would definitely be able to reach the core of this Daoguard Tower!

“Hahaha! Daolord Darknorth, if my count is correct, you’ve already attacked more than fifty times.” Exalt Bowenya’s voice echoed within this mist-filled continuum. “As expected of the first master of an Eternal Omega Dao in this Chaosverse. You truly are impressive, and your senses truly are sharp! Even in a spacetime maze, you are able to find the best path available.”

Ning completely ignored him, choosing to instead focus on analyzing the new region he was in. He wanted to find the center of this tower, then assault it with all his power. His strikes against it would be far more effective than his strikes anywhere else; two or three strikes would be enough to grant him escape.

“But even if you can find the best path, it’ll be of no use. You’ll die of exhaustion before you ever reach it.” Exalt Bowenya roared with laughter. “Let me tell you a little secret. You are still at the outer edges of the spacetime maze. You aren’t even close to me yet!”

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Chapter 17 – The Epiphany Within the Spacetime Maze

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 17 – The Epiphany Within the Spacetime Maze

Ji Ning did in fact feel anxious. He could sense that although he had indeed chosen the quickest path, the journey before him would be a long one and he would need to traverse over a thousand different spacetime continuums.

He had to strike at least four or five times within each spacetime continuum to break free. Some cost him seven or eight strikes! He had only been fighting for a short while but had already struck over fifty times. This was rapidly depleting his lifespan! Although Ning had expected that this would be dangerous, there was nothing he could do upon being trapped within the spacetime maze.

“I didn’t have to use full power on each strike, but I really don’t have many strikes left in me. My truesoul is crumbling faster and faster now. I can’t predict when the final collapse will come.” Ning was worried. More and more cracks had appeared upon his truesoul, hastening the day when it all came crashing down. These cracks were accumulating at an alarming rate!

Ning’s lifespan was rapidly decreasing, but he didn’t slow down in the slightest. He wouldn’t give up until the last moment came.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Ning was within a world of rain. His sword-light cut a hole into the world, allowing him to flee this spacetime continuum.

He had always been charging forwards fearlessly, but suddenly he came to a halt and turned backwards to look into the rain.

For some strange reason… perhaps because he knew he was about to die… when Ning saw the rain, he couldn’t help but think back to his father and mother. His father had personally taught him the [Raindrop Sutra] sword-arts. Later on, Ning had then understood the True Meaning of the Raindrop and embarked upon the path of the Dao…

Whoosh. The giant gaping hole behind him began to rapidly close as spacetime reached out to merge together and seal the breach. The hole began to shrink in size, and he was able to see less and less of the rain behind him.

Suddenly, Ning’s entire body froze. When he saw how spacetime reached out to ‘heal’ that wound, he suddenly had the feeling that spacetime had a type of life and vitality of its own, as though it was a living being that was struggling to grow, develop, and heal.

“Spacetime.” Ning stood there, an epiphany going off in his mind that illuminated his thoughts.

Exalt Bowenya frowned from his position at the very center of the Daoguard Tower as he stared at the small, illusory figure who stood within one of many illusory globes before him. “Why did Daolord Darknorth suddenly come to a halt in the dimensional seams? Hmph. Does he really think he’ll last longer if he doesn’t go into the next spacetime continuum?”

“Fuze, attack Daolord Darknorth,” Exalt Bowenya instructed.

“Understood.” Upon hearing the order, a Sithe Emperor who was lying in wait within the dimensional seams of the spacetime maze immediately prepared to launch an attack with the treasures within the Daoguard tower that had been assigned to him.

……

Ning was in the middle of a prajna-state of epiphany. When you were weak, you might be unable to control yourself upon entering such a state. In fact, you might even forget the entire world around you, including any danger you were in.

Ning, however, had reached an Autarch’s level of insight. Even though he was in a prajna-state, he was able to remain somewhat aware of his surroundings.. He first accelerated time by 100x around him, then carefully continued his meditations.

Not just him; even the black-robed Primaltwin in the outside world had also entered a prajna-state.

Swish! A streak of black wind howled straight towards Ning. The meditating Ning was able to divert a bit of his attention to dealing with it, using the Water Sword Dao to form a curtain of water which protected and surrounded him.

“He’s still not leaving?” Exalt Bowenya was able to watch everything from afar. When he saw that Ning remained within the dimensional seams, he immediately ordered: “Continue. Do not stop! Since he has chosen to remain within the seams, bombard him with attacks until he dies.”

The black wind attacked again and again, but Ning continued to stand there without moving. If he entered a new spacetime continuum, he would have to deal with incessant attacks which would come from every direction. This black wind, however, was only able to attack roughly once every five seconds. Each time Ning used his sword-arts, he would be able to defend for roughly twenty seconds! During this period of time, Ning kept himself at an 100x temporal rate while continuing to maintain his prajna-state.

Time continued to flow on. After Ning executed the eighteenth stance from his sword-arts, his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Spacetime is alive and sentient in its own way. So this is the Spacetime Sword Dao!” Ning’s heart was filled with joy.

If he had been forced to just sit in the outside world and quietly ponder the mysteries of spacetime, it truly would have taken him over ten thousand chaos cycles to understand all of this! But he was in a life-and-death state in a region where spacetime had been manipulated to an unbelievable degree. Thanks to his mastery of the Space Sword Dao and the many insights it had brought, Ning had also come to understand some of the mysteries behind this spacetime maze, which had been developed by the Sithe Lord of Chaos and was incredibly profound and abstruse.

All of this had resulted in Ning entering a prajna-state, and in doing so he had shattered through all the obstacles in his path, allowing him to break through to the next level. Oftentimes, aeons of normal cultivation wouldn’t be as effective as a single moment of epiphany.

It had been a long, long time since Ning had entered a prajna-state. Generally speaking, the higher a level of insight you reached, the harder it would be for you to truly enter such a state. Back when he was young and living in the Three Realms, he had entered this state on multiple occasions. However, ever since he had become the incredible Daolord Darknorth, master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he had never entered this type of state again. Although he gained the occasional insight, those were not true epiphanies.

But this time… Ning had a true epiphany!

“It seems that I, Darknorth, am not destined to die in this place. Nor are Mistress and the others.” Ning revealed a smile, unable to disguise his excitement. If the Paragon of Pills had truly died here, he would forever feel ashamed of himself.

……

Ning suddenly flew into one of the nearby spacetime continuums.

“I thought he’d just stay there for quite some time.” Exalt Bowenya smiled coldly. “This is my Daoguard Tower and my spacetime maze. He can do nothing save passively endure attacks from within my spacetime continuums, and in the end he shall die.”

Within the new spacetime continuum. Everything was blurry and indistinct in this region, but the air was filled with many flowing runes that brimmed with electric power.

Ning raised his head to glance at the runes. Given his mastery over the Spacetime Sword Dao, a single glance was all it took for him to discover the secrets behind how the lightning formation was connected to this spacetime continuum.

Rumble… Ning’s Sword Dao Domain spread out, quickly covering every inch of this spacetime continuum. It even reached out to penetrate spacetime itself, disrupting the lightning runes and bringing the power flowing through them to a sluggish halt. Both the lightning formation and the spacetime continuum were disrupted, making it extremely difficult for them to draw upon the power of the Daoguard Tower and then release it.

Previously, Ning’s only choice was to passively endure the hits while searching for the critical points in each continuum, then breaking through them. This time, he had twisted spacetime itself to disrupt the local formations. This was a testament to how much control over spacetime the Spacetime Sword Dao granted him.

“This spacetime continuum…” Ning inspected it carefully. He was able to instantly see that there were a total of 360 nodes here, but it would take him time and careful analysis to figure out a way to break through them without using any of his own power at all.

“Daolord Darknorth… what have you done? What have you done?!” Exalt Bowenya’s enraged and panicked voice rang out from far away.

How could he not be angry? He was in control of the entire Daoguard Tower, and as a result he could instantly sense that the spacetime continuum Ning was in was now unable to draw upon the power of his Daoguard Tower and no longer attacked Ning!

How had this happened? Why did the attacks come to halt? He didn’t understand!

“Could it be that he is incredibly talented in the Dao of Formations and was able to deconstruct the lightning formation?” Exalt Bowenya was puzzled. “But these are all top-tier formations. Even Autarchs would find it extremely hard to breach them.”

But of course, he had no idea that Ning hadn’t actually deconstructed the formation itself; rather, he had severed the connection between the formation and the local spacetime continuum. Now that the formation was severed from its power source, it was naturally unable to launch any attacks.

“Daolord Darknorth…”

“Daolord Darknorth!” Exalt Bowenya shouted repeatedly.

Ning completely ignored the Exalt’s rants as he continued to carefully analyze the local spacetime continuum. There were now fewer and fewer runes before him, awaiting his analysis. He was already able to merely use his Sword Dao Domain to deconstruct this spacetime continuum, but he continued his studies because he wanted to learn how to best deconstruct the other continuums as well.

All of these spacetime continuums had to share certain commonalities. The more he researched one of them, the easier it would be for him to understand the others.

Finally, however, Exalt Bowenya was no longer able to hold back. “Destroy!” Whoosh. The spacetime continuum Ning was in finally began to break apart. Exalt Bowenya was in complete control over this entire spacetime maze, and as a result was able to create and destroy new spacetime continuums as he saw fit.

“Eh?” Ning blinked, then chuckled. “Exalt Bowenya… since you are so impatient, I’ll hurry it up a little. I’ll be seeing you soon.” As he spoke he began to fly forwards, expanding his Sword Dao Domain as he flew. His domain quickly expanded to the point where it pushed against the surrounding spacetime continuums, which Ning glanced at with a relaxed smile on his face. “Every continuum within this spacetime maze is pretty much constructed in the same manner.”

Just two seconds later, Ning had completely taken over and destroyed the five spacetime continuums around him, while his Sword Dao Domain expanded to an even greater size.

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Chapter 18 – Iyerre

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 18 – Iyerre

When Exalt Bowenya saw this, he felt as though a bucket of cold ice had just been dumped over his head. He was completely stunned, shaken, and stupefied.

As a Sithe Exalt, he instantly knew what the scene in front of him represented! Daolord Darknorth had been surrounded by five spacetime continuums, but he had been able to simultaneously destroy all five of them in two seconds. Clearly, the spacetime maze was no longer any danger to him at all, as he was able to easily see through the mysteries of spacetime they employed.

“I’m finished.” Exalt Bowenya’s face turned ugly. “Thankfully, I still have a bit of time left. The closest path to me will still require him to pass nearly a thousand spacetime continuums. It’ll take him a while to get here.” Bowenya began to frantically consider what options were available to him.

“Obey my orders!” Exalt Bowenya immediately began to issue new orders: “All Hegemons and Emperors, attack Daolord Darknorth’s position with everything you have. I’ll give you his exact location.”

“Understood.”

“Understood.” The various Hegemons and Emperors all acknowledged his orders. As for Exalt Bowenya, he took control over some of the Daoguard Tower’s treasures and used them to assault Ning, who was still surrounded by countless spacetime continuums.

Now that the spacetime maze was no longer of any threat to Ning, Bowenya’s only choice was to use his Emperors and the Daoguard Tower’s own treasures to attack him.

Boom! Whoosh! Slash! All sorts of attacks rained down upon Ning from every direction, passing through various spacetime continuums. Exalt Bowenya remained in full control of spacetime here, and thus he was able to make it so that the various continuums allowed attacks to pass through them without impediment.

Ning stood there without moving, his Sword Dao Domain active around him. He was able to use it to sense how spacetime was operating around him, and in doing so he was able to quickly dissolve the various continuums his domain touched. This time, he was actually a bit faster than previously. Every single continuum was deconstructed with ease.

What he needed to do was to get a clear picture of how each of the continuums operated. Upon doing so, he would be able to deconstruct them!

“Eh?” Ning suddenly felt a premonition that dangerous attacks were raining down towards him from every direction. “What’s with all these attacks?”

The Hegemons and Emperors were all scattered throughout the Daoguard Tower, which was why prior to this Ning had only had to deal with a single attack each time. Now that Exalt Bowenya had abandoned using the spacetime maze to trap Ning, all of the Emperors were attacking at the same time.

Some were so very far away that their attacks had to fly through spacetime for an extremely long period of time before reaching Ning, who was able to use his Illusion Sword Dao to dodge the vast majority of them. The only ones which were dangerous were the ones coming from nearby Hegemons and Emperors who were attacking from close range. The ones who were just ten or twenty million kilometers away were especially dangerous.

Whoosh. Ning was forced to use his Water Sword Dao to defend. His Sword Dao Domain was currently only able to expand to a maximum of eight million kilometers, and so these attacks were able to easily saturate this entire region with attacks.

Pop! Pop! More surrounding spacetime continuums were destroyed, with Ning continuing to deconstruct them faster and faster.

“Daolord Darknorth!” A voice rang out from afar. “I know that we are going to lose this battle. My only request is that you spare the countless mortals who live within our homeland. Give them a chance to survive!”

“Boundless, how dare you betray me! Attack! Attack and kill Daolord Darknorth!” Exalt Bowenya screamed frantically.

“Boundless… why even bother with him?” Angry, desperate, and grief-filled voices rang out. These came from the other Hegemons and Emperors within the Daoguard Tower, and the rain of attacks pouring down upon Ning began to slow down.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Just four seconds later, Ning was able to destroy four more continuums towards his left. He instantly saw the Hegemon known as ‘boundless’ who was controlling treasures from the dimensional seam beyond those continuums. He was looking at Ning, a pleading look in his eyes… and his aura was rapidly weakening.

His truesoul was breaking apart. Even his body began to break apart and decompose.

It must be remembered that these Hegemons and Emperors had all sworn lifeblood oaths to obey Exalt Bowenya’s orders! Exalt Bowenya had ordered all of them them to attack Ning. If they were perhaps a bit slow while they attacked or took it easy on Ning, that would be one thing… but if they suddenly and completely halted all of their attacks, that would constitute a violation of orders and therefore a violation of their oaths. They would be punished for it.

They had all sworn oaths with extremely heavy consequences. As a result, every strand of truesoul within Boundless’ body was breaking apart, as his body itself began to crumble and break apart as well.

“Brother Boundless.”

“Boundless.”

Many voices rang out. Quite a few of the Hegemons and Emperors present were Sithe descendants, and they all felt grief. Clearly, Hegemon Boundless had many friends amongst their ranks.

Ning gazed at Hegemon Boundless, who continued to stare at Ning with a pleading expression even as his body broke apart. Ning couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Why?

The Sithe descendants… they felt much more love and attachment towards this hidden dimension than the true Sithe did, as this was the place they were born and bred. They had lived here for countless aeons, and they were willing to die for the sake of their homes. Now that they had no further hopes of defeating Ning in battle, their only choice was to beg him.

“When I captured the other Hegemons and Emperors, I promised long ago that I would not destroy your homeland. There’s no need for you to worry.” Ning’s voice echoed throughout the Daoguard Tower as he continue to destroy the spacetime continuums surrounding him. By now, it took him less than a second for each ‘cycle’ of destruction. Ning could as easily deconstruct nine or ten continuums simultaneously as he could two or three. There was no real difference. Anything he could ‘see’ through his Sword Dao Domain, he could deconstruct.

“Farewell, Brother Boundless.”

“Brother Boundless.”

Some of the Emperors and Hegemons began to dramatically slow down their attack rates. They were bound by their oaths to continue attacking, but now they were just doing the bare minimum necessary.

Ning’s Sword Dao Domain continued to expand, reaching ten million kilometers, twenty million kilometers, and more. It gradually began to encompass some of the nearby Hegemons and Emperors, who Ning captured and transferred into his estate-world. Almost none of the descendants fought back; in fact, most were quite calm. The true Sithe, however, resisted fiercely, unwilling to give up.

Ning could sense the deep feelings the Sithe descendants had towards their home. This caused him to feel a sense of admiration towards them, but it also increased his distaste of Bowenya. Bowenya truly didn’t treat these people as living beings at all!

Rumble… the Sword Dao Domain continued to rapidly expand in every direction, destroying more and more spacetime continuums as Ning moved closer to the heart of the Daoguard Tower.

……

Within the dark room inside the heart of the Daoguard Tower. The giant formation-base millstone continued to slowly swivel, and next to it were three other formation-base millstones of varying sizes which were swiveling slightly faster and the big one.

Bowenya flew over to the smallest millstone. This one was merely three meters long and it was semi-translucent.

“Focus.” Bowenya took control over that millstone, pouring the power of his Daoguard Tower inside it.

Rumble… a pillar of blurry light instantly appeared above the semi-translucent millstone. The pillar of light slowly began to resonate with another distant location. Finally, a blurry humanoid figure began to appear in the middle of the light. The figure slowly began to solidify further, resolving into a barefoot, gray-robed man who had a benevolent smile on his face, one which seemed to whisper of the pity he felt for the plight of mortals. He was dressed in loose robes and was balding, but his body was extremely muscular. His eyes contained a strange, irresistible magnetism, as though anyone who stared into his eyes would be forever trapped within them. Not even Exalt Bowenya would dare to stare this man in the eye.

“Almighty Iyerre!” Exalt Bowenya bowed reverently.

The respect he showed came from every fiber of his being. He was like a servant in the presence of the master.

“Bowenya, why have you contacted me directly?” The tall, balding, barefoot Iyerre cast his gaze across spacetime to stare at Bowenya. Bowenya felt both embarrassed and terrified, and as a result his voice became even more respectful: “Almighty Iyerre, I have discovered that this Chaosverse has given birth to a Daolord who controls an Eternal Omega Dao.”

“An Eternal Omega Dao? Yes, I’ve heard of this as well. His name is ‘Daolord Darknorth’, I believe. His name has been spread throughout this entire Chaosverse. My servants have notified me of this long ago,” Iyerre said calmly.

“He is currently within the dimension I control. In fact, he’s right here inside my Daoguard Tower!” Bowenya said hurriedly.

Iyerre’s eyes suddenly shone with dazzling light. He wanted very much to kill Daolord Darknorth, but he knew that the man would be able to summon Autarchs to assist him. Killing him anywhere in this Chaosverse would be extremely difficult. Iyerre was the supreme commander of the Sithe forces here, and his goal was to take over this entire Chaosverse. It was important that the local cultivators not even know of his existence.

Thus, all high-ranking Sithe had been forced to swear oaths not to divulge his presence! As a result, neither Ning nor the Autarchs even knew of Iyerre’s existence.

“Have you killed him?” Iyerre asked.

“I have not. He’s already solved my spacetime maze and will reach the heart of my Daoguard Tower soon,” Bowenya said hurriedly. “I’m no match for him at all.”

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Chapter 19 – Descent

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 19 – Descent

“He’s solved the spacetime maze?” Iyerre hesitated slightly, then said in a calm voice, “I’ll send an Apocalypse-class servitor over. Remember, you must not reveal any traces of my existence.”

A hidden weapon was only effective when it remained hidden. Once his presence was revealed, the cultivators would be on their guard against him, which would drastically weaken the impact he might have. During the previous Dawn War, Iyerre could tell that the situation was unfavorable for them. Even if he led his forces in a final attack, they would at most be able to cause the cultivators to suffer heavy losses. Victory would still elude them… and so he instead chose to hide, waiting for a better opportunity.

He was a very patient man! There was no way he would be willing to risk exposing himself merely to kill Daolord Darknorth.

“I understand,” Bowenya said respectfully. Sharp light flickered in his eyes. He had sacrificed too much in his efforts to kill this damnable Daolord Darknorth.

“An Apocalypse-class servitor… hmph. Those are some of the most powerful servants under almighty Iyerre’s control.” Bowenya was filled with eagerness. “This time, we’ll definitely be able to kill you, even if we have to simply attrition you to death.”

He had previously used an ‘Apocalypse-class’ castle and formation against Ning. In truth, Apocalypse-class simply represented an overall level of power. Apocalypse-class servitors, however, were actual living beings. Every single attack they launched was comparable to the power of an Apocalypse-class treasure, making them far more deadly than the treasures themselves.

……

Rumble…

Deep within the spacetime maze. Ning stood there at the center of the maze, his Sword Dao Domain continuing to furiously expand as he ‘popped’ the various spacetime continuums and destroyed them. Each continuum was only able to last a single second in the face of Ning’s might, and just a short while later his Sword Dao Domain had already stretched out to encompass a hundred million kilometers.

“We’ve lost.”

“I really can’t accept this.”

“Who would’ve thought that after surviving the last great war in this Chaosverse, we’d end up dying here?” The true Sithe Hegemons were filled with despair as the Sword Dao Domain reached out to encompass them. They were captured without being able to fight back at all.

Ning continued to furiously expand his Sword Dao Domain as he moved closer and closer towards the center of the Daoguard Tower. Suddenly…

“Daolord Darknorth, I’m truly impressed. You were actually able to solve my spacetime maze. Not even my Daoguard Tower can suppress you! Heh. Still… since I know that I’ve lost this battle, I’m not going to stay here any longer. Before leaving, I’m going to give you one final gift.” Bowenya’s voice rang out from afar.

“Exalt, take us with you!”

“Exalt, save us!” Instantly, some Hegemons and Emperors began to beg for rescue. This hidden dimension was able to capture enemies from afar; naturally, it was also able to allow Exalt Bowenya free passage in escaping.

“As far as Bowenya is concerned, his life is the only life that matters. He won’t care about whether the rest of you survive or not, much less whether this dimension will survive,” Ning said coldly as he continued to furiously break apart the various spacetime continuums. However, it would still take him hundreds of seconds to reach the core of this tower. He simply didn’t have enough time to stop Exalt Bowenya from leaving.

“My final gift to you is the most terrifying of the many creatures which have been kept suppressed within this hidden dimension. If you can survive it, you’ll be able to leave this place. I, however, won’t be staying to watch,” Bowenya called out.

Rumble… a deep thrumming sound pervaded the entire Daoguard Tower as dimensional ripples spread out.

“He left?” Ning was quickly able to ascertain that Exalt Bowenya had indeed fled.

“Damnit.”

“Bowenya!”

“Bowenya, why couldn’t you take us with you?” Many Hegemons and Emperors were cursing at him.

……

Within the core of the Daoguard Tower. An enormous hand tore through space, ripping open a dark dimensional tunnel that led straight to the core. A giant tree suddenly came flying out from that dimensional tunnel! This giant tree was covered with countless branches and leaves, and the main trunk had a single giant eye on it. When it flew out of the black passageway, it gave Bowenya a cold glance.

Bowenya said, “I’ll leave the rest up to you.” He quickly fled into the dimensional tunnel.

Although this Exalt-class Daoguard Tower did indeed hold other creatures within it, those were all insane prisoners. How could he possibly have an Apocalypse-class servitor with him? These powerful beings always followed by Iyerre’s side.

“Mm.” The giant tree grunted, watching as Bowenya disappeared within the darkness of the tunnel. The tree was now in charge of protecting the core of this entire Daoguard Tower, and it quickly took control of it as the tunnel behind it vanished.

Whoooosh. Its countless branches all stretched out, extending out of the central room and towards the outside world as its countless branches grew longer and thicker. It must be understood that this creature had lived in the Infinite Void prior to being captured and tamed by Iyerre. Its true form was as vast as any celestial object! Its current form was just a miniaturized version of itself.

The spacetime maze was quite enormous. Ning had only dealt with a small portion of it. The branches quickly extended outside the Daoguard Tower, then began to twist themselves around it. As soon as they exited the Daoguard Tower, the branches began to rapidly expand in size, with each branch coiling around the tower like a titanic python. The entire Daoguard Tower was almost instantly surrounded by a cocoon of countless leafy branches. The branches covered every single inch of the Daoguard Tower in a tight embrace.

Next, the branches began to extend in every other direction, including both the Sacred Mountains, the skies, and the depths of the earth. They continued to furiously expand in size, snaking out longer and longer. After just ten seconds, the branches had filled every inch of the entire Sacred Realm, completely covering every inch of it.

……

Within the Doaguard Tower. As soon as the giant tree completely covered the Daoguard Hall, it began to attack Ning as well.

“Eh?” Ning turned pale. He could subconsciously sense that something incredibly dangerous was happening. Moments later, a series of enormous black branches shot through the air and entered the range of his Sword Dao Domain.

“Illusion Sword Dao!” Ning kept his illusory realm active, hiding the location of his true body.

“Daolord Darknorth, mm? Do you think you can hide from me?” A sonorous voice boomed out as a large number of twisting veins appeared on the surface of every single branch. The countless branches began to sweep through every inch of the Sword Dao Domain. There were simply too many of them, while Ning’s domain was merely a hundred million kilometers in size. There was nowhere for him to hide.

“Break!” The Northbow sword in Ning’s hand suddenly flashed with light. Crack! Twelve branches were instantly severed by this blow. It seemed as though this creature was actually more fragile than the other creatures Ning had encountered.

Still, Ning’s face remained quite somber. There were simply too many of these branching tendrils, and the ones he severed began to quickly regrow.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The branches quickly managed to locate where Ning was, then began to lash out at him with abandon. Each strike was just as powerful as the strikes from the first beast Ning had encountered.

What he didn’t know was that while this Apocalypse-class creature’s attacks weren’t all that strong, it was extremely difficult to actually get rid of and defeat. Iyerre had sent this servant because it was a perfect counter for Ning, whose truesoul was already crumbling away. The goal was to kill him through attrition.

“There are too many branches. I can’t get rid of them.” Ning was forced to strike eight times in a row, seeking to carve an escape path for himself, but each time new branches would spring up to cover the ones he had destroyed. Worse, Ning had the vague feeling that there were even more branches waiting for their turn!

“How could this Daoguard Tower have such an irritating creature within it?” Ning’s face was grim. If he was an Autarch, he could continue to attack with abandon, unleashing thousands of full-strength blows in an extremely short period of time. But he didn’t have much time or energy left. At most, he only had a few dozen strikes left in him. There was no way he could escape at all.

Boom! Boom! The branches continued to furiously rain blows upon Ning, who was forced to use the Spacetime Sword Dao to create a tiny miniature spacetime continuum which served as a form of armor which covered him. This was his most powerful defensive technique thus far.

Focusing on defense allowed him to conserve more energy. Attacking consumed it far too quickly.

“Die! DIE!” The countless branches lashed at him like a thousand whips, furiously slamming against the spacetime armor covering Ning. They attacked at such high speed that they were like countless leafy blurs, and each strike was slightly stronger than a blow from the Blazesun Ruler! Ning continued to fly about and dodge while letting his armor absorb the blows, but just one second later he was forced to once more use his sword-arts to recreate the armor.

His divine power and Immortal energy was depleting at a fast pace, and the cracks in his truesoul were growing larger and larger as the crumbling process accelerated.

“Autarch Mogg, hurry up and deconstruct this hidden dimension!” Ning felt extremely anxious. “I’m not going to be able to hang on for much longer.”

He had been just one step away from success. If he died here, that meant the Paragon of Pills would die here as well! Ning truly couldn’t accept this outcome.

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Chapter 20 – The Autarchs Arrive

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 20 – The Autarchs Arrive

The outside world.

There were three figures located in the dark void outside this hidden dimension. They were the black-robed Ji Ning, the bald, red-robed avatar of Autarch Titanos, and the skinny, black-robed avatar of Autarch Mogg.

Boom! As Bowenya departed from this dimension and the tree-creature arrived, a dimensional ripple suddenly spread outwards.

“A spatial ripple!” Autarch Titanos revealed a look of delight, as did the black-robed Ning. Both of them turned to look at Autarch Mogg.

The black-robed Ning said, “Bowenya probably fled out of the hidden dimension.”

Autarch Mogg’s azure eyes narrowed intently as he stared at the dimensional ripples before him. He said softly, “Yes, I can sense a dimensional tunnel… but it was opened in an extremely careful and intricate way. The ripples are very minute.” The dimensional tunnel had not actually opened up from within the hidden dimension itself. If it had, the ripples would be far greater. This was a passageway created from afar by Iyerre, and the ripples were very subdued as a result.

“I’m being attacked by some sort of strange lifeform. It is incredibly powerful, and I won’t be able to hold on for much longer,” Ning blurted out.

“I’m moving as fast as I can,” Autarch Mogg said.

Fifteen seconds went by. “Found it!” Autarch Mogg’s eyes lit up. Those ripples were minute, but he was still able to use them to lock onto the location of that hidden dimension. Autarch Mogg was the Autarch of the Space Daobirth Essence, after all, and he was in his own Chaosverse. He had every factor on his side, and as a result he was naturally able to locate that dimension.

“Hurry up and open a path into it!” Autarch Titanos urged.

“Alright.” Autarch Mogg drew an extremely slender saber with his right hand, then gave it a wave. Slash! The space before him was torn open as easily as paper, producing a neat ‘wound’ in space. This slash tore through multiple layers of different dimensional continuums, reaching all the way towards the hidden dimension which Autarch Mogg and located.

Riiiiip! The slash clashed against the tenacious exterior membrane protecting the hidden continuum.

“There it is.” Autarch Mogg blinked in surprise. “The membrane is quite tough. BREAK!” Autarch Mogg instantly manifested a total of six arms. Each of them was grasping an extremely long and slender blade, and he leapt forwards to soar towards the membrane. Thousands of beautiful flowers seemed to bloom before him, with each snowy-white flower being formed from a slash of dimensional saber-light. Autarch Mogg was definitely the paramount expert in chopping apart dimensional membranes, and it took him just a single second to tear through it.

“Impressive.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. He might have his Space Sword Dao, but its power was still fundamentally that of the Dao of the Sword; the Dao of Space was just a supporting Dao. There was no way it could compare to Autarch Mogg’s ‘Space Daobirth Essence’. Without question, Autarch Mogg’s mastery over space was superior to all others within this Chaosverse.

If Autarch Titanos had to assault the dimensional membrane, he would’ve been forced to tear through it by hammering it repeatedly through brute-force attacks. Autarch Mogg was able to accomplish it much more easily.

“Let’s go inside!” Autarch Mogg led Ning into the hidden dimension. As soon as the two avatars and the black-robed Ning entered it, they saw the countless leafy tendrils which completely filled this entire world. There were many places which were completely surrounded by those countless branches! This sight caused even Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos to reveal looks of surprise.

“DIE!” When the great tree saw that outsiders had arrived, it instantly sent countless tendrils sweeping towards them.

“My true body is right in the center of the Daoguard Tower,” Ning said hurriedly.

“Titanos, you take care of Darknorth’s Primaltwin. I’ll go to the Daoguard Tower,” Mogg said.

“Better that we go together. Darknorth’s true body isn’t going to be able to hold on much longer. Darknorth, go inside my estate-world for a short while.” Autarch Titanos waved his hand, sending the black-robed Ning into his estate-world. Ning didn’t try to resist it.

“Attack!” The avatars of Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos drew their weapons and began to fight. Thanks to their mastery over space and karma, they were able to accurately sense the location of the Daoguard Tower, and the two worked together to charge closer and closer towards it.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Autarch Mogg’s six slender sabers chopped through everything within their path. His weapons were like dimensional blades that could chop through all matter, and his strikes actually extended out on a multidimensional level to continue cutting through space itself. His attack speed was absolutely incredible.

“Die.” Autarch Titanos was wearing a set of inky black gloves on all six of his hands, and each glove unleashed boundless mystical power as he struck out towards the opponent. Although his movements seemed much more relaxed, each strike caused countless branches to decay and rot away. In terms of raw damage, he vastly surpassed Autarch Mogg.

“This creature has incredible vitality. Most of these creatures are unable to take more than three palms from me.” Autarch Titanos frowned as he realized how strong this creature’s vital force was.

The two continued to advance at high speed, with black gloves annihilating countless branches on one side and slender sabers chopping through everything on the other. The tree was suffering more and more injuries. It didn’t really care too much about Autarch Mogg’s chops, because it could regrow the parts that had been severed; Autarch Mogg’s attacks weren’t causing too much real damage. Autarch Titanos’ karmic strikes, however, were assaulting its very essence and causing it much more damage.

“I have to kill him.” The tree was under orders, and it began to fight in an even more frenzied manner. It didn’t have much time left; it had to kill Ning as soon as possible.

……

Within the Daoguard Tower.

Countless tough tendrils and branches were continuing to furiously rain blows upon Ning, whose truesoul was crumbling at an extremely fast pace. In order to conserve as much energy as possible, he didn’t launch any counter-attacks and instead focused completely on defense.

Ning’s body was covered by a miniature spacetime cocoon which accompanied him as he fled, dodged, and was occasionally knocked flying. Each time he was struck, he didn’t try to resist the momentum, instead borrowing from it to conserve as much of his own power as possible.

Time continued to flow on. Ning repeatedly used his sword-arts to defend, but each time it resulted in his truesoul crumbling faster and faster.

“Hurry up… hurry up! I can’t hold on much longer.” Ning grew increasingly desperate. “I have nothing left!”

BOOM! An enormous explosion rang out. The countless branches within the Daoguard Tower began to tremble as two figures charged inside the tower.

“No. No! I have to kill this Daolord!” The great tree was already heavily wounded, but it still had a considerable amount of power left. It continued to rain attacks down against Ning while sending many tendrils out to block the two intruders.

Whoosh! Boom! Saber-light flashed while black gloves struck out as Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos unleashed the power of their Daos. In the face of their attacks, these branches seemed unspeakably weak and were destroyed on a large scale.

A snowy-white streak of saber-light suddenly flashed out, severing all the branches and leaves within its path. Some of the branches which were furiously assaulting Ning were severed as well, and Ning could sense that the attacks against him had suddenly lessened. The saber-light was followed by two consecutive strikes from the black gloves, causing the surrounding branches to wither away and rot into nothingness.

Ning finally allowed himself to relax. He landed atop one of the undamaged spacetime bubbles, then sat down and took a deep breath. “Whew.” Ning smiled as he looked at Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos. “You finally made it.” Ning laughed, and his laughter was very joyful.

They had finally succeeded.

Autarch Titanos’ terrifying black gloves finally demolished the great tree’s remaining life force. The Daoguard Tower was now completely empty, with just a few remnants of the spacetime maze left behind as well as some terrified Sithe. The great tree had not gone out of its way to slay these Hegemons and Emperors.

“Darknorth.” Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg both looked at Ning. They quickly turned pale.

Ning’s truesoul was crumbling at an incredibly fast rate. It was now so badly cracked that the truesoul itself was shuddering violently, as though it was going to break apart at any moment. If Ning absolutely had to, he might be able to unleash four or five strikes at most… but even if he didn’t, the truesoul was still going to completely crumble apart soon.

“As soon as my true body became trapped in here, I knew that my chances of surviving would be slim. I’m happy that I was able to survive as long as I did… and to tell the truth, I benefited greatly from my experiences here,” Ning said with a smile.

“You…” Autarch Titanos could sense that Ning’s truesoul suddenly began to crumble many times faster than before. Clearly, it was about to completely break apart.

“Oh. Don’t be in a rush to kill these Hegemons and Emperors. Many of them are Sithe descendants. They are quite pitiable,” Ning said hurriedly.

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Chapter 21 – Glad You Are Safe

Book 42, The Five Truncheon Chapters, Chapter 21 – Glad You Are Safe

“It doesn’t really matter if we kill them or not. They’re nothing more than foot soldiers,” Autarch Titanos said. “But if we don’t kill them, I recommend that we at least imprison them. We shouldn’t let them escape and reinforce the other Sithe.”

“I understand.” Ning smiled. “There’s something else I’ll need to trouble you two with.”

“Hm?” Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg both looked at Ning.

“Please don’t tell the Paragon of Pills and the others about my true body dying here,” Ning said.

Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos blinked. Autarch Titanos said with surprise, “Don’t tell them? You came to the Sithelands for the sake of the Paragon, I believe. They’ll probably be able to guess the truth.”

“Let’s hide it as best we can. Otherwise, they’ll feel guilty about this,” Ning said with a smile. Suddenly, Ning’s gaze grew distant. He murmured softly, “What an odd feeling. So this is what it feels like for my truesoul to crumble…”

Boom! His truesoul completely fell apart. Ning could feel his mind and his thoughts turn sluggish. The entire framework of his truesoul was completely collapsing, like a cracked dike which was falling apart. Countless truesoul fragments spread out in every direction at a pace which was thousands of times faster than before.

So much of his truesoul was breaking apart that it was actually visible to the naked eye. Countless specks of light flew out from Ning as his divine power and Immortal energy both vanished as well.

“Everything… feels… slow. Going… back… to… Chaosverse?” Ning’s sluggish mind could sense that an enormous, warm location was calling towards him. This had to be the Quintessence of the Chaosverse.

Suddenly, Ning’s seated figure lit up like a ball of fire, instantly transforming into countless specks of light that blasted out in every direction, leaving nothing behind. Ning’s body was completely gone. The only things left were his clothes and magic treasures.

Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg simply watched silently.

……

Within an estate-world. The black-robed Ning was silently standing on his feet. The death of his true body had no impact on his Primaltwin at all, as the two were completely different ‘lives’. His Primaltwin would only perish if a powerful foe was able to use a karmic attack to slay the true body and then follow the karmic connection between the two to slay the Primaltwin as well! A normal dissipation, however, wouldn’t result in any connected consequences. Ning’s Primaltwin continued to slowly disintegrate, but it had yet to engage in any combat since his Daomerge attempt and so the process was still quite slow for it.

“So this is what it feels like for one’s truesoul to dissipate?” the black-robed Ning murmured softly.

His true body had died. If his Primaltwin was unable to devise the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, it would face the same fate. “I have to seize this opportunity.” The black-robed Ning’s eyes were shining with hope.

“Autarch Titanos, let me out,” the black-robed Ning said.

“Very well.”

……

Within the Daoguard Tower. Ning’s true body had dissipated, while the black-robed Ning had appeared next to Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg.

“Come.” The black-robed Ning waved his hand, summoning his Northbow swords and his other treasures to him. Moments later, his clothes immediately changed as well, going from black to white as he sheathed the Northbow swords on his back once more.

“From this day forth… there is no ‘true body’ or ‘Primaltwin’; just me,” Ning murmured softly. This was the only life he had.

“Break.” Ning released his awesome Sword Dao Domain, instantly beginning to destroy the few remaining spacetime bubbles of the maze that had trapped him.

The nearby Autarch Mogg chuckled. “Let me give you a hand.” As he spoke, he unleashed an awesome wave of power that swept across the entire region, instantly annihilating the continuum bubbles and destroying them in just two seconds.

Autarch Skyfeeder and Autarch Mogg were most likely superior to all others in this Chaosverse when it came to solving spacetime mazes. One was the master of the Time Daobirth Essence, while the other was the master of the Space Daobirth Essence.

With the various continuum bubbles destroyed, the Hegemons and Emperors who had been scattered throughout the various seams were all revealed.

Some of the Sithe descendants managed to remain quite calm, but the true Sithe were driven to both rage and despair because they knew that Ning would never spare them.

“Daolord Darknorth… you didn’t die?”

“It is all your fault. Why did you have to come here?! We grew tired of the war long ago and were enjoying a peaceful life in this dimension. You had to come and ruin everything!” Some of the true Sithe were howling angrily at Ning.

“My fault?” Ning shook his head. “You know the secrets behind this hidden dimension. Do you really think I would’ve been able to enter on my own? Clearly, it was the controller of this hidden dimension, Bowenya, who forcibly teleported me here.”

The formerly-howling Sithe suddenly fell silent. Right. It had to have been Bowenya who teleported Ning here… but he did so because he wanted to render great merits to the Sithe and be rewarded for it. This was on the standing instructions of the supreme Sithe leader. Who could blame him?

“You wanted to kill me, so I had to fight back,” Ning said. He then expanded his Sword Dao Domain to cover all of the Hegemons and Emperors.

“Get in here.” He instantly teleported them into his estate-world. Now, the only figures left in the Daoguard Tower were the two Autarchs and Ning.

Next, Ning willed the Paragon of Pills, Hegemon Tia, Hegemon Flameleft, and Lord Annihilation to appear.

“Darknorth.” The Paragon and the others turned to look at the two Autarchs, both of whom radiated auras of ineffable power, then at Ning. Ning’s truesoul was clearly disintegrating at a very, very slow pace. They all revealed looks of delight.

“Respectful greetings, Autarch!” All four of them bowed respectfully.

Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg both nodded slightly, but their gazes flickered a little when they glanced at the Paragon of Pills, who Ning clearly cared about deeply. It was for this woman’s sake that Ning had lost his life.

Ning continued to maintain the illusory effect around his Sword Dao Domain, ensuring so that his truesoul appeared to be crumbling faster than it actually was. He didn’t wish for the Paragon of Pills and the others to be able to see any flaws in his pretense.

His Primaltwin had never engaged in battle after the Daomerge, and so its truesoul was crumbling at a pace which was slower than his true body’s prior to his true body entering the Sithelands. This was an obvious problem, and so Ning quickly masked it.

He didn’t wish for the Paragon of Pills to feel too much guilt. He had already accomplished his goal and saved her; there was no point in making her feel guilty about it.

“I’m glad you are safe.” The Paragon of Pills was all smiles.

“I knew that Daolord Darknorth would be able to defeat those Sithe with ease!” Lord Annihilation said flatteringly.

“I was just lucky. I also have to thank these two Autarchs for managing to get here in the nick of time. Otherwise, I would’ve been in serious trouble,” Ning said. “Mistress, since you have realmships you can head off on your own. I have a few things to discuss with the Autarchs.”

“Very well.” The Paragon and the others all nodded.

“Autarch Mogg, please help send them outside the Sithelands,” Ning said.

“That’s easy. Let’s leave this dimension first.” Autarch Mogg sent out a powerful wave of dimensional might which captured all of them. Swish! They instantly reappeared in the black void of space outside.

A surprised look appeared on Ning’s face. “We left? As easy as that?”

“When we broke into this place, I went ahead and bound the core of this Daoguard Tower to myself. I can now control it with ease,” Autarch Mogg said. “That’s why we were able to leave so easily.”

“The rest of you can be off now.” Autarch Mogg waved his hand, cutting through space with ease. Riiiip! An iridescent dimensional tunnel appeared before him, leading out of the Sithelands.

The Sithelands was quite a dangerous place, after all. Who knew what would happen if they had to fly out? Given how strong the Paragon was, once they made it outside the Sithelands they would definitely be safe.

“Darknorth, I really have to thank you for everything.” The Paragon looked at Ning. She felt extremely grateful towards him. Not only had Ning ensured that her three ‘brothers’ were brought back to life, he had also helped her survive this place, allowing her to reunite with them in person. She had no idea how she was supposed to repay him. Thankfully, Ning didn’t suffer any serious injuries during their time in this dangerous dimension. Otherwise, she truly would’ve been wracked by guilt.

“Off with you. Shoo.” Ning smiled at her.

The Paragon of Pills and the others quickly entered the dimensional tunnel and disappeared. Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos glanced at each other, then sighed.

Clearly, the Paragon of Pills had no idea that Ning’s true body had already died within this hidden dimension. She would probably never know the truth.

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Chapter 1 – Sealed Away?

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 1 – Sealed Away?

A dazzlingly beautiful and fragrant meadow. A barefoot, gray-robed man was seated in the lotus position here. He reached out to gently pluck a flower, then closed his eyes to sniff it. A gentle yet infectious smile appeared on his face which affected even the nearby Exalt Bowenya. This caused the latter to feel an even-greater sense of awe.

“You handled this matter very poorly,” Iyerre said while continuing to enjoy the flower’s fragrance.

“I made a mistake. I was too desperate for glory,” Bowenya said rather nervously.

Iyerre stared raptly at the flower before him, as though he wanted to memorize every millimeter of it. “Your hunger for glory and your unwillingness to share it resulted in you not notifying me about this until the very last moment, when the Daoguard Tower itself was about to be destroyed. In other words, you only reported it when you were out of options. You didn’t give me enough time at all.”

Bowenya was silent. He didn’t dare to say a word, especially since Iyerre was correct. He had indeed waited until the situation was quite grim, with Ning ripping his way through spacetime and charging towards the heart of the tower.

Iyerre didn’t have enough time to fully prepare a counter-plan, and so his only choice had been to send in a servitor who he thought would have the highest chance for success.

“Losing a servant is a minor matter,” Iyerre continued, “But I’m concerned that the local Autarchs will discover that our heartlands have not been truly sealed by them.”

“Impossible. They won’t be able to discover anything. We didn’t make any mistakes at all,” Bowenya said hurriedly.

“I sent over a servant and tore a dimensional tunnel for it and you to traverse. This created a dimensional ripple,” Iyerre said. “It was thanks to this ripple that Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg were able to enter the dimension and slay my servitor.”

“I acted to mislead Daolord Darknorth,” Bowenya said. “I made sure that he thought I fled out of fear while unleashing the creature being suppressed by my Daoguard Tower. It all fits together perfectly. There were no mistakes made at all.”

Iyerre nodded slightly. If certain secrets were revealed, their chances at victory during the final battle would be lessened. The most important secret, of course, was the existence of himself – Iyerre! Thankfully, this wouldn’t be a problem so long as he didn’t accidentally reveal himself. Everyone who had met him and knew of his identity had been forced to swear lifeblood oaths. They couldn’t even mention him in the most oblique of ways!

Ning had reviewed the memories of many Hegemons and Emperors, but he knew nothing at all of the supreme leaders of the Sithe invasion. He knew that the Sithe had a Lord of Chaos, but the Sithe Chaoslord was a transcendent figure that could be described as truly invincible, even in all the Infinite Void.

He wouldn’t be so foolish as to actually enter Ning’s Chaosverse, because once he did he would lose his connection to the Chaosverse he controlled. Not only would he be dramatically weakened, he would also be suppressed by this Chaosverse. If enough things went wrong, he could theoretically be killed here! However, so long as he avoided other Chaosverses he would be completely invincible. Thus, the Autarchs of Ning’s Chaosverse felt certain that the Sithe Chaoslord would never come here in person.

All that aside… the fact that the Sithelands had not truly been sealed away was another extremely important secret! The seals which the cultivator Autarchs had placed over the Sithelands were so powerful that the Autarchs felt that if the Sithe wished to escape, they would have to fight their way through. As a result, the cultivator civilizations entered an era of peace, with just Autarch Mogg and the avatars of Autarchs remaining behind to keep a watch over things here.

In reality, however, Iyerre was able to open dimensional tunnels to the outside world with ease. The tunnel he had established to send out his servant and bring Bowenya back was proof of this… which meant that the entire Sithe army was capable of slipping out without anyone being the wiser!

“There were still a few gaps in our masquerade which might be discovered.” Iyerre glanced sideways at Bowenya. “We didn’t have enough time, and I really did want to kill Daolord Darknorth and swallow his truesoul.”

“I was at fault,” Bowenya said immediately.

“However… I don’t think the cultivators will be able to notice them,” Iyerre said calmly. “Either way, the fact that this Chaosverse has given birth to someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao means that we’ll need to launch the final war sooner than anticipated! If we wait for too long, this Chaosverse might give birth to an Omega Autarch, in which case we’ll truly be finished. You can make up for your mistakes once the war begins.”

“Understood,” Bowenya said. Iyerre then waved his hand, causing Bowenya to disappear without a trace. The meadow remained as calm and tranquil as ever. The only beings here aside from Iyerre were a few ordinary animals.

“Last time, I saw that the tide was turning against us so I feigned weakness and allowed you to ‘seal’ us here,” Iyerre murmured softly. “I’ve waited and prepared for a very long time. This time, I understand you far better than I did in the past. I’m definitely going to win.

……

Immediately after Ji Ning sent off the Paragon of Pills and the others, Autarch Mogg’s face turned grave. “Let’s go back into the hidden dimension,” he said, then teleported Ning and Autarch Titanos inside once more.

The three of them stood in midair within the Sacred Realm, staring at the distant Daoguard Tower. The entire Sacred Realm looked as though it had been through hell and back. The ground was filled with craters and crevices, a testament to the earlier battle that had rocked this place.

“It’s been ruined.” Autarch Mogg stared at the distant Daoguard Tower. “The dimensional control formations have been wrecked. This Daoguard Tower can no longer be used to monitor the surrounding area, nor can it be used to activate the dimensional teleport function which was used to capture cultivators.”

“The dimensional formation has been destroyed?” Ning was startled. The grand formation which had captured him was formed by a combination of nine mighty dimensional formation-bases. When it had activated, Ning had been teleported straight to this hidden dimension.

“The Sithe definitely arranged for guards to watch over those nine formation-bases,” Autarch Mogg said. “Once we took over this hidden dimension, they moved to destroy the formation-bases to avoid us making use of them.”

“If they’ve been destroyed, they’ve been destroyed. This hidden dimension is useless to us cultivators,” Autarch Titanos said with a smile. His gaze suddenly turned towards the devastated landscape. He frowned: “Mogg, did you have the feeling that the creature we fought against was much more troublesome than usual?”

Autarch Mogg blinked, then nodded. “It really was a handful.”

“Exalt-class Daoguard Towers generally don’t suppress creatures of such strength,” Autarch Titanos said. “As I recall, the previous ones we dealt with I could kill within just four or five palm strikes. This time, the two of us had to work together to fight for quite some time before it died. During the Dawn War, it wasn’t until the very end that the Sithe released creatures of such power.”

“This secret dimension was used to spy on the outside world. It was probably quite special to the Sithe, which was why they stationed a particularly powerful creature here,” Autarch Mogg said.

“Possible, I suppose.” Autarch Titanos nodded. “We’ve always felt certain that the Sithe were completely sealed away, especially since we’ve taken full control over the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. I never would’ve imagined that such an enormous dimension could’ve been hidden from us for so long! If they weren’t so desperate to get rid of Darknorth, we probably would’ve never discovered it.”

Autarch Mogg frowned. “I’ve been standing guard over this place for countless aeons, but I never noticed it.”

“That’s why I’m worried. How many other secrets are the Sithe hiding?” Autarch Titanos frowned as well.

“Hahaha… we’ve completely locked away the Sithe heartlands. If they made it out, I’d definitely notice,” Autarch Mogg said with a chuckle. “It doesn’t really matter if a few Sithe are hiding in the outside world. How many of them could there be?”

Autarch Titanos nodded as well. All of the Autarchs had worked together to forge those seals over the Sithe heartlands. They felt quite confident in its efficacy.

Ning simply gazed at the world around him. This was very important, but with his truesoul crumbling away the most important thing for him to do was to use his remaining years to create the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique. There was no way he could take part in any battle against the Sithe.

“Gentlemen,” Ning said, “As you know, I acquired the [Five Truncheon Chapters]. This is something which would be tremendously beneficial to the entire cultivator civilization. I acquired it from Hawkfang after I entered the Sacred Realm! I promised him that I would guarantee a peaceful life for the countless Sithe descendants who lived here.”

“That’s easy. I have to admit, Hawkfang did something incredible for us. I’ll give them an otherverse of their own,” Autarch Mogg said with a smile. “An otherverse will be more than enough for all of them to reside within.”

“I feel sorry for them. The Sithe clearly don’t care about them at all; they treat them as pawns to be sacrificed.” Ning shook his head and sighed. Suddenly, he frowned and his face turned pale. “Wait a second!”

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Chapter 2 – Mistake

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 2 – Mistake

The avatars of Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg turned to stare at Ji Ning, puzzled.

“That great tree was clearly capable of exhausting me to death… so why did Bowenya immediately flee upon releasing it?” Ning added, “And when you fought against it, it showed that it was sentient and capable of rational thought. It wasn’t like those other insane prisoners. It followed Bowenya’s orders to continue assaulting me even though the two of you were destroying it. I doubt it would’ve accidentally injured Bowenya… so why did he flee?”

Autarch Mogg hesitated momentarily. “Perhaps… since this was his final trump card, he felt rather nervous because you defeated all his previous ones? As a result, he fled immediately after using it, to avoid you exceeding his expectations once more and making it impossible for him to flee.”

“Darknorth, what are you suggesting?” Autarch Titanos asked.

“There’s some sense to Autarch Mogg’s explanation,” Ning said, “But Autarchs… what you don’t realize is that after I entered the Sacred Realm, I had to first deal with a combined attack from 2,800 Hegemons and Emperors, then had to deal with two Daoguard Towers which broke free from their foundations to assault me. The Sithe were clearly willing to pay an enormous price to try and kill me. If you were Bowenya and had access to such a powerful tree-creature, how would you employed it against me?”

Ning shook his head, then continued in a low voice, “If I was Bowenya, I would’ve sent the tree to attack before the 2,800 Hegemons did. The giant tree could’ve completely surrounded the dimensional trap, giving me nowhere to run. They could’ve surrounded and killed me with ease.”

“That tree was clearly sentient and clear-minded. There was no reason to wait that long before employing it. Why sacrifice a pair of Daoguard Towers and thousands of Hegemons and Emperors before releasing it?” Ning said. “Losing that many Hegemons and Emperors… even if he would still be rewarded, the rewards would’ve been reduced.”

“Most importantly of all… in the Sacred Realm, I meditated and trained on multiple occasions for extended periods of time. In fact, I even pretended that I would rather wait for death than actually enter the Daoguard Tower. Bowenya’s response? He said that he would rather watch me die outside than take the risk of fighting me.” Ning frowned. “If he had that tree at his disposal, why would he have chosen to just watch as I died of natural causes?”

Mogg and Titanos both blinked. They didn’t know all the details of what Ning had experienced in this hidden dimension, but upon hearing this they too began to feel that something was off.

That great tree had been an intelligent, sentient being which was under orders to kill Ning no matter what. Given how powerful and obedient it was, why not use it earlier? Why flee immediately after using it, instead of continuing to watch over things from within the Daoguard Tower?

The giant tree was extremely powerful and possessed tremendous amounts of vital energy. It was perfect for dealing against a failed Daolord like Ning! Unless Bowenya was a complete fool, he should’ve known early on that the tree would be a perfect counter for ‘Daolord Darknorth’… but he refused to use it. He waited until all of his other resources were used up and until his Daoguard Tower was at the brink of collapse before using it.

Why?

He would’ve rather watched Ning train from his position within the Daoguard Tower, waiting for Ning’s truesoul to naturally collapse instead of releasing that creature. Why?

“Unless…” Ning’s eyes flashed with a cold, hard light: “Unless that tree originally wasn’t here.”

“Wasn’t here?” Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos both narrowed their eyes.

“It wasn’t here… which was why Bowenya was unable to do anything to me. I trained for multiple chaos cycles, and all he could do was watch! If the tree had been here this entire time, there would’ve been no reason for him not to use it,” Ning said. “He waited until I was at the verge of conquering his Daoguard Tower. He probably grew desperate, at which point he begged the Sithe commanders for help, and they sent over that tree-creature in response.”

“So where did the great tree come from?” Autarch Titanos said heavily.

“One of the formation-bases? Another hidden dimension, perhaps? Or…” An ugly look appeared on Autarch Mogg’s face: “Did it perhaps come from the Sithe heartlands?”

Mogg and Titanos shared a worried glance. The two of them had learned much of the Sithe's capabilities during the Dawn War. Creatures like the giant tree would’ve definitely been classified among the most powerful of Sithe war assets. They were even more important than Sithe Exalts!

They didn’t really want to believe it, but… it now seemed that the likeliest explanation was that it really did come from the heartland regions of the Sithelands!

“But we’ve already locked the Sithe heartlands away,” Autarch Mogg muttered irresolutely. “Even if they came out, I should’ve been able to sense something.”

“Too much time has gone past. The Sithe were probably able to devise a way to avoid the seals without us noticing,” Autarch Titanos said heavily. “They are superior to us in so many areas.”

“Darknorth, thank you for informing us.” Autarch Titanos turned to look at Ning. “We didn’t suspect a thing at all. Once the next war begins, the Sithe would’ve been able to slip out with us none the wiser. We would’ve continued to stand guard over this place while they assaulted the rest of the Chaosverse. We would’ve been caught completely flat-footed.”

“Autarchs, you only arrived at the very end to rescue me and so you didn’t know the details of what happened here. It was only when I reflected on all the things that occurred since my arrival into that hidden dimension that I realized that the way Exalt Bowenya employed the great tree made no sense at all,” Ning said. “It was my pity for the Sithe descendants that led me to realize something was wrong.”

“Mm.” Titanos and Mogg both had extremely serious looks on their faces.

“Although other explanations are possible and we can’t be completely sure that the tree-creature came from the Sithe heartlands,” Autarch Mogg said, “I’d say there is a better than 50% chance of it being the case.”

“It’s possible that our seal has been rendered useless, if it was even effective to begin with,” Autarch Titanos agreed. “It seems we need to start preparing.”

Iyerre didn’t make any ‘mistakes’ in sending the great tree to kill Ning per se, but it clashed with Bowenya’s previous words and actions. If Bowenya had access to the great tree all along, why would he have needed to turtle up for so long? Why would he rather wait and watch as Ning’s truesoul naturally broke apart, rather than use it? It didn’t add up… and that was the mistake.

……

Ning, Autarch Titanos, and Autarch Mogg continued to stand in midair. By now, the area in front of them was filled with an enormous amount of Emperors. There had to be over three thousand of them, and all of them were Sithe descendants! Around thirty or so were at the Hegemon level of power... Clearly, the Sithe were far superior in rearing and teaching their Emperors.

Ning looked at the group before him. “Although you are descendants of the Sithe, you are still part of our Chaosverse. The true Sithe were invaders who came here from another place. They don’t care about you at all. We won’t demand that you take part in our war against the Sithe, but you are not to assist them either. We’ll arrange for you to stay in an otherverse of your own, and you can live quiet lives there. Don’t take part in this clash of civilizations.”

“Thank you, Daolord Darknorth.” Hawkfang led the group in expressing reverent thanks.

“Thank you, Daolord.” A few others quickly followed his lead.

“Thank you, Daolord.” Finally, all of them bowed towards Ning, with many of them tearing up as they did so. They had long ago sensed that the Sithe treated them differently, and they had been discriminated against for many, many years.

“You can go now. Evacuate all the mortals from the six mortal realms,” Ning instructed. “This place isn’t safe.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll go right now.”

“Let’s go.” The awesome army of over three thousand Hegemons and Emperors quickly flew away, beginning a large-scale evacuation of this realm. Although the six mortal realms in this dimension held many living beings, over three thousand Emperors were working together to evacuate them. They gave the mortals some time to prepare for their departure, but it still only took them just half a day before completing the evacuation process.

Ning then led the Sithe descendants in departing from the Sithelands. He brought them to an extremely distant, out-of-the-way location within the Great Dark.

Rumble… a massive otherverse suddenly appeared within the darkness.

“Go ahead and bind it, Hawkfang,” Ning said, glancing at the three thousand-plus Emperors before him. All of the Emperors were filled with excitement. If given a chance to live in peace, who would choose to serve as cannon fodder instead? This was doubly true when they would only be repaid for their sacrifices with contempt and belittlement.

“Alright.” Hawkfang’s eyes were shining brightly. He could sense that the life he had been longing for was finally at hand.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. After Hawkfang bound the otherverse to himself, the thousands of Emperors all began to fly inside it. Ning, Mogg, and Titanos all smiled at the sight.

“This is a secluded place where I once trained. If any Sithe come here, I will be alerted instantly,” Autarch Mogg said.

“Let these Sithe descendants live a peaceful life here,” Ning said.

“Once we defeat the Sithe, the entire Chaosverse will be at peace as well,” Titanos said with a smile.

All three of them were looking forward to that day.

“Gentlemen, now that everything has been taken care of, it’s time for me to depart,” Ning said.

“I’ll send you back,” Autarch Mogg volunteered.

“Haha, no need.” Ning shook his head and smiled. “I’m not exactly busy. The only thing I’m concerned with is creating a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique. Although the journey back to my homeland is a long one, I’ll take this opportunity to do some sightseeing. Who knows, I might even find something which inspires me.”

“Very well.” Mogg and Titanos didn’t try to press the issue.

Ning re-entered his realmship. Azurefiend’s avatar once more began to pilot it, sending it disappearing into the Great Dark under the watchful gazes of Mogg and Titanos.

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Chapter 3 – Meeting Autarch Stonerule

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 3 – Meeting Autarch Stonerule

Within the realmship. Ji Ning sat in the lotus position, staring at the dazzling prismatic spacetime tunnel as marvelous realmverses flickered past them, but his mind was occupied on the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique.

“A Truesoul Everlasting… if I can create a technique like this, it would allow even the damage caused by a failed Daomerge to be reversed, with the truesoul being healed.” Ning was keenly attuned to the sensations of his truesoul crumbling away.

His Immortal energy, his godsense, his azureflower mist energy… all of it was filled with his truesoul. But now, every speck of his soul was beginning to crack apart, with tiny flakes of it slowly drifting off and disappearing…

“This crumbling is taking part in every part of my truesoul. Not a single inch of it remains intact,” Ning mused. “How should I reverse it?”

When Ning had been a Daolord of the Third Step, he had ‘died’ once but been revived thanks to the Lifeblood Dao-seal. The Lifeblood Dao-seal was filled with a portion of Ning’s undamaged truesoul, making revival a simple process. But now that Ning’s truesoul had already begun to crumble… there was no known technique which could be used to stop it.

“How to reverse it? How do you reverse that which has already crumbled apart?” Ning mentally reviewed the mysteries of the [Deathless Chapter] while comparing it to his own crumbling process, and as he did so he would occasionally make a few changes and improvements to the chapter.

After five million years of non-stop meditation, Ning finally woke up. “Azurefiend, where are we?” Ning asked.

“We’re halfway there. Give us another six million years and we’ll reach the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Azurefiend’s avatar said.

“No need for us to rush. Let’s explore the surrounding realms while we are here,” Ning said.

“Yes, Master,” Azurefiend’s avatar said hurriedly. The time he had spent following Ning had shown him far more stunning sights than everything he had experienced in the past. They had captured over two thousand Hegemons and Emperors, fought against a Sithe Daoguard Tower, seen strange creatures which came from beyond the Chaosverse, and more. He had never seen such incredible things in the past! Ning also treated him very well, and he in turn would silently pray: “I hope Master can remain alive forever. That would be wonderful.”

So long as Ning remained alive, he would have a powerful backer supporting him.

They continued to wander through the cosmos, visiting the marvelous sights the Chasoverse had to offer as well as the many unique lifeforms it had birthed. Every so often, Ning would enter periods of silent meditation to reflect on what he saw.

……

A vast planet which was teeming with life.

Ning was seated at the peak of a mountain, silently meditating with Azurefiend’s avatar standing guard next to him. Ning had been training here for billions of years now, and ever since he started there had been no creatures who could move near this peak. A maze formation had been established halfway up the mountain, and those who escaped the maze would find themselves back at the base of the mountain.

“Young fellow, the destiny that brought us together must come to an end today. Your future accomplishments will be up to your own efforts. I accepted a total of six disciples before you. If you ever meet them, you’ll know it right away. Remember – you must not battle amongst yourselves.” Azurefiend’s avatar remained by Ning’s side, while he had created an incarnation to chat with a youth at the base of the mountain.

“Your disciple understands, Master.” The youth’s eyes were brimming with tears. The past year he had spent with his master had been a truly transformative one for him.

“Go,” Azurefiend’s avatar said, then vanished without a trace. The youth repeatedly kowtowed before departing as well.

At the peak of the mountain.

“Azurefiend, you actually took on seven disciples during the years I was training?” Ning’s voice rang out.

Azurefiend was badly startled. He turned to glance at Ning, who had already risen to his feet, then let out a deep chortle: “Don’t tease me, Master. I was bored and had nothing to do. I spent my time just watching the countless people who lived in this world, and every so often I would find one I liked and take him or her on as a disciple.”

“Hahaha! Well, it is time for us to return to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Ning said. “We’ll be leaving soon, so go ahead and finish making any arrangements necessary for your disciples.”

“No need. I’ve made those arrangements long ago and have given them everything they should be given. The rest will be up to them. The path of cultivation is a path of self-reliance, after all,” Azurefiend said.

“Very well. Let’s head off.”

Whoosh. The realmship flew away from the snowy peak, and the maze formation which had surrounded it for so many years finally vanished as well, becoming nothing more than a mystery and a legend to this planet.

Ning ended up spending nearly half a chaos cycle on the return trip back to the Three Realms. He had gained quite a few insights into the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, but he also gained a better understanding of how difficult it would be.

The crumbling of the truesoul involved countless tiny little flakes disappearing and returning to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse. To reverse this process by seizing those truesoul fragments back from the Quintessence was impossible! Not even Autarchs could succeed in this.

The only other possibility was to use the remaining fragments to somehow remake a complete, undamaged truesoul anew! This was very similar to the concept of ‘Blood-Drop Rebirth’, wherein Fiendgods who had reached the Zifu Disciple stage of cultivation would be able completely remake their entire bodies from a single drop of blood, if they had enough divine power to do so. This was because that single drop of blood contained the essence and foundation for the entire body! Now, however, Ning was trying to accomplish this with something that was even more fundamental… the truesoul.

His goal was to allow a powerful cultivator whose soul had shattered and whose truesoul was breaking apart to be able to remake the truesoul anew. So long as just one scrap of truesoul was remaining, the cultivator would be able to use the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ to recreate the entire truesoul, then reconstitute the spirit and the body.

A very familiar realmverse appeared before them. “We reached the Flamedragon Realmverse.” Ning revealed a delighted look from within the realmship. Finally, they had returned. Home was home, and the feeling of being home was unlike any other.

“Eh?” Ning turned to look in a different direction. He could sense through karma that another powerful figure, Autarch Stonerule, was located within the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Just one second later… whoosh! Space rippled around Ning, followed by the dazzlingly handsome Autarch Stonerule appearing.

“Autarch Stonerule.” Ning flew out of the realmship to greet him, with Azurefiend’s avatar following obediently from behind.

“Darknorth.” Autarch Stonerule smiled.

“Why have you come here, Autarch?” Ning asked curiously.

“Because of you, obviously!” Autarch Stonerule said with a laugh. “I’ve been waiting for quite some time.”

“Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t in a rush so I took the scenic route while taking the occasional cultivation break,” Ning explained. “That’s why it took me a while to come back. If I had known you were here, I would’ve immediately returned.”

“I’m just teasing you. I’m not in a rush either,” Autarch Stonerule said. “I came here because there are a few things I need to tell you.”

“Hm?” Ning looked at Autarch Stonerule.

“All of us have been analyzing the [Five Truncheon Chapters] you gave us. We’re in the process of completing the [Daolord Chapter], but as for the most important [Deathless Chapter]… I’m sorry to say we probably won’t be able to help you much,” Autarch Stonerule said helplessly.

“There’s nothing you can do?” Ning felt rather anxious. Although he had made some improvements in recent years, he knew just how difficult it would be to create a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique. He had been counting on the Autarchs being able to help him out with it.

“We want to help you, but the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique revolves around reversing the process of a truesoul’s decay,” Autarch Stonerlue said. “The problem was… all of us Autarchs have perfectly intact truesouls. We’ve never experienced the crumbling process ourselves! We’ve seen the truesouls of quite a few failed Daolords break apart, yes, but just watching it as an outsider doesn’t really mean much. We don’t know what it is like to have the truesoul break apart, so we have no idea where we should even begin to fix it.”

“What?” Ning was stunned. The Autarchs had never experienced their truesouls breaking apart, which meant that they were unable to make any headway with regards to the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique?

“But the Sithe’s Lord of Chaos…?” Ning said.

“He’s at a much higher level of insight than us, which was why he was able to come up with a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique,” Autarch Stonerule explained. “The six of us are merely on par with you, and we’ve never truly experienced our truesouls breaking apart. Our chances of being able to reverse the truesoul process via a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique are extremely slim. I came to tell you this in person because I don’t want you to place too much hope on us being able to help you.”

Ning nodded. “I understand.” This had always been a path which would likely result in failure. Autarch Stonerule’s words were a bit discouraging, but Ning was able to accept them calmly.

“But of course, we’re still going to keep working at it,” Autarch Stonerule said. “There’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Something else?” Ning was puzzled.

“The Sithe are desperate to kill you. We believe that the Sithe are paying close attention to whether you are dead or not,” Autarch Stonerule said. “That’s why I came in person to take a look at the Flamedragon Realmverse. I followed up on quite a few clues, and in the end I managed to find a few Sithe spies.”

Autarch Stonerule waved his hand, causing a total of six individuals to appear before him. All of them simply stood there, their gazes vacant. One was a Hegemon, while five were Emperors.

“Spies?” Ning frowned.

“They’ve infiltrated the Brightshore Kingdom and Vastheaven Palace, hoping to be able to keep track of your status via your heartlamp and similar items,” Autarch Stonerule said.

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Chapter 4 – Solving the Heart of Eternity

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 4 – Solving the Heart of Eternity

Ji Ning stared at the six captured Sithe spies, then chuckled: “I’m a failed Daolord. Why would the Sithe be willing to expend this much effort on me?”

“It’s best if we keep your status a secret,” Autarch Stonerule said seriously. “The Sithe have never given up on their efforts to keep our entire Chaosverse under surveillance. In the past, we didn’t really care as we were sure their army remained permanently sealed within the Sithe heartlands, but it now appears highly probable that they long ago found out a way to slip out undetected. They’ve been biding their time, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to us. We’re quietly making arrangements for our forces throughout the Chaosverse to prepare for war, but this will take time. So long as you are still alive, the Sithe will be hesitant to start the war.”

“Right.” Ning nodded. The Sithe would naturally be unwilling to start the war while Ning was alive. Not because they feared him; rather, because they worried that the high-pressure life-and-death environment created by the war would result in Ning suddenly making a breakthrough and mastering an Autarch-level Dao! If that happened, Ning would be able to easily take control over the entire Chaosverse, and the problem with his crumbling truesoul would disappear.

Although chances of this happening were remote, the Sithe were unwilling to take this risk. Anyone who was able to master an Eternal Omega Dao on his own, without any guidance at all, was without question an incredibly talented figure who would have the blessing of the entire Chaosverse itself. It was entirely possible that a ‘miracle’ would happen, resulting in him gaining Autarchy.

Thus, it was best for the Sithe to play it safe. They would wait for Ning’s truesoul to completely break apart before launching the war! By then, the cultivators wouldn’t have even a single Eternal Omega Dao wielder at all, much less an Omega Autarch. The greatest fear of the Sithe would’ve been avoided.

“With your Eternal Omega Sword Dao serving as the guide, we’ve already begun to lead some of the most talented geniuses of the entire Chaosverse onto the path of the Omega Dao. However, the birth of a new Omega Emperor will take time! We might need millions of chaos cycles or even longer. I’m afraid the Sithe won’t give us the time we need,” Autarch Stonerule said. “But so long as you remain alive? They’ll have something to fear, something which holds them back.”

“I understand. I know what to do.” Ning smiled.

“Then I’ll be leaving now. Let me know right away if there’s anything you need.” Autarch Stonerule waved his hand, collecting the six spies and then disappearing without a trace.

Ning watched as he vanished, already beginning to consider what his next steps should be.

……

That very day, Ning went to meet with Hegemon Brightshore and Emperor Solesky.

“Brother Brightshore. Big brother Solesky.” Ning said, “My truesoul has been crumbling away ever since I failed the Daomerge. I’m worried that the remaining Sithe are trying to keep tabs on my status! Thus, we must destroy the heartlamp in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom and the other life-monitoring artifacts pertaining to me in the Dao Alliance and in Vastheaven Palace.”

“Destroy?” Brightshore and Solesky were both puzzled.

“Then, we’ll replace them with fake ones,” Ning said. “The fake ones we create will always show that I am ‘alive’, even if ten million chaos cycles go by. I want the Sithe to always believe that I might be alive.”

Solesky couldn’t help but argue, “Creating a fake one will be easy, but your truesoul is breaking apart! Even if the fake soul lamps are lit for a million chaos cycles, do you really think the Sithe would believe that you are still alive?”

“Solesky, that could be explained away by temporal deceleration, yes? A million chaos cycles could go by in the outside world, but for Darknorth only ten thousand chaos cycles would have gone past.” Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning. “Darknorth, what are you planning to do next?”

“Go into secluded meditation,” Ning said. “After this, we probably won’t be meeting again.”

“Do you have a way to reverse the crumbling of your truesoul?” Hegemon Brightshore said rather anxiously.

“A way?” Ning smiled. “Maybe. Alright, enough of that. I’m going to leave with Youji and Pillsaint.”

That very day, Ning departed from Vastheaven Palace with Su Youji, Pillsaint, and his other retainers in tow. They went back to the Three Realms.

Everything which was able to detect Ning’s status, such as his heartlamps or his life towers, were all destroyed and then replaced with fake versions. In all the Chaosverse, the only ones who would know for sure if Ning was alive or not were the Autarchs, Nuwa, and Subhuti! Not even his daughter Brightmoon or his parents would have a way to know for sure.

……

After finishing all of his arrangements, Ning entered the Azureflower Estate by himself. He needed the help of the Autarch’s stone dais for this project.

“Daolord Darknorth.” The estate-spirit was clearly much more respectful towards him than it had been in the past.

“I’ll be spending almost all of my remaining time on researching the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique.” Ning smiled. “Sorry to disturb you.”

“Daolord, if you really were able to create such a technique, you would’ve brought boundless blessings upon the entire Chaosverse. Not only would you yourself survive, you will have saved countless future generations of cultivators to come. Our entire Chaosverse shall thrive and grow strong.” The estate-spirit was filled with anticipation.

Ning smiled and nodded, then closed his eyes and emptied out his mind of all extraneous thoughts. With the Autarch’s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl aiding him, Ning began to meditate on the task at hand. Countless insights flashed through his mind as he continuously analyzed, hypothesized, and restructured the technique he needed. With the [Deathless Chapter] serving as his framework, Ning knew what he needed to do. Every so often, he would finish completing a [Truesoul Everlasting] technique, but each time he tested it out he would discover that it didn’t work.

Time continued to flow on. Every so often, Ning would take a break from researching the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ to work on solving Autarch Awakener’s ‘Heart of Eternity’.

More than 1600 years after he had entered secluded meditation

Crack! Crack! Crack! Ning finally solved the seals covering the ninety-ninth level of the Heart of Eternity hovering before him. The final layer of incredibly complicated runes vanished from the sphere, and it was as though some mechanism had been activated within it. Moments later, the insides of the sphere were revealed.

Rumble… a streak of light shot out, resolving into a scholarly youth who was dressed in white robes with blue fringes. Ning immediately recognized this person as being Autarch Awakener! Autarch Awakener had been the most scholarly Autarch, the one with the biggest dreams. He had spent countless aeons working on the tenth chaos seal.

“Young friend,” the white-robed scholar said. Ning immediately understood that this was a projection which Autarch Awakener had left behind before his death.

“Since you were able to solve the ninety-ninth seal covering the Heart of Eternity, you must be at or near my own level with regards to the chaos seals I devised,” the white-robed scholar said with a smile. “Thus, you are probably strong and wise enough to know of the great danger our entire civilization is facing, and of the foes threatening our entire Chaosverse… the Sithe. The Sithe are still there, and they are still as dangerous as ever.”

“The Sithe are able to repair even shattered truesouls, allowing them to attempt the Daomerge repeatedly. They also have a more perfect energy system, allowing them to generate far more Autarchs than us.

“I have always hoped to create a similar technique which would allow us to birth more Hegemons, and perhaps as many as ten or twenty Autarchs! If I succeeded, we would easily win the battle which is yet to come.

“I have left behind my Nine Chaos Seals to this Chaosverse. Although their flaws mean that one can only successfully start to train in them prior to reaching the World level, I actually fixed those flaws long ago in my own version. I imagine that you, my young friend, can easily do the same as well. The reason why I intentionally published a flawed version of the Nine Chaos Seals is because those who cannot master it prior to the World level cannot be considered true geniuses. There is no chance that they can succeed in helping me to perfect the tenth stage of the technique.

“Within the Heart of Eternity lies the true, perfected version of the Nine Chaos Seals, as well as two lines of thought I have pondered while researching the tenth seal. I wasn’t able to succeed through either of these two paths, but I feel that both can theoretically lead to success. They represent my greatest accomplishments, and I entrust them to you along with my hopes and dreams.

“This is all the Heart of Eternity holds. In terms of value, this probably is not that valuable to someone who is incapable of solving the Heart of Eternity… but to one who was able to solve it, they may perhaps be of some use.

“My young friend… after spending countless aeons in painstaking research, I discovered that I was unable to advance any further. This is why I gave up. I hope you can complete the Ten Chaos Seals and give our civilization a chance to defeat the looming threat. If you can… then I, Awakener, will be grateful even in death.” Autarch Awakener smiled, then his projection vanished.

The white-haired elder who was the estate-spirit had been watching this entire time. Tears streamed down his face.

Ning could sense the powerful will which had driven Autarch Awakener to do so much. He felt a deep sense of admiration for Awakener, who truly had been a leader for the cultivator civilizations.

Ning turned to inspect the contents of the Heart of Eternity, which indeed held many techniques and records left behind by Autarch Awakener. One of those techniques was the perfected Nine Chaos Seals.

The perfect Nine Chaos Seals could be trained in by World-level cultivators, Daolords, and even Emperors. After doing so, it could be used like ‘divine power’ inside the body and ‘Immortal energy’ outside the body. This was a truly flawless type of energy… but it was limited to the first nine stages.

“Perfecting it was simple.” Ning was at such a high level of enlightenment that he immediately grasped the principles behind it. Given enough time, he too would be able to duplicate the work which Awakener had done.

“So Autarch Awakener actually had two different lines of theory, both of which he thought could be successful in creating the Tenth Chaos Seal?” Ning nodded slowly. He had the assistance of the [Deathless Chapter], and he was using it and his own insights to pursue multiple avenues of research as well. Two of them were the ones which Autarch Awakener believed to be workable. The first was the path of the ‘Infinity Everlasting’, while the second was the path of the ‘Void Everlasting’.

Ning began to greedily read through Autarch Awakener’s notes. Over the course of aeons of research, Autarch Awakener had clearly gained many more insights than Ning with regards to these two paths. He also had many different ideas of his own, which quickly gave Ning new insights and ideas.

Ning became completely focused on reviewing Autarch Awakener’s work and adding it to his own. A thousand chaos cycles… two thousand chaos cycles… five thousand chaos cycles… ten thousand chaos cycles…

Time continued to flow onwards, as cold and uncaring as ever.

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Chapter 5 – Out of Seclusion

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 5 – Out of Seclusion

The white-robed Ji Ning was as still as a statue, his eyes closed. He had been seated there for countless years now.

Finally, Ning opened his eyes. His gaze was filled with the boundless power of space and time, containing all the cosmos within them.

“Truesoul Everlasting…” Ning murmured softly. He had the insights of Autarch Awakener and the [Deathless Chapter], as well as 15,000 chaos cycles worth of meditation. By now, he had reached a level of understanding with regards to the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ that vastly surpassed Autarch Awakener’s.

“It has been over 15,000 chaos cycles. I only have 1000 chaos cycles left. Time for me to resolve my various affairs.” Ning rose to his feet.

His original body’s lifespan had been rapidly depleted due to the battles which it had fought, but this body had never fought a single time since failing the Daomerge. The Water Sword Dao, Space Sword Dao, Illusion Sword Dao, and other Daos had all strengthened his truesoul considerably, dramatically slowing down the crumbling rate and extending his lifespan considerably.

However, he had spent over 15,000 chaos cycles in training. He didn’t have much time left, and he had some things he wanted to resolve before he could finally, fully devote himself while holding nothing back at all.

“Daolord Darknorth.” The elderly white-haired estate-spirit immediately came over to him.

“I’m going to make a short trip. The next time I come back, I’ll be entering terminal seclusion.”

“Terminal seclusion?” The white-haired elder was shocked. He could sense the firm resolve within Ning’s words.

Terminal seclusion… it represented abandoning everything else and entering seclusion for the final time. Either one would succeed in one’s goal, or one would die in seclusion, never to return!

Ning departed from the Azureflower Estate and made his way over to the Three Realms.

……

Ning arrived at Brightheart Island in Serpentwing Lake. This was where Ning’s family resided, and Ning’s three major retainers Azurefiend, Su Youji, and Pillsaint lived here as well, as did Ning’s eighth disciple ‘Stonepool’.

Everyone was seated, happily enjoying a meal together.

“Ji Ning, each time you go into seclusion you disappear for a few thousand chaos cycles. We hardly see you these days,” Ji Yichuan said with a smile. He was in a wonderful mood today. Whenever Ning reached a bottleneck, he would leave seclusion and spend some time with his family. During the past 15,000 chaos cycles, he had exited seclusion a total of six times.

“Our son is busy with something that’s very important to him. He needs to stay in seclusion to do his best, rather than stay with us and let you bother him all the time.” Yuchi Snow immediately leapt to Ning’s defense, then turned and smiled at him: “Ning, son… let me make the introductions. Dawnjade, come over here.”

The adorable child who had been waiting nearby for quite some time immediately ran over. Yuchi Snow happily took the child’s hand, then said towards Ning, “Dawnjade is the most intelligent child our Ji clan has produced in aeons. He’s an absolutely unparalleled genius who has embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao. He is currently a Daolord of the Second Step.”

“Oh?” Ning glanced at the ‘child’ in astonishment.

“Greetings, Patriarch Darknorth,” Ji Dawnjade said respectfully.

“Father, I have to admit that Dawnjade is very talented. He’s much more talented than me,” the nearby Brightmoon said happily. “He’s only been cultivating for a very brief amount of time, and we didn’t dare to disturb you when you were in seclusion. That’s why we didn’t inform you when he became a Daolord.”

Ning had long ago instructed that he was only to be disturbed if someone was in mortal danger. Otherwise, his seclusion was not to be interrupted.

Ning looked the child over, his eyes lighting up.

He had long ago instructed his daughter, Brightmoon, to take his place in teaching his eighth disciple, ‘Stonepool’. After spending many years training together, the two of them had actually ended up becoming Dao-companions! Both of them had actually been emotionally hurt when they were young. Brightmoon had been single her entire life, while Stonepool had poured all of his efforts on cultivation. Still… after spending many years together, they began to grow extremely fond of each other.

The two had ended up having a child… and Stonepool had voluntarily suggested that the child have the surname ‘Ji’ in order to show respect to his master and father-in-law, Ji Ning! If they had a second child, that child would take his family name. And so, Ning’s lineage began to grow.

Time had passed on, and Ji Ning’s line had flourished. All of them were born with tremendous blessings of karmic luck, but none of them were comparable to the most impressive geniuses of this realmverse… until, that is, Dawnjade was born. He was incredibly intelligent and sailed through his path of cultivation, rapidly advancing to the World level with her clan’s aid. He had then gone out adventuring… and the end result was that he had also embarked upon the path of the Omega Sword Dao!

In truth, the Autarchs had already begun to ensure that quite a number of geniuses scattered throughout the vast Chaosverse had begun to train in the path of the Omega Dao. There was now one or two in virtually every single realmverse who trained in an Omega Dao… and after over ten thousand chaos cycles, the Ji clan had finally given birth to a second such genius. Yichuan and Snow naturally doted on him heavily.

“Mm.” Ning stared at Dawnjade, scanning his past as he did so. Ning could even get a vague sense of what the future held in store for the child, and what he saw was a truly extraordinary destiny. The boy would probably surpass even Ning’s eight disciples… but in the end, the Daomerge would remain a huge obstacle.

“Good. Good!” Ning actually praised the boy twice. “Dawnjade, from this day forth, you shall stay by my side. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“Yes, Patriarch!” Dawnjade said excitedly. He all but worshipped the ground ‘Patriarch Ji’ walked on; the Patriarch was a man who treated with Autarchs as an equal! Dawnjade had also heard many boasting stories from Hegemon Azurefiend, including the story of how the Patriarch had captured nearly four thousand Emperors with ease. He knew that the Patriarch was inconceivably powerful and was the most supreme expert of the Dao of the Sword their Chaosverse had ever seen.

The more Ning saw of Dawnjade, the more he liked the boy. Ning felt almost as though he was seeing a reflection of himself in many ways. If Ning himself failed in his terminal seclusion but Dawnjade succeeded in his Daomerge… that wouldn’t be too bad an outcome.

“Sit next to me,” Ning ordered. He didn’t disguise his fondness for Dawnjade in the slightest.

“Brightmoon.” Ning turned and smiled. “Has anything important happened lately?” Each time Ning left his secluded meditation, he would ask her this question.

Both Brightmoon and Stonepool were Daolords of the Fourth Step. The former was Ning’s daughter, while the latter was Ning’s disciple. They often wandered the outside world, and they were well-versed in what was happening lately.

“Yes, actually. Something very important happened,” Brightmoon said. “I actually considered asking you to leave seclusion, but in the end I decided not to disturb you. For you to find out a bit later doesn’t make much of a difference.”

“Something very important? What?” Ning asked curiously.

“Second brother ‘Green Bamboo’ succeeded in the Daomerge and became a Hegemon!” Brightmoon said happily. “He was the first in our group to attempt the Daomerge. To this very day, I’m still afraid to make the attempt!”

“Quding succeeded in the Daomerge?” Ning was delighted to hear this. He immediately began inspect the karmic threads binding him to his disciple.

His second disciple, ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding. When Ning was at the World level, Ning had met him by accident when he had entered Annihilation’s otherverse. Back then Yang Quding had been an ordinary mortal, but his Dao-heart had impressed Ning. Ning had taken a liking to him and had accepted him as his second disciple.

Ning always had the feeling that his second disciple would probably become an extremely accomplished figure… but Ning never would’ve expected him to become a Hegemon so quickly!

“After he succeeded in the Daomerge he came here in person, wanting to pay his respects to you, Father. I didn’t want to disturb you, so after discussing the matter with Patriarch Subhuti I decided to give him three Sithe treasures as a celebratory gift,” Brightmoon said.

“You did well.” Ning nodded. He had acquired many Sithe treasures from that hidden dimension, but he had given them over to Nuwa, Subhuti, and Brightmoon to hand out as they saw fit. He wouldn’t hand over treasures of such power to even his disciples without a good reason. Giving his second disciple a few of them to celebrate his Hegemony, however, was fine.

“I’m not finished. Not too long ago, second brother received an otherverse and became an Otherverse Lord!” Brightmoon said happily. “He didn’t acquire it in battle, he was given it by an Autarch.”

“By an Autarch?” Ning was startled. Ning knew the Autarchs very well; they wouldn’t casually hand over otherverses to juniors, no matter how much they liked them. They acted impartially in all things.

“So here’s the story. Second brother is incredibly talented in the Dao of the Sword and has a perfect Dao-heart. He had an accidental meeting with the Autarch of Annihilation, who tested him. He passed the test, and the Autarch viewed him so favorably that the Autarch bestowed an otherverse upon him,” Brightmoon said.

“A perfect Dao-heart?” Ning was astonished. A perfect Dao-heart was a prerequisite for becoming an Autarch, and also a prerequisite for succeeding in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao. Everyone who had a perfect Dao-heart was without a doubt an extraordinary character.

“No wonder Ekong showed him such favor.” Ning had felt long ago that Green Bamboo had an extraordinary heart and was highly suited for cultivating in the Dao. Ning had ‘released him into the wild’ and allowed him to make his own way in the world as a mortal cultivator with just a few techniques. Ning hadn’t spent too much time teaching or taking care of this second disciple; the man had to rely on himself for everything.

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Chapter 6 – Old Friends (part 1)

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 6 – Old Friends (part 1)

Ji Ning was in an excellent mood today. “Tell me about how all my other disciples are doing, one by one.”

“Very well.” Brightmoon was rather surprised at her father inquiring in such detail, but she began to narrate without giving it much thought.

Ning had left his secluded meditations to wrap up all his worldly affairs. Of course he needed to get a good idea as to how his personal disciples were doing! While listening to his daughter speak, he also carefully inspected how they were doing through his karmic ties to them.

His first disciple, ‘Bluecliff Xiaoyu’, was even less talented than Brightmoon. To this very day, she remained just a World-level cultivator! Still, her life was a carefree one. Perhaps Xiaoyu preferred this sort of peaceful, quiet life.

His second disciple, ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding, had become a Hegemon.

His third disciple, Skywind, had become a resoundingly famous figure within the Flamedragon Realmverse. He had caused quite a deal of trouble, and was stubborn to an extreme. He made many enemies, and for the sake of a female Immortal he had actually assaulted a major sect and slain two of its Emperors! He was now publicly acclaimed as the number one Daolord of the Flamedragon Realmverse. Ning, of course, had long ago transcendent such silly rankings.

“Oh, Skywind… I was able to sense long ago that your future would be fraught with troubles. You’ve always been the one I’ve been the most worried about.” Ning shook his head, then decided, “I have to visit him one final time, it seems.”

The position of ‘fourth disciple’ remained vacant.

His fifth and sixth disciples, ‘Boundless’ and ‘Muse’, lived a romantic, heavenly life together as a pair of Immortal lovers. They remained happily in love, and together they wandered the various territories of the Flamedragon Realmverse. This pleased Ning greatly.

His seventh disciple, ‘Great Immortal Almonder’, had a childlike disposition and loved to wander about. His current whereabouts were unknown.

His eight disciple, ‘Stonepool’, was a solid and reliable figure who had ended up together with Ning’s daughter Brightmoon.

……

After spending two years in the Three Realms, Ning departed with Azurefiend, Youji, Pillsaint, and his favored descendant Dawnjade. They left the Three Realms and began to wander through the world outside. They were going to visit his friends and disciples.

The very first person Ning went to visit was Ninedust, whom he had shared so many life-and-death adventures with.

Vast, billowing waves could be seen sweeping through this entire world. At the very center of the waves was a towering, silver-robed god who was 540,000 meters tall. He stood atop the endless waves, practicing a set of fist-arts. Every single punch and strike caused the waves around him to rumble and roil about.

A ship appeared far off in the distance, but it quickly came to a halt and did not interrupt.

Roughly an hour later, the training appeared to come to an end. Only then did the white-robed Ning call from next to the hovering realmship, “Ninedust!”

The Ninedust Sectlord turned to stare at Ning, a delighted look instantly appearing on his face: “Hah! Darknorth, my big shot Daolord friend! You surely are a sight for sore eyes. You actually came to visit me?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I know I didn’t visit you a single time in many years. I’ve been in secluded meditation the entire time.” Ning strolled over, with Su Youji and the others staying behind.

“As it should be. You are working on something important.” Ninedust looked at Ning. He could sense how Ning’s truesoul was crumbling at a very fast pace, and he couldn’t help but feel sorrow for his old friend. He knew that Ning wouldn’t last for much longer. “Darknorth… have you come to bid me a final farewell?”

“Perhaps.” Ning smiled. “I’m about to go into terminal seclusion and make one final push. If I succeed, I’ll be able to reverse my truesoul’s decay. If I fail… then yes, this will be the last time we two brothers have a chance to meet.”

“Reverse your truesoul’s decay?” Ninedust instantly became filled with hope.

“Death has always been the only outcome for anyone who fails the Daomerge,” Ning said. “No cultivators in our Chaosverse have ever been able to change this! The Sithe are able to do so, but they are different from us on a fundamental level. Not even Autarchs are able to reverse a truesoul’s decay. All I can do is try my best and then pray.”

Ninedust patted Ning on the shoulder. “I’m sure you can do it.”

“Enough about me. How have you been?” Ning smiled. “When are you planning to attempt the Daomerge? I can tell that you’ve reached an incredibly high level in the Dao of Water. From what I can see, you should be the one ranked at the top of the Daolord listings for the Flamedragon Realmverse. How did my disciple end up taking the position instead?”

Ning had passed on both the Incense Spirit-Fruit and several water-related techniques to Ninedust to help him out. Ninedust had trained assiduously and had reached an extremely high level of insight into the Dao of Water. It could be said that his defensive prowess surpassed that of all other Daolords in the Flamedragon Realmverse, save for Ning himself. He was absolutely strong enough to be ranked number one, but his actual ranking was fairly low.

“Who cares about those stupid lists? Look at you, Darknorth; you transcended that very concept long ago!” Ninedust chuckled. “Besides… as your brother, Skywind should be considered one of my juniors. How could I compete with him over something like this?”

“Skywind… he’s a bit too much of a showoff.” Ning shook his head slowly.

“But he has plenty to show off. I once sparred with him when he first became a Daolord of the Fourth Step. He truly did amaze me.” Ninedust let out a sigh.

“Excessive hardness leads to brittleness. He’s too extreme… but perhaps that’s also what made him so special.” Ning shook his head. Of his many disciples, his third disciple had been given the hardest path. The man had experienced numerous difficulties as a mortal, and hadn’t ended after becoming a Daolord.

“When are you planning to begin your Daomerge?” Ning asked.

“Soon. Thanks to the techniques you gave me, I can sense that my Dao is growing even more perfect than before.” Ninedust smiled. “Once I feel it has reached full perfection, I’ll use the Incense Spirit-Fruit and begin the Daomerge. It’ll be anywhere between 10,000 chaos cycles and 50,000 chaos cycles from now.”

“I’ll have to come to offer my congratulations once you succeed,” Ning said with a laugh.

“You must,” Ninedust agreed.

Both had their own tribulations to overcome. Ninedust had to deal with the tribulation known as the Daomerge, while Ning had to deal with the crumbling of his truesoul. Both of these two brothers had to succeed if they wished to meet again.

By comparison, Ninedust stood a very good chance; he had already used a Voidsea Jadeseal and been given both techniques and an Incense Spirit-Fruit by Ning. Ning’s chances were much lower.

……

After spending quite some time chatting with his old friend Ninedust, Ning finally bade the Ancient cultivator farewell.

A short while later, Ning headed off to an ordinary chaosworld within the Flamedragon Realmverse. He had come here to meet his third disciple, Skywind.

Ning found Skywind in the corner of an alehouse. Skywind was dressed in ordinary gray robes. The robes were not magic in any manner; these truly were cheap hemp robes which mortal peasants might wear. He was caked in filth, and his hair was disheveled. He sat there in the corner, drinking wine by himself. He was never able to get drunk, but he still came here to drink quite often.

No one in the alehouse dared to bother him… because half a year ago, this filthy-looking man had killed the governor of this city with a pair of chopsticks.

“Drinking by yourself?” a voice rang out.

Startled, Skywind looked up. Someone had actually been able to approach him without him even noticing it? And this person clearly hadn’t hidden his aura either; Skywind could clearly sense the aura of the sword about him. How did I not notice him approaching? This was so strange that Skywind could hardly believe it.

When he turned around, he saw a white-robed Ning seated at a nearby bench. Ning poured himself a cup of wine.

“Master!” When Skywind saw Ning, he immediately fell to his knees and kowtowed. He respected and revered his master more than anyone else.

Ning simply watched as his disciple kowtowed, not moving to stop him.

“You can get up,” Ning said a moment later.

“Alright.” Skywind rose to his feet.

Ning picked up his wine cup. “Come. Let the two of us, master and disciple, share a cup of wine.”

Skywind immediately lifted up his own wine cup and offered Ning a respectful toast. None of the ordinary mortals within this alehouse were able to notice or sense Ning’s presence.

After finishing the wine, Skywind said in a guilty manner: “I’ve disappointed you, Master.”

“There’s nothing to be disappointed about. Cultivation can lead to countless different paths,” Ning said. “A shadow was cast over your heart back in your homeland, long before you ever entered the Flamedragon Realmverse. For you to end up in your current situation… I blame myself as your master for not having helped you more.”

“It isn’t your fault, Master. This is the path I chose for myself,” Skywind said hastily. He himself knew that he had gone too far in his murderous actions. If it hadn’t been for the fact that his master was Daolord Darknorth, the Archons of the Sacred Cities probably would’ve wiped him out long ago.

“So are you planning to just spend your final years here?” Ning asked.

“I’m tired,” Skywind said softly. “I don’t want to run around any longer, and I don’t want to go back home either. I suppose I’ll just keep living here in this mortal world.”

“You might as well.” Ning didn’t try to dissuade him. “This will most likely be our final meeting. Let’s just share some wine with each other. I’ll only give you one final piece of advice – In cultivation, you must always follow your heart. The only thing you need to do is stay true to yourself. If you can do that, then there will be no need to feel any fear, nor will you need to feel guilt.”

Skywind’s eyes reddened. He could sense how quickly his master’s truesoul was disintegrating. His master probably wouldn’t be able to survive for much longer.

“Now, enough of all that. Let’s drink.” Ning smiled as he lifted up his wine cup once more.

After a lengthy drinking session with his disciple, Ning departed. He could not interfere in someone else’s path of cultivation; he couldn’t even interfere in his own daughter’s Daomerge, save to provide her with as many resources as he could. The only thing he could do was to try and guide Skywind in following, strengthening, and perfecting his own Dao-heart. As for what Skywind would do afterwards? That would be up to him.

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Chapter 7 – Old Friends (part 2)

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 7 – Old Friends (part 2)

Ji Ning next led Su Youji and the others to visit his fifth disciple, his sixth disciple, and his seventh disciple.

Swoosh. The realmship continued to fly through the skies. “Dawnjade,” Ning said, “You are significantly more talented than all eight of my disciples.” By now, Ning had encountered many geniuses in his life. Mother Nuwa, for example, was so incredibly talented that she had reached Hegemony within an extremely short period of time. As Ning saw it, Dawnjade was extremely close to himself and Mother Nuwa in talent.

“However… you have an obvious weakness,” Ning said. “Due to the fact that you’ve always lived within the Ji clan, you’ve experienced almost no setbacks in your life. During your early years in particular, you were always given the best treatment by the clan. As a result, your Dao-heart is lacking and needs tempering.”

“I understand,” Dawnjade said obediently.

‘Favored son’: this phrase described Dawnjade perfectly. Ning had been forced to scour the world for techniques, fighting and clawing for every scrap of karmic luck he could find before stumbling upon the path of the Omega Dao. Dawnjade was different. The Ji clan had poured its resources into rearing him, and had also arranged for him to undergo many different ‘tempering exercises’, but in the end all of those exercises were artificial. Dawnjade had a decent Dao-heart, but it wasn’t even close to the perfect Dao-heart one needed to succeed in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao.

“If you wish to succeed in the Daomerge for the Omega Dao, you must have a perfect Dao-heart,” Ning said. “In the Flamedragon Realmverse, there was an Emperor known as Emperor Heartsword. If you can fully master his [Heartsword] art, you’ll have a perfect Dao-heart. There are multiple legacies within the annals of the Ji clan pertaining to perfecting one’s Dao-heart.”

“I understand.” Dawnjade nodded.

“Just ‘understanding’ is meaningless. You have to act,” Ning instructed. “From this day forth, you shall begin training in the [Daoheart Illusion Sword].”

“The [Daoheart Illusion Sword]?” Dawnjade was puzzled. “Patriarch, I’ve never even heard of this technique.”

“This is a Dao-heart technique which I just finished creating. I’d be shocked if you had heard of it,” Ning said with a chuckle. “It should be a technique which suits you very well… but in the end, you have to temper your Dao-heart yourself. Techniques can only serve as a guide.” Ning waved his hand, producing a jade slip which he handed over to Dawnjade, who respectfully accepted it.

Emperor Heartsword, God Emperor Helong, ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding… all of them had perfect Dao-hearts, and all of them were incredible figures. However, it would be extremely difficult for anyone else to gain perfect Dao-hearts by training in the techniques they left behind! This was because every cultivator had to find his own spiritual path to perfecting his Dao-heart.

If Ning had tried to perfectly emulate the [Heartsword] art, he wouldn’t have been able to perfect his Dao-heart either. In the end, he had only been able to take that final step during the Daomerge, using three years of time in that hyper-stimulated environment to succeed. Alas… all that wasted time had resulted in Ning failing the Daomerge!

“Although my technique will help you temper your Dao-heart,” Ning said seriously, “You must remember… your Dao-heart is your own. Not someone else’s! Thus in seeking the Dao, you must seek your own true self. If you want a perfect Dao-heart, you’ll need to do it your own way.”

“Understood.” Dawnjade firmly engraved these words into his heart.

Ning said nothing further. He had scried Dawnjade’s future, and he knew that Dawnjade had to suffer many setbacks if the child wished to have a chance at perfecting his Dao-heart. If everything in his life was completely smooth and troublefree, he might become a Daolord of the Fourth Step but he would never be able to perfect his Dao-heart, much less succeed in the Daomerge.

……

Within a secret realm hidden within a region of empty space. The insides of this secret realm had been half-demolished; clearly, a great battle had been fought here.

“Brother Greatjoy.” Ning stared at the palace ruins before him, his gaze piercing through spacetime and showing him what had occurred here in the past.

During the time Ning spent in seclusion, Daolord Greatjoy had perished in battle here! Greatjoy had been an incredible figure, but in the end his dying enemy had destroyed the entire realm around them in a final suicide attack. The two had died together.

……

Skyfire Brightshore had a very relaxed life. Ning ate and drank and made merry with him for two days, then parted paths.

……

Rumble… tens of thousands of chaos planets were being moved about like chess pieces. They slowly orbited a vast region of empty space, controlled by a great formation.

At the center of that region was a temple, and before that temple sat a skinny, bald, red-robed youth. An invisible surge of power swirled around him, encompassing the tens of thousands of chaos planets around him.

“Mortal-rank, class one mission – complete!”

“This was your first time embarking upon the path of cultivation. You survived, while all of your experienced teammates died. You are worth spending a bit of extra effort on. Do not disappoint me, Qin An.”

“Evaluation – 6.0!”

“Reward: 3000 Mortal-ranked gemstones.”

A spectacled youth stared, puzzled, at the illusory globe of light before him. This globe of light was filled with an enormous amount of information regarding cultivation, pill-making, and even how to transform the body. One was even able to trade for mighty Fiendgod bodies that could be used to uproot the mountains themselves! But of course, the price would be high.

“I can even trade for a golem-body that would allow me to easily destroy a vast world with a wave of my hand? If all this is real… this is absolutely terrifying.” The spectacled youth’s eyes were shining as he continued to review the information. “I can bring the dead back to life and even travel to other worlds. Anything and everything is possible! This type of world is much more interesting than my old one. I love this world!”

Qin An was a nerd who lived in a world of ordinary mortals. He was extremely clever, but his brilliance was only put to good use after he was brought to the ‘Cataclysm Trials’.

He took on one mission after another, forming squads with others to challenge them. He sparred against many powerful martial artists, going so far as to actually embark upon the path of true Immortal cultivation. He was even sent into a world of Fiendgods, where he battled against mighty gods and fiends alike. He was tempered and tested over and over again. In the process, many teammates perished, but they were quickly replaced. The survivors only grew stronger and stronger.

……

“Solewind, I have to say, this ‘Cataclysm Trials’ game you came up with is rather interesting.” Ning appeared in the emptiness of space outside the temple.

The skinny, bald, red-robed youth opened his eyes. A delighted look was on his face. “Darknorth, you came! What do you think? My Cataclysm Trials are pretty nice, eh? I used tens of thousands of chaos planets as the foundation for the formation, my many estate-treasures as support beams, and my Dao of Illusions to join them all together into the Cataclysm Trials. I then chose countless mortals to take part in my trials, allowing them to claw their way forwards upon the path of cultivation within it.”

“It’s not bad at all,” Ning praised.

“My heartforce is strengthened and improved by the process,” Solewind said with a smile. “I’m planning to maintain the Cataclysm Trials for ten thousand chaos cycles. Hopefully, by then I’ll be confident enough to attempt the Daomerge. If not, I’ll find another way to train.”

Ning nodded. It was extremely difficult for Heartforce Cultivators to succeed in the Daomerge. They had to try all sorts of strange, unique methods to train and improve themselves.

“Have you come to bid an old friend a final farewell?” Solewind suddenly asked. As powerful Heartforce Cultivators with strong hearts, there was no need for the two of them to mince words.

Ning nodded and smiled. “I’m going into terminal seclusion after this meeting.”

“I’ve made many friends on my path of cultivation, but I admire you above all others,” Solewind said. “You are going to succeed. You have to.” Solewind knew that if Ning was going into terminal seclusion, that meant Ning was most likely trying a last-ditch effort to save himself. If Ning was truly out of options and saw no hope at all, why would he go into seclusion?

“Stop trying to make me feel better,” Ning said with a chuckle. “I don’t need it. By the way, I actually spent a thousand years watching events occur within your Cataclysm Trials.”

“That long?” Solewind was surprised. “I use reality as the foundation, then use illusions to make up for reality’s shortcomings. Now, why would the venerable Daolord Darknorth take an interest in such a simple technique?”

Ning explained, “I was actually watching a young fellow who was training within it. That’s why I watched for a thousand years. Are you willing to let him follow me instead?”

“I might have put countless cultivators into my Cataclysm Trials, but only a few thousand have been able to survive for more than a thousand years. They are priceless treasures to me,” Solewind said in an intentionally sorrowful manner. “Buuuuut… since you’ve made the request, Daolord Darknorth, I suppose I must give you face. Which one have you taken a fancy to?”

“The one called Qin An,” Ning said.

Qin An had come from a world which was extremely similar to the world Ning had lived in during his previous life, ‘Earth’. There were quite a few under-developed worlds like ‘Earth’ in the Chaosverse, and Daolord Solewind had teleported many people from such worlds to the Cataclysm Trials.

“Qin An! That boy was born to be a cultivator.” Solewind sighed dramatically. “You know, he doesn’t view the ‘trials’ of the Cataclysm Trials as dangers to be avoided. He eagerly dives into mission after mission! I actually prepared a few difficult trials just for him, but he managed to flip the script each time.”

“I’ve taken a liking to the kid as well,” Ning said. “I’m planning to take him on as a disciple.”

“Then he is one lucky kid.” Solewind immediately waved his hand.

Whoosh! A youth suddenly appeared in the emptiness of space by Solewind’s side. The kid was dressed in black robes and had a stately gaze. He looked completely harmless… but when he scanned the area around him and saw Daolord Solewind and Ji Ning, his eyes narrowed. He could sense that his very soul itself was quaking in fear. The auras emanating from the two individuals before him were absolutely terrifying.

Even though just hints of their auras were leaking out, the two were clearly unfathomably more powerful than even the most powerful creature he had ever encountered, an Elder God-class Fiendgod.

“I am the creator of the Cataclysm Trials. You can address me as ‘Solewind’.” Daolord Solewind's very first words caused the young Qin An to feel completely stunned. The creator of the Cataclysm Trials?!

Solewind smiled. “Next to me is my good friend, Darknorth. Qin An, today is your lucky day. My friend is far more powerful than I am, but he’s actually taken a fancy to you.”

“Qin An, are you willing to become my disciple and take me on as your master?” Ning asked.

He had always followed his own heart in choosing new disciples. His ‘fourth disciple’, for example… Ning had simply tossed a talisman into a hidden location. Whoever was lucky enough to acquire it would become his fourth personal disciple! Thus far, this person had yet to arise. His seventh disciple ‘Almonder’ and his eighth disciple ‘Stonepool’ had all been extremely weak when Ning had first noticed them, while his second disciple ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding had been just an ordinary mortal.

Ning cared more about the Dao-hearts of his potential disciples. And of course, he also chose people whose personalities he liked! He had seen countless beings struggling within the Cataclysm Trials, but the only one he had liked was Qin An! He admired how Qin An was still brimming with confidence and excitement despite having seen so much death and lost so many friends in the Cataclysm Trials. This truly was quite rare!

“I’m willing! Willing!” Qin An had experienced much in recent years, and he was no fool. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed: “Master, your disciple Qin An greets you!”

“Good. From this day forth, you shall be the ninth disciple of myself, Darknorth. You are the last personal disciple I shall ever take,” Ning said.

Solewind glanced at Qin An. How the hell was this kid so lucky? He actually became the final disciple Daolord Darknorth chose before going into terminal seclusion! It must be remembered that even major powers like Lord Houwu of the Blazesun Domain would love for the chance to become Ning’s servant and receive a few occasional pointers from him.

Ning looked at his new disciple, Qin An, then nodded. He now had a ninth disciple, and he had visited everyone he needed to visit. It was time to return to the Three Realms and prepare to enter terminal seclusion.

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Chapter 8 – Terminal Seclusion

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 8 – Terminal Seclusion

Before Ji Ning brought his ninth disciple, Qin An, back to the Three Realms, he first paid a brief visit to the Badlands Territory.

“Halt,” Ning instructed. The realmship came to a halt in midair. Ning turned to glance at Qin An, then reached out to tap Qin An on the middle of his forehead. An enormous amount of information began to pour into Qin An’s mind, followed by three surges of sword-intent being hidden deep within his soul. All three surges of sword-intent were of varying levels of power.

At Qin An’s current level of power, if he had to learn this enormous amount of information from jade slips it would probably take over ten thousand years. Using this method, Ning had accomplished it in the blink of an eye. Most of the information, however, would remain sealed. Qin An was currently too weak; his soul and truesoul simply couldn’t absorb that much information at once.

“Master.” Qin An regained consciousness.

“Of my nine disciples, you are the most talented at dealing with danger,” Ning said. “I’ve left you three surges of sword-intent to protect you and many techniques for you to learn. The rest shall be up to you. This place is known as the Badlands Territories, and it is very vast, far vaster than the ‘Cataclysm Trials’ you were in. You’ll have to rely on yourself in adventuring through this place. Once you reach the World level or become a Daolord, you’ll probably be able to locate your fellow disciples.”

“World level?” This was an incredibly distant concept to Qin An. He hadn’t even become a Celestial Immortal yet!

“Alright, you can leave now. Your path will be your own.” Ning waved his hand. Whoosh! Qin An was teleported through spacetime into an ordinary chaosworld within the Badlands Territory.

“Master… you remain as, uh, succinct as ever in teaching your disciples,” Su Youji said with a snicker.

“The more setbacks they encounter, the farther they’ll make it on their respective paths,” Azurefiend said.

……

When Ning returned to the Three Realms, he began to meet with some of his old friends for what was perhaps the final time.

Northmont Baiwei, Mu Northson, his master Immortal Diancai…

It must be remembered that even Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals were able to live for the incredibly long time of 108,000 chaos cycles. When Ning had been very young, he had acquired a prisonworld filled with Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals who had been alive for multiple chaos cycles.

However, Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals generally had very weak Dao-hearts. Very few would be able to live to their maximum lifespans, as most would end up developing mental issues that would result in their energies running wild, resulting in death. Most had to rely on using spirit-pills to nourish their bodies; only then would they be able to live long enough to hit the 108,000 cycle limit. Northmont Baiwei, for example, was merely a Pure Yang True Immortal, but he was still alive.

Another person Ning went to visit was Ninelotus.

Ninelotus was the first woman Ning had ever romantically loved. Ning’s status was so incredibly high that after they broke up, no one else ever dared to pursue Ninelotus! Ninelotus herself set up her own school long ago, and she only accepted female cultivators who swore to be forever single.

Ninelotus had vanished for many years after establishing her sect, but then she had suddenly skyrocketed in power. She had first reached the World level of power, then became a Samsara Daolord during the period of time that Ning was secluded in meditation. This caused many people in the Three Realms to feel quite speechless… and many secretly whispered that Fairy Ninelotus had to have reached this level thanks to Daolord Darknorth’s help. Otherwise, how could she have been ordinary for so long, then suddenly risen to power?

Ning himself, however, knew that he hadn’t helped Ninelotus at all!

Below a giant tree within a courtyard. Ning and Ninelotus were seated facing each other, with Ninelotus pouring Ning some tea.

“I grew this tea tree myself and personally harvested the leaves,” Ninelotus said. “Have a taste.”

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus.” Ning smiled. “You truly amaze me.”

Ning had seen many things. By now, he knew that there were indeed some cultivators who rose to prominence late in life! Common sense dictated that they shouldn’t be able to make any further breakthroughs, given how long they had been alive for, but they somehow did. They just slowly advanced at their own pace.

“For a long time, you cast a deep shadow over my heart.” Ninelotus looked at Ning. She could sense his truesoul crumbling away, and she felt sorrow for him. He had been an extremely important man in her life, after all. “I eventually set up my own female-only school and strictly forbade my disciples from falling in love… but that’s not something a mere rule can prevent. In the end, quite a few of my disciples ended up becoming Dao-companions with men from the outside world. After teaching many of them and seeing many things, the shadow over my heart began to gradually dissipate. I began to get over the past.”

“I simply taught my disciples and tended to my garden, planting trees and weeding weeds. Every so often, I’d read a few treatises on the Dao.” Ninelotus smiled. “Honestly, it was quite strange. For some reason, cultivation became easier and easier for me, and I began to improve faster and faster.”

Ning could sense that Ninelotus’ Dao-heart had reached incredible heights after she had managed to dispel the shadow that had bedeviled her heart for so many years. In the end, the Dao-heart was what mattered the most to cultivators!

Long ago, Ning had established a Dao-repository filled with countless techniques which all talented cultivators of the Three Realms were given access to. Many of those techniques had been written down by Hegemons and included a detailed explanation from start to finish. This had allowed the Three Realms to produce more and more major powers.

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, the brightest star of the Black-White College… I felt certain that you would continue to dazzle long after I died,” Ninelotus said. “I never thought that I’d still be alive while you…”

“That’s why I had to come visit you, old friend.” Ning smiled.

“Is there hope?” Ninelotus suddenly asked.

Although the love between them had vanished long ago, she still cared deeply about Ning. Many failed Daolords refused to give up hope. Daolord Allgod, for example, had tried all sorts of methods to extend his life! The law of the universe was that the heavens always gave a chance, no matter how slim… and it was true! There was, in fact, a way for those who failed the Daomerge to survive. Alas, to this very day not even the Autarchs had been able to truly grasp it.

“I’ll enter terminal seclusion soon to find out,” Ning said with a smile. “If you ever see me again, you’ll know that I succeeded.”

“Then I’ll wait for you to come back. I’ll make sure to have some more tea ready for you,” Ninelotus said hopefully.

……

Ning felt quite happy after leaving Ninelotus’ residence. He could tell from her breakthroughs that she had gotten over her previous issues. This was why he had been willing to visit her. If she was still entangled by the demons of the past, he wouldn’t have disturbed her.

He continued to wander the Three Realms, visiting all of his old friends. Finally, he hosted a family banquet in Brightheart Island. The only ones invited to the banquet included his parents, Brightmoon, Uncle White, Autumn Leaf, and other extremely close friends and family. Youji, Pillsaint, and Azurefiend were also permitted to attend as his retainers. Even the slumbering Flamewing God was awakened by Ning and called over to take part.

After the banquet ended, Ning was going to enter terminal seclusion.

“Flamewing,” Ning instructed, “Stay for a few hundred thousand more chaos cycles in the Flamedragon Realmverse. After that, you can go where you please.”

“You’ll definitely make it back, Master!” Flamewing truly couldn’t bear to part with Ning.

“Haha…” Ning chuckled, then turned to look at everyone else present.

“Ning. Son.” Yuchi Snow’s eyes were filled with worry.

“Young master.” Autumn Leaf looked at Ning as well.

Ji Yichuan and Uncle White looked at Ning. Both were able to remain fairly calm.

“Master.” Su Youji’s eyes were filled with anxiousness.

Ning looked at this gathering of the friends and family who meant the most to him, then smiled. “Relax, everyone. I’m going into terminal seclusion, not certain death. Besides, I’ve already lived a far longer life than ordinary mortals are granted. I’m an old fart by now! Alright. I’m off!”

As he turned to leave, he cast Su Youji a final glance and nodded towards her.

How could he not understand the feelings Su Youji bore him? Su Youji, in turn, knew how Ning felt and so she continued to ‘hide’ her feelings, never giving voice to them.

Ning had no answer for this, no solution. Mortals might be easily moved to love, but someone like Ning? At most, he could care about her as he would a beloved family member. As far as romantic love went… he truly felt nothing for her at all.

Whoosh. As Ning took a single step forwards, a dimensional tunnel appeared before him. He stepped into the dimensional tunnel, then vanished.

Everyone on Brightheart Island watched as Ning departed, their hearts filled with many emotions.

……

“Master. Nuwa. If I truly do fail in my terminal seclusion, the security of the Three Realms will be up to the two of you.” Ning’s voice suddenly rang out in the minds of Subhuti and Nuwa.

Subhuti had been meditating, while Nuwa had been teaching students. Both were startled by Ning’s sudden message.

Ning hadn’t met with them before going into secluded meditation. He only sent them this single, simple mental message.

“Disciple,” Subhuti murmured softly.

“There is still hope.” Nuwa turned to stare into the void beyond the Three Realms.

……

The Azureflower Estate was as same as it always was as the white-robed Ning stepped inside.

“Daolord Darknorth.” The white-haired elder had been waiting at the gates for quite some time now. He immediately bowed respectfully as Ning entered.

“Haha. You get to be the last one by my side as I enter terminal seclusion,” Ning teased.

“To accompany you in this is my honor,” the white-haired elder chuckled.

Ning turned to glance at the world behind him. He felt as though he could see the images of those who he cared about appearing outside.

“Close the gates,” Ning instructed.

With a rumble, the towering gates to the Azureflower Estate swung shut.

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Chapter 9 – The Only Path: Void Everlasting

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 9 – The Only Path: Void Everlasting

Far, far away, in the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. There was a floating island here which had an ancient temple on it. Inside were Autarch Mogg and the avatars of the other Autarchs.

“Autarchs, I wanted to let you know that I, Darknorth, am preparing to enter terminal seclusion. Let our various conversations and sharing of insights be paused for now! But of course, if you gain any extremely important insights, you can still go ahead and share them with me,” Ji Ning sent via the Autarch talisman to the other six Autarchs.

“Terminal seclusion?” Titanos, Ekong, Bolin, Skyfeeder, Stonerule, and Mogg all stiffened. They all felt a mixture of complex emotions in their heart, as well as a sense of sorrow. They knew just how difficult creating a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique would be. The six of them had spent a great deal of time in recent years on this technique, but they actually made much less progress than Ning. There were no important insights they could share with him.

“If we have any important insights, we’ll definitely notify you.” Autarch Bolin was the first to reply.

“Darknorth, you are the first and only master of an Eternal Omega Dao our Chaosverse has produced. I know you can succeed, no matter how hard the task,” Autarch Titanos said.

“There’s always a chance, no matter how slim. I know that you will seize it,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

They all replied supportively, but although their words were filled with encouragement and they spoke of their faith in Ning, deep in their hearts they knew how slim Ning’s chances were. That was why they had to speak so supportively! Over the course of the past 15,000 chaos cycles, they had often exchanged insights with Ning regarding the [Deathless Chapter]. At first, they had been able to provide Ning with some new ideas, but later on their rate of advancement became far slower than Ning’s.

“Yes. I’ll definitely find and seize that chance. I’m going into seclusion now.” Ning sent one final reply, then fell silent.

The six Autarchs exchanged glances, then sighed.

“Ugh.”

“Just like that, one of our good friends has…”

“Perhaps a miracle will happen.” All of them felt saddened, and the atmosphere quickly turned heavy. Darknorth had been a dazzling figure, the first master of an Eternal Omega Dao their Chaosverse had produced. He had established a new path for future generations to follow, and now… all by himself… he was preparing to go out in a blaze of glory, fighting a battle which no one had ever won in a bid for survival. He had so many unfinished hopes and dreams… but alas, nothing in life would ever be exactly as one wished it to be.

The six Autarchs could do nothing but wait silently.

……

Within a silent hallway. The white-robed Ning first drew all six of his Northbow swords from their sheaths, then placed them atop a nearby table. The elderly white-haired spirit of the estate watched silently from one side.

Ning then walked to the Autarch’s stone dais, sat down in the lotus position, then slowly closed his eyes.

He had already settled as many affairs as he could. There was no point in worrying about the rest. He was now able to truly empty his mind of all extranteous thoughts and focus everything on creating the complete [Truesoul Everlasting] technique!

Creation of this technique was his one and only chance to survive. Of course, successfully becoming an Autarch via the Omega Dao was also possible, but by all rights that would require an enormous amount of work and time. He simply didn’t have that much time left to him!

Rely on an epiphany? Epiphanies could only be hoped for, not counted on. Hoping for an epiphany that would propel him into Omega Autarchy was nothing more than a foolish pipe dream. He at least had a slim chance at surviving with a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, but his chances of surviving due to becoming an Omega Autarch were next to nil. If he had a million chaos cycles or more, he might be able to accomplish it with some luck and an epiphany, but as of right now? Forget it!

Besides… when entering terminal seclusion, one had to put everything at stake. The worst thing he could do was to allow himself to be distracted by other possibilities!

Ning knew that becoming an Omega Autarch in such a short period of time was far less likely than successfully developing the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique. Thus, he didn’t hesitate at all in choosing the latter option! He had made this choice 15,000 chaos cycles ago, and he didn’t hesitate at all as he entered terminal seclusion.

This path was illuminated by the [Deathless Chapter] of the [Five Truncheon Chapters], which in turn represented Hawkfang’s distillation of the Sithe Chaoslord’s insights as represented by the nine techniques he had created. Ning had joined them together with all of the insights pertaining to this Chaosverse which he had gained over countless years, as well as the insights of Autarch Awakener. Without question, it was the path most likely to succeed!

“A ‘Truesoul Everlasting’… there are two paths to success which I can take. The first is that of the ‘Void Everlasting’, while the second is that of the ‘Chaos Everlasting’.”

Ning began to ponder this most important of questions. “What should I choose? Once I make the decision, I’ll have to follow it to the bitter end.”

During previous aeons, he had pursued multiple paths at the same time. Autarch Awakener had believed that the two most likely paths were those of ‘Void Everlasting’ and ‘Infinity Everlasting’. The latter followed the most fundamental principles of Daoist cultivation, and was based on the principle of how ‘one begat two, two begat three, and three begat all things.’ The principle was basic, but actualizing it was difficult. Ning had finally abandoned this approach by chaos cycle 12,000. As for the other paths, he had abandoned them at other intervals as well.

Now, only two paths remained which Ning felt would have the highest chances of success.

“The Void Everlasting… it involves using my will as the core. I would need to be able to maintain my will and consciousness in the emptiness of space itself. Even after my truesoul shatters apart, I would still be able to remain conscious and could then use the empty void of space itself to serve as the medium for remaking my truesoul anew.”

“The Chaos Everlasting… it involves trusting my will to the prime essences of the Chaosverse themselves. I would borrow from the power of the Quintessence, asking it to halt its instinctual desire to swallow my truesoul. If I can do that, my truesoul will naturally stop crumbling.”

Ning continued to ponder this decision. The ‘Void Everlasting’ required him to rely on himself, while the ‘Chaos Everlasting’ involved him swaying the prime essences and convincing them to ease drawing upon his truesoul.

Why did the truesoul continuously shatter and break apart? Because the prime essences would begin pulling at it after the first cracks appeared during the Daomerge.

“The Void Everlasting technique works in theory, but I haven’t sensed it actually function in practice,” Ning mused. “As for Chaos Everlasting, I can sense its effects. I’ve tried numerous times to link my will to the prime essences and have been able to use this technique to slow down the rate at which it absorbs my truesoul… but as soon as I halt the technique, the prime essences will continue to swallow my truesoul at the normal rate once more.”

The first technique seemed ineffective, while the second one did have some effects. Which one should he choose?

Ning gritted his teeth. “To completely prevent the prime essences from devouring my truesoul fragments would be to go against the natural order of the Chaosverse! The only reason why my technique seems to be effective is because right now, this Chaosverse has no Lord governing it.” Ning shook his head. “However, my chances of completely halting this process remain very low.”

He understood this point from the very beginning. To go against the natural order of the Chaosverse was not a wise option. The only reason he had yet to abandon it was because it did seem to at least have some effect.

“I can’t leave things to luck, nor can I try and have ‘backup’ options. Void Everlasting it is!” Ning made his final decision, deciding to focus all of his efforts on embarking upon the path of the Void Everlasting.

……

The [Void Everlasting] technique was a completely self-reliant technique. It required him to be able to maintain a ‘void will’. Only then would he have successfully acquired a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’!

What did the phrase ‘void will’ mean? The word ‘will’ referred to his mind, to his consciousness! For ordinary mortals, possessing a soul meant possessing consciousness. Powerful cultivators understood that only possessing a complete truesoul represented having consciousness and the capability for true thought.

As for the most supreme of major powers? Even if their truesouls were fragmented and shattered, they would still be able to maintain consciousness! A major power’s mind and consciousness would only come to a halt when the final fragments of his truesoul completely collapsed. When Ning’s original body had perished, he had experienced this process of his truesoul breaking apart and his consciousness dimming away. The reason that consciousness vanished was because its most fundamental vessel, the ‘truesoul’, had completely broken apart.

To have a ‘void will’ meant that even after your truesoul completely broke apart, you would still be able to maintain consciousness, housing it within the emptiness of the void itself! Imagine what a powerful will one would need in order to be able to accomplish such a thing!

If his will was sufficiently powerful, he would be able to play tug-of-war with his truesoul fragments, forcibly latching onto them even after his truesoul had broken apart and preventing them from dissipating. He would draw them together into a new whole! In order to accomplish this, the power of his will would have to surpass the absorptive power of the Chaosverse itself. Only then would one have a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’!

Chaos Everlasting required one to be able to convince the Chaosverse to temporarily halt the absorption process, while Void Everlasting required one to use one’s will to overpower the energy-sucking strength of the Chaosverse.

“Willpower strong enough to exist independently of body and soul… to accomplish this, I will need to truly perfect the [Void Everlasting] technique,” Ning mused to himself.

……

Ning was going all-in on this final gamble, and he completely threw himself into researching this technique.

Time continued to flow on. He continuously tested out new theories, but each time he failed. There was no effect at all on the dissolution of his truesoul, but he didn’t let himself grow dispirited. Instead, he drew from these experiences and continued to perfect this technique, pushing in one new model after another.

He failed a billion times. Ten billion times. A trillion times. If he was a mortal, he would’ve abandoned himself to despair long ago.

Ning, however, remained as calm as a still pond of water. Everything was as he had expected.

A thousand chaos cycles went by in the blink of an eye, and he was getting close to the very end. A million years. A hundred thousand years. Ten thousand years. A hundred years. One year. One month…

He now had very, very little time remaining.

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Chapter 10 – The Final Gamble

One month. Ten days. One day. One hour…

Ji Ning learned from each of his failures, drawing upon those experiences as he worked hard to further perfect the technique. Slowly, the ‘Void Everlasting’ technique began to take some effect, dramatically strengthening the power of his consciousness. However, he still wasn’t even close to being strong enough for his truesoul to resist the siren song of the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

“Northbow.”

Ning was seated next to a table, pouring himself a cup of wine. He had chosen to spend his last hour of life drinking wine and relaxing, releasing all of the tension that had built up over a thousand chaos cycles in one fell swoop.

“Master.” Sad-faced children had appeared on the surfaces of all six Northbow swords. They looked despondently at Ning.

“Number one, number two, number three, number four, number five… and number six.” Ning called them all by ‘name’, then smiled: “After I finish this cup of wine, I’ll go try one last time. If I fail, it’ll all have been for naught. The six of you are, without question, the deadliest swords in all the Chaosverse, the only swords powered by the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. Once I’m gone, you will be ownerless. Go and find owners which suit you.”

“Master.”

“We won’t choose anyone else! We only want you, Master.”

“You’ll definitely survive, Master.” All six of the sword-spirits were unwilling to part with Ning.

“You can also choose to take human form and just rove the Chaosverse,” Ning said. Given how powerful the Northbow swords were, they could easily choose to take human form, while their natural power was enough to heavily injure even Hegemons. If they wanted to flee from someone, not even an Otherverse Lord would be able to catch them. Bind them by force? That would be even harder!

“No.”

“You’ll definitely succeed, Master. We want to stay by your side forever.” All six of them were crying.

Ning looked at the six little children, a smile playing on his face. “When I see the six of you, I feel satisfied with what I accomplished in my life.”

Ning lifted up the tankard of wine, drinking it all down in one gulp before rising to his feet.

“Let me congratulate you in advance, Daolord, for you shall surely complete the technique and gain a Truesoul Everlasting.” The white-haired spirit of the estate had been watching silently this entire time. Upon seeing Ning rise, he came forward and bowed respectfully.

“Complete the technique and gain a Truesoul Everlasting!” all six sword-spirits chorused.

“Haha. Yes, a Truesoul Everlasting! I shall indeed.” Ning walked over to the Autarch’s stone dais, then sat down in the lotus position. His truesoul was on its last legs now, and he didn’t have any time to waste. The remaining fragments of his truesoul were so weak that they could very well completely collapse as soon as Ning attempted to use this truesoul technique!

“The final gamble! If I fail, I die. If I succeed… a new world will begin.” Ning closed his eyes and began to ruminate on ways he could further perfect the [Void Everlasting].

Just ten seconds later…

Rumble… Ning’s shuddering truesoul began to come together in a final attempt. Ning’s powerful consciousness reached out, seizing to forcibly pull the dissipating truesoul fragments back into shape… but the call of the prime essences was simply too hard to resist. Alas… this final attempt caused the final shards of his truesoul, which had been just barely able to hold onto a basic framework, to finally and completely break apart!

“I failed?”

“So in the end, I still failed…” Ning opened his eyes, and a peaceful look was in them. His eyes, his skin, his body… every inch of him began to crumble apart and vanish away like sand blown away by the wind.

All the remaining fragments of his truesoul finally and truly broke apart in a complete and utter collapse. Tountless spots of light which began to fly out of Ning could be seen with the naked eye… and then, Ning’s entire body transformed into an enormous, human-shaped mass of light.

“Daolord.” When the white-haired estate-spirit saw this, a look of grief appeared in his eyes. A truly peerless Daolord, the very first Daolord to master an Eternal Omega Dao, had just passed away.

“Master.” The six sword-spirits stared frantically at the humanoid mass of light.

It was like a dazzlingly beautiful flame… but hidden behind its beauty was the sorrow of a peerless Daolord’s passing.

Whoosh! Ning’s light-body split apart into countless specks of light that quickly began to shoot out in every direction.

“No…” the sword-spirits sobbed.

……

Within that ancient temple located in the outer perimeters of the distant Sithelands. Autarch Mogg and the avatars of the other Autarchs remained gathered here as always. Suddenly, all of them fell silent and began to exchange glances with each other.

“Darknorth.” The six of them could sense through their message-talismans that the one belonging to Daolord Darknorth had just lost its master.

……

The Three Realms. Nuwa was responsible for administering many matters here, while Subhuti spent most of his time training by himself within his Daoist monastery inside Mount Innerheart.

Brush. Brush. Brush. Subhuti was sweeping the floor of his monastery. He was the only person in this entire monastery. Not even the two novices stationed outside would enter without a very good reason.

Subhuti had already trained to an extremely profound level, and he put particular emphasis on training his Dao-heart. In this, he was second only to Ning and Nuwa.

After he finished sweeping the floor, he entered another room and began to wipe down the pillars and the tables. As he did so, he raised his head to glance at a lamp located atop the highest table. The light of the lamp blazed away like a tiny little bead of flame.

This was a heartlamp, Ning’s heartlamp! In all the Three Realms, only he and Nuwa had a way to know whether Ning was alive or not. Ning’s parents, Brightmoon… their Dao-hearts were too weak. Ning was worried that if they found out that he died, they wouldn’t be able to keep it completely secret.

“Mm.” When Subhuti saw that the heartlamp was still lit, he couldn’t help but smile. He usually cultivated in this very room. That way, he could glance at the heartlamp whenever he wished. Whenever he saw that the heartlamp was still lit, he would feel a sense of relief in his heart.

After wiping down the tables, he turned to sit down upon a nearby prayer mat and began to meditate. But just a short while after he began his meditations…

“Eh?” Subhuti suddenly shuddered. He quickly opened his eyes and turned to look at the highest table, as though he could sense something was amiss. The light coming from that heartlamp was quickly dwindling away… and the sight of it disappearing was like a bolt of thunder that came crashing into Subhuti’s mind, completely stunning him.

“Subhuti!” Nuwa’s slightly frantic voice echoed within his mind: “Ji Ning, he…!”

“My student…” Subhuti’s old eyes began to redden as a hint of tears appeared.

He had accepted many disciples in his time, and some had caused him quite a bit of trouble. Ning had been a fairly unremarkable disciple, one who Subhuti hadn’t spent too much effort on. Ning’s later accomplishments, however, had truly impressed Subhuti. Subhuti had come to view this disciple as he would his own son. He knew that this disciple of his had worked many miracles in the past, and he had felt so certain that another miracle was in the making…

“Ji Ning,” Subhuti murmured softly. The old man shut his eyes as tears began to fall down his face.

But… right at that moment. ‘Pop’. The heartlamp had clearly been extinguished… but suddenly, flickers of flame began to appear within it as it lit up once again.

Subhuti was a Daolord of the Fourth Step. He was able naturally able to sense what had just happened, and he immediately opened his eyes, not quite daring to hope that his senses were telling him the truth. That heartlamp… it remained lit, as it had been over the course of countless aeons. It was as though it had never dimmed at all.

“B-b-b-b-but…” Subhuti was completely stupefied. He had never imagined that a heartlamp could be extinguished, then reignited!

Once the truesoul was destroyed, the heartlamp would no longer be able to sense it, at which point it would become extinguished. Now, however, it had been reignited. This meant that the truesoul was back to normal again, but… how was this possible?

“Subhuti, did your heartlamp suddenly light up again?” Nuwa sent mentally. She was in a state of joy mixed with disbelief as well.

“It is lit! Lit!” Subhuti sent frantically.

……

Within the second hall within the Azureflower Estate.

Rumble… countless specks of light began to gather together, coming to form a humanoid shape.

In the instant of his truesoul’s destruction, Ning finally felt what true death was like. All of his truesoul fragments had completely dispersed, losing all cohesion.

He felt nothing but emptiness… as though he was drifting within a world with no time, no space, and no color.

The various ‘Void Everlasting’ techniques he had theorized in the past were not able to allow Ning’s truesoul to resist the call of the prime essences, but they had still strengthened Ning’s consciousness dramatically. Even as his truesoul broke apart, he didn’t immediately lose all consciousness the way an ordinary Daolord might. Instead, his consciousness entered an extremely faint and sluggish state. He couldn’t sense either space or time… all he could sense was completely and utter nothingness, the emptiness of the void.

“This is what the void truly is…” Suddenly, Ning’s sluggish consciousness was awakened to the truth. In this instant, he truly understood what ‘emptiness’ meant, what the ‘void’ truly meant. Only now was he able to understand how to entrust his consciousness to the void, and his [Void Everlasting] technique immediately transformed on its own accord. At the same time, Ning’s feeble consciousness immediately began to pull at his countless dispersing truesoul fragments. As he continued to follow the principles of the [Void Everlasting] technique, his consciousness suddenly began to grow much more powerful, skyrocketing to unprecedented heights.

“VOID… EVERLASTING!” A powerful will suddenly manifested, and it let out a psychic scream of such power that it could actually be heard audibly. It was a cry filled with power, a cry of indomitable resolve.

When this shout rang out within the room, it caused the sorrowful white-haired elder and the six sword-spirits to all stare in astonishment. They watched as the countless specks of light which had been flying every which way to suddenly freeze in midair as a powerful force suddenly pulled at them, connecting them together. The countless specks of light seemed to come alive as they came forward to form a complete whole.

They no longer had a truesoul holding them together in an established framework, but they somehow still remained bound to each other!

“MERGE!” Yet another shout echoed within the room.

Those frozen countless specks of light instantly began to gather together once more. They quickly reformed into a humanoid blob of light, and that blob of light quickly crystallized in appearance.

Once again, the white-robed Ning appeared within the room. He carefully inspected everything around him, then gently reached out to touch the table next of him. The cool, slick touch of the table made him smile.

The white-haired elder and the six sword-spirits were all unspeakably excited. His truesoul was now Everlasting… which meant that ‘Daolord Darknorth’ was about to become ‘Emperor Darknorth’!

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Chapter 11 – Emperor Darknorth

“What’s with those silly looks on your faces?” Ji Ning glanced at the six sword-spirits and the white-haired elder: “Come, let’s drink!”

Ning wasn’t in a rush to connect with the outside world just yet. He wanted to be by himself for a while.

“Alright,” the white-haired elder said excitedly.

“Woohoo!” The six sword-spirits were quite excited as well. Treasure-spirits at their level all possessed keen senses of sight, smell, and taste. It was quite common for powerful treasures to transform themselves into human form and live in the mortal world.

Wine was quickly poured for all. Ning’s smile only broadened as he lifted up his wine cup and gave it a sniff, letting the pleasing aroma of the wine seep into his soul. He glanced at the crystalline liquid within his cup, then murmured softly, “Being alive feels wonderful.”

He looked very calm, but inside he was unspeakably excited. He had succeeded! He had actually succeeded in overcoming the greatest tribulation he faced. Although he had behaved quite placidly before others, he knew just how tiny his chances of successfully creating the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique were. He had mentally prepared himself for death, which was why he had gone to visit so many of his old friends and even Ninelotus. He wanted to empty his mind of all distractions and leave nothing behind.

“Now that I’ve created the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, I can make repeated attempts at the Daomerge.” Ning smiled. “However… I personally don’t need to. I can easily succeed in the Daomerge and become an Emperor.”

“An Emperor with an Eternal Omega Dao… I can reach this level whenever I want to. Now, it’ll be much easier for me to deal with the Sithe.”

He had always been extremely strong thanks to his Eternal Omega Dao, but he had never dared to truly launch a wild barrage of attacks! Autarch Mogg and the other autarchs could launch tens of thousands of attacks in a split second, allowing them to overpower and crush everything in their path. The only place which made them a bit nervous was the heart of the Sithelands, but they were able to handle it by pouring a large amount of energy in casting a seal over that place.

Dangerous, eh? Then I’ll seal you inside and make it impossible for you to leave. Just rot there!

Autarchs were unimaginably powerful. The only problem was that there simply were not enough of them. If they had dozens of Autarchs, the Sithe would’ve been defeated long ago!

“Once I become an Omega Autarch, I’ll be able to bring her back to life.” Ning lifted up his wine cup, his gaze distant. He could still remember with absolute clarity the life they had enjoyed together. Having the chance to bring Yu Wei back to life was the greatest source of joy he felt.

He knew that actually becoming an Omega Autarch would be extremely difficult, but at least there wouldn’t be any fatal roadblocks in the way that could derail him. So long as he was given enough time and continued to slowly build up his experiences, with a bit of luck he would sooner or later suddenly gain an epiphany and break through.

“I’m willing to wait as long as it takes. As long as we’re able to meet again, it’ll all have been worth it.” Ning began to blissfully fantasize about their reunion. It had been a long time since he was this happy.

Suddenly… beep! “Eh?” Ning sensed something happen. He waved his hand, producing a dark-red jade talisman within it. This was the Autarch message-talisman. He was able to sense the location of the other six through it, and even sense their very auras.

“Darknorth, just now we sensed that your talisman suddenly lost its aura… but now, the aura is back. Have you created the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique?” Autarch Titanos asked. All six of them had thought that Ning was dead… but now, Ning’s talisman had suddenly regained its aura. This caused them to feel rather stunned.

It must be remembered that very few of these talismans had ever been made. Only the Autarchs were in possession of them! No one else but Ning would be able to bind the one he had been given, which meant that if the talisman had Ning’s aura about it, the only explanation was that Ning had to have created the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique.

But… they had to ask. Just to be sure.

“I succeeded,” Ning replied.

“Ahahaha! Darknorth, I knew you would succeed!” Autarch Ekong said excitedly.

“Darknorth, from this day forth, you must join the six of us in bearing responsibility for overseeing and safeguarding all cultivator civilizations as well as the very Chaosverse itself.” Autarch Bolin was fairly calm, but his words and his meaning were clear. Now that Ning was no longer in danger of losing his truesoul, there would no longer be any limits on his power. For all intents and purposes, he was now a true peer of the Autarchs.

“Congratulations, Darknorth! Our civilization has finally given birth to an Omega Dao Emperor. You know, I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time. In the past, the most powerful Emperors were always called ‘Hegemons’, but you became an Emperor through an Omega Dao. What should we title you?” Autarch Skyfeeder teased in a relaxed manner. She was in a wonderful mood as well.

Before Ning’s sudden rise to power, she had been planning to follow Autarch Awakener’s path and try to take control over the Quintessence of the Chaosverse, but she knew that her chances were slim and that she was almost guaranteed to perish in the attempt. Now? Now, there was no need for her to take that risk.

“I think we should call him Autarch Darknorth!” Autarch Ekong said immediately.

“But… he’s only an Emperor. If we call him Autarch Darknorth now, what are we supposed to call him once he actually becomes an Autarch?” Autarch Stonerule jested.

“Well, by then he’ll be the Lord of Chaos!” Autarch Ekong laughed loudly. “Hey, Darknorth? Get a move on it! You are the first creator of an Eternal Omega Dao this Chaosverse has ever seen, and you were also the first to create a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique. The rest of us would submit to you if you became the one to bind the Chaosverse, but what if it ends up being someone else? In the future, there will be many juniors who will make use of your experiences in treading the path of the Omega Dao. If one of them ends up becoming an Omega Autarch before you do and then takes control over our Chaosverse, we’ll be annoyed and you’ll be embarrassed! But of course, there’ll be nothing we could do by then.”

Ning was speechless for a moment, then snorted in laughter. The Autarchs were bombarding him with messages. He didn’t even know how he was supposed to respond!

“The title doesn’t really matter. We don’t need to worry about it too much.” Finally, Ning was able to compose a reply. “And… I think it is best if we kept this a secret for now. That way, we can deal the Sithe a nasty, unexpected blow at just the right moment.”

“Right.”

“I agree. Let’s keep this a secret for now.” Autarch Titanos and the others all agreed with this proposal.

“Then that means you have to keep staying in hiding for now, Darknorth. Ugh. You made such a huge breakthrough, but you still have to be so low-key about it. That’s no fun,” Autarch Ekong muttered.

“I wouldn’t say I have to be ‘in hiding’. Given my mastery over the art of illusions, the Sithe Exalts wouldn’t be able to recognize me even if I stood right in front of them,” Ning said. “Later on, I’ll pay a visit to the Quintessence. Let’s chat a bit then.”

“Alright.”

“Let’s meet at Skyfeeder’s place.”

“See you all at Skyfeeder’s.” The six Autarchs were all in a wonderful mood. Their civilization had just gained another protector who could battle by their side as an equal. This meant their entire Chaosverse had just risen considerably in power… and Ning might one day advance to become an Omega Autarch!

……

A short while later, Ning re-initiated the Daomerge process. This time, things were completely different. Ning didn’t need to make any preparations at all, he just sat there by his table, drinking his wine as he initiated the Daomerge.

His body was perfect, as were the Jindan chaos region and the Dao-tree inside. Once again, the Flower of Eternity began to bloom.

“The Flower of Eternity.” The aura of the Daomerge began to flood outwards, but the seals protecting the Azureflower Estate were able to mask it all and keep it contained.

The thick, towering Dao-tree was 540,000 meters tall. It gave birth to a dazzlingly beautiful flower bud which glistened with beads of dew formed by countless flashing illusions of sword-stances. This was a Flower of Eternity which was born from the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, a flower which was far more beautiful than the ones which ordinary Emperors and Hegemons could produce.

Rumble… the prime essences of the Chaosverse descended upon Ning, whispering in joy and delight. Ning could sense their happiness, which contrasted with the sorrow they ‘felt’ the last time they descended upon him.

“It seems I’ll have to make a visit to the Quintessence if I wish to make a breakthrough with my heartworld,” Ning mused. His Immortal energy could easily evolve from Daolord-level energy to Emperor-level energy, as the amount of energy needed could be provided by the Azureflower Estate, even though Ning’s Immortal energy was far purer than that of ordinary Hegemon’s. It was on the level of the Autarchs! His heartworld, however, would be another matter.

The next breakthrough he made in heartforce would result in his heartworld becoming incredibly realistic! In addition, it would expand once more to become the size of an entire realmverse.

A realmverse-sized heartworld that was semi-real… to form such a thing would require an absolutely enormous amount of energy. If Ning simply sat here in the Azureflower Estate and tried to draw in enough energy from the surrounding area, it would probably result in destruction on a vast scale that would damage even the Three Realms. In fact, the entire Flamedragon Realmverse would probably be shaken! If that happened, there would be no way he could hide his breakthrough.

His only choice was to go to the Quintessence, where energy was so plentiful as to be nearly limitless. Only then would Ning be able to form his heartworld with ease.

“So this is what it feels like to be an Emperor?” Ning’s godsense had evolved as well, gaining a whiff of eternity about it. His godsense was now as stable and far-reaching as an Autarch’s.

Whoosh. Ning’s godsense spread out silently and soundlessly, easily reaching out past the Azureflower Estate and almost instantly reaching out through space and time to cover the entire Flamedragon Realmverse!

He was now able to monitor an entire realmverse with but a thought. The Brightshore Kingdom, the Dao Alliance, Vastheaven Palace, the Three Realms… all of it was under Ning’s watchful gaze.

Ning was also able to see his friends, his family, and his disciples.

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Chapter 12 – Reunion

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 12 – Reunion

Ji Ning’s godsense was omnipresent and all-encompassing. Every single speck of dust within the Flamedragon Realmverse was plainly visible to Ning’s gaze. Nothing could escape it.

“Ah, the Sithe gave up?” Ning was able to quickly scan all of the Emperors and Daolords within the entire Flamedragon Realmverse. The only ones present were the ones he knew. Ning worried that the Sithe would use their techniques to disguise themselves as individuals he was familiar with, and so he double-checked through karma just to be safe.

“It seems Autarch Stonerule scared them off when he captured all of their spies.” Ning smiled.

This actually was in fact the case. With Autarch Stonerule personally keeping watch over the Flamedragon Realmverse, how could any spy escape? As many spies the Sithe sent, as many spies the Autarch captured. Daolords might be able to confuse him, but they were so weak that they wouldn’t really be able to find out anything important. Thus, the Sithe leader Iyerre had chosen to give up and instead prepare his other plans.

“Master. Nuwa.” Ning simultaneously reached out via godsense to both his master and Nuwa.

“Disciple.” Subhuti was overjoyed.

“Darknorth.” Nuwa finally let out a sigh of relief when she heard Ning’s voice.

“I’ve created the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique and succeeded in the Daomerge. I am now an Emperor,” Ning sent. “I’ll be coming back soon. Don’t worry about me.”

“Truesoul Everlasting? Emperor? Good, good, good!” Subhuti was unspeakably excited. His student was now an Omega Emperor!

“I can finally relax a bit now,” Nuwa said with a laugh. “I’ve been worried for years that the Sithe might come, and so I kept a vigilant watch without ever relaxing. Now that you’ve broken through, Darknorth, things will be much simpler. I don’t think the Sithe would be able to get anywhere near the Three Realms without you noticing.”

……

Ning could sense how excited his master and Nuwa were when he sent them word. Not just them – Ning himself remained ecstatic!

“Time to recreate an avatar.” Ning rose to his feet. Now that he was an Emperor, he naturally had to remake his avatars.

At his current level, it would be simple to create even Universe-class treasures. It must be remembered that of the many Universe treasures which lay scattered throughout the Chaosverse, only a tiny portion had been created by actual Hegemons, and mostly through luck at that. The vast majority were created by Autarchs. Autarchs were able to create entire otherverses, after all! All they had to do was infuse a weapon with just a hint of their Daos and a new Universe treasure would have been born.

Ning’s truesoul had been crumbling, and so he didn’t dare to expend his Immortal energy on creating new treasures for himself. Now, however, creating a Universe treasure was simplicity itself. He could create new weapons which were close to the Northbow swords in power, then fill them with the Eternal Omega Sword Dao as well. The Northbow swords, however, would still be stronger because they were Ning’s original Lifeblood weapons. He had nurtured them for many years, and they had grown alongside him. Without question, they shared a higher level of affinity with Ning.

Newly created weapons might have the Eternal Omega Sword Dao within them, but they wouldn’t have as high a level of affinity. Thus, they would only be ‘close’ to the Northbow swords in power… but of course, they would still surpass the vast majority of other Universe treasures. With them in hand, Ning’s avatar would have close to 80% of Ning’s power! This represented another Autarch-class combatant.

Whoosh! Boom!

Within Ning’s estate. Ning had set up a large formation to help him create his avatar, and he had poured a large number of resources into the forging. The wind howled through the formation as thunder came crashing down again and again upon a giant boulder. The left side of the boulder was covered by boiling red lava, while the right side was covered by a freezing blue liquid. One side hot, one side cold; Ning was using a combination of elements for the forging of his avatar.

At Ning’s current level, treasures were ubiquitous and meaningless. Weaker Emperors and even Hegemons would generally start with a weak but flawless avatar, then use time to slowly nurture it and empower it. Ning, however, elected to start off by using the finest ingredients. That way, the avatar would grow more quickly.

Three years went past in the blink of an eye. The boulder was now perfectly round and semi-translucent, and a humanoid figure could be seen seated inside of it.

“Come out,” the white-robed Ning barked from next to the boulder. Boom! The round boulder cracked open, followed by a youth who looked identical to Ning flying out of it. Moments later, a layer of golden robes formed across the youth’s body.

“Greetings, real Ning.” The golden-robed Ning bowed.

“Greetings, avatar Ning.” The white-robed Ning chortled as well.

The two shared the same mind and shared the consciousness. Ning was just playing around by speaking to himself.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The two simultaneously left the estate-world they were in, returning to the private room within the Azureflower Estate. When the white-haired spirit of the estate saw them appear, he immediately realized that one of them was an Avatar.

“Time to go visit Autarch Skyfeeder.” Ning pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the white-haired elder: “I’m planning to bring the Azureflower Estate along with me. Any objections?”

“Emperor, since you were able to create a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, I’m sure that you’ll be able to create the Tenth Chaos Seal with ease,” the white-haired elder said with a laugh. “My master built this estate because he wanted to produce a dazzlingly talented successor… but you, Emperor, are far more impressive than what my master ever would’ve dared to hope for! You can do whatever you want to this Azureflower Estate.”

Ning nodded.

“Emperor, the Hegemons and Emperors within the Azureflower Estate have been trapped here for countless aeons. They might’ve made some mistakes in the past, but I think it is time to release them,” the white-haired elder said.

Autarch Awakener had long ago promised that when this estate finally gave birth to the mighty successor he hoped for, the bound Hegemons and Emperors would be granted their release. They had been trapped by countless oaths and spells that compelled them into a golem-like existence, but the process was a reversible one that was completely different from what the Sithe used to ‘tame’ their enemies.

“Easily done.” Ning immediately exerted his will, binding and taking control over the entire Azureflower Estate. He then sent out the power of his Illusion Sword Dao into the minds of the imprisoned Hegemons and Emperors, wiping out any and all memories pertaining to ‘Ji Ning’!

After the Hegemons and Emperors regained consciousness, the only thing they heard was Ning’s voice echoing within their minds: “Immediately swear lifeblood oaths not to divulge any information at all regarding the Azureflower Estate, and you’ll be granted your freedom.”

The Hegemons and Emperors instantly grew excited. Freedom? Their endless days of imprisonment had finally come to an end? Without hesitating at all, the Hegemons and Emperors instantly swore the required lifeblood oaths.

“You can go now.” Ning dissolved all the other bindings on them, then casually ‘tossed’ them out of his Azureflower Estate through spacetime tunnels, scattering them throughout the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance!

“Get in here.” Ning then drew the entire Azureflower Estate into one of his holding treasures. The most valuable thing within the Azureflower Estate was the Autarch’s stone dais. Even at Ning’s level of power, it would take him an extremely long period of time and many precious materials to create a similar dais. He didn’t have the time to waste on something like that! However, the stone dais was the nexus of the entire Azureflower Estate; if he wanted to ensure its marvelous effects remained active, he would have to take the entire estate along with it.

……

Whoosh. After the estate disappeared, the local spacetime continuum went back to normal. The white-robed Ning put his black scabbard on his back, then used his Spacetime Sword Dao to tear a tunnel straight towards the Quintessence of the Chaosverse. He was now able to move far faster than he had in the past; even amongst Autarchs, he ranked close to the top in speed.

“Now, back to the Three Realms.” The golden-robed Ning returned to the Three Realms. This avatar-body was perfectly built; it had been ‘born’ with 50% of Ning’s power, and as time went on it would improve at a fairly fast rate.

The Quintessence. Within the massive sea of prime essences.

Within a wooden cottage which ‘floated’ within this sea. The seven most supremely powerful leaders of the cultivator civilizations were gathered in this cottage – the six Autarchs and Ji Ning. The other five Autarchs and Ning had all come in person, while Autarch Mogg had sent his avatar.

“Ahahaha! I’m in such a good mood right now. Our civilization has finally gained another Autarch-class figure!” Autarch Ekong roared with laughter. “I must say, Omega Daos really are awesome. Darknorth, Titanos told me that your mastery of spacetime is second only to Mogg’s and Skyfeeder’s? And that your prowess in illusions is second only to Stonerule’s?”

“I simply infused the Dao of Spacetime into my Dao of the Sword,” Ning said. “The only reason they are so strong is because my Eternal Omega Sword Dao is fueling them.”

As he infused more and more Daos into his Dao of the Sword, Ning was beginning to become extremely well-rounded. For example, Autarch Stonerule was the master of the ‘Illusion Daobirth Essence’; Ning’s Illusion Sword Dao was naturally inferior to it, but superior to the techniques of the other Autarchs.

Mogg and Skyfeeder had respectively mastered the ‘Space Daobirth Essence’ and the ‘Time Daobirth Essence’. Ning’s mastery of spacetime was second only to the two of them.

As for actual combat prowess? The Dao of the Sword was a Dao meant for combat. Even amongst Autarchs, it stood at close to the apex of power.

“We’re only skilled in one aspect each; it is very, very hard to gain a second Daobirth,” Autarch Bolin sighed. “I have spent countless years ruminating on the nature of life and death, but I’ve only made modest gains in this regard. You, however, are able to continue to improve your mastery of many other Daos. I truly do envy you, Darknorth.”

“Darknorth, you’ve only been training for a short period of time. I imagine there are many areas which you can still improve on, right?” Autarch Titanos asked.

Ning nodded. The Dao of Karma, the Dao of Numerancy, the Dao of Formations… he had yet to infuse any of them into his Dao of the Sword. There was indeed a great deal of room for improvement.

“The reason why I didn’t want to make my status public was partially because I want to keep training, under 100x temporal acceleration, for another 10,000 chaos cycles. That translates into 1,000,000 chaos cycles of training time, and I should be able to improve significantly during that period of time. It would put me in a better position to deal with the Sithe,” Ning said.

“Hm. 100x temporal acceleration? That’s way too slow. Skyfeeder?” Autarch Titanos looked at Autarch Skyfeeder. “We’ll have to ask you to help Darknorth out.”

“Very well. I can grant you 1000x temporal acceleration,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

Ning was surprised and delighted to hear this. He had reached the Autarch level of power; accelerating time for him was extremely difficult! Ning himself was able to maintain a rate of 100x while keeping his power consumption stable. 1000x? That would be far too difficult.

“We’ll do it here in the Quintessence, where the energy reserves are limitless. It’ll cost me half of my energy reserves, but I’ll be able to maintain a rate of 1000x temporal acceleration for you.” Autarch Skyfeeder looked at Ning, then smiled: “The rest of us have long ago hit our limits. There’s no way for us to grow stronger, but you are a different story. If you can improve, you need to do so as quickly as possible. None of us can be sure when the Sithe will launch the final war.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. If he was given 1000x temporal acceleration, he would have more than enough time to achieve his goals.

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Chapter 13 – A New Type of Energy

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 13 – A New Type of Energy

Rumble…

The awesome energy of the prime essences was pooled here in vast, interconnecting lakes. There was a lake filled with the prime essence of lightning, a lake filled with the prime essence of destruction… the different lakes all represented different prime essences, and together they formed the vast sea.

The power here was truly limitless.

A white-robed youth was standing in the center, surrounded by the lake filled with the prime essence of water. Boundless amounts of energy poured towards him and were all absorbed in turn.

“Stonerule, Darknorth’s heartworld is probably on par with yours,” Autarch Ekong chuckled. The six Autarchs were standing next to each other and watching from afar.

“His heartworld was formed using the Eternal Omega Sword Dao as the focus. Of course it is in par with mine!” Autarch Stonerule said. He was the only one of the six who had an Autarch-class heartworld.

“I really envy you guys,” Autarch Titanos sighed.

“You? Envy me? I envy you!” Autarch Stonerule smirked.

“Titanos, at least you once were a Heartforce Emperor! The rest of us weren’t able to truly stabilize our heartworlds at all,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “And you control the mighty Karma Daobirth Essence; in terms of power, you are the strongest of us six. How can you have the audacity to say you envy us? I’m hurt! Hurry up and bring out your finest food and wine as compensation.”

Autarch Titanos stared at her wide-eyed. “Are you kidding? It took me ages to build up my collection. Don’t even think of touching it.”

Heartforce Cultivators had to follow a different path in making their breakthroughs. Those who followed other Daos would reconstitute their divine power and Immortal energy, but Heartforce Cultivators relied on expanding their heartworlds. The more stable a heartworld was, the larger it could become and the more powerful the Heartforce Cultivator would be.

Once the entire heartworld became large and stable enough to become perpetual, the Heartforce Cultivator would be able to step into the Emperor level! This was why almost all Heartforce Emperors had reached Hegemonic levels of power. Stabilizing a heartworld enough to make it eternal was extremely difficult! The ones who succeeded were almost all Hegemons, with just the tiniest of fractions being at the Archon level of power.

Of course, there were many who dabbled as Heartforce Cultivators. Bertulu, Winesage, Ning… all of them trained both as normal cultivators and as Heartforce Cultivators. This was generally true for all truly talented cultivators!

Early on, Autarch Skyfeeder had trained as a Heartforce Cultivator as well. However, after she completed the Daomerge and gained Hegemony via the Dao of Time, she discovered that her Dao of Time was not a Dao that could produce a stable, perpetual heartworld. She had thus been forced to abandon the path of heartforce, and after 108,000 chaos cycles her unstable heartworld came to a natural end.

Of the living Autarchs, Autarch Titanos was the most powerful. He had reached Hegemony via the Dao of Karma, and his Dao of Karma was capable of allowing his heartworld to become eternal. In other words, he had been both a Karma Hegemon and a Heartforce Hegemon! Alas, when he made the breakthrough which enabled him to become an Autarch, his heartworld wasn’t able to expand alongside any further. He too was forced to abandon the path of heartforce as he allowed his Dao of Karma to transform into the Karma Daobirth Essence.

“Omega Daos really are the best,” Autarch Titanos sighed. “Only Omega Daos can be considered truly perfect Daos. Even the heartworlds formed by them are the best.”

“Yes, only Omega Daos can allow for truly perfect heartworlds,” Autarch Stonerule said. His Illusion Daobirth Essence allowed for his heartworld to reach the Autarch level, but his heartworld still couldn’t be considered ‘perfect’. This was why he remained slightly weaker than Autarch Titanos.

The Azureflower Estate was floating right next to Autarch Skyfeeder’s wood cottage within the vast sea of prime essences. Autarch Skyfeeder had begun the process of keeping time accelerated at a rate of 1000x for the entire Azureflower Estate, while Ning trained within the second hall inside.

He had already finished his heartworld breakthrough. Now, it would be a slow process of training.

……

Back in the Three Realms.

“Whew. I’ve finally finished.” The golden-robed Ning stared at the six golden swords before him, a pleased smile on his face. He had spent over fifty thousand years to create these swords, and the materials he had used were superior to the ones which had been used to create the original Northbow swords! Back then, Ning had been comparatively weak; how could he possibly acquire as many precious materials as he had now? The materials he now had were far superior to what was available back then. If Ning wasn’t such a perfectionist, he would’ve been able to complete these six Universe weapons within just a thousand years.

“Unfortunately, they haven’t been developing by my side for countless aeons like the Northbow swords. I’ve done as much as I can, but they are still a teensy bit weaker than the Northbow swords.” The golden-robed Ning smiled. “Still, they are more than good enough for killing Sithe. From this day forth, you shall be named… the Northmoon swords.”

Swish. Swish. Swish. All six golden swords flew into the sheath on Ning’s back. He was now dressed in golden robes, carried golden swords on his back, and had a body formed from so many precious materials that it was comparable to Universe treasures in strength.

“Time to expand my heartworld.” The golden-robed Ning took a single step forwards, then departed from the Three Realms and reappeared within the Great Dark just outside the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Although the Great Dark was quite distant from the Three Realms, the golden-robed Ning still released his godsense and kept it spread across the entire Flamedragon Realmverse. The Sithe danger was all-encompassing, and Ning didn’t want to let his guard down.

“Let it begin.” The golden-robed Ning began to expand its heartworld as well. Here in the Great Dark, he was able to draw upon a large amount of energy from an extremely wide region with impunity. Ning had already scanned this part of the Great Dark to ensure that there were no living creatures here.

“At this rate of absorption, it’ll take me roughly thirty billion years to finish expanding my heartworld.” The golden-robed Ning sat down within the endless Great Dark, beginning to slowly train as he absorbed power from within it.

……

Time flowed on like water. Over 120 chaos cycles went past in the blink of an eye.

“I’ve finally completed the Tenth Chaos Seal.” The white-robed Ning had a smile on his face as he turned to glance at the nearby white-haired elder: “Autarch Awakener would probably be ecstatic, were he still alive.”

“Master’s final wishes have finally been completed.” The white-haired elder was extremely excited.

“Let’s start.” Ning immediately began to use the perfect, complete technique on himself. The previous azureflower technique he had used was incomplete and flawed. Autarch Awakener had actually fixed those flaws in his private version, but had intentionally released a flawed version in order to separate the gold from the dross.

“Out with the old…” With but a thought, Ning sent his will descending deep into his sea of consciousness, where an azure flower was slowly swaying. When Ning’s will descended, the flower suddenly began to decay and break apart. A moment later, the azure flower had completely vanished within the sea of consciousness.

“…and in with the new.” Ning began to redeploy the true, complete, and perfect technique. It was now suitable for even Autarchs to use, although Ning wasn’t completely sure as to whether or not it could convert Autarch-level divine power and Immortal energy.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The various chaos seals began to manifest within Ning’s sea of consciousness. Ten of them appeared in succession, and they began to interlay atop of each other, solidifying into an azure seed.

The azure seed popped open as a sprout emerged from it. The sprout began to grow, resulting in a series of dazzlingly beautiful leaves appearing, with a little closed bud appearing in their midst. The bud slowly grew larger and larger, and it looked as though it was opening up but not quite ready to fully bloom just yet. The beautiful azure flower emanated an aura of ineffable mystery, and it was many times more dazzling than the previous one. It gently swayed there in Ning’s mind, surrounded by countless green leaves.

This was the perfect azureflower technique which arose from the Ten Chaos Seals.

Strands of divine power, Immortal energy, and heartforce all flowed into the azure flower, which was able to easily take them in and then transform them into a new type of energy. As soon as this new type of energy was created, Ning felt extremely comfortable.

Whooosh. Under Ning’s control, this new type of energy quickly filled every inch of his body. Crack! Pop! Ning’s muscles, tendons, and blood began to change and transform.

This was a new form of energy, a perfect form of energy that vastly surpassed divine power and Immortal ki. As a result, it could be used to create a more perfect body as well! It could be used for close combat, could control magic treasures from afar, and was incredibly strong.

Ning’s physical body was quickly remade by this new form of energy. He withdrew his Immortal ki back into his Jindan chaos region, leaving only this new energy pulsing through his veins.

“This is the new type of energy which Autarch Awakener hoped for. I shall call it…” Ning paused for a moment, then smiled. “Mana.” He opened his eyes, his entire body feeling clean, refreshed, and comfortable as the mana flowed through him. This new power, mana, was a thousand times stronger than Emperor-class divine power or Immortal ki. When he used mana to execute his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, the power of his strikes would probably increase by another twenty to thirty percent.

The reason it ‘only’ increased by that amount was because at Ning’s level, the power of one’s attacks was chiefly determined by one’s insights into the Dao. Personal strength only played a fairly minor role. For ‘mana’ to improve an Autarch’s power by 30% was absolutely incredible!

“Mana… so it has finally been completed.” The white-haired elder was very excited. “Master was unable to perfect it, and so he never even came up with a real name for this new type of energy. Now, it has finally been completed.”

From this day forth, ‘mana’ was born. In the future, it would slowly be spread throughout the Chaosverse and supplant divine power and Immortal ki as the most important type of energy a cultivator could train in.

Completing the Ten Chaos Seals had been fairly easy. Now, Ning would need to go into deep meditation to work on his other Daos.

……

After 360 chaos cycles in secluded meditation, Ning fused the Dao of Light into his Sword Dao and created the Light Sword Dao.

After 430 chaos cycles in secluded meditation, Ning mastered the Dark Sword Dao.

After 3,200 chaos cycles in secluded meditation, Ning learned how to fuse his Dark Sword Dao together with his Light Sword Dao into a new technique he named the Cycle Sword Dao.

After 11,100 chaos cycles in secluded meditation, Ning fused the Dao of Formations into his Sword Dao and created the Sword Formation Dao.

Ning continued to fuse one Dao after another into his Dao of the Sword. Finally, after 3,900,000 chaos cycles, Ning successfully integrated his Dao of Karma into the Dao of the Sword and created the Karma Sword Dao. This took Ning the most time of all to complete.

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Chapter 14 – The Calm Before the Storm

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 14 – The Calm Before the Storm

Ji Ning continued to train, and nearly 6 million chaos cycles went past in the blink of an eye. Autarch Skyfeeder continuously maintained a rate of 1000x temporal acceleration for the Azureflower Estate.

One day, the gates to the estate suddenly swung open. The white-robed Ning walked out, black sheath over his back, and Autarch Skyfeeder halted the temporal acceleration process.

“You’ve finished?” Autarch Skyfeeder left her wooden cabin and walked barefoot through the air towards Ning.

“Thank you for everything, Autarch Skyfeeder,” Ning said gratefully.

“A minor matter. The stronger you become, the better off the entire cultivator civilization shall be,” Autarch Skyfeeder said with a smile. “And besides, it only took me 6,000 chaos cycles of real time. That’s nothing to me.”

“It was 6,000 for you, but to me it was 6 million,” Ning said with a sigh. It truly had been an extremely long period of time for him, and he had experienced it in its entirety. He had completely focused on cultivating, having emptied his mind of all other thoughts.

In the end, he had successfully mastered everything he wanted to master. The most time-consuming had been the Karma Sword Dao, and it had taken him nearly 3 million chaos cycles to complete it. Next was the Numerancy Sword Dao, which should’ve been just as difficult, but since he had already mastered the Karma Sword Dao he had managed to speed up the process a bit and had completed it in roughly 2 million chaos cycles.

Karma and Numerancy… both were extremely difficult to master. All the other Daos were simpler, with some taking a few dozen chaos cycles at most.

“How did your training go?” Skyfeeder asked.

“I’ve advanced as much as I can,” Ning said. “Based on my theories, I should be able to merge all the other Daos into the Autarch-level Omega Dao, but as of right now I still don’t know what that breakthrough would look like.”

“Going from Emperorhood to Autarchy has always been a difficult task,” Skyfeeder said with a smile. “Everything shall be as fate wills it. Based on what I know, the Sithe Chaosverse actually has quite a few Omega Emperors of the Sword, but all of them have remained trapped at that level.”

“Makes sense.” Ning nodded. He had reviewed the memories of many Sithe Emperors, and so he had come to learn quite a few things. All information regarding the Omega Daos themselves had been sealed, but there had been a few memories regarding the Omega Emperors. This was why he had come out of cultivation. It was probably impossible to become an Omega Autarch through secluded meditation. In fact, it was actually more likely that this breakthrough would come naturally as one lived an ordinary life! The Dao could be found in all things, after all, as all things were linked together.

It was true that putting yourself in a life-or-death situation could be even more effective, but then you ran the risk of failing and dying. The Autarch’s generally wouldn’t put themselves in such great danger without a very good reason, because their deaths could destabilize the entire cultivator civilization. In fact, it would impact the entire Chaosverse itself!

“Oh, right. I used Autarch Awakener’s original energy-cultivation technique to create an even more profound one,” Ning said. “Anyone can train in the new [Azureflower] technique and use it to convert divine power, Immortal ki, and heartforce into a new type of energy! This will greatly strengthen both body and soul. Give it a try, Skyfeeder. Let’s see if the technique is capable of transforming Autarch-class divine power and Immortal ki.”

“Autarch-class?” Skyfeeder felt rather excited at the prospect.

“I’m not sure if it’ll work,” Ning admitted with a chuckle, “But it was able to transform mine, so perhaps it’ll be able to transform yours as well.”

“Let me give it a try,” Skyfeeder said eagerly. At their level, it was extremely difficult to become even a tiny bit more powerful than before.

Ning handed over a jade slip. Skyfeeder accepted it, then memorized the information within it. This technique was extremely profound, but it only encompassed ten seals and so the amount of information needed to express it wasn’t too excessive. It was truly a highly refined and distilled technique. The Ten Chaos Seals were capable of transforming into countless other seals, but so long as you memorized the ten basic seals themselves, you would have memorized the entire technique.

Rumble… the awesome energy of the Quintessence suddenly parted, avoiding the area around Autarch Skyfeeder as her aura gradually began to change. Her very skin seemed to flicker with light. Clearly, her body was being reconstituted.

A short while later, she turned to smile at Ning. “It can indeed convert Autarch-level divine power and Immortal ki, purifying both to a great degree!” As she spoke, she waved her hand, causing spacetime around her to twist into knots. She nodded slowly. “When I use this new energy to activate my Time Daobirth Essence, the power is increased by 30%. I can also sense that my soul and truesoul are more stable as well, while my body is now comparable to Universe treasures.”

Previously, her body had been created through divine power. Now, her body was created by the far more distilled energy known as ‘mana’, making it just as tough as a Universe weapon. The same was true for Ning’s body as well.

“Hurry up and inform Titanos and the others about this amazing technique,” Autarch Skyfeeder said hurriedly.

“I was planning to, I just wanted to let you try it out first, Skyfeeder.” Ning smiled, then immediately notified the other five Autarchs through the message talisman.

……

Soon, all the other Autarchs came rushing over. Autarch Mogg, of course, only sent over his avatar. Ning provided them each with a complete set of the [Azureflower] technique, and they all found that after their energies were converted, they were now 30% more powerful than they had been in the past.

“Awakener had slaved away at this technique for so long… and now you, Darknorth, have finally completed it.” Autarch Titanos let out a sigh. “All of us have grown stronger thanks to this technique. Now that we also have a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, the cultivator civilizations shall be able to produce far more Emperors and Hegemons in the future. Given enough time, we’ll probably see many new Autarchs as well.”

“Time is exactly what we don’t have,” Autarch Mogg said. “If we had another ten million chaos cycles, sure; we’d probably have a large number of new Hegemons and maybe even ten new Autarchs. But I doubt we’ll be given that chance.”

The ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique would allow some truly talented figures who had failed the Daomerge due to having made the tiniest of errors a second chance at the Daomerge. If they succeeded the second time, they would become Hegemons. The more Hegemons the Chaosverse had, the more Autarchs would eventually be born as well.

“There’s no way the Sithe would just sit idly and watch our Chaosverse grow that much.” Autarch Stonerule frowned.

“Screw them. We’ve locked them all away!” Autarch Ekong said. “Sure, we suspect that they might be able to escape our seal, but even if they have, the fact that they have still been biding their time instead of attacking means that they are planning something else. Let’s start teaching these techniques to as many deserving cultivators as we can. If we can produce more and more powerful experts, the Sithe will grow restless and might end up launching their attacks ahead of schedule, before they are truly ready.”

“I agree. Let’s force their hand,” Autarch Titanos said. “If they really are sealed away, we’ll have nothing to fear and can use this opportunity to grow stronger; if they aren’t, we’ll disrupt their plans. Either way, we win.”

It didn’t matter if the Sithe were truly sealed away or not. They could not delay the teaching of the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique any longer.

“For Daolords who have failed the Daomerge, the sooner they begin using the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique the better,” Ning said. “If they wait until their truesoul actually breaks apart before trying to fuse the pieces together, it’ll be extremely difficult.”

Ning was the creator of the technique and understood it better than anyone else. He also had a perfect Dao-heart. This was why he had been able to reverse even the complete collapse of his truesoul! The vast majority of Daolords, however, had far weaker Dao-hearts than Ning. If their truesouls collapsed, not even the [Truesoul Everlasting] technique would necessarily be able to save them.

“Haha, I don’t think anyone would be dumb enough to actually wait until their truesoul collapsed before using the technique, right?” Autarch Titanos said.

……

Ning and the others eventually went their separate ways, returning to their various residences. Ning went back to the Three Realms, living a life of ease and comfort. He didn’t spend too much time analyzing the Dao of the Sword. Instead, he emptied his mind and purified his soul, spending his time on calligraphy, art, and gardening.

After 1,200 chaos cycles… Ninedust attempted the Daomerge. He succeeded on his very first try! He didn’t even need to use the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique Ning had prepared for him. Ninedust had built up an incredibly deep and stable foundation before attempting the Daomerge. Not only had he used a Voidsea Jadeseal, Ning had also given him many techniques and an Incense-Spirit Fruit!

Ning quietly went to visit Ninedust by himself, offering his congratulations. The fact that he was still alive remained a secret! Ning’s success meant that their Chaosverse had just gained two new Autarch-class combatants due to Ning having such a powerful avatar. More importantly, Ning was different from the other Autarchs in that he was skilled in many different areas. He had his Spacetime Sword Dao, his Karma Sword Dao, his Cycle Sword Dao, his Numerancy Sword Dao, and more.

This made Ning practically flawless, able to cope with any situation. Two new Autarch-class combatants who had no flaws at all… once they were unleashed, they would definitely give the Sithe a nice big ‘surprise’.

After congratulating Ninedust, Ning went back to the Three Realms and continued his relaxed life. The Otherverse Lords and Hegemons in every single realmverse were all granted the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, and they were told to secretly teach the technique to deserving Daolords who had failed the Daomerge. Without exception, they were admonished to try and keep this hidden as best they could. The longer they could hide this from the Sithe, the better!

Time slowly continued

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Chapter 15 – The Engine of Destruction

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 15 – The Engine of Destruction

Within Autarch Titanos’ residence. Nine strange parts were hovering in the air within his private study, and Autarch Titanos was frowning thoughtfully as he analyzed them. Even the two fleshy antennae on top of his head were drooping in a pensive manner.

Autarch Titanos had spent more time studying and understanding Sithe treasures than anyone else in this entire Chaosverse! He knew more than any other cultivator, and he had created quite a few weapons based off of those treasures, some of which were suitable for cultivators to use. Autarch Titanos was eagerly anticipating the creation of even more. “Harrumph! We are no longer the cultivators of old. We have many unique weapons of our own now, and even our ordinary Emperors are far more difficult to deal with than the ones of the past.”

Each Autarch followed a different, separate path. Autarch Titanos was the master of the Karma Daobirth Essence, which was arguably the most difficult Dao aside from the Omega Daos. As a result, he was the best-suited for ruminating on difficult, complex mechanisms. He spent his time creating many unusual weapons, allowing their Hegemons and Emperors to unleash tremendous power in battle This would make it much more difficult for the Sithe to slay the Emperors of this Chaosverse.

If he could raise the overall power of their forces, they would have a greater chance at gaining victory in the upcoming war… and the countless aeons he had spent in research had resulted in many splendid achievements indeed!

“Eh?” The two fleshy antennae on top of Autarch Titanos’ head suddenly shot up straight, and a sharp look flickered through his eyes. “This is…” Autarch Titanos could vaguely sense that the entire Quintessence was somehow in grave danger. An invisible, destructive force had suddenly cast a shadow over the entire Chaosverse.

“Destruction… the destruction of the entire Chaosverse?” Autarch Titanos turned slightly pale. “The source of this destruction is coming from that direction!”

Long ago, the Quintessence had sent a similar warning to all of the Autarchs, ensuring that they knew how dangerous the ‘Sithe’ were. Now, for the second time, they had received this warning!

“Could we be facing a new threat, something aside from the Sithe?” Autarch Titanos was slightly panicked. There was no way the Quintessence’s warning could possibly be in error, and so he abandoned all of his experiments and immediately exited his laboratory, then tore a tunnel through spacetime towards the source of the danger.

……

The handsome but sorrowful-looking white-haired Autarch Bolin was standing in a wild, untamed land. He stared at the earthen dwelling before him and the mortals inside of it. There were a total of three children within.

“Now these kids are rather interesting. Are you ready? Ready to transcend life and death and become a brand new, powerful type of creature?” Autarch Bolin looked at the oldest child, the nine-year-old, with a hint of anticipation in his eyes. He had just prepared a new… experiment.

Autarch Bolin had spent many aeons treading the line between life and death, scrying the mysteries of this great cycle. He hadn’t come close to mastering the Samsara Daobirth Essence, but he had other plans he was focused on.

He wanted to create a truly perfect lifeform! The Aeonians had been one of his many experiments, but they weren’t truly perfect. He wanted to create perfect beings which were on par with Sourcewalkers and Chaos Primordials in might. If the cultivators could produce a large number of ‘perfect’ beings and allowed them to propagate, they would have gained a powerful new army which made battling against the Sithe easier.

Suddenly, Autarch Bolin’s face turned pale. “Danger?” He immediately abandoned his new experiment. He could sense on a subconscious level that the entire Quintessence was shivering in terror, as though a terrifying destructive force had just appeared in front of it which could tear it apart.

The prime essences of the Chaosverse were awesome and powerful, but they were also quite weak. This was because they weren’t truly sentient, nor were they able to defend themselves. Thus, they had to rely upon the Autarchs and the cultivators to protect them against the Sithe. Once the cultivators were defeated, the Quintessence would be like meat on the chopping block for the Sithe to butcher as they pleased.

Whoosh. Autarch Bolin immediately tore through spacetime and departed.

……

Within the Three Realms. Brightheart Island. Ning was seated facing Autumn Leaf. The two were playing chess, while Brightmoon was watching from nearby.

“Hm.” Autumn Leaf pondered her next move.

Ning held a small black gourd in his hand. Every so often, he would take a swig from it. After Autumn Leaf finally made her move, he casually made his own move as well. After mastering the Numerancy Sword Dao, Ning was arguably the number one master of Numerancy and divinations in the entire Chaosverse. Perhaps Autarch Titanos, who was the master of the Karma Daobirth Essence, might be on par with him, but no one else! Chess? Of course Ning couldn’t play too seriously. If he did, it’d ruin the whole game.

“Aunt Autumn Leaf, that’s not right! If you do that, you are going to be in serious trouble.” Brightmoon shook her head, reaching out to prevent Autumn Leaf from making the move she wanted to make.

“Then what should I do next?” Autumn Leaf immediately pulled her chess piece back.

“Ahem! For a bystander to remain silent is the way of gentlemen.” Ning glanced sideways at Brightmoon, then looked at Autumn Leaf. “And since when did we allow take-backs in chess?”

“I didn’t put my piece down yet. It doesn’t count as a take-back,” Autumn Leaf said immediately.

“And I’m not a gentleman, I’m a woman!” Brightmoon rebutted.

Speechless, Ning chose to continue drinking his wine instead of arguing. The two of them would wrack their brains over every move while he just played casually, but he’d still win nine out of ten games. This was on purpose, of course. If you won every time, who would be willing to play with you?

“Brightmoon, when are you planning to begin your Daomerge?” Ning asked.

“Not anytime soon,” Brightmoon said. “It’ll definitely be after Patriarch Subhuti.”

“After we finish this game of chess, I need to talk to you about something,” Ning said. He was planning to transmit the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique to her. Right now, they were extremely cautious and careful in transmitting this technique, generally only teaching it to the most incredibly talented Daolords of the Fourth Step. In each case, they would require the Daolord to swear a lifeblood oath which would cover many things.

For example, the Daolord could only attempt the Daomerge in a place where his or her aura would be completely hidden. That way, in the event that the Daolord failed the Daomerge and had to use the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique to repair his truesoul, no one would be the wiser. In fact, no one would even know that he had attempted the Daomerge! This was the best way to keep things secret.

In short, they did everything they could to keep this hidden from the Sithe. They’d hide it for as long as they could! They knew that once the Sithe spies found out that the cultivators possessed the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique, they would immediately be able to guess that Ning was still alive.

There was really nothing they could do about this. They couldn’t keep the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique hidden from all cultivators just to ensure that Ning’s continued survival remained a secret, right? This was a technique which would strengthen civilization as a whole.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly frowned midway through his next move. Given the power of his godsense and his connection to the prime essences of the Chaosverse, he was naturally able to sense a terrifying danger suddenly manifest… a danger which could very well destroy the entire Quintessence itself.

“What’s going on? Has another civilization aside from the Sithe invaded us as well?” Ning turned pale.

Whoosh! The golden-robed Ning which had been roving the outside realm almost instantly tore through spacetime and hurried towards the source of the danger. The golden-robed avatar now had only 80% of the true Ning’s power, but it must be remembered that compared Ning was now at least 60% stronger than he was back when his truesoul was crumbling! This was because he had first gained Emperor-class energy, then transformed it into mana! After another six million chaos cycles of cultivation, he had infused many new Daos into his Sword Dao. As a result, the avatar-Ning was now much more powerful than ‘Daolord Ning’ had been.

In terms of raw power, Ning was ranked at the top of the list amongst the Autarchs. Even Autarch Titanos was slightly inferior to him, as Titanos wasn’t as well-rounded as Ning was! Ning’s avatar was terrifyingly strong.

……

The weaker cultivators felt nothing at all; the only people in the Chaosverse who sensed the danger were Ning and the six Autarchs, and all of them arrived. Autarch Mogg sent his avatar as he needed to stand guard over the Sithelands. The other five Autarchs all left their avatars in the Sithelands and came in person. Ning was extremely confident in his own power, and so he sent his avatar as well.

In truth, Autarchs would generally send their avatars to deal with any dangerous situations. This was because if the avatar died, they could easily remake a new one! If their true bodies died, the Autarchs would be dead for good.

Riiiiip. Ning tore through spacetime and arrived in a place within the Great Dark. He immediately saw Autarch Ekong.

“Darknorth.” The muscular Autarch Ekong was dressed in his usual loose robes. He had been the first to arrive, as he had been the closest to this location. Ning was the second to arrive.

“What’s going on?” Ning strode through the void towards him.

“There’s no one here save us.” Autarch Ekong pointed off into the distance. “The danger is coming from over there.”

Ning could sense it as well. Far off in the distance, there was an enormous silver vortex that was slowly swiveling in place. This silver vortex was so gigantic that it was vastly greater than an ordinary realmverse in size. Ning was able to see through to the very center of the silver vortex, where he saw a giant, ancient sphere-shaped object that was the size of a realmverse. It was riddled with countless holes, but Ning was unable to see through them to the insides of this sphere. All he could sense was that it was filled with boundless danger.

The giant sphere simply sat there in the darkness, furiously devouring the primordial chaos around it. The silver vortex around it represented all of the energy which it was draining from the surrounding area. Even the endless darkness itself was being swallowed up by it.

Just looking at the thing caused Ning and Autarch Ekong to feel a sense of dread.

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Chapter 16 – Going Inside

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 16 – Going Inside

“Where did this thing come from?” Ji Ning stared at the titanic sphere located at the very center of that giant silver vortex. At his level, he was able to see at a glance that this terrifying celestial object was the source of the threat to the entire Chaosverse.

Everything within the Chaosverse, be it the emptiness of space, the endless Great Dark, or the countless living beings, were all part of the Chaosverse. In life and in death, they remained parts of the Chaosverse. Their deaths would not weaken the Chaosverse.

However… if their energies were somehow swallowed away, this would in fact harm the prime essences! The Sithe, for example, wanted to kill as many Autarchs and Hegemons as possible, then draw away their truesoul fragments and cause the prime essences to weaken. After the Chaosverse was weakened to a sufficient extent, the Sithe would have a chance at binding and controlling the entire Chaosverse.

All things were part of the Chaosverse. Destroying and devouring the souls of ordinary mortals would also weaken the Chaosverse, but doing this would be too slow and inefficient! The Sithe soul-eater technique could only be used to swallow truesouls that had been destroyed in extremely close proximity. It would probably take the Sithe tens of millions of chaos cycles to slowly do this to the countless living beings in a single realmverse!

This was why they had chosen to act against the Autarchs and the Hegemons instead. And now? This hole-riddled, realmverse-sized sphere was swallowing away even the darkness of the Great Dark! It was somehow devouring the darkness in a way that completely destroyed it, causing the Chaosverse to forever lose its energy.

This wasn’t an issue in the short term, but given enough time it would cause the Chaosverse to suffer grave injuries, and possibly even weaken the prime essences enough for the Sithe to bind them.

“Where the hell did this terrifying celestial object come from? Who made it?” Ning was puzzled.

……

Eventually, the other Autarchs began to arrive as well. All of them stared at the behemoth sphere for a long period of time.

“Its enormous and riddled with holes, almost like a beehive,” Autarch Titanos said. “Its powerful aura reminds me of the aura of the Sithe heartlands! It was that very aura of danger which made us hesitate to go inside and instead opt to seal it away. This thing reminds me of it.”

“Yes, but there are some differences between it and the Sithe heartlands,” Autarch Stonerule said. “The Sithe heartlands hold an energy generator which powers many of their Daoguard Towers. This mysterious hive, however, is continuously swallowing and destroying the energy of the surrounding area! The more it swallows, the more our Chaosverse loses and the weaker our Chaosverse becomes.”

“Why did it suddenly appear here? There’s no way our Chaosverse would’ve naturally given birth to such a terrifying thing,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

“This is a Sithe trump card,” Autarch Titanos said.

“The Sithe?” Ning and the others all turned to look at Autarch Titanos.

“Are you absolutely certain?” Ning asked. “Can it possibly be from another civilization?”

“It is Sithe,” Autarch Titanos said with absolute certainty. “I’ve spent countless aeons analyzing Sithe weaponry. As soon as I took a close look at it, I could tell that this behemoth hive is actually a single vast weapon! It was created for the express purpose of devouring and destroying the energy of the Chaosverse, which would cause the Chaosverse to weaken.”

“How can anyone create such a gigantic, powerful weapon?” Autarch Bolin asked.

“It is overwhelming. I can feel that it is on a completely different level from Exalt-class Daoguard Towers. Not even the strongest Sithe weapons we faced during the Dawn War could even come close to comparing with this thing.” Autarch Mogg found it just as hard to believe that this realmverse-sized object was a manufactured weapon.

“The Sithe heartlands contain an energy generator which powers their Daoguard Towers,” Autarch Titanos said solemnly, “While this titanic, terrifying weapon also holds an energy generator within it, which is what allows it to function and forcibly tear away energy from the Chaosverse and devour it. That’s why I said it reminded me of the Sithe heartlands.”

Ning and the others were all rather shocked. The Sithe heartlands had been created at incredible cost. This thing before them was apparently on the same level of power?

“The Sithe have been biding their time for countless aeons. We should’ve expected their first move to be an extraordinary one,” Autarch Bolin said with a grim smile.

“We’ve been making preparations ever since the last war concluded. It seems the Sithe have kept themselves busy as well,” Autarch Stonerule agreed.

“Let them come. We’ll handle anything they can dish out.” A murderous look flickered through Autarch Mogg’s eyes. The danger which had just manifested before them had stirred all of the Autarchs, awakening their combative instincts which had lain dormant for so long.

The final war against the Sithe had yet to truly begin, but the Sithe had already made an absolutely terrifying opening gambit!

“We have to destroy it, and we need to move fast,” the golden-robed Ning said. “But… how? I can vaguely sense that this behemoth hive is filled with tremendous danger. Even if all seven of us go, we still wouldn’t necessarily be able to successfully deal with it.”

“The behemoth hive is definitely dangerous.” Autarch Titanos glanced at the other six. “And what if the Sithe suddenly launch the war after our avatars go inside and then are somehow trapped? Only half of our total combat power would be available to fight in the war, and we could very well be defeated.”

“Right.”

“We can’t all go inside! We need to be ready for the war to breakout.”

“How many of us should go inside?” The Autarchs and Ning began to discuss this matter.

Adding in their avatars, they had a total of fourteen Autarch-class combatants! Based on their previous experiences, they had to have at least ten Autarch-class combatants in order to keep a handle on the situation and not be caught flat-footed. However, given how long the Sithe had been biding their time, it was entirely possible that they would unleash something completely unexpected. Even ten Autarch-class combatants wouldn’t necessarily be enough.

“Let’s send in two to take a look,” Autarch titanos said. “That way, we can still be at close to peak power if the war breaks out.”

“Who should go inside?”

“I’ll go inside!” Ning was the first to volunteer.

“You, Darknorth?” Autarch, Titanos, Bolin, and the others all looked towards Ning.

Ning stared at the enormous silver vortex and the behemoth hive at its heart. “We don’t know anything about what this thing holds or what dangers might be present. We’ll probably have to destroy the entire thing in order to stop it! Of the seven of us, I am the most well-rounded and am the best at dealing with unknown dangers. I have some skill in every single Dao.”

Titanos and the others all nodded in agreement. Ning was very well-rounded and was quite skilled in every Dao. He had mastered even the Karma Sword Dao and the Numerancy Sword Dao. He was indeed the best of them in dealing with unexpected dangers.

“Very well.” They all nodded in agreement. Without question, Darknorth was going to be one of the two to go inside. He would be given the primary responsibilities for destroying this behemoth hive.

“I’ll go as well.” Autarch Mogg smiled. “I’m the master of the Space Daobirth Essence and have the keenest understanding of how space works. I’m the best at scouting out nearby dangers.”

None of the other five Autarchs disputed this. They all agreed once more. Everyone knew where their respective skills lay and who would be most effective in dealing with this behemoth hive.

“The other Autarchs should all return to their respective stations and prepare for war to break out at any time,” Autarch Titanos said. “Darknorth and Mogg, send in your avatars! I’ll stay here to stand guard and keep a watch on things, to prevent anything unexpected from happening.”

“Very well.”

“It is settled.”

……

Ning and Mogg had both sent their avatars to this place, and so all they had to do was make some minor preparations before flying together towards that silver vortex. As for the other five Autarchs, they watched from afar as Ning and Mogg flew off into the distance. The five only departed after seeing the two safely enter the vortex.

“I hope they can destroy that thing,” Bolin said.

“Even if they cannot, they have to stop it from functioning,” Autarch Titanos chuckled. “I’m confident in Darknorth’s skills. Even if he fails, he should be able to get a clear sense of what lies within that behemoth hive and how it operates.”

“Right.” Ekong, Skyfeeder, and Stonerule all nodded. They could all vaguely sense that after 6 million chaos cycles of training, Darknorth was now most likely the strongest of them all… and he was also the most well-rounded!

……

Space twisted around the golden-robed Ning and the tall, thin, azure-robed, scale-faced Mogg as they continued to fly forwards through a dimensional tunnel that led into the silver vortex.

The gigantic silver vortex was filled with apocalyptic power. Only Exalt-class beings would be able to just barely be capable of surviving this place. However, Mogg’s dimensional tunnel was quite stable and it brushed aside all the power which clashed against it.

“Almost there.” They continued to fly through the silver vortex, the behemoth hive slowly growing in size as they moved closer and closer towards it.

The countless tunnels covering the hive were dark and unfathomably deep. All forms of energy which entered those tunnels vanished without a trace, never to be seen again within this Chaosverse.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Ning and Mogg both descended towards the surface of the behemoth hive. The hive was protected by layers of frenzied, semi-translucent energy which furiously assaulted the two of them, but they were brushed away before they even got close. Ning and Mogg landed on the icy surface simultaneously.

This enormous weapon, the size of an entire realmverse, was so vast that ordinary Hegemons and Emperors couldn’t even see it in its entirety. Ning’s gaze transcended spacetime, and so he was able to see it clearly.

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Chapter 17 – Autarch-Class Creatures

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 17 – Autarch-Class Creatures

Ji Ning and Mogg were in no hurry to immediately rush inside the behemoth hive. Instead, they flew across its surface and began to inspect it.

Ning and Mogg were able to cross hundreds of billions of kilometers almost instantly, and they continued to fly for a full hour as they reviewed the hive up close. The hive’s surface was a mixture of dark black mixed with silvery white. Black was the main color, but some strands of silvery-white energy had crystallized in certain regions. As for the tunnels, they ranged from being a hundred kilometers wide to a trillion kilometers wide.

Ning and Mogg came to a halt and descended upon the surface once more.

“We can’t see anything from outside,” Ning said. “It seems we’ll still have to go inside to take a look.”

“My senses are telling me that the interior isn’t uniform in nature. We can’t simply blink in and out of it,” Mogg said. “Our only choice is to accept the risk of flying inside.”

The two knew that the insides of this behemoth hive were undoubtedly very dangerous. The gloomy darkness was capable of swallowing all forms of energy. Any godsense or heartworld projection energies would be swallowed as well, making it impossible to scry what was inside. They had been hoping to first learn what they would be facing, but they still knew nothing after that long inspection of the surface.

“Let’s go inside.” They chose an ordinary-looking tunnel that was a hundred million kilometers in diameter. There were countless tunnels like this across the surface of the behemoth hive.

Ning and Mogg stood at the edges of the tunnel, staring downwards. It was still furiously swallowing energy at an astounding pace. Ning and Mogg exchanged a glance, then flew downwards.

Whoosh! They quickly began to descend into the dark depths.

……

The golden-robed Ning held two Northmoon swords at the ready as he began to rapidly descend into the abyss, while Autarch Mogg wielded a pair of long sabers.

“No wonder we couldn’t just blink inside.” Ning glanced at the walls of the abyss. Sphere-shaped spacetime bubbles dotted the walls, each of them ranging from ten thousand kilometers to over a hundred million kilometers in size. These spacetime bubbles simply hung there, connected to each other while channeling an enormous amount of power.

“Why are there so many spacetime bubbles here?” Autarch Mogg was puzzled. “Let me see what happens when I destroy one of them.”

“Be careful.” They had come here to destroy this thing. Ning naturally wouldn’t object to Mogg’s suggestion.

“Break!” Autarch Mogg let out a loud shout, sending out a mighty surge of energy that transformed into waves of folded dimensional attacks that could be seen with the naked eye. The attacks slammed against a distant spacetime bubble, causing the bubble to tremble for a few moments before bursting apart. However, nothing was held within it.

Rumble… nearby, a new spacetime bubble appeared out of nowhere. This one was exactly the same size as the previous one, roughly ten million kilometers in diameter.

“I broke one, so this thing made a new one.” Autarch Mogg frowned. “I can see at least a million of these bubbles. I can’t imagine how many the entire behemoth hive holds! I can sense how all these spacetime bubbles are linked to each other, channeling a powerful force which is used to furiously swallow everything within the outside world.”

“Let’s attack at full power and see if we can wreck them,” Ning said.

“Alright.” Mogg nodded.

Both of them were searching for clues for dealing with the hive. They could easily tell that the countless spacetime bubbles were important tools in allowing the hive to devour energy from the outside world.

The golden-robed Ning manifested three heads and six arms. Six Northmoon swords in hand, Ning began to furiously attack the surrounding spacetime bubbles with abandon via his Spacetime Sword Dao. Sword-light flashed everywhere, causing the various bubbles to be instantly destroyed on contact.

Ning also expanded his Sword Dao Domain to cover a large radius, reinforcing it with the power of his heartworld projection! Alas, the spacetime bubbles were so tough that Ning had to attack with his Spacetime Sword Dao if he wished to break them apart quickly.

Autarch Mogg manifested six arms as well. He used his Space Daobirth Essence with his six sabers, furiously destroying spacetime around him.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two worked together to crush everything before them, almost instantly destroying over ten thousand spacetime bubbles. But… it was like they were swimming through a vast ocean, with each wave producing countless new bubbles.

They were able to destroy ten thousand spacetime bubbles in a flash, but the gloomy, dark walls of the abyss simply rippled slightly before manifesting ten thousand new bubbles. It would create as many as were destroyed!

“Halt,” Ning said.

“Why should we halt?” Autarch Mogg glanced at Ning, puzzled. “Even if we can’t destroy the spacetime bubbles faster than they are being created, at least we are forcing this thing to use up more energy. If we continue, we might be able to eventually run it dry.”

Ning shook his head. “It is useless. I can sense that the power of the destroyed bubbles is being completely absorbed by the hive, which then uses them to recreate new bubbles. The hive isn’t losing a single shred of energy during the destruction/creation process.”

“What?” Autarch Mogg was shocked. The cycle of destruction and rebirth didn’t cost any energy at all? “Then what should we do?”

“These spacetime bubbles are nothing more than a tool this hive uses,” Ning said. “There are other things that matter far more, such as its energy generator! If we can destroy its energy generator, it’ll be finished.”

“But this thing is the size of a realmverse. How are we supposed to find it?” Mogg was worried. Realmverses were enormous in size. If they tried to search without any clues, even ten chaos cycles of time wouldn’t be enough! It must be remembered that this thing was continuously devouring energy from the outside world, causing the Chaosverse to gradually weaken. They couldn’t afford to waste any time.

Ning said, “Give me some time. I can find it.”

Autarch Mogg blinked in surprise and delight. He fell silent, not wanting to disturb Ning.

Ning carefully scrutinized the countless spacetime bubbles around them. It must be remembered that Ning had infused the Dao of Formations into his Sword Dao, and so he was now highly attuned to how formations functioned and operated. These countless spacetime bubbles were clearly part of a single vast formation of incredible complexity! What he needed to do was find the critical points of this formation.

Ning wasn’t strong enough to create or set down a formation of such magnitude, but by inspecting how it functioned he would still have a chance to find its critical points.

He continued inspecting for roughly the time needed to boil a kettle of tea. He then turned to Autarch Mogg and said, “Follow me.” Ning reached out to cover Mogg and himself with his Spacetime Sword Dao, then began to advance at high speed.

“Have you already found the energy generator for the hive?” Mogg was surprised.

“I’m not sure, but I’ve definitely found one of its critical points,” Ning said.

They continuously warped through spacetime, advancing at high speed. Suddenly… whoosh! An enormous, fiery-red tail tore through spacetime, instantly appearing right in front of Ning.

“Huh?” Ning’s face changed as he immediately brandished his Northmoon sword, delivering a crushing blow.

BOOM!!! An enormous explosion rang out.

Ning could sense a surge of tremendous power pass through his Northmoon sword and into his own body. He couldn’t help but stumble several steps backwards, and a look of shock appeared on his face. His Sword Dao was the most offensively lethal Dao there was. How was it that he could actually be knocked backwards in a frontal collision?!

“Grr… you finally come!” A deep voice rang out, followed by a towering form appearing and drawing near.

Ning and Mogg both stared at this new creature. It looked humanoid but was so towering as to seem like a mountain! Its entire body was covered with fiery scales, and it had a pair of sharp claws for hands, while its lower legs were reverse-jointed. It also had a long tail ! It had a triangular head and a pair of cold, murderous eyes. An aura of flames was blazing across its entire body.

“What a powerful creature!” Autarch Mogg immediately sent mentally, “Darknorth, this has to be an Autarch-class void dweller.”

“Autarch class?” Ning was secretly shocked. His own ‘Stonefire Pearl’ had been acquired from an Autarch-class lifeform the Autarchs had slain. These creatures were incredibly rare, and they were viewed as the kings of the Infinite Void outside the Chaosverses.

“I’ve been waiting you for a long, long time,” the towering monstrosity rumbled.

“Waiting for us for a long time?” Both Ning and Mogg were rather puzzled. But right at this moment…

Boom! Boom! Two more powerful auras warped through spacetime and appeared before them. Ning and Mogg turned slightly pale as they stared at the two similarly massive creatures which had arrived. The first was a furry humanoid who only had a single eye and who radiated a vile, evil aura, while the second was something that looked like a dragon turtle. The dragon turtle was the largest creature of the three.

“You finally made it.” The tall, skinny cyclopean creature spoke in a shrill voice. “We’ve been waiting for ages.”

“There’s three of us but only two of them. How are we supposed to divide them up?” the dragon turtle complained in a booming voice.

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Chapter 18 – The First Clash

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 18 – The First Clash

“I got here first! One of them is mine,” the towering creature with fiery scales said as it stared at Ji Ning and Mogg.

“You only got here a half-second before we did, and you’ve already attacked them. Clearly, however, these two cultivator leaders are completely unharmed. Why the hell should you get a second chance?” the cyclopean creature argued shrilly.

“Are you trying to start a fight, One Eye?” The flames surrounding the fiery-scaled creature suddenly rose higher. Clearly, it was quite offended by this.

“Do you think I’m afraid of you?” the cyclopean creature laughed.

“Heh, you two are already squabbling before the battle has even begun! So far, only two of the local cultivator leaders have arrived. Let’s just kill them first! I bet the cultivators will then send more, at which point we can get rid of a third one, right?” The dragon turtle roared, “Let’s attack and kill these two!”

The three Autarch-class lifeforms spoke in thunderous voices, not disguising their intentions in the slightest. Ning and Mogg exchanged a glance upon hearing all of this.

“It sounds as though they have to kill a total of three cultivators,” Ning sent.

“Autarch-class void dwellers aren’t easily managed. The Sithe probably reached some sort of a deal with them,” Autarch Mogg sent back. “They can be considered the true rulers of the vast Infinite Void which lies beyond our Chaosverse, and they undoubtedly had to slaughter a path through their fellows in order to reach their current heights. They hardly understand the Dao at all, but they have such incredibly powerful bodies that they are very difficult to deal with. Killing three of them will be very hard!”

“I understand.” Ning nodded. All void dwellers possessed bodies that were far stronger than even the bodies of Chaos Primordials… and the Autarch-class ones were even more insanely powerful! What made them truly dangerous was that they had so little understanding of the Dao that the ‘rejection’ they suffered upon entering this Chaosverse was almost meaningless to them, as they could hardly use the Dao to begin with! They still remained terrifying forces to be reckoned with.

“We previously managed to kill two of these Autarch-class void dwellers, but that was when we surrounded and outnumbered them,” Autarch Mogg sent mentally. “There are only two of us right now. This is going to be very difficult.”

“Let’s chat with them first and see if there is a way we can avoid fighting.” Ning could also sense the threat which these three Autarch-class creatures posed.

“Gentlemen!” Ning chuckled. “Why must we fight to the death? This war is a war between us and the Sithe. Why don’t the three of you just leave our Chaosverse and go back to your Infinite Void? Stay far away from the war. I imagine it is unlikely the Sithe would be able to capture you a second time. In fact, I’m surprised they captured you at all!”

“Hmph. We let our guards down,” the cyclopean creature said coldly.

“If we escaped, the Sithe can forget about capturing us again.” The fiery-scaled creature gritted its teeth, then howled furiously, “But what’s the point of saying all this? Do you really think you have a way to let us leave?”

The dragon turtle stared intently at Ning as well.

It was true that the three held no grudges against the local cultivators at all. If they could return home safely, they would be more than willing to do so. They might’ve been captured by the Sithe and forced to accept some tasks, but they weren’t bound by lifeblood oaths! Or, to be precise, there was no way for them to swear lifeblood oaths at all. They were completely different from both the cultivators and the Sithe!

For both the cultivators and the Sithe, both the Dao and the Dao-heart were extremely important. All of them trained from young as cultivators, slowly rising in power thanks to the Dao. These void dwellers, however, were evil, chaotic, and berserk creatures by nature. They didn’t even have Dao-hearts per se; the only law they understood was the law of survival. They would fight to the death, and the strong would live while the weak would die! They followed only the most brutish and barbaric of ‘laws’, the law of strength.

It was much like how weak mortals were completely incapable of swearing ‘lifeblood oaths’ without the help of something like an oathstone. They could swear until they were blue in the face, but they would never have to face the fear of their truesouls being destroyed. The same was true for these void dwellers! It was impossible for them to swear lifeblood oaths.

Thus, the Sithe generally had two options when dealing with the void dwellers they captured. They could either torture them into insanity, or they could slowly manage to tame them! However, it was virtually impossible to tame an Autarch-class void dweller, and so the only real choice was to either torture them or to negotiate with them as equals and come to an agreement.

“Why don’t the three of you just leave this hive?” Ning probed. “After that, you can just leave our Chaosverse. I don’t think anyone would or could stop you.”

“Leave the hive?” The cyclopean creature let out a cold laugh. “This is a place which can only be entered, not exited! The only way to leave is for the Sithe to voluntarily let you leave. If you don’t believe me, try for yourselves! Let’s see if the two of you can leave or not.”

“There’s no way out?” Ning was startled. Neither he nor Mogg had encountered any impediments at all as they flew into the deep abyss.

“Coming in is easy, but leaving is impossible,” the cyclopean creature said. “The three of us have tried to leave countless times, but there is no way out!”

Ning had the feeling that the creature wasn’t lying. There wasn’t a need to lie over something like this.

“Well, that’s easily solved,” Ning said. “Once we destroy this thing from the inside, we’ll be able to leave.”

“Destroy it? You two?” the titanic fiery-scaled creature boomed mockingly.

“You should at least let us give it a try. Maybe we’d succeed,” Ning said. “Just stand there and watch! You can always attack us later, if we really aren’t able to destroy it.”

Ning’s goal was simple. He wanted for these three Autarch-class void dwellers to not cause him any trouble as he tested out methods for destroying this behemoth hive. It must be remembered that these creatures had tremendous brutish force, but they couldn’t compare to the cultivators when it came to understanding the Dao. There was no way they could unlock the mysteries behind such an intricately designed weapon, but that didn’t mean Ning and Mogg couldn’t do so either.

“Impossible.”

“No way.” The other two Autarch-class void dwellers instantly rejected Ning’s suggestion.

“Cultivator leaders, let me speak plainly with you,” the dragon turtle said coldly. “Long ago, we came to an agreement with the Sithe after our capture. We made them certain promises. The first promise was that we had to each kill at least one of the ‘leaders of the cultivators’, while the second was that we had to protect this place for a full chaos cycle. Once we complete both objectives, we’ll be released and granted freedom.”

“We have to protect this place for a chaos cycle, so there’s no way we’ll let you try and destroy it. If we stand back, we’ll have instantly voided the agreement and the Sithe would never let us leave,” the cyclopean creature said.

“A full chaos cycle?” Ning and Mogg both grew anxious. That was unacceptable. Given how fast this thing was devouring energy, the Chaosverse probably would’ve been reduced to a husk of itself by then! The Sithe would’ve long ago taken control over the Chaosverse after a chaos cycle.

“There are two paths available to us,” the dragon turtle continued. “The first is for us to stand by the side of the Sithe. The second is for us to stand by your side… but if we do so, we’ll have made an irreversible choice! The three of us know just how terrifying this hive is, and we have no reason to believe that you two will be able to deal with it. We can’t just entrust our very lives to the two of you, unless you can somehow prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that you can destroy this hive.”

Ning and Mogg were both speechless. Prove beyond the shadow of a doubt? They didn’t even know how the thing operated yet. How were they supposed to do that?

“Hmph.” The dragon turtle snorted. “And here I thought you cultivators had something really impressive up your sleeves.”

“You disappoint us. KILL THEM!” The cyclopean creature was the first to attack. Whoosh! Its body blurred as it transformed into a strange ripple that instantly appeared before Ning and Mogg. It was so fast that even Ning was rendered speechless! Even when Ning used the Storm Sword Dao, he was still considerably slower than this creature.

“Leave this one to me!” Autarch Mogg held a long saber in each of his six arms, and he similarly transformed into a spatial ripple to fight back. As the master of the Space Daobirth Essence, Autarch Mogg was more or less able to stave off this cyclopean creature.

Slash! Dimensional tears began to appear and disappear in the space around the two. The cyclopean void dweller’s attacks were completely suppressing Autarch Mogg in both speed and ferocity, but the Autarch’s incredibly high level of insight ensured that his six long sabers formed a completely airtight defense. He would probably be able to hold on for quite some time.

“These Autarch-class void dwellers all became kings of their kind through constant slaughter. None of them are easy to deal with.” Ning knew all along that killing these things in sole combat would be extremely difficult; in the past, the Autarchs had only accomplished it through strength in numbers. Still… Ning was confident in his abilities. Six million chaos cycles of training had been completely transformative for him.

“Leave this one to me, you old bastard?” the fiery-scaled void dweller said.

“Fine.” The dragon turtle was very patient and elected to silently watch from afar.

“Hey, One-Eye! Let’s see who kills our opponent first!” The fiery-scaled creature let out a roaring laugh, filled with such power that when it blasted into Ning’s ears, Ning felt as though it was trying to tear his head apart. Next, the vast creature exploded into motion, transforming into a streak of fiery light that rammed straight towards Ning.

“I haven’t had a chance to really have a good fight since mastering the Eternal Omega Sword Dao and spending six million chaos cycles in training.” Ning could feel his blood pumping with excitement. It had been a long time since he got into a really good battle. Previously, it was because his truesoul was collapsing and he didn’t dare to fight with abandon. These days, it was because it was almost impossible for him to find a good opponent.

“I wonder how long it’ll take me to beat him? Will ten seconds be enough, or shall I need as much time as is needed to boil a kettle of tea?” Ning manifested three heads and six arms, his six Northmoon swords at the ready.

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Chapter 19 – Captured

Book 43, Final Fate, Chapter 19 – Captured

Ji Ning’s body blurred, transforming to become 540,000 meters tall. However, compared to the titanic fiery-scaled void dweller, he was still a bit smaller.

“Die!” The creature lashed out at Ning with its terrifyingly sharp claws, which its physical prowess ensured were deadlier than even Universe treasures.

Bang! Ning was instantly torn apart into countless pieces.

“Eh?” The fiery-scaled void dweller was shocked. “An illusion!” Everything it could see was nothing more than part of the illusions created by Ning’s Sword Dao!

“Storm Execution!” Six streaks of sword-light howled forth, slashing against the blazing flames covering the scaled creature’s neck. It stumbled backwards, but nothing more than a few white marks were left behind on the scales protecting the neck. However, right as Ning’s swords connected with the creature’s neck, Ning used the Dao of Karma to pour the power of the strike throughout the creature’s body, causing internal destruction with abandon.

“What a powerful cultivator!” The scaled creature lifted its head up, letting out a bellow: “But your illusions are useless against me!”

BOOM! The flames covering its body expanded dramatically, its internal flames pouring out from within to cover an area of a million kilometers. The power of these flames was so great that it actually managed to push back Ning’s Sword Dao Domain and his heartworld projection.

“My six strikes weren’t even able to break its scales! I was able to injure its vital essence through karma, but as an Autarch-class void dweller it has an absolutely prodigious amount of essence.” Ning immediately began to consider what to do next. The flames the void dweller had released were pushing back against the Sword Dao Domain. Once it overtook Ning’s illusions, Ning would be forced to reveal his true location and he would no longer be able to catch the creature offguard.

Kill it through the Karma Sword Dao? That was too time-consuming! The Autarch-class stone lifeform the Autarchs had encountered and slain all those years ago had been indestructibly hard, as it truly was a stone by nature. Not even the Autarchs were able to injure it, and so their only option had been to exhaust it to death after tens of thousands of years!

However, Ning felt certain that this scaled creature wouldn’t be quite as tough to deal with as that stone lifeform had been. There had to be a flaw Ning could exploit.

“Its body is unspeakably powerful, which is why it has Autarch-class power. It has far more vital essence than actual Autarch’s; to kill it using the Karma Sword Dao is going to be too slow. I’ll have to come up with another idea for breaking through its defenses… but I hit it six times in a row and merely left behind a few white marks on its scales.”

Ning pondered for a moment, then came to a conclusion.

“Die, cultivator! Die!” The towering scaled creature charged at Ning with incomparable ferocity, its tail smashing apart anything which got in its way.

Now that Ning had some experience from their first clash, he immediately changed tactics. Whoosh! Ning dodged in a ghostly manner, transforming into the storm itself as he charged towards the scaled void dweller.

“He’s fast!” The scaled creature was shocked. “Only One-Eye is his superior in speed.”

The wind and the lightning thundered in harmony, with the scaled creature’s claws and tail completely unable to stop Ning’s attack.

“Kill!” Ning simultaneously chopped out with all six swords at the same time, his swords spinning out like the spokes of a wheel! The edges of each sword was covered in blurry light. A closer look would’ve shown that the blurry sword-light was actually composed of countless interspersed white and black specks of light that were connected to each other. The specks of light were spinning in blaze, with the white light blazing like fire while the black light hissed with dark corrosive power.

The Dark Sword Dao – it infused corrosive darkness into the Dao of the Sword

The Light Sword Dao – it infused blazing light into the Dao of the Sword.

When joined together, they came to form the Cycle Sword Dao which Ning had developed. Working in harmony, the two were able to support and reinforce each other with tremendous synergy, allowing for blazing strikes of corrosive power that ate through anything in its path! It was like the merciless cycle of life and death itself, chopping through all things in its path.

Whoosh! Six streaks of gray sword-light shot out at the same time, spinning at the scaled creature like the blades of a giant windmill.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The corrosive power of the Cycle Sword Dao was utterly unstoppable. Even the fiery-red scales of the void dweller began to crack. Moments later they broke apart entirely, with a gaping wound appearing below them. Gold blood seeped out, followed by the flesh quickly healing.

“You actually injured me!” The scaled creature went completely berserk. A layer of red light appeared over its entire body, and its power increased dramatically. It began to launch a furious counter-attack while howling, “Hurry up and help me out, you old bastard!” Its scales were its pride and joy. The fact that they had been shattered caused it to feel that it was in danger.

“Coming.” The dragon turtle immediately came flying over.

“Illusion Sword Dao!”

The scaled creature’s flames were only able to cover an area of a million kilometers; beyond that, Ning’s illusions continued to reign supreme. Countless Nings appeared within that area, and all of them began to assault the scaled creature from afar at the same time. The dragon turtle had no idea which one was the real one.

Whoosh! Whoosh! The light of the Cycle Sword Dao continued to spin out like the spokes of a wheel, its strikes screaming through the air from a million kilometers away. A million kilometers might seem to be a very great distance, but it was actually extremely short for someone of Ning’s abilities. All it did was give the scaled void dweller a chance to react to Ning’s attacks, but there was no way the dragon turtle would be able to actually help it.

Ning was completely dominant on a technical level. His Cycle Sword Dao once more tore open a giant gaping wound in the scaled creature’s body.

“Aaaaaaah! Die, die!” The scaled creature launched wild counter-attacks with abandon, but Ning was far too nimble. Each time after he attacked he retreated back into his illusions, making it impossible for them to locate where he truly was.

“Old bastard! Old bastard!” the scaled creature called out furiously.

“I can’t locate the real one! Each time he moves into extremely close range as he attacks, then retreats right away. I don’t have enough time!” the dragon turtle responded anxiously as well.

“During the last war we fought against the Sithe, two Autarch-class void dwellers were on their side. The end result was that both of them died, while all of us were untouched.” Ning’s voice rang out in the air as he continuously launched more attacks, his terrifying Cycle Sword Dao repeatedly ripping huge wounds into the scaled creature’s body.

The scales were so extremely durable that Autarch-class attacks were generally unable to breach them, but Ning’s Cycle Sword Dao was a perfect counter and so Ning was able to breach through them. Given how tough the scales were, they were equally difficult and time-consuming to repair once destroyed.

“All you creatures can do is rely on the natural power of your bodies.”

Slash! Another wave of attacks from the Cycle Sword Dao chopped past the scaled creature.

“Even if we cannot beat you, staying alive is simplicity itself… and once we find your weaknesses, you are dead.”

Slash! Slash! The light of the Cycle Sword Dao left more and more gaping wounds on the scaled creature’s body.

“The Sithe put you here, yes… but did you really think they intending on letting you survive? They simply wanted you to slow us down at the cost of your own lives.”

Riiiiip! The scaled creature’s long tail was actually severed midway through!

“Ahhhhhhhh!” The scaled void dweller’s titanic body was now covered with wounds. Its tail had actually been chopped off, and even its arms were half-severed. Its lacerated flesh was quickly healing, but its scales wouldn’t be able to recover within a short period of time. It grew increasingly frantic, as it could sense how death was impending.

“One-Eye!” the scaled creature roared loudly.

The skinny cyclopean creature was battling Autarch Mogg nearby and had been keeping an eye on the situation. It called out anxiously in its shrill voice, “I can’t find his true body, and he’s too fast! Your flames aren’t able to cover enough area to force him to reveal himself.”

“I can’t expand my domain any further!” the scaled creature said frantically. It had created this flaming domain from its own power, and it wasn’t easy for him to strengthen those flames to a level where it could simultaneously suppress both Ning’s Sword Dao Domain as well as Ning’s heartworld projection! It could only maintain enough power to do both up to a distance of a million kilometers; this was the creature’s maximum limit! Alas, a million kilometers was a short enough distance that neither of the other two Autarch-class void dwellers would be able to interrupt Ning’s incredibly fast attacks.

“Damn.”

“Stop that!” Both the Autarch-class creatures were turning frantic.

Slash! One of the scaled creature’s arms was completely severed off.

“I surrender! I surrender! Spare me!” The scaled creature finally began to panic as those terrifying streaks of sword-light tore through its scales once more. “Spare me and I’ll obey you in all things!”

“Obey me? I wouldn’t dare to place any faith in you.”

There was no way for these Autarch-class void dwellers to swear lifeblood oaths. The only agreements they could make were oral agreements, and they could go back on those agreements whenever they pleased!

“No…!”

Ning’s sword-light continued to chop down mercilessly. Ning only sped up the pace after most of the creature’s scales had been destroyed, and his sword-light flew about with abandon as he completely chopped the scaled creature apart into countless pieces. A red gemstone suddenly appeared, and it was able to survive even Ning’s furious blows of sword-light. The faint outline of the scaled creature could be seen within the red gemstone, and it was still begging Ning: “Don’t kill me!”

Ning had unleashed a total of 3,220 strikes in destroying this Autarch-class void dweller’s body. He immediately grabbed the red gemstone, then cast a seal across it.

“I’ve already captured this one, and I can destroy it with a thought.” Ning turned to glance at the other two Autarch-class void dwellers, his voice echoing within the area: “Are the two of you willing to stand with us now? Or are you still going to stand with the Sithe?”

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Chapter 20 - Formation

Book 43, Chapter 20 - Formation

The dragon turtle and the cyclopean creature shared a glance. The two Autarch-class void dwellers were unable to hide their shock. One of their peers had been defeated in just a few short moments, its body destroyed and its life-core taken?

“If you keep fighting against us, the only result will be that you both die,” Autarch Mogg said. “Stand with us. Once we deal with this behemoth hive, you’ll gain your freedom.”

“Do you really think you can threaten us just because you captured one of us?” the dragon turtle snorted coldly.

The cyclopean creature smiled coldly as it glanced at Ning and Autarch Mogg. “We’re not like that idiot. I’m fast enough that you two won’t even be able to touch me… and as for that tough old bastard over there? It is even stronger than me! You have no chance of defeating it.”

Mogg frowned. The cyclopean creature was telling the truth; neither Mogg nor Ning was a match for the creature in speed.

“If that’s the case, go ahead and die.” Ning didn’t want to waste any time. This behemoth hive was continuously devouring the power of this Chaosverse with each passing moment! Ning transformed into the storm once more as he charged towards the dragon turtle.

It must be remembered that Ning was extremely well-rounded and was skilled in almost every Dao. Thus, he was capable of seizing upon his opponent’s weaknesses and come up with a perfect counter each time! Ning felt quite certain that he would be able to deal with the seemingly-speedy Cyclops, and so he wanted to try out the dragon turtle and see how strong it was.

“Hmph.” The dragon turtle didn’t move at all. The grayish-white skin covering its neck looked as tough as a rock, and it just watched coldly as Ning approached it. Invisible waves of energy began to manifest in the area around the dragon turtle, pushing back against the Sword Dao Domain and the heartforce projection alike.

“Kill!” An absolutely dazzling streak of light shot out like a flaming meteor that was crashing to earth. This was Ning’s terrifying sword-light, and it was chopping straight at the dragon turtle.

Hiss… the dragon turtle’s draconian head reared up, hissing like a viper and moving with serpentine speed as it chomped upwards, with space being continuously destroyed and recreated within its maw.

Boom! The sharp sword-light came crashing down against the ears of that draconian head.

……

Ning and the dragon turtle began a furious battle against each other, with Ning putting the terrifying might of his Sword Dao on full display. He alternated between using overwhelming power to shut down the dragon turtle’s savagery and using unpredictable sword-arts to launch deadly stabs! He launched a thousand ferocious attacks in succession that came crashing down like waves, used the deadly corrosive power of his Cycle Sword Dao, and even use all of the various elemental Daos of his Five Elements Sword Dao.

Ning had completely suppressed the dragon turtle and was raining down blows upon it!

“He’s that powerful?!” the distant cyclopean creature was rather shocked.

“Darknorth really has become the strongest of us seven,” Autarch Mogg mused silently. “I’m only superior to him in the Dao of Space; in all else, he is better. He’s simply skilled into many different Daos!”

“Gwaaaar!” The dragon turtle was enraged by the beating it was taken. It furiously tried to fight back, but it continued to be completely dominated.

In terms of actual power, the dragon turtle was the strongest of the three Autarch-class void dwellers. Its deceptively simple bites were actually strengthened by an incredible innate ability that made those bites more powerful than even Ning’s most powerful strikes! It was all-enveloping and compressed space itself, making it impossible for most enemies to dodge this attack. Alas, Ning was at such a high level of insight that he was able to dissolve the attack with ease.

Ning, however, was feeling quite frustrated as well. “Its body is completely flawless and impregnable.” He had used everything he had and was beating the hell out of this dragon turtle, but he wasn’t able to do any damage! He had even used his sword-light to stab against the dragon turtle’s eyes, but he was unable to pierce through the grayish-white eyelids. As for the rest of the body? None of Ning’s attacks were able to injure it at all.

“Mogg,” Ning sent mentally to Mogg, “Its body is completely flawless and unbreakable. What should we do?” Mogg had been alive for much longer than him, and was much more experienced.

“When we fought the stone lifeform all those years ago, we similarly found it to be indestructible. There’s really no real option aside from slowly exhausting it to death,” Mogg sent mentally. “Use karmic attacks to destroy its vital essence, and just keep on at it until it dies! Last time, we bombared that stone lifeform for tens of thousands of years before managing to kill it. This dragon turtle seems to have a similarly powerful body, and I’ll wager it has just as much vital essence. Your karmic attacks, however, are inferior to those of Titanos. It’ll probably take you at least a million years to exhaust it, or perhaps even longer!”

Ning instantly felt helpless. This was the clumsiest method available, and apparently the only method available! Karmic attacks ignored all defenses, as they used the power of karma to attack someone at the very core of their essence! Alas, Ning was still significantly weaker than Titanos in this respect.

……

“I can’t kill you, but you can’t hurt me either!” The dragon turtle finally abandoned its attempts to counter-attack and instead just allowed Ning to uselessly rain down blows against it.

“How can any physical body be THIS tough?” Ning was secretly speechless. He was so powerful that his attacks would easily cause even Universe treasures or Chaos Primordials to crumble, but this Autarch-class dragon turtle was so tough that Ning wasn’t able to do anything to it at all.

“Let’s finish off the other one first, Mogg,” Ning sent.

“Alright,” Mogg agreed.

Swoosh! Ning instantly transformed back into a storm of wind and lightning as he shot towards the skinny cyclopean creature, which had been watching him from afar this entire time. Thanks to Ning’s illusions, the cyclopean creature had no idea that Ning was even moving towards it.

Even so, the cyclopean creature’s attunement to space and wind allowed it to realize that something strange was going on. “Eh?” Swish! It suddenly dodged, and as it did so a streak of sword-light stabbed straight through its after-image! The creature reappeared over a hundred million kilometers away. It narrowed its eyes and said in its shrill voice, “You want to sneak-attack me? You won’t even touch me!”

“As far as I’m concerned, you are the weakest of the three.” Ning stared at the cyclopean creature, then unleashed an awesome wave of mana which he connected to the boundless power of the Dao. The mana manifested in the form of countless swords that filled the illusory region. Countless millions of streaks of sword-light appeared, with each streak of sword-light filled with such power that they could easily slay Otherverse Lords.

When Ning had been a mere Daolord, his Sword Dao Domain was created solely through the power of the Dao itself. Now, however, Ning was using the power of his mana to actively control the Dao, allowing his domain to become even more powerful! The attacks might not be as mighty as physical strikes unleashed with the Northmoon swords, but they were still tens of times more powerful than in the past.

“This sword-light is very weak.” The cyclopean creature glanced disdainfully at the countless streams of sword-light, then let out a shrill chuckle: “You won’t even be able to scratch me with these things.” Although it was physically the weakest of the three Autarch-class void dwellers, it was still far tougher than any Chaos Primordial.

“Formation, assemble!” Ning called out coldly.

Boom! Countless streams of sword-light began to flow together rhythmatically within the domain, and moments later the entire scene changed.

“What’s going on?!” The cyclopean creature stared in shock at its surroundings, which had become transformed into a fragrant world of grass and flowers. It was standing in the middle of a prairie, and the dragon turtle was nowhere to be seen.

“B-but…” The dragon turtle stared at its own surroundings as well. The world around it had been transformed into a vast sea. The waves of the sea splashed around it, kicking up a few foamy bubbles. It was also unable to see any other creatures around it.

“A formation!” The dragon turtle grew anxious. It instantly flew forwards at high speed, sending its massive bulk hurtling through the air while it furiously tore at the area around it with its four stubby legs. Alas, the waves of the sea seemed to be completely illusory; no matter how it attacked the waves, it remained unable to see anything beyond them.

“You void dwellers do not understand the Dao. You are foolish! You can overpower weaker creatures, but if you encounter a formation set down by someone of equal power to you then you are completely helpless.” Ning’s voice echoed throughout the illusory realms the two creatures were in. “You will not be able to escape my illusions. I can do with you as I please.”

Ning had long ago reached Hegemony in the Dao of Formations. He had then infused it into his Dao of the Sword, creating the Sword Formation Dao. Now, he was using the power of his mana and his insights into the Dao to transform his countless streams of sword-light into formation-bases, which he then used to construct an enormous formation! Even people like Autarch Titanos or Autarch Mogg, who also had a high level of insight into the Dao, would need to spend some time to solve this type of formation. These Autarch-class void dwellers, however, were completely incapable of doing so.

Their advantages were obvious, but their weaknesses were obvious as well.

“Break! BREAK!” The cyclopean creature was growing desperate. It was now holding a long shuttle in its claws, and it was furiously attacking the world around it. Alas, the world remained a fragrant world of grass and flowers.

Riiiip! A streak of sword-light suddenly appeared right behind the cyclopean creature. It had appeared without any warning, and it instantly tore through the creature’s fur and stabbed into its body. Then… the sword-light began to spin! Slash! An enormous gaping wound instantly appeared, followed by golden blood fountaining outwards. The cyclopean creature frantically pulled back and tried to defend against any new attacks.

“Do you think your speed will be of any use to you within my formations? I can approach you without a sound. A few more attacks and you’ll be as good as dead.” Ning’s voice echoed out within the plains once more: “The other two had tougher bodies to deal with, but you’ll be easy to handle.”

“What should I do? Old bastard? Old bastard!!!” the cyclopean creature screamed frantically.

“Keep screaming. Scream as loud as you want. It won’t hear you.” Ning’s voice rang out once more. The beautiful world of flowers was like a nightmare which had completely enveloped the void dweller.

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Chapter 21 - Exalt Anitya

Book 43, Chapter 21 - Exalt Anitya

“No! This is just a formation. I can break it. I can break it!” The cyclopean creature could sense its doom impending, and the sensation was driving it mad. It brandished the shuttle, furiously striking at all directions with it. Slash! Slash! Space was churned apart into tiny little pieces by his blows, but the overall environment remained that of a fragrant world of grass and flowers. Ji Ning’s formation wouldn’t be so easily defeated!

“Break! Break!!!” the cyclopean creature yelled hoarsely.

In the past, it had never viewed formations as something to be afraid of. This was because it had long ago grown accustomed to bursting through formations with its overwhelming power. Formations which could successfully trap Autarch-class void dwellers were incredibly rare to begin with! This one in particular was ensuring that it was not able to put its speed to good effect at all.

“Poor bastard. He ended up running into you, Darknorth.” Autarch Mogg shook his head as he watched from afar, then sent mentally to Ning, “You can be described as the number one formations expert in all the cultivator civilizations.”

“That’s only because I infused the Dao of Formations into my Sword Dao,” Ning said with a smile. “Just a moment, please. I’m about to capture the creature.”

Swish! A streak of gloomy sword-light appeared in ghostly fashion, instantly piercing through the cyclopean creature’s skinny body. One of the creature’s legs went flying, with blood spewing everywhere. The cyclopean creature frantically retreated, not paying any attention to the heavy wound which was quickly beginning to heal. The severed leg was regrowing as well.

“You won’t be able to last. You Autarch-class creatures have very powerful bodies, but that also makes it extremely hard for you to truly heal.”

Sword-light flashed again. Ning’s attacks were coming from every single direction. This looked like an extremely beautiful prairie, but it was a death trap which could unleash sword-light from any and every part of it! There was no way to dodge, and each time the cyclopean creature would only detect the sword-light once the light was right in front of it. The creature’s tremendous speed was rendered useless here.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Just three seconds later, a total of over sixty attacks had appeared and then vanished without a trace. Finally, the cyclopean creature’s entire body crumbled apart. Its healing speed simply wasn’t able to keep up with the rate at which Ning was causing damage, and it was now completely incapable of fighting back at all.

Boom! The creature’s body imploded. Ning reached out with his sword-light to tug free a white and glossy pearl from the ‘corpse’, and it quickly flew over to Ning. The pearl held an image of the furry cyclopean creature within it, and it was begging Ning for its life: “Please spare me! Spare me! None of this was of my own free will!”

Ning waved his hand, grabbing the pearl and casting a seal over it.

So long as his seal prevented the pearl from absorbing energy from the outside world, the creature would be unable to revive! It could only reconstitute its body if given access to enough energy, but even without its body it would remain alive so long as its truesoul within its life-core remained unharmed. Only when the life-cores were destroyed would these Autarch-class void dwellers be truly ‘dead’! However, Ning didn’t feel much of an urge to actually kill them. He was going to simply imprison them for now.

And so… two of the three void dwellers had been captured by Ning.

“Congratulations, Darknorth.” Mogg flew over, his scaled face split by an amazed smile. “Thank goodness you came with me. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to deal with them so easily.”

“Autarch-class void dwellers are indeed very tough to deal with, due to their innate gifts. However, their obvious weakness is that they do not train in the Dao. They have a very low level of insight,” Ning said. “I’m only able to attack their weaknesses and defeat them with such ease because I’m fairly well-rounded.”

“Any void dwellers capable of reaching the Autarch level of power have very few weaknesses.” Autarch Mogg sighed. “These three were all very powerful, with that cyclopean creature possessing unparalleled speed. The only way to handle it is to do what you just did – trap it in a formation, an extremely profound formation which it cannot break through with raw power. However, such formations generally require detailed and intricate preparations as well as for formation-bases to be laid down in advance. Given how crafty the creature is, it would never just watch us set down those formations and then just step into them. Only you could’ve done what you did, Darknorth. You created a formation with but a thought, making it impossible for it to escape.”

“That scaled void dweller was even more difficult to deal with. It had virtually no weaknesses at all! Thankfully, your sword-arts were able to breach its armor of scales. I’m truly impressed that you were able to capture both of them! As for this last one… it seems to be completely invulnerable,” Autarch Mogg said.

Ning sighed. “I really don’t have any idea what I’m supposed to do with this last one.”

He was very well-rounded, true, but Autarch-class void dwellers were simply too difficult to handle. The cyclopean creature had an obvious weakness, which was why Ning was confident in his ability to deal with it! Ning hadn’t been sure if he could handle the other two, and so he had to probe them in battle first. He had discovered that his Cycle Sword Dao was capable of breaking the scaled creature’s armor, but there was nothing Ning could do which affected the dragon turtle.

Ning and Mogg both moved to the place where the dragon turtle was located, then stared at it. The dragon turtle simply sat there, silently inspecting its surroundings. It was trapped within an illusory formation, but it showed no signs of fear whatsoever.

“So what should we do?” Ning pondered.

“If we can’t kill it in a short period of time, we should just leave it there for now,” Autarch Mogg said. “Let’s go locate the core mechanisms controlling this behemoth hive first. We need to destroy this hive as soon as possible. If it comes to bother us again, use your formations to trap it. If need be, I’ll personally tie it down.”

“That’s all we can do.” Ning nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

Ning quickly led Mogg in advancing to the critical point he had discovered earlier while analyzing the functionings of this behemoth hive. As they left, the illusory formation Ning had established quickly dissipated. There was no way to maintain it from afar! This was a formation which Ning had to use all his power to cast and maintain, a powerful Autarch-class formation which used up an enormous amount of energy. Ning had used his mana to guide the limitless power of the Sword Dao in setting up this formation. Now that Ning was gone, it would be very difficult to use mere formation-base type treasures to supply the necessary amount of energy.

It must be remembered that not even Sithe Apocalypse-class formations were as mighty as this one! Thus, it would take Ning an extremely long period of time and many precious materials to create a physical variant, far longer than Ning would need to simply use his Karma Sword Dao to attrition the dragon turtle to death.

“Two of my old friends are gone, just like that.” The dragon turtle sighed to itself. “These Autarchs who train in their ‘Dao’ really are hard to deal with. Ugh. It is our own fault for being caught by the Sithe. We really were given no choices at all. Who the hell would want to fight against these cultivators anyhow?”

“…eh?” The dragon turtle stared at its surroundings in surprise. The illusory realm around it had vanished, revealing ordinary spacetime

“They left?” The dragon turtle grew anxious. “They’re still heading for the core regions. I have to stop them!”

Swoosh! The dragon turtle immediately warped through spacetime in pursuit.

……

This ‘behemoth hive’ was in reality an intricately designed super weapon, and it was filled with many separate spacetime continuums. One of them was merely three hundred meters in size, and it held a man who was seated in the lotus position, his long hair unbound. This man’s hair was black on one side and white on the other. He looked quite strange and mysterious.

His eyes looked like a series of concentric circles, and his gaze was as deep as a bottomless abyss. He quietly stared at the images displayed in front of him. The images shown were of Ning and Autarch Mogg battling against those three Autarch-class void dwellers. However, the images were blurry and indistinct. He was able to scry some of what had happened due to the residue left behind by the various attacks, but wasn’t able to truly ‘watch’ the battle.

“There’s no way for me to truly scry any of these cultivator Autarchs,” the black-white haired man murmured softly. “However… judging from their auras, they should’ve only sent two people.”

Autarchs were incredibly powerful. In their own Chaosverse, they were able to summon nigh-limitless amounts of power, and it was almost impossible to view them if they didn’t want o be viewed. The Sithe would only sense energies blocking their scans; they wouldn’t be actually able to see the Autarchs at all.

“Eh?” The black-white haired man’s face suddenly turned pale. The battle had just come to an end and both Ning and Mogg had vanished, leaving behind just the dragon turtle.

“Only one of those three void dwellers are left?” The black-white haired man was stunned. Ignoring everything else, he immediately activated the formation-base he was seated on.

Rumble… the formation-base slowly began to swivel in place, and a ripple of power began to manifest and take form as a pillar of light. Slowly, the pillar of light resolved into a humanoid figure. It was a balding, barefoot, loose-robed man of great stature and size who had a kind, sympathetic smile on his face. His eyes were absolutely mesmerizing, and those who saw him would feel the unconscious desire to submit to him.

“Almighty Iyerre,” the black-white haired man bowed respectfully.

“How are things, Anitya?” Iyerre asked.

“The cultivators have entered our super weapon, the ‘Annihilation Hive’, but there is only two of them. Their auras are vast, preventing me from seeing them clearly. However, two of the three Autarch-class void dwellers we imprisoned within the Annihilation Hive have already died. Only the defensively impregnable ‘Howler’ beast we captured remains alive,” the black-white haired man said respectfully.

Iyerre frowned slightly. “Only two of them came?” The loss of two void dwellers was a minor matter, but he was very disappointed that only two of the cultivators had entered the Annihilation Hive. If five or six had come in, the Sithe could’ve seized this opportunity to immediately launch the final war!

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Chapter 22 - The Central Nexus

Book 43, Chapter 22 - The Central Nexus

“Just follow the plan,” Iyerre instructed. “If those two void dwellers died, they died. As long as the Howler beast is still alive, our plans remain unaffected.”

“Understood,” the black-white haired man said obediently.

“Feel free to contact me if anything major happens.” Iyerre’s lips crooked upwards in a smile. “I’ve spent countless aeons and paid an enormous price in order to create the Annihilation Hive. It won’t be easy for them to defeat it… and if they just send in two Autarchs, their chances are absolutely nil. If they send in more Autarchs they might be able to eventually figure out a way to destroy it… but in doing so, they’ll have lost the battle to us before it even began.”

The creation of the Annihilation Hive was Iyerre’s greatest accomplishment. He was extremely confident in its prowess.

……

This place was filled with countless spacetime bubbles of varying size, and they could be seen everywhere.

Ji Ning continued to examine the inner workings of the entire hive as he advanced, moving closer and closer to the critical point. After roughly an hour, they finally reached the spot.

“The central nexus point for the entire behemoth hive is located right up ahead.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. Ning had been focusing his full attention on inspecting the path before him, which had been rather tiring.

“The central nexus?” Autarch Mogg stared from afar as well.

Both of them carefully inspected the distant, empty region in front of them. At the very center of this empty region was a beautiful vortex of astral clouds. The astral clouds swirled in a vortex-like manner around the very center.

These astral clouds were composed of countless specks of light and seemed almost illusory in nature. Ning and Autarch Mogg had such incredible visual acuity that they were able to see through almost anything, so long as there wasn’t a complete seal that blocked out all sight. The two were able to gaze past the astral clouds and thus see the black tower at the very center. The tower had to be ten thousand kilometers tall!

The vast black tower was covered with swirls of strange power which caused the vortex of astral clouds to appear around it. More than that – it also caused countless ripples of spacetime to rise and fall in the area around it, and it resonated with the entire realmverse-sized hive! It was the source of that terrifying swallowing power which was draining away all forms of energy from the outside world. Not even the prime essences of the Chaosverse were able to recover the energy lost.

It was easy for Autarchs to enter this place, but if they tried to leave they would also suffer from that powerful devouring force. There was no way they could possibly escape!

“This has to be the most central nexus point of the entire behemoth hive.” Ning’s gaze was able to see through the vortex of astral clouds and into the black tower within it.

This tower was shaped like a pyramid, and it was completely pitch-black in color.

“You moved quite fast, cultivator leaders.” A deep, rumbling voice suddenly rang out.

Ning and Mogg turned to stare off into the distance. Within the astral vortex, there was an enormous entity which was lying in wait. It was the dragon turtle! Ning had to slowly find the path to this location, while the dragon turtle already knew the routes and so took the fastest path here. It had arrived long ago.

“In accordance with the agreement I made with the Sithe, I will not allow you to damage this place,” the dragon turtle rumbled. “However… I’ll wager that you aren’t even strong enough to get here.”

“Oh?” Ning and Mogg exchanged a glance. “Attack!” They didn’t hesitate at all. Ning manifested three heads and six arms, while Mogg manifested six arms. Both charged straight towards the dazzlingly beautiful vortex of astral clouds without hesitation.

Boom! The vortex of astral clouds continued to spin in place, causing countless streams of light around it to twist and bend as it crushed all in its path.

“What a powerful obstructive force.” Ning and Mogg were respectively covered by layers of sword-light and dimensional membranes as they continued to fight through the clouds.

Bang! Bang! Bang! They smashed through one layer of astral clouds after another. Ning was able to see that there appeared to be a total of 106 layers of these astral clouds, all assembled in that vortex formation.

“The power here is tremendous. Even Chaos Primordials would be crushed into tiny bits if they came here.” Ning and Mogg began to decelerate as they moved to defend themselves.

“Open!” Ning shot out a streak of sword-light. Slash! It swept out like a wave, tearing a tunnel through the astral clouds and pushing the specks of light aside.

Whoosh! Ning and Mogg flew forwards at high speeds, using their sword-light and saber-light to continuously carve a path forward for themselves. In the blink of an eye, they flew past the thirty-fifth layer.

“The pressure here is ridiculously strong.” Ning’s face was grim. The spinning astral clouds were like millstones grinding away at them; if they didn’t manage to successfully defend themselves, they would be crushed to pieces! Both had avatar-bodies, but this pressure was still enough to crush them to death. They had to use their sword-arts and Daobirth Essence, respectively, to clear a path through the vortex, but both of them could sense how taxing it had become.

“The dragon turtle is right past the fiftieth layer,” Ning sent mentally, his ‘voice’ tinged with helplessness. “I didn’t imagine that he would be spot on. It’ll be very hard for us to reach the fiftieth layer; even if we do manage to somehow fight our way there, we’d be constantly in danger of succumbing to the crushing power of the vortex. There’s no way we’d be able to deal with the dragon turtle as well.”

“Agreed. We can’t advance any further. If we do, we won’t have enough power left to fight against the dragon turtle. We might end up dying there.” Autarch Mogg came to the same conclusion.

Although they found the thirty-fifth layer somewhat taxing, they would still be able to unleash 80% of their full power while reserving the rest to keep the power of the vortex in check. There was no need for them to fear the dragon turtle. But if they actually forced themselves to the fiftieth layer, they probably would have less than 10% of their power available for fighting. The dragon turtle would completely dominate them, and they could very well die.

“The pressure here really is terrifying. I can’t believe the two of us working together aren’t even able to make it to the fiftieth layer.” Autarch Mogg began to feel anxious. “But the black tower at the center of this vortex is the central nexus of this entire hive. That’s over a hundred layers down! We can’t even approach it, much less destroy it. We aren’t even close to being able to succeed. What should we do?”

“I agree.” Ning’s head hurt as well. Their bodies weren’t tough enough to resist the crushing pressure of the vortex; they had to beat the pressure back with their attacks! Although Ning was somewhat stronger than Mogg, the two even when working together would only barely be able to make it to the fiftieth layer. There was no chance of going all the way.

“The power of the vortex rises gradually, not exponentially. I estimate we would need at least five Autarchs working together in order for us to stand a chance of making it past the hundredth layer,” Autarch Mogg said. “The two of us by ourselves won’t be able to go too far.”

“Even if five Autarch avatars came in, they probably would still find it very difficult to damage that black tower. They’d end up trapped inside, while the Sithe would probably seize this opportunity to launch the war.” Ning frowned. “We’d be in serious trouble.”

It took time to build new avatars. Ning would need years just to create a new avatar if his current one was lost, and he would need many more years for the new one to reach peak battle power.

Once the war began, the Autarchs simply wouldn’t have the time needed to create and strengthen new avatars. Wasting even four or five days on this process would result in the situation quickly turning grim.

“Then what should we do?” Autarch Mogg understood the problem as well. “We absolutely have to destroy this hive. If we don’t, then it’ll drain away more energy while becoming more powerful! Given enough time, it’ll weaken the Chaosverse so much that the Sithe will be able to take control over it. We’ll be finished, then!”

Ning felt anxious as well. If nearly half of their Autarch-level combatants were trapped here, they would probably lose the war. But if they didn’t send in more Autarchs, this hive would continue to drain away energy from the Chaosverse… which would still ultimately result in defeat!

“Let’s try and think of another option,” Autarch Mogg said.

“There are no other options.” Ning shook his head. “I’ve been analyzing the formations inside this hive the entire time. It has just a single nexus point – the black tower inside that vortex of astral clouds! If we want to destroy the hive, we’ll either need to destroy its nexus or have enough power to blast the entire thing apart.”

Ning shook his head. “Destroying the entire hive is impossible. It is too powerful. Nothing we can do would even shake it.”

Ning and Mogg continued to ponder the question of what they had to do. As for the massive, impregnable dragon turtle, it simply waited within the fiftieth layer. The crushing power of the astral clouds was unable to injure it in the slightest. It lifted up its draconian head, then let out a boom shout: “Haha! I told you, you won’t even be able to make it to me, much less wreck the nexus.”

It wanted to lure Ning and Mogg closer. They’d have to deal with ever-greater amounts of pressure, giving the void dweller a better chance at killing them.

Ning and Mogg glanced sideways at the dragon turtle, not even bothering to answer it. The two did rather envy its defensive powers, though. They could at most fight to the fiftieth layer, but the dragon turtle was able to reach that layer with ease by completely ignoring the crushing weight of the vortex. Its body was simply ridiculous! No wonder Ning hadn’t been able to do anything to the creature at all.

“Let’s calm down first and come up with a plan. We’ll have Titanos try and help us come up with something as well. Let’s figure out a way to charge past the astral clouds,” Ning said.

“I agree. Let’s calm down and think. We’ll definitely think of something.” Mogg tamped down his own nervousness as well. They quickly spread word to the other five Autarchs, and all six of them began to try and devise a way of passing through the vortex of astral clouds.

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Chapter 23 - Titanos' Solution

Book 43, Chapter 23 - Titanos' Solution

An ancient temple was hovering above an island located within the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. There were six figures seated in the lotus position within this ancient temple. They were Autarch Titanos, Autarch Mogg, Autarch Stonerule, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Bolin, and Autarch Ekong. They were here either in person or in avatar form, and they were all seated meditating. In front of Autarch Mogg, there was an illusory image which displayed what was happening within the Annihilation Hive.

“The insides of the hive are completely filled with countless spacetime bubbles which are linked together in an extremely complicated formation.”

Autarch Mogg pointed at the images and explained, “There is a vortex at the very center of the hive, and it holds a total of 106 layers of astral clouds which surround a black tower. The black tower is the energy wellspring for the entire hive. That’s essentially what we’ve managed to discover thus far. Try and help us come up with an idea, everyone.”

“Hm.”

“Got it.” The other five Autarchs all nodded slowly.

Time flowed on. Autarch Skyfeeder’s avatar kept time accelerated at a rate of 500x for the Autarchs, buying them time to slave away at this problem! The Annihilation Hive was constantly devouring energy, after all. The more time they took, the more harm would be done to the Chaosverse.

“No, that won’t work.”

“Anything else?”

“We have to reach the nexus and destroy the black tower if we wish to break the hive apart, but a hundred layers of astral clouds? It’s too hard.”

The Autarchs pondered continuously. Every so often one of them would voice a suggestion, but the others would quickly point out the flaws!

Time passed, one day after another. The Autarchs spent more than three years painstakingly analyzing the problem. Thankfully, the 500x temporal acceleration meant that only two days went past in the outside world.

“What a marvelously constructed weapon.” Autarch Titanos stared at the illusory images in front of him. An illusory black tower took form, followed by a vortex which took control over spacetime to generate an even more powerful sucking effect. This effect resonated across the entire behemoth hive, giving birth to that terrifying force which was devouring everything around the hive.

“I’m far from being a match for the person who was able to create this weapon.” Autarch Titanos shook his head slightly, then murmured: “But if all I have to do is cause some damage, I should be able to do it.”

“Eh?” The other five immediately turned to look at him.

“Titanos, do you have an idea?”

“What did you come up with?” All of them grew excited.

Autarch Titanos had been alive for an extremely long period of time, and he had spent much of it analyzing Sithe weapons. The other five Autarchs held great faith in his abilities in this regard.

“I’m fairly confident in my idea,” Autarch Titanos said, “But I need to enter the hive first and inspect it personally before I can be sure if it would work or not.”

“Titanos, take the route which Darknorth and I used. The two of us will be there to welcome you,” Autarch Mogg said.

……

Rumble…

The bald Autarch Titanos was staring at the Annihilation Hive from afar, watching as it swallowed and destroyed everything in an extremely wide area around it. Time quickly began to accelerate around him until it reached 100x the rate of normal time. He then waved his finger, causing a black cauldron which was 300 meters long to appear next to him. He then tossed many precious ingredients into the black cauldron.

Just six days later, a streak of light shot out from inside the black cauldron. It was a white-robed avatar of Autarch Titanos.

“Go on.” This freshly created avatar of Autarch Titanos had just 20% of his true body’s strength. It quickly flew towards the distant Annihilation Hive.

For now, he was just going to use this weak new avatar for exploring the Annihilation Hive. As for his first avatar in the Sithelands, it would begin to weaken now that Autarch Titanos was focusing his energies on maintaining the second avatar, but the weakening was a gradual process. If he didn’t spend too much time maintaining the second avatar and quickly abandoned it to turn his efforts back to his first avatar, the first avatar would quickly reach peak power once more.

The white-robed Titanos dove into the tunnel which Ning and Mogg had entered, flying into the hive. The tunnel was unfathomably dark and deep.

“Titanos.” Two figures hailed him from afar.

“Darknorth. Mogg.” The white-robed Titanos revealed a smile.

“This new avatar of yours is really puny,” Mogg’s avatar said teasingly. “You’d probably get wiped out in an instant if you got into a fight with those Autarch-class void dwellers.”

“It’s just a temporary body. We’re in a rush for time, so I just used a quick and dirty method to get this thing up and running,” the white-robed Titanos said.

The three continued to fly forwards as they chatted together. Ning led the way, warping through spacetime and moving them towards the vortex of astral clouds.

“How beautiful.” Autarch Titanos stared at the astral clouds from afar, an amazed look on his face. He then turned to look at the countless spacetime bubbles off in the distance. “Impressive. Truly impressive. Now that I had the chance to witness these things operating in person, I feel even more admiration towards the Sithe who set this all up. It had to have been the Sithe Lord of Chaos who personally created this thing. This place’s creator is far more talented than I am.”

The more accomplished one was in understanding how complicated artifacts and weapons were fashioned, the more one would understand just how incredible this Annihilation Hive was.

“Do you have any ideas?” Ning asked.

“Creation is hard, but destruction is much easier.” The white-robed Titanos smiled. “I came up with an idea after quite a long period of pondering, and I’m sure it’ll be effective.”

“What’s the method?” Both Ning and Mogg were excited.

“Don’t rush me! I need to make some further improvements.” The white-robed Titanos stared intently at the vortex of astral clouds, scrutinizing how it functioned while pondering how to improve his technique further. Of course, it was Autarch Titanos’ true body in the outside world which was doing most of the real work.

Six hours went past. Ning and Mogg had been waiting this entire time, and finally they saw a smile appear on the white-robed Titanos’ face. “I’ve finally completed it. Darknorth, I’ll teach you the technique. You use it.”

“Why don’t you teach me instead?” Autarch Mogg’s avatar teased.

“You are too weak when it comes to the Dao of Formations. You wouldn’t be able to learn it even if I tried to teach you.” The white-robed Titanos glanced sideways at Mogg, then looked at Ning: “Darknorth, you are every bit my equal when it comes to formations. The only reason why you weren’t able to come up with this idea is because you aren’t very experienced in the creation of weapons and artifacts.”

“Take a look at this.” The white-robed Titanos gently waved a finger, causing an illusion fo the black tower to appear before him. “This black tower is the nexus of the entire hive, right?”

Ning and Mogg both nodded. This much, they both knew.

“It is also the energy wellspring for the entire hive,” the white-robed Titanos said. “But merely providing power doesn’t mean that much; its real value lies in how it applies that power! This is why the black tower is covered with countless runes. The energy wellspring uses those runes to form the hundred-layered vortex, causing the swallowing power to be increased dramatically.”

Ning understood this principle. It was akin to using ten percent of your full power to achieve a hundred percent of the effect you desired!

“The vortex, in turn, links with those countless spacetime bubbles to form an enormous formation of even greater power. This formation resonates throughout the entire hive, generating that tremendous sucking power towards the outside world around it,” the white-robed Titanos said.

“In other words, the vortex is an amplifier. The formation employing all those spacetime bubbles is a second amplifier. The way in which the formation resonates with the entire hive is the third amplifier!

“These three amplifiers are the real reason why the black tower’s power has been increased to such an inconceivable level that it can rip away energy from the Chaosverse itself,” the white-robed Titanos said. “If we can disrupt any of the three amplifiers, the hive won’t be able to function properly. Destroying the hive’s structure would accomplish this, as would destroying the black tower or all the spacetime bubbles inside this place.”

Autarch Mogg immediately said, “But we can’t! This hive is a weapon of terrifying power; we aren’t able to even scratch the thing. As for the spacetime bubbles, we were able to destroy some, but new ones would almost instantly be created. As for the vortex, its composed of countless specks of light. There’s nothing to destroy.”

“Hah! You dummy.” The white-robed Titanos glanced at Mogg, then chortled, “It actually isn’t too hard to deal with the hundred-layered vortex. All we need to do is set up an even larger vortex formation around it, one which spins in reverse. My reverse-vortex formation simply needs to weaken the power of the astral clouds vortex. In doing so, it’ll dramatically weaken the effect the hive has on the outside world. Once this happens, it probably won’t be strong enough to plunder energy from the Chaosverse by force.

“A reverse-vortex formation?” Ning began to understand.

“This is the reverse-vortex formation I came up with. Take a look, Darknorth.” The white-robed Titanos waved a finger, causing an illusory reverse-vortex to suddenly appear around the illusory astral vortex in front of him. This was an inwards-focused formation that pushed back against the astral vortex, weakening its power.

“The vortex of astral clouds is an outwards formation which uses the black tower as its energy source.” Ning smiled. “Our reverse-vortex formation will be an inwards formation which uses me as its energy source. My power comes from the Chaosverse itself and is virtually limitless! I don’t need to completely stop the astral vortex; all I need to do is weaken it by 30%, and it’ll most likely be rendered ineffective.”

“Here are the insights I used to create this formation. Take a close look, Darknorth.” The white-robed Titanos immediately began to explain the finer details regarding the reverse-vortex formation to Ning, who listened attentively. Mogg listened as well, but a mystified look was on his face. In the end, he wasn’t even close to being Ning or Titanos’ equal when it came to formations.

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Chapter 24 - Gaining Entry

Book 43, Chapter 24 - Gaining Entry

The reverse-vortex formation was unspeakably complicated and profound. Ji Ning’s true body in the Three Realms had to spend quite a bit of accelerated time in meditation before truly understanding it.

“Marvelous. Absolutely marvelous!” Ning couldn’t stop praising it.

“Haha!” The white-robed Titanos let out a proud laugh. “I wouldn’t dare boast about other things, but I’m quite confident in myself when it comes to artifacts. Darknorth, are you now able to set the formation up?”

“I am indeed.” Ning nodded.

Mogg’s avatar just chuckled to himself. He had also tried to learn it, but had made very little headway.

The white-robed Titanos said, “Then hurry up and use it!”

“Alright.” Ning immediately flew over, warping through space to appear in the ‘skies’ above the vortex of astral clouds.

“Arise!” Ning’s face was solemn, and an endless wave of mana energy began to flow out from his body. He was using mana to guide the power of the Dao into creating those formations! Waves of energy rippled through the area above the astral vortex as countless streams of sword-light manifested. It was like a vast world of the sword had appeared, and it quickly began to spread outwards to encompass and cover the entire astral vortex.

The white-robed Titanos and Mogg both watched nervously.

“Now what are they up to?” The dragon turtle raised its head, staring puzzledly from its position on the fiftieth level.

“What are these cultivator Autarchs playing at now? Hmph. Do they think saturating the area with an attack will be enough to disrupt my vortex? How laughable! The Annihilation Hive is almighty Iyerre’s proudest creation, and it took him untold years to create it.” The black-white haired Exalt Anitya was responsible from watching over the entire hive from the dark room he was in. He muttered confidently to himself, but he still continued to watch intently.

……

The vast world of sword-light covered the entire astral vortex, with Ning using an enormous amount of mana to keep it under control.

“Time for the reverse-vortex formation!” Ning immediately willed the countless streaks of sword-light to become grains of ‘sand’ that began to revolve around him. They first took shape at the outer perimeter, then began to spin inwards! The power of the astral vortex was weakest at the outside, and it was also easiest for the grains of sword-light to infiltrate the outer perimeter. As the enormous vortex of sword-light continued to spin, more grains of sword-light began to take form and seep inwards.

They reached the tenth level… the twentieth level… the thirtieth level…

“Right. That’s the way to do it, to just seep straight through it.” A smile was playing at the corner of Ning’s lips. The reverse-vortex formation didn’t try to overpower the astral vortex; rather, it was overwriting it and disrupting it!

The spokes of a wheel in motion possessed tremendous power, but if you threw a bunch of rubbish into the axel you could gum up the works. The astral vortex seemed to be formless and thus hard to disrupt, but the reverse-vortex formation was similarly formless and simply focused on disruption.

“Success.” Autarch Mogg watched from afar. He could sense the awesome suctioning power around him was beginning to slowly weaken, and he couldn’t help but smile: “We succeeded.”

“It’s too early to celebrate just yet!” The white-robed Autarch Titanos smiled. “Thus far, the influence is negligible. The behemoth hive is continuing to swallow energy away from our Chaosverse.”

Meanwhile, the dragon turtle stared in amazement at the sight above it. “What in the world?” The vortex of sword-light was continuously expanding in size, spreading out in concentric circles that continuously overlapped the astral clouds. By now, they had nearly penetrated all the way to the fiftieth level.

Rumble…

The sword-light continued to gently reach deeper and deeper into the astral clouds, moving past the sixtieth level… the seventieth level…

The grains of sword-light were incorporeal. The power of the astral clouds continually ground away at them and destroyed them, but the reverse-vortex formation created even more! Ning’s mana energy was truly boundless, and he continued to pour it all into the formation. As more and more grains of sword-light poured into the vortex, it caused the power of the vortex to grow weaker and weaker.

……

The outside world. The countless tunnels dotting the surface of the realmverse-sized hive were continuing to suck in the energy of the Chaosverse. The prime essences were doing their best to halt the process, but they were unable to do so. This was why that enormous vortex of silver ‘light’ had appeared in the area around it.

But gradually, the sucking power of the hive began to weaken. The weakening continued until it reached the point where the prime essences of the Chaosverse were finally able to completely halt the process.

The silver vortex outside the hive immediately began to dissipate. Everything went back to normal. The Annihilation Hive’s countless tunnels continued to strenuously ‘pull’ at the surrounding world, but it wasn’t able to swallow so much as a single scrap of energy no matter how hard it tried.

……

Within the hive. Ning was continuing to maintain the reverse-vortex formation.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The avatars of Titanos and Mogg flew to the area above the astral vortex, moving close to Ning.

“Darknorth, the devouring process outside has come to a complete halt.” The white-robed Titanos was all smiles. “Although the astral vortex still has 60% of its full power, that’s not enough to overpower the prime essences of the Chaosverse. It isn’t able to take any more energy away.”

“Haha…” Ning started to laugh. “After I’ve finished infiltrating the entire astral vortex, it’ll become even weaker.”

Just a short while later, the reverse-vortex formation finally finished seeping through the final layer of the astral vortex. In fact, the grains of sword-light even brushed against the giant black tower. The entire astral vortex was still spinning, but it was now being heavily disrupted and had at most 50% of its original power. This wasn’t nearly enough power for it to continue absorbing energy from the outside world.

Swoosh! Ning, Mogg, and Titanos all quickly flew downwards. Now that the power of the vortex had been so dramatically weakened, passage was much easier as well.

“You actually solved the vortex.” The dragon turtle continued to wait on the fiftieth level, its booming voice filled with disbelief.

“That’s the power of the Dao,” the white-robed Titanos said. “You do not train in the Dao. You would never understand.”

Ning chuckled. “We’ve already solved this vortex, which means the sucking power of the entire hive has just been dramatically weakened. I imagine it is no longer powerful enough to prevent you from leaving! I strongly recommend that you leave right away. We’ll send you outside our Chaosverse, at which point you can flee and find a hiding place far away from here. Don’t let yourself be caught by the Sithe again, and stay away from our war!”

“Leave?” The dragon turtle was startled.

Freedom? Release? Emancipation? It was filled with such joy that it was rather dazed. “Alright!” The dragon turtle finally let out yet another rumble: “And what of my two friends?”

“They’ll stay with us for now. We’ll release them once this war is over,” Ning said. It was unlikely that these Autarch-class void dwellers would be caught a second time, but it wasn’t completely out of the question! The only reason why Ning was willing to let the dragon turtle leave their Chaosverse was because he really had no way of killing it. He wanted to reduce the number of variables which could affect the war.

“Fair enough.” The dragon turtle made no further objections. In the end, gaining freedom for itself was already a blessing.

“Once you leave, one of our fellows will come and guide you out,” Ning said.

“Then I’m off.” The dragon turtle shot off eagerly. Now that the astral vortex was nearly 50% weaker than before its remaining amount of power, while still incredible, was unable to steal more energy away from the Chaosverse. As for the dragon turtle, this time it was able to fight past the sucking power and continue to fly outwards.

“I see it! I see it! That’s the exit!” The dragon turtle flew out of the exit, absolutely delighted. It then turned to look at the enormous hive which it had just exited, as well as the mighty cultivator leader who stood far away from it – Autarch Titanos.

“Follow me. I’ll send you outside our Chaosverse,” Autarch Titanos said. Now that the vortex had been dealt with, the Annihilation Hive was no longer a threat and there was no need for him to continue watching over it.

The dragon turtle followed him obediently, and the two quickly warped away.

……

Ning, Mogg, and the white-robed Titanos continued to fly downwards, moving closer and closer to the heart of the astral vortex. The astral clouds had been dramatically weakened, but progress was still quite difficult.

“You two stay here. I’ll try it out alone,” Ning said. “The astral vortex is still active, which means I need to keep the reverse-vortex formation active as well. If brought to a halt, the hive will once more begin to swallow energy away from our Chaosverse. In other words, my avatar needs to stay here until we can come up with a way to destroy that energy wellspring permanently. Only then can we destroy the hive, at which point I’ll be free to go.”

“Agreed.” Mogg and Titanos halted their advance. Titanos was here in the form of a newly-created avatar, while Mogg was significantly weaker than Ning.

“Break!” Ning continued to advance while following a path formed by the sword-light generated by his reverse-vortex formation. Although the destructive power of the astral vortex was great, the broken bits of sword-light continuously reformed around Ning, making passage for him slightly.

He continued to advance in three-headed, six-armed form, striking out with all six swords to help carve a path outwards. The deeper he went, the harder it became. In the end, Ning had to use all his power while following the path of sword-light in order to reach the black tower at the very center of the vortex.

Riiiip! The terrifying crushing power here continuously destroyed the surrounding sword-light, but more grains of sword-light rose in their stead. As for Ning, he also maintained his three-headed, six-armed form to fight back.

“This is the energy wellspring of the entire hive.” Ning stared at the countless runes covering the black tower. The runes were profound beyond all imagination. After analyzing them for a while, Ning suddenly leapt forward to ram against the black tower. Right as he hit the tower, he used a blinking technique and followed his senses to teleport inside the tower.

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Chapter 25 - The War Begins

Book 43, Chapter 25 - The War Begins

Castles, planets, towers… Ji Ning was able to penetrate any purely physical barrier, no matter how indestructible it was, with ease.

After blinking into the black tower, Ning could still sense the outside world beyond it. Even his mana was able to easily pass through the tower and continue to maintain the reverse-vortex formation outside.

“Who would’ve thought the insides of the tower would look like this?” Ning rose into the air, staring at the area before him.

The black tower merely covered an area of ten thousand kilometers. At the very center of this area was a shadowy black globe that was covered with a veneer of light. It was furiously gobbling up everything being sent to it. The energy that was circulating towards and through the black tower wasn’t impeded by the tower itself at all, and when the energy was absorbed by the shadow black orb it caused the orb to slowly grow more powerful.

Time ticked on, minute after minute. Eventually, the shadowy globe finished devouring the remaining vestiges of power which the Annihilation Hive had swallowed, at which point it had nothing to feed upon.

“So this is the energy wellspring of the Annihilation Hive?” Ning nodded slowly. He could sense a strange Dao infused into the black orb, one which was contrary to the Dao of their Chaosverse.

“It emanates a terrifying aura of destruction. There’s no way this destructive power came from our Chaosverse. It must have come from the Infinite Void outside.” Ning was extremely certain of this.

“Break!” Ning was in his three-headed, six-armed form and wielded all six Northmoon swords. Sword-light flashed in a dazzling manner, as though six rainbows suddenly had shot out and simultaneously chopped down upon the black tower. It was the black tower which was allowing this engine of destruction to manifest the great vortex in the outside world. If Ning could destroy the tower, the whirlpool itself would instantly disintegrate!

BOOM! A series of loud explosions rang out. Ning’s sword-light was powerful and dominating, but it only managed to cause the tower to tremble. No actual damage was done.

Ning switched from one sword-art to another, trying them all. He tested a soft and corrosive style, a blazing and concentrated style, and a mixture of many other styles as well. None of his many sword-arts, however, were able to do a thing to the black tower.

“Eh? The black tower is absolutely invulnerable. That means I’ll have to turn my attention to the energy wellspring.” Ning frowned as he turned to look at the sphere of annihilation.

It was a dark, shadowy, illusory thing that continued to strive to devour the outside world. Ning had the feeling that the destructive Dao it contained was extremely odd, and he had the feeling that breaking it would be extremely difficult.

“I’ll give it a shot.” Once more, Ning struck out with his swords. Whoosh! The Northmoon swords expanded to become over a thousand meters long as they furiously chopped down towards the shadowy black orb.

Bam! When the swords chopped down on the black orb, they instantly sensed a power pushing back against them. The surface of the shadowy black orb trembled and changed slightly, but once Ning withdrew his swords it quickly went back to normal.

“Break! Break! BREAK!” Ning tried out multiple sword-arts, sending countless streams of sword-light crashing down upon the shadowy black orb. Each time it shuddered and distorted in shape, but every time it quickly regenerated and once more appeared completely undamaged.

“I’m not strong enough. This sphere of annihilation is completely capable of enduring the force of my sword-arts. I can’t truly damage it at all! I can only make it collapse once my attacks surpass its limits.” Ning shook his head. “The Sithe Lord of Chaos truly is incredible. He’s able to manipulate this sphere of annihilation as though it was a mere bauble and even figured out how to teleport it into our Chaosverse. I, however, am not able to budge it in the slightest, much less damage it.”

If he wasn’t able to break the sphere of annihilation, the only thing he could do was keep his avatar here and maintain the reverse-vortex formation indefinitely.

“The Dao within this sphere of annihilation is truly inscrutable.” Ning glanced at the shadowy black sphere, seemingly capable of devouring all things, then once more reached out with his senses to try and understand the laws it contained.

“This Dao is completely different from the Daos of our Chaosverse. Perhaps… perhaps I’ll be able to study its Dao and create a brand new Sword Dao from it!” Ning suddenly was inspired by it. He had once created an Annihilation Sword Dao despite during his six million chaos cycles in training! That Dao was a purely destructive Dao, but this ‘sphere of annihilation’ was different; instead of simply destroying, it devoured everything around it.

The Five Elements, Yin and Yang, darkness and light… it could swallow literally everything the Chaosverse held, then use it to strengthen itself! This was a strange yet terrifyingly powerful Dao! Ning had the feeling that if he could figure out how to infuse it into his own Sword Dao, it would probably produce an extremely powerful Sword Dao that would be of great benefit to him.

The black tower was impregnable, while the sphere of annihilation was similarly invulnerable. The Autarchs had no ideas either, and so Ning was forced to leave his avatar here! It was better for them to keep an Autarch-class combatant tied up here than to allow the Annihilation Hive to continue its devouring rampage.

Ning’s avatar spent all of its time staring at the sphere of annihilation, attuning to the powerful destructive forces within it.

……

In a dark part of the Chaosverse. Autarch Titanos and the dragon turtle suddenly appeared out of nowhere and appeared here.

“All the various different spacetime continuums are interlaced together here. We have reached the farthest reaches of our Chaosverse,” Autarch Titanos said. Nothing was beyond this place save for endless darkness. If one continued to fly, one still wouldn’t see a true ‘barrier’ signifying the end of the Chaosverse.

The borders of the Chaosverse could not be seen with the naked eye or sensed directly. It was simply a place where many different spacetime continuums were jumbled together. Only someone of Autarch Titanos’ caliber would be able to verify where it all came together. There were actually countless nexus points like this, and all of them together formed the vast, impregnable ‘line’ which separated the Chaosverse from the Infinite Void!

“I’ll send you out,” Autarch Titanos said.

“Thank you, Autarch.” The dragon turtle was very delighted and chose to express it through great modesty.

Autarch Titanos waved a single finger. Slash! He tore through the darkness before him as though it was parchment, revealing a dazzling scene ‘outside’…

This was the beautiful and stunning Infinite Void, a place filled with countless colors. It was truly vast without end and filled with countless celestial bodies, with the Chaosverses merely being the largest and most mysterious of those bodies. It was composed of countless different intersecting spacetime continuums. Anyone could quickly become lost when traversing them.

“The Infinite Void.” The dragon turtle grew excited. Finally. It was finally going home!

“Go. Hide in a distant place and don’t let the Sithe catch you again,” Autarch Titanos said.

The dragon turtle gave Autarch Titanos a grateful nod, then sent its massive bulk hurtling through the great rift within the darkness and into the vast Infinite Void outside. This was its true home, the place it loved. It was vast beyond measure and filled with infinite possibilities and marvels.

When Autarch Titanos glanced at the dazzling lights and sights of the Infinite Void, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of desire as well. He very much wanted to go out and do some adventuring, but his Chaosverse was in grave danger. Their Chaosverse didn’t even have a Lord of Chaos to defend it. How could he be so selfish as to go out exploring in a time like this?

……

Within a vast palace of light. Almighty Iyerre was seated on a throne up high, barefoot as always. He was dressed in gray robes which covered his muscular frame, and his eyes were filled with warmth as he stared downwards at his subjects. Before him was a teeming mass of servants, all of them Exalts.

“The Annihilation Hive has already been solved by the cultivators,” Iyerre said slowly as he gazed at his servants.

Instantly, there was a commotion amongst the many Sithe Exalts.

“I underestimated those cultivators.” Iyerre smiled. “I had thought that I might be able to gain victory through the Annihilation Hive alone! Now, it seems that taking control over this Chaosverse won’t be as easy as I had hoped. Very well then. Since the simplest method has failed… let us go to war! Let the final war begin.”

All of the Exalts raised their heads to stare at the almighty Iyerre. They felt nervousness, anticipation, excitement, and fear.

Had it finally begun? The final war?

“Last time was just a trial run! This time, we’ll fight for real! The local cultivators have managed to produce a complete Eternal Omega Sword Dao, which means they are going to become increasingly powerful. Eventually, they’ll give birth to Omega Emperors! The longer we wait, the slimmer our chances shall become.”

“There’s no way out. Let the final battle begin! If we win, you shall all gain your freedom and receive countless gifts from me for having aided me,” Iyerre said. “If we fail, all of you shall fall.”

By now, Iyerre’s smile had vanished. A terrifying, shocking light began to emit from his eyes. All of the Exalts below him could sense his terrifying will and resolve. “Now go! The final war starts now!” Iyerre commanded.

“Understood!” Frenzied looks appeared in the eyes of all the Exalts. Fear was meaningless at a time like this. All they could do was prepare to fight! If they won, they would have everything they could ever dream of… and in fact, the new Chaoslord Iyerre would give them more than they could even imagine!

All of the Exalts departed, leaving Iyerre seated by himself atop his throne within the palace of light.

Iyerre was smiling again. He murmured softly to himself, “Cultivators, I already know every trick you possess! You, however, have no idea what I am capable of. The war starts today. I wonder, cultivators… how long will you be able to hold out for?”

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Chapter 1 – Grand Army, Mobilize!

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 1 – Grand Army, Mobilize!

A peaceful, beautiful, and vast world where Hegemons and Emperors resided.

“Come, try this new dish I came up with.” Three Hegemons and five weaker Emperors were seated next to each other. A curly red-haired man walked out from a nearby hall, a smile on his face as he called out to them. He then waved his hand, causing the platters before him to fly towards his eight friends. Each platter was filled with red strips of meat covered by some sort of sauce.

“We absolutely must try brother Bluefive’s delicacies.”

“Whoah, not bad. It’s quite crispy. The flavor goes all the way down to my toes! I feel absolutely wonderful. Unnngh… in fact, I almost feel a bit tipsy…”

“It’s delicious, absolutely delicious.”

“Bluefive, bring out some more. We’re almost finished!”

The Hegemons all praised the food and asked for more.

“Calm down! This is something I just finished concocting. If you like it, I’ll make some more in a bit,” the red-haired man chortled. He felt quite delighted and proud that his friends loved his food.

Right at this moment…

“All Sithe warriors, prepare to receive the orders of almighty Iyerre!” a voice suddenly thundered. The words echoed throughout the world, reverberating throughout every inch of it.

All nine of the Hegemons and Emperors who had been eating and chatting, including Bluefive, instantly turned pale.

Rumble… a vast, blurry pillar of light suddenly appeared at the highest point in the very center of this world. A humanoid figure slowly began to take form within the pillar of light. It was the balding, barefoot, gray-robed Iyerre. The tall and muscular Iyerre stared downwards upon everyone in the world. This was just a projection, but it was enough to cause all the Hegemons and Emperors to quiver with fear.

All the Hegemons and Emperors, be it the ones who were training in their estates or the ones who were partying with friends, all came out to bow with incomparable reverence, demonstrating their respect and submission towards this man.

“Warriors of the Sithe.” Iyerre stared downwards at them, a smile on his face: “You have all come from our homeland to this foreign Chaosverse… and for what?”

“To fight! To fight a war that will change all of our destinies, both yours and mine! We have to win this war! If we win, all of you will gain absolute freedom for yourselves… and I, Iyerre, shall forever remember you and treat you kindly,” Iyerre said. “Our last war was nothing more than a trial run. This one, however, shall be the final war! There is no way out for any of us. Once we lose this battle, we’ll have no chance of winning in the future.”

All the Hegemons and Emperors felt their hearts clench. No way out? They had a way out last time; when they saw that things were turning against them, they retreated to this place.

“An Eternal Omega Dao has arisen within this Chaosverse! If we don’t attack now, the natives of this Chaosverse shall quickly become so powerful that we’ll have no chance of defeating them at all.

“Thus… this time, we have to win no matter the cost! Those who perform well shall all be rewarded. Even if you die in battle, I’ll reverse spacetime to bring you back. Those cowards who elect to flee, however… even if they manage to survive, I’ll put them all to death!

“Now, everyone shall mobilize! Follow the plan we prepared long ago and advance to the various realmverses of the native cultivators!”

The vast airborne image of Iyerre slowly began to dissipate. A sense of pressure quickly began to press down upon all the Hegemons and Emperors within this great world.

“So the final war is finally beginning.” Hegemon Bluefive, standing amongst his eight friends, murmured softly: “I was lucky enough to survive the last war, then were given so many years of blissful peace in this world. This was more than we had any right to expect!”

“Some of us came later on, after the first war had already come to an end. But… Bluefive, we already know everything there is to know about these cultivators. We’re going to win this war.”

“Right. We’ll definitely win.”

“There’s no way out. Only victory will grant us release.”

“Fight.”

“Fight.”

“Fight!” The Hegemons and Emperors exchanged glances with each other. They could sense the firm resolve and combative auras emanating from their peers. Their destinies had been set down in stone long ago; they had to obey Iyerre’s orders, and Iyerre had ordered them to this Chaosverse. Here, they had quietly waited for the war to begin. Their only hope lay in victory.

They had all come here for the sake of gaining victory in the final war.

“Follow the plan which was set down long ago. Board the warships and prepare to mobilize!” a loud voice boomed out, echoing throughout the world.

“Prepare to mobilize!”

“Board the warships!”

“Move faster!” Voices rang out from throughout the world.

“Let’s get ready to go.” Bluefive and his eight friends transformed into streaks of light that shot off into the distance.

In just the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, a series of enormous warships began to soar into the skies. Each warship held a total of roughly twenty Hegemons and many more Emperors, as well as many golems and mighty treasures.

“Activate!”

Rumble… space began to tremble as the power which had lain dormant for so many years in this mysterious dimension was finally activated. It was like an enormous flower had begun to bloom.

This particular dimension had been hidden within a part of the Great Dark of the local Chaosverse. It had been buried here for countless years, and the cultivators had never discovered its existence.

A veritable throng of warships simultaneously flew out in every direction.

“Good luck.”

“Take care, elder brother Svastika.”

“Best of luck.” Many friends bade each other farewell.

“Let’s go!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Countless dimensional tunnels appeared around them. Each warship flew into a dimensional tunnel, warping away at high speed. They were able to warp through spacetime much more quickly than realmships could; each of them was comparable to the Blacksun in this regard! These ancient warships had been created for the express purpose of battle and transportation, and they were incredible in both aspects.

On this day, a total of eighteen different hidden dimensions located in different regions simultaneously released countless warships unto an unsuspecting Chaosverse. The Sithe had spent countless aeons filling these hidden dimensions with many mighty experts! Many of them had been sent over from the Sithe Chaosverse after they had lost the first war.

The native cultivators had produced many new experts over the aeons, but the Sithe Chaosverse had produced even more. Many of them had been sent over to this Chaosverse, where they had hidden themselves and awaited Iyerre’s orders. Now that the orders had arrived, they all mobilized and began to spread throughout the Chaosverse.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse. The Three Realms.

Ji Ning was in secluded meditation on Brightheart Island. He was under the effects of 100x temporal acceleration and was diligently focusing on the mysteries behind the sphere of annihilation at all times. He had the feeling that if he used it as a guidepost to create a matching Sword Dao, that Sword Dao would possess absolutely incredible power.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly opened his eyes, breaking his meditations. This was the exact moment those eighteen hidden dimensions had suddenly revealed themselves, blooming into existence and releasing an enormous number of warships which had quickly spread themselves throughout the Chaosverse.

In that instant, Ning could sense a deep, forboding aura of danger come crashing down upon him. It was as though dark stormclouds had suddenly blotted out the sun above him. This invisible pressure made it impossible for Ning to remain calm and collected! Not even the appearance of the Annihilation Hive had generated a sense of danger as great as the one Ning felt right now. The premonition of danger was so great that Ning could feel his heart shuddering.

“What’s going on? What the hell just happened?” Ning had an inkling, but he wasn’t certain of it. He didn’t dare believe it.

Last time, Ning could distinctly sense where the sense of danger was originating from. This time was different! The danger was completely omnipresent, as though every single part of the Chaosverse was in grave danger. There was no way to find the ‘source’ of it, and as a result Ning didn’t know what to do.

“Mogg. Titanos. What’s going on? Do you know what just happened?” Ning immediately sent a message through the Autarch message-talisman.

……

Within the ancient temple that levitated in the skies above that island in the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. Autarch Mogg and the others were all gathered here.

“What the hell? What the hell just happened? I-I…” Autarch Ekong had a frantic, fearful look on his face. This sense of danger caused him to feel extremely uneasy. It was as though the entire Chaosverse had just been plunged into darkness.

However, Autarch Mogg, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Stonerule, and Autarch Titanos were all quite calm. They simply exchanged a glance.

“It has finally begun,” Autarch Titanos said softly.

“This nightmarish feeling of doom… I never wanted to feel it again, but here it is.” Autarch Skyfeeder shook her head. She would never be able to forget what a calamitous war the Dawn War had been. Far, far too many of their Hegemons and Emperors had died in that war.

“Our greatest fear has been realized.” Autarch Mogg shook his head. “Our seals really were useless against them.”

Autarch Mogg could sense that Ning had just sent them a message. He took out his message-talisman, then sent a single message out:

“Darknorth, the war has begun!”

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Chapter 2 – Ji Ning's First Massacre

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 2 – Ji Ning's First Massacre

Boom! The door to a private room swung open, followed by the white-robed Ji Ning striding out.

“Father.”

“Young master.” Brightmoon and Autumn Leaf were the nearest, and they immediately came over to greet him.

Ning looked at his daughter and his ‘elder sister’, then turned to gaze at the world around him. His gaze saw past the walls of reality, allowing him to see all of the chaosworlds of the Three Realms at a glance.

“I hope that the flames of war will not scorch the Three Realms,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

“Nuwa,” Ning sent mentally. Whoosh! A figure warped through space and immediately appeared before him. It was Mother Nuwa.

“Darknorth, why have you summoned me?” Nuwa smiled.

“The war against the Sithe has already begun,” Ning said. Nuwa and Brightmoon both turned pale. Autumn Leaf, however, simply had a puzzled look on her face. She was at a very low level of power, and so there were many secrets which she simply didn’t need to know. Brightmoon was both a Daolord of the Fourth Step and Ning’s daughter. She was more or less considered a member of the Three Realms’ highest echelon, and so she was naturally informed of many secrets as well.

“Father, the war has begun?” Brightmoon looked very anxious. “Th-then…”

“The war has begun. The Sithe are targeting the various Hegemons of our realmverses,” Ning said. “As for the countless mortals, World-level cultivators, and Daolords? They don’t really care. They won’t even waste too much energy on hunting down the weaker Emperors. It’ll be safer for you to stay in the Three Realms.”

As one of the paramount leaders of the cultivators, Ning naturally had to lead the charge! He would go wherever there was the most danger. The Sithe had failed during their last attempt. Given that they dared to come again, they had most assuredly made ample preparations and adjustments based on their past experiences. The Annihilation Hive alone proved to Ning that the Sithe were to be dreaded! Most likely, even their Autarchs would be at risk of dying.

This meant it would be very dangerous for his friends and family members in the Three Realms to accompany him. It was actually far safer for them to remain behind in the Three Realms instead.

“Take good care of the Three Realms.” Ning looked at Brightmoon then instructed solemnly, “Do everything you can to keep it safe.”

“Yes, Father,” Brightmoon said hurriedly.

Ning nodded slowly. He had long ago fashioned many formations and other treasures which would ensure that the Three Realms was almost completely impregnable! Even Sithe Exalts would have a difficult time breaking into it.

“Nuwa, I’ll send you to the front lines,” Ning said. Mother Nuwa nodded. As a Hegemon, she had to take part in this war!

Before leaving, Ning gave a lingering final glance to the world behind him. This was the world he had loved and had roamed for so many years. He had spent many years here in secluded meditation, teaching his disciples, and even gardening…

“Let’s go.” Ning said nothing else, immediately leading Mother Nuwa in warping away from the Three Realms.

……

A vast, empty region outside the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. This place had long ago been designated as a major battlefront, much like the Terror Starsea of the past.

“Here we are.” Ning only needed to warp through spacetime three times before arriving at the battlefront, Nuwa in tow. The dimensional ripples generated by their arrival meant that the two of them were almost instantly discovered, and the disheveled-looking ‘Realmslord Windgrace’ personally came to greet them.

“Emperor Darknorth,” Realmslord Windgrace said with incredible respect.

“Have you finished preparing the battlefront?” Ning asked.

“We finished long ago. The many treasures which Autarch Titanos gave us made the process quite quick.” Realmslord Windgrace was filled with confidence. “The battlefront before us is a first-class battlefront. The Hegemons and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance and many other nearby realmverses have all been gathered here. We have over 105 Hegemons alone, and many of them brought their avatars. If the Sithe dare come, we’ll wipe out as many as they send.”

Realmslord Windgrace was very confident because back during the Dawn War, the cultivators didn’t have nearly as many powerful weapons as they did right now. They had relied purely on formations, and as a result they had suffered incredibly heavy casualties.

They had won the Dawn War, and they had acquired many Sithe weapons as a result! Autarch Titanos had also spent countless aeons forging many similar weapons which were even more suitable for cultivators to use. Autarch Titanos normally kept them in reserve, because he didn’t want to let these super weapons throw the entire Chaosverse into a state of turmoil! However, ever since Ning and the others had begun to suspect that the seal over the Sithe heartlands had failed, they had immediately begun to make the necessary arrangements. They had started to prepare battlefronts in secret, with the Hegemons and Emperors all gathered there.

Nuwa was responsible for helping Ning protect the Three Realms. As a result, she was a bit of an outlier and was permitted to remain in the Three Realms. When the battle began, Ning sent her over in person.

Hegemon Brightshore and the others had long ago travelled to this battlefront. Most of them had only left behind weak, newly-created avatars behind in their respective realmverses. Once the war actually began, they would immediately discard those avatars and focus on maintaining and strengthening a single mighty avatar.

“Very good.” Ning smiled. “This is going to be a long-lasting war. We need to conserve as much of our power as possible, even as we try to slay as many enemies as is possible. The Sithe have been lying in wait for many, many years. Now that they have arisen anew, you absolutely must not be complacent or underestimate them.”

“Understood,” Realmslord Windgrace responded.

“I’m off then.” Ning gave Nuwa a final glance, then turned and disappeared without a trace.

Mother Nuwa and Realmslord Windgrace both watched as Ning disappeared. They knew that as an Autarch-class combatant, Ning was responsible for many battlefronts throughout the entire Chaosverse.

……

Swoosh! Ning appeared at the margins of a different realmverse. His godsense was so great that it was able to cover an area a hundred times vaster than a single realmverse. As a result, he was able to investigate everything within this realmverse with ease.

“There are no Sithe here.” Ning immediately warped away once more.

The war had already begun. The six Autarchs and Ning had long ago prepared their strategy for fighting this war! Countless Hegemons and Emperors had long ago been gathered in various prepared battlefronts which were spread throughout the Chaosverse! Every single battlefront varied in size, based on how many Hegemons and Emperors resided in the surrounding area. The region around the Flamedragon Realmverse didn’t actually have all that many Hegemons and thus probably wouldn’t be a high-priority target, but since it was his homeland Ning was going to do a wide-ranging inspection of it before leaving. As a result, there was no need for any other battlefronts to be prepared anywhere near the Flamedragon Realmverse!

The reason why the battlefront Mother Nuwa and Realmslord Windgrace were in was actually located extremely far away. Ning had to warp through spacetime three times before he could reach it! The sheer number of experts they had gathered there was why it was classified as a first-class battlefront.

“Hm.” The white-robed Ning appeared out of nowhere above a grayish planet. His godsense stretched out once more as he scanned for any traces of the Sithe.

“Nothing.” Ning disappeared once more.

Starting from the Flamedragon Realmverse, Ning began an inspection of all the nearby realmverses. If he found any hint of the Sithe at all, he would immediately be able to trace them and then slay them!

The six Autarchs and Ning, along with their respective avatars, were all responsible for watching over different regions. They began to ‘sweep’ through their assigned locations. However, each ‘zone’ was so incredibly vast that it would take time. It must be remembered that it would usually take them months traveling in a straight line at top speed to pass through these zones! This was a testament to how truly vast the Chaosverse was.

Right now, they had to carefully inspect every single part of their zones in detail. The only reason they dared to do this was because they were so much faster than everyone else. They would get rid of the Sithe they encountered as soon as possible, so as to relieve the pressure on the Hegemons and Emperors on their side.

“Darknorth, six of our battlefronts have discovered Sithe warships and moved to engage them,” Autarch Titanos sent through the message-talisman. “The Sithe have already sent out their grand army. More and more Sithe warships will begin to launch attacks throughout our Chaosverse. We need to destroy as many of them as possible, since we have fewer Hegemons, Emperors, and treasures than the Sithe.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. He also knew that the Sithe were better at producing Hegemons and Emperors. Given how much time had passed, they had probably also sent many new Hegemons from their homeland. Without a doubt, the Sithe had a significant advantage in cultivators and treasures. It was up to the six Autarchs and Ning to make up for that advantage!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning continued to sweep through one realmverse after another. Thankfully, he was able to scan at extremely great distances. His techniques were also so incredible that he could detect even remnant auras left behind by already-departed warships. Thus… after the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Ning found what he was looking for.

“An aura?” Ning’s godsense quickly discovered a faint rippling aura from somewhere far away in the Great Dark. This was an aura which the Chaosverse itself was pushing back against.

“Sithe!” Ning immediately recognized the aura and began to charge towards it.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Just a few short warps later, Ning was able to see an enormous warship cruising through space in front of him. This warship was so large, it was on par with the Tigerhill warship Ning had discovered all those years ago.

The person responsible for inspecting spacetime instantly discovered Ning warping through spacetime towards them. They detected Ning’s entire body blazing with such dazzling, luminescent power that the Sithe couldn’t even look at him directly.

“That’s one of the native Autarchs!” The Sithe Hegemons and Emperors within the warship instantly felt despair. Encountering one of the native Autarchs midflight… this was their worst nightmare.

“Flee! Flee, everyone! Let as many escape as is possible!” None of the Sithe believed they could possibly resist one of the Autarchs.

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Chapter 3 – Miserable

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 3 – Miserable

The warship was in control of spacetime in the surrounding area, making it impossible to warp through spacetime once you entered the range of a hundred billion kilometers around it.

“Eh? The warship actually blocks out heartforce?” Ji Ning had been planning on using his ‘Heartforce Eradicator’ technique to kill them, only to find that it wouldn’t go through the hull of the ship.

“Quick, let’s flee!”

“Run away!”

“Give him a blast first!”

Boom! A terrifyingly large dimensional blade shot out through space, smashing at Ning with Autarch-level power.

Ning immediately transformed into a storm of wind and lightning, instantly traversing the distance of a hundred million kilometers in a ghostly, unpredictable manner. The giant dimensional blade which had shot out of the warship couldn’t even come close to touching him, and just a heartbeat later Ning had reached the warship itself.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Hegemons and Emperors had begun to appear outside the vast warship. They were beginning to scatter and flee in every single direction. Every single person who survived would represent a ‘win’ for them.

“Die.” Ning swept them with his cold gaze, and an invisible surge of power instantly swept across them. This powerful heartforce assault instantly wiped them out.

“In I go.” Ning touched the outer hull of the warship, instantly blinking inside.

“Ahhh! Not good! The Autarch has come inside!”

“Doomed. We’re doomed.” The Hegemons and Emperors inside the warship all discarded any notions of escaping, because it was now clear that certain death awaited them outside as well.

“Revered Autarch, are you willing to spare these weak children?”

“Spare us! We were forced to do this.”

“Cultivator Autarch, you can kill us, but I would like to ask you to spare our children. They belong to your Chaosverse and are part of it.”

Some of the Hegemons begged for mercy, while some accepted death but asked for mercy for their descendants.

As soon as Ning had entered, he had immediately been able to scan every inch of the warship with ease via heartforce! With but a thought, he would wipe out all of the Sithe present. This was what made heartforce so deadly! If Autarch Bolin or Autarch Ekong had arrived, they would’ve had to waste time breaking through the various defenses. Heartforce cultivators, in contrast, were able to wipe out large numbers of opponents from afar.

“Get in here.” Ning flickered past over a hundred Hegemons and Emperors who had already given up. With a wave of his hand, he drew them into his estate-world.

With another flicker, Ning arrived at the centermost region of this entire warship. A large number of Sithe descendants lived here. Once the war had begun, the various hidden dimensions were exposed and no longer safe. Over the course of countless aeons, those hidden dimensions had produced many Sithe descendants. They naturally had to accompany the warships in leaving.

“These Sithe descendants…” Ning shook his head slowly, then waved his hand and drew in all the thronging masses of Sithe descendants as well.

“The rest can die.” There were a number who were still struggling to flee. They were scattered throughout the warship, and Ning had no time to waste on capturing them one-by-one. He simply cast his ‘Heartforce Eradicator’… and with a thought, all of them were slain!

In truth, Ning knew that many of the Sithe warriors had been forced into this war. However, this was a clash of civilizations that would result in the destruction of one! Ning’s time was extremely precious. He was willing to capture and imprison a few Sithe instead of killing them if it didn’t take up too much time, but if it did? He’d rather just wipe them out.

“In you go.” After exiting the warship, Ning collected both the warship as well as several realmships floating around next to it.

Generally speaking, the warships which Ning or Autarch Stonerule were responsible for attacking would be captured in perfect condition. Autarch Ekong and the others mostly used highly destructive attacks, resulting in the warships being damaged or destroyed. As for this particular warship Ning had captured, it was a transport warship that had been filled with many artifacts and treasures that hadn’t even been used yet.

……

“Twenty-six different battlefronts are under attack. They are located…”

New information came from Ning’s Autarch message-talisman. As one of the supreme leaders of the cultivators, Ning naturally knew where all their forces throughout the Chaosverse were located. Thus, he immediately knew which ones were under attack.

“I’m very close to the Springsea battlefront. I’ll head there immediately,” Autarch Stonerule sent to the other six. The Autarchs were all exchanging information with each other, ensuring that they were on top of the situation overall.

……

Time flowed on. More and more battlefronts became embroiled in war. Given how far the various battlefronts were from each other, the Autarchs and Ning were all separately responsible for different theaters and could only do their best to cause as much damage as possible.

“That’s one of the native Autarchs!”

A dazzling figure of golden light suddenly appeared. The Sithe Hegemons and Emperors who were assaulting the battlefront were all stunned. They knew that encountering a native Autarch represented doom.

“Die.” Ning swept his gaze across the Sithe. In order to keep his true identity hidden, during battle he intentionally kept his aura flared to the max, making it impossible for the Sithe to know who he was.

An awesome wave of heartforce immediately spread out, covering an area comparable to more than half a realmverse. With but a thought, Ning eradicated over 99% of the Sithe who were spread out throughout the battlefront, even the ones who were located within forts and castles! Only the few who were lucky enough to be inside castles and warships which blocked out heartforce were able to survive, but Ning simply spent a few more seconds mopping them up.

“The Sithe in the Rearlake battlefront have all been exterminated.” Ning sent word to the other six Autarchs, then hurried to his next destination.

……

The Autarchs and Ning seized every moment, continuing hastening across the Chaosverse continuously scanning for threats. Every so often, they would make a stop at a nearby battlefront that had already been embroiled in war! As for the more distant ones, they wouldn’t be in a rush to go to them.

The war began to expand in both scale and ferocity. By now, there were multiple battles going on throughout the Chaosverse at every moment.

Things weren’t so bad for Ning and Autarch Stonerule, as they were able to use their heartforce powers to instantly exterminate large numbers of Sithe! The other Autarchs had a much rougher time of it. Many of the Sithe were protected behind castles or formations, and these Autarchs had to go through the time-consuming process of breaking through those defenses.

“Keep on killing them for all I care. How many can you possibly get rid of, Autarchs?” Iyerre sat upon his throne. He was quite calm despite the many messages he received from the squads he had sent out. “I have far, far more warriors under my command than your civilization does, and I have far more powerful treasures as well! Even if you massacre half of them, the other half is more than enough to ensure that countless Hegemons and Emperors belonging to your Chaosverse will die.”

Iyerre didn’t care at all about the casualties his subordinates had suffered. Even if they died, their truesoul fragments would return to the Sithe Chaosverse; there was no permanent loss at all.

However, when the native Hegemons and Emperors perished their truesouls would be devoured by Sithe techniques, resulting in this Chaosverse being weakened. Eventually the sheer magnitude of deaths would result in the Chaosverse being so weak that he, Iyerre, would have a very good chance of becoming the Lord of Chaos for this Chaosverse.

“Just keep fighting.” Iyerre was in full control of the war. He knew exactly how many losses he had suffered and the cultivators had suffered.

……

Ji Ning was feeling increasingly anxious. He killed at a very fast pace, but the majority of his time was spent traveling. The Chaosverse was simply too vast! The Sixteen Realmverses Alliance was only possible because those sixteen realmverses were quite close to each other. There were many realmverses which were extremely far from each other, which was why the empty space between realmverses was known as the ‘Great Dark’ to many. Ning would usually need anywhere from half a day to two days to travel from realmverse to realmverse.

The more he and his six peers slew, the fewer of their own Hegemons and Emperors would die. But if things continued the way they currently were, they were going to suffer enormous losses in Hegemons and Emperors on their own side as well.

“The Skywitch battlefront is in desperate need of assistance.”

“The Ninelamps battlefront is in desperate need of assistance.”

“The Dragoncaller battlefront is in desperate need of assistance.”

One report came after another. A total of twenty-six battlefronts were in dire straits right now. They had achieved great successes in some battlefronts, but these twenty-six were in grave danger! The Sithe had their own ‘elite squads’, and these squads were extraordinarily powerful.

There was nothing Ning could do. All twenty-six of these battlefronts were very far away from him. It would take him over half a month to reach even the nearest one.

“I’ll go to the Dragoncaller battlefront,” Autarch Skyfeeder replied. “I’ll need three days to get there.” She was the only one who could go respond. None of the other Autarchs would get there in time.

‘Desperate need of assistance’ meant that the situation was so grim, they wouldn’t be able to last much longer without help. In the end, they were only able to preserve half their forces in the Dragoncaller battlefront. They lost everyone else in all twenty-five of the other battlefronts! Clearly, while the Autarchs were busy massacring the Sithe they found, their own Hegemons and Emperors were being slain on the field of battle as well. This was a truly ruinous war of attrition.

Many Sithe died, but at least they would have a chance at being brought back to life! Those native cultivators who had been slain, however, could never be brought back if the soul-eater technique was used after their deaths. They became true martyrs for this war.

Ning had no choice but to suppress the rage he felt. Early on, he imprisoned as many of the Sithe as he could… but now, he was beginning to kill more and more of them!

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Chapter 4 – Powerless

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 4 – Powerless

A giant black warship hovered in the empty silence of space, completely unmoving. A white-robed figure was standing directly above the giant black warship. He seemed tiny in comparison, but his aura was utterly overwhelming and his eyes were ice-cold.

“It’s just too big. The Chaosverse is too damn big.” Ji Ning felt a sense of powerlessness.

More than half a year had gone past since the war had erupted. During this half year, all seven of the most powerful leaders of the cultivators civilizations had been scouring the Chaosverse for any and all traces of the Sithe, but the Chaosverse was simply enormous! Usually, battlefronts would consist of groupings of at least ten different realmverses, sometimes even more! Every single battlefront was very far away from the others, and the Sithe warships were just as sparse and hard to find.

The Sithe were constantly making adjustments as well. Each time Ning and the other Autarchs attacked a location, the Sithe would adjust for it and make it even harder for the Autarchs to find their other warships.

The warships were doing their best to avoid the Autarchs, while Ning and the others were doing their best to find them!

“The Tongwu battlefront is in desperate need of assistance.” Yet another report came flying in.

“The Tongwu battlefront?” Ning sighed to himself. “It is too far away. It would take me twenty days at maximum speed to get there!”

“Time to continue.” Ning waved his hand, collecting the warship and then continuing to warp through space and search for the Sithe. It was like searching for a needle in the bottom of the sea. This was a very robotic and numbing process; the Autarchs were relying on their overwhelming strength to scan large areas and ‘fish’ out a warship or two! This process was clumsy, yet it was also the most efficient process available.

“Have you noticed? This war has been quite odd,” Autarch Titanos sent to the other six. “The war has gone on for over half a year and the battles have been fierce. Now that the Sithe know where we are, it has become harder and harder for us to find their warships. All of this is expected, but… we haven’t encountered any Sithe Exalts at all!”

While hunting and killing, the Autarchs continued to exchange messages with each other. The hunting process wasn’t all that mentally taxing, after all.

“Right. I haven’t found any Sithe Exalts,” Autarch Ekong agreed.

“I haven’t found a single one of them either. Judging from the various reports which have been sent by cultivators throughout our Chaosverse, no Sithe Exalts have appeared at all,” Autarch Stonerule said.

“I haven’t found any either. Logically speaking, the Sithe should have many Exalts ready to fight,” Ning replied.

“They’ve lain dormant for aeons… I wouldn’t be surprised if they had dozens of Exalts ready to take part in this battle. But, they haven’t deployed a single one. This is extremely odd. Everyone, while hunting down the Sithe you need to constantly stay on your guard! I’m worried that there’s some sort of a plot behind the Sithe Exalts remaining in hiding,” Autarch Titanos sent mentally.

Autarch Skyfeeder agreed, “Perhaps they don’t know that Darknorth has become an Emperor, but they know that we have an Eternal Omega Sword Dao! Thus, the Sithe should know very well that this war against us is their final chance. If they lose, we’ll only grow even more powerful in the future and they won’t stand any chance against us. By all rights, they should be throwing everything they have against us! As soon as that behemoth hive appeared, I could tell that the Sithe had made extraordinary preparations for this war. For no Exalts to have appeared a full half-year after the war began… we really do need to be careful.”

“Agreed.”

“Stay on your guard.”

“Keep scanning at all times. Don’t let yourself fall into a trap.”

The six Autarchs and Ning were all quite confident in their abilities. They weren’t like the Sithe, who suffered from rejection by the Chaosverse and were unable to use the Dao! Ning and the Autarchs had access to virtually limitless amounts of power. During the previous war, not a single Autarch had fallen.

“The Purejade battlefront is in desperate need of assistance!” Suddenly, another report arrived.

“The Purejade battlefront?” Ning was startled. He reflexively scanned his mental map of the Chaosverse, mentally placing the Purejade battlefront. It was fairly close to him. “I need two days. I’ll go right away.”

“Alright, Darknorth. I’ll leave it to you. I’ll tell them to hold on until you arrive,” Autarch Stonerule said.

Swoosh! Ning began to fly at maximum speed towards the Purejade battlefront.

If he spent these two days slowly scanning, he might be able to locate one or two Sithe warships… but rescuing more of their own cultivators was more important than killing the Sithe! This was because when their cultivators died, their truesouls would be devoured by the Sithe soul-eater technique. This would harm the Chaosverse itself and make it impossible to revive them.

“I hope they can hold on until I arrive,” Ning murmured softly. The leaders in a battlefront would only beg for assistance when they could sense that they really weren’t able to hold out for much longer. This would generally only happen once the enemies revealed their full power and launched a final, all-out attack! Thus, the battlefronts were usually lost shortly after the distress calls were sent.

Sometimes, the cultivators would last for four or five days. Other times, the cultivators would be wiped out before a single day passed.

……

The Purejade battlefront. This was a place where an awesome astral river flowed through the region in multiple looks, almost like a snake coiling around itself. At the very center of the coiling flows of the river was an enormous castle, and the castle held over a hundred figures within it.

Nearly half were Hegemons, while the rest were all normal Emperors. They poured all of their Immortal energy into maintaining this powerful castle, which was the core of the mighty defensive formation which protected them. Many of their avatars and comrades were situated throughout the astral river, where they were responsible for protecting important spots and were fighting against the Sithe.

“Autarch Stonerule sent word,” a red-bearded Hegemon roared. “Two days! In just two days, an Autarch will arrive to save us!”

“What?!”

“We’re saved!” Some of the Hegemons and Emperors who had been on the verge of despair instantly grew excited. This was just a second-class battlefront! They didn’t expect that one of the extremely powerful Sithe elite squads would attack this place. At first, the Sithe had hidden their true power. They had first battled for more than a month to verify the defensive strength of the local cultivators, then had revealed their true prowess and launched a final assault.

Once the Sithe revealed their true power, the cultivators were instantly beaten backwards and forced to retreat to their final defensive lines within and around this castle. All they could do was try to delay as long as they could.

“Two days! Just two days! If we can hold on for just two days it’ll be the damn Sithe who die, not us!” the red-bearded elder howled.

“My brothers and sisters, fight on! If we can hold for two days, we’ll all make it out alive!” The voice rang out from the castle and echoed in the minds of the Hegemons and Emperors who were stationed within the astral river which coiled around the castle.

“Hold on! We must hold on!”

“We only need to hold on for two days.”

The battle continued. The Sithe furiously pressed the assault, while all of the defenders were equally frenzied in resisting. Even so, more and more of the defenders were defeated. First, it was their avatars which were destroyed. After that, it was up for them to use their true bodies to endure and fight on.

“Remember, even if you know you are going to die, you need to try and stay a safe distance away from them. Avoid that truesoul-eating technique or you’ll never have a chance of being brought back!”

“If you are out of options, self-detonate after you reach a sufficient distance.”

Bang! One defensive formation after another began to collapse, with most of the various Hegemons and Emperors electing to self-detonate. In doing so, their truesoul fragments blasted outwards and then quickly vanished. The Sithe soul-eater technique was limited in range, and self-detonation often caused some of the truesoul fragments to blast so far out that they returned to the Chaosverse.

“Hurry up! It’s been two days. Hurry up and come!”

“Why hasn’t he arrived yet?!”

The Hegemons and Emperors were still fighting back, hoping beyond hope…

BOOM! Suddenly, a figure stepped out of nowhere in the empty space above the coiling river. His entire form was blazing with energy, making it impossible to see him clearly.

“AUTARCH!!!!” All of the surviving cultivators let out cries of joy and excitement.

“That’s one of those native Autarchs! Quick, flee!” The Sithe who had been pressing the assault using their many treasures were stunned by the Autarch’s arrival. They had been trying to wrap things up as soon as possible, so that they could immediately depart and move to the next target. It would be quite hard to locate them after they left… but unfortunately, a cultivator Autarch had made it here in time!

The dazzling golden figure above them stared downwards coldly. Boom! A wave of invisible energy instantly swept across the region, extinguishing the auras of the attacking Sithe. Only a tiny percent of the Sithe who had been inside heartforce-proof warships managed to survive, but just a heartbeat later all of them died as well. The only ones Ning spared and took away with him were the ‘lucky’ Sithe descendants.

“Thankfully, at least half have survived.” Ning surveyed the castle below him, nodding to himself when he saw how many Hegemons and Emperors had made it.

“Thank you, Autarch!” The Hegemons and Emperors all felt excitement and gratitude. They knew that the vast majority of distress calls went unanswered, as the Autarchs simply couldn’t make it in time.

Ning nodded, then turned and left. He didn’t take any of the warships with him, electing to leave them behind with the survivors in a bid to strengthen their decimated forces.

……

After saving that battlefront from defeat, Ning began to patrol the cosmos once more. Every so often, he’d exchange a message with the other Autarchs.

“The Hiddencloud battlefront is in desperate need of assistance.” Yet another report came. This time, it caused Ning to blink. The Hiddencloud battlefront? Wasn’t… wasn’t that the place where the disciple he was proudest of, his second disciple ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding, was located?

Few of Ning’s friends were taking part in this battle, and those few that did take part were the ones in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, such as Nuwa. As for ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding, he was fighting alongside his own friends in the Hiddencloud battlefront. Ning had naturally memorized his location.

“That’s more than twenty-six days away from me.” Ning’s heart turned cold. He couldn’t help but send mentally to the other six, “Can any of you make it there? My disciple Green Bamboo is there.”

“Your disciple, Darknorth?” At a time like this, no one would bother accusing Ning of selfishness. Who could be truly and completely selfless?

“I can’t make it in time.”

“That’s too far away.”

“The closest ones to it are the two of us, Darknorth,” Autarch Skyfeeder replied. “I need nineteen days to get there. That’s too much time, and they won’t be able to hold out for that long. Thus far, the maximum survival time after sending a distress call has been just barely ten days.”

Ning fell silent. There was nothing he could do... Nineteen days… Autarch Skyfeeder could probably wipe out over ten warships during that period of time. It wasn’t worth it to give that up just to try and save the Hiddencloud battlefront, especially seeing as how that battle would almost assuredly be completely lost after nineteen days.

Ning wasn’t just Green Bamboo’s master. He was also one of the seven most powerful leaders of this Chaosverse, responsible for safeguarding every part of it!

“Nineteen days is too long,” Ning replied softly. “Considering the grand scheme of things, it isn’t worth it. Forget it.”

Ning said nothing else. He went back to hunting for Sithe in the Great Dark.

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Chapter 5 – Death Holds No Fear

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 5 – Death Holds No Fear

Ji Ning continued his search for the Sithe throughout the Great Dark, his heart filled with sorrow and anxiety.

“Green Bamboo… there’s nothing your master can do. I cannot save you. You have to escape. You have to,” Ning murmured to himself.

With no Autarch nearby to render assistance, it was all-but guaranteed that the ‘Hiddencloud battlefront’ which Yang Quding was located in would be overwhelmed. When this happened, the Hegemons and Emperors wouldn’t be so foolish as to just fight to the bitter end. Once they knew that they were going to lose and that no help was forthcoming, they would begin to flee and focus on keeping themselves alive.

However, the Sithe had many Hegemons and even more treasures. The fleeing cultivator Hegemons would scatter in every direction, but they would be hunted down one-by-one. The number of Hegemons who managed to successfully escape could be counted on one hand, and in some cases none would escape.

Ning, however, still held out hope. His disciple ‘Green Bamboo’ had a perfect Dao-heart, was an Otherverse Lord, and had treasures which Ning had given him. He was absolutely one of the most powerful Hegemons around, far more powerful than the Lonely King had ever been. In fact, he was close to the Blazesun Ruler in power! Alas, no individual no matter how strong could possibly withstand an entire army. Still… Ning felt that there was some hope that this disciple of his would be able to escape and stay alive.

“Damn. Damn! If my avatar wasn’t trapped in that hive, it could also take responsibility over a zone. I might be closer to the Hiddencloud battlefront and able to rescue my disciple.” Ning felt rather resentful.

Right now, a total of thirteen Autarch-class combatants were scattered throughout the entire Chaosverse, each responsible for a specific zone. Ning’s avatar was also an Autarch-class combatant, but it was tied up in the Annihilation Hive.

Within the black tower at the nexus of the Annihilation Hive. The golden-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position in midair, his eyes closed in meditation.

Rumble… an awesome aura of energy was swirling around him in rippling layers. These circular ripples of power emanated the aura of the deep earth, of grass and vegetation, of flowing water, of blazing flames, of indestructible ores. All the different ripples were circling around Ning, and as they moved closer and closer towards him, they gradually began to transform into ripples of space and ripples of time… and at the very heart, on Ning himself, they transformed into ripples of terrifying destructive power. Everything near Ning was being devoured and then annihilated.

This was raw, pure annihilation! All types of energy were being annihilated, and not even the Chaosverse was able to resist this annihilatory power. The profound mysteries behind this power surpassed even the Destruction Daobirth Essence of Autarch Ekong, the Autarch of Annihilation. If Ning could truly and successfully master this technique, he would have gained access to a technique of absolutely incredible power.

“I’m still not quite there yet. It just isn’t quite right.” Ning had drawn upon his six million chaos cycles of training and the many insights he had gained from the sphere of annihilation, but he still felt that it was a bit too artificial and forced.

The Dao was, above all else, natural. Only a Dao which was complete and natural, not artificial, could be described as ‘perfect’. If you simply tried to artificially imitate this destructive power, which Ning called ‘Oblivion’, you would end up being far off from the real thing.

“Oblivion… it utterly destroys all things in its path. All forms of energy… the Five Elements… Yin and Yang… Darkness and Light… space and time… everything in the Chaosverse can be devoured and destroyed. This is what ‘Oblivion’ represents.

“I started with a foundation of the Five Elements, then drew upon the mysteries of Yin and Yang as well as that of the Cycle of Light and Dark, transforming them into pure spacetime which is then obliterated, producing fundamental particles where space and time no longer exist.” Ning continued to ponder this problem. He didn’t know what insights he was lacking, but this process had indeed resulted in him gaining a much deeper level of understanding in all of his Daos.

If it hadn’t been for him meditating on ‘Oblivion’, he never would’ve understood how the Five Elements could be completely converted into spacetime.

Space and time were two unique types of wave-particle energies. When the two acted upon each other, they gave birth to Yin and Yang, Light and Dark, and also the Five Elements which birthed countless other things.

“It lacks… a soul. It lacks that quintessential quality of being part of nature itself.” Ning continued to dissect many different Daos, ruminating over their connections to each other as he compared them to how the ‘sphere of annihilation’ operated…

……

Ning’s avatar continued to meditate on the Oblivion Sword Dao, and there was really nothing else it could do. Only when it learned how to destroy the ‘sphere of annihilation’ would it be able to leave this place. Until that happened the avatar would have to stay there, continuing to maintain the reverse-vortex formation.

The distant Hiddencloud battlefront. The native Hegemons and Emperors here suffered one defeat after another. They had already retreated to the final, most powerful defensive formation they had.

Within a beautiful world of flowers and grass. An azure-robed man was staring into the skies… and the skies were trembling. Dimensional cracks could be seen.

“Green Bamboo, any news?”

“Sword Immortal Green Bamboo, will the Autarchs come and save us?” Behind him was a host of Hegemons and Emperors. Thus far, over 70% of their original forces were still alive! This was because they had all sacrificed their avatars during the most dangerous parts of the battle. Now, their avatars had all been destroyed. Even Sword Immortal Green Bamboo’s avatar had died in battle!

They had already retreated to the back lines. So long their final defenses remained, they could keep fighting… but once their defenses were breached, they would all be massacred.

“Calm down. I’ve already asked for aid,” Sword Immortal Green Bamboo said.

The other Hegemons and Emperors were waiting anxiously as they maintained the defensive formation. Sword Immortal Green Bamboo was the disciple of the legendary Daolord Darknorth, and was someone favored by Autarch Ekong. Even though the fact that Ning had succeeded in his second Daomerge and become an Emperor remained a hidden secret, many felt certain that the Autarchs would come to save Green Bamboo so long as they could make it in time.

Suddenly, Sword Immortal Green Bamboo’s face turned grim. “The Autarchs won’t be able to make it in time.” He swept his gaze across the other Hegemons and Emperors, all of whom turned pale. The hope they had felt instantly vanished, with many revealing looks of despair.

“We’re out of options. We’ll have to fend for ourselves,” Green Bamboo said. “The ‘microworld’ formations protecting this grand formation have all been defeated. Even if we keep fighting, we’ll only be able to last another two or three days before being completely overwhelmed. By then, none of us will be able to escape.”

All the Hegemons and Emperors present agreed with this assessment.

“Thus… we should begin coming up with ideas for how we can escape,” Green Bamboo said.

The supreme leaders of the cultivators had long ago given them their orders – if they couldn’t win, they were to flee! Every single survivor counted! If they died in battle, they would see their truesouls devoured by that soul-eater technique. Their very Chaosverse itself would be weakened by this! In other words, just surviving was a form of victory.

“The Sithe have set up many scanning formations, and they have even more Hegemons and Emperors than we do. Even if we scatter and flee, our chances are very low,” an Emperor said worriedly.

“There’s always a chance,” Green Bamboo said. “Let’s do our best to deceive the Sithe and force them to disperse their forces. Every single survivor counts as a victory to me.”

“We can use many of the other formations and treasures scattered throughout the Hiddencloud battlefront which we previously abandoned to slow the Sithe down.”

“I myself am very skilled in using illusions and creating dopplegangers. Given the right treasures, I can make it difficult for the Sithe to know where our real members have gone.”

The various Hegemons and Emperors all had their own specialties, and they all began to propose ideas. However, they all knew that the Sithe had their own specialties as well. The Sithe warship was a particular problem. It was so fast that it was on par with the Blacksun. Only Autarchs were able to catch them and destroy them! The warships also were outfitted with extremely sensitive tracking formations as well. Thus, very few of them would probably be able to escape its pursuit.

“Green Bamboo.” There were four men and women standing next to Green Bamboo. One of them, a muscular and crimson-armored man, said in an awkward voice: “It’s all my fault. I was the one to invite you to join us here at the Hiddencloud battlefront. If you were alongside Nuwa, Realmslord Windgrace, and the Paragon of Pills in their battlefront, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

The battlefields were all divided up according to rank and status. The Sixteen Realmverses Alliance and the otherverse the Paragon of Pills lived in were all very close to each other, and so they were grouped together into a single battlefront. That was the battlefront which would protect the homeland of ‘Daolord Darknorth’, a first-class battlefront which would be very difficult to overcome.

The only reason Green Bamboo had come here was for the sake of his lifelong friends who had also come here.

“It’s fine. To live and die amongst my friends is a blessing. What is there to fear?” Green Bamboo smiled as he looked at these four dear friends of his.

“Green Bamboo.” A red-robed maiden looked at Green Bamboo, then suddenly reached out to take his hand in her own.

Green Bamboo immediately revealed an excited, happy look as he gazed at the red-robed woman. “Dawnclear…”

This woman was the real reason why Green Bamboo had chosen to come to this battlefield. He had wooed Hegemon Dawnclear for many years now, but she had always hesitated. Now that she had taken him by the hand, she had clearly chosen to truly accept him.

“Hahaha… death holds no fear for me!” Green Bamboo laughed loudly, deliriously excited and happy.

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Chapter 6 – Fangs Revealed (part 1)

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 6 – Fangs Revealed (part 1)

Dawnclear smiled as well. She knew that it was very likely that both of them would die, and so she cast away all her misgivings and followed her heart.

“Congratulations, Green Bamboo. Cognratulations, big sister Dawnclear.” the other female Hegemon next to them said with a smile.

“Congratulations! Who would’ve thought that something so wonderful would happen during this calamity? Once we all leave this place safely, we’ll have to hold a proper celebration,” the muscular man said with a laugh.

“Yes, we must celebrate!” The other nearby Hegemons and Emperors all agreed. They were searching for a ray of light to illuminate them in this darkest hour. In truth, they all knew that the number of survivors could probably be counted on one hand… and if they weren’t lucky, every single one of them would die!

After spending an hour in discussion, Green Bamboo’s group of Hegemons and Emperors came up with an escape plan. They would separate into a total of fifty-nine squads which would flee in different directions. That way, they would stand the best chance of making it out alive. If they stayed together, they would be wiped out together.

“Everyone.” Green Bamboo swept his gaze across all the others present. “The plan has been settled. Let us carry it out! I hope that after this all ends, we’ll be able to meet again.”

“Let’s meet again.”

“Let’s meet again.”

“Let’s meet again.” The many Hegemons and Emperors nearby all echoed his words. They were all filled with the desire to stay alive and were determined to risk it all in one final clash attempt.

A short while later, a towering warship appeared before the grand formation which protected the Hiddencloud battlefront. In front of the warship was a large group of Sithe Hegemons and Emperors who were employing their treasures to furiously assault the giant globe-shaped formation before them.

Suddenly, streams of power began to shoot out from deep within the formation. Some looked like streams of dark mist, some looked like bolts of thunder, some looked like pillars of solid light. These various types of energy all shot out in a counter-attack, instantly suppressing the Sithe offensive.

“They’ve launched their final counter-attacks! Haha! Keep attacking! They’re at the brink of collapse!” The Sithe leader who was watching within that towering warship felt extremely confident as they watched from within… but moments later, his face turned grim.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Countless figures shot out of the formation and began to flee, each going in a different direction.

“They’re running away! There are so many of them. Which ones are the real ones?”

“I can’t tell, can you?”

“Captain, which ones are real?” The many Sithe battling outside were all waiting for orders.

“They want to escape?” The Sithe leader stroked his long beard. His warship could detect even the approach of an Autarch! Its scanning abilities were absolutely unparalleled, and it almost instantly was able to detect which figures were real and which were false.

“They’ve split up into a total of fifty-nine squads, with three in each squad at most. Many of the squads are single-person squads. They’ve split up into fifty-nine different directions. I now order you to…” The Sithe leader began to issue his orders, deploying different Sithe warriors to chase after different squads. This warship was composed of Sithe elites, and it had an extraordinary number of Hegemons and Emperors.

“Chase after them separately. Let none escape,” the Sithe leader commanded mentally.

“Understood.”

……

“Flee!” A green-robed Emperor was fleeing for his life. “I’m too weak. The Sithe would probably be able to track even Hegemons who tried to warp through spacetime. A normal Epmeror like myself would stand no chance at all.” The green-robed Emperor knew just how slim his chances were. “We spent an enormous amount of effort in prepping the Hiddencloud battlefront. There are many powerful formations here that are intact; we were simply forced to abandon them. If I hide inside one of them, they wouldn’t necessarily be able to find me.”

He was going to hide inside one of the remaining formations to catch his breath. Once the danger was past, he would then flee to a more distant location.

Swoosh. The green-robed Emperor quietly snuck into a nearby formation, easily taking control over its great power.

Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. Three figures simultaneously appeared outside. All three were Sithe Black Emperors. The Sithe knew that this target was just an ordinary Emperor, and so they had simply sent three Black Emperors to deal with him. Each of them had Hegemonic power, after all; catching an ordinary Emperor would be very easy.

“He fled into a formation?” The three Black Emperors exchanged a glance.

“Seal off the entire area around the formation. I’ll stand guard outside while the two of you follow him inside,” one of the Black Emperors said.

“Alright.”

“Let’s go inside.”

A mere hour later, the green-robed Emperor who had fled inside the formation had been driven to the brink of despair. Finally, one of the Black Emperors used a sky-blotting palm to smash him into dust!

……

“Let’s run!” Two Hegemons fled in a blind panic, warping through spacetime over ten times. When they saw that they were about to be caught, they finally brought out a realmship. “Let’s run.”

The two Hegemons immediately began to flee within the realmship. As they did, the Sithe squad pursuing them came to a halt and sent a message back: “They have a realmship. We aren’t able to catch up to them.”

After a brief period of time passed, the Hegemons began to breathe a bit easier. “Our realmship is flying very fast. We have a chance to escape.”

“We have to make it out of here.” The two Hegemons both clung onto hope… but suddenly, the realmship was unable to warp through spacetime any longer.

“Eh?” Both turned to stare outside the ship. An enormous, towering black warship had just appeared before them, and it was suppressing spacetime for a wide area around it. These warships had all been painstakingly created by the Sithe leader. Even if Ning and other Autarch-class combatants were here, they would have to slowly fly towards the warship rather than simply teleport through spacetime to it. Its power was tremendous!

“We’re finished.” Looks of despair appeared on the faces of the two Hegemons. They exchanged a final glance.

Bang! Bang! The two didn’t hesitate at all. They immediately exploded into two enormous plumes of light which blasted out, reverberating within the realmship. They had chosen to self-detonate! They were far enough from the Sithe that their truesoul fragments stood a good chance of escaping once they self-detonated.

The Autarchs had long ago instructed them to do this. If they self-detonated they might be brought back to life in the future, even if they were Hegemons!

As the Autarchs saw it, they might not be able to revive the Hegemons who died in the endless void between realmverses, but things would be different once their Chaosverse gave birth to a Lord of Chaos. A Chaoslord should be able to bring them back! They believed this because they had seen from the memories of captured Sithe that slain Sithe Hegemons could be brought back to life. In fact, even Exalts who died in battle could be brought back to life! However, the price was so great that they generally wouldn’t be given such preferential treatment unless they had rendered great merits unto the Sithe forces.

Whoosh. The Sithe warship began to emit an invisible, terrifying sucking power which caused the realmship to tumble helplessly towards an enormous opening at the bottom of the warship. Moments later, the opening in the bottom vanished.

“They self-detonated right after we found them. Damn! Most of their truesoul fragments probably escaped us. Let’s go back.” The black warship immediately warped through spacetime to return to the Hiddencloud battlefront. This entire process had merely taken a few brief moments; they had almost instantly located and eliminated the realmship, then returned to their normal position.

……

“I won’t be able to escape… but those damn Sithe can forget about devouring my truesoul!” a horned, willowy woman howled angrily.

BOOM! She transformed into a burst of light.

……

Self-detonation. Self-detonation. Killed. Self-detonation…

Some who weren’t able to self-detonate in time ended up being killed by the Sithe, as did some who hesitated. The majority, however, had the wisdom to understand when flight was hopeless and thus chose to self-detonate.

……

Green Bamboo and Hegemon Dawnclear were escaping together. As for their other friends, they had all scattered into different groups. If they all fled together, they would probably all be caught together.

Hegemon Dawnclear smiled as she glanced at Green Bamboo, who was using all his power to bring her alongside him in his flight.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Green Bamboo teased. Even though they were being pursued, they were both quite relaxed.

“It’s nothing,” Hegemon Dawnclear said with a smile. “I just suddenly feel so very, very happy. Even if we don’t manage to escape, dying together is fine as well.”

“What nonsense are you spewing? We’re definitely going to escape. Don’t worry.” Green Bamboo continued to flee at top speed.

Boom! Suddenly, a planet-sized castle appeared behind them. A voice boomed out from within the castle: “You must be the leader of the forces stationed in the Hiddencloud battlefront. You brought us quite a bit of trouble, kid. Now stop struggling! There’s no way you’ll escape.”

Green Bamboo paled slightly. His greatest fear was this. He had been the most powerful cultivator in the Hiddencloud battlefront. When he had sent his avatar to battle against the Sithe, the Sithe had been forced to pay a very high price to defeat it. Without question, the Sithe were paying close attention to him as he fled. They had even sent one of their planet-sized castles to pursue him! Those things warped through spacetime far faster than realmships could.

“Dawnclear, remember to bind the treasure I gave you earlier. It’s something which will allow you to warp a tremendous distance through spacetime and escape,” Green Bamboo immediately sent mentally. “I’ll stop them for now. You need to run! Once you reach a safe distance, use that item. It’ll let you flee incredibly fast, and if you can avoid detection for ten seconds they won’t be able to find any trace of you.”

“No…!” Hegemon Dawnclear grew anxious. “What about you? Are you just going to throw your life away?”

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Chapter 7 – Fangs Revealed (part 2)

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 7 – Fangs Revealed (part 2)

As a Hegemon, Dawnclear had an extraordinary Dao-heart. She had already discarded all of her previous concerns and had chosen to become Dao-companions with Sword Immortal Green Bamboo. How could she possibly fear death?

“If we delay, neither of us will escape,” Green Bamboo sent frantically. “Dawnclear, you aren’t strong enough to slow them down. Only I can do that! Don’t worry. After you flee, I’ll do my best to escape as well. If I cannot, I’ll choose to self-detonate. I’ll tell you a secret which you absolutely cannot share with anyone else – my master Darknorth has used the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique and has redone the Daomerge. He’s now comparable to Autarchs in power. So long as any of my truesoul fragments remain, I’ll definitely be brought back in the future.”

Hegemon Dawnclear was startled. So the legendary Daolord Darknorth had actually successfully used that technique to repeat his Daomerge?

“In other words, even if I am forced to self-detonate I’ll still be brought back,” Green Bamboo said urgently. “And I have other tricks up my sleeve as well. I’ll stand a good chance of escaping on my own. Hurry up and go! If you die, there’d be no point in me living.”

“Fine.” Hegemon Dawnclear no longer hesitated. She knew that as she was much weaker, it would be harder for her truesoul fragments to escape the Sithe soul-eater technique.

Whoosh! Hegemon Dawnclear turned and immediately fled. After fleeing for a time, she managed to leave the reach of spacetime suppression. She turned to glance backwards, seeing Green Bamboo already engaged in a fight against the Sithe.

“We’ll definitely be together in the future.” Hegemon Dawnclear gritted her teeth, then immediately warped through spacetime and disappeared.

“Ahahaha!” Green Bamboo himself was in an excellent rule. A total of nine leaf-shaped treasures were around him, and he was able to use them to shockingly powerful effect with his perfect Dao-heart. Each of his strikes was comparable to attacks from the Blazesun Ruler!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The two sides continued to blast attacks at each other.

“The cultivator leader of this battlefront is really powerful. Given his might, I imagine he has a perfect Dao-heart.”

“Anyone who can gain a perfect Dao-heart in this backwards Chaosverse has to be one of its truly peerless geniuses.” The Sithe continued to launch attacks from their castle. They held the upper hand and it was clear that victory should be in their grasp… but somehow, it continued to elude them.

In truth, this was a strategy which Green Bamboo was using. He wanted to give these Sithe the feeling that they could kill him by themselves, and so they wouldn’t be in a hurry to report it to their higher-ups.

They battled for ten full seconds.

“Ugh. This cultivator leader is a pain to deal with. Hurry up and report it to our superiors. Who knows how long it would take for us to kill him? Hurry up and report it to them so we can hunt down that female cultivator next.” These warships were able to scan a realmverse-sized area in a twinkling! Even realmships would produce trails when flying that could be picked up by Sithe scanners, which was why escape was very difficult.

Green Bamboo felt rather relaxed. “It’s been over ten seconds. Dawnclear has probably escaped by now.” He had told Dawnclear that Darknorth would revive him so long as his truesoul fragments escaped, but that wasn’t the complete truth. Green Bamboo knew a great deal about this war. He knew that this was the last chance the Sithe had, and that they would battle to the bitter end. It was possible that even his master Darknorth would die! If that happened, Green Bamboo might not be brought back either.

Rumble… suddenly, a spacetime ripple manifested. A heartbeat later, a towering warship appeared as well, once more suppressing spacetime in the surrounding area.

“Not good.” Green Bamboo’s face tightened.

Boom! All nine leaf-type treasures instantly flew back to circle around Green Bamboo, ‘gripping’ him as they then transformed into a streak of light that flew away at incredible speeds.

“You think you’ll escape?” The Sithe immediately moved to pursue.

BOOM! The distant streak which was Green Bamboo suddenly blew apart into an enormous blast of light as he exploded.

Even as he self-detonated, he remained calm. A little smile was on his face to the very end. It was all worth it. So long as his beloved survived, everything was worth it.

“Another self-detonation. Ugh. How many of his truesoul fragments did we manage to capture?”

“Just part of it, I think. Almost all of these natives have chosen to self-detonate from afar. We’re usually only able to capture part of the fragments.”

“Continue the hunt. He had a woman with him.”

After forcing Green Bamboo to commit suicide, the Sithe immediately began to chase after Hegemon Dawnclear. Alas, no matter what they tried they were unable to find any traces of her.

……

Rumble…

An iridescent ring-shaped treasure was warping through spacetime with ease, moving just as fast as the Blacksun but with even greater secrecy. Ten seconds after its initial use, all traces of its activation would vanish. This had been Green Bamboo’s personal escape treasure. He had only trained for a short period of time but had a perfect Dao-heart. This meant that he was viewed as an incredibly talented prospect for this Chaosverse who could very well become an Autarch in the future.

This was why he had been given such a valuable treasure… but in the end, he had given it to Hegemon Dawnclear.

“No…” While fleeing, Hegemon Dawnclear suddenly turned to stare at the direction from where she had just fled. She could vaguely sense through the power of karma that the most important person in her life had just perished. The karma binding them together had fallen apart, leaving behind an empty feeling that tore at her heart. Her tears began to fall.

“Green Bamboo, you promised me that you’d be able to escape. You promised.” Tears blurred Hegemon Dawnclear’s vision. “I’m sure they’ll bring you back. You are senior Darknorth’s disciple. They definitely will.”

In the end, Hegemon Dawnclear was the only person to survive the battle at the Hiddencloud battlefront. Everyone else died.

……

Ning was soaring through the Great Dark, searching for Sithe and destroying them when he found them. Suddenly, he turned pale and his heart trembled.

Ning turned to stare towards the direction of the incredibly distant Hiddencloud battlefront. “Green Bamboo!” Ning could sense through the power of karma that his disciple was gone. He had vanished from this Chaosverse. Clearly, his truesoul had been destroyed.

“Not even someone as powerful as Green Bamboo was able to escape?” Ning was filled with agony.

In truth, if Green Bamboo had fled on his own he would’ve had a 30% - 40% chance of escaping. Instead, he had given this chance to Hegemon Dawnclear and had gone to delay their foes.

“SITHE!!!” Ning cast away his pain, replacing it with a cold and hard determination. This was war… a war which would determine the destinies of two different civilizations! Many, many Hegemons had died and would die in this war. Green Bamboo was just one of them.

“DIE!” Ning knew that all he could do was to annihilate as many Sithe as he could.

……

Time continued to flow on, and the war only grew increasingly deadly. Four years of frenzied warfare went by in the blink of an eye. The initial wave of frenzied Sithe attacks finally began to ebb, as they suffered so many casualties that they were unable to continue assaulting all of the various battlefields.

During these four years, Ning and the rest of the thirteen Autarch-class combatants had been hunting them down nonstop. They had annihilated so many Sithe that in many areas, the remaining Sithe Hegemons and Emperors were only able to pose low levels of danger.

“All of you shall die.” Autarch Ekong descended upon a battlefront, immediately blinking inside the towering Sithe warship.

“Die, die, die!” Autarch Ekong was the Autarch of Annihilation, and he used his awesome power to completely massacre the many Hegemons and Emperors within the warship.

Right at this moment, Autarch Ekong’s face suddenly turned grim. He immediately blinked outside the warship, only to see that the battlefield had just changed completely.

An absolutely massive temple complex had just appeared in the area, and he was inside the complex. The warship he had just destroyed was miniscule by comparison! The vast temple had a total of seven miniature temples surrounding it, and within each of the temples was a figure seated in the lotus position. Judging from their auras, all of them were Sithe Exalts.

“So the Sithe Exalts have finally shown themselves… seven at one go!” Autarch Ekong turned pale. He could sense the incredible threat they posed to him. They could kill him. This vast temple was entirely capable of destroying him!

“Autarch Ekong, I presume? You won’t be able to escape.”

“Prepare to die.” The seven Sithe Exalts had frenzied looks in their eyes. They knew just how powerful Autarchs were, and so they had made plentiful preparations for this battle.

Autarch Ekong immediately sent word to Ning and the other five Autarchs. Four years after the war had erupted, the Sithe Exalts were finally making their move. The Sithe had finally revealed their fangs!

During the Dawn War, the Autarchs had also encountered multiple dangerous situations. They didn’t even dare to truly assault the heart of the Sithelands and instead chose to simply seal away the outer perimeters! Creatures like the giant tree, which Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg had spent a fairly long period of time to kill, was just one of many tools the Sithe had prepared for this war.

The Annihilation Hive had shown without the shadow of a doubt that the Sithe were terrifyingly powerful. They were more than strong enough to threaten the Autarchs now.

If the Autarchs were truly invincible, Ning and the others could’ve simply gathered all the Hegemons and placed them into their own estate-worlds. If the seven of them just stayed together in one place they would be guaranteed to win, right?

But the truth was that the Autarchs weren’t truly invincible… and they knew it. It was possible that they could be killed, which was why they had the Hegemons be scattered across the Chaosverse. This would at least ensure that they weren’t destroyed in a single alpha strike! Even if the cultivators lost a few battles, they would still be able to recover in the future.

“After four years of war, the Sithe Hegemons and Emperors are no longer much of a threat to us. The Sithe have finally begun to mobilize their elites,” Autarch Titanos sent mentally. “This will be the last great war we shall face! If we win, we’ll be able to grow so powerful that we’ll never need to fear any invaders ever again. We’ll be truly free… but first, we have to win this war.”

“This will be the final war, the Dusk War. Let us fight! In victory, we shall be without worries for all of time. If we fail, we may never recover.”

Ning and the six Autarchs all understood this concept. Their hearts were filled with unprecedented resolve. There was nothing and no one capable of shaking their will for battle. They would fight!

Now that the weaker Hegemons and Emperors were no longer a threat, the Sithe Exalts had joined the fray. The final battle had begun!

“If we win, I might be able to one day revive Yu Wei and my friends and disciples. If we lose, everything will be lost. My parents, Brightmoon, my teacher… they’ll all be gone. All of civilization will be gone.”

“The war to reclaim our destinies has now truly begun.” Ning’s eyes were blazing with determination.

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Chapter 8 – The Vast Temple

Book 44, Dusk War, Chapter 8 – The Vast Temple

What’s the situation, Ekong? How strong is that Sithe temple?” Ji Ning and the others were all worried about Autarch Ekong. Given how long the Sithe Exalts had been biding their time, they definitely had been preparing something truly extraordinary to use against the Autarchs. The worst part of it was, Autarch Ekong’s true body was in the trap!

If it had been his avatar which fell into the trap, Ning and the others wouldn’t feel all that worried. If his avatar died, he would merely need a few more years to rebuild a new one. In truth, given the benefits of temporal acceleration just half a month would be needed to create an avatar, albeit it would have at most 50% of his full power.

In a war against the Sithe, that extra 20% of power made a great deal of difference… but if his true body died, then his avatar would die along with it. That was a far greater loss, an irrecoverable one.

“I can’t see anything at all!” Autarch Ekong sent back hurriedly. “Moments ago, I saw that those Sithe Exalts were seated within seven small temples surrounding a big one. They suddenly activated the power of the main temple, causing my surroundings to transform. I’ve now been trapped inside a giant formation in the form of a massive hallway. No matter where I go, I’m unable to escape this hallway. I can’t see through any of the mysteries behind this formation at all!”

“A formation?” Ning, Titanos, Skyfeeder, Mogg, Stonerule, and Bolin were all shocked. Not even an Autarch could make heads or tails out of this formation… how powerful did it have to be?! If Autarch Ekong was unable to escape it, all he could do was wait and endure terrifying attacks from the Sithe Exalts.

“Darknorth and I have some skill in formations. I’m closer to you than he is. Ekong, take care of yourself. My avatar is headed straight towards you and should get there in twelve days!” Autarch Titanos sent. Avatars were just as effective as true bodies when it came to understanding and disassembling formations.

“Alright. Hurry up! Trapped inside this formation, I can’t even find my foes.” Autarch Ekong was rather anxious.

This hallway was merely thirty meters wide, but he could see no end to it. No matter how long he walked, he wasn’t able to walk out of it!

As for the walls? Autarch Ekong had already tried to break through them with force, but clearly there was no way for him to tear through a formation which seven Sithe Exalts had set up with the help of this temple.

“Trapping me here was probably just the first step. Their actual killer attacks will be coming soon.” Autarch Ekong manifested six arm, with three of them holding shields and the other three holding a saber, a sword, and a shuttle. As the Autarch of Annihilation, he was naturally skilled in many different weapons. It was rare, however, that he was forced to use shields to defend himself.

“Twelve days. I have to last for at least twelve days.” Autarch Ekong’s eyes were very tranquil, but he was on high alert.

Ning was very worried about Autarch Ekong, but for now sending Autarch Titanos’ avatar was the best option they had! Ning himself had devised the Sword Formation Dao, but Autarch Titanos had spent countless years analyzing Sithe artifacts and researching Sithe formations. He was just as skilled in the Dao of Formations as Ning was, but he had far more experience in dealing with Sithe techniques.

Last time, Autarch Titanos hadn’t even needed to enter the Annihilation hive before devising the reverse-vortex formation. All he had needed was the information Ning and Mogg had provided!

Although the various Autarchs were most skilled in their own Daobirth Essences, they had other specialties as well. For example, Autarch Bolin had been unable to create the Samsara Daobirth Essence, but he still far eclipsed the Hegemon level when it came to understanding life and death. Not even Ning was a match for him in this regard.

As for Autarch Titanos, he was not only the master of the Karma Daobirth Essence, he was also tremendously skilled in creating and deconstructing powerful artifacts and formations.

……

Five days after Autarch Ekong had first been trapped.

“Whew. That was close. Gentlemen, I nearly died just now,” Autarch ekong sent to Ning and the others. “Thankfully, combat is my forte. I was forced to use my invulnerable form to endure those repeated attacks and actually used up over half of my energy. I came so close to dying, haha! But I managed to make it.”

Ning and the others all had nervous looks on their faces. This was just day five; Autarch Titanos needed twelve days! How terrifyingly powerful were those attacks, for them to exhaust half of an Autarch’s energy reserves in just a few days? Autarchs had nigh-limitless amounts of energy because of how quickly they replenished their energy stores.

“Be careful. You have to hold,” Autarch Skyfeeder sent frantically.

“Haha, we’re lucky that I’m the one stuck inside. If it was you here, Skyfeeder, you probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand those terrifyingly powerful attacks. You’d be dust by now,” Autarch Ekong teased. “Don’t worry. I’ve already taken the worst they could dish out. I’m an Autarch, you know! I’ve already replenished my energy stores.”

“What did they use to attack you? How are these attacks so powerful?” Ning sent.

“The attacks are powerful but quite clumsy. Anywhere else, I’d be able to dodge or redirect those attacks with ease. The problem is, I’m trapped in this hallway and have nowhere to go. The attack comes in the form of a faint azure seal which is completely linked to the hallway and seems to be part of it. It just comes smashing at me, giving me nowhere to dodge at all. My only choice is to meet it head-on!

“This grand seal is marvelously made and it can launch a total of 352 explosive attacks before the energy in it is used up, following by the seal itself dissipating. In the end, I was forced to transform into my invulnerable form in order to endure the terrifying destructive power of the seal’s attacks. Otherwise, I would’ve been crushed to dust and my truesoul annihilated.”

Ning frowned when he heard this. So it was just a giant seal which came smashing at you? But the problem was that when you were trapped in the hallway, there was nowhere to run at all. You had to take those attacks head-on. Autarch Ekong was being treated as a punching bag!

“If I was attacked by three or four of these things in a row, I’d definitely be doomed,” Autarch Ekong said.

“Don’t worry too much,” Autarch Ekong said. “The Sithe are different from us. They are foreigners to our Chaosverse. We can endlessly replenish our energies from our Chaosverse, but they cannot; if they try to take power from the outside world by force, the process will be incredibly slow. They must have prepared many different energy-generating treasures, and each time they use such a powerful attack it will cost them greatly. Most likely, a single giant seal is their absolute limit. There’s no way they can just generate four of them in a row without resting. If they could, they would’ve done so long ago.”

“Hah! Killing an Autarch won’t be that easy,” Autarch Ekong laughed.

As more time passed, the Sithe used many different techniques in an effort to kill Autarch Ekong. They first started with grand seals, then switched to insidious and strange techniques. However, the only ones which truly brought him to the brink of death had been that grand seal and a strange tentacle-attack.

On the twelfth day, Autarch Titanos’ avatar finally arrived. He was unable to breach the formations from outside, and so he had no choice but to charge into the temple.

……

“Immediately report to our superiors that we’ve already tied down two Autarch-class combatants. One of them is Autarch Ekong, and it appears to be his true body! If we can kill them, it’ll be the equivalent of reducing three Autarch-class combatants from the ranks of the native cultivators. Our temple is mainly meant for trapping foes, which means its attacks aren’t quite strong enough. Hurry up and tell our superiors to send us more forces to wipe the two of them out.” The seven Exalts within the vast temple were all extremely excited.

……

Ning and the others continued to stand guard over their respective zones, catching and wiping out Sithe Hegemons and Emperors. The overall situation in the Chaosverse had taken a turn for the better, with the native Hegemons now being under much less pressure. However, there were still a number of formidable Sithe warships roaming about.

Five days after Autarch Titanos’ avatar joined Autarch Ekong inside that formation.

“Die!” Ning had just discovered a vast black warship which was suppressing spacetime in the surrounding region. However, Ning transformed into a storm of wind and thunder as he shot towards the warship, intending to blink inside and slaughter the Sithe within.

“Not good! That’s an Autarch!”

“Flee, quick!” The Sithe Hegemons and Emperors in this warship were members of an elite squad. They had survived the first waves of the war and had achieved many accomplishments, destroying a total of three cultivator battlefronts.

Swoosh! After blinking into the warship, Ning showed no mercy at all to these ‘successful’ Sithe warriors. Their ‘accomplishments’ came from murdering local Hegemons.

“All of you can die.” A vast wave of heartforce instantly swept out, causing the many Sithe to perish.

Suddenly, Ning’s face turned grim and he immediately blinked outside the warship. There, he discovered that the outside world had just changed. He was now within a vast grayish-white temple complex, and there were a total of eight stone pillars surrounding the temple at its margins. A figure was seated in the lotus position atop each of the stone pillars. Although their mighty auras were inferior to Ning’s, Ning knew without a shadow of a doubt that these were all Sithe Exalts. There were eight of them!

“Judging from how you Autarchs have been sweeping through our Emperors, it would seem that you have a total of thirteen Autarch-class combatants! If we factor in the one within the Annihilation Hive, that means you have fourteen in total.” A tall, thin Sithe Exalt who was seated atop one of the stone pillars stared at Ning with glowing eyes. “If each of you has one true body and one avatar… that means you have a total of seven Autarchs! Six we already know about. Now… who is the seventh? Is it a newly promoted Autarch, or is it an Emperor Darknorth who had used a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique?”

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Chapter 9 – Iyerre’s Response

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 9 – Iyerre’s Response

The Sithe Exalts seated on top of the eight stone pillars stared intently at the glowing humanoid before them. None of them could clearly see who that person was.

Who was the seventh leader of the cultivator forces? Was it a new Autarch, or was it an Emperor Darknorth?

This was a question the Sithe paid close attention to. Even Iyerre wanted to know the answer for sure! They would rather see a new Autarch rise than for Daolord Darknorth to have mastered a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique and become an Eternal Emperor! Someone who was so incredibly talented as to be able to produce a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique would be extremely dangerous to the Sithe. The pressures of war might well result in him breaking through to becoming an Omega Autarch!

“Why don’t you guess.” Ning laughed loudly as he transformed into a streak of light that shot off into the distance.

Just as Ning moved, the vast grayish-white temple suddenly burst with power. The eight Sithe Exalts had activated it, causing spacetime to twist and distort around Ning. Ning could sense his surroundings changing, transforming to become a dazzlingly beautiful world of white clouds and fragrant flowers. Ning stood in the center of all of it… and a strange little smile was on his face.

“An illusory formation?” Ning mused. “Playing around with illusions in front of a Heartforce Cultivator… what a joke!” He was both a formations expert and a Heartforce Cultivator. With the aid of his heartforce, he was easily able to understand some of the secrets behind how this formation operated.

Although Ning was completely confident in his chances, he was still very careful and immediately went into his three-headed, six-armed mode with all six Northbow swords at the ready.

“Break!” Ning’s sword-light lashed out, and it cut cleanly through the beautiful illusory world as though the formation was nothing more than tofu. Just like that, the seemingly-formidable formation was defeated! Ning then transformed into a storm of lightning and wind as he flew off into the distance.

“Haha, impressive! You actually defeated our illusions with ease. Of the six known Autarchs in your civilization only Autarch Stonerule, the master of the Illusion Daobirth Essence, would be able to accomplish this. However, we already know that Autarch Stonerule is quite far from here… which means you are most likely Emperor Darknorth,” an ancient voice said.

“Emperor Darknorth, we merely cast those illusions so that we could be sure of your identity. Did you really think you’d actually be able to escape so easily?”

“Await death, Emperor Darknorth.”

“Seal!”

With a rumbling sound, the titanic grayish-white temple complex began to swivel in place, its outer walls rising upwards while its heart sank downwards. Ning had transformed into a storm of lightning and wind, seeking to escape, but just moments later the entire temple had completely transformed in shape. It was now shaped like a hemispheric prison cell that had been completely sealed off, trapping him inside.

He was completely locked into this place. Ning glanced at the securely-fashioned hallway which imprisoned him, then reached out to touch the walls while following his senses.

“Eh?” Ning frowned. “Yet another spacetime-sealing formation?” With but a thought, Ning blinked past the wall and appeared outside… only to see a vast region of empty space. The only thing within this void was many miniature spacetime continuums. The large ones were ten billion kilometers in size, while the small ones were merely tens of thousands of kilometers in size. All of them came together to form an extremely complicated sealing formation that locked away spacetime! There was no way to simply fly out of this place. If he wanted to escape, he would have to first solve the formation.

“Sealed spacetime…” Ning’s head hurt. In the Annihilation Hive, he had encountered countless spacetime bubbles which were linked together into a complicated formation that was used to devour energy from his Chaosverse! It didn’t have much of a bewildering or trapping effect, as that wasn’t its primary purpose. This one, however, existed solely for the purpose of trapping powerful foes.

“Then I’ll destroy spacetime here!” The three-headed, six-armed Ning sent six streams of sword-light flooding through the area, using his Spacetime Sword Dao to assault and destroy one spacetime bubble after another. Alas, the destroyed ones were quickly replaced by others.

“I can’t do it by force. I have to understand the mysteries behind this formation, then breach it.” Ning began to consider his next steps.

……

The eight Sithe Exalts seated on the stone pillars all exchanged a glance. They could see and sense everything Ning was doing inside their formation.

“Anything involving Emperor Darknorth is extremely important. Report this to our superiors immediately,” one Exalt said.

“Alright.” A black-haired man nodded as he produced a silvery formation-base before him. This formation-base had a total of three loops above it which were slowly spinning in place. Gradually, a blurry pillar of light appeared within the loops which resolved into a humanoid figure. A second later, the blurry figure completely solidified into the tall, muscular, gray-robed Iyerre.

Iyerre was seated upon his throne, eyes closed in meditation. Only after fully manifesting did he open his eyes.

“Almighty Iyerre.” The black-haired man remained seated, but he still bowed downwards in respect.

“What is it?” Iyerre glanced down at the man from his throne.

“The eight of us have captured an Autarch-class combatant using the temple you gave us! We suspected that this person is the mysterious ‘seventh Autarch’, and so we first used illusions to test him out. He almost instantly defeated our illusions, and so we now believe that there is at least an 80% chance he is Emperor Darknorth,” the black-haired man said respectfully. “We know just how major this is, so we immediately decided to report it to you.”

“Emperor Darknorth?” Iyerre’s previously placid gaze suddenly shone with terrifying light. This was the variable which worried him above all others!

Iyerre had made many, many preparations for this war! The Sithe Hegemons and Emperors he had poured into the vanguard had been nothing more than cannon fodder. Iyerre didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt over their deaths, because they had no impact at all. So long as they died killing native Hegemons and Emperors, it could be said that they had succeeded in their purpose! Only when he sent out the Sithe Exalts would the final battle have truly begun.

If it wasn’t for Emperor Darknorth, Iyerre was certain that he had over a 99% chance of success! This was why he hadn’t shown himself a single time. He was confident enough to continue lying in wait, biding his time. Once he did finally reveal himself, it would be in a way which shocked everyone.

However… Emperor Darknorth worried Iyerre. Someone who had failed the Daomerge and yet was able to devise a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique before dying was undoubtedly a figure of absolutely unearthly talent! If Emperor Darknorth took that one final step, he would become an Omega Dao Autarch! Omega Autarchs in their own Chaosverses were absolutely invincible.

“An 80% chance it is him?” Iyerre murmured softly. “Good. Very good. My first target shall be him, then! Use everything you have to keep him trapped and wait for my arrival! I’ll head there at maximum speed and kill him myself.”

“You are coming in person?” The black-haired man was shocked. Iyerre had yet to personally take part ever since they had entered this Chaosverse and launched the war against the local cultivators. They all knew how powerful Iyerre was! Although he was unable to summon the power of the Dao in this Chaosverse and was rejected by it, he had prepared many trump cards for this war. Once he made his move, he would undoubtedly be able to kill this ‘Emperor Darknorth’.

“Understood. We’ll use every tool at our disposal to keep Emperor Darknorth contained,” the black-haired man said.

“Very well. I’m heading out right away.” The pillar of light began to vanish, and the last thing they saw was a fuzzy image of Iyerre rising from his throne.

Iyerre still wasn’t completely sure if the seventh native ‘Autarch’ was Emperor Darknorth or not. Even if it was someone else, killing a trapped Autarch wouldn’t be a complete waste of his time. If it really was Emperor Darknorth, things would be perfect!

Thus, to make sure that nothing unexpected might happen, Iyerre elected to personally deal with this new variable.

……

Ning stared at the countless spacetime bubbles in the void. He was able to almost instantly tell that he wouldn’t be able to solve this formation right away, and so he quickly sent word to the other six.

“Gentlemen, I’ve also become trapped within a Sithe temple. Mine has eight Sithe Exalts controlling it,” Ning sent via the message-talisman. “I’m now trapped within a spacetime formation. It’ll take me some time to break out of it.”

“What?! Darknorth, you’ve been trapped as well?”

“Darknorth, I’m not too far away from you. I’ll come help out,” Autarch Stonerule replied immediately.

“No need. I’m quite skilled in both spacetime and formations. I’m better suited for dealing with this type of formation than anyone else,” Ning sent back. “Don’t worry too much. I’m about to start meditating on how to deconstruct this formation. I’m just giving you all a head’s up! For both myself and Ekong to be trapped in short succession means that the Sithe have probably prepared squads of Exalts for all of us. Don’t let yourselves be trapped as well.”

“Alright.” The other six Autarchs all felt a sense of pressure. Ekong had been trapped in a temple commanded by seven Exalts, while Darknorth had been trapped by a grayish-white temple controlled by eight. The Sithe most assuredly had more Exalts under their command than simply fifteen!

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Chapter 10 – Eighty-Two Days

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 10 – Eighty-Two Days

“Starting today… Skyfeeder, Mogg, Bolin, and Stonerule, the five of us must cease using our true bodies to hunt down Sithe warships,” Autarch Titanos sent to the others. “The cultivators across the various battlefronts are no longer under too much pressure. That means the hunt for Sithe Hegemons is no longer as pressing as it was previously! Let’s simply have our avatars engage in the hunt. Let’s not send our true bodies.”

“Right. Leave our true bodies in safety. Darknorth and Ekong have both been trapped; if two or three more of us are trapped, we might end up losing this war,” Autarch Skyfeeder sent back.

“Darknorth, be careful,” Mogg said.

“Solve it and escape as soon as you can. Too much time can result in new variables being introduced,” Autarch Bolin said.

Everyone understood that the longer one was trapped for, the more dangerous it would be. Even if Ning was able to temporarily survive the grayish-white temple thanks to his formidable abilities, it was just a matter of time before the Sithe sent even more reinforcements to attack him! Thus, the more time they wasted the uglier the situation would become. He had to escape as quickly as possible.

“If there’s anything you need us to do, just ask,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “Of the seven of us, your life matters more than anyone else’s.”

“I understand.” Ning also understood that his fate no longer belonged to him alone; his death would have an impact on their entire Chaosverse and all the cultivators within it.

The white-robed Ning stared at the countless spacetime bubbles and the formation they had been arranged into. Spacetime continuously changed around him, and Ning simply watched while under the effects of 100x temporal acceleration. His every thought was focused on understanding how this grand spacetime formation actually worked.

……

Riiiiip. A spacetime rift suddenly appeared deep within the Great Dark, followed by a tall, gray-robed, barefoot man walking into it. His eyes were warm and gentle, seemingly filled with love towards all living beings.

“Hmph.” Iyerre stared into the void, letting out a slight snort as he frowned. A strange type of energy was circling around his body, preventing all forms of karma from touching him! This was the reason why no one from the local cultivator civilizations had ever been able to discover his existence, despite the passage of countless aeons. Given Iyerre’s power, if the prime essences of the Chaosverse were able to sense him it would’ve immediately ranked him as the most terrifying threat in all of existence and have warned the Autarchs long ago.

“Ugh. I can’t use even a sliver of the power of the Dao, and I’m constantly being suppressed. Even my travelling speed is slowed to a crawl,” Iyerre murmured anxiously to himself. Given his power, back in his own Chaosverse he was able to travel more than a hundred times faster than right now. Even in the Infinite Void, he travelled much faster than he did right now. In this Chaosverse, however, he was being constantly suppressed to the point where he moved roughly as fast as the native Autarchs.

“It will take me eighty-two days to reach the place where we’ve trapped Emperor Darknorth.” Cold light flashed through Iyerre’s warm eyes. “I hope nothing happens during this period of time. We’ve used the ‘Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple’ to trap Emperor Darknorth. He shouldn’t be able to escape in such a short period of time.”

He had been waiting back in the heart of the Sithelands, which was very far away from the place Ning was trapped. And yet, he would still be able to reach Ning in just a bit over two months, despite being unable to use any of the power of the Dao and being suppressed by this Chaosverse. This was a testament to how truly formidable he was!

“Emperor Darknorth is the only variable which is outside my control. If I can get rid of him, the six remaining Autarchs will pose no danger.” Iyerre felt a tinge of worry. “He’s the most unpredictable variable, and he’s definitely in the highest of favor with the local Quintessence. The entire Chaosverse will concentrate virtually all of its luck onto him! This is what allows him to create one miracle after another… but in the end, going from being an Omega Emperor to being an Omega Autarch will still be incredibly difficult. Luck and favor alone will not be enough.”

In the end, karmic luck was just a form of external aid. It could be ridiculously helpful to ordinary mortals, allowing them (for example) to easily acquire various treasures which could allow them to become Immortals and understand the Dao. For Autarchs, however, luck was much less useful.

Autarch Titanos and the others didn’t care too much about karmic luck either. It was almost impossible for them to improve any further, no matter how lucky they were! Ning, however, was the only person in this entire Chaosverse who stood a chance of becoming an Omega Autarch. He would definitely be blessed with tremendous luck, but luck alone wouldn’t be enough to produce an Omega Autarch. It wasn’t even enough to allow him to come up with a technique like the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’; such a thing required many other factors, including personal insights and tremendous hard work!

Generally speaking, the more powerful you became the better your karmic luck would also become. When Ning had been reborn via the Netherworld Kingdom, he had been an unremarkable little fellow in the vast chaosworld that was the Three Realms. It was only once he grew stronger that his luck truly improved. Iyerre, in contrast, wished to suppress the entire Chaosverse and then bind it to him. To an expert like him, only personal strength was worth putting your faith in.

“He might be a variable, but he still has far less than even a 10% chance of breaking through to becoming an Omega Autarch. I still stand a very good chance of winning this war. Eighty-two days… so long as they can hold him for eighty-two days, I’ll be able to make it in time and get rid of Emperor Darknorth.” Iyerre had an ironclad will, but he still couldn’t help but feel a bit of anxiousness. He knew that whether or not he was able to kill Emperor Darknorth was one of the biggest factors in determining if he could gain control over this Chaosverse or not.

Riiiip. He continued to tear through spacetime, warping at Autarch-like speeds towards Ning’s location.

……

Within the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple. Ever since Ning had been trapped here, he had spent all of his time analyzing the complicated formation around him. He had no idea that a terrifying figure like Iyerre was heading towards him, but he did know the more time he wasted, the more dangerous the situation would become.

On the fifth day of Ning’s imprisonment. Autarch Titanos and Autarch Ekong managed to break free of the hallway formation trapping them… but then, a new danger appeared before them.

On the ninth day of Ning’s imprisonment. The two Autarchs very nearly escaped, but all of a sudden the most terrifying danger of all descended upon them.

On the tenth day of Ning’s imprisonment. Autarch Titanos’ avatar was forced to use his own life to block the dangerous attack crashing towards them, resulting in him dying in battle! However, this allowed Autarch Ekong to escape unharmed. He was heavily wounded, but at least he managed to stay alive.

“I could feel death breathing down my neck. I could literally feel death’s icy grasp reaching for me! It was all thanks to you, Titanos. Otherwise, there’s no way I would’ve been able to escape. Even if I did escape the first hallway, the second trap would’ve done me in.” Autarch Ekong was extremely grateful. “I’m ashamed of having caused you to sacrifice an avatar.”

“It’s fine. I can make another one! For you to have escaped counts as a win in my book. Besides, it was my fault for being unable to fully divine all the dangers of that place,” Titanos said.

“Haha! Ekong, Titanos just saved your life. After this war is over, you need to offer him some of that fine wine you’ve been stockpiling.”

“No problem whatsoever,” Ekong agreed straightforwardly.

Ekong’s escape was something for the cultivators to celebrate. Of course, Titanos had to recreate an avatar, which would start off at 50% of his power at most. This avatar would now be the weakest of their Autarch-class combatants, which would have a negative impact on their total combat prowess, but it was still a much, much better outcome than Autarch Ekong dying.

Now, the only one trapped was Ning himself. Titanos, Skyfeeder, Mogg, and Bolin all offered advice and strategies based on what Ning had told them, and they also tried to help come up with ideas for solving the formation. Alas, they weren’t able to see the formation in person and so they could do nothing more than give general advice.

……

On the nineteenth day of Ning’s imprisonment. Ning was still unable to escape, but something else happened. Autarch Bolin’s avatar was also assaulted by a squad of Sithe Exalts. He had been very cautious, but he still ended up trapped within an evil black temple.

“The Sithe really do have more squads of Exalts roving around. Damn.” Autarch Ekong was furious.

“Thankfully, only his avatar has been trapped there. If Bolin’s real body was trapped, we’d be in much more trouble,” Titanos said. “Bolin, hurry up and try to solve the formation and escape as soon as possible. Even if you can’t escape, the sooner your avatar dies the sooner you can start working on a new one and making it stronger. Every extra day counts. Of course, I hope you can escape intact. That avatar is an Autarch-class combatant, after all.”

If they were continuously weakened like this, they might end up being defeated in the final battle. Small losses of strength could have a major impact on the outcome of the war.

“Darknorth, you be careful as well. Staying alive matters more than anything else,” Titanos said.

“Darknorth, my avatar’s remained fairly close to you this entire time. It can probably reach you in around ten days or so. If you ever need my help, just let me know,” Autarch Mogg sent. “Your life is extremely important to us. If I can sacrifice an avatar to keep you alive, that’s a worthwhile trade.”

“No need. I’m still analyzing the formation trapping me. You coming in wouldn’t really help me much. If I ever do need you, I’ll let you know.” Ning felt quite grateful for the offer, but he knew that Autarch Mogg coming wouldn’t make any difference.

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Chapter 11 – Breaching Spacetime, Succumbing to Eight Revolutions

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 11 – Breaching Spacetime, Succumbing to Eight Revolutions

Within the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple.

The Sithe Exalts remained seated on the eight stone pillars ringing the outer perimeter of the temple. They were closely watching all of Ji Ning’s actions within the formation, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent. Thanks to their control over the formation they were able to scry and see Ning’s white-robed figured seated in the lotus position, surrounded by countless divine runes of incomparable complexity.

“He’s skilled in formations, illusions, spacetime…” A Sithe Exalt sighed in amazement. “Only an Omega Emperor could be skilled in so many aspects!”

As Sithe Exalts, they had the same level of insight as the native Autarchs of this Chaosverse. Thus, they were able to tell from the runes surrounding Ning that the man had reached incredible heights in both formations and spacetime.

“Emperor Darknorth lives up to his reputation. Still… it isn’t likely that he’ll be able to solve this formation in just eighty-two short days. Twenty days have already gone past.”

“Perhaps the spacetime formation alone will be enough to trap him.”

The Sithe Exalts were conversing mentally with each other. They knew just how important Emperor Darknorth was to the war. He was most likely the greatest obstacle to almighty Iyerre taking control over this Chaosverse! This was why Iyerre was hastening towards them at top speed. If they managed to successfully keep Emperor Darknorth trapped for eighty-two days, they would have carried out their primary mission. Once Iyerre became the Lord of Chaos for this Chaosverse, he would definitely give them great rewards.

Time continued to flow on, one day after another. The spacetime formation was indeed quite complicated, but on the thirtieth day of Ning’s imprisonment, an explosion suddenly erupted forth from within the formation, followed by the faces of the eight Sithe Exalts turning grim.

The white-robed Ning had risen to his feet. He had assumed his three-headed, six-armed form and was using his six Northbow swords to furiously assault the spacetime formation around him.

He seemed to be randomly hacking to the right and to the left, but somehow his ‘random’ hacks managed to disrupt the functioning of the entire formation. He had located and broken through some of the energy nexus points, causing the power of the formation to drop dramatically.

“He’s discovered the secrets behind our spacetime formation. The formation is going to break. It won’t hold much longer!” The eight Sithe Exalts were shocked by Ning’s speed.

Boom! The spacetime formation finally collapsed, followed by those countless miniature spacetime bubbles popping and dissipating.

After thirty full days, he had finally defeated the spacetime formation.

“Incredible. Simply incredible.” A black-haired Sithe Exalt sighed in amazement. “He was able to breach the formation in just thirty days. If I was trapped there, I probably wouldn’t be able to get out even if I spent a hundred chaos cycles trying.”

“You aren’t skilled in formations. You’d stand no chance whatsoever.”

“He really is impressive.”

“Thirty days have gone past. Only fifty-two days are left. The ‘eight revolutions formation’ should be able to trap him for fifty-two days, right?” a Sithe Exalt with golden fur covering his face said.

“The Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple’s strongest trap-type formation is the ‘eight revolutions formation’; the spacetime formation isn’t quite as strong. When I tested the spacetime formation out, I was able to get an overall sense of what I needed to do and could calmly meditate on it, but when I tested out the eight revolutions formation I just felt completely baffled and lost,” a female Sithe Exalt said. “If it took him thirty days for just the spacetime formation, the eight revolutions formation will probably take him over three years.”

“There’s no way he’s getting out of there.”

“Check out that stupid look on his face.”

“Haha, he wants to break through via raw force? What a joke!” The Sithe Exalts all began to laugh when they saw what Ning was doing. They knew just how powerful their ‘eight revolutions formation’ was.

……

Boom! Ning had just broken through the vast spacetime formation. Now, he surveyed his new surroundings with a frown. He was within a sealed dimension of raw fire. The flames filled every inch of this dimension, but they were pushed aside before even getting close to Ning.

“A sealed dimension?” Ning had no idea that he had now entered the most dangerous and most difficult part of the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple… the eight revolutions formation! This would be his greatest obstacle to escaping the temple. If he managed to break through this, the temple wouldn’t have much else left.

“I should be able to just tear through dimensional membranes via raw force.” Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately using the technique which Autarchs favored the most – raw force!

Boom! Ning shot upwards while manifesting three heads and six arms. His six Northbow swords furiously chopped against the dimensional membrane, with each strike empowered by the mysteries of the Space Sword Dao. Ning unleashed several hundred chops just the blink of an eye!

When Ning had been trapped within that ‘hidden’ dimension, Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos had used the same principle to break through the dimensional membrane – raw force! This was because, unlike the Sithe, they had nigh-limitless amounts of energy here in their own Chaosverse. There was no worry about running out, whereas the Sithe had to consider how much energy they had available when planning their killer attacks.

Thus, using raw force to overpower a formation was actually a highly effective technique, even though it seemed rather brutish and clumsy!

“It seems like it is breaking.” Ning could see that the dimensional membrane was shuddering in the face of his frenzied attacks.

In the spacetime maze, Ning had tried to furiously assault the spacetime bubbles in this manner as well. However, all of the spacetime bubbles he destroyed would release their energies to the local spacetime field, which would then give birth to new bubbles. As a result, the actual energy of the formation wasn’t depleted in the slightest. Raw force was useless against a tactic like this, unless he reached a level where he was so strong he could tear apart the entire formation with just one strike of the sword.

Dimensional membranes, however, were different. They had to endure the weight of Ning’s strikes head on, and each time that happened they would be depleted of energy. Eventually, they would be so weak that they would simply collapse!

Boom! After the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, one of Ning’s strikes finally tore open a giant wound that was roughly three hundred meters in size. Through the tear in the dimensional membrane, Ning was able to see… a vast world of water outside.

“Eh?” Ning turned to stare at the world of fire he was currently in, then back at the world of water on the opposite side of the dimensional membrane. The rift in the membrane was already beginning to quickly heal.

“Another dimension?” Ning frowned, but he didn’t hesitate in immediately charging through the rift and entering the world of water.

“That was fast. The dimensional rift closed after just three seconds.” Ning watched as the tear he had created vanished before his very eyes.

“So this is a world of water, eh?” Ning flew through the water. The waves were powerful and heavy, but like the flames they were incapable of harming Ning in the slightest.

“I’ll break through again.” Ning once more used his sword-arts as he flew to the edges of the world, then began to frenziedly assault the dimensional membrane. It once more took him the amount of time needed to boil a kettle of tea to once more tear a dimensional rift open… and this time, he was able to see a world that was filled with vitality and boundless green light.

“Yet another world?” Ning had a bad feeling about this, but he still flew through and continued to assault the dimensional membrane in this third world.

……

And so, Ning began to enter and then furiously chop through one world after another without stopping. An ordinary person probably would’ve given up long ago, but Ning spent an entire day chopping through a hundred different dimensional membranes before stopping. Alas, there was no end to them.

“I’ve broken through over a hundred worlds in a row.” Ning was standing atop a mountain, pondering to himself. “These hundred worlds seem to be constructed from eight dimensional archetypes. I can view them as the ice world, the water world, the life world, the earth world, the mountain world, the fire world, the lava world, and the metal world. The dimensions continuously fluctuate between these eight worlds…”

“There’s only eight basic ‘types’, but each world I enter seems to have a slightly different aura than the previous ones.” Ning was growing a bit nervous. He had spent an entire day analyzing the worlds, but still had no idea how he was supposed to break through them.

When he had been within the spacetime formation, at least he could tell that there were countless spacetime bubbles that were linked together into a formation. He was able to glean insights on the workings of the formation from those bubbles before finally solving it!

However, the ‘eight revolutions formation’ he was trapped in simply gave him a new world once he broke through the previous one. It was a never-ending cycle of these eight types of worlds, a cycle without end…

“How should I break through? How should I escape?” Ning continuously pondered this.

“Can it be that there are actually only eight worlds in total? No, that can’t be right. I can sense through my mastery of spacetime that there should be more than just eight.” Ning simply had no idea as to how he was supposed to understand the mysteries behind this formation!

……

Time continued to flow on one day after another. The Sithe Exalts on the eight stone pillars gradually began to relax. Everything was as they had predicted. The eight revolutions formation was much more difficult to break than the spacetime formation, after all. In truth, every single one of these temples was quite extraordinary. Autarch Ekong had only been able to escape his temple thanks to Autarch Titanos sacrificing his avatar.

“Once Iyerre gets here, we’ll have completed our mission.” The Sithe Exalts continued to wait silently.

As for Ning, he was now seated in the lotus position at the very center of a world of lava. Time was sped up to a rate of 100x around him as he continuously pondered the problem before him. Ning had already notified Titanos, Mogg, Skyfeeder, Bolin, and the others. All six Autarchs were helping him with suggestions, but none of them were able to come up with any true solutions for this deceptively simple cycle of eight worlds.

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Chapter 12 – A Murderous Voice

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 12 – A Murderous Voice

Oftentimes, the simpler something was the fewer flaws it had. One of the simplest measures was to just construct a dimensional cage to imprison someone, one which was so stable and tough that there was no way to break through it.

However, simplicity carried its own stringent requirements. Ji Ning and the Autarchs were so overwhelmingly powerful and had such limitless reserves of energy that no mere dimensional cage could possibly withstand their assaults! The eight revolutions formation went about it in another way. It generated multiple worlds, each of which Ning was able to break through fairly quickly… but the worlds continued to be generated one after another!

“All of these worlds are extremely stable. Maintaining this sort of world can’t be easy,” Ning mused. “And there can’t really be an endless amount of worlds!”

“Break!” Ning once more rose to his feet in three-headed, six-armed form. He transformed into a dazzling streak of sword-light which slammed against the dimensional membrane. After the time needed to boil a kettle of tea the dimensional membrane was hacked open, revealing a freezing world of ice. Ice filled the entire world, making up its continents, mountains, and valleys.

Ning stepped through the dimensional rift and into this frozen world.

“It doesn’t really matter which direction the tear is created in; the end result will still be a new world. Given how stable these worlds are, there can’t be that many of them… and yet they continue to loop in on themselves in an endless cycle. The only way this is possible is if these eight worlds are actually moving to line up in front of me! That way, no matter where I go I’ll see an endless procession of worlds before me.”

By now, Ning had a rough idea as to how this eight cycles formation had to work. It consisted of several dozen or several hundred worlds that were perhaps arranged into a spherical shape! Ning was located at the very center of this sphere, so no matter where he went he would enter a new world. Once he did so, the other worlds would relocate themselves to keep him at their center.

No matter where he went, he would remained trapped in the ‘center’ of the formation. He’d never be able to make it out!

This was his current theory. Perhaps it wasn’t perfect, but he felt confident that this was more-or-less how it worked. However, this theory just made Ning feel even more worried, precisely because of how simple it was. The simpler something was, the fewer flaws it would have.

“Its only real flaw is that these worlds have to constantly move and shift around as I do. If they didn’t, then I would eventually be able to advance beyond the scope of the formation. This moving process has to take time. It takes me the time needed to boil a kettle of tea in order to break through a world, and that’s more than enough for them to readjust themselves,” Ning mused. “If I could break through the worlds over ten times faster… perhaps it wouldn’t be enough time for the worlds to relocate themselves perfectly, resulting in some openings that I can exploit.”

Based on his current level of understanding, he knew that using force to breach this formation was completely hopeless. The eight formations formation would continuously rearrange its internal configuration with each world he escaped. Power wouldn’t work… what he needed was speed! He needed to move fast enough that the formation wouldn’t be able to reconfigure in time, resulting in flaws being revealed.

“This is my only option.” Ning could come up with no ideas save for this one. “But how am I supposed to break through these worlds faster?”

Two options came to mind. The first was to somehow make himself become more powerful. For example, if he managed to reach a greater level of understanding with regards to the Dao of Spacetime, he would be able to quickly and more easily breach those dimensional walls. Alternately, if he managed to create the Oblivion Sword Dao then he could use its all-encompassing destructive force to devour everything in his path. Ning had the feeling that once he created it, he would become much more powerful, and he could use that power to more quickly breach those dimensional barriers.

However, improving his personal strength was an extremely difficult goal. He had already devised the Spacetime Sword Dao. Ning had no idea how he was supposed to upgrade it any further.

The concept of ‘Oblivion’, he had only gained after scrying the secrets of the sphere of annihilation. This was a form of power that was capable of destroying an entire Chaosverse. Iyerre had found this mysterious item from within the Infinite Void, and in all his countless aeons of existence he had never found a second such item. Ning’s avatar remained trapped within the Annihilation Hive, and it had never stopped analyzing this technique.

The second option was to find flaws in the dimensional membranes before him. If he could find some flaws, he would be able to break through them much faster with much less effort.

“I’ve been constantly training in the Oblivion Sword Dao. There’s no way to rush it.” Ning inspected the area around him. “My only choice is to find flaws within these dimensional constructs.”

Whoosh. Whoosh. His sword-light became watery, flowing across the dimensional membrane and causing it to first shudder, then crack.

Ning stared at the cracks, watching them quickly heal. “These dimensions were created based on the secrets of spacetime. Every single part of the dimensional membrane seems to be identical. There don’t seem to be any flaws.”

……

As Ning remained trapped within the eight revolutions formation, the war outside began to pick up the pace. Autarch Skyfeeder’s avatar ended up being tricked while hunting down Sithe and was trapped within a temple, as was Autarch Bolin’s avatar.

Autarch Stonerule’s avatar was more formidable. He was a wary man and a mastery of illusions. When the Sithe temple appeared, they discovered that they had trapped nothing more than a mere projection… and now that the temple had revealed itself, Autarch Stonerule immediately set down a grand formation around the temple, securely sealing it away and ensuring that it was unable to escape.

For now the clashes remained fairly low-level, as Autarchs could replace lost avatars with slightly weaker ones. In the end, the real focus of the war remained on Emperor Darknorth.

If Emperor Darknorth died, the Annihilation Hive would no longer be checked. It would continue to furiously devour the energies of the Chaosverse. The only other person who understood how the reverse-vortex formation worked was Autarch Titanos, whose avatar had already been destroyed. His new avatar wasn’t strong enough to keep the Annihilation Hive in check. Titanos would have to go in person if he wanted to stop the thing!

Darknorth was the strongest member of the seven cultivator leaders, while Titanos was the second-strongest. If the former was slain while the latter was tied down, they would have all-but lost the war.

“If we can kill Darknorth, we’ll have won.” Iyerre viewed killing Ning as a mission of critical importance. As far as he was concerned, Ning was a greater risk than all six of the other Autarchs combined.

……

On the sixty-ninth day of Ning’s capture.

In recent days Ning would only occasionally break through to a new world, then spend most of his time strolling about before beginning to meditate.

“Ah. So is that how it works?” Ning opened his eyes, his gaze as deep and fathomless as the starry skies themselves. Countless stars seemed to be swimming through his eyes. This was a sign that he had reached a truly incredible level in the Dao of Numerancy.

Suddenly, Ning’s body rapidly increased in size. Boom! He transformed into a towering three-headed, six-armed giant who wielded all six of the Northbow swords. He strode across the land, his six swords also increasing in size as he used them to deliver repeated chops of sword-light against the dimensional membrane all around him.

When Ning’s swords moved, multiple sword-shadows appeared around them. There were chops, stabs, thwacks… all sorts of attacks filled the area around him.

“What’s going on?”

“Something’s wrong with that world. It’s destabilizing!” The Sithe Exalts responsible maintaining the eight revolutions formation were quickly shocked. They had only grown more confident in their formation as they had watched Ning fail to make any progress. They had allowed themselves to relax… but now, all of them were shocked! This was because the world Ning was in had begin to shudder, almost as though the entire world was unable to remain stable and was at the verge of collapse.

“I can’t send in additional energy!” the black-haired Sithe Exalt called out in shock. “We’re blocked from sending our energy into any part of the dimensional membrane of that world. Something’s disrupting the conduits! The lack of energy is causing the dimensional membrane to be unable to repair itself. He’s going to break through much faster than before!”

“How is this possible? How did he do this?!” The Sithe Exalts were frantic. Previously, Ning needed the amount of time for boiling a kettle of tea in order to break through a dimensional membrane. This was because each time he assaulted the dimensional membrane, the formation would quickly send in more energy to reinforce it. This was why even after he did manage to tear a rift open, the rift would quickly close after just three seconds.

But now, the dimensional membrane was no longer being resupplied with energy. That made the destruction process much faster.

It didn’t make sense. The energy transfer was an invisible, formless process which saw energy be directed straight into the membrane itself. By all rights, there should be no way to stop such a thing. However, to a person who had reached a sufficiently high level of insights all things were possible, be it creation or destruction. Ning had spent many days in accelerated meditation, figuring out a way to accomplish this by joining together his Numerancy Sword Dao, Spacetime Sword Dao, Light Sword Dao, and Dark Sword Dao.

Boom! Three gaping holes appeared in different parts of the world Ning was trapped in. Ning glanced through the holes, only to see three completely different worlds. He smiled.

“Dimensions, revolve!” a strange, murderous voice suddenly rang out.

Suddenly, Ning saw the three different worlds outside the rifts begin to spin away. The world he was in became completely detached from them… and slowly, Ning began to see the fourth and fifth worlds which were revolving around him.

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Chapter 13 – Fatal Trap (1)

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 13 – Fatal Trap (1)

“Not good.” A terrifying sense of danger instantly flooded Ji Ning’s mind. “They can no longer hold me, so they are going to try and kill me instead?”

These temples were all manned by Sithe Exalts. They could be used to trap, but they could also be used to kill! Autarch Titanos’ avatar and Autarch Ekong had to work together to survive the one they were in, with Titanos eventually losing his avatar in order for Ekong to escape. These temples were not easy to deal with!

Ning had the vague feeling that staying within this world would be even more dangerous, and so he immediately transformed into a streak of light and shot outwards.

Whoosh! As soon as he exited the world, his face paled. In the past a new world would greet him once he exited the previous one, but this time was different. This time, he was within an empty region which had many enormous pocket dimensions. Above him, below him, to his left, to his right… the entire area was filled with those spinning worlds. Ning was able to see over twenty of the things. They all circled around him, with him being at the very center.

“It really is as I had predicted. These worlds are all mobile, which is why I would always enter a new one after breaking through the old one.” Ning became all the more certain of his hypothesis when he saw this. “Now that I’m breaking through the worlds much more quickly, they aren’t able to keep up and so they’ve chosen to discard the useless trappings entirely.”

“Emperor Darknorth!” a cold voice rang out.

“Are you absolutely sure that I’m Darknorth?” Ning replied, relaxed. His body was glowing with such radiance that the Sithe Exalts were only able to see a glowing figure and were unable to make out his features.

“I can’t imagine anyone save you, Emperor Darknorth, who would be able to so quickly understand and deconstruct the eight revolutions formation,” the cold voice replied. “The eight revolutions formation isn’t just meant for trapping people, it’s also filled with many killer mechanisms! Emperor Darknorth, our original plan was simply to trap you. However, you are forcing our hand. We’ll have to kill you now,” a second deep voice boomed out.

“Hah!” Ning stared at the many worlds revolving around him, then let out a loud laugh. “What a joke! If you were able to kill me, you would’ve done so long ago. In the end, this is my homeland. We cultivators are far more powerful than you in our own Chaosverse. Kill me? Even if you have the assistance of this temple, I’ll wager you aren’t sure of your chances!”

The faces of the eight Sithe Exalt stiffened slightly. It was true. They had to admit that they weren’t 100% sure they could kill Darknorth. Not even Iyerre was confident that they could accomplish this, which was why he had merely ordered them to trap Ning and tie him down. If they could keep Ning trapped until Iyerre arrived, their chances of victory would increase to 100%! Alas, there was nothing the Sithe Exalts could do. Now that Ning had already worked out how the eight revolutions formation operated, he would probably be able to escape within an hour if left to his own devices!

Thus, they had chosen to transform the ‘eight revolutions formation’ from a trapping formation to a killing formation.

All of the temples had terrifying offensive powers built into them. The same was true for the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple!

“Hopefully, we can kill him. Even if we cannot, we can still use ‘annihilation mode’ to buy ourselves some more time.”

“It’s already been sixty-nine days. If we can buy another ten-plus days, we’ll have accomplished something great.”

“He’s forcing us to do this. Attack!”

“Attack!” The eight Sithe Exalts immediately activated the offensive functions in the eight revolutions formation.

……

“Eh?” Ning’s face hardened as he stood there in the empty void, staring at the vast worlds which were spinning around him. He could clearly sense that each of the giant worlds were accumulating and preparing to unleash a terrifying amount of power. Freezing energies, flaming energies, watery energies, vital energies, metallic energies… all types of energies were beginning to pour out of the many worlds.

The different types of energy were beginning to build together, and in the end they resolved into eight different types of energy which materialized in the forms of titanic dragons. The vast energy dragons all looked completely different, but they were all around ten million kilometers long and a million kilometers wide. Each energy dragon contained enough power to cause even Ning to feel a sense of shock. These things were definitely on the Autarch level… and in fact, they significantly surpassed Ning in raw might.

However, Ning was able to remain quite calm. These were nothing more than formation constructs which did not possess true sentience. They knew nothing of the Dao.

The eight enormous dragons slowly began to ‘swim’ through the air towards Ning, their ponderous bodies blocking out everything in Ning’s vision.

“Hm.” Ning maintained his three-headed, six-armed form and warily waited for them with his six Northbow swords at the ready.

Finally, all of them joined together to form a series of loops. Some of them formed the ‘inner loops’, while others formed the ‘outer loops’. A dragon that seemed to be formed from stone energies was the first to move towards Ning, and when it did Ning finally struck.

“Break!” Faced with the durable-looking stone dragon, Ning immediately used the Five Elements Sword Dao. In truth, all eight energy dragons were based upon the energies of the Five Elements, and so the Five Elements Sword Dao was the most suitable response for all of them.

Ning’s sword-light was filled with vitality. It drilled hard against the stone dragon, exploding with dazzling light as it sought to tear through it.

The Five Elements Sword Dao truly was a strong counter for this stone dragon, but Ning’s full-force strike was only able to just barely shatter the stone dragon apart. Moments later, the other energy dragons began to swarm towards him while the stone dragon began to reform from its shattered parts.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The eight energy dragons continuously coiled around Ning in layers. Ning destroyed one after another, but new ones were continuously formed.

“How long is this going to take?” Ning was growing anxious. “Why is it that I feel escape is even more difficult than it was earlier.”

……

The eight Sithe Exalts continued to maintain careful control over the formation, not daring to relax in the slightest.

“Using the formation like this is consuming far too much energy. It is depleting energy many times faster than ‘trap mode’ did. We won’t be able to last too long,” the black-haired Sithe exalts said worriedly.

“We have to. Even if it costs us every last scrap of energy, we have to last until almighty Iyerre arrives.”

“Hold on for as long as you can.”

The eight revolutions formation had many different mechanisms within it. ‘Trap mode’ was just the start, ensuring that any foe would find it difficult to escape. Next would come a terrifying number of attacks! However, the Sithe Exalts weren’t confident in being able to actually kill Ning with those attacks, and so they continued to pour all of their efforts into simply trapping Ning and keeping him tied down. So long as Ning didn’t escape, they would have ‘won’… but this process would consume an enormous amount of energy, especially with Ning launching so many attacks against them.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The three-headed, six-armed Ning continuously assaulted the energy dragons using his Five Elements Sword Dao. He didn’t pause for even a second, because he already discovered a flaw in the formation. “These dragons are formed from energy and given physical heft, making breaking them difficult. Without a doubt, maintaining them takes up an absolutely shocking amount of energy at all times. If I furiously attack, their energy expenditures will be insane!”

“I refuse to believe they’ll be able to sustain such high levels of energy expenditure for too long. That’s the weak spot of this formation – its energy consumption. Break!” Ning didn’t worry about his own energy running dry. He was an Omega Emperor in his own Chaosverse; he had an endless supply of energy from the Chaosverse itself.

Boom! Boom! Boom! He destroyed yet another dragon, and once again a new dragon came in its stead. The eight energy dragons continued to coil around him and suppress him, preventing him from escaping but paying an enormous cost in energy to accomplish this.

After six full days of this war of attrition, the Sithe Exalts were finally unable to maintain it any longer.

“If this continues, in just one day our Eight Revolutions Spacetime Palace will collapse under its own weight due to lack of energy.” The female Sithe Exalt said hurriedly, “Even if we can manage to last for an extra day, it won’t be enough time. Iyerre won’t be able to make it.”

“Damn this Emperor Darknorth. He’s been attacking nonstop this entire time. If he took a slight break, we wouldn’t have it this rough. By all rights, we’ve prepared such a powerful energy wellspring that it should be more than strong enough to last us until almighty Iyerre arrives, but Emperor Darknorth won’t stop his crazed attacks!”

“Well, we ARE trying to kill him. You didn’t really expect him to just stand there and wait for death, did he?”

“Enough. Let’s attack. Cancel ‘trap mode’ and activate the ‘annihilation mode’! Annihilation mode has much more powerful attacks. Emperor Darknorth might be an incredible genius, but he still might very well die to it.”

“We’re out of other options.”

The Sithe Exalts had been trying to buy enough time for Iyerre to arrive, since that would guarantee them victory. Alas, they no longer had enough time. Their only choice was to fully activate ‘annihilation mode’, with the original ‘trap mode’ having been nothing more than the first phase of the formation.

“Materialize!” The eight Sithe Exalts simultaneously began to activate their respective parts of the formation.

Rumble… the energy dragons that had been coiling around Ning suddenly began to roil about in midair, tangling around each other as all of them simultaneously shot towards Ning. Even the enormous linked worlds off in the distance began to move once more, causing Ning’s face to change.

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Chapter 14 – Fatal Trap (part 2)

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 14 – Fatal Trap (part 2)

The ‘trap mode’ had worked in a gradual function by pressuring Ji Ning and slowing him down. Each time he destroyed one of the eight energy dragons, it would quickly reform and go after him again. The overall tempo of the battle was fairly slow… but now, everything suddenly sped up.

The eight energy dragons began to simultaneously coil around Ning in a ferocious fashion. Ning knew just how terrifyingly strong these dragons were. If he wasn’t able to withstand their attacks, he would probably be ground to dust! Even his truesoul would be ground apart by them.

“Break!” Ning chose to discard all defenses and instead use his sword-arts to charge straight towards the ice dragon which was closest to him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Sword-light flashed like the spokes of a giant windmill, instantly landing multiple consecutive cuts upon the frozen dragon’s body and chopping deep into it. Ning seized this opportunity to burrow all the way inside the dragon.

Bang! All the other energy dragons collided into each other, not even touching Ning who was now inside the ice dragon.

“Whew.” Ning let out a sigh of relief. “There’s no way for me to block all eight of those dragons head-on at once, but by hiding inside one of them I was able to sidestep the problem.”

Whoosh. The ice dragon Ning was inside of quickly began to crumble and break apart, taking away Ning’s ‘hiding spot’. A moment later, a new ice dragon began to reform at the outer perimeter of this region.

As soon as Ning revealed himself, all of the dragons once more swept towards him.

“Break!” Ning’s sword-light flashed with incomparable sharpness and severity, tearing through the body of the water dragon and allowing him to dodge inside!

No matter what dragon he faced, he was able to find the perfect sword-art to counter it. He would burrow deep inside an energy dragon’s body, using it to avoid the many other attacks!

“Hmph. I wonder how long you’ll be able to keep playing like this.” Ning wasn’t worried at all, continuing to dive into the bodies of the energy dragons to avoid their combined attacks. “This increased tempo means that the energy dragons are breaking apart ten times faster than they were in the past, with the overall formation expending far more energy than merely ten times that of before! How long could they possibly sustain this?” Generally speaking, when accelerating the attacks of a formation like this, the energy expenditure would skyrocket an astronomical amount.

Ning’s guess was spot-on. After just one hour, the Sithe Exalts were no longer able to maintain this tempo of battle.

“We aren’t able to kill him. Emperor Darknorth is just too strong; he can almost instantly tear through one of our formation-dragons.”

“Our energy reserves just don’t last long enough. Let’s go to the final formation, the ‘eight revolutions annihilator’ formation.

“I hope the ‘eight revolutions annihilator’ is able to kill him.

“It definitely will kill him. The eight revolutions annihilator is so powerful that it should definitely be mighty enough take his life.”

The Sithe Exalts were all desperate for victory. The eight revolutions annihilator formation was the final and most powerful offensive technique the temple possessed. If even this failed, then Ning would be able to break the formation and escape shortly afterwards, which meant that they would have failed in their mission!

……

As Ning was busy blocking those frenzied attacks, the eight energy dragons suddenly skyrocketed in power once more. They blasted out countless streams of power in every direction, aiming them at the giant worlds which were constantly shifting position in the perimeter around Ning. The worlds of water, freezing ice, blazing fire, stone, and more began to link together in an intricate and marvelous manner, forming a single complete whole.

Above Ning, the many worlds had come together to form something which looked like an enormous Eight Trigrams shape. Below him, the many worlds had come together to form something similar.

The two sets of Eight Trigrams were rapidly crashing down towards Ning, who was trapped between them. It was like the lower set was a grindstone, while the upper set was a millstone!

All of the worlds surrounding Ning had been completely joined together, giving him no chance to escape at all. As for the energy dragons, their energies had been completely merged into this formation as well.

“Not good!” This was a straightforward crushing attack, spread across such a vast area that Ning wasn’t able to dodge it at all. His only choice was to meet it head-on. Ning knew that the most critical moment had come, and he readied his six Northbow swords while maintaining his three-headed, six-armed mode.

This all took time to describe, but in truth it took less than a heartbeat for these worlds to come crashing down towards Ning. They moved at an absolutely astonishing speed!

Clang! Ning used his own sword-arts to defend. Three of the Northbow swords executed the Numerancy Sword Dao. The Numerancy Sword Dao was so incomparably intricate that it could truly be described as peerless amongst all divination Daos! This formation-attack he was facing was divided into two parts, and Ning wanted to attempt to redirect some of their power against each other. Thus, he used the Numerancy Sword Dao to do just that, lessening some of the pressure off him.

His fourth Northbow sword, he used to execute the Spacetime Sword Dao in generating a spacetime membrane which covered him. He was now within an independent spacetime continuum which would easily deflect many attacks.

As for his final two swords, he used them to execute the Five Elements Sword Dao. They embodied the gentleness of water, the weightiness of the earth, the vital energy of wood…

The two Eight Trigrams formations continued to come crashing down towards each other. Iyerre had called this ‘annihilation mode’, and it used eight different sources of power to create a single source of overwhelming power.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning began to fight back against the two Eight Trigrams crashing towards him. He once more was like Pangu cleaving apart Heaven from Earth, using all six of his Northbow swords to resist the crushing pressure of this formation! However, Ning quickly sensed that yet another source of mighty power was crushing towards him. This caught Ning off-guard, and he hurriedly moved to block this one as well. And yet, moments later another source of power was crashing against him…

The Eight Trigrams were crashing towards him but were also swiveling, which generated a strange type of power that clashed against Ning, making it even harder for him to defend.

Bang! After defending against the fifth surge of power, Ning could feel his entire body trembling. Some blood came spewing out from his mouth.

“Not good.” Ning knew that his body was starting to break down under the stress. It was formed from the power of mana and was as strong as any Universe treasure, but it still wasn’t able to take this level of pressure.

Ning instantly transformed his body into a form of blurry sword-light. This was his invulnerable swordform!

Autarch Ekong, when faced with grave danger, had been forced to use his own invulnerable form. Now, Ning was forced to do the same. His body was no longer corporeal, making it incredibly resistant to any attacks. As the master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, Ning was most skilled in the invulnerable swordform. His body was now formed from countless streaks of sword-light which dispersed the crushing power pressing against him.

Even though he was now incorporeal, his six arms continued to wield the Northbow swords in fighting back against the attacks crashing against him.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three more surges of power came crashing against him. This power, the power of the ‘eight revolutions’, came in a total of eight waves. Ning’s blurry body of sword-light was able to deflect the majority of it, with the remaining power within the limits of what he could tolerate. However, his energy was now being depleted at such a rapid pace that for the first time in many years, Ning began to feel as though he wasn’t able to keep it up for much longer. During his previous fights, he had been able to instantly replenish as much as he used up. He had never felt as though he didn’t have enough energy!

This was simply because the amount of energy he was using to restore and repair his body was simply too enormous.

After all eight ‘waves’ of destructive energy were finished, the attacks paused for a brief moment before launching yet another eight waves… but that brief pause was enough for Ning to completely recover all of his energy.

“Hah! This formation of yours is useless against me.” Ning roared with laughter.

After he endured just three more cycles of annihilation mode… boom! The dimensional membrane pressing down on Ning from above in the form of the Eight Trigrams suddenly collapsed. It was unable to endure it any longer!

It must be remembered that the ‘crushing’ process was carried out by the dimensional membranes of the various worlds. The dimensional membranes were very tough, with Ning needing to attack for the time needed to boil a kettle of tea in order to destroy them, but the power of the ‘annihilation mode’ simply placed too much strain upon them, far more strain than Ning himself had to endure. Ning had been focusing on defending and redirecting its power away while using his invulnerable swordform to absorb the rest.

The great pressure needed to destroy Ning caused the dimensional membranes to be put under such great stress that they collapsed after a short period of time.

This could technically be considered a flaw, but it wasn’t really. This was because if three consecutive attack cycles of the ‘eight revolutions annihilation’ was insufficient to kill an opponent, it meant that the formation itself just wasn’t strong enough. It had failed.

As soon as the formation above him shattered, Ning immediately charged upwards to escape. “Break!” Ning immediately used his sword-arts to slash upwards. He had long ago discovered where the weak points in the dimensional membranes were, and just six seconds later he exploded past them. The various worlds outside were still trying to rearrange themselves; clearly, they hadn’t formed a perfect seal yet.

Swoosh! Ning transformed into a streak of light, shooting through the seams that still existed between the moving worlds.

“Stop him!”

“Quick!”

“We’ve already converted all of the worlds into ‘annihilation mode’. It’ll take time for us to switch back into ‘trap mode’. We won’t make it!” The Sithe Exalts were panicking.

Ji Ning was simply too fast. He wasn’t going to just stand there as a fool and wait for them to reform the ‘trap mode’ and imprison him once more… and in truth, given his power he would be able to break through in just an hour.

The ‘annihilation mode’ had been very dangerous, but after breaching through two worlds Ning was on the road to escape.

Boom! After blasting through one final dimensional membrane, the entire world seemed to change before him. He had already reached the outsides of that vast temple, and he could even see the endless Great Dark outside as well.

He had escaped.

Swoosh! Ning transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the skies. He immediately saw the Sithe Exalts seated atop those distant stone pillars, their faces filled with looks of terror.

“None of you will escape!” Ning’s murderous voice boomed throughout every inch of the temple.

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Chapter 15 – Extermination

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 15 – Extermination

The Sithe Exalts could sense Ji Ning’s murderous intentions. None of them hesitated as they all immediately transformed into streaks of light, charging inside the formation. The difference in power between them and Ning was simply too great. They had no chance at all of winning a frontal clash; their only chance was to hide within the formation!

“Heartworld projection, descend! Sword Dao domain, manifest!” Ning instantly used all of his most powerful domain-type techniques, sending both his heartworld projection and his sword domain crashing down upon them. The Sithe Exalts felt as though they were swimming through molasses as their flying speeds dropped dramatically. They were very close to the formation and should’ve been able to enter it in the blink of an eye, but they were now moving a thousand times slower than before.

“Hurry up and run! Hurry!” the Sithe Exalts continued to do their best to escape.

“Good luck, everyone. There’s no way he can kill all eight of us at once.” The Sithe Exalts were quickly able to judge the situation. The eight of them were scattered in eight different directions around the vast temple! They were all physically flying towards the center of the temple because spacetime in the area had been suppressed, making warping through it impossible. Ning was very fast, but the eight Sithe Exalts were all very close to the formation. They’d be able to enter it soon, and Ning wouldn’t be able to kill all of them before the rest made it inside.

“Die.” Ning instantly charged towards the closest Sithe Exalt, a female whose eyes were filled with terror.

“Don’t kill me!” the female Exalt screamed, her voice filled with a strange cadence that tried to seep into Ning’s soul and truesoul. This was an illusory technique!

“Playing around with illusions in front of me?” Ning smiled coldly. When he had been in the failed Daomerge state, his cracked truesoul might’ve been weak enough to partially succumb to such a technique… but now that he had succeeded? His truesoul was far more powerful than ever before, and he had also gained a high level of mastery over the Dao of Illusions. How could this Sithe Exalt possibly shake him?

“Die.” Sword-light howled past him in the form of countless dimensional blades. Ning knew that these Sithe Exalts all had such powerful bodies that one or two blows probably wouldn’t be enough to kill him, and so he unleashed all six Northbow swords in a windmill of rapidfire attacks. Given Ning’s power, twenty strikes was all that was needed to completely annihilate her! Ning then began to fly towards the other Sithe Exalt close by.

“N-no…” The fiery-armored Sithe Exalt had a look of despair and resentment in his eyes as he stared at the eight revolutions formation in front of him. It was just inches away, but Darknorth’s terrifying domain pressed down upon him with such might that he was only able to fly very, very slowly.

Ning, in contrast, was able to fly at maximum speed. He arrived in just a moment, and his terrifying sword-light descended as well. Once again the most terrifying offensive Dao in all the Chaosverse, the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, revealed its deadly brilliance. Strengthened by Ning’s perfect mana, it had only become even more powerful than the past. This Sithe Exalt was tougher than the previous one, but it still only took Ning a total of twenty-six strikes to slay him.

Ning turned his gaze towards a bald and muscular Sithe Exalt off in the distance. That Sithe Exalt instantly started to panic. “Run, everyone! Run!”

Whoosh! Ning quickly sped towards the man. Slash! His sword-light hammered the Sithe Exalt from afar, and the heavily-wounded Exalt just barely survived it and charged into the formation. By now, the other five had all entered the formation as well.

“Thank goodness we made it inside.” The six lucky survivors all felt a sense of fear wrack their hearts. The Exalts glanced at each other, their eyes filled with joy at having survived. That had been utterly terrifying! They were supposed to be Autarchs, but here in this Chaosverse they had been weakened so dramatically that they were at most comparable to the Blazesun Ruler in power. This was the natural disadvantage all invaders faced – they would be suppressed and prevented from using even a wisp of the Dao’s power.

“He won’t be able to break through the formation so easily. We’re safe inside here.”

“For now, we’re saved.”

“We did our best, but we weren’t able to carry out Iyerre’s orders,” the Sithe Exalts said to each other.

“Look over there!” the black-haired Sithe Exalt suddenly cried out fearfully.

Two of them had perished, but the six of them were still more-or-less in control over the entire temple and were able to keep the eight revolutions formation active. Their control over the formation allowed them to clearly see what was happening outside… and they saw Ning transform to become absolutely towering in size, on par with the entire temple itself.

The titanic Ning was now far larger than many chaos planets. He was in three-headed, six-armed form, and his six Northbow swords had increased in size to match.

“DIE!” the titanic Ning roared furiously, sending his six gargantuan Northbow swords descending like the punishment of the heavens towards the formation protecting the temple.

After being lucky enough to escape once, Ning wasn’t going to be so foolish as to dive back inside! However, he wasn’t going to let the Sithe off either.

As far as the other Autarchs, Autarch Titanos had been forced to sacrifice an avatar to allow Autarch Ekong to escape, and Ekong himself suffered heavy injuries; he was in no condition to keep tussling against the Sithe Exalts. Autarch Stonerule had merely used his avatar to set up a few formations to seal that temple away, making it impossible for them to escape. Autarch Stonerule didn’t dare to use his avatar to actually enter the temple and fight them there.

Ning was the only exception. He had enough power to continue fighting against and killing these Sithe Exalts! This was because he was actually capable of defeating even the most powerful formations they had thrown at him.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning sent the six colossal Northbow swords crashing down with all his power. The outermost dimension protecting the eight revolutions formation was destroyed in just three seconds, but the formation quickly began to regenerate and rebuild the destroyed dimension.

“Not good. He already knows how to solve the eight revolutions formation, and there are only six of us left. It’s hard for just six of us to keep the entire thing active. The formation is going to be much less stable than before!”

“Hold on for as long as we can!”

“Keep it stable, men!”

“The eight revolutions formation has many different worlds within it. It will take him time to destroy them one-by-one, while the six of us can continue to remake new ones. After attacking for a while, Emperor Darknorth will probably give up.” The Sithe Exalts clung onto this faint hope as they struggled to defend.

……

There was no way Ning would spare them. He continued to use all of his power to furiously assail the formation with his six Northbow swords, destroying one world after another. New worlds were quickly reborn, but this was costing the Sithe an enormous amount of energy!

A short while later, a figure flew over towards Ning from afar. This was Autarch Mogg’s avatar.

“Darknorth.” Autarch Mogg’s avatar had actually arrived long ago, but he hadn’t dared to intervene by going inside.

“Haha, Mogg! Perfect timing,” Ning laughed. “Give me a hand. It doesn’t matter what techniques you use, just hammer away at the formation with all your power.”

“Sure.” Autarch Mogg’s body transformed to become absolutely towering in size, and he manifested a total of six arms as well, each of which wielded a long and slender saber. He began to furiously assail the temple’s formation alongside Ning! Ning understood the flaws within the worlds and so his attacks had already put the formation under incredible stress. Now that another Autarch-class combatant had joined him, the stress was further amplified. The worlds began to crumble even faster than before.

Now, a world was crumbling every two seconds. One world after another shattered before their blows…

“We’re almost at the point where we can’t keep up with how fast they break our worlds.”

“Our energy stores are almost gone.” The Sithe Exalts were filled with despair. If they were at full power, they could at least use the spacetime formation or other formations to protect themselves once the eight revolutions formation broke apart, but they had virtually exhausted their energy stores in their attempts to first trap and then kill Ning. Now, Ning and Mogg were forcing them to use up their final bits of energy.

“We’re finished.” Their faces were filled with despair.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The final worlds were broken apart, causing the six Sithe Exalts to abandon all hope. As the remnants of the eight revolutions formation began to crumble, they shared a final glance.

“If almighty Iyerre succeeds, those of us who died in battle might have a chance to be revived.”

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out, followed by the complete collapse of the remnants of the eight revolutions formation, which now lacked any controllers.

“Self-detonation?” Mogg’s avatar gritted its teeth. “Why are the Sithe so loyal? None of the Sithe Exalts we captured and tortured after the last war have surrendered either.”

“Destroying one of their temples counts as a victory in my book,” Ning said. He waved his hand, drawing the remnants of the temple into his own estate-world. “Let’s go.”

“Let’s leave.” Mogg nodded. Riiip! The two tore through spacetime and left side-by-side.

……

Iyerre was still flying through the Great Dark at maximum speed. He looked calm, but flames could be seen flickering deep within his eyes. He was eagerly looking forward to the moment where he could kill Emperor Darknorth. By killing Emperor Darknorth, his victory over this war would be secured!

Whoosh. The barefoot Iyerre came to a sudden halt within the empty darkness of space... He stared off into the distance. He could sense the deaths of each and every Sithe Exalt under his command, and his face gradually grew increasingly unsightly to behold.

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Chapter 16 - Rage

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 16 – Rage

Iyerre could sense that two of the Exalts in control of the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple had just slain. Clearly, the situation had just taken a turn for the worse. Generally speaking, so long as the formation protecting the temple was undamaged the Exalts in control wouldn’t be killed.

A short while later, he could sense that the other six Exalts had all died as well.

“All eight of them died. All they needed to do was trap Emperor Darknorth for eighty-two days. They just needed to hold out for a few more days… those useless idiots!” Iyerre felt rage blazing away at his chest. He had been preparing for countless aeons. Victory had been within his grasp… but at the most critical moment, his servants had been unable to keep Emperor Darknorth confined. How could he not be angered by this?

“If I can’t kill Emperor Darknorth, I’ll have to switch to the second plan and start killing off the other Autarchs one-by-one.” Iyerre nodded slowly.

This was a more difficult prospect. Killing Emperor Darknorth would have given him a 99% chance of success. Now that Ning had escaped, his chances of success had just dropped sharply. Still, he remained confident in his overall chances. He knew what forces he had available and what his opponents were capable of, which was why he felt so confident.

Iyerre suddenly waved his hand. Whoosh! Three figures suddenly appeared by his side. Their auras were all tremendously powerful, far more powerful than the auras of ordinary Sithe Exalts. All three of them appeared humanoid, and it looked as though two were male while one was female. The first man was dressed in black robes, while the second was dressed in red robes. As for the woman, she was dressed in dazzlingly beautiful silver robes and had a soul-stirring smile on her face.

“Iyerre.” The three bowed fractionally to show respect, but they addressed him simply as ‘Iyerre’ rather than giving him the title of ‘almighty Iyerre’ as most Sithe Exalts did.

“It is now time for the three of you to take action,” Iyerre said.

“You need to remember your promise,” the black-robed man said sinisterly.

“Don’t worry. After this battle is over, I’ll give you your freedom and also give you treasures as a form of thanks. My master himself has personally attested to this. Are you really worried that I would go back on my word?” Iyerre said.

The three traded glances, then nodded.

“Starting today, we shall operate in two groups,” Iyerre said.

“Eh? What’s this? You won’t be needing us to help you against Emperor Darknorth after all? Oh, I know. Those useless subordinates of yours weren’t able to tie him down for long enough, right?” the silver-robed woman laughed. The two men next to her had mocking smiles on their faces as well.

Iyerre frowned slightly, then continued: “Yes. They weren’t able to tie him down. Emperor Darknorth has already escaped! Our only choice is to carry out our second plan. The four of us will work separately, with you three in one team and me by myself. The cultivators don’t even know that we exist, so if we are careful we might just be able to ambush and kill two of their leaders at once.”

“Agreed.” The three all nodded.

“Remember, once we separate you need to hide behind the treasure I gave you. Don’t reveal any hint of your aura at all. Once the Chaosverse discovers any traces of your auras, the cultivator leaders will also be instantly warned as to how dangerous you are,” Iyerre said.

Iyerre was at such a high level of enlightenment that he could cut off all detection from the Chaosverse by himself, but the Sithe Exalts and the three people before him could not. Thus, they had to use the treasure which Iyerre had given them! This was the reason why Ning and the others hadn’t noticed any of the hidden dimensions prior to them disgorging their contents at the start of the war.

“Don’t worry. We won’t make such foolish mistakes,” the green-robed man smirked.

“This is your first time entering a different Chaosverse. It is best to be cautious, as you are unable to use the power of the Dao here. You’ll be much weaker than you are used to,” Iyerre warned. These three weren’t his subordinates, and so he could not command them. All he could do was offer them warnings, for fear of them making a mistake and revealing themselves before they managed to kill a native Autarch. If that happened, this war would become even more difficult to win.

The cultivator Autarchs were in their own Chaosverse and backed by the boundless power of the Dao. All of them were mighty beyond measure, and the only way to kill them was to catch them off-guard! Once Iyerre revealed himself, the cultivator leaders would be able to quickly flee and hide from him.

As for Emperor Darknorth… he was the most powerful of the local cultivators. If Iyerre had to fight him by himself, victory was far from assured. Iyerre was still being suppressed by this Chaosverse, after all! That was why he had brought his second trump card as well. He had been planning to work alongside those three powerful experts. Together, they would’ve spelled certain doom to Ning.

But of course… that was only if Ning had remained trapped inside the temple! Outside the temple, Ning could flee whenever he wanted to. It was very difficult to kill anyone who was of the same level of strength.

“Let’s head out,” Iyerre instructed.

Whoosh! An ordinary-looking realmship suddenly appeared next to him with a Hegemon in control of it. This Hegemon was a Sithe descendant who had been born into this Chaosverse, and so his aura was identical to that of an ordinary cultivator’s.

The Hegemon was responsible for control of the realmship and sending it hurtling through the Chaosverse, while the three experts would remain hidden within a treasure the Hegemon carried.

“Very good.” Iyerre watched as the realmship departed, cold light shining in his eyes. “Thus far, the cultivators have only lost a few avatars. None of them have actually perished! I’ll wager that they have no idea that the temples were only meant to confuse them, making them lower their guard once they ‘knew’ what they were up against. Those weren’t my real trump cards at all.”

“Come, then. Let’s see who shall be the first ‘Autarch’ I kill once I reveal my presence.” Iyerre waved his hand, causing a white lotus to appear in his palm.

Rumble… Iyerre’s energy flowed into the whitelotus, quickly spread out to cover an extremely vast area that was a hundred times greater than the area Ning could scan using his godsense! Iyerre could accomplish this because he had vastly surpassed all the others in terms of insight, even though he was being suppressed by the Chaosverse. As for the white lotus, it was an incredibly valuable scanning treasure which his master had helped him forge.

“So… who shall be the first to die?” Iyerre smiled as he stepped into a spatial rift, hurtling through spacetime. He moved to one region after another, wandering through many different regions. Ever since the temples had appeared, the cultivator Autarchs had stopped attacking in person and had only sent out their avatars to do battle. Thus, actually locating one of them was no easy feat.

……

Time flowed on, one day after another. In the end, Autarch Skyfeeder and Autarch Bolin’s trapped avatars all ended up perishing in battle. However, the temples ended up being trapped by the other Autarchs who cast giant formations around them, making it impossible for them to flee!

Thus far, the Sithe had revealed a total of five temples. These temples had cost the cultivators three Autarch avatars belonging to Bolin, Skyfeeder and Titanos. As for the temples themselves? Ning had captured one, while the other four had been sealed and rendered immobile.

The cultivators had lost three peak power avatars, but they quickly began to remake new ones, even though the new ones would be significantly weaker for quite some time.

……

Over two months after Ning had escaped the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple.

Whoosh! Iyerre’s muscular form suddenly exited a spacetime rift and appeared within a realmverse. He continued to hold that white lotus in his hands as he carefully scanned the vast area around him. “Eh?” Iyerre revealed a look of delight.

During the past two months, he had been searching for the Autarchs in a manner that was reminiscent of looking for a needle in a haystack. Thankfully, he was able to warp through spacetime just as fast as the Autarchs were, while his scanning treasure completely surpassed Autarch-level capabilities! During the past two months, he had managed to discover Autarch Stonerule’s avatar… but to reveal himself in exchange for just an avatar? There was no way Iyerre would make that type of trade!

“I’ve finally found one of the actual Autarchs. Hm… this aura seems familiar. I encountered it countless times over the aeons. Isn’t this Autarch Mogg, who stood guard over our ‘sealed’ lands for all those years?” Iyerre revealed a smile. “Perfect. Autarch Mogg… I’ll use your life and your blood to anoint my war-banner.”

……

A mountain peak which was floating in space. There were some ordinary-looking log cabins at the top of this mountain, and a tall, skinny, black-robed figure was seated in the lotus position within one of those cabins. His face was covered with scales, and his eyes were shut.

The temples were all quite troublesome to deal with, and so the Autarchs had chosen to draw back all of their true bodies and only permitted their avatars to roam the outside world.

This mountain peak might look ordinary, but it had been personally fashioned by Autarch Mogg for him to cultivate in. Without his permission, not even the other Autarchs would be able to approach without him noticing.

But… right at this moment a barefoot and gray-robed figure suddenly appeared before the mountain peak. This figure had a benevolent, sympathetic smile on his face.

It was Iyerre!

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Chapter 17 - Iyerre vs Mogg

Iyerre stood there in empty space, staring at the floating mountain before him and the clearly visible log cabins at the very top. Given his abilities, he was able to sense that within the log cabin sat Autarch Mogg.

Generally speaking, for someone like Autarch Mogg, it was impossible for him not to notice when someone was staring at him. However, Iyerre was able to do so without him noticing anything at all.

“Autarch Mogg of the cultivators. He really spent quite a bit of effort putting this mountain together. It is filled with all sorts of seals and scanners.” Iyerre smiled as he continued to inspect the place. Autarch Mogg’s various warning systems and barriers were perhaps quite troublesome for other major powers on his level, but they were nothing more than parlor tricks to something like Iyerre.

Iyerre was able to see immediately through the many flaws of these defenses. This was due to the far superior level of insight he possessed! He had been able to create things like the Annihilation Hive and the formation temples, all of which had stunned Ji Ning and Titanos. Everyone had been certain that only a Lord of Chaos could’ve created such incredible edifices.

Ning and the others certainly weren’t able to create such things, but finding a few weak spots and exploiting them was much easier. Even so, only Autarch Titanos had been able to devise the reverse-vortex formation, while Ning had spent many days before managing to overcome the Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple.

This was a testament to the difference in insight between them!

When the Autarchs had set down those many layers of seals around the heart of the Sithelands, they have felt that the Sithe would be unable to escape… but in truth, those seals had been an utter joke to Iyerre, who was able to bypass them with ease. The only reason he pretended his forces were sealed away was to ensure that the cultivators would lessen their vigilance against him. In truth, he had long ago sent his countless Hegemons and Emperors to the various secret dimensions.

“This mountain might be able to stop the Autarchs, but it cannot bar my path.” Iyerre smiled as he walked closer towards it.

Whoosh. His entire body became vaguely incorporeal and semi-translucent. He slowly strolled forwards, moving towards the mountain peak and then climbing up it.

The many barriers atop the mountain were completely incapable of barring his path. Autarch Mogg was highly skilled in the Dao of Space, and his various seals and barriers were all dimensional in nature. However, Iyerre was using an even more profound application of the mysteries of space to become part of ordinary space itself, making the barriers completely ineffective against him.

After walking for ten seconds, Iyerre came to a sudden halt. He frowned slightly as he stared at the distant log cabin. “A Dao Domain field?” This was a bit more troubling. Dao Domains were also known as Essence Domains. Ning had his Sword Dao Domain, while Autarch Mogg had his Space Daobirth Essence Domain.

This was a time of war. Although Autarch Mogg’s true body was not taking part in combat right now, he still vigilantly kept his domain up at all times. He didn’t put too much effort into it, but it was still enough to cover half of the mountain. Any enemies who penetrated this mountain would be instantly discovered by his domain.

“The power of his domain comes from the Chaosverse itself; it represents a domain formed by the power of the prime essences. I can avoid the prime essences and make it impossible for them to detect me, but I’d be discovered as soon as I entered the reach of his domain.” Iyerre pondered this question. “Suppressed by this Chaosverse, I’m unable to use any of the Dao’s power at all. I’m stronger than these native Autarchs, but not by that much. I don’t have the overwhelming advantage that I should.”

This was why he had brought three mighty helpers when he had gone off to fight Ning. Now that he knew Ning had escaped, Iyerre had parted ways from the three. They were each responsible for killing one Autarch… but now that they had separated, Iyerre ‘only’ had a 80% chance of killing Autarch Mogg, who was even weaker than Ning.

“I’m hidden in the darkness. He has no idea how strong I am. I’ll definitely be able to kill him in this battle.”

“Time to attack.” Iyerre began to make his move. He reached out with his ivory-skinned right hand, penetrating the Space Daobirth Essence Domain and sending a series of gentle, comfortable ripples straight into the mind of Autarch Mogg, who was still seated in the log cabin.

“Hrm?” Autarch Mogg suddenly felt very comfortable and at peace. This gentle feeling caused a hint of a smile to naturally appear around his lips. Freedom… release… the glorious joy brought by the light filled his every thought, banishing all his worries and concerns.

Whoosh! The alabaster hand shot out with incredible speed, piercing through the various spatial barriers and the impediment of the Essence Domain to strike towards the log cabin.

His domain had clearly been intruded upon… but right now, Autarch Mogg only felt a sense of relief and release, as though he had never been as free and relaxed as he was right now. “It’s all in the past now. All my worries and concerns are over… wait. No. The war against the Sithe just started. We’re in the middle of a war! How could I possibly be truly relaxed and carefree?” Autarch Mogg quickly came back to his senses, and when he did he immediately ‘saw’ that hand pierce through his domain. By now, it had already reached the log cabin.

The alabaster hand passed straight through the cabin itself, not damaging it in the slightest. A tremendous sense of danger filled Autarch Mogg’s mind, terrorizing him.

“How could I have ignored it when it passed through my domain? How could I have been drawn into a state of completely relaxation without even realizing it?” Autarch Mogg was utterly terrified by the implications of this. Being trapped in an illusion was one thing, but this had been no illusion! His spirit and his thoughts had been manipulated without him even realizing it, even though he was an Autarch! He had only come back to his senses after sensing the obvious contradiction of him being at ‘peace’ during a time of war.

“Who? Who did this?!” Autarch Mogg had no time to analyze things. He immediately manifested six arms, clasping a saber in each hand and using them to launch a marvelous coordinated attack against that alabaster hand. His saber-light flashed like dimensional edges, moving with inscrutable speed.

The alabaster hand ‘danced’ towards him in such a gentle, beautiful, and graceful manner that Autarch Mogg’s spirit was shaken once more. Flick! The fingers of that hand gently brushed against the saber-light, causing it to be dispersed and redirected elsewhere. Flick! Flick! Two of Mogg’s other sabers were pushed aside as well. The alabaster hand had used almost no power to defend, but none of Autarch Mogg’s attacks were able to land on it.

Mogg’s three remaining sabers spun in concert to form a tight defense around him out of saber-light that was linked together with space itself. It was as though an independent dimension was standing in front of him, helping him block.

Riiiip! The giant hand suddenly became bright and sharp, tearing past two of the sabers. Mogg’s defensive saber-arts were his pride and joy, but they were completely unable to defend against this giant hand. As for the dimensional barrier he had erected before him, it was instantly pierced through as the giant hand stabbed at Autarch Mogg’s chest.

“Run!” Autarch Mogg was truly stunned and terrified. The seven Autarchs had often sparred against each other and held Dao debates with each other, but not even the most powerful (Ji Ning) had been able to gain such a major advantage over him in their fights.

“This person is significantly more powerful than even Darknorth!” Autarch Mogg exclaimed to himself in amazement.

As he retreated, the light from the giant hand had already reached out to stab him in his chest. Autarch Mogg could sense a sharp, penetrative force dig deep into his body, causing him to vomit out a mouthful of blood. He hurriedly summoned the mana in his body to resist this attack, but the invading energy was extremely difficult to deal with. In the end, Autarch Mogg was only able to cancel out the invading energy with his mana by throwing an enormous amount of energy at it. This had actually cost him more than 30% of his total power.

A single quickly clash had resulted in him being badly wounded!

Boom! Autarch Mogg was sent flying into the walls of the log cabin from this blow. The log cabin instantly blew apart, and even the barriers surrounding the area began to tremble. The surrounding area collapsed, transforming into a dark region of primordial chaos… and from within the darkness emerged a gray-robed, barefoot man who strode through the collapsing dimension with ease, completely unaffected.

“Who are you?!” Autarch Mogg shouted frantically. In all his battles against the Sithe, he had never once encountered any individual who held such a terrifying advantage in power over him.

“My name is Iyerre. I’m here to kill you.” Iyerre smiled, but he moved incredibly fast. He gave Autarch Mogg no reprieve at all, charging towards him right away.

“Flee.” Autarch Mogg knew that he had just run into a terrifyingly strong foe. If this battle continued, he’d probably end up dying here. Without hesitation, he chose to immediately flee!

When Iyerre saw that Autarch Mogg was trying to warp through spacetime to escape, he tapped his foot downwards. “Freeze.” An invisible ripple sprang out, completely sealing off spacetime in the area around them, making it impossible to warp away!

“He’s actually even more formidable than I am when it comes to the Dao of Space?!” Autarch Mogg could quickly sense how spacetime had been locked away. He himself was also capable of suppressing spacetime, but he wouldn’t be able to do it this easily or to this effect. He couldn’t help but feel amazed as he transformed into a streak of light and began to physically flee.

Iyerre frowned as he watched Autarch Mogg flee: “These native Autarchs are able to use the boundless power of the Dao. In my homeland, I could exterminate these creatures with the wave of a hand… but in their own Chaosverse, killing them is really quite difficult.”

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Chapter 18 - Golden Bridge of Freedom

Book 44, Chapter 18 - Golden Bridge of Freedom

An ordinary chaos planet. A white-robed Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop a boulder, surrounded by a 100x temporal acceleration field. He was trying to deconstruct and solve the formations protecting the temple which had been sealed away by Autarch Stonerule! It remained a source of potential trouble and Ning felt that it was best to get rid of it.

“Eh?” Ning’s face suddenly tightened. He could sense that a new, terrifying danger had just appeared far in the distance. This danger was so great that Ning could sense his heart clenching. It was every bit as dangerous as the Annihilation Hive.

“What’s going on?” Ning was puzzled by this, as were the other Autarchs. Everyone could sense this terrifying new threat.

As soon as Iyerre had attacked Mogg, the prime essences of the Chaosverse had immediately detected and locked onto him. This was their first time ‘finding’ him and realizing what a terrifying threat he posed.

Perhaps he wasn’t an immediate a threat as the Annihilation Hive had been, but he was an expert who had reached incredible levels of insight. So long as he was alive, he would cause endless troubles for this Chaosverse. He could even create new Annihilation Hives! Strictly speaking, he was more dangerous than anything else around.

Suddenly, Ning could sense a message coming from Autarch Mogg: “I just suffered an attack from a Sithe expert. He attacked me by himself, and he was able to completely bypass all of the formations and seals I set down around myself. He even managed to invade my domain while influencing me so that I didn’t notice in the slightest. Thankfully I was able to recover in time, but even so he was able to deal me a heavy injury in our first head-on clash. He’s too strong, far stronger than me and significantly stronger than even Darknorth. If I had to fight him head-on, I’d probably die after just a few rounds of battle.”

“What?!” Ning was shocked, as were the other Autarchs who were receiving this information at the same time.

Since when had the Sithe become so powerful as to be able to overwhelm an Autarch in sole combat? In all these years, it was an ironclad rule that Autarchs were completely invincible in sole combat.

“What type of treasures did he use?” Ning immediately asked. Autarch Titanos and the others were asking the exact same question as well.

“Nothing. He didn’t use any treasures at all. He didn’t even use a weapon. His hand alone dealt me a grave wound! And… he said his name is ‘Iyerre’!” Autarch Mogg said.

“He didn’t even use a weapon, but was still able to heavily injure Mogg in just one clash?” Ning was stunned. “I can’t believe such a powerful figure managed to remain hidden for so long. He must have been biding his time for aeons… and now that he’s revealed himself, he’s definitely going to launch an all-out attack. Why doesn’t he use a weapon? Is it perhaps because weapons are essentially meaningless to him? Or is it perhaps that his hands ARE his weapons? Either way, he’s relying on his own power!”

The information which Autarch Mogg had sent over caused many different thoughts to flicker through Ning’s mind.

“The Sithe are suppressed by our Chaosverse and unable to use any of the power of the Dao at all! For him to be this powerful while suppressed, how powerful would he be if he could use the Dao?” Ning mused to himself, “There’s no way he’s an ordinary Autarch, nor can he be merely an Omega Emperor! It is highly likely that he is actually an Autarch of an Omega Dao!”

An Omega Autarch! This was the only possibility Ning could come up with which could explain this person’s strength. Ning wasn’t the only one to come to this conclusion; the other Autarchs did as well.

In truth, they had suspected this possibility long ago. They had long postulated the possibility that the real instigator of the Sithe incursion was an Omega Autarch, but all of them had believed that someone who had reached such an invincible level as the Sithe Lord of Chaos wouldn’t have taken the risk of entering a ‘foreign’ Chaosverse. Once he came in, he would lose his connection to his own Chaosverse and be suppressed by the ‘foreign’ Chaosverse, resulting in him being so dramatically weakened that he could very well perish.

In the outside world, a Lord of Chaos was completely invincible. Why take the risk? But now, a Sithe named Iyerre had appeared. Could it be that he was a second Omega Autarch of the Sithe Chaosverse?

“This person named Iyerre,” Autarch Mogg continued, “Is overwhelmingly powerful. I’m absolutely certain that he is an Omega Autarch. I can think of no other possibilities! He’s reached incredible levels of insight and is able to suppress spacetime with ease, and he’s even better at it than me. My insights into the mysteries of space are like a joke to him. They are completely ineffective. He’s definitely surpassed me in the Dao of Space!”

“An Omega Autarch!” Ning and the others instantly were certain of this. This ‘Iyerre’ had a higher level of insight than the Autarchs and was superior to Mogg in the Dao of Space, which was Mogg’s specialty. He had to be an Omega Autarch!

“Be careful, Mogg,” Ning sent back. There was nothing they could do to help, because they were all too far away. It would all be up to Autarch Mogg himself.

……

Autarch Mogg was continuing to flee through space.

“Autarch Mogg!” the pursuing Iyerre suddenly roared from behind.

Boom! An invisible wave of force instantly surged into Autarcoh Mogg’s body. Autarch Mogg felt as though the world around him had changed, transforming into a dazzlingly beautiful ocean while he himself had become a seagull soaring through the skies above it.

“Break!” Autarch Mogg had a perfect Dao-heart and a powerful truesoul. This mighty shout allowed his tremendous willpower to instantly tear the illusion to shreds.

The casting of the illusion and the breaking of the illusion had happened almost instantaneously. “Your illusions are a bit tougher than Stonerule’s, but they still don’t amount to much,” Autarch Mogg replied, his voice echoing in the emptiness of space.

“Damn.” Iyerre frowned when he saw this. In a foreign Chaosverse, he was unable to use the power of the Dao and was suppressed as well, but in at least one area he remained at peak power – illusions! This was because illusions were aimed directly at the soul and truesoul. The greater your insights into the art of illusions were, the more powerful your illusions would become. The Dao had little to do with it. Alas, Iyerre was an Omega Autarch but had not reached Autarchy through the Dao of Illusions.

If Ning for example became an Omega Autarch, it would be through the Omega Sword Dao. His specialty would still be the sword! The same was true for Iyerre, who was skilled in the Dao of Light.

“You won’t be able to escape.” Iyerre gritted his teeth, unleashing one of his ultimate attacks.

Anywhere else, he could use any techniques as often as he pleased. Here in this Chaosverse, however, he had to consider how much energy these techniques would take up. His energy consumption was commensurate to his vast insights, and replenishing energy was extremely difficult for him.

“Omnipresent Light!” Iyerre’s body suddenly began to release a vast amount of light. Countless rays of light soared out in every single direction, illuminating every part of the vast void around them. The rays of light illuminated even Autarch Mogg himself, and when they shone upon him he felt them pressing down upon him with terrifying power, trying to force him to kneel down. This tremendous pressure caused him to slow down dramatically.

This was the most powerful domain-type technique which Iyerre had created after becoming an Omega Autarch. Wherever his light reached, all had to submit to him!

In the outside world, his light alone could actually kill ordinary Autarchs. Here in this Chaosverse, it was dramatically weakened and so only served to generate a suppressive effect.

“How could there be such a powerful binding effect? It’s far stronger than any of my domains!” Autarch Mogg was shocked. The suppress effective was so powerful that his speed had been nearly cut in half.

Whoosh! Iyerre flew towards Autarch Mogg, his entire body glowing with boundless light and a sympathetic smile on his face. “Why must you fight this, Autarch Mogg? You must be tired.”

“Truly impressive, Iyerre. You should be an Omega Autarch of the Sithe race. I’m thoroughly impressed. Even without being able to use one whit of the power of the Dao, you still possess incredible power.” Autarch Mogg smiled coldly. “But this is our homeland. Do you really think you can kill me? Hmph!”

Boom! An enormous golden bridge that was a million kilometers long suddenly appeared behind Autarch Mogg. The bridge even had a refined, three-story tower next to it, and Autarch Mogg was standing right at the entrance to the tower. He smiled coldly as he stared at the distant Iyerre: “Iyerre, dare you step onto my bridge?”

“What is this?” Iyerre’s face turned grim. He could clearly sense that this vast golden bridge was emanating an aura of terrifying power, power which came from the prime essences of this Chaosverse.

“You Sithe have your trump cards, but so do we! Did you think we had none? Did you think we spent all these countless aeons just waiting for death like fools?” Autarch Mogg stood there atop his bridge at the entrance to the tower: “This should be the final, last-gasp attempt by you Sithe to take over our Chaosverse. We had been planning to reveal the Golden Bridge of Freedom during the final battle, but you unexpectedly drove me to the brink of death and forced me to reveal it now.”

“Golden Bridge of Freedom? It uses the power of the prime essences of this Chaosverse…” Iyerre had an ugly look on his face.

“Yes. As you suspect, it is modeled after your Daoguard Towers!” Autarch Mogg smiled coldly. “We’ve been analyzing your Daoguard Towers for countless aeons now. Although the Golden Bridge of Freedom isn’t quite as marvelous as your Daoguard Towers, it is still able to make use of some of the power of the Quintessence.”

The cultivator leaders had known for many years that calamity could spring upon them anew, and so they had been laboring without pause to prepare for this day. A Golden Bridge of Freedom had some of the effects of a Daoguard Tower. While one was standing atop the bridge, one would be virtually invincible. This was one of the trump cards the Autarchs had been preparing for this war.

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Chapter 19 - Victory

Book 44, Chapter 19 - Victory

Only the power of the Chaosverse itself was truly boundless and without limit. When Ji Ning had visited the essence wellspring of the Blazesun Domain, he had discovered that its energies vastly surpassed that of any Autarch’s! And that was just the tip of the iceberg when compared to the Chaosverse as a whole. The Chaosverse was so powerful that just attempting to bind it, even without it fighting back, would result in death to Ning and the other Autarchs. Trying to force something like this would result in the collapse of the truesoul!

Its power was simply unimaginable. Compared to the Chaosverse as a whole, the power over the Dao which Ning or the Autarchs could wield was like a drop of water in a vast sea.

The Daoguard Tower was something which could allow powerful experts to make use of a greater amount of the Chaosverse’s power! Daoguard Towers were exquisitely designed. After the Autarchs had acquired several Daoguard Towers from the Dawn War, they had spent many years analyzing them before finally creating similar treasures known as Golden Bridges of Freedom which had 30% of a Daoguard Tower’s power.

The native cultivators already had the advantage of fighting on home turf. Now that they had Golden Bridges of Freedom, their defensive prowess was dramatically strengthened.

“Come on, Iyerre, oh mighty Omega Autarch! Come and do your worst. Show me just how tough you are! I am in my own homeland and standing atop my Golden Bridge. If you can still kill me, I’ll gladly admit defeat!” Autarch Mogg stood at the entrance to the tower, glaring daggers at the distant Iyerre.

“A Golden Bridge of Freedom which is based on our Daoguard Towers, eh?” Iyerre quickly regained his usual equanimity. He smiled coldly: “Fine. Let’s just see how powerful you are when standing on your Golden Bridge! Goldbridge”

Boom! Iyerre put his palms together as though in prayer, causing an utterly dazzling streak of light to appear between them. The light slowly grew brighter and brighter, as though it was the very essence of all light itself! As for his palms, they had become the sole source of light in the entire area and was far more dazzling than the Solar Star of the Three Realms had ever been.

Iyerre simply stood there calmly in space, his palms folded in prayer while emanating increasingly brilliant levels of light.

“He’s building up power!” Autarch Mogg’s heart was pounding as he stared from atop the Golden Bridge. This strike was clearly going to be far more powerful than the previous one.

This strike could be described as the most powerful strike which Iyerre was capable of. However, it did have a flaw. It wasn’t very agile and could only be used as a devastating frontal assault! Even worse, in this foreign Chaosverse it took him a bit of time to build up power even when he was simply drawing upon his own energy reserves. If he had tried to do this earlier when he had ambushed Mogg, the power build up alone would’ve startled Mogg and sent him fleeing. As for during his pursuit of Mogg, the two were flying far too fast and there was no way he could build up the energies necessary for this technique.

“Damn.” Autarch Mogg frowned. “In the end, the Golden Bridge of Freedom remains a pale shadow of a true Daoguard Tower. Its only advantage is that it is mobile while Daoguard Towers are completely immobile, but even so it moves very slowly.”

The vast golden bridges were slow and not very agile. They were primarily used to keep their occupants alive, which meant that Autarch Mogg’s only choice was to watch as Iyerre built up strength and wait for the attack.

As for putting away the Golden Bridge and then fleeing once more? Without it, he would die even more quickly!

“Exterminate!” Iyerre suddenly roared. His left hand drew backwards while his right hand struck outwards. Instantly, all of the power from those two incomparably dazzling hands of light became concentrated in his right palm, causing it to glow even more brightly than before! The mighty presence and aura of this attack alone was enough to render Autarch Mogg speechless. If he tried to take this attack head-on by himself, he would definitely be crushed to death by it.

The empty void of space itself seemed to shudder and moan in fear as that giant right palm of incandescent light reached out towards Mogg.

“Not happening!” Autarch Mogg immediately summoned his Golden Bridge, sending it flying upwards to block for him. Alas, while the giant palm wasn’t very agile it was still far more agile than the enormous golden bridge. It was easily able to dodge past the blocking bridge and smashed straight past it. The golden bridge had an awesome aura of the Dao protecting it, but the giant palm smashed straight through the barrier like it was nothing and continued straight for Autarch Mogg.

“Golden Bridge!” Autarch Mogg roared loudly. The tower behind him had six corners and six highly noticeable windows. The tower suddenly emitted six rays of prismatic light filled with the entire bridge’s boundless power and Dao, using them to push back at the giant golden palm.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The six ribbons of light did their best to push the palm back, but they were unable to do so. In the end, all they could do was to bind themselves around the giant palm like chains. The giant palm continued to press onwards, but it was clearly much slower than before.

“Without the bridge, I might not be able to withstand you… but standing atop it, you can do nothing to me!” Autarch Mogg manifested a total of six arms, each wielding a long saber, then used all of his power to attack. Countless dimensional ripples filled the air around him, merging together to form a single giant dimensional blade that smashed against the giant golden hand head-on.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out unabated. The giant golden palm quickly dimmed, then retracted backwards.

Autarch Mogg was smashed backwards against the tower. He vomited out a mouthful of blood, but a crazed smile was on his face: “Haha, Iyerre, you aren’t strong enough!” Although he was injuried, he was able to recover before finishing his words.

As for the distant Iyerre, he felt a sense of pity in his heart. He had consumed an enormous amount of power to unleash his most powerful attack. Still, it had been worth it. Now he knew exactly how strong the Golden Bridges of Freedom were.

“Not bad.” Iyerre smiled. Whoosh! He retreated backwards, then disappeared without a trace.

Autarch Mogg finally let out a sigh of relief. Iyerre had put him under a tremendous amount of pressure.

……

Ning and the others were all anxiously awaiting news from Autarch Mogg. All of them were worried about him.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Autarch Mogg quickly sent word back to them. Only then did they let out sighs of relief.

“That Iyerre fellow really was powerful. Even though I had the Golden Bridge of Freedom, he was still able to overwhelm me! However, he wasn’t able to actually kill me. When he saw this, he chose to leave instead of continuing the fight,” Autarch Mogg said.

“Tell us a bit about the fight against Iyerre,” Autarch Titanos said.

“Very well.” Autarch Mogg began to narrate the battle in detail. Ning and the others listened attentively, working together to analyze what had happened. In truth, it had been a fairly simple battle. Iyerre had only struck a few times in an effort to conserve energy.

“I can’t believe Omega Autarchs are still this powerful when they are being suppressed and unable to use any of the power of the Dao.” Autarch Titanos let out an amazed sigh. “So the Sithe invaders are definitely led by an Omega Autarch. This is terrible news… and judging from how Iyerre simply left, it’s clear that he has other tricks up his sleeve and hasn’t been driven to the brink just yet.”

“We can’t let our guard down until we win the final battle,” Autarch Ekong said.

“I’m sorry, friends. I had no choice but to reveal the Golden Bridge of Freedom. Now he knows our most powerful defensive technique,” Autarch Mogg said.

They had prepared some trump cards of their own for the final war, but the Golden Bridge of Freedom was their strongest defensive trump card. If even it had been unable to withstand Iyerre’s power, they would’ve been in serious trouble.

In a war, using unexpected trump cards at a critical moment to catch an opponent offguard could produce some truly incredible results! Thus, trump cards generally were saved for the very end. When Ning and Ekong had been trapped within their respective temples, they had faced several dangerous situations but hadn’t been driven to the point of revealing their Golden Bridges of Freedom.

In addition, those bridges had a weakness – they could only be used for defensive purposes! Using them within the temples wouldn’t have helped Ning or Ekong actually escape!

“Mogg, if you didn’t use the Golden Bridge you would’ve died. Our side would’ve lost two Autarch-class combatants! That would’ve been a far greater loss,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

“Be careful, everyone. Iyerre has failed in his first attempt, but he’ll probably prepare something even more deadly next time.”

“So long as we keep the bridges active, they probably won’t be able to do anything to us.”

……

Within the darkness of space. Iyerre stood there in the void by himself, his body covered with a layer of ripples which blocked the Chaosverse from detecting him.

Whoosh. A blurry pillar of light appeared before him which slowly resolved into a trio of figures. These were the three powerful subordinates he had sent out earlier.

“Iyerre, why have you contacted us?” The two men and the woman looked at Iyerre.

“Have you fought against any of the cultivator leaders yet?” Iyerre asked.

“We’re still searching for them. The Chaosverse is simply too large; just finding them is a task in and of itself,” the silver-robed woman said.

“I need to warn you that they have something akin to a Daoguard Tower they can use,” Iyerre said. “Trap them before attacking them.”

“Alright.” The three were shocked by this news.

Iyerre nodded then broke the connection.

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Chapter 20 – Grasslands

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 20 – Grasslands

Atop a tall mountain located within a desolate, barren planet. At the peak of this mountain there was a stone house. In front of the stone house was a white-haired, dispirited-looking man who was seated by himself and drinking some wine.

This was one of the most supreme leaders of this entire Chaosverse… Autarch Bolin.

“Desolation… destruction…” The white-haired man stared at the vast world before him. He suddenly splashed the wine in his cup towards the world, sending it splattering outwards like a fine drizzle which moistened the earth before him. Slowly, plants began to grow out from the earth, including trees and grass which caused the planet to turn green with life.

The white-haired man frowned slightly as he watched. “The color of life… can it be that an Autarch is only able to control a single Daobirth Essence?” He shook his head. “There should be at least a tiny chance of controlling two.”

He felt certain that he had already reached an incredibly high level of insight into the cycle of life and death; in fact, it wasn’t too far off from his Claw Daobirth Essence in terms of profundity. And yet… no matter how he tried, he remained unable to form his Samsara Daobirth Essence.

“Death and life. Life is absolutely marvelous and intoxicating in its grandeur.” Autarch Bolin watched as the planet transformed, smiling respectfully as he watched life rise in all its awesome grandeur. Suddenly, his face tightened and he turned to stare at the empty void beyond the planet.

The space around the chaos planet had suddenly changed. An enormous being had just appeared within the empty space, and compared to it even the chaos planet was nothing more than the size of this creature’s fist. This creature looked like a giant gray bear, and it stared coldly at the planet and Autarch Bolin with its single cyclopean eye.

“An Autarch-class void dweller?” Autarch Bolin murmured softly to himself. “And it seems spacetime has been sealed.”

“Cultivator, you shall be the first person I kill within this Chaosverse!” the giant gray bear boomed loudly. It reached out with its giant paw to swat at Bolin. These void dwellers were born with tremendous natural gifts and they each had their own specialties. As for this giant bear, its specialty lay in its terrifying raw strength. Of the various Autarch-class void dwellers Iyerre had caught in the Infinite Void, it was without a doubt the physically strongest.

Riiiiip! The planet was surrounded and protected by many formations, but the giant bear paw caused them all to instantly crumble.

Autarch Bolin stared at the incoming paw coldly, a giant golden bridge with a tower on it appearing before him. Autarch Bolin himself moved to stand in front of the tower.

This was indeed the same type of protective treasure which Autarch Mogg had used, a Golden Bridge of Freedom. Since its existence had already been revealed, Autarch Bolin chose to use it right away as he could sense that this was a dangerous situation he was in.

“Die!” The giant paw came crashing down upon the golden bridge, tearing through its aura of power.

“Playing around with claws in front of me?” A hint of a cold smile flickered across Autarch Bolin face as he manifested six arms. All six of his hands arced into a claw and then tore at the giant furry bear paw slamming down towards him.

These strikes were so ferocious as to cause even the frozen spacetime around them to twist. Autarch Bolin’s claws were filled with unfathomable power. They seemed very ordinary, but they also seemed to contain countless transformations within them.

Boom! Autarch Bolin’s six claws clashed head-on against that giant bear’s paw.

Autarch Bolin couldn’t help but take two steps backwards, while the gigantic Autarch-class void bear stumbled backwards as well. It stared at Autarch Bolin with some astonishment.

“You aren’t too shabby, cultivator. Die!” The giant bear began to go berserk, roaring as it pounced at Bolin. It sent out consecutive blows with its two giant paws, which came crashing down like two vast celestial objects with so much pressure that even spacetime was completely flattened. This attack was so powerful that Autarch Bolin had no choice but to defend himself using the might of the Golden Bridge of Freedom.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The giant Autarch-class void bear continued to furiously assault Autarch Bolin for three full seconds, but it remained unable to do anything to him.

“Vilesky, you aren’t going to be able to kill this cultivator as long as he is standing on that golden bridge,” a loud voice boomed out. “Give up on trying to do it yourself. You need our help.”

Autarch Bolin’s face tightened slightly as he turned to stare into the distant void. He barked from the golden bridge, “Show yourselves!”

“Haha, ‘show yourselves’? You are ordering us around?”

“Do you really think you are worthy of giving us orders?”

“You are too weak.” Multiple voices rang out from the empty space around the world.

Moments later the vast void itself seemed to change, transforming into an even vaster grasslands that had a white layer of clouds in the skies above it. As for Autarch Bolin himself, he was now standing atop the grasslands.

“Eh?” Autarch Bolin stared at the grasslands which had just appeared around him. He inspected it closely, carefully attuning himself to the vital energy contained within every single stalk of grass. “This is an actual, real grassland?”

“Why does it seem as though the grasslands extend off into infinite?” Autarch Bolin inspected the world around him clearly. There were clouds above him, but the grasslands seemed to have no end, stretching off as far as he could see. Despite his power, he still wasn’t able to see just how vast this world was! Was this a joke? He could even see to the ends of a realmverse!

“Break!” Autarch Bolin continued to stand atop his golden bridge as he reached out to tear at the skies, seeking to tear them apart.

Slash! His two hands clawed at the layers of clouds. Autarch Bolin felt as though the clouds were incredibly tenacious. He was able to tear through a few of the clouds, but he wasn’t able to break through all of them!

“I refuse to believe this.” Autarch Bolin began to furiously attack with all six arms, using them to tear at the clouds in the skies.

This was what the cultivator Autarchs usually did. They had such boundless amounts of power that they didn’t fear exhaustion, and so using a furious barrage of attacks to crush one’s foes was usually the best method.

After the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Autarch Bolin finally managed to completely tear through the final layer of clouds, pulling open a giant gaping hole in the skies.

Swoosh! The golden bridge beneath him rapidly shrank in size as he rode it through the gaping hole.

After flying through the gaping hole, Autarch Bolin first stared downwards at the many clouds he was standing upon, then upwards at the many clouds which still filled the skies above him.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice filled the skies: “Haha, keep clawing your way through. This isn’t like those puny ‘temples’! Although there are only nine layers to this world of grass, each layer is thicker than the last. You have no chance at all of breaking through the final layer of clouds… and you won’t even be able to get there. The shifting fields of spacetime here will ensure that you are forever trapped within the first layer of clouds above the grasslands.”

“Who are you? A Sithe Exalt?” As soon as Autarch Bolin had sensed how spacetime had been suppressed in this area, he had known that the danger was tremendous.

“Don’t compare me to those pitiable fools. I’m not one of Iyerre’s subordinates,” a clear voice suddenly rang out in response within the clouds.

“Grr…” Far away, the clouds suddenly parted to reveal an enormous figure. This was the giant cyclopean bear which had attacked Autarch Bolin earlier.

Riiiip. Autarch Bolin immediately turned to stare at two other directions. The clouds parted in two separate places, revealing two different creatures which began to fly towards him. The first was a red-eyed, white-furred humanoid whose body was covered with a bloody red miasma that radiated a demonic aura. Autarch Bolin couldn’t help but shudder slightly – this creature seemed to have been born out of pure malice and spite!

As for the second creature, it was like a giant stormcloud. Its body was blurry and indistinct, but one could vaguely make out hundreds of evil-looking eyes as well as countless tentacles reaching out from the clouds.

“Three Autarch-class void dwellers?” Autarch Bolin remained quite calm. “These Autarch-class void dwellers might be on par with me in strength, but that’s only due to their natural abilities. Their insights into the Dao are laughably low, while I have the Golden Bridge of Freedom protecting me. I should be able to keep myself completely safe… but the world of grass which has imprisoned me is quite marvelous. The grass should all be real, and it has nine layers of clouds as well as three Autarch-class void dwellers protecting it. Thus far, the only place we have seen three Autarch-class void dwellers has been that behemoth hive. None of the temples had any inside.”

The Eight Revolutions Spacetime Temple which had trapped Ning had only held Sithe Exalts. The same was true for the other temples. None of them had Autarch-class void dwellers!

The Annihilation Hive, however, had three. Now that three more had appeared within this world of grass… Autarch Bolin had the feeling that this grassland world was probably far more dangerous than any of those other temples.

What he didn’t know was that the world of grass was arguably the most deadly weapon which the Sithe had prepared for this invasion.

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Chapter 21 – Bolin's Death

Book 44, Chapter 21 Bolin's Death

A giant one-eyed bear, a red-eyed white-furred humanoid, and a giant stormcloud! The three Autarch-class void dwellers circled Autarch Bolin and his golden bridge from three different directions.

Autarch Bolin didn’t panic in the slightest. He had experience in dealing with Autarch-class void dwellers, as he had worked with the others to kill two of them during the Dawn War. Later on, Ji Ning and Autarch Mogg had captured two in the Annihilation Hive and then negotiated with the strongest one to have it leave their Chaosverse. Thanks to these experiences, Autarch Bolin knew two important things about these void dwellers.

First, there was no way to compel Autarch-class void dwellers to swear lifeblood oaths – they had simply entered verbal agreements with the Sithe which they could renege upon at will. Second… they could be negotiated with!

“Gentlemen,” Autarch Bolin sent to the three, “We cultivators have fought against you and your fellow void dwellers on multiple occasions. During the last war we killed two of your kind, and just recently we fought against three more in the behemoth hive the Sithe constructed. We ended up capturing two of them, while the other one decided to work with us and so we granted it safe passage out of our Chaosverse.”

“Hrm?” The three Autarch-class void dwellers circling around Autarch Bolin were slightly startled. They knew that others had been captured by the Sithe, but the three didn’t know what had happened to them.

“We have a decided advantage against the Sithe in this war!” Autarch Bolin said persuasively, “Not a single one of us Autarchs have perished in either the Dawn War or this war, while the Sithe have suffered heavy losses and countless casualties. We’ve captured and slaughtered a large number of their Exalts! I would wager that the one you fear the most is their leader, ‘Iyerre’, right?”

“Heh. Iyerre should be an Omega Autarch. He’s very powerful, and outside this Chaosverse he would vastly outstrip us in might. However, this is our home! The Chaosverse rejects him, preventing him from using any of the Dao’s power. He’s merely on the same level as us in power! He tried to ambush Autarch Mogg earlier, but in the end he had to retreat with his head hanging low.”

“They’ve suffered catastrophic losses, while not even Iyerre is able to do anything to us. All of us are alive and well. Our side stands a much greater chance of winning this war!” Autarch Bolin continued, “I know that you have been forced to take part in this war. If you insist on battling us to the death, once we win there’s no way we will spare you!”

“However, if you choose to betray them and work with us instead, we’ll help you out. Afterwards, I’ll send you out of our Chaosverse and grant you your liberty. I can swear a lifeblood oath on this,” Autarch Bolin said.

“Betray them and join you?”

“Impossible!” The three Autarch-class void dwellers instantly sent messages of rejection.

“Haha, fine. I won’t force you to actually betray them. All you need to do is to pull your punches during these battles. Both of us will hold back by 50%! All we need to do is put on a show for the Sithe to watch. I, Bolin, will definitely remember your show of friendship and can swear an oath that once the war concludes, we won’t make things difficult for you. We’ll send you out of our Chaosverse.”

Although the three Autarch-class void dwellers had many misgivings about this, a short while later they sent back a response: “Fine.”

“Deal.”

“We’ll believe you for now.”

These void dwellers might look stupid, but in truth the Infinite Void they wandered through was unfathomably vaster than any Chaosverse. The Chaosverses were merely the largest celestial bodies that existed within the Infinite Void! The Infinite Void was so vast that it contained truly innumerable lifeforms. As creatures who rose to reach Autarch-levels of power, they naturally were quite crafty and understood how to balance pros and cons.

They harbored great hatred for the Sithe, but Iyerre was so overwhelmingly powerful that there was no way for them to fight back against him. Still, Bolin’s words had indeed convinced them. There was no guarantee that the Sithe would truly win this war, and so they wanted to prepare a way out for themselves.

“Attack!”

The mental conversation had been an extremely quick one. Anyone watching from the outside world would have simply seen a brief staredown, followed by immediate combat. The three Autarch-class void dwellers began to launch a frenzied series of blows against Autarch Bolin. Even though they were holding back on their strikes, they were still forceful enough to cause spacetime to twist and distort around them.

Autarch Bolin was at a complete disadvantage and had been completely suppressed, but his six arms were able to work together in marvelous fashion, allowing him an airtight defense that completely protected him against their attacks.

Both sides were holding back by 50%, but no one watching from the outside would be able to notice anything at all.

……

“These creatures of the Infinite Void do not train in the Dao. They have low levels of insight, rendering their incredible natural gifts completely useless. They clearly have Autarch levels of power and are able to overpower Autarch Bolin, but they aren’t able to kill him even though they outnumber him three-to-one.” Three people were conversing via godsense in the void beyond this battle.

“We’re simply using them to tie him down. They serve well as brutes and foot soldiers. It’s enough for them to have completely suppressed him.”

“In the end, it’ll be up to the three of us.”

“Let’s find a chance to make our move.”

……

Autarch Bolin continued to fight from atop the Golden Bridge of Freedom. He seemed to be using all his strength to resist the combined attacks of these three Autarch-class creatures, and in truth these void dwellers had been blessed with ridiculous strength and innate power. They might not have trained in the Dao, but they could break almost anything with raw power! Mogg had found it quite difficult to handle just one of them in the Annihilation Hive. Bolin now had the aid of the Golden Bridge of Freedom, but he still found defending against them difficult even though both sides were holding back.

The reason why he had asked for both sides to hold back was so that he would have the capacity to deal with something unexpected.

Autarch Bolin stood there atop the golden bridge, both himself and the bridge being sent staggering downwards by the force of the void dwellers’ blows. Both were sent smashing into the thick clouds below them.

Suddenly…

Whoooosh! An iridescent violet-gold chain suddenly shot out of the clouds, moving as agilely as a snake as it lashed at Autarch Bolin.

“Huh?!” Autarch Bolin turned pale. This whipping motion from the violet-gold chain had a strange cadence and gave off a strange sensation. Only someone who had reached an incredibly high level of insight into the Dao would be able to unleash such a strike. Without question, this was an Autarch-calibre technique… and the power rippling from the chain surpassed even Autarch Bolin’s own level of power!

Boom! One of Autarch Bolin’s six arms instantly expanded in size, and he reached out with a claw-hand to try and seize that chain.

Faced with Autarch Bolin’s full-strength claw attack, the violet-gold chains suddenly switched from a lashing motion to a coiling motion, seeking to wrap themselves around him.

Clang! Autarch Bolin missed with his grab, but one of his fingers manage to land a clawing blow upon the chain. However, the chain managed to easily deflect the power of his blow and continued with its coiling attack.

Whoosh! Right at this moment, yet another violet-gold chain appeared from the skies above Autarch Bolin. This one descended towards him with overwhelming power, dealing a furious lashing blow against him.

Clank! Clank! Clank! Three more violet-gold chains suddenly appeared from the clouds above, the clouds below, and to his left. Every chain was attacking in a manner which was difficult to defend against! At peak power Autarch Bolin was able to fight with six arms, but he still had to use at least three of them to defend against the three Autarch-class void dwellers while pretending to be wounded by them. And this was with the void dwellers holding back; if they weren’t, he would’ve suffered a truly heavy injury!

Use three arms to fight back against five of those violet-gold chains? He was caught flat-footed and knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

Whoosh! Finally, yet another violet-gold chain appeared to his right. This time, Autarch Bolin wasn’t able to defend at all. The chain violently lashed Autarch Bolin across the chest, catching him completely off-guard. Bang! His entire body caved in then completely imploded from the power of this strike, but a heartbeat later his body transformed into countless specks of light instead. He had just used his invulnerable form and was trying to heal.

“Haha, still trying to survive?”

“Your body’s been destroyed. Struggling is useless. You are dead.”

Those six violet-gold chains flew out with incredible speed and power, showing no mercy at all as they furiously assaulted those specks of light. Autarch Bolin’s dispersed energies were being repeatedly annihilated, and just a short while later his fleeing form had been completely annihilated.

He had been completely suppressed in power. Autarch Bolin had been slain just a heartbeat after the six chains had appeared! He had simply been overwhelmed by the number of enemies he faced.

The power quickly fled from the levitating golden bridge, and it came crashing down into the deep clouds below it. It tumbled across the clouds, with even the tower being twisted by the collision.

The sounds of battle finally fell silent, while the six chains disappeared back into the clouds once more.

“Well. That’s certainly a shame.” The three Autarch-class void dwellers stared at the fallen golden bridge which now lay atop the clouds, feeling rather regretful. They didn’t like the Sithe one bit, and they couldn’t help but feel a bit unhappy that the native Autarch they had just reached a pact with moments ago had perished almost immediately afterwards.

“Let’s go.” The three void dwellers quickly departed into the clouds as well, leaving behind just the fallen golden bridge and a few scattered treasures.

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Chapter 22 – Message

Book 44, The Dusk War, Chapter 22 – Message

Moments later, a willowy, silver-robed woman suddenly stepped out of the silent clouds and moved to stand next to the fallen Golden Bridge of Freedom.

“This weapon Iyerre fashioned is certainly powerful. We were able to crush and kill this native Autarch with ease.” The silver-robed woman waved her hand, collecting the fallen treasures and estate-worlds which lay strewn across the clouds, then gave the bridge a close look. “I imagine Iyerre will be interested in taking a closer look at this pseudo-Daoguard Tower.”

Whoosh. With a wave of her hand, she collected the golden bridge as well. She then scanned the surrounding area, a delighted smile on her face: “That was pretty easy.” She then stepped away into the void and vanished without a trace.

……

Within a vast sea of fire located within the Great Dark. Many spacetime rifts could be seen at the borders of this sea of fire, and Iyerre was walking through it barefooted. He was hastening towards his proudest creation, the Grassland World… but suddenly, he came to a halt.

“Eh?” An eager look appeared on his face. “It seems they have something to report.” A blurry pillar of light appeared in front of him, quickly resolving into three figures. It was the two men and the woman he had sent off earlier. The silver-robed woman was holding a miniaturized golden bridge in her hands, and she was casually flipping it up and down.

When Iyerre saw the golden bridge, he couldn’t help but smile: “You succeeded?”

“It was very easy.” The silver-robed woman raised an eyebrow. “That native Autarch named ‘Bolin’ died before we even had to go all-out against him.”

“Autarch Bolin?!” Iyerre was unspeakably delighted by this.

Although he was quite confident in the Grassland World, the most powerful weapon he had ever created, he had still been worried that something unexpected might happen. Now that he knew the results, he finally managed to relax. It made sense. The Grassland World was overwhelming powerful, and he had to come up with a way to compel those three into coming here and helping him take control over it. It really wouldn’t have made any sense if they had failed.

“Iyerre, you’ve been suppressed by this Chaosverse to such a degree that you although you are a bit more powerful than the native Autarchs, you are still on their same overall level of power! In the end, the weapons you’ve created are actually stronger than you,” the silver-robed woman teased.

“It’s true.” Iyerre nodded in acknowledgment. “I might be weakened, but my artificing skills remain untouched.”

Back in his homeland, Iyerre was so overwhelmingly powerful that these complicated artifacts and treasures were useless to him. A single palm from him would have far more power than any artifact possibly could unleash. Here, however, artifacts like the Grassland World were much more dangerous than even Iyerre himself.

“What should we do next?” the red-robed man asked.

“Shall we keep ambushing the other natives?” the black-robed man said in a cold voice. “The Grassland World can hide its aura and prevent the Chaosverse from sensing and locating it. We can keep hunting them down.”

“No.” Iyerre shook his head. “Without question, the other Autarchs were notified right away once Bolin died! They’ll be extremely cautious and won’t give us another chance like this.”

He wasn’t a fool, and he didn’t treat the Autarchs as fools either. Previously, Ning and the others had been certain that they were safe. They never would’ve imagined that such an overwhelmingly powerful weapon as the Grassland World would appear without them even being able to detect it. The Grassland World had been so powerful that it had only been forced to reveal part of its true power in order to slay Autarch Bolin!

“Then what should we do next?” the silver-robed woman asked.

“Now that you’ve already revealed yourselves, we should prepare for a frontal clash,” Iyerre said with a smile. “We’ve already killed one of the native Autarchs and seized the initiative! Now, hurry up and send the Grassland World to reinforce the four trapped temples. Go rescue my Exalts and bring them into the Grassland World. They’ll be of great use to you there.”

“Fine.”

“Very well.” All three agreed to the order. They all knew that while the Sithe Exalts were individuall weak, in sufficient numbers they were still able to be extremely effective in battle. Unlike those foolish Autarch-class void dwellers, the Sithe Exalts had all reached incredibly high levels of insight into the Dao and were the equals of the native Autarchs in insights.

“Let’s go. I’ll join forces with you as soon as I can,” Iyerre said.

The blurry pillar of light vanished.

Iyerre was in a superb mood. There were only seven Autarchs to begin with. Now that Bolin had died, only six were left! Several of the six had seen their original avatars destroyed, and their new avatars remained fairly weak. Another peak avatar had been tied down within the Annihilation Hive. On the Sithe side, none of their peak combatants had been lost to date!

“Given the current situation, we should definitely be able to win a head-on clash.” Iyerre smiled.

He had been preparing for this battle for many, many aeons. He had made multiple plans for victory, and as he saw it they were completely flawless.

The simplest plan had to been to gain victory through the Annihilation Hive! He hadn’t expected it to be resolved that easily, but fortunately he hadn’t placed too much hope on gaining victory so easily.

……

A quiet, ordinary chaos planet. Ning was pacing around, filled with worry. Just now, he had received a message from Autarch Bolin:

“I’m under attack. An Autarch-class void dweller has appeared, and spacetime has been frozen around me!”

Ning felt rather uneasy upon hearing this. Autarch Mogg had been ambushed but had been lucky enough to survive. Now, Autarch Bolin had been ambushed as well? Did the Sithe feel confident in being able to breach the defenses of the Golden Bridge of Freedom? Had they really sent just one Autarch-class void dweller to accomplish this?

“All spacetime around me has been subsumed by a vast world of grasslands. I can’t see to the ends of this world. The skies above me are filled with a thick layer of clouds that are incredibly tough. I’m using all my power right now to break through the clouds.”

“I’ve finally broken through the clouds. There’s actually an even higher layer of clouds above me!”

“An enemy in this world has just informed me that this place has a total of nine cloud layers, each of which is harder to breach than the last. I apparently have no chance of breaking through the final layer whatsoever, and it is supposedly protected by constantly shifting spacetime which will keep me forever trapped here at the first layer.”

“I’m being attacked by a total of three Autarch-class void dwellers.”

“Haha… I’ve managed to successfully persuade them into holding back. They’ve been forced to take part in this war and don’t really want to battle to the death. It was easy to persuade them.”

Autarch Bolin continued to send one message after another to the others. Generally speaking, whenever the Autarchs were in a dangerous situation they would constantly send messages so that even if they died, the survivors would gain a better understanding of what dangers the deceased had faced and so wouldn’t repeat their mistakes.

Time continued to flow on.

“Not good. A violet-gold chain just appeared from the clouds. Another one just appeared out of nowhere.”

“These chains are incredibly powerful. They have to be on par with Darknorth’s full-force strikes! They are not only strong, they are also incredibly profound. These chains are definitely being used with Autarch-class techniques. They are very difficult to deal with.”

“Three chains… four chains… five chains! I can’t hold on much longer.”

“Six chains! I can’t hold!”

These messages came very fast, one after the other. As soon as the final message came, Ning could sense that Autarch Bolin’s aura had suddenly vanished from his message-talisman. The talisman had become an ownerless object, with Ning no longer able to sense any karma tying him to Autarch Bolin any further.

The karmic links between them had been completely severed. There was only one explanation for this.

“He d-died? Bolin died?” Ning was stunned. Not just him – all five of the other Autarchs were stunned as well.

An Autarch had died!

There had been dangerous situations in the past, such as when Autarch Ekong had been trapped within that temple or when Autarch Mogg had been hunted by Iyerre… but this was the first time in the entire long history of this Chaosverse that an Autarch had been killed. This was completely unprecedented! Autarch Bolin had just been killed? He was dead?!

Ning felt many complicated emotions. Anxiety, sorrow, pain, grief… and smoldering rage.

“This isn’t the time to grieve. Bolin’s dead. He was trapped within that world of grass, and as soon as those chains appeared he was killed. That world of grass is a hundred times more dangerous than the temples we faced prior to this. We have to be careful not to fall into the same trap.” Autarch Titanos was the first to send a message to the others.

“Agreed. We can’t make the same mistake. Don’t let them succeed with another ambush! We now have two options before us. The first is to enter the Quintessence. There’s no way they would be able to enter the Quintessence without the prime essences discovering them. The second option is for us to maintain a vast domain-type sea of mana around us at all times. The mana will be infused with part of our truesoul, and so we would immediately notice them once they went anywhere near us no matter what type of masking technique they use,” Autarch Skyfeeder immediately sent.

“We can’t set up a sufficiently large domain with our mana. I’m worried that their world of grass is so vast that it could still encompass and trap us when used from outside that range,” Autarch Ekong rebutted.

“Our only choice is to join forces,” Autarch Titanos said.

They quickly began to discuss what their next steps should be. They had paid a high price for this lesson; there was no way they could allow themselves to be ambushed in such a manner again. As for hiding into the Quintessence? They weren’t really willing to take this option.

Just as they were negotiating in the midst of their rage and grief, suddenly… a new message was sent to the six of them from Autarch Bolin’s message-talisman, even though it no longer had Bolin’s aura and appeared to be ownerless.

“I am Bolin. I’m not dead yet!”

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Chapter 23 - Trap

When Bolin reflected on what had just happened, he couldn’t help but feel both a sense of fear and joy. When he had been assaulted by those violet-gold chains, he had immediately known that the situation was extremely grim. The chains were attacking with techniques that were just as profound as him, and as soon as all six had appeared he had begun to feel a sense of despair. The difference between them was just too great! Five chains alone probably would’ve done him in fairly quickly. Six chains had completely broken through his defensive lines.

When his body had been lashed apart, he had transformed into his invulnerable form and attempted to keep himself alive. He wasn’t willing to give up until the very last moment, but as those chains had continued to lash away at him and his energies were completely annihilated, he began to feel a mixture of total despair as well as deep resentment in his heart!

In that final instant before his death, he had suddenly broken through the final bottleneck in understanding the mysteries of life and death. He had reached the level of true perfection, and he immediately sent the tiny remaining bits of his dispersed energies which had been mixed into the clouds into a state of ‘false death’! This was a new technique which Bolin had naturally and instantly gained when he had mastered his Samsara Daobirth Essence.

The ‘false death’ state was a state of neither death or life. It was quite marvelous, causing one’s aura to completely vanish and all karmic links to be severed. There was no way for anyone to sense his existence.

In truth, Bolin had long ago reached incredible levels of insight into the cycle of life and death. His very aura had changed due to his many aeons spent meditating on its mysteries, and his skill in life and death was very close to his skill in the Claw Daobirth Essence. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he had already created the Claw Daobirth Essence, he probably would’ve long ago formed the Samsara Daobirth Essence.

However, anyone who already mastered a Daobirth Essence would be influenced by it, making it incredibly difficult to break through in a second Daobirth Essence even if one had reached a high level of enlightenment in it. It wasn’t until the final moments when he hovered at the brink of death that he managed to understand his final flaws and reach perfection in this Dao.

“So this is how it works. When I had merely mastered ten Hegemonic Daos, the accumulated insights were enough for me to vault into understanding the Claw Daobirth Essence… but in understanding the cycle of life and death, I had to slowly advance one step at a time. I was able to improve the power of this Dao and reach a level which was very close to that of my Claw Daobirth Essence, but it wasn’t until I personally was at the verge of death that I understood how to truly master it.”

Bolin nodded to himself. “When mastering the first Daobirth Essence, it is easy because nothing interferes with it. The second one, however, is a hundred times more difficult. It requires constant, nonstop searching.”

“Fortune and calamity ride together. I was driven to the brink of despair, but it allowed me to master the Samsara Daobirth Essence.” Bolin was in a fairly good mood right now.

After entering the ‘false death’ state he was able to avoid all forms of detection, but of course he didn’t dare to take any actions at all. For the sake of making it look real, he had voluntarily abandoned his Golden Bridge of Freedom and some of his other treasures. He didn’t discard his message-talisman, however, because only Autarchs could use them. He had given up his many other message-talismans. The Sithe had never seen an Autarch message-talisman before, and so they didn’t realize what was missing from the many they had taken from him.

He knew that his friends would probably be heartbroken once he entered that ‘false death’ state, and so he waited until the opponent left with his treasures and his bridge before stealthily sending them a message through the message talisman:

“I am Bolin. I’m not dead yet!”

……

This message completely shocked Ji Ning, Titanos, Mogg, and the others.

“Bolin, you are still alive?”

“Is this for real?”

“Why can’t I sense your existence?”

“Are you truly Bolin? Do you have any proof?”

They were all so excited that they could hardly believe it. However, only the original owner of an Autarch message-talisman was able to use it. Logically speaking, there was no way for the Sithe to send any messages once Bolin died! At the same time, they also knew that Iyerre had reached a much higher level of insight than they had. It was possible that he might have a way of decoding their message-talisman, and so they felt a sense of wariness.

“Ahaha! Don’t worry, I really am Bolin. Ekong, I’ll have my avatar meet with you shortly. That’ll be enough to prove that I’m telling the truth.” Autarch Bolin understood his comrades’ misgivings.

Ning and the others kept their avatars fairly close together, as they had been working together on how to deal with the sealed temples. Ning himself was fairly close to Mogg’s avatar, while Bolin’s avatar was fairly close to Ekong’s true body.

After just the time needed to boil a kettle of tea, Bolin’s avatar finished warping through spacetime and reached Autarch Ekong.

“Ekong.” Bolin’s avatar, dressed in black robes, suddenly appeared of nowhere without causing any sound or stir. No lines of karma appeared either. It was as though it didn’t really ‘exist’ in this world, but when he spoke his voice whispered across an ‘empty’ stretch of the void. Moments later, a few ripples could be seen followed by a towering array of castles appearing in the ‘empty’ region. Autarch Ekong was quite lavish in preparing his dwelling place.

“Is that really you, bolin?” Autarch Ekong stared at Bolin’s avatar. An overwhelming sense of familiarity flooded through him, allowing him to feel all but certain that this was Bolin, but he was still wary that this might be one of Iyerre’s tricks.

“My true body remains trapped within that world of grass and is still in a false death state. I’ve blocked out all my auras and all karmic links for fear that the Sithe might be able to find out that I’m alive through karma, and so I was forced to do the same for my avatar. I’ll release a bit of energy; test it out for yourself.” The black-robed Bolin smiled as he waved his hand, causing a stream of energy to fly out.

Ekong was delighted as soon as he sensed it. This type of energy was far too familiar for him! This was mana formed through the Claw Daobirth Essence! Each expert’s mana contained its own unique signature which was completely un-fakable; Ning, for example, had a pure Omega Sword Dao sheen to his mana!

“You spoke of a ‘false death’ state? What type of state is that, for even us to be unable to sense you?” Autarch Ekong asked curiously.

“I’ve already taken control over the Samsara Daobirth Essence,” the black-robed Bolin said. “Many secrets are hidden within both life and death. Entering a pseudo-dead state was quite simple.”

Autarch Ekong stared at the black-robed Bolin, his eyes filled with curiosity. The man was clearly standing right in front of him, but all of Ekong’s other senses were telling him that ‘Bolin’ didn’t seem to exist. This odd feeling made him sigh with amazement.

“So you’ve come to comprehend two Daobirth Essences? What have you gained from it?” Autarch Ekong asked.

“Nothing special besides the fact that I now have two Daobirth Essences to use.” The black-robed Bolin shook his head. “We already know that Iyerre is more skilled than Mogg in space and more talented in illusions than Stonerule, and that he vastly outstrips Titanos in artificing. He’s extremely formidable in every single area, while his specialty lies in light. Even without the power of the Dao, he’s still able to crush us in a fair fight. Now THAT is truly impressive!”

“Those of us who reached Autarchy via fused Supreme Daos will remain ‘ordinary’ Autarchs. Even if we gain an additional Daobirth Essence, we’re still far from reaching the level of the Omega Autarchs,” the black-robed Bolin said with a laugh. “But of course, the power of the Samsara Daobirth Essence is tremendous and I’ve grown quite a bit stronger due to it. I’m also able to use these two different Daobirth Essences together. Who knows? Titanos might not be a match for me now, haha…”

Different essences had different levels of power. Previously, Autarch Titanos had been the strongest save for Ning because his was the Karma Daobirth Essence. The Samsara Daobirth Essence was also an extraordinary essence, and given that Bolin had another essence as well, it made sense that he had grown significantly stronger.

“Good, good, good!” Ekong was overjoyed. For someone on their side to be strengthened was wonderful news. He quickly sent word to the others, all of whom were similarly overjoyed. For Bolin to still be alive was simply wonderful.

Autarch Stonerule suddenly sent to everyone, “According to Bolin, that world of grass seems to be extremely powerful. I’ll wager we haven’t seen its full power yet.”

“Yes, it was absolutely terrifying. It completely dominated me! If I didn’t manage to master the Samsara Daobirth Essence at the critical moment and avoid detection via the ‘false death’ state, I probably would’ve died for real. Even at my current level of power, I won’t be able to escape,” Bolin said.

Ning said, “Given how powerful this world of grass is, we have to come up with some sort of counter-measure.”

“I’m currently right in the middle of that world. I know exactly where it is, so you don’t need to worry about being ambushed,” Bolin said.

“Huh? Ah, right! Haha.” Ekong laughed.

“Bolin’s within the world of grass, which means we now have a perfect understanding of its movements.” Titanos chuckled as well. This was an unexpected bonus.

“Where is the world of grass right now?” Ning asked.

“It’s been advancing at high speed for quite some time. Judging from its path, it should be headed towards the ‘Nine Cicadas Temple’,” Bolin said.

Ning and the others were all enlightened. Of the temples the Sithe had sent out to attack the Autarchs, one had been defeated by Ning while four had been sealed away. The Nine Cicadas Temple had been given that name by the Autarchs because it was covered extremely strange carvings of nine cicadas on them. The temple were controlled by nine Sithe Exalts, the most of any temple they had encountered thus far.

“If it is flying towards the Nine Cicadas Temple, it is probably planning on rescuing those Exalts,” Ekong said.

“We can’t let them join forces!” Ning said hurriedly.

“The Sithe have repeatedly taken advantage of their higher level of insight to ambush us!” Autarch Titanos said. “Now, thanks to Bolin, we know the exact path this world of grass is taking. That means we can set a trap for it and play a nasty little trick on that terrifying weapon.”

“Right. Let’s set up a trap!” Ning’s eyes lit up.

“Let’s give them a good hard beating,” Autarch Mogg agreed hurriedly. He had been ambushed not too while ago and was itching for revenge.

“Hopefully, we’ll destroy the entire thing,” Bolin said.

The prospect of giving the Sithe a taste of their own medicine was making their blood pump with excitement!

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Chapter 24 - An Autarch Task Force

Ji Ning and the others began to work hard to produce a plan which would be perfectly tailored to dealing with this terrifying new threat, the ‘Grassland World’. Everyone including Ning knew deep in their hearts how important this battle would be. In fact, it could be said that if they won this battle they would probably have won the entire war! If they lost, then they would probably have lost the war as well.

The price of defeat was simply too great. All of the countless native lifeforms of this entire Chaosverse, from the lowliest of ordinary mortals to the most exalted of Hegemons and Autarchs, would be completely exterminated! Not a single one of them would be left alive! The entire Chaosverse would be completely remade into one which was suitable for the Sithe and inimical to all others.

Ning knew that they couldn’t afford to lose this battle! By now, the Sithe Hegemons and Emperors no longer posed much of a threat. It was up to the final battle between the supreme elites of each side.

“We destroyed one of those temples and trapped four of them! Even if Iyerre gets personally involved, we should be able to withstand him via the Golden Bridges of Freedom. Right now, the only thing the Sithe have which poses a threat to us is that world of grass. In truth, it is an apocalyptic danger,” Autarch Titanos said. “It only needed a fraction of its power to kill Bolin. Even though Bolin now controls two Daobirth Essences, he’s still forced to hide via the ‘false death’ technique and doesn’t dare to face it head-on! In other words, none of us are a match for that world of grass in sole combat.”

Ning agreed with this assessment. The terrifying power which the world of grass had displayed previously was enough to cause even Ning to shiver with fear.

“We’ll never have a better chance than this,” Autarch Titanos said. “We are hidden in darkness, while they stand revealed to us! We can make all preparations necessary and focus all of our power against the world of grass.”

“When Iyerre ambushed Mogg, he didn’t produce anything even as remotely terrifying as the world of grass,” Autarch Bolin said. “That was his ‘big reveal’, so he definitely would’ve gone all-out in that attack. For him to not use a ‘world of grass’ leads me to suspect that the entire Sithe race only has a single such weapon. I’m sure that it wasn’t easy for him to make such a terrifying weapon. Hell, I’m amazed they were able to create it at all!”

“Right. If Iyerre didn’t carry one, that’s probably because there only IS one.”

“If we can defeat the world of grass, we would’ve gotten rid of our greatest threat and essentially won this war,” Autarch Stonerule agreed. “This is now our last, best chance to gain victory.”

“We have to win.”

“We must win!” The seven strongest members of the cultivator civilizations were filled with determination to win.

Ning and the others were going to put everything they had into this fight. Every single one of them was going to take part, and so they began to hasten towards the Nine Cicadas Temple from their respective stations throughout the Chaosverse. Autarch Stonerule was the slowest when it came to travel speed, and so Autarch Skyfeeder actually went to him to ‘carry’ him with her.

Just a bit over a month later, the all reunited near the Nine Cicadas Temple. As for the Grassland World, it was still on its way. It wasn’t quite up to par with Autarchs when it came to warping through spacetime.

“We still have nearly a month left.”

The bulky Nine Cicadas Temple hung there in the void of space, the nine Sithe Exalts still focusing on defending it from within. Ning and the others wouldn’t be able to breach its defenses anytime soon, so they simply left it trapped within their formations.

The Autarchs were located in an region of empty space outside the formations sealing the temple away. Autarch Titanos’ two fleshy antennae were standing up straight, quivering with killing intent. He began to make the arrangements: “During this next month, we need to finish setting up any and all helpful formations. We don’t have much time. Move fast, everyone.”

“Alright,” Ning, Bolin’s avatar, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Ekong, Autarch Stonerule, and Autarch Mogg all chorused in unison.

Time began to flow in a rapidly accelerated pace around them. Autarch Skyfeeder was responsible for keeping time sped up, while Ning and the others were responsible for setting up the formations. They already knew exactly where the Grassland World would be arriving, and so they would set up the grand formation there! The entire formation covered a huge area, as it was meant to encompass the entire Grassland World.

In order to make the formation as strong as possible, they even infused some of the mysteries of the Golden Bridges into the formation. When the time came, the formation would be ready to accumulate an enormous amount of the Chaosverse’s power.

The formation was divided up into two different parts. The outer formation would be maintained by Ning, Bolin’s avatar, and the true bodies of the Autarchs. The inner formation would be maintained by the other five Autarch avatars. The inner formation would serve as the vanguard for doing battle against the Grassland World; if they suffered any casualties, the inner formation would be the first to go.

“Haha, I’m done.”

“The formation’s been set up.”

Ning and the others had worked hard and quickly. In the end, they managed to finish the entire grand formation with two days to spare.

“I’ll take the Dust-1 position.” Ning stood there within a specific part of the formation. Boom! The overwhelming power of the Chaosverse instantly crossed an infinite distance to appear in the region around him. Ning’s location seemed to have transformed into an endless vortex of darkness which devoured all of the power of the prime essences!

This grand formation had two ‘poles’ which represented Yin and Yang. Ning was responsible for one of them while Titanos was responsible for the other, as the two were both skilled in formations.

As for the other five, they were responsible for helping and strengthening the power of the formation.

“The formation is complete. All of us are now much more powerful than we are normally. With so many empowered Autarch-class combatants working together and joining forces, we’ll definitely be able to destroy the Grassland World.” Autarch Titanos let out a loud laugh, completely confident in their chances.

“Right. The chains that attacked me were powerful,” Bolin’s avatar greed, “But we have so many Autarch-class combatants that we would have more than enough power to each take on a single chain without being affected.”

“Unfortunately, two of the five avatars at the vanguard are very weak. My avatar and Skyfeeder’s avatar were both destroyed and had to be remade, and so they are only at half-strength. Even with the formation supporting them, they are just barely as strong as they would be at their peak.” Autarch Titanos shook his head.

“It is enough. The true bodies will be launching attacks from afar in support, right?” Mogg laughed as well.

Although they spoke confidently, all of them remained quite cautious. They had an enormous advantage in this battle as they had chosen the battlefield and prepared formations for it, ensuring that they could unleash the absolute maximum power possible! However, they didn’t dare to truly go all-out and leave themselves with no way out. If they really did die, the cultivators would never again have a chance of reversing this defeat. Thus, if this battle really did end up poorly then the true bodies who were located in the ‘outer’ part of the formation would be able to flee at any time.

The reason why Bolin’s avatar was also located in the ‘outer’ part was to keep his continued existence a secret. Otherwise, the Sithe would immediately find out that Bolin hadn’t really died.

A total of twelve Autarch-class combatants had gathered together within the formation, and they were empowered tremendously by it. They were right to speak with confidence, but also right to be wary of this terrifying ‘Grassland World’ weapon the Sithe had devised.

“They are about to arrive.” Autarch Bolin’s true body was in constant contact with them. “Five more warps through spacetime and they’ll arrive.”

“Make your preparations, everyone,” Autarch Titanos said. “Hide the formation’s power. Don’t make your moves until they enter its range.”

Titanos had been alive for longer than any of the others, and he had been the most powerful before Ning’s rise to power. Everyone was accustomed to him giving the orders, and he had been the one to devise the majority of the components of this formation. Ning and the others had only played a supplementary role.

Silence. The entire formation fell completely and utterly silent.

Ning and the others all stared intently, nervously awaiting the most critical battle of them all.

……

“According to the information almighty Iyerre gave us, they should be arriving soon. We’ll be able to escape.” The nine Sithe Exalts within the Nine Cicadas Temple were all seated in the lotus position, eagerly awaiting the Grassland World’s arrival. They had felt extremely restless and uneasy after being sealed away here, as all they could do was passively watch and wait for the cultivators to eventually breach the formations protecting them.

“They should arrive in just another day or two.”

……

Rumble… a dimensional rift suddenly appeared just a hundred billion kilometers away from the Nine Cicadas Temple, followed by a silvery-white ship flying out of the rift. This was an ordinary-looking realmship, while the person commanding it was nothing more than ordinary Hegemon.

However… the twelve Autarch-class combatants hidden within this region all knew the truth. They knew that the Grassland World was hidden within that realmship, because Autarch Bolin’s true body remained trapped inside.

“They’ve entered the net.” Autarch Titanos’ eyes shone with baleful light. “Activate.”

“Activate.”

Ning and Titanos were in control of the Yin-Yang poles, and they simultaneously activated the formation with the other five working in concert with them. Rumble… an utterly apocalyptic amount of power instantly filled a vast region of ten trillion kilometers. The mere flow of power caused the void of space itself to be ground into countless sand-like particles, instantly disintegrating the silver realmship. As for the Sithe descendant who was commanding it, he stared in terror as he himself was disintegrated into dust.

The only thing left behind was a strange ovaloid object.

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Chapter 25 - Snake and Sword

This ovaloid object was the most powerful Sithe weapon… the Grassland World.

“We’ve been traped!”

“What’s going on? How could there be a trap here? We cut off all connections to the outside world and are undetectable. There’s no way the cultivators could’ve tracked us here. How could they have set up a trap in advance?!” The black-robed man, the red-robed man, and the silver-robed woman were standing atop the clouds, staring at the outside world. They were able to see past the Grassland World’s dimensions with ease.

The world outside had been transformed into a writhing realm of primordial chaos, filled with such power that even they shuddered at it.

“Did they perhaps manage to guess that we were going to come and rescue the Exalts and so set up a trap in advance?” the silver-robed woman asked, puzzled.

“They trapped a total of four temples. How could they be sure that we would come to the Nine Cicadas Temple first?” the red-robed man boomed.

“Could they have set up traps around all four temples?” the black-robed man asked in his icy voice.

“Impossible. You can see how much power the formation outside is using. The ambient power alone is enough to annihilate realmships with ease. The cultivators must have poured all their power into creating a formation of such power,” the silver-robed woman said. “There’s no way they could simultaneously maintain four or five formations of such power.”

The red-robed man shook his head. “In the end, this is their Chaosverse. They must’ve come up with some other way of tracking out whereabouts. No time to waste on wondering how they did it! Right now, our biggest problem is that we’ve already been trapped.”

“Then what should we do?” the black-robed man said with a frown.

Unlike the other Sithe Exalts, they weren’t truly Iyerre’s subordinates. Thus, they didn’t really care too much about whether Iyerre won or not. They had only taken part because they had been required to, while the promised rewards ensured that they weren’t excessively opposed to helping out! However, when they could sense that they were in mortal danger, there was absolutely no way they would throw away their own lives for the sake of this war.

Outside this Chaosverse, they could kill these Autarchs with ease. Here in this Chaosverse, these local Autarchs were terrifyingly powerful. Now that they had joined forces and used a mighty formation, the three felt even more nervous.

“We can’t risk ourselves. Absolutely not. If Iyerre wants to take risks, let him do it,” the black-robed man muttered.

“Let’s see just how strong the grand formation is. Let the fools go,” the silver-robed woman said. “We ourselves can just stand back.”

“Fine.” The black-robed man and the red-robed man both agreed. By their very nature, they looked down upon those three ‘fools’.

“Hey, idiots! Hurry up and get over here!” the silver-robed woman shouted.

Soon, three enormous creatures emerged from beyond the clouds. The first was the giant cyclopean bear, the second was the red-eyed white-furred humanoid, while the third was the tentacled stormcloud. These Autarch-class void dwellers were extremely displeased at the contempt which these three powerful Sithe displayed towards them. They could sense it keenly, but they were weaker than the three Sithe and so there was nothing they could do.

“What do you want?” the giant cyclopean bear rumbled unhappily.

“We have business for you, of course,” the silver-robed woman snapped. “The Grassland World has already been trapped by the cultivators! We don’t know anything at all about the situation outside, and so we need you to help investigate it for us.”

“Investigate?” The three Autarch-class void dwellers were filled with both rage and fear. They knew just how powerful these three Sithe were… and yet, the Sithe were too afraid to go outside and so were sending them out?

“The three of you are skilled at staying alive.” The silver-robed woman’s eyes flashed coldly. “I suggest you go immediately. Don’t force our hand.”

They had to go, whether they wanted to or not! The three Autarch-class void dwellers exchanged glances, communing in secret.

“We can go if you want,” the red-eyed, white-furred humanoid said hoarsely, “But we’ll need to keep part of our bodies within the Grassland World. We’ll only let parts of ourselves go outside! That way, we can be sure to keep ourselves alive. If you want us to completely depart from the Grassland World, we’d rather die than comply! It’d be death either way.”

“Right!” the cyclopean bear and the tentacled stormcloud both chorused.

“Haha, so you three idiots aren’t as dumb as you look?” the silver-robed woman snickered. “Don’t worry. We don’t stand to benefit from your deaths. All we want to do is to use you to investigate the outside world. We can agree to your terms… now hurry up and go! Find out what’s going on outside so we can take the appropriate counter-measures.”

The three Autarch-class void dwellers could no longer refuse, and so they immediately soared upwards through the clouds. They went through one layer of clouds after another. The clouds were normally quite resilient, but when they flew through them the clouds all parted before them. Soon, they reached the ninth and final layer of clouds.

“Be careful, everyone.” They exchanged glances, then nervously began to fly through the ninth layer as the two men and one woman below them watched intently.

……

Ning and the others were using the formation to blanket and smother this entire region with their power. After trapping that ovaloid object, they quickly saw it dramatically expand in size. Boom! Boom! Boom! It grew to be ten thousand kilometers in size… a hundred thousand kilometers… a million kilometers… ten million kilometers… a hundred million kilometers…

“Suppress it!” Autarch Titanos commanded. Ning and the others began to pour the power of the formation into doing just that.

Boom! Boundless amounts of power began to coil around the Grassland World, compressing and crushing it. As it continued to expand in size, the amount of pressure it faced continued to increase as well. By the time it reached a size of nine billion kilometers, it was unable to expand any further! Every single part of its enormous bulk was under utterly horrendous levels of pressure.

“I can’t believe a mere artifact is able to resist the power of our formation and still expand to such a great size,” Ning said. “It really is far more powerful than any of the temples we saw earlier.”

“Find its weak points. If we can’t find any, just launch an all-out attack,” Autarch Titanos sent mentally.

“Alright.”

“Let’s take a close look at the thing. Ning and the others all began to inspect the Grassland World from their various vantage points, searching for weak points. Alas, they couldn’t see anything from the outside.

A short while later, as they were still inspecting the thing, a gray part of the ovaloid object suddenly began to ripple like the clouds. An enormous creature began to emerge, quickly resolving into the giant head of the vast, foolish-looking cyclopean bear. Next to his head was a stormcloud that seemed to be filled with countless black tentacles as well as an unremarkable-looking red-eyed, white-furred humanoid.

Each just sent parts of their bodies from within the rolling screen of clouds, keeping the rest of themselves within. They stared curiously at the outside world, but they saw nothing but a mishmash of chaos. How could they tell what was going on?

“Autarch-class void dwellers!” Ning recognized them right away.

“Those were the three which attacked me previously,” Bolin’s avatar sent.

“Perfect. Everyone, attack! When they retreat, follow them inside the Grassland World,” Autarch Titanos ordered.

“Alright.”

“Attack!”

Ning and the others began to carry out the plan they had practiced a number of times in the past.

The five avatars of Titanos, Mogg, Skyfeeder, Stonerule, and Ekong within the inner formation all began to activate their respective parts of the formations. They transformed into an enormous five-headed black serpent, with each head representing one of the avatars. The main head of the black serpent was led by Autarch Titanos, who commanded the other four in attacking.

As for the ones in the outer formation, they were even more powerful but chose to be cautious and launch long-range attacks from afar.

“Go!” Autarch Mogg waved a finger from afar. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! A series of round arcs of saber-light flew out, filled with the boundless mysteries of the Space Daobirth Essence.

Bolin’s avatar waved a finger as well, causing ten thousand beads to appear which were filled with the mysteries of the Samsara Daobirth Essence. To keep his true identity hidden, he did not use his Claw Daobirth Essence.

The other Autarchs all used their most powerful long-distance attacks as well.

“All Daos Are The Sword!” Ning willed his six Northbow swords to come flying out, filling them with the power of his mana and linking them together with the power of the other Autarchs. Ning was responsible for guiding the powers of all six Autarchs, because as an Omega Emperor he was skilled in virtually every aspect. He understood illusions, karma, the samsara of life and death, and both space and time.

He was a bit weaker than Bolin when it came to life and death and a bit inferior than Titanos when it came to karma, but he remained incredibly skilled in all respects. Thus, he was the perfect mediator for their powers, allowing the six to join together in a flawless manner and truly transform their attacks. It was a pity that Ning’s avatar was still tied down within the Annihilation Hive. Otherwise, he could’ve also taken responsibility over the five avatars attacking from the inner formation, allowing them to become even more powerful!

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Chapter 26 - Unstoppable

The three Autarch-class void dwellers were in the ninth layer of clouds of the Grassland World, nervously reaching out to the outside world.

“See anything?” the cyclopean bear said, carfully scanning the primordial chaos outside.

“I don’t see a damn thing.” The tentacled stormcloud was extremely cautious as well.

“Look out!” The red-eyed, white-furred humanoid’s eyes were glowing with bloody red light as it stared intently towards a distant place, and it suddenly sent a mental warning to the others.

Riiiip! An enormous black five-headed serpent suddenly slithered forward from within the mishmash of primordial chaos, its head glaring ferociously at the three as it charged towards them with an overwhelming aura.

“I’ll block it!” The red-eyed, white-furred humanoid was the closest to the serpent. It felt a sense of fear, but it still sent its two furry arms forward in an attempt to block.

Whoosh! The five heads of the black serpent suddenly attacked simultaneously while using the full power of the entire formation. This strike completely eclipsed that of any ordinary Autarch’s and was every bit the equal of Iyerre’s ultimate attack.

“Dodge!” After the black serpent crushed the red-eyed, white-furred creature, it cruised straight towards the tentacled stormcloud. The stormcloud creature was terrified but it still sent out many probing tentacles to try and defend against the impact while preparing to flee.

The black serpent slithered closer towards it, the five heads striking simultaneously once more and tearing countless tentacles apart. However, the serpent was noticeably slowed down by them.

A heartbeat later, the black serpent gave a little wriggle and then shot out once more, its speed skyrocketing to incredible heights as it flew towards the final remaining combatant, the giant cyclopean bear. Autarch Titanos’ avatar was standing in the central head, and it murmured to itself: “Where there is cause, there is effect. Karma lies in all things.” The five heads of the serpent struck out in perfect harmony.

Boom! The giant cyclopean bear furiously struck out with its twin paws, managing to block the attack of the black serpent head-on. It was the physically strongest of the Autarch-class void dwellers, and so although it was at a noticeable disadvantage it wasn’t instantly destroyed by the clash.”

“Haha, I’m not as fragile as those other two!” the giant cyclopean bear laughed excitedly.

“Titanos, prepare to enter the Grassland World!” Ning sent mentally.

Behind the giant black serpent, a sword suddenly appeared. The sword shone with dazzling light and was filled with awesome power. The five heads of the black serpent were able to cooperate together in perfect harmony thanks to the power of karma, but this sword had transcended mere ‘cooperation’ and represented many different powers being merged into a perfect whole! Ning was commanding all of the long-distance attacks from the seven Autarchs in the outer formation, and he manifested them through his Sword Dao to create a terrifying divine sword that surpassed even the black serpent in power.

“CHOP!” The awesome divine sword came crashing down with such power that even the cyclopean bear felt a sense of fear. It hurriedly retreated, seeking to use its paws to defend once again.

Slaaaash! Sword-light descended, annihilating all within its path. The upper body of the giant cyclopean bear was completely destroyed by this strike.

“Ahhh!” The giant cyclopean bear was completely terrified. Thankfully it had kept its life-core within its lower left leg, and its entire lower body remained within the ninth layer of clouds. As a result, it was sable to survive this strike. The three had only agreed to expose part of their giant bodies, precisely because their life-cores were what really mattered the most.

Swoosh! The vast sword stabbed straight into the ninth layer of gray clouds. It shuddered slightly, seeking to tear through the surrounding area and rip apart the hundreds of millions of kilometers of clouds.

“Eh?” Thanks to the divine sword, Ning immediately sensed a powerful force resisting him. “Bolin was right. The ninth and outermost layer of clouds is so incredibly durable that ordinary Autarchs have no chance of destroying it at all. Even though we’re joining our power together and summoning the might of the Chaosverse itself, we’d probably only be able to cut apart a hundred thousand kilometers of it.

Autarchs were completely unable to breach the ninth layer of clouds, while a full-force blow from this divine sword was able to break through a hundred thousand kilometers of it. This was a testament to the sword’s might! The more of the clouds you wanted to destroy, the more power was needed.

“Titanos, help me keep the keep the rift in the clouds open,” Ning sent mentally.

“Leave that to me!” Titanos sent the black serpent in to cover the rift while sending back, “I’ll leave the attack against the world of grass to you!”

The towering black serpent slithered its way into the tear within the gray clouds, its five heads slowly swiveling around its body and keeping the tear open, preventing the gray clouds from covering it back up again! It must be understood that once the tear was closed, Ning’s squad wouldn’t even be able to sense the insides of the Grassland World, much less maintain the sword and continue to fuel it with their mana. They had to keep the tear open and prevent it from closing!

The black serpent was filled with unearthly power, but it was only able to just barely maintain a thousand-kilometer sized rift.

“Sever the connection to the outside world! Quick! Sever it!” the red-robed man shouted frantically. The Grassland World truly was a complete world unto itself and as such could be completely detached from the rest of the Chaosverse, making it impossible for the Chaosverse to sense and detect it. The two men and the woman inside the Grassland World were absolutely horrified at the power of that sword.

“There’s no way to break the link!” the silver-robed woman said frantically. “That black serpent is preventing the clouds from reforming. We can’t break the connection!”

“Not good! That sword is about to attack!” the black-robed man bellowed.

The giant black serpent continued to hold the gray clouds apart within the ninth layer, while the mighty sword transformed to become incomparably vast as it stabbed downwards.

Boom! The tip of the sword stabbed through the eighth layer, then the seventh layer, the sixth layer…

Clang! A violet-gold chain suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The dazzling iridescent chain flew towards the black serpent which was holding the rift in the clouds open, and it was quickly followed by yet another chain as well. The violet-gold chains launched continuous attacks against the giant black serpent. If they were able to destroy it, the clouds would close over and sever the tip of the sword from the outside world, preventing it from controlled and thus causing it to collapse on its own.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

More and more violet-gold chains appeared.

“Hm?” The hilt of the absolutely titanic sword remained within the ninth layer of clouds, while the tip of the sword continued to stab downwards.

“Break!” Ning caused a series of sharp surges of sword-ki to fly out from the hilt of the sword. Each stream of sword-ki was shaped like a fish, and a total of thirty-six swordfishes quickly flew out and took up blocking positions before the black serpent. They then began to swim together to form a whirlpool of sword-light which smashed outwards at the encroaching violet-gold chains.

These thirty-six streams of sword-ki merely represented 20% of the divine sword’s power, but this defensive sword-technique in the form of a vortex of sword-light was still enough to suppress all of the attacking chains.

By now, there were nine violet-gold chains which were furiously assaulting the whirlpool of sword-light, only to be unable to break through.

“Break! Break! Break!” The toughest layer of clouds was the ninth one. With the black serpent maintaining the tear, the other eight layers were now much easier for the gigantic sword to stab through.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The sword continued to penetrate one layer of clouds after another.

“This sword is too powerful! These native Autarchs must have come together and used something akin to a Daoguard Tower which allows them to summon the power of the Chaosverse, then had Emperor Darknorth merge all of these disparate energies together with his Omega Sword Dao. This sword is so powerful that not even all three of us working together can stop it!” The two men and the woman hidden in the center of the Grassland World began to grow a bit nervous.

“If I knew that this was going to happen, I would’ve had us rendezvous with Iyerre before coming here. Iyerre could’ve dealt with these problems,” the silver-robed woman said anxiously.

Iyerre had instructed them to go rescue the Sithe Exalts, while he himself was coming from a completely different region of the Chaosverse. As a result, their reunion was delayed.

“He was overconfident in his Grassland World,” the red-robed man said frantically. “That sword is about to pierce through the last layer of clouds!”

“We’re hidden here in the depths of the Grassland World, while the sword isn’t able to blink through the earth above us. There’s no way it’ll be able to injure us,” the black-robed man said coldly.

“But if we let them cause destruction unchecked, they might end up destroying some of the important components of the Grassland World. Once we lose this weapon, the upcoming battles will be even harder,” the red-robed man said.

“Hmph. That’s not our problem. Staying alive is what matters; losing a weapon is a minor matter. We’ve done our utmost,” the black-robed man said.

……

Ning’s sword was filled with the power of seven Autarch-class combatants. It started at the eighth layer of clouds and stabbed through one layer after another. The clouds sought to form whirlpools of defensive energy to resist, causing the sword to come under tremendous pressure, but it was still able to persevere… and so, just like that, it punched all the way through the first layer of clouds.

“Bolin, return immediately!” Ning sent mentally. Bolin’s true body was hidden within the first layer of clouds.

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Chapter 27 - Quintessence Ignition

The towering divine sword had stabbed through all eight layers of clouds. Mana flowed through the area immediately around it, blasting away at its surroundings. This was the combined mana of Ji Ning, Autarch Titanos, Autarch Bolin, and all of the others. For their mana to be there was equivalent to them being there in person, and they could use mana to scan and scray an area. Every single drop of mana contained parts of their soul and truesoul, after all. As their mana surged through the area, it quickly covered the area where Autarch Bolin’s true body was located.

“You finally made it.” An unremarkable spark of energy quickly began to fly through the mana towards the titanic sword. This was the form Autarch Bolin’s true body had taken once it entered the false death stage.

“Thank you, everyone.” Bolin’s true body only showed itself after going inside the giant sword, and he immediately laughed loudly and delighted. All this time, he had been worried that his hiding spot would be discovered, at which point he would have nowhere to run and would most assuredly die.

“Bolin, hurry up and take control of the formation! With your main body in control, we’ll be able to up the power even further,” Ning sent.

“Alright.” Bolin’s body quickly sped up through the interior of the giant sword, rising through the clouds. The divine sword was like a giant mountain which stretched from the very bottom all the way through the ninth layer of clouds, allowing Bolin to easily traverse the Grassland World and stealthily pass through the five heads of the black serpent which were keeping the rift in the clouds open! No one was the wiser as he reached the void outside the Grassland World.

“I’ve made it out alive.” Only after exiting the Grassland World did Autarch Bolin finally let out a sigh of relief. He flew the void and quickly reached his avatar’s location in the formation, which he swapped with. The power of the entire formation instantly increased by another 20%. His avatar had already died once, after all, and so it was fairly weak. It was by the far the weakest link in the outer formation, far weaker than the true body.

“Congratulations, Bolin!”

“Bolin, remember that you owe us some fine wine for saving you from that calamity.” Stonerule, Ekong, and the others all sent happy messages to him.

Autarch Bolin smiled. “Easily done! I’ll send my avatar back and hide inside the Grassland World in my stead. Who knows, it might serve us in good stead!” He then willed his avatar to fly back into the Grassland World, following the same path he had taken in leaving. After mastering the Samsara Daobirth Essence, Autarch Bolin was superior to all other Autarchs when it came to hiding himself.

He was able to completely hide his aura and sever all karmic connections, making it impossible for even the Chaosverse to detect his existence. Even if his avatar ended up being discovered and failed its missions, its loss was a minor matter. To let his true body die while exploring would be a true shame.

……

Boom! After the towering sword stabbed straight through all of the blocking clouds, it stabbed into the grasslands themselves. However, the grass was so extremely sturdy that the sword didn’t manage to pierce too deeply inside of it.

“There’s no way to dig any deeper into the grassland,” Ning sent mentally. “Gentlemen, what do you think we should do?”

“The Grassland World’s core should be located deep within its depths,” Autarch Titanos said. “Based on what I’ve seen from researching various powerful Sithe weapons, the most powerful formations will be located around the most important regions. Right now, the problem is that the sword needs to endure the restrictive power of eight layers of clouds while continuing to drill downwards. It’s only able to unleash a fraction of its full power, and I don’t think there’s any chance we’ll be able to damage the core components while doing so.”

“Right,” Ning agreed. “Stabbing through the eight layers is already consuming a bit over half of the power, while those nine chains are taking up another twenty percent. That leaves just thirty percent to deal with the grasslands below.”

“The two of you can decide on what to do,” Autarch Mogg said.

“You two understand formations better than the rest of us. You decide,” Autarch Ekong agreed. The other Autarchs were going to let Ning and Titanos take the lead, because they were the most skilled in the Dao of Formations. Titanos in particular had spent countless aeons analyzing artifice and weaponry.

“The remaining thirty percent stands no chance of punching through,” Ning agreed.

“Then let’s get rid of those nine layers of clouds first,” Autarch Titanos said. “The clouds serve as a protective eggshell around the yolk. If we can scrape away the clouds, we can deal with the interior as we please.”

“Destroy the nine layers of clouds?” Ning was intrigued.

“The core is inside the grasslands, while the nine clouds are outside. There has to be some sort of formation keeping these troublesome clouds active,” Titanos said.

“Which means if we can destroy the relevant formations, the clouds will disperse on their own,” Ning agreed.

“Right.” These two understood formations very well, and they quickly managed to come up with a method for dealing with the clouds.

“Break for me!” Ning began to twist and turn the titanic sword, sending it chopping back and forth through the clouds. Each time it did so, it created new gaping wounds within the lower eight layers of clouds! The clouds continued to cover the tears, while the sword continued to stir its way through them like a spoon.

The process continued, with the clouds reforming each time after the divine sword cut through them. This rapid healing process consumed an enormous amount of energy.

“Eh?” The mana within the divine sword was able to follow the energy ripples of the healing process, allowing formation experts Ning and Titanos to discover nine different energy wellsprings in the time needed to boil a kettle of tea.

“So they are located in nine different places at the farthest corners of the clouds?”

Not even Autarchs were able to see to the ends of the vast Grassland World, because there were spacetime formations blocking their site and hiding nine critical components of the formations powering the clouds.

“Break!”

The sword assaulted the nine points with raw force, stabbing out towards the ends of the grasslands and blasting through spacetime barriers with a rumbling sound. Although the sword only had 30% of its full power left, it still had more powerful than any full-force strike from one of the seven operating independently. The spacetime barriers were completely incapable of stopping it. They completely imploded and crumbled, revealing the true scene behind them.

Here, there were a series of thick clouds. All nine layers of clouds were grouped together here, masking something.

“Nine layers of clouds are protecting this place?” Ning and Titanos were delighted. Their guesses had been spot-on; otherwise, why would this place be so carefully hidden and protected?

The enormous sword first withdrew back to the outermost ninth layer of clouds, reuniting with the black serpent. Then… “Break! Break! Break!” Ning and Autarch Titanos worked in harmony, the divine sword leading the way with the black serpent following right behind it. The nine violet-gold chains sought to bar their path, but they were held back by the sword-light radiating from the divine sword.

The divine sword tore through the ninth layer of gray clouds as it made its way to the place hidden by formations previously.

“BREAK!!!” The black sword immediately took responsibility for keeping the ninth layer of clouds ‘open’, while the divine sword pressed the attack. It quickly broke through all eight layers of clouds, revealing countless glittering runes and complicated glyphs which were working together in an unfathomably profound manner. Energy was being sent from deep within the grasslands into the runes, which then sent the energy into the layers of clouds.

“This is a conduit formation!” Ning and Titanos were delighted.

“It’s incredibly complicated. I don’t understand it at all,” Autarch Titanos said. “Let’s break it.”

“Right.” Ning didn’t understand it either. Even if they spent ten years working on it, they probably wouldn’t manage to figure out more than a tiny bit of it. The best way to deal with a complicated formation like this was to overwhelm it with power.

Slash! The divine sword pierced through the opening which the black serpent was maintaining, carrying apocalyptic levels of force as it cut through the eight layers of clouds and then stabbed against the runes.

Boom! Countless runes and glyphs began to tremble. “Haha, illusory runes eh? Then I’ll destroy spacetime in the area. Let’s see if your formation can remain stable then!” Ning continued to violently attack, striking each blow with maximum power and causing the runes to shudder and flicker.

……

Deep within the depths of the grasslands. The two men and the woman were beginning to truly panic now.

“What should we do? They found the formation linking us to the nine clouds almost right away.” The red-robed man frowned.

“Should we ignite the quintessence core?” the black-robed man said nervously.

“Ignite the quintessence core?” The silver-robed woman and the red-robed man were both stunned. The ‘quintessence core’ referred to the energy source powering the entire world. The reason why the Autarchs had been unable to truly break into the Sithelands which had invaded their Chaosverse was precisely because the Sithelands had its own miniaturized quintessence. This quintessence core provided the Sithelands with energy, allowing the Sithe to construct those stable and deadly Daoguard Towers! However, over the aeons the energy of that miniature quintessence had been gradually depleted. By now, there was little remaining.

The reason why the Grassland World was so powerful was because it had a quintessence core of its own as well! Iyerre had asked his own teacher to give it to him, and his teacher had obliged. That was the only reason why Iyerre had been able to create this mighty weapon. Otherwise, there would’ve been no way to power the Grassland World. Even the mightiest of weapons needed sufficiently strong external power sources here. This was a foreign Chaosverse, after all; they were rejected here and could not draw upon the local prime essences.

“Igniting the quintessence core will consume an enormous amount of energy. If we use it all up, we’ll have lost this battle,” the silver-robed woman said. “We should check with Iyerre first.” She immediately reached out to contact Iyerre.

A short while later a blurry pillar of light appeared which gradually resolved into the tall, barefoot, balding figure of Iyerre.

“What is it?” Iyerre asked.

“The cultivators set up a trap for us here. The Grassland World has been caught, and the nine layers of clouds are unable to stop them,” the silver-robed woman said quickly. “They’ve even discovered the conduit formation powering the nine cloud layers. Soon, they’ll have destroyed it. Once the nine clouds are destroyed, the Grassland World will be at the verge of destruction as well.”

“WHAT!?” Iyerre’s face was drained of all blood, and a look of shock appeared in his eyes. He was unable to remain calm any longer.

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Chapter 28 - Formation Incarnation

Chapter 28 - Formation Incarnation

The Grassland World was Iyerre’s most important, the one he intended to rely on to utterly defeat the cultivators and conquer this Chaosverse. It was the main reason why he was so confident in his ultimate victory. If the Grassland World was destroyed, his chances of victory would become virtually nil. He’d all but simply have to wait for defeat.

Thus, as soon as Iyerre heard this bad news his mind became filled with many thoughts. For example, how did the cultivators manage to prepare a trap in advance? How was it that the protections of the Grassland World had been breached so easily?

The latter, he had an answer for; he suspected that the silver-robed woman and the other two weren’t ready to defend it with all their strength. But the former? For now, he truly couldn’t understand how the cultivators had managed to set up a trap in advance.

He didn’t have any time to waste asking these extraneous questions. He immediately ordered: “Protect the Grassland World at all costs! Ignite its quintessence core right away!”

“Ignite the quintessence core?” The silver-robed woman blinked.

“Right. I’m on the way and will be there within a day. You have to hold!” Iyerre’s face was as cold and hard as ice. “I have to win this war. I have to take control over this Chaosverse! If you can’t hold on until I get there, don’t blame me for what I’ll do to you.”

The three couldn’t help but shudder. They knew that if Iyerre became truly infuriated with them… just thinking it chilled their hearts. If Iyerre’s countless aeons of planning ended up being ruined by their cowardice, he might actually kill them!

“Understood.”

“We’re igniting the quintessence core right now. We’ll definitely hold on!” the three hurriedly promised.

“Fine.” Iyerre’s eyes flashed coldly. “Things might seem dangerous, but we still have a chance! If the cultivators have been able to beat you so easily, that means that most likely all of them are there. If possible, trap them all inside the Grassland World! Do your best to tie them down for as long as you can. Once I arrive, we’ll kill them all! We stand the best chance if we can make the battlefield be inside the Grassland World.”

“Understood,” the silver-robed woman and the other two said hurriedly. The two sides then broke the connection, followed by Iyerre’s figure vanishing from the pillar of light.

The three finally let out sighs of relief. They felt a great deal of trepidation towards Iyerre. He was normally an affable person who always had a sympathetic smile on his face, but in their homeland he was second only to the Lord of Chaos. If they truly did cause his countless aeons of hard work to go up in smoke, no one could predict how berserk he would become.

“Ignite the quintessence.” The three traded a glance, then immediately activated the quintessence core.

The quintessence core was an indigo sphere that was located at the deepest depths of the Grassland World. It was filled with an utterly inconceivable amount of power. This tiny sphere had significantly more energy inside it than the entire Blazesun Domain! It had once been an incredibly vast energy source which had spun through the Infinite Void, but the Sithe Lord of Chaos had ended up harvesting it.

Not just any quintessence could be ‘harvested’ like this. The ones which could be harvested while remaining intact and independent were vanishingly rare.

Boom! Right as they began to ignite the quintessence, a thunderous boom rang out from the outside world, followed by a loud laugh.

“Haha, we broke one!”

Ning’s voice rang out excitedly: “Come, let’s break the next one!”

“Yes, let’s go!” Autarch Titanos was delighted as well.

After thoroughly destroying the runes and glyphs, they wrecked the entire formation. It was now incapable of transmitting any more energy to the ninth layer of clouds, causing its ‘healing’ speed to lessen. However, destroying just a single nexus wouldn’t be enough to cause the ninth layer to actually collapse. There were nine formations providing energy, after all.

“One of them has been destroyed already!” The faces of the silver-robed woman and the other two turned pale.

……

Boom! The quintessence core ignited, causing the entire world to flare with ten thousand times more power than before! The Grassland World became filled with power, with a blurry blue light appearing everywhere within it. As for the eight remaining conduit formations, they began to pump energy out at their absolute maximum capacities! A vast torrent of energy pumped out, causing all of the formations throughout the Grassland World to skyrocket to maximum power.

Still, there was a limit to how much the conduits could pass through. The remaining amount was simply wasted. One of the nine formations generating the nine cloud layers had been destroyed, after all. Despite that, the power of the formations still rose by over 60%! If all of the formations had remained intact, the power would have instantly doubled.

……

Riiiip! Autarch Titanos was right in the middle of using his giant black five-headed serpent to keep a rift in the clouds open while Ning used the giant divine sword to attack yet another conduit formation.

All of a sudden, all of the clouds began to glow with blurry white light. The white light was very comfortable and carried the blessings of radiance, but it also caused the restrictive pressure generated by the clouds to skyrocket in power by 60%!

It must be understood that once one reached an extremely high level of power, improving by merely 10% to 20% was already extremely difficult. A sudden increase of 60% made it impossible for the black serpent to keep the rift open any longer.

“I can’t break through it any longer.” The divine sword had to fight back against the combined assault of the nine violet-gold chains while also enduring the restrictive pressure of eight different cloud layers. There was no way for it to keep attacking the formation, especially now that the power of the violet-gold chains had increased multifold and the clouds had grown more powerful as well.

“I can’t keep holding any longer either.” Autarch Titanos was similarly anxious. His black serpent was fighting back against the ninth and strongest cloud layer.

……

Deep within a giant palace inside the Grassland World. The red-robed man and the other two were seated here, head raised and staring past the dimensional barriers to see what was happening in the world outside.

Below them were a host of other figures, including the three Autarch-class void dwellers and a number of Sithe Exalts. Iyerre had a number of ‘spare’ Exalts who hadn’t been needed to control the various temples, and they had been assigned to the Grassland World. ‘Bowenya’ was here as well.

“Should we attack?” the black-robed man said in his cold voice.

“Not just yet.” The red-robed man frowned. “We still haven’t managed to locate the true bodies of the Autarchs yet. That sword is merely composed of energy and magic treasures! Now that we’ve ignited the quintessence core, they won’t be able to cause any further damage to our formations. Let’s wait for their true bodies to descend, then trap them inside. When they are inside, we’ll be ready to wrap this battle up.”

“Agreed.” The silver-robed woman nodded.

……

Ning and the others were indeed in a tough situation. The power of the nine cloud layers in the Grassland World had increased dramatically, while the violet-gold chains had become several times more powerful as well. They were finding it difficult to fight back.

“Withdraw.” The divine sword, previously capable of piercing through eight cloud layers, quickly retracted to the ninth cloud layer and then flew over to help the black serpent push at the rift. Once the rift was closed, all connection to the outside world be lost. They would no longer be able to control those treasures using mana or godsense, resulting in the collapse of the sword.

Riiiiiip. The divine sword was still mighty enough to tear the ninth layer of gray clouds open, but it was only able to tear a thousand-kilometer hole now.

“Iyerre has yet to make his move. That means he probably hasn’t arrived yet. This is a perfect opportunity which won’t come again. We need to seize this moment to destroy this weapon!” Autarch Stonerule sent mentally.

“I feel like we should have us attack in person now,” Autarch Ekong said.

“Agreed. However, we need to remain cautious. Our true bodies should just remain in the outermost layer of clouds and keep it open,” Autarch Titanos said. “We can’t go any deeper inside! Once we do, the Sithe will probably use certain tricks to keep us trapped in there. We’d be shut off from the outside world and unable to maintain our connection to the formation, at which point we would probably all be wiped out!”

Ning and the others were all wary of this possibility as well. They couldn’t afford to take a risk like that.

“Alright. Let’s make our moves.”

Just a short while later, a towering figure suddenly appeared within the void and strode towards the gray clouds. This vast figure was barefoot and almost completely naked, wearing just a fur loincloth. It had seven faces and fourteen arms! The face in front resembled that of Ning’s, while the three faces to the left side and the three faces to the right side resembled those of Autarch Titanos and the rest of the six. The towering figure’s body was covered with a blurry layer of sword-light, and the very act of walking caused it to emanate an aura of terrifying destructive force.

Ning and the others had such powerful bodies that they were strongest in close combat. This formation-incarnation was formed by the seven of them using the power of the outside formations, but led by Ning using his Omega Sword Dao. All seven of their true bodies were located inside this formation-incarnation. As soon as it had been created, it had emanated a natural aura of infinite sword-light. Every single movement it made was filled with ineffable might.

“Being responsible for this incarnation is incredibly taxing.” Ning could feel his entire body aching, as could Autarch Titanos and the others. Not only did they have to keep the giant formation in the outside world active while controlling the divine sword, they also had to physically join together in this vast formation-incarnation.

Splitting their energies three different ways like this was no easy task!

“While we keep the sword active, we’ll only be able to use 70% of this formation-incarnation’s power,” Ning mused to himself. From a tactical standpoint, they would become deadlier if they completely abandoned the sword and instead focused on pouring all of the formation’s energies into this incarnation, using 100% of its power! Still, it wasn’t yet necessary for them to take such a drastic step.

Riiiiip. The formation-incarnation strode forwards towards the grayish clouds, its fourteen arms reaching out simultaneously in ripping motions. The clouds around them quickly began to roil about as a vast area of ten thousand kilometers was torn open by it.

It was quite easy for the formation-incarnation to keep this rift open, freeing up the giant black serpent and the divine sword to continue stabbing downwards.

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Chapter 29 - Iyerre Cometh

Chapter 29 - Iyerre Cometh

Deep within the palace located in the depths of the Grassland World. The silver-robed woman waved her hand, causing an image to appear next to her which displayed what was happening in the world outside. “All of you look so nervous. Fine. We’ll let you see what’s happening outside. That way, you can tell Iyerre that the three of us are being diligent in our efforts.”

The three Autarch-class void dwellers and the Sithe Exalts all stared at the images next to her. They saw a towering, seven-faced titan dressed in just a fur loincloth reach out with fourteen arms. The arms were filled with absolutely unearthly power as they tore apart the ninth layer of clouds and then kept the rift open.

Aside from the titan, there was also the giant black serpent and the gigantic sword. The black serpent was under assault by nine violet-gold chains. The serpent was clearly finding it rather hard to endure the assault, even though streaks of sword-light were assisting it in resisting the chains.

As for the giant sword, it had pierced through the eight layers of clouds and was slamming against the runes and glyphs surrounding the conduit formation.

Slash! Slash! Slash! It was clear to everyone that by the time the sword had pierced through the eight layers of clouds, it had virtually exhausted all of its power and posed very little threat to the divine glyphs and runes. They didn’t even tremble!

“We’re in no danger.”

“After we ignited the quintessence core, these cultivators are no longer a threat to us,” Boweyna and the other Exalts agreed.

“The only thing they have which could threaten us is that titan. It has to be a formation-incarnation! Given its power, I imagine the cultivator leaders are located right inside of its body,” a skinny Sithe Exalt said. “We’ve ignited the quintessence core, but it’s still able to handle the ninth layer of clouds with ease. That means it has to be even more powerful than the sword!”

“Kiblo is right. Our greatest threat right now is that formation-incarnation,” another Sithe Exalt immediately agreed.

The two men and the woman at the front of the temple let out cold chuckles. The silver-robed woman explained, “Actually, our only worry is that the formation-incarnation will NOT come inside. If it dares to do so, we’ll be ready to launch a full-strength counterattack against it. We’ll do everything possible to cut off its connection to the outside world! Once that happens, it’ll no longer be reinforced by the might of the outside formations, at which point the incarnation, the black serpent, and the giant sword will all be dramatically weakened. Their fates will be in our hands!”

“Iyerre has already issued orders,” the black-robed man continued coldly, “To seize this opportunity to trap them inside the Grassland World. Once Iyerre arrives, we’ll launch our final killing strokes and annihilate them all.”

“But what if they don’t come inside?” a Sithe Exalt said.

“That’s why we aren’t attacking yet,” the black-robed man said. “The more power we display, the more vigilant they will be. Let’s just wait patiently. They’ll begin to grow impatient once they realize they cannot destroy the Grassland World, at which point they might charge inside.”

The Sithe Exalts below all murmured amongst themselves. These three clearly had completely different attitudes. The Exalts had to risk their lives and do everything in their power to fulfill Iyerre’s commands, while these three simply had to ‘do enough’. Still, this was indeed a good plan to lure the cultivators inside.

……

The outside world. As predicted, Ji Ning, Titanos, Stonerule, and the others were all feeling extremely anxious. They had already done everything they could, save for sending in their formation-incarnation, but they remained unable to destroy the formation.

“What should we do? If we continue like this, we stand no chance of victory at all,” Autarch Ekong said anxiously. “Should we take the risk of charging inside?”

“We cannot!” Autarch Skyfeeder immediately refused. “Right now, we hold the upper hand. It is the Sithe who cannot afford to waste time. They need to force a final battle as soon as possible. We, on the other hand, shouldn’t take on unnecessary risk!”

“Actually, we are drawing closer and closer to victory,” Autarch Titanos said suddenly.

“Eh?” Ning and the others were all startled.

“What is the greatest flaw which all powerful Sithe weapons share?” Autarch Titanos asked. “Energy! This Grassland World has to be using up an absolutely enormous amount of energy. You all saw how, after we destroyed the first conduit formation, the power of the entire Grassland World suddenly skyrocketed. Even the air itself is glowing with blue light, and we can all sense how much power that light holds within it.”

Ning and the others all nodded.

“Clearly, the energies of the Grassland World are being depleted at an incredible rate. In fact, it is literally leaking power!” Autarch Titanos continued, “When we first started to cause damage and attacked the conduit formation, the Grassland World didn’t have this sort of crazy response. Why? Precisely because of how much energy it would consume. They weren’t willing to pay such a heavy price unless absolutely necessary!”

“If we can force the Grassland World to continue depleting its energies at this rate, it’ll soon break apart on its own,” Autarch Titanos said with a smile.

“Right.”

“Once its energy source is gone, even the most powerful of weapons will become nothing more than a pile of refuse.”

“Let it continue using up its power source then.” All the other Autarchs agreed with this idea.

“Besides, Ekong,” Autarch Titanos continued, “Skyfeeder, Darknorth, and the others are unwilling to take the risk of going inside because they can sense that something isn’t quite right. When we first started to attack the world of grass, they initially sent out those three Autarch-class void dwellers to fight back against us. After those three fled, not a single Sithe has come out to stand in our way.”

“Do you really think such a vast world of grass wouldn’t have someone in control of it? Even ordinary temples have several Sithe Exalts and powerful golems protecting them. Does this world of grass really just have a few chains guarding it?” Autarch Titanos said.

“Yes, I have the feeling that something is off,” Ning said. “There’s no way such a powerful weapon would only be defended by a few chains.”

Autarch Titanos nodded. “That’s why I have the feeling that they are intentionally holding back to lure us inside. Once our true bodies go through the clouds, they’ll be ready to show their daggers. This would instantly become the final battle of this war… but the final battle has to be on a battlefield of our choosing, not this world of grass!”

“Agreed.” They would rather give up this opportunity than take on such enormous risk. So long as they remained alive, they were still ‘winning’ and would have a chance to gain a final victory in the future.

……

Ning and the others were of the same mind on this, and so they quickly calmed down. They continued to use the black serpent and the divine sword to assault the conduit formation, forcing the Grassland World to pay a heavy price in energy and keep the quintessence core ignited.

The Sithe continued to wait from their hiding place deep beneath the grass, waiting impatiently for the formation-incarnation to come inside… but the Autarchs simply refused to do so!

Time flowed on quickly. A full day went past in the blink of an eye.

The ignited quintessence core was consuming energy thousands of times more quickly than it normally would. This single day had cost it the equivalent of dozens of years of energy! This was an absolutely shocking rate of energy consumption, which was why the three had been so hesitant to ingnite the quintessence. This single day had caused the quintessence core to shrink by one full size.

Whoosh! A tall, barefoot man was striding through spacetime rifts, frantically advancing through the void. “I’m almost there.” Iyerre was both anxious and furious. His calculations indicated that the ignited quintessence core could only last for around three days. Normally, it would have been able to last for over a century! Now, however, it had lost nearly 40% of its power. How could he not be impatient?

“Damnit. They still haven’t gone inside!” He had paid such a heavy price, but with nothing to show for it! If the cultivator leaders had barged into the Grassland World, he would’ve ordered his subordinates to launch the final battle in order to keep them trapped there at all costs. By the time Iyerre himself reached the Grassland World, he would kill them all! Iyerre was absolutely certain of being able to kill them when the battlefield was within the Grassland World itself.

And yet… a full day had gone past. The cultivators had to know that they weren’t able to break the formation apart, but they refused to go inside!

Slash! After yet another warp through spacetime, he finally arrived at the scene of the battle. This entire region was covered by an enormous formation, but Iyerre appeared directly within its borders. As he did so, Ning and the others instantly sensed Iyerre’s appearance.

“It is Iyerre!” Ning and the others were all shocked.

“He’s simply incredible. Our formation should’ve suppressed spacetime, but he was able to tear through our suppression and warp through spacetime. The suppression was useless!”

“No wonder our seal against the Sithelands was completely useless.” Ning and the others were all stunned by Iyerre’s might. Omega Autarchs truly did surpass their insights by far too much.

“Hmph.” Iyerre stepped forward, tearing through spacetime once more and appearing in the grayish clouds which served as the outermost layer of the Grassland World. He then easily passed through the clouds to go inside.

Moments later, a wave of power swept across the entire Grassland World, including Autarch Bolin’s avatar which was hiding within via his ‘false death’ state.

“Neither dead nor alive? Is that Autarch Bolin? So my foolish subordinates weren’t able to kill you after all. It must have been you who revealed the Grassland World’s location.” As Iyerre’s voice rang out, he himself appeared on the first layer of clouds. He immediately reached out towards a patch of empty space, forcing it to suddenly reveal the avatar of Bolin which immediately began to flee.

Boom! The blue light of the Grassland World covered Iyerre, illuminating his body. Iyerre simply waved his hand, commanding the blue light to shoot out. When Ning and the other Autarchs fought, they could command the power of the Dao… and here in the Grassland World, Iyerre could command the power of that miniature quintessence. Although it couldn’t compare to the actual Quintessence of the Chaosverse in power, it was still enough to dramatically strengthen Iyerre.

Iyerre swung out a palm which surpassed both spacetime and the cycle of life and death. Bolin’s avatar had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, and it was instantly splattered into nothingness by that giant palm.

If Bolin had been here in person, he might’ve been able to endure for two or three strikes before falling. This avatar, however, was newly made and very weak. In the Grassland World, it was unable to withstand even a single blow from the empowered Iyerre.

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Chapter 1 - Extermination

The divine sword had pierced through all eight layers of clouds, and so Ji Ning and the others were able to see everything happening inside the Grassland World. They couldn’t help but feel shocked by Iyerre’s might. Bolin’s avatar was newly created and fairly weak, but for it to be destroyed in just a single blow was insane.

“Bolin, was your avatar actually destroyed?” Autarch Ekong asked, “Even though you are in control of the Samsara Daobirth Essence, you still weren’t able to escape?”

“It really was destroyed. Not even a scrap of energy was left,” Bolin said.

If even just a shred of his energy had managed to escape, he would have ‘survived’. This was much like how Bolin’s true body had been almost completely exterminated, but he had managed to survive at the border between life and death thanks to the Samsara Daobirth Essence. That tiny shred of life had entered the ‘false death’ state and hidden itself. Given that Bolin had access to nigh-infinite amounts of energy, he was able to quickly and soundlessly heal himself.

However, when Iyerre had attacked his avatar didn’t have any chance to escape at all.

“He’s become even more powerful,” Autarch Mogg said solemnly.

Ning nodded. “In this world of grass, his every strike is empowered by the blue energy of the surrounding area. He has indeed become more powerful here.”

……

“Neither dead nor alive… he’s managed to cut off all karmic links?” Iyerre had sought to use karma to link his strike and use it to attack Bolin’s true body, but it had been completely cut off from all karma and so the attack was unable to proceed.

“Damn.” Iyerre was in a foul mood. His specialty lay in light. Karma? Life and death? He wasn’t really skilled in either of these two Daos. As an Omega Autarch his insights into the Dao of Life and Death surpassed Bolin’s Samsara Daobirth Essence by just a hair.

As for destroying Bolin’s avatar? It made no difference at all, because the avatar was a new one. To destroy a peak avatar that took many years to strengthen would’ve been a resounding success, but a new avatar… Autarch Bolin would be able to recreate it in a twinkling!

“If you won’t come in, I’ll come for you!” Iyerre reached out with both hands. Whoosh! Whoosh! One enormous violet-gold chain after another began to clatter, their very auras transforming as they soared into the heavens. They seemed to transform into inviolable parts of heaven and earth which nothing could sunder. Moments later, their bodies began to glow with white light, and as they lashed out against the giant black serpent they seemed to represent the punishment of the supreme heavens.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The fish-like sword-light in front of the black serpent sought to block for it, but the violet-gold chains cracked them all apart. There was no way to defend at all.

“Not good. These chains just became even more powerful, far more powerful than they were previously. Our Karmic Wurm isn’t going to be able to withstand this.” Ning and the others were all shocked.

Swoosh! The enormous sword quickly shrank in size as it flew closer towards the giant black serpent, seeking to reinforce it. Inside the giant black serpent were their avatars, after all, and some of those avatar were at peak strength. There was no way Ning and the others wished to lose them.

As the divine sword flew over to reinforce the snake, the snake quickly retreated and attempted to flee. However, five more violet-gold chains lashed out towards the giant sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning and the rest of the seven had poured tremendous power into the giant sword, giving it incredible strength, but the five violet-gold chains were just as tenacious. The worst part was, their movements now became incredibly profound as well! Ning’s group clearly had a slight advantage in power, but the sword was still unable to shake off those violet-gold chains!

This was due to the difference in depths of insight between them and Iyerre. It was much like how three of those Autarch-class void dwellers had encircled Bolin to no avail. Even if they truly had attacked Bolin with their full power, they wouldn’t have been able to do anything to him. If your insights were lacking, you wouldn’t be able to defeat your foe unless you had an absolute advantage in personal strength.

The giant sword had been tied down by five violet-gold chains! As for the remaining four, they simultaneously struck out to attack the giant black serpent.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions rang out as they clashed again and again. The giant black serpent hurriedly fled while trying to defend as best it could, but the violet-gold chains were now being marvelously controlled by Iyerre and tremendously strengthened by the ignition of the world’s quintessence core! Although Autarch Titanos was in control of the black serpent and the five avatars worked in harmony to defend, the defensive perimeter was still breached after just one round of blows.

Riiiiiip. One of the serpentine heads was securely latched onto by a violet-gold chain, then physically ripped off!

Crack! Moments later, another serpentine head was delivered a furious blow from up high by a different violet-gold chain, and the force of the collision was so great that Autarch Ekong’s avatar (located inside the head) was completely destroyed.

In the blink of an eye, the four violet-gold chains’ furious attacks had caused the giant black serpent to completely collapse. All five avatars died in battle, with none being able to escape!

This caused Ning and the others to feel both sorrow and grief, but there was nothing they could do. It had all happened too quickly! As soon as Iyerre had returned, he had killed Bolin’s avatar and then immediately used those nine violet-gold chains to launch a series of consecutive attacks. There had been no chance to flee at all!

The Grassland World was a vast place, while spacetime was suppressed here. The black serpent needed to slowly fly away if it wished to escape, but Iyerre wasn’t going to give it the time needed. This was the exact reason why Ning and the others hadn’t dared to risk their true bodies inside.

Going in would be easy. Coming out would be very difficult!

“Flee.” The giant sword quickly fled backwards, while the nine violet-gold chains immediately swung to attack it. For a time, both sides appeared to be equal.

The giant sword was different from the black serpent. The sword had been formed from a complete merger of the energies of the seven Autarchs. This was far superior to the black serpent, which simply represented five Autarchs working together in harmony! The giant sword was a single whole and guided by Ning’s Sword Dao. Every single strike of the sword was filled with tremendous power, making it impossible for the nine violet-gold chains to defeat it, much less destroy it.

A short moment later, the giant sword flew out from the grayish clouds and escaped from the Grassland World.

Iyerre raised his head, glaring. If he had poured in all of his power he would’ve been able to prevent that sword from escaping, but there was no point. That sword had simply consisted of energy and some Universe treasures. Ning and the others could’ve quickly forged more Universe treasures to replace them.

“I should keep my true killer attacks hidden until the very end. It isn’t worth exposing it on just a few Universe treasures.” Iyerre raised his head, staring at the formation-incarnation in the skies.

The incarnation was staring at Iyerre as well. Moments later, it waved its arm and then retreated from the clouds as well. Whoooosh! The gray clouds quickly closed over, allowing the Grassland World to grow calm again.

……

The outside world. The great formation continued to cover the entire vast area surrounding the Grassland World.

Ji Ning, Titanos, Mogg, Bolin, Skyfeeder, Ekong, and Stonerule felt both sorrow and anger as they stared at the ovaloid Grassland World before them. Three of the five avatars they had just lost were peak-strength avatars, but they had been wiped out in just a twinkling. This taught them a lesson with regards to just how powerful Iyerre was once he joined together with the Grassland World.

In truth, Iyerre had carried the Grassland World with him in his mission to kill Ning. Alas, Ning managed to escape before he reached that temple! Thus, Iyerre had chosen to separate from his Grassland World and gone Autarch-hunting! Autarch Mogg had managed to survive thanks to his Golden Bridge of Freedom, while Autarch Bolin had nearly died while only barely surviving thanks to comprehending the Samsara Daobirth ESssence at the critical moment.

“Iyerre and the Grassland World combine to form a much more deadly opponent,” Titanos said.

“He has a far higher level of insight than us.” Stonerule slowly shook his head.

“So what if he does? We’ll kill anyone who dares to invade our Chaosverse, even if it costs us our very lives.” Autarch Stonerule gritted his teeth.

Right at this moment… boom! The ovaloid ‘Grassland World’ quickly shrank in size inside the formation. Moments later, a spacetime rift appeared next to it. Swoosh! It flew straight into the spacetime rift. This caused Ning and the others to feel their hearts lurch. They had suspected all along that their formations were unable to bind Iyerre, but seeing it with their own eyes was still rather demoralizing.

“Wait, he didn’t leave yet!” Ning and the others turned to stare at the rift which had just appeared outside the reach of their formation. The ovaloid Grassland World had actually just flown out there!

“Cultivator leaders, did you think that I had fled? No, no. How could I flee?” Iyerre’s voice echoed throughout every inch of the void. “ Let’s see just how powerful your formations are.”

“BREAK!!!” Iyerre let out a furious shout, and those nine violet-gold chains suddenly appeared on the surface of the ovaloid object. The violet-gold chains expanded in size, each becoming a trillion kilometers in length as they swept through the void with ineffable majesty. With Iyerre in control of them and with the ignited quintessence strengthening them, they began to furiously smash down upon Ning’s enormous formation! Iyerre was able to immediately see the flaws in this formation and so his every attack was aimed at a weak spot.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire formation immediately began to shudder as a level of power comparable to the divine sword’s began to hammer down upon its various weak spots. This wasn’t a defensive formation; there was only so much punishment it could take!

“Let’s leave for now.” Ning and the others were all quite patient. All of them had prepared escape-type treasures, and they had also opened up a spacetime tunnel within the formation itself.

Whoosh! Ning and the others immediately flew into the spacetime corridor and departed.

1. In China, the plum blossom symbolizes perseverance, hope, and beauty.

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Chapter 2 - Weakness, Hunt

Book 45, Chapter 2 - Weakness, Hunt

Now that Ji Ning and the other Autarchs were no longer actively maintaining the grand formation which covered this region, it quickly crumbled beneath the strikes of the violet-golden chains.

A short while later, four figures emerged from the grayish clouds which constituted the surfaced of the ovaloid Grassland World. It was Iyerre and his three allies.

“They fled,” the silver-robed woman murmured softly. “Iyerre, this is their homeland. These cultivators can fight or flee as they please. If we aren’t able to trap them, we won’t be able to kill them at all.”

“They are all extremely wily. As soon as the odds turn against them, they immediately flee.” The red-robed man frowned as well.

“I agree with everything you two just said.” Iyerre nodded. Killing Ning and the Autarchs would be very difficult, because they all fled at the first sign of bad news! Iyerre was constantly being suppressed by this local Chaosverse, and so once they fled in unison he wouldn’t be able to chase them down.

He could suppress spacetime to make it impossible for them to flee, then warp through spacetime after them… but as he tried to warp close enough to do this, ripples would be generated. Once Ning and the others sensed this, they would instantly flee far away. Iyerre still wouldn’t be able to catch them.

The reason why he had been able to do this to Mogg was because he had gotten close enough to use something akin to a domain-field to prevent Mogg from escaping. Now that Ning and the others were all together and working in concert, Iyerre’s domain would no longer be able to bind them any longer.

In other words… neither speed, suppression of spacetime, nor domains would work. There was nothing which could actually trap Ning and the others. They could come and go as they pleased! It must be remembered that the native Autarchs were in no hurry to conclude the war right away. The longer it dragged on for, the better. If it somehow dragged on for a few million chaos cycles, their Chaosverse would have given birth to another batch of experts that might include new Autarchs or Omega Emperors!

Now that the cultivators had the ‘Truesoul Everlasting’, the rate at which they produced Autarchs would naturally increase significantly.

“They are slippery and cautious. They won’t give us a chance to catch them,” Iyerre said. “Our plan was to use the sudden appearances of myself and the Grassland World to achieve dramatic successes, but in the end both failed. However… in the end, none of it matters. I’ve fully mapped out all possibilities for this entire war. They won’t be able to escape their fate. In the end, we shall still win this war.”

His three allies were rather puzzled. Such self-confidence… where did it stem from? If they couldn’t even catch or hunt down their foes, how were they supposed to beat them?

“Let me repeat myself. I’ve fully mapped out ALL possibilities for this entire war,” Iyerre said with a smile. “Have you forgotten that I sent out the Annihilation Hive at the very beginning of this war?”

“The Annihilation Hive?” The three were startled.

“Haven’t the cultivators already discovered a way to counteract the Annihilation Hive? It’s no longer functioning, right?” the silver-robed woman asked curiously.

“Imbecile.” Iyerre glanced sideways at her. “I released the Annihilation Hive for two reasons. The first was on the off-chance that I might be able to gain total victory if it succeeded in devouring a great deal of this Chaosverse’s energies and caused it to weaken enough for me to take over. This objective failed… but the second objective was the true objective.”

“I sent it out to make it the most lethal weak point in this entire Chaosverse for the cultivators!” Iyerre’s eyes flashed coldly. “Right now, a single one of their avatars is responsible for maintaining the formation that is tying down the Annihilation Hive. All we need to do is charge towards it and destroy the avatar inside the Annihilation Hive, at which point it will start to function again!”

“The Annihilation Hive will once more begin to devour the energies from the Chaosverse, causing it to weaken! The cultivator leaders will be forced to try and stop us. They can’t just sit back and watch as their Chaosverse wastes away… which means that so long as we wait for them at the Annihilation Hive, they’ll be forced to come to us! They’ll obediently step into the battlefield we have parepared.” Iyerre smiled.

The silver-robed woman and the other two revealed looks of delight. They had thought that the Annihilation Hive was of no further use now that it had been counteracted. They hadn’t fully thought through all the other implications.

“Impressive. So long as the Annihilation Hive continues to function, the cultivators will be forced to come and assault it no matter how reluctant they may be. We don’t need to do anything at all. They’ll come to us!” the red-robed man chuckled.

“Let’s go wipe them out in the battlefield of our choosing,” the black-robed man said grimly.

“No rush.” Iyerre smiled. “A war must be carried out step-by-step. You might see an occasional setback, but if you fully planned for all possibilities then you’ll still end up the ultimate victor.”

“Right now, what we need to do is strengthen our forces! Let’s go rescue those trapped Exalts first,” Iyerre said.

Slash! Violet-gold chains began to fly out towards the still-trapped Nine Cicadas Temple. The sealing formation surrounding it was nothing more than a joke to Iyerre. A mere heartbeat later the seemingly-complicated formation had been completely undone, granting the nine Sithe Exalts freedom once more.

The nine Exalts immediately flew over. When they saw Iyerre standing atop the distant gray clouds, they hurriedly bowed: “Almighty Iyerre!”

“Come here. We shall head to the next location.” Iyerre nodded. The Sithe Exalts immediately put away the Nine Cicadas Temple and flew into the Grassland World.

Moments later, the Grassland World once more tore through spacetime and vanished. As soon as it did, a group of figures suddenly appeared off in the distance. It was Ji Ning, Autarch Titanos, and the others. The seven of them hadn’t fled too far through spacetime. They had quickly warped back in secret to scry this place from nearby.

Their movements didn’t cause any disturbances, because they were protected rather than rejected by the Chaosverse. In fact, they were even able to borrow the Chaosverse’s energies to ‘watch’ their opponents from afar!

It was Ning’s primary responsibility to ‘watch’ them, as he was extremely skilled in spacetime and well-rounded in many other areas. Given that he was within his own Chaosverse, simply keeping watch on someone from afar was quite simple.

“We were ambushed by them previously. There’s no way we’re going to let them just disappear again. We have to keep tabs on their location at all times,” Autarch Titanos said. “All of our avatars have been destroyed, which means we have no choice but to simply send our true bodies to carry out this task. Darknorth, for now we’ll have to trouble you to carry this out as the rest of us work on remaking our avatars.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. The others had all lost their avatars, while his was still in the Annihilation Hive and in peak condition.

Ning could still sense them from afar. He could follow the ripples generated by the Grassland World warping through spacetime and ‘see’ where it was heading.

Whoosh! Ning began to warp through spacetime with the other six in tow, maintaining a distance of roughly a realmverse from the Grassland World. To Ning, a realmverse of distance was nothing at all. His godsense alone vastly outstripped this, and when he relied upon the powers of the Chaosverse and his link to the prime essences he was able to ‘watch’ from an even more ridiculously great distance.

So long as the two sides maintained a distance of just a realmverse away, Iyerre wouldn’t be able to easily detect Ning thanks to the Chaosverse constantly suppressing his powers.

While Ning continued to pursue the Grassland World, Titanos and the others created their new avatars. These avatars merely had 50% of their true power, which was the best they could do on such short notice.

“Judging from the direction they are taking, they should be going to go rescue another temple,” Ning sent.

“Then let us destroy it in advance,” Autarch Titanos said. “Given our power, we are completely capable of working together to destroy the temples in a short period of time.”

Previously, they hadn’t considered the temples to be much of a threat. They didn’t want to attack the temples and reveal the techniques they could use when fighting together, as this would give their opponents a chance to prepare for them in the future. The reveal had to be reserved for the Grassland World… and in the end, they had successfully destroyed one of the conduit formations and forced the ignition of its quintessence core!

“Let’s keep following the Grassland World. Whenever it tries to rescue a temple, we’ll fly up ahead and destroy that temple,” Autarch Ekong said with a cold smile. “We warp through spacetime far faster than that thing does.”

Ning and the others held a significant advantage in both flying speed and warping speed. Even Iyerre was able to just barely meet Autarch standards of speed in warping through spacetime, but of course this was because he was being heavily suppressed by the local Chaosverse.

……

The cultivators spent nearly a month travelling at high speed. In about six or so days, the Grassland World would reach a new temple.

“Skyfeeder, Mogg, the two of you should have your avatars continue to track the Grassland World’s movements. Make sure you know where it is at all times. Don’t lose sight of it!” Out of an abundance of caution, Autarch Titanos gave this task to Skyfeeder and Mogg. The two of them were skilled in time and space, respectively. “The rest of us will head out and move towards the nearest temple at maximum speed and use all our power to destroy it.”

“Alright.” The avatars of Mogg and Skyfeeder were both extremely confident.

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Chapter 3 - Skycleaver Stance

A great star-like temple was silently floating within the Great Dark, surrounded by formations and flowing barriers that surrounded it and kept it completely sealed away.

Riiiip. A rift in the darkness appeared, followed by Ji Ning and the rest of the seven emerging from within it.

“Let’s begin.” Ning, Titanos, and the others exchanged smiling glances.

“This will be the first time we have the Sword Titan release its full power in battle,” Ning said with a laugh. All of them began to pour energy into the formation-bases they were holding. Boom! They quickly summoned the awesome power of the Chaosverse, which began to swiftly condense into the form of a nearly nude giant who was clad in just a fur loincloth. This titan stood there in the Great Darkness, his long dark hair spilling across his shoulders.

He had two arms and a face which looked similar to Ning’s but had more of the cold, pure remorselessness of the Dao of the Sword.

The Sword Titan had two different ‘modes’. The first mode was the seven-faced, fourteen-armed mode they had used previously. This mode used up more energy but it had so much power that the other six Autarchs could each be responsible for controlling two arms as well.

The second mode was this mode. It had just a single face and two arms.

Ning and the others had already concluded that they would have to fight together during the final battle. If they had enough time, they would of course set up formations to prepare the battlefield. Before the battle near the Nine Cicadas Temple, they had actually spent nearly a month setting up that grand formation (the ‘real’ time they spent was 100x as much). However, oftentimes battles would break out suddenly and without warning, giving you no chance to slowly establish the formations you needed.

During such times, they would need to make use of mobile formations they could carry with them. They would have to shrink the size of the formation while preserving as much of its power as possible… and so they developed the ‘second mode’ of the Sword Titan!

The second mode was activated by the various formation-bases which Ning and the others carried with them at all times. It allowed them to summon the power of the Chaosverse and then materialize this body. Given that it had access to less power, they had to be a bit more sparing with their energy usage and so they only kept the two strongest arms which Ning controlled.

The two arms which Ning was in control of was where most of the power of the entire Sword Titan was concentrated. More than 90% of the power was there!

“Gentlemen, let us use the Skycleaver stance in cracking this temple,” Ning said.

“Alright.” The other six understood and agreed.

Rumble… the loincloth-clad Sword Titan strode through the void, a longsword appearing within one of its hands. This was one of Ning’s Northbow swords.

Autarch Titanos, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Mogg, Autarch Stonerule, Autarch Ekong, and Autarch Bolin were inside the Sword Titan. They immediately unleashed their various techniques, filling the Sword Titan’s body with their six roaring streams of energy. Under Ning’s guidance, all of the different energies merged perfectly into the Omega Sword Dao, allowing the Sword Titan to unleash the most powerful of its many fusion attacks – the Skycleaver stance!

Whoosh! The Sword Titan’s two hands came together to grasp the Northbow sword in a double grip, then lifted it high into the air. A heartbeat later, it brought the Northbow sword down in an utterly indomitable chop towards the trapped astral temple before them.

Boom! Crack! The entire astral temple began to shudder. This strike destroyed three of the six formations protecting it, and even the remaining three formations were shuddering as explosions rang out across the temple.

“What in the world is happening outside?”

“Didn’t almighty Iyerre say that he’s about to arrive and save us? Why are our formations collapsing?!” The seven Sithe Exalts inside all felt quite terrified, but the formations sealing them in here prevented them from seeing what was happening outside. All they could sense was that just now, an incomparably sharp power had come crashing down upon them and had nearly blasted the entire temple apart.

“Kill!” The Sword Titan delivered a second chop, then a third chop. Every single blow was filled with utterly terrifying power.

The reason why these two arms were the ‘strongest’ arms was precisely because these were the arms which Ning was in control of. The other six Autarchs worked together to unleash their Daos, while Ning guided the power of their Daos into ‘his’ two arms to unleash the most powerful of attacks. If they were in the ‘first mode’ with fourteen arms, the other Autarchs would individually control the other twelve arms. However, they were unable to make perfect use of their colleagues’ energies. They were only able to mobilize a fraction of it.

In other words, those twelve arms combined weren’t nearly as strong as the two arms which Ning controlled. Thus, even when the Sword Titan was at ‘peak’ power, more than 90% of its strength came from these two ‘primary’ arms!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Quick, go into lockdown mode!”

“Completely seal the temple off from outside attacks!” The Sithe Exalts within the temple were panicking like mad. The formations had already been disposed of. Now, their only choice was to try and use the natural sturdiness of the temple itself to defend against these attacks.

Ning’s Sword Titan did not elect to blink inside the temple. Instead, the sword Titan continued to launched frenzied blows from outside using the Skycleaver stance! Every single strike contained the full power from seven Autarch-class combatants which had been perfectly fused together via the Eternal Omega Sword Dao.

This was a level of power that far surpassed that of the ‘giant sword’ and the ‘black serpent’ which had fought in the Grassland World, and it was also mightier than the violet-gold chains.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The temple was even sturdier than Universe weapons, but after nearly a hundred blows it finally began to crumble. Moments later it completely blew apart, with the Sithe Exalts inside being reduced to dust by the leftover power from the final Skycleaver stance. This was as to be expected – even the Autarchs, the creators of the Skycleaver stance, would’ve been destroyed in one blow from this overwhelmingly powerful fusion attack.

“That felt incredible! Unleashing the full power of the Sword Titan was a wonderful feeling.” The Sword Titan broke apart, revealing the figures of the seven. Autarch Ekong was particularly excited by what they had just done.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much fun. The Skycleaver stance truly is astonishingly powerful,” Autarch Titanos said with a smile.

“In my opinion, all the various techniques and trump cards we have accumulated over the aeons should make it so that we are entirely capable of fighting the Grassland World head-on,” Autarch Ekong said. “Last time, we retreated before we really had a chance to test ourselves. That was irritating! I think we were entirely capable of winning if we fought them head-on.”

Ning shook his head. “Don’t underestimate the Sithe.”

“Darknorth is right. There’s no need for us to risk ourselves like that. The longer we can delay the final battle, the greater our advantage shall be. We need to slowly bide our time and allow our natural advantage to accumulate into an overwhelming one. You need patience to win a war,” Autarch Titanos said. “We don’t need to be anxious. It is the Sithe, it is Iyerre, who need to be anxious!”

Both sides were led by wily old bastards who had been alive for unfathomable ages. Both had plenty of patience. Iyerre, for example, had made preparations for all possibilities. Even though he had encountered repeated setbacks, he felt certain that it wouldn’t impact the grand scheme of things. He knew that victory would be his.

The cultivators, in turn, knew what their own advantages and disadvantages were. If they could make maximum use of their advantages, they’ll gain victory in the end.

……

“Eh?” Iyerre was seated in the lotus position on the grass within the Grassland World, which was hurtling through spacetime. Suddenly, his face tightened. He could sense that the auras of the seven Sithe Exalts he had been planning to rescue had suddenly vanished.

“Dead?” Iyerre frowned. “Did the cultivators somehow predict that we were going to go rescue them and so moved ahead of us to destroy the temple and kill the Exalts?”

He began to feel rather suspicious. “Let’s head in another direction.” Iyerre immediately sent the Grassland World to move towards a different temple, the Six Seals Temple.

Half a month went past. Iyerre had yet to reach the Six Seals Temple, but he could sense that it had also been destroyed. This caused his face to darken.

After another half-month, the final remaining temple was also destroyed, with the six Sithe Exalts within being slaughtered.

“Damn. This Chaosverse continues to suppress us, making it so that we cannot warp through spacetime as fast as those weak natives. In fact… are they perhaps following us in secret?” Iyerre was quite irritated, but there was nothing he could do. He was at an environmental disadvantage here. “Fine then. The Exalts didn’t make too much of a difference. We shall still win without them.”

“Hear my orders.” Iyerre’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire Grassland World. His three colleages, the Autarch-class void dwellers, and the Exalts including Bowenya all heard his voice.

“We are heading to the Annihilation Hive right away! The cultivators must fight us, which means they must engage us in battle. There’s no way for them to avoid this! They’ll have to battle us to the end… which means that this is the last battle. If we win, we’ll have achieved victory and I, Iyerre, promise to give you everything you desire. If we lose, none of you will survive.” Iyerre’s face was cold and calm, and his voice was very peaceful as well, but his subordinates all shivered when they heard it.

Whoosh! The Grassland World suddenly changed directions once more, moving towards the Annihilation Hive!

It was possible that the cultivators were secretly following them from behind, but Iyerre didn’t care. He was going to head straight towards his target openly. The cultivators might know what he was doing, but it wouldn’t matter. They would still have to come and fight him!

……

The avatars of Autarch Skyfeeder and Autarch Mogg were charged with following the Grassland World. After following its new trajectory for over half a day, they were able to realize where the Grassland World was now headed.

“The Annihilation Hive?” The two avatars traded a glance in the darkness. Both of them understood what the Sithe were planning, and they couldn’t help but turn pale.

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Chapter 4 - Within the Annihilation Hive

“The Sithe are heading for the Annihilation Hive?” Ji Ning, Titanos, Mogg, Skyfeeder, Stonerule, Bolin, and Ekong fell silent. They stood there within the Great Dark, staring at each other.

Titanos said in a low voice, “I imagine you all know what their plan is. They are going to go to the Annihilation Hive and destroy Darknorth’s avatar! That will allow the Annihilation Hive to continue devouring power from our Chaosverse. We have to fight them there. We can’t let it just continue to weaken our Chaosverse unabated. Yes… we have no other options.”

“We do have another option!” Hard light flashed through Autarch Ekong’s eyes. “We’re faster than them. Let’s get to the Annihilation Hive first and destroy its quintessence core!”

“Destroy the sphere of annihilation?” The others were all intrigued.

“Is it possible?” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. Ning knew more about it than anyone else present.

“The quintessence of the Annihilation Hive holds the mysteries of a type of destruction which I have named ‘Oblivion’ within it. It is incomparably profound and also tremendously powerful. I’m not even close to being strong enough to destroy it,” Ning said. “However… when we work together, we are also tremendously powerful. Perhaps we might just manage to destroy it after all.”

“We have to! Once we destroy the sphere of annihilation, they’ll have nothing to threaten us with,” Autarch Ekong said eagerly.

“Destroy the sphere of annihilation.”

“When we join forces, we are virtually unstoppable. We were able to crush entire temples in head-on attacks. I refuse to believe we can’t crack that thing!” Autarch Bolin’s eyes were filled with malevolence as well.

None of them wanted to be led around by the nose by their foes!

However, they all knew that it was uncertain as to whether or not they would be able to damage the ‘sphere of annihilation’. It was a completely foreign object that they knew nothing about… but they had to make the attempt! If they succeeded, they’d celebrate. If they failed, then they would have to go stop the Sithe!

“I hope this works.” Ning looked at his six comrades, silently praying to himself as he did. His avatar had been analyzing the sphere of annihilation for many years, and the more he understood the more nervous he felt.

“Come. Let us go to the Annihilation Hive!” They immediately began to speed towards the Annihilation Hive at maximum speed.

Roughly one month later, they finally reached the Annihilation Hive. Iyerre’s team was still far away; they’d probably need over half a month before they would arrive.

“The Annihilation Hive.” The seven of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the great hive before them. It remained vast beyond measure, but the sucking power from it was now much weaker than when it was at full power. It was still able to destroy the raw darkness in the area around it, but the energies released by the destroyed darkness all returned to the prime essences of the Chaosverse. There was no way to steal them away at all.

“Let’s try and see if we can destroy the entire thing first,” Autarch Titanos said. “If we can, we don’t need to worry about destroying the sphere of annihilation.”

The sphere of annihilation, by itself, didn’t have the power to forcibly take energy from an entire Chaosverse. It was all thanks to the formation supporting it that made this possible.

“Darknorth.” Bolin looked at Ning.

“Let’s try using the Skycleaver stance with full power,” Ning said. The Skycleaver stance wasn’t necessarily the best technique to use in actual combat, but it was definitely the best for causing destruction.

Soon, the towering, loincloth-clad Sword Titan once more appeared within the emptiness of space. He strode towards the behemoth hive, glowing with pure sword-intent. Every single movement he made radiated power and destruction, and he quickly reached the surface of the behemoth hive. He then drew an enormous sword with his right hand.

“Skycleaver stance!” The Sword Titan held the sword in a two-handed grip, lifting it up high over his head. The six Autarchs began to use their various techniques, allowing Ning to guide their different Daos to merge together and unleash the Skycleaver stance! This was actually just one stance of an entire set of sword-arts which Ning had created for them.

Boom! The divine sword came crashing down, shattering spacetime and splintering the Five Elements. It destroyed all in its path as it came crashing down with absolutely terrifying power towards the surface of the Annihilation Hive.

Boom! A massive explosion occurred, causing even the enormous behemoth hive to tremble. As for Ning’s Sword Titan? A powerful counter-force pushed back against him, sending it stumbling a few steps backwards in space.

It was simply too powerful. Not even Ning’s Sword Dao was able to completely deflect this counter-force, and so the Sword Titan had to endure much of it.

“How does it look? Any cracks?”

“Did we cause any damage to it?” Ning and the others carefully inspected the behemoth hive while asking each other the same question. They were all hoping that the thing had been at least slightly damaged. Even the tiniest of cracks would symbolize that if they continued to hammer away at it, they would be able to completely destroy it in time. Alas, none of them could discover any cracks at all, which was why they were all asking the others if they saw anything.

“Nothing.”

“I can’t find any. I don’t see any damage at all.” Their hearts all began to sink.

“Let’s try a few more attacks and see if that does anything,” Autarch Titanos said.

“Alright.” Ning and the others nodded. They once more joined forces, having the Sword Titan raise its sword up high for the Skycleaver stance once more.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Sword Titan delivered the terrifying Skycleaver stance again and again, furiously smoting the Annihilation Hive and causing it to shudder and even fly backwards.

……

Deep within a three-hundred meter hidden space inside the Annihilation Hive, there was a formation-base with a long-haired man seated in the lotus position atop it. The long-haired man’s hair was half black and half white, and he was nervously keeping track of the hive’s status.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Every single explosion caused the entire Annihilation Hive to shudder.

“Who is attacking the Annihilation Hive from outside?” Exalt Anitya was rather startled and nervous. He was only able to see what was happening within the hive; he was unable to see the outside world. “The entire Annihilation Hive is actually trembling. This level of power far surpasses what Emperor Darknorth can accomplish. Can it be that the cultivator leaders have joined forces?”

Exalt Anitya was rather nervous, but a short while later the attacks came to a halt.

“They dealt over a thousand strikes, but they weren’t able to even scratch the Annihilation Hive.” Exalt Anitya let out a sigh of relief. The Annihilation Hive was one of the most important Sithe trump cards, and it had been just as expensive to create as the Grassland World. It was far more powerful than the various temples. It wouldn’t be easy to destroy it!

“Hm. Outsiders have just come inside.” Exalt Anitya stared at the images which appeared before him. They displayed a stream of power that flew inside the hive and towards its core hive. The light and power surrounding the figure was so blinding that Exalt Anitya was unable to see who it was.

“I have to report this.” Exalt Anitya immediately contacted Iyerre. The formation-base below him slowly began to swivel as a pillar of light appeared. A figure appeared within the pillar of light which solidified into the seated form of Iyerre.

Exalt Anitya rose and bowed respectfully: “Almighty Iyerre, new invaders have entered the Annihilation Hive. They tried to assault the hive from outside, and they attacked over a thousand times with shocking levels of power. However, they still weren’t able to even scratch the Annihilation Hive!”

“Mm.” Iyerre’s eyes flashed coldly. “Someone actually dared to assault the Annihilation Hive? It must haver been those cultivator leaders working together.”

“They are moving closer and closer towards the core. They’ll reach the sphere of annihilation soon. Will they be able to destroy it?” Exalt Anitya was worried.

“Just keep watching. Don’t take any other action,” Iyerre said.

“Alright,” Exalt Anitya said respectfully.

Whoosh. The pillar of light vanished.

……

Within the behemoth hive. Ning and the other Autarchs had already reached the black pyramid located at the center of the vortex of astral clouds, reuniting with Ning’s avatar.

“So this is the sphere of annihilation?” Autarch Ekong stared at the nearby shadowy black orb, which continued to devour everything surrounding it. It was like an endless hole that swallowed and destroyed all things! It embodied the essence of ‘Oblivion’, causing the Autarchs to feel a sense of trepidation when they looked at it.

“What type of profound mysteries does this thing hold, for it to be able to destroy all things? It seems as though there is nothing whatsoever which surpasses it,” Autarch Stonerule said softly.

They had attuned to many different Daos before, but the mysteries embodied by this sphere of annihilation were more profound than any they had ever studied. It eclipsed all Daos they had seen. The so-called ‘Omega Daos’ and ‘Daobirth Essences’… they would all be devoured and destroyed by this power of ‘Oblivion’.

“My avatar has been meditating here for many years and is able to replicate a bit of Oblivion’s power.” Ning shook his head. “But I still do not understand its true nature.”

“My Destruction Daobirth Essence is shallow and crude in comparison,” Autarch Ekong sighed.

“Iyerre might be at the same level of insight as this ‘Oblivion’ Dao,” Autarch Mogg said. “But maybe not. He’s so far above us that we cannot judge him accurately.”

Omega Autarchs had extremely profound levels of insight, perhaps as profound as the mysteries of Oblivion. Both were far beyond the likes of these seven to comprehend.

“In the end, it is simply a naturally-occuring quintessence core. It’s unable to fight back against us. The seven of us, when working together, can summon the power of the Chaosverse itself. We should be able to destroy it,” Autarch Ekong said.

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Chapter 5 - Laughter

Ji Ning and the rest of the seven stared at the shadowy black orb. There was utter stillness. Even their auras seemed to have frozen. All of them had experienced countless things as they had ascended the path of cultivation to reach their current heights, but they now felt a sense of tremendous pressure.

This sphere of annihilation was an inimical threat to their entire Chaosverse. If they could destroy it then things would be much simpler… but if they failed, they would have no choice to begin the final, deadly battle.

The seven of them exchanged a glance, nodding silently to each other. They were out of options. They had already tried to destroy both the behemoth hive and the black tower, but they were unable to do so! Now, their last chance lay in attacking the ‘sphere of annihilation’ at the center of the tower.

Rumble… an awesome amount of the Dao’s power was being gathered here, with Ning and the rest of the seven guiding it to form the towering, loincloth-clad titan. They simply didn’t have enough time to set up the full formation, as the Sithe would be arriving in nearly half a month. Using the second mode of the Sword Titan was the best they could do.

“Destroy the sphere of annihilation!” The Sword Titan strode through the air, a greatsword appearing within his hands.

“Attack!” Ning ordered. Within the Sword Titan, the six Autarchs immediately began to unleash their most powerful attacks. Six massive streams of energy quickly began to course through the Sword Titan’s body, then slowly began to coalesce into one. The Sword Titan lifted up its arms, double-gripping a massive greatsword and then delivering a furious blow towards the shadowy orb before it.

As the sword chopped out, it destroyed all the different types of energy that were in its path, reducing them to nothingness. This was the Skycleaver stance!

“It has to break.” Ning and the rest of the six watched hopefully.

BOOM! The sword smote furiously upon the shadowy orb, which instantly began to twist and distort. The power of this sword was simply too great! The orb was distorted, transforming from being a perfectly round globe into an ovaloid shape. Some cracks actually began to appear at its edges as the sword slashed right through it.

“Did we succeed?” When Ning and the others saw the black orb elongate and crack, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of wild excitement. But then… their hearts turned cold. The shadowy black orb once more returned to its normal spherical shape, continuing to devour everything around it while the cracks went back to normal.

“Try again!” Autarch Titanos commanded desperately.

“Again!” Nint gritted his teeth. He truly didn’t wish to admit defeat!

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Sword Titan began to strike again and again against the shadowy black orb, each strike filled with such incredible power that the black orb repeatedly cracked apart… but each time, it quickly healed afterwards and then continued to devour away at its surroundings. It wasn’t weakened in the slightest.

After striking several thousand times, Ning and the others finally gave up. Their hearts were ice-cold. The Sword Titan vanished, revealing the bodies of Ning and the other six. They all stared silently at the shadowy black orb.

A long silence ensued. Suddenly, Ning spoke out: “We haven’t failed yet.”

“Eh?” The other six looked at Ning. They had already attacked with all their might. Could it be that Daolord Darknorth had another suggestion?

“Bolin… ever since you mastered the Samsara Daobirth Essence, I’ve been ruminating on creating a new sword-art,” Ning said. “When we came together to form the Sword Titan, the Skycleaver stance we used was based off a sword-art I created which was meant to use the Space Daobirth Essence, Time Daobirth Essence, Claw Daobirth Essence, Illusion Daobirth Essence, Destruction Daobirth Essence, and Karma Daobirth Essence!”

“It employs six types of Daobirth Essences… but now, brother Bolin, you have also mastered the Samsara Daobirth Essence. I think I can create an even more powerful set of sword-arts which employs seven different Daobirth Essences, which would make our Sword Titan even more powerful.”

Titanos, Bolin, and the others were all delighted by this. Right! Their sword-art was based off of u sing six Daobirth Essences. There was no reason why they couldn’t upgrade it to use seven instead!

“I already have the rough outline of this sword-art in my mind,” Ning said, “But I’ve still bee in the process of perfecting it. Give me enough time to finish it and make it even more powerful!”

“Alright.”

“I’ll accelerate time for you.”

“Take it at your own pace, Darknorth. Don’t try to rush. We still have more than half a month.”

Titanos and the others instantly worked to assist him. If he was able to create a new sword-art, even if it wasn’t enough to destroy the sphere of annihilation it would still strengthen their Sword Titan and make it more formidable during the battle to come.

Autarch Skyfeeder took over the responsibility for accelerating time, letting Ning calmly set his mind upon perfecting this sword-art. Ning himself had long ago mastered the Samsara Sword Dao. All he had to do was to link it to Bolin’s Daobirth Essence, which was fairly easy. However, what Ning was trying to do was to perfect this technique and make it eaven more powerful! He actually had Titanos and the others try the new stance out, then went back to continue working at it.

Time flowed on, one day after another. The power of this new fusion sword-art grew increasingly mighty. Meanwhile, the avatars of Mogg and Skyfeeder continued to follow Iyerre’s Grassland World, ready to report anything that needed reporting.

“You still have two more days before Iyerre’s world of grass arrives here,” Mogg said.

“I’ve already completed the sword-art.” Ning nodded. “I won’t be able to make any improvements unless I’m given another ten thousand years.”

There were a total of four stances to this fusion sword-art! Their names renamed unchanged: Skycleaver stance, Brightcave stance, Dawnmoon stance, and World stance.

“Now that my Omega Sword Dao is guiding seven different types of Daobirth Essences when using this sword-art, the power has increased by nearly 30% compared to before,” Ning said. Titanos and the others were delighted to hear this. Given how powerful the Sword Titan was, increasing its power by even a tiny bit was extremely difficult. A 30% increase was absolutely incredible! This was primarily due to the fact that the Samsara Daobirth Essence was an extremely powerful Daobirth Essence to begin with, one which empowered the new sword-art tremendously.

“Let us begin.” The seven exchanged glances, then stared at the distant shadowy orb. They activated the various formation-bases they were carrying, summoning the power of the Chaosverse and converting it to form the loincloth-clad Sword Titan. The Sword Titan hefted a greatsword, once more preparing to unleash its supremely powerful Skycleaver stance! This time, of course, it was the new version of the Skycleaver stance.

Seven different streams of Daobirth Essence power coursed through the Sword Titan. Ning was able to easily unite the seven streams into a single hole, forming his Omega Sword Dao with their powers.

“Skycleaver stance.”

The Sword Titan once more chopped down at the shadowy orb, but this time it was noticeably more powerful than before. Boom! Boom! Boom! The divine sword plunged deep into the shadowy orb, causing a series of explosions to ring out. The black orb began to crack and shatter in many different places as the sword went into the orb and out the other side.

The black orb looked heavily damaged, but some invisible law once more pulled it back together. It quickly returned to its normal shape and began to once more calmly devour everything around it.

“Still no permanent damage?” Ning could hardly believe his eyes. They launched another hundred strikes, but the result was the same. Each time, the black orb looked as though it was so heavily damaged that it would most assuredly break apart, but instead it would quickly heal. It was like a globe of water. No matter how much ‘damage’ they caused to it, it would easily reform into a globe once more.

The Sword Titan vanished. Ning and the other six stared at the black orb in disbelief.

“Damn,” Ning muttered, gritting his teeth.

“Hahaha! Oh well.” Autarch Ekong actually began to laugh loudly, a frenzied look in his eyes. “I’ve wanted to have a good fight against the Sithe for ages now. We have so many tools at our disposal, but we’ve never dared to take on the risk of actually using them because we’re afraid to lose. Now? Now, we have no way out. They’ve forced us to stand and fight! Good. Let’s fight then! We’ll risk it all in this battle. I want to see who will be the survivors – the Sithe, or us!”

“Ekong’s right. Discard all your fears and all your worries and pour everything you have into the next battle.” The wily old Autarch Titanos began to laugh loudly as well. “I’ve been alive for far too long. I’ve almost forgotten what life used to be like when I was a weak young cultivator who had to experience one life-threatening challenge after another. It has been a long time since I’ve had this sort of feeling where my very truesoul is shivering in anticipation. Let’s do our best and fight them to the bitter end!”

Ning joined in their laughter, as did Skyfeeder, Bolin, Mogg, and Stonerule. Hah! If there was no way out, they would fight. They’d literally fight the Sithe to the death in this next battle!

“Gentlemen. It is my honor to be able to battle with you to the bitter end,” the only female Autarch, Autarch Skyfeeder, said with a smile.

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Chapter 6 - The Final Battle

“My friends, I can’t even describe how happy I am to be able to fight alongside all of you in this battle,” Autarch Bolin said with a smile.

“We’ll fight to the bitter end together.”

“Haha…”

“Come, come! I think we need to share some wine before this battle begins.” Autarch Ekong waved his hand, causing an estate to appear before him which was filled with stone tables and chairs. Ji Ning and the others all smiled as they sat down.

Ning picked up his wine cup, then glanced at his six friends. He felt as though this was almost a dream. He could still clearly remember how he had been reborn from the Netherworld Kingdom into the Ji clan of the Grand Xia, and how he had slowly trained step-by-step until he had reached the apex of the cultivator world. Now, he would stand alongside his six friends and peers, entering into a lethal battle by their sides. This was a battle which would determine the fate of all cultivators!

If they lost, it would all be for nothing. His friends, his family, and all of civilization would be destined to die.

“Y’know, I was thinking. Darknorth… should we have your true body stay out of this final battle?” Autarch Titanos suddenly said. All of the other Autarchs nearby were stunned.

“Not take part?” Ning was stunned as well. “Titanos… are you saying, the rest of you would fight but I wouldn’t?”

“Your avatar could,” Autarch Titanos said slowly. “Here’s what I’m thinking. We could have your avatar form the Sword Titan with us. Your avatar has 80% of your true power! You are already the strongest of us seven. Your avatar is more than strong enough to merge our powers together. I wager it’ll still be able to keep the Sword Titan at 90% of its full strength.”

“If we lose, at least your true body would still be alive! So long as you are alive, our civilizations will have a chance to eventually recover.” Autarch Titanos looked at Ning. The other five began to hesitate, considering his words.

“If my true body doesn’t get involved in this fight, it’ll have a major impact on our combat prowess,” Ning said. “Both my avatar and myself will take part in this fight, guiding the six of you in forming the Sword Titan! If my avatar guides your avatars in forming a giant, it’ll have roughly 50% to 60% of the the strength of the main one.”

“We’ll have one Sword Titan and one Avatar Titan. That way, we’ll be able to unleash the maximum amount of power possible. If my true body doesn’t take part, we’ll only have a single weakened Sword Titan,” Ning said.

The Avatar Titan would be using the same type of formation. The other six avatars were only at half power while Ning’s avatar was at 80% power, but the Avatar Titan would remain a powerful tool in this fight. It would be even stronger than the giant sword they had used in the Grassland World.

“But if we lose, we’ll have lost all hope,” Titanos said hesitantly.

“Brother Titanos!” Ning said sharply, “Are you still thinking about a ‘backup plan’ at a time like this? Do you really think that I can reverse the situation all by myself if I’m the only one to survive? Even if I do eventually become an Omega Autarch, by then I would’ve had to watch as the Sithe bound our Chaosverse and Iyerre became a Chaoslord. In the end, I would still die!”

“We should put everything we have into this fight instead! We’ll use both the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan to maximize our chances.” Ning stared at Autarch Titanos.

“Titanos, I agree with Darknorth. This time, screw the backup plans,” Autarch Ekong said.

“Let’s fight.” Autarch Skyfeeder was by nature a fearless woman. She had previously been planning to attempt to bind the Chaosverse, even though the others who had tried all died!

“I agree that we should do everything we can to win this battle.” Autarch Bolin, Autarch Mogg, and Autarch Stonerule all turned to look at Titanos.

At their level, life and death mattered very little. They actually approved of Ning throwing himself into danger, because they had to consider what was good for the whole of civilization. They wanted to live… but they didn’t want to a life that was worth of death! They didn’t fear death… so long as their deaths were meaningful!

Autarch Titanos hesitated a moment, swayed by the rebukes of his six colleagues. He then let out a self-mocking chuckle: “All my life, I’ve laid schemes upon schemes and have always had a backup plan ready. All of you are right. Even if Darknorth survives by himself, the chance of him being able to reverse a defeat here is miniscule. Him leaving would lower the strength of our forces. It’s better for us to fight them to the bitter end.”:

“:That’s more like it! How miserable would I feel, watching you all perish while I survived by myself?” Ning lifted up his tankard of wine and poured a cup for Titanos. “Come, Titanos, come! I’m going to punish you with some wine.”

“I accept, I accept.” Titanos immediately took the wine cup.

The seven had already decided to do their utmost in this upcoming battle. They no longer felt any worries, and so they happily drank together while awaiting Iyerre’s arrival.

“Iyerre will be arriving in two hours,” Autarch Mogg said suddenly.

“We still have two hours left?” Ning and the others exchanged glances.

“Let’s go out and get ready to welcome these outsiders.” Titanos rose to his feet, as did Ning and the others.

Whoosh! They all put away their respective estates and flew out together, blinking out of the black tower. This time, Ning brought his avatar out alongside him. The Annihilation Hive once more exploded with power and began to generate that incredible sucking pour, but the Sword Titan formed from the seven Autarchs was able to easily pass out of it.

Rumble… the Annihilation Hive began to furiously devour the energies of the outside world at its previous pace as a vortex once more appeared around it. Ning and the Autarchs, however, simply ignored it. Although it was a formidable weapon, it needed to devour energy for an extremely long period of time to do real damage. A few weeks wouldn’t make much of a difference. Not even a century would have a real impact.

Thus, for now they would ignore the Annihilation Hive and focus their efforts on the Sithe. Neither side was going to shirk away from this battle! Victory or defeat would be determined very soon. The winner would rule this Chaosverse. The loser would never be able to rise again.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Two figures suddenly warped over to them. It was the avatars of Autarch Mogg and Autarch Skyfeeder.

“All our avatars are here. We’re ready to fight now. A pity that we lost one of the Golden Bridges of Freedom. Otherwise, we’d be at absolute maximum power,” Autarch Titanos said with a chuckle.

They quickly separated into two squads, both led by Ning. The seven true bodies stood together on one side, while the seven avatars stood next to each other on the other side. Fourteen Autarch-class combatants were ready to do battle.

“It’s all my fault for losing that Golden Bridge.” Autarch Bolin shook his head.

“You aren’t to blame. Those things simply required far too many precious ingredients. I did everything I could but was only able to create seven of them. Sometimes, I can’t help but think to myself about what a coincidence it all was. We originally had an extra, but Darknorth rose just in the nick of time to round out the seventh,” Titanos said with a sigh.

“To be able to battle alongside my six predecessors is Darknorth’s honor,” Ning said with a smile.

The seven of them stood in empty space, their hearts at peace. They had already cast aside all their worries. At a time like this, worrying wouldn’t make any difference. They simply had to do everything they could to win.

If they died, all of civilization would die with them, but there was nothing for that. The seven of them had truly done all they could.

……

The ovaloid sphere continued to warp through space. Atop its outermost layer of grayish clouds stood a tall, gray-robed man who was slightly balding. His eyes seemed to contain the cosmos within them as he calmly stared at the empty space before him.

“It is finally time for the last battle.” Like the cultivators, Iyerre knew that he had reached the most critical moment in his entire life. He would either soar to the heavens and become a Lord of Chaos, becoming the most invincible figure in all the Infinite Void aside from his master… or he would be defeated and never have this opportunity again, even if he managed to survive.

He hadn’t worried about the sphere of annihilation being destroyed, because he knew just how marvelous an object it was. There were only two ways by which it could be destroyed. The first way was to overpower it. As an Omega Autarch, outside of this foreign Chaosverse he himself would just barely be able to summon enough power to destroy it. The second way was to comprehend the apocalyptic mysteries it contained, at which point one would be able to easily deconstrukct it.

Neither Autarchs nor Omega Emperors would be capjable of such a task.

“This realm truly is a mesmerizing one,” Iyerre murmured. “This realm and all things within it should be mine to rule. These weaklings have continued to bar my path. Now, I shall sweep them all away.”

Whoosh. The Grassland World warped through spacetime one final time. By the time it reappeared, Iyerre could now see the enormous Annihilation Hive off in the distance, surrounded by that even-larger vortex which was destroying and devouring all things around it.

However, the fourteen figures standing here were even more noticeable than the vortex of destruction. Ning and his peers stood side-by-side, while the seven avatars did the same.

The fourteen calmly watched as that ovaloid object flew through space towards them. The only person standing on the surface of the ovaloid object was Iyerre, and he smiled thinly when he saw the fourteen. He swept his gaze across them, then let out a chuckle which echoed throughout spacetime: “No more running? No more hiding?”

“There’s nowhere to run,” Autarch Titanos said.

“We’ll give you what you want. We’re going to fight you to the death.” Ning smiled.

“Iyerre, I hope you don’t piss yourself when you see our real power,” Autarch Ekong said with a laugh.

“I think he probably will piss himself,” Autarch Bolin smirked.

Ning and the others all smiled or laughed as they spoke. Iyerre wasn’t angered by this. He simply smiled back and nodded. “You natives are quite brave.”

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Chapter 7 - Doll

Chapter 7 - Doll

The two sides stared at each other from far. They seemed relaxed, but the atmosphere was already beginning to tense up.

“Hmph. Talking won’t solve anything. Come and stop my Grassland World, if you dare,” Iyerre said, then sank into the gray clouds and vanished. At the same time, the ovaloid object transformed into a streak of light and shot towards the vast behemoth hive.

Ji Ning and the others traded glances.

“Iyerre vastly surpasses us in terms of insight. Now that he’s personally in control of the Grassland World, no formation we can use would be able to slow it down.” Autarch Titanos smiled. “The Grassland World can enter the Annihilation Hive with ease, protecting it and allowing it to continue devouring our Chaosverse’s energies. The only way to stop it is to go inside of it!”

“Charge into the Grassland World and break it apart.” Autarch Bolin nodded slightly.

“That’s the only option. Gentlemen, let’s do this.” Ning laughed.

“We’ll have to trouble you to lead us in this fight, Darknorth. We’ll need your guidance for the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan,” Autarch Stonerule said.

“I can serve as the leader, but I’ll need all of your support.”

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s do this.” Ning and the others shared a few quick works, then began to make their moves.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The seven Autarchs and their seven avatars began to simultaneously call upon the power of the Chaosverse, gathering it around them to form vortexes of energy that quickly transformed into a pair of towering titans! Both titans were nearly nude and clad only in fur loin-cloths, but one had a slightly more powerful aura than the other.

The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan advanced side-by-side towards the ovaloid object.

……

Iyerre appeared out of nowhere within the palace hidden deep within the Grassland World. Flanking him was the silver-robed woman and the two men, while below him stood the Sithe Exalts and the three Autarch-class void dwellers.

“Vilesky, you three come over here to the center,” Iyerre instructed.

The three Autarch-class void dwellers exchanged puzzled glances, then nervously advanced to the center of the palace. The cyclopean bear, the red-eyed white-furred humanoid, and the tentacled stormcloud harbored distrust towards the Sithe, but unfortunately they were much weaker than Iyerre. There was nothing they could do! In the Infinite Void they were weaker than Iyerre, and even here in the Grassland World they were still weaker than Iyerre.

“Those native cultivators are about to attack. This shall be the final battle.” Iyerre glanced down at the three void dwellers, then smiled: “I’ll need you three to be prepared to make sacrifices for our victory.”

“Just tell us what you need us to do. We’ll do everything in our power,” the three responded respectfully.

“Excellent.” Iyerre nodded. “What I need is for the three of you to offer me your lives.”

Surprise appeared in the eyes of the cyclopean bear and the other two, only to be quickly replaced by utter terror. Suddenly, nine violet-gold chains appeared in the area around them. Each chain moved in an abstruse and profound manner, and they howled through the air as they lashed out at the three Autarch-class void dwellers.

“Iyerre, what the hell are you doing?!”

“Didn’t you promise to give us our freedom if we helped you?”

“Why are you attacking us?!”

The three void dwellers tried to fight back, but now that Iyerre was personally controlling the violet-gold chains, the void dwellers were vastly outclassed in both power and technique. The violet-gold chains immediately began to land brutal blows on them, causing their bodies to explode. The chains then quickly wrapped around their life-cores.

The nearby Sithe Exalts all watched in shocked silence. None of them dared to say a word. They knew how ruthless Iyerre was. To him, anyone and everyone was but a pawn to further his goals. The ‘promises’ those three Autarch-class void dwellers had believed in were nothing more than jokes!

“Give you your freedom?” Iyerre stared down at them, his eyes flickering coldly. “Did you three idiots really think you were qualified to negotiate terms with me? If it wasn’t for the fact that I had a use for you, I never would’ve let you remain alive for this long.” Iyerre then reached out with his right hand, producing three adorably-shaped black dolls. The three black dolls flew out to hover directly above the center of the palace.

Hiss. Hiss. Hiss. The shattered remnants of the void dwellers’ bodies began to fly towards the black dolls. Even their life-cores, still entangled by those chains, began to fly towards them.

“No…!”

“No… but… no!”

The three Autarch-class void dwellers suddenly felt a sensation of infinite terror. Those ordinary looking dolls were exerting lethal amounts of gravitation attraction, causing their life-cores to uncontrollably fly towards them. Their splattered bits of blood and flesh were also flying towards the black dolls, and as soon as they touched the dolls they were swallowed up with a hiss.

“Iyerre, you’ll definitely fail. You’ll fail!!!” a life-core with the illusion of a cyclopean bear inside screamed frantically.

“You’ll die! The cultivators will kill you all!” The life-core which was filled with an illusion of a tentacled stormcloud was struggling and braying as well.

“Damn you, Iyerre! You are shameless!” the phantom of the red-eyed, white-furred beast bellowed.

The three life-cores flew towards the three black dolls, which effortlessly devoured them as well as the flesh and blood from their corpses.

Iyerre couldn’t help but secretly feel amazed by this. “Master’s skills in artifice are simply incredible. Those Autarch-class void dwellers might be foolish, but their bodies are incredibly sturdy. It is their bodies which gave them Autarch levels of power, but the dolls were able to devour them with ease. I may also be an Omega Autarch, but I’m far from being Master’s equal when it comes to artifice.”

His master was a Lord of Chaos. Although they were both Omega Autarchs, Iyerre felt that his master remained superior to him in many different areas!

It was much like how Bolin, Titanos, Mogg, and the others were all Autarchs but shared different insights and were at different levels of power. There was indeed a great difference in power between Iyerre and his Master. The creation of the Annihilation Hive and the Grassland World had only been possible because his master had provided him guidance from behind the scenes. As for the black dolls, his master had personally created these things.

Whoosh! The three black dolls floating in midair suddenly began to dramatically expand in size, transforming into a trio of towering black scaled beasts which now lay on the ground. They pulsed with auras of power but didn’t move in the slightest.

“Separate into three squads as I previously instructed.” Iyerre glanced at his other subordinates. The silver-robed woman, the black-robed man, and the red-robed man immediately acknowledged the order while the many Sithe Exalts quickly took up position behind them.

“From now on, each squad will be in charge of controlling one of these machine warbeasts,” Iyerre said. “Although each has devoured the full power of an Autarch-class void dweller, it will only be able to fight at peak power for roughly one hour. Thus, we must achieve victory as soon as possible.”

“Understood,” the silver-robed woman and the other two said. They had known all along that this was going ot happen. Indeed, the reason why Iyerre had invited them to take part in this invasion was for them to operate the machine warbeasts. Ordinary Exalts were a bit too weak to truly unleash the potential of these things in battle. Each of the three would control one, with the other Exalts providing assistance.

“Now go,” Iyerre commanded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!! The silver-robed woman and the others quickly flew inside the enormous machine warbeasts and took control of them. This was a major trump card which their Lord of Chaos had bestowed upon Iyerre.

“GWAAAAAR!” The three black warbeasts raised their heads and howled. Their auras were actually stronger than those of the Autarch-class void dwellers, because the machine warbeasts were burning up all of their power at a rapid pace while holding nothing back. They could also attack with marvelous techniques; they weren’t nearly as clumsy as those void dwellers were!

“They are coming.” Iyerre raised his head to stare towards the skies. He could see two towering giants wielding divine swords chop through the grayish clouds as though the clouds were nothing more than rotted wood. The two titans charged downwards, easily piercing through the layers of clouds.

“Follow my orders.” A savage look appeared on Iyerre’s face. “Each of you can only fight for an hour, so we need to do everything we can to annihilate them during that period of time! This is the Grassland World, a battlefield of our choosing. We’re definitely going to win. Now go! Kill these cultivators!”

“Kill!” Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. The three black warbeasts quickly warped through space and disappeared from the temple.

As for Iyerre, his eyes were blazing as he barked, “Quintessence, ignite!” Instantly, the quintessence core located deep within the Grassland World once more began to erupt with power, filling every inch of the entire world with tremendous might. The battle had just begun, but everyone was already preparing to fight like a madman!

Iyerre disappeared from the palace, going forth to face his foes.

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Chapter 8 - World of Liberation

The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan both continued to charge downwards. Whoosh! Whoosh! The clouds had become much sturdier now that the quintessence had been ignited, but before the might of Ji Ning’s Sword Titan and Avatar Titan they remained unspeakably fragile.

Sword-light flashed as they pierced straight through the clouds, charging all the way down to the second layer of clouds. Right at this moment, they all suddenly sensed danger.

“Eh?” Ning was the leader of this formation and was constantly on guard for any possible movements. Suddenly, three enormous black warbeasts appeared from the clouds nearby. They looked much like armor-clad apes, but they each had a pair of curved horns on their heads. Their knees were bent into a half-stooped position, and they stared intently at the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan.

“Where the hell did these three come from?” Autarch Ekong sent mentally. “All of them seem dangerous.”

“This is probably one of the trump cards the Sithe have been hiding the entire time. Now that the last battle has begun, they no longer see a need to hide themselves,” Titanos sent back. “These three beasts have odd auras. Be careful, Darknorth.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“Attack!”

“Die, cultivators!” The three warbeasts attacked simultaneously, first surrounding the nearby Avatar Titan. The Avatar Titan lifted up his twin swords, ready to meet their attacks.

The furious claw-strikes of the warbeasts caused the very heavens to darken as they lashed out with overwhelming towards the Avatar Titan. In turn, the Avatar Titan swept out with his right hand, generating an ephemeral streak of sword-light in the air which struck out at the warbeast. Whoosh! The sword-light immediately retracted, while the warbeast simply howled and continued to press the attack.

“These three machine warbeasts are extremely powerful.” Ning and the others were all shocked. “They’re actually able to fight our Avatar Titan to a standstill. Our sword-arts will only be enough to hold off two of them at most.”

“Die!” The three warbeasts fought with uncommon ferocity. Clearly, they wanted to destroy this weaker-looking titan as soon as they could.

Whoosh! The nearby Sword Titan had already charged over, sending an awesome stream of sword-light slashing through the air with unstoppable force. One of the warbeasts immediately used both of its paws to block this attack head-on. Both combatants had extremely marvelous techniques, but an explosion rang out as soon as the paws struck against the horizontal sword-strike . The warbeast was sent flying backwards, and it only managed to catch its footing after flying a million kilometers backwards. Then, it once more charged over.

“It is extremely strong, and its scales are just as tough as the black tower which houses the sphere of annihilation. There’s no way to injure it at all.” Ning was secretly alarmed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!! A series of clanking sounds could be heard as one violet-gold chain after another began to appear. They were like great serpents which blotted out the skies, emanating auras of awesome power as they swept out towards the weaker Avatar Titan and sought to destroy it.

“The chains aren’t that dangerous.” Ning didn’t worry too much about them at all.

The three black warbeasts and the nine violet-gold chains continued to furiously assault the Avatar Titan, but the Avatar Titan and the Sword Titan fought alongside each other. The Sword Titan was especially mighty, with each of its blows sending the black warbeasts flying with ease and making it impossible for them to gain a true advantage over the Avatar Titan. The warbeasts truly were rather troublesome, as their techniques were brilliant and they were completely impervious to damage.

“Eh?” Ning, Titanos, and the others suddenly sensed a new threat approaching. They hurriedly turned to look towards the skies, only to see the figure of Iyerre appear. Iyerre’s robes were fluttering around him, and his body was covered by an awesome aura of power formed from the energies released by the ignited quintessence core. He was currently diving downwards head first, his hands folded in a prayer position before him. An absolutely dazzling stream of golden light was emanating from between his hands, preparing to spread outwards.

Omnipresent… light.

It almost instantly illuminated the entire Grassland World. The light was blinding, and it weighed down heavily upon both the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan.

“Die!” Iyerre changed his stance, pulling back his left hand while pushing out with his right. He had once used this technique against Mogg, but now that he was using the ignited quintessence core’s power this strike was now much stronger than before. When fighting Mogg, he had to spend quite a bit of time to accumulate the amount of energy necessary. This time, he was quite fast.

“Iyerre isn’t all that powerful, but he’s at such a high level of insight that he can employ his energies to terrifying effect.” Ning immediately made the Sword Titan to slice upwards with a sword, blocking Iyerre’s downwards palm.

BOOM! This unfathomably powerful palm crashed head-on against the all-encompassing sword.

Iyerre staggered a few steps backwards, a frown on his face: “This formation-giant is incredibly strong. Darknorth is making perfect use of these native cultivators’ powers.”

“Hmph.” The Sword Titan had been able to block Iyerre with ease. Even when Iyerre was using his most powerful strike, he was only 30% more powerful than the machine warbeasts. It wasn’t enough to threaten the Sword Titan.

“Light!” Boom! Iyerre began to glow with even more dazzling light. The light was everywhere, filling the entire world with an iridescent glow. What worried Ning the most… was that he could no longer find Iyerre! After releasing that blast of infinite light, Iyerre had actually vanished into the light itself. Ning could neither see him physically nor track him via godsense.

Suddenly, an alabaster arm reached out to grab at the Avatar Titan.

“That’s Iyerre!” The Avatar Titan hurriedly moved to block. Since Ning was controlling both titans, he was able to make them work in perfect concert. The Sword Titan immediately went over to help out as well.

The dazzling light continued to suppress both the titans, while Iyerre launched one sneak attack after another with incomparably profound techniques. Blocking his attacks was very taxing, and eventually one would get through.

“Everyone, prepare the World of Liberation,” Ning sent.

“Alright.” Titanos, Mogg, and the others all knew that the moment had come. They had been planning to save this trump card for use at a critical moment, but they were now at such a disadvantage that they were finding it hard to even maintain their defenses. It was too hard for the Sword Titan to defend against the warbeasts, the chains, and Iyerre at the same time. The Avatar Titan was in tremendous danger right now, and once it was destroyed their foes would be free to focus their attacks against the Sword Titan. When that happened, the situation would become even grimmer.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, six surges of power shot out simultaneously. Golden bridges began to appear directly beneath the feet of the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan. It was the Golden Bridges of Freedom! The six Golden Bridges of Freedom joined together into a hexagonal shape, forming a single complete edifice! They began to accumulate awesome amounts of power from the Chaosverse that surpassed even the power of the ignited Grassland World.

It must be remembered that the Golden Bridges of Freedom were modeled off the Daoguard Towers. They were able to accumulate and make use of large amounts of the Chaosverse’s energies. Once they linked together, they were able to use even more!

“WORLD STANCE!” Ning roared. This was the only domain-type stance he had created for the fusion sword-arts – the World stance!

Rumble… Ning, Titanos, Bolin, Skyfeeder, Mogg, Stonerule, and Ekong began to simultaneously unleash their respective domains. Autarch Bolin actually unleashed two domains, one for the Claw Daobirth Essence and one for the Samsara Daobirth Essence.

As for Ning, he was responsible for controlling and unleashing the Eternal Omega Sword Dao Domain!

All eight domains came together, drawing upon the power of the Chaosverse as well as the power of the golden bridges themselves!

Ning’s ‘Omega Sword Dao Domain’ was able to perfectly connect together all of these different domains, allowing the different types of power to merge together into dazzliong streams of sword-light. The entire world became filled with countless streams of sword-light, each of which was formed from a different type of domain-energy. The power of this domain vastly surpassed Iyerre’s domain of light.

“This is…” Iyerre and the warbeasts felt as though countless streams of sword-light had enveloped them and were pressing down at them, forcing them to resist it with every single movement they made.

“These eight different types of domain-energy and the power from the Golden Bridges of Freedom have been perfectly joined together to form this domain – the World of Liberation.” Ning and the others were all excited. As soon as the ‘World of Liberation’ domain was released, Iyerre and others were dramatically weakened. Even the nine violet-gold chains were weakened significantly, and as a result Ning and the others immediately gained the upper hand.,

“Join forces to kill Iyerre! Once Iyerre dies, those three indestructible warbeasts will begin to fall apart on their own,” Titanos sent mentally.

“Kill Iyerre!” Bolin barked.0

“Attack!” Their eyes were filled with murder. The three warbeasts had been suppressed by their domain, reducing them to 70% of their normal power. Even if all of them joined forces against the Avatar Titan, it would still be able to defend against them using the Cavebright stance.

As for the powerful Sword Titan, it had only one target: Iyerre!

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Chapter 9 - Death Battle

The Sword Titan charged incredibly fast towards Iyerre, whose face tightened. Even before the World of Liberation domain had started to suppress him, he wouldn’t have dared to fight the Sword Titan in sole combat. Now that he only had around 60% of his full power, he would probably be destroyed in just ten strikes if he tried to fight the thing head-on.

“I can’t believe these natives have actually forced me to do this.” Iyerre immediately took a step forwards, vanishing into thin air.

“Damn.” The Sword Titan’s greatsword chopped through where Iyerre had just been, hitting nothing but air. Ji Ning, Bolin, Titanos, and the others were secretly infuriated by this. However, even in the outside world Iyerre was able to disengage from battle as he pleased. Here in the Grassland World, it was even easier for him.

“Since he’s fled, let’s first capture those three warbeasts then destroy the Grassland World’s core. Without the Grassland World and the three warbeasts, Iyerre won’t be able to cause much trouble.” Ning and the others all knew that Iyerre wasn’t able to summon much power due to the local Chaosverse suppressing him. He had to create and use powerful treasures in order to pose a threat to them.

However… the more powerful the treasure, the greater the cost to make it. It had taken Iyerre aeons to construct the Grassland World and the Annihilation Hive. If they managed to destroy the Grassland World, it would be ages before Iyerre would be able to challenge them again. By then, the cultivators would have grown far more powerful than they were right now.

Whoosh. The Sword Titan gripped the Northbow sword in both hands as it charged towards one of the warbeasts. Although they were indestructible, capturing them was still a possibility.

“Gwaaaaar!” “Gwaaaaar!” “Gwaaaaar!”

The three black warbeasts separated, moving in three different directions. Suddenly, all of them raised their heads, causing a strange black-white glyph to appear from their foreheads.

“Eh?” The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan both turned to stare upwards at the figure which had just appeared above them. It was Iyerre, who had disappeared just moments ago. Iyerre’s forehead also had a black-white glyph emanating from it. Countless strands of black and white light reached out, piercing through the air and connecting Iyerre to all three of the warbeasts. Together, they formed an incredibly marvelous formation which transformed Iyerre and the three warbeasts into one being!

The energy leaking out from the ignited quintessence core was being sucked up into this enormous formation, while the energies of the three warbeasts were also being rapidly consumed.

Iyerre and the three black warbeasts began to glow with blurry black-white light, and their auras increased dramatically in power.

“I can’t believe these natives have actually forced me to use my last trump card.” Iyerre gritted his teeth. In the end, this final battle had surpassed Iyerre’s expectations.

Iyerre had believed that with the battle being held within the Grassland World, the combined forces of himself, the three warbeasts, and the violet-gold chains would be more than enough to gain victory! Alas, Ning had first created an even more powerful sword-art with an extra Daobirth Essence in it, then unleashed the suppressive power of the World of Liberation domain. All this had forced Iyerre to unveil his very last card! He had truly gone all-out now, with nothing held back.

His master had been the one to create the black warbeasts! When they fought individually, they weren’t all that powerful, but when merged together into a single whole they were able to unleash their true power. This was why his master had also bestowed the Yin-Yang Formation upon him, allowing him to perfectly join together with those three beasts. However, this would cause the three warbeasts to run out of power even more quickly.

“Die!” Iyerre was above them while the three warbeasts circled around them. The four all glowed with unearthly halos of black-white light, and countless strands linked them together as they charged towards the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan.

Boom! The Sword Titan and Iyerre exchanged blows. The result was that Iyerre was knocked flying backwards, but he quickly regrouped and charged forward once more.

“He’s actually become so much more powerful!” Ning, Titanos, and the others were all shocked. The World of Liberation was suppressing Iyerre, but he had still skyrocketed in power to reach 70% of the Sword Titan’s might! Given his profound insights, he was now completely capable of sustained combat against the Sword Titan.

“If even he has become so powerful, then what of those three warbeasts?” Ning and the others knew that the situation had just taken a turn for the worse.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The Avatar Titan was being surrounded and besieged. He used his sword-arts to defend and exclusively focused on using the most defensive stance, the Cavebright stance. He instantly used this stance fifteen times in a row, but he was already in an extremely dangerous situation. The Sword Titan immediately brandished his sword, moving to reinforce the Avatar Titan.

“Haha! Native cultivators, you are doomed. All of you will die. None of you will escape!” Iyerre went forth to help destroy the Avatar Titan as well.

……

The situation had instantly turned extremely grim. Even though the World of Liberation weighed down upon the Sithe, the Sithe had the unquestioned upper hand. Just two seconds later, the two titans were in an extremely disadvantageous situation despite working together.

“We can’t let this continue. If we just defend, we’ll definitely lose. We probably won’t be able to last for ten more seconds before the Avatar Titan is torn asunder. Once that happens, the Sword Titan will be swarmed and destroyed as well. We’ll lose this fight!” They all understood this, which was why they were all extremely anxious. However, they had already used everything they had. It was incredible that they had reached this current level of power!

“There’s nothing we can do. Let’s go all-in.”

“Go all-in.”

“All-in.” Bolin, Mogg, Stonerule, Ekong, Skyfeeder, Titanos, and Ning all shared this exact same thought. Whoosh! Their bodies suddenly began to glow with light as a terrifying aura of power began to spread out.

It must be remembered that their bodies were completely formed of mana. Consequently, their bodies contained absolutely astonishing stores of energy. Hegemons and Emperors who were gripped by despair would choose to self-detonate, precisely because the sudden release of such an enormous amount of energy would generate an absolutely incredible explosion. Back during the Endwar of the Three Realms, many Immortals and Fiendgods had sacrificed themselves via self-detonation to deal Old Man Yuan a fatal blow.

Ning was an Omega Emperor, while the other six were Autarchs. They wouldn’t choose to self-detonate, as self-detonation might not even be enough to kill someone like Iyerre, who was extremely skilled at staying alive. If the seven of them died while Iyerre survived, they would have lost this war!

Just as importantly, at their current level of insight these seven had exquisitely perfect control over their bodies. Self-detonation would simply result in the explosion scattering energy out haphazardly. It was a fairly foolish choice, and they had chosen something else: to transform a portion of their bodies into raw power!

Ning and the Autarchs had chosen to sacrifice parts of their flesh and blood! Their bodies began to glow with light as a terrifying amount of power began to burst forth from them! In normal battle, it was easy for them to unleash ten thousand strikes because they were able to replenish as much energy as they used. Now, however, all of them suffered severe self-inflicted wounds because they had used up more than half of the energy which had been stored in their bodies.

This was an absolute maximum. If they burned away even more energy, their damaged truesouls would no longer be able to maintain perfect control over this level of power. Every single speck of mana was infused with their souls and truesouls, after all! If they lost too much, their truesouls would weaken to the point where they could no longer maintain control. Only by maintaining perfect control would they be able to unleash truly awesome levels of power.

This was the most ideal, suitable time for taking such a risk… but they could only do so a single time! This was because they would all be so heavily wounded after this strike that they would have merely 40% of their strength remaining. There was no way they could duplicate this attack, and so it truly was their final, last-gasp attack.

“We have to win.”

“Kill!” Autarch Bolin’s entire body glowed with light as his severed flesh and blood transformed into raw power. He was able to maintain control over it, causing it to swirl around him instead of exploding.

“Prepare to die,” Autarch Ekong roared, his body surrounded by the awesome energies of the Destruction Daobirth Essence.

Skyfeeder, Mogg, Stonerule, Titanos, and the others all controlled their own energies as well. As for Ning, he drew upon the incredible power of his Sword Dao.

“All of you, DIE!” The Sword Titan’s aura suddenly skyrocketed in might, causing the entire Grassland World to quiver. The amount of energy generated by seven Autarchs sacrificing more than half of their bodies was simply too enormous. They only guided a tiny portion of it into the World of Liberation, but the domain’s power instantly skyrocketed! Boom! Boom! Boom! Countless rays of sword-light came pressing down, crushing the clouds below them into dust and even crushing the grasslands at the very bottom.

Boom! The Grassland World had been so completely suppressed by the sword-light, it was like a giant invisible hand had just caved it in by a layer.

This was nothing more than a tiny, tiny amount of the energy the seven had just unleashed. They were keeping control over the rest of the power and preparing to use it to unleash a truly terrifying blow. This was the absolute maximum amount of power their damaged truesouls could control perfectly.

Iyerre could feel that death was coming for him. When he saw how terrifying this explosive aura before him was, he didn’t even think about trying to defend against it head-on. “This is probably the final desperation strike these cultivators have up their sleeves. There’s no way they would be able to launch a second such attack. If I can avoid this one, I’ll have won.”

“Withdraw!” Iyerre commanded. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Iyerre and the three warbeasts retreated simultaneously, vanishing within the void.

“Foolish cultivators, this is the Grassland World. This is our chosen battlefield!” Iyerre’s voice rang out within the world.

“You are the fools!”

“Imbeciles!” Ning and Ekong let out furious retorts in succession, their voices echoing within the heavens.

Boom! Boom! The Avatar Titan and the Sword Titan charged downwards simultaneously, smashing into the grasslands. As soon as they did, they instantly blinked deep within its depths.

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Chapter 10 - Tit For Tat

When they entered the depths of the Grassland World, they quickly saw a spiderweb of countless passageways.

BOOM! An awesome domain filled every single passageway with countless streams of sword-light. The World of Liberation’s power blew through every single formation like rotting wood, crushing all barriers in its path! It must be remembered that even before Ji Ning and the others had gone all-out, they had been able to reduce Iyerre and the others by 30% to 40% of their maximum power. Now that the Autarchs had gone all-out, the World of Liberation was so incredibly powerful that it was able to almost instantly crush ordinary Autarchs to death!

Even the nine layers of clouds were completely unable to block this intensity of energy, much less the barrier formations deep inside the grasslands.

“I’ve found it. The quintessence core for this world lies in that palace over there.” Thanks to the World of Liberation, Ning and the others were able to sense a completely sealed castle located at the very bottom of the Grassland World. The castle was roughly ten thousand kilometers in size, and all of the energy emanating from the Grassland World actually stemmed from this castle. They could clearly sense how the deep, dense azure aura covering the castle was constantly being dispersed in every direction.

“If we can destroy the quintessence core, Iyerre and the others will be dramatically weakened! Those three warbeasts won’t be able to escape us.” They immediately transformed into a streak of light, bursting through the chaotic passageways and moving closer-and-closer to the castle.

Iyerre was able to dodge with ease because of his high level of insight, but the three warbeasts were only able to dodge because of the power of the Grassland World. The Sithe in charge of the black warbeasts had insights which were merely on par with Ning’s. In Ning’s Chaosverse, their escape techniques were far inferior to Ning’s! So long as the Autarchs could destroy the Grassland World, they would then be able to defeat and capture the three warbeasts one by one.

Once Iyerre was the only one left, he’d be much easier to deal with! But of course… all this was only possible if they destroyed the Grassland World!

“Dammit!” When Iyerre sensed the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan moving at high speed towards the quintessence, he immediately grew anxious. “How are they able to stay in control of all that power and prevent it from exploding?”

If someone was filled with too much power, there would be no way to maintain control of it. They would have to immediately release it in the form of an attack. However, Ning and the others had already thought of this problem. They only discarded 60% of their bodies, rather than 90% as they originally envisioned. The resulting levels of energy were just barely within the realms of what they could control; they could release it or retract it at will. Although it was much weaker than the pure destructive power which would be generated by sacrificing more in a one-shot attack, it allowed for an attack that they could aim and control. In the end, the latter was much more dangerous.

“Iyerre, what should we do? Are we going to just watch as they destroy the Grassland World’s quintessence? Once they do, we probably won’t be able to beat them,” the red-robed man sent mentally. They had a huge advantage right now, but this was in large part due to the strengthening effect of the ignited quintessence core. The formation they were using also required them to draw upon the energies of the ignited quintessence.

“Go go go go go! Go stop them!” Iyerre roared. “Stop them at any cost!” The core of the Annihilation Hive was the sphere of annihilation, which contained the mysteries of total destruction. It was extremely hard to destroy. The core of the Grassland World, however, was just a normal quintessence which would be much easier to annihilate.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Iyerre and the three warbeasts easily warped over to the outsides of the core castle.

“They are about to arrive!” Iyerre and the others stared at the dark passageways before them. A terrifying aura was beginning to approach those dark passageways. The area had long ago been filled with the power of countless streams of sword-light, but the sword-light wasn’t strong enough to claim their lives.

“This is way too much power. Way too much!”

“Can we possibly stop them?” The silver-robed woman, her two colleagues, and the many Sithe Exalts all felt their hearts tremble.

“You can and you must. If we lose, the cultivators will not spare you. All of you will die!” Iyerre gritted his teeth, his eyes savage. The most critical moments had arrived. “And these three warbeasts were personally fashioned by my master. Not even I have the power to destroy them, much less these cultivators.”

The others calmed down slightly upon hearing this. They were filled with absolute, blind faith in Iyerre’s master.

“Here they are!” Iyerre and the others all felt their hearts clench as those two towering figures emerged from the dark passageways. The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan flew out right next to each other.

“It’s Iyerre and his lackeys. I knew they wouldn’t just watch as we destroyed the quintessence.” Ning and the others knew that the moment of truth had arrived.

“Charge!”

“Break into that castle at all costs!” Ning and the others didn’t hesitate at all. The Avatar Titan took the lead while the Sword Titan brought up the rear as they charged towards the castle. As long as they were able to touch it, they would be able to blink inside it.

“Stop them!” Iyerre roared ferociously. One violet-gold chain after another began to dance defensively in front of the castle, while all three black warbeasts charged in unison to block the Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan.

“Fuck off!” The Avatar Titan’s job was to clear the way, but the violet-gold chains were being controlled in an absolutely marvelous fashion by Iyerre. They all parted before the Avatar Titan, coiling behind it to strike at the Sword Titan! Iyerre and the others all knew that the Avatar Titan wasn’t that great of a threat. The true threat remained the Sword Titan, which was in command of an enormous amount of power.

“Grow, grow, grow!” The three black warbeasts suddenly expanded dramatically in size. The tunnels weren’t that large, and their sudden increase in size resulted in them filling up much of the tunnel with their bulk. If Ning and the others wanted to reach the castle, they would have to first defeat these clawed terrors.

“If we have to fight them, we’ll go ahead and destroy all three of them!” The Sword Titan wielded a longsword in each hand, lifting them up while the seven inside of it began to unleash the prodigious power which they had been keeping in abeyance.

Whoosh! The right sword sliced out, chopping towards the three black warbeasts which sought to bar the titan’s path. The power contained within this sword caused spacetime itself to disintegrate. There was nothing which could impede this terrifying strike! All three warbeasts were utterly terrified by the might of this blow, while Iyerre gritted his teeth and prayed, “They have to block them!”

Whoosh! When the divine sword slammed against the body of the first warbeast, it suddenly transformed to become as soft as silk. It twisted, seeking to wrap itself over the black warbeast and bind it. The black warbeast, however, transformed to become a black liquid which the sword could not bind.

“You want to capture it? Do you think the most powerful machine warbeasts my master created would be so easily captured by the likes of you?” the distant Iyerre laughed coldly.

The Autarchs instantly understood that there was no way to capture them, and so they immediately changed strategies. “Destroy them!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! The two divine swords were filled with ineffable power as they came crashing down towards the three beasts. It must be remembered that even an ‘invulnerable form’ would be destroyed if the amount of power facing it surpassed the limits of its tolerance! These three black warbeasts were currently forced to face the full, absolute might of this twin-attack from the dominating Sword Titan! The black warbeasts were extremely tough. They weren’t the slightest bit injured, and in fact they were able to deflect 99% of the concussive force… but that remaining 1% entered its body and reduced the Sithe Exalts it encountered to dust.

“No!”

“Ahhh!” Bowenya and the others only felt an overwhelming amount of power pass through them, followed by their bodies completely disintegrating.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The three black warbeasts were sent flying backwards and smashed into the walls of the passageway. They were physically unharmed but filled with dead Sithe.

Thanks to the local formations, Iyerre was able to clearly see what the situation was inside the three black warbeasts. The three powerful allies he had half-coaxed, half-forced to come had been able to withstand that terrifying blast. However, all of the Sithe Exalts in the first and second warbeasts, which had taken the brunt of the strikes, had been slain! Three Sithe Exalts had died in the third warbeast as well. Now, only his three allies and five Sithe Exalts were remaining.

Boom! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! The nine violet-gold chains had worked together with the black warbeasts to defend against this attack. Two of the chains actually blew apart! The Sword Titan shrank in size, seeking to fly through the gap, but the remaining chains flew over to block it once more.

“Ahahaha!” Iyerre’s loud laughter echoed throughout the passageway. Ning and the others were anxious, nervous, and resentful.

“You have lost! LOST!” Iyerre roared with laughter. “That last-gasp desperation attack was very powerful, but both the warbeasts and the chains are completely fearless. You weren’t able to destroy them and blast open a route to the castle!”

It was true. That final, frenzied strike had not done what they needed it to do – clear a path to the castle! Ning and the others gritted their teeth. Those warbeasts were simply too difficult to deal with.

“Those three warbeasts are finished. You are the only one left. You are the one who has lost, Sithe.” The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan charged straight towards Iyerre.

“Who said they are finished?” Iyerre let out a loud laugh.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The three black warbeasts once more flew over to block in front of Iyerre.

The black warbeasts were under the control of Iyerre’s three powerful allies. The Sithe Exalts merely provided additional support.

Ning and the others stared at the untouched Iyerre as well as the three enormous black warbeasts. Their hearts grew cold. As soon as they had witnessed the black warbeasts rise up once more, they had already begun to feel a sense of despair. Those things were still battle-worthy? How was this even possible?

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Chapter 11 - Truly Unbearable

The seven dancing violet-gold chains and the three warbeasts were charging towards them once more. Ji Ning and the other Autarchs had already used up the massive energy they had gained from sacrificing parts of their bodies. Even the power of the World of Liberation had dropped back down to its normal level.

Boom! Bang! The Sword Titan used its sword-arts to defend against the three black warbeasts simultaneously.

“One of the warbeasts is just as strong as it was previously, while the other two still have 80% power.” Ning quickly came to this conclusion after clashing against them once more, and it turned their hearts cold.

Iyerre smiled coldly as he watched from behind, launching attacks towards the weaker Avatar Titan.

“Flee!” Ning and the others didn’t hesitate at all, quickly coming to this decision. Iyerre and the three warbeasts were as one thanks to the formation, and all four were incredibly strong. This was why Ning and the others had been forced to sacrifice parts of their bodies to launch a final desperation attack… but it had failed! If they were truly forced to fight the Avatar Titan would probably be defeated in short order, at which point the Sword Titan wouldn’t be far off from defeat either. As of right now, they had only one chance to survive – escape!

Escape the Grassland World, run far away, and recover! Once they did so, they could come back here to fight again.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The Sword Titan and the Avatar Titan both began to flee.

“Running? After all that’s happened, you still think you can escape?” Iyerre grinned coldly. He was effortlessly dominating the Avatar Titan with the help of the seven violet-gold chains, while the three black warbeasts continued to chase down the Sword Titan. “Stop struggling. Struggling won’t help you.”

Iyerre’s body began to emit tremendous amounts of dazzling light which filled every single passageway. He himself vanished without a trace, hiding within the light while he continued to furiously assault the Avatar Titan. The Avatar Titan was just barely able to hold on, thanks to his defensive sword-arts!

Alas, Iyerre outstripped the Avatar Titan in terms of power, and he had a higher level of insight as well! Given that he also had seven violet-gold chains helping him while he launched sneak attacks from hiding, it only took six seconds before Iyerre managed to land a knife-hand blow on the Avatar Titan, plunging it into the titan’s body and causing the avatars inside to feel a sense of despair.

Riiiiiip! The towering Iyerre used his two hands to physically rip the Avatar Titan in half. Ning and the other avatars shared a glance, then simultaneously made the same decision without any hesitation at all: self-detonation!

Boom! Boom! Boom! All seven avatars exploded simultaneously.

Their worry was that when Iyerre killed them, he would use karma to route the attacks against their true bodies as well! Autarch Bolin and Autarch Titanos were able to completely themselves off from all karmic ties, but what of the others? If Iyerre wasn’t reinforced by this formation his karmic attacks probably wouldn’t be a threat to them, but he was currently strengthened by both the ignited quintessence core and his link to the three warbeasts. Ning and the others didn’t dare to take this risk.

“A clean end.” Iyerre turned to glance upwards. “But it won’t matter. Struggle all you want. You are doomed.”

Whoosh. He took a step forwards, warping through space before appearing in front of the Sword Titan.

……

The Sword Titan was frantically trying to flee, but the three black warbeasts continued to slow him down, preventing him from travelling at maximum speed.

“These warbeasts are indestructible and can warp through spacetime to block us.” Ning and the others felt anxious.

“We’re almost there.” Whoosh. They finally reached the grassy surface once more, at which the Sword Titan blinked out to the clouds above.

“Hahaha!” Iyerre’s loud laughter rang out. The Sword Titan raised his head, the seven all watching as Iyerre emerged out of nowhere and appeared in the skies. Iyerre said with a laugh, “There are nine layers of clouds here. It will take you so very, very long to fly through all these layers that I’m afraid you won’t be able to escape.”

“Damn.” Ning and the others all knew that Iyerre was far more difficult to deal with than those three black warbeasts, because of how high his level of insight was.

“Escaping is our only chance.”

“Let’s give it our all.”

“Do everything we can to escape.” Titanos, Mogg, Ning, Bolin, Ekong, Stonerule, and Skyfeeder all knew that they had to get out of here.

Boom! Twin swords in hand, the Sword Titan began to soar toward the clouds.

“Do you really think you can escape?” Iyerre charged downwards, surrounded by seven violet-gold chains that stretched out a million kilometers. Space rippled behind him, followed by the three black warbeasts appearing.

Swoosh! The Sword Titan immediately arced sideways in a bid to avoid them, but the seemingly-omnipresent violet-gold chains still managed to appear in front of them, as did Iyerre and the three warbeasts.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Boom!

The Sword Titan used its sword-arts to battle against Iyerre and the three black warbeasts while continuing to soar towards the clouds in the skies. Although the three black warbeasts were extremely strong, they didn’t pose too much of a threat because they were merely on par with Ning and the others in terms of insight. Ning was able to use his self-created fusion sword-arts to block all three of them… but Iyerre was much more dangerous! Iyerre’s attacks caught Ning flat-footed time and time again. Blocking his attacks was a much more difficult proposition.

Iyerre didn’t even need to fear the Sword Titan in solo combat, much less now when he had the three black warbeasts helping to slow the titan down.

“If we just keep defending, we’re going to lose. We have to escape!” Ning and the Autarchs couldn’t see any chance of winning this battle. Their only chance lay in escape. If they got out of here, they just might end up the victors after all!

……

Boom! Boom! Boom! Spacetime was shattered throughout the Grassland World, with the Five Elements thrown into a state of chaos as the Sword Titan continued to charge upwards while being surrounded and bombarded with attacks by the Sithe.

Boom! The power of the World of Liberation, by itself, was enough to tear through the clouds. The Sword Titan charged upwards through the opening, but Iyerre and the black warbeasts continued to press the attack against him. Iyerre was like a patient hunter, continuing to harass his prey while searching for the perfect opportunity. Ning and the others felt as though they had daggers pressed against their backs. Every single attack Iyerre launched was incredibly dangerous.

“We have to hold until we get out! We have to.”

“Keep holding!”

Titanos and the rest quietly prayed. It was now up to Ning. Ning was in control of the entire Sword Titan, and he used it to execute his sword-arts. This was an extremely taxing fight! The three black warbeasts had insights on par with his, while Iyerre’s insights were far more profound. It was already impressive for him to maintain an airtight defense, but they really couldn’t afford to let themselves be beaten here. If they lost, it would all be over!

Boom! The Sword Titan charged past the second layer of clouds, continuing its upwards ascent.

“Not good.” Ning paled as Iyerre managed to snake a palm past the Sword Titan’s defensive sword-stances. Ning didn’t hesitate, immediately discarding the Northbow sword in his left hand and using his hand instead to launch a sword-art. Boom! He managed to block Iyerre’s palm.

“He actually blocked it?” Iyerre had thought he was about to win. He couldn’t help but feel slightly startled.

As the Sword Titan was knocked flying backwards, yet another Northbow sword appeared in his left hand. Ning had a total of six Northbow swords, after all! As for the one he had discarded, it had flown back to below the Golden Bridges of Freedom.

Boom! The Sword Titan burst through the third layer of clouds. However, as it did so a ghostly and gigantic palm once more burst past Ning’s defenses. This time, Ning was completely unable to react. The palm slammed into the left side of the Sword Titan’s waist, with the Sword Titan unable to block even with his hands.

“NO!!!!” Ning, Titanos, Bolin, and the others all watched in shock. Time itself seemed to have slowed down.

Bang! The alabaster fingers pierced deep into the Sword Titan’s flank, stabbing straight through it. Then, as though it could sense the Autarchs, it reached out towards the nearest person inside – Autarch Mogg.

Autarch Mogg wanted to block… but how could he?

“No. We can’t lose!” Tears appeared in Autarch Mogg’s face. Bang! The giant alabaster hand stabbed into him, filling every inch of his body with a burst of such overwhelming power that every last speck of mana within it began to crumble from the force of the strike.

BOOM! He was completely obliterated. Not even a scrap of his truesoul fragments was able to return to this Chaosverse. Everything had been devoured.

Riiiiip. With Mogg’s death, the entire Sword Titan began to destabilize. Iyerre tore at the insides of the Sword Titan with his alabaster hand, ripping a gaping wound through the Sword Titan’s chest and to its shoulders, nearly cleaving the titan in half.

“Kill them!” Iyerre’s voice was filled with intoxicated glee as well as a boundless desire for his foes to die.

“Kill!” The three black warbeasts grew excited as well. They were about to win! They all pounced down towards the already-crumbling Sword Titan, while Iyerre himself began to launch an attack as well.

“We can’t lose.” Ning desperately tried to make the Sword Titan wield the Northbow sword and block, but without Mogg the power of their sword-arts dropped dramatically. There was no way for him to stop Iyerre, whose attack once more dug deep into the Sword Titan’s body. This time, he managed to latch onto Autarch Skyfeeder. Light glowed around his palm, and Autarch Skyfeeder was similarly unable to defend against him. The end result was destruction.

“Damn it all!” Autarch Skyfeeder stared into the skies, filled with despair and resentment.

BOOM! Upon her death, the Sword Titan’s body crumbled apart as well. Now that they had lost two Autarchs, the Sword Titan was no longer able to stay intact. Ning, Titanos, and the others began to instinctively flee despite their despair.

“Hahaha!” A black warbeast pounced forwards, clawing at Autarch Stonerule’s back. Autarch Stonerule was absolutely agonized. “Why? Why? WHY!” BOOM! Autarch Stonerule was annihilated as well, his truesoul fragments completely devoured.

Ning continued to flee, his heart feeling as though it was being cut apart by countless knives. All he could do was watch as one of his friends after another was killed.

“I can’t lose. We really can’t lose!” Countless figures flashed through Ning’s mind. This Chaosverse was filled with innumerable living beings. Ning’s friends… his disciples… his family members… the hard-working cultivators he knew… there were countless people in this Chaosverse, part of whom he knew and part of whom he didn’t.

They had lost. Their entire civilization was about to be overthrown.

“I’m sorry.” Autarch Titanos didn’t struggle. He simply shut his eyes, two streams of tears cascading down his face as he transformed himself into a plume of light. However, the black warbeast’s sharp claws reached out, still managing to capture and devour all the truesoul fragments and prevent them from returning to the Quintessence.

“Wipe them all out!” Iyerre roared with laughter. “Kill them all! Drown their entire civilization with blood! This Chaosverse is MINE! IYERRE’S! AHAHAHA!”

But then… the entire Grassland World seemed to have fallen silent. All other auras were completely suppressed, while Iyerre’s laughter became frozen as well. He suddenly turned to stare at the sword-bearing white-robed youth. Two streams of tears were cascading down the youth’s face.

A ripple of pure ‘blackness’ swept out from Ning’s body. That utterly black rippled contained an utterly terrifying will of destruction. This was true destruction, a will which would obliterate any and all things. Nothing and no one could withstand this type of oblivion.

The white-robed youth opened his eyes, and within those eyes they could see the annihilation of an entire Chaosverse.

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Chapter 12 - Oblivion Sword Dao

Ji Ning saw the Sword Titan shatter, then saw Autarch Mogg, Autarch Stonerule, Autarch Skyfeeder, and Autarch Titanos all perish in battle. Even he himself was about to die. Ning’s heart was filled with resentment and an unwillingness to accept this all. He was filled with remorse towards all the living beings of this Chaosverse, filled with remorse towards his daughter. I’m really sorry, everyone.

He felt resentment, pain, remorse… and boundless hate.

When he saw maniacally laughing Iyerre, Ning felt true hatred. To use a common saying from his first life in China on Earth, ‘even after dying and becoming a ghost, he still wouldn’t forgive or spare Iyerre’! However, in his heart he knew that once he died, his truesoul fragments would be completely swallowed and devoured. All that hatred he felt was completely meaningless! It was precisely because he understood this that the hatred and agony in Ning’s heart was only further heightened.

Hatred! Hatred aimed at himself for being too weak!

Hatred! Hatred aimed at himself for being unable to protect those he cared about.

He truly did want to annihilate all of these invaders!

Boundless hatred filled his heart. He didn’t want to die. Titanos, Mogg… they had felt the same way. They had died with their eyes open. Death held no release for them!

This powerful will of hatred caused all of Ning’s thoughts, his very consciousness itself, to become completely transformed into just one thing – an overwhelming desire to kill! An insatiable desire to destroy! As this completely unprecedented desire for destruction filled him, all of the questions and confusion Ning felt towards the Oblivion Sword Dao were completely wiped clean. Everything came to its logical conclusion, resulting in the Oblivion Sword Dao taking a complete and perfect form within Ning’s mind!

“So this is what ‘true destruction’ is. I always felt that I was lacking a little spark when it came to understanding it, preventing my version of it from being the real thing. So this is what I lacked.” Finally, Ning completely understood.

The power of pure darkness rippled out from Ning. It held the interlinked Five Elements, the transformations of Yin and Yang, both Light and Dark, and both Space and Time. They were all connected to each other by the binds of Karma… and the karmic links that existed between them were formed by Ning’s pure, destructive intent! All of them were being destroyed by Ning’s will, resulting in a chain reaction that came together to form ‘Oblivion’.

“I had actually built up enough insight long ago, and even my overall path was correct. The only reason why I hadn’t been able to succeed was because I was missing a truly intense will to cause absolute destruction, a will which linked all other Daos together and then annihilated them! Now, all of my insights have come together to form true destruction – Oblivion!”

……

“This is bullshit! Bullshit!!!” Autarch Ekong was filled with heart-rending grief and rage as the black warbeast charged towards him.

“Life and death are in an endless cycle… but once this civilization comes to an end, the cycle shall be broken for us. Everything shall truly be destroyed.” Autarch Bolin was filled with boundless grief as well.

Suddenly, they sensed the world around them turn completely still. Even the terrifyingly powerful aura of the Sithe was quickly suppressed, followed by an even more horrifying aura of destruction sweep out. Both Autarch Ekong and Autarch Bolin turned their heads to look, only to see a terrifying ripple of darkness emanating from that white-robed youth.

“Darknorth!” Despair vanished from the hearts of Autarch Bolin and Autarch Ekong. Both felt as though color had come back to the world. They both grew excited.

Iyerre and the three black warbeasts had simultaneously turned to stare at Ning, their hearts beginning to tremble. “Is that… true destruction?” Iyerre’s face turned pale. He immediately barked, “Kill them! Keep killing them!”

“Attack!”

“Attack!” The two black warbeasts that had been charging towards Autarch Bolin and Autarch Ekong hesitated slightly, then immediately obeyed the order and continue to press the attack. They knew that there was no way out. It didn’t matter what breakthrough Emperor Darknorth had just made. They had to follow this path to the bitter end!

The distant-white-robed Ning opened his eyes. He was able to read the situation at a glance.

“Oblivion Sword Dao!”

Rumble… the countless streams of sword-light which permeated this entire region all became pitch black. The streaks of pitch-black sword-light were absolutely terrifying to behold, and their power increased immeasurably. Although they didn’t possess as much power as the Sword Titan had when the seven Autarchs had sacrificed parts of their bodies, the pitch-black sword-light was still far more powerful than the normal World of Liberation domain. They also moved in much more marvelous and intricate ways than before.

The three black warbeasts and Iyerre all felt their bodies sink down under the weight of this domain’s pressure.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Previously, the Sword Titan had been wielding two of the Northbow swords, with a third Northbow sword beneath the Golden Bridge of Freedom which it was standing on. Upon its destruction, all three swords had gone flying. Now, under Ning’s control, the three Northbow swords began to shoot out towards those three black warbeasts at a speed far greater than Ning’s own flying speed.

“What’s this?” The black warbeast who was charging towards Autarch Ekong and trying to kill him suddenly noticed a black streak of light shooting towards it at terrifying speed. It was actually three times as fast as the warbeast itself! It was a Northbow sword.

“Beat it.” The black warbeast raked out with its claws, seeking to knock the Northbow sword aside. However, the Northbow sword dodged in an incredibly agile, almost ghostly manner. The sword easily dodged past the claws, then hacked straight at the black warbeast’s neck. This sword was filled with a pure will of destruction, and it caused the silver-robed woman inside the black warbeast to shiver in fear. Thankfully, she was inside the black warbeast. If she was outside, she probably would’ve died from the first blow.

The black warbeast stumbled backwards slightly from the blow, but it remained undamaged.

Swish! The black warbeast pursuing Autarch Bolin was also intercepted by a Northbow sword. Although a single sword controlled from afar wouldn’t be enough to defeat one of these black warbeasts, it was enough to tie it down.

“Damnit.” Iyerre’s face grew uglier and uglier. “He’s mastered true destruction? We have to kill him. Given enough time, he’s probably going to become an Omega Autarch and bind this entire Chaosverse. When that happens, we won’t even be able to fight back against him.”

Mastering true destruction meant that Ning had taken one step into the realm of Omega Autarchy! He was able to comprehend ‘Oblivion’, but at the very end of ‘Oblivion’ was ‘Creation’. This represented the true apex of all cultivation, Omega Autarchy! Ning was native to this Chaosverse, born and bred here. If he became an Omega Autarch, he’d naturally become able to take control over this Chaosverse. There was no way Iyerre could permit something like this to happen!

It was much like how Autarch Bolin had reached an extremely high level of insight into ‘life and death’ and was extremely powerful, but hadn’t been able to master the Samsara Daobirth Essence no matter how hard he tried until he himself was at the brink of death. Ning had been a bit better off; he had been able to take an incomplete step into Omega Autarchy by mastering ‘Oblivion’! He had gained a much higher level of insight, and the amount of power he could summon from the Dao had dramatically increased as well. All by himself, he was now slightly more powerful than the Sword Titan which all seven of them had to work together to create.

“Darknorth!” Autarch Bolin and Autarch Ekong were both overjoyed.

“You’ve become an Omega Autarch?” Autarch Ekong asked.

“Not yet.” Ning was radiating a will of destruction. “But leave Iyerre and the others to me.”

“Alright.” Bolin and Ekong both nodded. Ning immediately flew out.

The three black warbeasts and Iyerre wished to first kill Ekong and Bolin, but they were all stopped by Ning’s swords. Given that the Oblivion Sword Dao was suppressing and weakning them, they could do nothing but simply watch as Ning drew Ekong and Bolin into his estate-world treasure.

“Titanos. Skyfeeder. Stonerule. Mogg. Don’t worry, my friends. I’m going to kill them all. NO ONE shall ever be able to annihilate our civilization!” Ning stared at the distant Iyerre and those three black warbeasts, then manifested his three-headed, six-armed form. Three of his six hands reached out, grabbing the three Northbow swords which flew to him from afar. Moments later he had all six Northbow swords ready, and he emanated an aura of absolute murder.

“Mastering ‘true destruction’ won’t save you. Surround and kill him!” Iyerre roared as he, the three black warbeasts, and the seven violet-gold chains attacked Ning simultaneously.

Ning’s eyes were as cold as ice, and he charged forwards to meet them with all six Northbow swords at the ready.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Ning was noticeably faster than before, and he transformed into a streak of black light as he shot outwards. His swords were now even more shockingly powerful than before, allowing him to instantly battle against all three black warbeasts and Iyerre at the same time. Sword-light flashed around him, each flash filled with an awesome amount of power. As far as close combat went, he was now much stronger and more effective than previously when he was only able to use a single sword. He had also reached a much higher level of insight into the Dao of the Sword, allowing him to drill deep into the black warbeasts’ bodies with each strike from his sword!

Although his blows couldn’t compete to the final desperation attack the Sword Titan had used, they were more intricate and caused agony to the Sithe inside the warbeasts.

“We can’t hold on!”

“We can’t stop him for much longer!” The five Sithe Exalts sent mentally. Alas, it was too late! Ning struck incredibly fast, and he was in his three-headed, six-armed form. He landed three consecutive strikes against one of the black warbeasts, each strike transmitting the power of destruction inside of the warbeast. The main controller had a body tough enough to endure these blow, but the five Sithe Exalts all perished after taking three such collisions. Even worse, the awesome power of Oblivion which washed over them resulted in even their truesouls being devoured.

It was much like how the sphere of annihilation was able to devour anything, even truesoul fragments. Ning’s own power was coursing with the will of Oblivion, allowing him to do the same thing.

“Their truesoul fragments have been completely devoured!” Iyerre’s three allies began to panic. The only surviving Sithe were the three of them and Iyerre himself.

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Chapter 13 - Wiped Out

Iyerre naturally knew just how deadly Darknorth was now that the man had mastered Oblivion. He immediately sent consolingly, “Don’t worry. Although I can’t revive you if your truesouls are destroyed, I’ll ask my master to do so! Neither of us have any way out of this. We have to beat Darknorth in battle. As long as we can win, any of you who do end up dying will be revived as well.”

Normally, in order to bring someone back to life, the process which both Autarchs and Omega Autarchs used involved reverse spacetime to call back the truesoul fragments! However, once you became a Lord of Chaos, things were completely different. To a Chaoslord, whether or not the truesoul fragments were destroyed didn’t really matter much.

“Alright.” The silver-robed woman and the other two had no choice but to trust Iyerre. They were going to follow this path to the bitter end.

“The deaths of those five Exalts actually…” As Ji Ning slew those five Sithe Exalts, he could clearly sense that the entire Chaosverse was slightly strengthened after draining away their truesouls. “It actually allowed the Chaosverse to heal. Mm. In the past, when we slew Sithe Exalts their truesouls would return to the Sithe Chaosverse. Those five, however, could not. I completely destroyed their truesouls, transforming their energies into pure life energy.”

“Does that mean… that my power over destruction is also able to nourish the Quintessence of the Chaosverse?” Ning was beginning to get an inkling of what this portended. However, now was not the time for training. It was the time for fighting!

“Slow him down! The three of you, slow him down while I look for an opening,” Iyerre barked mentally.

“Alright.” The three black warbeasts began to circle around Ning, doing their best to impede his movements.

Ning’s six Northbow swords were all filled with the aura of Oblivion, and they completely suppressed the three black warbeasts. Each blasting strike unleash Oblivion into the bodies of the black warbeasts, causing the three to feel rather miserable. However, their bodies were far stronger than those of most Exalts and so they were fully capable of enduring this. This made it so that for now, Ning was unable to do anything to them.

“These black warbeasts are completely indestructible.” Ning knew how tough these things were. They weren’t a match for him, but they were able to slow him down.

Whoosh! Iyerre unleashed a dazzling bust of light that spread everywhere, while he himself hid within the light to launch repeated sneak attacks against Ning. Ning felt a sense of pressure, as Iyerre was an Omega Autarch who had an even higher level of insight than Ning himself. Although he was now much more powerful than before, those three black warbeasts made it so that he was unable to fully focus on battling Iyerre.

“Hmph. This is my homeland. My power is endless here, but the Sithe? They’re using up energy at a frantic rate. They won’t be able to last.” After realizing that there was no way for him to immediately win, Ning switched to a defensive-oriented strategy.

“Damn.” Iyerre, still seeking an opening, felt his heart sank. Ning was far more powerful than the Sword Titan had been. Ning had three heads and six arms, whereas the Sword Titan only had two arms. Ning was also at a higher level of enlightenment than the Sword Titan. If Ning had furiously pressed the assault, Iyerre might’ve been able to find an opening and exploit it to achieve victory… but now that Ning focused on defense, it was going to be very, very hard to win.

Rumble…

This battle was raging throughout Grassland World as Ning clashed repeatedly against the Sithe. He dropped from the third layer of clouds to the second layer, then fought all the way back to the fifth layer.

In truth, Ning would’ve been able to leave whenever he wished, but he knew that if he did so then Iyerre probably wouldn’t take on the risk of pursuing him. Thus, he continued to battle them within the Grassland World!

“Damn, damn, damn!” Iyerre had repeatedly tried to exploit openings, but Ning was so cautious that Iyerre was unable to succeed at all.

“Iyerre, this warbeast isn’t going to last any longer!” the black-robed man sent frantically. “It is almost out of power!”

“What?!” Iyerre was shocked. The three black warbasts would only able to able to battle for one hour under normal circumstances. Linked up with Iyerre via formation, they consumed energy even faster! The situation was worsened after the Sword Titan had unleashed that ‘desperation blow’, causing heavy damage to all of them.

It must be remembered that when faced with an enormous attack, even an ‘invulnerable form’ would have to consume a tremendous amount of power to survive it. The same was true for these three black warbeasts! The one which the black-robed man commanded had been the one which absorbed the life-core of the white-furred, red-eyed humanoid. It was comparatively weaker and so its power was the first to run dry.

“I’m out of power! Save me!” the black-robed man sent frantically, his warbeast beginning to flee. Boom! The formerly-stable formation and the black-white light within it began to destabilize. Given his insight, Ning immediately realized what this portended.

“Die!” Ning willed two Northbow swords to fly out, moving far faster than Ning himself could. They instantly crashed onto that black warbeast… and their blows were like the straws that broke the camel’s back. The black warbeast trembled and then began to rapidly dwindle in size, no longer able to stay in war-mode. As it shrank the black-robed man appeared outside of it, his face a mask of terror.

“I need to escape!” The black-robed man wanted to flee through spacetime, but as soon as the spacetime rift appeared next to him those two Northbow swords sliced through both the dimensional tear and his own body.

Whoosh! Both were wiped out. The black-robed man opened his mouth, his eyes filled with shock and resentment, but he was completely annihilated by the power of this terrifying Oblivion Sword Dao. His truesoul fragments were completely devoured.

“Coldnoon!” the other two called out frantically.

“Eh?” Ning could clearly sense that the prime essences of the Chaosverse had grown quite a bit more powerful after devouring the black-robed man’s energies. The effect was actually superior to when it had drained those five Sithe Exalts! “All by himself, he vastly surpassed five of those Exalts? Where in the world did he come from?”

Many thoughts flitted through Ning’s mind, but he cast them away and seized this chance to press the attack. He was going to make use of this opportunity to wipe all the Sithe out, sparing no one!

“Flee!” “Let’s flee!”

The silver-robed woman and the red-robed man no longer had any inclination towards continuing the fight. Now that one of them had died, their formation had been destroyed and they were dramatically weakened. To continue fighting would be suicide.

Clang! Clang! The Northbow swords in Ning’s hands shot out once more. This time, all six of them flew out. Four of them flew towards the two remaining black warbeasts, while two chased after the already-fleeing Iyerre.

“It’s over! It’s all over!” Iyerre’s heart was cold and gripped by despair. Although Ning had only taken a single step into the realm of Omega Autarchy, this was his homeland! He was able to unleash an unlimited amount of power here. Now that Iyerre no longer was being supported by that formation, his attacks were too weak even though his techniques were profound. There was simply no way for him to continue battling against Ning.

“I need to go!” Iyerre glanced at the two black warbeasts and the shrunken ‘doll’ which had fallen down to the clouds. Although he ached at the loss, he no longer had the time to prevent it. Swoosh! Iyerre instantly tore through space, warping away and disappearing.

“Die!” The two Northbow swords sliced through the dimensional rift and crushed it, but they were just a moment too late. Ning frowned. “He’s a fast runner!”

Ning knew that for him to kill Iyerre would be extremely difficult, as Iyerre’s level of insight was simply too high. He vastly surpassed Ning in many areas, such as spacetime; it would be very difficult to stop him once he decided to flee. The only way to kill him would be to keep his swords circling around Iyerre, destroying every single spacetime rift the man created. However, Iyerre had been too fast and had perfect control over this battlefield. As soon as things had begun to go south, he had immediately fled.

“It doesn’t matter if he escaped. I’ll get rid of these two first.” Ning charged towards the two remaining black warbeasts.

“Emperor Darknorth! Spare us, spare us!”

“We were forced to do this! This is all because of Iyerre!” The two terrified and fleeing black warbeasts both began to beg for mercy. They knew that thanks to the repeated attacks by the Northbow swords, their own warbeasts were about to run dry as well. They had sought to tear a spatial rift out of the Grassland World and escape, but each time the two Northbow swords were prevent them from doing so.

In truth, even if they did manage to escape, they would remain within the Grassland World! Iyerre, however, had been able to truly escape with ease.

“Spare you? Who ‘spared’ all the cultivators who died?” Ning’s eyes were filled with murder. There was no way he was going to show mercy.

“N-no…”

“Damn that Iyerre!”

Two black once more began to shrink and transform into dolls, having used up the last scraps of their energies. The silver-robed woman and the red-haired man were both annihilated by Ning’s sword-light, and their energies were devoured by the Chaosverse.

……

Iyerre had frantically warped through spacetime numerous types, fearing that Ning might chase after him. Finally, he reached an empty region in space which was at one of the ‘border areas’ of the entire Chaosverse. This was a place where many different spacetime continuums were gathered together. There were countless such ‘gathering spots’, each of which represented the borders between the Chaosverse and the Infinite Void.

Slash! Iyerre waved his hand, causing the void before him to split into two halves and revealing the dazzling sight outside. This was the beautiful, stunning Infinite Void.

Iyerre stepped out, departing from this Chaosverse and entering the Infinite Void. Only then did he finally manage to let out a sigh of relief.

Iyerre turned to look backwards at the awesome, endless celestial object below him. This was the homeland which Ning and his fellow natives belonged to, an enormous Chaosverse. Iyerre had been smitten by it and had gone crazy in an effort to conquer it. This was the Chaosverse which Iyerre had dreamed of controlling for so long.

“Damn. Damn it all.” Iyerre was no longer able to calm down, and his eyes were filled with resentment. He had prepared for so long, but he still ended up failing. It had been a completely defeat, and he was the only one to escape and survive.

“I’ll go find Master.” Iyerre could think of no other solutions. He had to go beg his master for help. He truly didn’t wish to accept this defeat.

Whoosh. He began to advance through the vast Infinite Void, headed towards his master’s residence.

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Chapter 14 - The Other Face of Oblivion

Ji Ning picked up the three black dolls, sending his godsense into them to inspect them. He couldn’t help but feel rather shocked at the marvelous artifice used to make them. It must be remembered that not even Iyerre himself was able to create these things; they were even more arcane than the Grassland World or the Annihilation Hive.

“I’m actually unable to bind them.” Ning tested out binding them, but much like how the Autarch message-talismans could only be used by specific Autarchs, these black dolls could only be used by a preapproved ‘list’ of people. Iyerre was able to temporarily grant ‘usage rights’ to the Grassland World to his three allies, but as soon he arrived he was able to take back that right. The same was true for these black dolls!

“Although I can’t bind them, I’ll still benefit from studying them.” Ning waved his hand, putting them away. He stared at the vast Grassland World and at the Golden Bridges which lay fallen within the clouds, his heart rather heavy.

They had won, but the cost had been far, far too great. Iyerre had managed to escape as well. Ning didn’t chase after him, because he knew that engaging in a long-distance pursuit was pointless. Iyerre was no fool; the man had undoubtedly fled out of this entire Chaosverse. Besides, as soon as Ning closed in on Iyerre, the latter would undoubtedly notice and would immediately warp through spacetime again, giving Ning no chance to attack at all.

Whoosh. Ning waved a hand, causing two figures to appear next to him. It was Autarch Ekong and Autarch Bolin.

“How did it go, Darknorth?” Ekong and Bolin scanned the area around them.

Ning said rather unhappily, “The other Sithe are all dead, but Iyerre ended up escaping. I was so close! Ugh.”

“If he escaped, he escaped.” Bolin and Ekong didn’t care that much. Bolin said, “His level of insight is simply too high. Killing him will be far, far too difficult. Although we paid a heavy price to just barely win this battle… we were still the victors! Iyerre has already used up everything he has prepared over all these years. He’ll never have the chance to overcome us again.”

Autarch Ekong said worriedly, “What if he comes back and tries again?”

“We have the advantage of time. As more time passes, our accumulated power shall increase more and more. We’ll even give birth to new Autarchs,” Bolin said. “So… if he wishes to come back, he’ll need to do so as soon as possible. But the very fact that he chose to flee this critical battle is proof that he’s already used up everything he has! Come back? With what!”

Ning agreed with this assessment. If Iyerre was to return, he had to do so with a new source of power! Iyerre had been supported by both the Grassland World and those three black warbeasts which had joined into a formation to support him, but in the end he had still lost both the battle and his allies. What would he use to launch another attack?

“I grieve for Titanos and the others,” Ning sighed.

“None of us were afraid of death. So long as we won, death holds no fear for us.” Bolin sighed as well. “Our only fear was of losing. Now that we have won, it is enough.”

“Hurry up and try to bind the Grassland World,” Ning said. “I’m worried that if Iyerre comes back, he’ll come straight for the Grassland World first. It probably won’t be easy for anyone else to bind.”

“Alright.” Bolin and Ekong both agreed. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The three immediately flew downwards and began to surveil the entire Grassland World.

……

Just as Ning had predicted, it was impossible for them to bind the Grassland World. “If we cannot bind it, then let us destroy its quintessence core.”

Ning, Bolin, and Ekong stood next to each other within that castle located deep within the depths of the Grassland World, staring at an indigo globe before them. This indigo globe had returned to its normal state, now that nothing was trying to ‘squeeze’ more power out of it. Although it was very small, all three could sense the enormous amount of power contained within it.

This quintessence core was extremely important to the Sithe, but it wasn’t of much use to the three of them. In their own homeland, they had access to the unlimited power of the Chaosverse itself. There was no need for a puny quintessence core like this.

“Destroy it.” Ning struck out with a Northbow sword, sending black sword-light slicing through the air and chopping apart everything in its path. This severing sword-light sliced straight at the distant indigo globe. Although there was some resistance, the sword managed to hack through it. Once the sword reached the very core of that indigo globe, the Oblivion-infused sword-light dramatically flared. The indigo globe first split in half, then suddenly exploded completely due to the power of the sword-light.

Boom! Power swept out in every direction, but thanks to the suppressive effect of the Oblivion Sword Dao, by the time the shockwave reached Ning and the other two it had already weakened down to 1%. The enormous barrier of sword-light circling around them was able to defend against the shockwave with ase.

“I can sense that the prime essences have become considerably stronger after absorbing this power,” Ekong said suddenly. “In fact, the prime essences are stronger than ever before.”

Ning nodded. “I previously slew five Sithe Exalts and three incredibly strong Sithe. The Chaosverse and the prime essences absorbed all of their energies.”

Although the deaths of Titanos and the others had weakened the Chaosverse, the three incredibly strong Sithe killed by Ning had truesouls which were equivalent in ‘value’ to those of ten Autarchs! Their gains had completely surpasses their losses.

……

After they destroyed the quintessence core of the Grassland World, they then headed off to do the same to the sphere of annihilation within the Annihilation Hive.

Bolin and Ekong were both worried that Ning might not be able to accomplish it, but Ning proved them wrong. A single sword infused with the Oblivion Sword Dao was all it took to tear the sphere of annihilation open, destroying all of the mysteries of Oblivion contained within it. In the end, the entire sphere of annihilation collapsed. When it broke apart, it no longer looked like a shadowy orb. It revealed its true appearance, transforming into a tiny, solid-looking ball of light. The ball of light completely exploded, sending a limitless amount of energy blasting in every direction.

When the shockwave spread out, it seemed to cause the Five Elements, spacetime, and more to transform… but in the end, it disappeared without a trace.

“Eh?” Ning murmured softly, “Everything in the sphere of annihilation actually collapsed into a singularity, then exploded… and then it gave birth to one, which gave birth to two, which gave birth to three, which gave birth to all things?”

“The next step to my Sword Dao should be ‘Creation’.”

The Omega Sword Dao. At first, Ning had fused multiple other Daos into his Sword Dao, creating the many other so-called Sword Daos such as the Spacetime Sword Dao, the Cycle Sword Dao, the Karma Sword Dao, etc. Later on, after he meditated on ‘Oblivion’, Ning finally managed to bring the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, the Cycle of Light and Dark, Karma, and Spacetime together, using his will of obliteration to fuse them into a single Dao known as the Oblivion Sword Dao! This was why the Oblivion Sword Dao was so incredibly powerful.

When Ning had used the Oblivion Sword Dao to slay those Sithe, he discovered that after killing them they would transform into pure energy which nourished the Chaosverse. This had instantly intrigued Ning – could it be that the purpose of destruction was actually to provide nourishment and create new life? However, during the battle Ning didn’t have time to really ruminate over this.

Upon seeing the sphere of annihilation collapse, Ning began to gain an even deeper understanding.

“The Dao is split into Yin and Yang. There are two sides to all things. In order for the Omega Sword Dao to reach Autarchy, simply fusing all the other Sword Daos together to create ‘Oblivion’ isn’t enough; that will only display a single facet of the true Autarch Omega Sword Dao. The other face of destruction is the creation of new life. One begats two, two begatss three, and three begats all things.” [1. The one/two/three thing is deeply embedded in actual Daoism and is far too complicated to explain here.]

Ning exited the Annihilation Hive, then came to the Grassland World once more. The Grassland World had returned to its normal appearance and no longer had a threatening aura.

The nine layers of clouds atop the Grassland World had vanished. Even the grass had vanished, leaving behind a slick, black metal construct. Ning first fashioned a new avatar, then sat down in the lotus position atop the Grassland World and began to meditate.

He was going to wait here. If Iyerre came once more, he would probably head to the Grassland World first. “Bolin. Ekong. I need to meditate silently,” Ning said. “As for Iyerre… if he comes, leave him to me.”

“Alright.” Bolin andn Ekong didn’t disturb him.

Ning closed his eyes, beginning to ruminate upon the profound mysteries of the Dao of the Sword. All his other Sword Daos had come together to form a single whole, the Oblivion Sword Dao… but now, the Oblivion Sword Dao was changing and transforming to reveal its other ‘face’. The diametric opposite of the Oblivion Sword Dao appeared as the power of destruction slowly began to nurture life. It was as though a ‘shell’ of utter destruction pervaded this entire Dao, but at its very heart life was slowly being nurtured…

……

The Infinite Void. Here, spacetime was far more twisted and distorted than any Chaosverse could ever be. It was filled with enormous celestial objects and countless marvelous species.

Iyerre was hastening through this great void. The first time he had travelled to Ning’s Chaosverse he had moved slowly and with great care, but now that he had made multiple round trips he had become quite familiar with the (still-dangerous) path.

Every so often, Iyerre would turn to stare backwards. Although he had travelled a very great distance, the vast Chaosverse behind him still looked endless beyond measure. Only by taking control over it could one truly stand at the very pinnacle of existence within the Infinite Void.

He had spent nine days after exiting the Grassland World before managing to escape that Chaosverse, then two full months before he finally reached the estate where his master’s avatar resided.

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Chapter 15 - Lord of Chaos

Whoosh! Iyerre warped through spacetime, arriving at a giant floating boulder which was many kilometers long. His facial expressions grew markedly more respectful. A small wooden courtyard had been built atop the stone boulder, and in the center was a log cabin. Through the seams in the log cabin, he was able to vaguely make out a skinny, azure-robed form seated in the lotus position within.

The wood cabin and courtyard looked fragile, as though it could be destroyed with the flick of a finger. Iyerre, however, would never dare to offend. Instead he stood outside the courtyard and said respectfully, “Master.”

Inside was his master, a truly legendary figure. He was amongst the first Sithe who rose to power, and he quickly outstripped all others by a wide margin. Countless Sithe venerated his very existence, and he eventually came to control his entire Chaosverse.

Iyerre had been the very second Omega Autarch in his homeland, but he still felt that his master far surpassed in many regards.

“You failed?” The voice was gentle and warm.

“I failed. Completely failed.” Iyerre’s mood was rather downcast. “The subordinates I brought with me were either killed or captured. It was a completely and total defeat. I’m the only one who managed to escape.”

“A pity about those three Sourcewalkers. It wasn’t easy for them to reach their level,” the person instead sighed. “Each of them was formed from the concentrated essence of my Chaosverse. Reviving them won’t be easy.”

Iyerre didn’t dare to say a word. Long ago, he and his master had come to an agreement. His master had carved out a large chunk of their entire Chaosverse and gave it to Iyerre to rule as he saw fit! All of the Sithe who rose to power within that part of the Chaosverse would be under his control, and he would be permitted to use them to invade other Chaosverses! However, there were two exceptions to this – Sourcewalker Autarchs and Omega Emperors.

An Omega Emperor had the potential to become an Omega Autarch. His master would take all such figures away! Thus, not a single Omega Emperor had joined the war against Ji Ning’s Chaosverse.

Sourcewalkers were the treasured darlings of the Chaosverses. The amount of energy they contained in their bodies vastly surpassed all their peers, and after reaching Autarchy they grew to be far more powerful! They completely surpassed all the other Exalts. The silver-robed woman and the other two had been Sourcewalker Autarchs. Iyerre felt that he needed to strengthen his forces, and so he had summoned his courage and asked for his master to transfer them to his command.

Even though Sourcewalker Autarchs were unable to summon the power of the Dao in Ning’s Chaosverse, they were still on par with Titanos and Mogg in power! This was why they were able to truly make use of the power of the black warbeasts.

Now, all of them were dead. Even their truesouls had been devoured. His master, as the Lord of Chaos, had access to unbelievable abilities and would still be able to devour them, but this process would consume the energies of the prime essences! Their deaths had already caused the prime essences of the Sithe Chaosverse to weaken; to bring them back would weaken the prime essences a second time.

“It was all due to my uselessness.” Iyerre lowered his head.

“How did you lose?” the gentle, warm voice asked.

“It was because of an Omega Emperor named Emperor Darknorth,” Iyerre explained immediately. “I was at the verge of victory. I could see it right in front of me! But at that critical moment between life and death… perhaps because all of his civilization rested on his shoulders… Emperor Darknorth went completely berserk and actually managed to upgrade his Omega Sword Dao to become the Oblivion Sword Dao.”

“He probably reached the threshold long ago, but needed a little extra push. The pressure of his entire civilization about to collapse drove him across that final barrier, allowing him to take one step into Omega Autarchy.” The warm voice was rather surprised. “You can’t be blamed for your defeat. Now that he has taken this step, becoming an Omega Autarch is nothing more than a matter of time. He’ll eventually realize that ‘Oblivion’ is just one face of his Autarch Omega Sword Dao. He’ll come to understand what the other face is and then act accordingly. Haha… finally, a second Chaoslord has arisen within the nine Chaosverses.”

“Master, am I really supposed to just give up?” Iyerre said desperately, “There are only eight Chaosverses aside from our own. Emperor Darknorth’s was the weakest of the eight, and I know more about it than any of the others. If I have to give up on it, I’ll have no chance at all.”

There were nine Chaosverses in total. The Sithe had given birth to one Lord of Chaos, but the other eight Chaosverses had not. Iyerre had chosen Ning’s Chaosverse as his target because it was weak. The other seven were all stronger, and over the course of years they had only grown even more powerful.

“Yes, all of them are very powerful,” that gentle voice said. “The seven remaining Chaosverses… even the weakest has at least twelve Autarchs, while the strongest has thirty-nine Autarchs and five Omega Emperors.”

“Although Emperor Darknorth has taken one step into Omega Autarchy, it’ll take some time for him to take the final step,” Iyerre said hurriedly. “If he doesn’t realize that there’s another side to Oblivion, he’ll be stuck there for even longer! I need to seize every moment and press the counter-attack. His homeland only has two Autarchs left, aside from Emperor Darknorth. Emperor Darknorth is the only impediment. Once we destroy him, we’ll have won.” Iyerre’s gaze was filled with desperation.

“Win?” The voice turned cold. “And how do you think you will win?”

“That’s why I’ve come to ask you for help, Master.” Iyerre said hurriedly, “If you concur, we’ll still be able to win thanks to your many Exalts, your Omega Emperors, and your treasures.” He didn’t dare to even ask for his master to risk invading Ning’s Chaosverse in person. No Lord of Chaos could possibly be foolish enough to risk his own life in another Chaosverse.

“Hmph!” The voice inside turned rather angry. “Iyerre, I gave you nearly 30% of my entire Chaosverse to administer, but you still failed. Now, you even wish for the children under my rule to risk their lives for you?”

“I’ll bring them back to life after they die,” Iyerre said hurriedly.

“Back to life? How will you make up for that enormous loss of energy? There’s no way I will permit my Chaosverse to be weakened that much. Iyerre, you need to know when to stop!” His master truly was becoming angry. Now that Ning had mastered the Oblivion Sword Dao, the truesouls of the Sithe he killed would be unable to return to the Sithe Chaosverse. As a result, the Sithe Chaosverse was being steadily weakened.

Send more Exalts over to Ning’s Chaosverse? It was entirely possible that if their Chaosverse was weakened to a certain extent, Emperor Darknorth would lead an invasion after he became a Lord of Chaos!

If two Chaosverses were fairly close to each other power, neither would be able to do anything to the other. But if one side was much weaker than the other? It was possible for a Chaosverse to be defeated!

“And that place remains Emperor Darknorth’s home. You have probably already lost the Grassland World and the Annihilation Hive. Without them, sending in more Exalts would be pointless. They would simply die,” Iyerre’s master said.

Iyerre fell silent.

“If you are truly determined to the point of risking death… there may be hope,” his master said suddenly.

“Risking death?” Iyerre’s eyes lit up.

“I have one treasure, a protective treasure which I created after countless aeons of hard work. It will allow you to ignite the majority of your truesoul and pour it inside to unleash a supremely powerful skill. With this treasure, you stand a chance at gaining victory,” his master said. “But this treasure does have a flaw. When you use it, you’ll suffer from an enormous backlash. If you win the battle, you’ll be able to slowly recover… but if you lose, you’ll probably be killed by Emperor Darknorth on the spot.”

“Are you willing?” his master asked.

“I am willing! I’m willing to die in my attempts to take that final step and reach the true apex of cultivation. What’s the point of living without hope?” Iyerre gritted his teeth.

“One more thing. If you fail, remember to destroy this treasure instead of letting it fall into Darknorth’s hand,” his master said. “I imagine you lost the warbeasts I gave you?”

“I lost them. Don’t worry, Master. If I fail, I won’t let Emperor Darknorth acquire this protective treasure,” Iyerre said calmly. If it fell into Ning’s hands, Ning would be able to learn from it.

Suddenly, a strange medallion flew over to Iyerre, who caught it. This medallion was palm-sized and very heavy. Even Iyerre felt some pressure from its weight, as though it was actually an entire world he was holding. The medallion’s surface was covered with black and white diagrams, with the two sides being black and the center being white. It was like there were two tall black mountains parted by a white gorge or a white river. It seemed almost sentient, and Iyerre immediately bound it to him.

“Incredible.” As soon as he bound it, he understood just how formidable and valuable this treasure was. In terms of preciousness, it was actually superior to both the Annihilation Hive and the Grassland World. It lived up to its reputation as a treasure which his master had personally kept for protection.

His master was now truly invincible, while he hismelf had been driven to utter despair. This was the only reason why his master had been willing to gift him even a protective treasure of such value. It represented the crystallized essence of his master’s boundless wisdom, which was why his master had instructed him to destroy it if he failed the battle.

“Thank you, Master,” Iyerre said excitedly. He couldn’t help but ask, “What is it called?”

The voice inside fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, “It is called the Stele of Mountains and Rivers.”

“The Stele of Mountains and Rivers?” Iyerre stared at the tablet in his palm, then nodded slowly.

“Be off, then. Shoo.”

Iyerre immediately bowed respectfully and gratefully once more, then turned to leave. He needed to seize every moment. Although he felt that it was likely that Ning wouldn’t be able to quickly understand the opposite side of Oblivion and thus would be stuck there for a long period of time, he wanted to give himself the best chance possible and launch his counter-attack quickly.

After spending two more months in travel, he reached Ning’s Chaosverse once more. After entering it, he began to warp through spacetime to the location of the Grassland World, which is where they had fought earlier.

“He’s going to die, and I’m going to win.” Iyerre hurried forth.

……

The only thing left in the Grassland World was that black metallic tower. The white-robed Ning sat by himself next to that black tower, the flow of time around him markedly different from that of the outside world.

Ning’s mind was filled with the secrets of the Dao of the Sword, which continued to transform and multiply. It was the opposite of what Iyerre had expected. As soon as Ning had mastered the Oblivion Sword Dao, he had immediately realized that there was another face to destruction and knew what path he had to take.

His mind was filled with the boundless power of the Oblivion Sword Dao, and the new life which it nurtured. As time flowed on, the vital energy birthed by his Oblivion Sword Dao grew more and more powerful.

Boom! One day, the boundless vitality at the core of his Oblivion Sword Dao reached such a level where it finally exploded! The darkness of oblivion instantly vanished, leaving behind nothing save for a dazzling, pure pulse of vital energy. Boundless amounts of vital energy swept out in every direction, resulting in space and time being born, things dividing into Yin and Yang, the Five Elements arising, and finally karma emerging to link them all together. Even the boundless vital energy was affected by karma, and so karma tied it together. The Five Elements came together while Yin and Yang tangled around each other, and all of them combined with that vital energy to give birth to one new creature after another.

The stars were born. The emptiness of space was born. Planets were born with verdant life, flowers, and bugs. With but a thought, entire worlds were created.

“In the end, all Daos come together to form the singularity known as Omega, which I express through my Omega Sword Dao.” Now that he fully understood the other face of Oblivion, Ning’s second foot stepped past the threshold of Omega Autarchy as well.

Whoosh. The dazzling Flower of Eternity at the very peak of the towering Dao-tree within Ning’s Jindan chaos region gradually began to wither… but as it did so, a fruit was growing from within it. As the fruit grew, it began to assume a humanoid shape. It was filled with boundless sword-intent that only grew denser and denser… until finally, the fruit took full form.

This fruit was humanoid in shape and looked exactly like Ning himself. It was seated in the lotus position, a smile on its face.

……

The entire Grassland World begin to stir and shudder as a boundless amount of energy began to converge upon it. Ning’s body was beginning to transform, while his consciousness expanded dramatically. It now filled every single inch of the entire Chaosverse, resonating with the prime essences of the Chaosverse. He could sense that the prime essences were crying out in joy and celebration. His will naturally became one with every part of the Quintessence, not facing anyu resistance at all. He was now able to biund it whenever he chose.

“So this is the true nature and appearance of the prime essences?” Ning was intoxicated by it all.

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Chapter 16 - The End (1)

Ji Ning was now able to clearly see the true appearance of the entire Quintessence for the first time. The Quintessence was formed of countless Eternal Omega Daos, with the Eternal Omega Sword Dao merely being one of them. The other Eternal Omega Daos included the Eternal Omega Karma Dao, the Eternal Omega Time Dao, the Eternal Omega Space Dao, the Eternal Omega Spacetime Dao, the Eternal Omega Metal Dao, the Eternal Omega Water Dao, the Eternal Omega Samsara Dao, the Eternal Omega Five Elements Dao…

All of them were Eternal Omega Daos. They were all the same level, but some were stronger than the others. All of them were linked together and influenced each other, coming together to form an instinctive reaction which would cause the Chaosverse to function in accordance with certain rules!

“All things are linked, as are all Daos.” After understanding the Autarch Omega Sword Dao, Ning had reached the stage of the so-called ‘Daobirth’! Ning was now in control of the Eternal Omega Daos for all other Daos, including spacetime, life and death, and more. This was what had made Iyerre so very powerful. His expertise lay in the Dao of Light, but he had reached the Eternal Omega Dao level in all other Daos as well. This was why he had surpassed all of them in employing spacetime!

However, there was fairness in all things. If you wished to become a Lord of Chaos, you generally had to be the very first Omega Autarch within a Chaosverse. The first one would have no guidance from anyone else and have to fight through a thorn-laden path in order to succeed. His path would be harder than anyone else’s, and he was worthier than any others.

As for the second Omega Autarch? Now that a precursor had shown the way, the difficulty of becoming an Omega Autarch would drop tenfold or even more. If the second Omega Autarch wished to become a Chaoslord, he would have to invade another Chaosverse… but in doing so, he would be suppressed and rejected, unable to use even a sliver of the Dao’s power. This was an incredibly difficult task.

“The prime essences aren’t truly sentient, nor are the various Daos truly merged together.” Ning let out a sigh. The Quintessence was formed from multiple independent Eternal Omega Daos.

As for Ning? Not only did he control multiple Eternal Omega Daos, he was also in control of a truly complete and perfect Autarch Omega Sword Dao. In terms of insight, he surpassed the entire Quintessence. This was why he was qualified to bind it! The prime essences themselves were celebrating his rise. They didn’t reject him at all. In fact, they were looking forward to Ning binding them!

……

“What a huge disturbance.”

“What’s going on?”

Autarch Bolin and Autarch Ekong were off in the distance, training silently. Both turned to stare at the Grassland World, then traded glances. They quickly warped through spacetime towards the Grassland World.

Rumble… a boundless amount of energy was gathering around the Grassland World. The energy was transforming Ning’s body, causing his heartworld to expand.

Bolin and Ekong were unable to even see Ning, who was at the center of that absolute maelstrom of energy.

“I’ve never seen such an enormous flood of energy before. I feel as though the prime essences are pouring all of their power into this place.” Bolin let out a sigh of joy. “Darknorth seems to have broken through into Autarchy.”

“Haha, he must have become an Omega Autarch! Otherwise, why would there be such a huge disturbance?” Ekong was excited as well. “This is wonderful. Our civilization has finally given birth to our own Lord of Chaos! It seems as though we’ll never have to worry about being invaded again.” They had been under the constant threat of invasion for countless aeons. It had weighed upon them very, very heavily. Even though they had beaten back the Sithe twice, if they didn’t gain their own Lord of Chaos they would probably suffer more invasions in the future.

Only a Lord of Chaos would grant them true freedom.

“Finally, someone has succeed. Brother Titanos, brother Mogg… Stonerule and Skyfeeder… can you see this?” Bolin murmured.

……

Ning’s mind gazed upon the entire Quintessence. He had become one with it, and he could sense every single thing within the entire vast Chaosverse. Thus, Ning was able to sense Iyerre was soon as he entered the Chaosverse and began to warp towards the Grassland World.

“Iyerre actually came back already? Judging from that look in his eyes and his posture, he looks like he’s ready to battle to the death. He must have something which he thinks gives him a shot at it.” Ning continued to watch carefully.

Given his current power as an Omega Autarch, even if he didn’t bind the Chaosverse he was still able to summon enough power from the Dao to kill Iyerre with ease!

“I’ll bind it first.” Since Iyerre had entered the Chaosverse, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

Whoosh. Ning’s mind entered the Quintessence and began to bind it to himself. He didn’t suffer any pushback at all. Everything happened smoothly.

Rumble… the various Daos that had been functioning automatically within the Quintessence suddenly began to transform. Previously, they had functioned in accordance with how the other Daos influenced them. Now that Ning had bound them, they changed in accordance with Ning’s will. All of the other Eternal Omega Daos began to swirl around the newly-emerged and towering ‘Autarch Omega Sword Dao’ that had appeared within their midst.

Rumble… the Autarch Omega Sword Dao became the new foundation of this entire Chaosverse, with all other Daos serving to support and reinforce it. In this instance, the Chaosverse gained a new ‘soul’.

The white-robed Ning arose from his position within th e Grassland World. He took a single step forwards, appearing within the center of the Quintessence.

……

Far away, atop an enormous boulder that hovered within the Infinite Void. A skinny figure suddenly pushed open the door to the wooden room atop the boulder, emerging from it. His skin was dark, he had a pair of horns on his head, and he was dressed in azure robes. His unfathomably deep eyes gazed towards the direction of Ning’s Chaosverse, a stunned look on his face.

“This…” He could clearly sense what had just happened. The vast aura of that incomparably massive Chaosverse had suddenly changed. Its previously expansive aura had suddenly condensed and stabilized, in the end transforming into a terrifying sword-intent. This was the aura of an Autarch Omega Sword Dao! It was supremely venerable and peerlessly offensive. That Chaosverse was like an honest, amiable person who had turned into a terrifying killer swordsman.

“Autarch Omega Sword Dao. The Dao of the Sword is a Dao meant for attacking.” The azure-robed horned man frowned. “I never would’ve thought that the second Lord of Chaos would be such a troublesome figure. Iyerre truly is a fool.”

There were differences amongst Eternal Omega Daos. The same was true for Autarch Omega Daos.

Ning’s Dao of the Sword was meant for combat. It was not a Dao to be taken lightly! This was why the azure-robed man had immediately bestowed his own protective treasure, the ‘Stele of Mountains and Rivers’, to Iyerre upon learning that Ning had already mastered the power of Oblivion. He himself knew that he had been the one who had aided Iyerre in forging the Annihilation Hive and the Grassland World. Given that so many Exalts had perished, with even the Sourcewalker Autarchs dying, he knew that sending in more forces would be useless!

“In the end, we weren’t able to forestall his rise.” The horned, azure-robed figure shook his head. “And Darknorth truly is crafty. He only began the binding process after Iyerre entered his Chaosverse.”

The horned figure stared at the towering Chaosverse, now emanating an awesome aura of the Dao of the Sword. He felt a headache coming.

……

Ning had been able to easily bind the Quintessence of the Chaosverse without encountering any resistance at all. After becoming an Omega Autarch, Ning had restructured his mana in accordance with his Autarch Omega Sword Dao, while his soul had undergone a qualitative transformation. There had been a bit of pressure when he began to bind the Chaosverse, but Ning was able to endure that pressure with ease. After he completed the binding, the pressure disappeared.

The vast Chaosverse was now like his own body, with all of its Daos available for him to command. Everything within the Chaosverse was under his control, including all of space and time.

Ning turned to gaze off into the distance. His gaze pierced through space and time, allowing him to see every single creature who had ever lived within this Chaosverse, including recently-deceased figures like Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg and even long-dead figures like Autarch Awakener and Autarch Entropos. He also saw figures from the Three Realms like Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, Shennong, Suiren, Fuxi, and also his beloved Yu Wei.

Some of their truesouls had been shattered, while others had even their truesoul fragments destroyed. Ning, however, was capable of reviving them all.

When he gazed into the past he was able to see their truesouls with clarity, even if their truesouls were shattered. He would be able to reform them from the void itself, recreating them.

“I’m even able to revive those whose truesoul fragments were destroyed?” Ning was absolutely delighted. “I’m virtually omnipotent in my own Chaosverse.”

Previously Ning and the others had all believed that those who had lost their truesoul could not be revived, but that was because none of them had any experience actually being a Lord of Chaos. They had no idea as to just how truly incredible a Chaoslord was.

Within their own Chaosverses, Lords of Chaos were able to connect past, present, and future together. There was almost nothing they could not do.

“Oh. I’m not truly omnipotent.” Ning suddenly came to this realization. “I still can’t see through Iyerre’s soul and truesoul.”

He was able to see through the souls and truesouls of all other living beings, which meant he was able to understand and replicate them… but Iyerre’s truesoul was constructed based on the Autarch Omega Light Dao. Ning didn’t understand the Autarch Omega Light Dao, and so he wouldn’t be able to create a soul based off of it. By the same principle, the Sithe Lord of Chaos was also incapable of recreating Iyerre’s truesoul.

“If I killed Iyerre… the Sithe Chaoslord wouldn’t be able to bring him back?” A cold, murderous look flashed through Ning’s eyes.

Whoosh! Ning took a step forwards, immediately appearing within Iyerre’s region.

……

Iyerre was still in the process of warping through spacetime at maximum speed, his heart burning with impatience.

“If I win, I’ll be the master of this Chaosverse.” Iyerre was filled with eagerness. Suddenly… “Eh? What’s going on? W-why can’t I warp through spacetime any longer?” Iyerre turned pale. Spacetime had suddenly turned incredibly stable around him, making it impossible for him to tear through it.

A white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He said in a cold voice, “Iyerre!”

A terrifying aura of might descended, completely surrounding and freezing Iyerre in his tracks. Iyerre could no longer even move a finger. He stared at the distant Ning in horror: “Y-you already…”

“Yes. I’ve already bound my homeland to myself. From this day forward, I shall be the one to protect it,” Ning said coldly.

“Fellow Daoist!” A voice suddenly rang out from afar, traversing past spacetime and reaching out all the way to Ning’s Chaosverse.

Now that Ning had already bound this Chaosverse, he was able to sense this voice. He turned to stare off into the distance, the ‘membrane’ surrounding the Chaosverse no longer able to bar his gaze. He stared through spacetime and deep into the Infinite Void, following the reverberations of the voice to find its source. He saw a skinny, horned, azure-robed figure standing atop a giant boulder. The horned figure had a warm gaze and a smile on his face. “Fellow Daoist, please spare my disciple’s life.”

Within Ning’s Chaosverse. Ning turned his cold gaze back to Iyerre, his endless aura of might having completely suppressed the Omega Autarch. Iyerre wasn’t able to move so much as a finger. He couldn’t even blink or speak.

“Die,” Ning said coldly.

Whoosh! Iyerre was still staring fixedly at Ning, but his body began to completely break apart. Even his soul was completely disintegrated, transforming into pure energy which was absorbed by the Chaosverse. This surge of energy was so tremendous that it surpassed the combined energies of a hundred ordinary Autarchs. The entire Chaosverse’s aura strengthened noticeably.

Omega Autarch Iyerre. Dead!

“Fellow Daoist!” The distant horned man atop the giant boulder in the Infinite Void could sense his Chaosverse weakening dramatically. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “Was that really necessary? You are already a Lord of Chaos and can revive all those who died. Why did you have to…”

“You wanted to save him?” Ning remained within his Chaosverse, and his own voice echoed out into the Infinite Voice and into the ears of the horned man. The horned man could sense the icy hostility in Ning’s voice.

“You wanted to save him? But if he had won, all living creatures in our entire civilization would have perished. Who would have come to save us?” Ning’s icy, hostile voice continued to echo within the horned man’s ears. “And, Sithe Chaoslord… are you going to tell me that you didn’t help him with his schemes? Don’t try to play innocent in front of me.”

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Chapter 17 - The End (2)

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth, I admit that I did act in a rather untoward fashion, but the path of cultivation is an inherently selfish path. We fight our way to the top, do we not? Your Chaosverse was the weakest of all Chaosverses, so my disciple naturally chose to try and make it his own. The war is now over, and he is dead. You are now a Lord of Chaos. Let us let bygones be bygones. What do you say?”

The horned, azure-robed man completely understood how Ji Ning was feeling right now, and so he continued to speak in a gentle and friendly voice, “You now stand at the very peak of civilization, after all. We each are in control of our respective Chaosverses, and neither of us can do anything to the other. What’s the point of holding grudges?”

Ning let out a cold snort, then retracted his gaze and broke the link. The horned man just chuckled, not angry in the slightest.

……

The white-robed Ning stood within the emptiness of space, staring at the treasures which the deceased Iyerre had left behind. He used his godsense to sweep through all of the treasures and inspect them. “Given that Iyerre dared to return, he probably had something he was counting on.”

“Oh. Was it this tablet?” Ning discovered the Stele of Mountains and Rivers. It looked quite ordinary, but when Ning gave it a closer inspection he was rather startled. The internal intricacies made him sigh in amazement. “This should have been created by the Sithe Lord of Chaos. Otherwise, Iyerre would’ve used it long ago. It truly is incredible. This Lord of Chaos is an absolute marvel when it comes to artificing, and this item is of some use to me.”

The black warbeasts had little meaning for Ning, but the Stele of Mountains and Rivers was of fairly significant use.

“This stele can allow me to instantly release an enormous amount of mana in a terrifying strike that vastly surpasses my normal maximums. Incredible. Although I cannot bind it, it’ll still be of great use to me in improving my own artificing skills.” Ning willed the six Northbow swords on his back to all enter his heartworld. By now, his vast heartworld was completely identical to the real world.

Within the heartworld, Ning could make anything ‘real’ with but a thought. He could even manufacture a hundred or more Northbow swords in the blink of an eye, but he would have to pay an enormous price in energy!

Rumble. The Northbow swords began to transform within the heartworld. Everything was as Ning willed it to be. He first transformed their quintessences into his Autarch Omega Sword Dao, then remade the physical properties of the swords as well, infusing some of the insights he had gained from the Stele of Mountains and Rivers into his Northbow swords. At critical moments, his swords would now be able to unleash incredible attacks that vastly surpassed their normal might. Although the difference wasn’t as ridiculous as that granted by the Stele of Mountains and Rivers, it still replicated 30% of the effect.

In that same instant, his avatar began to remake the Northmoon swords within its own heartworld. His avatar had been reinforced and nourished by the power of the entire Chaosverse and was thus at 80% of the true Ning’s power.

“I’m a Lord of Chaos, but I have yet to really explore the outside world. I can only relax after fully understanding this universe.” Ning was a bit nervous from the repeated invasions, and so he was filled with wariness and vigilance towards the outside world.

He would send his avatar out, rather than his true body. The Sithe Lord of Chaos only had an avatar in the outside world as well. Their avatars had roughly 80% of their full power, and once they died they could swiftly be remade. They were perfect for sending out exploring.

“Let’s take a look and see what mysteries the Infinite Void holds within it.” The sword-bearing golden-robed Ning exited his Chaosverse.

The golden-robed Ning began to wander through the endlessly dazzling Infinite Void. This place was filled with distorted spacetime and many enormous celestial objects, as well as countless strange beings. When they encountered the golden-robed Ning, they were filled with utter terror. This was merely Ning’s avatar, but it carried with it the mighty aura of of an entire Chaosverse. This was why Lords of Chaos were so terrifying and why Iyerre was so desperate to become one. A single glance from them was enough to suppress and kill an Omega Autarch. The difference in power was simply too great.

“There are a total of nine Chaosverses, and they are the largest of celestial objects here. The others are all much smaller. Countless celestial objects, scattered throughout the Infinite Void… and spacetime here is completely chaotic.” The golden-robed Ning began to understand. “It’s just too large, and every single spacetime continuum is different. I could spend ten million chaos cycles exploring without being able to fully investigate the entire Infinite Void. The Infinite Void is also changing constantly; there’s no point in even trying.”

“My homeland and the enormous Chaosverses… where did they come from?” If he wasn’t able to investigate the entire Infinite Void, he wanted to at least understand his own past and the source of the Chaosverses.

Whoosh. Ning stared off into the distance. The enormous Chaosverse that was his home was within his field of vision, as was another vast Chaosverse. Chaosverses were so enormous that they loomed large from even incredible distances.

“Reverse.” Ning willed time to flow backwards. Rumble… time quickly came to a halt and began to reverse, displaying the countless scenes that had occurred in the past. This sort of ‘temporal inversion’ technique generally required very little energy. In the Three Realms, even weak Immortals and Fiendgods were capable of using such a technique. However, he was applying the technique to an absolutely enormous region which covered two Chaosverses, resulting in a similarly tremendous expenditure of energy. His own energies were rapidly depleted, but the prime energies of his Chaosverse sent more and more to him.

This was another reason why Chaoslords were so incredible. They could unleash as much power as they wanted! So long as they didn’t unleash more power than their Chaosverses’ would naturally regenerate, they essentially had access to truly unlimited energy. Their Chaosverses would also draw upon energy from the Infinite Void at an incredible rate.

“Faster, faster! I want to see more!” The golden-robed Ning stared towards the two Chaosverses as time continued to reverse.

Boom! Suddenly, Ning saw those two distant Chaosverses explode. “Eh?!” Ning immediately halted the temporal inversion.

It wasn’t an actual explosion. Time continued to slowly flow forwards, allowing Ning to view everything clearly. The actual scene… was of countless different streams of matter and energy slowly coming together to form an enormous Chaosverse!

“So the Chaosverses were actually formed by countless amounts of matter and energy coming together?” Ning nodded. This made sense. He continued the temporal inversion.

“Eh?” Suddenly, Ning noticed something special. The matter and energy which had ‘exploded’ outwards came together to form many celestial objects of various size, with the nine Chaosverses being the largest. “So all matter actually came from that direction over there?” Ning immediately turned his gaze to the location where all this matter had come from.

Time inverted at the point where he focused his gaze, staring at the place where all this matter had come from.

Once, long ago, a single absolutely enormous landmass had existed across an incredibly wide area within the Infinite Void. This landmass was absolutely, inconceivably sized. It vastly surpassed any Chaosverse.

“What an enormous landmass! Is this where everything came from?” the golden-robed Ning immediately began to move closer to that region.

……

“Ah. He’s discovered it?” The thin, horned man atop that levitating boulder watched from afar. When Ning began to move towards the location where that landmass had been, the horned man’s heart clenched. He then immediately began to warp over there as well.

……

When Ning arrived at the location of the vast landmass, time began to reverse once more. The scenes of what had once occurred within that vast landmass began to replay in front of Ning. This world had been far vaster than any Chaosverse, and it also held far more living beings within it, including countless living beings and countless races.

“How lively.” Ning watched the lives of those countless beings being replayed before him.

BOOM! Suddenly, the vast landmass began to crack apart.

“You traitors! TRAITORS!” A towering, black-robed emperor who emanated an aura of incredible power was surrounded by over a hundred figures of tremendous might. These figures all had different appearances, including both humans and beasts, and their blows were filled with incredible strength.

“Traitors? You enslaved us! Should all of our hard work been meant for nothing save to serve as your eternal slaves?”

“Haha… you thought that the seal you placed on our truesouls would enable you to control us unto our deaths. You fool! In the end, you are nothing more than this continent’s will incarnate. You are no true cultivator! You h ave no idea how formidable Omega Autarchs are. We escaped your control long ago. We simply put on an act and bided our time!”

“We’ve been waiting for so long, while brother Heavencloud poured all his effort into creating this Grand Armageddon Formation to deal with you!”

Although Ning didn’t understand what the experts of this era were saying, through watching the battle he was able to tell what level the hundred-plus experts were at, as well as the black-robed emperor’s level.

“What?!” Ning was shocked by the battle occurring before him. “The attackers are all Omega Autarchs!”

There were a total of 129 experts attacking the black-robed emperor, and all of them were Omega Autarchs. They had joined together into an incredibly complex formation. Even though Ning was also an Omega Autarch, he felt that he was incapable of truly understanding it. He had the vague feeling that it had probably been created by someone who had reached Omega Autarchy via the Dao of Formations. This was why the formation was able to allow over a hundred Omega Autarchs to fuse their energies together perfectly.

“How can there be this many Omega Autarchs?” Ning was rather stunned. “Although each blow from that black-robed emperor is filled with awesome power, he’s actually at a lower level of insight than them. He doesn’t seem to be an Omega Autarch. He’s at a lower level, yet can contend with 129 of them by himself?”

Whoosh. A second figure warped through spacetime and appeared next to Ning. It was the horned, azure-robed man.

“You?” Ning glanced at him.

“This is our first time actually meeting, I believe.” The horned man smiled. “I am Alphan of the Sithe Chaosverse.”

Ning blinked. He suddenly realized that his Chaosverse didn’t have a name yet. There were nine of them, after all; it wouldn’t be appropriate to keep calling his ‘the Chaosverse’. What name should he choose for it?

Ning thought back to his homeland, of the many living beings who had struggled within the Chaosverse to clamber upwards on the path of cultivation. So many forerunners had helped clear the way, cutting their way through thistles and thorns as they blazed a path through the wilderness. Their efforts had finally culminated in Ning’s success, allowing their Chaosverse to enter a new stage of development.

“Desolate Chaosverse, Ji Ning.” Ning looked at the horned man.

“Desolate… Ji Ning?” the horned man murmured softly.

“Why have you come here?” Ning felt nothing but ill-will towards this horned man, and so he came straight to the point.

The horned man pointed at the scene of the great battle which had occurred in the past. “In this era, the vast landmass before us ended up being destroyed by the battle we are now watching. After breaking apart, its energy and its matter ended up forming many celestial objects within the Infinite Void, with the largest being our nine Chaosverses.”

Ning simply listened.

“That black-robed emperor was the continent’s will incarnate. Its Quintessence was far more powerful than those in our Chaosverses, and as a result it reached a level of such power that it actually gained true sentience,” the horned man said. “The will of the landmass governed itself and all of the living beings with it. Once a cultivator succeeded in the Daomerge and broke through to become an Eternal Emperor, it would set down a seal upon that cultivator’s truesoul which allowed it to take full control over that cultivator’s life and death.

“Since it was nothing more than a psychic being which arose from the prime essences, it only understood the various Eternal Omega Daos. It didn’t understand what an Autarch Omega Dao was! However, it had the power of the entire continent behind it, and so it remained invincible.

“More and more living beings arose within this continent. Omega Autarchs eventually began to rise, but even after reaching Omega Autarchy they were still unable to extricate themselves from that seal. One… two… three… more and more Omega Autarchs began to appear. Finally, an incredibly powerful Omega Autarch managed to devise a method to solve the seal, and he secretly passed it over to the other Omega Autarchs.”

Ning continued to listen silently.

“Look. That’s him over there.” The horned man pointed towards a white-haired man who was amongst the attackers. “His name was Grand Sovereign Crimson Wind, and he was one of nine Grand Sovereigns under the command of that black-robed emperor who was responsible for helping the emperor manage the entire landmass. He was the one who solved the seal.”

“Later, the Omega Autarch of Formations known as Heavencloud managed to develop an absolutely terrifying formation, the ‘Grand Armageddon Formation’.” The horned man pointed at another man who was bald. “He was the black-robed emperor’s Sentinel for the seventh universe.”

“Seventh universe?” Ning suddenly said.

“You might not have noticed yet, but that landmass actually has a total of thirty-two universes circling around it. Each of them is roughly on par with our own Chaosverses in size,” the horned man said.

Ning said, “You know quite a lot.”

“Haha, I’ve inverted time to watch the history of this era before us on many an occasion. I’ve even learned their language,” the horned man chuckled. “By now, I’m familiar with all of these Omega Autarchs and their backgrounds. I even know how they each rose to power and what they experienced. I can’t help but sigh. The end result of that battle was the maddened emperor destroying the entire landmass and causing all of the Omega Autarchs to die with him.”

Ning saw it as well. That final, great explosion… it had claimed the lives of that terrifying psychic being and all 129 Omega Autarchs. In fact, all the living beings on that landmass had died, while the thirty-two universes orbiting it had been annihilated as well. It had been an absolutely enormous explosion! The entire Infinite Void had been wiped clean of all life thanks to that explosion.

As Ning listened to the horned man speak, he continued to watch the temporal inversion and see the history of this land. The great landmass had been around for far too long. As Ning continued to watch backwards he gradually began to learn and understand its language, and he also began to grow familiar with the deceased Omega Autarchs.

For example, the black-robed emperor’s Sentinel for the nineteenth universe had been named Autarch Cloudsoar. He had also been an Autarch of the Omega Sword Dao.

The black-robed emperor’s Sentinel for the third universe, ‘Autarch Yin-Yang’, had been an incomparably muscular old bull whose body was completely black.

The various experts all had their own areas of expertise.

“Thankfully, in my homeland the ‘will’ of the Quintessence simply acts on instinct, rather than gaining a sense of self and thus becoming a true living being.” The more Ning saw, the more frighterned he became. All living beings on that continent had been slaves to the black-robed emperor, unable to extricate themselves until the day of the final battle.

Time continued to flow backwards to the earliest days before life had even arisen. There, the temporal inversion came to a halt. It was impossible to go backwards any farther.

“You’ve reached the end. Time can no longer move backwards,” the horned man said.

Ning nodded. All the images before him vanished, and the space in front of him went back to normal.

“Eh?” Ning stared in front of him, only to see that a universe had appeared in the location where that vast landmass had been. The universe was slowly draining energy and matter from the surrounding area. Clearly, it was still in the growing phase and had yet to truly form.

Swish! The golden-robed Ning took a step forwards, appearing before that universe.

“Ji Ning.” The horned man’s heart clenched as he immediately followed from behind.

Ning’s godsense instantly swept out to enter the slowly-forming universe. Inside, he saw nothing but raw chaos. There was no life within it at all. “How odd. The old era ended long ago, while the other Chaosverses have all been formed. This one, however, has not.”

“Everything is possible within the Infinite Void,” the horned man said.

“It is developing quite slowly,” Ning said with a smile. “Judging from what I saw when I inverted time, this place must have begun to accumulate matter ever since that great explosion had occurred. However… despite all that time having passed, it still can’t even come close to comparing to our Chaosverses. In my homeland, generally speaking the slower something grows, the more terrifying it will become when it finally matures.”

The horned man’s heart trembled, but his face remained calm. “Oh?”

“I’m not lying to you,” Ning smiled. Indeed. The legends of ‘Nezha’ had him in his mother’s womb for three years and six months before being born. Ning’ s own daughter, Brightmoon, had been in the womb for five years and two months before emerging.

“I have the feeling that this universe is taking shape far too slowly… and it is located exactly where the original landmass was.” Ning chuckled. “It might grow to become even more powerful than our Chaosverses.” Ning was connecting all the dots together.

“Impossible. That landmass completely blew apart. Most of its matter came to form our nine Chaosverses. The remaining amount of matter couldn’t possibly form a stronger universe,” the horned man said confidently.

“Makes sense.” Ning glanced at the horned man, then drew a Northmoon sword from his back.

Clink! The sword sliced through the Infinite Void, radiating a sharp light as it chopped down at the slowly-growing universe.

“Stop that!” The horned man immediately reached out, his arm expanding tremendously as he blocked Ning’s sword-light.

The two attacks collided. The horned man’s robes tore apart, revealing a skinny but incomparably tough right arm which was completely undamaged.

“What are you doing, Ji Ning?” the horned man asked angrily.

“Destroying it, of course,” Ning said.

“It is a perfectly fine universe which poses no threat to us at all. Why are you going to destroy it?” the horned man asked.

“At first, I was just curious about it, since it was located where the original landmass was and grew very slowly. As I said, in own homeland, the slower something develops the more powerful it becomes… but when you kept on rebutting what I said, I had the feeling that something was wrong. I thought I’d give it a try, and as I thought, you moved to block me.” Ning chuckled.

The horned man instantly felt regret upon hearing this. He wanted Ning to feel that this was nothing more than an ordinary universe, but instead he had put Ning on his guard. It must be remembered that Ning’s avatar had exited his Chaosverse filled with suspicion towards anything and everything which could be a threat to it. He had the feeling that this small universe was rather unusual; testing it out was a very normal reaction. For the horned man to stop him meant that something was afoot. If the horned man didn’t stop him? Well, destroying a celestial object which held no life didn’t really matter.

Whoosh! The golden-robed Ning once more charged towards that Chaosverse, chopping out with his divine sword.

“Don’t! I’ll tell you the secret!” the horned man called out hurriedly while blocking. “I discovered this by accident over many years of observation. If any other Chaoslords arise in the future, don’t tell them this secret! This universe is very unique in many ways. Although it isn’t that large, it is quite marvelous. Let me explain!”

No amount of honeyed words could dissuade Ning!

“BREAK!” Ning’s eyes flickered with destructive light. He manifested three heads and six arms, each of his hands holding onto a Northmoon sword. Sword-light flashed in an utterly indomitable matter as he summoned the vast power of his entire Chaosverse. The horned man grew quite desperate. Darknorth was an Omega Autarch of the Sword, the most offensive type of Omega Autarch. Alphan would be able to withstand Ning’s attack, but there was no way he could completely negate it and prevent any of it from harming the small universe.

“Gwaaaar!” The horned man suddenly changed form, becoming an incomparably vast and muscular black bull. Beneath the bull’s hooves appeared the enormous diagram of a Yin-Yang.

“It is you? The Sentinel for the third universe, ‘Autarch Yin-Yang’?” Ning recognized this form. So the horned man was actually one of the 129 Omega Autarchs who had surrounded and assaulted the black-robed emperor! “You didn’t die?”

The bull had clearly died in the images Ning had seen during the temporal inversion. Ning instantly realized that a grand secret had to be connected to this.

“Damnit!” The old black bull grew even more panicked and angry. “So long as I’m here, you can forget about destroying it!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! The golden-robed Ning began to battle against the old black bull next to that new universe. The shockwaves from this battle blasted out in every direction. :The old black bull had been alive since the ancient era, and his body h ad been tempered and forged to become the most terrifying machine warbeast possible.

As for Ning, he was an Omega Autarch of the Sword, well-suited to combat and slaughter. More importantly, he wasn’t trying to attack the black bull. He was trying to destroy the universe. The Sithe Chaoslord had been willing to reveal his identity in order to protect that universe, which made Ning all the more aware of its importance.

“Don’t destroy it! It will bring many benefits!” the black bull tried to dissuade Ning.

“Break for me!” Ning continued to launch berserk attacks. He poured an enormous amount of energy into his Northmoon swords. Now that they had been reforged, they had a function akin to the Stele of Mountains and Rivers, allowing him to unleash desperation attacks of tremendous power.

The old black bull suddenly felt a sense of danger which caused him to blanche. He had been the one to give Iyerre the Stele of Mountains and Rivers. Now, it was coming back to bite him!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Six absolutely horrifying streaks of destructive sword-light pierced through the void. The old black bull was unable to completely block them, and so he could do nothing but watch in agony.

Five streaks of sword-light tore into that universe. The universe was quite weak and not yet fully-formed. This desperation attack from a Lord of Chaos caused its incomplete Quintessence to be completely torn apart, resulting in the universe shuddering and beginning to crumble.

“N-no…!” the old black howled angrily. He returned to his first, azure-robed form and stared ta the scene before him in despair. “Why? Why did you have to destroy it?!” the horned man stared at Ning.

“I don’t care how ‘marvelous’ it will become in the future. Now that I’ve destroyed it, it will never pose a threat,” Ning said. “There’s no need for you to say too many things to me. I won’t trust you no matter what you say. Who knows if you are telling the truth or not? The only thing I know is that I will destroy any and all threats to my home. That way, there won’t be another senseless war in the future. I’m satisfied with being a Lord of Chaos. I don’t have any ambition of invading other Chaosverses and conquering them. All I want to do is safeguard my own home.”

After speaking, Ning turned and departed.

The horned man stared at the golden-robed Ning left, filled with utter agony. Back within the Sithe Chaosverse, his true body was holding onto a stone tablet which had the words ‘World’ and ‘Set’ on them.

“During the last era, we failed at the very end. The entire landmass was destroyed, but I was lucky enough to acquire the deceased emperor’s ‘Worldsetter Stele’. I hid a fragment of my truesoul within it, and as a result I managed to survive. I was delivered into a Chaosverse and ended up becoming its Lord of Chaos.” The horned bull was in a state of utter agony. “Once that growing universe became truly complete, it could become one with the Worldsetter Stele. When that happened, I would have a chance of ascending to…”

“It’s gone. It’s all gone.” The horned man gradually began to calm down. What was done was done. There was no way to reverse it.

“Perhaps I was being too stubborn. I am a Lord of Chaos and completely invincible in the Infinite Void. Why do I have to become even more powerful?” The horned man gradually came to his senses. He had been enslaved for so long during the previous era that he had an almost maniacal desire to become stronger, to stand at the top and rule others so that none would ever rule him again.

But this was a new era, an era that was different from the previous era. When Ning destroyed that budding universe, it meant that the old landmass would never be reborn. He had lost his chance… but as a result, he was now truly free.”

“I’m free now. There’s nothing left to fight over.” The horned man began to fly back towards his own Chaosverse. “No ambition… only wishes to safeguard his own home… Desolate… Ji Ning? Mm. A Chaoslord like him is decent company.”

……

Ning’s golden-robed avatar established an estate within the Infinite Void. It would permanently reside her, occasionally going out and wandering about. He couldn’t guarantee that no dangers would appear, but he would do his utmost to protect his home.

Within the Desolate Chaosverse.

The white-robed Ning stood there within empty space, flanked by Autarch Bolin and Autarch Ekong.

“Come back, brother Titanos.” Ning smiled. Instantly, countless specks of light began to appear. Ning was virtually omnipotent within his own Chaosverse. He had been able to see everything within Autarch Titanos’ truesoul, and thus he was able to remake it out of the void and call it back.

An old man with two fleshy antennae on his head slowly began to appear.

“What just happened to me?!” Autarch Titanos stared at Ning, Ekong, and Bolin in shock. “Darknorth, y-you… didn’t I die? Wasn’t my truesoul devoured?”

“Calm down,” Bolin laughed.

“Wait a while,” Ekong said.

Ning smiled as well. “Give me just a few moments, brother Titanos.” As he spoke, countless flecks of light began to assemble next to him yet again. This time, they resolved into Autarch Mogg. Next came Autarch Stonerule and Autarch Skyfeeder. After that came the refined, relaxed Autarch Awakener… and last came the ancient-looking Autarch Entropos.

All eight Autarchs had been gathered together. The eight Autarchs who had arisen within the Desolate Chaosverse had finally been reunited.

“This is Darknorth.” Autarch Bolin made the introductions, a smile on his face. “He trained in the Omega Sword Dao and used it to reach Omega Autarchy, binding our entire Chaosverse to himself. As a result, he was able to bring you all back.”

“Brother Darknorth?” Autarch Entropos stared at Ning, wide-eyed. Autarch Awakener felt rather curious, as he felt a close connection between himself and Ning.

“Actually, it can be said that Autarch Awakener helped guide me on my path,” Ning laughed.

They began to chat amongst themselves. All of them were amazed at the twists and turns of fate. They had died, and yet they were now back! The guidance which Autarch Awakener has provided to Ning had been critically important. Without his guidance, Ning probably wouldn’t have been able to understand the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. And now, after becoming a Lord of Chaos, Ning was able to revive Autarch Awakener. It was all so interesting.

“Gentlemen, far too many of our Hegemons and Emperors have died during the two wars we fought. They fought to the death for the sake of our entire Chaosverse. I have to bring them all back as well,” Ning laughed.

Boom! The entire Chaosverse seemed to tremble.

“W-what just happened to me?”

“Didn’t I die?”

“Where am I?”

Hegemons and Emperors began to come back to life throughout the Chaosverse, all of them rather stunned. Their final memories were of the moments before their deaths. Ning had viewed the past of this entire Chaosverse and knew each and every Hegemon and Emperor. He revived everyone who had died in battle, including the ones he recognized such as his own disciple, ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding. He also revived some of the friends he had encountered when wandering the Chaosverse after failing his Daomerge.

Many powerful experts had all been brought back.

“Darknorth… will such a large-scale resurrection be bad for this Chaosverse?” Autarch Titanos asked.

“Don’t worry,” Ning laughed. “Even after being revived, they remain a part of the Chaosverse. The actual amount of energy which has been permanently lost due to the revival process is quite low. For example, reviving the six of you cost roughly the amount of energy a single Autarch contains with him. Reviving all these Hegemons and Emperors didn’t cost too much at all. I can handle it with ease.”

It really mattered very little. Iyerre’s death alone had granted their Chaosverse more than a hundred Autarchs worth of power.

……

After chatting with the eight Autarchs, Ning departed and went back to the Three Realms. Ning’s emotions towards the Three Realms were the deepest of all.

Nuwa, Subhuti, Maitreya, Kuafu, Crazy Ji… all of them had received mental messages from Ning. They were his old friends, and now all of them were standing by his side.

“Return to us.” With but a thought, Ning brought back the Three Realms of old. Countless specks of light began to gather, resulting in countless figures emerging within it. These were the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms who had died in the Endwar against Old Man Yuan and the Seamless Gate, as well as those who had died even earlier. Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Buddha Jueming, Suiren, Shennong, Fuxi, Lord Everwood, senior apprentice-brother Houyi, Gonggong, Daoist Threelives…

Countless Immortals and Fiendgods were brought back to life. Many friends were reunited.

Tathagata, Maitreya, Ananda… these old friends of the Buddhist Sangha all gathered together. As for the Daoist Way? Three Purities, Daofather Carefree, Lu Dongbin, and the others all gathered together as well, with those who had survived the Endwar narrating what had happened afterwards.

Too many people. Too many stories. All of them had been brought back to life.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Houyi held Chang’e by the hand, walking over to stand before Ning. “Thank you.”

“Haha. Eldest apprentice-brother, spend some time chatting with my sister-in-law. Don’t waste any time on me,” Ning laughed.

“Master.” Ning walked over to Daoist Threelives, who looked rather hesitant even though the big yellow bear next to him nodded encouragingly. Daoist Threelives was normally a very straightforward and heroic figure, but when he spoke to Subhuti and his other old friends he quickly learned just how incredible Ji Ning was. Ji Ning was someone completely omnipotent, capable of controlling life and death, and able to link past, present, and future together. And… Ji Ning was his disciple? Although he was nominally Ning’s master, this was their first time actually meeting each other.

“Uh. Hi there, Darknorth,” Daoist Threelives said rather hesitantly. This was their first meeting, and the two didn’t really share the relationship which a master and disciple should. This was something which took time.

Ning didn’t try to force things. He turned, staring off into the distance. All the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms had been brought back to life. They were all reunited now, sharing their stories with each other. It would be years before things calmed down.

Ning immediately retreated, vanishing without a trace.

……

Ning arrived back at the Black-White College of Stillwater Province, located within the Grand Xia major world of the Three Realms. Since Ning had remade the entire Three Realms with his will alone, the Grand Xia was currently devoid of life.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning walked over to the Dao Debate Palace of the Black-White College. He had left her for last. She was going to be revived by herself.

“Come back to me, senior apprentice-sister.”

Countless specks of light began to appear. They appeared unspeakably beautiful and graceful, and they gathered together into the form of the young, black-robed Yu Wei. As more and more truesoul fragments gathered, life appeared within Yu Wei’s eyes. She stared at Ning, who looked back into the eyes of his senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei.

The white-robed Ning and the black-robed Yu Wei simply stared at each other in silence. As the final piece of her truesoul fragment returned, Yu Wei regained all of her memories and she began to emit the aura of true life.

“Junior apprentice-brother?” Yu Wei couldn’t believe it. Her final memories were of the war-torn Three Realms and her death at the hands of the Godking.

“Senior apprentice-sister.” Ning stepped forward, gently taking his wife into his arms. He simply held her, inhaling into her hair and smelling her sweet fragrance. This scent had become a dusty memory that had lain dormant for many years. Ning felt intoxicated by it. He had trained and fought and bled for so long, but it was all worth it. This single instant… it surpassed all of eternity.

Yu Wei hugged Ning back. She was still rather confused. Her memories had ‘jumped’ from her death in the Three Realms war to the present day. She didn’t know what Ning had experienced, but she knew that Ning must have made many, many sacrifices in order to bring her back to life.

Finally Ning released Yu Wei, but he continued to hold her by the hand. He pointed at the area around them. “Senior apprentice-sister, remember this?”

“Of course I do. This is the Dao Debate Palace. We had a little competition here, and you lost,” Yu Wei teased. Suddenly, she couldn’t help but ask, “Junior apprentice-brother… can you tell me what has happened?”

“Let’s sit down and talk it over.” Ning pulled Yu Wei over to sit down atop a dais before the Dao Debate Palace, then began to explain. “During that battle, you were killed by the Godking…”

Ning talked for a long, long time. He narrated the end of the war for the Three Realms, his journey to the Badlands Territory, his abduction by Hegemon Brightshore, and even his adventure into that otherverse. He explained how he came to understand the Omega Sword Dao and then used it to become a Daolord of the First Step, Second Step…

He told of his adventures in the Terror Starsea, of how he fought to acquire a Voidsea Jadeseal within the Waveshift Realm, of his battles against Archons of the Sacred Cities, and even him acquiring the Flamewing God and then begging Autarch Titanos to bring her back to life.

“I was heartbroken when I failed in that attempt.” Ning pointed towards an area up ahead. “I got completely drunk, right over there. I fell asleep on the snow.”

With but a thought, Ning caused snow to flutter down around them. Ning and Yu Wei gazed at the beautiful snowscape, while Ning said with a smile, “It’s actually quite odd. I was heartbroken, which is why the snow fell… but now when I see the snow, I feel very happy.”

Yu Wei didn’t say anything. She just tightly held onto Ning’s hand. She herself felt heart-aching pain ever since Ning had begun his tale.

Ning continued to narrate his story. “Afterwards, I attempted the Daomerge. Unfortunately, I failed.” He explained of his hunt for Nuwa, his meeting with the five Autarchs, and how he had gone into the Sithelands to save the Paragon of Pills. He told of how he had found the [Five Truncheon Chapters] within that hidden world, and in the end managed to complete the [Void Everlasting] technique which gave him an imperishable truesoul. He told her of how he had become an Omega Emperor, and of the war which the Sithe had unleashed.

“We won that final battle. I broke through and took the final step on my path.” Ning smiled as he looked at Yu Wei. “We won, and so everything I wanted became real. All my old friends came back to life… and of course, so did you.”

Yu Wei looked at Ning. She truly couldn’t imagine how Ning could’ve experienced so many things since her death in the Three Realms. It had been just a blink of an eye for her. She felt pained at all he had suffered.

“Look.” Ning pointed forwards. In front of the Dao Debate Palace, a plum blossom suddenly emerged from the fallen snow, releasing its sweet fragrance as it bloomed.

“In my past life on Earth, there was a saying in my homeland: ‘Only after enduring the bone-chilling cold shall you smell the fragrance of the plum blossom.’” Ning laughed loudly. “I’ve endured the bone-chilling cold. Now, I finally can smell the fragrance of the plum blossom.” As he spoke, he pressed his nose against Yu Wei’s face and gave her a sniff, then said in an absolutely shameless manner, “Mm, plum blossom. It smells so good.”

The plum blossoms continued to emerge from the snow before the Dao Debate Palace. As for Ning and Yu Wei, they continued to sit there atop the dais. They had so many stories to share with each other, including stories of their daughter. Ning had many things he wanted to tell her, and Yu Wei wanted to hear them all.

……

The Three Realms. A great banquet, the likes of which had never been seen before, was being hosted here on this day. Lord of Chaos Ji Ning, also known as Autarch Darknorth, was personally hosting this banquet. The eight Autarchs and countless Hegemons and Emperors who had fought in the war had all been teleported here by Ning to take part in this feast. This was also a victory feast for them, after having won the war.

Ning was seated at the highest position, while his wife Yu Wei was next to him. To each side of them were the eight Autarchs.

Below them, there was no further division of rank. It was a veritable sea of Hegemons and Emperors! As for Subhuti, Nuwa, Brightmoon, and the other leaders of the Three Realms, they had a section all their own.

Many major powers used this banquet to discuss the Dao with each other, and there was much merry-making and rejoicing. Many of the cultivators brought painters, musicians, and other talented entertainers to spread joy amongst each other!

“I never imagined that this day would come,” Buddha Ksitigarbha said with a smile.

“And I never would’ve thought that I’d have a disciple like Autarch Darknorth! I never even taught him!” Daoist Threelives roared happily while drinking some wine.

“Okay, now you are just blatantly showing off,” Crimsonbright remarked.

“So what if I am?” Daoist Threelives mock-glared at him.

……

Houyi and Chang’e were seated together. Houyi no longer looked like the quiet, forlorn woodcutter of old. His spirit and bravado had been aroused once more.

On the other side were ‘Azure Bamboo’ Yang Quding and Hegemon Dawnclear, who were together again.

The first pair belonged to the ‘Three Realms Allliance’, while the second pair included Ning’s personal disciple. They were all seated close to each other, and both duos smiled and nodded at each other.

……

“So you are Brightshore? I heard you actually abducted Autarch Darknorth long ago?”

By now, Hegemon Brightshore was a famous man. There were many Hegemons and Emperors who wished to befriend him. He chortled, “Haha, yes. I have to say, I was lucky. Who would’ve thought that when I swallowed that batch of cultivators, I would end up abducting the man who would become Autarch Darknorth? Haha. It was luck! Luck!”

……

“I’m telling you guys, me and Darknorth are like brothers! I could tell from the very first moment I saw him that he was something special.” Ninedust was busy bragging to the other Hegemons and Emperors.

……

The Paragon of Pills and her ‘big brother’ were together, beaming happily as they took part in the feast. When their gazes met with Ning’s, both sides raised their goblets in toasts.

……

It was a truly grand celebration with oceans of food and drink. The Immortals and Fiendgods all made merry in this truly unprecedented gathering, while the major powers who put on performances did their utmost to please.

Ning and Yu Wei sat up high, staring down at the many cultivators below them. Ning saw his father Ji Yichuan, his mother Yuchi Snow, his daughter Ji Brightmoon, and her Dao-companion Stonepool. He saw Uncle White, Autumn Leaf, Little Qing, and many other friends from his earliest days. He saw all the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms, and the countless major powers he had encountered on his path.

“Alphan… Sithe…” Ning silently shook his head. “What’s the point of fighting? Being strong enough to protect those we care about is enough.”

Ning turned, his gaze intersecting with Yu Wei’s. “I want to kiss you,” Ning said.

“There’s too many people here!” Yu Wei was shocked. “No way. No way! Wait for the feast to be over.”

“Don’t be afraid. Your husband is the Lord of Chaos. So long as I will it, they won’t see a thing.” Ning lowered his head, burying himself in Yu Wei’s lips.

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Era - Afterword

Author’s Afterword:

Whew. It’s over. Nearly two and a half years have passed, starting from Dec 16, 2012 until today, April 10, 2015. Our journey through the [Desolate Era] is finally over. The enormous [Desolate Era] started with our Ji Ning stumbling through the Netherworld Kingdom into his next reincarnated life, and now we can finally put a final period on this story.

This is the seventh novel which Tomatoes has written. [Legend of the Astral Peaks], [Inch of Radiance], [Stellar Transformations], [Coiling Dragon], [The Nine Cauldrons], [Swallowed Star] came before it. This has been the seventh.

[Desolate Era] has had games and anime made based off of it, with the first episode of the anime already released. It was a bit slow at first due to a lack of familiarity, but starting from the third episode it should speed up quickly. It should stabilize at roughly an episode a week and will continue to be broadcast. A TV series is about to start shooting as well, and it’ll go on satellite television. We’re also preparing for a movie, but [Desolate Era] will require a large amount of investment and so it will be a while in the coming.

Whew. Two and a half years. Haha, two and a half years is a very long period of time! My son was born, and now he can actually recite poetry. I’m speechless.

As for this novel I spent two and a half years writing? At first, everything was so smooth and easy. I was fired up and filled with energy, and the letters just kept flowing. However, towards the middle/late parts of the novel, I was just too tired, especially after I went past 2 million characters. I felt as though I was a marathon runner who had reached his limit and at the verge of collapse. I worked until very late at night, every night, burning the midnight oil and tearing my hair out to think about what to write. Sometimes I couldn’t even be bothered to shower. I was a man possessed.

I was most tired during the latter half of last year. The pressure was tremendous, and the need to write two chapters a day resulted in the plot being imperfect. I tried to force myself to think and to post new chapters, and I nearly went mad from it all. There were several times, late at night last year, where I felt my heartrate speeding up so rapidly that I thought that I might die at any moment. I managed to force myself to last until January, at which point I gritted my teeth and said ‘Screw it’, slowing down to one chapter a day.

This made things much easier for me. My mental energies quickly began to recover, and I feel as though my physical conditioning has improved by 50%, haha.

I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into [Desolate Era]. It feels like part of my life itself. Now that I’m done writing it, I feel relaxed. Finally, I can take a long break… but at the same time, I feel a bit reluctant to part with it. My emotions are quite complicated.

No matter what, [Desolate Era] is over! This book is done, and I had a smile on my face as I wrote the grand finale.

Mm. As for what’s next? A new book, of course!

The new book will be set in a strange and mysterious continent. It’ll be a completely different type of book, one which I’ve never written before. In fact, the cultivation system within it will be unlike any other I’ve worked on! Haha. I’ve been a novel writer for nearly ten years, after all. I need to find my breakthrough! All I want to say is that I’ll use all of my emotions to write this new novel, pouring all of my ardor into it.

But of course… now that I’ve finished [Desolate Era], I’m going to completely relax and empty my mind for a time, then prepare for a new book. I’ll give myself two months of rest, then officially start the next book on June 15th!

For news on my next book as well for some super secret updates, you can all pay attention to my public ‘WeChat’ account. I’ll keep it updated with news. All you need to do is search for ‘我吃西红柿’ or ‘fanqie34’ and you’ll be able to add me.

Alrighty then. Everything’s ok now. The world of [Desolate Era] has come to an end. The next time we meet, it’ll be in the world of my new book. See you all on June 15th!

Tomatoes,

The evening of June 10th, Yangzhou City.

RWX's Afterword:

Whew. Wow. Yikes. Wooooow!

This is the third IET novel that I have worked on (with Coiling Dragon and Desolate Era being solely translated by myself). I agree with author IET that '2.5 years is a very long period of time'; I spent just as much time translating DE as he did writing it, and in fact I've been translating his novels from 2014 to 2018! That's an even longer period of time.

I want to thank each and every reader, commenter, donor, sponsor, and friend who has supported this translation. Like IET, it's been a very long and exhausting process and I'm both filled with joy that its over but also nostalgia and a bit of reluctance to part with it. However, 'there is no party that goes on forever'; 天下没有不散的筵席. I've translated in sickness and in health (I was actually in the hospital just earlier today due to a severe fever), through breakups and through makeups, and all the other things that can happen over the course of such a long period of time. Now, Ji Ning's story has finally come to an end. As IET notes in his April 2015 afterword, there is also a live-action adapation of DE coming shortly (theoretically in the next month or so) and we'll be sure to announce it as well! We were originally going to have a short video by IET as well, but he couldn't quite fit it in his schedule. We'll post it as a separate announcement later.

There have been so many memories that have built up over the years, and I've talked and interacted with so many of you that I genuinely view you as friends and family. My keenest memory is of a 'Daolord' on Patreon who deleted his pledge... or rather, his brother did. When his brother deleted the pledge, he added a note: 'Thanks for translating, but my big bro just passed away and I'm cutting his pledges :( Thanks for understanding, he failed his Daomerge' I damn near broke down on the spot. I hope that all of you and your loved ones are as hale and hearty as you were when you first started Desolate Era, and that you will continue to be so many, many years in the future!

So what will I be doing next? Well, five years translating one specific author is more than enough, even one that I cherish as much as IET; for newcomers, it was my translation of Coiling Dragon which inaugurated the launch of Wuxiaworld! In addition to maintaining the site and handling company matters like licenses, copyright, etc., I'll be doing two things in specific - I'll be announcing tomorrow the relaunch of Godsfall Chronicles working with Xiao Lai (we have ten chapters ready!), and when I have a sufficient stockpile I'll launch Dragon Talisman on Wuxiaworld! I said before that I viewed Godsfall Chronicles as one of the most novel-quality webnovels out there, and I stand by that belief. As for Dragon Talisman, it has a very refreshingly kind-hearted main character and a world which is steeped deep in Chinese lore and history, which I will endeavor to make as accessible as possible. These are two spectacular novels, and I hope to gain the same support and love as I've had from you in the past :D.

1:08 AM, April 21st of 2018, Chengdu City.

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